Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1892.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXVI, Issue 300, 31 December 1892, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1892.

■■■■■■■■ M< Tjiebe was i» timo when tho name of Te Kooti causod torror in New Zealand, and to this day the oldor settlers in Tovorty Bay hate him with a fervent hatred, To those who romomhor the* time of fcho torrible massaore of about fcwonty-foar yeare ago, this not surprising. Batweon three and four years ago, thero ,was greafc excitement and indignation in and about Gisborne whon ib was known thafc Te Kooti proposed to mako a journoy with a number of followers to Poverty Bay. Tho Govornmout at first rofused to intorforo, holdiug that as ho hnd been included in an amnesty ho w.is as free as auy other subject to ro whero ho ploascd. Afc oao tuno thcio appeared a atroug likolihood that ii no wore allowed to proceed on his journey thero would bo blooJshod. Sir Harry A bkinsoii, almost at tho last momoot, gavo orders to havo him stopped, and thus, by a wise and timely, though possibly an illegal act, provontod what would almost cortaiuly havo beon s serious breaoh ol tho peaco. Tho memory of To Kooti's ill deeds is nob bo I fresh ia other parts of New '/.oaiaud as ib ia in Poverty Bay, nnd ho niukos progresses through tlie country attended by troops of followers, and excites littlo attoutiou (rom tho JEuropeau settlors. A year or two ago ho travelled Irom the t Auckland Provincial district throu»h [ Uawko's liny and down to tho Wairarupa I with a procession ,ol mon, women, and children on horseback and m vehicles, \ and tho other day ho mado a similar I progress down tho Wanganui river to tho Manawatu district, stopping at tho native scttlomonts by tho way. Tho invasion of such a hordo must jbo no slight tax on the Maoris j whom ho condescends to visit, iv a paragraph quoted from tho Manawatu Daily Times it is said that ho " oats out his welcome 1 ' whorever ho is rocoived as a guest. Though thoro is no danger 1 to tho whito- sottlcrs iv theso poroj grinations, thoro is a good deal ot mischiof to tho nativos. All well-wishers of | tho Maoris desiro to sco thorn drop certain of their aucieut customs. What is dosirablo is that they should sottle down to stoady iudustry,shouldcultivato their laud aud oujoy tho fruit of their labour. iho habit of indiscriminate hospitality, amiablo and picturosquo as il muy, cortaiuly does not tend to mako peoplo industrious and thrifty. JiW men, either European or Maori, would feel much encouraged to work hard and deny themselves, if thoy wero liablo at uuy timo to bo sivoopcd down upon and oaten out of houso and home by ono or two liundred idle people. Another ovil is thab tho sight and conversation of v

man, who though now old and past his ! fighting days, regards himself na a hero, who was tho terror of tho whito peoplo, cannot fail to unsettle tho minds of the younger natives, i.ud to stir np ill-feeling botwoon tho bwo racos.