THE WANGANUI CHRONICLE AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. “Véritè sans peur.” Wanganui, April 25, 1861.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 5, Issue 232, 25 April 1861, Page 2

THE WANGANUI CHRONICLE AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. “ Véritè sans peur.” Wanganui, April 25, 1861.

The intelligence received by the Wonga Wonga will be found elsewhere. It is by no means satisfactory. It is difficult definitely to make out either what' has been done, or what has not been 'done, or what is ; to be done. The real state of matters does not seem to be known at Taranaki. There is no light cast upon them by the Government. The clown in an old pantomime; inquires,—“ What are those illumiuations for ? ” Harlequin replies, —“ To keep people In' the dark.” The Gor< vernment explanations have had precisely this effect. Mr." Stafford, on /the. 23rd March, said, that no peace would be agreed to which was disadvantageous, or “ did riot contain the elements of permanency, in so far as permanency could. be secured bji an 'honest adherence t.o, and carrying out on each side of, conditions well understood both; by the Government arid the natives.” If this meant anything at. jail, it meant that the ‘‘elements of permanency” were to be found, not in the conditions themselves, but in tlieJspirit in which they were carried .out.S.o it has been with the ilWgatiawa. They have got what they wanted, |apd if they remain content, why, of course,

the “ elements /of permanency’' are secured. It would-iie more difficult to discover in what the advantage 'of tliis peace consists, unless it be, in the words of his .Excellency in his reply to the deputation at Taranaki, that it “ rids the issue of this extraneous matter sit once”that is, of the dispute'about the land ; and that probably is a gain, even at the loss made in securing it. 4 But then “ jr!ft the issue ofr thisf;extraneous matter at‘once; ,f for in the same reply his Excellency is reported to have said, that “he would not say what terms would be offered King hereafter.” So that King, notwithstanding hisf havihg sent inf J his daughter in token of submission, is not'understood to be a party to this treaty. Further information is needed before these discrepancies in his Excellency’s explahations can be reconciled. J ' r ’ " " ’

'• His’Excellency, in his:interview,. With' the friendly chiefs'at Auckland on the ; sth of Feb- . ■ •ruary; is reported to ! liaye : sa'iti, frere also things to ■ be 1 considered byf the'Ngatir uanui tribes, and especially'the murders'cbmf.' raitted by them ; J for these murders Taranaki ' and Ngatiruanui would alone ‘he -hOld accountabfe.” But according to the terms offered to 1 these tribes, which 'will be found' in’ another column,‘they are not to be Vhehl accountable for. these murders any nidre than the Waikato or Ngatiawa. When therefore the Governor tells its that “ he wonld not be induced by arty pressure of opinion, either in the 'colony bt* 1 ' elsewhere, to swerve from his duty,” while we rejoice in the sentiment, we are not reassured by’ it • simply because his Excellency's senseof duty seems to be based on expediency. For within ten weeks of the expression of his determination to hold those tribes accountable for the murders; lie offers them terms of peace without making it a condition that they shall deliver up the murderers. Why these .tends should have been sent without being asked £t, instead of General Cameron and five hut id fed meu,Js another point it seems difficult t<> derstaiid; ! ' t. ; a If. t.-V,

The terms offei’ed. to. the Ngatiruanui are also reprehensible in respect to the indefinite,, manner in which compensation is asked. Do; the Maoris understand what is meant by “ compensation ?”—.will , there not be a haggling and disputing about the manner and amount of compensation when this condition comes to be definitely settled ? Could not the' Government have made a rough,estimate of the damage done, and demanded so much land for it in specific and intelligibleiterms ? But we must wait in'patierce for light to be thrown on all these and many other things at preseiit quite unintelligible, by the development of his Excellency's plans,“ to disclose which prematurely,” lie considers,' “ would be mischievous.” That his intentions are good there has‘never been any doubt. But'a belief in the wisdom of his advisers is as difficult as it would be meritorious; iDitpvvefe irubj as has been said," that" the merit of a belief is in inverse, proportion to the rational grounds for holding it. ‘ f Since the above was written intelligence has come into tow’ii which accounts in some measure for his Excellency’s statement, that if the Ngatiruanui did not ask peace he would have preferred his terms to have been kept secret. A party of 15 Waikatos, headed' by the chief Rewi, have come down to Waitotara, and report that the Ngatiruanui do not accept the terms, as they to join the King natives. Did the Governor not wish the terms knowu in case: liis> leniency should encourage other tribes to rise ? These Waikatos.have come down to ask the Waitotaras to return the <£soo given them in May 1859 as an instalment' of the purcliasemoney of their, land; so' that the land 1 may belong to the King. It is probable they have other objects in view, but they have not transpired. ’ It appears from the intelligence they bring that the fPaikato are determined to stand by their King, so that w r e may expect that all their adherents throughout, the island, and these are the great majority of the natives south of their territory, will rise to their assistance. How that assistance will be reudered it is impossible to say. The natives in this neighbourhood may remain quiet, and be content with sending men to the.Waikato country ; but we ought to be prepared for the wrorst. Especially so* if the report be true, that the Kingites have intinjated their intention to hold the Government natives as enemies m the coming struggle. : ‘ •

- The Government should now do • what it ought to have done- long ago—put forth a proclamation, stating that the land of r eVery native that takes up arms against the Qrieen will be confiscated; and follow up the proclamation by iustantariedus and energetic action against the Waikatos. On such energy depends the safety of the other settlements. .

Iy- is now certain that there will be another Great Exhibition .Of;the?prbd»icts, natural and artificial, of the globe, in 1862. At what time of the year it may be opened is yet unknown ; what may be tlie precise regulations for the admission of objects ;we have;not; heard-:as indeed the London Commission was not formally constituted when the last mail left; but it may be understood that in these respects there will be no great difference m this from' the Great Exhibition of 1851, and that there will consequently be now but little, more than, nine months to make* a collection of articles suitable for exhibition;

Shall Wanganui be represented at ibis great World show ? or, so far as this opportunity is concerned, shall it remain in the obscure,position which it has yet occupied—-known at home only to those who have' in it friends or business connections?;. Would - it not be an I agreeable thing for upto know,, that among the

fpplonjal ..products of the great Empire to which we belong, Wanganui bau, something. to show, indicative of the fertility of her soil, the fineness of her climate, and the energy and industry of her.settlers ? That there can be but one answer to these questions we are certain. But the inquiry naturally arises,—How are we to he represented •?—what shall we send ? will it not be better to remain in our modest obscurity: than expose :our . poverty in the face of the world ? his true.that we have nothing of a very extraordinary or surprising character to exhibit. But we have a considerable variety of useful and ornamental products, .which might make a very decent appearance even in the midst of the immense variety of objects

that will there be brought together under one roof. , For instance, there is in our neighbourhood a considerable number of various kinds of wood suitable for one purpose or another. We have seen elegant chess-boards and beautiful, tables made of inlaid pieces of New Zea- , (arid wood, which would net. suffer, by. comparison’, with made iii. any country of Europe ; and woods fit for furniture or shipbuilding, or any mechanical purpose, have.a verydmportant placein an expo-sition-.of natural- products. A collection of the seeds of these trees would be useful, and might lead to the introduction of some of them into the home country, either as curiosities or as applicable to industrial purposes. From some of these trees good dyes are obtained. Could something not be done in, the way of making a collection of dye woods, which, though of no great practical value at the present moment, would show what assistance manufacturers might look for in their operations from the vegetable substances to be found in this neighbourhood. Oils are another class of products desired from such a remote locality, but we are not aware that we can send anything of this kind. Fibres fit fot' paper or cordage are also asked. The New Zealand flax, which has been so long known as fit for these manufactures, grows here in abundance, and if it can be prepared cheaply enough, there is a large employment for it in the manufacture of paper. The new machine, which is now being introduced here for dressing it, will, if it answer the expectations formed of its efficiency, afford" every facility for sending good samples of the article. Ores of all kinds are wanted; but of these we can send none at present, although doubtless they are to be found iti the interior, to which the Wanganui is the highway. Of bird skins and plumage, another.,article named, a small collection might be sent." But we would direct particular attention to the procuring of good samples of grain and wool. It is by showing wliat may be done in the production of these articles that we may attract immigrants—the principal object in .making such a collection for exhibition. And we have sounded , the warning note thus ■early that our settlers may be induced to sow with mor.e than ordinary care plots of barley, oats, and wheat, the produce of which may give us a good name, illustrating as they, will do the superior nature both of our soil and climate. Our flock-masters would also do well to look after a few of their best sheep, preserving them carefully from contact with the fern and giving them the advantage of good’ paddocks, so that a superior, fleece may , be produced both in. quality and weight, New Zealand wool generally does, not bear a high character in the London market at present. ■Could not something be. done in .this way to raise the reputation of. the product.of this neighbourhood, by showing what can be grown if care is taken ?...... It would be desirable to send, if they could be properly preserved, a collection of our fine . fruits.,, .No doubt some of- our horticulturists will,be glad to show what our orchards produce ; and it, would not be amiss to send a sample of honey. .We, should also like to see some of our pork growers send, samples of bacon and hams that would do credit to the district. A map of the district of Wanganui, and a concise but lucid description of its natural features and capabilities, accompanying these specimens, would be a very important means of drawing greater attention to them, especially if we shall then be able to give an assurance that those who come will have no difficulty in obtaining land. A collection of native articles would also be very interesting, although not so useful in showing the capabilities of the country. Some expence must necessarily be incurred in getting together and. forwarding such samples. But a few active settlers forming themselves into a committee to make arrangements .for obtaining the requisite articles for exhibi- ., tion, would uo doubt be liberally supported in their efforts thus, to. benefit the settlement, and would find no. difficulty in respect to any pecuniary aid that might be needed.