PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 1479, 18 June 1879, Page 7

PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES.

l_From the Timabtj* Hebald, June 5.] A few days since the Government discovered that Te Whiti was a fanatic, tbat tbe natives on tbe West Coast of the North Island were disaffected, and that the life and property of the settlers on the confiscated land were m danger. In consequence of this discovery, they held a Cabinet meeting at New Plymouth, the Premier and the Minister for Defence being present, and decided, whether unanimously or not has not transpired, to adopt precautionary measures. The wonderful sagacity which enabled them thus to ascertain the true state of affairs, was only equalled by the extraordinary promptitude and activity with which they acted on their newly acquired intelligence. It occurs to us, however, as being a remarkable coincidence that the very same conclusions at which they arrived on Tuesday last, had been arrived at by the settlers m Taranaki, and bythe Press and tbe public tbroughout the colony, some months previously ; and that the very same precautionary measures which they have just decided to take, had been previously resolved upon by a number of public meetings, and partly put into execution by the settlers themselves. Tbe suddenness with which the scales have fallen from tbe eyes of the Ministers, indeed, is perfectly startling. Only a week or two ago, the Premier, m answer to an urgent message informing him that Te Whiti's emissaries had taken possession of the settlers' farms, and claiming the protection of the Government, calmly recommended the aggrieved persons to sue the . intruders for trespass ; and only two or three days ago, after his arrival m the disturbed neighborhood, he complained to a deputation that they had not shown clearly the grounds for alarm, and stated tbat the Government did not consider it necessary for the settlers to leave their homes. Yet immediately afterward, that is to say, the day before yesterday, the Government became of opinion that " the whole affair was an outbreak of fanaticism directed towards the recovery of the confiscated land, that Te Whiti might at any time pronounce sentence of death on the settlers and their families, and that the urgency of the sitnation demanded energetic preparations for bringing to bear a force sufficient to crush all resistance." Ludicrous as the present precipitancy of JMinisters is, when contrasted with their previous apathy, however, it is. a matter for congratulation that they have at last awakened to tbe gravity of the occasion. The longer they ignored the danger, the more formidable it . became. While they have been crying " Peace, Peace," the natives have been busily preparing for war, and they are already, no doubt, m a position to offer a determined and prolonged resistance to any force that may be brought against them. They have, m fact, got the start of the Government "by three months at least, and the sooner the Government begin to make up for lost time the better. No one m the country, perhaps, is more capable of , conducting the operations necessary for putting the threatened districts m a state of defence, than Colonel WJhiti more, provided only that he is allowed to have his own way. What is to be feared is that Sir George Grey's jealousy, and the intrigues of the Native , Ofßce, wiU paralyse the military branch . of tbe administration, and that Colonel WJhitmore's plans will foe marred by

"- 1 ' ■ influences over wbicb he has no control. The proposed measures, as far as they are known, however, are evidently tbose of the Minister of Defence, and it is to be hoped that he will be enabled to carry them out m bis own way. Tbe only part of his scheme tbat we think questionable, is that which contemplates the employment of an immense force of Ngatiporou on the West Coast. These natives are warriors by nature, and many individuals among them are splendid fellows m every respect. The employment of even the best native allies, though, has very serious disadvantages. In tbe first place, it weakens to a great extent the hold of the Government upon the direction of events ; because, however loyal and well behaved the native troops may be. tbey are always very much under the guidance of their chiefs, each of whom has his own particular ideas of what ought to be done, and, not unfrequently, his own objects to serve. Then it is obviously to the interest of the native allies to keep the war going as long as possible. They dearly like fighting for fighting's sake ; and they also have a fond attachment for regular pay and rations, and all the other accompaniments of the Government service. As soldiers, too, they are far inferior to trained Europeans. They are good enough for a dash, wben tbeir blood is up, and wben they arc well led ; but are never to be relied upon not to get m the sulks at a critical moment, or not to do something or leave undone something, which may interfere with the harmony of the operations. They certainly will not stand so mucb hardship and exposure as Europeans, nor are they able to stand the forced marches or rough busb journeys, upon which tbe success of an expedition often entirely depends. In the last war, Colonel Whitmore got his constabulary at last to do witbout tents, blankets, fires, rations, or anything else except their arms and ammunition and what food they could forage on the march ; and it was by tbis means that, with a very inadequate force as to numbers, he hunted Te Kooti, wounded and starving, into the recesses of the interior, and Tito Kowaru, little better off, into the swamps and jungles which form the last resource of Maori wretchedness. For work like that, Europeans are incomparably superior to any natives ; and if it becomes necessary, as it easily may, for Te Whiti to be smoked out of Parihaka, the greater part of the operations will consist of such duty as we have described. Another very bad feature of the enrollirg of friendly, natives is tlAt it necessitates placing m their hands great numbers of arms, which it iB exceedingly difficult to get back from them afterwards. The number of rifles and revolvers which went out of our hands m this way during the last war, and which have never been recovered, is almost incredible ; and there is little doubt that sooner or later, these weapons get into the possession of the wrong natives, and are liable to be turned against us whenever fresh trouble arises. Keeping all these considerations m view, though, we are quite willing to admit that the transportation of a thousand JNgatiporou to the West Coast would be a stoke of policy wbicb would astonish Te Whiti and his people. Colonel Whitmore is evidently bent on taking a leaf out of Lord Beaconsfield's hook, and we think it very likely tbat his introduction of the Ngatiporou to the Ngatiruanui, would have quite as good an effect upon them as the an-ival of the Indian regiments at Malta had upon the Bussians. As a demonstration of power, and of readiness to use it, the plan is unquestionably good. Colonel Whitmore is exactly m his element just now ; and if events, owing to the waste of time which has already occurred, do not march too fast for him, we have every confidence that he will speedily remove all cause for anxiety for European supremacy on the West Coast.