THE LAND CLAIMANTS.

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 177, 9 February 1848, Page 2

THE LAND CLAIMANTS.

Thf implacable hatred of an active and powerful Company has given a bad notoiiety to the Land'OlHimauta of Now Zealand. In e<'ery parr of ihe United Kingdom they have been successfully denounced, as the curse and plague of the Colony. It Ins been everywhere proclaimed, and is everywhere believed, that they art? deteunined upon working out the ruin of the scitli'ments, ht'loie th^v will submit to Ihe loss of ore particle of their plunder, and that the sonal atmosphyte «•!' New Ulster, has long been coutamir.a'ed by the efforts of'theii desperate malice, to such an extent as to be poisonous even to themselves. It is a lamentable fact, that the turbulence of some few amongst them, and the wild and uniform violence of the Journal, whose columns are exclusively devoted to llieir advnecy, have, by giving color to these charges, senously injured the whole body of claimants, iiiid completely stopped the emi&iatiou of capitalists to thi& Pioviiice. It would not, iiouever. have been very difficult for the Company and the Goveininent, to see from the vpiy outset, that it would be impossible for thorn to hide forever from the B itish public the leal nature of the land claims questions, and that if it were possible it would be wretched policy to make the attempt. Every engine whu h interested selfishness could devise, has, for years, been vigorously worked by the Company against the LandClaiman's of this Province. The prejudices of the people of England against Colonial landjobbers, the original pretensions of individual claimants, in many instances ridiculous, and in allevtravagant, and the misconduct of some of them in the Colony, were successively laid hold of, turned to account, and used up. But, though stigmatized as land-sharks, public robbei>, and aboriginal despoilers, though surrounded by a dense cloud of obloquy and odium, it would seem fiom some of the late despatches, that a distinct impression in their favor has been at length produced at Home. That portion of reel justice, which all along lay at the bottom of their inflated pretensions, has at last forced its way into the light, been distinctly discerned, and fully recognized ; and, it may be now fairly presumed, that the •wrongs which they have sustained at the hands of the different Governments of this Colony will be familiar to the British public, when the calumnies against them are forgotten. The existence of Land-Claimants in the Colony is certainly one of the greatest sccurges by which it could be afflicted. — but, how did the Land-Claimants of New Zealand acquire their existence ? "When these islands were an appendage to New South Wales, why did not the Government of that Colony publicly proclaim to the first purchasers of land from the Natives of New Zealand, the unconstitutional nature of their proceedings ? If Btitish subjects cannot plead ignorance of their laws, they may excusably plead ignorance of a certain principle of Colonization not duly notified to them when there was no difficulty in doing so. "When the equitable ughts of ihe first claimants were recognized by Captain Ilobson, why weie they not piomptly settled? Why were the first Claimants teazed by \exatious expenses, and still more vexatious delays, during a period of four years, at the end of which time the interests of three fourths of them were transferred for little or nothing to their creditors ? ere not the new Land-Claimants created by two proclamations issued by a Governor of the Colony ? And were not their claims distinctly recognized Dy a Secretary of btate for the Colonies ? But, if it were possible for the Company and the Government by any amount of trickery to bolster up the wiongs of the Claimants, to mystify I;heir rights, or stifle their complaints, the policy of s>uch a proceeding would be very questionable indeed. Some ulcers upon the human body will, if neglected, gradually propagate their poison to every part of the whole frame, and, even after the disappeaiance of the original sore, the constitution of the man will, during his life, be afflicted by taint or debility. The iriitation occasioned by the infliction of injury upon one of the constituent classes of a body-politic, will if not attended to, diffuse itself in a simitar way over a whole ton.mumty, and the expulsion of the social pestilence thus produced, if not accomplished by the application of violent remedies worse than itself, must be left to the operation of time alone, in fact, the natural consequence of injuiy is resentment, which degenerates into Imtied, and thete emotions propagate themselves with a rapidity that must appear marvellous to those who do not reflect upon the final cause oi this their distinguishing peculiarity amongst the human passions. The benevolent Doctor, without a lee, employs all Ins skill in endeavouring to cure the diseases of the poor. The i'ee'd Physician uses still greater diligence in soothing and allaying the lever ol h s employer. But, who ever heatd ol a Doctor who, having received a liberal fee for

healing a wound, of which he was himself the accidental author, betook himself with gi eat zest to probing, puncturing;, aud torturing it > The blame, from every quarter so justly imputed to the Government, for their mode of handling this question, is greatly aggravated by the simplicity of the policy which ought to have been adopted by them in dealing with it. The fiist Local Government found the community committed to their charge afflicted with aplague. They should have taken prompt and decisive measures for, at one and the same time, curing the patient, and preventing for ever the re-anpeaiance of the disease. The idea of accomplishing this latter object by the treaty of Waif an gi alone, will appear sufficiently ridiculous to those who consider the contents of that celebrated document, in conjunction with the Australian Land-sales' Act, the hopes of the first Land-Claimants, the cnpiditv which forms so prominent an ingredient in the character of Colonists, and the avarice and martial spirit of the Natives. Extensive acquisitions of land by the Crown, a sensible and well-digested code of regulations for the sale, leasing, and occupation of Crown-lands, an Arms' Bill, a Sill for the prevention of purchases of land by the settlers from the Natives, and the continued presence of a competent military and naval foive, are the measures collateral to the treaty of VVuitangi, which were essentially necessary for communicating vitality and practical effect to that instrument, as well as for securing the peace, prosperity, and progreso of the Government settlements. Had Captain Grey been the fmt Governor of this Colony, no one acquainted with his sagacity, firmness, and energy, cm for a moment question, that he would have adopted some of these measures upon his own responsibility, and that he would have vigorously recommended to the imperial Government the immediate adoption of the rest. Nor is this entirely a matter of opinion, inasmuch as the Arms' Bill was the first ordinance enacted under his Government, and the Native-land purchase Bill was amongst the first. A large military and naval force, including a warsteamer, were introduced into the Colony by his advice, and there can be no doubt that the code of regulations to which we have just referred, has long since been warmly recommended by him to the attention of the imperial Governraemt. We fear that the step he has taken in re-opening the consideration of the excessive grants, is now more or less irrevocable. But, though the new claims have been reported upon by the Commissioner, and, though the principles upon which the final adjustment of them depends, are ascertained and defined with tolerable distinctness, the fortunes of the claimants are still to a considerable extent in the hands of the Governor. If, in that part of the adjustment which devolves upon him, he carefully distinguishes between the impostor claiming large tracts of land upon the strength of a pair of breeches, or a rusty musquet, and the bona fide claimant who has given real consideration to the Natives, between the jobber and the actual or intending occupier ; if he deals out to every claimant a measure of justice, proportioned not merely to the amount of ok re naked light in his case, but also to the disappointments and delays to which he has been subjected, and above all, and infinitely beyond all, if, henceforth, no farther delay ocruis in the final settlement of the claims than is absolutely inevitable, he will retire from this vexed question, if not with the same brilliant success which has hitherto attended him in his many struggles against the difficulties of this Colony, at least with a degree of credit far moie than sufficient to stifle the malice of his opponents. But, while their interests a.'c pending, while their fortunes are quivering in the balance, between verdict and sentence, is it not downright madness in some of the Claimants to employ themselves laboriously in goauing the man who is master of their hopes and fears. Is it good policy in the general body of new Claimants, to look with stolid indifretence upon some of their number insulting their common Judge, and heaping every species of obloquy and odium upon the head of him who can, to a great extent, make or mar them all ? Is it credible that they do not even yet see, that they are not the allies, but the tools of those who have been so long working them with the utmost ingenuity for the promotion of tJieir own deeply -laid schemes ? Do they know anything of Captain Giey, which could lead them to conclude ihal lie could be turned from his purposes by bullying and intimidation ? Would not, on the contrary, everything that is known of him, directly lead one to the conclusion, that his indomitable firmness, goaded by merciless persecution, would be very likely to degenerate into mere obstinacy.

Programme. — On Thursday, Feb. 10th, at 4 o clock, on the space of ground opposite the Council Chamber, the Band or" the 58tli Regiment will perform the following pieces of music :— Overture— Op., " Eliza c GMaudio". ..... Mercadante* Cay: — Op. " Donna Dil Lago" Rossini. Waltz— The " Hyacinth" KeonigQuadrille— " The Royal lnt,k" Jullifn Air and Chorus— Op. " Preciota" Weber. Galop—" Prince Alberta" LubUsky.