FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF PARIHAKA AND ITS PROPHET.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 47, 22 September 1880, Page 3

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF PARIHAKA AND ITS PROPHET.

(from our own correspondent.) New Plymouth, Saturday night. As mcret of the readers of the Star ore aware, very startling things were expected from Parihaka last week. "When the fact became known that the mounted men from .all the surrounding constabulary stations had been ordered to the camp at CaperEgmont, rumor, ever busy, was ready to, assign fifty different -reasons for «uch a step ; but the generally accepted belief was that a force would be marched to Parihaka on the sacred 17th, or else on the tiay following. I had heard so many rumors about Parihaka, and the intentions of the Government, and the intentions of Te Whiti, that I placed very little reliance on what was stated. Being, however, anxious to see and hear Te Whiti, I made up my mind to go to the seat of the Maori •Republic, and was successful in inducing a young friend to accompany, me. We started from. Hawera on Wednesday, at mid-day, lunched with Mr, Finnerty on the bat&a of the Waingongoro, and arrived at Opunake at tea time. Of course, we had a look through the redoubt, and were treated with the courtesy so generally bestdwed 'upon all travellers. The men •re kept busy, at one thing and another, repairing and building whares being one of-the chief occupations during our stay. A very comfortable one is in .course, of erection for the newly-married bride of one of the most (and deservedly so) popular officers in the force. A dining-room, .a sitting-room, a bedroom, two stone chimneys, carved posts, rush walls, with a verandah in front — what romantic young lady could ask for a more suitable place in which to spend the honeymoon! The officer is so. much esteemed by every member, of the force under his command, that you con depend upon good workmanship. ' There will not be much chance of '• Bude Boreas " spoiling the many happy, days that I trust will be spent under that roof.

44 What do I think of Opunake ?" Well, to tell the truth, not a great deal. Before I saw Opunake, I like a great many others, thought very highly indeed of it ; but closer acquaintance has;- dispelled, to a great extent, my ideas its future greatness. I would like 'to, believe that a good serviceable port could he made at Opunake, capable of taking iv Intge steamboats, and thus helping to develop the resources of what ought to ; prove the richest district in the colony. I do not, however, think such will be the case ; but at a comparatively small outlay, boats like the s.s. Patea might be loaded and unloaded there at all seasons. I am not an engineer, therefore can give no positive opinion ; but some men of large experience and sound judgment, have given expression to the same views. But for all that, there, are signs of improvement in Opunake. Messrs. Middleton Bros, are making a large addition to their hotel ; Mr. Emanuel Bayly has built a new Btore ; and I "heard that Mr. T. Espngne intended starting a timber yard. Nearly all the land about Opunake is in the hands of the natives, and that must greatly tend to retard its growth. Its geographical position is undoubtedly' a good one, and if a port, capable of accommodating the ordinary run of coastal steamers, can be made there, it ought to become the veritable " City of the Plains." in the course of time. Many readers of the Star will, doubtless,' differ with me in that opinion, aud we must, like sensible men, agree to differ. There is a Post and Telegraphic. Office at Opunake ; but there is neither a money order nor savings bank branch in connection with it. This ia a serious inconvenience, wnieli I hope the ho»- tbe $DBfa»&&tev-G&»feyid will soon remedy. It -noil entail Jilfcie, if any, additional expense, and will be an inducement to the men belonging to the force to invest their pay to the best advantage. lam not very sure as to the wisdom of having a number of whores within the redoubt. A wax match would he far more dangerous than 100 Maoris, because there are 40 picked men stationed at Opunake, who can he relied on in case of an outbreak; but their chances of saving the place from a conflagration, should it unfortunately occur, would be small indeed.; Corrugated iron and wood should replace the wha<es whilst labor and material are so cheap. Captain Morrison is still in command, and is, like all his brother officers, a favorite with his men.

Leaving Opunake the following morning, we proceeded by the road for a distance of three or four miles, and then followed a track through the flax, and by the sea coast* until' within a few miles of the camp. " Did I > see the dismal swamp ?" lam reluctantly compelled to say I did not... A gentleman, upon whose word I can implicitly rely, informed me that he' drove a trap over the made road from Pungarehu to Opunake ; but he added that he would not choose it as the most comfortable route, as portions of the road were rather salt. But swamp there was none, that you may rely upon ; and if you go in search of it, you will have a wild-goose errand,/ so said my informant. I have come all the way to New Plymouth, through the road, made from the camp at Pnngarehu to Stoney. River, and I have not found the swamp. .From the nature of the country, whfoh is undulating t the, road is not like a billiard-table, nor even a bowling-green, :but in the interior of Australia, seated in one of Cobb's coaches, I have travelled over far worse roads. The clever,, polished, and accomplished writer, whp for some months ac- , oompanied the force, will, I feel confident, be forced -to admit, the next time he makes a tour through the country, that his. .conclusions, as to the impossibility of making A serviceable road, were based upon erro ; . neous data. Had it not been for the, sake I of the company I was in, I should have ' travelled,., without the least hesitation, over the made road between Opunako and Pungarehu, as I did between the latter place and New Plymouth. The ground is soft in many places, no doubt, but not worse than it is (or was) near the railway station sites at Napier and Invercargill. I feel quite satitfied there is no swamp that cannot be easily drained : the numerous water-courses that intersect the country will moke it an easy matter to do so.

We arrived at Pungarehu at 2 p.m. on Thursday, after an easy ride of four hours. Pukehinau, three miles or so at the Opunake side, where Major Goring's camp was, had the forlorn aspect that a deserted digging township presents : there were not, however, the celestial faces left, usually to be found in places of the latter description ; but the one great distinguishing characteristio of the Anglo-Saxon race

— the beer-barrel — was lying about here and there. The camping ground was not a comfortable place, but whares and breokwinds made it passable, and the major, who is a great believer in athletic sports, managed to get enough space cleared for football. The goal posts and lines still remain on the ground. Pungarehu, situated within a , quarter of an hour's ride of Parihaka, is a nicer locality for a camp than Pukehinau. There is a stream close by, firewood can be got easily, and there are so many small hills, that sheltered spots have been easily selected for the tents and whares. At a. short distance from the camp, and almost in a line with Parihaka, a party of men have formed a road to within about a mile and a half of Cape Egmont, where Major Goring, Captain Taylor, and Capt. Fortescue are camped with 150 men. The foundations for the lighthouse are ready, and preparations are being made to build a permanent redoubt there. The lighthouse will have to he landed at Opunake : there are boulders all along the coast near the cape. I would not like to insure a vessel landing cargo there. For many years, various Governments have been anxious to erect a lighthouse there, but they are not likely to meet with much opposition just now. As one of the men remarked to me, "Te Whiti, with all his cleverness, cannot argue with 500 or 600 guns and bayonets." We enjoyed,. the hospitality of- the officers, and slept at Pukehinau that night, wending our way by a good track, through pretty country, to Panhaka on the following morning. The speechifying had begun much earlier than usual, and as we approached the stream that divides the settlement, the sonorous tones of a man's voice could be heard a long distance off. " Who is speaking ?" we eagerly inquired; and, hearing that it was Te Whiti, we alighted from our horses, and quickly crossed the stream by means of a large tree thrown across it. Those who have seen Mr. Gordon's sketch-portrait of Te Whiti have looked at a very fair picture of tins remarkable man; but his hair and whiskers were very much shorter on Friday last than when Mr. Gordon saw him. That, as everybody knows, always makes a considerable difference in a man's appearauce — almost as much as a new dress will do in a 1 dy's, and that is a great ties}. J*<3r the space 0$ nearly aa hoar, , Te Whifci kepfc the attention o£ his )arg© audienc as 6pell-hound as an eloquent preacher could have done with a European congregation. Unfortunately for myself, I could not understand three words of the discourse; but. ever since early boyhood oratory has had, like music, a peculiar fascination for me, and I did not find it all difficult to be an attentive listener. In the morning, Te Wbiti freely used the right hand, and not the left, during the delivery of the discourse ; but in the afternoon the left hand emphasised the second speech that he made. Judging by looks, Te Whiti appears to be a man about 50 years of age, medium height, firmly set, though slender frame, expressive mouth, good forehead, hut sinister-looking, restless eyes. I am a believer in physiognomy, and I confess I do not like those eyes. Te Whiti, the more I learnt about him, the higher did he become in my estimation. I heard that he had always proved himself to be a just man, and as ready to mete out justice to the pakeha — if applied for, as it bas on more than one occasion, I believe —as to the " chosen people" dwelling in Parihaka. Nevertheless, those restless, suspicious-looking eyes have left an impression on me which I find it difficult to express, but which has certainly tended to lessen the impressions formed through hear-say statements. As an orator, however, Te Whiti has few if any equals, in New Zealand. His speech appeared to have been well considered, and all the actions of the body tended to add force to it. He would, if championing the cause of British workmen, instead of Parihaka natives, be described as a " born orator." Not so with Tohu — a much finer and younger-looking man — who has acquired what is termed " the gift of the gab." He has as great a flow of speech as Te Whiti, but he lacks the decisiveness and earnestness of the latter. I formed that opinion before a friend told me that, if matters came to a warlike crisis, Te Whiti would be trusted by the natives to stand his ground better than Tohu, who, although admired by the young men as their fighting chief and future general, is believed by the more thoughtful and older natives to be more of a bouncing than a brave nature. It Tohu is made of the proper grit, he ought to be a good fighting man, for the phrenological development in that direction cannot be mistaken. ■ The gist of the speeches — so far as I could learn — was to the effect that there were to be no more prisoners. Te Whiti told his hearers that the dead (i.e., the prisoners) had been separated, from the living, and that those who tamamftd -wo\il& laa a. v&ovurt&m of 'strength unto the end of the wovld. Of ] course, when the prisoners are liberated, the, " resuiTection" so frequently prophesied will have come, and Te Whiti will have proved himself a true prophet. This j seems all very absurd to us, but it will become a reality in the minds of the Maoris. Tohu said that no matter what the Government might do, or what steps they might take, they knew in their hearts he was right, and they would yet admit it. Tho Maoris told the pakehas that Te Whiti would explain everything on Friday last ; hut according to the best-informed people that I met, he was less explicit than at any other time. (to be continued.)

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