1851 - Fox, William. The Six Colonies of New Zealand - CHAPTER III. GOVERNMENT

       
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  1851 - Fox, William. The Six Colonies of New Zealand - CHAPTER III. GOVERNMENT
 
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CHAPTER III. GOVERNMENT.

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CHAPTER III.

GOVERNMENT.

§ 1. THE EXISTING FORM.

THE form of government established in New Zealand, as in all the crown colonies, presents an outward resemblance to a mixed monarchy, in which the absolute will of the ruler is tempered and controlled by constitutional checks. But when these checks are examined they prove to be entirely inoperative, and the government practically exists as a pure unmixed despotism.

The two powers which at first sight appear to control the absolutism of the governor, and to share if not to over-ride his authority, are the legislative councils and the colonial office; but, for reasons which I will proceed to state, neither of them have in reality the smallest practical influence on his acts.

The legislative councils fail, and must necessarily do so, on account of the fundamental principle on which they are constituted. They consist solely of certain paid officers of govern-

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ment, holding ex-officio seats, as the attorney-general, colonial secretary, &c, and of nominees appointed by the governor and removable at pleasure. 1 Formerly, the number of nominee members was less than that of ex-officio ones, but since 1848 (the establishment of the provincial councils) this has been altered, and there is now a majority of nominated members. The result however is the same in either case -- the Governor passes whatever estimates, and carries whatever measures he pleases. Under the former system the nominee members used commonly to make a display (possibly an honest one) of opposing the Government; but their opposition was always overruled by the votes of the ex-officio majority. The same end is now attained in a different way. Care is taken in selecting nominees to secure only such as will give the Government unflinching support, 2 and

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THE EXISTING FORM.

thus though often in a majority even on questions in reference to which they speak against Government, their vote is always with it. In the session of 1849, at Wellington, with the exception of a single vote of 800l. on the educational question, the nominees supported the government in every particular of the slightest interest to it, and passed the estimates (which the colonists at large would have cut down by at least one half) almost in the very shape in which they were laid before them. One of the nominees (Dr. Greenwood) expressly stated in council, that their presence there amounted to a pledge 'not to oppose the Government.' Another of the members (Dr. Monro) finding on one occasion that owing to the absence of some of the official members a motion of opposition on the part of the nominees must necessarily be carried, chivalrously proposed an adjournment that the Government might bring up its forces; but the Lieutenant-governor good-humouredly declined the offer, and the nominees, though in an undeniable majority, allowed him to carry his measures without any resistance

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except in words. This was the course of proceeding all through the session, and, except as far as it relieved the executive government from responsibility, the council might as well never have met.

And indeed Governor Grey seems to have arrived at the conclusion that it is not worth while to go through the form of calling it together. At the date of the latest news from the colony (the middle of March last) the legislative council of the southern province had not sat for twenty months, and that of the northern for nearly the same period. The revenue had consequently for eight months of that time been expended without any legislative appropriation, on the mere warrant and at the pleasure of the Governor; an event which occurred also previously to 1848.

The legislative councils therefore appear to have been called into existence only to satisfy the provisions of the charter which prescribes their creation; but the government is carried on, either without their being summoned, or if occasionally they are, without their exercising the smallest influence over it.

The other apparent check, the Colonial Office, (which is supposed to represent the British Government,) is equally ineffectual to control the governor, except in extreme cases, when

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THE EXISTING FORM.

action is forced upon it by Parliament, as it was in New Zealand in 1845. It is perhaps natural that the office should, as a general rale, support a Governor of its own appointment. The presumption in the mind of Downing-street would be that a Governor is in the right, though it must be admitted that experience might have taught it a different conclusion. Consequently, so long as his acts do not get the office into difficulties, it seldom if ever interferes with his proceedings. But this is not the only cause of its inefficacy as a check. There are innumerable cases in which complaints of the Governor and of his acts are made to the Colonial Office by the colonists, and that in a sufficiently imposing form as regards numbers, facts and arguments, to throw upon the office the responsibility of deciding between the Governor and colonists. And here occurs the weak point, the means by which the Colonial Office is brought always to decide in the Governor's favour. Every complaint, petition, or memorial, relating to him or his government, must be forwarded through him, and goes home accompanied by his own comments and explanations, which are never seen by the colonists or open to any reply from them, till perhaps they appear in a Blue Book twelve or eighteen months after the question involved has been decided against them. Of

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course under these circumstances, he always makes the best defence he can, whether it be of himself personally or of his measures. And the Colonial Office invariably adopts his explanation, and decides in his favour. At least that has been the experience of the colonists of New Zealand, and more particularly during the last five years.

Nor is it any easy matter to bring public or parliamentary opinion to bear upon the Colonial Office when it decides wrong. So much of the questions in dispute as is permitted to see the light, is to be found in the Parliamentary Blue Books. But the contents of these are only selections, and selections made by the Colonial Office. They contain a portion of the truth, but seldom the whole truth; and what there is of truth is often mixed with what is untrue, or plausibly exhibited in a false light. We will suppose a memorial to have been addressed by a body of highly respectable colonists to the home government, complaining of a long series of acts of misgovernment, and dissecting previous despatches of the Governor. It will appear in the Blue Book, in small type, preceded by his defence in large, to which is certain to be appended a reply from the Colonial Minister, assuring him that the complaints of the colonists have in no way lessened her Majesty's confidence

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THE EXISTING FORM.

in him. The defence probably consists of a few holes picked in some subordinate part of the charge and then a request that the writer may not be called upon to reply to statements of which these are a sample. 3 Or an attack will be made on the character of the chairman of the meeting from which the complaint emanated, and the charges ignored, because they proceeded from such a source. 4 Or, if there is an opening for neither course, a bold front will be assumed, and surprise expressed that charges should be preferred, of the falsehood of which every respectable person in the colony has been long convinced. 5 Or, finally, if the rottenness of the case is so apparent on the face of the documents that it cannot be otherwise concealed, they will be distributed in inextricable confusion and small type, up and down the book, while the Governor's denial and the Colonial Minister's adoption of it, will be printed prominently, and in good large type. 6

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And in addition to thus forming a weapon of defence to the Governor, they provide him with one of attack against his adversaries, with which he is constantly able to deal heavy blows without their being aware of it. Thus charges will be made against an individual, who, though in the colony and at the seat of government, is not there put on his defence, and only becomes acquainted with the charge from seeing it in the Blue Book a year after it was made. 7

And thus the Colonial Office, so far from constituting any check on the Governor, in reality serves him as a shield and protection against

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THE EXISTING FORM.

public opinion in the colony. Colonial governments would have to yield to that opinion much oftener than they do, if they had not the opinion of the Colonial Office to exhibit in opposition to it. That department serves, ostensibly, as a sort of tribunal of reference between the colonists and the Governor; but stands virtually pledged, as well as interested, always to decide in favour of the latter.

The only instance in which a decision has been given against Governor Grey, was in reference to the abolition of the county courts, a matter of little importance, but which was clearly an illegal act. On no single question of policy have the suggestions or complaints of the colonists been listened to. For the last three years numerous and repeated complaints on matters of vital importance, supported by careful analyses of his published despatches, and emanating from large bodies of the most respectable and influential colonists, have been sent home from all the principal settlements. A bare acknowledgment of their receipt, and an assurance to the Governor of the continuance of her Majesty's confidence, are all the reply they have ever elicited from the home government.

Nothing can be worse than the effect of this on the minds of the colonists. Possessing an overwhelming majority in the colony, they are

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PRESENT GOVERNMENT:

continually defeated by a minority of one, who is enabled to stand his ground against them by the support of a distant ally who has never seen the colony, and in whose capacity for judging of the matter the colonists have no confidence. The certainty with which all differences are decided against them, impresses them with a feeling that it is entirely useless to address their complaints to the Colonial Office; and they only continue to make them from a feeling of self-respect which prevents their submitting in silence, and in a sort of vague hope that in the pages of a Blue Book they may meet the eye of some colonial reformer, and elicit sympathy, if not redress.

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§ 2. PRESENT GOVERNMENT--DEFECTS OF.

The form of government which I have described in the last section is that to which the colonial reformers, who took part in the great New Zealand debate in 1845, attributed all the evils under which the colony then suffered; and there is no doubt that to that cause they were chiefly traceable. They were brought prominently forward at that period by the personal indiscretion of the Governor. Governor Grey is a person of more tact and diplomacy than his predecessor, and he avoids placing himself in

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DEFECTS OF.

positions where the flagrancy of some single act might attract public attention to the general inefficiency of the system of government of which he is himself the development, the head and front. Yet for all practical purposes, the evils of the system which evoked its emphatic condemnation from Lord John Russell, Lord Grey, Sir Robert Peel, Sir James Graham, and other statesmen, in 1845, exist in their full force and vigour at the present hour. If their results are less manifest, it is owing to the personal tact of the Governor; to the enormous expenditure of British money in the colony, which creates a fictitious and temporary prosperity; and to the presence of a large military force, which ensures tranquillity among the natives.

But the government, as a government, is as inefficient as it was in 1845: it exhibits the same normal and inherent characteristics, and it bears, to a great extent, the same fruits.

The defects of a despotic form of government, particularly when its head resides at a distance of from 500 to 800 miles from the principal communities to be governed, exhibit themselves in two aspects, apparently contradictory to each other. On the one hand, there is far too little government; on the other, there is a great deal too much. I will endeavour to explain the paradox.

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The deficiency of government arises from the fact, that everything depends on the will of one man. 'Be his abilities and his industry what they may,' the impossibility of his presence in many places at once, the amount of details which have to be disposed of, and, in New Zealand, the imperfect perception which he necessarily has of circumstances at a distance, render his efforts, however well intended, feeble and ineffective. To add to the difficulty, a very large amount of time and of energy is consumed, not in any part of the practical business of government, but in reporting to the Colonial Office his acts or intentions, and in defending himself from the attacks and complaints which are constantly being preferred against him from some quarter or other. Hence, instead of being decided on at once, and executed with promptitude, matters of the utmost but often of purely local consequence, are delayed for months by the necessity of reference to head-quarters; and when determined on, are carried into execution feebly and inefficiently by reason of the distance of the agent from the power which puts him in motion. In one case, where the purchase of a large district of land near Wellington was the object, it took seven months before the sanction of the governor could be obtained and a commissioner be got to enter on the negotiation.

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DEFECTS OF.

On the other hand, there is too much government. The official establishments are altogether disproportioned to the communities whose affairs they administer. In the southern province of New Zealand there are not less than 100 paid officials (besides about forty policemen) to govern a population (at the time the estimate was made) of not 10,000 Europeans. This is attributable to two causes; 1st. The necessity which the weakness of the government creates for the employment of a great many hands to help it; making up in quantity what it wants in quality: and, 2nd, The tendency which all despotic governments have to buy support by patronage. In the southern province, in the year 1850, with an ordinary revenue of 19,000l., no less than 14,000l. (minus a small sum for contingencies used in the offices) appears to have gone into the pockets of the officials as salary; while nearly the whole of the remainder was expended on police, printing, or other matters involving patronage, and attaching the recipients to the interest of government. In 1846, Governor Grey proposed the appointment of a lieutenant-governor for the southern province, and pledged himself if one was appointed, 'judiciously to curtail' the existing cost of government. But he has found it impossible, and will so long as

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the present system exists. At the date of that pledge, the entire annual cost of government at Wellington was 4409l. A lieutenant-governor was appointed in 1848, and the cost of government, so far from having been 'judiciously curtailed,' has swelled to 16,000l., while the ordinary revenue, in the same period, has increased less than 5000l.

The colonists complain, and apparently not without reason, of the manner in which patronage is exercised. The more formidable politicians are bought up in the most open manner --offices being even invented for their accommodation. 8 If a young gentleman arrives in the colony who writes 'honourable' before his name--who has a cousin in the House of Lords, or relatives of influence at the Colonial Office-- he never waits long for an appointment. 9 If it is desirable to secure a partisan of a humbler class, 'the first vacancy in the customs is promised;' and, probably, it is owing to the run on this department that the collection and keeping of the revenue of Wellington alone costs the enormous amount of seventeen per cent, on the gross sum collected; the whole of which is expended

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DEFECTS OF.

on custom-house officers, treasurers, auditors, and their clerks.

But the instances of patronage which create the greatest dissatisfaction are those which emanate from the Colonial Office. Take the Otago judge for example. Mr. Stephen, a barrister of Van Diemen's Land (a cousin of the gentleman who for a quarter of a century held the Colonial Office in fee) was unjustly disbarred by the judges of that colony. After a seven years' appeal, their judgment was reversed by the Privy Council. The Colonial Office felt that it was implicated, and that compensation was due to the injured. But it spared to take of its own flock. The infant settlement of Otago rejoiced in a surplus revenue of 800l. a year, and was only perplexed on what work of utility to expend it, when the difficulty was solved by the arrival of a judge of the supreme court (in the person of Mr. Stephen), with a salary of precisely that annual amount. The necessity for his appointment may be estimated from the fact that only one criminal and not one civil case for the supreme court, had arisen at Otago in three years, and that there were already two judges of the Supreme court in the colony, whose offices were almost sinecures.

Major Richmond's was a similar case. When it was determined to convert the Wellington

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Superintendency into a Lieutenant-governorship, and to confer it on Mr. Eyre, orders were sent out to the Governor to provide for the Superintendent an office of not less value than that taken from him. The Governor had no such office in his gift, but the office of Resident magistrate at Nelson was converted into a Superintendency, the salary increased from 250l. to 500l. a-year, (the duties remaining precisely the same as before), and Major Richmond was installed in the office.

Patronage being so exercised, it is not surprising to hear the colonists complaining of the inefficiency and incompetency of the officials. An instance or two may be given. In January last a deputation of settlers waited on the Governor on business of importance. The Attorney-general and Colonial secretary were present officially. To the surprise of the deputation, the Governor and both the above-named officials were entirely ignorant that the lands within the settlements which had formerly vested in the New Zealand Company, had for six months past been re-vested in the crown. The point arose on an act of Parliament, which had been constantly before them for three years and a half, and for some months past ought to have been their daily study; and it involved the rights of the crown and local government

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DEFECTS OF.

over all the settled lands in the southern province. It was not till a correspondence had taken place with the colonial secretary the following day, that the governor could be convinced of the oversight. A few months before this, in consequence of a dispute between a party and the registrar of deeds, a case was referred to the supreme court for decision; when it turned out, that the system of registration in force was directly contrary to the provisions of the ordinance establishing it--that the government had in fact for ten years been working the wheels of its own machine the wrong way, and all it had done was invalid in consequence. 10 A complaint was made against a resident magistrate. The colonial secretary of the southern province wrote to the complainants admitting its justice; and by the same post he wrote to the magistrate thanking him for the able manner in which he had always performed his duties. The magistrate got a copy of the other letter, put both into an envelope, and sent them back again. The colonial secretary of the other province refused in council to receive a protest, 'because it contained no reasons in favour of the measure

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ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

protested against;' and the same gentleman moved to strike out of an appropriation Bill the words, 'not exceeding.' I might fill pages with instances of this sort, many of which came under my own observation; but it is not necessary to pursue the topic. Some further instances will occur incidentally in subsequent pages.

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§ 3. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

The liberty of the subject rests on nothing so much as the independence of the judges, and all historians concur in praising those monarchs who have contributed to place it on a secure basis. In England they hold their office during good behaviour, and can only be removed on an address from both Houses of Parliament. In New Zealand (as I believe in most colonies) they hold office at the pleasure of the crown, that is virtually, of the governor; and the only security for the impartial administration of justice in cases where the crown may be interested, is to be found in the personal character of the individuals on the bench--in respect of which, though New Zealand is fortunate, yet it is a mere accident and affords no constitutional security for the future. It is not creditable that such a system should exist in any part of the

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British dominions, and it ought to be abolished without delay.

The provision for the administration of summary justice is also unsatisfactory, and a system objectionable in itself has been made worse by the manner in which it has been applied.

There is in every settlement a salaried Resident magistrate, who has in most cases the power of two justices of peace, and who also possesses a civil jurisdiction to the amount of 20l. between Europeans, and to any amount between natives, being assisted in the latter case by two native assessors.

It is intelligible why in the metropolis and other large towns in England, the system of employing salaried magistrates has been resorted to. It is necessary in such cases to have the law administered by persons professionally acquainted with it, and of course their services can only be obtained by paying for them.

But in New Zealand, though the Resident magistrates are paid (and very well paid too), not one of the whole number is a lawyer, or possesses any law-administering quality which would be considered marketable in this country. Seven out of eleven are military or naval officers; some of them on duty with their regiments; one a nautical surveyor; one an architect and land agent; the remaining two being

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gentlemen who were never brought up to any profession. 11 Their salaries vary from 100l. to 500l. a year, and some have salaried clerks to assist them, and forage for a horse in addition.

But it may be supposed that a number of independent unpaid magistrates, serve to counterbalance these salaried officers of government. It is not so. Take the Wellington bench for example. There are upon it the Resident magistrate and eight paid government officers, such as the colonial secretary, attorney-general, &c. while there are only seven who are not in government pay; and of these seven one lives at a distance from Wellington which precludes his ever sitting on the bench, and another is often absent from the colony. There are also in the commission six military officers (on duty with their regiments,) who however seldom act. For all practical purposes there is at all times a working majority of paid government officials on the bench.

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Nor has the government hesitated to interfere directly with their deliberations. On a recent occasion, a resolution had been passed by the bench at Wellington, (in a perfectly respectful tone) which was contrary to the wishes of the local government. The Resident magistrate and inspector of police concurred in it. They received a severe reprimand from the colonial secretary, and were distinctly informed (in a letter which I read) that whenever any question affecting the government should be before the bench, all salaried officials who might be sitting as magistrates, were expected to refrain from voting against it.

One such instance is sufficient to destroy all confidence in the bench; and it has done so, as is proved by the fact that when any case came before it, in which government was concerned, (such as a dispute with custom-house officers, &c.) it was a very usual practice for the other party to canvass the independent magistrates, and request their attendance to see fair play. This happened to myself twice within the last six months that I was in the colony, and the reason was on each occasion distinctly stated.

Complaints are common among the colonists of the personal unfitness of many of the resident magistrates, and the following anecdotes would show that they are not without foundation.

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One of them sent a party 300 miles, to be tried by the supreme court on a charge of felony, whose offence consisted in being found asleep in a cellar where he had no business to be. There was a long file of witnesses whose expenses, I suppose, had to be paid by the colonial treasury. Another assured a party charged before him that it was the policy of the law of England always to consider a man guilty till he proved himself innocent; while a third exhibited his legal ability by contending against an unpaid brother justice, that the laws of England had no operation in a colony.

There seems no reason why summary justice should not be administered in the colony by unpaid justices: they would have as much professional knowledge as the paid ones, and might be assisted by a paid professional clerk. Independently of the bench being relieved from the suspicion of a government leaning, to which the present system necessarily subjects it, it is of no little importance to accustom the colonists to administer justice themselves, and to familiarize them with the laws.

§ 4. CURRENCY, AND INTESTATE ESTATES.

The currency of New Zealand has, till recently, consisted of specie and the notes of the Union

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Bank of Australia. The issue of paper money by private banks or individuals has, however, been recently prohibited, though the existing circulation of notes of the Union Bank is permitted to continue for a time.

It has been a favourite theory among a section of writers on the currency to put the issue of paper money on the same footing as that of the metallic currency -- to make its issue the exclusive privilege of the Crown. In 1847, Governor Grey was directed by the Colonial Office to pass an ordinance creating a government bank, and which was to embody the following leading points:--1. The business of the bank was to be limited to receiving specie and issuing paper in return. 2. The notes to be payable in cash on demand at the bank of issue. 3. To be legal tender for sums above 21. 4. Specie equal to one-third of the issue always to be retained in hand. 5. The balance of specie received to be invested on certain specified government securities. 6. All other banks and private parties to be prohibited from issuing paper money.

The ordinance passed 12 however, differed most materially from Lord Grey's instructions--and, on one point of vital importance. The whole

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CURRENCY.

foundation on which the plan rests is, that the specie received shall be invested only on the best securities, and always be forthcoming when wanted. Lord Grey had taken some, though perhaps insufficient, precautions on this head, but his instructions were disregarded, and power retained for the Governor to invest or use the bank funds as he might please. The investments of surplus specie are, by the ordinance, to be in the governor's sole discretion. There is nothing to prevent his lending it to any department of the local government--he may invest it in debentures of his own issue--nay, by a little ingenuity, he could even discount private paper, though not at the banking house, the ultimate payment of the bank-notes being charged on the general revenue.

This did not escape the eye of the Lords of the Treasury, when the ordinance was referred home for confirmation. They pointed it out, and Lord Grey (while confirming the ordinance in other respects) directed its amendment in two or three particulars; among others, providing for the investment of the specie in the British funds. Banks, however, were opened at Auckland and Wellington, which had been in operation for nearly twelve months at the latest dates from the colony, and the requisite alterations had not then been made. But this is not the only apparent illegality

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connected with the bank. Its very constitution is as far as can be ascertained, fundamentally invalid and illegal. The charter of the colony expressly prohibits the Governor and his legislative council from establishing a paper currency of this description without special permission from the crown first given. No such permission seems to have been issued, as far as can be judged from the Blue Books and other parliamentary papers.

The legality of the transaction appears therefore at least open to doubt; but the considerations suggested by it are of far graver moment even than the validity of the bank paper. It exemplifies in a striking manner some of the most prominent features of colonial misgovernment--a Governor disobeying his instructions without rebuke--a nominal legislature registering at his bidding an act doubtful at least in point of law, and contrary to all sound policy, in defiance of public opinion, expressed in the most unequivocal manner. And as to the measure itself, think what would be said in England if an act were passed to place the funds of the Bank of England at the disposal of the Government--to make Bank of England paper legal tender, and to charge all possible losses on the consolidated fund.

That the paper currency of the colony should be confined to that of a bank established under

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such circumstances is scarcely satisfactory. But even if royal instructions should have been issued, and Lord Grey's amendment requiring the investment of the surplus specie in the British funds were carried out, the measure is one which appears to give the Colonial Office an unconstitutional control of the most objectionable description over the finances of the colonists. Suppose that, in the course of a few years, a large sum should be invested in the British funds in the names of commissioners or otherwise, and that any dispute should arise between the colonists and the Colonial Office respecting pecuniary matters, such as the right of the latter to charge the cost of the pensioner emigration, or similar large sums, on the colonial revenue; what is to prevent the Office from settling the dispute by appropriating the bank investment? Something of the sort was done in reference to the New South Wales land fund in 1840, when the colonists learned with surprise that a sum of about 300,000l., which had been placed in the hands of commissioners in England had been appropriated to the payment of what was called a back debt due from the colony to the home government for military and other expenditure, about the incurring of which the colonists had never been consulted.

But independently of the unpleasant relation towards the home government, in which the pro-

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posed investment might place the colonists, they naturally feel jealous of intrusting to the hands of the local authorities, over which they have no control, powers so liable to abuse as those the ordinance confers. Without imputing any intentional dishonesty, it is well known that in the absence of representative government, great liberties are not unfrequently taken with public money; and an incident which happened in the colony just when the bank was being established, was not calculated to increase the confidence of the colonists in the local government as a trustee of public funds of any sort. The particulars were these:--

According to the original practice established in New Zealand all intestate estates vested in the Registrar of the Supreme court, who was obliged to give a general security for their safe keeping; and if he had an unusually large amount in hand he was required by the Judges to find extra and special security. The funds were thus in the safe custody of the court and under the control of the Judges, who were in the habit of exercising great vigilance in the matter.

About three years ago Governor Grey took these funds out of the hands of the registrar of the Supreme court, and directed them for the future to be deposited with the local treasurers and sub-treasurers of the provincial govern-

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ment, in common with the general proceeds of the colonial revenue. This was done against the protest of one at least of the two Judges.

The consequence was not long in exhibiting itself. An intestate estate of considerable amount (that of Mr. Perry, who was drowned in Cook's Strait, in 1846 or 1847,) had in consequence of there being English creditors, been a long time in course of winding up. Part of it had been distributed, but a considerable sum remained, (or rather ought to have remained) in the hands of the Nelson sub-treasurer. The judge of the supreme court at Wellington, in April, 1850, issued an order for the distribution to creditors of about 300l. of this sum. A solicitor was sent over express, and the order duly presented to the sub-treasurer at Nelson. That officer candidly admitted that the proceeds of the estate, or some part of them at least, had been spent by the government, and he dishonoured the order, which was carried back to Wellington. An attempt was made to persuade Judge Chapman to take it back, but he refused; and finding that the local government was inclined to treat the matter with levity, he intimated that the court would be compelled to enforce its order. This put the government in motion, and, I believe, after six or eight weeks' delay, the money was found somewhere and the amount paid.

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COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SETTLEMENTS.

As far as the public has been made aware, this breach of trust has not been visited with any censure by the higher departments of government; yet the principle involved is the same as if the accountant-general of the Court of Chancery, or the receiver-general of the British taxes, was to prove a defaulter to the amount of three or four hundred thousand pounds.

§ 5. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN DIFFERENT SETTLEMENTS.

Situated as the several settlements of New Zealand are--connected by a saltwater highway, and no other--the means of communication between them is a matter of no little consequence. Between the southern settlements a pretty brisk local commerce carried on in coasting vessels, and the monthly or bi-monthly transit of an English emigrant ship affords some facilities; but they are not sufficiently regular or speedy in their movements to answer every purpose which is required. Steam is much needed, and in 1848 and 1849, when Governor Grey was canvassing for nominees to serve in his legislative council, he promised the southern settlers to lose no time in introducing it, proposing to effect it by an annual vote from the colonial

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revenue, as a bonus to induce ship-owners to undertake it. Nothing, however, has hitherto been done towards it, except his writing a despatch to the Colonial Office on the subject, asking for a grant of money; to which a 'more convenient season' sort of answer is given, and nothing either done or promised.

The means of communication with Auckland, (the seat of government,) are very defective. There is an overland mail, carried by a native, which is three weeks on the road, and affords the prospect of an answer in seven or eight weeks from the date of writing. There is also a government brig, which occasionally, but with no sort of regularity, visits the different settlements. In fact, for months together, no communication by sea between Auckland and the Southern settlements takes place. On one occasion the Lieutenant-governor sent despatches to the former place by way of Sydney, and I have myself been upwards of five months in receiving a reply to a letter of pressing importance.

The government vessel might have been of considerable use in lessening the inconveniences arising from the distance of the capital, had she been used as a regular packet between the settlements. The colonists, however, complain of her mismanagement, and state that, though her maintenance has, since the colony

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was founded, cost nearly 20,000l., 13 she has not really done work to the value of as many shillings. She has generally been in an unseaworthy condition, and the accommodation for passengers so extremely bad, that nobody who had once been on board of her would sail in her again if he could make the voyage in any other way.

In May, 1850, I returned in this brig from Nelson to Wellington, in company with Mr. Justice Chapman, who had been at the former place on duty, and three other passengers, one of them a lady. It was blowing rather fresh as we left the harbour, and the first thing that happened to us was the carrying away of our jib, which there was not another on board to replace. We ought to have made the passage in six-and-thirty hours, but the breeze falling light and there not being a single stun-sail on board, we were caught by a foul wind just be-

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fore we made our port. The sails were so rotten, that they had all to be clewed up, the helm was lashed, and we drifted back again, stern foremost through the Straits. This happened to us twice before we arrived at our destination, which we were six days in reaching. In the meantime we were nearly starved. The whole of the fresh provisions put on board at Nelson for six passengers, the captain and chief mate, were one very small sheep three pigeons a cabbage four mouldy loaves and a kit of potatoes. We were reduced at last to rancid salt pork and hard mahogany-coloured beef, such as the sailors call salt horse. Though the nights were long, there was not a candle on board, not a lamp, nor a drop of oil; and the only substitute we had, consisted in an invention of my groom's, who filled a black bottle with what he called 'cook's slush,' and stuck a cotton rag into it by way of a wick. To add to the other annoyances I had a valuable thorough-bred horse on board, which was seriously injured and very nearly killed in the gale, which the want of stun-sails compelled us to encounter. 14

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Till the establishment of steam, the best method of communication between the capital and the southern settlements would be a couple of smart cutters or smacks running the circuit every month, which I have been assured by sea-faring men could be effected by contract for considerably less than half the present cost of the brig.

Overland communication between the settlements, by made roads, is entirely wanting. But large sums of money (wholly, I believe, from the parliamentary grants) have been expended on road-making, within the settlements of Wellington and Auckland, with the view of rendering the adjacent districts accessible from the towns. The amount expended on this head, as nearly as it can be estimated from the statements published by the local government, has been between 60,000l. and 80,000l. It does not seem to have been judiciously expended, and there is not much to show for it. The best piece of work is the road from Wellington to the coast, about thirty miles in length, on about eight of which, however, (in the centre,) little labour has been expended, though the whole line can be travelled. It connects Wellington with a fine sea-beach, which forms a natural highway to Wanganui, and the districts between. The Wiararapa road is a failure. The original

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estimate for its cost was 14,000l. More than 20,000l. have been expended upon it, and it will probably cost 20,000l. in addition before it can be used. For the last two years nothing has been done to it, and the greater part of what has been commenced is useless. It has been a subject of much complaint among the colonists, that so large a sum of money should have been so expended; and it is considered by many that the whole line could have been completed at half the cost, if (as the legislative council advised) the work had been performed by contract, instead of being entrusted entirely to the uncontrolled management of the Government engineer, a very young and inexperienced person.

The want of proper ferries across the rivers is also a serious impediment to travelling, and one which has cost many lives. The natives, who earn a few shillings by putting travellers across, will not allow the government to establish regular ferries in charge of European ferrymen, while their own performance of the duty is entirely insufficient. It often happens that for hours, and even days, neither ferryman nor his canoe can be found; and when found, the latter is so frail a bark, that danger always, and loss of life frequently, ensues. There can be no doubt that the right of establishing and maintaining ferries is a branch of the sovereign power,

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and that, under the treaty of Waitangi, (if not otherwise,) it vests in the crown in New Zealand. But hitherto the Government has declined to insist on the natives surrendering the privilege into its hands, though instances of such ferries over wide and dangerous waters occur within a day's ride of the town of Wellington (one within ten miles), and though the native secretary has supported the colonists in urging the propriety and feasibility of its doing so. The censure which a coroner's jury passed upon the Government, and a correspondence which ensued, led to much discussion on the subject at Wellington a few months ago, when two valuable colonists lost their lives in that settlement by the upsetting of a native ferryboat, but no step to remedy the inconvenience has yet been taken. 15

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§ 6. SELF-GOVERNMENT.

The three preceding sections have exhibited in detail a few of the departments of the local government; and, taken as samples of the whole, they will I think elucidate what I meant by saying that there was at the same time too much government and too little. A great amount of machinery is worked, but its operations are attended either with a bad result or no result at all. The only remedy seems to be to change the entire system, and adopt some other which may be more effective.

In the great debate in the House of Commons in 1845, 16 upon the affairs of New Zealand, all parties agreed that the only remedy for the evils, which all admitted to exist, was self-government. Not to quote the late Sir Robert Peel or Sir James Graham, the present Prime Minister expressed his decided conviction that 'the voice of the settlers themselves, speaking through their own representatives, could alone extricate the colony from the difficulties in which it was plunged.' Lord Grey (then Lord Howick) hoped 'they would revert to the ancient and wise policy of their ancestors, and

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allow the colonists to govern themselves.' Contrasting what our ancestors had done in America two centuries ago, he 'must say that experience was decidedly in favour of allowing a colony to govern itself. We had before us a melancholy proof of the height to which misgovernment might be carried by Downing-street; and he was persuaded that it was utterly impossible for any man, be his talents and industry what they might, adequately to administer the affairs of the British colonies, scattered as they were all over the world. It would have been well for the natives of New Zealand if the colony had been self-governed.' And Mr. Hawes, alluding to the great powers placed in the hands of Governor Grey, said that 'he would not object to it in the present state of the colony. He would at least be free from the 'laborious trifling' of the Colonial Office. Do what they would, they must emancipate the colony from the Colonial Office; they must lay the foundations of local government, and the colony, when left as free as possible, would soon display the original energy of the parent stock. The remedy he proposed was simply this, that the colonies should have local self-government.'

Not long after the above remarks were made, the colonists heard, with feelings which may be easily appreciated, that Lord John Russell, Lord

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Grey, and Mr. Hawes, had come into office, the two latter, respectively, as Secretary and Undersecretary of State for the Colonies. There would, of course now be no delay in reverting 'to the wise policy of their ancestors, and allowing them to govern themselves.' No fear of their being any more troubled with the 'laborious trifling' of the Colonial Office. The very men who but a few weeks before had declared self-government the remedy for all existing evils, had now the power of bestowing it. Doubtless they would soon be left 'as free as possible' to administer their own affairs.

The most judicious course to have pursued would have been to ascertain by actual reference to the colonists, what sort of a constitution of self-government would meet their views, and be considered by them fulfilment of the hopes which had been so lately excited. This prudent course however was not adopted; but, without even the slightest hint of the views of the colonists, a constitution was framed in the recess, and, without having been laid before Parliament, was sent out to the colony. It presented some points which at first sight seemed very liberal,--such as a suffrage practically universal; but these were counterbalanced by others--such as the double election--which reduced its liberality to a mere shade; while

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the whole measure was so involved, so little like any constitution which had ever been seen before, and so entirely deficient in that first essential, simplicity of design, that the colonists were not less puzzled to understand it than they were disappointed at its insufficiency when they did so. Nevertheless, believing that it contained within itself the elements of amendment in their hands, they were content to accept it as an instalment, and were every day expecting its introduction, when they learned that it had been suspended by act of parliament for five years, and no substitute provided by the act for the interval. The Governor, however, was authorised by the act and by the Colonial Office to introduce any sort of constitution he might please in the interval; and on his framing one on ultra-despotic principles, he found full support from the Colonial Office, notwithstanding the loud and reiterated complaints of the colonists, which were barely acknowledged.

However, on the 13th of May, 1850, Lord John Russell announced, in the House of Commons that in consequence of advices from Governor Grey, the Government was prepared to bestow self-government on New Zealand immediately, but as there was not time then to legislate on the subject (it was only the 13th May), it would be postponed till the ensuing session,

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when he would introduce a measure on the subject. 17 The 'ensuing session' has now passed over, and neither Lord John Russell nor anybody else has, in either house of parliament, so much as alluded to the New Zealand constitution; and it seems certain that the colonists will remain another year, if not many more years, in what has been well styled, 'the sad condition of being subject to the will of an unlimited man.'

And now let us inquire into the acts of Governor Grey in the colony, in reference to this question.

His first movement was during the short secretaryship of Mr. Gladstone, in 1846. Possibly he had heard of the very liberal views entertained on the subject of colonial government by that statesman. At all events he wrote to him, recommending the introduction of self-government into the colony, and he took occasion particularly to describe the fitness for it of the colonists in the southern settlements. 'With a considerable acquaintance,' he says, 'with British settlements, I can have no hesitation in recording my opinion, that there never was a body of settlers to whom the power of local self-government could be more wisely and

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judiciously entrusted, than the inhabitants of the settlements to which I am alluding.' Before this recommendation reached home, Lord Grey's constitution was on its way out. On its reception, the Governor wrote to Lord Grey, objecting to its details, observing, 'that it introduced changes greater than he thought prudent,' and suggesting a constitution pretty much on the established Colonial Office model, consisting partly of nominees and partly of representatives. The home government having on this rushed from one extreme to another, and Lord Grey's new constitution having been suspended for five years, the Governor was authorised to add, if he thought proper, to the existing constitution of the colony, a Provincial Government, formed either on an entirely representative, a partly representative, or an absolutely despotic principle. 18

He chose the latter, and to justify his doing so, he who had but lately described the colonists as so remarkably fitted for self-government, now turned round, and after enumerating 'the disappointed applicants for office, the land-

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sharks, the aliens, the various persons arriving from the Pacific, the Americans, and other persons disaffected towards the British, or, indeed, towards any government,' 19 with whom he finds the colony is teeming, he asks, what advantage is to be gained by introducing self-government among so small a number of Europeans, who, were demanding the power of expending a revenue arising from the British treasury, and who would probably quarrel with the natives, and involve the colony in the worst consequences, if free institutions were bestowed upon them? This was in March, 1849.

The step aroused the colonists. Associations were formed in the different settlements, numerous petitions and memorials, complaining of Sir George's conduct, and dissecting his published statements, were sent home. There they proved altogether ineffectual; but the general excitement in the colony, which instead of subsiding continued to increase, appears to have alarmed the Governor, and within eight months after his describing the extreme unfitness of the colony, as above, he writes home announcing its complete fitness, (forgetting, no doubt, 'the aliens, the land-sharks, the Americans, and other

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disaffected persons,') and recommends the immediate introduction of self-government. 20 And then, without waiting to receive a reply from the home government, he produced in the colony a portion of a constitution such as he stated he had recommended, and proposed to introduce it at once; which, as it related solely to the provincial department, he had the power to do under the instructions given him in 1846. He laid his measure before the colonists, and it proved, as many expected it would, a mere delusion--a simple transcript, in all its leading features, of the old Colonial Office model, which, while it gives the outward semblance of self-government to the colonists, retains all the reality of power in the hands of the governor. Large public meetings were held at Wellington, Nelson, and Auckland; the subject underwent a complete discussion during an agitation which lasted for upwards of three months, and it ended in the unanimous condemnation of Sir George's measure, and a suggestion of a form of constitution very different from it, which the colonists consider adapted to their circumstances. I will in the next section briefly notice the leading features of the measures proposed by Lord Grey, Sir George Grey, and the colonists.

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It is not surprising if treatment such as the colonists have thus received from both the home and local government should create feelings of the greatest bitterness among them. There are few of them who do not think and feel strongly on such matters. Self-government has long been regarded by them as the cardinal point of colonial politics; and the voluntary excitement of their dearest hopes, ending in a series of disappointments extending over a period of six years, is felt to be most cruel, and unworthy of the parent State. And when it is remembered that the colonists are men of energy, resolution and enterprise, who have staked their all in the colony; that many of them are persons of high intelligence and the best education, fellows and members of the English, Scotch, or Foreign universities, respectable merchants, or sturdy yeomen and farmers, accustomed to exercise the franchise in the home country, or familiarized, by foreign travel with the institutions of other nations; when it is considered that their earnest desire for self-government, and their conviction of the fitness of the colony for it, have been thwarted by the opinion of one man of certainly no greater intelligence or position in the home country than many of them, and whose experience has been limited almost entirely to the narrow institutions of New Holland, and the still nar-

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rower interests of one of its settlements,--when these facts are called to mind, we cannot help wondering at the infatuation which perseveres in a course so certain to alienate the affections of what was at one time one of the most loyal and attached of the British colonies. A generous loyalty is the offspring of a free spirit, drawn by natural impulse towards the institutions under which it has sprung up and flourished; it will never long exist in the breasts of Englishmen towards those whom they feel to be their oppressors. For a time they may distinguish between the Colonial Office and the Crown, but the general apathy of the home public, and even of some who call themselves colonial reformers, and the total inattention with which their urgent complaints are received, cannot fail in the long run to break the hearts of the colonists or sour their tempers towards the Old Country. Once implant such a feeling, and the experience of America teaches that a century will not eradicate it.

§ 7. CONSTITUTIONS, EXISTING AND PROPOSED.

I shall now give a brief outline of the four different constitutions which have been proposed for New Zealand:--

1. LORD GREY'S.--The colony is to be divided

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into provinces, of which, in the first instance, there are to be two. These provinces are to be subdivided into boroughs or municipalities. Each province and each borough will have its own legislative and executive government, while a general or federal government will comprise the whole. The working of the machinery commences from below; the municipal institutions are first to be organized. These consist of a mayor, aldermen, and common councillors, elected on a franchise which is practically universal, viz., the occupation of any tenement within the borough for six months, by a male adult. Then follow the provincial institutions. These consist of an upper house and a lower; the former nominated by, and holding office at the pleasure of the crown; the latter elected by the mayor, aldermen, and common councillors of the several boroughs. Lastly, the general or federal institutions, consisting likewise of two chambers, the upper selected by the governor from the upper provincial houses; the lower, elected from themselves by the members of the lower provincial houses.

Such a constitution could scarcely be expected to work. It contains the elements of discord, and is based on principles altogether at variance with each other. The foundation of the whole is universal suffrage; but the moment the first

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step has been taken on this principle, it is retraced, and the power which was apparently vested in the people is found to be handed over to the mayors and aldermen. This system of electoral chambers, or double election, is not new--it has been tried in Spain, and elsewhere, and always failed. Then the creation of a nominated upper house (very different from an hereditary upper house), and an elective lower one, is certain to lead to a conflict between the two, and a dead lock of the wheels of the government machine.

Lord Grey also provides for the reservation of a civil list, the amount and application of which are to be in the discretion of the lords of the treasury in England. This is, of course, fatal to all pretences of its being a system of responsible government in the hands of the colonists.

And lastly, the entire executive department of government, federal and provincial, is placed in the hands of the governor.

2. GOVERNOR GREY'S constitution of 1848, now in force in the colony, adopts the provincial division of Lord Grey--provides a single legislative chamber in each province--consisting solely of ex officio members of the government, and nominees appointed by the governor, and removable at the pleasure of the Colonial Office.

A federal legislative chamber, consisting of

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one house, composed of the same elements as the provincial. A civil list is reserved in each province; the amount and appropriation at the discretion of the lords of the British treasury, who, for the present, have fixed it at 6000l. a-year, but which Governor Grey has recommended to be increased to 10,000l.--a sum which would absorb nearly one-half of the existing revenue, and in case of a subdivision of the provinces, and creation of smaller new ones, would for some years absorb the whole. The entire executive power, without check or control, is vested in the Governor.

3. GOVERNOR GREY'S constitution, No. 2, stated by him to have been recommended to the home government in November, 1849. 21 The provincial division as before. A single legislative chamber consisting of one-third nominees of

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the Governor, and two-thirds elected members; the franchise for their election being, to be an adult male possessed of a freehold estate of the value of 50l.; a leasehold of the value of 10l. a-year, or to be a householder in a town of the value of 10l. a-year, in the country, of 5l. a-year. The form of federal government is understood to have been recommended by the Governor on a similar basis, but with a qualification for membership. The civil list remains as before.

The laws passed under the above constitutions (both Lord Grey's and the Governor's) are all subject to disallowance by the Governor, and by the Colonial office also, an absolute veto being reserved to both.

And the waste lands of the colony are still to be administered by the crown, the colonists having no voice whatever in the matter.

It is evident that the reservation of a civil list, making the executive government of the colony independent of the colonists, and the power of the Governor to appoint a third part of the legislative council, together with the vetos reserved to the Governor and Crown, deprive Governor Grey's proposed constitution of all the reality of self-government. It is true that, like Lord Grey's, it presents an external appearance of liberality by the creation of an elective franchise almost universal. But

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what can the elected members do when they take their seats in the legislature? They have only a small portion of the revenue subjected to their control, while they are liable to be thwarted by the nominated members; and if they succeed in spite of them in passing a law, it may be immediately disallowed by the Governor; or, if he thinks proper to shift the responsibility off his own shoulders, it may be treated in the same manner by the Colonial Office.

4. In short, none of these proposed constitutions provide a particle of self-government. The colonists seem to understand in what it consists. They demand the absolute control of their own revenue, and of the Executive Government. They insist on the exclusion of Government nominees from the legislature, and they will admit of no veto on their local legislation, except that of the governor exercised on his independent responsibility, and without the control of the Colonial Office. They have proposed a constitution, of which the following are the leading features:-- A legislature consisting of two chambers, both entirely elective. A franchise universal, except as far as limited by twelve months' residence. No qualification for membership in the lower house. Greater age and longer residence the qualification for membership in the upper. No civil list to be reserved. The judges to hold

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office, as in England, during good behaviour; and not, as now, at the pleasure of the crown. The lower house to be elected for three years, the upper for five. No veto to be exercised by the Colonial Office, nor any interference by it permitted in any matter purely local, and not involving imperial interests. These are the principles they lay down. All questions of detail they propose to leave to the legislative councils when formed. Whether the form in which they propose to embody their principles is the best will of course admit of discussion; but it is certain that no form will satisfy them which does not provide for the development of the principle of self-government in all local matters whatsoever. They do not want to interfere in the affairs of the Imperial Government, but neither do they wish the imperial government to interfere with their local affairs. They conceive themselves quite as able to judge of the expediency of any law relating to local interests as the gentlemen in Downing-street who have never seen the colony, or their deputy the governor, who has no stake in it, can be. They imagine themselves as competent to judge of the merits of public officers, of the necessity of employing them, and the amount of remuneration to be paid for their services. They think that they will be likely to decide

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quite as well on all which concerns themselves, their prosperity and advancement, which they know and feel to have been most seriously affected and retarded by the acts of the Colonial Office. They contend, with honest indignation, as Lord Grey contended in 1845, that the natives are as safe in their hands as in those of Downing-street, to whose mismanagement they attribute, as Lord Grey attributed, all the mischiefs which have occurred in reference to them, as well as in great degree the probability of their extinction. Their principle in short is simply, Local government for local matters; Imperial for imperial only.

Their suggestions are now before the home Government, and will doubtless be noticed whenever a measure is brought before parliament on the subject. If the Colonial Secretary and Under Secretary were ever sincere in their talk about self government, they will bestow institutions at least substantially in accordance with the wishes of the colonists. If they adhere to the old Colonial office form, with its nominee, civil lists, dependent judges, vetos and so forth, they will merely by their legislation lay the foundation of years of agitation and discontent.

The leading feature to be secured is the complete localization of the institutions of govern-

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ment. I have pointed out in my first chapter the separate and distinct character of the six several colonies of New Zealand. Physically and socially they have no more connexion than the early American colonies had. To ensure effective government, they should be politically as independent of each other. I do not mean by this that a duplicate of the Colonial Office establishments now existing at Auckland and Wellington should be bestowed upon each of the others, at a cost of some 10,000l. a-year in each, and with its share of local and home patronage. Such blisters would absorb every particle of moisture in the social body. But give each colony the frame-work of a simple elective legislative and executive power in all matters locally peculiar to itself; bind them together by a federal government in a few essential particulars, involving federal interests, (such as the regulation of customs, &c.) and leave them to work out the rest themselves. This was evidently what the late Sir Robert Peel had in his mind when he concluded the great debate of 1845, and it is the only practical and permanent remedy for the chronic distempers of New Zealand.

Delay will make the task more difficult every day. Deprived of all legitimate political action, the colonists will become unfit for it. They are

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not now so capable of self-government as they were eight or ten years ago. They have forgotten much that they knew, much that they had seen in the parent country; they have been brought in some instances under influences fatal to independence of character; and some are even to be found who, casting aside all political thought, are willing to sit down contented with things as they are.

1   They are nominally only removable by the Colonial Office, but a word from the Governor will always ensure their removal, and in the interval, if necessary, the council is prorogued.
2   In 1849, Governor Grey made a show of offering seats to the leaders of public opinion, on the liberal side; but the offers were accompanied by others to safe men on the Government side, so that if the former had accepted, the Government would (with its officials) have always had a majority. All the leading politicians declined, and he was driven at last to nominate retail dealers, commission-agents from Sydney, keepers of small preparatory schools, and others of no position in the colony.
3   Mr. Brown's case, Parl. Further Papers, 1850, in continuation of 31st July, 1849, pp. 119 and 120; and Parliamentary Further Papers of August, 1850, p. 31 to 52.
4   Ibid. August 1850, p. 96.
5   Ibid. 1850, in continuation of July 31, 1849, p. 206.
6   See a correspondence in Parliamentary Papers (N.Z., 1850, in continuation of 31st July, 1849), commencing at p. 70, and interspersed through the book to p. 166. If the letter printed at p. 94 had been placed by the side of those in pages 73 and 166, the true state of the case would have been apparent to any eye. Distributed as they are, the confusion prevents detection.
7   See Parliamentary Papers, N.Z. July, 1849, p. 52, &c, from which it appears that a most serious charge made against the chief justice of the colony, was only communicated to him a month after it had been sent home, the result being that Lord Grey decided the matter without hearing his defence. The case of Mr. Forsaith was worse. He saw his character destroyed in a Blue Book -- was able to deny every fact alleged against him, and Governor Grey had to withdraw every one of his charges; but not till they had been in print for a year. Archdeacon Williams was treated in a similar manner, and several other instances could he pointed out. No man who has ever taken a part in colonial politics is secure against such treatment.
8   Nelson, in 1847-48.
9   Auckland, 1849. Wellington, 1850.
10   See Judge Chapman's decision in the Wellington Independent, August 24, 1850.
11   Major Brydges, at Bay of Islands; Major Beckham, at Auckland; Captain King, R.N., at New Plymouth; Captain Smith, at Manakau; Captain Kenny, at Otahahau; Major Durie, at Waikanae; Major Richmond, at Nelson; Mr. St. Hill, at Wellington; Mr. Hamilton, at Wanganui; Mr. Strode, at Otago, and Mr. Watson, at Akaroa. A strong inclination to employ military men in civil affairs to the exclusion of colonists has been shown in New Zealand.
12   Sess. viii., No. 16; confirmed 12th April, 1850.
13   2000l. a-year of the parliamentary grant is voted for the purpose. In 1846, Mr. Hawes being asked in the House of Commons what the item was for, replied, 'that it was for a steamer in which the governor paid his periodical visits to the settlements!' There is no steamer, and the governor never sails in the brig, but always in one of the men-of-war on the station; the expense of himself and suite being a further tax on the public purse.
14   The refusal of the judge and other passengers to pay for their passage led to some improvement in the management of the brig, but she was still without stunsails in January last.
15   In his valuable report on the Wellington natives in 1850, Mr. Kemp (native secretary) writes: 'The want of a safe flat-bottomed boat has long been felt at the mouth of the lake, where only a small canoe is now kept; and as the attendance of the natives is very irregular, and as they are moreover incapable of managing a boat in a strong tide rip, I think they should be required to give up the ferry into the hands of a trustworthy European.' The warning was not attended to, and within six months afterwards the two colonists, abovementioned, and a native woman and child, were drowned at the very spot referred to by the secretary.
16   See the Report, published by Murray.
17   Hansard, 1850.
18   See section 4 of the Suspending Act; Lord Grey's despatch, of 18th March, 1848; and the replies of Messrs. Labouchere, Buller, and the Attorney-general to Lord Lincoln in the House of Commons, February 9, 1848.
19   Parliamentary Further Papers. New Zealand, 1850, p. 59.
20   Parliamentary Further Papers, August, 1850, p. 104.
21   This is the date of Governor Grey's recantation of his despatch of the previous 22nd March. But his despatch of November, 1849, does not contain any recommendation of a specific form of government such as he proposed in the colony, and said he had recommended at home; nor can I find it elsewhere in the Parliamentary papers. It appears by the latest news from the colony, that he has been since promising the daily arrival of a double chamber constitution. Thus are the colonists doomed to further disappointments, for none such has been framed or gone out from home.

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