The New Zealand Herald AUCKLAND, TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 1864. THE PANAMA SERVICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 111, 22 March 1864, Page 3

The New Zealand Herald

AUCKLAND, TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 1864. THE PANAMA SERVICE.

NI'KCTHMUII ACKNDO. r.irc cvorr man Diinu i'ar, lmt few 1 by vnim: Tii'KC Piicl'i iiiitu's iMiisure, Iml rcsiTvi- thy jalgiiU'iit. Tlli.- lllinvc nil,—Til thine mviiwjiriw true; Mill it inns: f .llnw, :is tin' llio tlii.v, Thou <-!iu.-.l not thai liu lnl-.u t<) imy num."

Tins service which has been the dream and the desire ol' New Zealand lor I lie last tenor Iwelvc years —which was to transform her from the antipodal fair end of the empire to a primary and commercial eminence in'the Australasiatic circle; this service which was to us in closer connection with our mother country, and to open up benclicia! relations with North and "South America, and the "West India Islands; this .-■erviee, now ihat the contract for its performance has been entered into, is creating as much confusion as when the Ooddeps ol oltl cast her golden apple aiming the bridal p:irty from wl'.ich siie had !>een excluded. Mr. Crosl'ie Ward is the modern wizard who has evoked this discord. To him was coniided the carryinj; our of the Panama contmuv. In our p;v, cr uf Saturday !:i"V., vo; she've'l thai, with him, it was a mur quo «".■' that Wtliirirrion ttiutft and «!iou!cl be the --M'^

could turn Mr. Ward from that pre-dctermmed position. In vain did Lord UiudHamilton, and the Directors of the ■1- (■■ It. M. Co., proffer concession after concession, if ho would allow Auckland to have the preference. But "Wellington or no contract was the inflexible reply. And "Wel("igtou havino; been unwillingly agreed to on the part of the Company—"Wellington is in an excess of rabid fury" because, 'the Wellington Steam Navigation Company, a copannery of purely local speculation,—has not Oeen preferred to the I. C. R M. Co., in carrying out the Inter-Provincial service. It Wellington could be served without sacrificing lnore progressive j)rovince.s. we should bo quite content to leave Wellington to herself; but when she, a. settlement of tilth rate consequence in the mercantile maritime, or agricultural scale endeavours 1)V undue means to usurp the place of" empire city' we have no other alternative than to denounce the imposition. Of the now notorious mann.uivre. by winch, i u juhi,, , m i pil( .i a ,j ] 10llst ,; i\{ c (.ooks Strait; conspirators jammed Ih.e Itepresentative Chamber, by a small majority, to pass some very crude mid clumsy resolutions for removal of the Seat of Government to " somewhere in Cook's Strait"—wcaiheiboarded weather-beaten, and earthquakcshaken Wellington being the predetermined spot—we shall no further enlarge ilian to make note that Wellington wiseacres, like watchful " sister Anne" of tho nursery legend, afl'ect to be straining their eyea for messengers from the three Australian gubcrnational referees, of whom they have heard nothing, and who are by no means likely to embroil themselves with matters bevond their sphere.

TIi(! absolute condition imjmml by Mr Ward, (in the "I. C. 11. 31". Co.. that" "Wellington should be the port of call for tho Panama steamers, we cannot: hut regard as another act in lhat grand New Zealand I drama. ''The Cook's Strait Cabal." Jrwas no secret with the colonists, of Auckland and Otat',o, that Mr. Ward left this country for England fully determined upon that point. .Indeed, if we mistake not, lie courteously snubbed an Otai;o deputation for their oilerin,",, an opinion on this very subject. \\ ell! —'1\» follow out the train of the conspiracy and the contrivances of the. conspirators: —The three Australian (.'overnors. having, a.s we sliali assume, oheved the mandate of the cabal and declared the "some-whore" of Cook's Strait, to be the most prosperous, populous, progressive, wealthy, and influential of all t]w New Zealand settlements, and liiiviii" signed it with tlirir seal of "empire" ;—and Mr. "W.-ird hiiviuij superscribed his signature to the Panama contingent; there remained but one more act to the completion of this A\ r cllin;j;tonian piece tie cirronxlanrp; and that was to oust an influential and well conducted English Steam Company from the infer-provineial mail and passenger service, in favour of a local eombany.

'" Dodges"' are rarely successful oven in ordinary life; and statesmen who stoop to employ them cannot hope to prosper. At this very moment "Wollimiion is divided ablins! herself. Mr. "Ward has dono either too luui-li or 100 little for his reputation. To insist that Wellington should he the port for Panama, looked magnanimous in a Canterbury man. To insist upon a AVel]iu<;loii Steam Company superseding the I. C. Company, is however, a very dill'erent matter; but as the agent of that" company, Captain Vine Hall, has dealt with that branch of the question in his own vigorous style.it is iinnei-i ssary for us to say more than that whilst we recognise the steady and improving service rendered by the \. C. Company, we shall be glad to witness the successful development of the Wellington and everv other Xew Zealand Company, he it Steam. Banking. Insurance, or else.

But wluit is i<> l>o tho upshot of tin* Piiiinmn complication? Mr. "Ward has signed a five years contract with the T. C. Co. Had he the power to do so ? Beyond all doubt he far exceeded (he amount of the Parliamentary vole. Bill, one. filing is beyond question that llio 1. C. Co. concluded that lhev v.'ere I'ullv empowered to negotiate with him : and on the faith of that belief they have fjiven orders to build four of (lie linest fillips of modern construction, liy Thames artiliccra ; not of 1250 tons measui'eliiont. LTiO liorse-power, a.-i at first proposed, lull of 1000 tons. 000 horse-power. Two of those-, with engines l>y Iliunphrovs and Tetinant, have been ordered from tho. Wall J ron Works and Hhip Buildiiii; Cmupany. A Ihird lias been ordered from .A]esses. Dudgeon, also of Mill Wall, on the twin screw principle, a description of which will be found in our shipping of this morning. All are guaranteed to j;o at a rate of twelve knots on their trial trips, with 1000 tons of coal on board. The most recent improvements arc to lie introduced. Their length, between the perpendiculars, is to be 2G5 feet, beam H± feet, depth of hold. 26 feet. They will have accommodation for a hundred lirst. and a like number of second class passengers, and, when ready for sea, will cost £00,UUO e.ich.

Tliu questions which New Zealand, in our opinion, has to consider arc these : —iliis the importance of the Panama route become deteriorated by tlio partisan details with which Mr. AVa'rdhas closed il ? Are. those dotail.s remediable '? Is tin , coiitr.net a amul ni' a bad one for New Zealand:—Are New South \\ ales and likely lo assist in liijlileniiifj tlie amount ol" I\lr. Ward's engagements ? And sliould not communication liy I'anania ])lace us first, instead ol' last, in utir commercial and postal relations \siili Great ISritain r.iul America?

In casting our eves down tl'.e ni'umns of li.e MfUiuiimc Jlrmhl. of the'l.'7ih ultimo, we find a leading article on the war in New Zealand, which we cannot allow to pass without comment. "Writing I'roin a distance, and without the means of ascertaining the lull ])artieiiliirs of the case, even the usually well-informed lilnglisli journals t'all into stranire errors when they descant on A uslralianand New Zealand affairs ll is scarcely, then, to be wondered at, if a lesser the Melbourne Herald, >'hould fall into similar mistakes.

It enters upon the niu siion of the fienoral's l'cst mode of coping with the Miioris at Te T\ore (Patentus/i the editor must mean, as Te Tiorc was the GeiieraVs own carnp.) in which the editor of the llonihl valiantly counsels the (lonera! In Ml-.c i! at :\ rush", ;:nd in t: u.-t to the n a! eii'ect of succeusive dei'ryir-, j-ucli r : » fl'st iii jv'i/'K'riri. fur o\ib =

Herald thinks, the General would have pursued had it not been for what it is pleased to call the change of policy in Auckland:— " Defeat iu the- field, or behind his breast- " works," it says, "is no longer calculated "to bring him to terms. His belief is that " his land is to be taken wholesale, and the '" Colonial Government take no pains to con- " iradict the idea. So the General's great '• object is now to prevent the war assuming " the guerilla character." The Rerahl ran know very little of the intentions of the Colonial Government when it makes such an attack upon its measures as is contained in the above remarks. Wholesale confiscation is far from the wish of the people of Xew Zealand or of its Government. The land vf thorn: engar/etl in. rebellion is declared to be confiscated, but the Government have distinctly declared to the natives, and the natives know it as well as we do, that the land of those who take no part in the insurrection will bo respected. Else why does a tribe, in those districts which the Jl'crahl and oilier authorities at a distance suppose to l.ie loyal, send only its young men and warriors to i lie rebel army, keeping ihc older men and women at their set tl em en is to s:ive appearances.

The confiscation of the lands of the rebels in arms is the only confiscation intended by the Government, and even then provision iii land will have k> be made for the future maintenance, of those tribes. "Where the He raid, and others, too, we suppose, htne fallen into error ie, in supposing that because "'the sites of proposed townships, as " well as the lines of redoubts, surround the '•whole country of the "Waikato clans," (and they might add, will be laid out and built throughout Ihe Maori territories of the greater part of the northern island, at any rate throughout the Province of Auckland.) that therefore the lands in their viciniiy will be confiscated. IS'o such idea is in contemplation. Jt must be remembered ilmf we arc not only lighting to establish the supremacy of the Queen, and for the consequent establishment of law and order throughout the land, but in doing so we must render it impossible that any outbreak should again oe:-ur. This can only be done by introducing throughout the country large numbers of military set tiers, and to cti'ect tiie object intended, bodies of them must be settled in all districts alik'?, whether belonging n> hostile or iricndlr tribes. "Where, however, it is necessary to take land for these purposes from the larter class, compensation will he made to them, nor is it possible, under such conditions, that any real friend of the Maori should ob- ■' ji'ct to such procedure. It is not repugnant | to ordinary law and custom, even in Eng- ! land, that; the State should resume to itself: private lands, when doing so is necessary for ; the common wca!. and w< , see no reason why j lands which the Maoris can never use them- ; selves should not be subject to the same : law. i

To lake the instance given of the Xgatiinaniapotus as possessing 2,-100,000 acres-, and supposing them to be a loyal tribe, does the llrrald mean to say that'the Colonial Government would be committing an injustice towards them if it took 1.00n.000 acres of their hind for purposes of European settlement amongst thorn, giving them compensation in money or otherwise.. "Would not the remainder of the land be increased in value tenfold "Would not the native.-* themselves obtain some bettor chance of becoming civilised than by being left in the isolated position apart irom European contact, as ihey have hilherio been r .An:! this is just what the Government intend to do. and just what they have distinctlv and clearly told the Maoris that they will do. and, as we said before, the Maori knows it as well as we do.

The Jfflliuiirnr Herald states thai the TVaikato clans have proffered submission. To us in Auckland this is news; bin even if they had, there is., as we have said, a more important question than the mere submission of the Maori to be obtained —-suretics, strong enough to bind him ovor (o keep the peace are required. Our eoleinporary. we suppose, alludes to the absurd proposals of Pene Waivpu, made (hiring the sitting of the General Assembly, after the defeat at Rangiriri!

In uttor ignorance of the fact that the Maoris are as well aware of the consequences of joining in the rebellion as it is possible for proclamations and Government" agents to make them, and that they arc fully aware of the advantages of abstaining or appearing to abstain from any participation in it. the Jit raid goes on 1o say : —" iN'ow. if there lie " an intention of leaving the natives certain "reserved tracts within those bounds, wl.-y " '\ovtf the Auckland Government delay to do "■ so 'i If there be, indeed, no intention of "carrying the confiscation further still— '"along the east coast, for instance, whither " the insurrection has. not extended —why is "not the intention at once and eandidh- dia-

owned ? It is just because there is such an

'" apprehension in the native mind on the ■' subject, that the struggle is likely to be " protracted into a wide-spread guerilla one.

It is because oi'this apprehension that the

" Xgatimaiiiapotos are obtaining help from ■' other elans. There is reason to conclude

:- that they now receive recruits from the ■' nearer A\*aikatos, who liad previously laid

down ilieir arms, and from the East Coast

tribes, previously pacific. A Jew mouths ago, when they refused to .submit, and announced that they would continue, the war, they had not above a thousand warriors— their own tribal strength. But they have at present double, some say four times, that number.' .

When an Australian journal speaks of" the insurrcclion. as not liavinir extended the East Coast, it is inanii'estlv in ignorance ol' I'acis ■\vliicli ai'e well known, to persons living liere, but. which though it may be excused tor its ignorance on the wulijevt. cannot be excused for dilating on what it knows it can little comprehend. "War is not beiiiL; carried on the Kast Coast ilistrids licyond it jd true: but every body here knows that as early as August last, natives of these districts composed part of the rebel force, when General Cameron was as yet scarcely across Ihe AVaikato. A mere " dnibbinu iidinini.- , -

"loi'Cfl to the Xiratiii);!))i:i|io)os" will not. as the Jlrniltl imagines, tei'ininato ti'.e war. it niiiat ]iass i'roin regular to guerilla wari.ire. The i-lianu-ter of the Maori, the nauire (if the country, our experience of Maori tactics, leach us that ; and those who look fora sudden settlement of iho native insurrection ".•ill be gvisvouelv disappointed. Heart and

Auckland are engaged in the war, either openly in the field or secretly in finding tho means for those who are carrying it on. Even in the Province of Hnwkc's Bay and of "Wellington, natives wounded in the several engagements which take place at the front, return, it is well known, at intervals, to the ■•friendly" tribes to which they bolong, till able again to tako the ticld. Of all the Maoris the example of tho Arawns stnnds forth the one sole instance of approved loyalty. Those not with us are against us; but even to these no threat of confiscation has been held out, nor has anything been done " to alarm the pacific tribes and transform them into antagonists." It. is from ignorance oi'ihe nat'ureof therermsof peace which, nt times, it pleases the Maoris, ibi , the sake of gaining breathing time, to propose, that the Herald and, as it says, the Safin-da;/ Review, and other English organs, have fallen imo the belief that the war in being protracted because the Colonial Government is unwilling u> accept Hiitisiaetory terms. "With the sirieiurc.-uipon Ihc Ccir.rnissariat. department contained ::: the'.".tier p;:rt of the article, we. ;;.-:■ colonists. h::vc v:ot!.hi'_; to say. "We know, howe\cr. the i!iiiYi;hus which have presented themselves to this bianch of the service, difficulties ol'wi.icli those accustomed to a hundred miles of bush-read in Australia can have no conception.