Taranaki Herald. (DAILY EVENING.) TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1911. THE MAORI IN POLITICS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 143674, 19 December 1911, Page 2

Taranaki Herald. (DAILY EVENING.) TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1911. THE MAORI IN POLITICS.

The whole Dominion is anxiously awaiting the results of tho polls which are being taken to-day in three Maori electorates, for the simple reason that upon those results depends possibly tho immediate political future of tho country. If three Government supporters are returned Sir Joseph Ward may elect to retain office until Parliament meets in the ordinary course of events in June next, on the ground that with the Maori support and that of the unpledged Labour and Independent members be has a party numerically stronger than Mr. Massey’s. In view of the fact that three Labour members are pledged against the Ward Government, we think Sir Joseph Word would he assuming rather too much, but it is possible he may take that view and decline to resign or call Parliament together. If the Otaki and Wellington East elections, or even one of them, had resulted .in his favour ho would perhaps have been justified in declining to accept the general results as a verdict of the electors against him. At any rate the country would then have actually been, politically speaking, at the mercy of the Maori electorates, and this, we venture to think, is an intolerable position for it to be placed in, and one not contemplated when the Maoris were given special representation in Parliament. As a matter of fact the individual Maori has greater voting power than the individual European, while in the Ministry the weight of Maori influence is

altogether out of proportion to tile population. Nor do we overlook that Sir James Carroll is the representative of a European constituency. Assuming: that the Hon. Mr. Ngata is the only actual representative of the Native race in the Cabinet, he still is one of seven Ministers, while the Native race does not number a twentieth of the European population. But Sir James Carroll is Native Minister and the real representative of his race in the Ministry, Mr. Ngala being no more than a second vote for his leader, so that the Native race has actually two votes in a Cabinet of seven. It is a well known fact that the policy of these Ministers is to “sit tight” so far as the alienation of Native lands is concerned. They know that the advance of European settlement and the expenditure of European money must add largely to the. value of Native lands every year. Already the Native, race, unit for unit, has far greater wealth than the pakeha, wealth made for them by tlre pakeha, and daily increasing by the hitter’s efforts. Sir .lames Carroll is clever enough to know that his people will soon become a groat landed aristocracy if be can only succeed in preventing their lands being alienated. Therefore his “ taihoa ” policy; tlicrcfore, with the assistance of Mr. Ngata, his complete dominance of the Cabinet on all matters connected with Maori lands, lie hi determined to hand hack to the Maoris, it possible, the West Coast leases now (hat they have been brought into a highly productive, condition, and the I'lime Minister ami the Hon. T. Mackenzie were unable to do what they believed to be the right thing on behalf of the lessees because they were dominated by the Native Minister. That is just a single instance of the unfair influence given to (he Maori in Parliament. in a more general way we have, as already stated, the whole political situation possibly in the hands of a handful of Maori electors, men and women who know nothing and care nothing about our polities. The siiiition is intolerable and rausi be changed in the near future, either in the direction of placing Natives on the same franchise as Europeans or reducing their representation to the same proportion.