Prophet and Premier.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXIX, Issue 114, 16 May 1895, Page 2

Prophet and Premier.

Who 'i the mountain would not go to Mahomet at his bidding Mahomet went to the mountain. So it is just now with tho Maori prophet Te Whiti at Parihaka nnd Premier Seddon. The darling ambition of the latter, just now, is to he considered tho Friend of the Native Bace. We have heard of his exploits among the Uriiverau ,* how ho arrived there as a conquering hero and-; This week the point attacked is Parihakn, Tho philosopher who rules' there has recently been interviewed by Mi- W, P. Beeves', whose mission it was to try to induce Te Whiti to visit Wellington, and there acknowledge the manet of Seddon. Mr Kuevos did his best, and for the time being, laid aside his dignity and tried to make things pleasant hy rubbing noses with tlie tribe and expressing his admiration with theordoriferous village generally. Te Whiti is a man of great mental calibre. He is also an uncertificated bankrupt of some • year. 's standing, and he calmly ignores courts and ereditros alike. Various legal processes have been tried against him, hut this dusky E'ijah has successfully dodged all of them. He was even arrested and taken to New' Plymouth, bWt the extent of* his punishment was an admonishment from the Bench, and a caution to instruct his followers that the law was a sacred thing, and must be obeyed, and for the future due respect rij'nst be slwwn to the men who, in the name of the law, dressed 'in blue jumpers served blue papers on those natives who had unregistered dogs. Te Whtti listened calmly and went home. Then he called the triho together and told them that he bad bad a revelation. The Maori almanac

would in future be four days ahead of the calender of the Pakeha. The Ist of the month would b. the fifth; the 17th the 21st and so ; and if any native had a blue naper served on him it, would not count, because the Pakeha date and the Parihaka dates would not fit ; and so he remains a contented bankrupt and the tribe enjoys its mongrel curs and their llcas in peace. This is why he does not care to trust himself out of Paribakn. But the exigencies of State render it expedient that the two great men should meet, and his reply to the Premier's invitation, if not nuito so obscure as his oracular saying "The potato is cooked" is oven more epigrammatic. This is how he put it— " To the great Pakeha Seddon, OUEKTIKO. A weak man goes from home, A strong man stays at home and is sought tor, Te Whiti." Juvenal never wrote anything more to the point. Mr Seddon, the weak man, left Wellington to pay court to the strong one on Tuesday. Now, which of the three is the biggest humbug, Mahomet, Te Whiti, or Seddon? I think the Maori would take the bun.