THE PARIHAKA NATIVE MEETING.

Marlborough Express, Volume I, Issue 66, 20 March 1880, Page 3

THE PARIHAKA NATIVE MEETING.

TE WHITES SPEECH, We have received a long report by special w : re of the speeches made at the opening of the Parihaka meeting. The first portion relating to the floods and Te W liti’s promise t’a it they shall be decreased, we have eliminated as well as other portions of the proceed‘ngs of doubtful interest. After food had been partaken of by the Natives, Te Whiti spoke as follows : “ The place that I have measured out shall remain sacred for my tr 1 k and for my people. That is the subject of trlk this day. The weapons that killed she 1 ! not be held over the heads of any in this place. I assemble you all here, and the place shall never he destroyed by anyone. It is settled this place- is a place of safety for you all. I am talking about the bayonet that has twink’ed this day in my face. Ido not mean the guns that ai*e hanging upon the houses, but the guns that are out. So that Ido not speak for naught when I say there is war. I talk at the flash of the gun before my eyes, and the bayonet that is pointed at my heart. Who can deny it ? O, Maori ! O, Pakeha I Can you tell that lam wrong ? V hat I have said is not a lie. I wish to tell the tribes assembled that they will not be lost; if men have taken silver, then indeed you may he lost. What good have you got when you stretched forth your hand for silver ? Did it not all turn into spirit.uous liquors and make you drunk. You (turning to the Europeans) will not succeed in your work. If you had tempered your wisdom with kindness and leniency then you might have succeeded, and a different state of affairs would have resulted. They think because I am a small man, and a poor man. I can be treated with contempt, but they are wrong. Altthough.some of you, in the darkness of your heart, seeing your land taken from you might wish to take up arms and kill the aggressors, 1 .say unto you it must not be. If the tall man of arms in the tali hat standing there (Colonel McDonell) were again in command to fight, lie would bo worthless to have a gun discharged at you.—O 1 Carrington i(Tangi to wi Carrington), and all of you Europeans, do not think that because you have plenty of guns and men that you will succeed. You may b» numerous as the sons of Israel and then cot succeed. Ido not want war, but the pakehas’ want war. The Governor, dare not come and talk here because he has nothing to say. Ho goes to secret places .but I talk in the open so that everyone may hear.; Referring td;me, what do they say ? they say I- am a lunatic, a fool, |a madman ; but I am ■neither., .Thailand is’yours, shut-what I have seen lately , (meahing the occupation of the plains by the'Constabulary) is enough to turn the the brains Within my heart into the brains of a fanatic;* still ;wo must; not; cause ;more -trouble to ..come onto the land by any action of ours (Thd Government have taken the prisoners, and put them in a secret place, but still they are nit hidden ; ; they: ate before me now. These word* do nqi oome from Te Whiti,; who cals Uta

potatoes, but have been handed down by superior men to me. That is all. Tohu immediately followed Te V. ilti, and said: There are two tk‘ -ga to be given to this generation —tin subsiding of the floods, and the measurement of the land—that have been spoken of this day. The floods have subsided. Formerly the ground was measured out for our use, and we are U-. 'ng upon it. It was not given for two people to stand on the measurement, but was settled by former generations, and no man shall take it from us. The Government have brought guns and bayonets on ’the land, and they say they have come to preach peace ! That is nonsense. I tell you lam going to stretch out the measure, making it a little more. The land belongs to me and my friends (Te Whiti.) The pakehas want to fight you for your land, but as the land belongs to you, there is no occasion to figlit. I own f l l the land, and r’l the plantations, and I v 'll not let them go this day. Everyone is dprk and disgusted. This day is a day of dark less for our hearts, and for utter wretchedness and digust. This day it has been shown to us that guns have been flashed in our eyes, and bayonets presented at our breasts. I have constantly said that to-morrow was to be the day for using the gun and bayonet. You must not think that the Europeans are only making the road straight —nothing ot the kind. It is done to provoke war. I say that the two roads now being made w 111 never meet each other. In the struggle for dominion always going on, it was arranged that evil should be judged, but new the Government has twisted and turned about from one side to the other until at last war is to decide. Different Governments have from time to time put the thing off, and Fox the other day .even declared that he had nothing to do with the surveys. You may judge from that what trust can be put in anything they say. They have brought their guns and bayonets, and are making roads v.'.th their shovels, and all that means wav. You may think that because I alone am addressing yon I may be wrong ; but let anyone of the opposite side stand up, and I will soon prove that lam right. What wi’l happen after this day will be nothing. You have only to wait patiently for the sword that is uplifted to fa’l for your death. The korero here broke up for several hours, and feeding re-commenced. Late in tiie afternoon Te Whiti said it has been known for some time past that Taranaki is the land, and To Whiti is the man, who stands upon it. The land is all covered with my blanket,-and there is no room for any Judge or Commission to stay upon it. The blanket is mine and those who want to know more about it must come to me. The Government instead of making roads should have come to me, an 1 then everything else might have followed. They have tried to do without me and therefore I shall do away with them and they shall lie as naught from both ends ; but there is a sp ice which belongs to me and it will not be made. The chances for fighting have been great, The space between the two peic's of road is like a tide which ebbs and flows ; perhaps a strong man will arise who may make a difference that is to say if he proves himself to he s'.ronger than I, One of us holds in his hand an aggressive weapon and the other a staff, but there is one Lord over both. I am speaking the word of the Lord of heaven, that is why the words spoken to-day are not held over. This day the thing is decided upon. The Government want to get all the land in its possession so as to have the strength, but the land is mine. The road making is a piece of braggadocio on the part of the Govern ment. What I tell you I mean in its entiretv. Everything that I have spoken this day will happen and not pass by. WTiatever may be said by the people abroad (meaning the commission) who are looking into this matter, they cannot do anything. The G ivornment might as well have sent sticks and stones as the great men they have. The good rests with one, because the Pakehas are rich men and great in fancied wisdom They assume the power of settling this question, but what I have said this day will not be deferred. The end of my work is a man. Ido not say it is a spirit but a man. The waters shall hot spill on the ground, and the measured ground shall not be trodden upon by others. The Government in the height of their pride are saying, “ There we have done you.” That is all I have to say.

Tohu did not speak again and one talk is finished.

The last speech of Te Whitis is considered the most definite he has ever given, and the surrender of the question to Tohu is significant for war. Tohu is looked upon as the man of action, and interference with the road parties is now expected.”