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desires to help you. You said to-night there were two or three matters you desired to bring under the notice of the Government, but first you desired, according to your custom, to offer to my colleagues, my friends, and myself a hearty welcome, which you did. You now meet the Government face to face, so that you and the tribes may speak to the Government direct. This is an opportunity which I hope you will take advantage of. Nothing will do so much to remove the doubts which exist as the fact that we are here all together speaking as honest men should speak to one another I believe that if your isolation were removed, if you had better means of communication, and that you could go backwards and forwards to meet the outside world, it would be an advantage to you and to che Natives right through the country I have travelled over It is this very isolation that has caused you to be misjudged. Another false impression that has existed, which this journey will, to a large extent, remove, is that a large extent of your territory is valueless. I say that that statement is partially incorrect. You have asked me to explain the laws to you. I will give you an explanation of the latest laws passed affecting the land of the Maoris. As you have no surplus land, it will not affect you, but I will tell you the law shortly In the first place there is a Board established that has to decide whether the land is wanted for settlement purposes, and whether the Natives are utilising it or not. Then this impartial Board-—upon which the Natives have direct representation (I think they have two representatives, the member for the district, and one appointed for minors), and a Judge of the Supremo Court—these sit and decide upon the value of the surplus land which the Natives desire to dispose of. Then, when this is done, an election is held. The majority, at a meeting of all the owners of the surplus lands, elect whether or not they will hand over the land to the Government, either to sell it or lease it for them, the Natives retaining the ownership of the land, but leasing it to the Government at the price fixed by the Board. If the majority say they will not dispose of it, but want it for themselves, and decide to retain it, the law says, Very good, retain it. But if two-thirds say they do not desire to dispose of it to the Government—if they prefer to submit it to public auction and the world, so that it may fetch the highest price upon the market—the law says it shall be dealt with in that way You will therefore see that, by the latest law passed, no advantage whatever is being taken of the Native race. All the Government desires is that the Natives should have ample land for themselves to cultivate and prosper by That is the wish of the Government. These are the words of the head of the Government to the Native race here. We also say to the Natives—and I speak my mind to you as a friend—that it is in the interest of the Native race that the real owners of the land should be known; that the titles should be ascertained, so that the Native owners should know what belongs to them. Every day, every week, every year that this is delayed makes the danger of doing a wrong to the real owners of the land so much greater The old men are passing away They are the ones who know the facts upon which the titles are to be executed, and as they pass away there is no one who can give us their history They are the connecting links with the past, who can give evidence as to who are the proper persons to obtain the land. I know that in the past, owing to this delay, wrongs have been done, and that people have reaped where they have not sown, that people who had no interest in land have obtained land which did not belong to them, and that the real owners lost it because their evidence had passed away I know also that a great advantage would accrue if each of the Natives —say the Natives here—knew the particular piece of land that belonged to them, and that all the improvements you made thereon would be for the benefit of your wives and children. You would work with a better heart if you knew you were working for those who are ever near and dear to you. There are many who do not till, who do not work, but are content to sell what is produced by the hand of others. I say all should cultivate, but they would do better if they knew that the land they were cultivating belonged to their wives and children and those that come after them. It made me sad when travelling through the North Island to find the Natives passing away—not after arriving at a good old age, but passing away before coming to mature age passing away before their time. And they have lived almost in a condition of poverty when they should have lived, if they had had a title to that which belongs to them, in comparative affluence and wealth. They are wealthy in land. Land is wealth , land is gold—nay better than gold, because the land will produce so long as it is capable. But they are not producing, and that is the condition in which I find the Native race in general. What would be the good to a man if he had his weight in gold, if that gold were placed beside him on the lake with no canoe ? why, he would absolutely starve, gold would be no good to him under such circumstances. Yet that is the condition in which I see the great majority of the Natives in this colony are unfortunately placed in. If, therefore, I can do anything as head, of the Government that will remove this reproach from you, that will help you to improve your position, that will enable you to live in comfort, that the comfort enjoyed by the Europeans may be yours, your wives' and children's, then I say I shall do it. lam here for that purpose, that is the object of my visit on this occasion. Again I say lam not here for evil, lam here for your good. Shortly after my arrival here I saw a number of young children, ranging from four to sixteen years of age, and I asked the question if a school was established here, so that the knowledge we have could be imparted to them, and through them to their parents. The answer was that you had no school here. I asked one of your chiefs what the population of the place was, and he said close on two hundred souls —men, women, and children included. I have not been able to ascertain the number of children you have here, but what I saw would be sufficient to warrant me in saying what I am now going to say to you. I say the parents who neglect to have their children educated are doing them a serious wrong. As the world progresses, if you maintain your isolated position—if you allow your children to grow up in ignorance—they will turn round and curse the parents who gave them birth. The parents who do not use every endeavour to give their children an education are doing them a serious wrong. If you demanded it and it was refused you, then the blame would not rest with you, but if it is never asked for, then I say you are condemning your children to be slaves for all time. The uneducated will be slaves for the educated in the world. There was nothing