PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 11, Issue 862, 30 July 1867, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS.

Copy of a despatch from Governor Sir George Grey, K. C.8., to the Bight hon. (he Earl of Carnarvon, Government H6use, Wellington, 27th April, 1867, !' My Lord, — My responsible advisers have requested me to transmit lo your Lordship the Memorandum which I have the honor herewith to enclose, and which . relates to your Lordship's despatch No. 56, of the 28 th of December last. I have, &c, [ G. Grey. : The Right hon. the Earl of Carnarvon. (Enclosure.) Memorandum: by Mr. Stafford. ■ Wellington, 17th April, 1867.. The responsible advisers of the Crown in. New Zealand have read with extreme regret Lord Carnarvon's despatch, No. 56, of the 28th December last, ut is with, very great reluctance that they feel compelled; to animadvert upon it, but they would be; unworthy of the trust confided to them by i! the Colony if they silently submitted to ■ the imputations to. which the Governor, themselve-s and the Colonial Forces are alike subjected in that despatch. They believe that they can show that those im- . putations' are unfounded, and have with-: out due consideration been invested with ; authority by the Secretary of State. As the dospatoh chiefly relates"' to the removal of Her Majesty's regular troops from New Zealand, and as His Excellency l s'despatches have dealt fully with the strictures on his. conduct in connection with this matter, conveyed in this and previous despatches, Ministers would not feel bound to comment on this particular despatch were it not that towards its close it, circulates calumnies, scarcely disguised under a veil of hypothesis, against the Colonial Government and Her Majesty's Colonial Forces. Ministers do not now complain that Lord Carnarvon should in effect state, as he has done in a previous g>rtion of his despatch, that the Imperial overnment would rather abandon the Colonists and the Aborigines of New Zealand to internecine war than extend to the Colony any military aid. • They are not aware that any words or action on the part -of the Governor or on their part called, for such a statement; but they do not -desire to question this professed indifference to the horrors which a war of extermination wotdd, " for a time at least," entail on both races in this country. Ministers must, 'however, for the sake of the public character of the Colony, distinctly repudiate tho charges indirectly conveyed in the following extracts from the Despatch : — " Finally, I must observe, that while " you thus appear to cling to the expecta- " tion of continued assistance from this " country, your own reports, or rather the " absence of reports from you, show how " little joxx recognize any continued re- " sponsibility to the Imperial Government " for the conduct of the war. While in " your Despatch of the 15th October you " inform me that a trooper of the Colonial " Forces had been killed by some hostile " Natives, you leave me to learn from the " newspapers that in the neighbourhood of " Hawke's Bay a body of Natives who re- " fused to give up their arms, had been " attacked by the Colonial Forces in their "pa (which is said to have been unforti- " lied), and driven into the bush, twenty- " three of them being killed, and a like " number being wounded ; and that aNa- " tivo village on the West Coast, after " being summoned to surrender, was at- " tacked by a Colonial Force, and escape " being cut off, about thirty or forty per- " sons were killed. "In the account before me this last "transaction is described as 'the most " brilliant of this guerilla war.' Meantime " your own Despatches would hardly lead " me to suppose that any recognized war"faro was m progress. I need hardly " observe that if at any time it were alleged "in this country that these affairs — dc- " scribed by the Colonial press as brilliant " successes — wore in fact unwarranted and " merciless attacks on unoffending persons " I have no authentic means of reply af- " forded me by your despatches." The first intimation of these calumnies reaches the Governor and his Ministers in this despatch. So far as Ministers are aware, no quostion of the justice of the attacks on the natives, either at Hawke's Bay or on the West Coast, or of the conduct of the Colonial Forces on those occasions has ever been publicly raised in this Colony, or in the United Kingdom. Nor were they aware until they read tho despatch that the question had even been privately raised. The inference is painfully clear. • The Secretary of State has allowed himself to be influenced by some secret report, studiously concealed from the Governor, from his Ministers, arid from the public, and, without resorting to authentic intelligence, or waiting a few days for a despatch from the Governor, has given authoritative currency to such reports. ' r . : Ministers do greatly complain of that fatal facility, unhappily so often illustrated of late in some Imperial departments of

State, of listening to secret slander of Yifc&i reputation of public men in this' co|ony^ and of investing reports (which otherwise/ '^% would never come to life,) with the au-» : tkority of official recognition; Against rthis system of secret defamation Ministers ?^ most emphatically protest. It saps the foundations of all government; and destroys all confidence in pubHc men. In the case of New Zealand, the tacit allowance, if not encouragement, in the WarDetiarfcment at home of such a system, has, Minis- • . tera believe, done much to waste the resources of the empire and the colony; and to paralyze .their -joint efforts to, suppress insurrection. ■■■ The engagements to which the Secretary of State refers respectively took place, near Napier, on the 12th October, 1866, and, on the West Coast, on the 4th October, 1866. Despatches fully reporting the circumstances of each engagement were published in the New Zealand Gazettes" dated respectively 26th October, and 11th October, 186.6. These " Gazettes " most probably reached England, and, it is presumed, the colonial offipe, before the 28th December, 1866 (the date on wliich* Lord Carnarvon wrote), and certainly did so before the 2nd January, 1867, and could haye been referred to by his Lordship- before the ikail by which his despatch came left England for NewZealand. jNTo doubt /the reports in these " Gazettes " if they could not be found in the colonial office, were ropuMiske/l in English Ji&geirs, anxl were accessible to those who preferred to furnish to the Secretary of State inibrmatdon gathered from anonymous accounts in unnamed newspapers, "and to found on it and, on " private and confidential" calumniesi imputations of wanton cruelty and cowardice on the part of the colonial forces, and of "connivance (if not worse) on the part of the Governor and his Ministers. " The despatch is dated . 28th December, but it did not leave England till . the 2nd January; On : the 31st December, the New Zealand mail via Panama reached England, having left New Zealand on the Bth November, ■ a fortnight after the latter of the two " Gazettes "• containing- the official accounts of the engagements was published. Reference could thus have been made in England to these "Gazettes" before the despatch went. Had that reference been made, or had Lord Carnarvon waited a few days until the Governor's despatches arrived, which his Excellency's absence in a remote disturbed district precluded him from writing previously (a fact whi'cji might quite as easily have been leaded from newspapers), Ministers feel Assured that his Lordship would not have written in terms so disparaging to the colonial forces, and so injurious to the honor of the colony. ' • Copies of the "New Zealand Gazettes" referred^ to are enclosed. The circumstances in each case are shortly these :■ — Napier is a small town containing a population of thirteen hundred ' souls, of whom more than eight hundred are women and children. It was at the time, in question wholly unprepared for an attack, and its neighbourhood, is dotted: with small ■. agricultural and pas'tqrai ferms pn which •families also quite unprotected beside,' In the latter part of SSeptember 1866,r r 1866, a.party . . armed rebel Hau Jffau natives, strangers ,to the plape; and members of a murderous and bloodthirsty sect of fanatics, !who have "committed in different parts of this Island fearful atrocities, encamped, at a. place, about seven miles from the town. A copy of a letter dated 9th October, 1866, to the Colonial Secretary from. MiS: ; McLean/ "feV - porting the fact, is attached. These n'atives:persistently refused to explain: their intenti on s .;_ tkeyu-phuidored the \ settlers. " and the loyal resident natives ; and they ; openly threatened the safety of the -town and the outsettlers. Under'these'circumstances Mr. McLean, the, agent of the General Government at Napier, and Sur perintendent of the Province of Hawke's Bay, promptly took steps to disarm and move from the settled district these armed fanatics, and he was most patriotically supported by the inhabitants who (for the most part unaccustomed to arms, and for the first time unexpectedly .called from their various places of business to. engage in active hostilities,) paraded at a fewhours' notice at midnight, marched all night and successfully attacked the enemy in the early morning. ' In order to show that this engagement was not undertaken without the concert of the Imperial military officer, in command at Napier, Ministers enclose a copy of a letter dated 30th October, 1866, from Mr.. M'Lean to the Colonial Secretary, from which it will be seen that the officer referred. to offered, to co-operate with the men -under, his, command, and that in consideration of their having had on the day preceding, the engagement a long march, Mr. M'Lean undertookoperationswithout their aid. Itwill be seen from Mr. M'Lean's despatch published in the "Gazette," that the rebel natives had, in addition to former repeated warnings, a special written summons previous to. the engagement to disarm and surrender. It will also be seen ~hy a letter enclosed in Mr. M'Lean's despatch, from the Rev. S. Williams, written after, the engagoment, that the suspicion of the hbstile intention of the natives was confirmed by the confession of a native prisoner that their object was an immediate and sudden attack on the town. Tlu's confession has

sincebeen fully corroborated by subsequent statements of others of these prisoners. The Key. S. Williams, the writer of this letter, is not a person who would be likely to be led to hasty or unfavourable conclusions on such a subject. He is a clergyman, of the Church of England, conversant for the last thirty years with natives and with their customs, and is the son of. Archdeacon Henry Williams, one of the first missionaries in New Zealand. Mr. McLean, on whom any imputation, if true, of " unwarranted and merciless attack on unoffending persons" would properly rest, has been for more than twenty years in the public service, and has during all that time held some, and during a great part of it, the highest offices in the native department. He is specially distinguished ior his knowledge of natives, and for his devotion to their welfare. To suppose that such a man would suddenly belie every characteristic of his life, and be guilty of the wanton cruelty to natives imputed to him, is incredible. A character like that of Mr. McLean, so well-de-served and so laboriously earned throughout many years of faithful service,— a character to the merits of which despatches from successive Governors to the Secretary, of .State abundantly testify, — should have shielded him from the grave imputations resting on no known foundation, and made with such precipitate haste. With respect. to: the engagement in the village on the WeskGoast, Ministers cannot conceive how at, is. consistent with bare? fact to apply to it- the* epithet' o£ an "xm- ! warranted and merciless attack' cm un. ' offending persons,"; The W<M Coast, in the neighbourhood of l?a^a, ; haslorig,beon ■ the scene of Native insulations and of atrocious murders; Major McDonnell, . commanding the Colonial. Forces in that district, , states in his. despatch in the.;, Gazette, that the rebels had become : so :; bold as to render it unsafe to move outside of the redoubt.' In this state of affairs, Major McDonnell made, in spite of the smallness of his force: and the inclemency, - ; of tlie weather, a night attack with 127 men on a village in which the rebels were

congregated; and at daybreak attacked its .fortified huts. When he had captured the .village, his" force, including seven wounded men, were in a most critical position, as the forest path by which he had come was occupied oy reinforcements of .the enemy. Isolated in an unknown bush, fatigued by an arduous night march, and by the subsequent severe engagement, .their return intercepted by an unseen enemy, charged with several prisoners and seven wounded men, Major ~McDennell and his gallant force were still equal to tne emergency. They repulsed and killed many of the enemy, and brought the wounded and the prisoners back to camp. . .The description given by Lord Carnarvon of this engagement is, that " a Native village on the West Coast, after being summoned to surrender, was attacked by a Colonial Force, and escape being cut off, about thirty or forty persons were killed." This., description is inaccurate, as the " escape cut off" was that of the assailants and ' not of the assailed. No doubt the real question at issue is, whether an " unwarranted and merciless attaok on unoffending^persons" was made. That ques«, tion is sufficiently answered in the negative ;by even a'slight reference to events during'the last six years on the West Coast. The country in the neighbourhood of Patea has been for that time the centre of sedition and fanaticism, and the scene of cold-blooded murders. The Natives have been constantly in arms against the Queen, and have never until quite recently made submission. General Cameron, with two or three thousand men, was engaged for many months in trying to reduce these Natives to submission. He entirely failed in that object. General Chute gallantly effected much, but did not complete .his work. For the last twelve months the Colonial Forces (including, as is always meant by the term, Native Troops) have indefatigably laboured to stamp out the remaining embers of insurrection (ready as they are at any time to burst into flame), and to restore tranquillity. This had to be done from time to time, as opportunity offered. The Colonial Forces are not numerous enough, nor sufficiently equipped to hold a chain of out-posts, and to invest pas with two thousand men and Armstrong Artillery. Their warfare may not accord with war regulations, but it is one necessary' for and suited to local circumstances, and also, one which on the East and. West Coasts has already resulted lin brilliant successes which have elicited the warmest commendation both from the Imperial Government and the English press, and have materially tended to-the practical suppression of disturbances and to the security of life and property. Ministers think this is a fitting occasion to remark upon the peculiar action of the Imperial Government towards the colony. It is true that the colony has requested the removal of the Imperial troops owing to the. imposition of conditions antagonistic to the existence of responsible Government, to efficiency and economy, and for no other reasons. But, while acquiescing in their withdrawal, Ministers have to complain of the manner in which it has been effected. Even if it be conceded (a large : concession) that, as Lord Carnarvon terms it, all the regiments other than the one battalion proposed 'to be left in New Zealand, may be regarded as "in transitu," and therefore not within the jurisdiction of the Governor of the colony, the same reasoning cannot be applied to that one regiment,- and Ministers protest against the unconstitutional manner in which the authority of the Governor has'been superseded. They contend that it is beyond the power of 'a. Secretary of State to issue instructions to a subordinate officer which virtually cancel the commission held by Her Majesty's representative in this colony. If the Imperial Government did not consider that their instructions were carried out by the Governor, the obvious course was open to relieve him from his duties, and not to resort to the unconstitutional course of delegating his powers to a subordinate officer from a desire to avoid such an alternative.

Tlie Governor of the Colony, as the Representative of the Queen, is an integral part of the Constitution of the Country, which Ministers are bound, as ' far as possible, to maintain inviolate 5 and they are alarmed when a Secretary of State seeks to set aside the Constitution by a formal Despatch. Nor is their, objection on this point meTßly theoretical. It has been ascertained from reliable sources that the rebel Natives on the West Coast were on the eve of tendering their allegiance at the j very time selected hr a subordinate officer to give orders for the withdrawal of Im- j penal Troops occupying certain posts on that coast. It cannot be doubted by those who know the rapidity with which news is circulated amongst the Natives, that they are already acquainted with the rea- j son of these orders, and understand that these detachments are "removed in contempt of the authority of Her Majesty's representative. Neither can it be a matter of doubt that no more effectual mode could have been adopted to encourage those in rebellion. Had the Governor been enabled to inform these Natives who were lately on the eve of making their submission that he would take upon himself the responsibility of removing the soldiers so soon as he was satisfied of their return to loyalty, — it is not improbable that the outstanding i rebels would quickly have submitted. The same objections are applicable to ! the mode in which detachments have been withdrawn from outposts in other parts of the colony. While thus objecting to the agency by which, and the manner in which the withdrawal of the troop 3 has been effected, Ministers deem it wholly unnecessary to rebut any opinion which might be entertained that they or the colony objected to their being withdrawn, and they take this opportunity of reiterating the statement made in their memorandum of the 15th ult., in reference to Lord Carnarvon's despatch No. 49, of the Ist December last, to the effect that they absolutely decline to accede to the terms sought to be imposed on the colony for the retention of one regiment. They accept the removal of the troops and the consequences, but this being effected, they would observe that the colony has claims which entitle it to, at least, the courteous consideration of the Imperial government. It is animated by the warmest sentiments of loyalty to the Queen, and feels lively gratitude to the British nation for the aid so generously extended to it in a time of great emergency. It has organized and maintained during the most critical period a force of ten thousand men ; it has expended millions in the active suppression of insurrection; it has sacrificed valuable lives and undergone all the miseries of civil war ; it has imposed on itself a large increase of taxation ; but above all, it has undertaken, in the midst of actual hostilities, to dispense with Imperial assistance, and to fulfil, from its own unaided resources, a task unparalleled in the history of colonization. Self-pro- . tection in the history of other Colonies has; but too frequently resulted in the maltreatment and ultimate annihilation of the Natives, but New Zealand has made and js making every effort for the preservation- and civilization of the Aboriginal ;r^ce. The Grown of Great Britain has ; jßpilfeacte^ sacred . obligations in respect

,of that race, on the faith of which it. assumed the possession of the country — obligations which no sophistry can annul, and Which cannot, according to any standard of morality, be transferred to other persons. The Imperial Government has now altogether relinquished to the Colonial Government the fulfilment of these obligations. It is strange therefore that while by its action the Imperial Government has reposed such implicit confidence in the Colonial authorities, it should in words be so ready to carp at their acts, and to mistrust their conduct. Nowhere does this strange inconsistency appear in greater contrast than in the despatch now in question, in the commencement of which Lord Carnarvon reiterates, with apparent satisfaction, the abandonment by the Imperial Government of both races to each other, while at the end he so lowly estimates the Colonial authorities as to be- j lieve them capable of an " unwarranted and merciless attack on unoffending persons" of the Native race. If that estimate be. correct, what satisfaction can His Lordship derive from the contemplation of an arrangement which entirety vests in the Colonists the maintenance of the faith of the Crown, and even the existence of the Aborigines P Ministers believe that the colony will honorably fulfil the momentous trust imposed upon it. But at the outset of its career, when it is struggling under unexampled difficulties to do its duty, and when Great Britain withdraws all her material aid, it is not too much for the colony to expect from British statesmen some modicum of moral aid even though it consist only in words of encouragement. At such a time and under such circumstances it. is not too much to expect that, every constitutional privilege of the colony should be faithfully respected— that the conduct of the colonial government should be regarded' with every desire to place on it the most favourable construction— and that every word which tends to estrangement from the mother country, and. to bitterness olf feeling between the colonists and the natives should be scrupulously avoided by the Imperial Government. Unhappily this has not been the case, The imperial Government has ignored the constitutional position of the Governor ; and has in successive despatches displayed a sense of irritation and a proneness to take and give offence, which are much to be deplored. Ministers are unable to perceive either equity or good policy in such a course of action. It is unworthy of the great Empire to which New Zealand colonists are proud to belong ; it is unjust to the colony ; and it is dangerous to the welfare of the aboriginal race, to which the faith of the Crown has been solemnly pledged, Ministers have noticed at length the subjects brought more prominently under review in Lord Carnarvon's despatch, not because they are entitled to any pre-emi-nence among the calumnies which originate with or obtain currency through the instrumentality of officers in the Imperial service residing in New Zealand, but simply because they are the most recent of a series which from time to_ time have obtained an injurious circulation in the mother country before an opportunity has been afforded to the colonial Government to place the facts of such case before the public. Ministers may instance the case of the purchase of the Waitotara block, in which the General commanding Her Majesty's forces thought it not inconsistent with his duty to send home without any communication with the Governor the statement of a private individual traducing the character of a high official in the service of the colony, by stigmatising the act in which he had been officially engaged as an "iniquitous job." Ministers w.ould refer also to the startling calumnies sent home by Colonel "Weare, in which accusations are brought against his Excellency, the commander of the forces, and the colony, of so serious a character, that nothing but a public investigation can possibly: meet the requirements of the case.It is true that those charges were in part withdrawn by Colonel Weare on the eve of his departure for England, but Ministers are of opinion that had the Imperial Government been properly jealous of the honor of the persons against whom these charges were made, it would have insisted on a public investigation. The story of the imputed atrocities might, had' Colonel "Weare s request been acted upon, have been circulated through the length and breadth of England, estranging the affections and alienating the respect of our fellow countrymen in Great Britain, without the colonial Government being aware of the existence of such calumnies. Ministers might aduce other instances of a similar kind, and more notably Mr. Commissioner General Jones' letter to the Assistant Military Secretary of the 20th August, 1865, and Mr. Deputy-Commis-sary General Strickland's letters of the Bth November, 1866, as to which latter Ministers will shortly make a separate communication. Grave charges against the Colonial Go- ' vernment and the Colony, and an objec--1 tionable system of secret calumny have not, Ministers feel bound to say, met at the hands of Secretaries of State for the Colonies that indignant rejection which the Governor and Her Majesty's subjects had equally a right to expect when their reputation and conduct were secretly attacked. E. W. Staffoed.