POSTPONEMENT OF THE MEETING OF THE ASSEMBLY.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume III, Issue 136, 21 August 1863, Page 3

POSTPONEMENT OF THE MEETING OF THE ASSEMBLY.

IMPORTANT MEETING IN CANTERBURY,

[From the Wellington Advertiser.']

A VEiir large and important meeting was held at Christchurch on Monday evening the 10th inst., with reference to this subject, which was attended .by nearly, the whole of the Canterbury members of the General Assembly. The decision pronounced by the meeting, and the reasons which were given against the General Assembly being convened, meet with our entire approval. A resolution was moved by Mr. Fitz Gerald in favor of an early convocation of the General Assembly. To this an amendment was moved by Mr. Weld to the effect that it was inexpedient in the present state of affairs in the North Island for the General Assembly to meet, and having regard to the failure of the late temporising policy, the urgency of the present crisis in native affairs will warrant the Government in taking such action as may be necessary to bring the war to a speedy and decisive issue, and to obtain such material guarantees as may ensure the future maintenance of peace and order among the insurgent tribes. After speeches had been made for and against the original resolution and the amendment, the latter was put to the meeting and carried by a large majority. In the opinion of the people of Christchurch, no risk should be run in thwarting General Cameron in his or in the confiscation of the lands of the rebels. The remarks of Mr. Weld on this latter subject are to the purpose. lie said ; “ I will now speak about the confiscation of the land of. insurgent natives. I approve of that policy as the only means of showing the natives that there is something to be lost by turbulence, which they have never yet experienced (cheers,) but when I speak of confiscation, understand me. I say that sufficient reserves for the natives must be made —reserves that, should they settle down into ; a peaceful and industrious people, will of themselves become worth more by the contiguity of British settlers’ lands than all the waste lands are now worth. I say, too, that care must be taken that we do not punish the -weak instead of the strong. I say that care must be taken not to involve the innocent with the guilty. I say that the first charges on the land must be for the establishment of sufficient bodies of settlers, and for their protection, to keep the peace ; and then for the payment of all expenses arising out of the warand that the residue be employed in educating politically and socially, and in promoting the, welfare of the natives themselves. (Cheers.) I have known the natives for years, and have their interests at heart- I have never stooped to the morbid .philanthrophy that reserves all its pity for the wrongs of colored races, and gives none to the.injuries' suffered by my own countrymen ; but as, in the moment of the natives’ power, I have endeavoured to protect the just interests of my own countrymen, so in the moment of our power will I steadily uphold the just rights and interests

of the natives.” (Applause.) The opinions of Mr. Jollie were not less decided. He would support the amendment of Mr. Weld, because it referred to the confiscation of native lands, and it was desirable that the policy of the Government should be supported by the unanimous voice of the people. When the natives were thoroughly beaten and brought into subjection, then it would be time enough to set aside reserves for them as large as could possibly be wanted. Mr.'Jollie, as well as other speakers, strongly deprecated the interference of ecclesiastics in native matters which, in his opinion, had brought about great complications, especially in the affair of the Waitara, as was well known to those who had taken part in the question, and who knew all the circumstances connected with it. Mr. Jollie’s views with reference to the meeting of the Assembly underwent a change after he found the war had penetrated to Waikato. : We direct the attention of the public to the following passage in his speech : “ He had at one time been in favom? of calling together the Assembly, and of instituting a movement here to effect that end, but things had materially altered since, and he had wavered in his views since the war was carried into the Waikato, which had led him to think it was unadvisable to bring any great pressure to bear upon the Government to induce them to summon the General Assembly. No doubt there were reasons why the Assembly should be convened, financial reasons among others, but, after balancing the advantages and disadvantages, he had come to this conclusion.” Mr. Fitzgerald professed his desire for the General Assembly to bo convened, on, the. ground, chiefly, that as the country was in a state of danger the Government required to be armed with special power to meet that dangerbut, his true reason was to obtain a meeting of the Assembly to decide on the policy which should be adopted with reference to the natives. While allowing that there was now no course left but to prosecute the war with the utmost possible vigour, he ‘was not satisfied that, unless the General Assembly were called together, the war would be vigorously prosecuted. Tins was precisely the view we took of the subject before we heard of the vigorous measures taken by the Government to suppress the rebellion. As we stated in our last, we th ink that under the altered circumstances of the case the worst thing that could now happen wou.ld be to convene the Assembly. The Government in, the policy they have now adopted ought to have the support of the people of the whole Colony, and we trust that that support which has been given to them by the settlers of Canterbury will not be withheld from them by the settlers of Wellington. The Christchurch meetiug viewed Mr. Fitzgerald’s resolution as an indirect censure upon the Government, which they would not pass, lest by so doing they should prevent the punishment of the rebels and the effectual suppression of the rebellion. Mr. Wakefield, we are told, made an elaborate and an able speech, but neither the speech he made nor the resolutions lie proposed are given in any of the Canterbury papers. Tlielatter.werc condemnatory of the interference of ecclesiastics in native affairs, and in,the conduct of the War, and were passed as riders to the resolutions moved by Sir. Weld ; and the Chairman was directed by the meeting to forward copies of both to the Governor and General Cameron. Mr. Wakefield said that some of the most extensive runholders in (lie North Island held their runs from natives who were in a state of acknowledged rebellion- to the Government, and challenged Mr. Fitzgerald, when he next went to the General Assembly, to move for a return showing the named of those monopolists who held lands in districts where the Queen’s authority is not recognised. lie informed Mr. Fitzgerald that when that return was produced ho would find the names of some of those gentlemen with whom he had been associated in tiie Assembly. We doubt whether Mr. Wakefield made this statement. What he probably said was that he would find the names of a number of gentlemen holding her Majesty’s Commission of the Peace who supported those gentlemen with whom Mr. Fitzgerald had been associated in the Assembly, and whose direct personal • interest it has been to secure peace at any price. •