NEW CALEDONIA. [From the Sydney Morning Herald, November 1.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 868, 26 November 1853, Page 4

NEW CALEDONIA. [From the Sydney Morning Herald, November I.]

The French baye taken, possession of this beautiful group. On' the 23rd of September the French war steamer Phoque arrived there from , Tibiti. ' The vessel is understood to be under or-, ders from the Commander-in- Chief of the South Pacidc station. The John H. Millay, in American trading- barque, which arrived in Port Jackson yesterday, has - brought up two

French officers, one of them belonging to Ihe administration, and the other attached to the above French war steamer, for the purpose. of purchasing supplies for the new French settlements. The American vessel which has been chartered for the purpose, and is only ten days from New Caledonia, will return immediately. Her Majesty's ship Herald was at the Isle of Pines on the 28th of September, all well. [From the Herald, November 2.] The following are the particulars which we have been enabled to glean respecting the act of the French Government in taking possession of the island of New Cale lonia and its dependencies. It appears that the French Rear- Admiral commanding in the South Pacific, sailed from Tthiti in the steam corvette Le Phoque, accompanied by several naval officers and civilians, "on a cruise among the islands." On the 23rd September the Phoque arrived at New- Caledonia, and on the 24th the Admiral landed at Balade, and, hoisting the French flag, formally took possession of the " island of New Caledonia and its dependencies " in the name of his Imperial Majesty, Napoleon 111., Emperor of the French. A praties verbal of the occurrence was immediately drawn up, in which the Admiral states that he takes possession of the islands by order of his Government ; and declares them to be a French colony from and after the 24tb September. It would appear that no extensive preparations had been made for the maintenance of the new station : but Admiral Dcs Pointes chartered the American barqne John H. Millay, which he found there, aud despatched her with his secretary, M. De Perrier, and M. Amet, an officer of the Phoque, to Sydney to obtain supplies on a large scale. We are informed that three French frigates were to follow the Phoque, with troops, to insure the possession of the island. M. Deperrier brought a letter from Rear-Ad-miral Despointes to M. Sentis, the Consul of France at Sydney, requesting his assistance and advice in obtaining the stores required, and enclosing a copy of the proces verbal. M, Sentis, immediately on receipt of this important iutelligence, forwarded a copy of the last uaraed documents to his Excellency the Governor-General. We have reason to believe that the immediate object of the French Government is to establish a penal settlement on the island, ; but coupled with the systematic extension of French influence over the Society Islands, the Pomotou Group, and the Marquesas, this occurrence assumes a great importance in a political point of view, and is indicative of well considered designs on the part of the French emperor. , We shall return to the subject more at length to-, morrow, but we cannot refrain from expressing our deep regret that, by tht laxity of the British Government, notwithstanding the repeated and earnest representations which have been made to it, both from the Government of the colony and from commanders of Her Majesty's vessels who have visited and explored the islands of the Western Pacific during the, last few years, as to the immense importance of New Caledonia in reference to the Australian depen-, dencies, the opportunity of colonising that fine group has been lost. That regret is enhanced by the consideration that after all our struggles to get rid of the withering curse of convictism, after the bitter differences which had arisen be* tween the colonies and the mother country have been happily reconciled by tie total abandonment of transportation to these shores — a convict settlement should be formed by a powerful foreign nation in our immediate neighbourhood, and on the high road of communication between Australia and the important marts of commerce to our northward and eastward, China, California, and the west coast of America. In a commercial point of view, the colonization of New Caledonia, even by the French, may appear at first sight advantageous to the interests of this city, but such a consideration is entirely secondary in importance, and sinks into insignificance by the side of the moral, and political consequences attaching to the occupation, of one of the most splendid islands in the Pa-* cific by a rival nation, whose aim and objects are so dissimilar, not to say opposite," to those which have for many years been earnestly contemplated by the most intelligent colonists of Australia and New Zealand.