The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-15 00:00:00

NEW ZEALAND.

A letter dated Dunedin, Otago, April, 18, says :—The
" Native question," that horrible incubus of this colony, is
again attract ng lively interest. Here in the southern por-
tion of the Middle Island, with as sturdy a population of
Britons as can be found on the globe, pushing and striving
to establish a great and flourishing province—with a Maori
war and its dire& risks no more likely than that the people
of Skye or Mull will besiege London—we are forced to
divert attention from our own affairs, and to watch the in-
scrutable policy of Sir George Grey towards the reinstate-
ment of the Taranaki settlers, or to "settle" some other
disputed block of land, and to curse the fate that makes the
welfare of. Englishmen subservient in the eyes of our gene-
ral government to the attempt to convert the refractory
natives into bad subjects of the Crown. Because of the
" difficulty" on this score, our interests are postponed,
our money squandered, and our progress checked,
by a Government located in the extreme corner of the
North Island, and for all practical purposes as far removed
from us as is New York from London. Amy for "separa-
tion" has been raised, and it must grow stronger, until a
petition respectful but uncompromising will be presented to
her Majesty, praying that we may be allowed something
like a fair and rational system of government, if not for the
Middle Island, then, for this famed province of Otago. To
the latter point things will no doubt come, for the other
provinces of this island are likely to be too much actuated
by jealousy of Otago, and her inevitable preponderance, to
join in a demand for a Middle Island Government; and
you will assuredly hear in England, from this time forward,
a "damnable iteration" of this idea—Otago must be of and
in itself, a distinct dependency, with its own government,
presided over by a governor appointed by the Crown.
The separation question has been made the most pro-
minent topic in the election of the Superintendent of the
Province which has just taken place—the superinten-
dent being elected by a constituency of nearly 2,000, who
are also entitled to vote for members of the General Assem-
bly and the Principal Council ; who holds office for four
years, unless like a prime minister at home he feels com-
pelled to resign by the strength of the opposition party in
the Council; and who possesses restricted administrative
powers, delegated by the Governor, under the Constitution
Act.

Our Customs Revenue, for 1861, was only £69,7.,7, out of
a total of £260,863 for the whole colony ; but last year it was
£167,079, out of £399,272; the revenue for the last quarter
of the Sear being £57,869, out of £118,525, " Our" Cus-
toms Revenue comes naturally enough from the pen, but
the phrase is incorrect. Five eighths of the whole goes to
the general Government, who spend what they like of it,
and return what may be left, proportionably to the dif-
ferent provinces. In this way Otago gave nearer £BO,OOO
than £75,000 to the general Government last year; and it
is highly probable that this year the contribution will be
at least £130,000. This is a dear price for general obstruc-
tiveness. The gross revenue of this province exceeds consi-
derably that derived by the general government from all the
provinces, by all the means of money•getting at its com-
mand. Our exports during 1862 amounted to £1,746,959 ;
the total for the whole colony being £2,421,841—0r more
than two-thirds of the total from this one province. In 1861
our imports amounted to £859,733 out of a total for the co-
lony of £2,493,811; but, in 1862, when the total was in-
creased to £4,626,091, our proportion was over £2,100,000.
During the last quarter of a year our figures were £622,104,
against £1,331,178 for the whole colony; so that, in imports
as in everything else, Otago is rapidly becoming as impor-
tant to the rest of the world as the whole of the other New
Zealand provinces lumped together.
Sir George Grey, as we learn from accounts from the
north, has at last begun to act. Temporising expedients
he has tried to an extent which has sickened even those
who originally advocated such a policy. His Excel-
lency's idea seems to be that the natives are at last suffi-
ciently divided from the lapse of time since the last war, to
warrant his moving again; and that by a display of force,
from the use of which he will abstain until absolutely forced
to be hostile, he may be able to reinstate the Taranaki
settlers.

Early in March, Sir George Grey started from Auckland
for Taranaki, accompanied by Gen. Cameron, C. 8., and
the Colonial Secretary and Native Minister (Messrs.
Domett and Dillon Bell). He was most coldly received by
the settlers, to a deputation from whom he afterwards
granted an interview. It resulted in their submitting a
series of very pertinent questions as to his Excellency's
intentions, both as to dealing with the natives and as
to the disposal of the £200,000 voted long ago by the
General Assembly as compensation for the dispos-
sessed. His Honour took time to consider, and has
not yet replied. But he began to act by ordering the
military in garrison at New Plymouth to take possession
of Waireka Hill, which had been abandoned since the
I war, and had recently been claimed as conquered land by
the fighting chief of Wirimu Kingi. Possession was taken,
and by the 17th March a stockade had been erected. About
300 men, under Colonel Warre, also took up a position on
Wilkinson's farm, Warieka, which is the southern
boundary of the Omuta block. Then an interview was
granted to two representatives of the King natives, but no.
thing came of it except Maori bounce. Men and munitions
have since been sent from Manukau to Taranaki. The
force includes 100 men of the Royal Artillery, under
Captain Mercer, who have been mounted as irregular
cavalry. A Colonial Defence Corps has been formed to
co-operate with the artillery, and has been placed under the
cemmand of Col. Nixon, an old Auckland settler. The 70th
Regiment, with the exception of a depot, is at Taranaki, as
are the headquarters of the 57th, and part of the 65th. Two
or three stockades and redoubts have been constructed; and
the military are road making in a country where the natives
have said that they would not allow such a thing to be done.
Although there is as yet no new of any hostilities at
Taranaki, there is news of a very unsatisfactory kind from
the same neighbourhood. The Waikatos, the most power-
ful tribe of Maoris, occupy country between Taranaki and
England. At Kohekohe, in the Lower Waikato, his Ex-
cellency had ordered that there should be built a (native)
courthouse, police station, and school. Operations had been
begun, when in the latter part of March 200 natives appeared
and took possession of the ground and works. There was
no attempt made to injure the workmen ; but the timber,
Scc., was rafted away down the river; and the natives have
declared that they wont have a court house, for they dont
want anything to do with the English. Four days after-
wards (on the 24th), another project of his Excellency's i
came to grief in the same district. The king natives have
a newspaper of their own, the Hokoi, and as it is made
rather a formidable instrument of disaffection, Sir George
sought to counteract its influence by having another jour-
nal in Maori, conducted by Government officials. So the
Pikothoi lloketnoke was started, under a Mr. Gorst, but on
the 24th March, during his absence, the place was broken
into, the press broken, the type removed, the letter-box
and its contents stolen, and a threat made to burn all the
debris. In all these Maori pranks the English take sides,
and the newspaper accounts are tinged accordingly. They
are most contradictory as to the instigators and the object
of this destruction of property; but there can be no doubt
that it was a game of the Kingites, the chief object being
to get rid of Mr, Gout and his paper. The King men
claim credit for preventing the fire ; and it is alleged that
the great Wirimu and his sister have been " profoundly
grieved" by the outrage, and have personally endeavoured
to get the stolen property restored. Mr. Gent has refused
to leave the place without the consent of the Governor,
and the gentle savages have allowed him three weeks
grace to get it. Both these events, whether connected
with the King movement or not show the spirit of restless-
ness and impatience by which the Maori are just now in-
fluenced. They are protesting that they do not want and
will not have schools of British magistrates amongst
them. They are said to feel that contact with the white skins
has induced habits which have tended to the demoralisation
and destruction of their race ; and to believe that their sal-
vation is to be found in recurring to their old habits.
Whether the outrages mentioned are, or are not, connected
withli the King inovement, or instigated by its leaders, many
e
ve that they indicate a disposition which will make Sir
George Grey's work more difficult of accomplishment.
The goldfields are still yielding most satisfactorily, The