Original Correspondence.

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

Original Correspondence.

To the Editor of the New Zealander. Sin, — I huve r< ud with much iniere-t several arti cles contained in re cnt numbers of yom journal o;i ilie sulijt'Ct of colonizuti n. It is sixteen years since Ihk England n •» :i Mis lonaiy to the natives I h«ne in fonntr years asked myself and asked my brethren thin (jiiestion :—": — " Can it be in accordance with the designs of the Divine Creator th<it such a v«st ixtont of i lns country shoul I He dormant — a blank in en ,uton ?" And now tint we hear of (listless mid pnveity, and superabundant population, witli nil their concomitant tvils pievailin« in our Fatherland, 1 tiiink that I'rovidencc ii pointing to New Zealand, and directing us tO OLVUp). I beliuve, also, that the native mind is generally be ii£ ptcp')ft i* to ieci> ye the white man ; and it in my opinion, and that a'f-o of oihris of my bieihten, ihat the sooniM the l^nd is filled with our c*un lynicn in a piO| er way, Hip b tter it will be toi the naiivt* race. I•!I •! connection witli this mbjert theie is, I think, a duly devolving upon every mi siona'y in t lie c.unliy ; ati-l 1 think also they will be found n.uly to perfjun it. 1 know there i re dilliculties and i bji cinni, of a veiy chanid'r, to tlie interleirUi c ol ilie Minist<r oi the Go pel with ihp->e uuitiiirb ; hut ih requirement of duly nm t he aticuleil to, Imw \ei liiat duty mii> be bc-ct xv uli d nirult irs mid tiotis In leraiving the Natives iuto tin* < hiiitimi Chu ( h, they < f couise rifjuiie them to a knowledge Chnsl Ai their ]j(»id .ml iMnstT, and to like theW-irl ri| Gul »q then iu!h imd giiid\ On thit iiiviiie atnhnrity tliey an: to '" declare unt> t\eu> i.11t..e couiis I ot God ; ' tliey ars to te 1 th. m that " we have „ll one I''.»tti. r, iv d that one God hath crea'dl ih all ;" that " tho tarth is ihr Lml's, an J the /wlii-hs tlieuof, 1 ' that "the M>mt 11 fjlt liuth divu'ed to the nat'ons tl>,r inheritunt u ;'' and tlwii " lie 1 a h m drf of one b.ooj uli naliotn ot aen lot to clniH on a'l the iace of the earth,' xn'l h ith determine I the times befose appointed, and thf tiouiids of thur habiiation " Th.'v ar t> tell tiiem, that to tetam ) ossps--io!i of land of which they cm innke no n»e— xvlnch is of no value, either t) themselves or Hieir children, me e!y from a j.riHCiple 1 1 eanhly-mindeduess, is eovetotuness— that " covd-ousn-ss lsidoljtr)/' and tint " no idolater hath patt in Hie kingdom of God." They are to obs-ive the ' »igns of the time? ;" and as Providence has permitted the establishment of a Br tish colony in thii country, they are to caution their people lest thtsy rebel ag.iimt Piovidence, and lest, in thus fighting against Gnd, they iiijht, not only against their own urn rests, but ulso b^auifit that Power which may mush th'm with destruction, and ffive their land to other,. They are to enforce the duty nf " doins; unto others as they would that otheis should do unto them;" iheyare to show how " Godliness is profitable to all things, havin» promise of thfi life th it now is, and of that which is to come;" mid to set lorth the Irictsedness of «hp meek, who Bh»ll inherit the earth." And they uill do th's— and they will do it in a way which their national feeling will suggest, anil which tin it influence with their people will make efTi ctu.il to a dejrrre which no other agency couU secure. They will show to their people tne advanla.es of peace, and the value of intercourse with the learned and intelligent ol our civiliz-d country, and thus they will he preparing the way of the Lord, who, in his providence, appears lo he taking posse^sioa of his own by means of his own appointing, or in accordance with h s own purposes and dispensations. but while I thuarerognMe, and would urge upon my biMhren the duty which belongs to our oharucter as British Missionaries to the New Ze^lunders, I must also he allowed to say that th^ie are other duties devolving on other partiei connected wiih this subject, and which are equally binding and indisprnsablc. Britain, our honoured and highly lavoured rountiy, owes a duty to herself, t) ihe children of her own soil, a duty to this colony, and a duty lo the aboriginal inhnbi'ants of this country, which has not yet been lufficiently recognised or acknowledged. Now it is more especially on the last particular that I presuina to venture a tew remarks. The whole lubji ct is indeed one of iulense and growing interest. I rejoice to iee that it i» engaging the attention of talented and influential writers at home ; and 1 only wish to throw out a few suggestions with the hopes that wiser hejdi and abler pens may be piompted to render it that justice for winch I have mither time nor ability. tnitain's duty to the Aborigines. Since the commenot meet ol the colony there h.is been much said on the Warning! Treaty. Some, high >" cuthority, linve deMnnateil it as "poit of a series of injudicioui proceeding!," &c., and yet, tti show their mconsiktency, thry make it a virtual nullity by affirming " that the acknowledgment of a right of property on the part of the natives in uli wild lands was not essential to it* true c instruction," or meaning 1 Now, Sir, what I wish to »ay in reference to the Treaty of Waitangi U thij,— Let not Britain be ashamed of that transaction. Let her not repent of that bargain. Let her njt at«

tempt to shuffle out of it. It was an honourable transaction — it was wise — it was necessary ! I. lt was honourable! Providence had given to the inhabitant! of BnUin wealth, and intelligence, and power ; to the New Zealanden he had given territory —and respectively to both in great superabundance. And what could be more reasonable and honourable than that each should agree to make a transfer of their respecive commodity on the principles of honourable dealing ? 2. It was wise. Would ths natives have received a colony without the acknowledgment of then lights, a. set forth in that T caty ? Would they have p.) ted with an inch ot la-id without being paid f>i it? I speak on the authority of a sixteen y^a's' experience, and I say, No, a«suiedly they would not! Those rich's existed, und we c acknowledged and insisted upon, long enough befoie the T<eaty ot Waitangi was thought of, or a co'.Oi y con'emjih ted, and the natives had possession ot the soil. And if those lights had been disregarded, and the land taken posseHsion of otherwise "thau by honourable tieaty, it could only hive been by the prod'g 1 folly of an expend.ture oi bl> od and tieasuie, compared with which the expense of hunourauli- purchase can only be regaided as the " small dust of the ba'unre " 3. It was necessary. I don't say that ihe formality of a tredy was necessary, but I maintain that the recognition of iU principles was ab.olutely so. It was necessary that England show d coloniz", for if she had «o>, France would. It was necessary that she should coloi\ibetn the prnic pUs of the treaty, for she was not p> enured to carry hre and sword throuau the la id, and v.aije a war of exteun. nation. witL the natives; which 1 assert wa-< the only alternative. It maybe objected that the Treaty was never known in some ' paits of the is and. and tht by some of the tribes it was never signed. Very true; but the principles \>ere the c, and there they are still; and if ever an attempt should be made to set aside those principles, on the ground that there the treaty does not apply, and that there u is not nece=sary, the mistake will soon be discovered. Besides (s you ask), " Was tlv treaty a national or an individual treaty . ? " Let the document speak for it&ili. Was the treaty thin honour ible, wise, and necessary ? Tlien let Bniain glory in it — let her stand by it— let her acknowledge it in al is honourable and legitimate impo.t; let us h.ve no more shabby, shuffling scheming to vet out of it— to explain it away — «• to put it on tli" slult ;" and let us acknowledge with gratitude a D>rec ing Provide ice in having led our first Gov ruor (now m his Ji'.ivr) tJ 1 Lhc/omahtij of putting it in while and black It is a docu mem which wi-1 hand down his mine to the lat.si posterity, and which he may meet, with satisfaction at the Judgment Day. But the duty now binding on Britain is to act on this treaty— to carry it out— and to act largely, hbe ral(y t zealoxisly. And this she is aMe to do. Mie would find it her highest interest to do to and the state of the wciU iXdkes it iinneiatively nectssary that ?he si oulJ do io. 1 have been thinking of the millions which England paid as compensation money for the libs-ration of the sl»ves in the West ludiV—of the niillicm which are collrtted for objects of Christian rhantv ; and I have been reading y.,ur " Extract from the Times of May 22,'' in which it is stated that the 1 gal and rational tax collected for the poor amounts annually to five mil ions of pounds, and that this sum icpres nth only hilt the money which is annually e\j.tiK'ed upon them. And while 1 feel a pioud and grateful c nfiueuct in Brituin's Hhili y to do something la q and fibe.al ..nd lof yin the v\ork of coionizition, I jom with lie wnt r r;u >ted, .in<! a^k ' \V ulri it rot be mote safi f .< t irv (and piofitable too) to each of the five nti'hon h>ads of tami ie^ in England, that, instead of theaveiags £t ffuli »f is annual y fli oping into the hU|!n.>nt and sicme pool if hopeless and useless unwoik, he should invost at leust halt of this in the nourMimmt <>f piesent, ami ih c r e.ition ot future, industry in that groat Southern world wh eh calls us masteis " Two and a hall millions t.ived from Poor liases, and expended in colonization!! M.y w<j not add io this a similar sum, specially ran-ed t.-i the same pu-pose? And then mrely cut of the fi>e mi \'u n* I\ew Zea'and might c»leula c upcii one ; and a million ol moi>ev annually expended in the li^ht way towards buying tlu nuives. 1 waste lands and coloniz ng the couutiy, would in due time be returned with ample interest to the coffers of the British Treasuiy, or would in value redound a hundred fold to our national honour and prosperity. p And then there is also a duty devolving upon the Local Government. The natives being disposed to sell their bnds, end the H /mc Government havii q iurnished funds to buy, it should be the first and gre«t concern of the authorities here to muke clear and satiifactory purchases as rapidly and as extensUely at j)o«sil)]e. It is worse, than uu e eless to advocate emigration to this country until we are in a position to say to our country mea " 'I he land is open before you. ' Th s w»s the great mistake of the Company. They sent out an agent to purchase land, with the understanding that a number of colonists would follow dose on hiit bee'.s, und he was obliged to purchase huniedly and extensively, ujihtor wrong. Pa.nful results have told, in larguage which has been hearJ to the eudb of the wotld, the to ly ot lurh pretipilaiion. Let us learn wisdom from past experience. L t ihe preliminary busme s of obtaining land fom the natives be always kt-pt well ahead. I don't say that the natives should be urged or teazed to bell, or thai they should be tempted by laige and «'X'iavagant offers ; but let our Government make U Hn special concern to l>e on the look out for opeirngs and opportunities. Whenever the natives are prepared to sell, let them find that Government is rendy and wd.ing to buy at a fair and leabonable price. I will suppose a case which I think of a characier not nnl laly to occur. The natives of a certain district aie anxious lor the formation of a fiettlemeut in their locality. Let the Government avail itself of this desire, and do something at once m Hie buBine»>i. Let an officer, duly qmlified, be despatched to confer with the nutivts on the tubject ; let timely notice be given, that all may assemble. Let them be told that the land must first be purchased and 6ettl d That a block, say of 50 miles tquare (1,600, ( '00 acres, or a hilf of that, 25 miles square), mubt be appropriated ; that this block must be defined aid marked out by themsetves, that they must arrange the matter with nil parties c-nueiri'd and s-atisfy ail objectors, and th<t within this bl«ick all their respective localities and cultivations will be rcsetved to them. — Then let the outer boundaries be cut throughout, and let this be done by the natives them elvts superintended by one sui vey or. Wha ever point is t iken, as the shi ting post, let the side lines run at right uncles with the line of coast, or at any rate let eveiy inland boundary be perfectly straight. A straight link ivill be an argument for overcoming unexpected obstacles which the natives will respect. In the next place, let all the native reserves be §urveyed and accuiately laid down ; and then, finally, lei the remainder be paid fot at so much per acre by instalments, and let the money be equally divided among the settlers, according to their numbers and according to their claims. And then, when the laud is sold to the settlers, Ist it be nvariably sold at the original coßt price-— only putting

on a certatn tax per acre for the public service, as surveying and o her government exptnditure ; and let this tax be matter of public competition by auction. 1 suggest thii in order to obviate the objection of giving the natives an opportunity of saying that Government gives thrm but little for the land, and sells it again for profit. Numerous objection! and improvements to these remarks will suge;e»t themselves to many of your rendeiB. I shill b>* glad to see them brought forward. I only wute to draw attention to the subject. 'Ihe len.tory, and power, and influence, and example, and language, and intelligence, and civilization of Britain, I am persuaded, must be greatly extended in tbis countiy. The more rapidly we can piepare the way, he better it will be for all parties ; and the more fully vie are piepaied to go up and possps* the good land, as Providence »>uy »ip«u the way betore us, the more it will tend to ihe realization of that blessed announcement, "Glory to Gud in the highest, and on eaitU peace, good will tcvard men." I ictnain, Sir, your humble servant, An Engluu Missionary.