RAUPARAHA'S VISIT TO WELLINGTON AND THE HUTT.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 168, 24 May 1845, Page 45

RAUPARAHA'S VISIT TO WELLINGTON AND THE HUTT.

[From the New Zealand Spectator, May 17.]

On Monday last, according to the expectation generally entertained, Rauparaha, attended by a number of persons belonging to his tribe, arrived in Wellington, and on Wednesday he went to Petoni for the purpose of having a conference with the natives of that pa. On the following day he proceeded up the Hutt to use his moral influence with the intruding natives to induce them to go away and allow the settlers to obtain peaceable occupation of their lands. Public curiosity was greatly excited on the occasion, and many settlers went to the scene of the conference, anxious to witness the proceedings. If they expected any result, they were destined to be disappointed, as [the whole affair, so far as we can learn, turned out to be a miserable failure. It is said that his honour the Superintendent wished to accompany Rauparaha — perhaps to add the weight and sanction of authority to his proceedings, — perhaps to receive the countenance of the savage ; be that as it may, Rauparaha is understood to have declined the arrangement, stating that this was his affair, and that he was determined to carry it out by himself. As we have no desire to state matters otherwise than as they actually occurred, we have taken some pains to inquire into the facts, and we believe the following account may be depended on : — Rauparaha, with his followers, on arriving at the scene of conference, established himself in the potato grounds within a few hundred yards of the pa of these natives. He was attended by Mr. Forsaith, the dragoman for the Southern District, who seemed rather proud of his position,|but there is no disputing about tastes. The entrance to the pa was barricaded by the natives sufficiently to prevent Rauparaha's entrance, except by force ; and they declined to have any personal communication with him. The natives belonging to the pa were

either lounging about listlessly, smoking, or preparing food ; in short, engaged in their ordinary pursuits just as if nothing unusual had happened. E Kuri, the principal chief among these natives, sat in front of his own hut ; and in answer to questions addressed to him by the settlers, is said to have expressed himself in the following manner: — "Who is Te Rauparaha? He is the murderer of the Pakehas at Wairau ! He is the murderer of our relatives at Waikanai. We will not go to see him ; we will not admit him to our pa. If he wishes to give the Pakeha land, in return for the money he has received from the Governor, let him give his own land at Otaki, but let him not interfere with us : we will remain where we are." In the meantime, Ranghiaiata was posted on the other side of the river, some two or three miles higher up, attended by sixty or seventy active young men ; who, so far as our informants could observe, were unarmed. Ranghiaiata appeared very sulky, held no communication with either party, and expressed his intention of returning to Porirua on the following day.

This, then, appears to be the end of the conference for the present, and we may be permitted to ask — what next ? Every excuse, every pretext has been tried by the Government, but we are still as far from the settlement of the question as ever. The argument hitherto employed has been, Rauparaha's influence is sufficiently powerful to settle this question. Well ! it has been tried — and has failed. Captain Fitz Roy is reported to have said in his despatch to Sir G. Gipps, that it was absolutely necessary to teach these natives a sanguinary lesson. But the hour has not come, nor the man ! To attempt coercive measures, men of prudence and energy are required, and where such imbecility prevails in every department, it would be hopeless to expect any decisive step to be taken. In the mean time, this deference and consideration shown by the local authorities to savages, who, on the clearest testimony, are murderers, in cold blood, of our most valued settlers and fellow countrymen, can only tend to exalt them into undue importance, and render them more troublesome in future. Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from their hands ? No : these their hands will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green — one red.

We may, however, remind the local authorities that the time presses : there is no middle course ; — this temporizing can only be productive of injurious consequences ; — delay is as bad as defeat; — in another month the season for sowing wheat will be over, and another year wDI be lost. They must act on principle, — they must act with vigour, — if they hope to succeed. Hitherto, we grieve to say, they exhibit a lamentable contrast to their opponents. The untutored intellect of these savages has proved' more than a match for Captain Fitzßoy and the collective imbecility of the whole staff of Government officials, valued to the settlers, according to the Estimates just voted in the Legislative Council for this year, at something more than £26,000. Their management is superior to his Excellency's, and as yet they have the best of the game. On Monday last Te Rauparaha arrived at Porirua, to which place his honour the Superintendent despatched Mr. Forsaith, the protector, and Dr. Fitzgerald, to meet him. About midday the Maori chief stepped from his canoe, attended by the Bishop, Dr. Selwynj and Dr. Fitzgerald having given up his horse to him, the procession formed in the following order : — 25 Maories on foot ; TE RAUPARAHA, And Protector Forsaith, on horseback ; .The Bishop, And Dr. Fitzgerald, on foot ; 25 Maories on foot ; and proceeded to this place. On arriving at Wellington, Te Rauparaha was conducted by the Bishop into the house of the Rev. Mr. Cole, our respected pastor, whose premises were immediately filled by a crowd of Maori attendants on the chief. Indignant and disgusted as almost every inhabitant must have felt at the intrusion of a wretch whose crimes have rendered him pre-eminent among cannibals, and whose hostility to the settlers has been unceasing, not a single exhibition of outrage, insult, or even impertinence took place. The wretched man has been received with the moßt perfect expression of contempt, namely, perfect silence. Let us, however, not forget who brought Te Rauparaha amongst us, many of whom lost esteemed acquaintances, valued friends, and near and dear relations, in a massacre to which this cannibal was accessory, and for which, according to British law, he would have suffered the same as Ranghiaiata, the actual murderer. Our defenceless position has been exposed to the wily savage, without the most remote prospect of good beyond demonstrating for the thousandth time the absurdity of missionary interference in our affairs, and the feelings of every friend of justice, of the law, of order or decency, needlessly shocked and outraged. — Ibid.