The New-Zealander. SATURDAY,JANUARY 16,1847.

New Zealander, Volume 2, Issue 85, 16 January 1847, Page 2

The New-Zealander. SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 1847.

He just and fear not : Let all the ends thou iiims't at, be thy Country's, Thy God's, and Truth's.

It is universally known, that Auckland was fixed upon as the Capital of New Zealand,— not fortuitously, nor at the recommendation of interested speculators, but deliberately, after a careful examination of the islands by an able officer of the Navy, specially selected for that service by Her Majesty. It is equally notorious, that many of the settlers in the district purchased their lands from the Crown upon the implied faith of Aixckland being the permanent seat of Government ; that, upon the same faith, many others exchanged lands in different parts of the Colony for lands situated in the vicinity of Auckland; and, that upon that account, and that only, great sacrifices •were made by the latter, and immense sums of money paid to the local Government by the former. Now, if a disinterested person, aware of these fads, weie suddenly informed, in the seventh year of the Colony's existence, that the seat of Government was about to be changed, he could not surely avoid coming to the conclusion, that this step must have been adopted on account of the discovery of a site for the capital possessing advantages very superior ta those of the present one, and that the settlers in the district of Auckland would be duly compensated for the losses necessarily consequent upon the change. He would, we believe, be compelled to come to this conelus:on, at least, if the maxims of justice

which are applicable to individuals, are also applicable to governments. For, the only other conclusion dcducible from the facts, would, nponthe supposition just mentioned, involve a charge of downright swindling against the Imperial Government. But, if he were informed farther, that it was not intended to compensate the settlers of ihis district ; that Auckland was possessed of a combination of advantages as the site of a capital almost unparalleled in the world ; and, that the intended new site had not one advantage, while it laboured under a variety of serious disadvantages, he would, there can be but little doubt, treat the whole narrative as a mere farrago of fabulous matter, impossible to be realised in any country, and particularly in one possessing free institutions The actual state of the question is certainly somewhat different from that just described. It is proposed to divide the Colony into two parts, having a common Executive Authority, but, for all purposes purely local, independent legislatures. In this, the real state of things, it might at first sight appear to he a matter of only second-rate importance', whether Auckland should, or should not, be the seat of the Executive Government. But, in the first place, it is obvious that the injustice done to Auckland, by a change of the scat of the Executive Government, would be precisely the same in kind, if not in degree. And, after frequent and careful consideration of the whole subject, we confess ourselves wholly unable to discover any material difference in the amount of injury that would be inflicted upon Auckland in the two cases. For, since we could derive little or no advantage from the circumstance of a few members of the Legislative Council coming to Auckland, from time to time, to attend the sittings of that body, it is undeniable, that whatever advantages we now derive from Auckland being the seat of Government, must be wholly derived from its being the residence of the executive part of it. Upon the whole, if the seat of the Executive Government should be changed, an act of flagrant injustice will be perpetrated in the face of the world. But, should Auckland continue to be the seat of the Executive Government, then, while no material injury can be inflicted upon this district by the new arrangements, incalculable benefits will be conferred upon the southern settlements, to which, we acknowledge with pleasure, they are fully entitled. But, if a change of the seat of the Executive Government of New Zealand would be an act of such monstrous injustice to the inhabitants of ihis district, how are we to account for the rumours of this change, which have been current in and out of the Colony from its foundation to the present day? How are we to account for the Minister's declaring in the House of Commons, that the question concerning the Seat of Government in New Zealand was an open one ? How are we to account for such occurrences in such a country as Great Britain ? Some easy-going persons amongst us maintain, that these anomalies are sufficiently explained by the nice balance of parties in England, by the energy of a powerful Company, and the pressure which it is enabled to exercise upon the Imperial Government, through the medium of a few votes in the House of Commons, backed by the personal influence, and the abilities of some of its members. These, undoubtedly, are the direct causes of the anomalies in question. But, has not the supineness of the people in this district been indirectly instrumental in their production ? If the New Zealand Company has, by persevering activity, been able to impress upon the public mind of England, and even upon the House of Commons, the most ridiculous misstatements concerning this Colony, might not the people of Auckland, by similar activity, have propagated a little truth concerning it? Ought not the public press of this district, ought not the writer of every private letter to England, have had this object in view ? Ought not every man of information, who leaves the Colony for England, be specially commissioned to promote our interests there ? Would not the British public read narratives relating to this district of the Colony ? And are there not several men amongst us competent to compose them ? Would not any of the persons called Colonial Agents in London circulate through Great Britain and Ireland well authenticated statements of the advantages and resources of this part of the Colony ? Has the House of Commons, has ihe Imperial Government closed their ears against us ? Notwithstanding, however, the many different ways in which we might have promoted our interests, it is a lamentable truth, that hardly one serious step has yet been taken by the inhabitants of this district as a body, for the purpose of propagating information relating to it in England, and thereby directing to it one stream at least from the general current of emigration — the circumstance, upon which.infinitely more than upon any other, our prosperity depends. As to the Company, they have beun permitted to say and do whatever they pleased without any opposition, or even interference on our part. To enter upon a detail of the causes which originally produced, and have so long carried on this extreme inaction, would be to engage in an unwarrantable digression— indeed, it would be to give a political history of New Zealand from the establishment of the

Colony to the present day. It is, however, far from being irrevelant to observe, that the continuance of it at the present time is almost wholly owing to the exclusion of our principal merchants and landholders from their proper political position. By the shameless audacity of some persons, who, in any other political atmosphere than one of confusion and disorder, would be civilly dead, they have been pushed from their natural place, as the guides of public opinion, into complete obscurity, in which, if they continue much longer, we may expect, befure the lapse of one shoit year, to see, not only the seat of Government changed, but the Colony itself brought to the very verge of ruin, notwithstanding the unwearied efforts of our excellent Governor to save it. It may be of some use in rousing them from their lethargy, to inform them of that which seems to be known to every one in the community besides themselves, namely, that they can have no difficulty in re-establish-ing themselves in their former places, which, tliough they seem to be filled, are in reality vacant; for, there is no n-itu'al tie between the people and those who now l>ut themselves forward as, and would wish to be consideied, their leaders. It is far from our intention even to bint, that any persons amongst us having, or even fancying that they have, claims and privileges to assert, should now, or at any other time, abate one jot of their ardour in pursuing them. It is an inherent right of British subjects to promote their claims by every constitutional method which presents itself. What we would suggest is simply this, that the most complex and important claims may be pursued witn any conceivable amount of vigour, in a constitutional way, without disturbing the peace and order or the community, and thereby endangeiing the rights and interests of others. Indeed, it ma/ be further affirmed with safety, that any different method of prosecuting civil rights or claims is, in itself, good prima facie evidence against their validity. In truth, the political fortunes of this part of the Colony are now in a very critical condition, and union, and union only, can save us from ruin.