Mr Arthur and Native Land Matters.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 383, 28 November 1889, Page 2

Mr Arthur and Native Land Matters.

JTO THE EDITOR." Sir,—So at last Mr Arthur has found time to address the electors. Well, we have beard many political addresses in the Bay, but without exception, for consummate weakoMf A.•bur’s carries the palm. True, he had not ths advantage of bin predecessor whoae epeech was written for him by the late editor df the Herald. However Mr Arthur was compelled to do the bast he oould from the notes supplied to him upon the public questions of the day. The merest tyro in politics could have seen that Mr Arthur had materia! supplied to hie band which he was utterly incapable of using. Veri y, Arthur, even by his friends cannot

stand discounting. He so fully recognised his own weakness that perhaps one should not make further comment on it. There are, however, one or two salient points in connection with Mr Arthur's address that challenge public attent oi; especially does this apply to the statement made by Mr Arthur that it would be a bad thing to tax absentees—absentees who derive their incomes from New Zealand, but spend them in foreign countries. His attempt to get|away from the unfortunate declaration on the education question in hie published address, was both ludicrous and amusing, and the idea of making another bureau of educational inspectors would, if carried out, only help to increase the controlling power of tbe Civil Service over the country. Let us leave these general questions and

come to the all important subject of the cause and reason of Mr Arthur’s candidature. Surely the electors are entitled to know why Mr Arthur came out. The answers given by Mr Arthur to the pointed questions put to him in reference tn his native land matters, if not deliberately false contained a wilful suppresslnn nf the truth. We have already the experience before us of a gentleman publicly nnnfwising that he went into Parliament to fix up hie emrdnyer's native land titles. We j have Mr Arthur's public admission made J last night that he spent a large portion of hlsj time—really lobbying—to fix up his title—a title petitioned against by a large number of natives;—and we also hare Mr Arthur's admission that his ti le is still unsettled. Can the most unthinking elector suppose for one moment that Mr Arthur can have any but a direct personal motive in asking the electors to return him to the highest council in the country, with the object of using his political influence to fix no, not hlslemptoyer’s, but his own titles ? How Mr Arthur will act in his public capacity may be best judged by his actions in his private capacity. Who in this community and in this era of intelligence would dare to write to any Judge upon a cause pending in his Court, to which such individual was a party soliciting the Judge's ea«!stance in his own favor. Nay, more, begging of that Judge that it he himself could not attend and adjudicate upon the oause not to send any other Judgs to try the cause, who might be adverse to that particular suitor or

that particular suitor's agent. Do the public forget the Ward-Hislnp affair the other day What possible comparison can there be drawn between the two ? Yet, are we not all aware that a Minister of the Crown resigned bis position both as Minister and Member of tbe Assembly upon the broad grounds that inter* fnrenoe with a Judge in the conduct of his judicial office was a grave offence against pnb'io decency and the proper administration of the law. Lest it be thought that these remarks bs too severe and unwarranted, I give the full text of the two letters, written priva f ely by Mr Arthur to the late Chia! Judge nf the Native Lande Court, Mr J. E. Macdonald, with reference to the very lands and titlee which Mr Arthur went after to Wellington tn defend, which are still unsettled, and which he hopes to fix up finally by using hie political inflasuod as the member af this district Poverty Bay Club, Willows Gisborne, N.Z., 2nd Oot., 1833. Chief Judge Macdonald, Auckland. My dear Sir, In the Tokomaru subdivision that hn«l*'n • heard before Mr Booth at Tologa Bay, there arc two applicxtions in for re-hearing. Under the new Act I see that such applications have to b eheard before in open Court. lam exceedingly anxious, for reasons, to obtain a title as shortly as possible to WiJ freehold portions, and therefore write to you to ask you if you could oblige me by arranging to hear the*-re-hearing claims as soon after the three montns—that is, 24th November—as possible. Delay in obtaining a title Is of such serious importance to me that I have less doubts about receiving your kind consideration In this matter. Surveys and other work that eannet be satrted until the re-hearing claims are s-ttled, will take some time, and so I am the more anxious to get you to hear this claim, and I feel certain that one day would settle the matter. Believe me, My dear Sir, Yours very sincere!y, Signed. A C. ARTHURI

Willows, Gisborne, 19 December, 1888. Chief Judge Macdonald, Auckland. My dear Sir, I see by ths papers that a sitcing of the Native Land Court takes place on the 10th January, 1839. at Gisborne. I beg to remind yon that you promised that the rehearing of Tokomaru subdivision should be put down for the first case, and lam taking the liberty of asking you if you can possibly do so, to come down yourself. I should like to suggest that, this being th* first case of the kind, it would be as well if you could hear it, and I would much rather have you hear the case than some other Judges who might go outside your judgment of 24th November last. There is a rumourthat Mr Wilson is coming down, but I trust not, as Major Porter and Mr Wilson are anything but friendly Sincerely trus'ing you will bo able to arrange an ourly time for Tokomam re-hearing, and will be able to preside youreelf, I am, My dear Sir, Yours very obediently. Signed. A. C. ARTHUR.

Signed. A- U. ARTHUR. This correspondence and Mr Arthur's admissions show very clearly—l. That Mr Arthur solicited the personal intervention of the Chief Judge to adjust hia title, beoause he knew that the Chief Judge was favorable to him and feared that other Judges would not be favorable. 2. That it was on account ot i his pecuniary position that Mr Arthur desired J this speedy vettlemant of his title. 8. Mr fl Arthur, in hts replies, admitted that his title " had been petitioned against by a large number of natives, and that he went to Wellington to prevent their prayer for a rehearing being granted, and also that litigation is still pending regarding tbe Tokomaru titles, Under all these circumstances, especially remembering that the petition of the Tokomaru natives must again come before the House at its next sittings, it is idle to suppose that Mr Arthur can have any other object in soliciting the suffragesjof the electors than to settle those Tokomaru titles which, according to his own statement, are of pecuniary importance to himself, Those facts are already known in Wellington and to the public men throughout the colony. If the district wishes to be disfranchised it will return Mr Arthur as its representative.—l am, etc, _ Electcb.