THE NELSON EXAMINER. Nelson, July 19, 1845.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 176, 19 July 1845, Page 78

THE NELSON EXAMINER. Nelson, July 19, 1845.

Journals become more necessary as men become more equal and individualism more to be feared. It would be to underrate their importance to suppose that they serve only to secure liberty : they maintain civilization. Db TocaoEVILLE. Of Democracy in America, vol. iv., p. 202.

We had begun to flatter ourselves that we had at length, after infinite effort, contrived to descend to a sufficiently low idea of the present Government of New Zealand. We were on the point of rubbing our hands with self-satisfaction at the thought that at last we had managed to dive to the utmost depths of their fatuity, and that no hollows of incapacity lay below the reach of our recorded calculations. We congratulated ourselves that our " dark dexterity in groping well " into the blindest recesses of official absurdity or ignorance, had met its reward in a thorough knowledge of them all, and an impossibility of being surprised or disgusted with them any more.

But alas for the vanity of human imaginations ! We did think we had struck soundings in the ocean of our legislators' financial inability, when we got down to the issue of debentures and the bill making them legal tender. Our readers will perceive by the extracts we have made from the English papers how these measures have been reprobated at horne — how all parties and persons have concurred in condemning them. Lord Stanley has all but disallowed them. Sir Robert Peel declares against them in the most unqualified terms : " The honourable gentleman," says he, " has asked me what I think of the issue of inconvertible paper money ? Sir, 1 consider that no circumstances can make the issue of inconvertible paper money a wise measure." There is the opinion of " a great master of finance." " Was it not very extraordinary," asked Mr. Buller, " that they should find a Governor of a colony, appointed by the right honourable baronet (Sir Robert Peel), spreading abroad his assignats as widely as possible ? They

were truly termed assignors, because they were inconvertible. They vere a portion of a debt of £15,000, and were divided into notes for ss. and 2s. Now at tint time, in a time of profound peace, was it not astonishing to see such an issue of inconvertible paper in a colony belonging to a country which had made such great sacrifices \w order to return to a gold currency [hear, hear] ? And what kind of a currency was it ? In this country, when paper was more general than it is now, we had always taken care to limit the amount for which it should be issued : in former times it was £1 notes, never below, and now the limit was to £5. But what did Governor Fitzßoy? He issued a species of currency which was unprecedented since the famous shin-plaisters of the United States. They went as low its; Is. 6d. The Governor did not go quite so far as that ; but he issued notes for ss. and 2s. Now this was a blunder which ought not lightly to be passed over. Captain Fitzßoy had shown himself not ignorant and incompetent only, but most mischievously and dangerously incompetent."

Well, this was low enough. We had mastered our astonishment — we had measured the absurdity. We had let down all our line (to return to our old metaphor), but we thought we had reached the bottom of their ignorance or incapacity. Judge of our surprise when we found " in this lowest deep a lower deep," a whole Atlantic beneath it, when, having sounded what we previously thought the unfathomable imbecility of shin-plaisters, we found as great a demand upon our line as ever. Shinplaisters were bad enough, if perfect plaisters of their kind ; but it turns out these plaisters in numerous instances are not even spread — had even on the face of them, at the very first sight, no possibility of sticking.

To drop metaphor altogether : there are many of these deHptures in circulation which want either the date of issue (though they purport to bear interest from that date), or the signature of the Colonial Treasurer, Mr. Shepherd, or the number of the note itself, or all these particulars together.

What is worse, these unsigned or imperfect debentures have been refused by the Collector of Customs, on account of these imperfections.

But what will be thought of the Government that issues its miserable paper money in such a way as this ? What words can express the shamefulness of the proceeding?

If these omissions are unintentional — though they seem to exist in too many cases to be quite so — what language can sufficiently condemn the choice and the conduct of a Colonial Treasurer who, with a salary of £600 a-year in this financiallyruined colony, can do even the absurd work he has to do in such a style of reckless and abandoned negligence ?

But if intentional — if these omissions were purposely made, that Government, having forced its wretched paper on its helpless creditors, might afterwards refuse to accept it — can the transaction be described as anything else than downright swindling? We hope the thing was not intentional ; and yet, looking at the perishable sort of paper these promises to pay were printed on, though intended for circulation among workpeople and in ways most calculated to wear them out, it seems as if Government had reckoned on some petty, peddling saving by their destruction ; quite in the spirit of a view to saving by the imperfectness of their execution in the respect alluded to.

The neglect, intentional or not, becomes more flagrant when it is recollected that very many individuals whom these debentures were intended to circulate amongst are probably unable to read at all, or without difficulty, which is increased if the reading required be of manuscript, half effaced by the -wear and tear of the paper. The only thing the labouring class can do,

is to refuse them altogether. The soon jr they are put out of circulation entirely tl le better for all parties. We have the following letter authenticating the facts we have commented on. Luckily some of these notes are in sac hands, and will be transmitted to proper quarters. To the Editor or the Nblson Examiner. Sir — I wish to lay before the publi ;, through you, a case of great injustice. I vas yesterday paid a Government d< ibenture, of which the following is an ex» ;t copy : — " New Zealand. " No. 4448 n. One Pound. " On presentation at the Colonial Treasury at Auckland, in iVeu; Zealand, on or after tl le Tenth day of April, 1846, or on or after sui h earlier day as shall be fixed by the Governor, aftt r two months' notice in the Government GazetU, ti e Bearer will be entitled to receive One Poun S^ Verting, and interest theron at the rate of Five per cent, per annum, from the date of issue until the Tenth day of April, 1846, or such earlier dc y as may be fixed for payment. " This will be received as One Pound with n one year from the date of issue, and as On b Pound One Shilling after that time, inpayment of duties of Customs, or any debt or demand payable to the Colonial Government of New Zealand. ' " Dated at Government House,' Auckland, tMs First day of June, 1844. "Robert Fitzßoy, " Governor. " By command of his Excellency, "Andrew Sinclair, " Colonial Secretary." Across the face of this document are th o following words, in red ink :— " No. 4448. Entered at the Treasury an i issued this day of 1845. " A. Shepherd, Colonial Treasurer." Having to pay postage to England ami Sydney by the Comet, I took the abov > debenture with me to the Post Office, am 1 tendered it to the clerk in payment, who told me that it was not the practice to giv ? change. I waited to see Mr. Carkeek, th ; sub-treasurer and deputy postmuster for Nelson, who said he would give me change. But, on examining the debenture, he re--fused to receive it, on the ground that the dale of issue was not filled in, as it ought to have been, across its face. Now, sir, Mr. Carkeek has no doubt hia instructions not to receive any debentures that are imperfect; but, if they are not; to be received at the Government Offices, 'on that ground, why are they ever issued ir, that state? I mean to assert, most positively, thai; the document I have transcribed constitutes , to all intents and purposes, a promissory note binding on the Government. It is t dated Ist June, 1844, and is declared pay* able on the 10th April, 184 G. The date of issue is the day on which it leaves tin Colonial Treasury, as ought to be immediately ascertainable by reference to its number and the Treasury books. If there is any counter-signing or other stuff, the Government is responsible for parting with the debenture without it. It is the Govern-; ment's business to issue its paper correctly,) and it is a disgrace that any should be refused by its officers on such a plea as! I have stated. As to the interest, if the! Government does not itself insert what itj calls a " date of issue," interest is claimable from the only date mentioned, namely, Ist) June, 1844. And would any one mean forj a moment to say that the payment of thej principal could be disputed by Governor Fitzßoy, or any Governor, on the plea of a defect caused by the negligence or fault of its own officer ? But there must be a vast number of these debentures as defective as the one I hold. Besides that one, I have at this moment in my hand four £1 debentures, all wanting in some part the Treasury mark. One of them has neither date, number, nor even the Colonial Treasurer's signature across it: another has the date and number, but no signature : another wants the year of issue inserted : another, like mine, has no date whatever. These whole five are correctly signed by the Governor and the Colonial Secretary, but are incompletely issued from the Treasury. If this is negligence, it is so gross as hardly to admit of being characterized : and it becomes more odious when the Government in consequence refuses to take the paper. It is as if the Mint should issue light sovereigns in England, while the Government offices required gold of full weight. It is for such work that the vote of Council reducing Mr. Shepherd's salary was rescinded, and his pay continued at £700 a-year ! Now, this debenture is useless to me. The Bank won't take it, the merchants won't, and the Government won't. I should have made a representation on the subject to Auckland, were not such a step

ridiculous, considering that the last mail received here from the " capital " was dated, I believe, in the end of March, a few days after the Louisa Campbell left England, and 1 ] night be six months waiting an answer. „ In the interesting debates in the House of! Commons last March, on the debentures, some dne said the British Museum ought to liaive one as a curiosity. So I shall send this one borne, together with another I have fot five shillings, which is in half-a-dozen pieces, pasted on some originally blue paper, and is now nearly illegible. I am, sir, Your humble servant, | F. Dillon Bell. Nelson, July 18.

A. rumour of a third engagement at the Bay of Islands, between the troops and Heki and bis party, was brought on Thursday by a canoe from the French Pass. It is difficult to ascertain, with certainty, whether the engagement spoken of is of an old date, and one of which we have had previous intelligence, or something new. Generally, tr. ,e former is considered the most probable, though none of the details at all correspond with the accounts which have before reached us. It is stated among other things that Heki has died from wounds received in battle, but we cannot learn the when or where. W e know perfectly well that the unsuccessful attack on Heki's pa was known to the natives at the Moutaka at least ten days or a fortnight before the settlers at Nelson or Wellington had any authentic account of it ; so it is quite possible that the present rumour may prove true in the main facts, notwithstanding some seeming contradictions. One thing, however, is certain, the Government considers it no part of its duty to appijise the settlers in the south of the state of thjings in the north. The natives are in open rebellion ; they successfully resist an atjtack of the troops and naval force of our coluntry, and compel them to retreat and leave their dead un buried ; but so little does oiir blessed Government imagine these things cam concern us, who are left altogether without protection, that although they occurred E'Wly three months ago, we should have Ldcn ignorant of them to this day but for thjc accidental circumstance of a coaster cabling at Kawhia. Our latest date from Auckland, received by ordinary channels, is thje 29th of April — twelve long weeks. Our Sydney dates seldom exceed six weeks ; and at the present moment the difference between our Auckland and English dates is bi^t little more than a month. Truly the flittering care of our Government towards it.'* subjects entitles it to our best affections. IWe have lately heard many inquiries regarding the petition and memorial which was so extensively signed last year, and forwarded by the William Stoveld, complaining of the conduct of Governor Fitzßoy at Waikanai. By the Louisa Campbell, we haxl letters stating that both had been duly received ; and that the petition to Parliament hajd been entrusted to Mr. C. Buller, and thfe memorial forwarded to the Colonial Of-fk-ie. Another copy of the memorial was forwarded through the Local Government, bujt of the fate of this we are ignorant. It is '.probable the petition was presented previous to the discussion on New Zealand affaijrs, which was to come on immediately after the Easter recess. The following notice of the petition appejared in the Colonial Gazette of Nov. 9 : — |"We have received from New Zealand Nelaoh papers to the 15th of June inclusive. They cuhtain a memorial to Lord Stanley and a petitioln to Parliament against the arbitrary and unconstitutional interference of Governor Fitzßoy to screen the Wairau murderers, not only from pujnishment, but from trial, which we have elsewhere commented upon. The resolute attitude assumed by the Nelson settlers in vindication of ; their constitutional rights is honourable to th^ni : it shows that they are of the true old English metal, and know that, under the most adverse circumstances, there is more safety in uiijfUnchingly demanding what is there due, than ii cowardly surrendering a part in the hope tlu-if oppressors will abstain from taking the wi)|cle." __ ___^__ [Mew Zealand Company's Twelfth B )! port and Appendices. — We have had pi a ced in our hands, for distribution, a few copies of this voluminous expose of colonial mi sgovernment, and shall be happy to suppi y any of our friends who may wish to possess one.

Export of Fat Sheep and Cattle. — We understand that Mr. Duppa is about to make the experiment of sending, by the Louisa Campbell, to Wellington, a hundred fat wethers, and a few prime beasts for slaughter. It is expected that the very superior condition of our stock will command a ready sale in the Wellington market.