LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 4, Issue 217, 15 November 1860, Page 3

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Nov. sth, 1860. Sir,— Without discussing the subject of the Waitara purchase, let us consider tlie position in which the Governor of this colony is placed, the present prospects of this island, and what it might now have been had not obstacles been thrown in the way of its progress. / have read the despatch,of Sir C. Lewis, which may be taken as a fair specimen of the hitherto penny wise policj r pursued towards this colony —which is, to let it stand still, or progress, so long as expeuce is saved. ■ The natives being aware of the increasing value of those lands they have sold, to secure the peaceful acquisition of land the system should have been altered, and the Governor empowered either to. grant to tlie natives Crown titles, or to lease large tracts of country, and sub-let land so leased to settlers. The latter would probably have been the most ;peaceable method of obtaining land ; it would have been more rapidly acquired; and were the lease made for a term of twenty-one years, it would give time better to investigate native titles, and Crown grants could be issued at the end of the terra, if the natives did not sell before the expiration of the lease. In acquiring land there are three different bodies to satisfy. The settlers, on the one hand, urging the Governor to purchase; the Maories unwilling to sell; and those enemies to the progress of the settlers, the missionaries, advising the Maories to retain their lands. Bishop Selwyn says, in the third clause of his protest: . “ 2'liat inasmuch as the colony was avowedly formed, not for the acquisition of territory for the English race, but for the protection of the New Zealanders. This primary object shall not be sacrificed to the aggrandisement of the English provinces.” _ - Is it with this view that the missionaries use tlieir, influence: to retard: the progress of a country, the climate and soil of which destine it to beoneof. the .finest colonies in these seas., Have the Missiofi the influence at home to get this policy carried .out ? It would., appear so;

for if wo look to tlift" itist,try will find th;it tlie interests of tire-settlers have ever been sacrificed to that of the Maories. To no other influence can we attribute that, forbearing policy in war hitherto pursued towards the a policy ofi. which we are now reaping the fruits. Maories have no idea of forbearance ; they do not practice it themselves, and ’ therefore attribute oiir con-' duct to cowardice; <

Had' a stand been made by' the whites at the Wairail massacre, we may neVer have had, further hostilities ; but their retreating.on thatoccasion inspired the Maories with courage. Had Governor Grevbeen enabled to prosecute the war-in ’46 and ’47'with vigour;'!lie Maories would not have again, dared to. rebel : w,e do not find those tribes conquered by the Waikatos again rising, simply because the Waikatos did not pursue a forbearing, policyf The policy of forbearance may have been in accordance. with the views 'of the ; jHoihe government, in so far as it saved, expence; but ere long they will open their eyes to the fact, that the longer they trifle •with this Warlike people, the more expence will ultimately he entailed. It will now take probably double the force to subdue the natives that would have sufficed at. the last rebellion. Those who have advised that policy have hitherto iriipeded the progress of the' settlers, arid will ultimately bring on the ruin of the native race; for the Maories will go from step to step until they shall have so far committed themselves that even the missionary influence will fail to save them the chastisement for which they are working. Before confidence is restored, the Maories must be taught that we are their masters, and able to coerce them if 1 we please. Decided steps will have to be taken ; settlers must see some security for • their property before they will invest their capital; and even those already located in the country will be unwilling to make further improvements, when aware that the natives are ready to break out when occasion offers, or, thej'- see within their grasp some fine settlement to plunder; v .7

Had the missionaries used their influence to aid in the acquisition of territory, there is little doubt that the native title would long ere this have been extinct. 7’he large reserves from the first set. apart for the natives would have more than sufficed for their requirements. 2’hey would long ere this have experienced the benefit of selling their surplus lands, of which they make no use. It" would at the satne time have been the surest means of civilizing them. ' . Civilizing the Maories seems ‘not now the object- of the missionaries they seem’ little improved, since : the last ten years ; and what improvement they have made has been from their imitating the habits of the settlers, rather than missionary exertion. ‘ The missionaries may have an object in keeping the Maories in a semi-civilized state; they may have more influence over them in that state ; but were they to attend more to the improvement- of the natives, 4 they would earn for themselves the respect of the settlers, instead of meriting their contempt, by becoming violent politicians and land jobbers, as at present. I speak not of missionaries as a body, for among them are to be found worthy, conscientious men, fulfilling the duties of their

calling, and commanding the respect of the colonists by neither meddling in politics or land speculations. But I allude to a party now working against the interest of the settlers, and exerting an influence that will be detrimental to the progress of this colony. And I regret to see that our Wellington members have given themselves away to that parly, so utterly unworthy of their support ; but so it is; hence : their great abilities are next to negatived. -It is-to be lamented, that talented men should so far forget themselves, at a time so momentous to the colony, and so -run counter to the general sentiments of the colonists. Let us hope that in future members will see the necessity of supporting the Governor, and aiding him to overcome that'strong missionary influence at ; home,-so detrimental to the interests and progress of this colony. ' , Yours, &c. C. V. [lt is a little curious that our correspondent, who is so rabidly jealous of what he calls missionary influence, and of all who hold the same views on any point as are supposed to- be held by any missionary, recommends (unknowingly) the very plan proposed by the Bishop of Afew : Zealand for the more peaceful and speedy extinction of Native title, and thus brings himself into the'same condemnation.}

October 28th, 1860. Sir, —-As one of the settlers oh the right bank of the Wanganui river, I consider I am perfectly justified, (through the medium of your' columns) in drawing the attention of the authorities to the present disgraceful accommodation at the Ferry for tlie shipment of goods per ferry boat destined, for the town. Jt is pretty apparent that the Ferryman is not responsible for the roadway from the'trunk line to the river edge ; and it does not appear to me that any great expense, would be in curred by the erection of landing stages for the shipment bf goods and passengers; and considering the heavy tax ;i as well as many others pay in the shape of ferryage, I do think that we have a right to expect a portion of the ferryman’s rental to be expended in rendering the ferry house accommodation as convenient as possible. .... , . t 7 . T\ie season is ' rapidly’ approaching when produce of fill kinds will lie carted to the river bank for transmission to. town, and I do trust that' something.-, may be done by "that time to render' the process, more satisfactory than it Iras been hitherto. Z’lie ferryman, is kind ? enough to give help

with heavy loads, but I do not consider that lie is bound so to assist, and I for one protest against putting myself under obligations to any one, and most certainly to Mr. Northover, who, considering liis. most disagreeable and heavy duty, apart from his high rental, is barely remunerated'. ; I am, sir, your obdt. servant, ; Playfair.;

WELLINGTON.,

'■■j [FR.Oifc OUR- OWN. CORRESPONDENT..] November 12th, 1860. The S.S. “ JHrite Swan” arrived on Z’hursday. night with our M;P.s, with the exception of Mr. Fox; they all appear jolly and fat—the trip has done them good. Dr. Featherston had been unwell, which accounts for his pairing off on one or two divisions. The “ Wonga /Tonga ” arrived on Friday morning from Z’aranaki, with the startling intelligence that a real ,figlit had at last taken place. I need not comment on this news, as you had the newspapers before us. Before our members left. Auckland,, the Government assured them that the elections could not take place for some months, as the Electoral lists had to be revised ; .notwithstanding- thia they have come down by the “White Swan,” and to be returnable in sixty days from the sth November. Why so quick ? This loviks like a trick played upon your .member, Mr. Fox, who had currently given out that he intended taking a cour in the /faikato district, and would not leave for a month ; however, I have little doubt but what he will abandon his intention when he. hears of the last fight, and be soon at his post. The “ Victoria” sailed for Auckland the day after the battle, and would arrive in time to apprise Mr. F. before starting. The’-“White Swan ” left on, Friday evening for Nelson, with despatches from.the Governor for the Home government. If the “ Prince Alfred” has left she proceeds- on. to Taranaki to overtake her there. All. last week only country vessels have arrived; the wool keeps coming in freely ; not much busi-ness-been done. I heard that the Hutt sale on the market day went off with considerable animation.

Private letters from Auckland announce that trade is nearly paralysed, and the commercial and trading community are getting quite disgusted with the war having been so shockingly mismanaged by the Governor and his ministry. Zhiis “ cursed war,” as they describe it, Las stopped the stream of immigration and capital that was flowing into the province, which, if it had not been interrupted by the Governor’s war, would Jiave increased th'eir population in three years to 30,000 souls. A great improvement has been made in the Militia bill through the instrumentality of our members, and the Arms bill has keen shorn of its terrors. - The ministers have agreed to hold the next session at Wellington (if they are to be believed); this .hitherto has been an open question with the ministry. There are some rumours of Stafford’s standing for Auckland instead of iVelson. Mr. S. lias purchased .£IOOO worth of town laud, it is said, to erect a stately mansion in the capital. “My dear Bell ” is now open for freight or charter for any constituency iu New Zealand ; he only requires the honor of being elected for a few months, as lie is certain to form one of the members and secretary of the Native Council, with a salary of £>7oo a year. If elected as a representative for any simpleminded constituency, he will, with that blandness, politeness, and amiability, so peculiar to our dear friend, coolly leave them in tie lurch, as he cannot hold both.

The “ Thames City ” had arrived at Auckland, and landed safely all her valuable stock in that port. Mr;George. Mace is passenger for Wellington. A liberal offer has been made by your enterprising townsmen, Messrs. Z’aylor, Watt and Co., to charter the steamer “ Wonga /Tonga,” to ply. for six months between Wanganui and Taranaki. A meeting of the general partners is to be held to-morrow to consider the proposal, which appears to be favourably entertained; I shall give it my hearty support. MILITIA BILL No. 11. This hill has been passed—No. 1 having been withdrawn. For the information of the public, we indicate in few words the main jioints of alteration. The force is divided into three classes : First class service men, unmarried or widowers without children, and between the ages of 16 and 40 ; second class, married men and widowers with children, between the same ages ; third, or reserve class, all between the ages of 40 and 55.

Volunteers are first to he invited; if a sufficient number do not offer, then men are to be drawn by ballot in the order of the classes. Substitutes may be produced, the producer remaining exempt from duty for one year, unless all of the class to which he belongs be drawn out fur actual service.

Sections 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the old act, providing for the formation of the Militia list by t/ustices of the jPeace, are repealed, persons liable to serve being now required to give in their names, ages, and places of residence, for the purpose of enrolment, under penalty of any sum not exceeding .£5. This provision is, in our opinion, of a very objectionable nature. Considering how many, especially in the country districts, can scarcely be induced to take the trouble of ' registering their own votes, it is unlikely that much Greater readiness to enlist should be manifested, /ndoleuce, unwillingness, or procrastination, w6uld overbear the fear of the penalty, and we ,night' have half the country in a chronic state of tine and discontent. It cannot be too.fre-

qiiently repeated, that if a really effective Colonial force be desired, it can only be kept so by the cheerful co-operation of those who compose it. Eveiy possible cause for irritation should be carefully removed, or, as this for instance, provided against.. Under the old act, the militiamen are subject to the Articles of /Far, even when assembled for the purpose of being trained and exercised. Under the Amendment bill, the Articles of War are in force only during actual service..' Offences while.on training and exercises are punishable, by fine. Volunteers..are exempted from serving on juries. The members, of any company of Volunteer Firemen, embodied with the approval of the Governor under, regulations to be approved of by the Governor for- the purpose,, are exempt-, from serving at all in the militia. By a clause introduced, on motion of the lion, member for Wanganui., Mr. Fox, no district.hereafter to . be. declared ,is to exceed 30 miles in its greatest diameter. Consequently, a person residing in the centre of such, district cannot be marched more. tlmu. fifteen, miles, away.— Southern : Cm su

MR. FOX AND MILITIA BILL No. X:. ———— • j In reference to the first Militia bill intro--duced into the house, which the ministers were compelled to withdraw, the Auckland Examiner - of the 18th. uIL, in commenting upon it, say 3 : “In our peregrinations throughlife wchave-, seen different countries and associated with many varieties of the' human species, but we . never mingled with any people so thoroughly indifferent to all matters pertaining to. the public welfare as those of Auckland. Of this, assertion we have given a convincing proof by. the publication of the Militia hill, now before the General Assembly, in another, portion of' this journal, and with : .the -exception of onelion, gentleman, whom we ha-1 the pleasure of' hearing on Thursday evening last,.it appears ■ that the whole house is infected with the same apathy as the community outside. On the motion for the second reading of the Militia, bill Mr. Fox rose, and in a masterly speech,., which lasted nearly two hours and a half, exposed its monstrosities, clause - after' clause,. ‘with all the strength of his vigorous intellect and inimitable sarcasm; We feel but little, interest in the conflict of parties-when we know that place, not principle, is the primum, mobile of their action, but-we belie ve that Mr. Fox’s able and witty, analysis of the Militia- T bill, 1860, was, the result -of the contempt which he must have felt- for the. ministerial pettifogger who had dared- - to Insult a .colony of British subjects by subjecting them to. theprovisions of an enactment, belter suited to the,meridian of Morocco than to the- sunny , climate of A r ew Zealand.”

Z’he same-article j oints out, that, clause 16 of said act would subject the, New Zealandcommunity to all the pains, and -.penalties enumerated in the "Mutiny act. imt only while on actual service, hut even during the hours of" drill; and gives a fVw of ilu ;:iild y prqvisions - of said'act, passed in the. 20th year, of the. • present reign, the ]9;h clause of which-gives , a pleasant catalogue.of crimes punishable with, death ; one'of which crimes an irritable citizen,, might have easily been betrayed into in-thia place—that of striking a superior officer, who so far forgot liis relative position towards his fellow-citiziris, on a ’ate occasion, as to swear at him on parade.'" The clause itself is too long to extract, but the editor thinks it especially applicable in part to some of the fast doings at New Plymouth, characterised as “ misbehaving before the enemy.” ; We are ad greatly indebted to Mr. Fox for - having forced the ministers to w.tlidraw thisbill, and getting substituted a much less objectionable one, but regret that he could not succeed in introducing the elective element, as regards the appointment of . officers, instead of the present mode of nomination by ministerial influence—a mode of officering the militia ’more likely to secure good political party agents than efficient soldier officers^ The Scripture aphorism, “ a prophet is not" without honor save in his own country,” is exemplified in the admiration by the Auckland press of the talent, energy, and ability which: has been exhibited by Mr. Fox during the session now closed, not only in the matter of ihe Militia bills, but on all questions of general interest; and the justice done him there contrasts forcibly with the eagerness displayed by a small party here, offshoots or.sympathizers (.f the Wellington Rowdy party, on all occasionsl to detract from ihe merits of himself and the other F.’s, his associates. We are not aware whether, under the amended Representation act, we. may again have the satisfaction of being represen'ed by this gentleman, or whether his immediate neighbours at Sangitikei may secure his services ; hut we believe the party here who have been anxious for a change will find considerable difficulty in getting another representative, his equal in all or any of the qualifications desirable at the present juncture, or equal iu indefatigable iudus-, try. — Communicated.

SHALL WE CHANGE OUR REPRESEN I’ATIVE ?

There is an old proverb, embodying in brief but expressive terms a piece of advice, which is generally found to rule the conduct of prudent men,—“Before,” it tells us, “ you are off with the old love, be sure you are on with, the new.” We take, it for grauted that such of our readers as seem determined to be politically, off with the old love have made themselves quite sure that they are really on with the new. We confess, however; our inability to see ; how they have made themselves rationally secure' upon this point.' We feel cou--

'.siderable doubt as to the sufficiency of the reasons assigned for abandoning the party of which they have long been a principal support; 'ft id we are positively sceptical as to the advantages to be reaped from so sudden a transference of their suffrages to a party, whose policy and administration have been generally qisadvantageous to the country, and deeply injurious to this particular settlement. In whichever light we view the Stafford adminis" tration, we are impressed with a conviction that from the beginning to the end the policy of ministers has ever tended, deliberately and systematically, to retard the progress of this province ; and, monstrous as.it may seem, it is nevertheless a positive fact, that, pending the war, which it was foreseen pould not be long deferred, not a single precaution was taken to secure tljis settlement against absolute destruction—gQt, bp it remembered, of property alone (for that, perhaps, could not be saved), but opr very lives were unthpught of, linpared for. ! We were not even warned of the damnable conspiracy concocted against us ftlmost at our yery doors. It has been said that even if the government had organized and armed all the settlers from Kai-iwi to ffangitiki, we could have done no good; we must, jt is grid, have congregated in the town, and We could do, that as well without as with arms. But from this view we differ most emphatically. Had the Ngatffuanuis attacked us instead of parching upon Taranaki—rrhad they cut off thirty families here, as they actually did there trrwe had no volunteers, no militia, no arms, 5 po organization of any sort except the few troops in garrison ; and it needs not the bitter experience of the last few months to know, that in our case there would have been np Waireka— our thirty families would have perished, for all we could do to save them. Qtliers urge on behalf of government, that ministers were taken by surprise by the extent of the rising in Taranaki—thatthere was po reason to expect tbe sudden, fierce, and Unprovoked rising o,f the Taranakis and Ngatiruanuis. This, even if true, would be no excuse, since it is the duty of; all governments yybo go to wa,r to b.e prepared for all contingencies ; but it is not true. Ministers did Icuoyy of a league to massacre tbe white men ; it grew up under their very eyes; the coast from, here to, Taranaki was its cradle; and they might therefore expect what has happened, or even more; than has happened. But, besides this, they were expressly wuroed by the highest authorities in the land. The. chief jTe Whero Whero, and Mr. Fenton, and Mr. McLean, each expressly warned the governor—the first, that if the Maories were allowed to get arms “ they would devastate the Country the second, as to the real character <>f the “ movement ;” and the la-t as to what would happen if the purchase of land was pushed at Taranaki—namely, " a war?which must be carried out all through the islands.” Yet in the face of all these cautions, and with the accurate knowledge otherwise possessed by she government, not an attempt was made even to warn, much less ; to arm this settlement against the da,rk cloud brooding over it. We are accusing ministers on the testimony of their opponents; we are simply judging them, out of their own mouths. In the beginning of the session the iVative minister disclosed the fearful conspiracy formed against the Paheha in 1854 in our immediate neighbourhood ; and later, Mr. Stafford, “when pressed by Mr. Fox to account for having exported arms after hostilities had commenced, states in the course of his speech, that f< ministers were uncertain how far the tide of war might roll, or in what directionfrom which ft; appears that ministers had foreseen war ; but that they did not know which way it would roll, yet they neither warned nor armed W&nganui notwithstanding its close proximity to, the spot whence the war was to issue ! We confess to a deep feeling of indignation excited by the inferences inseparable from even a casual consideration of these facts. Nor will the policy of ministers immediately previous to the commencement of hostilities, nor their conduct since then merit anything but condemnation. It will not, we believe, be defied even by the warmest friends of ministers, that upon the minds of nearly all those who signed the memorial of 19th April the impression was that at. last the Governor had determined to grapple yrith those difficulties which Dr. Bees has well ; and eloquently described as an “ incubus transmitted to him,” — ministers getting the credit of having induced that determination. But now it does most certainly appear that neither Governor, nor ministers ever had the slightest intention of meddling with that " incubus” with a view to its removal by force if other means failed. On the contrary the entire idea seems to have been limited to an attempt to frighten W.

Xingi by a demonstration of force, into, an acquiescence in the purchase from E. the “incubus” to remain precisely as it was before. It is we think, impossible for any one to doubt this who reads the instructions to Colonel Gold, and who understands, as who., here does not, that the “ incubus” is really represented by the power of the Waikato tribes now provided with 440,000 worth of arms and, ammunition. There is therefore no credit whatever due to the, Governor or to his advisers for having made an effort “just” or otherwise to ‘‘relieve his government from the inpubus transmitted to him and which bad heretofore impeded the exercise of its proper functions, and thus injuriously affected the prosperous growth of us all throughput the because no such “. effort” has as yet been made. What followed after the attempt to frighten W. Kingi h.ad, in actual . hostilities and the murder of settlers—and after a futile effort to peace'apparently on any “' definite terms.” write less ;in an|er than; in scorn $ the

mean souls that could descend iso low as lo calumniate the set tie vs to sarve themselves from Imperial reproof. A fierce article headed •“ Blood for Blood,” (as,if the paper was the organ of a band of pirates.) appears in fhe Government newspaper { tnen a despatch is written complaining that the “ settlers complicate, the difficulties of maintaining amicable relations with the maories,” in proof of which the article headed as above is enclosed to the Secretary for the Colonies-” At school, we remember, it was very well understood ■ that a “ bounceable;’ boy always wound up by being forced to do something contemptible, and so it has happened in this case. The sequence is complete. First——they “ bounced.” It wouldn't dp ; the “ bounce” turned upon them—then they cringed ; .but still it wouldn’t do, they must go lower—and so they wound up by meanly insinuating that some one else besides themselves is to blame—iuvolviqg the dirtiest sort of “ lie ” that a man can tell. Truly' the Featherston “ frying pan” may seem somewhat hot just now, blit still there is no necessity for a jump into the Stuffordoniau “ fire/’ We advise everybody to wait till our members come back ; if then it should appear that there is good reason to complain, we shall be amongst the first to advocate a “change” of representations.— Communicated.