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tions to something else that has fallen from Hetaraka. He and I have made the first application for a survey We have already placed it in the hands of the Chief Surveyor That is the reason why I think that the question of surveys should be held over until we visit Wellington. The probabilities are that the Surveyor-General will know about the applications that we forwarded to him. They were forwarded from five hapus. Perhaps there were about thirty people who signed these applications for survey, so that if certain of the hapus should move in the matter the Premier will permit it to be held over. We will interview you about this thing, and you will have it in your hands, because this particular matter is a grievance to us, and will be brought before the great House of Parliament, where there are people who can seek out what is good and what is evil affecting the people of their country It is not that lam objecting to the surveys. No, it is that the chiefs of Tuhoe may be able to proceed in a definite manner in respect to this business. Purewa I wish to explain something with reference to what Hetaraka has said in regard to his application to a former Minister about a school. I was the one who stopped that work. The second application was made by Numia, and I also was the one who stopped it. This is the third time the question of a school has come up, the application now made to you. I again stopped the work. Mr Carroll I am going to speak in reference to this matter of the school. What has been said in regard thereto is perfectly clear You agree to the school being put up after the land i 3 put through the Court. It will be for the Minister to reply to that. Discussion or dissension now is mere waste of time. The Premier Coming to the question of a school, you have not known me very long, you have not been with me very long, but I think you will have come to the conclusion that any matter I speak upon or deal with I only do so after giving it the fullest consideration. I therefore strongly recommend you to leave this matter of a school to the Government and myself. Sometimes, when friends cannot agree, and an impartial person is called in to act between the parties, he can very soon settle any difficulty, and both are satisfied. Now, are you agreed that there is to be a school here? (Cries of "Yes, yes," and loud applause.) That reply gladdens my heart, because I can now see the light is dawning upon only question then that remains is, When is the school to go up? One says, " Let it go up at once," and the other says, " Let it go up when the block is through the Court." Now, can any one of you, at any time, stop the growth of the children who want education ? Can you give them back three years of their lives ? The life goes on still, just the same as the sun and the moon continue to move. The sun rises and sets, the moon comes and goes. Can any of you stop them ? Can he who objected to the school three years ago give back the lives to those children who still remain in ignorance ? Can he give three years of life to his own children, let alone the lives of other peoples'children? The answer is, No, he cannot do it; it is beyond his power Therefore, why should any one injure other peoples' children ? He can keep his own at home but why should he prevent other persons' children from going to school ? If a school was opened to-morrow, the Government would not send a policeman here to make all the children go to school. Let those parents who want to keep their children in ignorance, and slaves to others through their want of education, keep them so. With the great advance that the world is making, the rapid strides that are being made, and the developments that are taking place, if you do not give your children an education they will be the slaves of those who have education, and the parents will be to blame for this. Now, those who object, and only want the school to go up after the Euatoki Block has been put through the Court and the titles determined—to those I would say Suppose this block took twelve months in passing through the Land Court. There may be disputes, hearings, rehearings, and further hearings. Why should the children be punished by lack of education because the people cannot agree as to who owns the land ? With all civilized nations, even the most ignorant people on the face of the globe, at all events, never punish the innocent because of the guilty Why the children here should be kept in darkness, why their days should be darkened for all time, why they should suffer owing to a dispute about a particular piece of land, is to me a perfect mystery I cannot understand it. If these men who object had had the advantages of education in early life they would both have been better men to-day I know that to be the case, and I know that they both mean, well, but no one who objects to the school in his heart means well to these little ones. Does he want to punish the children? [A voice He does not.] I am glad to hear that answer I know you are in earnest. Your voice has the ring of sincerity in it. Therefore, not wishing to do it, are you prepared to leave this question to the Government, and if we see that this dispute about the land is going to be settled in a short time, we will go on with the school ? But if it is going to last much longer, are these unfortunate children going to be punished ? My words to-day are words of peace and kindness. Ido not want you to decide anything to-day but this question of the school, but I want you to weigh well everything that has been said, come to a decision, and let things progress. I want to get your confidence so that you may leave this matter for me to decide. That being so, you may all rest assured that the one thing that will weigh with me will be the future welfare of your children. My object is to assist and help those little ones whom you love so well. You told me to-day you looked upon me as your parent. I like that, and, as children are ever dear to their parents, so are you all to me, and in the interest of those children—being a parent to them —it is my duty to look after them, and I would not be doing this if I did not see that the benefits accruing from education were given to them. In the bright future that is in store for the Tuhoe you will want carpenters, you will want youths trained to important trades, young men who have had experience such as will benefit you by their skill and knowledge. In your altered circumstances, and with brighter prospects in store for you, you will want them in the fertilising of your soils and that they may improve cultivation, and they can only do this by your giving them education. This is one of the things above all other considerations which weighs with me when I say your children must be educated, in your interests as well as their own. You have now left the matter for me to decide, and lam sure that the