THE "Wellington Independent." Saturday, September 22, 1849.

Wellington Independent, Volume V, Issue 414, 29 September 1849, Page 2

THE "Wellington Independent." Saturday, September 22, 1849.

We again address our fellow countrymen in England. We again invite their attention to the great struggle which the colonists of New Zealand are making to defeat the machinations of Sir George Grey, and his attempts to debar them from the privileges of self-government. It is now little more than a year since Sir George, after, having previously professed his conviction of our fitness for self-government, and repeatedly pledged himself to introduce it forthwith, threw off the mask, and exhibited himself in his true character of the opposer of Free Institutions. This first occurred when the Deputations of two public meetings waited upon him at Wellington, to urge upon him to delay no longer the boon which the Home Government had so long promised. In December he offered us his Nominee Council, which was indignantly scouted by nine-tenths of the colonists—by all, in fact, except the officials, and some ten or a dozen other. , ,

who perhaps hoped to be such, or -who found food for their vanity in accepting tho proffered seat of v Nominee. We cannot too often repent that the whole population, with the above inconsidernblo and easily accountable exception, is una • nimous heart and hand in favour of selfgovernment. We rest our statement on the evidence of the petition to Parliament, which here was signed by 780 male adults in a population of 4500 souls —the Jury list, which ought to contain all tho male adults except lawyers and medical men, enumerating only about 810. At Nelson it was signed by 500, out of a population of less than 3000. Probably no petition in the history of political agitation was ever signed by so largo a majority of the population whence it emanated.

But the colonists have not contented themselves with this one act. Our own columns, which may justly claim to represent the opinions of the 780 petitioners here, that is of nine-tenths of tho male adults, will afford evidence of the interest which has been taken in the great question at stake; and we can safely say that, had profit by the sale of our paper been our object, we could not have taken a side which would have enabled us to attain that end more successfully than the side we have taken on the subject of self-government. Wo have always professed to be the organ of the colonists, and our own subscription list proves that the course we have pursued on the question of self-government meets the cordial approbation of the great bulk of them. Then the Settlers' Constitutional Association has watched every movement, and exposed every slight of hand manoeuvre of Sir George, detecting with a keen eye the thimble under which the pea was, and not deceived when the pea, by Sir George's legerdemain, was altogether abstracted. The able series of Resolutions passed by that Association, and printed in our paper of the 29 th August, forms a most complete refutation of Sir George's fallacies; and having been moved and seconded by the chief representatives of all the interests of the Colony, may be relied upon as a true exponent of public opinion. If it were worth while, we pledge ourselves to the fact that every one of the 780 and 500 Wellington, and Nelson signatures which were attached to the Petition, would be attached to those Resolutions. Nay, probably more would sign them; for of the very small number of individuals who honestly sided with Sir George Grey's Nominee scheme at the date of the Petition, several of the most respectable have avowed their conviction of their error—the exhibition of the Nominees during the last session having been sufficient to convince even the most bigoted. The Resolutions to which we refer, have been forwarded by the Mariner to all the leading English newspapers, London and Provincial, all the principal Magazines and Reviews, to the principal London Clubs, including various Naval and Military ones, to the Reading Rooms and Exchanges of all the great towns in England, Ireland, and Scotland, to her Majesty's Ministers and numerous members of both Houses of Parliament, and to the Court of Directors of the New Zealand Company. Allowing for post office accidents, numerous copies will be circulated in the most influential quarters, and we think they cannot but effect good for the Colony. We only regret that Sir George Grey's " dodge " in forwarding the despatches to which they reply so far back as November and February last, and not publishing them in the Colony till July, has enabled him to steal a march upon us. Surely in a matter so deeply affecting our interests, he was bound to have laid before the public his despatches to the Homo Government at an earlier date.

But the feature of Sir George's conduct to which we most invite the attention of our English readers is the suppression of his recommendation on the subject of the Civil List, which he studiously concealed from his Nominees, while professing to give them a full and candid account of his recommendations to the home authorities, on the subject of the future government of the colony. Will not our fellow-countrymen agree with us, that one who could pratice such deceit, and on so important a point, is unworthy to represent the British Government, especially when the reins are committed to his unchecked control ? The other discreditable circumstance of the mis-state-ment of the number of nominees also mentioned in the resolutions, will not be passed over unnoticed.

It only remains ibr us to point out one remarkable feature of tho political agitation which has been maintained hero on the subject. It is that there has been literally no opposition. The few who by official or other ties, have'been induced to support Sir George's nituiumvre, have not been able to make any head, or to tako a singlo public move. No memorial or petition of theirs has gone homo signed in favour of his measure no single meeting or other demonstration have they attempted in support of it in the colony. Tho sole organ of their opinion, tho Wellington Spectator, has scarcely ventured*an article on the subject-— its conductor Mr. l\. Stokes, (formerly an assistant surveyor of the New Zealand Company's Staff, and avlio made a grand mistake when he undertook tho Editorship of a newspaper,) not having a single argument to urge in defence of his patrons, but whenever he approaches the subject (which he very seldom dares to touch upon) venting his spleen in bitter personal attacks upon the leaders of the popular cause, and in his endeavours to damage them, sticking at no falsehood or misrepresentation. In fact the friends of self-government might almost rest their cause upon tho extreme feebleness and barrenness of the organ of their opponents, to whose columns wo refer our readers for the proof.

Nor can we conclude without contrasting with Mr. Stokes , atra-hilious effusions the good-natured and jocular, but not tho less severe handling which the opponents of self-government lmvc received from several of our contributors, such as tho authors of the Chaldec Manuscript, of the Ancient Mariner's letters, the exhibition of the Royal Academy, and other similar productions of the satirical order, whilo the spirit which dictated them has with like good humoured ability marked the columns of our staunch and efficient coadjutor the Nelson Examiner. As the proverb says, " let those laugh who win," we accept"of this feature of the one-sided contest as a fortuitous omen, as an indication of tho hearty English " pluck " which animates the colonists on both sides of tho Straits, and which will never fing nor falter till they achieve the objects which they havo set before them, their restoration to their political freedom and birthrights.

We have to thank Capt. Smith, R.A., for the following valuable report on tho Rangitikei country:—