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Evening Star, Issue 11891, 20 May 1903, Page 4

Native afiairs have for some, time ceased to bo of prominent interest KatWe in New Zealand poAffelrs. litics—a happy' state of

things in contrast to the long ago, when the. disposition of the Native mind was a cause of deep anxiety '0 the Government and the country. The udicious and beneficent policy pursued towards the Maoris by Parliament and the Kxecutivc hag bronght about these satisfactory conditions, and seems to have effectually broken down the isolation which, on the. part of influential sections of the aboriginal race, continued so long to impede the progress of civilisation among them, and the assimilation of their interests, business and social, with those of the European colonists. A great deal of the success which has been achieved is owing to the judgment and tact of the present Minister, who, from obvious circumstances, has especial qualifications for dealing with Native affairs, understands the trend of Maori sentiment, and as one of themselves, practically, possesses their enlire confidence. Tribal influences in the Wajkato—trie King Country—have withstood until comparatively recently all efforts to break down the barriers which hedged tbe Maori resident therein as a separate people, bat Mr Carroll has been quietly at work, and the chiefs and leading men have come to recognise the wisdom of his policy. "Mahutu, the paramount Waikato chief, has at last . conceded liis hopelesi pretensions, and, having accepted appointment to the Legislative Council, will take his proper share in the constitutional government of the Colony. Thus, it may be conceived, disappears the last vestige of Maori disaffection, and a happier era dawns for both races in the North Island. The way is paved toward complete political and civil amalgamation of the Native and European population by the concession to the Natives under the legislation of 1900 of the specially Saxon institutions of local selfgovernment. The "Maori Councils Act of th& year provides for the establishment of simple machinery in those parts of the country in which Maoris are more or less domiciled and settled, by means of which the Native inhabitants may be enabled to frame for themselves such rules and regulations on matters of local concern or relating to their social economy as may appear most adapted to their special wants. The Act is being largely availed of, and the Maori Council is now aja institution of New Zealand. The Minister, in reply to a question in the House last session as to when the nominee members of the Council from the King Country would be appointed by the Government, replied that he would be happy to make the appointments almost immediaflly. We believe this has now been done. It is, indeed, the inauguration of a new departure that in this Native district, so long turbulent and a cause of constant anxiety to Ministers, county government should be established, whilst Mahutu, from a roi faineant, -will be gazetted to-morrow as an honorable member of the Upper Chamber of the New Zealand Parliament, where his opportunities for imefalnew will be considerably extended. The services of Mr Carroll to the Colony can hardly be OV«T«rti»ated in regard to this matter. Not so Tttjr long ago e|ther of these events woald hardly have been regarded as within the range*of possibility.

It iftujit not be infer?e4 torn 'the (satisfactory result of'tis recent NaVh» ti»n», j^e r Jibel i«jtio»—JSagleton WW c w «. r. Jfapiir ' Daily Telegraph • —that the. rights of the Pre<« lire suffieiently safecuawjed bv the

New Zealand libel laws. Thanks to a friendly sagacious Judge and an intelligent jury—thanks also to the obvious flimsiness of the plaintiffs plea—justice has been done in this particular case; but the fact remains that the newspapers of the Colony are in continual danger of wanton attack and injury owing to the scandalous unfairness of the law. Leaving this view of the matter, however, we warmly congratulate our Napier contemporary on having successfully resisted a very impudent action. The plaintiff, Eagleton, was convicted of keeping a gaming-house in 1899) and to this day (as the evidence clearly showed) it is common knowledge in Napier that he carries on the business of a "tote bettor." He" was a candidate—unsuccessful, we are glad to say—at the Licensing Committee election in March; and during the campaign the 'Telegraph' published a letter in which it was suggested that there were "grave reasons" why he should "take a back seat" and recognise the propriety of ceasing to "ask for the limelight." The plaintiff claimed £2,000 damages, on the plea that the wording of the letter "could "have no other meaning but that he had "been guilty of disgraceful acts unfitting "him to take a prominent part in public "affairs." The defendants, while disclaiming this somewhat extravagant construction, frankly pleaded justification on the main issue, and undertook to prove that the words were true. They performed this task to the satisfaction of the Jury, who, guided by an admirably strong .and lucid charge, on the part of the Chief Justice, returned a verdict in favor of the newspaper on all the issues They found, i on the cne hand, that thii letter did not bear the extreme meaning placed upon it by the plaintiff, and, on the othetf hand, that the plaintiff had, in point of fact, been guilty of misconduct which rendered him unfit to take a prominent part in the local afiairs of Napier. Mr Eagleton has only himself to thank for this painful discomfiture. Fancy the audacity of a man who had been convicted of keeping a gaminghouse, and was perfectly well known to be still doing business as a " tote bettor," bringing a libel action because he was told that there were " grave reasons" why he should " take a back seat" ! He . will not ' carry on " tote betting" much longer if the police do their duty and take the Chief Justice's bint. Sir Robert Stout did not mince matters in his charge to the jury. The severity of I his remarks was all the more impressive on account of the unfailing judicial tone, and the homiletic or moral references were fully justified by the exceptional circumstances. The facts—the conviction and the coutinued " tote betting"—were not in question, and (observed the Chief Justice) "it would surely be a peculiar state of " society if a man could come forward for "a public position, and a newspaper, in " the face ol such facts, could not say that "he was not a proper person to take part "in public affairs." There was no question, said His Honor, that the plaintiff had broken the law and merited imprisonment, and "if so, was a man who ought to be "in gaol, according to the statute law, fit "to take a prominent part ■ in public af"fairs? And were they to say that a " newspaper .ought to be punished for expressing that opinion?" The plaintiff's counsel had made a foolish attempt to show that Eagleton had only broken the law in the same trivial degree as the Right Hon. Mr Balfour, whose motor driver was recently convicted of furious driving; and this audacious plea gave His Honor an opportunity of making some scathing remarks on the vicious influence of betting shops. "He put it to the jury as fathers " —would they like to see their sens going "into a 'tote' shop? And if there was "nothing morally wrong about it, why "should not their daughters as well as "their sons go in there?" We must not omit to quote tho closing passage of this notablet charge—a passage which not only expresses the common-sense view of the Napier case, but also suggests the spirit in which Parliament should approach the question of libel law amendment. "The "jury (concluded Hi 3 Honor) had a duty "to perform, not only to the plaintiff, but "to the community, because if newspapers "were not to be allowed to criticise can"didates for public positions, and to ex- " press an. opinion as to whether certain "persons were fit people for public life, "then he was afraid it would be Punma " st/ch a muzzle os the public press as "to rexder it of very little value."