The Auckland Chronicle. Thursday, March, 28, 1844. COLONIAL POLITICS.

Auckland Chronicle and New Zealand Colonist, Volume 2, Issue 34, 28 March 1844, Page 2

The Auckland Chronicle. Thursday, March, 28, 1844. COLONIAL POLITICS.

The time for the Session of our Legislative Council draws nigh, and questions of importance that will be brought under their consideration begin to excite some degree of interest with the pub ic. Disappointed hopes for a long period have been succeeded by apathy ; the bow that is constantly bent loses in time its elasticity ; so the energies of the people have been seriously impaired by the protracted delay of those measure* of justice that are indispensibly requfsiie to the welfare of the Coldiy. A gleam of hope now rises in t: e distance and beckons us onward, 1 ut io often and so cruelly deceived we fear to “ lay the flattering unction to our soil's.’’ We wait however with 1 our accustomed patience, four years of disappointment have at least taught us resignation, and as the “ Prisoner of Chillon/’ so we are almost become familiarized with our bonds, although we have not >et quite learnt to hug our chains.

When the aspect of affairs becomes so gloomy and forbidding, one source of relief i* generally resorted to bv all who can. and that i* to get out of it and seek some more auspicious country, at t<» find some corner in the earth‘where the mental and physical energies of the people are Ire - to work out their own happiness and not prostrated under an accumulation of e is, the effe ts of mi government over which they have had no contr< uh Put < ircumstanoes will not allow us all to a*ai! ourselves of this expedient, many persons have not the means to remove, and others have tics and intcwaG that Wild them to the (place, and it becomes n* now there is a hope of. obtaining justice to exert 'ourselves like men, to remove these disabi ities under which we labour. Let not the remembrance of our fruitless endeavours to o’btain redress in the time of Captain Hobson and Mr. Shoitlajid, damp the ardour of our present exertions, now we have a Governor who to say the least, can have no motive** inimical to the welfare of the people over whom he presides.

We are sorry to witness so much apathy slid manifested by the people • on political matters, it is a bad sympk torn ; with some we know it is the result of perfect indifference as they mean to quit the country as soon as they can possibly arrange their affairs. We fear his Excellency is not thoroughly acquainted with the extent of suffering in the Colony, and we know the publications of the press avoid as much as possible any allusion to the subject; we do not mean to assert that there is actual want of the necessaries of life, thank God every one %vith industry can procure them in abundance here • we have all the I elements of prosperity, but the circu- i I lating medium is so contracted that | I "we cannot avail ourselves of the re I sources of the country if any amount lef capital is required in bringing them |3nto operation. Coal and Copper ■mines abound, also Timber of the best ■quality, Flax and Manganese. What la field of speculation is open to the and all in the most agreeable land healthy climate in the world, with provisions abundant, and labour reasonable. Surely the natural resources Bpf this lovely country cannot be generally known in England where accuBnulated wealth lies in useless heaps Bor wayt of some eligible investment ; Br instead of a few isolated instances Bf wealthy emigrants arriving, we Biould have numerous vessels laid on Bad cabins crowded with men of Bipita . We need not follow in the Bake of some of the gother Colonies, j Bid resort to] puffing, in order to[in-

du< e the enterprizing and wealthy to come amongst us ; a plain statement of ungarnished facts is all that is required. We can tell them, there is not more beautiful uncultivated scenery in the world than in New Zealand, and

every man who owns a few acres of land can have a clear stream of pure water running beside his cottage, the hills and banks are adorned with groves of variegated foliage, and wherever there is only a tuft of trees, the delightful warbling of lovely birds gladdens the ear, and the vahies echo with their melodious strains. Nature has done much to render this country delightful, but she has never been tried with the advantages of capital that many of the other colonies have had lavished on them; for except the Company’s Settlements which are in the worst part of New Zealand, all lias been left to chance without any settled plan to insure a supply of respectable emigrants. The truth is the country was taken in hand by the British Government at a very inauspicious time, ju>t at the fag end of the puffing system, when the sister colonies were filled with grumblers of every grade who had been decoyed out by the glowing description of the beauties

and advantages of their several anadins and paradises. The mania for emigration had ceased in England, and a reaction had taken place in consequence of the numerous letters of complaint 'arriving home from these delude waodeienJ among the wi'd3 and dererts «f Australia. Auckland is partly composed of these victims of mi-placed confidence from the other colonies, wLo of course were drained of their superfluous cash, and to ihe a colonial phrase, were rather sfeedy when thev arrived here, They have at length found a country possessed of every natural advantage, and de-drab'e to live in, and thev on'y regret their lot was not cast here at first, before t o-e means were expein ed that would soon ha'e rendered .them independant in this colony. V.’e are bappy^to congratulate the public bn the settlement of a very important question as announced in the Government Gazette of Tuesday last. His Excellency has justly conceded to the natives the priviledge they have so long and earnestly requested of .‘el iug their lands to the sett ers. The conditions to be observed and all particulars

of the terms of such sa’es and purchaj ses can be seen by a reference to a copy of the Government Gazette in another part of this paper, which we ha' e transcribed for the benefit of our readers who do not take it in. His Excellency has also appointed a land sale to take place in June next, for the benefit of those claimauts who may choose to exchange with the Government, and in order to prevent priority of choice, or any unfair advantage, they are not allowed to make their selections previous to that time : this is allowing a fair start to every one, it is a measure that wiil be duly appreciated and thankfully received by the land claimants. We now really begin to entertain sanguine hopes of improvement, seeing that we have not an automaton as was Captain Hobson, or a bear like Mr. Shorthand to rule over us, but a Governor who devotes his time to the public good, and is prompt in the application of those remeaies that are adapted to remove existing evils ; we have faith in his integrity, and feel confidence when we apply to him to redress any public grievance, for we have only to com ince him that justice is on our side and our petitions are granted.^ Although tbej terms and conditions of the purchase of land from the natives, may not please every one, which indeed could hardly be expected, we are satisfied considering the many difficulties that beset this question, tl at a better remedy could not have been devised for tiie present. We do plot agree our £the

Editor of the “ Times” that the amount paid to Government upon the purchase o! lands from the natives will be in effect depriving them of part of the purchase money, we think it will not affect the consideration given to the Natives one iota ; but it will undoubtedly prevent unwholesome speculation and large monopolies in land. It may be advisable perhaps at a future time to remove some of the restrictions when the natives are further advanced in civilization, but we anticipate much good from the measure as it stands at present. The Governor has given us earnest of a beneficial change, and the line of policy lie is pursuing will go far to restore public confidence and prosperity. We confess we had very gloomy forebodings when we commenced writing this article, but the announcemexits contained in the Gazette of Tuesday, have quite revived our drooping spirits, and raised the colony in our estimation full fifty per cent higher than before. We would remind gentlemeirin the other colonies they must look out if they want to become owners of really valuable estates in this beautiful climate, there are many very choice situations combining every advantage that can be desired, but no time should be lost for those who are first in the market will have tiie first choice.