The New-Zealander.

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 289, 10 March 1849, Page 2

The New-Zealander.

Be just anil fear not: Let all the ends tlioti aims't at, be tliy Country's, Thy (iod's, and Truth's.

SATURDAY, MAII C H H, 1849.

It was not without a motive that, some months since, we endeavoured to hold up Exileism, in all its pestilential infamy, to the earnest attention of the inhabitants of New Zealand. We had, even then, an ominous foreboding that its pollutions would be sought to be let loose amongst us. We thought we could measure Lord Grey with sufficient accuracy to perceive his latent inclinings, and to discover that Exileism would, under some vile pretext or other, be sought to be foisted upon these shores. We have, it seems, judged but too correctly. Colonists of New Zealand, read the following Machiavellian dispatch, which Aye repiint from the Gazette, published yesterday afternoon. Read — Ponder — and Resist, by e\eiy constitutional means, the ruin and the infamy that is sought to be let loose among you. A ruin which has crushed Van Diemen's Land — demoralized Port Phillip, and which New South Wales has done her utmost to repudiate and to avert. We shall return to this painful subject in our next.

No. 68. i Downing-street, sth August, 1 848. Sir, — I have the honor to transmit to you the enclosed copy of a correspondence, laid before Parliament in May last, on the subject of convict discipline and transportation Many of these papers will probably not be without interest to you, but my immediate object in sending you the accompanying copy of them is to draw your attention to my despatch to the Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land, No. 66, of the 27th of April last, in which you will find an exposition of the views of Her Majesty's government, respecting the future treatment of offenders who receive the sentence of transportation. You are doubtless aware that it has for some time past been resolved that all convicts should in the first instance undergo a period of separate imprisonment in this country, varying from six to eighteen months, followed by labour on public works, either here, or at Bermuda, or at Gibraltar. By several of the accompanying papers you will find that the effects of this discipline have, as yet, been very satisfactory. The letter from Mr. Kingsford, who has so zealously and efficiently performed his duties as Chaplain at Gibraltar, and which is enclosed in my despatch above referred to, bears testimony to the good and apparently lasting improvement produced on the minds of the prisoners, who have fallen under his notice at that station. At Port Phillip the despatches referred to in the margin, will shew with what rapidity the men who have arrived there under the name of Exiles, have been engaged for the service of the resident proprietors. And similar information has since arrived, respecting a party of exiles, who landed so lately as December last at Port Phillip. The settlers in that district have now for a considerable time had an opportunity of observing the characters of men of this class, and although the demand for labour is unquestionably great, it is not to be supposed that they would have been so eager to obtain the services of such persons, if there had not been much which was satisfactory in the conduct of those who had fallen under their observation. Whilst such evidences in their favour have been received from Gibialtar and Port Phillip, I enclose for your information a despatch from the Governor of Bermuda, in which you will find that he gives the most gratifying account of a large party of men, whom he had selected as deserving of the indulgence of being sent to Van Diemen's Land with tickets of leave, and that he expresses a sanguine anticipation of improvement in their future conduct, and of the addition which they will make to the useful labour of the colony. Notwithstanding these encouraging circumstances, however, it is not the opinion of Her Majesty's government, that either with a view to the preservation of good order, or to the infliction of an adequate amount of punishment under their original sentences, the men ought to be set entirely at large on reaching the colony to which they may be sent after a certain period of good conduct. It is considered better that they should rather be allowed tickets of leave. These admit of restricting them to particular districts, and of enforcing the punctual payment of moderate sums in return for the cost of their conveyance, but do not iv other respects interfere with the freedom of the men to whom they are granted, nor diminish the ordinary motives to industry and good conduct. You will further perceive that while it is proposed to require from these persons re-pay-

ment of the cost of their removal to the colonies to which they may ultimately he sent, hecause it is conceived that they ought not to receive free passages which cannot be granted to many of those unconvicted of crime who a PPty f° r tnat Privilege, it is proposed that whatever sums are thus recovered from them, should he applied, not to relieve this country from the chaige incurred on their account, but, for the benefit of the colonies which may recieve them, either by sending out free emigrants to meet the great demand for labour which exists in most of these colonies, or in any other manner which may be more suitable to the- peculiar circumstances of others of them. Such being the system under which it is proposed hereafter to proceed, I think it right to point out to you that if the inhabitants of New Zealand should be willing to receive men with tickets of leave they will obtain the advantage of a supply of labour, together with a probable addition to the funds applicable to general emigration, or some other public object of importance, while by the power which is to be reserved of dispersing those men in different districts, together with the reformatory nature of their previous punishment, there is good reason to hope that their presence, in moderate numbers, will not be found injurious to the general character of the community. Considering the urgent representations which are constantly received at this office of the want of an adequate supply of labour, it seems possible that if this system of convict discipline were well understood, the colonists might be desirous of receiving men upon the foregoing terms, in their last stage of punishment, and after they had earned a favourable character from the authority under whose control they had been placed. I should be glad therefore, if you would ascertain, in the manner which may appear to you best suited to the purpose, how far this would he the prevalent opinion in the colony under your government, and if I should learn from you that the measure would be wished for, I should be prepared to take the necessary steps for including New Zealand in the places into which convicts holding tickets of leave may be introduced. I have the honour, &c, &c, (Signed) Grey. To Governor Grey, &c, &c.

We have intelligence from Port Nicholson to the 28th ult., by the " John Wesley," which arrived on Tuesday night. There is little of local import to be gathered from the Journals ; — the Nominee Councils being still a standing topic of discussion : — and, in connection with which, a Grand lleform Banquet Avas to have come off, at the Britannia Saloon, on the Ist instant. The schooner Osprey arrived from Hobart Town on the 18th ult, with Captain Smith and twenty men of the 65th Regiment From the Independent of the 21st, we copy the following English Summary of the Hob yrt Town Colonial Times of the 6th of February. By the Blenheim, from Dublin, which arrived hrre tin-, morning with 299 ma c ticket-of leave holders, we have received Irish papers up to the 31st October, from which we extract the following:— The Queen and Royal Family were in good heal' h, and staying at Windsor. Parliament was about being prorogued. It was generally reported that Sir H. Peel was forming a Cabinet. Vienna had been totally destroyed by the insurgents. Earthquakes at Madtid had taken place. Major Edwaides, the rising milit try genius of our Eastern empire, had lost the u»e of his right hand by tl c explosion of a pistol. The Convicts at Clonmel. — An official notificat on via.* sent from the Castle on Thursday to William Smith OBrien, J. P. Meagher, T. B. M'Manus, and Pntiick O'Donohue, that the extreme sentence, passed upon them at the late commission, will be mitigated to transportation for lite. The Chartist PitisoNHßS.— The Chartist prisoners, Ritchie, LHcy, Fay, Cuffey, and Dowling, who were convicted at the last Old Builey Sessions, under the Crown and Government Security Act, and sentenced to transportation for life, have been removed for classificaton to Milbank Penitentiary, in which place they will remain until their final departure for Vau Diemen's Lind. Release of State Prisoners —The law being vindicated b/ the conviction ottbe leaders of the late insane insurrection, Lord Clarendon has wisely re solved to temper justice with mercy. Previous t» his Excellency's departure for England, an order was issued to admit to bail the following persons now suffering impiisonment under the Habeas Corpus Suspension Ad :— William Matthews, Charles Taafe, P. Mayron, J. Crottv, William Walsh, Jas. Baker, C. Itochford, Owen O'Neil, Fras. Gabbett, Juitin Supple, James M. O'Ryan. At Paris, at the close of Thursday's sitting, the National Assembly divided on the question of the election of Ptesident of the Republic, wheu the following was the unexpected result : — Number of votes, 819. In favour of the decree, 587 ; against it, 232 ; majority, 3J5 ; consequently the election will take place on ihe 10th of December. The result created the greatest surprise. Louis Napoleon, notwithstanding his adhesion to the French Republic, auumei the itate and title of Prince. The legitimist! say that all Brittany will vote for the Due de Bordeaux being President of the French Re* public, notwithstanding his disqualification. The Jesuits, driven from Europe, are flocking to the United States. On the Ist of October the decree for the complete emancipation of the Jews of the Roman States, came into force. The Sappers and Miners having completed the outline survey of the metropolis, commenced demolishing the observatory, or *' crow's neit," whicli has excited so much attention, on the summit of St. Paul's Cathedral. The operation was observed at different point! by great numbers of persons, and the almost

heedless way in which (he men walked about the unprotected platform was calculated to create feelings of apprehension for their safety. Oidfrs have been isiucd to all departments under the controul of the Treasury, that whenever a vacancy occurs, no piomolion or new appointment is to take place until special inquiry has been made whether the office cannot he reduced. The Commander in-( hief tins issued circulars to the commanding officers of the various regiments stationed in Great Britain and Ireland, requesting their opinion in respect to thfi new canteen regulations, whereby the sale of' spirits is forbidden theiein. Drunkenness in the Army.— The following circular has been i^sue-l :— 'It being prescribed by the 78th at tide of war that the ins'ancei of drunkenness, whereby it nuy be proposed to prove a charge of habitual diunkrnueis, are to be such only as are to be entered in the defaulters' books, it becomes indiipeniible that the la.t of the instances should, in all cases like the others, be so recorded, but the punishment of such last instance must, be kft to the Court, which will award sui-h a sentence upon such last instance as may be deemed equitable after hearing evidence of the circumstance. — By oider of Ins Grace the Duke of Wellington, Commander in-Chief: John Macdonald, Adjutant-General " i It is leported that the Lords of the Admiralty will introduce a Bill early next session for the better regulation of emigrant vessels. Letters from Tarbes announce that the potato disease has appeared in the worst form in the department of the Lpper Pyrenees. It it stated that the woita at the New Houses of Parliament are to be entirely stopped during tho winter, in consequence of the masons' strike.

Since the above was in type, by the Overland mail, we have intermediate numbers of the Wellington Journals, from the 31st January to the 10th Feb., and* duplicate copies of those received per John Wesley, from that date to the 24th. The Independent, continues to be able, energetic, and persevering in the Nominee question ; and a correspondence has ensued between Mr. W. Dorset and Mr. Fox on the subject of Mr. F. S. Bell's acceptance of a seat in the Nominee Council, — Mr. Bell being an officer of the New Zealand Company, and that Company being asserted to be the promoters of representative institutions. The correspondence is made public, and at» a Meeting of the Settlers' Constitutional Association, in acknowledging a resolution in. reference thereto, " Mr. Fox observed that he consideied it his duty not to allow any impression that the Directors of the New Zealand Company had altered their views on or retracted any opinion they had expressed upon the subject of Representative Government." We have copies of the Nelson Examiner of the 20th and 27th January. We regret to remark that our files have failed in reaching that Journal. We can, however, assure the Editor they are regularly posted. From the statistics of 1848, we learn that the white population of Nelson amounted tt> 1,331. Of the rural districts to I,7sB— the natives numbering 1,426, and the excess of immigration over emigration being 55. There were twelve day schools with 588 children, and thirteen Sunday Schools with 787. The places of worship were nine. In the Supreme Court there was one criminal conviction, and one civil suit. In the Resident Magistrate's 51 criminal convictions and 67 civil cases. In Live Hock there were 3,545 head of cattle — 37,699 sheep— 242 horses— l 2 mules— sss3 goals — 8739 pigs — of these, 5 cattle, 8 horses, 200 goats, and 5500 pigs belonged to the natives. There are 480 finished and 129 unfinished dwelling houses — 451 finished and 137 unfinished out buildings. The land fenced amounts to 5,068| acres — land cultivated 4,2G9| acres, and land cropped to 3,630| acres 1,758 acres being cropped by the natives.

We are indebted to our Wanganui correspondent for the following particulars relative to that district : The natives are carrying on a considerable traffic with the Europeans. The last census gave three thousand rive hundred on that extensive river. At this time (February 7th) the natives are collecting from all quarters to attend a church nui at Y/aitotara, where the people have been engaged for some time past hoarding all kinds of food to be devoured on that occasion. This is a most impoverishing system, and detrimental to their spiritual inteiests. The Governor* and the authorities would do well to discourage such practices, and the " Maori Messenger" would be worthily employed in describing their ruinous tendency. One of those feasts was held on Christmas Day, to which the natives flocked from far and near. It is to be regretted that people should be lured hundred of miles from their homes by such entertainments, which are productive of much injury to the health of both mind and body, and destructive of much food which might be much more prudently expended. For several years there has been only one Missionary resident at the Heads. The body of the natives reside up the river, and among them the Rev. Mr. Kirk, of the Wesleyan Society, has taken up his abode. His prospects are said to be encouraging. There is no poverty ; all appear to be getting rich. Horse lacing seems to be the favourite amusement of the haut ton of the south. At Taranaki South the crops of wheat, potatoes, and other food are abundant. The natives have two large flour mills, driven by water, at work. Hundreds of pigs have been sent to New Plymouth in payment of those mills, but they are still in arrear. The natives are becoming wiser. They eat more substantial

food, although some of them still cling to the abominable custom of living upon steeped maize, rotten fish, and other similar garbage, which induce scrofula and other diseases destructive to human life. The filthy mat, and still more dirty blanket, have been exchanged by some for respectable suits and decent dresses. One or two, indeed, are quite gay in their apparel. But, oh, the filth and the stench of a Kainga Maori still ! It were a labour worthy of another Hercules to undertake its purification.

We have been furnished with the history of Lot 10, containing forty acres at the head of the Waitemata ; the withdrawal of which lot from the Crown Sale of the Ist instant, has supplied the means of liberal speculation and patriotic suspicion, extraordinary. The land in question was first claimed by Maurice Kelly, in whose favour the right of pre-emption was waived. Kelly sold to Mr. Brereton, who erected a saw mill, and effected other improvements on the ground. In conformity with Governor Grey's notice to the claimants, requiring surveys, &c, to be sent in ?jy September, Kelly undertook to complete every thing for Brereton, wnich he neglected to do until the time had neatly expired. Brereton then confided the management of his case to a lawyer named Kennedy, by whom it was also neglected ; and the day passed over on which all requisite documents were to be lodged at the Colonial Secretary's Office, without Kellys having been put in. Hpwever, Mr. Figg, the gentleman employed by Brereton to survey the land, was at the office the following morning, before the hour of opening, with surveys and other necessary documents, all ready. These were not permitted to be received ; and the claim was subsequently disallowed. Brereton next applied to have the land put up to auction. His application was complied with. Having then expended several hundred pounds on the mill, and other improvements, Brereton offered the upset price for the land, requesting that, should this he objected to, it might be offered with the cost of all the improvements included in the upset price. The Government considering the claim of Brereton, under all the •circumstances, to be a just and equitable ■one, permitted him to purchase at the upset price, which was considerably above the terms of Governor Grey's Minute to the •claimants. Subsequently, Messrs. Russell and Goldie, who had entered into partnership with Brereton in the Mill, to save expense of conveyancing, memorialized to have their names included in the crown grant, an indulgence which, with Brereton's consent, was conceded.