Colonial.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VI, Issue 396, 23 August 1856, Page 8

Colonial.

SEPARATE AND CONQUER. (From the ''Empire.") From'our last advices thence, we are led to infer'that Auckland has virtually ceased to be regarded as the future seat of the Government of New Zealand. The propriety of the spot se'ected by Governor Hobson lor the site of the capital has never from the first been questioned by the authorities at home. The New Constitution has, however, began to effect some of iis contemplated changes, and one of the first has been to cause " the next sitting of the general assembly to be held in a more central place." It is the'majority of the representatives of the provinces who hay« decreed that Wellington is the preferable because the more convenient spot for the next session to be summoned to meet in.- The Governor has evident!}' watched the motion, and received the decision of the House with an unmistakable misgiving of the continued unity of the Islands. Wellington lias professed to miik- trie necessary arrangements to enable the session to be held there without detriment to the puolic service, and no doubt its efforts will, after a fashion, be successful. Hi-, Excellency has ueverthek'ss expressed his v>ry natural conviction that the presence of a Governor, or a Governor's delegate, in Auckland on account of the diflioujfies which are of fVeqiJeut occurre.ico jwno'ig the native

population, will be essential to the tranquillity and thence to the prosperity of the northernmost province. Now, no one would think of disputing" the decision of the majority of the House in this, or any other question, though the settlement of it appears to have inflicted a positive injustice on the good people of Auckland. Nor will any doubt that, so long as that, colony obtaius not her perfect' independence—so long as she is unable to break asunder the connexion with the South, which has so longimpeded the freedom of her movements —in proportion as Wellington shall gain she must emphatically suffer by the transfer. The very acknowledgement made by Colonel Gore Browne of the imperative necessity for his own presence, or that of .a LieutenantGovernor, at all times in the North, should act as a spur to the Aucklanders to seek, to urge onward, to appeal for that separation to which their province is so justly entitled. We do not say that it will not be for the benefit of each of the other divisions of New Zealand, when arrived at nearly the same years of vigour and experience the nothernmost has reached, to find itself entirely left to its sole guidance—leaning altogether on its own resources. It is the true because the only way to ascertain one's strength.and, in trials not too hard to be borne by horny hands and resolute hearts, to lay the sure foundation of future greatness. There is nothing so well adapted to draw out to perfection the dormant.or^ rather the undeveloped energies of youth", its virtues, "or the ■promises.of what it will, or can achieve, as to make it sensible that on the prudent and sagacious adaptability of its resources, the glory of its hereafter must calmly depend. Every circumstance bearing on its capabilities—of climate, of harbours, and of lands —calls upon the inhabitants of the province to agitate for themselves an.. independent governance. They have little in common with those of the South. With the latter their mercantile and maritime opportunities will scarcely, brook a comparison. They have, therefore, nothing or little to regret by this not unexpected transfer beyond^ a temporary, check. They have seen the last sittingof the general assembly amongst them. • : And they are doubtless assured, and well it is that they should be so, that it would ill become them at this epoch to be lingering on the threshold of action. For after the next earthquake in the vicinity of Cook's Straits, which, however, we trust, will never again occur, Christchurch will indisputably be chosen as the site of the subsequent ses- |

sions. , From time to time, provinces like indiduals'are subject to a state of depression—• the result, perhaps,|of a plethora—of some evil habit, in fact, which necessitates that a rigid economy in appetite or pocket should as speedily as possible get the better of it. It puts us to bur purgation for our offences moral, mercantile, or agrarian. If the constitution be sound—healthy, valid—much good will result from the process. If unsound, the "debility will but increase and wofully betray itself. Auckland may be at the present moment a sufferer for her past sins—for the egregious errors, the follies amounting to iniquities, of those of her sons whose inordinate lust for broad acres which they could not ,enjoy and cannot keep, drove away thousands of purse-filled immigrants disgusted from her shores. Are her inhabitants now prepared to hold out to honest peasants cheering promises not meant to be fallacious? Intend they henceforth to be quoted'for the good polity of their laTrfd regulations, and their love of honourable, independence? They will not, we sincerely believe, raise a murraer of disloyalty, but if they are wise, they will make their voices eloquent across two mighty oceans, entreating that they may have a Governor appointed over themselves alone, so that thenceforth

Auckland may be preserved from the suction of the Pelican brood that have seen her rend herself for their subsistence, and yet would rapidly destroy her. Let the Auclc_ landers, then, put forth1 their appeal. The discoveries of the precious metals in these colonies and the effect of them in the cellars of the Bank of England during the war together with the position obtained by Australasia at the Paris Exhibition—have entirely metamorphosed the bearing of the home authorities towards all her Majesty's dependencies in this hemisphere.. They are now showing themselves somewhat anxious to listen to the just-complaints, suggestions, or demands which mayr meet them thence, seeing that peace is about to bring us nearer to our unforgoften fatherland.

We would then frankly'say to our island neighbour—separate and conquer. Men are wanted jn Auckland. A bold peasantry, properly received there, would indeed eventually gbecome its pride. The overeagerness to speculate in land in the past years will have taught its inhabitants to feel something of what would have resulted to them had they, in those seasons, thought proper to exercise the benevolence of a golden discretion. But letby-gbnes be bygones. If Coromandel be tapu against their pick and cradle, the rivers and fiats of this colony are beginning at last to reveal their long" secreted treasures. With ...the glowing descriptions that have come to us, we have no credible account of land having being discovered whose yield can compare with that of "the Creek" at Mount Alexander, or of " the Golden Gully" at Bendigo. Bui fields hitherto unturned are now about; to be ransacked ; and who shall affirm that treasures equal to those found in."Victoria will not be wrought out of the soil of New South Wales! Will it not be worth the while, then, of the inhabitants of Auckland, to watch the progress of the expeditions that s from various towns are repairing to our gold fields? Could it again not be indicative of the discretion of their Government —should the fortunes of, our mining population be particularly propitious —were it to do its utmost to obtain an illimitable extent of cheap but excellent land from thj Maories, and thus be prepared for any exodus hence of stalwart successful diggers to permanent settlement in the province ? To be a yeoman —the possessor of a jJortion of good land—r is the ' ultimate ambition of nearly every one of them. Let-not the province again fall into the error which has gone far to irreparably injure it. The Panama route is also before us, in the advantages derivable from,which it of all the' territorial divisions would be greatest gainer. None at present know what "will be the result of the war on the disposition of the middle-aged and young at home, to shelter, themselves elsewhere from the weight of its burthens. The islands of the Pacific, to be brought into connection with us by the agency of steam, have yet to afford us something of their value?. And who shall say that inestimable benefits are not in store for a young colonythat is bent on asserting and maintaining a spirit worthy of all admiration. Who shall affirm that some diligent peasant or intelligent landowner will not eventually elicit from its soil that which shall tend to marvellously enrich its inhabitants, and make for itself an envied reputation for well-developed resources and great commercial enterprise ?. Hence, reiterate .we, with the fullest confidence in the sequel, separate and conquer.