THE Otago Daily Times. "Inveniam viam aut faciam." MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1861.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3, 18 November 1861, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times. " Inveniam viam aut faciam." MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1861.

Zealand, at the present time, is not unlike a board on which a game of chess is being plaj^ed between two unequal players.. Sir George Grey, with' the red men (the Maories), is playing the Provincial. Government who have the white men. Between such players what result can be looked for but easy victory to the great political strategist, even though the pieces he moves are deficient in force to those of his adversaries ? Sir, George Grey is playing for a great prize, with every advantage at his command \ to ensure success, and to induce him to risk failure. He is sent out with larger plenary powers than probably have ever been intrusted to a colonial governor, to put an end to a war which, entered into without the. intervention of the English .Government is necessarily very;- unpopular. "Great nations should not wage little wars," was the profound: aphorism of a profound statesman. The British Government, whilst war, is actually pending;, is denied: the privir lege of expressing its real opinion, concerning it. , A*confession, of disinclination to carry it on would be read as a sign of weakness, and

an admission that it might have-been, a voided, which:by implication would' be construed.into. its injustice, would draw down the censure of. the civilised world on the great country that could lightly enter into warefare with a £6wer* less- race,, entitled to the protection of JtKe* very; people who carried pn Ho^tUi-i: jtiea with it. Entailing a vast; expfen^e, detaining troops whose presence fiifr, much: required, containing no one elemeiit by which glory can be gained in case of success, and hedged-ronnd with circumstances that make the slightest reverses most disastrous, the iSTew; Zealand War must be utterly distasteful, to every Imperial statesman, and the man who will 1 put a.bloodless end to it; will be regarded as: a hero of no •common1..- order. There is scarcely a prize that colonial statesmen may aspire to, that will not be within the reach of Sir George Grey, should lie be enabled to render a good, account of the mission with which he is charged. Even the road-' to the gorgeous Vice-royalty of India will stretch fair and open before him, if he carry home with him to English public life, the reputation of having, by tact alone, saved England a distasteful War, and converted into a prosperous dependency a colony, which he found in the distracting throes of a hopelessly inglorious struggle. Sir George has a double purpose to keep in view,—a mere temporary patching up the quarrel would not be sufficient; he has at the same time to pnt an end to the War and to the causes that condused to it: To aid him in the task, he has besides the stimulus of great rewards, in case of success., large discretionery powers to fall back on, and the knowledge that, any failure that meets his efforts, he can always attribute to the state of affairs that existed previously to his arrival in the colony. To bring about a lasting settlement of the dispute, the course that obviously suggests itself is to put an end to the principal causes that contributed to produce it;, and first amongst these is the long-vexed question; of the right of the Maories to obtain the. highest price for their land without the Provincial Governments deriving intermediate profits. Sir George is inclined to sanction an arrangement of this kind, which, will serve another purpose besides disposing the Maories to im* mediately settle all their disputes with tho Europeans; By permitting the Maories to sell land, the safe preventive would be secured against future distnrbances, that their own interests would suffer by them. A's the Maoriea increased in wealth, they would acquire the conservatism which always accompanies dts possession. War would, be injuious to them, and ■ they would combine with the inifluential European classes to prevent it, and also to make a stand against the ultra-demor-cratical tide to which all young states are subject. Sir George sees clearly enough that there is little danger to be apprehended from placing the means of wealth at the command of the Maories. But we have said the sale by the Maories direct will answer a- second purpose—onei we will a^d, that Sir George Grey may consider as important as even the settlement of the. war; and this we take to be nothing less than the destruction of the Provincial Governments, "and the consolidation into a powerful State of the several divided interests of the federal Provinces. The purchase of land direct from the Maories must be the death blow? to the Provincial Governments. The Provinces of the Northern Island would. find their land revenue dwindle away to a: mere bagatelle, and would readily seize the means of sharing in-the. splendid resources of the Southern Island. On this point the interests of Nelson would be identical with ■ the North, Having disposed of all its land, any means ' of sharing in the land revenues of its neighbours would be welcome. The influence of Sir Geore Grey, backed by the active concurrence of the Northern Island and*bf Nelson, wmrld carry the j day, and the Provincial land revenues revert to, the General Government; From this there would scarcely be a step to the destruction of Provincial Governments altogether; We not expressing an opinion on the policy, or otherwise;■' of this ■ consummation. We are only exposing - the political chessboard, and showing- the Tesu;l6thktis likely to come to j>ass. Let us assume * that: events rare drifting in the direction we have poixitedi out, and eometo slibw the effect oh the Southern Island. Fdr the present the Middle Island has nothing'todo-but watbli- what is passing, but when the war question5 is settled, an; agitation of'the strongest- character mustl'be got up to. enforce a _ separation/ On ; this- ipoint Nelson would" be at one with \ the: rest of the island; the same-policy that would make it' desire to see - a termination to - the Provincial divisions, would make it prefer to join its future to its wealthy neighbours,, and dissolve the1 alliance with the "impoverished- > North. Let the Middle Island be only \ firm, united, and determined, and Sir George iGrey; seeing that he could not stem the tide, r would go with it, and.himself become the father of the; Colony of Southern New Zealand. If the South play its cards well, Sir George Grey will aid.- it; but if it .show, irresolution and internal division,- he will be found u in theranks of those whose selfish interests will make them offer, a deadly opposition to- the separafioa, on which the best. iiiterests of-the Middle Island depend.