Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 1861.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume III, Issue 177, 3 June 1864, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 1861.

The late news from Wanganui shews that the spirit of rebellion amongst the Maories is rather on the increase than the decrease, notwithstanding our endeavors to the contrary, and that that spirit is fostered and strengthened hy an absurd fanaticism composed of a wretched combination of allegorical characters gathered from the Bible and some of their own ancient and obsolete ceremonies and superstitions.

It is, however, cheering under these disheartening circumstances to know that we have real and very useful friends amongst the Maories, although much lias been said against that supposition. In our unprotected and friendless condition, with so miserable and beggarly an army as 40,000 men, under the able generalship of Sir Duncan Cameron, K.C.8., &c., &c., it is strengthening and reassuring in the extreme to know that we can command the services of 200 or 300 Maories to assist us in the arduous and, as matters have turned out, extremely hazardous undertaking of thrashing seven or eight thousand Waikatos into shape. It is indeed highly gratifying, for it would seem, from what has lately occurred both in the North and in the South, that our Maori allies are more likely, regardless of their paucity of numbers, to bring the war to a more speedy conclusion than would be altogether agreeable to certain parties. It is no great hazard to venture upon the assertion that if we were to levy a regiment or two of Maories we might safely disband our army, sending back the General and Staff with our respectful thanks to Her Majesty’s Government ; but we must be careful not to spoil the Maories as we do our white troops by drilling and other fancy work of that sort. Those ancient enemies of Waikato and Taranaki the Ngapuhis would very soon settle the difficulty for us, in less time than it takes us to talk the matter over. The worst, of that arrangement is, that however good in theory, it would he fatal in practice, as every right-minded man the keeper of a store or an owner of stock will devoutly testify. If that plan was carried out, what would become of the Commissariat expenditure, with its mutton contracts at 9d. the lb. ? and bow about, the Military Chest and such like trifles ? Ngatiawa, Ngapuhi, and the like 'don’t require mutton, neither would they become the medium for circulation of the pounds to be found in the Military Chest. Clearly, then, it is contrary to all precedent, and against all the rides of modern warfare, that such people should fight our battles. Another class of people who would strongly object to the speedy settlement of the war are those heroes who have obtained military distinction in the shape of Militia and other such like com-

mands. Othello’s occupation would be gone, and as it is pretty clear that Othello is fit for nothing else under the sun than to play at soldiers, such a catastrophe as the ending of the war would be a serious matter to him.

By recent dates from England we are informed that the “ expense of the New Zealand war has already amounted to ,£200,000.” We fancy that there must he some mistake here, or that that sum represents merely the expenditure attendant upon some particular department of the war. That there has been a great deal more than £200,000 spent upon this war in the course of four years must be evident to every one, however] little conversant with such matters. However, be that as it may, we shall some day or other have to pay for it, and the question of what has become of the money will be rather a difficult one to answer. That large sums are annually expended in mutton contracts at 9d. a pouud is pretty certain, and in condoning acts of treason in one part of the island to shelter the illegal vested interests of a few, while we pursue the war in another part of the same island with as much relentless vigour as our naturally slow and imperfect method of doing that sort of thing will permit.

We strongly incline to think that an army of 2,000 Maories, commanded by hrave and active Europeans who understand their language, and can do without ninepenny mutton now and again, would soon finish the war ; and we should not only he saved the tremendous expense of that war as at present conducted by our cumbersome system, but also the ridiculous and vexatious drilling and disturbance to which the country settlers are subject.

Those brave Homan Catholic priests who stood by our good friends in that Wanganui fight deserve well of this country. Let no man ever again speak lightly of those good apostles, but rather draw a comparison between their quiet disinterested sacrifice of life in our cause, and the selfish, mercenary proceedings and unlimited cant of some of lire missionaries of our own Protestant persuasion.