The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-15 00:00:00

THERMOMETER.

_ .
This day at Two o'clock v ,./ro

Barometer-29.78.
Wind—S,-West; strong breeze, and cloudy.

• ..,,,44prt
to, S

LONDON, TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 1864.

Whether or not England is again drifting into
'war—that is becoming every day more and more
urgently the question. It has for some time past
been the impression among our observant neigh-
bours. It is gradually becoming the conviction in
like manner of many here in London. History,
proverbially, repeats itself. Experience, even the
bitterest experience, " tells" but doubtfully upon
even the wisest of Administrators. It may be matter
for serious regret, therefore, but
it can hardly be
matter for very
much surprise, that as nearly
as possible the same course is being run no v by the
very same statesmen as was run by those very same
statesmen ten years ago immediately anterior to the
last great war in Europe. A war in a different
quarter, and among very different Powers as the
belligerents—the belligerents now having kept
cleverly out of the war then. Yet driftinag, drifting
appreciably, inexorably towards the
verge of
the surging, circling, absorbing gunge of the
po).itical maelstrom glides the good ship
Eritannia—drifting in this way, almost
as one may say, helplessly. The only conspicuotie
difference in the situation of things on board of her
being this—that whereas Lard ABERDEEN was then
the man at the helm, now that responsible post is
occupied by Lord PALMERSTON. In each instance,
judging from the curt replies vouchsafed to chance
interrogatories addressed to him, not very unnatu-
rally, from the side of the Opposition—the
Men. at the Wheel, it appears, has, as usual to
fixedly, as one not to be
be regarded quite
spoken to ! In each case, the Head of
our Government is, so far unfortunately for us, a
man far advanced in years. In each instance,
moreover, Lord RUSSELL is a conspicuous member
of the Administration : then, without a portfolio,
as our neighbours still more
express i t—noW,
alarmingly, with
a portfolio, and that
portfolio, of all that could possibly have
been entrusted to him, the
Leisure was the lure then. D Foreign one !
espatch willing
ad libitum is tie lure now. Aro, 60, ulnas* 43

matter of course, and, more than that, distinctly
and avowedly in the interests of peace, we are
quite leisurely, and with plenty of time to look
about us while gliding onwards, drifting
drifting, drifting into war. A bold decision,
adopted at once—a resolute attitude assumed at
the outset—and the evil now entangling itself
beyond all chance of diplomatic unravelment
would never, we might almost venture to
say could never, so far have complicated
itself. It is the same old difficulty typified
in the far off classic times under the symbol
of the Gordian Knot—tlae;knot that could alone be
severed by the sword of a conqueror, defying as it
did the utmost skill directed toward .its disentangle-
ment by the hand of the diplomatist. Lord CLA-
BENDON'S phrase. has, in truth, again become
lamentably applicable—we are drifting.

The ietelligence which reaches us from New
Zealand confirms the favourable anticipations
which the news brought by the last mail encou-
raged us to form. The victory of Rangariri was
decisive, and was quickly' followed up by a division
of five hundred men, under
general Cameron, pro-
ceeding up the river in the Pion,
eer steamer as far
as Ngaruawahia, the residence of the _
Maori KING.
The General telegraphed to Sir GEORGE 51`EY on
the 9th of December to give him the welcom," in"
elligence that the QUEEN'S flag was floating over
thss cherished retreat, and that no opposition had
been made to his taking possession of it; indeed,
neither he nor his men had seen any natives. This
is an important point gained, and the result of the
expedition proves the wisdom of the General in
following up his advantage so quickly while the
Maories were disheartened and weakened from their
losses at Rengaeiri, :50 of their best men being still
in the hands of the English. Th© natives appear
to have been thoroughly discouraged by the reverse
which they met with. They had concentrated their
forces, and entrenched themselves in a strong posi-
tion with a skill which renders them no mean
antagonists in such cases. As it was, our success
was not achieved without paying a heavy price for
it, many gallant officers and men falling under the
Maories' continuous fire, We regret to learn by
this mail that two more officers have succumbed to
the wounds received in that encounter. They were
Lieutenant-Colonel AUSTIN and Ensign DtcuoW,
the former of whom especially distinguished him-
self in leading his men. The result of that day's
encounter, however, has been most valuable in pro-
ducing moral as well as physical submission. The
natives must now see how totally unable they are
to cope with English troops, let their advantages of
position be what they may. However skilful they
may have been in harrassing our forces by their
guerilla-like movements, they must be convinced
that, thanks to the flying columns inaugurated by
General CAMERON, and to the clearing of their
thickets by the laying down of good high-
ways through tha interior, they will no
longer possess any advantage in that re-
pect. Tokens of submission have been re-
ceived from several of the chiefs since the great
encounter. WILLIAM THOMPSON, whose submission
is, perhaps, the most valuable, since the European
leader exercises great influence over the native
mind, sent his meri, or club, the token of chieftain-
ship, to General CAMERON, on the European prin-
ciple of giving up the sword. Another sign of
submission, which the Eng!ish found rather per-
plexing, was a young girl of 12, sent by one of the
wounded chiefs as a hostage. To send her back
would have been highly impolitic ; at the same time
General CAMERON found the charge rather trouble.
some in the midst of a warlike camp. She has since
been sent to Auckland, and appeared after her first
alarm was over quite at ease. Her arrival is a proof
of the confidence with which the more intelligent of
the natives regard us, and it is to be hoped that she
may be the occasion of improving our relations with
them. The old chief who sent her is her grand-
father, and affords one of those instances of
lofty courage and fortitude which excite the
admiration of our men in fair fight, however much
they may be incensed and disgusted by the bar.
harous murders frequently committed by the Maories.
TE WHAREPU, as this old man is called, was con-
sidered invulnerable, but we must conclude that the
Maori Achilles resembled his great predecessor in
some exceptional portion of his fame, for he was
seriously wounded at the battle of Ringariri.
Knowing probably that this would be a double dis-
couragement to his followers, in the loss of their
leader, and in the destruction of his supposed in-
vulnerability, the old chief wrapped his blanket
round him and continued to encourage his men
regardless of his wound. Four times afterwards
was he struck, and his present condition may well
be described as dangerous. It is to be hoped, how-
ever, that the brave old TE WHAREPU will recover,
since he affords one of the most favourable speci-
mens of the Maori character, and is evidently willing
to conciliate the English. The position of the
Governor and his assistants is at present one of no
small anxiety and trouble. General CAMERON has
probably had the easier task of the two, arduous as
the military subjugation of the refractory tribes
may have been. His work, however difficult or
dangerous, was at least clear before him, but the
palicy to be followed in order to obtain peace and
insure tranquillity is still a matter of doubt and
discussion among the rival parties C Auckland.
Some persons are so much incensed at the conduct of
the Meories that they are unwilling to leave them
enough land to support themselves. Others, again,
are unwilling even to interfere with the liana, or
right which the chiefs claim to the land as sove-
reigns. In this case, as in most others, a medium
course will probably be the wisest and safest, as it
will assuredly be the most just and reasonable. It
is certainly not to be tolerated that the natives
should be suffered to claim a distinct sovereignty
over the islands, or that their traditions and cus-
toms should interfere with bona fide sales of land,
but neither is it desirable to leave them without
the means of providing for their wants, and
thus drive them to plunder and murder.
It is besides unwise to confirm the hostility of the
natives, just as they are beginning to confess their
error. Such a course will ensure a long and har-
rassing struggle, whose worst tragedies will not be
those of the battlefield or the siege, but of the quiet
homes of the outlying settlers or the peaceable tra-
vellers in lonely ways. It is satisfactory to find
that all parties concur in the necessity of a general
disarmament of the natives who have taken part in
the war, so that those rams of which they have
made so bad a use will be taken from them. This
will of itself teach them 3 severe lesson, and we
must hope that the experience of all sides will not
have bean bought in vain, bat that the unhappy mis-
takes and misfortunes of the
past may be avoided in
the future.

Mr. ROEBUCK contrived, at all events, to wake
up the House last night, and notwithstanding the
sneers and taunts which were levelled against, him
by some, there seems to be a great deal of truth in
what he urged. Doubtless the hot . find learned
member grew rather too excited in ,some passage 3,
and expressed himself with too Dinch warmth,
but that does not detract from the force of
his arguments nor invalidate the truth of his home
Ltiru§t§. The fact is that it is not 411 tines