THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE KING PARTY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6362, 8 April 1882, Page 5

THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE KING PARTY.

[FROM OUR OWN KKroRTEH.] Alexandra, Monday. TAAVHIAO, HIS FAMILY, &c. It may interest some of your readers if a brief reference be given to Tawhiao's ancestral connection with various tribes, which gives liiin, of course, additional influence beyond the fact of his being the sou of the great warrior chieftain Te Wlierowhero, and the first Maori King. He is, I am informed on reliable authority, related to the Ngatikaimugungu of Hawke's Bay ; the Ngatiraukawa, wlioae settleiuents are at Taupo, Maun'"at:iutari, and various other localities ; Ngatiniutakoiv tribe, .\gatikinoliaku trilie, and many others. His connection with Ngatiman'iapoto and giving him an inheritance in the land is based on the following ancestral line:—l, Maniapoto ; "J, Te Kawa ; :i, Runga Te Kangi ; -I, Uruhina : f>. To Kanawa ; <>. P.-ircngaope ; 7, Rangimahora ; S, Te Kaliurangi ; !). Te Kan::ng:uiga ; 10, I'otatau ; 11, Tawhiao. Tawhiao, the Maoris state, is more of a Ngatimaniapoto than a Waikato. Me is of course specially connected also ivith the Ngatimaluita—said to be the Royal tribe-the ancestor of which waa l'ikiao, chief of the Ngatipikiao tribe, now residing at Maketn in the Arawa country, wliose remains were placed in a rata tree on Pirongia mountain. I'iki.io visited in the olden time, the Waikato country, and married a Waikato woman. Their child was Mahuta, the ancestor who gave the name to the present tribe residing in Waikato, Kawhia, &e., whose acknowledged chief is Tawhiao. One of Malmta's children was Uerata, whose name is connected with the famous mountaiu to the west of Alexandra—the Maori saying being : "Uerata ki Pirongia,"—that is, Ueratii of I'irongia. Regarding l'otatau's father, the saying connecting him with another mountain (in lower Waikato) is as follows :—Te Kauanganga ki Taupiri,—Te Rnuanganga of Taupiri. It will be seen by these lines of ancestry that the Waikatos are intimately associated with the Ngatimaniapnto tnlic, and these two tribes are in the habit of consulting each other in reference to the occupation of certain localities—as, for instance, the newly-formed settlement, Whatiwhatihoe, which waa agreed to, prior to its formation, by Tawhiao. The Ngatimaniapotos and the Waikatos claim by conquest certain portions of Mokau, extending to Taranaki —l'otatau's claim to the last-named place having been recognised by the New Zealand Government. A portion of the coast line, called Ngamotu ai.'d Parininihi, whicli originally belonged to the Ngatirahiri tribe, was presented to Te Rauanganga on account of military services— the Waikatos having expelled the Ngatiawa tribes, who were at war with the Ngatiraliiri. The boundaries of the land given were marked in accordance with native custom, and in ISGO, we are told that the pits dug on the boundary lines in the time of Tawhiao's grandfather were still plainly visible. Rewi's claim to a portion of that coast line, viz.. I'outama and other places, he states, is by conquest, but that Wahanui and Te Rerenga's claim to Mokau proper is ancestral, although Te Rerenga's claim is admitted to be very inferior to that of W.ihaTHE MANGAUIKA STREAM, flows into the Waipa at Wliatiwhatihoo, and when I was inquiring the name, Honana te Maioha and Patara te Tulii chanted a lament in which the stream was named, the following being the first portion of the lament :— Te ra ns;i t:ii o aki kite ne i> Mangauika n. He tolm iiituii no te t:m kit:i riro. Me ko :ii te Atim nana ik:>. Hilii ki tu mate o iri no a mai r.\ i rjnga tc wliat.i--[TP.ASSI.ATION.I Yonder are the waters clashing against the jioiDts of Man^iuika. 11l omens, surely, of the luvcil one taken liuiico. Wli it mighty iHiwer has drawn the- <.n to ile.itli ? All ' now tliy form is ]jrostrate where tho ilead are placed. MR. REISCHEK, THE NATURALIST. Mr. Rei-schck, an Austrian naturalist, is now residing at Te Kopua, under the protection of Honana to Maioha, who is deservedly praised on account of his continuous attention to his guest, and on account of the facilities afforded to Mr. Reiscliek in the way of procuring birds. Honana says that Mr. Kcischek and his dog go out daily to Pirongia, Hikurangi, and other places, in quest of the birds desired to We obtained, mid specimens have been secured of kiwis, kokakos, whios, koekoeas, pirakarakas, kotatas, pimirnmirus, kakas, tuis, popokatcas, and pekapekas (bats). Our native informant says that the intelligence of the naturalist's dog exceeds that of many human beings. He added: "I pay particular attention to this dog, because it is so valuable/' Honaua lias gi, r cn up his whare to Mr. Kcischek for the time buiug, and the- latter is allowed to traverse any portion i>l the King country— Honana having given him a pass. At Mokau tile natives tried to impose bones on Mr. Keischek, which they represented to be those of the moa, but ho found that they were those of a bullock. The natives attempted this imposition in the hope of getting money. WHISKY AT WIIATIWHATIUOE. While I was at this place sundry bottles of whisky were produced, and these, I was informed, were introduced by a European visitor. Tho Maoris were sober and orderly on my arrival at the settlement, but shortly after the production of the whisky, a number of the men became noisy and troublesome. I saw one Maori help himself to half a tumbler diluted with a little water, and a few minutes afterwards lie filled a tumbler three parts full of spirits, which he drank off, and then, seizing the bottle, ho emptied its contents into his mouth. It is highly desirable that the new liquor law, which has effected so much good in various native districts, should be brought into operation throughout the Waikato settlements, and, in view of the approaching Maori meeting in the neighbourhood of Alexandra, the Government will no doubt see the necessity of proclaiming this district under the new liquor law. VISIT TO RKWI AT PUNIU. Te Awamutc. Tuesday. Information having been obtained that I should not find Rcwi at the house erected for him by the Government at Kihikihi, I crossed tin; Puniu and found him some two and a half miles up the stream. Rewi seems to prefer this settlement, because ho can clothe himself in Maori style, and live in a manner more congenial to Maoris. THE FORTHCOMING MEKThVG-IM-PORTANT STATIC M lON T. Rewi said, in answer to a question •'•<• the approaching great meeting : The whole of this month will be devoted by the Maoris in determining tile points to bi: announced by Tawhiao and others at the meeting, but there is no uncertainty in my mind as to my adherence to the old Maori policy initiated upwards of twenty years ago. I am not a young man. I am an cKler, and during the lifetime of Potatau, the first King, 1 adhered continuously to bis cause, and I do not intend now to change my thoughts by forsaking Fotatau's son (the present King). If 1 entertained an idea of deviating from my former line of conduct, you would hear of my advocating the Helling of land, which, of course, would mean the breaking up of the old compact, and the dismemberment of our present association ; bub who will accuse me of advocating the sale of land ? and who will say that I have any other idea in my mind than that of preserving the whole territory of the Maori Kingship—of making the whole of the territory a reserve under my own, that is, the Maori inana : and your English laws, 1 expect, will aid me iu carrying out this long-wishcd-for project. The subject was mooted to Mr. Bryce recently at Kihikihi, when 1 mentioned certain boundaries as those of the proposed Maori reserve. Nothing will move me during my lifetime to alter my opinions in relation to the land question, enunciated at the beginning, which means my holding intact all our Maori territory. When I die, the others can do as they like. REWI AND THE NATIVE MINISTER.

Referring to tho late interview with Mr. Brycc, Rewi said : All my refcreiiccs to surveys and to Natire Lauds Courts, referred to the projeet I have always had in view —viz., the reservation of the whole of the King country, to prevent dishonourable Maoris leasing or selling, and to prevent the inroads of Europeans under any authority, but that of Maori mana. Mr. JJryce said it was not right that there should be two kinds of inaua. My reply was, "I shall not discuss that point with you now, Mr. Urycu ; the first thiug is the reservation of the land I refer "o, tken we can discuss any other points you may deem it right to introduce. I cannot at present do much in forwarding my wishes in respect to tho proposea native reserve; but, after the May meeting, I intend to move in that direction. The meeting about the survey of the land at

Taupo, called Te Tatua, and the holding of the Court to determine the boundary, I wish to be held at Kihikihi, because I am unable to travel much now. :. In my next letter I shall continue the narrative of my interview with Rewi, and give other information which came to my knowledge while in the King country.