THE SELECT COMMITTEE AND THE MORNING CHRONICLE.

New Zealander, Volume 2, Issue 88, 6 February 1847, Page 2

THE SELECT COMMITTEE AND THE MORNING CHRONICLE.

It would seem from some numbers of the Morn? inj Chronicle, which hare lately reached ug, that that influential journal is, upon the New Zealand affairs, completely in the hands of the Company, After detailing Cap t. Grey's proceedings at the Hutt, and the lately reported return to hostilities of Heke and Kawiti, after their submission toHis Excellency, the principal writer in theChronicle earnestly presses Earl .Grey, to the prompt and vigorous adoption of those principles' with regard to New Zealand, which; as chairman of the Select Committee of the House of Commons upon New Zealand affairs in 1844, he so warmly advocated. The principles referred to are nothing less than tbese^the taking possession, on behalf of the Crown, of all lands in. these 1 islands unclaimed by the nafives, and the imposition of an annual tax upon all unoccupied land belonging to both races. With respect to the first 6f these proposals, it might perhaps be supposed, that we would sufficiently discharge our duty,, by simply remarking,- that there' are nolands in these islands unclaimed by the natives. But the monstrous iniquity of the principle 1 when applied to the native tribes of New Zealand/and the treaty of Waitangi, equally compel us to say something more Upon this subject. Let us sup* pose then-, that certain islands hare, been for many centuries partially .occupied by-a^raceof Europeans, arid', thai,' at any particular time, ttie portions of the islands unclaimed by' any individual or individuals of the "old inhabitants,' are ciairiied and taken possession of by a new tribe of Europeans. Would this conduct of the'in"truding tribe be'thdugtifjust'by 1 t)ie old 'race, or by any disinterested society of the human family t Certainly not, it will be ansvveredi for the'old and civilized inhabitants were acquainted with the use and value of the land, and'all portions' of it unclaimed' by individuals would, as a matter of course, belong of right to the society, if there were only orie, and if there were several societies, it would belong to them jointly, and they would have a perfect right to divide it amongst themselves as they best could,without any external interference. Now, w hat is the difference between the case suppostd,and that of the New Zeahinders, which would justify the application of the principle in the latter case^and not'in the former V It is, if not gravely asserted, at least, very plainly hinted by the Select Committee, that the NeVir Zealand tribes have no knowledge of' the value of land, or of the uses to which it can be applied ; and that, therefore, these tribes, considered collectively, can have ,no interest in land not yet distributed amongst them. But it is well known to- all British, pefs'bns, who have any connexion with^NeW Zealand, except those who are led by the nose by the New Zealand Company, 'that 'there is not an adult New Zealander in these islands',- who' does hot know th'e'Value of land and the uses to which it can- be put, as well as any member of the Se/ect Committee, and that great majority of them have been in possession of this'Tchowledge very many years before this country was ceded to us. But, both the Select Committee and the writer in the Chronicle must surely have heard of the Treaty of Waitangi, which not only admits the title of the native tribes to the whole boil of New Zealand, but grants to them the rights, claims r and privileges of British subjects, in exchange for the right of -pre-emption over these lands. Here, then, we have the Select Committee and the writer in the Chronicle pushed forward by the New Zealand Company, to urge Her Majesty to violate, by one and the same act, the dictates of * natural justice, the law of nations, and the obli* gations of a solemn treaty* It is, of course, conceivable that a high-prin-cipled man like Earl Grey, might, aschairmaii of 'the Select Committee, have been decoyed into the advocacy of the principle in question, by the mis-representations of the Company. But, it is wholly inconceivable, that such a man, with the information to which, as Secretary of State for the Colonies, be has access, could entertain so iniquitous a proposition for a moment. But how has it come to pass, that up to the Sth August, 184G, the real condition of the New'ZealanderoV should be so wholly niisunderstood in England, that a proposition like that in question should be propounded by a most ' respectable and inflneni tial J uui nal, as a. panacea for the real and iuiagi

nary ovils of these islands ? Is it not yet known to the Imperial Government, that more than half the native population lias beon long converted to Christianity— that they aro almost all tolerable farmers— that some of them are good gardeners — that many of them have been long engaged in supplying the natutal productions of the country for export, and that they have actually erected several corn-mills ? When these facts are known to Earl Grey, (and it is certain that they either now are, or soon will be known to him), it is not unreasonable to conclude, that lie will, during his life, regret that he had ever been a member of the Select Committee. As to the imposition of a tax upon Jands claimed, but unoccupied, by the natives, it is not necessary to say much, Indeed, we may dispatch the subject at once, by observing briefly, that such a proposition could not possibly be entertained by Earl Grey ; for he, himself, in his own bill now before the public, has expressed his deliberate judgment, that certain districts in New Zealand •hould be set apart in which the natives should be peimitted to follow their own devices, and to carve out their own fortunes for themselves. Now, to deprivo the unhappy natives of the protection of British law; to shut them out from the rights, claims, and privileges of British subjects-*™ a word, to exclude them with one hand from all that is beneficial, good, and merciful in British law, and, with the Qther hand, to subject them to the severest impositions of the same law — would be a species of refined tyranny, which could not, we upprchend, come fioin Earl Grey. Further, to impose a tax upon land belonging to.btit unoccupied by, the natives, would obviously bo the same thing us to rob them of their lands, not by open force, which would be a less unmanly course, but by a sneaking fccheme, similar to that of the beggar, who on the high road asks alms with a loaded musket in his liand. It is, however, much more easy to talk of such propositions than to execute them. We would bo bold enough to say, that any attempt to carry out these piopositions, must necessarily be followed by the extermination of the natives, or the settlers. Nor do wo believe, that there is an individual acquainted with New Zealand wh* would difl'er from us on this point.