THE FIREBRAND RUA

North Otago Times, Volume CIII, Issue 13651, 19 August 1916, Page 6

THE FIREBRAND RUA

"PLUCKED OUT OP THE . BURNING." s IMPRESSIONS OF A RECORD TRIAL, "Some day you may tell your children's children .that you sat through a trial of unprecedented length," so aid his Honour Mr Justice Chapman in expressing his thanks to the jury for the patient care with which they had followed for a period of two months the evidence of the case of Rua the "prophet" of the Urewera Country, Now that the ordeal is over, it is interesting (says the Auckland Star) to anticipate the memories that will remain of this criminal trial, which, with one exception, has created a' record for the British Empire, First and foremost will be the old familiar faces—of the learned Judge, officially stem, yet occasionally lapsing into delightful touches of humour; of the twelve good and true jurymen, punctual, attentive, and genial; of the forceful Crown Prosecutor and the versatile defending counsel; of the Court Intrepretor, eloquent and orally picturesque; of the Court officials, unfailing in courtesy; of the numerous police witnesses, stalwart and unflinching in the witness-box as in the execution of their more hazardous undertakings; and of the large body of Native witnesses—old men in ancient blankets, young men in their first city-made clothes, wahines nervously coy, and picanninies in painfully-fitting boots, A Picturesque Prisoner. But outstanding beyond all these must be the not unpicturesquo figure of Rua himself, Eight weeks ago there emerged from, the cell below the Supreme Court dock the powerful Maori —broad-shouldered; tall and upstanding, with heavy, swarty features, closely cropped curls (jet black and neatly parted), and attired a la mode in a heavy double-breasted overcoat of brown, a shining white collar and a small red tie. On the third day a purple tie appeared, but thereafter the prisoner's outward appearance. ■ never changed, except that the overcoat was discarded on odd occasions when the temperature would permit, disclosing a tight-fitting navy blue coat, no vest, and an open, well filled shirt-front.. To one who had not previously seen the much vaunted "prophet, priest, and. king" of the -Tulioe Maoris, it was- interesting, to compare the man himself with the picture of the turbulent, jonghaired tohunga whose reputed fondness for witchcraft had caused notoriety.to overhang a certain personage in the wild bush country which extends from the Wliakatane and Gisborne. coasts to the interior of the Urewera, Knave or simpleton? That was the question, Tho results of the trial produced an effective answer,

Unrelenting Defiance,

Two special happenings stand out from the mass of evidence with the clearness of illuminated vignettes; Early on the morning of Saturday, February 12, a party of. three policemen and a Public Works official met Rua, together with a large number of his followers, at Wai-iti, the last Native settlement on the way from Rotorua to the home of the Rua-ites at Maungapohaiitu. In accordance with Maori custom, the visitors were breakfasted, Then the business of the meeting commenced. The police presented warrants of arrest, and one of their number translated them in the Native tongue, explaining that as Rua had refused to' present himself at the Wliakatane Court, the Magistrate had, in his absence, sentenced him to three months' imprisonment on one charge of slg-grog-selling, and fined him £SO, in default three months' imprisonment, oh each of two others. "According to the Europeans, they encountered a truculent, swelledheaded Maori leader, who excitedly set the law at defiance and made omnioiis threats as to what would happen if they laid hands on him. It was also alleged that Rua' uttered highly seditious statements concerning the King, and voiced a strong preference for the Kaiser. (On the count of sedition, however, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty,) Rua had previously undergone a sentence in Mount Eden gaol on a sly-grog charge, land on this occasion he complained that tho authorities were desirous of punishing him again for the same offence. One can picture him as he rode off from "Wai-iti —unrelenting, defiant, and untamed,

A Fallen Leader. And next, tlie first Sunday in April, Bua, with his two sons, TokoamlWliatu stood out from' the Native villagers, waiting for tlie police as they ascended to the marae, 3000 ft above sea-level. They were, similarly . attired—white shirt, knee collar and tie —and were seeing it through together. What followed may not be commeiitQd upon, because a fresh trial may. recur, but every one knbvs the story surrounding the arrest of Bua, the death of Toko and another Native, and the arrest of Whatu and four other Maoris. Since then Maungapohatu has been an almost deserted village, and its future is problematical. Before the pasing of sentence Bua informed the Judge with a pathetic smile that his people would be without a guide, but his Honour very pointedly replied' that Rua had been a false guide. The Judge w.is perceptibly impressed 'by Bua's further -statement} that he - was practically ruined ■' in a financial sense, as indicated by tlie judicial statement that the Native Minister would be asked to watch over the women and children directly dependent upon him. His Honour traced Bua's troubles to his desire to make money nut of the sale of liquor among his people, ami to the attitude of defiance which he had adopted towards the law, Commenting on accused's practice of plurality of wives, the Judge remarJicd-ihat 'iji_the.... whole., fortyseven days of the trial it had not been discovered that any other members of the settlement had indulged in that practice, In-more ways than one Una had been a false guide! His Better Self. That Bua has a better side to his nature—and who has not'?—has been demonstrated since he came unjjer the restraining inlluence of the law, He has the reputation of a first-class prisoner, being responsive to discipline, and maintaining a courteous attitude towards his gaolers. When driving in custody to and from the gaol he appeared to be the most companionable, evincing a keenness to discuss passing objects and a- readiness to express his views as far as a limited knowledge of English would permit. In his cell he' is wont to seek solace in the Bible and tlie Book of.Common Prayer, which lie has in the Maori translations. Despite his vain-glorious boastings and apparent blasphemy, it is the option of some who have been in close contact with Bua that he is genuinely earnest in his religious beliefs. , Beyond all question he has intelligence, and who shall say that the reformative treatment which lie is to undeiigo will not cause him to "rise on s.teppingstones of his dead self to/ higher things?" ,'