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THE HAWKE’S BAY TIMES. NAPIER. THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 1862.

Indignation and astonishment, the most intense and unbounded, have been felt and expressed by one and all of the inhabitants of Port Napier at the proceedings in the Civil Commissioner’s Court on Monday last, in the case of Regina v. Colenso. Seldom, indeed, has it been our lot to witness such a unanimity of feeling on the part of the people, as has been displayed on this occasion, it being most clear to all that were present at the hearing' of the case, that the whole proceedings were a mockery, and had not the slightest effect on the decision of the Commissioner, which appears to have been as certainly determined on before the hearing, as it was given afterwards. Our constant readers are well aware that the vigorous and stringent execution of the Native Land Purchase Ordinance, has always had the entire force of our advocacy, whether it he taken as connected with a true Native Policy, as teaching the Maoris the reality of the Pakeha’s laws, or as more directly connected with our own provincial political system, and the revenues derived from the land fund, and we need only refer to certain of our issues some eight months ago, wherein was discussed the question of the mock trials of the squatters, under the auspices of our late Superintendent for proof of this, and had it been the aim of the Civil Commissioner to revive and enforce this Ordinance truly and impartially, we should have felt bound to have expressed our approval of this line of policy, but we feel constrained to raise our voice to protest against the violation of all principles of law and justice, which has just been exhibited before our eyes, and which throw's the other cases (mockery as the whole proceedings w'ere) entirely into the shade. In one respect, a parallelism can be seen to exist between this last case and those we have referred to, as both alike were undertaken for party purposes, it having been distinctly avowed by the late Superintendent that his aim was to get the law declared invalid, and, therefore such evidence only was brought to bear, as was insufficient to insure a convicton in several cases, although the facts were well known, and could have been readily proved if such had been desired. In tnis last affair, party purposes was, no doubt, the guiding motive, but beyond this the parollel fails, as the end was different, which was now to convict, and the Ordinance is, in consequence found to be just as easily

worked as it was difficult before—a conviction being readily obtained, not only without evidence, but in spite of evidence the most positive to the contrary. Could we but be convinced that it is the intention of the General Government to bring the Ordinance to bear on the squatocracy, we would gladly aid them to the full extent of our power, being well convinced that (late in the day as it now is for this) such is the best possible course that can be pursued, that is if the Government has any intention of affording to the Native race a proof of the reality of Lritish law, and this, whether the new institutions are to be brought to bear on them or not; there is, however, not any, even the slightest reason to believe that such is the case, as, if it had been, they certainly would not have commenced their proceedings against one whose case was, fd. priori) to say the least, of a doubtful aspect, while there are so many others, about which there could not be entertained any doubt whatever, but which could readily have been proved, and one of which, as is currently believed lies so very near to the interests of the Commissioner himself. It is of no avail to disguise the truth, which is brought out solely by the Commissioners conduct in the late case, and is fully sufficient to warrant all that can be said in its condemnation. We have, on several occasions, found it necessary to expose the new Lunanga system, in which native chiefs are permitted to sit in judgment on cases in which, from the very nature of the tribal system, they are parties interested in their own decision, but, as we now find the same principle brought into our own Courts, and a Civil Commissioner is appointed to act in certain cases as sole and irresponsible judge, when his own hands are defiled by the same acts he there condemns, it becomes a duty to expose such a state of things, and a crime to be silent. The facts proved in this case of Mr. Colenso’s were (as is now pretty well known) that the land in question was really and truly ceded to the Crown by the native owners (in trust) for the Church Missionary Society; that the consent of at least two Governors of the colony had been given to such cession : that since that time it has been held in trust on behalf of the said Society by three missionaries in the colony, and therefore is clearly not now native laud ; further it was proved , by a witness for the prosecution, that the natives had acknowledged the ownership of the missionaries, and pointed out their boundary-line to him. It was further proved that it had been surveyed for the society by Government officers, and that the memory of a material witness who could easily have corroborated this, conveniently failed him, as to this being the block surveyed, he admitted, on cross-examination, that it was somewhere in that direction , well knowing that that is the only land in that neighborhood that the officers of the Government could have gone to survey !!! So that the admission of a knowledge of the fact might quite as well have been made at once. Further than this it was shown that the land was not held by lease or otherwise under native owners; nor was there any proof that the accused had occupied, or even been on the land during the period of six months, included in the information, the only shadow of evidence against him being that of Mr. Tiffen, who proved him to have declared his inability to remove his property from the land without great loss, (!) and his own admission that be was willing to give up the property te the trustees (not natives) on receiving proper remuneration for his outlay upon it. In the face of this evidence, which which we have fairly, though briefly, stated, the Commissioner decided that the land was native peopeety, and was occupied by defendant, He therefore inflicted a fine of ,£5, and required defendant to give the property over to the native owners !! I - Now, casting aside, as altogether worthless, such a decision, and depending on the evidence given in the Court, that the land is

the property of the Chiu’ch Missionary Society, held in trust by certain parties before referred to, and not (at this time) entering into the legal bearings of the case, it seems pretty clear that the aforesaid trustees are somewhat passing the boundary of their duties and their privileges in agreeing to restore this property to the natives without the consent of the owners first obtained., especially as the procuring of such consent is very doubtful if applied for before the execution of the deed, the Society beingalready aware of certain facts such as that Mr. Colenso is in possession of a portion of the property, and that he has expended a considerable outlay upon it, and they have (in all probability) from these considerations permitted him to remain in possession. In any case, it would be only right to refer the matter to the Society previous to taking action here. We have already alluded to the feeling of indignation, first manuesied in Court by a universal hissing on the announcement of the Commissioner’s decision, and since by the subject becoming the general topic of discussion in all parts of the town. As might have been supposed, it gradually became embodied in a desire to hold a public meeting, at which the sentiments of the people might be freely expressed, and as the Council Chamber is by far the most eligible building for such a purpose, application was made to his Honor for its use ; but this was refused. The late Puketapu affair was in all conscience bad enough; where a willing servility was too readily shewn by our Provincial authorities to obey the instructions (or commands) of the Fox Government ; but even on this point that affair is left far in the rear. It seems that all our “ grave and reverend seigniors,” up to his Honor the Superintendent himself, are become the willing tools of this party, the reason given by his Honor for the refusal to the people of the town of the use of their own Hall, the Council Chamber, for the purpose of their meeting therein, being that the late prosecution having been undertaken by the instruction of the General Government, a public meeting for the purpose of condemning such prosecution would be acting in opposition to them. Most astonishing it is to free men, that anything having the outward form of humanity can so far sink its own individuality as to become the mere puppet of others, in station for a short time something over them, acting and speaking only according as the strings are pulled by their masters. Certain it is to us that nothing short of military discipline could effect this, while it can and does it, making its victims the slaves of all those above them, and the tyrants of all subordinate to them. The abuses of a net-woxk of military and ex-military justices, magistrates, and governors have always been gieat, and often most severely felt by the colonists; and have, from the first establishment of the colony cried aloud for reform. With such men there is always a leaning to old habits and custor- and a tendency to adapt the military regime to the institutions of,civil society, to which they are altogether inapplicable. But we fear our governors know too well their use to quickly discard them ; and yet until this is done we must be content to be the slaves of slaves, for it is certain that the training of the soldier cannot be readily cast away, and the freedom of the man asserted. Can the Superintendent not see that public feeling will find its vent, and that the decision of the Commissioner will be discussed nolens volens, and that it would have been better to have had such meeting under his own Superintendency and control than that, lacking this, it should go to a further extreme. His refusal to preside at a late public meeting, lest he should offend “ the powers that be,” is not yet forgotten by the people of Napier.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HBT18620626.2.7

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 52, 26 June 1862, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,829

THE HAWKE’S BAY TIMES. NAPIER. THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 1862. Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 52, 26 June 1862, Page 2

THE HAWKE’S BAY TIMES. NAPIER. THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 1862. Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 52, 26 June 1862, Page 2

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