The New=Zealander.

New Zealander, Volume 8, Issue 615, 6 March 1852, Page 2

The New=Zealander.

Bo lint and fear not : Let all tne ends thou aims't at, be thy Country*, Thy Gem's, and Truth's. '

AUCKLAND, SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 1852.

The movement in this Borough in opposition to the New Zealand Company's sordid and unjustifiable Claim, has, so far as Petitioning is concerned, been brought to the successful conclusion which might have been securely anticipated for it. The Petitions to both Houses of Parliament (a copy of which we published a few days since) have been forwarded by the Moa, j bearing the signatures of upwards of seven hundred and fifty residents of the Auckland district, —a number exceeding in the proportion of about eight to five the largest number of names which we have ever heard that any previous Petition from the district bore. It is right to add, however, that the lists would undoubtedly have been greatly increased —indeed we are persuaded, might have been augmented by the names of nearly, if not entirely, every adult inhabitant ot the Borough —had there been a longer time available for the purpose. Only an inadequate view of these Petitions however is afforded by this numerical strength. The respectability of the parties who appended their names, arising from long standing in the colony, or property, or education, or position in society, or some other cause, should be taken into account; as well as the intelligent manner in which the signatures were given (almost every one fully understanding not only ivlvat he was doing but why he was doing it). Moreover, the thoroughly open and above-board manner in which the whole matter was conducted from first to last is not to be overlooked. All these considerations unite to stamp the Petitions with importance, and entitle them to be respected -as 'the wellconsidered, unhesitating, and unanimous voice of "this portion of the Province. We have mentioned that the Petition to the House of Commons was to be entrusted to the care of Mr. Gladstone for presentation, and the Petition to the House of Lords to the Duke of Newcastle. The choice made by the Committee will, in each case, we have no doubt, commend itself to the judgment of the Petitioners. With respect to the noble Duke, Mr. Fox, (whose testimony on such a matter as this may perhaps be admissible), says in a recent letter to hi 3 " constituents' at Wellington, —" I have had several interviews with his Grace during the events, and have found him thoroughly informed on the New Zealand Question in all its bearings. * * From his Grace's high character as a Statesman, and his ability as a politician, you may rely upon his doing whatever he undertakes thoroughly and well, and feel assured that the interests of the colony could not be in better hands." The Independent assures its readers that " The Duke of Newcastle and Mr. Gladstone have, iy means of the information afforded them by Air. Fox become thoroughly masters of the New Zealand question from beginning to end; and have publicly announced their determination to go through with it, and make it the great Question of next session." It is true that these statements refer mainly to the political arrangements respecting the expected Constitution; and it also true that, if the Duke of Newcastle and Mr. Gladstone were so dependent for their views of New Zealand on Mr. Fox's representations as the words which we have printed .in italics would convey, it would augur badly for anything promotive of the welfare of New Ulster. But they are men of large observation, honest minds, and independent sources of information, and will, we are satisfied judge for themselves as to the merits of our case. They have been invited to do so in letters which, at the request of the Committee, the Mayor has addressed to them

I respectively on forwarding the Petitions. ' As these communications form a part of the history of this movement wo deem it expedient to introduce them here. To the Right Hon. W. E. Gi^dsionb, M. P. Sir, — Having, as Mayor of the Borough of Auckland i« New Zealand, presided over a large Public Meeting, at which Petitions to Parliament praying that no portion of the alleged Debt to the New Zealand Company may be imposed on the Province of New Ulster were unanimously resolved on, the duty devolves upon me of respectfully requesting that you will be pleased to present to the House of Commons the Petition forwarded by this Mail to your address; and that \ou will, so far as on consideration of its purport you may feel free to do so, give it your powerful support in the House. It is my very agreeable charge to express to you the grateful appreciation universally entertained here of the stand which you have made, on broad and truly British constitutional principles, against the original scheme of the, New Zealand Settlements' Bill of last Session ; a Bill -which, had it been adopted as first proposed, would have shaken the confidence of the people of this colony in the wisdom and justice of the Home Legislature to an extent that the -warmest friends of Imperial connexion in New Zealand would have indeed deeply deplored. I speak what I believe to be the general voice, when 1 thank you for your elForts on that occasion, and say to you that the colonists of this remote and comparatively helpless — though, we think, interesting and pjtomibing— dependency of the Crown, have been greatly cheered by finding that you are to be numbered amongst their intelligent and watchful friends. The Petition for which we now aslc your advocacy will sufficiently explain itself;— especially when taken in connection with the Report of the Meeting at which it was resolved upon,— copies of which we take leave to forward to you. The strength of our case lies in (lie fact that this Province of New Ulster has not been a sphere of the New Zealand Company's operations ; that, on the contrary, that Company has, in the pursuance of its commercial speculations in the South of New Zealand, done us grievous and unmerited injury; and that, therefore, whatever Parliament may determine as to the equity of the Company's demand on the Settlements upon which it has expended money, there cannot be any pretext for charging us in this Province with the obligation of remunerating parties who have only done us wrong from the first day of their incorporation. With all respect we would ask that you would be pleased to move that our Petition be read in the House, and that the signatures to it may not pass without notici. It is the most numerously signed Petition evor forwarded from the North of New Zealand; ,-It bears -the name of persons who, upon purely political grounds, have perhaps never so agreed Nearly all the Justices of the Peace in this district have signed it. Ministers of Religion of different denominations (who, we are happy to say, are not demagogues or political agitators in this colony) have, as you may perceive, deemed thid a case in which they also were called on to add their weight. Under all these circumstances, we place the.Petition in your hands, Sir; and we entertain no doubt that you will not deem it unworthy of attention amidst nil your engagements ; and that our hopes respecting your care for New Zealand will not be disappointed. 1 have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, Arciid. Clvbk, Mayor of Auckland.

To His Grace the Duke of Newcastle. My Lord Duke, Permit me to perform an agreeable duty which has been laid upon me, as Mayor of the Borough of Auckland and Chairman of a large Public Meeting lately held here, by respectfully requesting that your Grace mil .be pleased to present to the House of Lords, and to favour with your support, the Petition to their 'Lordships forwai'ded herewith. The purport of it is % Prayer that no part of the Claim of the New Zealand Company may be imposed upon the Revenues of the Province of New Ulster, j for reasons which are succinctly stated in the Petition, and which will, the Petitioners trust, commend themselves as satisfactory to your Grace's mind. The kind interest which your Grace has taken in the affairs of New Zealand is well knowu to the Petitioners, and gratefully appreciated by them in common with their fellow colonists ; and they venture to anticipate with confidence "that they may calculate on your powerful aid to avert the injustice against which they now address Pariiament. Permit me to add that the Petition is by far. the most numerously signed that has ever proceeded from the North. "of .New Zealand, and that the signatures include the names not only of persons of widely different views in politics, but also of many — ministers of\religion and others — who rarely take uny part in movements of a political character. I have the honour to be, > My Lord Duke, ¥ ! our Grace's most humble servant, Archd. Clauk, Mayor of Auckland. All that could be done within the time has thus been accomplished to place this subject, as regards New Ulster, fairly before Parliament ; and we will not so far insult " the wisdom and justice" of the Legislature as to doubt that the statements embodied in this Petition will receive attention and make an impression. But, we must not 'be too sanguine. In the New Zealand Company we have to grapple with an insidious, an unprincipled, and a powerful antagonist ; and our course must still be one of incessant vigilance, — constant preparedness for such further action as circumstances may require.

The rumours alleging the existence of gold at the Island of Waiheki, to which we spme weeks since adverted, have by no means passed out of circulation, although they have received no such corroboration as to transfer them from the ill-defined regions over which Rumour presides to the solid and ascertainable territory of Reality. Still, however, there are tales of gold existing — gold found — gold visible if not in its actual materiality as a yellow metal, yet visible in the newly-manifested comfort, credit, and appearance of the reputed gold-finders. These tales are not only told, but believed by many ; and, so far as we can form an opinion from the conversations which we daily hear on the subject, have within the last week or two gained, rather than lost, their hold upon the minds of no small number of our population. The evidence (if so it may be styled) on which this credence rests is wholly inferential. To constitute direct evidence, two conditions, we apprehend, are indispensable : — specimens of gold — pronounced to be gold by persons competent to discriminate between the precious metal and the ores which more or less closely counterfeit its appearance — must be produced ; — and it must be placed beyond doubt that those specimens have actually been found in the locality said to be auriferous, — we mean for instance, that they have not been imported from California or Australia, and, through accident or a hoax presented

ns native products. Now. far as any information before the public extends, these conditions certainly have not hitherto been fulfilled with regard to Waiheki ; and therefore we say the conclusion at which those who credit the reports of a gold-field there have arrived, can only be "spelled out," from a combination of circumstances which, taken collectively, seem to conduct to it. The inference is one in which, more than in many others, the ' wish may have given not only origination to the thought, but an increase of plausibility keeping pace with the growth of its own strength. Still, it is most desirable that the fact in this case, whatever it may be, should, if possible, be ascertained, in order that the public mind may be set at rest on the subject ; and we think it worthy the consideration of Government whether steps should not be taken to institute such an investigation as, if gold be procurable in Waiheki (of which for our own part we must confess we remain very sceptical), would be likely, if not certain, to bring the treasure to light ; or, on the other hand, if it be not, would preserve all reasonable minds from being further agitated in a pursuit thus clearly shown to be visionary. We trust that the attention of {the LieutenantGovernor will be directed to the matter on his return. Until His Excellency's arrival we suppose it would be in vain to expect any measure of the kind. His absence Las proved a great hindrance to many local movements of importance, — as could be testified by the Committee of the Lunatic Asylum, by the Committee of the projected Freehold Land Association; and others, — to say nothing of the matters more immediately pertaining to the Common Council, the members of which (some of them at least), are abundantly competent to state their own grievances. Perhaps < olonel Wynyard's official activity and diligence while he was here, have caused his absence to be more sensibly felt ; and it is well known that that absence has been, not voluntary on his part, but rendered necessary by his other duties as Commander of the Troops. Still, the inconvenience and even injury of having virtually no Government at the Capital of the Colony have been so painfully experienced that we cannot be surprised to hear such questions frequently put as — Seeing that a Governor-m-Chief and two Lieutenant-Governors receive large salaries from the Public Revenue, might not one of them be always at the Capital? Should the whole three of these high official functionaries be congregated in the South, while Auckland is for so lengthened a period left without any functionary qualified to give effect to various important movements ? This, however, is digressing from our immediate purpose, which was to express a hore that, amongst the benefits to be anticipated from his Excellency's return, one may be the speedy adoption of some means for quieting the minds now unsettled by the rumours of the alleged gold discovery.

We direct the best attention of our readers to a document which appears in our columns to-day, from the pen of Dr. Thomson, of the 58th Regiment, assuring them that they will find it so well worth perusal and subsequent consideration as to moreUhan justify the high terms of commendation with which Sir George Grey accompanied his transmission of it to Earl Grey (for, although, of course, prepared and presented to the Government here, the JReport was not published in this Colony, and now only travels back .to us through the Australian and New Zealand Gazette, which we presume has copied it from a Blue Book recently issued at ,home.) JThe subject is, " The Influence of the Climate of , the North Island of New Zealand in the Production and Prevention of Disease among Emigrants from Great Britain snd Ireland; with a few Remarks on the Advantages which the Island possesses as a Convalescent Station from India and China." The observations on which the Paper is founded were made in the period from the Ist April, 1848, to the 31st March, 1850; and the large opportunities which the writer enjoyed of " observing" have been turned to the best account in the comprehensive and able Report now before us. Dr. Thomson argues in the most conclusive manner to show the remarkable salubrity of our district for emigrants,, and, moreover, its superiority to the Cape of Good Hope, .the Mediterranean, the Australian Continent, or even Great Britain itself, as a residence for Europeans who have lost their health in India, China, or within the Tropics. The Report altogether is most creditable to the author, and calculated not merely to to be interesting, but highly valuable in extending in England, correct views of the climate and healthy character of this part of New Zealand — views which, coming before the public with the official approbation by which they are introduced, will necessarily be received with more than ordinary attention and confidence.