THE Wellington Independent. " NOTHING EXTENUATE; NOR SET DOWN AUGHT IN MALICE." TUESDAY MORNING, 19th APRIL. THE CRY FOR PEACE.

Wellington Independent, Volume XIX, Issue 2050, 19 April 1864, Page 2

THE Wellington Independent. " NOTHING EXTENUATE ; NOR SET DOWN AUGHT IN MALICE." TUESDAY MORNING, 19th APRIL. THE CRY FOR PEACE.

It is a curious circumstance that the same mail which brings us an account of the fight at Orakau and the sad disaster at Ahuahu, should also show" that the cry for a cessation of the war has been raised. Once or twice during the past year, we have noticed that something approaching to thishasbeen faintly recommended by the New Zealander, fortunately without success. Last August before the arrival of the large reinforcements since poured iuto the colony, it lugubriously bewailed the imminent danger to which Auckland wa_s exposed from native invasion, and suggested that the Waikato campaign should be postponed till the following spring. It alleged then, that the campaign had. been prematurely commenced without sufficient forces at the General's disposal, and suggested that the most important object to be served, was to protect Auckland, andjcommence hostilities only when sufficient troops for both purposes were on the spot. We condemned this suggestion at the time as being both selfish and pusillanimous, but we did not for a moment suppose that in making it our contemporary seriously meant to throw any obstacle in the way of the ultimate progress of the war. But the New Zealander, if not opposed to the war then, evidently wishes it to cease now. In a recent article, it plainly contends " that a speedy cessation of the war" is desirable, that its further progress will drive the natives to desperation ; that the terms offered of unconditioual surrender are not such as can be accepted by them and that the time has now come, when, without derogating from our own dignity, we can offer such terms as there is a reasonable probability the Maoris will accept*" Speaking broadly, the above is the spirit of what our contemporary advances, as reasons why General Cameron should sheathe the sword, stay his hand, and give place to the negotiator. We entirely disagr^^wdth all this, and much regret that any colonial journal at a time like

the present, should allow its sympatyesrfbr 3 the Maori to do gross injustice toihe Euro- : pean. Let us consider some of these asser- f tions in detail to show that this has been done. The writer, after alluding to the various defeats of the natives, and stating how they have been compelled to evacuate one position after another, goes on to say :— " Anything, more gloomy than the prospects of the Maoris who are waging this Tinhappy strife can hardly Ibe imagined. Tliere can be no doubt that the supremacy of the British arms has been fully established. The establishment of that supremacy gives us the power to offer terms, and it does more than that — it imposes on us as an imperative duty the making that offer. " The mere fact of our being in a* position to offer terms implies also the necessity that those terms be such as it may, with some probability, be expected that our opponents will accept. Conditions that we know beforehand will be rejected, amount, in point of fast, to no conditions at all. To ask a Maori to surrender, informing him at the same time that as soon as he does so he will be placed in durance, is equivalent to telling him that we intend to give no quarter. The one' course will drive him to desperation as surely as the other. " Some middle course must therefore" be adopted, which, while it procures the full recognition of British supremacy, and enables the introduction among the Maoris of measures designed for their benefit, will present no insurmountable obstacle to their acquiescence." Even if we could accept the statement of our contemporary " that the supremacy of the British arms has been fully established, we could by no means agree with him that the Government is bound to offer terms to the natives other than those contained in Sir George Grey's proclamation and in the instructions for dealing with rebellious and disaffected natives, recently issued to the Magistrates throughout the Island. These terms are very simple, and include unconditional surrender and complete submission to the Queen's; authority. On what other conditions than these can the war come to an end, or a real and lasting, instead of a hollow and a patched up peace be secured, we are at a loss to imagine. It is true something is said about " a middle course being adopted," which in the New Zealanders opinion would smooth over all difficulties, but it does not stop to inform us what would be the terms and conditions of such an arrangement. The colony would like very much to be further informed on this point. It is, however, needless to argue from data which are' manifestly incorrect. The su» premacy of British arms has not yet been established as even by the present mail, the tale is told that when General Cameron called on the defenders of the Orakau pa to surrender, they replied, " This is the word of the Maoris j they will fight on for ever, for ever, forever." ~N&y more, these men, whose, heroism one cannot but admire, contrived at the last moment to dash forth from the rear of the pah, and despite the presence of the- 40th, many of them escaped. It is scarcely a fitting moment, when we have sustained, a virtual defeat,., to talk of the supermacy of Britisl^Mins having been established, and tha^liponquerer we are in a position to offer&eiiiirous terms. It is true that our overwhelming force, with its operations directed by an able general, has ensured us in almost every instance victory of a certain kind. , The Natives have been driven back from one position after another, their lands have been occupied by British troops, and they are now in great straits. The conviction 1 may therefore be entertained by us, that we have had the best of it ; but are the natives also convfru ced of this P The events of the war do not lead us to think that they are. In every action that has been fought,. in every assault that has been made, we have sus tained loss on our side, not very much less than that of the rebels, who in all cases have contrived to escape and make a fresh stand at another position. Lessons such as these will scarcely instill the desired conviction into their minds, and till we can teach them others of a sterner kind, it is idle to hope their opinions will much alter. The New Zealander would &■ have us under, such circumstances depart from the original objects for which we commenced the war and offer more favorable terms to the rebels. What is this but a. tacit . adtnis si on that we are unable to compel submission under the original conditions P What would be more likely to inspire the hope that resistance would be successful in the end— • and animate them to, -prolong^fche struggle? No! if the Colony lias deliberately committed itself to war for the attainment . of certain , objects-— if the Imperial, Government has recognised the justice of our cause by affording us the fullest assistance— if we have an able General and an army such as we shall never have again—* this is certainly not the time to talk of lower* ing our demands or altering by one jot the terms on which we shall receive the submission of those natives at present in arms against the Queen's authority. We;- might • allude to the sad disaster which but lately occurred at Taranaki, where we have sustaned a humiliating defeat, and ask if our supremacy has yet been vindicated there P , Those who know the history of the former Taranaki war and can recall the deeds of the tribes in that district, well know how heavy an account has yet to be settled with- them, as well as with some others further south. When fit-, ting punishment has been inflicted on them, and when they, as well as their northern allies have been really coerced into submis- <.••■:. sion, we shall not only join our oontempp,- \i rary in advocating the necessity, of^ jpeaoe^ ; ':< but we shall also be the foremost in contend- ;, ing that our future pplioy towards J tia^»a^: ; \; should be one in which mercy shalt iisj^op^ly^^ temper justice. . Buttha^tmie.ds43y|||^e^:^ fear, far distant, and w4ii l S!^S^iil l^^*^f« decided' mdicatidnisj ■pfi,^,a|»f^^sß^TO^^|4^ fairly question the pro|>rie^:o||pio^(^|fe^y;sl|| which bur oontomporar^h#:op|e^^^^^yi