1839 - Popular Account of New Zealand as a Field for British Colonization - APPENDIX, p 42-54

       
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  1839 - Popular Account of New Zealand as a Field for British Colonization - APPENDIX, p 42-54
 
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APPENDIX.

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d 2

APPENDIX.

No. I.1

Reverting now to the subject of forming an European colony in the fine and fertile country of New Zealand, I shall proceed to submit those additional remarks with respect to it which the restricted order of the narrative precluded me from offering in the first instance. * * * It cannot be supposed that a colony of Englishmen (for such I should wish them to be) would proceed to New Zealand without the strongest inducements; yet, from what has been already made known of that country through the medium of the Church Missionary Society, a considerable number of persons in England are become desirous of going out there as settlers. Without hazarding any opinion inconsiderately, I have no doubt but an English colony in New Zealand might soon become flourishing and happy; the space being so ample for their industry, the soil so fertile, the climate so salubrious, they would have every natural advantage in their favour. And I shall now state some particulars in detail, which certainly hold out a rational encouragement.

The whole of the northern part of New Zealand, and much of the southern likewise, are admirably adapted for the growth of every kind of grain, as also of various other productions; and the vine, the olive, the orange, the citron, with all the choicest fruits of the countries in the south of Europe, might be produced here in the greatest abundance by proper cultivation. In fact, there is scarcely any production that can stimulate man to exertion by rewarding his industry, which this country, with moderate labour,

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could not furnish, if we except those plants which require the heat of a tropical sun to bring them to perfection. The immense surplus of the native productions of the country, above what would be required for the use of the colonists, would be extremely valuable in a commercial point of view. The timber of its extensive forests finds at this time a quick sale in the market of Port Jackson, where it is cut up into scantling, and preferred to the timber of that place, which, from its hardness, is difficult to be worked, and, from the quantity of its gum-veins, occasions a considerable waste. When a free communication is opened with the Spanish colonies on the south-west coast of America, which, from the present posture of affairs in that part of the world, may be reasonably anticipated as an event very likely soon to take place, a fine field for speculation would present itself to the colonists of New Zealand, from which country timber has been already carried thither, and I believe with considerable advantage to those commanders of vessels who have taken it. Wood being scarce, in these colonies, is always sure to bear a high price; and the settler at New Zealand, receiving his payment in specie, would be enabled to purchase those European commodities which are necessary for the comforts of life, as well as for its more refined enjoyments. For the smaller timber which abounds here, a ready market is open at Calcutta, where the heavy native wood is not adapted for the yards and topmasts of vessels; and when I left Port Jackson, Mr. Marsden had it in contemplation to have always a supply of spars for the ships that came from India. Though the timber in the part of the country that we visited is not fit for the purposes of ship-building, which requires wood of considerable firmness and solidity to resist the destructive action of the worm, and the violence of the elements, yet on the Southern Island the timber is much stronger and of a closer grain. A vessel of one hundred and fifty tons burden is said to have been constructed some years back in Dusky Bay, but I have not been able to learn how far it answered the expectation of the builder. However, from what Captain Cook states respecting the timber in this quarter, I am disposed to believe that ships both durable and substantial might be built from it.

The fisheries of this country would be an invaluable source of wealth in themselves; and the vast quantities of fish which they would supply for exportation might be sure, I should think, of finding a market in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies. The two species of the whale, so very valuable, the one for its sperm or head matter, the other for its oil, are frequently met with in these seas, so much so, that New Zealand has been for many years accounted one of the best stations for procuring those prodigious animals. Should the government at home not deem it expedient to allow the colonists to avail themselves of this lucrative traffic, but confine it exclusively to the vessels fitted out from England, still it would be of advantage to the settlement, as those vessels

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would put in upon their coasts for provisions, in preference to Port Jackson, where, from the heavy charges of the port-duties, and the almost general want of principle among the trading part of the inhabitants, the expenses to which commanders of ships are necessarily liable, become a serious drawback upon the profits of the voyage. The ursine seal, or sea-bear, and the sea lion, are found in congregated herds to the southward: and on Campbell and Macquarie Islands, which are situated at no great distance from the southern part of New Zealand, the valuable furs of these animals are found in great plenty, and are now made by the colonists of New South Wales a most profitable article of commerce either in England or in China, to which latter country they are frequently exported. The settlers at New Zealand, from the contiguity of their situation, could possess themselves of a great share of this trade, and consequently participate in the profits which are already derived from it.

That singular species of the flax-plant, which I have already described as peculiar to this country, is, from the strength and firmness of its fibre, the great abundance that each plant produces, the little trouble required in preparing it, and the facility with which it may be cultivated, another very considerable source of which the colonist might avail himself. From this plant, which I do not hesitate to pronounce the most valuable of its kind of any ever yet known, he would not only be enabled to supply himself with an excellent material for the fabrication of linen, canvass, and cordage, for every purpose, but would, when a regular intercourse was established with the mother-country, find it a most advantageous article of export, as the sale of it in England would be always certain and profitable.

When in the course of time the settlers would be enabled, from the augmented strength of their numbers, to search for new sources of wealth in the bowels of the earth, it is very probable that the long chain of hills which I have before adverted to as likely to contain metallic ores, may yield treasures far beyond what the most sanguine hopes of the miner could venture to anticipate. But without at all considering these treasures, which are only contingent, New Zealand possesses so many obvious resources which are defined and certain, as would render it one of the fittest places in the world for an industrious and enterprising colony.

It may be urged, perhaps, as an objection against forming any considerable settlement in this country, that the natives, being a brave and warlike race, would look with jealousy on the colonists, as threatening at some future period to destroy their liberty and independence, and would therefore take every opportunity to harass them in the progress of their acquisitions, by continued acts of hostility and depredation; but from what I have seen of the disposition of the New Zealanders, I do not believe that there would be any cause for apprehension in this respect. The security of the colony would entirely depend upon the settlers themselves;

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for, by conducting themselves towards these people in a kind and conciliatory manner, they might easily secure their attachment and prevent their suspicions; but if, by adopting a contrary demeanour, they should have the imprudence to provoke their resentment, the very worst consequences might be expected to ensue.

As landed property is accurately defined in New Zealand, their being among the chiefs a mutual recognition of their respective territories, and an understanding that no encroachment is to be made on any without the general consent, it would be necessary to enter into a regular agreement with one of the Arekees for a certain portion of land; which, in the absence of a legal obligation, should be secured to the colonists by the superstition of the taboo, and the limits properly ascertained. In this purchase there would be no difficulty, as they might get a very extensive tract of ground ceded to them for a small number of axes and implements of agriculture, their natural wants rendering these articles much more precious in the estimation of the New Zealanders than specie is with us as a circulating medium. Their next measure should be to gain the confidence and friendship of the Arekee from whom the purchase was made, and also to enter into alliances with the chiefs in the vicinity of the settlement, who would feel a degree of pride in being admitted to a close intercourse with Europeans, and would readily co-operate with them in repelling any remote tribes, who might come for the purpose of rapacious aggression.

These chieftains might readily be prevailed upon to assist them with their people in the cultivation of their lands; and, for this purpose, houses should be built for them, rations regularly served out to them, and they should be treated with respect, and upon an equality with the white inhabitants; care being taken at the same time that the labour required from them should not be exacted with severity, as their present desultory mode of living could not be expected to be changed at once into a constant and regular habit of application.

The limits of this work will not allow me to go into a more enlarged detail, on a subject which I would again hope may attract the attention of the government, at a time when so many valuable members of society are pining all over the nation in extreme indigence. By the colonizing of New Zealand, the cause of humanity would be served in a two-fold manner; provision would be made for a distressed class of enlightened mortals, and the civilization of a fine race, who are now sunk in utter ignorance, would by such an event be rapidly accelerated.

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No. II.

NEW ZEALAND LAND COMPANY.

Capital, £250,000 in 25,000 Shares of £100 each; with power to extend the same, if necessary.

Deposit, £10 per Share.

Governor. --The EARL OF DURHAM.

Deputy-Governor --JOSEPH SOMES, Esq.

DIRECTORS.

Lord Petre.
Hon. Francis Baring, M.P.
John Ellerker Boulcott, Esq.
John William Buckle, Esq.
Russell Ellice, Esq.
James Brodie Gordon, Esq.
Thomas Allers Hankey, Esq.
William Hutt, Esq., M.P.
Stewart Marjoribanks, Esq.
John Pirie, Esq., Alderman.
Sir George Sinclair, Bart., M.P.
John Abel Smith, Esq., M.P.
William Thompson, Esq., Alder-man, M.P.
Sir Henry Webb, Bart.
Thomas Weeding, Esq.
Arthur Willis, Esq.
George Frederick Young, Esq.

Bankers --Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Smiths; and Messrs. Wright & Co.

Standing Counsel. --John Buckle, Esq.

Solicitors. --Messrs. Few, Hamilton, and Few.

Secretary. --John Ward, Esq.

OFFICE, NO. 1, ADAM STREET, ADELPHI.

THIS Company has been formed for the purpose of employing capital in the purchase and re-sale of lands in New Zealand, and the promotion of emigration to that country.

A description of these Islands as a field for British colonization, has been rendered unnecessary by the labours of the New Zealand Association of 1837, who collected and disseminated very ample information on the subject, (see page 3.) The sole aim of that Society was to induce the legislature to apply to New Zealand the peculiar system of Colonization which has proved so eminently successful in South Australia, and to make provision for guarding the native inhabitants from the evils to which they have hitherto been exposed by their intercourse with Europeans of every class. Her Majesty's Government, however, objected to all legislation for these ends, except on one condition, to which the Society could not assent. The proposed condition was, that the Society, which had excluded from its objects all speculation for private gain, should become a joint-stock company and engage in undertakings with a view to profit. This condition was declined, as being at variance

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with the declared character of that Society; and the result has been the formation of the present Company, in a form consistent with the condition thus required by Her Majesty's Government.

The purchase and improvement of waste lands in New Zealand has been already carried on to a great extent, and with much advantage by missionaries and others, who have settled in the country, as well as by persons residing in the adjacent Australian Colonies; and such an operation upon an enlarged scale is the proposed object of the New Zealand Land Company.

The attention and business of the Company will be confined to the purchase of tracts of land, --the promotion of emigration to those tracts directly from the United Kingdom, --the laying out of settlements and towns in the most favourable situations, --and the gradual re-sale of such lands according to the value bestowed upon them by emigration and settlement. It is also proposed that, to facilitate the transmission of capital between England and New Zealand, the Company shall act as agents, for that purpose only.

Such an undertaking affords peculiar advantages to the employers of a large combined capital, and is further suitable to a Company, inasmuch as it can neither impede individual enterprise, nor is liable to the competition of individuals, and is capable of being managed at little expense for agency, and upon a system of fixed routine.

Very extensive tracts of most fertile land in situations highly favourable both for agricultural and commercial settlements, have been already purchased and secured for the purposes of this Company: and an expedition has also been fitted out and despatched for surveying the coast of New Zealand, making purchases of lands in the most eligible spots, and preparing for the arrival of a large body of settlers, whom it is proposed to establish on the Company's lands during the present year.

These important purchases, and the fitting out of the preliminary expedition, (including the purchase and equipment of a fine vessel of 400 tons,) have been effected, at a considerable outlay, by parties, to whom a certain number of paid-up shares, to be determined by arbitration, are consequently to be assigned for a transfer of their interests.

Upon the remaining shares, a call of 10l. per share, (in addition to the deposit,) will be made at the discretion of the Directors, with not less than one month's notice; and all further calls will be made at intervals of not less than three months between each call, and of which one month's notice will be given; and no call, at any one time, will exceed £10 per share.

The Directors are to have the entire management and control of the funds, formation, proceedings, and affairs of the Company, and are empowered to enter into any arrangements whatever, which they may consider conducive to the interests of this undertaking, to prepare a Deed of Settlement for the management of the Company, and to take any steps that may be thought proper

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relative to an Act of Parliament or a charter in aid of their plans, application for which will be made with the least possible delay, -- and generally to adopt such measures and proceedings with reference to the grants, and disposal of shares, or otherwise, as they shall consider expedient.

The Shares in the first instance will be issued in scrip receipts, upon which will be indorsed the principal laws and regulations by which the Company is to be governed until a Deed of Settlement shall have been entered into, or an Act of Parliament have been obtained.

Further information on every point connected with the Company may be obtained from the Secretary, at the Office, where applications for shares may be made until the day of appropriation, of which public notice will be given.

London, June 10, 1839.


No. III.

NEW ZEALAND LAND COMPANY.

OFFICE, No. 1, Adam Street, Adelphi.

TERMS OF PURCHASE FOR LANDS IN THE COMPANY'S FIRST AND PRINCIPAL SETTLEMENT.

THE Company have already acquired very extensive tracts of land in the North Island of New Zealand, and have despatched an expedition for the purpose of purchasing other lands, and of selecting the most eligible district for the first and principal Settlement.

The object of the Company in making this selection, will be so to determine the place of their first Settlement, as to insure its becoming the commercial Capital of New Zealand, and, therefore, the situation where Land will soonest acquire the highest value by means of colonization.

Within this district, the site of the Company's chief town will be carefully selected; after which, out of the whole territory there acquired, a further selection will be made of the most valuable portion as respects fertility, river frontage, and vicinity to the town. The site of the town will consist of 1100 acres, exclusive of portions marked out for general use, such as quays, streets, squares, and public gardens. The selected Country lands will comprise 110,000 acres. The situation of the whole quantity of acres constituting the first Settlement, will, accordingly, be determined by a double selection; --first, of the best position with reference to all the rest of New Zealand, and secondly, of the most valuable portion of the land acquired by the Company in that position, including the site of the first Town. The lands of this first and principal Settlement, therefore, if both selections are properly made, will be more valuable, and will sooner possess the highest value, than any other like extent of land in the Islands.

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These doubly-selected lands will be divided into 1100 sections, each section comprising one town-acre, and 100 country-acres. 110 sections will be reserved by the Company, who intend to distribute the same as private property amongst the chief families of the tribe, from which the lands shall have been originally purchased. The remainder, being 990 sections, of 101 acres each, are now offered for sale in sections, at the price of £101 for each section, or £1 per acre.

The purchase-money must be paid in full at the Office of the Company in London, on a day of which public notice will be given.

In return for the purchase money, the Company will deliver to the purchaser of each section, an Order on their officers in the settlement, which will entitle the holder thereof, or his agent, to select one town-acre, and a country section of 100 acres, according to a priority of choice, to be determined by lot, subject to the provisions hereinafter mentioned.

The lots for priority of choice will be drawn at the Company's Office in London, in the presence of the Directors, on a day of which public notice will be given.

An officer of the Company will draw in the same manner for the 110 sections reserved and intended for the Native Chiefs; and the choice of these reserved sections will be made by an officer of the Company in the Settlement, according to the priority so determined.

The choice of sections, of which the priority has been so determined by lot in England, will take place in the settlement as soon, after the arrival of the first body of colonists, as the requisite surveys and plans shall have been completed, and will be made under such regulations as an officer of the Company in the Settlement, authorised in that behalf, may prescribe. Neglect, or refusal, to comply with such regulations will occasion a forfeiture of the choice; and vest the right of selection in such officer as to the sections in regard to which the choice shall have been forfeited.

The land-orders will be transferable at the pleasure of the holders; and a registry will be kept at the Company's Offices in London, and in the settlement, as well of original land-orders, as of all transfers thereof.

Of the £99,990 to be paid to the Company by purchasers, 25 per cent only, or £24,997 10s. will be reserved to meet the expenses of the Company. The remainder, being 75 per cent, or £74,992 10s., will be laid out by the Company for the exclusive benefit of the purchasers, in giving value to the land sold by defraying the cost of emigration to this FIRST and PRINCIPAL SETTLEMENT.

Purchasers of land-orders intending to emigrate with the first Colony, (which it is proposed shall depart by the middle of August next,) will be entitled to claim from the Company, out of the £74,992 10s. set apart for emigration, an expenditure for their own passage and that of their families and servants, equal to 75

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per cent, of their purchase-money, according to regulations framed by the Company with a view to confining the free passage to actual Colonists. But unless this claim be made in London by written application to the Secretary, delivered at the Office of the Company, on or before a day of which public notice will be given, it will be considered as waived.

The remainder of the £74,992 10s. set apart for emigration, will be laid out by the Company in providing a free passage for young persons of the labouring class, and as far as possible of the two sexes in equal proportions.

Labourers selected by purchasers for a free passage must be subject to approval by the Company, as respects age, sex, and good character.

In the selection of other labouring emigrants, the Company will give a preference to applicants who shall be under engagement to work for capitalists intending to emigrate.

A scale of the rates at which cabin and steerage passages will be provided by the Company in proportion to the purchase money of land-orders, will be exhibited at the Company's Office.

The land-orders are to be received as sufficient conveyances, and conclusive evidence of the Company's title; and a certificate of an officer of the Company in the settlement authorized in that behalf, mentioning the section fallen or assigned to the lot of any land-order, is to be accepted as sufficient evidence thereof, and as an actual delivery of the possession of the section mentioned in such certificate; and the Company are not to be considered as guaranteeing the title, except as against their own acts, and the acts of those deriving title under, or in trust for them.

Written applications for land-orders, will be received and registered by the Secretary of the Company, in the presence of the aplicant, or his agent, if required, until Saturday, the 22d of June instant inclusive, when, or sooner, if more than the whole quantity of land should have been applied for, the Orders will be awarded strictly according to priority in the registry of applications. A deposit of £10 on account of each land-order must be paid to the Company's Bankers or Country-Agents on the day of application, and will be returned in case, by reason of the above rule of priority, the Directors should be unable to award the Order.

Maps and descriptions of the Islands of New Zealand, and of the Lands already acquired by the Company, forms of land-orders, and other information, will be furnished on application to the Secretary at the Office. By Order of the Directors,

JOHN WARD, Secretary.
New Zealand Land Company's Office,)
June 1st, 1839.


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No. IV.

NEW ZEALAND LAND COMPANY.

Governor--EARL OF DURHAM.
Deputy-Governor--JOSEPH SOMES, Esq.

Committee for the West of Scotland.

The Honourable Henry Dunlop, of Craigton, Lord Provost of the City of Glasgow.
James Lumsden, Esq., of Yoker.
Laurence Hill, Esq., of Barlanark.
Andrew Tennant, Esq., Merchant, Glasgow.
Alexander Johnstone, Esq., of Shieldhall.

Bankers--The Clydesdale Bank--Secretary--John Crawford. Capital, £250,000--in 2500 Shares of £100 each.

THIS Company has been formed for the purpose of acquiring and re-selling land in New Zealand, with a view to the Colonization of that country, and the promotion of Emigration, by expending 75 per cent, of the price in providing a Free Passage to young persons of the labouring classes of both sexes.

The first or principal Settlement is to consist of 110,000 acres of Country Land, and 1,100 acres of Town Land, divided into Sections of 101 acres each. The price is fixed at £l per acre. Since the publication on the 8th instant of the terms and regulations of the Company for the sale of Land, not fewer than 700 Sections have been sold, so that immediate application to secure Town and Country Sections is necessary.

The first colony, consisting of about 1000 individuals, has been formed in London, and will embark from the Thames in August; and it is expected the first Scotch Colony will be enabled to sail from the Clyde in September next. Purchasers of Land intending to settle in New Zealand, and joining this Colony, will be entitled to a Free Cabin Passage. Labourers will be taken out Free, and every encouragement given to industrious and experienced persons.

Copies of the Prospectus of the Company, and of the Regulations for the Sale of Land, and all other information, may be had on applying at the Office.

By order of the Committee,

JOHN CRAWFORD, Secy.
New Zealand Land Company's Office,
24, Queen Street,
Glasgow, 26th June, 1839.

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No. V.

A recent writer (Mr. Matthew,) lays great stress on the propitious effects which the delicious climate of New Zealand may be expected to have on the females of the Caucasian British race. "The rose tinge of the cheek," he observes, "is a direct consequence of moist air, of a fresh stimulating coolness. The British fair may rely that England's rose will not fail to blossom in New Zealand, in all its native richness--giving the unmatched tinge of flower, beauty, and freshness. The danger is, that it may throw even that of the mother country into shade; although its sister, the vegetable rose, has never been seen indigenous in the southern hemisphere, while it surrounds the globe in the northern with a flowery chaplet. In other respects, from its soft moist climate, New Zealand, like Sicily, may be expected to be especially propitious to women. The prospects now before them must cause the bright blood to mantle on the cheek of the British fair."


ERRATUM.

In line 25, page 6, instead of 11,100, read 111,100.




J. Neilson, Printer.

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1   From the Narrative of a Voyage to New Zealand, performed in the years 1814 and 1815, in company with the Rev. Samuel Marsden, Principal Chaplain of New South Wales. By John Liddiard Nicholas, Esq. 1817.

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