The New-Zealander.

New Zealander, Volume 6, Issue 488, 18 December 1850, Page 2

The New-Zealander.

Be just and fear not : Let all the ends thou ahns't at, be thy Country's, Thy God's, and Truth's.

W E D Nif S 1) A Yfl) E CEMBEII 18, 1850.

DISSOLUTION OP THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY. By the late arrivals we have fuller accounts of the circumstances connected with the breaking up of this Association than had previously reached us. The reports of the meetings of the Proprietors contain various speeches delivered in reference to the subject; but for

these we cannot afford space, nor indeed would their insertion cast much additional light on the matter. We, however, make room for as much as) has a documentary, and therefore a more historical character, in connexion with the happy removal of this great incubus which has so long and so oppressively weighed upon and impeded the energies of New Zealand. An adjourned Meeting of the Annual Court of Proprietors was held at Broad Street Buildings on the 2nd of July, the principal object of which was to receive and consider the reply of the Colonial Office to an application from the Company to Lord Grey, in which they sought a favourable modification of the arrangement of 1847, representing that the agreemeut then made with them had not been strictly fulfilled, and asking further pecuniary assistance in the two-fold shape of a guarantee of interest upon their capital, and a remission of the claim of the Government for the advances already made to them. Previous to the reading of this reply, however, a Report was presented setting forth " the objects and motives of the Company in entering into the arrangement of 1847,"— the substance of which was as follows :— It was agreed that, during a period of three years, a Special Commissioner should be present at all proceed* ings ot the company: that the Government should give up to the company the- ervire and exclusive disposal of Crown lands, and the exercise of the Crown's right of pre emption of lands belonging to the natives in the southern Government of New Zealand ; that during the said period the Government should place at the disposal of the company a sum of £136,000 in addition to a previous sum of £ICO,UOO ; and that at the end of that period, the company should hare the option of either continuing or discontinuing its operations, under the conditions respectively laid down in the memorandum annexed to Mr. Hawc'i letter of 10th May. To give effect to this arrangement an act of Prtrliament was passed in July of the same year, and the company at once commenced operations, The land sold to private individuals from Stli April, 1847, up to the present time has amounted to 13.582 acres, and the sums received for the same to £27,974, or on an average to about 4,525 ucre», and £9,324 yearly. This is exclusive of the quantity sold by the Canterbury Association. The passengers conveyed to the colony during the same period, in eighteen ships chartered by the Corrpany, and three deipatched under its supervision, of the aggregate bnrden of 12,541 tons, have been 2-18 J. Exclusive of £25,0 0 invested in Government Securities and £8.92 1 cash advances to the Canterbury Association, tne payments during the three years commencing on ihe 6th April, 1847, have been £203,391, and out of this sum, debentures and other idbilities incurred prior to that date amounted to £68,215, leaving a balance of £135,175. Out of this balance, the sum applied to the establish, ments, office and law expenses, and contmgencej, in England and New Zealand, has been £34,733, or about £11,575 yearly; that to emigiation and other ■erfic s, pmely colonial, £73,855, and.to the purchase o( land, £20,386. The rcpoit then entered into a comparative statement of the company since it« establishment in May, 1839, from which ie appeared that the period before the Government bad interfered with tht-ir proceedings in 1843 had b en that of the greatest prosperity. Between 1843 and 1847 that prosperity had greatly decreased; and since 1847, when the present arrangements were entered upon, it had been but imperfectly restored. Throughout the southern settlements despondency has passed away, and fresh markets have been opened up for their products. But with regard to the New Zealand Company, by whose instrumentality those effects had been produced, the experiment had hitherto fallen short oi its intended end. The Reply from the Colonial Office was important, and conclusive. We subjoin it in full. Ma- Hawes ti» the Secretary or tub Company. Downing Street, Ist July, 1850. Sir,— l am directed by Earl Grey to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the lBth ultimo, in which, by dcs re of the Court of Directors of the New Zealand Company, you submit the terms on which the Directors would, with the conient of Her M ajesty's Government, continue their operations on the termin* ation of the exuting agreement, by which, under the provisions of the 10th and 11th Victoria, Chapter 112, the Demesne Lands of the Crown were vested in the Company for a period of three years. 2. The object of this letter, as Lord Grey understands it, is to induce Her Majesty's Government to assent to a proposal for giving to the New Zealand Company, in order to enable them to continue operalions, additional pecuniary assistance beyond that which they have already received under the Acts of 1846 and 1847, in the form of a guarantee of interest upon their capital, and also, (as it appears) of a remission of the claim of Her Majesty's Government upon the Com» pany for the advances already made to them. It would have given great satisfaction to Lord Grey, bad it been in his power to enable the Company to continue their operations ; -but the Directors must be aware that her Majesty's Government have no authoiity, without the intervention of Parliament, to vary in any particular the arrangement which was carried into effect by the Act of 1847. That arrangement was, with the entire assent of the Company, proposed to Parlaiment as a full and complete discharge of all claims on the part of the Company, against her Ma* jesty's Government, arising from previous transactions in New Zealand, and it was clearly Gtated, as the ground upon which a large advance of money was applied for and sanctioned, that any further demands on the part of the Company would be thus completely precluded. The loan then obtained by the Company having been made on this express understanding, Lord Grey is of opinion that Parliament could not now with propriety be asked to increase the amount of pecuniary assistance so granted to the Company, nor could he expect that, if such an application were made, it would be successful. 3. Lord Grey, observes with much regret that the grounds upon which this demand for further assistance is made, involve an implication that the agreement entered into in 1847 hits not been fully and (airly carried into effect by her Majesty's Government, and that the Company has failed to receive trom himself that support and encouragement which they had a right to expect. His Loidilup feels bound to deny ihat there bus been anything on this part to justify such a complaint, and it will be necessary that he should hereafter record, in another communication, the reasons which induce him to regard as entirely erroneous the statements in your letter on which it ii founded. But, having in the first instance, delayed the coniider-

ation of the proposal contained in your letter, at the desire of the Dnecion, with whom he had a conver* iat<on upoa the subject, which led him to expect that some fun her information in support of their application might be laid before him, it if impotsib'e for him now * to return a full reply to a communication, entering at luch length into the past transactions between the Company and her Majesty's Government! by the time at which he understand* it to be necemary that the Directors should be made acquainted with the decision on the proposal now made by them. For the present therefore he will content himself with stating that, while he has always been anxious to afford to the Company his best support and assistance in the prosecution of their undertaking, and while he is unconscious of having in any reipect refused them the aid which bis public duty would allow him to grant, he regrets that it is entirely out of his power to recommend to Parliament any alteration in the terms of the agree, raent which was entered into between her Majesty's Government and the Company in the year 1847, on the recommendation of Mr. Charles Buller— that lamented gentleman (who took so deep .an interest in the success of the Company) having, as I need hardly remind you, been the person by whom the arrange- £ tne ut was suggested, and under whose advice all its details were finally settled and agreed to. I have the honor to be, Sir, &c, B. Hawes. T. C. Harrington, Eiq. In consequence of this refusal on the part of the Government to prop up the Company any longer by pecuniary aid, the Report, of which a brief abstract has been given above, concluded by recommending that the Court of Directors should be " empowered to give the r notice of discontinuance contemplated by the 19th section of the Act of 1847, lClh and 11th Victoria, chapter 112." A motion to this effect, proposed by Mr. Deane, and seconded by Mr. F. Young, was met by Mr. Woollcombb with an amendment declaring it not expedient that the Company should surrender its charter, inasmuch as such surrender would be " a direct repudiation of all means of urging its claims upon the Government, and of obtaining redress for the injuries it had sustained." Ultimately, it was resolved to appoint a Committee to. confer with the Directors as to thp best course to be adopted ; and the Meeting adjourned to the following Thursday. On that day (the 4th of July) the Proprietors re-assembled, and this Committee presented the following Report : " The Committee have occupied the very brief spnee allotted to them for the consideration of the difficult circumstances in which the Company is placed in anxious deliberation with several of your directors, and in such an examination as was practicable of accounts and documents submitted to them. The committee are of opinion that the position of the Company is one of infinite difficult and peril, and that whatever course of opei ation may be decided upon, the proprietors must be prepared to meet heavy liabilities, unless the wrongs and injuries of the Company can be redres.ed by an united and a vigorous appeal to Parliament and the country. If the course recommended in the report of the Directors would have relieved the Company from further liability, the Committee would have unanimously advised its adoption, but such is not the case, and being reduced to a choice of evils, four of your Committee are agreed that the safest course will be not to surrender the charters of the Company. The two remaining members of the committee maintain the condary opinion, those of the directors who were preient and expressed their viewi coincided with the minority of the Committee. If ifi shall be the determination of the Proprietor* not to,, surrender the charters, it will pf course be necessary to pass instant lesblutions to suspend all expenditure in the colony, tnd to reduce the same in this country to suoh an amount only as shall be absolutely necessary to obtain redress for those wrongs, of which the Committee are satisfied that ample evidtnee exists, and to which alone are to be attributed your present disastrous position." A protracted discussion ensued, in the course , of which Mr. Buckle cogently argued that Mr. Woollcombe's plan of retaining their charter and keeping up a continual agitation to obtain those indemnifications which they claimed from the Government, would be an " unworthy, crooked, and dishonourable policy." "It was evident," he said, "that the charter had been received for public services, I and that certain privileges they enjoyed though I it were coupled with certain duties. Whal»*g was proposed by Mr. Woollcombe was nothing I more than that they should reserve the pri- I vileges and decline the duties. Was that an honest, was it an honourable policy ? Was it likely that the laws of the country would provide no remedy for such a case V This reasoning seems to have had some weight ; but yet more convincing was the argument that the retention of the charter might render it necessary to make further appeals to the i Shareholders 1 purses. The following Resolutions was eventually unanimously agreed to 3 "That in accordance with the recommendation contained in the Report now read, the Court of Directors be empowered and required to give Notice to Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colo« nies, that the Company is ready to surrender its Charters to Her Majesty, as provided for by the 19th Section of the Act 10 and 11 Victoria, Chapter 112, and subject to the provisions and conditions therein contained." The other resolutions agreed to were sis follows!— - "That in giving the notice an earnest representation be addressed to Her Majesty's Government on the following points :— l. That the surrender of 'the Company'^ chaarters upon the terms 10* 11 Viet., chap. 112, sec. 19, is a course forced on the shareholders by a hard and cruel necessity, which, from causes beyond their control, admit no delay, and precludes all opportunity for thoue explanations which they beliere would, if fairly considered, induce Her Majesty's Government to abstain from avai'ing themselves of the powers vested in them by law. 2. Jhat the abandonment or suspension of such powers, and the adoption of the course suggested by the Directors in their letter of the 18th ult. is equally demanded by a consideration of the colonists, and by justice to the Company. 3. That the refusal to comply with that suggestion contained in the reply of Mr. Hawes of the lit July ii apparently founded upon a misap-

preheniiou by Earl Grey of the real nature of the request submitted, ai well at of the intentions of the Directors as expressed in their letter, inasmuch as it was not Hn application for positive pecuniary assistance, ». but for a contingent guarantee only. 4. That for these mil other reasons the Shareholder! confidently rely that Her Majesty's Government; will not avail themselves of the legal formality which compels the Shareholders, for their protection, to intimate this day their readiness to surrender their charter, but will receive in a candid spirit a further explanation of the causes tbnt have prevented the realization of the expeoUtioui on which the agreement of 1847 wat founded, and will enter frankly into an equitable reconsideration of the whole case before they proceed to the exercise of the powers with which they become legally invested by the notice now resolved to be given. 5. That, in accordance with the suggestion in the Directors' Report, a Committee be appointed to cooperate with the Directors for the purpose of urging the legal and equitable claims and rights of the Company upon Her Majesty's Government, and that Messrs. Buckle, Drane, F. Young, Watson and Gen. Briggi constitute su:h Committee. 6. That all expenses of the Establishments of the New ZealundA Company cease from the present time except those absolutely necessary for carrying on the functions for which the Company will continue to exist, and that the requisite instruction! be sent to the Principal Agent by the Pheahe Dunhar. That this Meeting be adjourned to Tuesday, the 16'h.uut., at 12 o'clock, at this place, for the purpose of receiving the report of the Committee for filling 1 up vacancies in the Direction, if at such adjourned meeting the Shareholders shall think proper to do so. We have no details of the proceedings at the Meeting of the 16th of July, but it is enough to know the fact that the dissolution of the Company was then finally and formally determined on. There remains nothing therefore but the concluding transactions requisite to the winding-up of its affairs. It is not improbable that even here there may be some delay, if not some indications of the " tortuous policy" which Mr. Buckle denounced ; and the arrangements of the Company in relation to the Canterbury Association especially seem (so far as the information which has reached us goes) to have a complicated character which may readily give rise to more or less of difficulty. But these are comparatively minor matters. The great fact that the New Zealand Company is dissolved is undoubted ; and that fact •will be hailed with all but universal joy throughthe colony, except on the part of those who have derived place, pay, or profit of some kind, by means of the defunct Company's ill-gotten and ill-managed funds.

The Rev. Waltkr Lawry, General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Missions in these Islands, being about to proceed in the John Wesley on a visit to England, a Farewell Tea Meeting was held on the occasion in the large School Room .adjoining the Wesleyan Chapel on Monday evening last. The attendance was numerous and respectable, including several members of other denominations, amongst whom were Dr. Sinclair, Alex. Shepherd, Esq., C. W. Ligar, Esq., W. S. Grahame, Esq., &c. Mr. Eliott occupied the Chair. A valedictory Address was read by Mr. Hughes, to which Mr. Lawry appropiately responded ; and after devotional exercises the company separated about nine o'clock.

St. Stephen's Native Gikls' School. — The formal opening of this valuable Institution, (which is under the efficient and indefatigable superintendence of the Rev. Gr. A. and Mrs. Kissling) took place yesterday, and was attended by a large number of the principal residents in the town and neighbourhood. The Bishop of New Zealand presided over the proceedings, which were throughout of a deeply interesting character. We hope to give in our next a fuller account of them, as well well as of the School in connexion with the opening of which they were conducted.

The Band of H. M. 58th Regt. (by the permission of Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard, C.8.), will perform in the grounds in front of the old Government House to-morrow afternoon from four till six o'clock, p.m. PROGRAMME. Overture — Op. "La Barracolle" . . . Auber. Cho. & Triumphal — Op. "La Vestale" . Mercadante. Aria & J?inale — Op. " Sonnarobula" . . . Bellini. Melange — Op. "I. Lombardi" .... Verdi. Ballad— -" The light of other days" . . . Balfe. Waltz — " The Brandhoven" Strauss. Ballad — " The last adieu" Perry. Quadrille — "The English" Julhen.