NORMANBY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume II, Issue 154, 3 October 1881, Page 2

NORMANBY.

(from our own correspondent.)

September 30, 1881.

Normanby seems to be almost the only place in the district that has not up to the present held a meeting to start once more a volunteer corps of some sort or other. Lest it be ascribed to a want of public spirit, I may mention, that it is a pretty general opinion here, that a good deal too much is being made of Te Whiti's speech. To an ordinary observer, it appears 1 merely the logical sequence of his acts and speeches a twelvemonth ago. Knowing then, that to fight was hopeless, and resolved to do all he could to keep the land, he annoyed the Government by fencing across the roads, and allowed his men to be taken prisoners rather than desist. That scare-crow, having lost its power to terrify, a more dreadful one : must be thought of, and the blood and [murder speeches are tried. The Goveraments^*£9 i jilay into his hands, for they have been too" tiiSid-to-ixg^ Mr. Bryce's^ plan on the one side, and have pushed an economy wise in itself, too far, by largely reducing the A.C. Force, thus leaving the difficulty, but taking away the means of coping with it. Settlers living near Parihaka may well feel a little nervous, but that any serious damage can be done seems out of the question, when we consider that the Maoris are considerably outnumbered, that they are hemmed in a small space, that a large proportion of the population from Hawera to New Plymouth are accustomed to the use of the rifle, and that the amount of hush still remaining for the Maoris to manoeuvre in (the one form of warfare in which they are formidable) is perfectly insignificant compared to the amount at the time of the last war. A statesman in England a a year or two ago recommended the use of large maps to allay the scare respect* ing the Russians in Asia. There is a map of Taranaki to be bought at the Post Office for 2s. 6d., which, together with a slight i knowledge of the facts of the last Maori war, is quite sufficient to set at rest the mind of any gentleman burning with zeal to go to the front, and at the same time thirsting for information as to how much per day the Government will give him to defend his life, and that of his wife and children, if he have any.