MAORI MEMORIES

Wairarapa Daily Times, 21 February 1935, Page 4

MAORI MEMORIES

(By J.H.S. for “The Daily Times.”)

NEW TACTICS.

We little realised in 1845 how narrowly wo missed losing the aid of Sir George Grey’s unique qualifications for meeting the grave situation which had arisen here through the autocratic blunders of the past years. Her Majesty’s advisers put forward the claim of Sir Henry Pottinger, whose only experience of diploinacy was among Chinamen. Fortunately Lord John Russell’s advocacy on behalf of Captain Grey prevailed. On the new Governor’s arrival in the “Elphinstono” in November, 1845, he found seven hundred trained soldiers entrenching themselves as an alleged protection for scattered settlers against mobile enemy tribes. He advised the neutral natives that all who were not for us could be regarded as against us, and that the Queen desired their help to fulfil to the letter and spirit their own treaty of Waitangi. He gave Ileke and Kawiti a fixed time to decide for peace or war, and passed a law prohibiting the sale of munitions to Maoris.

The colony’s debt was £70,000, and debentures had been issued for £37,000. Expenses exceeded the income by £23,000. Financial panic had caused the sale of these £1 debentures at 13/-; but conference was restored by paying £lO,000 in Australian coin and funding the balance.

It was now realised by the Maoris that after each fight their forces were diminished, while the soldiers increased; but the replies received by the new Governor wero so captious that lie ordered Col. Despard to renew hostilities. The unique fort of Ruapckapeka was 170 yards by 70, with two palisades three feet apart, each built of upright tree trunks five feet in girth, with an inner trench' from which the 500 defenders fired in safety through loopholes on the 1000 attackers. In British forts the trench was deep and outside, built to obstruct an enemy: here it was shallow and inside, made to cover the defenders. A model of this place, new to our experience, is now in the British Military Museum. It served our Maori troops in France, and had the same features of surprises‘and success.

News of the fall of Ruapekapeka reached the distant Maori tribes a week before the settlers heard of it. They wero bewildered by the sudden return to .each individual of all articles which had been looted from their homes during the past months, with apologies for insults offered during that period.