TOWN EDITION. The Daily Telegraph FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1881.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3257, 9 December 1881, Page 2

TOWN EDITION. The Daily Telegraph FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1881.

Returning thanks for his unopposed return at Waitotara, Mr Bryce (we learn from the Wanganui Herald) made some 1 remarks on tbe native difficulty. He said the position of the case on the West Coast was this : —For a number of years past there had been a growing confederation, hostile to settlement in a larger sense — hostile to the actual settlement of land, to the supremacy of tbe Queen, and to law and order in tbe district. There had been a constant danger to the country that hostilities might at any time break out, and this state of things became more aud more intolerable. It was likely enough that in this district there were people who thought the Government bad stooped to weakness in their long attempts to come to an arrangement with Te Whiti, but it must be conceded that the Government had exhausted every means to come to an understanding with that chief—and without success. He would not say that the Government had gone too far in so negotiating, but it would be admitted that they had gone as far as they could do so. They felt, however, that tbey were obeying the behest of the whole colony, when they determined to put an end to that state of things, and if the work could not be said to be completely done, the neck of the difficulty was broken. He was only carrying out the uniform policy of the Government when he said be had no inclination to talk about it. The watchword of the Government had always been " work and not talk," and he was not inclined to boast about their policy. He did not court public praise or invite public blame, though he no doubt would receive both. But he was glad of the opportunity of saying that much of the praise bestowed upon him was really dueto Colonel Roberts. It has been said that he had treated that officer as his aide-de-camp, but this was not so. Colonel Roberts was the officer in command of the operations, and whatever success attended them was due to that gentleman and not to himself.