THE NELSON EXAMINER. SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 1861.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XX, Issue 28, 30 March 1861, Page 2

THE NELSON EXAMINER. SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 1861.

Journals become more necei tary •• men become more equal and individualum more to be feared. It would be to underrate their importance to luppoie that they terve only to iccure liberty: tney maintain civilisation. Uit TocauaviLLE. Of Democracy in America, vol. v., 330. Communities, like individual men, have ! their opportunities of progression, but it is a mark of the highest wisdom to discern the favourable moment, and to set sail on the full itide that leads to fortune. Opportunities neglected or loat seldom offer themselves I again. " Occasion turneth a bald noddle after she hath presented her locks in front and no hold taken, or at least turneth the handle of the bottle first to be received, and after the belly which is hard to clasp." It is curious to observe now men will sometimes persistently walk blind-fold, wilfully shutting their eyes to the advantages surrounding them, and which by the smallest efforts might be converted into great and permanent benefits. The rich gold-fields of Victoria were neglected for at least twelve years after shepherds and stockmen had seen nuggets and dust lying about, but which they could not bring themselves to fancy was really gold ; and more near at home, for how many years did Otago, now the most prosperous of all the New Zealand provinces, with her vast tracts of grass country lying idle, the source of enormous wealth, remain a stagnant little settlement, impoverished to the last degree. A new country, like virgin soil, contains a ! power of productiveness and wealth within it which can never be known until it is worked and tried. When the ordinary occupations which people first engage in are brought into full activity, others are struck out which exceed in importance those which previously engaged attention, and so, with an active-minded and energetic people, year after year individual and national wealth is created.

t There are few persons who will deny that the Province of Nelson is highly favoured in natural advantages. Of these little has yet been made; but it is not worth while on this occasion to discuss how it has happened that we have failed to grasp the " handle of the bottle " when it has presented itself, but have waited for the " belly which is hard to clasp." If out of past experience we can gather future wisdom, our past losses may be made to become our future gains.

The harbour of Nelson, itself a natural dock, has a rise of tide of from fourteen to eighteen feet. This circumstance and the facilities it otherwise possesses for such a purpose, mark it as a spot where a dry dock or a patent slip should be constructed for the convenience of the shipping, and particularly the steamers, which have so rapidly increased on the coasts of the colony. The construction of such a work in Nelson would cost far less than in any other port in New Zealand, and the subject is of that importance that it should be at once taken up by the Government. Wherever such a work is undertaken, that spot will become the workshop of the colony ; and with coal and iron at hand in abundance, the two minerals that have made the wealth of England, there is no reason, in the course of time, why we should not reap advantages from like causes. But nothing would so much hasten this as a large accession to our population of highly-skilled mechanical labour, and the spirit of enterprize that would spring out of it. I The Provincial Council is on the «vo of

meeting, and we hope that hoth there and by the Chamber of Commerce the subject will be ventilated. If our Government objected to perform the work itself, competent persons could be found who would undertake it and find the meana, provided a guarantee was given them of a reasonable interest for a stated period of years on the capital sunk upon it.

The arrival of Major-General Cameron by the Lord Ashley on Thursday to take command of the troops at Taranaki, is an event of the very fii.:t importance to the colony. The two officer,: who have hitherto held command during the present war owed their position to the accident of their presence in New Zealand and Victoria, and being the senior officers in these respective colonies at the time the services of troops were needed here, and not to any special fitness possessed by eitherof them for the work they were called upon to perform. As a matter of theory, every British officer who has arrived at the rank held by Colonel Gold and General Pratt is supposed capable of leading her Majesty's forces against an enemy, whatever may be his country or complexion, but experience has taught us too often, that in cases of this nature what theoretically is correct, is practically untrue. ne » utter absence of field experience by Colonel! Gold, who is stated never to have previously! witnessed warfare of any kind, and the advanced age of General Pratt, who is long! past the period of life when men should be| taken from their snug arm-chairs and sent I campaigning, may be urged as an excuse for the little, and worse than little, which has been done in New Zealand for the last year by a brave body of troops, supported by a strong force of blue-jackets, and a gallant body of Volunteers and Militia. Under these commanders, a most deplorable state of things has grown up. What originally was little more than a petty broil, has been suffered to grow fearfully in dimensions, at the expense of the total destruction of a thriving province, at a cost of enormous sums of money to the British Government, and what is more serious still, at the cost also of British prestige over the native mind which the events of the last year have utterly annihilated. The officers in command at Taranaki have, it must be conceded, been careful of the lives both of their own men and of the enemy ; but if' they have succeeded in preserving these, it has been at the expense of British honour, and the fame of the brave men who have been placed under them. In sending out General Cameron to supersede General Pratt, the Government of England have doubtless selected a man of action for the work which has now grown to be so serious. That there are great and formidable difficulties to be encountered in fighting such an enemy as the Maori, in such a country, we do not question ; that it is the duty of an officer to spare as much as possible all needless waste of life on the part of his men, is equally true, but it is true also that a protracted warfare with no results, often costs more lives than a dashing charge which; leads to victory, and brings about a speedy! 1 peace. Prom General Cameron's arrival we hope to date a new era in New Zealand warfare, and to see the majesty of England's name vindicated, her power made terrible to those who have opposed her by force, and her clemency and justice made manifest at the first moment a fitting opportunity of I doing so shall arise.

The Lord Ashley arrived with the European mails at midnight on Wednesday, after a passage of five days and a-half from Sydney. She was detained in Sydney five days, waiting the arrival of the English steamer, and on her passage down she experienced some very rough weather. The Lord Ashley has a large cargo for these ports, and was compelled to shut out a great deal which offered in Sydney. ! The following piece of intelligence from Taranaki should have appeared in our last issue. It is an extract from a private letter, and was handed to us by a friend : — New Plymouth, March 18. The Tasmanian Maid arrived this morning, and we hear that the firing yesterday was in consequence of an attack on a portion of the enemy's rifle-pits, which the troops succeeded in taking. lam sorry to say however that we lost a very valuable officer, Lieutenant MoNaughten, Royal Artillery. I believe we had another man of the 65th killed, and seven men wounded. Of course the Maori loss is unknown. Lieutenant McNaughten was shot dead while pointing a gun. The pah was to be attacked this morning, and there has been heavy firing to-day, but I shall be able to hear nothing further for your information, as the mail closes immediately.