THE NELSON EXAMINER. Nelson, July 16, 1842.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume I, Issue I, 16 July 1842, Page 74

THE NELSON EXAMINER. Nelson, July 16, 1842.

Lea journaux deviennent plu» necessaires a meture que Its hommei tout plus egaux, et 1' individualitme plus a craindre. Cc serait diminuer lear importance que de croire qu' Us ne serrent qu' a garantir la liberty : Us maintiennent la civilisation. De Tocquevillm. De la Democratic en Amerique, tome 4, p. 330. Journals become more necessary as men become more equal, and individualism more to be feared. It would be to underrate their importance to suppose that th»y serve only to secure liberty : they maintain civilization. D* TocausyiLLß. Of Democracy in America, toI. 4, p. 33». ~— ■■ — "™ ~"~ * , Before we redeem our promise positively with respect to the practicability of the New Zealand Company's system of native reserves, as regards the Maori character, we wish to put before our readers what has actually been done in the way of appropriation, and how far the British Government have frequently acknowledged the principle. In the agreement between the Government and the New Zealand Company, " it is understood that reserves shall be made for the natives according to the stipulation* entered into by the Company." In several documents which have been acknowledged by the Government, these reserve's have been referred to, although there has been no explicit understanding how they were to be managed. The case now stands that more than 10,000 acres, 100 of which is town land, selected by order of choice, previously decided upon by lottery, have been reserved in the district of Wellington ; more than double that quantity, selected on the same tesjns, in the district of Nelson ; and, we believe, 6,000 acres, 60 of which ate of town land, in the New Plymouth district. Thus we hare a quantity of land, which, in the hands of individuals, would be yielding a considerable rent ; but, as belonging to the natives, as yet yields nothing. There can be but one reason for it — that it is not properly administered ; because we know that, from a similar quantity in the hands of individuals, a large income is derived. In Nelaon, we can speak positively of oilers of 12s. $4, a foot for parts of the frontages of several Maori acres, provided the Aborigines Protector had authority to let them upon long leases ; but hitherto no instructions have been given with respect to the leasing them, although they have been selected three months. At Wellington, we believe the Aborigines Protectors have uuthority to lease for seven years ofllv, which is equivalent nearly to not offering them, as it is found no person will occupy land upon so short a tenure. We do not know that there is even a Protector of Aborigines at New Plymouth. Now, surely it was ncfrf the intention of Lord John Russell, nor will It be the practice of his successors, to insist upon the New Zealand Company reserving a large portion of land, in equally valuable parts of their towns and country districts with that held by individuals, to remain unoccupied, thereby deteriorating the remainder, nor do we believe that it was or is their intention that the reserves should not be assiduously administered, and their proceeds scrupulously applied to native benefit. Indeed, for his own ease, what British Minister would not be glad to have a system put in practice without expense to the Government, which would relieve , him from being perpetually importuned by a large and influential body of philanthropists, many of whom are but theorists, anU. hardly know for what they ask, but, froin^the ju*-< tice of their cause, claim attention, and, from their influence, demand to be heard ? Will it be believed by these Minister/thg*, in the adjustment of the claims for land, upon bargains with the natives, where these reserves were insisted upon and British location authorized, that the Commissioner should not have had pointed out to him by the Local Government the necessity of explaining to the natives the resources which had been set apart for their use^iot only to induce them to take advantage of them in the way of civilization, but to convince them of the intentions of the white population ; but, instead of whieb, he has attached to him a youthful interpreter, who,

whatever may be his merits, must be admitted to have been brought up in a society which, considering its Christian calling, haw shown unusual animosity towards the New Zealand Company and all its acts, whether for good or for evil, and who, from this circumstance and his age, can hardly be supposed to be exempt from its prejudices, amongst which we know to have been predominant the systematic opposition to the colonizing these islands by Europeans, and a zdalous endeavour to establish a species of theocracy ? A young man, brought up with such notions, was not the most likely, as an interpreter with the additional title of Sub-Protector of Aborigines, in the lengthy examination of native evidence which took place, to have given in a favourable light the intention of the Company's officers or settlers, nor to have been anxious to have impressed upon the Maovies the object or the value of the native reserves.

With respect to the practicability of administering the reserves for the native good, we can see nothing in the character of the New Zealander to preclude it. We deny if it be advanced, his want of intelligence to be made shortly to comprehend an ulti-^ mate benefit ; and we do not doubt that, in judicious hands, the difficulty of distributing the land itself, where required for occupation, and the apportioning of the proceeds where let, both with respect to tribes and individual rank, may be overcome. Our opinion will probably be scouted by older acquaintances of the Maories. We cannot vouch for the infallibility of it, but we can give reason why previous intercourse with the native race should not be the only test of sound judgment. We think it has been shown that the Maories are very susceptible of kind treatment, or what they consider to be so ; that they have an acute sensibility of wrong, or even slight ; that, until within the last three years, they only came in contact with missionaries and whalers (with the exception of a few isolated settlers of respectable character) ; that they were treated kindly and considerately by the former, and unjustly and roughly by the latter generally ; that the missionaries not unnaturally, from the vicious habits of the whalers, did not hold them up to the natives in a good light, and deprecated intercourse with them. This was as naturally interpreted by the Maori to include the Pakeha in general, with the exception of the missionaries. Therefore we say that the judgment of the missionary, or the white man not a missionary, founded on experience under this state of things, is not to be implicitly relied on. During the last three years a different population has been flowing into the islauds and particularly into the southern districts and the Company's settlements — a popula-P tion which has treated the native generally as kindly and as considerately as the missionaries, did, and which we fancy has had considerable effect on his character with respect to his dealings with whites. "This may not have been so apparent in districts where pernicious white influence may have been exerted ; but in tin's district, for instance, we have nothing to complain of in the native character which we do not frequently find in that of the white man, with the exception of laziness, which seems habitual. We only know of one case of pilfering since the settlers arrived ; and we are assured that they have shown quite as good faith in all transactions as ordinary white traders. We feel, moreover, persuaded, if the missionaries had not pursued a mistaken path in perpetuating their language, and had used the same endeavours to teach them English, that we should have some of them at this moment remarkaiti& instances of education in so lately a savage race. But we must not throw stones ; for the southern settlers have done nothing ajv yet towards so desirable an end. Are they waiting for the means out of the native reserves ?

We have received, by the Brilliant, the Sydney Herald of the 6th of June, and a Government Gazette, containing the Speech -of the Governor on the meeting of the Legislative Council — which, from a gap in our iile of Sydney papers, we had not before seen. We give extracts in another column from the Speech. We are very much struck by the evidence of a very peculiar state of political feeling in Australia, afforded by the remarks of the Governor and the correspondence of the Herald, on the of the Municipal Corporation Bill. We said political feeling, indifference would have been the better word. There is a species of anomaly in the fact of a Colonial Governor urging upon the community the advisability of their accepting the powers, be they small or great, which must be placed in the hands of a municipality. One would have thought that this first instalment of a representative system of government, this first chance of independent action, would have been grasped at with avidity ; but it does not appear to be so. The Herald takes notice of a letter from one correspondent, who complains — seriously complains — that they have taken more notice of the Municipal Corporation Bill than of the Country Police and Courts Bill ; and the Herald seems to be so perfectly aware of the character of the body of its readers, that its only reply to such a complaint is that there was good reason to believe that the former bill would, and the latter would not, become law. The Herald must excuse m if we entertain so high an opinion of it as to believe that, had it spoken the whole truth, there were other reasons that would have been given. Doubtless the Herald tempers the food according to the strength of these whom it should teed, and is a better judge than we can possibly be of the appetite and digestive powers of its readers. Auother correspondent says :—: —

" It is rather surprising that such an important bill should command so little attention. So as can be seen by one in business, very few seem to have examined it ; the people generally do not know what it contains, nor what it excludes. In any town of Britain, every one would have something to sny about it, and the newspapers would be overwhelmed with letters on the subject. Judging from the general indifference which is manifested, and from one or two other circumstances of recent occurrence in Sydney, there is surely reason to fear that the bill will not produce much good. Men will not easily be found willing and able to carry its provisions into active operation. The affairs of the corporation will be badly managed. Some will be chosen, who cannot, or will not, devote sufficient time to their official duties, and some will be chosen who do not understand them. •Such is the case at home, and considerable evil is ths consequence; but here people seem so obstinately heedless of matters affecting the general welfare, that the evil must be much greater.

" To a person not long resident in Sydney, it would appear that the town is not yet ready for a municipal bill; and to people not much conversant with the matter, this bill seems objectionable for other reasons." f-; This is very strange. Certainly, it is no affair of ours ; but it interests us, as would any other lusus natures a botanist or physiologist. It is hard to say, when once the nursery system has been carried on far beyond the period demanded by nature, what is the most advisable method of giving a salutary strength to the character, and it is far more difficult wisely to treat dull indifference than boisterous independence.

Our readers will see by the shipping list the arrival of the Brilliant from Twofold Bay, with cattle from the herds of Dr. Imlay. The numbers we believe to be as follows :—66: — 66 bullocks, 26 milch cows, 54 heifers, 2 bulls, 3 horses. The Brilliant had a long passage, so that when she arrived off this place she had hardly any water or fodder on board, and was obliged to procure a supply of both .from the shore, being kept outside for aboutu t six and thirty hours by tk£: south-west freeze. The stock, a considerable portion ol" which we have seen, are very fine, and, considering their short commons, in remarkably good condition. An Atire Arab horse , an importation of some value, forms a part of the cargo. The Brilliant went up the channel of the Waimea, some distance beyond the surveyors'

station, to land her" cargo, where she now lies in three fathom at low water. This is something new, and as welcome as new. Cattle can now be landed without expense, and be at once in good pasture, without driving roi\nd from the town. We suppose it is a mere question of loss and gain, and that the shippers should be the best judges in such matters ; but to us it certainly appears that it would be wise to ship a smaller number of cattle and a larger quantity of provender and water, than to run the risk of losing many head of cattle from the want of such precautions. There has been a considerable loss on board the Brilliant this trip.

The following appears in tbe Sydney Herald of the 6th of June, under the head of " Cape Shipping :"— " The Louisa Campbell, from Plymouth, January 24, with fifteen cabin and forty-nine steerage passengers, bound to Auckland, put into Table Bay March 24." Also from the shipping news of the Herald : — " The Emma, brig, from Adelaide, brings distressing accounts of the raohey market there, and the general flatness in business prevailing throughout the country."