WHERE THE WHITE MAN TREADS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12931, 29 July 1905, Page 1 (Supplement)

WHERE THE WHITE MAN TREADS.

[BY W. 8., TE KUITX.]

il' has recently been my pleasure to meet with and hear the opinions of may who have dispassionately studied the Maori, both in his past arid present conditions; not as collectors of prurient aud frivolous flotsam, but hard-headed, earnest colonists, with a knowledge of his customs, mode of thought, language, and intimate contact with him in a life-long service to their country, which authorises them to deliver practical judgments upon him. and his everincreasing complexities; and because office discretion 110 longer forbids them can now speak out, whether to justify or denounce the tyrannical impositions of a lament-able past. To my intense satisfaction their conclusions so exactly .agree with mine that we might have sat in conclave aud concerted the ideas to be, presently described, thereby showing that to those who know there is only ouo course to be pursued in a fundamental redemption of the Maori. For let no one deceive himself, the Maori is a living preseuce in oui midst and refuses to be ignored. He meets us in up-country wastes and at town street corners, a standing reproach to our pretentions. And looking back upon oui rapacity and the base machinations by which it was sated, with all the deplorable consequences, surely, surely our colonial heart will at this eleventh hour arise in .its greatness and

despite the incompetence which centres all things unto itself at Wellington respond with one voice to his pathetic appeals for

assistance.' . One of my friends is a grim, reliable old pioneer, who has served his country honourably both on the Bench and ill private life as a, settler. Last night in piecing together Ira "men of history we also discussed the disabilities of our.brown friend the Maori; presently he leant over to mo and roared as it is his emphatic habit — It is our despotic assumption of superior wisdom, and a muleish obstinacy in defending untenable positions which prevent every attempt at pacifying the Maori. The bother 'began at Waitara." Here ho stabbed every word with a forceful finger on my chest. "After live years of bitterness, bloodshed, reprisal, and expense Governor Grey proclaimed that: ' Whereas an engagement for the purchase at Waitara of what is known as Teira's block was entered into but never completed, and as circumstances have com© to light which make it advisable that the sale (?) should not be proceeded with, therefore I hereby declare that the purchase be abandoned, and all claim to the same by the' Crown is now removed.' But Naboth's vineyard was .inexpressibly covotable, hence what did 'we do? (with & final stab). We confiscated it! See the dodge?" i And he chuckled a warm, rich chuckle of admiration at the depths which duplicity can plumb! 1 And when I read to. him the points by which to my mind we should guide our brown brother's canoe to reach a haven at last he agreed with me, that, (1) and before all things, the Maori shall be placed on the same platform as the European, to enjoy the rights and privileges of a British, subject and to frankly admit that the Treaty of Waitangi is the same inviolable compact which its trainers and subscribers intended

it should be; (2) to wipe off as with a sponr/e from the statutes of the colony that collection of idiotic nonsense the . Native Land Laws, and enact that reserves 'be apportioned to each. family sufficient to maintain it, and rendered absolutely inalienable to others than next-of-kin. ; That all native lands shall at once be individualised by the State, 1 and" any surpluses, after all reserves have been made, it shaH be in the owner's power to deal with them as to him, or her, seems fittestto sell or lease, according to his best advantage or market pricc. That instead of the intricate process now in vogue of wasting time and money appearing before Land Courts, Commissioners, . and other poverty-inducing institutions, a Native Trust Board be established in v each district, consisting of four members— Europeans and two Maoris— whose duty it shall be to investigate and ratify titles, receive rents or sale moneys, and banking the, same disburse them according to the strict requirements of the depositors; ill short, stand in loco parentis to the people, and be responsible to no other person whatever but the AuditorGeneral and Parliament, Jo which 'an audited account of the year's stewardship shall be rendered. That all restrictions but those mentioned shall bo 'removed, that

thereby the Maori may feel a responsibility and live up to it, and be enforced to redeem his emancipation, be proud of his position as an independent man, and glory in his membership of the British nation, which, the Treaty of Waitangi guaranteed him. That this' Trust Board shall be of competent persons, having a thorough knowledge of Maori language and customs, and fee salaried officers of the State, to devote their whole energies to the economical management of all matters entrusted to them and be bound by their appointment to constantly keep in view these two prime factors— the progress of the colony and the happiness of the Maori race. And so soon as all

rectifications have established' the Maoi

as a going concern a. less expensive arrange ment be instituted. This Trust Boar

shall report to Parliament where extra legislation is required in excess of their already discretionary powers, and Parliament shall consider these as suggestions to be acted upon, and if found desirable to legalise them. That the office of Public Trustee for native lands be abolished at once and for ever, because by the nature of its control and extortionate expense it satisfies neither race and is a barrier to the comfort of 'both. That the office of Native Minister bo closed and the key thrown into the sea where it is deepest. Also that the effete farce of native representation be exchanged for a system by which there is no distinction of franchise," and the natives who fall into a certain patella electorate may vote for any candidate they may wish for; or, as in the case of the popular member for■ Gisborne, T'irni Kara, a half-caste even Maori may bid for pakoha support. This change is "absolutely imperative., The four Maori members arc mere marionettes whose strings arc pulled, by astute political dodgers, whose policy is self-aggrandisement and suction; and who, say they what they may, will improve nothing they touch, because their principles are wrong. And what makes it all so intolerably maddening is that so long as party interests are permitted to override the weal of the whole so long will, waste, corruption and inflated incompetence stifle the cry for relief! Ho far I have outlined the foundations

upon which a successful native policy must be built. Other minor details will automatically group themselves as they arise and where they belong. All else is endless patching and shoring, constant and irritating renewals. And because we will not concede what he legitimately asks for he will not bestir himself; nor is it humanly possible to force him, because he can lie down and die when he wants to, and his graves reproach us and our descendants for ever!