DESPATCH From Lord Stanley to Governor Eitzroy. Downing Street, 30th Nov., 1844

New Zealander, Volume I, Issue 3, 21 June 1845, Page 3

DESPATCH From Lord Stanley to Governor Eitzroy.

Downing Street, 30th Nov., 1844

Sin, — Although I am led to beliive rh i* no loi,-r period will elapse before I rooeivo further int^llipciu'i' from you, yet 1 am unwilling to let Ihe New boulh Wale's mail go, without adverting in detail to ilu> many impoitant subjects brought under my notice by your Despatch. No. 12, of the 16th of Apiil,— which has received all the consideration to which the gravity ol the questions discussed in 1 it, justly entitle it. I am happy at the outset of what I have to addier.s to ym, to be enabled to convey to you my general approbation of the course which you .appear to have adopted, and of the tone which you have taken in icferencc to the various subjects by which, on your arrival, you found the community distracted. I do not icfer to single expressions here or there, in your intercourse with Europeans or with Natives, to which peihaps exception might be taken ; butto the strong cause oi justiVe, and the earnest desiie of reconciling difteienees by aneilbctual and authoritative mediation, which appear to have influenced your conduct : to the boldness and promptitude, with which you have .promulgated and enforced your views, jsid mot by decided measures the emergencies of your embarrassing position. If, in these circumstances you 'have been compelled to overstep the letter of your instiuctions, I find .sufficient vindication for your course in the necessity for prompt and efficient action, and in the impossibility, within a reasonable pciiod, of obtaining my sanction to your proceedings. When Her Majcsf) 's Government selected you to fill a very laborious, responsible ;ind iIJ remunerated office in a very distant colony, — they wcic fully awai c that the discharge of your duties would Le impossible, unless the largest discietion were lelt to you, — and they felt they had the best guarantee foir your conduct in your high personal and public character, and in your peculiar fitness, at that time acknowledged, by all parties, most inteiested, for the pobt which was assigned you. '>On your arnval, you found a very general dissatisfaction prevailing on the long agitated question of titles to land : jealousies between one part ot the colony and another : discontent on the part of the emigrants sent out by the New Zealand Company against the government, the Company and the natives, and alarming animosities between the settlers and the aborigines in the southern districts, recently raised to the highest pitch by the melancholy calastiophe of Wairau. In this state of things you very propeily decHed tointciposo your personal influence and authority, and to proceed at once to the quarter in which the greatest excitement prevailed, and 1 think you were right in taking the earliest opportunity of explaining to the British settlers the views which you entert lined, howover mnch they might be at variance with their preconceived opinions. lam happy to learn from you that the temporary irritation, not unnaturally caused by the first announcement of your sentiments, had shortly Bubsided, and I trust that no subsequent events have occurred, to interfere with, or interrupt the amicable and equitable arrangemeut into which you entered with Colonel Wakefield, enthcly in ace ji dance with the understanding come to with myself, and with the NewZealand Company, previous to your dupaituie iiom England. 1 am happy to find that the anticipations ha\c been confirmed, which I expressed in my despatch of the 18th of August, that you would discouiago any exorbitant demands upon the settlers, and I congratulate you on the successful result of the 'fiua stand i.hiuhyou appear to have made in the conferences from the 24th to the 27th of Felnuary, against the unreasonable demands of the natives ; which I trust has led to asi t tlement satisfactory to all parties. I have read with the deepest interest your repoit of the conference which you held at • Waikama, on the 12th February with the Chiefs To Raupartha and Ranghaitain the piesence of, the Chief Police Magistrate, and other Europeans, and of a laige concouise of natives. The decision which you had to take was. one of great difficulty. On the. one hand, a large number of the Queen's snbjects had been put to death in a conflict with the natives, and some of them, i am afraid, it is too clear, after .the -conflict had ceased; and I am well aware of the force of the argument, (its well as of the additional force which it would denvc fiom the natural feelings of the European community, excited by so tragical >an event,) that to overlook such an ollence against the laws, and to abstain fioin subjecting the offenders to the vigour of justice, must tend to bhake British authority, and to encouiage imlhci aggression and outrage. On the other hand, the straight forward narrative addressed to you by lltuipaiaha himself, and the account of certain circumstances preceding the affray, by Mr. Tuckett, which you enclose, confirm in the strongest manner, all the previous evidence tending to shew that the unhappy event was mainly caused by the imprudence, to say the least of it, ol those who were its victims ; that the natives entertained a belief that the land in question had never been sold by tho-io to whom it belonged, that the settlers pcisisted m smveying if; although they knew that lOuistancc would bo made; that the natives were willing to refer the wliol«' case to the Commissioner tor whose arrival the Company's Agents would not wait; that in destroying the branch hut erected by the surveyors, the natives believed, (and I am not sure that they iucoi racily believed) that they were legitimately resisting a trespass, that they studiously abstained irom injuiy to poisons or property, and lemoved the goods of tne Suiveyois beioio they set fire to the hut; that under such chcumstances, the charge of arson was one which it would have bcjn veiy difficult to support even aecoiding to the strictest construction of law ; that to attempt on such giounds to arrest and handcuff a pioud and ivhlike chief, in the midst of his own people, without an overwhelming force was an act of the greatest rashness; that the conflict was not sought by the natives; that the fiist shot was not fired by them, nor the first blood shed by them, and that the prisoners, though biutally, weie slain in the liist momenta of excitement, beioio passions had had time to cool. These appear to have been the facts of the case, and on a full .in I deliberate view of them, beaming in mind also that theeapUucui-f trial of the Chiefs couJd not have been eriect'jd without fuither bloodshed, that in the excited stitcof the public mind, an impartial trial coidd hardly have been hoped for ; and thatjudici.il proceedings commenced alter such a lapse of time could only have had tne effect of icviving and aggravating the animosities existing; between the two races, and rendering futiue amicable relation-, more difficult : I am of opinion, that in declining to make the conflict it Wairaa the subject of criminal pi<>ccedings you took a wise, though undoubtedly a bokl decision, and I trust that the lenity of jour coins-, accompanied by the warning which you gave to the assembled natives, will pioduce a better eftect, than <m attempt to enforce to the utmost the severity of British criminal law. 1 see no reason to disapprove your acceptance of tin; resignation ol the Magisti.ito-,, who si^n^l thu waiianL for the apprehension of Kauparaha. In lcforeiice U the appointment of Mi. D. ymclair, as Chief Police Magistiatt-, and of two othei gentlemen to suppoit him, I defer my expiession of opinion, till I <.ii<dl be iit possession of fuither Despatches which you load me to expect; generally speaking, lam disposed to pi ice Jhe

Wllest confidence in jom selection oi gentlemen to fill "ihr v.mo«sofl«-cs meuliallocmjing on 50m adnunis«r«tioi a»d I led, th..t jou must, on (he .pot, ],«ito -inueh beltei means of juil-ing of the relative htness of individual, candidates for employment. On iho Mibiech of the new appointments which you have felt vomU'lf wiled on to make, 1 am in comnimneation with the LoidbCommfcbioiwibof H.M. licasuiy, .ml when I t.h..U he m posse+Mftn of their LouWiips views, I will not delay the fcbiio to jou of fuilhcr m.sti actions. I have bi ought under the notice of the Lords of the Admnnlty, the high terms of commendation in which > ou^wak of the services rendered to you by Captain Sir Evei aid Home. I entirely epprove of tho language held by you to the Chiefs in "the neighborhood of Auckland, at the meeting which you summoned at Government House, miefcionccto thcicscuc of a n«iti\c prisoner; and 1 think th.it the observations made, <md the temper dismayed by the Chief*, me well calculated to relate the -crroneons impiession which would stigmatize the Isew | Zealanders as savages ; and to encourage those, who like myself, ontnlain a sanguine hope that ra .New i Zealand may he set the fiiat example of an uncivilized iaec peaceably ineoipoiated with «n European population, and subjected to our l.iws by no other compulsion than Hint of equal justice and -ft m moderation, and j without any sudden dismpUon of their own social tics, or any violent •hvtcifcier.ee with their native übages. I now proceed to the discussion of those parts of your Despatch, which treat of flic steps which you had ■ll.wdy Inken, and those which jou contemplated in icieicnce to the possession and occupation of land; the subject of all often, the most deeply interesting, berMii'so it lies at tho loot of all (he evils which have hitheifo agitated New Zealand, and Us eaily and satist wtory adjustment is of primaiy impoitance to the we 1 hehiff, if not to tho existence of the Colony. V, rih these opinions, I conceive the suipriso and regret Mhich vm have cxpirssed on finding upon your araval tint not one sinclo Ciown Grant had been issued for Count ly lands, that the boundaries of claims were in hut few cases sufficiently defined, to enable a grant to be made, and that at least one year's active nwcstip.lion remained to be gone through on the part oi the Land Commissioners. Tnnoli»vhis to smi5 mi my approval of this arrangeincut, I must at the wme time observe, that you do not siate, whether in your opinion, the delay which h.ie occurred in i>,iuug the Tile Deeds, alter mwstiLMtion t»f the chums before tho Commissioners, and which must have caused much ineonvemeuce and injury to the settles, has Iwtn owing to any icmishness on the part of the Officers of Government. It snob be vmir opinion, you will .)otl.ul to make known to'those concerned, the serious light 111 whuli 11. M. Government look upon such a direlection of an important duty. I npprove generally of tho measures which you have adoptrd, for enabling- persons in possession ot lnitje tracts at a distance, to dispose of mem to the Government, making the oiders for payment receivable as purchase money at sales by Auction .if Land in ihe neighbourhood of Auckland. This plan indeed, is somewhat similar to that which was noticed in my Despatch, of 2lst August, 843, and appro^d, except as to one detail, which is now corrected. Thete is however one pait of the present measure uhub would appear to call for explanation. By the Third clause of the publ-shed ReftuJatlons it is de- < iare<i U«at the land which is taken in exchange must he --.."r-ceJ by the Government, but it is not stated whether the biu vey is to be at the Government expense. It is vciy proper lhatihe Crown should have the means of a <certainmK the quantttv t.ud value « Jand tendered in exchange, and this probably could <ti.lv be mimed with accurwy through the means ol a Government Surveyor. But as the exchange is ihiifiv for the benefit of individuals, it would appear to be only {air, they should bear the expeme ol the survey, and \i \s possible, this may be intended, but I do not underhand ihe regulat ons, as at present woMled, to convoy any sucb meaning. I would therefore diiect your attention to the subject with the view of pro»i«l">R i'or the expense of the burvey <»1 lands survendeml by the Ciown. Among the questions i ouuectcd with land, which lnve eu-a-cd the anxious aitenlnm ot ihe Governmunt, and of >ourself, there aie ii-nc more intricate or embarrassing than tbo.e wh-ch relate to the setileis under the New Zealand Company. With rc--ar.lto the claims of the Company itself, it maybe w'eiv assumed that they have claims v] on ihe w.isre lands of the Ci«»wn, lyin? within a certain dis.net, to a ceitam number ot acivs, to betaken 111 blocks ot ceitd.n d.-fined shapes and dimensions, and 10 he selected wiihm * li'» iuill ren«d. Ihe main difficuiiv in complying with and uoM.u» the Company to the strict lulfiliuiut of the letter of ilie-e enua«ement; is that of ascertaining what arc the waste |.md; of the Crown. There is no doubt, that at the tiiue of entering into the required nude. taking, it >as believed that there wa- an immense trait ot tciriDn. the claims to which had been- previously ohtuned by ,a,r putvba.e on the part oi the Compu,v. or to winch no one could asbisil a va id claim. But M.bsecjuent excellence .ee>»bto SO e%v that much yum laud than was mppced owne.l in New Median,., according to ti.\i-s well mviereiood. either bv «ome iudividua«s, or at all events by some tnbes, «'iid that oi the va«.t amount, suppos.dto have been mirch.ised by the New Zealand Company, previous iotneir apl.lxa.ion to Hrr Majesty's Government, they wonkl r eacnce uwmurdhU- dfficuliies, not i» 'iilwtaiitiatinj their o.vn claims, (Horn tne liecos iv ot d.i.»A «hich they, heen relieved by niv i.isiuii turns to jours.elf.ol tlic 'Mi li June, JB4JJ 1,;,t.n (li M ,roMn»- the claims o\ other par ics, even t., the eAcnt auarde.l the.v I>.V Mr. Penningion, amouiUU.!- to li.ile nior« lhan one iwentieth ol the Hml assnnu-d bv them, m ilu-ir nrst uegooiations to liaxe been v-.lidlv pnrcha,ed. Tins being the case, 1 am «,t opmu.u tl.atso far as the Company are cmic nie.l, the umcessmir, altculy nuvte by H.M. Gove'inuent aie uiost libeial. But I ailmit tint the settlers under the Company, W holnvec«.»»wikcd their lot tunes .11 the purchase ni 1.1,1.1, and have C iH. S rate«l 10 the Colony 0.1 the i nth of a titie to be obtained thiou R h the Coui|»any, fr»mthcCr«»H-», and wh » havr Ik-c.i si.b|ei««l to «mh seveie privations and di,appo,ntmci,ts have a le.imnau- caim upon the cou'ideiahoii vt the Lxe«.,Jive. Ii was lam aware, wall tins Ue.i»s ibai vo 1 euicred into, and H is on Hi., pound aloue ih.t I could s.«ncti«.n Hie urran^men wl.uhyou made on the 27ih of February, with the Agent ot tic NewZ-aUnd fompmy-, m ih« «M ectanou ut the imn>edi.u« Arrival ot a" body oi scotch settler-, who but for that interposition ou your pait, wouW n.mfound themselves, hid th^y executed then- mv^ inti-utioi), a!)*»lntely unpiovnkd lor, and w.thout an acre of land to establish thwmelvis JhJ diilioult K ., of the N. Z. Company were hiituii.itely niaiUpublic, before tins body of settlers emoarked j bin. under t'Kpectatt m t Hmr iuunedi itc arm a!, 1 «M»imive ot \owf 1 ar uy; taken, in cwjnnctiou wiiu CoMcl y,*«ls?r«u. W iOI euabliiig t«ie Co-np my

l" 10 meet the u'Cagomenis into which ihey had cnteied, so far as tho/posseisiou ()t lail(1 was concerned. By' the arrangement thus made, you consented altogether to waive in the Company's favor the right of the Crown «■* pre-i-mp.ion vi inspect to 1,50,000 acres, in New Muu-ter, wherever selected by the A "-cut of the Company; and to instruct Mr. >>- mouds to u.-operaie «' ih llie A S eilt t>l)r lhe \ ni n m f c of cecuriw"- the val-dity of the pmcliase, and obtaining tliceonsent of the natives. In this arrangement/you dircaih.it 110 icgard shall be had to the regularity of liguie ' usislt ' d uu ' jOn > m all the PICVIOUBP ICVIOU8 arrangements of the Company uith H.M. Government.' You have also, 1 peicene, given your sanction to other purchases beuig made direct horn the natives by the N. 2. Company, in the Northern Island, and which are to be superintended by Mr. Siniu ami to oonsi t«f tracts, of Jaud amounting reVneetively to 150,000 acres, in ornear Wairurapa, crWyderop Valley, m the Wellington d.stnct, and 200 000 Acres el^lure, within the hunts claimed by (he Company under Mr. Peninntfon s award. These „u. chases are also to be made without regard to fiffuio or continuing' of block. Acknowledging as you candidly do, that the whole at this arrangement is entirely at variance with your instructions •, y»u delend the first p.>nion ot it on the ground, which lain quite prepared to admit 01, the necessity of makm- some provision for an extensive emigration immediately expected; ami iv vindication of the latter uart, >ou -Lite that jour object was to enable the N Z. Company to locate their settlers who having purchased ccitain lands of them lu^up-l-md could not i>et possession of on arnving m the C lo«: be "u'e \J natives would not sell particular she , whilst on the other baud, they *ere quite willing to alienate parts coniempUUd in the present pu. chases, t o-i hSonu me, thai Mr. bpaiu agieed with you m thinking this uk.muc necessary to preserve the good feeling between the two races, \jhich would otherwise have been seriously ■ endangeiwl. You add as an argument of more general applica- ■ tiou, fl.ut the sy^m of .outinuons blocks inthe form of parallelograms, i« totally uusuiied to Ne v Zealand. That wnilbt hut small spots are available for settlement, the mountainous, woody and barren parts are useless to puicluue.s. and moreover, hat it is highly advisable to keep thuse uualieua eel, imine to the difficulty which oiherwise won d be caused to settlers, ami natives vi finding spots available for the exercise of lOinmouaWe rights, ot which outline iuel wouiu appear to be the most v-.luable. iw >ou a-ld that wlku all the woo.ly and mountainous parts near the settlements, are ahenate.i, although they never will he fit for cultivation, the agent* of the owners feel themselves bound to keep off trespasser, in o.der to assert the lights ot then- employers. This inconvenience you state to have been aJieady felt in the neighbourhood of Wellington, and to have been much complained oiby the natives. But you consider the chief objection to regular blocks, to he in the interference it causes willi the natives, who will not part with particular spots, to which they a. c attached, though desirous perhaps, lo sell all the mud aiouud tnem, and would rather not bell at all, than be compelled (as they would be, by the system objected to), to leuune tiom the vicinity of settle.*, and jou obse.ve that in your opinion, ihe iiuly way is' to leave them free to sell or jetaiiijust what particular spots they choose. Still the concession to the Company is one of very o-Kj.it maaiiitude » ami whatever may be the chanicter of New Zealand, as to the large proportion of unavailable luud eompriwd within any given block, it uiuot not be iorgotteu that this iact was present to the ininils of the- Company 1 * reprteeulauve,, and doubtless also of the bec.etary ot btate, wlu-n a certain low rate ot pawneut yet acOJ, waa agieednpuu iv cousidewtfou of takiugjthe land m tlnir coutiuuous blocks. 1 do not however on this account intend to disallow the agreement, which you 'luue entered into with the company, but I feel it nccjgpry, lo call your attention to one, perhaps, only omission. 1 do uoi perceive m the papefent home, that any precaution has been taken to phsveut this privilege ol puicha-e grauttd to theN.Z r Company, being exercised by them toJ&detnmditf of the Colony at large. It would scdnTO" »s there are no lftnits to the riower of selection, in the districts in which they are permitted to purchase under this dnangeuicut, exceiit the necessity of buymg trcmi the names, they may have u within thetr po«ef inahosedistncis «o muuopolUe all porio.m of iaud'l[av^ff peculiar value either m respect ol thiir aptitude*" tor the «itei> M Towns, I'oris or Mills, or in mp«.ct of waUr I routa S es or mints, or even for military or other public woik^,, Ami they may be tempted to purchase a large number of dei*ached .poriious of laud, and thus to hazard the intioduttiou luto New ZeaUud, ot all those obstacle to improvement which have unjloimh beeu lound to attend the mteibjK-isioii of gr&it number* «f such tracts in the hands of^oue "large Ab-^ seutee piopnetor. . ft - *> <i£ These possible evih may have been piovided a^aiust, a..d 1 admit them lo be of less probable ouiuneuco iv icierence lo purchases niadeliom the natives, with the intervention ul'a s'«erumeM officer, than wuuld be ihe case if the belecuon were total y free ; but still they appear to me too serious not io be noticed, and 1 ic^ret that lace no me.in. oi preveutiu!; ur renudyinji them it' they should ha\c octurred in can yiujj out the armtigcment which you l».ivema.le with the Agent otfihe N.Z. Company As re».iittb purchase-, which may already have been madej the iinj*os.ition of any mruspective. condiuou, wouid u-eate extreme inconvenience to all parties, and be the caube of mextncatjle confusion ; but 1 tlimk it lignt to caU'^your aueution w the subject, and to state io you 'in my opinion the adoption ami txieiisiou of th.s principle ur fu{un'puich«*es from the native, by the N Z. Col|iw|hy, would interfere umieiiaily with tne eX.stiu/ contract between them and H.M. go\ eminent; and I shall expt'et that il m any peculiar eircuniSldiu.es jou should leel it uerewirv again to oiler to them a similar accommodation, you bhould be carelul to attach such condition to Jhu W<inei,of the down's n«lu of preemption, a, shiil in )our opnuon, be sufficient to i.roiect the uueiests ot the down, and the public iiom ihe evils, which might possibly result fiom an .njuuous exorcise ot a gemral right ol selection, it will also be abv>lutely ueeesbary in older to avoid niUiro deputes, that the Company should a'lopi some mcmsoi ac. iiialely^anukiiiij the boundaries oi the ,»ioj)eny tints oelecteU, as soon a, the external surveys am lompletwl, and which ou^ht to be liuislKd by some bpedlied nine. Tln-re is one ollu*r | oint connected with this subject, to which 1 think it right to i.dvert. In the second couuuioii ot (he pin chases icle red to iv \oui letur to Co one! Wakeiieid, dated 27th Febi vary, 18-14, aie the tollowing woid-., "it bein^ cle.uU " understood that the purehasd money in both cases,, " leferred to is to be provided by the Company.'' I presume that it is mten«L' 1 that lands which inav be thus acquired lio.u ihe naiive-, are to be uiukrstood -is loiisiiujj parrot , the. extent to which j

the Compary are entitled under Mr. Peuniugtoii'* award, and that any payment which Jiuay be ni-cc-s-<=ary to complete the title of the CVmpauy, is not to become the foundation of additional claims lor land involving; a subsequent inquiry as to the am unit, and re-opening a question, which I should hope would soon he finally settled ; but as in jour communication to the readmit Agent of the Company, you have not alluded to the subject, 1 think it expedient to notice, in order to avoid the possibility of luture misunderstandings. The arrangements, ho\\e\er, on which I have now been commenting, weic adopted under the pressure of peculiar ciicumstauees, limited ni their amount, and denned to meet a specific exigency ; but in your present Despatch,}' 0 " fui'ther repot t that jou have with the coucunence of your Council adopted a more »cneral and extensive measure, calculated to make a far more important alteration in respect to the Sale of Lands. By this alter At ion the listht of the Crown to pre-emption secuicl by the 'Jreaiy ol Waitangi, is waived on the part of the Crown in rclereuce to all Uuds under certain specified conditions. IcHteitain no doubt but that the original iiitcutiou of that provision of the Trea'y was to enable the Crown as the sole pmchaser to obtain lauds on any terms fiom the native tribes, api>hing a portion ol'thi' pioceeds when rebold, to the importation ot labourer";, and the remainder to other public object;., but especially to the purclnue of more land to be again resold at a profit, and this operation to be repeated toties quottes. You vtill not fail to observe that this right of pre-emption is a point much insisted upon by (he late Committee of the House of Common-, whose report however had not been made at the date of your Despatch. Before yon left England, we had foreseen that this was a subject on which you illicit be involved m diflicultx.am! in my Despatch of tne 13th of August, I adverted to the personal communication which had passed between us m reference tn this very point, and to a sugge>tiou then made, " That a mode might "be devised by whuh parlies nri»lit be allowed to " put chase directly from the natives, the purchaser "paying to the Government on each sale, nub. an " amount, as would be fully equivalent to the ordi- " vary difference between the price paid, to tl c ua- « tives and that at which laud h sold by Goxeni- " merit.' It now appears that shoitly alter jour' arrival, you lound ih.it the mu%e* had hemme clamorous to be permitted to sell lands, acknowledging their obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi, but (urging bitterly tlie injustice ot the Government m ' refusin"- either to buy of them, or to pei nut them to sell to othcis ; and that they had offeiud land to the Goverumeut, although at an exorbitant rate, hut the Government having nci.her money nor credit was unable to purchase. Under these circumstances, you have thought it necessaiy, waiving the Clrowu's n-bt of preemption, to pass "some regulations in Council, cs abhsbing under certain restrictions a n&ular system ot purchase (rum the natives. You state that you fully considered all that had beui pi euously written on the subject, before coming to such a dicision without my sanction, and jou add jour conviction, that unless you had taken this stop, the chaiacterof the Goverumeut with the natives, would ha\e been trretiievuhly injured, and all moral influence lost. You have appended the minutes of a meeting of the native Chiefs at Government House, at which you explained to them Ihe meaning oi the new reflations, which the Chiefs apneaml to oomprebend, ami with which as the., oxpl.miod teimMJi, thej expressed themselves to be well sfttWU'd , according to thc<=c regulations applications art- to be sent in to the Government, by parties desirous of pun basing, in which the particulars of the proposal nui chase must be accurately stated. On these, the Governor will be guided in Ins decisions, rather by the public welfare', and that of the natives, rather than by any piivaie interest of the applicants, and he will not -rant i£js permission in respect of any pahs, burial "Toundstcnltivatcd lands, or lands m present use, however willing the owners may be to part with them, nor m respect of a particular district, noith of the Tamaki road, reserved exclusively for the uatives. One tenth nko of all lands pui chased will he reserved for the benefit of the natives. It is declared that the Crown having no lisrht of preemptiou over land already alienated by the nauves. grants will only be issued* to original claimants The pavties will have to pay to the Crown 4*. per, acre or nine tenths of the land on receiving the r content of the Governor, to waive the Crown's right, and on the issuing ot the gr^aut {not less than 1 2 months nftenvards,) a further payment will be requnedof ds. per acre in ready money, being in 1 nil 10s. p*r acre, as a contiibution to the land iuud. . The survey of the Lauds will be made nf the J expense ot the applicants hut to the foil satisfaction of the Local Government, and the uiht wi.l lie reserved by the Crown of'eoustructiug public roads, propetfcompensation being allowed. You report the consequences of this measure «o far as they had then been developed, t<> have been mo'.t satisfactory ; about COO amsot land had been sold in lots varying from 8 to 50 acres each, at about one Pound per ace in addition to the amounts paid to Government, and that the total cost ol the land to (he ,jureha<*re was about £l 13s. per iicie, Hi e fee to the ( rown being 10s. per acre, I presume that the remaining ss. were tor nunejs and other incidental expeuces. I You appear* to consider that speculators are excluded from piolitm- by these regulations ••hire only hona file settleis are allow eil the indi.ls-ence. Amo»»st4he huter you enumerate soiiie who have discovered mines, and j on observe that if these mines had heen bought bv Goven.ment, «uid put up for sale, the original d'isco\ei -is would have been outbid bv speculators. Gambliiig would have ensued, and the money which wou'd be most piolittibly spent uMtorking the mines, would have ben expended m Ihcir purchase. Jou ob^'rve m conclusion that no infringement of the land .vilcs Act will take place by the piesttut uica=uve ; as that Ait applies ouly to land vested in the Crown, whereas ihe lauds affected by these regulations are i alive juoperty. Although there are some gvncial reasons which would lecummend this mcisure to my owi judgment, I mi-ht yvt have hvsi'aletl to nisiruit you to adopt it indirect opposition to a r^ohu.ou of a Committee of the House of Commons. That resolution however, wnsnotbeloie jou; and I ob^we, th.vt although that Committee massed a resolution unfavourable to > this measure, their >fj>»rt is silent on the snbji'i-t, and I amtherefoie ignorant of the l"ccise grounds upon which the resolution was adoptul. 1 must ihereforedcai with this tubject ds yon present it to me. We have the fact of the native population of New Zealand ..mourning to ab< ye 100,0)0 souls, whilst the Europeans scarce y amount to one tenth of mat uutn'ier, '1 he Nuv Zuil.uuleis cannot be compared toother name inhahiiniits of some countries over which a small number ».l British >ettlcis have been able to eu'jc.se uuluniieil power. On referring to

(ho fiistrticiions ol my predecessor to the Oovcr»iofl| issued shortly after the foundation of the Colon/), 1 find these peojile described to be •' not mere w^n- " derers over an extensive surface in search cV a "precarious subsistence: nor Iribes of hunters or " of herdsmen, but a people among whom the arts "of government have made some progress, who " have established by their own customs a division " and appropriation of the soil, who are not witnout " borne measures of agricultural skill, and a certain "subordination of ranks, with usages having .the "ehaiaeter and authority of law." Infonnaton since received appears to justify this description. It is impossible »ot to feel that to a people in ths condition what is passing around them must be fa-^, miliar j indeed if there were any room fo doubt then means of inf 01 matioii, those doubts would now be lemoved by the evidence now before me. We must assume therefore that the natives arc well aware of the large prices which have been given for lands, which a short time previously they had bartered away for trifling" objects, and 1 caff well understand the bitter disappointment ami aus;ry feelings which have been thus engendered forwards those who have profited largely by resales of land for which they hud given the most trifling consideration. If under such circumstances, the rights of preemption were to be rigidly enforced by the Crown, the Governnicnl instead of being looked up to by the natives, cis iheir natural protector, will be brought into constant collision with them in dealings for land. r Jhe Government must soil to Europeans at an increased price upon the purchase made from the natives, and this advantage, small as it may frequently be, would alwayt be buffieient to keep up a source of irritation; the natives as you lepresent believing that their rights to the soil are guaranteed to them by Treaty, and considering themselves to be entitled to the full value which their land will sell lor in the market. On the other hand, if the Government cannot or do not buy from the natives, nor permit them to sell to o; her Europeans, the natives will be tantalized at seeing the profit made by the sales of similar lands around them, without beingable to participate in it, and will regard the Government as withholding (heir just rights, and oppobing instead of promoting their advantage. Such are, as I apprehend the considerations which have induced jou to incur the serious responsibility of waiving on the part of the Crown an impoitatit stipulation of the 'Ireaty, and of permitting the direct sale, by native-, of portions of their land. While I admit the cogency of the motives by whiclfyou have been influenced, and am not prepared at this distance to condemn, or disclaim the arrangement which you have made, I think it necessary to point out to you some objections to which your plan is obviously liable, atld which will require your attention. I understand the measure at present to be limited to the district adjoining Aucldaud, and that an absolute discretion is reserved by yourself, of allowing 1 , or prohibiting, any particular sale. It is possible, and even probable, that there existed an absolute necessity for re-crying this discretion ; but you must remember that it is one way open to abu-e. Charges of iavouiitism and capricious decisions will frequently be urged, to which however unjust, it is not desirable that a Governor should be exposed. I conclude, though I do not see auy provision to that effect, that it is intended that all sales thus effected, should be registered; and I think it, mm!d he very desirable that the amount of purchase move; paid should be stmultatu.ou.sly iccorded. 1 concur with yon that the=e purchases do not come under the piovisious of the Land Sale Act, which applies only to waste lands o_f the Grown ; still one of the main objects of that Act was, out of the sale of lands to realize funds for carrying on the general service of the Government, and al->o for promoting emigration. These objects you have noj lost sight of, in imposing a fee amounting in all to I Os. per acre, but 1 should wish you to consider, whether, if huge sums should be realised by the sale of laud, this fee may not be yet further encrcased. Jn proportion a* the lee is inn eased, the amount realized by the natives will of course be diminished, and the market price which settlers will be willing to pay them, (which is exclusive of the fee) will fall. I should be veiy unwilling to inflict auy hardships upon them, but I very mucb doubt how far it will Ibe to their real advantage to receive large money 'payments for the mere sale ol land, and I see' no imusucein making such sales contiibuic largely (o the support of the Government and the influx of settlers, by which alone, value is given to the land. 1 With these observations, lam prepared to sanction 1 and approve the step you have taken, in admittingthe natives, uuder restrictions, to the privilege of ' selling their lands directly to settlets. 1 ought not to close this Despatch without advertuv to the observation which you have made ou the facilities which will be afforded by these sales to perso?»s who may have discovered mines, to obtain them altogether with the soil, free from the competition of speculator*, uho might deprive them of the fruits of their discovery. Admitting the equity of this plea, and desiring to eucouiao-e operations which may tend so much to the prosperity of the Colony, I yet hope that jou have not overlooked ihe pio,>rieiy of secuririu; to the Ciown a moderate seigneurage upon all precious metals. If your anticipations of the mineral wortU of New Zealand be correct, such a se'.!?neura<ye may in process of time not be unimportant, as a source of icvenue, while it should obviously not be of such an amount as to discourage enterprise and the application of capital. The &reat deficiency of New Zealand is. the want of articles of expmt, without which no colony can lon»- or greatly prosper, but if in addition to the few articles which the Colony now exports, her mineral lesources should he such as to invite the application of capital, no circumstance could tend more to encrease her value as a Colouial possession, and olace i her utiou a basis of bohd commercial piosperity. '-. 1 have the honor, &c. &c (Signed) STANLEY.

Oxford.— The Archbishop of Dublin and the Bishop of Kildare have addressed the Board of Heads of Houses on the subject of the prevailing errors in the University ; and a committee is now sitting to iconqert measures for checking their progress^— tfen^. Reason never shows itsejfjpoje reasonably, than when it, pases to^f&on about those things which are above reason. J

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