TRIAL OF THE NATIVE PRISONERS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 2245, 1 December 1881, Page 7

TRIAL OF THE NATIVE PRISONERS.

[Pbess Association Telkgbam.J i New Plymouth, Nov. 14. The Court eat at 10.30 a.m. to-day, when ■ tho following Magistrates were present : — i C. R. Rawson, R.M. j R. Parris, R.M. ; F. A. Carrington, T. King, and 0. D. Whitoombe, J.P.'s. 0. W. Huretbouio continued : Te Whiti whon addressing the ppople divided them into • two clbbbos — Hirihiri (prisoners) and morehu i (those, not token prisoners). The tribe who i properly reside at Parihaka are known as thn • Taruimkie. They do not now number above. ! sixty altOßßther. There, have been over 2000 ; natives attracted to Paribakn, and they have , no interest m tho land, although they hare ■ now interests m the cultivations which have i been made. Te Whiti is now the head of ; the tribe re»irlont at Parihaka. The majority , of the natives digging and fencing wore no' i interested m the land. They said they were doing so by the direction of Te Whiti. Te Whiti : Have the 2600 acres reserved j I by the Government for the use of the natives . been shown to them. Witness : Not that I know of. ) To Whiti: There were two parts of the > European f*nco which were pullod down by • tho young men. i Hii Worship (to the interpreter) : Tell I Te Whiti ho mu»t only ask tho witness qaoe- ■ lions. ' Te Whiti said ho bad no more questions to > ask. 1 Mr BUndish : Your Worship, Wr Hurst- > house, whn ii an important witness m Tohu'i B case, i« engaged m important work, and wishes to bo rolieved from attendance at the Court, and I therefore propose to call Tohu's m°e now m order that tha witnees may be relieved. t His Worship: V*ry well. I, Mr StandUh then openerl the ease against >i Tohu, and oallrd the following witness's : — f 0. W. Hursthouso deposed : I have known 1 the prisoner Tohu for tho lait flftoen months o personally. I have known him by report for ■• the last eight or nine years. He helnngs to t the Taranaki tribe, and I think he belongs to ■t the same hapu as Te Whiti. He resides at Parihaka. I know he has resided there for the past fifteen months. He is next m rank is ti Te Whiti at Parihaka. About fifty-six natives only belong (o Parihaka, although thero have been on an average about 2000 residing there during the past year. Pari•a haka is confiscated land of tho Crown. The ; Government have within the last two years s' been making efforts to sell and survey the ie land near Parihaka which wai confiscated. Tbe Government have surveyed and offered »• for «ale 15,000 nercs out of 40,000acrei which it were confiscated. About 12,000 acres have ■c been sold to Europeans. Certain portions of <•■ the Parihaka block had been res»rved, in- > eluding some 26,000 acres for the use of the <1 natives. It wn the intention of Government s. to give this land bank to tho natives. For d three yean past the Maoris havo been interi- fering with Und m the possession of private is persons and the Crown. I attended the io meeting on September 17th, nnd heard Tohu's i, speech. Ho said, " There is only one thing to i- talk fthout row— that it death. Listen, survivors and prifoner* ; qumrrel, quarrel." te Mr Samuel (to witness): You are the mid former m thii cace, and there are other ex-

preuions mentioned m the information. Can you f irear to them P Mr Hurathoußß : There are expreiaions m the information I cannot swear to. Some I heard myself, and others I got from other gentleman who were present. Mr Samuel: You can giro vi what you remember of the speech, and alia the meaning. Mr Hurslhouie : It would be difficult for me to gire the meaning of the ientence>. I prefer net to do 10. I heard him alio lay, " I let my tribe go to contend for the land that the white man ha« taken." Mr Samuel : Did he not also say, " I «ay to all, let th« white man come and swallow us up f " Mr Hurithouie : I cannot remember him saying that. I remember him laying "Do not be afraid of the big one, although they all hungor for u»." Mr Samuel ! To whom did he refer when he said "Big one?" Mr Hunthouie : I do not know. He might hare meant God Almighty for all I know. Mr Samuel : Mr Hurathouie, you muit use the inference of a reasonable man. Was it not the Government he meant f Mr Hunthouie : It might hare been bo. The examination then continued : Tohu laid, " All I have to say ii quarrel and strike and spare none. The name of to-day ie pakanga (quarrel). Bemember what I say." [ can iTrnr I'oliu said strike, and spare none, more than once during his speech. He eaid 'Strike, oh prisoners, oh mrrivors, strike." Mr Samuel : There are other expressions on the information vied byToku. Mr Hum home : I cannot swear to them. I cannot. tw«ar to expressions I did not hear. His Worship : You have already sworn to ihem m the information. Mi* Hursthouie : I was not aware that I was responsible for all that appeared m tho information, or I would not hare sworn it. Examination continued : After the meeting on the I7;h September was over, the Maoris continued to interfere with the land of Kuropeans within the vicinity of Parihaka. The Government ordered ths natives to desist, but they took so notice of the order. By ihe Court: The natives attended Parihaka from all parts of the Island. By » Jußtice : What is the meaniDg of the expression "Let all who -wish the quarrel com» this way." Mr Hursthouse : It means, " Let the Europeans come this way." They did not consider that the Maorii wished to quarrel. Tohu wu informed that he could ask the witness any questions. Tohu : Were you at the meeting when I made the second speech m the evening. Mr Hursthouee : I only took down the words of the speech m the morning. I did not take what was laid m the evening, as I was not there. Tohu : ]'o you know the division that wa« made of the land for the natives t Mr Hurßthouse : Yen, I know it. Tohu : Did you tell us where it was ? Mr Hurst house : No. The Court then adjourned, and on returning Mr Standieh said he now proposed to go on with the case against Te Whiti. Wellington Carrington deposed : I am a licensed interpreter and captain m the New Zeil'nd militia (unattached). Ihavoknown To Whiti for thirty-five years. He belongs to tho Ngatimoiau hapu of tho Wuikato tribe, anH renides at Parihaka. Before the confiscation Parihnka belonged to Te Whiti's hapu. The Government have surveyed and offered tor sale land m the Parihaka block seanard of the Great North road. I hare been stationed m the locality of Parihaka bb a Government interpreter «ince November 4th, 1880. I believe there are about 600 acres eet apart for the natives on land seaward of the South road. I believe there Bre 25,000 acrei set apart for the nntives inland of the North road. Prior to September last the nativei offered obstruction to the peaceful occupation by the settlers of the land sold to them by the Government seaward of the South road. They cultivated part of tholsnd and fenced it. I have never seen more than ten or twelve natives at a time actually engaged m cultivating the Crown lands. The native* always come from Parihaka to work at the cultivation!. I have been m the habit of attending the monthly Parihaka meetings regularly for the past twelve months, and occasionally for several jears before that. These meetings are always addressed by Te Whiti. I was present at the meeting m September last, and heard To Whiti address the natives. The natives appeared co listen attentively to what was said. I recollect some of the words Te Whiti vied. I made notes of them. He said, " Mine is the land, mine are the people. Thiß ia the great quarrel of the generation. Mine is the. land from tbo beginning. I Bay to great men, to kingß, governors, prophets, and wise men, stand up now with your weapon;. The land is mine, and will not be let go. It is proper for us that tho quarrel should be here. We are striving about the land said to be the Governor's land. Pakehai bring guns, Maoris bring your guns. Fightin* alono will settle tho thing at this time. Although 60,000 men build the walls of Pungarehu it will be a burying pace for them ; although there are 20.000 guns, they will vanish behind my back. If they catch or get hold of you. you ontch them. If they strike you with the fist, you strike them. If they take prisoners, you take prisoners." I was told ofF to read the proclamation to Te Wbiti. I went with Mr Butler to Parihaka, and he delivered a copy of the proclamation. Mr Standish : I will put the proclamation m as evidence. Probably it will be better to read the proclamation now to To Whiti. [Mr Eennell then read the proclamation m Maori to Te Whiti, who listened attentively/) Mr Carrington's examination resumed : A native named Rangi, or Lloyd, r<*ad the proclamation to Te Whiti, »nrl n copy w«b loft with them. When Bnngi ti ad k» far as where the natives were commanded to di»perse and co to their own homes, Te Whiti said, "Thnt will do," and would not listen to any more of the proclamation. I went up with a letter which Mr Brjco wrote to Te Whiti, but Ido not know its contents except by hearsay. To Whiti has not said anything to me es to whether he would accopt the terms of the proclamation Te Whiti would not read Mr Bryce'e letter, but throw it down on £he ground. Since the 17th of September the native* have finished oropping the land seaward of Ihe road. I have never »epn a guard of natives placed at the fences to watch over them. Some men were, placed thero to keep cattle off the land. I have never heard that the land described m the proclamation as reserves for thn natives has been ihown or described to Te Whiti. He never asked about it. Mr Purris, who was on the Bench, to witness : Do you remember you went up with mo whon I went to Paribaka to explain to Te Whiti about the land P Mr Cfirrington : Yes. Mr Parris : After I commenced to speak to To Whiti j what did he say ? Mr Carrineton : Ha said doge did not come out hunting pigs without their masters. Te Whiti then gave a signal to break up the meetine, and refusorl to allow you to explain tho nature of the reserves to tho natives. Mr Parris : Wore you not supplied with a plan showing the land that had been reserved for tho natives, nnd wero you not instructed to show the boundaries to tho nativei ? Mr Carrington : Certainly not. Mr Parria : Bemomber you aro on yout oath. Mr Carrington : I know that ; you neoc not remind me of it. Mr Parris : A plan waa made out by Mi Humphries, the Chiof Surveyor, (bowing th< reserves, and given you. i Mr Carrington : I received » plan of tht reserves, but it was given me for the purposi i of finding what natives were cultivating por i lions of tho land colored on tho plan, and 1 i did «o. I did not understand that I was U , point out the boundaries of the reserves t< I natives, or I should havo done so. i Mr Parris : Have the 25,000 acres ever beet i defined or pointed out. i Mr Carrington : Not that I know of. Mr Parris : Wero yqu not aware by tin ) map that a portion of the land seaward o i Pungarehu was reserved for the natives. Mr Carrington : I understood that witbou ■ the map. i Mr Parris : And yet you never explained > Mr Carrington : Cortainly not. t Mr Parris : Well, I recotlect giving yo' > those instruct ion « myself. , Mr Carrington : I never was told to poiu out the boundaries to tho natives. It wo - altogether out of my line. By s Justioa t Har« y«u Men the report c

> the West Coust Commission and the plan attached to it ? i Mr Carrington : I cannot say that I have seen the plan. I recollect the report. By a Justice : How many natives are there interested m the Parihika block T Mr Carrington : I do not think there are ' moro than 150 men belonging to the bapu. Te Whiti w»» told that he could »xsoiine 1 the witneis. Te Whiti : Did I not tell you not to write , down what I said at the meetings became you did not understand ? Mr Csrrington : I remember you telling me not to write down your speech. To Whiti : Did you come over on the evening "f the 18th to hear the speeches thtt were made? Mr Carrington : No. Te Whiti : Was the notioe (proclamation) read at Parihaka the tame that was read today m Court ? Mr Carriogton : Yes. Te Whiti teemed surprised at thii answer, and did not ask any more questions. Mr Parris to witness : Do you know that Mr Hursthouse and Colonel Boberts went out to the natives repeatedly when they were fencing, and told them not to do 90, and showed them the reserves wbieh were eel apart for them ? Mr Carrington : I did not know what Colonel Eoborts and Mr Hursthouso »aid to the natives, but I have teen them go out often. Mr Parris : Are you not aware that when the Maoris were spoken to about the reserves they always said, " Oh, go to Te Whiti, it's no use talking to us ? " Mr Carrington : Yes. Chai. Messenger deposed : I am a licenced native interpreter, and have known Te Wbiti for twenty-five years. I have attended a great many meetings at Parihaks during the last nine years. I attended the meeting held on September 17th last, and heard Te Whiti address the natives. This witness corroborated the evidence of the last witnoßß (Mr Carrington) as to the expressions used by Te Whiti m his speech on September 17th. Te Whiti asked : Were you at Paribaka on the evening of .September 17th, when I was talking to the natives? ICr Messenger : Yes, I was at Parihaka ; but wbb not present when you were speaking. Mr Standish raid this closed the evidence for the prosecution. Te Wbiti w»a then Bsked if he had anything to say. Te Whiti appeared to be very languid during the afternoon, caused by tho ezcessirely cloio atmosphere of the Court room, which had been crowded all day. Te Whiti said : It IB night now, and not the time for speakiDg. Mr Standish : I Hnderatand from tiat that Te Whili is tired and fatigued, and does not feel able to address the Court. If that is the case I would offer no objection to the case being remanded until tomorrow morning. The interpreter s»id that Te Whiti said ho would speak m the morning as he was now tired. The Court adjourned at 5.10 p.m. until 10.30 to-morrow, when Te Whiti will address the Court. At the conclusion of the proceedings a number of gentlemen gathered round Te Whiti, and he entered into conversation with them. In reply to question*, Te Whiti and Toliu raid they had nothing to complain of regarding their confinement, except that they were not allowed to smoke. The Beeident Magistrate and a Visiting Jußtioo visited the gaol, and got several of the prison rules re-laxi-d m favor of the political prisoners. During the whole of the proceedings Te Whiti and Tohu were impressed with the dignity of the Court, and Te Whiti especially paid particular attention to the manner m which the witnesses were sworn, and the method adopted of examining all the witneE""' Nov. 15. The Court resumed at 10.30 a.m. to-day. Te Whiti having been informed that he could address the Court, said : It is very little I have to say about the land. It was finished some lime ago with the King and the Governor. It was eoid the wholo o( the land belonged to the Government. We (the native«) have been Btaying on the land ever since the war was over. We have been cultivating the land. We have not put food m to cause a quarrel ; we have put m food for subsistence up to the present time. It is not my wish that evil should come to either of tbe tribeß (or to races) ; my wish is for tho whole of u» to live happily on the land I have never wished to do evil or kill anyone up to the preient timo. My wish is for the whole of us to live happily on the laad; that is my wish. This ia the way I addressed the Maori people. That is all I have to say. The statement, token down m Maori, was read over to Te Whiti, and he stated it was Mr Stsndish declined to address tbe His Worship then addressed Te Whiti m the following terms :— You are committed to the common gaol of New Plymouth und thero j to be safely kept- until you shall bo thence | delivered by due course of law. Te Whiti made no reply. The Court then proceeded to hear Tohu s W. Carrington said : I have known Tohu for a good many years, but moro particularly since Te Whiti has commenced to hold his meetings at Parihaka for several years, and he bolongs to several hapus of the laranaki tribes. I believe that Tohu ha» almost as much influence with the nativeß as Te Whiti. I was present at a meeting at Parihaka on the 16th ult. Tohu spoke at the meeting, saying • "There is nothing strange to talk of today ; death (or distress) nlone for both races. Listen to me. The surveyors and the prisoner,, quarrel alono is the t«lk to-day. Bo strons all of you ; be brave, and do not be swallowed up The wish of the pakeha is to swallow u« up because wo are few j weshallnot.be. nwallowed Ynu are noi striving for a small piece of land, but you are striving for »11 the and Thota who wish to fight c>rae here. All T l,»Te to «y i. quarrel, .trite (or kill)." The witness also repeated a number ot expressions previously stated by Mr Hur*t°Tohu declined to ask tho witness any question*, saying his case was the Bame as • Te Whiti't, and the statement made by Te Whiti would also apply to him. Charles Messenger deposed : I have known pri-oner Tohu for the la>t eight or nine years, and ho h»s resided ftt Paribaka during that , time. About eighty or one hundred natives resided at Parihak* eieht or nine years ago. i nnd m September last there were two thousand i natives residing thero. This increate was not due to the nntural inorfaso of the ■ population, but to numbers of other i tribes coming to live at Parihiks. [The i witness then gave ovidenee corroborative of that given by the previous witnesses relative to the expressions used by Tohu m > kis speech at Parihak* on the 17th Septemi "toliu asked the witness : Wore you at the i meeting on the ovening of the 17th Scptemi ber? i Witness: No. Tohu : Do you perfectly understand what i land I alluded to m my Bpeech ? I Wilneis : I understood it was the confisI cated land. Thii closed tho caso for the prosecution. Tho prisoner did not make any statement f The prisoners, on bring asked to sign their names to the statement male by them, rci plied that they could not write. Thoy were told to touch the pen while the cross wm r being mido. Te Whiti did so without nny 9 hesitation, but Tohu required somo argument before ho could be persuaded to comply with c tho request, c Tohu w»s committed to gaol m tho same ■ manner as Ta Whiti. I Thit concluded the business. a (Pbibs Asaoormoif Telegram.) WEtriiHGTdir, Nov. 15. a This morning a company of Armed Con stabulal'y wero marched into Parihaka, one ail Maori women with children wore ordered c to aasrmblo on tho slope m front of tin f cemetery. The total number who atscmblec was over 800. A teareh was then made foi t thoae belonging to Wanganui, and 47 womer and children were arrested and placed m i ? whare near where the men ato confined The others wora allowed to return to the pah v Mr Booth and Captain Mesienger were pro sent to identify the women, it Tho number of women asiembled at thi ig cemetery wns 850, between two and threi hundred being children. Chief TTlitu identi > Sect moit of tbooe arrested,

Mr Bryce says that nearly the whole of tha Wanganui women have been taken, and that he is making arrangements for these as well to be sent to Wanganui. The Hinemoa is at Mb dispoaal, but Mr Bryee ia afraid that the natives could not be landed from her if the weather is bad. The Wanganui natives will bo sent to Opunake, and the steamer Hnuraki will bo thore to-morrow, if poaeiblo,butthoy may be delayed until the day after. Drays are now over at the ipot where tho wliares were destroyed yesterday, loading up with the goods, etc., removed. The natives refuse to go over to identify their goods. Mr Bryce fears that he will have to destroy a large portion of the natives' crops, principally potatoes, as there it sufficient for three times as many natives as belong to Farihaka. By this he hopes to prevent alien tribes from assembling at Parihaka. It is expected Mr Bryce will go to Opunake this evening to make arrangements for the embarking of the Wanganui prisoners. On arrival at Putiki wharf, the Wanganui natives will be dispersed from there. Arreßts will continue until all the alien tribes have been dispersed. Nothing will bo done this afternoon. The 6000 acres confiscated block to be sold before Christinas, is at the back of Manaia, not Parihaka. Government have received the following information : — Mr Bryco is about to complete the soleotion of Ngaruawahia natives, but great difficulty arises m getting their wives to join them. As a preliminary to deßpitcbing them to Wanganui the houses of the Wanganut natives have been picked out and destroyed. It was hoped that the Maori women would come forward and pick out their property, which had been carefully preserved, but they have not done so.