THE VOLKNER MURDER.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume V, Issue 254, 19 April 1865, Page 3

THE VOLKNER MURDER.

The Sydney Morning Herald has the following pertinent remarks on this subject, and the war generally:— “Our readers will peruse, with feelings of horror, the account of the murder of a worthy clergyman in New Zealand by the natives, whose death seems to fix the character of that rebellion too long tolerated by the British nation. Everyone will sympathise with the sufferer in the agony of unavailing appeal to the people among whom he had lived as a father and friend, and admire the dignity of his resignation, when he felt that it was his sole business to die. The treatment of his remains, however atrocious, is indeed of no other importance than the anguish such scenes will create in the hearts that may have loved him. The time will come when those who witnessed his sacrifice will avenge his death in the only way such sufferers desire. The sudden adoption of a vile superstition, mixing all the most frightful remnants of heathenism with some perverted ideas of Christianity is one of the notable results of this war. It is probably, the native scheme to create a more profound chasm between the two races by a new religion. If any Europeans have been parties to this policy, they will view, we hope, not without horror the work of their guilty hands. The conduct of some of the natives shows tnatthe rebellion and apostacy is not universal. The herioc conduct of the friendly tribes shows that some are capable of more generous sentiments, and that all the money and care bestowed in their civilisation has not been lost. The fall of John Williams, a much respected chieftan, who led on one of these parties, and the honors paid to his memory by both races is a relief to darker scenes, and warrants the hope that we will find courageous defenders in the people, so well worth our consistent and discriminating solicitude. When these fact reach England, they will surely understand that the New Zealand question is something more serious than a equable between petty political factions or a dispute about land. It must be remembered that these men who witnessed, suffered, and perpetrated this atrocity an others of a similar nature, are subjects of the Queen. Most of them have grown up under this obligation. They received for years together every token of goodwill a Government could give to a semi-civi-lised people. They wore nursed with a solicitude which sometimes looked like blind fondness and, often tampered with duties and rights which can never be sacrificed to expediency, or even humanity, without danger; and now we see the consequences. We do not invoke vengeance on these people. The blood-stained priest certainly ought not to live, but it is no Indian revenge that we should applaud. What we hope to see is the renunciation of every illusion and the assertion of British authority by men who will not hesitate to strike, when it is nesesary, to subdue, and who will end, at once and for ever, a pernicious distinction between crimes committed by the natives against each other, and those perpetrated on Europeans. We may discriminate, but they will not, and the slaughter of the clergyman, with all the forms of the new religion, will surely end the mistaken supposition that Maori rebellion is for “law and order.” The report of the operations of the English troops is not very sasisfactorv. The immense force so costly to England and the colony seems as yet scarcely a principle in the war; hut it is not safe to judge the movementt of a general until time shall explain his plans by their result. We have long wished for a decisive blow, —and the honor of our troops seems to demand * clear and effective success.”

The Unfortunate PEomrcE.—With reference to the unfortunate position of the province of Southland, the News says The crisis in our provincial disease has at length arrived—tho precise moment at which.it becoases no longer possible, without the deliberate sacrifice of the patien t herself, to defer resorting to the only remedy which the wisdom and sagacity of her advisers deem at all likely to meet the case. We have it Upon good authority that a summons has been issued against His Honor the Superintendent by a Government servant, for payment, of arrears of wages extending over a period of eight months ; and, as a matter of course, judgment will be given for plaintiff. Having proceeded thus far, we may ask, “ Oui lono Will the obtaining judgment bring the money? If *), y?e would sav to all.the employees of Government in a like ease, Go and do likewise. In fact, we think our advice on this scor-'KWould not be needed ; but with an empty treasury, it will be admitted it is not a matter of much consequence who comes first for payment. We cannot conceive a more humiliating position in which the Government of any State or Province can be placed than that of being unable to discharge the comparatively small demands of the public servants. . . ... .

In these circumstances, we understand His Honor the Superintendent contemplates a visit to the Seat of Government, with a view to the representation of our case at head-quarters, and thus to obtain relief. We have no great faith in the result. We remember that two similar applications have produced very little benefit. The last oceassion, being the visit of Mr Pearson—specially deputed to plead our cause—produced no tangible result, beyo id the payment by ourselves of the messenger’s travelling expenses. The sum and substance of Mr Pearson’s report was, that unfortunately he found the Ministry of the day too busy with their own concerns to spare a moment to think on unfortunate Southland, and that the Government had too many wavs for the disposal of its own hard cash to be able to bestow any of that upon us, or put us in the way of getting any for ourselves. As the purport of Mr. Taylor’s mission to Wellington is precisely similar, we have a right to inquire what are the peculiarly favorable circumstances which entitle us to hope for a favorable result from bis diplomatic skill ? We cannot see that we have made out any special ease, or that in our present application we add nay new feature of existing distress to those with which the General Government is acquainted. On the specific ground of the introduction of apian for extricating ourselves from our difficulties, we fail to make out any case. The only measure which could by any possibility help us, is a liberal Land Bill, and there has been no attempt to introduce such a measure.”

The Ret. C. H. SptjH&Eois.-— We understand, from a correspondent, that the Her. 0. H. Spurgeon (or Mr. Spurgeon, as lie now modestly calls himself) is to publish, on the Ist of Januarv, a new monthly magazine, entitled “The Sword and the Trowel: a Record of Combat with Sin, and Labor for the Lord.” The magazine will contain articles of general interest and an account of the progress made by the numerous churches established through the instrumentality of Mr Spurgeon, and the church over which he is pastor. The rev. gentleman also intends to compile a new hymnhook for the use of his congregation. It is said that the sermon on Baptismal Regeneration, which has recently brought such a hornet’s nest about Mr Spurgeon’s cars, has reached the enormous sale of 200,000.

-ulilkis s ani> Talking.— A correspondent asks : —Does it affect the quantity of milk a cow can give, if conversation is carried on between (lie milkers when milking F We do not think there is any doubt about it, especially when the dairy is made up of young cows. We would not have a loud-talking milker in fho shed. It would bo better, without doubt, if conversation was entirely tabooed when milking. We remember soma years ago, a dairy man asserted at a meeting of a farmers’ club that he had discharged a man because he would talk, and interrupt the milking in his dairy, and that in three days the increase in milk was equal to a man’s wages. This is a very important fact,if it is established.