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ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE. To the Editor of the "New Zealand Spectator." Wellington, 6th August, 1850.

Sir,— l infer, from some recent articles in the Wellington Independent, that the Faction are in extasies at finding the Editor of the London Spectator has been duped to believe their factions caballing was a movement of a vast majority of settlers to oppose Governor Grey's policy. Their leaders, ready to grasp at straws, and with their usual sagacity seeing mountains in molehills, now anticipate great political changes, amongst the first a Representative Government; and on their old system of selling the bearskin before catching the bear, are wisely fixing on a speaker for the new house of representatives, and deciding which of their body are to become officials in order to save trouble to us poor ignorant immigrants who are to form their constituency. For this, of course, they deserve our respectful thanks. Let us avoid the example of Governor Grey, who, when the chiefs of the faction kindly deputed themselves to tutor him what acts to perform and what to leave undone, kindly intending to share with him the toils of Government by claiming for themselves the whole merit of success, but in return leaving to him the sole blame of every failure (an arrangement obviously so just and equal, that he ought at once to have agreed lo their proposal) ; let us not, I say, like him, answer ungratefully that we prefer using our own judgments, and choose in matters for which we are responsible to think and act tor ourselves, while Hampden&Co. are forcing on us unsought their valuable services. The great grievance of the factious ringleaders is, not our long list of salaried appointments, but the absence of their names from the official muster roll. Had they anticipated no personal advantage from a separate Government, we might have remained till now under the cheap government system that prevailed in the days of Magistrate Murphy. The heads of the Faction bitteily complain, that after their furious agitation to obtain an expensive local government, they, far from drawing good salaries from the public treasury, have not obtained even the offals of office in the shape of petty clerkships. Possibly if Hampden the second was made colonial Surgeon, and his little friend AttorneyGeneral, it might disperse much of the bile now in their patriotic stomachs. Luckily for the public, although grievous to the Faction, both Governors know the real insignificance of their assailants, and deem them not worth buying, even if the smallest office would purchase them, possibly doubting whether mere fluency in reviling their political enemies qualifies them to be 'public servants, and possibly thinking their chief talent—thatn t — that of abusing their better^ — would find more suitable employment in pushing the sale of stale mackerel in Billingsgate market. \\ ho appointed the pets of the Faction to be popular leaders? Who authorised them to state they represent the people of Wellington? Every woikmg man, ot whom I have asked ihebe questions, scornfully rejects their leadership; I therefore conclude that their selfconceit alone has elected them to the imaginary leadership of a body of constituents who no moie exist than the philosopher's stone. Jt is easy to growl at the Government expenditure on the old principle of "sour grapes," and still easier to attack public officers as beachcombers, and so forth, than to fulfil the duties of their offices in a better manner. The reason why I ask you to insert statements the truth of which is well known to all the settlers is, that the knavish s«hemes of the Faction, although here viewed with disgust, may dupe many in Britain, who remain ignorant of the true state of feeling in this Colony, and our silence might perhaps beheld as consent to their factious proceedings. The Faction have been strong — not in numbers or from possessing individual talentin their members, — not from any learning or ability in their leaders, — not from acting in the cause of liberty or justice : — No ! no ! our apathy, neglect, political indolence, and indifference, have been their tower of strength. Let us no longer permit a set of factious placehunters to term themselves " the people of Wellington." Rather let us expose their undeviating political knaveiy, and let us make the following fact known to the British public, that the origin of the factious agitation was Governor Grey's declining to be either advised or directed as to his official duties by a few self-elected irresponsible poppies, who, enraged at the civil contempt with which he properly treated them, procured on various pretexts the signatures of a majority of the settlers on blank sheets of paper, and then affixed these sheets to a factious memorial, which probably was not written, and certainly was not made pubiic, until nearly all the signatures were obtained. Hoping that the working men of Wellington will no longer allow a set of disappointed place-hunters to humbug the British public, when exposure would shiver their Bchemes like glass, I remain, Your humble Servant, An Ignorant Immigrant.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZSCSG18500810.2.4

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VI, Issue 524, 10 August 1850, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
838

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE. To the Editor of the "New Zealand Spectator." Wellington, 6th August, 1850. New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VI, Issue 524, 10 August 1850, Page 2

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE. To the Editor of the "New Zealand Spectator." Wellington, 6th August, 1850. New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VI, Issue 524, 10 August 1850, Page 2

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