NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR AND Cook's Strait Guardian. Saturday, August 31, 1852.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 736, 21 August 1852, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR AND Cook's Strait Guardian. Saturday, August 31, 1852.

It was rather an injudicious step on the part of the Wellington Independent to bring under the notice of its readers the pamphlet published in England by Mr. Fox, containing what he with grearaffectation designates as his " Minute on the Government of New Zealand." It is clear Mr. Fox never intended that publicity should be given to it in the colony, where the many gross falsehoods with which -it abounds would not for one moment pass current. It was only to be circulated privately at home, with the view to deceiving by infamous misrepresentations a particular set as to the true political position of New Zealand as a colony. Had Dr. Featherston at the present time any control over the Independent, no allusion whatever would have been made in reference to the existence of such a pamphlet, the greatest secrecy would have been maintained on the subject, and were it not that happily we are in possession of a copy, the settlers would have been kept in utter ignorance of the scandalous manner in which Mi\ Fox has tried to identify them with his proceedings in England in regard to the public affairs of the colony. From this precious document did Dr. Featherston frame the resolutions which appeared in the Independent of the 4th inst., and which were said to have been adopted by persons " styling themselves the settlers' Association." To these resolutions we propose, at a future period, to call further attention in reference to the way in which Lieut. Governor Eyre is made a stalking horse of, and who, by all accounts, is said to have given himself up to the entire guidance of one who made a Northern settlement too hot to render his residence there at all comfortable. But we are digressing — " Revenons a nos mouto?is." In its remarks on the pamphlet before us, and in the extracts given from it, the Independent, we must admit, did its best to present Mr. Fox in as .favourable a light as possible, and no doubt it will be with much chagrin that Mr. Fox's friends will find that, in. spite of all the care and secrecy adopted, the settlers are to have "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." We publish in our columns of to-day the correspondence with which Mr. Fox prefaces his " Minute ;" in what way he expected that this correspondence would tell in favor of himself we cannot conceive, unless he wished his friends to see that he had corresponded with a Secretary of State, after the manner of the old woman who boasted of having once been spoken to by Royalty, and when asked as to the nature of the conference replied," I was told to get out of the way." It is very certain that Mr. Fox was told to " get out of the way," for our readers will learn with no surprise that Earl Grey declined not oilly to give him a, personal interview, but also .looked upon him as an impostor, and would not acknowledge him as in any way representing the opinions of the settlers, or recognize him as their Agent. Mr.- Fox was not to be " put down " by this" well deserved snubbing, he wrote again to the ColoniarOffice, but his letter seems to have been treated with contemptuous silence. Indeed Earl Grey , well knew that in saying with such cool impudence, " of the fact of my representing the Wellington colonists, there can be no doubt," Mr. Fox was asserting that which was notoriously untrue, fforr r he never was selected as the " Honorary Political Agent of the Wellington colonists;" the colonists never would have inflicted on themselves the injury which must have resulted from the appointment of a man so devoid, as Mr. Fox has shewn himself* to be, of honorable principle and integrity of purpose. Indeed we have only to refer to his conduct as Principal Agent of the New Zealand Company, to the DuppaCompensation~Job, to his making a violent partizan of Dr. Featherston by holding out hopes of his -succeeding him as Company's Agent 3— the legal adviser of the Faction being kept as active as a little ferret, by promises .of the emoluments to be obtained in preparing the conveyances from the Company^to its land purchasers; loans of money at a high rate of interest, but promises of "no pressing:'? —by these means did Mr. Fox hope to organize a party to- embarrass' the Government. At home the publication of his book on

cc the six colonies 'of New Zealand/ and now his " minute " give ample proofs of the justness of the estimation in which the colonists s of Wellington held Mr. Fox. On his leaving* the colony his parasites invested him with the title of Political Agent, but against such an assumption ' the colonists almost unanimously protested : and of this Earl Grey had been j made acquainted. Again, on referring to the correspondence^ which by the bye' only contains one laconic reply from the Colonial Office, it will be seen that Mr. Fox has the assurance to state that "it will be a serious disappointment to the colonists that, after travelling so great a distance for the purpose of laying ' their views before her Majesty's Government, at this important crisis of the affairs of the colony, I am denied the facile and effective method of communicating their sentiments by a personal interview with Lord Grey." Now this is just part and parcel of Mr. Fox's deceitful- character. Is there, we would ask, a single individual in New Zealand — aye; even Dr. Feather- • ston himself — who could with any regard to truth assert that Mr. Fox's object in cc travelling so great a distance " was " for the purpose of laying these views before her Majesty's Government ? " Are there, we would ask, half a dozen persons in Wellington who suffer "serious disappointment " because Mr. Fox was unsuccessful in obtaining the interview sought with the Colonial Minister ? Is it likely, we ask, that Mr. Fox, a man of penurious habits, would have incurred all the expense of a voyage home and long residence in England, unremunerated, for the sole purpose of laying " the views of the colonists before her Majesty's Government ? " Is there the smallest particle of munificence or patriotism in the man's character "which would have led him to the performance of such an act ? And, we may further ask, is it at all likely, if the colonists had appointed Mr. Fox their Political Agent, that they would have sent him hoine^ and allowed him to defray his expences out of his own pocket ? The whole thing is so absurd we have scarcely patience fo write about it. Mr. Fox not only hoped to deceive Earl Grey as to his true' position, but in pub- • lishing the correspondence he evidently wished to mislead his friends. He says — I have been appointed Honorary Political* Agent ; — no payment; — I have travelled^a great distance, and have been put necessarily to an enormous expence, to • lay the settlers' views before the Government ; — I am denied an interview, and the settlers will be " seriously disappointed." We leave it to the settlers to judge of the man from the foregoing assertions which he has made. The "minute" is a tissue of gross falsehoods and perverted facts. Our language is strong, but we mean it, and challenge contradiction. Mr. Fox's public character is as much in our power from the statements he has made, as is a mouse in the claws of a cat. He has falsely declared himself to be the Agent of the colonists, and as an organ of the public we will expose the falsehood. Will the Independent dare to come forward in justification of Mr. Fox's conduct, past and present, and say it has received the full, concurrence and approbation of the colonists of this settlement ? Can { any truly honest man say that he conscientiously approves of Mr. Fox's conduct?" — Will his friends allege that it is to be justified by the pernicious and Jesuitical maxim that the end sanctifies the means? Away With such base argument ; it cannot justify dishonourable actions. It is not our present intention to bring before our readers the' many falsehoods inserted in the " minute," which is a recapitulation, a heaping together of those contained in his book on the colony. We took the opportunity in the early part of this year, in reviewing that book, to exhibit in true colours Mr. Fox's real character : the remarks we then made will, in most instances, afpply also to the statements' contained in the " minute " and in the appendix. But we can assure our readers they may rely most faithfully on our doing justice to the character of the* pamphlet and of the writer. Mr. Fox has made himself' public property ; when in the colony he anonymously made assertions which he knew to be unsupported by facts, but- now that he is removed from us, and does not dread immediate detection, he does not .hesitate to put his name to them. . <

The following correspondence is extracted from Mr. F.ox's pamphlet above alluded to :—: — No.' 1. — Mr. Fox to Earl Grey. Dated 3rd January, 1852. In this letter Mr. Fox informs Lord Grey that he bag bef-.n appointed honorary political agent of "the Wellington colonists, and requests an interview,' fq/'the purposes of laying before his lordship their views of the government of the colony.

No. 2. — Mr. Frederick Peel to Mr. Fox. Downing-street, 21st Jan., 1852. Sir, — I am directed by Earl Grey to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 3rd instant, in which, in t-he capacity of political agent for the colonists'of Wellington, you request an interview with his lordship, in order that you may personally state the wishes and' feelings of the colonists on the subject of the consiitution of New Zealand. In reply, I am directed to acquaint you that his lordship cannot recognise you as the agent of the settlers, and that he regrets that the many demands upon his time render it impossible for him to see" you at present without great inconvenience. I am directed to add, that any observations which you may have to offer, and which may be sent to Lord Grey in writing, sl.all be duly considered. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, Frederick Peel. William Fox, Esq:, 0# 3,— Mr. Fox to Mr. Peel, in reply. Parthenon Club, 24th Jan., 1852. . Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge your letter of the 21st instant, infornrng me that Earl Grey cannot recognise me as political agent of the Wellington colonists, and dec'iues to. favor me with a personal interview. I regret extremely t'iat his lordship should have come to that decision. Of the fact of my representing the Wellington colonists there can be no doubt. I was appointed at one of the largest and most respectable public meetings ever held in the colony ; and the appointment was ratified three months afterwards at a similar meeting. It will be a serious disappointment to the colonists that, after travelling so great a distance for the purpose of laying their views before her Majesty's Government, at this imponant crisis of the affairs of the colony, I am" denied the facile and effective jnethoii of communicating their sentiments by a personal interview with Lord Gtey. I, of course, submit' to his lordship's determination ; but I avail myself of the opportunity afforded by the permission contained in your letter, to state, in writing, the complaints of the colonists. I enclose two documents on the subject, which I have the honour to request that you will lay before Lord Grey. No. 1 is a Minute, with an appejtdix, containing a statement of the complaints' which the colonists make against the present government of the colony. No. 2 is a minute relating exclusively to the course pursued by his Excellency Governor Grey, in reference to the introduction of free institutions. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient, humble servant, William Fox, Frederick Peel, Esq., H.M. Under Secretary of State for the Colonies.

The William Alfred arrived yesterday after a passage of ten days from Sydney, having met with a strong South Easter on entering the Straits. Through the kindness of W. Hickson, Esq., w.e have received Sydney Papers to the 9th inst. The most important news they contain is the arrival at Sydney on the 3rd inst., of the Chvsan steamer from England in seventy nine days, or deducting stoppages in sixty , seven days, being the first of the steamers establishing the monthly line of communication between Great Britain and her Australian colonies, which may henceforth be regarded as un \fait accompli. The Australian was to follow in the early part of June. "Another line was also about to commence operations, " the Australian Pacific Mail Steam Packet Company," maintaining a monthly communication between Panama and Sydney, (touching at New Zealand,) in fifty eight days, and consequently performing the passage to New Zealand in about fifty days. This is a subject the coionists of New Zealand ought not to lose sight of. The English news is to the 15th May. A long and interesting debate had taken place in the House of Commons on the introduction by Sir John PakingtOD of the New Zealand Constitution Bill,* which we reprint with a- strong article of the Times in opposition to the measure. It is evident the writer in the Times is not rightlyiuformed, or does not clearly understand the nature of the Bill, which we believe will be found to embody all the Governor-in-Chief's recommendations for conferring on the colonists the management of their local affairs. Any departure from them, — as in- the Upper House of the General Legislature which it is proposed shall be nominated by the Crown, (it is understood that, Sir George Grey recommended the members should be elected by the Provincial Legislatures) — is a plain indication that the Imperial Legislature is disposed to be less liberal than Sir George Grey has been in the powers, proposed to be conferred on the colonists. The Lieutenant Governors are to be done away with, the' office is to be abolished, the race will in future be extinct in New Zealand. They will be replaced by Superinten- j dents in each Province at a salary of £500 a year. The office has been often considered an anomaly, but it must be confessed the holders of it, by their manner of filling it have contributed,to make the anomaly still more striking. 1 But a draft of the Bill will ere long reach the colony when we may pursue the subject more at length.

On Thursday" evening Mr. Duncan gave his second lecture at the Athaeneum on Hungary and the Hungarians, which fully sustained the 'n'erest of the preceding one. There was a very numerous attendance of members, who appeared to be highly gratified.