The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 1869.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 132, 8 June 1869, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 1869.

Isr the present dearth of all matter of merely local interest, we cannot, we believe, devote our columns to a better purpose than the publication of some of the more interesting portions of the papers kid upon the tables of the Houses of Assembly. On the present occasion we propose to quote largely from a memorandum by Mr. Stafford in reply to the Duke of Buckingham's despatch, in which be expresses his regret at the severe reverse sustained by the Colonial Forces .at Te Ruaruru, but declines to accede to -resolutions of the House of Representatives, which solicited the retention of one regiment in the Colony, upon conditions proposed by thejEarl of Carnarvon, namely the expenditure by the Colony of £50,000 per annum upon the Maori race. Mr. Stafford accuses the Imperial Government of having receded' from these conditions, and states that the terms on which it is proposed to allow a regiment to remain are virtually equal to its withdrawal, it being absolutely impossible to retain the troop3 upon the propoeed conditions, which are briefly these — that while the Colony is to pay £40 per bead for the services of the troops, " those services are expressly not available, for carrying out a Colonial policy, whilst the Imperial Government have declined to have any policy of their ;own in New Zealand. The presence of , ; ;^e; troops would not, therefore* relieve the ; CJolony from the necessity ef maintaining ;:any /part of the force they now employ for [ active yseryices and the. payment of £40 i|^r ;^adv;fpr trained .soldiers, although, it |^ig|ifc^^^ : ;^g^u9{.Jip%.,of econqmy, _ ■ ! additioih tbiheiburdens '• ;|||^|]|£^ ;

The memorandum proceeds to state that — "The Legi&lature, in their resolutions of last session, did not recede from the principle which they had embraced on many previous occasions. They adhered lo the determination to provide, out of Colonial resources for the active defence of the Colouy, and sought to retain only the moral support of the Imperial flag, which was about to be withdrawn at u critical moment. Under the circumstances, Ministers would not wish to discuss the question further., were it not that the despatch alluded to contains statements and arguments meant (in conformity with a not uncommon practice) to administer a reproof to the Colonial Government and Legislature, the justice of which cannot be tacitly admitted. Mr. Stafford here goes into an elaborate defence of the Colonists, and an explanation of the relative positions of the Europeans and Maoris in the North Island, in which he has placed the matter go clearly that we cannot do otherwise than give hi^ statement at length: — The fallacious inference contained in the statement that 220,000 Europeans, aided by loyal Natives, are ''able to defend themselves, if they make proper arrangements, against a few thousand disaffected Natives, of whom a few hundred only appear to be at present in arms," has often been pointed out to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. The statement is true enough literally, and the European population have for three years past beeu so defending themselves. But the reproach implied, that the colonists are cowardly, and remiss in their exertions, is unjust. It is as if, supposing a force of half-a-million armed rebels to occupy the centre of Scotland or Ireland, making murderous raids in all directions, the industrious and peaceful inhabitants were, upon asking for a few regiments iu Edinburgh or Dublin, to be taunted with the statement that the British Islands contained thirty millions of soul?, who, with good arrangements, ought to protect themselves. Such a taunt, thoughtless in itself, ought not lo be ca^t against a Colony which, under Imperial leaders, has incurred a war debt larger per head of its population than the national debt of Great Britain. Nor is the Colonial Office excusable if it is ignorant that of the 220,000 Europeans in New Zealand, two-thirds occupy the South Islaud, safe from menace by savage neighbors; that, of the remaining third, one-half occupy the large towns of Auckland and Wellington in almost equal security; and the rest, whose lives aud property are at stake, are a bare sixth, living along a coast line of 1000 miles in length; whilst the disaffected tribes are inland, unencumbered by property or by civilised habits and wants, aud their movements covered by dense forests and mountain ranges. Other fact?, which should be well known at the Colonial Office as to the proportion of adult males, magnify the injustice. Those who sneer at the defensive arrangements of the Colony should reeollect that wheu one of Englaud's best generals, afc the head of 10,000 British soldiers, and 5000 Colonial auxiliaries, besides friendly natives, encountered the same foe whom the Colony has now to face (but at a time when that foe was less experienced), the result was neither brilliant nor conclusive. If so, a Colony, exhausted in purs3, yet straining ■ every nerve, may be spared sneers for having preferred so modest a request for aid," . Mr. Stafford then goes into the question of the abandonment by the Home Government of all control over Native policy, which he denies was conditional ou being totally relieved from any responsibility in respect of the military defence of the settlers; neither does he allow that ifc was, as suggested, a favor conferred on the Colony afc its own request, but a burden imposed upon it in spite of earnest remonstrances. When the ImperiarGovernment proposed to abdicate responsibility, the New Zealand Legislature deliberately declared their unwillingness to relieve the Empire from it, and addresses from both . Houses to Her Majesty were passed, setting forth the objections to such a transfer. In the face,-., 'however, of these protests, the responsibility was thrust upon the Colony,. :ai bDSbi-Hrijdi in Ukia^ifc up usoi the

following emphatic words: "The House recognises the thoroughly efficient aid which Her Majesty's Imperial Government is now affording for the establishment of law aud order, and relying on the cordial co-operation of the Imperial Government for the future, cheerfully accepts the responsibility." Afterwards, in 1864, the ill effects of divided authority — during a war not then endod — led the Legislature to propose the withdrawal of the troops, but ihe request for their removal was qualified by the expression " at the earliest period consistent with the maintenance of Imperial interest, and the safety of the Colony." Mr. Stafford considers that he has shown that " His Grace's statement teems with inaccuracies and auachrouisms," aud proceeds lo show that the Imperial Government appeared, for a long time after declining authority in the matte I ', to hare had an indistinct .impression, that it was not possible —or not honorable — to divest themselves of their duty to the Maori race, and consequently made stipulations from time to time that sums should be expended for "Native purposes," such a stipulation forming the basis of Lord Carnarvon's despatch aud offer of Imperial aid. This stipulation, though not formally accepted, had been constantly complied with iu piactice, and the services of one Imperial regiment had been enjoyed up to the date of the defeat of the Colonial forces -under Colonel M'Donnc-11, at which time the Legislature, in the distress of the Colony, resolved to accept the terms formally. Iu the meantime, tho Imperial Government seems to have ceased fo recognise that it has any duty or responsibility with respect to either one race or t'ie other. The despatch under review revokes Lord Carnarvon's offer, strangely asserting at the same time that the Colonial Government aud Legislature, in their express acceptance of the conditions dictated by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, " merely requested that a Britisli regiment may be allowed to remain in the Colony, without any condition whatever." Mr. Stafford concludes this masterly memorandum in the following words: — His Grace's statements aud reasoning are perhaps good enough to furnish out a foregone conclusion, and their defectiveness is only referred to iu defeuce of the character of the Colony for energy and intelligence, consistency and sincerity. Along with the total refusal of help, in a time of great trial, the Colony would have learned with lively interest the views entertained by the Imperial Government as to the relations which should for the future exist between the Empire and its distant offshoot. The total silence of His Grace on this subject ( for it can surely not be intended that the interchange of condolences aod reproaches is to be the only future nexus), and the absence of any indication of a positive polie}', deepen the peculiar impression made by the Despatch of the ] 3th December last.