Hawke's Bay Times. THURSDAY, MAY 7, 1868. NATIVE REPRESENTATION.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume XIII, Issue 575, 7 May 1868, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 1868. NATIVE REPRESENTATION.

NuU.ius adJlctus jurare in verba mai/i*iri.

A. distinguished English poet of a bygone age has asserted that there are to be found “ Tongues in trees. Books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in everything,” all quite possible, no doubt; but as there are exceptions to every general rule, be that rule never so good, so we think the above assertion will fail to express tbe truth in all cases, as far As regards the “books” and the “sermons” there is a sufficient abundance of them in all nature, it is only to the latter portion of the assertion that we object. That is a question that demands some consideration ere we can give our unqualified adhesion to it.

Take now, for instance, the “ Nadive Representation Act,” which has just shone out upon us in all its rushlight radiance, and the elections under ! it, which have but lately ended, what igood is there in, or can by any possiI bility be brought out of that ? What is 'the meaning or the intention of it? | Has it any meaning or intention ? For, |after all, “ that is the question.” Ac.cording to the generally accepted idea i'if “ representation,” in a political isense, we know that the Maoris of I Hawke’s Bay, whatever may be Bitwise with other t jibes and districts, | are in all reasonable conscience sufficiently represented in the General Assembly already. What is Mr M‘Bean but a .Maori representative ? What are Ormond, Whitmore, the two Russeils, but Maori members, each and every me of them ? They represent no other interest but that, and it is identical with their own. Those gentlemen j pride themselves upon their native influence and knowledge of maori affairs, and although they can submit with urbane mildness to be twitted with la deplorable ignorance of all other !branches of political economy, they jwill resent with equal bitterness the j slightest hint that they cannot understand or cannot manage the Maori. Is jit not to Col. Bussell that we are indebted for the amiable and brilliant {theory that in order to secure a really useful and good sort of population for these islands there is no plan but that of mixing our blood with that of the aboriginal raoe. Did not that enligbtened statesman say, in his place in the “ House,” that the " amalgamation,” jas he terms it, of the two races, whites land maoris, is the one tiling needful. |the true panacea for all our troubles? | What a delightful arcadia would this Tslancl be, inhabited bv our descendi " bints of the half-and-half species, presided over by an able man who could j trace his descent in an unbroken line jfor two generations, say, from an illasitrious colonel or statesman on the one I hand, and an equally illustrious savage lon the other. 0 tempora ! 0 mores ! | But supremely absurd as seems the itheory above exposed, surely it is not

one wint more absurd than the product of the fertile brain of the originator of the Native Representation scheme, as example! in the Act of the General Assembly,—r-that scheme being the offspring of Mr M'Lean, and a true chip -ot the old block—the likeness to its parent is unnnstakeable. The meetings of the New Zealand rarlistneu* have

been, not unaptly, compared to the assembly of builders at the final catastrophe of the building of the tower of Babel, —confusion worse confounded—an inconorent gabble ot unintelligible speeches. If, then, the irreverent critic is bold to write of such resemblance now, to what on earth shall he compare it when to the already insuller- ■ able babble is -added a Maori Speech —u tiuug tuwhorrible io contemplate? | We certainly live m an age of wonders, laud amongst them not the least is the [great number of separate nationalities | of which our community is composed [Keeping this fact in view, it would [seem that the gift of tongues—.mark 1 1lie plural—will be the only quJifica[tion worthy of possession to those who [ascend to the honor of a seat in Parlliameut.

Another consideration is the enormous expense which will of necessity be attendant on the admission of the Maori element into our Councils. The “House” will require to be built over again, and at least over an acre of laud. Talk about long speeches—commend’ us to a Maori for that kind of oratory.: During an hour’s oration an energetic individual of “ the race” will positively cover, at a moderate guess, fivemiles of ground. ; but that difficulty may be overcome for the present lv the temporary expedient of letting him loose during a fit cf talk in the back yard, where the only member in the House who would probably care to listen, or take any real notice of what is passing—Mr M‘Lean—-might go hear him. But the dignity of the country could only permit of this arrangement until a new tax bus been devised to meet tin- circumstances of the case. At the lowest estimation two thirds of the Maori race are dead against m —and no wonder. The remaining third is only with us so long and so far as v suits their purpo-e. While we fancy we are teaching them, tlu-y are laughing at us, and with good reason. Something like <£30,000 is spent every year upon them—-what for no one knows. That they are happily susceptible of the generous inliuence of bribery no one doubts. Mr dPLean has long been the grand duct through which this influence has passed to them, and we are willing to admit that in that capacity none could stir pass and few equal him. But of all I the ingenious schemes of that descrip jtion ever invented, that of getting

Maoris into the House cf Assembly os

members thereof is the most original

—the worst of it being that it is not

bribery merely, but also corruption,— eomint,ion of the first water. Wha; can be more heartless corruption than

to turn any human being into an M.P. ? What more cruel to a Maori than to take him from his native Jin and besmear him with Acts of Parliament ?

The member, under this Act, for

Hawke's Bay is Tare’na, returned in

•pnosifion to Karaitiana. Tareba if

:<n old New Zealander of miuiluted blood, a clever fellow in his wav, who

has never affected Missionaryism, M‘Leanism, lianaauism, or any other kindred ism ; whereas his opponent did at all events affect the two first to

a most enthusiastic extent. If the Maoris had understood what they

were about in this election business.

we should accept the result as a sign of the tiir.es, the race being won by a

aonconf .ra;i

.st to the M‘Lean doctrine

But, again we ask, what good can this representation do the Maoii or the country ? Me have had enough of

giving these people toys and gim cracks to amuse them. If it is com

sidcred a privilege to sit in high places [and listen to all the outrageous twad'dls that is daily and hourly perpetrated

in, to them, fortunately (and not to them alone) unknown tongues, well may the Maoris say “save 123 from onr friends,” and deliver us from Parlia-

ment. it ft be hoped that the raeio presence of a few Maori swells in the rlouse will extinguish Hauhauism and curb rebellion throughout the land, sure disappointment attends such hope. Bat if the nreat oriinnator of the

scheme believes that a session or two of the dreary dulness of the General Assembly will be too much for the distinguished Maoris who may attend, kill them outright—so ridding us ■A our greatest difficuty “at one fell ' swoop ”■— we congratulate him and the country on the probability of its success, and are faiu to acknowledge, at length, that there maybe “good m everything”—Communicated.