AUCKLAND TIMES. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1842. WHAT WILL OUR NEW GOVERNOR DO FOR US?

Auckland Times, Volume 1, Issue 5, 19 September 1842, Page 2

AUCKLAND TIMES. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1842. WHAT WILL OUR NEW GOVERNOR DO FOR US?

This is a question which we hear from every mouth— from the locality of Glenmore Cottage to the western extremity of Albert Hill, it salutes the ear at every corner. The Colonists have no desire to impute to Ilis Excellency the deficiencies of the past, but they hope, through his agency, to procure a better provision for the future his position is an anxious one—it requTres of him, principally, the effective exercise ef the power which has devolved upon him—a power which he is especially qualified to make use 0 f for “ Knowledge is Power.” He knows,if any body may, that the course hitherto attempted in the Colonization of New Zealand has been unwise ; that the prosecution of the self-supporting system must be abandoned, if the Government of Great Britain mean to carry out their attempt to Colonize these important Islands.

It has been supposed, that the unassisted efforts of those who felt an interest in this great national scheme would be sufficient for the purpose; and so perhaps, in time, they might—but the interference of that supreme Authority which His Excellency represents has taken out of the hands of those, who were energetically engaged in the task, the means of prosecuting it. It is only reasonable then, that the Colonists should look from the Government for some active participation in the project they have usurped : —hitherto, the only impulse which has been given by the interposition of their authority, has been to produce a too sanguine confidence in a co-opera'.ion, which has selfishly deserted them. We need hardly tell His Excelleny, for he knows full well, that the British Government are the greatest capitalists in the scheme—they have assumed the right of dictation in all questions of teiritory —they have thrown to the winds, as matters of no moment, all contracts between the former purchasers and the proper owners of the soil—they have taken under their fostering care the adjustment of a proper ratio for the value of land purchases—and how have they carried out their self-appointed province ? The answer is plain. By an open demonstration of a desire to monopolize to themselves a market for the Tom-foolery of land-jobbing—a notion, as Sam Slick would say—which may go down oDce, but won’t suit a second offer, The goose and the golden eggs.

All this is rather stale to the Governor—it is so palpable, tha the will hardly listen again to what every body knows —to what has been repeated over and over again. It is not our wish to impute any part of this blame to him —it is to be hoped, that His Excellency will have a better, a juster, estimation of his place among us, than to suppose or expect he will become a mere peddler of land by the acre, rood, perch, foot, or inch ! for the sliding scale, in its utmost possible perspicuity, has beer.- exercised by the Surveyor of Town Allotments in Auckland. “ God made the country, man made the town.” If ever this saying of Goldsmith had an especial application, Auckland is the point of it.

All we desire is to tell to His Excellency, on the part of the Colonists of New Zealand is, that we cannot support a Government establishment of the extensive nature which was voted last year by the Council, without a population from England, or elsewhere, to assist us —that whoever may come among us, will be wrong to give the price for land here, which it would hardly command in Middlesex. In order to procure new Colonists, inducements must be held out, instead of penalties imposed. The great capabilities of the Colony, left to itself, are, by the industry of our Southern neighbours, well known. They may be much more efficiently and truly stated by His Excellency himself; and, although we do not in any way impute blame to him for the great injustice which has been done to us heretofore, we endeavour to impress upon his mind, the discretionary power which he possesses of doing justice to the claims of the people he presides over. He has not, we allow, in every instance the power of deciding—but he possesses the power of an active friendship in our affairs, we hope and believe he will exert it. He may disregard this as idle clamour—he may ask impatiently, as Coriolanus did, “ what would ye have ?—we would tell him, justice done to the early settlers. We would have the sluices of enterprise and industry, tohicli the Government have blockaded, re-opened, and we would have a little outlay of capital on the part of the British Government, to evince a sympathy with the liberality of the Colonists. It is shameful to believe that the Government of Great Britain will realise the national reproach of shop keeping whicli Napoleon endeavoured to attach to them, but it is too true that this has been the only policy hitherto evinced by the New Zealand Government. CIRCUMLOCUTION. Talleyrand was wont to say, that speech was given to man, by the the kindness of his Maker, that he might conceal his thought. We have a practical illustration of the wily Frenchman’s policy, in the signature to the Proclamation in our last Government Gazette. —One would have thought, relieved of the choice of a suitable selection of courtesy, being under no necessity to consider whether you are “ very faithful” or “ very obedient,” having no proprieties of this kind to pick your path amongst—the road to any man’s signature would be plain enough—especially a signature to a proclamation of “ powers and authority ” assumed and taken up. The following, however, is rather a puzzler: Given under my hand and seal, At Auckland, WILLOUGHBY SHORTLAND! Colonial Secretary !! The Officer administrating the Government!!! By His Excellency’s command !!J! For the Colonial Secretary!!!!! JAMES STUART FREEMAN!!!!!! God save the Queen ! Additional Subscriptions to St. Paul's Church: Joseph Hargreaves, Esq £l 10s. Miss Carlin, —Woodbridge, Suffolk, —per ditto £0 10s.