LATEST ENGLISH INTELLIGENCE

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 35, 5 November 1842, Page 139

LATEST ENGLISH INTELLIGENCE

Lord Congleton (late Sir Henry Para ell) committed suicide, by hanging himself in his dressing room, on the Bth of June, His lordship had been unwell since the first of April, and during the latter period of his illness was dejected and melancholy. » Verdict, "hung himself during temporary instanity." Mr. Lister, the registrar-general, died on the sth of June. Mr. Lister was the author of " Granby," and other popular works of fiction. To promote the trade of Norwich, the Queen has purchased several shawls manufactured in that town, for her own wearing. The West India steamer Medina has been totally lost .on a reef at the entrance of Turk's. Island. No blame is attributed to the commander. The lives of all on board were saved.

The sum of £15,000 has been subscribed to relieve the distress existing in the manufacturing districts.

A dreadful accident has occurred at the Apothecaries' Hall, London, by an explosion in the laboratory, which killed a gentleman present named Heunel, and scattered fragments of his body over the tops of the adjoining buildings. The accident was caused by mixing detonating powder, prepared by two different persons, to produce uniformity of colour. Ely cathedral has narrowly escaped from being totally consumed by fire. Some plumbers, who had been employed in repairing the roof, let a piece of ignited charcoal fall on a rafter, which immediately took fire. By great exertion, the building sustained little damage beyond the roof, which was entirely consumed. Lord Ashley has brought in a bill to improve the condition of the people employed in the collieries, the chief clauses of which are—

" That the employment of women in the mines should be wholly forbidden. " That no male child should be employed under thirteen years of age. " That the engine by «hich labourers were earned up and down the shaft* thould not be intrusted to the management of any engineers or workmen under twenty-one. " That the system of apprenticing boys till twenty-one should be abolished."

Those clauses were supported by statements demonstrating their necessity, and received the full support of the house. Many of the colliers at Dudley have returned to their work at the reduced wages. Eight Chartists have been committed for uttering inflammatory speeches. A new church, bnilding at Andover, and which was nearly completed, fell down and buried a man in its ruins.

The King of the French is dangerously ill from an attack of dropsy. Messrs. Thompson andCo.'s large cotton manufactory, in Pin Mill Bow, Manchester, has been totally consumed by fire. The cotton mill of Mr. Whitworth, at Bury, in Lancashire, has also been destroyed by fire. The Marquis of Waterford has married a daughter of Lord Stuart de Rothesay. Considerable sensation has been caused by a notice published in the Gazette, that the gold coinage under weight shall no longer be current. A most lamentable event has taken place in the town of Ennis, in Ireland. An attack had been made on a com store by a large concourse of people, and the police, while attempting to disperse the mob, were assailed with showers of stones, which fractured the skull of one and struck several others. The police then found it necessary to fire, and it was not until twenty-five discharges had taken place that the mob showed any disposition to desist. Several have died of their wounds.

Francis, who fired at the Queen, and Cooper, who shot the policeman, have been tried and received sentence of death, and it was expected that both would be executed. Mr. Yates, long known as the manager of the Adelphi Theatre, died on the 14th June. Mr. Justice Littledale died on the 26th Jane,

An emigrant ship from Greenock for Montreal, has been lost in the Western Ocean* AB on board were fortunately saved.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PRO. PRIETORS OF THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY. The annual meeting of the New Zealand Company was held on Tuesday, May 31, at tlje New Zealand House, Broad-street-buildings.* The chair was taken by Joseph Somes, Esq., the Governor of the Company. The following gentlemen were present at the meeting: — ■

Directors — Mr. Mangles, M.P., Mr. Aglionhy, M.P., Mr. MarjoVibanks, M.P., Mr. J. A. Smith, M.P., Mr. G. F. Young, Mr. W. King, Sir Isaac Goldsmid, Bart., Mr. C. BuUer, M.P., Mr. R. J. Gowen.

Shareholders — Mr. 1. 1. Bulkeley, Major Chase, Mr. Curling, Mr. Alexander Currie, Major Curphey, Mr. W. Dorset, Mr. Thomas Frederick Everingham, and Mr. Jeremiah Pilcher (auditors of the Company), Mr. W. G. Gover. Mr. John Heath, Mr. Halpen, Mr. Joseph Somes, jun., Mr. Clement Tabor, Mr. G. Trimmer, &c.

The minutes of the last meeting having been read and confirmed, the Secretary read the Fifth Report, from which we make the following extracts. Speaking of the spot chosen by Captain Wakefield as the site of Nelson, it observes :—: —

" Your directors have every reason to feel satisfied that the choice of place has been exercised with judgment; and if, in some respects — particularly as regards an immense tract of plain country — the coast to the northward of Banks' Peninsula appeared to offer a more eligible location, the site actually selected, whilst it possesses the recommendation of open and level country to an extent quite commensurate with the present wants of the settlement, has advantages of position which do not belong to the place which seemed, in the first instance, more inviting. It is nearer to this country and to the Australian colonies, and is easily accessible to vessels from both those quarters at all seasons ; but its peculiar superiority consists in its vicinity to Wellington and New Plymouth, and in the facility with which, consequently, the colonists on their first arrival there will draw supplies of provisions and other bulky necessaries from the Company's older settlements. And even after such wants have ceased to be felt, great benefits must result to all the settlements from that consfant intercourse which their relative positions will invite. It seems probable, from the different character of the country on the two sides of Cook's Straits, that the occupation of the colonists of the northern shore will be chiefly tillage of land* and that advantage will be taken of the open plains in the vicinity of Nelson for the pasturage of sheep and cattle; that, consequently, flax and corn will be the staples of the former, whilst the exports of the latter may, perhaps, more nearly resemble those of Australia. Natural circumstances will, therefore, tend to impose upon the settlers on each island that mutual dependence which must conduce most essentially to their common benefit."

Of Ihe progress made in colonizing Nelson the following particulars are given : —

" Since the date of the last annual report, 12 vessels, conveying 161 cabin passengers and 1,942 emigrants, have been despatched to Nelson. Four of these, the Lloyds, Mary Ann, Fifeshire, and Lord Auckland, sailed in September last, after your directors and the principal friends of the enterprise had taken leave of the settlers at a public breakfast at Blackwall, in sight of the vessels in which they were about to embark ; which his Royal Highness the Puke of Sussex and other distinguished guests honoured by their presence, and where the strongest feeling was manifested, both as to the great public value of the objects contemplated by the Company and to the manner in which they were pursued. The present season has been opened by the despatch of two vessels, on the Ist and 25th instant respectively; a third follows on the 15th of next month, and a fourth has been taken up to sail from the Clyde on the Ist of July. It has been determined to despatch others consecutively on the Ist of each month, beginning with August. This does not, of course, include the emigration to Wellington and New Plymouth, which will be noticed distinctly. Your directors trust yon will think th.at, in this respect, the plans of the Cpmpany have been vigorously carried out. • " You were informed in the third report that less than 400 of the allotments into which the preliminary lands of Nelson had been divided remained to be dispdsed of in this country. The following statement shows the present poeition of your affairs in this particular : — ' Ndton Allotments. Purchased by the Company . .100 Sent out for sale in the polonies . 200 Set aside as Native Reserves . 100 Sold to the public in this country . 400 Remain for sale . 300 ! Total . f • 1100 ! " Your directors are not yet in possession of any information relating to the disposal of the allotments assigned for sale in the Australian colonies; and in this respect they apprehend that the Company cannot expect that its interests should be unaffected by those mercantile and monetary calamities under which every other party connected with those settlements is suffering so severely. But, in one of bis latest despatches, Colonel Wakefield stated that it was probable several allotments would be disposed of at Wellington, as soon as it was known there that the site of Nelson had been definitively fixed. In relation to this subject, your directors may add that they are endeavouring to establish a connexion with our eastern em-

pire, in the persuasion that many of the officers who annually retire from the Indian' services, without those very large means .which are .necessary to a comfortable settlement with a large family in this country, would, from their character, habits, and resources, become most valuable and successful colonists in New ♦Zealand." The progress made at Port Nicholson is next dwelt on, which is highly favourable : — " The directors are happy to have it in their power to assure you that that settlement has advanced with extraordinary rapidity ; that every anticipation entertained of the excellence of the harbour, of the salubrity of the climate, and of the fertility of the soil, has been fully realized; and that Colonel Wakefield's last despatches contained his assurance that the community was in a more prosperous and healthy condition than at any previous period of its brief existence." Road-making next receives attention; and the Company is congratulated on what has been effected under the difficulties that had to be encountered. Of the excellence of Wellington Harbour Mr. Heaphy, who had lately returned to England, furnishes the following testimony : — " As the accessibility of Port Nicholson during the heavy contrary gales which sometimes prevail has been questioned, I may here mention that the number of vessels that have beat in against strong gales is 14, and 53 with slight winds. Out of this number 47 were strangers, and 18 entered by night. Each time that I have entered Port Nicholson has been against contrary winds, and three out of the five times have been by night. It is fortunate to be able to add that, since the formation of the colony, no vessel has met with any serious accident, either while in the harbour or when entering. * * * The anchorage is not only perfectly land-locked, but in the direction of the prevalent winds its distance from the beach is so small as to prevent any swell arising in a gale which would affect the shipping/ Our next etxract relates to the efforts made by the directors to establish a Loan Company :—: — " The success of the great experiment which' it has been your honourable fortune to try, and the high merit of the colonists to carry out, on the beautiful but till now unreclaimed and unprofitable shores of New Zealand, is secure : — the settlement has, beyond all question, taken permanent root. Nevertheless, the quickness and extent of the further growth of the community which you have founded is dependent, in a great measure, upon aid from without. The colonists and your directors equally feel that it would conduce most essentially to the enhanced prosperity of the settlement, if means could be devised by which parties possessed of land — to the improvement of which, in proportion to its extent, they have already devoted considerable capital — might be able to obtain loans upon the security, of such property, at reasonable interest and for longer periods than consist with the rules and practice of ordinary banks. Land in a new colony, rapidly increasing in value, must afford the best security for such advances, if made in the first instance with a prudent regard to the fair market value of the property charged. And where, as in such communities, profits are extremely high, and capable, for a considerable time at least, of being acquired, without diminution of rate, from an extended capital, it must manifestly be the interest of the landowner to increase his means of production. Your directors were assured of this, and of the great anxiety of the colonists that loans of the nature in question should be available to parties of undoubted substance and character, disposed to engage hona fide in agricultural or other useful operations j but yet they were unwilling that the Company should at once take upon itself the direct instrumentality of a system of advances for considerable periods upon landed security. They preferred that the actual management of such a system should be in the hands of parties making it their primary business; and they have, therefore, endeavoured to arrange the matter through the instrumentality of a company whose general objects are well calculated to advance the prosperity of the colonies in which they are brought into action. A negotiation with the company has been opened; and jour directors regard the object in view as one of so much importance as to demand thai; the means of effecting it should be anxiously and unceasingly sought for." New Plymouth is not overlooked ; the agricultural prospects of which are deemed highly satisfactory. Ihe whole, of what follows must be interesting:— " The Bishop having expressed bis readiness to cover with an equal sum any contribution which the committee or its friends might be disposed to make, with a view to secure to those of the inhabitants of Wellington and New Plymouth who are in communion with the Church of England, the blessings of spiritual instruction through the instrumentality of a fixed and permanent ministry, your directors thought that they could not better evince the sincerity of the Company's desire to promote the religious and moral welfare as well as the temporal advantage of the colonists who have connected themselves with it, than by making a liberal grant for the object above stated, thereby securing to tfcfr settlements the benefit of double the sum bestowed. They gave to Wellington £2,000, and to New Plymouth £500. ' Your director* desire to call public atUntipaio a committee iwbicli is on the lioint of beiujftformed with a viefrlftr I raise additional subseriftiona to these ch^e^

funds; and they, beg you to, bear in mind that, the Biphop has, pledged himself, on behall of the great societies of the Church of England, I that a sum equal to any amount that may be thus raised shall be applied to the exclusive benefit of the settlement above named. From the funds subscribed by the colonists at Nelson, in the shape of an enhanced price of land, for purposes of religious ministration, your directors ■ have appropriated £5,000 (which they deem a, fair proportion, in relation to the number of the members of the Church of England engaged in that enterprise) to the endowment of an episcopal ministry in that settlement. This sum also the Bishop has undertaken -to meet with an equivalent; so that this portion of the Nelson fund has in effect been doubled by the mode of its application.

" The Bishop haying displayed, in his conferences with your directors, a great anxiety for the improvement of the aborigines, and -that the scheme of native reserves upon which the Company has proceeded should be made conducive to that end, your directors stated to him that the Company was willing to advance a moderate sum on loan, on the security of those reserves, upon the condition that the land in question, and the administration of the money advanced for the benefit of the native population, should be placed by the Government in the hands of trustees, in whom, from their high station in the colony and their character, your directors and the public might feel confidence. By these means it appeared that a double end might be secured, in the preservation and honest management of the reserved lands, and in the simultaneous education and social advancement of the aborigines. The Bishop cordially concurred in these views, and your directors are how engaged in a correspondence with the Colopial Department upon the subject. They will jnpt fail to use their best endeavours to insure to the native inhabitants of New Zealand the jjreatest possible amount of benefit from the lands which have been set apart for their use and enjoyment in the midst of the civilized community which has settled on their shores. " Your directors have not failed to give their attention, in the course of the year under review, to the important subject of steam navigation between your settlements. They beg to refer you, for an exposition of their present views upon this matter, to their despatch to .Colonel Wakefield, of the 24th instant. " Your directors haye^o report that, in conformity with the provisions of the charter of incorporation, the additional capital of £200,000 was duly subscribed, find, one moiety thereof — namely, £^OO,OQoTr<iuly paid up, previous to the expiration of twelve months from the date of the charter. " Your directors lay before you the usual statements of jsc&ip£s .and .payments, and of assets and J\at>iUties. It could not reasonably be expected that the affairs of the Company should enjqy 39 exclusive exemption from the operation of thojse depressing causes which have affected, during the last twelve months, every interest connected with the shipping, the commerce, the manufactures, and the general domestic industry of this country. The universal stagnation of enterprise, accompanied by an unparalleled scarcity of money, has, of course, limited your sales of land in this country, whilst the still more calamitous state of things throughout the Australian colonies has interfered with these local sales, from which, under more favourable circumstances, your directors should have looked with confidence for a considerable accession to the income of the Company. On the otb,er hand, they have laid before you ample proof in the course of this report that the colonies which have been founded through your instrumentality are eminently flourishing ; and that the prospects of the settlers are as bright as they or their beßt friends in .this country could expect or desire. " In conclusion, your directors are happy to be able to report that, although some important questions having reference both to the policy of $ie Home Government and to the conduct of Ihe Lord Governor remain to be Anally adjusted, and it may perhaps be necessary to address you Specially upon, these questions on a future occasion, yet your directors are willing to believe that her Majesty's Government is actuated by friendly sentiments towards the Company, which is recognised as having made great and successful exertions in promoting the settlement of Niew Zealand. And it j 8 with great gratification that they can add tb^t they have been recently assured by the noble lord at the head of the Colonial Department, that he has enjoined the Governor of New Zealand to give, on all occasions, the most favourable consideration to representations which the Company's Agent may make to him on public matters ; and, in the discharge of his legislative and administrative functions, to afford the amplest protection, encouragement, and countenance to those who may settle upon the land of the Company. " In the course of the last year, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Esq., Sir George Sinclair, Bart., Russell Ellice, Esq., and "William Taylor Copeland, Esq. and Aid., M.P., have retired from the direction of your affairs. Their places have, been respectively filled by the following gentlemen, viz. : Charles Buller, Esq., M.P., William King, Esq., Sir Ralph Howard, Bart., M.P., and Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid, Bart." DESPATCH TO COLONEL WAKEFIELD. " New Zealand House, Broad-street-buildiogs, May 24, 1842. *' S»— The Court of Director* having taken the subject of steam navigation for th* benefit of the settlements which the New Zealand Company has founded into that serious consideration which, on account both of its intrinticimportaoce and of the strong interest with which it is regarded by the intelligent body of colonists, it so well deserves, I am desired to transmit the result of the court's , deliberations thereon, fer your information and;

guidance, and for communication, as you may deem advisable, to the public. " You are aware that the only fund at the disposal of the court, which is available for the purpose in question, is derived from that sixth part of the price paid for the land sold by the Company to form the settlement of Nelson, which was appropriated to public purposes, two-fifths of that amount having been specially set apart for ' the encouragement of steam navigation for the benefit of that settlement by way of bounty.' Only a part of the whole intended area of Nelson having as yet been sold, the sum at present in hand as applicable to that bounty does not exceed £10,000, in respect to which the directors are trustees on behalf of the settlers. " In that capacity, it of course behoves the court to employ the fund at its command fotfthe attainment of an object most essential to the rapid development of the resources of Nelson and to the prosperity of its inhabitants, with the most careful consideration. That fund does not, indeed, belong to the Company, but that circumstance only renders it, if possible, more imperative on the court than it would otherwise have been, to proceed with the utmost caution, in order that the greatest practical benefit may be secured to the colonists (who have relied in this instance not less upon the discretion than the good faith of the court) from the expenditure of a sum which, however considerable in the extract, is but small — as all those acquainted with the cost of steam navigation must be well aware — in relation to the expense of such adventures. " Under these impressions, the court considers it indispensable to feel its way with caution to the measures proper to be taken for giving practical effect to the purposes of the trust with which it is invested. The court acted in this spirit in June lost, when it issued the advertisement dated June 10, 1841, in the hope that parties in this country, possessed of competent capital, might be induced by the prospect of advantages over and above the ordinary returns of such speculations, to enter upon a contract to run steamers from Nelson. In this expectation the court was disappointed : only one answer was given to the advertisement, and that from a party who merely solicited more specific information as to the mode in which*and the extent to which the Company was prepared to afford the encouragement referred to. From this result, and the court's general knowledge of the state of public feeling, at the present moment, in regard to enterprises of the nature in question, the directors conclude that any renewed attempt to draw attention to the matterin this country with a view to practical measures, would issue in disappointment. " The court is therefore persuaded that no time will be lost by referring the matter to you for consideration and reporLyThe court requests that you will place yourselfitnmediately in communication with Captain Wakefield on the subject, directing him to take the most effectual steps that occur to him to ascertain the sentiments of the colonists at Nelson (whose interests must be primarily consulted) on this important question; and that, after collating this* and all other available information, you will report your joint opinions as to the means by which the object >fn view may be most effectually realized, so as to secure the largest benefit to the settlement and the greatest satisfaction to the colonists by whose subscriptions -—in the shape of an enhanced price paid for land — the fund in hand for the encouragement of steam navigation has been raised. If this primary object can by gained by measures which will conduce at the same time to the advantage of the settlers at Wellington and New Plymouth, that circumstance will, of course, greatly add to the merits of any proposed plan in the judgment of the court—a sentiment which the court trusts it holds in common with all the colonists, whose interests it is its duty and pleasure to advance. You will understand, also, that the court would be very unwilling to expend the fund of which it is the trustee for any purpose of a merely temporary nature. It is manifestly most desirable 1 that a permanent communication by steam should be established and maintained between Nelson and Wellington, and I am to request that your attention may be chiefly directed to that object. "The court will await your report, in conformity with these instructions, before it will take or sanction any measures involving the outlay of the great bulk of the fund available for the encouragement of steam navigation radiating from Nelson. But as the directors deem it possible that circumstances may occur under which you and Captain Wakefield, in the exercise of a sound discretion, might consider it desirable to have authority for the expenditure of 0, moderate sum for the object above mentioned, you are hereby authorized to draw upon the court, under such circumstances, for a sum not exceeding £2,000, bearing carefully in mind that even that sum is too large a part of the whole fund at command for a most important purpose to be wisely expended for the attainment of any object of merely transitory interest. With this caution, the court refers the matter to your judgment and responsibility.— l have the honour to be, sir, your obedient humble servant, (Signed) " John Ward, Secretary." After a statement of the assets and liabilities of the Company, which gives the sum of' £177,289 108. 2d. in its favour— "Mr Alexander Currie said he believed all the proprietors would agree with him in approving of the report which had been read of the affairs of the Company. It appeared to him from that report, that, notwithstanding the unparalleled difficulties of the past year, the 6ale of hinds had continued to progress [hear, bear]. In a speech made by the Colonial Minister not long since, in the House of Commons, it was stated that the land sales in New South Wales and in South Australia had been entirely suspended. He mentioned that feet to show that they were greatly indebted to the! management of the directors during the past year [hear, hear]. He must state, however, his belief that ptUA more might have been done by making the sections of land less in the Nelson settlement. There were at present eleven hundred allotments, at £300, in th« settlement. He thought the sections might with advantage be diminished, and the land cold in smaller proportion*. Two hundred seres would re-

quire a capital of- four or five thousand pounds to cultivate it in a proper manner, and that was more than men would be expected .to advance," " Mr. J. Heath, after a Bpeech in which he complimented the directors for the energy, talent, and perseverance which they had displayed in promoting the objects of the Company, moved : — " ' That the grateful thanks of the proprietors of this Company are due to the directors, who, in the most disinterested manner, have hitherto conducted the Company's affairs without any remuneration whatever for their own services : — and that in the opinion of this meeting it is not right, in the present advanced and prosperous state of the Company, that the labours of the directors should remain any longer unrequited by the proprietors.' " ' That a Bum not exceeding £1,500 per annum be therefore placed at the disposal of the directors, for the yearly remuneration of themselves and the auditors: commencing from the 21st of October last, being the date of the directors' standing regulations for the transaction of business.' "Mr Christopher Dowson seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously. " The chairman said he wished to state, in reference to what had fallen from Mr. Currie, that the high price of the sales of lands in Nelson was to he brought under the consideration of the board in a few weeks, and if any satisfactory alteration could be proposed, the directors would have great pleasure in acceding to the proposal. " Mr. G. F. Young said it ought to be stated that the plan of the Nelson settlement was not originally drawn out by the New Zealand Company, but by other parties, whose plan had been adopted by the Company [hear]. The plan proposed involved the making the sections of the present size, as well as the price of 30s. per acre. The principle then adopted*, was, that all beyond £l per acre should constitute a fund, to be vested in the directors, for the purpose of being expended on certain objects, which were thought to be essential to the prosperity of the colony. Amongst other objects contemplated were the providing the means of spiritual instruction, the establishment of a college, and the encouragement of steam navigation. These were objects for which specific sums were to be set aside. The price of land in that settlement, therefore, could not be regarded as a simple investment, as in the case of Wellington and New Plymouth. The directors had already considered whether it would be possible to lessen the sections without doing injustice to the regular settlers, and they naa declined to interfere. The subject, however, was to be again brought under consideration, and he trusted that an arrangement would be made which would satisfy all parties. " A vote of thanks was then given to the chairman, and the meeting separated."