The Native Difficulty.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XIX, Issue 1860, 21 July 1886, Page 2

The Native Difficulty.

The Natives on tho West (bast have been giving further trouble again, and bui for the firmness and judicious action of the settlers, serious results might have followed. It is just a revival of the old antics of the Natives in entering upon land occupied by settlers, uuder pretence of having some claim to it—and asserting a right of possession by erecting a building. This time the affair was carried out on a large scale. It appears that upwards of 500*, Natives entered upon the propetty of a settler named Hastie, situated near Manaia. The Natives went into the paddocks, erected tents, began to cook food, of which the; bad a large supply, and finally proceeded to erect a house 20 z 40 feet in size. Hastie's property (routs the main road, and is all fenced and cultivated. The outrage was therefore all the same as if 600 trespassers had entered upon a gentleman’s private grounds, and began building s house on his Uwq, before tbs ball door of bis residence.

The Hawera and Manaia districts are, however, now occupied by a large number of resolute settlers who are not disposed to submit to such unwarrantable proceedings, and this fact the Natives quickly discovered in a very practical way. Some Justices of the Peace and a few policemen were present, but the work of putting an end to the trespass was taken in hand by a select body of the settlers, some of whom got sworn in as special constables. The job was quickly done. The self-appointed band of settler “ pacificators ” impounded the Natives’ horses, after a general scuffle, of which the Natives had decidedly the worst - there being not a few broken heads and cut faces amongst the Maoris. Then the same ‘‘ pacificators ” arrested the ringleaders in the trespass affair—including the once notorious Titokowaru -and lodged them in the lock up. Finally, these “ pacificators ” pulled down the newly built house and cleared the Natives off the property, bag and baggage. This was an excellent way indeed of teaching the Natives not to take possession of the private holdings of settlers. These Natives have no real ground of reason for their impudent proceedings. The land is European land, and the Natives have been generously dealt with in having large reserves given to them. Should the Natives, at the instigation of Te Whiti and Titokowarn, attempt any farther impndent and lawless proceedings of a similar kind, we sincerely hope that the settlers will—short of serious injury—give them such a sound and complete drubbing with fist, stick, and butt of whip, that they will have no stomach for trying any more of their senseless tricks in the future.