THE Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 1879. THE AWAHURI SURVEY.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 52, 28 June 1879, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 1879. THE AWAHURI SURVEY.

!' Wo. els are 6 i«»»J, itnd & drop of Bik f iLUng like dew upon a thosgfct. prodncw ttv t whiab makes thousands, periapts millions think."

Tirs 'conduct .of the Niitive 1 Office with regard to the obxtrvictini) of the survey •in tbe'AwHburi District, is certainly on a par with its action over the Hawera imbroglio. At a. r«ceut sitting (?f th« Palmerston Polii-e Court, Tapita, a Te"mald. Native,"~-was charged under the Trigonometrical Suivey Act with the obstruction of Mr.- GriLLF/r, a Government officer, and fiaed £2 and costs. The defendant wa's'raos't bounceable in Court, flatly telling the Bppqk, that sh» would not pa.y tho amount, and although yarned, by the presiding magistrate of 'the serious consequences of disobeying the judicial mandate, she reiterated the threat. The decree was made that the. fine should.be paid on or before last Monday. The order of the ,Court was not only treated with supreme contempt, but Hana Peka, a sister ( to Ta-pita in direct Violation of th# Act uncler which h«r. sister had been fined, again turned off the surveyor, mid having seized his chaitv. refused to giv« it up. In the meantimr, a telegrara'has been received by" the authorities in Palinerston inti- . mating that the verdict of, the Court previously made is not only to be set ji6lde f but the feminine disturber is not t O-.be' in lef.ir«d with. On Thursday, Mr. Gillbt again appeared at the Court-house, Palinerston, and swore f rcfU affidavits, but the Police Magistrate is naturally placed upon the horns of a dilemma by the unwarrantable interference of the Government. The been retained by the Goveiiimeilit to. act in Native matters it becomes, as it were, of a semi-official character, and consequently Mr. Wua>is rather, sensitive about disregarding it. If> it turns out, as we believe it will, that the interference has come from the Government, we think no language could be too strong for denouncing such unwarrantable conduct. IfTATiTA be supported in openly defying a cwirt of justice, then good^bye to all future control ot the Natives. Here we have a flagrant breach of the lkws of the land, and after a v pntitnb hearing the offender is fined in tlie minimi* ji penalty, and instead of being, thankful for the lenity, tht Courtis met with 'open vows of deftanoe, but it is followed by an aggravated repetition of the'offVncc. E^en suppofring tliat ifc was discovered that there wore circumstances in connection with the case' to warrantan interference with the course of justice, it* should have been carried out in a ciiffarcnt manner -mqre particularly after the open threats of defhince uttered by Tapita.. Had tho Goverhmont seen good and justifiable reasons for step, •pin^ in between the Ij'w, it should have waited until the order of the Court had been complied with, and then if ifc felt so inclined the amount of fine could ha.vo been ie uitted. Tlie case might be looked upon as a test to prava the power and superiority of the law — and cjirtainlv by the actipn taken tlie GoVernmei}t has given a verdict that the Natives aie not amena'ble to it, and can defy the court r of jurisdiction which rule the Pakeh^.. On the day of r hearing, thYeou'rt'was crowded with Maoris And their general bearing was boastful and defiant, the announcement by Tapita that she would not "be rulrd by the'decision of the Conrt appearing to give* general sati f o'ion. Under these circumstances, then, the setting a«ide the judgment is nothing more on less than a distinct -license and intimation to the Natives in thjs. district that they can defy Mr. Ward and his* decisions with impunity, and that the Government will not only hold them scatheless for their open contempt, but bear "them out jn their rebellion to authority, We believe Mr. Ward in the dilernma in which he has been placed, has thought it advisable^ to defer putting the informations into force, in flue hope thftt he may receive some instructions.,., wjiich will 'be of a more official nature than the communication from Dr. BiTller. Meanwhilf Mr. Gili^ki and. his * party are being subjee'ed toijxdignit.7ji»coivenici (jeand loss of time and money. We sincerely Jiope the maoliineiy or <he law will be jallowed to take its course, and I hat Mr. '^Vasd upurn hearing, the secnn.l , case, it, be' proved, will, teach our dusky obstructionists a salutary lesson by going lo the tuttre,nie i ,li'nit allowed, an«i inftL'ting a penalty of £50,