The New-Zealander. AUCKLAND, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 1860. DIRECT PURCHASE.

New Zealander, Volume XVI, Issue 1497, 22 August 1860, Page 2

The New-Zealander.

AUCKLAND, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 1860. DIRECT PURCHASE.

Be just anil fear not; Let all the end* thou aim’st at, be thy Country's, 'Thy Goo's, and Truth’s.

In the hegining of last year an attempt was made, in Auckland, by live gentlemen, three of whom were members of the House of Representatives, to get up an agitation upon the subject of direct-purchase of lands by Europeans from the aboriginal proprietors or claimants. A manifesto published in February, 185 A declared that, in this Province, the inauguration of “ direct-purchase” hail become necessary, — Ist because “ of the unsatisfactory state “ of the Province of Auckland, which is being “ fast left behind, both in accession of popula- “ tiou and increase of exports, by the Southern “ Provinces of the Colony.” 2nd, because “ Many capitalists have arrived J “ in Auckland for the purpose of settling, who, | “ having been disappointed in their expectation “ of obtaining land, have abandoned this Pro- “ vincefor the South, or have returned in hope- “ lessness to the c luntry which they have “ quitted.” 3rd, because “ The Auckland Revenue derived “ from land, which in 1855, had risen to “ £00,137, had decreased in 1858 to £2,433; “ and this, not from the want of demand to “ purchase, but from the want of land to “ supply.” These were the reasons which were publicly urged in favour of the change of system which was proposed, and after a good deal of some- 1 what acrimonious controversy, in which great want of temper was displayed by the “directpurchase men,” they rashly attempted to obtain an expression of public opinion at a meeting, convened by Captain Daldy, at the Odd Fellows’ Hall. That meeting, which was held on the 4 th June, 1850, was a failure in every! sense. The Hall was not half filled, and of those who were present some five-and-thirty only alter listening to the persuasive eloquence of Mr. T. fS. Forsaith held up their hands in affirmation of the proposition submitted to them. A subsequent meeting was hold, to receive the report of a deputation appointed to wait upon the Governor, and on this occasion i some absurd blunder having been made by two of the leaders of the movement, in their views of the operation of the Waste Lands Act, the “ move” concluded amidst public ridicule. It had its mischievous results, however, and it was within the experience of officers of the Land Purchase Department, that whilst the agitation was kept up, the price demanded by Natives for laud of which they desired to dispose was enormously enhanced, and the operations of the Government greatly obstructed, i We were then able to demonstrate that there was no want of land; that land enough, selected and, as it was to he presumed, of go id quality, to allow 35 acres for each individual, —man, 1 woman, and child—of the Europeans, within the Province, had already been alienated under grants from the Crown, and that, of that large quantity, not more than 4 acres for each indi- | vidunl had been reclaimed, fenced, or brought under cultivation; and we showed that the Land Revenue had fallen off, not because there was no land to sell, hut because the wants of the people were fully supplied. In the Northern part of this Island, where only at present the process of settlement is going on, there has not been, nor is there, any scarcity ol land, nor does there exist on the part of the Native owners any indisposition to sell lauds to the Coveniment for the puniose of ; European settlement. On the contrary, eom- ‘ plaints have been frequently made by the ' Mamie*;, particularly in the Ray of Islands and Moiignnui districts, that the lauds which j they have already alienated have not been oc- ■ copied by the Pakehas. In the Waikato and

Soithcm Districts—on which particularly the eyes of the direct-purchase agitators hate alwiys been turned —events have proved that the disinclination of the Natives to sell arose, not tom any objection to the exercise of the pre-emptive right of the Crown, but from the determination to sell or lease no land for occupation by Europeans upon any terms whatever. We have recurred to this subject now, be. hj cause we observe that efforts are being made ' ‘ in the House of Representatives to import this direct-purchase question—in a modified and disguised shape it is true —into the discussion of the measures for the civil government of the Natives, which now occupy the attention of the General Assembly. It is to be feared that whereas the majority of the Assembly must necessarily be unacquainted with the details of a question which, so to speak, they can themselves have no practical knowledge, they n ay submit to the guidance of a few Auckland members who are committed to extreme views, but who do not, we venture to declare, represent in this case the opinions of the people of Auckland, Population is the want of this Province. A system of immigration is now firmly established by which that want is being and will be supplied. By it already, within a short time, more than five thousand souls have been added to tbs population, and five hundred thousand pounds,ia cash, to the capital of the Province. The basis of that system is the acquisition of land by the Crown. Any permission to individuals to purchase directly from the Natives would preelude the Government from acquiring any land except perhaps that which would be worthless and immigration must thus come to an end. There is no evidence whatever that the Natives themselves desire any change in this direction; but there exists abundant evidence of the danger of such change, in the present state of affairs at Taranaki. If the Government themselves, with all their care and appliances, cannot acquire lands without dispute, what wouW he the result of the efforts of reckless individuals with that object ? We confess that we regard with terror any disposition to admit of land, in any shape, bv individuals with the Natives. If once the thin’end of the wedge be admitted, the cupidity of both races would be excited, in suite of the Government, to drive it home. ;J The first stop could not be the last. The end would he land-sharking in its worst form, the arrest of settlement and progress, and the rendering chronic that state of antagonism and warfare of which, at this moment we feel the disastrous effects.