New Zealand Gazette AND WELLINGTON SPECTATOR. Wednesday November 16, 1842.

New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, Volume III, Issue 194, 16 November 1842, Page 2

New Zealand Gazette AND WELLINGTON SPECTATOR. Wednesday November 16, 1842.

Immediately 4 after the departure of the Cheerful and the Amwell for Sydney, we were met with numeXpus^Qbmplaw that they had been, allowe/d- to sail without mails; The Amwell brought up at the heads, and; we believe, an attempt was made to get a mail put on board of her, but whether -it was successful or otherwise we know not.

Vessels d 6 hot start sufficiently often to the,^neighbouring .? parts^; to- make a mail of small consequence. '' On -the contrary, what with the amount of business of importance taking, place daily-here ■•: xibw; and the -infrequency of opportunity , to send forward the numerous and important advices which arise out of commercial, transactions, the accumulation .of letters and .papers is top- great to justify the Post. Office in .missing any occasion which may arisVto send them forward to their destination.- Further, when we remember that the Government *of this Island is put on a footing equally expensive with the older Colonies, and' r that we are called upon to provide, the means at a period unknown in the early history of ariy other Colony, we have ,a right to expect at least that the Government arrangements should in some degree compensate the heavy ' burthen to which we are subjected. ' v

We know not with whom the blame rests ; but: we are told the Post-office labours under great disadvantages; in having no : boat over which, it can exercise, authority. Fo.merly the Police-office had a boat, "and we believe it was used by the Post-office and the Health Officer; not of right, but by permission of the Police Magistrate,:;' We have not heard that this boat has beentdiscontinued '; we presume, however, it has, for otherwise we suppose the difficulty about getting- mails oa board the vessels would not have arisen. ;

There are two boats belonging to departments — -the one to the Customs, "and^the other to the. Harbour Master. Surely some arrangement could be made to give the Postoffice a right to use one, if not both of these boats. ;We are convinced that one well appointed boat could manage all the communication with shipping hecessaryon the part of the Government here. . B,ut wasteful fland extravagant expenditure: has been the order of the day in New Zealand, ahd inefficiency, its 'consequence, necessarily ensues. "We almpst,.wish that fate had made us the acting Governor of the Colony f,r a few montbs, and we think we would have shown, by the reductions we wiuld have made forthwith in all the Government departments,, that the cause of the uselessness of the machinery had been, that. Tom had been employed in helping Jack to db nothing, while the real- work had remaine;d without-?attention. ; • ;

We have been kindly lent some papers to the 28th Octobe^/- brought^by the barque Magnet from ,S ydney , from .which we make the subjoined summary—* ' , ■ '*?» Sheep shearing had commenced, but would not be general for some w^eks,.-* It 'w^ hoped the forthcoming.. . clip. \vould occasion 'life and spirit among,#H "classes of th& community. The diminished importation of British manufactures was leading to #a gradual and steady increase of prices, which it was considered would continue to ..augment for some ;time. .. ■ „:. ,•..;••;: A 'Y' ..[,,■.* '.■ ■.■ ■ " ■."'.-':,^f { The opinions concerning the harvest- were conflicting, but it was generally thought the crops would be deficient. s;Jt was, however, : expected that the. flbuf and grain which had ' already ■ arrived : from South- America, and expected from ftße- same source^ woulfi prevent flour aVfaaricing to an exorbitia.nt : price. ... ' ; ■'"' "[',:'. ■•',;,'.;'..'-',.:. '..x.':'i : There had ,been\ a = considerable decline in the^quarters revehuei'ljut not to the extent ■ anticipated. )' . : ' . ; . " Fat- Cattle had realized £7 per head at the Ilast Sydney market... '•'...'.... V ' ' : ! • .The?? schooner -Perseverance, from this ; Port, arrived 'at Sydney, on. the 27th October.; ' She had been into Newcastle for provisions." t; ; The necessity of resorting to Cd'olie labour itd :: r6btkiri ;i shepherds continued to be much, |canyassed.. :. ; :;/'.' "...•' ' ''"•'.'' ' '~!:1~: _'.'.' ; ..There i had 1 been' aa, important trial' of > Norfplk Island ' prisoners -at Sydney, and . it '•was that : it> give a tfeatli' iblow to Captain Maconbchie's Social System 1 of^ regeneration, t 4established and pursued by him at that Island. -*Xt is, however, admitted that circumstances have operated against his system: receiving an effective trial. As the day of Election of Town Councillors was drawing near, a more bitter and personal feeling was arising among some of the competitors for Municipal honors. „ •

- The only vessel announced for New Zea--land, in the Sydney papers, is the brig Sir John Byng. She 4g- advertised on the 13th

October tc^sailf on the 20th, for the Bay of Islands, Auckland, and ourioyra Port.; Two Members of the Council have at the board, on several occasions attacked us in a covert manner, on account of our -printing charges. The one because he thinkslfiem high compared with similar charges made in England. ,- The;other because he states they exceed those required -at establishments in- a neighbouring colony, where, for ought we know,, the compositors ,and" pressmen are Government men- — (alias convicts,) with whom no comparison ought to be made. The former also gave us a sly rap at the Mechanics' Institute the other night. \ Those we employ have informed us that the latter is exceedingly gratuitous in commenting upon our chargessfor printing. In reference to these proceedings in Council, we would?observe*that they are undignified and, unjust. 'Undignified, because if there be ground for complaint, the proper course is to instruct the Town Clerk to address us in due form on the subject 1 ; unjust, because we are not present to vindicate yourselves against damaging accusations. Had we been: aware that any attack would have, been made upon us at the Mechanics' Institute, we would have taken care to have been' present, when we doubt . not we should have been enabled. '■. to .vindicate ourselves to the perfect satisfaction of all present. Of the other gentleman' we would merely remark his claim to knowledge is nearly universal, ■and it would.be as difficult to name a pursuit with which he would not assert half an acquaintance, as it would be to name a pursuit with which his acquaintance is more than partial. , Either want of candour or thoughtlessness leads these gentlemen in their attacks to deal witlfour accounts as^ if they were merely for printings 'while, in they generally contain a : large . item for stationery, various " charges for advertising, and not unfrequently, ■items for bookbinding and seeds;- .We could show/ them that our charges are' necessary to meet, the heavy amount of bad debts to which all such Establishments, are liable and which- ; they cannot avoid, and that all cheap establishments of the kind in colonies. have failed and must fail, while bankruptcy would be decidedly disagreeable to ourselves, and by no means beneficial to the' Colony.. '„.,: We, insert, in to-day's paper, the last. report of the Union . Bank of Australia, together with the . proceedings at the ■ Meeting of" the Shareholders. . The ' report will be found to be interesting, and highly satisfactory. The sixth aud seventh 1 paragraphs will be highly satisfactory to the- Colonists where the Bank has Branches, and evince great liberality and judgment. ,