WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1848.

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 241, 20 September 1848, Page 2

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1848.

The " Cl\ra," Captain Crow, arrived on Saturday morning from London, whence she sailed on the sth of May, and consequently, in arrear of the march of events detailed in our ]ast number. She brings us a good many passengers, in one of whom we aie happy to recognise and to welcome an old friend, Mr. Mitford. A rumour, to which the arrival of that vessel appears to have impaited " form and pressure," has, for the last two or three days, been very generally current throughout the town, it is to this effect ; that instructions have been received from England to amend the injurious land system, by offering the territory of the Crown to public competition without any upset price whatever; trusting, (as might confidently be done,) to its own intrinsic value to command a just, equitable, and excellent price. At the first intimation of such a judicious change, we had our misgivings. In homely phrase, the news was too good to be true. The intelligence seemed but too much the offspring of the desire. It was a concession to justice and to common sense too startling for the Colonial office to dream even of granting, and we therefore set ourselves to work, to endeavour to trace the rumour to some tangible source, with less of hope than of fear. As we anticipated, we could but unweave a tangled web very assimilable, in texture and complexion, to Smollett's famous yarn, in exemplification of the three black crows. The tale, of such amelioration of our ruinous land regulations, for aught we can discover, is quite as apociyphal as the details of that celebrated legend. Some instructions, we believe have been received, but of what nature, time alone can tell. Sales, however, we understand, will be offered monthly — we say offered, because, whilst the abomination of any upset price is enforced, and whilst that upset price is fixed at a figure which no man in his sober senses will adventure, it is perfectly immaterial whether the obliging offer be submitted monthly or quarterly. We need but point to the attempted sale of Saturday last, in confirmation of this view of the subject. Out of seven and thirty lots then tendered, but five or six, and those of an insignificant area were sold. Our surprise is, not at the limited amount of sales, tut that any purchaser whatever should have been found. At such prices, and upon such conditions, it is neither prudent in the individual, nor patriotic in the colonist to perpetuate such a crushing colonial grievance hy disbursement of a single shilling. Abstain | from purchase, and the curs of the Colonial ! Office manger will be forced to cheapen their wares to a price within compass of the purse of their victims. When the obnoxious duty was imposed upon tea, the inhabitants of Boston not only denied themselves that luxury — they went further, they committed the medium of tyrannous exaction to the waters of their bay. We would do well, but still in a loyal spirit, and at an humble distance, to imitate that \irtuous precedent. By rejecting land proffered under such grinding exactions, we shall eventually command attention to the grievous wrong. By withstanding the lure, and by temperate petitions, we may convince the people of Great Britain of the blind impolicy of the Colonial Office, whose brokerings and trokerings have locked up the colonial soils — have quelled the spirit of colonial enterprise — have put a limit to colonial commerce — and, as far as New Zealand is concerned, have effectually checked the advance, the rapid advance,|of a colony, which the British people, with truth and justice, have been taught to consider one of the brightest jewels of the British Ciown. We require but land upon fair and equitable terms, and emigration upon a well considered, judicious system, to develope the great and unquestionable resources of a possession which in climate, fertility, and maritime appliances, is peculiarly adapted to the industry and intelligence of the a ßntish nation. We are twitted, by our Australian fellow colonists, with being not a colony, but mere isolated links in a feeble chain of remote and antagonistic settlements, dependent less upon any energies of our own, than upon Parliamentary subsidies, and Commisatiat disbursements, If this, in some sense, be true, whence

arises the cause that it should be true ? Not from any apathetic indifference on the part of our settlers— Not because of the infertility of our soil — Not fiom any absence of luxuriance of our pasture lands— Not from any leluctance of the native race to sell or to let their lands to the European. No, simply and solely, from the grinding exactions, the unnecessary trammels, and the endless restrictions, invented, it would almostjseem, to retain the land in a state of nature, to keep it back from the hand of industry, and to drive, in disgust, the immigrant, anxious for its humanising conversion, to other less fated and less costly fields. Assertion without proof is but idle parade of words. Fortunately, or rather, unfortunately, our proof is at hand. It exists in the abortive attempt at flat catching on Saturday last. On that day we find two town lots of onerood, three perches, offered to the competitiou of a population numbering less than six thousand persons, men, women, and children, for the moderate upset price of Thirty Pounds per lot, " immediate payment in cash to be an indispensable condition of the sale! ! " For another lot containing one rood, thirty -nine perches, a modest upset of only eighty pounds is demanded. Two suburban lots, of two acres U\ o roods each are kindly tendered at a (rifle amounting to one hundred and twenty-five pounds per lot. Another of three acres, three roods, and thirty perches, (whether of swamp or of scoriawe know not) challenges a purchaser at fifty pounds. Four and twenty lots of from eleven to two acres each, claim five pounds per acre ; whilst seven more of from six to four acres each, are put up at ten pounds per acre. Gudgeons, however, being not so plentiful as bat, the Colonial Salesman was compelled to withdraw his wares, borrowing, as he might have done, a familiar expression of a brother knight of the hammer— ' NOT SOLD !" Whilst such solemn farces are permitted to be enacted — Whilst crown lands, purchased for a trifle, are sought to be sold at an advance of some thousands per cent— Whilst the Crown, itself the willing broker in native lands, refuses to become the troker in effecting just and honest bargains, whether of sale or of lease, between the native and the European races __Whilst forfeiture of a private European i bond, is discreditably sought to be grasped as a i droit of the Crown— Whilst the one race is de- ! barred the right of purchase, the other pre- [ eluded the possibility of sale, how can New ! Zealand be other than a dissevered chain of feeble settlements'? No infant province can progress whose soil is withheld by the hand of cupidity, or the head of stolidity. The free grant system alone transformed New South Wales from a felon den to a mighty colony. The Utopian restrictions which (limited in her case) curb her, overwhelm us. Her prosperity is controlled — ours is strangled. The land question is no factious — no party question. It is the question that ought to prompt every colonist to enter his firm yet respectful remonstrance. A commitee to investigate the ruin and the wrong inflicted through its operations, and to frame a petition to the Queen and Parliament, praying its immediate revision, would deserve well of their adopted country, by fixing attention to, and, in all] probability, removing the incubus beneath which she sinks paralyzed. This is the rational reform which New Zealand requires. This the concession due to her struggling colonists. It should be urged in a temper, as remote from faction, as conspicuous for its reason and its moderation, since upon the amelioration of the oppressive land restrictions the innate prosperity of New Zealand absolutely depends.

From the Wesleyan Missionary notices for May last, we have copied (and we beg to call attention to), the reply of Earl Grey to the remonstrance of the Wesleyan Missionary Committee, on the subject of the infraction of the treaty of Waitangi, as was manifestly set forth in His Lordship's " instructions."

NEW ZEALAND. An important question, very seriously involving the interests of this Miision, has recently occupied the attention of the Committee. The subject was brought under their consideration by a Memorial signed by all the Society's Missionaries in New Zealand, stating that the publication of a despatch from the Right Honourable Earl Grey, of the 23rd December, 1846, together with the •• Instructions" explanatory of the " Charter" at the same time transmitted, had produced a great feeling of alarm among the Natives ; as being. in their view> contradictory to the terms of the Treaty of Waitangi, of the 6th February, 1840, by which Treaty, whil« they ceded the Sovereignty of New Zealand to the British Crown, their right to the entire soil of the country was solemnly recognized. The Missionaries, moreover, alleged that were not that philanthropic arrangement— designed by the Imperial Government to protect the Natives from the evils of irregular colonization — faithfully observed, their own character, in common with that of the Missionaries of the Church Society, would be irrecoverably compromised, in comequence of the part which they took, at the request of Her Majesty's Representative, in the executon of the Treaty ; that their influence with the Natives, who would be led to regard them as their betrayert, would be inevitably destroyed ; and that the great injury, if not ultimate ruin, ef the Mission*, must certainly be the result. After serious deliberation upon this painful subject, the Committee, in a lengthened document, made a suitable represention of the CBse to the Noble Earl at the head of the Colonial Department, earnestly requesting him to furnish to the Governor of New Zea« land such futther instructions as should satisfy the Natives that the Treaty of IValtangi will be maintained in all its integrity. The Commiiteo are h»ppy to report tb«t to this

communication they have received a very satisfactory rrply. A tingle Extract must, for the present, suffice. Uuder date of Downing Street, 13th April, 1848, Mr. Undor-Secretary Merivale writes as follows :— " I am directed by Earl Grey to acknowledge your Letter of the 24th February, 1848, together with the Memorial of the Wesleyan Missionary Committee, bearing date of the preceding day, which acompanie<i it. His Lordship has given to the contents of that Memorial his earnest attention. He has felt thii to be due, not only to the importance of the Document, but to the character of the Body from which he ha« re. ceived it. He fully recognizes the claims which that Body possess upon Her Majesty's Government in relation to NewZesland, from the important duties which were east upon its Missionaries, on the occasion of thoße negotiations with the Natives on which the present settlement of the Islands is based; from the fact on which the Committee justly lay stress—that their Missionaries stand in the position of disinterested and impartial Witnesses, owing to their abstinence from dealings in land with the Natives ; and, more than all, f.om their meritorious and successful exertions in reclaiming New Zealand from Heathenism, and disseminating among its people the principles of Civil as well as Religious Instruction. And it is in deference tojsucb claims as these, that his Lordship proposes, on the present occasion, to enter a little more fully into the past and present policy of the Government in the New Zealand Land-question, than is perbapi absolutely required by the Memorialists themselves. «• I am directfd, in the first place, to assure you that the Committee do her Majesty's Government no more than justice, in believing that they intend, and have always intended, to recognise the Treaty of Wuitungu 1 hey recognize it, as Lord Grey believes, in the lioie sense which the memorialists themselves attach to it. They recognise it in both its essential stipulations ; the one securing to those Native Tribes, of which the Chiefs bave signed the Treaty, a title to those Lands which they possessed according to native us? ge (whether cultivated or not) at the time of the Treaty : the other, securing to the Crown the exclusive right of extinguishing such title by purchase. And I am directed once more to refer you to Lord Grey's Despatches of 23rd December, 1846, and 30th November, 1847, as shewing that Governor Grey has been throughout directed to proceed with the utmost caution in acting upon the principle* of hit Land Inductions, of the 28th December, 1846, and to respect all righti which have been secured under the stipulations oi the Treaty. " Nor can his Lordship agree with the Memorialists that there is anything in these Instructions which if either inconsistent with the Treaty, or cat ulated to excite anything like a reasonable alarm in those who may be interested in maintaining it, The Protector of the Aborigines is required to transmit to the Registrar a Statement of the extent of nil claims to Native Lands, whether by Tribts or individuals in h s District, f<>r Provisional Registration. But no na lye claim can be finally registered, unless it be established that the right hai been acknowledged by some Act of the Executive, oi some judgment of a Coujt, »r that the Lmd has been occupied in ihe manner which the Instructions go on to hpecify. Now the Treaty ol Wiiitangi is unquestionably an Act of the Executive Government; and it appears to Lord Grey, thit the reasonable construction of these word* would be that, wherever a claim had been made to Land on behalf of a Tribe which had been a party to the Treaty, and it wa§ established that the Land so claimed had belonged to the Tribe at the date of the Treaty, the claim would be seem ed by final registration. Bur, clear as this may be thought, his Lordship is st anxious, that there •hould be no possibility or any misapprehension on thii subject, that he will specially direct, the attention of the Goternor, and, through him, of the Local Authorities, to this, as the true meaning ot the lnsiruc The Committee CHnnot now particularly remark upon that fuller exposition of his vievvs on the New Zeala d Land Question, with wh eh his lordship ob^gingly favours them in the course of hi* unswer. Regarding the assurance that her Majesty's Government concur m that interpretation of the Treaty of Waitan«i which the Committee respectfully advocated, and that t.e Governor of New Zealand shall receive further instructions for the put pose of removing any remaining mistindei standing upon the subject— us a satishutory answet to the prayer of the memorial ; it only remains for the Committee to express their deep ssnse of the kind and considerate attention manifested by the Nsble Colouial Secretaiy to this important subject, while I they purpose to enjoin a new upon the Society's M ssionaries in New Zealand, such a constant and persevering endeavour to promote the best interests of both races of her Majesty's subjects in that colony, as will prove them to be deserving of tha high enco mum which his Lordihip has been pleased to pronounce upon their character and services. His Lordship appears to have bften more subdued by this seasonable appeal than when a previous objurgation evoked something very like a Roland for an Oliver from the noble Secretary. He positively disclaims all inten1 tion of construing that treaty to the native wrong ; or in any other spirit than that in which the framers designed it. We may, perhaps, return to the subject ; in the meanwhile we congratulate the Wesleyan missionaries here. Their faithful services have not been barren of good fruits. We appreciate the spirit of the following resolution, carried by acclamation, at the Annual Missionary Meeting, held at Exeter Hall, on the Ist of May, and trust that, in conjunction with Earl Grey's pointed disclaimer, it may tend to assure the natives that the British Government will maintain inviolate their plighted faith. "That this Meeting rejoice to learn, that the favourable answer of Her Majesty's .Government to the Committee's Memorial on the danger which threatened the Missions in New Zealand, from the apprehended infringement of the Treaty of Waitanyi, is calculated to allay the ieeling of alarm which had been excited among both the Missionaries and the Natives under their pastoral rare ; and, that the grateful acknowledgments of the Meeting are due to the Right Honourable Earl Grey, for hit kind and considerate attention to the subject, and for the aisurance that he will immediately send such further instructions to the Governor of New Zealand, as will secure the practical matuten* auce of the Treaty ia its fall integrity.'*

The schooner, Sir John Franklin, arrived on Monday from Kantavu, which she left on the 2nd instant. Since her departure from this port, in April last, she has visited the Fejees and Rotuma, being engaged in trading throughout these islands. The Albion and Colcastle, schooners, of Sydney, were likewise trading

amongst the islands at the period of the Sir John Franklin's departure. The American whaler, Alfred, three months from Sydney, had put into Ovalau on the Ist of May, with 300 barrels sperm oil. The barque Catuarine left the Fejees for New Caledonia on the Bth of May. She had been ten months among the islands, and had procured 400 piculs of beche-le-mer. The Sir John Franklin has brought to this port, Crptain Walden, the first and second officers, and crew of the brig Tim Pickering, of Salem, which was wrecked on the Fejee group, having been driven on shore on the island of Ovalau, after parting from both anchors, in a violent hurricane, on the sth of April. She had been seventeen months in the beche-le-mer trade, from the United States, and had only arrived at Ovalau the previous bay. She bilged immediately after she struck, and was driven high and dry upon the beach. As soon as the tide receded, the natives, irt great numbers, and armed with clubs, proceeded to board the vessel, plundering her of everything valuable, and stripping the master and crew of all they possessed, and telling them, in reply to their remonstrances, that they might , think themselves fortunate that their lives were spared. A missionary, Dr. Lyth, was present at the time, having gone on board the evening before from a small schooner, in which he had been passing from one island to another^ and which was wrecked during the night, with the loss of all hands, save one. On the sam« night, the schoooner Colcastle, of Sydney, was lying at Saulivu, and was driven into a mangrove bush, but was floated off without damage. The natives attempted to possess themselves of the copper of the Tim Pickering, but the American barque Catherine having opportunely arrived, Captain Walden was enabled to drive away the marauders. He then proceeded to burn the brig, and, thereby, saved the copper which was shipped on board the Catherine. Subsequently about a dozen of canoes crowded with natives returned, and carried off the fragments of the. Tim Pickering. Captain Waldeu and his crew embarked in the Catherine, and were conveyed frem Ovalau to the Wesleyan. Missionary Station at Viwa, where they remained for two or three months. After this they went to Niculau, the residence of the U.S. Consul, J. B. Wiliams, Esq., where they coivtinued till the arrival of the Sir John Franklin, by which vessel, as we have already stated, they were brought on to Auckland. H. M. Ship Calypso, Captain Worth, was at the Fejees about the middle of June. During her visit she burnt the town of Unduvau, some eight or nine .miles from the Missionary Station at Viwa. This summary act was caused by aggression of the natives of that village, . who, about a year before, had taken forcible possession of a boat belonging to some white residents, murdering two of their number. On the 20th of June the CALYrso opened upon the towu, keeping up a heavy fiie. On the following day, under cover of her guns, she landed her Marines aad Blue Jackets, marching them on the town, and burning it with but little resistance. On the retiring of this force, the natives rushed out and attacked them, wounding one of the seamen in the thigh. They were, however, speedily put to the rout, with a loss of eight men killed, and twenty wounded. After this affair, the British re-embarked, without further molestation- On the same evening, the Chief of the village proceeded on board the Calypso, soliciting pardon, according to native custom, by presenting to Captain Worth, a whale's tooth, three hogs, and a basket of earth. The Roman Catholic Missionary schooner was at Lekaba,Feejee, about the middle of July.

Narrow Escape. — We had, yesterday, a startling demonstration of the -wisdom which prompted the removal of Stock ships from the busy haunts of men. In the course, of the day, whilst Captain Clarke and Mr. Maxwell were observing the debarkation of some of the cattle, from the " Elizabeth and Henry," in the vicinity of Freeman's Bay, an enraged ox made at the latter gentleman ; but, being received with' a heavy whip, he suddenly changed the object of attack, charging Capt. Clarke like a whirlwind. The gallant tar, deeming discretion to be the better part of valour, fled incontinently, but still with an eye, over the left — shoulder. A precipice in the van and t,he bullock's horns, close on board, in the rear, Capt. Clarke had barely time to spring a little aside ere he beheld his assailant, in the fury of the onset, precipitate himself, head foremost, over the cliff, where he fell with such violence that he remained for a couple of hours apparently dead. Capt. Clarkes escape was a most providential one, and, as we have said, the occurrence only serves to confirm the propriety of withdrawing such debarkations from the town. Had this animal exhibited his prowess at Official Bay, we might, in all probability,' have been called upon to record the fatal results, at a Coroner's Inquest. .

iNftUEST.— Yesterday an inquest was held by the Coroner, Dr. Daviei, at the Blue Bell, Queen Street, on view of the body of William Barr, a lunatic in the gaol of Auckland, when, after a lengthy and carelul enquiry, the following verdict was recorded—" That tbe deceased, William Bair, died from convuliioni, caused by diieaie of the brain, and that this jury recommend a greater degree of attention to iuch c«ses in future, on the part of the turnkeys of the gaol. 1

Pjusengers arrived per Clara.— Chief Cabin : Miss E, Shillibeer, Mr. Bell, Mrs. Bell, Miai Bell. Mr. J. Bell. Mr. E. Bell and two boys, Mr. Mitford, Lieut. Hutchinaon, Mr. Gould, Mr. R. Bell, Dr. and Mrs. Carter. 2nd Cabin : Mr. Wall, wife and four children, Mr. and Mrs. Hall, Mr. R. Hall, twoMUs Halls, and a boy, Mr. Walker.