EVENING SITTING.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2996, 21 September 1878, Page 2

EVENING SITTING.

' Friday. THE ELECTORAL BILL—MAOEI QUALIFICATIONS. ; The House resumed at 7.30 in Committee on the Electoral Bill. Sir S. Douglas appealed to members to deal with the question of Maori voting entirely without party spirit. The Hon. R. Stout called the amendment to withdraw the ratepayers' frari* chis from Maoris simply a side-wind to interfere with the native policy of the Government. Messrs Bryce and Gisborne objected to the freehold qualification being extended to non-ratepaying property, and blamed the Government for vacilla--1 tion. . • , Mr Rolleston was surprised at the change of policy, and thought the ques- < tion should be treated on its merits without pariy spirit.. He said it was not right to threaten the House with raising, a native difficulty afresh. ; Mr Fox did not know of any considerable result* achieved in-regard to removing the native difficulty. Equal laws did not apply, because the Maori ratepayer could not be compelled to pay rates, neither ooftld land be touched in civil cases. The Hon. J. Sheehan thought perhaps 6,000 natives might. be rebels, certainly not more. The lite Ministry had broken faith with the Maoris in many cases. Strictly speaking the proposals before the House were illegal, because all. races under constitutional law must be treated alike. ..'■-' I Mr Whitaker. believe J the constitutional law referred to did not exist. The restriction had been imposed upon Provincial Councils only, not upon the House. The fault of the bill was that it did not put the Maoris, upon an equal footing with Europeans. The Maoris preferred special representation.. He proposed that Maoris should vote for Maori members only, the representation to be in proportion to population, every male 21 years old to have a vote, if his name had been placed upon the list of voters. If the House would not continue special representation, then the Maoris should vote under the same laws as the Euro-, peans. Dual representation was bad in principle, and would be unfair in practice. . .

, Mr Brandon maintained that the old spirit of secrecy was still kept up in regard to native affairs, and equal laws did not apply. He -quoted a case where a' Crown grant had been issued, but .the Queen's writ would not run, and trespassers could not be ejected... Mr McLean thought Ministers were fighting against their own bill. He would support the clause as it stood, but not the amendment proposed.