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New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4228, 8 October 1874, Page 2

Lieutenant-Colonel A. H. Russell, lately of the 58th regiment, formerly a military officer in New Zealand, and subsequently a settler in Canterbury and a member of the Council, has written a letter to the London Times in which he has given his views respecting the manner in which Fiji should be annexed. He was at Kandavau when the provisional annexation wa3 announced by Mr. Consul Layard, and the idea occurred to him that if the British Government did not act discreetly, there might be a repetition of New Zealand experience. The treaty of Waitangi, agreed to by various chiefs, was not accepted as binding by all the Natives. It professed to give to the Queen the shadow, and to the Natives the substance. They retaining absolute power in the disposal of their lands, the Queen having only a pre-emptive right of purchase. No doubt the Lieutenant-Colonel' gives a tolerably correct sketch of the treaty, which consists of three articles. The first gives sovereignty to Her Majesty. The second gives " full, exclusive and undisturbed possession of their lands, estates, forests, and fisheries," to the chiefs and tribes, Her Majesty having a pre-emptive right of purchase ; and the third extends royal protection. But its result was, according to Lieutenant - Colonel Russell, bloodshed and murder. What then, he argued, might be the result if a treaty of the same kind were made in Fiji, where there is a reported Native population of 140,000 souls, if such disaster attended here where there was not half the number ? Here, at one time, 10,000 Imperial and 5000 Colonial soldiers were in the field. Some suggestions were thrown out to avoid such a break-out in Fiji. Lieutenant-Colonel Russell suggested something in the form of a plebiscite ; that the revenue should be locally expended ; that the country should be opened by roads ; and that a small Colonial force should be maintained, equal to emergency—in fact, that New Zealand experience should be utilised in the Government of Fiji. This has been our line of argument in discussing the question of the annexation of Fiji.

The Benchers of Gray's Inn decided that Dr. Kenealy was the editor of a publication called the Englishman ; that it was replete with libels of the grossest character ; and that Dr. Kenealy, being editor, was unfit to be a Member of the Bench of this honorable Society. The Times, commenting upon this decision, said that it could "only be taken to imply that the manner in which Dr. Kenealy had recently been acting rendered him unfit for the company of gentlemen." The paper, it said, had " been, devoted to a continuation of the controversy decided by the late trial, and its whole object had been to keeji alive and inflame the vulgar prejudices and passions to which Arthur Orton had appealed." The publication of it was " a disgraceful exhibition of ignorance and ])assion." The 'Times thinks that the sympathy exhibited for Orton forms one of " the strongest instances ever known of the fast that there is no delusion, however gross, of which the human mind is not capable. It was a spectacle of which the country had reason to feel ashamed, and it indicated how far the enlightenment sometimes boasted of was distant."

If we may judge from a return of the loss in the India and China trade during the past twelve months, the prospects of underwriters must be at a very low ebb. Some other Plimsoll is required to effect a reform in the' steam navigation of the ocean. Since June, 1873, the Drummond-Castle, from China, has been totally wrecked ; the Singapore also ; the Arcturus, from Calcutta ; the Woolsung, from Calcutta ; the Queen Elizabeth, from Canton ; and the Gordon Castlo. This fine fleet of steamers, built on the newest and most approved principles, represents to the country a lbss of over a million sterling. The suggestion has been thrown out that as-the loss has principally been caused by the carelessness of captains, they should undergo a stricter examination than they do,- and be liable to be punished, beside the forfeiture of their certificates, when they lose a vessel in a culpable maimer. Also, that the number of inferior officers in the steamers should, in the interest of underwriters, who otherwise must increase the premiums on insurance, be added to.

The efforts of the Japanese Government to instruct the youth of that country in European languages, arts, and sciences, by sending them to European Colleges, would appear not to have been attended with the success . that could have been desired for so enlightened an effort. We observe from a late number of the Japan Mail that examinations were held at Yeddo not long ago of the recalled students, and that it was found they had not derived the benefit irom their residence abroad which was intended and hoped for when the idea of sending them to Europe and America was first acted upon. This is to be regretted. The rulers of Japan, however, appear to be singularly intelligent, and this partial failure has by no means discouraged them. . They have arrived at a resolution that young students shall still go abroad, but have wisely determined that the privilege shall only be accorded to those who pass certain examinations, after a previous course of study in Japan, by which they will be fitted to take full advantage of a subsequent residence abroad. Education, it is apparent, is receiving an amount of attention in Japan which is one of the surprises of the age.