WHANGAPARAOA.

Waka Maori, Volume I, Issue 21, 15 February 1879, Page 306

WHANGAPARAOA.

We have received a communication from Whangaparaoa to the following effect:— A short time ago a gentleman residing at that place obtained judgment against two Natives for £2 each, damages for some sheep which were killed by their dogs. One of the Natives paid hip £2 at once; the other, not having the money, was allowed a week to get it. It is needless to say that he did not pay it. About a fortnight afterwards Wi Pere paid a visit to that district, and held a meeting for the purpose of instructing the Natives how to become wealthy by their own exertions, without the aid of the " swindling and deceiving Pakeha." About six weeks after this, the gentleman to whom the £2 was to have been paid, asked the Native why he had not paid it; he answered that he did not intend to pay it at all, as "Wi Pere had told him not to do so, and had said }> further, that the laws only applied to people living near town, not to out-of-the-way places like W hangaparaoa. The gentleman referred to met Wi Pere on his way up, and said to him, " I suppose you have come up here to make mischief, as you have done elsewhere," to which he answered " Yes." Since Wi Pere's visit, the Natives of Whangaparaoa have held a meeting, at which they determined to have nothing more to do with him, as they have come to the conclusion that he was looking more after his own interests than theirs. They have a suspicion that he wants to get hold of their land. The Native against whom the judgment was g£ven has said that he will pay the £2 notwithstanding Wi Pere's advice to the contrary. Assuming the above statement to be true, we think it is a most extraordinary thing for a member of a County Council to travel about the country advising Natives to disregard the law, which, from his position, and his presumed intelligence, he ought to advise them to respect. We suppose Mr. Sheehan will make A J.P. of him shortly; he is the right sort of man for so responsible a -position—loyal to the Queen, and a staunch supporter of the Queen's laws. We venture to say that if the judgment had been against the Pakeha instead of against the Maori, our friend Wi Pere would have said that the law should be upheld—that it was a very necessary thing to enforce the law in such out-of-the-way places.