A SHORT WAY with the MAORIS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 58, 11 March 1869, Page 2

A SHORT WAY with the MAORIS.

From the United Service Review. It was St. Christopher, we believe— but the name is of no great consequence — who served the devil until he was convinced that Christ was the stronger and nobler Master : convinced, that is, not by learned discourses and persuasive religious tracts, but by deeds of -strength and nobleness which admitted of no disputation. The case of St. Christopher, mutatis mutandis, is just now the case of the Maoria The evil spirit, of which they seem to be possessed, is for them the stronger and nobler master : the good spirit, of which we must assume ourselves to be the agents and representatives, is by comparison weak and contemptible. To win their allegiance, we have only to convince them that the strength and the nobleness are with us, and not with them. The article then goes on to state that unfortunately for us the Maoris have no power, of imagination. They cannot understand their folly in rebelling against such a power as- England, because they connot picture to themselves her strength. They understand, an overwhelming force placed before them, but cannot realise to themselves the forces that are in reserve, or the consequences that are likely to result from their own acts. They are a people whose mental idiosyncracies are such as to make them appear more intelligent and more nobly gifted than they really are; they have less mental force than the Englishman, while at the same time their brain is more easily heated, and they are much inflamed with their own importance. We have such a foe and yet we have done nothing to convince him of the actual existence of that superior strength to which we claim his allegiance, indeed we have rather courted defeat at his hands by the way in which we have conducted our military, operations, as has been strongly pointed out by Sir John Burgoyne in his letter to the Times. The remainder of the article we shall give in full, as we believe that the plan suggested for dealing with the Maoris will possess the merit of novelty to most of our readers. Bearing in mind what we have said of the native character, the result may easily be imagined. By an operation of this kind we have tickled the vanity of the Maoris, and vastly magnified the idea of their self-importance. With their defective imaginations, they do not perceive that every victory they gain in this way hastens their own destruction. An elephant is more capable of reasoning from premises to consequences. The day's work has impressed them with a sense, not of our strength, but of our weakness and incapacity: they forget the power in reserve, and think it ignoble to submit. They meet and talk, and grow hot in debate. Then, some of their people have fallen, and their homes have been destroyed. The feeling of revenge, so engrafted in their nature that they make a boast of it, is excited as their brains take fire, and associated with that feeling is every savage instinct they possess. Their civilisation and religion are alike forgotten. Their Bibles are torn up for cartridges, and their rifles are employed from every natural fortress and lurking-place they possess against those who first taught them to use them. The lust of blood follows. The devil whom they serve is not only the " strongest," but the " jolliest,' and the .'scenes which ensue are such as civilised human beings grow sick to contemplate. The remedy for all this we imagine to be a very simple one, still keeping in view the pecularities of the native character. It has been proved by experience even in the late disastrous affair at Rua-aruru that the Maories whom we win to our side serve us faithfully, and — acting under the influence of a certain esprit de corps — stand up courageously against their countrymen. Why should we not avail ourselves of this feeling, and form the whole race of Maories gradually into an armed colonial force? At first those who are with us stand in need of encouragement under the circumstances we have depicted. Let a few companies be drafted to Europe, stopping for short periods at the Cape and at Malta and Gibraltar. Let them come to London, and take their .share -of duty with the forces of the Empire, until they are brought to feel the actual existence of the mighty power to which their foolish brethren at home are opposing their" "puny efforts. Let these select companies be drafted with our other troops to Canada and India before their return home, and let others . succeed them to witness the same evidences of an irresistible power in all parts of

the globe, and to talk of what they have seen to their comrades, thereby exciting the spirit of emulation and vanity which forms so large an ingredient in the native character. In the meantime the main body of friendly natives would be employed along with the armed constabulary against the rebels in the field, but always in sufficient numbers, and under such conditions, as to ensure absolute success in any military operation they might undertake. The successes would alone draw others into' their ranks, and when good pay, with the certain prospect of a visit to Europe, and a liberal settlement after a certain number of years' service were added to the other inducements held out, it cannot be doubted that every year would witness a large accession to our Maori forces, and but few years would elapse before every native capable of bearing arms in New Zealand would be able to boast that he had followed the beat of the British drum all round the world, and seen the " Meteor flag " wavering on every sea. The salutary impression of the actual existence of a strength and nobleness infinitely beyond their present powers to comprehend, would be made upon the vain-glorious race who are now so easily persuaded of the insignificance of the Pakeha. Their love of display would be gratified by participation in the glory of an empire which they were thus made to comprehend, and the very qualities which make them such troublesome rebeis would make them good soldiers of the Crown.