WHAT WILL THEY DO IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY?

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume III, Issue 147, 6 November 1863, Page 4

WHAT WILL THEY DO IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY?

[Continued from our /as/]. Besides the monopoly of public land, arising from the low prices in the North Island, another means of monopoly has been fostered by the continued connivance of Government in the holding of large tracts of country as runs, by colonists who pay rent to the Mnories ; a system first begun and encouraged by the unwillingness of Sir George Grey to interfere with it during his former term of office. A recent writer in one of the newspapers describes the natives in the Hawke’s Bay Province as peaceable, and likely to continue so, because they are receiving rents amounting to £IO,OOO a-year from the run-holders of that Province!* I dare say the calculation may be correct. But there is one possible result of this system. If once (lie collision between flic races extend so far, us that the IMaories shall be satisfied to take the stock on the runs into (heir own possession, instead of keeping their English jenantry as a yearly source of income, no amount of troops or volunteers can protect property so defenceless and so scattered over the country. Even the homesteads and shepherds’ huts are too isolated from each other to be defended from a Maori raid. If runs were, on the average, no larger than 10,000 acres each, the homesteads must be, on the average, four miles distant from each other But most of the runs are far larger ; so that the average distance of the stations from each other is probably at least six or eight miles. No wonder, then, that run-holders in the North Island, whether they be tenants of Her Majesty, or of Her Majesty’s rebellious Maori subjects, have been disinclined to any vigorous measures for bringing the rebels to their allegiance. They have rather been content to put up with anything from their Maori landlords and neighbours. They Lave quietly submitted to become as it were the feudal retainers, —the vassals, —I could almost say the serfs of the rebels, rather than run the chance of having their scattered flocks destroyed or driven away, and their defenceless homesteads ravaged.

Of late years, an alliance naturally sprung up between tins missionaries, who desired to keep their Maori flocks and their own priestlv authority undisturbed by the progress of English colonists in conquering the wilderness, and the runholders, who had an equal objection to the intrusion of thriving people and happy homes, and the cheap pasturage of their four-footed property. Dr. Featherston, himself a run-holding land monopolist under the Crown, and smt lined in pov er by the influence of the class to which he belongs used, until a year or two ago, to be on the most hostile terms, politically speaking, with Archdeacon Hadfleld, who is the chief leader of the missionary body near Wellington, and who himself holds a large tract of land as a tenant under Maori landlords. I am not aware whether they are avowed rebels, or so-called “friendly” natives ; probably whichever happens to be most convenient at any particular moment. Of late years, Dr. Featherston and Archdeacon Hadfleld have shaken hands, and worked together most cordially in the interests of what is called the “ Peace-at-any-price” party. Not many months ago, I heard, at Wellington, a runholding tenant under the Maories, complain of the encroachments on his boundary of Archdeacon Hadfleld, who similarly holds the neighboring run. I do not venture to* assert that the Venerable Archdeacon was claiming move than he was entitled to under his agreement with the more or less loyally disposed Maori subjects pf her Majesty ; but I do assert that it is piteous to see a gentleman, in his situation, obliged, by his private interests, to appear as one of the parties .in such a dispute. Another very distinguished member of the peace-at-any-price party, is the honorable Algernon Grey Tollemacbe ; a gentleman who has never taken any public part in politics ; but who, as he is largely interested in the maintenance of the pre-

sent state of things with regard to the tenure of land in the North Island, has, of course, the will to influence the powers that be in favor of such maintenance. Having the will, ho is at no loss to find the power of doing so. During Sir George Grey’s former term of office, Mr. Tollemache was always an assiduous attendant on his Excellency’s private leisure. Ho was then entitled to a large amount of what was called “ compensation scrip,” which had the same value as money in securing “cheap land” under Sir George Grey’s regulations. He also had the command of a large sum of ready money. The scrip and the money have been botli employed in enabling runholders to secure the cream of their runs as freehold ; they, of course, paying interest to Mr. Tollemache until they can discharge the original price of the land so purchased. Mr. Tollemache must be deriving an income of many thousands of pounds from money thus lent to run-holders in the North Island"! If their occupation were seriously interfered with by a general extension of the collision between the British and Maori races, Mr. Tollemache’s income would be seriously affected ; and he might even lose the capital invested in enabling run-liolders to monopolise “ cheap land.” During Sir George Grey’s last visit to Wellington, Mr. Tollemache was as assiduous an attendant upon his Excellency’s leisure as he had been ten years before. The.honorable gentleman never thrusts his opinions on the affairs of New Zealand before the public. If lie were to do so, the public might enquire wry carefully as to the nature of the advice which he may be in the habit of tendering to the Governor, and how far Sir George is guided by that advice. One piece of advice he is reported to have, given, and Sir George is rumoured to have followed it. Acting on Mr. Tollemache’s advice, the Governor is said to have entered imo the same line of private business, and to have lent some of Ins own private money to one of the rnn-holders of Hawke’s Bay ! Some people, not over particular as to principles, and that it would be very bard if the Governor were not allowed to invest his money in the Colony, as well as any of the colonists whom he governs. But what strikes mo as wrong is this— That, at the very time when the propriety of vigorously subduing the rebels, or of patching up a temporary peace on insecure grounds, may be under discussion by the Parliament and Government of the country, on its own merits, (ho representative of her Majesty should be personally interested in the maintenance of tilings as they are, so far as the success, and consequent solvency, of his run-holding debtor may depend on the interruption of his pursuits by hostile rebels. His Excellency may, no doubt, he rich enough or high-minded enough to disregard this portion of his private interest, while considering the question in tin* interest of the Colony and of the Empire ; but still, I cannot help regretting that it should bo possible for this circumstance to bias his opinion, even against his will, and perhaps even without his knowledge, in favor of views of the run-holding monopolists, whose property is at tile mc-rcv of any hostile natives.

For, so imminent appears to be the danger impending over property of that kind, that North Island runholders, and those who are placed in situations of authority by their votes, have, until quite recently, almost without exception, done their best to discourage the idea of arming the settlers, —of organizing volunteers and militia—■ of building stockades —of taking any precautions against any possible danger to other property and life—even against the possible massacre of defenceless women and children—for fear, as they said, of “alarming the natives,” —for fear, as they really meant, of exasperating the natives into killing their flocks and herds ! G”ly about four months ago, the General Government bad delegated to Hr. Featherston, as Superintendent of Wellington the power of calling out the Militia for training and exercise. Instead of convening the people by whom lie was elected to advise him how he should use this power, he submitted that question for the opinion of—the bench of Magistrates ! That body, consisting, in Wellington, chiefly of runholders, mercantile men, living by business transactions with run-holders, and officials, placed and maintained in their situations by run-holders, resolved unanimously—- “ That it was not expedient to arm and call out the militia, for fear of alarming the nalirea /” In the meanwhile, however, events in the North made it evident to Government that the clanger of Wellington, from what the natives might do, rendered the step at once necessary, and they sent down orders, in the course of June or July, without waiting for the opinion of either Superintendent or Bench, to arm and train a large portion of the militia at once.

Major Whitmore, the late Military Secretary, and Major M’Niell, the present principal aide decamp to General Cameron, are, together, the holders of a large run in the Hawke’s Bay District. But Major Whitmore, who lives on the run, shows no such false confidence in the peacefulness of (lie natives, nor such fears lest they should he excited to active rebellion by wise preparations for safety. Warned, no doubt, by his personal knowledge of Caifre warfare at the Cape of Good Hope, he procured arms for the settlers in his district, organized the Colonial Defence force, volunteers, and Militia there, and was very properly placed in command of those bodies. How do the other provinces of the North Island and Taranaki —stand affected? Taranaki is, of course, at a dead stand-still. It consists of a small fortified and garrisoned town, sending outflying bodies of forest rangers, chiefly volunteers, who scour the country for several miles round, so as to keep it pretty clear of Maories, but not sufficiently so to enable peaceable cultivation, eleven the depasturing of stock, to be carried on in safety. Sir George Grey’s behaviour there was marked by a cruel affectation of ignoring the hardships and privations—nay, utter ruin in some cases — which the colonists had undergone, and his endeavors to induce them to re-occupy the farms from which they- had been driven by the rebels, at the very time when the natives had warned him of their intention to re-coimnence hostilities—which intention they resolutely carried out, by attacking and slaughtering the military escort —proved his Excellency to be either recklessly indifferent as to the lives of her Majesty’s subjects, or miserably

unfitted, by idiotic confidence in the harmlessness of the native race,. for managing negoeiations with the rebels on the part of her Majesty. Auckland lias recently suffered from native rebellion, plunder, outrage, and massacres of unarmed people within thir y or forty miles of the city. While reaping great advantages from the large commissariat expenditure—so much that specie has recently figured as one of its exports—the people of Auckland have manifested a truly admirable Volunteer spirit, and deserve great credit for their readiness to meet the dangers of military operations, as well as to reap the pecuniary benefit derived therefrom.

The best feature about Auckland is, probably, the infusion of superior colonizing population, which it has obtained from British North America, by means of the forty-acre grants made to immigrants paying their own passage. But in order to continue that or any other system of conquering the wilderness, there requires to be a larger extent of good and accessible land in the hands of the Government, open for settlement. Hitherto, the Government department for purchasing land from the natives has been, really, an obstruction to the supply of land at. the disposal of the public for settlement. Mr. McLean, the present Superintendent jof Hawke’s Bay, was, for a long time at the head iof (lint department. He was generally nicknamed “ the Mystery man because, instead of employing his ' knowledge of the Maori language, customs, and character, so ns to enable as many as possible of his fellow-colo-nists to become equally useful, he kept that knowledge to himself, as though it were a secret protected by some valuable patent, and let the public know as little as possible about the details of his endeavours, of bis success, or of bis failure in acquiring land from the natives for occupation bv British colonists. At the same time, he was a run-holding monopolist in the Hawke’s Bay district, and a near relation of his was actually the tenant of a run under native landlords. Other officers of his department were also, often personally, at any rate indirectly, through relations and connexions, interested in run-holding monopoly, whether under the Crown or Under the natives, in districts where the stock would certainly be in danger in case peace between the races was not preserved. No wonder that, during his administration of the department, the natives became more and more unwilling to part with land, more and more greedy to obtain high rents from run-holders, who felt secure of a monopoly of occupation so long as the natives should be their landlords, and should not be offended bv any active efforts to make them obey their laws or keep strictly their allegiance. In the northern part of the North Island many of llie missionaries, and those connected with them, are themselves land-holding monopolists ; but their influence is generally exerted to persuade the natives that it would be ruin for them to part with any more of their land.

'i 1 1 us, take it as a whole, the North Island presents an example of success on the part of the Church Missionary Society in “thwarting” the colonization of the island “ by every means in its /lower.”

That body has scoured the alliance and cooperation of the influential class of run-holding land-monopolists. The North Island has been kept back in a comparatively desert state, under the pretence of justice to the natives, and by means of exciting their fear and jealousy of the* British colonists. Thus the depasturing of flocks and herds is not interfered with ; and at the same time, the missionaries continue to be, like the Jesuits in Paraguay, uninterrupted in their tuition of the natives, whether for good or evil ; the dreaded period is yet a while postponed, at which strong and civilized communities shall be the best and most effective missionaries, among the natives, of improvement, both moral and physical ; not unmixed, doubtless, with some share of the evil which waits on the best planned human progress, but which may also sometimes bo found to detract from (he excellence and usefulness even of many an individual and isolated human missionary. This banded opposition to the progress of the North Island has powerful supporters in England. The powerful influence of Exeter Hall is exerted in favor of Missionary views. Earnest churchmen, friends and admirers of Bishop Selwyn, no doubt concur in his declaration that the Colony was founded specially for the benefit of the natives. Connexions of Mr. Tollemache, and of other well-born land-monopolizers, swell the throng of those who assist Exeter Hall in keeping up a pressure, through Parliament, on the Colonial Office. The whole tendency of'this combined influence is to accuse the colonists, very unjustly, of excessive greed for the natives’ land, and a disposition to ill-treat and tyrannize over them. To this influence, a Governor, whose principal aim is to stand well with the Colonial office and influential statesmen at home, possibly with a view to obtaining promotion in the ranks of Colonial Governorship, and titles of honor, is very apt to pay great deference. Even little Colonial statesmen, who desire to be exalted above their fellows, and mentioned as great statesmen in the despatches of the Minister for the Colonies at home, how to this influence, and, in favor of its results, throw overboard the true interests of the Colonv.

The Duke of Newcastle’s despatch, mi the publication of winch Mr. Fitz Gerald agitated for an immediate meeting of the General Assembly, orders that the Colony shall take upon itself the responsibility, and defray the cost, of managing native affairs. His Grace, however, as a matter of course, reserves for the Governor the right of refusing his sanction to any proposals of the General Assembly, or of the responsible Government supported by it, which he may consider injurious to Imperial intcrsts, or inconsistent with justice to the natives, and with a faithful observance of all engagements formerly made with them, coupled with the assurance that the assistance of her Majesty’s troops and ships of war shall not be hurriedly withdrawn ; thus giving the colonists ample t ime to prepare for their new position. The proposed arrangement will, I believe, be a good one for the Colony, and for every settlement in it; but a necessary condition to the goodness of it is, that it shall be carried out on both sides with good faith, and an earnest detire to secure, 6h a lasting basis, the termination of the present disastrous state of things. On the part of the Gover-

nor, there is required the possible amount of political honesty, manly opiWness, and experience in dealing with representative institutions and responsible Government. On the part of the members of the General Assembly, there is required union for the General good of the colony, and the abandonment of Provincial jealousies. On the part of the responsible ministers, who are to advise the Governor, there is required a comprehensive krovvledge of the whole Colony, and of its wants and resources ; the ability to appreciate the present state of things, untarnished by any desire to conceal, misrepresent, or gloss it over for special purposes, or in special interests; the wisdom to devise, explain, and obtain the Assembly’s sanction to a definite system of remedial measures ; and the energy, industry, and tact necessary to carry into execution such a plan, when devised, explained, and approved of. Bo we possess these requirements at the present moment ? I humbly venture to think not. [To he continued in our next].