The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 1887. MAORI PROGRESS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1516, 25 March 1887, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 1887. MAORI PROGRESS.

There is no more satisfactory evidence of the complete change which has come over the Native mind during the past two or three years than is to be found m the attitude of the erstwhile followers of Tawhiao and Te Whiti, as towards the Government of the colony and as towards the Pakeha and his laws. Only a few years ago that large portion of the North Island, known as the King Country, was jealously closed to Europeans, and to cross the line of the aukati — the forbidden boundary — was to run the risk of being summarily put to death. Today numbers of tourists and others travel through the self-same territory without let or hindrance of any kind, and the Queen's writ can run from end to end of it. A part of this very country has indeed been donated to the colony for a public park, and will shortly be administered by a Trust, composed of representatives of both races. Again, Parihaka has ceased to be a centre of festering discontent and incipient rebellion, even the immediate following of Te Whiti having begun to see the benefit of accepting the privileges accorded by the laws of the pakeha, and being now busy m getting their tribal lands passed through the Lands Court, and themselves placed m the position of individual land owners. Nay, Te Whiti himself appears to be at last convinced that the old communistic system of ownership is a mistake, and has been prevailed upon by his own hqpu to allow of the subdivision of its lands among the members, and the investiture of each with a title to his own separate holding. In every direction this sort of thing is going on, and we learn from an interesting article m the " Wanganui Herald," which is reprinted m txtenso m another column of this issue, that at the first sittings of the Native Land Court m connection with the West Coast confiscated lands, which have just teiminated, over 100 subdivisions of allocations on the reserves were made and over 200 applications far cuccession orders dealt with. Altogether it is abundantly clear that the Native policy of isolation has completely broken down, and has been finallyabandoned, and henceforth the race enters upon an entirely new era m which its progress will vie with that of the Euro* peaa population of the colony;