PUBLIC OPINION ON THE NATIVE QUESTION.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5638, 25 April 1879, Page 6

PUBLIC OPINION ON THE NATIVE QUESTION.

We liavo always endeavored conscientiously to discharge the duty of placing before our readers correct information upon the subject of native affairs, collected from reliable sources in all the native districts throughout the Colony. As the reports which we have given and the opinions which wo have expressed did not always accord with the reports given and the opinions expressed in relation to the same subject by individual Ministers, and by the subsidised public journal, we have been accused of fictitiousness and of political illiberality, apparently because we did not choose to permit that which we knew to bo untrue and deceptive, however brazenly put, to go forth uncontradicted or incorrectly. Time has_ completely proved the accuracy of our information, and events have justified the exposure which from time to time wo have boon called on to make of the official falsehoods that have been deliberately uttered by Ministers in their places in Parliament and elsewhere, and of the fabrication originated or inspired by their hirelings in the Press in certain portions of the Colony. Not boastfully, or in a party spirit, do we say this now, but in sorrow, for there are higher than more party interests involved in the very dangerous position into which Ministers gaily and with a light heart have dragged the Government and the people. Tb Wnrrihas practically declared war against the Government, insulted a Minister of the Crown in the grossest manner before the people at Parihaka. Tk Wiim harbors Hiroki, an acknowledged murderer, and has given orders which have been executed by willing hands for the removal of all Government surveyors from the Waimate Plains, and for the obliteration of all the work which they had been doing on the ground during the past year. That is the situation on the West Coast. That most impudent native statement made by the Hon. Mr.Sheehan on the 17th of September last reads very oddly by the light of subsequent events. On the 21st of October, in his reply on the motion for second reading of the Government Native Land Purchase Bill, the Hon. Native Minister said, “ Coming to “ the actual work, there is in these re- “ ports on the table evidence of the most “ satisfactory kind that at these meetings “ the old isolation was completely broken “ down, and the two peoples mingled “ together for the first time tor “ fourteen or fifteen years, and 11 as they had been accustomed “ to do before the Taranaki and Waikato “ wars broke out. The proof of it is that “ from that time till now we have been “ on such relations with the native “ people, both in the Waikato and on the “ West Coast, that to all intents and pur- “ poses they are to us the same as the “ ordinary local tribes. We are advising “ them, assisting them, communicating “ with them, and wiring to all parts of “ the native country, and we have ob- “ tained in this respect what our prede- “ cessors straggled honestly, but unsuc- “ cossfully, to accomplish ; therefore it “ is not fair to deny to us this amount of “ credit.” A week later, in the Legislative Council, the Hon. Colonial Secretary, in his reply on the motion for second reading of the same Bill, is reported to have said, speaking of Hmoia and the Moumahaki murder :—“ It was “ a private murder, arising from a “ private quarrel which took place “ on the West Coast. Such a “murder might occur in London, and “ the whole population turned out in “ search of the murderer, who was “ wounded by one of those who went out “in search of him. Ho reached Te “ Whitx’s pa, and will spend the re- “ mainder of his days in pain and snfter- “ ing. If wanted he could have been “ produced from Parihaka in twenty-four “ hours.” It is now said, and we have reason to believe with truth, that after Hiroki had got to Parihaka, an agent of the Government, with some friendly natives, Went to the place to search for him. As soon as Tb Whitx was made aware of the presence of the party at his settlement he gave orders that the Maoris should bo killed, the Europeans seized and imprisoned. One of the native scouts happily overheard the order, and a catastrophe was then prevented, only by the hasty flight of the searchers from Parihaka. All this must have been known to the Government at the time when, while they were sitting in one House, in the other the official statement which we have quoted above was deliberately made by a Minister of the Crown. The same kind of deception has been continued to be practiced on the public, whilst the Government has been foolishly endeavoring to bounce Tb Whitx, who has an army at his back ready to do his bidding, and who has besides the sympathy of the whole native people of Now Zealand. If it were not for the fact that the consequences of their reckless misconduct may extend so far beyond themselves, we might rejoice at the discomfiture of Ministerial trickery and falsehood. But unhappily the lives and fortunes of hundreds of our settlers, and the progress of colonisation in this North Island are at stake, and are at this moment in the gravest peril. A native war, with our force of 240 Armed Constabulary scattered over the North Island is a contingency not to be contemplated without dread event by the boldest. Our vulnerability, measured by the extent of our frontier and by the progress and settlement in what we may call out-districts, is greater than it has ever been. Our organised power of resistance is less than ever it has been, and whatever Ministers or Ministerial organs may say to the contrary. The sympathies of the tribes whom wo have been accustomed to regard and to rely upon as friendly are now greatly weakened, or altogether estranged from us. At the late parliament at Orakeithe tone even of Ngapuhi speakers was strongly and unmistakeably Kingite. The Arawas are notoriously discontented because of the Government land dealings with Ngatiporou, on the East Coast, and are notoriously * ‘ sulky ” because of the broken promises and official neglect. If we are to have a native war now we must understand that we go into it alone, and only those who have had experience in the past can form an idea of what that means. Of the fatal ending there can of course be no doubt. After an enormous waste of blood and treasure we should be able to occupy the Waimate Plains, having first exterminated the native owners and their native allies ; but is the game woith the trouble 1 As a means of restoring the equilibrium of Mr. Balxancb’s absurd Budget a native war would bo worse than the land tax. Before a settler could be placed in safety on the Waimate Plains we should have to expend in money alone ten times more than the sale of the whole confiscated territory would ever realise. We are surely not going to war for an idea or for a Ministerial prestige. Mr. Sheehan knew very well what would happen to him at Parihaka, and if he had been wise he would not have exposed himself to contumely and his office to contempt. Tb Whitx may not have been able to discriminate between the man and the Minister, but his error was an incident of the “ face-to- '■ face” policy as pursued by the Ministry. The gravity of the occasion cannot bo exaggerated. If we are going to war it will bo necessary first to find men and material, and to proceed with deliberation and caution. The bounce of the police court is thrown away upon men like Te Whiti. Wo should be entering upon a work which would certainly take a long ' time to accomplish, and must involve ! courage and expenditure., Ministers who ; are quarrelling amongst themselves, and ' engaged in washing the soiled linen I of Cabinet in public, are not safe leaders . in an emergency like this, and they , have, moreover, no right of their ; own mere motion to declare war. On •

this point at least the General Assembly should bo consulted, and before blood is shed a Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry should ascertain all the facts of a case as to which, up to this time, there has been laid before the Houses only such information as Ministers have found it convenient to supply from time to time for their own purpose or that of their party. Let the people hear and understand before they attempt to strike.

(From the New Zealand Herald.) There is no further actual news from the Waimate, anti indeed we need expect nothing more till another attempt is made to continue the survey. If that is not done, and no arrangement is come to before the sale of the land, the Government must expect that the price given will be much smaller than would otherwise have been the case. It would certainly bo unsafe for any person to go on the land to attempt to cultivate it. The Wellington papers, including the Ministerial organ, have adopted a very warlike tone, from which it may bo inferred that Ministers are determined not to throw up the sponge and abandon the land. Indeed, nothing is to be got by procrastination. Delay would only aggravate the evil. It we wore to withdraw the surveyors and do nothing, we should abandon the block altogether, for the natives would count it as theirs; they would resume all the rights of ownership, and would resist the surveyors whenever they made their appearance, if it were five years after this. At the same time, we must not forget that an attack on Parihaka would be no trifling matter. The effect of a war would be most injurious to tho credit of the colony at this crisis, and would stop many great public works, Instead of realising for the Waimate Plains a sura that would enable us to construct a railway on the West Goast, the laud would not pay the cost of tho campaign. The whole of Taranaki would be affected, and the country down to Wanganui, while our relations with Tawhiao and his people in Waikato could hardly be of_ a very friendly character. We still cling to the hope, therefore, that Mr. Sheehan, who has left Wellington for the West Coast, will be able to make a peaceful settlement, although we confess we do not see how it is to be brought about. The natives who have removed the surveyors ore represented as being very good humored and jocular, but they appear to be quite firm and determined. In justice to Ministers, it must not be forgotten that tho error of assuming the land by a proclamation, without occupying it in any way, or exercising any rights of ownership, was not theirs. Sir George Grey, indeed, when Governor, always opposed the confiscation of any land not actually held by our forces. So strongly was Sir Donald McLean impressed with the difficulty of taking possession of these plains under the confiscation of fourteen years ago, that he entertained the idea of making an arrangement to buy it from the natives at ss. per acre.

(From the Press, March 28.) The upshot of it all is this, that the natives have distinctly defied the Native Minister and his powers, both by word and in deed. We are not the least anxious to exaggerate the importance of these proceedings, but on the other hand it would be idle to attempt to minimise their momentous character. It is incredible that they should have taken place without the full sanction of Te Whiti and his friends; and the story that they were the doings of n lot of Maori boys is simply foolish, and a dishonest libel on the manhood of the surveyors. There is no doubt that the colony is now face to face with a difficulty of a graver character than any which has arisen since the dispersion of Te Kooti’s band in the Poverty Bay district. As long ns may be the natives will endeavor to avoid bloodshed, but it may be taken for granted that except they are overawed by a superior force, they will uot for the present suffer the survey to proceed. They too have coma to a conclusion as to the idle character of tho the threats which Mr. Sheehan has been in the habit of blurting forth, and have acted accordingly. Enough has been now said to show that if it is still premature to criticise the Government policy it is vastly more premature for the Government at present to claim any credit for the results of their policy as described by themselves. Of their action in regard to native land purchases we took occasion to speak some weeks ago, and we have nothing at present to add to what was then said. Of the forthcoming Kopua meeting also it is best at present to be silent; it is unpleasant and unnecessary to prophecy evil, and it is quite impossible to prophecy good in relation to it. Generally it may be said that the Government prestige among the natives has fallen, and it is only some few of their Southern supporters who continue to believe in its existence. Of course their own Wellington organ takes their part, and some others endeavor to say as little as they can in blame, and as much as possible in exoneration. But as a matter of fact throughout the North the native policy of the Government has come to be regarded as a delusion, and not unattended with danger to the peace of the colony. As to the steps which it would be desirable for the Ministry to take in regard to the Parihaka affair we shall have more to say when the nature of the reception accorded to the Government's agents by Te Whiti and Company is fully known. In the meantime, however, it may be said that the proper place for Mr. Sheehan in the present juncture is in the neighborhood of Parihaka. If his asserted influence with tho natives is anything more than mere bombast the present is his time to prove it, and it should be a pleasure to vindicate himself while also fulfilling his Ministerial duty.

(From the Otago Daily Times, March 28.)

There is one view of the matter that we in the South have a right to take, and that is the question of expense. Wo are not prepared to join once more in paying for a mostly war, and should one unfortunately break out, a cry for separation from the North Island would very soon be raised. Such a cry may not be very magnanimous when the North is in danger, but it would be a certain result of another outbreak of hostilities. This consideration will necessarily fetter the Government to some extent in the action they may take; but there is still good reason to hope that while taking measures for the defence of the settlements, and showing a good front to the recalcitrant Maoris, they may be able to avoid any act which would lead to a shot being fired* After Sir George Grey and Mr. Sheehan have met the assembled tribes at Te Kopua, we shall be better able to judge of the exact significance of the Waimate affair; and if an agreement oa other points is arrived at, it is hardly likely that the dispute about this matter will be allowed to go to extremes. But for the present To Whiti has given us check, and our next move on the board must be taken with great caution. We are keenly alive to tho indignity of being treated in this way by a mere handful of men of inferior race, and our British blood warms at the spectacle ; but we cannot help on reflection being equally alive to the necessity of preserving the lives of the settlers and the pockets of the taxpayers ; and we are consequently very forcibly reminded of the fact that “ prudence is the better part of valor.” On the whole we are paying rather dearly for Mr. Sheehan’s alleged victory at tongue-fence over the Maori Prophet. Te Whiti has at present had the last word, and the natives will now be very apt to think that he has spoken, after all, better than Sheehan ; unless, indeed, that astute gentlemen is able to turn the tables on him and recover hia ascendency by some clever stroke of policy.

(Lyttelton Times, March 25.)

The leading characteristics of the new policy were patience, firmness, and consistency. Mr. Sheehan’s threat at Parihaka was a departure from the first and last of these original features. It would be a pity it any popular outcry induced the Government to make the departure still more striking. As for the sale of the land which has been ordered, that may be dismissed as not a source of danger, for the land is unlikely to sell, either in New Zealand or Australia, in the face a certainty of hostilities. As the taking up of land in any of the surveyed blocks would be infallibly followed by bloodshed, it is unlikely that any buyers will come forward. The proposal which appears in the New Zealander is more dangerous. If wo throw out military settlers we must defend them, or avenge their deaths or the violence offered to them. It would be just as well to go to war at once as to send out a hundred hotheaded boys, anxious for a skirmish as for a piece of fun, reckless of consequences, and seeing the prospect of getting the fee simple of valuable blocks of land without the necessity of raising the almighty dollar. A much better plain is recommended in the Taranaki newspaper. It is a plan which in other parts of the Maori country has been strikingly successful : the plan of constructing roads by parties of men armed and disciplined. For the natives to resist such road-makers would be very like throwing themselves down before a railway engine flying at full speed. A light branch railway constructed in this way would make war a thing not to be placed in their calcula-

tions on any account ; would give them high ideas of the value of colonisation, and teach them the meaning of pregress.£J3There is no disgrace in retiring from the survey, because the survey was itself a tentative measure. _ It was the application of a test to the working of the conciliation policy. As the test has given results different from the anticipation, there is no harm in withdrawing to fall back on the policy of combined patience and firmness. That policy never varied the terms it offered the natives, it never made concessions without equivalents, it pushed on roads regardless of protest. That policy can and ought to be relied on for producing the best results. The adoption of any other would be fatal to New Zealand.

The Lyttelton Times in an article advocating peace at any price says : —“ la one moment the colony would lose the fruits of the policy of pacification so carefully established by Sir Donald McLean, and so patiently and successfully carried out by him and by his successors in office till the present time. The boast of our statesmen that native troubles have become essentially things of the past would in an instant lose the beneficial force it has exercised upon the public opinion of Great Britain. And all this is to be faced for—what! Primarily to make good a threat which the Native Minister ought never to have used, and which he permitted himself apparently in an unguarded moment to employ. Force will make the threat good, and give the colony the confiscated land after it has fought hard for it. The sale of the land will make the fortunes of a few people, and put a few thousands into the public exchequer, probably not enough to recoup the expense of the fighting. The game is not worth the candle. It would be better never to acquire the land at all than to do so at a price equivalent to the stoppage of the colonial development for at least a generation, with all its attendant evils.

But the alternative of war is not the loss of this land of the Waimate Plains. To retreat from the position now taken up is only to postpone the acquirement of that country. In the long run it must come into our hands : it is merely a question of time. The patient policy of Sir Donald McLean was founded upon the principle that time is the best ally of the white race. Even now the last terms offered, over a year age, are under consideration in the King country. When the offer of these terms was seriously entertained, and accepted as the basis of negotiation, we commented upon the fact as the beat sign of a coming final and peaceful settlement that had yet appeared. We looked upon it as the chief result of the policy patiently followed by Sir Donald McLean, Sir George Grey, and Mr. Sheehan. Our remark was that the fruit of the tree planted by the first of these three was about to be gathered by the two last. We can only regret that a similar remark cannot be made with respect to the result of the Parihaka meeting. If the Native Minister thought the time had arrived when the offer of liberal terms can be safely supplemented by the use of a threat, when he could go to the native prophet with a lucrative peace in one hand and vigorous war in the other, the removal of the surveyors ought to convince him that hia thought was wrong. The reality of Te Whiti’s influence with his people has been for years recognised and made much of, and Mr. Sheehan's presence at Parihaka was a strong testimony in its favor. It is impossible to believe that this influence is lost because Te Whiti has consented at last to do what a large section of his people has for a considerable period wished him to do. That ho has done it is clear proof that the threat of the Native Minister was premature. The colony can very much better afford to do without the Waimate Plains for a generation or two than to lose its credit, public and private, for a much shorter period. The loss to the land revenue of the proceeds of land sold there will be great, but unless the title was safe, that source of income ought not to have been counted upon. One error in judgment cannot be justified by circumstances that have grown out of another. The natives, in removing the surveyors, have, we are told, shown the best of good temper. The best course for the Government is to withdraw from their land sale and look equally pleasant. Negotiation and patience will give them all they want. The burning of powder is unnecessary, and would be incalculably mischievous.

(From the Timaru Herald, March 28.) All doubt has long since ceased to exist of the fact that the murder of McLean was a political murder, or that the natives recognise and approve of it as such. Hiroki, the murderer, not only met with an asylum beyond the reach of the law at Parihaka, but has since appeared at a large meeting in the character of a hero or champion, and in the presence of a Government official, has defied the law with ferocious and insulting gestures. The Government appear utterly powerless, and have not as far as we can ascertain made the slightest attempt to vindicate the blood of the murdered European, or to impress the natives with an idea that Ilirold’s act is a punishable offence. It is true that at the last meeting at Parihaka Mr. Sheehan reproached the natives for harboring a murderer ; but Te Whiti himself replied with a taunt, that the Government were thieves, and had made Hiroki what he was, and then and there defied the Native Minister to touch Hiroki, or to attempt to bring him to trial. The events at that meeting indeed entirely demolish the last vestige of confidence in Mr. Sheehan’s influence over Te Whiti or the West Coast tribes. He went to the meeting uninvited, and did hia utmost to conciliate the natives by the usual soft speeches, but all in vain. They snubbed and insulted him most unmercifully, and flatly refused to hare any dealings with him. Since then, the much vaunted survey of the Waimate Plains has been forcibly stopped, the surveyors have been driven off, and the survey pegs have been removed. It is scarcely too much to say that the position of affairs on the West Coast is grave enough to afford, an imminent probability of war. We do not wish to discuss that aspect of the question now, however. A very serious responsibility rests upon the Government in connection with it, and no good can be done by anticipating events at so critical a time. We may fairly express a very positive opinion, though, that all hope of the speedy settlement of that locality is now at an end. We do not believe for a moment that, in view of the present attitude of the West Coast natives, the Government would dare to proceed with the disposal of the confiscated land. They might offer the sections for sale, and speculators might be found ready to buy them, at their own price; but it would be with the object of a prospective profit, and not for the purpose of bona fide settlement. All accounts from that part of the colony agree in representing the state of affairs as very uncertain, and as affording very little, if any hope of the sanguine expectations of the Government being realised. As to the great meeting between the Premier and the King natives, it is, perhaps, too soon to speak. The month of March, however, is drawing towards its close, and unless the meeting takes place soon, the Premier's reputation as an influential medicine man will be perilously at stake.

(From the Wanganui Chronicle.) A week ago to-day the first party of surveyors were removed from the Waimate Plains. Since then all that remained have been shifted, and so far the natives are masters of the situation. Apart from this one overt act, little has occurred in the intervening days to which any special significance could be attached. Indeed, it could scarcely have been expected that the natives would have committed themselves any further than they have done. They have in the clearest and most unmistakeable manner asserted their right and title to the plains, and so far as they are concerned are naturally perfectly satisfied with things as they now are. But they await Government action. The issues of peace or war —the rapid settlement of this district, or its being thrown back for years—depend now, not upon the natives, but upon the Government. The Hon. Mr. Sheehan did a very foolish thing in threatening Te Whiti. He might have known that the Maori prophet would be, obliged to bounce in return. There is nothing to prove that Te Whiti and his people seriously contemplated warlike operations. Indeed, the Government organs have always scouted the idea of the Maoris being engaged in any preparations of the kind, even in the way of provisioning. But prepared or not, a fanatic like Te Whiti dared not submit t« be threatened by any officer of the Government, otherwise his influence with his people would pass away for ever. And thus it was that he was compelled to take such action as would prove that he did not care one jot tor what the Native Minister said. Had it not been for Mr. Sheehan’s indiscretion, it is possible that the survey might have gone on, the sale have taken place, and native resistance have melted away. However, what has been done cannot be remedied, but so far as the natives are concerned, neither can it be submitted to. The Government must take a firm stand, but at the same time be careful not to provoke an attack before they are prepared for it, and the settlers are

in a position to defend themselves. The report that the natives have left the plains and have retired into the bush, with the view of hurrying on defensive operations, shows that they now realise the gravity of the position, and apprehend trouble. We must thus far take example by them, so that when we make the next move we may be in a position to carry it on. The Premier is now on his way to Wellington, and the gravity of the situation will soon be under consideration by a full Cabinet.

(From the Napier Telegraph.)

There appears to be no doubt now that the removal of the surveyors from the Waimate Plains has been at the instigation of the two powerful chiefs Titokowaru and Te Whiti. The survey of those celebrated plains begun with the murder of McLean, and the escape of the murderer. The Government at the time announced that this outrage had no pelitical significance whatever, and that the survey would go on uninterruptedly. From time to time the Ministerial organs publish'd cheering accounts of the manner in which the natives were helping the surveyors, and it began to be really believed that the murder committed by Hiroki was merely the result of a private quarrel. The native meeting, however, at Parihaka has thrown a very different light on the subject. Whether Hiroki’s action was due to a personal quarrel with the surveyor’s cook or not, this much is now clear: that the murderer sought and found refuge with Te Whiti on the ground that he had killed a pakeha as a protest against the survey of the plains. We notice that one of our Wellington contemporaries urges the Government to proceed with the survey in spite of the opposition. Worse advice could not be given, for, if followed, it would lead to more bloodshed. It may look politic to overlook the killing of one man, but the wholesale destruction of a survey party would have to be avenged, and the attempt to do so would be the signal for a general rising amongst the natives. From the peace which the colony has enjoyed since 1869, it has been inferred that the Maoris have seen the folly of going to war, but it must be remembered that amongst every half civilised people there are plenty of wild spirits at any time for the excitement of bloodshed and plunder. Te Kooti, we may be sure, would find many a follower on the war path, if a pretext for further raids could be found. Titokowaru is quite prepared to fight if need be in defence of what he considers his rights. Te Whiti is ready to encourage by his prophecies a war that will bring about a restitution of Maori land. It is absurd to believe in the impossibility of war, and, at the present time, there is every indication that, if the Waimate survey is pushed on in spite of the warning the Government have received, a war will be brought about.

(From the Waka Maori.)

The real object of the natives in getting up these political meetings is not to confer benefits upon the pakeha, but to receive benefits from him. Cliques are being formed everywhere for the avowed purpose of holding on to the lands ; and the prominent characteristic of the King movement itself is to resist the alienation of the native lands now remaining in their possession, and, if possible, arrest the decadence of their race. Bearing this in mind, we think it is not likely that Sir George Grey and Mr. Sheehan will obtain any concessions of much importance to the colony. We think the reception lately accorded to Mr. Sheehan at Parihaka ought to be sufficient to show this ; for the Maoris do not in these days act without concert, especially in matters of great importance affecting their welfare generally as a people. It is impossible to say what combinations exist among them at the present time. Wo hear that at least one chief on this coast has received an invitation from the Whiti to join him ; we know that the King has been slowly but surely extending his influence among the tribes in various parts of the country—an influence which cannot be said to be in favor of the Government, or any extension of the power of the pakeha in the country ; and we know, too, that there are many discontented and daring spirits among the tribes who would rejoice in the excitement and adventure of war. We cannot, however, think the Government will rush headlong into another Maori war in consequence of the insane action of Te Whiti and his party in reference te the Waimate Plains and the murderer Miroki. It is certain that cities of refuge for murderers cannot be tolerated in the laud, but all peaceable measures should first be tried to bring about a settlement of existing difficulties before proceeding to the dreaded alternative of war. AVe know, of course, that the Maoris would eventual’/ be beaten, but it would be at a cost probably little calculated on. We shall not, for obvious reasons, enlarge on this view of the subject. Some of our readers will probably ask what the disaffected tribes really want. We will enlighten them in a few words. They ask that the confiscated lands may be returned to them ; they desire to make their own laws and govern themselves; they want all land purchasing from Maoris to be peremptorily forbidden; in fact, they desire to be independent of the pakeha and his Government —and the desire for these things we believe is more or less participated in by many of the friendly tribes, the heretofore supporters of the Government. Notwithstanding all this, we think that many of the chiefs and thoughtful men are amenable to reason, and that, by the exercise of a wise and prudent policy all these difficulties may be peaceably arranged.

The Wairarapa Daily yesterday published the following as authentic:—“The Hon. Mr. Sheehan, when at the Parihaka meeting, demanded the surrender of Hiroki. This was refused. He (Sheehan) then explained to the natives the course he was about to pursue respecting the Waimate Plains, and was engaged doing so for about half an hour, when Te Whiti, in violation of the promise he had made before the Native Minister began speaking, interrupted him and made one of his most violent and fanatical utterances, characterising the action of the Government as theft, and accusing the Government of being the murderers of McLean—not Hiroki. After the Native Minister had left Parihaka—the same day—a meeting was held by the natives, and Te Whiti decided that the surveyors should be turned oif three times peaceably, but that on the fourth time they were to do as Hiroki did. Accordingly a party went down on Monday and removed the survey camps as already reported. The motive for Te Whiti’s action is perfectly plain. For the last seven or eight years he has deluded the people by assertions of prophetic and even God-like powers. Each year at his annual meeting he stood pledged to do various wondrous miracles. This year he was to have raised the dead, to have restored all the confiscated lands, and to have ascended to heaven with Sir G. Grey. None of these things came to pass, and his speech at the late meeting was one of the lowest and most hesitating he has ever been known to deliver. As a consequence the people begin to murmur, and numbers left Parihaka in disgust. To save himself he has thrown himself into the hands of a more violent party. So far as the Government are at present advised, Titokowaru is not a consenting party to any violent measures, and it is believed that Government will take the necessary steps to vindicate the authority of law. The Carlyle correspondent of the Taranaki Herald says :—The unfortunate murder of McLean, from personal spite by Hiroki, and which has since been construed into a political murder, followed, as it has been by the tall talk of the Native Minister, and the vacillating and utter weakness of his acts, has given the natives fresh heart. The words of the Native Minister are against them, his actions are in their favor. He has been insulted and bearded by Te Whiti before natives who had assembled from all parts of the island, and which included the most daring and reckless of all the natives. Mr, Sheehan threatened and warned all of the retribution which would follow hostile acts. The surveyors were turned off. Instead of armed forces he has sent one who claims Parihaka land, and to be of the Parihaka people, to go through the farce of asking Te Whiti what he will be pleased to bo satisfied with in the shape of land, may be judged of by the withdrawal from sale of the lately advertised plains laud. What Te Whiti, Titokowaru, and Company do not absorb, will doubless fall to the land ring, or its agents. This is the result of the boasted firm attitude which Government so glibly prated about. Major Brown’s influence has again been undermined, and the colony will yet suffer for it. The pushing on of road and railway works, which should have been the first consideration for strategetic purposes, to ensure the settlement of the land, and to give confidence to settlers, appears scarcely to claim a passing thought. Taranaki people may whistle for the Opunake to the Mountain-road branch line, and after the Plains have been operated upon, as now in process, an infinitesimal moiety will fall to the New Plymouth Harbor Board for harbor works. Shut your eyes and then what do you see. That will be what Taranaki will get as the 25 per cent: proceeds of Waimate Plains sales. The prospect is.gloomy but that , is not the worst. Every inch of retreat will ( :

compel still further retreat. Whakamara will have to be repurchased or fought for. Momahaki will doubtless—and shortly—be the scene of another murder, not one for personal spite as Hiroki’s, but a genuine political one. This block also will require to be re-negotiated, probably at the point of the bayonet. There is just the chance that in the hope of saving themselves from ruin or worse, the settlers may act for themselves, and take such course as will compel the Government to recognise that there are other than Maori interests to be conserved.

The Hawera correspondent of the same paper says : —“ The withdrawal of the sale of the Waimate Plains land has given universal satisfaction ; in fact I could never make out what the Government reasons were for placing their land in the market just as the native difficulty had begun if it was not only a bluff to the outside public. There could be no good gained by selling the laud at such a period, for it would only have fallen into the hands of speculators, as no bona fide farmers would buy to occupy so long as the natives assumed their present offensive attitude.—Mr. James Mackay started for Parihaka, accompanied by Captain Blake, on the 31st ult., interview Te Whiti, and try and come to some satisfactory terms regarding the present difficulty, but has not yet returned. I hear that he has gone to New Plymouth for information as to the dealings with the confiscated lands since the war. From Mr. Mackay’s great reputation in dealing with the natives, we are all very anxious to hear what is the result of his embassy, and have great hopes that he will be able to bring this matter to a satisfactory termination ; but for my own part I cannot help thinking that it is not as local as some people think, and that the natives throughout New Zealand are discontented, particularly the Kingites, for Te Whiti told Mr. Sheehan at the meeting that he (Sheehan) and Rewi could work together, but that Tawhiao and he had combined.”

(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 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 be relinquished. The natives cared little for such theories, they were in undisturbed 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 cases, actual purchases were made of confiscated lands, and conveyances taken from the original native owners, as if confiscation bad 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. Te 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 Te Whiti alleges breaches of contract on the part of the Government as the substantial reason why the surveyors were driven off the Plains, producing in their minds the fear that they would bo deprived of all their lands it a vigorous protest was not made. History tells us 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 no record appears to have been kept of promises to Maoris ; at any rate Wellington is not the spot where they are to be found. Such looseness on the part of the Native Office shows that a thorough reform is wanted in the administration of native affairs. In other departments the most trivial matters are pigeonholed and indexed ; but in matters involving war a more relaxed discipline is maintained, and memory and private notes take the place of 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 commission in which natives will have a voice can alone meet the gravity 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 facts and leave Parliament and the public free to judge whether the natives concerned have 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 not easily be allayed if the sale of the laud is pushed on while grievances in respect to it are alleged and not inquired into and disposed of. We say it is infinitely better if such an enquiry will have the effect of securing peace and the ultimate possession of the land on terms which the natives concerned will accept 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 Wairarapa Daily.)

, Information which we have recently received from what may be termed the disturbed district leads us to believe that the Waimate difficulty is rather graver 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 of 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 for them into gold. We believe a large quantity of gold is now held in their possesssion, 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 when they removed the surveyors 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, has been laid on the fact that the renowned warrior Titokowaru was not with Te Whiti, but against him. It is, however, rumored that Titoko is receiving a Government subsidy, and if his services and sympathies are on the European aide, they are 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 now their natural fruit. There is, however, every reason to believe that the Government have acted wisely in placing the negotiations for peace in the hands of Sir. Mackay; and that this gentleman will be able to secure peace with an apparent show of honor, there is now a reasonable 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 the late native defiance.