The New-Zealander.

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 267, 20 December 1848, Page 2

The New-Zealander.

lie just and lear not: Let all tlie ends tliou aims't at, be thy Country's, Thy Odd's, aixl I'uitli's.

Thy W¥l> n"e"sdVyT D X C E M 15 E U 20, 18 48.

Wn rejoice to find that the luasle condition of the Crown Lands of this Colony, is eliciting a very general and a very jttst attention from those located on the land, and victimised by its most unwise retention in a state of unconveited unproductiveness. We request attention to a sound and sensible letter, on the subject of native lands, which will be found in another column. That letter is from the pen of a gentleman familiar with the native character, long before New Zealand became a dependency of the British Crown, but who ha? r e/er sought for nor possessed any phonal inteicst in the soil of this country. The writer indulges in no visionary theoiies: — he brings the experience ot an active and useful ministry of sixteen years, as a guarantee of his ability to discuss the question practically, and to demonstrate the rational and the Christian manner in which the land should be appropriated, for the moral aud physical advancement of both races. lie asserts that it is the duty of the Missionary to impress upon the native mmd that the retention of land, of which they themselves can make no use, is covetousness — that " covetousness is idolatry," and that " no idolater hath part in the kingdom of God." This is trenchant doctiine — as keen and as forcible as the two handed falchions of the Crusaders of old. Since, if it be covetousness of the semi- civilized Maori to retain possession of their own, what must it not be of a polished British Minister, to seek to acquire that coveted land, either at a nominal price, or by more convenient evasion of a treaty, signed but by certain chiefs ! What, we would ask, shall be said of the covetousness that grasps at those | waste lands, under the pretext of rendering them available to British industry, but turns them to a means of extorting from British necessity ? The missionary is precluded from political controversy, otherwise we should be tempted to inquire what voice he has for such usurious hoardings'? But the subject is evidently 100 disgraceful for him to trust himself with. He leaves to the community to determine in what ' language, and in what tone, a Government so •' covetous" should be spoken to. It would appear that so long as Earl Grey ] shall retain the Colonial Seals, the Treaty of Waitangi shall continue to be a torment to him — a stumbling block of offence to New Zealand. In his anxiety to get rid of it, he reminds one of a goat in a pound — now he , tries lo o'erleap — anon to butt through, or again to crawl under it ; but always to be brought up by the horns of his own dilemma ! Our correspondent treats that compact in the spirit in which alone it should be tieated ; and whilst we entirely coincide with him that the integrity which prompted the late Governor Hobson to adopt the Jormahty of putting it m white and black, will remain a memorial to his immortal honour — the anxiety of Earl GiihM to evade and to stultify it, will equally remain an indelible blot op his proud escutcheon. We have repeatedly urged that it is the imperative duty of the Colonial Office to cause such arrangements as shall enable their Governors to say to Colonists and to Emigrants " The Land is Open before you !" — Unfoitunately, hitherto, here every thing has been as antipodal as our geographical position ; and the commands of Downing-street write, in bitter characters, "The land is closed against you !" Our correspondent shows how the true " Open Sesame " should be applied. We commend his expositions to general consideration, and we trust that continued dinning, like constant dropping, may wear away the stones of the impenetrable Colonial Office.

By the Emily, arrived at Manukau from Nelson we have received a Nelson Examiner of the 2nd current, from which we gather that His Excellency the Governor-in-Ciiibk had arrived at Wellington, after a very swift passage of less than four days. As no mention is made of earthquakes, we presume nature had resumed its usual state of tranquillity. Our Nelson contemporary had, that morning, learnt of the establishment of Provincial Legislative Councils, hut at an hour too late to admit of comment. If we may judge by a very piquant article in anticipation, the intelligence of the enforcement of those bgislatoi ial make-believes will be received with anything but gratitude ; — our contemporary having, with much sarcastic power, already harped the ingenious official string, by which the Southrons have so long been charmed, but which they have now discovered to have been tuned to a harsh and discordant strain. We copy the following graphic excerpt, to show the spirit with which the Senuional doings at Auckland are likely to be welcomed. It is evident the promised fiee institutions are now regarded as but a piece of dexterous jugglery, and Lord Grey's Constitution, a specimen of Ministerial badinage, to be battledoied hither and thither, after the manner of that facetious Hibernian horse play—" Send the

foot. farthbr. 1 " When will the Colonies cease to be the puppets of Downing Stiect.— When ? "liut it isjsomewluit remarkable, that at the vrry moment when most of tlie nations of Kurope me making rapid strides towards the attainment of a jmt Const tutionnl Government, and when hi Knghind concessions are being made to the advanced opinion* of the times, that in a Hn isli Colony, peop'cd by a highly intelligent and respectable body of British buhjeetß, a retrogressive move li'is tiiLen pluce. A ycitr ago the colony of New Zealand was pionnssd a Constitution, the ('ay on which it should c-ime hto operation was even piocLiimed, and for some months the cohmi-ts were living under the impression tint they were f.r <ver ml of irresponsible government, am), an >oon ns the arrangements could be made which the charge hid rendced necessary, that they wou'd be call d upon to ex^cise their old pnviiVge*, mid prnrcul to the election of tlu-ir representatives, who henceforh would h've R controlling voice, in alt their public afliirs Thty were soon however brought to learn that this was nothing more than a pie c of I geulemuin, or < flioiHl-tbimlile-ri^ f ori whne we thought we had the pea site under our thumbs, tha table-Keepers were eMjhanifiiw winks, and, with their tonuues in their clucks, wi re chuckling at the ease wiih which the flats had been cauuhc 'l'herc is no doubt but it was a hUiilully-m-maged business. Everything was done in a uiusteily mannei. The expect-itions ot the coknißts were dimvn up to the highest pitch. Tln-re was, Hist, the ''New Zetland Government Bill," of the session ol 184 ft, to prej aie our mm Is loi the ptomibi-d eh nge ; tben, a le v months later, c.unc the Ch.irier and Uoyal In-tiuc ions— the laticr, as the noble author bdid of them, "drunn up in ft series of tluptt is, i-nch <>l \shuh i-> suh-oividid into sections, the whole being in'roduced by one com pieheiisive relirenee to the powers under which the instructions are issued, and by one equally comprehensive declaration of the Royal pleasme that they shall beobseived." And, le.st in cur antipodean ignoiancc we" shall be unable to see our way cl«arly thnmgh the mass of State papn, (he noble Secretary to (he Colonies very kindly undeito>k, in a lengthy and lucid despatch to G<«ptuin Grey, to expound the matter (no unnecessary task), and tell us what it all meant. There never before was such a consumption of ink and paper for so juvenile a colony. Then the tnlk — Parliament bestowed so much time upon ut, tint we felt sure our afTairs were in sa.e Liuutls. And besides all this, we had a trumpeter on our ltde of the water. Captain Giey, in a beduiful sinfonia, told how well the Southern settlers of New Z\il»nd weie qualified to cxercne their politicrl rights — they were ibe personification of all the virtULE— -'ind there was no re.ison why they could not direct th "n ownallairb in the colony as well »8 they cou d hive diiected thnn uthome. We had really began to think that, with our pa'tern Con^ Rtitution we Blioulcl bf able to give the world a few lessons in government, and we bad no doubt but we should become ihe " envy and udmiration" of surrounding colonies ; when, aldb ! we discovered tLut our " Coiibtituiion" was nothing more than a Will o' tue-Wi«p, and that the au hoi 1 of it, like a showman at a countiy fair, hud been all the while crying, " Come and sec what you never shall Fee."

The barque Emma, arrived on Sunday morning, with 200 cattle and 20 horses, from Newcastle, whence she sailed on the Ist instant. We have been favoied with two, odd, Sydney Hera ids, one of the 28th, the other of the 30th of November. Fiom these we are enabled to make a few inteiesting extracts. By the European intelligence it will be seen that the Saidiniaus are utterly discomfited, the Austrians driving them before them at all points. In India, the traitors at Mooltan had been severely punished. And, at the Cape of Good Hope, Sir Harry Smith, with his usual decision, promptitude, and good foitime, had chastised the rebel Eoers, annihilating their ill-organised airay, and doing wise and speedy execution upon those taken, as the Scotch say — " wi red hand."

LATER FROM EUROPE. (From the Sydney I/emld, Aov. 30 ) The Calcutta Englishman had reciveda letter from Alexandria, d«ted August 18th, containing news from Italy severul days later than we had received. From it we learn that the Austrian;, had completely routed the Sardinian army, and taken possession of Milan. Tlie news previously iccived led us to believe this would he the case. We give the extract as published in India. Had ihe Lamartine ministry been in power in France, this, according to the celebrated circular respecting the foreign policy of the revolu'ionary party, would have bren considered a cause of war between France and Austria, but we hope wiser councils now prevail. "The news received from Italy to-day is exceedingly favourable to the Auslriuns. lloriVtzki, after having defeatel the Pi«'dmonase on the Mmcio, forced the fortrcbS l\'schiera to capitnlrtte, and puiHUed the Piedmontete army which wrre flying licruiit him to Milan, and where it endeavoured to leorganise iticlf but evtn then the luliuns were compelled to capitulate, and Charles Albert, the Champion of Italy, surrendered Milan t" the Austnana. The Austnam h«vs likewise occupied Modena, and are now in full march upon the Papal territories. Genoa has constituted heiself u Republic independant of Charles Albert, whom she declares to be a traitor to the country."