SIR GEORGE GREY AND THE " NATIVE DIFFICULTY."

Otago Witness, Issue 549, 7 June 1862, Page 8

SIR GEORGE GREY AND THE " NATIVE DIFFICULTY."

(Prom the Sydney Morniivj Herald.) Under da f e of sth April, our correspondent writes as follows : —

Although somewhat 'distant from the seat oi i\<ir, and of Government, I may be able to supply you with one or two facts which are not accessible to you direct from Auckland.

Two letters, published some time back in the Herald, signed "N."— the author of which is well known, and much sympathy felt for the outrage to which lie w.is htriy subjected— were admirable' productions, and contained many telling truths. Tha opinion is naming ground that the ' Maori question cannot bo settled on the proscnt attempted plan, but the idea ti also very prevalent that Sir George's plans, when thp.y come to bo developed, wi'l be found very different from what they appear on the surface. Instigated by him, the raembors of the Fox Ministry have oivn peiformmg the work of conciliati-m all nauseam. Overtures of the mobt humiliating nature havri^ b.-en oil'ored and refused, or beon regarded with nJifforenco by the liaories. But iv all their proceedings, the ministers alone appear, and though Sir George Grey does not contradict,' he does not support. Anything- ;a which he personally interferes he carried out with at least as much tinnness as c mciliation. Tue Waikato lload has boon persisted in against very determined passive opposirion on the part of the Maoris, which ujighc have become active, but for tlie reluctance to strike the first blow. A friendly chief offered to construct a road .beyond the Wnikat ) to connect lua country with that through which the Waikato Road pa*»es. Sir George Giey desired ho would do so, and oifrred to subsidise it. " But (s,aid the sluefj, I can go a certain distance, .and th-n there will he a stone wall through which the Waikatoa will not let me pass It Iddso in despite of them, will you let them (passing Ms h.-rnd over his head) walk over my head V " Make the roail," said Sir George ; " and more, commence where you believe the wall \\ill be elected to prevent you. The road will be made and the natives will not, it is believed, attempt anj tiring more than a sullen, passive resistance. Still it is not to be denied, the aspect of the native question ia far from satisfactory to those who build all their hopes on a tytal cessation of hostilities. War may break out at any time. It is most difficult ( in fact, apparently impossible) to settle the question. The land of the Waitara is not approached yet. The nitives claim by prior right, and conquest during the war, neither of which we can admit. Mr. Fox, on In. 5 , own responsibility, hinted at arbitration, but his p;opOi.al uas bnubbed by the nativus. Mr. Fox is l>.in n ' snubbed on every hide. On his visit to Waikato, Wi reran Kingi refused to see him, and oidy a le.v of the inferior chiefs met him. Oth.er.-s attended his meeting vith blankets over their faces, tjpical of their being present incognita. As I have t,,iid, war may bie.ik out any day, but ifc will not be Sir fteorfre's fault if it be a v.ar between the racts. It will ai-uirae the character of our iusisti:>^ wuik Maori allied nqaiiist strong native insurgents, and will be a sharp w.ir while it laats.