The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-24 00:00:00

THE LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, OCTOBER: 24, 1861

IHE NAVY.

The Mohawk, 5, screw, Commander Howard,
sailed from Spithead yesterday morning for the east •
ward, where she will be dismantled and put out of
commission.

The Medea, 6, paddle, Commander D'Arcy Pres-
ton, had her steam up at Spithead at sunset yester-
day, and was expected to sail immediately after-
wards for Halifax.

The further issue of the 100 pounder Armstrong
gun has been suspended from the Ordnance stores
at Portsmouth until further orders, except where
an exchange is required, as in the case of the Hero,
90, screw, which vessel to-day exchanges her 100-
pounder, which is damaged, for a perfect one from
the store. The Warrior had the steel vent-pieces
of her Armstrongs yesterday exchanged for wrought
iron ones.

The Danubio, convict ship, Capt. Smith, arrived
at Spithead early yesterday morning from Bermuda,
with 255 convicts on board, who were landed by
Government steamer yesterday and sent on by rail
to Milbank.

The War Department transport Thames arrived
at Chatham yesterday, and during the day landed
at the Ordnance wharf a further supply of 2,000
rifles, with the like number of the new sword
bayonets attached, for sea service. She also landed
10 of the 8 inch 60 cwt. guns, from Woolwich, for
the ships fitting at Chatham.
A number of carpenters an-a mastmakers have
arrived at Chatham from the Formidable, 84, flag-
ship at Sheerness, and the Fisgard, 42, at Woolwich,
to be employed in preparing the Wellesley, 74,
flagship at Chatham, and fitting her as u training
ship for boys and lads entering the Royal Navy.
Already the most extensive alterations have been
made on board the Wellesley, which, to enable the
work to be carried on more expeditiously, has been
removed higher up the harbour. The upper deck has
been levelled, and the guns, stores, and gear cleared
away to provide the greatest possible space for the
instruction of the lads in broad-sword exercise and
in various naval duties. With the exception of a
few 32-pounders, the whole of the guns have been
removed and landed at the dockyard. The rudder,
weighing about ten tons, has also been un-
shipped, the anchors and chain cables taken out,
and the water-tanks removed, in order to lessen her
draught of water. Notwithstanding this, however,
the depth of water in that part of the harbour where
she is now moored is so little that at nearly every
low tide the Wellesley takes the ground. A few
nights since she grounded so much that she had a
list of 20 degrees. On each of the decks the most
extensive alterations are in progress. The officers'
cabins, storerooms, offices, &c,, on the main deck
are being cleared away to provide additional space
for the lads, and, according to present arrange-
ments, it is intended to accommodate them on the
lower deck, which is to be given up exclusively to
their use, the seamen being removed to the.orlop
deck. By the conversion of the Wellesley to a re-
ceiving and training ship the Admiralty have
determined on supplying a want which has long

been felt at Chatham—namely, a -vessel in which

promising lads wishing to enter her Majesty's sea
service may be at once entered, instead of being re-

jected, as has hitherto been the case, or sent to other
and more distant ports, simply because there was
no receiving-ship for them at Chatham.
The following appointments were made yesterday

at the Admiralty :—W. Patrick, surg., to the Por•

cupine; J. Ward, of the Indus, confirmed as chief
engineer and appointed additional to the Asia, for
charge of the machinery of the Esk ; E. S. Ash-
worth, promoted to engineer, additional to the
Cumberland, for the Fearless ; H. C. Jones, engi-
neer, to the Fisgard, for charge of the machinery of
the Spitfire ; D. Driscole, promoted to first-class
assist.-engineer in the Firebrand ; J. Mather, first
class assist.-engineer, to the Fisgard, for charge of
the machinery of the Investigator; G. Hunt, first
class assist.-engineer, to the Pembroke, for charge
of the machinery of the Magnet ; A. N. Miller,
acting second classassist.-engineer, to the Firebrand
vice Jones; W. H. P. M. Gillman, assist.-paymaster,
additional, to the Victory. Dr. C. A. Anderson is
appointed Deputy Inspector-General of Malta Hos-
pital, instead of Inspector, as originally announced.

ENGLISH POLICY IN NEW ZEALAND.

(From the New Zealand Examiner.)

Mr. Waring Taylor (one of the representatives
for the city of Wellington), after several motions in
the Assembly, succeeded in obtaining the publica-
tion of the following despatch from the late Gover-
nor-General of Australia. It will well repay the.
most careful perusal, and shows that the policy
which the Opposition to the Stafford Government
have been so unjustly accused of advocating, on
mere factious grounds, is that which in its broad
outlines suggested itself to a statesman of acknow-
ledged ability like Sir W. Denison, one who pos-
sessed the advantage of a slight personal acquaint.
ance with New Zealand, combined with that of a
several years' residence in Australia—a residence
sufficiently near to become cognisant of the current
history of New Zealand, and yet sufficiently far off
to be removed from local bias

COPY OV DESPATOII FROM SIR W. DENISON, K.C.8., TO

HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE.

" Government-house, Sydney, June 8, 1860.
" My Lord Duke,—When the Governor of New
Zealand applied to me for assistance in the diffi-
culty which had arisen between the Government
and the Maories, he sent up for my information a
sort of manifesto, drawn up by Mr. Richmond, one
of the members of his Executive Council, a copy of
which I transmitted to your grace with my despatch
No. 42, dated 12th of April last.
" In my correspondence with Col. Gore Browne
I alluded to the exposition of the policy of the Go-
vernment contained in this document, and I re-
ceived from him the more formal document (which
I herewith enclose) drawn up by Mr. Richmond,
as the mouthpiece of the Ministry at Auckland, ex-
planatory of the opinions entertained by the ad-
visers of the Governor of the state of the relations
between the Maories and the white population.
, In a private letter to Col. Gore Browne—a copy
of which'l take the liberty of forwarding herewith,
I have commented upon the document put forth by
his advisers, and have, at the same time, sketched
out a course of policy which would, as it appears
to me, remedy many of the evils which have arisen
out of the anomalous system hitherto pursued to-
wards the Maories.

" If the present state of relations between the

two races i; allowed to continue, outbreaks like the
present will occur periodically ; demands will be
made for military assistance with which it will be
difficult to comply, and claim& for assistance from
the Imperial Treasury which will not be willingly
responded to, and which, if entertained, will only
serve as precedents for similar demands from other
colonies.

" A change, therefore, in the mode of dealing with
the native race in New Zealand is urgently required,
and I trust that in bringing, as I have done, my
views of the character of this change before the
Governor of New Zealand, and in submitting them
to your Grace, I shall not be deemed to have med-
dled presumptuously in a matter with which I have
no concern.—l have, kc., "W. DENISON.
" His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, &c."

" GOvernraent-house, Sydney, May 16, 1860.
"My dear Gore Browne—The mail having closed,
I am more at leisure to look into and discuss the
contents of the printed documents which you have
sent me, containing the expression of the views and
opinions of your responsible advisers on the present
state of Maori affairs.

I do not think that you have derived much in-
formation from this document. The views and
opinions of your responsible advisers are, to all ap-
pearance, confined to these :—first, that they ought
to have something to say in the discussion of ques-
tions having reference to the natives (of whom, I
may observe, by the way, they are in no way the
representatives); and, secondly, that, as they are
unable to defend themselves, England should step
in to help them.
" Witt. reference to the first of these opinions, I
may observe that the collision between the races
would have been precipitated had the settlement of
,questions affecting the Maories been left to the
white men who have a direct interest in obtaining
the principal article which the native has to dispose
of—namely, his land. With reference to the second
opinion, every one will, of course, admit that the
mother country is bound to defend the colonies,
and to help them out of difficulties ; but there yet
remains these questions—against whom are they to
be defended, and what is the nature and extent of
the assistance to be afforded ?

" Mr. Richmond's papers, however, open up a
much wider question than was, I think, contem-
plated by him and his colleagues—nothing less
than that of the whole policy of the Government as
regards the Maories ; and to this I will now ad-
dress myself, taking as correct the statements made
of the facts relative to the establishment of the Pre-
sidency of Potatau, but exercising my own discretion
as to the admission or rejection of the inferences,
whether as to the motives which have influenced
the natives in this movement, or as to the results
which are likely to flow from it.
" The fact, then, which appears to be established
is the willing assent of a large proportion of the
Maori race to the establishment of some system of
government among themselves.

" Mr. Richmond passes over very lightly the
causes which have induced a people consisting of
the clans or septa, and analogous to those which
used to occupy the Highlands of Scotland, to forget
their old feuds and unite together for a common ob-
ject. He says little or nothing as to the origin of this
wish on the part of the Maori to subvert the Queen's
authority over the Northern Island, and but little
more as to the foundation of their wish to prohibit
all further alienation of land to the Crown. Might
not, however, the movement have its origin in the
conviction of the natives that their position as nomi-
nal subjects of the Queen, while it brought them
under a variety of humiliations, preventing them
from selling their land to private individuals, and
subjecting them to taxation at the hands of the
white population occupying the seaports, did abso-
lutely nothing for their benefit, and was the means
of preventing the introduction of more wholesome
social arrangements, having a tendency—as admi-
nistered—to retain them in the position of isolated
savage tribes, instead of assisting to raise them to
the rank of a people, and with regard to the aliena-
tion of land, might there not exist a well-founded
distrust of a Government which, while it did not
permit the sale of land to individuals, does—by
holding out inducements which few savages are
able to resist—acquire the article which the Maori
has to sell at a very low rate (6d. or ls. per acre),
which article is instantly retailed to the white man
at 10s. an acre ?
" The fact is that Mr. Richmond's letter is based
on the assumption that New Zealand is a colony of
white people, with whom, unluckily, there happens
to be mixed up a portion of the native race strong
enough to make itself respected. His policy, and
that of his colleagues, would lead to steps which, if
England, would in a short
timethey w
anenriehbilaaeteketdheu Maori h y
race, and permit the oc-
cupation by the white man of the rich land yet in
native hands, upon which for years past greedy and
longing eyes have been cast.
My view, however, of the Maori is very different.
He
te l e
Queen, and as such is en-
s respected, his feelings t ids to
con-
sidered ; he has shown an aptitude for civilisation
which ought to be encouraged; his efforts to raise
himself in the social scale should be assisted. If
this policy were carried out steadily and consistently
all causes of disaffection would soon be done away
with ; there would be an end of those petty mea-
sures which, while they cause a large expenditure
of money, result in nothing but an aggravation of
the feeling of hostility between the races. The
Government would, it is true, be abused by certain
classes of the white population —the land specula-
tor 3 might grumble—but I feel convinced that the
prosperity of the colony and the happiness of the
people would be promoted by such a change of system.
C, You may say that all this is Utopian—that it
supposes a state of things which cannot exist; this,
however, would be to beg the question. You may,
however, very fairly ask by what means it is pro-
posed to work out such a re-organisation of society.
If you recollect, when I was with you in 1857, we
were talking of the policy to be adopted towards
the Maories, and I then suggested that your legis-
lation should be based upon the positive fact that
the inhabitants of the colony consisted of two dis-
tinct races, whose amalgamation, however desirable
it might be, could not be expected to take place for
many years. My opinion now is much the same as
it was then, and the late occurrences have only
seemed to give greater distinctness and precision to
that which in 1857 was more an intuitive feeling
than a carefully formed opinion.
"You have now as a fact the establishment of some-
thing analogous to a general government among the
Maories—a recognition on their part of the necessity.
of some paramount authority. This is a step in the
right direction—do not ignore it ' • do not, on the
ground that some evil may possibly spring from it,
make the natives suspicious of your motive by op:
posing it, but avail yourself of the opportunity to in-
troduce some more of the elements of good government
among them. Suggest to them the necessity of defin-
ing and limiting the power of the person who has
been elected as the chief or king (I should not quar-
rel with the name), of establishing some system of
legislation, simple, of course, at first, but capable of
being modified and improved ; but do not attempt
to introduce the complicated arrangements suited to
a civilised and educated people, recognising pub-
licly and openly the Maories not merely as indivi-
dual subjects of the Queen, but as a race, a body
whose interest you are bound to respect And pro-

mote, and then give to that body the means of de-
ciding
what their interests are, and of submitting
them in a proper form for your consideration. This
you may say, will be very well for the future, but
how will it affect the issue of the present quarrel
between Government and the Maories ? It appears
to me that it will have a most material operation
upon the combination of the Maories. If Potatau
and his abettors are made aware that there is a
prospect of obtaining by legitimate means a recog-
nition of their position and an acknowledgment of
their rights, they will hardly be induced to plunge
into a contest in which they must eventually be
worsted ; they will withdraw from the present con-
test, and leave you to deal with Kingi and his im-
mediate adherents; and these, when they find them-
selves unsupported by the other tribes, will speedily
be brought to submission.
" The first effect, of course, of the new system of
policy will be the cessation of purchases of land
from the Maories. They will decline to sell, and
were 1 in your place I should be in no hurry to buy.
In proportion, however, as the Maori gets,more
civilised will his appetite for gain overpower his
nationality, and he will be found in a short time
quite willing to part with his land to purchasers
who will give him a better price for it than his na-
tive friends. Ido not, therefore, believe the pro-
hibition of sales to the Government would prevail
for any length of time, in case the Government can
be persuaded to give the full value of the land ; but
you will have to give up your present position of
purchasing land at a cheap rate from some of
your subjects, and of retailing it at a high rate to
others. In fact, the Government must show
itself impartial, and if circumstances compel it to
limit the power of the Maori to se]l to any but
the Government, the latter must give him the full
market value of his land, less, of course, the cost of
survey, &c.
" I do not think you would have much difficulty
under such circumstances in arranging for the ces-
sion of purchase of a certain amount of land round
New Plymouth, in order to get rid of the anomalous
state of things produced by the mode in which the
Government has produced land in isolated patches,
to which there is no access except through land be-
longing t• the Marries.
"I ought to apologise for giving you new views
and opinions, as to a matter of which I have but a
partial knowledge ; but thinking that those views
and opinions are more clear, and based upon sounder
principles than those of your responsible advisers, I
give them to you for what they are worth.
" There is no question but that the common and
ordinary mode of dealing with the differences be-
tween the white man and the Maori would be to
treat the latter as a rebel—to pour in troops regard-
less of expense, and eventually to sweep away a race
which occupies land of which the white man pro-
fesses to be in want, though he has millions of acres
of which he can or does make no use. This, how-
ever, is a very costly mode of dealing with such a
matter, to say nothing of its immorality and injus-
tice.

" The Imperial Government will Lave to pay a
high price for the land which, after having purchased
it with its blood and treasure, it hands over to the
colonists to sell for their benefit.
" While, then, the ordinary course of proceeding
will be found both immoral and impolitic, that which
I have sketched out will be conducive to the best
interests of the Government and the people, and as
such I commend it to your consideration.

" Believe me, &c.,
" W. DENISON."