New Zealand Gazette AND WELLINGTON SPECTATOR. Wednesday, July 12, 1843.

New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, Volume IV, Issue 262, 12 July 1843, Page 2

New Zealand Gazette AND WELLINGTON SPECTATOR. Wednesday, July 12, 1843.

The deplorable condition ;iu which .this Settlement is in the fourth year of its existence, compared with what was expected to have been its state by this time by those who founded itj is a fact to which it is impossible to shut our eyes. We have looked around on every side, and we have conversed and en..quired every where, in the hope of ascertaining the true cause of the failure of these expectations, and we have .come to tlie conclusion fliat one cause, one fundamental cause exists, the removal of which can alone afford us a hope of recovering from our present depressed condition. ..-That cause is, and has . been all alongth e Auckland 1 Government ; and .- we' do not hesitatato say, thatthough we may struggle, on '.und^'r'i.ts baneful influence, and after years of suffering, . become a stable and valuable Colony," yet that nothing could tend more to shorten the period Qf our. calamity and to revive 'the.Bunken vitality ,of our community, than a totai,. immediate, and final separation from the-iAuckland staff: How diffeerent wstfour condition, how different our prospects during that short period previous to^ interference' of the British Government, when we'first established ourselves on these shores, before our amicable relation with the Natives was disturbed, our or pecuniary resources drainedinto a distant Treasury. And how easily traceable are all the subsequent evils which, have accrued to us, to the mischievous and wicked mis-government under which we have laboured. •' We were then a happy little republic/ governed as far as government was requisite by officers of our own appointment, or still more by our mutual good feeling towards each other ; and whatever taxes it might have been desirable to impose would have been expended in local improvements and 'the advancement of our own prosperity. We are now the of an .absolute Colonial Monarchy, inspected and supervised btf a deputed staff of paid authorities, and an armed vessel comes .round . every two months to collect a tribute from us, which is carried away < to be expended in ; a distant place, and which recent accounts shew to be the only, regular ' resource on which the Go^ vernment can rely. *

1 Let the men of Wellington remember what their expectations were when they left their native land, how bright a^pj^ospeft was open to their view, how ardent tfteir^Ppes, their energy how vigorous ; let them look at the realization of their hopes, and the fruit of their expectations, and then say what is due to those, whose interference and mal-adminis-tration has dashed the promised cup from their lips. We would do nothing hasty, nothing rash, nothing illegal, nothing which might bring those who do it within the reach of the laws against sedition; but we would call to mind that' systematic, determined, legal method of agitation, which has effected so many political reforms in the country from which we came out, and we would never cease to press with all the urgency, with all the force we could muster, for such redress as we conceive ourselves entitled to. Never imagine that any redress will come but from ourselves; "Who would be free himself must strike the blow.' If ever we hope to have redress we must up and demand it, insist upon it, and cease not to demand and insist till we obtain it. To rest our hopes upon the correspondence of the Directors of the New Zealand Company with my Lord Stanley, or imagine that the representations of what our Governors call the venal press of Wellington will no any thing j for us, is folly. Some plan must be devised by which the true position aud the past history of these settlements may be brought in the plainest possible manner before parliament and the throne. We must no longer suffer ourselves to be soothed and deluded by soft speeches, or conciliatory visits ; we must no longer soothe and delude ourselves with the idea that a new Governor will put all things straight; we must resolutely and like men look the matter in the face, and, without hesitation or delay, seek a remedy more certain than these soothing and delusive hopes, If we do not, we shall, beyond all question, sink into a mere pork and potatoe colony ; no man of sense who can get away will remain among us, an 1 no man of capital will come among us. We wish to create no panic, to tell before their time no startling truths ; we say nothing but what every man in this place has said to himself, and many have said to their neighbours. Why should we fear to speak what stares every one in the face? Some Government officer will say we select a bad time for our agitation.. We say we ( select the best. We select the moment when*! the fruits -of- jnis-govecmsenfc are -.most ap-> parent; when we are smarting under immediate suffering ; when the ingredient of bloodshed fills up the measure of the iniquities of our Governors, bloodshed arising from the miserable unprotected state in which they have left us. At the public meeting which was held to take into consideration the best means of relieving us from our unprotected condition, and of defending ourselves from the danger which we apprehended, more than one gentleman, if we remember rightly, urged the necessity of steps being taken to obtain general redress for our grievances. These suggestions it was impossible to listen to at the moment, when our only object in corainc together' was to put ourselves in a position to protect- life, and property, then in imminent peril; but the suggestions • were withdrawn, on an understanding (if we mistake not), that a public meeting should be subsequently held | to talce the subject fully into consideration. ! Now that we are in some degree in a -position , of defence, one. battery erected, another in course of erection, and nearly 400 volunteers under arms, we hope* time may be- spared- to effect the other more important _and scarcely less pressing object. A' public meeting should- be called, not to indulge our political i orators with an opportunity for display, nor I our grumblers, slow of speech, with an opportunity for- .boring, our ears ; but the object, of the meeting should be, we respectfully submit, to appoint a working committee, which j may thoroughly investigate, the past historyand present circumstances of the Colony; and ' devise, if possible, some means of raising usi from our depressed condition. It should be constituted of men of sense and intelligence,' who will be likely, from their stake in the! Colony, to go into the matter with earnestness' and honesty t ; no Government/ officer, no Government expectant, no .person .who is'committed ,to any particular interest which' may warp his judgment to views injurious to the general welfare, should be of the number.: A vessel is advertised to sailldirect for England in all August ; , and we presume, as the' whale fishery is prospering, there is every, -prospect of her being dispatched with a cargo. There is time j&nough in the interval to effect our object, and the result should then be transmitted home 4in • such a mariner, as will ensure if prompt and effectual attention.

There are now' five ''Blue Books "relating to New Zealand. The first is a Report, of

the House of Lords on the State of New Zealand, previously to any colonization having taken place, published in 1838. The second is a Report of "the House of Commons, relating chiefly to the Plans of the New Zealand Company, just at the time when this Settlement was founded, published in 1840. The' third, fourth, and fifth, are collections of correspondence, dispatches, and other official documents, extending over .a period from December 1838 to August 1842. The last of these Blue Books has just been put' into our hands. We are not aware whether there is another copy in the Settlement ; we presume not, as we remember that our cotemporary the Colonist, some time ago, requested the loan, of one from his readers, and we do not recollect to have seen any reference to it in his columns since. It is a most extraordinary collection of documents, developing in the most lively and graphic manner all the secret machinery of Government, and we shall lose no time in making our readers better acquainted with it. Several parts of it relate to this Settlement, and those who remember past events will, we think, be somewhat amused, though, perhaps, a little indignant also, when they see the colouring which has been given to them by an official pen. The principal actor in this new piece is, of course, the late Governor Hobsoli, and we naturally feel some delicacy in discussing the actions of one who, whatever his feelings may have been, and however we may have suffered under his misgovern ment, has gone to render his account to an impartial Judge, and has no longer the opportunity of defending himself here. It would, however, be false delicacy if this feeling were to prevent us from laying the events of his Government before our readers, or from commenting upon them in whatever way they deserve. They are matter of' history now, and we trust that nothing personal or unworthy of our pen will escape us. , An additional reason why we should exercise a perfect freedom in discussing these matters is, that though the late head of the Colonial Government is beyond the reach of reply, the officers who advised him on his various measures, whose reports and opinions we shall have occasion to quote, still continue to administer the Government of the Colony ; and as it canpot be supposed that the death of their chief should have worked an entire revolution of opinion and action in the camp of his subordinates, we are the more anxious to examifie closely the events of the past administration, that we may the better know who and what they are who now hold the reins. One of the most important points in rela tion to this settlement which is touched upon, is the decision of Lord Stanley that the seat of Government should remain at Auckland. In communicating this decision his Lordship writes thus.. — "On a subject so peculiarly local, and to the right understanding of which so much exact typographical knowledge is essential, my opinonsmust of course be guided by the comparison of statements transmitted to me, and by balancing the weight of conflicting authorities. Approaching the question in this manner, and unaided by any personal acquaintance with the localities, I have thought that there is such a clear preponderance of motives in favour of your choice c,s to justify me in advising the Queen to direct that Auckland should be the seat of Government of the new Colony ; and I have received her Majesty's commands to acquaint you that such is her Majesty's pleasure." His Lordship does, not specify what authorities he had recourse to in determining the) i question ; but we find two elaborate reports j upon the subject, which most probably were those which weighed with his Lordship in coming to his decision. One of these is a lengthy comparison between the advantages of Auckland and Wellington, drawn up by Messrs. Roy, Blunt,. Duncan and Co., who .are we beleive London Attorneys, and who do not profess to have had any personal knowledge of the matter, but to have been instructed (which means paid to make the statement) by several settlers at Auckland and others possessing property in the neighbourhood. Of course in this document the site- of .Auckland is as usual heralded as adapted for the formation of the finest metropolis in the world, "and Wellington depicted as only fitted to be the depot of the market produce of a respectable yeomanry, and a small port of deposit. We have not space to examine all the statements contained in it ; but of their general accuracy some idea may be formed from the allegation that " the slightest glance .at the map will shew that j Auckland is as nearly as possible the centre of the island." It must be a very slight glance; for the slightest examination will shew that it is not near the centre of^the usland. It is just twp and a half.degrees from the northern extremity, and four and a half from the southern ; and the area of that part of the island which is southward of

Auckland is frohx fire to six times as extensive as that in which Auckland is situate. This' sort of a centre by no means squares with our ideas. The other document to which we allude, is the well known Report of Lieut. Shortland, published in the "Blue Book" of 1840, which originally determined Governor Hobson to prefer the site of Auckland before he* had personally visited any otlie.* part of the country except the locality of Russell. Of course it would be unfair to refer it to the inhabitants of Port Nicholson, to say whether this report upon their site be accurate or not ; that they are prejudiced in favour of their own selection is probable enough. But, we find in the new " Blue Book," that just a year after Mr. Shortland made his report, the Surveyor General, Mr. Felton Mathew, was called upon to deliver his opinion on the subject. This gentleman being an inhabitant of Auckland, (and we presume one of those officers who had obtained town sections there in a manner to which we shall have occasion to allude on a future occasion,) was not likely to be prejudiced in favour of "Wellington in preference to his own location ; and to his report we appeal for the refutation of Mr. Shortland's. Mr. Shortland among various other matters thus reports. " Port .Nicholson is situated about 50 miles from Cape Palliser. The principal headlands are rugged and precipitous, and off them extends long ledges of rocks, which present anything but an inviting appearance to strangers. The harbour is at the bottom of a deep bay, and its entrance is not easily distinguished, until you arrive close off the heads, on account of a reef of rocks which appear across it ; but when inside it opens out into a beautifnl and extensive harbour, in which there are no dangers of any consequence : the anchorage in Lambton Harbour is extremely good, but the one off the beach of Petoni is by no means safe. Its principal defects are the violent winds which always blow in and out the harbour, and with such force as to prevent merchant skips from either entering or going out ,• but a lighthouse and good pilots would in a great measure obviate these difficulties. The bay is capcious ; it is surrounded by high and broken hills except on the N.E. side where there is an extensive valley through which four rivers, or rather a river dividing itself into four branches runs. The only other level space in the bay is on the" S.W. side, where there is about 1,000 acres of undulating land, 600 of which are available for a site for a town. This is the site selected by the New Zealand Company. An industrious yeomanry might gain a good subsistance, and a sufficient supply might be raised for a considerable population, but there is no field for extensive agricultural operations. The climate is healthy but cold ; and in winter the hills are covered with snow ( ! ) Port Nicholson is important only as a port of deposit." Mr. Mathew reports thus : " The qualities of Port Nicholson, as a very safe, convenient, and accessible harbour^ are now so much better known than formerly, that it would ba superfluous for me to offer any observation on the subject, more especially as his Excellency's personal acquaintance, and his superior judgment on' that point, enable him to form his own opinion ; it will be sufficient, therefore, to observe that the harbour appears to be in every respect unobjectionable. The Town itself is advantageously situated around the shores of that indentation of the Port which is distinguished by the name of Lambton Harbour, and presents a very eligible site for a Town of moderate extent. There is a very beautiful Flat known as Thorndon Flat, having an area probably of 50 acres, and at the head of the bay there is an extent of about 300 or 400 acres of level and undulating land, highly favourable for the purpose for which it was intended. On the whole, the site of the Town is certainly admirably adapted to the purpose, and would afford ample space for one of considerable extent." On these two discrepant reports, as far as we have extracted them, we have one observation to make — Mr. Shortland's report was made before Governor Hobson had seen this Port — Mr. Mathew's was made after that event. Great as. their discrepancy is, reference to the respective documents will shew that they only differ on those points on which the Governor had, in the interval between them, enjoyed the opportunity of exercising his own judgment ; and on those points where he had been unable to do so, or was not so competent to form an opinion, they are wonderfully unanimous. Surely this should have led him to suspect, and should have led Lord Stanley to suspect, that all was not right; and that it was possible that there might be as much mis-statement where they consented to agree, as where they were obliged to differ. And indeed, what credit ought to be given to either of them ? Mr. Shortland's descriptien of the Port, when summed up, is, that it

is " one of the least safe, convenient, and accessible that could be found, in every respect objectionable."* Mr. Matthew, checked by the Governor's eye, asserts that "it is admitted to be a very safe, convenient, and accessible harbour, in every respect unobjectionable." Is it possible that important statements should be more directly at variance ? Do they not afford the strongest evidence that the one or the other of the reporters is un- . worthy of credit, incapacitated ' either by . natural defect of understanding, or by some violent prejudice ? When Mr. Shortland last visited us he was received in a manner which we thought extremely creditable to the settlers. They did not on the one hand (with a very few unimportant exceptions) throw themselves into his arms as a man who had the preferment of the colony at his disposal ; nor did they on the other hand forget the respect which was due to his office, to indulge in hostile feelings generated by his past conduct in reference to this place. If he should come among us again in the same capacity we hope he would be received in the same respectful manner ; . and if he should come in a private capacity we should still hope to see a spirit of forgiveness exercised towards him. But is has • been said that Mr. Shortland's last visit was made with the view of conciliating the inhabitants of Port Nicholson, in the "expectation that a local resident may be appointed among us, and that he may be the man. If this should prove to be true, then we. say it will be right that we should remember the past, and that we should use every means in our power to persuade Government not to inflict upon us a gentleman who has always shewn so strong a prejudice against the settlement, and who, whatever his private worth may be, does not appear to possess one quality which should make us desirous to have him among us as a public functionary. We shall return to the Blue book in our next number.

The Police Magistrates Assiduity. —Our readers will recollect a statement, which was extensively diffused both by handtills and in the newspapers of this place, put forth by the Police Magistrate, relating to the late melancholy massacre at Wairau, in which the conduct of the Natives was greatly palliated and the blame laid on the shoulders of the white man. We allude to the document which contains the alleged fact, that the Natives did not fire a shot till five of their party liad fallen, and Ranghiatia's wife with a child in her arms among the number. This statement was understood to rest on the evidence collected by Mr. Hiitfield the Missionary ; and was proved, as our readers will remember, to be utterly false in every material particular a day or two after when the brig arrived with the depositions taken on the spot. How happens it then we ask, that no recantation of the statement has been published on the authority of the Police Magistrate who has seen the later depositions ? He promulgated with the utmost assiduity fabrications (not his own but of others) in which the white man is the delinquent ; and when it turns out to be untrue, he neglects or declines to give the weight of his name and office to the coun-ter-statement, leaving the false one to find its way to England and Auckland uncontradicted. We ask for some explanation of this one sided proceeding, and shall probably return to the subject.

We were visited on Saturday, about S.p.m., by a slight earthquake. The shock lasted, we should say, about two minutes, during which houses rocked perceptibly, and for a moment some persons felt considerable alarm. We have hot heard that the slightest damage was done by it, and if it be a specimen of the worst with which New Zealand is visited (it was the worst out of three or foar which we have felt), it need not be a subject of alarm to anyone. • Some. persons say that there was a repetition of it in the course of the evening, but we cannot say that we perceived it, and as we^did not indulge in an after-dinner siesta, we tmnk we should have' 'observed it ,if it had happened. ...

The Wellington Volunteers mustered on Sunday, for inspection, on Te Aro Flat. The numbers appeared to be about the same as on the previous Sunday. There was a considerable improvement both in the' uniform and the uniformity of .the Corps, and the whole on_this occasion were well armedi There discipline also showed marks of advancement ; nor must we forget the Band, which we hope will not relapse into inactivity when peaceful times return, but occasionally give us the benefit of their harmony. The ' Cavalry were in scarlet ; and we observed one of the number who had evidently had a brush w tth an enemy on some former occasion.

Died.— At Lombard Street, Te Aro, on Monday, the 10th inst., after an illness of two years, Mary Anne (aged 22), the wife of Joan Wade, Esq., Wellington, merchant.