Wanganui Chronicle, AND "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 1883.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 10229, 23 June 1883, Page 2

Wanganui Chronicle, AND "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 1883.

The actual official result of Heneri Taiwhanga's mission to England is given in a paper which has just been laid before Parliament. That he and those who were associated with him failed to induce the Imperial Government to "interfere"" on behalf of the" . Native race has been known for some time"; \and<it.may,b& added. that very few people in the .colony, not being, Maoris, 1 that anything but entire failure would come of, the visit to .England, and of the petition to the, Queen. . This Parliamentary . paper is therefore not new.' in its ■ main 'features ; but nevertheless' it appears advisable to, , make' 'special reference to it, because': the : idea of . • petitioning the Queen and stirring up the Imperial Legislature still finds favour with -the- iSTative race, and is still encouraged, or. at all events not : : discountenanced', by Europeans both in the ' colony and at Home who ■- ought to know; well that "to send Maoris Home with petitions, in the hope.rthat the British Government [will reverse the acts of the • New Zealand Government, is a piece of consummate folly. The men who go may eiijoy their trip and return with .their minds somewhat expanded ; but money is in every such case wasted, and the great body of the Maoris are! still left under the impression that thero is behind the New Zealand Government a powor which could -reverse all that has been. done out . Here .with"; regard to the Natives, and ,could ; , initiate a policy which even now would leave them masters of thesituation.. We suppose, it is. so, in theory, but nothing is niore^.certaihthan that the Imperial Legislature; -would refuse to interfere. . bet.ween' tKo 'Natives and the Colonial Government. It may. seem strange that this fact, has hot yet' impressed itself on the I minds .of »the . more -intelligent Maoris^ but their apparent stupidity dwindles away when we remember that even in the colony there are still )oliticiane who profess to regard the. interference of the ilmpprialLegis lature -as'" not only possible but as probable if only sufficient pressure is -brought to bear: ' Arid then when three ,. or ; four, Maoris actually go ■:Home,jyith a petition, and. receive a thoroughly discouraging answer from the , Secretary for the Colonies, the effect which it might otherwise have on !the minds of the -petitioners is lessened' if ;not : entirely 'nullified; by the conduct and'V&dvice of ,'such., an organisation as the' Aborigines, Pro-; tection Society and of numerous but misguided philanthropists. '■ These gentlemen take the petitioners by the hand;' listen ■•■ attentively to ' their' ■ trumped-up i tales ' of ' wrong and' oppressionjbelieve^yery.- word which is uttere'4'.' to r.thfl disadvantage of their fellow countrymen in the colonies:; and when the inevitable answer has-been returned to the petition, sympathise,: with the Natives, arid 'lead ithem to believe that failure to-day : will b'B blotted out by ample succ!ess_tO;morrow. There is no hope that- the colonial partisans "who back the Natives up in their foolish efforts to influence the Imperial Government willi be brought 'to change their disreputable tactics, They do 'wrong vsvith' their eyes open. They know ■well' that all uch applications to the Imperial Gov.rnmont and Imperial Legislature me utterly useless as a, mean's to o'ltliin' what the Natives desire, but jifey'olso know that such, movements.' keep alive the. spirit, of discontent , aud disaffection in ' the Native mind. That is exactly what public-spirited politicians wnnt. Discontent amongst the Natives tends to embarrass the Government, and increases the chance of the Opposi'tibai But the Aborigines Protection Socipty.have,' no| such ssltLsli ends to servprand-might surely learn a -useful -lesson from the remarks of the Secretary of State for- the Colonies when .giving the last Maori deputation an 'answer to their; petition. Lord Kiinberley pointed put that the petition or memorial ought to have been presented to , the .Governor and Government :of 'New Zealand in the first j instance, so that he. (Lord Kim- : berley) might have had their views on the- subject. To, this remark. an' unsatisfactory answer was returned, and; then Lord Kimberley requested' 'the interpreter to tell the Maoris that 't6;pasß over the Colonial Government,; and, to endeavour to induce-" the Imperial Government to -aqt independently; would not tend to the■union of the English and ■ Native .races. He afterwards added that -" it ; was not the dirty of the Colonial Office toadvise the Queen in reference to local matters like the present. The management of the land of New Zealand was a' solutely handed over to the Government of Now Zealand, ;and; the Queen was advised by the Ministers of_ the_ colony with regard to thes"* matters, and not by himself, as there could not be. two. .Governments for one country. It had been -decided, as more likely to conduce to the i pence '.of -the .country, that the affairs of Now Zealand should bo managed in the colony rather than in DowningrStreot. He had a strong conviction that that course was right." He finally said that ho should transmit: the petition to the Colonial Government, and ask them to state their views with regard to it. "It might be desirable to issue another Royal Commission, but that stop rested with the Colonial Government." Amongst the .documents now laid before Parliament are a memorandum by the Premier to the Administrator of the Government, replying to the points raised by the petitioners ; and the : final letter of tho Secretary of State for the Colonies written after his perusal of the memorandum. It • coutaiiifi the following paragraph : — " Having given those papers my attentive consideration, I request that you will cause tho petitioners lo bo iuforruod that their petition, which has now boon reported on !>y tlio Colonial Government, hns heon laid i'fv'o tliu o_"_c<m, vL-ivrv j-'ci.". (1 '•) ro'o : v.' it vo:'v ■ v.'.r;..-.; '■• h\\' -hr,t I have hcz^i u—Ue '. ." 1/i-1.0 ' 'lei- H.sjesty lo i,ivo any i.lii'jc'i-.>!. !•'•- .1 kM:lljl ; ;ii.e'J wi ; il ill-; -,•.■.->'.'. i f ' til' Ujflivn::'. 11 - S"' L'..: • '".'-•.'■.•.!■.•>

was the man whose name was first affixed to tho petition, and to him was sent the letter containing the reply of the Secretary of State for the Colonies. The last of the documents now^.published is a letter in reply from Parore Te Awha, in which, after declaring that the petitioners had no intention of trampling- on the Queen's authority, he says : — " No ! but we think that the Queen's authority should be exercised directly over us. We, the Maori people, are entirely to the authority of our most., gracious Queen Victoria. The leading people in England say that it is the . Europeans of New Zealand who oppress the Maori people. Well then, friend, do you write to me on the receipt of this letter. May God protect us both !" Parore puts the case in a. nutshell According to him. the Native race are subject to the Queen, not the Colonial Government; and he quotes '" the leading people in England " as witnesses to the oppression of his race. But the ' leading people are the Aborigines Protection Society, and the mistaken philanthropists to whom •we before allu led. - -