THE NELSON EXAMINER. Nelson, July 8, 1843. :

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 70, 8 July 1843, Page 278

THE NELSON EXAMINER. Nelson, July 8, 1843. :

Les jouraaux deviennent plu» ne'cessaires a meture que lei hotnmes »ont plus fegaux, et 1' individualisme plus i nraindre. Co teimit diminuer leur importance que de croire qu' Us ne servent qu' a garantir la liberty : il« maintiennent lacirilitation. D« Tocutjsviui.*. De Ik Dlmocratie en Amerique, tome 4, p. 220. Journal! become more necessary a». men become more equal, and individualism more to be feared. 'It would be to underrate their importance to suppose that they serve only to secure liberty : they maintain civilization. Of Democracy in America, vol . 4, p. 202.

In reflecting upon the late calamitous occurrence .at the Wairoo,-, the questions which' first, present themselves are-^What were the causes which led to it? and what will be its ultimate , results ? The latter we leave to time: to solve : on the former we. have a few words to say. . J . ...Amongst some iotheT equally delusive Statements that have been published by ignorant or ' interested- parties, to induce [emigration to these! islands, are those which 'have led to the belief that a total reformation had been" effected in the character of the aboriginal inhabitants ; and we confess that we participated in the general delusion. The film is now removed from our eyes. The Taufttnga affair has proved that some are still cannibals ; and the Wairoo tragedy exhibits their determination, written in the blood of our murdered countrymen, to resist with, violence the {enforcement of the white man's laws whenever they may appear to be inimical to their interests. We have no wish to underrate.the labours, or the benefits we derive ixpra them, of tbepussipnaries in their 'praiseworthy endeavours to civilise our savage 1 fellow-subjects ; we wish only to convey a true impression of the native character ; and recent events have shown that missioßftry influence is altogether in-

[%,er^^»hen^ppoj»^;^;,'t& will of a #aft^Mnji powerful cnief. A So-Jong as the nßtivtfiican) exchange,, his sur|HUs produce for European goods and practise his ancient barbarities unmolested, the two races may, by occasional sacrifices, in the shape of utu, on the part of the whites, maintain a peaceable intercourse. With this knowledge of their 'precarious position the old settlers scattered themselves along the coasts of : these islands, prepared, or at least willing, to incur whatever risk might attend their traffic for the^ profit which it yielded ffkhey, neither-paid for nor sought protection uncNfc British law, for they voluntarily placed themselves without its pale. Not so, however, with the inhabitants of this settlement. Implicitly relying on the Government bLthe mother country for the performance ofTlks duties to this its adopted child, the settled of Nelson left their native land, believing they were still to live under that protection to life an.d property which British law is supposed to afford. Eighteen monthsdhave now elapsed since the first body of imr^ grants following the preliminary expedition were landed here. On their arrival they found (what, indeed, all reflecting people expected to find) a wilderness, which had to "be subdued by their own hard hands before, they could hope to derive the means||W^ subsistence from it : they also found thai which they did not expect — they found that] the tax-gatherer had preceded them : they found that the necessaries of life they had brought with them from England couldjaot be landed until the various duties on theW were paid—^they found that even the rougffl sawn planks, after being brought .sixteen thousand miles to enable them to erect temporary places of shelter for their families, were taxed : but they have not found that which, having paid so dearly for, they^t\d a right to expect — protection. In facfy, British authority in these islands, so far as the native population is concerned, is purely ideal. Government has been vigilant only in the collection of the revenue. A population of eighty or a hundred thousand warlike people have Government-appointed protectors to look after their interests, and to protect them from the aggression or the avarice of the whites! Such helpless beings doubtless feel grateful for this kind consideration, and yield a willing obedience to the wishes of their Protectors. Fudge. We hope to hear no more of this mock philanthropy. The money may be more usefully expended. Give our magistrates the power fearlessly to maintain the 4w>rity of the law, and to punish offeh&y, Maori or Pakeha, without distinction. Let there be henceforth but one law for the two races ; above all, let there be no more temporizing. If Ranghiaita had been arrested and suitably punished for the ' first of his numerous offences in the Port - Nicholson district, the question of titles would have been long since settled, and the lives of some of our best and bravest' spared to assist us by their counsel- and wisdom. Neglect — gross, culpable neglect on the part of those whose duty it was to suppress outrage, has served but to encourage this wily savage in his career of guilt; until at length he has crowned his crimes by the defiance of our power and the murder of our unresisting fellow countrymen.

It would be an act of almost criminal neglect and ingratitude to permit the late lamentable calamity at the Wairoo to pass without some special allusion to the character and services of the late rep)£entative of the New Zealand Company in this settlement, Captain Arthur Wakefield. It is but little indeed that any posthumous tribute .can avail, either for the departed or survivors ; but sorrow over such bereavements as we have just experienced, though unavailing, calls unavoidably for expression,. and in the case of our lamented friend has its demands made holier and more imperative still by that sense of justice which prompts every man of rightly constituted mind to cherish the memory of departed worth, ami to wfcat

in, him lies to obtainjfpr ip the acknowledgment and honour which are its due. * Doubtless thejce ; is ,ia law and tf providence for events like that which we are all deploring, or it would be difficult — more difficult almost than under any similar private calamity by. which any of us might be sufferers* — not to repine at the dispensation which has ' deprived this settlement of so many valuable, men, and especially, of him whose interest in it, as it had been the oldest, was also, there is no mistake in saying, the deepest and most enthusiastic (putting pffife niaxy consideration* out of the case).. M owed to him perhaps more than to any other [ man its origination ; its establishment was the work of his own unceasing head and heart; its prospects and capabilities were the things on which his hopes and rery soul ■centred. Nevertheless, almost beforedWlte chief difficulties of his undertaking wea overcome, perhaps at the very time when of] all others we most needed his presence and influence, at any rate when we could most have wished him preserved, this in^BMvho Lkad seen near thirty years of almost injHw |sant service as a naval officer, fought ffle battles of his country, visited' nearly every part of the globe, passed through all sorts of vicissitude, and gained all sorts of experience ; and who, be it said emphatically land to his honour, had come through it all, ■b few men would have done, with perfect rartegrity of soul and nobility of purpose, — this man; so practical and sagacious, and moreover so respected and beloved, has been hurried away to an ignominious end- — brutally butchered by a parcel of miscreant [savages, ten thousand of whose useless lives ■hmld have all too cheaply purchased his [survival, let the cant of ultra-philanthro-pists say what it will. t The loss of Captain Wakefield has of course left a void, a hiatus in this settlement, which, to us, it appears vain to hope to see adequately supplied. He must be missed by us for ever, both in his public 3knd his private capacity. For the task of founding a colony he was by nature preeminently qualified. It was his forte — one might almost say his hobby. But hobby as colonizing might be with him, he had all the requisite strength and breadth of character for doing the thing well and nobly. He possessed the physical temperament for it — that which it would be well for all settlers to haye — perfect coolness • and selfpossession under all circumstances ; jgmall impressionability by the more oriirmry physical or moral influences which m&aL weigh down the animal .spirits ; at the same time there was none of that frigidity and want of earnestness of purpose which generally characterize men of similar tSL perament ; on the contrary, when known, no man probably ever displayed in finer beauty and proportion those valuable qualities of soul which obtain the esteem of society and the warm-hearted sympathies of the intimate and discriminating few. The life he had lived, in constant fellowship with his species, and his slow and Aadual promotion from the lower to the nigher I ranks of his profession — a profession distiri«J guished for its broad generosity and absence! of all self-consideration, working upon fine original elements both of mental and phwcal constitution — had developed, in him§9l that one most desired to see in a man occult pying the post he did. It had made him^ in few words, a man of the world, not in the mere ordinary sense, but in the larger and completer one which.embodies the knowledge and practice of the right, the true, and the good, as much as the knowledge of life and humanity. So furnished, it is not necessary to say that a prominent feature of his character was the very practical businesslike turn which every thing took with him. There was no " beating about the bush," no circumlocutory display, but straightforward intelligible action in all his proceedings. His judgment, indeed, in all matters of practical life, was remarkably sound : he" had seen the world of life and action, and brought away from it all that was valuable .for guidance and conduct in affairs. Hence the confidence and admiration which communication with him invariably imparted ; and hence also his successful management of the affairs of this settlement, as the Company's chief resident officer ; a success which we presume there are very few amongst us, at all qualified to judge, who, however they may dissent from the propriety of one or two small points in his public policy, will, not cordially admit him to have attained in the main. One very remarkable characteristic of the man remains to be noticed : no person, probably, of any discern-

—: ** > ai, ,g, ment and susceptibility, coming in ebtitac't with him in the ordinary intercourse /of society, but must.have been struck by some-, thing or other about him that betbken&tf'a mind above the common stamp, both of power and object ; something distinct from and above the sagacity of a mere man of the world, however complete. The feeling thus experienced it would be difficult accurately *o describe ; but it had its source in a certain sort of moral sway — the highest kind of -power — operating quite apart from liis station and adventitious claims, and indicating a strong innate admiration for all that is great, beautiful, and true; though perhaps debarred of its full development jjpd effect amidst the prudential necessities rof this saturnine world of ours. Into the details of Captain Wakefield's public career we have not the . materials to enter, if, indeed, space permitted. It wilk suffice to say that he entered the navy as &' mere youngster ; that he had been in most of the naval engagements since 1814 ; and gradually, though slowly, by his own unassisted and ur patronized merit, and in the teeth of (to the Governments of the day) an odious political creed, attained the rank of commander, which he did shortly before his departure as leader of this settlement. As a boy of thirteen or fourteen, tho age at •which he entered the navy, of course he could have acquired but little of mere school learning. In the short intervals, however, which he occasionally spent on shore, at home or abroad, he had been a diligent student, and, almost self-taught, had thus laid the foundation of all his subsequent attainments, which, as those who knew him found, were liberal and varied. His mind was naturally, indeed, acute and active. He had evidently read a great deal, and in directions which people generally would not readily give him the credit for : of what he did read, moreover, he had seized and appropriated all that was valuable and wort^t retaining. He understood and read almost as his own the French, Spanish, and Italian languages ; and had acquired considerable reputation in naval gunnery and shipbuilding, in both which departments we believe he had likewise written. We close this hast)' and insufficient tribute to the memory of our lamented chief with sentiments of respectful and affectionate but melancholy regard. We knew him^not long, certainly, but well and intimalely\ and, now that he is gone, feel for him more v than for a father or a brother. There were men with him, and who also fell victims to the same too credulous faith in the native character and its readiness to acknowledge and conform to our old established influences of law and authority, whom we must long Remember and mourn for ; they cannot be (replaced to us ; but this loss of a master [spirit, at present, with us, almost overpowers other remembrances, however painful. To the settlement at large, one would «ope that this loss may possibly somehow r other be eventually made up : to the writer it is a private calamity which no time can repair. J.

When the first intelligence reached us of the fate of our countrymen at the Wairo£ the natives then in Nelson, and their number was considerable, were under great apprehension for their safety, and hastened fctway to their respective homes as quickly as possible. . Three men from Queen CharK lotte's Soun,d, who were the first bearers of the ill tidings, were all that remained, and they, after making their depositions before. £he magistrates, went to Wauka-pa-wauka, *where five canoes from the Sound, laden with potatoes and pigs, were staying. The assurance they received from these three' men that they would incur no danger by coming on to Nelson, quieted their fears, and on Wednesday they all arrived here, and were followed the next day by two canoes belonging to the pah. The greater portion of the Maories who visit us belong to the tribe of which Rauparaha is the chief. Although they do not view the late massacre with the same horror as we do, because such events have been too common in their history, yet we sincerely believe they have but little sympathy with the murderers. We have been assured that the power of Rauparaha is very limited, and only kept up by fear arising out of old associations. The natives who have placed themselves under the instruction of the missionaries, notwithstanding their lack of moral courage to openly oppose their chiefs when they meditate acts of violence, have profited sufficiently by the lessons they have received to take no part in such proceedings. Indeed, the depopulating warfare which has been carried on for centuries between the various tribes, may be considered as one of the principal reasons of the great success of the Christian missions in these islands — the fundamental principle of which has

been to instil into the minds of the natives the necessity of peace and good will to all.

The party of five men who undertook to come round by land from the Wairoo arrived in Nelson on Wednesday evening. Owing to the late heavy rains, they found some difficulty in crossing the rivers, and suffered privations by the delay which this occasioned. The men who were despatched from the extreme survey station on the Waiiti fortunately fell in with them, and were able to render them timely assistance. Nothing has been heard of Stokes or Burton, who were missing. Arrangements have been made with Levy and his party from the Sound to return and make inquiries at the Pelorus, and inform the natives generally that two of our people were lost ; that they might have been killed at the commencement of the fight at the Wairoo, but that We think, also, they may have gone to the Kaituni, or the Sound.

Mr. Bellairs, and the five men the crew of Mr. Parkinson's boat, arrived yesterday afternoon. Continued bad weather was in part the cause of. their protracted* stay in the Sound ; but the natives of the place were unwilling that they should proceed until they were ready to accompany them as an escort, in case of need ; and, meanwhile, treated them most kindly as their guests.

On Saturday last Mr. Aldred, the Wesleyan missionary, visited the Motuaka, to quiet the apprehension felt by the natives resident in that district. He found them labouring under great excitement, and discussing the propriety of leaving the coast and betaking themselves to the hills to escape the vengance of the pakehas. Mr. j Aldred succeeded in convincing them that they need be under no apprehension, and a chief named Apeko and tw6 other natives returned with him to Nelson. After remaining here a day, they went back to the Motuaka to bring over their countrymen to trade as usual. Previous to Mr: Aldred returning, a canoe was despatched to Massacre Bay with a letter to their brethern in that district, entreating them to lay aside all fear. The fate of Captain Wakefield is particularly regretted by the natives from the pahs in this neighbourhood, as he was, from his kind and straightforward manner, much esteemed by them. Before returning to the Motuaka, Apeko requested that permission might be given to his people to " cry over the house of Wideawake," and, further to show his respect, had his infant son named after him.

Some of the inhabitants of Nelson being under alarm lest Rauparaha and his followers should pay us a visit, got up a requisition to Mr. Tuckett, the Company's present representative, requesting that some spot should be fortified, to give the public a place of security, in case such an occurrence should happen. Mr. Tuckett did not entertain any such fear, but, to quiet the public mind, consented that a number of men should be employed in digging a trench and throwing up an embankment round part of the hill which forms Trafalgar Square. The work has proceeded rapidly, and, when completed, will certainly be an ornament to the town, if it answers no other end.

It is pretty well understood that the first crops on fern land which has had no fallow, do not yield a very satisfactory return, particularly of grain. Although this, is to be regretted, it cannot be wondered at, when it is seen how great a hold the fern root takes in the ground, and the difficulty of eradicating it. Barley and oats, however, appear to do better than wheat, for on a patch of about half an acre of the former, sown by Mr. Kerr at the Waimea, the return was at the rate of thirty-five bushels to the acre, the bushel weighing sTlhs. The oats, also, sown by Mr. Kerr, of which he had a few acres, yielded very well, but the exact quantity has not been ascertained. Our agriculturists have not been idle since their crops came off the ground, and the plcughings which it has since, received has brought it into fine condition. We hope their second crop will recompense them for the deficiency of their first. These remarks apply -only to fern land, for, as yet, no one can be said to have cleared wood land, except for gardens. x The progress made at the Waimea is altogether astonishing. It is scarcely twelve months since the survey was completed, and the work of cultivation commenced. There is now a. considerable village, containing many well-built, substantial houses. -The quiet of the wilderness^ is not only broken by the sound of the axe, the saw, the whistle and call of the ploughman, but the ring of the anvil is also heard there.