The Waikato Times. THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1872.

Waikato Times, Volume I, Issue 22, 20 June 1872, Page 2

The Waikato Times. THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1872.

His ExcELLENCYTHKGovERN'ORafter having travelled through the major proportion of the Waikato district has expressed himself gratified at its advancement on the road to prosperity since his last visit in 1870. Large tracts of country have since that time been fenced and brought under cultivation, industries of various descriptions have been started, and township? have grown in size and importance, and ttie population of the district has very largely increased. Some of the above facts are evidences of present prosperity and others foretell future greatuess. 'It may be instructive to pause and consider wbat have been the principal causes of such marked improvements in the short period" of two years. To commence, the Waikato was the'scene of the most severe fighting during the war which was brought about by the blundering of those who held power during a critical period in iNew Zealand history. From having been the principal battle-field, those not acquainted with the actual facis of the case, have always looked upon settlement in the Waikato as & dangerous experiment, and it-appears that a section settlors have in&rmer years been bo blind to ;the«r, own interests - as, "ttf ipread o* &l£d jepor or lather urged

certain amateur newspaper correspondents to do so for thern. These cpriespond en ts in some instances being store-keepers, greedy for immediate gain, and others ex-militiamen, anxious to return to the life of a soldier as being a more easy way of gaining a livelihood than ploughing or fencing* the land granted to them for services rendered. These men have fortunately cried wolf so often that nobody now places any reliance on anything they either write or telegraph to the journals they severally represent. It is difficult to conceive any other than a dishonest political motive on the part of the conductors of the papers who have given space in their columns to these sensational telegrams ■ and letters. The dishonest practices of these peopl.e have more than once been the cause of a panic in Auckland as to the safety of the settlers in this district, the settlers themselves, until the papers urrived, being ignorant of the existence of any danger ; in fact none has existed. Mr. McLeans accession to power gave confidence immediately, and to this is undoubtedly to be attributed the great improvement Sir G. S. Boweii notes as having taken place since his last visit. _ .

This district; has always deservedly liad the name of being one of the finest in New Zealand ; it was therefore only natural, directly it was felt to be safe to settle in it, that population and labor should flock in rapidly. We feel confilent that we are stating nothr.l7 but the truth when we write that there is not the slightest probability that there will be another outbreak. Although the King party did not meet Mr. McLean, his chief advisers have, and they are unanimous that the day has pasßed when they can possibly hope to gain anything by fighting. If the Press of New Zealand ceases to notice the existence of the party and its movements, the way to a final settlement of the last grievance will be smoothed for those whose duty it is to accomplish this end. More than half the importance of the Maori King is derived from the notice lie has received in the newspapers. The Maoris are good diplomatists, and are exerting their talents to the utmost to obtain the best terms' possible on their formal submission. The notice they receive leads them to believe that by-waiting they will get the whole or some part of the confiscated land returned to them. This, of course, is impossible, and they may rest assured that not one inch of the land justly confiscated, both by Native and European customs, will ever be given back.