THE HON. F. D. FENTON ON THE DETENTION OF THE TROOPS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1073, 10 August 1869, Page 2

THE HON. F. D. FENTON ON THE DETENTION OF THE TROOPS.

In his place in the Legislative Council on the 22nd ult. the Hon. F,i :D. j Feutqri % said : lam not going to detain .the, Couip f cil at any length, but I beg my 'honorable friend to notice that the Council is much moved by the remarks of the honorable member Mr. M'Leau. T.t.wap quite clear to me that the majority of iihosd present Jelithe force of his words, and I hope the Hon. Mr. Gisborne "wuT see his way to omit the part of the resolution which he pointed out. I would prefer the words to be, pub in "on any terms England may •; see fit to demand," but I suppose it would not suit the politicians of the day. Ido not pretend to be a political man, but I should like ; to see tlies^ words Oufc. jt l|l want to say one word" "on this question" of humiliation, to which we are said to be subjecting ourselves. It does i appear 1 1* me that' when a small and young colony ; asks England for assistance •in its ex- '" tremity, which she is bound to give by law, it any brie is humiliated bY tTifeye'fusal 1 . ; it is England; ' I cannot uridersfftnd'ih^' humiliation, as it affects us. I can believe that England must be at a los^s^to^ understand the strange-conduct of the colony as demonstrated by our proceedings during the last three or four years, bWremembering, as . ai lawyer, the. old* doctrine, '! subjection draws with it protection^ and <- protection draws with it; subjection," !-/I maintain that, when you ask the Govern- ;* ment of England to obey one oft their old- 1< est maxims, you cannot say the. humilia.? . tion is on us ; if humiliation be .pn anybody, it is on England that iefuied us aid in our time of great need.. Ask her, and put her in the wrong. lam told that she has refused; let her refuse s again~put her in the wrong again. Do not let us remain in the wrong, by refusing to state what we know and all feel. The hon. member referred to the' feeling out o£ doors. I believe it is more powerfuf out! ' there than here, where, l think it ought to* , be unanimous. I can respect the feelmgfc of gentlemen who have entertained views ' which they have unwillmgly abandoned^ though I am not one of those, arid do riot : 'f thoroughly enter into their feeKtigs; Biffc "* I think that the time has come when they must exercise a little self-sacrifice, and give up their name for consistency &hd ] fore« sight. But I will not tonchfurther on this question, as it is a political oner- I "wish to refer to what the Hon. 'Mr. Menzies said, " It is only postponing the evil day>" , Now let me remind this Council "tßaVuurf ' is what we' want. • Time is the very essence of this arrangement—all you want is time. In a few years you will find ihe. powerful industry now at work in North following the stream of gold 4s thefv. country is openedup to Taupo, and cut* 5 ' ting off onerhalf of the island fironi 'the other. That will : give time. : t PoStpbn'e , x tho evil day long enough, and it' will not come at all. Three 1 or? five years at the outside are required. I will refer tP£ another matter, because I think the Hon. Colonel Whitmore referred to an opinion of mine. What I holdps, that the removal of this regiment would be disastrous. It is denied that a new phase -has come, in,the state, of affairs. J affirm ttat^whetuer| anew phase has already come oi* not.* ;■ and if you have not seen it,, yet, it'w(lP come, and will see it, if this regiment goes. I mention this because, of a fact connected' l with the natives which has not been .alluded to. A large body is collectedrdunti the King at Tokangamutu, composed of the greatest chiefs in. New Zealand-?Po-tata'u and others : they loot di£ the operas - tions of Titokowaru and Te Kooti as matters of no moment, they being small pcr r i sons, mean people in fact, But the powerful party immediately arcfund^thfe 3£uig>? are impressed with the belief that if theyf. the real chiefs of the country, were to riaeya the British regiments would return j and the plains of Waikato would be overrun : as in 1864. If the last British soldier;, leaves the country, the great party will believe at length that the Queen's troops are gone nevor to return. Then, at least, . you will see the new phase, for the iiootf 4 will be upon you. I hope the Council will remove the words "at the rate of £10 per man per annum." =■••••-■