The New-Zealander. PUBLISHED DAILY. AUCKLAND, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 1863. TARANAKI.

New Zealander, Volume XIX, Issue 1825, 23 March 1863, Page 2

The New-Zealander. PUBLISHED DAILY.

AUCKLAND, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 1863. TARANAKI.

Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim'st at, be thy Country’s, Thy God's, and Truth’s.

We have already adverted to the temporary occupation of the Tataraimaka Block by the Ngatiruanuis and Taranaki?, to the view taken by the Waikatos in relation to this matter and to the action of Sir George Grey on behalf of the New Plymouth people. In our present issue we feel ourselves called upon to make a few remarks upon another topic, which the Taranaki settlers have thought fit to drag into their memorial, namely, the Waitara case. If our fellow countrymen at Taranaki are wanting in self respect, it is perhaps in some measure due to the hardships they have undergone since the calamitous war which desolated their Province, at one time called the garden of New Zealand. Still it is but uatural to suppose that they would hold in respect the Royal Lady addressed by them, and equally natural it is to suppose that they would have reserved their judgment on the Waitara case, until the matter had been investigated and decided by the Commissioners as proposed by our Imperial rulers. The Taranaki settlers seem, however, to think differently ; they have fearlessly embodied their views of the Waitara affair, in their memorial, albeit they were perfectly well acquainted with the fact that views are held by a respectable number of reflecting men, diametrically opposed to those unwisely paraded in the petition. They say—- “ Wiremu Kingi, Chief of the Ngatiawa without claiming any proprietary right, or disputing the ‘ sellers’ title forbade the sale, declaring he would never allow the land to be sold.” Again “ Wiremu Kingi continued to forbid the sale, though admitting the title of Teira and others to the land.”

We are assured by numerous authorities well qualified to give an opinion on the Waitara case, that Wiremu Kingi made a stand not so much upon his mana or authority as Chief of the tribe, as upon the injustice of Teira in selling Pi.kekohe, and other places within the block, which places belonged to William King personally. Then there were the claims of his son and daughter, and those of other members of his family as well as the claims of absentee members of the tribe included in Teira’s sale, all of which were under his special guardianship as head and representative of the Atiawa. We are unable to divine how it is that the memorialists arrived at their conclusion, namely that Wiremu Kingi has no personal claim to the soil sold by Teira and known as the Waitara Block. They cannot be ignorant of the fact that he addressed a letter to Governor Browne in which he puts forward his claim in these memorable words:—“ Waitara is the bedroom of us all,” that is, I AATlliam King have a claim, the members of my family and tribe have claims, we all have a right in the soil—men women and children—“ It is the bedroom of us all.”

The personal right of Wiremo Kingi is prominently brought forward by the Rev. Riwai Te Ahu, whose letters on the Waitara case were published in the local journals when the subject was mooted in the House of Representatives by Messrs. Featherston, Fox, and others, during the the supremacy of the Stafford ministry. This Native clergyman is a Waitara claimant, and consequently continues to feel great interest in all matters relating to that subject. A letter from him, addressed to William King, published by us a short time ago, refers to the right of that chief to portions of the disputed block. He says, “ Hie Land Commissioner of the Governor constantly endeavoured -to shew that you were the sole cause of all the evil; your fault, according to their statement, was your not claiming the land when they first made enquiries into the ownership. You, they affirm, unrighteously sprang forward to seize the land of Teira and and his tribe. * * The Governor refused to listen to the statements we gave regarding your title to that land. * * We are distressed on account of your unwillingness to have the (Waitara) case investigated, because the grounds upon which Governor Browne made war on you will be lost sight of, and also the claim of all of us to that land. * * * The Pakeha chiefs who adhered to our cause, and the Bishops and Ministers who made known our statements as to our title to that land, will be jeered at. * * * This is my advice to you, let the matter be investigated—why should it not while the men and women and all of us to whom the land belongs are alive.” Fearful of wearying our readers we shall close our remarks for the present, and reserve to our* selves the privilege of returning to the subject <i*■