THE COLONIST.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 278, 19 June 1860, Page 2

THE COLONIST.

NELSON", TUFSDAY, JUNFI9, 1860,

On the arrival of the brig Spray, Captain. Scott, from the Fiji Islands, calling at Auckland, on .Saturday evening, a report was current that a fight had taken place at some time and somewhere, in which four or five hundred natives were comfortably disposed of for life. - The papers from Taranaki (brought by the "White Swan to Wellington from Auckland, and thence by the Airedale, which arrived in Nelson yesterday morning, with the Southern mails) contain interesting rather than, important intelligence. Our extracts from papers of the latest dates give no account whatever ot any battle. The Wellington Spectator saya:—" So far aa we can learn, it seems to be the opinion that no active operations will be undertaken at Taranaki until after the meeting in July, possibly not until after the arrival of the reinforcements which are expected from England." Faint hopee are ©till entertained of Mr. Richard Brown'a recovery; the ball has not yet been extracted. By two letters which appeared in the Taranaki News, and reprinted in our columns, it will be seen that some emulous Englishmen have tried to out-savage the savage. The wanton destruction of property by Englishmen we have had confirmed by private letters. We are glad to see such heartless conduct so strongly denounced, and trust that the perpetrators will be prosecuted with the utmost rigor of military law. We give an interesting account of a " great talk " of the natives at the Ngaruawahia from the Mew Zealander of June 2. The preliminaries to this " korero" appeared in the same paper of May 30. It is stated that at least " 3000 men, women, and children are now (May 24) at Ngaruawahia." The "W was welcomed by voile vs, or attempts at file firing from the armed guard (some 250 strong), shouting, singing, and war-dancing." They were partly stripped to the waist, and their arms consisted of flintlocks, bad fowling-pieces, a few old rifles, some good muskets and double-barreled pieces, with a few revolvers of questionable make. About 200 women and girls were arranged near King Potatau's house, and danced some welccmadances. The natives (King's men as well as Queen's, have been very courteous to the British visitors. The grand "korero " commenced on the 25th May. There was very little done on

that day. Wetena, one of the most active King agitators set ujp three sticks " representing thelMaori nation, Religion, and the; Pakehas." He referred .to the encroachments of the white man on the land and plucked vp1, that stick and threw it away. Paora, of Oraki, reminded the Assembly of the many benefits the Maories had derived" from their intercourse with the English, and stepping forward, he picked up the rejected stick and firmly fixed it in the ground, and said "It is good; there let the stick remain." A large tin dish was sent round for. the royal treasury,to the. disgust of some of the "strangers." About £6 was collected. '- The mail, singularly enough in any other case but that of the Wairau, has brought us no papers. Some good reason, it is presumed, exists for this. Has the contractor top many irons in the fire ? Can he, like the bellows-blower to^the organist, stop the music when he likes ? ~ Has he the power to select and reject whatever and whenever he chooses. Instead of the papers, however, we have something to amuse the public in the shape of an address to his .* Fellow-settlers of Wairau and Awatere,' by 'A Hard-working Settler.' Our remarks on one or two occasions, in speaking of. the New Provinces Act, have been thus confirmed. In our historical parallel of the Superintendent of Marlborough and the Iron Duke, we forget to mention that the latter did not take the salaries attached to the multifarious offices which he held.

We have received papers from Otago, but defer making extracts from them till.our next. The suppressed communication appears very much like a " yarn;" and we think "our own "has made too much of it.; We presume that in every province, if a men have original independent ideas and do not know how to turn their coats they are sure to be called by some name or other, however inapplicable it may be to their case. We have known high conservatives and men devoted to law and order, termed 'Red Republicans,' 'the most dangerous men in the place,' ' Chartists,' ' Upsetters of law and order,' 'Radicals,' and 'Revolutionists,' &c. The poor members of the Society of Jesus may certainly console themselves that they are the- 'best abused men' in the universe. We give the fol-

lowing:— " The so anxious circulated reports that Otago offered a new El Dorado to the laboring class had very little effect to induce emigrants to come here, either from Auckland or Melbourne, and amongst those who came are a great number who havt sufficient cause to repent this step. They found that employment was not so easily obtained as they were led to believe, and that although wages were higher, they were in no-better position than in Auckland and Melbourne, where provisions and lodgings are much cheaper. The arrivals from Auckland especially complain about the climate, which, compared to the province from whence they came, appears horrid to them."