The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 763, 8 May 1877, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

E iual and exact justice to nil men, G>f whatever state drpersuasion, religious or- : political . 1 . . * # # ' • ■ # Here shall the Presi tho Peoi-i.b's rigl.t , ; ;• maintain, . Unnwcd by influence and. unbribod by gain •JTUESDAY, MAT 8, 1877. There is no surer way to escape the evils of war than to be. prepared for war —no surer way of inviting attack than to present a condition of defencelessness. And if this holds good, as all political experience tells us it does, m. the case: of, civilised nations — who only resort to' the arbitrament of the sword, when that of diplomacy has failed— still more does it where the foe to be guarded against is a savage and uncultivated one, whose declaration of war is an overt act of murder or of rapine. We cannot too strongly insist upon attention to this fact by the' Government of New Zealand, We are no alarmists. We believe, that with ordinary prudence and forbearance, another shot will never be fired m . anger between the Maories arid the colonists, but this very forbearance cannot be used with effect, becomes indeed a source of danger, when it is no longer backed up with a show of power and force that makes it apparent to the natives that such forbearance is not the result of weakness, but of generosity. And this is the state to which the present Cabinet, under, we Believe, a mistaken sense of economy,' is bringing this part at least of the ' Colony. The removal of the men of the Armed Constabulary force m Waikato to the frontier is certainly a wise movement, when considered with the vietr of making the most of the very 1 limited number of men at- the disposal of the officer m command of the district bnt even then the force at his disposal is utterly inadequate to the purpose. No better proof of tnis is to be found than m the fact that an order has been .issued' to break ., up the station at Kihikihi. There are actually, when.eyen evjery' member of the force, a nominal musfcer-roil of eighty, is ordered to the frontier, not men enough toman it. A post at Alexandra, and another at Cambridge, is' all that we can garrison, and an unprotected line of six-and-twenty miles of country between these two stations is left entirely uncared for, and for the simple reason that we have not the men to guard it. We can quite understand the position of the Ministry. There has . been a cry for retrenchment. A propitiatory sacrifice needs to be laid on the altar of the Assemb'y, and the Defence vote is the victim. Pity that some financial ram had not been found caught by the horns, to be adopted as a substitute for this too cruel sacrifice. Pity that the Cabinet can hit on no expedient, the misadventure of which would be attended with less disastrous results than may happen m the present instance. When misadventure comes charged with such dire import, the risk is too great to run, even though the odds be long ones. There are many directions m which economy could be more safely ventured upon. It were better even for the Colony to forego some positive benefit than to run the hazard which it does, m entering on so false and delusive a measure of saving. The So;th, itself, is even aware of this, and the 'Lyttelton Times,' an opposition journal, which we have recently quoted on the subject, points out the penny wise and pound foolish policy of the the Government which for the sake of effecting a saving of .£30,000 a year, extending, perhaps, only over some lour or five years at furthest— renders possible, if not probable, an expenditure of millions, and the sacrifice of the progress and credit of the Colony. Is this wise ? Is it even common and ordinary prudence ? It is the very reverse of all busiuess procedure. The merchant insures his ships to save him. self the contingency of great and heavy loss, but if ke acted as the Cabinet of New Zealand purposes to act, be would risk possible ruin, with the object of turning insurance expenditure into income. This is really what the Government is proposing to do, urged, doubtless, by the cry of the Opposition for retrenchment. But will the House permit this sacrifice, even should the Government suicidil-'y insist on making if. We trusfc not, and we believe not. The Middle Island colonists would fain see the expenditure on the Defence Department .lessened, and so to, m good faith, would we m the North ; but little as they love the cost of buying peace still less do they love the cost af conquering it. Such contingency must be placed out of the possibility of recurrence, and thus the Colony is willing to pay for, if it foregoes other and much |needed, though less important matter?. A good authority, the greatest we have had m New Zealand, the late Sir Donald McLean — a man who knew how to trust and use to its utmost power of tension the con-

Jfidence which might be reposed m native forbearance and good will uninfluenced by respect of the strong 1 arm of the Executive power — Even he has declared that the least foroe that can with safety be stationed m the, Waikato is 150 meS*: or nearjy dbuble that proposed, aiiU those m the district best qualified to form an opinion on the matter fully agree with him. We speak of Waikato alone, not as specially interested m it, for we can billy touclr on such matters from a colonial not a local point of view, but because we feel more acutely and see more clearly exactly where the shoe pinches. We do not feel the pinch where the Government reduction effects the East Coast or the unsettled Waoganui and Tarapaki districts, bat doubtless those, districts feel it none the less seri-j ously than we do, and the peace 1 of the Colony, is as much involved; m the reconsideration of their case us of ours. The arguments we use for Waikito are applicable to all similarly situated .districts of the North Island, and they speak not m the interests. of Waikato alone, or even of the North Island, bat of the Colony at large.