NORMANBY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume VII, Issue 1310, 18 May 1886, Page 3

NORMANBY.

•Klfi'^ioittfuft'OWl* tcOfititBBPOKDEN*.) tt orpHe 3ealjtf conrjse'of events, in pur little -;/&WB>WM'«lfenfif6<l'to a'soeni" of bustle on ret StiaidayYfty > (the arrivftl ; of Titokow&ru of many tribes in their l 4nwnthl^ i yisit. / vTb:eie 1 jwere some 600 ''nienjL women, and children, mostly on " u 'fdovßomd on horseback, and many in bugries. and other vehicles. The same itWay 'demeanor as hitherto characterised their^marcb. into the township, those on ''foot; leadthgf tbfee abreaßt, followed by vebioleß, tbe ! horsemen bringing up the ■a rei»r. TThiJr carried tents and tent poles '^itb-J th'tm^ and" 7 proceeded .through the Jtownjbip direct to Hone Pihama'B kai- < teg»V'whWe for days past food has' been in course o{ collection for them. 1 It, is no ( ticisable ' that the , so-called , " walking rbnnd'the walls. of Jericho* was not inxlalge<d ; in, ana natives 'say that, ihey to discontinue that procedure, bht none know for wbat reason it haß b«en fdwcoqtinued, aa all. are ignorant of .j:sjb«jieA6ori of it« amtiatic*. 1 -A new de- j yelopnaenk is expected «eitmdnth, whep .til an tdlito visit Paribaka. The scenes of drunkenness, riot, and disorder, formerly so common' when large numbers of Mtoriß'x'tnet together, were entirely „i«DMnto '.Mr.'Dolan'fl billiard room was rented by some 1 of tbe natives from 8 b'eiolek fti tbe morning until midnight, and faring tbe evening and night it was fall to overflowing. Mach money muet,.'havr beeh (i £peiit on the entertainixtent the ' visitors by the local aßorigineß, and it is astonishing what S-denial t tbey display in concentrating whole, of their monetary reaouroes on expenditure for one day's lavish hospitality, and Jiving bard themselves for the rest of tbe month. It was not until the visitors bad arrived, and had . rested, that they finally decided to stay tbe night at Hutinga, and the , exceedingly boisterous weather of Saturday night And : Sunday necessitated a prolongation of their sojourn until Monday. Most of their tents were blown down in; tbe nigbt, and tbe water from heavy rain flooded the paddock in which they were camped, and drove them to seek shelter in the cooking bonies. ' At daybreak many distributed themselves over tbe township in search of ■mpty bouses in which to Btow them•elves and their storm-beaten garments. While admiring their', consistent trust in their leaders', Te Whiti and Tohu, one cannot help thinking that what they Lave gained in faith they have lost in common sense. We are told in tbe Governor's speech that " there has never been a time when the relations between her Majesty's European *md Maori subjects have been o( bo friendly a .character, and yet here we have in our midst a monthly visitation which ie a living b,ot silent protest againßt the action* of the Government, which proves intense dissatisfaction, and may contain a hidden menace. lit contradistinction to the opinion of Ministers, it may be remarked that' never were matters so thoroughly unsatisfactory as regards thi leasing of land between the Government aod natives as they are at present, and thai while natives express themselves as, willing to deal directly with ■ettlers, they emphatically (to put it mildly) refuse to sanction any interference of the Government. An intelligent native and a chief of his tribe the other day put it thus : "At the termination of tbe war," eaid he, " grants of land were made to those Europeans who' had fought for the Government, and out of their own confiscated territories land was also given to tbe Maoris. The Government does not interfere with the leasing of land down granted to Europeans, neither 'should it intermeddle with the rental of land Crown-granted to Maoris." | The man who made use of that argument requires no paternal Government to assist him in dealing with his landß, and there are thousands like him. , A strange story comes from Wanganui, rso strange that one can bajrdly credit jts authenticity, and yet it ib spoken of by so many natives of repute, and the accounts are all so consistently ! alike Ibat the impression that there most 'be something in it is forced upon one. It is Baid that at the meeting ! at Aramdbp Mr. Ballance, in answer to Wi Pere, Baid that " European laws bad no jurisdiction over the lands between Waitotara and White Cliffs, for that all that portion was under the. rule of Te Whiti." : AlLihe natives know it, and all rejoice. Probably Mr. Ballance intended to say tbipit there was a special code of laws which governed the confiscated territory, and possibly be did say so and the fault lies with the interpreter, but;, the impression left on tbe mlive^mind is that he expressed bimself as stated. It is unnecessary to point out the barm such a statement may do. All will be grieved to/hear of tbe continued illnesrof Mr. Eagles, baker, who i« one of our plde'at,' townspeople. Better on Fridayj he. suffered a relapse on Saturday, and is again confined to his bed.