The New Zealander.

New Zealander, Volume 8, Issue 657, 31 July 1852, Page 2

The New Zealander.

Be iut.t and fenr not • Let nil tlie ends tliou aiin'st at, be thj' Country's, Thy God's, and Truth'!..

AUCKLAND, SATURDAY, JULY 3., 1552.

We are now in possession of the "Wellington journals to the 10th instant; but we might have been enabled to place their contents before our readers in our last number had it not been for a dilatoriness in bringing the mail from Manakau to Auckland, which seems so wholly without excuse that we should be wanting 1 in our duty to the public if we did not call the attention of the authorities to it, with a view of preventing 1 the recurrence of such disregard of the interests and convenience of the community. The Eclair arrived in Manakau on Tuesday; the Captain himself arrived in this town on that day and entered the vessel at the Customs,— ergo the mail might undoubtedly have been here also, as the weather was beautifully tranquil. But it had not arrived at the hour for closing the Post Office, had not arrived on Wednesday morning, or at mid-day on Wednesday, and it was only a short time before the hour of closing that it was delivered. The annoyance in this instance might have been especially great, as had there been political news of interest (as some thought not improbable), instead of being before the community on Wednesday morning, it could not have been published until yesterday; and moreover the mail by the Gwalior for the South had been announced as about to be closed, and the opportunity of answering letters was thus likely to be lost. It is not our habit or disposition to complain unnecessarily ; — wo are always most willing to give credit where we can, and it is frequently our ' agreeable task to do so with reference to j our Post Office ; but this was a case of negligence for which grave blame must rest somewhere, and which it is clearly imperative on the authorities to inquire into. Our means of inter-communication with the other settlements are quite scanty and irregular enough at the best, without being unnecessarily hindered and made worse, for no other conceivable reason than to save somebody a little trouble, or the establishment a very little outlay. Might not the parties entrusted with the charge of the Onehunga branch of the Post Office be required to see that malls for Auckland, arriving at Manakau, should be forwarded to the General Post Office without delay ? If by the term " news" we understand only new facts, then there was little news of general interest at Wellington. There had been no recent arrival from England ; the intelligence of the change of Ministry had not reached the South, and even the opening of Parliament had been learned only indirectly from Sydney. There is no intimation that the Despatches, which arc known to have been several weeks in the colony, had as yet come into the hands of the Governor-in-Chief; indeed we have been told that when they were last heard of they were only at Taranaki en route. What was wanting in fact, was however, after a fashion, more than supplied by speculation and argument, especially in relation to the Provincial Councils Ordinance, which the Independent would have it was "disallowed," although, on a careful perusal of all we can find in the Southern papers on the subject, we arc satisfied that no more — indeed not :is much— was known there as here, and that the assertion was only a magnified and distorted representation of the passage in Lord Grey's Despatch with which our readers are now fully acquainted. In New Minister, however, Sir George Grey's Proclamation and the accompanying letter had necessarily excited an eager anticipation of intelligence from the Home Government, as, until the receipt of that intelligence, the number of Provinces and the number of members must remain undetermined; consequently, no immediate steps could be taken for the elections, and all that was open in the way of direct action was the registration of voters, so as to complete the electoral roll, and thus be in state of readiness when the expected Instructions should arrive. The question had been mooted by the opponents of the Ordinance whether, they should not attempt to defeat it by urging the people not to register ; but as it is evident that, to succeed in a movement like this, entire unanimity is essential (for the Electoral Roll will be valid however small may be the number enrolled on it) nearly all had come to the conclusion that it was their wisdom to prefer their claims to vote. In this view, the Independent enforces on its readers the counsel of the late Sir Robert Peel to " fight the battle of the Constitution in the Registration Courts." The Spectator of course urges registration, and copies with more than one approving comment an article from our contemporary, the Southern Cross, on the subject. Thus, the Spectator observes — " In the Southern Cross of the 9th of June, a journal politically opposed to Sir George Grey's administration, there is an article which gives judicious reasons why the people should come forward and accept the Provincial Councils Ordinance.".... The Nelson Examiner, while it maintains strongly the position that municipalities with large powers, combining local with more extended functions, would be the best form of selfgovernment, yet earnestly advises the settlers to lose no time in registering. At Otago a similar advice is urged. The Canterbury papers stand alone in giving contrary counsel. Mr. Godley seems resolved to thwart the measure if he can ; but that his power will not keep pace with his will appears probable, from (amongst other indications) a sensible letter from Mr. Brittan, in which, whilo he expresses considerable dissatisfaction with the Ordinance itself, he censures the mode of proceeding recommended by the Lyttelion limes as " crude

and childish," and asks—" If like petulant sulky children, who can't have all they ask [ at once, we stand up in a corner and say we wont have anything at all to do with it, — whose nose do we bite but our own % You will get no unanimous concurrence in such a course, and if not unanimous, your object j such as it is, is frustrated." This is homely I common sense, and is likely to outweigh in the minds of the majority all Mr. Godlcy's I partisan hostility, especially as it is known j that a chief objection entertained by that gentleman against the measure is that it is too liberal,— that it gives to " men of no note or standing" an influence which Mr. Godley would centralize in the hands of himself and a select few. With reference to the whole subject the Spetator winds up an article with the following 1 remarks, — which (on the assumption that they are founded on some information or authority) suggest one or two points worthy of consideration :—: — The plan proposed by Sir George Grey does not depend entirely on the adoption of the Provincial Councils Ordinance ; and this fact should be carefully borne in mind by our readers. Put aside the Ordinance as it now stands ; let it be either more restricted by the introduction of Mr. Godley's high rate of franchise,. or more enlarged by the removal of the nominee principle, the plan in all its other parts remains complete. The Ordinance in fact appears to form a part, and a small part only, of the whole scheme, a link only of the great chain wherewith the political structure is to be bound together and strengthened — still, as now framed, there must be a greater diffusion of power under it than if nomineeism were j excluded from it, and a higher rate of franchise imposed. Jt may be doubtful whether the whole of Sir George Grey's plan will be sanctioned by Parliament. To one part of it the Duke of Newcastle is said to be opposed, and it is that part to which we have already alluded. No doubt our readers will say the opposition comes from an unexpected quarter. It ib certainly a singular anomaly in in this age of reform — abroad constitutionalism contending against absolutism, in our colonies a cry for free institutions and self government — to find a Governor supported by the Colonial office, willing and anxious to bestow on a colony a constitution of a most liberal nature, and a class of men professing to be reformers as anxiously bent on thwarting- such a wish. Tho Government Gazette announced the appointment of Andrew Richmond, Esq., to be Assistant Private Secretary to the Governor-in-Ohief, in place of G. S. Cooper, Esq., appointed Inspector of Police at New Plymouth; and James Hay Wodehouse, Esq., to be Clerk of the Executive Council of New Munster, in place of John Ormond, Esq., resigned. The disputes between Mr. Enderby, late Lieutenant-Governor of the Auckland Islands, and Messrs. Dundas and Preston, Special Commissioners of the Southern Whale Company, had occupied the Supreme Court for three or four days. Tne Attor-ney-General and Mr. King appeared for the plaintiff (Mr. Enderby); Dr. Evans, Mr. Hart, and Mr. Ross for the defendants ; and some knotty points of law wero argued at great length. So far as the merits of the case are concerned, it seems clear either that Mr. Enderby had been a most im.competent and disobedient Commissioner of the Company, or that Messrs. Dundas and Preston had treated him with singular injustice and tyranny; but which of these conclusions is the true one, or how far there was some right and some wrong on each side, it is very difficult to determine from the report of the proceedings. Mr. Justice Stephen's decision throws no great light on tho subject : — it was, that the defendants had not gone beyond the scope of their poY<2r, and that consequently the action of trespass brought by the plaintiff would not lie ; but still that the plaintiff had grounds for bringing the action sufficient to induce the Court to make no order for costs. His Honor added that " the conduct of the defendants towards the plaintiff was not what it ought to have been, and that the plaintiff' probably had a good cause of action against the Company for breach of contract.",..ln another trial between the same parties, -relating to the schooner Black Dog, it was arranged that Mr. Enderby should transfer the vessel to the Company on the receipt of £400, — which sum was to be repaid if it should be found to exceed the balance due him on a settlement of ac- ! counts. Meanwhile every question in the j transactions remained open for Mr. Enderbery to dispute with the Company if he should see nt to do so. A Deputation from a Public Meetinghad waited on the Governor on the subject of the promised erection of a Lighthouse at the entrance of the Harbour of Port Nicholson. It appeared that the Lighthouse had not yet been ordered from hngland, but his Excellency engaged, as a temporary expedient, to cause the immediate erection of a dwelling-house for a lightkeeper on Pencarrow Plead, with a semicircular window affixed to it at which lights will be placed. Amongst the arrivals from England vid Lyttelton, by the Stag, were Mr. William Bowler, formerly Shipping Agent for the New Zealand Company, and more recently for the Canterbury Association, who intends to make Wellington his future residence ; and Dr. Evans, one of the projectors of the settlement A service of plate, value 100 guineas, had been presented to Dr. Featherston by the Resident Land Purchasers under the New Zealand Company The old and well known native E Puni had been received into the Church of England ; he was baptized by Archdea • con Hadfield, in the presence of a large congregation of Natives, Sir George Grey and Lady Cirey being also present. Flour was £24 per ton, and Bread sd. the 21bs loaf, at Wellington. The fact of the discovery of a coppermine in immediate proximity to the j "Dun Mountain," near Nelson, had been confirmed in a formal report from Mr. W. L. Wrey, the Government Geologist, to Major Richmond. Mr. Wrey stated that " the lode contains very rich metal in very great abundance," and that " the entire region of the deposit is of a true mineralogical character, very much resembling the mining ground around Dartmoor." Mr Wrey also declares that he has ascertained ihe existence of a pure limestone in amazing abundance on the route between Nelson and the mine. The Nelsonians were further cheerecT by the continued prospect of obtaining coal from Massacre Bay on satisfactory terms, the Government having

completed the purchase of the remaining 1 portion of the district in which it has been found,

In the Despatch accompanying the Proclamation of the Auckland "Municipal Charter, the Governor-in-Chief remarked, — " The conduct and mode of proceeding of the first Council -will probably give a tone to, and stamp for years to come, the character of the governing body of the Borough." In the commencement of the year, wo endeavoured to impress the force of this observation on our represents, tires; and, -while hope on the subject could be cherished, we clung to a hope that, amidst much which should be shunned rather than copied, there still might arise in their conduct some redeeming features worthy of imitation by their successors. But the majority have long since banished every such anticipation from our minds ; and the scene enacted on "Wednesday forces from us the expression of an earnest desire that we may never see such a display again,— at all events under the name of Self-Governrnent, and as an exemplification of the working of those Free Institutions the advent of which many were ready to hail as the dawn of a political and social millennium.' The circumstances under which the extraordinary (extraordinary in more than one sense) meeting on Wednesday was held, are briefly these. After having squandered nearly six months, including the whole of the summer, in utterly profitless "playing at legislators" the Common Council determined to suspend their sittings until the week before the assembling of the Legislative Council, — an event which was not then, as it is not now : at all likely to occur during the remaining portion of the present municipal year. The pretext for this act of corporate self-annihilation was the want of funds ; but that this was little beyond a pretext is evident from the fact that at the very period when the step was taken, a sum of £1600 lay in the Treasury awaiting the acceptance of the Common Council : that sum was to be augmented from time to time by one-third of the proceeds of the land sales within the Borough, an augmentation which, since the Bth of May, when the Resolution was passed, has actually amounted to about £900 — (we beg Mr. Newman's critical attention to these figures) ; so t'^at, to say nothing of what may be realized by sales during the coming three or four months, the Common Council might have had alr&xdy the expenditure of two thousand five hundred pounds sterling at their discretion for the benefit of the Borough. To be sure, this was less than £18,000, which they went through the solemn farce of asking for, with the perfect knowledge that they could not get it; still much good might have been done with even£2,ooo,by judicious management But as they could not have and do every thing, they would have or do nothing ; and accordingly they abandoned their posts and their trusts at the setting in of the winter, leaving the streets and roads — in the state in which their constituents new find them, and without having made a, single one of the numerous greatly needed local regulations, which, with little or no expense, they could easily have brought into operation. Thus the matter stood until the present month, when the Government, finding that the Mayor still exercised at least so much of his functions as in his official capacity to call and preside over a public meeting, suggested the propriety of the Council's performing that portion of their duties which related to taking precautions against fire, and ordaining rules for the cleansing of the streets,and the prevention of the dangerous but common practice of furious riding and driving, — a practice which within even the last week has placed more than one life in jeopardy. No doubt this might seem a -very plebeian occupation for gentlemen who had assumed to themselves the privilege of discussing matters of stat e ; who had luxuriated in quotations from Blue Books, and onslaughts on the Colonial Government and the Colonial Office ; and one of whom (Mr. Abraham) had had the good taste and exquisite modesty, to repudiate in his place as a Common Councillor the work of road-making and road-repairing as " a disgrace" to the Corporation. Still, it was recalling them to their legitimate business,— a business in which they might render important service to their constituents ; and the Mayor only performed his obvious duty in calling them together to decide whether they would do it or not. The way in which the recommendation was met will be more than sufficiently apparent from the report in another column, — although a report necessarily fails to convey the manner in which the proceedings were conducted. It will be seen that there was no deliberation, no attempt at argument, — nothing but an ebullition of cool, swaggering, — whatissometimes significantly called colonial— contempt for the interests of the Burgesses in the matters referred to, and disrespect towards the govovernment and the Mayor. Surely the points suggested for consideration were not unworthy of some attention, bearing as they did upon thesafety, health, and convenience of the people. The exercise of the power to make regulations involved no necessity for taxation :— indeed taxation had for a long time before the breaking up of the Council in May, been, by common consent, left out of immediate view, and it is untrue that any particular man or two saved the people from it, as no member of the Council proposed it. If Mr. Alderman O'Neill, who declaimedatthe meeting about thepreservation of the people from taxation, thinks differently, let him plainly tell the Burgesses when and by whom any proposition for taxation was brought forward and resisted —unless indeed in the instance of the judicious proposal for a tax on dogs of which the author was Mr. Newman— a member not generally suspectedof any strong wish to tax the Borough. In this instance, the outlay requisite for enactments to provide against fire, for the removal or. prevention of nuisances &c, might perhaps have been covered by a grant from the still unliquidated amount set aside by Government for the Corporation ; or, if this could not be effected, fines on the ncglectors of the regulations, the infliction of which could not

be objected to, would probably have fully covered the cost. We think, therefore, that the Council should not have been prevented by their former resolution from taking steps for the good of the Burgesses which were thus pressed upon their consideration by the Government, and which mighthavegiven themsclvessomeground on •which to maintain that their entire year of office had not been worse than wasted. Consistency is admirable, provided it be consistency in right ; consistency in wrong merits only censure ; and it would have been no dishonour to the Council had they, on even this one occasion, deviated into right. Such, however, was not their policy, and their last chance of mitigating the verdict which the community of Auckland wilt through future years pronounce on its first Common Council was contemptuously thrown away. The attacks upon the Mayor were not merely uncalled for, but palpably unjust. His leo-al right to convene a meeting of the Council when a sufficient occasion arises, is indisputable. That such an occasion did arise when the Government called upon him to do so, will, we presume, be questioned by no impartial mind. Was he individually to take upon himself the responsibility of setting at nought a call from the Executive of the Colony upon the Common Council to do their duty— in soimportanta matter, for instance, as taking precautions against fire ? Had he done so, and had a conflagration afterwards desolatsd the town, would not many voices have been ready to charge upon him a culpable negligence ? His Worship did not attempt to dictate to the Council any particular course of procedure ; he- merely brought them together in the regular way that they might hear the communication from the Government, and <^ien deal with it just as they might think fit. It was not a question to be settled hy private coversations with one or another whom he happened to meet ; but clearly one on which the Council should collectively determine. Mr. Abraham's objection that he could not see the letter because it was not at the Town Clerk's office was exceeding petty in itself, and was abundantly met,first by the fact that( whether the course be right or wrong) the Government had usually communicated with the Mayor, not the Town Clerk,— and next by the conclusive fact that the Mayor had apprised him (Mr. A.) of the receipt of the letter, and invited him to see it. His Worship's conduct in the matter will command the approbation of the thinking public, and he may afford to smile at the indecorous attacks of both Alderman O'Neill and Councillor Abraham. With regard to the disrespect shown towards the Government by these gentlemen (in whose hands nearly the whole affair was permitted to rest) the report speaks for itself. First, Alderman O'Neill led the way by an inquiry respecting other communications between the Mayor and the Colonial Secretary ,which,if it had any meaning at all, was meant to suggest the idek that some underhand plotting had been going forward between those functionaries. After that point had been decisively disposed of by the Mayor's direct denial, there came more, and still more, of similar tendency from Alderman O'Neill (who is certainly faithful to his formerly expressed purpose not to " lavish adulation" on the Lieuten-ant-Governor), and from Mr. Abraham, for whose elegancies of speech about " poking fun," "the quality of the official mind," " shams," "an old woman's pattens and garters," and so forth, we must refer to the report. But while we pass over many things which might be commented on, we cannot repress our reprobation of the ungenerous and unjust treatment LieutenantGovernor Wynyard has experienced from railers "dressed in a little brief authority," and taking advantage of their temporary elevation to deal sinister blows at the proceedings of Jlis Excellency, who, — both in his private .and his official capacity, has entitled himself to— and s has secured— the grateful and cordial esteem of the community at large. It was from him the communications proceeded which Messrs. O'Neill and Abraham treated so contumcliously, the Colonial Secretary having avowedly written only by his direction; and perhaps no single point more strikingly illustrates the animus in which the leaders of Wednesday's proceedings acted, than the recollection that even Colonel Wynyard's well-merited popularity could not shield him from their sneers and sarcasms. The close of the proceedings was worthy of what had gone before. Mr. Abraham, having finished his own speech probably, thought the subject so exhausted that no other member could have anything to say, and accordingly he left the Chamber, obsequiously followed by Alderman O'Neill. The number present was thus reduced below a quorum, and the proceedings necessarily came to an end Why the absent members of the Council were not at their posts on this special occasion is a question which they probably may be able to answer satisfactorily to their constituents : at any rate, it is one which in our opinion their constituents ought to ask.

Registration of Voters. — A notice has been posted at the Court House intimating that Saturday the 31st of July (this clay) being the last day on which claims for registration on the Provincial Council Electoral Roll can be received, the Resident Magistrate's Court will be kept open for the purpose of receiving them until four o'clock, p.m. It is to be hoped that few have neglected or forjgotten to send in their claims, but we would remind any whom it may concern that they will be excluded from the Lists, if their applications are not sent in to-day.