The Honorable John Bryce on the Wallaby.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1306, 10 April 1883, Page 2

The Honorable John Bryce on the Wallaby.

[communicaced], A short time ago at Whingarei, and later at Ohinemuri, Rotorua, and many other places — wherever in fact he “ proceeds ” —the Native Minister employs his time, talents, prestige and influence in the settlement of paltry squabbles which ought to have been capable, in a good system of government, of being settled by the ordinary machinery of Government—that is, by the local Native officer of the Government, instead of being permitted to stand over and accumulate for tho Ministerial visit. It will soon come to bo the case that Natives will not be willing to settle anything except with the Minister personally and direct, and then Native agents will be abolished and Ministers multiplied In proportion. Great “kudos” was claimed for tho Minister for settling the Whangarei embroglio, which seems to have been nothing beyond the taking of a road through a paddock ! Of course it would never do to let a plain surveyor, or someone not in the purple, nave the discretionary power of expending a matter of twenty pounds of the public money. The same system of conducting the public business was in vogue when Sir D. M‘Lean was Chief Land Purchase Commissioner. His instructions to his deputy commissioners were to arrange everything, and then when the transaction had to be closed by the payment of the purchase money, to “ send for the Chief Commissioner,” who as great Wister// man got all the credit of the affair, “ I did this, and 1 did that ” The worst of this clumsy and vulgar inode of transacting business, is that the big man is magnified, and the ordinary government officer made to look small. Now, Sir Donald McLean was a man in ten thousand, but John Bryce is an ordinary mortal only. He must probably have a very terrible look, for the Whangarei Maoris, we read in the quasi-Ministerial ac-

count pjintfd in the daily Auckland pa-pars, were in terror at the advent of Mr Parihaka Bryce and were ready enough to come to terms. I have not seen him, and rather regret being debarred from taking his photograb on my retina, which would have been useful for after reference. We now want a Native difficulty at Poverty Bay ; and then let us see whether the Honorable Minister will think that he, and he only, can settle it, or whether he will decide that) —“Oh ! our local agent can arrange that matter.” Stones are not plentiful at Poverty Bay, but there might be a few brickbats handy, and rotten eggs are likely to be redundant after a hot summer. If he were accompanied by his Aaa aroAa, hie now made friend Te Kooti, zest would be added to the visit, and no doubt a few volunteers in plain clothes would be found to give them both the “welcome” and quietin' they respectively so richly deserve.