COLONIAL NEWS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume II, Issue 65, 3 April 1852, Page 6

COLONIAL NEWS.

There is not mucli news of interest in the Otago papers. At a Magistrates' meeting on the 30th of January, to consider the propriety of proclaiming the district of Otago into a hundred or hundreds, an attempt was made to exclude the reporter of the newspaper ; the resident magistrate was most properly defeated on this point. Magistrates' meetings are not necessarily public meetings, on the contrary they are generally held with closed doors ; but upon a question of public policy, which ought to have been referred to a public meeting, not to a Magistrates' meeting, the Bench by keeping the public in ignorance of their proceedings, could only lessen their own authority. At a meeting of the Otago Settlers' Association on the 9th February, it appeared that a memorial to the Governor praying for a reduction in the police force was answered by His Excellency, that a majority of the Magistrates had represented that such reduction ought not to be made. Upon application to the Clerk to the Bench it appeared that no such representation had been made at any Magistrates' meeting. The Settlers' Association, therefore, , join in an angry remonstrance to His Excellency against weight being attached to private representations by individuals. On the 16' th February a public meeting was held at which several lengthy resolutions were passed. It is a great mistake to propose such i voluminous resolutions at public meetings. The pith of them may be briefly stated to be: — J 1. A repudiation of the New Zealand Com- ' pany's debt. 2. A statement of the most desirable form of constitution. 3. A vote in favour of but one judge for all the Southern Settlements, to which the following addition was proposed by Mr. John Jones, and adopted— j "With the addition of Quarter Sessions, with power to adjudicate to the amount of £100, similar to the Sheriff-Courts in Scotland." 4. A rote in favour of maintaining the land scheme of the Otago Association. This involved the principle of" Class Settlements," and was met by amendments, the large majority, however, appear to be in favour of the Class Settlement. 5. The nomination of Mr. Fox to be the political agent of the Otago Settlers. The following is the fourth resolution puttinoforward the Otago Idea of a Constitutional Government. " That the form of Constitutional Government desirable for New Zealand would be that of a reigning Lord Lieutenant—the delegate and stipendiary of the British Crown—not liable in his own person to collision with the people, but directing the Government at the hands of responsible advisers, such as Attorney-General and Colonial Secretary, amenable to the Representatives of the people; so soon as may be r of an elected Senate, and of a House of Representatives, the members irom each settlement being in proportion to populatton. That Otago and similar districts should have Municipal Charters, with largely delegated Powers for local purposes from the General Legislature, as laid down by Lord Grey in the Act and Instructions of 1846, and in subsequent despatches, the Mayor and Aldermen being ex-officio Justices ot the Peace, and the Commission of Resident Magistrate, so long as that remnant of despotic Government shall last, held also by the Mayor. -That the District Revenue having paid its quota to the general government for thjfmaintenance of a Supreme Court, and to tbe extent of covering- the salaries of Customs' officers, Postmasters, Pilots, or other officers, necessarily appointed for the Municipal district by the Lord-Lieutenant, the residue of the Local Revenue should be at the disposal of the Corporate Authorities for local purposes- That dunng tbe progress, and until the completion of W^ffi sett\? mf»t, the appointments of principal •local officer ot the Government, under whatever name, and of Agent or Commissioner under the scheme should beheld by one and the same per! Sl^veTiue."" 8 "^^ °nly 'and Cbai^able t0 the We do not agree with this view. It is better to keep the name of Provinces and Provincial Governments for large tracts of country, and o reserve the machinery 0 f Corporations for tanas. A Provincial Government need be no more costly than a Corporation, and would do all the work of a Corporation as well as its own until the Town became so important, and Mich .is to require and to be able to afford a Corporation for itself. The Nelson paper is singularly deficient in local news; this looks as if the population maintained their well earned character for quiet-

ness and business. The Examiner of the 21st February speaking of the recent meetings of members of the Church of England at Adelaide and at Wellington says—

" It is then hoped that the members of the Protestant Episcopalian Church in this settlement will join in the measures which may be taken, and assist in organizing themselves, like the other Christian bodies in this colony."

His Excellency's visit to Nelson immediately before his arrival here was made in order to ascertain the opinions of the Settlers on the subject of the Pasturage Regulations; a public meeting was called for March Ist, but Aye must await the next arrival from Nelson for a report of it.

The following article upon the statistical returns for Nelson which are published on the 28th February, is very interesting —

" While entering upon a new volume of the Examiner, we have the opportunity afforded us, by the publication of the yearly statistics, of showing the progress which the settlement is making ; and if in some things less lias been done than might have been desired, a review of the whole cannot but be satisfactory." " The increase in our population for the year is small, being only 240 souls. This is the more to be regretted as a considerable and increasing demand for labour exists, and can only be supplied by immigration. Means have been taken, it is true, to introduce a small number of people this year under the Government regulation, and tbe passage of about what will be equivalent to 150 adults has been secured by the friends of the parties resident in the settlement defraying a portion of the expenses. These, however, on their arrival, will instantly be absorbed, and unless land sales are resumed, or the passage of emigrants provided for in some other way, we cannot expect to see any considerable accession to our labouring population." " The fact that the population of the town of Nelson is 199 less than it was a year ago, and that there are now 117 persons employed in Agriculture more than there were at the end of 1850, shows that rural life is the most attractive. This is fortunate, for with our present pursuits, the work of production can only be carried on extensively in the country; and as the latter fills up, so will the town advance also. In a new colony, a crowded town and an empty country is the worst of signs." '.' continued diminution of the Native population is striking, but we are not sufficiently informed to be able to state whether this is attributable to the "dying out" of the aborigines, which has always been found to follow the introduction of civilized men into savage countries, or whether it has arisen from the removal of the Natives to other parts of the islands. We find that in ISSO the Native population diminished 153 souls, but last year it has diminished 301 souls—nearly one-fourth of the whole number in the settlement. If this, or indeed any portion of the decrease of numbers be by mortalicy, the fact is surprising, for under no condition of previous existence does there seem to have been the same chances of longevity offered to the aborigines of this portion of these islands as they now enjoy. Better fed, better clad, better boused than their forefathers; their strong and turbulent passions subdued by religion and civilization —what more could be done for them ? The New Zealanders have not, like the natives of other countries, been driven from their old homes, but, whenever they have so desired it, have been suffered to live in the midst of the Europeans, and been protected by tbe same laws. A few years will determine whether this race is really incapable of undergoing that change of habits which civilization brings, or whether, under the most favourable circumstances, the axiom that the savage falls before the civilized race, is invariably true." " The judicial returns are as usual satisfactory. Two criminal cases for the Supreme Court in tbe year are not many, although two more than in the year preceding; and though the lesser offences punished by the Resident Magistrate's Court are numerous, it should be known that a great number of them were for breaches of the Merchant Seaman's Act."

" An increase of upwards of 800 head of horned cattle, and 22,000 sheep, shows the progressing wealth of the settlement in live stock. As wool will probably be one of our chief exports for some years, the large number of sheep now in the settlement cannot fail, by their rapid increase, to greatly improve the trade in our port, and furnish us with the means of direct communication with Great Britain."

" The agricultural returns of the year give a considerable increase both in the quantity of land cultivated and preparing for cultivation. The number of acres of wheat is more than a third greater than in the year previous ; the cultivation of oats has increased in about the same proportion ; while barley, which was supposed to be a deficient crop, only shows a falling off of twenty-eight acres. As the harvest, notwithstanding the damage sustained by some of the early cut wheat by unfavourable weather, is believed to be among the best our farmers

have ever experienced, the quantity of every kind of grain must necessarily be abundant. The increase of the land cropped is 1,279 acres; that which is cleared for cultivation 1,166, and fenced land 2,220 acres. In Native crops there is also a considerable increase."

" The returns of dwelling houses for the past and the preceding year are calculated to mislead any one who compares the two together. It would seem by these that only thirteen new houses had been erected in the settlement during 1851. There must here be some mistake, because building has been very brisk in the settlement in the past year; but the discrepancy may in part be accounted for by the fact, that a great deal of the labour has been devoted to the enlargement and improvement of old buildings, while in many cases the latter have given place to entire new erections. The improved class of houses we now see putting up, both in the tow^... and country, is a sure sign of advancement."

" The iinrease of Revenue is from 3,5061. to 6,11 li, which, after allowing for an increased expenditure, leaves a balance in our favour of 1,9771."

" The Imports for the year are considerable, being nearly double those for 1850, while the Exports show an apparent decrease. The latter circumstance, which would be discouraging if true, may be explained by showing that all our wool, with the exception of a very small quantity, was last year shipped from the Wairau, and never appeared in our export list at all, while it considerably augmented that of Wellington ; and even our return of coasting trade is affected in the same way, by none of the vessels which trade between Wellington and the Wairau river appearing in our shipping list. The quantity of wool exported from the Wairau this season has been 678 bales, of the value of upwards 10,000, and this does not include some of the late shorn."

" Reviewing then the progress of the settlement for the past year, we repeat that we have abundant reason for congratulation. And when we look at the small mortality of twenty-six (seven of the deaths were accidental) out of a population of 4,287 souls, we have proof beyond all question that a country more favourable to human life does not exist in the world. We have shown on former occasions that 1 in 44 is the lowest mortality known in any country in Europe, while we see that during the past year in Nelson the mortality has been only 1 in 165."

The Neiv Zealand Spectator publishes a largersheet, and is got up with considerable improvement in the style. It is very pleasant to observe every advance in the arts in our colony, but it is to be hoped the style of writing will share i% the general improvement of that, journal. We have seen a copy of the Wellington Spectator of the 27th March, referring to the memorial in favour of the Government proposal relative to the land question. The Spectator says,

" When we anticipated, in referring to tbe memorial in our last number, that 200 additional signatures would be received to those already attached to that document, our estimate was greatly below the probable?amount, since we find we are able to announce that the actual number of those who have already signed the Memorial amounts to more than 700, and that such a ready disposition is exhibited in every qnarter to sign it that'fresh names are re. ceived in such numbers as to leave no doubt, that there will be at least 800 signatures to the memorial, all either landowners, stockholders, or househol iers and heads of families. Two hundred settlers have signed the memorial in the Hutt district alone, and the proportion of signatures to the inhabitants in the other country districts is equally numerous ; indeed so numerously signed a memorial has never yet been adopted in this settlement, and is a decisive proof of the very strong feeling which prevails in this settlement in favour of the immediate issue of Crown Grants."

We still cannot understand what is the use of issuing Crown Grants which are not valid in law, which those issued under the Ordinance will not be. The Governor trusts that they may be made valid by an Act next Session, but with what assurance?

The Independent of the 17th March, speak" ing of Judge Chapman's retirement from th_- v Bench says—

" The honorable the Colonial Secretary of Van Dieman's Land, with his lady and family, l«ft Wellington on Saturday last, in the " Munford" for Hobart Town. There never was a public man in the colony, who so much deserved and received the esteem of the settlers generally, than our late Judge. His talents, impartiality, and discretion were in every way worthy of the position he filled." , The same number contains an interesting letter from Mr. Fox to the Chairman of the Constitutional Association, speaking of Mr. Hawes s retirement, he says— # "Whether the departure of the subordinate is indicative of any intention on the part of the chief to iollow his example; whether Lord Grey will continue to fill the office which he now holds when 1 arhament meet ; it is impossible to say. But

there is good reason to hope that when the six months of irresponsibility conferred by the recess is terminated, and his Lordship is again obliged to submit bis acts to the scrutiny of the representatives of the people, there will be found to exist an accumulation of troubles, which may lead to his retirement. The great sources of expectation to that effect, are to be found in the Caffre war, and the Australian Anti-Transportation League. The total failure'of Sir H.Smith's attempts to bring the former to a close—the enormous cost at which it is carried on, upwards of a million and a quarter sterling per annum—and tbe impending abandonment of the colony if it continue, have already excited much attention ; and will not fail to excite more when Parliament meets. There is also a growing impression that if the Transportation system, to the Australian colonies, is persevered in, it will soon terminate in their declaring their inder and refusing as a free-people to receive those cargoes of crime which, while they continue dependencies of Great Britain, are heaped upon tbeirXunwilling shores. New Zealand affairs may also add something to the weight of responsibilities in which Lord Grey will find himself involved ; and I cannot help hoping that it is in anticipation of his inability to meet them that his subordinate has retired from an office whose tenure was dependent on that of Lord Grey's own, to one in the War Department, which is unaffected by political changes."

" Nothing further has transpired as to what may be the intention of Government, in reference to the Constitution of New Zealand. You will have learned, however, from the Duke of Newcastle's letter to Mr. Godley, that the Colonial Office will not be allowed to trifle with the question when Parliament meets; but that if Lord Grey should not at once lay befove the House a satisfactory measure, his Grace will lose no time in bringing in one of bis own. lam in communication at present with influential parties on the nature of the measure which ought to be proposed. I, of course, press for the adoption of the great principles jvhich were settled (and so unanimously concurred in) at the public meetings at Wellington and Nelson, in January last; and I should hope (that with some modifications, perhaps in minor points,) those principles will be adopted."

Sir George Grey's attacks on the Canterbury Settlement have only served, as we anticipated, to^strengthen the hands of his opponents at home. Mr. Fox says—

" Nor are Sir George Grey's attacks on the Canterbury Settlement less calculated to damage him witlr<fc.influential parties in England. It is not so much the subject of tbe attack in itself, or the animus exhibited in it, as the attempt which he makes to stir up a feeling of jealousy towards this settlement in the minds of the Nelson and Otago colonists. That a Governor whose office and duty should be to allay animosities, and promote friendly feeling between the different communities under his charge, should be the first to sow the seeds of dissension, and to stir up ill will among them, cannot but excite surprise ; and considering how many persons of consequence are interested in New Zealand, only for their connection with C?nterbury as its promoters or supporters, the Governor could not possibly have done anything which would be more likely to injure him in this country than what he has done. You are no doubt aware that the Vice-Chairman of the Canterbury Association, has publicly denied that there is any foundation for Sir George Grey's imputations of attempted agrandisement. You will have seen Mr. SewelPs denial referred to in the London Spectator, about the beginning of last month."