The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXI, Issue 2609, 28 November 1865, Page 4

The Daily Southern Cross.

LUCKO, NON URO. " If I have be on extinguished, yet thero rlio A thousand beacoiu from the spark I bore.'

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28.

The question of Separation is naturally exciting great attention in the South. Opinions there are conflicting. One party advocates Separation as a financial necessity ; the other party ridicules the idea of finance, and takes " enlarged views" of the political horizon. The " great country" argument is always in their mouths, except when they condescend to come down from the clouds to hack up their theories by what they pretend to he arguments founded on facts. On such occasions their facts appear to be inconsistent with what is plain to everyone else. Yesterday we printed an extract from the Press, -which purported, to give a truthful relation of everything connected with the state of feeling in the North. It spoke for the natives as well as for the Europeans. Everyone knows that the settlers' view was misrepresented in that article ; wo now propose to let the natives speak for themselves, to show that native opinion was likewiso misrepresented. In a parliamentary paper, A. No. 5, lately issued, we find, amongst other curiosities of literature, the following despatch and enclosure, which bear upon the point in question. It is a memorial from Northern chiefs and natives against the removal of the seat of Government from Auckland : — His Excellency the Governor to tSb Right Hon. tbe Secretary of Statk for thb Colonies. Government Houae, Aucklaud, May 23, 1865. Sir, — I have the honour to transmit, for the purpoie of being laid before the Queen, a numerously »igned petition from the natives of Hokianga, pray, ing that her Maje»ty will not allow tho place of residence of the Governor to be nioveil from Auckland to the South of New Zealand.— I have, *c, G. Grb*. The Right Hon, Edward Cardwell, M.P.

To the Quben,— .... L This is the Toice of the Maori people living at Hokianga, in New Zealand, praying to you, 0 We 'have heard that fault has been found with the old place of reiidenco of the Governor and the Government at Auckland, and that tuey are to toe removed to the South. We think thii to be wrong. Listen, 0 Queen, to our word ; it ii the salwtion of this island that tney are taking elsewhere. There are two races of men living on this island— the Maori people one, the wlnte people the other. The Governor and the Government standing in the midst, looking after both races, protects them. We think that if the Governor leaves us, great confusion will be the consequence. This is the reason of our prayer to you, O Queen, to confirm the dwelling of the Governor at Auckland, at the place which is near to all the Maori tribes. Ihis is our prayer to yon from the people who have adhored to you in the tempest and in the •unshine, ie., who are loyal in war and in peace. „.. ■ (Here follow the names of one hundred and nttytwo natives, including forty chiefs.) We, the persons who have written our names to this paper, do truly wish that the Government of New Zealand be kept at Auckland, that they may plaiuly see to the helm and head— that is to Bay— the evil of the island. This is a very remarkable document, indeed, and one which, ought to have due weight with the Imperial Government, through whom it would be presented to the Queen. The signatures represent 2,000 fighting men of the most warlike tribes in the North ;— men fully armed and equipped, and ready to take the field, at a day's notice. These men, speaking their own sentiments , and those of their relatives, protested against the removal of the seat of Government. They did so in most graphio language. They said: "Listen, 0 Queen, to " our word ; it is the salvation of this island that "they are taking elsewhere. Here are two " races of men living in this island-^the Maori "people one, the white peophjthe other. , The "Governor and' the Government standing in " t;he midst, looking after both races, protects "them." But the voice of Ngapuhi has nolb been listened to;' and their influence and numbers have been i sneered at in the f i?m*.> We are told by that journal, on the authority, we suppose, of the late Native Minister, that " to "the North of Auoklandthe nativas and " Europeans are* oloaely.J^tOTiningled^but the <; latter lo'grea'tly* outnumber thefformer' that " no danger oughieTer,tfeb> felt,'! ! To, this, we

fet>ly, that the natives so greatly'* outnumber the Europeans, to the North of the capital/that i the aro livin'g;purely t ori isufferahce I fromday/to day. In point'of equipment and of, numbers, the native tribes to the North of this oity are by far the, most importanj; -section of the' native race in tins' colony : and if, Mr. James Edward FitzGerald, lately Native Minisliter, does not know this, it was not because he could not obtain information. " Bufc J we honestly believe that he must know the fact as well as we do ; and, therefore, we are compelled to attributo the statement in the Pross to a desire to strengthen the argument against Separation in the South, by misleading the public in regard to native matters. ■ More- ■ over, the natural difficulties of the district lying to the north of the city of Auckland are so great, that should any ever arise there, its conquest from the natives would be infinitely more diflioult than anything else our arms have achieved in Njew Zealand. But in saying this, wo do nofi anticipate any disturbance in tho North. 'JLhe natives have given repeated proofs lately of attachment to their European neighbours. We can't say that they respect tho Government of the colony very highly ; but we do know that they respect the Provincial Government, and the settlers o,f i this province. As the memorialists to the Queen have well put it, they are a people who have adhered to us in ihe tempest and in the sunshine. They have lived apicably with the old settlers through the troubles of the past, and the feverish excitement of more reoent days. And if tho voioe of the entire native population of the province were takon, it would be found to be unanimous in favour of a Government at Auckland,, chosen; from the settlers of Auckland, whom they know and reipect. Reference has been made by the; Press to tho petition from the natives north of Hawke's Bay, praying for annexation to that province. Now, the late Native Minister knew very well that that petition emanated from tho Provincial Government of Hawke's Bay, that signatures were got to it by gentlemen intimately connected with that Government at the great native feast held there lately, and that advantage was taken of the ' St. Hilda', Government steamer, when plyiug on the East Ooast, to promote tho same objeot. Wo say all this was known to tho late Native Minister ; and we believe he made himself a party to the attempt to split up this provinoe, for the benefit of tho Hawke's Bay squatters, in order to secure the votes of the members of that province for the Weld Government, of. which he was then a member. That is part of the secret history of the Native Provinces Act. It is no doubt also part of the arrangement whereby the Superintendent of Hawke's Bay cams out to oppose 'Mr. Colenso for the representation of Napier ; and it is a main reason why the late Native Minister suddenly fell down and became a worshipper of Mr. Donald MacLean, of whom previously ho had written and spoken in a most disparaging manner. The " great money-bag," as he delighted to call the Superintendent of Napier, became his great authority on native affairs ; and the seal of this public reconciliation was the attempt to cut up the province of Auckland, by the constitution of native provinces, to be handed over to the management of Mr. Donald Maclean. In this attempt Mr. FitzGorald was signally defeated; and ho certainly ought to forbear quoting the memorial from the natives, obtained in the way we have indicated, as an evidence of any spontaneous desire on their part. We say, the East Ooast natives have no such desire as that put forward by the Press. They never gave a singlo thought to the matter, but signed what they were asked to sign by the agents of a gentleman for whom we have the highest respect, and whose attempt to enlarge tlie public estate of Hawke's Bay, which had been squandered by his predecessor in office, ' cannot be wondered at. So far as the natives have ever expressed any opinion in reference to tie removal of tho seat of Government, wo have it before us in tho memorial quoted, and tho speeches of influential chiefs on the hustings in Auckland at the great Queen-street meeting. In conclusion, we trust that tho promoters of Separation will labour strenuously in the South. We promise them that the desire for Separation is as strong as ever in the North. If left alone in tho struggle, we will not desist ; but we feel convinced that the intelligence and real worth of tho South aro with us. Tt is true we are opposed by Mr. PitzGerald, and those who follow him as a leader ; but their influence is on the wane. They can no longer dictate to the great province of Canterbury ; they can no longer tyrannise over divided Otago and divided Auckland, and mis represented Southland. The sense of a common danger draws the bonds of union between the extreme North and South closer and closer; and the friends of Separation in the Middle Island need not trouble themselves about the natives at all, for the native race understand that their interests are safer in the hands of the Northern settlers than in' any other keeping.

«. The glance which wo took yesterday at our necessities in the matter of roads and bridges, ought, we should imagine, to be considered sufficient i o bear us out in the statement that wo must find a good < deal of money in some way to meet them. We have also looked at our probable income for the year 1866, and wo do not see in our prospects anything to warrant us in supposing that we shall have much to spare for making roads and bridges tomeofcouriminonsoly increasing wants. Under the circumstances it is quite time that wo acknowledged oxactly where the difficulty lies, and faced it at once and freely. The difference between our position and that of the Southern provinces, and especially of Canterbury, arises hot ,so much from the quantity of land in our possession, or the quantity sold, but from the sum of money which we charge per acre for, what we, do sell. The charge of £2 per acre at Canterbury is paid principally by the ' men who have made large sums of money by thejr sheep 1 runs, which they have held as squatters; while with us the small charge of ten shillings is paid by 1 every one who chances to have a little money to invest, and ,who fancies he may either settle some day on the land,- or wait till it rises in Talue by other" men's "labours, 1 when they will sell. Now, we do not mean to institute an unfavourable comparison (between our plan and the Canterbury plan ; , still l«ss do we mean to find fault with the conduct of those who act upon the, plan whiph, we have mentioned as common here. The Canterbury plan, has succeeded well in Canterbury,' but we feel sure it would have proved a failure here, owing to essential djfl'erqnoesi, jn our position, from theirs. We had' no iheep runs, to? let out at nominal rates, on which men might make fortunes easily, and so, gefci the, money necessary /to pay

country marked out"? as 'an ; agricultur&ir one, -ana as. suoh.Vrequiring fto be'-Jdealfc, with in a different r wayr" and Jjy, a different class of pebple7frb'ni a'pasfcdral/.'country like* Canterbury. Nor do' we 1 - find fault with the ;way in jwhich toiS low price' of '6ur lands lias ', tempted people to invest in them as a speculation'. Low-priced. lands must always f preient this temptation, and it is a perfectly legitimate mode of money,- nq^oubt. Yet in pr/ic.ticOjit^has its drawbaoks^just as, no doubt, .the high price charged for land in the ! 8outh, is- found to have some. disadvantages, also. *< 4The main' disadvantages that seemito spring from our cheap land' sales-^of -which our. I land-order system is ' part and parcel— are of two kinds'. ' 'The first,' that; we' get ao'very'little'' money for our land that, instead of our making a revenue^ we are'Qblige'd to'speiid'a I'efen^eih 4 bringing' it into the, market,' which' the' sales do not nearly^ cover." • We spend a good deal in buying; then a good 'deal 'rn'ordm surveying the land, and at last, we 'get a mere trifle' for it when if; comes into the market. ■ The , second drawback is that of the purchase, either ' by money or by land orders, of a large part of 'our, land, by people who either mean tb live' 6n and improve, it at some indefinite period in We,-dis-tant future, or who are holding it:until the few settlers who really'are' ,at work in the neighbourhood shall ( hav e, made, the land .valuabl^ by their labours, when they mean 'to., sell,!it.,and 'make a, good thjng of Jt. As we .have jgaid, wa cast no blame upon them for doing this ; !but* yet we do 'think that'theirpositionls not exactly afairone,either'totb,eir'n,eighb6ursortow£lfdsthe country at large, t The .province has ( a near and a very direct interest' iri 'the well-being of- every settler, and of course of each district,' as' it must ba the' loser r by their want of success; it is, therefore, the business of the province fio consider the question of how the inequalities to which we have alluded are to be levelled. In the ,South it is tolerably simple to deal with such a question as this. There the land ' has been sold ' for- a sum great enough to supply a large fund for the formation of roads.and the like works of public utility. The reverse is the case here ; as] in-' stead of revenue, our lands cause an expenditure. Yet, after all, in the South the case is simply this : The purchasers of the land pay for the roads and bridges j and the question at once arises, why should they not do so here P There they begin by paying' for these things, and they are rich enough to be able to afford that as a rule ; here they begin on a cheap scale, to meet the wants of the class of people who are our settlers, and who have no large capital to begin' with when they go On their land. But, after all, this should be looked u pon as a mere deferred payment. The settler has not paid for his roads and his bridges ; but of course ho must do so, or he cannot expect to get them, and it is upon the land, that the charge, ought < principally to rest. , It may be urged that, if so, we have already a plan by whioh this sort of thing is provided for by the legalised action of local* boards, but this is more an apparent than a real way of meeting the difficulty. There are districts where the locel board system works admirably, but there are a far greater number where it would be worse than a faroe, because the great majority - of the rate-payers would be against the imposition of any charge upon the land for roads of which they personally felt no need. Neither the man, who means at some indefinite time in the distant futuro to settle upon his land, nor the other man who has invested, his money in a number of pieces of land in all directions, from which he hopes'to reap a large profit as soon as the value of land rises in the distriotj feels that he has any deep interest in making roads and bridges at present. No doubt the point might be argued, and much might be brought forward in support of the opposite idea ; but it is difficult to argue men out of money for which they feel a pressing need at the time, and we think the poor settlers on the spot migit easily have the best of the logic, without getting the best of the bargain in any othe: way. If the roads which are so much noedjd in our country districts" are to be made, 1 it is rery plain that a good deal of money, must be expended upon them ; but, on the other handj to anj one who looks at our present revenue and oir present needs, it is equally evident that the Piovincial Government has no money to meet tie demand. Again we repeat the truth which, lowever unpleasant, is a necessary one now, thit the land must in some way pay for its own improvements, and the chief of these are roads an\ bridges. Of course we are aware that it is no dsy thing to apply thisi There is a great diflculty in equalizing the pressure of such meaures , as these, and we shall take another ojoortunity of throwing out a few suggestions asip the proper way of doing this,with a due regitd at once to the necessity of the case and thlinterest of those most affected.