EXTRACTS.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 16, 5 August 1843, Page 4

EXTRACTS.

{Fiom the Colonial Gazette, Jan, 11.) In New Zealand, the local government has adopted the same dest2 % uctive method of selling land by exciting a fictitious competition. By means of proclaiming a desert spot as "Auckland, the capital of New Zealand," and other parts before mentioned, the most extravagant prices have been obtained for town lots and suburban lots ; but the people whom this abuse of the immense power of government attracted thither, have laid out their all on these speculative purchases, and the settlement is in a state of much distress and despondency for want both of capital and labour : the goose has been killed for the golden eggs. In New Zealand, further, the large sum obtained by this sale of a "capital" upon paper, instead of being used to bring people to the settlement, has been waisted by the government ; and a large proportion of the settlers of " Auckland, the capital of New Zealand," have petitioned the home authorities for the Governor's recall. A similar petition has come from "Russell," •another "town" upon paper, where also tho powerful influence of government was misused in exciting a keen competition for land which can have no real value till there shall bo people wanting to use it. But it is not to unwise land-jobbing by the government in a corner of New Zealand that we are to attribute the stoppago of emigration to those islands. So far as Colonization has taken place in New Zealand, it has been the work of a Company. The settlements formed by the Company have had a prosperous career from the beginning ; and they were steadily advancing at the date of the latest accounts. This Company, it will be remembered, saved the islands from becoming a French convict settlement, and almost forced the government to mako them a British colony. When their contest with the government ended, to Lord John Russell's honour be it said, in his forgiveness to their rude opposition to him and his adoption of them as a chief instrument of the government for colonizing the islands, it was supposed that they -would proceed with increased vigour and on a greater scale. And they did so throughout the year 1841 and part of 1842. They have now put a stop to their colonizing opererations. Or rather, it should be said, ! that during the last twelvemonth the public has been losing confidence in their power to carry their own views into effect, and that thus their colonizing operations, which depend altogether on public confidence, have been stopped against their will. The circumstances which have deprived them of the public confidence may be briefly told, j In the first place, from the moment J when Lord John Russell quitted the Colonial Office, they have been engaged in perpetual controversy with that department. Their differences with Lord Stanley became gradually known ; nobody could tell how these might end ; and the confidence of the class of emigrating capitalists in their power to fulfil engagements or promises has atj length been completely shaken. I Secondly, when Lord John Russell made j terms <with them and granted them a char- ; ter, they had laid down .a plan of dealing with their own waste lands, which has ! been rendered impracticable by subsequent regulations of the government. By their plan they spontaneously devoted to emigration a very large proportion of the gross proceeds of their sales : by the subsequent ! regulations of the government they are compelled, in order to avoid ruin, to reserve '

their lands for sale without any view to using the proceeds of sales as a fund for emigration. Thirdly, their right to tho possession of any land at all, under their agreement with Lord John Russell, is questioned by the present government ; and they can no longer, as honest men, sell an acre of land ! without declaring their own title to be precarious. In other words, their sales are stopped, and their emigration fund has j ceased. Fourthly, their settlements are exposed to the systematic hostility of the local government ; which, instead of governing the settlements which it found, and which might grow up in New Zealand, has been their jealous and vindictive rival in the business of colonizing. Lastly," the government of New Zealand is bankrupt: the extravagance of Captain Hobson has exceeded that of Colonel Gawler; the colony is largely in debt, and an application for its relief must be made to Parliament : so that the only prospect for years to come is the total disrepute of New Zealand as a field of colonial enterprise. In this state of things, it would bo madness in the Company to do aught but retrench their expenditure and wait for better times. It is a notable coincidence, that systematic colonization should be- stopped — that the hope of its rapid increase, which was reasonably entertained at the close of Lord I John Russell's career as Colonial Minister, should be frustrated — at the very moment when public opinion is settling into the belief, that oven the safety of society in this country depends on the use of all the means by which it shall be possible to enlarge continually the field of employment for capital \ and labour. • ' (From the Nelson Examiner, May 27.) i In returning to the subject of flax, it affords us great pleasure to be able to preface our remarks with the announcement, that Mr. Joseph has made arrangements with the flax-millers, who prepared the specimen which was shown at tho meeting last week, by which he will insure to them continuation of employment in their business and with their machinery, and, it is to be hoped, also secure to himself and them the profit which their ingenuity and his enterprise so well deserve. We mentioned in our last, that Mr. Joseph was the owner of a water-mill (one of Barker's), which he offered to lend or sell. This mill it is now his intention to erect, to apply the force to tho flax-machinery made here, which, until the mill can be erected, will be worked by hand. This sounds rather better than the report which we were obliged to give of the matter last week. At least the thing is not to be allowed to lie still. An experiment (if it be one) will bo carrying out ; improvements in the machinery and in the process will suggest themselves, and be adopted if found feasiblo. "We are most fortunate in having a resident merchant whose enterprise has relieved us from what threatened to be a long and tedious inaction. There is farther a matter to be considered, whether all the rest of the settlement is to remain idle, to hold itself in a state of suspense as to tho flax question, while Mr. Joseph is trying his experiment, they looking on. This mill may, perhaps, prepare three tons per week, which gives say from £30 to £40 per week to be expended in the colony in preparing this our staple. Is this to remain so, and nothing else doing until Mr. Joseph shall have sent home what he shall prepare, and shall have proved to the satisfaction of the colony how good a speculation it is ? We think this should not be so. Is it the want of capital that would be given as a reason for resting satisfied with this individual attempt, and awaiting its event ? If so, what aid foi the great object in general may we fairly expect from the body of gentlemen in England so closely interested in our prosperity, being landowners here, and what further from that other, body, being composed in great part of the same individuals, associated under the title of the New Zealand Company ? We, for our parts, think that at least they might do something. One portion of .the difficulties which present themselves in establishing a regular trade in flax, and a very large portion too, exists in England, not here. Supposing it to be the valuable article we imagine it to be, there can be no doubt of its eventual success — the thing is, how are we to pass the flax into the market? Can we here do anything materially to further this object, in which these bodies in England could not materially assist us, in which their assistance would produce effects more rapidly and effectually than it is in our power to do it ? — No. It is unquestionably the duty of these gentlemen to exert themselves to lessen the difficulties in our way. It would not be much for them to undertake the purchase at a certain price, failing other purchasers at that price, within a given time.