Auckland Examiner. Wednesday, June 13, 1860. PUT THROUGH THEIR FACINGS.

Auckland Examiner, Volume IV, Issue 272, 13 June 1860, Page 2

Auckland Examiner. Wednesday, June 13, 1860.

PUT THROUGH THEIR FACINGS.

If I might give a short hint to an impartial writer it would be to tell him his fate. If he is resolved to venture upon the dangerous precipice o,f telling unbiassed truth, let him proclaim war with mankind—neither to give nor. to take quarter. If h$ tells the crimes of great men they fall upon him with the iron hands of the law ; if he tells them of virtues, when they have apy, then the mob attacks him with slander. But, if he regards truip, let pirn expect martyrdom on both sides, and then he may. go on fearless; anef this. is the course I take myself,—De Foe.]

(jphelia. What means this my lord? Hamlet. Marry, this is miching mallecho ; it mean? mischief. New Zealand is a dependent state—mere British colony, and therefore nothing but mere British crown appendage. Exact relation of our native population tp our home government it would be hard for any number of learned legists tp determine. Here •—function Is smother'd in surmise; and nothing is But what is not. Missionaries will not allow that Boshee is dependent upon any power whatever, or hear of degrading .him to the condition of a subject They love to remind us that Great Britain does not hold New Zealand by right of conquest, but by right of compact. They frailest our native population should cease to be a free people. “ They are not,” said Missionary Richard Taylor, “ a conquered race. We first acknowledged their independence—wp gave them a flag—we condescended to enter into a treaty with them as an independent people — why should we not treat them as they qught to be (treated), and give them the privileges we promised ? We are the offenders ;we treat them with the utmost indifference.”

But no missionary denies that, according to plain terms of our only treaty with the native population, or rather with the native population “ great chiefs,” Victoria Queen of Great Britain and Ireland is also Queen of New Zealand. It may now answer the purpose of “ great chiefs ” who, at Waitanga, signed away their independence, to whjne about native supremacy, and set up a native king ; by.t they whine in vain. The deed that’s done can they undo ? “ Give us,” said the “great chiefs” to Queen Victoria, “ give us protection, and we will give you possession,” Bargain was struck. Queen Victoria guaranteed protection to natives, and natives gave up independence to Queen Victoria. The bargain was long thought good bargain for both parties. British statesmen were pleased to secure a naval station in this bottom upwards,but commercially important, part of the world. Had they not, moreover, secured for Queen Victoria right pre-emptive over all native held land. For such advantages they might well u idirtake to make New Zealand a British dependency, and to protect its native population. But though the Ireaty of Waitangi made New Zealand dependent upon Great Britain, it did not deprive New Zealand natives of their.original freedom. On their side all was gain. Even the missionary—that great manufacturer of native grievances—is unable to tell us what property, or what right, Boshee has lost by commerce with europe.ns. The missionary thinks it hard that native chiefs should be despised, and would have white men hobnob with them in our halls of legislation ; but he cannot say that white men oppress our native population, or that the British govern ment have not done their best to’ protect natives from internal decay as well as external attack.

A speaker at the monster meeting asked for one cate of undressed wrong done to natives. Up to this moment no missionary has taken up the gauntlet thus invitingly flung down. It may, then, be taken for granted that natives are seldom eiffier oppressed or plundered by white men, and we all know that the native, thopgh called British subject, is seldom made amenable to British law, In theory, natives are subject to us. In practice we are subject to natives. Bath faces owe allegiance to Queen Victoria, but only from .one race does her gracious majesty get it. The white people of New Zealand will now demand something in exchange for their loyalty. It cannot be that they will longer rest content with a system which put Ssavage tail upon ciwlized head. Jf New Zealand were not mere appendage of England the “ native difficulty fudge ” would vanish, and our native population be put in their proper place. At present we are forbidden to do cither more or less than may be agreeable to the home government, ' ■ ’

. Governor Browne represents that government. He is our ruler and their servant. On him it depends whether we shall or shall not legislate with regard to some of the most important subjects. The Constitution —that “ great charter of our freedom ” —leaves us almost entirely to his guidance arid his mercy. In him we have embodied imperialism just as in the editor of this journal we have embodied satanism. Enormous are his powers. With native affairs he alone may meddle. The home government do not choose to let native affairs out of their own hands. They look with fearful jealously upon any attempt on opr part t« interfere in purely native matters and therefore, when according us the !■< blessing ” of responsible government they stipulated that for “so great a boon ” we should freely accord to Governor Browne the

uncontrolled management of native affairs. But native affairs are not the only affairs pver which our embodied imperialism may be said to preside, Although avowedly responsible for no other policy than native policy, he is (so far as Downing Street people are conperiled) really responsible for all, or nearly all our legislation Clauses 54, 56, and 59 of the Constitution Act, say—

“It shall not be lawful for the House of ‘Representatives or the Legislative Council to pass, or for the Governor to assent to, any bill appropriating tq flip public service any 'sum of money from qr out of her Majesty’s Revenue within Nev/ Zealand, unless the Governor on her Majesty’s behalf, shall first have recommended tq the House of Representatives to make provision for. the specific public service towards which such money is to be appropriated. “• Whenever any bill which has been passed by the said Legislative Council and House of Representatives, shall be presented for her Majesty’s assent to the Governor,, he shall declare according to his discretion, but subject, nevertheless, to, the provisions contained in. this (Constitution) Act, and to su,ch instructions as may from time to time be given in that behalf by her Majesty, her heirs or successors, that he assents to such bill in her Majesty's name, or that he refuses his assent to such bill, or that he reserves such bill for the signification of her Majesty's pleasure thereon. “No bill which shall be reserved for the signification of her Majesty's pleasure thereon shall have any force or authority within. New Zealand until the Governor shall signify, either by speech or message to the said Legislative Council and House of Representatives, or by proclamation, that such bill has been laid before her Majesty in Council, and that her Majesty has been pleased to assent to the same.”

Under this imperial check-and-veto system there cannot be much independent legislative action. It is a system designed to prevent dangerous political developments, and keep New Zealand an appendage of Great Britain. If allowed to manage our own affairs, English interests might be compromised. But surely it is bard that we should be mocked by a sham representative system, and made to suffer from the blundering, or worse than blundering, of Downing-street incapables. Rebellion has been provoked ? Who provoked it? Governor Browne ’ Actual war is none of our work. We admit that war to be just, but cannot conceal from ourselves that it was caused by persistence in a false native policy for which imperialism is responsible, and of which imperialism should pay the cost. As colonists we are most anxious with regard to native affairs, but in their management we have no voice. The Dewning-street people say that with those affairs there must be no colonial meddling, and all is left to a Governor of their appointment.

Well, the Governor of their appointment, commits us to all sorts of despicable shifts, W1 impracticable but expensive crochets He is dreadfully dull failure; notwithstanding he has been assisted by two sets of advisers —one set callecj spt responsible.—another set called set irresponsible. The responsible set are for gradual amalgamation of natives and europeans. They hope by sound, comprehensive, well digested measures, to secure for both races a happy future Buttheir legislation, though by Editor Red Cat declared of “ discreetest, wisest, best ”

kind, does not make way in Downing-street. They passed an Act to promote Bay of Islands colonisation " without distinction of race,” and called Bay of Islands Settlement Act, 1858. Also an Act "enabling native tribes of New Zealand to have their territorial rights explained,” and empowering the Governor in Council "to make free grants, to a limited extent, to individual natives, of lands over which the native title shall have been ceded for the purpose.” But both these Acts were disallowed by her Majesty, or rather by her Majesty’s ministers, who will nt i approve any native measures having for their object an opening up of native lands, even though such measures may be associated with visions of native and european " thrice blessed” amalgamation. The irresponsible set join with the set responsible in devout desire for general rolling up of natives and europeans in bonds of lo.ve. But to direct purchase they are opposed j chiefly, as it would seem, 1 pjause direct purchase would break up their dear Native Department. While, then, the irresponsible set look with dismay upon any approach to a system of direct purchase—the responsible set are for gradual approximation either to that system, or to some other through which the sale of native lands may qe safely facilitated. Between these two s.ets Governor Brownp has missed firm footing and found sad fall. So have we seen some wild unsettled fool Who had her choice of this and that joint stool, To give the preference to either loth, And fondly coveting to sit on both, While the two stools her sitting part confound, Between ent both fall squat upon the ground.

However, it is rather to the primary cause of our dependence upon England than the shocking fate of our thoroughly unfortunate Governor that we would now direct attention. Few white people came here to defend the colony, or to otherwise secure for themselves a belly full of fighting. Immense majority, like Mr. Firth, came here tp make provision plenteous for themselves and families. Before leaving England they were told that the arm of England was not shortened ; that she was able to defend her colors ; and that she would defend them at all risks against all comers.

But on dheir arrival here they find a weak, timid, vacillating government: —a government that cannot enforce its own laws when those laws arc offensive to any considerable number

of our native ready to eat any moderate dirt rather than provoke native onn« i ■ natlVe she ought not to tax us. If mi- , nd U! . our own fighting we might as well V m do her assistance. She exacts al Lian”"^ l m return should give protection. ® ’ 31,(1 ’ ’ hen the government frerp ’ for free trade in native land ' i?e(1 of a safe,, and well considered dhe^ 6 system, Lord Carnarvon, then ’ pUl ' clll se the Colonies, said England could?/ Z her hold upon us, or permit -s ' Ot tclax • change in our land legislation wlfile T? 1 to bear the cost of defending us W S hati ships doctrine maybe confessed into.n few but pregnant words—Relieve F i® from the heavy burthern Voiir am- “Wi the dead weight of her political interfX?® Fairer looking doctrine no minister^% preach. It means that for ju^ n C °" W England, at her own cost, suppfe as military and naval, adequate to K ' tion we must endure her political But is the protection so ost<n\ fon! safed us by England adequate protefer That question is answered bv 0 ,„ . law. England has not made adequate Ull sion for the defence of New ZealVd i?"” 1 ' a militia law rendering militia service ““ pulsory upon all who are certified nlw/?’ fit to handle the musket and “annJ M ' V browns.” astonish He But present help for this evil there 1. The fight must be fought out by the J'' as well as by the military, by the 11“ corps of New Zealand ks well as the jacket heroes of old England b " e is looker-on part, We would it wise But though unable to draw a swo * handle a musket, we still have strength to put our rulers through their fa! surely that is good public service. ? ' d