The Star.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume II, Issue 162, 21 October 1881, Page 2

The Star.

FEIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1881. NATIVE AFFAIRS. ♦ Te Whiti has been told that he must accept the terms offered by the Government within a fortnight or forfeit the land awarded to him and his people. This is the step which the settlers throughout this district have long urged upon the Government •, consequently they are all pleased that their advice has been taken. At last, they say, the Government have done the right thing ; and, if Te Whiti continues obstinate, he must be sbown that the Europeans are determined to carry out their plans, whether they please or satisfy the Maori prophet or not. Even the foregoing news would have been welcomed on this coast, but coming as it does, coupled with the fact of Mr. Bryce's re-appoint-ment as Native Minister, it was received with acclamation. Quite apart from his merits as a politician, Mr. Bryce is known to many of the older settlers on this coast as a smart and intrepid soldier. He was both liked and trusted by his men when in the field during the las* war; consequently many who would have hesitated to trust Mr. Rolleston with the carrying out of the new policy, are quite ready and willing to let the experiment be made by such steady and experienced hands as those into which it had been confided. The proclamation may have been unexpected, but the fact that some move was contemplated and intended has long been foreseen. None of the " old hands" ever supposed that the A.C.'s had been doubled in numbers, without some definite move being intended. In the worda of one who should know, if the Maoris resist the uprooting of the fences on the Government land, " they will get fits." Te Whiti has said that nothing shall be altered, and that the plan of the quarrel has been decided on ; if that be so we shall soon see what that plan is, and whether he will be able to carry it out. That he intends to fight with arms, appeal's very unlikely. But it is at least equally unlikely that he should now agree to accept the Government proposals, simply because they are backed up by a threat of further confiscation. He cannot accept these proposals without forfeiting his mana (influence), and perhaps risking his life by disappointing some of those who now regard him as a prophet and a saviour, but whose feelings would be at once turned against him, if he drew in his horns and stayed the obstruction in order to save the land offered to him, but hitherto scornfully refused. Admitting that it is true, as some contend, that Te Wfaiti has a grievance, it is at least equally true tbat he has not ?one the right way about having his grievance inquired into and adjudicated upon. He has persisted in asking the Governor to visit him in person ; because this was not done, the overtures made by all other messengers, including friendly native agents, the Governor's private secretary, and three Native Ministers, have been treated either with opprobium, scorn, or contempt. Mr. Sheehan was politely styled " a thief of the land," Captain Knollyß was informed his potato was cooked, and Mr. Rolleston's visit was concluded by Te Whiti refusing brusquely to accept the terms offered. Te Whiti's prophesies have proved true in many instances, his obstruction has latterly been conducted in such a way as necessitate an increase of the constabulary before restrictive measures could be adopted. Fencing has, in the meanwhile, gone on unhindered. No wonder, then, that both Te Whiti and Toha regarded fcUe last meeting as a day of boasting. The settlers are now satisfied that the day of boasting may but illustrate the proverb that " Pride comes before a fall," and that such days are numbered. The Maoris perhaps hope, and try hard to believe, that the heavens will fall and crush the constabulary. But if they trust to this prophecy, as recommended by Te Whiti, rather than to guns and powder, they may lose their faith in Te Whiti, their land, and their liberty at one and the same time.