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Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume II, Issue 6, 30 June 1856, Page 1

Some of my Maori friends have asked me to explain to the UNKNOWN of the Queen's Law. Life is short, but the Law is long! yet I will endeavour to tell them something about it. Once upon a time, in England as a well as in New Zealand, the strong oppressed the weak. Prisoners taken in wai were made slaves ; poor men were robbed and ill-treated, and got no redress. But the oppressed were many, and by joining together, caused laws to be enacted which should protect the poor man as well as the rich. Still, for many years, the Law was weak, and bad men were strong, and disregarded it. Soon, however, even mighty men sought proaction from the law against mightier than themselves. And so the Law being written in the hearts of many, waxed great and strong. BuVKinwwere still above the Law, and did as seemed goofrtfUheirown eyes. Others,however, saw that they sight of

Vjod, and in the reign of Edward the C«nfessor irVjood King who lived 800 years ago, the people obtained a Charter which is the basis of English law. It came to pass, however, that the ChVler was often violated, but on the 15th June, ISNS (more than 600 years ago) the great chiefsW" England met, and made King John (a wicked man arid a bad king) sign the Charter, whichNhas since been called the Great Charter. By the liberties of all the subjects of thVNsovereigu of England are secured. ■«-. \ :-' V This Charter was consumed and re-enacted, by other kiugs who cameVfter King John, and his son and successor, III, in the 37th year of his reign, wenVto a cathedral in presence ol the chiefs an<k bishops, and swore faithfully to observe all thidks contained in it *, and when he had done so, U\e bishops extinguished the lighted candles wMch they 'held, crying out, « Thus let him be exßrWuished and perish in Hell that violates this Charter.'* Since those d tys, however, the Law has been improved. Year by year our fathers hate placed sonj£ additional restriction on the powers of the great, and added some additional protection to the weak. We inherit these laws, (and through them, the securiiy of our liberties, and our just rights, from our fore* fathers,) and it is an inheritance we have great reason to be proud of. And now all men are equal in the sight of the Law. When they do evil and cease to obey the law, the punishment is the same for all. Rich and poor, great and small, men of all colours and all nations subject to the Queen, are alike protected while they obey, and alike punished when they break the law. But any'friends will ask how comes it that the word of the mouth only is so strong that a few learned men, unassisted by warriors, are -J enabled to compel tWrtymillions of pe >ple, who

dwell in the islands of Britain, to obey it? The answer is thi3—The Law is written in the hearts of the people, and when bad men offend against it they may try to escape, but they never try to resist, because they know that every man's hand would be against them. *Next to the Law of God then, the Queen's law is the greatest blessing Englishmen enjoy. Without it, the land would have no rest; the orphan would be eaten up; and the widow's landmark would be violently removed. Brother would lift his hand against brother, and the earth would call out to God for vengeance on the oppressor. Such is not the case in the Queen's dominions. Men sleep in peace—the robber is an outlaw, and he fears the light of day ; good men have no fear but the fear of God befoie their eyes. Now let us see the effect of such assured peace and tranquility. In old times, men were occurred in wars and self defence. Many even of the chiefs could neither read nor write ; they neglected trade and agriculture, they were con, sequently poor and ill fed. Life was not so long as it is now, because the doctors were unlearned and diseases were not cured. The Plague, a disease now unknown in Europe, visited England and destroyed thousands of people who lived in crowded and filthy hovels. Let us loot at the difference now that men living under the shadow of the law, can devote all their energies to moral and social improvement. * In olden times, the people in England wete comparatively few, great forests overspread the land in many places, and London was not larger than Sydney. Nowfthe country is. cultivated alfrott like a garden, and though England and Scotland are but little larger than New Zealand, they contain ?50 times as many inhabitantsThe city of London contains \p 00,0 00 inhabitants, irhinh n ninry "yyAjjC JIT ; "

Fakeha, Manchester, Glasgow, and Birmingham eobS contain four timet at many inhabitant*asNewXealand, and yet all the rest of the country is asNhickly inhabited! as the neighbourhood of AucklawL jSngland export* every year to other cownvalued at 109 millions of pounds sterlings. The Queen gives law, and is eheerfclly obeyed and loved in 42 colonies, one of which, Indik contains 150 millions of inhabitants, tpeakingSfen different languages* Here it has been said that if the natives were aTI to spit once at the samV moment, the whole of the Pakeha would be downed. But there, as everywhere else, the law\s maintained and upheld because people enquire\f their own hearts, and ask if it is good, and the\answer is y it is good ; better than any other lawV To tell you how many great merchant ships belong to England is more than I am able, they are countless, and increase every year, and the Queen's Steam Ships of War are far more numerous than those of any other country in the world. Indeed the war ships of England and France are far more numerous than the war ships of all the rest of the nations of earth. These are some of the blessing* granted by our Almighty Father to his obedient children, and he will be equally gracious- to all others who seek to obey hfs will, and in so doing, obey laws made by wise men in the old days for our good, which are never in opposition to the Law of God k