NEW ZEALAND PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXV, Issue 3752, 28 July 1869, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30.

The DEPUTY-SrEAKBK took the chair at three { o'clock. !

BRITISH AND GHOORKA. TROOPS. On the motion of Mr. Cbaoroit Wilion, 0.8., | tho House reaoived itself into committee to consider the following resolutions :—: — "1. That the time has arrived when the ayatem pursued in the administration, of native affairs for years past shoiild be altogether changed. " 2. That one of t*o course* is open to the people of New Zealaud ; either to face the native difficulty and orußh it at its source, or to abandon the greater portion of the Northern Island, and allow it to r«laps* into its original state of savage b&rbarium. "3. That the former i» the only manly courae, and that it will eventually be found the cheapest aid tho moat prudent course* 1 "4. That the colony of New Zealand is not now capable, unaided, of tarrying into •ffeot the former oourie. " 5. That Commissioners be appointed by his Excellency the Governor to wait upon h« Majesty's Ministers in Englaud, with a vitw to afford them all the neeesiary information, and to obtain ker Majesty's con sent to the following arrangement :— " * (1.) Tkat a force consisting of one British regiment and two regiments of Ghoorkas, under the conmand of an officer who has served in the Indian i Army, he placed at tli6 disposal and under the conj trol of his Excellency the Governor of New Zealand in Council, for a period not exceeding three years. " ' (2.) That ao soon as the rebellion in the Northern Island has, in tho opinion of hia Excellency In Council, been thoroughly crushed, the colony shall pay to the Imperial Government the aum of £40 per bend per annum for every British soldier, »ad £25 per head for «v«ry Ghoorka, for the period between their arrival in and departure from Ntvr Zealand. "' (3.) That the aggrsgate sum ba defrayed by debentures, bearing interest at the rate of 4 per cent, per annum ainkiagfuud,and iper cent, por annum.' "

IN OOMIHTTBK. Mr. Cracroft Wilson, C.B. ; Sir, the consider*tion of these rotolutionshas beem pat off three times, in comequoHoe of tho rwcent ltngtby debate upon the no conadtaoo motion, and I hopi— that debate* having come to an end, tha battle having being feught, the victors having ascended the Ministerial bench«a, and the vanquished baring retreatad to this side of tho House — that the question I have to propoie will be approached by every member with an absence of anything like party spirit ; in faot, unleas £am very much mistaken, I think ovary member of this House will see that I am not actuated by aay party ipirib in moving thase reiolutiom. During the lata debate, although it ia ooutrary to tha Standing Orders to allude to a previous debate, an honourable member expressed himself vary shortly to the effect that h« was not going to teak* a long •peeob, beOAUse speeches never influenced a single rote. lam not going to attempt either to make a vary long speeoh, or even to make the semblance *f oratorical display, as that would be worse than folly; it is a plain matter-of-fact businsss that we have to look to to-day, and I hope every mambar will approach the subjaot in that light. The wretched poiition of the colony ia, I think;, patent to all of uf, foes and friends a'ike ; and if I wanted any proof of that assertion, I think I ceuld find it in th» speech of the)honourable member for JRangitikei de« livered about a fortnight ago. Atrocities of no ordinary kind hare b««n perpetrated oa both sides of the islaid, and, what is worse than atrocities, the perpetrators have not been puniahed. Tawhiao and his advisera, secure in their naufcral position in the Ngatimaniapoto country, are »oce«aories before and after the fact in all those atrocities : and I believe •11 the neutral natives south of Auckland protect our active enemies in their advanco, and aisiafc and shelter them in their retreat. I have heard lately that, not many miles from where this Horn* is now sitting, the nautral natives have destroyed some ta!«graph poles. I will not aay that our active allies aro in a state of mutiny, but I oan safely assert that thera is a deal of insubordination among them, ba> causa, just when it appears that the object of a campaign is in our hands, demands have boon mad* for increased pay, and, that increase having been re. fined, they hara returned to their homes, and the European portion of the force ia left unaided to finish tha work which has been begun. Sir, if I wanted proof of the system in which our native allies go withuß into the field, I need only refer to the speech of the honourable member for Whanganui, Mete Kiugi. I think every member who heard that speech, and the details which ho gave of the man. ntr in which our native leaders cenduct buiiueu i* the field, would be satisfied that it is hurdly the way in which paace can be rastored to the colony. So muoh for tho first of nty resolutions :— "That the time has arrived when the system pursued in the administration of native affairs for yaara pa«t should be altogether changed." With regard, sir, to nay eeconrt resolution, the two alternatives are self-evident, and I will not dwell long upon them, but it may be said, and has beanaaid, that while Tawhiao is quiet any attack made upon him is not wise. Sir, to this fallacy I think we may attribute the long train of evils which haa existed in the Northern Island during the last five years. lam told that Tawhiao is personally a very weak individual : posiibly it is so, but he has got advisers who are at the bottom of everything hostile to the British race. I am very sorry, but I know it is a fact that there is one member, and I think more than one memher, in this House, who believes that the panaoaa for the North Island ia leaving the King movement alone ; that is the phrase he is in the habit of using. I would tell that gentleman that if he leaves the King P movement alone the King movement will not leave him alone; and whether it ia better to attack the King movement, or to be attacked by the King movement, I will leave him to determine in his own mind. lam persuaded that it is beat to attack tke King movement. Sir, I am sorry that £ have to prova all this, aa it will take up the time of th* Home, which lam not in the habit of wasting ; but it is neceesaary that I should clear my ground aa I go. I was present at a meeting in September, 1862, at Gtakl. The Hauhaua were collected to parhapa the number of 300 or 400 under a leader of the name of Heremaia, and an interview with him was sought by his Excellency Sir George Grey. The whole day was spent in » Bort of negotiation, as they refused to meet his Exoelleney except at a particular spot, which they said was outside of the British territory, and withia the limits of tho Bauhau territory. Sir George Grey declined to meet them on those terms, and late in the evening the H&uhaus, under the leadership of Hereruaia, being on one side of the bridge, close to the village of Otaki, Sir George Grey approached the spot from the other side of the bridge. Ab»ut twenty minutes after his arrival there, Heremaia brought up his Hauhaus in a column, and, after marching them over the bridge, the meeting took place. Wi Tako was present there, and Sir George Grey, calling to hia recollection the campaigns in which they bad fought together, and the friendship which had existed between thesa. in former years, entreated him to give up the King movement for three yean, nnd rjaii, "If at the end •£ three years you are not satisfied that the King movement ie bad in itself, and will be productive of evil, then you can return to the King party again." Sir, I would rather not trust to my memory, and prefer quoting from an account of tho meeting whioh I find inlthe Wellington Advertiser of the 27th September, 1862 :— "The Governor addressed Wi Tako, andaaked him to apeak his mind freely and without reserve. "Wi Tako : Friend the Governor, aalutations to you. I will apeak my mind freely to you. I will hide and disguise nothiig. You shall know all my thoughts, and why I am so strong, energetic, and earnest in upholding the Maori King and this I King movement. I did not originate this moveI ment ; it was first proposed by Matene te Wkiwhi, about nine years since, when he visited Waikato, and on a subsequent occasion he desired to be made King, but the Waikato tribe having chosen Potatou, he (Matene) became disappointed, and afterwards repudiated the Maori King. Not only he, but the whole of the Ngatiraukawa tribe at Otaki, deputed myself and the other native chiefs to go to Waikato, take up their anbioriptions, gire in their adheaion, and bring clown » King £ag to be hoisted »t OUbi. Moreover, a letter was reoaived from the Cape of Good Hope addressed to us, urging us to elect a King and make our own laws. This letter, we b«. Here, was written with your knowledge. " flia Excellency here asked to see the letter, and, upon its being handed to him, repudiated all knowladg* of it. [N.B.— The letter was from a native who resided with Sir George Grey at the Oape, and who accompanied him from here.] "Wi Tako continued ; lam earnest In upholding this movement for many reasons. When you were fighting with Bangihaeta you oalled upon me to assist you, and I did ao without waiting to consider whether he was toy relation or oountry&un. Yon oaUfjd upon mejto assist you at Whangacuf, and I did bo without demur. After the terminate of the We\r you wtaj; tQ England, and #wre was a afw

form of Government for Now Z«*l«nd—-Superinten-dents, and such like, number* of them—find I was puzzled to know who wa« Governor, After this Rawiri Waiaua, a new relation of mine, an Assesnor also, ?M murdered at Taranakf, and I was much grieved about it. I went to the Superintendent of Wellington, Dr. Featherston, and asked him to go with ma to Taranaki,|to inquire into thli matter — (he ii standing by you and cannot deny it) — more particularly as, at the time of the murder, Rawiri was doing the woik of the Government. The Superintendent answered me by saying, ' I am not the captain of the ship, lam only one of the mate* : I cannot interfere,' Now, as I always understood that upon your departure for England the Superintendent was Governor here, and he having refused to inter* fere in this matter, I then began to understand that it was sot to protect the Maori race, but to acquire their land was the greatestobjeot of the Government, and for thia reason I am earnest and energetio in up* holding the King movement. "The Governor : Yo«r work is foolish, it will mot prosper, and no good will result from it. Discontinue your folly, and come back to your former work and position. Help me to carry out my new policy, and if, after three years, you are of your prsssnt mind, and see that my now arrangements are not for the benefit of the Maori race, go back to yeur Maori King." Now, air, comes the part to which I wish to call the attention of the House verj particularly. Wi Tako answered thus :—: — "WiTako: Why do you come here to out off the branches t Why not go to Waikato, and cut down the tree, or destroy it by digging up the roots ? You will find the tree strong and vigorous, and you will hare great difficulty in rooting it up. When the roots are destroyed the tree and all its branches will perish." Such wai the statement of Wi Tako in 1862, and will any member of this House venture to aay that Wi Toko did not tell the truth on that occasion ? I will next read « short extract, giving tha opinion of Mr. Parris in 1868 :■— " With regard to the question of peace being permanently established, there are two difficulties yet to be overcome, on whicb this mainly depends. One is the continued existence of the King movement, which brought all the trouble on the country, and which the Waikato tribes have never yet shown any inclination to abaudou, but on the contrary are at the present time using all manner of devices to support and extend. Their head-quar-ters are now at Tokangamutu, on the Mokau, where the head men keep doggedly aloof from the Government, and refuse to hold communication, although thsy continue to send forth declarations of peace. " Sir, Mr. Partis believes the natives a great deal more than I believe them when they make assertions, and that is what Mr. Parria said in 186$. I will now read an extract from a report by Mr. Clarke, the Civil Commissioner of Tauranga, the date of which is June, 1869 :— " Mr. Gilbert Mair has just returned from Rotorua. There does not appear to be much information to be gained in that direction. Mr. Mair met Wiremtt Kupa, an old ohief of the Ngatikeroru, who stated that two natives of the Ngatiranglwewehi hapu (Kereopa's) h»d,come from Patitene to nee their relation*, and that they had stated that there is no truth in the King's desire to make peace ; that Rewl Maniapoto (had returned to Waikato from South Taupo ; thaV he had expressed great dissatisfaction at the interior of the island b«ing occupied by colonial troops, and that he had given out that ho will ' pour the Waikato as water mt» Taupo.' " I think I have brought the history of the King movement very nearly down to the present time ; and I mention that the King movement is at the source of all the evils which afflict New Zealand. Let us now, sir, look at the endtaroura which this House has made siuce 1162 to gratify the nativss, and, if possiblt, to make thsm more contented with our rule. The first endeavour was x*ad« in the Natives Land Act, 1862. By that Act natives were allowed to dispose *f, ta whomsoever they liked, any land which they chose to call their own, whether they had ever seen it or not, or could describe it or not. The only conditions imposed were, that they should have the land surveyed, and that tkey should prove, before a Native Court, that there was no one •lse who had a better title to it. This House took another step in the hope of gratifying the native race. The House passed an Act giving seats in the House to members of that race ; and, as if that was not sufficient, those who, had they been of European race, could not have sat in the House, were by special enactment allowtd te take seats here, Still further we wemt; for we have given to the native members an interpreter who Bits by their side, to assist them on all occasions. What, sir, has been the result of thos«| endeavours? They have not bean carriod out without the expenditure of a very great amount of money. Ido not think the native members sit here without putting the colony to a large expanse. Ide not think the Native Land* Court has benn reproductive — indeed, I fancy that there is a large sum to the dtbit of that Court account at the present moment. I should not grudge the money if I could see some return for what we have so expanded ; and I am bound to say that I see a little return, and but a little. lam told that the Ngapuhis have bscome contented with our rule, in consequence of the passing of the Native Lands Act, 1862. I am delighted to htar it, and I be* lieve it. I was opposed to that Act at first, because I thought it a violation of the compact of 1856 ; and had not all the Northern Island members — with the exception of six or seven of those for the province of Wellington — asserted that it was the only panacea, I certainly would not have voted for it. It is a happy thing for me now to be able to say that I believe that Act has done good north of Auckland; but with regard to the rest of the island, I cannot find that either of the measures I have mentioned has done any good whatever. I will not dwell upon the time during which General Cameron remained in command in this country, but I will go on at once to Gen. Chute's campaign. That campaign for the first time made some of the natives feel a little of th« miseries they had inflicted on us. The Pakakohe and Tangahoe hapus of the Ngatiruanui tribe had been mur* deting and plundering in the province of Taranak for about eight year*, and they certainly were pun ished during General Chute's campaign. But the advantages of that campaign were, in my opinion, I am sorry to say, thrown away, because there was no force looatad either on the Wftihl or at Ketemarae, after the campaign was over. The troops were brought into Whanganui, instead of some being left attheWaihi; and if there had been a force left j there strong enough to take the field as occasion re- I quired, I believe we should never have heard of the rising of the Ngaruahine hapu of the Ngatiruanui tribe. But the troops were taken away ; and the Ngatimauuia began their old tricks again. They closed the high road, they laid ambuscades, they shot at British officers, they opposed the survey patties ; and so they rendered it absolutely necessary for orders bsing given to the local force to scour the country, and to harass them a« much as possible. That was done ; and the result was that the Pakakohe and Tangahoe hapus came in and took the oath of allegiance. But the Ngaruahine hapu was still bent on mischief ; and in September, 1866, Sir George Grey, with & portion of the 13th Regiment and the Putiki natives, went out to Eetemarao, and that force found in the rear of Ngutu-o-ta-Manu and Ketemarae, and concealed in the bush, plantations and supplies suffioieat — t think lam not at all exaggerating in saying so—to feed the whole of the Ngatiruanui tribe for five years* Sir Gtorge Grey destroyed those plantations, or as many of them as he could find, for they were very difficult to find, and I believe it waj'Aue to that action on tha part «f Sir George Grey that Titokowaru'i raid of 1863 waa not perpetrated during 1837. Amongst the Ngaruahine hapu there was a man who bat since become notorious —Titokowara. Formerly, I believe, his only notoriety arose from tke fact tkafe he kad lost an eye. After Sir George Grey bad destroyed the plantations I have named, Tifcokowaru, too, took the oath of allegiance. H« received 10,009 acres of the confiscated land, if I asn rightly informed, for himself and his hsipu, and lit was then considered, and was reported to be, a good staunch friend of the English. He took a long journey on foot; and the Native Department reported that be did so for the purpose of making all the tribes up to the Mokau River come and swear allegiance to the British Government. I believe, however, that Titokowaru went still further than tht Mokau— that he ! viaitsd th» Waikato ; but still, up to April, 1868, he was reported to be a staunch and tried i riead to us. In May or in April of that year he was visited at Ngutu-o*te*Manu by Mr. Parris, and I will read an extract from what Mr. Parris reported on that ocession i — " A few days ago, at a large meeting now being held in the Ngatiruanui district, at * place oslUd Te Nguo-to-Mftnu, where there w«re over 600 present and at which meeting all the tribes in this province were represented, one of the leading men, Titokowaru, called the attention of the people assembled to a very large housa which they had built for the occasion, and said, * Many years ago two houses wet* built for the Land Counoils and named Taiporohenui and Kumeamai ; afterwards two housss were built for the Maori King, and nams* Aoiearoa and RangUte*. Tktie houiti are] no longer in

•xiateaw, and I wish to direct your attention to the homo we hay* lately built, and the purpose for which it if intended. This houto it built for tht King of Peace; there ia bo longer a Maori King in this district." (To be continued.)