LEGISLATIVE C0UNCIL.

New Zealander, Volume XVI, Issue 1492, 4 August 1860, Page 3

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

General Slsscmfclo of £UU) Sealanlsr.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2nd, ISGO. Pjieskxt ;—The Speaker, the Attorney-General, the Post Master General, the Chief Justice, Sir Osborne Gibbcs, Bart., Lieutenant-Colonel Kenny, Messrs. Harris, Men/.ies, Curling, Gilfillan, Cutlicld, Crawford, Salmon, Richmond, and Swainson. The minutes of the previous meeting having been read and confirmed, the ATTORNEY-GENERAL laid on the table certain papers relative to the Taranaki land question. On the motion of the ATTORNEY-GENERAL, his Excellency’s speech was ordered to bo taken into consideration. Mr. CRAWFORD, in conformity with notice previously given, rose to move the adoption of the reply to his Excellency’s speech. He regretted the duty had not fallen into abler hands, but he would do his best. The lion, gentleman then proceeded to make In* comments upon the address. The Council had learnt with regret that war had broken out at Taranaki, but it had long been foreseen that it was inevitable, considering the pretensions that had lately been set up, and which were utterly subversive of all authority. To insure the progress and prosperity of tiie Colony and for every other consideration he trusted the war might bebronght to a speedy and successful termination. Much had been said about claims to the land, but, in his opinion, not the slightest evidence o< title had been adduced. There was the Maori King movement, which he regarded as a dangerous dream ; it must be put down with a high hand. Some severe lesson must he taught, tor it would be very difficult to establish peace with the Maorics as long as they retained the impression that they were better fighters and that their prowess was superior to our own. We should be proud to be associated with such warriors. It was to be hoped that the Native Meeting at Kohimarama would be productive of beneficial results. In the conflicts that had taken place the Army had proved to be as gallant as ever ; whilst the Navy, to which he had once the honour to belong, had nobly upheld the lustre of its ancient renown. The Volunteer Rilies and Militia had also manfully acquitted themselves ; and a new branch had also been called into operation in the steam sloop Victoiia, a tine and effective ship, some of whose olltcers he had the pleasure of knowing, and who were able and intelligent gentlemen. The thanks of New Zealand were justly due to the Colony of Victoria for sending such a ship to our aid ; as well as to Australias for the kindly promptitude with which they had despatched their every soldier at our cull. He considered the Native question to lie in a nut shell. The Native title must bo extinguished. The waste lands of the Northern island must be made available some way or another. Roads must bo opened throughout its length and breadth, East, West, North, and south—from Auckland to Welling-

ton—from Taranaki to Hawke's Bay. The Romans conquered more by their roads than by their armies : and it was by roads that the peace of the Highlands of Scotland was established. He hoped therefore to see roads carried out in every di-ection—even railroads if that were possible. The Native title, he repeated, must be settled. The Middle Island was advancing with gigantic strides, whilst, in the Northern Island, ive were \jarely holding our own. It was a law of nature that races that cannot adapt themselves to circumstances must be swept away, and he thought that the best friends of the Maories should übo every effort to instruct them to assimilate themselves and their customs with those of the colonists. The hon. gentleman concluded by moving the adoption of the reply to His Excellency's speech. ('.See Report of Proceedings of the House of Representatives.) Mr. CUTFIELD rose to second the address. He would not take the paragraphs in order but would speak of them generally. First, he would not forget to thank His Excellency and his advisers for the admirable demonstration made on the breakingout of the war, so good was it that the New Plymouth settlers hoped it would have awed the Natives into subjection, and at once have quelled the insurrection; but it was not so, a collision took place, and from that moment all efforts to subdue the insurrection had proved unfortunate, consequently a large amount of property had been destroyed, a number of the settler! ruined, and the town of New Plymouth surrounded ly a numerous horde of disaffected men. He could b<ar testimony that the settlers had borne their privations and losses cheerfully in supporting Her Majesty's authority, which he trusted would be recognised in a substantial way at the termination of the war. He fully 0 >ncurred with His Excellency in believing that the future welfare of the Native race, not less than that of Her Majesty's other subjects in New Zealand, depends on the resolute maintenance of her authority. By the Treaty of Waitangi we obtained a footing in New Zealand, that footing had proved a slippery one, we had never been able to stand upright. For the last twenty years we had had wars and rumours of wars in abundance, we had had a war in the North, wars in the South, now we had one in the West, which if not properly and securely extinguished would soon lead to one in the East. European property had become so extensive that these outbreaks became so ruinous that he trusted His Excellency's government would not ('asc to prosecute the war till a lasting peace could be procured-

SIR OSBORNE GIBBES said he fell some hesitation in rising to make any remarks in opposition to the Address. To the principles of the Address, generally, there couldjbe no objection, embodying, as it merely did, those stated in the speech of His Excellency, but there were some parts of it so weak, and watery, and therefore so unsuited to the present state of things, that he could not refrain from making some observations on them, and proposing some amendments to them. The first paragraph he shoulu notice was the 6th, in which the words occur, "We recognize with your Excellency the sacrifices made by those who have been called upon to aid in the assertion of Her Majesty's authority, and in providing for the safety of the Colony," and further on, "and cordially unite with your Excellency in a '-rarm expression of admiration of the courage which the settlers of Taranaki have shewn in the iield, and in the endurance of the privations and losses to which they have been subjected, mid which we trust may not pass unrecognized." We venture to say that nothing was ever more cold, or embued with the spirit of redtapeism, than the first of these expressions, " We recognize with your Excellency, &c,'' Was this a way to speak ot the merits of those men who at the call of the Governor and of their country, had given their time and their toil tc enable the military to be withdrawn to a distant scene of action? We recognize any object which is immediately before us, but that by no means implies an expression of approval or admiration. He should therefore move the introduction of a few words which would make the first part of the paragraph run thus, "We recognize v. ith your Excellency, with high praise and satisfaction the sacrifices made by those, &c." The last pert of the paragraph, " which we trust may not pass unrecognized," is equally poor and unsatisfactory, and therefore he proposed to move in substitution for them the wrrds " which we trust may receive ample compensation." What the nature of that compensation might be, it would not be very difficult to imagine, but on this subject it might perhaps be more discreet to say nothing at the present moment The next passage to which he came was the concluding part of paragraph 8, where there are these words : " Your Excellency may confidently rely on our loyal and cardial support to aid your Excellency in carrying into effect such

measures as circumstances may require." Now, ho would ask, what circumstances could well be worse than those in which we are already piaced, with rebellion raging in one of the Provinces of the Colony, with scarcely any tidings from it but disaster and defeat, and what other measures could be required but those of the most vigorous and determined character? He felt most deeply for the anxieties which the Governor must have experienced since the commencement of this struggle. lie believed that if he had been left to the exercise of his own wisdom, ability, and firmness, matters would already have assunsed a different aspect; but he believed that his plans .;nd operations were cramped, embarrassed, and crippled by the officious and unauthorized interference of parties, who, while pretending to be messengers of peace, were in fact often only messengers of mischief. He had seen in an account of one of the first actions in the present struggle, that shortly afterwards, a Kcv. Somebody, and an Archdeacon Something, had gone to visit Wiremu King at his pah, and in an account furnished by an anonymous writer of some of the proceedings after the very last action, the writer, and a Mr. Govett had visited one of the rebel pahs three successive times. Was this credible? was it credible that in a state of warfare like the present, men should be allowed to visit at their pleasure the strongholds cf rebels against our sovereign, with the flag of hostility and defiance waving over them? He bad no hesitation in saying that if the Commander of the Forces had done his duty, he would have given these gentlemen a very significant and emphatic hint, that on the next similar occasion he would march them up to Auckland in irons. He had heard much of the necessity ol our extending civilisation, protection, &c, to this interesting race, but he would ask in what point have the Government of this Colony been deficient in their duty in this respect ? Not having been able to lay his hand on the necessary pi.pers, he was unable to state exactly the sums which 3tad been paid for the benefit of the Natives, but it was indisputable that between £60,000 and £70,000 had been expended. for their use and advantage within a period of the last seven years, while one might look in vain for the expenditure of that, or any sum approaching to it in amount, having been expended for the benefit of the European population, lie would not enter at present into the causes of the present state of things. One thing is clear ; these parties who are in arms, are rebels against our Sovereign, and as such they must be tieated. I well remember, said the hon. member in conclusion, tlie close of Mr. Canning's speech in Parliament in 1827, when the Guards were despatched to Lisbon, at I think five days' notice, at the request of the Government of Portugal, to protect that kingdom from an anticipated forcible occupation by Francf 8 " We go, said Mr. Canning, to plant the standard of England upon the well-known towers of Lisbon. Where that standard is planted, dominion shall not come."" AVe. the settlers of New Zealand, have come here in faith in the j rotection of that flag. Here we have employed our time, our labour, and embarked our property ; here we are, here we must and will be, and we trust that that flag, which nas 60 often extended protection to others, will now afford equal protection and security to us The hon. bart. then proposed the following amendment in the room of the concluding passage of the Bth paragraph:— " We pray your Excellency to continue to carry into effect the most vigorous and energetic measures to put down at once and for ever the existence of turbulence and rebellion amongst the Native population, and thus to establish and ensure the peaci and prosperity of this Colony " Captain CURLING rose to second the amendment, principally that he might have an opportunity of expressing his sentiments on the question, although it was always with great diffidence that lionise to address the House, still he could not help complying with the strong desire lie felt within himself to state his opinion in regard to what is called the Taranaki insurrection. He believed that it was hardly possible for any one uninfluenced by partiality or prejudice or who wished to find fault could rise from the, perusal of the papers and correspondence which His Excellency had caused to be furnished to the House without feeling convinced that the only plan to be adopted had been pursued by His Excellency. His Excellency was placed in the midst of the most trying circumstances with alarming consequences to he apprehended on both views of the question with an immense burden of responsibility and with the only alternative that he must have recourse to arms to support the Queen's authority and supremacy or to make a mean and unworthy concession in the face of the most arrogant, insulting, and unfounded pretensions, and in his (Capt. Curling's) opinion the Governor bad adopted the only course that was left lam to pursue. The time had gone by for a longer continuance of that poliev towards the Natives which we had hitherto maintained ; he did not mean to accuse any one for that policy because we were in such a position that we could not adopt any other, the policy of ex-