Van Diemen's Land.—Transportation.

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 401, 16 February 1850, Page 2

Van Diemen's Land. — Transportation.

Political excitement seems to run high in Van Diemen's Land ; — dissatisfaction at the postponement of the Australian Colonies Bill, and the hatred of the continuance of the Transportation system, heii?g vehemently declared in almost every form in which the tongue or the pen can declare them, and every opportunity afforded by the discussion of these, or of almost any other topic, being eon amove taken to express dislike of Colonial government in general, and of Sir William Denison's in particular. On the convict question, a strength of denunciation little inferior to that employed at the Cape is freely used. And undoubtedly a cogent case is made out not only against the infliction of convicts on any colony, but particularly against their present infliction on Van Diemen's Land. As,— if only a tithe of what is now spoken on the subject should be acted out, the movement cannot fail to assume a serious aspect, — we give a statement of the main points of this case as they are condensed in a Petition to the Queen, adopted with enthusiasm at a Public Meeting held at Launceston on the 20th of December. The meeting, we may premise had been convened in compliance with a requisition to the Sheriff, which included the names of " twenty three of the oldest and most respected magistrates of the Northern Division," and, according to the local papers, was as influential from " the numbers and respectability of the assemblage" as any that ever took place in Van Diemen's Land. To Her Majesty, •$'<?.— The bumble petition of the undersigned colo- ! nists of Van Diemen's Land in public meeting duly convened by the Sheriff assembled, Respectfully Sheweth— That, in consequence of the intention expressed by Her Majesty's Goveinment to adopt a new lystem of secondary punishment, the colonists of Van Diemen'a Land, iv the years 1840 and 1841, imported free labourers and their families to the number of many thousands, and at a very large expenditure, both private and public, exclusive of the Land Fund. That scarcely had these labourers arrived, when Her Majesty's Government resolved to collect in Van Die* men's Land all the transported criminal! of the British empire, and thus in effect to expel the thousands of free emigrants collected at so much cost, and to fill the colony with pauperism and crime. That in 1845 and 1846 this unjust procedure recoiled on the British Government, who imputed to Sir Etrdley Wilmot nnd the then Comptroller- General, the enormities which resulted from British policy alone. That Her Majesty's Government then reiolved to suspend transportation to Van Diemen's Land for fwo years. That in the month of March, 1847, certain persons, principally magistrutes, were invited by Sir William Denison to express their opinions in reference to transportation, and that the colonists thereupon almost uuanimouily pra>ed for its immediate total > bolition. That amongst many other petitions to this effect, presented to Her Majesty the Queen and the Houses of Parliament, was one from Hobart Town, signeJ by abour COOO colonists, and another from Launceston, signed by 624 fathers of families— representing themselves, their wives, 1054 male, and 1057 female children ; in all 3355 souli. That at the opening of the session of the Legislative Council, on the 20th of July, 1848, Sir W. Denison made the following announcement :— " I take the earliest opportunity of laying before yon the decision of her Majesty's Government, that trar\s~

porlation to Van Diemen's Land shall not le 10sumed at the expira'ion of the two years for which it has already been decided that it should be discontiriued Her Majesty's Government, incoming to tliii determination, has acted in accordance with the expressed wishes of a large projwrtion of the free inhabitants 0/ the colony. 1 ' That this resolution of Her Majesty's Government was distinctly announced by Earl Grey in the House of Lords in March, 1847, where his Lordship said, in reference to Van Diemen's Land, that •' he had no hesitation in laying that the sending of large numbers of convicts to that colony was one main cause of the rapid falling off in its prosperity, and that it had thus received a check from which it could not recover for many years'* And further, on the same occasion, Earl Grey said—" Tt has been said by the noble Lord (Stanley) that the free people of this country (i. c. Groat Britain) could not bear the sight of the infliction of penal labour amongst them. Jf there was any truth in this remark, how much more unjust was it to in flic 1 this spectacle upon the small community of Van Dietnerts Land!" And again, further, (said the same noble Lord,) — " To insist upon mainla'n'ng transportation to Van Diemen's Land would be to drii c aioay the free colonists at whatever pecuniary sacrifice to tliemselves, to take refuge in South Australia, New South Wales, or some of the neighbouring colonies, Van Diemcn't Land would become— what Noifolk Island was— a vast horde of criminals with nothing but their keepers." That in the month of June following, Lord John Russell is reported to have said in his place in Parliament, '• I hope that whea the House does come seriously to consider any Bill having the question of transportation directly in view, it will consider the henefit of ihe colonies as well as the benefit of the Mothercountry. We are bound when we aie planting provinces, perhaps what may in future times be empires, to endeavour that they should not be merely seati of malefactors and of convicts, but communities fitted to set an example of virtue and happiness, and not to make plantations (as Lord Bicon sayft) of the scum of the land." That, notwithstandiug all these pledges and professions, not one has been observed. That before the expiry of the period of two year*, during which the Ministers had announced transportation to be suspended, it was revived. That one thousand eight hundred and sixty convicts liave been landed in the colony curing the year 18-19. That the reports of the Local Government, with reference to the improvement of prisoners, are not to be relied on ; that several lay and clericnl officers of the Couvict Department have been disn^sed for exposing the rices and crimes incident to the local management of convicts ; and that it is the conclusion of the colonists that any man performing his duty to the community, if a public officer, would be dismissed, and if a private gentleman, would be repiesented as factious, and charged with dishonestly attempting to effect, by reckless assertions, without the least respect to trull) or probability ;— and such has been the experience of some of the most estimable colonists. That your petitioners owe it to themselves and families to resiit, thwart, and counteract, in every possible form the importation of convicts in Van Diemen's Land ; that they wholly distrust the accounts of reformation in other penal settlements, and utterly disbelieve the representation of reformation in this ; that they have continually before their eyes the mournful results, both material and moral, of the persevciing injustice of the British Government ; that iv the solemn engagement! of Her M.ijebty's ministers they can no longer place reliance — engagements so repeatedly violated, and with such cruel indifference to the welfare of this countryt Your Majesty's petitioners, tberefoie, again most earnestly pray that your Majesty will take such mea* sures as to your Majesty may seem meet, so that transportation to Van Diemen's Laud may for ever cease, And Your Majeity'g petitioners, &c, &c, &c. We observe in the Launceston papers a remarkable advertisement which — whatever else it may be — is unquestionably a striking indication of the earnestness with which the Anti- Convict movement is carried forward. It is signed by eight or nine Ministers of different denominations, who declared their judgment that "in times of special danger, such as the present, when we are threatened with tlie continuance of Transportation, it is proper to address the Throne of Almigiiiy God, with earnest and concerted supplications, and with deepened conviction, that, notwithstanding the solemn assurances of relief made by Her Majesty's Ministers, our help is in the Lord alone ;" and therefore pioposed to " set apart Wednesday, the 16th of January, 1850, for the observance of such religious services as the urgency of the case demands." We must confess, that we feel only a very qualified approbation of this step. Firmly as we believe in the efficacy of prayer, and the duty and privilege of commending every affair, whether public or private, great or small, to the Divine direction and blessing, and readily as we admit that the convict question has moral and religious bearings which not only warrant but demand the exercise of Christian influence, whether ministerial or lay, we are not satisfied that the circumstances of the case called for so unusual a course as is here proposed, or one so liable to be misunderstood, or misrepresented. We find that the Cornwall Chronicle, alluding to this " Fast Day," observes — " When we refer to the names attached to the advertisement, we can have no hesitation in acknowledging, in respect to some of the reverend gentlemen, that, on religious grounds only, they have concurred in its suggestion ; but candour obliges us to say, that we do not think such is the case with all. The fear then arises that political feelings have originated a proceeding in which good men have acquiesced without much regard to the reason assigned for it, but because a day of prayer and humiliation is, at any time, salutary." Having no knowledge of any of the parties we cannot tell how far our contemporary's imputation is based on fact; but — considering that the step lay open to such a construction, — and consideiing, that a political minister who uses his sacred office for the attainment of n:erely paity ends, diffeis only in the degree of ministerial unworihiness from — that scabies ecclesice — a mammon-serving minister, "greedy of. filthy lucre/'-— we cannot

but think that had those reverend gentlemen restricted their efforts to co-oppiation in public meetings and petitions on the subject, and such devotional references to it as might properly be introduced in their ordinary services, they would have taken a course in -which there would have been not so much risk of their " good being evil spoken of." As we have before remarked, however, taking all these proceedings together, we have evidence of the zeal, with which the men of Van Diemen'sLand are now pursuing their object in the matter.

Late intelligence from the West Indies had been received by the Medway steamer, which arrived at Southampton on the Ist of October, after a remaikably rapid voyage, having reached England nearly a week before she was due. She brought news from Jamaica to the 7th September. On the sth of that month the Assembly was opened. As had been anticipated, a large majority of " the country party" had been elected. In a long opening I speech, the Governor referred to the gloomy | state of the finances, as placing the island in a situation of great financial difficulty, but he did not consider it a desperate one, provided the markets should continue favourable, and the different branches of the Legislature could be brought to act together, "As regarded the reduction of official salaries, he had received no further instruction from the Home Government, and he therefore had no discretion but to adopt the same line of conduct which he had hitherto pursued. Under these circumstances he trusted that the Assembly would vote the ordinary revenue bills in the usual manner.". . . .The Assembly, in its reply, insisted on its right to fix and appropriate its revenue, but promised to come to no decision until the financial returns should be officially laid before the House. The issue therefore remained uncertain. If the Assembly should refuse to vole supplies, another dissolution would probably take place ; but as the then existing revenue bills, which extenJed to the Ist of October, would expire before a new House could meet, a great loss to the revenue of the island would be sustained. ... .Commercial affahs at Jamaica were in a very dull state, without any appearance of improvement, and the lower classes were in the greatest poverty Deputy Commissary-General Eppfs and two of his children had fallen victims to the ytllow fever. The crops looked well in some of the islands, especially in Baibadoes ; but at St. Kitls and Antigua the want of rain was still severely felt.. .Small pox prevailed extensively in St. Vincent. We learn from Domingo that the Haytians had declared for an empire, and made the President Solonque the first Empeior. He had directly commenced to wield his powers by creating at his discretion dukes, marquises, and other nobles.

! Recent Deaths of Notable Persons. — We collect the following names from the obituaries in the papers lately received. On the 9th of September, the Grand Duke Michael died of apoplexy at Warsaw ; his death affected the Cz-yr with a grief scarcely less extravagant than the wild joy which he exhibited on hearing of the success of the Russian arms in Hungary, and it was only by the continued application of ice to his head, and similar measui es, that his physicians averted from him an attack like that which thus suddenly carried off his brother: — on the Ist of September, at Florence, the Archduchess Marie Tiierese Christina, third daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and the Giand Duchess Marie Antoinette: — Lord Metiiuen, a descendant of John, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, the negociator of the " Methven Treaty " with Portugal : — At Leamington, only in his 15lh year, Lord Cardross, grandson and heir- apparent of te Eail of Bucn vn ; the deceased's uncle, the Hon. David Stewart Erskine, becomes heir apparjnt of the family honours : — at Enniscoithy, in his 70th year, Dr. Keatinge, Roman Catholic Bishop of Ferns : —at Exeter, of cholera, Archdeacon Jeffries, late of Bombay : — of cholera, Lieut.-Colonel H. G. Jackson, commanding officer of the Royal Artilleiy at Dover : — at Richmond, Surrey, Major General F. D. Ballantine, iI.E.LC.S., who was since 1 830, Colonel of the Bth Bombay Native Infantry.

Wardens of Crown Lands. — The following Wardens have been elected during the week *. — Hundred of Panmure — His Lordship the Bishop, Major Gray, and Sergeant Clear y. Hundred of Howick — Capt. Macdonald, Lieut. Servantes, and Mr. W. Mason. Hundred ot Otahuhu— Lieut. Hickson, Mr. W. T. Fairburn, and Sergeant M'Anulty.