A MAORI MEETING
At this time Tauranga itself was a centre of another kind of activity.
Exeter Hall had exerted its wonderful influence in attempting to settle
all sorts of questions affecting the Empire and the management of
Imperial interests in the colonies, the governing of which had already
been handed over to the care of those who had so ably developed them.
Exeter Hall had influenced the Imperial Government to call upon the New
Zealand Government to make monetary compensation to the Maoris for the
loss, or so-called loss, of portions of the land which had been taken
from them as the result of the Maori War.
A very considerable tract of land, then known as the King Country, lay to
the west of Tauranga, and included, I think, the Ohinemutu district.
Riding from Tauranga towards the west, you passed through the bracken
country and then arrived at the magnificent bush, which began at a place
called Europe, known as "Orope" by the Maoris. Glorious and magnificent
trees towered overhead, while hundreds of creepers and other
semi-tropical plants grew so intensely that it was more than difficult to
force a way through. Herein was the home of the supple-jack, whose
branches enfolded you more and more the longer you attempted to force
your way through. Here was the home of the wild boar. A large tract of
this country formed part of the land for which compensation was to be
paid by the Government to the Maoris in accordance with the dictates of
Exeter Hall.
Courts of jurisdiction were established at several centres of the
population. The courts consisted of an English justice and a native
assessor. One of these courts was established at Tauranga. The question
for the court to decide was which Maori tribe, at the time of the close
of the Maori War, were actually the rightful owners of the particular
land in dispute. I was informed at the time--and I think my information
was correct--that the title of ownership lay, in accordance with the
Maori traditions, with the chief of a tribe who had actually killed (and
eaten part of) his unsuccessful rival. The courts arranged to make duly
known to all tribes that put forward a claim to any such lands, the dates
on which sittings would be held to deal with each case in rotation.
I was at Tauranga when the court was sitting, and a wonderful experience
it was. The value of the tract of land under consideration in this one
case was some L6,500. Remember that it was not intended to restore the
land to the Maoris. They were to be compensated only in cash value for
the loss of the land. In this particular instance there were three tribes
whose chiefs claimed to have been in possession at the time of the war,
and who desired to appear before the court. The procedure was as follows:
The court sat at Tauranga. The tribes declined to be represented by the
chiefs, even if accompanied by a few of their elder tribesmen; they
insisted upon attending the courts with the whole tribe, men, women and
children. Their average number was about 380. Provision had to be made
for suitable camps during the course of the trial. What a time for the
furniture dealers, storekeepers, butchers, bakers, and other tradesmen,
whose pleasant duty it became to make such provision! Remember that all
expenses which the tribes incurred were a charge on the capital value of
L6,500. The Maoris cared not. They did not realize that they were
actually paying for their own subsistence. The sole aim of each tribe was
to win its case. The local authorities fixed the localities for the camps
and made all arrangements for their comfort on a liberal scale. The first
tribe to arrive found their quarters ready for them, and it then became
their privilege to welcome the second tribe, which came from across the
water, a small arm of the sea to the south of the town. This tribe swam
across, men, women and children, to the head of the jetty to which the
local steamers made fast. The Maoris who lived in close proximity to the
sea were excellent swimmers.
The order of procedure was as follows: The tribe already in possession of
the camp piled up a couple of trucks with barrels of beer, bottles of
rum, gin, brandy and whisky. These trucks were run down the rails to the
end of the jetty and were left there to await the arrival of the swimming
tribe, while the others remained on the shore end to welcome them. The
new-comers, tired after their long swim, greatly appreciated the kind
thought of their hosts, and immediately set to work to consume as much of
the good gifts as the gods, or, rather, their legal opponents, offered
them. These, drawn up in battle array, impatiently awaited their arrival,
the braves all in front in such a position as they considered advisable,
from their military point of view, to impress their guests with a sense
of their prowess. Behind the fighting line the womenfolk were drawn up.
In their front line were their best-looking girls. They were specially
put there to catch the eye of the leading young men among their guests.
The elderly women and the youngsters formed the third line.
Thus the hosts waited for the arrival of their guests. The original idea
was that the tribe arriving would take a certain amount of the drink
offered to them, enough to fortify themselves so as to arrive at the end
of the jetty in fairly good condition. But the hopes of the hosts were
unjustified. There was nothing left on the trolley at the end of the
jetty but empty beer barrels and glass bottles. Watching them as I did,
from the little fort just overlooking the jetty, I was wondering how the
advance of the visiting tribe down the jetty was going to be carried out.
I gathered, from what I had seen, that the amount of spirits consumed
would produce some comical effects. I was quite disappointed. I wondered
also whether the procession down the jetty was to be carried out in the
clothes in which they arrived, which were nil. It would have been a
quaint experience to have seen a whole naked tribe arriving at quite a
respectable English settlement. But, no. Their coverings had been
carefully carried by the swimmers on the top of their heads and kept dry.
And while they refreshed themselves from the friendly truck they donned
such garments as made them quite respectable.
The order for the advance was then formed. It was similar to that which
was to receive them on the shore end of the jetty. One could not help
admiring their methods. Ceremonial parades all over the world, held at
coronations of kings, in commemoration of the proclamation of a country's
victories, aided by the pomp and glory of all modern accessories, failed
to convey the solemnity, such as it was, of the advance of that tribe
down that jetty. Led by the chief and chieftains of the tribe, followed
by their "braves," that is, their fighting men, the march down the jetty
began. There was no band, and no music but their battle-cry--a battle-cry
that had made them redoubtable enemies and had forced us to send a large
expeditionary force, with all the then best military resources, to
overcome them. Down the jetty they came, moving in complete unison that
shook the structure itself as they beat it in their advance. As they came
forward their hosts joined in rhythm with their advance, stamping on the
shore end till the ground, too, shook. The scene became quite inspiring.
I have never been present at any review or parade--and I have seen many
in many parts of the world--which has so impressed me or left such a keen
impression in my mind as that of the moment when the two tribes met at
the shore end of that jetty. You may think this is rather a far-fetched
thought, but it isn't, and you wouldn't have thought so if you had been
there.
The official meeting of the chiefs first took place. The rhythmical
beating of the ground by the hundreds of feet of the hosts and guests
suddenly ceased, and a friendly greeting of all, which, in the usage of
the Maoris, took the form of rubbing noses, began and held full sway. The
arriving tribe settled down then to the camp provided for them by the
authorities. Two days afterwards the third tribe arrived, and the same
ceremony took place. The ground then again shook unmistakably. It took
one back--as many of the residents of Tauranga (who after fighting in the
Maori War had settled in the district) remembered--to the days of that
campaign and to the battle-cry of the advancing Maoris whom they had
fought against. But these very men were now engaged in the pursuits of
peace, and all of them welcomed with delight the presence of their late
enemies. It was the source of much profit to them.
This particular case was duly settled by the court. Its decision was
given in favour, if I remember rightly, of the tribe that swam across
from the south. The court officials were entrusted with the settlement of
the expenses incurred by the tribes. After paying all these expenses a
sum of some one thousand pounds remained as the amount to be paid in
compensation, in accordance with the edict of Exeter Hall, to the
winners.
The final celebration had now to take place. The chief of the victorious
tribe invited the losing tribes to a farewell festival. A great Maori
haka was held, to which not only the natives themselves, but the whole of
the English inhabitants, were invited. The braves of all the tribes took
part in this. It was a wonderful scene. It took place upon a moonlight
night. There was an inner circle, in the centre of which the triumphant
chief and his chieftains, surrounded by the chief and chieftains of the
other two tribes, stood. Around them was a palisade of sticks, on which
the one thousand odd pounds in notes, paid to them as a result of the
court's finding, were festooned. Immediately surrounding this circle were
the braves of the losing tribes, and beyond, all round, the womenfolk and
the children and European guests. Fires flared in all directions. You
have no doubt read about the natives of different parts of the world, but
you may not know that the Maori race was, without exception, one of the
best indigenous types in our Empire.
Well, the scene was set and the war-dance started. Victors and losers
joined, in complete accord with their own customs, and I doubt if a more
inspiring sight, taking in view their numbers, has been seen. As their
enthusiasm increased the greater became their rhythmical movements. As
their vigour increased the more weird became the scene. They were
fighting, in their minds, their old battles against their old
foe--battles which they had fought with their native weapons against
weapons of civilization. Their old war-cries leapt forth from their
hearts and mouths as they had done when they fell before their enemy.
They looked bewitched, and stayed not nor stopped in their wild orgy
until physical distress forced them.
Next day they departed to their own settlement, and peace and quiet
reigned in Tauranga, whose residents were more than grateful to Exeter
Hall for the result of the great interest which the promoters of the
meetings for the welfare of the poor Maori had aroused. Tauranga's civil
population revelled in profit. When the tribes left the whole of the camp
equipments were left behind. The Government did not want them, and the
whole concern was put up to auction. Who was going to bid? Only the local
suppliers. There was no opposition, and the whole equipment was sold to
the only bidders. _Verbum sap._