Original Correspondence.

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 373, 10 November 1849, Page 2

Original Correspondence.

To the Editor of the New Ztalandtr. Sin,~-Among ajl subjects of Colonial interest^ the civiliiv.ion of Natives stwds pre-cmineut. A .colony haa been panted her*, professedly oot for { the RKxraiidiseiiieiit v( /Sngjand, but for the f elfarc of tba New Zealanders. As that w«fa c. then, is paramount to all Interests, it cannot bt out of place to »fter a few remarks upoi> tiie fulfillment of ij duty corresponding with jthe serious responsibility attained. '• Luisses faire" it the motto of Ibis pliilosophietl age. Free Tro.de in the extreme— freedom of action to th« community — freedom from trouble to the Government, form its two grand desiderata. Jnactfoa obviatea responsibility; — Emigration, polonixafiou, education, aiuk from the duty of an empire into tap accident of private eutcr|inie. In«truraeuU, almost omn po.ent for good qr ev/l, are lelt, l>y ,th« wajiide, fur tlie casual vie of any penoa— no m<tter haw inexperienced or incapable he may be. N • coraprtheasive view, uo wise precaution*, no elaborate acbene, uq careful iup«rTiiion, no jutUciovu execution I All ia I ft to the Olindneis of chance—to the indeterainste, T*riable, ineffectual r^erciie of iiid;yidqifli, actaated by a thoty«au,<ji in >tive& and influenced by u tbousanc} ciioumttaocei» which impede their progreM at eriiry step, rendering failure certain and •uccetn iuapoisible. Look at 4u«tra'ia ! \f oiifd her history record cara and attention lucceiifutl^ bes'Owed by colonUiug Eoflani upon her Abaritcmirl Trjb^s f —would it record the paramount imptrtattce of their claimi— an un•'iitjted expenditure for their >#4rttB— in inceaaant Tigtlans'.s for their intereiti—tbe etiUbliebment of proper inititutiom f^r their milutfenkuce, education, awJcifiliz ttion — the gloriou •transformation of benighted Birbtrim, as it merged inlb the light of Chrutian cirilizatiou > By ny means ; the true record U sad and abort indeed. Indifference, apathy, aad neglect, of a powerful (iovcjrnment— cruelty, crime aial contamination, of ar\ imported Felonry, have done their work. Efiled,, degraded, almost exterminated as she if, the history of Aboriginal Australia may now be aummed— fearful as ia i'a import— Happy are hei many Dsad—wretehtd her few Survivort! L >pk at New Zealand. What wpuld be f he (cpndi* tiou of her Abungiati, were it not for the fortunit* , accident of Mt»tionarj labourlt Notperhapt au b>mentuble as in Australia ; for here we bate • inoro intellectual race; «ud herp, p uglaftd ba* not, aa yet p »y^te^lJattc•ally poured upoo us her tenants of eapatriited crime. Still, noiwitbaUnding theae «dy«n r tagei, combined with the letalotn and lopg-co 4 n l inue4 asaiatance of an admirable Mhftion — what ia, at pre« aent, the ovoral and toiial position of the, Maori** ?— ; U their race on thi increnle? The negativfriaf thia t|UiBtioi), if neg&titc it be, tpeaka concluitt ely ; and) can a iy friend of theira sfocere'Yy lay to hjk heart \\\» flattering unction of it* affirmative ? I tear hot. Ifuot r the next gene.ratiou may note ia N\jw Zealand whiy^ ouri deplorea ill Ai^itralia. Ami yet, what immense * advantages dos fye* Zealand poilesl! on the oue hand a race, tractable, reftectirc, agricijiUural, averse to tpiiita, alive to rights of property; on the other hand, Miiiioaafiea, fur number, zeal and piety, per* liapa uneqvi<illed in any colony. True, at the remote MUlionary Sation— ,ln tt}e country which God, and far /Voin the town which mm lias mkde— tb>e work of regeneration oft profperjl.— There the seed ia sown )u good 1 {;roand| (Ij^re th<J daily church bell lummona an attentive cfingitgiktfott to the worabip of their Creator; there the Nttives, o\A and younu, gather leaaona of wildom af»d virtue. The Pastor aeea tais, and la thankful. But, < chiliad m.at be hi^ heart, and disappointed hif Uopc#« whah ha »cc» the same race of betnga amid the tilrmoU and temptation of the htunta of civilijfed life—- for there he sees irreligion and immorality making fatal inroads into tbair auaeeptible hearta. There, he aeca a large majority— »jdle, dissipate 1 ilavet of Mammon. There he aeaa a rising generation of femalc&-*»thQS« who ought to- be the future mothers of a oiviliaed offspring-** drawn into the vortex of metropolitan infamy, nnd with flaunting ribbons gaudy goirna, and boki of bold effrontery, too truly tcatifjiug . tb«ir

employment of tin and Iti fat* l wage* to come.— There, in townt, tht crime of the Mirage doe* not, In all iti naked deformity, appal tho human heart j hut vice— dangerous, deluaive, corrupting vice, unchecked by the lax morality of fashion, and by the liberalism of a reSned philosophy— with far more pernicious effect — poura her poisoned chalice, and scatters her flowers of death upon the altar of a whitened sepulchre. This should not continue* The policy of England in reference to her Aboriginal mbjects> should be placed upon a broad, firm and comprehensive baiU, Pecuniary means should be raised from the taxation of all, not from the charity of a few. Tke object is of national importance, and it wortky of a national sacrifice. Above all, the initiatory morement should be nsade in a manner commensurate with the worth of the result to be attained. No half-measured will suffice. Human Nature unaisiited will not learn industry, honesty, temperance — it will, however, rapidly acquire idleness, drunkenness, theft. It haa no craving for virtue, but It hut for sin. Let, then, the empire of Kngland commence the civilization of the Natives of New Zealand, worthy of tier greatnesa and their inferiority— and we shall yet ace a noble nation 6aved from a premature grave, and gradually elevated to a rank in the scale of nationi, uot iuferior to any in Chris: endom. I remain, Sir, Your obedient servant, Anglicus. Auckland. Nov. 8, 1849.