The Auckland Chronicle. Wednesday, September 20, 1843.

Auckland Chronicle and New Zealand Colonist, Volume 2, Issue 7, 20 September 1843, Page 2

The Auckland Chronicle. Wednesday, September 20, 1843.

In accordance with our expressed intention of last week, we call attention to the very important despatches recently received from Lord Stanle , at least, so far as it is in our power to animadvert upon them in the garbled condition under which they appear before the people they most concern. The extracts condescendingly afforded to the public, will be found in our fourth page, and we comment upon them in rotation, —first observing, that this sweeping disallowance of almost all the Ordinances of the Legislative Council of New Zealand, is a compliment paid to the combined wisdom of our Council, which they may flatter themselves is almost unique of its kind. Being for the greater part a compact body of government nominees, furnished with official instructions, one might have reasonably expected that they would have pleased their masters better, than to have had so many of their early bantlings thus ignominiously strangled. It has, hitherto, been the practice in these distant colonies, giving general instructions to the Governor and investing him with the sole power of introducing any bill to make the voice of the local Legislature a tolerably faithful echo of Downing-slreet desire. And Colonial Legislatures are seldom snubbed with disallowances, but out law-givers, if in anv case, they have met with an approval of their lucubrations may consider such case an exception to the general rule.

Municipal Corporation Ordinance.

We are quite satisfied that this ordinance should be disallowed altogether, and regret ford Stanley’s proposal to renew it with certain alterations; the present population of Auckland have made quite sufficient sacrifices for the benefit of those who shall come after them, without being called upon to erect an unendowed and expensive corporation, whose first business it would be, if it were operative at all, to tax the present citizens for prospective advantages. Auckland is by no means mature for such a measure. His Lordship's first alteration, however, of the proposed bill, is a very proper one. Captain Fitzrov’s experience in these matters, will doubtless, manage all our coast and harbour regulations much better than any deputed wisdom from Shortland Crescent; even if the Hon. Officer who has given a name to that street, assisted by our active Harbour Master to-boot, were placed at the head of such a service. Auckland, being as Lord Stanley sagaciously observes, “ destitute of naval or hydrographical knowledge,” has no desire to set up futile pretensions of this kind. But we come to issue with His Lordship, on his treatment of the seventh clause, for the reason above stated ; It would be monstrous, that at the present moment we should have a corporation forced upon us without any endowment. In fact, we are utterly unable to grapple with any such costly machinery; we are free to admit that the bestowal of alt the unsold land in the borough upon the corporation, would have been a very liberal act; and if the city were in a state of rapid progression, would be perhaps giving too much ; but there is a wide difference between conferring. all this, and withholding everything. Liberality may be “ repugnant to the last Ad of the British Parliament,'' 1 but we do not see why the British Government, bv

an act of arbitrary power, should assume to herself the entire possession of this embryo city, which SHE has been by no means instrumental in creating, but which in truth, up to this lime, all her measures have retarded. His Lordship’s views of the matter afford no modification whatever, He recognizes the value which our occupation has conferred upon the land, and will add to in future, but he shuts his eyes to our right of participation in the beneficial results of our own agency. We cordially Lope that a Corporation Ordinance will be postponed Sine die. Of The Post Office Ordinance. the aristocrat of Saint Martin’s Le Grand, is to take the future and entire controul, an admirable arrangement, as of course he will have perfect knowledge of our social necessities in such matters,—-the varying statistics of our (so to say) domestic requirements will be pea'ed into his official ears by his diurnal monitor in the Western turret of Saint Paul's ; while the ghosts of the repealers of Saint Dunstan’s in the West, will tell of our penny post capacity for revenue.

Under this hopeful method of things w T e have already got a tax put upon the transmission of Newspapers, to and from all and sundry, the several portions of the British dominions, or other civilized places in which we yet hope to maintain an interest or recollection. It is inconceivable to our humble capacity, what deviation from established maxims can induce the Secretary for these distant Colonies, to look upon us on ! y as remote tenants at will, like Irish cabin-holders, who must afford a rack-revenue, and who can be useful for nothing else. Lord Bacon, writing nearly three centuries ago, with a spirit of practical wisdom, which the boasted march ol intellect of modern times, has never improved upon,—says, “Planting of Countries is like planting ol woods ; for you must make account to lose aim; st twenty years’ profit, and expect you;' recompense in the end ; for the principle that hath been the destruction of most, plantations hath been the base and Lusty drawing of profit in the first years.'"

(Let Lord Stanley enquire of the new Governor as soon as lie conies, what is the present value of land here in proportion to the foolish expectation of Hobson and his backers.) The Newspaper tax now established here, will give the finishing blow to the hopes of the Colon} ; we had already been sufficiently mismanaged, but now we shall be virtually out of communication with those distant friends, who might pit} us under the effects of the cruel cajolery of Land Speculators, and liberal Whig Secretaries of State There seems to be some fatal disabi ity attached to the character of this. Colony, the nature of which we mainly attribute to the recoil of the deceptive inventions of the New Zealand Company, but which the bond fide servants of the British Government ought to protect this part of New Zealand from.

These observations have reference to our future Post Office especially. Now let us remark upon the proceedings of the past, and we shall ask of those who may feel conscious,of the responsibility, whether the Post Office does not require a strict supervision here instead of being left at the mercy of English rules and regulations,

We ourselves, have communications complaining in March of the nonreceipt of letters in England, which were posted here in the early part of May before, although newspapers of the date of October, had arrived. We know one gentleman who writes to his friends in England regularly every tenth day, and posts his letters “ per first mail,” without reference to any supposed facility of conveyance. We

know of our own knowledge that punctual correspondent has received from home reproachfu assurance

his friends have had no letters ; him for fifteen monti & A lady ,1 was married here, nearly,' if not on two years ago, lias just heard of ... quiries addressed to her friends hefrom her mother at home, implcM information about her—Calcutta, Cu ton, Wellington, and Sydney newspapers have conveyed to England the news of this lady.g marriage; but the frequent letters posted here by tier husband and herself, before anc! since her marriage,- have never arrived There is something somewhere radically wrong. _ We suggest the sale of stamps for paid letters instead of cash, and the despatch of every mail, with date, and the number of letters forwarded, should be advertised m the Government Gazette, as should also the receipt of the British Postmaster, for the arrival of the mails at the port of their destination. Thefoily of sending notices of letters detained for seapostage from one end of the world to the other, has been noticed in onr columns lately. We look back with regret to the days when the Post Office of England was regarded as a national instrument of humane activity, and philosophical improvement, not an Augam stable of patronage and profit The Land Claims Ordinance. is perhaps of more importance to the Colonists than either of the above, but the “garbled” condition of Mr. Shortlands report of the despatch requires deliberation ; and the subject will not wear out its interest before our next publication, in which we shall be happy to have the assistance of tl e temperate views of those who are most concerned, if they will favor us with their remarks.