THE COST OF THE WAR.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 280, 26 June 1860, Page 3

THE COST OF THE WAR.

This will be enormgus, if [not more vigorously conducted. '$Zsj[e have all along taken if" for granted that as the war was commenced to maintain Imperial interests, and in which those of the colonists have either not been consulted, or thought only of secondary consideration, its cost would be defrayed by the Imperial Treasury. The losses, however, that the settlers will sustain will probably have to be made good by the Colony, and hence the necessity for the early convention of the Assembly. There . w«re other cogent reasons why any delay in the meeting of the Assembly should not have been permitted; and the excuses which have been made for such a course on the part of the Government have always appeared 4o> us extremely unsatisfactory.

The following remarks of the Nelson Colonist with reference to the cost of the war, appear just and reasonable:— "It our -previous Governors, acting under instructions from home, have, through their ignorance of the meaning and language of those with whom they ' professed to treat,' failed to arrive at any definite and comprehensible agreement with the natives as to the terms upon which we first were .permitted to locate ourselves upon these islands, and have up to tbis time been suffered to pursue our various industrial occupations undisturbed; whatever may be the consequences ofthe present disruption Of the peace of these islands, or whatever may be the privations and sacrifices which such a state of things may call upon us to endure, we have no hesitation in saying that the mother country, if the term is not a mere mockery, is bound, not only to take upon itself all the cost, charge, and expense incident to such a state of things, but amply to compensate the various European settlers for any losses they may sustain during the contest between its representative and the native population. More particularly when we are told that, as regards the aborigines, the Crown reserves to itself the sole control, bit at the same time reserves to itself the right to call upon his European subjects to arm themselves, and submit themselves to military discipline, and if necessary exposure to all the horrors of savage warfare.—^. Z. Advertser.