Auckland Times Tuesday, 6th May, 1845. BAY OF ISLANDS.

Auckland Times, Volume 3, Issue 121, 6 May 1845, Page 2

Auckland Times Tuesday, 6th May, 1845. BAY OF ISLANDS.

The proceedings of the Natives at the Bay of Islands and elsewhere has, of course, during the past week, been the matter of the, most earnest public anxiety and observance. The first event of any consequence was the arrival of the I dorit know, under the surveillance of Her Majesty's ship Hazard, and this vessel was brought into port under the character of a pirate, by reason of the attempt of the owner to break the blockade of the port. It was rumoured against Mr. Waitford, and strongly asserted by those who had been his fellow citizens at Russell, that he had been guilty of treason—that he ittcited the Mao ries to p'under massacre ; —and yet (like^^^t.lieftlip|a!^ "| is done by pur government fierlr) if lias been allowed to come to so unsatisfaetory a conclusion as a permission to escape trial upon the serious question, and to give petty bail upon the other. It is very remarkable, and history will furnish strong, in contestible, and unvarying truth of the fact, that despotism is incompatible with the developement of truth. We wrote the following observations on Thursday, in thorough disgust of such a thing as a closed Court. The resu't of it wid be perfectly apparent hereafter by enlis'ing the feelings of a jury, whether right or wrong, infa\or of the accused. POLICE OFFlCE.—Thnrnday i«t May, 1845. The Queen, ». Waitefoni.

We have heard no good .-i-ason, although we have much coveted it, «;Wytbe inquiry in iliu case should have been nade with closed doors, tbe wt»"i«- ifHtter. ti.usit or course conic out, for if u»vt.iuiueut is ashamed of its own biitilU/ii —if the accuned is determined in his drte<ee. or if ihtte be real matter of charge Against Mr. Waiteford, it must come out ' Nothing could be more iilusuativ-; of the Kits soy policy, than «hatting up the duots of a public court of justice, at the very moment when it was must desirable that they should be wide open. Waitef'ord may be guilty or not, but whether or no, it is due to the Majesty of .{ustioe that he be openly at ou*ed, " an the fuel of God and his count Iry' These .Star chamber proceed D<>» ought to t»e recollected by all of the Stuart blood with a feeling of dread rather than that of paMonage. Mr. Berrey, Mr. Coates, arm Mr. Wat«on a'» notoriously subserviently tlcpeudenl upon the Go reriiiiient, were at rayed on the benoit, and in the very teeth of audi arrav, the ju«t sn<i proper guardianship of public notice, was imperiously turned out of doors! What next violation of Ewglub principle will our (ultra arrive at ? Whe (her Koch proceedings be looked upon as contra* diotcry in themselves, as refiactorv ot English law, or as practically mixohievous in the Coloiy,—we can only 1 say that they are founded upon a madness, which p:«seili all understanding.

The next decisive measure of our EXECUTOR was the seizure of the little cutter belonging to Pomare, which has been two or three times backward and forward from the Bay, full of plunder, since the burning of Kororaika, and is now only taken when empty. Our accounts from the Bay as respects the progress of warfare are such as we blush to record, and such as, but for the necessity ol truth, we certainly would not do. The history, so far as it goes, may be summed up thus! —Pomare has been inveigled, by what may be considered a breach of a flag of truce, into the safe keeping of the North Star. Instead of attacking and punishing the treacherous and murderous savages that belonged to him, our commanders gave them two hours notice of leave of absence, which of course they took advantage of, and then, prdh( pu'dbrj our s.ddiers and sailors walked up and fired their empty village— sidle all their pigs and poultry—and came back covered with jH'ary and feathers. It is not the gallant men who are engaged in this matter, but their commanders, who are to blame, and vie ask of the latter —why will they, not consider more wisely upon a course of policy which involves so much ol human life, and hope, and happiness. The greatest possible mercy, Jpai can, be shown to tue Maoris rujc is to

make them at one and the same time aware of our power, our justice, and our earnest friendship. This has been sadly too long delayed, and the warfare which is now going on at the Ba\ will not bring about the desirable alternative. We have heard that some ten or twelve large native canoes have been destroyed, and as far as we .-an judge, this has been the only useful step in the incipient campaign. Our military and naval and volunteer troops are now under the gui dance of Nene, (or Tamiti Walker,) on ir way to attack Johnny Heke, who we believe, from all we hear, is resolute in his purpose of making a fight of it, and certainly nothing less than a decisive blow is necessary for the happiness of both races. The matter lias been much temporised Sta%srrived fiVthe Bay 10%l orkcourse js'rocjk there, that her that tbe post of honour was that of public enterprise and protection, and the Hazard, which was in here, with her prize, at the beginning of last week, got back on Friday, and it is proba ble that while we are now writing, the question between the kindness, the justice, and wisdom of British authority, as balanced against Maorie ignorance and violence, may be settled for ever. 11 the Exeter Hall trash be not discarded utterly by onr Governor, whoever he may be, —we may be content to quit the colony antl our interests in it, —and the sooner the better.