THE STANDARD. SATURDAY, AUGUST 30, 1873.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 83, 30 August 1873, Page 2

THE STANDARD.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30, 1873.

“ We shall sell to no man justice or right's We shall deny to no man justice or right: We shall defer to no man justice or right.”

•c The Petition which we print to-day, .and which has received the support and signature of most of the settlers, should be a convincing proof that a course has been shaped, which they have decided upon as necessary under the circumstances; and that there is a peculiarly unanimous desire on their part to support the General Government if it 7be ~ but Just before., it be;. generous, and gives a practical proof of it without further delay. The Petition, as our readers are aware, ' A is intended 1 to be presented to the House, of Representatives. It setsforth some . ,jnf.|he pauses which led up .to the Recent itisturbanees here, and fi daily caused an adjournment of the Cession Commission . r nfitil the pleasure pf. the ; government " was ascertained. ~ 7 !

-•- ,64. / A There can -he no doubt that the 9 .r.(government and the Houts?, will discountenance any petitions which pray • •■•for a repetition of what has recently -taken place here and at Hawke’s Bsjy. It is true that at the iatfer 'place no overt feeling of opposition manifested itself'; but that was chiefly erwing to the moral The Government to maintain peace at any price. The natives far as they dare, — (and that- is not saying little^--ahd 2 /much ,fur|thpr, in an insolent beariiHf [to w the ~ i ih,an . .any European would, have been allowed to do*. 1 Perjury was promiwht-amongst Them as'a"mentis well adapted to-the end; and the first and. only attempt, made to’ cßjjßii©te,w4as perforce, hushed up— Burked, in fact, to avoid the .impending .^tormt' Rut it is not —it must—not be so here. - If 4 .jthe <jf to be heard; if the oecupation of, the coimtry . is .to bejkejft up' 'if “we are to retain * our pTaces in the Colony, a total reygrsal of, policy which Has obtained in the, so-called, interests of the natives, must take place, and at once.

The Petition, to’ory: not go far enougfc7“fron not malleable in cold dwan cannot be restrainedt ire tn-dicing the shore, with a broom fotadJe. , white heat of a — such as the people here resolved to carry out constitutionally-— is necessary to unfftrge, so to speak, the bajgls of a mobocracy; a bold,, <bJhl, front ■fef 'required to withstand wave-like ? SBftg r whjch ev^ 4 andfahoife us with destructive iniMjHatio|ft. feive both at Mheir shoidjd they make friends with the mammon" of unrighteousness ; but put a confidence in the yeoman spirit of their truest friends, the settlenr who have already tendered a'

signal service. _ ; „ > MTe.hope the Ho usd will not only ; not “ receive the representations of Hen are Matua with caution, but that it will indignantly reject a petition from men who are, in every, phase in which their <iih Be viewed, ihjtig^tors ITtb(sedit i(>fi, 'tmcHmmmdrt' peacebreakefrs’wnom to instantly incarcerate, is the most bounden duty pf{ the' jGdyerntnept. 3 wish to put this - matter ’in a reasonable and intelligent light. The effect of z past disturbances is already* felt; men with capital will shun the district if prompt 'action be hot taken ; therefore we say let there be no half T ipeasures. Strike at the root of the evil, and the branches will fall easily enough. Impeach the men who have so recklessly kindled the’embers of insurrection; and let there be no difference made between natives and Europeans when they rebel to such a treasonous extent as to set at nought the dignity*and authority of the Crown itself. \

As will be seen in another column, the prompt energy displayed by the settlers of the Bay, on the occasionof a threatened breach of the peace, by the natives who succeeded’ in temporarily: suspending the business of the Commission, has borne protection of the residents, has sat un-, interruptedly duripg the and one block at least—the Waikohu —has been satisfactorily adjudicated 0n... , Of course it is still' opbn to doubt as to which we are indebted mpst for this, the resolution of the Government or the forbearance, or rather withdrawal, of the, natives. It is humiliating to . write thus ; but,c although we are glad to find that the Commission was not forced to yield to the wild demonstrations of a mob, we cannot be blind to the fact that had Hen are Matua stayed here with his followers, and they maintained their attitude of defiance, the Government.

were not disposed to take up the responsibility of asserting their authority. All honor, nevertheless, to the moral support given, and the physical help promised by; the settlers; put as the Governniertt have bfeen silent on the terms of the resolution passed at the meeting, which declared the readiness of the people to shield the Commission and uphold the dignity of the Crown, we doubt if sanction would have been given to offer any resistance, so long as the natives could be pacified through our passive humiliation. It is but right that the Government and the country should know the true state of affairs, therefore we adopt the plainest language necessary to that end.