MR. EARP'S PROTEST.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 2, 19 March 1842, Page 7

MR. EARP'S PROTEST.

We reprint Mr. Earps protest from the New Zealand Gazette: — ''Legislative Council, Jan. 21, It* 42. " The Municipal Corporations Ordinance having passed the Legislative Council of this colony, the undersigned feels it his duty to protest ' against the same, for the following reasons : — " That by this ordinance it is enactod that municipal corporations are empowered to erect lighthouses, beacons, and other works of the highest importance to the prosperity of the maritime boroughs and the safe navigation of their harbours ; yet notwithstanding that works of this nature will naces^arih be very expensive in their construction, and si ill more so in their maintenance, no provision whatever is contained in this ordinance for levying such dues upon shipping as might become necessary to defray the expenditure which will unavoidably arise from the establishing and maintaining such works as aforesaid in *n efficient and proptr manner, although it is a

well-known fact that shipowners and masters at all times cheerfully pay light dues, and all such other dues as have for their object the safety of life and property. That, from the non-possession of powers to levy and enforce such trifling ' dues as might be necessary, the bodies corporate of such maritime boroughs will not be able to construct lighthouses, Ac. without a heavy tax upon the ratepayers ; thus causing the inhabitants of such boroughs to be doubly taxed, first for the customs' duties, from which such expenditure as aforesaid ought to be defrayed, in proportion to the amount received by the customs department ; and, secondly, for a direct borough-rate, for the construction of works within their harbours, which, whatever may be their inclination, they may not have the means of constructing in such a way as the nature of the harbour may demand, without taxing themselves to such an extent as, in a new colony, is neither desirable nor warrant* able. " That, from the non-possession of powers to levy dues for such works as aforesaid, the colony will be again indirectly taxed, inasmuch as it may be reasonably supposed that, in a new colony, many years must elapse before the inhabitants of boroughs will be able to afford great outlay in lighting, surveying, and buoying their harbours in such a way as will give confidence to the insurance companies of Great Britain and her colonies, the consequence of which will be a high rate of insurance on ships and cargo destined to such ports; whereas such dues as aforesaid, if levied to no greater extent than might be absolutely necessary to construct and maintain such works as aforesaid, would be small in comparison with the sums paid for insurance in consequence of their non-erection ; which sums, although paid in a distant country, are still a tax upon the colony, inasmuch as such additional charges must be placed upon all merchandise arriving in the colony as will cover the additional expense paid for insurance in consequence of the harbours not being properly surveyed, lighted, and buoyed ; such additional charges being, to all intents and purposes, a tax upon all imports and exports, without being in the smallest degree beneficial to the colony. " That whereas, by the 9th and 12th clauses of this ordinance, it is enacted that every person of full age, who shall pay twenty shillings for enrolment, shall be entitled as a burgess to vote at an election-, whether he shall be a proprietor of houses or lands or not ; the undersigned considers this enactment contrary to the spirit of the British constitution, and also without precedent in the laws of the British colonies ; and that such enactment will, in its practical working, be productive of effects injurious to the commonweal of the colony for the following reasons :—: — "1. That the non-ratepayer is, by this enactment, placed upon an equality with the ratepayer. " 2. That the effect of this will be manifestly injurious, inasmuch as it will take away the inducement on the part of the labouring classes to elevate themselves into a position in which, from their proprietorship of lands or houses, or their occupancy of the same, they would become entitled to the rights of burgesses, when by this ordinance they can purchase that right for a mere trifle. " 3. That the enactment aforesaid will, in all probability, become a source of bribery and corruption, inasmuch as it may be the cause of individuals, or combination of persons, contributing sums of money for the purpose of purchasing the enrolment of parties other than ratepayers, in order to secure the election of improper persons to the corporate ofiu.es.to the manifest detriment of the rate-paying portion of the community. That it is well known that there is a considerable number of persons in the various settlements of New Zealand who are unfit to be entrusted with the elective franchise, as fraudulent debtors, runaway convicts, &c, who have escaped from the convict colonies, which persons cannot, from the want of legal evidence, be convicted as such ; and that such persons will it all times be ready to vote at elections for such parties, or combinations of parties, as will pay the price of their enrolment. That the principle of these enactments is a near approach to universal suffrage in its most objectionable form. That in a new colony such a principle, or anything approaching to it, must be highly injurious to the well-being and good order of the community, a« tending to sow the seeds of discontent and insubordination to establish authority in the outset of the colony, and to prevent that good feeling which does at present exist, and ought always to exist, between the higher and lower chutes. " That it will have, the ttttVof rntro-

ducing a party spirit between the master and employed ; and that, by throwing the corporate offices into the hands of the labouring classes, or their nominees, the more wealthy portion of the inhabitants will be taxed without mercy by those who contribute but little to the rates, and will themselves be for the most part unrepresented ; and thus the spirit and enterprise which has already been so strikingly shown in this colony will be checked in its progress, or driven to some other colony where no such obstacles as here present themselves exist. That, notwithstanding that by these enactments the power of taxation will inevitably be vested in those persons who contribute least to the borough rates, an unlimited power of taxation, at all times and to any amount, is conferred upon the bodies corporate ; neither is any limit set to the amount to be expended in public works, the consequence of which will be a series of heavy direct taxes, highly oppressive in their operation, inasmuch as in none of the British colonies are more expensive public works (in the harbours particularly) required than in New Zealand. Such power of unlimited taxation being also without precedent in any of the British colonies — the municipal corporations of other colonies being strictly limited both as to the amount of taxation and expenditure. " That, by this ordinance, the inhabitantof boroughs are directly taxed for the erection of buildings for the sole use of Government officers : such buildings are also to be immediately erected in all boroughs created, or to be created, under this ordinance, whether the works necessary to the prosperity of the boroughs can be afforded or not — a positive injustice, which can require no comment. " That whereas by this ordinance it is not intended that the mayor of any borougft should be ex officio a magistrate during the continuance of his office, the undersigned cannot hut look upon this, first, as an injustice in hit not having any control in those public works as aforesaid, which be, as the chief representative of the community over which he is chosen to preside, is compelled to erect for the use of the Government ; secondly, as an insult to an individual who is usually the chief magistrate of the borough ; and, thirdly, as a tacit admission on the part of the Government that the persons so elected as mayors of boroughs will not, under the universal suffrage principle, be men of sufficient standing in society to be entrusted with the magisterial office. " That the opinions of the mercantile gentlemen sitting in this honourable Council have not been received with due deference ; every amendment to this ordinance by them proposed for furthering the commercial interests of the boroughs to be created under this ordinance having been rejected, and clauses injurious to those interests retained in their stead, although it must be evident that the3e gentlemen, from their experience in commercial affairs, must be at least as well acquainted with the practical workings of ordinances of this nature as the official members of the Council. Lastly, that this ordinance as it now stands will be the means of producing great aud general dissatisfaction throughout the colony, as being based upon the principle of unlimited self- taxation, with very limited powers of self-government; that it will thus operate as an incubus upon the resources and energies of the- colony, and at the same time tend to foster a hostile feeling between the Government and the governed, which will not fail to be highly detrimental to both parties, and creditable to neither. (Signed) ** George Butler Eabp, Member of the Legislative Council."

We are happy to see signs in several places of the gardening taste of our fellow colonists. Lettuces, potatoes, turnips, onions, &c, have been in cultivation for some time, by the Messrs. Tytler and others ; and on Thursday we received some very fine French beans, grown by Mr. Arnold, of the surveying staff. The long continuance of the dry weather renders this really a matter of interest ; for this is a vegetable the growth of which in England is more than any other checked by a want of moisture.

We direct the attention of our readers to two letters, which they will find in another column. In reference to the first, we have no doubt that Mr. Thompson will not leave our correspondent or others in ignorance of his intentions on this subject. The second letter appears to us to moot a rather important question. On the one hand it is to be remembered that to equalize

the value of town sections as nearly a* possible, is an object of great importance ; and the uncertainty as to the purpose to which it was intended to apply any particular reserve would tend to this equalisation. On the other hand it may be a question how far it would be advisable to expose those on whom the determination of sites of public buildings, &c, will fall, to the possible accusation of having been influenced in that determination by any other motives than those of public benefit.

If we did not daily see around us tht strongest evidence of what the energies of jour fellow colonists are doing — if the number of our inhabitants had not already equalled, if not surpassed, all former experience of rapid colonization — if the tonnage that has been in our port had not already considerably exceeded 4,000 tons, — if we had not felt how much the pleasure of existence is increased by the delicious climate in which we live — if we did not know, from the experience of nautical men acquainted with New Zealand, that there is less wind in the neighbourhood of Nelson Haven than in that of any other known port in the island — were it not that we are now experiencing the only wind that has had the slightest pretensions to the appellation of a gale — were it not also true that the summer months are throughout New Zealand far more boisterous than the winter : — if, we say, these things were not so, if we did not know them to be so, we might attach some importance to the wholesale misrepresentations of our colonial neighbours. We do not think it worth while to bore our readers with all the trash, at once insipid and spiteful, from which a skilful caterer might cull a bouquet fitting for the archfiend of malice himself, were it not wanting in the smack which even the most moderate talent would have imparted to it. It will suffice for us to notice them, that we may not be supposed ignorant of the ill will which* we have so unwittingly excited. We are confident of that success which will give most effectually the lie to our neighbours ; and we wish them no worse than that they may be in as flourishing condition as ourselves. It may, perhaps, be necessary to remind them that the result of their present course must inevitably be that men will inquire what motive- has led to such foul misrepresentation. There is no reply which can reflect aught but dishonour upon them, or raise aught but suspicion as to the real merits of the various localities which they hope to benefit by their comparisons. Our readers will excuse us for making just one extract from the Australian :—: — " Until the formation of this settlement, the colonists at Port Nicholson were in the unenviable position of being located where heavy gales, or rather tornadoes, are almost Tinceasing; but the palm must be conceded by Boreas to the new settlement. To conclude, a worse location for the establishment of a large settlement perhaps could scarcely have been selected, and, after a great outlay is made, in all probability the place will be abandoned for one nearer to the east coast of either island. A similar folly has been wilfully committed in the selection of the New Plymouth settlement at Taranaki, the south-west corner of the Straits. This place, after a large outlay has been expended by the settlers, is about to be broken up, as no safe anchorage can be found for shipping within some hundred miles of their coast. Port Nicholson is undoubtedly a good depot for supplying the several stations who were formerly supplied from Sydney direct; but communication to the fertile lands of the interior is entirely cut off, by ravines and mountainous elevations, that render the carriage of produce insurmountable. " Many are the locations that could have been selected for the New Zealand Company, possessing invaluable advantages, on the east coasts of the two islands; but a series of mistakes have been committed by the officers to whom the selection of settlements have been confided. Captain Hobson offered the river Tarinaki, close to Auckland, on the Thames, to Captain Wakefield, for the Nelson settlement; but this would have signally interfered with the views of the Port Nicholson colonists." We repeat the words of the editor of the New Zealand Gazette — " The ignorance of this writer is only equalled by his malice." The last four lines contain a staterrrent to which we shall revert in an early number.

The following extract from a private letter, with the perusal of which we have been favoured, contains some interesting particulars relative to the size and population of English towns. It will be doubtless read with attention at this time by our fellow colonists. " I have just been measuring the extent of some of our English towns, with a view to determine the population that 1,100 acres will accommodate. I divided the towns into squares of a quarter of a mfle; that is, the mile into. 16 squares, and each contains 40 acres; In this

way I embraced the irregularities. The plans I' made use of were those of the Municipal Boundary Reports. The following is the result : — ■

" You will observe that the average in the table includes all streets, squares, and open spaces ; but, on the other hand, the old English towns are closely packed. In Liverpool there are houses of four, five, and six stories high, the cellars also being occupied by families. Colonial towns are not so constructed. The houses are generally two or three stories only, and there are more open spaces. I will endeavour to get some plans of American towns, and send you the particulars. My own impression is that 1,100 acres are about enough f >r 50,000 people comfortably lodged."

The Mary Anne left the Haven yesterday afternoon, and sailed to-day. Captain Bolton intends proceeding immediately to Sydney. We wish him a successful trip, and prosperous voyage to Old England.

Name. Acres. Houses. Population in 1831. Bath Bristol . Cambridge Carlisle . Chester . Colchester (iloucester Macclesfield . Liverpool 640 1,360 360 240 360 280 240 400 2,800 7,800 18,800 4,500 2,924 4,200 2,852 2,264 4,049 25,280 51,000 105,000 21,000 20,000 22,000 16,00015,000 30,000 210,000 Total . 6,680 72,675 491,000 New Zealand Towns . 1,100 12,112 L 82,000 Proportion for I,loo} $-acre allotments I I _________ } 55 ° ! ! 6,000 41,000 I