THE NATIVE LAND COURT AND THE MAUNGATAUTARI CASE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 6999, 23 April 1884, Page 6

THE NATIVE LAND COURT AND THE MAUNGATAUTARI CASE.

A ULEoa meetißg was held at -Kihikihi nn April 19, to disouas the advisability of putting *lie Maungatautari' block through the Court at .its sitting, fixed for the 22nd inst. The principal. speakers were To Ngakau, Heoti Tamihana, .Tupotahi,- Rewi Maniapoto, • Huirama Te Puke, Aperahama Te JKangitutia, and others. - Te Kgakaa spoke in the denblo capacity of owner of the land and representative of Tawhiao, Head vised all the persons who had made application .to. the Court to withdraw such application until .the return 6f. Tawhiao. Themostof the. speakers referred to Tawhiao's manifesto; before he proceeded to England, that'no applications for survey' should be made, and no Courts should be held .in bis absence. Maungatautari was one of the blooks speciaUy mentioned by him, and they acquiesced in his desire. They therefore would n»t consent to the hearing of tho Maungatautari case being, proceeded with. . Whereupon Tupotahi stood up,, and addressing Rewi and tha speakers, accused desire expressed by them that the case, should pot, go onwas ' that of'their mouths ofcl-y, 'whilstr-in their hearts their .sole desire was that the case should be preceded with. Aperahama Bangitntia then rose and read copy of an application to the Chief Judge of the'Natiye Land Court by Hitiri te Paerata and others, asking that no notice sh'onld be taken of applications.made by natives' to stop.the hearing of ' the Maungatautari case. The speaker asked -Rewi' how- he could explain'' the fact of'his now endeavouring to stop the Court,, seeing that his;proteges .and'henohmen, Hitiri te Paerata and others, had sent thisletter to the Chief Judge. Rewi replied that hd was in perfect ignorance of the existence of ' the letter ' referred to till that moment, and characterised it as a-"kohuru" (murder) on:him and the tribes.-.The meeting, terminated by,Te Ngakau prodnoing a paper, to be signed by the applicants for the hearing, of the case as gazetted, withdrawing' their applications, but when it came t6 the matter ofsigniugtheirnames to the withdrawal, instead of doing so. the applicants withdrew one by one from , the , meeting, showing clearly that their hearts were not in stopping the hearing of the ease. ■ :