The Patea Mail. Published Wednesdays and Saturdays WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 1876.

Patea Mail, Volume I, Issue 97, 15 March 1876, Page 2

The Patea Mail. Published Wednesdays and Saturdays WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 1876.

There can he no doubt as to the British race being a law-abiding people, whether unionists in the Southern Hemispliere, or subjects who bare never left the eonfines of the three kingdoms. If an example of this virtue, if virtue if. bo, could be required we need only point to Wairoa, where a settler, who purchased a freehold from the Government of the colony, has been virtually dispossessed of his holding by Maori intruders, without the authorities doing more than “ negoeiatc” with the dark-skinned intruders, Mr Dickie bought and paid for his land in all gooil faith, the Government sold it to him, and yet natives came on to it, coolly re-possess themselves of it, and he so far has obtained neither remedy nor redress. The same occurred before and the trespassers were permitted to retain their spoil, but repetition of this kind of thing is wearisome, and, however desirous ot preserving peace at any price the apostles of Sir Donald McLean may be, the settlers begin to regard bis pul icy as anything hut conducive to their comfort, their safety, or the permanent settlement of the colony. Beyond stating that the natives still held possession of the laml in question, we have studiously avoided of late any reference to the matter, hoping that a combination of firmness and good sense, call it by the name of conciliation or anything else, would have boon displayed by the Government, and that the difficulty would have blown over before this. It is with sincere regret wo find such is not likely to be the ease, as far as present circumstances promise. On the contrary it seems to be the delight of those at present in power to make the name of Government a 'can of reproach, to positively encourage the Maoris to contempt of the English Hag, and to render the pakeha a reproach and a byeword. It is not necessary to travel over the same ground that we have done Only a few weeks ago, to point out sad weakness of the Native Department in letting; i! I dare not, wait upon I would,” in cbnnection with confiscated lands, and in peimitting native outrage, almost without protest, certainly without retribution. The facts to which wo refer arc so well known that it is quite unnecessary to recapitulate them, but, for the information of those at a distance, we may say that the land of Mr Dickie, purchased from the Government, has been seized and held by the Matins, without an attempt on the part of the former to eject the trespassers. The question is assuming a very serious phase, a phase that might have been readily avoided had anything like courage or determination been shown at the outset by the authorities. There arc really some score or two natives, at the outside, concerned firi it, and yet the Native Dopartm'ent fear to offend this beggarly crowd, who in the persons of less than half a dozen, have defied the Government; occupy Mr Dickie’s land, and intimate their intention of staying there till they are bought off; What the result of the miserable weakness displayed, will be, has yet to be seen', but no settler in Wairoa and in other' parts of the district can tell how soon his turn to be made the means of Maori extortion may come. The people arc fast losing confidence in the Government, and the Native Office is jeered at equally by whites and Maoris. If Mr Dickie is allowed to be dispossessed, or if the Government humble themselves, to pay for his retention of his land, is it not certain that other equally baseless claims will be periodically set itp, and what settler can feel secure in Ids homestead ? The course that the Government has taken in this case has undermined all respect, and it is hard to say from which race the most hearty contempt has been earned. The Maoris claiming the Wairoa land have no legitimate claim whatever, after their own acts. If confiscated lands are more than mythical regions where Maoris demand double payment, well and good, but if the old English sense is attached to the term, quasi-robbers should bo taught its meaning without

delay. I’.y the shilly-shally at pres nt going on, there is daily danger of the settlers taking the law into their own handstand of the'very disturbances being precipitated Unit the (government pEdess themselves so anxious to avoid. It is not at ail likely that people, who have taken up land and settled on it, can watch with indilference the actioil, or rather, inaction, of tin 1 (Government in the matter. Mr Dickie’s fate to-day may he theirs to-morrow, and so on till the Maoris have rung the changes on every settler in the district who lias placed faith on the traditional good faith of British Governments, at home or abroad, but have found by experience, that of New Zealand sadly wanting. It, is high time something decisive was done. Dither the Maoris are or are not to ride roughshod over the settlers, and it is for the latter to say wlietlu r they will submit to the operation. In the meantime, wo would suggest that public meetings he held in various places to bring the matter before the Ministry as a whole, without special reference to the department in which the M'Lean influence reigns supreme. If temperate protests are made and forwarded, they must demand attention, ami will, very probably, bring more readily the existing condition of things to an end. Should such agitation be treated contemptuously, it will then be high time to consider what next steps should be taken, and, should these hardly meet the views of the Colonial Executive they could bo not surprised. Surely, in such a case, the Ministry as a whole should be appealed to, as Parliament is not sitting, for security of tenure is one of the greatest boasts of English possession, and the Government that will not provide for it cannot but forfeit the confidence of every denizen in the colony.