"Precisely. But no people on earth are more reckless of consequences than these. Still, Colonel Browne was distinctly wrong in accepting a disputed title. His former opinion, from which he unluckily receded, was (as he wrote to Lord Caernarvon), 'That the immediate consequences of any attempt to acquire Maori lands without previously extinguishing the native title to the satisfaction of all having an interest in them would be a universal outbreak, in which many innocent Europeans would perish, and colonization be indefinitely retarded.' Of course, the Europeans coveted these lands, and were determined to get them by hook or by crook."
"Then what would you have advised?"
"The mischief is done now. The rebellion must be put down or the tribes pacified. No easy task, as you will see. Still, a public trial and full examination of the title of Teira would have satisfied Rangitake and the tribes. Teira's title was bad, as every Maori in the island knows, and every Englishman must confess, who is not interested in land or politics."
"But a war would have been certain to come at some time between the races."
"Possibly; but it should not have been entered upon to bolster up a wrong and an injustice."
"Will it spread, do you think?"
"I fully believe that it will. The Waikatos will join, unless I am misinformed—a powerful tribe, well armed, and with numbers of young men who have not been able to indulge in tribal fighting lately, and are naturally eager for battle."
"Are they, then, so devoted to war? This tribe has been exceptionally prosperous, I have heard."
"All the more reason. They have 'waxed fat,' etc., and long to try conclusions with the white man. As for liking war as an amusement, read the record of the last century. It is one long list of stubborn and bloody engagements—wars for conquest; wars in satisfaction of long-past feuds; wars in defence; wars of aggression; wars for ill-timed pleasantries; for all conceivable reasons; last, not least, for no reason at all. Of the Maoris it may be said most truly, as Sir Walter Scott of the borderer—