The Evening Star SATURDAY, AUGUST 5, 1871.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2642, 5 August 1871, Page 2

The Evening Star SATURDAY, AUGUST 5, 1871.

Our contemporary this morning reprints an article from a Northern paper, which professes to give details of certain proceedings at a meeting of Natives and the results : and accepting that account to be true, proceeds to build up an article abusing the Government on a variety of grounds. We should have thought the feet of such proceedings not being reported in any of the leading journals ought to have led to hesitation in publishing what is very likely to prove a garbled account of a very possible robbery by Natives. On many occasions our contemporary has displayed almost childish credulity in regard to Native affliirs, and whenever opportunity has arisen, has committed himself to most unwarrantable comments. Not understanding the true nature of the policy of the present Government, those arrangements which have proved so successful in maintaining peace, are condemned as inefficient. We are quite prepared to . believe that there are numbers of colonists in the North who would gladly see the day of Government contracts for war supplies return. It was a plain home truth that General Cameron uttered when he said that the Imperial troops were required to keep the colonists in order, and when we read accounts of Northern squatters presuming to dictate to an officer of the Government what he must do, and tftlirK'l’nf/ IiIJH flwsir -Mrin Government responsible it he will not use the troops under his command for their purposes, we are quite prepared to imagine there has been something in tile conduct of those men, that when known, will put a different coloring upon the matter. Our contemporary, like the A ucklund Morning News, is very apt to jump at a conclusion through only seeing one side of a question—and even that not very clearly, Heindulgesinsome fine sounding balderdash, condemnatory of what he terms the “ demilitarised” constable—a little mistake which may be charitably overlooked in the Daily Times. Our idea of the Armed Constabulary is that they are “ militarised ” constables, and instead of costing somewhat less than “ the “armed man who considered himself u a soldier, rather than a constable,” they cost considerably more per man, and are considerably more valuable than the difference of cost. The statement that Colonel Lton was appealed to and refused to take action, implies that there was something in the whole affair that would not justify his unauthorised interference. The statement that thirty men in the Waikato took upon themselves to make war on their own account, proves how 1 * reckless the Northern people are of the peace and welfare of the 1 Colony ; and the fact that in Otago a journal can be found to pipint complacently to an act of aggression on the part of colonists that may lead to a .renewal of an expensive and costly war, proves how easy it is to find political partisans defending any act, no matter how gross, if by any possibility a political opponent can be damaged; 'When our contemporary maunders about a Constabulary seeing that “ the law is obeyed by “ the Maori and the white man alike,” he forgets that he is absolutely defending a breach of the law by the white man while condemning it in the- Maori, He must know perfectly well that constables are not paid by the country to drive sheep and cattle about at the bidding of a few squatters ; and that one cause of the prolongation and spread of the last war was, that too much power was placed in the hands of commanding officers, who, like Colonel St.. John, set their troops in motion for a Maori hunt, for the purpose of keeping them out of other mischief. If our contemporary had known the use of the block-houses he seems to slight so much, he would have hesitated before writing the nonsense he has done. He would have known that they are placed in commanding positions, and requ’rc to be held by efficient men, so that in

case of hostilities they-,may place the Natives at- a disadvantage. . Whilq- not altogether discrediting the given, we' arfiye at a very different con-' elusion from our contemporary. ‘Wo see on the whole affair, if true, a. contempt of law on the part of a number of men whose duty it is to uphold the law. We see in them a reckless indifference to consequences to their fellowcolonists by their taking steps that may;very easily lead to an expensive war. We see them rashly thwarting the Government of the day by doing, of their own impulse, that which’they ■ ought only to have done after coin- ' fnunication with it. When Mr Walker said “ He would hold the Government “ responsible,” he said what, he ought to have abided by ; but instead of that, lie and his lawless friends took the responsibility on their own shoulders, and did what in all probability the Govern-, ment would have' found unnecessary : they entered upon a .border warfare. This is just what we have always pointed out as one result of unsystematic colonization in the North Island : the whole Colony is liable to be dragged into hostilities by the ima n tborised acts of a few hot-brained men, who for their own profit have chosen to occupy pastures on disputed land, and in risky neighborhoods. If the Northern Island sanctions such a system, let them pay the cost ; but do not ‘ let them come to the Middle Island for help. The only cure is to localise police expenditure — in other words to make the North -Island, pay the cost of Moari wars.