New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAITS GUARDIAN. Saturday, May 2, 1846 .

Thk question of the Native Reserves is so intimately connected with the Land Claims that it is hardly possible to consider the one apart from the other. As a sequel to our remarks on Mr. Spain's Report, we shall take this opportunity of offering a few observations on the original intention of these Reserves, and the manner in which this intention has been departed from, noticing at the same time a Report recently made on them by the Government Surveyor. The real consideration for the lands acquired by purchase from the natives has always been regarded by the New Zealand Company to be, not so much the goods and money given at the time of sale, of which the benefit would be of a transitory nature, as the lands to be set apart as Reserves for the exclusive use and benefit of the Natives in the districts to be colonized, which were to be inalienable and vested in Trustees acting on their behalf, the guardians of a property interspersed among the lands of the settlers, sharing equally in the improvements effected by colonization, and equally liable to the same progressive increase of value which these improvements could not fail to confer. But while all parties are agreed that these lands should be held for the exclusive use and benefit of the natives, the Trustees appointed by the Local Government have understood this in a sense very different from its p ] ain and obvious meaning. The settlers have always supposed that the Reserves of country lands at least would be occupied by the natives for the purpose of producing the food necessary for their subsistence, the Trustees of the Native Reserves, at least the Bishop of New Zealand, the only Trustee who has acted, has looked upon both the town and country Reserves, as the means of obtaining, from the accruing rents, a fund which should be devoted to the improvement of the condition both moral and physical of the natives — and acting on this view has permitted leases to be granted to settlers of some of the Native Reserves. This course has unfortunately been attended with mischievous consequences. The natives were told that land was set apart for their use, and yet they found that no effort was made by the Local Government to put them in possession of it, while their land was in some instances in the occupation of the settler. They did not scruple in return to extend their cultivations over the lands claimed by the settler, and these usurpations, together with the Reserves, as we have previously remarked, are now awarded to them by the Commissioner. In the meantime the Native Reserves remain in a state of abeyance, the only acting Trustee has resigned his trust, and no other Trustees have been appointed. A Native Trust Ordinance was passed in June 1844, in the preamble of which it is stated that " provision hath been made for the appropriation of certain lands and monies for the moral and social advancement of the natives," but this ordinance has not yet, we believe, received the royal sanction, nor is there any one in this district duly authorized either to act on behalf of the natives, or to give any information respecting the Native Reserves. Another alleged difficulty which has always been studiously insisted upon, has been the insufficiency, as to the extent of available land, of the Native Reserves in this district, and to meet this difficulty Mr. Shortland, when acting Governor of the colony, caused a further reserve of 500 acres to be made at Kai wara wara in the neighbourhood of the town. On this very Reserve made under such special circumstances, his Honor the Superintendent, with that utter want of judgment which generally marks his official acts, subsequently permitted the natives to sell two allotments to two settlers who, with their families are now in occupation of the property which they have thus acquired under his sanction and that of the Native Protectors, though at the time he permitted the arrangement to be made, he must have been conscious of the motives which induced the Local Government to insist on this Reserve; and must have known he was acting illegally in permitting any portion of the Native Reserves to be alienated. The insufficiency of the Native Reserves in this district has been a favourite charge of the Local Government, and this pet grievance has recently found an advocate in Mr. Thomas Fitzgerald the Government Surveyor, who, acting under Major Richmond's

instructions, has been luxuriating in foolscap and red tape in the shape of an official Report. The settlers have often been puzzled to discover what employment could possibly be found for a Government Surveyor in this district, this Report may possibly serve to enlighten them in this respect though we suspect their opinion of the usefulness of the office will remain unchanged. In this Report after having " carefully inspected and examined " the Reserves in the different districts Mr. Fitzgerald arrives at the conclusion that out of 38 sections of country land or 3800 acres, there are not more than 1 230 acres, or less than one-third of the whole amount " that could be used by the natives for vegetable productions." He then proceeds to state-— " From which, Sir, you will perceive how far the original intentions of the New Zealand Company with regard to the Reserves have been here carried out. The fact of the sections being such as I have stated them speaks of itself and needs no comment of mine, and I therefore thought it better to give a minute description in this leport of each particular Reserve, than to give a shorter and more general report upon the whole of them, from which questions might possibly aris-e hereafter that would give further trouble respecting them. But I cannot help remarking that they seem to have been chosen generally without having at all in view the end for which they were designed, viz. — 'the actual occupation of them by the natives, and their being able to draw their subsistence from them without intruding on the lands of the colonists' as they are now obliged to do." From this we are to infer that because Mr. Fitzgerald says the Reserves are bad, it settles the question, but if no comment were needed he might have spared himself the invidious task of questioning the ability and the motives of those who selected them. Our space will not allow us minutely to analyze this Report, but we may examine a few of its statements, so as to enable our readers to judge whether the facts are truly such as Mr. Fitzgerald has stated them. In the Ohiro district, out of four sections, Mx . Fitzgerald pronounces only 30 acres of one of them (No. 15) worth cultivating, the remainder he describes to "be quite unfit for any kind of tillage." Now, the order of choice of the adjoining sections affords a fair test of the value of these selections, it serves to shew that a settler would probably have selected the same land for his own use for a similar order of choice, but in his estimate of the Reserves Mr. Fitzgerald altogether omits or disregards this consideration. The sections adjoining No. 15 on either side were selected for the orders of choice Nos. 36, and 58. The native reserve was selected for No. 51 order of choice, the quality of the land is the same with the adjoining sections, and a portion of it was in cultivation by the natives before the settlers arrived, proving that when the whole district was open to their choice this was precisely the land they preferred. We may also state, at the time the town was laid out, complaints were made that these sections were not included in its limits. The same remarks respecting the order of choice apply with equal or greater force to the other sections in this district. The section No, 26 at the mouth of the Ohiro was, at the time of its selection, a fishing station much resorted to by the natives who had built a pah there. In the report these facts are suppressed, at least they are not noticed ; but they are good reasons for justifying the selection, and are arguments much insisted on by those who object to the insufficiency of the native reserves, namely that these considerations were not sufficiently attended to in their selection. In the Kinapora district the three reserves Nos. 7, 8, and 9, are admitted to be " very good sections." But while it is stated that the whole of these sections are fit for cultivation, it is not stated that the thi-ee sections which are contiguous and form one block, together contain four hundred acres. In the lower Hutt district it is stated of the Reserves 1, 2, and 3, that " with the exception of about 30 acres near the Koro Koro," the land is of no value. The observations as to the order of choice and the selection of the land for their own use by the natives before the arrival of the settlers, which we have before made on the Ohiro district apply with still greater force to these sections, which, we believe, were selected at the express desire of the Pitoni natives : -we may mention one fact more. Mr. Bidwell gave £1200 for the order of choice No. 4, and selected the country section immediately adjoining these Reserves, and we believe has refused more than this sum for land which is declared to be of no value. We have taken these examples at random, and our limits prevent us pursuing the subject further. It may suffice to say, that the two Reserves | in the town district, three in the upper Hutt, twointheLowryßay district, and one in the Wainuiomate, together making 800 acres are pronounced to be good for nothing. — This statement speaks for itself and needs no comment. It may be thought we have given undue importance tp Mr. Fitzgerald and his re-

port, but it is necessary to show the sinister influence which has been at work. Mr. Fitzgerald states that in making this report he has acted in compliance with the instructions received from Major Richmond, and we have no doubt he has fulfilled both the letter and spirit of his instructions. Whether they tended to promote or prejudice the settlement of the land claims our readers may determine from the specimens we have given of the report. In conclusion we may state that in the opinion of a person equally qualified with Mr. F. to give an opinion on this subject, omitting the sections in the Lowry Bay and Wainuiomata districts, at the most moderate estimate there are at least 400 more acres available for present native cultivation than stated in his estimates, making, with the special reserve at Kaiwara estimated at 350 available acres, about 2,000 acres. The native population in this district is about 800 souls or 200 families,* being about 10 acres to each family, exclusive of those native cultivations beyond the district at Parangarau, Orongorongo and Wairarapa, which by the terms of the award are reserved for their use, and exclusive of the town reserves, the value of which will increase with the prosperity of the settlement.

* Mr. Halswell, who in 1842 made a most careful census, estimated the number of natives in this district at 541, and they have not increased since that time, but we have purposely assumed the most moderate computation of available land and the greatest amount of native population.

On Wednesday the Slams Castle sailed for Auckland with Capt. Eyton's company of the 96th, which have now been stationed here nearly three years. During this period Capt. Eyton has so identified himself with the settlers, that his departure will be sincerely regretted by the numerous circle of his acquaintance.

On Thursday H.M.S. Calliope sailed for Porirua. We believe it is intended that the pinnace of the Calliope with a crew of ten men men and a fourteen-pound carronade shall be left at Porirua for the purpose of keeping the communication open by water, and preventing any annoyance from the natives. Two whale boats will also be left thsre for the same purpose. The new barracks to be built at Porirua will accommodate 100 men, and will be constructed of the stone of the neighbourhood, which it is thought will be found to answer very well for building purposes. We hope that the confidence of superior strength will not produce supineness, or cause any relaxation of discipline at this important post. As long as Rangihaeata remains in the neighbourhood with his followers in arras, it is evident that he is watching an opportuuity which some unguarded moment may offer, of which he will not hesitate to avail himself: he has openly boasted that treachery and cunning form his policy — we hope it may never be our painful duty to lecord that his policy has been attended with success.

Scarcity of Labour. —At no time has labour been greatly in excess in this settlement, and we have always asserted that a demand for fifty labourers would prove this to be the case. The restoration of confidence in a certain degree, and the extension of business arising out of the Government expenditure,have so advanced the expectation of the working classes, that we hear that farming labourers are asking five shillings a day, a rate of wages which the employer even in the most flourishing times would find it unprofitable to pay, and the demand therefore is tantamount to causing a cessation of farming operations upon any scale. Stockmen and shepherds have always been most liberally remunerated in this settlement, — their wages have been generally from one-half to two-thirds more than in the neighbouring colonies, and the increase in stock-keeping has now created a demand which cannot be satisfied by persons really trained to the pursuits.

From Otakou we learn that the surveys^ are proceeding in a very satisfactory manner, and additional men are engaged by the contractors who will return to that settlement in a few days. Two towns are laid out, the upper town and the lower town or port. We are informed that the settlement will retain its native name Otakou, and the town in compliance with the wishes of the intending settlers will be called Dun Edin,

We would wish to draw the attention of our readers to a letter signed Fair Flay, and think, if his Excellency had heen cognizant of the facts therein stated, his sense of justice would not have permitted the reduction alluded to.

We are requested by Mr. M'Donald to state that a meeting of parties friendly to the establishment of the Savings Bank will be held at Barrett's Hotel, on Friday evening next, the Bth May, at 8 o'clock, for the purpose of appointing trustees and other officers, and also for determining the rate of interest to be allowed on the deposits.

Sales, op Catsle. — The barque Kestrel, Captain Beauvais, from Port Phillip, embarked 90 head of cattle, and landed and sold 58 ; very fine framed bullocks in fair condition sold privately at £9 ; well bred cows sold at £8:10. The barque Janet, Captain Dring, from Sydney, embarked 120, and landed about 60; some of the bullocks were sold privately at £8 ; and Messrs. Bethune & Hunter sold by auction the remaining bullocks at £7, and cows and heifers at from £4 to £9 per head. Both these vessels were bound for Auckland, where prices are very considerably lower, but owing to stress of weather, were compelled to come to Port Nicholson.

Melancholy Accident. — We are sorry to be obliged to record the death of a Sergeant of the New Police force, named Hicks, from the following melancholy accident. On Monday last a party of the police were engaged in scouring the Hutt district in search, of natives, and while marching through the bush in single file, the man immediately in his rear stumbled, and his piece going off, the contents were lodged in the body of Hicks, the ball passing through his cartouche box, and all the cartridges but two exploding. Every assistance was rendered to the unfortunate man but medical aid was unavailingj he lingered till the next day when death put a period to his sufferings. On a post mortem examination of the body it was found that the ball had wounded the right kidney, passed through the liver and diaphragm, and had taken a direction towards the right shoulder fracturing the eighth rib in its passage. Several pieces of lead and of the cartouche box were taken out of his chest and abdomen. A Coroner's Inquest was held on the body before Dr. Fitzgerald, when a verdict of " Accidental Death" was returned. The deceased was an active, industrious settler, and was much respected by those who knew him.

Spirits and tobacco under bond this 30th day of April, 1846: Brandy 2021 gallons Rum 2051 do. Gin 374 do. Tobacco 171901b Cigars 491 Tb Snuff 80ft