THE NATIVE WAR.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 47, 17 September 1864, Page 3

THE NATIVE WAR.

& ' Times, September -i.), . 4 . ■s ■■ •:. -ii o c ii ... .ri'-:y-'^.<^s:iv ,-xh..^ : ■; : ■' The news .by the l ~ from tW 3 -sprth; h is/-^^^ couragirig iO . r 'chj&a^r^ ; which; j^evious > $ ey.ents:> had - in" some measure led us to expeefc ; The cbnferenceofaSir. George Gtb,et i and GeneraI^XDAMEROK-with jtlie D l Native's 2 was • satisfactory, .jit r/ concliißivU/tliat ; a section of the L " that further resistance to the Queen's ,au- *■ -thority was-" utterly -useless, and might 0 " only le^d ; to;3^e :adpplion ; by the Gpvern.jnent of, I '''fevo^J)J^ I tc|i?n?,. includ- * l^igCT proportion: *ak of ', native* territory.. . .The. . .announcement ii^itfy-«Sff-*&BOBGE"&BBT, that ; ; only one- :- J :° ipiirtli o£ the captured territory Svould be ' f • was received; very gratefully by J - 3b^^abrieß preserit/ and awish wasexy" o pressed that .the .- , decision .-. might jbe carried out <as - soon as possible. But - " whilst admitting that this conference will " " have a 'beneficial effect on the native mind o <;£enerailyp because, : showing that the ■' .Crownhave no .intention or wish to deal more harshly with the natives than ciro cumstances .have rendered absolutely -necessary^ we ' cannot see that the, extravagant hopes- expressed by some; of the' Northern journals are war--.v::>ranted by the facts. It. was com- - monly reported' not only that WilT: ■ xiam Thompson was desirous of peace, " : 'but that he. had actually solicited an :. /interview with the Governor, in order v to ascertain the terms upon which his submission would be accepted. "We now "learn that no such meeting had taken place, and that William Thompson had not, up to the time the mail left, tendered " his submission. We are left altogether '■ in ignorance as to what his intentions for 8 the future may be, but it certainly strikes us! as strange, that if, as was said, he had determined on making his peace, and submitting to British authority, he did not make his appearance at the conference, which of course he was well aware was going to take place. It may be, as • has been justly observed by a contemporary, that Wh-liamThompson did not •consider it safe, to come in unless he had in the first place a guarantee for his personal safety. He may have been quite prepared to accept terms, but knowing well the great influence which he exercised over his followers, and also the importance which was attached to that influence by the Government, he may have been under the impression that his appearance would have, been the signal for his arrest. Such a course was actually proposed by some whomust have been possessed of as little common sense as judgment. Thompson would have been in no danger of arrest at a meeting of the kind we are speaking of. His person would have been held sacred by the rule in such cases ; but still he may have had fears on the subject. «. -However that may be, we have the fact that he did not make his appearance at the- Conference, and that he had not sent in his submission up to the time of the departure of the mail. Nor is there, as . far as we can learn, any conclusive evidence that he is prepared to submit. For all that is known to the contrary, he may be organising further resistance, and the former report may have been altogether without foundation. The intelligence from other native districts is not of a cha- ' xacter to lead us to suppose that the spirit of rebellion is effectually crushed. The special correspondent of the Neio Zealander says that — '' By the " arrival of a vessel from Tokomaru Bay "there is news of a very unsatisfactory - -"nature from the East Coast. At the " time of the vessel's departure from the M Bay, where the officers were prevented •' from landing in consequence of the "heavy surf, both rebel and friendly flags " were ' flying in opposition to each other, " and other signs of disaffection were " apparent from the Bay. A strong '•King's party was collected, and meetings "were being held all along the coast." The natives had heard of the fight at Tauranga, but say that had their side not been taken unawares the result would have been very different. At Maketu the rebels are engaged in strengthening their position, although their chief does not appear to head them. The inhabitants of Mayor Island, or Tuhua, are also said by the correspondent of the JSfeio Zealander to. be indisposed for peace— " Wo hope is entertained of their surrender. Te Tiihua, which they oc- " cupy, has long been celebrated "amongst the native tribes as a " place for the banishment of offending " Maories, and there are consequently ac- " cumulated there some of the most "desperate native characters." The whole Maori population south of Taurariga are apparently inclined to carry on the war, and the Tauranga natives are said to be in dread of an attack from their late allies. We could write at greater length on this subject, but enough has been said to show that so far from rebellion being at an end there seems every probality that the next intelligence which comes to hand will be that actual hostilities have been renewed. There is certainly ..deep cause for regret in all this, and of "course there will : be attempts in certain quarters to throw;' blame on the present : administrationTand on the line of policywhich they have adopted. It cannot^ however, be said, with any show of. truth, ' either that the ■conference has; not hadat, present j a more generalv;. effect- on the, •-..:, ..-natives,; owing.- to, any want'.of management on the part of the Governor and his Executive, or that the' ministerial policy has failed. _ Slowly perhaps, but never- 1 *" theless steadily^ that policy . is accomplishi- ing < all* that was expected >of it, and . r.<:abthing is wanted for the ; future but a K: nrm adherence^ to *the- rules i which/ ■ have "'' ' nitn'ertb guided 1 Sir : Geobge ' 'G-be^'s ad- ,, advisere in towards the * iiatlves, viz :— - a vigorpus .carrying out of *'~ : the %ar wlrile resistance. if ; made; ' arwJL a i ': ::= -^it' of Ww^-ana^^^^ce; whenever tfyomfivfa iPfi.ithe pa#

montli in ttt^^orth, our contemporary, •the ;; iOtagQipriily;,. Times;, makes what Ispems^stp; Jis -feasible^suggestion. Taking it for granted that the -late ' Con- ■ ference 'will have produced a deep iinpres-r :: sion on* the • reheis; 'generally^ the Times Tadvoca^es the^prpelaniation of an armistice "for a reasbnal3le..period, and the invitation of the rebel leaders to .meet the G-overnor. -'The Grovernori ought then to declare, in ■" the i plainest .'manner/ the conditions on " .'.^hlc'hvpeac'iEJ may be secured, and offer to " every " trib,ej;lwhpse ; - representatives are " willing to subscribe to them, a complete "amnesty." If has been said, and, generally, we> endorse the opinion, that the first steps towards... peace ■ should be taken "by the natives, but in this case, and bearing in mind that there is a doubt as to .how far the natives have been influenced by the late conference, we are preparedTto hold with our contemporary that no better .plan could be adopted. There is no «. danger that our motives would be misinterpreted. Our successes have been such that the most sanguine of the chiefs could not attribute such a proposal to weakness or a desire to terminate the war at all hazards. It would at once show the present temper of the rebels, and should no further good result from it— should the Maories still persist in resisting the Queen's authority — the hands of the Government would, be strengthened, and the moiiths of the Exeter Hall clique eltectually stopped: