Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1870.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 16, Issue 888, 9 December 1870, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1870.

A recent telegram from Auckland informed us of an attack by four armed Nath es upon a survey party at a place palled Pirpnga, on the boundary of the confiscated land, the circumstances being the surveyors quietly breakfasting in their tent, a volley fired in upon them by the rebels, and the almost instant fleatli of Richard Todd, the head of the survey party, who w as shot through 'be heart. This attack, be it remembered, follqws almost directly upon the pacific action of the Government in restoring to the rebel tribes some 20,000 acres of this confiscated land. This action on the part pf the Government was cundemned by the Auckland press as most "idiotic," when rumors of its intention were first bruited aJ:>roap!, and if, as we may suppose was the case, it ■was hoped that the cession would stave pff overt acts of rebellion for a time, it serves to show how egregiously the (government has been mistaken. Mr McLean is an adept in giving away the |ands pf the Crown, for in addition to shese 20,000 acres in Waikato, be has giyen another block or rather blocks of land to the disaffected Natives at Manawatu by way of <r settling " the difficulty ' One of those blocks contains 1,500 acres, and though the number and extent of the others are noo stated, we are told that " other reserves of congwjeratjle extent have been made " for iht* l ! " W 4s e re,nt psrts of |he block."

AU tliis, as we have said, by way of settling a difficulty, and one that has been already " settled " more than, once before, by the solemn decision, after full investigation, of the ..Judges, whose verdict- was that these disaffected Natives had not light or claim to the land. But it is singular that while these unjustifiable, and we believe we may say unconstitutional attempts at conciliation are being made, the (government attempts to persuade the settlers that there is no need for them. We are constantly being assured that the Natives are most ioyal. and desirous tolive in peace with the settlers. Unfortunately, circumstances do not bear out such assertions. The very fact of such unwise concessions being made is proof to the contrary, and the recent murder shows that such is the case. Mr M'Lean ought to know, as well as anyone that this temporising and pandering policy will fail of its intended effect. Instead of pacifying it encourages to rebellion, —the Maori concluding that the Pakeha would not act as he does if he was not afraid; and so he is urged on by the very means taken to slay him. There are, however, other indications of the state of the Native mind besides those we have noted. It is a fact that whenever an outbreak is intended much parade is made by the rebels of their peaceful attitude. An instance of this kind has also occurred. A native named Ihaia has recently travelled from Taranaki to Waikato and back, and he reports "everything as peacefully inclined," with much more of a like nature. We received his report with suspicion, and it was but a day or two before that suspicion was confirmed by the Waikato murdei ; and even while we write alarm is felt by the settlers of Tauranga and Opotiki in consequence of the threatening attitude of the irrepressible Te Kooti, who, it seems, is in some force in that vicinity.

Shall we ever have a Ministry that vill'deal firmly with the natives?— one that will not stoop to such paltry bribery to gain time and credit at the expense of future horrors % —one that will uphold tiie decision of the law and punish aggressors? Not, we believe, until some swere calamity has taught us, in term* unniistakeable, th*»t temporising and bribery is not the way to deal with rebels.