The Patea Mail. (Published Wednesdays and Saturdays.) SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 1880.

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 496, 31 January 1880, Page 2

The Patea Mail. (Published Wednesdays and Saturdays.) SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 1880.

i Tun simple manner in which the : Colonial forces have taken possession of j the Waimatu Plains seems to give point I to tho argument of those who insist that the advance should have taken place long since, anti we are bound to admit that, ns far as our knowledge extends, it might have taken place just as safely j three months ago as on Monday last. ! Bn I as we, perhaps, cio not know evory- ! thing, we are inclined to give tlm Govcrnmeat tho benefit of the doubt, am! to say j that the thing has irvu well and wisely ; dune. Mca.ly-to-fighfc is a great peace- ; maker. His achievements in that way are often regarded as proof that ho exists in vain; but unharness him, and see what mice will begin to play. No doubt we were fairly ready to light some months ago, but there was thou a disagreeable chance of temporary reverses, ami of a lengthy struggle, which has now disappeared. Who will say that it was not worth the lime and the money to eliminate this element of chance from our operations ? it is highly probable that if the popular clamour had been yielded to, and a handful of raw recruits j hml been sent upon the Plains when the ploughing mania was at its height, the | eon airy would now have been engaged in a bloody and expensive war. .Fortunately tho wait-and-get-ready policy prevailed, and now we have an irresistabh; force on Government pay, hundreds of volunteers who have learned how to allow for the damage in Enfield cartridges, and, more than all, enemies whose mad enthusiasm, that would then have carried them io tho jaws of death, has evaporated a little. The diilerence between the position of Mr .Bryce on the Waima.te Plains and that of Mr Sheehan at Pariliaka was owing to tho preparation that lias been toward. No true Colonist could ’.visit a repetition of the humiliation indicted on the late Native Minister by To Width That famous scene rendered it quite clear that tho oulv way to approach the Maoris with dignity was sword in hand. For our own part we do not grudge any cost that enables the Government to approach those insolent savages, before whom the whole country has boon humiliated, with becoming dignity and authority. As no one affects more dignity than a Maori, so no one attaches more importance to it: no one will more heartily scorn and trample upon weakness and cringing, and no one will be more impressed with a high bearing supported by force. When, therefore, it is said that the mountains have been in labor and have brought forth a mouse, the answer is, that the littleness of the birth speaks volumes for tho midwife; better a mouse than a lion. And when it is asked why so much should have been spent on preparation when there is to he no war,-we reply —“ Why pay the doctor's bid when the patient Is not dead V’ The preparation was not to piovoko war, but to prevent it. As the settlement of tho country is pushed on, one ot two things must be —preparation without war, or war without preparation ; wo preler the former. The magnitude of the present crisis can scarcely be overrated. It is a tost case, and tho fate of the Waimato will determine the fate of millions of acres elsewhere. This is the first serious opposition that the Government have met during a lull of several years, and manifestly w;ry much depends on how it is treated. 'Should it he allowed to greatly improve the position of the natives, there will he a plentiful crop of imitations, in various parts of the Island, that will occupy Parliament, decide the fate of Ministries, absorb money, and crowd out useful legislation for years to couio. But if this first ease is firmly dealt with, and signally squashed, there will ben rational prospect of lengthened peace. We venture to hope that, whim the Government show that they will not take advantage of their present strength to impose on the Maoris severe terms, which would necessitate the maintaining of a strongforce for a number of years, they will also show that alter ail the ploughing, raving, and prophesying, they will give now only tire same terms as they offered at . Taos-- terms wore*, liberal, to a fault, and though it would be dangerous and unadvised to make them less liberal now, it would be at least as dangerous ;..u! nmMvHed lo make tlwm more liberal; . w,. : , v , i found that livey ,

disturbing peace, where will the end bo? It will be impossible always to maintain the present large force ; while it exists, therefore, its existence should be, justified to treating the Maoris to a view of a dignified Government that is able to compel obedience and resent insult. To Wbiti’s next move will be waited for with some interest, both by Europeans

and Natives. The Maoris feel that he is oall.-d upon to move, and his influence will wane rapidly if lie does not move well. Hitherto when cornered about Ids imfnlfiled prophesies, his followers have retorted, “ fo Wliiti is the same as the Government, they prophesied that they would lake the Plains, and have not done it. To White has as much right to wait as the Government has, you wait and .see.’’ The prophet’s turn has now fairly come, and ho lias made some promises that will be difficult to fulfil.