ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE. To the Editor of the New Zealand Spectator. Wellington, October 1, 1845.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume II, Issue 52, 4 October 1845, Page 3

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE. To the Editor of the New Zealand Spectator. Wellington, October 1 , 1845.

Wellington, Sm, —On my return from a visit to the districts of Otaki, Horowenua, and Manawatii, where the richness of the soil, the mildness of the climate, and the beauty of the country, excite the admiration of a traveller^ I .wish to ask you why this part of New Zealand ha* not be«n colonized 1

The number of nativei is evidently very small, besides which, the paucity of children, and the emaciated appearance' of the adults of both sexes, arising from pulmonary complaints, and from scrofula, shew that the population is rapidly perishing, so that they cannot offer any opposition to settlers. On the contrary, I am told that the creatures inhabiting the banks of the fine river Manawatu get their tobacco and blankets by traffic with the few white men who live amongst them, and would gladly see their number increased. Can you inform me whether the Governor has ever visited this part of New Zealand? If not, he ought Dot to delay an inspection of it either by himself or by some competent deputy, when he would immediately take measures to insure its cultivation. The Governor visit a district for the purpose of promoting its cultivation by white men! I beg pardon; Sir ; but I feel that lam writing nonsensically; I had forgotten where I am, and what sort of, a king reigns at Auckland. I had forgotten that he has thrice visited Wellington, and never even seen the Hutt, to which there is a good road, and where cultivation is carried on to a considerable extent by the settlers. I was delighted with the land at Otaki, which is of the very first order of fruitful soils, and there are many thousand acres that seep to invite the plough and the seed. Not an inch, however, can be touched without the permission of Te Rauparaha, the wholesale butcher, whose power over some hun-dreds-of wretched natives that scratch a few patches by way of cultivation here and there, causes them to play the dog in the manger with all the rest. It is impossible to look at the place, observing the miserable animals, in the shape of human beings, crawling over and defiling its surface, and knowing that thousands of intelligent, enterprizing, and wealthy Saxons, might easily, and long ago, have been its thriving occupants, without exclaiming against the Colonial Government of England. To think that such a spot, and no doubt a thousand places equally fitted for Europeans, should be utterly unknown to those deputed to govern the colony, is enough to make one wish to be a Frenchman. To know that so long as the present system which permits the appointment of a sanctified coxcomb of a naval Captain to manage the affairs of an agricultural community, lasts — no hope of change can be reasonably entertained, id enough to turn one into a ranting Methodist. I wonder how long New Zealand, with all its magnificent natural capabilities, will be kept down by the pyramid of fools and tools of which the Governor has been the Architect, ana is now the apex. I have always thought that the great duty of a colonial governor, after taking care to rule with justice all classes of the community, was, to do all in his power towards developing the resources of the colony. If this conception be right, the Local Government must be a laughing-stock to all the world. To declare the perpetrators of a premeditated and cold-blooded massacre of the settlers, innocent of any crime, and to engage in an apparently endless war, because, a rag which really represented nothing^had been torn down, is a specimen of its justice. To stay, shut up at the extremity of the colony, ignorant of every thing beyond the circle of Auckland, not to notice the communications of the settlers from Nelson, Taranaki, Wanganui, and Wellington, itnd-ta inflicfc-a pestilence in the, shape of " a spurious, depreciated, and forged papercurrency, on the whole community, are specimens of its paternal anxiety and fostering care. Amidst these evils, there are two sources of consolation. One is, that the main impediment to the colonization of New Zealand, in the shape of the natives is, from the barrenness of the women, and from many diseases of the men, rapidly disappearing. The other is, the flagrant and utter incapacity of Captain Fitsroy to govern or manage any thing, from which have resulted obstruction to every effort of the colonists, and enormous expenditure of the Local Government that cannot exist long together. The Home Government must govern differently, or give up such a colony. One cannot believe that the English treasury will disburse a hundred thousand per annum, in order to retain dominion over an impoverished, struggling, and almost desperate population of fifteen thousand souls. The settlers may perhaps yet have reason for gratitude that Captain Fitzroy has been allowed to run a muck, and by so doing, accelerate the crisis of their fate as well as his own. Whatever may be the fate of the settlers, that of his Excellency cannot be doubtful. No East India presidenc}', not even a West Indian governorship, is in store for sucha driveller. _ Indignation, contempt, and oblivion, await his retirement, from which nobody acquainted with his career in New Zealand, can conceive that he will ever emerge. I am, Sir, in haste, yours, &c. A Traveller.

We feel very great pleasure ia submitting to our readers the First Report of the New Plymouth Association for the Advancement of Agriculture and Commerce. It is a plain statement of facts of the most interesting kind, shewing what has been accomplished by the settlers of that district in spite of the numerous difficulties they have had to contend with. And the result is most gratifying : after providing for their own consumption, at the next harvest there will be an -available surplus of flour for exportation, at the most moderate computation, of 267 tons, besides other produce. And we may hope, from the important intelligence which has been received of the strong reinforcement sent by the British Government for the protection of New Zealand, that the prices which wiU'be obtained for agricultural produce, will be so remunerating as to give an additional impetus to cultivation in this beautiful and flourishing district. This is the settlement which Capt. Fitzroy made such strenuous efforts to break up, and to carry the settlers to Wangaroa, Kafia, or Auckland !— Why, if the relative importance of the places be estimated by what the settlers have done, and their ability to support themselves, theTe would be more reason in removing the Auckland settlers to TIP-

ranaki. Under the greatest discouragements, these hard-working, energetic men, have done more than the settlers at Auckland, with all the encouragement derived from the lavish expenditure of a Government determined to maintain their mushroom capital at the cost of the Southern Settlements. And Wanganui would very shortly he what New Plymouth is, if the settlers there had received the slightest protection or encouragement ; if the Governor had hut kept faith with them in settling the land claims. This report affords the clearest evidence, if any were wanting, that the settlers in Cook's Straits only require possession of their lands, to become a thriving community. If they are ever so fortunate as to have a wise - and prudent Governor, who will exert himself to protect the settlers and to administer justice impartially, who by a proper firmness will repress and put an end to the confusion and disorders occasioned by our present ruler ; a very short period will suffice to restore confidence, and establish our prosperity.

THE NEW PLYMOUTH ASSOCIATION, FOR THE ADVANCEMEfcT OF AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE. The First Report of your Society, established only six months, cannot be expected to contain much actual information on the subjects discussed, yet the experiments which have been instituted through the instrumentality of this Society, the results of which cannot be ascertained until the approaching harvest, lead us to hope that the foundation of much good has been already laid. The first subject which engaged your attention was—" The growth of English Flax, and the probability of its success in New Zealand." To Mr. Flight we are indebted for drawing our attention to an article which may prohably become the chief export from New Zealand, or at all events from' Taranaki. The result of two evenings' discussion was", the firm conviction in the minds of all present; that the English flax, of (to adopt the distinctive name given to it to distinguish it from the indigenous flax of the country) the Anglo-New Zealand Flax, was peculiarly suited to our soil and climate. This was no theoretical conclusion, but one arrived at from the results of an actual experiment, and come to by practical men, used to the -cultivation of the article in England; who were convinced from the quality of the sample grow-n, and the amount of the produce, and from calculations of the expense of cultivation, and the probable value in England, that the cultivation of the Anglo-New Zealand flax would be a very profitable occupation. It is much to be regretted that these results were not known in time to obtain seed for the present season; orders have, however, been sent ■to England for a supply and samples of the flax forwarded to manufacturers there ; who will be able at once to determine the value of ■it. To the resident Agent of the New Zealand Company here, and the Principal Agent at Wellington, this Society'have to express their thanks for the promptitude with which' they undertook to forward these samples to England. The importance of your second subject of inquiry —" The most effectual remedy for the cure of smut in wheat," cannot be over-rated, owing to the seed, which was obtained irom a neighbouring colony, being mostly infected with smut. Several actual experiments were detailed at this meeting, the results of which encourage us to hope, that with due attention, this destructive disorder may be cured, or atall events, so subdued as not to be of, material injury to the farmer. The next subject —" The best means of protecting the barley crop from the ravages of the caterpillar, and the crop most likely to pay, wheat or barley," was one which elicited much valuable information as to the proper time of sowing barley, so as to avoid the ravages of the caterpillar, which attacks the grain at the period of its ripening. Great diversity of opinion was expressed on this point, the result of the different periods of sowing this spring, will, it is to be hoped, enable us another season to save this valuable crop. No means at present have been discovered to destroy the insects themselves, although the extension of cultivation will, it is thought, greatly lessen their numbers. From the disadvantages to which barley is subject in this respect, the opinion of the meeting was decidedly in favor of wheat 4 although from the circumstance of barley being higher in price than wheat in the neighbouring colonies, great exertions should be made to grow this article, particularly as it is believed that, as regards the climate and the quality of the water, we have a decided -advantage over the Australian colonies in brewing. " The woods j of New Zealand, more particularly of this settlement, their uses, and the* probability of their becoming articles of export," was the inquiry that next engaged your attention. From the information given at this meeting, it appears that our settlement produces several valuable woods, at the head of which stands the rimu, the most valuable both for building and furniture, and so far as our knowledge extends, the most valuable also to export to;

England and the neighbouring colonies. For agricultural purposes, the purift, the rata* and the matepo, have been found to answer exceedingly well, the first in particular has furnished very good cogs for the wheels of the two flour mills in the settlement. Very good timber also abounds for the. purpose of boatbuilding, and for staves, and it is to be regretted that arrangements have not been made to supply ourselves with casks, an article now required for salt pork, and the demand for which is likely to increase largely as the settlement progresses. Tanning barks have also been discovered and used with the greatest success, boots now being made from leather manafactured in the settlement. The next subject was — " The best artificial food for cattle :" and in the discussion of this inquiry iit was satisfactorily ascertained, that very heavy crops of the different roots used for that purpose, had been grown, more particularly of carrots and turnips. White and red clover has also been grown with the greatest suec Jfik The next subject discussed by your SqtfW^* was — » The best remedy for the cure of cattle affected by eating tutu." The best remedy stated, and that in violent cases quite an effectual one, was bleeding. The loss of time in finding cattle turned loose, and the damage often done by them in this state, together with the risk from thefttfu; and above all, the comparatively trifling expense of growing food for them, will, there is little doubt, induce all parties to keep their cattle up. Having thus given a brief sketch of the different subjects which have been brought under your notice, it will we think at once be admitted, that this Society is likely to be of the greatest benefit. If, in England, where they have had the same soil to work upon for ages, it is thought advisable to have Agricultural Societies in order to institute experiments and give premiums for the best methods of raising crops, and the best agricultural implements, how much more are they needed in a new country where every thing has to be learnt. What has raised the value of land in parts of Scotland from a rent of ss. or 6s. an acre to two or three pounds 1 The improved system of agriculture, which has converted the Scotch from the worst to the best farmers in Great Britain;- and land, of which it took three or four acres to keep a horse in a halfstarved state, into fertile fields producing 4, 5, and 6 quarters of wheat per acre. And what was the origin of this improvement? The Highland Agricultural Society, supported, and well supported too, by the Scotch landlords and farmers, who saw how much good such a Society could effect. Enough has been said -to prove the usefulness of such societies as these, but it must be borne in mind that as we have no long subscription list to give premiums for information, we must ourselves furnish thaunformation by -carefully noti ng every particular of every proceeding, so that by comparing them with others, we may arrive in due time, at the proper seasons and methods of pursuing our occupation. A very careful account has been drawn up of the amount of land now in cultivation, from which may be gathered the cheering fact, that, notwithstanding the great difficulties the settlers have had to contend with during the last two years, they have not allowed themselves to be cast down, but have manfully met these difficulties, pushing forward the plough wherever the natives would allow them to do so. The following is the account alluded to : — Acres. Wheat 635J Barley 128* Oats - f 5 Potatoes 98 J Turnips 36J Grass 94| Artificials 14 Gardens « • • • 24 Flax h 1,1061 Cultivated land taken possession 7 236 j of by the natives J 1,343 Amount of land cleared in June, 7 Bgo 1844 * 3 Increase of cultivation in the last 7 3 fifteen months ) 635$ acres of wheat yielding fdsi 4Q3 t(mg ton flour, or 28bush. per acre / Estimated consumption, 3 tonsl^g per week ■* ' Surplus available for exportation 267 tons. 128Jacresbarleyat25bush.per-i 3j2l2bush> acre ....,.../ Say consumed in the settlement, i q QQ one half J i " Probable surplus available for 1 j 6Q6 exportation J ' 1,606 bushels, at 45 bushel* to the ton of freight, gives 35 tons, which, with the flour*

shows 302 terns to expprt from, the produce of the land alone, added to which is the salt pork trade, which, with other articles would, there is no douht, increase the amount to 400 tons ; sufficient to keep a vessel of 50 or 60 tons fully employed, allowing (or detentions and one or two trips elsewhere about the time of harvest. Amount of cattle in the settlement : — Cows 81 Working Oxen 62 Steers, Heifers, and Yearlings 108 Horses 16 Sheep 36,8 Pigs 352 With this account the Report of your Society closes, and as it establishes the fact of a very great advance in prosperity during the last twelve months, under the greatest disadvantages ; we look forward confidently to the continued success of our endeavours ; and with hope that the time will shortly arrive when we shall be enabled to carry on our operations without molestation, and with greater vigour than circumstances have hitherto allowed us to do. R. Chilmak, Hon. Sec. New Plymouth, 17 September, 1845.