The Late Native Affray.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 176, 31 July 1888, Page 3

The Late Native Affray.

The Wellington Press, in an article on the late shooting affray at Whangarei states Nobody would have believed a few days ago, that such a thing was possible in New Zealand at the present stage of its history ; but it seems that so long as there are two Maoris left, with an acre of land to dispute about, there will always ba a possibility of one mar. deriog tha other, or, by ir-ferenoe, of one or both murdering way palieha who may ba conearned or involved in the dispute. We had fondly hoped that ths ample facilities which are now afforded to the natives of this country for transferring their differences from ths battle-field to the law courts, and for getting rid of the casus belli by distributing its substance amongst the lawyers, had effectually put an end to bloodshed over land feuds. It comes upon us with somewhat of a shook, therefore, to learn that in one of the longest settled and .most somnolent parts of the colony, there are still to be found nearly 200 savages, armed to the teeth, and ready to fight a pitched battle at an hour’s notice about a piece of land which, we suppose, is not worth £2O. That this is so is only too clearly demonstrated; and the very oddness and incongruity of the thing makes the diffi. oulty in which it places the Government all the more perplexing. What are they to do with these preposterous barbarians ? When the news reached Wellington that the Rifleman with the escaped prisoners from the Chatham Islands had arrived at Poverty Bay, and that on the voyage Te Kooti had thrown his father or some other aged relative overboard, as an invocation for a fair wind, the Native Minister of the day, struck by the naivete of the device, exclaimed, “ Well, the Maoris certainly are an interesting people.” “ I do not agree with you,” replied the Premier, sententiously, as was his wont, “ they are a remarkable people, but not at all inter-

esting.” That is what strikes us in this affair. It is totally uninteresting ; in fact, it is utterly absurd. Yet it is so very remarkable that it is puzzling to know what ought to be done about it. In most eases, when there is a doubt as to what ought to be done, it is a good rule to do nothing. But that would hardly answer here. If the contending parties were evenly matched, and could be depended on to improve one another off the face of the earth within a reasonable time and without unnecessary publicity, perhaps masterly inaction on the part of the authorities would be the most judicious course. But they differ numerically by nearly two to one; the conflict is likely to be long and desultory; there are sure to be survivors; and there is no certainty that the victorious party, having their hand in and blood up, may not turn their attention to other sections of natives or even to Europeans. It is clear that the fighting must be stopped and the combatants prevented from doing further mischief. But what are the Government to do with them ? The whole number, 190 or so, are, of course, guilty of mnrier, and, upon due trial and conviction, the life of every one of them is forfeit to the law. But can it seriously be contended that the Government are bound to arrest 190 men and women,—we suppose there are some women among them,—place them on their trial, and, upon conviction, hang them ’ That would be too wholesale jus'ioe. It stands to reason, we think, that only the ringleaders can be dealt with in strict accordance with the law; but certainly a stern example ought to be made of the ringleaders, unless it can be shown that the Government are themselves directly or indirectly to blame for the disturbance. If it were a mere outburst of savagery, no mercy ought to be shown to those by whose action or influence it was committed. The first thing to be done, however, obviously is to restore the peace of the district and the supremacy of the law ; and even that may be no easy matter. It may need patience and judgment and possibly a delay which may be mistaken for weakness. We have great confidence in Mr Mitohelson’e capacity for doing what is best under these trying conditions. He docs not pretend to bo a Maori doctor or to exercise any personal control over what is known as the native mind. That is enormously in his favor, He is utterly averse from posture making or tomfoolery of any kind. But he has plenty of untheatrical strength of character and common sense, and a certain serene habit of self-command which is often more valuable than any other quality on such occasions as this. He has two duties to perform ; to ea. tablish the authority of the law in the Ngapuhi country, so that it shall not be again defied and menaced; and to bring to justice those who have outraged it, for the sake of example and for removing bad impressions abroad. [Happily the trouble has since been suppressed.]