MAORI "KING" DEFIED

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14211, 28 May 1910, Page 7

MAORI "KING" DEFIED

QUARREL OYER. A BURIAL. A peculiar and interesting law case is said to be likely to eventuate shortly in connection with the recent death at Ng.iruawaiua of a native chief of the laiuui tribe.

According tn the story related io an Auckland •■Herald" representative by p„ member of the tribe nanu -d, a chief named Huiiiiiu died at Xgaruawahia on April last. A tangi ivss duly held, which ("jine to a conclusion on lir.' -f'th—a Friday. Xow Ramana Xutana. the leading eliier of tho Tairuiis. desiicd that "the dead Homiua should lie buried at Radian, whore he had been born, and where his parents wore interred, while "King" Mi>huta ordered that the remains be interred in t!u> "royal'' burying ground on Taupiri Mountain.

The maiia. of Mahuta was upheld bv the burial of the late chief at Taupiri, but. Ramana Xutana was not .satisfied. He is said to have telegraphed to three of his people at Raglan to join him at. Taupin. They duly responded to the caii, and meeting Ramana Xutana,. who meantime had armed himself with a shovel, the four r, paired m a buggy, in the dead of n'.glit on this Friday, to the place of burial at Taupin. Anived at the graveyard the four natives dug up their late chief, and placing cottin in t-'ie buggy proceeded to transfer it to Uaglan. Kn route Ramana Autana is said to have called at his own house at Xgaruaw aliia, at live a.m. on the Saturday, and to have told his wife to inform Mahuta that he had secured the corpse. Willi his three assistants he reached Raglan at 10 a.m. on the Saturday. A little later the constable at that place is stated to -Jrave received a telegram from Mahuta. asking him to bring, baelc to Xgaruawahia the living chief and the dead one. Our informant states that the police officer, however, could not discover any law tinder the provisions of wliieh he could hold either Ramana Xutana or his resurrected friend. Piie benefit of the constable's doubt went to the credit of Ramana Uutana., who. ou the Sunday afternoon, unobstructed by the bewildered guardian of the law, and supported by his tribesmen, reburied the much-travelled body of Honana alongside his parents' graves.

The soquel to this interesting story consists in the statement of our informant to the effect that Ramana Xutana lias received word from Auckland that he and hi.s throe companies iu. the midnight trip to the Taupiri graveyiud arc to be served with summonses issued at the instance of Mahuta.