Te Waka Maori. ____

TURANGA, WENEREI, OKETOPA 30, 1878.

TE PIRE POOTITANGA.

KUA. tu tenei Pire hei Ture inaianei, engari ko etahi

o nga tikanga o roto i whakarerea, muri iho whaka-

turia ana hei ture. I raro i te mana o taua ture ka

mau tonu nga mema Maori motuhake ki te iwi

Maori; tetahi ka tukua nga Maori ki te pooti i nga

pootitanga mema Pakeha mo te Paremete, ara, ki te

mea ka uru ratou ki te rouru tangata utu reiti. Ma

nga korero e panuitia nei e matou o nga mahi a te

Paremete e mohio ai nga Maori ki te whakaaro o te

Whare ki tenei tikanga, he nui hoki nga kupu a nga

mema mo taua mea e panuitia ana e matou. Otira,

e mea ana matou he tika kia puta etahi kupu ma

matou ki nga Maori hei whakamarama i etahi tikanga

o taua mea, kei pohehe te ngakau Maori ki te wha-

kaaro o te iwi Pakeha ki tenei tikanga mema Maori

ki te Paremete; no te mea e mohio ana matou, tera

etahi tu tangata tinihanga e tahuri ki te whakakiki i

nga Maori kia ngakau kino ai ratou ki o ratou hoa

Pakeha ki runga ki taua mea; ko aua tu tangata e

whai ana kia puta a ratou tikanga taware, a tena

hoki ratou e whakapohehe i nga Maori, tera e

korerotia parautia e ratou te tikanga i nui ai te

whakahe a nga Pakeha o te motu katoa ki taua

tikanga pootitanga.

He mea whakaae taua Pire, ara i tona ahua tua-

tahi, kia whai pooti katoa nga Maori pakeke o Niu

Tirani, a kia pooti katoa ratou i nga pootitanga me-

ma Pakeha, ahakoa utu reiti ratou, kaore ranei. Na,

he mea whakangaro tenei i nga pooti a nga Pakeha

mo a ratou mema Pakeha ake ano. Engari na te

Kaunihera i whakatika, a, tona tikanga inaianei, ka tu

tonu nga mema Maori motuhake; tetahi, ki te mea

ka utu reiti nga Maori, penei me te Pakeha e utu

nei, katahi ka tika kia pooti ratou i nga pootitanga

mema Pakeha. Na, e rua pooti kei nga Maori.

Akuanei matou ka korero tika rawa, pono rawa,

ki tenei ritenga; ehara hoki i te mea na matou ake

anake ano a matou whakaaro, engari he mea wha-

kaari na matou i te whakaaro o te motu katoa.

Akuanei etahi o a matou hoa Maori te ki ai pea he

patu ta matou i a ratou; otira e kore e tika tena

whakaaro, no te mea e tino tumanako ana matou kia

kite matou e noho tahi ana nga iwi e rua i runga i te

aroha me te pai. Ta matou kupu tuatahi tenei, ara,

ko matou ano tetahi e whakahe ana ki tenei tikanga

pooti rua ki te iwi Maori. Kaore matou e mohio

ana he tikanga ia e ora ai nga Maori ki runga ki nga

tikanga nui o te motu, me ona tikanga ake ano hoki

o tona kainga. Engari e tino mohio ana matou ma

iaua mea e tupu ai he taruhae he mauahara i roto i

____Te Waka Maori. _____

GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1878.

THE ELECTORAL BILL.

THIS Bill, in an amended form, has now become law.

and by it, while the Maoris retain their special re-

presentation, they will, by enrolling themselves as

ratepayers, be allowed to vote in the election of

European members for the House of Representatives.

In the reports which we are publishing of proceed-

ings of Parliament, very full extracts are given from

the speeches of members on this subject, so that our

Maori readers will be able to form an opinion of the

feeling of the House on this question. Neverthe-

less, we consider it necessary to make some remarks

on the subject for the benefit and information of our

Native friends, so that there may be no misappre-

hension in the Native mind as to the feeling of the

European community on this question of Native

representation; for we have no doubt that interested

and unscrupulous parties will strive to prejudice the

Natives against their Pakeha brethren by misrepre-

sentation and dishonest accounts of the general op-

position which the measure has evoked.

By the Bill, as originally framed, every adult

Maori in New Zealand would be enabled to vote in

the election of European members, whether they

paid their rates or not. The effect of this would be

to neutralise the Pakeha votes in the election of

their own members. But it has been so amended

in the Legislative Council that the Maories, while

retaining their special representation, can only vote

in the election of European members if they pay

their rates, as the Pakehas do, from which they have

been exempt by law.

We shall speak honestly and truthfully on this

matter, and what we are about to say is but a re-

flex of public opinion throughout the colony. It is

probable that some of our Native friends will think

we are arguing against their interests. Such an

idea, however, would be wrong; our earnest desire

is to see the two races living together in harmony and

concord. First, then, we have no hesitation in say-

ing that we ourselves are opposed to the Maori dual

vote. We do not believe it to be a measure calcu-

lated to promote the welfare of the Maori either

politically or socially. We are sure it will create

jealousy and ill-feeling between the Pakeha and the

Maori, which must eventuate in difficulty and trouble

to one or the other—or to both. It will be seen