THE GLOBE. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1881. THE NATIVE CRISIS.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2365, 1 November 1881, Page 2

THE GLOBE. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1881. THE NATIVE CRISIS.

The manner in which the country has endorsed the policy of the Government is very decided. From one end of. New Zealand to the other the settlers have stood forward and declared that they are ready in the most practical manner possible to aid it in putting an end to the Native difficulty which has been weighing on the colony for so long a time. When we say " the settlers have stood forward," we are of course alluding to the Volunteers who have signified' their willingness to go to the front. The Volunteers represent such of the colonists as have been trained and are able tcspare the time for a journey to Parikaka. They are, therefore, a thoroughly representative body of men, drawn from the bulk of the population. It would be ridiculous to say, in face of recent events, that the mode adopted by the Ministry of settling the present question is not appreciated by the people of New Zealand. For the same eagerness has been 6hown by all districts alike, and the only quarter where any dissatisfaction has been expressed is represented by a section of the Opposition Press, which, for party purposes, has taken upon itself the ungracious and unpatriotic part of endeavouring to hamper the Government when it is solving one of the most difficult of the problems which have presented themselves to colonial statesmen for many a long day. The " Lyttelton Times," for example, has written a series of articles intended to prove that, of all the injustices ever perpetrated by Europeans against aborigines, there has been none so bad as that meditated by the Hall Government. The report of the West Coast Commissi oneis has been overhauled, and a case has been got up out of carefully selected instances intended to prove that the Ministry are acting with harshness and precipitation. Our contemporary bases its charges on the Report itself, a document which it admits states the case most fairly both for Natives and Europeans, but it holds that the Maoris have not had time tc digest its spirit or to remove by its influence the impressions which have been forced on the race by a long series of acts which led it to believe that successive Governments were not acting in good faith. Now, it is important to remember that the third and last Report was presented to Parliament a full year ago, while two years have elapsed since the first Report was sent in, and, further, that care was taken that the Natives should be immediately put in possession of the recommendations of the Commissioners. It cannot be asserted that the Maoris have been taken by surprise, or that ample time has not been given to them to assure themselves of the hona fides of the Government. If they cannot be expected to satisfy themselves in one or two years, it may well be asked how long a time ought to be allowed them. Are the relations of the two races to remain for another ten or fifteen years in the jjresent unsatisfactory state ? To us, the position taken up by the section of the Opposition Press alluded to seems simply absurd.

In proof of the shifts the " Lytteltor Times" is put to to stretch to th« utmost its antagonism to the Government, wo may note the desperation of its efforts to prove a case by shifting ite ground according to the position of current events. Let us give one instance. Theappeal to the Volunteers having proved most satisfactory, and a force being at the front which may be reckoned on to over. awe opposition on the part of the Natives, the " Lyttelton Times" tries to show that the preparations made are altogether on: of all proportion to the danger to be encountered, for it says " it was evident that if there was to be any fighiing i: would be confined to the Natives of th 6 Parihaka block alone." But last Tueeday —only one short week ago—what do we find among the arguments of our conAlluding to the pacific declarations of Tawhiao, wo notice it saying:—" Our advice would be to pay more attention to the still small voice of peace which is heard from. Tawhiao at Hikurangi. The din of a: me

may for ever silence that voice, and wo may find that the present beginning of the end is a war of races." On October the 25th our contemporary blames the Government for risking the chanco of a general Native rising. On November the Ist, when tho Ministry, by its vigorous and prompt action, has taken care to prove that we are masters of the situation, and when the Natives generally are likely to accept that proposition, tho Ministry is blamed for the said vigorous and prompt display. Such a critic is nob to be pleased, and is, indeed, not worth pleasing. With regard to what may happen during the next fow days, wo may safely prophecy that the interests of the Maoris will not be overlooked. The present Ministry may claim to have at all times shown that it has no wish to bear hardly on the Native race, but has, on the contrary, displayed the greatest regard for their welfare. If our troops are unopposed, so much the better, and tho Government will bo all the better pleased. The " Lyttelton Times " suggests that in that case the Native Minister will be in the same plight as tho King of France, who, after marching his men up a hill, had to march them down again. But there happens to be no parallel between the two set of events, although there might hav e been some analogy if the King of Prance had, by a judicious display of power, attained a valuable political end. Our contemporary has yet to learn that the uso of largo resources is not solely confined to their active employment. As much has been done by armed demonstrations as by actual warfare, and it is the evident aim of the Ministry to place such a force on the ground as will distinctly prove to the fanatics of Parihaka that the European power is the dominant one in these islands. Such a policy is not a sanguinary policy, but the reverse. To rely on an inadequate body [of men in such a crisis would have led to certain bloodshed. The present action of the Ministry is far-sighted, and it has met with, and will meet with, the approbation of tho country,