THURSDAY MORNING, 14th MAY. THE PAST POLICY.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVIII, Issue 1868, 14 May 1863, Page 2

THURSDAY MORNING, 14th MAY. THE PAST POLICY.

At length all the harrowing details of the terrible tragedy are before us. Out of ten men forming the escort which was proceeding from Tataraimalca to New Plymouth, three were shot down like dogs, and the remainder, save one who escaped almost by a miracle, fought bravely to the lust, returned the fire of their concealed assassins, and died one by one in the heroic performance of their duty. Peace be to their ashes ; they were brave men, who have been basely done to death, and their blood thus spilt, yet cries out for vengeaDce on the slayers. From the particulars furnished by our own correspondent at Taranaki, it will be learned what heroism was displayed on one side, and what cowardly brutality on the other. Was there ever anything more pathetic than the conduct of Lieut. Tragett, when with nearly all his men shot down, lie gave his white handkerchief to private Kelly, to hoist as a flng of Iroce, and refused to retreat firing " because lie would not leave the dead and wounded." But alas! all was unavailing, the assassins proceeded with their ruthless butchery, they disregarded everything except their determination to murder, and this gallant officer shared the fate of his companions in arms. Besides all this, there are some additional particulars of importance re-

ceivodby ific present mail; Tho Tarannh Herald states that Sir George Grpy Ins given up the Waitara Block, not indeed " that lie Ims given it up to any one in particular, but that be has simply withdrawn the troops from it.' 1 Tbe'assertion that Teira was to receive, or had received £600 from the Governor is involved in doubt. On the one hand we. have the Taranaki Herald, and a correspondent, Mr Hulke, both affirming the statement. On the olhev, we are informed on the best official authority that it is a fabrication. We therefore let it go for what it is worth. Some further information furnished us by a respectable Taranaki settler, throws additional light on the motives which have led to the abandonment of Waitara. He states thai the opinion is held by a considerable number of the settlers, that the Governorin abandoning it, has been actuated by the consideration that there are no settlers between the Bell Block and the Waitara requiring protec tion. Both are situated north of New Plymouth, while the Tatiraiimka, the Omata stockade, and the scene of the murders, almost midway between them, are all South of the township. Two objects may thus be served by the abandonment, for the lime, of Waitavn; firstly, the exclusive attention of the military enn be directed to Tataraimaka and tbe pah a few miles nearer, to which the murderers have retreated, and secondly an opportunity is afforded to such natives as choose, to take possession of the Waitara. No right appears as yet to have been sacrificed, the block is simply abandoned, and the question of its supremacy is probably involved iv tbe settlement of that other great question which receut events have forced on our consider-

a tion.

It is impossible to gather in a reliable manner what are ihe intentions of his Excellency for the Allure, unless the slatemenjs contained in the letter of the Native Minister, published in our columns to-day, may be taken as an index. In this case as in every previous pioceedin of Sir George Grey and the present ministry, we have bad repeatedly to lament the system of concealment which has been adopted with reference to Native Affairs. Casting our eves back to a period but two years ago, we can remember the enunciation of the great principle by the Fox party, that there should be no mystery in Native affairs. That principle was established by the proceedings of the Waikuto committee, and when Mr Fox and his colleagues look the place of the Stafford Ministry, and the arrival of Sir George Grey followed ; in the plans then proposed for dealing with the Native race that principle was still kept in view. With a responsible Ministry of able men, acting in concert with the Governor those plans had a certain probability of success, but tbey were neve; fairly tried. The Domett Cabinet, came into office, as irresponsible Minisleis, they had no voice in the direction of Native Affairs, Sir George Grey was left to fight the battle single handed, and lackiug the mora] support of the Colony through its representatives, lacking also the assistance and advice of the framers of the scheme; what wonder is it that his peace policy should piove so far unsuccessful. The peace experiment, we repeat, had not a fair trial. It wes a bitter mockery t () place men hi power who shirked facing the difficulties of the great question of the day, the question, on the settlement of which, hung the future prosperity of this Island.

Time after time have we protested against this abnegation of the functions of responsible government, and warned the colonists of the Nemesis that would fellow. Still, we have continued to hope for the best, and conscious of the terrible burden Sir George Grey had thrust upon him, we afforded him what support we could. If he has faPed, the slnme rests mainly on a Ministry, which has been a sham through" out. If he had succeeded, the honor would have been due to himself, and i<> those men whose brains originated, and whose hands put inaction the policy which has been so unfairly tried, The history of what has been done, and wha 1 has been attempted may never be fully known. •The executive of clerks, have carried on business with sealed books, and it is only the crash of failure, which has enforced a partial revelation ot the true state of affairs.

Many thinking men in the past held the opinion that the mismanagement and abuses of the Native office, had ensured the non-success of the Fox policy, ere it was well begun. They contend that it came too laic. II this were fcv en partially true, the experiment of a Dictatorship, and a Ministry impotent {or good, has not lessened the difficulty in the future.

The stern logic of events forces us to the conclusion that ere schemes of pliilaiitlirophy are again tried, those rebellious tribes whose bands are red will) the blood of our gallant countrymen, must meet with summary punishment, and Teceivea lesson which will effectually prevent any repetition of such an outrage in the future. We do not believe the murderers will be given up, and in that case war is inevitable, and such a war as this colony has nevev yet experienced. The Waikatos whose neutrality was hoped for, were, according to the latest accounts, fast nearing the field where the issue is to be tried, while the Southern Natives were rapidly collecting:. The ftar flame seems to have spread with fearful rapidity, and in Waikato itself all the Europeans have been obliged to leave. Everything thus betokens a coming struggle, which we fear will be a long and deadly one. It is not about a piece of territory with a disputed title that we are now ahou t to fight, the issue is a much broader one, it is the supremacy of the Queen, and the vindication of Her law. Formerly, Waitara alone was fought for, and after a fruitless struggle, a condition of the terms of peace was, that the title of the land should be investigated ; truly a fitting climax to a campaign characterised by a series of failures, the results of military incoinpetency and official mismanagement. Now, we take fresh ground which is unassailable. We have not been the aggressors, nay, we have exhausted every means of kindness and conciliation. We have given the Native race more than any other nation, in any other age or countvy, ever gave before to a people in similar ciicumstances ; and now, when our phi'authrophy has been derided, our laws set at naught, and our countrymen

brutally butchered inthe face of day, it is surely lime to misheutli the sword. We lament this as a stern necessity, and our regret U deepened by the reflection that in this momentous eiisis, we have a ministry in pffice, whose antecedents, and recent career bav.e shown that its members are utterly unable to cope with the difficulties of the position into which an accident has forced them.