THE LATE WIREMU PATENE, OF HOKIANGA.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume II, Issue 15, 16 December 1862, Page 9

THE LATE WIREMU PATENE, OF HOKIANGA.

Wiremu Patene was a leading chief of Hokianga. In him the Northern tribes have lost a wise counsellor, and the Europeans a warm-hearted friend. He was a faithful ally of the New Zealand Government, and a zealous promoter, of Christian truth, acting in conjunction with the Ministers of religion, . '♦ He was a man," says Te Otene Pura, of Mangamuka, " esteemed by both peoples, the Ngapubi and the Barawa; for he was a good man, and would not do evil. He practically exhibited love to his Maker and to man." We are informed that the late ebief had a setious of illness io May, i860; but he so far recovered his strength, as to be able to undertake a journey to the North in June, 4862, and was present at the Mango&ui'Dislripl U#nangaheld in July last. After bidding his relatives-at Qruru and its vicinity an affectionate farewell, he returned

Jo his settlement: at Mangamuka, on the Hokianga river. " On his arrival," says the writer quoted above," his people greeted him with gladness, as he looked'well in health, for they supposed that his days on earth would be many." On the 10th of September, he wais again seized with severe illness, and soon after became conscious that his end was at hand. His people assembled on the 20tb, in accordance with his request, that they might hear his dying words. When informed that his friends bad arrived, he said, " Let me be taken into the open air, that I may bid adieu to my people, and to the mountains of my native land." When placed on his couch, near bis house, "he greeted his peopfe, weeping, as be bid tbem farewell, be lifted up his eyes to the mountains of his country and said, 'Farewell, 0 mountains of my country,' calling each by its nameand turning bis eyes towards'ihe assembled throng, be said, "Farewell, farewell, 0 my people! My children, after I have gone, deal kindly with one another. The greatest boon you can have is Christianity with- a contented mind. My second word to you all is this, love God and love man." After the utterance of this speech, he was removed into the bouse, where he slept for a long time, and on awaking, chanted a song, a few lines of which we insert:— Buried within my bosom is this love, And I am vainly striving to conceal it. 0 my friends, what a drei d milady is this,— This burning passion, &c., &c. .„Ou r .departed friend continued to linger till the Bth of October, when at the dawn of day he breathed his last. When it became Known that Wfremu Patene was no more, two hundred of the 'people gathered round his remains to weep; and when they had bid farewell to the dead, Hohepa Otene Pura, his father, commenced the following Lament, which was chanted by all the people:— r I see him not, I see the foggy cloud above the mountain's But vainly do I look for him, I height, Oh where is be? , Haste Tiki with your guns, Throw open wide your stores of powder, And pay the homage due to such a chief. *ve scan with gaze Intent, my son, But who can see the mystic ball w Inch strike* its viciiin?

Wc saw thee yonder, son, Taking tby walks at Hokianga. The garineAt that the Maori wears Did noi become thee. Thou didst robe thyself with such as Mereana wore. Bring forth the feathers of the Huia, That bird that flits across the towering Hillsof Tararua; and bring the feathers of . Uie albatross, That bird that skims along the mountain wave; Bring then* to crown the brow of the beloved Going to the land of spirits to be greeted by bis fathers. Sealed upon tby sepulchre, Thou wilt gaze upon the boundless world That lies before thee., My son, we fomdly hoped that thou Wooldst tarry with lis long, . To bless the thousands who obeyed thee Willi peace and plenty. After ihis,dirge was sung, the people with a load .voice cried, "Son, farewell, farewell! Go onward along the path trodden by your ancestors," [i.e., the path of death]. . The following letter from Mr. White will be read witli interest by our native friends:— Mangonui, October 24, 4862. Sir*— I have the honor to forward a communication from some of the chiefs of JVfangjmukn, relative to the death of Wi Patene {William Barton), the chief of that place, a very estimable man, for whom I had a great regard. May I request that you -will cause a notification of his death to be inserted in the Maori Messenger. I have, &c-, W. B. White. The Native Secretary, Auckland.

Much more might b > said in praise of our departed friend, but we will conclude with the hope that bis last injunctions will be held sacred by the tribes he represented.