New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAITS GUARDIAN. Saturday, November 15, 1845.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume II, Issue 58, 15 November 1845, Page 2

New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAITS GUARDIAN. Saturday, November 15, 1845.

Five years have now elapsed since Captain Hobson, actuated by a feeling of petty jealousy of the New Zealand Company, planted the seat of his government, in the very midst of three-fourths of the native population, and as far removed, as he could well place it, from the great bulk of bis ff How countrymen, whose establishment in these islands was the sr.le cause of his appointment to the olfEce of Governor. The impolicy of- this act has been sufficiently demonstrated by the destruction of Kororaiika — by the abandonment of Russell — by the desertion of Hokianga — and by the conversion of Auckland into fortified barracks ; bt.t its gross injustice to the settlers in Cook's Straits — the utter Mure of Captain Hobson to rear up a capital in the place selected— and the abortiveness of the atlea pts made by him and his successors to break up the Company's settlements, can only be made fully manifest, by instituting a comparison, founded upon official documents, between them and the settlements in the north. And we are induced to draw this comparison, not merely because the returns which have been appended to the minutes of the last session of the Legislative Council, present much that is gratifying and cheering to our fellow settlers, but because we are convinced, that the time is now arrived, when the whole plan, upon which the Government of this colony has hitherto been conducted, must be remodelled, andwhen a 1 cmc ly for the evils we have so long endured from the great distance of the nominal capital, must be applied- Before, however, adverting to this remedy, let us compare the northern arid the Company's settlements, with respect to their population — to their agr culture— to the amount of their stock — to their exports — and to their revenue. First. With respectto their population. By the returns we find that in 1844 the population was, In Auckland * 2754 Bay of Islands 534 Hokianga 179 In the northern settlements, total 3467 In Wellington 4048 Nelson 2915 New Flj mouth 1155 Petre 19? 8315 If to this be added the Whalers (673) who are always absent from Wellington at the time of taking the census, and the settlers at the Widerop, Manawatn, Otaki, (T5O) the total population in the Company's settlements will not be less than 9,138, exclusive of the settlers at Port Cooper, Akaroa and other places. Secondly. V\ith respect to Agriculture. The number of acres in cultivation in 1844, was In the northern settlements. . . . 1996 In the ( ompafty's do 3 41 Captain Hobson and Mr. Shortland in defending their selection of Auckl md as the capital, always adduced as one of thtir chief reasons, the superior fertility of its <~oil. What. then, do we we find on appealing to these" returns? PRODUCE PER. ACRE. WHEAT POTATOES bn«neU. ton. At Auckland .... 20 5 At Wellington .. 45 . -w 1U Thirdly. An examination of the returns of the live stock will shew that in 1844 there were Horned Horses ca»'le Sheep In the northern settlement 227 1763 1936 In the Company's do 291 3125 131 29 Or the value of the live stock in the former may be stated at 28,827/. and in the latter at 57,904/. Fouithly. Let us turn to the exports, which, perhaps, afford the very best means of estimating the relative wealth and commercial prosperity of the different settle- ; ments. In the returns the only exports from the northern settlements up to Feb., 1845, ■we can find consist of : — Tons, Estimated i value in England Manganese Ore .... 692 .... £4944 Copper Ore 537,.,. 9950 Total 1229 £14,894 j Frpb»bly some other produce may h&ve been.

exported, but undoubtedly to a. very trifling amount. On the other hand, we find from the Custom House returns, that there were shipped from Wellington alone from the sih Jan., 1842, to the sth Jan. 1845, a period of three years Tuns. ralueon value in board. England. &ack 0i1.... 2597J .. £4b755 .. £77<»25* Sperm oil .. 31* .. 1890 .. 2320 Whalebone 121* .. IM2J .. 30312 Flax, Timber, &c. .. 75 4.. 10256 £71274 £121,(»13 I We must here remark, that se\ eral vessels shipped their oil at the stations, and sailed direct for Sydney without entering at the Custom House, so ihut the quantity shipped, according to the Custom House returns, is considerably less than the quantity of <il caught at the fisheries. During the years 184*2, 3, 4, iheoil cnughi anv.mn ed 10 3*200 tons — and the bone to 160. The value on board of ihese two articles alone would therefore be for these three years £77,600. Fifthly. Let us now direct attention to the revenue derived from the Customs, noticing at the sanie time, the charge of collecting it. Receipts. Charge of Net collecting, surplus Auckland, from 1st") £14916. .^5250.. £9066 J til v, 1841, to Sep V (0r 35 30, 1544. J per cent.) Ru«sell, from l<»t July "J 6733 3300 3433 1841, to 30 Sept., V (or 50 1844. J per cent.) lB «,£jEl ' e '" e -}^1649,. 8550.. 13090 Wellington Au;?. 25,1 £22702 ..3274.. 19123 1841, to 30 Sept. i- (or 15 1844. J per cent.) Nelson, Feb., 1842, tol ™* ' ' '™- ' • •*"» 30 Sept. 1844 j New Plymth, March") 1167.... 3°6.... 781 1, 1842, to Sept. 30, }■ (or 35 1544, J per cent.) Set -}£ 30342..£5332 £21912 There is yet another test which may be applied — for in proportion to the activity of the trade — m proportion to the numb r and magnitude of the busine** transactions in any place will be the amount ol litigation. Now, in ieferring to the records of the Supreme Court, we find that in 1 844 the number of causes before the Court were, At Auckland, 5 At Wellington 32 To sum up briefly, then, the results afforded by these returns ; — the Company's settlements in 1844 contained nearly threefourths of the whole European population in these Hands— the net revenue yielded by their Customs wss double the amount of that yielded in the northern settlements — the value of the Jive stock possessed by the settlers in Cook's Straits was double the amount of that possessed by the colonists in the north — the extent of land under cultivation was 50 per cent, more, and the business of the Supreme Court six times greater in the Company's settlements than in those of the north — and lastly, while the estimated value in England of the exports from Wellington alone was £121.013, that of the exports from the northern settlements was only £14,894. Now when we remember, that the local Government has expended at least £200,000 at Auckland and Russell, and not more certainly than £25,000 upon all the settlements ir. Ctok's Straits, the facts above adduced must be admitted by all, to furnish the strongest possible proof, not only, of the vast superiority and infinitely greater mv. ortance, in even point ot view, of the Company's settlements, but also, that the attempt to force colonization to the northern Mart of this 1 island, haswos* s'tynally frilci; — for aft> r the most lavish and profligate expenditure ever incurred by the Go"eminent of an infant colony — after every possible inducement having been held out to the settlers in Cook's Straits, to emigrate to the seat of Government, — the rtsult at the aid of five years, is, that instead of three settlements, with which the Government may be said to have started, Auckland is the only one at present in existence, and even it, according to all recent accounts, is little more than a military encampment, and its population litile better than a pack of ca-np followers. On i he other hand — if in spite of the avowed hostility of the local authorities — if in spite of official proclamations, warning them against either occupying an acre of land, or taking measures to protect themselves from infuriated savages — if in spite < f all the I tampering with iheir currency and their com- [ «r.erce — if, we s?ay, in spite of such difficulties as these, the settlers in Cook's Straits, have made the steady progress evinced in these * We give the value in England of our exports, merely for the sake of comparison with the exports ot' the northern settlement, the official returns not giving the value on board of the Ores -bui their tttimaled vulut in England .

returns, what, we ask, would have been the present condition of these settlements, if the seat of Government had been pl»ced amongst them, and if they had been blessed with rulers, acquainted with their wants, and anxious to foster and develope their reso-irces ? Had such been th? case — when we see the undaunted manner, in which the settlers have encountered and triumphed over the obstaHes, placed in the way of their advancement, by a Government, whose object has all along been to ruin and destroy them, we can scarcely fail to perceive, how sjreat and glorious a position this colony migh at the present moment have occupied, and how fully the anticipations of its founders would have been realised. Neither can it any longer be denied, that the establishment of Auckland has been ihe sole cause of :he heavy demands which have lieen m vde upon ihe Home Treafury, for a mere glance at ihe llevenue returiis will shew that the southern settlements have from their very foundation been not merely >elf support ing, but rhat they have contribu ed a considerable surplus as a tribute to Auckland. With such facts then before him — with the warnings afforded by the past — and witi the certainty that any future settlements that may be formed will be i lanted in the Middle Island, we cannot bring onrselves to believe that Captain Grey will make shipwreck of the reputatiin he has so deservedly earned forhimselfby his administration of iheg'n'ernment of South Australia, by continuing to tread in the footsteps of his predecessors — or that he will consent to perpetuate the monstrous injustice, of keeping the seat of his government at such a distance from the great bulk of his countrymen, as to b? tan'amount to leaving them t 'ilhoul any government at all. We ought, perhaps, here to allude to the proceedings of the Legislative Council, in proof of the absurdity and injustice of allowing men to legisla'e for a people, with whom they have no communication, and of whose wants and wishes they are utterly ignorant; but having in a recent number given the statistics of the Ordinances passed by this assem';h- — and having then fchewn that each succj-drg session presented the same humiliating ip^ctacle of our Legislators, employed sokl in repealing and patching up the laws previously made by them, we need not again refer to them. We might al*o dwell upon the proofs afforded by a vast majority of the measures of the Government, that :-e have no interests in common wLh the settlers in the North, were it not a matter of history, that the very measures which they have urged upon the Local Government, and which they ha c hailed a* the means of their salvation,— such, for instance, as the 10s., and Penny Proclamations, and the Debenture Ordinance, — are precisely those against which ice ha«e most strongly protested. We might likewise, by a reference to the arrivals from Auckland, prove I that, as far as we are concerned, the seat of ' government might iu»t as well be in Eng- , land ; but we deem it unnecessary to accu- , mulate further evidence of the truth of our ; assertion, that we have from the very for- ! mation of the colony, been virtually without \ a government, for the state of the whole colony is such, that the question no longer is. ; whether the system hitherto pursued is to be continued, but whut remedj con be apnlied. Undoubtedly, in our opinion, the pi in (with some modifications) recently submitted by the Directors of the New Zealand Company to Lord Stanley, is. of all others, the one best calculated to retrieve the disasters of the past, and to promote our future prosp rity ; and. seeing that is essentially the same plan which, in 1637. was proposed by Lord (ilenelg on the part of the Ministry, to Lord Durham, as the head of the New Zealand Association, we still entertain a hope that it will be adopted : but if it be not ; and if the Parliament be still willing to | make a large annual grant for the purpose of keeping up the machinery of a govern- , raent at Auckland ; or if Captain Grey has not the power to trans er the capital to this place, then uw must urge the adoption of another plan, by wliich the evils we complain of may be removed, wi hi«ut inflicting I any injury upon the settlers in the North, — f and it is — to sever our connection with Auckland, and to erect the whole of the Southern Settlements into a separate and independent government. The objection most likely to be u^ged to this plan, is the probability of its entailing additional demands upon the Home Treasury; but a reference to the revenue and expenditure of Wellington will prcve this objection to be untenable — for after a careful examination of the official accounts, we find that from the establishment of the Customs on 25th August 18+1, up to their abolition on the 30th September 1844, The total amount of revenue collected at Wellington was £26.602 Do. expenditure 16,799 Net surplus £9,803 or during a period of three years the sur-

plus revenue was about £3,250 per annum. Now, bearing in mind that the other settlements have yielded a revenue more than equal to their expenditure, the whole of th s surplus would be available for the general purposes of the government. The only additions to the pre-ent expenditure that would be rendered necessary by a separate government would be—£looo or £1,200 to the governor, instead of £600 to the Suptrindent—£3oo to the Attornev-Oenerdi; £300 instead ot £200 to the Colonial Secretary — and probably £200 or £300 for the expenses of the Legislative Council, —so that the whole additional expenditure certainly need not exceed £1.500 a year. But, if under the adverse circumstances, in which we have been placed, our surplus revenue has been £3,250 per annum, is it not reasonable to anticipate that tne surplus would be much greater, if we weie placed under a government of our own, capable of affording ua protection, and anxious to promote the advancement of our settlements ? Lord Stanley, in granting us a Supreme Court, with separate and independent jurisdiction, and in appointing a Superintendent, whom he evidently intended should have had full power to act on all occasions, without the necessity of referring to Auckland, has himself admitted the justice of our claims to a separate 2XKernment:—lnstead, however, of attacking the disease itself, his Lordship has coutente.l himself with palliating a ew of its symptoms. But it is evident, that the same reasons which rendered it just and expedieut to concede what has already been granted, apply with still greater force, in favour of conceding, that which has hhherio been withheld,—for most assuredly, the condition of all others, mo.«t essential to the wellbeing of a community is, that they either have a direct voice in the framing of their hws, or at all events, that their legislators be in a position, to ascertain their vie.vs, and to become thoroughly conversant with their necessities. Such never can be the case, as long as we are placed under a government seated at Auckland. By the arrange went now proposed, the settlers at Auckland would not be injured — for if the Treasury Minute of March 1843, in which Lord Stanley expressly directs that the general expenditure of the Government havi- g been provided f r by the Parliamentary grant of £7,.")4.5, the Locd Revenues ere to be strictly applied to Local purposes, be carried out, it is clear that the advantage hitherto derived by Auckland from our «-et~ tlements, viz. that of enjoying the exclusive benefit of our surplus revenue, will no longer exist. No objection can therefore be urged by the Northern Colonists to this scheme ' We know, indeed, that a similar application made by the settlers at Port Phillip has been refused; but there is really no analogy between the two cases. The Port Phillip settlers form only an eighth part of the population of New South Wales—they are re* presented in the Legislative Assembly by six members elected by themselves—and thjy have an overland communication with Sydney once a-week. We^ on the cmtrary, at the present time, form not less than four-fifths of the whole ' Briti-h population in Mew Zialand —-va are not only debarred from having any voice in ! the legislation, but »ye never hear of the laws until months after they have been passed, and probably, not until they have been amemkd, repealed and re-enacted — and the only tegular communication which has i-ver existed vith Auckland, has been by means of the Governrceat Brig, which during the last three ye*rs, we find from the shipping returas s has made twelve voyages; so our only regular communication with the seat of Government is once in three months. ! We have adverted to this subject at this length and at thistime.bscause we are satisfied that however able Captain Grey may be. or however anxious to promote our interests, yet itj§ vtterly impossible that he can discharge the duties of his office with honour and satisfaction to hi.nself, or with advantage to the settlers in Cook's Straits, as long as he retains the seat of his government at Auckland—for, we repeat, until this intolerable grievance is removed—whather by an immediate transfer of the Government to Wellington—by 'he establishment of the pnposed province of Victoria— or by the scheme, now alluded to, we shall be to all intents and purpose?- without a Government.

From the Nelson Fxtnriner, received by the Saruh Jane, we have exu acted an account of the debate in the House of Commons on Mr. Buller's motion, and other late English news. ' Our fellow colonists at Nelson proposed to celebrate the news of Capt. Fitzroy's recall, ' and the appointment of Capt. Grey as his sue- . cessor, with a festival and other public re- | joicings.

By the Victoria, we nave leceived files of the : Auckland limes and New "Zealander to the ] Ist November, but their contents are not of i much importance. The news of Capt, Fit?-

roy's recall bad reached Auckland^ and had occasioned general satisfaction, biit they had not yet learned the name o> his successor. The Nfv Zealantler says, the recall of the Governor is already the subject of much di .- cus> ion ami deliberation among seme of tl.e most powerful <iitd influential chief's, and adds, T«» thosp who are well acquainted with thgeneral olnrarter, natural feelings and inua'r suspicion of the Ma«»ri, we need not remark vlwt effect tlits prevalent imt-ressinn will have. Th*y, w e doubt not, will remain q'tit-scenr, until tlie new Governor arrives; hut wh-n he doe.enm p , evfry act, proclamation, and measure tow irds themselves will be viewed cind received with the greatest distrust. Wf wou'd therefore earnestly and most seriously invoke our fellow colonists to be cautiously circumspect not uul \ in action, but in oral communication, with the natives at ihe present time; for we ussert. calmly, that in our opiiron, the settlers are on a Volcano, which m iv, unless providentially averted, in a few hhort months, burst forth, desola'ing the whole colony with war and bloodshed. It also states, that It is not, as whs supposed, Held, who will not nnke peace: — he is re idy to come to any terms ; but it :s old Kauiti, who s«js,— on information, we can full) rel)— (hat the young, rash, chiefs, meaning Heki and others, having began »he insurrection, they ought to be punished well for their full). The troops have fallen back to Russell, which is about being fortified by intrenchments; and until further reinforcements anive, no hostile operations w II ensue. The Avcklt.nd limes says, the Attorney General, Mr. Swainson, has received a second reprimand of additional severity from Lord Stanley. The petition presented to the House of Commons by the New Zealand Company has been printed in the /\eiv Zealander. Mr. Williams, the American Consul, has ■written a letter to the Editor of the Auckland limes, describing the statements of \V. Fell and W: Thompson, published in the Spectator, as false and libellous. The Auckland Times has some observations on the publication, by Captain Fitzroy, of Sir W. Molesworth's letter, which we | will insert in our next number.

We wish to direct attention 1o Mr. Clifford's ! refutation of Captain Fitzroy's mis-statements respecting the Roman Catholic mission -tries, which, in our opinion, is in every way sitisfactory and complete. Captain Fitzroy has, > in this instance, taken advantage of hi*> otfict.d situation to make charges which he knew to be untrue, against a meritorious body of men who have earned the respect of those to whom they are known, and who have studiously avoided meddling with politics. In consequence of the publication of this despatch, we are informed that Bishop Pompallier, who is at present at Sydney, does not intend to return to this colony, until peace and o-der is in some degree established uuder Captain Fitzroy's successor.

In publishing the proceedings at the Police Court last week, we alluded to another case to which we think it necessary to dhect publicattention, the circumstances of which are briefly as follows. The \\ aiwetu natives have hitherto monopolized the ferry at tjie mouth of the river, generally charging the seiilers a shil ing each tor transporting them over, and if their business appeared urgent, evicting hdlf-a-c.own ; and on Sundays, lelusing to ferry them over at all. This grievance has for a long time heeit submitted to; hut since the :>ettlers have established themselves in the distnct oj the Wainui-omata, its constant recurrence has been severely felt by them, art! they have endeavoured to provide a remedy, by encouraging a boat-builder of the name of Wilco>,who has obtained a lease of some land ou the bank ol the river, to establish a lerry. The natives resist-d this attempt, and threatened to bum down his premises, and destroy hi* property, if I.c resisted. They also sent for Mr. Kemp, the native protector, who threatened Mr. W.lcox with the terrors of the law, if he presumed to interfe.e with the monopoly oi the natives, and he has in consequence of Mr. Kemp's iutertetei cc discontinued the attempt. Accoiding to the above statement, which we have received ou respectable authority, we certainly consider Mr. Kemp's conduct to be most uuwanaiu- j able and mischievous.

In the Legislative Council of New South Wales, Mr. Wentworth presented a petition from the Hebrew Congregation of Sydney, for aid towards the completion of their synagogue. The petitioners contended, " that as loyal British subjects contributing to the general revenue in the same manner as their Christian brethren, they were entitled to this aid. They then proceeded to point out precedents for the granting of this aid, and urged that although these matters had been regulated in this colony by Sir Richard Bourke's Church Act, the reservation of £30,000 was not merely for " Christian worship," but foi " Public worship," in which latter their establishment would be properly included.

By \\\e jLaiheHne JOJjjbtone -we learn thatCpptain Fitzroy'b effigy wasSurnt atWanganui amid great rtjoien p. — And by tlie sam* arrival we are informed that our late townsman Mr. Mathjeapn is buildiug » Yfuel of I7tons up the W«nganui river.

Taranaki. —A small quantity of flour (5 tons) had been sent from Taranaki to Auckland, and had brought 420 per ton.

Archdeacon W. Williams, Rev. Mr. Coenzo, arrived overland fmm the East Cape.

Auckland.—Business at Auckland, in the •own, was brisk, with a number of vessels in harbour; but no cultivation was going on in the country.

Parkhurst Boys. — At Auckland soro* Parkhu-st boys were brought up on suspicion of breaking into and plumle:ing the louse of Mr. Jones; they were fully committed for trial. T\\e Auckland limes say, " Here is a hornet's nest discovered, which speaks volumes upon the efficacy of the Parkhurst reformation system. The good o'd fa>hion of a sound flogging at a cart's tail should be restored, for the benefit of these young gentlemen.

____________ Died, At Boulogne Stir mer, F»ance, on the I2th November, 1844, Lieut. Montague Mac Donogh, half-pay, 4th Foot, in the 45th year of his age.