LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 4, Issue 211, 4 October 1860, Page 3

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

[Conclusion of the Letter, signed “ A Voice 1 - from the,People.”] . It will be readily allowed that a great amount, of: talent,, marked unhappily with a bitterness- not. unnatural, to, -result from the

circumstances the t SjjutJier were p’ii'cbd;' waiS cbutlnuously brought,; by mpans of a portion of the Public Press both in this colony and in the mother country, as-Well as by other ' varied means, to bear upon the facts which have been above cited ; upon those contingencies with which they were connected, and upon various 'other collateral events. That the fact of'this talent having been exercised, was not omitted to be remembered when the electors of Wanganui and Rangitikei gave, if not unanimously, yet effectively, support to the views-initiated by Dr. Featherston arid Mr. Fox,- 'there can be- no doubt. -But the comparison which- the electors have made of the lines of argument, of the character of tire reasoning, and in short of the general animus which distinguished the efforts then used, in support of the interests of the settlers with those which now have, so suieidally, characterized the present antagonism to the just jiht. -Excellency, to relieve his Government from the incubus transmitted to him’ and hereinunder, in part only, instanced, and which had heretofore impeded the exercise-of its proper functions and thus injuriously affected the prosperous growth of us all throughout the colony has convinced the electors generally, and will sufficiently indicate to “ Watchman” “in what way anil for what reason Mr. Fox and Dr; Featlierston have forfeited the confidence of their constituents.” . •

Although His Excellency however just he may have considered the title to be of Her Majesty, to the Taranaki Block, has thought fit, from reasons there is no doubt of sufficient weight, not to take advantage of the position the three titles or either of them, to that land placed him, but probably .from the fact that his predecessor had -suffered considerable time to lapse in the occupation,, however unwarrantable, by the natives of“the block of land so bought, has preferred—-it may be tbe ..higher ground—to make an entirely new purchase of the small portion; of it occupied by E. Teira, yet that, such selection, by the Governor neither lessens the validity of the purchase by the British owners; or renews any right which may at any time heretofore have existed in JFiremu Kingi; nor gives sanction to the pretence, which, in his determination to, at ary rate, prevent all future land sales, he has so audaciously assumed. Passing over the very disreputable and deeply to be regretted details connected with the various proceedings in support of such audacious assumption, of. the venerable coadjutor, for the nonce, which our representatives have chosen let us proceed to the facts, patent to us all, which have taken place more lately and which we submit ought to have deterred our representative, as they do ourselves, from having part or parcel in supporting, either by argument or action, the pretensions of one, at least, of the authors of the bloodshed and ruin which, let loose upon our fellow-countrymen in the neighbouring province, may be but tbe forerunners of .s:milar horrors in our own.

These facts are,—

Ist. That at a meeting held in 1854 at Manawapo by the Natives, and at which representatives from all the tribes between Waitara and Wellington were present, it was resolved, “ That no more land be sold to the Pakeha,. and that JFaitaha be the Pakeha’s final north boundary.” 2nd. That at the same meeting a very strenuous attempt was made to get a resolution agreed to, “ that all lands already sold to the Pakeha be retaken, and that the Pakeha be exterminated ” In token of this resolution a tomahawk was passed from hand to hand of each representative present; but, finding that an influential chief was absent/’aiid in a Whare close by, Paratene te Kopara, since killed at Waireka, carried the tomahawk to sucli cliief, whose stedfast refusal to touch it, signifying his determined resistance to this bloody scheme, caused this resolution, for the time, to fall to the ground. . 3rd. That the land-holding policy, agreed to as above stated, and theretofore enunciated by the rebel Wiremu Kingi, has ever since been energetically adhered to by him, although he avoided being present at such meeting ; and that amongst the frightful crimes committed in his attempt to carry out, such scheme, this rebel encouraged and abetted- Katatore, who slew his near relative and superior Rawiri and his brother, when engaged, without arms, in peaceably marking the lines.of the land he had offered to sell to the government. 4th. That independent of any negative evidence, lof Cwhich: there 'is "abundance, and independent of the direct affirmative evidence so fully sustained by the -three deeds of purchase above cited, the fact, that-in the answer to the inquiry, “ Does the land belong to E Teira and party?” addressed to Wiremu Kingi, March 1860, and referred to above, he declared, “ Yes, the land is theirs, blit I will not let them sell it and finished by stating, “ I will take it, and cultivate it myself,” must carry with it, to every unprejudiced mind, the most perfect conviction, that no claim whatever to the land in question exists on the part of that rebel. sth. That, encouraged by those, who by their conduct throughout the whole of! this affair have heaped .misery upon numbers of both races;, of tlieir fellow-creatures, and depending upon his fancied, control by “ might ” over “ right,” this 'rebel has ’arrogantly attacked the Sovereignty 5 of her ..Majesty in this colony. . v ;' : 6th. An d that in the \vords oFthe. memorial which a large majority of r the'electors addressed to his (action in accord with the sentiments of which “ should have been boldly , demanded ” in the General Assembly by our representative on the part of his constituents'' 1 ), we desire to'express our warm approval of the policy pursued in the Native dis-

turbiiiices at Taranaki. We regard the ground on' which' his' Excellency has taken up arms to be just and necessary, and respectfully assure his .Excellency of our cordial support, should we be called upon, to measures calculated By a just and firms determination to convey a lesson. to the disaffected, which may speedily end the present, and prevent future outbreaks of the Native population of this island.”

In-, short, to sum up the reasons “why Messrs'. Fox and Featherston have forfeited the confidence of their constituents,” I would assert, that however fearlessly those gentlemen may have expressed themselves in council, that most of us, their constituents, know certainly they have not expressed our opinions at aM, and they must know this, from the memorial alluded to. We may say this, —as the known ability of our representatives makes it unreasonable to suppose that they ai’e ignorant, .that. W. Kingi’s “ mana ” over Waitara was forfeited when that land was conquered by Waikato—they know his present title to land at Waitara is derived simply from his own adverse occupancy, iu defiance of the refusal of Governor Grey to sanction it, and is without “ mana/’ We consider that if our representative and Superintendent had permitted honest political motives alone to rule their political actions, they would . not have allowed themselves to have been actuated by animosities, but would, from the commencement of the present phase of our political existence, have worked with that amiable ehurchman Archdeacon Hadfield, so as to have caused him to have produced for the Governor’s information, and before the war ]iad been going on for months, W. Kingi’s con'espondence, (including the replies containing his own advice and counsel to that rebel,) and which it is falsely stated made his right appear clear. The constituency of Wanganui consider that the war is just —that it should be carried on with vigour —ai.ui„ that the British settlers in New Zealand, have not lost their British pluck, and will not tolerate a peace at any price because hitherto their arms have not been successful ; nor will agree that their sister province shall, without redress, have suffered from those who have murdered her children and desolated her hearths. Our representative and Superintendent, not appearing to hold these opinions, we desire to change them, and are unmindful by whom we be represented — by aristocrat or by democrat —so that we be represented.

I am, Mr. Fulitor, Your most obdt. servant, A Voice from the People.

October Ist, 1860

Sir, —You published in your paper of the 20th the speeches of Dr. Featherston and Mr. Fox espousing the rebels’ cause in the Taranaki war question. To give your readers a fair opportunity of judging the merits of the case, I concluded that, on the following week, you would have selected and published some one of the able speeches delivered by members who take the government side of this important question. As you have not done so, will yo.u permit my making a few remarks on the speeches you have published. Dr. Featherston cannot, apart from the duties of his office, have had time to study sufficient of Maori laws, customs, and titles, that would warrant him iu makiug the assertions he does, in opposition to the opinions of men who have made their laws, customs, and titles their entire study; he must, therefore, be indebted to some one for his information in these matters. As he speaks of Archdeacon Hadfield’s high authority in Maori matters, 1 presume that he has been the mouthpiece in the house of that rev. gentleman. Would the Doctor vouch for the genuineness of ’some of the Maori epistles he quotes, particularly one from a Maori teacher at Otaki, styled the Rev. Rewai Te Ahu. This letter may have been written by a Maori ; but the style is so unlike Maori, that I would infer it was dictated by a Pakeha to suit circumstances.

We have most of us heard who dictated the address got up at Otaki for the recall of Governor Browne, and how, at the instigation of a missionary, four hundred Maori names were forged and signed thereto, making the signatures in all five hundred and one. If, therefore, a missionary of twenty years’ experience is capable of such an act, of what value are the documents quoted by Dr. Featherston ?—seeing that they come from the relatives of the rebels, aud from Maories who seem to have been for some time in correspondence with that missionary. ' It is asserted that William King himself would never have gone the length he did, had he not been in correspondence with, and acting under, the advice of this missionary, who may therefore be considered the originator of the war, and more to blame than the savage he led into the mire. No wonder, then, he strives to palliate the offence of his Maori friends ! Is this, then, the man on whose authority the Doctor grounds his speech ? If so, he seems to have built his foundation on the sand on this occasion.

I was not so much surprised on reading Mr. Fox’s speech, as he advertised pretty clearly in your paper some months since the course he meant to pursue. Had he then simply refused fo sign the memorial, instead, of writing the letter he did, he might have had the credit oi going to the house unprejudiced’; as it is, no one can give him credit for so doing. He seems to be animated by a feeling of animosity to the present ministry and the whole line of Governors; as the last representative of the famed New Zealand Company, he seems not. to have forgotten old feuds. Our members style this an unholy and un-

jupt war. If so, why ypte for. its pros cation ? r Would it not be more consistent to propose terms of peace,, and compensate the rebels ? Is it just, to .prosecute an unholy war on a weak enemy ? But, no ;. our. members must see the justice of the war, or they would not. have voted for its prosecution.. They seemed, however, unwilling to let the opportunity pass without trying their little all to bring odium on the present ministry;. to bring into disrepute the acts of that ministryj they have endangered the safety of the colony. To make war on. a greater, they made peace with alesser enemy and, combining with the forces of a missionary of twenty years’ experience,, they hoped to gain a victory, but luckily for our interests were defeated with heavy loss. Had these members who espouse the rebels’ cause gained a majority in the house tfo their opinion, would we have secured the reinforcements we so much require ?—would England have sent out troops to prosecute a war that would have been pronounced unjust and unholy by the house? Is it not of utmost importance at this juncture to support.the government ? An opportunity now offers of showing.the Natives that they are not to break our laws with impunity. While England is disengaged, ami can spare them, we ought to avail ourselves of troops to put down the land league. The time may come (should England go to war with France) when we might stand in need, and not be able to obtain ti oops; there would then be found foreign emissaries in our island ready to incite the Natives, who, until they have been taught a lesson, will hold our forces: in contempt. What would then be our position, if we had to contend with a foe without as well as within ? Had our members supported the government,, this, together with tlie explanation of our policy given to the meeting of chiefs at Auckland, might have had the effect of restraining other tribes from joining. As it is, it will have the bad effect of raising a doubt in the minds of the natives. They are ready enough always to believe their own people in the right; but. when they see clever men, the representatives of the people, side with the rebels, will it not have the effect of causing them to join the enemy ? Yhe policy pursued by the military in allowing the Natives to carry off so much plunder at New Plymouth, is in itself a great temptation to the Natives, without being told by our representatives that the rebels are in the right. We have no 6outrol over the acts of the military, but our members we have : Oierefore, if it is the opinion of three-fourths of /heir constituents that they have acted a wrong part, we ought to oblige them to change their course or resign. They are men who h..ve hitherto enjoyed the. entire confidence of t' eir con*, stituents, and were allowed to act as they saw fit; but in this instance-the feelings of their constituents were openly expressed on this war question ; they have not, therefore, represented the sentiments of the people. You may think, Mr. Editor, that I express myself in strong terms; but at: a time likethe present, wheu danger besets us, it is theduty of every settler to express openly his opinhns, and try to avert that danger; I haveexpressed a belief that our members were actuated by party spirit in sacrificing our interests ; I hope I may be wrong, but until they prove that their acts will beuefit our settlers I shall entertain that opinion. . Y'.urs, &c.

P. G. Wilson.

[The speeches of Dr. Feaiherston and Mr. Fox were printed more fully in our columns than any of the oth“rs, either on the same or the opposite side of the question, not, because of the views advocated in them, hut because, the one being the /Superintendent of the province, and the other the member for this district, it was desirable that our readers, their constituents, should be put in possession of their sentiments.]

October 2nd, 1860.

Sir, — ; May I request you to put the following observation in your issue of next Thursday. The bodies of persons drowned in the river are scarcely ever found before they are thrown up in a far-gone state of decomposition, and thus carried to the nearest public house, to tue great annoyance and danger of the people living there. In less than eight days two. bodies were brought into town; one was not, less than seven weeks in the water, the second' n : ne weeksthe two were in a very putrid state. May I not suggest the propriety of establishing a (.dead house) here. The old AVatchhouse, by its separate position and nearness to the river, with a very small ex- ; pense, would suit very well! I hope the authorities will take these observations into consideration, and if found proper will give orders to prepare the old Watchhouse for the reception of human bodies killed by accident. I remain, sir, yours, &c. Civis.

Sept. 12th, 1860,

Sib—Will you permit me, through your columns, to call the attention of the public, and especially of the magistrates, to a decision which was made in the Resident A’agistrate’s. court by Major Dune, Capt. Sharp, aud Dr. frees, on the 4th iust. 2’he case was brought before the Bench to recover a small amount of damages for injury done to plaintiff’s wheat by defendant driving a number of horses and riding over the crop in a reckless manner during very wet weather. The track along which defendant appeared to wish to take the horses goes along one-side of complainant’s,paddock, for a distance of thirty chains, aud there has., been upwards of thirteen yards .wide left un-~ eropped, for defendant’s, use as a road ; the*.-

track in question has been surveyed as a portion of the Brunswick road, but it has never been opened for traffic under the District Highways act, a 9 it would be unlawful for the Board of Wardens ti do so until the ratepayers of the district, through their wardens, should have fenced off said road. The following clause of the District Highways act clearly shows this:

“ Sec. 30. When any new road shall be constructed through any lands previously enclosed by a fence, the Board, before opening! the same to the public, shall fence, with a good and substantial fence, both sides of such road, so far as it shall run upon such fenced lands”

It is evident that this clause was introduced for the protection of persons similarly situated to the complainant in this case, Without giving any weight to this * protecting clause the verdict'was given for defendant; the reason assigned by the Bench for so doing was, that-complainant'should'fence off a road for -defendant's use. And one of the magistrates from the Bench vouchsafed his advice to the injured party, that he should give up cultivating his laud unless he can afford to fence said road.

Having thus called attention to the subject, 1 sincerely hope that the gentlemen who administer the law will procure a copy of the act before they decide a case of the Hind again; and I have little., doubt the Bendi will be called upon to deckle similar cases, as reckless persons will be too ready to take advantage of the liberty to do wrong which they will now imagine they possess. Your obdt. servant, A Farmer.