DEBATE ON NEW ZEALAND AFFAIR.

Evening Post, Issue 94, 29 May 1865, Page 2

DEBATE ON NEW ZEALAND AFFAIR.

House of Commons, May 11. On the order of the day for going into

Committee of Supply, Mr. AliLts, who had a notice on the paper of his intention to move an address to the Crown on the subject of the war in New Zealand, would not, for various reasons, persevere with his r> solution. Mr. Roebuck hoped that, after the distinct manner in which he had been alluded to, the H/jße would pardon him for making a few (WWrvations. He had no doubt that what he was going to soy would give offence to certain parties in that House [laughter], because he was about to attack and expose a great sham. He had often found that a great sham had very ardent supporters, and one of their peculiar qualities was to assume to themselves a sort of exceptional right to virtue, together with the right of abusing evrybody who opposed them. [Laughter J The sham he would now endeavour to expose, was this. England, for the greater par^t of three centuries past, had been a great colonising country, and in proportion to her colonisation and to her efforts to extend her dominion, power, and civilisation, there had been an outcry on i the part of certain persons whom his hon. I friend called humanitarians, and who accused

the English of every possible injustice in attempting to extend civilisation. This occurred when the old men of former years, whom sentimental historians railed the Pilgrim Fathers, first went to America. The moment they were there, they found on the shores of that country a fierce and savage native race. He here wished the House to make a distinction. Conquest simply mea t acquiring political dominion over a country, which was pa-sett from one hand to another ; and he would illustrate this state of things by pointing to India ; but colonisation meant more than that— it meant not only conqmst, bub dispossession. It meant taking possession of the land, driving out the former inhabitants, and placing in th ir position the inhabitants of the country which sent the colonisers forth. The moment that occurred, an i,n lying feud arose between the incomers and tie aborigines. New Zealand was colonised, not by the Government of England, but in spite of the Government. A certain number of people gathered together after the manner of the Pilgrim Fathers, and agreed to subject themselves to the Government to be instituted when they arrived in New Zealand. He wished to vindicate the conduct of those men, whom he declared to be right on two grounds. Fust, it was quite clear th it if they had not taken possession of Netf Zealand France would, and then New Zealand, instead of being a British colony, would have been French. [Hear, hear. J Therefore, as regards England, the conduct of those mon was wise, just and politic. But he would go one step further, and say their conduct was wise, just, and politic, because they endeavoured to extend the range of English civilisation and intended to dispos&ers the wild animals of New Zealand, the most mischievous among whom was the wild man. [" Oh, oh."] He knew that some lion, members would call out •• Oh ! " but of what he said he was quite sure. The aboriginal man lived in a constant state of warfare, and was vindictive, faithless and cruel. That was his character, and where one savage man lived a thousand civilised men might exist. Th -refore it was impoitunt that English civilisation should have New Zealand — should overwhelm these barbarian races, doing thereby good in the face of nature and of man. He asserted then that the people who went to New Zealand and dispossessed the aborigingal man did rightly and justly, for he knew of no meaning in thosu words unless they signified increasing the happiness of mankind. He maintained that if the}' could establish in New Zealand civilisation in place of aboriginal barbarity, then there would be an incease of happiness to mankind, Let the House contrast the two Conditions of things. The aboriginal man in New Zealand wandered over the wilds of that country, which he never cultivated. It was a wild and desert place ; the aboriginal made it a wilderness and called it peace. That was the actual state in which knglishmen found it. What will it be when the aboriginal race should have disappeared ? There would be peace and security instead of that wild aboriginal warfare of which his lion, friend seemed so great an advocate. His quarrel with the Government was that they never would see that state of the case, but endeavoured to get all the advantages of civilization, but at the same time they s^nt out Governor after Governor with instructions to the effect that they did not want conquest. In India the greatest conquerors were the greatest friends to the Indian Government. Tiie English Government sent out a Governor and made that wretched farce called ihe trea'y of Waitansgi. [Hear.] Now, what did a treaty mean ? It meant that two independent bodies came to an understanding and made an agreement. But there was no such independent body on the p.irt of the aborigines. We had determined to take possession and coloniss the country ; and those very words signified that we intended to dipossess them of their hind. The moment, we determined to do that, we created undying hostility on cheir part, and there w.is no independent body to enter into a treaty with us. Then the colonists went to New Zealand, and they also enacted a farce, though, he was not sure that it was not a politic farce. They pretended to buy from the aborigine's their land. That was exactly as if a man of mature ago should go to a child sev«ti years old and ask him, '' If I give you such a number of lollypops will you give me your estate?" [A laugh] The savage was a child. That which distinguished the man of thought was that he looked forward, that he would forego the present in consideration of the future. But that the savage never did. It was liis peculiarity to be governed by present pleasure ; and if tlie3' {rave him a piece ol cloth, or a fine musket, ami a s.nall quantity of (gunpowder, he would say at once, •' Oh, for that I will give you anything." But any body who knew the savage knew thiit when the c'oth was worn or tha musket, injured, or *he gunpowder blown awi", he would turn round and claim his land again. That was precisely what happened. But when the colonists facilitated the first seizure of the land by that means the whole thing was farce. It was an imposition on the poor unfortunate aborigines. What the Govern* ment ought to have said to the natives at first was, " We come here to take possession of this country. Hereafter we are dominant, we are the governors. Nobody has any right to any land but that which we give. We Don't intend for one moment to admit any right on anybody's part but that which we create." If they had said that the aboriginal man would have understood it. But they cheated him, they made him believe that he was somebody, that he was a power, and they entered into a treaty with him ; and he naturally turned round on them and expected to be dealt with as their equal. The English Government halted between two opinions. It took in the black man and played

the fool with its own subjects. It would not allow the colo.nists to manige their own affairs, but went on meddling with them, and what was the consequence ? There was a set of men in this country who were ever turning up their eyes, putting their palms together, and appearing to pray ; but they would sell anything (a laugh) ; and the aborigines of New Zealand did not find it difficult to get muskets, percussion -caps, bullets, and gunpowder. A gallant old friend of his, a great man, unhappily now no more — Sir William Napinr— said he wondered what manner of man it was who supplied the natives of South Africa with arms and ammunition. Now, he thought he knew what manner of man it was, and what manner of man had supplied the natives of New Zealand with anus and ammunition. (Hear.) But if the Government had allowed the colonists, when they went there some 30 years ago, to do as they intended to do, and deal with the Maoris when they had no per-cussion-caps, no rifles, no bullets, and no srunppwder, they would soon have settled the question for themselves. But no ; they entered into the treaty of Wnitangi, they had free trade in arms and ammunition ; and the result was that the manner of men to whom he had referred supplied the natives with the means of shooting down their own countrymen. That lay at the bottom of the whole affair — that was its real history. It was a lust of money that led English merchants to sell to the aborigines these articles. (Hear, hear.) He dared say that all that he was now stating was wonderfully offensive, but it was wonderfully true, and there was its offence. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) If the right honourable gentleman would take a word of advice from him, he should say the best thing to do was to allow the colonists to govern themselves, and do what they liked. We were not the protectors of the morality of! mankind, and if we were he did not know that we often set a very good example. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) We ought at once to say to the colonists, " We have made a mistake ; we have endeavoured to protect the Maori race ; we find that we cannot do it, that a feud has been created ; of necessity, by the very fact of your becoming colonists, they will be, and are, your enemies ; we cannot prevent that ; and now we leave you, as we ought to have left' you 30 years ago, to do the best you can for yourselves. The more you advance civilisation the better it will be for mankind. You may say to these Maoris, ' Take patches of land ; endeavour to become civilised men ; that piece of land is yours; but any Imperial dominion, any pretence that you have a, power in opposition to the colonial or the English power, is a thing that we won't for a moment permit. We will be kind to you, after having dispossessed your mind (laughter") ; we will give you what you want, so as you behave like civilised men. But the moment you appear in hostility to us, we will put you down.' " That might appear— he had no doubt it did— a sort of harsh, cruel, and ready way of dealing, but they might depend upon it it was the right, the true, and, in the long run, the humane way. (Hear, hear.)