Sir George Grey's Speech on the Electoral Bill.

Thames Star, Volume IX, Issue 3067, 13 December 1878, Page 2

Sir George Grey's Speech on the Electoral Bill.

House op Eepeesentatitjss, Octobe* ■■ 25, 1878. • . I Sir G. Grey felt strongly upon thife question, and he would ask the Houbo tit indulge him in saying a few words at that late hour. He would begin by saying that he did not with in any way to misrepresent the honorable member for Wanganui. He understood the honorable gentleman to say that, unlesi the subject had been discussed in the House, the Maotis would have cared very little about the franchise being taken from them.. ■ : Mr Fox—Very little about the dual vote. Very little'about the doable franchise being given to them. He did not say anything about its being taken away.! SirG. Grey—Very little about; the change. . ! : Mr Fox—About the dual vote being ■giren. . ' . "!' : ''' j Sir G. Grey—That there, would' be.:iid discontent. ' j Mr Fox had not said there would be no discontent. If it had not been for the debates the Maoris would not hare taken any interest in the matter. > Sir G. Grey would come to that question presently. It was with regret he heard the speech of the honorable member.i He felt, while he listened to that speech; that the honorable gentleman entirely agreed with him; yet he differed in opinion when he came to the. end. For example; he understood the honorable gentleman to say that he sincerely desired to seethe Natives have the same franchise as the 1 Europeans—that there should be no dual vote, but that they should hare the same franchise as Europeans, and not the Maori representation franchise. Tha{ was what he felt himself; but it was a mistake to. say tbat the Bill as returned from the other Chamber was exactly in the form in which the Government iutro? duced it Ther? was a marked differancet in thif.way: that whereas clause 14 as int commenced, " Every male* peri :ion of t^e full age of twenty-one'yearbj, :not subject to any legal incapacity;:!: the ; lJegislative Council had altered it-sb to read, " Every male person of the full age of twenty-one years, not being a Maori, and not subject to any legal incapacity.'' That was really a very marked difference. He ought io tell the House that the Bill, as'originally drafted, put the Maoris and the Europeans precisely on the same footing.; Subsequently, after the Bill had been settled, two clauses'as to rating weije .added, one of which ran -in, this .way: " Every Maori shall, subject to the pro visions of this Act, be qualified.to vote in the election of members of the House of [Representatives, but. shall' only be so qualified if his name is enrolled on a ratepayers' roll in force within the district in respect to which he claims to vote." Bikt it went on to say. that the Maori must hare paid his rates, whereas the European only required to be on the ratepayers' , roll. In one case the rates had to be paid, in the other not. He did not think these words would take; the .power,of voting from the Maoris who weieoin the ratepayers 1 roll, but he might say that a lawyer, who was partly concerned in the matter, was not aware of the full effect of the'section until the Bill had been printed and promulgated. What was proposed to be done by this amendment was a very serious question. After., what bad been said about debating the nratter in ..the House, he felt a difficulty in speaking with that warmth upon it which he felt, through the. fear of creating discontent in the Native, mind. The effect of that feeling evidently operated in the mind of the honorable gentle* man when he said that' the subject was one of great delicacy, and one in which great caution should be used."' Still/ the freedom of debate must be preserved, and it was their duty, on an important subject like this; to express their opinions, although it might be in the most gentle language." He would put it to the House that by the Treaty of Waitangi full equality - with the Europeans was preserved to the Maoris; and that by the. Constitution Act great care was taken Ito bestow upon the Natives exactly the same franchise'as upon the Europeans. In other words, what was given to the Native race by the Treaty of Waitangi was, by the Queen, Lords, and Commons of perhaps the greatest Legislature that the I world had ever seen, confirmed .in the Constitution Act. It was held by some lawyers that the Parliament of New Zealand had not the power to do that which the Bill as sent down by the Legislative Council purported to do—that; as the Constitution Act had confirmed to the Maoris the . same rights as the Europeans, the Parliament of New Zealand hadtio power to take away any of those rights. He said that with great delicacy, because he held that the House was, in point of fact, omnipotent; but the question might arise, of whether the Governor would accept the Bill with this amendment in it, or whether it would not have to be reserved for the absent of the Queen. That was, of'course, a question which the lawyers would have to settle. . His belief was that the proper franchise for the Natives was the same as for the Europeans. He believed the best discipline for them was to teach them to act with us as fellowsubjects in every respect. The very, fact of their votes being solicited would promote unity and friendly feeling between the races, and he did not believe that what was called the dual vote was a good kind of franchise. It would tend to perpetrate the separation of the races, and to place the Maoris in an unpleasant position iathe House, through the idea that their votes would be influenced by the Government of the day. ' They were in a position of great difficulty through not understanding.our language, and through not being able, to judge whether the measures tbat were passed were really for." their welfare or not, so that they were compelled, in a great many

cases, to depend upon the judgment of othets. He therefore earnestly requested honorable members to treat the Natives as our fellow-subjects. They had not done anything lhat could justify our tak> ing away from them the franchise which the Queen and Legislature of Great Britain had given to them. The household suffrage and the leasehold suffrage would be taken from them., eren if the other were left. To deprive them of the rights the/ now possessed, at the very moment when there were be'.ng conferred upon .their European fellow-subject* righto of the greatest value, would be most unjust. Why take f'om the Maoris rights they had exercised for years under a treaty ['which enabled us to secure aT large e2 tent of land upon , which- Europeans were settled—rights which were confirmed to them .by solemn act of the imperial Legislature? WJjjy brck that treaty P Why break that law P The fairest' thing, would ha to let the mailer stand as it did|iQw at the moment when great rights were to be conferred on the Europcws. Then let theNatiTes themselves hold a meeting o« the subjeot. Let V, another, meeting like 1 that at Kofrraarama take place, and let the Natives say whether they desired iff h*re the same rights asthe'r British fellowsubjects. The Europeans had no right to decide the question for them/ It was not just to say that, because we had given them four representatives in this House V elected by themselves^ and from ibmk 1 themselves, they had. thereby for|Se|j the rights conferred upon them by solemn treaty and' by Act of Parliament. He .must add—and,he said ijk, as a duty feeling that it was a very debate subjict —that if this were done it would be the beginning/., of,.new ill-feeling between the two races; He. was perfectly certain 1 such would be the ante, and nothing. but the f solemu conviction Of. that, fact could hate induced him to say itV It would be 1 with '♦ %w great regret that he would see anything done which would disturb the friendly relations that now existed between the races; but it was impossible ta.take* such privileged ,as these, away frpm any men without creating some, ill-feeling I,' Such an ill-feeling might germinate and slumber | for years, but it must prevent, toe tinued advance in those friendly relations which for some yean past had been going on. He did not know that he could add anything to what he had said that would produce a greater effect upon the;minis of honorable members ;> bathe hstd ftt&it to be due to himself, to his position/rand to his own feelings; to state' what bfiHd stated. ; He would agpo !earnVsfl7-=bejr hdnorable. g&tKmeiii!Wf& r trfe^Wfj nghts r conferred by trwtVand GjF3fs£ bf Parliament upon peopl^ wflio^ad^done nothing; to justify those' righit beiag t>ken •&*&-.' I**'-matters, 1 V* ..iffli 'we., ,coujd- ; consult ..puri.Maori ;fellow subjects l as ..-to. i .ifhat^.[tbey..-,iv^utd desire to'hav*. He regretted rerjmuch that thia change ithcmldrhive been made by the other Chamber, a Chamber which in no rAy represented the peoplei Mid which had nb representative df the Maori race?in^itfchosen'&fthemielv«». fie thought it wou!d raav£l>een; wisel on'fheir part not to have forced the HousTtirto thej>osition into which it had now got. Inrefe^enee to his remarks upon the subject of the iMabris having the-sime right to vote for representatives as the Europeans had, that right being given to them in a thoroughly defined manner, he might say that he was reminded of what was said with regard to the powers to be Vzerpißecl)in(reapeeC of the rigbfeftfosjpresentation. He referred to what was stated by an r Tory statesman, ! Edmund BiirkeV with regard to Wales, i When the disturbances in that rugged and hilly country could not be settled, repi resection jwas giren to the,people there. The moment they had equaVreprese'ritation with their fellow;subjects in England their manners changed, and from that time no further disturbances took place. but the two kingdoms, as they then were, became,, united., in the ; fullest. amity. Therefore the best thing to do was that which the honorable member for Waaganui- said -wa» most desirable*?namely» that in the matter bf representation 'the> Maoris should.hare, exactly equal rights with their European fellow-subjects, and should take an equal, .part ( .with,..them,in returning members to this) Hdusei

Mr JTox, said,the honorable gentleman had misunderstood him. What he said was that he thought it was T^rydesini^le that the Maori race should be put upon the same footing- with; the Europeans?in respect to their right of franchise; but that they should also accept the same responsibility which Europeans had of paying local taxes and general taxes, 5 and being liable to process of law. Sir George Grey understood the hono- rable gentleman to say that, and entirv ,l v agreed with him in that position.;- That exactly concurred with his ,own sentiments, and he belieyed the Maori ra oe would unhesitatingly accept, those conditions. ,-.,-, ' '