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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5147, 21 September 1877, Page 2

Two native meetings have recently been held, one at Kawakawa, in the' Bay ;of Islands, and the ..other at Putiki, in the Wanganui country,, the proceedings lat which, respectively," present a remarkable contrast. w The,, Ngapuhi, werq ,the. actors in one case, their, , meeting .being presided - over by Wibemu Katene, lately-a member of the House ,of .Representatives for the ’ Northern Maori District and ex-member "of the Colonial Executive; Some" of;,the Wanganui people, .under the . guidance bf Meti Kingi and. Major. Kemp, were the actors in the other.' We. have been favoredwith copies of the telegrams conveying the official • report of the result in each instance. Mr. H. J. Kemp, addressing the Under-Secretary of the Native • Department here, says ; I beg leave to'report; for Hon. Native Minister’s ' information that native; meeting at Kawakawa broke up at noon on Saturday, (yesterday). Wi Katene, ex M.H.R., acted as chairman, and conducted the proceedings throughout-in a creditable manner. Questions brought under consideration:—lst. The count.v counoil as more immediately, connected with levying* of' rates, &c. This was warmly discussed Tor several hours, and ultimately put to the vote and carried,‘in favor of adopting the Act, by a fair majority, subject to some amendments, which .are ■to be; submittedjto the Government for future consideration. The new Native Land Act having been .withdrawn by the Government fer tile present, the’disenssion was put off for six months, as also the matter, of ithe’electoral franchise, in so.far. as. tUe, Maoris ,are. concerned. Other minor local points were also deterred to the next sitting; -r Marsh Brown’s r hew‘ hall wasi used for the occasion,-and - the whole thing passed off quietly and in order, following, as far as. it was passible the rules in force in our own House of Assembly. j The Resident Magistrate, Mr. Williams, corroborates the report, thus—• ■ i

Native meeting well conducted. Natives agree ;to working county council and pay rates. ( Question carried by vote. ■ ! ■;

Wi Katenb may be regarded in this instance as representative ’of the party of progress amongst the northern natives, and Maihi Paraonb Kawiti as representing whatever remains, and it is but little, of the ,pld .spirit of antagonism tp ! the pakeha and his ways which still exist in the Ngapuhi,,-country.; Aif ,the meet-., ing .-was’held in- the' house and at the kainga of Maihi, the resolutions may be taken as expressing-the views of the Nga : puhi people upon - the 'specified points. In the North'the' greatest Objection to bringing the Counties f ‘Act 1 find, the High’- • ways Act into operation was based upon the.'fact that whilst land;.the property of natives and .still'in,their occupation,— that ; is, not alienated in- any way,—was exempt from rating, the. charge for roads and public works, the advantage of which was common, .fell -upon the property of the Europeans ' alone. It says much for the intelligence of the Ngapuhi that they are able to recognise the advantages of local self-government in the form of tfye coiinty, council, "and it Shows in the strongest light their sense of what is just and expedient when we find them expressing their readiness' to waive their legal right of exemption from taxation: as Maoris, and to contribute their share. of the cost of the material benefits which roads and public works confer, and which they enjoy in common with their,European fellow-citizens. It is with a real pleasure that we hold out to Sir G. Grey and Dr. Wallis, and the other enlightened opponents of local self-government and the county system, for their guidance and improvement, this remarkable example of superior intelligence and public spirit amongst a people hardly more than: a generation removed from the condition of the “ noble' savage running wild irii woods.’’, But the medal has its reverse in the Wanganui proceedings. The following is Mr.. Woon’s report of the Putiki gathering : ’ . ' - Wanganui, 28 (sic) | 8 ’ 77.' Formal business of meeting over. Certain blocks in the interior as described tabooed from sale, lease, or survey, except by consent of tribe, set apart as an inheritance for Maori descendants. Any interference by individual member of tribe or by ft minority to beresisted by every legal means. Strong, objections raised to roads, road’board rates, railways, surveys, Laud Courts, grants, &c.,'being extended to interr dieted territory. ; Harbor Board regulations at Wanganui much animadverted upon as affecting ancient rights. Selling of further land at Tuhiia Interdicted. , Question of old purchases discussed, and decision come to to petition Government on,subject of compensation. Meeting also discussed the liquor traffic, and decided to put a stop to drunkenness.. ,To-morrow Kemp addresses the meeting, when proceedings will; terminate, \ ■ . v ■ •

No roads, no rates, no railways, no surveys, no Hand Courts, no Crown grants, no Harbor Boards, no land-sell l -' ing, much claim; for compensation, and incessant work for the chairman of the Committee on Native Affairs. This {is thoroughgoing ■ opposition, up> or neatly to the standard of Sir GrBORGE Obey, or. even of Mr. Rees himself. The prospect is not, however, more ifavOrable for;thdse wicked capitalists who seek-to acquire large estates at Wanganui than ,it is for. the poor man who would be content with a cheap little plot of a thousand acres or so, and it seems to indicate that legislative intervention vvithj.a view to prevent land sales just now' would be a work of supererogation. V, >' fl'| ■:! . ■ i