The Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. Thursday, December 4, 1879.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 966, 3 December 1879, Page 2

The Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. Thursday, December 4, 1879.

THERE is an amusing communication made by Mr. Charles Brown, Civil Commissioner 1 , addressed to the Under-Secretary of the Native Office, re Mr. Sheehan's interviews with Te "Whiti. It will be recollected that Mr; Sheehan's friends said these interviews were eminently satisfactory, although Mr. Sheehan had not quite so much audacity to say so himself. Mr. Brown says the first interview may be said to have had no Result, as Te Whiti and Tohu kept to mystical language, which the Hon. the Native Minister told them he could not understand, although he could understand ordinary langugage. On the following morning, the Hon. John Sheehan having received an intimation that Te Whiti was prepared to meet him again before the people, Mr. Shephan went over with his party. Te Whiti still avoided saying anything plain or definite ; the Native Minister therefore offered to speak, if Te Whiti would listen to him without interruption, which is usual ; and the request was acceded to. The Hon. J. Sheehan then demanded that Hiroki should be given up, to be tried at the Supreme Court for the murder of McLean. This . request was refused by Te Whiti, who said that the Supreme Court might go there and try Hikoki under bis directions. The Hon. the Native Minister then explained the action that the Government were going to take on the Waimate Plains, the survey of which had gone on m conformity with the intimation he had given Te Whiti before it commenced. But, before the explanation has proceeded far,

Te Whiti — who had evidently iost his temper — poured out a violent torrent of words, utterly drowning anything that the Hon. Mr. Sheehan could say, and accusing the Government of stealing the land and of being the murderers of McLean, and not Hiroki, saying that he did not care for the Parliament that met m Wellington — that those who came under him and met at Farihaka were the Parliament of New Zealand, and ■would decide everything. Never was a Native speaker, m an argument, so wanting m the usual courtesy to the other speaker, or who so completely lost his temper. "When he stopped for want of breath, or of matter, or both, the Hon. the Native Minister informed him that, as he had interrupted and would not listen to him, he would not know what he intended to say ; and this concluded the discussion, and closed the meeting, It was reported that Hiroki was preseut among the people on the first day, and would be probably be present on the second ; but, if he was pi'esent on either occasion, his presence was ignored by the Hon. J. Sheehan and his party. And Te Whiti has defied Ministers from that day to this.