HOW TO SETTLE THE MAORI DIFFICULTY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 594, 5 September 1873, Page 3

HOW TO SETTLE THE MAORI DIFFICULTY.

—n—(TO THE EDITOR Oi’ THE DUNSTAH TIMES.) Sir : —I venture to trouble you with some suggestions relating to the present situation of affairs in the North Island, and wbat I consider to be the best way of diminishing the expenditure and placing the Maoris and the Europeans upon a more friendly and peaceful footing. My reason for bringing this before the public is that the country has been put to very considerable expense for the last eleven or twelve years, and we do no! now appear to be any nearer the end of cur troubles with the Natives Ilian we were at the commencement. I have just returned from a visit to the North Island, where I was much struck by observing large tracts of land, which had been bought by speculators lying idle, owing to its being unsafe for solitary settlers to occupy it. a Lis is_ whut I propose : I. That the Government should take up say, One million Acres of Land all round the unsettled districts of Auckland, Taranaki and Wanganui, purchase it right out, if possible, or lease with a puichasing clause, but secure it any way. This can easily be done now and for a comparatively small sum of money. J. That this land when bought, should be laid off'into suitable sized Agricultural and Pastoral farms, say for Agricultural purposes, about 10,000 acres, and for the sheep farms, about 50,000 acres. 3. That all the present military staff should be employed on these farms and sheep stations under suitable managers, and should receive in return the customary wages of the country. 4. That the men should attend as nearly as possible the customary dulls, for which they should receive extra wages. The wave* for the drill, however, should not lie paid at once, but at the expiration of live years, allowing the men in the meantime the in.crest of the money. 5 That Mamies should be empbned on these laiu.s and runs as extensively as -passible, giving them piecework to do wiie-cv _-r practicable. This would be the means of bringing j the Mamies into closer and moie friendly relations with the Euro- ] cans, ami of teaching them Inw to work their own laud to the best ad- \ autage. In following out these suggestions the Government need only expend as much money as would lie sj cut on Military and Native operations during the next five years, and at the eu I of five or six years at farthest, these estates, if properly ma- j naged, would, not only cease to be a tax on the Government, but woul I actually be yielding a revenue, small at first certainly, but which would jo on increasing every year. It will take about fifteen y r ars, before Die land so taken up, would be paying back the capital, but I am of opinion that it will bo necessary at any rate tc main- ! tain an armed force f or that period of time, and if so, bow min-h better and more economical ii would be to make that force a . s.-lf supporting one. At the present moment there is a large quantity of land in the South of Auckland, which is capable of growing almost anything, and which if used in the manner I suggest, would become in course of time a magnificent source of revenue to the Government, whereas now, they have to maintain a large and very expensive body of men to protect this same land, and yet it is totally useless, as people are afraid to s-ttleonit for fear that it might at any day be made the scene of war between the Europeans and the Natives. Now, by utilising this body of men, and making them turn this ground to account while protecting it, the Government would nut only be laying up future capital, but they would be teaching the men themselves to become useful members of society. Surely no one supposes that we are going to support a standing army in New Zealand for ever ; and, if the men are not taught something better than road-making, what ' w-’H become of the most of them when disbanded ? But if, on the other hand, they are employed in agricultural or pastoral pursuits, they would be a credit and an acquisition to the country, able to earn a liveliho id anywhere. Besides all this, the training that the men would undergo would make them more valuable as soldiers, muring them to fatigue, occupying their leisure time most beneficially, and making them more self-dependent in every way. Iu addition to the benefits accruing to the men themselves, the occupation of the land by a force ready to turn out at a moment’s warning to repel aggression, and their constant presence in the country, would be a great inducement to other people to settle, •mil, of course, the more the population increased, the more secure the country would become. With regard to the payment of military men, I consider that giving them land instead of money (especially uncultivated land) is a perfect mistake, as they very seldom cultivate it to advantage, either to themselves or the country ; and, in most of eases, they cither sell it for about half its a alne, or go away from the country, leaving the land unsold altogether—-in which case, of course, no one can do anything with it, and it becomes a nuisance. As to the Maories themselves, 1 would employ as many as possible of them, taking great pains to show them how to do their work thoroughly and iu the best way, They require to be treated with great kindness and uprightness ; but, at the same time, I would be very strict and firm with them, arid very punctual in all engagements. I I’avo had twenty years’ experience among the Blacks in Australia, about eight years

of which—from 18-17 to 1850 —I wasrmmg the B’acks of the Lower Murray and the I ailing, in New South Wales, who are certainly not the most tractable of Australian natives, and, as is well known there, they were brought into subjection, not by a lan ;e aimed force, n airdained 1 y the Gozernuent, but by the [settleis themselves. They were not as brave or'so difficult to manage as tlio Maories, but still there was always a considerable amount of tact requisite to keep them in proper su'jection. When in Australia 1 used tojmake it a point to employ the natives as much as possible, and I was invariably success ful with them. During a thirteen years’ resilience in Otago, I have frequently employed Maoris to work for me, and have always found them firstrate men to do do their work ; and I have no doubt that, if the Europeans in the North Island were to set to woik farming with right good will, and employ the Maories in every direction, it would soon be the means of setting the war question at rest for ever ; but at present the Maories are the more extensive farmers of the two, an I altogether far m >re energetic and euteiprising than the Europeans. In c< nelusii n, I‘think if these suggestions, or a modification of them, weie aelopfed, the 1 ciiefhial results would very soon be felt, ai el the North Island, instead of having to import grain and provisions, would be able to export them, and the iuhabitiiiils would get peace and leisure to develop the remarkable resources of the island. Apologising for the length of this communication, I am, &0., HENRY CAMPBELL. Wanaka, Aug. 29, 1873.