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New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 826, 2 July 1853, Page 3

To E. G. WakefieVd,*Esq. Sir, —Disclaiming all personal feelings and incited to write by your own Request, that I should express to you my ideas:off our social and political state —although, as'you 1-';1 -'; toil! doubtless admit, I plainly informed you"ttfafcmj social and -political views were utterly opposed to your owto, you will probably excuse some incidental free remarks on the -Wakefield System, which, in my belief, is the greatest evilunder winch this settlement has eve> laboured. The Wakeiield Theory •stripped"of its prolixity of words^-and the leading idea set boldly forth would have never tempted one working man to leave his native country; the result evidently desired by the Theorist is to keep the labourer always so podr that he must inevitably permanently remain the .servant,of the rich, essentially a slave —fre,e_ only to change his master —but under, the disadvantage from which even slavery js exempted that when disease, accident, or old age disables lnm from labour he has no special employer from whom.io claim support. The "system" has evidently "the unjust object of adding more obstacles to the many that unhappily retard the useful classes in obtaining a competency for their old age, has caused much misery in Port Nicholson, and forced many of the best labourers aod mechanics to abandon this settlement, without either obtaining the, objects desired by the Theorist, or materially profitting the class he intended to benefit, The

Theorist bai evidently not provided for the contingencies, apparently common one! in Wellington, of many of his favourite class investing off their capital in the puf chase of hit " dear land," and retaining no wealth to carry on farming operations, of others investing all their remaining funds, after paying the "sufficient price," in storekeeping, and lastly, of the most numerous class of buyers' of "dear land," who never intended osing it or even emigrating themselves, but .forming collectively an injurious class of absentee proprietors have allowed their land to remain waste in the', belief that the progress of this settlement would enable them to resell their properly ¥ ith enormous profit :— 'from these causes, added to the mountainous naturVbf the country, and the breach of the New Zealand Company's contract to employ all labourers who, from any cause, were unable to obtain private employment, "proceeded the great misery and privation endured by the bulk of tire working classes- during the greater part of 1843, and all of 1844 and 1845, when we found that although' the Wakefield- System had introduced " Cheap Labour" — for in 1845 good labourers were begging government road work at eight thillings per week and no rations, owing to the lack of private employment- — and although the " System" had also in general prevented the j forking class from becoming owner* of- the soil, yet the colony produced .far less food and Wealth than it would have don*' under the sound old system of cheap convenient sized freehold allotments which still prevails in North- America, and ; which is now introduced here by the wise Land Regulations of Sir George Grey. Had the present regulations always existed, I feel assured there would have been no deficiency of workers for hire, for although working men as a class usually wish to acquire land,* it is a delusion to assume this desire to be their universal feeling — many prefer investing their little savings in trade—some in sheep or cattle, others in carts and horses, or in building cottages, and the theorist should not forget that hundreds of the best working settlers who did desire to obtain land were thwarted in that praiseworthy object by the " Wakefield System," invested their savings in paying their passages to other colonies, and were thereby utterly lost to this settlement. Cheap Land would never' prevent the capitalist from obtaing labourers, for numbers even of the steady and industrious portion of the working class either lack the desire, or have not enough self reliance to be their own employers ; and as for the drunken, idle, and improvident working men, they would always rcmaiu workers for their more wealthy or more prudent fellow settlers — nor can I conceive any reason why they should not, as the natural and deserved consequence of their perverse folly.- No system of laws can take care of men who are reckless of the future, and who will neither take eire of themselves or their families. I believe that cheap land, sold in small allotments at fixed prices, would be far better than any system of charitable government help to the steady portion of the working class, and would give them every reasonable facility for improving their circumstances by their own industry. In 1844 and 1845 we had in abundance the Wakefield elements of prosperity — namely 'Idear land " and " cheap labour," but' no desire to^carry on farming operations was .exhibited by the bult of the 'nominal capitalists who had bought land of the New Zealand Company.. No, far. from employing the working class, the bulk of the resident purchasers .and absentee agents, with a wonderful unanimity, which apparently showed a combination against the working class, proposed to the half starving operatives to rent bush on clearing leases which they duped numbers to accept, although they received no advances of either tools, food, seed, corn, or money, from their grasping landlords ; in fact, they had far better have taken leases of waste moor land in Britain, which would have needed no clearing, and might Have been leased on terms far more advantageous to the tenant. The truth of this statement is proved by the undeniable fact that nearly all the busl{ allotments taken on lease in 1844 and 1845, In the vicinity of Wellington, have been abandoned either from- the holding them being found unprofitable to the tenant, or have been forfeited from the impossibility of performing the stringent covenants in their leases. The prevalent and .avowed idea amongst the resident purchasers at the time Colonel Wakefield dismissed all the labourers employed on the Karori and Porirua roads, about March, 1843, was that the majority of the working class would lease their country land on similar terms to those above. mentioned — thereby enabling the Company's purchasers to live idly on their rents, and the remainder of the working class they hoped and expected would be glad to obtain casual em- | pioyment at a wage of two shillings per day. In pursuing these objects, they caused much suffer- < ing to the working class, and caused some hu'nj dreds of them to abandon this settlement in disgust, without succeeding in .their unjust I project. You, Mr. Wakefield, have not yet succeeded, and I think you never will succeed in introducing simultaneously into any settlement " dear land," " cheap labour," and " capitalists ;" the last class seem i shyly averse to New Zealand, and the cry of •' dear land" and " cheap labour" is unlikely to induce any working men unfit for Bedlam to emigrate. The bait which lured myself and some hundreds of other working men to leave Britain was the express contract made by the New Zealand Company always to give us constant employment at liberal wages whenever from Inability to obtain private employment we chanced to require it. I believe that the last body of Wellington immigrants whom the New Zealand Company pledged themselves to employ, was the- working men who" arrived in the George ¥yfe t in November 1842, eight months after I landed in Wellington. This brings me to the question of " compensation," to which I think all the New Zealand Company's emigrants who arrived here before November, 1842, are entitled, and to which the Huit settlers have no better claim than the residents in Karori, Porirua road, Ohiro, or Wellington. Perhaps, from my inferior intelligence to the Chinese ? lam foolish enough to regard your agitation for " Hutt compensation" merely as a piece of skilfully planned bamboozle,-in-tended to damage the popularity of Sir George Grey, by your requiring of him a gift of land for the working class which you are .well aware he had no power to grant to them, thereby throwing on the Executive Government .the undeserved odium of a refusal to concede compensation for wrongs inflicted by the New Zealand Company, wrongs which the local Government is powerless

to redress unless the New ZealacTd Company consents that the compensation sought for § houU be deducted from their debt, which is at present charged on the New Zealand land revenue. Fur my own part, I think there is nothing more desirable than to permit the self-styled patriotic opponents of the British Government to expos* the fallacy of their own promises and "projects, by becoming for '% time the legislators of this settlement. Great will be the' amazement and consternation' of those dopes, who now with.absurd credulity expect that taxation will be reduced simultaneously with the construction of wharfs, bridges, roads, and other public works extensive enough to swallow the revenue of India, when they find taxation "increased 'with few or none of these grand projects' executed. From the apathy and utter indifference of the mass of the settlers to politics, I am conduced that onr Council will be mainly composed "of land jobbers and squatting sheep owners, both classes of men most unlikely to impose any tax tending to check their monopolies, and the promised reduction in the Customs duties, even if carried into effect, would only serve to increase the already enormous ' profits of 'our merchants (as proved by the article FFlout)r t ) without reducing th« price to the consumer, and leaving a deficiency in the revenue to be probably replaced by some direct tax injurious to the working classes. Concluding for the present, * ' I remain, Sir, your'*, respectfully, , - ROBERT HOLT, CARPENTER. P.S. I have made' this a public* instead of a private communication, as I first'intended,-con-cluding by your usual, habit .of printing correspondence on public matters, that it would be more to your taste, and save you some trouble in forwarding it to- the press. .-.,.*_ -R.H.C.

To the Editor of the New Zealand Spectator. Lambton-Quay r July i, 1853. Sib, — Every person in this settlement,- with rery few exceptions, must have read with sincere pleasure the letter which appeared in your Spectator cf last Saturday, signed "W. Hickson," commenting in very- just and indignant terms on the gross and never too much to be reprobated •« scheme," or rather " damning outrage," attempted to be perpetrated upon us by^ introducing Coolie Slaves from China. Whoever the individual maybe that has had the honor of concocting the precious measure, he must not only be totally lost to every feeling of self-respect, but to the outward shew of decorum due to all who " move and live and have their being" in society. It has been said that " manners make the man ;" so should the mind be free from all pollution. How any mmd, having the least particle of purity withiif it, could lend itself to such a measure, I leave those who attempt to aid and abet in the precious " scheme" themselves to determine ; •' But that a father, husband, brother, friend, Should social duties thus outrageous rend, Is such a cruel, such a monstrous act, That truth itself 'a ashamed to acknowledge ftU a fact." \ " ~ '< ' ' The irregularities of the said Coolies with which Mr. Hickson charges them, he may well .deayw^^tj^peiw. visiting Australia must have * observed their laay, dirty, filthy, and disgusting habits. To resist their introduction here is the bounden duty of every well-regulated mind. Our selfrespect, our lives and property, depend upon the issue. More especially as it is nqw.becqming the fashion for those appointed to preserve the peace, (•• and by their tone give air to men and things"), like " hot-blooded Hotspur," practically to exemplify the uses to which the whip might be applied upon the expected slaves. If such proceedings are to be tolerated in our settlement, " Or if such actions may hate passage free, ' %~% ~ Bond stares and pageants shall our statesmen be. Without charging any one with mercenary motives, I do say there is plenty of available labour in the native race of our New Zealand, if well directed and • encouraged. ; and I repeat it shews an abandonment of principle to attempt to introduce a Pagan race amongst a people whom we are endeavouring to bring within the pale of Christianity. It cannot be denied that the attempt has been made. The scheme has been and is still unblushingly published in one of our papers ; and whoever the person or persons may be who have conceived the monstrous manifesto, I can only say with Shakspere~ "Oh Heaven that such companions thou f dst unfold, And put in every honest hand a- whip To lash the rascals naked through the world. 1 laovSir, • Yours respectfully, J. H. MAfcRIOIT.

To the Editor of the New Zealand Spectator. . Wellington, June 29th, 1853. Sib, — I should hardly hare immagined that in the present age of the world, and, amongst an intelligent community such * letter could hare been published, as that addressed to me, in your columns of to-day, even to serve party purposes. I shall noflnault the tolerance and intelligence of your readers by entering into a refutation of the fallacies and absurdities contained in it ; But content myself by thanking Mn Bishop for his opinion that I am not a lukewarm member of the church to which I belong, and : l have no doubt that the Electors of Wellington, will' feel satisfied that I shall be as staunch to my Political creed as I -am to my religious one, and that the latter will not in any way interfere with my usefulness as a member of the Legislature. I remain Sir, your obedient servant, CHAS. CLIFFORD. - p.S. — As we are now likely to have quite enough to do with Political, without going into Polemical discussions, I must decidedly decline all further correspondence on this subject.