Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price 1d. MONDAY, MARCH 2, 1885. The Native Minister and Tawhiao.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XVIII, Issue 1680, 2 March 1885, Page 2

Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price Id. MONDAY, MARCH 2, 1885. The Native Minister and Tawhiao.

In his recent meeting with “ King” Tawhiao and several leading chiefs at Waikato, Mr Ballance, the Native Minister, made a speech which affords some indication of the policy the Government intend to adopt with respect to the Native race. The meeting opened with speeches from To Wheoro and Tawhiao, in which the former asked that all bills affecting the native race should be submitted to the revision of the natives themselves. Tawhiao then urged that he should be consulted in regard to all laws, and that the management of the land in regard to the railway should be left to him. Obviously, it would be absurd to comply with such demands in their entirety, and Mr Ballance ought to have replied to that effect, promptly and decidedly, But Mr Ballance never deals boldly and truthfully with the natives. On the occasion in question, he spoke smoothly and plausibly, telling the natives that great was the friendship and love of the Government towards them, and that, ns far as possible, they should see all proposed laws, before such were submitted to Parliament. In short, Mr Ballance said “that he would always be ready to confer with Te Wheoro and Tawhiao before taking any important stop in native matters.” This of course pleased the natives, and having thus got them into an ami cable frame of mind, Mr Ballance nest proceeded to inform them, as a sort of apparent afterthought, “ that of course Parliament was supreme, and must make all laws for both races.” Evidently, the desire of Mr Ballance is to induce Tawhiao and Te Wheoro to believe that he will do any thing they want in the way of getting lavss passed for the benefit If the nulivo met), while all the time ha knows perfectly well that he and the Government possess very little inlun i;co in the matfer, all the real po-.ver resting with Parliament. Of course, hv making all sorts of apparent concessions, Mr Ballance, Ijlor the time being, puts the Waikato natives into good humor, and everything goes on swimmingly But when, in course of time, the natives discover-—as they are certain to do—that Mr Ballance’s promises mean little or nothing, that they are not to get all they want, and that the " powers ” offered to them are of the most unreal and delusive character—they will then awaken to the conviction that they have been humbugged, end probably become more discontented than ever. We do not possess much faith in Mr Ballance’s way of dealing with the natives. It is not an honest, downright, and straightforward way at all When the necessity exists for speak ing out the truth nakedly and plainly, Mr Ballance fears to it. He wraps up disagreeable facts in a mass i of smooth and pleasant phrases, and j just edges in a modicum of truth nj a

tiu.ihesitating way, as if he were t) •ighun.ed and ashamed lo have any tliingi to do with so dangerous an article. In short, Mr Ballance s native policy contains far too much “ political flapdoodle,” which, as a correspondent recently remarked, is a material specially prepared for the feeding of fools. The natives may swallow this sort of stuff for a time and think it very good and sweet and pleasant. But inasmuch as the natives are not really fools, they are certain, by and bye, to reject such food altogether, and becoming alive to the conviction that they have been deceived, lose all belief and confidence in Mr Ballance and his so-called native policy. When the natives have got into that state of mind it will be very difficult indeed for any Government to regain their confidence, and it will require a far more able man than Mr Ballance to undo the mischief he has accomplished. Originally, we hoped the best as to Mr Ballance’s action as Native Minister. It is certainly true that when some years back Mr Ballance was Colonial Treasurer in Sir George Grey’s Ministry, he made a terrible mess of his department and brought the colony into the gravest financial disasters and difficulties. But we had hoped that Mr Ballance would retrieve the past by wise and judicious action when afforded a second opportunity of taking part in the administration of public affairs. So far, after watching attentively Mr Ballance’s native policy, wo have been grievously disappointed in it, and anticipate its results in the future with no small degree of uneasiness and misgiving.