MR BRYCE AT KAWHIA.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1784, 11 December 1883, Page 2

MR BRYCE AT KAWHIA.

On Tuesday, the 4th hi-.t., Mr Bryce, the Native Minister, arrived in Kawhia for the purpose of conferring with the natives re the survey and division of their lands, prior to their being put through the Laud Court. A1?A 1 ? soon as it became known in the native settlements around the hai hour that the Native Minister had arrived, preparations, were at once made by the Maoris to meet him. Mr Bryce was accompanied by Mr Butler as secietary and interpreter. Wkdnkmjay, Dkc. r». Our township presented quite a lively appeal ance thi-> morning, the Maoiis gatheiing from all pails of the district, with the object of bein<* piesent at the meeting. By the time the meeting commenced there must have been at leabt 150 Maoris present. Nearly all the influential Kawhia and Aotea chiefs put in an appearance. The Ngatihikairoa tribe .seemed to have the greatest number of members present. Vei y fe\y of the; Ngatimahuta graced the assembly with their piesence. Hone Wetere opened the proceedings by extending to Mr Bryce the usual Maon welcome. He undei stood that he had como to have a talk with them legarding the survey and division of their lands. He wax veiy glad that he had done .so, and he hoped that matter? would be spoken ovei by them in a friendly spirit that day. He would say no more, but simply tell him that he and his party weie veiy an\inus to have the survey and division of the Maori lands in Kawhia gone on with. Hone to Hone .said he had no objection to the survey of the lands being gone on with, as it was quite evident that sooner or later it would liava to be dona, The only favoui he would asl< would be that tho suivcy should not be pushed on too fast. The reason lie would assign for thi.s was that Tawhiao was not piesent. Mr Bryce would like it to be distinctly undei .stood that as far as he was concerned, the business of the meeting would not be in any way affected by Tawhiao's absence. He had sent him a notice of this meeting a ' week ago, so that he could have been hei c to-day if he had liked. He was sorry that, for his own sake, he was not with them, as 'hi would have asked him to join in the discussion. Jfekia said he had listened to all that had been as yet spoken about .surveys, and it was all right, There was no use in his making a long speech, as Mr Bryce knew that he had already applied for a survey, and he hoped it would go on at once. Mr Biyce, at this stage of the meeting, explained to the natives the proceedings it would be necessary for them to take before the survey could be proceeded with. He believed they would find that on the land being put through the court, the Ngati- , maniapotos would be found to be the largesjr owners. /" Neha Tauranga would like to inform the mooting that he did not want any surveyors. Their forefathers got on very well without those men, and he was sure they could do so now. Mr Biyco : You aro wrong. Your forefatheis were vory accurate in their surveys. If you are so an\ious to hold fast to old Maori customs, how is it that you appear here to-day in European dress ? You say I you do not believe m Emopern customs; why the very pipe you smoke is of European manufacture. You are not consistent. A number of chiefs hero signed an application for the survey of their lands. On the signing of the agreement being concluded, Mr Bryce told tho chiefs that he would see that the survey of their lands was gone on with at Qiice. The first line to be cut would. b,o the qne fr<)in T^awhia to Wahaiuii's boundary, on the banks of the Puniu, noav Kihikilii. When tho survey of their lands was completed there would remain no more lands to survey in the North Island. This concluded the business, which was conducted in the most friendly manner, tho Ngatimahutas alone showing any animosity to the proceedings. — [Own Correspondent, December Bth.]

" R.C." desires any persons wishing to start local industries, to communicate with him at the Auckland Post-office. At Liverpool the " march of improvement" has made necessary' the destruction of a clutch-yard, and the removal of the 11 00 bodies 'which it contains. The Health Officer has made regulations under which the work is to be done. La Pre^sk has an account of a peasant named JamesZygelof \ who lias just died at Odessa, aged one hnndred and forty seven years. His son is still alive at the age of one hnndred and fifteen ; he has a grandson of eighty-five, and a great-great-grandson of forty years. He never drank nor smoked. , , Tiikbk was " some fun " and satire in the olden time as well as now, and much of it was very sharp and biting. Witness the following : —Dr. Byles was a famous punster, bi\t lie sometimes met with more than his matoh, A lady whom ho had long courted/ unsuccessfully /married a man by the name of Quincy. "So, madam," said the unsuccessful suitor, "it appears you prefer, a Quincy (quinsy) to Byles."' V^es, for/ if l there had be^ anything worse than Bylosj Gdd would not have suffered Job to be afflicted with them,.", <w „_,., .. A NE#R4ski\ 'tljejef devotes "his ' time entirely} to, .the larceny, pf^hpg^, and - with great /[access;, ,by, night aruie(lj.witii ! . a f lbnV B,tick-,, tQ .'which a. cl)lqr,Q^m. fjV^he,porcine.victinifis,Julle,d f to rest by the anaesthetic/, an'd then, (borne, silently, away.;,j^T-het^tter^j nighty one}, of r the slumbering f^ogs'^lld^p^^of ithe a thief V wagon. (rt ;4 '^i^rhiaijed; Jarnj^er ■tliiei, - w) ' loftuj-Up><flgftinj r hn)id prQiusG^