TE WAKA. MAORI O NIU TIRANI.

HE TANGATA MATE.,

Ko KERE KAITAWHARA, i Turanga, te Tai Rawhiti, i te 8 o Hune kua taha nei.

Te Waka Maori.

PO NEKE, TUREI, HURAE 14, 1874. AHI NGAHERE.

TENEI kua oti te whakaatu mai ki a matou te mahi a etahi Maori kei Hauraki, kei etahi atu takiwa hoki, ki te tahutahu haere i te ahi i waenga koraha, i nga wahi rarauhe me nga wahi puia rakau, i te hanga e haere nei ratou ki te mahi kapia, ki te whakangau poaka ranei. Ako noa, whakatupato noa kia tupato, me te mahi tonu ano i tana mahi pokanoa; kaore hoki e whakaaro ana ki nga mate e hua mai i roto i tona mahi pera; a, no konei, wera iho ana etahi ngahere- here nui, pau ana i te ahi, mate ana hoki etahi taonga atu.

Na, ko ta matou e tumanako nui nei ki nga Maori katoa atu o Niu Tirani, a ko nga tangata rawa ano o Whangapoua, o Waingoro, o Waitekuri hoki, ara kia tino whakarongo mai ratou ki a matou kupu mo runga i tenei mea ; kaua etahi e tahuri ke, e whaka- parahako mai, kaua e mea mai he kupu ia e tau ke ana i a ratou ta te mea kaore a ratou whenua nga- herehere. Ta matou kupu tenei ki a ratou, he tikanga ia e tino pa ana ki ia tangata ki ia tangata, ki ia wahine ki ia wahine, ki ia tamaiti ki ia tamaiti, o Niu Tirani katoa atu; a ko te mahi tika ma ia tangata ma ia tangata, ahakoa he whenua ngahere tona, kaore ranei, he kapo i nga tikanga katoa e tika ana hei pehi i taua mahi kuare, whakaaro kore, otira whakaaro kino marire, ara ko te tahutahu haere i te ahi i te koraha. E tino karanga ana matou ki nga rangatira o nga iwi, me nga tangata

whai mana, whai whakaaro, kia ata titiro marire ratou ki te nui o te rawa o te iwi nui. tonu, o te tangata noa iho ano hoki, e pau ana i tenei mahi; a e mea ana matou, heoi pea ko te whakaaturanga kautanga ki a ratou kua tahuri ratou kua kaha ki te pehi i taua mahi maumau taonga. Na, he kupu whakatupato tenei na matou ki aua tangata e mahi ana i aua mahi he ; kia mohio rawa ratou, ki te puta he mate ki te hanga a tetahi tangata i roto i a ratou mahi, ka kiia rawatia e te ture ma ratou ano e whaka- rite, a rite rawa. I era tau, ka rua kua taha atu nei, ka wera te ngahere i etahi Maori kei Tauranga te tahu; he haerenga ki te whakangau poaka. Katahi ka toro haere taua ahi, ka ana ki nga whare me nga aha noa atu a te Hotene, pakeha e noho ana ki reira, a pau ana. Ka whakawakia e ia nga tangata nana i tahu, a whakaotia ana e te Kooti kia hoatu e ratou kia a ia e £99, apiti atu ki nga moni utu mo te whakawakanga. E rite ana te ture o Ingarani mo taua tu mate ki ta Mohi i whakatakoto ai i roto i te 22 upoko o Ekoruhe, ara :—" Ki te toro atu te ahi, a ka pono Id nga manuka, a ka pau nga puranga witi, te witi ranei e tu ana, te maara ranei; me ata whakautu e te tangata nana i tahu te ahi." Heoi, e hara hoki i te Pakeha anake e mate ana i tenei mahi porangi. He mea ano ka nui te mate o te Maori ake ano i taua take ano. Inahoki te weranga i te Kuiti, i te takiwa o Waikato, i tera tau; pau ana i te ahi i reira nga mara nui me nga kai nui, a i hemo rawa nga tangata i te kai i muri iho.

He taonga nui no te motu katoa nga whenua nga- herehere ; a i era atu motu katoa kua whai turetia ona ngaherehere, ture pakeke, uaua, hei tiaki kei pau. Ko te Kawanatanga hoki o Niu Tirani, i tenei takiwa, e whakaaro ana ki taua mea he tikanga nui rawa ia. Te ritenga utu o nga rakau e pau ana i Niu Tirani i roto i nga tau katoa, i runga i nga mahi whakaaro kore a etahi tangata, Maori, Pakeha hoki,

DEATH.

KERE KAITAWHARA, at Turanga, East Coast, on the 8th of June last.

Te Waka Maori.

WELLINGTON, TUESDAY, JULY 14, 1874. BUSH FIRES.

IT has been brought under our notice that certain Natives in the Hauraki, and in other districts, when engaged collecting kauri gum, or out on pig-hunting expeditions, in defiance of repeated warnings and cautions, are in the habit of recklessly lighting fires among the fern flats and bushes, without the slightest regard to the consequences which may ensue, whereby large forests, containing valuable timber, have been destroyed, and much damage to other property occa- sioned.

Now, we do sincerely hope that the Natives of New Zealand generally, and those of Whangapoua, Waingoro, and Waitekuri especially, will give earnest heed to our words on this subject, and that none will turn carelessly away from them as having reference to a matter in which they are not personally interested, because, perchance, they may not be owners of forest land. We assure them that it is a subject which materially concerns every man, woman, and child, in New Zealand; and it is the duty of every one, whether he be possessed of forest lands or not, to use every means in his power to suppress this careless, this criminal practice of lighting fires about the country. We especially call the attention of the chiefs of tribes, and men of influence, to the destruction of both public and private property resulting from this prac- tice ; and we trust it will only be necessary to bring the subject before them to induce them to take energetic action for the prevention of such ruinous proceedings in future. We desire to warn the per- petrators of such offences that the law will hold them strictly responsible for any damage to private property which may result from their actions. We may here mention that, some two years ago, certain Maoris at Tauranga, when out pig-hunting, thoughtlessly set fire to some bush. The fire spread and consumed certain buildings, and other property, belonging to a Mr. Johnson, a resident in that district. He sued them for damages, and the Court ordered them to pay him the sum of £99, together with the costs of action. English law, in such a case, is similar to that laid down by Moses in the 22nd chapter of Exodus— " If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith: he that kindleth the fire shall surely make restitution." And it is not only the Pakehas who are injured by this senseless practice. The Maoris also themselves sometimes suffer severely from the same cause ; as in the case of the fire at Te Kuiti, in the Waikato district, last year, when exten- sive crops and large quantities of provision were con- sumed, reducing the Maoris there to a state bordering upon starvation.

Forests of timber are valuable State property, and in all countries stringent laws have been passed for their preservation, and the Government of New Zea- land, at the present time, regard the subject as one of the utmost importance. The value of the timber annually destroyed in New Zealand by the acts of care- less people, both Pakeha and Maori, is very great, and if such persons will not listen to reason, it will