The New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, September 19, 1846.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume II, Issue 119, 19 September 1846, Page 2

The New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, September 19, 1846.

The -false and exaggerated notions with respect to the value of land in New Zealanc entertained by absentee landowners has hat a pernicious effect on the progress of th< settlement, and unless these erroneous impressions are corrected, and the absentees an brought to hold more reasonable views or this subject, the evil threatens to be a yer) serious one. In the first years of the colony, when the settlers were determined to be pleased with the country of their adoption, every thing appeared to them" coleur He ruse { and highly wrought descriptions cf its climate and capabilities were 'sent to their friends in England: These were readily received by the Jortunate holders of preliminary landorders, and their ardent imaginations dwelling on the bright side of the picture, the majority of them at length became peisuaded that in so rising a colony, the only fear Was lest they should not ask enough for their lands; and men whom we have no doubt on all other topics of business would be found perfectly rational, on this particular subjectlabour under so great" an hallucination as almost to amount to monomania. We believe we are correct in stating that- in the earlier stages of the- colony the great majority of absentee landowners either gave no authority to their' agents' to 'let at" aH, orlP rhited the term of leases to three years! We have seen several letters to agents in the colony, perfect curiosities in their wayOne man writes to. his agent, authorising him to let his town and country section for £100 a-year, if for a five- years lease, and £250 a-year, if for a twenty-years lease ; or on a graduated scale on a twenty-years lease, the first five -years for £100 per annum, and so on ascending to the last fiveyears, at £400 per annum ; minute directions are given for remitting the rent quarterly, and pleasing anticipations are indulged in that at the end of the longest term, " if the energies of the colonists are properly directed, and the dangerous Sf irit of speculation becomes not too rampant" the improvements of the tenant, the value of the buildings he has erected, and the high state of cultivation into which the land will be brought through his exertions, will greatly, enhance the value of the section. Another, in 1844, gives instructions to his, agent, to let his town acre at "the rate, of £70 per annum for the first seven years, £120 per annum for the next seven years, and £160 per annum for the last, seven years, with,? purchasing -clause for the respective of £900, £1400. and^lSobr-stipulates that all expenses must, be borne by the .tenant, and at the expiration of the lease all im« proveraents made by .him should, fall in to the landlord. The couutry land (in the Karori district) is to.be let in the same way, and under similar conditions, the first seven year; for £30 per annum, the- second seven years for £50 per annum, and the third seven years at £80 per annum, with a, purchasing clause within the respective terms for ip6OQ, £900, and £1,200, and to stimulate the exertions of the agent; he promises,^ if these terms should be found ujireqsonabfy^lbw, a commission of ten per cent, on the amount of purchase money obtained in excess .of these limits. 7 The present value of the town section, in the example last quoted, may b.e £150/ and of the country .section -££00.^" We have, thus entered into detail (and the examples might be multipiie"d) 'because

without particular instances it is impossible to convey an adequate notion of the extent of the evil- c These gentlemen of England who sit at home at ease have somehow or other arrived at< a' standard of value peculiar to themselves, and after having conveyed their~instructions to their agents, with explicit directions to remit their rents quarterly, imagine nothing more is to be said on the subject. ~ If no rent is received owing to the inability of the tenant to pay. it is concluded either that the agent has neglected his duty, or that 1c is dishonest. If they hear that difficulties exist .about the claims to land, they have paid their £100 and can afford to wait ; presently disturbances arise, settlers are murdered, and their land becomes the field of blood ; — still they can afford to wait, the property will be valuable for their children. Then they hear the Governor has directed military roads to be formed throughout the settlement to protect the settlers against the incursions of hostile natives. Ah ! say they, see the prudence of waiting! We shall now obtain increased rents ! Now we cannot too pften and too earnestly remind the absentees, the sooner they are disabused of these false notions the better for us and for themselves. We are ready with them to extol the climate and cnpabilities of New Zealand, and believe there is no other country where a person of sober views and moderate, expectations may so soon realize them, or where an industrious hard working man may succeed so well. But the land in its uncultivated state, inaccessible for want of roads, and covered with heavy timber, is of very little value* To become productive, -capital must be expended and labour employed, the capital and the labour not of the absentee but of the ■ettler. And can they suppose that after a tenant has incurred the heavy expense of clearing he is in a condition to pay in addition a heavy rent ? Can .they suppo>e that any one in his senses would undertake to dear,the >.heavily. timbered, bud jof this district on a seven years lease ? Yet this is the limit to which many of the agents are restricted by the absentee owners of land. We are told by Adam Smith that " the plenty and cheapness of good land, are the principal causes of the rapid prosperity of new colonies," but that " the engrossing of land in effect, destroys this plenty an 4 cheapness," and that " the engrossing of uncultivated land is the greatest obstruction to its improvement." Now the extravagant views entertained by many of the absentees has the effect of engrossing the land by rendering it impossible for any one to rent it on their terms. And in hxingthe value of the annual rental, it must be borne in mind that the cultivators of these heavily timbered districts will he exposed to the competition of the cultivators of the ferti lands at Taranaki and Nelson, where hundreds, aye thousands of acres are now under cultivation by the plough, and to the produce grown by the maories, and 'as these; incur less expense in cultivation *they can afford to sell cheaply, and the more active the competition, the less the return for the .capital expended on cultivating heavily timbered lands, and the lower rent it is in the power of the tenant to give. StnotHer bar to the occupation of the lands held by absentees/ is their refusal to grant purchasing clauses, • or only on such terms as in effecfrende'rs purchase out of the question. And these high rents 1 and the refusal to sell on reasonable terms have prevented many hardworking men who had saved a little money' from settling, and so' have deprived the colon)' of many useful settlers. ft ntav^be said these are matters of private krrangement, and that land like any other commodity will eventually find its market ihtluV. But the two' classes are not on an «qual footing 1 ; the absentee whose land is at present untaxed, can afford to wait, the settler, who suffers all the inconvenience, cannot. < '.Ai>d the consideration becomes important; jSn $[üblio 'grounds, for hot only is the ex-l pense tif tricking and maintaining roads increased, but the expense of protecting the Irtttement, from the difficulty of acting with

troops in such heavily timbered districts, is greatly increased also. This has been so manifest in the late operations against Rangihaeata, as to render any observations on it superfluous. It appears high time, therefore, that a corrective should be applied to the evil by way of Legislative enactment, and that the absentees who have an interest in the progress of the colony should bear a fair proportion of those expenses necessary for its well being and the development of its resources.

Execution of one of the Rebels. — The Court Martial appointed to try the rebels who were made . prisoners during the late military, operations, commenced its sittings at the camp at Parramatta Point, Porirua, on Monday morning. The Court was composed "of the following members: — Major Arney, 58th regt, President ; Capt. O'Connell, Capt. Newingham, 65th ; Capt. Armstrong. Capt. Reid, 99th; Capt. Laye, 58th regts. ; and the Hon. W. Yelverton, Royal Artillery. Mr. Servantes acted as Interpreter. The prisoners who' were confined on board the Calliope, were landed early on Monday morning, and were delivered over to the custody of the military. The first prisoner tried was Rangiatea one of the scouts captured by the Ngatitoas at Pauatahanui, on the Ist of August. This man either is or affects to be insane, and in consequence of the doubt entertained of his sanity has escaped the extreme penalty of the law, but has been sentenced to be imprisoned for life. Martin Luther, whose native name is Wareaitu, and who was taken prisoner on the march by the militia about the same time, was tried the following day. This native was brother to Rangiatea, and was a chief of considerable influence at Wanganui. He was tried on two counts, the first charging him with having been engaged in the attack on the troops on the 1 6th June, and the second count, with having been taken in arms against the peace of the Queen, and with having joined the rebels under Rangihaeata. To the latter count he pleaded guilty. The forms of the Court were extremely simple, and appeared to be perfectly understood by the natives. The principal evidence brought forward was that of the two natives who took "him prisoner, and that of two native women who proved that they had seen the prisoner in Rangihaeata's pa, and that he had acted with Rangihaeata's party. The prisoner admitted the correctness of the evidence, and was> found guilty and sentenced Co be hanged. The prisoner throughout the proceedings has manifested the utmost coolness and selfpossession. He admit led that he made a great mistake in joining Rangihaeata, and has written to his friends at Wanganui dissuading them from engaging in hostilities against the Government. He said he was not afraid to die, and only regretted he was not shot or tomahawked instead of having been taken prisoner. The Rev. H. Govett, who was in the neighbourhood on his return to Waikanae, on the evening previous to the execution was sent for, and arrived at the camp at six o'clock on Thursday morning, and remained with the prisoner during his last moments. The gallows was erected about three hundred yards from the Stockade inclosing the camp near a long conical sand hill, and was about sixteen feet high, with a platform raised about ten feet from the ground, and with one end resting on the sandhill. At eight o'clock the prisoner was led out guarded by the armed police, and followed by a detachment of soldiers, who formed three sides of a square in front of rhe place of execution, the fourth side being occupied by the police, and the scaffold which was' in the centre. Sentries were posted along the ditch of the camp, who kept the spectators (about twenty Europeans and fifteen native?) at a distance of one hundred and fifty yards from the place of execution. After h» handcuffs were removed the prisoner was pinioned, and was led along the sand hill to the scaffold. He walked with a firm step, and shewed no symptoms of fear at his approaching end, and stood perfectly erect while the fatal rope was adjusted round his neck. Everything "being in readiness the drop fell, and the prisoner was launched into eternity ; for a few seconds he remained perfectly motionless, and tl<en after a few convulsive struggles life was extinct. No cap was drawn orer the face of the prisoner previous to his execution, and the body after remaining the usual time was cut down. From the early hour at which it occurred the natives belonging to the Taupo pa were too late to witness the execution, having staid to get their breakfast, but the greater part of them arrived previous to the body being rut down, and with the exception of a few of the old men, appeared to concur in the justice of the sentence, and approved of its graving been carried into execution. .

The trials of tlie rebels captured at Wainui was to take place yesterday. The Wanganui natives who had joined Rangihaeata left him on the 12th instant on their return to their own district. Rangihaeata, with his followers, is reported to have gone to Rangitiki on the 14th.

Three cases of arms, and six caslc3 of ammunition, have been sent by his Honor the Superintendent in the Katherine Johnstone to Wanganui for the protection of the settlers in that district.

Public Meeting. — A meeting of the own* ners of Land Orders was held at Barrett's Hotel last night, W. Hickson, Esq. in the chair, at which the memorial prepared by the committee appointed by the former meeting was read by Dr. Featherston. After some discussion it was moved by Mr. Moore and seconded by Mr. Catchpool :— That this meeting resolve itself 'into ah open committee for the purposes of considering in detail the memorial "just read, and that they meet on Tuesday evening next, at Barrett's Hotel, at seven o'clock, and every succeeding evening for the aceomplishmentof such purpose. The thanks of the meeting were unanimously voted to Dr. Featherston and the other gentlemen of the committee for drawing up the memorial, and the thanks of the meeting were voted to Mr. Hickson for his conduct in the chair. It is earnestly hoped that the owners of Land Orders will make a point of attending.

We understand that Messrs. Rhodes have got the contract to supply the military at Wellington with beef and mutton at 1 l^d. per II)., and Mr. Revans has obtained the contracts for meat at Parramatta Point and Jackson's Ferry at 13£ d. per lb.

From the great demand for beef and mutton for the military, aud consequent high prices, we are surprised that so few animals are imported from the neighbouring colonies. Five or six cargoes of steers and wethers would meet with a ready sale even landed here lean, but should an importer succeed in landing animals fit for the butcher, it would prove an exceedingly profitable speculation and a boon to the colonists, as it would tend to reduce the present extravagant prices of meat.

A herd of very fine fat bullocks were driven in last vtfe'elc from Wairarapa belonging to Capt. Daniell, which does him great credit as a breeder of stock; they wtre sold to Messrs. Rhodes to slaughter for the military contracts.

By the William, from Launceston, via Nelson, we hare received a Cornwall Chronicle of August 12th, files of Adelaide papers to July 13th, and Nelson Examiners to Sept. 12th, and by the Mary Anne from Sydney we have received a file of the Sydney Mofning Herald to August 27th, from which we have extracted the most interesting intelligence.

The Gypsey arrived from the East Coast on Wednesday last. She left Ouriri on the 15th inst., and Ihe day previous to her leaving, information was brought from Mr. Perry's station, that a large vessel had arrived at Auckland with 700 troops. Should this information prove correct it will doubtless be the Java with the, 6sth regiment.

Yesterday evening 1 the prisoner Rangiatea was brought from Porirua under an escort of the armed Police, and safely lodged in gaol.

Wellington Savings Bank. — Mr. Hugh Ross, Mr. C. W. Schultze, Mr. J. Smith, and Mr. J. Johnston, the Managers in rotation, will attend to receive deposits at Mr. Ross's . office, from .seven to . eight o'clock on Saturday evening, the 19th Sept., and at the Union Bank of .Australia, from twelve to one o'clock on Monday forenoon, the 2 1st September. ■