The Tauranga Record

Tauranga Record and Bay of Plenty Examiner, Volume 1, Issue 11, 14 September 1867, Page 2

The Tauranga Record

** With fiedrts re3olv»d, an 1 hau ti s nrepared The blessiugs we enjoy to gy.ard," !

SATtTllDAY, SEPTEMBER 14. 1 |

F.ight or teu years ago the waters of the Bay of l'lenty kiore vessels of , tolerable liurtlien loailed witli ngricultui.'il produce from native settlcinents 011 r ncar its sqo.ies?, by f h r the greater nuDiber of «liicli Sailed ont of Tauranga Jirtrbor. I n. tliose days the inbabitnnts of the disfrict exported instead of importing supplies of articles of .consumption. Noyv. the case is reversed. The lnaterial for the stnff of Iife has to conic from abroad, and for fhis, no eqjnivalent is received in exclwnge. 'j lie native culti vntionS, i'ornicrly very extensive, are no w dt'sertei!. the floiir mills, al.andoncd turuhi and deeav, and a very produetive iiuh.st ry I'aid pro'strate. 'J hat the natural qualities of the ,:oil are not to blame for the cassation of a comparatively flou'ishing connnerce, past e.\| erience deinonstrates, and 'Observatioii confirms. Even undcr ihe rude and slovenly culture pursued by the nalives a quantity of wheat was raised largclv in excess of tlieir owii ruquij'enients, lbr wliicli tbey liad jo find a rnarket elsewherc. Tliose rcquainted with tlie nature of soils jironounce the land in, tliis district to be very suitablc fbr the growtli oi wLeat, and the qualily oi grain lormerlyppoduced In iv is said to liave borne flivcrable comparison with the best saniples raised in the Australiau coIonEs. It is only reaspnable to believe that what lias been done befove can be accotnplislied again, and it is absolutely certain that a Eiiropean pi .pulation with 1 e ter appliances, more skill, and niore industry tlian the natives possessed, is capable of tufning the ground to a far better aycount than cver before. '1 liere are perliaps strunger soils in .New Zealand tlian that of Tauranga, but wlien once cleared, few more easily worked could be found. A fine sandy loani prevails, wliicli is extremely tractable, and susceptible oi beitig lendered very prolifie under judieious treatuient. It is well known that in Auckland rnillers obtain the principal portion of tlieir supplies of \ heat from the Australiau C'olonies, Califoruia, and Clii i, at priccs whio tvpuld seeni to leave no profit to the iNe'v Zealand fanner, but it is not perliaps generally Juiowii, that the

Adelaide wheat alone is not the v ry best for the purposes of mitlers wbo find it to tlieir iniorest to mix it with wheat grownina morehutnid climate and soil such as tliose of this colony, so that not unfrequently New Zealand wheat will command even a liiglier pricc than that from Adelaide on account of, by adinixture, its r'odifying effeet on the exeeeding dryness of wheat from that. phice. It will tlierefore beconie a question for the fanner to considcr whether the priccs pos^ible to be realised will afford liim a profit that lie will be satisfied with If lds calculations do not sliow a favorable result in this res ■ pcct, lie need not hope to find another place in New Zealand more suitablc for liis pnrpose tlian ! auranga ; wliicli is the only avinue to the Sea of a great tract of feitilc countiy, \v liere lie can obtain eitlier occupation or pcssession of a fhrni witliin a sliort and casy aecess of the seaboard, and uirere, 'if it wero possible to reduce the production of grain to a miniinuni of cost, 110 greater natural facilities .coidd be cone, ive l, eitlier in the productive capabilities of the land, the coinparatively level nature of the coiiutry rdjacent, rendering transportation casy, or the excellent harbor and central situation wliicli afford so frcqueut opportunitfes for savjnnent. \Vlien this question is properly considered it will be secn that if the settlers of Tauranga canuot qonipete in the New Zealand niarkets with any couutry in the world it will not be foi want of almost all the advatitages whi li liature caii possibly supply . At the uiontldy parade 011 Saturdav last tliere was an unnsually large uiiister. Wlien the meii hn.il fa'len in Colunel II irington, said tliat lie liad 110 wish to niako the inustei' irksonic to civilians, and persons whose occupations iutcrfered with tlieir attendance, but the country was not yet in a settled state, and tliough at present at jieace tliere \>as 110 knowing liow long it would remain so Oue of the objects of 11111steriug was to ascertain wbo liad artns and «li0 Jiad not, t he nccessity foi- wliicli v.as sliown the i ther day at Opotiki, for wlieli the ifrupr tion of the natives toolc place, about eiglity of the iniiabitai-ts caiueto the cotnuianding oflicer asking for arnis. I11 order to niake the duty as easy as pos' ible, the n.en outside of Te I apa vyould be mustered at tlie (Jnte 1'ali, and tliose across the water, at Judea. Many

s.ipposcd that tlieir occupations or their age exeuipted ■ thein from militia duty, but that was a mistake, for accoiding to (he Act every male inliabitant of the place was a militia man, even meinbers of the Waikato Regiinent who haddone tlieir three years service and liad beconie 11011cffeet.ives in consi quence. The nicn of the 1st Waikatos were then addregsed. The Colonel tohi theni that tlieir pc'tition asking fo liave ratioifs continued till they. obtained posscssion of tlieir land, liad been received. and foryartled to Wellington, ;tecompani 'd by a recomniendation from himself ooncurl'iugin its prayor. He liad also written a private lelter to the Deferice Minister, recominending the suhject for his .favo'able cousideration, and liad received 1111 unfavorable reply, wliicli he read ouf, — - '1 lie Petition. howover, liad yet to be l. id helore the llou.se of' Assenib'.y from wliom a diffei'ent answer niight possibly be received.

Infoumation' has reached ua throligh nativi.m'.hannels that the u.ian wbo sliot the 1 te Mr. ! ampbell is nanied Tan Koa, lielonging to Hairini, aipd llow at oue of the villages callcd Te Kaki, ncar Kaiqiai, in a tl ving slate. I he imircfer is said to lie well known lo all the other natives and to liave been the result of a verdict of the Mauiui!! Ai'od *lio a.mounced that utu sho.uld be exaeted for ihe infraction ot an aukati established near the jilacc, » liere the deed was done, and that ( ampbell was ihe first I'.uropean who cair.e in the way. N e vertl . eless tliere are many natives in our neigliborhood who pro.fess abliorrenca of ! the ciiine, and state that t.liey liave couie for the imrpose of complyiog with the v.isli of Mr. Jolm Williaupo 1 to tendei' tlieir submissio.i. They repeat tlieir assurances that Turopeans proceeding unarmed or s.ingly 011 their hinds »ill not be niolested, i but if tliey approncli in large bodies the natives will rau anay. If «e are to estimate tlirse assurances . by the treatnicnt of Campbell and the capricious dccisions of the so-called llauliau god, settlers caimot feel mucli security in venturing iuto the iimnediate neigliborhood o. a very large iiiionber oi natives whose intentions are to say the least, lar fuoni oeiug intelligible. Many regard the viciuity of so many prolessed llauhaus and their unusual aetivity in planting ground and laying up stocks of provisious as a preparatiou for coming strife,

but if wC are to believe their Owii sto'jfunents, they are not premeditating hostilitv ; they are they say. very uncasv ; about the discovcry of C'anipj bell's tnurder. They confess thccriuie «as an act of treacliery on an unarmed man, and tliey are apprehensive of the consequences to thenifselves. They theref0re are anxious t i be allowed 1 1 reniain wlierc tliey are, that is, upon our land acquired bv confiscation, a nl defined liy suryey ! Upon this c 11dition the aceoinplices in the lnurder of Mr. Tanipbell aie willing to refrain from molesting our settlers, and »ill I not object to their proceeding to vie v, or even to occupy t.lio fanns allotted to thein \ for niilitarv services Upon 1 this condition tliey pronp'se 1 to extend forbearauce, "iiicli can C'lily be ('epended on till tlieir pr pbets rcceive a fresh revelatiou from the llauliau god prono'uncing the doom of another confiding pakeiia. Acquiescence in such a proposal would place u,s in the Ipositiou of' occupiers by sufferanpe, and of petitioners fbr clemeney »liile «'■ liave ihe riglit and the ' ability to Iiold our o'wih Sucli a pro|ios«l cannot. for a moment be entertained. Mr. t Iirke, ivil Conimissioheh. «ithout wliom no ibiportaiit Or d'eci sivesteps can be,. takou, lias b en c dled a • ny lo attend 1 1 1 ■ • Coiniu ns.it.ii iw-^' burt at Wli. aka tane, and v.ill be abseut probahlv for tiearly a iv 011 ti 1 . .Many cases of importauce t ) suitors are obliged to stand over till his retnrn, and just at this particular jiinctiui; wlien niomcutous issfies depend on ihe prouipt and judieious aetion of the (iovernnieut represeniative. lie is sumnioned a ay to disclmrgc a duty wliicli could liave been as easiiy pcrformed bv j another. We liavu siiffere.l before fipm the inconveiiient arraiigenient •whereby this imjiortantccntreof contlicting interests has been left vvitli- ) ut the legal autlu l ity wlien | his prescnce was most requi- 1 red. We lnve suffered before from the blending of the distinct offices of coniliiissiouer and magisirato iuio osie, Imt ihe piefeut jtiiieture is too ciiticai, and tiie iiittrtsls at 1 sfake I0t> importaiit to pernut us u >w40 remain silent. In lruth tl.e issues of peace or war liang like tlie swonl cf Daniocles upo.i a > ingle liair. F«>r 1 >n»- past we liave not iiad so many Kirig ni.tivts in i!»e seltleiner.ts From wl.ic'itiuy luave been forciblv drive.) peria ps at no tinie were iliev better stocked v\itli provisious foi a campaign, at no tiine# more iully conseions of liaving \i ilated a lieu ra iiy 1 1 1 e \ nad contracted to observe, and i opv wlien .lie murdeier of Campbell is actually witinn our reacb, coniin withaoulwavd aspeetof hnmi.it v an contiiiion, they pivffer a reques , that is siugnlariy audacious and

! outra^ceus, wTiich tlirongli tlie I absen of tlie proper officer we are j not Jegaliy empowered to answer. I