The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3,1885. The Maori Members

Feilding Star, Volume VII, Issue 36, 3 September 1885, Page 2

The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1885. The Maori Members

A considebable amount of spleen has been expended on the Maori members by sundry members of the Opposition for voting in favor of the Ministry. This is unjust, as they had from the beginning almost declared their intention to support the Government under certain conditions, and after Mr Obmond's speech on the Land Bill, such intention was confirmed. The Maori members believe that the present Ministry, or at least Mr Ballaxoe, firmly intends to do justice to and protect the interests of the Natives. It would be an evidence of an amount of credulity the Native mind cannot be credited with possessing, if they placed much confidence in a change of Ministry that would have deprived them of the hoped-for benefits to be attained — improved Native land laws. Our contemporary the Post, of last Monday, says, very sarcastically, and with truth : —

The Maori members sit in the House on terms of perfect equality with the white members, and we are bound to say that as a rule they are quite as intelligent and quite as honest in their Parliamentary action as any section of the white members. In the present instance their action was more personally disinterested, perhaps, than that of most of the white members who recorded their votes on the Opposition side. They, at least, were not greedy for office, but rumour has it that out of tho 44 declared Oppositionists there were no less than 37 expectant Ministers, gentlemen who, if Mr Hislop's motion had been successful, deemed themselves fully entitled to seats on the Treasury Benches.

In recent speeches made on the subject we are glad to see that comparisons with the four historical Auckland rats are frequently made in a manner very complimentary to the Maories.