The Waikato Times. TUESDAY, JULY 15, 1879.

Waikato Times, Volume XIII, Issue XIII, 15 July 1879, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

TUESDAY, JULY 15, 1879.

land, and tie it up. Throughout the meeting, this was the wrong which most of all rankled iv the Maori mind. With many of them, their land is the onl,y marketable thing 1 they have to sell. They may need food, the ineaus to profitably till their cultivations, or have a score of other wants that money would supply, yet, of tbe thousands of acres they can never use, they are forbidden, by this arbitrary interference of the Government— a power the Legislature never intended should be used m such cases — to sell a siDgle acre of it. , And for what reason ? To preserve it i'or them | and for their children ; to prevent selfish colonists from purchasing ie for a mere song ? Nothing of the kind, for the same Government which steps m with its veto between the Maori seller and the European buyer, not only strains the law to do so, but takes advantage of the power which proclamation gives it to enforce a pre-emptive right on its own aecount — to constitute itself the | sole market, the solo purchaser, by its' exclusion of all others. The fact is, as we have said, the loyalty of the, natives, the interests of the Colony, its very resources and recuperative power under large expenditure are being jeopardised for a "political fad." As D>on Quixote savv giants m windmills j so the Preniiefr sees greedy capitalises, landsharks and swindlers m every man who offers a native a fair price for his land. And, because of this illusion, this bete noir of a diseased imagination, the public is to suffer, the native mind to be dispossessed of all confidence m the Government of the Colony, and native affairs brought to that state that the Maoris, as at Cambridge, passing 1 by the Government and the Legi9lature, feel that they have no redress, except direct from the Representative of the Crown.

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

The meeting ot natives which took place on Saturday, ab Cambridge, fully bears out what has been reiterated m this journal, that the fundamental grievance which is causing so much disaffection amongst the natives, and especially those natives who are inclined to look unfavorably on the isolation policy of the King party, -arises from the interference of the Government with the sale of their lands. The business of the meeting was, for the consideration of the following petition, to his Excellency the Governor, which, was read by Taua Thomson, a native chief named Hargreaves occupying the chair. The petition is as follows : — To His Excellency Sir Hcrcule3 Robinson : This is a petition from us, Maori people, presented to you for your consideration, and if you arc clear about this matter send us a reply. Lo! wo are desirous of living peaceably amongst the Europeans, extending our desire of peace to the Queen of England. That desire is the basis of this petition we now scud to you. : Hearken vow. There are many complications and grievances arising out of our relations with the Government, continuing through months and years, but there are no remedies as respects our grievances m couuection with the Government, nor are our grievances remedied by the Parliament, therefore we look direct to you as the eye and mouth of the Queen. It is for you to ameliorate our condition m respect to our persons, our lauds, so that the Maori people may ever look to you as a ehiof whose authority is great to rectify the wrongs, and place matters ou the basis of peace. The Maori people discover many wrong-doings, and the heart is desirous to base itself ou quietude. We call upon you then to appoint certain Commissioners to consider the wrongs and grievances, but some of these Commissioners should be elected by the Maori people aud some by Europeans. By the meaus of this project all conflicting matters may be settled. At present there are no means of rectifying the wrongs, which makes us feel sad. The Maori people, through the length and breadth of the land have discovered the lack of strength of the Native Minister, who has been elected by the European race ; aud uow^ 0 Governor, let your approval be given that Maoris may have tho power to elect the Native Minister of this Island, so that peaceful relations may be brought about and. improved by-and-bye, and both races be -advanced on the basis of a clear understanding. Here is another matter which brings trouble on the Maori people, causing suffering and sadness, and heartburning — the land-purchaso of the Government. We, the Maori* people, desire that tliere should be an utter cud of laud-buying , on the part of the Government, for all parties have discovered how great is the evil of purchasing by the Government from the commencement until now. Trouble has beeu brought about by the Government paying away £2 or £'6 m money ou blocks of land that it may m its greed of heart obtain some authority over the lands. Great is our aversion of such deeds, which appear to be bnso ; for all the owners do uot agree to the sale, but ono or two persons receive the :62, and the land m consequence is wrongly held by this unprecedented and vicious procedure. With the remedy proposed by the natives m the above petition it is not our intention to deal at the present time. Of those who spoke many ridiculed the idea of a commission as useless, and only agreed to ib for unity's sake, ' wibh the remark that, bad or good, they might as well send the petition, and see what the Governor would do. But if they were -divided upen the use of taking such, action there was no division of opinion as to to t a existence of a very grievous wrong which needed redress. Some spoke of utter neglect by the Government of Maori interests, others of previous commissions appointed, which either sold them or failed to carry out the object for which thov were appointed. One thought the petition should be sent to the Governor, another to Wellington, another to their member, and a fourth *o the King ; but, one and all spoke of the unrighteous interference of the Government, which exercised the power of " proclamation" to prevent free trade m native land. As one chief said, the wrong consisted with the Government paying a couple of pounds to, one man, and then putting a proclamation over the wholeblock. TeNgutu, of Tauranga, spoke warmly on the matter : " The heavy thing that is hanging on my mind is, what is going »n m Tauranga. What I object to is, the Government taking our lands, by paying £2 to an outside native, and putting the proclamation over it against the wishes of the owners of the laud. Look at these lands that are lying under the proclamation of the Government, m the different districts, for these lands that are put by out of the Lands Court, are so put, through the proclamation. Let us sell our land'as we do our pototoes and pork, to whom we like, and fpr what we like." Another speaker complained that it was wrong for the Government to pay ,£1 upon the