The Daily News. MONDAY, APRIL 13, 1903. THE PRIVY COUNCIL AND THE PORIRUA TRUST.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 90, 13 April 1903, Page 2

The Daily News. MONDAY, APRIL 13, 1903. THE PRIVY COUNCIL AND THE PORIRUA TRUST.

The recent decision of the Privy Council ri girding the Porirua" Trust is a very g rious nvit er and his excited » great d?al of interest ia this colony, particu'iirly with those conversant with the earlier history of native lands. Dining tho course of a speech at Wuiuiato last week the Premier dealt at some length with the decision of the P/ivy Courcil regarding tho P.nii'u.i Tim*. He said be had read in a Chiis'church Opposi ion paper a. scathing critic sm of the Goveri.ment in connection with this matter. Tried cision was by th>s p»per alleged to have baen against the Government, and with ulterior motives an attempt had been made to put tho Government in the position of church despoilers. What were the facts- ? The Government had taken up the matter at the request of tha Church itfelf. The Bishop of Wellington (Dr Watlis) had found that the Maoris ou the West Coast of the North Island—principally from th? O'aki district—bad many years ago endowed tlio CJiurch with lands for the purpose i f obtaining secular and religious ins mcti ns. The Ohurcb, however, ins>ad of giving that instruction and p.ovi'ing education for the Maoris, h'id practically done nothing. It had implt' let the land, and no less a sum than eigbt thousand pounds bad accumulated, The liishop, feeling th it the Church was in a fa'se position in rec iving annual grants of money and doing nothing for the Maori children whose parents bad given the laud, applied to tbe Government for assistance. The Premier went on to say tint Bishop Wallic, in his application, stited that the church trustees v- ere unable to fulfil the conditions of the trust. Tie Government having been drawn into the matter, endeavoured to arraßge, as far as possible, to sae that the original intention cf tbe trust were maintained - that was that the church should carry ou', as far »s circumstances mould permit, the principles of tbe trust and the inten- | tioDS of the original owners, tns'ead 1 of devoting thq proceeds to the descendants acd children of the West Oi'sst Maoris, the trustees decided to establish a school at a place called Papawai. The people cf Papawai and those of the West Coast at the time the land was ceded to the Church for the purpose mentioned, would have eaten each other. It seemed to the Government to be wroog to take the profits from I ) the people of the West Coast cf ihe North Island, and e pwially Otaki, s-bo were the diiect descendants of the originnl owners, and give Ihe fits to tbe Maoris (;f Piipuwai. Thty wer« two different tribes, ncd pr\ctic\lly two different peoples. The Appeal Court dceidtd in favour of the Govasn- ■ roent. The case then went to the Privy Council. He would speak with all due respect, but he was forced to say that thnt tribunal was ignorant of our laws and conditions. Had the the Piivy Coutcil knewn the true con ditions whatever i f s opinion of the law may havo been -• it could rot have said Iwu-s'ly end fairly what it had ugainst the Government, tbe Executive and tha Appeal Court of this colony. Had it been the press of this country, a member of Parliament, or a Mil i-tfr who had said the same respec'ing our Court', they would have been severely taken to ta-k, because if there was one fling more necessary than anything . "'se—a»d be hoped it might ever continue • it was tbat our Courts shou'd Save the confidence of the people of tire c ; 'Uv,try. It ill became tbe Privy Council, the highest tribunal of tha Empire, to cist a reflection upon tbe highest Court of the colony of New Zealand, Tbe Privy Council bod en-

tirely reversed the law. The Govern mens had been told that the Maoris j who gave,the land could not recover it I From the trustees who had failed to cirry out the trust, the Grown alone could claim, The Government was advised that tha Maoris could no\ vec ver, ■ind that the Government could, aid iTould, step in. The Bi>hop desired this, aud btcause this was done, the Gjvercment was held up to the people ■j? ti.Q colony as having ;ritd to robth >. fjhurch. That was a vaiysurious charge -o tmke against tho Gov?rnoient. I a idditioa to this, an aVempt m-a made 'o show that the Ex<cutive influence i tho Oju-t. A mora unfair assertion h il ' ertr been made in any country or agains* any Government. All that tho dTo'-ainment wanted was to s ; e that i;lo Maori children got the benc-fl'. of the lands which their ancestors ha'! <iven for tho purposes of education and 3 eli„iouß imtraction— that was alHbe

Government; as-ked or desired. Tho question, hiw.;>v-r, hid graa'er ramficitione. ! h o w(;re thousands of acres of Und held by Lhe churches—no 1 ; only bj the Ohurch of England-which had been obtained from the Maoris, and they had neither given secular nor religiouj instruction in return. matter was acute and serious. Ja'<o the report of the Commission appoint'd years ago! he asked the press of tin colony to read that report upon the unjust action of the churches preaching rhe gospel of Ohrist and not fulfilling 'heir trust, bu f , on the cotiirary, keeping both religious and secular instruction fioai the native children, whone

fathers gave the land. Parliament, would its duty to do, and he hope>l

jus'ice would be done to the native chi'drrn. He thought the land shouli go back to the native?, bf cause many of the descPtiJante had not an acre of Itrnd to call tb D ir own,