NATIVE INTELLIGENCE.

Westport Times, Volume II, Issue 179, 26 February 1868, Page 3

NATIVE INTELLIGENCE.

[FKOM THE "D. S. CROSS" FEB. 11.] We have obtained an exact account of what took place at the meeting at Tokangamutu the importance of which, as involving the question of peace or war, can hardly be exaggerated. The companies were assembled at Tokagamutu on the 25th of January, except the Kawhia people, who were bringing up supplies of fish, &c, thinking that the meeting was to be a prolonged one. There were present the Ngatirankawa, from Otaki, and all the scattered settlements of that tribe, under the leadership of Hape and Heremia ; the Ngatihau, from the Whanganui district; the Wairarapa tribes under Mgairo ; the Ngatikahungungu, from Alturiri; the Ngatiporeu, from the East Cape district; the Thames people under Te Hira and Tukukino; the Mokau people, under Tikaokao and Hikaka ; and detachments from the Urewera, Taranaki, and Tauranga. Patara and Kereopa were present, but the later of these men is under punishment and disgrace for the murder of the Rev. Mr Volkner, which which is looked upon by the King party as a highly criminal act. There were between 3,000 and 4,000 men assembled, who all sat in a circle, the King, his prime minister, Manuhiri Tamati iVgapora, and his immediate household, being in the centre. After worship, Hape, of Ngatiraukawa, rose in the midst of his people and said : " Hearken ye tribes assembled here this day. Let no action be taken by the King ; let no action be taken by the Waikatos; let me have the pro-, phetsj let me have the Twelve Apostles, and let me have the porewarewas" (the mesmerised ones, the "mediums"]. Hape then sat down; no one spoke, and the assemblage sat in silence all that day. Next day the tribes came again on the ground, but Hape did not say anything further, nor assign any reasons why the powers he claimed should be given up to him. No one spoke on the second day, and on the third day the proceedings were precisely the same. The meeting, which was expected to last for weeks, then dispersed in sadness and uncertainty. In the evening, after the meeting had broken up, Tamati Ngapora stated that there would be another meeting, which would be fixed by Tohukahahi and Te Whitiorongomai, the two chief priests of the Hau-hau faith.

A Pakeha-Maori, to whom MrMackey awarded 100 acres of confiscated land on the other side of the Waitetuua, has been warned by his wife's relations to forgo his iutention of occupying his land, thereby clearly showing their opinion of the present state of affairs. Our Maugapai correspondent writes on Ist inst. :—"The futility of interfering with arrangements with our Maori neighbors is exemplified by a notice which I have just observed posted in our Post-oflice, to the effect that Mr McCulloch offers £2O reward for information which may lead to conviction of the natives who have feloniously taken away nine head of his cattle from the run of Hona. Hona is the person who lately required compensation as reported by me, and he had lately made an agreement with Mr McCulloch at the rate of 5s per head per annum for the use of his run. It appears now that Hona has several joint owners on whom he can shift the onus of such little games as the present, when the scarcity of kapia, &c, may render a little utu convenient. Those parties have little patches of cultivation on the river bank, and in one of them had for some time kept a half-tame cow, which, being turned out among the herd of Mr McC. on the adjoining run, led them to the cultivation, and caused some damage, estimated by Hona at £5. £1 was considered sufficient by a neighbouring settler, who made the valuation at the instance of both parties. That not being considered up to the immediate requirement, the cattle are made away with—in what direction is not known at present."

Our Upper Thames correspondent writes on Feb. 6: —" On the 18th Jan. one native returned from the Tokangamutu meeting, and others have also returned since, who report that Tawhiao told all the natives assembled at the meeting that another good year had set in, and that the sword was to be buried (i. e., no fighting allowed), and that every tribe was to settle down and ho quiet and peaceable, and also to work and grow plenty of crops of wheat, maize, and potatoes, to enrich themselves. A chief from this part, named William Hobson, demanded the sword from the

King; i. e., to be allowed to fight j but to this the King would not agree. The two Taranaki prophets, Tehu and Te Witi, did not attend the meeting as expected. They had gone to a meeting at Wanganui, and therefore another meeting will be held in March, when both King and Queen natives I and Europeans will be allowed to attend. No word has transpired as to whether the goldfield in this locality is to opened to Europeans or not. Nearly two thousand natives were at the meeting. All the tribes were jealous of Te Hira, because Tawhiao picked him out from them, and took none of their head men but Te Hira to his secret plans and caunsel. Tawhiao says the leasing and selling of laud is to cease. All the natives that left this part to go to the meeting are on their way back, with the exception of Te Hira, who has gone to KawhiH, and is going from thence to near Taupo to have a tangi (cry) with the Ngatiraukawa."