NATIVE POLICY.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume I, Issue 18, 16 December 1861, Page 5

NATIVE POLICY.

These are some of the thoughts of the Governor, of Sir George Grey, towards the Maories at this time. His desire is, how to arrange things, that there may be good laws made, and those laws be put in force; and how all men, both European and Maori, may be taught. to work ibr the common good of the country in which they Bye j that they may be a happy people, rich, wise, well instructed, and every year advancing in prosperity. ■ For it is the desire of the Queen (whose, heart was dark when she heard of the troubles' in New Zealand) that all her subject!, both Europeans and Maories, in all parts of these islands, should have the benefits of law and order; that the lives and persons of all men should be safe from destruction and injury; »nd that every man should have for himself and enjoy his own lands, his cattle his horses, his sheep, his ship, his money, or whatever else belongs to him. And it is the desire of the Queen that all her subjects should help in making the laws by which they are governed, and that from amongst them shhould be appointed wise and good men as Magistrates, to adjudge in cases of disputed rights and punish the wrong-doer, and to teach the law, how it should be obeyed. The Europeans in New Zealand, with the help of the Governor, make laws for themselves, and have their own Magistrates; an&V because they obey those laws, they are rich, they have large houses, great ships, horses, sheep, cattle, corn, and all other good things for the body.: They have also Ministers of Religion, Teachers of Schools; Lawyers, to teach the law; Surveyors, to measure every man's land; Doctors, to heal the sick; Carpenters, Blacksmiths, and all those other persons who make good things for the body, and teacbi good things for the'souls and minds of the Europeans.. It is, because shev have made wiie and, gotft.

the one head over all the Magistrates, and over all the soreral bodies of which the English people consists. l ■ It is the desire of the Queen, and this also is tßr thotjght of Gorernbt Grey and of the *{p*ag».of the Pftkehai, tbat the Maories sttroltf do f OT tHmnfelre* is the Eurcfceahs do: They faiowfonit of late yean the Maori* hare been seeking for kw arid:brder. Tno Englishmen have been rriotathan a thousand |W;learnfcg bow to make: law«>nd to govern ;j% wb>fc Beside* ft :o«e ; r t* Bare Magistrates, and and othel-ontcers^ IWI ;*•'W :j iMto; tag hirt; and he" whr work* for body ofthd people, paid •ftW #w#rieJ for : whfle; he -woris. fer i&e'iri . TOtfiusVmore or less, neglect hit own work, j ; ■ Kovir the thought of the Governor is how he * in the work of making I«JV'toa ; h6w jher may provide fbrrtHepayment ©fwMagistrates and other Officer* of GoVertj-; ment till such, time as the Maories shall hat© bebotoe rich and be able to pay all the expenses themselves. In order, theti* to provide the nwsehinery of good r goVwnmefnt /afaoMg; tfce! Maortes m these Islands, the Governor desires W f se&CTtaHished : tbe folfowing system whereby gbbd laws may bemade, well disposed persons wjjWitected,bad men restrained from violence, JWffsectnity; for life ahd property bb;ensnttd to P arte °f the Island inhabited by Maories will be marked off into several districts, according to tribes or divisions of tribes, 'iP-f* c<)nven iencc.prthe .natural features of tKoountry. To ev»>y one: ot these districts the Governor will send a learned anil good! European to assist the Maories in the wbrlrotl making laws and enforcing them; he will be! called the Civil Commissioner. There: will be 1 ttHttnainga for that district which will consist of acertain number of men who will be chosen fa)tt;the The Civil Commissioner IP V? tt ? bfihatßunariga to guided * ,™ ,l !»P I ? ti P an <* ft votes ire 6quat oh he; wilt'hate a casting Vote tb fcr.'to dtstrict, trSWof cattle,

iog cattle, about thistles and weeds, about dog*,-about spirits and drunkenness about 1 putting down ' batd customs bf the old lawjlike the Tazia, and about the various things whiclf specially concern the people, limine in thatidisttict; They will, alsomake ; about schools, about roaids, if they wish:forthem, mud about Other matters which may promote the public gbod of that district. And «Il,'these laws' #hich the district Runangas may 'propose willed laid before the Governor,, and he will say-if they are good or riot""'tf" he says they are gbod, they will become law for all men jjr that district to which they relate. If he.aays they are not good, then the Runanga must make some Other law which will be better. 1 This is the way with the laws which the Europeans make in their Runangas, both in New Zealand and in the great Runanga, of the Queen in England. 2* Every district will be subdivided into : Huddreds, and in each of these there will be Assessors appointed. The men oif that district will choose who shall be Assessors, only the Governor'will have the. word to.decide whether the ohoice is good or not. ThV Magistrate, with these Assessors, will hold Courts for disputes about debts of money, about cattle trespass, about all breaches of the law in that district. They will decide in all these cases. 8. : In every Hundred there will be Policemen* and one Chief Policeman,, who. trill be under the Assessors. These Policemen shall summon all persons against whom, there, .'are complaints before the Court of the Assessors,'' and when the Assessors shall have : decided, the Policemen will see that the orders of the Assessors are Carried out. AH fines which' shall be paid shall be applied to some public uses.-' The Commissioner or Magistrate trill, keep this money till it is required. 4.; The Runangas will also .be assisted in establishing and maintaining Schools and Teachers ; sometimes Europeans, sometimes Maories, will be appointed.. The, Maories ought'to pay part of the salary, of the School, Teacher, the Grovernqr will pay the rest. 5. Where the Runangas wish to have an European Doctor to live among them,'the. Governor will endeavour, to procure one to residt there, and will pay him so much salary. as may make him willing to go to that work. The Doctor will give medicine to the Maories when they are sick, and will teach them \* hat things are good for the rearing of their children,; to make them strong and.healthy, and how to prolong the lives of all the Maories.by eating good food, by keeping their houses clean, by having proper clothes and other things relating to their health. This will be

But all those who require the services of the doctor will pay for .them, except such as the Runanga may decide to be too poor to do so. ft- About the Lands of the Maories. It will be for the Runangas to decide all disputes about the lands. It will be good that each Rurianga should make a Register, in which shouhTbe written a atatement of, all the lands within the district of that Ruijanga, so that everybody may know, and that there may be no more disputings about land." : .TJiis, then, is what the Governor intends to do, to assist the Maori in the good work of es- ( tablishing law and order. These, are the first thinjgp:—the Runangas, the Assessors, the Policeman, the Schools, the Doctors, the Civil! Commissioners to assist the Maories to govern themselves, to make good laws, and to protect the weak against the strong. - .There will be many more things to be planned and to be decided; but about such things the Runangas and the Commissioners will consult. This work will'Be a work of time, like the growing of a •large tree—at first there is the seed, then there is one trunk, then there are branches innumerable, and very many leaves: by and bye,'perhaps, there will be fruit alsoi But the growth of the tree is slow-—the branches, the leaves;, and fruit did not appear all at once, when.the seed- was put in the ground: and so will "it-be with the good laws, of the Runanga. 'This is the seed which the (Governor desires to sow:—the Runangas, the Assessors, the Commissioners, and the rest. By and bye, perhaps,'this seed will grow into a very great tree," which wUI bear good fruit on all its. branches. Tlie Maories, then, must assist in the planting of tree, in the training of its branches, in cultivating the ground about its roots; and, as the tree grows, the children of the Maori, also, will grow to be a rich, wise, and prosperous people, like the English and those..other Nations which long ago. began the JJ'Kpf.making good laws, and obeying them TmV ,will be the work of peace, on which the blessing; of Providence will rest,—which will make\the storms to pass away from the sky, —anjd all things become light between the Maori and the Pakeha; and the heart of the Queen will then be glad when she hears that the two. races are living quietly together,, as brothers,; in the good and prosperous land of NWZealand. :