NEW ZEALAND CHARTER. From the " Morning Herald."

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 110, 19 June 1847, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND CHARTER. From the " Morning Herald."

We are not aware that it is at all desirable that \ie should offer any opinion as to the details of the New Zealand Charter. In fact, it .s quite clear that to be able to iorm any judgement woith putting upon reuord, an intimate knowledge of the actual state, and want, and circumstances of the Colony must be possessed, which scarcely a Colonial under Secretary himself can be supposed to have acquired. Such measures a* this must necessarily be— while concocted twelve thousand miles from the theatre of operations—little more than guesses ; and experience itself, the only safe guide, can only be realised after the failure of many attempts. Looking, therefore ouly at the outline, and regarding the matter in the most generalising way, we can only observe, that we rccoguisc in it a step in the right direction. It pays an increased dsgrce of regard and attention to this noble Colony ; and, in so far, it promises well. Toe grand fault of all Brilis.li Governments during the present generation, in their colonial operations, has been , that they seem to have regarded colonization meiuly a * a sort of necessary cvil ;— a thing that must be; and which it was therefore (heir duly to look after; but by no means as possessing any great public interest, or claiming any large amount

of thought or attention. Could there be a more striking instance of this, than has already been exhibited in the history of this very Colony— New Zealand? A magnificent possession, capable of receiving all that "surplus population" of which our political economists are so foml of complaining; ; a splendid climate, exactly suited to the English constitution ; a people, few in number, but ot a noble kind, and uoL hoililely disposed; and all Mm, Ircc fiom dis )Hi(o by Fiench or Columbian rivals. One would have thought the picture sure to captivate the thoug'its ot a Colonial Secretary and to rivet his atteutioti; filling his days with schemes, ami his nights with visions. But what has been the case? The wDik— ihe great duty of colonization— has been lelt by ihe Govern, nont to parties of adventurers. The New Zealand Company has perhaps dune no worse | th in bimildi' associations before it had done; hut th is, if it be so, is a sufficient proof, in itself, that such a work ought to be discharged by the Government, and cannot be safely left to any body of adventurers, however personally estimable or respectable. The New Zealand Compauy was formed or rather re-firmed, some seven or eight years since, at a meeting held in the city. Immediately its staff had been oig.itnzcd, it began, with the usual haste of such enterprises, to sell laud in New Zealand ; having, all the while, not a foot of laud to sell. And before a tnelvcmouth had elapsed it had freighted more thau/tufy merchant vessels with emigrants and merchandise, without knowing what was to be done with these people when they landed ! But the managers had sem before an experienced man, who was empowered to buy land, and to have it in readiness for the settlers, when they arrived. Here again however, all was haste. and confusion. This geutlenian, knowing that the emigrants were immediately behind him, necessarily acted with great precipitation. He got together some of the ehiels on thedeck ot his vessel, showed them a heap of guns, tobacco, gold-laced hats, and red worsted nightcaps, and demanded whether they would sell him all that land, •' From tho^e hills down to that river ? " A bargain was struck, the goods handed over, and the natives had a scia.i.ble for the booty. But it soon proved that bargains of this kind, made in a hurry, might be repented of at leisure. The settiers came; and the Company's agents endeavoured to give them possession of the lands. But it soon appeared, that the buyers and sellers hail put a difleretit interpretration on the articles of sale.' The Company's agent supposed that he had bought a piece of territory, with all that was upon it. But Hie natives only intended to sell a permission to settle there. Soon a strife began,— -violence was attempted, blood was shed, and to this day the mischiet is not ended. Tlie root of the whole evil we take to be, — the non- interference of the Government; and the porniis.-ion given to ship oIT from England thousands of industrious farmers and mechanics, without the least certainly ot what would become of them when they reached New Zealand. The result ot this inaction on the part of Government has been, — the sacrifice of a great amount of Biitiah mercantile capital;*— the shipwreck of the fortunes of many hundreds of worthy and estimable English families; — and a civil war in New Zealand; which has already lasted three or four years. Our moral is, therefore, that our rulers ought to regarl Colonies and colonization with more serious attention than they have ever yet dune. Had the British Government resolved to lay out half a million ster ing r at the outset, in bringing New Zealand into proper lonn and order, would there have been the lea-vt risk of losing one penny of the money ? Not the slightest. The land which the natives have to spare, and which a competent British representative might houestly buy ot them for ;£1O(),OOO, would be be lound, under English cultivation, to be worth millions. Danger ot loss therefore, there is none. All that is needed is a bolder scope and purpose than our statesmen have ever yet entertained. Instead ot a hall-pay captain, at a stipend of jC 1000 a year, New Zealand ought to have had, eight )i'ars suice, one ot the bust men that England could supply; with powers to draw for any sum under a million, that he could prudently au<l hcneh'cially lay out in bringing the country into proper order for the settlement ol Englishmen .