GOVERNOR BROWNE'S RECALL AND SIR GEORGE GREY'S REAPPOINTMENTs

Wellington Independent, Volume XVI, Issue 1615, 6 September 1861, Page 3

GOVERNOR BROWNE'S RECALL AND SIR GEORGE GREY'S REAPPOINTMENTs

In the House of Representatives, ou the 29th July, Mr. Stafford rose to ask if any information had been received by the late mail oonoeming the New Zealand Bill now before the British Parliament, and was answered by the Attorney-General (Mr. Fox) in the negative ; most importaut despatches however had arrived, he said, aud would be communicated to the house that day. This announcement was reoeived with cheers, which had scarcely ceased, when the Governor's private seorbtary entered and handed two messages to the Speaker oue of which covered a despatch from his Grace the Duke of Newcastle, dated May 20, aud received by His Excellenoy the Governor on July 27th. Amidst profound silence and attention the Speaker proceeded to read the following : — Downing-street, 25th May, 1861.

Rib, — I hare perused with much anxiety the intelligence respecting the progress of the native war which is contained in your despatches recently arrived. I cannot but perceive that in spite of some symptoms of a desire on the part of the natives for the restoration of peace, little effect has really been produced hitherto by the military operations at Taranaki, and that, notwithstanding all the efforts of yourself and your advisers, the disaffection of the Maoris is extending itself to those tribes whose amity, or at least j whose neutrality, has hitherto been hoped for and is assuming a more organised form, and a more definite object. I am far indeed from ascribing this untoward course of events to those who are responsible for the conduct of affairs in New Zealand. On the contrary, I recognise with pleasure the sound and impartial judgment, the integrity, intelligence and anxiety for the public good which have characterised your government of the colony for nearly six years. The present conjuncture, however, renders it necessary for. her Majesty's Government to leave no expedient untried which is calculated to arrestthe course of events now unhappily so unpromising, and at the same time to provide for Jibe . diffi;

culties, which these is only too much reason to anticipate, even if the war should happily be' soon brought to a conclusion. Having regard, therefore, to the peculiar qualifications and experience of Sir George Grey, now governing the Cape of Good Hope, I have felt that I should be neglecting a chauej. of averting a more general and disastrous wear if I omitted to avail myself of the remarkable authority which will attach to his name and character as Governor of New Zealand.

I bust, thoiefore, that yov\ will not feel it as any slight on yourself that I should have determined to place the Government of the Islands in his hands at a moment when your own term of office has all but expired, and you would have no opportunity of providing against those future difficulties to which I have referred. I hope that in doing so I shall not deprive the Crown for any long period of the advantage of your services. I have communicated to Sir George Grey ray wish that as the matter is one of urgency, he should lose no time iv proceeding to New Zealand for the purpose of assuming 1 the Government. jMy confidence in your public ' spirit assures me that in transferring it to him you will give him every assistance and information which is calculated to facilitate his dealings, whether with the local Government or with the friend!) or hostile Maoris. . I have only to add, that in case you should * be disposed to accept another Australian government, it may be convenient that, insteau of repairing" to this country, you should remain for a short-time at Sydney, tfntill am able to coramunieule with you more definitely upon that subject. I hare, &c, Newcastle. Cheers and approbation arose from several parts of the House at this verification of the announcement of the At-torney-General, and some honorable members appeared to be strangely upset, while Mr. Stafford stated he had received . information a month previously that Sir George Grey had offered his services to the Imperial Government. Mr. Stafford was also aware of the plan whioh Sir George Grey proposed for the settlement of the New Zealand question. As this assertion carries us back some days prior ' to the going out of the Stafford ministry, it is a wonder, with the facility exhibited for patching up their political- garments with shreds from others, that this known plan was not turned to account. v The previous misrepresentations is explained by an omission in the telegram, which said "New Zealand Governor reappointed, instead of whioh it should have been New Zealand — Governor Grey re- appointed." The apparent approbation of past policy which this appeared to convey, was as inexplicable at the time as the real position of affairs since has been generally hailed as likely to set the question within reasonable terms of settlement, without further exhibition of vacillation or pusillanimity.

The feeling which the announcement; of Governor Browne's recall and the re- • appointment of Sir George Grey excited ' is described in the following extacb from the Register of the sth* August: — The past week has been a must eventful one. On Saturday, the 27th July, the English mail and English telegrams had arrived, and con- * spicuous in Colonial eyes stood forward this item, " New Zealand Governor re-appointed." Without any undue desire to give utterance to harsh expressions, we are bound to record facts, and the truth is, that that bare and blighting announcement raug a death knell to the hopes of almost every settler in the Northern Island; for it seetned to speak approvingly of the war which has destroyed Taranaki : and led to the inference that the ruler so encouraged and reinstatedwould consider himself to be more than warranted in committing Auckland to the struggle to which the "vigorous prosecution" party have so recklessly incited him. Mercantile men-moneyed men— men with abiding interests in the country — heard the 'announcement with dismay, bordering on despair. If it had been difficult to realise upon tea] property before, would it not be impossible to do so now that the war element was in the ascendant? Upon every man's countenance, Auckland for sale, but no buyers seemed to be stamped. The immediate application of the screw, in protection of the Banks, was in every man's mouth, and nothing could be more distressing than the despondency . which weighed upon all save contractors and money lenders. On Monday last, however, this intolerable . load of oppression was joyfully removed. The telegraphic wires had played us a scurvy trick — they had dropped one very little but all-im-portant word from their message, which ought to have run thus, — "New Zealand— Governor Grey re-appointed." Probably it is just as well as it was, as the revulsion of feeling, when the real truth became known, fully compensated for , the eight and forty hours of previous anxiety and gloom. On Monday, Messages from Governor Browne were transmitted to both Houses of Legislature covering copies of a despatch from the Duke of Newcastle, intimating the re-appointment of Sir George Grey, whose speedy arrival, it further said, might be looked for. In the House of Representatives, the announce* ment was received with, cheers. In the Legislative Chamber, as became that dignified body, it was greeted in silence, but was not, therefore, one whit the less acceptable to many of its members. Out of doors the intelligence' flew like wildfire — every body imparted the tidings to every body—men's minds were in a state of ecstasy — the former friends and old antagonists of Sir George Grey appeared disposed to hug each other on the fortunhte event, for every one felt that the Colony was saved, . and that the right man had, at the right moment, been restored to the right place. ' The New Zeahnder of the 3rd Aug.,4u its commercial article, informs u^ of the; effect this announcement had on trade,; , and from our personal communicationsrwith several of the - Southern members, ( we learn that its immediate result-^-in.;. increasing the value of property, weal most extraordinary. A similar effejot./ took place here. So soon, •! as :■;* the? news reached the Gountry/i confidence;:gave to the merely $nce^pf /Mbllck v kinds of property, a most petus, notwithstanding: which must tempbriarilyi Jcdlb^? •;oni|^|^ departure of a large number^of pii^p^lpji lation tothe: G^d^el«fe^::/^^j^^li^; Without.haying ; L encouater^ ; - .''■■■■■■■■". ;'■->- -v .■.'■;'" ■; •- /]'-; s'K-:M-%o?s<

cisis, without having suffered any diminution of commercial credit, with a rising Customs revenue, with « e\v avenues of traffic, to California and the South Sea Islands, opening upon us, it cannot be concealed that we were shwly drifting towards a condition of commercial syncope. Our progress, such as it has latterly proved, has been more attributable to the impulse ot the past, than-to the action of the present, whilst the future was a thing at which no one ventured to look but with gloomy forebodings. From exporters, we had become importers of bread stuffs and other descriptions of agricultural produce —from the requisite Commissariat supplies we derived little or no advantage, because these were received principally from the colonies of Australia. These are facts patent to every one. Looking, therefore, at the reckless manner in which the Taranaki war was entered into, at the puerile, vacillating, and ruinous way in which it was conducted, with every prospect of a much more extensive and disastrous war impending upon our own immediate borders, and with the same authority remaining to guide that war, what else could be expected than that the labors of our settlers should be paralysed, that war rather than agriculture should engross the native miud, that mortgages should turn an anxious eye towards their bonds, that proprietors eager for peace and prosperity should wish to • realise,, that the community should be on the tenter hooks, and that^he Banks should contemplate the' probability of contracting their operations!. All these were possiblecontingencies whicn weighed Jjieavily last week— the arrival of the mail has, however, materially changed their hue, the forthcoming change in the Government has had an instant and a talismanic effect— the most desponding have become re-eassured— the shares of the New Zealand Bank, which were hanging in the balance, have been greedily run after— for, be it peace or war, there is that confident assurance that in the hands of Sir George Grey the business will be conducted with so much intelligence, promptitude and skill as will more than jestore the Colony to its lost position. Such is the all prevailing impression, and judging of the future by tne past, remembering how speedily be extinguished the first New Zealand war, it is by no means surprising that, with the numerous resources at his command, -the most implicit reliance should be placed in his ability to sup* • press the present. : It cannot be forgotten with what rapidity the Qolony advanced after the close of the former "war. Will it be less likely to push forward on the settlement of this ? We feel convinced that it will not. And we entertain a confident hope that terms of accommodation conducive to the true interests of both races will be arrived at. Sir .George Grey returns at the most critical— the turning poiut— of>the fortunes of New, Zealand. "Great will be his giory if he«.succeeds in the "undertaking; and that he will succeed, — triumphantly succeed,— reven. the most biltev of his "■former opponents scarcely entertain a question.

Z' The universal confidence which Sir "George Grey's re-appointment is thus is the best testimony which "New Zealand can bear to the expectations formed of him. He comes, as we all' believe, to restore peace. His whole efforts will be directed to this end ; and if they fail, may we not indulge the hope that with a man of his ability as Governor, seconded by all officer of experience like General Cameron, war will be carried on in a very different manner to that" which characterised the one at Taranaki.

There is nothing rash or overweening (says the Register) in the confidence that has thus been so opportunity re-established. They who, like ' ourselves, have Jong known Sir George Grey, can perfectly understand the feelings whilst those who know him only by the reputation he has acquired must be satisfied that, in tbe ascendancy he has invariably obtained in the governance of aboriginal tribes, we have a guarantee for a prompt vetuvn to peace aud order, such as no other man was likely to have afforded. If we consider tbe condition of the country at the time when Sir George Grey undertook tbe Government of New Zealand in 1845— if we bear in mind the paucity of European settlers, the limited arnonnt of British forces compared with the then much more numerous state of tbe Native population— if we retrace the decision of his conduct when action was imperative, aud weigh well his moderation when peace became practicable, we think we can safely venture to predict that the hand which, then so skillfully unravelled our tangled destiny will not be less successful now. There are those who are doubtful that from the friendly interest which Sir George Grey entertains towards the Native race, he may be led to make peace upon terms more or less incompaiabJe with European interests. They who think thus do not know the man. That lie will use his great influence to re-establish order by peaceful means we feel perfectly conviuced, but, in doing so, he will never allow Limself to be tampered or trifled with ; he will see, hear, judge, and decide for himself; he will employ no third class clerks or underlings as hia deputies; he will be misled by no erroneous ■ neous interpreters ; he will think and act for himself; and he will be on the spot and on ibe alert w profit by the occasion as it may arise. The Natives — overjoyed as they are at the prospect of bis return— know this : — They know, from past experience, that he is not the man to be played with. Tney know, too, that lie does not relinquish a. superior government to restore the equilibrium of an inferior one without Laving the means at his disposal to counsel obedience and compel it if rational advice should fail. Under such circumstances can it be matter of surprise that the confidence of the colonists is as strong as their despondency was distressing, and that a universal belief should obtain that before twelve months shall elapse New Zealand will have been placed in' a posiripn of assured peace and prosperity such as she has never yet possessed.

JNatife matters remain in statu quo, so far as either negociations or military preparations are concerned. "Immediately after the change of Ministry (says the Wew Zealander) which displaced those men who were regarded by the Natives as« the authors of the Taranaki war, and placed in office men whose names were foyourably known to them, Thompson lost no time in addressing letters to the Governor and to some members of the new . Ministry, offering to come into Auckland without delay, and to discuss the existing differences face to face, with the; Government. It is understood that the offer has been accepted, and that preparations were being- made for a msfog% Yfltea the news, arrived of the

appointment of Sir George Grey as Governor of the Colony. Let us hope that the way has been prepared for bringing Wm. Thompson and the other leading Waikato chiefs into early personal communication with the new Govenor ; and that the result will be a speedy and satisfactory peace, based on conditions which may ensure the prosperity of both races, and their harmonious occupation of the fair country in which Providence has placed them side by side." "If we may argur from the manifestations of Joy (says the same journal) which the announcement of Sir George Grey's return to New Zealand has produced amongst the Maories wherever it has become known, he will find the key to the " situation " in his hand, and, with that singular good fortune which happens always to attend him, and which it must be admitted, has formed no inconsiderable element in his success, — he will arrive at a moment when, the way having been prepared for him by recent events, his peculiar power can be exercised with the greatest probability of good results." , THE MILITIA.

The training of the militia has been found to be a very serious hinderance to the pursuit of ordinary avocations, and from the aspect affairs have taken since the recall of Governor Browne, drill has been dispensed with. The New Zealander says : — •The recent activity in assembly and dvill has been found to be as Dogberry say*, "very intolerable and not to be borne." Militia men were ordered to parade, but they did not appear and there seems to fee a probability that the majority of the men liable to be called on for service, prefer to risk a trial before the Resident Magistrate and face fine and imprisonmen. rather than be worried with the frequent attend ance on duties which has of late been exacted "War at any price" was a good cry. It is quite clear, however, that notwithstanding the assertions of those great representatives of public opinion in the House, Messrs. Russell and Co., there is a price which the citizens as a whole will not pay. They will not make the saciifice of the time or of the labour necessary to convert them, according to the square and plumb rule of Colonel Martinet,— into efficient soldiers, at least until the emergency is pressing and the need comes upon them. If any gpod can be extracted from our recent disasters, .the arming of the people and the establishment of the Mililia upon a permanent fooling will certainly form a part of it, and we sbould'be very sorry indeed to see that wpvk abandoned There is* however, aright and a wrong way of doing everything, and we have reason to believe that our Militia authorities have got hold of the wrong end of the stick. It is quite clear that the whole male population cannot be punished, even under the Militia Act, and as an evidence of returning sense we heard with pleasure the announcement made by Mr. Fox the othev day, in reference to the motion of Mr. R. Graham relative to the drilling of the Militia,— that the Ministry had brought the subject under His Excellency's consideration, that His Excellency had at once assented to the discontinuance of drill, and that the Colonels would be instructed to that effect immediately.