New Zealand Spectator AND COOK'S STRAITS GUARDIAN. Saturday, December 21, 1844.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume I, Issue 11, 21 December 1844, Page 2

New Zealand Spectator AND COOK'S STRAITS GUARDIAN. Saturday, December 21, 1844.

If, to infringe Acts of Parliament, to trample upon Ordinance! oLthe Local Legislature, to treat With utter contempt the repeated instructions of the Home Government, if, in ; short, to substitute his own will and ccprice for all laws, be the principal or the only qualification for the office of Governor, then it must be admitted that Captain Fitzroy is preeminently qualified for the office he holds, and that of all Governors he is facile princeps. The Penny Proclamation has already afforded us an opportunity of doing some justice to the adventurous spirit displayed by his Excellency in his crusade against the laws, whether of the Imperial or the Local Legislature, but, as our duty has compelled us to advert to his administration in terms of censure oftener than of praise, he might impugn our impartiality, might perchance consider himself aggrieved, if we did not call public attention to the bold and efficient manner in which he has burked the Land Claims' Ordinance. By the Ordinance passed on the 9th June, 1841, in accordance with the instructions of Lord John Russell, and confirmed by the Home Government, the maximum grant of land which the Commissioners were under any circumstances authorized to make, was 2560 acres. Captain Hobson, in February, 1842, repealed this Ordinance, and enacted another in which no limitation was put upon the size of the grants. Lord Stanley, in a long and able despatch dated December, 1842, censures Captain Hobson severely for having, by repealing the Ordinance of 1841, acted contrary to his instructions, alludes to the evils attending the accumulation of land in new colonies, in the hands of persons without capital or tks means of introducing labour, and then proceeds — " by the Ordinance of 9th June, 1841, which has been assented to by her Majesty* this evil (the accumulation of land) is guarded against by the limitation to 2560 icies, beyond which no grant can be claimed. This restriction the Ordinance now under consideration abandons, and placing no limit upon the size of the grant which each claimant may require, might prove the means of exposing New Zealand to those evils which have resulted in other colonies from throwing large and unmanageable grants into the hands of individuals unable profitably to use them. What the extent of this danger may be in the present instance, it is impossible, from the imperfect state of ray information, to calculate ; but when I see it officially reported that nearly 900 claims had been already lodged, involving demands for not less than 20,000,000 acres, I cannot think that it would be prudent in her Majesty's Government to dispense with the direct and wholesome check upon the undue acquisition of land which the former Ordinance had imposed, and which from the earliest proclamations the settlers must have been led to expect. I feel, therefore, no doubt as regards the interests of the colony at large, that they will be best consulted by reverting to the Ordinance of June, 1841. Under such circumstances, I need hardly observe that it became my duty to advise her Majesty to disallow and her Majesty is accordingly pleased to disallow this ordinance (of February, 1842). It follows, that you will be guided in future by the provisions Of the enactment of June, 1841, which will of course be revived by the disallowance of the act which repealed it." So writes Lord Stanley, but of what importance is it to Captain Fitzroy, who by his ransom of the British Flag at the Bay of Bay of Islands, by his abolition of the Customs, by his reversal of Mr. Spain's decision •t Taranaki, hy his Penny Proclamations, jiat virtually admitted that he is Governor of thefe Islands by Maori sufferance alone, whether her Majesty bi pleased to allow or disallow Ordinances f We suspect that the details of the transaction which we are now called upon to expose, will convince Lord Stanley that it is a work of supererogation on bis part to write despatches to our- present Governor, or at all events thai her Majesty's Government wou!4 do well to tend their instruction* through Hont Held, ;pMt*»«thtr.

of those "highly intelligent Chiefs," to whose meris and tomahawks his Excellency yields such implicit obedience. Captain Hobson, when he wished to get rid of the inconvenient maximum, repealed the Ordinance imposing it, and enacted another which contained no such provision. This, however, was acting according to law. Capt. Fiteroy allowed the Ordinance to remain, but j requested the Commissioners, in their awards, to pay no attention to the limitation put by it upon the size of the grants. The Commissioners, however, not having yet arrived at " that elevated position " from which so many j curious things are seen, and from which Acts ; of Parliament and Local Enactments are j viewed as so much waste paper, having apparently some absurd and antiquated notions J of the respect due to the instructions of the.. Home Government, refused to violate the Ordinance. Captain Fitzroy then took thr rssponsibility upon himself, and proceeded to j give grants far exceeding, in numerous instances, the maximum of 2560 acres. But his kind consideration has not stopped here, for he has not obliged tbe parties, to whom j these grants are made, to take their land in the district where their claims existed, or to take any land at all, but he has allowed them a credit at the Treasury i'or as many pounds I as they have had acres granted to them. This credit was issued under the name of Land Scrip, and was immediately hawked about Auckland for sale, like any other article of merchandise. It was sold willingly~at the rate of 2s. the one pound, in many instances for less, and we know that in some cases it was actually parted with iv the public houses for a pot of beer. At the Government Land Sales, the holders of this scrip are enabled to bid for any land that may be put up, their scrip, purchased at the price just stated, being by the Government at these sales deegraed equivalent to a pound sterling — so that'an acre of land, which btf the face of th,e report would appear to have been sold f»r £20, in reality cost the purchaser just .ic-j cjany shpfifigs ojr pots of btcr. instead of the Government receiv&tg the* IjgWJ sums of money reported to be realized at Mi \ laud, sales, not one farthing by this system j is ever paid into the public Treasury. But mark the position in which those parties are placed, who having purchased land in England, and paid their money into the Land Fund — there bring out a letter of credit for the amount upon the Auckland Treasury. They find that their competitors at the Land Sales are the Auckland settlers who have purchased the scrip at the prices above mentioned ; so tha^ while they are bidding their pounds sterling (already paid) the scrip holders are bidding their shillings and pots of beer — in other words, the pound of the purchaser in England has to compete with, and goes no further than, the pot of beer of the Auckland settler. The obliquity of Captain Fitzroy's views and feeling is such, that he may possibly be able to reconcile this with his principles of justice ; but we ask, will Lord Stanley and the Land Emigration Commissioners at home, consent to be made parties to such a fraud ? We confess ourselves unable to discover the reasons which have induced Captain Fitzroy thus' to violate the main provision, tlia sine qua non with Lord Stanley, of the Land. Claims' Ordinance. We are not aware that Honi Heki ever expressed his disapproval of it. We cannot for one moment imagine that the Missionaries in the north considered 2,560 acres too small " a slice/ to recompense them for their labours of love and Christian charity, for we still remember and appreciate the moderation displayed by the head of the Church Mission (now a venerable Archdeacon,) when he only claimed one solitary acre, as his slice of our town. We cannot suppose that the support of any portion of the Auckland press has been deemed worth such a price, by one so callous to public opinion as Captain Fitzroy professes himself to be. It cannot be that the temptation to indulge in that spirit of favouritism, which has been the corse and ruin of io many colonies, has proved too strong for that delicate sense of honor, for those high, moral, and religious principle*, which his Excellency seems to claim as his peculiar attributes. Still less can it be that the disciple, pat excellence, of

Bright and Cobden, after having allowed Honi Heki and his associates to resume a free trade in their female slaves, should wish to establish for himself a monopoly in jobbing, bribery, and corruption* Be however the reasons what they may, the effects of this violation of the ordinance are as evident to all, as they are manifestly injurious to the best interests of the colony, but more especially of Auckland. By these improvident grants, the whole of the best and most available land near Auckland has been disposed of, so that even if the Penny Proclamation had never been issued, no land would have remained for sale by the Government. The land revenue is thus completely annihilated. All immigration, whether of capitalists or labourers, is effectually prevented ; :and all those expences of surveys, Land Claims' commission, public works, aborigines f &c, amounting according to the estimate for the present year to £10,510, which are chargeable upon this land fund, must now be defrayed out of the general revenue — that is to say — the settlers must be further taxed to the amount of £10,510, to meet the deficiency occasioned by his Excellency's destruction of the land revenue. The depreciation in the value of laud caused by this reckless prodigality in granting, must prove ruinous to all those who purchased two or three years ago upon the faith of the stability of the land regulations ; for judging by the price current of the scrip, the value of an acre near Auckland may be stated to vary from 2s. to a pot of beer. We forbear commenting at length upon these transactions, because we have every reason to believe that the Caledonia will bring out such intelligence, as will have the effect of upsetting all Captain Fitzroy's proceedings, and will leave his Excellency no other course, but to retire from an office, the duties of which he has proved himself utterly incompetent to discharge. Such intelligence, we venture ,to assent, will be hailed by e?«f *#ttiftt in th##e lusl&ds as fche gl*d tidin^r^ our salvation. * - '

We are informed that his Honor the Superintendent of the Southern District, in his late interview with Rauperaha, has made an arrangement by which that chief undertakes to withdraw from the Hutt, by the end of March following, all the natives who, by his direction, and that of Rangihaeata, have settled in that district. It is understood that the reason assigned by Rauperaha for this delay is, the necessity for some compensation or its equivalent in time, to allow these natives to procure food sufficient for their subsistence ; as, if their immediate removal were insisted on, the tribes to which they belong must provide them with food and seed potatoes for their next crop. Rauperaha has also agreed that no fresh crops shall be planted oy these natives in this district, and that the settlers shall not be dist urbed or interfered with by them iv the land which they (the settlers) have obtained possession of, or in clearing land on their sections, and that Thompson the son of Rauperaha, and Martin the nephew of Rangihaeata, should visit the Hutt this week, for the pur-1 pose of explaining to the natives this agreement, and enforcing its fulfilment by them. We do not think a sufficient reason has been assigned for this delay in their removal. Whenever these natives leave the Hutt, they must be provided with food until they have cleared sufficient land in some other district for their cultivations. This is the proper season for clearing, after March from the near approach of winter any attempt at clearing must be deferred to the following season. Again, within the next six weeks, the early crop of potatoes will be gathered in, and the natives are now busy planting their main crops, which will not be fit to dig before the beginning of May, and unless we have been misinformed, Te Ringa Kuri and others have prepared for planting potatoes in the district of the Hntt. However, we content onrselves for the present in making this statement, for which we have good authority* for the information of the settlers, and would suggest that they lose no time in testing the validity of the agreement and the good faith of the natives, by acting upon this information and clearing

the bush on their sections. We shall reserve to oar next number the opportunity of making such comments as may then appear expedient, merely observing that every day's deity is attended with inconvenience and danger, and that unless the question be immediately settied, fresh obstacles may arise in the intervaT to postpone its settlement to an indefinite period. Since writing the above, we have been informed that the settlers in the district of the Hutt will be allowed to take immediate possession of any of the native cultivations included in their sections, from which the crops have been removed, and that the Government Surveyor has received instructions to take an account of the amount of land in the occupation of the Natives in which there are growing crops, which they will be allowed to remove at the proper season ; they are then expected to give up the land peaceably to the settlers, and to go away. We shall be very much gratified to be able to state in our next number that the Natives adhered to this agreement, as it will be a great step towards the settlement of the Land Claims in that district.

The news from the Hutt is any thing but encouraging. The rain last week has caused another high flood, which has washed away large portions of the banks at Hawkshead (Mr. Swainson's) and Newry (Mr. Molesworth's). Considerable injury has been done to the potatoes recently planted, for ihe third time this season, on the low grounds ; and many of the poorer settlers are now unable to procure fresh seed. But this, although a sore evil, is nothing to what they have to endure from the natives. The land having been repurchased and re-paid for, they naturally supposed the natives would no longer disturb and insult them : but now they are grown more insolent and lawless than, ever. A few days ago a party of them came to the laud of Charles Mabey, a most industrious and persevering settler,, and after stealing his axe, pulled up all Ui^p^j*, po&lOfi^ *ml ottiw msntoftfcs t "tQh the *^uw jam without any fcttrag^ growings ifr'fe^d THinself with* Another settler of the name of Bryc« was treated, on Saturday, after the same fashion. These miscreants were so determined to destroy his green barley, that they made several fires around it, and threw the hot embeds about the field ; they then pulled up all his young potatoes, after threatening him with their tomahawks, and telling him he should no longer remain on the land. Mr, Swainson, the nearest Magistrate, having informed himself of their proceedings, came to Wellington early on Monday moruing, to report them to his Honor tlu Superintendant. The burning and destruction of crops is a newandmost atrocious feature in the character of these savages. They have made one more step in advance — their next is obvious ; from burning our crops they will burn our houses, and as no man will sit with his hands before him while this is going on, mortal combat is as certain to follow, as that night succeeds day. When the train, so long prepared, is once lighted, who will presume to calculate the extent of the explosion ? All this, how ever, is the natural and inevitable result o the present policy of the Local Goveruraeur, It could not, in the course of things, be otherwise. — Communicated.

The Assembly Rooms at Barrett's Hole were again rendered the scene of grea festivity on Tuesday night, on the occasioi of Mr. Sea, the Manager of the Union Ban) in this town, giving a ball to a large party o friends and acquaintenances. The arrange ments were made in excellent taste,' and th party was so well entertained that they dik not separate till long after daylight. We are pleased to hear that this Christmas is to be enlivened by other festivities of t similar nature, as it shows that, notwithstand> ing the " pressure from without," the settler lack not the spirit or the means to keep v; the good old custom- of their native land. )

In our last number we published a lettei signed " Benevolentia," giving a most deplor able account of the misery «nd destitution . present existing, according to the write amongst the working classes. During tl last week we have made diligent search f< those scenes of woe and distress so touchingl described by " Benevolentia " — but withoi, success, We lure Wide inquiries of tho}

parties* whom we deemed most likely to be tble to gire us the requisite information, but they h*ve one and all declared their ignorance Of the existence of any cases at all bearing out file statements contained in the letter. The names of three parties certainly were given, who were said to be in a state of great destitution, but, on enquiry, we found they were all receiving rations from the Company. Such being the result of our inquiries, we shall feel obliged by " Benevolentia" furnishing us with the names of those persons whose sufferings he so feelingly depicted, for the purpose of enabling us to assist in affording relief. But, until such information be afforded, we must be permitted not merely to deny ttfe assertion that " there is not a colony in which want, in proportion to the number of inhabitants, is so great," but to express our doubts as to the truth of all the writers statements' — for when we see the demand which at present exist for flax, bark, and furniture woods, we cannot understand why any really industrious man should be unable to procure for himself and family all the necessaries, if not all the comforts of life. Should, however, " Benevolentia " be enable to prove the existence of a tithe of the distress he has related, we feel confident that an appeal to the public for assistance will not be made in vain.

Statistics of Wool. — Sheep and Lambs' wool imported into the United Kingdom in 1843, 48 millions lbs. Namely : — From. lbs. East India Cos. territory 2,000,000 New South Wales 12,000,000 Van Diemen's Land 4,000,000 Swan Itiver 100,000 South Australia 1,400,000 Cape-of Good Hope 1,700,000 B. N. America lbs. 13,000 West Indies 13,000 St. Helena 8,000 Mauritius 38,000 Malta 20,000 — 92,000 Germany „ 17,800,000 Russia 3,500,000 Spain 600,000 Portugal 500,000 Denmark 700,000 Rio de La Plata 1,900,000 Chili 100,000 Peru ...... p., 1,100,000 48,000,000 The quantity of wool re-exported was two eigjrt-^ftith millions of lbs., nearly all to Belgium. The quantity remaining in bond January 5, 1844, was 3,800,000 lbs.