SIR GEORGE GREY'S SPEECH AT THE MAORI MEETING.

Temuka Leader, Volume 2, Issue 145, 14 May 1879, Page 2

SIR GEORGE GREY'S SPEECH AT THE MAORI MEETING.

Alexandra, May 12. After several chiefs had spoken, Sir G. Grey then arose, and walking to the centre, and facing the Kingites, addressed then as follows: — My friends, chiefs of the various tribes who are hero. I will say a few words to you. Now I have heard since I have been here murmurings about two or three complaints from the first. I will say this to you. I, together with Mr Sheehan, made offers of giving an extent of land to Tawhiao and his people. What I did was not having any right of my own—-of doing it or of giving anything of my own, but simply as the servant of all the people of New Zealand, as the servant of all of you who hear me amongst others. Now you may all have seen my payment for these services—that three times I have had to come to you at very considerable trouble and annoyance, that I have had many troubles and many discomforts to go through. I have hurt rny health by so doing, and my only object in undergoing those fatigues was to serve you. I wish to do you good. When I made those offers I had no power to go back from rhem or break them, because the people of New Zealand -would not have Jet me do so. The three things I have thus heard muttered about are—First, the road that has been made to Raglan. To that I answer there is no ground of complaint whatever. The conversation that I had with you at Hikurangi was to this effect —That, if it was agreeable to vou and to Tawhiao, thex - e should be returned to you all that part of the confiscated lands ou the west bank of the Waipa, which had not been sold to Europeans. Now the road to Raglan runs through our own land, the land that belongs to the people of New Zealand, lands which had been fairly purchased, which had never been taken as confiscated lands, and it was right that the Europeans at Raglan and the Europeans at Hamilton and Cambridge and other parts of the colony should have the means of communication together and of carrying their produce along that road. It was ri"ht for the Natives as much as the Europeans. As a servant of the people of New Zealand, I coidd not have refused to make that road, when the Parliament determined that it should be done. Now, that road is in a great part made by yourselves, and I was glad that you got money for making it. I did you a great benefit in securing that road and that money for you. There was no breach of agreement whatever regarding that work. Now I commence a subject regarding which I have heard complaints, regarding certain sections at Harapipi, which have been bought back by the Government from Europeans. Those' sections wore excluded by my offer to Tawhiao from the lands which ho was to have. The words were carefully used that the lands were to ho returned to him which had not been sold to Europeans. They were excluded from the arrangement, hut the Government did not take them for the people of Now Zealand generally. It was believed they had been offered to you by the previous Government, and this Government virtually set them apart as an endowment for a school at which your children were to be educated. &o that you were to have the benefit of these lands. Further, as I understand, the lands had boon offered to you by the pre : vious Government. 1 enquired into the circumstances before I went to Hikurangi. I understood that you had refused to take

the land, and I understood that the reason was that the lands were mixed up with the forms of Europeans, and disputes on account of Europeans’ stock coming on to your cultivations were likely to take place between you and Europeans. Therefore, I did tin's. I offered you what had never been offered before, town acres in every one of the townships in Waikato district, so that you might have a means of getting an immediate revenue from your bmd. Now listen to this. I say there could have been no misunderstanding upon my part, and upon Mr Sheehan’s, regarding those sections. But I say this, that if you have cause to make the people of New Zealand believe that you misunderstood the subject, you may rely on it the Parliament, as representing the people of New Zealand, would see that ample compensation was given you upon that account. The people of New Zealand, Europeans, and Natives, are generous people, and they would allow no persons situated as you are to suffer wrong from a mistake .into which you have fallen. I say this in case those offers made to you should be further considered. Now the third sub ject upon which I have heard grumbling —because there [has been no open' statement made is this —1 have heard that there has been grumbling because you have heard of arrangements, or because the Government, on behalf of the people of New Zealand, had made arrangements that if you desired to have a railway made from here to Mokau the money should bo forthcoming. Now that arrangement was made without the intention to attempt to make a railway until the chiefs had agreed to such a thing being done, and until the chiefs had expressed their wish for it. It was done out of pure love for you, in the belief that you would ultimately wish for it. I did nothing more than Nature has done for you. Look here. Nature has made here for you level plains of rich country through which a railroad can run with the greatest ease. Was God wrong in doing this ? When God has put into the earth up here abundance of iron, by which the rails for the road can be made, and that the iron is a very valuable property which will make many men and many families rich. Was God wrong in making this provision for you, if you wish to have a railway 1 Then God filled this country with abundance of coal, by which fire can be made to drive the engines along. The coals are very valuable property, and will make many people rich, and many families comfortable. Providence has done all that is good for you, for the men who shut out doctors and medicine from this country, and let innocent children die for want of proper care. I say that innocent children and young boys and girls died without help, because men who were making money in other places by selling land wished that other persons should be shut out from selling land. Now I stand before you and say I was your friend in doing what I did, in taking advantage of the provision which Providence, made, so that when you desired to make this rai way to bring wealth and and comfort and peace to you, you might have it. I shall wait until to-morrow, until ten o’clock in the morning. If you then send to me saying that yon accept these offers and are prepared to discuss them, then I will remain to discuss them. If I do not hear from yon that you will discuss after ten o’clock to-morrow morning, they will be withdrawn absolutely. And"tins you must remember— That every future arrangement made with you must be upon a new understanding, not upon these offers made at Hikurangi. I have only further to say this —if you do not accept, if you do not discuss them, recollect this, that in me you will always have a friend. If you say you have made a mistake, and send for me at any other time, if I can I will help you. Now I wish you good night. Sir G. Grey here retired slowly from the ground. The Ministerial party were now fast moving oft, when Te Ngakau said, “Well, I can’t answer now, because Grey is going.” The assemblage dispersed at 5 o’clock