PARIHAKA: THE HOME OF TE WHITI.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5492, 24 June 1879, Page 5

PARIHAKA: THE HOME OF TE WHITI.

[BT TELEGRAPH, TROM OUR CORRESPONDENT. t New Plymouth, Tuesday. > Thb Taranaki Herald's special corresponded i furnishes the following particulars relativi to Te Whiti and Parihaka:— PABIHAEA AMD ITS PEOPLE. Parihaka ia badly chosen a3 the residence o a largo number. The country around is of i j peculiar formation, of small hillocks with sur face stones, and occasionally a large bouldei [ cropping out of the ground. The hollo? I between the hills in places retair the water after a heavy rain, whicl makes the place a sea of mud. Represents tives from all the tribes on the West Coasl i are actively building large whares for theii i own accommodation while visiting the place, i and also fencing in large paddocks for theii i horses. There is a greater amount ol ! activity displayed than at any other settle • ment 1 have seen. The people of the plact i pay more attention to cleanliness than the ■ visitors. It may be on account of bettei accommodation. There are more childret ! at Parihaka than are generally to be seen about Maori settlements. The pride ol Parihaka ia the grand physique aud pic turesque appearance of the young men aud young women who frequent the place. I was told that these young fellows comc there to seek wives, and the girls'husbands. Dnder such circumstances, with lax notions of domestic comforts and happiness, there will naturally be a very free selection. Viewed from the top of one ol the small hills, the village in the early morning is usually obscured by the smoke from the numerous cook-houses mixing with the mist arising from the numerous small pools of water, and the low, damp situation of the place. Occasionally a few whares may be seen, and the old women flitting about preparing the food for the yet sleeping ii.habitants. As the sun rises, tho mist gradually disappears, and life becomes more active. A few dignified men, like old Romans, moving about, followed by young women, who as yet retain some of the liberty pertaining to the girl, gradually approaching the life of toil imposed upon the ancient dames, may be seen in the early mist. Anon, each whare contributes its share of life and motion, culminating in an invasion of children, pigs, and dogs, which make confusion worse confounded. We sat down to breakfast in a very small whare, the sleeping-place of about a dozen men and women. The meal consisted of pork, potatoes, and knmaras. served up in the pots and pans in which they were cooked. Fingers, after all, are more useful than forks, and a good rub in the fern is not a bad way to get rid of superfluous fat My native hosts adopted a still more expeditious, if not a better plan, of cleaning their greasy fingers—the hair of their heads. Breakfast over, pipes became the order of the day. I secured a seat close to the small door of the whare, and was enabled occasionally to get a mouthful of fre-h air whilst listening to the conversation of the natives. It consisted of personal experiences and conversations with the pakeha. The present pakeha " scare " was the principal subject of conversation. The arming of the settlers was the cause of the greatest mirth, and many a smart saying passed, causing considerable merriment. Each Maori had a tale to tell interlarded with such expression as "Taihea, the Government make a hang Te Whiti," and "Taihoa. the pakeha, make a shoot all the Maori," and giving the names of settlers, both at New Plymouth and Patea, who have made use of words to that effect. I was very much struck with the extreme folly of individuals making use of such expression. If the Maoris made use of such words to us, the greatest excitement would prevail amongst our out-settlers in a very [ short time. The numerous whares are arranged in anything but a systematic manner. Each builder seems to have been his own architect, and the result is a maze of wbares and fences. Each tribe on the West Ouait has its representative, which may account in a great measure for the haphazard manner in which the whares are arranged. About forty men besides their families, from Wanganni, have taken up a permanent residence, and are busily engaged building th' ir whares—in fact, whare-building seems to be the order of the day there just now. From one of the small hills I counted 200 of these buildings, besides a large number in course o£ erection. NO WARLIKE PREPARATIONS. In strolling through the village I search diligently for any sign of warlike preparations, but everything I saw impressed me with the belief that such a thing as fighting had never occurred to their thoughts. Tne work they are engaged on, the temper of the people, the want of arms, all point in an opposite direction. The men who planned the defences o£ Kaitake, that defied the repeated attacks of the best soldiers in the world for such a leDgth of time, would not occupy such a position as Parihaka, without defences of any kind, and commanded on all sides by small hills. The notion is simply absurd. To satisfy the minds of those who have not the time to go and see for themselves, I may state that the whole of their possessions are stored in this defenceless position. The numerous whares now being built are of very superior workmanship. The paddock fenced off and grassed, the cultivations in the pen —all are for the entertainment and accommodation of their numerous visitors. Above all, the good temper and the happy and contented expression that shines on every countenance, point conclusively to the fact that fighting has never entered their minds—that there is difficulty is not to be disputed, but that the difficulty cannot be settled without lighting I am inclined to doubt. THE CONFISCATED LANDS. The question of the confiscated lands is a burning question to the native, who ha 3 shewn us for years, against overwhelming numbers, what men can do when fighting for the homes of their ancestors. For about ten years this land has been in their possession —the present occupation being looked upon as a new and undeserved confiscation. At this juncture Te Whiti has come to the front, with his policy of passive resistance. He will not fight. Fighting in thefpresent state of the natives would mean extermination. It would be extremely difficult to exterminate a people who could not be induced to fight, believing firmly in a Divine interposition of Providence in their behalf. Resistance, whether active or passive, will not avail for any length of time to keep the pakeha off the confiscated lands. It only remains to be seen, when the time comes, whether Te Whiti will submit with a good graco to the inevitable. TOliu's SPEECH AT THE .MEETING. Touu addressed the assemblage, and, like Te Whiti, dwelt on the mystical. He said : Let every man listen to my words and store them up in his mind. In the days gone by the passions of men were let loose, and troubles spread over the face of the land. Now, the tongue is the ODly weapon of warfare. Those who fought and those who took men to prison sit down together and rejoice. Sit ye down in the sunny places, and keep your ears open and your eyes clear, so that you can see. I hold the key of the land in my power —the glory and the power for ever and ever. No more shall the earth be disturbed by the wicked. The last fight is past. Who is the man who seekß the light ? The Government! I Bay to you that there is but one tongue to spread the word to the whole earth. If any man

t doubts, he will be cast out. Neither kings, prophets, nor prince, nor people shall ever s?e tho sword again' in the land. I have the - sword ia my hand to Blay the great man, and no man can take it from me. If any man gives, let him give freely from his t heart; if he receives, lot him receive freely, 3 and usk no questions. The smoke of the torment of the wicked a«cendeth up to heaven for ever and ever. Watch and pray, all of you ; keep your eyes fixed on my word ' every day. The waters will be muddy every 1 day, and for ever. Men will rage furiously • at you for coming here. Let them do so. " Take no notice. Answer them not. Do r not sell (land). The high, and the rich, aad 1 the mighty cannot understand. I will put i duwo fighting for ever more. I take into my hands all fords and lands, the glory and & power. The King and the Government r desire greatly to fight, but I will paralyze i their power. I will lay their sword in the " dust. If thousands come to Parihaka they E will fall down and worship me. At this time • there is but one man ; he is not angry with '■ you, because I have all things under my 1 feet. The word of old comes direct down to me through all the mist of the past. In 1 all those past times the sword was the great | power in the land, now it is my tongue. THB MAORIS rilE LOST TRIBES. As I said in my last, after the ■ meeting was over, I had a long and interesting conversation with the prophet, 1 and, amongst other things, I obtained Te 1 Whiti's history of his ancestors. He said the Maori originally came from Egypt, where, for their sins, they lost the protection of God. They wandered about like men blind until they arrived in New Zealand. For many generations they remained in a state of iguorance, until the pakeha arrived with the Bible. To their great surprise, they found it witten in the Maori tongue. After diligent study aud great thought, he says, "I foimd that I belonged to one of the lost tribes of Israel, one of the lost sheep that strayed in the wilderness. I felt inwardly that I was designed to accomplish a great work in the world to gather the lost sheep into one fold. I saw that the pakehas were like gods, everything they willed to do they could accamplish. From the moat minute to the most complete and eigantic work, all was within the compass of their power. Not. withstanding all their power, they lack the faith of oil, which could remove mountains, although they can take tho dead inanimate and imbuo it with life, so that it will work like a horse, they have no fuith to walk upon the waters. Although they can encircle the earth with electricity, aud converse from pole to pole, thoir.faith fails them if they say to Mount Egmuut, *Be thou cast into the s.'a.' God has made them instruments of his will, to bring back to light the lost sheep who have been straying in the wilderness, by preserving the Bible and handing it back to the Maoris." ruBLIC OPINION AT PARIHAKA. " At the Waitara mee'.ing, Sir George Grey said he had planted a tree whose roots would spread over New Zealand and would flourish an l bear fruit that would be a blessing to butli races—that peace and prosperity and happiness would overspread the land. Good words and fair promises followed by doubtful actions. If he deserved peace and quietness, why disturb the people of the West Coast by such an act of agression, after the land had remained quiet for so many years. Were they not satisfied with takiug land from friend and foe alike ?" PREACHING PEACE. With regird to fighting, the prophet said tome : " 1 have a bad name with tho pakeha, and nothing would make then believe otherwise, unless they believed in God and i-earched the Scriptures, then the mist would bo withdrawn from their eyes, and they would see clearly the truth. Pur many years I have been preaching peace. I have kept the gun out of the hand of the Maori. 1 have put tho sword of the lle=h uuder my feet, and no man will be able to take it up. You pukehas are arming yourselves. You are gathering roHiul me to crush me with carnal weapons. All these years 1 have been preaching peace will have no effect on you, because you are biiud aud will n'.t receive the truth. I will fight you with the word of the Spirit, the sword that proatedeth out of my mouth, that will all king% governors, and prophets, an 1 will raise up the humble and tbe me -k. Then the Prince of Peace, l'e Whiti will appear aud put all evil under his feet." TE WIIITI ON PLOUGHING. Te Whiti said : " 1 have ploughed up the whole of the laud—that whiah wa3 purchased, that which wa3 rented, and the land taken ou account of the war. It rests now with the people (Maoris) whether thoy go on with the works or not. They can cross the laud if they think proper. When the war commence I at Waitar* it spread over the whole land. In like manner the ploughing at Oakura was spread by telegraph. The pakeha talked of it in all parts o£ New Z-ja-land." SURVEY OF WAIMATE PLAINS, fn answer to a question put to him, Te Whiti said the Government would not put the surveyors on the plains again, as that work was finished.

The Haivkes Bay Ilerald has had some very stroug writing about the European advisers of Tawhiao. One of the articles cuncludes as follows:—"The hoaour of our race, and not only that of four individuals, is at stake, and as a matter of public policy, as well of fairness to the gentlemen most nearly concerned, a public inquiry must be held iuto the truth of the Ngatijwa chief's charges. The most satisfactory method of arriviog at the truth would be a Parliamentary inquiry. The question has now passed beyond the proportions of a political iuqairy as to whether the Government were justified in dismissing certain officers. That, as Mr. Shec-han conteuded, was hardly a fit subject for Parliamentary inquiry. Tho Government caunot now plead such an excuse. Unless they seek to deny justice to four ex-Government officers who have been publicly charged with the most atrocious crime of treason, and held up to scorn as renegades and traitors, they cannot oppose an inquiry. Writing a week ago we contended that this course was necessary, because the rumours of traitors in the European camp have, whether intentionally or not, become stamped with a semi official seal. Now that the names of certain gentlemen have been published as of those influencing Tawhiao iu his present lino of action, an inquiry is more than ever necessary. It will, if we mistake not, one of the first subjects of debate iu the House, and every Jover of fair play, whether he count himself as a supporter of tho Government or an Oppoßitiou member, will vote for the fullest and moat complete investigat on. Upon that inquiry may probably depend the fate of the Government. Either they have forfeited all claims to public conlidence by tacitly, if not openly, sanctioning gross libels on political opponents ; or we have those amongst us who deserve the hangman's rope." The annual meeting of ratepayers in the One- 1 Tree Hill Highway District is to bo held on tho 10th July, at half-past 10 o'clock, at the Junction Hotel. Messrs. Graham and Co., of Gisbornc, will sell by auction to-morrow the .schooner Norval, as she now lies stranded at Tologa Hay, ou the East Coast. Mr. Weightman, the advance agent of the lloyai Illusionists, intimates by advertisement that tho company he represents will shortly appear in Auckland. Among tho sources of amusement they will afford are the exposure of Dr. ttl&de'a slate-writing trick, the Davenport's seance, Foster's mind-writing, Katie King's | mystery, Eddie Brothers feats, &c.