Nagle complaining letter to editor of NZer re Steam Communication 7/6/1848

To the Editor of the New Zealander

Sir, - In your paper of Saturday last I called upon those who were anxious to promote the interests of the colony, to meet at the Exchange Hotel on this day, June 6, at 12 o’clock, to take into consideration the propriety of establishing a Steam Communication between Auckland and the various settlements in the vicinity. I, with a few intimate friends, assembled at the appointed time, and after remaining three-quarters of an hour, we were compelled to leave, the only audience we could muster were seven in number, including myself. Had I called a meeting to devise the best means to upset the Government, and turn the Governor out of the colony, I feel confident that hundreds would have responded to the call; and more especially if I had one of our celebrated demi-gods in the chair; but when a meeting was convened to promote the interest of the colony, and develop its resources, and, in fact, to put money into the pockets of the Aucklandites, yet these very men, without an exception, did not attend. It appears to me that their counting-houses and shops are their churches; their ledgers- their bibles; and their pounds, shillings, and pence-their book of common prayer. It is melancholy to imagine that so much apathy could possibly exist in the vicinity of Auckland, that out of 6000 inhabitants, only seven, like the witches in Macbeth, appeared.

                                                            I remain, &c,

Auckland, June 6, 1848.                          J. Nagle.

 New Zealander 7/6/1848  p3, col 1

 

By the editor of the Southern Cross commenting on Nagle’s steam meeting.

STEAM NAVIGATION

 

Our attention has been directed in a very unusual and not in the most agreeable manner, to the subject of Steam communication between “Auckland and the various settlements in the vicinity,” by a letter from Jeremiah Nagle, master of the schooner Deborah, in the last New Zealander; and, likewise, by some editorial remarks in that Journal, on the same subject.

            Turning first to Capt. Nagle’s letter, we cannot in conscience characterise it otherwise than an insult to the community, and a piece of the most insufferable self-conceit on his part.

            He sets forth by stating, “I called upon those who were anxious to promote the interests of the Colony,” &c, to attend a public meeting for the above-mentioned purpose. Now, in the first place, who knew that he had called such a meeting. True, there did appear in the previous number of the paper an advertisement to such an effect. But no one signed it, and it was only left to surmise who it could emanate from, and took the community quite by surprise, as such a subject had never previously been dreamt of, we presume, by any one. When Capt. Nagle therefore, says emphatically, that he called the meeting, the people naturally are led to ask themselves - Whence comes the sudden public spirit of Capt. Nagle’s - this patent manner of “putting money into the pockets of ‘Aucklandites,’ which he had discovered for them. Is Capt. Nagle, they continue, a man of such correct judgement - of such weight in the community - that he has only to put an advertisement in the paper, and straightaway the people of Auckland run gaping to him to be instructed in their own interests, - how they best “might fill their pockets.”  The very indelicate way in which Capt. Nagle has forced himself before the public, in the letter we refer to, compels us to say, that he had no reason whatsoever to expect a different result in the circumstances, - “out of  6000 inhabitants, only seven, like the witches of MacBeth, appeared!!”

            Not content in the rating these 6000 inhabitants very roundly for declining to be instructed by him in the art of money making by running steam vessels, - by way of doing the agreeable to his Excellency, - he proceeds to tell the people, that “Had I called a meeting to devise the best means to upset the Government, and turn the Governor out of the Colony, I feel confident that hundreds would have responded to the call.”  We have been frequently compelled to say many unpalatable things of the Governor, but never said anything half so bad as this. The Governor’s unpopularity must needs be great, indeed, ere one of his most devoted apologists would confess that hundreds would have attended a public meeting to have him turned out of the Colony. Save us from our friends! They may be permitted to talk with no great risk, perhaps, but heaven preserve them from rushing furiously into print!

            And who were the seven wise men, like the witches in MacBeth, who did attend the meeting? who were “to put money into the pockets of the Aucklandites; yet these very men, without an exception, did not attend.”  Thus it would appear that not one of the seven witches belong to Auckland; not a single Aucklandite attended! One of two things is certain; - either these Aucklandites must be very stupid people, utterly blind to their own country’s good - or the seven witches must be admitted to possess rare understandings. Not only does the chief witch abuse us for want of discrimination in steam affairs, - ridicule our political opinions, - but even falls foul of our religion. What, in the name of wonder, has religion got to do with steam navigation; and what right has Capt. Nagle to constitute himself censor of the religious characters of the merchants of Auckland!

            Passing from the most objectionable manner in which the subject has been brought before the public, - to the merits of the question itself, - we are sorry to be compelled to say, that in the opinion of  practical business people, the movement is altogether premature. The commercial intercourse between “the various settlements in the vicinity of Auckland” is utterly inadequate to support a steam vessel, and greatly as every one would desire to see it, they cannot blind themselves to the utter hopelessness of attempting such a communication at present. If it were not so, the people would very likely discover it as soon as Capt. Nagle, and would not be slow to invest their money in such a way if there was the least prospect of success. The attempt appears to us altogether as preposterous, and we could not have supposed it to emanate from any one of his sober senses. The New Zealander, however, tells us that there were “one or two parties present prepared, with arguments, to demonstrate the contrary;” but we fear it will take something even stronger than arguments to do this.

            The New Zealander states, by way of disparagement, “that is not very creditable to the capital of New Zealand that she should be without a penny to apply in furtherance of steam navigation, whilst a minor settlement (Nelson) has upwards of  €10,000 due to her by the Company’s scheme of settlement, set apart for the purposes of steam navigation, and which she is impatient to have immediately invested in that all-important channel.” All we need to say to this, is - that if any Company owed us €10,000 for steam navigation, we should be equally impatient as the Nelson people to see it so invested. But when the money must come out of our own pockets, we will need some better guarantee for its judicious application than the unsupported statements of the New Zealander, or of Capt. Nagle. Besides, Nelson has a reason for urging such a communication, which we have not here - there, they have surplus produce to dispose of; here, we have none - we consume it all. It is natural, therefore, that the Nelson people should wish to get quit of their surplus, and to make their Company pay the €10,000 which they owe them for steam communication.

            We should be sorry, however, from what we have said, to have it supposed that we are anxious to throw cold water upon the proposed steamer, and shall be well pleased to find our views proved to be erroneous. At the same time, we have seen the failure of so many laudable, but premature, attempts to get up public companies and associations here, that to prevent serious damage to a good cause, it is necessary to be most careful not to commence any such undertaking without good evidence of its probable success.

            We will, likewise, admit, that the public are extremely apathetic; so much so, that it is almost impossible to get above half-a-dozen of persons to get together for any common end, and the causes which have led to this are deeply to be deplored.

            His Excellency has acted so skilfully upon the principle “divide and conquer,” that the whole framework of our community - social and political - has been almost destroyed. Although we may agree with Capt. Nagle that there are hundreds - aye, thousands - anxious to see the Governor out of the Colony, we do not believe that even had Capt. Nagle called a meeting for such a purpose, that he could have found above half-a-dozen of persons possessed of the moral courage to come openly forward and proclaim the fact. As we have already said, there is no public spirit; many have land claims to settle, which they do not choose to prejudice by appearing in any way to oppose his Excellency - many expect situations - or slices of his vast expenditure - many are sick at heart to see the endless troubles into which this unfortunate country has been plunged - and all are so apathetic from one cause or another, that his Excellency may abrogate the laws of the Province, - may oppress the individual - may give land to one, and take it from another - may shut up the springs of commerce - may write despatches full of misrepresentations and insults, and still no public voice raised to proclaim our injuries.

            Such being the fact, we would respectfully warn away every individual who would attempt to set on foot any public undertaking whatever, that he must expect to suffer from the apathy necessarily produced by such an unhappy state of things; and while he is blaming the public for their cold-heartedness, let him not overlook the source s from which this degradation of character has proceeded.

(Article in the Southern Cross newspaper, 10/6/1848  page 2 column 4 and continued on page 3 column 1.

See nagle file        

And on the same page as above, column 3…

 

10/6/1848  A Letter to the editor of NZer re Nagle’s steam meeting and comments.

To the Editor of the Southern Cross

Sir, - An anonymous advertisement appeared in last Saturday’s New Zealander, calling for a public meeting at the Exchange Hotel on Tuesday last, for some purpose connected with steam navigation. In the next number of the same paper Mr J. Nagle (I presume the skipper of the schooner Deborah) published his own folly, by declaring himself to be the unknown convenor and venting his indignation against the good people of Auckland because they did not evince sufficient disposition to be gulled by attending this meeting which he and others, who perhaps have a wish to relieve the Aucklandites of their surplus cash, had presumed to call.

            At the appointed hour the place of meeting was thronged, according to Mr J. Nagle, by the seven witches of Macbeth.

            By and bye, I did not know that the Thane of Cawdor was inspirited by seven witches, but perhaps Mr J. Nagle is a man of eccentric imagination, and conceives it to be quite as much in keeping with propriety, to augment the number of Macbeth’s witches, as to transform his compeers, for the time being at least, into old women, by applying the figure to those who attended the meeting. I never heard of male witches, and therefore if seven attended, they must have been seven old women. Perhaps you had no reporter present at this important meeting, and therefore thinking that it would be a great pity if the public were to lose the opportunity of perusing the interesting details of the proceedings, I have endeavoured to imagine what they were, and now beg to place them at your service. The principal witch Jerry, introduced the business of the meeting by observing he had lately dragged out from the bush at the Great Barrier Island, a fine spar, fit for the keel of a steam boat, to ply between this and the pensioner village of Howick, with occasional trips to the Piako for pigs - to Coromandel for cows - to the Thames for timber, and sometimes to Nagle Bay at the Great Barrier, where he, the witch assured his fellow witches, he had great interest in copper; and that if his plan was adopted, a steam-boat might positively be completely coppered by only introducing the boat into his own mine; he regretted that “without an exception” no Aucklandite was present, their apathy was truly disgusting; but he presumed that if HE had called a meeting “to upset the government, and turn the Governor out of the colony,” he felt “confident that hundreds would have responded to the call,” but unfortunately He was no “demigod,” although he did go to Church with his Bible and Prayer book, and he supposed he must pursue his old course, and give up his darling and favourite scheme.

            Another witch regretted equally with his friend Jerry, that so few persons had met, and he could not help stating, that he thought steam navigation between Auckland and the places mentioned by the worthy chairman, would turn out a very profitable speculation; he thought an occasional pleasure trip to the “Kawau,” although a rival establishment to that of his own and the chairman, might be made to pay, particularly when the annual Tea and Temperance Meetings took place at the island.

            A third witch was burning with desire to express his sentiments, for he was tired with handling the “balls and cues,” and although he had hazarded a stroke or two, he had made no “hazard.” He had not intended remaining, and had actually gone half way down the Crescent with his hat in his hand, (he does not say that his head was in it) when he met four or five persons who persuaded him - nothing loth - to return to the hotel, where, after waiting another half - hour, he regretted to see only eight or nine sanguine witches present. (Chief witch - only seven) it might be as the chairman had said, seven, but he begged to inform him (the chief witch) that he counted “eight or nine,” and that whatever his sister witch might have done, he himself resorted to no usual method of getting up the steam, and therefore, that his calculation was not likely to be erroneous. (The chairman explained) when the third witch continued, he was sorry to see so few of them present, but he would tell the citizens of Auckland that if the Commissariat contracted their expenditure (here one of the witches reminded the speaker, that the Commissariat expenditure was mostly by contract) the speaker protested against these continued interruptions, and said, that the naval and military chests might be dissolved like a lump of sugar in brandy and water hot; and then what would become of them - why they would return to the glorious days of 1844 and 1845; he regretted that the meeting was a “miserable failure;” the question had been begged and he was sorry that some of his friends who were present, had not the opportunity of demonstrating the truth of their arguments, and proving the reliability of the scheme. Was it at all creditable to the inhabitants of the capital of New Zealand that they did not care one penny for steam while those of Nelson cared £10,000 for the same object; (the principal witch said, he “wished they might get it,”) he hoped, however, a second meeting would be called, which might be better attended, and would conclude by recommending the immediate purchase of the “”two excellent new engines” now for sale in Van Dieman’s Land.

            The witches then vanished in an explosion of steam which nearly scalded all Auckland.

 

                                                            Yours truly,

                                                                        An Aucklandite.

Auckland, June 9, 1848. 

The Southern Cross  10/6/1848  page 2, column 4, and page 3, column 3

             

10/6/1848 more of the steam issue

To Correspondents

We have a whole bundle of communications on the subject of Steam Navigation, commenting on Captain Nagle’s remarks on this subject in last “New Zealander”, but we have only space for a couple of them.

Y and Z have been received, and will be inserted next week.

Daily Sthn Cross 10/6/48 p2

     

The Southern Cross, 10/6/1848 page 3, column 4

 

DRAMATIC SKETCH

_____

 

Scene.  A dark room,  in the middle, not a cauldron but a long table.

            Clock strikes twelve. Three witches exclamations of impatience.

                                    Jerry, chief witch

            The hour is past, yet no one comes to generate the steam.

            My spar, with toilsome labour hewn, a future steamboat’s keel.

The phantom of my steaming brain

Lie rotting on the ground -

No ardent spirit meets my call, My hopes expire, my courage fails

The cherished visions of my waking dreams

Boilers and engines bright, revolving wheels

With furnace fiercely red, and stokers grim,

And bursting dashing spray

And if the Monarch of the deck or paddle - not upraised supreme

            These cherished fallacies vanish into air

            And leave nor trace nor hope behind

                                    Pott, second witch (see Wm.Potts mate of Victoria brig courtcase 14/10/1842)

            Ah me! my patience too has fled. -

            Bouyant with sanguine hope I hither came,

            And, finding no “enthusiasts,” strove to calm

            Of this room’s fair proportions - then I took

            The cue and struck the balls, and wildly played

            At single-handed hazard - then I gazed

            In reverie profound upon the streets, and mused on vacancy,

O Jerry - and I longed to make a speech -

            To fire with burning eloquence

            The “apathetic bosoms of the Aucklandites”,

            My thoughts were at high pressure with the power

Of thousand horse, on steam to Paparoa -

            But, ah! Still no one came

            Third Witch

Double, double toil and trouble;

The meeting fails - it’s all a bubble

(A few witches are dimly seen hovering round the table).

                        Jerry

Impious Ingrates! These Aucklandites pay no regard

To my disinterested invocation

Had I but sent a herald to proclaim

“A meeting to upset the Government

And banish its unpopular chief,”

Whole troops of demigods had hither hied

With willing haste

But for a purpose vast - to fill with gold

Their deep, capacious pockets - they came not -

Their grovelling minds find churches in their shop,

Bibles in Ledgers, Prayer Books in pence -

Oh, out upon the Aucklandites, say I

            (Witches vanish in a cloud of steam). 

 

 

Letter from Nagle re comments in the Southern Cross about his steam projects

The New Zealander 14/6/1848   page 2, column 3

Source -Ak Museum hard copy

To the Editor of the New Zealander

Sir, - As I am off to-morrow to Sydney, will you

allow me to thank the editor of the Southern Cross

for the very handsome report of my bewitching com-

ments on steam, which appeared in his last publica-

tion.

            I regret that my hurried departure will only permit

me to request his kind perusal of the following quota-

tion from the author of “Macbeth”.

“Why, now, I see there’s mettle in thee; and even,

from this instant; do build a better opinion

than ever before. Give me thy hand, Roderigo:

thou hast taken against me a most just exception;

but yet, I protest, I have dealt most directly in

thy affair.

            I am, Sir,

            Your truly obedient servant,

                                    J. Nagle

Auckland, June 13, 1848.