South Canterbury Times, MONDAY, APRIL 3, 1882.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2816, 3 April 1882, Page 2

South Canterbury Times, MONDAY, APRIL 3, 1882.

The 'Auckland' people have been grievously 'Agitated about the location of the ' Native Lands, Court Departmenf, J Wbich it has been decided to remove to Wellington. A deputation from -the. Chamberof Commerce waited upon Mr Bryce and? pointed out all the undesirable consequences that would follow the removal. Looked at from/thhfr side’it appeared incontro- - vertihle ; that j a iseries: of ; disastrous results wouldr ensue. The Maoris would think their chances of fair treatment:!lessened, ,and : would become discontented, ■ possibly obstinate and troublesome; and the expenses of legal proceedings in connection .with Native,.,- lands' would/ l?e .very /much augmented. They, further urged that in lthe’’ present position of Native affairs, any .alteration of the status quo would be a dangerous step. But this tissue of objections was merely a thin veil to cover the real root of the whole matter. The fact is Auckland is beginning to feel a little flushed with triumph at her recent sudden acceleration of commercial progress, and she begins to look, back with longing to by-gone days when she was the seat of the' Government of the colony, and desires to resume the position of sovereignty. ' This, Mr Bryce did not omit to remark, though the good people have chosen to take what he said as a taunt, and to vastly excite themselves thereat, Mr Bryce’s reply to the deputation gives us a higher idea of him than any of his remarks that we have hitherto heard of. Touching lightly on the ill-disguised ambition of the Aucklanders (but still 'pointedly enough to show that he was not to be hoodwinked as to their real motives), he remarked that while personally, he had no desire to live in Wellington, and would infinitely prefer Auckland for a residence, ho was strongly of opinion, in fr.vt he was absolutely certain, that the exigencies of the public service demanded that he should reside in the Empire City. So far of their motives and his own incli-

nations. Coming to the expediency dr’otherwise of the . removal of the Department, Mr Bryce spoke very plainly, not from a bureaucratic, btifc from a practical point of view. He expressed it as his deliberate opinion that the time had really arrived for the abolition of a Native Department, but that while it existed the administrative portion of its work was really a function of the Department of Justice, and must be carried on in, or in close proximity to, the office of Justice. On the effect of the step, “ on the Native mind in its present temper,” Mr Bryce had nothing to say. He, plainly, did not attach any importance to this. The fact of the matter is that Mr Bryce, like most other sensible people, is desirous to abolish a separate department for Native affairs. We should be very glad to see the abolition brought about for it would completely break down every mark of distinction

between the Maori and European races. If the Minstry have not acted exactly as we could have desired in reference to the Natives, if their policy has been somewhat more arbitrary and highhanded than could have been wished, W are quite willing to concede them the possession of a sincere desire to settle, on a firm and durable basis, the relations between the two races. The Maori mind must be (and we believe it is) pretty well convinced of the desire of the colonists to grant them equality of rights, and the gradual merging of the affairs of the Native Department

into the business of the. Department of Justice will finally prove to them the reality of that, desire., At the same time, for present convenience it is obvious that there must be local land courts, and Mr Bryce has wisely Sanctioned the establishment of two. This: we consider a fair and proper concession to the circumstances of the case. But isolation of a whole department to Auckland would be a blunder, and we think Mr Byrce has shown this conclusively. We are sometimes given, down South, to think we ought to have theseatof government in Christchurch, and the Otagans too find Dunedin pointed at by the hand of Providence as the only fit seat of government. But we only murmur this among ourselves. ' We do not desire to weaken the power of Government by separating its departments. We should be very glad to see the Public Works

department with ns, but we .do not go the length of deputationlsing a Minister to endeavor to obtain such a. concession. Our Auckland friends must endeavor to come to our way of thinking. We do not consider Wellington the best-selected spot for the peat of government, neither do they ; but until we get the whole transferred we do not clamor for the removal of a part.