DEPARTURE OF THE NEW ZEALAND COLONY. [From the Morning Chronicle.)
The Directors of this Company, together with a vast number of persons in- terested in the colonization of New Zealand, made an excursion to Gravesend on Saturday last, for the purpose' of inspecting the ships which,. under the auspices of the Company, have been freighted with emigrants to that distant region, and for the purpose also of transacting other important and interesting business connected with the foundation of the new colony. The Mercury steam-boat was employed for the occasion; and though one of the largest yes- sels engaged between London and Gravesend, her decks and cabins were com- pletely thronged by the multitude of persons who had been invited, every one of whom had a deep interest in the object of the expedition. The Mercury herself was gayly dressed in the colours of all nations; the red cross of Eng- land floating supreme above the rest. An ample awning covered the after- deck ; an excellent band of music was stationed in the waist. She left her moorings at Fresh Wharf about one o'clock, and, contending the whole dis- tance against adverse tide and wind, reached Gray -send at half-past three. The three ships it was intended to visit—the Adelaide, the Aurora, and the Ori- ental—were moored immediately below the town. As the steamer approached, conspicuous by her colours, the emigrants on board these ships crowded upon deck and received the Directors with loud and hearty cheers. The object of the Directors upon this occasion was twofold,—first, to see that their instruc- tions for the comfort of the emigrants upon the voyage had been rigidly car- ried into effect ; and, secondly, as the sanction of the Government has been withheld from the undertaking—as the infant colony has been left without the aid or protection of tit.. Colonial Office—as no steps have been taken to secure the administration of English laws upon a soil which Englishmen are to in- habit—as all the hopes which up to the eleventh hour the Company had enter- tained of even a slight recognition from the Colonial Secretary had been dia• appointed—under thcsr circumstances, the second object of the Director, was to obtain, if not from each of the emigrants, at least from the great body of them, a voluntary agreement to a charter or code of laws laying down regula- tions for the maintenance of order, and establishing a machinery for the ad- ministration of law and the enforcement of justice. The first ship that the steamer rail alongside was the Adelaide. She is a fine vessel, and has been ad- 'nimbly fitted up for the purpose for which she is employed. The arrangements for the comfort and convenience of the passengers of the lower as well as the higher class appear to be complete. The berths betwixt decks are commodious and well ventilated ; the stores are of the best description—the dietary is ample. In short, no pains nor expense appear to have been spared to secure the health and comfort of the emigrants upon their long voyage. As soon as the Directors, accompanied by the cabin passengers and a host of visiters, had reached the poop, the labouring emigrants, with their wives and children, were summoned into the waist ; when they were addressed by Mr. G. F. Young, the principal Director present, to the following. effect. " My friends, as one of the Directors of the New Zealand Land Company, I an anxious to ad- dress a few words to you upon a subject of great importance to yott all. You will, I hope, be aware, from all you have seen as to the arrange- ments made for your pa,sage to New Zealand, that the Directors of the Com- pany have not lost sight of that which it is c:iaally their duty and their plea- sure to perlinm—havo not failed to ti I every thing in their power to promote your comfort and welfare. But their views for your good are not bounded by providing for your theist t are from this country—they cast their eyes beyond the present, and contemplate what your position may be in that far distant land where as yet no such provisions have been made as in every well-organized society are absolutely indispensable for the maintenance of order and the pro- tection of property. The time cannot be far distant when the Government will do that which it is bound to do ; but in the meantime it is necessary that some measures should 1w taken hy which you may be protected front those aggressions upon social order which might arise if you were left wholly with- out laws and the means of obtainingjustice. I am thereffire shout to propose to you to enter into a voluntary agreement, by which time ends I have in- dicated may be secured to you. I propose to you to sign the document which I now hold in my band, and Which, under the peculiar eircnnn'ances in which you arc placed, I am sure you will find absolutely indi4pensalde to your security and happiness." Time 'honourable gentleman then read the document at length. It Was um S 111,4,1 nee as follows: that all the persons and parties to the agreement should tilt it to he mustered and drilled in such litsltion and at such times as should he deemed necossary to the security of all ; that if any person committed an offence .igaben the laws of England, he should he liable to be punished in the same In:inner as if tlm offence had been committed in England; that a Committee to conduct the government cf the Colony be ap- pointed, with power to make rules and to appoint officers ; that an umpire be appointed to fireside in all criminal proceedings, and, assi,ted by seven assessors, to decide on the guilt or innocence of the party aecti,ed : that where the assessors (whose office would be similar to that ofjarymen in this country) pronounced a party guilty, the umpire (whose office would by similar to that of a magistrate or judge) should state the amount of punishment to be in- flicted; that in all civil proceedings the umpire should proceed alone ; that the General Committee should have power to appoint five of its members to con- stitute a Committee of Appeal, whose decision in all eases shoull be regarded as final ; that the Committee should have power to call out the armed inhabi- tants whenever the occasion required ; and, filially, that it should have power to levy such rates and duties as may he necessary for the good government of the colony. "Thus, no person can be left in any case, civil or criminal, Nvithout, the means of prompt redress. It is to be observed, however, that these rules are only intended to remain in force up to the time when British law shall be established under the authority of the British Government, in that magnificent colony which you arc to have the pride and happiness of being the first to found."
' This address, which was very attentively listened to, was received with a hearty cheer. Ever}, man seemed to concur in the propriety of the proposed code of laws; and when it was placed upon the capstan for signature, there was not one who hesitated to put his name to it. This part of the business being concluded, the steamer next ran down to the Oriental' who received her with a salute fired from half-a-dozen large guns upon deck. We observed that each of the ships wasarmed in a similar manner; there was also in each of them an abundance of small-arms. The emigrants 021 board the Oriental are of a very superior class. 'they are chiefly young men and women of from twenty to thirty years of age—the women looking healthy and buxom, the men intelligent and resolute. Here, too, arc a num- ber of Highlanders from the estates of the Duke of Sutherland: they are a tine, hardy set of fellows, and capable, no doubt, of fighting their way iu any regiou of the world in which they may be placed. Great care appears to have been taken to secure their comfort. They arc clad in one unborn' dress—a blue jacket and cap, and tartan trousers—every thing upon their backs appears to be perfectly new. The noble duke's agent, who has accompanied them from Scotland, run: ;ins with them until the expedition takes, its final de- parture. Mr. 0. F. Young, in going through the sane ceremony on board the Oriental, that Lad previously been gone through on board the Adelaide, addressed himself particularly to this body of men. " I perceive," said lie, " that there are many here from Scotland. Scotch- men are generally well educated and well informed in the history of their couutry. 'Those whom I am addressing will doubtless remamber the solemn league and covenant which, in a former age, was entered into-by their country- men. I now propose to you, the dee. of that firm and inflexible race of men, to enter into another solemn league and covenant for the maintenance ' of social order in the, new society of ivhich-von are tone the founders." (Cheers.) The code of laws was received 'on board the Oriental, and afterwards on board the Aurora, with the same expressions of approbation as on board the Ade- laide. It was signed by every man present. Each of the three ships having been visited iu turn, the steamer ran back to Gravesend, and preparations were male for dinner. Tables were set out beneath the awning on the after-deck, • and in a few minutes were covered with a choice and abundant cold collation. The host of visitors tuok their seats, and turned to at the solids with right kooa-will; but the enjoyment of this long-anticipated part of the day's pro- ceedings was sadly broken by the torrents of rain which fell without intermis- sion, against which the awning afforded but a very imperfect protection. The ladies hurried below, where in a short time they were followed by the gentlemen. Here a handsome dessert was quickly produced, and with a copious supply of ninny kinds of wine upon the table, every one began to make himself comfortable. Now, however, the vessel was again put in motion for the purpose of once more visiting each of the three 'ships, and of taking a final farewell of the emigrants. Some touching scones occurred in the separation of friends who bad lingered to the last moment ; but, generally speaking, the whole body of adventurers, rich and poor, male and female, appeared to be in the highest spirits. It may be here proper to mention, that independent of the three ship of which we have been speaking, there are two ()there which form part et' the same expedition, namely, the " Duke of Roxburgh, AV itidt will take in Le; passengers at Plymouth, and the Bengal Merchant, which will sail from Glasgow. passengers number of emigrants on hoard each of the ships is as ffillows : Oriental 133, Adelaide 149, Aurora 142, Duke of Roxburgh 120, BengalMerehant 155 ; making a total of 704, exclusive of cabin-passengers, whose number on board the five ships amounts to 159. When the farewells of friends and relatives had been filially- exchanged, the 111:cretin- took a homeward Comps; and Mr. G. F. Young immediately assumed the chair in the state-room, where upwards of a hundred guests still remained. Now the battle began to circulate, and a second course of business commenced. There were Neste to be proposed and speeches to be made. The chairman, in the first place, acquainted the company that he had received a communica• tion from Lord Petri:, apolegizing for his absence, but stating that, its he had a son embarked in the enterielse, his feelings would not permit him to take part in the proceedings upon the eve of departure. Lord Durham, the Governor of the Company, was also unavoidably absent, having left town for the reentry. These preliminary matters disposed of, the Chairman came to the list of toasts. The first was "The Queen," which was loudly responded to. Then come "The Army end Navy," which was received with applause. The greet toast of the day followel—" The Colonists now embarked and embarking for New Zealand.' In proposing this toast, the Chairman entered into a lengthened but foreffile exposition of the difficulties against which the Com- pany had had to contend, in eine,egeonee of the refusal of the Government to lend rev aid or protection, or even to afford the slightest countenance to the cNplainoa the sten,: which the Company lad taken to preserve the rights and improve the condition of the aborigines; observing that th:s report the presez:t scheme of colonization di!Fered fromm all others that had ever ken carried into effect.
Dr. Evans, tin. ehief colonist, returned thanks in a very able speech ; in the coarso Of which he commented in still stringer term:: thou the Chairman had done, upon the conduct of Government in refusing to lend its sanction to an undertaking of so much importance. Then, speaking of the aborigines, he
said, " are no men on the face of the earth who have a more sincere or 1.R felt to preserve the rights of the aborigines than we have who are
al- v.: to 0...p:mrt to there distant .shares. We feel- that they are our adopted coinitrym.m—((',4,-ers)—and that a wrong or an injury inflicted upon them would an injury upon °twelves : we will he parties to no transaction in which their rights are not consulted e;pmally with our own." (Cheers.) Ile concluded by i,r010)=;ng. "Thee heldilm of the Governor and Deputy-Governor and Ix the Nev.. beland Company."
(!halrman returned thank4.
The l I cmoural,hr Frederick Tolleinache proposed "The health of the members of the Coennitt that day appointed fin. the Provisional Administration of the affairs of Came."
Mr. Deill.y Siaelair returned thanks. The Chaleeem then, in a FTheyelm of noun tact and ability, proposed " The
health of Lre.,1 John Itns‘Til, and ltk,forin in time Colonial Office." lie had always regarded, nail still con rimmed to r, yard, the Colonial Office as the wort- managed (owing to the debuts of the :-pAein itself) of any of the departments of the puidic service ; but be owned be anticipated much from Lord John Russell's frank and manly character—from his readiness to correct abuses, and from his sense of justice.
The toast was drunk with applause. • Several toasts fidlowed. In filet, the list had not been exhausted when the vessel reached her deFtinatioo at London Bridge. There were present during the encunion, the 'Honourable Frederick Tolle-
meche, Right Honourable Sir Alexander Johnson, Honourable William Petro, Honourable Henry Petri:, Mr. Aglionby, MP., Mr. Vincent Eyre, Mr. Com- missioner Evans, the Reverend Mr. liewtrey of Eton, the -lieverend Mr. Saxton, Mr. Browne, late M.P. fur Sligo ; Mr. Few; Mr. Somes, the Deputy- Governor of the Company, Mr. G. P. Young, Mr. Edward Gibbon ju Wake- tg42111r. f14crnlriniet M. W• 1. llpnkeyt ,Captain Naire, Pr• 47ut.,and Mr. Boulcott.
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