WHERE THE WHITE MAN TREADS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 18609, 30 November 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

WHERE THE WHITE MAN TREADS.

IE WHITIi "IN MEMORIAM." Br W. 8., TE KUITI. tlUi; BIGHTS SESHBVKD.} Km. k'Oe anake o te, iwi © takoto nei i whakina eau aku whakaaro." (To yon alone of the nation below there—the pakela— have divulged my thoughts.) * " V * ti And I believe him. For three days we were inseparable companions at. Parihaka, just, close upon four years ago. For three nights until near cock-crow he led me over old roads, thorny and smooth, that lay between the camps of tho white man and the brown. I doubt, if there be One poison living of either race with the intimate knowledge of Maori lore, aspirations, and sorrows of this best misunderstood old patriot who has just laid by his political sword and buckler for ever— To Whili. Further, I doubt if there bo one clergyman of our multitudinous creeds, who can at an instant's fingerbeck recite from Genesis to Revelations, or select from random illustration, rebutment., or text, as could this scholarly student of the white man's Sacred Book. ' who, before lie lost his front teeth, held enthralled a vast concourse of rapt listeners with his distinct enunciation, delightfully exact and appropriate similes, overwhelmingly impassioned declamation and appeal; who, had he so willed, could have launched a Hood of war upon New Zealand, from Taranaki to the Chatharas, such as this land has never scon, with no * Tts , inc f nt 'i ve than their wrongs set forth by this orator, and their faith unto immolation in his promise of Divine intervention. And right here X may say at once was to be found the assailable spot in his fortress, as it always has been, is now, and ever will be, world without end. Amen. All the great makers of his- j tory knew upon which side Divino intervention lay—and acted upon that knowledge . But how was this simple neophyte to Know that these were myths of subsequent invention ? To him they were truths, and ho defended them, as laving his hand endearingly ou my shoulder ho attacked my ont-skirmishers .of doubt: " Katahi to tino, tito kokoe!" (Of arch bars yon are pre-eminent.) "Look now, 0 friend ; I have heard these plausibilities before. Who made you? Tell me that . . . . ! Well, then, who made your father, back to your remotest ancestors, your first father of aJI ? Evolved from a toko (earthworm) ? Well, then, who made the toko? Think well before you answer. And if the toke grew out of the earth, hatched by sunlight, to what end but the wisdom and pleasure of God were all these gradations instituted?" And gently pawing my shoulder : " Lies, all lies!" How many pakehas. have heard him when the spirit descended upon him, or hearing him understood,* the utter "charm of his incomparable word-play ? For, though he was unconsciously fearless, the presence of Europeans served to moderate his zealotry. lest thereby, the cause,of his advocacy be misrepresented, a fear of which he suffered acutely. For instance, a . when I asked him ' whether he had predicted, a day- when tho white man should be swept oft the" face of these islands, ho turned upon me like an irritated snake : '' Who told you this execrable untruths -Pakeha fleiverters, no doubt I ..What I geld and wished to con* *iy , vrwi ll)o v fcv6 ■ races should live side by side in peace ; th«. Maori to learn tho While man's wisdom, vet be the dominant ruler. Even as our fathers thought, and expected, tho white man to fiVe among us—not we to be subservient to his immoderate greed. This I have said. But who can ' place a bit in the mouth of a liar• ......

' I hare been asked: "'What, was To Whiti'a t grievance?" To answer this in detail is impossible in. the- space this article contemplates. Besides, the place ; to. write its history is the office of the Native Department, where—if not suppressed, as usual— and reports are available. This sketch, is a mere half page of that history which the public will insist upon later, and which must be compiled to complete the annals of our- Dominion. This is a record, of what this curious man confided to me, and which breach of hospitality and friendship forbade to publish during his life. Te Wbit-i then primarily imbibed his antagonism to the pakeha from events arising out of the Taranaki war, the inception of which is remembered by us with shame ,as the " Waitara blunder," where we provoked the owners of about 620 acres by a mock purchase to take up arms in its defence—an act which the new Governor, Sir George Grey, denounced as a i lamentable affair," and by a, special proclamation ordered "not to be proceeded with." Consequent upon this war, a series of confiscations so impoverished the. survivors that to save them from starvation the Government was advised to set apart, about 200,000 acres for their sustenance. This was done, and Crown grants issued to them. But these grants were later cancelled, and the land placed in charge of the Public Trustee, with the-new rule that all wilt desired to cultivate any portion were required to pay rent for it! The iniquity of this action is part: of New Zealand history, and need not be commented upon further than that it created a restive distrust, arci detestation of everything emanating from this intolerable Kawanatanga; and every expedient calculated to thwart and annoy this ngarara (reptile) elicited the heartiest satisfaction ; any perron or persons who could design a" now irritant, were looked upon by the Maori as a public benefactor. No wonder the/?. when orators of the capacity of Ts V/J'/Ui 'TO' 3 Tohu preached a •a;:'/ o- jussive resistance, and i-itai-wed dream . */, -.d saw visions of a Maori renaissance, thai disciples and adherents of the nev cult should join it from every part of the • Dominion where Ngafciawa and Ngatiruasuri blood had drifted to; and that Parihaka, the home of the new seers, became the Mecca to . which • pilgrims laden with , large donrv tions of money and food gravitated weeka in advance of the now famous 18t.h of every month, but principally of Ju.:e, and Parihaka evolved from a, sorry harslet into th« neatest, cleanesi, and most orderly native towolet in .New Zealand, thronged with expectants of marvels, and in the interim of waiting for the Great Change, to learn the new ology of Passive llesistaace divinely assisted. The; next important phase of passive resistance was that Parihaka became not only an asylum for discontents and political refugees, but also a sanctuary for criminals,, who knew not their misconduct to , be crime until . the constable came in chasecriminals of a kind Te Whiti shall sketch for us :—" Te Whiti," I said, "tell me, why did. you refuse to surrender Hiroki (lean) "Why? Then listen, O friend. Hiroki lived away back there," jerking his head toward the northeast, " on hie own land. One day came a survey party and , camped in his vicinity. Then Hiroki said 'Here you,, pakeha, this is my. land, move off.it.* But the surveyors continued their . labours, unannoyed by Hiroki. New he, had four pigs ripe tor the township : fine pigs they were, weighty and of desirable proportions, and to keep them in hand, what day the humour might clutch bun to drive them townward,, he fed them on ngata ngata (small potatoes), and at each sunset sat on a ridges and called : ' Po, po, ;;o>* upon* which they came and. followed aim to the kainga. "One day, soon after the . advent of the surveyors, he called as usual, but only three pigs answered the call. Two days he wandered searching the hills, and asked the line-men : ' My pig, O friends, have you seen it ? ' But, no, they had .not. Suddenly, in a gully, he came upon ..a hunu ; 'huuuQga. poaka (where a pig lias been singed). Then be went - to-the camp, sath ft ' mildewed

heart, and said : ' My pig ; you have killed it. even now your stomachs are distended with my pork! • Cease this evil; but, lest you fs|U to recognise these pigs as mine, thus is my earmarkand he cut the marks on two loaves, and exhibited them ;to their, sight. A week thereafter another pig was missing ; , and he said to tho camp*: 'Another of my pigs have you stolen! 1 have traced your footsteps from it hither. Pay me for my pigs .cheaply; £1 each will erase the-trans-gression. If not, ill will follow; retribution will be collected with violenco!'

But they jeered, and ordered him to perdition. Tnereafter he guarded Ids two remaining pigs as were they his children. But one day a mossenger came : ' Hiroki, your nephew is dying!' So, iu his grief, ho forgot his pigs, and journeyed half a day's distance to visit his kinsman. One day ho remembered his pigs, and returned in haste, when 10, there only remained one. Then his bowels went grey and sour, and he said to the camp : 'A life for a life ! 0 woo is me ! Two new blan-

kcts for the winter; a new axe; _a bag of sugar and rico; a small debt at the store ; where are these now '! 0 my friends, be merciful; pay mo something for the coming winter!' But they laughed and jeered again, and ordered him to Hades! • Epai, ana* (good, then), he cried ; ' 1 must return to the death oi my nephew My pig may starve on his leg-rope. If, when i return, that is also gone, why, then, i'l will shoot you, for such is the law of justification—"A lite for a life!"' "When he had laid his kinsman in the earth, and returned heartsore to his home, 10, his last pig was gone ! Then he loaded his gun, and went to the camp, where the cook was salting the pork, and called : ' Cook, my warning was, "A life v fox* a lifoi"' and shot him dead! These are tho reasons why Hiroki shot tho survey cook, all ot hers are lies ! And the reason I. refused to permit his capture on our land by the pakeha was, firstly, becauso he scut Maori policemen, who impudently sent word : ' \ou sons of former slaves, deliver up to us the miscreant!' Now this cruel taunt roused our young men to colossal ferocity, and I saw that if I delivered I up Hiroki upon so base a demand tfaero | would be bloodshed, for no free men will ' permit themselves to be thus defiled. I Secondly, - after tho Maori police left, j Hiroki abased himself to me in great dis- : tress : 'E Whiti, it is true, true I slow the white man, but I was sorely angeredmy kinsman dead, and empty winter in the prospect; the promised store-debt unpaid, the means thereto stolen, the, deman for payment denied with insult, and the honour of my threat in jeopardy. What shall I do?' Then my bowels met his, and wo wept together! For we wore outcasts born of free men, upon whom the masterful stranger set his laws without weighing , the provocation. And I decided thus : ' Will this people, who regard no treaties, inquire into and admit regard no treaties, enquire into and admit the provocation as some mitigation for the offence? No! I do not trust them!' So,; as long as I could, I shielded Hiroki, not 1 because I loved a murderer ; but because he confessed his sin to mo, and I trusted not the, soulless law to be merciful!" ' But Hiroki was not the only one to whom To Whiti granted sanctuary. Titekowanr scraped net pole) and other political refugees sought his protection. Wanton murderers he permitted to bo arrested—such as the miscreant who chopped up his wife with an axe—{v story 1 may teJl - - some day, because I knew the woman, and the tragedy had many human points worthy of record. 1 have stated the episode of Hiroki's crime, as I noted it down at tho time. Much had to be deleted.'for brevity, but sufficient • remains 'to Substantiate the axiom that one tale stands good until the other is told. This phaao of Maori '-' crime" is of importance enough ! to warrant .a" special for iti. true elucidation, "lor sion, and merciful absolution. / , % ,-j

As .1: remember the stout-hearted old vindicator of human "and national rights my heart is moved with an infinite pity. For, had wo conceded his just;requests, and refused the frivolous; and- taken him into our. confidence why we did so,-the concrete permanent value to both races would have been simply incalculable! Instead of which we have inserted a caokerworui into the Maori heart., which will never be removed until the race is extinct. And by - a law- of Nature's compensations its extinction will bo visited upon us by a retaliation no man may now predict, but students of history may read now.

That To Whiti was loyal to the troth as ho saw it is manifested in his utter abhorrence of parade, if ever a leader of men lived the " simple life'' Te Whiti was that leader. At a time when, his treasury bulged with a repletion of £8000 he wore a pair of Bedford cord knee and patched pants, more excellent for a scarecrow than an opulent "patriot" at the apex of his fame. Verily ho stands for a symbol of self-abnegation and love of his people. And when we place his practical self-sacrifice besido that of professional apostles of an impossible socialism attired in white silk waistcoats and first-class travel faro, the comparison incontestably lies beside the champion of his race at Parihaka. . I have* seen him. I was his guests—and spied upon his honesty ! When we at at the public table, lie 'was my host, and placed two shillings in the large dish near the door, into which the merciful contribute of their affluence, unsolicited, that the indigent manuhu'ri, the pohara . and pani ina, eat and bo thankful; and when the ratal was ended lie begged to bo excused, arid taking his kono (food basket) to the garbage cask, picked it ofer for me cocked potatoes for his brood tow.

In closing tins article I will cite, from my note-book tome random illustrations of this uncommon personality, which 1 jotted down at the time of my visit —

He detested with horror photographs and prints , in which the protruding tongue and inverted eyeball are depicted as symbolical of the Maori—especially those taken at Rotorua of women and children —and thought this not only degraded his race, but disgraced the proud, select pakeha in his isolate pretensions , of superior morals and ethics. One day among his correspondence came a letter, :impressed with a nundinal picture - of an otherwise ■ handsome woman protruding, her tongue, K kh,. eithout reading, he spit upon Mil contemptuously , cast in the fire.!

I He absolutely forbad-, comments upon I the eccentricities of the mentally afflicted, tb blind, and the. cripple. One of his workmen blasting a rock in the centre of his township received a premature explosion in his face and was ■ blinde<|. ! That man was i State pensioner at the time of my visit. ■ s. His sanitary regulations were cfc;Msory ■'/ears before "a plagno scare awoke the stuff: we pay as legislators to take action. • _ t ; .< When a peripatetic Church minister yequested permission to use the town hall and expound there the Word as his dreary brain understock it, Te Wpiti said .- "No yon weed vonr own garden, and I will wead mine.' 1 f When he was invited to the Eeretaujiga (Napier) Maori Parliament, he sent back this message : "My brood mtf b.-ia Several sucklings, yet srv.U* knows and keeps to its own dog." With the obvious Cleaning, yon keep to your work and I 'Will to mine. ' When I asked him the meaning • of : "The potato is cooked," he replioa simply " The time has arrived. Why will you press people distort the most ordinary words into the portentous? Any child could interpret that!" . The only rujfc upot on this dead slatesman's armour was his wooden-headed literal interpretation of -thu Bible. To him, a strong man smiting a host with the jawbone of an ass prer»cnted fascinations incomparably beautiful — beyond all things to be copied ! . Yet he was a strenuous pursuivant of peace, a mediator between maiden and lover, parent and child, husband and wife. An exceptionally flagrant adultress he/ordered to return to,her fealty : "0' woman, beshame not thy sex." And she,', repented. But above all things he excelled in gracious sentiments, which he ,dropped., into the ear? of his listeners, like the. oldeu of Sermon t?i' the -thirsty "land.

•..'y-V-A • *