THE STOPPAGE OF HOSTILITIES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XV, Issue 878, 10 April 1861, Page 2

THE STOPPAGE OF HOSTILITIES.

(FEOM THE ' NEW ZEALANDER, MARCH 23.) On^Thursday an interview with William King and his followers took place. In this, as in the tormer ease, we are in ignorance of what transpired. We have heard that King and his people were frank and open m their communications with Mr. McLean and. with the officers who accompanied him, and that they are suing for peace. The practical result at present is, that Thompson and the Waikatos, in number it is said about 400 kit Taranaki on their homeward march earl v on Wednesday morning; that William King and his tollowers have retired to some distance inland of Mataitawa; that hostilities are suspended; that leArei pah js evacuated by the natives, bat not taken possession of by the troops; and that the Taranaki Ngatiruanui, and Wanganui tribes have left the district and dispersed. Waitara remains in our hands.

His Excellency, it is said, will proceed to Taranaki on Monday next. At present we assume that hostilities.-are merely suspended, and that the terms of submission have yet to be settled by the Governor in person. The Waikatos, apparently, have treated separately, leaving King and his southern allies to make terms for themselves. A difficulty, it appears to us is thus removed. There can be no doubt that, although all have merited punishment, there are degrees of criminality; no one desires to see the same measure meted to the murdering Taranakis a^d Ngatiruanuis, and to the bold fighting men of Waikato.

A peaceful solution of the-Taranaki question is now possible, and, it may be, near at hand. We must not conceal from ourselves, however, that we may even yet fail to reach it. There are certain points which Her Majesty's representative cannot yield, and, much as we all need and desire peace there is a price of humiliation which, as one man' the people of New Zealand would refuse to pay '

(FEOM THE ' SOUTHERN CROSS,' MABCH 26.) The intelligence received on Friday last, that a .cessation of hostilities had been agreed upon at laranaki.has caused a great sensation in Auckland the more so as the whole of the negotiations between our Government and the leaders of the insurgents, have been shrouded—as it was only rieht that they should—in mist. " All that we know is that we nothing know;" save and except that fighting has ceased. The rifle pits are deserted, °and our troops can now march in safety over the positions, which they were not allowed to approach, when'doing so bayonet in hand would have been a victory. Our gallant foes, finding that our forces were gradually approaching too near, prudently and wisely—we do not use the words ironically—determined to evacuate their position with the honors— not of'war but of rebellion—and as the event has proved, had not miscalculated their power of doing so._ Either from Christian motives of forbearance or m accordance with the old military precept, "to bmld a flying enemy a golden bridge," they were allowed to go each man to his home, at the very moment when the fruits of months of labour were within our grasp. Of course military men are the best judges as to the best manner of carrying on war, and it is too bad to blame them because ignorant savages, not appreciating the scientific beauty ot one ot the most beautiful saps ever dug, and having no taste for fine military operations, desert then- post at the very time when the experiment is approaching its critical point. The natives must have understood that the intention of our leaders was day by day to get nearer and nearer, and at last to break into their rifle pits; but these poor neglected savages are such miserable soldiers on account of their missionary education, that they have actually carried on the war as if a warrior's object ought to be to stand as long as he can, and then retreat to a better position j and so they have not waited for us to break in upon them and bayonet them. Somehow or other they have escaped. We^have been endeavouring to put salt on the bird s tail; the bird has enjoyed the joke, led us seven miles up a cul de sac of a valley, hopping along like a make-believe lame lapwing, and then flown off quietly to its nest j whilst we the gallant salt-exhibitors remain in possession of a magnificent ditch, long enough to hold the whole correspondence on the Waitara question—memoranda and all—at full length, and all the long-winded speeches besides, which have been delivered on the subject of the " Vigorous prosecution of the war." . These are patent facts. We have long foreseen and actually foretold them. Every sensible man acquainted with the country about Taranaki must months ago, have come to the conclusion that no

decisive blow was to be struck fk " ~~^ for the Waitara valley, the $ t an* «*t as our troops a long, way-up it wSi k °« lead «ig would have a long way to return do i that «4 it is better that i? should &7™ && *"?*» be a cessation of hostilities wherenot^ Sh°uld be gained; and the abandonment of Wai "g ? as l° natives may thus ultimately prove a d™? ra b * t} 'c U8- iAra^ alter the ~ o7tt S geoUßto would be difficult, to find a worsel 7 1"1 it Great Britain next sends us outan arm^ 7 he» as the one now resting on its laurels we £ ** *> learnt by experience what to do with 7 IS" S to employ it. "» and «j£ ere Still, as we said above, we know nnfl • has ceased at Wnitei*-™,'*, tout W P War to believe that no terms have as yet \2i , *V7 eas <* the rebels They declared theirXSfo?^ With as it ought to have been expressed for' Peace>Or the Government, through Mr m/t y ' &^ that until they abandoned the h^J&^pd they had taken up, no negotiation f 0 ? t e W' llcl> be possible. They immediately departS u!(I terms are still to. arrange. The WaX V &nd th c turned home, Wm. King has retuld to ' re" seat, and the Ngatiruands LT>Z^JV^y appeared. The latter alone hiwS? have di"into counsel. Gratuitous maraadew *i.take» ginning of the war, they have ZXeenT *? be" the same light as Waikato and S» N, edi» vemmenthas wisely refused to deal S !^ f" al The insurgents would gladly hat, T for with us as a body, but Mr. mL; J sawVff m a case like the present, it was »«« y that distinguish individuals and indfvia Ua ! 3^ to m a court of law, and so Wm. Thompson 25? ? paced in the same catagory as the in, rf i to be children at Omata. mwderers of We refrain from hazarding coniecrnw what terms His Excellency is^ikel^ftlf t0 as to whether the natives are likelv■ t« . f e> Or as His Excellency must dictate cl? remain a home for Englishmen • but 1* J ls to say that the country wimldMher^ hoSjL^ commenced, than a peace made on snS 1 Ie" year swans a bad joke, and somebody the leek in consequence, but we prefer -of 5-^ it ourselves. Still remembering as we do tt "g rap on the knuckles which the%ettlers of TaS received when they only imagined the posriH} Her Majesty's representative compi itV honor of Her Majesty's crown, we fondly h op f t fc the treaty of Waitara may secure the peace of \' o^o^ In the meanwhile the good people of Auckland have enjoyed a little quiet indignation, and 22 vent to it. A shadow has placed them ZgA • mettle; should the reaiu/which thTy 2^Z pear, what may not be looked for! P

(fBOM THE 'IABANAKI HEEALD,' MABCH 30) Ine stagnation of the week has faiX closed our Journal of Events. On Wednes 4 a/, *"* E? cellenc J fche Governor, with Mr Weld, Native Minister, Mr. Whitaker, Attorl ney-General, and Mr. Commissioner McLean arrived at Waitara in the Victoria. The Niger returned from Auckland with fifty tons of ammunition on Sunday. Parties of settlers have been out to examine the state of the country,and it appears that except on the Upper Mangorei road, the ravages of the enemy have been complete enough. Four houses out of five are gone, and of the remainder, part have been spared as lod^mohouses for the enemy, and fire hadbeenVt to others; but had not taken. On a rou°-h estimate five sixths of the cattle are gone, by one means and another. The stench of putrid animal matter is common, and many bodies of cows, bullocks, and sheep, shot in mere wantonness, are strewed alono- the roads. Not a horse is to be seen. The progress of the thistle will not be fully seen till spring* but already it is evident that we have here our work bofore us.

The examination of the abandoned defences at Waireka shows the position to have been much less formidable than its reputation. It offered only one front, and was assailable easily in rear.

This morning, at six o'clock, the Airedale dropped anchor with the January English mails, and Major-General Cameron and staff landed and proceeded to Waitara. In the English summary will be found all at present known to us of this officer and his mission.

The week has been filled with anniversaries. This day twenty years ago, the William Bryan, the first emigrant ship that ever sailed for New Plymouth, dropped anchor off Moturoa. Her passengers housed themselves in a shed built by Barrett, the whaler, near the pah, and in tents along the coast from the Sugar Loaves to the Henui. To these people (many of whom still call this place their home) as they gazed on the symmetrical cone of Egmont, the luxuriant fern, where now are rich pastures, and the lovely copses of low delicate trees, such as now are found in the narrow valley of the Waiwakaiho river, the idea can hardly haVe occurred that twenty years would find many of them as houseless as on their first landing. At that date a hundred poor trembling creatures were all that represented the quarrelsome and once bold tribe of Ngatiawa; and these welcomed the settlers as protectors, and protectors they really were. The feebleness of Governor after Governor, and the universal panic consequent on the Wairau massacre, changed this sense of dependence in the returning; fugitives into contempt, and now at the end of the twentieth year of the history of Taranaki, we have harvested the full fruit of that feebleness.

On Thursday was the anniversary of the fight at Waireka, which showed the colony and the natives that an altered relation was to grow up. Gentlemen wearied with a monotonous,, inglorious campaign at Waitara may pronounce the Maori unconquerable, and recommend "diplomacy" for adjusting our differences: but those who took part in the fight, the colony at large, and the Governor, (who was all but a witness of the affair of the 28th March), received then a different impression, and one which makes the result of the pending negotiation hopeful. Last year's fight gave to the settlers and the Governor that confidence in case of extremity which, when combined with a hearty desire for peace, makes negotiation manly and dignified. The twentieth anniversary of the foundation of New Plymouth we may fairly hope will be the first day of an era when the energies of the settlers and the wonderful natural advantages of the land will no more be cramped and frustrated by the reign of imbecility or barbarism.

The 31st of March, 1860, saw the first of nnr families leave for a place of greater secu- ■ r We may hope that tho tide has changed 1 that the long dreary ebb is at an end ; and Xif 'not long hence, no place of greater seenHty than Taranaki will be found on the surfe The above had scarcely been written when ♦I,p Airedale arrived, bringing Major-General rTmeron to take charge of the war, a coin'dence which it is not in human nature nor, to look on as a happy omen.

Another week has passed by without bring- • o-nnv definite information from Waitara; ! Dft so far as the few indications of the pur- °" o f Government go, there seems reason tc be hopeful and tranquil. It is the intention nf his Excellency to deal separately with the Lmrate tribes. To do otherwise would be to acknowledge the rightfulness of a union independent of the Government. It would be foolish not to. use every means of breaking, no the association by which alone the Maories qre at all formidable. It appears clear from the'number of agreeing reports, that the Ncratiawa are sick of the struggle. In the early days of the disturbances it was confidently expected that the agreement between the Waikatos and their former victims would not last long". No alliance between barbarous or semi-barbarous tribes can stand the test of adversity; and if we have lost much in the war the Maories have gained little, and their losses are such as they cannot repair. It is barely necessary to hint the sort of indignities which a superior force of savage warriors certainly inflict on the tribe whom 'they come to succour in their homes. The presence of Waikato was a real invasion, not only of the lands and property of Ngatiawa, but of that which the most barbarous treasure more than property. William King never for a moment rose to the height of the idea of nationality. All along he has desired to be himself the Kino* of Waitara. Old grudges, personal ambition and bitter present experiences, combine to detach him from the insurrection which he himself lighted up. The precious balms of the Kingship party have broken his head. If the Governor finds W. King and his tribe in so submissive a temper as to afford security that they will not for the tuture be obstructive to the progress of the colony, it is likely he may give easier terms to them as the first to leave the coalition. It is desirable on many accounts to withdraw this particular stick from the bundle, always supposing that the reasonable claims of the settlers are duly considered in the act. The homesteads of the other settlements are untouched, and quiet at Taranakiwill enable the Governor to prosecute operations elsewhere, and in the enemy's country, without exposing the fat and vulnerable parts of other provinces. The end of the war will certainly put us in a position to control Ngatiawa, for it will enable us to control the larger and more united tribes of the interior. And if the rest of the colony escapes our misfortunes, it will be in the best position to help Taranaki—if so selfish a thought be needed to stimulate us to care for our neighbours. Another very important effect of ending the quarrel at Waitara will be, that the mouths of the Hadfield-Featherston faction will be stopped. "Why," asks the heroical talker of that faction, " was not the king movement honestly faced, if that, indeed, was held to be the same in substance with the action of W. King?" If the Ngatiawa are separated from Waikato, and prefer falling into the hands of the Governor, we shall then be face to face with the king movement in its nakedness; and whether the rumours of the week be true or not, that the Waikatos retired with threats on their lips, and quite unbroken, there can for the future be but one watchword—"Order and the Queen!" The offer of terms to Waikato, though it is sure to be abortive, unless it is true that they have been severely punished during the war, will conduce to the same union through the colony. The peace of Amiens was known at the time by English statesmen to be made on the part of Buonaparte to be broken on the first convenient day. But it satisfied captious spirits at home respecting the aims of the tat consul, and rallied the nation for the great struggle. In the same way the present negotiations, by showing the temper of the national movement among the Maories, will unite the colony (except an insignificant factionjm cordially accepting the sacrifices necessary for establishing a healthy peace herefrtv f Q mUSf nOt for Set that there *" a party of sympathisers in the colony who, at Sw: f e theiY nsi*<*rity and wretched Paity spmt cannot be as well known as here, 2£E estimated b*the len^ <* exact!™ HtU? im P 01'tance to discuss the £m? Parati Ye demirits of Waikato a^ rfv"ivTff But [t is broadly evident they £• StofTv l\ c l hai' acterand in conduct. W ik ato ?n ioi IS \ ble re P°rt of the sfcat* of i*h to f J• ' Which aII should read say? • a JUSt J^ent on the subject,

mi . # inthesSSrln?o^"'.commence^ it appears, gaining ptsell ?' dunnft>» P»fc year, been Parts of &7 te, sat assemblies held in different district S-IS 0! 11?^'^ Principally in the central in tention S Zl"Fa T c°ncePtion according to the %and Sn PP r,to haVe been a fixture of ticable fff ■ ahke trea^able and impracNortWn pLr" BUPPorfcf« were found in the drivinf ."ftK th? BOuthern representatives Ne^ Zealand f fu ke\ a lnt<> the sea" and having be **^t£?J*« Zeaknders, could noi argimentsofll> a etL, e! nore Bober and r^ona\ Tflnil? , men of the north. Pose/thT aBi he Myl?ikato Chief who °Pof the Ton' n ci W°Und, ed ' becarae th* ftroi" 0 e.ntert ain it. It has been so *°naC f -hlStol>y of the colony- Pret£ f a P r°per element in determatter of I , ? teDce on an lender. As a ties wherf tv Y 6 demnd heaviest sure" •lust*e and ,n Cl>edlt is least Tara^V?? Venienf c Point to Ngatiruanui territorie T»l !°vf ""f 1""1 examples, and their t^v, chief source of reparation es- -Lite pretence of the kingship men

to interfere on behalf of other tribes, will probably bring us again into collision there and in any case we may be confident that the liberal support of the mother country will not be wasted, but on all sides ample security for future peace and indemnity for past injuries will be taken.

Weighty reasons will occur to any one who will be at the pains to think about it, why a Government, at a juncture like the present, should decline to make public the whole of their mind and motives in negotiating with the enemy, but the arrival of his Excellency and his ministers will probably end the foolish affectation of secrecy on the nature of the negotiations themselves. Man is an imitative animal. Secrecy in such matters as this has become a habit with the great men of the older nations; and the little great men of New Zealand affairs find it much easier to imitate such an external matter as this, than the energy of a Wellington or the tact of a Palmerston. Secret diplomacy is a thing little loved by the English, even where there is an imperfect excuse for it in the fact that business must be carried on with nations differently constituted—with close and arbitrary governments. But here the dealings are with a people living under what the geography books might call an unlimited anarchy.. Open discussion with all the rebel taua that choose to be present is the mode of negotiating. The subject and discussion come garbled to the ear of the loyal inhabitants through the medium of the neutral natives. There is no conceivable reason, except the monkey-like instinct of imitation, why the European population should not have been set at ease before now by real authentic official information. But it is forbidden even to officers to go to the 1 front' where the weighty affair is pending. In the folly of thus aping the defects, perhaps unavoidable ones, of greater men, in imitating like the Chinaman the crack on the plate, there is little to surprise. The impertinent mystery of peace-making happily follows the unsuitable tactics of war; but what must be deplored is that these follies tend to bring military science and civil government into contempt and distrust: to foster the vulgar idea that our rulers are our enemies, since we find there is more courtesy bestowed on armed resistance than on patient loyalty. We may feel confident, however, that his Excellency will not allow any needless delay in informing those most interested of the state of affairs.

Great anxiety was felt when it became known that Mr. McLean alone had arrived to conduct this business, and proportionate satisfaction attends the coming of his Excellency the Governor. Without entering on details on the present occasion, it is sufficient to remark that the whole antecedents of the department over which Mr. McLean presides have been of a temporising kind. If the relations of the two races were once on a sound basis, what need should we have for a department whose office it is to "manage" the natives ? Taranaki has gone unmurmuring into this war, believing that the days of temporising were to end with it, and that an honorable, manly system was to be the fruit; and the appearance of Mr. McLean was looked on as anything but a favorable omen. It has been long1 the conviction of New Zealand that the Native Secretary and Chief Land Commissioner, though the ablest of negotiators wJhere the object is simple and leaves little discretion, is by education and by official instinct the last man of any mark in the colony to be entrusted with a matter of broad policy. By his intimacy with almost all the most considerable chiefs of New Zealand, and his personal influence with the Maories generally, Mr. McLean is, however, incomparably the most suitable person to undertake the present business, under the immediate eye of his Excellency, and in conjunction with the other gentlemen who accompany him.