A great native meeting is taking place on the Waikato river under the presi dency of the Maori King, Mahuta. Very little importance would attach to the meeting except to regard it as a huge feast but for the notice which the Government is taking of it and the utterances of the Hon. J. Carroll. From these utterances it would appear that the Government intends stopping all further sales of native lands either to the Crown or private individuals. Such a policy, we consider, would be detrimental to the best interests of the future of the North Island. The ob ject of endeavoring to prevent the Maoris from pauperising themselves is a worthy one, and has been urged times out of number both by leading Maori chiefs and leading Europeans ever since colonisation first set in. Freedom o£-contraet has always been looked on as a fixed star in the Britishers’ birthright, and, acting on it, any individual European, or com munity of them if they so agree, may dispose of his or their property to whomsoever they will, and are also at perfect liberty to dispose of the pro ceeds in any legal manner they think fit, irrespective of whether it even tually converts them or their descen dants into paupers or not. Although this right is conceded to Europeans many of them are no more capable of providing against pauperism once they handle the proceeds than the Maoris, and when they become a charge on public charity are just as expensive to maintain as the same number of Maoris would be. If it is not considered necessary to forcibly interfere with' the actions of Euro peans, then wo do not see any consti tutional reason why the Maoris right to freedom of contract should be in terfered with either. However, if in its wisdom the Government decides to maintain a parental control over the native race, the same object can be attained by converting the land into Crown lands taking steps not to allow them to dissipate the proceeds. Let the money paid for the purchase be funded and only pay to them the in terest on the capital fund, thus secur ing to them an annual revenue as a precaution against pauperism. la this district the evils of the proposed general system is already beginning to be felt. 