NEW ZEALAND COLONIZATION NECESSARILY DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF ANY OTHER BRITISH COLONY. The Southern Cross. Saturday, June 17, 1843.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 9, 17 June 1843, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND COLONIZATION NECESSARILY DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF ANY OTHER BRITISH COLONY.

The Southern Cross. Saturday, June 17, 1843.

Luceo non Uro. " If I have beeu extinguished, yet there rise A ihousaod beacons from the spark I bore."

A time it wns— to all be it known, When all a man sailed by or saw, was his own. The principlo contained in the above old and irregular rhyme, is that on which nearly all the British colonies were claimed, held, and settled. The vast continent of North

-;1frncrica, the Carribean Islands, [and a continental island of New Holland, ra acquired, and held by this right. From* days of James I., when it was the cum with every Captain of an English ship, \m the discovery, or fancied discovery of a new country, to erect his cross, and {M scribe upon a tree, or any other conve™ place, the words, " James, king of Engjfl and of this Island," it never formed a m sideration with our rulers and statesmen even people, whether this was in realifi fair and equitable title to such landsM whether this arrogant and unjust claimB not in direct opposition to, and a feflj violation of the laws of nature and of fl tion, which assigned to all the creatiH rational, as well as irrational, those porlH of the earth from which they obtainedH derived their nourishment, as their pecH heritage and birth-right possession. ■ Spaniards and their success in the SM American hemisphere, excited England™ every other nation in Europe, to extend fl dominions, in the hope of discovering other portions of the New World • the «| treasures of gold and silver ; -with whicHj vile cupidity of the inhuman and « adventurers of Spain, had been fed, buM satisfied. The horrid doctrines of fl religion, which taught them to look upcW unbelievers, or heretics, as enemies of CH and of Rome, afforded not only a pla« pretext for the usurpation of the lands ofl unfortunate heathen inhabitants, but fl the most atrocious murders, and the 9j extermination of the unchristian race, S reckoned highly meritorious deeds. In tfl days of darkness, ignorance, and crueltjH faithful adherents of the perverted an<9 luted Christian religion, and the SpamH in particular, acknowledged and allowed title to country, property, or life, on'S part of any who happened to be beyoniiH pale of the church. Hence, the inlm^H distinction which is horridly, barbare|H and disgustingly set forth, even atjj| present day, and attempted to be e|9 lished on the authority of the united opirH of mankind, as one of the laws of natrB that civilized men, or the governments civilized countries have a right to OB occupy, and use as their own, all Ian<ls'*9 countries belonging to uncivilized tribFH savages. j[ ' This is the very doctrine (recently a^JB ed and maintained by Sir Georgo GpS ->^ at^™ 1^/-^ to be -"arm^- n+ . by OswH - ,.^eoii«.f*ud)'.ia'rpair J )e ifl Jr-'riost of Spain, justified hmuvelf fo-|H ' massacre of the innocent Peruvians. *« 1 is precisely the very doctrine which W ' been artfully refined and disguised i?*w the term "preemption" in the 'treaPw U'eitangi. It is nothing more or\less l ?jB the old Romish doctrine, that the Pojx©« tke head of Christ's Church, ha') the?8 minion over all tho kings and people ol fl earth. Tliis is the doctrine, by mea°« which, the Missionaries, and Mis' 1 * ary, and heathen natives of New Zea^fi are either being deprived of their lan<i#H denied the rig-lit of selling 'them to an* 53 * the government of Great Britain ; #**■ this doctrine be a true one, the clai^H Bishop Pompalier on the part of the G'tiNB of Rome, must be stronger than even of England itself. V In the above we have endeavoured show that the principle on which it iyS tempted to deprive the native of land of his natural and inherent riglr^jM property, is a bad one. In a former afB we have proved that circumstances renipS impracticable to conduct the governme JB this colony on a system so monstrouslj ■ just as the present, and wo shall notLS deavour to show the manifest advanta^S England and to this colony of a recuriuS to the- old system, or that of aHowing^m natives their full rights. « IV6TO We do not altogether blame England}^ the attempt to carry out in New Zealcfjjl the same system of colonization which b^ yails in the other British colonies ; thefoj|| ing of imitation not only belongs to ini^p duals, but to Governments also, — it is alvgSi easier to follow the beaten tract tha^w strike out a new one, and if a man is adK cessful with one plan, he generally atteicm to apply the same plan to every other uuejfl[ taking. But the circumstances of New iifl land are peculiar and very different iaS those of any other British colony whatp|B In all the other British colonies, Ameriii^B West Indian, or Australian, the GovijH ment had the undisputed possession otaHfl the lands — the natives being, generaM speaking, so low in the scale of intelligojM as either not to know the value of their ImM sessions, or not to care about or to a»vfll their right to them. The natives of fen Zealand are however far different, thejo^H only hold all the lands in the country, mm they also know the full value of such la^^fl and will not dispose of them either toUw[ Government or to private individuals a {i dH thing below their real or marketable val« f|

Ids, [and olland, i „ From i the cusi sh ship, u >very of , , and to r conveni ; of Engl rmed a c tatesnien, in realii eh lands, st claim nd a fea and of c le creatu lose port: >btained heir peci ession, 1 the Sc England extend t scovering Id -the s th which i and cj fed, but tes of 1| look upo} ies of CI y a plaui ) lands oi ts, bnt i nd the ; race, ~\ ids. Intl cruelty, ted and e Spani . allowei life, on i beyond he inhu barbaroi ven at 0 be es ited opii of natii ermneni it tO M.\ U lands' ;d tribej ently afj orgo G| Se Dtj j»lf foi rains. 1 VhicL ui^ed u ie Atreat or\'less ie /Popi ia| the sople of >y mea id Mis w Zeal ir lands to anj in ; an e clain theCL even t avourei ih it is N ew \ t right mer ar js rendf ernmeD trously ■II now Hvantag ■recurre ■owing ngland Bvliich \ H to inc ■t is ah v attes Bierunj Bt'ent ■vhatet ■ion of ■ genera ■telligei Bntry, valu

tat the Government have no lands whatto dispose of, excepting such as they obtain by purchase from the natives, [f the natives at any time and from any 3 chooso to refuse to sell theiv lands, or sell at a high price, the Government all their plans and schemes of emigra3 re at once suspended. The natives it in their power at all times to eml3S the Government in this respect. jfew Zealand is in many other respects •cnt from any of the other countries in h Great Britain has established colo—this is apparent from tha Treaty of tangi itself. With the natives of New and it was never thought of to r into any treaty, neither did we r into treaties with the natives of ish Guiana or North America, they s either too few or too powerless to any opposition to us, or any resistto our measures ; we cared nothing it them, their claims were thrown aside ; so however, with regard to the 140,000 Intents of Zealand, we were obliged iter into treaty with them, before we 1 set a foot upoH their territory,' we red into solemn engagements with them ; .cknowledged them to be possessed of itional independence, and of national ts. Having done so, why do we now to take advantage of them ? why do we to impose upon them the bloody conins of the Spanish yoke ? What shall land benefit by the misery and slavery he unfortunate New Zealanders ? The jhtened people of England do not even he purpose of getting rid of their superldant population, wisl\ that their governt should disgrace itself, by wronging the yes of New Zealand. The people of land labour under a sad mistake in supQg.that New Zealand is a country well >ted for the reception of their pauper llation. New Zealand is certainly a dy productive country, but it at present s very few inducements to the mere luring man. Our circumstances are far jrent from those of any of the other ;ish colonies : want of labourers is the in all the other colonies ; but New Zeal only wants the man of capital ; our ye population is more than sufficient to ply abundance of labour. We merely it the capital to work with, and to enable to employ, and to direct our native >ur. In obtaining possession of this ntry, the Home Government appear to >te, bfl^M^x^ffjiv^Tan^ronto^iß |tish ddphinions. r e ■vro.nt no emigration fund in New ilandlan as much as we want no labouriromMthe Mother Country. We merely it mm of capital and skill, to call forth resources of- the country ; and to direct intelligence, and to employ the labour our native population. At the present nent we have more tradesmen and larers from the neighbouring colonies than limited means of the settlers will enable in to employ ; and until the government nge their policy, and offer greater enragement. than they do at present to i of capital and enterprise, we are only ired more and more by every fresh imtation of poor immigrants from England. s may appear strange to the advocates migration, in any shape, but it is neverless true. Labour is good, anil essenIy necessary to the prosperity of a counbut two other things require to acconly it, viz : capital, and the material to )loy the labour upon. The first of these have been in a great measure robbed of, ough the unwise and unjust measures of eminent ; and although we have the er, (material to employ labour profitably •n) in greater abundance, and'qf a better lity than any other-country on the face he' earth, it is of no avail, so long as the ernment keep it under iron bolts and cs, which nothing but their own extreme essities will compel them to unfasten. c unjust regulations regarding the native ds, have already driven hundreds of pers, with thousands of pounds in their session, away from New Zealand, because y could not purchase good or available d. The government having none to sell, I prohibiting the natives from selling irs. Why are our Kauri forest* — our les of copper and of lead — our beds of I—our'1 — our ' rocks of manganese— our millnes — our extensive plains of flax, and our eat and corn lands, yielding no revenue the colony ? Because they are either in i hands " of the ' natives, or the original tiers ; the former of whom are prohibited m selling them ; and the latter of whom, account of the' protracted litigation with 'eminent, and the discredit thrown upon ■ir titles, have neither the credit, nor the •oey to make even these certain sources health available. We want no emigra1 fund to make New Zealand the richest, 1 the most desireable colony belonging to Cat Britain. We merely require to be

let alone. Let our government see that order, and the laws are maintained, and leave the rest to the natives and the settlers. If they are merely satisfied, as they ought to be, with having the sovereignty of this country, and having nothing to pay for the expence of government. Let them leave the natives and settlers of New Zealand to manage their lands their own way ; let them give the natives the right of selling as before, and allow the Europeans to purchase from them as before, and New Zealand will speedily, and without any cost to, or even assistance from England, become a great, a rich, and a powerful country. Our intelligent, industrious, and very numerous native population, is a most valuable emigration fund, it has been raised by providence, without any assistance from England ; and will, without any further cost, if properly managed and directed, be more than enough to supply .au 1 the wants of the country for many years to come. If England be generous, asUhe ought to be, let her encourage some men of capital, of good character, and enterprise, to come. to our country to enlighten our native population, and to assist them in calling forth tho vast resources of their country ; and we, and the natives will thank them, and feel deeply grateful for such benefits. Let them send their Parkhurst boys, their anticipated convicts, and poor-house inhabitants to New South Wales, where they are wanted, and where they may be of use in the absence of a native population, in reclaiming the wilds and wastes of that country, and where they are not, as in this country, under the necessity of first purchasing every inch of land, before they can sell to the settlers. Our population is at the present moment, much larger than that of New South Wales ; and we are daily adding to it, by large importations of the most moral, and better sort of people from the neighbouring colonies. Colonising New Zealand appears to us, whatever it may be thought of at home, to be something like colonising India. As well might the East India Company claim the right of preemption over all lands in India, and attempt to purchase from the natives of that country, with the view of re-selling to Europeans, in order to raise an emigration fund, to enable them to send their paupers to that thickly peopled country, as the government attempt to carry out their present schemes in this country. Have we not already 140,000 natives, and about 15,000 Euro|£s4^ttflflHftki3 ggfg^^olonising genus, Tr'pr^^i^i|^TOd.ed fcTT So long as there are natives in the country unemployed, and able and willing to labour, we maintain that it is not only a useless waste of money, but a measure . fraught with injustice towards the natives, to import European labourers to thj^countgy. Such a measure tends unnecessarily/ and cruelly to drive the native out of the labour market. If" the government really desire to benefit New Zealand and its native population, let them at once give them the right of selling their lands as formerly to Europeans, and if they deem it necessary to retain such persons as the Protectors of Aborigines, let them be witnesses to such transactions ; and see that the natives are not overreached, (although the natives themselves will take good care that this shall not happen.) And, if the government . seek to derive an honest revenue from the lands so to be sold ; let them insist upon receiving from the purchasers of native land, a certain sum for every acre so bought ; say, one or two shillings per acre ; for which the government shall give a Crown grant to the purchaser, and register his deed. A simple scheme of this kind, would raise a much larger revenue than they can ever derive from the present absurd system of acquiring and disposing of what are called Crown lands ; and bo attended with no injustice, as far as either the natives or the Europeans are concerned. A portion of this money should be devoted to local improvements ; such as the making of roads and bridges, for the purpose of facilitating internal communication ; and another portion might, if deemed necessary, be devoted to emigration. Although we are persuaded, that for* many years to come, we shall be abundantly supplied from the neighbouring colonies with mechanics and tradesmen ; who are the only emigrants we really require, and who are at all calculated to improve the condition of the native race. The pledge given to Mr. Ligar and the Survey Department will be redeemed in our next. We shall thereafter show the advantages of land-sharking on a large scale, as practised by Mr. Willoughby Shortland, the present head of the Government, and Mr. Dudley Sinclair, a private settler.