WELLINGTON.
[Image of page 313]
WELLINGTON.
THE province of Wellington has been so ably described, and the statistics of the settlement so recently compiled--although with a little of that partiality peculiar to this part of the colony--by a local government official, that, with the publication in this work of the leading features of the account, our own remarks will be few and brief: for while it would be impossible for us to furnish a more favorable picture of the province than the one in question, it will merely be necessary, for the information of our readers, to supply that sketch with one or two rather important omissions.
In a court of justice, an impartial judge may sometimes be heard informing a timid or reluctant witness that he is not bound to commit or criminate himself. In this respect, nations and provinces are no doubt entitled to a privilege possessed by the humblest of their citizens. It is therefore only right to suppose that the Wellington historian, whose account we shall publish, fairly
[Image of page 314]
recorded the feelings and wishes of the community, by remaining silent on a subject the proclamation of which would have been regarded by the inhabitants of the town as a serious crime. And by such an error the public commissioner would have abused his trust and misrepresented his constituents, by saying too much, and by truly representing the city instead of the citizens.
On the subject under consideration, the employe performed his part with more discretion, if not with greater fairness than the employer. While the former remained silent on a disaster, the discussion of which might have proved injurious, to the interests of the province, the latter gave publicity to the matter in a way which, if not intended, was- certainly calculated not only to deceive strangers, but also to benefit Wellington at the expense of her neighbours, by leading foreigners to suppose the entire colony of New Zealand to be the victim of a periodical local disease, which, in reality, only seriously affects the province of Wellington.
Wellington is, and has been subject to severe shocks of earthquake, which occur with more or less severity at intervals of six or seven years. Slight shocks are frequently felt; and during our stay of six weeks in the province we experienced several of these gentle vibrations which, beyond a feeble or tremulous motion of the earth, in some instances scarcely perceptible, produce neither per-
[Image of page 315]
sonal inconvenience nor alarm. We believe that life and even personal property would have been secure from the effects of the severest of these convulsions, if proper precaution had been adopted in erecting wooden instead of brick houses; for although the majority are built of the lighter material, it is only in the latter where the loss has been severely felt. The last severe shock, which took place on the 23rd of January, 1855, destroyed property in the town to the amount of £20,000. The original proprietor and landlord of the hotel at which we were located during our stay in Wellington was we believe the only life lost on this occasion, although one or two persons of delicate health subsequently died of fright arising from the effects of the shock. Between this and the preceding earthquake of any serious importance there was an interval of about seven years, the previous one having taken place in 1848.
Patent as the foregoing facts are to every person in New Zealand, it being well known that the province of Wellington is the only one in the colony seriously affected by these convulsions of the earth, the leading men of the place, in their published manifestos, modestly admit that "New Zealand is subject to periodical or occasional shocks of earthquake"--thereby leading foreigners to suppose the colony and all parts thereof to be equally liable to the visitation, although, in reality, the other five settlements are as free from the
[Image of page 316]
clanger as Greenwich or Gravesend. It is for the purpose of correcting a false impression in the minds of some of our English friends that our duty enforces a prominent notice of the subject.
Unfortunately, it is not on this subject only, but on nearly every other, that the great men of Wellington, either by attempting to disguise a bad position or by assuming a false one, provoke the merited censure of their neighbours; while, by ill-feeling and want of unity amongst themselves, they do more than their worst enemies could effect to retard the advancement and prosperity of their own province.
In little, as in great things, the Wellingtonians find it impossible to conceal their proverbial desire to benefit themselves at the expense of their brother colonists. As one case out of many, we may instance the production of a local work from which that able description of the province, which will herein appear, was extracted. The work is named or rather misnamed "The New Zealand Almanack;" and any one unacquainted with the country would, on looking over the book, reasonably pronounce Wellington the metropolis of the colony. While, as may be seen by the extract, no point is left untouched which could place more prominently before the public the leading features of this province; and while the work gives a brief review of three other settlements--Auckland, the seat of government, and the capital of the colony,
[Image of page 317]
and Taranaki, are thrown overboard altogether. Beyond giving the names of the officials, not a word is said about either of those provinces. Our readers can only imagine a parallel case, by supposing a work issued at St. Alban's, or some other third-rate town, entitled "The English Almanack and Gazetteer," giving a lengthy description of the town in which it is published, and a few others, but leaving London and Greenwich entirely out of the question.
The elements of respectable society are not wanting in this province, but those elements are divided and subdivided by so many under currents of "envy, hatred, and malice," that it would be next to impossible to find in any given number of the inhabitants that gentle concord and unity of action of which the atmosphere of good society and the key to social harmony are composed. The local press, which comprises a couple of newspapers, may be pronounced the worst conducted in the colony. Indeed the press and the acrimony of the people are typical of each other, while both are as bad as anything in a civilised country can be. The military, their friends, and a select few, are the only exceptions to the cross-grained group.
Apart from the terrestrial and social drawbacks we have enumerated, the province of Wellington shares in an equal degree the advantages of the other settlements. She possesses more and finer land than can be found in the province of Auck-
[Image of page 318]
land; and although not to be compared with the last-named settlement in a commercial point of view, her imports and exports are considerable; and her laborers, mechanics, merchants, and landowners, make as much money as that made by the inhabitants of any other part of the colony.
The following account will enable our readers to form a tolerably correct idea of the extent and resources of the province:--
"Wellington was founded in January, 1840, the first emigrant ship, the Aurora, having arrived on the 22nd of that month. It was the first settlement in New Zealand.
"Port Nicholson, as fine a harbor as any in the world, and the most central in New Zealand, was most judiciously chosen as the site of the settlement; judiciously not so much with a view to immediate progress, as to its ultimate importance among the settlements of the colony. The neighborhood of the harbor is rugged, and heavily timbered, affording, except in detached valleys (of which the Hutt is the largest and best) little land suitable for either agriculture or pasture. But at the distance of about forty miles on the N. E., and sixty miles on the N. W., commence some of the finest districts for both purposes in the whole colony; the Wairarapa valley extending from the head of Palliser Bay for sixty miles inland, and thence by a series of fertile plains to Hawke's Bay and the boundaries of the Taupo country, some one hundred and fifty miles further in the first direction; the Manawatu, Ranghitikei, and Wanganui districts in the other, offer as fine fields for settlement as any that human industry has ever reclaimed. Port Nicholson is the commercial depot for these vast districts of many million acres of fertile land, with a coast
[Image of page 319]
line of full four hundred miles. Its advantageous position in reference to the other settlements of the colony is apparent on a glance at the map. Its rapidly increasing revenue, imports, and exports, prove the impression which is being made on its back country, and foreshadow a future greatness for its commercial enterprise which will probably not be surpassed by that of any other port in the colony.
"The subsidiary settlement of Wanganui, within the province of Wellington, is fast growing into importance.
"Its fine river, navigable for good sized brigs and schooners, flowing through a tract of unbounded fertility, and now being connected with other districts of equal goodness, such as the Ranghitikei and Manawatu, by a government road, has already drawn a considerable population to it. The Wairarapa valley is fully occupied with sheep and cattle stations, and two small farm settlements have been established in this district, pioneers of the agricultural future of the valley. At Hawke's Bay, sheep stations are being rapidly formed, and the port town of Napier cannot fail before long to become a place of considerable importance
"As regards the Provincial Government of Wellington, everything has worked smoothly and well under the new Constitution. I. E. Featherston, Esq., M. D., who had earned the confidence of the public by a long and consistent political career, was elected Superintendent in July, 1853, without opposition. The elections for the Provincial Councils were held in August. On meeting the Council (which assembled on the 28th October), his Honor the Superintendent avowed his intention of adopting the principle of Responsible Government, and the gentlemen whom he appointed to his Executive Council were forthwith sent back to their constituents for re-election. The success of the experiment is admitted by all (even by those who
[Image of page 320]
originally opposed it) to have been complete, and to have established beyond a doubt the feasibility of working the machinery of Government on the responsible principle in any community however small.
"The legislation of the Council was generally of a useful and practical character, and only one measure (the Superintendent's Absence Act) was vetoed by the officer administering the Government. To Wellington and to its first Superintendent will belong the credit in the history of the colony of having been the first to establish the principle of Ministerial Responsibility. The Council was prorogued on the 17th of February to meet again on the 21st of November, 1854.
"No better test of the efficiency of the free institutions bestowed on the colony can be appealed to than the expenditure of the revenue. To take 1849 and about the middle of Governor Grey's administration, as a fair average year, it appears that in the northern province, with an estimated revenue of £30,000, no less than £28,000 was appropriated to official departments; only the contemptible balance of £2,000 being expended on public works or undertakings, and nothing whatever on immigration. Under the new Constitution the provincial revenue of Auckland for 1854, was estimated at £28,000, of which no less than £13,000 was appropriated to public works. In the Southern Province in 1849, the revenue was estimated at £28,000, of which all but £4, 019 was expended on official departments. The provincial revenue of Wellington for 1854, under the new Constitution, was estimated at £18,000, and of this £8,950 was appropriated to public works and undertakings; and the revenue having greatly exceeded the estimates, nearly two-thirds of its amount have actually been expended on public works, or reserved to pay for the passages of assisted emigrants, of whom 280 have been sent for. During the latter years of absolute government all
[Image of page 321]
public works bad ceased, or all but ceased in the colony. In the Wellington province alone, during last year, upwards of eleven miles of road, chiefly metalled, and for carriages were constructed; so forcible is the contrast between the results of self-government and colonial office rule."
STATISTICS.
"The following statistical information relative to the province of Wellington has been collected in part from the Census Returns of the province for the year 1855, as published, by direction of his honor the Superintendent, in the "Provincial Gazette" of the 26th September, 1855; and in part from other official documents to which the writer has been enabled to obtain access.
POPULATION.
"The total European population of the province of Wellington, exclusive of the military and their families, amounted, at the commencement of the present year, to 8,124 souls; of whom 4,504 were males, and 3,620 females. In 1845, five years after the foundation of the settlement, the total population was 4,383; in the next five years it increased to 5,911; so that the population is now nearly double what it was in 1845, and nearly fifty per cent, higher than it was in 1850; the last five years having made an addition to the population of 2,213 souls..
AGRICULTURE.
"In 1845 there were under crop in the several districts in the settlement 1,244 acres; in 1850 the number had
[Image of page 322]
increased to 4,504 1/4 acres; and in 1855 to 10,530 1/2 acres. We gather from this, that the amount of cultivated land in the province is more than double what it was in 1850; and as the price of agricultural produce has, in that period, doubled also, the market value of the agricultural produce of the province has been multiplied fourfold. The two small farm settlements, situate in the Valley of the Wairarapa, and distant about sixty miles from Wellington, are progressing favorably; and when the high road is completed to them, which it is fully expected will be the case in the course of the present summer, the agricultural wealth of those districts, and, in consequence, of the province, will be rapidly augmented. Under the amended land regulations, which are now in force, ample and suitable reserves for the sites of agricultural and small farm settlements are to be made in every district, before the lands in such districts are thrown open to general purchase; and whenever any reserve has been made for the site of a small farm settlement, a block of the adjacent land, to the extent of one third of the reserve will be annexed to it as common land, upon which, as well as upon all unsold lands within the reserve, every resident occupier will have a right of pasturage for a limited period. The lands of the province will continue to be disposed of at the price of 10s. per acre; but no land in these reserved blocks is to be sold until it has been accurately surveyed, allotted, and mapped. Any individual is competent to purchase as small a quantity as forty acres; and no allotment is to exceed 320 acres, or half a square mile in extent. The great drawback to the agricultural progress of the province, is the want of roads to convey the produce to market; but as these are now in rapid process of formation, and as Wellington furnishes a good market for all the productions of the soil, there can be no doubt but that the agriculture of the province will be ere long greatly extended.
[Image of page 323]
STOCK.
"In 1845 the total number of sheep in the settlement of Wellington was 12,002; in 1850 this number had increased to 42,652; and in 1855, the Returns give a total of 193,701; though there is reason to believe that this number has been considerably under-estimated. The Returns of Nelson, previous to those of the present year, always shewed that that province, in comparison with all others, possessed the largest number of sheep; but a reference to the Returns for the year 1855, of the number of sheep in the provinces of Nelson and Wellington respectively, will shew that there are in the latter province 10,380 more sheep than in that of the former. In 1845, the number of horned cattle in this province was 2,298; in 1850 they had increased to 8,068; and in 1855 to 18,400. The Nelson Returns give 10,599 cattle for the year 1855; but it will be seen that there are in this province nearly 8,000 more cattle than there are in that of Nelson. In 1845 Wellington possessed 260 horses; in 1850 they had increased to 909; and in 1855 the Europeans owned 1,608, exclusive of a very large number belonging to Maories. In 1845 the total live stock in the Wellington settlement amounted to 15,125; in 1850 to 52,828; in 1855 the total live stock belonging to Europeans alone amounted to 220,134, or exclusive of pigs, to 215,987. By far the largest number of sheep are in the Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa districts; there being in the former 80,869, and in the latter 74,373. The Wairarapa and Wanganui-Ranghitikei districts possess the largest number of horned cattle. The Hutt and Wanganui the largest number of horses.
[Image of page 324]
ELECTORAL DISTRICTS.
"The following table shows the total population, the resident qualified voters, the amount of live stock, and the quantity of land under crop in the five electoral districts of the province.
"The total number of voters on the Electoral Roll of the province amounts to 1858; the total number which appears on the printed roll for the year 1855-6 is 1896; but a number of persons whose names appear on the printed roll are either dead or have left the province. The difference between the number of persons resident in the several districts who are entitled to the franchise, and the number on the Electoral Roll, is owing in a great measure to one person in many cases being registered for several districts. The number of persons, however, who really possess the requisite qualification is much larger than is shewn by the above returns.
[Image of page 325]
IMMIGRATION.
"The Harbor Master's Returns for the year 1854 give an excess of Immigration over Emigration of 523 souls. Nearly 500 persons were introduced into the province in the beginning of the year 1855, by the Provincial Government, partly under the loan, and partly under the bounty system. In the year 1854, 319 souls arrived at the port of Wellington from Great Britain, and 697 from Australia. The total number of Immigrants in 1854 was 1055; but owing to the arrangements made by the Provincial Government, there is reason to believe that the number this year will be much greater.
EDUCATION.
"The Returns give 2153 of the population as unable to read; 1176 who can read only; and 4705 who can read and write; but there can be no doubt that the number of this latter class has been considerably over-estimated. The total number unable to write is 3329, from which, if we deduct the population under seven years of age--1998-- the total number above seven who are unable to write will be 1331; but this will be below the real amount by the number under seven who are able both to read and write. There is too much reason to fear, unless the Government vigorously takes up the matter, and meets in its efforts with the co-operation of the settlers, that while the returns will annually exhibit an enormous increase in the resources and material wealth of the province, the education of the people, and the educational establishments of the province, will be left miserably in the rear.
[Image of page 326]
EXPORTS.
"The province of Wellington can now boast of three ports of entry, viz. --Wellington, Wanganui, and Napier. The following returns of exports of New Zealand produce are from the port of Wellington only, the approximate value of which last year was £78,494 2s. 6d. The wool exported from Wellington in the year 1854, was 622,384lbs., valued at £38,447 2s. 10d; potatoes, 1242 tons, valued at £13,645 19s.; sawn timber, 734,249 feet, valued at £4,734 5s.; flour, 111 tons, 9 cwt., valued at £3,617; butter, 70,262lbs., valued at £4,992 0s. 2d.; oil, 46 1/2 tuns, valued at £2,496; oats, 6454 bushels, valued at £2,652 16s.; rope and cordage, 47 tons, 16 cwt, valued at £2,664 10s.; and cheese, valued at £694 2s. 8d. The total estimated value of the exports from the province of Wellington in the year 1854, amounted to £83,547 2s. 5d. The total shipping entered outwards at the port of Wellington last year, amounted to sixty-three, of 15,021 tons, and 757 men. The far greater portion of the exports of Wellington are sent either to Sydney or Melbourne. Even in the article of wool little more than one third is sent from that port direct to London. The value of the exports of Wellington is now four times greater than it was in 1848.
THE LAND.
"The amount of the available land of the province, over which the native title has been already extinguished, may be estimated, in round numbers, at 3,000,000 acres; of which, in round numbers, 300,000 acres have been alienated; leaving 2,700,000 acres now available for pasturage
[Image of page 327]
or agriculture. Under the original scheme of the Company, 120,900 acres of land were sold at Wellington and Wanganui, of which 92,900 acres were bought by absentees, and only 28,000 acres by residents. Scrip, in 1853, had been issued to absentees to the amount of 47,000 acres, and to residents to the amount of 46,000 acres. From June 1847, to the 4th March, 1853, there was scarcely any land disposed of in the province either by the company or the Crown. Since the new land regulations came into operation, which reduced the price to 10s. an acre, viz. --from the 4th March, 1853, to the 31st December, 1854, the total quantity of Crown lands sold amounted to 119,726 1/4 acres. That is, in the Wellington district 13,277 1/2 acres were sold. At Wanganui, 19,009 3/4. At Ranghitikei and Turakina 34,355. In the Wairarapa and East Coast 32, 234, exclusive of that sold by the Land Commissioner in the Hawke's Bay district. In these sales nearly £50,000 worth of scrip, representing 50,000 acres, were absorbed; and £38,793 received in cash by the Crown Land Commissioner.
REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE.
"The revenues of the province consist of Customs' Receipts, of the proceeds of the Land Sales, and of the incidental receipts, such as Licenses, Fees, &c, &c. Of the revenue derived from the two first mentioned sources the General and Provincial Governments each, under existing arrangements, receives half; the receipts from all other sources of revenue are paid into the provincial chest. The gross customs' receipts of the year 1855 may be estimated, in round numbers, at £30,000. The net customs' receipts were estimated by the Provincial Government at that amount; but the high prices which have been obtained for bread, meat, and fuel, and the other chief necessaries of
[Image of page 328]
life, have diminished the funds which would have been otherwise expended in the purchase of duty paying articles. The total ordinary revenue of the province for the year 1855 will most probably amount to £30,000, and the territorial revenue to £8,000; the total income of the province for the year 1855 will thus be £38,000. The civil expenditure of the province for the current year will amount to about £12,000; leaving £26,000, or more than two-thirds of the whole revenue of the province, to be expended on immigration, roads, bridges, and other works of public utility."
There is stationed in Wellington a considerable detachment of H. M. 65th Regiment. The presence of this fine body of men (with an excellent band) occasionally enliven an otherwise exceedingly dull and uninteresting town.
Note. --To Mr. James Gray, of Melbourne, who has made himself acquainted with most parts of New Zealand, and who is the owner of no inconsiderable portion of land in the colony, we were indebted for a graphic and highly interesting sketch of Wanganui, the finest and most nourishing district in the Wellington province. But, by the unaccountable loss or absence of that paper, (with others) we are prevented for the present from placing the details before our readers.
