Original Correspondence

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 226, 29 July 1848, Page 2

Original Correspondence

To the Editor of the New Zealander. Si r . Re*din£ an article in your lust number cxpresaive of pleasure at the advanced state, of education in the settlement of Nelson, and the number of schools estab'ished the c, I wa* most surprised at the end to find that there was an appeal made to 'he local Government to do th« tnme for us in Auckland. Sutely the writers and readers of your paper must be totally ignorant that those Nelson schools which are held up as a pattern to Auckland, were originated and almost entirely supported by one private individual and out of hU own private means with some assi mam. c from other private individuals out of their own private meant without nny aid whatever from the general or local government. If we in Auckland feel inclined t') copy the Nels >n system of education do not let us forget the most essential part of the original, let us learn to help ourselves instead of eternally calling and leaning upon the " local government." Never was a servant of all work 10 haidly tasked or so sorely blamed us this same " local government" i* by the public of Auckland ; the wisest lesson it can give and we can learn, would be to teach u% to help and trust to ourselves, test the lupport on which we to entirely lean should be suddenly taken from under us, when having no Btrength in ourselves sure and certain would be our fall, and our condition helpless and unpilied.I am, &c. A. B. C. [We conceive it to he a matter of comparatively trill ng importance to the htate of education here whether the »ehools at Nelson were of private or public origin- tlieir efficient working was 'the gratifying fact to which we called attention, coupled with an expression of regret that the educational facilities of Auckland should present so marked a contrast. It is precisely bec»use we in Auckland do not leem inclined j or, perhaps, from circumstances* are unable, to copy j the Nelson system of education, that we hope to see j the local government directing a philanthropic consi- j deration to a matter of such momentous consequence to the rising generation. Education is a question which hat engrossed the attention of the Home Government,—a servant of all work, fully as hardly tasked as its deputy here. We perfectly agree with A.B.C. that there is too great a desire to lean upon public support, but would our Correspondent because the children at Nelson are blessed with fathers alive to the value of education, seek to interdict the government from giving ail impetus in the ri^ht direction to our dormant energies here ? — Ed. N. Z ]

To the Editor of the New Zealander. Sir,— lt has bren said that a false report is like (hat ingenuous pyrotechnical invention, the cracker ; that it makes its appearance suddenly, no <>ne kilowing f.otn where, ppuits and sprawls about for a time— may startle old ladies — causes some amusement, but, ere long, explode* with a great noise, and becomes harm les«. It occurs to me, sir, that the simile would be equally apposite if applied to the ihort-livcd career of one of those newspapers which occasionally makes its appeal - ance when not required, and distinguishes its short lite by the virulence and personality of its attacks upon individuals raiher thau principles. An order of literature easy ot attainment, and always in some degree effective. In my opinion, the brief existence of the Anglo-Maori Wuiihr luinishes ot ilus an illu»IM luu.

Ilivvinp; been brought forth, an we aie carefully mformcfl, to advmire two causes — the civilisation of the native rac<\ and the improvement of our colonial newspaper literature — let us notice in what way these ends have been sought to be effected. From its commencement but one object—conspicuous to eveiy unprejudiced observer— seems to have been the cml of its editor, and that was the advocacy of the missionary interest, and that of the penny-an acre tluimants. Apparently, as a menus to this end, bas been adopted an unceasing and unscrupulous tirade against the Goveruoi ; which commenced with ihe existei.ee of the paper, nnd whirh, when it* fate was no longer deferable, was wound up with the vituperative explosion of malignancy in the 13th and concluding number, when the editor, having invoked all those liteiary and classical acquirements which were to have dazzled the colonial pi ess— animated to.a more exalted aim, and induced in it a higher tone and character—having summoned, I say, to his aid all theie vait resources of his, mind, he, knowing that his time had come, explodes as noinily and with as much effect as had he txpiied amid the blue ftVune of a melodrama. And for what misdeeds of the Governor's is so mucit impotent wrath called up and printed ? because Governor Giey appears to be determined, as far as he legally can do so, to sacrifice private interest to the pre« sent and future welfare of the culony, and to prevent the land, I'iom which a revenue applicable to public purposes should be derived, being frittered away jb lavish grunts to those who had not the intention or the means 'o improve or cultivate, and whose only title consisted in ihr, allowance of the weak and unprincipled Governor, whose acts were repudiated at home, and whobe faults and mismanagement, are now to be retrieved and repaired by his bucccssor. It was for this course of action that the Warder, while it existed, directed against the Governor a continuous toirenl of abuse, unargumentativc, although laboriously elaborate; n rce, but unptincipled. Let us candidly and impartially review the cir'eunn6tnnces which have caused this want of popularity of Governor Gny in the not them districts of New Zealand, fomented, in a great measure as it hat been, by such article!* as the "dying speech" of the Warder's—articles which, if wiitten by piriies having their own interei-t at btake, might be passed over and Recounted at what they were worth under the chcumbiaiu-ea, but which, when emanating fiom those who can have no identity of interest with the party whose advocate they are m a bad cau°c, and whos.e effusions do not meet with the general approbation of the public, expressed by its support, can but be considered a s the pandering of a mind, which should be superior to it, to the avail* clous feelings of a section. The Governor, on his af rival here, finds that through the misminageinent of his predecessor, the colony is bankiujjt; that the late Governor, yielding to tie pressure fiom without, to the demands or the land speculator, which he had not firmneis to withstand, backed by the presence of large number* of natives menacing his government — yielding to these intimidations, had r arted nith the Übt available and legitimate means of raining a revenue winch should bear but lightly upon the people, the possession" ot ♦■xteiuit'c Crown lands near the capital, from the sale of winch might be derived a fund applicable to public improvements and emigration. Governor Grey found thin source of a revenue anni~ hilated. The lands about the vicinity of Auckland, which, if purchased by Government and system itically re sold, at required by the increising bpteud of the sittUment, would, ere now, have caused the resumption of that immigration which i< so -vitally essential to the protiperity of the colony, und die want of which was never more eomp aloe I of thmi at pict-ent. This land was, I say, frittered iiway—gianiiM to any one who, by the timely apphca ion, of a fiw pounds, or the gilt of some slop clothing, could $el a deed, siguud by a natire, who would aitei wards repudiate the sale. Granted away to his advisers of the pro* tectoiate — granted to membe.s of Council, to public officou, io private friends — and granted to persona who«e only claims for consideration ucem to lmve been th«*ir being oonrertmut with the under cuirent of official tnuKcry, which, long suspected as having tXi&ted, now is coining; to light, known alike to the culoni.il nimibtcr, a»d to the New Zealand colonist. I write plainly, Mr. Editor, but I write from a conviction that the*e are truths which bhould not be conrea e»l or smoothed over, but made manifest as the causes of the present eoiburraisment aud distatiai action. The efftds of this suicidal policy are now apptuent. Land is a glut in the market, vast tracts are in the hands of parties who have not, nor ever will have, the means to cultivate on,: tenth of the area. Whole kauri forests ate litM by individuals who sought and obtained their grant for the bake (>f the timbw which, they mifcht cv on it, and who will now sell taruis upon it at almost a nominal price. Wow, for years, can the Government be expected to ra sc an imnigmt'on fund ? There was a scramble for the land. Every one who had a p >utid or two to spare, and many who had riot — each one who might be acquainted with a naiivft owning land, hastened to secure to himself some kind of title, under the sanction of the pioclamation wuich was yet knowu to be illegal. Jt was a lottery : and euclv one bought his share in it as such, and the payment given to the native amounted to the value of thechancu which the payer became possessed of for a futuregrant, and, as in a lottery, by pft.ving tor several chances the attainment of his prize it> ensured, t>o it nas deemed that [out of many claims one or more might eventually be allowed. The bad effects were immediately apparent. The whole land question was unsettled. Those of the original l-»nd purchasers who had obtained their title found their property depreciated in value thereby. They had obtained their grants from being able to prove a proportionate expenditure or improvement, and now they Lund themcelvts forestalled, und wi.hout the prospect of being- able for years tv realize at a fair price. The settlers who, relying upon the provisions of the Australian Land bales Act, had deemed thembolves sale in paying to the Company twenty or thirty shillings an acie, found that their intoests were incalculably injured by au act which it was useless for them to protest against, but which they determined not to atail themselves of. No land was erer purchased, or sought to be obtained, under the pennyanacre proclamation by the settlers about Cook's Straus or to the south of New Zealand. The minor effects were also observable. Th« natives sold land before they had decided amongst themselves as to their owu proprietorship, and as a result, the contiguoui claims of two parties are fouDd to overlap and even to crosfa the oppos te boundaries. The inextricable confusion thus created has caused the expenses, of the (Jommitioner's Coutt and Survey Department to txceed in amount the proceeds of the land sales— expenses which should hate been charge* able alone on the land. , Governor Fiizßoy himself acknowledged in Council. t'»at "all sales of Government l<md hid been put an. end to," no fund for the introduction ol labour or

oilier public objrr's lad bpen dciived and all chance of regular colonisation i ''fulling fiom govprnment land talcs destroyed. The land nmams in the hands of thoso who cannot still and have no inducement to cuU 1 Well might the sum realised on the 11th inst. be but £340 13s. 9d , while the land in the private matket to far exceeds the demand either at present or for a }ong period prospective. _ The duty of a Governor, arriving at a time of such embarrassment, is to reclaim what hind he can for the crown or the public, for the terms are synonymous,HU duty is to do this by all legal means which can be resoited to, although they may cavie him to be for the time unpopular. So far from yielding as hi. predecessor did to the public clamour or to the native intimidation he should make a resolute stand against what he considers to be detrimental to the public interest that which he has sworn to advance. And careless of the evil or Rood report which may be the consequence, fearlessly to stand or proudly to resign , rather than against principle to yield. In the matter of the claim of Mr. Clarke, tke only argument which I have yet heurd advanced against the Governor's procedure is that the natives refuse to allow any but the claimant to occupy the land, be it wu'ually secured to him or otherwise, therefore, it is $aid to be but gratuitous interference. » For wh-it use" ji asked, " can the land be to Government." Such are the narrow views of those whom the Warder repiesented and who seem to thmk that colonial lands are fair game for private appropriation without reflecting tbnt each square mile lavishly granted away saps proportionately the sources of future revenue. On a subject on which there ha« been so much written and for which abuse has been so unsparingly bestowed I think that the public ere it is led by newspaper advocacy, should be made acquainted by the papers With the whole merit* of the case, and especially as to the equity of the claim of Mr. Clarke. The unsophibticated observer finds that Commissioners had investigated the claim and apparently finding in it no merits to justify them in recommending more than the fixed quantity of 250 acres be granted, award that amount. The case is however taken up by the Governor and, the public being still in the dark as to the reasons, a third commissioner is specially appointed to remve>Ugate and endeavour te discover if be be able a cause for iccommendhig the total quantity to be granted. I do not wiib to asperse the intentions of any cf the commissioners but 1 thiuk the public should be infoimed as to the cause of one recommending an award of a certain quantity of land and another upon apparently the same evidence a grant of twice the extent. Had Mr. Clarke, I should wish to be informed paid at the rate of 5-. an acre for the 5,000 acrei.'or was he able to show, or prepared to effect, improvements to the amount of one pound per acre, or appropriate such a sum to immigration. , It appears to me, Mr. Editor, that Captain Fitzßoy was determined by any mean in his power to have admission made of the who'e claim of him " whose advice he had more coniidence in than in that of any fiv« of his councillors." He sought to eff ct it by referring the matter to their commissions s instructed by himself without the knowledge of the Executive Council aud we know how far he did so consistently with law. He dreamed not that in lnmwai vested a Prerogative which might be alterwjrdg construed to give him a power unre.tramcd by the Au-tralian Lwds Act and that by a beautitnl solici-m of law be might be acting legally in spite of himself. . . Thanki that he was unaware of the circumstance or, had he chosen to set hit instructians yet farther at , defiance, lie might have granted away to any person who temporarily held influence over him, the whole islands' ol New Zealand. , ; When a man feels bis position to be weak at certain point!., he in apt to make a bold feint to concfial it and some Editors who have doubts as to whether they would lie credited ia making a qualified statement, throw aside all c»re for brond facts which tnay be inconvenient to thoir arguments, and in the face of them make a bold and (.weeping aweriion, which they deem may Burpiise their renders into a belief of what they write. And thus we may, perhaps, account for such expreashnt as thatm the "Warder's" ultimate article, where we are coolly ai.d seriously given to understand that <he Settlers of New Zealand " stand ariayed to almost a man, a?am§t Governor Grey." Heie, it is evident that the Editor felt the weakness of his position— this he knew to be his assailable point, and thinking that it would pass, heunblushingly makes the assertion quoted, intending to cause those of his readers who may not enquire for themselves, to believe that he speak- to an admiring auditory, consisting of the whole of the white population of New Zealand. The Editor mutt have known, had he given the at. teotion to the subject which his avocation rendered necessary, that in all the attempts of Governor Grej to remedy the evils of Captain Fitzßoy's land profligacy, he meets with the support of by far the larger moiety of those whom he governs— the Scttleu of Cook's Straits, and in the Middle Island. 'Jhese, differing from him in some questions in which they imagine his judgement has erred, yet rather than imving fallen away from him, still have confidence in him as a ruler, will support him in his present view of *he Land Question, and shall he have firmness enough to tesist the storm, will stand by him to a man with tbeir aid and influence, by the public expression of their appioval here, andwi h their powti'ful influence in the English legislature. I am, Sir, One who is acciuainthd with the statb of Public Opinion in various paiits of IfBW Zbaland. . [We give insertion to the long, desultory, and disingenuous epistle of our anonymous correspondent, simply because of a desire to aft'oid currency to the expiession of public opinion upon all public questions. We cannot nevertheless, sufficiently deprecate the tone and temper in which this epistle is conceived. The attack upon the Editor of the Anglo Maori Warder finds a wretched parallel in the ass's kick at the dying lion ; but, as that gentleman is, luppiiy, again perfectly convalescent and more than competent to deal with any antagonist anonymous or avowed, we leave his present assailant to the tender mercies of the Leo Redivtvus. The unmanly vituperation of Captain Fit z ßoy is in exquisite keeping wiUi the writer's provident adulation of our prcse it Governor, Captain Grey. It betrays the mean, the pitiful, anxiety of a hungry expectant labouring to propitiate a patron who lus place to bestow, by most procacious slander of one from whom power has dejmted, and, like all such wretched pandering will no Uoubt experience the contempt its baseness deserves Ciptdin Grey must scorn a panegyrist so utterly igno> J ble ; and, as for Captain Fitzlloy, we have so recently published his triumphant vindication before the great- J ost and the noblest of the nation that we shall not imp k Lord Stanley's glowing testimony to his merits, ' by any defence of our own. We feai that " one who is acquainted with the state of public opinion in New i .Zealand," mistakes his own biter prejudices for tbe popular voice :— when next he dissects thecharacters of public men we would recommend him to confine him* s' If more to the statement of measures and le^s to in# il .l^ente of imputing motives.— Ed. N. Z }