The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1874-08-29

and deri=ion at the folly, as he terms it, Of his fathers
in bartering their privileges for = mess Of pottage,
laughs at those who at intervals follow their example,
and determines that, if poor himself, his children
shall be aaiuent. There Is . vain dream entertained
by many that the present century viii see the last Of
Maoridom-that its members are fast passing away
that Native lands can, and viii, be bought for
hatchets and muskets-and that the men We nov
have TO deal with are the same credulOus, unculd-
waited savages with whom Wakefield negotiated, or
over whom TIE Rauparaha held domination. The
heads Of the tribes, in many instances, instead Of
begging for tobacco and blankets, have . balance at
their bankers wear Eell-made garments instead Of
rude 6ax mats build themselves houses after Euro
pean fashion instead of dwelling in whares Of tot tot;
indulge in good living instead Of subsisting on fern
root, fish, and such other comestibles; look with con-
tempt on poor whites; and are determined to educate
their children to ell the position in society to which
they viii have q right, they consider, in virtue Of
their possessions, to aspire The meetings that have
been held this winter, and are still taking place, show
this phase Of transition very clearly. To the bulk Of
Europeans these runanges would appear to be only
pretexts for feasting and idle talk; but others know
that they have a wider and deeper significance.
The outside talk is for the whites and the people gen.
orally. The inner midnight caucus, where the few
only of rank and wisdom are present, is where the
business for which the meeting is called is transacted,
and the policy Of the future determined on. When
the meeting is over, and the people return to their
homes, they become in~oculated with the new line Of
policy marked out, and a new phase of feeling and
conduct becomes manifest without any apparent ade-
quate cause.
"For many years we have been impressing on the
Maori mind that Maoris are British subjects. They
have, it appears, come to the conclusion to accept the
dictum, and we have now to accept the consequences.
If such be the case, they maintain they have q right
to equal representation, according to their numbers,
with Europeans. The fat has gone forth, Register,
register your votes; if we cannot get more Maoris in
the House, we will get a Pakeha-Maori or two more
There is little that can be said on the subject if they
stand on their legal rights. What steps they propose
taking to further this object have not yet transpired,
but that it will meet the approval of the Native Min
lister is probable from his promising Taiaroa last ses-
sion, to call o Maori from the Middle Island to the
Upper House. AS a step towards this object, Henare
Matua is stumping Maori land to start a Maori and
English newspaper to represent their Interests and
educate their people in opposition to the wretehed
'Waka Maori that now circulates among them.
When Mr.. Sheehsn told the House last session that
the Maori language and the Maori people would en-
dure for more than one generation, many of his
hearers smiled contemptuously; but this political &C
tiVity, manifesting so much sagacity and such a rapid
state of transition, renders certain the assertion, and
Il induces us to exclaim:-What manner of men can
these Maori politicians be, and what will be the ulti-
mate of their race!