IN MEMORIAM.

Waikato Times, Volume I, Issue 64, 26 September 1872, Page 2

IN MEMORIAM.

We have to announce the death of Mr ITottit, the oldest white resident in the Waikato district. It is now nearly thirty years since the deceased took up his residence in'the midst of the natives of the soil. In those days any wandering pakcha was received by the natives with open amis to share avsl.li them their food and the shelter of their whares, and was offered as a wife, one of the daughters of the tribe. Mr Hettit accepted the offer and maivied a connection of one of the leading chiefs of the Xgatiimuiiapolo tribe, and was in consequence received as one of the tribe ; by his kindly nature and strict integrity, lie soon gained the respect and goon will of the natives. It will be remembered that he was the only white man who was allowed to remam in peaceable possession of his land during the Avar in the VVaikato ; he was the recognised medium of communication between the hostile natives and the Government; this was a curious and invidious position to be placed in, and one that deanmded the exercise of considerable tact and discretion, as he commanded the confidence of the Europeans and the natives, it is needless to sav that he possessed those qualities in no small degree. Daring the Te Kooti panic of 1800, Mr Hett.it rendered valuable service to the country by givirg the Government prompt and reliable information as to the movements of the enemy. His loyalty to the cause of the white man has been frequently acknowledged by the various officers who from time to time commanded the out-posts in the neighbourhood of his place of abode. The deceased possessed a monopoly of the trade of two of the most formidable and disaffected tribes in the Island; the temptation to engage in the lucrative traffic in arms and ammuition was greater than possibly any other man was subjected to ; he Avas proof agamst this temptation ; he had a powerful engine for evil in his hands, and nothing but his keen sense of right prevented his putting it in motion. In recent years he Avas occasionally placed in dangerous and trying circumstances. In March 1869, Beihana, a turbulent Mangiapoto chief, who had conceived an unfounded suspicion against Hettit, marched to his place with twenty armed men, and ordered him to leave the district and never to return, and told him if he did not comply he would be immediately shot. The plucky old man, nothing daunted, replied, "you can shoot me if you choose, but this is my home and from it I will not go." Ecihana was unprepared for this bold stand, and went away, leaving Mr Hettit in peace and c_ lietness. As a reputable and respectable trader, Ave are happy to say that he had acquired sufficient means to lea re his family in comfortable circumstances. It has been currently reported that Mr Hettit Avas the paid agent of the Government ; this was not so, he Avould not receive any pecuniary recompense for his services. He was a favorite with all classes, and many will miss his familiar face and kindly greeting. He Avas a good type of the class " Pakeha-Maori," which is rapidly passing away ; if all had been as he in place of their contact with the natives being as it has proved, a curse to both races, good must have arisen ; he was one of those very few men Avho in the early days did not use their knowledge to swindle and rob the natives. In life he commanded the respect of all', and now that he is dead, many mourn his loss. — Communicated.