The Waikato Times. "OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA." THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 1873.

Waikato Times, Volume XXX, Issue 174, 19 June 1873, Page 2

The Waikato Times. "OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA." THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 1873.

It lias now become cear that tho "Kiny" aid his p.u ty endorse tho action of Puru'vufu; if our information bo coirer-f, ho jnul his followers have beeu lecyived with open twins at Te Kuiti, and any Attempt to aii'fst him would, :is a, natural sequence, resuU in resistance. Jt, is now a sciiom question for the ooiibidei'tiLou ok tho Ciovernruout whether it is juHieions at thu pn^eiit momenfc to make the attempt. Wei. '!Jc\c llmt it wmild not. be. AVu have not yet nmns c od ji sufficient force (o initiate active hostilities, ami u> eonnnejioe >«ny other would be most impolitic. When \>c s^tuk of nut having yet rollt'cte'l n force tqual to (hu ( consion, we do not nitan to convey lL> t rich man of the ibico BUou'.d, in the oidmary iicct'i tatim of the terra, bo

a fighting nun. W e should fiyht the Maoris with our navvies. If fighting oucc commciicp, it is tolerably clear that every doubtful natne will side with his own colour ; the action this tribe or that U likely to lake is, therefore, not; worthy of much c<iti-.idoration. We may have the whole to contend against; at any rate, wo rau^t be prepared for tl' it contingency. Wo tulvo it that our policy at lie first outbi'eak must not be an aggressive one. 'i here must be no more chasing of myths through t.ie is'and. We expanded the energy of our forces and It ft our settlements unprotected whilst hunting To Kooti; this error must on no account be repeated. 'I he course pursued with regaid to Te Kooti gained us the contempt of every man who understood the native question, and of the natives themselves. There must bo no moio rushing of forces fioin place to place on the strength of reports more or less reliable. It is well known that the result of this course was, that our forces were generally on the East Coast whilst Te Kooti and his followers were on the West, and vice versa. Steps should be taken to protect the settlors in cvory direction, and they must also make up then* minds to take care of themselves, bub in places where it is likely that they will bo unable to do so, the Government must afford them reasonable assistance. It must be remembered that we now hold the centre of the island, and are consequently much more powerful for defence than when we only occupied a narrow fringe of country on the sea coa>t; the policy, therefore, we a*e about to suggest is quite feasible. Immediately h sti'ities commence, every inch of the island held by natives should be declared confiscated, intimation being given at the same time that the rights of those who do not fight against üb, or those who fijht honestly for us, will be respected The whole euergy of the country must then, subject to the conditions above stated, be directed to driving a road through the disturbed districts. If engineering difficulties do not intervene, that road should pass through Te Kuiti. The question now arises, how is this policy to be carried out? In the first place, we must act strictly ou the defensive, except where palpTible reasons dictate local aggressive action. Our advance must be with the pick and shovel. The policy has already been enunc : uted by the Government, and endorsed by the Assembly, to make a railway from north to south of the island. Sooner or later this railway will have to be constructed ; and if hostilities commence, 1000 navvies fthould be immediately employed to continue it through the country. Arm each with a revolver, and then, with the aid of their shovels and picks, they will, if necessary, quieten those who interfere with themIt must not, however, be part of the policy to bring the navvies ii> contact with the natives. They maat be protected by constabulary, or such other force as it may be thought advisable to raise. To progress in this manner would meet the two great objects wo have in view — the quelling of the natives and the indncemei t of population. We have also in our piessnt financial Ojnditiou to carefully consider the least costly m.inner of attaining these desirable results. The cost of one erratic movement through the country after a man protected by a numerous population, would cost more than would male some miles of railway. In the one case success is infinitely more than doubtful ; in the other, results in the .shape of substant'al works would >^p» ■■•«.«"><■ the expenditure, and th- land acquired from ihose who opposed us, would in all probability pay the cost of our roads. Confiscation is the one thing- of all others that the native feels, and he knows as well as wo that the threat is idle unless the means of easy communication arc 1 at our disposal ; also, that when once a railway is run through the confiscated territory, further opposition would be useless. Grave responsibility rests upon thoce who have the handling of the native question at the prosent juncture. Tho duty of ptotecting the settlers de\ >!ves upon them ; it is equally their duty to to eonvinco the natives that the pakeha has no desire to coerce them into parting with their estates ; and further, that the making of railways through tho country could Lob fail to add greatly to tho value of their jroperty, whether held by themselves, leased, or sold to the Furopeans. This is truly no enviable task, nnd we trust that half-informed members of the Assembly will remember this. The native policy of the present Government is now being put to u crucial test. Necessity has compelled them to keep peace to the present time.land this has only been done by giving way to the natives on almost every question. The country supported them in this policy in the belief that the ways of peace for a time were the most likely to place 'ns in a dictatorial position Had tho Government been dealing with Europeans, whose future actions are to some extent to bo calculated, there is little doubt lh.it blame would rest upon them for not being better prepared for war ; the future actions of Maoris, however, do not come within the grasp of any man to prognosticate. We have suggested a policy, in tho event of fighting becoming nece*sary, which we believe would tend quicker than any other to the establishment of permanent peace on the basis of mutual self-interest.

Legal forms and ceremonies, although t © .erally based on a necessity of some sort, assume occasionally a ludicrous aspect. Mr OBrien, the Revising Officer, and Mr Searancke, Returni ig Officer, had quite a nice little performance all to themselves on Tuesday last. The Court at Ngaruawahia was opened with nil the forms and cerenumea possible, with only Uo performers. The names of those objected to as voters «ero solemnly read over in a loud nnd official tone of Voice. Onr reporter wai looking through the window, and observed t .at the sole auditor was a smull dog, who wagged his tail m a most know.™ manner. The noses of tho two function- ■ ••ie* had a decul, dly delicate purple tint imparted to them bvJook l-rost Our reporter says that his tender heart was g.u lo touched by the affecting spectacle. Uo says he jud^ of llioir feeling by his own-he pitied and Tiont home. \Vc 1. ivo B ev«ely re,« o > e ,i i,, m f or his nejhgcm-e.m not hnvirnr °» '<"JtoT~ci.ro Bo,ne(,m B hot for th« two enthusiastic B'ioiild have brought ao.i.etliing with tl-oin-Ae did Our attention is constantly being called to the' fact that More .s no stove or fire-place in tlio room used for school rt.rposes in Ngaruawahm Purely there aroaomo means of r...im g the fmuU to purchase a .tovo or build a chimney. A> o, irnawnro that 1 ho local School Board Ims not any funds a. i b dwpohal; in fact, it is a. natter that should be attended t, by tho Central Board. The master may penodioallybe s. .-n iiinniyur up and down the verandah like a coaclndrivor, and too ohildren sl.aking ,n every limb. Many parents have e« i-ed to «entl then- chi Wren to school, preferring that their in nd» should be neglected for a short season to thoir bodies b ing wuu-lroKcn every day. ' The works connaslod witJi tho Auckland and Waikato K.'lway are being mpidly pushed ahead ab the Auckland en lof tho hno. Our readers will be glad to learn that the poinwncnt way is now being luid donu ou tho Mcclmnica' Bay ciubanknx n\

Sir James Fergnsson lias announced his assumption uf the Government of the colony. We notice by an announcement in the General Government Uazette tnat the Government lias accepted the services o* the Alexandra Rifle Rangers Volunteers. The establishment of such corns is rertamly most desirable, more particularly it the present juncture. .Not only do they tend lo infuse ft fueling of security into the inmds of the settlor, but they uct in a salutary manner upon the natives. We bJieve that the Alexandra Kille Rangers Volunteer corps is likely to prove a credit to the district. Messrs A. and G. Price's tender for tho construction of three first-class and seven second-class carriages and twelve wivgqons i» £2917. Railev and Bell's tender for the same tv.ik was £3900 18s, and Cousin* and Atkins £1962. E.ther two firms require an nninenbO profit lor any work tliev may do, or the tender accepted must be immensely under tho mark. The following appointments to district boards are gazetted . — Rangiaohia r J. if. MandciiH, to be member and chairman, vice William R Bridgmon, resigned Hamilton West Township: John Kmn, to bi> member, vice Joseph Webb,*resigned. Maketu : Juines l'lirr, to be chairman, iue John Curtain, resigned ; and Messrs Uoar and Jennings to be members, vice John Curtain and Thomas Pratt, resigned. Mr Joseph Hands to be an auditor of the Hamilton West Highway District, in the place and stead of Mr Sydney Dandoe. We are sorry to learn thnt a man named Sweeney, a nftvvj , working on the railway at Pukekohe, met with an accident on Tuesday evening last that has resulted m his death Ho was excavating in a cutting, when about ten tons of earth fell upon him. After having been dug out, lie was carried to his home, where he expired in a few minutes. An inquest was held yesterday morning, and a verdict of accidental death returned. A correspondent writes in the Cross as follows from Cambridge .—". — " I have to state that no natives have of late arrived here ('om Aratitaha The Maoris who have received ■Joven.'iient rations obtain the same lor services rendered, it being impossible to carry ou the Government work and obtain information without the u?e of some natives constantly going to and from Cambridge. It is not true that frieiulhes get no food when they arrive here : they get rations supplied fo them by Government." It is e\pec led b) the Ulegi apl.ic authorities that the «econd telegraphic wire connecting Auckland with the southern provinces will be m woi king order by the end of July. — Ibid A cori'cipoudcnt of the Adelaide Advertiser narrates the follow ing incident : — " In 'my last it quite escaped my memory to note the instance ol rciidy courage and sisterly love in those of tender years. On Thuisday, the 2-lth April, while Charles, the son of Sir James Fergusson, aged 10 3 ears, was buthmg m the sea, opposite the summer residence of the family, he swam rather too far out, and returning towards the shore found the s\»ell running too strongly for him lo contend against. Hjs sister, Miss S. G. Fergusson, aged about fourteen, and her younger bitter Edith, happened to be on the beach at the tune with their female attendant. The boy was seen struggling against the swell, and appeared to be getting exhausted. The domestic attendant cried out to run for a boat, but Miss S. Q. Fergusson, vrho is an expert swimmer, leeing plainly that danger was imminent,, without a moment's hesitation, tucking her clothes tightly about her, and fearlessly dashing into the bea, followed by her sister Edith, swam to hoi* brother, and, la} ing hold of his belt, helped him to land safely. But for this t mclv assistance there is no doubt tho boj would have lost his life, as a boat could not have 1 cached bun in time- to be oi service."