CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 92, 9 December 1843, Page 367

CORRESPONDENCE.

To th« Editor of the Nelson Examiner.

Sir — I have for the last fortnight looked in your paper for some notice or explanation of an occurrence which has been much discussed here among both natives Tind settlers; and which, if suffered to remain unexplained, will much injure in Maori estimation our general character for truth and fair dealing. The facts are these. The Maori E Piko, long well known among us for his frfendly disposition to the whites, had frequently spoken of his intention to settle among them at Nelson, build himself a house, cultivate land, &c, and some weeks ago he left Motuaka with the express intention of doing so j but soon afterwards returned, highly indignant at the treatment he had received. His land had been let to another, his right denied to the building which the late Captain Wakefield in the presence of many witnesses had told him was destined for the exclusive use of the natives of Motuaka, and lastly, what in Maori eyes constitutes a great insult, his name publicly placarded. His own comment is too striking to be omitted. " Wideawake said, ' See, this house is yours.' Wideawake is dead, and Mr. Reay says, ' No, this house is not yours.' Suppose I say, ' I sold the land to Wideawake : he is dead ; his word is not kept. Go— this land land is not yours.' " I must own the argument seems to me a good one. If one party to a contract, or his successors, break faith, the otter is released from its obligations. Ido not discuss the right to act thus ; but, supposing it to exist, I think you will agree with me that it should be put an end to as soon as possible. We treat the Maories as children or savages, and I find them keen-witted, intelligent men, alive to their own interests, and determined in the defence of their rights, or what they believe such ; keenly sensitive to injustice or insult, and prone to revenge it. Neither do I think it necessary to speak of the policy of these proceedings, further than to state the general conviction here to be that, at a time and under circumstances demanding the greatest discretion and forbearance, they are calculated to add much to the difficulties of our exposed and unprotected situation here, and that no time should be lost on the part of those who have the power to counteract their bad effects. I am, sir, &c. A Settler of Motuaka. Motuaka, Nov. 26. P.S. — Since writing the above, I understand a private message has been sent to E Piko, saying he can have the land, and go into the Hostelry again ; but this does not seem to me either to meet the justice of the case, or to afford any security against its recurrence.