The Press. SATURDAY, MAY 21, 1864. A GLEAM OF HOPE.

Press, Volume IV, Issue 487, 21 May 1864, Page 2

The Press. SATURDAY, MAY 21, 1864. A GLEAM OF HOPE.

Ix the days of Governor Browne there was some

talk of employing the powerful tribe of the Ngapuhis to make war upon their old enemies of the Waikato

and of Taranaki. We cannot say from whom the idea emanated, or whether it was favored by the

Ministers : at all events it was never carried into

effect. At the time tho Press denounced $gi idea as utterly detestable? as a proposal similar to that of employing the' Indians in the Ameaican war, which called forth one of the noblest f bursts of impassioned eloquence from the lips of 'the great Lord Chatham, which had ever been heard within the walls of Parliament. On two occasions Native allies have recently been employed to fight against the so-called rebels. Of the case of the Arewas who so greatly distinguished themselves in the fight at Mahetu, we cannot speak with much confidence ; but the employment of tho friendly Natives at Wanganui to beat back the King party of tho same district, seems to us not only a legitimate proceeding, but perfectly right. That which is to be avoided, aud which shocks every right-minded man, is the deliberate attempt to awaken the old hereditary feuds of the Native tribes against one another, and so to seek alliances in the savage instincts and ancient hatreds of the different sections of the race, which every sentiment of humanity and christian feeling should instigate us to quell. Tho case of Wanganui seems to bo v cry different We have never concealed from ourselves that there are tribes as well as men amongst the Natives who are violent, rowdy blackguards; and we have always heard that a considerable party of the Wanganuis bear that character. Eor the Taranaki tribe, and perhaps the Ngatiruanuis, there is little better to be said, and all will probably agree that a good thrashing would do Buch folk more good than anytliing else. It has ever seemed to us not only the most shameful, but the most stupid part of the present war, and of the policy which led to it, that it mixed up in one, and forced into one boat those of the Natives who differed in objects and in policy from one another as widely as either party of them differed from the Europeans. There have always been such distinct parties among tho Natives. In the Waikato itself there was Mas a powerful party, at one time the most powerful, who were deeply anxious for peace with the English. Matutaera himself was a firm friend of peace, as was his predecessor, old Te Whero Whero. William Thompson, who was educated from his boyhood in Archdeacon Brown's school, had always a a respect and affection for the Europeans. Of all the

chiefs taken at Rangariri we believe not one belonged

to the war party amongst the Waikato. But, on the other hand, Eevoi Maniapolo was ever a turbulent

and violent man, uud round him all the discontented

and mischievous spirits of the tribes seem to have

con<~c«ated. Common sense and common justice would have suggested that a policy which might have satisfied that large section of the Natives who were

seeking the improvement and elevation of their

r_ee, a policy which could have won their confidence,

would have detached this section at all events from

the bad and the violent, and would have enlist c** them on our side as the guardians of peace and tlie law. Had we come to blows under such circumstances, the whole of the peace party would have been our natural and legitimate allies, and might wcl! have been used to assist us in keeping order in the colony. The recent battle at Wanganui seems to indicate that such a result might have been obtained Tlie accounts tell us that the loyalty of the Natives who fought on our side has been mainly owing to the conduct of the Resident Magistrate, Mr. White, and we can well understand that the more v»eaceabl c Natives may have been determined that their district shall not be made the scene of war. For the Wanganui Natives appear above all the tribes in the islands to have nothing to complain of. None of their land has been taken from them, so far as we know, under a pretended sale ; nor have troops been sent into their territory so as to awaken suspicion that we were hankering after their land. They must havo determined to fight either for the love of lighting, or else hoping to make a diversion in favor of their friends in the North. The resolution, therefore, of the friendly Natives to resist any attempt to make their country a scene of hostilities is a fact which sheds a gleam of hope where little enough existed before. We know there are those who believe that nothing , could possibly have won tlie conQdcnce of the Natives —who say that all peaco measures have been tried, and that they have proved to be fruitless. But is this so? What has been tried? Have we ever called paying a palavering visit and talking ridiculous metaphors to a circle of chiefs, peace measures? Could setting up a lot of commissioners, who were to become paid and professional palaverers, instead of relying on the casual visits of some great man—was this a peace measure ? We will venture to draw a distinction, in a few words, between measures of peace and measures of war. That one race should meet in a parliament and make laws for another race, without having the slightest knowledge of its wants, feelings, wishes, or grievances, is a measure of war. When we talk of Hungary, or Poland, or Italy, wo are glib enough at recognising such a patent and obvious truth. In New Zealand we sneer at it. But, sneer as we will, such a condition of affairs must sooner or later lead to revolt. Next, —to tell a large bulk of the population of any country that the law shall not recognise their rights of property, is a measure of war —war to the knife. The Chief Justice has mora than once said that a Maori title to land could not be recognised in the Supreme Court. Let any man ride over Ranata's farm at Hawkes Bay—fields divided by ditch and bank, with post and rail on the top —well ploughed furrows, and rich crops—capital horses, and Scotch ploughs—a farm that would do credit to any Englishman. Let him look at the land of a neighbouring settler, in all external attributes the same, but held under Crown Grant. Look at one farm and than at tho other. The one is protected hy the over-shkdowing power of the law; the other is not. The ono man can bring an action for ejectment against a defaulting tenant, the other can not. The Crown can send down a truckling, pedling land touting agent, and "can say, I have bought the one farm and I will support my title to it by the sword. The other proprietor can appeal confidently to the courts of law against the strongest army the Queen of England can bring to disposses him. This again, we say, is a policy of war: no two races could live long under such different laws without fighting. Again— the Englishman can bring his land into the market and get the best price for it from the highest bidder. The land of the Maori is tainted with a commercial ban. Between the Maori and the money value of his soil, stands the form of the Land Purchase Commissioner with a drawn sword in his hand, guarding the entrance to an open market as if it were the gate of paradise: with these conditions, peace was impossible : nay more, let us say—all honor to Maoris that it was so. Equal rights and equal laws bring in their train equal obedience, and equal affection for the basis of all liberty. Unequal laws bring jealousy, suspicion, mistrust, and at last civil war. Korero-ing and Runanga-ring and palavering, and giving flour and sugar, and a plough here, and a sack of potatoes there, never secured liberties or won confidence. The Natives felt that what you wanted was their lands. We never offered the only guarantee we could offer —the protection of tho law common to all. If we are told the Natives would not liave understood all this if we had offered it to them, we reply— " If you profess to know nothing about the Maoris, you are mistaken ; if you are a Maori doctor—one of the perili —the absurd falsification of all your predictions for the last few years entitle you to less respect than I a man who knows nothing. The laws of humanity arc against you." There is not a leading chief of the peace party who would not have understood thoroughly what we mean, and who would not have accepted it as the pledge of sincerity. What some of the peace party may havo been struggling for, we really do not know ; it may havo been for ths honor and glory of holding tlie torch which was to burn up the Native, race like stubble. But for our own part we have striven, not for shams, but for realities—not for external forms, but for the establishment of government on those foundations which in the coarse of time have never failed. And when the nostrums of the Ssngrado politicians shall have killed a sufficient number of patients and disgusted a sufficient number of bystanders with the quackery of blood letting and hot water, the time will perhaps come when tlie voice of \ common sense will gaiu a hearing.

Process's Theatre. — Tho wet weather last evening had a most unfortunate effect on the attendance at the theatre, but those who ventmvd to brave ihe heavy storm that descended at frequent intervals, were rewarded by a very good performance of Tom Taylor's excellent play, All that Glitters i* not Gold. It would be difficult to find a better play of its class than this. The action movc3 on smoothly throughout; tho story is simple, and is pursued -without flagging or unintelligible digression ; the characters arc natural and the situations such as arise from the characters and the circumstances in which they arc placed, and the dialogue sustained easily, with no straining after effort or forced brilliancy. The play is in short a thoroughly artistic composition. The performance is entitled to a similar commendalion. Miss Aitken, as Martha Gibbs, was not called upon to display any tragic pisce or any of the highest qualities of an actress ; the partis one rather of plain, every-day life, and was rendered with a truth and delicacy of feeling which made it a perfect treat to witness. Mr. Shiels represented Jasper Plum to the very life. a testy old gentleman, somewhat bourgeois in manner and instincts, but at bottom an upright honorable English citizen. Miss Ansted seems to have a special genius for such a part as that antiquated coquette, Lady Leathcrbridge, and Mr. Hall's Toby Twinkle was a racy specimen of a drier style of comic acting than we ara accustomed to see from him, which alone wa3 enough to make tho play successful. Tho after-piece was what was called on the bills, the romantic Scotch drama of Gilderoy. We cannot attempt to describe the story, which was without beginning, middle, or end, and crammed with absurdities. The only part which rose above the veriest commonplace was that of Jock Muir, and that afforded Mr. Shiels an opportunity of displaying his inimitable power of representing Scotch character, of which he took such admirable advantage as to render the play very fairly successful. To-night we are to have a repetition of Douglas Jerrold's nautical drama Black-eyed Susan, in which the absence of Mr. and Mrs. Newton will necessitate suci a fresh cast of characters as to make it in effect a novelty.