New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, April 1, 1848.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 279, 1 April 1848, Page 2

New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, April 1, 1848.

The opportunity of a communication either direct or indirect with the mother country is generally taken advantage of to make known the present state and prospects of the colony, to explain our wants, and how our interests may be best advanced, in a word to give what is usually understood as the latest news from the colony. The different questions connected with the New Zealand Company have lately been freely and fully discussed, in considering Mr. Cowell's report. We know what has been done for the Company : — in their anxiety to atone for past differences the Government have conceded to them the most valuable prw vileges : — what in return do the Company intend doing for the colony ? The whole of the Southern Province is made over to them — but we hear of no preparations to turn to a useful account the lands they possess in this settlement. The greatest wants of the colony are labour and capital — the two elements of successful colonisation which, as they profess, it is the, peculiar province of the Company to supply. Of the want of labour we have lately given repeated instances, in the present high rate of wages and the difficulty which exists of obtaining men, even at this rate. But independent of the serious drawback to the colony necessarily caused by the want of hands to do the work absolutely required, there is another point of view, the economical — in which it would be desirable for the Government to consider our wants, and to supply (if the Company cannot) the means for a fresh immigration to this colony. The most effectual way of securing the peace of the country is to increase the European population, especially in those districts which are already settled ; wherever the native population greatly preponderates, their numerical superiority, if

they are disposed to be turbulent, gives them increased confidence, but when the number of settlers is considerable, the chance of disturbance becomes more remote. The object of the British Government appears to be to remove the troops now stationed in New Zealand as soon as is consistent with the honor of the Government and the safety of the colonists. We repeat, the most effectual, and therefore the most economical way of securing this object is by immigration. If in the course of the next three years the inhabitants of this settlement were increased by immigration from 4,000 to 10,000; — from our increased numbers we should be in a better position to defend ourselves, while the impetus given to trade would, by affording additional employment to the natives, render them still more disposed to cultivate the arts of peace. The claims of this colony are in this respect peculiar. The common want of the Australian colonies is labour ; but in New Zealand, while the necessity as regards the colonists is equally urgent, by supplying their wants the Government woukl save a considerable outlay which they are obliged to incur in m aintaining the peace of the country. The legitimate source for obtaining funds for this object should be the land, but this has been made over to the Company who can neither use it themselves, nor will they allow the Government to use it for the good of the colony. If the Company still continue inactive they are bound to surrender the advantages conferred on them by the Government, and not by taking advantage of the letter of their agreement, insist on retaining for three years a privilege useless to themselves and injurious to the colony.

By the Catherine we have received Nelson Examiners to the 25th inst., but they do not contain any local news of importance. Two public meetings had been held to discuss the New Constitution, and to see in what manner it could be made most beneficial to that settlement. The first meeting appears to have ended without any practical result ; at the second a series of resolutions were passed unanimously, embodying the sentiments of the meeting on the principal points of the New Constitution. The chief objections urged were against taking the amount of revenue as the basis for apportioning the number of representatives to each borough in the Provincial and General Assemblies, and the election of representatives by the Corporation instead of the electors at large ; on the former point some jealousy is shewn of the Government expenditure in this settlement. It was proposed to remunerate the representatives sent to the Colonial Legislature by allowing them ten shillings per diem from the public revenue of the colony, and that the borough of Nelson should embrace the whole district, and consist of five wards, to be represented by sixty-eight common councilmen ! A dinner was given by the working- classes to Messrs. Dillon and Fox, on their leaving the settlement for Auckland and Wellington on their acceptance of office, " as a mark of esteem for their public conduct," which was fully attended. From a notice in the Examiner it appears that the Nelson branch of the Union Bank of Australia was closed on the 25th inst., so that the settlement is now without a bank. The Nelson races took place on the 18th inst., and appear to have been conducted with considerable spirit. The Racehorse was seen by the Catherine on Thursday evening off Sinclair Head.

Sale op Stock. — At Messrs Bethune & Hunter's sale of stock ex Kelso, on Friday, the following prices were realized : 40 steers brought from £6 10s. to £7. 50 cows were sold at from £6 ss. to £10 10s., the average being £8 per head. About 50 heifers were sold at an average of £5 ss. each. 800 ewes realized by private sale 18s. a head. One thorough bred pony mare sold at £27 65., and two other ponies one for £16 the other for £10. The sale was very numerously attended.

Programme of the Performance by the Band of the 65 th Regiment at Thorndon Flat, on Tuesday, the 4th April : — 1. Overture— Massaniello Auber 2. Aria— A non Guinge O mia Se m ni pensiere J 3. Irish Quadrille Jvllien 4. Duetto — Belizario Donizetti 5. Dublin Waltzes Labitz&y 6. Cavatina — Chiara de Rosemberg . . Ricci 7. Galop Lanner 8. Brunnow Polka Tuiney

Wellington Savings Bank. — Mr. Hogg, Mr. J. Hoggard, Mr. T. Hoggard, and Dr. Featherston, the Managers in rotation, will attend to receive deposits at Messrs. Johnson & Moore's store, Lambton-quay, from seven to eight o'clock on Saturday evening, the Ist April, and at the Union Bank of Australia, from twelve to one o'clock, on Monday forenoon, 3rd April.

Wellington, March 1, 1848. Spirits and Tobacco under bond this day : Brandy 5616 gals. Rum H. 144 „ Gin 2085 „ Liqueurs 6 „ Whisky 91 „ Tobacco, manufactured 48,135 lbs. „ unmanufactured 333 ft „ „ Cigars 1121 „

(From a Correspondent,)

" Thkee months after date." — Time, like the light of day, is an element of existence, to which all mankind are privileged alike. Although unreal, and not even a property of any material body, it is nevertheless an essential of the continued being of everything. While it is a mutation only, it is of so much importance to the general harmony of nature, that no one can claim it more than another, and no one can justly deprive any other of any portion of it without causing an infringement of one of those eternal laws that govern the universe. As if for the purpose of placing this mutation less under control, even than the light of the ,sun, all things have been so divinely organized that a chain of periods is absolutely essential to their continued existence; and it is quite inconceiveable that any being can live without this most perfect succession. A prison may conceal the light, or a lens may concentrate the rays of the sun and render it more effulgent, — but no dungeon can deprive the culprit of time, nor can any prism cause the periods to diverge or be separated to a greater distance from each other, were it desired even for the purpose of prolonging the reign of the most ambitious monarch. So important is this mutation to the well being and proper government, and orderly regulations of all affairs, that any attempt at concentrating or expanding it, with reference to such affairs, is necessarily attended with destruction to them. The adaptation of motive powers may be improved, speed may be accelerated, velocity may be increased, — even the electro-magnetic influence may render communication all but instantaneous, — still time is the measure of every additional improvement in rapidity ; and while space appears to be lessened by an apparent decrease of quantity, time always maintains its prerogative as the index of every result. Under the control of time all life, production, generation, and consumption, all that is, has been, or is to be, is governed and regulated. By it the monarch is born, lives, and dies; and by it, in like manner, the peasant exists, labours, and ceases to toil. The pleasures of the day to the one, and the labours of the day to the other, are equally under its guidance, as is also the repose of both, notwithstanding that the one may recline upon down, and the other upon straw. The reign of a monarch expresses the fulness of his glory or iniquity, while the life of a peasant is a chronicle of his success or failure during the period that he is moving with the impulses of this most important monitor. By it the seasons are governed, the progress of improvement regulated, and the perfection of the sciences made manifest. As this mutation, therefore, evidently controls everything, is it not equally palpable that all attempts to impel or impede its operations must eventually be attended with failure, although made under direction of the greatest practical influence of human power ? The seed must have its allotted period for germinating, the grain and the fruit for ripening ; the body must have its measure of repose, no less than the necessary amount of food for the purpose of nourishing it ; and the means required for all these ends must likewise be devised and conducted with great skill and ingenuity, both as regards the beginning and the end, so as to produce a harmony throughout the whole of the undertaking. Even after the harvest is gathered in, and the produce is housed, the grain has to be separated from the chaff, a voyage is probably necessary to convey it to its destined market for consumption, and the proceeds of all these operations have to be realized. The whole of this routine is carried on by every party employed in its details, without one of them being conscious of the results ; — time being the measure of every operation ; and, in the end, the measure also of the value of all. Before the proceeds can be returned to the producer, the greater part, probably the whole amount in

has been expended in some useful purpose, either making preparations for additional supplies for the same objects, or in repairing, replacing, or adding some necessaryconveniences for future operations. To accomplish all this, time is emphatically the element. Without it none of these operations could be performed. Without it all things would necessarily have to be consumed where they w ere produced. Without it also nine-tenths of the produce of the earth would inevitably decay in the spots upon which they grew. With it, however, the grower can draw and realize upon his producing, the manufacturer upon his fabrics, and the merchant upon his shipments. The attempt to place a limitation upon individual discretion and discernment in this would be an effort to bring into operation an act not less inoperative and futile than the sumptuary laws of the Romans; that is as much to say, your time is not your own, your appetite is not your own ; you shall both eat and drink as much as I please, sleep and work as long as I please, and pay for your imports and exports in as long or as short a time as I please, whether your operations require a long period or a short one ; all of which is a palpable infringement of some of the most wholesome and- important laws and regulations of commerce. J. W.

Swan River. — The sandal-wood tax. which was abandoned on account of the strong opposition it met with from the colonists, was again being introduced in disguise under the character of a toll. A central board for the superintendence ol roads, &c, had been substituted for the former system of road trusts, but its composition did not satisfy the colonists, the whole of the members with the exception of Mr. S. Moore, being government officers. Mr. Madden, the new Colonial Secretary of Western Australia, is the celebrated traveller. Fresh discoveries of coal were being made every day, but there seems to be little progress making in the way of turning these discoveries to accou'it. Copper is also found, and quicksilver is reported as being among the d scoveries, a circumstance of considerable importance, seeing that heretofore qu : cksilver has not been found in any of the British possessions. The mail from the Swan to King George's Sound, which used to occupy a fortnight in the transit, is now conveyed in five days. The allowance hitherto given by the Government to the Wesleyan Institution, for the instruction and civilization of the aborigines, is to be reduced from £75 to £30 per annum, and, strange to say, this alteration follows immediately upon the Acting Governor's visit to the Institution, when he professed himself highly delighted with the whole establishment, and with the progress made in the culture of the soil.

South Australia. — A grand horticultural show was held at Adelaide, on the park lands near ihe town. A great number of booths were erected for the occasion. — In consequence of the stoppage of Emigration by the Colonization Commissioners, a number of the leading colonists ate considering the practicability of obtaining an immediate supply of Chinese labourers, and upwards of £200 have already been subscribed towards a fund for that purpose. It is proposed to charter the steamer Juno to make several trips to China. — The Report of the Directors of the North Kapunda Mining Company, read at the general annual meeting, declares the state of affairs to be very flourishing. — At a meeting of the Committee of Management of the Adelaide Savings Bank, it was resolved that the deposits should be returned to the shareholders with a strong recommendation to reinvest the same in the Colonial Savings Bank recently instituted by Act of Council. — Government are surveying one hundred sections on the Emu Plains, which contain the best surface indications of ore yet discovered in the pro^ vince, and the sections will be put up for sale; as soon as the survey is completed. — The farmers had experienced considerable inconvenience for want of reapers, although on a large number of farms the grain had been cut by reaping machines. — The South Australian in speaking of the crop says :—": — " The crop of wheat, as far as we can judge at present, is of excellent quality ; but the average quantity will be much lower than last year. Barley is a very indifferent crop, the quantity being very short of last year. Oats seem to be a good fair average crop. As to potatoes, there are very few grown in the district this season, and those who have a fey/ planted complain of their being very bad." — A settler in the Guichen Bay district has discovered several specimens of silkworm, which exist in the forests of the interior to such an extent, as to promise a vast and profitable field of commercial and manufacturing enterprise. The silk is strong in fibre, and beautifully white. He has alss found some brilliant and undoubtedly valuable vegetable dyes, which appear to be abundant.