The New-Zealander. AUCKLAND, SATURDAY, JAN. 3, 1852.

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 597, 3 January 1852, Page 2

The New-Zealander.

AUCKLAND, SATURDAY, JAN. 3, 1852.

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

EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY-ONE. The " Old Year" isgone-irrovocably gone! Since wo last addressed our readers Time has tolled its knell, and Eighteen Hundred and Fifty-one, with all its hopes and fears, its pains and pleasures, it successes and disappointments, its virtues and its sins, has passed away for over. Many a bright eye that looked upon its opening; with joy is now closed in. darkness; many a warm heart that throbbed high in anticipation of its then undeveloped events now feels no pulse of earthly emotion. Many actors have finished their parts upon the stago of life ; but still the eventful drama goes on ; scene succeeds scene ; thus it has been and thus it will be, until the pageant shall have onded,— until the fashion of the world shall have finally passed away, and realities which cannot be moved shall encircle all. Our business as journalists, however, is more immediately with the public occurrences which it has been our duty to record. Here, the retrospect, though it may not include a great number of events of moment, brings before us some of marked importance and interest. When wo look to the Home Country, we find the history of the Parliamentary Session almost summed up in the adoption of the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. Besides this engrossing measure, little (as compared with other Sessions) was seriously discussed, and even proportionately less practically accomplished,— although the House of Commons had ostensibly been engaged in the transactions of the business of the country, (according to the Spectator's "Time Table," eight hundred and eightysix hours and a half, in one hundred and thirty-five sittings, and the House of Lords two hundred and eighteen hours, in ninetyfive sittings. What are the results of all these " deliberations 1" Large > financial schemes were talked of, but their difficulties wore left for future solution, -the Income Tax being renewed for the year as a temporary expedient ; but as it was only for one year, a searching discussion of the whole question seems inevitable early in the coming Session, when Sir Charles Wood, like Lord John, hopes to be found a boy strong enough for his place. Much was said about sanitary and social improvements, but, except that the great evil of the Window Tax has been beaten down, these vitally necessary measures are still to come. So of Law Reform, and Poor Law Reform, and other desirable reforms: there have been speeches, and professions, and promises, but little or no performance. No doubt this has been in a great degree owing to the feebleness of both the Ministry and the Opposition. For amongst the notable facts oi the year was the protracted existence of a Ministry confessedly

ro weak th"t it vv ' a>s exposed lo 4eici.it at every shiil'^o; of the political weathercock ; obi!<>ed to r.^igu. o'tHco through its demonstrated imbecility, yet, in some sense, also obliged to retain "office through the inability of the Opposition Leader to construct u Cabinet. The Great Exhibition turned attention, happily for J-'Linistcrs, from many of their deficiencies to its own cngro^ing attractions. That was truly tin event of magnitude for the time, whatever may be its issue. Let us hope that the future will prove the Crystal Palace to have been not a mere gigantic show, but indeed a Temple to Concord and Industry, from which the licprcscntalivcs of the Nations shall have borne away mutual good will, and incitements to no other rivalry than that which is pacific, honourable, and tending to human progress and happiness. Turuiii" to Ireland, we find her condition almoot as"" enigmatical as ever. The most striking fact of the year is the revelation of appalling depopulation, presented by the Census Returns. In 1821, the population was 0,800,000; in 1831, 7,760,000 ; in 1841, 8,175,000 ; according to the common rule of progress, her children should have now numbered nearly nine millions ; but famine, sickness, emigration, evictions, and other influences have done their work of dispersion | and desolation go effectually, that they arc reduced to little more than six millions and ] a half. The inhabited houses in Ireland, j which ten years ago were 1,300,000, arc now little more than 1.000,000 ; the number of tonics, then 1.500.000, is now cut down by about four hundred and fifty thousand ! families. It must be an obdurate heart I that does not feel and almost sicken at the ! thought of the misery and suffering which must have been experienced before these | results were brought about. The year has however had its gleams of brightness radiating across the gloom. The Court for the j sale "of Encumbered Estates— although as its name denotes originating in the embarrassments of thoao reputed wealthy— has boon steadily pursuing its bcncficiaWork of relieving landowners from difficulties insuperable by other means; rendering their circumstances really more hopeful, though nominally impoverished, and at the same lime advancing the interests of the country by transferring lands to men who arc able and willing to turn them to good account. English capital to a large amount has been invested in purchases, and English and Scotch skill and enterprise arc likely to be employed to an unprecedented extent in developing the riches of the soil. Tranquillity has generally prevailed, and the criminal records have been singularly light. The flax cultivation has been carried on with increased spirit and success, and the harvest prospects were, on the -whole, above the aveiage. The latest cloud that seemed impend ing was a revival of politico-reli-2ious agitation, long' the bane of Ireland. We must wait to know the extent to which this may gather, and the depth of gloom with which it may overshadow the land. Travelling from the Home Country to her possessions in these Seas, we find the year marked by some remarkable occurrences in Australia. The Australian Colonies Act has come into operation, and New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Van Dicmon's Land have all elected their Legislative Councils under the provisions of a Constitution which confers a large amount of political privilege, and contains within itself means of remedying whatever ex- ! porience may prove to be defective in its scheme. We may note, however, that the -composition of these Councils, as effected by the popular choice, and their pr^ceed^ ings, so far as wo have reports of them, show, wo think, an unmistakeablo tendency to democracy on the part of the bulk of the constituencies. Another event of the year is the completed organization of the Anti-Transportation League, and the development and concentration of a popular movement against a continuance of the system by which parts of Australasia are still made the receptacles of the felon offscourings of England, that augurs the speedy advent of a day when the pollution of convict importations shall only bo numbered amongst the things that were. But the grand event which, above all others, is likely to perpetuate the memory of Eighteen Hundred and Fiftyone in the history of the British dependencies, is the dazzling discovery of extensive and richly productive gold fields in Australia. We can well imagine that the inter est connected with the Great Exhibition itself would be thrown comparatively into the shade, by the excitement witU which this startlingly novel and important intelligence would be received in England. It needs but little sagacity to foresee that ! the results of the discovery must be mo- | mentous :— but it would demand more than human wisdom to predict what those results -will be even in their immediate manifestations, or by what steps, or with what attendant circumstances to individuals or communities, the ultimate issue will be worked out. The man,howevcr,who believes that such things do not happen by chancebut that the deposition of the precious metal where it lias been found, and the discovery of it at this special juncture in the world s course, are the ordinations of a Supreme Ruler, who sees the end from the beginning, and works all things according to the counsel of an infinitely wise and gracious w i]j — can repose on the assurance that, whatever may intervene in the progress of affairs, general good will crown the whole. Whoever may live to take a retrospect of the year Eighteen Hundred and Sivty-one, will, beyond all doubt, be called to contemplate in the Islands of these Seas social, commercial, and political conditions widely differing in degree, if not in character, from those which now exist,— but on the actual nature and operation of which we could at best but very vaguely j speculate now. It seems scarcely necessary to recapitulate the leading occurrences of the year in our own Colony, as,— especially so far as they affect this Settlement— they are fresh ! upon the minds of most of our readers, A general Legislative Council was held, from which we have received, (together with various enactments of minor oi more limited importance) two measures oi general application,— the Provincial Councils Ordinance, aud the Customs Ordinance including a newly arranged Tariff oi

Duties. The former, however it may bo found fault with by impracticable and habitual fault-finders, we have always upheld, to the best of our ability, as a "step in the right direction," — a valuable "instalment" of Free Institutions. If it should bo superseded by a more liberal and beneficial plan in the Now Constitution we are led to look for this year from the Imperial Legislature, the least that can be admitted is that no harm will have been done by this preliminary introduction of the principle of Representation. As to the remodelled Tariff, the experience of its working- which our importers have had leaves little doubt of the necessity for its being* remodelled again at the earliest opportunity. The substitution of fixed for act valorem duties on many articles unquestionably is a protection to the honest trader, and so far the measure is not open to any fair objection ; but the particular duties levied on some articles are so extravagantly high as to amount to a serious injury and injustice. In the Southern Settlement, the complicated affairs of the— technically defunct, but still harassingly mischievous, — New Zealand Company, are undergoing arrangcmentin accordance with the rcgiilations^of the New Zealand Company's Land Olaiman ts Ordinance ;--al though some land-claim-ants arc dissatisfied with the adjustment, and still rue the day in which they first listened to tlio.spccious but deceptive promises of the sordid traffickers of Broad-street Buildings ; — while the Company's attempt even now to extort a further sum of .£2G8,000 from a Colony which they have already deeply wronged and sweepingly plundered, is eliciting a sustained and indignant outcry from every one of the Settlements... ...Canterbury, the youngest of our Settlements, has been founded on a principle of ecclesiastical exclusivoncss^ which is as a worm gnawing at the root of its prosperity, but which, not improbably will at no distant day, work its own destruction, leaving the fine tract of country, oil which ii now inflicts embarrassment, to become the free and happy homo of settlers, without sectarian distinction In the Auckland Settlement, the vacancy occasioned by the death of the respected General Pitt has been filled l}y a Lieutenant-Go-vernor who, we trust, will be preserved from the " woe" threatened against those of whom " all men speak well ;" for certainly Colonel Wynyard's administration of the local governmcnt,during Sir George Grey's long absence, has won golden opinions from all classes and parties in the community. There has not arisen any great questions to test his statesmanship, but in the affairs which have come before him, he has obtained general commendation and gratitude The year has also been distinguished by the incorporation of the Auckland District, thus constituting it the first Municipal Institution actually established " under the immediate sanction of the Eoyal Authority" in New Zealand. In the exercise of a franchise noavy tantamount to universal, the householders of the Borough have elected their Common Council, and that Council is now I charged with a weighty responsibility, I not merely to their own constituents but to the colony at largo ;— for they are reasonably expected to construct a model to which future Corporations — in the Hutt, Nelson, and elsewhere — may in some degree look for the guidance supplied by sound precedent j and their official conduct (both positively and negatively— both as respects what they do and what they do not do) will naturally be canvassed not only^tn the other Settlements but probably at home also. Only a few weeks have elapsed since their inauguration, and we can as yet but bear testimony to their diligence in meeting, and in seeking out information on the matters confided to them : at this season next year the public will be in a position to pronounce its verdict on their discharge of thei r r onerous but honourable duties... The Agricultural affairs of our Settlement have made satisfactory progress during the year. At one. period during its course bread rose to an " alarming price, but the pressurehappily proved only temporary. We have now an ample supply of cheap food, and our farmers — European and Maori — have been quickened to augmented effort especially in the cultivation of wheat, so that we have, perhaps more than in any previous year, a prospect of gathering in rich abundance " Seed for the sower, and bread for the eater." Shall we be pardoned if we add to our enumeration of some of the occurrences of the year-— as interesting to ourselves at least, — the Enlargement of the New Zrahnder, which has afforded us space to lay before our readers so much more of the current news of the day, Local, Home, and Foreign, than it would have been possible to compress within our former limits ? We have, so far as our knowledge and ability went, endeavoured to make the best use of ouv augmented space, for the information and entertainment of all classes of readers ; and we trust that the year upon which we are entering will show rather an advance than a deterioration in .this respect. It only remains that we thank our friends and supporters for the kind encouragement which this journal has received, and that we coidially wish to them and our fellow-settlers generally A Hapfy New Year.

By the lliomama, which reached our harbour on Weduesday, we have Sydney papers from the 1 7th to the 20th December. The bulk of the mail, dating from the sailing of the Moa, was on board the Emma, which left Sydney on the 17th, but has not yet arrived. We have also Hobart Town papers to the 10th ult., in which we find various scraps of English news to the Ist of September, taken from the Melbourne papers. We have selected the most interesting items from two or three summaries in these journals, and give them in another part of our paper. There was little intelligence from Home of any public importance. Tl»e news from the Australian gold-fields continued of nearly the same character as that brought by former arrivals, except that the quantities of the precious metal found in Victoria had increased tonnextraoidinary amount, surpassing anything hithcito realized in New South Wales—unwilling as the Sydney folk, seem to admit the fact. In one week, gold to the value of upwards of £100,000 had been, brought into Melbourne. The quantity biought

into Sydney for the week ending December 19 wai £30,000. Still, many seekers did not find the treasure, and a number had left the Turon diggings. . The election to the Mayoralty of Sydney had lesulted in the return of Mr. Hill. Ihe numbers were, Hill, 1258; Wilsuire, 368; TIERNEY, 307. Mr. Spain had resigned his office as commissioner of Police, in consequence, it would seem, of disagreements with Aulhoiities to whose dictation he was not willing to bow. lint we have no particulars of the affair. According to the Market Report of Dec. 1 9, Flour was £13 for fine, and £11 for seconds, per ton, at Messrs. Barker's mill ;— £14 for tine, and £12 for seconds, at Mr. Biuellm-'s. A very destructive fire had taken place in Hobart Town. The price of Wheat at Hobart Town on the 9th ult. was from 4s. to 4s. 6d. per bushel ; Flour, £13 per ton. At Launceston, on the 7th ult., Wheat, was at about 4s, 6d., and fine Flour £11 per ton. The Colonial Times states that several baker? who had speculated l.irgely in wheat when it was 10s- per bushel, and was expected to reach a higher figure, had incurred heavy losses. Four bakers in Launceston had lost to the amount of £10,000. We notice several other articles in these papers which we can use more satisfactorily when we receive the intermediate files at piesent wanting.

A Government Gazette was published yesterday afternoon. Its principal contents ate, a Proclamation of the names of a number of persons declared by the Governor-in-Chief to be naturalized, until the next Session of the Legislative Council, according to the provisions of the Ordinance of last Session, No. 9;— a re-publication (in an amended form) of the Regulations respecting the settlement in certain British Colonies of Military and Naval Officers ;— a List of Accepted Tenders ;— the appointment of Thomas Henry Smith, Esq., as Resident Magistrate of the Rotorua District ;— lnvitations for Tenders for the construction of a Wooden Bridge over the arm of the Tamaki, between Otahuhu and I-lowick, and for the erection of a Lunatic Asylum,— the tenders in both instances to be sent in by the 20th of this month ;— and a Return of the Sale of Crown lands on the lSth of December, showing as the proceeds £144 6s. sd.