The New-Zealander. SATURDAY, JULY 3, 1847.

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 114, 3 July 1847, Page 2

The New-Zealander. SATURDAY, JULY 3, 1847.

Be just and fear not: Let all the ends thou aims't at, be thy Country's, Thy Goo's, and Truth's.

" I feel it to be duo alike to the interests of both races of Her Majesty's subjects within this colony, to take Uiis, the first public opportunity that has been afforded me, of stating in the most explicit terms, that I have been instructed most honourably and scrupulously to fulfil tile conditions of the Treaty of Wiiitangi ; by which, the full, exclusive, and undisturbed possession of their lands and estates, forests, fisheries, and other properties which the chiefs and tribt-s of New Zealand, and the respective families and individuals thereof, may collectively or indiviclunUy possess, was confirmed and guaranteed to them, so long as it may be their wish and desire to retain the same." Sucu is Captain Grey's notable confession of faith, in what may be called his inaugural address, nt the first Legislative Council held after his appointment to the rule of this Colony. The question which lie there resolves is the touchstone of opinion between two parties ; the one falling in with th« uews of Lord Stanley relative to the manner of dealing with the native population, the other with those of the Company ; and in so doing he uttered ihe Shibboleth which proclaimed his adherence to the first Whether he spoke from instructions, or of his own free motion, all is one. He is no puppet, playing as the strings are pulled, no mere mouth-piece of a ministry, but a man, identifying himself with the affirmations he is called upon to make, and therefore personally committed by that declaration of which we speak. He has spoken the words, and he stands pledged by them ; pledged, for the whole period of his residence among us, to abide by them in spirit as well as in letter j so maintaining inviolate British honour, and his own. And this much will we say for him,— however we may have taken our fling, and possibly may again, at some little weaknesses which it required no great discernment to observe— that he is incapable of lending himself knowingly to a deliberate breach of faith. And a breach of faith, personal as well as public, he knows a breach of that agreement to be. Not that we would impute, for one moment, such dereliction of principle to those who sent out the instructions on which he is now required to act; God forbid that we should fasten the charge of fraud upon English gentlemen ; we accuse them of a blunder, and nothing more ; yet of a blunder, seeing what means were within their reach to acquire accurate knowledge of our relations with the Natives, as unaccountable as it is mischievous. For seven years and more has this agreement of Waitangi — thellunnimede of the Antipodes —passed for binding here : guaranteed by successive Ministers of opposite political opinions—the basis of every iatergeneric arrangement — conned over wi;h the most pains-taking Bcruany by the Natives themselves — complained of by themselves, as overreaching them with legard to the Queen's pre-emption right, imperfectly explained before ratification of the compact — still adhered to, in spite of the disappointing construction it was afterwards found to bear, by men who long had the power to hare hunted us ont of the country, had they thought fit so to do ; and we now affect to call it "a device to amuse savages.' They never knew what they signed, it is argued, and therefore they signed a nullity. We believe, that they did not know all of what they signed ; and the more shame for us, that they should have been so left in ignorance. If they 'were induced to complete a disadvantageous bargain, unwittingly giving up rights they believed secure *, then are we so much the more strictly bound to preserve to them the poor remainder— such advantages as were scanily left. Are people in England so little informed as to suppose that this treaty was entered into by the Maories without fore- thought or caution ; that they jumped at an opportunity of j " making their mark •," and that signatures of influential chiefs at the Bay were bought for as many blankets ? The New Zealanders " a people not competent to become parties to a treaty I* If that be what they dream at home, we can send them from hence another tale With regard to the cession of' sovereignty, they seemed to shew little auxiety or distrust ; about their rights to lands, even while they were being deluded into the belief of having preserved them free, to alienate at pleasure, they shewed extreme susceptibility throughout. And it is by this construction of the mutual agreement, that we, as the more intelligent people, understanding perfectly how it was taken on either eide, should, in scrupulous strictness of honesty, be bound to abide. But, without taking ground so high, let us content ourselves with inquiring how it was at first understood by ourselves. It would appear that the gentlemen who had the management of our Colonial affairs at that period, were able to quote authority for the principles on which they acted, as well as Earl Grey ; and. that of a much less suspicious character than Dr. Arnold's, whose peculiar political tenets are too well known to need comment here. We reler to a report made by a sOect Com-

mittcie of the House of Commons, appointed in 1836, at the instance of Sir Fowell Buxton, , a man whose labours, as a practical philanthropist, outweighs those of many Arnold's ; i at a time when England had been brought to a sense of the general injustice of its treatj ment of Aborigines. I In that report we find these words. "It may be presumed that the Native inhabitants of any land have an incontrovertible right to their own soil— a sacred right, however, which appears not to have been understood by this country." Is there not here a principle of action as safely to be depended on, as the sophistical reasoning quoted from Dr. Arnold in the instructions to Captain Grey ; sophistical, whether his conclusion be true or not, inasmuch aa he treats axiomatically that which has been long a moot point, and perhaps will always remain so — the old and plausible supposition that man's only original right to the possession of land is through the labour he shall have expended upon it. It would be more honest to seize the Maori lands avow- I edly in right of strength, than by virtue oi ! such wolf and lamb argument as this. j The earliest document from which we can ascertain what were the views of Her Majesty's Government with respect to New Zealand, is the Marquis of Normanby's first despatch to Captain Hobson, clearly written under the influence of the above report. " It will be your duty to obtain, by fair and equal contracts with the natives, the cension to the Crown of such waste lands, as may be progressively required for the occupation of settlers resorting to New Zealand. All such contracts should be made by yourself, through the intervention of an officer expressly appointed to watch over the interests of the aborigines as their protector. ♦ • • I assume that tho price to be paid to the natives by the local government will bear an exceedingly small proportion to the price for which the tame lands will be resold by the- government to the settlers. Nor is there any real injustice in this inequality. To the natives or their chiefs much of the land in the country is of 710 actual use, and in their hands, it possesses scarcely any exchangeable value. Much of it must long remain useless, even in the hands of the British Government also, but its value in exchange will be first created, and then progressively increased, by the introduction of capital and settlers from this country. In the benefits ot that increase tho natives themselves will gradually participate." A tolerably distinct recognition, this, of the rights of the natives to unoccupied or useless lands. But to make it even more unniistakeably clear, he proceeds absolutely to forbid the' purchase of that very portion of them, which alone, according to the theory of Earl Grey, th«y have any right to sell. " They must not be permitted to enter into any contract! in which they might be the ignorant and unintentional authors of injuries to themselves. You will not, for example, purchase from them nny territory, the retention of which by them would be essential, or highly conducive, to their own comfort, safety, or subsistence. The acquisition of land by the Crown for the future •ettlement of British subjtcts, must be confined to such districts as the natives can alienate, without distress or serious inconvenience to themselves." Neither did Lord Normanby stand alone in his views ; they are coincided with, and his instiuctions repeated by Lord John Russell in a despatch to Captain Hobson, o£ sixteen months later date. •'The sale and settlement of waite lands are the next of the general topics to which I propose to advert in this despatch. * * • In my present want of information as to the measures which may have been taken to give effect to the Marquis of Normanby's instructions, I can state merely that Her Majesty's Government perceive no mason for receding from them," As to Lord Stanley's opinions, they are too weH known to need any reference by us either to his speeches or letters. It will suffice to remember that upon this very treaty he based his refusal to admit the claim of the Company to their purchases as of right, or to grant them anything more than a conditional title, subject to any preferable claim which might be afterwards established. His argument was simple, and conclusive ; that the Crown was unable to give lands of which it was not itself possessed. Now, is there not some little self-assurance, in Earl Grey setting up his own opinion so absolutely in a matter of conscience and morality ; bidding it be acted upon in the teeth of so many opinions, respectable enough, at all events, to render doubtful the propriety of this sudden change of policy ? Is there not something hasty and rash in such confidence than no latent injustice can have escaped his ken ? Is there not something unpleasant, to say the least, about the cold-blooded manner in which he talks of force with reference to carrying out a measure of disputable honesty ? And is he not bound, by his veiy position, to fulfil the absolute engagements of his predecessors in office, with respect to foreign nations ; for a foreign nation, at the time of the conclusion of that treaty, New Zealand sqems assumed by j all parties to have been. j If there be a doubt, or the shadow of a doubt,' let him stay his hand ;it ia better that | Great Britain should do ten inexpedient or unprofitable acts, than one act of injustice. It is necessary to observe, that when we speak of these instructions as ordering a general appropriation and registry of the Native possessions, it is because such is too evidently their meaning ; that is, no man. can rise from the perusal of them, without a distinct impression that such an order Is conveyed. But we are bound to allow, if the Queen's Instruct tions be collated with those of the Secretary of Sfale, that it is not easy to prove the details so glaringly unjust as the general tenQr of the

whole. When Captain Grey ii told that no apparent advantage should be suffered to weigh against the evil of acting in a manner either really or even apparently inconsistent with good faith, the most tender-conscienced moralist might be led to suppose that no injustice could be contemplated ; when he is bidden scrupulously to fulfil whatever engagements he should have contracted, and maintain those rights on the part of the native tribes to land which he should have already recognized, the most wary reasoner might conclude that none could be taken away, seeing that the whole were' included in the recognition of the Treaty by Captain Grey himself. There is some ambiguity still lurking about both productions, which evidently proceeds from a still existing misapprehension in Down-ing-street, with ruspect to the native tenure of land. The Secretary of State having learned, and correctly enough, that portions of land are held by the aboriginal inhabitants as. tribes— in common, very much as in England — seems to have jumped ta the conclusion that nearly all is held by similar tenure j that the quantity belonging strictly to individuals is so small, as to render it expedient that " they should be free as any of the other inhabitants of New Zealand to acquire and la dispose of property in land." That this is the mistake which lies a£ bottom of the difficulty, is made plain by com* parison of the clause here quoted, with another presently following :— " It is by the sale of land at more than a nominal price that its appropriation to individual*, iv allotments proportioned to their power o[ making use of it can alone be tccured. But if the native tribes arc permitted to sell large tracts of land to individuals, for » mere nominal consideration, it is obvious that so much land will be thrown upon the market, as entirely to defeat the attempt to sell such lands as the Crown may retain, at a prioe sufficient to answer the object of the policy [ have described." If he had been aware of the real proportion of the quantity owned by individual* to that held in common, we may rest assured that the former important clause would never have been suffered to creep in. This clause alone — and not alone, if we have taken right measure of the man with whom it rests to- decide — will ensure the return of the instructions to England. But we still have great mfgivingsiw to the amended shape in which they will again be sent out to us ; we may see them presently identical in principle, yet clear of alt ambiguity, free from all mistakes, and be unable next time to take advantage of a flaw. Earl Grey is not the man to be reasoned out of a lodged idea, or to lose an impression that has once been made upon him ; the less so, perhaps, that the strictures . to his scheme must come from one, to whose appointment at Governor of this Colony he stood in objectioa almost alone. Nor is it it impossible that he may attempt to force this, his long- hoarded measure, on the country ; and if he do so* then we say that the Governor should rather throw up bis appointment, than submit to eat his own words, so publicly and deliberately pronounced, or suffer himself to become a parry to a repudiation of agreement, that would make every Bettler in the country ashamed to. look a native in the face. If Captain Grey be a good man and true ; if he has made up his mind to refuse that portion of his instructions, and to stand by hia refusal ; if he has resolved so distinctly as to. fear no faultering on his own part, he will save much mischief by openly declaring himsalf minded so to do. And this present avowal would have the additional advantage of relieving him from every future temptation to change his mind. Frankness has its advantages sometime^ even iv diplomacy ; and there is as much want of tact shewn in making of mystery for mystery's sake, as in undue loquacity, or wearing of hearts upon sleaves. Even At this moment there is an uneasy suspicion breeding in the minds of the Natives, called up by a diplomatic answer given only the other day by His' Excellency to Tewhwo-whero, when pressed for an explanation of the rumoured change in policy. He exposes himself, (the commonest of his mistakes), to,misconstruction, and then piques himself upon having foiled the indiscreet in* quire r; he is ambiguous with natives, who I instantly conclude that he dare not avow the I truth, that he merely bides his time to spoil I them of their vested rights : alter which less I than Maorie intelligence would suggest that I their best course is to be beforehund with I him. I As to what is going on about tbe matter I at home, we believe that our poor representa-, I tions from hence will be of small avail. But I there exists in London a very powerful body, I impracticable, and stiff-necked exceedingly,, I not a little courted, because feared by ev.(*?y I party in the house,— able at on.cc to lift its I voice, and enforce attention. I We call on Exeter Hall to the rescue. It ial not yet too late; they have but to bestir! themselves, and their service may chance to I stand us in good steadi I l>t them come forward in the cause offl their own adherents,-— the pioneers of colon t-B zation in the wilderness, — to whose influenced we mainly owe such spells of peace betvyeenß the races as we have hitherto enjoyed, — tofl whom more is due, in spite of some veniaJ

failings, that we are not thorough going partizans enough to deny, than is readily acknowledged here, or sufficiently known at home. We ourselves are not connected with any missionary body, of any denomination ; but still can feel for Christian clergymen who are about to be shamed in the face of their congregations; about to have thi3 treaty cast in their teeth, with all its signatures obtained in faith of their own plighted assurances, of their undertaking on their reputation as men of truth, that no deceit was intended by England, or advantage to be taken of them in that blind-fold step* Let the parent societies take what share of the work falls to them, and we will never fail them here. We pledge ourselves, should this measure be pressed upon us, never to cease contending with it, never to let the cry against it die away. But let our allies in England put ready shoulder to the wheel, for meanwhile the mischief is at work, The leaven is already hidden in the measure of meal, and the whole must be shortly leavened.

Native Flour MiLL.-—The mill at Rangiawhia, in the Waipa district, is now finished, and has been found to work very efficiently, and much to the satisfaction of the native proprietors. On its first trial, after the mill had run an hour, and ground four bushels of wheat within the time, the third instalment of £50 was paid to the millwright, Mr, fcjtewart M'Mullan, according to an agreement previously entered into. The natives were highly' pleased with the manner in which the work Mas performed, and are speedily acquiiing suilicient knowledge to enable them to superintend the working of the mill, without any European assistance. The Mill stones are 2ft. lOin. in diameter, and were procured from the back of Mount Eden, near Pai ting ton and Go's, wind mill. They are of the hardest and best description of scoria, and have been lound to work in ho way inferior to the average of French burrs. The natives rendered great assistance in the construction of the mill ; they sawed the timber wiih their own hancU which was required i'or the erection Of the ITlillhouse. They are all now busily engaged in sowing wheat, and are in hopes, in the event of the trunk road passing their district, to be enabled to supply the labourers wifh iiour, of good quality, flora their mill. The erection of the above mill will cost the natives j£2oo, which mm has been raised by shares of £l each among themselves, and hitherto their payments have been honorably made. The Rev. Mr. Morgan who excited the natives to this undertaking, has given his at'tcntion to the work during its progress. The Troops. — On Thursday last, the Thomut Lowry arrived in our harbour, with Colonel Wynyard and the head quarters of the 58th Regt, after an abiance of leven months. They disembarked yestorday »t "eleven o'clock, and were accompanied to their barracks by the band of the §sth Regt, receiving the most <lt•ervedly cordial reception from the inhabitants..— We cannot suffer Colonel Gold and his regiment to leave us without expressing our regret at parting 1 with them so much sooner than had been expected, aud our hope that they may find their new quarters in the South fully as pleasant as Auckland could have been. We trust that they will not suppose, on account of the pleasure every where testified at the return of the 58th, our still older frtendt aud bush companions io , more stirring times, that they have beeu themselves unappreciated during their residence among us. That their feeling; towards us is the same as ours to them, is evinced by the flattering unwillingness they have shewn to being removed. Departure of H.M.S. "Castor."— ln one week we have the misfortune to be deprived of two sels of friends. The "Castora" are away at last, after having been among us, off and on, for nearly two years, and Lome their full share of nearly every brunt that was to be met during the time. If we recollect lightly, we bade them once a premature farewell ; we could wish this to prove a second mistake, but fear that there is no such luck for us. It is certainly selfish in us to wish longer detention in a colony to raeu that have already been nearly five years out from home ; but they will take tlie wish kindly, however they may desire to see it gratified. Let us take this opportunity of returning thanks to Captain Grahuiue specially, for the interest he has taken in the fortunes of Auckland, every where giving it the benefit of his good word, and tor his recommendation of this port for the establishment of a Naval Dockyard — a recommendation the better worth to us, inasmuch as no man's opinion is likely to carry greater weight than his own. We observe amongst the Auction sales for next week that Messrs. Connell and Ridings advertise a large fishing net at their stores on Wednesday. It has often surprised us that while our waters teem with fish, none of our boatmen have yet turned their attention to the taking and curing, not only for our own consumption, but likewise for exportation. We are very sure that if tried in a judicious manner, it would prove a highly re munerative employment. Auckland Savings* Bank.— Dr. Campbell and T. S Forsaith, the accountant and trustee in rotation, will attend this evening, from 7 to 8 o'clock, at Mr. Montefiore's store, to receive deposits ; and Mr. Montefiore and Dr. Johnson, will be in attendance , on Monday next, 28th inst, from 12 to 1 o'clock, forenoon.