The Waikato Times. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1878.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 976, 24 September 1878, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1878.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political. ***** Here shall the Press the People's right maintain, Unawed by influence and ..nbribed by gain.

It will be matter of general regret throughout the North Island constituencies that the Government, for the sake of conciliating the natives should have found it necessary to force through the House an amendment to the Electoral Bill granting the franchise to ail oatives holding freeholds, and whose names appear m a certificate issued by the Native Land* Court. The Electoral Bill, which retained to the natives the privileges of special representation by Maori members did not go so far as this*. The 18th clause of the Electoral Bill, now under consideration, provided that every Maori shall be qualified to vote m the election of members for the House of Representatives, but shall only be so qualified if his name is enrolled on a ratepayers roll m force within the district m respect of which he claims to vote. This would have been some slight protection at least to the European voter, and the Maori must have shown kiniself to some extent willing to take upon himself the duties of citizenship before he claimed to exercise its privileges- The argument used that we should make equal laws for the Maori and the white man, and therefore permit the former to voteforfreehold property is untenable, because the Maori already enjoys the right of special representation, and the effect of the amendment passed on Friday will be to give hJm an unfair prepondie ranee m election matters, so that the Europeans may with more justice than the Maori raise the appeal :or equal electoral rights. The Special Maori Representation Act of 18G7, should first have been repealed before m other respects Maoris were placed upon the same footing with Europeans m election -privileges. But tho natives themselves do not desire this kind of representation, and, if

the re;il object ware to conciiififo show that a keen ilosiro to -136 evenhundcrl justice t'orsnod tho foundation of the iiiilivo policy, that, *j6bjeot-..vro believe would have been v better£ attained by increasing 1 tho "■ap^ci^Tepresentation. There are already four special Maori represen-J tati|;i9s m the House, besides tnem'bers ot the Upper House, and if their nnmbor were increased till it reached the same proportion to the Maori population ;\s the number of European representatives bears to the white population, we should not have needed to add very largely to the list of Maori representatives, and would at the same time have meted out even handed justice without at the same time inflicting a very great injustice upon many North island constituencies. Nay, more, we are not simply inflicting an injustice upon them, but are permitting thn foundation of all constitutional liberty to be undermined. The Maori vote has been used and will doubtless again be used by unscrupulous persons, whos<: influence enables them to j u>e it, to set aside the will of the European vote altogether. What chance will the European .voters have m the Bay of Islands against an individual or a Government' who can command the block vote of 400 native voters-? ..What .chance, of- exe'reising the --franchise to any ;rc»il ; purpose -; have ! , ; thei Europgan'; electors of Clive possessed for some time past 1 And as ifc is at thejßay of Iplknp ja'nd at j Clive, M, jn a,, lesser degree, will it be m many other North Island constituencies. The present member for Waipa voted for the amendment, which give^ Uie vote' Do every : Maori who is a' freeholder or. whose name appears m a Crown- grant or the certif ficatd I .'of ! ownership' 'issued ' by the, .j Judge, ; , of ,. the ( Native Cdurt, bu,tfc:he, anclr othei's Cn£us,t re- r member the! weapon is itwo edgedifithaf-j it b,oth /: wja'ys,. arid; ; tb at> it; ; may ■ ,be . jsome day . :asi ,dangero s us . ...to, ..themselves r: asj it has, .; ( {aa > iyet,! .perhUps,' ... tebn serviceable. It .is - a- ' standing dange^tb/.tue^ibel'ty of the 'people', and •|;^ £o Snch/ ?o nci /argntnent • can pailiatp its The fact that so many of the ministerial supporters - vbtedfagain'st the- amendment — that to get it passed at all, the Government had almost' to make a minis-f terial question of it, and then carried it. by the small majority of seven, shows that it is as distasteful to the Assembly as it is to the Colony at large.