The Press. SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1903. THE TRUTH ABOUT TE WHITI.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11484, 17 January 1903, Page 6

The Press. SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1903. THE TRUTH ABOUT TE WHITI.

The portentous comniunicatioin from Mr Alpere which we publish in another pait of this issue shows that he still possesses a very imperfect apprehension of Mr Bryoe s policy and the "truth about Tβ Whiti." Whether the natives did or did not make any resistance when they w«re surrounded by the Armed Constabulary at Parihaka, or wither they were or wei* not in a condition to make such a resistance is a matter of no importance. The rtal question at issue is whether the proceedings of the Maoris under Te Whiti's influence constituted v menace to order and good government such as the Government were bound to suppress, whether Mr Bryc-e was right in using force for that purpose, and whether die subsequent events justified his action. We shall have no difficulty in answering all these questions in the affirmative, and proving what we say. In 1879 Tβ Whiti started the ploughing. It was no niere formal running of a furrow across the confiscated ground to assert a right, but the Maoris eutmd upon settlers" propenkx and ploughed up their lawns and gardens in the mast thorough way. Their manner was so aggressive that the residents in the district who had been through Ilia horrors of one Maori war, had no doubt that this was merely the prelude to another. The then Governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, the Premier, Sir George Grey—no bad judge of tht) Maoris, and certainly not unfriendly to them —and Colonel Whdtmore visited Taranaki, and thought so gravely of the situation thut they put every able-bodied European in the district under arms. Governor Gordon, in his narrative of the affair for the Home Government, wrote that the arrest of the Maori ploughmen was ''amply justified by "tlhe persistence with which the trespass " was repeated and the extreme danger of " tlhe publio peace which would have attend' " eel a repetition of forcible ejectments by " the owners of the land." It was not alone with Te Whiti and the resident Maoris at Parihaka that the Government had to deal. Tβ Whiti collected around him Maoris from all parts of the Nortik Island. Among them., as we have shown, was the murderer, Hi-roti, and a number of ot'lier natives of bad character, who made Parihakb. a kind of city of refuge. The notorious old! fighting chief, Titokowaru, was there, and on one occasion at least boasted of the revenge that was to fall upon the pakeha. For more than two years previous to the. advance on Parihaka the settlers were in a continual state of anxiety, not knowing what the Maoris might do next. The speeches made at the monthly meetings at the settlement were looked for with feverish interest, and the fact that they were oflen couched in such mystic terms as to be unintelligible to the European mind, only ■heightened the general anxiety. Itpnust be borne in mind that the European population at this time waa sparse, there were do roads through the bush, and the numbers of the Maoris at Parihaka vrere continually increasing. The Government were put to a large expense in maintaining blockhouses full of armed constabulary at numerous points, but in spite of this protection the settlers on the outlying farm*, with the Maori war of only about twelve years before fresh in their memories, never knew when they might be plunged into a repetition of its horrors. Tβ Whiti never showed the least disposition to come to terms of any kind. In 1879 the Native Minister saw him personally, and a&ked him to give Hiroki up to justice. He refused, and said the Supreme Court might come to Parihaka and try the man under his directions. He refused tine offer of Sir George Grey of an independent tribunal to try his grievances; he refused to discuss the question with Major Parris, with Mr RoUeston, and even with Sir Arthur Gordon himself. It was after this that Mr Bryee said that the idea of negotiating with Tβ Whiti was " perfectly preposterous," and every fair-minded man would aflmit that he had ample justification for the remark As to reserves, Te Whiti and liis people were in occupation of more land than they could get under any judicial award on their claims. The West Coast Commission had gone fully and impartially into their grievances, and had made a generous allocation of land in their favour. Te Whiti on more than one occasion showed that lie did not want reserves, but the whole territory, and it had become merely a question as to whether the Government or lie should rule. In a memorandum to the Administrator of the Government, ad-1 vising the issue of the proclamation, Sir John Hall tersely summed up the position. After referring to the continued refusal of Te Whiti and his adherents to listen to any proposals fotr the pacific settlement of outstanding difficulties, the recent threatening language of Te Whiti, and the aggressive attitude of the natives assembled at Parihaka, Sir John Hall continued—'More recently they have forced "the stoppage of work which vas being "carried on, have pulled down fences, and " have ordered '-he settlers off the ground. "... Tue natives are daily becom- " ing more bold in aggression and in re- " slstacce to the law, and the apprehension " and resistance among the settlers have "been constantly increasing. The Government have been compelled at great "expense to ad 4 to the strength of the •'forces on the coast, end altogether the " matter has become so pressing that, in " the opinion of Ministers the issue of this "proclamation is urgently and pressingly "necessary." In a previous memorandum Sit John Hall stated that the proceedings of the natives really involved the raising of the question whether the Europeans -were to be allowed to retain their hold upon the territory of that portion of the colony or not. In addition to the acts of aggression on the lands of private settlers, the Maoris had obstructed the formation of roads, the construction of a telegraph, and the erection of a lighthouse—works that were necessary in the interests of the colony " Alt evider-o*." added Sir John, "point* to "tfaf wmißlttiiiffTi that T* Whiti'* km vh

'■to establish himself as an "authority." ' ; >IH What, were tho Government to do? WjSJE •they to leave- the white settlers to tktifl fate, and allow Te Whiti to wield puted sway in that part of the colortfS They decided thai it was time such a cfeiS ditiou of unrest and anarchy wae eodtf/'S and so the pioctamaticn was issued «^ : V when j-s 'terms were not obeyed the tL B vanco on Parihaka. took place. 41 fig pers. who admits that some of the t&l takes in his History are due UK his having ielied on his memory f» 8 his fact«, instead of eoneueij,l authorities, seems to be indebted to & I imagination for many of his details a* fa I what took place on this historic, uccaa* I It i.s true tbeie was no i*\msLui<.v. andtlmjt ■ r.ny hud hien attempted it would have bee & crushed by tho eti'eoi ive depositions whiA Mr Bryoe had mud?. Having determined* a di.-phiy of force, it wa.s the obvious duty <| th.?. Government to make it uvtiuutlmfßt 'I\\ Whiti, Tuhu. Tiiokiiwuiu. Hiioki, uj suiiie others w-e-ie. arrested, and the str*£». Maoris were sent away to their homes. AJ. though, strict'y speaking, the. Maoris b«4' forfeited their rights under the award «( the West Co;u-t Commission, by not coft. plying with tlu- terms of the proaam*ti« the Government proceeded to cany out tk lvcoinineucuLtiuxis of t-lwt Conuniuaiun in tbt amplest manner. Within twoyearstbebtfi*. licent effect of Mr Bryee's policy was stto. In a memorandum to the Governor, S» Frederick Whitaker was able to report on Match 31st, 18&5, that a large number of grant-s had been issued to the natives, that they had agnii to lease 54,000 acres of land io Eur*.' peons, and this was simply a snull proper; tien of the whole reserves, amounting toonr 250,000 auvs, which would ultimately b«* leased for their benefit. He alio reports 8 that there was a 'Jaa-ge and steady inenwt ■ of European population in the district, tat ■ referred with pleasure to tiie apparently ccjv « dial acceptance by the natives of the pro* ■ posals of the Government. All thete ei|* cumstunces, he added, painted to the conds. si an that the time had come whtu the lttUr might show their confidence by allowing T% Whiti and Tohu to return to Parihaka. Tbjji was done, the Armed Constabulary w«» disbanded, the blockhouses were tuntj into schools, and the country-side is now o> an unexampled state of peace and pn* .perity. Wβ have ehown what John Brjcft policy really was, and what it led to. Mt Alpers, in his History, says that theGoven* ment "had determined not to tlj , *' the one way tlbat was right until they bat " exhausted the ninety-nine ways that mM "wrong." Will he kindly tell us what it thinks they ought to have done? We hop! however, that he will not find it necewij to take up many columns of our space for tkit purpose. An historian should learn to cm>den.se his facts and his argumente. Wi may remind him also that a. little pholoeoffcie calm and the suppression of ego u» Mt unbecoming the historian's chamoUH furthermore, he should not impute mottwi to his critics. CeifcaMy Mr Alpers ia itrf ungracious, and not akogether honest i> implying that we found fault with ibis HlJtj representation of Mr Bryce, because we dil nob like hie praising the legislation of t&f; present Governiment. As a matter of fMjjj' his account o{ that legislation was one # the points for which we gave him crtdß "He gives an excollent sketch," we said, "ft, " our recent legislation, showing every duff! " to be strictly impartial towards thow itm, I " whom he differs." -, j. I