THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 1909 MR CARROLL'S JUSTIFICATION

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 180, 9 August 1909, Page 2

THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 1909 MR CARROLL'S JUSTIFICATION

MR CARROLL'S speech at Te Kuiti on Monday night will be the means of illuminating the minds of many who had hoped to listen to something very different. The Minister took advantage of the occasion to attempt to justify himself or his action, or inaction, in respect to the great Native Question. In the course of a bitter tirade against the Press condemnation of the Native Department, Mr Carroll said the Maori was branded with many stinging epithets. He was called lazy; indifferent to the claims of society, and careless of the more important things in life. Apparently the Press considered the Maori would be better .oat of the world altogether. The Minister then proceeded to demonstrate that as regards taxation generally the Maori had contributed very largely in an indirect manner. In addition to the amount contributed through the channel of customs duties there were other ways in which the Maori bad paid. Mr Carroll, in support of this statement, cited the fact that all Native blocks carried a liability to contribute five per cent of the total for roading purposes; that in the Robe Potae, though the sale of lands bad been prohibited, the Government bad retained the right to purchase, and had acquired large areas at its own price; and that most of the land for the railway through the district bad been given by the Natives free of cost. Incidentally

it may be remarked that Mr Carroll was probably reiterating arguments which have been presented to him by the Natives at.Otorobanga. There is little strange in the fact that such arguments should be used by Native advocates. The amazing circumstance is that they should have been accepted by the Acting-Premier of the Dominion as irrefutable and used by him as deep and weighty reasons for continuing his policy of "Taihoa" in connection with the great Maori question. The attitude thus presented to the general public will provide a decided shock to those who held the belief that the Minister possessed not only the ability, but the intention, to settle the great question on satisfactory lines. Obviously a man who is so thoroughly convinced by such arguments that he uses them as his own, must either be unable to grasp the full importance of the question, or be willing to accept any plea, however weak, that may help to justify the "Taihoa" policy. The moral to be drawn by the public is that such a man is manifestly unfit to handle the question in a manner that will conserve the true interests of both races, and act for the benefit of the Dominion as a whole. Taking the arguments as presented the statement that Maori 4 contribute considerable taxation j through the customs, is hardly worth considering. Still: It is beyond question that the Maori generally contributes a small amount, though his requirements in the shape of dutiable goods are much less than those of the average European. How this fact justifies the "Taihoa " policy is bard to discern. The contribution of five per cent, of land for roading purposes is small enough, and either Crown or privately owned European lands required to be roaded before being settled. In the interests of the Maoris themselves the arrangement is a manifest benefit, and, to use the Minister's own phrase, is increasing the value of their assets. How this can be classed as taxation, or used as a justification of the "Taiboa" policy is also hard to discern. Unfortunately there is a time limit to the liablitiy, and this, in view of the "Taihoa" policy, promises to create widespread trouble and hardship in this disttict. Already in cases where roads are required, or will shortly be necessary, the limit is perilously near, and settlers will perhaps be saddled, not only with the roading, but with compensation for improving the aforesaid assets. The statement that the Government had purchased Native lands below the proper value, and the inference carried by such statement one would imagine could best be answered by'Mr Carroll and his colleagues, in view of the fact that during the period when most of these purchases took place Mr Carroll was Native Minister. In any cas? the Minister did not hint that coercion had been used, and there was no obligation on the part of the owners to sell. Possibly in order ot justify the purchases Mr Carroll used the argmucnt that as the values had been created by European settlement, and by the expenditure of much tnnolye by the State, the prices paid were fair and equitable. The fact that most of the land for the railway through the district was given by the Maoris free of cost will not create much sympathy for the unfortunate owners. Other owners have been known to contribute much more for a similar purpose, and have felt they were receiving ample compensation in enhanced values. Everything considered, the indirect taxation plea of Mr Carroll was an amazing efFort. To the general public it serves the useful purposse of clearly defining the Ministerial mind. One can understand that to such a mind the "Taihoa" policy must appeal irresistibly. However Mr Carroll may seek to obscure the issue as it appears to him by such phrases as "the true interesst of the Dominion," and "balancing the equities," the true interests and the equities can only appear on the sensitised film of his mind in a coloured light. The root of the matter lies at deeper depths than Mr Carroll has yet been able to plumb, and his speech carried the conviction that left to Mr Carroll the great question would be allowed to work itself out painfully through the intricate maze of evolution. It is a comfortable policy. The question is whether the people of the Dominion are content to accept Mr Carroll's definition of "the true interests of the Dominion," and join with bim in admiring throughout the passing years the various evolutionary phases of the question. We trust not. There is work to be done, and the districts and people affected must promptly set about the doing of it.