THE Otago Daily Times. "Inveniam viam out faciam."

Otago Daily Times, Issue 159, 20 May 1862, Page 4

THE Otago Daily Times. "Inveniam viam out faciam."

DUNEDIN, TUESDAY MAY 20, 1802.

What is the meaning of this Coromandcl movement; is its real purport understood, and to what -will it lead ? We confess it is a puzzle to us. Are the Maories to be above, or beneath all laws; are they always to be made to feel that they are to be subject to special legislation? If Brown, Jones, or Robinson, owning 50,000 or 100,000 acres of land, suspected of being auriferous, were to say, " You may prospect my land, but I will make no arrangement for allowing you to work it after you have found gold," would any government sanction such a proceeding, much more subscribe towards carrying it out ? Yet this is what is being done with Coromandcl. Miners are being entrapped into prospecting for gold on land from which they can be turned off' immediately on gold being found; and yet encouragement is still held out for more to, come. "As to the purchase of this land,'.' (writes Mr. Turton, the Resident Magistrate and Commissioner of Crown lands,) " the " natives will not hear a word about it at " preaent, nor will they come to any immediate " arrangements for the working of the gold " when, found." So that miners are being subsidised to prospect private lands, and the very evil po dreaded by any other country where gold has been found, is being invited here. The difficulties of arranging mining on private property have been found so great, that year after year the Victoi-ian Legislature has been compelled to leave them to their own adjustment; and the question remains now much where it did before. The land "belongs to the owner, the gold to the Crown, but how to arrange between the two, so that each enjoys the full advantage to which lie or it is entitled ? "No solution ,to the question has yet been found, except1 that the Government can abandon its claim to the gold, and" then no obstacle stands in the way [of the owner making what arrangement he pleases with the miner. _ • - But in the case of " Maori land it is different. It is positively illegal for individuals to make arrangements witli the Maories for the rent or' purchase of land, so that even this mothod will not be open. Again, no possible means exists of dealing legally with trespassers on private 'land such as at Coromandcl. The bush is almost impenetrable, and miners would be able to defy the ordinaiy process of the Jaw, unless enforced by a whole army of myrmidonsThe Maori will feel compelled -to protect his own, and bloodshed must ensue. Nor will the diggers be slow to turn to this issue;—nor can they be blamed"if they do. so, seeing that the course the Government has taken leaves them nothing else to believe, but that it is meant they should take with the strong arm whatever gold they can find. The miners' have been invited to Coromandcl by all kinds of flowery reports, issued by official authority. Reports, which on their face ' bore traces of their ■ exaggerated character, were published officially, and all that could be done to stimulate an unhealthy excitement, was done. ,The miners flocked to the spot, and to encourage their further stay were subsidised by the Provincial Government. Are they to be told, when they' "find gold, that their mission is ended; or, is it to be expected that they would tamely submit to the sacrifice of time and expense to which they had fraudulently been put. in entrapping them to prospect laud, from which in the event of success they 'would be shut out. They would not submit, and the}- would not be blamable in resenting the shameless j imposition played on them. But on the other hand, the Maories have the right to ask to be protected in their own ; and if a whole army. were required to keep trespassers off their land,'in justice it could not be refused them. In fact, the Government would be in the position of having played fast "and. loose. The Maories would say, " we told you we would only permit you to prospect, not -work for gold, on our .lands, and we hold you. to -your bargain;" and the Europeans wonld say, L'.we. worked here under the impression' that if we found gold we would reap the benefit; we have found it, and we will not .he .'robbed of the result." It would be nothing to the purpose for the^Government to say, _it was mentioned in the Gazette that the land was Maori Jaiidj and that permission to prospect :yvan only granted.. The spirit of the' arrangement would be loplced to.; A haberdasher. ; wijl ; ticket" a'bonnet with gs.in large figures, and .ll^d.'in scarcely perceiynble characters, and V policeman will mumble to a prisoner, with unintelligible rapidity, -" what you say will be taken down'agoinstyou," and then proceed to ques-

tion "him, "but this kind of chicanery is winked at rather .than tolerated. But What would be said of a Government wlio lleliueratily eutrapped, people to their loss and. hazard, and 'discomfort? The Picninci.il authorities' of Auckland give prospectors rntion% to encourage them in their soarch. Do they suppose that rations alone would be an inducement to men to work unle«s they were led to believe that something better waf in store? Do the miners not distinctly b.-lieve that if they,find gold, they are to renp the advantage of it, and are they taint ry to submit to 'finding themselves trepanned into an arrangement by which they' have lost their time aiid trouble, besides haviug to endure the hardships incidental to a country such as Coromandel ? Maories and miners will alike turn to the Government; and again we ask, what are the Government to do in case gold be found in payable quantities—a contingency which though not probable is undoubtedly possible, but which in Auckland they deem almost <o be relied on. Is it intended to grant the Maories power to arrange with the Europeans, and if so, who is to protect these owners, or prevent their property being trespassed .on ? Is it intended to assert the power of the Crown to enter upon land to procure the gold, and if the Maories resist to make it a causu-i lelli ? If so the Maories will have the sympathy o"f the whole civilised world. .They will say " at your desire we permitted prospecting on the express understanding that if gold were found we wers to be protected, and now that gold is found, you claim to take possession of it when you led us to believe very differently." As for purchasing the laud, it is clear, if the Maories set such store by it, before gold is found, that they will not part with.it, there is no chance of buying it of them afterwards. Besides it would be worth as much to them as to the Europeans ; they arc skilful miners, and their tribal institutions would enable them to work a large extent of land to far greater advantage than Europeans. Some of the papers have hinted that 10,000 miners would do more to settle the Maori question, than any number of soldiers. The meaning of this is clear ; it means the re-enaction of the scenes that converted into blood dyed fields the tarty gold workings of Upper California and British Columbia. Sir. George Grey we are certain would never submit to such a blot on his escutcheon. He would protect, his Maori subjects against lawless violence. Under him they have-been invited to allow their land to be tried for gold; and honour, and justice) and morality, alike forbid that a lawless or defrauding use should be made of the knowledge so acquired. "We can understand the Auckland people being careless of these considerations, or rather in their intense desire to have a goldfield within their Province, we ean,understand their indifference as to the means which conduce to' discover it. But Sir George Grey is not usually short-sighted, and a moment's reflection would hare shown him the difficulty that was being invited in prospecting Maori lands. Has he let the movement go on believing that there was little chance of gold being found in payable quantities—or not thinking of the matter at all ?— Was he at last .brought to its reflection, and ■was his late visit toCoromandel made with the view of purchasing the lands and obviating the possible difficulty, or did he go to encourage the prospecting, and with some unexplained purinview? The last is just possible. We have •aid he cannot mean to encourag-e or permit the Europeans to wage war on the Maories. But does he mean to read them a homily on the equity of his Government, by showing them that he will protect their rights even at the expense of the Europeans. Does' he mean to impress on the natives the power of'his Government by insisting on the right of the Crown to the gold. Or does he mean Coromandel to be the means for the introduction of his pet scheme, the giving the natives the power to sell or let their lands direct to the , Europeans ? A man like Sir George Grey is apt to have acts of oversight ascribed to sagacity. We think he has simply been unmindful, and if he intended any of the' farsighted designs we have hinted at, we believe they would be defeated. The miners, when gold is found, will not be content to wait dur- j ing the progress of negotiations, neither will ' they submit to the payment of heavy royalties. ' On the other hand the Maories will not allow their rights to be temporarily invaded, and we can foresee nothing but disastrous consequences as likely to aris •, should the much desired Gold fields /it Coromandel turn out what the Aucklaiid/peoplc fondly anticipate. The criminal side of the Supremo Court ■will not close business before next Friday; and it is, therefore,. improbable that, the Civil causes can be taken before Monday, the 26th current. His Honor, in his return address to the Grand jury presentment, ha? alluded to the quantity of business before the Court; and, as will be sec-n, has been compelled to postpone the Sessions at Canterbury, on account of detention by tho Dunedin jurisdiction. ' All jurors and witnesses are required to be in attendance at the Court-house this (Tuesday) morning, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, precisely, when the Criminal Sessions will be proceeded with. A despatch from the Duke of Newcastle to Sir George Grey, approving of the dismissal from her Majesty's service of Major Cooper and Mr Broughton, is published in the New Zealand Gazette of May C. The despatch says, "the conduct of Major Cooper in his seduction of a young native girl, and in his subsequent attempts to regain possession of her, is so flagrant, and the importance of checking such scandals on the part .of the colonists is so great," that the dismissal is approved of. In the General Government Gazete of May sth it is notified that the Queen has assented to the two Acts of the General Assembly of New Zealand entitled respectively "An Act to apportion the Public Debts of the former Province of -Otago, -between the Province of Otago and Southland;" and "An Act to amend the Public Debt Apportionment Act,'lS3B." His Honor, Judge Gresson discharged the gentlemon of the Grand Jury, yesterday, at precisely twenty minutes after two o'clock • there being no fiuthcr bills to bo sent iip"*'to them. The address of' the Grand Jury to his Honor, together with a report of bis Honor's rejoinder, will be found elsewhere in this issue. '.", ',' "

"~Tt3-TnrrlnstJnn:o~t»f-tho—unsatisfactory stato of the law affecting imprisonment lor debt, we may state that thcic is :it the present' time amoug the ten debiois now mc ircerated in 11. M. gaol, an uafortunatc liiiin of tlie name of Harris, by trade a boot and khoo maker, who has been hi prison since November l;iht, fur a debt of £40, dm. to a creditor, now roident in Nelson. Harris him three children in tin's city, who, we understand, are supported by the private benevolence of Mr. Snritzcr. On the lust occasion of the visit of Judge Gresson to Dnnedin, this case was brought under his special notice, and the fittorni'y of Harris' creditor was communicated with, hut apparently \Wtliont any desirable result. This uufoitunate man is s.iid to bo a thorough and practical master of his business, and had he been at liberty could, ere now, have earned three times the sum for which he is imprisoned indefinitely.' The following statement shows the condition of lI.M. gaol on Saturday evening last. For trial before Supreme Court, 11 males. . For trial before magislmtcs, nil. 'Under sentence to hard labour, GO males, 6 females. Under sentence to imprisonment, 3 females. Lunatics, 5 males. Debtors, 10 males. Keccived during the'week, 14, males, 1 female. Discharged' during the week, 14 male.o. Number hi gaol on Saturday evening, 86 males, 9 females. ' . "" When Mr. Justice Gresson resnmed his seat upon the Bench yesterday, two prisoners, nrrainged for highway robbery, and respectively named John Davis and John Uussell, alias Spratley, applied to the Court for the production ot one | Dossett, who had been liberated from H.M. gaol on Friday. The caso of Dossett has been published in this paper ; but it appears that tho prisoners desired him as a witness on their side . lie had been served with a subpoena to attend the trial to give evidence, but was reported to have taken his departure pur Ahlinga. His Honor observed that the Court could not interfere beyond intimating that Dossett, in disregarding a process of the Court was liable to be lined whenever he may be found. With reference to the proposed Non-Confor-mist settlement, of which several notices have lately appeared in our columns, we take thu following from the Auckland Southern Cross : — '• The Provincial Government have given orders for the survey of the Oruuwhoro block for the special settlement of Non-Conformists, expected to arrive from England. The foundation stone of tho new Episcopal Church, in Moray Place, is, we arc informed'to ba laid by the Bishop of Christchurch, on Thnrsday next. We learn also, that a collection will be made on the occasion in aid of the funds. The Omega, which arrived on Sunday from New Bedford, U.S., brings a full cargo of American goods, or "Yankee notions," consigned to Messrs. Tickle and Co.. of this city. This importation is remarkable as being the first direct'im-. portation of the kind from America. ■■ .