THE CHURCH SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND. [From the Times, May 23.]

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 247, 11 October 1848, Page 4

THE CHURCH SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND. [From the Times, May 23.]

We have- frequently expressed our surprise that among the gicxt and good men, the splendid fortunes, and the many philantropio projects to be found in this country, there has not yet been any attempt at a sjstematic emigtation worthy of the national character and resources. So natural and obvious appears such a design thnt the absence of it arpues an almost judicial blindness. No country in the world spends more in public nnd private charily. Our poor-rates amount to the revcuue of a considerable State, while numberless religious and benevolent societies, hospitals, alms i houses, asylums, and institutions, for every age, sex, and condition of calamity, spend princely incomes. The efficiency of nil these institution's, national or voluntary, is miserably nn tailed for mere want of space. We want room for growing poverty. The heart of the nntion does its work, and i*. ever diffusing life, energy, and warmth to the languid extremities, but \[\p human circulation is thrown back upon the overcharged vitals of the State. Humanity and even intelligence have to fight ngainst increasing odds of destitution. In such a 6tatc of things, it is a wonder, or lather a madness, th.it (he true British instinct does not break loose irom the narrow limits in which it is cribbed and cabined in these isleg, and take a wider range over our unparalleled colonial empire. Providence shows that emigration is the mission of this country. We said all this before three hundred thousand, poor creatures weie drifted by the blast of famine across the Atlantic within seven or eight months. We have said it when there seemed little hope that we should ever be listened to. We repeat it now, when there does appear some sign that England is remembeiing her duty. A very distinguished body of noblemen and gentle* men, including many members of the Episcopal bench, have c» vea their names as a nucleus of a society for "systematic colonization." In another column our readers will find a circular giving the outlines of their design. It is an attempt to plant in the deiert an actuai offshoot of English society, the exact resemblance of the parent stem. Nothing can be more patriotic or more rational on the principles of the British constitution. That constitution teaches us that the energies of the British race ore developed to their greatest and mont genuine excellence by a certain high state of organization. It implies that we do not thrive well in an equal and undistinguished ciowd. If that constitution is necessary, our colonies are sadly deficient. If the colonips have nil that Englishmen require, then we j have much that is superfluous at home. We are, ' therefore, forced to admit the propriety of the present \ design, which is merely an appeal to Englishmen as Englishmen. We are unwilling to believe it impossible, because an unfavourable result would seem to indicate { that the characteristics of British society are not so spreading, so vivacious, so hardy, and elastic as we had gu iposed. When a beginning is once made it will fiutl many friends. For example, a gentleman i* ishes to give a poor fellow a chance. What can he do ? He cannot afford to take the man into his service, as he cannot employ gaideners, grooms, or gamekeepers ad injinl~ turn. He cannot set the man up in a farm or shop, aud were he to make an attempt it would probably ro t him a hundred pounds, and fail in the md. Without, however, some sort of assistance the best lalourer in England, in the southern counties, must take his chance in the labour market, where 9s. or 10s. a week is as mnchjas he can expect. Everybody who ban tried to betriend the poor will tell the same story. The difficulty begins from the earliest ai*e. Take the best boy in the parish— what can you do for him ? Every trade is over stocked and in any trade a responsible master will ask £Z0 or more with an apprentico, beside other expenses. You cannot take the boy into your household where it it probab c you have already more hands than enough. These are only exumples of a difficulty experienced by e^ery person who lives among the poor and feels for their straitened condition. It is true the rural parishes do pour out their •• surplus." They feed the towns. But this is not a sa'isfactory account to give of those who have been biouijht up in the purer atmosphere, as ■weare wjntto think i», of a ccuutiy village. What ether outlet i-, tbere ? Em gration. A conscientious penon. however, and especially a clergyman, will hesitate before he helps to send any one he cares for beyond the reach of those religious advantages he enjoys in this country. A systematic emigration, thereJore. on religious principles, is that which the wants of an over- flowing population and the feelings of the kind heal ted point to as the great disideratum of the age. We assume, of course, that the distinguished persons who have given their names to the design mill also give their attention to it. It is not an easy undertaking. Colonies are among the greatest works of man, and requiio as much talent and devotion as the government of an empire. We only assert that there exist the material, the occasion, and the demand for such a woik. We cannot read our own columns without having this truth painfully forced upon our notice. Let anybody compare two narratives in our paper this day. In the one he will read of a poor creature trying to drown herself and her child, in order to escape by an easier death the pangs of hunger which a whole family waa suffering from want of employment. In the other he will read of work standing still and property going to ruin in a British settlement for want of the very commonest class of labour. In Australia, last December, " the Pentonville people* were " greedily hired," and the domestic servants were not to be procured at the most exorbitant wages. The poor girl who threw hei self into the Surrey-canal last month with her child in her arms would there have the opportunity of redeeming her character and living a life of ' ÜB3fulness and comfort. I There is a part of the design on which we shall be expected to say a word. The original members of the pr >posed settlement are to be al«o " bmafido members of ihe Church of England." Nobody can object to the Church of England establishing a settlement. Thejn are Moravian settlements, Wesleyan settlements, and Roman ( Catholic settlements! In Canada, as well as in the United States, there are many other re igious communities established in comparative isolation. New England was founded by the Pilgrim Fathers, who were very strong religionists, and auininii'ered the aff.iirs of the settlement with no Httle bigotry. L't the experiment be tried. Should Dissente b feel any jealousy at the design, we shall, be glad to siethrm following the examp'i!, and so running a race of colonial ambition. It is .carcely necessaiy to obseive, that the settlement once founded, and the Chuichman once settled, either as proprietor or tenant he will be under the protection of the British laws, and will be free to worship his Maker as his conscience shall require. His obligations to the Church of England shall be of the most voluntary character. If met ting-houses spring up in the. heart of the settlement, they must bp closed by argument, not force. We do not therefore, regard feature of the plan with any great apprehension. The Churchmanship of the colonists will miinly depend on the fidelity and consistent lives ot tuc clergy neo sent out with them ;

we are not, therefore, offendmf» ntfainst our great constitutional principal of Toleration when we hope that they and their children will long reward the zeal of their pious benefactor^