25

Gr.—l

has not done justice in the past to their own representatives. I have known the Natives in the House doing their very best—Mohi Tawhai, Karaitiana, and others—to further the claims of their people. You have now in my friend Hone Heke a very fair representative one who, lam sure, will represent your interests but in the past, while your representatives in Parliament have been doing their best for you, hostile meetings have been held outside, and confidence has been withdrawn from your representatives, preventing them from doing you any good. I heard to-day from, the song, which was explained to me, that you are a united band, pulling along together in your own interests. Then, I say, I am pleased to find that it is so but it has not been so in the past. You know the words, " A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand." You have heard of the fable of the bundle of sticks, when the father said to the sons, "Draw a stick from the bundle and try and break it , and they broke it. Now," he said, put the sticks all together in the bundle, and try to break them." They tried, but they could not do it. I say, therefore, that if you are divided amongst yourselves you will be like the stick—become broken, but if you keep together you will not be so broken. Now, I am going to advise you to meet together, come to conclusions as to what you believe to be in your interest, then submit the same through your mouthpiece, your member When the elections were proceeding there may have been those amongst you who considered that others would have made better representatives, and may have voted for those who are not now representatives—voted for the defeated candidates. But when once the election is over, whatever the majority have decided, that is the selection for the time being—for the three years. You must therefore look upon the sitting member for the time being as the mouthpiece of all, that when he speaks he speaks for the Native race and for the district which he has the honour to represent, and it is his duty if he is conscientious and keeps the oath he takes when sworn in as the sitting member for the district, to set aside all feeling against those who have opposed him. He represents the interests of every man, woman, and child in the district. If he does that he will earn the confidence of all those who trusted him. Those who voted for him will say, "We are pleased with our representative", those who voted against him will say, "After all, he proves a good representative he has done his duty towards us " , and hence confidence will be established. But if he is in Wellington endeavouring to do what is right towards you, and there are others at home who are calling meetings and thwarting him in all he is trying to do, then you will be like the boys who took the sticks from the bundle, you will be in a worse position than you were before. Have your meetings in every hamlet, have your meetings at every pa, and at your meetings let your educated young men, your sage old men, those who have in the past governed and assisted in your government —let them meet together, let them discuss that which you believe to be in the interest of your race and the colony in general, and, having come to conclusions, let your member be fortified with those conclusions, so that when he stands in his place in the House he can say, "After careful consideration these are the conclusions at which our people have arrived, this is what our people want at the hands of Parliament." This is what the pakehas do ■ they hold their meetings, they have their associations, they discuss each question affecting both races, they come to conclusions, and the members are the mouthpieces of the pakeha and those who have held those meetings. It is with that object in view that lam here in person. I want to remove the false impression that has gained ground here year by year that there was no redress for the Natives from the New Zealand Parliament. I want them to believe that the Parliament is their friend if they go the right way to work—that there are members there who are prepared and willing to assist in removing the grievances that exist with the Natives at the present time. How is it possible to remove these grievances when we do not know what they are ? Or, if one set of Natives will say one thing and another will say differently,—we find them disorganized, we find them unsatisfied as to what they want, we find them quarrelling between themselves, —how can we do anything for a people who act that way ? Therefore it behoves you, before it is too late, to consider your position. Your chiefs, your rangatiras, those who wish you well, must see that year after year you are growing smaller and smaller in numbers you are gradually passing away and not as your forefathers did, who lived to a good round old age, but you seem to pass away in the prime of life, and your little ones seldom reach maturity. It is painful to me to feel that that is so , but nevertheless the sore is there, and it must be healed. We desire you to live to the good old age your forefathers did. Then, I say, help me, help yourselves , let us help each other I have thus spoken so far because you say you expected me to say a few words and open my mind to you. I have done so so far plainly to you later on in the day I will indicate in what direction relief can he granted of a permanent character I want first of all to have your confidence, and I want, by the few words I have said, to show you that I am desirous of doing that which is in your interest, and not only in your interest but in the interest of the pakehas and all of you as a whole. lam not amongst you to-day just for the purpose of listening, and, after listening, to forget what you have said. Were Ito do that, I should disgrace the very high position that I occupy, and it would not meet with the approval of the pakehas. I should not meet you as I have met you to-day shaken hands with you and wished you " Tena koe ! if I desired to do you a wrong. I should not be here and partake of your food if I had in my heart thoughts which might be to your injury I should not listen to the words of welcome from the chiefs and old men here, representatives of the tribes and chiefs of the hapus, I should not be a man worthy of the name of man , —and more especially the first man in the Colony of New Zealand—did I ever for a moment wish you ill. When I heard your incantations and songs of welcome they pleased me very much. I knew you were paying., me very high compliments, and that you welcomed me as the Premier of the colony and as a likely friend to the Maori people. I am prepared to listen to w T hat you have to say and when I have heard you I shall then be able to explain matters which probably you may not have a correct idea of. In some matters you may be perfectly correct as regards the bearing of the laws upon you and your interests. then, I say let me know how these laws bear unjustly upon you, and 5—G 1