The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-09-15 00:00:00

attack of British soldiers armed with the Enfield

rifle, at an hour and on afield deliberately chosen
by thffiftThrt-:(7,Tpinander. - -

The- cause of these hbstilities as has been
often explained, is the ofd dissension about

the , possys.4ion, and division of ilia lands
,i of

tie northern island. Fir• a tine we .*ere led to

believe that these disturbances, originating in the
district of Taranaki, were likely to be confined to

that locality; but it is nosy ascertained that they
extend from Wellington on the southern coast of
that island to the neighbourhood of the seat of
government in the north; and that nothing less

is now contemplated than the supremacy of the
King of the Maoris, supplanting that of the Queen

of England through the 'lsland of New Ulster.
The old native chiefs desire to extirpate or subdue
the European settlers. While, of course, there

can be little doubt as the actual result of this

foolhardy challenge to our power in that remote
region; it cannot but be matter of the deepest regret
that things should hate seen allo*ed to go so far
in this direction ; and at all events there ong.ht
surely to have been some better preparation on
the part of the Military atitliorities before attack-

ing the natives in a strong position; so ad to have
avoided the dOlible evil of throNViug a staiii
our arms, and thereby, inspirin# the

native mind with a still more erroneous idea as
to their tultimate chances of success. This last
and most grievous blunder of itself is only an

illustration of the reckless conduct of the colonial
authorities altogether, to which no doubt in a
large measure this miserable outbreak is due.
Added to this* culpable precipitancy of attack
seems to have been the usual unjustifiable con-
tempt of the native forces, although we have had
abundant reason, to know that the Maoris are
skilful and experienced warriors. There seems
also to have been some culpable tardiness on
the part of Colonel GOLD,. the commander of
our forces •at Taranaki, who, it is said, being
' perfectly aware of the intended attack by
the British upon the " pah," had left the town at
1 nine o'clock on that very day, with about three
hundred men and two 24-pounder howitzers, and
was actually within two miles, and almost within
sight, of the besieged, at a time when succours to
our troopS would have been invaluable, and yet
he neither advanced nor attemped to ascertain
how matters were going with his friends. We
are reminded by a London contemporary that
this is not the first time that Colonel GAD
has perilled British interests by his dilatory pro-
cedure ; and it is considered likely that the pub-
lic opinion of the colony will have already
demanded that this officer shall be relieved of his
present command. Of course, we must have a
victim as a sacrifice to our national vanity in
the case of a disaster, and it may be that
in this instance Colonel GOLD is the mest
deserving of martyrdom to a system of general
mismanagement; but we cannot help thinking
that the root of the evil lies much deeper. The
Subject of colonial mismanagement generally is
one demanding our most serious coneicleratiOn ;
and we have some reason tp hope that out of the
- •
present disaster in New Zealand good may came,
by directing public attention to the evils being
perpetrated, not only in New Zealand, but in too
many of our other dependencies, under the name
and authority of British rule. If we would per-
manently secure the loyalty and friendship of
those wide-spread colonies which we have planted
in every region of the earth, and make them
worthy gems in the -imperial diadem, we must
extend to one and all of them the same free *Mad-
_ tutions and impartial administration of justice
which have raised the mother country to its
glorious pre-eminence and predominant influence,
among the nations of the world.