New Zealand Times. TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 1875.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4352, 2 March 1875, Page 2

New Zealand Times. TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 1875.

l We are likely soon to have Sir Donald ■McLean: and Dr. Pollen .back at -the ‘ Seat bf Government,-where their presence, ■ will fao doubt be welboirie.' 'During their' I absence' in The North, ' however, ithey' i have‘not been idle. The Colonial Seore- - tary has had important—administrative 7 -details to deal' .with; .requiring hia; per- • sorial supervision'; and the Native Minister' - Has: completed the pacification of the country, by securing the adhesion . rriLthb Magri,Kicg, in, which great work he has been 1 -almost continuously employed since his accession-to office in 1869; " -It would be impossible to say at what “date - TawhiaA -will formally 'accept 'the new I order of things, and remove the - atihdii. which separates i-his- adherents’ territory from the‘rest of the colony; ? but there are indications that this event will nOt be long delayed. Meanwhile the'ice has been broken. Step by step, Tawhxao ■ approached the Native .Minister, until at 1 last he went the length of inviting him to" meet him .within the proscribed' district., What, took place at that, interview need not be repeated jin this place ; it : ii~ too fresh in the ..recollection of pur readers to .have been forgotten by them. But? the effect was soon : after manifest. All opposition to the opening of Ohinemuri disappeared, and Sir Donald McLean arid his colleagues, have" the satisfaction of knowing -that the only cause of serious apprehension in the North Island has been- removed. The coristant irritation of the two races, occasioned --by the Ohinemuri question, was undoubtedly a ■source of anxiety to the Government, and to-all who were in any way,,pljayged with the riiaintenance of the peace-in Native _distriota..._What_between. teasing _and ■menaces on the one side, and threats and) stubborn refusal on the other,,-.the position was one of great difficulty. But all this is over now- - No sooner did Tawhiao meet Sir Donald MoLean, and :discuss race differences, 1 narrowing the issue to the one point of - submission to the supremacy of the law, than’the Wardens of the Ohinemuri Marches—Tb . HiuA and Te Moananci-—gave a gracious assent to the Government proposals for opening that country for gold mining.. The key to the King’s country .was. thus, surrendered, by Tawhiao’s ..lieutenants; and the: Maori j potentate, on? his part, indicated as : plainly as ?-need bo, that the beautiful harbor of Kawhia, with the fertile lands adjoining, would not long bo closed against European -enterprise. Indeed, the recent overland journey of four Europeans from Auckland to'New Plymouth, by Kawhia and Mokau, through the very heart of Maoridbm, so to.speak, is pretty conclusive evidence on this point. We therefore congratulate Sir Donald ~ McLean bn the unqualified,success of ; his Native administration. It has been firm yet conciliatory; and while upholding the dignity of the Crown, and affirming the supremacy of the_law, the’ Native; Minister has always treated the leading' chiefs' with deference, and cornplied, with every just, and reasonable, request,' * .It would have been well for New Zealand if the. policy of Sir?Donald,MqLEANrJiad. always been pursued. But fab wasearly thrown -over-in -the turmoil -of political strife,.and’forgotten during tha wild excitement of war. It was only when the colony lay gasping in the death throes

that he was sent for; and from that day until this, with the exception of a single month in which Mr. Stafford succeeded in dangerously unsettling the'Native mind, he has pursued a uniformsystem, which has secured alike the confidence of Maoris and Europeans. Honor, therefore, to whom honor is due. The sole credit of the pacification of the North Island, and the friendship of the Maori King, is due to the Native Minister. His colleagues wisely abstained from interfering with him. They had confidence in his Judgment and loyalty, and they were not deceived. At such a time, it is only right and proper to bear public testimony to the services of a deserving public man. Whatever, therefore, may be the chance or change of public life ; whatever party may be in power, the position of Sir Donald McLean is assured. His public services speak for themselves; and he will stand out from his fellows as the one man of commanding talent in New Zealand, who has been able successfully to grapple with and adjust the conflicting and difficult questions at issue between the Maoris and the Government of the Colony, without resort to arms, without confusion, and without making humiliating concessions.