The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAYS SATURDAY, JULY 8, 1876.

Patea Mail, Volume II, Issue 130, 8 July 1876, Page 2

The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAYS SATURDAY, JULY 8, 1876.

’During the -whole of the week, yesterday ■ excepted, Carlyle has "been crowded with I Maoris, interested 'in the distribution of ' the money,‘for thcOpako block. As avc stated in cur last, the point at issue is Avhether, as the block is confiscated land .the natives shall accept the money set •apart —£3,000 —as a bonus, as it were, or ns payment at per aero. Native intelligence, ncA-cr A-cry obtuse in connection -with Maori interests, seems to be specially '-quickened on this subject, for the tribes know full Well that ’ by abandoning their standpoint of ownership, they afford a precedent in connection with the future disposal of confiscated lands. At the same time, there are many amongst them who fully recognise the .truth of the adage, telling ns that a rose, hy another name, -will smell as sweetly, and that a few thousands from time to time, under Avhatever designation liamled over, arc just as useful for . ali practical purposes. An example of native shrewdness cropped up -in discussing the question. One of the

principals, on it being boingsiiggcsfod that the Government wnuidliandovcr the above money as a free gift, expressive of thehigh consideration in which the pakehaheld Ids Maori brother, coincided thoroughly with the idea, adding, with a grin, that his follow Countrymen would gratefully accept the proposed substantia! mark of esteem, and, after that had been handdd over, would negoeiate terms for the land at per aero. This mode of solving the difficulty, it is hardly necessary to say, did not meet the views of the Commissioner, however Satisfactory it might liaVc been to the other side. The proposal, however, and the way It Whft made, show conclusively that the natives are not fools on the march, and that .they need no dry nurses to piotcct their interests The Government on lids occasion, wo are glad to say, have not shifted the position they took up at first, and (hough Major Brown has had to exercise the patience of Job to bring about a satisfactory result, it is certain that the natives have practically yielded the point, and at a meeting With the Commissioner to he held to-day, in all probability the matter will be definitely settled and disposed of. Though the advantage gained will be but a shadowy one, it may be something, and may lead to other like manifestations of sovereign goodwill inconnection with soma

land in the direction of the Waimate plains. That the Alaoris will quietly' give up their title to other lands,whether in the confiscated category or not, without similar pecuniary compliments accompanying the transfer, is highly improbable, hut, as the pacific policy is to ho carried out elsewhere, and settlement certainly accompanies it, it is just as avcll, indeed better, that the farce should he kept up here, in addition to other parts of the Colony. The opening of the Waimatc plains has been long looked forward to, long promised, .so long indeed that many' avlio have hoped have hecomc’hopoless —hope deferred has certainly' made their hearts sick. Country unsurpassed, if equalled in fertility' in the Colony, lies idle and Avaste, thousands of acres confiscated in name are left barren and unoccupied. It may he, and probably* is policy to take no harsh steps to carry out the confiscation) s i in good time a peaceful solution Avill no doubt he arrived at. If the same golden persuasion that has been applied to the Opako block,.bo necessary, let it Avitli all reasonable haste he exorcised, and it is not likely that the’ original possessors Avould ho found stubbornly de.af to the voice of the charmer. If, by' any* means, Waimate can ho thrown open fur settle incut, the Government achieving it avi 11 not only confer vast benefits on this district, hut also on the colony at large, by promoting settlement and cultivation, and by' coriA'crtiiig numberless acres of rich Avaste lands into fields and pastures that avl 11 produce plenty for human use. Parliament is now sitting, and it is to bo hoped that the Government, distracted as they may* be hy r the violent party spirit, raging, and likely to rage, for some months, will not neglect the great interests of Avhich they have charge, one of the chief of Avliich is rendering uncultiA'atod and unused lands, iioav held by Alaoris in Tara naki or elsewhere, profitable to man. If money he needed for the purpose, hoav is the time to procure the sanction' of Parliament to its,expenditure, and for such desirable investments, as the Waimate plains or like lands avoulJ furnish, this Avould not he a matter of difficulty. It may r he necessary to descend to something very like subterfuge, as in the recent instance, to attain the desired end, but if it be obtained the public can afford to shut their eyes in some degree, and regard results rather than the by-play by which they are brought about. It is admittedly' necessary that the Waimate plains bo thrown open, the thin end of the Avcdgc lias been inserted iioav, let it ho driven home ; Avliethcr by the same means or other that, have proved effectual during the past few days is not specially material.