At—o

4

Goodwin, who has been from his youth a trader in these islands, and who has been an active member of the clique, and a violent opponent of the Bill, was promptly installed in his place. These are the conditions which rendered it impossible for me to hold any conference with the Parliament, with whom the Arikis have become curiously mixed. I observe also that Judge Tepou, though not a member, has signed the petition as Judge. He has always expressed himself to me as most anxious to get rid of the European work, which he did not understand, and the trouble of which was very great. His opposition to the Bill is even more pronounced than that of many to whom it would not bring even such a shadow of relief. I pray your Excellency that I may here be pardoned for a digression which will serve to throw more light on the present position than much elaborate statement could effect. Judge Tepou has always been regarded by me as a valuable help in the work I have taken in hand. One of the ablest Maoris here—big-hearted and progressive—he entered heartily into all my plans, and has been—and I hope one day will again be—one of my best friends. But in many points the Judge is still too simply Maori, and he knows it. In the kindliest way I have more than once remonstrated with him for charging a fee on liquor'permits issued as the Arikis' agent for a Maori to obtain liquor. He has always assured me that he issued many without a charge at all, and that when he did charge it was chiefly to prevent the person coming to him too often. Moreover, did not Mr. John Mortimer Salmon, who issued permits for the Ariki Tinomana, and who was .European, do the same? And Judge Muoute, of Ngatangiia? Why speak to him alone?—in other words, why not bring down the whole house about my ears ? And that, too, prematurely, and without prospect of permanent good. I mention these traits to show that Judge Tepou is certainly no fool. Yet it was he, and no other, who finally, in a most ludicrous way, removed all doubts from the assembled Arikis, and got them to sign the petition and become my deadly foes for the time. They were hesitating. They could not believe that I meant them harm, though certainly that Federal Court Bill was a thing that looked unpleasant, and was intended, they were told by many whom they knew, to make the Eesident great and themselves small. The psychological moment had come. Tepou drew from his breast-pocket a cutting from some verses headed " King Eichard's Eoyal Progress," which appeared in an Auckland paper in July. In his sonorous voice he read to them a Maori translation, carefully prepared in advance, of the intention to— Annex pome South Sea islands, especially Samoa; They will do for our opponents when they get to be a bore. Or, like Moss, of Rarotonga, if the future trouble brings, We can live among the niggers—we can all be little kings. Calls us niggers (kerekeres); and he is our king ! Rare, kare, kare rai I All doubt was ended, and the petition for my recall unanimously adopted. I have myself a shrewd suspicion that Tepou is not such a fool as he looked on this occasion, and from what I hear some of the Arikis are beginning to think the same. I tell the tale, however, just as it was told to me by the Government interpreter on the occasion, and vouches for its truth— of which lam myself thoroughly convinced. The case is especially hard upon one who has been contending in papers to the Anthropological Institute, as I have done, that my observations induced me to regard the Maoris as a white race like ourselves. That, however, they cannot know. The petition (No. 3) from Makea a Vakatine a Makea, generally styled Makea Daniela, is from a Maori, the son of Judge Tepou, who was happily grounded in English by the Eev. James Chalmers when resident missionary in Earotonga many years ago. Daniela is a chief of high rank, and the only Maori on whose official services I have been able to depend. He has been Clerk to Government and Parliament and paymaster since the Government began. He was the Clerk of Parliament who resigned in disgust at Mr. Salmon's new way of conducting the business. I value the petition of Makea Daniela very highly as a spontaneous tribute from one with whom I have worked from the first, and whom I have trained to do good service. I have profound pleasure in presenting it to your Excellency. He could have obtained Maori signatures, and offered to do so, but I begged him not to get men to commit themselves whom I would not be in a position to defend, for the time, against the Arikis whose anger they would incur. The next petition (No. 4), from merchants and others, is to me extremely gratifying, and to some extent a surprise. It is signed by people of whom some have often believed me too " forbearing," and I have too strong a leaning to the Maori. They represent the best elements of society in these islands. Their petition speaks for itself, and needs no comment from me. I may be allowed to say, in conclusion, that the present outburst is not on my part altogether unexpected. Assiduous attempts to poison the minds of the Natives, and to annoy and defame the British Eesident in all possible ways, were bound sooner or later to come to a point. I have treated them and the actors in them in the only way possible—with contempt, keeping as clear of them as the narrow limits of the island allowed. "What has now brought them to a head is the accession of strength gained by recruiting a clever Maori woman, married at different times to English-speaking people, and two young Edinburgh doctors. The Maori woman has been an excellent go-between to keep the clique in touch with the Arikis. The doctors, who have not yet been six months here, have been most active of all. Their only possible ground, of offence against the British Eesident is that, after they have made a bargain with the Hospital Board which they appear to deem unprofitable, and with which neither he nor the Government has or have the least to do, he declined to appropriate more from the Customs revenue than the sixth part, which the Hospital Board already received. These two new recruits have proved extremely valuable from their skill in the discovery and use of half-truths and from their power of personal abuse, which compelled the British Eesident some weeks ago to decline further communications of any kind with them. But their special service has been in the maintenance of an ostentatious friendship with the Mission—by which is meant the oldest, that of the London Missionary Society. The natives could not but believe, therefore, when they saw these two new champions among the most loud and active of the opponents of the Federal Court Bill, that they had the Mission with them.