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CORRESPONDENCE.
THE ANNEXATION MEETING.
Sir,— While admitting the justice - of - the
claim we have on New Guinea, I must confess
the arguments advanced : in its' support by; the,
speakers' at the meeting last night seehiedr
to. my mmd, very feeble indeed. Thfi.majii-'
argument was that as New Guinea hfippeh'fed to)
be .on our borders, therefore no foreigner' has'
any/ right to approach the spot overshadowed by
ourj presence. Something was advanced about -
the advantages, the natives , would have under
the benign Anglo-Saxon protection, but surely
the speakers were, poking fan at us. If the
natives' of any country fire ambitious of exter
mination, of robbery, bf all the. thousand and
one misfortunes which the Rod Indian, the
Maori and the Australian have experienced
under the gentle/; guardianship of .their Anglo-
Saxon protectors, then, and not till then they
may welcome ns. There is nothing so in-,
sritferablo as/ modern earit, and I Bliouid' take ' it"
on me to. say tliat not one of those gentlemen
on the platform in his heart sympathised with
the philanthropic pretence. If we cannot
advance - better . arguments')' than; those ; we
thoroughly 'deserve to lose New Guinea. ' Ih
tho.firat instance, our objection- to. .foreign/
neighbourhood is ih itself a very simple one/ as
neighbours /we .must have sometime or r. other,
unless our. friends can contrive to extend the
circumference of tho earth to suit their require
ments)- and . the more we enlarge: -our: borders!
the- - closer, we shall . approach therft. f
Shall we , go back to the .polidy
of our remote ' " ance'st'dre, ' who as Cmsor
and Tacitus fells: rife /coflsidfefed it. a mattet'hf
national pride to have' af iaro a circle as pos
sible of I devastated land, 'enclosing .their fiotuai
possession. OL.eorirso,! ,wo' have' the examples
of .our firtt ' William 1 and: De , Montmorency to
iristruot' us' in this . mode of defence, - but;iit!
labours under. the slight objeotion of being op
posed to all modern ideas. If the. arguments
advanced last night Were laid before an un»
prejudiced and uninterested jury the only de-
cisiun such a jury could arrive at would be that
if such olairiis were admitted than the dog in
the mange'r was a consistent fid Vooate of his own
rights, and Ahab a creditable member of societyr
evdh considering the little transaction of the
vineyard. Against all the talk-talkee there is
one plain answer — " You have thousands upon
uiuusuLus' oi acres untroririen by the foot" of
man, utilize this land first and then talk to - fig
about enoroaclinient. What monopoly can yon
justly -claim of all tho unoccupied countries of-
tlie globe ?' To such a plain statement and
question ofir 'onttora have given no answer. Mr
NeWinari approached the true explanation of our-
antagoni8m to German occupation. Our aim is
" Defence not . defiiinco." We are foundiftfe a
dominion which ia bound to be .supreme in th6J
southern empire. We may have .domestic-,
troubles, dissensions, and complications in . the! j
future, hut we are bound to leave to our children
as their most promising " beirloom- " find :
heritago, the chance of freedom - .from'/;
earth's greatest curse, war. Wo accept as
inevitable the visitation of measles arid' all'
tho other ills infantine flesh is heir to)) but"
we guard our people from tho slightest cbariofi
of contamination with the small-pox. Thus) ih
the sairie way we shall protect ourselves from '
the virus of national animosity, of chronio dis-
tractions, and finally of devastation and biood
shed with which Europe has been inoculated to
the misery of her people. To get such protec-,.
««vu une uuronomy in tlio Suutllferh
6eae. Wo cannot afford to be always oh, tlie,
tonter. hooks' as Europeaus . are, to havo- every -
little political storm in London, llerlih, or tans .
react at tho Antipodes; or, if you appeal to your"
iminonse hrmies can we1 be alwiiyH in dread foi'
our defenceless. ahorbs? This is a consistent and
logical basis which enn bo finderstood by finy1
unprejudiced man, but to talk of unftiiiiffi
acts when we ourselves have so often. ignorfd:
political morality, or foreign cnci'oncTiiilferif
when the whole history, of British colonisatipn!
is a story of nothing but encroaohment, is itpe
height of absurdity. Lot us for any sako:bo.
candid; at least to ourselves. — Yours, &o.. :/ .1
January loth. i
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- MILES:- '
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