Page 3 Advertisements Column 4

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2181, 31 December 1875, Page 3

' Electoral TO THE ELECTORS OF THE > THAMES DISTRICT. pi ENTLEMEN,—In addressing you this day I was unable to lay bofore you fully my views as to our present position, owing to the short time necessarily allowed, to each speaker. I have now,' therefore, the honor to t state.those views more folly on the most important questions at issue" in this election. For other matters, I shall call an early meeting.

THE NATIVEDEPAKTMENT AND NATIVE LANDS.

Our prosperity in this district is so closely bound.up with the administration of Native Affairs, that no one, in my opinion, who .comes before this constituency as a candidate can avoid expressing his opinion upon that administration, and upon the state of the law as to the lands of the Natives. ;

Now, what is our position as to Native affairs? Theoretically we^are a free; people, with a free 4Parliament, and hay-i ing the right to inquire into every department of the Government. Practically we; have a department. of the Government over which'ithe Governor has no control,! over which jihe Parliament has no control, and^ye.t wl^ch,spends out of revenue and; loan not less than half a million of money \ a year. . Some three years ago the ex-J penditure was £450,000 a year, and I{ know that these Departments never! decrease, however much they may in-i crease. ,We do not dare to inquire, what j is done with this vast sum of money.; We do not know who receives it,-and; we; only indirectly know who pays it away. I Men have salaries who are never called upon for the performance of any duties. 1 But tread ever so lightly upon the tail of the-Native Department's coat, and you will find that there are at least five: officials belonging to the Natiiie Depart.- i ment for one. belonging to any other! Department of Government. Here "is a: pretty considerable job of worb.for a new Parliament... It would be bu£ just towards the great" body of the people from; whose hard earnings the supp' Jt-of these officials can alone come, that v ''system should be revised and altered, and these; officials swept away to the extent of at least nine-tenths of them.

The Native Lands Acts also require sweeping revision, or entire repeal. lam no believer in the doctrine that the Government alone should buy the lands of the Natives. It is too late in the day for that now. It is too late to ask us to believe that the public good alone is considered in the purchase of- the Native, land. The laws relating to Native lands are immoral-and dishonest, and the system itself is unsound from top to bottom. The' law says that the Native*) by taking certain steps jhall, be able to deal with their lands. Courts have been constituted and judges appointed for this purpose. The Maories have made Application to the ' Courts; but the Government says to the Court and the judge, you shall not proceed with your work. The law says the aboriginal Native" of" New Zealand has by treaty with Her Majesty the Queen, been declared to be vested with the right to his' land; but the Government aays,, " Very well; you sell "the land, but you must sell td'ns and us only. If you sell to any one else it is illegal. And you must not alone sell to us, but you must -Bell at our price." So^that in the deed the gets sixpence wlpre he might get six shillings, and he gets one shilling where he might get £1 per acre'for his land. But do 1 we get the land any ,cheaper or any sooner for all this? I answer distinctly, No! And I think therefore the system wants not the pruning, but the scalpel knife. I may ask you as sensible and thinking men what is there in the doctrine so largely pro--pounded to us of late' that every transaction as to Native Land must be declared illegal if it be not bound round with a piece of red tape in^the first instance P Or "that men are to be^robbed :of property fairly acquired and justly paid for, as they .jrere daring the first administration of Governor Sir George Gr«iy ? '■$-> ' 'Gentlemen, I do not think it is difficult" to foresee .that such a course would not tend ;;/»...-the peace, orders and good Government of this people, aud this country, and that it must not even be tried. .We want no more' Busby compensation jobs on our hands ; and we want no more Maori wars. Let us not compel the Maori to sell his land in the worst market; at the lowest price; to only one buyer. Let him fairly enter the market, arid if he iells,'make every inclfpf land he owns answerable, whether it be the particular piece he sells or not." Our teaching has tended to ,make .the Maori a fraud and*.a cheat), 'and wef. are now reaping a harvest for our efforts at civilising him bysringing out a full-blown repudiator .and'robber/.; Very, intimately connected with* this matter is the present constitution of THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ANEf THE MINISTEY. There are .two grave questions which have not yet been put in issue at this election, and whichvE think ought to be put in issue. These are—the making of the Upper Chamber, Legislative Council, or Senate elective' instead of rfominee, and the alteration' of the Constitution to accord with the.; usages of the Home Country and jail those Colonies which have free -or Representative institutions. You all know |hat when at Home there is a change of Ministry, the new men taking office are sent back to their constituents for re-election or rejection. The same usage prevails in South Australia," Victoria, New South Wales, .and Tasmania.' It is notsjb here, and I think that it is a grate mistake, that it is not so. The present Ministry, represents a majority of just one membeiMn the House of Representatives: Prftetieally-this is the."only safety-valve for [the discontents of the feople during 'tpft life of a Parliament, n the course df,my own experience I. have known fouf out of five of a new ' Ministry rejected by their constituents. : Had I a seat infthe new Parliament, I j should certainly t^y to secure this reform, i I also think that have now so far out- j grown our childhood that when we want I a member of the legislative Council the question^with the provernment will not be —Which of our hangers-on or flunkeys shall we elevate Pjbut with the people— ' Who shall we send to represent us in the ' ' Seriate? And'tbit our choice may be well and wisely made, we want edu<!ation. i r Geutlenieu, this 1 is one of those'ques-1