NEW ZEALAND AND POLYNESIA.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4168, 30 July 1874, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND AND POLYNESIA.

We have already published memoranda on the subject of the Polynesian trade and government, written by the Premier, and forwarded to England by His Excellency the Governor. ■ The following are two of the despatches written on. the same subject by His Excellency : —• Government House, Auckland, New Zealand, October 22, 1873. My Lord,- —On the eve of my departure from Wellington, on a short visit to this Province, the Premier-, the Hon. Mr. Vogel, called upon me and placed in my hands a Ministerial memorandum on the subject of the NavigatorIslands, in which your Lordship is well aware a considerable interest has for some years past been felt in this Colony, and with reference to which, at the request of rny advisers, I addressed you in my despatch No. 65, 1873, upon the Ist August. I think it right on this occasion to transmit the Ministerial memorandum. 2. Your Lordship will doubtless expect that in so doing I shall make some observations upon its subject-matter, and I trust that I shall not thereby appear to obtrude an opinion upon a question which does not naturally fall within the sphere of my duty. It is unnecessary to say I should in no case engage in, still less encourage, an agitation among the inhabitants of a Colony under my government, having for its object to influence or hamper the policy of Her Majesty’s Government in any particular. 3. But the future regulation or government of the Pacific has for many years past engaged the lively interest of the Australian Colonies, and the difficulties which have lately increased in relation to the Fiji group, combined with the rumors of the interferenco of other powers in the affairs of other groups, have aroused anxiety, if not impatience, as to the future bearing of their condition upon the interests of our growing communities. 4. The concern of those communities in the future of the Pacific is founded both on general and special grounds. The former they share with a large portion of the British nation, but in an increased degree, on account of their closer and personal interest, and of the part which they have themselves taken in the extension of the British sovereignty. Having themselves added important branches to the British Empire, they wish to see the valuable territory in their own neighborhood brought under the government of the Crown ; and they feel dissatisfaction, if not disgust, that lawless actions disgraceful to their nation should he committed, for the most part by their fellow-subjects, for want of the extension of that authority which they think should follow them wherever they go. 5. They regard, too, with aversion the acquisition by foreign nations, whom in modern times we have preceded and far outstripped in this hemisphere, of islands and groups of islands whose trade is already valuable and is capable of great expansion, and whoso people have evinced a preference for our government or a desire for mu- protection. They know how generally commerce has followed the flag ; and looking to the future, they contemplate with discontent the loss of that advantage which might have been expected to follow the extension of British government and the consequent investment of British capital throughout the Southern Pacific. 6. But there is also an apprehension of the danger to their interest by the possession by any great power other than England, of the great natural harbors which might Jbe made naval stations in case of the interruption of the peace of Europe, a danger which arises out of that connection with England which they are so desirous to maintain. 7. My advisers feel that none of the Ausstraliau Colonies are more concerned in these matters than New Zealand, whosenoarerposition to the Fiji, Samoan, and friendly groups render them more valuable to her trade, and move dangerous to her should they fall into the hands of a foreign and possibly an unfriendly power. 8. In view of tho disinclination hitherto manifested by Her Majesty’s Government to undertake responsibility with regard to them, they have sought permission to enter into arrangements with the Native chiefs -which may tend to secure their good will and prevent the alienation of their land. This has been proposed rather as an expedient than as au equivalent for the far more effectual influence at the disposal of tho Imperial Government,

9. The imminent risk of a collision between a portion of the European settlers in Fiji and the de facto Government, which is only averted by the anomalous interference of Her Majesty’s ships, renders it probable to my advisers that Her Majesty’s Government will not be able much longer to abstain from a more decided step, amounting to government in some form, and they are very anxious that the opportunity should not be absolutely lost, of taking advantage of the desire for European protection which has for some years been expressed by the chiefs of the Samoan group. Mr. Williams, Her Majesty’s Consul at Apia, has lately visited Auckland on his way to Sydney on account of a very serious bodily affliction, and he has reported that the chiefs, disappointed by the non-acceptance of their overtures to ourselves, have contracted some sort of engagement with an American Commissioner, involving exclusive concessions, and understood to contemplate the establishment of a naval station by the United States in the magnificent harbor of Pango-Pango. Considering, however, that the Government of the United States, while securing the advantages of influence over certain of the Pacific Island groups, have hitherto abstained from assuming sovereignty or responsibilities, and that the Senate has shown itself averse to the acquisition of distant territories, my advisers think that should the Govennent delay to propose, or Congress hesitate to agree to, such an undertaking as is stated to be in contemplation, it may be possible to transfer once more the overtures of the chiefs to ourselves. They have therefore moved me to solicit from Her Majesty’s Government immediate permission to send a commissioner there, and to avail themselves of such opportunity as may present itself either to preserve for New Zealand as a British possession equal rights and advantages with the United States, or to gain a more considerable footing in the [event of the Government of the United States not following up their present advantage. 10. It would be desirable at the same time to establish friendly relations with the chiefs of the Friendly or Tonga group ; but as it is understood that the Native Government is better organised and averse to foreign control, no question of sovereignty with regard to them now presents itself. It would, however, be intended by maintaining friendly relations with them, to secure, if possible, their possession, should internal dissensions or decay render them available to foreign acquisition. 11. My advisers, in their present memorandum, claim for the Government of New Zealand a special aptitude for dealing with a Native population ; and it must be remembered that the inhabitants of the Samoan group are of the same type, and indeed are believed to be the very stock of the Maori population of New Zealand. lam aware that this assertion of my advisers is one that may be controverted, but I believe that it must be admitted that, whatever mistakes have been committed, the intention of the Government of New Zealand towards the Natives, from its first establishment, has been more just and equitable than that of any European settlers who have secured dominion over a colored race, if that of the English, and perhaps the French, in India be set aside.

12. My advisers do not attempt at this moment to define the details of a plan which must depend upon so many previous contingencies ; but they notice as possible alternatives, government or rather control by officers upon a footing, as I understand it, similar to that of the' residents at Native Courts in India, or as Provinces as an extension of the New Zealand General Government. I may he permitted to say that, looking at the geographical circumstances, that of the Mysore Commissioner would appear to me a more suitable type than the former, and that great difficulties would arise from the reception into a parliamentary union of Provinces, themselves having responsible government, of one or more in which, from the nature of the case, representative institutions appear to be utterly impossible. If those imply equal representation irrespective of race, the white settlers would decline them, as they do in Fiji; if they do not, they would l)e a sham and an injustice. Moreover, in this respect New Zealand offers no true analogy, inasmuch as, owing to her temperate climate, the white race soon outnumbered the colored ; whereas in the Pacific, white labor being impossible, the great preponderance of the colored races must he kept up by importation, should it fail from natural causes.

13. That some good government through colonial agency is possible I do not doubt, and that it would be greatly preferred to the present anarchy and its attendant evils and contingent dangers by all the British Colonies of the South, whether prepared themselves to undertake it or not, your Lordship is already informed ; but at the present day, and with the heavy cost of their own development, any one of them could undertake it at great disadvantage and, as it seems to me, with infinitely inferior prospects of benefit to the subject race, than would accrue were the Imperial Government to do so with a due recognition of the magnitude of the task and with corresponding grasp. 14. At the same time, my advisers are prepared to propose to the General Assembly the measures necessary to give effect to the decision of Her Majesty’s Government, should it be to empower this Colony to undertake the government, in any form or degree that might be selected, of such of the islands as might be now or from time to time submitted to us by their chiefs or populations. It may be expected that such arrangements, whether with Her Majesty’s Government or with one of her possessions, would become more numerous according to the success and advantage to the native communities which might attend the first experiments. 15. Since writing the foregoing, my attention has been called to the statements in Sydney newspapers, that, at the instance of his advisers, Sir Hercules Robinson has informed your Lordship, by telegraph, of the desire of the Colony of Hew South Wales that Her Majesty’s Government should interfere to prevent the consequences of 'the present anarchy in Fiji. My advisers desire that I should express as their view that the state of affairs in Fiji imperatively requires the control of Her Majesty’s Government, and that in the event of their preferring to empower a Colonial Government to undertake that control rather than do so themselves, New Zealand is that Colony which has the most natural affinity to Fiji and the adjacent groups, both in regard to its comparative proximity and to the greater facilities of intercourse afforded by the prevailing winds. —I have, &0., James Fergdsbon, Governor. The Right Hon. the Earl of Kimberley. Government House, Wellington, New Zealand, 11th March, 1874. My Lord,' —I have the honor to inform you that a Joint Stock Company is in course of formation in New Zealand, for the purpose of engaging largely in trade with the islanders of the Pacific Ocean, which my advisers propose to assist by a guarantee, by the Government of New Zealand, of interest at the rate of 5 per cent, upon its share capital, retaining certain power of control over its operations. 2. This scheme was at first devised by a private individual, who contemplated an attempt to form a company in England and Germany. He communicated it to the Premier, the Hon. Mr. Vogel, C.M.G., who deemed it to be one which New Zealand should not only encourage, but adopt and control, in consideration of the advantages which would accrue to her through a reciprocal trade with the islands, and possibly by becoming, at a future time, the centre of their government. 3. Your Lordship is already aware that Mr. Yogel is very anxious that any opportunity of promoting these objects should not be lost, and I have some reason to believe that in such a course he would be supported by the opinion of the Colony. 4. In several conversations on the subject, I have pointed out to him that any project with respect to the Pacific which the Government of the Colony might adopt, must be kept free from political elements to have the sanction of Her Majesty's Government. Your Lordship’s recent despatches with respect to arrangements with the chiefs of the Navigator Islands, show that no project involving interference with the Government of those or other islands would be in accordance with their views/

5. Mr, Vogel has now placed in my hands a paper, in which the views are set forth, of which I enclose a copy,.together with a memorandum therein referred to, which he had previously addressed confidentially to myself, a supplement to the former, in which is stated the result of conferences between himself and Mr. "Whitaker, a barrister of old standing in the Colony, as the representative of the promoters of the Company, and the heads of agreement contemplated to he entered into between the Government and the promoters, and intended to be laid before the General Assembly along with the Bill by which the Company will be incorporated and the Government empowered to support it. 6. Your Lordship will perceive that important and extensive as is the scheme embodied in these papers, it does not include any political features, or involve any direct or indirect Imperial responsibilities. Any footing which the Company might gain in the islands would be as private individuals resident in foreign countries, and deriving their position and privileges solely from the existing rulers whoever they might he. 7. At the same time, Mr. Vogel does not disguise his hopes that the establishment and operations of such a company would tend to the strengthening of British influence in the numerous communities of the Pacific Ocean, to the acquisition by New Zealand of a leading position, as representing the mother country, and ultimately to her becoming tbe head of a new “Dominion.” 8. The scheme as indicated by Mr. Vogel’s memorandum almost directly contemplated political engagements, and certainly the establishment of the company upon exclusive terms for the benefit of New Zealand. It remained to be seen how far these views would be embodied in a Bill, but in the form which it has now assumed, and especially in the proposed head of agreement, which will, I assume, constitute the real substance of the measure, the Bill merely enabling the Government to enter into such an agreement, such features are eliminated, and I do not perceive any provisions which would necessarily require the reservation of the measure for the signification of Her Majesty’s pleasure thereon. 9. I had pointed out to Mr. Vogel that there were features in the scheme, as at first devised, which might possibly render such reservation necessary, and I have no doubt that the Government and the company will be very desirous of avoiding any proposals which would involve consequent delay and uncertainty, which might very injuriously affect the success of their project. They have rivals, not only in other rising commercial communities, but in foreign Governments, who are not insensible to the value of the field for commercial enterprise on the one hand, and of the strategic positions on the other, which is presented by the scattered, but collectively populous, islands of the Pacific, 10. In my despatch No. S2, of the 22nd October, 1873, covering a Ministerial memorandum with reference to the Navigator Islands, I endeavored to present to your Lordship’s consideration the aspiration and sentiments entertained in New Zealand on this subject, and the anxiety felt lest the opportunities which have been, and may be still, open to the extension of British influence over the groups nearest to tills Colony, should be lost, and lest, through the disinclination of Her Majesty’s Government to extend its responsibilities, and so not only that the probable commercial advantages accruing from political influence might be forfeited, but that foreign powers might establish naval stations in positions which in the future might be disquieting if not hazardous to the Colonial communities,, whose future is estimated at a high rate by themselves. 11. It is now considered certain that the Government of the United States have accepted the tender of the protectorate of the Navigator (Samoan) group, and especially the concession of the excellent harbor of PangoPango as a naval station, which the chiefs had previously offered to Her Majesty’s Government, an event which can hardly be regarded otherwise than as a misfortune by this community. 12. In the scheme with which lam desirous ox fully acquainting your Lordship, there is undoubtedly concerned the same motives which have constantly actuated the people and Government of this Colony, and which perhaps are characteristic of the nation to which they belong. It is not surprising that the spirit which has so widely extended the British Colonies, which has led our fellow countrymen to settle upon many shores, and now, as in North America, to bind distant settlements together in a strong and united dominion, should be displayed by those who have planted so deeply in this hemisphere the roots of British power. 13. In the great British Colonies of North America, commercial undertakings' have not been freo from political features ; and in the material assistance which the mother country has afforded, by means ofthe Imperial guarantee, to the intercolonial railways, their political and strategic importance have been expressly recognised in Parliament. If, in the scheme now in question, similar considerations are contingent, it may not be improper to remark that any Imperial liabilities which may be anticipated are only such as are involved by the extension of British commerce, which ever entails possible claims upon the protection of the Imperial forces ; but that to discourage such extension upon that account, would imply disapproval of those national tendencies which have contributed so largely to the national power. 14. I would beg leave to remark, also, that for the development of these Colonies spontaneous growth cannot be relied upon. Such Colonies, at least in their early stages, as leave their supply of labor, their public works, their commercial undertakings, to follow naturally the demand, are stagnant or slow in their rise; while those which stimulate their own progress by energetic if well-devised measures, advance by rapid strides. In one sense, much of the present prosperity of New Zealand is artificial It has been found, for example, that active agencies and liberal inducements are required to divert the stream of immigration from seeking the nearer shores of America; the means of internal communications are only constructed by the direct agency of Government, or by its guarantee of profit to contractors. Shipping companies must often be promoted, and submarine telegraphic companies subsidised. The assistance or encouragement of a trading and shipping company in the Pacific by the Colonial Government, is only thus a fresh extension of a system under which the progress of the Colony is already rapid. 15. In the hope that in the measure in which the present scheme will be embodied, notwithstanding the avowed aspirations with which it is supported, there may be no provisions which will render it my duty to reserve it, I never- ' theless desire to make your Lordship fully acquainted with its history and scope, having regard to its possible bearing upon the policy, of Her Majesty's Government with reference to other kindred and pending questions, at such an early period that I may receive any directions which you may desire to give before the Bill has arrived at the stage at which my decision will be required.—X have, &c. t Jakes Feugussox, Governor, The Eight Hon. the Earl of Kimberley.