THE LAST MEETING AT " PARIHAKA.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 41, 1 September 1880, Page 3

THE LAST MEETING AT " PARIHAKA.

(FROM <HJR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) PUKEHINAU, AugUSt 26.

The meeting at Parihaka on the 17th instant was remarkable not only for the -large number who attended, but also for a certain plainness of speaking on the part of Te Whiti and Tohu which has hitherto been wanting in those chiefs' orations. Tohu said he should not grow tired of sending bis men, women, and children to prison; neither would he spare himself, should it be necessary for the success of his plans that he also should go into captivity. Both chiefs spoke of the innocence of the people who were being arrested — innocent, that is, of theft or any criminal actions ; and they argue that consequently no harm can happen unto them during their incarceration. They evidently have an idea that serious embarassment will accrue to the Government on account of the expense incurred in the transport and maintenance of so many natives, and judge from the return of a few of the prisoners to Parihaka last week, that we are getting heartily sick of them. As Tohu expressed it, "we have swallowed a worm, and it has disagreed with us." Again, Tohu remarked, " their hearts are filled with sorrow, and they become more' sorrowful with every arrest they make." In allusion probably to the visit of Mr. Duncan on a mission "to persuade Te Whiti to place his affairs and that of the prisoners in the hands of a lawyer, Tohu said, " I have sent my people to prison to' show that I am peaceably in earnest, an<2 nob bo seek justice in a court of law." Those at a distance naturally feel at a loss to understand how Te Whiti expects to gain his ends, if not through a court of justice or by fighting. On this head he is rather explicit. He says : — " There shall be no fighting and no Land Court. The Government will not know what I am aiming at until they come to me. It was said of old that by a covenant should the chieftainship be known." In other words, he wishes to settle everything without the mediation of any court either of land or justice, and to settle it by covenant, or contract, or treaty: the word is immaterial ; he wishes to make a compact with some one who is fully empowered by the Governor as head of the Europeans to deal with. The next point that is to be gathered from the above quoted passage is, that it is the chieftainship that he wishes to discuss and finally dispose of, and not the land alone. By the chieftainship, he probably means the rule over his people. Tohu, when speaking of the prisoners who had been arrested, without crime, at the fences, told the story of the Slaughter of the Innocents by Herod, because he was afraid the kingdom would depart from him, intimating that we were afraid these men would be instrumental in wresting the supremacy from vs — hence our anxiety to arrest them. From all this it would appear that Te Whiti wishes to make a treaty which shall secure to the natives their freedom and independence as a nation.

The Boyal Commission in their final report recommend that some arrangement should be come to with Te Whiti at once — arrangement, it is presumed, with regard to the land and the reserves for the natives. There can be no doubt that, until some arrangement is come to, we shall have no permanent freedom from annoyance in our prosecution of public works and peaceable settlement of the confiscated land. Bnt it should be borne in mind that Te Whiti will not make any arrangement about the land, unless he is allowed also to discuss questions which he hopes will culminate in the covenant he wishes to make for theestabZisfament of the freedom and independence of the M oris. How much freedom he wants, whether ■ absolute independence from British control, or merely equal rights with the Europeans under the Governor, I do not know, because this is the one point which he keeps secret from all. " The Government," he says, " shall not know my aims until ' they come and see me." Judging from his speeches to the natives, it would appear that it is their absolute independence he requires — nay, the " rangatiratanga," the chieftainship for Israel, who are the Maoris, over the Gentiles, who are the Europeans, in the Parihaka vocabulary. Although he preaches thus to the natives, it is probable that in his heart of hearts he has very little hope of getting what he says he desires. It is the certainty of Te Whiti bringing up these matters for discussion that renders any visit to him for the purpose of making any arrangement a matter of so much difticnlty. A knowledge of this would appear to have been present to the minds of the Royal Commission when, after recommending an arrangement, they refrain from mentioning in what way or by whom the negotiations should be opened. Mr. Bryce, in his speech on the West Coast Settlement Bill, it is presumed, had the same difficulty before his mind's eye, when he said that the Government would behave to the natives "firmly and generously." Only firmness will settle the difficulty, and the generosity ought to be in the same ratio as the complacency with which the natives receive our firm assertion of British supremacy. The latter ought never to be allowed to be called in question, and to dispute it is, your correspondent believes,.* the sole reason, why Te Whiti wishes to gain an interview with the Governor or his emissaries. As was before said, he may not believe that he will get all he asks for ; in fact we may conjecture that the day of his death, which he foretells, is typical of his failure in this respect, and the day of his resurrection may be the day on which, having made terms with the Government, he and his people return to their homes with some guarantee in the way of a " covenant," for a more satisfactory state of affairs for the future. This, however, is mere speculation, whilst his desire for independence has been too often expressed to be doubtful.

At present Te Whiti confines the numbers of the prisoners sent to fence and prison daily to four. The 17th of next month is the eleventh anniversary of the day on which he started his work and a half-yearly meeting at Parihaka. It is possible that no change in the programme of events will take place until then ; but at the forthcoming meeting a change may be decided on. Te Whiti has called upon all the tribes in New Zealand to come to Parihaka ; and it is only fair to say that his .influence appears as great, if not greater, than ever. One would think, however, that sensible natives would

think twice before they submitted themselves to Te Whiti, in order that they may be sent to prison.