THE NATIVE QUESTION.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 270, 22 May 1860, Page 2

THE NATIVE QUESTION.

'[COMMUNICATED^] •; • Your contemporary, on Wednesday last, commenced his leader with observing-- " It is with feelings of positive relief that we read the late address of Mr. Weld."

And we can say with equal sincerity that we hail it, as our contemporary does, as a specimen of honest, candid annuuciation, which should form the: characteristic of every man who conies forward a 8 a statesman or public man ; arid if he should (as we trust he may prove by his future cpnduct) prefer the maintenance of his principle to the retention of office, he may be assured that though he may resign the latter, •he will rise in the estimation of all honest men and be ready to resume office at any future period, even though be may have seen fit during liis retirement to alter his former views upon any subject. With these preliminary remarks we proceed to the addressjitselS ■ ■<■---

Your contemporary tells us, that it may be considered at a ministerial manifesto upon the two great que«ti ons which will be : brought before the General Assembly during 'the next session: perhaps the premises upon which his reasoning is founded will bear out his deductions. He states that as regards the native question the resolution of the ministry is, that " no tribal authority among the natives will be suffered [any longer we suppose] to interfere with the rights of individuals as owners of land. That such rights have hitherto been recognised, we presume, will hot be denied. Whatever evils may have been found to arise from the existence of such a state of feudal rights, we do not think that either the dignity of the British crown pr its acknowledged sovereignty will be at all raised or strengthened by an open violation of existing treaties recognising the exercise of those rights by the native race. '

If we are not mistaken the Treaty, of Waitanga preserves to the natives all their native customs, rights, and laws, so far as they are not repugnant to morality and humanity. For ourselves, we must say that we cannot see anything in these reservations which either detract from or interfert with the full exercise of the sovereignty of the British Ctown over these islands. Tour contempofttry^joei onto lay-—" We fear that the attempt 4a indoctrinate them (the natives) with the true nature of treaty obligations would be a difficult task at any time, but in the present case and at the present time hopeless altogether." Here we perfectly agree with him, and for this obvious reason, that we are at this moment committing a gross breach of an existing treaty; and for why ? Because "we hold the exercise of chieftainship to be incompatible with the advance of civilization among the natives themselves; because' it is antagonistic to the fight of private property, and leads to the perpetuation of communistic habits, and to the preponderance of mere strength over social and legal order —clearly detrimental to good relations and union between the races to the present interests, and to the fulfilment of the high future destinies of New Zealand." The foregoing is, we perceive, an extract from the address of "Mr. Weld, in reply to which, we must say we are sorry to see-such a principle enunciated from a person we have the highest respect for. That his reasoning may be a very good ground for regret that such a. state of things*should exist and equally good for seeking some equitable mode by which a better and more satisfactory state of things could be brought about. Adverting again to the address in question, the author says, the first question virtually '■■resolves' itself into this,."ls the.Queen's authority, or that of certain chiefs, to be paramount?" Now, here, we think the author has misapplied the term paramount. In English common parlance, the Lord of a Manor, is. styled lord paramount, and no peisdn holding copyhold tenure under the feudal rights of the Manor can alienate his tenure without the consent of the Lord of the Manor for a longer term than his natural life. Again, some tenants, or tenants in common, of an estate, cannot individually detach their portion of the estate, and dispose of it by a separate, con veyance without aj pealing* to the courts of law for special powers for that purpose. We do not hold ourselves, bound by the literal expressions nee used; bur we believe we have stated the spirit of the law- correctly. If so, we say thatthe feudal authority of the chiefs of these islands over the lands is not incompatible with the Queen's sovereignty over them. The sovereignty as ceded to the Crown was never construed to extend beyond the right of the sovereigns of Great Bri am to deny the right of any other European: power to any right or title to settle upon the islands of-New Zealand, and that under the treaty of Waitangi is the basis upon which the title of the English crown,to the sovereignty.rests. And therefore we say, whatever may be the opinions o* 3 those at present in authority of the expediency of altering the present constituted basis of the political relations of the natives and, Europeans, we. think that there are | certain facts to be clearly established, and deliberate investigations to be instituted before we proceed, *'* vie et armis," to establish, the supremacy of the crown upon the grounds as laid down by the author in his address. Indeed we cannot see upon what grounds he can justify the proposition laid down in the paragraph • beginning ••Whilst I most deeply regret the necessity pf an appeal, to arms," &c,» unless it ii upon the plea urged in Macbeth, that to go back were worse than to proceed. .. We wish we could see the opinion of Our bench of Judges—l it* upon the subject of the tenure of property «as;exewnsed bythe natives; and, 2dly, whether the exercise of those rights were not secured to them by the Treaty of Waitangi. By the latter part of the paragraph above referred to it would appear that the author was already admitted behind the scene of the Government theatre ; for he says he is sure the whole colony will unite at an}' cost to support his Excellency the Governor in the manly and decided course he has taken." At all events, we in this part of the colony are as ignorant as the child unborn of what course his Excellency has taken; but we.very much doubt whether the whole colony will accord to him (for in this 'case he is not bound to take the advice of ministers) that generous confidence he would bespeak for him, should he not "display a far greater exercise of discretion than we have ever yet witnessed oh the part of his predecessors in cases of a similar nature. We shall only add that we trust that his Excellency's manly and decided course will be found to be based upon a more solid foundation than expediency, and that he will be governed by principle' rather than by feelings. ".. We shall notice the second great question referred to in the address on a future occasion.: ~. ■ '••'' *v " ■ •■:;;- ■■■■ ;- :■■■,'.'.