The Evening Star THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 1873.
The telegraphic news from the North Island should agreeably disappoint those who have been so long professedly trembling with apprehension as to the result of the policy of the last few years. To all but the party that may be fairly identified in their principles with the Tories of Great Britain, it has been evident for some time that the voluntary isolation of the Maori King tribes must shortly be abandoned ] and earlier than the most sanguine liberals could have imagined, this is likely to be accomplished. What the _ sword could not do, a policy of conciliation has done. The first would have succeeded only by rendering New Zealand a desert and impoverishing the conquerors ! the last has succeeded by raising the Maoris in the scale of civilisation at comparatively trifling expense, and with every prospect of adding largely to the wealth and productive capabilities of the North Island, We have no doubt the Tory tactics of the Stafford party, when the way was shown them how to proceed, would have led them to some extravagant bidding for Maori support. There was an evident tendency in that direction during the short tenure of office of the _ party last year. But the correct view of the estimate in which they really hold the Native race was shown by Sir David Monro, in the contemptuous manner in which he spoke of the Maoris, at Waikouaiti. He wished his constituents to understand that the peace was a hollow, patched-up affair, attained only by bribery of various kinds, and, therefore, likely to be broken through whenever hush money was withheld. The whole picture was humorous enough: we have already drawn attention to it, and once more, in order to test the value of such testimony, we ask, What is it worth! Have theWaikatos, who for fouryears past have voluntarily shut themselves out from peaceable communication with Europeans been receiving largess! Has the Maori King been induced to promise to haul his flag down, by some blindfold gift poured into hands held behind his back lest his honor should be offended at the sight of a bribe! Sir David’s theory was that the favors shewn to such men as Te Kooti and Tito Kowaru, would be interpreted as arising from weakness rather than from a clemency that such ruffians could not understand. But the truth is that in common with the Tory mind, the difficulty of comprehension lay with him. In this instance, as in most other respects, his party cannot grasp the idea of the adaptation of means to ends. Like Mr Reader Wood, they want to conquer by a coup, and would like to filch omnipotence from Heaven, witli whom to will is to create. They have not that clear foresight which marks out a course to be followed with calm persistence through a series of years, in patient confidence that the desired end will be realised. As Mr Reader Wood would have had a network of railways, with traffic developed and country settled, in less time than was necessary to complete a working survey, so the Tory minds of Sir David Monro and his party would force a peace by conquest: they have the antipathies of race strongly developed, and cannot understand how less showy but more powerful motives can influence a human being enveloped in a dark skin. As they are unfair to the Maori, they cannot be expected to speak justly of their political opponents, nor acknowledge, when they speak of the indebtedness of the Colony, that to their mistaken policy is owing the greater portion of the debt to which they point, and which they wish to charge to the account of the Fox Ministry. Sir David and his reflector, the Daily Times, speak of the prospective seventeen millions of indebtedness at the end of four years, as something so a trociou s that th o present Ad minis tratiou should be required to band over the reins of Government to his party. He foi’got to say that of that possible seventeen millions, the only portion utterly wasted, amounting to nearly one-half of the whole, was thrown away in fruitless efforts to do by force what his opponents have done through the exhibition of truth and justice. What the debt would have been had the party remained in power, can only be estimated by what it reached when their policy was followed. But the probability is that the credit of the Colony would have been so impaired that not nearly that amount could have been borrowed] while not one farthing of revenue would have ever been returned to the exchequer as the proceeds of so i wasteful an investment. It will not do I to forget these things] for no one known how sooa he may be once more
asked to record his vote for a member of Parliament; and in doing so, it is not so much the man as the policy which he represents that is approved. Sir David’s strictures upon the present Administration took an economic turn. He, like ourselves, had just received a return of the Civil servants of the Colony, and he found they numbered eighteen This appears a large number, and, if too many, should be reduced. _ We must not, however, be too hasty in our judgment. It includes all the employes in the Courts of Law and Justice, Post Office, Telegraph, Public Works, Immigration, Land Transfer, Custom House, and other Colonial Departments] in many of which the hands aie notoriously too few, and in others constant demands are made for extensions. Without more detailed information, therefore, we are not prepared to say that it could be profitably or safely reduced. Granted that it is laige, what prospect of reduction is there, should our Tory friends assume the direction of affairs 1 Mr Stafford tried his hand at cutting down, and plunged the country into a war, and at that very time, on one occasion, on examination of returns furnished by the Government, we showed that, in the North Island, one man in every four was directly or indirectly interested in the prosecution of war ] and as each had friends or connections whose interests were more or less bound up in his, it might safely be said the majority of the North Island settlers were interested in its continuance. All this has been changed: but not by the Stafford and Monro party. Industry has been diverted into new channels; the Maoris have been taught to covet the comforts and wealth of civilisation ; the King party have found the inconvenience of isolation, and are becoming tired of it, and the North Island, once a drag upon the Middle Island, promises to contribute its fair share to the revenne. To the policy adopted by the Fox and M‘Lean Administration, the Colony is indebted for this change, that has excited admiration at Horae, and through the world, and placed New Zealand high in estimation and credit as a British Colony : and we are coolly asked to hand back the power to those who proved themselves incapable of using it! It is the height of impudence.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD18730313.2.7
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Evening Star, Issue 3140, 13 March 1873, Page 2
Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,196The Evening Star THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 1873. Evening Star, Issue 3140, 13 March 1873, Page 2
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.