THE "Wellington Independent." Saturday, November 24, 1849.

Wellington Independent, Volume V, Issue 430, 24 November 1849, Page 2

THE "Wellington Independent." Saturday, November 24, 1849.

Fellow settlers of Wellington, we hear |you are all complaining that the times are dull—that you never remember things so flat before. This is strange. It is not many weeks ago since we read a despatch of Sir George Grey's to the Home Government describing iv glowing terms the prosperity of this and the other , settlements of New Zealand. What has caused this prosperity to forsake you ? Did it-'ever "really exist,' or was it only'a sudden and transient blush caused by the reckless expenditure of British money, advanced by Parliament to the colony with the intent of promoting works contributive to its. permanent prosperity? As things are flat (and there is no doubt of it) let us spend half im hour of our spare time in endeavouring to discover the cause of the flatness, and if possible let us suggest some method of preventing for the future similar fits ofjalse. prosperity followed by fits of real depression. .:. .„,

t The Government has for. three years past been spending money in,this'settlement and at Auckland ' fast and furious/ Part of that money ..came -direct from England; part was raised in the colony by customs' duties, publicans' licences, and in other ways. Altogether in this province alone, not less than £102,000 has been spent in less 1 than three years; -and nearly the whole of it in this settlement. Had that immense sum-been judiciously spent, what numerous great works might have been executed which would have contributed to the permanent prosperity of the colony—which would bave secured prosperity long after the prosperity arising from the mere spending of the money had passed away. For instance how beneficial would not a road to the Wairarapa be. Nearly all the sheep and stock of this settlement are as you know in that district. Yet it is a task of difficulty at all times and in bad weather of actual danger to get there. Well, Mr. Fitzgerald, the Government Engineer, after having executed a considerable portion of the road, estimated T-hat "after making every allowance for contingencies," it could bo completed from end-to end for £14,000, including what he had already spent upon ,it. -It has now cost £16,000, is not half, (some say not a quarter) finished, and' it is calculated will take £20,000 more before it is finished. Where is that £20,000 to come from ? The whole of tho Parliamentary grant for the present year (that is to April 1850), is expended. Probably next year Parliament will give no more. Why should it to a colony which Sir George Grey describes as so prosperous ? But if it should, how much of the £15,000 or £20,000 it may give for the whole colony, will be applicable to the Wairarapa Road ?. - Perhaps £2,000 or £3,000 at-the outside. In ten years then the road mag be finished, if the British Parliament continues its votes.

Then there is the;coast road; to .Rangitiki arid Wanganui — districts which after the allotmeht l bf theEcompensatiou iii a couple oPtooritKs %ill"be : much rtesrirtcd tfr; &rid J vVhicli r before'"lorig li fail to be among the, most popsops'and prosperous-districts of the yoii *can only get at-l^ein.^.This'^'diM.Vifl

nearer completion'than-tlie Wairarapa road, though most persons who know the country consider that of three lines open to him", Captain Russell has selected the worst —either the Pukerua" or Wuinui lines..being easier to make, easier to travel, and less costly 10. repair ; and well laiown to all the surveyors in the distnct. There is also another mistake which they call Russell's Folly. But let that .pass.There are eight or nine miles of this line (the whole distance round Porirua Harbour) unfinished—almost"untouched. Where is the money to come from "to j finish it ? What is the use of a road I which has only a beginning and ending and.no.middle piece ?, , ,-~ . ' Again, before you caii get to Wanganui, you must swim your horse over the Manawatu, the Rangitiki, and the Wanganui Rivers'.-.the first iand last f nearly as wide as the Thames at Westminster, and the other half the, width. If the rivers be flooded" "you must swim him at two, three; or "four* more.- Y.ou must al§9 get him through the; dangerous T quicksands of Wa.n'gaehii- and Turakina, wherp a few years ago a missionary was drowned in the attempt, and where, if your horso is not severely'strained, he is'lucky.' And when ypii swim your horse,, you must either swim with him,' or you must cross in a wretched,fragment of a canoe, over which, if there is imy-wind,- the green waves lash bodily, to the imminent risk- of -your life, unless you ca,n swim a ( distance of two,or three hundred yards with your, clothes on, which you will have to do if upset. A good substantial Ferry Boat at each of these rivers would obviate all this. They could have been established; while the.British gold was being expended, but they have not. Wh ere is the money to'comefrom these flat times ? lii his opening speech to the Nominee Council in May last, the Lieut-Governor said that he hoped soon to '.be able to resume" his expenditure on public works. Six months have[elapsed and he has hot resumed it, aiid* it. is pertain from,.the state of hit* finances that lie; cannot re-, isume it, (a,t all events to. any consderable extent,) for the next six months. We do not believe that under* the pre*sent system such expenditure will be resumed at all. : Where is the money to come from ? You cannot carry on public works without a good many thousand pounds of spare cash;. The estimated ordinary revenue does not meet the* estimated ordinary expenditure by £2000, —how then is it possible to maker roads I or complete the half made ones ? I

, Again, of what an infinite, benefit a steam vessel "would be running between the different" ports, of the colony. From the day of its establisliment.theprbsperity of the colony might be dated. When the Governor was canvassing for. Nominees, he made many lavish promises on this subject. That-he never intended to fulfil them, is evident from. the fact.that he never even brought it before the Council of this Province, and at Auckland he only made a show of redeming-his pledge by1,000 and the annual cost of the-brig. . Yet if. the British gold had been properly expended a steamer might have been ploughing these seas for.three years/past, developing the resources ofthe different settlements, and before this paying its own expences. Where is the money to come from to do it now ?

This question it is much easier to, ask than to answer. To get £20,000 to finish Mr. Fitzgerald's road;:ftbriil £5,000 to £ 10,000 to finish Capt. Russeli;s-r£2,opo or £3,000 .for ferries, and bridges-4-ari annual bonus of £4,000 or £5,000 for a steamer; unless we could lay on 'aline of packets for California, it is not easy to suggest any method of pbtairiirig it,'.and. perhaps ,we should 3 fail;in obtain ing v it by , that. The British Gold is all gone—there is little chance of getting much more; our own revenue which was swelled by the expenditure of the British' gold is likely to decrease every quarter—so that the execution of any considerable work of permanent utility is out of the question —and probably much of what has been done will be ruined by time before it can be completed. We have been asking hitherto where is the money to come' from ? We ask now where has it gone to ? The Nominees tell us by their resolution in Council, that much of it r _s gone in consequence of the wasteful manner in which the road work has beeri'executed,andthe discrepancy between Mr. Fitzgerald's estimate and Mr. Fitzgerald's execution, corroborates the statement. Considering that it was Mr. Fitzgerald's first experiment in engineering work of any magnitude, and that the expenditure of such large sums was left in such inexperienced hands without check or control, wo are not at all surprised at tho result.' Why u>should have been so, when there were men in I the colony of much greater professional experience and mature age, we are at a loss to understand, and can only account for it on the << family compact" principle, no common m our colonies,, by virtue of the fact, of one brojther having got an o fficial a?pointm t . ? b b sidered sufficient evidence of- all the other ■brothers being fe oth £f» 3 ' 'feW <*W> ask.for. One bro her having succeeded iv «et*tfg J» W .mtoatho,pabli-i pu_ So is con-l sidered to "have a elaim.^i^CWern-

.tnent," (that is the expression they use,*)' for the promotion of his'relations, avid so the jobbing till racing only certain particular ate considered qualified to fun for the prizes. But .there' 'are.othe* ways in.whicb" tho money has been wasted !as well "as on the roads, and as moriey still continues to ,be wasted in to call ypjif-attention to'them/in the hope that weifi_.j-.-ina ou ."some means „ One great absorbing _s'ptiiige, which might be most effectually squeezed,,js to be found under the head of officials. Tlie population of this Province is about 10,000 Europeans, and 6 or 7,000 Natives. The number.of Officials employed ,in what tbeycall 'governing the l p6pula.ibn was in 1848, (the last return we have seen) 161, or "one official to" women, and children. £21,000 was the cost.,,oLjP. attaining, these officials, small reduction in the police department, has since taken place, but the cost of official establishments' as'-fixd by the last Nominee Council, still amounts ,to the same sum. This is one way in which the money goes—you k__ow where it comes from —it comes from your pockets—you T see now how £20,000 of it goes—a subscription of £ 1 ss. a piece, from every European aud Native,-man, woman, and child, or more than £2 for each" European towards maintaining ttie officials.

Whenyou or we subscribe a pound to the Races, the Atherieum, or the Horticultural Society, or-better still to the Methodist Chapel, or Odd Fellow's School, the first thing we ? askot_rselves, before getting our. leave,-to give, is wbat will be got for the money. Do we ever ask ourselves what we get for the' £2 subscription towards maintaining the officials ? Do _ye. ever ask" wbetber we could'riot save a portion of the pound by retrenching a portion of the' Officials ? '!At all events^e t ask itjuow, and f the answer we give,is, that we tbmk we coulddo it .nth advantage. Let us "look ; at the list : of officials, and see what 'they;.do to earn their, pounds. We.will begin with the head of "Resident Magistrates.".

The system of administering justice by means'of .paid Justices of the Peace, is almost unknown in England. With the exception; of London," (arid we believe; two or three of the.other largest towns,) no such thing as a Stipendiary Magistrate is The numbefiof criminals committed for trial or bailed in England every year, amounts" to' about 25,000, v. hile summary convictions are probably at least twice as many. There are also probably, nearly as many cases dismissed as go to trial or "conviction. Yet ninetenths of this vast amount is disposed of by vi. paid Magistrates—in the counties by country squires. and rectors, in the towns by mayors, aldermen, and other Justices of the Peace. And the manner: in which the business is done is universally admitted to be highly satisfactory and beneficial to the public. The system of paid Resident or Police Magistrates appears .to have originated in the slave colonies of tbe West Indies, or. the convict colonies of New South Wales and Van Dieman's Land, where crime of the highest class is proved hy official returns to be 300 times as frequent in proportion to population as it is in England, and where under the assignment system,-the flogging of assigned convicts by order of these. Magistrates, was'of daily almost hourly occurrence.' What sort of persons' were frequently appointed to the office may be learned from the works of Messrs. Mudie, Byrne, and others, to say nothing of the experience we ourselves had in- the early days of the colony, when the 'office was-filled in IJTew ■Zealand by parties appointed from New .South Wales. The office and its early occupants were both imported into New jthe Zealandfrom thatquarter,'andonea_ad other were equally foreign to the spirit of jthe British Constitution, and to the British race engaged in colonising, this country. To have justice administered by men in ,the pay of the local government, their of .office dependent, not as in the case of the Judges on goo'dbehaviouri but ; on the pleasure-of the-Governor, is altogether contrary to the principles ofliberty, and instead of creating just aud irfdeipendent Judges is calculated to secure to the Government the support of'supple and pliant tools, fitted only to execute the worst designs of despotism. We speak with no reference to the individuals now filling the office iri New Zealand r v f f e l nce ' t0 the astern itself. Al - English historians concur in .stating, that so long as the Judges of'the -Superior Court, of the"realm; remained on the pleasure of* the Crown ;ior the continuance of their office's and ■wanes, even tbey displayed great corruption— were always under the immediate influence of the Court, and carried their subserviency to the r utmosf pitch. But from the time wheri their tenure of office bepame-dependent on good/behaviour, and, they, ontyjtemo fable .from it on an address of both Houses of, Parliament' r they h&j<r\toen,~as;ii' b&dy,Equally Te i ; markable -for- integrity titid impartiality. If?-even-.the -Judges 'of'the * Superior 9 Had- aSaiiec poMHm' WoW Mpjiblid; and aWic eh W cet to lose worth.-keeping, were n»vertholo M rendey^clheaoob/of/the

Court by the dependency df thefr position upon it, how much stronger must be tlie temptation in the case of a Resident Magistrate in, New Zealand to yield to tbo dictation'of the, officials above him, 'and put*false weights into the balance of justice.-Norlet-our readers suppose that the attempt,,.!, dictate would not bo made. It is but a few since tho Resident Magistrate of.tliis settlement received a severe,reprimand from the Colonial-Se-cretary', for presuming to con-.ur in a resolution of* tlie unpaid Justices, respecting some Bush Licences, which the Lieutenant. Governor disapproved of, and ho was informed that Magistrates holding paid office under Government, were expected to refrain from such votes for the future. It is due to Mr. St. Hill to state Ihat¥e~lpfotesled f to succumb to such interference At yj The only good reason which jwi be given 'for' c^anjiloying',!p»jtl ' Magistrates among a free people/ would be the importance of securing the services of competent lawyers iii *cast? 9 where, as Wt' London or Liverpool, the amount of crime is great and its "character is aggravated. But in New Zealand, no such excuse.is*: offered. Look at the list of ResidentMagistrates all' through the colony. - 'At the Bay of Islands, then?, is Major Bryd-' ges; at Auckland, Major Matsonj.at Manakau, Captain Smith ;• at New Plymouth, Captain King; at' Wanganui, Major Wyatt; at Waikuhae, Major Durie;' at Nelson, Major Richmond ; 'at Wellington, Mr. St." Hill, an Architect by profession ; at Akaroa, Mr. Watson, a private gentleman; and at Otago, Mr. Strode.(acting R. M.) a private gentleman.' Nota lawyer among them, but five majors' two' captains, one architect, arid two'gentlemen brought up to no profession; and for the services of these gentlemen, "the colonists of New Zealand, have the satisfaction of paying the sum of about £2500.

The other Resident Magistrate's are contented with getting there bands into one of ,the colonists pockets: but Major Richmond at* Nelson is not satisfied without a hand in each pocket.-: Tho whole of the duties which he performs and the SherrifFs in addition, .vere f per .* formed by Mr. White, and afterwards byMr. Sinclair for £250 a year, and very well they were paid for, what they had to do, the average number of cases criminal and" civil, before the paid and unpaid Justices in that settlement being only about 100 per annum. But the services of our. friend the Major were not to be purchased' at so cheap a rate, so "he was secured by an. additional £250(500 ajear in the whole) and the title of Superintendent: Do you see yet how the money goes ?- Do you see any advantage in paying & Major or an Architect, from £200to-£3OO a year for acting as Justices of the Peace ?■ —do you see any advantage in paying at that rate five majors, two captains, an artichect, and two private gentlemen ?— do you see any special or particular ad-, vantage in paying one ofthe majors £250 a year more than the rest for doing what, a lawyer who held the office previously was found to do Tor half, the amount and considered by most • people overpaid ? Now what reason can be given" why we can not dispense with the services of all those gentlemen—why we should not return to the method by which justice is t administered in Great Britain? We have already in this settlement 20 unpaid Ma- r gistrates, Messrs. Domett, Petre, Carkeek, Strang, M'Donogh, Fox, Kemp, Clifford, Smith,- Hickson, Ludlam,.Fitzherbert, Fitzgerald, Kelharii, and six military gentlemen. At Nelson there ard sixteen or, twenty, namely,— Messrs. Duppa, White, Stafford, Munro, Jollie,' Wither, Cautley, Thorpe,. Nixon, Saxton," Stephens, Sinclair, Morse,, Bell, Martin, Sclanders, Otterson, Greenwood, and we believe one.er,twp more. Thero may be one or two ' objectionable names among them ; but who, either hero or at Nelson,, would object to having his case decided by one or more of those unpaid '.Magistrates,—who would prefer .to,'their 'adjudication that of Mr.'St. Hill/Major Richmond, Major Durie, or Major Wyatt ? But most, or, all of the unpaid justices' have, it may be urged, their private* employments, .aud.'it may -be inconvenient to give .up a portion of their time to pubho duties. ; Then, .we answer,'> tbey riot to s take, an honorary foffico Waich constitutionally implies *, tho' performance of .such duties.' But' it is not so. Have they , not just .as much time on their hands as the Aldermen and other justices of an English Town ; or the Squires and other a Justices of an English County"?" Would"; the inconvenience be.yefy.great.if tbe duty of sitting on the Benoh for a.week, two at a time, were divided among the'2o Magistrates of this settlement, or-thc 20 at-Nelson-P At the latter placo we "are 'informed tlTe unpaid justices-do now dispose of a hlrgd proportion J 6_" the cases that'arise'-'in' tho countoy district? '» Mr. Nominee Ludlam, during-the ! last sitting of Counoilpiriti'-i mated that jtho Hutt Justices, were 'riot qualified,to doit.', this,, selftcon damnation,* however; .we scarcely think" ..that the"J. P/tr'of that-district would-oonoiir-'; arid J even Mr. ludlam!'_night,":we'' should think, -learii jn.time,; we may judge by his performances-in Council)Mt worild'not'bo r a very easy tasjc - toteadh.liirtf. Let a "central place bo

flxfcd' for" tlii §jffiF[ißndpQisXd*&& weeks among them—give "theni a clerl* where there- is ■ much ."busineSs, competently learned in Magnates Law, and you may save at once in this ' Province, thf rmnuarsunrof at least £1,000, under a sirigle'head'of expenditure ' Theiisee what rnigh.'be done with the salaries which you now pay to" these officials. Suppose, for instance, that you metamorphose the Waikanae R. M into fivejerrymen at £50 a year' each—one foj- each of the rivers we have mentioned. Lay out Mr. St.-Hill, and Major Wfatt, if necessary, (it would only take them for l in building- the Ferry Boats. The next year they might go towards the Hutt road, br the Waira'rapa', and whenthose weie finished .we should, not be at loss to put them to some useful' purpose afterwards..

> Remember that'there is nothing new in the sjstem we propose. Do not like Mr. Reac de la Jobardiere or Mr Stokes, take fright a,;it tnt the supposition that it is some .revolutionary proposaTof the "Prophetoorf r Socialism.'.' It is simply the system under which all Englishmen lived from the time of Edward 111. till they founded the slave and convict colonies— system under which all Englishmen live in England at this moment —and which has only been departed from in New Zealand because parts of our constitution came to us originally from New South Wales, and because Sir G. Grey who' seems to know nothing of the British Constitution, but what he learned iri Australia, has thought proper to continue a bad aud costly system, calculated to maintain despotic power, m preference to a good and economical one, calculated to secure the public weal. Do you.think that Sir George or his Nominees will ever propose to, alter the system—to change the bad for the good ? Do not think it. Did not one of those Nominees (Dr Greenwood) suggest during the last Session of Council that more salaried Resident Magistrates should be allotted to the country districts ? Will any Nominee who lives in a country district, and has faith in the doctrine' that official servility should be rewarded by official appointments, decline to support such a suggestion ■» Will any Nominee hesitate lo appiopri t a few hundreds a year of your money to the maintenance of more Resident Magibtrafes if he thinks he has a chance of becoming one of the,r number? Will Sir George Grey e\er hesitate to purchase the" adhesion of a follower, by creating such a berth, and putting, him into it at-your expence'-* _ The officials which occur to us next for remark are the Colonial Surgeon, and Auditor, but our present article has extended to so great a length that we must reprieve them till our next number.

The account which we gave in our paper of Wednesday, of the circumstances attending his Excellency the Lieutenant Governor's ascent of the Kaikora Mountain, was not correct. 'We have since been informed that the occurrence was as follows. Previously to starting into the pass which is supposed to 'exist between the Wairau and Port Cooper Plains, his Excellency ascended the great snowy mountain which forms the principal peak of the Kaikoras, and which attains an elevation of at least 9000 feet, the upper part being heavily covered with snow to a great depth. He succeeded in reaching the top of the mountain, but so late as to be unable to push on to the southern edge of the sunjmit, when au ; exteusi. c view southwards.would have been obtained. Tn returning, a steep face of the hill (little less than perpendicular,), down which hung a bed of frozen snow, had to be crossed for a considerable distance. Mr. Eyre, who had led the party up the dangerous ascent, was in advance with one native, the others being about 200 feet above and behind him, on the same perpendicular face of the snow. He heard a cry, 'and looking round saw Wiremu Hoeta falling down the precipice, pitching from ledge to ledge, and rolling over and over irTthe intervids, till he fell dead, and no doubt smashed to pieces at a depth below of about 1500 feet, where his body could be seen in a sort of ravine, but where it was impossible to get at it. His Excellency narrowly escaped from similar destruction, having lost both feet from under him, and only saving himself by the use of an iron shod pole which he carried. • Another of the 'Natives had a still narrower escape, having 'actually fallen-about 15 yards, when he succeeded in clutching.a rock and saving himself. I*he gloom which this * unfortunate event causej], and the uncertainty of crossing the rivers while the snows are melting, induced his' Excellency to return.