A STORY FROM A BLUE-BOOK.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 985, 17 January 1883, Page 2

A STORY FROM A BLUE-BOOK.

The following appears in the Pall Mall Gazette TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —Your “Story from a Binebook ”is a little mixed. We no more “ arrested some 1500 persons ” than you have arrested the Llama of Thibet. We arrested Te Whiti and half-a-dozen others, and told the rest to go about their business and lire quietly on their reserves, which they immediately did. It happened that we took Te Whiti just about the time yon took Mr Parnell. One of your statesmen asked me: “ Now yon have got Te Whiti, what are you going to do with him ?” But I said, “ Now you have got Parnell, what are yon going to do with him !” ** Keep him out of mischief for a bit, and let him go.” “Just what we mean to do with te Whiti.” Yon say that this .“violent and high-handed step was likely to lead to a general Native war.” fhaj’s just what it prevented. And yon go on to say that Sir Arthur Gordon thinks war was only prevented by Te 'Whiti’s forbearance. Just the same “forbearance” as you saw the other day at Cairo, when 10,000 men cleared out at one gate as a hand ful of gallant fellows came in at the other. In both cases the turbulent spirits saw that we were determined to stand no more nonsense, and they had the good sense to “ give it best.” The West Coast of New Zealand has for years been our Ireland. Like yon, we have had to pass a strong measure of repression ; like you, we put another at its side to redress grievances about land. Yon pass a Coercion Act and take up ■hundreds of“ suspects,” and detain them for -months without trial; we pass one, and take up a few troublesome fellows, whom we don’t choose to bother to try. You carve a big slice out of Irish property to give your tenants; we make reserves for Te Whiti and his people, worth much more than a million. Yon let Mr Parnell out of XCilraaiuham, and he is a power in the State. We let out Te Whiti and trot him about the country to see our little sights, and reflect how much better it is to be at peace. We copy your acts and your measures ; only, when you do a thing it is a “ great and beneficial policy;” when we do it, it is a “proceeding of extraordinary violence.” That’s not'fair.

Might it not have been imagined that if our conduct to Te Whiti was so cruel, he would have received the sympathy of the great chiefs with whom we. were once at war? Not a bit of it. The Maori King and the great tribes have never been such friends with us as they are now. The trial of Te Whiti wbuld have been a pure farce. I hope it is not impertinent to say that we don’t see you are doing much better when yon bring Arabi to a solemn trial" and have to ask in Parliament what on earth he is being tried for. Do give us credit for a little common sense. We were face to face with an old and very threatening trouble, and have got rid of it without shedding a drop of blood. The two races are at perfect peace. We thought that you in England would have said, “ Well done.” Certainly, it was not from an organ of advanced Liberal opinion that we could ever have expected sueh words as yours.—l am, &c., The Agent-General for New Zealand. Nov. 9th.