THE PRESENT- STATE & FUTURE PROSPECTS OF NEW ZEALAND.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 112, 27 April 1844, Page 31

THE PRESENT- STATE & FUTURE PROSPECTS OF NEW ZEALAND.

■ [From a corre*po6tient of the Southern Cross, Mtrch 2<] , Look at our own little colony, and inquire into the evil causes which- have thrown such a' blight over us; and we shall find that they are traceable to the destructive 'measures Of an irresponsible Government. Before we had a Government here; were not the settlers comfortable ' and happy j making money' ana" -prospering^ to ' their hearts; content? but the very moment that' our grasping foster-mother took us ; under her care, our pros-, perity vanished 1 ' like a dream. ' During the last four years every effort has been made in vain, and at the present moment our prospects are darker than ever- 'Why is this? What crimes havewe committed that we are' thus so hardly punished t -Why should the- parent state use every effort tq anveigle us from ohr fatherland, and, after enduring all the privations of a new -settlement, then drive us from it by forcing arbitrary and unjust 'laws upon us? ' l Many people are 'unable to account for the great* depression which -exists here; ' seeing'- that < there have been no gambling commercial speculations as in the adjacent coloniesf tobring ruin upon" us. - The capabilities -of. our colony are unrivalled-; -no one ever doubted, it ; and yet the husbandman, obtains no ■ Adequate ■Teward'for his labours, and every one is dispirited, feeling; that whatever exertion he makes is more than counterbalanced by-some evil influence over which he has no control. ■ This is a lamentable 1 ■state of things, and -is the more bitterly felt, because rio one sees any good reason how it should be so. - Indeed, every one sees how easily it could be remedied,' if the ptoper means were taken. , The bungling .imbecility of .our Government has been the cause of all our .misfortunes, nor>canj we expect ft. . ; change . for . the i letter - until. we change the conduct of, the Government towards 'tis'.' '-'This, however, we cannot expect to accomplish by merely shewing thiat a change is necessary for the preservation of the present colonists. We need ;jaot;,teU the Government of tire fcuin already brought upon the settlers — of the hardship and injustice done to Abe .native population — of the destruction of the colony as a field for the .starving population of the i m'bther country. No; it: .is, of no .use\ urging these! views upon, our Local "Government, or even uponthe Parent State; we shall not be listened to' So long' as the meant can! be' found of -paying that Government ' which has ibeen forced Upon us,; and the same system will continue, let us " growl an,d, grumble " as we may. Did we rest our hopes upon the good policy or justice merely of our demands and expectations, swe should therefore "inevitably be disappointed; but we "have enow,, something, stronger to stand upon:, the future hopes' and prosperity of the colony rest upon what many people might at first ■sijjty; suppose , to be, its ruin, viz.; the financial \etiriarrtutmenfi.4fthe Government, which now; *eem so urgent' and inevitable, that; there is every reason to suppbse that a few months longer will be js^ffident to stop the machinery altogether. Some .people' may be afraid that' under this state of things the • colonists will suffer still more. Matty still talk of the expenditure of Government, and'of the advantagertfe deriye' from* it; but the truth is, 1 th,ey have now, no xqppey to spend ; nor is it any .advantage to the colony that they should h&vej ■unlett the money is procured from the Home Government or ptfter r *purce than from fhe calonutt \thevyteivet, pis .there is. surely no one. so foolish as •to think that>fce -could not spend his own money •saadvantage'otifely /or himself 'as the Government ■'■CQW.^ejiidit!.for.him, ,„: . „ , L^.... 1 . The financial, difficulties., alone will be i attended! to, and upojr these, therefore, let us now rest our hope* of the icouritry." |It'i« a well known fact {hat wlien' ,the people; at home seek- for «ny iaea.sure'of great importance, and which is objected to by the Government, the only 'means of coercion is the threat of stopping the supplies, but , which,, by Jthe way, is never done, from a consideration of Abe vast amount -of ■misery, which would be occasioned to individuals depending upon' these supplies. ' . ' ' The ' Government have brought the crisis upon iheusfhres, and are fairly entitled to my ad-, vantage which may flow out of it. What the people had not the power of doing directly, the Go--verament have done for them. They, by their.

reckless extravagance and wasteful expenditure of the revenues of the colony, have brought themselves into such difficulties "that' it seems impossible they should be able- to exist TriueTt longer. -The colony, in fact, has been' bankrupt; for: nearly a year ppairt r and, atthe present moment* could not' pay .one farthing in- the .pound j The salaries have not been paid' siuce October last*, besides large sums /or 'coptipgencies.. The. natives are. also, creditors for Jand to a large extent^ and vast sums are. due to the Home Governments ;Oa the; oth,er' liana, the revenue's are,dajly decreasiag-rthe'Cus-toms are "fas being "practically ' abolished, , and every other^source is equally Unproductive, ' "' ( f. The Land Sales are at aji , end, anii revenue, from this source jßppeless! This has' been caused' by fhe 'gradual enlightenment of the natives' to. .the njfustice' and Hatdshipofpteventihg them' selling ik&r land,, -which was io 'tfbvipusV and "was s'p strongly -urged- by 'the natives; themselves iri their; 'addresses presented to' Captairi'Fttißoy on the occasion bf his 'first 'levee, that he at once held out, hopes to them of being enabled' very soon to : allow them to sell' their land: direct to Europeans as; formerly. Taking 1 courage from; this, the natives got impatient, .to sell their Jandj jn»ta?itty,.an& are now actually doing so, right, and left, round Auckland, getting in many, instances at the rate of dBl! per acre for it , Of course,- the settlers can get.no legal title, to the land as' ; jet, but ',£hey ar^ perfectly , safe with the .native title, ,, as,•the, •the' Government have no law to. prevent such purchases ; and how that the natives are kware that they can sell to private individuals' at so much higher a price, they wilt, as a' matter of course, refuse to sell to the Government any longer at 4d. and 6d. an acre,' as the consistent, patrdnizing, and humane Govern-! ment were paying to them. - - . . .' • ) ! ' It is equally hopeless' expecting- nibre assistance; from the Home Government; they have too niuch to do with- their' own necessities. But Sail doubt on the subject .is entirely dispelled by the despatch. . from Lord Stanley, published, in a late : mimber of your paper:; which, by the way, has. hitherto; been" carefully concealed, from the :pubtfc, and but, foil you,, would not, have been, known at all, notwithstanding the instruction jccfntained , in it to make \t public, and the sta.tem.ent o( his Excellency that! all such despatches would ' be given, to the 'public.! The whole despatch is a direct reproof to the Local, Government for 1 the gross misapplication' of. the revenues, 'and ttie determination dr,'the Hb«ae' Government not to advanjce anbthersixpence 1 beyond the £7,500 mentioned, in the Treasury 1 Minute of ! M)th' March; 1843J which sum has already heed drawn for, and Lord' Stanley tells ■ the Governor,! "■^-ou. must Consider yourself' as. prohibited most expressly, , on any, account, .resprting- to( imperial! fands far any fiirtAer: assistance," and should bills! be drawn, by you.fqr any bthier Service,,*' withp,utj previous permission being, obtained, I must cau-\ tion you that such bills will inevitably be dishonoured, ' a caution which 'it will be my ' duty to render further effective, by .giving as much publicity to it' as t conveniently can," in oiher words,' telling the "public that if. they negotiate such- bills, of thfe Local' Government, they wilt dd' so "at their] owri risk." ' -Words cannot be stronger to express -the determination of the Home Government on the subject. . < It were -folly; - after' this to *spect as-i sistance from that qnarter. „•... '-''''> j Herejlherefore, we .have a 'sad state of things;] this Government getting day ,by day. deeper, into; debt, and r nq prospect of | iany..[ relief. I ,atn sin-i cerely softy for the individuals who are the inuo-; cent victims. They, should at once thle| position tliey, are placed in," and '^ive : up s.ituationjs' for which they .aye receiving' no 'remuneration, and] theTetaining of which Only prevents thferri from] seeking more profitable employment 'elsewhere.: If -it is bad,- however, ia ' Gov6rhment ; keeping in-1 dividuals in aituatiqns, and' giving .themino' salary,! it is iten times worse to induce merbhaot* anii! tradesmen to enter intQu contracts with them; xe-j .quiripg.lhe outlay of., . money, for iwhi^ .ta«J WPy i^ever l get;any retorn. ( ( : If, contractors pbaose to\ ji^f risk* oft^he for a higher, r^e, of profit,: inj .the full , knowledge, of the, circumstances, -it w 'all right; bui there are manyi'ar^'jbas^wh'erelpaicji^s,! ignorant of these circumstances, liaye entered into: cpntracts and furnished supplies', and' are now suffering for 'want tofpajriiient. ■" .■■"'•'.j'-f ; -' ;j -i ' Such is the, financial state of tne cojpnj. / Cap-i tain' Fit 2 Roy found it"sb,' nbr .has 'he made the; smallest attempt to better it. Hope was kept alive! brfdre his arrrvil, anticipating the" teaiiy beneficial change* that he . would ' immediately- • infcfodtce ; among others,:that.he.w6 i aldh ( «ye the command df l means j from the HomcGoverument} and would; . immediately; javailihimself.. of i thetti ta employ, the: unemployed. emigrattts; in construction pf public; works, which, had been, neglected, by, our forager! rulers; find tbejnioney employed Jby them in Gq-! vernjnent (jellapis.^aunqr^es, and other absurdities; but things to lqbkeyeia worse under Captain FiViKdy's charge tfianthey did before.' 'At Va first levee hn promises were most 'liberal;' arid the 'expectatibnis' excited" were unbounded. To the deputation^ from the intiabrtan'to, presenting- their statement of grievances, -he was equally liberal ; saying, among other things^ that the current expenses'.tof the Government would be faithfully discharged, as well as a* great part of tße arrean ;~ that he was highly ;in favour Qf. v^ep;2VflKfe, and that, on his return from P,or,t Nicholson,, he. .would take the necessary step^s fbr'br.ingipg if before his Council ; and he admired the wholesonie oppof ition of a public press to all measures,' anVl that he would always be 'ready 1 to listen demands of the public; such were I .the promises. But alas, for the performance !— Salaried aod other pecuniary obligations have sot 'been' 'discharged. His ideas of free trade, before the end bftfneshort week, had melted away; and as fpr the whpleaome opposition of the public, and A>readi»eß»'to yield to their wishes, he first scouted, tfeeir-intttference. . fTis true, he yielded, so. far. to. public feejiognes to cancel the appointment of -his abnoxious CTolooinl Secretary; but the (person > that he could. Qot appoint as the head) of. a. public department, he still countenanced openly, and did his utmoit to make his other officers . , do, *q likewise.. The utter -recklessness of public opinion' .exhibited in this ap- ' pointment, at once, cast a glpom, over the community, and alienated their affectioni. No! measure for the benefit of the settlement Was attempted; but, after spending a few week's in turning the Government, offices, topsy turvy, incurring there also the dislike of every one, be set out for Port Nicholson. The newspapers represent the

state of feeling in that quarter even more decidedly hostile, than it is here. Instead of soothing ihie irritated feelings of our friends at Cookjo Straits^ and sympathizing with them for the melancholy loss of their friends, at W airau, lie has stjljl further wounded their feelings, and made .en^qiies of .them. The head of the powerful' Company was on the worst of terms with him, — his nephew was publicly reproVed in the same cavaßer ■ style adopted towards Mr. Shortlahd'here. The magistrates .at Nelson have all resigned their commissions, and those at Toranaki are- expected" to' do the same.., The. manager of the bank refused to sash an order on the credit of the revenue i and with these facts staring us in the face, we must be, blind indeed .if we do not see in them the embarrassment of the Government, and that its dissolution is near at hand. . '■ .')' ■ ' .'■'■■'<> Let us not grieve,' however, hut .rather take courage from this, and since we derive no benefit' from the Government, .buY on the contrary, Have to lament the ruin of the country, since-the first' day that British authority was forced upon ix», I, really see' 'no reason . why we - should regret the natural dissolution of that Government. If Great 1 Britain will only (guarantee the independence of. the coiintry from foreign interference* -what can' we want more ? We can surely undertake tongree amongst t>urselves,i and enter into such combination as will insure the security ' of .life and property; and that without its costing the Parent State one farthing. But, 1 in addition. to this; it can 'easily be shown that, under the free institutions of the colony, and the rapid progress which it would make, a vast 'field would . be opened up for the surplus population of the mother^country. Uuder the present system, if system it might be called, where misery seems the lot of all, we are all suffering, and shall never be otherwise while the Government continues to. mar everything, and to destroy the best .efforts of the colonists. There is not the means for, subsisting* .ppielyes, far less for maintaining, me pauper population of the mothercountry; for which, purpose alpne this, and the t ptber,colpnies of Great Britain .Beem. t tohe.regarded as of any use or value. „. , „, . . : Unless, si^ine .great change, , similar to what. I. pointed out soon, ,take. place,. the cq-' idnists.wiU be obliged to leave the ..country^.and Hien the Government . ofijeers cap amuse thenlselves by gaining a livelihood the best they can.' Upon the whole, Mn Editorl, pur , present j»r6?-' pects seeni^ very dark and, uhprbpitious, and, I must confess that' any, hope that t 'have, rests entirely upQlj our'.Governinent^ b.eing starved ouf. Let us; therefore, pray that we : may have a, speedy "dflive'rance. ",'■ T ' ''["... i '„„, - ( •• „i,

! - r 'Going ' r X-HfiAfci—Lifeutenarit Morrison" his,' V«!'^enifeiVe''by'a recent Liverpool' paperi published a deseriptfoh «'f"a steam-v6s'set w invented by : niiiiself." lti^o'he called 4he Huge levi'athiti, 32,000 tbni burden, ' aitd ' to be .pronelled'by thtee = steam enginfes of 800 'horse power each. 'Shg isto.be 600 feet Ion?, and 274 feet broad; tphave a gfand saloon 150, feet long, "'loo, feet wide, and 15 ' feet' high, and to Have l.Odb private cabnis; 'Kef 'crew and pasfcengert wifl amouni'to 5,650 persons. She will cosit £200,0^0, and lejive |a net pr6fit 'of £130,000 a year 1 to the proprietors. 'The area of her .'upper'deck wjll be a little above two sere's.' There will be a kitci&n, garden and conservatory on deck, which will be fitted up 'with tehts, i: alcove, &c.,' arid round the upper' deck/there will be a drive.\for' horse and 'carriage exercise, whiph will be more than a third of a mile long. There will be a theatre, with a regular dramatic company,' lectures on various sciences, a series of Shops, and although last,,. pot least, a daily paper will be published qn .board. It is calculated that 'the passage from .Englahd to America will be -made m ten days, arid steerage 'passengers finding -their :<: < own" provisions, will only be charged -~£%. ffle, imagine .tlje, ','inve&tot".,w.iy,,^a foun4,a,valuable assistance to ..the TjVakefield school o| cplo-"nikers4-he 'will' tie enabled' tb.transplaut a colony (mtix all 1 fKe<iilstiei^i(ms : of fhe mother ' (ibiiritry complete, at oke. trip.— tSydney Herald. ■ • ■ -i'o' ' ) Lcpd Northwick has le^ ; 120,, a;crea)pf arable land, In lots from' one chain' to four acres, to the tradesmen and labourers'bf' the' parish of Blobkley 1 , iWbrcesteTshire,' It is said that is lordship has 'Bignifie4:hiß intention of letting, out more l»nd i» the same. way.., If other Jan.de^l , proprietor^ were to "copy this exemplary plan, their rental would be 1 the land improved^ and amucn targei? priodude would 1 be insured; ■ '"' '' '• ■ ;-PRBBKRVATft>N Xnd R ! KVRrßO'ttoN'. u - A shbemaker of' Aberdeen, named Thomas Pauline, who ihad for . some! time lived with a woman named JBsrnfet, ty:\rhbm he had two' children persuaded .hor,|ab9Ut . eleven o'clock on* recent; evening, to j^ke % moonlight walk, by the Victoria. Dock* Dun,dee. jj.f. aud^enly puj»he4 her over, *he qyay, but instead of , falling, into the water she fell into one of^the^arbour^arges, inppre^below,; he jumped after ,ncr to complete ,his fell intention, but himself falling into the water- between the pier and theVarte, met with A'e fate, to which he had doo'medhis intended' victim. , ' * - *TheP* laiely^'died /at Chedzoy, CornWalf, iv .the hduse'iii which he was bomand- h^adtilWßyi're'tnded, a ! gentteman named' Francis Adams StradKag, Esq.^agieilninety-twd years and seyeb months. Id issingiilar that a fire ignited by- his animtor, John Stradhng, Esq., in the year 1622, has «1wayt been carefully preserved* and) still burns upon the htarth of the hajl. v; a;<. ' . -■- • ~ ' ■. , The Birds' family, who; henrej, recently given j[i,ord Brougham. so much, fcroubhs and annpyance by laying claim tp Brougham fiall estate, are agajn at. worjc to. make out their * case, and, arjs search wg the. y^novK registries for documentary evidence 'ro support it. .' _, \ , ,' ,' ,' "■ Aniclti^t'tne.mineralogical treasures of the proWee, opai'iias 1 been 1 discovered; in hbutfdance. •Sub«eqa^n(f% ; th« discovleri«fs :; iii th>' ; Western Wmiiphere the'second&ry gems haVe gradually hect»'me less valttaWe in Europe- out 1 their recent «be*puesrhas oiccasioned mn introduction for pui<pds2s of -utcfulnesn' infinitely more extensive than Ihe anriieAt collectori- of 'gemc ever fact; partially superseded ivory in' the ?be^pld,«S^l Birmingham manufactories for knife juxd fork han4les,^at. well as for. casketf an 4 other toilet furnij^re,. , Opal is found to xesis^the ejects of climate .perfectly r and to this.importamt qu*l^y, ! in addition '^b its beauty of, appearance, T may bY' attributed thr fact that it jis at present so mqcji in request In several' Efaglub manufactohei— Slx&r hide Obtener. ° '