Untitled

New Zealander, Volume 2, Issue 100, 1 May 1847, Page 3

To the Right Honorable Earl Grey, Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary op State for the Colonies, &c., &c., &c.

River Thames, near Auckland, New Zealand f April 10th, 184*7.

My Lord,—From what has been published in the late London and provincial journals, regarding this Colony, it is evident our condition, as settlers, is still misunderstood or misrepresented, wilfully or ignorantly; I, therefore, do myself the honor of addressing this letter to your Lordship, as an attempt to induce more correct views. It is now about seven years since New Zealand was declared a British Colony, and the progress it has made is in no respect commensurate with the time, the expense, and the exertions of the settlers; therefore, we who have been struggling through that long adverse period, think it is our duty to discover the causes, and point out the remedies. These I shall affirm for myself, and on behalf of my fellow-settlers, to be—first, the want of a representative government; secondly, the poimd-an-acre system; and, thirdly, the management of the natives. The draft of our new representative Government has arrived; but it is so trammelled with provisoes counteracting timid concessions, as to be utterly worthless. The Municipal Corporations there talked of, are of no value without ample funds being provided for their efficient establishment ; and, in point of fact, there is, perhaps no necessity for such institutions at present. We are, my lord, the free and equal citizens of England, and have not in any respect alienated our rights; therefore, according to Magna Charta, and to natural justice, we are entitled to frame the laws we are bound to obey, without the interference of any one. We require but few laws ; and a Representative Assembly of twenty or twenty-four, elected by resident land and householders, with an Executive Council of six, half chosen by the Assembly and half by the Governor, would be sufficient —and his assent being required, would assimilate the laws of Auckland and Port Nicholson. I observe, that Governor Grey expresses a doubt of persons being found suitable to discharge the functions of legislators, and Governor Fitzßoy does not flatter us in his report. But it is well known, that a large proportion of Colonists are generally travelled and experienced men beiore they migrate; and though in subduing a savage country they must sometimes work with their own hands, and wear “clouted shoon,” many of them have been in, and are competent to enjoy, the best society. However, all that they require is to be represented according to their present worth as settlers, and as that improves, so will their representatives. If they are not affluent enough to give their attendance, let them be. paid. There is nb abstruse science required in our legislation, though we have seen, governors make a great mystery of their wisdom in that respect—enacting laws above the reach of common sense, and soon after repealing them. It is a matter of history that our Colonies are, in general, badly governed, and nearly every successive governor bears evidence to the fact. I have heard several. It is the maxim of a free people that they shall not be tried by a judge, but before him, and by their peers. It is also a maxim, that they shall not be governed by the will of one man, but by laws which themselves have made. The laws of a governor, or a governor and his council men, cannot be said to be our laws, though we may be compelled to obey them by violence. But it is better to live under the pure despotism of an autocrat, whether emperor or governor, than under a form of government which shelters its workings behind a subordinate agency; therefore, if we are not fit to make even our own laws, let us have governor law, and no council nominated for us, but without our consent. It has been surmised, that we might pass laws prejudicial to the natives. That wouldbe a very shallow proceeding, to set about making enemies of our neighbours. It is like the rest, an imputation on our understanding, that we do not know how to manage our own affairs, that we are incompetent to direct our conduct in a new country, or not so competent as those who have never seen it. Yet, we can hardly think our brethren at home are so shallow as to suppose this. Other motives may be adduced for keeping us in a serflike subjection; but we think it would be wiser, or more to the honor, of our paternal country, to yield to us the respect we claim, to assist us in our need without calculating on anything beyond the preservation of our kindred fellowship in an endearing bond of amity. Secondly. With regard to the pound-an-acre system, I have before expressed my opinions to Lord Stanley, its author, who was pleased to say, he derived much information from them. It is, indeed, a complete interdiction to the arrival of emigrants. As a general rule, no waste lands in a new counlry were ever worth more than 4s. or ss. an acre—any settler knows this to be true. To people in England, a pound an acre seems very little; but there are many here acquainted with the expense of cultivating waste lands, who, on that condition, would not have them at a gift. The life of an early settler is, for years, a life of much toil, privation, and difficulties ; of cxpences that could not have been foreseen; and, sometimes, of disasters by flood or

fire, by blight or drought.' \Vhen there is, added ta these, a government that debars him the natural blessings of progressive society, it must be allowed tljat-he has some right to complain. An agricultural settler cannot well farm .without cattle, and he cannot keep stock on much less than a thousand acres of land here, at all events, until he has ploughed his,land two t or three times to make grass grow instead of ftrn. 'This, and the inequalities of soil, the swamp,' mountain, barren ranges, and dense forests, render<tne idea of concentration, to those who are not settlers, so pretty—to those who are, so preposterous. No new country is settled close at first, except where the land is uniformly rich, which is seldom. At present, .the government will not allow settlers to buy land of the natives ; partly on account of the pound *ah-acre act, and partly to prevent land-jobbing, monopoly, and getting land from the natives at an inadequate price. Yet the government official instructions, heretofore, have been to buy good land from them at threepence per acre, reckoning bad land as nil, or, as this amounts to, an average of one penny per acre for the to be put in the market for settlers at one pound per acre. An example of extortionate monopoly unequalled in old Spain. It may be easily conceived that buyers soon became thin, and the market so depressed, that purchasers who had ,to sell again could find no customers who would give more than ninepcncc, or more recently sevenpence, an acre.

And now, my lord, a few words about the natives.' They are hushed, at present; but from the way they talk, and from various circumstances, it is quite'evideiit, they have no proper conviction of our ability to enforce either law or justice. Chiefs have been traversing the island from north to south, to form a coalition of tribes heretofore in hostility, to be ready for any future attack. But war is very inconvenient to a people who Jive from hand to mouth; and Heke says, he will- - hot begin till he has got a two year’s supply of dried fish and potatoes. The Waikatos, a large tribe on the west coast, extending to Auckland, profess to have taken the government under their .protection during good behaviour. Yet, but a few weeks ago, when a petty chief of that tribe was taken into custody for some disturbance in the streets of Auckland, a number of tile tribe hastened to demand his release, and had it not been complied with, they say, “ Our tomahawks and muskets were just at hand.” They boast, everywhere, that they have plenty of powder. Settlers, who know the natives, unite in one opinion, that the Colony will not he safe for a length of time without the presence of some thousands of troops. Justice, and a determined front to resist injustice, 'is the only way to deal with savages. .This was the common mode of settlers prior to the government; but when the government came, and assumed the conciliatory air of submission, the settlers everywhere had to submit to thefts and insults which have never been redressed. Maories are cunning enough in watching the character of those they, have to deal with; and to at-' tempt to cajole them by presents, or familiar tokens of regard, may be successful in keeping them quiet for a little while, but when they come to beg for mote, and are refused, they resort to threats or abuse. SBme of the natives, however, are quiet honest fellows, while some are indifferently so; and others, the smaller number, I believe, are lawless ruffidns, that lead on the more inoffensive portion to outrage.

Flattering reports go from here of the natives as to their progress in civilization and Christianity, and soipe of that sort are now circulated in England. One states, that more take the sacrament among them in proportion to the population,‘than in alike number of the most religious districts in the vicinity of London. To this, all that I shall at present say is, that with a few exceptions,! am afraid there never was an adult savage in the Southern hemisphere, either civilized or Christianized. It must 'be remembered, that Heke was a Christian native for many years, and that he and his followers said prayers and sung psalms on the day they feasted on the body of Captain Grant, and burnt their captive soldier to death. Missionized savages, are, however, in general, - rendered more mild in their manners ; and although they have not the feeling and'spiritual perception of a Christian, nor their morality much enlightened, still it is something to say, that a number have more correct ideas of religion dawning across their minds, to dispel the-gloom of vacancy or the confused shadows of their degenerate superstition. People seldom overcome the circumstance, of their being, or the habit of mind formed in youth, and these peoplel therefore, not unfrequently relapse from their new, profession, and like the Jews after leaving Egypt, are siil, under the dominion of Egyptian darkness. “Our Atua," said one of these renegades to me, “ made Mauwei, his son, same as Christ, and he made the first man, iand afterwards the woman. She was brought to him with a beard on her chin, and the man laughed, and Mauwei' was angry, and took the beard from her, and put it<on the man’s chin. So you see, we pull it up by the roots.' Our religion is like yours.” The most effectual way of civilizing and converting these people, would be by establishing boarding-schools for the young of both sexes, like those the American missionaries have formed at Athens, for the young Greeks. They are desirous of learning English, and their instruction, should be in f that language. One or two itinerant settlers have commenced teaching their children, at the rate of a pig a! month for each scholar, and make a tolerable living by it. At St. John’s College, near Auckland,.: Bishop' Selwyn has attached a boarding-school for native boys, who are taught in English 5 but its ultimate success may be frustrated for the want of a counterpart institution. 1 advert to the moral-condition, of*the natives, because, odr welfare is effected by theirs. If the government was to purchase large tracts of the unoccupied territory, (which amounts to nine-tenths of the island),' at Id. an acre, or 6d. an acre, by the sale of it at even 2s. Gd. an acre, which’ is perhaps enough for our remote locality, there might be ample funds set apart for sueh schools, and also for hospitals. The latter are much required, as I can affirm, from having been for several years resorted to as a doctor by those of a neighbouring village. They are subject to both acute and chronic diseases, and few of their children survive the second year. At present, the natives make some occasional advances towards civilization, but they are inconstant’ and desultory—as some wear European clothes one • month, and a • blanket the next. They lack the know-, ledge and persevering industry of the white man. Under existing circumstances, I do, not conceive this Colony to be an eligible place for emigrants, I wish I could say otherwise: but I have a poor opinion of those who can delude the unsuspecting, arid betray them to ruin. New Zealand possesses the elements of strength, and a fruitful and healthy climate. Establish an independent government, give us something like Iree-trade in land, and equal justice in the protection of person and property, and then we may anticipate happier results than any we have seen. The natives would derive a permanent advantage, settlers would spread over the country, and soldiers would soon cease to be reqiyred our governors would have leisure to become acquainted, with the population; and, instead of being harrassed by conflicting attempts, they would be cheered on their ■ easy path by the sounds of thriving industry.

I have the honor to he, My Lord, Your Lordship’s obedient servant, Joshua Tuonr.