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Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume I, Issue 3, 1 March 1855, Page 2

country, the people, and the laws and customs of the country have changed since the Britons dressed in skins and lived with pigs in the dark places of their woods. Let us first look at the country, great roads now lead from one end to another—roads which crossing the swamps and drearyforests allow the stranger to pas's through the land without the fear of being lost among the trees as in the time of Britons; wolves, however, still live in these forests, and when night comes their ho-iling frightens the children in the little houses where the cowherds live, and makes the mother shut her door that the baby may be safe in its wooden bed. The lurf huts, where the Britons liveJ, feeding and sleeping together like beasts, are gone, and wooden houses, with windows made of a clear kind of horn, have taken their place. The richer Chiefs 100 have towers built of stone, with courts (or sheds) of wood all round ihem for their servants and cattle, while a deep ditch half full of water surrounds the whole of the buildings and protects them from the attack of any stranger whom they may not wish to see among them. The rude circle made of stones upon which the Iligh Priests of the Britons sacrificed to their Gods have also disappeared, and Churches, built some of stone and others of forest trees, are now seen with their steeples pointing to the skies as if to show that the God for whose worship they were built was above all, and was not—as t'ic heathen priests had taught—earthly, and on the earth.

Then if we turn towards ilie sea we shall find- instead of the little boats of skin stretched over boughs in which the Britons fished along the coasts —vessels much larger, and, although clumsy and ill-built, yctstrong enough to buffet with the winds and to perform long voyages,—at least what in these days were called long voyages, when but little of ihe world was known and New Zealand and America were not dreamt of nor thought of by the men who crossed the soas.

the good does not. Even so ; time alone can do for man what the sun does for the fern root. Good men are ever great ; but bad men arcmade small by time ; because time takes from them the pretended good, and leaves them mere skeletons. This I know, blankets and shirts and all other things are worn and are soon gone; but mills are not. Mills return us much good,— not only for us but for our childreu. Why then talk about the dead ? Feed the living, by givino us Mills." e f - Arama Karaka spoke next, he said :—'The Chiefs of the Waikato are all love ; we wish for peace ; even if we are poor, we love the government. You, the Governor, have made peace by now coming. The pain we all feel for the dead, it is for Ruihana to tell you. He is the man oi great words. We wish for peace. One thing is bad ; I will tell you. 1 promised Governor Grey to sell six blocks of land. I will fulfil my promise, and then cease with land ; then I will live in peace. All the Chiefs of Waikato wishfor mills, so that we may have food for our children. If other tribes be evil with us we will not resent the evil, but let the good laws of the Queen settle all disputes now. W T e all wish to live in peace now ; this is all I have to say ; and my word will always be peace, peace." Hura thenroseaud said:—"Ourgrief,and that which Wetere feels is one; and that is for the dead. Ruihana will tell you all about this ; but we wish to let our dead rest; our thoughts are peace and rest; you may give the evil,—we will look at your work. We wish to do as Europeans do,— to work at mills. We wish to learn these things under the Law of the good Queen. We only wish to protect the body with food, and this is all we desire to do." - spoke, (this old Chief being a Priest, was rather fierce in his manner) and said:— "Welcome, my father, welcome. You are a stranger here, so am I. Ido not know you, nor do you know me ; we are equal; welcome, welcome. My word is this, —1 am a son of the god Tu (god of War), we are living under ground (in sorrow arid rage for the native deceased) on account of the grief ; yet I will not take the grief to town ; Wetere has done that. So let it be. (Meaning that Watere had visited the Governor in Auckland, where he had indulged his grief, and expressed his confidence j in, and submission to the law). Our thoughts are bent on cultivation. You have come, 1 j think to tell us to cultivate. We have given up j all thoughts of fighting. The old men are dead with their evil. Governor Hobson saw these men. He also is dead. You are new men, —so are we ; so that we have all new things now ; new men. new laws, new good thoughts. ' We own a father whom they call Tamatera (child of the sun) : that is, we are the children of a mar who loved peace. To cultivate, is to live in

peace. We have now this wish, to learn this good thing which brings peace; other tribes may think to do the same. They do think the same. You have put evil from you by coming to see us ; so we have put evil from us ; we now live in peace. We think Ruihana may say something ; but, no, he will be in love with you because you have brought yourself as payment for your evil." - Ruka then spoke and said :—"Our grief is great because the man was killed for no evil. If be had killed an European, then it would have been right. Ruihana will tell you. Nevertheless we tell you our grief; we are the sons of Tamatera, a man who was a peacemaker ever if murder was committed. We are his sons ; let peace be yours ; we love peace—you have come to make peace. If Tamatera said peace, it would be; we now live, he is dead , so repeat his words—'let peace be.' You must always say peace, and teach us the use of mills, and sanction cultivation by recommending it, so that our wives and children may live. This is good Oli, Governor let us have a mill! that is your mill; it shall be a 'Governor's Mill/ Our thoughts are all on a mill. Our father is the sun who shines in peace on all; even so let your kindness be on all—Europeans and native alike." Mohi spoke as follows :—"Come, my father, write the words of daylight; come my father turn evil up. Are you a Priest, so that you can conjure evil to depart? You are not a priest, or your hands would not have been besmeared with the blood of our son. You are a stranger to us ; nor can we be friends until you have been to a Priest to bear the sacred words said over you. You cannot eat with us until this is done ; nor can we eat with you, lest we die ; we cannot be friends until this is done. I am a Priest and know the sacred words. J will cleanse you from the blood on your hands. Mohi then steadily gazing at the Governor, commenced the native rite of blood-cleansing, saying in a solemn tone. v 'I will kindle my fire o'er the ocean, my fire on the ocean is eaten by relatives. Did you come from the foam of the the west or of the foam of the inland waters To begin! put it in ; the god is burnt by the Spirit of Night, give this, give that, you are the face of the Priest. Let me go, that we may escape to day light; to the open world ; it is light, lift on shore it is Now we may eat tegether, Governor ; you are not stained now, so that we might not come near you; you had blood on you, but my sacred words have made you clean. Come, I will speak great, evil words to you. Now, I will not; let evil men speak about the dead, and let those who li\e evil do it; we will have a mill. You, my father, should be kindness, and not kill without a cause ; do not let this occur again ; bekind to us and we will be kind to you. My father, Tamatera, is great and strong, he warms the earth with hi.-

heat, so you must keep us warm with your kindness, and be another kind father to us. Arama said he had sold six blocks of land, and would sell no more ; let him cease, I will sell the rest; do not let other meu meddle with my lands; I will sell my own and mine alone." Eruetinext rose and said :—"Listen! Mine is as the rest have sqoken. Look well to what they have said, in days to come. Our grief is great for him who was sent to the other world without a cause ; but we have no evil thoughts ; you look well to our good thoughts ; we are the sons of that is sons of peace. Our proverb is : 'Waikato, that swallows the green stone battle axe.' That is, we are strong in battle, but we now wish for peace. Te Wherowliero has gone to make peace, and to tell men to cultivate Let peace be given, and good will be the fruit of this. You must remember our words for peace, and if we do not do as we now say, you must come and beat us. If you break this peace we will do the same. Nini said :—"Come welcome father. You know your spirit was at a distance, but my son went to the Star of the Heavens and dragged you here ; you have made peace by your coming. Welcome, come on shore ! Welcome the Governor, as all Governors come. 'Come you man who lived in a carved house, turn the tide and all it noise away ; do not let your good be in the mouth, but give it to the ears of the hundred. Your house is at a distance, you are here ; give that to the youngest son ; i will go into the house of Tonokia, and live near the white fea ther of the albatross. 1 Great as my grief is, it is all paid. Welcome, Governor, peel off the rough, and leave nothing but smooth ; have peace with us ; be kind to us,' so that we and you may live in peace for ever. Our great wish is for a mill. This is all."

Pairama rose and said :-"I thought your coming would have brought dread, because you live in power. I thought the good that Governor Grey left would have been lost. You have come to make all smooth. We thought you had come, uot in peace, but you have come in peace. I dread the war club. I fear your weapon ; you have touched my hand, —therefore you have shown us peace. Ruliana and Kiwi have the evil words. But mills are the best, and peace is good. Let no evil come because of the dead. The law must be at the head of all men." His Excellency now stepped forward to address the assembled Chiefs. It afforded him much satisfaction, he said, tomeet so many friendly Chiefs upon such an occasion ; because he was thereby enabled to assure them of the deep regret he!eltatthe unfortuate event that had taken place on Christmas night. Still, they, like himself must trust entirely to the excellence of the laws under which ail live. He was glad to find that their minds were directed to indus-

trious pursuits. These would prove of advan tage not only to themselves and their families, but to the generations yet to come He was happy to say that the good fceiiug, which had been shown by the Chiefs present, was quite in keeping with what he had heard from the tribes at Kawhia, Rangiawhia, and all along the West Coast, on the same subject;—a feeling that would be most pleasing to their great mother the Queen. His Excellency said he was well aware that the erection of mills had been of great benefit to the country ; he would consequently do all he could to assist them in the desired addition to their number; but, to avoid mistake, or confusion, they must address tbe Government through one of themselves, or, minister. When their object was clearly made known, they should receive pecuniary assistance, the same as other natives, and an inspector should be sent to protect them from imposition. As for the land which had been sold, the Government would take every care to avoid any cause of difference on that subject. His Excellency requested that he might be informed whenever any question arose on that point. He promised to look after the Native Reserves as soon as he should return to Auckland, ond would communicate with the Surveyor General and Land Purchase Commissioners on the scbject. His Excellency added that he always felt disposed to befriend the natives. Many of them knew his Excellency well, and none ever knew him to entertain a thought of evil towards them. Now, when he knew them so much better, it was not likely that his good thoughts should fail. Were he not to be good and kind, he would not be carrying out the wishes of the Queen, or be acting rightly in the sight of the God of all. If they desired to be happy they should give up strife, and continue to respect the laws, which from his knowledge of the native character, His Excellency felt well assured they would do. Wata Kukutai rose and said—l will speak as lam the end of the sayings. Let the thoughts be good ; you did not remember your evil, it is well you have come because peace will be made between us. Yours was the evil, not mine. You have the right thought; it is well to let the law be administered, but tell us so as to make it clear. We do not wish to put the evil on all Europeans, but make it clear now—so that we natives may know. Wbo can tell what the chiefs may say, if their relatives be killed ? I wish for peace. If you have the same wish, I will follow your teaching ; we natives wish for peace. What I say about evil is,—put it away ; but do you teach us. We wish to learn to cultivate. Our Minister teaches us the word of God ; and men have their thoughts on goods and money, and some of us do the same, so evil comes. But we want to fcave a mill, and when finished to make a little good from it. The thought which is

best is about God. The thought for the dead is done. It has this day been laid before you we are the men who came to speak of this thing ; we see you here, so we are in peace, so we will cultivate what will feed our bodies. This is a good thing you have spoken about to day ; we have no other thought. Our thoughts are on the great things you have taught us ; they are two—of God and of industry. The evil that is we think not of it. We do not wish to dwell on evil; even if you kill another native we will not rise on the whole Europeans, but let the man of evil be the payment; so if a native kill an European, he will be the payment. Let the "man of the evil deed be the payment. T;iis i 3 the end of our grief. The speaker here stepped up to his Excellency with a carved spear, and said—l give you my weapon, and this is my seal of peace :—presenting it at the same time to the Governor. His Excellency replied it was with pleasure he accepted such a token of peace, and should keep it as long as he lived, in remembrance of the gratification he had felt that day. His Excellency advissd the Chiefs to be guided by the laws of the Queen, which did not make distinction becavse of colour, but which rendered equal justice to the Native and to the European. The Conference was then brought to a close by the who proposed that His Excellency should go in a canoe, manned by chiefs only, to the pa of Raibana. This having been agreed to, the canoes of His Excellency and suite took the lead, and were followed by a large canoe, manned by all the speakers, as well as by orther chiefs. After a pull of two hours, the party arrived at Ruabina's. Ruahina received his Excellency with his usual kindness and good humour, but with all the dignity of a chief. A box on which a tartan shawl was spread, was brought forth as a seat for His Excellency, to whom Ruihina spoke thus— * Let the foolish tongues flit about like clouds : take no heed of them. lam paid as you have come. (Meaning that His Excellency by his presence had appeased his grief). You are mine, you have given yourself up to me. J To-morrow Kiwi will come; you will have him laid before you. I spread at Potatau, (got his presence here), he asked for my grief! I gave it him, — he made peace. You are the only Governor, you are my payment. I have you ; I have got ample payment. Tararo has got bis red: Kakako has nothing red; Patete has no mat to sit on. (Breaking a stick he held in his hand, he threw the half of it before the Governor,) saying—l will not give this end up, you may use that end again; who can help it, —you have the spear; I have nothing else, you may do this again. What is this, that you have come thus. It is, that it is the end of the quarrel. Do not let other men

come in between us. Ngatipou, let not one of your ears be given to Ngafciwhatu. Do not be like a dog and bite your lips at any evil; listen not to aoy language. Potatau has been here, he has been told lam satisfied, —let him do all; the first Governor was here, and peace was his word ; so it rests with me. Let no man come in between us; let not the Ngatiwhatua meddle; let us be one, —that end be for you, thio be for me. I gave the body of my child to Potatau, so that Te Tawa should not meddle, and come in between us. I am not as the many, I am a man who am as a friendless being. Who will befriend ? My heart is very great, O Governor, because you have come here. If all of you were men who have now come I would listen, but you may be only boys "who have come to amuse yourself with tne. For roe, a mill, a mill. What does Te Tawa want. I do not want to fight; my fight is with a mill. What do new born children come to talk to me about ? You the Governor are the only man—and my will is yours. If Te Tawa persist, I will tell all Waikato to shut the mills, and let him have his desire : but you are only children who do not desire to sit cleanly. Ropati starting up and dancing before his Excellency for a moment, said—l am a man, I wish to be a man, and live in peace. O, the Governor, I will spear you, I will kill you. This is my spear, I will pierce you; there (striking the spear in the ground before the Governor). It is done, you have my only weapon. Putakiau—These men are my offspring, I am the elder. Governor, your death is just; —(alluding to the spear thrust into the earth, as figurative of a retributory victim for the murdered native) you came to me ; it is right for me to kill you. Te Wherowhero was killed, and you O Governor are the second offering. Will you cease to kill, now that peace is made ? You have come into the house hence your being killed. I did not call you; you came, so I will kill you. You thought it was right to come; you did not yield roe up the man-slayer ! you have come youself, and now I will cease to quarrel: had you not come I would have taken all your land for my son whom you killed; your heart would have been as much pained for the loss of the land which your money brought, as my heart is for my son. Let not the Ngatiwhatua meddle. I will only fight with a mill, my head shall be down, and my heels up in working a mill. Give a mill, a mill. This is all I have to say.

* According to Maori usage the aggrieved should itake concession, and propose peace; and should the aggressor have the hardihood to visit the injured party, his own life would be the penalty ; hence the allusion, you are mine simply means, you are at my mercy, your life is at my disposal.

Oa Monday, the 19th, another meeting -was held at the request of Ruihana, who express himself as follows: v " This is a good thing. You have made peace. You, oh Governor, have made peace with us, and we have made peace with you." This was also Potatau's speechj his wish was peace"; EBlftougTi ts are' good thoughts; to cultivate land with ploughs; to learn to work at mills; and to be in earnest about all such things, so that the body may live; these are the desiresof peace ; these are the means of quiet living; these thoughts are from us all to you, oh the Governor. You the Governor, have been the originator of mills; hence we wish to do as you say, there shall not be anything to disturb our peace in future days, or any cause for quarrelling. All that we have to desire for the future is mills, mills; to cultivate for the European and Native. This shall be the only thought for us in our life time, to live in the hands of the Queen and the Governor. Lest the wolves of this world, wicked men, come in and tear us ; let any other man being a stranger from us, any tribe who are not related to the deceased native, be cautioned; and do not let thoughtless men be in power, but men of thought, men who can understand us, and can tell us what they mean in our own language; we have no greater thoughts than thoso of Te Wherowhero He is a Chief; we are led by his good thoughts; his thoughts are peace ; so are ours; but should he be illused by any evil men wc must rise, should any evil come amongst us in this river Waikato, come, oh Governor, and make peace amongst u* and save us from death, even a3 you have nowcome and brought peace with you ; you have now come and that coming has been made right for ever. Governor, do not send by letter, but come in person. Should :.nevil arise in Waikato, you. oh Governor, come and make it ce ise ; should an evil come in amongst you Europeans, we the Chiefs will go to Auckland to make all things right. These are the thoughts of this land, because you, oh Governor, and the laws of the Queen have been sent to protect us ; this is the thought of us all, from the East to the West, and through all the land; all the Chiefs think this good thought; should an evil arise at a distance, I will go with you, oh Governor, to make it cease, "Here the birds of the Heavens sit," —that itmen who know the signs of the time; here are also the red bills, the bird whose cry is cut up, cut up;—men who speak evil words; but what can such men do ? They are plebeans and have plebean hearts. There are with you the owls, who see in the dark; men of quick thought, who are brave to fight, strong in counsel, and quiet in manner, these men will be reckless, but will evade all things that cause an evil. You shall be the cause of the first quarrel; there shall not

any quarrel emanate from us. Governor, my song for you is this:— Blow winds, yo are shifting to the North, The travellers of Tu are wAvering, They will take me to get payment In town, O that I could see Gove-nor Wynyard, Thy fame has come, hut it keeps at a distance. I am left only with woman, But my inward thoughts prompt me . To deeds of light, the European will return, The regret follows o'er the water Where thou hast sailed, oh White, To the North, thy canoe, oh Ruahina, The rowers are tired, the bow of Thy Canoe, oh Weterej is shaken with The wind, I joy in this. The winds now repose o'er my home. You kill me in my house ; that is you came, and your coming prevented me from going to town Had I gDne, oh how the hatchet and the spear would, have gleamed in the sun ; but your good has been seen; this is all your good doing; the work is done; peace is made ; this is all I have to say. lam now, and always shall be your loving friend ; my speech is ended.

The English of the foregoing speeches has been famished by Mr. John White, and we have been obliged to translate from the English into Maori. Under these circumstances it is impossible for us to give the words used by the natives, but the meaning may be the same. Of course we should have preferred translating from the Maori, but the notes having been written in English by the Interpreter, we are necessitatad to give our Maori, which will not be so acceptable to the natives as their own terse mode of expression.