NEW ZEALAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2125, 26 November 1868, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND.

To the. lllltor of the Thnex. Pip.—Tho letter of your New Zealand correspondent, which appears in The Times of today, cannot but cause feelings of concern to all who ire interested in that colony as a portion of the empire ; while to those who, like myself, are locally interested, it is pregnant with alirrning import. I loft New Zealand in tho month of Juno last, and if; was then thought th.it a rising on the part of the natives w.is almost an impossibility, both on account of tho disunion existing among the various tribes, and th»s disinclination of all, except n fey of tho Hauhaa fanatics, to livo otherwise than poaceably among th<nr neighbours. The country settlers were led to suppose that there was no danger in returning to their former agricultural avocations, and many with whom I am personally acquainted had done so. Yet * month has scaicely run ita course and what do wo find to bo the case '! A Berioua rising has occurred in at least two provinces of the Northern Island ; murders of tho most horrible kind have been committed, and afc tho time the mail leives New Zealand 180 rnfiianH, intent on rapiiio and bloodshed, havo escaped from their inland prison. GOO miles distant, and landed in Poverty Bay— a welcome reinforcement, no doubt, to the ranks of tho dwafiVctel in that district. Any old colonist at all acquainted with the Maori character will agree with me that this decisive step has not been taken without well-matured plans. Tho nativ. son tho East Coast are doubtless woll prepared to supply tho " (/uoii'lam captives" with the necessiry munitions of war. But it is useless to comment upon past events or upon such as may now be in operation, except to suggest their present remedy and their future prevention. Bocb are ia tho hands of the coloni.its, provided they have fair liconso to deal in the matter. Tho evila that have up to the present time Mien upon New Zealand have been mainly attributable to the arbitrariness of the Imperial authorities, and the inconsistent iind contradictory policy pursued by the late Governor. Ido trust that the Home Government has learnt from tho experience of the past that Imperial interference in tho native affairs of New Zealand is a great mistake, and that for the future Her M>jt-*ty's representative may be left unfettered by instructions frame! in an office 13,000 miles, away upon a Btate of things which may very possibly not be in existence when the depnatches containing them reach the colony. The colonists have every confidence in the discretion of tho present Governor, and. trust that he will be allowed to give it fair To my mind, there is but one solution, to this difficult problem—"Native Government in New Zealand." Policies of so-calledi clemency, but in reality of vacillation, accompanied by bribery and corruption, hw« been tried over and over again, and have only Borvcd to increase the evil they w-to intended, to remedy. Let a fair trial ho now given to * policy of a different kind—a policy of firmness and determination to uphold the Qaocu'jr authority among tho native population. Let the Maoris be told plainly that complete submission is their only chance. TJr> to the present time there has unqaoAtionaWy b«eix a silent recognition of the terms '" K'Ugitu and "Hrmhau." As long as a mtive was not found committing an act of open hostility he was not interfered with. Let thm Btate of things oxist no longer. Jbc toraw above-mentioned should bo c/-nswl«'e<i Kyttanymous with those of " rebel h.^v snA "mnrder," and every native rrfnsm*. to take the oath of allegiance to Her 3lsj,*-y when called upon to do so should Ivo considered a rebel and dcr.lt with as such. This policy may, p:rha.(M. apf c\r eotr«what hard in itself, and will unqu< -ktmaaXily bo thought unjust by that class of tho coiamunity who will never allow that a Maori can bo in the wrong. An cxperienoc of soma years, however, convinces me that it 19 th* only one tho least likely to bo of periajwicafc utility. Until it is adopted I s?e no char.co. •whatever of a cessation of those trouble* -which havo bo long bacn tho only djttwbnc to tho welfare of that otherwise highly-fa-voured country, New Zealand,—"X *>«*• *«• Brighton. Oct. 1. CRONOS,.