THE EOYAL COMMISSION.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 5, 28 April 1880, Page 3

THE EOYAL COMMISSION.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR.

Sib, — Now that the labors of the Eoyal Commission appointed to enquire into the promises, fulfilled and unfulfilled, that have been made to the natives during past administrations have been completed, it may not be out of place to take a cursory view ol the work accomplished in this district. No one who attended the sittings held here could come to any other conclusion than that the Commissioners went into every grievance patiently and exhaustively. The meanest native was treated with courtesy, and listened to with attention. Those who allowed their temper to run away with their reason were treated with forbearance and consideration; the calm, dispassionate demeanor of the Commissioners attesting that realising the workings of the unreclaimed temper when excited by the tale of grievances, real or imaginary, they were quite willing to listen patiently, without showing any desire to interrupt a garrulous or quarrelsome aboriginal. "Were they abusive, the soft answer turned away wrath; did a man stand up and declare himself a disciple oi Te Whiti, and use violent language against the " powers that be "(the Commissioners in particular), urbanity and kindness was the return always given. And, in reviewing the labors ot Sir William Fox and Sir Dillon Bell, I consider that the thanks of the whole colony are due to these gentlemen for the disinterested and completely successful way they have fulfilled the honorary duties committed to their charge. It is thought by some that they have exceeded their duty ; but if satisfying the natives, and opening up a way for the return of the surveyors on to the Plains wiihout the necessity of armed covering parties ; the complete surrender on the part of Titokowaru to allow the Government to give him what they think fair in the way of reserves ; the gradual but sure extinction of the Parihaka parliament, or whatever name it may be called; if these things are exceeding the powers on the part of the Boyal Commissioners, I can only say that I hope, if necessary, that they will continue to exceed their powers until the native difficulty throughout the whole of the colony shall be a thing of the past, instead of the " skeleton in the colonial closet" that has caused so much disquietude and expense to the colony for so many years.

That the natives have had solid grievances to air before the Commissioners is quite true — unfulfilled promises, reserves curtailed in area, or shifted in position, or never granted at all ; others granted, and through mistake sold and Crown granted to Europeans, &c.

But although these things are true, it is also true that the straightforward way the Commissioners dealt with the natives in condemning any action taken detrimental to their interests, or acknowledging their wrongs, and promising speedy redress, had so won their confidence, that taken on the whole, very few natives are in any way dissatisfied with the treatment received "at the hands of the Commissioners, or d^tnist tlie fulfilment of their promises.

I consider that Sir Dillon Bell, in his closing remarks in Hawera before breaking up the sitting to go to New Plymouth, spoke to the natives in an honest, straight-

forward way, that I feel assured had never been used before by one occupying a position of responsibility, and whose words would be looked upon as of weighty importance. I consider Sir Dillon's speech worthy of record, for I am convinced that it will be appreciated by every settler in this district. lam sorry I cannot give a verbatim report, but hope to be able to give the gist of what was said : After telling the natives to listen attentively to his words, and carry them away and tell them to their friends, he counselled them to stand on the side of the Government — not to oppose the work of the Government. That the pakeha race was like a broad rolling river, rolling on towards the sea ; that it was impossible to stay its course. There is a man (alluding to Te Whiti) , who is like a child, standing on the banks ol this river, and with sticks and stones trying to stop or imped its course. The Government were determined to take the whole of the land, at whatever cost. He knew that the natives could impede the work of the pakeha by fighting, but it would only be for a short time — the consequences would end in loss to themselves. At the same time, if the natives were quiet, the Government would deal liberally with them in the way of reserves. In this matter the Government did not take a narrow-minded view of these things ; and he would tell those there assembled that they would not get more land granted to them because they attended the Commission than those who did not attend. Nor must those who were friendly during the last war (Titokowaru's) imagine that they would receive more reserves than those who fought against the pakeha. Everyone would be dealt liberally with ; and he hoped that those present would cany his words to their friends.

The reply to this straightforward address was that his words were straight ; and every native present seemed satisfied with them. And I believe that the sitting ot the Royal Commission on Native Affairs in this district in March, 1880, will be looked back upon in future years as the first decisive step to the uninterrupted peaceful relations betwe n the races.

I am very pleased to see that a reaction has taken place among Tawhiao's followers. The ice-bound isolation that the natives were going eternally to maintain is gradually thawing. The winter of their discontent is nearly past, and the summer of their prosperity is fast approaching. The consent of the Waikatos, Ngatimamapotos, and neighboring tribes to lease and sell their lands, to allow railroads and highway roads to be run through their territories, and a prospect of settled peace between Maori and pakeha, cannot fail to have a very beneficial effect on the Home country. And instead of this colony stopping short in its Public Works policy, the Legislature must be prepared to add millions more to our already large public debt, and open up the interior of the North Island, which now promises to give a greater scope of land for settlement than any other part of the colony. — I am, &c,

Colonist.