New Zealand Gazette AND WELLINGTON SPECTATOR.

New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, Volume II, Issue 126, 23 March 1842, Page 2

New Zealand Gazette AND WELLINGTON SPECTATOR.

Wednesday, March -23, 1842.

Since Saturday there have l>een several departures of vessels, and few arrivals ; and we are . without news from Europe or the neighbouring Colonies. The weather has been generally rather boisterous and rainy, but seasonable ; as the rapid growth of grass and vegetables testifies. ;

A sad accident occurred in this Port on Sunday last. Ten persons — Mr. Yates of the Gazette Office", Captain King, late of the Lady Leigh ; Captain Cannon, of the Lookin; Captain Tulett, of the Mary Ann Wade; with the mate, three seamen, and an apprentice belonging to her, and a little boy, went on board the Mary Ann Wade, to try her in a cruise about the harbour. She was insufficiently ballasted, with ' large sails for so small a craft (only about 40 tons,) and her timbers having shrunk since her caulking, she let in- a good deal of water. The wind blew fresh but not with violence. As they passed Evans's Bay ' on • their return, the Captain reefed his topsail, but afterwards very imprudently let it out again. The vessel heeled over so that the sails nearly touched the water, and the ballast having shifted, she could not re.cover, but went down with the next puff of wind. - As soon as the danger became, imminent, one of the seamen (the carpenter,) jumped into the boat which was fortunately dragging astern, and unlashed her, holding on by a rope at such a distance as to prevent her being swallowed in the vortex, if the schooner went down. In a few minutes she did go down. Captain King and Mr. Yates, standing by the taffrail, were the last persons on board. Yates asked " what he had best do ? " King replied " leap for the boat," and he did leap far enough;

but poor Yates was sucked into the whirlpool, ■went down with the schooner, and his, body has not 'yet been seen. .All the others were picked up and into the boat — the apprentice just in time to save his life. The child, a half-caste, floated on the water by the help of his petticoats. Boats from the shore and the vessels in Port, immediately put off and took some of the people out. of the schooner's little boat* It is expected that Mr. Yates' body, will be recovered; .when an. inquest will be held. In the meanwhile we. refrain from any remarks- on the conduct of Capain Tulett, which must become the subject of enquiry. •

Mr. Yates was well known as the active, intelligent, and steady sub-editor of this journal. He had many personal friends in the Colony, who most sincerely regret his, loss. His diligence, cleverness, and integrity, rendered his services in conducting our paper of the most essential importance. We have nobody to put in! his place ; and the absence of the proprietor seriously augments the inconvenience and difficulty arising from Mr. Yates' sudden death. Under these circumstances perhaps our readers will be disposed to make some allowance for unavoidable deficiencies.

, A letter from the Manewatu' mentions the safe arrival of the Ann in that river. The. Ann had mistaken the Rangatiki for the Manewatu, which surprises us a little, as the coast and country near the Manewatu are rather remarkable. The vessel went aground in the Rangitiki in nine feet water, and was, got out with some difficulty, but no damage.

The survey' at Wanganui is proceeding rapidly, and soon 600 town allotments -will be staked out. The district of country land now in process of survey, extends in a southerly direction towards the Wangaihu riyer, and is represented as a fine tract of country. The natives no longer obstruct the progress of the Wanganui surveys ; but they are troublesome at the Manewatu.

The second Exhibition of the Horticultural Society, yesterday, surprised vs — the show of vegetables and flowers, but especially of of the former, being very superior to that which we had anticipated. We are promised a full account of the show and prizes for Saturday's paper ; and in the meanwhile shall only remark that the contributions from Capt. Smith and MrllMolesworth were decidedly the best in the? room.

*It has been suggested that the principal merchants of Port Nicholson should prepare a monthly or quarterly price- current, with accounts of actual sales, stocks on hand &c, on the plan of those published in London, Liverpool and other places of commerce. This document, if published in the form of a ■circular, .would be sent to all parts of the world, and greatly benefit Port Nicholson. We need scarcely say that we should gladly give it, or any similar well-authenticated record of trade, a place in our columns. v

In a late number of the Auckland Herald, we find the following remarks on the behaviour of Messrs. Shortland and Company — / "The mistake which the Government officers seem to make here is this, they do not consider ' themselves amenable to the public at all, but imagine that they are a species of sucking Sultans, born with the power of cutting off heads and tails at their sovereign pleasure."

We have sometimes doubted whether any advantage to arise from the presence of the Oovernment in Port Nicholson would not be over-balanced by the. nuisance of these "sucking Sultans." Their official station gives them the power of annoyance, and even well-educated men are apt to overrate the importance office bestows. When it happens that the members 'of a petty colonial Government are illiterate and vulgar minded, with no other claim to consideration than that derived from holding office, their insolence then becomes, insufferable. The inhabitants of Port Nicholson have had a specimen of the conduct alluded to, and to mention names is needless. Then, a little Court is a plague. Some are received at, others excluded from, Go-vernment-house. Hence female pique and male wrath. Social jealousies are excited, and friendships broken up. 'Very soon a "set "is 1 got together from which official people and .their families are excluded ; and Government-house is voted vulgar-. ' Some amusement and a paltry kind of excitement are obtained at the expense of comfort, friendly feelings, and that co-operation of classes so useful in a new Colony.

These are some of the " sets off" against the benefits which would arise from the removal of the seat of Government to^Port Nicholson. It appears that we gain something, if we lose much, by the non-residence of the Governor.

We lately alluded to the tendency of British conquest to the East, in connexion with the

future importance of New Zealand as a great Naval and Military station. The following -extract from an article in the Colonial Gazette, on the " Trade and Colonization of the Southern Hemisphere," will be interesting as opening up the subject of commerce between New Zealand and the Eastern Archipelago : — ■ Since the time of its first admission to the region of known lands, Polynesia, with, its vast expanse, its picturesque character, genial climate, fertile spots, and intelligent and agreeable races, has been more or less under the process described in theToregoing extract (irregular and vicioua colonization.) It presents an immense field for commerce, into which as yet the plough of civilized cultivation has scarcely set its tooth ; its capacities are still matter for speculation. It is important, however, that the speculator upon the future position of Polynesia in the commercial world should take this fact along with him — that alien races have already begun, to colonize its shores, possessing a superior weight and energy of character, which must eventually override and absorb the feebler aboriginal races. Britons are already insinuating themselves into the chief groupes; United States men are there too ; and France has her religious and naval representatives in the archipelago.^ France, however, which is not a colonizing country, may be put out of the speculation : England and America compete, or will soon compete, for the possession of Polynesia—one or other of those branches of the Anglo-Saxon race must soon be dominant in Polynesia; and in a brief space of time the race will- most probably constitute the actual population of the archipelago. The dominant race, whichever it is, must take, to its share the _ chief trade of Polynesia, a country which is required to complete the circle of trade in the Southern hemisphere. Now, the possessor of New Zealand undoubtedly holds the master-key to the trade of Polynesia as well as to the trade of the South generally: but in order- to render the possession of that great master-key as effectual as possible, it were desirable that the immediate access to Polynesia should be kept open by the possession of some postern-key, as it were. Instant profit, the inviting climate, , and the attractions of love — which even in its grosser form 3 seems to assume something of the romantic in " the islands of the blessed" — draw individual adventurers to the more thickly-peopled groupes of the islands; but it appears exceedingly probable that, were they better known, some of the islands more scantily inhabited would offer a site which wonld. attract colonization in its legitimate shape. A regular advanced post, in connexion with New Zealand, might thus be established. If we are not mistaken, more than one place has been thought of for such a purpose ; but, we repeat, information on the subject is wanting: were if forthcoming, there can be little doubt, that the temptation of the profit to be realized by the first colonizers of a virgin soil would soon draw to the desired site a well-constituted settlement similar to those of South Australia and New Zealand.

" It is only by degrees and with the aid of our far-seeing friends in England, that we are becoming acquainted with the advantages to accrue from the position of New Zealand in Southern hemisphere.

Errata. — In Mr. Wade's advertisement in Saturday's paper the words " next door to the Stores of Messrs. Wallace, White, and Wallace, and now kept as a coffee-house by Messrs. Wyeth and Co," should have been placed after the words " Valuable Leasehold Property."

In the " Government Notice " about licensing, for " Tuesday the 19th of April," read " Tuesday the sth April," as the day on or before which applications for licenses must be lodged. '

Birth. — March 9, the wife of Mr. R. Rush, Petoni, of a daughter.