New Zealand Colonist. FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 1843.

New Zealand Colonist and Port Nicholson Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 90, 9 June 1843, Page 2

New Zealand Colonist. FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 1843.

Ws referred in our paper of Friday to a topic to which we have more than once before adverted, but which is of too-great importance to the interests of the landholders in this district not to be brought forward prominently, and in compensation allowed by the Government in respect of the funds contributed by the settlers in this district, and devoted to the purposes of emigration. The time has now arrived for some demonstration on the part of the landholders in reference to this property. They have waited, in silence at least, if not patiently, for some recognition by the Company of their claims to a share in the' benefits which this liberal concession might be-made to produce: but they have waited in vain. Not merely does ’it appear ’ that the Company is unconscious even of the very existence of any such claims—but that while appropriating without a word of acknowledgment the property for which the landowners have paid, it will not take the necessary measures to • put them in possession of the fraction of this large grant which it originally contracted to sell,. If, therefore, anything is to be hoped for,- it is from an appeal to the English Legislature and Government; and that appeal cannot long be delayed.

It can hardly be necessary to remind our readers that the Home Government allowed to the Company four acres of land for every pound which they had expended for public purposes, and that the first purchasers of land contributed 100,000/. ; the whole, or nearly the whole of which has been thus expended. By means of the mdney thus contributed, the' Company consequently has become entitled to four-diundred thousand acres. Allowing, for the sake of argument, that the settlers have no legal claims to this boon, it cannot be denied that there was a strong moral obligation upon the Company so to deal with it as to render them indirectly at least partakers in its advantages. If the land was not to be shared among us -in to our original stake in the undertdking, it ought to have been made the means of maintaining a constant stream of emigration to this p6rt, and to have furnished a fund for loans for public works of the most essential character. So far, however, from this having been -the case, the Company had no sooner obtained these favorable'terms from the Government, than-it began to raise "up rival settlements, and to divert, instead of augmenting the tide of emigration that was setting in to this district, while its contribution to public works has been of the most niggardly character. We have, indeed, been assured that the construction of roads has been absolutely forbidden, and that we owe those which have been commenced, not to the liberality of the Company, but to the public spirit of their Agent. But whether this be so or not, the sum thus expended has been absolutely insignificant in comparison not merely with the wants of the community, but with the funds which ought to be devoted to this purpose.

In contemplating any appeal to the Home Government on this subject, it is right that we should look at the probablte intentions of the Secretary for the colonies when he entered into this arrangement with the Company. From a consideration of the circumstances, we think it apparent that Lord John Russell must have supposed he was to that extent benefiting the actual purchasers of land. Otherwise he would have been introducing a most unjust distinction between the purchasers from the Company and other claimants of land

'in this colony. In the correspondence which announced to the Company the liberal intentions of the Government, his Lordship stated, that he intended to apply to all other purchasers of land in New Zealand, the same rule of allowing four acres for every pound expended by them. Under this arrangement, however, as understood by the Company—we, who in -May, 1839, paid one hundred pounds for one hundred acres ,of land, are to have our one hundred acres and nothing more, while a person • who, in December in the same year, paid one hundred pounds in goods to the natives, was to have four hundred acres. We who contributed funds for a great public undertaking in the highest degree beneficial to the colony and the mother country, are to take land at a pound per acre — w hile others who have contributed not one farthing to any public purpose, are to take thfeir land "at the rkte of five shillings. So that, if instead of the regular orderly and established community which we planted on these shores we had come out as a party of adventurers each buying land ’fdr himself, we should have had each four times the quantity of land which we are now to TCceive. This certainly is a heavy blow, and great discouragement to any orderly and peaceful combination for the attainment of a great public end, and we are quite convinced that it could, not have been contemplated, by Lord'John Russell. That the Government would recognize, and the legislature Would give effect to our claim if fairly -brought before them we cannot permit 'ourselves to doubt. The question would lie between . the settlers and the Company, and'there is not one ground of public serVite or off personal right, which could be urged by the latter. They have no merit, and can lay claim to • none,- beyond that of having spent our money.. They have not even the Claim, such as it might have been, of having incurred a risk of loss' by accepting our money as the price of land whieh they might not have been able to give to us —for they now coolly repudiate any obligation even to give us possession of land. And as the claims of the whole of the first .purchasers, including those at Wanganui and New Plymouth, would only absorb 600,000 acres out of : the million to which the Company is entitled, there would still be 400,000 acres, as a compensation for the trouble and expense which it has incurred. We believe that it is only requisite to put ourselves in communication with the landholders in England, and to take means for being efficiently represented before the House of Commons and the government to aequire that to which we are so clearly entitled. And if this were 'done we should have the satisfaction of knowing that our progress then depended upon ourselves alone. We require nothing but capital and laboi to turn to account the fertile lands which surround us—and it is only necessary to convince the people of Eagland that we have an abundance of such land accessible and easily brought under cultivation to ensure an ample supply of these two elements of prosperity. The details of the measures requisite for this .purpose are neither difficult nor complicated ; and we believe they have already been to a considerable extent digested and arranged by Dr. Evans, for the purpose of laying a'plan before the Company for the settlement of the ’Wairarapa district. It would, however, be far better if this plan were taken up by the settlers, and we hope soon to see some measures taken in order to accomplish this object. We shall not lose sight of the subject.

We extract the following Communication from a private letter, dated Sydney, May 17, 1843. “ The man L s has obtained a very good situation here, and I think if more of the labourers and mechanics were to come to Sydney they would all procure employment. With us the sufferers are principally among the middle or mercantile classes of capitalists and settlers, the lower orders being comparatively rich always receiving good wages and cheap food. Every day adds to the list of bankruptcies. I am not much surprised at the Barrier Island concern failing, it never was in favour. The wife and family of John Jones embark next week for New Zealand, whither he will shortly follow.

About a fortnight ago, the Directors of the Sydney Banking Company discovered that their Manager, Cashier, and all the clerkis,had,, with several others, overdrawn their accounts to the amount of 36,0.00/. The knowledge of this spreading caused a serious commotion in a few days, iollowed by a run upon the Savings Bank. Fortunately, many mischievous reports in circulation have been stopped, and the banks with the exception of the Australian, have resumed their wonted confidence. The Manager and Cashier of the Sydney Bank having been dismissed for falsifying their statements of the Bank’s affairs at a previous meeting of the proprietors summoned to invite enquiry into their concerns, arisiUg out of the extraordinary proceedings of the Australian, which about that time created great alarm for bank property. “ We reckon upon having 400,000 bushels of wheat in Sydney shortly, and I state upon good report that never was produce of all kinds cheaper than at the present time. This, I fear, will cause a fearful reaction* for many have signified their determination to give up cultivation, so long as our ports are open to foreign productions and the present disproportion in the rate of labour disables them from competing in what ought to be regarded as our staple articles of commerce.”

Our friends at Auckland appear to be going ahead if we may judge from the list of their articles of export which we have copied from the Chronicle of the 20th of April. We shall be highly gratified when we are able to insert a similar table in our journal: Exports. —Spars (of any size and quantity) nomina , Kauri, boards and scantling per 100 ft. I Os’. Kaiketki do. 9s. 6d. Flax, per ton 14/. 10s. Oil, sperm, 707. Black whale, 20/. Whalebone, per ton 75/. Tortoise shell, per lb 15s, Potatoes?, per ton 3/. to 3/. 10s, Pork, salt, 35/. Pigs, per lb 3d. to 3£d. Maize, (601 b) bushel 4s. 6d. Bacon, per cwt. 21. 16s. Hams, per lb iOd. Lard, sd. Sharks’ fins, per ton 20/. Bark, 6/. Onions, per cwt. 10s> 6&. "Sulphur, per ton 10/.

We are happy to hear that Mr. John Wade’s party at Palliser Bay, have captured two whales, one of which turned out ten tons of oil, a rare occurrence we believe on the coast. Considering the early stage of the season, every thing seems to promise a highly successful one.~ New Zealand Gazette.