THE NELSON EXAMINER. Nelson, May 20, 1843.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 63, 20 May 1843, Page 250

THE NELSON EXAMINER. Nelson, May 20, 1843.

Lcs journaux deviennent plus ne'eetsaires a mesure que les hommei sont plu» igaus, et 1' individualismc pin* % fcraindre. Cc scr&it diminuer leur importance que de crotre qu' ila ne servent qu' a g&rantir la liberty : Us maintiennent la civilisation. - Da TocauieviLi.*. De la Democratic en "Amerique, tome 4, p. 220. Journali become more necessary as men become more equal, find individualism more to be feared. It would be to underrate their importance to suppose that they serve only to secure liberty : they maintain civilisation. Dx TOCftUEVILLB. Of Democracy in America, vol . 4, p. 202. We cannot speak as to the general impression, but, for ourselves, we were very much disappointed at the result of the meeting on the subject of the flax on Wednesday last. It is of course the most important reason for the disappointment that there does not appear at present any probability that anything worth speaking of will be done in establishing a manufacture of and trade in flax ; there is also a little in the way of offended vanity, in having been misled into talking bigger than the circumstances justified, " but that's not much." The flax question still stands exactly where it did in our view, except as to the immediate prospect of realizing, which we had fancied would have been opened by the bringing together of the experimental producers of the partially manufactured article and the traders in it. That, when labour is cheap because food is cheap, the flax may ; be prepared so far as to be fit for exportation, and be sold in Europe at a remunerating price, we entertain no doubt, but it would appear, from what passed on Wednesday, that we have been too sanguine as to the how soon. The case, as put by the experimenters, stood thus :—: — £ s. d. Gathering . per ton 3 0 0 Plaiting . . . .500 Pressing . . . .10 0 Boiling . . . . 1 10 0 Dressing, washing, drying, and making up . . 510 0 ' Sundries, and profit to men 4 0 0 £20 0 0 The cost, then, according to this, is to be £20 per ton when on board the vessel. In relation to this part of the matter, we refer our readers to the very useful letter of our correspondent ." Linum," who has put the thing in such a light as to oblige a decision some way in the minds of all. After reading that letter, our. readers will be in a better position to follow us in what we have to say. There are several questions to be asked, which it is important should be answered somehow, to enable us to proceed with any degree of safety in the endeavour to make the flax a regular remittance to England in return for the various necessaries and luxuries which we must (if we can afford it) for many years continue to receive from her. Is this £20, at the present rate of wages and prices, a fair and proper price to pay for the production of the article ? Can ib not be produced for less, and yet return the producer a fair and reasonable profit for his outlay and labour ? — really a most important point to be determined. Who has looked into the statement laid before the meeting on Wednesday, with the view of discovering whether the sums set against the various items really express the necessary outlay ? We have only at present the presumption that a reasonably low estij mate would "have been put in, with a view to induce support ; but there is at least a possibility (not meaning to assert a want of straightforwardness of those concerned) that, in the way of bargain-making, the highest rate may have been put forward, expecting some beating down, with a view to be secure of a good profit. We should be sorry to say anything to throw discredit upon those to whose exertions we are indebted for even

that, insight which, up to this time, we have been able to attain into the probable working of any established manufacture of the flax ; but they musr, as men of the world, expect their plans and data to be open to a close scrutiny from those whose support they ask, and whose interests are so much concerned in their feasibility and correctness. It is our own belief, produced upon such incomplete statements as are at present before us, that flax of the quality referred to, as subject to that cost, may be prepared and put on board vessels in this harbour at a considerably lower figure than £20 per ton. The cost of gathering such a quantity of the leaf as would produce one ton is £3. Three tons of the leaf is allowed by* those making this statement to be equal to one ton of the flax. A gentleman present at the meeting offered then, and has since repeated the offer, to provide the leaf at ten shillings per ton ; and he had experience to back his offer, for he has been in the habit of procuring the leaf for purposes independent of its manufacture into hemp or flax. Here is a difference of one-half — £1 10s. for £3. This is something, if correct, and suggests the possibility of a slight alteration in the other items. To leave this. Capital — who can and will afford to buy one hundred, or twenty 'tons of flax, and wait out of the money (to say nothing of the risk) until the return conies ? To take a hint from the " Wellington Creed" — Do you believe in flax? Yes. ' What is meant by believing in flax ? By believing in flax I mean that the phormium tenax may, at a certain price of labour and with a proper mode of preparation, become a formidable rival in saleability, utility, and as a source of profit, to the Russian hemp, if not to" the European flax. : „ What do you mean when you say *• at a certain price of labour ?" I mean to express the necessity there is that labour should be brought down to the rate of old countriesbefore we can compete with them in any exportable production or manufacture, and to this it is essential that the prices of the necessaries of life should be also reduced to at least the old country rates. According to that, then, it is your duty not to turn your attention to the production tnd manufacture of the flax until you have produced food for yourselves at^jkxheaper rate than it can be imported ? Decidedly, if we were in a. less artificial state, and could confine ourselves to the mere necessaries of life ; that would be the more natural course. What, then, do you conclude to be the effect, as regards the export of flax, of your [ being in this artiGcial state ? Why this — that, as our artificial tastes have produced what amounts to a necessity for importation of various luxuries, which in a less artifical state would have been subsequent to, not coexistent with, our first struggles to secure an existence, it amounts equally to a necessity to provide an export to pay for the imports, unless there be an existing capital which will provide the luxuries while the production of, necessaries is proceeding, and so obviate the necessity of an immediate export. It is your opinion, then, that there is not sufficient capital here to do" this? I fear it is more than doubtful. You think also, it is to be presumed, that the settlers will not, in the mean time, rest content without the luxuries you refer to? Certainly. Nothing will bring them to that but necessity and a crisis. I need not explain what a crisis is. No ; we are obliged to you. You may retire, say the examiners, long residence in the Australasian world having made such information unnecessary. Various offers were made on Wednesday. A gentleman would take any quantity if it. were now ready, but could not undertake to purchase at any moment, as funds might be otherwise invested. He, nor any one, would undertake to advance weekly the payment for three tons, that being the quantity estimated as furnUhable with the

power which could at present be applied to the machinery. At this rate, it would take neatly nine months to produce one hundred* tons, and leaving alone all question as to the profit to be made upon the cost as put in, the lying out of the money would eat up more than could be made by the trade in it. A very liberal offer was made by Mr. Joseph, to lend a water-mill for two years, and also to subscribe towards its erection. The mill also was offered for sale at a reasonable price, but no one, as we have said, was prepared to ensure the sale of the produce, so as to make it clear that a subscription for the purchase and erection of the mill would be an advisable step, it was proposed by another gentleman that the New Zealand Company should take the necessary risk of the price that could be procured in England being less than the cost of producing and getting it to the market ; and he offered to take one hundred tons, if the New Zealand Company would guarantee its fetching the cost price, within three months of its landing. In reference to this question of what assistance may be fairly expected - of the New Zealand Company in such speculations, we think there tiftnuch to be said, and shall advert to it in our next, as, we are ( warned by the want of room to leave off at present.

r . We have received a very foolish letter, signed " The People," which appears to be intended to show some wit, at our expense, and to be rather severe, if, indeed,, it be not a hoax altogether, to try haw far our goodnature would go in indulging the appetite of those afflicted with the eacoethes. If it be in earnest, the keenest revenge we could take upon the writer or writers would be to publish it ; but we are most innocent of illwill, and, beside, have no right to cheat our readers of the fraction of a shilling, by giving them, in exchange for their twelve-pence, our foiir sides of print alloyed with a column of any twaddle besides our own, which is part of the bargain. A copy of the letter lies for perusal at the Examiner office, where the curious may come and read without charge, and, if the writer or writers should be among the number, there will be pen and ink at hand to enable him or them to correct the spelling and fill up the omitted data. To the writer or writers we have only to say, in sober earnestness, that if he or they really has or have anything to say, and if he or they will say it in written English words and sentences, with his or their name or names at the end of it, he or they may be as severe upon us as he or they pleases or please, and we will publish the writing ; but no name could sanction the publishing of such puerile, objectless, dalaless shadows of fact and argument as this thing consists of.

We team, by the arrival of the Enterprise from the Wairoo, the proceedings of the natives there towards the surveyors. Messrs. Barnicoat and Thompson have received no intMuruption, their contract being on the opposite side of the river to that of Mr. Cotterell and Mr. Parkinsons. Towards Mr. Cofeterell no greater annoyance has been offered than destroying some of his flags and stakes ; but, Mr. Parkinson having given some slight offence to a party, they unroofed his house, taking care, however, not to injure or destroy anything which it contained.

Mr. Murray's entertainment on Monday last appears to have gone off well. So large was the number of persons desirous of gaining admission, that, ten minutes after the opening of the door, the room was full, and a great many were denied the pleasure they had anticipated. Another evening's amusement is announced for Monday next, for the particulars of which, we must refer w tour readers to the hand bills.

As it seems very probable that before long we shall be called upon to enter fully into the question of the land claims, as it at present stands between the New Zealand Company and the Government, we publish

as a preliminary, which it will be found useful to refer to, the original agreement between the parties. We should wish that it be attentively perused, and doubt not it will be, as tending to enable a just expression of opinion, should it ever become necessary to declare one. The arrangements to be entered into between Her Majesty's Government and the association who have been hitherto acting under the title of the " New Zealand Company," may be arranged under the following heads : — I. The adjustment retrospectively of the claims which the company has established to favourable for themselves and for the emigrants whom they have sent to New Zealand. 11.. The incorporation of the company, with a view to future operations. 111. The powers which will be vested in the incorporated body, and the terms on which the Government will deal with them in regard to Crown lands in New Zealand. I. First, then, with regard to the retrospective adjustment of the claims of the company. 1. It being understood that the company have invested large sums of money in the purchase of lands in New Zealand, from the native chiefs and others ; in the taking up, chartering, and despatching ships for the conveyance of emigrants thither; in the maintenance of such emigrants before and during the outward voyage ; in the purchase and transmission of stores for the public use of the settlers collectively on their arrival ; in surveys ; in the erection of buildings, or the execution of other works dedicated exclusively to the public service of the settlement; and in other heads of expenditure or absolute liabilities unavoidably required, or^ reasonably incurred, for the beforementioned purposes ; it is agreed that an estimate be forthwith made of this outlay, under the different heads thus emunerated. In making that estimate, no item shall be admitted which ahall not be found to have been just and moderate in amount, and fairly demanded by the exigencies of the service to be performed. 2. The above-mentioned estimate shall be made by one or more accountants, to be named by Lord John Russell, and to be paid by the company. His lordship would propose for this purpose Mr. James Pennington, who should be assisted by such clerks and copyists as he might have occasion to employ. 3. If necessary, Lord John Russell will also nominate an accountant to execute, on the same terms, the corresponding duty within the colony itself, in reference to such parts of the above-men-tioned expenditure as can be correctly ascertained and calculated there only. 4. When the amount of the above-mentioned expenditure shall have been ascertained, the company shall be secured by a grant from the Crown to them, under the public seal of the colony, of as many acres of land as shall be equal to four times the number of pounds sterling which they shall be found to have expended in the manner and for the purposes above-mentioned ; such expenditure, so tax as it may have been incurred in this country, 'to be calculated down to the date of the present agreement ; and so far as it may have been incurred in the colony, to be calculated down to the time of the receipt by the Governor of a copy of the agreement. 5. The lands so to be assigned to the company shall be taken by theniftn that part of the colony of New Zealand at which their settlement has been formed, and to which they have laid claim in virtue of contracts made by them with the natives or others, antecedently to the arrival of Captain Hobson, as Her Majesty's Lieutenant-Go-vernor at New Zealand. Within those local limits the company shall select the lands so to be granted to them. The selection is to be made within six months after the receipt by the Governor of a copy of this agreement. 6. The lands so to be selected by the company as last aforesaid shall comprise all tracts to which any persons have derived title through them, provided that such tracts be situate at or in the neighbourhood of Port Nicholson, or at or in the neighbourhood of New Plymouth, and also provided that such tracts shall not collectively amount to more than 160,000 acres, and provided further that no such tracts shall be such as, regard being had to the general interests of the colonists at large, ought to be reserved and appropriated for any purposes of public utility, convenience, or recreation. With the exception of the before-mentioned tracts, the land to be selected by the company as aforesaid, shall be taken by them in one or more blocks. Of such blocks, any number not exceeding six may be of the size of not less than 5,000 acres' each, and the rest of the size of not lets than 30,000 acres each. Every such block shall be one continuous tract. Each block shall be bounded as far as may be possible by the natural landmarks of the country. As far as such natural landmarks may admit, each block shall be as nearly as possible a solid parallelogram, of which no one side shall be more than twice the length of any other side. 7. It is, however, to be distinctly understood that if, previously to the receipt of a copy of this agreement by the Governor of New Zealand, any tracts of land to which any persons derive title through the company, should by the Local Government have been lawfully granted or located to any other person or persons, nothing herein contained shall be construed as defeating the rights of any such new grantees or locatees, or as binding the Government to a specific restitution of such lands, or to make compensation to the persons so dispossessed for the loss of them. 8. The Government will complete the survey of the external lines of every block of land assigned to the company, but will not effect the interior survey or subdivision of it The company will tw be allowed, in account with the Government, credit for the amount saved to the Government by leaving the interior survey of the before-mentioned blocks unmade. For the amount of the credit which may so accrue to the company, they shall be entitled to demand from the Government payment in land at the price at which, at the time of making any such demand, the waste-lands of the Crown shall be selling in New Zealand. Provided always that the credit so to accrue to the company for the amount saved to the Govern-

ment as aforesaid, shall be estimated according to a general scale hereafter to be settled, in which scale the average price of the surveys of lands shall be fixed and determined* That scale shall be drawn up by arbitrators, of whom two shall be chosen by the Government, and two by the company, the majority of whom shall have power to determine the average price of surveying for every 1,000 acres. If the four arbitrators should be equally divided in opinion as to what ought to be allowed for such average price, they shall appoint an umpire, whose decision on the question in dispute shall be final. 9. The lands thus to be granted to the company are to be held by them subject to all such general laws and regulations as are or at any time shall be in force in New Zealand in reference to other lands granted to private persons there ; and especially to all laws having for their object the opening of public roads, wharves, quays, or other such like works, and securing to the public at large free access to, and the free use of all sea I ports, landing places, and navigable rivers. 10. All public works and buildings included in the above-mentio^d estimate are to vest in and become the proVßy of the Crown, in trust for the public uses of the colony, should the Governor require them for such purpose. 11. The company forego and. dir claim all title, or pretence of title, to any lands purchased or acquired by them in New Zealand, other than the lands so to be granted to them as aforesaid, and other than any lands which may hereafter be purchased or acquired by them from the Crown, or from persons deriving their title from the Crown. 12. The company having sold, or contracted to sell, lands to various persons, Her Majesty's Government disclaim all liability for making good any such sales or contracts ; it being nevertheless understood that the company will, from the lands so to be granted to them as aforesaid, fulfil and carry into effect all such their sales or contracts. 13. It being also understood that the company have entered into engagements for the reservation of certain lands for the benefit of the natives, it is agreed that, in respect of all the lands so to be granted to the company as aforesaid, reservations of such lands shall be made for the benefit of the natives by Her Majesty's Government, in fulfilment of and according to the tenor of such stipulations ; the Government reserving to themselves, in respect of all other lands, to make such arrangements as to them shall seem just and expedient for the benefit of the natives. 11. With regard to the incorporation of the company. 1. Her Majesty will be advised to grant a charter of incorporation to the company. 2. The charter will contain all such' conditions as may appear to Her Majesty's Government to be necessary for the good government of the company, and for the security of the public at large in dealing with them. 3. The charter will be granted for the term of 40 years, and will contain provisions enabling the Crown within that term to resume the charter, and to purchase the lands and other property of the company on just and equitable terms, if the public interest should require such a resumption j and purchase. 4. The objects of the incorporation will be declared to be the purchase, sale, settlement, and cultivation of lands in New Zealand, and the advancement of money on the security of lands situate there, -for promoting the cultivation of such lands. As incidental to these main objects, the company will be authorized to purchase and hire ships, and to engage .with emigrants for their passage to the colony ; it being expressly stipulated that all such ships and emigrants shall be under the superintendence of, and approved by the' Government or its officers in this country and in the colony. The capital will be fixed at , with an express prohibition on the company against their engaging in banking or any other commercial undertakings. 111. With regard to the powers of the company, and the terms on which the Government will hereafter deal with them. 1. The company may acquire by purchase, except from the natives, any lands in New Zealand which they may think proper to buy. 2. If the company shall at any one time purchase from the Goverment 50,000 acres of land, and pay for the same in ready money, a discount of per cent., together with allowance for surveys, shall be allowed on every such payment. 3. All binds sold to the company shall be so sold and taken by them subject to all the general rules, on the subject of surveys and otherwise, as shall be in force in regard to any other purchaser. 4. For the present, Her Majesty's Government engage that all sums of money which shall be paid by the company for the purchase of land in New Zealand, shall, whenever such money shall be paid in this country, be laid out in the removal of emigrants to New Zealand; it being left to the company from time to time to determine whether such money shall be so laid out by the Commissioners of Colonial Lands and Emigration, or by the company themselves, under the superintendence and with the concurrence and sanction of those commissioners. Finally, Lord John Russell will instruct the Go- j vernor of New Zealand to recommend to the Local Legislature the enactment of a law, having for its object to incorporate as a municipal body, with the usual powers, the settlers who have at the charge of the company resorted to Port Nicholson, and settled themselves there, or in that vicinity. .

Noble Descent.— ln ancient times a Welshman was considered as honourable, if among his ancestors there had been neither a slave, nor a foreigner, nor an infamous person. Pity. — Pity is the sense of our own misfortunes in those of another man ; it is a wise foresight of the disasters that may befal ourselves; we assist others, in order to engage them to assist us on like occasions ; so that the services we offer to the unfortunate, are in reality so many anticipated kindnesses to onxselveß -.RoiJii/»syfr. )