ROADS.

New Zealander, Volume 1, Issue 2, 14 June 1845, Page 3

ROADS.

[ To the Edlor of the " Neto-Zaxlandei :" Sir, — The highway round the Church, and thence leading lo Government house, reflects hi cat trulil on the pi e"«ent Superintendent of Public Works, for its formation and levelling. It seems that the road round ihe government lence, opposite the office ol the Colonial Secielaiy, is in progress, but there is a place, to which, thiough your columns, I would call the attention of the Superintendent, as requiring more particularly, alteration and amendment ; iudied, it is absolutely indispensable, for tin 1 safety ol the iuhab Units in the suburban pat tof Auckland. It is the footpath irom the Colonial Secietaiy's olliie down into JMichainc's JJ.iy. It is true, that there aie steps at the lower part, but 1 here is no direct path, leading' to them, Irom the summit of the hill, find ns soon a-i the sun is down, wheu there is no moon, persons dunug' the wet season, cannot reach 1 hem, without the gieatist difficulty, at tlic risk ol being 1 precipitated Irom the top of the hi'l to the bottom. During da) light, it is exceeding difficult to ascend, alter lain, lor the steps terminate at the Very woi^t and steipeal part, and quite out ol a direct line with the path. The work of a very few men, for a very lew day?, under the able Superintendent, would make such a path as runs from the Government fence past the poultry yard, leading to the bnd»e over the swamp. When it is considered, that excessive higli prices were given for the suburban allotments be)ond Mechanic's Bay, to the Government, the propnetuis, Sir, I think, are fairly entitled to call u|)O!i the government to make good and safe a cess to themI am, Sir, Tour's, &c. SUBURBAN.

To tfc Editor of the " NeiD-Zealander." Sin, — The due observance of the Sabbath, as fulfilled in England, cannol certainly be expecicl in a young i olony ; but I think it Ui lie the duly of those who ha\o some standing in society, to ret'iam Iroin acts, which are reprehensible even in the lowest clashes on that hallowed day. in mv perambulations for some Sundays past, I have heard firing ot muskets, about thiee in the afternoon, in the valley which 1 believe some designate-— The Haj'pi/ Pallet/ —and others, — Glen Ligar. It ceitainly was not the Maories, for they are exceedingly scrupulous in their observance of the Sabbath, if there is any Ra.\sa as lesuling in the Happj Valley, I hope he will cx.eit hr> lnfluem c to siop such bieacli ol all riecoium, as well a^ of the ainiuyaiice which the revei bcration causes to the surrounding ountiy. Tru-iling you will allow space in jour columns for this hint lo some incipient hem pruclising with a rifle. J am, Sir, Your's truly, VIATOR.

To the Ed tor of the "New Zealander " Sir, — Notwithstanding that I am more accustomed to use thu kuile than the pm, yet having had some | experience in tlie Mibjoct about which J now design to address you, I f el t!iat I am bound to make a few remarks, as it is a matter wluc h concerns a gieat portion of tlie pul)lie at large. The inconvenience attending the wnnt of a public Slaughter House has long been felt in this town, and it has been proposed to establish one in Mechanics Bay, on the same principle as those in the nemhbouriug Colonies, Sydney and llobsut To.vn However I beg lo d'llcr wi.h the projectors on the propiieiy of selecting that locality, lor it is well known that in Mechanic's bay there is not always a sufficient supply of water, and, furthermore, the road.* for cattle, both to the Bay and lrom it to the town, aie veiy inconvenient, while at Freeman's Hay such au establishment might be formed (and if under proper superintendence at very little tost) over a cutting alieadx made, where theie is always plenty of water, and the tide rises so high that all offal would be earned out to sea, and thu-> a great nuisance lie not nd 01. Besides, the roads are lar superior to those leading lo and from the former place. The necessi'y lor some such establishment becomes duly more and more obvious ; the stench arising fiom the Buicheis 1 Slaughter Houses being even at tins tune of the )ear very olteuMve, and calculated to render the air of Auckland unhealthy. To this may be added the dit>tuibailee during divine service on bunday, occabioued Ijv the cries ot the pigs while being killed. Your insertion of this in your next publication wi 1 much obngc, Sir, Your most obedient servant, P. SKILLICORN. Auckland, June 12, 1845.

To the Editor of the "New Zeaiander." Si h,— ln the Southern Cross oi March 22nd I fiud a letter of advice to llts Kxcelletuy the Governor from "A Settler,'* I suppose, from his style of writing, of some twelve mouths standing. I too urn a settler, not of twelve months, but of twelve years standing, and perhaps may not therefore he subjected to the charge of ollicious presumption, if I also, through the medium of your valuable journal, give my opinion ou some ol these paiticulars, which that correspondent has iclamsd to. And I would observe that my sentiments arc not those far-fetched Exeter Hall theories, against which the "Settler" seem-, to have conceived such an unaccountable prejudice, but tiiey are opinions founded on long observation, and intimate and var.ed connexion with the aiiairs of this country. The concspoudent writis us though he thought the sad calamities which have ovei taken this Colons, were attributable to the "oourse adopted by His Ex. celleucy towards tlie Native llekr." The " Settler" has a right to his own opinion, and I take the liberty to state mine; and I think it may be easily shown that the Governor, on tli.it occasion, adopted the only safe coia ie that could have beeil pursued. "lleki then mustered sixty men;" but does the "Settler" suppose that these sidy men were all with whtmi the military torcv would have had to contend ? i am aware h<i may hot bd afijiuiinleil will) tne influence oi' udUve s_)iiipaihy ai.d iitiiivu couiiL.\iou; but lie must bear in muni tli.tt Ukui^l) only s i x i y men were connecle I with llcki in the o-lFa.i of tiio nagstall, yel Uw whole body oj (he J,'..live ChwJ» ovine

Jorwuiui as i,iic nmn, <m.l uhjei ii 1 1 fo the (nivcm >i's pr >jecl of (Utciii|itiii^ to t ke lleki wall a unlit:- y mrce. And tiny o'ojectfil in language wlinh they would consider us most leasonabie, and yet it wa< language which must be icgardcd as must positive and omwou?. I mke one single sentence by way of illustration: — "KuUoru he take mo Initi vawai," (There is no cause f<,r lli.s quuiTil, 01 , This quaiivl is without iounda.ion.) But this literal translation by no mean* conveys ihe spcakois meaning to an English car, dud therefore, pulling niysill in the speaker's place, (as my knowledge <<f the native language and their modes of thinking au'l speaking* eiiablc me,} 1 shall give wh.it I conceive to be the true impoit ot the a! o\e expiessioii. ''We disapprove of I Juki 1 * pio(•eedings, hut we hold lhat he has done nothing worthy of death, nothing to call for such a display of hostility,— we advi.se you against it,— -.if you persist in it we shall hold you alone responsible for all tne consequences, we shall be clear j— there is no touudatiou ior the qu urel at present, lor Ueki has nuirdeicd no one, l>ut there will be |>y and bye, m the death, of some of our friends by your soldiers,— •then we shall he necessitated to take up their eau->e, and thus the quarrel, having become a legitimate on*-, bv your having 1 lurinslied a 'lake,' will become a genc-ial one, and alter having given you this warning 1 through our nn.vsioiidiitH and iriends, we shall hold ourselves deed horn all responsibility, and you only will bear the blame of all the consequences.'' And what would have been those consequences ? 1 .state my opinion dclibe lately, fh\j/as.swHatt'li/, decidedly . HeM would not have been »utfered to be taken, — a conflict would have ensued, — some would have been shot in the aliray, — the ne\v» would have spread like lightning tkat such a one had fallen ; — Ins immediate Iriends run to avenge his death,— iheir Irieuds lollow to support them, — national (or it )ou please nutuc) sympathy is excited, — naiive anger is iou->ed, and native roekles uesi nerves them for a desperate conflict. Thus family ailer family, .md tube alter tribe, would have been diawu in, until the whole of the tribes j had been engaged ; ard our brave, eourageou:-, and 'devoted two hundred troops would have been opposed and surrounded, and cut to pieces by the "0,000" excited wamois, aud the Wairau tragedy would have! been acted over again! AJy heart sickens to think of the hoirible consequences which might have ensued if our Governor had been actuaied on that occasion by the ■>cuiimeuU and principles •. f these advi-j seis! For what, Sir, was the secret of the Wairau massacre ? It was the lact ot the Natives being released ftom all moral responsibility, t>y the rejection | ill their \vainiiig*s, <-o seriously and urgently (with the Bible iii their hands) given to the Europeans, not to light when Ihne wai no "tube" nojw>t tutise for bkeddm^ blood t But the mischief would not ha\e ended as it did at the Wairau : many of the Native* must have fallen by the soldieiy before the conflict bad teased •. — their death mukt have been avenged, aud the settler-, would have been fallen upon \ Ko roiauka would have been destroyed, and perhaps not a soul bullied to escape, — the exaspeuued warnois would huve made a clean sweep through the countiy, —Auckland would long since have been in ruins, aud its mhttbitanlb pcihaps destroyed ! ! The correspondent talks of •'sham demonstrations on the Kinkin." I am grieved that men of mii-.c should at such a lime as this, and in relerence to events so momentous, abu^e language ho flippantly. No, Sir, dare was m> mock parade — every body was m eanies'— the liovernor was in earnest — and the Natives wne in earnest. The fate of this Colony hum? tremblingly in the balance, and our Ciovernor, by doing violence to his own wishes and pui poses, and receiving the experienced judgment and advice of the missionaiics, tinned the scale, and, like a wise and pi udent unui, availed himself ot it, and saved the Colony. I may be asked, if J really believe the Natives would have been so barbarously savage, alter all their pretensions to Christianity, and the labouis of the missionaries among them? 1 answer. I have uo connexion wnh the Bay of Islands Naaves, or with the Bay of inlands Missionaries, nor yet with the Nati\e Protectors, — hut 1 leave savage baibauiy on the one hand, and the influence ot Chiisti mity en ihe other, entirely out of the question. It would h-ive been regarded by the Natives a^ a national c inflict, a legitimate vvariaie, brought on by a disie^ard on our part to their warnings and admoiiitiou> ; thej are involved in it contrary to their own declared wishes, and theieloiv, being released by our example and by our deatues* to their entreaties from all i c -traint, they engage in the warfare on tho.e principles with 'winch they are acquainted. You may call them savage principles, or barbarous principle.*, or what you please, but they know no other: Chnslianily ha 3 been leaching* them pQacv, not war; i*tut therefore, having never been taught any other principles of warfare than their own, when they find themselves reluctantly brought back to war, of course they engage in it on those punciples with which alone they are acquainted ; and those principles would have impelled them lo leckless icvenge — inilhcriimuate retaliation, — and ulier extirpation oi lluii opposers. I am aware that the above view of tne case places the Colony in a very serious position, and i may be asked, how has this state of things been brought about ? I answer, by our own inconsistencies aud imprudeneie* long before the Governor came into the land. I will state a solitary case as it was. told to me the other day by a respectable gentleman of Nelson. The Company hail purchased with other lauds Massacre Bay . there they found coal and lime, and proceeded lo work the mines. They had in their employ a young man of very idle aud worthless character, and, being* 1 1 red of him, dismissed him;— he got among the Natives of MaSsacie B<i), prejudiced their minds, told them that though they had sold the laud, they had not sold the coal — the miueis were opposed, and this led to a visit Ironi the Europeans ot Nelson with anus ! This was the fir.st mistake in this line, aud that unprincipled, wicked you"g manisseiiously charge-able with much of the consequences of that first wrong step. The project succeeded in that instance, but when the Wairau difficulties occurred, and the same daiigerou, experiment was thought 01, they had a moie serious opposition to contend against. i:n.l the eousequenoes of this second mistake have been felt'thiough the land. — "Hare lies the grand error,'' not "m trying to gam a hold on gratitude wh'rch does not exist in the native character," but in wrongly estimating the native character, and in foolishly supposing that the Natives might be intimidated aiul frightened into submission by "sham demonstrations" of a lew muskets,' cutlasses, and inexperienced roadmen ; and in allowing these intended ".-ham etemon-.trations" to be matured into actual, unequal, and unsuccessful conflict. Create la ■ our has oeen raised against tha Governor, because he has not corrected this mistake, lln could not, it wa-i committed before he set loot on the land, and tliii consequences weiv aheady realised. Hj might have made bad worse, by commuting* another err< r, .md that would have been a far more fatal one than any th u had piececLd it. If he had attempted to cuny out tue wislios ot those who so savagely and;

unceiemonu.ush' ci mh inn liij jiolu), tlie lan<l nn'^lit have been deluded willi blood, ilnse vir.y individuals mi glit have been among tin. 1 Jir t victims, and a u..r of extermination nnj>lit have been exuit,d. lint how this would have piomoied the interests ol the Colony i\ma.ns to l>e shewn ! \ the advocates o, si.oh <i systci\i o! hiood 1 say, t ln* consequences ol iuist..Ki-8' and inconsistencies of lonnu* najs Imve been lelt tliiuuj,h t lie laud, and the Bay of Is, aims disasters arc among tlu-iu. lleki would never have acted as he did itoiu the lirsi, il he had nol remembiMed Wairau. Since I J is E\celifii< y'-> imival, lie has had tilt uuthankhil olliCo ol coiileutltiij; willi these evils, but lie audit not avert them. He has c«muily agMiiist eveiyihin" 1 ihai nn»ht add iniji tollipfluiii' 'already kindlud, and has i.do|>iud the \vi) licst mums forpreveii.mg it-> spie.td. The rash ai.d udiculuiii projects and pioposals which some (whooave scaictly haii an up])oriuiuty ot sceiut' 1 the Natives at allj ui&u upon iJis iixccilency ior iue le^uiaii.iu «>l his conr duct, arc calculated to injuie then ouu cdu.se, ainl in retard our probpenty ami happiuesb hy diudui^ the Colony against itse.l', and thtir a-iO|)tiou v/ould a!.Mudily bo tho pi elude ol our tlow'nfail v .ml lUiu. The present stale of things m the result of nu-.t.ikes and iniicoihluct ol' i'oi iik r <l.iv^, and over vMik-Ij !li. Excellemy had no coniroul , but the 4ne-.11.n1 is — > wh.it now shall he dona to ronudy thY e\ii? — liii Excellency vuil dduhtli ,s- act on his own dcclarea sentiment?, and which all leisouable men uiuit approve of, viz., "to avoid every act th it sho ild eviuce our coinpara'iva weakness to tlie Natives, «ad not to attempt even any measiiiri' towards them, which wi* could not fully and pr.ielu ally carry into execution." The state of the ease, a-, 10 iv manaj;ea' x >ieiiess, k very diherent n-nv to what it was when th.. 1 (iovernor was at the Kiri Kin with the iroop^.— Tlicn t!u whole of the Natives were o| posed 10 Uii ICxiei.eney'-. purpose, and would have tiUen pail witn Ueki, had a eoiiHiet ensued ; now, however, all v\ ill acknou|lotlj?e that there is a l talw,' a .sull'icieut (anso, a dnijsion has taken place union.,;' themselves — HuO mt-n headed by one of the »'i eale^t chids in ihe diblrict hay c taken up arms against Mtki, and the gieaur pan of thuNutivib will now either de-.eri tieki, or |oiu the I Euj,hih against him. Koioiar.ka is iiuL-od deitioye-1,, and lives have been li,st, but the lo>s of life ami property m the former ca^e, as 1 have-hewn, would base . bci-n awlully g\ eater and more extensive ; and now !thi'i6 is a probability thai the business will be settled, the cause of justice supp< rted, and it-> demand* satisfied, and the honour ot Kn^ii->hmeu and Eu^lisu I Government vniiikaie-l wiihuut muc'u initaulty auii dangci. Avow me, Sir, to apologize for the length of this communication, Mie importance ol the subteci is my excuse, and in conclu-ion I would buy, let us Liy abide our part) dillereiices, our puny jealousies, our party iev'hu{;<.,— " let Üb,"as sour couU'i,npoiaiy tiie ''Timci*' advises, "rally louml tlie Governor, an 1 liy a complete unanimity ol feiliug endeavour to avciC the evils whien ihiemen I^.'' J am, S.r, ivc, ANOLDSKTIL2R. June 10, 1845.

Tv the EiUor of " The Ncio-Zealanler " Sia,— Permit me to offer a few obseiv.itions for \our consideration, whicn, if meeting with your approval, yt)i» will please inseit in your fnsi niuuber. The uiideriakin^ in which j«u are about to engage is certainly au a dumis, and irksome one, — arduous* when we consider the great iuMC-.3»iy existing for an uufliuchiii!; and impartial advocacy of just ami equitable conduct on the part ol i he Local Government towards ibe Euiopenn settle 1 !, and Aboiigines of this Country; and irksome, inasmuch as all iitti'ihpts which lmu* Imherto been nude, to carry on a Newspaper in llns bctlleinenl, have Irom vauous causes, proved unsuccessful, — <uid wmc of them, uuist deseivedlv so. It is pretty plain, that u good deal of mischief has au»ui .6 ihis colons fiom the ill eon trolled management ol some of your predecessors ; ol en, and very often, uas the iiK.ie-hill magnified into au enormous mountain, jti"»t that vent might be given to personal ill feeling, without: hi. y regard to the candnur and trulii, which shou'cl characterise a public j'ouru.il. All tins has had its elr' ct in raising prejudice* in distant minds, uula\ourable to New Zealand, which will be felt lor yea is to c-oine. To rectify, as Irtr .is possible, the mistakes ol your iorcrumu'is, should be \oiir aim ; endeavour' to excite the Colonists to unry of puiposr, in ilia advancenienl of the Colony's »ood, rat her than labour to divide their energie.-, and set them up one against, the oiher in lnutless political sttite Energetically strive to keep alive a li lemliy ledum between ihe sett.er? and the native tubes,— w licit* such is still CMSiiii.;, and, if po sible to lecoueile icceut disdgieeiiien.s, use your utmost exertions ,(o bring this about. It mint be udMdtid, that upon our 1 friendly mtercouise with, and disposition lo.vards the natives, depends oui petcvful ami prolitalile occupation of this countiy. It has now been full> ;>nm-d that the Maorie'is hy no means- wanting in eoui age, and if not able to comix te with a British lone, — it arises from a deficiency in art and not in valour. It will iK-ver do theiefo.e to goad them on to <.ul>niKbion ; they must be taught that our connexion with them, is calculated to elevate their coinlinon,' and not to opp.-ess or exterminaie their race. They, as men, wilt not hear such insults as bave been m cowardice heaped u| on them, by some ol oui jonrn. I>,— mhy should they ? Tlie New h.ive a national pride, wliicn is by no means diseied table to them, and if they are strangers to some of tht nohler feehuga of our naiuie, it i-> because they have been aliens to the many advaji rc;es cujoNcd by the nun u chili/ed nations of oue globe. The Amicnt Britons, at orne time* <i 9 hi&lon dccl ires', wefo not superior to the pic-iont natives of these lslimls; l»u it tlicu ycur ca> - c to soothe by ihe application ol nioi.erate persuasion and 1 counsel the wounds which have been inflicted by vicious and 111-deaigu.li! 1 ; men, and you will have .the satislacuon of contributing io the healiblul amalgamation of t.lO two race?. You sin ul I also U-.C \our iutiuuiu'c as a public writer, to point out the en or int.i which so«<e of the benevolent individuuU of our pit rent country tiave fallen, respecting tlu- peileitly haunless chaivictei' of the Aborigines. Tuts idea has done much 1111s«.luef. it is abauid to conceive that any tube or 11.1tiou of the human family, 111 their univeis illy depraved condition, can be of such a stamp as 10 require no control or surveillance exeicisecl over them ; the natives of this coital ly have been lor ngtsgovetnod by their own. laws, and il it was found nenessary to a.ler their system lor the introduction of another, it could not be expected tnat they would quietly submit to the «.hau.'.«*; lor bein» unablj^to understand the basis upon winch such newly introduced law* .veie founded, — thi'y knew not tiow \u djipiecidlc toetr worth ; consequently, wlaeii it was fou. id expedient to make th-em amenable to lirmsh Jaw, it of couise lollowed that a suilii-ient jiower' AhouUl be exercised 10 cau->e adherence to the same No»v, instead ol thh, a Cju'.uuy co'usistiug of aprci

wiivwiw* hod)' of CuiOfieans, ha\c been »athered ti» these chores, aud cotiimanded to establish 'Hiitsh authority, not only for their own government, but also lor that, of the numerous tiibes of men unatcus louictt to such lesuamt, amongst whom they were to reside ; ami this to be ilone without the least port utti of the power tieee^arv to eulnree the law in the very heait of England heist If. That such a juoject was jiupiaclicable, »s \iow sufficiently seen, and »he evil which has arneu fiom the experiment will not soon pass away. It is well however, that Englaud has erred on tlje side ol eharit\ ; never1 holers, her merry would have appeared to «reater advaiitdi't- in the Maoiie mind, hail she been iv a position to have acted otherwise, if she chose,— but, as it has been, she has sent out her sons and her <lau^hteis, ami left them to the ineiry and clemency uf an ovei whelming and semi-baibarous race. Tin se subjects, Sir, will from time to time, come tinder the review ol jour pen, and it is hoped lhat Miv will take up a sound and li^ht minded position, in the exercise of your infUuulial and important <liitic< ; and il so, jour paper will much benefit thU btuiuiful and highly iriteie.siing 1 colony. I am Sir, Your's truly, Am.ilu .mator. June 4, 1845.