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Feilding Star, Volume XIII, Issue 76, 24 December 1891, Page 2

Teb natives in and about the King Country, for want of something better to do during the summer weather, have held a meeting at which they decided to again give in their allegiance to the puppet King Tawhiao, and allow his mana to shed its benign influence over their lands once more. As, according to the universal custom among this most hospitable people, large quantities of food was provided, several hundreds of them assembled. In the course of the inevitable speeches, expressions of regret were used that they had ever taken their lands from the jurisdiction of the n ß> an<^ °' disgust at the action of the Government in first inducing them to pass their lands through the Native Land Courts, and afterwards declining to allow them to dispose of their property to anyone hut the Government at any price the latter chose to pay for it. They carefully ignored the fact, which is well known among them, that this was merely done by the Government in order to prevent the natives from selling their birthrights to the wicked land sharks, and then squandering the money obtained by such sales, in riotous living. It is quite possible that the recent action of the Native Minister in placing " landless maoris" on Government land, may have had some eSect on their minds. They have Been that where their fellow countrymen have sold their lands, and had " a good time" in spending the proceeds, they have not been a bit worse off than before, but have, in point oE fact, rather improved their position, because a benevolent^ Government has shown a disposition to give them now homes in the districts where land has been made valuable by the industry and outlay of those "social pests" the British farmers. Theirs is a case where the proverb is reversed "You may eat your cake, and have it too. " This by the way. The meeting resolved that they would

attend no Courts (Land Courts we presume) and allow no surveys. It was also affirmed that the sole authority over the land should be vested in the king as formerly. They, very urigratefully in our opinion, declared they would not meet the gentle Native Minister, Mr Cadma-n. This is the " Uoliiadeat OUt 9t all, " because however mistaken we may think het policy of Mr Cadman, we have always believed that his actions towards them have been actuated by the purest desire to benefit the native race, and postpone for as long as possible, that inevitable day when the soul of the last maori shall spring off the furthest extremity of this island to Te Eeinga, the place of departed spirits. The next meeting of these discontenteds will be held in the coming May when the crops are harvested, vegetable food is plentiful, and the smell of the dried shark fish is felt over the land. In the meantime we will have discovered who were the interested persons who started the trouble.