The New Zealand Times. FRIDAY, MAY 14, 1915. BAY OF ISLANDS SEAT

New Zealand Times, Volume XL, Issue 9043, 14 May 1915, Page 4

The New Zealand Times. FRIDAY, MAY 14, 1915. BAY OF ISLANDS SEAT

Mr MaSsey has entered upon the. further'campaign ' for'the Bay of Is-, lands seat with an ostentatious parade of confidence that is palpably intended, to impress the constituency and tho country. Time will tell how much of this is real and’ how much is brazen pretence. • If" there is one electorate more than another in which Mr Massey has reason for misgiving it is tho Bay of Islands. .Already‘the conviction !» strong in the minds of the electors that the Government lias been playing fast and loose with them apd their interests,' that a principle which is vitally important, to. them has .been, sacrificed in order to secure the vote and support of Mr_ Tau Heharo, and that the moment has corn'd when-they are entitled to some clear and definite understanding; The principle; wo-'ro-'fer to is tho continuance of the system of rating bn native'lands. ;"It is no secret that Mr Tau Heharo is deterr mined that the:, rating ,on native lands r should bd abolished. After the 'general election; when he was diplomatically balancing himself first on one party log and'then on tho other, and when it was realised that he held, the balance of power between .the twp paities,-- tho statement was made. that, the'price of-his .support was tho repeal of the law making native lands liable for rites- The settlers in, the North were amazed and indignant, They 1 °" garded it' as .unthinkable that any political party, and more especially lone committed to a higher political morality as ? “Reform”- was, would descend- to such • degrading depths as ~to, bargain for a continuance, of ofiice, at the price of such a scandalous betrayal of the rights of the white population. Besides, self-styled “Urn form’'’ came into office on a-platform 1 which offered as its' chief _ plank the •Europeanising* of the Maori, the placing of the native and tho white man on an- equal footing, and tho nioro vigorous' prosecution of the rating system so us to force tho productive usel of tho Maori estates. We arc offering no’ opinion on ’ the equity or expediency of such a policy. It. was the policy of “Reform.” Qn this policy, ’“Reform” was prepared to stand or .'fall. " ' "■

And now it is'openly declared that this policy has been abandoned in order 'to secure file support of the wily and diplomatic Mr Tau Henare. It is said that i in order to'obtain-Mr Tan Henaro’s vote and" influence’tho rating,of native lands is, .to bo. abolished. On this point, which is of vital consequence to them, the settlers of tho far North, are entitled to a clear and definite understanding with the Government. The matter cannot be dismissed lightly with the assurance that no honourable Government would think of entering into ,|uch a bargain, even in order to prolong its own lease of office. If no arrangement such as wo have indicated has been made with Mr Tau Henare, if he has not been promised the repeal of t}he . pative land rating at tho cost o£ the white settlers, why did ho venture to write to the Mongonui County Council requesting the temporary suspension qf the Act in this particular ? Lot us (juoto from a recent telegram in one of tho Auckland newspapers An extraordinary letter camo before the Last iheeting of' tli© Mongonui County Council. Mr Tau.Henare, M.P., wrote to the Council in regard to rates on native lands, , asking for a SuspeiiKon 6f operations until Parliament meets. since ho considers, there, is a, possibility of, thp Rating, , Act being so amended that the clause giving local bodies power to charge tho natjvei rates would no longer ’■ operate. ■

If -this is not a mandate from Mr Tau Henare, the gentleman holding the balance of political power who js standing first, on one . party leg and then on the other, it sounds uncommonly LTto it. Why did Mr Tan Henare choose to think there was a possibility of the Act being so amended as to deprive local bodies of the power to rate native lands? If he had not been encouraged in this -expectation, by somebody high in authority, he would scarcely have entertained it, and he certainly would not have written to a county council requesting the suspension of the law.

This in itself was a most extraordinary procedure. 'What would be said of a European member, or even a Cabinet Minister, who ventured to intervene between a governing body and the operation of the law? A county; council has no power to suspend the law. Mr Tau Henare, even though ho holds the balance of political power, had no right to demand it. * When Mr Tau Henare’s extraordinary letter'was read at the meeting of the, Mongonui County Council, Councillor .Wrathall very pertinently asked whether it was possible that Mr Tau Henare, whose vote meant so much to the'party in power, expected to bo in a position to'dictate a policy affecting the whole of the Dominion ? Mr Massey was already claiming Mr Henare as a supporter. Mr Henare knew how much his vote meant to Mr. Massey. Could it mean that Mr Henare was going to deifiand iii. return for his vote the exemption of' native lands, from local body rating?.. If ,so, what of the Massey party’s Reform policy, which aimed so Strongly at, placing the Maori on just the same plane, in this respect, as the European? What, now, about the equal .burden of citizenship? Were ttio white men only to bear the cost of roads and bridges, running for miles through native lands? It would be, indeed, interesting to know just what Mr Tau Hertare’s letter _ meant- When Councillor Wrathall asked these questions, it was not known that there was to he, a further election for the Bay of Islands seat, and that the electors would be in a position to demand a. straight and unequivocal answer 'from the Gm vefnment concerning its "understanding with Mr Tau , Henare- .However, " the Bay of Islands ■ seat has now been declared vacant, another election is imminent, and the Government stands arraigned at the bar of public opinion. The moiiient has arrived for a complete! answer to Councillor Wrathall’s speculative questions. Has there been any arrangement with MrTau Henare? Is the provision for rating on native lands to be repealed? 7s the policy of placing the Maori on the same ’ footing as the white man to be abandoned ? _lf . Air AJassey is confident concerning the. re-, stilt of this Bay of Islands- election, ahd if there has been no sacrifice of the rights .of the white settlers to secure

the support of tlio Maori; he should have no difficulty whatever in giving a satisfactory and reassuring answer to all Councillor Wrathall’s questions.