THE Otago Witness DUNEDIN, SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1862.

Otago Witness, Issue 559, 16 August 1862, Page 4

THE Otago Witness DUNEDIN, SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1862.

The despatch of the Duke of Newcastle, ~ "Inch we publish in our issue of to-day, is a vei/ remarkable production, whether the nntter or the manner be considered. It is remarkable for its extreme firmness and decision of tone, and for a degree of out-spokenness seldom noticeable in official correspondence. His Grace when penning it, v.vs evidently resolved that there should be no mistake about his meaning, nothing can be plainer or more easy to understand, He had a disagreeable duty to perform and he has discharged it in a simple straightforward manner. He had evil tidings to communicate, and he has told them without circumlocution. He had a "ISTo "to say and he has said it valiantly. Tt is as well it should be se. No good purpose ■would have been served by any attempt to disguise in the honied phrases of official compliment, the distasteful communications he had to make. For ihat this despatch is a bitter pill for the colonists of New Zealand, cannot be denied.

In the first place, after summing up several despatches of Sir George Grey's, in which his ideas of the plan to be adopted for the conduct of native affairs had been explained in detail, his Grace observes that he cannot see any adequate apprehension on the part of the Xew Zealand Government of the obligation that the colonists lie under to exert themselves and make sacrifices for their own defence. He then proceeds to point out that the whole of the General Revenue of the colony might be appropriated " to tlie one paramount object of averting absolute ruin," that is to say be expended exclusively on native wars or native affairs generally, — and that, if the amount proved insufficient, further taxation might be imposed. He goes 011 to say that although not satisfied with tlie efforts of the colonists, he is desirous to offer the colony the utmost assistance that can be given in justice to the mother country, and then states what we presume must be regarded as his ultimitum — and here occurs a very remarkable paragraph, one whLh iian hardly be too attentively considered by all who have the prosperity of tlie eohny at heart. His GraCe says that he is ready to sanction the important step that Sir George Grey has already taken iv placing the management of tbe natives under the control of the Assembly, and he adds as the reason for the Imperial Government banding over to the Colonial Assembly a power that has hitherto been vested solely in the Crown, that he cannot disguise from himself " that the endeavor to keep the management of the natives under the control of the Home Government has failed," atldmg that "it can only be mischievous to retain a shadow of responsibility when the beneficial exercise of power has become impossible." This is indeed remarkable language. It is the plain admission of the fact that the Imperial management of native affairs has proved a failure, and upon this admission is founded the determination to hand the matter over to the colonists to imke the best they can of. Having got the native affairs into a regular coil, the Home authorities coolly propose to transfer tbe whole responsibility of getting out of the difficulty to the colonists, and with the responsibility tbe whole cost also. It will further be observed that the Duke of Newcastle speaks of the handing over of the control of native affairs to the Assembly as a thing already accomplished, although when or how this transfer of responsibility was made we have yet to le; m. It is true that the Fox Ministry accepted the responsibility of advising his Excellency on native affairs, atld that t!i>_ native department was placed under their control, but even they took care to disclaim any power to bind the Assembly before hand. In his speech on the 22nd July, when making a. general statement of native policy, Mr. Fox was explicit on this point. lie "said that " Ministers accepted practically the position, but refrained from reducing to writing the precise limits of their relations to His Excellency," and he further quoted from a ministerial minute addressed to His Exceliency,'in which occurs the following remarkable passage: — "But His Excellency must not misapprehend the extent to which Ministers caji pledge the colony in mutters of finance. They can and will recommend to tbe General Assembly to make the requisite provision ibr the intended objects, &nd they can and will stake their position as Ministers on the Assembly adopting their recommendation, but they have no constitutional power to bind the Assembly befm-ehand."

The Fox Minis hry did "stake their position a3 Ministers," and the result has been their ruin. The House did not endorse their views of responsibility, and they have had to give place to others who, while not refusing to give advice to His Excellency on native affairs when ashed, will carefully avoid comm-

itting themselves or the colony to the r e- \ sponsibility which their predecessors were so eager to assume. jtt is somewhat singular that the despatch of the Duke of Newcastle, taking the question of the acceptance of colonial responsibility- as settled, should have arrived almost immediately after the Fox Ministry had "staked their position " and lost it, and after the House of Representatives had thus, iv the most positive manner, expressed its determination neither to endorse the views of Mr. Fox, nor to accept for the colony the responsibility of the native policy. It will remain to be seen whether the Duke of Newcastle will, on receipt of the news of the action taken by the House of Representatives, sec cause to modify his demands 5 and whether the Imperial authorities will insist upon banding over to the colonists tbe responsibility of native affairs, whether they are willing to accept it or not.

The Duke of Newcastle having, as we have

j seen, settled the responsibility question so i entirely to his satisfaction, naturally proceeds to point out vfhat steps will be taken to shift

the burden that must accompany that re

sponsibility. He says that a speedy and considerable diminution of the military force in the Colony will be made ; that the Imperial Government will not bear any portion of the expense of militia or volunteers ; that the contribution of £5 a head for every soldier employed must be paid up to the end of 1861, but, and this is tlie great concession, the Home Government will consent to accept as n.ilitary contribution all monies expended by the Governor on p<ir<ly Native objects iv excess of the sum of £26,000; this arrangement ta lii'-t for three jeirs, and that thy whole question must lie held subject to such general arrangements as maj' be made by the Imperhl Parliament for the maintenance of troops in colonies. The Duke of Newcastle has taken every pains to place the subject clearly before the colon v, and lest there should be any chance of misunderstanding, he Kays in one part of his despatch that the colonists should provide a military police for the protection of^outsettlemcnts, and that if it is not worth the while of the colony to go to that expense, it is not worth while to keep those settlements ! All this, however satisfactory to His Grace, will be reao with dismay by the colonists, who will see that it is proposed to saddle them with the whole expense aud responsibility of the solution of the Native difficulty, which has been caused entirely by Imperial mismanagement — to leave them to accomplish with their small means what the Imperial authorities have failed in, although wielding the power of the greatest nation on the f»ice of the earth To the people of the Middle Island this despatch will have a further significance, as placing in the strongest possible light the immense division of interests that exists between "them and the i\ r orth. They have been accustomed to complain that while contributing the most largely to the general revenue, they have not received their fair share of the benefits to be derived from its expenditure, 'but they will now see that it is recommended by the Secretary of State for the Colonies that the ivliole of the general revenue be expended in the North Island on native affairs, and that, if needful, further taxation be imposed for the same objjet. Nothing could more strongly illustrate the position of those who have advocated separation than this simple fact.