Moreover, it would have
seemed as if I had taken the chiefs away from their various tribes, in
order that these might be the more readily despoiled of their lands.
'Its treatment of the Maoris made the constitution impossible, in my
judgment, and there were other far-reaching objections. It was formed on
the cast-iron methods of the Old World--the methods which, I held, ought
to be kept absolutely out of the New World. My motto might have been,
"Leave us to ourselves; let us try what we can contrive." What was I to
do with a constitution unjust to the bulk of the colonists, as well as to
the Maoris; a plan going tilt against the federation idea which I hoped
would, in future years, uprise in every country speaking the English
tongue?
'What was I to do indeed? My instruction was not alone that of the
Colonial Office; but the constitution had been sanctioned by Parliament.
A man's responsibility, in the largest sense, is, after adequate
deliberation, to proceed as he determines to be just and wise. If he has
to decide, not for himself only, but for others, unto future generations,
there lies his course all the more. There was one clear line for me,
simply to hang up the constitution, and intimate to the home authorities
my ideas about it. This I did, and fortunately, as I thought, my plea
prevailed with the Colonial Secretary and with Parliament.
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