IS TE WHITE MAD ?

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 3161, 30 June 1879, Page 2

IS TE WHITE MAD ?

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — To this evening's issoe, Mr. Hulke speaks of the leader of the opposition as " that madman Te Whiti ;" and as such, I know, most of my fellow colonists think and speak of him. But I hope that he will pardon mo if I differ in tola as to thafc noble savage's tiMSe"** character. What is Jiiy.v»j.'ty ? Insan- - ivy is a disease of the bram by which the freedom of the vvnl is impaired — one who ;s; s powerless In aval himselfof Ins intellectual f.-ca'iics or to make known h»s wishes ? 'n a suuab'e manner. Tt depends en'/ire'y upon a diseased coodition of (he Lua'-.i. Cv 1 Te Whiti, (lien, bo cons'de-e] 'tisane F Delusions are pot a l>^t <>f ••."■\:n : ty ;if they \ve'e, o.te.lialf tlio world would be trying to put the other half into lunatic Esylumo.

Loin's Bonar believed in metempsychosis, and it was attempted to set aside his will by which he bequeathed his estate to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, on the ground that metempsychosis was a delusion, and that an individual, brought up in a Christian community, who believed in it was insaue. But one of the most learned and experienced professors of the day gave his opinion that " no religious belief, no matter how absurd, is of itsejlf sufficient evidence of a man's insanity, as the doctrines of transmigration of souls and metempsychosis have beeu held at various times by the most enlightened nations then on the earth, and, in various forms, is now held in Europe at the present day. It is a question entirely within the domain of opinion or faith, and not of knowledge. The distinction between a belief founded on faith and one founded on fact is not always recognised, and we are all more or less apt, unless we guard ourselves, to look upon those who hold what we consider to be erroneous convictions as being- victims of insane delusions, when in reality the matter is beyond the pale of investigation by the rules of evidence. Our belief in it is merely a matter of faith, the same as those who believe in Mahomet, Mormons, or other religious prophets." Te Whiti has shown no evidence whatever of insanity ; on the contrary, his actions for years past have been most consistent. He believes that he has been appointed by God to be the means of saving his race from destr action : his last act shows this most conclusively. Could he possibly have devised a deeper scheme to puzzle our authorities than starting these ploughing matches all over the district ? His followers believe implicitly that we shall be driven into the sea, and that all his prophecies will come trne. Is he the first Maori prophet who thought that they were impregnable to our bullets ? How about the Sentry Hill attack ; Opotiki in 1865 ; and the attempted attack on Napier in 1866 ? For our sakes it would be better were Te Whiti a madman, his schemss would not be so deeply laid. I don't believe for one moment that he would sanction a war, but about his followers is another question altogether. lam glad Government are using every possible means to avert war, for if ifc once commences, when and where will it end? The Maorislove fighting, and ifour fellow-settlers volunteer from -different parts of the island, so will the Maoris. People here talk as if Government could send troops enough, and that in case of war no outlying homesteads will have to be given up. What length of frontier will they have to guard ? After the first shot is fired io anger, no isolated settler will be safe. In whatever way it terminates, war in this district means ruin to hundreds of comfortably settled families. But now to the object of my sending you this rigmarole. It is this — there is one notable characteristic in John Bull's character, and that is, that he goes into a war beadlong, utterly despising the enemy, and consequently gets, as a rule, two or three repulses, or at least wins his first fights very dearly. During the last war we despised the Hauhau leaders, and yet, on the whole, I think they won more victories than we did. Homer ma'-ces his Greek heroes praise their enemies as men of high valour, and profound knowledge in the art of war, so that they might reap more glory in conquering them. Yet lately Sir Bartle Frere rushed into a war against the Zulus, despising them, and what is the consequence ? So I may be pardoned if I tell Mr. Hnlke that if we go against Parihaka, imagining, because we have not seen many guns, that Mr. Te Wbiti and his followers entirely depend on spiritual weapons — we shall be sold. Te Whiti is as sane a man as any in this country only he is ten times more clever, and if he is forced into a war, either by his own act? or his followers, he may 4>rove a general who may give many hundreds of our men warriors graves. — I am, &c, Nemo. June 27, 1879. •