FRIENDLY NATIVES.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 15, Issue 773, 28 March 1870, Page 4

FRIENDLY NATIVES.

[Nelson Examiner, 12tlj. March.] In proportion as a cause seems to become more and more desperate, its JjjUthful defenders wax louder and nents, and.recriminate more bitterly Jouder in denunciation of their oppoRmong themselves. We have, in comnion with all journals not devoted to the pi esenb Administration, carefully avoided any criticism upon the subordinate officers of the Government for whoso conduct it is responsible. This sort of criticism was indulged fn last year by the party now in power, and earned a merited reprobation; but we cannot fail to note that just now the supporters of Government begin to show a great desire to renew the practice. We hear of resistance to Mr Branigan, who in our opinion has been unfairly placed in a wholly false position, and one which for years the country cannot b? in a state for him to fill with advantage; wo see that Col. M'Donnell has gone to war with Colonel Fraser; and we have heard of some other indications of an ill re suit from the system of command and selection of officers adopted by the Government. We observe <-oo that, caricaturing in all things the acts of Mr Stafford's Ministry, Pr Pollen has been got rid of on a very paltry excuse. Mr M'Lean was dismissed boldly, because he prevented, as far as he could, (he employment of the ITgatiporou on the West Coast; and experience has justified Mr Stafford, by showing how useful a measure was that which the Hawke's Bay agent sought to obstruct; for the Ngatiporou at Patea have done valuable service, and Mr Fox has wisely left them where they were at length brought by Mr Stafford. We shall not now go into the case of Dr Pollen; it will doubtless be ventilated before long; but we wish to mark that the " detribali«ation " pf the natives, that is to say, the system of employing a few selected natives of a tribe in another part of the country where they have no local connections, and their management on the European system with European officers, or even native officers when, like Kemp (Te Kepa), they are fit for the purpose—has now pioved itself to be the most economical and useful mode of turning our friendlies to account. The old system, which Mr M'Lean preferred, is that of a lev/e en masse of a tribe under its own chief, to act chiefly against its native neighbors, who are in most cases nearly allied to them in blood. The vice of this system is threefold. First, it involves the payment of three or four times the number of men who are of any use; for, like ourselves all individuals of a Maori community are not fitted, physically or morally, for war. Secondly, it biiugs a tribe for the purpose of war, into contact with another for which it feels more sympathy than it does for ourselves, and there is neither hearty co-operation to be expected, nor is it even certain but that assistance, especially in the supply of ammunition, i.s not frequently thus obtained by the rebels Thirdly, the numbers become too large for discipline; the higher chiefs wield too much authority, which they do not always use to support our commanders; their numbers induce our officers to rely upon them, and they frequently use this as a fever to thwart him. In smali bodies of 70 or 100, under a good officer, selected natives become valuable auxiliaries, but they should never be our mainstay. A.s instances, we can point to the Arawa division, under Capt. Gundry, which was always a valuable force while it lasted; to the Ngatiporou conscabu lary, who have proved so useful a police at Patea; to Kemp's seveniy or eighty volunteers, who did all the fighting at Taupo, and who have since accompanied and doubtless really brought on Topia's horde from Wanganui to the Uiiwera country. ~Eo praise can be too great to Kemp's volunteers, whom he had the astuteness to train as we do, and to select carefully. He has kept them together, and they have done every thing that can be boasted of at all during this exceedingly long cam paign. Topia's halfhearted crowd, srany of whom are the late Waito-

tar* prisoners pardoned and armed by Mr Fox, began their march 500 or 600 strong Even Kemp could not make them up at. a reasonable! pace, and the} dwindled away to half their numbers, taking with them probably their arms and am j munition, but probably still drawing pay. That our view* are correct on this point, the Government now seems to recognise, lb now throws away another point of difference with the views of its predecessors, and declines any further to employ such an army as miscellaneous friendhes. The votes are nearly, if not quite done; Government are dealing on credit with their natives; and we feel sure, they will accomplish more, and pay less, on the principle we advocate, whenever native assistance is required.