THE COLONIST.

Colonist, Issue 20, 29 December 1857, Page 2

THE COLONIST.

NELSON; TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1857.

" As truth is truth, . And, told by halves, may, from a simple thing By misconstruction to a monster grow, I|'£~, Til tell the whole truth." r Sheridan' Knowles.

After long years of quiet, in this Southern Island, it will require careful precaution, vigilant attention,*1 and decided manfulness and unanimity on the part of the Anglo race, to secure order and civilisation. Whenever the gold mania has possessed a people, whether in Mexico, Peru, California, or Australia, there, every form of crime, of plu nder, and of atrocity has been displayed. The fairest portions of the world have been transformed, into Tartarean haunts of pollution, blood, and misery. No anarchy, no violence, no mode of oppression and degradation, not even the calamities of plague, war, and famine, can he more hurtful to the intellectual tone, the domestic comfort, and the moral, not to say physical, well-being of society, than the various baneful influences of the gold-field: For "filthy lucre," a very questionable gain under the best circumstances, you suffer, awfully, the loss of social purity and repose, salutary effort, refined enjoyment, and that high selfapproval which a conscious hoard of ennobling knowledge and virtuous principles and affections delightfully ensures. , ~.•-.-■:-• •

Of course the State of the explorers and diggers must ever be determined by their motives and., rules of actibnl.^'.^Ve' can suppose men with* most praiseworthy objects in contemplation,—such as. the payment of*debts, the improvement of afamily,;, or the purchase of A freehold,—dooming,themselves for a season to the drudgery and privations of the diggings. Yet such persons, if their minds remain undegraded by their occupation, will mostly experience something of humiliation in following what cannot but seem a sordid pursuit. If unsuccessful, they feel as if they had paid their selfesteem for a certain loss of time and application; if successful, they; return to their homes as from a battle,/with wounds of which they may not speak, but with no honor save that of spoils gained in. common with wretches steeped in every vice. It may be some satisfaction to know that their gains have not been wrung from either the feeble or the unfortunate, but have been won from the secret .chambers and corners of nature, with injury to none but themselves, in some new form of pain or disease. Men of nerve, determination and elevated purpose, like firemen apparelled in ■well-woven asbestos,.may exert themselves in the midst of mischief, scorching as a conflagration; but their risk is imminent. He has had good luck indeed who goes in and out without a singe or a burn. On the other hand the young, the inexperienced, the thoughtless, the rash, the easy, and the unconfirmed, in right decisions and resolves, with the vicious, idle, intemperate and desperate, are all hurried into the flame of a devouring ruin. Most of these may have a kind of instinctive, vague perception of danger, but they fancy the avenues I of escape are innumerous, and so they venture into jeopardy disregarding the signs of destruction. They are to some extent as excited and demoralised soldiers rushing to the sack of a city: they believe there are numberless open streets out of which they can bear rich plunder, and so they dash into every cellar and passage careless of smoke, showering sparks, and falling dwellings. Alas! there chances of safety lessen every moment. But one thing is certain, they will not return so lightly burdened wM'^vrbng as when they plunged into;! its confusion.' ~^m - >'■-.■*.-- ■•■ -. w •-•■•-•-■<•*- ••-«*'-;• j

Ominous croakers we can never be. Every pulse of our being beats too strongly with kindlyregards for our fellow men for that; our hopes too, both with regard to their nearer or remoter destinies, are too intently fixed on the upper regions of unclouded light for allowing the morbid fears and suspicions of fretful and complaining tempers. Yet a judgment in the prime of an experience, sufficiently aloof from the eddies of ordinary selfishness, constrains us to remark on at least some of the pernicious results of discoveries in our auriferous districts. For the life of us we cannot indulge in those sanguine ideas of prosperity that appear to enchant tob many. There is a debasing tone of observation allowed to pass without note or correction, although it tends to shew how unprosperous we should all have been if it had riot been for the findings at Massacre Bay* &c.; some mere.temporary depression in farming or trade being the main datum from whence all such limited notions are extracted. Now, for once, we beg to differ from the current opinion hi this matter. We think that a spirited exploration of the country, immigrations into the interior, a good system of land sales, and our usual steady progress in every department of industry, not forgetting the opening of our beds of coal, iron, and copper, would have given ub surer, purer, safer means of prosperity than our more exclusive endeavours after gold can ever realiz^Nowiy little, just now,

respecting the untold superiority of the former in relation to almost every thing of a moral and more spiritual order. But whfch we survey, in the;;pfospect of probabilities, the ills always attending golden dreams, arid; the slavish lusts they occasion, the disappointments and disgusts they originate, or aggrivate, we confess that we ate j affected both deeply and painfully; and we should be ashamed of oiir hearts if we did not pray, and desire every, thinking mind to pray,,and strive also; for. something more suited to the aspirations of every true patriot. The country of gold-diggers is ever a country of graves where all that is noble is at best in peril, and the better qualities of humanity are daily, exhausted, and fated to interment. A consideration of the moral habits of our brother settlers, s -their hardihood and general good conduct, and of the promise offered by their blooming sons and daughters, is rather provocative of comparison with another plight in which, if "prospecting'' improve, or increase its temptations, our more- motley community will be exhibited, after it has been swollen and changed by accessions from every part of the world. Adventurers from English cities; from the El Dorado of America, and'that of Australia, escaped ruffians and reckless desparadoes,. worthless men and women, • cheats,; gamblers, sharpers, bullies, and the abominations of all lands, will assuredly find their way erelong to a climate so captivating as; is ours, Oitr $7i<sC in^y ; aiid.will,augnie&t,> some fcinolij ofprope|ty^may; rise in value, but security^ virtue, innocence, health and true happiness will be endangered to ,^an appalling extent. Destitute of correct thought or sensibility must that man be who can forsee this and be indifferent. • " ;

Love of "the precious bane" is not confined, however; to the'inore reprobate portions of either .English or Scotch, Yankee or Jewish fraternities; it roets its evils deeply and widely in. the devoutest of burelect pharisees,—men who proudly represent, that they "never transgressed at any time," that is since robed with saintliness, but—happen,, to have one infirmity as a tether to their fallen nature/ *—they adore the golden candlesticks far more than the Deity before whom they burn. They are not unlike those infatuated Greeks who went daily to worship.the incomparable goddess of- the Par" thehon, with incessant longings after the gems of her' eyes. The proselytes of such devotees are often a' hundred fold more mammonish than themselves ; and such, we have foiin-J some of those Mdoris to be who have become, adepts in the ritual and ceremonial exercises of mere religious extcrnalisms.' Seeing how their Christian exemplars not only " swear by the gold of the temple," but act'u'ally in habitual suffering forswear everything for, the yellow curse of moneys they become excessively attached to that seeming almighty and Seek its protection with a devotedness prepared to 'make or endure a martyrdom. Greatly may it be doubted whether the natives here have so, intense a desire for anything as for gold. They shew in this, whatever may be the quality of their blood, —of which of course they are the best judges,—their, passions have some ingredients vastly like what are owned by the whites; only their?selfishness is more unconcealed and.direct than -that, of their puler brethren, who yet are so often jtatooed with avarice as to keep up an amazing family likeness on both sides. Still, for keen appetite for "money—gold," we will challenge the ;>vorldi to surpass thVV,razor-edged looks:. of our Maorii. lords. the.-" 'Gompehsations-"-^{or lan<j~j never theirs;*- We should not be astonished were they fjo raise a demand for a large share iii the various rivers and gullies more prolific in " rich samples." : The fights already started, and the revolvers! talked of by these rude children of barbarism,are significant enough. Once let a fracas. blunder amongst us, in all its aboriginal ugliness, full of lubberly bluster and pretensions about demoralising gold, and probably the accursed intemperance that will inevitably be connected with it, will convulse our settlement from shore to shore. Solemnly and emphatically do we call upon the Government, but more urgently still on the people at large, to get prepared for any outbreak, arising from the cupidity of the whites, probably in the first instance, —from drunkenness, robberies and the ■like,—to associate for general protection, as a grand constabulary guard, duly officered and equipped, in order to preserve the peace. To conserve our institutions and general interests, by employing agencies of sufficient unity and power, in prevention of ruptures and disorganizations, is a duty binding on all. In the meantime, we trust tha't. the inviolable rights of the native&r--their daughters—and still more, their wives—will not be trifled with. -Shew morfe than ever, that, as our own fair countrywomen are sacred, tlmr \ homes shall not be invaded with impunity, by any white savage whatever. Be wise and bold, but ever, and above all, be just. "Do as you would be done, by," and all will be well. To some people of obtuse perceptions, or whose Conscientiousness is imperfectly developed, the domestic and connu-' bial enjoyments of the poor native may only be things Sf sport, or laughable nonentities. But whatever they may be, the wisdom of speaking of. them and;of treating their very names as social sanctities, must be one of the modes of teaching a more abject race the importance of Cherishing them. Tlie penalties, however,, to be inflicted amongst ihe Maoris themselves for the desecration, of such%iore hallowed or tatoped privacies, mayr; shew. U&, the in which theyr; are-■ held:;; ■Where life" is often forfeited for their violation we may be certain they are felt as being of the highpest importance* 'This may account for the revolvers mustered at Collingwood. The Lynch-law manifestation) on the occasion in reference, may call for serious reprehension on the part of English law and its upholders: but, after all, it was natural enough. Besides;!iad a Maori treated an Eng^ lish wife|as 'the native female was treated, either with or without her consent, we should not have been astonished if the said revolvers had spoken in unmistakeable thunder. After all, much as we detest Mr. Lynch, and Mr. Duel, as worthless, pluckiest murderers, despicable scatnps, immoral as they arc hopelessly foul,—yet taking weak humanity as we mostly find it> we cannot but think that some, credit is duetto the natives for their forbearance.; How far they were influenced by the expectation of pecuniary damages is another pointi They cannot but see, at least, that their feelings are respected, and wrong is not allowed by au-; thontybf equity or law." Let the simple men of the.Revolvers, if indeed there were such, take no^ tice, nevertheless, yes let them take all heed, that if they be counselled by any foQls to even pretend to take the law.into their own hands, English Law, will «be too strong for them, as it has been, and -ever;tyilt be, for all enemies and rebels whatever; for independently of its blemishes or redundancies, its-great aim and omnipotent power is , uprightness u