The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY). TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1879.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5635, 22 April 1879, Page 2

The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY). TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1879.

The present state of native affairs is certainly infinitely more hopeful than it has been for some time. Not because any basis for a definite arrangement of the difficulty has been found, but simply owing to tho calm and rational handling which it has received at (he hands of the chief negotiator, Mr. Mackay. From a report published by the Press Association, and partly confirmed by the Press Agency, it appears that Mr. Mackay recommends that a commission of inquiry should be appointed to examine into the truth of the claims urged by Te Whiti and the former owners of the plains. We have already expressed approval of the appointment of the present gentleman to the post of chief negotiator, and if the tenor of his report, when published, proves to be such as has appeared, the confidence we expressed in his judgment and ability will be amply justified'. The Press Association report of the 19th says ; —“ He [Mackay] thought a wise course “ would be to have a commission of in- “ quiry to decide these claims, and bring “ peace to the country. He was prepared “ to propose this to Sheehan, to whom “ho had explained what took place between them when they last met. He, “ urged them to think of it carefully for “themselves; and, even if they were “ vexed about anything, he urged them “to ponder over what he said.” Through the Press Agency on the 20th we heard that “ Mackay spoke on Friday, “ suggesting a common form of inquiry “as a solution of the difficulty. This was “ favorably received by most of those “ present. Te Whiti did not seem to “ entertain it favorably.” The advice given was sound, and will’commend itself to the common sense of the general public. The ardent rashness which inspired the Maoris in the first flush of success—after forcibly ejecting the surveyors from the plains—has had time to cool down, and the irritation which was naturally felt by the Europeans at the slight cast upon their authority has now subsided. The question is a very large and important one, and whosoever may be ultimately called upon to pronounce judgment in regard to the matters in dispute tho judicial authority should be one which can command the confidence of the whole colony. A Commission appointed by the whole House of Representatives, and approved by the Legislative Council, would be above suspicion, and its decision would be cheerfully acquiesced in by the colony at large. It is no slight upon the Ministry to say that if the question is decided by the Cabinet alone it cannot and will not be regarded as satisfactory. The wisdom of the whole House is superior to tho wisdom of any one section, and we have reason to believe that the Ministry, as a whole, no longer commands the confidence of the majority of their party, far less that of the majority of the whole House. Honesty of intention is generally conceded to those who have had the direction of native affairs ; the department has been for years presenting a tangled skein of perplexities, difficult of solution for the clearest and most far-sighted intellects. There appears to be now something like a dead-lock in the negotiations, and the issues at stake seem to be such as can be fairly submitted to an unbiassed tribunal. A commission, consisting of the nominees o f one party would be popularly regarded as necessarily influenced by party motives, and its decisions would carry no weight. The Government have shown their intention of postponing the session of Parliament till a late date, in spite of the evident advisability of an opposite course being pursued. But if the native difficulty is allowed to sleep on undisturbed until Parliament meets in the ordinary course, the “ conspirators ” against the Government will not greatly begrudge to Ministers the extension to their term of office which will be thereby absolutely secured. Mr. Sheehan has openly expressed his fondness for the sunny side of tho House, and unquestionably the sweets of office are far more certain of continuance when the Opposition is only represented by a few unsubsidised journals, instead of by a strong force of keen and active critics on the floor of the House.

An evening contemporary recently published an'apparently authoritative account of what passed at the last meeting between Mr. Sheehan and Ta VVhxti. Wo desire to draw attention to the following important paragraph : “The Hon. Mr. Sheehan, when iuter- “ viewing the natives on his visit to the “ coast last week, devoted his attention “ to examining these alleged promises, “ and he states that he found that every, “promise made, either by Sir Donaed “ McLean or other Native Ministers, has “ been fulfilled to the letter. As to the “promises which Te Whiti alleged to “ havo been made to himself, the closest “ investigation failed to show that he had “the slightest ground for his claims.” This account is attributed to the Native Minister himself, and we welcome it with much satisfaction. On the 10th instant we wrote : “ It may be safely asserted “that Sir D. McLean never privately “ made any such unconditional promises” as those attributed to him. We are glad to find . not only that Mr. Sheehan has since satisfied himself on this score, but also that he has openly contradicted the numerous reports which impugned the good faith of Sir Donald McLean years after his death. The paragraph we have reprinted is important in that it also shows that hitherto no sound pretext has been established by Te Whiti lor the eviction of the surveyors. , He is said to desire peace, but he has unquestionably risked

bloodshed. So long as things remain as they are, in the face of the strong expression of public feeling against war which has been made manifest by the Press throughout the Colony, we do not anticipate that the Ministry will venture upon any attempt to resume survey operations en the Waimate Plains. The responsibility of doing so would be very great, and there is no pressing necessity for the Ministry to undertake it. Te "Whiti may desire peace, but it is peace plus the undisturbed possession of the "Waimate Plains. He is posted at Parihaka with not loss than 400 well-armed Maoris eager for a fight at his back, and at the present moment we are certainly not prepared to dispute possession with him by force of arms. The country as a whole is averse to war, and the South Island, through the “ Otago Daily Times,” even threatens to desert us if war is declared.