NEW ZEALAND. [From the Times, December 25.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume V, Issue 412, 14 July 1849, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND. [From the Times, December 25.]

Our late comments ,upon the tenure of New Zealand by the British Crown are but a condensation of the opinions strongly put forward, and consistently maintained, by Lord Normanby and Stanley, and Mr. Gladstone. The first of these emphatically repudiated any aggrandisement which a forcible seizure or a technical chinanery might give to English claimants and occupants,. He distinctly admitted that any acquisition of territory would be poorly compensated by a title which was sullied by violence or injustice. Lord Stanley and Mr. Gladstone asserted the same principle in its fullest extent and force. They each and all conceived the British Government to be estopped by the Treaty of Waitangi from any exerci&e of dominion over the soil of New Zealand which was not sanctioned by the free consent of the native chiefs. In their estimation a bargain had been struck between two independent contracting poweis, the Queen of England on the one part, and the New Zealand chiefs on the othei. The latter ceded the sovereignty of the island, with certain rights, to the former ; and the former as a consideration for these privileges, confirmed to the latter the full, free and uncontrolled power of alienating the lands which they occupied. The natives yielded to the Crown exclusive right of purchase. The Crown guaranteed to the natives the retention of their properties against all but bond fide purchasers. Now, these principles have been so repeatedly laid down by Colonial Secretaries, and acknowledged in Parliament by men of different parties, that they are no longer open to objection. A controversialist who would arrogate for the Crown a wider power than that of pre-emption, would have no locus standi. The Treaty of Waitangi is the title by which the sovereignty of Great Britain has, through her Ministers, admitted that she holds the dependency of New Zealand. This treaty was made when Captain Hobson was defu,cto Governor of part only of the northern island; but it was ratified by him for and behalf of all parts of any of the islands " of which he was or might become Governor." Therefore it is applicable to all. It is, then, an object of some moment, that the conditions of the treaty should be accurately understood and strictly enforced in any contract between the natives and the English Government. In none is this more necessary than in those which affect '* waste lands" and 41 doubtful claims." Now, it is a matter of very nice discrimination what are " waste lands," as likewise what claims of the natives are " invalid." And the misfortune is, that as yet there can hardly exist an impartial tribunal to decide so delicate a question. Those who would define " waste lands" to be such as are at present uncultivated or unoccupied by the natives, assume a definition which is inconsistent with all the habits of a semi-ci-vilized society. A people unlearned in the science of agriculture, who in one or two seasons exhaust the soil by their rude .tillage, are compelled to roam in quest of fresh land and new harvests. The " wastes" they leave behind are the remains of former, and the field of future labour. They go to return, and they return to depart again. Besides this, their lives depend upon .their huuting, shooting, and fishing. It would, therefore, be & cruel quibble were the representative of the Crown to restrict -the conditions by which he governs to lands " occupied" in the sense and manner of English agriculturists. Till .the New Zealanders become. thoroughly European* this sort of .occupation is impossible. To acts

as if it were otherwise, would be to pervert a fair construction into a most unwarrantable usurpation. On the other hand, it is clear that those who carry their respect for the rights of the natives to the extent of holding, that with so small a population in so large an area as that of New Zealand there are no waste lands, have misconceived, not only the peculiar character of these islands, but the general character of all barbarous countries'.Apart from the lands which have been exhausted by their rude species of agriculture, and the hunting grounds, which have mainly contributed to the subsistence of the inhabitant's, there are, according to the testimony of all who have visited the colony, large tracts of uncultivated, and hitherto useless soil. Of this the future value will depend solely upon the exertions of European colonists. Their labour, or even their proximity, will communicate fertility to barrenness, and change poverty into wealth. But until Europeans have pushed far into the interior of the island, these scattered patches of scnrious soil are without use or profit. It will therefore be the duty of the Governor to anticipate the wants of the colony, by bringing so much of this territory within the dominions of the Crown as may he available for the uses of a denser population. By taking early measures for securing its possession, he will protect the colonists, the natives, and his own successors from a long and anxious wrangle about title and purchase. Giving to the treaty of Waitangi its most liberal, and therefore its most fair, construction, we can hardly admit that the Governor has the right to take an inch of ground from the natives without giving some consideration for it ; but common sense tells us that the natives can never have expected to be paid the same price for lands of which they enjoyed a beneficial occupancy, , and for those of which they had the collective but harren sovereignty. The strict and just fulfilment of every promise is that which satisfies the interpretation of those to whom the j promise is made. Now the right of pre-emp-tion was given to the Crown " over all lands which the proprietors might be disposed to alienate." The prcpriefas was hereby admitted to rest with the natives. To take land without a price, therefore, would be a violation of the promise as it was made ; to submit to any price charged would be a performance of it in a sense very different from that in -which it was understood. The problem is to maintain the spirit of the promise, without neutralising the intentions of the contract. We think this is not without difficulties, but its difficulties are not insuperable. The safest and justest policy will be to per- j feet a registiation of the lands to which the native tribes lay claim, before the competition j of European speculators give them an enhanced, if not an artificial, value. But at the very moment that the claims of individual tribes to designated and definite districts are recognised, let the collective claim of all the tribes to the unassigned .and unpartitioned grounds be acknowledged also. When this has been done, let the fair price of this common land be assessed by the most impartial court that can be obtained — a mixed jury of English and natives ; and let the Government immediately enforce its right of pre-emption on conditions thus sanctioned. A course like j this will avoid the innumerable squabbles between the government, the land-jobbers, and the native tribes themselves, of which the Governor speaks with so lively a fear. We have no reason for doubting that Governor Grey will act towards the natives in a manner perfectly conformable with good faith. His whole conduct hitherto warrants a hopeful opinion of his future career. The tone of the despatches from Downing-street confirms it. As far as the government is concerned, we may rely upon the most equitable treatment of the natives. We have, perhaps, more to fear from the interested philanthropy and litigious enthusiasm of speculators in the colony. Meanwhile, it is highly satisfactory to learn that the colony of New Zealand has begun to raise its head above the tempest which once seemed about to overwhelm it. The Governor writes home that " New Zealand never was in so peaceful and prosperous a state as it is now." The customs' duties at Auckland already, exceed £20,000 ,per annum, and at Wellington £16,000 per annum. The panic which once drove away the old, and deterred new immigrants, has wholly subsided. The influx of Europeans is slowly but steadily increasing. The natives are betaking themselves to the cultivation of wheat and the raising of stock. Every healthy sign oi external commerce and internal as becoming daily more and inaore Who would not regret to see so fair .a scene marred by - colonial strife «r metropolitan injustice ? -