Wanganui Chronicle, AND PATEA-RANGITIKEI ADVERTISER. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." MONDAY, JUNE 25, 1883.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 10234, 25 June 1883, Page 2

Wanganui Chronicle, AND PATEA-RANGITIKEI ADVERTISER. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." MONDAY, JUNE 25, 1883.

Some further papers relative to "Went Coast native affairs have been laid before Parliament, and serve to clear up one or two obscure points with regard to the action of the Hall Government immediately prior to the return of Sir Arthur Gordon from Piji in October 1881 . If the f ullinformation now available went merely to place the conduct of the late Governor in a questionable light, it might not be worth while to refer to the subject at all. The only tie which bound Sir Arthur Gordon to New Zealand was sevored by his recall, and thenceforth the public were willing to drop him and his doings as far as possible out of remembrance. But these papers, , though they certainly contain matter which tells against the late Governor, are of value and interest because they place the conduct of Sir James Prendergast, the Administrator of the Government, and his responsible advisers, in a fair light, and exonerate them from a charge of " sharp practice" which was made against them at the time by their enemies, and has been repeated at convenient intervals ever since. That charge was in substance that the Ministry, having determined on decided action against the obstructive natives on the. West Coast, allowed the Governor to depart for Piji without taking him into their confidence ; that i n accordance with such determination the native policy of the Govorimiont underwent a change as soon as Sir Arthur Gordon's back was turned ; that after his departure the Ministry neglected to keep him ported up with regard to what was being done ; and that, finally, hearing that lie was hurrying buck, and might bn oxpoctcd nnv moment at tlio seat, of Gcivornmou,, they hastily prepared thn now oolo'>r:ifoc> pi\'jcl.'iiiif:'h:i ( 0 (Jio ..ativei,, iiicluwd . c; ir .Fnnio-f PrA:iflr--i-nst -r< .-ign It (l:s> M.'-w !:i:.r.-.-:ii;: \[t-,\ <_;,. '

Governor's return was imminent) and committed the colony to a course of action which, if Sir Arthur Gordon ' had been present, would not have been sanctioned by him. The first of the papers now published is Sir Arthur Gordon's memorandum to the Premier, dated immediately after the return from Fiji. The Governor states that when he left he had no reason to apprehend any serious collision between the Government and the West Coast natives, and that he was not then aware that there was any intention of strengthening the con stabulary or of arming the settle ; he now finds a very different and alarming stats of things in existence, and he' desires especially "to be informed of the circumstances which rendered immediate action so imperative as to make necessary the issue, under the temporary government of an Administrator, of so important a proclamation as that of yesterday, and the appointment of a new Minister of Native Affairs, when his" own return within twenty-four hours was known to be at least probable, if not well nigh certain." In his reply the Premier stai i s that a memorandum of the events of the last five weeks will be at ence furnished ; and {hat during the absence of the Governor the Administrator had all the powers of the Governor. "If Ministers had believed that there could be any suspension or interruption of the ordinary functions of Her Majesty's representative, they would have been unable to advise that His Excellency's departure could take place without serious inconvenience." Itispointed out that the increase of the Armed Constabulary was by the will of Parliament, and that in fact the force, as increased, barely oxeseded what it had been two years previously under Sir George Grey's Government, The Premier claims that during the Governor's absence Ministers were responsible solely to Sir Tames Prendergast, both in accordance . with . the . commission to the Chief Justice, and the understanding with His Excellency prior to his departure for Eiji. -With regard to the alleged knowledge of the Governor's immediate return the Premier says :— " Ministers desire to state that they had not received information that His Excelleny's return within twenty-Jour hours, or any definite period, was probable, or that any communication whatever from His Excellency had reached the colony after his departure from Auckland; nor could they suppose that His Excellency would have been reluctant to assent to measures which, in their opinion, had become neces. sary for maintaining the peace of the colony, and protecting the lives and properties of Her Majesty's subjects." The promised memorandum to the Governor, which we have already alluded to, is amongst these papers, and is an able resume of events from a date some time prior to Sir Arthur Gordon's departure for Fijii It is only necessary for us to say that it appears to us to show conclusively that the course taken during the Governor's absence, and pursued after his'refufn, was the natural sequence to the instruction given to Colorlel Roberts prior to the Governor's leaving the colony. .That instruction was that the illegal fencing of lands by the natives was not to be permitted,t£and that the] provisions of the West Coast Settlement Act were to be enforced. It" must be added that before Sir Arthur Gordon left the colony he was informed that such instruction had been given to Colonel Roberts. There are numerous other letters, memoranda, etc., amongst the papers now published, and from the whole of this correspondence we learn that, although neither the Administrator nor Ministers communicated directly with the Governor during his absence, his private secretary, who was also private eecretai'y to Sir James Proudergast, had access to all documents, and was supplied with the fullest information as to what was going on ; that he did keep the Govornor posted up in native affairs, and that it was part of the arrangement that ho should do so. The complaint therefore that Ministers did not communicate with the Governor during his absence is entirely without point. But the strangest part of the story remains to be told. It appears that the Governor, by telegram from Sydney, informed his private secretary that he was about to return to New Zealand, and also named the day when he might be expected to arrive. This message reached the private secretary three or four days before Sir Arthur Gordon landed in New Zealand, but no intimation of the fact was given by him either to tho Administrator or the Ministry. From no other source could they have possibly recoived the information. It does not reflect credit on the late Governor that, affor he was made aware of the truth, he forwarded to the Secretary of Stato for the Colonies a number of carefully selected newspaper articles distinctly charging the Ministry with having rushed the proclamation through the hands of the Administrator when they biew and had leen informed that ho might return at any moment. In un ablo but very temperately writtten memorandum to the Governor, dated January 25th, 1882, Sir Janvs Prendergast draws attention to ih's palpable blot. He says in conclu sion : — " It is to ba regretted that a more careful attention had not been paid to what artinlos were sent, inasmuch as Sir Arthur Gordon had, in his despatch of October 22nd, ISBI, informed the Secretary of State that he ' was greatly disposed to share the views expressed in the enclosed extracts from the Lytteltou Times.' I think I ought not to conclude this memorandum without dficlaring my conviction that the Ministry, like myself, had on tho 19th October, no information from which tlioy could know orj'suspect that Sir Arthur Gordon's return to New Zealand was imminent, and tiiat they had no other information about his movement than 1, or in deed tho public at largo, hud."

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