The New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1877.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5138, 11 September 1877, Page 2

The New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1877.

A banquet ‘‘ in celebration of the withdrawal of the Native Lands Bill and of the verdict for plaintiff in the “Waka Maori” case, was given yesterday, ostensibly by two leading chiefs of Hawke’s Bay. A report of the proceedings will be found in another column, by which it will- be seen that several members of Parliament, mostly from the Opposition side of the House, were present, and that the opportunity was not neglected of having a fling at the Ministry, who were denounced as wrong-doers to the natives by Mr. Kaeaitiana, Mr. Renata Kawepo, Mr. Wakefield, and others. Now, the chief Renata— a wealthy and influential man—was not long ago a supporter of the Government, and an avowed disbeliever in the tactics of the Repudiation party. But yesterday he advocated the desirability of a speedy change in the Government, as the one tiling to be especially desired at the present time. Of course it is always allowable for a man to change his mind,, but we really cannot see what the Ministers have done to forfeit the good opinion of Mr. Renata and those who coincide with him in his present views. Regarding the Native Lands Bill, the Government introduced it belie'ving it to be a suitable measure to settle a very difficult question; but they did not pledge themselves to stand or fall by it ; and seeing it met with disfavor, withdrew it, and resolved to wait until next session, when another Bill on the subject will be brought down, and in the meantime the natives will be fully consulted as to their views in thp matter. A more conciliatory or straightforward course it would be difficult to pursue, and how the “natives” are aggrieved by it we are at a loss to know. The Government withdrew the Bill, and the natives represented at the meeting yesterday expressed their thanks that this has been done, i-As regards the second subject of congratulation —“ the verdict of the jury for •the plaintiff in the ‘ Waka Maori ’ libel case ” —it is no doubt satisfactory to Mr. Russell and his friends that the result was in his favor, but it is difficult to see why the Government should be blamed for the course they took in defending the case. - We are not going to justify the ■ libel. It was an unfortunate thing that the letters complained of in the “ Waka Maori” were published; but had they appeared in an ordinary newspaper ’ we venture to think that the jury might have regarded them as fair comments on the acts of a public man: The fact, in all probability, that the journal in which they appeared was published under the auspices of the Government, induced the jury to regard them in a somewhat different light than. they otherwise would . have done. Of course it was open to them to take every element in the case into consideration. It is not our place to quarrel with the verdict. It was honestly given no doubt, and the gentlemen who gave it, we feel certain, believed that they were right. But why should the Government be censured for defending the case ? The plaintiff comes down upon them with a demand for £IO,OOO, which they very properly resisted, and although they have been mulcted in damages, the amount awarded falls very short of the demands made by Mr. Russell. Mr. Wakefield is reported to have said that he endorsed every word Mr. Kawepo said as to the desirability of turning out the Government as soon as possible; indeed, this seemed to be the leading idea of the meeting—so long as the Ministry were turned out all would bo well. The gathering apparently was not so much to express thankfulness with the withdrawal of the Native Land Court Bill, and to rejoice with Mr. Russell on getting a • verdict in the Supreme Court, as to denounce the Government without, as it appears to us, any substantial reason whatever. We wonder if Mr. Renata has asked himself the question if the present Ministry did go out now and another succeeded it, would the interests of the natives and the country be better looked after? We very much doubt it.. We do not say that the Ministry is perfection ; but looking at the discordant elements of the Opposition, we decidedly question if they could form a Ministry amongst them able to hold a candle to the present occupants of the Government benches. '