The Oamaru Mail. FRIDAY, JULY 9, 1880.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 9 July 1880, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail. FRIDAY, JULY 9, 1880.

r The operations of the Aimed Con j stabulary on t'ne Coast have | recently excited large, 3-piQunt . p] I attention, both in the House and ir; » the country. The report of the Jfatiyc 1 Commission has been before the public r for some time, and about it opinions , are very much divided. Sir William , Fox and Sir Dillon Bell are supposed to favor the Maori pretentions, and » certainly their lead directly to the inference that it is they ' who get the substance, and the shadow only is being left to compensate : the country for the large expenditure in- . purred in the process of pacification and in sueli defensive measures -as are 1 deemed imperative in preventing the > effusion of blood. But ff eiu bono 1" If the confiscated and disputed territory is to bo given back to the disaffected Natives, and only a small and comparatively valueless portion to bp opene4 ' up for settlement notwithstanding the immense outlay of the Government, we 1 fail to see any merit in such pretentious and expensive -measures. Before incurring such an outlay in acquiring possession of the lands around,-Mount Egmont, it was' surely the duty of the Government first of &}1 to ascertain whether the game was, wortlj tjip pancjle. Hie anomaly of a species of independent sovereignty exercised by.: Te. Whiti : ciay. Indeed be. put an; end to; the armed forpe will mypropably. avert the : spreading of blood, but tfcafc is, surely aJcirae, and impotent conclusion to such formidable -.measures, If Te Whiti and; his are;, to. ;be -W= wflrdedibyj the gift of such property ttefmend;'~Bhjould be. bestowe'd' theinj; iEey jvill ipd@edd.be fortunate men.-What a premium to -incipient, rebellion *, j What' -' ; for -sheltering - - Hiroki, 11 '-the 1 m'tmiepep of. M'J-iean. 1 We are -perplexed and. by such an unaccountably report, g.n4 we srust that Parliament will sift the jnatter to tjie very bottom. We never believed in the competency of the members of the Commission. It was too exclusively composed, not perhaps of Maori sym. pstMsers, but of strong party men. We wall lcnow that gifts of land to Maoris are ibut gifts one step removed to those whoare familiar with the art of cajoling ; tHe Maoris into favorable leases,-My still better, cheap It behoves country therefore to be ujkto its gaard. It is not too late to prevent the pirpetration of another huge job/and wi are very ipuch if . the rosoeimendations of the Native I Lands Commissioners deserves 1 any f better trtlej Their duty was obvious enough. It was purely to ascertain what claims existed in law or. right to ' the lands in question. The. country 'would J willingly submit to such a solu 7 'tfon of thd Question as would-liberally'

arid fairly endow the natives having claims upon this territory with ample lands for their maintenance. >£j[il|tyho* are they 1 Let the disaffected-|o(sMng: crowd of natives assembled at PaHhakfc be rigidly examined. Weed idlers from Wanganui and Waikato (who are merely waiting upon Providence, and how many who have any' valid claims upon any portion of the j West Coast of Taranaki will remain? small -n'tififlKS? indeed, and the immense territory [ proposed to be n handed over,lp„su.ch, a, ' handful' ftf "natives as have any ancestral claims is ahsurd and extravagant-. 1 , lit is not our desire to abuse~ the power acquired over the natives who have so ! long defied us, and "who to this very [day shelter murderers, as a standing menace; who, moreover, within the last few days, in the matter of the fences', 1 defied and insulted the entire defence 'force. There is surely, howey.er, e, legitimate use of power. In vain we accj.uive it jf it is alf to end in aia act of consummate weakness and folly. The Government have delegated their powers in this matter to a Commission,! aftd the latter have reported to'.the jlouse, and it be fpr tjie Legislature resolutely to deal with this : jjpportant question. We trust they will nflp flinph.. £. against impoap4 njust bp paade °p'n)e time, and the soqnpr the better. For ouilselves we insist upon going behind ihe Commissioners report and 'testing severely the claims they so pliantly [acknowledge. The promises, fcgQ, pf guggegsive governments must be subjected tq th^; ; §4 trig; lpropess—the whple matter mij§t bp gone into de novo befpi-e- the House pr ~thS"country should ;lj>e ooigmippgd $q , wbat . appears to vis toibeambst unparalleled waste of the public lauds;'.: ; Aiid if there; was any doubt about our title, what madness to incur such a large expenditure on 'temtoryi qf thq§p thankless savages who only laugh *'at" our -folly, and hope with Tp %a'U' npfc only form bii3b' ; jsqgds, Jjifchpr, then, all - tliiSL .expenditure was needlessly incurred by the Government or the report of the .Commissioners must, be resisted. '