CORRESPONDENCE.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1076, 20 May 1882, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

[JUe do not hold ourselves responsible for opinions expressed by our correspondents.] EAST COAST ASSOCIATION. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —Your correspondent Q.E.D., in the last issue of the Standard seems to have hit the right nail on the head. It does seem absurd the idea of sending Mr. W. K. Chambers, or anybody else, to advocate legislation with respect to the Maori lands of this district, without letting the public know what tack they are going on. If the scheme of the East Coast Association, or whatever else they please to call themselves, is a good one —1 mean the law they want to have passed—why not let us know what it is. It is not the same as if the Association people were not mixed up in these land squabbles themselves. Of course they know their own side of the question. The question is—are the people in this district who haven’t any land at all likely to be benefitted by Mr. Chambers going to Wellington at the expense of the ratepayers. Or is Mr. Chambers going south to the Parliament to help the members to make a law that, will make the rich people richer, and the poor people poorer ? Or is he going down on his own hook.—l am, Ac., Who Knows* A COOL PROPOSAL. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —Your Tologa Bay correspondent in the Standard of the 4th May, states that certain Europeans in that township covet the possession of the Maori school-house, with what view is not stated. As, however, previous letters state some of the Europeans there object to have their children attending the same school as Maori children, it would seem that the persons to whom he refers wish to have the present native school closed as such, and opened under new auspices as a European school, from which Maori children would be excluded. There is at least a hankering after such exclusion. Well this is somewhat cool. Does your correspondent and his clients know t at the site of the present school was Jreely given by the Maoris to the Government for school purposes? Do they further know that the Maoris paid down a sum of money (I think £5O) to aid the Government in the erection of the present exist ing school-house ? Let them lay these facts to heart and not covet this trust property which the Government holds for the education of Maori children, and to which school European children are freely admitted,

to mix, however, on the same benches with the dusky young lords of the soil. Let the covetera go and do likewise. If they firmed a public school they have of course two courses open to them. (1) To have one from which Maori children will be excluded. (2). One of the same liberal constitution as the Maoris have founded, admit ting both races. If the former, the cost will fall wholly on their own shoulders ; if the latter, they will have a right to invoke the pecuniary aid of the Education Department. But why not let well alone, and send their children (of whom there are not a dozen of school age in the township) to the present Maori school ? By so doing they will probably induce the Government to keep this school open, and the teacher, whoever he may be, will, as your correspondent somewhat, nastily expresses it, “ find more scholars for his hire,” which no doubt would be very pleasing to him, if he is at all like the general run of school teachers. —Yours, Ac., Fair Play. P.S.—The Maoris with their children have been some months in Gisborne at the Land Court, but will soon return to Tologa, and no doubt resist any attempt to jump their claim! Gisborne, 15th May.