WEDNBS D A V, 8 E P T 13 M b E It 13, 184

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 239, 13 September 1848, Page 2

WEDNBS D A V, 8 E PT 13 M b Elt 13, 184

The impatience with wb'ch the people of the South— like spoil* d tluldicn ufLei a promised toy • — are screaming foi their c> p.vncr constitution," the panacea, that i> to Le,of all theii evils, and the distinctive badge of the intellectual superiority of the seUlcrs of Cook's Stiail— has aheady iurnished theme of comment to our contemporaries, of the Warder and the Cross, who deal with the subject, each in their own peculiar vein. The topic is rather thicadbnie •, but if the Southions can detect any \i\U\c in a Chaiter, the bare contempknion of who<e po^iblc infliction caused a species of .no A wule in Australia — vJnchvwu lieieeiy denounced in Tasmania — spurned in Noil hem Isen />v Sand —and is now running the gauntlet of jjtuuh ridicule.' — If the .Southrons' can detect any chirm in such a picsciiption— if they can lender it the means of demonstrating to an admiung world that " theie never was a body of settlers to whom the power of local t>o\eniment could be moie wisely and judiciously ciiliusled," than their clamorous and impo> lunate selves. If the Grey medicament is to be productive of such sensible and such effects, we can only hope that their urltatung'; and their bullyings may induce Sir Gi'OiibE to calm their agitation by aduunistciing foithwilh, this political Momson's pill ! Meanwhile, i\hat i-5 to become of us? Under what fo.m aic vie to be ruled? By a Dictatorship? Oi, by an •' >uclriun<ltte '' Council of Ten ? Or, as <\w astute contemporary of the WAiinnn. would to infci, aic we to be left to enjoy a soit of quiet nitcuegnum, under the mild, but not iuncti\e sway of LieutenantGoumor, General Pitt? Aie we,— lesser satellites though we b^—to be permitted to oxpeiiment on coiporation mamifactuies, whilst our Southion compatriots are evolung with ■piankensteiniaii z«.al the peifectious of their legislatorial mysteries? With refeience to our futuie destinies, we are quite at sea, and in the poi lentous calm that picvails, can but ciudely speculate the sort of landfall we may make v, hen next the biccze sets in. If we may ciedit gcncial repo.-t, the return of the Govcinor-m-Chief is entnely dependent upon the tenor of the despatches, com eyed to him by the Dino. If. of uigeucy, we may expect his Excellency almost immediately ; if not, his return will, in all probability, be deferred until the close of the year. The establishment of a Ciuc Coipoiation, uill, we appiehend, be one of the fiiot movements after that event, and, under such an impression, it may not perhaps be premature to conjecture the manner in which the coiporate machine may be put in motion. Of Mayors, Alderjnen. Common Councillors, el hoc omne genus, -we shall have no doubt, pick and choice. There are always a superabundance of aspiring candidates after honours, be those honours, ever so thankless, ever so questionable. But, in what way, we marvel, is a corporation to be endowed ? Whence is it to deiive its revenues? A corpouvtion without a tieasury, is but a body without a soul, and as we cast our eyes aiound, we coni'e&s orusches sorely puzzled to " calculate " whence the spirit to animate a civic ci cation can be diawn. We can scarely model one upon that of Sydney, for we lack the resources of that comparatively great city ; and, if we turn to Adelaide, we have there only a shadowy outline of the intended resurrection of a previous aboition. Of the mechanism of the Melbourne corpoiation, a\c profess ourselves to be profoundly ignorant — w hilst we knowjust sufficient of the City Commissioners of Hobail Town, to be awaie that after an arduous and a fiuitless attempt at corpoiate juusdiction, they were compelled to resign, and that merely because of the want of the si2iews of government and of A\ar. If Adelaide quailed beneath the weight of Municipal burthens — if Hobart Town abandoned their attempted institution in despair — whence, we would fain inquire, — whence is Auckland to deiive aliment for their sustentation ? Nothing has been achieved in the -way of paving or lighting the streets to warrant the imposition of lates. Theie is no public market fLom whence to collect dues. Scarce a source fiom which a cowrie may be coaxed. — The Hobart Town Commissioneis stiuggled hard with their Governor to have the whaifage and hai hour 1 atcs placed at their disposal ; but, were these to be conceded by Governor Grey, we have neither the Avhaif noi the harbour (rom whence they could be diawn. We have not even a jetty at which a passenger can land dry shod ! We can detect but difficulty and distress on every hand. Our port is our disgrace. It is a mere anchorage, however excellent its holding ground. There is no facility for the landing of goods—

damage occuis to meichandi^c in its Lansit fnom the vessel to the waiehouse of the Merchant. Auckland, with veiy gical natural capabilities, has notouou^ly the wor.-it shipiiiii t>" accommodations of any poit in tiic Australasian so.is. As for wateung — with a superabundance of that element to form ample reservoirs — theie exists not the means of supplying the- necessities of the pettiest sloop. Ships of war have to proceed elsewhere — and merchant men, fritter away their time, venting blessings on a spot wheie apathy is the dominant feature. Conliar>t this deficiency of provision of the limpid clement, in a town remarkable for its abundance, with the admirable facility with which it can be obtained at Sydney and at llolwit Town, both placesSydney in especial — proverbial for limited sources of supply — and the callousness to the intciests of the shipping and the poit, becomes positively calamitous. It was one of the most politic measures of that Colonial Machiavel, GoNemor Arthur, to render the harbour of llobart Town as perfect —as conduche to the benefit of shipping —as ait and nahue could accomplish; because he well knew that ships carried a good or eul repoit of a colony, fiom pole "to pole, and he lound, by experience, that his own character detived not the least of its reputation for wisdom and energy from the facilities afforded to ships and shippeis and the solid improvements efiectcd upon the city, the seat of his rule. Look at Hobnrt Town and the country around, was the frequent stopper to just complaints of tyranny and oppression. Strangeis caught the fair side of the picture, at a glance ; the blast of praise was loudly and thoughtlessly blown — and the aspect of the port was made a sort of guarantee for the piosperity of the settlement. The natural advantages of Auckland, are fully equal to those of Hob ait Town, and, at a moderate expenditure, it might be lendeied as unexceptionable as it is, at present, a discicditable port. We know not if the fatuous act which decreed the conversion of the Wet Docks — which natuie seems to have pointed Commercial Bay to have been designed for — into a conglomeration of streets and lanes, can be lccalled? If it can, no measure would place a faher fealhei in the cap of Governor Grey than that which should compensate the holders of these wave beaten acres, and which should encircle the bay with "wharves and w alehouses — which should excavate the stiaud for ships to float in — rather than seek to lill it in for foundation of tenements which could, clscwheie, be built with equal benefit to the piopnetois, and infinitely less saciih'cc to the Colony than on the spot nature designed for a ha\ en. If the bay were filled m, and a sea wall wcie earned fiom Soldier's to Smale's point, small ciaft, might, no doubt, lie alongside, and, in moderate weather, discharge their cargoes there ; but the lightest gale would pro\ c an obstruction, and nothing whatever would be gained in haibour accommodation ; whereas, if that same w all w ere projected into the deep water, and provided with an entrance, furnished with double locks, a basin might be constructed of such a magnitude as would confer upon Auckland nearly all the advantages of Sydney Cove. If such a plan be not adopted at Commercial Bay, sooner or later it will be followed out at Mechanic's or Freeman's Bay, — and, as a matter of course, to the depreciation of property in the one and the enhancement of it in the other locality. The improvement of the port and the conveniences of the shipping interest, must naturally form one of the first subjects of consideration of any corporation — and, if its revenues be conceded to the municipal body, we shall hope to see Auckland assume something like a commercial character, when her civic dignitaiies shall be called into existence. In the meantime we make no apology for our anticipatory remarks, in speculation stiung.