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on the whole Island. Come and see the cause of the trouble. Rewi then gave a chant, referring to the tradition the Maoris Lave of the separation of the heavens and the earth at the creation. This had reference to the war, and the divisions among the people. He then added, " Come to Waitara. We are here, trying trying to undo the evil." Several other speeches were delivered, and all of them were addressed with all the Maori ornaments of speech. Business will be gone into to-morrow, if "William King gets down in time. [From the New Zealand Herald, 23th June.] THE NATIVE MEETING AT WAITARA. (By Electric Telegraph. From our Special Correspondent.) New Plymouth, Monday, 7.15 p.m. Still nothing has been done, on account of the weather; but it has now been arranged that, if the squally weather continues to-morrow, the meeting will be held in a large auction and store-room in the Township of AVaitara, which is named Raleigh. The Natives always prefer an out-door meeting, so that there should be no hole-and-corner accusations; but we shall have to bend to circumstances. The present spell of bad weather has been exceptional for this district. This morning Karaitiana Takainoana, M.H.It., of Napier, went up to see Eewi. The usual greetings took place. Karaitiana was cordially welcomed to Waitara by Rewi, who said ho had himself come to Waitara to endeavour to give peace to the country, and to secure the welfare of the Maori people and of their children in the time to come. A noteworthy man here is Te Tira, the chief who first offered for sale the Waitara Block, and persisted that he had a right to sell. Te Tira is at his pa, near the mouth of the Waitara. I found him sitting amongst his people, a quiet, self-possessed, intelligent man, with a European cast of countenance. He was quite ready to answer any question put. I said: Looking at all that has taken place since the original dispute about Waitara, which brought about the war, who do you say now was right—you, or William King ? Te Tira replied: Both were wrong. Both William King and myself were bad men. I was wrong, because I sold my land to the Europeans ; King was wrong, because he resisted all selling at the first. The setting up of the Maori King had nothing to do with the dispute which arose about Waitara. The questions there involved were of old Maori custom. At first I wanted to sell this place where we are at, and I had a right to sell that; but William King was against it, and opposed me selling what I believed I had a right to sell; and then I went over my boundary, and offered to sell to the Government the land that belonged to William King, as well as myself. This piece here, running up to where the hotel now stands, belonged to mo; the piece where the railway is now, and the goodsshed, and the wharf, belonged to both William King and myself. I ought not to have offered to sell that. I have nothing to say in this meeting. lam a man that is dead (meaning that he had committed wrong) ; but Waitara, which I offered to sell, was not the entire cause of the war. There was the rising up of the King, which had nothing to do with it. If there had been nothing else but the land quarrel at Waitara there would not have been much fighting, and there would have been no war with the Europeans. I have been grieved that the dispute which arose here was followed by a war with the Europeans extending over the Island. I was grieved on account of the destruction of the people. ' You ask me if I think that the Waitara war might have been averted by a better knowledge of our laws and customs amongst the Eurapeans, and I answer that I think it might. I believe if Sir George Grey had been here instead of Governor Browne there would have been no war as far at Waitara was concerned, for Sir George Grey would have seen the right and the wrong. During the war we wero with the Europeans. We did not know that a party of Waikatos had come down to assist William King till after the battle of Mahoetahi. A European was there who knew Wetene and recognized his body, and told us that ho was amongst the slain. I should like to see the object of this meeting fulfilled, and the Europeans and the Maoris living in peace together. Can that object be attained ? I said I thought it might, provided the Maoris wero sober and industrious, and were given as much laud as would support them and their children. Upon this, a man who was wrapped in a blanket, and who had not spoken a word, started up and said he did not believe that what I had said could come to pass. " How can you," he asked, " amalgamate iron and clay ?" I said : "Are you thinking of the iron and clay in Nebuchadnezzar's image, as written in the prophecies of Daniel?" " Yes," he answered, " that was in my mind. The iron and the clay there are the Europeans and the Maoris." In the most careful manner possible, knowing that it is always rather insulting to a Maori, I asked the name of him who did not believe in the possibility of the amalgamation; but he became somewhat angry. "Everybody," he said, "knew the name of the high mountain peak on which there was snow," and asking his name inferred on my part he was a very small man. " Let it be sufficient," he said, " that I am a Maori." Several Natives of power and influence in the Tuhua District are now here, and it is believed that the result will be favourable to the opening of that district. It will be remembered that, for the last four or five years, we have had many reports respecting the existence of gold in Tuhua. Several attempts had been made to prospect the country, but up to this time the Natives have prevented any exploration. lam not very sanguine as to the existence of gold, or, at all events, of a gold field; but it would be well that the country should be prospected; and, indeed, it can hardly remain closed if the railway is pushed over the boundary at Waikato.