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Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume IV, Issue 9, 30 September 1857, Page 1

From time to time we have heard of a movement going forward among our Waikato friends about which we wish to say a few words. The origin of this movement we believe to be good, though we must blame the course which some of its promoters are taking. We wish lo camion our friends who are concerned in the proceedings to which we refer against being led into an act of folly. It has been proposed by some of the tribes to give to a Maori chief the title of King of New Zealand, and to cast off allegiance lo the Queen. To act upon so foolish a suggestion could lead to no good, and might lead to much mischief. It would bring upon the tribes concerned in il the displeasure of the Go■vernnient, and the ridicule and enmity of

other tribes, foilure and d; Few of the what they an There may b who foresee tempt, and y would bring of the Maori not listen to Those wh( not suppose they could r Government a Maori king must not he: reason that king-making the reports i talk, andtri people to kei would depi protection < have enjoye Our Mao Treaty of "W Kew Zealan semative, Gi It secured t and all the possessed, c ensured to the protect' the world. Since tha inhabitants garded by i!

It is easy to say, "Lei usmake a king." It! is easy to say, " Let us build a ship of war." j But the old tohnnga would have found it easier to build a man of war, with only their stone adzes and skill in canoe-building, than j their children would find it to frame a separate j system of government for themselves with 1 their present knowledge and resources. ; Will they effect in a day that which has cost\ I the English hundreds of years. j The duty of a king is to protect his subi jects against foreign enemies. The subjects of a Maori king would cease to be the subjects of Cueen Victoria, and would be no i longer under her protection. Their king must therefore have soldiers and ships of war to defend ihem. Will a Maori king be able to do iliis ? j The duly of a king is also lo administer laws, lo dispense justice, to protect the lives ' and properties of his subjects, and maintain : order. What are the laws which a Maori j king would administer ? Would he bring back the old Maori customs? Would he | make new laws for his people? Where would he obtain the knowledge necessary ! fortius? He could not look to the Pakelia for help, as. by assuming the title of king, he i would make himself the enemy of the Queen, and no Englishman would venture to assist ! him. | j A king requires many officers to I:elp him ' lo carry on his government, and he must have ! the means of paying these officers. lie needs a great deal of money to pay his offi-j scrs, soldiers, and sailors, and for other ex-i

nenses. W ill a Maori king coin stones into money for these purposes ? Will a I ving do for the Maori people what the Government have clone for them? Will he establish schools, and find teachers for their children? Will he teach them to build ships and mills? Will he instruct them in the arts of civilization and try to raise them to a level with the Pakcha? Will lie provide them with carls, ploughs, spades, axes and oilier agricultural implements, and teach them how to cultivate the land and acquire wealth ? Will he cause them to be supplied with the articles of clothing, food, eic., which theMaoriesnow get from the Pakehas; or will he show them how to produce and make these things for themselves? Will a Maori king be able to do all or any of. these things for his people? If not, will they be content to do without such things? This they must do, because, as we said just now, a king of New Zealand could not be a friend of the Queen, and his adherents would not be permitted to share in the privileges enjoyed by her obedient subjects. We will not now count up the ill consequences to any section of the Maori people who should be so foolish as to forsake their allegiance to our gracious Queen. We warn them, however, that by do<ng so they must forfeit all claim to her favour and protection. They must be either her subjects or her enemies. Those who wish the Maori people well, will advise them to give up this king-making talk; those who wish them ill, will encourage them in it; those who are indifferent, will only laugh at them. Some of the bad effects of this unwise talk are already seen on the Waikato. It has set the tribes quarrelling among themselves. Instead of uniting to carry out some plan for the general be.iefitand for remedying the evils they profess to deplore,

we regret to hear thnt ihey are forming into parlies, some calling themselves partisans of the Maori king, others, adherents of the Government, or Queen's men. Friends, let this confusion and dissension cease. Let the chiefs seek raiher to promote industry and good will among the people instead of setting them to quarrel about a name nrfrich their fathers never heard of, and which fewof themselves know the meaning of. Who can teH what this name signifies, or what this king is to do? Is the name of a Chief nothing to the Maori, that he should seek to borrows name from the Pakeha 7 Let the Chiefs continue to be Chiefs, and fulfil the duties of Chiefs, and they will be respected boih by Fakehas and Maories as Chiefs. They know what belongs to the rank and dignity of £r Chief, and will not be at a loss bow to act in that Let them not adopt new names which will orrly make them- ridiculous. Is rot PotatairTe Wherowbero the great chief of the Waikaio? Would it make him greater lo call feim King of New Zealand T We think not, b'.:t would rather be an insult to liim as holding up his name to the contempt and derision of those who would not be willing lo accept him as their king. We spoke of ihe origin of ihis movement among ihe Waikato and other tribes, and said, it was good. We said so, because we believe it to have been a desire on the part of some of the intelligent chiefs to bring about a better stale of things among their people. Thoughtful men see that while the present disorderly slate of society exists, no permanent improvement is to be looked for. They are anxious to see an authority established to suppress the evils which keep the Maori people from advancing in civilization. The frequent quarrels about land, etc,, too often leading to strife and even bloodshed; the absence of any power to punish crime and misconduct; a stale of society where men are alienable to no law and subject to no restraint:—such a state of things may well set those who look upon themselves as the heads of the people to look for some remedy. But the remedy is not to be found in isolating themselves and selling up a king. A Maori king may lead his peopleinto mischief, but he will not lead them to any good. He may cause strife, but he will not be able to put an end to it. Some of the king-makers appeal to ihe Bible as sanctioning their project. There are many words in the Bible about obeving kings and existing authorities, but none

sanctioning the setting up of new ones. The example of the Israelites and King Saul has been quoted, but it should be remembered that this king was chosen by God himself; he was anointed and proclaimed king by the Prophet Samuel, by Divine command. If our friends will read the account carefully, they will see that the wish of the Israelites to have a king was not approved by God, and its accomplishment was followed by much disaster and trouble. 15ut who will anoint a king for New Zealand? Even if acknowledged by all the itibes as their head, ibis would not make him king. It would not give him the ability or the resources necessary for governing even his own people. Our friends may ask, What shall we do ? How put a slop to the evils which are diminishing our numbers and causing usto disappear from the face of our own country, while the Europeans are increasing around us? We will try and answer this question. We say, Ihe adoption of English law will remedy most of these evils. Under this law the Pakeha lives orderly and securely. The weak are protected against the violence and oppression of the strong. The wrongdoer is punished, and the evil disposed are restrained ]>v tiie fear of punishment. Englishmen value their law above everything, except the law of God, upon which it is based ; and wherever they go they establish i« among themselves and cause all their countrymen to obey it. The Maories say that the English law has not prevented violence and injustice between tribes and individuals who dwell apart from ihe English, and this is true. But what is the reason? Because the Maories have not adopted it as their law. The Queen has not sought to force her laws up6h"*her > jilaori subjects, but has left it to mem to choose for themselves whether they would adopt them or not. If the laws of the English, when known, were found by them to be just and good, there could be no doubt they would be adopted, because of their intrinsic goodness, in the same way as Christianity was adopted. l&rce is seldom or never required to ensure obedience to the law among the English. A singhi policeman is sent to apprehend an offender, and the offender surrenders himself because he knows that, if he resists, all the community will take part with the single policeman. If an Englishman has a house and land be can do what he likes with it. It is his

castle, and no one dares disturb him because the law protects him. If a strong man assaults him, or a robber steals from him, he does not require his relations to protect him or his friends to obtain redress for him, but he goes to the Magistrate, who spreads the protection of the law over him without further trouble on his part. ► The Governor has directed that a sum\iiary of the English law should be prepared and published for lhe information of the Maori people. Our advice te them is that they study carefully these Laws, and determine to adopt them. Let them than apply to the Governor to assist them in carrying out these laws. He will do this by appointing Magistrates and Native Assessors for this purpose. \Ve will conclude with a word of caution, -which our Maori friends will do well to attend to. There are persons in New Zealand who would like to sec the Maories set themselves in opposition to the Government, knowing that such a step must end in their destruction. Let our Maori friends be on their guard against the evil counsels of such persons. We speak the truth when we tell them that their security is in a loyal adherence to the Queen's Government. Some of the chiefs assert, that jealous and unfriendly feelings exist on the part of the colonists towards their Maori brethren. There are designing persons among the Europeans who also seek to make the Maories believethis. We cannot admit the truih of this assertion, but, were it true, it would furnish a strong reason why the Maories should remain loyal to the Government, which is their truest friend and protector. If one brother be jealous of the other, it is the parent of both who will take care that neither shall oppress or injure the other. Let the Maories remember that the Government has always acted the part of a parent to them. Let them continue to place confidence in those who have been appointed by the Queen to protect them and lead them in the right path.