JOURNAL

Press, Volume II, Issue 44, 15 March 1862, Page 2

JOURNAL

"I went t-> Carshalton, .Surrey, in order to deposit in the little river Wandle, (celebrated for its Tiout), where it ram through tbe g-ounds of S. Gnrney, Esq., the ova which I had procured from Salmon, captured in the Ettrick aud Tweed, and intended hy E. Wilson, Esq. as a reserve for export ".t«» to Tasmania, in the event of Mr. Ramsbottom being nnaiccessful in procuring ova for that purpose, when a ship i* ready for its reception, about which there is a doubt, the spawning season being nearly over throughout Britain, and spawning fish may be found now only in one or two of the small rivers in South Wales. The spawning fish cannot enter nor ascend these rivers till the latter end of January, antl >« July, on account of the peculiar nature of the floods and tide* in that locality. I took with mc a few glass trays and tiles ; the perforation on the tiles I find too small, and not of a proper form to retain the ovum. The ovum by reason of its specific gravity being little more than water, is lifted from its shallow bed by the least motion of the water, and dashed against the sides of the tray, heiic-

• form, the tiles will be useless for the transmis- , n tue preac"" | „ „i the ova ; ..." til..-» and tray intended by the Committee i«r -tho , • „, ~f ova to the c .env. aiv round troni those ,r;i ' , an j 11Sl . u by the manager of the French Government , '' \» ~.«! F-t"bl:shment, aud used as they are them in a 1 rran'Vinent of the incubating apparatus adapted for ; i "'° j. „ t j tile in perfectly still water, and prove* 1 to he I. '- lie pebble? or -ravel for the incubation ..f tin- n ' ' L . - d ii niodilied to guard against tin- extreme vibration I j '' Vl ' i be preferable to either pebbles or gravel tor the , colonies. l " re/ . ( y/,tr, I have proved, that when pebbles, /.-.: ar.. ; ''.d from the bed of a river, and u.-?ed artificially for the | r ''""i-.tion of ox:1 > t!l ' jy :uv as wt ' u ' sul, Jeeted to a different j T . ". and condition, especially if either the temperature of , "' • ~ -v iter is increased, and acquire a greater capacity for j e n ,r vegetation on them, which, if not checked us soon ] '" „,, VK .ars, will surely destroy the ova. -lb-cent i.xpeii- . '* t- -m the luciibatiou of the ova at the Crystal Palace, , teulirm this. ~. t [ v %V ay to check the destructive accumulation and f non tiie travel is to cull the ova from amongst it ■ 7 • vessel containing water, until you can wash and replace V '.ai.i.l or substitute clear fresh gravel instead, then reMl** I It***- 1 "* 1 t '% flu. ova- and this culling waslung, ; t i:d re-depositing , tll'l'OSlv ll'C <•" " * . , , t - repeated as often as required. This operation, . hl,vover nicely performed, is most injurious to the ova. ' \ niodilied "form of tile for our peculiar purpose, will obviate the nesess'.ty for disturbing the ova when once bedded, ~'lsniucli as'wbenever a symptom of a deposit or vegetation ,' ~.,,..; the tile can be lifted with its complei.irut of urn. fmm \''!w and with a «;/? brush, or spumy, the hijm ■o„s acenniuPtion'can easily be removed, and all dead ovum can, at the same tiiiie, be taken away without disturbing the living S When l' returned from Carshalton, Mr. Void requested mc M proceed to Liverpool without delay, in order to examine whether either of the two ships on the berth for Melbourne is adapted for our purpose, and to ascertain whether the . k. ' 3 terms for conveyance will suit the state of tbe funds. From thence 1 am to proceed to Clitheroe, to engage Mr. liainshottoui to procure the ova for exportation. 1 start for Liverpool by 5, p. m. train ( To ly cniUbnp.it. ) [FROM THK 'NKI.SON EXAMINE!!.'! " \n article in the Canterbury 'Press' of the '2,"th id timo, which we publish elsewhere, illustrates the few observations made in Wednesday's ' Examiner' on the snares of newspaper writin". What, iv the cant of the profession, is called "our limits," that is, tho narrow space to which each subject is confined; and the natural desire of a writer to give pome sort of completeness to each essay, induce a bold sketehiness of liticua rf c rarely consistent with sober truth, And so it often happens, and notably in the paper we. refer to, that in describing such an atfair as the native war (which, according to the printed opinion of Sir C. Grey, may be said to date hack sixteen years at least, and which has sufficient complication ami obscurity to all lookers on at any distance), k 'the history of the struggle is written in one sentence.;" these are the very words of the ' Press. "The reader probably does not need advising to doubt the value of any history written in eight words. He will perhaps be so bold as to assume that it contains at least one-half falsehood, and, if he does so in the present case, he will be borne out by an examination of the column of narrative which precedes the comprehensive "one sentence" of the 'Press. 1 The writer proceeds secundum ariein. He is no hot-headed well-meaning novice, full of one-sided philanthropy, and venting sentimental generalities in fair English, but a practised hand, who might contribute to the ' Saturday Review' nr the 'Times,' without impairing the character of either journal for brilliancy or aplomb. The form of the article is a common one, a cheerful contrast of the bright present and the dismal past. The gloomy picture comes first, of course, and no pains are spared to deepen the shadows on which the rosy sunshine is to rind its foil. We go with the writer in the general proposition that the Taranaki war is, in a military sense, as disgraceful a tale as any we read in the annals of British arms ; but we cheek at several statements which slip glibly off the pen of a man bent on writing a well-balanced article, true or false. The true tale is painful enough to our national go.nl feeling, and any unfair befouling of our nest is intolerable, even on the important plea of aesthetic necessity, ft is not true, first, that in respect of warlike character the Maoris wt re "despised as savages." On tbe contrary, they have been constantly and extravagantly extolled as warriors whom it was madness to contend with. This ovor-estim.ite '•vT.s the first and great stumbling-block of our leaders. It is ■'lot true that these savage-* ''held a. P.ritiab army cooped up in a country town." The 7«">0 or 80(1 men dignified, for the sake of deepening the contempt, with the name of " army," went to and fro continually at the time of our worst disgrace "ii escort and forage duty, and tin country was always clear before them. Tt was the want of intelligence, perseverance, and activity in handling our uien when out, that made their operations futile, and enabled "l-and:;of half-armed, ill-clad rebels, as we call them," to ravage and destroy, as soon as "ur backs were turned. There is false coloring in the words "half-armed" and " ill-clad" It was not as warriors and in our. teeth, as this writer obliquely hints, tbat these men ravaged ; their noble work of arson would have been as completely done if they had been unarmed and naked altogether, as indeed many were. Sir G. < Jrey, who is au authority with our writer, would probably tell him, if questioned, that it was foolish to have recourse to anus, hiwise even a go-\l General would find it impossible t; protect rural property from the fire-stick. And still better practical authorities on

,tbis point than Sir 0. Orcv, the settlers of Taranaki. by i I taking their movables to places of safety on the first rumour : < of resist:ii\ee, and before th- shameful m.-ap."eity of their [ i leaders had appeared, plainly expressed their ! j opinion that it was eary to destroy their houses. Tbe im- ! beeility of the Cenorals justified a precaution which was i founded on an over-estimate of the courage and self devotion j of the Maori. The latter, though by dint of laborious cx.-ite- '' nieiit they have proved capable of a single, short, and sudden , ' rush, have never, in our collision with them, shown that:' steady courage which enables devoted men to run the gauntlet j of an active foe for days aud weeks together, far from home i and companions. Had they been such men the settlers would i have rightly judged that their houses were at the mercy of a ! foe. any six of whom, in spite of our activity, but at the j utmo.-et peril to themselves might, m one day, have done all i tbe mischief that was the work of .six mouths. The Maor; i 1 i has little taste for martyrdom ; he prefers killing his foe from j a sinis,' corner. But Colonel (.'old's imbecility made that! needful which the caution and absence of self-devotion in the ! Maori would have made superfluous if an active commander : bad been at the head of affairs. With reference to the unarmed condition of tin-native:* as opposed to our approved appliances, it is worth while to record a saying of Wetini's. who evidently understood Unease better than the Press.' Ou being told, upon the road to Taranaki, of (b-neral Pratt's great guns, he said "My great gnus are night and storm.'' The next falsities arecoutained in the impressive lines "ithad become tho t'Trible and desperate struggle of a noble race to avert the destiny of annihilation which it saw slowly but surely overwhelming it." We take in, oi.jeetioii to the Maori being called a "noble" race. They are, in many ways, an honor to the missionaries and the coloi'i-fs who have been their educators, and, as men go, they are fairly c;i ir.;ii entitled to to the epithet " noble." But those who were present at Taranaki were not the " race," and although no doubt the majority sympathised with them, they hardly approved. The tit.uu. contained, at the utmost, one-fifteenth of the male population of the North Island, it included men of all ages, arid from most tribes. Something very different from despair drew it together. Of some hupu every man came; a leading chief in such hajm was perhaps restless, or had a special grudge, or a political or instinctive dread of the European ; and many of his elan followed in pure gregariousnes, not only without jealousy or despair, but even with friendly dispositions towards us. This we have the best reason for knowing to be a true statement. Of other hopu, i a handful of youths came down in spite of the remonstrances of their elders, to emulate their fathers' renown, and flash their meres and tomahawks. And others, even of the Waikato men, came no doubt tojiiek up what they could. Among the baud there were men of excellent character; enthusiasts like Wetini, Epiha, Hone Pumipi; these were not, however, the most earnest in the fray. And, on the whole, the hiuit were not an unexceptionable sample of the New Zealanders, if we exclude the Ngatihaua men, who followed Wetini, and were first in danger and death. But the worse perversion of the truth lies in the insinuation that the annihilation of tha race was compassed, and that the Maoris saw and justifiably opposed this. Certainly the words of the 'Press' will bear another meaning, but this is the obvious one, and this is a libellous untruth. No single act or course of acts of any New Zealand Government ever gave a color of justification for such an opinion. Neglect the Maori may have suffered, and future history will not lay much blame for this on a handful of struggling and not very wealthy colonists, who took, moreover, the earliest opportunity that was allowed them to begin to repair it; but no people ever was more free from oppression or anything like it. And, whatever may be the real value of Tcira's or "W. King's claims at Waitara, the Maoris had no ground to interpret Governor Browne's action as a menace. W. King declined to plead, denied the Governor's jurisdiction. Pedants tell us that Mr. Parris and Mr. Whiteley did not understand the refinements of the language, and misunderstood King, lint it was not by one word or one speech that King's recalcitrancy was shown. It was by the acts of sixteen years culminating in his absolute refusal to accede to the invitation of Governor Browne which was borne to him, not by a messenger with whom he had auy variance, but hy the ablest and most judicious officer in the native office, Mr. Rogan. Governor Browne was afterwards charged with tying the hands of his Military Commander. His conduct, right or wrong, in requesting Colonel Gold to hem on the defensive till attacked, ditl not imply a menace of annihilation, and it was during the lull which attended Colonel Gold's inactivity that the Waikato and inland contingent arrived. Then came Puketakauere, and the massacre of our wounded men by the noble Waikato warriors. Was this a menace of annihilation 7 Encouraged by Puketakauere the. ta.ua swelled daily. Wetini and the Ngatihaua arrived, and a picked band of them fell at Mahoetahi. But hero again there was no excuse for despair, though there might be excitement to vengeance. The success was not followed up. Neither at the ri(st victory at U'aireka, nor at Mahoetahi, nor afterwards, when the assault on the redoubt at Huirangi was repulsed with withering loss, did the least symptom appear of «cluirnement or the desire to exterminate. The natives themselves expressed astonishment at '• this coolness and reserve of their adversaries, and contrasted it, not altogether unfavorably, with the eager savageness of ■ their own conduct under like circumstances. They exacted rout and destruction, and were amazed that it did not come. A knowledge of the facts leads to a conclusion directly i i the opposite of tliat of the 'Press,' namely, that not despair, i ! but the hope of ultimately overpowering us, was fed by the I ! mildness and torpor of our military action. The over- ' I powering probability that collision would take place between i the colony and the uncivilized (by which we mean unorgan-

ized) natives, unless the former were hacked by great force, or endowed with patience almost to the degree of a disease, is surely apparent. Pride is native in all races, love of order is a late growth. It cannot be said of many - " His nature is so far from doing ill That he suspects none," ami the Maori race is eminently suspicious. AH Now Zealand settlers, who have lived an unrestrained life in the wilderness for even a few weeks, can understand that the Maori may love his entire independence and dread the most distant pre sence of an external power. We will not enlarge on what, has been urged so often. Human nature even in noble races |is not all noble, and, if the truth is spoken, we shall say the j Maori is less sinned against than sinning. I It is not true that tbe Government of Colonel Browne and i his Ministers tolerated crime in silence. There were s|k-ci.v! [circumstances in the last purely Maori disturbances at j Taranaki (those arising from Katatoiv's murder), which made iit difficult to interfere. Hut Governor Browne distinctly ; declared that the pacification which followed must be considered to have balanced the accounts in that feud, and that he would tolerate no more. It has been studiously kept out of sight by those who call the action at Waitara unjust, that a party, friendly to land sales, has existed, aud pressed the Government for fifteen years past to purchase what they alleged to be theirs ; that William King and these men have had their guns polished for all that tune; that of late, the party had gained numbers; that Teira was spokesman of an entire Impu ; that the sellers included the most orderly of Ngatiawa; that less than half the tribe took arms with William King; and, finally, that in 1840 Governor Grey thought himself justified in preventing William King from leaving Waikanae for Taranaki, and sent a ship of war specially to carry his instructions to that effect to LieutenantGovernor Eyre. The latter gentleman coolly answered that he differed from Sir George, and had let King go. A consideration of these facts will show that (however the balance on the Waitara laud dispute might eventually turn), to any the struggle " began in injustice" ia not to write history, but to speak as a partisan, or merely to furnish "copy," for the printer. We will join in praise of the activity of Sir George Grey and his Ministers, it is ploasanter to praise than to cavil; but historic truth requires that it should ho remembered that more than one of them has a terrible debit'account to work out. May success beyond all probability attend them ! but years of activity on their part cannot do more than atone; for the ills which, one by his insincerity, and another by his seditioiisness, have brought on New Zealand in this very native business. A dozen errors disfigure the rest of the article. Ministers did not withdraw Mr. Kenton, and, expressly, they did not shrink from war in the prosecution of their native policy by his agency. The country did not "cease to have confidence in them, because they could write and not. act,'' The 'Press may have done so, but the House of Representatives expelled Ministers for dividing Wellington and Otago, iuul put in Mr. Fox, without trusting him, and in spite of their dislike of liis course on tin; native war. The difiiculty with the Taranaki and Ngatiruanui is not more "real" than with Waikato. It is as easy for Mr. Fox to go there and say, " Keep quiet, and no one shall hurt you," as it was for him to do so in Waikato, A most exaggerated picture has, by a too common consent, been drawn of the Bins of Ngatiruinui compared to those of Waikato. The former, as nearer neighbours, had better plea for entering the quarrel. They did not steal more; they did not massacre more ;it i_ doubtful if they burned more. Let ua put the case honestly. Part of Sir G. Grey's scheme probably is to make an example ; the Ngatiruiuui and Taranaki are pointed out hy convenience, and by a shade more of guilt or by unpopularity with the "friends of the Maori," as fit subjects for that example. The sense that this is predetermined has all along given them a real desperation We do not blame Sir G. Grey's plan, as it is by us conjectured to be. It is a thing to be glad of, if indeed he is resolved ut once to give a lesson to the native population, and ro-iustatu our neighbours at Taranaki, who have been innocent, and on the whole patient and courageous sufferers. But let us have no nonsense about the matter, or pretend moral distinctions broader than exist in fact. "Our limits" press upon us ; we trust we have in the alwvc cursory remarks, avoided the artistic trap,, with a warning against which we opened. "Nihil utile i/uod non honesturn ;" we give the 'Press' credit for more honesty than knowledge, but we do not think the article before us free from the newspaper disease, and we fear the writer is too full of the remembrance of "the. views advocated in the 'Press,'" and what " we always pointed out" to be candid on any subject*