THE HAWKE’S BAY TIMES. NAPIER, THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 1862.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 39, 27 March 1862, Page 2

THE HAWKE’S BAY TIMES. NAPIER, THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 1862.

Philaxtiiropomanxa —a peculiar disease of tlie monomania class, the diagnosis of which is not to be found in the archives of the medical faculty—does nevertheless exist to a great extent, and is highly prolific of mischief, not only to the unfortunate individuals afflicted with this form of insanity, but its influence extends sometimes for many thousands of miles, even over the semi-circum-ference of the globe. An individual so afflicted is often, if not always, entirely unaware of his calamity himself, and as he is not of necessity irrational in other respects, the disease may exist undetected by those around him ; and hence its danger, for under its influence the most glaring untruths and calumnies may be uttered, and of consequence believed by those to whom they are addressed, no suspicion being entertained that the patient is in an entirely abnormal state, and to a certain extent unaccountable for his words. One of the most strongly marked features of the disease is an outpouring of benevolence on distant objects, while expending none of the oil and wine of its charity on the neighbour (the nigh by), who is too often left to endure the miseries of ignorance and vice. Its charity is of this spurious kind, which does not begin at home, nor indeed does it often arrive there at all, finding, as it does abroad, fields quite vast enough to absorb its energies; and the farther off its object is removed by distance, habit, race, the more it is appreciated by such a mind. The Negro —the Pagan—the savage—are each and all regarded by it as “ men and brothers,” while fellow-countrymen and fellow-Chris-tians are “ heathens and publicans.”

In our issue of 23rd January ult., will be found an article bearing on the effect produced by the misstatements of certain members of the missionary party here on the minds of a particular class at home ; and it seems that this effect has at length been produced to an extent somewhat beyond that intended by them, though we cannot say that it is greater than might have been expected Wxien wc remember how u great a matter a little fire kindleth.” We allude to an extract (published in our columns a fortnight since) from a speech delivered by the Eev. Canon Stowell, of Manchester, before a meeting .of the Douglas Branch of the Isle of Man Auxilliary to the Church Missionary Society, to which we again refer our readers. As may he supposed, these remarks, coining from a dignitary of the English Church of standing such as that of the reverend Canon has not failed to call forth the comments of the press and of the settlers of New Zealand. Of the hitter, the letter of a Taranaki Mili-

tiaman, given in the same sheet, is a lair specimen ; and of the press, several that did not feel called upon to notice the libels of the “ cheap Saturday ” and other publications of that class, have had their spirit stirred by this, to call on the leaders of the missionary party here, and particularly on the Bishop of New Zealand, to speak the truth on this matter, and clear their fellow countrymen of charges so false and scandalous. As yet we have not heard that Bishop Selwyn, upon whose shoulders the greatest weight of the cause of the libel rests; has taken any step to remedy the evil; but pne of his colleagues has done so, and we give, from the Nelson Examiner, an extract from his letter:—

“ I at once disclaim for myself, and for all other clergymen w r ho have any connection with the Church Missionary Society, any sympathy with that part of Mr. StoweU’s speech which speaks of many of the emigrants as the offscouring of our own land, and which attributes to the colonists acts of barbarous cruelty and oppression, which I know have never been practised ; and I will venture to say that, whatever may have been the supposed authority upon which Mr. Stowell may have given utterance to these sentiments, it has not been derived from “the original statements of representatives of the Church Missionary Society in the Colony.” Much has been written by various persons since the beginning of the late unhappy outbreak, censures have been freely passed by men holding very opposite opinions, and that liberty of speech has been used which is the privilege of every Engglishman ; but nothing can be produced from the pen of any representative of the Church Missionary Society which is capable of being distorted into the language of the speech which gives occasion to these remarks.”

Nor is it the settlers of the colony, nor the Bishop of Waiapu, alone who have felt themselves called forward in this cause, for in the press of a neighbouring colony, the Sydney Morning Herald, appears a letter bearing the signature of the Rev. Samuel Ironside, well known amongst us as an ardent laborer in the Wesleyan mission in this colony for many years, and in all respects well acquainted with the character of the natives, of the settlers, and of the facts that have occurred. From his letter we give the following extract: — “ It is really too bad to charge the unoffending settlers with being “ grasping, and unfair, and oppressive.” They are in no way responsible for the war, which is an Imperial quest ion, but have, many of them, suffered the loss of all. Husbands, and sons, and fathers, and even little children have been cruelly murdered. The houses of the settlers are burnt; their pretty English homesteads, in which they had invested their all, and on which they had expended years of toil and sacrifice, are utterly laid waste by an unprincipled mob of natives ; and after all they, the settlers, are spoken of by a dignitary of the Church of England in such terms of undeserved scandal and reproach. Sir, the emigrants of New Zealand are, as a body, wholly innocent of your censures. They are, and have been, honourable in their dealings with the natives.”

It is, perhaps, something remarkable that the epithets used by the rev. Canon should have been applied to the settlers at Taranaki of all the settlements of the colony. Certainly there is none where they are less applicable than that. A more humane, forbearing, and benevolent body of colonists it would be hard to find, and it is something singular that, from the foundation of the settlement till now, they should have always been the sufferers instead of the oppressors, so much so as to bear the true sense of the rev. Canon’s fable, there have doubtless been ie ten settlers with the Maori’s foot on their hecks, for one with his foot on the Maories.” But not only is the settler vilified ; —the Maori race -is exalted as much, if possible, beyond that which facts will warrant ais the other is degraded—“ New Zealand is the brightest gem in the diadem of the Church Missionary Society “a beautiful specimen of the work of Christ in these latter days,” &c., &c. We do not profess to know a great deal about other gems of the Society’s diadem less bright than this; there may be such, —if so, their brightness must be dim indeed. We have seen much of the native race, and can civer tiiut, as far as our cxi'snsucc ha* s their religion is altogether superficial—a religion of form only, which does not prevent them from robbing and defrauding the settler upon every possible occasion, or make them other than glory in the aot, though they do attend'prayer twice each day, and refrain from labor on the Sabbath, the feeling seeming to be that an observance of these outward forms is all that is needed to atone for

all beside. Nor is our experience singular iiiitbis. We have had frequent opportunities qf conversing intelligent, active, and we believe honest missionaries, who have not scrupled to own the same opinion as we hold ; in particular an aged laborer in this cause, since deceased, has deplored this very state of things—“ wished them (the natives) all in Heaven,, and their place supplied here with better men.” Should any be disposed to affirm that this discussion is out of place in our columns, we reply, by no means. We have only endeavored to place the truth as we perceive it before the eyes of the public here and at home in opposition to the fantasies of the rev. Canon. A volume might be easily filled with facts and anecdotes tending to prove the truth of what we have advanced. Many instances in point will of necessity occur to the mind of any one who has had only a limited experience of the manners and customs of the Maories; and unpleasant as it may be to those who have fondly believed in the spirituality of the Christianity of the converted Maories, to have the illusion dispelled we must inform them that such cases may exist, perhaps does ; but if so they are the exception, and not by any means the rule.