BAY OF PLENTY TIMES. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1872.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume 1, Issue 3, 11 September 1872, Page 2

BAY OF PLENTY TIMES. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1872.

The manner in which the Public Works and Immigration Scheme is being carried out has been, and still is, a subject of much discussion in the present session of the New Zealand Parliament. The East Coast naturally I •watches with much interest these discussions. 1 haying a deep stake in the working out of i what promised to be the making of the g colony. Tauranga in particular,' from its natural advantages, may fairly look to have i its proportion of immigrants,*to increase its f population and developo its resources. !t may be well to examine, in a detailed form if what we merely alluded to in our last issue —the state of the Tauranga lands—it, perhaps, is not generally known, at least u g non-residents, that the only original land 1 acquired by purchase in Tauranga was some I 600 or 700 acres by the Church"’Miasionarv I Society. On the rebellion of the Ngaeti- '* rangi, the Government confiscated a tract of country extending from the Wahabi Creek, on the Coast, northwards to iS<ni- 1 kuriawhare Point, the western or inland ■bounda y being the dividing range of hills between the Past Coast .and the Thames 5 as iar as the A.roha mountain, thence in a straight line to Ygakuriawhare. This included about 211,000 acres. Subsequently when his Excellency Sir George Grey visited the district, he, on the promise of future good behaviour, gave back all but 50,000 ,i acres, which brought down the northern boundary to the le Puna iiivor, the western side being a line running near the native aett.ements of Irihanga, Whakamarama, and ‘ W aiwhataw hata, to the 'Wairoa liiver. It * may be remembered this line was cut under t ,e rities of part of the 12th Pegiment, then stationed at Tauranga. Of this 50,000 acres, ' aoout 14,000 wore used for military settlers, 0,/00 acres for native awards, 3,000 acres : for townships and land sales ; then taking out . that use d for roads, and that unfit for agricultural purposes, w r e should still have a balance of nearly 10,000 acres fit for settle- ‘ ment a large proportion of this being firstclass bush land. . n ?^ e r lar £ e tract of country previously me uc e in the confiscated boundary, and called the Katikati ” block, was purchased ; from the natives • about 6,000 of this was i given to various friendly natives, some receiving an independent Crown grant, whilst others had the land entailed for" the benefit ot themselves and families (the term eutaiied ’ is used because they are not a.mwea sell, 1,200 acres more were taken out of tins block for military settlers : and a owmg or roads and rough laud, there would still remain another 10,000 acres of good agricultural land. The land acquired by the Church Missionary Society was ceded uo tue government, on tho condition that when surveyed into sections they (the Church Mission Saciety) should receive one-fifth to be PicivEn. vVe see, therefore, that Tauranga district alone could accommodate 300 or 400 immigrants, giving each, say 30 acres ; quite sir. ament for one man to fence and cultivate f n ne potiki district there are also thousands oi acres which only require roads to become fit for settlers. A few miles of road nave already been made, and other lines laid on . ali tho lauds enumerated are quite immense tracts of native uoun ity in tno vicinity not yet required. n Tauranga the hush land is made availa c >y a dray road running considerably

ueyoml fno boundary of the Oovcrrimeut sarul. jx bmllo track has also been, made as far as the Aoagirctc Kiver in the Katikati block, and another bridle track is at once t o bo made lor about 12 miles in a westerly direction through the 00,000 acres towards the ratatcre country. That these bridle tracks will bo useful, no one can deny ; but it seems a pity dray roads were not at once though perhaps this extension may be Icifc tor the purpose of providing work for our future immigrants. And it is to bo liopca Government will not disappoint our expectation, but will speedily bring us our long-looked-for neighbours. A road to the Waikato would be of immense service to both that district and this. The distance to Cambridge is only some 45 miles, and oven by the present native track the journey has been done in ten hours, so that no great engineering difficulties can intervene. iVlo.st ot the land between Tauranga and Opotiki is, of course, in the hands of the natives.

It is said that the kauri pine and the Maori wilinevitably follow in the wake of the moa, and altogether disappear from the earth. It is also said history tellg us that wherever the Anglo-Saxon race is introduced* the original people melt away before it. They instance the North American Indian and the Australian aboriginal, and they also quote the rapid rate of decrease proceeding amongst the Maoris of New Zealand. It may be deemed heresy to dispute such a proposition, but tuere are two notable exceptions to the examples given. _ The ancient Britons did not ’ disappear before their B. unao conquerors, but rather received vigour by the infusion of a higher civilisation than their own. They abac*bed the superior Homan -qualities rather th-m yielded to them, and to this day, proud as we are of bung > nglo Saxon, the features of blended race are so discernible to German people tiiat they deny us the title, and call us the Romanic branch of the Teuton family. Then the £thiop : an or Negro race of people has been brought into cmtact with civilisation in every form, and still has maintained its ground. Anglo-Saxons have subdued them, donis 'd in their midst, transplanted them to other chines, and even enslaved them, without crushing them out. for they seem to have thriven even barter under the control of, or in association with the European than when i-o'ated. The North American Indian, though conquered, stands moodily alo if, refusing with scorn to adept the civilisation of his conqueror, though be npidiy acquires his vices. The consequence is that no fusion of race?, or even of ideas, takes place : and when civilisation and barbarism stand singly on their merits, it is obvious that barbarism mast give way. Wiv.h the aboriginal Australian no fu«ion of race is possible, physically, mentally, or morally. These poor beings are not susceptible of elevation, and they crumble away rapidly from the first moment of contact with Europeans. Butin the Maori, universally admitted to he the finest savage in the world, brave, intelligent, athletic, ingenious, companionable, and apt to learn, none of the causes named exist which have influenced the decay of other primitive races. Net, if we are to believe statistical returns, the people are surely and i-wiftiy fading away. According to the census of 1858, the decrease of population annually" was at the rate of 20 per cent., so ic was calculated that, by the year 2000 the native race would have died out. Wo hare not far to search for the causes. The well iatentioned liberality of Government has proved injurious, for it has made the natives lets self-reliant.

The substitution of such articles of food as potatoes has bean prejudicial, by impairing their vigour of I constitution. The adoption of European clothing, i without the observance of European modes of life, has swept numbers off with lung disease, while the ready acquisition by them of our vices and contraction of our diseases would alone suffice to exterminate fchtm. We venture to think that there is hope for the Maori yet, and that the real obstacle which prevents hia thorough civilistion is not ignorance of our language, or indisposition to adopt our customs, but the Communistic principle which baa pervaded hia tribes from the remotest period to which their traditions extend. Communism may possess pleasant features in a vary primitive state of society, where small communities are occasionally exposed to privation and then mutually share their possessions with each other. It had a certain beauty in the once Maori hospitality, which would not permit a stranger to pass without inviting him to partake of food, but it lias a drawback which more tfian counterbalances the good. It is fatal to individual industry. No sooner docs a Maori accumulate stores than his tribe, or his hapu, flock round to share them and consume them. True, they would share their own in like manner, but they are not likely to have any so long as the practice is continued. The idea may be chimerical, bat we think that if it were possible to individualise the natives as we ore individualising the titles to hi« land, we should do much towards implanting a motive for industry and civilisation. The darkest feature, and perhaps the greatest difficulty of all, consists in ms degeneration of their women. Formerly these individuals cherished their offspring, which the men helped them to support. Now, in a great many instance’ the men disown the offspring, and t..e burden of support being found intolerable by the women, neglect and death prevail, while even infanticide is not unknow n The remedy xor this sad feature, it wou’d be bard to suggest. That the native race are ingenious, witness their woven fabrics, earrings, whares, and canoes. That they are capable of sustained industry we know, from the fact that in former years they laid up immense stores of dried fish, which they bartered with inland tribes for edibles of other kinds. Now, it is extremely .are to see them casting the net. Occasionally a solitary canoe may bo observed, its occupants fishing with lines, and coming at the close of the day with a few handfuls of fish for sale in the town. All motive for exertion is removed. Should the larder become empty, instead of buckling to and drawing the net, the Maori bus oulv to make his necessities known to the authorities, and straigli! way he receives boxes of biscuit, or flour, or loaves of bread and sugar. Truly may the philanhropist speak of tho “ Native Difficulty. ’

In consequence of the Southern Cross going to Opotiki this morning, she will not leave for Auckland until G o’clock to-morrow evening. Kaitkat.i road may he said to be almost, comah too uriugt-v but two across the Wr.ium and Oangafete being finished. The dissident engineer went on Monday to inspect the work. There is as yet, however, no punt across the Wairoa. Oar favourite little steamer Southern Cross arrived early yesterday afternoon af:er a short run of 171 hours, calling at Mercury Bay. Since the alteration of her screw she has increased her speed two knots an hour. She will be a great boon to trie Bay of Plenty settlers, as they will now have regular weekly communication with Auckland. An esteemed correspondent wishes to disabuse ns of the impression that the discovery of the lignite in Tauranga was due to Messrs. Mirshall and l£uiim. as the seam was known ot eight years ago. He says that he really made a discovery in or now the same place of numerous garnets, which glistened in the moonlight so beautifully that he at first took them to be carbuncles, but on inquiry ascertained that they wore garnets, which are constantly used by watchmakers and worth. 24s per lb. Aa those our correspondent found were very small in size, and had to bo carefully picked singly out of tne sand with which they wore mixed, he concluded tiiat the pursuit of gathering them for sale would not pay.

I It cannot bo said that Tauranga is without a local | industry when one witnesses the numerous handsome |boats plying in tho harbour, many, if not most, of f which have been baiifc bore. Some of the Maori I boats are really fine models, handsome in appearance I and fit to encounter a tolerable sea. Persona living in the dis’rict do not require to go elsewhere for the purpose of procuring good boats, for they can be constructed within the harbour, under their own ' inspection, as well and aa cheaply as they could be in , u-kland. Mr. Jonathan Brown is at present having ; one built in the township for the purpose of bringing ; produce from his station at Mauugatupu, and also for Lis own convenience ia visiting To Papa from time to Uli.O. A gentleman who recently passed through Maketn and stayed there for a night at one of the two bush public houses, was smitten with astoaishuieut to observe a large notice posted ou tho wall of the common bitting room : ‘‘No smoking allowed.” He retired to his bedroom with tho intention of indemnifying himseif by b owing a cloud in than apartment, but had no sooner entered than a similar warning stared him in the lace. Me had occasion next morning to visit the other hotel,” and there too beheld a handwriting on the wall with the ominous words, '■ No emoxiisg allowed.” He states that he was not prepared to find such an extreme of rt finement in the heart of a Maori population, and iu such modest houses of accommodation. He gives it aa his private opinion that the lanf.k>rus are extremely couscieutious men, secretly inclined to support the Permissive Bill, and doing violence to their convictions in the disposal of liquor with the praiseworthy motive of contributing to the revenue, oat determined to make amends bv compelling their visitors to exercise se.d-demal as well.

Some of the arms lately seized at Maketu were quite ancient, and most likely “could a tale unfold” it gifted with speech. There were muskets, rides, fowling pieces, and pistols, listed with dint locks, and very old fashioned iu suape. Vv icuuut doubt they iuiu be-. n stored up for a very long time, as the trade in 11 rearms ceased more than tnirry years ago, when tlie description supplied was the Tower pattern of the period. About four years sinue one of this descripti >n was accidentally picked up on the beach between Maketu and Tauranga, near a spot where the schooner ‘Falconer,’ with a cargo of guns, powder, &c., was wrecked nearly forty year* ago. The musket iu question was rusted almost through, and so thickly encrusted with shellfish as to resemble a petrifaction, and would have cone admirably to represent the state in which Rip Van Winkle found his gun when he awoke from his twenty years’ nap It certainly deserved a place in the Auckland Museum as a relic of the romantic incident of the Falconer's shipwreck, but was foolishly given to a Maori who begged tor it, but who could not possibly act a proper value on its historic associations.

i The construction of the beach road is proceeding vigorously under Mr. Jordan’s energetic management. The tramway is laid, and the monkey Irame for driving the piles erected and at work. We cannot oblige all our correspondents at one time, and some must be contented with a short notice. “ Alter Dark ” wishes to know if Mr, Jordan’s tramway is to be a permanent fixture in flamiltou-street. He states that on Saturday night, during a heavy shower of rain, he inadvertently stepped on one of the wooden rails, which, being wet, was as slippery as ice, and his feet went from under him suddenly, leaving him in a sitting posture ou tho i soft mud. Bo does not, however, state whether or | not he had previously been at Mr. McDonald’s. 1 “ Crispin ” writes to i nquire whether the District Board intend to have a scale of fees for the registration of dogs, varying in pr portion to size. He state* that he is the owner of a little dog that would not hurt a mouse, much less alarm a horse, while some of his fellow townsmen keep great animals of carnivorous propensities which do nob scruple to destroy and tear in pieces those of their own species, an instance of which he witnessed the other morning when two large Newfoundland brutes nearly tore a small terrier into two pieces, the poor creature expiring shortly after. He thinks that if his small dsg is to be taxed, cats should not escape. He complains that their nightly concerts deprive him of his natural rest. He might be induced to modify his dislike to cats if they were once banished, and the place overrun with rata. “ Pax ” is desirous of seeing the Larrikin Bill enforced in Tauranga, so that he might be able to pass along the Beach Road at night without being Jostled off the footway or impertinently addressed oy would -be “ fast ” youths. An old lady gave this as her idea of a great man—- “ One who is keerfal of his clothes, don’t drink spirits, kin read the Bible without spelling the words, and eat a cold dinner on wash day without grumbling.’ “ My dear doctor,” said Sir Erin-go-Bragh, 4 ‘ it’ no use your giving me an emetic ; 1 tried it twice in I Dublin, and it would nob stay on my stomach five 1 minutes,”