The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XX, Issue 2020, 6 January 1864, Page 3

The Daily Southern Cross.

LtTCKO NON hRO "If I hi\e been extinguished, jet there risr> \ 111011*5111^1 he icono from the spark I bore,"

WEDyE.WAY, JANUARY G, ]8«1-

A public meeting is a difficult tiling to manage. Few men hare the natural tart, fewer still possess the special training necessary to lead a popu'ar gathering, summoned to consider a proposition regarding winch, peihaps, the vast majority have never seriously thought for two minutes in their lives Perhaps not one man m ten thousand could guide, with credit; to himself, the deliberations of promiscuous assemblages of people, on almost all occasions , but there arc a. few such men alire. and unquestionably they earn the thanks of their auditors at all times, which is more than can be said of the gi - ent bulk of those who are recipients of votes of thanks, by virtue of one of the most absurd conventionalities of modern society. As our readers are aware, i^cro was a public meeting in Auckland on Monday evening last. It was called by the Chairman of the City Board, and may therefore be considered a tow n meeting. The attendance was good, the decorum of the meeting -nas faultless, the subject-matter of discussion was of the utmost importance to the city and pro-s ince ,, — yet, with all these elements of success, truth compels us to say that the meeting, as it'will be looked at from without, -n as a failure It was a decided failure; and why ? We impute no personal blame to the gentlemen who had the management of the meeting, and still les^ do ■« c attach blame to the audience ; but wo think the whole thing was ill-considered, and displayed an ignorance of the philosophy of public assemblies which we hardly expected. From the first, we suspected what it would be, but the result lias more than exceeded our worst anticipations. Extraneous matter was imported into the discussion, and but for a faint show of fight (we speak figuratively) between the mover of the first resolution and Mv J. O'Neill, one of the members for the ■City East in the House of Representatives, the interest of the audience would not have been fixed from the beginning till the end of the meeting. For this little bit of diversion we ai'e sure eveiyone was thankful , it slightly stimulated the circulation, and if the by-play had been kept up v ith sufficient liveliness for any length of time, we are of opinion that the meeting would have been less of a failure than it was. But unfortunately this did, not happen, and instead of a good stand-up oratorical fight, the dispute did not rise to the dignity even of a friendly sparring-match. I( must not be supposed, however, that the people of Auckland are indifferent regarding the great question proposed to be discussed at the public meeting on Monday evening last, but which was not discussed as it ought to have been. The proposed removal of the seat of government from Auckland involves considerations of great magnitude to this community, and these considerations are pretty well understood by the bulk of our fellow-citizens, many of whom were present in the Brunswick Hall on the occasion referred to. We have from time to time adverted to the point, and our views are sufficiently well known not to require any further exposition from us ; but on behalf of our fellowtownsmen who did not speak at the meeting, and who have not had-an opportunity of giving public utterance to their opinions, we may again briefly advert to them. These points mainly are — 1. Auckland was selected as the seat of government by the first Governor, after inspecting every harbour in 'the Colony, and was proclaimed the capital of New Zealand by command of her Majesty. 2. Auckland is still the most convenient site for the capital of the colony, if the good government of both the races inhabiting it is held to be a primary object with our rulers. 3. Auckland possesses the finest hnrbour, beyond comparison, in the entire colony, and is built on a narrow isthmus dividing the inland sea of the Manuicau

on the West, .from the capacious harbour of tho Waitemata on the East. Possessing facilities for cominorce infinitely greater than any other port in the Colony, being legitimately the political centre of these islands, and having been selected by her Majesty's command as the capital city, Auckland disputes the right of any number of Southern gentlemen to interfere with existing arrangements, until it shall hare been clearly shown that the reasons which induced her Majesty's representative to fix upon the harbour of the Waitemata as the seat of government were insufficient, having reference to political and geographical considerations. 5. Auckland denies thai the vote of a bare majority of members of the House of "Representatives can have any weight against the nncoutroverted facts we urge on behalf of this settlement. 6. Tt farther appears to our fellow-citizens, that inasmuch as the opponents of Auckland admit her pre-eminence for commercial purposes, by failing to institute any comparison between her Eastern and Western harbours, and the harbours of any other settlement in the Colony, and that as they get over the politicaldifEculty by asserting that the seat of government ought to be remote from the population to bo governed, they are put out of court altogether, 7. The inhabitants of Auckland hold further that the majority of the House of Eepresentatives, by appealing to the Governors of neighbouring colonies, who have no more to do with our internal economy or distribution of political power than the man in the moon, confess themselves out of court, and acknowledge that besides Auckland they know of no other settlement which ought to be fixed upon as the seat of power. 8. In view of these facts, the peoplo of Auckland protest against the Governors of neighbouring Colonies interfering with the internal affairs of Now Zealand, and more especially as they are invited to decide, in total ignorance, a point which the majority of the House of confess tlieir inability to decide, with all their local knowledge and pecuniary interest combined to brighten their intellects. 0. Auckland likewise piolests against the rote of the majority at the close of the session — when the public mind of tins province wa3 distracted and borne down by a harassing war — when the vast m«i]Oi'jty of our males, from sixteen to si\ty, were bearing arms in defence of the lans and maintenance of the Queen's supremacy, and w ere thus debarred from bringing public opinion to bear upon the Hoii3P, — as an attempt to carry an adverse vote against this province without full and fair discussion. Auckland further protests against the vote as one obtained by a trick to which tlie Speaker of the ilonso of Representatives, forgetful of the dignity of his high position and tlie character for impartiality he had previously borne, lent himself. Further, Auckland protests against the vote (supppsino for argument sake, that it had been fairly taken which it was not), as the opinion of a House winch does not represent the new and progressive element of the Colony, and which, moreover, mu3t soon be legally dissolved 10. But supposing that the opponents of Auckland had proved all they have failed to prove— supposing them to have made out their ease to the satisfaction of every one, there is still the money question to be considered — a question arising out of the first and second Government land sales, on which occasions, and by virtue of the Imperial guarantee regarding the seat of government, about C 30,000 was fransferedto the Government chest, whereas 'tow n lands m Wellington, about the same time, \\cic given for nothing to purchasers of country landb. This, be it remaiked, is a very important question, and aflects the pocket of every man. poor and rich, who on ns a building allotment in Auckland. But for the fact of Auckland being the scat of government, land would not be so dear at this hour in the city , remove it, and if will soon depreciate one-half It will be seen, however, from what we have written, that Auckland has every point in her favour, whether it be of policy or equity, and her interests have been assailed by men who have proved themselves leckless of every sentiment but selfishness and a love of sorded gain. We make no complaint that the Southern majority were unkind, we can afford to despise their want of manly consideration for the people of Auckland at this crisis ; but we stand upon our rights, and will lay our case humbly before the throne, feeling satisfied that the Royal will is not so changeable as to be influenced by a voto which was arrived at by a discreditable trick, and which is based on a tacit confession that the majority knew no other place in New Zealand, north or sonlh, so « ell suited for the seat of empire as the place which her Majesty had originally chosen.

The debate in the Auckland Provincial Council on Monday last upon the question of the Mauku trains ay, is deserving of more attention Lhan it seems at all likely to get. To our minds it presents itself as a question of the very deepest importance, not only to the welfare of e\ cry part of the province, but of those individual merchants of Auckland, who, at the present moment, seem so strangely blind to its very existence as never to have raised a voice in the matter. In the first place, it may be well to inquire what is the Mork which Mr. Newman has brought under the notice of the community as requisite to be pci formed now. It is simply this. Between the Manukau Harbour and the Waikato River there exists the impediment of either a strong and dangei-ous bar, or a piece of land of greater or loss extent. To render the navigation good, and safe at all times, is clearly an impossibility; to render the transit across the neck of land separating the waters, is quite easy, at a comparatively small expense. Years ago the importance of this work became manifest to many, and, during the superintendence of Mr. Brown, efforts wee made to have the thing set a-going. Competent surveyors decided upon the most feasible mode of operations and estimated its cost, and finally aline of tramway was carefully sui'veyed off and lines cut of width sufficient to mark its proposed course distinctly. Such has continued to this day to be the state of affairs with regard to the Mauku tramway. Its length from deep water to deep water was rather more than eleven miles, its cost was estimated at £16,000. Circumstances of various kinds interfered to prevent its being gone on with, principally owing to doubts as to the attitude of the natives of Waikato. The then estimate is, we believe, quite sufficient to do the work now, so that all that remains is that we should sec whether the value to the province of the work is as great aa the proposed outlay. i All such questions ought to be looked at in the double light of the present and the future. What would be Ihe present value of the

Mauku tramway to Auckland ? In a word, is the speculation likely to pay now, and will it pay hereafter ? Wo. have no hesitation in answering both in a most decided affirmative, the more so that we If now a good many things about it, unnoticed apparently by even the many in the Provincial Council. The war and its good conduct is what is naturally jnst now in every one's thoughts. If any one is silly enough to say that the war is solely the concern of the General Government, we are sorry to hear it. If the Provincial Government represents the province, it surely feels that every day of protracted warfare to the colony is thousands of pounds out of its pockets. If it does not recognise this, talking is useless now ; but its blindness will be abundantly manifest and abundantly punished when it comes forward for re-election to the management of provincial matters of which it has shown so weak an exhibition of want of comprehension. To the finishing, then, of the war it would tend move than anything. At this moment General Cameron scarcely knows how to move a man or a horse from his present position, owing to the xitter failure of all means of transport. Flour by tens of tons lies stocked at Drury ; maize and oats by hundreds of bushels lie at the same place, while the men at the front go grubbing about for potatoes to relieve the unwholesome monotony of a fare of biscuits and salt pork ; and horses of the Defence Force Cavalry and Artillery are half starved and wholly inefficient for want of a £evr pounds of oats, or maize 1 per day. We do not mince matters, for wo never knew any good come of it 3 T et ; but what we do say may be depended upon, and no one can tell what the effect may be upon the campaign of the weary fourteen miles bad hilly road between Drury and Maungatawhiri, over which we persist in enrting the stores and ammunition of our army. That it would have paid the General Government ten times over to have made the tramway is perfectly true, and we have before told them, through the columns of this paper, that such was the case. Their negligence of their interests, or their ignorance of tho facts, arc no excuse for our Provincial Council's showing an equal stolidity in the matter. Once made, and the province could soon make the General Government pay the expense of it, by the simple levy of a toll on all goods pas-sing o^ er it ; for pass over it all main traffic for the Waikato must do until a railw ay t» as made to touch the river at some point. And this brings us to the second part of our question — the value, without reference to the war exigencies of the day, of this work. All stores for Waikato are shippedat Onehunga now > they will continue so to be until the railway is finished. The earliest date for the finishing of a railway to touch the Waikato may be taken roughly at four years hence — six is a more probable estimate. In one year's time a very largo population will have begun to collect on the Waikato, using it as their mode of conveyance, their means of getting provisions. The Mauku Creek is no more difficult to reach, w hile it is far easier to navigate, than that of Papakura, as far as the terminus of the proposed tramway. The other end of that tramway would come very close to the new Government township inside Waikato Heads. In a year's time a large population must be supplied on the Waikato with everything — possibly from Auckland vi/i Onehunga, possibly also from Melbourne by ship to the Waikato. If we have a tramway, the Axickland merchants' wares ill have the advantage; if we have none, the Melbourne mci chants' goods will have at least an equality in the Waikato market. The choice is now ours. The alternative is between an expenditure of £16,000 and the keeping that sum locked up and unused. True, we might take the member for the Northern Division's advice, and bring in immigrants with it. We might supplement the General Government's scheme, by adding a few hundreds of men to them, to settle in the Waikato, or a fow hundicds of women to share the wretched fate of Miss Bye's protegees at Otago. Meanwhile, wo shall be sowing, while Victoria tv ill be reaping: we shall be filling up the Waikato, and for want of a little foresight — averyhttle,indeed — Victorian merchants will be taking all tho gain of it out of our hands. In a word, we shall have thought we were doing something clever, by . preventing one district from being benefited in any way more than another, and we shall find that we have simply been making ourselves ridiculous, andthrowing away the opportunities given us of profiting somewhat liy the expenditure >of our money. That a branch of the railway to Waikato will strike off eventually to Camerontown, or somewhere in that direction, there can be little doubt , but if we wait until the railway is made before we give trade any help in that direction, we shall find that trade has flowed into channels other than those we wished, and that even railways will have a battle to get it out of its old grooves then.