West Coast Politics.

Patea Mail, 17 January 1882, Page 3

West Coast Politics.

(from our correspondent.) Normanby.

The action of the Government in completely stamping out the last smouldering embers of Parihaka fanaticism is universally approved and applauded in the north. The destruction of the native crops might at first seem a heartless and wanton waste of Nature’s bounties. But their existence would be the pretext for the reassembling of the deluded people who have been so successfully expelled from their inflammatory fastness. Fanatics cannot be dealt with like ordinary men, and complete extermination is not only sound policy, but true humanity, A great noise was made by a few Southerners about the horrors of the so called anticipated war, but we, who better understand the position, were able to predict the bloodless onslaught which actually happened. Every day bears fresh evidence of the wisdom of Mr Bryce’s original proposal, and the blindness of the Government in not adopting it before, A couple of hundred men could then easily have dislodged the disaffected inmates of Parihaka, and saved the country the stupendous folly of literally throwing away nearly double the money realised by the sale of the confiscated lands. We should also have been spared th« ridiculous exhibition of seventeen hundred men, with Mr Bryce, at their head, armed to the teeth—with the eyes of England and all the world fixed upon them—making formidable preparations to attack two unprotected lunatics, and a number of harmless children and women, who, with a blush of unfeigned pleasure and surprise, welcomed their conquering passage through the gates of Parihaka ! “He made me mad to see him shine so brisk and smell so sweetf and talk so like a waiting gentleman of guns and drums and wounds,”