WELLINGTON.

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 212, 10 June 1848, Page 3

WELLINGTON.

A great evil to be guarded apainst — in the society of young colonies, such as New Zealand, is—individualism. One or two individuals are almost certain of acquiring a preponderating influence over the mechanical and laboring popu iition (owing to the fact of capital being scarce in comparison to labor), and as a comequence however impolitic their designs may he, however injurious to the general interest, their feelings and sentiments are the moving influence of what is termed public opinion, and they become, in fact, either directly or indirectly, the rulers of the community, lhat this circumstance has had some little influence on the affairs of this settlement, but few will deny. In the earlier days of the colony, when the requirements of Ihe colonists for dwellings and small clearings, created a fdlse demand for labor, the high rates of wages received by the employed, tended to check for a time the march of individualism. But when trade became depnssed, and a circulating medium a thing to he talked of rather than witnessed, individualism assumed a prominent position, and the colony bid fair to be ruled not by the settlers, not by a majority of them, but by a small section of the inhabitants. This state of things, howtver, did not long continue. The large Government and Commissariat expenditure, consequent upon the presence of the military, and the operations carried on pgaiust the disafl'ecUd Natives, infused a new

life into tlio plarc, and divcited labour into other nnil more numerous directions. From that tnvi- individualism has been checked, since lndividiuh&ni has nol continued the only employer of labor. And whilst this expendituie, so beneficial in othei respects, has rendered ino< uoub that which threatened to take deep root in the community, we have some little prospect, liotn the possession of capital, however small, in more extended chunnela, that For the future, class-interests will not be permitted to put down, and keep in the back ground, the interests of the whole body. But, knowing the ill tffects of the system we have exposed, we trust to otlui and more powerful remedies. Though (he now Constitution has been suspended, Earl Giey has suggested that the Southern Province thould be ruled by a Representative General Assembly. We have every reason to believe that representation will be extended as widely as possible, so that the franchise will be placed within reach of every male adult in the several districts. As a certain preventive of individualism, as an almost positive dovvnfal to sectional interests, adverse to the general welfare, we should recommend the adoption of the ballot at all elections. 'J ben — whether an aristociacy of pound-*, shillings, and pence, rears its head or not— working men will be enabled to give their votes without fear of after consequences, and that damning blot in the boasted constitution of Great Britain— bribery— be effectually prevented. The suppre->sion of this all pervading vice bltonld be a sufficient stimulus for the adoption of the ballot principle. With vote by ballot allowed, we shall be enabled to counteract, if not destroy^ individualism. —Independent, Muy G. Captain Henderson, R.A., and twelve men of that corps ate about to be removed to Auckland, in tlio barque Indian. Words of praise are not n quired on behalf of this body. They have ever proved n most useful and important arm of the public service, and in this part of the world they have not belied their character. During the disturbances on ihe Hutt, they succeeded insetting up to the anticipated scene of strife a field piece, along a most execrable road, and otherwise proved themselves ready to assist m the utmost to protect the &eUlere. At Ponrua the R yal Artillery were subsequently engaged in the opeiations aguin&t Rangihiical.i, and at VVangiinui, during the recent war, Captain Hendctson, and his small party, who had taken up an advanced position, Irom which he was enabled greatly to annoy the enemy, was exposed to imminent danger, one man being (severely, and another mortally i wounded. They, however, maintained their ground, until the united body of the British forces fell back to the stockades. We trust Auckland will prove an agreeable station to Captain Henderson and his men. — Independent. Hops. — We saw tlie other day, at Hooper and Company's bicvvei),afew pockets of hops gi own in tlio settlement. The sample was exceedingly good, biich as a grower in England might send to mdiket with satisfaction. As the cultivation of the hop plant is now extending here, it having been pioved that it thrives amazingh, exceeding anything of the kind seen in England, we shall soon bo able to supply our own bieweiies, and get tip an export with the surplus. — Spectator, April 12. By the Governor Grey, from Wanganui, we learn that affuirs were appa ently settled, the Rev. Mr. Matthews having reported favouiably of the conduct of the natives. Chat ley, one of the murderers of the unfortunate Gillespies, was accidently drowned, by the upsetting of a canoe, some distance up the Wanganui river. The Scotia had arrived and landed the mili.aiy — Wellington Indeptndait, April 29. Tun claims on the 'larnnuki district oi the natives of the Nsathiwa tribe, lesidingw Port NicboUon, h« Y e at length been saisfied and the n tive title extinguish* cd. A sum of ,£lOO, being the balance on the purchase on the block of 3500 acres made by Captain Fitzmy and due since 1844, and an aditional sum of £'130, being an instalment on the block ol 9000 acres subsequently purchased by Captain Grey, was paid to tnem, and by this means a serious difficulty m the settlement of the Taranaki land question has been got lid of. Great credit is due to Mr. M' Lean by whom this ananqement has been effei ted and the recent events onnected with Mr. Dillon Bell's purchase, as explained in our correspondent's communication, leave room for hoping that this important and difficult ques* 'ion will at length be speedily and satisfactorily adjusted. * The pood people cf Nelson nre beginning to feel surprised that his Excellency Lieut.- Governor Eyre has never yet visited thpir settlement. His Excellency has now boon at Well nt»ton nine months, and yet we have seen nothing of him in Nelson. Tf the time of his Excellency was so fully occupied in framing and discussing lows for our government, or in lestraining Native outrage and protecting the pettlpment, as to be unable, without injmy to the public sei vice, to leave the seat of his government for actuple of weeks, to visit another district which, though bavins; some claims to his regard, did not so urgently require his immediate paternal care— or if there was no suitable vessel at his command, in which, with proper dignity, he could takp a voynge, wp should be content though we did not see his Excellency for years. But the case stands very different. If ever the labors of his Excellency aie to be light, they are io now, while the Government of this province is province is yet an embryo, and with one vessel belonging to the Government nearly always in port, and another occasionally crossing tlic Straits, no excuse seems to exist. Presently the LieutenantGovernor will be called upon to legislate for his province, and a liitle previous personal acquaintance with both the country and its inhablants would not do him any harm. By the course he is pursuing, he is exciting mistrust and bad feeling (perhaps without cause), for, as but two settlements can at present be said to exist in Governor Eyre's province, though we claim not to be of the importance of the " first and principal" one, as we have no Government expenditure to swell our revenue, we still think ourselves entitled to some notice. — Examiner, May 6.

Removal of South Sea Islanders to New South Walbs. — About the time our last number went to press, a report reached us that certain parties )n New South "Wales had sent out vesi-els for the purpose of taking off the natives of the New Hebrides, and other heathen islands, to ihe colony as labourers and shepherds. We hoped the rejmit rnij>ht prove untme, and did not then give it publicity. We have not yet heard so fully as we could wieh, but from various quarters have learned enough to convince us, that a scheme has been set on foot, which, called by whatever name, or conducted under whatever pietences, will be attended with evils, which the Inends of the aborigines and of missions- everywhere cannot sufficiently deprecate. Several shipments, we are informed, of these natives have been taken to Sydney, among whom are natives of Tana, Lifu, and other islands of the New Hebrides and New Caledonia groupes. And we have juEt heard of two vessels from Sydney lately nt Rotuma. They were engaged in obtaining natives at the rale of

L 2, por li"ad as yearly wages. Forty natives belonging to Ui»;i, iin nhnd ot Ihe New Cak'donn gioup, wore on boji'l when the vessel reached Itotuma, and jud£irijj ot the futuic ficm what thf> had already expelienced, they jumped ovei board mul swam on slioie. The Romruanb iceeived them kindly, and when a party iirnved (rum the vessels witli a demuud that the chief of the distiict would jiive them up, he refused, alleging that as he did not biiiig them to his Ijnd, neither would he interfeie ia the afia r, or send them away. This led to harhh measwea on the part of the Europeans with a view to cmpel the thief to seize and give up the natives of Uea. Firing then commenced on both sides, and some of the Rutumans were shot. The party horn the vessels had also some of their number killed, and weie obliged to retue and weigh, unchoc without the escaped natives. We have long had occasion to compLiu of the conduct of the cicws of sandle-wood vessels towards the natives of the New Hebrides and adjacent islands, and against this scheme for obtaining " Coolies" for the colony, we must enter our decided protest. We entertain a hope that the project will not succeed for any length of time. Many at present may be decoyed away in the expectation of seeing a foreign country, getting a great muny ne tilings, and returning home in a lew months, or perhaps a year, but the spell will soon he broken, and every resistance given, should repeated attempts be made to take them away. Still we feel much concerned /or the natives already taken away, who we understand amount to hundreds. We are not yet fully informed as to their location, employment, and treatment; whether, under Bntisli subjects, they have tho piotection and privileges of British law; and whether any means arc piovded far thpir religious inbtruction. But, iiom what we already know of ihe social habits of these people, we are certain that thcr pieaent exile Trill be panful in ihs extiemc. Tho climate of Sydney, together with disease and death ia many forms, will, we fear, make sad havoc among them, and prevent thei- ever returning to their families and their homes. Tnis wnl be keenly felt, and will doubtless prove a seiious hindrance to our present and prospective missionary crtbilb among these western islands. Not only so, pjr.ies on any errand will find it more dangerous than ever to approach them. Whole tiibeswill be found bent upon revenge, and seeking smsfaction for the loss of their friends in the blood of the first white man they can ensnare within reach ot their clubs. We cannot too earnestly nail upon our friends in New South Wales to aid us in this matter, and we indulge the hope that there are many friends of the aiorigines and of missions thcie, who will strenuously exert themselves, not only to put an end to this tiaffic, but also to becme the hbeiation and speedy return of these Polynesian natives already m this colony. — Samoun Reporter, Match, 18 IS, Visit of H.B.M. Ship Didj, Caitain Maxwell, and the Right Rev. the Lohd Bishop or Nkw Zealand.— Since our last rye have been visited by another British ship of war, the Dido, Captain Maxwell. She came from New Zealand, and brought us from that island another and quite unexpected visitor, the Bishop. They had previously culled at the Tonga group. The captain had to render assistance here to Mr. Consul Pritchard. But he took occasion alto to show the nativc'B much kindness and good will, anil before leaving, made handsome presents to some of the chiefs. We had previously beaid of the activity and zeal of Dr. Selwyn as Bishop of New Zealand, and his visits to several of our stations on Tutuila and Upoln, including the institutions /or education, printing oflice, &c, aud the brief intercourse thus ufforded to several ot the brctluen, have left a very favourable impulsion. He ia clearly a working missionary, and understands both the chaiactcr ot the natives ot Polynesia, and tha best methods ol piomoting iheir mentil and moral impiovement. He is also a friend of the natives, in reference to their relations wi'h foreigners. He a.'S3 avows himself unxious to promote ihe evangH zation of gotre of the islands 10 the Hestward. The captain ha>< ins ructions to inqu re after the natives of Ueu, who lately took refuge on Rotum.i, as reported in another column, and the bishop appeared highly pleased with the prospect of being able to show kinduess to those poor creatmes, and obtaining an introduciioi to their countrymen. The Dido having previously called nt 'I utuila, anchored at Apia on the 21st January, and left on the 10th February.— Samoan Rvpoitcr.

Military.— Sergeant MajOr William Norris, of the 9dth Regiment, stationed at Ilobnrt Town, \\m prts-nted, on the Bfb of May, with a silver medal, by the Commanding Officer, in the presence of the corps, as a mark ot her Majesty's csioein for his lengthened and meritorious services in that regiment. On the 2nd instant an interesting ceremony took place on parade at Hobart Town, the presentation ol a medal to a most deserving soldier, Peter Gevin, qu.u ter-mastcr sergeant, llth Regiment foot, on whom her Majesty has been graciously pleased to confer this honour as a rnaik 01 esteem for his long, faithful, and meritorious services at the recommendation of Lieut.Col. H. K. Bloomfield, commanding the llth Regt., with an annuity of i?2O. Shocking Superstition —The Constitutional re. lates the followint; case of "dccipline in ihe French convents ;"-— " The houses of lehgious communities are much more numerous at Paris that is believed, especially those of women Of what occuis rherein in macerations and mortificitions of all kinds, the following fac£ hardly credible in tno century in which we now are, may give aa idea. On Thursday, Dr. B—was invited to visit one of these convents of cloistered women, to prescribe for one of the nuns. On Jus airiv.il at the convenf, he was introduced to tho cell hi which the sick person, on whose behalf lie had bern called in, was lying 1 in bed. He questioned hereabout her sickness, and, on the .symptoms which she leit, The sick person answered, in a weak voice, that nothing was the matter with her ; but her features showed! pain, and soon after her strength gave way, and the fainted. The Doctor hastened to unfasten her drece, and paitially opened it fn tlie endeavonr to restore her conciousness ; hue judge of tho surprise he then felt on seeing a crucifix placed on the breast of the 1 nun, with tpikes which entered the flesh. He immediately removed this instrument of uirturc, but the nun, on recovering from her fainting fit, put her hand to her breast, and, perceiving that her cruciiix had disappeared, demanded it with loud cries, and repeating thai. s,he could not allow it to be takm from her, for that &he bore it in fulfilment of a vow, and of an act of penitence imposed on her by her confessor. But the Doctor, employing his authority, declared that he would oppose the continuation of such mucer/itiou by all the uieanii in his power. The sick nun had not only the breast torn and full of boles from the points with which the crucifix was covered, but her back pic sented traces of similar injuuci. It appear, in iaef, that the unhappy woman, thinking to conform witli more z>al to the injunctions of her spiritual dirtcioi and to make more complete; her penitence, took the piccaution every evening in placing the ciucifix between her two shoulders, and thus to lie on the batk, notwithstanding the horrible pain which she must have endured. Dr. B ,on leaving the convent, took iha crucifi.s with him."