THE GOVERNOR’S SPEECH.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 6, Issue 297, 14 August 1865, Page 1

THE GOVERNOR’S SPEECH.

[Prom the Dally Southern Cross, August 2nd.] The anticipations of tne public with respect to the Governor’s speech on opening the present session must have been very wild indeed if they have not been greatly more than fulfilled by the reality. Of all the speeches, either emanating from Sir George Grey himself or his various Governments, that delivered at Wellington ou the 26th of last month certainly bears away the palm, as by far the most remarkable and incomprehensible one. Throughout, the speech is of the most congratulatory character. It is a matter of congratulation that the partial establishment of peace has been secured; it is delightful to think that the Home Government is about to withdraw the forces whether we will or not, although the Governor has repeatedly expressed his conviction that it could not be done safely; it is a subject for unmitigated congratulation that the Wereroa Pa has been taken, and it is of hardly less consequence that it was the Governor and the colonial troops who were most the active agents in its accomplishment. The colony is congratulated very heartily upon the improved state of Taranaki, and. on the immediate prospect of its ceasing to be a source of weakness to New Zealand; and it receives hardly less felicitation on the subject of the ability displayed by the colonial forces in all operations undertaken by them. So far of the general state of the colony. But the Governor’s congratulations are by no means at an end here. The House of Kepresenta fives is very warmly congratulated ou the financial successes of the present Ministry, and a few 'things are pointed out upon the removal of which there can be no reasonable doubt tbe present Government would fie able to make New Zealaud at once the most peaceful and the most prosperous of colonies. The Governor is specially gratified that by an improved system of keeping the accounts—introduced, it need hardly be said by the present Ministry—the benighted public of New Zealaud can now see exactly how much money has been collected and how--much sp nt. There is less satisfaction derived apparently from the Panama contract, but yet it is very far above the average of the satisfaction which other Governments have had any call to feel;, and although the Government does not congratulate the House it evidently expects the house to congratulate ■it upon its wisdom in taking.measures for introducing native members into our Legislature. Such are the main points of the

remarkable document recited by Sir George Grey on opening the session of 1885. Even to glance at them all would be a work of greater extent than we have space for in one article; so at present we shall confine ourselves to a few comments upon the Government’s views of the state of the colony in its relations to the native race. The Parliament is congratulated on “ the partial establishment of peace, and the suppression of the insurrection in several districts in this island.” Now, it is important to understand the idea which the Government entertains of the meaning of words in such a case as this. What is a “partial establishment of peace?” Is it to be translated into common English, as the establishment of a partial peace, or, in other words, of a truce , between the two bodies of combatants ? Or is a partial establishment of peace merely the establishment of a firm peace over part of the territory formerly the scene of war ? It is not easy, we may as well confess, to make up the mind as to which is the true rendering of the somewhat enigmatical phrase. The first version is perhaps less grammatically probable than the second, but it is not difficult to arrive at the conclusion that it is far nearer to the truth. In Waikato, we may certainly say that an armed truce does exist between the natives and Europeans. Yet even here there is a difficulty—the truce that exists now is neither more nor less partial than it was at the moment of the Weld Government’s assumption of offiee. It would be, even for the present Government we should fancy, almost too great a stretch of fancy to imagine they had any right to congratulate the country upon an event with which not only they had nothing to do, but which their predecessors had much to do with. But the difficulty with the second rendering of the statement is even greater’, for we are at pace met by the question : Where is the favored district spoken of where peace is established now, and in which it was not established when the present Ministry came into office ? We know of a good many districts that were at peace when the present Government took office, that are not partially, but wholly plunged in war; we know not of a single district, however minute, which has advanced from a state of war to one of peace in any sense which that word can properly be made to bear. Yet, surely this is what the Government would fain have us give credence to. The next sentence proclaims this, we imagine, in very unmistakable terms. For there we are congratulated upon the {alleged) fact that the insurrection has been suppressed in several districts of this island. People here must naturally feel both astonished and indignant at this statement, as they know of no such districts as are referred to here. They must, however, be content to be guided by Mr Weld’s superior knowledge. He knows, if they do not, of some such places where rampant insurrection has been summarily crushed by his energy and that of his colleagues. It is true that no advance of any kind has been made in any district of the Waikato country towards a more satisfactory state of things. It is true that many districts not disaffected when the Weld Government took office have become the scenes of the wildest and worst species of rebellion and outrage. It is true that at Taranaki men and officers are waylaid and shot now as much as everbefore, and perhapsashade more daringly than formerly. And it cannot be denied that at this moment the Wanganui district (which we may remark was comparatively peaceful when Mr Weld took office) swarms with enemies more daring than ever, who even menace our redoubts with capture. But then we forget the famous campaign in the Wellington districts against the fanatics. We do not think sufficiently of the terrible dangers' so boldly met, and so boldly overcome, by a Wellington Resi dent Magistrate, who stretched out the strong arm of the law, and with a cavalry troop gallantly suppressed a dozen or so of old men and women, bent upon anything in the .world but mischief! Tins is the only way in which we can reconcile facts with Mr Weld’s statements; and wo think ourselves bound to give them the benefit of it, rather than brand them as knowingly giving a false version with .a view to deceiving the public, both in the South and in as to the real state of matters.