The Patea Mail. (Published Wednesdays and Saturdays.) WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1880.

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 497, 4 February 1880, Page 2

The Patea Mail. (Published Wednesdays and Saturdays.) WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1880.

Tax purpose for which the Boyal Commission was appointed has been mtsuiKicrsmod by numerous C.tome.ms ami Maoris, ami even by the native member of the Commission himself. After accepting I tin appointment, he resigned, because no power w.-.s given to him and hi- eo-Conimissionars to deal with the nucslion of coniNcatiou. A. moments though; would show any European that nothing could be more absurd than the idea of appointing a Koval Commission to enquire into the iegaiity of the conliscation, which look place by the right of might, or into the more or less vehement re hi dance of the Maoris to acknowledge their forfeiture of the land from which they wore driven by force of arms. It would be as reasonable for the Germans to appoint a Commission to enquire into the legality of their title to Alsase-Loraine, or to hear what dissatisfied HVc'ucimum had to say. It is the very nature of the conquest, or u confiscation, tiiat it is legalised by the lorce 1 mil brings it about ; and, as it can only he brought about by force, manifestly it is in opposition to the will of those who render force necessary. Tiiis should be clear, even to a Parliament. without much explanation. The confiscation is an accomplished fact, and is not to be rc-opencd any more than the omestinM of raising the Give Million Loan is to be rc-enciied. Giving the natives liberal reserves is not a Confession of a weak case, hut an act oi pure gi m.u'wsitv on the part oi Lmi.sc a no. in; all recognised laws, arc entitled to tin; whole. We have renwMnlv .dated that v.'c do mm meoem-e, ui uav wav, tit-; tiiie of the M.rn,h. U. New Z aland. We imar phi usable higT.-i'akitiir ” about the rights of the in-hia savage, me! about lhe law of Nature, wide;! provides for all. J Jut, the plain f'hlglish of the law i. f Xatur.* is. that ev--ry race shall hold ami usi* win! level amount ol land it is : Pie io held mid mw. Nature I:nows no debt, but lit it oi mb-io,. Sim never ::i 1,. vs coy race in iinl.l and it e arnm ii. while mip-rior races aim eniwNal in ih-ur bourns, and pr -mhig ;n mi all snl-s. But Nature is bah barb-: mas and o These that can tint hold insist nM us-.- ; in.;, cannot use must no; la.-Id." u.ir- ■ \,d :;i. iii"C CHil Use, iUld WttitS for the [ mf-nor wav to die out by m -ans of a i:it--:’, viiincreacc of natural elesiths i r ear iurLf-.a. Ims is v.diae civih.st-d ! Nome mas', g,, ■,villi !,vj M.i.rl. Rim j will not vXit.'mnn'Ae mm oy violence, I nnl wid cm'itiueMnm tu ! Wairsi tv. Plain::, an enormous extent of toa Nalmd soil. Tickle it wiiii a hoe.

;:n i P iecchc iii plenty. A !nm P'u! of .-■av.gges who Ciinuol cniiivalc a sjnarlcr of an aero eacn, chum la-. 1 wnolc. " Give t -in i.heir tpiart'-r of an a ir,;,’’ s .ys i\ : . lure, ■’and lot the starving thousands oi .L-biL.iiU and wreiaml ticac; lae i'st, and hoar the la ugh ol plmty. 1 ' That is ihe law of Mature that sickly plniani nioriitr!s cant about The GoverntO"nl ami the Act ol Umiiiscaiiou are more iilicral ; for notwithstandim.; that the Maoris have boon repeatedly in rebellion, and have cost millions of pounds, for which this County is doomed to lose thrcv-i’ourtlis of its revenue, it is not propo.-e.i to ah.-mlnt-cly drive (hem from their homes, or to coniine them to the exact area limy can cull irate, but it is proposed to give them an ex',cut oi laud that would make their number of Knrone.aus a ill mint. But wiih all their liberality, the Government never thought of appointing a Commission with authority Lo give up tho fruits of victory to the vanquished enemy, if that enemy desired it. rim idea of turning the Waimatc Plains into a va-t menagerie fur certain creatures to lie am! bask in, was never thought to be within tho range of ] l-y. jSVr* wa-,* it eren >;ropo.schl that the Commission .should consider the i ■guiuy of what was dune, at the point of the bavo'iet ; lor such deeds have a 11 mnitar iegaiit.y of their own which only other bayonets can dispute. The attitude of (he (.lonamission towards the confiscation is the same as its attitude tom..ids the destructiun of Troy or (l.irtiiavc. They may pity Priam and i Lv.nba. or abhor the rcinorsvlosimss of the v. .u(e m -c. /), !rr,da t ;A Cart!:u.jo, but history wi’l not revoke a letter oi'her

»••!. Greeks and Koinans were too so, in ;or the Koval Oonmiisston, and so wa-; ih •• Act of Gh.mfiscation. To Wluli, or Ida toilutvars, , M;,v a-; well go stand upon (he 1koi"!i .knd bid i in*, main ih/od bale ins ustitii heioht, as If' to the coffin in which this cm esliici is cn -ios-d. But if tiicro is ativ ntimr niatter oi whr.ei (hey wisn to t;vat —anv veer, 'sts r ■ m: t.iu sittiainva o[ r senes that, they wi-di to prefer lo tln* corners o! the soil, any reasonable claims for w ..j'r.gi.ia H,..i they wish ~f money that time wish lo give, these t ;! ,. Con'oes-rino, will hew. To re-con-

and impossible ; but anything that is not So .will bo considered in the kindest spirit, so that the Maori patriots lot may be ns easy to bear as a humane Government can make it. But it the natives insanely refuse to treat of any subject except that upon which it is impossible to treat, the expenses ot the . Royal Commission should nor, be great. It is to he hoped iii.vt the resignation of Hone Mold Taw Id a will not completely 'destroy the legality of the Commission. It would be untortnnato il any part of the Government scheme, which so thr has worked admirably, should nil. Not that we expect much from the labours of any three gentlemen, but because the Maoris fool that something has been left undone that might have been lor their bench!, or that the Government hud h-‘on thwarted in part of their own schemes. Manns arc not apt to distinguish too nicely between Parliament, Government, Governor, and Commission, so that the little hitch that !ms taken place may bo construed by them into a check-mate to the Ministry which renders everything else illegal and useless. To Whiti will claim that ho brought about the confusion of the Philistines, and caused them to lose a!! their labor. Tins claim will readily be admitted, ami will fan the flame of fanaticism that it should lie the oojcctof the Government to extinguish. No other time can he as opportune as the present for calling upon the .Maoris to state their claims ; for unreasonable claims can be resisted, and reasonable ones can lie granted as il they were favors. Moreover, many absurd claims would be silenced lor ever by natives refusing to make them now, which would afford an admirable pretext for ruling them out of Court in the future. Il the occupation goes on, amt the Plains are settled raul the force withdrawn without a Commission sitting, the Maoris will again be masters of the situation, wdl begin to plough, prophesy and rave, and after causing endless expense, will receive more than they would got at present, and will also have the dangerous consciousness of having scored a win. ! V\ e, hope that the t.iovc.!nment Will sue I what grave evils may lolimv from what I is in itself an insignificant event, and j lake their measures accordingly.

' 1’:i.j 11 •-s!!■. jii is constantly being; a.-kad ns —Vv’hv ilun’t von supoorr. liu* const ruction oi ;!:<• railway on tins side ol' ilia river i 'l’d which ive have replied that, ii; our opinion, if, was the duty oft!i Government ihi g; avers to Lemse tie. - i;i■ > -^£ smtaom tine. A'.Ur Kuril isi i:I of! this opinion, wo would not wi -i ilr; li > .•d im! an lo overlook the fact that iiic town of 0 irc.de a, de; -whig ui: a great. deal oi consideration at ile-tr hands, and i'nr this reason we sh-mld like 1.,- see a trial given to both k;-~ of tho rii Wa wuro always under I he impression that a survey had he-.;. , i made on either fate of .bub; .w.ch rahway woe.id (»., deebied ; uuv ioc-r.,- is a doum ah,ail !;.u mailer now. widcli should b.= cleared njv. We would not ."or on« moment <ay the Government —you mii.it make the hue on 'lns side, or oi; mul, b;il in justice t-> id 10 townso ;ools, w« consider iiu-v should he listened to : and ii, aft or trial, it is iuiim! impracticable in briny tint railway terminns on tho town sale u!' tiu; ri ver, tint '.jaesiioa should be all .wed to rest. If the Umber Board ctms.rnct their new wharve.-, where the pros art ones are, it is only reasonable to suppose that the railway will bo oonneeCad with them ; for i' will ha very awkward for ihe rails, av terminus to be one si tie oil the river and, the wharves on the other. '1 he erect ion of anothei bridge s -iMru to ns an obatiele in the way of bringing ihn line mi tiii-.; si,! ; bat by the terminus being on other, it will necessitate the strengthening of the present strucutro, and also, \vc believe, the imposing of a toll to maintain it. On lira other hand, in doubt, great iniprovcai'n;ts could ha (diveted tins side Pv the reclamation of tin; mud Oat from v'ae bridge to Miiroy’s wharf, which would greatly enhance the value of the Harbor Hoard property, and at the same time give plenty of room for railway and wharf purposes'. If the construction of the line on the other side is to do harm to our port, then by all means, if at all within the power of Government, lot it. im on tins. It is a matter that should, ific has n a already, command the very earnest attention of Government, ami we hope to sue justice dons to a!!. As wc have before stated, we fid that wc are not in a position to advise in tho matter, but fits claim of tins town of Carlyle is very strong, and .should not ba lightly thrown aside. Lot justice be dono, and whichever side tiie terminus is taken, good reasons should bo given for so doing. c:c 'iTj.xrr- t:zz£t:i ttzxzrz' a