AND COOK'S STRAITS GUARDIAN. Satuarday, December 20, 1845.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume II, Issue 62, 20 December 1845, Page 2

AND COOK'S STRAITS GUARDIAN. Satuarday, December 20, 1845.

In the discussions which have lately taken place in and out of the House of Commons upon the affairs of New Zealand, the general questions have been, whether the treaty of Waitangi shall be upheld or annulled, and what construction ought to be put upon that document. The respective opinions on these points have, of course, influenced those as to the conduct which ought to he pursued in the. future government of the colony. There is a line of reasoning or principle which, it appears to us, has been entirely overlooked, and the application of which in the present case, while it will permit the; treaty of Waitangi to be upheld inviolate in i every respfect, will remove' all oljsjtacles, which the recogaition of property in the 1 / natives in the waste lands of the countrynow seem to oppose to an adjustment of the land question. '.The principle we allude to* is, that individual or .private- rights and in.« terests must give" way where the general of\ public benefit requires it. There is no.prihr ciple more generally acknowledged in civilized communities than this, and it has bspp very extensively acted upon lately in Great Britain, particularly in relation to real property. Whatever the predilections— the ties —the affections of the owners in favor of or with the land or buildings, whatever the rights or privileges which in any way interfere with a line of railway — the enlargement of a market— the establishment of a cemetery — the enclosure of a common or other work which the Parliament declare to be conducive to the public benefit, and in consequence enact shall be permitted to be pjjf&rmed, all

such predilections, ties itnd affections, rights and privileges, must be sacrificed to the general good, and the possessors be contented to receive a pecuniary compensation. Can any feasible objection be urged to the application of this principle to the maories ? We cannot see any. Adopting the construction of the treaty of Waitangi contended for by Lord Stanley, the natives are possessors of 85,000,000 acres of land of which they require 100,000 only at the very utmost for their maintenance — which i? allowing nearly one for every soul, man, woman, and child. They possess, therefore, 84,900,000 acres totally useless to themselves — because, having neither judgment nor capital they cannot apply them to t any useful purpose. New Zealand, by the treaty of Waitangi, being a British dominion, the natives are, to .all intents British subjects—and are" entitled' to the" rights, privileges, and protection of such ; In return for these advantages they are subject to the restrictions and disadvantages (if any) of a civilized community, and arc therefore clearly within the operation of the beforementioned principle. They cannot have greater immunities than their more civilized countrymen. Two interests are involved in the settlement of the land question and future policy of the Government. That of the aboriginal inhabitants on the one hand, and that of the present European inhabitants of the islands and the superabundant population of Great Britain on the other. C lonization is acknowledged and has been declared the best remedy for the evil of the superabundant population of Great Britain, and New Zealand has been also declared to be a fit country for the re- ! ccption of that population. It appears that the great existing difficulty of our present position is the possession by the natives of a quantity of land, nearly a thousand fold greater than what the . require for all their purposes, and this land they either refuse <to sell or consent to sell only for exorbitant sums of money. Can the interests of the natives, considering their population, be deemed other than private and individnal interests when compared with the interests of the thousands of Europeans now resident in .the islands, and the million of superabundant population of Great Britaip and Ireland^ ? Can the interest of the petty confederacy of the chiefs of New Zealand be considered .so vested and inviolable as to oppose itself as an obstacle to the interests and policy of Great Britain ? If Capt. Grey will act in accordance with the recommendations in his report on the treatment of aborigines and teach these natives that they are British subjects, that British laws are to supersede their own, that while those laws allow Britons to hold, manage, and dispose of their property according to their will, yet they at times require that individuals shall abandon and accept compensation for those lights and interests — the obstinate and capricious retention of which will interfere with the public benefit and advancement ; if he will, acting on purely constitutional principles, declare by ordinance of the Legislative Council, that the colonization of certain districts is essential to the public benefit and advancement of the colony, and enact that such districts shall be taken and appropriated for that purpose, the owners of such districts being compensated, and the rate of condensation being estimated in some fair and legitimate manner ; if he will do this — we hesitate not to say, that he will solve the problem of our difficulties in as happy, simple and satisfactory a way, as he has solved the financial problem of South Australia.

<FftOir the latest news received from England Ht would appear that the British Government are at length beginning to awake from their lethargy; and that the different reinforcements of troops which may shortly be fe.nti to. New. Zealand .will raise the 'amount pf force at the disposal of the Governor to' jitibout three regiments, besides the* naval 'Torce, which will remain on this coast until our present troubles are removed, and peace and good order firmly established. The destruction of Kororarika has taught the Ministers that it is no longer safe for them to continue in their former policy, that an active energy must be exhibited in the place of their former indifference, and that the ! colonists, to use Lord John Russell's exprcs- | sion, must be treated " as the sons, and not as the enemies of the country." The intelligence of the defeat of Col. Hulme and Col. Despard will urge them to more active measures for our protection, and we may fairly calculate that this force during the next six months will be augmented rather than diminished. How this force is to be disposed of is a question which will form the

subject of anxious discussion and speculation both among the nativei trad the settlers. Undoubtedly the first care of our new Governor will be to put an end to the presentwar at the north by punishing the rebels and by asserting the British supremacy ; it will also be his duty to take immediate steps to insure the continuance of peace and good order in the^ southern settlements. This cau only be done by Sending 1 a strong reinforcement to the troops already stationed here, and by finally settling the land claims. Until the force stationed in this district is considerably increased, we can only regard the present state of things as a hollow truce, liable to be interrupted by the slightest accident or misunderstanding, as the followipg incident will serve to shew : — A Settler, desirous of relaxation, took his gull intending to have a morning's amusement by shooting Kaka* in the Hutt district. To make what follow^ intelligible to our readers out' of the colony, it is necessary to explain the native mfcthoifl of catching these birds. A native will frequ^njly climb a tree, carefully "con-^ cealing hin'self among the thickest foliage, and having a kaka or parrot, which is tied to a stick, and which serves as a decoy. By teaziog his captive, the screams of the bird attract the attention of other ' kakas which settle round it, and the native is enabled to catch them without difficulty. Our seitler saw what appeared to him a fair shot, a kaka fluttering among the branches of a. tree above him, and another alighting im- v mediately beside the one which appeared to be on the point of flying away. He fired, — the bird was killed, and a native, who was employed in catching kakas in the way we have just described, and who had so concealed himself as not to have been observed,'—* was wounded. Immediately the news reached the pa, the natives flew to arms in a state of the greatest excitement, the settler was seized, his gun taken from him, and for a time it appeared too probable that his life would be sacrificed to their fury. Fortunately a surgeon who had by this time arrived, speedily convinced them that the native was very slightly injured, and by prudence and good management, and by tb,e' exercise of, great forbearance on the part of the settlers; the affair ended without any mischievous consequences. But what disastrous results might have been occasioned by this untoward accident, if the native had been .seriously wounded ! If a lirtle more irritation had been displayed on either side; some desperate act might have been committed by the natives • which would have plunged the district into all the horrors of a war between the two 1 races. For they expressly declared, that if the native had been killed, or had subsequently died from the effects of this accident, they would most certainly have taken the life of the settler. As the matter rests, they have taken the law into their own hands and' have seized the settler's gun, which they re--fuse 10 part with. We have thought it right to draw public attention strongly to this incident, because it is a fair illustration of ouj present position. Comment is unnecess«ijS| any one from it may see the evils to WmciF we have been daily exposed ever since the' Wairau massacre from the vacillating, donothing policy of the government, and the want of sufficient protection; from these evils we have hitherto been preserved more by good luck than by good management on the part of our rulers. We hope that this incident will not be thrown away on our new Governor, that from it he will see the necessity of taking immediate steps to ensure the continuance of peace by sending a strong reinforcement of troops as soon as he has the power of doing >o, and by losing no time in removing the hostile garrison of Rangihaieta from their present quarters, and putting the settlers in peaceable possession of land that has been so often purchased. By such mea* sures he will in a> great degree remove the stigma -that attaches to the Government for tbfir fbrnoet conduct, and SLfford.jfchejetUor*. the m^st unequivocal proof that he is determined to repair the mischief caused by the imbecility and folly of his predecessor^

Fmoif Jthe latest advices irora England we learn that the differences between the Government And the New Zetland Company are likely to be arranged in an amicable mariner,. *nd it is expected that the Company will resume its operations on a better foundation and in closer communication with the Government. The Nelson may very probably bring the news of the satisfactory termination of thf present negociations. - '<---•

On Thursday morning, .about- 10 minntefcta; 10 o'clock, a very severe shock ol" an egrthsf quake was felt in Wellington. .Tfce lasted several seconds, and wjji ajocompaojejd by a load noise. The weather.; yas ufßgL fectly calm before and after the earthqua-kt/ We bfve not heard of any damage that- htf been occasioned by it.

A MELiMiNAET meeting of settlers was held yestcxdfty »t Mr. Rowland J>tvi«'i, for tht

purpose of considering the propriety, of. adop-, Jing an addiess to be presented to C»pt. Grey on his arrival at Port Nicholson, when it ,pris igreedto call a Public- Meeting for this purpose on Tuesday evening next, at | past 7 o'clcck', at Mr. Rowland Davis's Saloou.

At Messrs. Bethune & Hunter's sale or stock yesterday, a mixed flock of ewe* (shorn) with Jambs given in averaged £l 7s. 3d. per head ; a flock' of weaned lambs bred in the colony averaged 17s. 6d. each ; Sixteen head of cattle realized from £8 10s. to £11 per head. The wool sold, sheep's wool, Is. 2£d. per Ib. lambs',' wop] Is. 3jd. .per lb. The above sales were, for cash, and- were considered very fair prices. The sale was very numerouly attended.

We have published a letter frotn a Wanganui settler, who has tarnished us with hi* name, complaining of the present arrangements of the Post Office iii that district, and of th¥ annoyance arid inconvenience felt by the discontinuance of the overlau'd mail. This is^one-of tiioVe grieVaHces.wMcn w* hopetfap^fciff will not be slow in correcting. • Not to allude to the personal annoyance and disappointment felt by settlers in the delay of the receipt of their letters, particularly when those letters are from • England, we contend on public grounds, that it is a social injury ; as nothing is more likely to increase the amount of coasting trade between Wellington, Wangauui, and Taranaki, that the opportunity afforded to the settlors of these districts of sending their commissions with regularity and despatch to their agents in Wellington. ' To argue a questiou of such public utility as the conveyance of letters on the mere score of expense, would be to take a false view of the subject. ' To such an argument, we may best reply, that the indirect, as well as the direct effects of the measure must be regarded, and that if its effect would be to increase the coasting trade, this would be sure to increase the revenue by a greater consumption of articles paying duty.

Wakbanui. — Private letters from Wanganui state that the natives ot that district are very quiet, and busily employed at their cultivations, and from" the report of persons who have arriyed "there from the interior, it would appear that the natives of Taupo and Waikato are very peaceably disposed, and do not entertain any intention of a hostile visit to that district. The natives at Wanganui are desirous of preparing flax, and our correspondent states that ojie hundred tons might be prepared during the sun>mer, if thfeyhad a Su^R'cleni'suppMy'of?: kukus, or muscle shells, which are used by them for cleaning the flax : these shells are not to be found at Wanganui. Besides, the vessel which Mr. Mathieson is building, another of about 25 tons will be shortly laid on the stocks by Messrs. Taylor and Watt, the owners of the Katkerine Johnstone. A town sec- j tipn at Wanganui selected for an early choice has recently been sold for Fifty Pounds.

Auckland. — By the Elizabeth we have rexgeived files of Auckland papers to rhe 15th vKfcv. j they do net contain any matters of ~ fcittteular interest. We received later dates by the F don't know.

Letters have been received by the Coquette vid Sydney from a. settler who left this port in the Rover* Bride, giving a deplorable account of the mismanagement of the captain of that unfortunate vessel. It would appear that ' they, sailed from Auckland Aug. 7th, and on the 30th Aug., according to the captain's calculations,- they should have seen Tahiti, from which place they were then, in the opinion of more competent persons,' distant about 500 miles. The- provisions getting. short and the water turning bad, owing to some mismanage?) ent in filling the casks, they afterwards steered for Wilotakt, Lord Howe V Island/ and concluded by steering for the Navigators' . Islands, which be.ng a cluster they wesettenfe danger of missing.- They-arrlvedakManuaipn* thfclOtb £ep., after W|ng-l3eeii for res; d*yjfc on an allowance of- 2 biscuits and l^.-pijit of water each personr-to this, was- Added-, a little flour belonging- ta one of ttie^pas*. sengers. They were very well treated by. the natives at Manua, particularly after' tnr missionary residing there informed the natives of the misfortunes they bad silvered. 'On Jtfie Jsth Sept. they sailed for Tutuila, about 60 miles distant, where they nearly 1 went ashore, and at last arrived at Opia harbour, Opola, one^f the-, Navigc tors' Islands. Some of the passengeis subsequently left that place for Sydney .in a whaler, the others are remaining an^-appear to be in a very sad condition.

DkfcS, on, Tuesday, the I4lh October, at the bouse of her fon-in>law, Mr. Commissioner Ssun, at the Tamaki, near Auckland, New Ze«Und, Dame-Alin White, relict of Sir Henry WsHe» formerly of Portsmouth, Hampshire, J£»tgHt. Lady White, at an advanced,period dfikiriife, accompanied Mr. Spain anthhisfaiofly, in the Prince Rupert, on their voyage to New Zealand, which vessel was wrecked at the &pe'of troofrHope, when this lady slowed:

the - greatest coolness and resignation amidst the most appalling dangers/ During her residence in New Zealand, she Was always first to combat ant! smile at the many inconveniences, that must, of necessity, constantly occur in all nevr countries. She passed, almost imperceptibly, from life to death without a struggle, at the Advanced age of seventy-eight years. — Syd. Morn, Herald.