DEFECTION OF LOYAL NATIVES AT TARANAKI.

West Coast Times, Issue 173, 9 April 1866, Page 3

DEFECTION OF LOYAL NATIVES AT TARANAKI.

(From the Taranahi Herald, March 17.) We have received from two or three sources, an account which we have no doubt is trustworthy, of tho events preceding the going over to the enemy of W. Kingi Matakatea and Heremaia, and of the causes which led them to take thisili-advised and most unfortunate step, unfortunate both for us and for them- We speak of this act of theirs irt these terms, instead of calling it by its technical name of treason, because we believe that they were fairly frightened into doing it. There is no doubt whatever that, being related to the Taranaki rebels, they had considerable sympathy with them, and perhaps, in Heremaia-'s case, frith their cause ; but looking carefully at all the evidence we have been abler to get, we believe they ■were very loth to go overhand would gladly have remained where they were, if it had not been for the dtead and apprehension they felt as to what would happen to them. It is easy enough for us to see that their fear was unreasonable, but it was none the less leal to them. • It is perhaps desirablo to say a few words about the position which these two men were in before General Chufe arrived. W. Matakatea, who is reputed a man of ability and determination, fought against us during tho war of 1860, but withdrew from the rebels some time before it had ended, and declared himself neutral. He preserved his neutrality, we believe, up to the time of the occupation of Opunake, and by doing so, drew on himself a considerable amount of odium from the rebels, among whom he was living. We do not suppose that all his people have throughout remained neutral, but he ihas himself, we believe ; a corroborative proof of which is found in the fact, that he had never joined the Pai Mariro faith, though living in the very hotbed of it. When the troops first took pos•ession of Opunake, he looked, according to an impartial and reliable eye •witness, " as if a load had been taken off his shoulders." He at once took the oath of allegiance, and since then had been living near the troops, and on very good terms with them, subject

occasionally to small depredations among his pigs, &c, but receiving, on the other hand, the hospitality of' tho redoubt, 'where he wa3 ■ & frequent visitor ; ,arid probably, if it had not been for Heremaia, who w-a,s a'.ilqar relative, he would never 1 h'ato gone; '6ycr ; but Hercmaia's fear appears to havo infected him. Heromaia was nluch more of a " wild mau" (us the friendlies call the rebels) ; he had been, or was still a Pai Marire, and having been more thoroughly hostile, was much more suspicious. As some of our readers will remember, when tho news i'edeltdd here of General Ch'utc's successes at Otarjawri and elsewhere, Heremaia became vcr^ much alarmed, .arid wanted to know what he was to do to be. safe*; ho had hung out white flags, but did not Seem to trust much in their efficacy, as he had heard that General Chute did not respect white flags. Soon after General Chuto arrived, but unfortunately miny things that were done tended to increase, instead of allaying his suspicions, until at last his fear overcame his prudence.

We will not go through all that happened, but will shortly relate, as they were told to us, the causes, which led to the going over of Heremaia and Matakatea. When General Chute was about to attack Waikoukou, a party of friendly natives, under Macdonnell, who was acting 'as interpreter to the forces, went up with 1 Hereraaia to Manihi, the place ho was living ai, to get potatoes ; whije there, Heremaia proposed that he and his people, including those living at a pah farther inland, Nga-ariki, should move down to the camp at Opunake to be out of the way of the General's operations. This was assented to by ISnsign Macdonnell, who said that if they put all tlieif tuin'gd irfto one wliare he would see that they were protected. two days after, the place, was bi)irit by a party of the 43rd returning to Opunake after taking Waikoukou, and all the things which it had been promised should be safe were of course destroyed. To the natives, already suspicious and apprehensive, thia naturally looked like an act ot treachery or deliberate breach of faith ; that it was so we do riot believe ; .but these natives so regarded it, as wiiljbp, seen .favjher, on. , ; It..will be remembered tUut the great difficult^ we havo had all along iri dealing with the disaffected natives, has been their distrust of our sincerity and good faith. On the aauie day on which Manihi was burnt, another unfortunate event occurred. An officer at OpUnakd, hearing that Hereraaia had got to Umurost oil his way there, and for some reason, wishing to expedite lus> arjival, roclp to TJrauroa, where he had made a temporary , halt, und brought him to Opunake, under f\ threat of shooting him — at least as {ney passed To Namu, Heremaia was in front, and so frightened that he dare not turn his head to answer a question put to him by Taraati Kaweora, and the officer was riding behind with his pistol in his hand ; this appears to have mado a strong impression on him. When General Cihute got to Opuuake, he seni a party of soldiers over to Matakaha to bring over Adam Clark, Te, Ua, and rtbout thirty others, who were there, including some of the Poutoka natives, They were brought into camp with a very unnecessary display of force, in the shape of bayonets, &c, and were shutupintwo tents. Here they made up their minds fully that they were to be executed, and exhorted each other to fortitude. Nothing, of course, was done to ttierii beyond administering the oath of allegiauco (which, wo should imagine, was peculiarly valuable, taken under such circumstances), and they were let go ; buttheeffectdidnotendthercor with them, and there is very little doubt that Adam Clark and all his people would have gone over with or immediately after the others, if it had not been for a few thoroughly friendly natives living with them at the time ; as it was, it a<Jded to the fear of Hereraaia and' Matakatea. The last causo of their fear avose from seeing their young men taken, one after another, to act as guides to the various expeditions; they had been told all to assemble, and they thought that they should all have to go to fight, and that if they refused they would be shot. This, and the interpreter at Opunake telling Hereraaia that some rebels had been found at Nga-ariki, which ho had said was his place, and that therefore he had done a great wrong, appears to have settled tho matter, as it was, during the following night, we believe, they went away. We have not spoken of' the burning ot Whitiora and f c Kurukowhatu, and the destruction of the canoes, See, because we do not hear that this produced much imprebsion, though it may, perhaps, havo helped.

The events subsequent to their going have not been hitherto correctly reported. It was a poetical fiction that Heremaia took the letter of Captain Livcsay, telling them to come back, and fired it from his gun. When Tama*i Kaweora took the letter up Nukuteapiapi, Heremaia, and Matakatea were not there; the only men there were three rebels, and one of Hercmaia's men, and he saw one of them set off with the letter inland. He told them what he had come for, and they answered, that Ileremaia's, things had been put into a house that was marked as sacred (rahui), and it was burnt ; and if the General got them into a house, even though it was marked as sacred, they would bo served in the same way." Tamati went up again two or three hours afterwards, but got no answer, and the next morning the place was destroyed by the troops. '

, As we have already said, the defection of these men 'at this time, and under tlie circumstances whioh led to

it, is, we think, very greatly, to be regretted. It is easy to say that they wore rebels at heart, which, at least'in Ileremaia's case, was probably true; but what aro tho Ngatiruanuis and other hostile 1 ttatives, and on what tqrms' will they be iridttcOd to submit ? Are we to, gp' on fighting tlldm tiritil they beco'm'c our warm and devoted friends, or merely iiritil they .accept the conditions wo impose ? Unless we are prepared to adopt tho latter course, wo must address ourselves .at once to tho work of extermination, and th^at is likely to take them some time at the fatti we have hitherto gone. When 1 Mi' P'arris was about to accompany the force sottthwafds, lie was told very plainly, we believe, tliat his services wei*e riot required. Wo observe that General Chute speaks as follows of Dr. Fertthtiratori, who accompanied him :—": — " It is hardly possiblo for me to convey to your Excellency how much I feel indebted to Dr. Featherston for his able advice on all subjects connected with the natives." Putting these two things together, we presume that General Chute and Dr. Featherston felt themselves able to do without Mr Parris' knowledge of the natives in his own district, and therefore they are equally responsible for what they did in ignorance as for what thoy did intentionally. Dr. Featherston does not seem to bo quite so sensitive to native wrongs as ho was in 1860.

We have said before, and wo repeat it, that General Chute's march up from Wa'ngauui wajs about the best thing that has been done in tl>e war j, but we do not hesitate to say that it would have been better for Taranaki if his march had ended in this town, and he had gone back to Wanganui by steamer — for ho has left us with more enemies than he f.und here when ho came.