THE HAWKE’S BAY TIMES. NAPIER, THURSDAY OCT. 17, 1861.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume I, Issue 16, 17 October 1861, Page 2

THE HAWKE’S BAY TIMES. NAPIER, THURSDAY OCT. 17, 1861.

| On Thursday the 2Gth September, the continued and exciting state of suspense felt by j our fellow colonists of Auckland, was termiinated by the arrival of the long-expected 1 Governor, to whom all parties now look for jthe solution of the most difficult problem of inative affairs; as will be seen elsewhere in jour columns from the extracts we give from S the Auckland papers, he was greeted by the |: cordial welcome of the whole of the inhabitl jauts of the settlement, and well it may be so : !for we cannot but feel that the future weal i 'or woe, prosperity or adversity, progression or retrogression of the’Colony depends entiredy on the course of policy he may pursue. So !imw that he is amongst us the excitement occasioned by our suspense on this point is not (less than that which was allayed by his arrival —shall we have peace ? Shall we have war? WU his advent be the salvation or the destruction' of the Colony ? Will the policy he will inaugurate he of a temporising nature, yielding to the caprices of the inative race for the sake of a present calm, though with the certainty of the volcanic eruption at some future period? Or will it jbe of that firm and uncompromising nature jwhich will insist on the establishment of Britain’s rule and Britain’s law over the aboriginal race ? ■ We confess to a fear that there is a strong probability that the former of these alternatives will at least be tried—the Home Government seems to fear that an intelligent ,but misguided race are blindly bent on their ■own destruction, and there are in the documents relating to the recall of Governor Browne and the appointment of Sir George .Grey evident indications of the existence of this fear, and of an impression that of all men to avert such a calamity he is the man. There is, moreover, a decided approval shewn of the policy pursued by him—a policy founded on personal influence and conciliation, which it must he admitted was so far successful as to put off the cc evil day.” That this kind of dealing with the Maories will answer for a time, all who are acquainted with them are able to testify ; hut it has this great disadvantage—that it makes matters o worse and requires more of the remedy. Just as certain drugs taken into the system at first in small quantities seem to produce a favorable effect, but really create a necessity for another larger and more frequent dose, until the patient is reduced to the miserable condition of death either by continuing or abstaining from tbe use of the drug. Some of our own graziers are even now feeling tbe effects of a similar line of action on a smaller scale —they find, in a sense somewhat different from that of the great political economist Adam Smith, that the supply increases the demand, as indeed it evidently must. There are not wanting amongst the elder colonists those who trace the present difficulties to the temporising policy of Sir George Grey previous to 1855 ; at all events it is not a little remarkable that the Native difficulty commenced almost simultaneously with his departure, and the partial withdrawal of the bribes and presents by which the loyalty of the Natives were purchased, and that.the existing state of things is only the crisis to which events have constantly tended from that time. It is not pretended that Governor Browne has been to blame, as bis conduct has met with the approval of both colonists (with but few exceptions) and the authorities at home, and it is only to he hoped that Sir

George is not sent out to reverse the course of policy that he has pursued, and, with sufficient military aid , would doubtless have pursued to a successful issue.

We have already admitted that the difficulties of the case are of no ordinary magnitude ; the stubbornness of the Native mind —the divisions of the race into tribes acting independently of each other renders both the negociation and the subjugation infinitely more difficult than It -would be if they had a veritable King with whom we could treat, or under whom they might fight,—whose consent to our terms, or whose defeat on the battle-field, would decide the question of the whole race ; but under the existing state of independent tribes, any negociation effected with one would not be considered binding on the rest, and the defeat of tribe after tribe would not materially hasten the conclusion of the war, as the whole island is the battlefield, and each distinct hostile tribe a distinct enemy. If “ Divide and conquer” only held good here, the work would be already half done. Neither must we close our eyes to the fact that those of the Native tribes who profess loyalty are as really at war with us as those that have taken up arms against us in open rebellion. To rob the settler of his cattle, and shoot them down, —to refuse to appear at the summons of a magistrate,—to set the law at defiance and treat its officers with contumely and contempt, is not a state of peace, but war, and as such can only be ended, as it must be, by the defeat either of the aggressors as individuals, or of the rebellious tribes as a body. It must not be supposed that we do not sympathise with those who dread the destruction of the aboriginal race—every philanthropist must do so ; but we firmly believe that there is no surer means of destroying them than by temporising with them now. If submission to the law is not now effectually enforced—if their loyalty is only secured by bribes and gifts, the outbreak will be only postponed to a future time, depending on the caprice of the chiefs, and what might now be but partial would then be complete. We believe that the only remedy is to treat them as British subjects—as Europeans would be treated under similar circumstances, individually and collectively, and this can only be done by having a sufficient military force to compel submission to the Civil power, and using it to this end. When this is accomplished, the Maori race will be saved from destruction, and the Colony will prosper.