The Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, MONDAY, 26th JUNE, PUBLIC MEETING.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 5, Issue 283, 26 June 1865, Page 2

The Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, MONDAY, 26th JUNE, PUBLIC MEETING.

A numerously attended public meeting was hold in the Council Chamber, Napier, on Saturday, the 24th inst., at 7 p.m. r i hree of the town Representatives, Messrs. Buchanan, Edwards, and Stuart, were present. Sir Lee (who was unanimously elected to the chair,) having read the advertisment convening, the meeting, said that although he had resided' some years in the Colony, he had been but a few months in this province, and therefore could not say that he had had much experience in its political affairs, he would only ask the meeting to give the speakers, whatever their opinions, a free, full, lair, and impartial hearing. Mr Buchanan moved the first resolution ’ To the Honorable the Legislative Assembly of New Zealand in Parliament assembled , ‘ The Petition of the undersigned Inhabitants of Hawke's Bay, Humbly Showeth—1. That uu attempt has been made in the provincial Coined of Hawke’s Bay, during its present session, to carry the series of resolutions annexed hereto, (marked A.) 2. That the said resolutions were superseded by au amendment, carried only by the casting Tote of the Speaker. 3. That iu the division lists on the said amendment the following names appear in its favor. viz. J. Wilkinson Esq.,—the speaker. J. D. Ormond Esq.,—member for' Porangahau, and a member of tlie executive. A. iveunudj Esq., member for Napier. 4. 1 hat these gentlemen’s names, as well as that of J. M. Stuart Esq.,—member for Napier, who, voted against the amendment, also appear in a Return laid before your Honorable House in its last Session, as being in the illegal occupation of Maori lands. 5. That on the ground of their possesing a direct personal interest, their votes on the question were, on the division*objected to. (5- That the vote of His Honor Mr M‘Lean was also taken exception toon the like ground, because of his interest in the block of 30,000 acres held in his brothers name as particularised in the return before referred to. 7., Thar out of a small Council of Fifteen members, nearly one-third thus appears to have a pecuniary motive, plain to every one, in endeavoring to shield by their votes their own individual - perpetration of a public wrong. 8. Thai in addition to this array of votes and influence, ten Magistrates (including one Resident magistrate) appear-in the same Return, as fullovring’the example set them by their Representatives iu the Provincial Council, of defying and *tt ln g at naught the laws they are sworn to obey.

9. That your petitioners set forth these facts f>r the information of your Honorable House in the event of any Bill forwarded on tha amendment referred to as being so narrowly and corruptly carried being laid before it. 10. That on the rejection of the resolutions A., a fresh set as annexed hereto and marked B. were submitted to the Provincial Council. 11. That this second set was thrown out on a division, by the v otes of the same members who ‘••ejected the first set, acting, as-your petitioners allege, under the same warped motives that governed their action before. : 12. That whilst recognizing the objections' urged against the, universal enforcement of the ■‘ Native Land Purchase Ordinance, 1846,” because of its age, its inapplicability to the circumstances of the present time, and the enormous growth, and strength more especially in this Province, of the intersts that have been fostered and encouraged by the long years of immunity from i}s operation that its violators have enjoyed, your petitioners respectfully allege that no pleas of like character or force ought to be allowed to frustrate or delay any action serving to make clearly apparent to every individual that the provisions of the 30th clause of the “ Native Lands Act, 1862,” will be rigidly enforced whenever the said Act is proclaimed within this District.

13. That your petitioners consider the administration of the 19rh and 30th clauses of the “Native Lauds Act 1862” in full and strict consonance with their letter, to be the best means whereby, (without any risk of running counter to the policy of the Government in native mat. ters)the interests of the hulk of the people of this province may he saved at least in part from being sacrificed at the shrine of the few who now hold power. 14. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray if any alteration be proposed in the said act, that these clauses be left intact, or that their stringency be increased as against individuals who occupy maori laud, in deli ttnee of law. And your petitioners will ever pray &c. —He had a much larger audience than usual within those walls. They all knew how the matter stood at present. The members that represented the Town in the Provincial Council had been forced to bring it before their constituency. Each time they had brought it before the Council they had been defeated, and they had no resource but to appeal to the. people. It was the duty of the people of Napier to exert themselves in this matter to wrest from the illegal holders those plains, the property of the Province. It. now rested entirely with the public and if they only put their shoulder to the wheel, they were able to eject the illegal squatters. (Hear, hear.) He (Mr Buchanun) had said once before, and he now repeated it; that if He was defeated in the Council he would apply to the General Assembly in Parliament assembled, and failing there, to the British House of Commons. (Hear, bear.) He did not expect that much good would result from this latter course, but it would show the public feeling on the question. He brought forward a series of resolutions based upon the 19th and 30th clauses of the Native Lands Act. 1862, which clauses lie would read to them. (Mr Buchanan here read the 19th and 30th clauses of die Native Lands Act.) These distinctly provide that no compensation forimprovements,&c., can be claimed by any illegal squatter in the case of the land becoming the property of the Crown. They all knew what th squatters would say when disturbed in their illegal holdings, “01 have lived so many years on this land, I’ve made certain improvements, (Hear, hear.) surely you are not going to turn a poor fellow off without any compensation.” It would only be natural, —such a cry as anybody would raise if the screw was put on. If the public allowed the government to carry theirscherae, they were would ultimately repent it. They could never expect a hardworking agricultural population—the bone and sinew of a country, —and what would Napier be without such a population ? [Hear, hear.] They must consent to leave the finest agcultural land in the Province to sheep breeding and wool growing. There were other ways in which this matter should be considered. The squatters were the great catise of native feuds—the Maori cupidity would cause them to quarrel about the division of rents, and in some of these squabbles very probably the Europeans would be embroiled. Nat that be thought they would fear such an occurrence if they had still that stern resolution and unflinching courage which distinguished their forefathers—if they did fear such an occurrence, then they were a very degenerate race. [Hear, hear.] In the Council, when he had brought the subject of leasing the plains . efore them, he had at first recommended the provisions df the Native Land Purchase Ordinance, 1846, but had been told by the Government members but that act was old, and not the policy of the Government, that the Government’s policy was embodied in the Native Lands. Act, 1862. He therefore drew up another series of resolutions, based upon two of the most important clauses of that Act—the saving clauses he might call them, for the people of Hawke’s Bay. Those resolutions had also been-rejected by the Council. He npw ap-

pealed to the people. la no Province had this illegal occupancy catae to such a head as in this Province. Wellington alone approached it. He was not speaking from surmise, but from tables Contained in a . blue book laid on the table entited “ Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1864.” which showed that Hawke’s Bay was at the head of the list. [We will give the remainder of Mr. Bujhanan’s speech in our next.] Want of space compels us to hold over the remainder of our report of this highly important meeting, but we subjoin a copy of the memorial to the Church Missionary Society, and of the resolution condemning the conduct of Mr Kennedy, both of which were unanimously adopted. The Memorial of the undersigned Inhabitants of the Province to the Chunch Missionary Society of London, Respectfully Shoioeth — The Memorial of the undersigned Inhabitants of the Province of Hawke’s Bay, to the Church Missionary Society of London. Respectfully Sheweth. That Your Memorialists view the action and proceedings of your Representative in this province, the Rev. Samuel Williams, in occupying and using for grazing purposes under lease from Maori owners large tracts of native land in violation of the laws of the Colony, to the destruction of that proper influence over the natives’ minds which adherence to the law would at least not, destroy, if it did not secure. That the fact of this Gentleman’s being in such occupation is set forth in a printed return to be found in the Appendix to the proceedings of this House of Representatives of this Colony for the Y ear 1864. That although your Memorialists for many years omitted to bring this suaject under your notice, the late conduct of Mr Williams in becoming the main instrument in securing for himself and those joined with him, a block of 20,000 acres of level fertile land in the immediate vicinity of Napier, is so monstrous an evil, that they desire respectfully to ascertain if your Society will apply no cheek. That the acquisition of this tract of land by fair purchase from the Maori owners, who use but very little of it, is by this conduct hindered, perhaps defeated, for several years, and the settlement on it of a white population retarded. Your memorialtsts, therefore, respectfully crave that enquiry into this subject be made ; and such action taken as to your society may seem meet.

That the votes of Mr Alexander Kennedy have not been of a character to entitle him to a continuance of the confidenc of the electorate for which he sits, and that a requistion asking him to place his seat at the disposal of the Electors, be presented to him.