FitzGerald himself on taking office renounced many of those opinions publicly, and thereby proved him self the converted, not the con verter of others. The Press has followed Mr. FitzGerald's line very i closely; and now it is, like him, a thorough supporter of Mr. Weld's policy. But it cannot forget what its own views and Mr. FitzGerald's were a year or so ago; and it makes the very absurd mistake of asserting that Mr. Weld has come over to its side, forgetting the process by which it fol lowed Mr. FitzGerald over to Mr. Weld's side. We believe that Mr. Fitz- Gerald, though so short a time in office had found out his mistake. He could not abandon his own opinions, nor make them tally with Mr. Weld's. If he had not found out that this was so, there is little doubt that circumstances would soon have opened his eyes. The two policies, Mr. Weld's and Mr. FitzGerald's, were diametri cally opposed. The expedition to Opo tiki was the wording of the former, and the Amnesty proclamation was the' natural offspring of the latter. The followers of Mr. Weld gnashed their

teeth when the proclamation appeared; and the Press—Mr. Fitzgerald's fol lower—is indignant when it is told that the East Capo expedition was a warlike campaign in the ordinary sense of the word. We are told now th'it it was undertaken to avenge Mr. Volk ner's murder. The Press may put that salve to its conscience; but in reality the East Coast expedition had a far larger object than the capture of certain individuals at Opotiki. Its scope was commensurate with Mr. Weld's policy of punishing insurrec tion. And as to murderß, the same Government which fitted out the Wist Cape expedition pardoned half-a-du/.un elsewhere ; and avenged the treacher ous slaughter of its own messenger, bearing the Governor's proclamation of peace, by offering a money reward for the heads'of the guilty men! The Press is indignant with Mr. Ward, because that gentleman condemned the manner of giving effect to both policies, — the prodigality of Mr. Weld's plans of war, as well as the imbecility of Mr. EitzG-erald's at tempt to make peace. It dor* not seem to us that Mr. Ward has ever denounced self-reliance or peace, but only the extravagant and very incon sistent acts done in their name. 