New Zealand Gazette AND WELLINGTON SPECTATOR. Wednesday, June 28, 1843.

New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, Volume IV, Issue 258, 28 June 1843, Page 2

New Zealand Gazette AND WELLINGTON SPECTATOR. Wednesday, June 28, 1843.

Notwithstanding the shortness of distance, and' the extreme moderate weather which has continued during the latter part of the last week, we are still without any decisive intelligence.^ to the real facts or extent of the late melancholy event, although -we have not the slightest grounds to anticipate any material deduction from the aggregate numbers whicli are reported to have fallen a sacrifice to what we must consider the mistaken policy and conduct of the local authorities at Nelson. We shall still pursue the course we adopted from the first, and abstain from publishing, and thereby giving circulation to what is not placed beyond the possibility of doubt, particularly when our means of intercourse with the rest of the world are so uncertain, and the chain of communication so irregular. Fortunately we have been able to forward the same information as we possess ourselves to Auckland, and we feel confident that every exertion which the authorities can make will be put in motion to allay the natural anxiety and alarm which such a catastrophy could not fail to create, at the same time it is but due to the authorities to point out to the inhabitants of this settlement, that if there fears are ever so well grounded and justly calculated, that this occurrence is or ought to be taken as springing from any preconcerted plan of attack upon the various settlements in different portions of this or even the other island, that the rest of th"c settlements have an equal right to share in the protection of the Government as ourselves ; and when it is recollected that the tribes more immediately concerned in the affray at Nelson are intimately connected with far more powerful tribes to the northward of this place, and in the more immediate vicinity of more defenceless portions of our fellowcolonists from their more isolated locations and paucity of numbers, they cannot expect that the whole disposable force of the Government qan be directed to one point, though it has hitherto been suffered to remain so, and therefore it behoves them to be the more cautious how they give way to any even justifiable expressions or exhibitions of alarm, or in directing their movements for putting themselves in a. state of precautionary defence, lest they create, by their acts as well as their indiscreet declarations of mistrust in the assurances: which tka Natives'' give of their confidence of the dispute, having; ended where it began, a real ground of alarm amongst those very Natives, as to our real motives. We shall not pursue our remarks further at present, as we cannot do so fairly until we are enabled to set forth the real state of the case from the beginning, and argue the case coolly, notwithstanding we are taunted with being cold-blooded and destitute of feeling for the sufferings of others — feelings are not measured by the violence with which they are expressed, nor by the shew they make ; and it is for the best interests of a community, in cases of general alarm, when some can be found so far to command their feelings from assuming the character of ungovernable passions, and thereby render the unfortunate individuals subject to their influence only objects of compassion and pity, instead of one of a rallying point, where sober reason and cool and deliberate judgment ought to be looked for by those whose stations in life necessarily renders them unable to act or to judge for themselves in moments of emergency.

In another part of our columns will be found two addresses from the Police Magistrate upon this all engrossing subject, one to the settlers and the other to the Natives. The calm and confiding tone of reliance upon the general good feeling of the Natives here and elsewhere, will not, perhaps, satisfy the minds of many, whose fears seem to have bereft them of all powers of reasoning. To such it would be under present circumstances useless to address ourselves, except it is with a sincere hope that as there has now elapsed ten days since the cause of their alarm began and ended, that they will be induced to give credence to the assurances set forth in those addresses, that the confidence therein expressed is justified upon the strongest evidence that could be wished for and obtained upon the subject. Every subsequent account that has reached us from the various places of residence of the tribe with whom this encounter originated, tends , to confirm all the previous assurances, that as far as any further violence even against the parties who were engaged in it, and who as the Natives contend were the aggressors, much less any other .portion of the white people is apprehended, there is not the slightest fear- so far as the Natives are concerned. That they should naturally be on the alert, and be putting themselves in a state of defence, cannot be ■wondered at, as they cannot understand our mode of civU ■ jurisdiction, and still less our

mode of warfare, never having up to the time of this occurrence been the subject of attack from "an armed body of white people. The justness or. propriety of that attack we will not now discuss. Notwithstanding that is the feeling of the representative of the LocafcGovernntent here, he, as every man so circumstanced would most readily and anxiously do, called to his aid the Local Magistrates, and in accor lance with their wishes, has authorized the organization of the inhabitants into a volunteer corp, and has entrusted to an efficient military settler the arrangement of a battery for the protection of the town, only requiring, as we think he is entitled to do, that no steps shall be taken by any irresponsible individuals in issuing any orders to the inhabitants unless they shall first have been submitted either to himself or some of the Magistrates of the district, and sanctioned by their approval. In answer to our contemporary's article on the Land Question, we must say, that he has treated us most unfairly. He says the Ga- I zette has chosen the present moment to enter into the discussion of the Land Claims Question. A little further on, he says the " writer argues." Why does our contemporary change his mode of designation, taking first " the Gazette" then " our contemporary," and again " writer ? " We beg to refer him to our introductory remarks, in our last number, and he will there see that, with reference to the very article he so ably dissects, we make the same remarks, viz. — " Though we take a different and more extended view of the case than our correspondent, but that it is only by collecting opinions of all parties, and weighing them calmly and dispassionately, that we can hope to see this question brought to a close, that there has been a most shameful supineness on the part both of the Company and, the Government, and to all appearance, an utter abandonment of all consideration for the painful position in which the settlers are placed, there can be no doubt. We shall continue to refer to this subject incessantly until something decisive renders all further referance unnecessary." With what fairness, after the above, our contemporary can accuse us of " distorting facts, and garbling evidence to make out our case. Again, " our contemporary appears to have borrowed from us, the opinion that the Government ought not to have recognized any r right in the Natives to land which they di f not occupy ; but he has so disfigured it, in order to make it pass for his own, as to render it hardly recognizable." We have always contended, that an opinion when clearly expressed is better repeated, than put alongside of another which is equivocal ; and we have never hesitated following that doctrine,' when we have felt we could do so to the advantage of the cause we would advocate, but we are unconscious of ever having endeavoured to garble or distort them to suit our own views. We have always * deprecated special pleading on the part of the conductors of public journals. Their arguments, we contend, however we may have failed in our case to act up to it, ought to be based upon the broad basis of sound justice, equity, and the aptitude of the proposition sought to be carried out to the existing state of things ; but to those who may wish through the medium of their columns to express their views and opinions upon, questions as they may arise, so long as they are expressed in temperate language, and void of personal attack ; it is the duty of us to afford every fair opportunity for discussion, without being held responsible for the sentiments expressed ; and our contemporary it would seem, is of the same opinion, for iv answer to a correspondent signed " One of the People," who, (by the bye, in his opinion may have an ' imposing appearance,') he says in a note " we are at all times willing to insert the communications of our correspondents, but we believe the aggression spoken of above, will be found on inquiry to be on the part of the Whites."

To the Inhabitants of Wellington and its Vicinity, and to the British, Settlers in Cook's Straits. | After the contest at Wairoa, between a iparty of armed Settlers from Nelson, and a body of tlie Natives, which has been attended with such a melancholy loss of life, I feel it to be my duty to lay before you >a statement of the results of that contest, and of the informatiomwhich I have been able to acquire. Although \have not at present any authenticated accounts pf, the, number^ of persons who . have been sla^n, I amcompeiieaTO-fee^ve that it has been verY numerous ; and there is but too much reason to apprehend that Mr. Thompson, thej Police Magistrate, and Capt. Wakefield, the Company's Agent, have fallen. ,No one amongjyou can regret more sincerely than myself ttis fearful sacrifice of human life, or can fefel more deeply the loss which the settlement has thus sustained ; but I should

fail in my duty did I not declare my conviction, after obtaining evidence from all quarters, that the affray was not the result of any premeditated design on the part of the Natives, but that on the contrary they sought by every means to avert it, and diddiot fire a shot until five of their party had' fallen, including the wife of Rangihiata, who at the moment bore his own son in her arms. Upon receiving the disastrous intelligence, feeling it to be of the first importance to obtain authentic information of the Natives, I immediately put myself in communication with those persons who were in a position to furnish accurate reports on the subject, and I have the satisfaction of informing you that the natives of Waikanae, at which place Raupero first landed, refused to allow him to remain among them, lest the friendly relations which had previously subsisted between them and the English Settlers might be destroyed ; and that .1 have every reason to believe these feelings to be shared by almost all the Natives upon the coast. No apprehension, therefore, of any aggression on their part need to be entertained ; but if from any circumstance a hostile purpose should be cherished by them, I have made arrangements which will immediately put me in possession of the fact, and enable me to make all necessary preparations to resist it. In order to strengthen this friendly feeling, I have published an address to the Natives in their own language, and have caused it to be distributed in all parts of the country, which I trust will have that effect, by maintaining a confidence in the justice of the Government and in the impartial administration of the law. At the same time I have taken measures for the protection of persons and property in this place, and the immediate vicinity, by increasing the police forte to an extent which will I trust be sufficient to meet the present exigency. I have deemed that the recent occurrence was of so serious a nature in itself, and in its probable consequences, as to call for the immediate interposition of the Local Government. I have therefore forwarded to Auckland all the information I have been able to collect, and I feel assured that, immediately upon receiving the intelligence, a portion, at least, of the troops at the disposal of the Government will be sent to this place, that a full and searching investigation will be made into all the circumstances of the transaction, and that prompt justice will be done. j I will not conclude without expressing my sense of the promptitude and zeal which~*you have displayed in coming forward to strengthen the hands of the Government, and to be prepared to resist any aggressions on the part of the I Natives, should such have been contemplated. I am happy in being ablp to assure you that there is no probability of your being called upon for actual service, but should such an occasion arise, I shall feel that I may rely | with confidence upon your support, and I shall be proud to place myself at your head. At the same time I would earnestly impress upon the importance of not doing anything which you may create unnecessary alarm, or may destroy the confidence of the Natives in our justice and forbearance — by leading them to imagine that the purely defensive measures in which you are engaged are designed to be afterwards employed in aggressive warfare. Arthur Edward Macdonogh, Police Magistrate of the Southern District of New Zealand, and Cook's Straits. , Wellington, June 26, 1843.

Poneke, Hune 24, 1843. E hoa ma,-"— Ki a rongo koutou ki nga korero a te kaiwa kawa c noho ano ki Poneke, c pai ana te tikanga mo nga tangata Maori katoa kia noho pai marie nga tangata katoa. He kupu aroha tenei na te kaiwakawa na nga Pakeha katoa ano tenei main kino ki Wairau. Ekore c riri nga Pakeha ki nga tangata Maori. Ehor ma kia ata rapua marietia te tikanga o tenei he kia kawea ki a Te Kawana te ritenga c tenei he kaua c wehi nga tangata kitei te Pakeha, me noho noaiho, i tona kainga me haere mai ki Poneke kitei te hoko hanga mo koutou. Kei nga Maori o Poneke to ritenga, mo nga tangata •katoa. Heoi ano taku korero ki a houtou, Ehoa ma na to koutou hoa aroha. Na Makironore, Na te Kaiwakawa. Poneke, June 24, 1843. E hoa ma — Xi a rongo koutou ki te tikanga o euei korero kei pohehe koutou ; c pai ana te wakaaro o nga Pakeha c rapu ana i te tikanga, nawai ranei, nawai ranei, na te Pakeha ranei, na te tangata Maori ranei, otira kia mohio koutou ki enei; kaua c rapua hehe mo tatou, amuake nei kakite tatou i te he otira kaua c wakanuia te korero ki te ngutu o te tangata otira ki a mohio nga tangata katoa, p nga kainga katoa o nga Maori, Heoi ano a matou ' korero. Xi a koutou,

- Na tp koutou hoa arojba, Wiremu Tako, ' MoTUROAj POMARE. TRANSLATION. . • Port Nicholson, June 24, 1843, Friends, — Listen to what I the Police Magistrate of Port Nicholson have to say to you. Remain quiet on the subject of this lamentable event at Wairau ; for I, and all the white people of this place, regret most sincerely this painful occurrence. We are not about to make war upon you. I wish merely to learn the real truth of the whole affair, to submit the same to the Governor, that he may cause it to be investigated. Do not fear that any white man will injure you in the slightest degree. Remain at your several positions, and pursue your intercourse with the people of Port Nicholson as usual. All the Chiefs of Port Nicholson fully understand what I have said above to be our feeling towards them. Friends — This is all I have to say to you. (Signed) M'Donooh, Police Magistrate. Port Nicholson, June 24, 1843. Friends, — Listen to the above saying, and do not mistake. Good is*the saying of the white man; to search out the truth of who is to blame : perhaps it is the white man; perhaps it is the Maori. Do not spread false reports respecting the matter : do not talk much about it. And let all the Maories at every place know this. From your friends, (Signed) William Tako, MOTUROA, Pom are.

The following Memorial and Letter to Sir George Gipps were despatched for Sydney in the Vanguard, which sailed on Thursday last. They were prepared by the Committee appointed at the public meeting, held in the Town 'Hall on Monday, the 19th instant, The Memorial was signed by the Mayor, as " Chairman of the Meeting, on behalf of the Committee." The original of the Memorial, which is to be forwarded to Auckland by the first opportunity, is now in course of receiving the signatures of all the male inhabitants of the settlement. To his Excellency the Officer administering the ' Government of New Zealand. The Memorial of her Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the inhabitants of the Borough of Wellington, in the same Colony, agreed to at a public meeting, held in the Town Hall here on Monday, the 19th of June, 1843, sheweth — That your Memorialists, induced as they have been by various considerations to immigrate to this Colony, have never failed to believe that they carried with them not only the British Laws, but the certainty of that support and protection which loyal British always receive frorr her Majesty's i Government, Without inquiring into the causes which may have operated upon or prevented the New Zealand Company from fulfilling their contracts, or those which may in like manner have induced her Majesty's Government to .delay its interference, your Memorialists presume to lay before your Excellency a simple statement of their difficulties and dangers as they now exist, and they not only strongly hope, but they confidently feel that instant ste] s will be taken to prevent some thousands of her Majesty's subjects (yielding to none in loyalty and affection,) from being If' unprotected in a condition in which the British people have never, to the knowledge of your Memorialists, allowed, even one individual to remain when that protection was required, - Placed as your Memorialists are, as colonists amongst a race of people, powerful and confident in their numbers, as yet untaught in the advantages of British law, having customs by which they have long been bound, being rude in their habits and fierce in their passions, and being in most cases both uncontrolled and uncontrollable. We lean with feelings of the deepest regret, and *ith the most anxious solicitude, that some collision has taken place upon a subject of Wai interest to both parties (the right to «nd and property), between a body of Natives and the subjects of her Majesty, J» which the blood of the latter has been shed, some lives lost and not less than 50 individuals dispersed, and the fate of «c majority unknown ; vre cannot look upon "us matter but with horror. The most feaf'ol apprehensions naturally arise as to the ttault, while we are at the same time fully sensible of the total absence on our part, of "je power to effect their rescuse. We are in™rmed that those already sacrificed and those or whoa, we fear were placed in this peril in * c course of duty ?nd aUegiancej when ca «ed upon ly the Local Authorities to sup-

port her Majesty's Laws, which the Native Population had contemned. - But our apprehensions are not confined to the district in f!which this lamentahle collision occurred, noi j the persons actually engaged in it ; we enter- ! tain grounds of alarm for our immediate neighbourhood, a considerable body of armed Natives was seen yesterday 19th June, inst., proceeding to Porirua a distance of 14 miles, and considerable excitment and warlike preparations are reported to exist amongst the natives, still nearer this place. Amidst the dangers which this environ and daily dee]ien upon us and our families, the storm of which may suddenly burst upon and destroy us ; we look round for protection and assistance, and we find none. We have neither military aid to rely upon, nor force of any description to interpose between ourselves and possible destruction, nor have we here any authorized person to receive|our complaints, direct our movements, or even to sanction the means which at this moment, we are driven to adopt for our preservation, such means nevertheless resorted to only under cruelly compelling circumstances, and being wholly intended and offered in aid of her Majesty's authority, for the support of the laws and for the preservation of the lives of her subjects. Your memorialists beg to append to this their appeal the resolutions which the body of the inhabitants of this place have arrived at, when met, as they have done, in the hour of danger for mutual support and defence, placing however, as they do, their best means and energies in the hands of her Majesty's representative, to be wielded as his judgment may direct. [ But your memorialists pray that your Excellency will bear in mind that loyal subjects of her Majesty are in danger, that they appeal to British power and justice for protection, and they trust that instead of being pointed out as the only subjects of a Queen (whose power is known in all lands) upon whom her care is not bestowed ; that by instant and effectual assistance being afforded them, it may on the contrary be shewn, that that protection when justly due, and sought from the British Crown in vainSigned by the Moyor and numerous inhabitants.

Wellington, Port Nicholson, New Zealand, June 20, 1843. Sir, — As the chairman of a committee nominated at a public meeting of the inhabitants of this borough, and by the expressed desire of such mesting, I have the honor to transmit to you a copy of a memorial addressed to his Excellency the Officer Administering the Government of this Colony, praying for aid and assistance to preserve the inhabitants of this place from the evil consequences which they fear may arise out of a recent misunderstanding and conflict with the Native population. The object in view in thus transmitting these papers to you, is to request you will be good enough to lay them before his Excellency Sir George Gipps, and solicit on behalf of the memorialists his Excellency's attention to the prayer of the memorial. We are aware that it might be deemed improper on our part thus to place before the Governor of a Colony separate and distinct in its Government from that in which the petitioners are resident, papers which may seem to require an interposition in the affairs of the petitioners ; but we trust that you will also be kind enough to state the grounds upon which we have acted, and which we hope will be found sufficient in the mind of his Excellency to justify the step, which might otherwise ap- j pear as one taken in opposition to the Officer who at present rules in this Colony. We have heard and believe, that the whole ! military force at Auckland, at the disposal of the Government, does not exceed 100 men, and we have had late intelligence of the unsettled state of the Native population in the Northern Districts, leading us to apprehend that however much the Officer at present Administering the Government of New Zealand, may feel desirous to assist us, and of which desire we entertain not the slightest doubt ; yet we fear that, circumstanced as he may be at this moment, it will not even be in his power to afford us any aid whatever, j Another difficulty also presents itself, which it is not in our power to overcome, in the infrequentcy of communication between the two settlements, and the impossibility on our parts of procuring any other mode of making \ our distress known than by the casual opportunity of vessels trading between the ports. Thus we are not only in doubt of the ability to succour, but we are even unable to make our distressed state known to the proper authorities here. Under these circumstances, we have the honour to request you will cause the documents we forward, to be' laid before his Excellency for his consideration, trusting that he will in mYVisdom take such steps in our behalf; in rendering aid to the Government of this Colony, as will enable us to receive the succour which our distressed circumstances require.

I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, G. Hunter^ Mayor. The Honorable The Colonial Secretary, &c. &c. &c. Sydney.

4> The following is a further extract from the President's speech :—: — There can he hut three kinds of public currency. Ist. Gold and silver. 2nd. The paper of State institutions ; or, 3rd. A representative of the precious metals, provided by the General Government, or under its authority. The Sub-Treasury system rejected the last in any form ; and as it was believed that no reliance could be placed on the issnes of local institutions, for the purpose of general circulation, it necessarily and unavoidably adopted specie as the exclusive currency for its own use. And this must ever be the case unless one of the other kinds be used. The choice, in the present state of public sentiment, lies between an exclusive specie currency on the one hand, and Government issues of some kind on the other, That these issues cannot be made by a chartered institution, is supposed to be conclusively settled. They must be made, then, directly by Government agents. Fdr several years they have been thus made in the form of Treasury notes, and have answered a valuable purpose. Their usefulness has been limited by their being transient and temporary ; their ceasing to bear interest at given periods, necessarily causes their speedy return, and thus restricts their range of circulation, and, being used only in the disbursements of Government, they cannot reach those points where they are most required. By rendering their use permanent, to the moderate extent already mentioned, by offering no inducement for their return, and by exchanging them for coin and other values, they will constitute, to a certain extent, the general currency so much needed to maintain the internal trade .of the country. And this is the Exchequer plan, so far as it may operate in furnishing a currency. , I cannot forego the occasion to urge its importance to the credit of the Goverment in a financial point of view. The great necessity of resorting to every proper and becoming expedient in order to place the Treasury on a footing of the highest respectability, is entirely obvious. The credit of the Government may be regarded as the -very soul of the Government itself — a principal of vitality without which all its movements are languid, and all its operations embarrassed. In this spirit the Executive felt its bound by the most imperative sense of duty, to submit to Congress, at its last session, the propriety of making a specific pledge of the land fund, as the basis for the negociation of the loans authorised to be contracted. I then thought, that such an application of the public domain, would, without doubt, have placed at the command of the Government ample funds to ! relieve the Treasury from the temporary embarrassments under which it laboured. American credit has suffered a considerable shock in Europe, from the large indebtedness of the States, and the temporary inability of some of them to meet the interest on their debts. The utter and disastrious prostration of the United. States Bank of Pennsylvania, had contributed largely to increase the sentiment of 'listrust, by reason of the loss and ruin sustained by the holders of its stock, a large portion of whom were foreigners, and many of whom were alike ignorant of our political organization, and of our actual responsibilities. It was the anxious desire of the Executive that, in the effect to negociate the loan abroad, the American negociator might be able to point the money lender to the fund mortgaged for the redemption of the principal and interest of any loan he might contract, and thereby vindicate the Government from all suspicion of bad faith or inability to meet its engagements. Congress differed from the Executive in this view of the subject. It became nevertheless, the duty of the Executive to' resort to every expedient in its power to negociate the -authorised loan. After a failure to do so in the American market, a citizen of high character and talent was sent to Europe with no better success ; and thus the mortifying spectacle has been presented of the inability of this Government to obtain a loan so small as not in the whole to amount to more than one-fourth of its ordinary annual income ; at a time when the Governments of Europe, although involved in debt, and with their subjects heavily burdened with taxation," readily obtain loans of any amount, at a greatly reduced rate of interest. It would be unprofitable to look further into this anomalous state of things, but I cannot conclude without adding that, for a Government which has paid off its debts of two wars with the largest maritime power of Europe, and now owing a debt -which is almost next to nothing when compared with its boundless !

resources, a Government, the strongest in the world, because emanating from the popular will, and firmly rooted in the affections of a great and free people, and whose fidelity to its engagements has never heen questioned ; for such a Government to have tendered to the capitalists of other countries an opportunity for a small investment of its stock, and yet to have failed, implies either the most unfounded distrust in its good faith, or a purpose, to obtain which, the course pursued is the most fatal which could have been adopted. It has now become obvious to all men that the Government must look to its own means for supplying its wants r and it is consoling to know that those means are altogether adequate for the object. The Excaequer if adopted, will greatly aid in bringing about this result.