THE WRECK of the LORD WORSLEY.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 113, 8 May 1863, Page 3

THE WRECK of the LORD WORSLEY.

(From the A. cf- N. Gazette, Jan. 10.) It is probable that the conduct of the New Zealand natives on this occasion will bring the relations which have prevailed between them and settlers to a crisis, not that it is worse or even a tenth part so bad as many of their outrages upon unprotected settlers or open violation of the law and contempt of the officials, but it will bring them in their true light before the British public. Other cases it has been possible to gloss over, but in this instance a stranded steamer, carrying her Majesty’s mails, has been plundered and her passengers barely escaped with their lives, after having suffered considerable hardships from being detained and serious loss in their personal and private property. As it is only British subjects that are the sufferers, probably the much enduring policy of Sir George Grey will put up with this indignity, as many others far worse have been ; but we would pointedly ask what would have been the case if a French or American vessel had been so treated by the soi-disant British subjects P Even the self-complacency of the Colonial Secretary could hardly have pleaded that they were beyond the control of Brit ish law in a British Colony. Had he done so, he would have been told that he must then give up the pretence of calling Now Zealand a British Colony, or bo responsible for the acts of those who dwell in it. The most competent observers long ago felt that it was impossible to resist the false impressions which the one-sided representations of those who denounced the policy of Colonel Browne had created by cleverly and plausibly playing upon the pacific, philanthropic, and economical prejudices of the British public, and they quietly determined to bide their time from a desire to give the policy of Sir George Grey fair play, however much they doubted its wisdom and utility, being convinced that if scope enough were given the natives would soon proceed to acts which would leave no doubt of their disposition and feelings and bring the real facts forcibly home to the public mind in England. When the late Governor, Colonel Browne, called iu the aid of the military to protect the Government surveyors from an armed opposition to the execution of a proceeding long deliberated upon and legally carried out, he obeyed the true instincts of an English soldier and gentleman. He said that the authority of his government was treated with contempt and he felt that it was the wisest and best course to act with energy and determination. Probably the force at his command was too weak, but he believed, as every Governor ought, that he would be promptly supported in an endeavour to maintain the Queen’s authority committed to his charge. In this respect lie unfortunately miscalculated, probably because he could not believe that Englishmen in high positions would be induced by their political, clerical, or personal prejudices to aid and abet their native protegees in open rebellion.

We have now had ample experience of Sir George Grey’s temporising policy, but as yet it has borne little fruit. It is true we have official or partisan reports of his interviews with the natives of the neighbouring Colony, but the good results prophesied from them are not as yet forthcoming. In the meantime our columns have reported numberless cases in which the natives openly deny the Queen’s authority, violate the law with impunity, and either treat the Governor himself with contempt or set him at defiance, whilst the unfortunate settlors, who are constantly suffering ill usage, cry out in vain for protection and redress. It is possible that Sir George Grey, aware of the hostility which proved too powerful for his predecessor, is biding his time until be has a clear field and can use the large force at his command with energy and effect, without encountering the hostility of political partisans, the prejudices of the missionary protectors of the natives, or the case-loving policy of amiable but impressionable Secretaries of State in awe of exacting Chancellors of the Exchequer. We trust tbir may be the case; but we are certain that there will be no peace with the natives and that their civilization will be materially retarded until they are dealt with firmly but impartially, and taught to respect the authority of the law and the rights of British subjects. With a semi-civilised people, vain to a degree of their personal prowess, forbearance is misconstrued, and the lenity and mildness with which they have been treated is openly set down as proofs of conscious weakness and fear.