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Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 38, 21 August 1880, Page 2

The Star. SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 1880.

THE SETTLEMENT OF THIS COAST.

Any person who has gone to the trouble of wading through the speeches recorded in " Hansard " on the Maori Prisoners Bill and the Maori Prisoners Detention Bill cannot help bringing to his mind that celebrated scene in the American House of Representatives, when the honorable member for the County of Buncombe, in North Carolina, by talking a lot of irrelevant rubbish, forced a large number of the members to leave the floor of the House ; but nothing daunted, the honorable gentleman coolly turned round, and said to those who remained, " You may go too, if you like : I am only speaking for Buncombe." Hence the use of that expressive word which the Yankees, with their usual quick -witedness, turned into " bunkum." The hon. member for Napier (Captain Russell) said that he heard more about constitutional usage in one evening of iha Ael>a,be Vhau he had heard dvivuag his whole life previously. We can sympathise with a scholar, when he is bored by such loquacious individuals as a Speight, a Seddon, a Reeves, and others of that class. Not content with airing his constitutional knowledge, and his knowledge of the Maoris, and his knowledge of everything else, the hon. member for Hokitika must rush into poetic quotations, in which he displayed as much accuracy as he generally does on all topics upon which he dilates. Then, of course, Mr. Downie Stewart, the disappointed Attorney-General, Mr. J. B. FISHER, the aspiring AttorneyGeneral, and Sir George Grey must air their great constitutional knowledge. But is it not all talking for Buncombe ? Is it wrong for Sir George Grey's successors to do exactly the same thing as the .Ministry of which he was the head did ? We deplore, in common with most light-minded men throughout the length and breadth of New Zealand, the introduction of a strong party element into debates which must, to some extent, influence the future welfare — nay, even the existence — o£ the Maori race. We prefer

to turn to the practical speeches delivered by the Bbtces, the Trimbles, and the Russells, to all the Buncombe speeches embalmed in the pages of Hansard — at the country's expense. The Native Minister was not far wrong, we opine, when I he told Mr. Reader Wood that if he had Ministerial responsibility resting upon his shoulders, instead of being a boasted free-lance, he would not dare to oppose the Maori Prisoners Detention Bill. And it will be seen from an important letter, published in another 'cojumn, from a correspondent who attended the last meeting at Parihaka, that the Native Minister was not far wrong, when he stated that the fencing tactics might be changed any day. In the letter to which we refer, it will be seen that the side fences erected by Major Ttjke's oi-ders were pulled down by the natives themselves. In the interests of the Maoris, it is well that these two Bills have become law, and we hope to see the full powers claimed in the "West Coast Settlement Bill passed, and the hands of the Executive strengthened to the fullest extent. Every man who loves liberty, who prefers to see the law courts set above the military tribunals, must deplore the necessity for giving such powers as those asked for in the Bills referred to. But there are times when it might be not only expedient for the State, but also a merciful precaution for the sake of those endangering its peace, to strain a constitutional knot a little. And the present is sucb a time, if ever there was an occasion. We see thousands of men ready to obey the behests of one man — ready to do his bidding in all things — aye, ready to lay down their lives, at least many of them— and yet we are told that we must give them notice that they will be punished if they persevere in what is generally admitted to be wrongdoing, but that they will first have to be identified before being sent to prison. How much notice did the man who talks in this strain give to Te Ratjpaeaha, when he had him seized in the dead of night p And why ? Simply because Te Ratjpaeaha was supposed to be a source of danger to the peace of that State — New Zealand — of which the hon. member for the Thames happened then to be the Governor. The people on this coast &c> not want war, as Colonel Trimble told the House ; but " they are not afraid of meeting these people in the field," should the necessity arise. They conclusively proved that they could act firmly— and with coolness and moderation — at a time when the arm of authority appeared to be powerless. It is very well for con-stitutional-mongers, who are far away from all danger, whose wives and families can go to their beds without the least fear, to imitate the bad example set by the honorable member for Buncombe, and then put the country to the trouble and expense of publishing their twaddle. But it would be well for these men to remember that, if there is another war, it will be one of extermination. They should, therefore, be careful as to how they encourage the natives in their acts of lawlessness. The Maoris would not now receive the same consideration from the new settlers, as they did in the past from the <?}<3, were anything to happen. As Colonel Thimble said, " the great bulk of the inhabitants are entirely new — they do not care a rap about the Maoris — and they would knock a Maori on the head, just as they would a mad dog, if war broke out." It would be well if these words were well considered ; they have a deep meaning ; and those who have assisted the Government in passing their measures have proved themselves to be the real friends of the Maori race, and not those who have made Buncombe speeches.