THE NELSON EXAMINER. NELSON, APRIL 27, 1844.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 112, 27 April 1844, Page 30

THE NELSON EXAMINER . NELSON, APRIL 27, 1844.

htM joaraaux deViennent plot n£cemh& k'meture'que let hommet «ont atwdgusi «t;L'indWiduiliime plus i ,0% kwiS- rftotauer tair-tapoitajac* qvede croiri .oa'.ilsnt wervu^qii'.^ftnuitU Mi HVwti s U» m>intwnmit rMMliMtfefeVw , ■,■,.-, r • , . „ .D|/TOC«VIVIM*> •■, >,-u,L.' ■ . -, PeJsiDfaomtieen Ameriaac.,t<>n«4rl>.Jt3r Joanufc' toeWM morfc ndenuxjr *» ••nanbeeome nwrfe 1 «ifc»fc «utd fci*lri«U#ll«in mtar to t» fmndv It .would be to mUmtm ttfwr U»port4n«tf to rtppostithft^tbty mtw only >tOK»#6«Tt liberty «^^ mwnUiß cwilkrtlaiii ri. < , ' ny • " * "" it DwtoeavtnttM}'' > ' n- ■. Otifmuatcj in America* n«l*4«. p. SOS. ' „ la .oiirTpftp^r,^ itumimi : long article on the pwient j#tie and future , profli,ecsa" \6f , th.c tffcfth, ' ye 'n.kye taken from the columns of our contemporary, the Southern ,Cr.o^\ Althoogh we may difftf'from,tV writer oft ;«jMn,e goit^ theTe are others to which we yield a full

a^senk and Jthe fflpiplifre of the whole BU llgT 8 ° <S re "** ! 'f%< l& cannot be too pr^^^^y^tfeu^^lAr^mp None of our remeft&btLtt •^e^gnorßH^pPßae fact that the moment New Zealand was proclaimed a British, colony the expenditure of the Government was placed on a footing far above the mjearis dff the colonists to maintain. With an European, population of at the most 13,000 souls, the cost of Government lias been latterly at the rate of not less than £60,000 per annum. This Jarge sum has been almost wholly absorbed in the payment of salaries ; scarcely a fraction having, been expended in the making of roads, bridges, or other public worts calculated to benefit the colony. The, annual revenue, we imagine, has never exceeded £16,000; nor have J the land «ales, although the -whole of their proceeds J»av<e been added to the revenue, materially lessened the deficiency for which the Home Government must provide. That this state of things must speedily terminate no one can doubt. The Treasury Minute of March 10, 1843, published in our paper in January last, plainly indicates the feeling of the English Government on the subject, and, judging from that, we see but little probability of the Colonial Secretary venturing to apply to Parliament annually for a grant of from £30,000 to £40,000 to make up the deficiencies of h}3 blundering friends at the antipodes. What, then, 'fsHo be done ? There are but two ways in which the difficulty can be honestly met, and they are—to diminish the expenditure, or to increase the revenue. The latter would no doubt appear the most eligible to our rulers, if it were only possible, but it is not. It is true, unfortunately, that we are taxed without being at all consulted in the matter, and that we are quite at the mercy of those who are appointed to rule over us ; but, helpless as we are, they cannot extract more from our pockets than they contain. With this pleasing reflection, and the agreeable prospect of the experiment being shortly tried, to provide for the increased expenditure under the present Government, are there any amongst us so sanguine as to suppose that we are in a condition to pay four times tbe amount of taxes now levied — a population whose capital is already materially diminished and the remainder rapidly vanishing in exchange for food, food which we might and would have raised for ourselves, if those who received the wages for governing us had understood and done their work ? No. Yet it is mraoured in Auckland that we are to be subjected to direct taxation in addition to the Customs duties* We cannot but believe that, if this wild project be attempted, great privation and suffering will ensue, and that tbe Customs will cease to yield sufficient to pay for their,, collection. ,If, liow.ever, the experiment sftou\d be persisted in, we sincerely hope that it may and believe that it will signally foil, and its authors discover, as many a Chancellor of the Exchequer has before them, that in taxation two and two fltt ttbt always make four. The. only alteroative, then, is to reduce the expenditure, which, unfortunately, is the Jast thing that 'governments think of doing; and, ?f we day judge by what has taken place in this settlement, the Government of Captain Fitz Uoy is not likely to be an exception. Since his Excellency's visit to th-is place, upwards <of £700 per annum has beeniaddsdttoits expenditure, besides our/qiiotaW the swlries of the new Judge and that amiable but really useless . functionary, Superintendent Richmond, which we suppose may be stated &t £400 a^year more. It is, of course, very gratifying to us, & community of 3,000 British subjects, settled, io an .isolated but ple^san't ,sJ>ot, iar remote ifrotn any of out cbttnttytriejn, to know, that there is provided for us a Governor, two Judges, a superinlehdetit, a' ehifif police magistrate, a sheriff, a coroner, a clerk to the magistrates and a magistrate's clerk,. a court'crier, a chief con» stable, three sergeants, gnd eight privates, ,$l cbiei gaoler and a couple oF .under gaolers, to protect our lives and property and to

administer the laws ; and a sub-collector of customs, a- tide-waiter, four boatmen, and a postmaster, to collect the revenue ;< — al} this, <*we 'fajpeit, fe very, gratifying — it sounds well, looks respectable in print, imparts to us a seeming importance — at a distance, and may therefore serve to tickle our vanity. For these reasons, We have no objection to t,his unnecessarily large establishment but that of being taxed to support it ; but against that we record our solemn protest. ■ Wfr have no desire to see the mother country saddled with any portion of the expense of governing these islands ; but, if the scheme of government for our infant colony is to be adapted to " imperial requirements " instead of the requirements of the colonists, we have no hesitation in saying that the bauble must be supported with imperial funds. Give us a Government suitable to our circumstances and limited means, and we will cheerfully contribute to its support. Our demands on it are few and simple. We can dispense with the dignities and ceremonial fooleries and distinctions which are so highly prized by weak and silly people; they are luxuries which we cannot yet afford ; plainness and utility will suit us better, and be less expensive. And now, to prevent future misunderstanding, we will address a few words to our respected elder brother John. If, dear brother, our "heaven-born" rulers have determined that we shall bo governed in such fashion as may accord with imperial requirements — or, iq plainer words, if these islands are to be converted into (l patronage preserves" to feed the hungry, mean-spirited dependants of Colonial Ministers, who have neither the principle nor pluck to depend upon their own exertions for their maintenance ; if importunate majors and captains on half-pay and the pauper offshoots of England's proud aristocracy are to be accommodated here with sinecure appointments, we tell you plainly, dear brother, the burden will inevitably fall on your own broad shoulders, though, alas, it may not be until our puny frame shall have been crushed by the ponderous weight. Look to it, then, in time, dear brother, if not for love of us, at least for the proverbial regard you have for your own breeches-pockets. We should be sorry to mislead you, but the total disregard evinced by our Local Government of the Treasury Minute above referred to, has raised a slight suspicion here that the whole thing may turn out to be nothing more than a bit of Downing Street fence, a palpable trick upon your unsuspecting good-nature.

We are happy to state that a petition to the House of Commons, praying for a legal investigaton of the circumstances connected with the Wairau Massacre, is being "prepared and will be handed about for signatures in the ensuing week. This is the only course now left open to us for the vindication of the memory of our lost friends, and, whatever may be the result, we shall at least be consoled by the reflection that we have done our duty.

We have just heard of a valuable base of plants received by a gentleman in this settlement by the Teresa, which were packed in wet moss without any soil at the roots> and soldered in tin. This mode of packing answers remarkably well, as every tree appears to be alive and healthy. Fruit treesmay be thus obtained from England, at a considerably less cost than we have been accustomed tQ pay for them from the surrounding colonies, besides the advantage of ensuring the best descriptions.