Untitled

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 302, 31 October 1864, Page 3

Tiu? opinion. lias long obtained here that the withdrawal of tiie troops must precede, not lot- : low, the iiiiiil suppresEHm Of' the Maori rebellious iu this island, and tlutt not till then will. tiiC native ditiiculty be settled. c are not amongst those who deiW ■ that .thomilitaiy expenditure has greatly .stiniu--lated trade in Auckland. It must' remembered, however, that the very ciYcumstance which lias given us the expenditure, t?ie . native war, lia.s injured us to a lar greater extent than it lias so benefited us. It has cheeked immigration, locked up~~ the huids, retarded the development of the resources of the Province, and given us instead the lesser advantage of military expenditure. If, however, the troops arc merely to be retained here as a menace to the colonists,, and the colony is to be used as a sort of military depot in these seas, where 13ritish troops can be stationed at other than the Imperial cost, but en- , tiruly at the Imperial disposal, then we say, irt the name of common sense and justice,.."'let them go." 'This, we believe, is the view taken of tlie matter by the colonists of the IN'oriliern island itself, those whom the South.' very unjustly accuses of desiring the eoutinuauee. of the war for the sake of their own dizement. Yv r o are taunted with oeing a people without export, without any internal resources or revenue, living solely oil military expenditure. The .North contains some fourteen millions of acres, held by a native population, who neither can nor will use it —an average extent, perhaps, to each male adult of about 10.000 acres. So long as a miserable Imperial war is conducted in the wretchedly bungling manner in wliick the war in 1\ ew .Zealand has been conducted, the country will remain as hermetically .sealed against the spread of civilisation, as it now is.

So long as tlic army is to be put to the same usethat itTs now put —so ions will its presence injureinstead of benefit us. The army: itself knows and feels this. It feels that the curb placed upon the bravery of the troops and the energies of their commanders by the supreme command of Sir G. Grey, is placing them in a false position. General Cameron and his forces, military and civilian, arc capable of sweeping the island before them —but:are withheld from doing their devoir to their Queen and country by the maudlin sentimentality of a man to wnom the working out of ail absurd, theory is of more importance than the salvation ironi ruin of tour important provinces placed under his mis-rule by ;i too confiding Government. The iollowiug is from the ion [Times of the 20th inst.: '• At the instance -of the English Government we have accepted the management of natrve affairs. JN" ow that we have accepted it. we must make it a reality. It is evident that so long as jinglisli troops are here it must be a ' j l the Governor done is responsible lor the .Landling of the troops. Therefore the troops must , o : Again;—the ..expense of the . « »' present conducted is so ; finances of the colony aie 1.1 t^;sve . ir Colonial OUicc say that we after■ tmsj t.i , ' liiiv hc.viJy tor the troops m addition to all j S&t/cspcisce. >b th» money to eosw

from ? It is clear that tlie troops must go. Is •one more " consideration accessary ? At this moment a British Governor, with 7000 or 8000 English soldiers at his command, sits still and allows 200 escaped Maori prisoners to entrench themselves within sight of the garrison town, and to foment a new war in a district hitherto not disaffected. What .use are the troops ?■ A few jcorps of well-armed and well-paid Hangers, under the command of the local Government, and posted wherever there might be disturbance J or disaffection, would bo far cheaper and far more effective in Maori war than an Imperial army l under a double Government." "It is impossible that the Government should dare to involve the colony in the expense of keeping troops after the 31stof iDecember, under the new conditions, without consulting the of the people. We feel very confident of the answer that the Assembly will give when consulted. Let the troops go. Neither to them nor to us is their presence he I'D advantageous . under existing circumstances. The Colony desires to cherish the love and good will which should exist between it and the Mother Country, and it is moreover bound to cherish its own self respect and dignity. No country, however poor, however young, however harrassed, can afford to accept alms contemptuously flung to her. We must for the future, at whatever risk of a war of races, manage our own affairs without assistance and without interference."

Let New Zealand in the hour of her greatest difficulty solve the problem which is tormenting !English politicians at home. The English people ■will very soon repent of ungenerous and hasty language expressed towards colonists who vindicate themselves by action rather than words. Let the troops go; not one regiment must stay behind. If we cannot afford to keep what might be effectual asistance, we certainly cannot afford to keep a guard of honour for the Governor, and red coats enough to irritate but not to overawe the Maoris. All must go, with our cordial thanks and acknowledgments for services which have been performed with tlie loyalty always displayed by British soldiers, however uselessly their efforts have been directed. But they must go, that the love and mutual esteem which should exist between themother'country and her colony should continue to exist.

" Wc think it unnecessary to say more about the guarantee offered for the loan of £1,000,000 by the Imperial Government. In Parliament it appears to have been thought so great a boon that it must bo accompanied by many bitter words. Seeing that to accept it with the conditions attached to it would involve breach of faith with public creditors, it is needless to say that it will be declined."