ARE WE TO LOSE NEW ZEALAND?

Wellington Independent, Volume XIX, Issue 2176, 7 March 1865, Page 5

ARE WE TO LOSE NEW ZEALAND?

(From the Economist, December 24 .) Mr Chichester Fortescde, id his admirable | speech the other day, at Maldon, did nothing more tlian justice to the unfortunate colonists of New Zealand, but he would have spoken with somewhat less hopefulness if he had received the news of the state of that colony which the mail just arrived has brought us. Not that the military news is threatening. It h far worse than that. As we have always predicted, the hesitating policy of the Government at home in first planting full power to the Parliament of New Zealand over all its affairs, and then at the critical moment withdrawing it again — operating as it has done, on the mind of a feeble Governor, anxious to justify, by acting heartily with the Home Government, a false reputation which accident, rather than ability, had gained for him here— has reduced the people of New Zealand to the necessity of considering gravely whether it would not be far better for them to lose the protection of England, rather than submit to that hesitating and paralysing interference, the injurious effect of which is greatly enhanced by tlie long pciod necessary for a despatch and an answer. When the last mail left, the colony was, in fact, without any Government, except that of Sir George Grey, who had just achieved the resignation of the Ministry, but not appointed uew Ministers. The war was smouldering, and the Governor anxious to coax the Maoris into peace. The effect of this relaxation of our energy was to encourage the natives to further resistance. At Tauranga, the natives, who so recently sub' initted, fiuding the army passive, have built a new pah, and have resisted the survey of the land they had themselves surrendered. North of Auckland, the escaped Maoris have fortified themselves in an impregnable position, and, according to the scandal ot the plaoa— which of course we do not believe, and only repeat to show the estimate formed by the settlers of Sir George Grey's policy — were supplied with food iv their hostile position from the private resources of the Government. Near Taranaki, the forces of William King are not only in an hostile attitude, but overawing other native j tribes anxious to submit. And, pending all this trouble, the Governor has, it is believed, refused to carry out the policy of the Land Settlements Act, which was his own measure, though 6000 military settlers have arrived it) New Zealand on the faith of that Act, not one of whom has yet been settled on an acre of his own ; and in the meantime, of course, they are paid by the colony at an unexpected cost to its burdened finance of some £80 per annum per roan, or half a million sterling annually. In a word, as the New Zealand settlers complain, they are now assisted by England at the expeuse of a quadruple misgoverument. They have a popular ministry, who try to govern and are not allowed ; a Governor not of the eolouy, who succeeds in thwarting them, but does not and cannot succeed in forcing upon them a policy of his own ; a department at home which constantly changes its mind, and now throws its weight into the one scale, now into the other ; finally, a military force which thinks it " a condescension to be amongst ns," and has views ol its own, different from both that of the Goveruor and that of the Ministry, of the true mode of conducting the war. How can we wonder il in all this chaos the settlers are crying out that it would be fur cheaper and better for them U organize amongst themselves a smaller and les> disciplined force, of which they will have ti bear the whole expense themselves, than to be i assisted by England with an army which neve . carries out their policy, and seems never likely s under the present Governor to bring war to ai end. "We took on it," says the Nelson Ex • aminer, " that the arrangement of £50 pc»" mai for the troops left in the colony is uot one tha ; can have any practical permanence. Th c colony cannot voluntarily pay a quarter of i 3 inilliou annually for an army to be placed atth s control of the agent of a distant irresponsibl r authority. It would be cheaper to pay twic r the sum for a force only half as well disciplines 1 but which could be reckoned on to obey th s orders of those who employed it." >. These are the views of the colonists in gem l ral. They demand the vigorous prosecution ( s the war, by their own forces, if the Englis c troops are not to be had to carry out their ow c policy, till the Maoris submit unconditional ;- without being coaxed into surrender. Tin ;■ demand, also, the bonu fide carrying out of tl :1. measure for the military settlement of the is land ; and to neither demand will Sir Georj ie Grey, after receipt of his last despatches fro jr Mr Card well, assent, tie told hUGoverninei

c it U ijaldi that fbay nra $bo Q«?ly obgtaolog U s the conclusion of peao.e, and, on the 30th o . September, they resigned. He b^d not, how V ever, on the 11th October, appointed any sue i cessors, and the reason is obvious— that b< ) could find none anywhere who would have 8 . chance of remaining in office for more days after meeting the Assembly, than would be necessary to prepare and carry a vote of wanl , of confidence. The colonists know that, if tbf islands are ever to be free of war, they must be , firm now, and carry it out to a decisive end i They know that the military settlements will, I even then, be the only final protection against a i new rebellion— and of course they are united, so far as they are united at all, for this end, ! The only alternative ever thought of is the disgraceful expedient of separation— in other words I a few of the southern island colonists, them* , selves in no danger of the Maoris, and taught ; by English precept and at least the threat of English example to think that non-intervention lin the difficulties of their fello\v-subject9 ig the true policy, are talking of the terrible burden which the Northern Island is gradually bringing upon them, and hinting that if England, as Parliament and the Times threatened, abandon New Zealand, they could not do better than imitate the policy, by abandoning the unfortunate member of the New Zealand family and setting up for themselves. We do not attach much importance to this sort of discontented talk, which we mention only to show the result in New Zealand itself of the cynical and false tone adopted on colonial affairs by the English Parliament last session and its public instructors among the English press. If there are any hot secessionists in New Zealand, ihey have been made by the selfish talk of the mother country, and the discreditable slanders on our New Zealand colonists, which have made them feel, more than any despatches, that there is little moral tie between England and that colony. But of course the secessionists there are of no real account as yet. The colony will not be disunited. And all who are for union at all insist, wisely enough, on a, vigorous prosecution of the war, and the complete execution of the only scheme that can prevent all danger of a further war. To this policy Sir George Grey is the great obstruction. And we do net see how a real break with the colony is to be averted, unless he is recalled, and some able man—perhaps a soldier would be best— whom the colonists can trust, he commissioned to carry out the policy of the Assembly. Of course, our own Government will be reluctant to withdraw the man who has striven so hard to gain their opinion at the expense of the colony — and we fear the false and mischievous language so popular last session concerning New Zealand will tend to support them in that attitude. As the Colonial Undersecretary, Mr Chichester Fortescue admirably showed the falsehoods that have been circulated concerning the selfishness and cruelty of the English settlers in relation to the Maoris have no foundation whatever in fact. But, though Mr Foitescue knows this, the prevalence of these ideas will, we fear, do much to influence the Foreign Office against the only course that can now secure the good-will and loyalty of the colony. The simple truth is, that the policy advocated by the settlers has always been more truly humane to the Mauris than the policy forced upon Sir George Grey from home. To reduce them to real submission is the only chauce for preserving the race. Every war greatly diminishes their numbers, and every war more than the last, as the feud grows fiercer and fiercer. The really pacific Maoris have always been kindly treated by the colonists. The justice administered to them has always been equal justice. There is little or none of the" nigger " feeling which prevails so much in India. But this cannot last long if tho present military system is to continue. Our Colonial Office must halt no longer between two totally incompatible courses. If it will act with common sense, it should either withdraw altogether from New Zealand, aud leave the colonists free to defend themselves as they will and can ; or appoint a Governor who will co-operate with the Assembly and not thwart it ; or re-establish absolute government there, if it dare, by a coup d'etat, and of course pay the whole expense of the Government, in which case, we suspect, it would not be long in finding out that a vigorous prosecution of the war was esoeutul. Of course this last alternative is only an imaginary one. And even of the two former, the latter and most honorable course will not long be within our power; if w6 do no take it soon, we shall be driven to take the first expedient of really abandoning our own fellow-countrymen at their direst need, and of finding that that desertion is rather a relief to them after so locg a cours« of waveriug aud helpless interference, thau a calamity.