AN AMERICAN ON THE MAORI DISTURBANCES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 1479, 18 June 1879, Page 3

AN AMERICAN ON THE MAORI DISTURBANCES.

A correspondent signing himself " American " writes to the Auckland Herald as follows : — Sib, — In America we have what is called " squaw-men," and here you have pakehaMaoris ; now, by examining their earmarks, they are fac similes, their aims and their lecherous doings are alike. The natives, m their primitive notions, take these men as their friends, when m reality they are their sleuth-hounds of destruction. Such whites as I describe are sometimes politicians high m office. I bave attended Indian grand councils m America, and m reading the report m your ably- conducted paper 4 of goings-on at the recent Maori meeting at Kopua, I find the resemblance is great. One fact presses strongly on me, and that is this : tbat the Maori, like the North American Indian, is rapidly decaying m our futile attempt of their civilisation. Now, with this result m view, I think New Zealandshould look to America for a precedent of behavior towards a dying - out race. The Government shonld take all of the Maori lands over into their possession m trust, giving ample allowances to each tribe m _ the way of a reservation ; proclaim il'egal all land-purchases made by whito men of any portion of these reservations. The Government commits a sin m purchasing land from the natives and giving them the money. A short time ago I saw about a dozen natives on a passenger boat, going north. I spoko to one of the natives, and m his primitive way he told me that he

and his friends hud got £800 from the Government for land, and a balance of £1200 would come by-nnd-by. I ank c him what ho paid for tho two new rings on his fmgets ? H-s sMd £10. They all had rings, and their now tiunks, full of new] clothes, were Kum-.-thirii; superb. Before they got to the Bay of Islands they were all drunk, men and women, and it would be aickei.ii. g to enumerate tho little petty thefts and extortions thoy wero subject to. Now I say tin's is wrong. But the average New Zealander, whose mind is crumped and strongly imbued with Downing street red-tape, will exclaim " Oh ! we will not take the Maori lands without buying them at a price and paying the owners thereof." I aay it is right and just that the Government should take over their lands m trust, and like good, honest trustees, you will find m working out your trust-estate that the land will be dear enough m the long run to the Ntw Zealand tax-payer. The Maoris can tabu their reservations ; and by all means allow them to shoot the pakeha-Maori or squaw-man when he insinuates himself among thoir whores — and the meeting originator should get instant death. What an amount of nativo meetings you have here, and Mr Sheehan says m his speech " they do so much good." Far from it. These meetings are not good. They withdraw the Maori from his cultivation, and tho expense of going to and from, and sustaining himself and family afc these meetings becomes a burden, so that tho Government, m countenancing, or m any way assisting m the getting up of these numerous meetings, nre guilty of a sin of no common magnitude. A decaying race are always unhappy, and these meetings only tend to increase the unhappiness and dissatisfaction with the state of affairs. JNow, who originates these meetings'? Why, tho pakeha-Maori. Yes, and the policy pursued by tliis samo pakeha hits now drifted the New Zealand public to the verge of a war ; and to keep up the prestige of tho young men of New Zealaud I think the Government should demand the immediate surrender of the Maori mtirderors and arrest the trespassing ploughmen — make theirrefusalaca.si„ belli. Children and women aro driven from tlieir homes, and tho honor of the young mon of New Zealand is touched. Strike Te Whiti at Parihaka, atid meet the Maori bounce with a hold front wherever it crops up. I much admiro tho military spirit shown by thu Thames people, and I think tho Government of New Zealand has withiii itself the power of suppressing the disaffected natives without calling on Imperial aid, or even recruiting by any unusual method. The war, if prosecuted vigorously, will be a short one. Tn Minnesota, m 1862, the Sioux Indians rose up suddenly iv rebellion, and murdered 700 men, women, and children within two days. Volunteers were called upon and pursued the Indians, and would have overtaken and properly chastised them but for tlie misplaced sentimentality of a General Sibley, übo was married to a squaw, aud thoroughly imbued with such traits as you find m the cliaracter of a pakeha-Maori. This General Sibley was placed highest m command of the U.S. troops, and much to the chagrin of his soldiers and spirited officers under him, he halted the troops, and tarried one day on the march, under the pretence of a parley with the Indians for their surrender; but m the twenty four hours that the troops halted the Indians got well away, placing the Missouri River botween theui and tlieir pursuers. General Sibley got credit from Church folks for being humane. Now this idea does not '* pan out," as the Sioux from that day to this have been hostile, and three years ago they entrapped 400 soldiers, Isandula fashion, with this difference, that not one man was left to tell the tale. If there is a grain of English fair play or consistency m Sir George Grey, why does he not devote his heaven-directed talents m suppressing the liquor traffic amongst the natives 1 Bush natives m New Zealand hold licences to sell whisky ! This is what I call civilisation with a vengeance, and means volumes. In the eyes of heaven, what would be the difference betweon selling liquor wholesale to aboriginals, or m sending a small-pox patient up to Parihaka. In America we chastise pretty severely aboriginals who murder our surveyors, bnt we do not sell them liquor. The white man who dares to sell liquor to a native is punished with five years imprisonment. This fact came under my immediate notice m Dakota, a short time ago. Boasted English fair play will give a poor bush native whisky, and have him reeling drunk iv Shortland street, as I observed on Saturday. Englishmen have often praised to me about their method of civilising aboriginals, as against the method pursued by Americans ; but, alas ! the more I see of your method, I think the less of its humanity, and if I were a Maori, I would take a bullet m preference to going down to that disease and death that is sure to overtake them by your pakeha-Maori and whisky civilisation. But onward is the word and aim of the Anglo-Saxon people wherever_ civilising, and if your progress just now is'threatened by a Maori JKing and Hauhauism, invite the fray, and let lose that military spirit which I am glad to see is not a-wanting, and which is so particularly abundant and genuine amongst the Thames Volunteers. They are a fine lot of fellows, and I think New Zealand will yet be proud of them. I have no desire to draw comparisons orMisparage the rank and file of Auckland, but tlieir appearance reminds me of what Bismarck said of the Belgian soldiers on his visit to them after the battle of Sedan, — he thought they looked more military with their overcoats on than without them. Auckland Volunteers may, however, fight better than tbey look, if they eau be taken to the front. Tlieir response is feeble at the cry of women and children being driven into New Plymouth.