NATIVE AFFAIRS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5498, 1 July 1879, Page 6

NATIVE AFFAIRS.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —I have read with extreme interest your well-digested article of the 7th inst., on Government land matters, and consider that your lucid exposition on the above subject cannot but be warmly appreciated by all thoughtful men, by all lovers of natural justice, and social order. Very rightly you observe, "The arbitrary provisions of the enactments, so contrary to natural equity and the rights of property under which they were taken, claim not only attention, but the most thoughtful consideration ;" a line o£ legialation, be it remembered, diametrically opposed to' the avowed liberal principles of Sir George Grey, the present Premier of the colony, who, again and again, in his diffusive annunciations constituted himself the groat supporter of all liberal institutions, even to the appointment by election of Colonial Governors. Again, you remark, "We find the Government of. the colony, for many years past, systematically ignoring the fundamental principles that the rights of property ehonld be held inviolate. These rights iaoludo not only free uso of enjoyment, but also the power of disposal. The right to alienate is generally considered an inherent incident of property, and stipulationa prohibiting alienation of freehold estates especially are, for the most part, held to be void. The assumption of power, therefore, depriving colonists —native and European alike of these righte oomea upon us as a surprise, and demands, at least, some inquiry as to the legality." The prominent feature clearly brought before the reader in the

above citation appears to be " the assumption of power" en the part of the legislature, •and, consequently, the "illegality^ , of its proceedings. The motive which impelled our rnlers to place their power over and above the law, seems to have originated with I a desire to perpetrate wroug against the-j subject in the matter] of land estates, and ! especially to flagriint and unprecedented wrong agiinst the abmriguww ,i-whole colony. This': 'point is' afev forcibly ""brought out by you in the following startling paragraph: —"The Government have the power, on the payment of a small sum of .money to any perso.i c! lining to be interested in any ra.Uive land, and by notice of the negotiations in- tbe Gazette, to stay all dealings with such land, _ either to Europeans or natives." Now, it has long been the practice of English writers, both at home and in the colonies, to mourn over the serfage of the Russian people, and to denounce, in no measured terms, the despotic* power of the Russian ruler. But, sir, looking upon the " assumed power" of our Legislators ia contra-distinotion to our ideas of liberty, and justice, may we not say, in relation to the " ordinance" referred to, and which has. been so ably criticised by yourself, that it snrpasses, in coriplete unjustifiableness, the slave laws of the Russian Empire. That tho Parliament of this colony should sallow itself to be blinded by misrepresentations as i;o Maori land affairs—should allow, so un-English an Act, with most indecent haste, to be smuggled through its honourable House is as astonishing as it is lamentable. In relation to the injustice wantonly inflicted on the native tribes, the usurpation of power against them created by the obnoxious ordinance in question, I must again quote your excellent comment, which says:— "In every State paper, in e7ery public I document, we admit that the land is theirs . (the Maoris), and yet, with strange inconsistency, we deny them all the powers and privileges of ownership." It may, be urged that the mischievous effects of tho Acts referred to have become notably glaring, and they will be rescinded during the coming session. They- may be abrogated, certainly, but the national disgrace gratuitously brought upon us by such Acta, cannot be blotted out, and may be quoted against us so long as the Maoris remain a people. If the colonists complain so bitterly against this strange interference with their rights as subjects of the Queen, what must be the disappointment and irritation of so intelligent and-shrewd a people as the Maoris are known to bo? I might indeed enlarge on thin point, and clearly deuonstrate how intense is the indignation of the Maoris against Sir George Grey and the Native Minister, since these astute statesmen claimed for themselves the fatherhood of 7/hat the natives now call "The New Law of Confiscation;" but, as the issue of the Hbbald whioh contains your strictures on the obnoxious, unwise, impolitic " new law," eputains also the Communications oh the same subject of both European and Maori, it is self-evident that these reliable authorities should speak for themselves, so that the scrutinising public may be able to draw its own conclusions. The authorities alluded to, are Mr. J. S. Macfarlane, and certain leading chiefs of the Rotorua . Mr. Macfarlane says:—'• Sir George Grey,-' and Mr. Sheehan, in the House, promised to put an end to the iniquitous land-buying by Government, which they both agreed was injurious to the natives. Instead, however, of the Government,having carried out its promises, it has in the moat treacherous manner violated every promise in native matters . . and it is not at all to be wondered at, that the natives are dissatisfied." The above.asseveration cornea from ono who speaks with authority, and who has the moral courage to step out of the rank 9 of the Auckland legislators, and out of the long line of the Auckland merchants, to record hie convictions, which, it must be admitted, are to the point, and not likely to be challenged. Now we come to the opinions of the Maoris themselves, embodied in a letter addressed t« you, bearing the signatures of Petere Te Pukuatua, Eruera Te Uremutu, "Wi Kepangawhau, Hoani Tβ Kurua, and others. The writers, after dilating upon their loyalty to the Queen, and how the Government has falsified its own statements", breaking faith with them, go on to remark: "The new law of confiscation enacted by the present Government ha 3 brought suffering on üb. . . . Wha.t, then, have we done amiss that the law nhould recklessly rush upon us to inflict punishment ? Friend, the Editor, what shall we do to bring about our emancipation, as the Government have turned round upon us to do ua harm—that ia to say, they are heedlessly confiscating our lands." It is unnecessary to adduce furthor testimony as to the attitude and bitter feeling at present of the Maori tribes, brought about, it would seem, by the objectionable land transactions of the present effete administration. I need only add that it may urge gatherings of loyal tribes. Vehement denunciations have beeu poured forth by speakers against the dishonourable, peddling land transactions of the present Ministry; and I am, therefore, in a position to endorse the views on the laud-irritation question held by you, Mr. Macfarlane, and the leading chiefs o£ the Atawa confederation.— I am, &c. C. O. DAYIS. Auckland, June 26, 1879.

THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — Soar correspondent, "Public School Boy," must be a bold youth to attempt to defend such a system aa that which prevails in the Anokland College and Grammar School. In all the schools similar to this one in status throughout the colony, the head-master doeu the higher work or some portion thereof. The same rule applies to public schools in any part of the world (unless proprietary schools). But the facts of the case are so obvious here that neither precedent not example ie needed. A school of 230 pupils does not require the whole work of a head-master to superintend or examine, more especially, since the classes and departments have been well-provided for—there being seven masters for the seven divisions of the school. These seven masters are all teachers of experience—five of them holding University degrees. It is simply preposterous to suppose that their work requires supervision to this extent. It is, probably, worse than useless ; and, although Mr. Heale may be wroug in his general notion of the functions of a Grammar School, he knows perfectly well what the functions of a head-master are.—l am, &c, Public School Teacher.

At a recent meeting of the Queensland Acclimatisation Society, the chairman read the following extract, relating to a new economic plant, which ho had translated from Lα Belgiqite Horticole: —" There grows in the province of Rio Doce, Brazil, a Bromelaid which furnishes an abundance of excellent fecula. This food substance accumulates in the leaves, and it is only necessary to bruise them to obtain it in abundance. The plant, which ie provided with a stem, attaina large dimensions, and the leaves are very thorny. This plant saved the lives of thousands of Indians during the famine which literally desolated certain provincea of Brazil. We have not seen the flowers, bnt, jndning from the seeds, the plant may belong to the speciee Puya, or, perhaps, Encholirion. We have received seeds, and provisionally designate the plant by the name of Puya cdulte. The chairman stated that steps had already been taken to secnre this plant for Queensland, and although it might be a work of time, he had no doubt of eventual success."