Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, MONDAY, JUNE 22, 1863.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 126, 22 June 1863, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, MONDAY, JUNE 22, 1863.

There has occurred two or three matters of interest as bearing upon the great question of the day—the Maori question—here, within the last week or two, which are specially worthy of note. The Town was thrown into a state of considerable excitement a few days ago by the spread of a report, supposed to have originated from a reliable source, that those tribes of unpleasant memory who inhabit the Waikato country threatened to give us a passing look in, by way of getting their hands into practice before joining the general melee which is going on at Taranaki. This startling announcement, by a most singular coincidence, happened only to have been made in the Town of Napier, so that in the event of the threat contained in it being put into execution, the settlers round about the countrjT would be in a state of total ignorance, and would be taken entirely by surprise. We believe any fear of a raid from these restless people to be a delusion, which unfortunately is likely to have a great and most disheartening effect upon the minds of the people. We entertain not the slightest idea of the probability of the Waikatos being able to come down here. They are not numerically strong enough Jo detach a sufficient force to effect their object successfully, anl they are a great deal too knowing to he easily lead into a trap out of which it would be difficult if not impossible to escape. With Cameron touching them up in the rear, and Logan keeping them employed on the flanks, and somebody else engaging their attention in the front, it seems to us that the fighting men amongst the Maories have quite enough work cut out for them without being able to find time and men for a marauding expedition to Hawke’s Bay,

However, we recommend that, since the Defence Corps is getting under weigh, it would he highly desirable to throw out a mounted patrol to watch the passes through the mountains, so that if the worst should come to the worst, these men, by falling hack upon the settlements, could with great expedition place every able-bodied man in a state of preparation, and enable the authorities to muster such a respectable force as would give our visitors rather a warmer reception than they expected. This plan carried out, we are placed in a comparative state of security, and may rest in peace. The doubling the patrol in the Town would not prevent the Waikatos coming into the country; but the placing of armed pickets in a judicious manner upon our frontiers will be, as we said before, taking precautionary measures of a nature to meet the difficulty. We must, however, say that the best thing for our fellow settlers to do is to take things very quietly, and not get ipto a state of needless and unnecessary alarm. Being

forewarned, it is said, is as good as being forearmed ; but we would have the folks warned certainly, but armed also, and kept cool and quiet. We have noticed in the columns of the Herald a review of a new paper just started for the benefit of the Natives, under the special and distinguished patronage of His Honor the Superintendent. We smell a job here. Here are the manifest indications of a palpable job, and we shall take an early opportunity of exposing it. However, out of evil cometh good, and if we may judge of the article by the specimen just given us, it is likely to be filled with such an overflowing quantity of insufferable nonsense, that nothing would more effectually keep the Waikatos from coming down here than the probability of having to submit to hearing any of the articles read. We would, with great respect, suggest to His Honor that each Mounted Policeman should be armed with a file of this destructive missile, with strict orders, upon the first appearance of the enemy, to commence reading some of the choicest morsels. The effect would be perfectly astonishing; two lines would bring the advancing foe to a dead stop ; four would make him show symptoms of wavering ; at six he would commence a retrograde movement. and before the excited operator had got to the end of the article, nothing would be seen of the dreaded invaders but a rapidly retreating mass of human hind-quarters. The bursting of a shell would be mere child’s play to this.