The Lyttelton Times

Lyttelton Times, Volume VII, Issue 455, 14 March 1857, Page 6

The Lyttelton Times

Saturday, March l<Lt7i. We alluded last week to the conduct of the General Government with respect to the question of Native Land Purchase at Wellington. In last Wednesday's ' Lyttelton Times' was published an article from the 'Wellington Independent,' giving an account of the correspondence on this subject between the General Government and the Provincial Government of Wellington. Although the account given by the • Independent' is tinged to a considerable extent by the violent party-feeling with which that journal has criticised every measure, and, indeed, we may say every individual member of the present A'dmiuistiatibn, yet the resume of the correspondence is a very good description of the manner in which the business in question has been neglected by the General Government, and the state in which it is at present left. We cannot wonder at the indignation in this instance expressed by the Wellington Government, and, indeed, by the whole province. Mr. Stafford and his colleagues have given their opponents very just ground for serious complaint, and we cannot be astonished if the Ultra-Piovincialists turn such an opportunity to account for tr-e purpose of crying down Gi-'iiera! Government' altogether, and of holding up, in contrast to the dilatory proceedings of the .General Executive, the energy of thoir own Provincial Government. Energy theyj ;ertaiti!y can boost of.' Although we are far-from admiring many-of the.politica] principles of the Wellington "Govern.

ment, —although we cannot but think much of the legislation pressed through the Provincial Council in that province illegal,— and although, in their anxiety to promote the present interests of the settlement, they are a little too much inclined to overlook the burden, entailed on posterity,—yet there is a great deal to admire in the consistent energy with .which the Wellington UltraProviriciali'sts have pushed their theories into practice. In the meantime, the General Government—to which we looked to check the undue and illegal assumption of independent authority on the part of the provinces, while by every means in its power; it fostered their interests and encouraged their, progress—this very Government has been placing- itself as an obstruction directly in the path of the legitimate progress of Wellington, and has incited the rather rash but , bold and fearless driver of the Wellington coach to threaten to drive over or through whatever comes in his way. 1' We need not recapitulate the number of letters which have passed between Auckland and Wellington on the subject. The ' Wellington Independent' has published the correspondence at length. The case stands briefly thus. Wellington has borrowed what, for a New Zealand province, is an enormous sum of money. With this sum the Government proposes to open the country with roads and to provide immigration; It is of course hoped that the money will be repaid by the increase in the population, the newly opened country, and the large sales of land consequent upon the increase of the money in circulation and the comparative ease with which new immigrants can be located. . One of the great drawbacks up to the present time to the opening up of the Wellington country has been the difficulty of purchasing land from the natives. .An opportunity has offered of purchasing a, tract of country which would open up a communication between the Wairarapa and the Hawke's Bay districts. This has been for a long time a desideratum, and has now become of vital importance to the province. When so much money is borrowed, when immigrants are-pouring in so rapidly, the purchase and opening up of this country is a question of life and death—and this is felt most keenly at Wellington. The province offers to advance the money for the purchase, and only asks the General Government to send down a Commissioner. The General Government assent, and promise, and do nothing. Wellington naturally gets more importunate. At last a Commissioner does come down, but states that the Gbvertiment have not authorised him to transact the very business tor the completion of which his arrival was promised, and goes off again to Auckland ieaving. things in statu quo. Since that time the General Government have made some more promises but have done nothing, although the Superintendent and Crown Land Commissioner write by every opportunity to urge the importance of the busi-1.. ness. What can. be the meaning of all this. It cannot be want of money, for the Provincial Government have offered to advance it, —it cannot be a qu s ion of policy, for the General Governm ntjor.om/se.to take the matter in hand. Is it imbecility ~>\ or carelessness of southern interests.? or have the" members'of the Executive all of a sudden turned ultra-provincialists and determined upon this treacherous means of damaging the cause which they maintained during the last session? . What is the understanding between His Excellency's advisers . and ' himself.-on. native questions? We must hold those responsible who have appeared as the Government in the matter. The Provincial authorities are not. prepared to sacrifice the prospects of their provinces without nn effort. They feel themselves forced by the General Government

Upon an otherwise unwarrantable course of action. While the Provincial Council , petitions the borne Government to empower . the Superintendents and Provincial Councils to purchase land directly from "the i Maories, citing in justification of this demand j the injury done to the province by the apathy of the General Government, the Superintendent himself has emphatically declared his intention of purchasing the lands now in question, rather than see the progress of the province checked. To bear him out in this somewhat bold threat [ he confides in the merit of his case, in the '/ approval of his province, and in the .indignation with which the General Assembly will hear the the. particulars of the case. We hope that, late as it is, the General Government will not push matters to extremities ; we have no doubt but that, if it does, the sympath}' of the Colony will go with those who have been in the first case driven to the wall in their efforts to advance the interests of their province.