Address

Daily Southern Cross, Volume I, Issue 38, 6 January 1844, Page 2

Address

To His Excellency Robert Fjtzroy, Esq., Captain in the Royal Navy, Governor of \ Kew Zealand and its Dependencies, fyc. tyi, May it please Your Excellency, We, the inhabitants of Auckland, in Public Meeting assembled, beg leave to avail ourselves -of the earliest opportunity of congratulating your Excellency upon your auspicious arrival in thi& colony, and of expressing feelings of the sincerest and most heartfelt loyalty towards Her Gracious Majesty our Sovereign, of whose kind regard and solicitude for the happinesi of her faithful subjects in this most remote portion of her widely extended dominions, we could have no ; stronger proof than the appointment of 10 distil guished an officer as Your Excellency to be Htr Representative. We would also unite with Your Excellency in fee!- 1 ings of gratitude towards that Providence who over- f rules all human events by whose superintending: good- s ness and direction your Excellency and your Excel- [ lency's Family have been brought in safety to this [ country, where we earnestly hope they may lcng be pre- [ served in health and happiness, and may by th&meau!^ of conferring many blessings upon its inhabitants, ! While we thus express our heartfelt congratulation for the safe arrival of Yqur Excellency among us, and our reliance upon the wisdom and energy of Yopf Excellency, for devising and carrying out the requisite , measures for inspiring confidence into the colonist;, |. we would still respectfully take the earliest opportunity of bringing under your Excellency's notice tfe unhappy condition of the settlement— its extraordinerj distress and depression, as well as the extraordinary causes which have led to this, in the full confident) that Your Excellency will feel disposed to adopi remedial measures adequate to the necessity of th* case, and upon which depend the preservation of thi present colonists, if not the integrity of the settle' merit itself. To depict the present state of this settlement «* need only bring before Your Excellency's notice tfe bankruptcy of the Local Government — the grW amount of its debts in a communily so small, with tin vast amount of privation and misery necessarily occ8' Bioned — the suspension of the Land Sales, as well" of Immigration — the total destruction of the oneflourishing commerce of the country — the state * starvation in which many of the Emigrants are exist 1 ing — with the total prostration of the energy of i» settlers generally, and their desire to leave the colon; unless an immediate change for the better can t' brought about—all these, with many other, and p«* haps stranger symptoms, Your Excellency will easilj discover to exist, thereby leaving no doubt as to «1>< reality of the distress, and the urgency of the measures necessary to counteract it. " Your Excellency's knowledge of the almost univert»' depression of commerce ;' more particularly perhsp' in the adjacent colonies, may in a great measure ha* ! prepared Your Excellency for the existence of a simi* state of things here ; but we would respectfully desit' I to point out the widely different nature of the cam* which have produced these evils in the different place'! S while in Britain, and in the adjacent colonies, the p*' railing distress and derangement of commerce, & l > easily be traced to an extravagant extent of cotno*'.' cial speculation in conjunction with great moral!" political changes,— tha depression which exists h^ra on the other hand, we attribute solely to the n»»'' tunate and impolitic measures of the Governmed* j which, one after another, have produced the latoen* able and unhappy state of things which we naT8 ljj deavoured faintly to portray.. We do not make » statement, however, with angry "feelings, or in » * criminatory spirit, but in the language of tru thai o i and under the hope that it may prove an addriM » > reason for exerting all the means within your E* c

lency'» power or influence, to restore prosperity to the country and to the people, who have been made the innocent and unfortunate victims. Without troubling your Excellency with minor . nK 3 f which have operated so fatally on the prosrity 0 ( this settlement, we would respectfully notice jL which, more than all the others, perhaps, has contributed to this effect, viz. : the non-settlement of !h B Claims to Land made by the old and original lettlera ; which', after the' lapse of nearly four years, Ire still in abeyance.' ' Not only, therefore, have the claimants suffered by this delay great hardhipgi privation and ruin, but your Excellency is no doubt well aware that the extensive Tjom'merce of the country which existed when the Government took nosiession of it, was carried on by these individuals, based entirely upon' the security of their extensive tracts of land, so that the first Proclamation isiued by the late Captain Hotison, throwing discredit on these title** was the death blow to the commerce, of the country: from that' period it rapidly declined, and the las' vestige of it has long ago ceased to exist. The settlement, therefore, of these Claims upon a fair and liberal footing, though it cannot now repair the injury caused to the individuals, is still required as an act o f justice towards them, and would even yet be productive of general good to the settlement. We therefore hope to see it meet with the, early consideration o f your Excellency, believing that the more favorable the terms of the arrangement, the greater will be the general, as well as individual benefit. It would be oresamptuoui in us to allude to the particulars of such ja arrangement as your Excellency may deem proper to make, but there is one poiot connected with the matter that we would respectfully desire to notice, viz. : that no lands so claimed, and to which no grant can be made to the Claimant, may be taken possession of, and appropriated by the Government, believing as we do. that it would be highly unjust towards the Natives, and at the same time highly impolitic, as the Natives ] g « claim to such surplus lands, and the forcibly tikin; possession of them by the Government, would 1 be attended with the very worst consequences. At the present moment there is nothing calculated to affect the interests of this colony more powerfully for good or evil than the proper adjustment of our intercourse with the Natives, 60 as to ensure their good will and friendship ; without which, we do not hesitate to express our conviction that this colony can never prosper, as the security of life and property • cannot be ensured to the Europeans, while the just rights of the Natives remain in abeyance. This subjsct therefore, we trust, will also 1 meet with the early consideration of your Excellency; - It is with sorrow that for some time past we have observed discontent and dissatisfaction widely spreadjag among the Natives. The .first establishment of the Queen's authority here, was hailed by them with joy; and more extended intercourse tended for some time to encrease their respect for us ; but of late, many events have occurred to diminish this, until it is now all but destroyed. It is well known that the Natives regard us now neither with respect nor fear. Oar physical power has been brought into contempt ; but what is still more to be regretted, the moral influence which had been acquired over them, has also been lost. Her Majesty|s Government, which by a friendly, but firm disposition towards them,— by a fai'.hful discharge of all engagements entered into with them, and by a uniformity of conduct and action towards them, should have claimed and obtained, not merely their confidence, but their admiration. Instead of this,"howeverf the conduct of Government hitherto has been such as to have led the Natives to entertain feelings of suspicion and distrust, as well as of disrespect ; which feelings have to a great extent been from this cause entertained against the Europeans generally, and has led the Natives to express even hostile intentions towards them. Ic is only a few diys since the Government Surveyors were turned off certain landB for attempting to survey them before the land was properly purchased or paid for ; a proceeding which, besides placing the Government in a degrading position, has a tendency to bring about a collision with the Natives, as we have but too painful experience of in the late fatal rencounter at Wairau. We therefore hope to see such measures adopted towards the Natives, as will not merely remove all just csuse of offence, but such as may gain for the Government that respect and confidence, so essentially necessary for the interests of botff races. This, we feel assured, can only be accomplished by a scrupulous regard to the rights of property in the Natives, and by a faithful discharge of all obligations come under, orpromi8eB made' to them. Our relations with the Natives we believe can never be placed upon a secure basis until their full rights as British subjects are conceded to them — more particularly the power of selling their land to whom they please — a power which they ardently desire to po'a•ei8, and which their intelligence as well as their natural right gives them the strongest claim to enjoy. Toe sudden deprivation of this right has already caused them great hardship and injustice, and we therefore hope to see it restored to them while it is yet a matter of choice rather than a matter of neces»ity with the Government. The principle of Government becoming traders in the buying land from the Natives at the least possible price, and reselling it to the Europeans at the very highest price — seems highly objectionable in any case ; but is particularly go here, where the Natives have so frequent disputes as to the rightful ownership of the land. If the Government is the purchaser, who can be the umpire between the claimants ? Nor is this an imaginary case, as we believe that the very last purchase made by Government stands in this position, the land it is believed has been purchased from those having no right to *sll it, and about which the Natives concerned were 0I > the point of deciding the matter by an appeal to j>mw. Unhappily this fatal alternative had already been tried at Monganui about eight months ago, where "Pwards of thirty Natives lost their lives in a similar quarrel about a piece of land which the Government Purchased from aNative pretending right to it — while lt had been sold by other Natives' many years previ* °^"Ji and was in the actual possession of Europeans. Another measure of vast importance, and calculated w exert an immediate effect upon the. prosperity of ln « colony, would be the removing all obstruction! on foamerce-— throwing it! open as widely as possible by itmting the ships of all nations to supply our waiyts, thereby enabling us to call forth and make available "te productions of this country in exchange. The present period, independent of the justice and good Policy of such a course, seems highly favourable for jh adoption, as we cannot avoid seeing that the fearj Q l distress and agitation now convulsing our native «nd have their origin in the various restriction! on M>nini erce> of necessity instituting class interests, *nich are partial and unjust in their operation es re-

gards the rest of the community, and destructive of ! commercial prosperity. One of the most important • and lucrative branches of trade that could be carried I on here — the furnishing of supplies to the vessels enI gaged in the whale fishery, will in a great measure be 1 lost to this country, unless every obstacle be removed to their freely entering our harbours unimpeded by Customs Regulations or payment of high duties on' their produce, now that European settlements are being formed on the various islands of the South Seas where these restrictions are unknown.-— To free the Commerce of our infant settlement from every species of obstruction, we hope may be the tendency of your Excellency's measures, feeling assured that such a liberal course of policy will best promote the present and future interests of this Colony. Not only is the general principle of restrictions on Commerce hurtful, but the particular application of it is highly injurious here, and calls for the immediate interposition of the Government — by establishing a Preventive force around the Island, to secure the impartial operation of the laws.— This more particularly applies to the Duties levied on Tobacco and Spirits (the principal articles of consumption), and wh-ch more_than equal the original cost of the article, creating such inducements to smuggle that one-tenth of the consumption it is well known does not pay duty. Under such a system the honest trader has no chance whatever, and he must at once resign the trade alto* gether into the hands of the smuggler, unless protection is afforded by the Government either by a Pre- 1 ventive force or. by such a reduction in the Duties as ' will remove all inducement to evade their payment. As a minor but still very important measure for the benefit of the settlement, we hope to see a due portion of the revenue of the Colony expended in forming roads, bridges, and other improvements, to render available the lands purchased at such a high rate from the Government. Hitherto nothing of this kind has been done — not only are there no roads formed in the country, but not even is there as yet one street in town in a passable state in winter, and though the Colony has now heen nearly four years in existence, no attempt has as yet been made to form a landing place for goods, the want of wbich entails enormous expense upon the community, upon whom it all ultimately falls, bjit it is further injurious in the great consequent delay occasioned in the discharging of the cargoes of vessels. * % The Jarge number of Emigrants out of employment, many of them being in the most destitute circumstances, will no doubt receive from your Excellency that early and efficient assistance which their circumstances require. Many of them, those in particular who last arrived, have been hitherto treated with the utmost indifference, all employment being denied to them, while many of them wanted even the necessaries of life — as an act therefore of justice as well as of humanity we trust that your Excellenly will soon find employment for them. They have hitherto endured their privations with great fortitude and patience, for which they have now every claim to be rewarded. There are still many other subjects of great importance, but 88 they do not perhaps so immediately affect the interests of the settlers, we forbear at present troubling your Excellency by any particular notice of them, such, for example, as tne necessity of a re-survey of the Town and Country, the grossest mistakes having been committed and justice hitherto denied to the sufferers. Also, the necessity of a cheap and expeditious method of compelling payment of small debts, in other words, a Court of Requests,. Such a. Court at i one time existed here, but was superseded by a 'County ; Court,' the great expense and formality of the proceedings of which amount virtually to a denial of justice. We hope that under your Excellency's Government the punctual payment of salaries and other pecuniary obligations due by Government may be duly attended to, the want of which hitherto has not only caused j great inconvenience, hardship and loss of credit to the individuals themselves, but has been hurtful to the community generally, and productive of the worst consequences to all parties. . The recent importation of juvenile delinquents from ,the penitentiary of Ptirkhurst, is a subject to which we would in an especial manner direct the attention of your Excellency as being in its moral influence /earfully calculated to injure both the Native and the European population. In conclusion we earnestly hope that the Government of this colony, under the influence of the exalted character of your Excellency, both in intellectual capa- j bility and mpral worth, may now raise itself to the j becoming dignity of a British Government, that it may claim the respect and admiration not merely of j the colonists, but of the world a large. This Colony : must always be regarded with intense interest — as it is the Centre of Civilization of the numerous islands in the Pacific, and there is every reason to wish that I nothingmay be left nndone to render the colonizing of it in every way successful. We will not disguise from your Excellency that a total want of confidence has hitherto existed here I between the Government and the People, and that many of us have warmly, but conscientiously opposed the measures of that Government, conceiving their i tendency to be destructive of the best interests of the colony ; but a new day we trust, has now dawned upon New Zealand. The interest of the Government under your Excellency's administration, will, we feel assured, be the general interest of the community, and it will be our greatest pleasure to employ our humble efforts in assisting to carry out the measures of your Excellency for the maintenance of good uovernment, the prosperity of the colony, and the moral and intellectual improvement of the community. With our repeated, and best wishes for the prosperity and happiness of your Excellency and your Excellency's Family, We are, May it.please Your Excellency, Your Excellency's most obedient and humble servants, By request and in name and behalf of the Meeting, (Signed) S. M. D. MARTIN, Chairman