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Wellington Independent, Volume XXIV, Issue 2782, 9 January 1869, Page 4

We have received the following communication by the last mail from Taranaki, which we hasten to publish in order to give as wide a publicity to the correction as we gave to the statement, to which it is a reply : — Superintendent's Office, New Plymouth, 2nd Jan., 1868. Sir, — I have been requested by my brother Magistrates to ask you to make known the name of the correspondent in this place, who furnished fche information contained in your notice of the proceedings of a meeting of the Magistrates held on the 7th December, and which appeared in your issue of the 24th of that month. The notice referred to contains amongst ofcher things fche statement that " The settlers have been afc their old game of driving their cattle on the more luxuriant pastures of the natives, 1 ' which is altogether untrue, and calculated to have a most damagiug effect on fche reputation of the colonists of New Zealand, and on this ground it is requested that the name of your informant may be made known. One or two disputes about stray horses have indeed occurred between settlers and natives south of Stoney River, but no cattle have been intentionally driven on native pastures ; neither iB there the slightest temptation to any euch encroachment as the feed is superabundant on the north bank. The disputes referred to would have been quite trivial in ordinary times, but owing to the disturbances elsewhere, and the very uncertain disposition of some of fche Taranaki natives, it has been felfc that any trivial disputes might possibly be taken as an excuse for an inroad on this settlement. — I have, &o, H. Richmond, Superintendent. We trust that the publication of the above will satisfy the Magistrates of Taranaki, and that they will not press us to give up the name of our correspondent. We understand that the charge made against " some of the settlers" was based upon a leader in the TaranaJci Herald of I N ov. 14, which commenced as follows : — j " At this period when our relation with \ the natives is in such a critical state, it | is a matter of regret that so many persons, who on other matters exercise sound judgment, should, in their dealings with the natives seem to lose the faculty of discriminating between right and wrong, and ignore the golden maxim 'Do unto others as you would they should do unto you." In illustration we will simply instance the ill-feeling caused by Europeans allowing their horses to stray across ( Stony Eiver, which, when wanted, are ridden after by the owner in all directions to the damage of the native cultivations. If to this is added insulting language, is it a matter of surprise that the natives should order the trespassers off, with a warning not to return again ? There might be some excuse for trespass if the animals belonged to the settlers •on the Okato Block ; but this is not the case, for we are informed that horses are turned loose there by by persons living in the i town and other districts in order to save the coßt of their keep." Upon enquiry we are glad to learn that these charges made against " some of the settlers" of Taranaki in the leading columns of the Taranaki Herald were untrue, and our correspondent admits that he had been too incautious in accepting as evidence that which was not reliable as such. We fully acquit our correspondent of the charge of making any wilful mis-state-ment in the matter ; bufc we must at the same time express our regret that he did not more carefully ascertain the real facts of the case before sending his comments to us for publication. With regard to the organization of a local force at Taranaki our sympathies were with the magistrates, and not with our correspondent ; but we did not hesitate on this account to give his views publicity through our columns. Like other calumnies which have been uttered against the colonists of New Zealand, we are glad to learn that these particular charges have turned out, upon investigation, to be alike unfounded and unjust.