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therefore, that you ought to be all united in trying to assist the Government township. For, after all, it is your own township —it is your own land—the Government are only acting for you. Then, again, the success of the township depends upon the railway : if the railway is made all difficulties will disappear immediately, and if the railway is not made I am afraid that the difficulties will increase. lam mentioning these things to show you that it is to your interest to support the railway by giving to the Government a certain portion of land; but now I come to the point. You say you have sold to the Government twenty thousand acres, and you have only got thirty thousand acres left. Assuming this to be true, I must admit that you have acted in a very liberal spirit, and I would not ask your hapu to give any larger portion of land. My address applied particularly to the owners of land along the line of railway; for they must see that the railway itself will largely benefit the land which they occupy; and if they give up twenty thousand acres of land, and occupy twenty thousand acres, the twenty thousand acres will be worth more, when the railway is made, than the whole forty thousand acres were before the railway was made. You will see that the Government have very little to do with this matter. lam putting the whole question before you. It is not a Government question now at all. The company have undertaken to do this work, and I think that they will require the assistance of the Government before they can complete it. I wish, therefore, the whole of the hapus to discuss this question of the cession of land before next session, so that then the Government may be in a position to come forward, and to authorize the construction of the railway by raising the necessary amount of money. For, I fear, unless something of that kind is done, that the railway will be indefinitely postponed. That is the position with regard to the railway. Now, with respect to what Tapsell ha>s said about giving larger powers of self-government to the Natives. lam very glad to think that he agrees with the opinions and sentiments that I expressed this morning. He very rightly says that intertribal jealousy has been the cause of most of the mischief in the past to the Native people. There is no doubt of that fact at all, and I find that there is not only intertribal jealousy, but great jealousy amonst the hapus of one tribe, and I would strongly advise you in the future to arrange your difficulties and see whether you cannot agree on one line of action. You have heard, of course, that Tawhiao is exceedingly anxious to set up in this colony an independent Government. Now., that is a proposal that can never be tolerated, and lam glad to think that the whole of the Arawa Tribe is with me in this statement. There can be only one Government in this colony, and an independent Government will not be tolerated on any account whatever. There is one Parliament and one law, and we believe that the Natives will be more contented and more prosperous with one Government than they would be with two Governments. There is no difference of opinion amongst the Europeans on this subject—they are all agreed, and nineteen out of every twenty Maoris also agree that there should be only one Parliament and one Government, But, subject to that, I of course would give a very large amount of power to the Native people, and I see no objection at ail to a meeting of the Native chiefs as Tapsell has suggested. However, that is a matter more for the Native people themselves perhaps than for the Government. The present Government are always glad to see distinguished chiefs coming down to Wellington during Parliament to discuss questions, and that is perhaps the best way of meeting together and discussing questions of supreme importance to the people. It is my intention, however, before introducing Bills affecting the Native people, to have them circulated in Maori before the beginning of the session, so that, taking into consideration what I said this morning and what I have said now, there are ample means for the Native people to consider questions which relate to their interests alone. My desire is to see that the Native people should be treated precisely as the Europeans are treated, without favour, and that equal justice may be done to both races. Betireti Tapihana : I would explain with regard to what I said about Maketu. The representatives of the Maketu people have come here and brought their subjects with them. Do I understand you to say that you will not ask Ngatiwhakaue to give any more land for the railway ? Mr. Ballance : Yes; unless they do so voluntarily, because, as I said before, I think that they behaved in a very liberal spirit.

Notes of a Meeting between the Hon. Mr. Ballance and Natives at Mokoia, 18th February, 1885. Wi Keepa Ngawhau : I want to make known to you the thoughts of my people. [A song, "It is time for peacemaking."] This is an incantation to meet us as one people. I will now speak on the subjects that I wish to lay before the feet of you, the Native Minister. Welcome! We are glad you have come to see us. Welcome to Eotorua ! Come to see the people who are loyal to the Queen. Come to see the people who took part in upholding the Government of this Island against the King. Welcome to Mokoia ! —to the land of your ancestress, Hinemoa. Come to Mokoia, where the whole of the Arawa Tribe were destroyed by Ngapuhi. It was on account of the law stepping in that we were prevented from taking revenge on the Ngapuhi. Baratemea : Come to Mokoia. Come to the place that Sir George Grey used to visit, and bring his words to us. Sir George Grey was the first white chief to come and see us. You are the second. Te Eiri Karamu : We bid you welcome. You are the person who is to bring prosperity to us. The Native people were very glad that you have come to see us. Come to bring us relief from the troubles which afflict us. During the numerous Governments that have existed in New Zealand in the past none of them have afforded relief to the Maori people. Mr. Bryce afforded us very little relief. Welcome to Eotorua —to the resting-place of Bangituhau, our great ancestor. Come to the resting-place of your ancestor, Tutanekai. Come to Mokoia, which is the most sacred place in our district. Come to the Lake of Eotorua ; our mana rests over this lake. The first speaker has told you that we have always been loyal; as a proof of it you find us living on our own land. Come to see the Native people, and to bring them relief. We wish you every prosperity.