380 NEW ZEALAND. 



trifles, and expects to have his titles confirmed as Consul of the United 

 States. This is not surprising, and any foreigner would undoubtedly 

 have pursued the same course ; for his personal interest was very 

 great in having the British authority established, while the influence 

 he had over the chiefs was too great not to attract the attention of the 

 Governor, and make it an object to secure his good-will and services. 



The prospects of these islanders are, in my opinion, any thing but 

 pleasing, and the change by no means calculated to insure their hap- 

 piness, or promote their welfare. It seems to have been brought about 

 by a rage for speculation, and a desire to take possession of this country, 

 in order to secure it from the French. The idea that it was necessary 

 to extend the laws of New South Wales over the island, in order to 

 protect the natives, and break up the nest of rogues that had taken 

 refuge there, is far from being true. No such necessity existed, for 

 there was no difficulty in having any one apprehended by sending 

 officers for the purpose, or offering a reward. 



The New Zealand Land Company have been the secret spring of 

 this transaction, and under the shelter of certain influential names, 

 the managers have contrived to blind the English public. It will 

 scarcely be believed that the New Zealand Land Company had dis- 

 posed of several thousand shares of land before they purchased an acre. 

 Some three or four thousand emigrants, who had purchased allotments, 

 left England on their way to take possession of them, just after the 

 agent. Upon their arrival they could obtain no satisfactory informa- 

 tion respecting their allotments, and were left in a destitute condition, 

 to spend the few earnings they had left, and to endure all the privations 

 to which people landed in a new country are subject. 



Even of those allotments that have been given out, many are not 

 susceptible of cultivation. It is scarcely to be believed that the high 

 names which stand at the head of this Company could have been 

 informed of the true state of things ; yet it is generally supposed in this 

 part of the world, that it is by their exertions and influence that the 

 British government has been induced to take forcible possession of the 

 territory of an independent state, which New Zealand undoubtedly 

 was. However this may be, the speculators have succeeded in their 

 object, and the country will now be retained by England, even if a 

 military power should be .necessary. Should the New Zealanders 

 resist, and they are a warlike race, yet acting against European disci- 

 pline, they will readily be overcome. They are not unlike grown 

 children, and may be more easily ruled by kindness, and by satisfying 

 the wants of the chiefs, than by force. The population will soon 

 disappear before the whites, for the causes that have operated else- 



