New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK’S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, August 30, 1851.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 634, 30 August 1851, Page 2

New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK’S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, August 30, 1851.

In our last number we published the resolutions adopted by the meeting of the settlers at Canterbury, called for the purpose of considering the Governor’s offer to constitute that settlement a separate province. The report of its proceedings (as published in the Lyttelton Times) is too long, and would not perhaps possess sufficient interest with our readers, to transfer it to our columns.: it may not, however, be inexpedient to examine some of the statements and arguments used by Mr. Godley, the chairman of the meeting (the principal speaker on the occasion), and we feel the less difficulty in doing so. as his speech has been republished in this settlement. Mr. Godley, at the outset, somewhat ostentatiously disclaims any intention, on his part, of “ bandying reproaches 'and insinuations’* with the Governor, while his speech is a series of reproaches •directed against Sir George Grey and the Government, an elaborate tissue of insinuations artfully put together and calculated to cause his hearers to draw conclusions from them which the facts do not justify. There are two points in Mr. Godley’s speech, his remarks on the Governor’s letter, and the comparison which he institutes between the colonizing efforts of the Government and the Association, on which we propose to offer a few observations.

In referring to the correspondence which was the occasion of the meeting, Mr. Godley affects to consider as “ uncalled for and irrelevant,” any allusion on the part of his Excellency to the boundaries of the proposed Province, and leaves it to be inferred that this question has been raised for the first time ly the Governor. But Lord Grey, in his despatch as quoted in Mr. Godley’* letter, says, “ I shall be prepared to instruct the Governor of New Zealand to report to me whether the district which may be ultimately selected for the settlement can be formed into a distinct Province in the manner in which you recommend, without injury to existing interests, and regard being had to the policy which the Governor may find it necessary to pursue with respect to the Native tribes; and if it can, what boundaries can be conveniently assigned to it.” Certain boundaries, embracing an area of 2,500,000 acres, have already been assigned to Canterbury, and an irregular and indirect attempt has been made by Mi. Godley, the agent, and by the so-called Council of the Association, to obtain an extension of these boundaries, so as to include extensive districts lying on either side. We speak of this attempt as irregular and indirect, because it was made not, as it ought to have been, through the usual official channel, through the Governor of the colony, who having thus official knowledge of the fact would have reported to the Home Government wnerher such an application could, in his opinion, be entertained “ without injury to existing interests,” but through the Association in England to the Home Government. But the application was a matter of notoriety, inasmuch as Mr. Godley had men-

tioned it to several persons i n the Council had published their i t the local paper of the settlement 6 "'' 011 formed the theme of public discus * other settlements, and had been d as unjust and injurious to existing** in the Wellington Independent and N Examiner before the meetinn- of th o'* the Independent expressing it s c 0 - C 1 that such an attempt -tn’ greater portion of the available ] and ■ he Middle Island, and hem in the older *" ments of Nelson and Otago witbiQ 611 ' 6 ' present (comparately speaking) their boundaries was so preposterous” o^^* -0 * impossible to believe “ that either the H*” or the Local Government will li sten We do not see then how Sir Geon> e n with these facts patent, and with Grey’s instructions before him » by Mr. "Godley, could, id the cbSu discharge of his duty, have p assed over in silence; if he had done so, hiSBjSwould have been interpreted by the K ciation into an approval of their tion, and when subsequently his found to be unfavourable to their viewj he would have exposed himself to the tion of want of candour in not taking this the earliest public opportunity of making sentiments on this question known. °

Mr. Godley, while he admits the’ existence of the Association to be " necessarily pro . ductive of great evils,” advances such ex. travagant claims in its behalf in the forced comparison which he makes between the Government and the Association that, lest we should be suspected of misrepresentation we have reprinted this passage of his speech entire:— “ Most of those whom I address know, and ail of them ought to know, that for seven vean that is, from 1839 to 1846, the Government, of which Sir George Grey is the representative possessed almost unlimited powers and opportunities for colonizing these Islands. I sav almost, unlimited, for the New Zealand Company s interference was confined to the comnarative y small districts of Wellington, Nelson, and New Plymouth, and the native inhabitants in this islnnA oopceiollj-, -irvulj l a <av« Lccii untj too happy to dispose of their rights over the waste territory at a nominal price. For seven years then, Sir George Grey and his predecessors have had nearly the whole of New Zealand, for twelve years about half of it, under their control and in their hands. They have had every conceivable advantage and facility at their command; funds, troops, steamers, civil administrations, surveyors. They have spent more money in one year than we are likely to have at our disposal in five—and what have they done? I will tell you. By meansof an extravagant expenditure they have formed one settlement, or rather they have founded one seaport and garrison town, which is not i settlement, to which I do not believe five hundred actual settlers have ever gone. This is all, literally all, that the Government of Nev Zealand has done for colonization.”

When Mr. Godley asserts that Sir George Grey and' his predecessors have had for seven years the whole of New Zealand, and for twelve years about half of it under their control, with almost unlimited powers and opportunities for colonizing, with every conceivable advantage and facility at their command, such assertions are at direct variance with the facts. It would naturally be inferred from such a statement that one uniform policy had been pursued by the Government of New Zealand with reference to colonization, and the waste lands from which the funds for colonization are derived, that... with “almost unlimited powers and opportunities, with every conceivable advantage and facility,” no difficulties or impeding existed to embarrass or interfere with aC ? comprehensive scheme of colonization that had been laid down. Bui we know that it has been the peculiar misfortune of Zealand to suffer all the evils arising fr°® incapacity and mismanagement on the pad of Sir George’s predecessors, that s° from one uniform policy having been adop e and carried out, the colony has been su J eC to a succession of changes resulting the weakness and want of purpose of former rulers. On Sir George Grey B accession to the Government he found t e lony in a state of the utmost disorder a anarchy, a bankrupt treasury, a currency, the natives in open rebellion Queen’s authority, the most extrava claims to land at the north, with « . - - 4- the ComP 8 complications arising out or u ny’s claims in this * e

jps, steamers at the Governor’s comid were not to promote emigration but ,ut down rebellion. How successfully, ? triumphantly Sir George has overcome almost insurmountable difficulties that sted on his arrival, a comparison of the ner with the present state of the colony , sufficiently testify. Not to refer to the iplete tranquillity and order which been established, or the improved and tinually advancing state of civilization he natives through the humane and wise ,cy which he has pursued toward them, (pare the revenue of the last year of (tain Fitzroy’s misrule with that now ded. In 1845 the revenue of the Southern Erince was £6341, in 1850 it amounted E 24.413. The fact is, and no one better ■ws it than Mr. Godley, all the energies ■ powers of the Governor have been deKd to ,the. higher cares .pf Gpverpnaent,-in Kblishing order, in removing the difficuland impediments that existed to prevent nization, in smoothing the way for the ations of the Association of which he is nt. If this had not been done, if through judicious and able administration of the ernor peace had not been assured, pros' ty had not dawned on the Colony’ Id there have been any place for the tions of Mr. Godley’s Association, would one have prepared to sever the ties of Ired and country and seek a new home n untrodden wilderness at the voice of charmer —charm he never so wisely ? ■e must compare the results of colonian as conducted by Government and by ivate Association or Company, contrast Company’s Settlements in New Zealand, i the Colony of South Australia founded before, and through the instrumeny of the same persons engaged promoting the colonization of v Zealand. Adelaide now numbers :nty thousand colonists the Company’s ements in New Zealand scarcely twelve isand. But Mr. Godley claims for his iciation the exclusive merit, not only of nizing, but of discovering the Canter- ’ district. “We discovered it, we surd it, we made; it available for settlet, we made known its existence and abilities,” and so on in a long string of sms, and yet a little further on he ewhat infelicitously refers to “ the old ers in Canterbury,” who had resided e for years before the Association disired this terra incognita! But in fact capabilities of the district have been known for years past. The late Capt. refield was desirous of founding there settlement of Nelson, but was compelled Japt. Hobson to select Blind Bay. Mr. rett was referred by the late Col. Waketo Port Cooper as an eligible district he Otago settlement, but he preferred district now occupied by that settle|ht. And we may remind Mr. Godley u the native title to the district has been Biguished by purchase by the Local Go-

jment, that the New Zealand Company Inced to the Association £20,000 out he funds supplied by the Home Governthat his Excellency supplied Mr. Godthimself with £2OOO to commence opens, and though it maybe convenient for to forget these obligations, but for the ly assistance, but for the cordial coation the Association has at all times ived from the Government, the district Id still have remained, as far as the Asition is concerned—“unsurveyed, unteed, almost unknown/’ We leave our w-colonists at Auckland to rebut Mr. J e y’s sneers at “ the garrison town,” ident that they are fully capable of vinbng themselves from his insinuations, will merely observe that the district m boasts a concentrated population of 10 inhabitants, and 7,000 acres brought Er cultivation, may have equal pretens with Canterbury to the honor of being ■ttlement, even though it may not con- ” the future capital of New Zealand.” I may also remind Mr. Godley, that while Jomewhat ostentatiously boasts of what [Association has done, he has been obP to relax their exhorbitant demands, levade the act of Parliament in granting F® or cattle and sheep runs, id order to | pace with the liberality of Government,

and prevent Canterbury from being a “desolate district,” while the districts on either side were fully occupied with stock; and that it is a question with many whether the district will not owe more to the capital and stock introduced by the Port Phillip settlers, who have resorted thither from the encouragement held out to them by the liberal Pastoral Regulations of the Governor, than even to the successful exertions of the Association.

By the Fair Tasmanian we have received two Hobart Town papers, containing English news to the 21st April, extracts of which will be found in our present issue. At Port Phillip a discovery is reported to have been made of gold, within a few miles of Melbourne, in such abundance as to surpass the diggings at Ophir, and to shew that the gold in Australia must be spread over a large extent of country.

On Thursday evening an instructive and interesting lecture was delivered by Mr. Woodward, at the Wellington Athenaeum, on “ the principles of construction as applicable to timber architecture.” The lecture was illustrated by several models of framing and of roofs, explaining the principles which regulated their construction, the distribution of weights, provision against unequal pressure, &c. Notwithstanding the unfavourable’state of the weather there was a numerous attendance of persons.