NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR, AND COOK'S STRAITS GUARDIAN. Saturday, April 5, 1845.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume I, Issue 26, 5 April 1845, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR, AND COOK'S STRAITS GUARDIAN. Saturday, April 5, 1845.

' The six months for which, in "compliance with - the wishes of the Subscribers, we consented -to conduct this Paper, have ncrw expired — our jabours arc completed ; and we would -venture on this occasion to allude to the cir- • curastances under which the Spectator was called into existence, to the course that we have pursued, and to the present position' of the Colony. «If ever a .cordial -welcome was .given to a • Governor •on his first arrival amongst those over whom he was appointed to rule, it was -that which greeted Captain Fitzroy on his - landing at this settlement months ago, for the settlers then hoped and 'believed, that -his advent would be the commencement of • i new era — that after four years of misgove*nment, during which they had been doomed to fruitless inactivity, their capital been wasted, and their lives and -property held on Maori sufferance, brighter days would dawn upon them, and that those objects for whicb they •had left their native country would at length) be fully and fairly placed within their reach. :Buch they 'believed to be one of the chief •objects of Captain Fitzroy 's mission ; and, sick >of the -agitation in which they had been so •constantly engaged; weary of the contest which -they had so long been compelled to maintain "with the local government, they cheerfully tendered their best assistance to enable him to rescue the Colony from impending anarchy, and to "place its prosperity upon a firm and satisfactory basis. All, in short, with one voice, demanded that " a fair trial should be given to the new Governor," and allgladly consented to cease their opposition. A fair trial was given ; for although, when Captain Fitzroy, in reply tp their congratulatory address, denounced them -as oppressors <if the Aborigines — when he proclaimed that the British Government would rather abandon

New Zealand than employ force to restrain the aggressions of the Natives — when he boasted of his power to obtain any number of ships and troops to coerce the white population — he did much to dispel the hopes the settlers had cherished that his coming would be the harbinger of peace -and goodwill between the two races, he did much to alienate the confidence they were ready and anxious to -repose in him, although he did as much as in him ~lay, to irritate anil provoke them, tto a breach of the respect 'due to him, as the-representative of Her Majesty ; yet the settlers did forbear, partly from a consciousness that statements so fake,* -accusations so utterly unfounded were more injurious and more degrading to him who uttered them, than to those ngainst.whom they were levelled, but chiefly from the determination on "their parts, not to throw any impediments, by word or deed, in the settlement' of those questions, upon which, the prosperity, if not the very existence of the colony depended. -Even when he returned- from Waikanai, although the settlers then felt (what they subsequently expressed in their"Petitions to the two houses of Parliament), that in taking upon the powers and functions of Prosecutor, Judge and Jury, " he had set at nought all the forms and spirit of justice — had assumed a power not possessed by the Crown itself — of abrogating at his the law and all its tribunals" — had declared in terms not -to be misunderstood, that "his only rule of action was his own caprice ; although they t\en felt, that in justifying -the murder of has countrymen, and in rewarding-the -murderers by an offer (or proposal) to take them into the pay of the Government, he had acted the part of the man in the fable, who whence was bitten, steeped bread in the blood flowing from the wound and gave it to the dog who had caused it ; yet they still forbore, contenting themselves with warning him of the inevitable result of such proceedings. Nay, even when they saw him discarding from has -councils alh whose opinions, by virtue of their position, education, talent, moral character and long residence in the colony, were entitled .to-most> weight — surrounding .himself with needy adventurers from Sydney, with interested, illiterate, and bigoted Protectors — treating with contempt the opinions of those missionaries, to the, purity «f whose motives and couduot both 'Europeans and Natives bore a willing testimony — taking the advice of those onlyin.the-Tnis-sidnary .body, whose land-sharking and other malpractices had disgraced the Society >to which they belonged : when they saw him.pitchforking into the office of Colonial Secretary a botanizing doctor, incompetent to discharge the duties of a clerk in a merchant's office — although they were amazed at the strange infatuation evinced by such conduct, although they could not refrain from indulging in the most gloomy forebodings, yet they still hesitated to take up the gauntlet he had -thrown down on his first landing — they still persisted ia thoir determination to, give him . a fair trial. Nine months thus passed away, and Captain Fiteroy during this time may be said to have pursued his career of foHy, madness and injustice, almost wholly unchecked by the expression of public opinion in this settlement ; but when the •Settlers found him violating every pledp c he had ever given — making promises, only for the purpose of lulling them into a fatal se curity ; when they found him, instead of sett ling the Land Claims, doing whatever was in tie power of man to render their adjustment utterly impossible either for himself or am future Governor — availing himself of these claims as a means of breaking up the settlements in Cook's Straits ; when they found him and his agents urging on the Natives to of violence, by proclaiming that they were not amenable to British laws — by rewarding them for every outrage — by exciting the s 1 ayes escaped from captivity to come forward imd sieze upon lands in the actual occupation of the i Settler's — by publicly declaring that ho woujd

not protect the SettL-rs even after they had received the Crown Grants then, hut not till then they bpcame convinced, that to remain any longer silent, was to be wanting in. the duty, they owed to themselves and their fellow colonists — was to render themselves parties to •the ruin of the colony ; it was then that they determined to have an organ, in which their opinions might be fairly represented — their protests against the Governor's proceedings solemnly recorded. Such were the circumstances which led to the establishment of this paper. What course, then, have we pursued ? We unhesitatingly avow, that it has been that of constant, undeviating, uncompromising opposition to the measures of Captain Fitzroy's government, if indeed that can be called a Go. vemment, which has systematically violated ( the laws — .tampered with the administration of justice — and constantly refused protection to to its subjects. And now, in calmly reviewing his Excellency's acts — in looking back to the opinions we have so repeatedly expressed, we still confess ourselves unable to.discover a single measure, that has tended to the benefit of the colony, or which any one interested in its prosperity, or in the welfare and advancement of the Aboriginal inhabitants, can cordially approve of. His Excellency will, perhaps, point (at least a few weeks ago he would have pointed) to his two pet measures, f(the Penny Proclamation and the Abolition of the Customs) as having allayed all angry feelings amongst >the Native population, and as having sincerely attached them to the Local Government. But what really has been the 'effect «of these two measures ? As far as the Settlers arc concerned, the Penny Proclamation has well nigh ruined them, first, by i reducing the value of the .lands which they purchased on the faith of the stability of the Act of Parliament for the Sale of Waste lands, secondly, by 'annihilating the land revenue, and thereby rendering necessary the imposition of additional taxes, and thirdly, by destroying the "Emigration fund, and thereby preventing that stream of " European immigration upon which Lord Stanley himself, in his last published despatch, dated August 25, 1844, declares, the prosperity of New Zealand, as a British posses- ; sion, must mainly depend." With, regard to its effects upon the Natives, instead of tending ■ to their advantage, it has merely served to stimulate their passion of cupidity — to convert them into petty landjobbers — to induce them to resort to every species of fraud and deception for the purpose of selling to Europeans, lands which are the subject of dispute among themselves — it has merely planted the seeds of future dessention, and ofnever ending collisions between them and the Local Government. Ask the mis- . sionaries, and all who have seen the Natives hawkingtheir land about in the streets ofAuckland, and selling their birthright for old -clothes, whether the waiving. of the Queen's right of pre-emp-tion has not already grievously demoralized them ? Ask those who have watched its results, whether this measure is not of itself sufficient to stamp Captain Fitzroy as their worst enemy ? Then, again, as to the abolition of the Customs, however ready we are to admit that free trade is a boon of inestimable value to this colony, and especially so to this settlement, yet, knowing that it was extorted by the Natives from the fears of the Governor, and that his Excellency originally intended to restrict it to the Bay of Islands — knowing that the object which the Natives had in view when they insisted upon the abolition, was not so much to obtain their tobacco, spirits, and other luxuries at a cheaper rate, or to increase the sale of their pigs, potatoes, and other produce, but was chiefly to enable them to resume, with the whalers, the abominable, but lucrative, traffic in their female slaves, — that, in fact, the boon conferred by Captain Fitzroy upon the Natives in making this concession, was simply to restore the Bay of Islands to its former condition of one large Maori Brothel ; knowing, all this, and foreseeing the inevitable result of such blind submission to savages, how could we accept , even this boon to the colony without feeling

that it was dearly purcha^jJ at the price of so much infamy and moral degradation ? And i yet, these, we repeat, ;ire Captain Fitzroy's two pet measures, avow dly passed fjt the sole benefit of the Native ! Is it no* strange, that he who is ever preaching nv.iality, who professes to take so deep an interest in the moral^ and spiritual welfare of the Natives, should have devised measun s, so calculated to undo whatever good may have been wrought in the Native mind by the exertions of the missionaries ? We necl not now allude, at any length, to the " Maori policy" pursued by Captain Fitzroy from the clay of his first landing, up to the present time, for our columns have borne ample testimony, that we have ever regarded it as the great pihnary question, in comparison with which all others were of trifling importance — that we have ever looked upon " this policy" (we call it so for want of a name) as the disease,"* of which all the other evils under which the colony has been suffering have been but the symptoms — and that we have always maintained, that until the disease itself was yigourously attacked, it was folly to attempt to palliate the symptoms — in other words — that until the supremacy of the British Crown was vigourously asserted, and maintained — until the Natives were made fully to feel that they were British subjects, and amenable to the laws — it was little better than a farce to keep up the name and appearance of a Government — and that to tax the settlers in support of a Government, which had never yet discharged any of its functions, was an act of monstrous injustice. And what is the present position of the colony ? In spite of the sinister influence of the Governor and his Protectors — in spite of no measures having been taken to settle the land claims, the only serious cause of difference between the Settlers and the Natives,-compara-tive peace and tranquillity prevail in Cook's Straits, and we trust will continue to prevail until the arrival of a new governor with the power and the dispoistion to remedy the mischief caused by the present. But what is the aspect of affairs in the North, where according to his Excellency, the Natives have made such great and glorious progress in civilization, anA where (to use his words uttered on the 6th of March) " they entertain the most kindly and confident feelings towards her Majesty, towards the Local Government, and towards the Settlers generally" — where the missionaries have been the longest established, and where Christianity has made so many convents, what, we aslc, is the state of affairs there ? Insurrection f open and successful Rebellion ' Honi Ileki and the other chiefs (at whose demand' his excellency abolished the Customs, and waived the Queen's right of pre-empjgfc) after formally declaring war, have attackedjßpl signally defeated her Majesty's forces, and noV openly proclaim their intention to proceed to Auckland, and drive the British Government out of New Zealand. Such is the result of Captain Fitzroy' s policy — Such is the beginning of the end. What the end is to be, Captain Fitzroy has himself informed us, for in a speecli delivered in the Legislative Council on the 13th of March, he said, " Taking a restrospective view of the colony for the last five years, it i* very certain, that had the New Zealand Company attempted to obtain unjust possession of the lands to the Southward, there would have been union amongst the Natives and extinction of the whole European population, then arrived there, would have taken place. This would have been followed by retributive measures by the Home Government, and the ultimate result would have been in due time the complete extermination of the Native race." These are strange words, and will not readily be forgotten. The case supposed by his Excellency had actually occurred two days before the words were uttered, but not in the South. An attempt, not of the New Zealand Company, to obtain unjust possession of land, but of the Government to retain the shadow of authority, after having long since abandoned the substance, had already been made. Union amongst the Natives, not in tlia South, but in the North, had already taken place. A conflict, not " a contest between a party of armed Settlers and a body of Natives," but a regular engagement between her Majesty's forces'and united tribes of Natives, led on by Honi Heki and Kawiti, had already been fought. Extinction of the whole European population, not in Cook's Straits,, but in the Bay of Islands, had already ensued. The settlement, not of Wellington or Nelson, but of Kororarika, had already been utterly destroyed. The case, in short, supposed by his Excellency, had already arisen, perfest in all its details. What follows? Let his Excellency re ply — "Retributive measures mnst be taken, by the Home Government, and the ultimateresult will be, in due time, the complete extermination of the Native race." We again say, these words will not readily be forgotten — for they are an admission, that Captain Fitzroy has brought about and commenced a war of,extermination. Have not the warnings which we have so repeatedly given, been fully justified ? Have not our predictions of the fatal results of the course pursued by his Excellency been most painfully fulfilled ?

The H\ re. — We ljaye seen a letter addressed

by Rauperaha to Major Richmond, in which he says, that the Natives on the Ilutt are getting ready canoes, preparatory to their final departure ; and as we know that they are thus employed, there is every reason to helieve that the settlers on the Hutt will soon he in possession of their land.

We are happy to inform our readers that Mr. Barton and Mr. Forsaith have returned from Wairapai a, having heen completely successful in accomplishing the objects they had in view. The Chiei Wereta, who was the principal offender in the robbery and outrage at Mr. Barton's station, has signed a paper acknowledging his offence, lias agreed to restore the stolen properly, and has m:ide a cession to the Crown of a large tract of land in that district as an atonement for his violence. We congratulate Major Richmond on his success; and hope this example will stimulate him to further exertion, as we are convinced that a firm and prudent policy is the only course likely to produce any good results iv treating with the Natives. To temporize, to hesitate and yield to their demands, to allow them to plunder and ill-treat the Settlers, has encouraged them, as we have seen, in their acts of violence, and has been the cause of the present disasters in the Bay of Islands. In such a course he may be assured of the hearty support and co-operatien of the Settlers, and he may be equally assured that it will give us sincere pleasure to chronicle his success ; as it is very painful to be compelled, as at {present, to record the triumph of barbarism and lawless violence over civilization, owing to the inability of the Government to protect the Settlers.

We omitted to mention in our last number that the Government brig Victoria was under orders lo proceed, with all possible despatch, to Hobart Town, to procure the assistance of such troops as could be spared by Sir Eardly Wilroot, for the protection of this settlement. The morning was so very calm, that the Victoria was towed out of the harbour with- boats ; she was to leave the Bishop of New Zealand and Mrs. Selwyn at Waikanai, and was afterwards to touch at Taranaki on her way through the Straits, to inform the settlers there of the disastrous occuirrences at the Bay of Islands, and to prepare them against any sudden attack of the Natives. When the brig left Auckland, 250 troops were hourly expected from Sydney, and a militia bill was under the consideration of the Legislative Council', which was to be passed immediately, so that it may be expected by the next arrival from Auckland. The Slams Castle was to sail for Sydney from Auckland loaded [with two hundred passengers ano 1 heir goods,and would be immediatelyi mm'ediately followed by" other vessel? — the Terror, Tryphrna, and Maid of the Mill. The Victoria also had several pas-f-engcrs for Ilobart Town. This looks very much like a general desertion of the seat of government. The Victoria is expected to ret tarn to Port Nicholson direct from TownSince writing the above, the Aurora has arrived, bringing the news of the arrival, at Auckland, of the North Star, with upwards of 200 troops from Sydney ; and further reinforcements were expected. By this opportunity we have received a draft of the Militia Bill, an abstract of which will be found in another part of the paper.

Our fellow'colonists will rejoice to learn that Cap. Robertson is in a fair way of recovery, the Surgeons have discovered the place of the ball in his thigh, which they hoped to be able to extract in a few days. We publish the excellent Address of the Superintendent and Magistrates, to the settlers of this distric.

The absence of the Registrar of the Supreme Court (from, whom we generally obtain our report of the law proceedings), obliges us to defer, until his return from Nelson, the publication of the case of Smith v. Betts and another, and the remainder of the cases tried at the last sittings of the Supreme Court.

It is currently reported that Captain Fitzroy has sent to Valparaiso to Sir G. Seymour, the admiral in command of the South American station, and also to Tahiti, to obtain the assistance of a war steamer.