"THE MAORI WAR." INTERESTING LECTURE BY THE REV. J BULLER.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXV, Issue 3726, 28 June 1869, Page 4

"THE MAORI WAR." INTERESTING LECTURE BY THE REV. J BULLER.

(Concluded,) There is one thing oa which, above all others, the nativei were al*ay« M nitiv*, t and that is -tueir land. This was a subject of great delicacy. No doubt it would hare been the best as well as the moat »impU way, to take possesnion of the whol« country and allocate to the native tribes aucb portions as were suffioUnt and bout uuued to their use-as it was put bv the lecturer last week. But this could not be done Every acre of land had its owner; their own titles were olten complicated j aud intertrii.al worn were not uncommon because of disputed rights. Keenly watched by the sagacious eye of a jealous paopie, the most ouretul aolion was required in order to secure their confidence. Uufort,uu*tely the policy adopted by the Government place i them in a f»Ue position at ouce. Ac that tuna there was a general de&ire to sell land to jburopean residents ; m all directions native chiefs were offering teiritory in exchange for toceigu waiei. Traders were rapidly increasing, because the country was safe. Thounands of aorcs had been bought, ard a large extcut was under negotiation, whau Capiam Bobson'a proclamation made it i au illegal «ot for any one to traffic with tbe native* in the matter of laud. At the same time Oommis* siouer* were appointed, who held court* of inquiry into the merits o£ the purchases aheady contracted. Ihis was a right step so far as it went. The results of that; inquiry rtfLcctd great credit on the honour of the uatives ot thane days. One of the Commissioners toid me that the deoiuon of the Court always turaed on the testimony of the natives alone But, although they had the matter iv their owu hauds, I heard not of a caae whereiu they repudiated a bargain that had onoe been fairly rautied by them. It would not be safe now to trust them «o far. The technicalities of law would be put in the place of right dealing. There was one great defect in the design of that Court. Instead of aw»rdiuis to the claimant all th« land he had honourably bought, his grauc waa limited to a given quan* tity, and the balance regarded as waste Un.ts ot the Crown. This served to irritate the buyer, and to perplex the Maori. 'Jhe former felt himself wronged ; the latter silently questioned the right of the Government to tako what private individuals h*d purchased. They said, " If the Governor serves his own people iv this way, what then may we not expect?" Thus a suspicion of the ulterior design of the Government waß, at a very early period, awakened ia the Maori mind The proclamation also strengthened this fooling. It deprived the natives •£ the acquisition of merchandise ; and they were led to ask oil what ground the Government pierouted them from doing what they liked with their own. This ajfain wa* aggravated by the refusal of the Government to buy certain block* of land when they were anxious to sell. Much vexation arose out of this, and it was fostered by angry trader* who, pointing to the flagstaff at the Bay of Islands a« the ttymbol of Biitiah power, led Hone Heke to cut it down. Ihus began tuewar in the North in 1345. It may be said that it was necessary to prevent the laudsuarks— as speculators were called— from buying up the country wholesale ; and also,' iv order to avoid quarrels, to ascertain the real owners of land sold. The aotion of the agents of the New Zealand Company might be adduced in proof of this. But it waa possible by legislation to have guarded against all such evils, and y^t to have lefc the natives free. Had the Government done this iv a w*y to secure reverence on the one hand, and the reauy wctiuotion of native title by fair purchase on the other, they would have assumed the dignified position of protectiog native rights, and the arbiter of all disputes instead of descending to the lower status of land.jobbin*. Ia this way settlers would have filled the country without the mterventwn of a Land-pnrohase Department. But tbe course taken— no doubt with the beat inteutions— proved disastrous, and lies at tbe foundation of all our troubles. Suspicion gradually acquired strength, until it became a profound oooviotion iv the native mind that in time their lands would be all wrested from tbeua. Then they formed a stern resolve to stem the progress uf colonisation by selling no more land. Heuce the* famous Land Leay" 9 iv 1854, the murder of Rawiri and others in 1855, and tbe pietent war beginning with the Wai tar a question ia 1860. It would have been as much for the intercuts of the Maoris as for the colony if, to a very large extent, thtir_ waste lands, had be°n sold by them while they possessed but a" nOuamai"vaiue;~*^£;aTg«--payments are a questionable ■ hey lead to idleness, improvidence, and viot. By refusing to buy, or to let others buy — the ojd fable of the dog aud the manger — the Government let the opportunity slip, and, when, by the increase of population, laud was in requisition, tbry were unable to meet tbe demand. Thus difficulties aro^e which were det>im<-nial to thu publiu welfare, and were equally iujurious to che natives. For instance, wheuacoin.-auy of tfova ootians desired to form a settlement— that successful body of settler* n>w at the Wai|>u — and the Goveruuaeut had no disposable land for their purpose, apjili. atiou was made to native cl>i> fs to sill that which ha 1 already been bought from them by Mr. Busby. Never was a land-purchase effected iv a more open, straightforward, or honourabls way than that of Mr. Busny's, although his title was n t legalised. a» officer was sent to Te lirarau, a fine old chief, with some sense of honour— to re-buy this land, lie iud'guautly repelled the offer. "Do you think," he i-aid, " i will sell land twice over ? It ia no longer cuiue — go to Busby, to whom it belongs," It is «4sy to see the effect of suoh repeated attempts upon the native mind. While the Government falls into contempt, they are demoralised, till their cupidity oToniiles their honesty. The " land question," more than anything else, forfeited the contideuce of the uatives. Good government must command respect. This is to be done by the supremacy of law. obedience to lawful authority i« the foundation principle of public peace, safety, and order. But how signal our failure in this respect in the management of the natives ! They bave not been governed at all. A firm-handed aud upright Government would have been respected by them. Their own rude Uw had been one <>f brute force. This was giving way to that of public opinion. At the date of the colony a simple code of laws faithfully administered would have taken with them. To show weakness waa folly. At thit time the pen-on of a pakeba was sacred. vVe had a moral prestige which is now gone. They have a keen fcecse of justice and will respect it. Had law t een impartially enforced, by this time it would be every whero acknowledged. No fear of consequences should have averted execution on the guilty after trial and conviction. 1 appeal to everyone who has lived among the natives, whether the bold man, if true, is not a power among them. If your caae is % just one, maintain it at all h-z^rds, aud you will succeed. If is ti'oidity, truckling, lying, that they despise. Be manly and you live in their esteem ; yield to threat aud you bec>me their lacquey. My advice to settlers is, never let a Maori take advantage of you. Allow no liberties Not long ago I entered the borne of a trader in the inttrior. Presently a native came into the silting room. He waa clothed in a filthy ngeri, and had a greasy cau upon his head. He took his seat before tbe fire placo ami, having lighted his pipe, bsgan to smoke with all possible self complacency. I fouud no difficulty in shaming thit man out of h's rudeness, fie needed only a proper rule to be kept within the limits of right conduct. From personal recollections I could supply inntances of violence threatened to exact unjust demands, which having been calmly but firmly resisted, the enraged chief, ashamed of his folly, has afterwards brought an offering of reconciliation. It is a great mistake— bad iv principle and worse in policy — to let the Maoris know that you are afraid of tbem. Th>y respect courage It is notorious that, while tho natives can always obtain redress against the pakeba, the la ter has seldom any chance against the former. Thus law i« treated with derision. The authority of the ancient chiefs was passiug away, and a state of anarchy was succeeding it. The more thoughtful and intelligent saw and lamented this. Our laws were powerless with them. This, together with the land question, led to the King movement, which now threatens to give great trouble. To enact laws and not enforce them will demoralise any people. " Without law there is no transgression " If the law says, "Thou shalt not buy strong drink," and then, under the very eye of the Ma^iutrate, allows it with impunity, it weakens its own sanctity when it says, "Thou shalt not kill." To* violation of one law prepares for disobedience to all laws. Had law been always upheld, a police row might sometimes have happened ; but nothing lik* a war would have been the consequence. Hot aball we evtr have peace and safety until the reign of law bo established. The risk of danger is no apology for compromising justice. A parent may have trouble in subduing the will of a headatr >ng child, but, if he do not, the task may be imp isoible hereafte-. Better iv the first placa to overcome resistance, at auy cout. The interest* of humauity are served thereby. But even such apology is not always available. A oa*e occurred not long ago, nor far away. A Maori girl committed a theft, and af ttrwarda a|semj>ted/ the life of her victim. A.

runanga was held, The father of tho girl was oppose 1 to the surrender of his d&uguter to the action of our law. His opposition was overruled, and the English Magistrate had the case bsforb hial. There was here nb difficulty. £ut t regret to say the question was lifter nil referred to Maori usage. How is it possible in this way for the Maori to have any conception of the majesty of law ? We may cease to wonder at their lawlessness. Another function of the Government is education. Much credit is duo for what haa been done in this direction, although with partial success. This might have been greater had nob too touch beon. attempted with the means available. No investment of pitblio money would hare proved more profitable than in a liberal education, which would qualify the natives to appreciate our institutions, and take a part in our legislation. This supposes a complete curriculum, including a knowledge of English. If, for example, 40 or 50 bright lads— sons of chiefs —had been placed in schools with young .English gentlemen until thoroughly educated, it is not too mUoh to suppose that mauy, if not all.of them would, by their superior knowledge and refined taste, be as closely bound to us by sympathy as to their own people by blood. What a power might they have been for civiliiation ! They would make efficient Government officers, and some of them be worthy of Beats in our Colonial Parliament — a reality, instead of tho miserable sham of the Maori members now exalted to that dignity. Such an educated class of Maoris of rank would greatly facilitate all efforts of philanthropy, provided at the same time every encouragement waß given to the education of the whole people in the cardinal duties of manliness, industry, and obedience. Thirty years ago the Maoris were but emerging from barbarism, but they were sober, honest, and hospitable. What are they now ? Inttmperanoe, profligacy, and impudence are their general character. Their •duoation is a bad one. "A tree is known by its fraits." It would be easy to cite instances and multiply proofs in support of the position that our native difficulty is not owing to positive injustice, but a failure in management. Whatever may have been the mistakes of the colonial authorities they are not responsible for the war, which had begun before they had any power to prevent it, and was the effect of causes ia operation for a long time antecedently. Never w«a the case more desperate than it ia now. For nine years we have had warfare, and wo are likely to have it nine years more, unless effectire measures be at once taken for its suppression. It is not my plaoe to criticise the doings of our men in office. My belief is that they do not lack talent so much as virtue, and that no men are fit to be trusted with such power if the vigilant eye of wellformed public opinion be not upon them. But this I say, no mere compromise will secure peace. The safety of settlers cau never be guaranteed until law is impartially administered among all classes, Maori and pakeha alike, and magistrates become "a terror to evil doers, »nd a praise to them that do well. " This must be done. How it is to be done, is another question. If I felt competent to solve it, I should be stepping out of my province to do so. I may be thought to have ventured too far already. Some may question whether, as a Christian minister, I ought to deal with such things at all. On the other hand, as a Christian minister, I think I occupy a vantage ground, for I subscribe to no political creed, and have no personal or party object to serve. But in a great public question, affecting as it does not only the whole community, including both races, but also the interests of posterity, and the religious character of the people, I say, on such a question every one has a right to speak, and especially every father of a family, whose ohildren must, for weal or woe, inherit the legacy which we bequeath tkem in relation to [this country. There are certain great principles of action which anyone may discern, but under present embarrassments to desire an effective native policy will tax tbe genius of the ablest statesmen. No policy can be effective until it extends the supremacy of law instead of the sword. I despair of a "consummation so devoutly to be wished " until the public mind wakes up to the naked reality of the ease, and through its representatives, resolutely puts down ravolt, and then adopts plans for the elevation of the people. Spasmodic fighting will not do this, It will perpetuate irritatation, provoke reprisals, and keep the country in continual alarm. By the stern logic of facts the Maori must bow to our superiority. Until then we shall not have from them that respect without which it is a degradation t& dwell among them. Settlers of former days will tell you in what terms of amity they lived with their Maori neighbours ; but times have altered. At the risk of any odium I would «fcand forth in the defence of an oppressed Maori ; on the anrne principle, I now sympathise with the dowa-tretlden pakeha. I wonder not at the Btrong ""expressions we sometimes read in our public journals. There is danger of a popular indignation, too sweeping in its range. The sooner we can dismits the idea of race from our minds the better. " One law for all." I believe, even now, such a proclamation would be gladly hailed by a large majority of tho natives, if they could only be persuaded to believe it. " Honour all men" iB » precept of tbe highest authority. The Maori, with all his faults, is our fellow-man ; and our common manhood, whether in a white or brown skin, has its rights. Under better influences our Maori brother will prove himself equally worthy with ourselves. It will be a tremendoui evil if a people of such capabilities be doomed to destruction. Let us hope not. On our young mbn a great task will devolve. This work will not be speedily done. The sine qw& non to tranquillity and order is the suppression of anarchy. Money and men will he needed for this j and that to no little extent. My deep conviction goes with the great heart of public opinion that this ought, in common justice, to be supplied by tho Imperial Government, from whose action the necessity has arisen, but I »m also convinced that it will have to be done by the colony itself. The work will tax its resources, its patriotism, and its pabience. By the natives generally we are regarded as a people physically, if not mentally, inferior to themselves. .Numerous tribes assume a threatening position of armed neutrality, while furious bands are in open rapture and give no quarter to age or sex ; and, more dangerous still, there are many who acoepfc our pay, but work for our enemies. We have lost our prestige everywhere, so that our interference is not desired even in districts which are at peace. We may complacently call them our allies, but if our authority were required, against them they would Bet it at a haughty defiance. A Bection of the Maori youth have developed into reckless desperadoes, under the training they have received from early boyhood in oombat with our own troops ; they will now shoot pakehas with the same zest with which they formerly hunted pigs. They will never yield. Their blood is up. Moulded by savage warfare they have become, acoordiug to St. Peter, "as natural brute beasts, made to ba taken and destroyed." Sharp, precocious ohildren are springing up who with their mother's milk imbibe the spirit of hatred and contempt for the alien raoe, and may be expected, under the present state of things, to acquire a settled enmity towards the whites. These evils are germinative. They will grow with their growth. If we look beneath the ', surface, we see the need of future troubles. To our j young men, then, and most of all to our Christian young men, I would say : " Think on these things." No temporising — no vindictiveness — no rashness. Let the errors of the past be the beacons for the future, " Quit you like men : be strong." Prepare yourselves fat «»» agencies, and you will overcome them. Be not lulled into a falsa security by specious appearances. In town and country every young man •hould be self-reliant. I am not recommending a war-spirifc, but that decision which is necessary to pence. If the Maoris believed that every pakeha was well armed, had strong nerves, and was a dead •hob, it would fill them with unbounded reipeot for him. The superstructure of this colony will hare to be built up, as were the walls of Jerusalem in troublous times, when ' ' every one with one of hiß bands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon." Our great want is that of a leader possessing the courage, the wisdom, and piety of Nehemiab. Then, without the j aid of foreign troops, the work would be done, and we might Bay again that "when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much oasb down in their own eyes, for they perceived that tb« work was wrought of our God." Nehemiab. drew his inspiration from » higher source than that of worldly policy j and bo must we. Prayer was a powerful element in his success ; and it must be so in ours. Like Nehemiab, every one of us should "pray •before tho God of heaven," but never on this account relax effort. He did not expect God in answer to prayeT* to interpose a miracle. He relied under His blessing on the valour of the strong arm, "for tbis people had a mind to work." A spirit of tree patriotism is required. Party squabbles must give way to united action. Let Nelson's famous motto be r our, watchword — N«w Zealand "expects every man to : do his duty." Then there will be hope. . But let the warning be taken in time. The wor»t of the war ia no;b over. , The conquest of the disaffected* ha* bepome;a stem necessity, and this, as Colonel Browne said, cannot be • doge with rose- , water, A Btilitorvgentleman said to <me -not long ago, «*The f^af;^urittbsi«|e/in.* year or two f rom «haU«ti'ott. <> ''j'S^i^i». Vjikiid <you>return, Waikafo * and all othir eonniaatea lands : pardpn murderer*, as wall M all oth« butragt*;^ and : for all the futuye let

independent chiefs establish aukatis, and leyy black mail on defenceless travellers and settlers at their pleasure ! If this is to be the price of something called peace, will Englishmen submit to a humiliation ao degrading 1 Then I would. deair« to renounce th« name. For twenty years I lived among the Maoris, and found no difficulty in maintaining my selfraapect. Were that my lot again I would do the same, or •' shake off the dust of my feet against them," though with the sacrifice of all I had, I oan admit Maoris to ba my friends, but not to be my masters. I feel profoundly for those who now live among them in isolated homes. I am no alarmiit. But I cannot hide from myself the certainty of further depredations. Nothing is worse than panic, and nothing so productive of panio as surprise, While such a combination as that oalled "kiufism" exists, tbe colony ia oa the edge of a volcano ; and whenever fit occasion offers they will strike a blow which will create dismay. Woo to our Bottlers if they be unprepared ! A policy, wise, bold, and patient, is urgently demanded. I commend the subject to our yourig mou — to our Christian young men I The principles of good government, I repeat, are not recondite — they are immutable. What applies to a j similar state of things elsewhere will be equally sound here. 'Jhe other day I met with soino pertinent remarks in the Quarterly in a review of a recent and interesting work.by Trench, on " The .Realities of Irish Life." Allow me to produce an extract : — "Kindly and considerate personal treatment ; the patient consideration and the prompt removal, not of every pleaded grievance, but of erery distinct Injustice and every irritating wrong ; and, when this is done, the inflexible administration of establiihed law, the vigilant and unremitting proa«cution of established law, the vigilant and unremitting prosecution of every man who violates or defits it, the piremptory suppression of the first symptoms of armed or organised resistance and a course of language and aotion by both Government and Legislature which shall convince all malcontents that nothing can be gained by rebellion, or will ever be yielded to menace ;— this is the true way to deal with Ireland, and the only way whioh either deserves or will obtain sucoess," These sentiments are worthy of our regard. Let them influence our future relations to the Maoris, and aooner or later this Jerusalem will be a " quiet habitation." 1 confess it seems to me a poor, heartle«s thing for the Home Government to leave the infant colony to struggle unaided against tremendous difficulties, in quelling an insurrection they bad no hand in fomenting. The task is an arduous one. Eventually it will come into the hands of the present generation of young men. But your very difficulties, if manfully overcome, will exalt >ou. Cherish not the fierceness of excited passione, for " the wrath of man worketh not the righteousneo of God." You must be men —every whit of you manly : and true manliness strikes its roots deep down into tho truth of God. Hereafter the din of war shall ceaie — the yell of the bloodthirsty and cruel man shall be ailenoed ; then "violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders. «' I pray God to hasten it | With reapeot to the meana that are to be adopted, let it be engraren on your minds, your hearts, and your lives, that " .Righteousness exalteth a nation, but Bin is a reproach to any people."