THE MAORI KORERO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13486, 13 May 1907, Page 7

THE MAORI KORERO.

BASIS OF UNION AGREED

~ UPON- . ..

THE FLAG OF WILIAM IV.

FUTURE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.

[by TELEGRAPH.OWN correspondent.} j Huntly, Saturday. Early this morning the kainga at Waahi presented anything but a cheerful appear-, ance. A cold, south-west wind,' accompanied by heavy pelting showers, had played havoc with the tents and marquees. Many of-the former were levelled to the. ground, whilst the occupants of others I were busily engaged in tightening ropes against the gale, or rolling up their canvas abode in order to avert its complete destruction or departure. The side poles of j , the marquees, which had been insecurely fastened, were swinging about in all directions, one having to be taken down:- There i was an -utter absence of life, and an un- i wonted stillness, which was broken only by the frenzied accents of some perfervid orator haranguing his fellow committeemen in one of the marquees, or the stentorian ■ applause which greeted a sentiment that appealed to them all. ' At a meeting of the delegates from the I Arawa tribe, held in the, runanga last. I night, it was agreed that all. who could | should remain until the business was con-' eluded, on the understanding that. the s question of-.the deputation to England and' the personnel of such was.left in abeyance. Accordingly, when business was resumed, at nine o'clock this morning,- the majority of the 84 members were present. Business was in the air, the determination being to finish the discussion' on various items of the agenda paper before Monday, on which day the Arawas nad signified their intention to depart. Animated by this spirit more business was done than at any two previous sittings. The only subject) ; not debated at half-past, six p.m. was the cause of the decimation of the-Maori race, and . the best means of preventing a further decrease in their numbers.. ' The first business, which gave rise to most anxious consideration, was the. wording of the agreement to which all members of the native race were to be asked to put : their names, whereby they should, signify , tlieir intention to join the federal union z to spread .its influence, and effect the objects for which it was promulgated. Eventually the following obligation was agreed to: —"We, the representative rangatiras and delegates of all the Iribes scattered throughout the length and breadth of Aotearoa and Waipounamu, do hereby agree to unite in one confederated body, so that this union■ will include all members of the native race;' and that we pledge ourselves to maintain and uphold all the rights and privileges enjoyed by our race in the year .1834/ signalised by-the flag of 1836, and maintained until the enactment of the New Zealand Constitution Act, of 1852." When *■ the motion 'was proposed, Mr. Rawhiti, chief secretary, read to the- committee an anonymous document, which has", already appeared in these columns, and which was signed,-" Your friend and wellwisher." As the contents were new tb a majority of those present, the letter evoked considerable astonishment, the mention of the flag exciting an amount of surprise j and delight that could scarcely be exaggerated. " This," said Rawhiti, holding up a coloured representation of the flag, " is the Maori , national standard, presented to the independent' and confederated tribes i of New .Zealand by William IV., in 1834; and under it are written by our friend and t well wisher, of whose, name we are entirely ignorant, these- words, which are pregnant with wisdom : " The Maoris should - return to their flag, which was acknowledged by. ."the King* and Parliament, if they do not get justice from the New Zealand ;Government." The flag is, that of England, the red cross of St. George, on a, wliite field, dividing it into four equal parts, that part on .the top of the left corner oonsisting of a second red. cross on blue -ground, -with awhite, star, in the centre of each of -the four. oblongs. • 'There was an. immediate rush for: papers, blue and red pencils ■ being in -tremendous demand, while the. clerk was besieged with requests for copies! - Until the/ facsimiles were completed a silence, almost of-death, prevailed. The flag naturally became the absorbing topic, .£\nd the one question asked was, What should they do ? Get a. standard to unfurl at-the present meeting, or wait for . further information? -It was eventually decided that no use should be made of the flag until "such, time as the union was accepted. by a great majority of the' native race inhabiting both islands. This accomplished, a great ceremony would be , held for the purpose of unfurling the flag,' the hope being expressed that such a ceremony would be immediately-followed by beneficent- legislation, which they demanded as a peculiar right. *• The Acts of the New Zealand Parliament, in so far as they prejudicially affected the native race, came next under -review, the cdmmittee being especially strong in its denunciation of the Acts of 1900 and 1905, Acts which more than any.others had, it was argued, tended to .destroy<,the homogeneity of the Maori' race. ~;; It was resolved to advertise in the 'newspapers the conclusions at which the present meeting had arrived, as well as their condemnation of particular Acts of Parliament, which, it was claimed, were as utterly obnoxious as they were unjust. ' The meeting agreed-to obtain' copies of the various petitions in favour of union, that had' in previous years been in circulaespecially that of 1894, so that full particulars of all the attempts made to consummate a union might be printed, as a preface to the record of the effort of the present year, which, beginning with the meeting held at Tauwhare, on February last, was followed by that of Maketu on April 22, the movement culminating for the present with the meeting now sitting at Waahi, where it .was urged the presence of 4000 natives, was sufficient proof that the subject had struck home to the native mind. - _ ; - ' ■ " ■ ' Both islands were divided, so that delegates from the .meeting could proceed to the districts to which they were detailed, without loss of time, and obtain the . signatures of the great majority of the native race. For example, the Hon. Maliuta, and Tupu- Taingakawa were deputed to go to Taranaki, where the. followers of Te Whiti are located, these delegates being thus appointed as both belonged to the same canoe (Tainui). Mangakahia was appointed delegate to the East Coast, the Urewera County, and the Napier and the Wairarapa districts, which lie bad visited in connection with the petition against the Native' Lands Act of 1898, and which petition was signed by over 30,000 tribesmen. | It was further agreed by the meeting to maintain and perpetuate the mana of their 1 ancestors in the manner pointed ' out in the „ great speech delivered by Mr. Henare Kaihau, M.H.R., last Saturday and Sunday. The committee is now considering the cause of, and the remedies for, tb® decimation of the Maori race. A determined effort is being made to finish the business completely to-night. If not, a.- motion to sit .over Sunday will be proposed, but. withdrawn if any delegate opposes breaking the sanctity of Ra 'Tapu. - ; Supplies of food still, continue to pour in, a goodly mob of cattle having arrived today. The number in attendance is gradually decreasing. Up till Wednesday, the average daily expenditure' on bread, bis"cuits, and groceries, was £96. Today, with Sunday's rations included, the expenditure has fallen *to £60. Among those who have departed "are many of the' Arawas, a- majority of the delegates: from that tribe still being, however, in attendance. • .■