THE PARIHAKA MEETING.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 75, 29 December 1880, Page 3

THE PARIHAKA MEETING.

(FEOM OVB OWN COBRESPONDENT.)

Pungarehu, Friday.

The report which I sent you by telegraph of Te Whiti's and Tolm's speeches, was necessarily very condensed, as I had barely time to rush down to the telegraph office the day the meeting was held, and which I knew to be the one previous to the publication of the Star. The following summary of the speeches, which I have since carefully transcribed from my notes, will doubtless prove interesting to your readers. Te Whiti said : —

Continue to preserve your pr sent attitude, and persist in your quiet behaviour as hitherto, notwithstanding the evil which is done in the laud, that we may see the good and the bad of the two tribes which inhabit the island. The two tribes are two brothers, and it has been said that the elder and the younger brother are equally good, but who can see the oood of th& -woi'ks which on© of them is doing ? If any of those belonging to the two tribes wish to see for themselves who is right and who is wrong, who is good and who is bad, let them come hither, draw nigh to Parihaka, and judge for j themselves, hear with their ears, and be- i hold with their eyes. Let us all rest tranquil, and resist not ; let us look to i the two houses, and the two trees, I which are planted in the island. Let us ' continue in our quiet ways, and calmly behold the works of those who wish to provoke us. The whole of the works ' which are being done by Government are bad in the extreme, but let us behold in peace. We shall not be able to preserve anything this day, and there is nothing to be said this meeting. There is no good thing- left for the Maoris and the appointments of jurisdiction over land and men are utterly evil this day. What they call good laws are those which work ill to the Maori, and there is no good thing left for this generation. The Government can xaake ia& law which will be ft permanent thing. The white people are "bad to the \ black, and the black are bad to the white, i and the two people cannot agree. The great nations of the island shall find no standing ground for settlement on the land they are surveying, because their days are given up for days of trouble, and if any one wishes to inquire into the rights ] of the matter, let him come and hear and see for himself. Bad, bad, the whole of it : wrong, wrong, the whole of it ; and they leave not a small thing which can be said to be good for the people of the land ; but let us quietly behold the evil which is done us, even as at present. The tribes are led astray ; but the words of God are not dead : they were preserved of old for this generation, and "for ever and ever. No amalgamation of the two tribes can take place, even as two broken sticks cannot be joined together. Two Avesbicks smoulder when kept apart, but as the heated ends are brought into contact, they spring into flames, and will not die out until a heap of ashes arise between them, and they cease to be fed by a mutual heat, when they each grow cold and gradttfttty die oat. The men went firsi;, aah now the lauds are taken, aud these are the great things of the world. There is no one, and no thing to sting them : the tip of zny tongue alone is the weapon to sting them. Good or bad as their works may be to you, preserve your present quiescent attitude. Let them work their work, and let us look quietly on. The things which are worked on this generation of Maoris, are the imprisonment of the men, the taking of their lands, an<l > the appropriation of their property. Bad indeed is the aspect of the whole of the Ngatiruanui end of the land, and Ngatiawa have fared no better ; whilst Taranaki, hi the centre, shares equally with the other two in the evil being done to the tribes. The man who seeks the rights of the question, who wishes to investigate and see who is right and who is wrong, let him draw nigh, and his eyes shall see the relative attitude of the two people, or his ears shall hear what is to be said. Those who have escaped imprisonment are still threatened with war. I am. blind ; we are all hlind ; hvi eves. toe blind can see what is going on. this day.'

These things are very hard to hear : the land is gone ; the men are gone ; and those who have taken them are of great eminence, and may not perhaps be reached. Israel has been gods over people of old. We are. all hl'ind ; hut tbe blind can see this day. Your long suffering, patience, forbearance, and steadfast-ness-under tribulation, far exceed that of Israel of old. I "am not speaking of our souls, but of our bodies, and our mortal eyes shall see the end, even &o«»h TW6 are blind and ignorant. For all the evil which is done us, let us be joyful of heart, for out of suffering joy shall come. They chastise us that we may weep and lament, but our weeping shall be turned into joy, and our lamentations into gladness. Many generations of old have desired to attain to a degree of patience under suffering, and forbearance under provocation such as yours, but none have succeeded before you : you are the first.

The opening of Tohu's speech was very similar to* that of Te Whiti : — " There sha.ll no war be raised over you ; there is no leader of the fight, and no standard. The Lord of all the works of this world is among this gathering collected together on the marae. Let peace be given to this generation. There has been no fight which I have not seen, and the war which is hidden this day fs mine. Wars, knowledge, wisdom, and strertgth, let them all meet before my face. Let the fight stand quiescent in your presence. We shall all see what I am speaking of. This is no prophetical language. lam speaking as a man, the master of evil wars, and all bad things, which I have abolished. No man of old wished to be cold, hungry, poor, and wet, that they might suffer for the right's sake, but you have suffered innumerable evils, which I have induced you to bear ; therefore, there has been no one who has overcome wars and tumults before me ; for, by your forbearance, you have successfully resisted their desire to fight. Look quietly on the evil they are doing us. The sale of the laud, and the rent of our inheritance ; the auctions of our country, and the survey of the sacred portion — what is all this done for, whilst the sword and the bayonet are flashed in our eyes ? It is done because they think they will provoke me into making a mistake, and resisting — they certainly will not. If any European or Maori has anything to ask, any wise or strong man wishing to learn, let him come hither and ask, hub \eb them hbt come in vexation of spirit. They are seeking some good way of making us accede to their wishes, but they cannot find it. All must come before me and be concluded. The fighting men were mustered months ago, and have proved useless against us ; the auctions svve brought to-day, and they shall be resultless to provoke us. We determined to continue steadfast, when our long-suffering commenced in the day& of the ploughing, and we have continued so through many evils to this day, and even so let us remain in the way we are going. It is not our opponents alone who are working ; whi2sfc we remain i<3le we are quietly working. A man has arisen, aud we are fast approaching the winning-post. Joy and gladness, good, right, and laughter ; if any should wish for these, let him come here and catch them frona my lips ; but if he come for vexation, or anything evil, he shall not find them. Ail the works of the Government of the day are bad, with an evil which shall be resuitless. They brought thpir fighting men before my face, and they are useless ; let them bring their auction into my presence, and they shall he ended. There is o»6 pieoe of land never to be sold, and it is in the midst of us. Listen, and you shall know. The cont ntion of Moses with Pharoah was that he might deliver his people from slavery. A man has arisen before us to take our part, this day. lam "joyful this day, because' of the war which they brought against you to destroy you, which his proved resultless through your own resistance, and thus caused you to be spoken well of, and your cause emhraeed. in distant lands, and a sympathy raised for you throughout the woi'lu. Jt is through the evil that is being done you that redress shall come ; for medicine is not given to the healthy man, but to he who is sick. You are sick, and shall be healed. There shall be no such man after the day of healing, but wait quietly, and strive peaceably for deliverance.

Te Wbiti — Never was seen such a deceitful, -lying, presumptuous, and stiffnecked people ; but Jehovah has condoned your offences, and you are chosen as a gtride ko ail nations of tne "WOl'lil, to sh(WJ that, by long-KiuTering, under tribulation, victory sball accrue, and not by force of arms. The land is still lying in the same place, and you the men are quietly reposing. When the latter arise, the land shall again stand. Cease to be afraid for ihe resiiH, for Jehovah watches over you, and a man has arisen.

For remainder of Reading Matter,

see Fourth Page.