THE NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1092, 15 October 1869, Page 2

THE NEWS BY THE MAIL.

NEW ZEALAND AFFAIRS IN ENGLAND. BLUB BOOK ON NEW ZEALAND AFtfAIBSI The Times, in the course of a long criticism oh the Blue-book on New Zealand, recently issued from the Colonial Office, remarks that from the despatches at the commencement may be gathered the his-, tory of those misunderstandings and difficulties between Sir George Grey on the one part, and General Chute and tho Colonial Office on the other, which ended in the somewhat ungracious recall of the man whose name, perhaps, more than any other, will always be connected with the early history of New Zealand. Whatever the actual right and wrong of the matter may be, there is no doubt that as far as Sir George Grey's personal interests in the colony are concerned, the Home Government could not have done him a better service, for though there, as elsewhere, his administrative tact and ability were always recognised, his particular views on the Maori question were regarded with disfavor by a very considerable section of the colonists. The circumstances of his recall, however, lifted him into the position of a martyr ,whose martyrdom was incurred in the service of the colony, and the colonial press, during his last few months of office, were more unanimous in his praise than they had been at any time during the many years of his terms of office. The Morning Star observes that a NewZealand blue-book is not very lively reading, but the ponderous volume which has just been issued from the Colonial Office is enlivened by a personal controversy which merits attention. Sir George Grey is, as our readers know, one of the most able and accomplished governors who have ever ruled over the dependencies of the Crown. In a correspondence he has had with Lord Granville, he complains that charges were preferred against him behind his back ; that he did not know of their existence until a period of two years had elapsed, and then only in consequence of the publication of a blue-book ; and that without his knowledge, the Horse Gnards, and not his official superiors, really sat in judgment on his public conduct. Sir George Grey has always been a friend of the Maori race, and yet it was imputed to him that he had been a party to an order that " no prisoners were to be taken," and to the cruel and secret shooting of a native chief. It appears that such an order was actually given, and that ■ a chief was put to death under circums stances which would justify the use of a I strong epithet ; but Sir George avers— . and all the world will believe him — that he knew nothing whatever of these bar--1 barous occurrences, and that, owing to a f divided responsibility, he virtually exer- • cised no control over the military autho-. i rities in New Zealand. He demands an : inquiry, and appeals to the Colonial Office i for justice. Downing street, in reply, [ shelters itself behind the plea that the Duke of Cambridge had investigated the ' matter two years ago, and had received 1 " a satisfactory explanation" from the in--1 culpated officer. Whether the explana- . tion be satisfactory or not, it should be made public. Every one. will, we imagine, be disposed to agree with the larger issue raised by this courageous servant of the Crown. "I am certain," he says, " that what has taken place in this case, which I know has shocked and alarmed many earnest and thoughtful men, will here-, after be frequently quoted by the colonies as against the course pursued in some instances towards them by the British Government ; and I would earnestly advise Lord Granville not to put forward one of the Royal Family as decisively approving what has been done in this case, upon the sole and secret explanation of the person who did it." MILITARY SETTLEMENTS IN NEW ZEALAND. The Broad Arrow publishes the following letter on this subject : — " Some six or seven months ago I wrote to one of our leading journals concerning this colony, and as I have since seen many letters in your valuable journal on New Zealand, I write in hope that you will kindly insert those lines, and that the subject may be taken up by others who may have the inclination and interest to carry out tho suggestion. In one letter it was proposed to raise two Ghoorka regiments in India for the colony, and entering fully into detail of the cost thereof, and in subsequent letters other plans, having in view the ultimate good of the colony. We hare a great many time-expired men from all branches of the service, and also many whose time is on the eve of expiration, with many of whom I have conversed, and who would be willing to form a regiment and go out as military settlers. Why not raise a regiment of a thousand such men for the period of five years, who at tho expiration of such time should be entitled to a grant of land of one hundred acres, the colony finding one half the pay and the Imperial Government the remaining portion, the clothes and arms to be furnished by the Imperial Government as well ? If it should happen that their services may be still required, a portion may be allowed to form the nucleus of a regiment or constabulary, as the exigencies of the time might require. None but men" of good character to be selected, and limit of age to be forty. There are many retired and half-pay officers who would be found willing to officer the regiment, on the same terms, who also on the completion of the five years should be allowed a grant of land in proportion to the rank they retired in on completion of such period." PARLIAMENT AND THE NEW ZEALAND WAR. On July 22, Viscount Bury brought the affairs of New Zealand prominently before the House of Commons. In rising to call attention to recent events in that colony, and to the correspondence recently laid on the table, he said that the last mail from New Zealand had brought the news of still further disasters. The colony of New Zealand had been under our rule for forty or fifty years, and the present was not a time to withdraw all protection from that country. The colonists did not ask for soldiers or money, but the war which had subsisted for many long years had broken down their resources. In tho northern island every man capable of bearing arms had been for many years past withdrawn from peaceful occupations. Settlements had been denuded of their male able-bodied population, and they now came to the Imperial Parliament, with their resources exhausted and with the number of men available for their defence seriously diminished, to request the guarantee of a loan of money, which they would honourably and punctually repay. Earl Granville had written a despatch to the colony concerning which he would remark that this was not the time to convey to the settlers that it mattered npt whether they were eaten up by the natives or not, and that they went out to the colony without any consent or encouragement on the part of the British Government. The noble earl could not have looked into the question for himself, but must have accepted the official traditions handed down by his predecessors.

His lordship went on to quote Earl Granville's despatch, which he deprecated in the strongest terms. It was said that the colonisation of New Zealand had been injurious to the natives, whom, in their intercourse with them, the colonists treated as mere scum of the earth. It was also stated that it wds dwing to mismanagement arid neglect pa the, part of the colonists that the Maories had been metamorphosed into rebels against our authority. It was, however, urged by the colonists, and he believed with truth, that the Home Government had from the first reserved to itself the control of native affairs, and that if they had been mismanaged it was the Home Government that was responsible. It was, he might add, the way in . which the Maori lands were dealt with in the first instance that brought about the first Maori war. If that were so we had no right, when we found ourselves involved in a costly struggle, to say that because our policy had resulted in disaster we should hand over to the colonists the management of the natives. The noble lord then went into ah elaborate history of the colonisation of New Zealand, traced the origin and causes of the successive native wars, and recounted graphically the disputes between the Colonial authorities andthe Home Government. He commented upon the unhappy differences between Sir George Grey and General Cameron, and criticised the conduct of the Colonial Office in the matter. The noble lord read an extract from a paper written by Mr. Weld, formerly Prune Minister in the colony, describing the state of things in 1864, which the mismanagement of this country had produced. Then were sown the first seeds of that horrible fanaticism, the latest development of which was to be found in the last mail. The Government had admitted that it was not the settlers or their policy, but that of the Home Government alone, which had landed the colony in such a lamentable condition ; and then, when they withdrew their troops, and with them, as the Maories believed, the countenance of the Queen from the settlers, the Home Government committed a cruel injustice. They had sown the wind, and had left the colonists to reap the whirlwind. The colonists lost no time in protesting against the determination of the Government to abandon all control over the affairs of the colony, and against the imputation that they did not sufficiently defend themselves, and they represented to the Home Government that the whole of the able-bodied population of the Taranaki settlement had been for two years and a half in full military service, and that the taxation amounted to £5 per head per annum on the whole European population of both islands. He did not believe that the House of Commons would resist the cry of a nation in its direst peril. It was hardly necessary to remind the House of recent events. Some fierce fanatics who had been deported from the shores of New Zealand to the Chatham Islands, and who were kept in safe custody there for a considerable time, seized a vessel and made their escape to New Zealand. They landed at Poverty Bay, and committed atrocities which threw the whole island into a ferment. The Volunteers were called out, and a strong appeal was made to the Home Government to allow a single regiment to remain, not to fight, but to remove the . impression among the Maoris that the Queen looked with displeasure upon the colonists of the northern island. Now that the last plea of the colonists for assistance had been rejected, he feared that a general rising of the native tribes would be the result, and then, fatigued and harassed by war, the settlers might be unable to resist the excited rush of the natives. Our colonies ought to be treated as distant parts of this country, and he deplored the spirit in which this question had been discussed in England. If, however, the hearts of the British people were roused, he did not believe that they would refuse the helping hand for which the colonists now asked. This was not a question affecting New Zealand alone, for if this country repudiated its obligations the colonists would naturally look about for some other country which had sterner ideas of the duty of a parent state to a colony, or they might negotiate with the j Australian colonies to form a confederation for mutual protection against external and internal attack, or they might claim the protection of such a nation as the United States; and, in the present state of relations with that country, he would ask whether it would be agreeable to complicate matters by a protectorate asserted by the United States over one of our colonies. He was sure his right hon. friend the Under-Secretary for the Colonies would not be unmoved by the tale which he had unfolded. We were now threatened, he believed, with war, and he felt not only for the settlers, but for the Maoris, amongstwhom there were friendly tribes who had always shown a leaning towards this country and her civilisation. But if by our policy we made it clear that nothing but a war of extermination was to be hoped for, and we announced to the settlers that they must rely on their strong arms alone, what would be the result P Why, that sympathetic aid would be called in from the neighbouring colony of Australia, while wild spirits would seek in the confiscation of the native lands the reward of any assistance which they might render. As things now stood the Maories were fast dying out. They had diminished from 80,000 — which was their number in the days of Captain Cook — to something like 38,000 ; and if a war of annihilation was now embarked in, not a single Maori would, in all probability, be left at the expiration of ten years. Many of them might, however, be saved if it were only made known to them that it was the wish of our Queen that they should enter into relations of amity and friendship with the settlers. Let the friendly tribes be civilised, but if necessary let those Hauhau fanatics, with their weaseHike thirst for blood, be utterly stamped out, and let not all be mixed up m one indiscriminate hotch-potch. He would simply, in conclusion, express a hope that aid would be given to the settlers, for he could not believe that the British nation would refuse to listen to' their prayer. Mr. Magniac drew attention to the vastne3S of British trade with New Zealand, and the importance of the colony. It was alleged that only a certain limited number of natives were in arms against the Queen. No doubt the natives might be divided into three classes — hostile, neutral, and friendly. But the departure of the red-coats would be the signal for the neutral natives at once to throw themselves into the arms of the hostile Maoris ; the friendly natives would be thrown into a state of uncertainty ; and in the district of Wellington, with which he happened to be acquainted, there were already signs that natives who had been looked upon as the most certain in their loyalty were now wondering what they were to do, The massacres and outrages which had occurred, and the devastation of settlements, had brought the greatest distress upon many colonists, and he knew numbers of families, previously living in affluence, who were at this moment penniless. The noble lord who had brought this question before the House had stated that the colony did not ask for men, although a very modest request had beeh made to

the Home Government that they would permit the only regiment that was still in New Zealand to remain there until the result of the present crisis of the war was known in this country. That request had, however, not been acceded to. Under these circumstances, gentlemen who took the deepest interest in the colony made up theil' minds to ask for nothing more, but to leave the matter in the hands of the Government, and ultimately of this House. He trusted, however, that means would be found to give the colony some small aid. Sir H.Sei/wyn'-Ibbetson supported the argument of the previous speakers, and trusted that the general appeal which had been made to the Government would induce them to do something for a colony which offered excellent openings for emigrants from this country. SirC. Wentwoeth Dilee thought it would be evident to any one who Knew the difficulty of guarding a large extent of coast that it must be impossible to keep arms and ammunition from the population of New Zealand, where some of the natives possessed ships of their own. With reference to the policy pursued by the Colonial Office, he quoted a despatch from the Duke of Buckingham, in which, while deploring the fresh disturbances which had arisen, he stated that the Government did not feel at liberty to assume the control of native affairs or undertake the duty of defending the colony from native disturbances. With regard to the proposal for leaving the 18th Regiment in New Zealand, it had been refused in the most emphatic way by the colonists themselves. The policy of the Colonial Government had always been the same. They had never departed from their position, which had all along been that they should be left alone. They did not wish extraneous help. He had received many letters on this subject from New Zealand, and it was rather curious to find that although intended to tell strongly against the Colonial Office, when closely examined they told very strongly in favour of the Colonial Office. The Colonial Government had never observed those stipulations which the Home Government had prescribed. The idea of abandoning the prosperous and fertile north island of New Zealand to a comparatively small handful of hostile natives was altogether preposterous. What, then, was to be done ? The colonists would not receive troops if we sent them, unless on conditions of local control to which we could not agree. Purely local forces must be maintained from purely local resources. Then as to the loan of a million and a half, he could not see how the credit of this country could be required for such a purpose. That would be renewing a policy which he hoped had been for ever abandoned — namely, guaranteeing colonial loans. He suggested the prohibition of future settlement in the disturbed districts of New Zealand. It would also, he thought, be well if the practice of sending swords and badges to friendly natives were continued. This was the moment for the Government to give its recognition to the native King movement, to the extent of reserving a certain portion of the north island for the natives, in which the writs of the Colonial Government should not be allowed to run, but reserving the suzerainty of the Home Government. Mr. Fowleb, having been a member of the Aborigines Protection Society for nineteen years, wished to correct a misapprehension on the part of the noble viscount as to that society. It consisted of a body of gentlemen who took an interest in colonial questions, and who in cases where they thought the native tribes were harshly treated brought their grievances to the notice of the Home Government. The Society had in view only the good of the natives, and never encouraged them in any course of factious opposition to the Government. (" Hear, hear," from Mr. Cardwell.) Ten years ago Sir W. Martin, Chief Justice of New Zealand, drew a picture of the natives of that colony^ which did honour to their race. He said that they grew a large portion of the corn grown in the colony, bought mills and vessels, accumulated considerable sums of money by a system of co-operative labour, readily gave land for schools, and took steps of their own accord to suppress drunkenness and immorality. Unhappy contests with regard to the land afterwards sprang up, and led the Maoris into the commission of acts which could not be defended. They were, however, the original possessors of the soil ; they had seen it taken away from them, and their feelings might be supposed to be those of the Gaels, as described by Sir Walter.Scott :— " The stranger came with iron hand, And from, our fathers reft the land." Sir G. Bowen described the state of the natives of the northern island as similar to that of the population of the Highlands of Scotland 100 years ago. The same progress might be expected from them, and he trusted that the native race of New Zealand would one day take their places among the foremost races of the world. The Maories were a race which was capable of civilisation, and it would be a disgrace to this country if they were not civilised, as such a result would be entirely owing to our mismanagement. The policy of Sir G. Bowen was exactly contrary to that of the noble lord, being founded on the belief that the Maories could be governed upon the same principles as' the natives of India were. In conclusion, he trusted that this country would always pursue a firm and reasonable, instead of an exterminating, policy towards the noble and manly race with whom the colonists in New Zealand were now at war. Mr. Monsell said he felt bound, at the outset of the observations which he was about to make, to express his feeling of gratitude to his noble friend who had introduced the subject under discussion to the notice of the House, as well as to his old friend the member for St. Ives, for the manner ia which they had spoken of him personally. He could assure them, speaking on behalf of the Government, that he approached that subject with the deepest pain, and that he sympathised no less than his noble friend in the sufferings of the colonists which he had so eloquently described, while he had no less anxiety to do everything to redress those sufferings which justice and policy would allow. (Hear, hear.) On the other hand, he was satisfied his noble friend would admit that it would not be right in such a matter as that with which the House was dealing to act under the impulse of feeling or the influence which might be produced by mere panic. It was the duty of the Government fairly and fully to consider what the relations of this country were to the colonists, as well as those of both to the Maoris, and decide the question accordingly. The hon. baronet the member for Chelsea had referred to the present condition of New Zealand, and there could be no doubt that the statements which he had made in that respect were perfectly accurate. The number of Maories now in the north island was certainly not more than 35,000 or 36,000, and of those 10,000 were cut off from the rest by the isthmus on which Auckland stood, who were and had for many years been friendly to this country. Of the remainder, a very large ' proportion were friendly also, while of that remainder several were neutral. The honorable gentleman then read . in support of his views, an extract of a i letter received by the Solicitor-General , from Mr. Seymour, formerly Superinten- » dent of Marlborough, who strongly urged

a self-reliant policy* as the" best under all circumstances. He (Mr. Monsell) weilt on to narrate the history of the New Zealand difficulty, and the circumstances that gave rise to the surrender of the management of the natives into the hands of the Colonial authorities. He detailed the disputes about tho support of British troops in the colony, and defended the policy of their withdrawal. Mr. Weld himself had recognised that no amount of British troops could possibly protect the settlers in the outlying districts. Therefore the settlers were fairly warned from the very first by the Government of this country. In 1861, when Sir George Grey returned toNew Zealand, hefoundthe colonists still possessed with the idea that it was absolutely essential they should have the control over native affairs in the same way as they had over their own. Sir G. Grey indeed, found this feeling so strong that he took on himself the responsibility of acting upon it, and he wrote a despatch home explaining the matter. To that despatch the Duke of Newcastle, on May 26, 1862, replied, sanctioning the placing the natives under the control of the Assembly, stating that he could not disguise from himself that the endeavour to Iceep the management of the natives under the control of the Home Government had failed, and that it could only be mischievous to retain a shadow of responsibility when the beneficial exercise of power had become impossible. His Grace therefore acceded to the demand of the colonists. It was true that when his despatch reached New Zealand the Colonial Government declined to accept the boon they had sought, for the simple reason that they wanted to have the power, but did not desire to pay the expenses to which it would render them liable. But in a sub- ■ sequent despatch of great ability, dated February 24, 1863, the Duke of Newcastle explained the whole of the transactions which had occurred, and refused to withdraw the gift he had made to the colonists, telling them distinctly that what they had asked for and obtained they must keep, and that with it they must bear a considerable portion, at all events, of the expenditure for their own defence. When 10,000 British and 6,000 colonial troops were in the colony, the result of the military operations was that Taranaki remained in the hands of the natives, who occupied a redoubt within sight of Auckland, from which they could not be dislodged. Then came the demand made by Mr. Weld, when asked by Sir George Grey to undertake the Government. Mr. Weld laid down distinctly the principle on which he would consent to become Prime Minister. He pointed out tho evils of double government, recognised the right of the Home Government to interfere as long as the colony received the aid of British troops, but said he was prepared to accept the alternative, and would recommend the Assembly to ask for the entire withdrawal of British troops, and also to ask the Home Government to issue such instructions as would enable the Governor to be guided by the recommendations of his constitutional advisers, except only upon such matters as concerned the Imperial interests and the prerogative of the Crown. That reservation would have been sufficient to prevent a war of extermination between the two races, because Her Majesty's Government could not be absolved from the obligations of the treaty of Waitangi, and the rights of the natives of that treaty. With that limitation, however, a demand was made by Mr, Weld for absolute and entire selfgovernment. He required that the whole of the troops should be withdrawn from New Zealand with the least possible delay, and had since stated distinctly, having before his eyes the present lamentable state of things, that in this opinion it was due, in part at all events, to the fact that his demand had not been entirely acceded to at once — was due, therefore, not to the removal of the troops, but to the delay in their removal. Mr. Weld insisted not only upon getting rid of the Imperial troops, but upon keeping up a sufficient colonial force, and succeeded to a great extent in affecting this object ; but he went out of office. Mr. Staffordbecame Prime Minister, and, unfortunately, the colony was left without sufficient defence against the inevitable results of the system of confiscation that was carried on. Allusion had been made to the natives who escaped from the Chatham Islands. Now he believed— though his information was not official — that these prisoners were sent to the Chatham Islands for two years. They behaved admirably while there, but finding they were not released when the time expired they made their escape, and it must always be remembered that, with the exception of one person who lost his life in the scuffle, they inflicted no injury upon any body. When they landed, however, the Governor, though he made no military operations, [ insisted on endeavouring to recapture the prisoners, and, as the House | knew, the result of that attempt was lamentable. At the other side of the island, in the course of the campaign under General Chute, some horses had been taken away from the Maories. They were retaken by the natives, two of whom were seized as hostages for their return. The result was an encounter, in which two or three people lost their lives, and he believed that the rising upon tho east coast was mainly owing to that circumstance. He thought he had clearly shown that the demand for the removal of the troops was made by tho colonists themselves ; that it was insisted upon by them in the strongest manner ; that after Mr. Weld went out of office, they omitted to take the precautions which common sense suggested for their own protection; and that it was on account of the absence of precautions that these lamentable events had occurred. Under these circumstances, was it quite reasonable that the colonists should come to this country and ask us to assist them ? It was perfectly obvious that the reason why the colonists had not hitherto provided for their own defence was that, as long as British troops remained in the island they looked to them for protection, and imagined that they would be extricated from any difficulty by the assistance of the mother country. That was distinctly the opinion of Mr. Weld, who had re-stated it in an able pamphlet which he had written within the last few months. He therefore said deliberately that in his opinion it would be the most cruel gift we could make to the colonists to thrust them back upon the old system, which entirely broke down under their hands — that of leaving them to depend upon the mother country instead of upon themselves. He hoped, therefore, that the House would approve the conduct of the Government in refusing to leave the British troops in New Zealand. (Hear, hear.) Then came the question raised by his noble friend with regard to the guarantee. His noble friend spoke of the heavy taxation which pressed upon New Zealand, but he had not taken into account the difference in the incidence of taxation in this country and in New Zealand. The hon. member quoted statistics to show that • relatively the taxation in New Zealand was lighter than in this country, taking into consideration the high rates of wages prevailing in the colony. He would not, however, rest his objection to the claim which had been put forward solely upon this consideration. It appeared to him that the worst of all

; governments was that of one race over another when the dominant race was supEorted and assisted by a superior power ehind it, because such a government led to abuse and to the undue exercise of power. Upon that ground alone it appeared to him that the Government would be consulting far more the interests of both the colonists and the natives of New Zealand by leaving the Colonial Government to exercise the power they already possessed without any assistance from this country. The noble lord had stated that this country had made a rush to take possession of the colony before France could take possession of it, but the real fact was that the then Government of this country, much against their inclination, were compelled to take possession of the island in consequence of the course adopted by the New Zealand Company. He fully admitted the value of many of the suggestions that had been made in the course .of the debate, and, as far as recommendations and advice would go, the present Government would take care that they should be laid before the Colonial Government for their consideration. One suggestion had been made over and over again to the Colonial Government by the. noble earl at the head of the Colonial Oflice, and that "was that steps should be taken to prevent settling upon the outlying districts, where no protection whatever could be extended to the colonists. In conclusion, he must express his deliberate opinion that the worst boon that this country could grant to the colony would be the assistance that was now asked for on its behalf. If the Government were to yield to this application the same vicious circle would be entered upon that led to the state of affairs that existed in 1864, when the condition of the colony was far more desperate than it was at present, and the colonists would be deprived of that spirit of selfreliance which he was happy to see had risen among them. Her Majesty's Government were ready and anxious^ to give the colony any assistance in their power by instructing the commanders of Her Majesty's ships in that quarter of the globe to protect the colonists in the event of any sudden disasters occurring, and by furnishing them with officers, non-com-missioned officers, and trained policemen ; but, on the other hand, he must state , most distinctly that all such > assistance must be limited by the principles which he had endeavoured to lay down in the remarks he had just addressed to the House. Her Majesty's Government fully appreciated the importance of the colony and the position it was likely to occupy in the future history of the world, and while willing to render every possible assistance to it within the rules ne had laid down, they must decline to give them that which would prove, in their opinion, a fatal gift. Sir Charles Addebley remarked upon the extraordinary nature of the documents contained in the first part of the Blue-book upon this subject, which he described as being merely a record of quarrels between the Governor of New Zealand and the Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty's forces in the colony. A more amusing portion of the Blue-book was that which contained a number of despatches from • the present governor of the colony, who, by a series of quotations from Sir Walter Scott's novels, endeavoured to establish a parallel between the wars of the Maories and those of the Highlanders. For his part, he should rather compare the Maories with the Fenians in Ireland, because their cry was, " New Zealand for the New Zealanders." The whole of the documents contained in the Blue-book were a record of the vicious result of colonial affairs being meddled with by the Home Government, and he trusted that no steps would be taken calculated to restore a policy so pregnant with disaster. He had already said that the noble lord offered no remedy, nor had he heard sny valid one suggested in the course of the debate. There were in the colony, as in this country, two parties in the Parliament — namely, the selfrelying party and the party who wished to go back to the old system. The self-rely-ing party were strong enough to get the principle of self-defence sanctionedto the full extent, but were not able to obtain the means of carrying out the necessary measures of defence, the absence of which was one of the causes of the horrible massacres which had occurred. He thought the speech of the noble lord rather contradictory in some parts, especially where he described the taking by a few colonial troops of the pah at Taranaki, which General Cameron had refused to attack. That alone showed what the whole colony might have done under a united legislature. There were two conflicting parties in New Zealand, and every step we took should be to encourage the self-reliant party, and enable them to take their part, as every Englishman at home did, in bearing the burdens of his country. (Hear, hear.) Mr. R. Tokbens attributed the origin of the wars in New Zealand to the readiness with which land purchased from the natives had been surrendered whenever the slightest colourable pretence of a defect in title had been shown, the result on the savage mind being a conviction that it was only necessary, in order to get payment a second time, to trump up some absurd claim. When that was resisted the colonists were attacked, their wives murdered, and their cattle stolen. He quite agreed with those who insisted on a self-reliant policy ; but was it judicious tb inaugurate that policy at a juncture when the colony was suffering under such deep depression? He did not say that any money should be given to the colony, but that the loan of a million and a-half should be guaranteed, particularly as wo had guaranteed the Canadian Loan. The Government had taken away the native laws, but had given the natives no means of carrying out the laws of this country. We gave them no police magistrates and no courts of law, and the Maoris were obliged to elect a King to carry out their own laws. Everything should be done to induce the two races to amalgamate, and tho Maoris should be encouraged to take part in the government of the country, and should be treated as the settlers. The colonies had an independent legislature for managing their own affairs, out no representative congress to which they could send their representatives, and at which they could discuss colonial subjects. The colonies had no representatives in that House, nor could they send diplomatic representatives to this country. If the colonies had the privilege of sending to this country persons as ambassadors or charges , d'affaires to represent their views to the Government of this country, that single concession would do much to bring about a better state of things. Mr. Digby said that when this country undertook to wield Imperial power over New Zealand the people were placed under Imperial protection. Colonies were founded by enterprising and independent spirits in the time of Greece and Rome, but those states always undertook the government of their colonies. When New Zealand was established as a British colony in 1840, it was as much for the protection of native interests as for those of the settlers. He believed that the Land Act was the cause of the present troubles. The political condition of the native race was greatly attributable to our

neglect. For five years native feuds prevailed and the authority of the native chiefs was only nominal. The King movement then began, and events showed that the dual Government which had prevailed in the colony could no longer be continued. (Hear, hear, ) Mr. Whalley urged on the Government the expediency of granting a committee next session to inquire into Jesuit action in New Zealand. He wished to point out that the French Roman Catholic bishop had thought himself entitled to assume a position of neutrality in the rebellions of the natives, and he would ask whether there was not fair ground for inquiry as to whether that neutrality had not degenerated into secret complicity with the rebels. The subject then dropped. In the House of Lords on July 27, the affairs of New Zealand were brought under discussion : — The Earl of Cabnaevon fully analysed the despatches in the blue books recently published at some length, expressing an opinion that the surrender of the control of native affairs, although perhaps somewhat premature, must now be accepted as a necessary fact, and that the present course, which had now been pursued by several successive Secretaries of State, would ultimately be acquiesced in by the colonists, when their present irritation had subsided, not only as the best* but as the only one which could be adopted. He suggested that a commissioner, armed with similar powers to those with Jfrhioh Lord Durham was sent to Canada and Sir : H. Stokes to Jamaica, should be sent to New Zealand. Earl Gbanville complimented the noble earl on the judicious character of his observations, which were calculated to strengthen the policy of her Majesty's Government, which had been fenerally approved of by the country, [e would not now say more than that Government intended to adhere to the policy. He trusted that the difficulties of the colony, and the irritation in it, would only be temporary, and that, the Colonial Government would learn the real nature of the responsibility which it had assumed and adopt those measures of conciliation towards the natives which would put an end to the state of brigandage rather than war which prevailed in it. The Bishop of Lichfield thought he should be wanting in his duty towards the colonists of New Zealand, as well as towards the natives of that country, if he were not to address a few words to their lordship on the present occasion. Against the general policy of the noble earl at the head of the Colonial department he had nothing to say, because he believed it to be strictly sound. It was but fair to add that the rejection of aid from England came from the colonists themselves in the first instance, and that one Prime Minister, Mr. Weld, had taken office on the distil reliance upon local resources. He therefore entirely concurred with the noble earl as to the strict justice of the view which he took. He at the same time agreed with another noble earl who was formerly at the head of the Colonial oflice in the opinion that there was nothing which the colonists felt more than indifference or neglect on the part of the mother-country. But it was not only the colonists, but the natives, whose interests were concerned, and he would ask whether it was not the Imperial Government ; who made the first contract with the latter P Had that contract, entered into in 1839, when the New Zealanders, confiding in the power of England, received the British Government for the express purpose of putting down anarchy and bloodshed, evils to which none were more alive than the New Zealanders themselves, been fulfilled ? On that ground alone he begged the Government to pause before they refused further aid to the colony. New Zealand was at present composed of about 200,000 English settlers and about 30,000 or 40,000 natives, of which number ho would undertake to say more than onehalf were attached and loyal subjects of Her Majesty, while another portion was neutral and ready to be made loyal, those by whom the murders were committed, which had been properly called acts of brigandage, being only a contemptible minority. He therefore appealed to the Government, seeing how great the cost of employing soldiers in the colony was and how difficult it was to keep colonial forces in any degree of discipline or subjection, to lend such assistance as would enable the colonists to put an end to that system of brigandage, in a country in which the wars from time to time had occurred had, he must say, been conducted in a most honorable and chivalrous manner. There were repeated examples of that. Now, however, when the native forces were broken up into small sections, the same results had followed which always ensued in other countries under similar circumstances. The natives, being unable to beat us, had divided themselves into two parties. One of those shut themselves up in the fastnesses of the country, and the other formed murderous detachments, and, taking advantage of their intimate knowledge of the country, carried desolation in all directions. He had received a letter from the Chief Justice, Sir William Martin, who went out to the colony in 1830. The writer said.— " After the great calamity at Poverty Bay a storm arose in our newspapers of plans for preventing the like doings in our parts. Among the most prominent was one from Sir David Munro. He urged the suspension of the Constitution and the transfer of all power in native matters. to a dictator, to be sent out hither from England. This met with some favour, but the extreme improbability of the English Government consenting to resume the management of native affairs, and various points in the plan itself, diminished the feeling in his favour. After waiting until it had become clear that Matutaere (the native King) and his people were minded to keep the peace, I addressed the enclosed memorandum to the resident minister Dr. Pollen." The word *' King," he might remark, had been the source of much unnecessary offence. There had never been a king in the colony of New Zealand. The natives only heard of a queen, and their notion — not a very exalted one of a king — was taken from the Book of Judges. Well, Sir W . Martin proceeded as follows :— "He forwarded it, with an expression of his entire concurrence, to Wellington. No answer has as yet been received, but Dr. Pollen tells me that his letter was crossed by one from Mr. J. C. Richmond to himself, in which Mr. Richmond expressed his readiness to throw up the confiscated lands to a great extent. Since then our case has been strengthened by a letter from Mr. Serancke, full of details, of the accuracy of which he is satisfied. It appears that the murders of the White Cliffs were committed by four men (whose names are unknown) from Mokau, that a raid was actually set on foot by a body of 80 men under one Reihana, and that on their march to Alexandra they were intercepted by Matuataera and his friends and driven back. Further, Mr. Serancke certifies that Rewi is clear of complicity in the late crimes, and has been steadilysupporting Matutaera and Tamati. At the request of Dr. Pollen I have written to Tamati to suggest for consideration three bases of peace not as from. Govern-

ment, namely : — l. That a district may be defined within which they may make and administer laws for themselves, and appoint their own chief magistrates. 2. That lands in Waikato shall be given to all who are willing to settle quietly down under the law. 3. That both sides shall co-operate for the purpose of repressing crimes of violence." On this point he would call the attention of the Secretary of State for the Colonies to a despatch sent by his predecessor, the Duke of Newcastle, to Governor Browne, stating that if the latter thought fit to assign a district to the native chief he was quite at liberty to do so, provided that the laws made for such district should be submitted to the Governor for his confirmation. There were nine provinces, each of which had its own chief magistrate and its own provincial council, and if the native king would act with us and pass laws to be submitted to the consideration of the Governor, he saw no reason why such a system should not be adopted. The possibility of doing this was proved by the fact that in the. very district of which so much had been lately heard, he found some years ago the laws so carefully administered by the native magistrates that the people said he might take his baggage with him with the most perfect safety, because nobody stole there. They said, " Some do not steal from the fear of God, while others do not steal from the fear of the £5 " — the fine imposed for every theft that was committed. He believed that at that period the king might havo lnaugurated_a. system of good government in the very heart of the country. The people most earnestly desired that might be done, for the New Zealanders were essentially a lawloving people. When he first went out to that colony the natives paid willing deference to the authority both of the magistrates and missionaries, and it was not until the unfortunate proclamation was made that the natives might sell their land to the Crown only that the idea of the Queen's sovereignty began to be degraded in the eyes of the people. Those who referred to the earlier documents would find that this was the very result predicted by Mr. Shortland. When the sovereignty of the Queen was ordered to be proclaimed over the whole of the Northern Island in 1840, Governor Hobson wrote to Lord , John Russell and said : — " If I am to carry out this instruction I must have a much larger force placed at my command, as there are many breaches of the peace and civil wars among the people which I must suppress." What the answer was he did not know, but from the failure of that despatch in producing any effect in England he dated the source of all the present troubles in New Zealand. The agent of the Government for the purchase of ground has done incalculable injury by going about the country in a very injudicious manner. The proclamation warning the natives that if they fought on what was called the Queen's ground they would become the Queen's enemies, was far from being a fulfilment of the contract originally entered into with them. The New Zealanders had accepted our Government on the conditions that we should preserve them from the consequences of anarchy among themsekes, and yet twenty years after that contract was entered into we found them making war against one another in every part of the colony. He might sum up all by referring to a text cited on a public occasion by William j Thompson, who was called " the Kingmaker." It was this verse from St. Paul — " Ye have reigned as kings without us : would to God ye did reign." Could we ■ listen to the cold-blooded sayings that the ! natives were perishing fast, that this was j a war of extermination, and that it must take its course ? If, indeed, the natives were to perish, in God's Providence, from off the face of the earth, let us lift up our prayers for the remnant that is yet left. Let us try to fulfil our original contract. When on one occasion a native chief gave him some land on which to build a college, he said — " I give you this land as a site for a place of education for the youth of both races, that they may grow up together in the new principles of the faith of Jesus Christ." That, he would undertake to say, was the prevailing feeling throughout the whole of New Zealand. Every New Zealander desired to be a faithful subject of Her Majesty until that unfortunate idea of the Queen's right to the pre-emption of land took the precedence over every other idea, and the whole notion of government was lost in the simple question of in what manner and by what quickest possible means the property of the soil in New Zealand should be transferred from the natives to the Crown. Their great mistake in New Zealand had been their asserting from the beginning a sovereignty over a country which they could not govern. They had repeated all the errors committed in Ireland centuries ago, and had punished crime by the confiscation of land. Large tracts had been taken from the natives, and so-called military settlers were placed in them to defend the district. On one occasion he knew that a dealer came to these settlements and bought up the land of those supposed defenders of the country, who went away leaving the place undefended, and then a number of peaceful settlers came instead of those military men and scattered themselves over the district, and although they were exposed to every kind of danger, they were never injured because they were living in the king's country. In other parts, indeed, where peculiarly exasperating circumstances had occurred, the case had beea different. The men who had done all the mischief on the east coast and at Poverty Bay woro mon who had been carried off as prisoners to the Chatham Islands, where they were told that if they conducted themselves well at the end of two years they would be set at liberty. There they behaved in the most exemplary manner, but at the expiration of the two years they were informed that they were not to be set at liberty, whereupon a look of despair came over them, as if every hope they had of life were cut off. They had been placed on lonely and remote islands, they had looked forward to the day of their emancipation, and with that view they had behaved exceedingly well. But when they saw no hope left to them, was it surprising that they took matters into their own hands and escaped ? Those men went back to their own country, where they were followed up by a military force, driven into the woods.theirplaces stormed, and their houses burnt. The most unwise thing of all was that, in spite of warning, the military officers who had followed up those escaped prisoners went and settled down on the land which had Just been taken from them. The New Zealanders would not be like the Scotch, the Irish, or the Welsh, if under such circumstances they had not resisted these excursions. He trusted that none of their lordships would believe that the New Zealanders were a nation of murderers. There were, no doubt, a few murderers among them at the present moment under the force of circumstances, but there was not one cannibal, unless it was under similar circumstances to those which led French women during the frenzy of the revolution to lap the blood of persons who had been decapitated by the guillotine. When maddened by the influence of some fanatic, some excess of that kind might, perhaps, he committed by a native New Zealander,

but as to cannibalism in the real sense of the term, which was sometimes gravely charged against them, and at other times, he grieved to say, alleged against them in. order merely to point a jest, such a thing had entirely ceased since the colony waft established. He therefore appealed to Her Majesty's Government to give some assistance to New Zealand. He hoped that the use of the Imperial credit might be extended to : the Colonial Government to enable it to raise a loan on reasonable terms for one simple purpose—viz., to compensate the settlers who must be removed from the disturbed districts for a time because their remaining there was likely to provoke a continuance of these murders. Another reason why he hoped New Zealand would receive some assistance was because he did not think the Colonial Government ever could maintain | such, a force as was necessary to follow up and suppress brigandage and murder. The native, who had lately murdered a missionary was now at large ; and, after the expenditure of millions of money and the loss of the lives of so many British officers and soldiers, no attempt had been made to bring to justice that notorious murderer. If that man were once given up to justice, and if we once made a treaty of peace with the New Zealanders, there was nothing in our experience of the . country, befpre or , since its colonisation* to warrant the belief that any solemn covenant entered into with them would ever be broken. He thought that it would be very beneficial if, instead of the rogimcnTiuoT^f^ut^ia.thSLt©wns,% flying body of about 600- men; under the authority of the British Government, yet acting in conjunction with the Colonial Government of New Zealand, were held ready at any moment to go to any part of the. colony wherever a crime had been committed, not in any way to protect the settlers in the possession of the land nor to be mixed up at all with the land question, but merely to arrest murderers ; and he believed that such criminals would be apprehended with.the good will of "the native population themselves. He was convinced that' the colonists, instead of looking to some other power for the protection which might be denied them by England, would far rather cling .to this country, as they had ever yet clung to it, as their own mother, their own friend, and their own protector, but not to enable them to do acts of injustice towards the natives. Such acts, hemustsay, in defence of his own brother settlers, had not been attempted excepting on very rare occasions. The general feeliag of the settlers, he could assure their lordships, had been that of friendliness towards the satire race. There were a few persons among the settlers, as there were also a few among the New Zealanders, who would at times rush into violence ; but the great majority of the colonists Jived in peace and harmony with their native fellow-subjects, and their good will was in a great degree reciprocated by the natives. He therefore entreated her Majesty V Government to pause before committing themselves finally to the principle that, under no circumstances, woula they depart from the rigid policy.of entire abstinence in future from any interference in the affairs of New Zealand; and he made that appeal to them partly on the ground of mercy both to the settlers and the natives of that distracted colony. opinions of the mess. The Spectator says :— " The colonists of New Zealand will certainly not be prevented from declaring themselves independent by the debate respecting them in the House of Commons. The disposition of English officials to treat their complaints with scorn and themselves with insolence was as fully displayed in the House as it is now in the Blue-book, which is from end to end a repertory of carefully worded and apparently intentional contempt. The department evidently dislikes and despises j New Zealanders. New Zealand, however, is filled with Englishmen, and the Government did not even care enough to appear interested for five minutes. No Cabinet Minister thought the colony important enough to require a word. We cannot but think that when about September it is 1 known that New Zealand, despairing alike of justice, of sympathy, and of common' • courtesy at home, has proclaimed its independence and sought the protection of a Government not yet too decrepid to value empire, the amour propre of the British people will be wounded, as since the Peace of Utrecht it has never been wounded yet ; that even this Government, powerful as it is, will wince under the question, 'What have you done with the British Empire ?"' The Standard cannot think that the. discussion in the House of Lords will be any more satisfactory to the colonists of New Zealand than that which washeld last week in the House of Commons. There couldnot be a more striking proof of the systematic neglect and indifference with which colonial affairs generally are regarded in this | country, than that afforded by the eourse and result of the speaking on Lord Carnarvon's motion. The misplaced enthusiasm and singular blindness to the real , point at issue displayed by the noble mover himself, were aptly met by the flippant inaptitude and careless impertinence of the Secretary for the Colonies. Future historians who will desire to know how a great colony was lost, and by what steps the loyalty of a kindred race was squandered, have only to read the debates in the English Parliament on New Zealand. Regarded in the true spirit, they are among the gravest signs of the present period of England. They prove that we nave come to a stage in the growth of an empire when the' burden of dominion is felt to be too great— when the policy of our rulers is directed, not to the retention of our territories, even of those which hunger and thirst to remain a part of us, but to a general loosening of bonds and .. universal disintegration. Lord Granville's attempt to show that it is for the colonists „ themselves to choose between a policy which leads to "brigandage" andmassacre, and a policy of conciliation, is utterly refuted by all the facts of the case. That choice, if it was ever with the colony, has long gone far out of its hands. For the result,, whatever it is, it is not the colony but the, mother country which is to blame. The destiny of New Zealand has been shaped entirely by England, and it is preposterous, at this eleventh hour, when she' is overwhelmed with the troubles of our creation, to Teproaoh her for not choosing a policy of conciliation. The Times observes that whatever errors the Home Government, either acting by itself or in conjuction with the colonists, may have committed — and one knows of no great error except that of spending too much English money— -they must be considered as bygones. We have made the best reparation by giving the colonists complete independence of action. They are completely their own masters. Any policy with regard to the Maori which has been unjustly adopted by the mother country it is in their power to reverse. As for money, they have the power to come into the market and borrow like other people. As to the suggestion of Lord Carnarvon that a commissioner should be sent out as Lord Durham was sent to Canada or Sir Henry Storks to Jamaica, undoubtedly the presence of an able and eminent man, enjoying the confidence of the Home Government andjfce colonists, might be advantageous to # New. Zealand. But it might also give rise to

hopes and expectations whioh would Jend .1 to^&T-W#jovernment r of the colony j atity, mpre^ fliffiouls;ii4nA: one],. cannot :but . think, ; that fcproiper personto report the .< sta&iQ? )%e]t6diQky t r, rtp rthe, ; Queen, or. to 1 Bd^sejthe polonis^injtjue .Queen's name, .1 is tfc|&o^e^op.ferithe:timetbeirigv s ; a*ne I .paperrhas p*ablished= ia ■ » correSoi*.dei^on;the;BXibieot irirwhich'Sir C. Jv f E.: Gorst have; taken paffe»'.t<r»l ;s>i '. ; ." l! <f : X •.'.••■••' ..«/ ';'"' ' '' gfeJPtfK -?.MdM -Gazette remarks j— " [holds, and Lord Granville^does.i.jiotiuC.ontradict' him, that; our abft£dp»ment<oft native affairs was premature* ithough it.was made all but obhV fa^iryi i aud>rhowever : this f may be as to Tew^Zeajaftd^igeheridly^ithere is -little. ; doubtithafcit.isjtrue.as regards the tharn .lsland.- -'We do not see why, if the colQnists. feel tihis, they should hot ask. the mother^ ii&ttntryi to>relieve them of a '■ burden^hichithey are notfittedto bear, norrwhyViifitheycan make out their oase> satisiibtorib/r^heir request: should not' be ■ granted. jsidJiiS' not contended that if the quesliionief. abandonment. ;of # control and ; aefenpe^ere^now under discussion 1 the > - presenfcwftuldbe thought a fit time for leaving:' {the;^Northerni Island ; to itself;; andjfirrexperience' has- made it clear; to all' concerned that- the ? step r was ill-advised, wh^ishonld^tnot be. retraced for a time? The-cpoUcy ; >which- ought to have been adopted'yearsagowas that of placing the No^therhKlsland:!under a distinct and more stringent Government. The opportunity was lost ; but it is surely not irrevocably^ iivVliat.isTvahtedis a dictatorship fo*^th^taalaji«Wijc>»^*to of < if ; : a Government m!*which civil and militaryauthority ishali be for the time amalgamatedVa suspension, for the time, of those admirable things in their- way; parliamentary rule and "xesponsibtaadvisers." Provided.' ■ that one : autocratic intelligence guides \the rifles for^which; on this u conditionyljwe tvrbuld help to pay, ; we should care but'littlef whether it were that of Mr. Stafford or Sir George Bowen ;,but a real soldierigovernbr, such as our Indian trainingi^«appliesii; would serve our purpose better *ban 4 either." ; The Morning j Post says ':— " The New Zealahders'niust evidently work out the problem without the element of British troops <>This^couritry would not grudge the.aissistance if it were really necessary. Butifcris nok'and&y acceding to the' ire-' quesfciwe i^should but be retarding the adoption "of the only safe and satisfactory couffisrsrio^ open to be pursued. ; Let -lm-' perMfdafob^S be > permanently* quartered again in New Zealand, and 'there will be a repetition - of the pbliey that has' produced theMainentabW results, which we all so . much deplore: - "W6 h&ve to turn a deaf ear the: pitiful tales and urgent eritreaties'fcf the private individuals' who aire so assiduou^ appealing to' our susce/ptibili-" tiesC J '-AccouhtS' painful to read we shall, no doiibt;' perhaps^ still receive frdm.time, to time}} causing ; us. to wftVe'ritfthV execution of a policy delibera(«ly'¥iite s red on/theV should but fix our'riesoiveth&'more firMy. r We caiihot afford'to'e'nter-onthe vicious circle which before landed us in a desperate, state of affaifs;in^ew:Zealahd,'' 4 * r ' " ; . The" Wfodd^rroio' remarks;— "lf we could*/ b^Keve 7 that the results of Mr;. CardwelTs iroU-handed policy of retrenchmentjj'Snd Lord- Granville's insulting fefusal'of aid, represented the feeling of the country towards New Zealand, we should be compelledto eohclude thatthe days of England's •< supremacy were numbered. Bometwasi lost; when she could no longer defend her •frontiers, and between 'cannot b and. f will hot ' the difference is practically: nothing.' But we do hot believe the country has iyet awoke to a consciousnesS'Of the .real tendency of the policy that! 'rhas been': pursued. The plausible doctrines rbf the Manchester school of po-hticiaris-^ootirines' which are promulgated 'in the name of liberty and economy — have : blinded the eyes of people to the sacrifice of imperial interests, and; even to the ■ counsels of humanity. It would be sad tb conclude that the great heart of no longer beats for those wbxrweht out from! amongst us, and that the greed; of money-making and moneysaving—the love of ease'and dislike of responsibility— - have conspired to weaken the 'cords which have heretofore bound our scattered communities into one great family. 'We do not believe there is any such weariness in the heart of the nation at large. It is the feeling of a miserable cliqu'ecf politicians whose high ambition is to: apply thejprinciples of the countinghouse to the affairs of a great empire, and whosethoughts would turn to the cost of the gunpowder they were compelled to burn in repelling an attack of brigands on their\dwn "persons or homes." Tie '\\Guar4im-. : says :— " The further employment' of Royal forces in New Zealand (except, perhaps, a very small number a's a moral support) is on all sides admitted .tb bis 1 " undesirable. The colonists must either resolve on a military organisation of. the whole population, or recruit their .regular', forces in Australia, where material well suited for the purpose may be found. ;' lt is partly because we should gladly see 'the Home Government retaining gome-locus standi to arbitrate in the last extremity, that we incline to regret the apparent 'acquiescence of Parliament inthp.prese'ntdetermination of the Colonial Seoretary.; partly becapse of.theurgent Appeal made not only on behalf of the n£trveiAp'ut of the settlers, by their eloqtjeht "advocate Bishop ISelwyn, last nig^ r fp£ mercy to tjie distracted New Zealgpderss/ Whether the suggestion of Earl . jCarnarydn .to,"! send out a special Commissioner would prove useful would, , of course, much depend on the man chosen. That;ih^;,colbnists, will prevail in the end, and that a grea£ and prosperous future is eventually in store for the colony,, we cannot for: a moment doubt. But apparently.apresent period of trial and suffering has: , to be undergone, which may be shortened, or may be indefinitely prolongejil." The, Morning Star believes that it. was reliance oh Imperial troops which led to the wholesale confiscation of native land ; and itis a remarkable fact that war has only-broken out; at points where native' land ,has;jbeen confiscated. A policy of self-reliance,, while reheving the British exchequer^ of charges which it should never, liaveibeen' required to bear, will develope in the colony a public spirit which is greatly needed. ■ The Saturday Review observes that the . despatches ofvLord Granville and of his predeio^ssors;. contain little, indication of the sfetesmanlike forethought or of ; the inspiring-,?sympathy; which cement •. the attachmentibf dependencies. . Mr. Gladstone;^ although- he was once. Colonial Minisfce^iias perhaps no leisure to superintendthe^ohcy of the, department, nor is it kho;#h whether his .versatile imagination mterestsdfeelf in the fabric of Imperial greatness^vj Th'e- final result of the Maon>*^iis absolutely certain, and it is only tojbeVfearea that -ultimately friendly aaa hostile/ tribesJ will .be .involved in a common? destruction. It" would' not be uaw(^hy : of;JE]n|[landyeven at some, cost of money sand or exertion*; to< secure : the ' gratitude ofcthe; English settlers, with the possible o^poriuuity of protecting; the na-tives,*fcThe-colonists justifiably resentthe imputetion'of ojipidifiyor cru6%;but it is im^sibleithat-they should be as disinteres*s>d as represeiijta-

tives of, .Imperial., authority. It might perhaps be advisable, in accordance with Lord. Carnarvon's advice, to appoint a Commissioner to inquire into the affairs of New, Zealand, although it may be too late to assume the dictatorial power which some of the ablest and most* patriotic colonists .would gladly entrust to -the Crown. -•■>■'■■-. '•' •■'• ■'■■'• ■■' The Daily News thinks that as soon as the colonists put forth their- powers they will undoubtedly gain the mastery- over their, foes. . The, task. is. a formidable, one ; but in proportion to' ilie difficulty, of ac- : compiishing it is the; merit ,of , the con-, querbrs. '" This imich is certain: Lord Carnarvon, the Puke Of Buckingham, and ■■ Earl Granville, who have successively held the seals .as. Colonial. Secretaries, , are at one in thinking that the settlers in New Zealand must take their, own course m defending themselves against, the Maoris.. In the. opinion of the'HousQ of Commons,, this is the right counsel to. give, and the right, course; to follow. ; The people at •large ,are of the same way of thinking. ■ The unanimity of opinion , affords ground * for 'hoping that the difficulty will be boldly faced, and that deserved . success will attend the colonists when vigorously fighting their own tattles and proudly relying on their own resources. The Tablet remarks that whatever mode of assistance may be judged the best, this much is clear, that, unless we wish to play Over again Jhe game which, we played with : pro* American colonies, we must make our sovereignty worth something more than an empty name, and that it must no longer be ah _ occasion of. mortalembarrassments, out of which our colonies are, left to extricate themselves as best they can. It may be inconvenient that it should be so, but we cannot enjoy the advantages of supremacy without bearing its responsibilities in the past and fulfilling its obligations in the , future. John Bull says r .that "The debate on New Zealand affairs in the House of Lords, will, we fear, have as little result as that in the House of Commons; although, there .was fortunately one Peer who really understood the question, and thoroughly grasped,. the .point at issue'. , The, speech of the Bishop of Lichfield so entirely confirmed the, policy we have always advocated, that we need dp no more -than direct attention to it. When may we hope that either Colonial or Indian policy will really interest the Imperial Le-. gislature?" ....;.. ■'• The Echo observes — - "The ridiculous suggestion— jwjiich,^ we are glad to say, has : notrjbeen made in New Zealand, but by her, reckless advocates at home-^thai the colony should seek the protection of Prussia or. the TJnited States,. and cast off allegiance to England, reduces the sup-, posed grievance, ..to an absurdity. . What is there that the colony is likely to. obtain from a foreign power , .beyond that protection against external danger which we are willing and able to afford ? Ii it reasons able, to suppose t]iat New Zealand,, which lias enjoyed perfect political independence, woulid surrender into 'the hands of a military, government, .whether Prussian or American,, those, autocratic powers which "were, not tolerated, in the impartial charge of an Englishman?,- Perhaps, indeed, some State, hungry for the barren glory of colonial empire, .might, after humiliating negotiations, . offer New Zealand a loan and. guarantee in. exchange for. the, transfer of. her allegiance and the disruption of her ancient,, ties of kindred. But what a stain would, this paltry bargain be upon the independent spirit of the colony —what a fatal rupture in the historical lineage of the new country ! We do not believe that any minority of discontented men in the settlement seriously contemplate the impotent and spiteful petulance with which they have been credited. In after ages, when the. New Zealander of Macaulay's imagination, shall visit the Mother Country, he will think, perhaps, of the. crisis in- the fortunes of his nation which is now impending, and will feel, we are certain, deeply thankful to England because she had the courage to disregard the unwise prayers of her daughter nation, and to develope in her colonists the noblest virtues of self-reliant Englishmen." A London contemporary publishes a letter, from which the following is an extract, from William Clarke, late Chief SurAeyor to the General Government in New Zealand •— •" The colonists of the Northern Island of New Zealand have suffered muchi ' and have said little, behoving, as they still do, that they will in due time receive that measure of " fair play " which is every Briton's inheritance, whether his dwelling be on this side of the equator or the other. Is it possible, they ask, that the sense of justice is to be suppressed by a desire for ill-timed economy — the falsest economy in the long run P. The Northern Island undoubtedly requires our aid in extricating her from the difficulties into which she has been plunged by the short-sighted policy of the Colonial Office. Let this rebellion be put down, and the Queen's supremacy fairly and finally established, and then say to the colonists, " Look to yourselves for the future, and no longer to us for protection." But if this help is to be denied them, withdraw then at once the Imperial ruler from a place where there are ; no Imperial interests to protect. Let the shame and delusion of New Zealand being a British colony, in the British sense of the word, no longer be permitted to beguile the hapless emigrant from the home of his .fathers, to be tomahawked by bloodthirsty cannibals. Let us remember, too, that if the colonists depend upon us we . also depend upon our colonies. But for them where would our surplus population find shelter? and what wouldTiot be the addition to our poor's rates and charitable institutions ? What of our trade? And what of those higher and nobler ends than the mere acquisition of wealth and power which we believe it to be our mission to attain ? Contrast the Spain and Holland of to-day, with those flourishing nations a century or two past, with their rich and prosperous colonies. Yet, if we attempt to treat .the.New Zealand colonists.as aliens in blood, what have we to expect but that they will learn to be . aliens iri heart P" 'The Bishopeic of Dunedin.— Bishop Jenner has arrived in England. He has addressed letters to .tho Bishop of Christchurch, .and a clergyman, Mr> Edwards. , In the former he protests .against his inhibition, and in the second maintains that his claim remains, exactly as it was before the meeting of the, Synod. He challenges his accusers to prove what he haa done, taught, or said, which, by the law of the Church in England or New. Zealand can be visited with penarconsequences.

Avoid quotations unless you are well studied in their import, and feel their per- , tinence; A. gentleman while looking at the skeleton of an ass which had been dug out of a sand-pit, and admiring and wondering at the structure of that despised animal,, made.a yevyrnal'adrpit use of one, " Ah, *■■ said he, with the deepest humility, "we ; are fearfully, and wonderfully made I" The latest idea- for fashionable churohes in America is a retiring room, like that of the opera-house, where ladies can leave! their cloaks,. parasols, &c„ and, thus disencumbered, listen to the Word in all , the glory, of gbrgeous,raimerit. ' "