THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 1887. .

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7717, 14 April 1887, Page 2

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 1887. .

Mil BRYCE ON NATIVK AKFAIKS. Not unnaturally, Mr HrycrAs speech at Marton hist week contained a lengthy reference to niitive affairs, the merest mimnmry of which wuh yivon in the telereports of his speidi. It .sewns Rtrnngc to those who reinenihpr how umiiiuiitly Kiicwssfnl Sir JJtyco'.s iuliniinVtiution of unlive ullUirs wiistulinillcd lo he, even liy his noliUcsil opponents, llml after tiic lupsu of lubs tlimi tin ue years ho iinds it nece.ssury to reenpitulule liis actions and to jnnliifv them, linl Ilierc is -one peuulhrily of lln«, h:ndei>> of the " Liberal prly " iij JSeulainl which

they share in ccjnimon with attorneys of a lpw class, To divert public attention from the weakness of their own cause, they liberally, bespatter their opponents ami predecessors with mud. True to this line of action, it hits of Into become the fashion with Ministers and their journal* htievlacqiteurs to decry Mrßryce'.ssenvces as Native Minister, so as to throw a more favorable light on the present position. of affairs under M,r BallauCC; HtClierlo Mr Bi'yde Has remained silent, but at last he has found it necessary ♦«■ -Jz^mn in selt-(let-; iuu; j-i c carefully avoided any resort to abuse of his critics, confining IjAm^Jk IP jitsUlieationpf.Ui^tiwii d,cljon, dpA W diit ithat tile present shite of native aiVah's.is tlte logical outcome of that action. From a full report of his speech in the Bangilikci Advocutc we learn that he set out by a half apology for alluding to the subject saying thai he had, " been ao satisfied with the , native! pqljtiy of tile GoVehiitterit with rtlttijU lit- Had t.lld good fortune to bo associated, and so satisfied with the shave of personal credit ascribed to himself in this connection, that for years he hail remained silent, and had allowed the papers and certain people to say almost whatever they liked, without caking the trouble to reply to their comments and criticisms. TUey all knew how some papers were filled with jeors on the subject,, directed against tllo native petliey of which he had formed apart. 'Look,' these papers said, ' hero Ballance has settled tho native disturbances with a couple of policemen, while Bryce had to have a whole army of constables to do tlie same thing.' That had been repeated without any protest from him, until quite reconUy, when Sir Robert Stout Went oil t of his way at Dnnedtn to introduce this silbjdct to fiis constituents, tmd Make statements felt to be unfair, and a number of his (Mr Bryce's fridiuls, for whoso opinions lie ilad a great- regard/ urged upon Kirn to notice what &r Robert .Had, sa\A on tlip .subject, and lie li(td felt fconipollcd, ill deference to their wishes, to do so." Mr Bryce quoted from the Premier's speech that part in which ho blamed the Hall Government and Mr Bryco for not arresting Tc Whili in IS7O under tho ordinary law of tho land. But, insert Mr Bryce in reply, the circumstances of the country on that coast differed very considerably — in fact, had almost entirely changed— since then, and what it was possible to do now could not havo been done in 1879. "The Maoris," he continued, "in 1879, not only at Parihaka, but in the King Country, were defiant, whereas now they were all submission. JSo roads were made, and there wore no European settlements on the Waimate Plains, and no European settlements, consequently., in , the neighborhood of Pariliaka. instead of being defiant, the Maoris, in 18S4, when the present Government took office, were submissive, and the country was in very fair European occupation and settlement, and this enabled the law to be put in force, which could not haye been done in 1879. But if Sir Robert was right in saying that the law could have been enforced in 1870, then,, iv that case, he ought to have arrested Hlroki, What did tlie Premier say to that ? He said that the law ought to have been enforced in 1579, and in the very next breath said, ' The reason we did not arrest Hiroki was because we hadn't force enough, and we were afraid of bringing on a war!' In tho previous breath, the honorable gentleman had declared that the ordinary law should have been put in force, and then when he (Mr Bryce) had taxed him on the matter, he had replied, ' Oh, we hadn't force enough 1' Was not that an absolute contradiction ?' ... The Premier, in confessing that the force nt his command was insufficient to arrest itiroki, admitted" his (Mr Bryce's) whole contention that the circumstances were different in 1579 to the present timo. It was true enough that Sir Robert, in admitting that, had contradicted himself, and flatly so ; but that was to his own embarrassment, not his (Mr Bryce's). The Premier . had admitted his contention, and he had done something more ; he had told them that 1000 constables were ready on the plains for action in April. That force was stationed at Waihi, and was allowed to remain there. The Government were afraid to move them. Sir Robert told them, for fear of bringing on a war in the country ! Ho was afraid to arrest Hiroki because df his timidity and hesitation ! How long would that condition of timidity arid hesitation have lasted ? It might have lasted td the present time if Sir Robert Stout and his friends had remained in office. At any rate, he . could prove to them that it would have lasted for years, because a very few days— loss than a week — before he took the force into Parihaka, tho Premier had written a letter to the Evening Pont in Wellington, which was placarded all about tho streets, and in that letter he denounced them for attempting to vindicate the law, and called it a policy of outrage and murder ! He was justified, therefore, in saying that Sir Robert's policy of timidity and feav, which had prevented him from moving his force while in the Government, would, at any rate, have lasted till then. What would have been the result? He 'Was not sayiug too much in asserting that, the Maoris would have proceeded from one act of lawlessness to another, until they would have brought ,the country to the very thing which Sir Robert Stout feared and dreaded." After referring .to the trouble this letter gave him in England, when pursuing his libel action against Mr Rusdcn, Mr Bryce went on to say, "He wondered if it 'had ever occurred to Sir Robert to contrast the condition in which ; ho left the Maoris in 1879 with the condition in which he found them in 18S1, ,when he resumed office iv tho Government. In 1879 he (Mr Bryce) supposed the Maoris had been treated with kindness, for Sir lloberc had had two great native experts as his colleagues, and money was spent plentifully enough. How did he leave them then ? At the very time he left office war was imminent on the West Coast, and Sir Robert was afraid to move his force for any purpose whatever. In the Kin" Country, tho natives were utterly defiant ; the aukali line was strictly drawn, and any European who crossed it did so at the peril of his life ; and any criminal escaping to the King Country there found refuge and protection from the hands df the law. . winiata had escaped to this territory, and any attempt to capture him threatened war. Up at the Thames the Maoris of that district had driven off the surveyors and actually shot one of them. The natives of the" Bay ot Islands had quarrelled amongst themselves, to the imminent peril of the residents in that neighborhood. The position, therefore, when Sir Robert left office in 1579 was, that the whole Maori population was seething with a discontent which almost verged on war. How did he lind them in 18S4? He found, at any rate on the West Coast, all difficulties settled — profound submission everywhere, the aukali line broken, and Winiata punished— lie found all these great results brought about without the shedding of one drop of blood The Premier had assorted that the Maoris were in a very discontented state when his Government took oflice ; he said that lurid had been aft the bottom of the trouble, and pointed to scandals that had occurred in connection with the purchase, by the Government of lands from the Maoris. But he had forgotten to tell them that these scandals had occurred during his own former term ot office, and not 0110 of them during his (Mr Bryco's) term of office. But then Sir Robert Stout was showing them only one side of the shield." Mr Uiyce concluded this part of his address by a brief reference to the Native Lands Administration Act of Mr Balluucc. Ho said, " The Maoris wore now imbued, from one end of tlie Island to the other, the honorable gentleman had said, with feelings of contentment and kindliness towards the present Government. Sir Robert must have believed that, he thought, or ho would not have said it. He would just mention one or two little circumstances, however, and they could judge for themselves whether tlie Maoris were in tho supreme state of contentment which the Premier bad pic- , lured. There was a number of district committees, some ol them of considerable importance, and none of them more important than the committee which sat at Hastings. This committee lately examined the Native Lands Administration Act, letter for letter, word for word, and line for lino, and tho result of their deliberation was decidedly averse to the Act ; in fact their decisions were opposed lo it. lock, .stock, and barrel. This did not look like a state of happy contentment. The committee had .simply condemned the Act in the strongest and most unqualified terms. He would mention 11 nol.her circumstance: They possibly observed that when the Premier was on that platform recently, lie had besidu him the Native Minister, Mr Ballance, who had just come down from the Bay of Islauds. where he had been to a meeting of a largo tribe. The papers, especially the Government papers, proclaimed 'this the greatest and most inlluciitial meeting which bad been held for many years. That was what the Government papers said, and he supposed the Government official reports would say the same. The meeting passed a series of resolutions, am] there was not one of these resolutions which did not breathe the very spirit of discontent. More than that, this Act was specifically picked out, and the meeting declared, by resolution, that it ought forthwith to be repealed. Sir Robert Stout had said the Maoris were contented from one end of the colony to the other, ami most probably he believed it. Whether, in view of the facts' lie had just stated, his present audience believed it was another tiling."

. On the fourth ])!i{?3 will he found an article entitled " Well Drilling in Chiim." TUo Clivo school committee havo recorded their vote for Mr Swan us n mmnfaor of tbo Educuliou lioanl in Mr Haggau's placo,

From the Post we learn that Mr W. til Tylee, late of Napier, lias joined the Wellington Star Boating Club, and is regarded as quite an acquisition to the strength of the club. Messrs Murray, Roberts and Co. have received a telegram from Messrs Sanderson, Murray and Co., London, dated the 7tli inst>, statins that the wool marketstill continues fir'nt. Speaking at Wellington on Tuesday CV eui»rr at,. Travels, the well-known lawyer,' said that " more than half of the litigation of the present day was the | cn>.ots of. bad advice from inexperienced mid uneducated lavvyers:'' Wo al'o i'e(i«cslelt My tlltf Napier and Spit lire brigades to ackiiottledjjd ii donation of £5 each from Mr J. 11. Colenian, in acknowledgment of the promptitude of the brigades in tumin;; out at the V'iCe'iiij alarm of lire, when his premises , wore. tlirea^rieOihroufih tlie spread of ft lire lighted to tmfii rubliteH; It appears that the score of SOS uldd'e by the non-smokers in the match Smokers v" Non-smokers, played in Melbourne the other day, is not the highest on record. That honor is held by the Orleans Club, which in ISS2, made 920 in one innings against Rickling Green. A committeee of tho Harbor Board met | yesterday, to consider tllo best method of dealing with tiiti reserve* of an acre and a quarter at the Spit, now occupied by the New Zealand Shipping Company, when the lease falls out six months hence. Various plans were mooted, and after discussion the eommittco agreed upon a report to bo presented to the Board. Mi' John Dutliio writes to tile New Zealand Times denying tile statesments of a Correspondent of that paper, (quoted in out 1 yesterday's iuuo), as to the eniployniout of special traiuS by tlld Premier on his last overland trip; It appears that he merely Had a carriage all to himself, Lady Stout, and their attendants, while the rest of the train was roost inconveniently crowded. Mr Jacob Joseph, ot Wellington, has received a letter from Home from a friend to whom he recently sent a frozen lamb. The recipient states that "for quality 'and preservation there ; cannot possibly be two opinions." The lamb was excellent " in flavor, richness, and delicacy," and a Norfolk farmer to whom it was shown confessod that Now Zealand could produce "a better article" in this respect than tlie old doiinti'yi Tho entertainment to bo given in Jic Gaiety Theatre this evening, in aid of the Meanee Church funds, should be one of the best amateur performances ever given in Naplei 1 . All our best local vocalists and instrumentalists have promised their assistance; & Capital programme has bapn arranged, and Mrs Heatli a'ilu Miss Newby, on whom the brunt of the work has fallen, have left no stone unturned to make the concert a thorough success. Our Waipawa correspondent wired last night :-•" At the sitting of the R.M. Court at Ormondyille to-day, before Mr G. A. Preece, liM.', the charge against J. M. fSkirinei' of selling alcqholio liquor without a license was concluded: The case had been adjourned from last week to allow the beer to be analysed, and the certificate of analysis showed the sample analysed to contain 4-7S per cent, of alcohol, being a much higher per-centage than many ordinary beers. The bench inflicted a nominal fine of £ 2 and 7s costs. Several unimportant civil cases were disposed of. The petition to have the Norsewood licensing election upset was proceeding when tho train left." Prior to the departure of the Napier Rifles for the New Plymouth encampment, Mrs Blythe, on behalf of the ladies of Napier, presented to the company a very beautiful color. Sergeant Tcycheune, who received the color on behalf of the company, expressed the feelings of gratitude of the men and their firm determination that the flag should never be disgraced. The flag, a very handsome one of heavy blue silk, with the Union Jack, and bordered with gold fringe— was flying at the head of tho Napier lines in the camp, and excited the admiration of all. A wedding which excited much interest was celebrated in St. John's Church yesterday afternoon, when MrH. G. Warren j. who is well known as holding a responsible position at the Tomoana works, was united to Miss Alice Lcslio Thompson, tho stop-daughter of the district railway traffic manager, Mr Macdonald. Miss Thompson, sister o( tlie bride, and Miss Nelson acted as bridesmaids. The Rev. .1. Parkinson was the olliciating minister. Mr Spackman played on the orgau the Bridal March from Lohengrin, the Bride's March from Robe-kali, and Mendelssohn's Wedding March. We wish Mr and Mrs Warren a long and happy life, A Napier resident who was present at the Taranaki encampment; and on whose word we can place thorough reliance, informs us that the Press Association's message describing an " outrage " on the "Salvation Army" by sonic Volunteers at New Plymouth contained a gross perversion of facts. Ho was there at the time, and states that what' occurred was very innocent. A small number of Volunteers, amused by the antics of tho "Army," followed them in their march, but iv "no way molested them. When tho "Army" retired into the hall the Volunteers followed and' took seats. But apparently, the ollicers of ■ tlie "Army" took fright, and turned off the gas, when the audience retired, laughing heartily at the fears of the mountebanks in red, and ' passing a few jeering remarks, At the usual fortnightly meeting of the school committee only three members —Messrs Parker, Glen, and M'Aneny — were present, tlie first-named being in the chair. Mr Glen proposed Mr Swan as a member of the Education Board, and Mr M'Aneny proposed Mr Wilding. The chairman gave his vote for Mr Swan. An unfavorable report on the discipline of the fourth standard since the present teacher took charge was received from the head-master, who had been requested by the committee to report upon the subject. An application from Mr Parkinson for the use of the new side school for evening Bible classes was deferred for the incoming committee to deal with. It was decided to ask tlie Education Board to lay gas and water on the side school, and to remove tlie advertising board on the ground. Tho eommittco adjourned until Friday week, when a special meeting will be held to consider a report to be drawn up by the chairman and secretary, Agenora- meeting ot the Scinde Harriers Football Club was held at tho Masonic Hotel last night, to receive the provisional committee's report and elect officers for the ensuing season. The meeting was a success in every way ; a large muster of members rolled up and great enthusiasm was shown at tlie rapid strides the club has taken from its commencement, over GO members now being on the roll. Mr Yates was voted.to the chair, and complimented the members generally on the interest manifested in that club by everyone. The bye -laws drawn up by the provisional committee were read and confirmed, subject to one amendment—that relating to the club uniform. It was decided that navy blue and cardinal jersey , and stockings (with " Harrier" affixed to jersey), white knickerbockers, and navyblue cap constitute tlie club uniform. The members next proceeded with the election of officers for tho ensuing season, which resulted as follows, the consent of the ilillurunt gentlemen having been obtained: —President, Mr J. D. Ormond, M.X.11. ; vice-presidents, Mr G, Dobson and Dr. lnucs; captain, Mr Watt ; vice-captain, Mr lloburn ; secretary and treasurer, Mr Mullis ; and Messrs Fleming, BiugUuu, and Bruce, with the ollicers of the club, to form a managing committee. A discussion then took place as to future movements, and it was decided to play a scratch match at the earliest date possible, in ordor to form an idea as to the members likely to play in the lirst fifteen cup match. Tho lirst game will be noiilicd in our columns as soon ;is arranged, and all members arc urgently requested to attend at the time and place appointed. We must congratulate the club on having made such a successful commencement, and, judging from the sterling merits as footballers of many ot its members, wo venture to predict a highly prosperous season for the Scinde Harriers. Lord Gilford, one of the judges of l,he Edinburgh Court of Session, who died recently, has bequeathed X'SO.OOO to found lectureships on Natural Theology at the four Scottish Universities. Edinburgh gets £25,000, Glasgow and Aberdeen £20,000 each, and 61. .Andrew's £15,000. The value of tiio whole property is £11)0,000. They must have a high appreciation of music in Auckland if the following story, told by the Bell, ha true :—" At the I'oiifionby Choral Society's concert, during the interval between the parts, when the male portion of the audience wore having a little conversazione to themselves outside, one gentleman remarked to another, ' That kst piece is a great favorite of mine,' alluding to the chorus, ' The Heavens are Telling,' ' Yes,' said the other, 'so it is of mine ; it was the ' Death of Nelson,' wasn't it?" With the now and successful experiment of Dr. lloigler, ot Pesth, it would seem that the art of photography can no further go. Ho has been able to photograph ii imllet in the parabolo it describes on leaving the gun. The trial was made with the Wenul infantry rifles, and has accurately reproduced the projectile travelling at tho, raid of '130 .yards a second. Its appearance on the plate was that of being surrounded by a " ball of air of hyporbeloidic shape." The Auckland Ifc.mhl gives a favorable notice of the Wuiron'. building stone, several block's of which were recently quarried by Mr Gardner, for Mr A, J. Allom, of the Thames. One block was cut by Mr WaterworMi, who ;>ave a very favorable opinion us to its suitability for

6'rnamontal masonry. Mr Lamb, who has tested the stone.' ftlro pronounces it an excellent building stone, Ukely to "weather" well, ami Mr Dugleby and others who saw samples expressed similar favorable opinions. One block was taken to Auckland by Mr Allom, who has placed it in an architect's office there for , inspection. - s A serious disitirbrtuoo took pJaco receiit]y,?:i Hie New Ross workhouse. An order hcid tfcta.WoijJo^ forbidding the inmates of the workhouse' to', speak .to or associate with the mother's ol iHegitjm'ate children. The order annoyed tlie won Von who were the mothers of such children, and. whan the vice-guardians wlio had niftdo tiiG ortle'C, V.cro visiting the work' lioiise'; iJiey were attacked by upwards of a hundred woi'iien',- mjatert with sticks, pelted with stones and mutt,- artd... forced to retreat. When the police arrived,' t\(d women stripped themselves naked and ilclloil tho police to_ take them to the station iii that condition. Although th.c .railway revenue returns for the financial year kiye not yet been fully made up, an approximate reSnilt.has been arrived at, which we are now iff a position to communicate. The gross receipts for the year were, in round numbers, £990,000. This is £54,000 less than for the previous year, although the length open is 145 miles greater. The aggregate expenditure, however, is very slightly larger, notwithstanding the increased mileage, dwirij* to. the stringent ecouomies effected in all directions. The railway receipts fall short of the Treasurer's estimate (£1,140,000) by abont £150,000, but as the expenses have been reduced by some £00,000, the net deficiency in railways is about £00,000. The net profit is about £300,000, which -gives interest on cost at the rate of, approximately, 1\ per cent. — N.Z. Times, It was recently, announced that the steamship (Jj'c'at Eastern is to he put on the Australian trade', According to a i contemporary, .the ship', .while she was on : exhibition at Dublin and Liverpool, netted some£2o,o'C ; o'; but lief ,6'wi'i6rs decided to dispose of her, and accordingly she was put up to auction, and after som'o brisk bidding was knocked down at £20,000. The purchaser was Mr Thomas Brown, <>f the London and Australian Steamship Company. It is said that the Great Eastern is to be newly cngined by Messrs John Elder and Company, to have her paddles removed, and otherwise improved, so as to enable her to attain a speed of 20 knots an hour, and that she will then be employed In the carrying trade between England and Australia.- It may be mentioned that the answer to in<rifif{(Ss. made of Mr John Pearce, of the firm of Jcrtm Elder and Co., was to the effect that at present they have not been asked to rcengine this vessel, though Mr Pearce remarked that,- if asked and paid to do so, his firm 1 life pYo'par'e'd to re-engine not only the Great Eastern, brit the" entire British mercantile marine. The Otar/o Daily Times thus concludes an article on recent Ministerial utterances : — " Apart from its effect at Home, the spectacle of the Government bringing down this .'faucy 1 policy at the time when tlieir' .tfhole attention should ha concentrated upon pieeting tlieir financial difficulties is profoundly discouraging. It is Nero fiddling while Some burns. If it be true, as declared by a modern publicist, that ' the decisive sign of the elevation of a nations life is to bo sought among those who lead,' that ' the test of the health of a people is to be found in the utterances of those who are its spokesmen, and iii the action of those whom it accepts or chooses to be its chiefs,' l«lew Zealand must indeed ( be iin a bad way at present. But there is no reason to lose faith in the colony because df tlie levity of its leaders. Only if we Svisli to restore confidence to attract capital and population hero, we must insist upon having ballast in our Government. We must put a stop to iliglits of ' fancy at serious crises, and entrnst the conduct of affairs to serious men., who will fool the weight of tlieir responsibility, and make themselves respected." Dr. Keywortli writes as follows to the Nelson Midi : — " My attention is called to the paragraph that ' Margaret Houston is going to reside with one of tlie Nelson doctors.' As I am credibly assured that my name is currently associated with the statement I beg to bo allowed to give it an absolute and unqualified contradiction so far as relates to myself. No one who has any personal acquaintance with me would be likely to credit so preposterous and absurd an announcement : out there arc many others to whom I am less known whom it may be desirable to correct. Will yon permit me then to say that my knowledge of Margaret Houston's family, which is thoroughly respectable, is of many years standing, and 1 have known her from her birth, throughout her business life, and during her residence in Wellington up to the time of her unfortunate removal to Timarn. Her character and behaviour have been blameless. Common humanity,, therefore, as well .as my long , friendship with her parents, impelled me to devote time and money and to enconntcr ' disagreeable pnblicity to assist her when lying under the- accusation of a horrible crime, of which I then and still believed her to be innocent ; : ' but liiy association with her terminated with the hour of her acquittal. Whilst, therefore, I have done what I could on her behalf, I by no means endorse her subsequent conduct. She is the last person whom I should be likely to take into my house, and I have, indeed, strongly advised her friends to recall her to England." As Parliament meets on a Tuesday this year (next Tuesday week) the usual course of adjourning to the following week directly after the House has fairly started, is hardly likely to bo followed, as it would involve much waste of time. We (New Zealand Times) understand that the Government will propose to go on at once with the business, and that after tlie usual Sessional Committees have been constituted, the Address-in-Kcply wilt be moved. On this . there will be. a sharp debate, for which certain Opposition .speeches are already preparing, and finance will be the feature of the Government administration chiefly assailed. So far, however, there is no intention on the part of tlie Opposition leaders to propose any amendment on the Address, and every effort will he made by Ministers to get the debate over and the Address carried during the first week. On the Tuesday following the opening of Parliament, several important Ministerial measures will bo introduced, probably including the Representation Bill, and then a vigorous effort will be made to push on the business. It is rumored that Sir Julius Yogel will bring down his Financial Statement cither on Friday, 6th May, or on the following Tuesday, 10th May. The Auckland Herald says that during his trip northward, the Minister of Mines (the Hon. Mr Larnach) does not seem, judging from, some romarks which have fallen from him, to have been very deeply impressed with the energy and agricultural industry of some ot the Northern settlers. After leaving Whangarei, he and his party had for the most part in their travels in tho country districts to subsist on preserved meats and Swiss preserved milk. He seems to think that such a state of affairs was far from complimentary or creditable to those concerned. It is hard to say what he would have thought or said if he had known that at one Northern settlement they use Canterbury bacon, spread their bread with Tanumki butter, feed their horses with oats shipped from Auckland, and have imported a Chinaman to raise vegetables for the hotels of tho township. It was apologetically explained to Mr Larnach that the northern settlers lived among a native population, whose indolent ways were catching, ami that they could not be expected, under a seductive semi-tropical climate, to work as hard as their brethren in the cold bineing air of Utago, whore they had to mnvu round to keep themselves warm. Mr Larnach drily remarked that he had seen men under a torrid sun in Australia working harder than those thus championed, and his interlocutor came to the conclusion that that \va« the sultriest criticism ho had heard passed upon the ''easy come easy go" self-satisfied northern cockatoo.