THE LONDON “TIMES” ON THE POVERTY BAY MASSACRE.

Press, Volume XIV, Issue 1835, 1 March 1869, Page 3

THE LONDON “TIMES” ON THE POVERTY BAY MASSACRE.

:i rj l Times," Jan. 1,1869.] ~ The telegram of Dee. 31 . from ; Sydney' will have made the last day of 1868 a time of gloom and apprehension in.many English houses. The statement, made in a single line, thai in New Zealand " fifty Europeans, with their fajnilies, have been massacred," is afeOßceso clear ; and so vague as to spread terror throughout the numerous households which have relatives in the North Islandr •Information from WelKngton had shown that up to the beginning of November the new Maori *war had Jbeen one continuous series of ♦disasters ton the side ; bf the colonists, till, at its date, they hatt; actually been •compelled to exchange an offensive for ■wh&t'was mainly a_ (defensive attitude. : "STesterday?s intelligence would imply tb&k the rebellion had reached a new and -yet more alarming- stage.- But even such a tragedy is still only a consequence which was to have been anticipated from the conduct pursued by ihe colofiyiiis'alf.l LSD dry mayiiyery likely, we|ear, f bQ making vengeance* forthe* atrocities of these / anr Impsrjal concern; The gentiment that no. where e^auytne l aiity >of England tp ; (See 7 done is generous we. should ~gbad|y,ieil; free to refrain irpm aiscpur-r tendency.. Tif r only in tbe interest of colonial selfrgbyernment, protest against such interference. The agency which has produced the, calamity, is the ! almost in* crediblenegligence of the colony itself aad the colony is best left to deal bj - itself with the effecte-of its own -«ulpf /; Already*! a;* tconpfe/of months agoj one:part after: another of 'Ihe 1 open 'Country in the' "disturbed ' appears tb have abanlioiipda and only two posts—-patea and still maintained, while insurgents were visible, from them up and down and solemnising their war-dances.. v Kow, finally,'there comes tbis terriblebutchery, due probably either; to the capture of the latter $lace, which appears to_ have been #efsnde<J. principally by the , neighboriißg farmers, or to the extension oi the anaurrection in some fresh direction. Colonel M'Donnell has his apologists . nvNew Zealand, hold that he- has blamed for his part in producinjgtho general state of affairs. .We agree at least to the extent that the colonial authorities must not hope to shift the fault of remissness off l&emselves under cover of their officer's incapacity. It was* we must repeat, ia the .regular order of things as arranged by themselves that what has happened should happen. They confiscated native territories in the plenitude of military superiority. Which the -presence .of ten British regiments gave thena, and then they dismissed the -troops which haa inspired them with 1 'fcOffijLdence to exact sucha penalty from *he rebel tribes. The scheme which they had pledged themselves to carry out might, perhaps, base* made) such a v jK>licy safe. JBut carry it j xjutc- The proposition - was-that- the i JHate© of the Imperial troops,should be bf a drilled constabulary force' ; ; WSOO, and that from the confiscated 1 Glsfcricts allotments of land ahoJiljfil bb Jaade to the militia engaged in'the ]

previous campaign, to be occupied by them as a kind of garrison against native aggression. Instead, however, of 1500 police, only 300 have ever been levied. So, again, allotments made from the confiscated lands were allowed to be selected at the mere discretion of the new settlers. Consequently, instead of each homestead being one of a regular chain of posts, and the whole constituting an advanced guard to the colony, they have themselves beeu'a fresh source of weakness. They have furnished a perpetual provocation to Maori attacks, and been j at the same time destitute of any I means in themselves for combining for their joint defence. Even when the periodical native agitation had burst into active operation the colonial functionaries and Parliament appear to have resisted as long as they could the evidence of the gravity of ; the situation. They raised troops, indeed, but of such indifferent material that a single repulse turned them into; a drnnben rabble, two-thirds of whom would seem to have deserted or have had to be discharged. • It would have been sufficiently grievous had tbe catalogue of reverses contained nothing worse than the shrinking of the line of British settlements twenty miles back. To the public disgrace now appears to have been added a frightful private calamity. But the disasters of the last five months will not have been altogether unprofitable if they force on the colony a conviction of the necessity for adopting a policy which shall make them virtually impossible in the future. At any rate a month's experience of the almost "unresisted destruction of colonial farmhouses and driving off of colonial cattle ought to have been rich in lessons of political economy fo the New Zealand government. It will have been taught that-to save the cost of keeping dis-, eiplined troops for the protection of districts which a body of armed natives still claim as their property is not true economy. It is enough if the leaders of parties in the islands, j sguth as' well as north, lay, this to heart. We dare not apprehend that, an English colony which is immensely! superior, l even numerically, to' its native enemies will be incompetent to secure itself against them out of its own resources,; ■< If the entire Maori population were up in arms, the colony must be more ( than a matebJ for it; But, in ; fact, "the ; present rising has-been confined to, an inconsiderable section j every week of impunity allowed to such a rebellion swells its proportions. The Maori "King" is stated to liave refused his sanction to it for thetime,and to have returned its leader's gift of human, flesh with rebuke; Many natives nave 'even brought active assistance—some from motives of hereditary hostility to the authors of the insurrection, but others from r neighbourly concern for the ganger pf thi 'eapaeifjr m apqu}esq£, in ifid settlements; m-their country are welcome.. They give room for a hope that a catastrophe whicli fanatieal'admirers of the principle.: of nationality would doubtless deplorf Jnjim.e ensug, and Jbhe ,problem how to save a remnant of the ra.ee jfrom extirpation be solved by its ab-? .sorption into the British population! But it would be humiliating and im r politic- in an vEngHsh colony to. depeiid On the protection which comes fr<>m lithe compassion or mutual fealousiesHof |a sayage ; race. .P^ 0 °£; su^Dr sidisirig cerlain tribes" in order to mi sure their aid: against.; their countrykien is even more obviously impolific i;than...it ? is degrading. The settler a is thus ! encouraged by a false" feeling of Security, arising from > the vicinity of savages who themselves derive from the trust piaced in them a licencejto retain their independence, which leases them unreclaimed savages still, and therefore untrustworthy neighbours. The colonial government seems I to have been lately resorting to this I expedient of buying native goodwill by money and concessions. It- has, we learn, ■been distributing among the frendly tribes a largess of. £15,000 of public money, and granting address of native grievances which .had been sought in vain for the past two years of peace. The measure seems, on the face, of it, too like the ordinary colonial principles of action hitlierto in native matters. If the wrongs were real, it was undignified in the government to delay the remedy till such a time.; But if unreal, the lesson that the justice of native demands will not be strictly weighed at periods of public embarrassment is not likely to be lost on the savage intelligence, which is somewhat too apt to argue out premisses to their extreme conclusions. Tranquility acquired -by these means is held by an uncertain tenure. The Maori become a-regular soldier under English officers might be converted into a loyal subject; but under a subsidised native chieftain Jieremains jl savage. 3&e Kew; 3ealan4 Executive anfl ho-YQ % pbw_. at least the sti* *inulus Sirica arises from the

consciousness that the' eyes of the empire are upon them. They are still free to choose what course they please ; but their countrymen are free to criticise it, and will, the colony may assure itself, exercise their privilege. England is at least entitled to demand imperatively that the spectacle shall not continue of an immensely larger body of Englishmen satisfied, if it be peace, to hold their tranquillity at the mercy of the caprice or superstition of a few hundred savages, and contented if it be war, provided the contest results in no worse .than a, t certain number of drawn battles. The present exigency will quickly pass away,'like others. But similar difficulties will recur if a radical remedy be not now applied. No policy, however, is worthy of adoption which does not depend for its working on the colony alone, and not on the assistance, much or little, of any other power, whether it be the British empire or a handful of friendly excannibals. Above all, no policy can be of any but very temporary utility which recognises the title of .more than a single government to exist in the New Zealand islands. . A policy which should satisfy these twin conditions would soon put the Maori question at rest for ever. *. ~