MAJOR ATKINSON'S SPEECH ON THE MAORI PRISONERS BILL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 33, 4 August 1880, Page 3

MAJOR ATKINSON'S SPEECH ON THE MAORI PRISONERS BILL.

The following is a full report of the speech delivered by the Hon. Major Atkinson on the Maori Prisoners Bill ; which we copy froni " Hansard " :—: —

Major Atkinson— l can hardly congratulate my hon. friend (Mr. Header Wood) on his attempt to break ground in native matters on behalf of common sense ; and certainly, if the speech which we have heard is an exhibition of common sense, I hope we shall not be fovored with many more such exhibitions in this House. The honorable gentleman takes the report of the Commissioners, and, by reading the first sentence or so, endeavors to persuade us that it proves that nothing but injustice has been done to the natives for the last lourteen years, and th.it if we only act iustly all our difficulties will be at an end. Now, the Commissioners say nothing of the sort. What they complain of is that we have never governed the natives. No man can say with truth that any injustice ha 6 been practised upon those natives which can justify them in the course of action they have taken ; and that I am prepared to uphold in this House, from my own personal knowledge, and from the report of the Commissioners. The one blot upon our treatment of the natives is that we have never governed them. We have treated them as children, and we have let them, like spoilt children, exercise all their bad passions without any proper restraint. Mr. Montgomery. — We were afraid. Major Atkinson.— ls that to our credit ? Does that alter the fact? But, Sir, I take it that we were not afraid, except in this respect : We who have been in contact with the Maoris always desired to live in a friendly way with them — we respect them; and we certainly were afraid to do anything that might lead to their extermination — a result which the honorable gentlemen opposite, and niy honorable friend the member for Waitemata, are practically advocating. I stand here to say to-night, on behalf of the Government, that I would not remain in office an hour if this Bill were thrown out. I say that to turn those prisoners on the coast of Taranaki means war, to a certainty, and can mean nothing else. The honorable gentleman (Mr. Reader Wood) comes here to tell us common sense, and yet it is evident from what he says, that he has not paid the least attention either to the report of the Commissioners or to the facts which have been before him for the last eighteen months. He told us, with that dramatic force of which he is a master, that the only reason for this ploughing was that the natives bad tried every means in their power to bring their case before the public, that they had failed, and that this was the only resource they had left to bring their case before the public, which they did in the mildest possible manner. That is contrary to the whole facts of the case. The honorable gentleman, before he dared make such a statement in this House— occupying the position he does — ought to have ascertained the grounds upon which he was speaking. Does he not know that the late Premier of the colony sent no less than two messages to Te Whiti, offering to pay the whole of hisexpenses Sir G. Grey. — I beg to state that I never sent one message to Te Whiti.

Major Atkinson. — Then I will endeavor to prove my words. I say it was communicated to Te Whiti, by two special messengers, that the Government would be prepared to take his case before any court, to find a lawyer for him, and to pay his expenses. Further, we know perfectly well that the late Government were prepared to appoint a Commission for the purpose of inquiring fully into the question. I say that the late Government went to the utmost limits of prudence — I think they overstepped them — in offering Te "Whiti all sorts of opportunities for bringing his case forward in any way he pleased. Anybody who knows anything about this matter — anybody who has read the papers, as the honorable gentleman wouid make us believe he has — must see that what Te Whiti was doing was asserting a separate and distinct authority. The position he took up was this : "I do not want you. The land is mine. I will permit no inquiry. lam the one authority on this land, and here I shall remain. No other shall come near me. Everything shall be settled at Parihaka by me." There was no advance by him to the Government in any shape or form. The one authority was Te Whiti, and he would permit no other. What did he say to the late Native Minister, when he went there and told Te Whiti he could have the land — that he was a peaceful subject, and all his land would be preserved to him ? He said, "The land is mine;" and so on throughout. He was quite willing to hear any advances which the Government were willing to make, and then in his own good time he would consider whether he would accept them. To say that Te Whiti was willing to make any settlement, or that he tried to do so, was simply a pretence. Do not let me be misunderstood. I do not say this difficulty might not have been settled two years ago. But I am fully persuaded that, during a large portion of the time to which the honorable member refers, to have attempted to settle it meant war. If we had crossed the line of Te Whiti's country — the Taranaki country — there might have b' en war at any time. But I have no doubt that in 1869, after we had completely subdued Titokowaru and driven him back into the Ngatiruanui country, we could have taken possession of that territory without further fighting. But we could not have touched the Tara-

naki country. The natives were in possession of the whole of that country, and would have shot any man who went to survey it for the purpose of making a Crown grant for them. They were in possession, and were peifectly satisfied with the position which they occupied. The honorable member for Waitemata asks, " Have the natives lione anything ? Is not everything in perfect peace ?" Does he know anything about that district ? Does he know that the sowing of seed by the whole European population was stopped for that season ? Does he know that we have been twice burnt out of our homes? Does he know that we have seen those Maoris, many of them armed, going about declaring that the whole of the land had been given to them by Te Whiti ? Does he know that Te Whiti claimed to have special revelations from Heaven, and that he declared he had the power at any time to annihilate the Europeans, and that it was only because of his forbearance that he did not drive us all into the sea ; but that the clay was fixed when we should all be driven into the sea ? Does he think that the people there, who have gone through the miseries of a Maori war, who are all liable for military service, with their women scattered all over the country, could possibly carry on their ordinary avocations ? Does he know that McLean was shot there by Hiroki ; that Hiroki was sheltered by Te Whiti at Parihaka ; that a Minister of the Crown was grossly insulted when he demanded that Hiroki should be given up ; that Hiroki was marching about there before all the people with a double-barrelled gun loaded, ready to shoot anybody who dared to touch him ? Does he know that all this took place within five or six miles of the last house on the south road ?

Mr. Beader Wood. — Has not that been the case in the Waikato over and over again ? Major Atkinson. — I have no doubt I am talking stuff. " Out of the fulness of the heart the mouth speaketh." I wish nothing more for that honorable gentleman than that he should reside with his wife and family in Taranaki. Wj should then hear a very different speech from him. I cannot talk of this subject in a cold-blooded way, or reg rd it as a trifling matter that I should have to take tip arms to shoot my fellow-subjects of the Maori race. No, Sir : to me the thought is horrible. I warn the House that the release of those prisoners means war almost to a certainty. Further, I say that, as far as I know, you will not find a man of thought or responsibility on that coast who will not tell you exactly the same thing. The honorable gentleman asks, Will it pay ? I admit it is quite right to take that view. It is a low view in one sense ; but it is not a low view in another sense. lam not going to find fault with it upon that ground. If the only question were, "Will it pay?" it would be quite fair to go into it and examine it as the honorable member lias done. But if he cannot make out a better case than he has made out, he would have done well not to say anything from that point of view. I ask, will what pay ? Are we to keep Waikato ? Does it pay to keep Waikato ? Will it pay to keep Auckland ? The honorable member for the Thames, the late Native Minister, put the case very clearly when he said, " Depend upon it that what you arc doing here is not merely securing this land." As far as this piece of land is concerned, I would freely give it up to-morrow. I have often talked to natives and white people about the possibility of doing so. I would have advocated the giving up of the laud years ago if I could see any hope of a settlement. What the people of Taranaki have been praying for for years is a settlement of their difficulties. It is quite immaterial to us whether the Government gets this land, or whether it goes back to the natives. If we were what we ara represented to be, nothing could be better for the individual profit of the settlers there than the return of the land to the natives, because we could very soon acquire it from them. But I say that what we have to consider is not the obtaining of this land, but the assertion of law and order, and the assertion of the Queen's authority. If we abandon the position we have taken up on the ground that it will not pay, we have then got to consider whether it will pay to occupy the North Island at all; because you may take this for granted : that, as soon as you abandon this land, you will have to abandon the land, first, to the Patea river, then to the Waitotara, and then to Wanganui. The same thing will begin in the Waikato also. I cannot understand how anybody with a knowledge of history, with a knowledge of the feelings of a semi-barbarous people, can for a moment suppose that you can stop on the ground that it will not pay, and abandon any country to tnern, which they will look upon as conquered from you. If it will not pay to make the Queen's writ run all over the Taranaki country, the sooner we abandon the North Island the better. What does the report of the Commission say? They tell us to do justice and to maintain the law. Now, we are all agreed pretty well as to doing justice. Although I do not know what the Commissioners are going to report, yet, judging from their interim report sent in some time ago, I presume they will recommend compensation wherever a Maori has suffered a grievance, and that certain reserves should be made in addition to the promises said to have been unfulfilled. I take it for granted that this House will entirely endorse the report in thak respecb. An<3 here 2 differ from a great many people who profess to have great knowledge of the Maoris and who say, " You are getting too liberal." I do not care how liberal I am, as long as I do not impress the natives with an idea that I am weak. As I say, I believe the House will determine to do ample justice to the natives. I believe the report will recommend certain things to be done, and that this House will do them at once with the utmost rapidity. But, Sir, I say that to do that means that you must have a considerable force in the district, and you must have those prisoners away while you are doing it, or you will be liable to an immediate irruption. I believe that, before you can really settle the difficulty, these natives will have to acquiesce in the decision of the Committee and the House. There is no evidence that the native authorities there have acquiesced, and I say it would be fatal folly on our part to return to that country the desperate men that there are .amongst those prisoners. There are a great many excellent men amongst them — men whom I grieve to see there, and whom I should rejoice to see discharged to-morrow, if they wished

it. But there are other men there whom it would be nothing less than a crime for this House to let loose at the present time. Sir, I hope the House will not listen to those btorie6 that the natives were simply endeavoring to assert a right in order to bring their case before the ordinary tribunals. Sir, they were asserting a right to the whole laud of Taranaki, and the right to set up and obey a separate and superior authority to the Queen — nothing more and nothing less. I would ask, what object does the honorable member for Waitemata suppose the Government had in view ? Must it not be clear that if we could get rid of this expense we should be only too delighted to do so ? If we could see our way to return these natives, and do that simple thing which the honorable member for Tiniaru tells as could be done to-morrow — ii you only show them their reserves and tell them if they dare to go off those they will lose them — if we could do tliat, should we iiofc be only too glad to do it ? But it shows almost as complete a want of knowledge on the part of the honorable gentleman as that displayed by the honorable member for Waitemata. If the natives would have agreed to that, why did they not accept it at once ? What does the fencing across the load day by day mean ? Do honorable members suppose that has no meaning in it ? Sir, I trust the House will not listen to that sort of tiling. I know that the House, like the Government, regrets exceedingly that such a Bill as this should have to be passed. I myself regret very much that I should be in a Government that is compelled to ask the House to pass it ; but I say we must not let our feelings run away with us, or believe that such a measure has never before been brought iufco the Legislature. I say the state of the country in 1869, when that far severer Act was passed, was not a bit more critical than it is now. I am only giving my opinion, but I speak with a strong sense of the responsibility that is upon me, and I say that, but for the very careful management of the Native Minister, we might now be in a Maori war. Mr. J. C. Brown. — No.

(Continued on third page.)

3IAJOR ATKINSON'S SPEECH.

(Concluded from third page,) Major Atkinson— l am only giving my opinion. It is quite possible the honorable member for Tuapclca knows more aboat the matter than I do. I should not think of setting up my opinion against his ; but, with a strong feeling of the responsibility that lies upon me, I give it as my deliberate opinion that the state of the colony ia 1869 was no more critical than it is at present, and that the Act passed in that year was much more stringent than this measure, for you could not only keep them in prison for any time without trial, but, more than* that, 4hey might be imprisoned, not for an •overt act, but for what was reasonably suspected. I ask honorable members what that means ?

Mr. Montgomery — It was during a time of war. Major Atkinson — War was over. If the honorable gentleman knew anything about the matter he would know that war was then practically over. 'Then we have, of course, the case of Ireland. There is a civilized country which has been under the law for 'centuries. It was certainly not in a state of war, and yet these suspension ■Acts -were passed. What I have now :said is in answer to the honorable member for the Thames and the honorable member for Waitemata, when they tell us that such a thing as ■this has never been heard of before. I say the circumstances of this district are much more dangerous at the present time than those of Ireland have ever been. But I would say this : that I do not care about precedent in this matter. We have precedents, if we want them ; but, as men of business, as men charged with the peace of this country, we have to consider whether this Act is necessary. That is what we have to consider at the present time ; and I ask any honorable member who has any knowledge of the state of the natives in that part of the country whether we are asking too much in this Bill. I have no hesitation in saying it is quite possible that ting is not sufficient power, and that we may require further power. I ask hpndrable gentlemen just to think what is the position of the natives in this district. There we have Te Whiti in direct communication with Heaven — (Laughter). — It is all very well to laugh, but if the hon. gentleman had to sleep within a few miles of a man who has direct communication with heaven, and who might have a revelation at any time that it was necessary to cut my hon. friend's throat, he would think it was quite time that he should take some care to protect himself against the revelation being ,put into force. I am speaking quite seriously in this matter. Of course it is very difficult for us, in the state of civilization at which we have arrived, to imagine to ourselves such a state of things as possible ; but, for myself, I do not hesitate to say that I believe Te Whiti is so firm a believer in his divine mission that he would be quite prepared to be crucified. As long as Te Whiti retains his power, I do not think there is much fear of difficulty : but we cannot tell how long he will retain that power. We cannot tell how soon his people may awake to the fact that he has been misleading them. We do not know how soon a large portion of his party who believe rather in temporal than in spiritual measuree may be ready to try temporal measures : we must be prepared, and it is certain that if once a shot is fired in that district no man can tell where it will end. I would, then, ask hon. members to weigh the responsibility there is upon the Government at the present time, and the responsibility which rests upon this House also. I ' would ask them, in the interests of both races, to consider whether it is possible to deal more leniently with these misguided people than we propose. If any hon. gentleman can devise any other means of meeting the difficulty, I hope he will propose them. But to say that if these natives be put on their reserves all will be satisfied — to say there is no difficulty there at all — is to show an entire misapprehension of the position. I trust the House will, in no party spirit, but with a full sense of .the terrible responsibility that rests upon us, consider what is the right thing to do at the present time. I say it is absolutely essential, whatever Government may be in power, that they should have full authority to -deal with this matter. Once more, "without threatening the House in any -way, for I am not in the mood to do that, I say, as I began by saying, that T would not remain in this seat one liour if these prisoners were let loose at the present time.