THE NELSON EXAMINER. Saturday, February 28, 1863.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XXII, Issue 19, 28 February 1863, Page 2

THE NELSON EXAMINER. Saturday, February 28, 1863.

Journal* become more neceukry v men become mor« equal tnd individualum more to be feared. It would be to underrate ' heir importance to luppose that they lerre only to secure liberty t they maintain cmliiation. DB ToCttUBYILLI. Of Democracy in America, vol. v. 830. Our files by the Airedale do not record anything that now-a-days can be called important or interesting news from the North. At one time it would have been thought nomentoua that Sir G-eorge Grey, General Cameron, and the Colonial Secretary, were about to visit Taranaki, but, besides that much doubt must be felt whether this pronised visit of the Governor will come off at all, seeing that half-a-dozen such promises remain unfulfilled, the public must have long ! since ceased to expect any particular result from the personal influence of Sir George Grey, or to look for the opening of any policy beyond the old one of simply waiting. Sir George Grey is in very bad health, so much so, that he cannot at present bear the journey from Auckland to Onehunga ; and this again may cause delay. In the meantime the southern natives remain obdurate. Cataraimaka is not to be " restored." Such Is the language in which colonial newspapers write of the matter, accepting the conquest of a piece of British territory by a handful of half-clad savages, as a thing accomplished, fhe best months of the summer are over with this day ; and, though much fine weather may yet remain, it is to be feared that the time of year will be held as sufficient for inaction till spring returns. " Who dares ?" says Mr. Gorst, speaking of the necessity of establishing elementary authority among the natives ; and echo, from every printing press in the islands, has said, " Who dares ?" But the reply to the appeal i seems to be that courage flags and sickens I the more. Not only in Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, and the other feeble settlements, but in Auckland, with its General and army, systematic and deliberate ignoring of native lawlessness has begun, and policemen dare not or may not apprehend Maori offenders against the peace and security of European inhabitants. But if this were the extent of the cowardice, there might be excuse for it. We are willing to make every allowance for the lively imagination which pictures another province desolated as the result of attempting to put innocent and loyal men in possession of the land the Crown has granted them, or of firmly facing violence wherever it appears on British territory. We can respect the stubborn resolve not to be, at all events, a willing and conscious agent in such a result. But the cowardice which, holding this view of means and difficulties, dares not say it and act accordingly, but leaves a miserable community to die out by inches to save appearances, and, as a screen — a most transparent one — between our weakness and uncivilized violence, such a cowardly weakness we will not and ought not to palliate. The £25,000 promised by Mr. Domett out of the £200,000 originally voted " for the liquidation of the losses " of the Taranaki settlers, has been slowly, and, it would seem, reluctantly forwarded for distribution. At the same time the relief of the infirm and helpless part of the population is being reduced at a rate which will in six months extinguish it altogether; and this relief money, and all previous relief not otherwise provided for, will be charged against the £200,000. The large balance that yet remains of this grant will be a tempting weapon to a ruler who holds national self-respect to be the folly of men of unstable age or race. We j would not willingly let our suspicions go in ! advance of their fair grounds ; but it does suggest itself that this money mi^ht be found effective to do what eighteen months of waiting and personal influence have not done, and repurchase Tataraimakaand forbearance for us. The reluctance with which any portion of the grant is surrendered to its legitimate purpose, strengthens the probability that such an idea is held in high quarters. An officer who, having first sought a post of special honour and difficulty, opens operations by an elaborate series of reflections on his predecessor, and repeated declarations of confidence in his own capacity, yet, when means beyond his utmost demands are poured without trammel into his hands, sits with folded arms, and refuses the responsibility which he himself sought, is one of the saddest exhibitions of human weakness, and we may dread anything at such hands. God forbid that the idea we have suggested should come to pass, and the degrading and futile attempt be ever made of attempting to buy the forbearance of a lawless race. The lowering of the national tone that such a course would entail cannot be estimated in figures. You can have no census of the condition of men's spirits and tempers, to compare a loss in that direction with sacrifices of " blood and treasure " in war, or of acres, by surrendering what we cannot hold. But to us it is clear that neither a destructive struggle, nor the abandonment of an untenable settlement, would be so ruinous to the health of our character and prestige of our national name among the natives, as the patching up by money transactions, however speciously veiled, a quarrel which is radical, and can only be really settled by courage and self-sacrifice. There are men among the Ministry acute enough not to be hoodwinked in this, and certainly possessed of common sense enough, not to say statesmanship, to see, that though a passing Governor's end may be served by such means, the colony would be thus driven further from the solution of the difficulty. Greater loss, greater bloodshed, greater heartburnings would follow than from war or retreat, with »hame to the back of thote

evils. No Colonial Minister could face the country who had failed to oppose himself to such a policy, however veiled; and among Mr. Domett, Mr. Whitaker, and Mr. Bell, honour, sagacity, and respect for a real public opinion, are to be found abundant enough to make us Becure that the thing, if done at all, must be done by a coup d'etat of some sort. Again and again we have to regret shooting an arrow at a venture, or at least aiming at coming events through vague shadows. Our ablest New Zealand statesmen have not yet learned one great principle in representative government, namely, that its books should be always open for inspection. Its servants are bound from day to day to prove their competency. We have seen as yet no sign of the action of Ministers in respect to the native question, except one, and that is, so far as it glimmers into perception, neither very bold, nor very business-like. We should gladly find that the reports that are circulated about the details of the proposed German immigration are false; out, if they are true, they indicate that Ministers, too, are infected with the spirit of fear. We shall make an opportunity for referring to the scheme, which may, of course, be mended yet. But it would be a real relief to know that so narrow and parsimonious a plan as we have heard rumoured, is a child of rumour alone.

The Airedale arrived yesterday from Manukau, but, to the disappointment of every one, without the English mail, the Claud Hamilton not having arrived in Auckland from Sydney when the Airedale left. This disappointment must be attributable to the Claud Hamilton having encountered unfavourable weather on her passage from Sydney, and, being so weak in steam power, was, therefore, unable to keep her time, although the Airedale waited an additional day for her in the Manukau. We shall now be kept out of our English letters until the Storm Bird returns from Manukau, on the 9th of March, which will be on the eve of the sailing of the mail for England, and thus bare time will be afforded for sending replies to letters which the mail may bring us. The Storm Bird, from "Wellington, having fortunately arrived last evening, we are able to give our readers a summary of the English news, which we have taken from the Wellington Independent of Thursday last.