Original Correspondence. THE LATE PUBLIC MEETING.

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 356, 18 September 1849, Page 2

Original Correspondence. THE LATE PUBLIC MEETING.

To the Editor of the New Zcalander. Duloe esl pio patrid moi i —Hon. ■' Mow" the nioic I get "pio patiia" by the country "duliv cst" the swcetei it is. And that's what 1 call p.itnotism ny llii".i' dajs, —Sam Slick, Transit Ciym' lire is a piolilalilc tradu in more things than one. — Sam Slick. Sir, — At last the elaborate report, in the Southern Cio .vof the 1 1 til and 14th '"nstanr, of the proceedings ol the late Public Meeting, has afforded a stratum upon which to found a few remarks upon the sentiments of the speakers and ihe resolutions of the meeting Assuming this report to be correct, I Tcnture to offer the following observations to which iti careful perusal and consideration have given rise. I would first draw your attention to the Public Notice convening the Meeting. It is the general rule, and obviously for a wise purpose, in calling public meetings to specify the definite object to be there submitted. In this ca»e, however, the meeting is called "for the purpose of considering what steps should now be taken on the part of the community to meet the present emergency,"— and the course pursued at the meeting, in reference to such steps, vraa to submit a motion, without any notice of its premeditation, for the recall of Governor Grey,' — a step, uumooted in publiff piint,— unconsidered, save by the proposer and ac« concler thereof, and for which the public were wholly unprepared, — •thus compelling any disapprove r of such a measure — should he choose to run the risk— to an-f-wcr, at a moment's notice, an elaborate and carefully prepared attack upon the Governor. A reply, under such circumstances, would have been analogous to the rush of an undisciplined, unarmed mob upon a fortress, well garrisoned, and furnished with all the munitione of warfare. It would have been quite competent for any one tohave called a meeting for the recall of the Governor, or for the late meeting to have appointed a trustworthy Committee to devise measures', to be considered afterwards ; but for Mr. Brown to come, self-elected* and pro,io£e, with no notice but his speech, so important a motion for immediate adoption, was neithc? respect ul to the public nor creditable to liimielf. ! Ido not urge that any othi-r resolutions could have pasied the meeting, nor wish to restrict the right of any individual to propose what he considers most proper, in the emergency ulludcd to ; but all impartial persons will, I feel, concur with me, when I say that not publicly to notify the intention of proposing the recall of the Governor, prior to the meeting, was unfair snd ununul. So much for the convencment of the meeting— now for its proceeding*. The first four resolutions do not expressly refer to> the adoption of any steps for relieving the colony,— they are merely declaratory of alleged fact* and opinions, as to the emergency under which the colony labours. The speeches— as they read— are forcible and not deficient of eloquence. The dry subject of cattle runs, under thr creative wand of Dr. Foibes,. becomes ins vested wiLh all the ethnological interest of Polynesian rights anil cuitoma. Bullocks and Borneo— Squatting and Sandwich Islands — Cows and Colonization, delightfully amalgamate, not unenlivened by the beaulies of poetu'quo anon. M . lirowu, in proposing the fifth resolution for the immediate lecall of Governor G cy — the real object oi the meeting — serves up n rechariHi of Southern Cross leaders, and endeavours lo piove His Excellency's unverneity out of his own despatches. His line of argument is not novel, — he quotes a despatch, and then fhtly contiadiets it, conveniently substituting factious clap- 1 lap for proof ot h's assertions. To what, in fa"t, do all the quotations amount ? Tlu y may be classed under three head< .—. — Ist. Gjvcrno! Grey's censure of sonn of the Church of England Missionaries for their traffic in land. 2nd. His prediction of a stormy opposition to the couise he was about to puisuc in reference to the Land Claims. 3rd. That these Land Claims, if not soon settled, wer<: likely to lead to an expenditure of blood and money. In the fust pl,tco Mr. Brown never proved the cen» sure to have hct-n unmet ited, — nor could he have done so — lor it Is notorious that Borne of the territorial trailic of Missionaries in New Zealand, was more characteristic of Mammon than accorded with, the sanctity and duties of their office. Secondly— Are not Governor Grey* expectations of strong opposition all realised ? Has not his prediction fu'Jy cor&e to pass ? Surely Mr. Brown carnot deny tins, "Witness the Fiankensiein of Faction which His Excellency's opposition to the Land Claims immediately raised,— vulness its thi eats, oaemoiidLi, petitions— its literary Billmsgate and senseless personality in lavish abundance ever since. Thirdly— Who is not aware that the Natives are not to be trifled with on points of landed property ? Take the returns of grants recently laid before Council,— some giant land which the Commiibioner, to enquire into the claim, dectaies never wero sold by the Natives. Put the grantee into foreibic possession of such land, what would be the result—a bloody mur. der, an expeus ye war. Waiiau, Wellington, and, Wangatiui furnish melancholy proofs or the fact ; — similar policy here would itillustrate similar reiulti. So much lor Mr. Brown's " clear and unanswerably expose 1 ' which left the seconder uothing to say, and ' ucooidingly, in his ca&e, nothing far me to reply to. The remainder of the proceedings require little notice. Mr. White suggested thut the Natives ihould petition to the some effrcl, ai if they were not quite able to do so of their own accord, and with much greater probability of succesi, without his iutcifarence and assistance. A lew political pedlars, retailing pucks of grievances, and preaching moral agitation, to the Natives, would soon make California acceptable under any circumstances. He was, however, overruled Mr. Hart, ai sensible a speaker as aay, animadverted upon the faulty conduct of the non-official members, and detailed their breaches of public duty. This brought Mr. Forsaith to their rescue,— although he had originally called them dummies, without condescending to prove them to be such, — a line of procedure disentitling: him to censorship on thin point* but perfectly consistent with tactics in which abusive generalities are obviously more serviceable tbau » troublesome particularity of detail. With regard to the Petition itself,— still more remarkable for its avoidance of particular proofs — let those who arc asked to sign it first consider whether the complaint a,ainst Governor Grey is generally a colonial one, or im-rely the ebu lition of party pique* Does the colony or do the land claimants so unexeeptionally reprobate the administralion of His Excellency ? If the latter — a mere section of the community — let not the public be niadtj the cat's-paw of individual grievances, — let not public sympathy and influence bo enlisted to servo personal interests. The Governor disapprove! of their

claims and censures their conduct — they resent and Qcctisc him of misrepresentation — let both constitutionally settle the question at isMie between themjelves. The real question of public interest presented to the meeting was the opening up of the country by permitting Europeans beneficially to occupy Native Lands. Thii is a question of great importance, and the colony will not lose sight of it, though it repudiate the peution ns a coverc attempt to giatify the embittered feelings of a disnppoinud clique, and gratefully acknowledge — without committing itself to indiscriminate approval — that New Zealand h>is, under the administration of Governor Grey, assumed an improved aspect in respect of security of lite and property, and (^jf social condition of the Aboriginal race. I remain, Sir, Your most obedient swvant, CiuticuS. Auckland, Sept. 15, 1849.