Page 4 Advertisements Column 2

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7177, 1 June 1885, Page 4

nnHB MAORI KIHG ON HIS - JL TitAVELS. ; . AN EARL TO ENTERTAIN HIM. HIGH JISKS FOR HIS MAJESTY., It i 3 some yoars ago Binco King Tawhiao firat expressed a desire to pay England a visit for the purpose of holding a diplomatic conversation -with the Queen on subjects of mutual interest ; and. fib last he has got his wish. To anyone who kuows the Maori ' character there is something monstrously , funny about the proceeding, 'tawhiao, it [ should be known, is a most dignified poten- j tate. This i 3 a serious business with him. < He still claims the title of king, howbeit liia followers are an insignificant band when • alltold; and ho will, no doubt, meet Her ; Majesty Queen Victoria, of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, as becomes one exalted personage on meeting another "in the same siluation of life." HIS DEPARTURE. The departure from his kingdom, in company -with his suite of attendants, waßit . appears slightly marred in effect by a circumstance that gave him great offence. A mass meeting was held in the Waikat.o, about 50 milos out of Auckland ci J, tv fete the king and bid him farewell, hia-j copper-colored (subjects contributing largely i to pay the expenses of his trip ; and there . was a great feait and an irupocing ceremony of the Maori charec'er. It appeura from a late number of the If. Z. Herald that after all had been arranged (cave one important item) aud the affeclicp farewells had been Boid amid a perfect flood of tears- (our Maori friends can cry on the shortest notiuo) it wai suddenly discovered That th^re was not a berth lett lor Fawhiaj on the ina'l steamer ihis was a crusher, and the king eat him down on tlv- royal mat. ar. tho entrance to tho roj al wltare, and nursed his •wrath.. lift MASTS?? A DISCOVERY. But even at this pas 3 he had a consolalion, so the Herald 'informs us. It seems he was suffering irom aouto rheumatism at at the time. Bj the advice of the Messrs Hunter h j tried St. Jacobs Oii ; and, as he waß almost immediately relieved from pain, his good humor was restored, and he waited ■with resignation for the next steamer. It came in due course, and the King " steamed" away for tho Mother Country, via Australia. Of his visit to this colony nothing need be said here, as the local Press pretty well advertised His Majesty's movements while he remained in this city. It may be mentioned, however, that as far as it could be ascertained since he took Tfclifi BLUB RIBBON. Tawhi&o continued to be a moat faithful follower of total abstinence ; a fact which redounds to hia credit, especially as his countrymen are extremely partial to spirits, or, as they call it, " waipero," strong water. If you ask a Maori whether ho likeßrum (?) he -will cheerfully respond : " Kapai te waipero! porangi?" and will then prefer a mild request that you should " shout !" It is to be hoped that Tawhiao will stick to the good resolution which Eir George Grey induced him to form. Ie may also be mentiored that the King before leaving NewZealand purchased (several bottles of St. Jacobs Oil, so greatly had it impressed him, and like Mr Peter Ma?nus with his hatbox, he was more particular in looking after that parcel of oil than all the rest of his luggage, including his pipe, tobacco, and Hid JEWtiHARP, which the writer may explain has come to be regarded as the national music of the Maoris. You will see girls, boys, and old men and women sitting by the hour together playing this instrument, the tongue of which they cover at the end with a knob of sealing-wax, which has the effect of imparting softness to the sound produced, and increasing its volume. He is not A LINGUIST. As before stated, King Tawhiao is accompanied by an interpreter, whose services he could scarcely dispense with, for he knows very little English. There are hundreds of Maoris who speak excellent English. _ They learn rapidly, and their superiority in mathematics to the average European scholars in the schools has become almost proverbial. But Tawhiao has been, until quite lately, moat exclusive. He could nev«r be enticed from his seclusion in the close Maori country in the Waikato. He had little or no communication with Europeans, except, perhaps, an occasional pakehaMaori, which means a degraded white man who makes his home with the natives, livißg like them as to habits, and being a kind of serf as to position. These men, of course, speak the Maori language only when among the natives. So that Tawhiao had little chance to learn English. tawhiao en route. Ho is now on his way to England, and we can easily imagine that ho and hia at tendant knights or chiefs will find themselves much astonished at a great deal they see on the way. When they arrive they will, doubtless, have a good deal more to asbonish them. One thing is tolerably certain, that if they stay long in the country they will bring back very lively notions of the weather. Your northern Maori does not like the cold. THE G-OEST OF AN EARL. In t:.e meantime we learn by cable that the Maori envoys are to be entertained or be tho guests of tho Earl, of Chicoster, the President of the London Missionary Society. Ye gods ! but this is indeed distinction for the monarch whose sceptre is the sh&dow of a shade. It is very questionable, however, if old Tawhiao oould be p>ade to understand that in this j-eception he is being honored to any great extent. That one chief should entertain aaother in . only right and proper. And yet what would some of our money-grubbing democrats who prate of "the glorious privilege of being independent" — what would some of theße give to ehske the hand of an earl or (Qod forgive us !) steal his pocket-hand-kerchief to Bhow their friends m triumph. TAWHIAO AND THE QUEEN. Wo beg Her Majesty's pardon for putting the Maori's name first ; but the reverse order would not be euphonious. That meeting will, no doubt, bo an affecting sight. The " Field of the Cloth of Gold " over ago in, and t c shade of King Harry looking on approvingly. 1 hero is little doubt that the natives of New Zealand have suffered many grievances at the hands of their white brothers. They have be»n DUPiCD AND ROBBED, and cheated, right, left, and centre. Their ignorance in the early days was taken advantage of, and many of them sold their birthright for less value than a " mess of pottage." But it is questionable whether much good will be effected by the present mission. The Government of New Zealand are now doing what they can to ameliorate the condition of the Maori population, but the task is by no means easy. Their numbers are fast decreasing, chiefly owing to exposure, and the effects folio wins; upon it. This, of course, can be remedied to a large extent, and may best be done by disseminating among them a knowledge of the treatment necessary to preserve health. Rheumatism haß become a common complaint in Maoridom, and a tno liberal indulgence in alcohol has done much harm. With this in view it is to be hoped that the natives will follow KING TAWHIAO'S EXAMPLE). He was open to conviction on the subject of the drink question, and took the badge of temperance, an example which the writer is happy to learn from a reliable source a number of his subjects in New Zealand have followed. In the same way most probably the important discovery made by their king will become known to the Maoris, as to the valuable cure for a distressing and dangerous complaint so common among them. There are several MAORI NEWSPAPERS in New Zealand, and these will no doubt be the means of introducing St. Jacob's Oil to their notice, seeing that the enter- ! prising proprietors of this valuable remedy | take every legitimate opportunity of freely advertising the great specific, THI TELEGRAM. Tn reference to the benefit which King Tawhiao derived from St. Jacob's Oil; and to which we have refom-d in tho coin-so of this article, the JSeto Zealand Herald of March 29, 1884). publishes the following telegram from its own correspondent : — " Mercer, Friday.— Tawhiao appears to have been suffering from rheumatism lately, and is quite pleased at the effect produced by St. Jacob's Oil, administered le him by the Messrs Hunter. To-day he is much better." , 769