THE COLONIST. NELSON, TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 1860.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 296, 21 August 1860, Page 2

THE COLONIST. NELSON, TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 1860.

Among the sources of those innumerable calamities which from age to age afflict mankind may be reckoned as one of^ the principal ones 'the abuse of words;' in other words, making use of equivocal modes of expression. A more careful perusal of the proceedings at the opening of the General Assembly most forcibly bears out the above reflection, and has us to canvass more closely than we did in our previous number the sentiments and opinions expressed by the several .speakers in both Houses on that occasion. To judge him by his speech the" honorable . mover of the address, Mr. Crawford, would appear to have preserved intact the- warlike, spirit of the Scottish race. He considers the ' native question to lie in. a nutshell: That is certainly taking a; very concentrated view of it; and hisrsolution of that question is, 'the native title must b$ extinguished.' So far perhaps we might be disposed to agree with him, that is to say, it would be most desirable for all parties that this vexed question should be as speedily as possible set at rest; but we certainly cannot go the length of saying, as Mr. Crawford would seem to do by his subsequent remark, namely, that any meani would justify the end, notwithstanding that such is, we believe, the governing creed of the political world; for he says 'it is, a LAW of nature that races that cannot adapt themselves to circumstances must he swepj; away.*.-- '

We recollect reading "many ; years ago in an American review a.somewhat similar observation in relation to the American Indians "of that greai continent, namely, the 'foot of the(white man is the grave of the black;' and from the close analogy ol the expression we should, suspect that the honorable member has a tinge of the Yankee blood in his veins. ' . We are glad, however, to see that the honorable seconder ri£ this address didnot quite come up to the idea of his principal as to the mode of cracking.this ' nutshell; ■ for he is - represented as paying he trusted that the • Government would not cease to prosecute the war until a- lasting, peape can be .procured.' •;; We dcrpot profess to be deeply read in the diplomatic phraseology of modern governments, rbut we f think it would be difficult Ibr evin the Honorable seconder to define^ what he calls a 'lasting peace,'.or point out even among the present civilized nations ttf Europe (with perhaps one exception) anyjsueli phenomenon J and as to. the.contest between civilized races and aboriginal natives! the termite' vbxetpra^ terea > nihil, - whether we tO'phina,,, India, Turkey, or to any quarter of the. habitable globe; -therefore Ms- but justice to th^ honorable mover of "we addres^t^ acknowledge that he needs no lack qfjs?recedents—that primum mobile of English jurisprudence^—to justify even Ms view/;V \ As regards Captain; Curling's rerrjar^a,; we think he ;certainly stepped out of the legitimate, line of (iebatfe when he decflare/l:: that the Christiknity of the Maoris^was; only ; ♦skin deep;' If the observation could be? justified at all, it could with-equal Justica be extended to many other' races begdes'the ] Maoris, if we are to judge them by the. practical -observance of some of its simplest precepts. i '"'-■*,,< We confess we were not prepared for s t uch an- unmistakable specimen of gallamatia as that which is reported toh.ave fstllen from his Honor the Attorney-General, or ■ what may be called so strongly indicative of red tapeism as Sir (*.* Gibbs considered^ some of" his Excellency's deeds of omission. We refer to ;his contending .for either the adoption or rejection of the proposed address —-that is, * the address, the whole address, | and nothing but the address!' Still less : so when we come to his reasons for so doing, namely, 'by that means' ihefacts arid prin- , ciples embodied in his Excellency's speech ' would still be open to full discussion!' , Let us see what are the facts and principles enunciated in the speech for which

her Majesty's dutiful, &c. &c, humbly thanked his ■ Excellency. They first in general terms • thank him for opening the session;' that is a fact which will not need further discussion. They next' tell his Excellency ' they receive with cordial satisfaction his assurance that he has had recourse ; to their advice and assistance;' here.is neither fact nor. principle, but merely a * fac,on de parle' between gentlemen after a long absence. We are next told that they are greatly concerned at the state of the Province of Taranaki; here again we can discover neither fact nor principle! but an acceptance of anxiety on the part of his Excellency as to the present, state of things, which, although not coming within the aforesaid /category, may be a fit subject of future discussion. , ■■.■

We next come to his Excellency's statement of'the causes of the •present, state of things, which certainly contains an assertion,which, if judged of by the tone of the, subsequent debate, needs further proof before it can be admitted as a fact. There does not appear a single fact or principle involved in any of the remaining paragraphs of the speech;-but certainly there is, as we, before remarked, such a profusion of tnanks in the address,. as must have almojst overwhelmed Ms Excellency, and out-beroded Sir Gr. Gibbs's notions of red-tapeism! Having taken a review of the proceedings of the Legislative Council, we proceed to those of the House of Representatives^ wherein Mr. Fitzgerald is represented as having moved the -address, and stated that until he had read], the documents put into ljis hands, he had doubted the wisdom of-the steps taken by the Governor with, respect to the Taranaki question. In this he is not singular. Here we would observe the striking difference between the, honorable member's reasons for the con- ( elusion he arrives at, and that of almost every speaker on the subject" in the upper House; and it will fee.well if every other member will satisfy himself by a careful and dispassionate perusal of the documents bearing upon the subject, before pronouncing an opinion, as the honorable mover says he has done; and however we may agree or differ with them, they will nevertheless command respect as conscientious men. At the same time we cannot, refrain from comparing the honorable mover's speech as a sort of " olla podrida:" one moment he indulges in sympathetic strains of commiseration for.the Taranaki sufferers by those * untoward events' in the north, and then takes a sly poke at the vacilating policy' e'f former Governors, but with whose conduct, he very naively observes, it is not 'his business to jfind fault.' One thing he seems perfectly convinced of, and that is, Teira's right to sellithe land in question, but very truly observes the case in dispute was not that alone, but involved the whole question of the purchase of native lands.1 Here we perfectly agree with him, and if he had carried his exposition of the real state of things a little further, and told us whether, in his opinion, the present proceedings were likely to further that desirable object, it might have gone far to, reconcile, many to them, seeing that partial evil maybe universal good. We suppose however he has not yet had access to any document upon this point to enable him to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion ; but he asks the following question —« Who can tell what was the unwrtien law of the Maoris ?' and he answers himself.by , saying there was one law in the north, another in the south that is the-law of; might not right. We wonder it never struck him that the laws of the Maoris are as old as creation, and have a wonderful similarity to some other native races he must have come across in his pilgrimage through life. As regards the Native King: question he appears to think it no joke, arid that to put it down is sooner said than done. We confess we agree with him here, and think a great deal more has been made of this, and the real object of the natives very much misrepresented. After a studious endeavor to exempt himself from any intended attack upon the late or present proceedings of our colonial rulers and their milk-and-water and sugar-and-blanket policies, he sums up by saying rthat the present war. must; be brought to a close, but that unless they also cldsed the causes which led to. the war, little good would be. done,'. and consequently there would be little hopes of a lasting peace between the two races. There is one very curious feature in these proceedings, namely, the perfect unanimity of sentiments, and feelings between, the •members of both brancnes of the Legislature i'for we are'told that the address of tooth Houses were identically the same. Whether * they will exhibit jth^ same ' Siamese^ui|iformity.in their subsequent decisions remain^ to-be seen. We shall' notice tlie (debate"' upon the ; mption of jthe Colonial Treasurer for leave;,t6 ; bring in a .Native Offenders Bill in a future number.■■; "We jnayj be thought .to have takjen a too' scrutinizing a review of the speeches of the various debaters; but wethinlc this is not.a time for bandying various branches; Eof the Government of; these colonies; but *tljat every member should well w!eigh the ineaning - of, every : word he, makes uieofto express his opinions, and that it behoves the public to keep, a vigilanjt eye upon the; proceedings of their repregenta-i-tiveg^ .--•■ ..■;.■,.•■:.. ■,■:;■••;;;,;.;;.:;■{. I

We are not in the position of the Romish Cardinal who had held. most of. the fat things in his.day, and who, on being asked' the secret of his wonderful success, replied —'It is to ask for nothing, refuse,nothing, to complajft of nobody.' - A newspaper started on these grounds would stand but a poor chance. If it asked for nothing—nothing- ,it' woupl1 get. 'If it refused .nothing,1 printer," publisher, and editor ;wo)ild certainly 4get into gaol. And.if it complained *of nothing,' tnen would Othello's occupation indeed be gone. > We hereby thank the public who have so

willingly come forward to assist us in the, recent law case. But we certainly mustsay that we are much more indebted to the forbearance of Mr. Travers in this matter than to,the liberality of the public.