NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR AND Cook's Strait Guardian. Wednesday, December 6, 1854.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume X, Issue 975, 6 December 1854, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR AND Cook's Strait Guardian. Wednesday, December 6, 1854.

The publication of a Blue Book relating to the affairs of the- colony very often has, the effect of reviving past discussions on topics connected with local politics, by the disclosure of important information officially furnished, the particulars of which at the time were only partially or imperfectly known* We have "been led to make this remark on turning over the- | pages of the last Blue Book on the affairs oi" New Zealand, some extracts from which we propose to lay before our rea-. dersj' commencing to-day with the report of the Board appointed by Sir G. Grey to examine and report on the state of the maps, plans, records, &c;, belong v ing to the New Zealand Company, withheld by Mr. Fox from the on his departure from the colony when his office as Agent of the Company had ceased, and subsequently surrendered by" Mr. Kelham, in whose custody they had remained. It will be remembered that considerable sensation was caused by what was considered, to be the insolent defiance of the Government by Mr. Fox* in withholding these plans and papers, and the arrogant conditions he chose to, prescribe in the event of any reference-to them being considered necessary or desirable; and it was shrewdly suspected at the time that the true reason for the course pursued by him was a secret dread of the exposure which must necessarily follow their being handed over to Government, and a desire on his part to make good his retreat from the colony before the inevitable exposure should be made. The event justifies the supposition. The report ( of the Board, in our.present issue, discloses the most disgraceful 'mass of confusion and dis-

order it is possible to < tpnceive, showing how lamentably the affairs of the Company, connected with land "transactions, had been mismanaged' and neglected.^ There was no excuse for this, for at the time the duties imposed on the Company's Agent were of the lightest description. The sale of land by the Company had entirely ceased, and so fai< as any opinion could be formed on the matter, Mr., Fox's chief occupation during the period he received £1000 a year as Company's' Agent, was to keep up a factious agitation against Sir George Grey's Government, and to employ his " spare half-hours" in abusing His Excellency [and his officials in the columns of the In-dependent. Any commenton the report would be superfluous, the long array of facts supplied with all the substantiality of detail, the list of compensated scripowners, with a few-- exceptions tions members of the' Constitutional Association, who seem "to have been allowed to do pretty much as they pleased, shew Mr. Fox's exact and business like habits. Well might Sir George Grey, in the despatch covering this inclosure, observe : — " 1 had been given to understand that the records relating to land in the New Zealand Company's offices at Wellington were in a very unsatisfactory state; but I certainly was by no means prepared to find, that public property of such value had been disposed of in so very careless a manner "as is disclosed by this report." These records so kept formed the ground work of the titles to their land of the land purchasers of Wellington; as far as Mr. Fox was concerned the settlers may see by how slender a thread their titles depended. The Company's Agents at Nelson and Taranaki, as is well known, were in all respects the opposite of Mr. Fox ; they were not furious political partisans ; on the contrary, they offered a cordial cooperation to 'the Government ; they had no disclosures to dread, for all the records in their offices had been kept in admirable order. To Mr. Fox- is entrusted the Financial Department of this Province with only a shadow of responsibility, and without his providing, as is usual in such cases, atty proper security-. Arguing from such antecedents, it maybe easily imagined into what a state the accounts of his department will fall,perha'ps have already fallen. And if the Company's Land Office was in this state, in what condition will be found the affairs of the Compensation Committee ? — Who can tell what records have been kept, if indeed any are now in existence ? — what disclosures remain to be made by the Commission appointed by the acting Governor to enquire into and report on *this subject ?

. «♦- 1 The adjourned meeting of the Hutt. electors took place at the large room adjoining the Aglionby Arms, on Monday evening. Judging . from the numerous attendance of electors the interest which had been exhibited at the previous meeting continued unabated, while a i good many settlers from Wellington came over t to hear Mr. Wakefield's explanation. Some time elapsed before the chair was taken, and "'■ these who were assembled rilled up the wait- • ing moments by good-humoured allusions to l passing events, and sly jokes; =and among those to whom especial -reference was made ' were those " friends of the people" Mr. Fitz- > herbert and M*. Fox, who came in together ; ;» Mr. Fox was especially remarked and recommended to. "go home," with sundry complimentary allusions to his " brush," tthile one 1 wag amid considerable laughter, favoured the -. meeting with, a stave, a " song of other days, 1 ' ■ — of which the burden was " We'll cut off his brush, - Then home we will push, &c. 1 At length the chair was taken by Mr. Scott, % and Mr. Wakefield addressed the meeting in a speech of very considerable ability, which lasted for upwards of five hours, and which 1 was listened to throughout by - the meeting 3 with very great interest and attention, and j was received with loud applause. He reviewed • the history of the Legislative Session, entered f into a full exposition of the measures, and 1 severely criticised the conduct of the Fitzgel raid Ministry,- exposed the blunders they had committed, the egregious vanity of their leaP der, and refuted the misrepresentations and t 'completely demolished the false charges t ; which had been so . systematically brought against him, and contrasted the- measures oi if Fitzgerald Ministry with .the policy recom°i mended by the minority in the Governor's 0 speech at the opening of the second session ; and which had been .rejected with scorn by " the majority ofthe^ouse, though in several oi ''". the Provinces that 'policy- in some of its fea- ,- tur'es was now being' -adopted. We hope ir our next number to give a full report of Mr Wakefield's speech, and content ourselves fa c the present with this passing notice.- Mi q must not omit to mentionVthat towards the , c close -otahe mee,ting a disturbance was createc by Captain Danieli who 1 was evidently verj n much intoxicated, and who had frequentl] c interrupted the ;,meeting. Jf a worldng mar c is " drunk and disorderly,"- he is duly punish. 1 ed ; surely such' conduct in a Jus 7 tice of the Peace "and .member" of the Provincia & Council, at a .-public, meeting should be th< 3. Bubject l oLgraye reprehension and, rebuke.

The steamer returned fjoni Lyttelton on Mo nda>y morning. The Canterbury papers contain very little local infor motion. ' The Council was engaged in the discussion of several local measures, in passing a Provincial Council Extension Ordinance, a Scab Amendment _ Ordi nance, &c. Mr. Jerningham Wakefield, in consequence of his pledge when elected a member or the House of Representatives, that he would resign his seat whenever called on so to do after meeting his constituents in public and explaining his conduct in the General Assembly, has attended public meetings of the electors at Christchurch, Riccarton, Papanui, and Kaiopoi, at all of which, notwithstanding the errnest opposition of Mr. Fitzgerald and, Mr. Sewell, resolutions were passed complimentary to the honorable member.