The Taranaki Herald. NEW PLYMOUTH, MARCH 13, 1869.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 868, 13 March 1869, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. NEW PLYMOUTH, MARCH 13, 1869.

The result of the public meeting held on Tuesday, proves in the most complete manner that the people of Taranaki are determined to stand by the Constitution, and maintain, intact, the political liberties which they enjoy under it. We never entertained a doubt of what would be the final result of public opinion on the question, if only sufficient time were given for calm deliberation. The inherent love ■which most Englishmen feel for constitutional rights, manifested itself on that occasion, and the attempt to persuade the meeting 1 that the abrogation of their political privileges was calculated in any manner to remedy our present misfortunes, resulted in a most signal failure. We thought that after a week's consideration, and an opportunity of studying the leading features of the Constitution Act by the mover of the resolution, — who stigmatised it as the great obstruction to th« formation of a more vigorous and economical Government — we should be enlightened by lucid argument, tending. to show cause why the "OtfnstittitidV on which we prided onrselves not a little, was quite inadequate in its provisions to empower the people to say who should govern them, or how they were to be governed. We were again disappointed, for we never heat'd more feeble arguments unsupported by evidence. In fact, ere the vigorous onslaught of the Constitutional party was made, the meeting, which assembled to listen to arguments, and not to bare assertions, wavered in opinion ; and before its close were nearly unanimously in favour of giving the Constitution another trial. This is no small triumph to constitutional principles at such an exciting time as this ; and it is also creditable to the people of Taranaki that no mere party cry, unsupported by intelligent argument, is sufficient to warp their better judgment. We observed that the Constitutionalists, in their great zeal for the privileges which they prize, were in some respects equal to their opponents in bold assertions, which in cooler moments would not have been made, and we were surprised that these were not noticed by their opponents. We refer more especially to the assertion that if we were deprived of our Constitution, we should necessarily be deprived of our inherent rights asßritish subjects. This is a mistake. The rights which we derive from the Constitution, are self-government, by means of the electoral franchise in its fullest development ; but those more essential or primary rights, personal security, personal liberty, and rights of property, are of much higher antiquity, having beeu from time to time declared by the Parliament of England, and forms part and parcel of her common law. Our impartiality compels us to notice this, but we would at the same time remark that without the watchful care of the assembled representatives of the people, those rights which Englishmen are taught to regard as their birthright, would rest on a very frail foundation ; and without that pro-i tection in time of tumult would melt away, and leave not a vestige behind. It is therefore, very necessary that we should manfully resist any encroachment of our liberties, from whatever quarter it may come ; and in all cases where danger menaces the Colony, as it does at the present time, it should be the endeavour of all sections of the community to work together for the general good ; for it is only by the most cordial unanimity that the common foe can be successfully met, and ultimately defeated. What has always been our bane with regard to the native difficulty ? Divided councils, which resulJei in weak and irresolute action. "^Bpft has enabled our enemy, so physically aafl/ morally inferior to ourselves, to wage an equal contest ? Resolute and combined action. We have no doubt that most people Bee by this time where our weakness lies. It is not so much want of men or of money, as want of determination on the part of the Colony that the curse to the progress of the North Island — the native difficulty — is not energetically grappled with, and effectually put down. The electors are indifferent as to the opinions of their representatives. The

representatives of the people are just as indifferent as the people they represent, and the Ministry of the hour are the simple embodiment of the opinions of the representatives of the people; and as a natural consequence, the policy of a Government, built up of such incoherent materials, must fall asunder at the first rude pressure, and show its total inaptitude to deal with a danger of such magnitude as that which now menaces us. The Government of the day reminds us of the unwary traveller in a volcanic region, who pushes on his perilous path, unmindful of the various indications which to a skilled observer would be sufficient warning of the danger of the journey, and the necessity of timely evading the impending disaster. But to him the puffs of smoke and the slight shuddering of the mountain side pass unnoticed, until ho is engulphed in the yawning chasm, or overwhelmed by the burning lava stream. In a country where native disaffection has been for years a household word, where, and especially in this Province, an intense feeling of insecurity existed, yet we find that the Government of the Colony with its small army of what we may'term nativefeeling indicators, is totally ignorant of the impending outbreak or its extent, and quite unprepared to meet it. Is it therefore a matter for surprise that tbe people of this Province, on the occurrence of another disaster, should be maddened at the prospect before them, which they rightly or wrongly attribute to the criminal negligence of the Government in failing to take those obvious precautions which would have averted the evil ; and what is still worse, they are unable to tell the people of any reasonable expeditious scheme to punish the aggressors of the outrage and render the re-occupation of the country safe for the settlers, who are now entering on a career of rapid and utter ruin. The reply to all appeals made to the Government is, there is no money to carry out our wishes. This, we are satisfied, is mere official formula, and does not at all convince us. We are great advocates for economy in all departments of government, even in the defence of the Colony, but rather than that we should from want of funds, halt in our endeavours to secure the safety of the out-districts, we would mercilessly cut down the expenditure of the Colony until means were forthcoming to punish those miscreants, who so long as they remain unhung are a disgrace and reproach to a Government whose boast it is to put down with a strong arm all outrages committed on its subjects. We will endeavour to briefly show that it is fallacy to asert that the Colony has not the means to punish the native tribes who are guilty of those murderous outrages. The Colony has the means at command to effectually defend the settlers if the expenditure on national luxuries is for a time suspended. We are in the position of an individual who has barely enough to pay his way, but will persist in indulging himself in expensive luxuries, while the real necessaries of life are unprovided for his family. In 1862 the population of the Colony amounted to 183,000, and the ordinary revenue for the year was about £480,000, of this, £70,000 had to be set apart for meeting permanent charges, and of the balance, some £200,000 was paid to the Provinces on account of their share of the Customs and gold revenue ; this left a balance of £210,000 for the service of the General Government — that sum sufficed in 18U2.

In 1869, with a population of 220,000, the revenue is estimated at £1,000,000. Of this £292,000 goes to permanent charges and civil list, £320,00(7 to the Provinces as their share of the consolidated revenue ; leaving to the General Government an available balance of £388,000 for administrative purposes. The question now arises how the Government dispose of this large snm. It is as follows — conveyance of mails, including Panama subsidy, £127,000 ; Militia, Volunteers, and Constabulary, £69,000 ; Native purposes, £14,000 ; telegraph, £21,000 ; printing and stationery, £20,000 ; miscellaneous, £10,000 ; Customs, postal, judicial, and legislative salaries, and incidental expenses, £127,000. We fear that very little reduction, can be made in payments to Provinces, for there are permanent charges to be met for interest and sinking fund of loans, which amounts to £220,000, leaving £100,000 only available to economise on. Yet it will be seen that by cutting down the luxurious expenditure under the head of conveyance of mails, printing and stationery, and the inordinately large departmental expenditure, at the same time making temporary use of a portion of the payments to Provinces — that at least a saving of £100,000 per annum could be made, -which in addition to the £69,000 for defence, would make a sum of £169,000. This, if not sufficient to stamp out the present rebellion, would pay the interest on a loan of £3,000,000 for the purpose of the final settlement of the Native difficulty and the speedy prosperity of the North Island. Where there is a will there is a way, and we hope that the electors of this Province will construct a political creed to test the professions of their representatives at the hustings, and be careful to return only those men who give satisfactory answers to the questions proposed ; for we may rest satisfied that if the body of electors will not take up the question and urge a speedy settlement of the present state of Native anarchy, that it will be indefinitely delayed.