E_Xo. Iβ

FURTHER PAPERS RELATIVE TO NATIVE INSURRECTION.

3. That men do not enter into combinations for the purpose of preventing other men from acting, or from dealing with their own property, as they think fit. This is against the law. 4. That every man, European or Native, under the Queen's Sovereignty, submit to have roads and bridges made on his land, wherever the public convenience r. quires them. But land can only be taken for these purposes under lawful authority, and on payment of reasonable compensation. On the other hand Her Majesty's Sovereignty, secures "to the Chiefs and Tribes of New Zealand, " and to the respective families and individuals thereof, the full, exclusive, and undisturbed possession " of their lands and estates, forests, fisheries and other properties, which they may collectively or " individually possess, so long as it is their wish aud desire to retain the same in their possession." This is the Maori's safeguard for their lands, and it has never been violated. The Governor has been falsely accused of desiring to introduce a new system in dealing with Native Lands. This he has never attempted, nor has he the power to do so. The Queen's promisa in the Treaty of Waitangi cannot be set aside by the Governor. By that Treaty, the Queen's name has become a protecting shade for the Maoris' land, and will remain such, so long as the Maoris yield allegiance to Her Majesty and live under Her Sovereignty, but no longer. Whenever the Maoris forfeit this protection, by setting aside the authority of the Queen and the Law, the land will remain their own so long only as they are strong enough to keep it :—might and not right will become their sole Title to possession. The Governor sincerely hopes that a correct appreciation of the real interests of the Maori race will induce the adherents of the Native King to conform to Her Majesty's declared wishes, and to abandon the baneful and dangerous course they are pursuing. Her Majesty has an earnest solicitude for the welfare of her Native people, and it will be the duty of the Governor to give the fullest effect to measures calculated to secure that end. The Maoris cannot be more anxious than the Queen and her Governor for the complete establishment of law and order amongst the Maori people, and that the institutions of the Government should be, as'far as practicable, in accordance with their interests and wishes ; but the Maoris must not forget that these objects are unattainable without their own cordial co-operation. The Governor last year convened a meeting of Chiefs to consult with him upon Native Affairs and has declared his intention again to assemble Chiefs from all parts of these Islands, for the same purpose. Her Majesty has been pleased to approve of these proceedings. It is the Governor's wish that the coming Conference should devise measures for the introduction of law and order, and the establishment of useful institutions in Native districts, and it will be his earnest, desire to give effect to any measures approved by the Conference, which appear likely to promote the welfare of the Native People, and to bring all Her Majesty's subjects in these Islands, both European and Maori, under one law, upon terms of equality. The Governor earnestly hopes that the Chiefs and people, who are adherents of the Maori King, will abandon their present perilous position: they wiil then receive the same invitation as the other Natives in New Zealand to choose some of their most respected and influential Chiefs to represent them in the approaching Conference, and to afford assistance in its deliberations. The Governor now states specifically what his demands are : 1. From all, —Submission without reserve to the Queen's Sovereignty, and the authority of the law. 2. From those who are in possession of plunder, taken from Her Majesty's European or Native subjects,—Restoration of that plunder. 3. From those who have destroyed or made away with property belonging to Her Majesty's subjects, European or Native, —Compensation for the losses sustained. Compliance with these demands will satisfy the Queen and Her Governor, no other demand will be made on Waikato, —the past will be forgiven, and for the future the well conducted will be protected, offenders punished, and the rights and privileges of all maintained by the Queen and her Laws. Government House, Auckland, 21st May, 1861.

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