A.—No. Ib.

" applicable in the wars betAveen civilized nations ? Clearly not. Even if those " now in arms had not been guilty of such enormous atrocities, it does not appear " to me that the insurrection or rebellion is of such a character, or has yet reached " such proportions, as to enable it to be said that those who, having taken part in " it, are captured ought to be treated as prisoners of war. I see no reason why " they should not be treated as persons guilty of levying war against the Crown. " No doubt, in so treating them, the Crown Avould exercise its power with mercy: " the numbers of those in arms, and who have been and are likely to be captured, " and the fact that the men are of a savage race, afford sufficient reasons for con- " fining the highest penalties of the law to those Avho are the leaders of the revolt, "or have actually participated in the atrocities that have been committed. Un- " fortunately, however, the re\'olt has been carried on in defiance of all the laws " of nature, and there can be no doubt that all who have taken part in it have " forfeited all claim for mercy : certainly, all title to the observance toward^ them " of the usages of war, if they ever had such title. " Nevertheless, the measures taken to suppress such revolts as those that " have occurred, and no doubt will continue to occur, amongst the Maoris, should "be such as are calculated to suppress and not to extend or exaggerate them; " and AA'ith this view, no doubt, the Government Avill, as it has ahvays done, treat " those who have taken part in such revolts with no greater severity than the " circumstances of the case may seem to require. " Reference is made, in the questions put to me, to the Despatch of the " Secretary of State, Lord Granville, of the 26th Eebruary, 1869. In this he says, " ' I see it stated in the neAvspaper that you have offered a reward of £1,000 for " ' the person of the Maori Chief, TitokoAA raru (I infer dead or alive), and £5 for the " ' persons of Maori rebels brought in. Ido not pronounce any opinion at present " ' as to the propriety of these steps, but I must observe that they are so much at " ' A rariance Avith. the usual laws of Avar, and appear, at first sight, so much calcu- " ' lated to exasperate and extend hostilities, that they ought to have been " ' reported to me by you officially, with the requisite explanation, which I should " ' now be glad to receive.' " The Secretary of State uses language from Avhich it may be implied that " those Avho have and are still perpetrating such atrocities as have been per- " petrated here, ought, in his opinion, to be treated as enemies carrying on " ' hostilities' according to the usages of war, and that such hostilities may bo " exasperated and extended by the offering of reAvards for the apprehension of such " enemies. " This measure does not seem open to any objection in the case of a Govern- " ment engaged in the suppression of a revolt, accompanied, as such revolt has " been, with all the unrelenting cruelty of savage nature. The object of the " Government is self-preservation. The peaceful citizens must be protected at all " costs. Even in the case of a foreign enemy who violates the laws of nature and " the usages of war, the utmost seA rerities are permitted as a punishment for his " crimes. According to Valtel (book 111. eh. viii.), 'There is one case in which " ' wc may refuse to spare the life of an enemy who surrenders, or to alloAV any " ' capitulation to a toAvn reduced to the last extremity. It is when that enemy " ' has been guilty of some enormous breach of the law of nations, and par- " ' ticularly when lie has violated the laws of war. This refusal of quarter is no " \ natural consequence of the war, but a punishment for his crime, —a punish- " ' ment Avhich the injured party has a right to inflict. But, in order that it may "' be justly inflicted, it must fall on the guilty. When A\ re are at Avar with a " \ savage nation, Avho observe no rules and never give quarter, we may punish " ' them in the persons of any of their people whom avc take (these belonging to " ' the number of the guilty), and endeavour, by this rigorous proceeding, to force " ' them to respect the laws of humanity.'" 4. Mr. Stafford, in his Memorandum on this question, remarks:—" Earl " Granville suspends his judgment as to the propriety of these steps (i.e. the action " of the Colonial Ministers in offering rewards for TitokoAvaru and Te Kooti), on "the ground that 'they are much at variance with the usual laws of war.' " When his Lordship shall have had leisure to consider the details of the acts of

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DESPATCHES EROM THE SECRETARY OE STATE