1842 - Jameson, R. G. New Zealand, South Australia and New South Wales [Part] - CHAPTER XVI

       
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  1842 - Jameson, R. G. New Zealand, South Australia and New South Wales [Part] - CHAPTER XVI
 
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CHAPTER XVI

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CHAPTER XVI.

Return to Sydney--Arrival of the Governor of New Zealand--His first measures--Native debates--Proclamations--General Observations on the colonization of New Zealand -- The New Zealand Company--Errors of the Quarterly--Wellington--New Plymouth --Nelson--Agricultural pursuits--Peace of the colony.

AFTER this short and to me interesting sojourn in New Zealand, I returned to Sydney towards the end of January. Abundant rains had fallen throughout the colony during the period of my absence in New Zealand, causing inundations of the Hunter, the Nammoy, and all the great rivers which have their origin in the mountainous districts of the interior. The interest regarding New Zealand had been increased by the appearance of Captain Hobson, the lieutenant-governor, who had arrived from England, with powers to erect New Zealand into a British colony. The preliminary expenses of his government were to be defrayed by the treasury of New South Wales, from which Sir George Gipps wrung, with no small reluctance, it is said, the sum of 2000l. This proceeding excited clamours both loud and deep throughout the colony. That a rival colony (so New Zealand was erroneously called,) should be set up so near them was bad enough; but that the funds of New South Wales should be applied to that purpose was in the highest degree preposterous and unjust.

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COLONIAL JEALOUSY.

It was perceived by some, and it is now known to all, that the establishment of an agricultural colony in the immediate vicinity of the Australian settlements, which would also create a new market for their surplus flocks and herds, their tobacco, and oranges, was an event most favourable to their prosperity. New Zealand was, however, regarded by many short-sighted politicians in Australia as a rival, to be put down by every possible means. To New Zealand was transferred a portion of the odium with which South Australia was regarded. It was forgotten that a great portion of the specie of South Australia had been transferred to the elder colonies, in exchange for sheep and cattle at enormously high prices, and that several cargoes of sheep, cattle, and horses, had been sent to New Zealand since the establishment of the New Zealand Land Company's township, at Port Nicholson. Self interest is said to sharpen the perceptive faculties of man; we may therefore hope that it will eventually become known to the colonists of New South Wales that every addition to the aggregate population of the Australian colonies, including New Zealand, is a benefit to each of them individually. It is a self-evident proposition, that in proportion to the amount of the population of the neighbouring countries, will be the demand for, and the price of, beef and mutton, and the other produce of New South Wales.

The first proceeding of Captain Hobson, on his arrival in the Bay of Islands, was to hoist the Union flag, in token that New Zealand was added to the British empire; he then read before the assembled settlers and natives of the Bay of Islands the proclamations of her Majesty, in which New Zealand was declared to be a British colony, and his

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GOVERNOR'S ARRIVAL.

own commission as lieutenant-governor of these islands, in the name of her Majesty, Victoria I.

These documents being read, his Excellency adverted to reports which had been mischievously circulated among the natives, for the purpose of exciting their hostility against the government. It was not, he said, the intention of the government to rob the natives of their land, but to treat with them for it, and to obtain in the same manner the cession of the sovereignty of the islands to the British crown. He hoped, therefore, that every individual present would endeavour to disabuse their minds of the erroneous impressions which they had been led to entertain. He might have saved himself the trouble of making this request, as many of his listeners were old settlers, who entertained a prejudice against all regular governments, and deemed the old tarring and feathering system sufficient for all purposes of jurisdiction, whilst they feared that his Excellency would bring in his train a host of evils, in the shape of customs, excise, taxes, gaols, and police, unknown in the good old times of the republic. Never was a governor less efficiently or zealously supported in the outset of his career than Captain Hobson. His influence among the natives was secretly undermined, and there is no knowing what might have been the result of these seditious proceedings if one or two individuals, who were known to be very active in their endeavours to impede his measures, had not received warning that they were rendering themselves liable to a prosecution for high treason.

The next step of his Excellency was to obtain from the natives a formal cession to him, as her Majesty's servant and representative, of the sovereignty of New Zealand; to-

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CESSION OF SOVEREIGNTY.

gether with the exclusive privilege of purchasing their lands, in consideration of which they were to receive the protection of her Majesty, and enjoy the advantage of belonging to a civilized community. A proclamation to this effect was sent round to all parts of the coast, and it excited much disputation, --some being for and some against the proposed cession. When the chiefs of the Bay of Islands were assembled, Taria was loud in his opposition to the measure, and worked himself into a vehement excitement. This old gentleman was, however, left in a small minority; and, after a distribution of blankets and tobacco, the document was signed by nearly all present. Mr. Williams, the missionary, several gentlemen of local influence among the natives, including Captains Clayton, Symonds, and other respectable settlers, were appointed to conduct this important negotiation with the natives of their vicinity. His Excellency himself, although suffering from a severe illness, proceeded to Manganui, by the invitation of the principal chief of that district; and Major Bunbury, in the Herald sloop of war, visited the Thames district, that of Mercury Bay, and other localities to the southward.

It is not to be supposed that much difficulty was experienced in persuading the New Zealanders to divest themselves of a nominal sovereignty--a shadowy, unsubstantial something, of the nature of which they could form no idea, and of whose very name they had never before heard. When, therefore, the emissaries of the government had argued with the principal chiefs in the various districts the propriety of complying with the reasonable desires of the Queen, as set forth in the document (puka, puka) which awaited their signatures, the latter artfully set up a show of

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CESSION OF SOVEREIGNTY.

opposition, in order to call forth arguments more substantial and persuasive in their nature than mere korrero, or talk. Of these arguments--the most irresistible of which were blankets and tobacco--it was known that a goodly store was at hand, provided by the Queen, for conciliating the good wishes of her new subjects; and what better opportunity could be afforded than the present of "making their hearts good" towards so great and powerful a sovereign?

In a few months all the populous districts of New Zealand were visited, and the result of his Excellency's negotiations with the natives appeared in the following proclamations, --the first relating to the Northern Island, the second to the Middle and Southern Islands:--

PROCLAMATION I.

In the name of her Majesty Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. By William Hobson, Esquire, a Captain in the Royal Navy, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand.

Whereas by a treaty, bearing date the 5th day of February, in the year of our Lord 1840, made and executed by me, William Hobson, a Captain in the Royal Navy, Consul and Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand, vested for this purpose with full powers by her Britannic Majesty, of the one part, and the Chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand, and the separate and independent Chiefs of New Zealand, not members of the Confederation, of the other, and further ratified and confirmed by the adherence of this island of New Zealand, commonly called "The Northern Island," all right and power of sovereignty oyer the said Northern Island were ceded to her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, absolutely and without reservation.

Now, therefore, I, William Hobson, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand, in the name and on the behalf of her Majesty, do hereby proclaim and declare to all men, that from and after the date of the

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CESSION OF SOVEREIGNTY.

above-mentioned treaty, the full sovereignty of the Northern Island of New Zealand vests in her Majesty Queen Victoria, her heirs and successors for ever.

Given under my hand at Government House, Russell, Bay of Islands, this 21st day of May, in the year of our Lord 1840.

(Signed) WILLIAM HOBSON, Lieutenant-Governor.

By his Excellency's command,

(Signed) WILLOUGHBY SHORTLAND, Colonial Secretary.

PROCLAMATION II.

In the name of her Majesty Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. By William Hobson, Esquire, a Captain in the Royal Navy, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand.

Whereas I have it in command from her Majesty Queen Victoria, through her principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, to assert the sovereign rights of her Majesty over the Southern Islands of New Zealand, commonly called "The Middle Island," and "Stewart's Island," and also the island commonly called "The Northern Island," the same having been ceded in sovereignty to her Majesty.

Now, therefore, I, William Hobson, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand, do hereby proclaim and declare to all men, that from and after the date of these presents, the full sovereignty of the islands of New Zealand, extending from 34 degrees 30 minutes north to 47 degrees 10 minutes south latitude, and between 166 degrees 5 minutes to 179 degrees of east longitude, vests in her Majesty Queen Victoria, her heirs and successors for ever.

Given under my hand at Government House, Russell, Bay of Islands, this 21st day of May, in the year of our Lord 1840.

(Signed) WILLIAM HOBSON, Lieutenant-Governor.

By his Excellency's command,

(Signed) WILLOUGHBY SHORTLAND, Colonial Secretary.

Having thus established the sovereignty of Great Britain, without exciting the hostility of the natives, Captain Hobson has prepared New Zealand for the reception of

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IMPORTANCE OF NEW ZEALAND.

an industrious and numerous population of emigrants from the mother country. He has complied to the letter with the instructions of the home government. An equitable basis has been established for settling all claims to the possession of land acquired by early purchasers from the natives, in terms of which these claims will be confirmed to the amount of four hundred acres for every hundred pounds expended in the purchase.

But it is not enough that all obstacles are removed to the location of emigrants in New Zealand. Separated from the mother country by a wide space of ocean, the influence of Captain Hobson's government can be exerted only feebly, and to little purpose, in furthering the colonization of these islands. It is only by the agency of the British government, in encouraging to the utmost of its power the emigration of the labouring classes, or by the application of private capital on a scale of sufficient magnitude, in the manner adopted by the New Zealand Company, that these islands can be colonized in an efficient and satisfactory manner.

Before we proceed to examine the available facilities that exist for the carrying through of this national undertaking, it will be proper to acquire clear and decided ideas on the following points:--

1st. The expediency, as regards the national interests of Great Britain, of creating in New Zealand a populous colony, and of rendering the possession of these islands subservient to the protection and advancement of our maritime and mercantile interests in the southern hemisphere.

2ndly. The probable results that are to be anticipated from the colonization of New Zealand as regards the

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IMPORTANCE OF NEW ZEALAND.

prosperity of those individuals who may emigrate thither with their families.

Here will be the appropriate place to treat of the first of these subjects. Before we enter upon a consideration of the second, it will be proper to place before the reader an accurate picture of the country and of the climate, the nature of the soil, the geographical features, the indigenous productions, and the obvious and accessible resources that exist in New Zealand for the employment of capital and labour; for the acquisition of wealth by individuals, and of prosperity and commercial importance by the community.

To the question of the expediency, in a national sense, of colonizing New Zealand, (we apply this name to the Northern, the Middle, and the Southern Islands collectively,) we will limit our inquiry at present. The geographical situation of New Zealand, with relation to our Australian colonies, is of great and manifest importance. At the distance of a few days' sail from the coasts of Australia, a hostile power, established in any of the commodious harbours which indent the shores of these islands, would find at its mercy the whole of our colonies and commerce in the South Seas. During our last war with the United States, one of the first measures of that government was to dispatch a squadron, to "capture, sink, burn, and destroy" all our vessels engaged in the sperm whale fishery, or in the regular pursuits of commerce. If, at that early period in the history of our maritime and colonial interests in that quarter, they were deemed sufficiently important to attract an enemy's notice, how much more certain is it that they would now be visited with the whole weight of his hostility!

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MR. SHERIFF ALISON.

Abounding in the materials of maritime strength, --in timber, coal, and iron, --possessing numerous fine harbours, and a climate peculiarly favourable to physical and mental energy, New Zealand offers an unconquerable position to a great maritime nation. On England, therefore, it seems incumbent to retain, with a firm grasp, this portion of her territories, to promote its colonization to the utmost of her power, or to remove every possible obstacle to the attainment of this national object through the agency of private capital.

Mr. Sheriff Alison, whose philosophical inquiries into the principles of population entitle his sentiments to universal respect, has expressed his opinion, that the improvements daily taking place in the application of steam and machinery, have a tendency, by reducing the demand for human labour, to effect the complete demoralization of our labouring community. At the same time he has clearly demonstrated the expediency of extending and fostering our colonial dependencies as the only means of saving from progressive decay the commercial interests, and consequently the maritime superiority of the empire. He has further pointed out the means of accomplishing these great ends at a moderate, or rather, at no expense to the nation.

At a meeting held at Glasgow in celebration of the colonization of New Zealand, his health having been proposed by the Lord Provost as a gentleman distinguished both as an historian and as a judge, Mr. Alison delivered an eloquent speech, the general purport of which will be gathered from the following passages:--

"Are we oppressed with a numerous and redundant population? Are we justly apprehensive that a mass of human beings, already

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MR. SHERIFF ALISON.

consisting of five and twenty millions, and multiplying at the rate of a thousand souls a day, will ere long be unable to find subsistence within the narrow space of these islands? Let us turn to the colonies, and there we shall find boundless regions capable of maintaining ten times our present population in contentment and affluence, and which require only the surplus arms and mouths of the parent state to be converted into gigantic empires, which before a century has elapsed may overshadow the greatness of European renown. Are we justly fearful that the increasing manufacturing skill and growing commercial jealousy of the continental states may gradually shut us out from the European market, and that our millions of manufacturers may find their sources of foreign subsistence fail at a time when all home employments are filled up? Let us turn to the colonies, and there we shall see empires of gigantic strength rapidly rising to maturity, in which manufacturing establishments cannot for centuries take root, and in which the taste for British manufactures and the habits of British comfort are indelibly implanted on the British race. Are we overburdened with the weight of our poor rates and the multitude of our paupers, and trembling under the effect of the deep-rooted discontent produced in the attempt to withdraw public support from the maintenance of the adult and healthy labourer? Let us find the means of transporting these healthy workmen to our colonial settlements, and we will confer as great a blessing upon them as we will give a relief to the parent state. Are we disquieted by the rapid progress of corruption in our great towns, and alarmed at the enormous mass of female profligacy which, like a gangrene, infests these great marts of pleasure and opulence? Let us look to the colonies, and there we shall find states in which the population is advancing with incredible rapidity, but in which the greatest existing evil is the undue and frightful preponderance of the male sex, and all that is wanting to complete their means of increase is, that the proportion should be righted by the transfer to distant shores of part of the female population which now encumbers the British isles. Are the means to transport these numerous and indigent classes to these distant regions wanting; and has individual emigration hitherto been liable to the reproach, that it removes the better class of our citizens, who could do for themselves, and leaves the poorest, who encumber the land? The British navy lies between, and means exist of transporting, at

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NEW ZEALAND COMPANY.

hardly any expense to the parent state, all that can ever be required of our working population from that part of the empire which they overburden, to that to which they would prove a blessing. Gentlemen, I agree with my eloquent and esteemed friend, Mr. Macleod, that it is astonishing the attention of Government has not ere this been turned to this subject. And why, I would ask, may not part at least of the British navy be constantly employed in transporting emigrants of all classes to our colonial possessions? Why should two hundred vessels of different sizes, that are now in commission in the British navy, be employed only in useless parades, when hundreds of thousands on the British shores are pining for the means of transport across the seas, and millions of acres on the other side of the ocean, teeming with verdant fertility, await only their robust hands to be converted into a terrestrial paradise? Why should the British navy not be employed, like the Roman legions in time of peace, in works of public utility; and why should their efforts not construct causeways across the deep, which would bind together the immense circuit of the British colonial dominions, as strongly as the highways constructed by the legions cemented the fabric of their mighty empire?"

It has been deemed a maxim of good government to leave the formation of colonies to private enterprise; and, doubtless, this principle might have weight in any country but Great Britain, where the amount of distress seems too extensive to be effectually relieved by any other means than the direct agency of the State. To any proposition in favour of a national system of colonization, the answer would probably be "the expense." We can raise twenty millions for the emancipation of negroes; we have squandered hundreds of millions on wars of doubtful expediency; but we cannot muster ten or twelve millions in anticipation of colonial land-sales, although we know that the measure would free us from annual outlays in the shape of assessments and poor-rates, equivalent to more than half of the whole sum expended on emigration!

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NEW ZEALAND COMPANY.

Next to the influence of the State in promoting colonization, is the efficiency of a great corporate body like the New Zealand Company, consisting of men of wealth, rank, and practical judgment, whose proceedings are marked by deliberation, and who can exert the power of capital and influence in concentrating a community of individuals in a selected spot.

In founding a colony in a country which possesses, as New Zealand does, fertile land in abundance, the great object is so to proportion the amount of capital to the amount of labour, that there may be enough of capital for the profitable employment of all the labour, and enough of labour for the profitable employment of all the capital.

It is a nice thing, a thing probably unattainable, with precision to hit the point of adjustment, in this proportion especially, as it is impossible to prevent mere speculators residing in England and not purposing to leave it, from investing money in the purchase of land, in the expectation that the land so acquired will rise in value from the improvements of others. According to the plan of the Company, a considerable part of the money paid to them by such speculators, as well as by all other parties, for land, will be expended in sending out labour to New Zealand; but it is obvious that in the case stated there will be no corresponding transmission of capital, and that consequently, in proportion as this cause operates, there is a hazard of there being a superabundance of labour in the Company's settlement, which might shut the least eligible labourers out of employment.

But the manner in which the Company proposes to employ a portion of its capital will tend to obviate this danger. As soon as the several settlements of the

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PRINCIPLE OF COLONIZATION.

Company shall have acquired a corporate character by charters from the Crown, and shall thus be enabled to borrow and give proper security for money, the Company will be prepared, as it is especially empowered to do by its charter, to advance loans to the community for public works, roads, bridges, and the like, by which means it will act the part of a great resident capitalist, and find employment for any supposable body of surplus labourers.

The value of land not depending merely on its situation or its productive qualities, but also, and in a much greater degree, on the amount of its population, or the number of mouths to be fed, it is an object in the formation of new colonies to sell the land at a price sufficiently high to admit of a large expenditure in emigration. By the practical application of this principle, it is manifest that an inducement is created for the emigration of the capitalist as well as of the labourer, since his own act of investing money in the purchase has already provided the means of sending out a proportionate amount of labour to swell the general mass and increase the demand for the productions of the earth. Such are the fundamental truths on which systematic colonization is founded, and, if we except the powers of Steam, there is no discovery of modern times calculated to affect society in a greater degree, or more beneficially. Even Steam must yield precedence in one respect to systematic colonization, for whilst the tendency of the former is to lower the value of human labour, the province of the latter is to open up new and advantageous fields of employment. On a recent public occasion, the undertaking of the New Zealand Company was justly described by a royal Duke as "benevolent and

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WELLINGTON.

useful." That its plan is perfect in its details, it would be folly to assert, but of the beneficial tendency of its operations no one can entertain a doubt who is aware of the unparalleled ' distress which prevails throughout this country.

The first settlement or township of the Company, which has received the illustrious name of Wellington, stands on the shores of a large and sheltered inlet, and already contains three thousand inhabitants. The buildings are stated to have cost an aggregate sum of 18,000l., and the amount of merchandise and moveable property is estimated at 200,000l. It has a newspaper, one or two banks, a church, and a school; and its inhabitants appear, from all accounts, to be thoroughly imbued with the true colonial spirit of action, which is at once a source of happiness and of success. The country in the immediate neighbourhood of Wellington is of a hilly and broken character, with the exception of a plain, watered by the Hutt River, which contains about fifteen thousand acres of carse, or alluvial land, adequate to the maintenance of a population of five or six thousand individuals. It also appears that the hill country, where it is sufficiently level for the plough, is capable of producing good crops. The wheat grown in the valley of the Hutt is found to be of a very superior description; and, probably, the celebrated wheat of Van Dieman's Land would grow without deterioration in New Zealand.

But the finest district in the Company's territories, and which is surpassed, perhaps, by none in New Zealand, is that which surrounds the base of Taranake, or Mount Egmont, an inactive volcano, which rises to the height of ten thousand feet, in the shape of a vast cone. Much of

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WELLINGTON.

the soil in this district, consisting of decomposed lava, is of an extremely fertile description. It is watered by the Wanganui River, which flows from the vicinity of Tongarido, and, like the Thames, which flows northwards from the same central source, carries down quantities of pumice-stone. The mouth of the Wanganui is accessible only to small vessels, of such a size as will be sufficient to convey to Port Nicholson flax, pork, maize, potatoes, and other agricultural produce suited for the neighbouring colonial markets. The phormium tenax grows abundantly in the district of Taranake, and its preparation will afford employment for much labour and capital.

The lands of the first settlement, consisting of one hundred and ten thousand acres, were sold in sections at the fixed uniform price of 20s. per acre. In return for his purchase money, the purchaser received an order on the Company's agents in the colony, which entitled the holder thereof, or his representative, to select one acre of town land and one hundred acres of rural land, in the order of priority, previously fixed by lot. Of the whole quantity of land, a tenth part, or one hundred and ten sections, was reserved for the natives; the Company therefore received for the lands of the first colony, 99,`990l, of which twenty-five per cent, was allotted to defray the expenses of management, and the remaining seventy-five per cent, employed as an emigration fund. Out of that fund an allowance of passage money was made to actual colonists to an amount equal to seventy-five per cent, of their purchase money, and the remainder expended in sending out to the colony young persons of the labouring class, and, as far as possible, in equal proportions of the two sexes.

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WELLINGTON.

The whole of the sections having been sold, and the priority of choice determined by a lottery, held in July, 1839, the first body of colonists, to the number of one thousand one hundred and twenty-three, sailed in the same year, and arrived in New Zealand early in 1840. The sales of land have subsequently, as already stated, been adequate to the sending out of upwards of four thousand five hundred persons. During the brief period that has elapsed since their arrival in New Zealand, the colonists of Wellington have not been idle. Crops of wheat and potatoes have been raised, and a mechanical process has been discovered, by which the flax, or fibre, of the phormium tenax can be prepared for exportation with ease and celerity, and at a cost which will enable consignees to sell it in England for much less than Baltic hemp.

Perfect amity has prevailed between the settlers of Port Nicholson and the natives; and it is worthy of remark, that among the latter there are several who have deposited sums of money in the bank--a proof of intelligence and confidence, from which it is to be inferred that the intercourse between them and the settlers is marked by mutual good feeling.

That part of the Company's plan which relates to Reserves of land for the natives, has been critically condemned in an influential Review, as holding out a delusive show of liberality. But in expressing this opinion, the writer leaves out of consideration the increased value which these reserved lands must acquire from the establishment in their vicinity of a populous British colony, with its markets, its commerce, and its civilized intercourse. Possessing a comparatively small quantity of land in a colonized country, the natives are manifestly far

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NEW PLYMOUTH.

wealthier than if they owned ten times the whole of New Zealand, under the old regime of barbarism. The critical sympathies of the reviewer are, therefore, in this particular instance, rather needlessly expended.

In the New Plymouth settlement, which was founded by an association of gentlemen in the West of England, subsequently incorporated with the New Zealand Company, the same general principles of colonization are acted upon, but each section consists of only fifty acres of agricultural, and a quarter of an acre of town land; the uniform price per acre being raised to 1l. 10s., in order to admit of the application of a larger sum to emigration purposes. The town land of New Plymouth comprises 2,200 sections of a quarter of an acre each, is equal to 550 acres, exclusive of all streets, squares, public places, parks and land, which may be rejected as unavailable; and the suburban lands comprise 209 sections of 50 acres each, and therefore equal to 57,500 acres, exclusive of roads and rejected land.

Two hundred of the town, and nineteen of the suburban sections have been allotted as native reserves, and it is intended to add a further quantity to the rural lands for disposition in a similar manner, so that a quantity equal to one-tenth of the whole settlement may be distributed among the native chiefs in the same manner as in the first settlement of Wellington, subject only to the regulations of Her Majesty's Government.

The Plymouth Company, previous to its merging in the New Zealand Company, had disposed of 1,000 sections of town land, and 54 sections of suburban land; the priority of choice for which respectively, together with the priority of choice for the sections reserved by the Plymouth Com-

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NEW PLYMOUTH.

pany for the natives, was decided by a ballot, wherein the Company took equal chances with those who had purchased land orders from them. The Company had also disposed of 149 sections of rural land, the purchasers of which are entitled to make their choice according to the order in which they may present their land orders in New Plymouth.

All further sales of land will be effected, until further notice, to actual colonists, on the following terms:

1. With a view to distribute as generally as may be practicable the advantage to be derived from the possession of preliminary lands, no application from an individual colonist will be entertained for more than eight allotments of land, each allotment containing one section of town land, and one section of rural land.

2. Two hundred and fifty allotments are set apart for sale as above mentioned, at the price of 75l. for each allotment, and applications for the same are to be made in writing in the form annexed, which, if accompanied by a deposit of 10l in respect of each allotment, will entitle the applicant to receive separate land orders for each town and rural section, with such priorities and rights of selection as hereinafter mentioned, in exchange for the residue of the purchase money.

3. The numbers signifying the priority of choice for the town sections have been selected on a fair average from the 1000 numbers of choice which have fallen to the Company in the general ballot above referred to. These selected numbers (particulars of which may be obtained at the office in Plymouth, or at the New Zealand House, London,) are deposited in a wheel, from which the purchaser's numbers will be drawn, in the presence of

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NEW PLYMOUTH.

three directors and of the applicant, if he shall think proper to attend either in person or by his agent.

The purchasers will be entitled to such town sections as may have been chosen by the Company's agents in virtue of the priority of choice signified by the number so respectively drawn. The purchasers will also be entitled to select the rural sections from any land in the Plymouth settlement, surveyed and declared open for choice as rural sections, at the time, and according to the order of presenting the land order in the colony, subject only to the regulations of the land office for preserving fairness and regularity of choice.

4. The sum of 50l. in respect to every 75l. received for each allotment as above, will be transferred to the Emigration Fund, and a purchaser to the extent of 300l will be entitled to an allowance from the said fund towards the passage of himself and family to the colony, at the rate of 25l. per cent, on the amount of his purchase money. Provided that no party will be entitled to a larger allowance on the above-mentioned account than will pay his own passage and that of his family (if any) according to the rates which will be issued from time to time by the Court of Directors. The residue of the fund will be expended in the conveyance of labouring emigrants to the settlement.

5. The residue of the land consisting of 750 town sections, 106 suburban sections, and at least 750 rural sections, will be sold by auction in the settlement, in such portions and at such upset prices, as will from time to time be declared by the Company's agents; the minimum price being in no case less than the uniform price required by the government for crown lands in New Zealand.

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NEW PLYMOUTH.

6. It is the intention of the Company, in reference to the minimum price named in the last paragraph, that a portion of the purchase money obtained by means of auction sales, equal at the least to 15s. per acre, shall be set apart for the exclusive purposes of emigration to the settlement: but as it may reasonably be presumed that the sales by auction will produce a much larger average price per acre, if the lands are judiciously selected and offered for sale, the emigration fund will, in that case, be augmented; it being the confident opinion of the court, as expressed in the instructions which have been given to their officers, that the prosperity of the colony, no less than the interests of the Company, depend on the proportion per acre in which the appropriation of land as private property shall conduce to emigration.

7. Any person who may wish to proceed to the settlement with a view to purchase land by auction on his arrival, shall be entitled to a certificate from the court of directors stating the amount he may have paid for the passage-money of himself and his family, (not being money allowed under the preceding regulations,) and the party to whom such certificate may have been granted will be entitled to a drawback not exceeding 25 per cent, on whatever may be the price of land so bought by auction in the settlement, towards the repayment of the amount specified in the certificate.

8. Any intending purchaser who shall deposit with the Company in England a sum of money towards a purchase of land at auction in the settlement, will, if such purchase be completed within twelve months from the date of deposit, be allowed a drawback of 10 per cent, exclusive of the passage allowance before mentioned; and if such

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NELSON.

purchase be not made, will be entitled to have the deposit-money returned without interest.

9. Any intending purchaser, making a deposit as last provided, will be allowed to nominate labourers and their families, who come within the Company's regulations, for a free passage to the settlement, in the proportion of three adults for every 100l. deposited.

The chief surveyor, with the first detachment of the surveying staff, sailed in August, 1840, instructions having been previously sent out to Colonel Wakefield to select the best site for New Plymouth, which has accordingly been chosen on the River Waitesa, in the Taranake district, opposite to the Sugar Loaf Islands; and since the establishment of the settlement, there have been sent out 308 male and 204 female colonists.

NELSON.

The second (or, reckoning New Plymouth, the third) settlement founded under the auspices of the New Zealand Company, has received the name of Nelson, a name peculiarly appropriate to a colony, which seems destined to perpetuate the maritime energy, as well as the persevering industry of our Anglo-Saxon race.

In the plan of the Nelson colony, the same principles are acted upon as have been already elucidated; but in its details it resembles the New Plymouth settlement rather than that of Wellington. The land is sold in sections of 201 acres, divided into

1 acre of town land. 50 acres of suburban land. 150 acres of agricultural land.

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NELSON.

The uniform price of 30s. per acre. It consists of 201,000 acres, or 1000 allotments, to which is added a quantity of land, equal to one-tenth of the whole, as a native reserve. The sum of 300,000l, to be received by the Company in payment of these lands, is appropriated in a manner calculated to render the settlement "commodious and attractive." (See App. Nos. VI. and VII.)

The site of Nelson has not yet been chosen, but since the New Zealand Company is empowered by her Majesty's Government to select nearly a million of acres, in any portion of the northern, middle, or southern islands, it seems fair to presume that the selection made by those gentlemen, on whom the important duty has devolved, will prove satisfactory to all parties.

It is worthy of remark, that the formation of the Nelson colony was originally suggested by Mr. Bryan Duppa, of Hollingbourne, a gentleman of landed property in Kent, whose brother had previously proceeded to New Zealand with the intention of embarking in agricultural pursuits, for which he is well qualified by taste and education. Regarding the agricultural capabilities of the land at Port Nicholson, the cautious testimony of Mr. John Duppa, referring, as it does, to ascertained facts, will be read with interest:--

"I hope soon," he says, "to be able to prove that the soil and climate are such as I very shortly after arrival in the colony stated them to be--viz., such as every English farmer would pray for; it is similar to that met with in Italy and the South of France. I then stated that two crops could be realized in the course of the year off the same piece of land, and a year's experience in the colony has merely strengthened this opinion, for some wheat

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which was sown by Mr. Sinclair in May last was reaped the following January, and he has at the present moment potatoes in his garden which were sown about the middle of February, and are now fit to come out of the ground. So that it is practically proved that a white crop and some succulent crop can be got off the same piece of land in the course of twelve months. But we may shortly expect to see a new style of farming introduced, and which, too, will only be second to the cotton farming in the West Indies--viz., the flax plant. We may hope soon to see large quantities of this valuable production shipped for the mother country, which will be another source of wealth, such as none of the sister colonies can boast of. A machine for the preparation of this plant is in the course of erection by our brother colonist, Mr. Earp, which I feel confident will prepare it at a paying rate; and I feel assured myself that even should it not answer as a primary process, it certainly will as a secondary one; and as soon as we can accomplish this one object, from that moment we may date the prosperity of the colony. It has been objected by many that there is no extent of land in Port Nicholson; let those persons start off on the Porirua road, and take a two days' walk towards Otaki, on the coast, and they will have some cause to change their opinions by their return, for finer country I never witnessed in the course of my life, or better fitted for the purposes of agriculture. The land in the immediate neighbourhood of Port Nicholson is certainly heavily timbered, but the expense of clearing it is not only made up for by the richness of the soil, which consists of little else than decayed vegetable matter, but its immediate vicinity to the town will enable the persons who cultivate it to send

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a variety of produce to market, such as poultry, eggs, butter, vegetables, &c. &c, which will amply repay for any outlay incurred in the clearing of the land; and he who begins first will have the best market."

The Quarterly Reviewer, already adverted to, deems it probable that hostilities will break out between the natives and the colonists of New Zealand. But this gentleman, in common with many others, seems to entertain a vague and exaggerated conception regarding the native, or, to use the term of our early voyager, the savage, character, which is inconsistent with the real attributes of human nature, even in its most uncultivated state. Man is not essentially a fighting animal, unless he has an object to achieve, and the New Zealand tau or fight being open to the contingencies of victory or defeat, with the concomitant circumstances of roasting and cooking, was too serious a matter to be entered into without mature deliberation. The natives, being an intelligent and inquiring race, are, moreover, not ignorant of the power and resources by which the government of Queen Victoria could quell and crush a few undisciplined tribes, should the latter insanely attempt to try their strength against the might of a great and civilized people.

But supposing them to be less prudent, and that, a consideration of their own fate having no influence upon their actions, they were openly and avowedly hostile. In that case it is manifest that they would be formidable in proportion to their numbers, their facility of movement and communication, their means of subsistence, and their supplies of arms and ammunition.

The numbers of the New Zealanders are estimated by the missionaries at 90,000, which is the extreme; by Dr.

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Dieffienback, a considerate and systematic observer, at no more than 40,000. I am myself inclined to think, from having lived in the most populous districts, that the aggregate native population is between 60,000 and 70,000. The tribes of New Zealand, although speaking the same language, do not constitute a nation; they are dispersed so widely, that you may travel over hundreds of miles without seeing a human being, or a human abode, or a foot of ground in cultivation. The remains of abandoned villages shew that in former times whole districts were inhabited which are now desolate, and that the population was much more numerous than it is at present.

With the exception of four or five thousand people who inhabit the inland districts of Roturua, Taupo, and Matemata, the native population is dispersed at great intervals along the coast; and so wooded and impassable is the country bordering upon the sea shore, that no communication from one remote point of the coast to another can take place otherwise than by water. In endeavouring to concentrate themselves for a combined attack, not only would their villages and plantations be left defenceless, but their canoes, their only means of transport, would fall an easy prey to the smallest armed cutter. A single frigate could visit every village along the coast in succession, and, by burning the canoes, completely cut off all means of communication, whilst a very small expenditure of ammunition would suffice for the destruction of the strongest native fortress.

But the New Zealanders, furthermore, are divided amongst themselves into numerous tribes, each of which has its inveterate feuds and jealousies. The Ngapouis could never amalgamate for any warlike purpose with the

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Wykattas, nor could the black natives of the East Cape fraternise with the brown or copper-coloured people who inhabit the rest of New Zealand. Between the people of Kiapara and those of the Bay of Islands, there exists an irreconcilable feud, and equally virulent is the enmity subsisting between the inland tribes of Roturua and Matemata. Time and barbarism have done the work of policy among the New Zealand tribes, and the old Roman maxim, "divide et impera," is completely anticipated.

Moreover, each tribe is divided against itself. The chief is jealous of his slaves, and the slaves correctly regard the colonization of their country as tantamount to their own emancipation. "Taishoa katoa rangatira," they say; "By and bye we will all be gentlemen." If, in addition to the preceding observations, we simply reflect that, although they possess muskets, they are very short of ammunition, and moreover completely unprovided with such means of subsistence as would enable them to take the field en masse, we shall be able to draw a definite inference regarding the extent to which the hostility of the natives is to be feared by the colonists of New Zealand. But there are also the influence of reciprocal utility, the kindness of familiar intercourse, and the power of humanity and common sense, --which would operate in combination, to repress the turbulent and sanguinary passions of either party.

In conclusion, it will suffice to remark that the plan of reserving lands for the natives, although made the object of a most irrational and illiberal sarcasm, is the first instance on record, in the whole history of colonization, of any consideration being given to the natural rights and interests of the aboriginal possessors of the soil.


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