The New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 1878.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5399, 17 July 1878, Page 2

The New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 1878.

The Hon. Mr. Sheehan has undoubtedlybeen active in the performance of the out-of-door duty which lie has imposed upon himself that, as he informed his native friends at Putiki the other day, of seeing the whole of the island and the people before meeting the Parliament again. During much of the time the Native Minister has been “on the chain,” and led about by his great Master, who delighted, with offensive patronage, to hold him up to the youth of New Zealand as an example, not shocking, but encouraging, of what may happen to a son of the soil in the good times coming. When Mr. Sheehan has been left to himself, he has done some useful work, and has inculcated some wholesome but unpalatable doctrines which, coming from him, may have the anticipated effect of physic upon his sick native friends. Mr. Sheehan’s new mode of treatment of Maori complaints must appear so strange to his brown brothers that we shall not bo surprised to hear that they have changed their doctor, and called in Professor Rees, of Napior, whose circulars have come to them down the river. We take the liberty of giving to Mr. Rees the same benefit which we accord to our economical and impartial Government, by publishing a translation of his advertisement “gratis,”

Notice to the whole ot the tribes of Now Zealand, of Wairarapa, of Taranaki, of Almrirl, of Taupo, and Poverty Bay, This is a notice to you all, that none of yon shall sign your names for the sale of lands, of leases, of mortgages, or of anything concerning land. First come all of you to me, that you may understand what you arc about to do. From Eses, lawyer, Napior.

We quote the above from the May number of the “Jurist;” but we differ from the opinion expres&od therein by the editor, that it looks like touting forbusincss. The Napier Repudiation Office is a colonial institution; its object is not business, but virtue ; the righting of wrongs, and the protection of the weak and of the interests of minors like the charmer A Mill, and of others who are under legal disabilities. Fees and refreshers have there no place, all is love and law. The men of tho office are crusaders whose high purpose and lofty aims have attracted members of the House of Representatives into their ranks, and even the “whip” which was meant for a party has, wo learn, only been prevented from drifting lately into the service of Maori mankind by tho earnest intervention of his chief. The danger which confronts us now is that when individuals have been , sufficiently punished, or pumped out, the energies of the Repudiation Office will be directed against the Government, and that the titles of the Crown itself will be challenged. At tho Puliki meeting this contingency was indicated by a Maori named Utiku, \yho addressing the Native Minister, is reported to have said :■ —

Ho welcomed the representative of the new Government. If he was prepared to do away with the bad laws of the old Government he was welcome, lie would say, no sales of land, no leases, mortgages, or surveys. He had seen notices of land offices established in the colony to look into old land purchases., lie thought it a good thing If such an office were established in Wanganui. If it were established soon, all would be well; but if not there would bo trouble, as he was a bad man when roused, Kateno again rose and supported tltiku, saying ho was opposed to all sales or surveys.

Mete Kinox, the great chief of ■ the river, said — They svero’anxious to obtain an office, the same as they had in Napier, as they had been told the Napior office was supported by t)\o Government. The whole of the Wanganui block bad-been sold for £IOOO, and ever since they bad been grumbling at the price. Too much land was sold for the money. They did not make any claim, but If the number of acres in the block was reckoned up. they could then see what they ought to have received. If tills compensation svero not granted in his day, his children would continue lo agitato.

Last year our readers will remember that, even-whilst the House was in session, Captain Montgomery's family and others wore frightened away from, their homes near Wanganui by the action of a native who had spent the early days of the session in the lobby and the waitingroom of the House, and who left Wellington; under instruction as he said, with the avowed purpose of practically asserting the claim which is now again put forth,' and in regard to which we are threatened with continued agitation. We fear greatly that if the Crown titles obtained in the earlier times, anyhow and for a nominal price, are subjected to the same process by the Repudiation Office as European titles on the East Coast are now undergoing, it may be found that they are in the same condition as Citizen Jones’s “pleas” in justification of hislibel, arid not fit to hold water. A wide sea of fees and refreshers would hero bo open to the adventurous navigator. It is. well •that the Native Minister should give some thought to this subject. He has raised the evil spirit,'arid should endeavor to .find the spoil to lay it. It is satisfactory to learn that Mr. Kauaitiana, M.H.R., has determined to “put clown” Tb Whiti, tho_ prophet of Parihaka, How the operation is to be

performed does not appear. Our Waikato correspondent told us the other day that Bewi’s motive for having the Waitara meeting was to' test" a prophecy of Te Whiti, which said ‘ that if the principal “ ‘parties to the Taranaki war could bo “ ‘ got togotherattheAceldama ( Waitara), “ ‘ the Angel Gabriel would appear, and “ ‘ restore to life all those who had been “‘slain during the war.’” As Bewi had got the principal, parties together, and ns Tb Whiti only sent pigs and potatoes, and did not think it necessary to put in an appearance personally, wa agree with Mr. Kabaitiana that ho deserves to bo put down, particularly if ho believed in his own oracle. It may, however, have been only a “stump” prophecy, in which case, according to Ministerial precedent, it should not bind him.

We hope that we have new heard the last of these native meetings. They are very expensive demonstrations, and, politically, they arc somewhat worse than useless. Great things were expected of them. They have only shown that the pretension of the Premier to extrardinary personal power and influence with natives has really no foundation in these days.. Time has changed all that. The Native Minister has carried out his purpose of travelling as much" as possible, and has suffered greatly in every place from the friendly importunities of his fellow-countrymen ; they are proud of him and of his political success, and would not even object to a crumb fromtheMinistorial table. We venture to think that the best work of a Native Minister cannot be performed altogether satisfactorily in steam yachts or in special trains, and that the departmental business, including native schools, and other matters not Ifesa important, must have suffered greatly from the neglect of its chief. The traditional . taihoa of the office hss been unreasonably accentuated thereby, and there has been much public ooijiplain t.