The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-29 00:00:00

THE START.

Everybody seemed impatient for the event of the day.
One could not do anything but crouch under shelter, or
get soaked even through a mackintosh. But just as the
course was again cleared the rain from a pour became a
drizzle, and then stopped in a considerate fashion for a
quarter of an hour ; so that after all the Oaks was run in
comparative comfort. But at the best it was a bad
business. The state in which the jockeys who rode in the
Glasgow Plate weighed in, sheaved what the jockeys
riding in the Oaks had to expect, and the canter past gave
them enough proof that they were not to escape without
a storm of dirt flung up by the heels of the horses.
In the canter nothing seemed to go better than
Morna ; but it was very difficult to judge fairly as
the fillies plunged through the sea of mud. As they
went to the post a nice, but not very powerful-looking
filly, named Miss Foote, broke her surcingle, and was led
back to the enclosure until Custance could procure another.
From this cause, and one false start, it was twelve minutes
after the hour before the flag fell, and then the start was
not the best that the world has seen. But it was some-
thing to get a start for the Oaks with so little difficulty ;
the badness of it did not much matter, for as the mares
disappeared behind the hill they were in a compact body.

POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT IN NEW

ZEALAND.

Two or three despatches relating to a proposed guaran-
teed loan of £1,500,000 for New Zealand have been pub-
lished. The New Zealand Government urged that,
" when the French and English were competing for the
possession of New Zealand some years ago, the
English Government acquired the islands, subject to certain
onerous obligations towards the natives ; that the islands
being, in consequence, occupied with English emigrants,
were, by the Imperial Government, plunged into a war
with the natives ; that during that war the Imperial
Government forced on the colony the adoption of all
Imperial obligations towards the native race ; that the
obligations so imposed are greater than can be discharged
without Imperial assistance, and that this asFis ante
may be most conveniently given in the form of a loan.
The Lords Commissioners of the Revenue, however,
declined to recommend this law to Parliament, and the
reasons are very clearly set forth in a despatch by Earl
Granville, dated March 21, which says that New Zealand
was colonised by settlers without encouragement from
the English Government, which only considered
itself responsible for placing the relations between
the settlers and the natives on a satisfactory
footing. It, therefore, acquired the islands by
treaty from the natives, and established a regular
government in the settlements. The treaty did not render
the English Government liable to the payment of a subsidy,
or any other onerous condition, but merely gave the natives
the rights of British subjects, and bound the Queen to
respect their territorial rights ; rights, it may be observed,
the existence of which were perfectly recognised among
the tribes, and which they were always ready to support
by force of arms if necessary. The Government was
amenable at first to the Home Government,
afterwards almost wholly to the settlers. But it
was never at any time attempted to make New Zealand
tributary to Great Britain, or to direct local affairs in such
a way as to produce any political or pecuniary advantage
to this country. The colony was governed with
a view to the real or supposed advantage of
the inhabitants. It follows, therefore, says Lord
Granville, " that the Imperial Government have not
transferred to that of the colony any obligation whatever,
except that imposed on all of us by natural justice, not to
appropriate the property of others ; that all the Imperial
expenditure on the colony has been for the benefit of the
colonists, and a great part of it may be viewed as the
price paid by this country for the territories which have
been recently, and 1 think unwisely, appropriated by
them ; and, lastly, that no part of the colonial expendi-
ture has been in any degree for the benefit of the mother
country."