The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY). WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 1879.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5654, 14 May 1879, Page 2

The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY). WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 1879.

The great Te Kopua meeting may now be considered practically closed. On Monday Sir George threw down his cards and completely exposed his hand. Having shown that he had very little more to add to the bribes offered by him at Hikurangi, he proceeded to declare that if these magnanimous offers of his were not accepted before ten o’clock yesterday a new order of things would be entered upon. The great and liberal gifts of the “generous “people of New Zealand” were absolutely going begging. Our auctioneerPrcmier put up positively for the last time grants of land to Tawhiao and his people—“town acres in every one of “ the towns in the Waikato district, so “ that you might have the means of “ getting an immediate revenue from “ your land, and land endowments for “ native schools.” But this wonderful opportunity was not appreciated by the buyers, and at the fallof the hammer at ten o’clock yesterday morning these tempting bribes, offered with all the persuasive eloquence of one who prides himself upon having the divine gift of the gab, were withdrawn from sale without a single bid. Even the proffered explanation about, the sections of land at Harapipi did not convince the Maoris, and his audience were unable to appreciate the force of the eloquent enumeration of God's mercies to the King Maoris, given in the following passage;— “ Nature has made here for you level “plains of rich country, through which “ a railroad can run with the greatest “ ease. Was God wrong in doing that ? “ Then God has put into the earth up “ here abundance of iron by which the “ rails for the road can be made at any “ time, and the iron is a valuable pro- “ perty which will make many men and “ many families rich. Was God wrong “ in making that provision for you V’ We cannot but rejoice that upon this occasion the leading questions put by the Premier in the above passage were left unanswered. ■ A sceptical Hauhau was quite likely to dispute the wisdom of the Deity in thus placing what the King natives might fairly regard as additional temptations to the land-grasping pakeha, and might regret the presence of coal and iron in the King country accordingly. A theological dispute between a hostile savage and Sir George is a spectacle we can well afford to dispense with, though doubtless it would give a spice of sensationalism to the news of the day during the silly season. After Sir George had held forth in the same strain as that given above, about the coals placed by Providence within the King country, evidently for the special purpose of driving railway locomotives, he said Providence has “done air that is good for you,” but he immediately afterwards qualified this statement by making a special exception in favor of the doctors. Providence omitted to supply medical men to care for the sick Maoris, and the “gene- “ rous Europeans ” would be most happy to make good this one strange omission. Wicked persons, who made money by dealing in land, had tried to shut out all other "persons from dealing in land, and the doctors wore unfortunately excluded along with the rest. The inspiration could hardly have been Divine which induced Sir G. Grey, after sitting for twenty minutes “under the shelter of an umbrella, looking the very impersona“tion of patience,” to deliver such childish nonsense as the passages we have quoted above. Englishmen are noted for sound common sense, and we do not believe that there is, a single thoughtful man in the community who would be prepared to endorse with his approval the Premier’s last speech. Setting aside for the moment every political or partisan difference, does anyone believe that the shallow and childish style of reasoning set forth in the paragraphs we have quoted would have weight with natives so astute as the King Maoris have shown themselves to be ? We regret the humiliation which the Premier has sustained, because the country can ill afford to sacrifice any of the respect and prestige due to the law and the Government represented in the persons of the Premier and the Native Minister. But we are thankful that the King showed that he had some idea of the dignity of his office, and declined to recognise officially the presence of the uninvited guests, and graciously resolved to spare them the further indignity of open contumely and direct insult. At the very outset Tawhiao expressed his complete want of confidence in Sir George Grey ; “ I will have nothing to do with Grey,” he said, and we are heartily glad that he adhered to this determination. The Waikatos are persuaded that the object of the Governmentisto stir up strife between the tribes ; if hard and angry words had

once passed between the two parlies the narrow boundary between words and blows might at any moment have been overleaped. A policy of “masterly “inactivity” is yet apparently open to us, and though the difficulty of maintaining the present status of affairs has, in our opinion, been enormously increased by the meddling and muddling native policy of the present Government, fortune has so far fa voted us that there has been up to the present nothing done which can be justly regarded as necessitating a war. Both Tb Whiti and Tawhiao plainly desire peace, and all that they require is to be left alone, undisturbed and unmolested. The colony will be only too glad to accept these terms. The treatment which Ministers have met with at the hands of the native chiefs, either at Parihaka or Te Kopua, whoso privacy they have wilfully invaded, has certainly not been such as to encourage any repetition of such visits. Tawuiao may be likened to the deaf adder of Scripture, which stopped her ears and refused to listen to the voice of the charmer “charm he never so wiselyjudging by the samples of wisdom which wo have quoted, we are not in the least surprised at the resultless nature of the incantation. Our judgment may be at fault, our criticism too hostile ; others may be able to detect latent beauties which we are unable to discover or to appreciate, but in any case our remarks will servo to direct further attention to the speech itself ; it deserves a careful consideration because it contains the key to the whole of the boasted native policy of the present Ministry.