South Canterbury Times FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1900.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2956, 30 November 1900, Page 2

South Canterbury Times FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1900.

Sir G. O’Brien', Governor .of the Crown Colony of Fiji, must be a bit of an oddity. ■ A cable; from Sydney which we publish to-day, mentions a speech which he made at the opening of a hospital for natives a few weeks ago. A report of this speech, as published by the “ Fiji Times,” has already been published by the Government of this colony, and a copy has been sent to us. It is quite' clear from this report that Sir G. O’Brien is a rabid Downing Street officer, and that he gave, as he no doubt thought, the “straight tip ” to Fijians about New Zealand’s desire to extend to them the blessings of representative government. He has got the anti-New Zealand feeling ®ery bad indeed, for though he began his speech with a reference to a water supply to a village called Rewa, he could not help introducing “the New Zealand party,” and coupling their criticisms of that water supply as a waste of money with the evil machinations of that party. Those criticisms, he said, “will show you pretty clearly how much ■ the New Zealand party care about you and yopr, welfare. They pretend to be your friends, I know, and they have their own purpose to serve by doing so. But 1 will tell you one thing, and that is this : When persons who have never during all their lives done a single thing to benefit you all of a sudden become very fond of you, and say to you they will do you all manner of good if you will listen to their advice, you will do very well to ask yourself the question, ‘ What is it that we have got that these persons want to get from us?’ ” His Excellency proceeded to supply the answer :—“ You have the land, my friends, and that is what they want to get, and hope that they will get it if you are foolish enough to listen to them It has always been the same in every country under the kind of Government that there is in New Zealand—the white men have always taken the land from the coloured people. Who owns that land now? The white people have got nearly' the whole of it. The coloured pfeople are cooped up in the fragment of land that has been left to them, and many of them have no land at all. What has happened in New Zealand to the coloured people’s land will happen here too, if New Zealand gets this country. But you have been told that if New Zealand gets this country you will not have to' pay native taxes. Of course, the persons who have' told you this have done so to tempt you to listen to them, in order that, if you are foolish enough, you may think it a good thing that New Zealand should get this country. Therefore they tell you that if you were under the New Zealand Government you would not have to pay native taxes. But they do not tell you that if you paid no native taxes, you would like the coloured people in New Zealand lose nearly all your land.” Sir G. O’Brien then proceeded to tell the Fijians— what they probably knew, but the information will be new, and may be interesting to our readers (or some of them) —what those “ native taxes ” are. “ They amount to less than £1 a head, for each adidt male, and they are the rent which the Fijian people pay for the lands they are not actually cultivating.” He went on to explain that by the Act of Cession, by which the chiefs made over the country to Great Britain, “it was agreed that the Fijians should keep the lands they were cultivating, and that M the rest should belong to the Government. But when it was found that this did not please the chiefs and people, the Government allowed them to have all the unoccupied lands, and in return got from them the small rent which is known by the name of native taxes. So you see, if you were to cease to pay that rent, you would also cease to own those lands, and they would be taken from you, as the lands have been taken from the owners in New Zealand, and other countries that are under the same kind of government. And what you have toi think of is this : Would you rather go on paying your rent to this Government under the Queen, or have your rent remitted by the New Zealand Government, and lose your lands ? I know what your answer is ; You would rather pay your -rent and keep your lands. Well, I will do what I can for you, ■by writing to Her Majesty the Queen, so that this country may not go to New Zealand, and that you may keep your lands. Butj when I tell you this, I tell you also at the same time that you are all to keep very quiet, and to give no sort of trouble. If any of you were to give trouble, that would only make it easy for New Zealand to get your country, and for you to lose your lands. What there is to be said on your behalf I have already said to the Queen, and shall, if necessary, say it again. But, in the meantime, 1 repeat to you and I charge you all to remain quiet and peaceable, and to give no trouble either to white men or to any others, but to go about your own business and attend to your own affairs just as if you had never heard any question of New Zealand wanting to get this country. That is what you have got to do ; and T, as your principal and head chief, order you to do it.” The speech was delivered in English, and was interpreted to the natives, ‘losing,” says the “Fiji Times,” “none of its force or effect in the translation,’'’ and ■dt was received with much applause. We cannot tell whether lie had any instructions or any other sort of right to do it, but he seems to have done his best to give a set-back to “the New Zealand party” in the Islands. The Sydney papers suppose that Mr Seddon will want to know what the Governor means by it; and probably he has sent him an inquiry to that effect before now. The last sentence we quote from the Governor’s speech could not by any possibility be uttered by a Governor of a colony possessed of representative go-vernment—-so long as the Governor was sane We rather doubt whether the Governor of a Crown Colony can constitution ally give such an order either,