THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY. [From the Times.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 761, 17 November 1852, Page 4

THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY. [From the Times.]

Qf all the .services which Sir William Mjqles- t w,orth has rendered to, the, British colonies, none ? is more creditable- to ,bis- .cqurage and research than, his attempt, though to rescue, Ne/w Zealand fr,om- the, ru ( inpus,iocubus of a, mprj;- F gag,e.over,her, waste la)fds, ip.jltosro.f a Com- j pany which b'as long trifled with her best interests t and -seems dsstiued to. be. an insuperable obstacle c to \er process." The statement of the cas.e, t ■amounts tcspmetbjng, more .Uian^an accusation,, c for',' though the' evidence on' which it rests is no.t < yet' printed, the accuracy of the facts is proved by 1 the tfalrfre'of the?^efence set^up.-and we- there- 1 fore 'call' the* attention of^the people of this couo4 « try and- "cf- 'New Zealand to the train ofcircnm- < stances which have resulted in transferring loßa 1 trading, Comp^ny-upwards. of-bal/. a raiUion'of ■ public imonfey.ltough the.iustrumentality,of the 1 Colonial office -and ;of -Parliament, by means, of ,« rejresenta.tiobs and .supp.ressions. whose best' ex- J pbsure s i.vthei( simple, relation,? ' 'i '-' - | „ Xhe.autnma 0M8,46: found the tfew.. Zealand H Goirtoanv in sreat embarrassment.; their, money. |i

was expended, and they bad received £16(),,0£^8 ■for , the sale , of land at"; their Nelson settlement under contracts 'which they were unable tape/M form. The purchasers- becoming clamoroipM Lord Greyjent them,£l 00,000 in August, 184(H but that was almost immediatpiy expended. Un^H der these circumstances they set themselves tdH procure a settlement whh the, Nelson jpurchaserM and a fresh loan from the Government, tog^theiM with a consent in caseof.their dissolution to,takeH thtir liabilities npon itself.^ ,For these two'^jfl poses — the arrangement of'the settler's' clairasH and the transfer of their liabilities to Governmep^B _it was obviously advisable toobtainan opinior^B favourable to their position. With this view thejH laid a case in 1846 before Mr. Buckle, one ol their largest shateholders, and wrote out at th^H same time to their agents in New Zealand, statin^H they had laid a ca?e before counsel, and thatthej^B would be guided by that advice, invited commuß nication on the part of the settlers, and expresset^B a wisn to identify the settlers' interests with theiß own. On the 4th of December, ,1846, they t,el ceived the opinion which they had announced, bi^B which they were informed that ,tbey had brokeiM their contract, and were liable to refund the pur^B chase money, together with such other damage^B as the nature of each case might suggest. Thi^B opinion, doubtless, placed the Company in a cri^J tical position. bad bound .themselves t^B displose it to the settlers, fpr whose benefit, a^B well as their own, .they declared U .to have beei^B taken, and they were equally bound to, disci os.^B it to the Government, which was at that momen^B entertaining the question of taking upon itsel^H contingently these -very liabilities, and tbrough^B the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was proposing^ to the Company searching questions as to tfieirH amount and nature. -The Company extncatedH themselves from this dilemma by a manoeuvre toH w.hich we knpw no parallel,, except the exploitsM of those generals wbo;have ( contrived atjthe sameH ,t]me to maintaina siegeand, beat off .an.attackjngM array. TJiey obtained, ea^ly in January, I;S.4£,M an"opinipn precisely to tije ( first,from &H person who, though, still araeniber of the bar, isH forbidden the public practice of his profession.™ This opinion the Company sent out on the 26th ■ of January, 1847, as the opinion which they bad I announced, themselves as taking, for the benefit ■ of the settlers, in the autumn of 1846. The set- B tiers, ignorant of the trick which was put upon B them, destitute of counsel, and .mistaking thejl changeling — as ,they well ,mig.ht — for the tiue.offlal spring, were driven ,into disadvantageous corn^H promises, and accepted readily any satis/actipjiVl for rights which they were informed .they did.nojj t possess. Had the Company me'rejy sent oat the! 8 opinion to them, they might have treated it as an , t exparte document ; but the announcement in a! { previous Jetter that it was intended to take y it for their common benefit thrpw them ef- ■ fectually off their ?uard. Thus was the invading \ , army of litigants beaten off. £ In the meanwhile the siege of Government was < not neglected. The Company, in December, 1 1846, evaded the queries of the Chancellor of '< the Exchequer, assured Lord Grey in 1847, that t counsel of eminence had advised that they had "i not broken their contract, and presented to Go- 1 J vern-.nent in April of the same -year a statement! I of their affairs, in which all mention of- any claim's < for breaches of contract was suppressed* Thus ) was Earl Grey as effectually deceived as the set- i tiers, and the result was the act of 1847, by s which Parliament lent to the Company .£136,000 I more, without interest, and in case of the Com- < pany ceasing to carry on business released all s claim for this sum and the £100,000 already I lent, undertook to pay all liabilities to the Nelson ] settlers, and to give a mortgage over all New ■Zealand to secure £268,000 more to the Com- J pany. A few months after the passing of this '■ act, into which he had been so unworthily tricked, Lord Grey was informed by the commissioner i appointed under it, of the deceit practised on the i settlers and the suppressions by which his assent had been obtained. He was placed in a painful situation, but one in which no man of honour should have hesitat,ed for atnpment. It might be painful to h'js pride to admit that he had been deceived injto entering int.o engagements of uncertain amount, and into advising Parliament to make itself liable for claims whose nature and extent he has been too iiegligent.to ascertain. Uub'appiiy it is too often the- nature of. fraud that tjiose who begin by being its dupes end a§ ; its ascomplice3. In an evil hour Lord Grey was preVaiiedup.on by the importunity of the Company to give his sanction to the continued cqncealment .of the adverse ppinipn from the Nelson settlors, to.rqfuse to clear up the disprepancy between, thje .two opinions by laying, the case .before a.tliir.d counsel, "and to dismiss the commissioner ;for , cqerely doing his dd r uty in reuortin.g a transactjon so fatal to the colonists and so injurious" to the character and 'interests of Government', Thus has Lord Grey combined with the New Zealand Company to 'deprive of'the knowledge of their rights those colonists who ought -to f have found in him a gnardian and protector, mixed up.a'depanment of Government with thq lowest arts of trickery and chicane, and, ratber than admit an -error and- retract: a- false > > ttea&p > >a& tarnished a f name which the people,, of. this country have so; long delighted to. honour. Do we, then, main* tai,n a. colonial department that our money may be recklessly squandered 1 in supporting the cxedjt of a" Company wi^h nothing to recommend jit. but ihq possession of a fe^ yqtes in the House of Commons ; that our Exchequer may be epbarrassed, by the assumption o| un.kp.osyl a,nd unin,yestjgaVed.liabilitißs ;, and th%t, finally, we, may, be.partiej.to^ tr%nsßC|iojqLs;fcom. wh^h any ■ r.espe.ct-; able a.UQj-ney wiould rec.oiU- / < ■' The only defence set up in behalf of the Compa'nyVois 'thaj;, hase.^en acquitted- by the judgment of Lord Grey, is. not a-sipgle fact,Me-haye ; m'entjoned which one o.f _th^ir ad.y.o,-: t catcshas ventured to deny. weighs can there.be in such an acquittal ? Lojd Gjey.-may/ac-quit th.e~Company, but who is to r acquit, L«rd Gr«y'?£?Who will say that it 1 is! woKtby.ofcan^ En'glisli Minister or an English nobleman. to re-. fuseiiD* enlighten himselt as- to'.the real nature of; tbe.iiabrlitydncurred; .tQ^saactian thcsuppressionj of infonmaiian which the .Company, -bad;.vollinta-j rily-and. deliberately bound themsekes to'reveal—and whio&'was of the. greatest value^.to, those, fpr whop ,b.e, jWas, bound; to., act— or o;is t miss.;his |subqrdinateVofi^cer iq,t doing the duty frojaa iW^ifih; .his^sjiperior shrunk?, Lor.d-Grey must ; dis,eng»gej ihimaiell frpm, a]l complicity with. the ..acc^se.dbejf >fore we, can accept-his^vjerAic^ of _acquittal. r , .Thj! : iresults ofalLthjsj are,su%iently d;sas{r(?,us. «.{^e.

BRglandhasreßsoni^^^MlMH^Mi^^^^^^ thriving State, when left to her own resources, is actuated by the enterprise of the parent, and in the end. is able to bring back some useful hints to the mother-country. In addition to the Arrow, who has changed her old-fashioned appearance, we have the Alarm altered to her form and rig, with the Gloriana (newly built,) the Vestal,, and several others, who ,bave_not yet left their builders' hands. Although an old yacht, the Arrow bjas.alwaysjanked as a fast vessel of her class, as she proved last year, at Cowes, when she, contended against the Bacchante, which was a race vejy well, and very closely contested. It is therefore,, truly gratifying, that with all her previous performances, and the great prestige of the name of the America, that after makfng all our English yacht owners bide their diminished heads and retire in dismay from the contest, that on the same waters, and with the most unpretending -o the cutters of the Royal Victoria Club, the crack clipper has been compelled to accept a third place against her. The honours of the club hate thus been nobly regained : but whether a similar event will take place at the coming regatta of the Royal Yacht Squadron, at Cowes, remains to be seen. S ill the defeat of the America; in even a single instance, is a source of gratification to all who wish to see England paramount, even in minor mntters, on that -element' which is peculiarly and preeminently her own. In consecjuence of the departure of the boat forPoj/sropqth" before the arrival of, the vessels,! bjut scanty, facts were necessarily given, wineh 1 &M, no,Wr'be supplied. The preparatory gun ,w,as fired at <haTf-past ten, ao.d in about fiye minute,? that, was, followed by one for sailing, and it v^as thought by, some persjons, that the Mosquit&had slipped her anchor, befor.e the, s,econd gun, but jhat is a statement which, requires, confirmation. However, immediately the starting gun was.fkeda she was seen taking the lead, followed closely, by the Arrow, the wind at the time blowing lighf from the northwest, ttiey all canted round to the northward, with the exception of, the America, through some misunderstanding on her part, ap'd sh,e went to the southward, and by this mistake she, suffered" a good deal of disadvantage in the loss of "time, and the cutters that were on the right tack, got' a gp od s^rt' before her, and ,on rounding the Noman Buoy, the, Zepfojretta,?i)\o was lying- closer astern^ passed f the America a little tothe'Vindwar.d, on the starboard, tack,, and got round the Nab tight one minute, before her. Frorn't]b f is 3 ppint c the Mosquito heading the Arroio a 'yer'y 'little towards the Wbi L te Cliff, a.t the b'aclTof "" t he : isjand/vvhjch was now' against flood 'ijdei 1 '/TJe whole/of'tW yachts thus kept in ' shore "as f^r aVit' could be dpne^hh sa|ety, miti] they go) about % mile and half .be^low^ 'the Ijgbf, when 'the wind changed and got round' to the by south," a spr.t' of" "paltry " and baffling weather, by which a'tempprary advantage was al r favouVabi,e to"one andth,en to another, but 'it wasfrnQst de'ci^pdly in 'favour o£the Mosquito.' W^'at was of so much benefit to her brought' all the ; rest, dead' to' leeward, under ; her l^e. a>; beina'a m f uch sljorter^vessel, tieMpsquito, i took'advantagVbf 'e'Yeryipuff; of .win.d, that came, .eulier'from the \ bay, or, ftpm "the high lan/J^ Another great 'thing" in- Her favpqr was/the, of being able to' ,'niake', sijort tacks flotfker than ,the larger 'and" longer vessels, and the Mpsguito jheld a,xnuch better wind than the Arroy. The 'J^mca^effa^gopd J wjnd •[ bu\ bein^ a larger, IVeas'el.'anS scKooner I "rigged; sb^ wwars r unalJl? v tq get up to the Mosquito, which met 1 with the light •breeze that just' suited her. f She badnow^her jib-head topsail set,' and' was -so^we'll handled 1 , 1 that the America • could 1 v not gain much' grou^ ,upon her' until after • rounding' St/'Kathenne's/ when she began to oyerh : aul'the Arrow very- fast 1 !fram the !7ee' on ;to t'he-'Veathe'r, oesftJes closing 'her in,- arid' finally passing her r bn -he r ri' weather 'quiner.'abreastsof " I Kresnwater/-Baj. On rouading the Needles the Jtf^nfea.was close, astetn ofi. th£, M&squito, but^ owjnj* jto her. no; . findiDg : lso mici'i'ind'aWwas^e^pectejdJft thjj Njeedlfi9ipßs ri . sag§ ' arid" aettingher.la^ge i^^hwAo baljoo^jjb^jtbe Americacojild v ba> iiss^hpiaigoMi

way with her, until getting towards ScQnce.Poiqf, when the breeze stiffened frord tbe northward, her sails began to draw, and slie" continued to overhaul the Mosquito'VQty fast,;and passed dead under her lee abreast of "tyrn'roington Creek, The America haying 'nqw obtdih'ed the ,lead, the hopes of her friends were tevived that she would proye, aS she had before, victorious ofer all competitors, and' but little doubts were entertained that sfie would be the victor. ,She prese'ived the lead nntil she got abreast of ,t)sbocne Boq^se, when the Arrow and Mosquito ran close' astern of her ; and becalmed her sails : at that lime shff was going dead before the w-ind. Being .able toanswer, their helm quicker. than the America, and the wind being very light, a grest'idvantsgewasobtained by the cutters, who had tberr targe balloon .topsails set, while the America with but one small topsail, was not allowed, according to tbe j regulations -of the club, to set .her maintopraast stavsajl ; consequently she gave way, and wa»< ! iaot again to regain her leading position. It t know not with what truth, that the Arroyo and Mosquito fouled during the round 1 abreast Hank, mid iray between Old Castle? Ryde,by the Mosquito's boom, dragging thejarhoard.side of the Arrow. This,may> jubject both yachts, if proved, ,to very serious "consequences, as the 18th rfgulatjon of the Royal Yict^ria Yacht Club stales, that " tv^o yacbts touching will both be disqualified, unless 'it can be clearly proved which is the aggressor." 'T.he, folio w.ing is the official return of the arrival of the yachts off, the pier, as communicated , to the commodor,e of .the, club :—: —

It will, thus be se.en that there .was but one second difference between the arrival ,of 4 lhe first and second vessels, and the guns from the Brilliant were so closely following each o.ther that they were almost fired simultaneously. It wajs the' general, opin.ion of the persons on the .pier that there was ni> perceptible difference between the Arrow and ihe Mosquito, and .that the. match would require to be sailed again. The.America was scarcely two minutes astern, and, although a beaten competitor, still the general feeling appears to be that had there been anything ,of a breeze she would have proved herself as' dangerous a rival as when she originally cime into these waters. The Zephyretta was so far astern tha^ she was considered out of the match, and did not arrive for more than half an hour after the America. As the vessels arrived off the pier they were received with cheering. In the course of the afternoon there were races by galleys, yachts, gigs, dingus, and a duck hunt, the whole of which were well contested, and appeared to give general satisfaction. This afternoon the company on the pier were amused by a variety of experiments, with various kinds of apparatus for saving life from shipwreck, the invention of a Mr. -Laurie. A boat was moored off the pier, from which a number of persons plunged into the sea, provided with bells, p Hows, and mattresses, to which they clung, and it was truly astonishing to witness the buoyancy they mainsained by merely holding a cord attached to the floating mattress or pillow in the sea. To-morrow the annual meeting of the members of the club will take place, at which the knotty points raised during the regatta will be decided, and several uew members elected. In the evening the members and friends will dine together at the Club-house.

h. <m. s. irrow . . Mosquito imerica Zephyretta „ 6 6 7 7 59 59 1 39 30 31 20 0