Wanganui Chronicle AND PATEA-RANGITIKEI ADVERTISER. " NULLIA DIES SINE LINEA." WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 1881.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXIII, Issue 9450, 13 July 1881, Page 2

Wanganui Chronicle AND PATEA-RANGITIKEI ADVERTISER. " NULLIA DIES SINE LINEA." WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 1881.

Now that the people of Wanganui are displaying such great anxiety that the approaching sitting of the Native Land Court shall be held in town, it may not be inopportune to remind them of a few facts which appear to have been altogether forgotten, or thrust out of sight as inconvenient. The last occasion on which there was any large gathering of the Maori race in "Wanganui was from January to March, 1879, when many hundreds of them — men. women, -and children — were camped on the river bank. The Natives had a great deal of money to receive, and the storekeepers and publicans, but especially the latter, reaped a rich harvest in supplying their wants. The sitting of the Native Land Court, with its attendant crowds, was certainly productive of good in so far as it put money into the pockets of our traders, but there was another side to the picture The hundreds of Natives who thus paid toll to the publican and storekeeper were, during the whole of their sojourn on the river bank, living in abject misery and filth. They had no reserve allotted to them, they had no proper shelter, and the less that is said about their sanitary arrangements the better. Long before the money was all spent and the gathering broke up, there were loud and frequent complaints from persons of all classes of the community that the encampment had grown to be an intolerable nuisance. It is unnecessary to attempt a description of the wretched scenes which were of daily and nightly occurrence. At length a disease a kind of fever — broke out in town, and, rightly or wrongly, it was said to have had its origin amongst the Maoris. They were plainly told of it, and were highly indignant at what had been said of them, and declared that they would not visit the town again. As a fact their chiefs have petitioned the Government that the sittings of the Native Land Court may be held up the liver, and the grounds of their request were that it would be more convenient for them and more economical ; tnat there would be less risk of disturbances, and less temptation to drink ; and that they could obtain better shelter and a more plentiful supply of firewood. That is looking at the matter from a Maori point of view, and we venture to think that it is worthy of some consideration. The meeting last night passed a resolution that the intended adjournment of the Court to Upokongaro " is prejudicial to the interests of all parties concerned, from every point of view, both Europeans and Natives " ; but what we have stated above ought not to be lost sight of. There is a wish that the Court shall sit in Wanganui, but no reserve and no shelter for the expected visitors have been provided. 'They are expected again to squat down in their filth and misery, and the scenes of 1879 are, we presume, to be re-enacted without let or hindrance. At the risk of giving some offence, we protest against this one-sided arrangement. The Natives say that Upokongaro is more convenient for them, that it is more sheltered, that the supply of firewood is better, and that there is a Maori reserve of fifty acres close by on which are some houses that they can make use of. If the Court is to sit in Wanganui, those who are to benefit by it should take steps to have a reserve made in some convenient locality, and should also see that at least some rough sort of shelter is provided. We need only refer our readers to the remarks made last night by Mr Bamber to show that we hav9 drawn a very mild picture of the state of things when the Natives were here in 1879. We may perhaps be told that the Natives have a reserve on the river bank, extending from the Hospital to the neighbourhood of Plymouthstreet, but that reserve can scarcely count, as at present it is actually in tJie river, and will therefore have to be reclaimed before it can be utilised as a camping ground. Before wo conclude it may be stated that during some years numerous officdal representations were made to successive Governments to induce them to provide a reserve and shelter for Maoris visiting Wanganui. At length, when Mr Sheehan was in office, he authorised the leasing of two sections on the Eeclaimed Land for these purposes, but Mr Bryce declined to go on with the scheme, fearing that a Maori camping ground and shelter - accommodation might degenerate into a public nuisance, as had been the case in Auckland. Under proper regulations there is not the slightest ground for fearing any such result, and the nuisance could not possibly be so great as the crowded and filthy camping ground on the river bank. Finally, we beg to point out to those interested that, even supposing their efforts to secure the sitting of the Native Land Court in Wanganui are on the present occasion unavailing, the payments, if any, to the Natives will probably be made in Wanganui, and not at Upokongaro, and that therefore the loss of custom may not be so great as they have been led to expect.