CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 180, 16 August 1845, Page 94

CORRESPONDENCE.

To the Editor of the Nelson Examiner. Sir — It must be a subject of most heartfelt regret to any man caring for the welfare and interest of this settlement, to hear that some of the inhabitants of Nelson have entertained the idea of adopting the suicidal practice of our sister settlements, Auckland and Wellington, and issuing what have acquired the quaint name of "shin-plasters." Such a miserable design may for awhile give a fictitious appearance of prosperity, but it must ensure a bitter period of distress afterwards.'. These amiable documents must surely tend to the destruction of commercial credit and confidence. They were one great cause of depression in the earlier days of Tasmanian colonisation ; whilst probably in America they occupy a position only one degree lower than the celebrated repudiation scheme of Pennsylvania. It is a grand discovery of this enlightened age, that a man with neither property nor credit may abound in money. The press is hit cornucopia : boundless wealth issues from the teeming press. - Many theories exist as to the liberty of the press; depend upon it those theories are vague and nonsensical. The true liberty of the press consists in the facility wherewith the printer can meet the wants' of the needy to an unlimited extent. Let us hope that we have sufficient good -senseJeft to reject utterly any attempt that may be. made to palm these worthless papers .upon us. In large transactions, the amusement of "flying kites" has repeatedly involved individuals and communi-

ties in difficulties,, from wjbioi aldtogvserhiftof years is required "tduex^kateithem. j In j$ fairs of minor importance, if Peo{w «esort to?^ hinplasters" they, will fina' reiultaVof a ifcnilar character. '-V Ij '* 1 " ' . *-'' At the present time we are aware of the annoyances arising even from the Government currency, which, sooner or later, will he redeemed. Shall we, then, whilst labouring under our existing evils, fly to others that we know not df, and multiply those we already have, by the introduction of, paper of the most trifling description, which we can never even hope to convert into cash. -It is worth-while to bear in mind that the introduction of such things necessarily enhances the price of -' every > article purchased. Should a few of these " notions " be' imported from Auckland or Wellington^let us hang them up as curiosities— evidence^ of the folly and madness of our neighbours : but at the same time, let us keep them in sight as beacons to save us from striking upon that rock which must tend to the complete wreck of our fellow-colonists' prosperity. ; • The following is a specimen, which was published in Hobart Town in bygone years : — | ' No. 20. Hobart Town, Ut May, 18—. . SIXPENCE. X fc* j£ 1 promise to pay the bearer on demand the turn I* °3 o/SixrxifCK for value received. r O Entered A—'B— A— B— Of course things of this kind are never | expected or intended to be paid. It may, be thought we shall not have occasion to descend to so low a figure here; but this very degradation is an essential part of the scheme. We may often learn a useful lesson from the Maorieß, and upon this point we had better at once adopt and abide by the remark of Te Take, of Wellington, and say " Shin-plasters won't do.'* Nelson, August 12. [We have made diligent inquiry reaped ing '•. the subject of bur correspondent's letter, and , we are nappy to say that there is no probability of this settlement being visited with the cUrse alluded to.-— Ed.] To thb Editor of the Nelson Examiner. ■ Sir — There are times when even Homer nods ; and this 1 imagine must have been your condition when inditing a very mischievous and ill-judged article which appeared in the Examiner of the 2d instant : or perhaps you had yourself gone into the country, and had. placed in the editorial chair one upon whose zeal you c.ould depend, though unfortunately you were - not aware how far his zeal would outrun his discretion. If you are desirous of living in a state of complaining, if it be necessary to your existence, or if you deem it advantageous for jour community to be in constant excitement md continually unhappy, it is quite possible for you to discover a few real grievances. Amuse ye urself and the public with them; but do not fancy new ones, do not create any. A little previous consideration would lave prevented the publication of the article referred to ; and a little consideration now will doi btless cause you deep regret for its appearance. I allude to the second leader, which respects the Maori funds in this settlement. By reference to the official documents I lind the Bishop of New Zealand (December, 1842) states that the " same scale " (of rents, &c. , as at Wellington) " has been adopted at Nek on, to the satisfaction of several very respectable tenants ; among the rest, some of the most influential merchants in the place, who had already erected stores on native reserves. ♦ • I am unable at present to state the precise amo Lint of the annual rental ; but I estimate the existing income of the native ,'reserves at Nelson at more than £300 per annum. 9 ' Here, it is allowed, was sufficient warrant for stating in a newspaper paragraph " that a portion of the town sections were let (in 1842) for a rental of about £300 a year." It is added, " some of these still continue in the occupation of our most respectable and wealthy merchants, of the fact of whose having paid their rei it," &c, &c. " Some of these." Yes; a small j ortion of one section, held by one firm. The Bishop's letter speaks of an estimated rental in December, 1842, when the fatal delusion of high and exorbitant rents prevailed, when persons laboured under the idea that £1 per foot frontage was a fair annual payment, as ground-rent alone. But it must surely be within your recollection, that the influential merchants removed their stores from the native reserves within a short period of the Bishop's first visit. The only merchants' stores that remained belonged to the firm of Morrison and Sclander*. It must also be within your knowledge, th>t many vessels have left our harbour since^: December, 1842, conveying hence considerable numbers of our people. Did you suppose that the tenants of the native reserves alone continued their occupancy ? Or has not the Maori property suffered deterioration in common with private investments ? No doubt there are many victims of misplaced confidence connected with this settlement, who have looked anxiously for the enjoyment of a handsome rent-roll, in consequence of the vivid descriptions, abundantly 1 circulated throughout England. How miserably are their expectations disappointed ! . « Now the Maori trustees have fared no better than private purchasers. Instead of the " income of the reserves at Nelson being sufficient to provide for the wants of the natives without any advance of capital" (Bishop of New.Zealand's letter as above), the income has never yet sufficed to discharge the incumbrances upon the estate. The tenants, that were, ate almost 0 dispersed; and to every tenant's or imaginary tenant's name is the following note appended, and certified by the initials of the late manager of our bank, "No rent paid yet." Mwari., Morrison and Sdanders are the solitary exception. The property then ii not productive:

indeed there are very few properties within this Section of the New Zealand Company's boundaries which are productive in the way of rent. Because this -particular property is and has been unproductive, the great part of your remarks are worthless ; for they are based upon the assumption that the Maori reserves, are productive. In fact, the only money received on account of this valuable trust (excepting the rent jof Morrison and Sclanders) consists of £200 advanced by the late Captain Wakefield upon Ithe credit of the native reserves : of this a large jportion was expended in the erection of two houses for the use of the tribes who visit this town. Other payments have been made for proper plans of the several sections, advertisements, interest, &c, and a small balance remains in the bank. At the present date, I believe the estate to be indebted in a considerable sum to a medical gentleman, who for a long period tended the sick aborigines with every care; indebted in interest to the New Zealand Company, to Whom also is due the amount advanced by their agent; whilst the estate of the late Mr. Thompson has also an equitable claim against the first proceeds of the native lands, for that gentleman's Services in the management of the trust, and especially in acknowledgment of the very able selections made by him. To meet these several <Jebtß, the entire income of several years will be required. The case then appears, to stand thus : the estate is heavily mortgaged; like most other properties within the boundaries of the New Zealand Company, it is also unproductive s and njnoreover the Board of Trustees has ceased to exist; at any rate there are no individuals here authorized to let lands or make agreements, to Receive rents or make payments; few indeed being the rents to be received, and beautifully small the funds from which payments could possibly issue. ! Much of the' matter now written might and ought to have been known to you before you ventured upon publication of the article in question. For instance, you might have known the lack of tenants ; and, if I mistake not, you niight have known that but one year's interest had been paid, and that none of the principal had been returned. Why is this, if the estate were, as you assert, " proved to have been productive " ?

However, all the article would have passed unnoticed were it not for its very wicked conclusion. Subjects, of course, are required to fill up columns; things and persons deemed public property afford ample scope for the indulgence of a querulous disposition ; but pray do not grow vicious. In digging a pit for your neighbour, you might chance to fall into it yburself. Nay, you would place our entire European population in a position worse than a hornet's nest, were you to act upon your own suggestion ; " doing the aborigines good service, if we print in their language and circulate atnong them a short statement of the position oi" the native reserves in this settlement and elsewhere, and give them a hint to apply at the oifice of the Trustees for an instalment of hack rants due to them." What becomes then ot all th| c . clamours for protection, whereby we must have deafened the ears of all who are in office or out of office ? What becomes of our continual appeals to the neighbouring colonies and to the mother country ? Surely you must have information which you studiously conceal from others ; you must have learnt that the Wairau was but a dream; you must have heard that our countrymen are in quiet and undisturbed occupation of the Hutt valley; you must be aware that the destruction of a town — that the repeated defeats of the British arms — that the frequent engagements at the North, engagements which are fast depopulating these settlements by a forced re-migration to more peaceful shores — you must be aware that these things ar£ mere flights of fancy; you must be convinced that all our past fears, all our present alarms, are groundless, or you could not for a moment have entertained the notion of exciting •a jpowerful race to anger against your own countrymen, by an appeal to the worst passions of ' cur nature ; you could not have entertained in J thought, far lesß have given expression in waiting, to the idea of involving in fresh difficulties, and entangling in multiplied dangers tb^ whole European population of these settlements ; doing so moreover by means of a statement which it was quite in your power, as it wajs also your duty, to have ascertained to be without foundation. • j ; I remain, sir, | .Yours, &c, ; Charles Lucas Reay. , Nelson Parsonage, Aug. 13. ' j The Editor having left town before the above letf er was delivered at the Examiner, office, the rep ly to it is Unavoidably postponed.]