THE WAIMATE DIFFICULTY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5632, 18 April 1879, Page 3

THE WAIMATE DIFFICULTY.

(From the Taranaki Herald.) The great bulk, of the land not having been held .by troops or settlers, was gradually occupied by returned rebels, who were allowed to remain in possession without any opposition on the part of the Government.. But all the time it was laid down by successive Ministers that the land was Crown land, and would never bo relinquished. The natives cared little for such theories, they were in turbed possession, and were satisfied. Complications now arose in dealing with claims of friendly natives, whose land had been quietly absorbed by law,, by awards made on confiscated land, which, minus confiscation, really belonged to other tribes. These awards, however, could not be satisfied except in really conquered country. Promises also had been made, or quasi promises, by Native Ministers, and only partially fulfilled. In a great many caees, actual purchases were made of confiscated lands, and conveyances taken from the original native owners, as; if confiscation had never taken ■ place. : ' It will, therefore, be readily understood that what'seemed to intelligent pakehas a rather.-tangled question, to the Maoris would appear a hopeless puzzle. To Whiti has, however, from his point of view, cut the knot of the difficulty by asserting the right of the Maori- to occupy the land, in removing by force the Government surveyors. This is the old common law mode of asserting such a right between individvals, though the courts would deal with the matter in a more formal way if their aid was invoked. And now we are informed by Mr. Mackay that To Whiti alleges breaches of contract on the part of thei .Government os the substantial reason why the Surveyors were driven off the Plains, producing in their minds the fear that they wquld be deprived of all their lands if a vigorous protest was. uot made. History tells as that old promises made to the aboriginal natives are not, always sacredly observed by succeeding Governments, and if. there is any ground for these (complaints there certainly should be some inquiry made into the matter. But the amazing, part of the whole affair ,is that ao record. appears to have been kept of promises to Maoris; at any rate Wellington is not the spot whore, they are to be found, Such looseness, on’, thepart, of the Native Office shows that a thorough reform is wanted, in the administration oL native affairs. In other departments themqat trivial matters ore pigeonholed, and indexed ;,:but in matters involving war a more relaxed discipline is maintained, and memory and private notes take the place ef the official records. The inquiry ought to be one which will satisfy the. public, at large, and also give fair satisfaction to the natives. No mere perfunctory examination of documents by the officials of the Native Office will effect this,-but something in the shape of a oommis-" sion in which natives will have a voice can alone meet thegravity of the case. We merely’ Indicate the general nature of‘the mode of inquiry ; it is for, the Government to so shape it as to elicit the facta and leave Parliament and the - publitr free to judge whether the natives concerned have 1 cause to complain or not. This may cause delay; put off the sale indefinitely, and perhaps materially . modify the mode of dealing with the land. But surely this is better than arousing hostile feeling on the part of the natives which .will pot. easily be allayed if the sale of the land is pushed on while grievances in respect, la it are alleged and not inquired Into and, disposed of. •We say it is infinitely better.lf.auch.au enquiry will have the effect of securing; peace and the ultimate possession of the.land on terms which the natives concerned will. acoept as a, final settlement of this longstanding and, burning question. We therefore hope that the Government will give this matter, their, serious consideration, and at once cause a thorough investigation to. be made.

, : (From the Wairarapct Daily.) Information which we have recently re-' ceivad from what may bo termed the disturbed district leads ns to believe that the Waimate difficulty is rather grayer than it has generally been, represented to be. It has been asserted that the natives are ' unanimous in expressing an intention of not fighting, and a certain amount credence has .been given to their repeated assurances. Unfortunately their actions belie their words. For some ; time past the Maoris in the neighborhood have been selling off large numbers of horses and cattle, and have changed all the notes and cheques they have received fhr them into gold. We believe a large quantity of gold is.now held in their possession, .though .probably a portion of it has been .expended ~on...the, purchase of arms and ' ammunition. . /All this . indicates a systematic preparation • for war, and it would be a'mistake to assume that they will not fight ; if it comes to the pinch, or that they,did not, know whSn . they’..removed. the iuryeyora that they were making a; warlike overture, or that: they were unprepared to follow up the initial step' which they then took. Some stress, too, basibeendaid. on. the iact that the renowned' warrior .Titokowaru; was not with Te Whiti, but against him, .It is, however, rumored that Titbko is receiving a'Government subsidy, and if bis services i and, sympathies are oh the Eu-' ropeoUside, they are l simply so for the sake of “filthy lucre.”, nor in the event of hostilities could an'. ally' so ' obtained be regarded with much confidence. ' The Government have a delicate and difficult task to-accomplish if -peace is to be maintained. In the past open and manly courses have not been taken with the natives, and the sinuous sugar and blanket policies are bearing how their -hatural fruit. There is, however, every reason to believe that'the Government have acted wisely : ih ' placing- the negotiations for peace, in the bands- of : Mr, Mackay; and that this gentleman will:be able to secure peace with an apparent shew of honor, there is now n-reasonabio-prospect. —There-is too much soiled linen, still in the Native Department for us to expect the honor to be of the brightest and purest character. A certain amount of humiliation must necessarily be the outcome of tbe late native defiance.