1853 - Grey, H. G. The Colonial Policy of Lord John Russell's Administration. [New Zealand chapters] - Volume II - Letter X. New Zealand, p 112-160

[Image of page 112]

LETTER X.

NEW ZEALAND.

MY DEAR LORD JOHN,

I have hitherto had to speak of Colonies which, during the whole period of your Administration, have been in the enjoyment of uninterrupted peace. I have now to call your attention to those which have been disturbed by war or insurrection. The British Colonies which during the last six years have suffered from events of this kind are New Zealand, Ceylon, and the Cape of Good Hope. I do not add the Ionian Islands, because, though Cephalonia has also been the scene of insurrection, these islands are not a British Colony, but a distinct State, under British protection; and though their government is presided over by a British Commissioner, who acts under the directions of the Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, their system of administration is in many respects different from that of a Colony. Hence, as I find the task I have undertaken, in proposing to give an account of the transactions of the

[Image of page 113]

Colonies properly so called, is more than enough for me, I will take advantage of the circumstance of the Ionian Islands not forming part of the British dominions, to abstain from entering into their affairs. I do this the more gladly, because the most important subject connected with their administration which we were called upon to deal with, had not been disposed of when we retired from Office, but was still pending.

With respect to New Zealand, you cannot fail to recollect that the accounts received from that Colony were so unsatisfactory and alarming during the years 1844 and 1845, that, after having been the subject of a Parliamentary inquiry and of much discussion, Lord Derby, who was then Secretary of State for the Colonies, thought it necessary, in June 1845, to recall the former Governor, and to direct Captain (now Sir George) Grey, then Governor of South Australia, to proceed with the least possible delay to New Zealand, and take upon himself the administration of its affairs. When the new Governor reached the Colony, in November 1845, he found the British troops and settlers engaged in hostilities, (of which they had had greatly the worst,) with the Natives in the northern part of the islands. Sir George Grey's first object on his arrival in New Zealand, was to avail himself of the naval and military force at his disposal, to put down the dangerous rebellion in the district of the Bay of Islands, and his account of the complete success which attended the measures he took

[Image of page 114]

for this purpose, had reached the Colonial Office three or four months before we were appointed to Office. The war was not renewed in that district, though it long continued to give cause for much anxiety; but in the southern province a few months later there were serious disturbances, which broke out at intervals, and did not finally cease until August, 1847.

It is unnecessary that I should give any detailed account of these disturbances; it is sufficient to state that, during the whole of 1846 and the greater part of 1847, though the Governor was making steady progress towards establishing permanent tranquillity, and succeeded in maintaining friendly relations with the great majority of the natives, some of the principal Chiefs continued to show a spirit of disaffection and insubordination, which on two or three different occasions broke out into open and very serious hostilities. By the energy and judgement of the Governor, admirably supported as he was both by the troops and by the naval force on the station, any general insurrection was averted, and all the military operations it was necessary to undertake were brought to an early and successful close. Among the most remarkable events of this period were the seizure of the famous Chief, Te Rauparaha, in July, 1846, and the rebellion at Wanganui, in April, 1847. Te Rauparaha, who was one of the most noted warriors in New Zealand, and had been a chief actor in the massacre of Captain Wakefield and his companions in 1843, was detected by the Governor in concerting

[Image of page 115]

with his old ally, Rangihaeata, hostile proceedings against the British Settlers in the neighbourhood of Wellington, while professing friendship to them. When this was clearly ascertained, the treacherous Chief was seized without resistance, by a prompt and well-executed surprise, and he was detained a prisoner on board one of the ships-of-war until all danger from him was at an end, when, on the intercession of two of the friendly Chiefs, he was released. There is every reason to believe, that this measure prevented a very formidable outbreak from taking place.

At Wanganui, in April, 1847, the murder of the wife and children of a Settler led to another insurrection. The murderers were promptly taken, and delivered into the hands of the British Authorities, by our native allies; when some of the most powerful Chiefs in the district, who were nearly related to the culprits, assembled a war-party of no less than 600 men for their rescue. The British force at Wanganui consisted of only 170 men, notwithstanding which, Captain Laye, the officer in command, did not hesitate to try the murderers by court-martial, and, on their conviction, to have four of them hanged with as little delay as possible. The Governor reported, that this firmness and decision on the part of Captain Laye probably saved the country from a serious rebellion 1. The execution of the culprits was followed, as was to be expected, by an attack on the Settlement, which however Captain

[Image of page 116]

Laye, with the small force at his command, gallantly repulsed, and with the assistance of the Settlers he defended the place successfully until the Governor arrived with reinforcements. There were afterwards two or three severe skirmishes, and it was not until the 3rd of September, 1847, that the Governor was able to report that the disturbances at this place were at an end, and not likely to be renewed 2. Since that time tranquillity has been maintained throughout the Colony, and it has continued to advance steadily and rapidly in prosperity. The policy by which this result has been obtained, and the difficulties the Governor has had to contend with, are so well described by himself, that I may be permitted to quote nearly the whole of the very interesting Despatch in which he has done so. In this Despatch, dated July 9, 1849 3, he states that the two Colonies, into which New Zealand was then divided,

"are composed at present of what may be termed nine principal European settlements, besides smaller dependencies of these. The largest of the settlements contains about seven thousand (7000) European inhabitants; and their total European population may be stated at about twenty thousand (20,000) souls. These settlements are scattered over a distance of about eight hundred (800) miles of latitude; they are separated from each other by wide intervals; and communication, even for persons on horseback, exists only between three of them. Their inhabitants are chiefly

[Image of page 117]

British subjects, but there are amongst them many Americans, French, and Germans. The majority of them have never been trained to the use of arms. The settlers, both in the main Colonies and the subordinate dependencies, have occupied the country in so scattered and irregular a manner, that it would be found impossible to afford them efficient protection. They are generally without arms, and would probably be deprived of them by the aboriginal population if they possessed them at any remote stations.

"The wide intervals between these European Colonies are occupied by a native race, estimated to consist of one hundred and twenty thousand (120,000) souls, a very large proportion of whom are males, capable of bearing arms. These natives are generally armed with rifles or double-barrelled guns; they are skilled in the use of their weapons, and take great care of them; they are addicted to war; have repeatedly, in encounters with our troops, been reported by our own officers to be equal to any European troops; and are such good tacticians that we have never yet succeeded in bringing them to a decisive encounter, they having always availed themselves of the advantage afforded by their wilds and fastnesses. Their armed bodies move without any baggage, and are attended by the women, who carry potatoes on their backs for the warriors, or subsist them by digging fern-root, so that they are wholly independent of supplies, and can move and subsist their forces in countries where our troops cannot live.

"I should correct here a popular fallacy, which, if ever acted upon, might prove ruinous to these settlements. It has been customary to compare them to the early American Colonies, and the natives of this country to the North American Indians. There appears to be no analogy between the irregular manner in which these islands were partially

[Image of page 118]

peopled by whalers and persons from all portions of the globe, and the Pilgrim Fathers who founded the early settlements in America. And I have been assured by many excellent and experienced officers, well acquainted with America and this country, that there is, in a military point of view, no analogy at all between the natives of the two countries; the Maories, both in weapons and knowledge of the art of war, a skill in planning and perseverance in carrying out the operations of a lengthened campaign, being infinitely superior to the American Indians. In fact, there can be no doubt that they are, for warfare in this country, even better equipped than our own troops.

"These natives, from the positions which they occupy between all the settlements, can choose their own point of attack, and might even so mislead the most wary Government, as to their intended operations as to render it extremely difficult to tell at what point they intended to strike a blow. They can move their forces with rapidity and secresy from one point of the country to another; whilst, from the total absence of roads, the impassable nature of the country, and the utter want of supplies, it is impossible to move a European force more than a few miles into the interior from any settlement.

"The natives moreover present no point at which they can be attacked, or against which operations can be carried on. Finding now that we can readily destroy their pas or fortifications, they no longer construct them, but five in scattered villages, round which they have their cultivations; and these they can abandon without difficulty or serious loss, being readily received and fed by any friendly tribe to whom they may repair. They thus present no vulnerable point. Amongst them are large numbers of lawless spirits, who are too ready, for the sake of excitement and the hope

[Image of page 119]

of plunder, to follow any predatory chief. To assist in anything which might be regarded as a national war, there can be little doubt that almost every village would pour forth its chiefs and its population.

"With these characteristics of courage and warlike vagrancy, the Maories present however other remarkable traits of character. Nearly the whole nation has now been converted to Christianity. They are fond of agriculture, take great pleasure in cattle and horses; like the sea, and form good sailors; are attached to Europeans, admire their customs and manners; are extremely ambitious of rising in civilization, and of becoming skilled in European arts; they are apt at learning, in many respects extremely conscientious and observant of their word, are ambitious of honours, and are probably the most covetous race in the world. They are also agreeable in manners, and attachments of a lasting character readily and frequently spring up between them and Europeans.

"A consideration of these circumstances will, I think, lead to the conclusion that any attempt to form, in those portions of these islands which are densely peopled by the natives, an ordinary European settlement, the inhabitants of which produced all they required, and were wholly independent of the native race, must end in failure. The natives in the vicinity of such a settlement, finding themselves excluded from all community of prosperity with its inhabitants, would soon form lawless bands of borderers, who, if they did not speedily sweep away the settlement, would yet by their constant incursions so harass and impoverish its inhabitants, that they would certainly soon withdraw to the neighbouring Australian settlements, where they could lead a life of peace and freedom from such incursions. Upon the other hand, however, it would appear that a race

[Image of page 120]

such as has been described could be easily incorporated into any British settlement with mutual advantage to both races; the natives supplying agricultural produce, poultry, pigs, and a constant supply of labour (although yet rude and unskilled), whilst, upon the other hand, the Europeans would supply the various manufactured goods required by the natives, and provide for the manifold wants created by their increasing civilization. Such a class of settlements might easily grow into prosperous communities, into which the natives, with characters softened by Christianity, civilization, and a taste for previously unknown luxuries, would readily be absorbed.

"The questions to be solved have therefore been, how to induce the native race cordially to assist in the attempt to create so desirable a state of things, and how to provide the funds requisite for governing so many isolated settlements, spread over so vast a tract of difficult country, the intervals between which are occupied by so warlike a race, over whom it was necessary to exercise some control? It is worthy of remark here, that the united population of New Zealand is as large as that of New South Wales has until very recently been, and that it is a population, from its mixed and peculiar elements, infinitely more difficult to govern than that of New South Wales, whilst the cost of the machine of government is greatly increased from the number of the settlements and their distance from each other. In point of fact, the several settlements are distinct colonies, and, both in the difference of feelings and interests of the Europeans and of the respective native tribes, inhabiting each, differ much more widely from each other than many British Colonies do. It appears, therefore, that it would be imprudent and unjust to attempt to draw any parallel in these respects between New Zealand and any other British Colonial Possession.

[Image of page 121]

"In carrying out any plan, having for its object the amalgamation of the two races, the following difficulties have, until recently, presented themselves:--

"1stly. Hostile encounters had taken place between the settlers and the natives in the south of New Zealand, and between Her Majesty's forces and the natives in the northern portion of the country, in all of which the number of killed and wounded on our side had been comparatively so large, and the loss of the enemy so small, that they had been led to form an exaggerated notion of their own prowess and strength; and a desire of emulating the example of those chiefs who were imagined by their countrymen to have gained great successes, had excited a spirit of exultation and dissatisfaction throughout the greater portion of the islands; so that whilst a rebellion was actually raging in one portion of the islands, it was too probable that the natives would speedily break out into similar excesses in other portions of them.

"2ndly. Disputes existed between the settlers and the natives in various places regarding their respective rights to certain lands. These disputes, relating to the personal interests of the parties concerned, created between them feeling of hostility and bitterness which was gradually raising race against race, and which threatened ultimately to become a feeling which could only be put a stop to by the extermination of one party or the other.

"3rdly. As a necessary result of the difficulties existing under the two previous heads, the revenue had almost disappeared, and by the issue of paper money a large debt had been contracted; there was thus an absence of the funds requisite for the re-establishment of order and good government, whilst the settlers had also, to a great extent, lost all confidence in their future prospects, and were in a disheartened and desponding condition.

[Image of page 122]

"4thly. A very great difficulty had been created by the Crown's right of pre-emption having been waived in favour of certain individuals over large tracts of land, and by the inordinate demands of other persons to extensive tracts of country having been entertained by the Government, the result of which was, that a party of land-claimants had been called into existence, who made demands so extravagant and illegal that no Government could accede to them; nor did it appear practicable to make a settlement of these claims, even upon the most liberal basis, without incurring for the Government such a degree of hostility from a large number of persons as would probably exceedingly embarrass and impede any subsequent Administrations.

"In determining the line of policy the Government should pursue, in reference to the first class of the difficulties above named, that is, in reference to the war which existed in New Zealand, and the rebellion which appeared likely to to break out, the following considerations seemed naturally to present themselves:--

"It appeared to be clearly the duty of the Government, in a firm and decided manner, to crush the existing rebellion, and to put down without delay any disturbances which might afterwards break out; but yet it also seemed clear that its riding line of policy should be, not to embark in any operations in which an absolute certainty did not exist of speedy and complete success, and rather to delay engaging in hostilities which might appear necessary, than hurriedly to embark in any contest the result of which could not be foreseen.

"Indeed, delay in engaging in hostilities was, wherever practicable, obviously the first duty of the Government of this territory. No knowledge of the country, of such a nature as to enable an officer to move with certainty a body

[Image of page 123]

of troops even to a few miles from any of our settlements, was possessed by the Government.

"The number of persons who possessed a competent knowledge of the native language was so few that it was impossible to secure the services of the requisite number of interpreters. The two races had so recently been brought into close contact, that their ignorance of their respective appearance, of their language, customs, and manners, filled them with mutual distrust, whilst their disputes, in relation to land, embittered their feelings of hostility. It appeared very probable that, as the two races became more accustomed to each other, as their knowledge of each other's language and customs increased, and as their private differences were adjusted, so would all necessity for war and conflict between them wear away; whilst, should these anticipations of a delay in military operations rendering a war unnecessary, prove correct, it would clearly have been an uncalled for measure of severity to hurry on a contest with the natives. And in the case of each individual who fell in such a conflict, it might have been said that, from his ignorance, a man had been destroyed, whom a few months' enlightenment would have rendered a good subject, a valuable consumer of British manufactured goods, and a contributor to the revenue. The loss to Great Britain by engaging in an unnecessary war would also have been great; every hundred soldiers that had fallen must have cost at least £10,000. Moreover Great Britain, in despatching two regiments to this country, had made great exertions, which it could not continue or repeat without considerable inconvenience to the public service. Yet even a very few false movements might have entailed so considerable a loss upon the small force in this country, as to have rendered large and continued reinforcements necessary. It is per-

[Image of page 124]

haps not too much to say, that during a considerable period of time, any signal failure in an operation which had been entered upon, would have led to a simultaneous and almost general rising, the effects and cost of which may be easily conceived.

"It was also certain that, even if the anticipations which had been formed, of the benefits which might spring to both races from delaying military operations, had not been realized, and it had proved ultimately necessary to embark in a war, yet that each month's delay, by increasing our knowledge of the country and of the native language, and by enabling us to complete our roads and to consolidate our establishments, would be of the greatest advantage to Great Britain, by enabling it to enter on the contest with greater means and more certainty of success.

"Mercy, justice, and prudence, all appeared therefore to point to delay as the general rule on which the Government should act. This line of policy has therefore been in all instances unswervingly pursued, and the result has quite equalled the anticipation which might reasonably have been formed; for whilst the rebellion which existed and the disturbances which naturally sprang from that rebellion have been in all instances crushed, the total loss, of all ranks, sustained on our side through so long a period of time has amounted to only 28 killed and 53 wounded; and in as far as human judgement can form an estimate of such matters, no probability exists of any extensive rebellion ever hereafter breaking out in the country; and even should such disturbances again unhappily break out, our knowledge of the country is now so much more accurate, our alliances with the natives have become so much more numerous, our military roads have already been so far completed, the number of persons acquainted with the

[Image of page 125]

native language and customs so increased, and the natives' supplies of arms and ammunition have been so much diminished, that we should enter on such a contest with infinitely greater advantages than we formerly possessed.

"The efforts which have been made by the Government of this country for the removal of the second class of difficulties alluded to were of two kinds:--

"1st. The resumption of the Crown's right of pre-emption, which had unfortunately been abandoned, and

"2nd. The adjustment of many of the almost innumerable land questions which existed. The task of resuming the Crown's right of pre-emption appeared to be one of great difficulty and danger, but the natural good sense of the natives, and their continually increasing confidence in the Government, have rendered its accomplishment much less difficult than was anticipated. The various steps which have been taken, for the adjustment of the disputes in reference to land, have been so fully detailed in the Despatches from the various authorities, and the large mass of documents which have been transmitted to the Home Government, that it may be unnecessary to say more than that, with very few and trifling exceptions, every land question in the southern province has been already disposed of, whilst in the northern province nearly all questions connected with lands have been also arranged, with the exception of those which, resting upon grants issued by the Crown, can only be dealt with by our Courts in the ordinary manner.

"The measures taken to remedy the difficulties detailed under the third head, namely the want of a revenue, the existence of a depreciated paper currency, and the failure which had taken place in the confidence and expectations of the settlers, have also all been fully detailed in the

[Image of page 126]

Despatches which relate to those subjects. The objects contemplated by the Government, in reference to these subjects, may be generally stated to have been, the imposition of duties, which, by a system of indirect taxation, might raise from the native as well as from the European population a revenue which would increase with every successive step of their advancement, and yearly yield the means for their more efficient control and government, whilst, in aid of and in connection with these plans, the depreciated paper currency was partly withdrawn, and the remaining portion of it was converted into a funded debt.

"In order to remedy, inasfar as possible, the evils enumerated under the fourth head, namely the difficulties which had been created by the Crown's right of pre-emption having been waived in favour of certain individuals over large tracts of lands, and the claims of others having been entertained to enormous tracts of country, every effort has been made to adjust these claims upon the most liberal terms, and to carry out these arrangements in the most conciliatory manner; this being, however, one of those cases in which individuals have been led to form extravagant expectations which it was impossible for any Government to realize, no efforts could probably have prevented much disappointment and bitterness of feeling ensuing, and it is probable that nothing but time can completely eradicate this evil, although, from the settlement of so large a number of these claims, and from the arrival of so many disinterested persons in the Colony, the proportionate number of individuals, whose expectations have been disappointed, is gradually decreasing, and their influence as a party will soon cease to be felt.

"But little would, however, have been accomplished if

[Image of page 127]

the Government had confined itself simply to an attempt to remove the various evils under which these islands were labouring. It was necessary that active measures should at the same time be taken, without delay, for the amalgamation of the two races; that the confidence of the natives should be won; that they should be inspired with a taste for the comfort and conveniences of civilized life; that they should be led to abandon their old habits; that the chiefs should be induced to renounce their right of declaring peace and war; and that the whole of the native race should be led to abandon their barbarous modes of deciding disputes and administering justice, and should be induced for the future to resort to our Courts for the adjustment of their differences and the punishment of their offenders.

"Thoroughly to accomplish a change of this nature would require a long series of years and a succession of generations.

"The utmost therefore that any Government could hope to do was, to establish institutions which might imperceptibly but certainly lead to so complete a change of manners in a barbarous nation as was contemplated; and to secure these institutions by such laws and by such a constitution, as appeared to afford a reasonable guarantee for their perpetuity; the first step to be taken to ensure these ends appeared to be, to convince the natives that our laws were better than their own, as affording more perfect security for life and property, and a much more ready means of adjusting differences which might arise either between natives and Europeans or amongst natives themselves.

"To attain these ends, the Resident Magistrate's Ordinance was passed, and Mixed Courts were constituted for the settlement of disputes betwixt natives. At the same time a considerable number of their young chiefs and most

[Image of page 128]

promising young men were enrolled in an armed police force, and thus habituated to act as actual administrators in the lowest offices of the law, and were made acquainted with the practical administration of the law in our inferior Courts. This latter measure, at the time it was introduced, excited unbounded ridicule, yet probably no measure has been so totally successful in its results. The native armed police force has furnished gallant men, who have led our skirmishing parties, and who have fallen like good soldiers in the discharge of their duty; and it has furnished intelligent, sober, and steady constables, whose services, under various circumstances, have been found of great utility. The actual result of the two measures combined is sufficiently attested by the number and importance of the cases in which natives were concerned which have been recently decided by our tribunals, to which until lately the natives never resorted.

"To bring the natives under the influence of the Government, and to gain their confidence and attachment, various measures have been resorted to by the Government. Hospitals have been established in the principal districts, to which both races have been equally admitted, and in which they have been tended with equal care; savings-banks have been instituted for the benefit of both races; a consirable number of natives have been employed in the minor offices of the Government establishments; pensions have been conferred on those chiefs who, during the first rebellion, were most distinguished by their gallantry, fidelity, and devotion to the British cause. Large numbers of natives have been employed on public works and in the construction of roads, thereby securing to the Colony the advantage of excellent lines of communication, whilst, from the discipline maintained amongst those employed upon

[Image of page 129]

public works, those works formed in fact industrial schools, in which the natives were trained to European habits of order and obedience, were accustomed to use European tools instead of their own rude implements, and were thus gradually trained to become useful labourers for the colonists. The natives have also been encouraged to pursue improved modes of husbandry, to construct mills, to acquire vessels, to attend to the breeding of cattle and horses, and a newspaper is fortnightly published by the Government, for the purpose of giving them useful information and plain practical directions on all those points to which the Government is anxious they should direct their attention.

"These various measures may be however said to aim only at the present improvement and advancement of the native race, and to make no adequate provision for their continual advancement in the arts of civilized life, and for the education of the native children upon such a system that they might have a prospect of standing on terms of equality with the European race, and of understanding and speaking their language.

"Fortunately the task of the Government in this respect has been an easy one. There existed in this country three Missions, established by different Christian Denominations, amongst whom there is perhaps an emulation as to which should achieve the greatest amount of good; and it may reasonably be doubted whether at any period of the world there has existed in one country, amongst so large a number of men who had devoted themselves to the holy calling of a missionary, so many persons who were eminently qualified by piety, ability, and zeal to discharge the functions of the office upon which they had entered: the result has been that these gentlemen, scattered throughout the country, have exercised an influence without which all

[Image of page 130]

the measures adopted by the Government would have produced but little effect. Won by their teaching, the natives have almost as an entire race embraced Christianity, and have abandoned the most revolting of their heathen customs. Instructed by their missionaries, probably a greater proportion of the population than in any country in Europe are able to read and write; and encouraged by the precept and example of the same gentlemen, they have, in all parts of the islands, made considerable progress in the rougher branches of civilized life. The Government therefore, in establishing schools, thought it most desirable not to attempt to set up a system of its own, which might have required years for its development (during which a generation might have melted away, and an opportunity have been lost which could never be recalled), but rather to join its exertions to those of the missionaries, and to endeavour, whilst it established its own educational institutions, to render the system of the missionaries more complete and effective than hitherto. It therefore provided considerable funds which should be set apart for educational purposes, but determined that these funds should be applied under the direction of the heads of the different Denominations who had missions established in New Zealand; it being provided that the several institutions, which received any portion of these funds, should be conducted upon the industrial system; that the English language should be taught there, and that a sound religious education should be imparted to the pupils. Provision was also made for the appointment by the Government of inspectors, who will examine into the state of the schools, and will ascertain that the various requirements which are imposed by the laws relating to these institutions are strictly complied with.

[Image of page 131]

"All these measures appeared calculated to secure a permanent and constantly increasing, instead of a scanty and superficial, civilization for the native population; and in order still further to increase the chances of success, two laws were passed, the first of which prohibited the natives from procuring arms or ammunition, and the second of which debarred them from the use of spirituous liquors. These regulations appeared stringent and likely to create discontent, but it was thought probable that, united with so many other measures of a character which were agreeable to the natives, and clearly calculated to promote their welfare, their strong natural good sense would lead them to see that these more distasteful restrictions had originated in the same care for their welfare, as had suggested the other portions of the system; and the result has justified the anticipations which were formed, as they have without complaint acquiesced in these regulations, and generally and cheerfully acknowledge their beneficial tendency.

"In the course of the past eighteen months the natives have, on several occasions, shown in the most striking manner their increasing confidence in our institutions, and their knowledge of the rights they have gained by their incorporation into the British Empire, by carefully considering the effect that proposed measures are likely to have upon their future welfare, and by evincing their gratitude or dissatisfaction by forwarding congratulatory addresses for benefits received, or by transmitting memorials against proposed measures to the Queen, on whose justice and desire to promote their welfare they evidently relied with the most implicit confidence.

"The most cursory consideration of the large number of objects which the Government proposed to itself, in carrying out the system of policy which has just been detailed,

[Image of page 132]

must have shown that it relied upon receiving, at east for some years, considerable moneyed assistance from some extraneous source, until the improvement which might naturally be looked for, in the internal traffic and external commerce of the Colony, had so far improved the revenue that it would suffice to defray the necessary expenditure of the Government.

"Such assistance was, in point of fact, most generously supplied by the Imperial Parliament, and it hence became an important object for the local Government so to conduct the financial operations of the Colony, that it might, at the earliest possible period, dispense with the assistance which was afforded to it, and thus cease to be a burden upon the parent State, which had so liberally aided it during its early struggles. This end may be said to be so far attained, that in the ensuing year the resources of the country will suffice to defray the whole of its expenditure with the exception of £15,000, if the proposed financial operations are approved of which were detailed in the Despatch named in the margin 4, whilst, as in each succeeding year, an increase of revenue may be looked for, and no corresponding increase in the expenditure will be requisite, the amount of assistance received from Great Britain can be still further rapidly diminished in each year subsequent to 1850.

"In order that every guarantee might be afforded that the state of prosperity to which these Colonies were attaining might have a character of permanency, it was still necessary that institutions should be devised, which would ultimately constitute a form of government which was likely to be adapted to the circumstances of this country, and to be

[Image of page 133]

satisfactory to its mixed and peculiar population. It also appeared to be a matter of great importance, that continual advances should be made towards such institutions, so that their introduction might be gradual, and that they might, as it were, imperceptibly grow with the growth of the Colony.

"Such a form of institutions had already in their main outline been sketched by your Lordship, and these in their main features presented a constitution than which nothing better could be devised here, although alterations in the details appeared necessary to adapt them to this country and to the feelings of its inhabitants. These alterations were made, and the form of constitution which appeared best adapted to New Zealand was fully reported on in the Despatches named in the margin 5, whilst several steps preparatory to their introduction have already been taken in this country; and in point of fact, with the exception that the assemblies, instead of being elective, are nominated by the Crown, the proposed system may be said already to be in full operation in New Zealand. The great error which the local Government is in this respect thought by one party in the Colony to have committed, is too great a delay in introducing the elective principle. It may perhaps upon the other hand be urged that, looking to the peculiar condition and population of this country, it is better to err on the side of prudence, and not to incur the risk of the fearful evils which would ensue from another rebellion, for the sake of acquiring one or two years earlier that which must certainly within so short a period be obtained."

[Image of page 134]

Enclosure.

Return of Killed and Wounded in New Zealand from March 4 to July 2, 1845.

Grand Total, from March 4, 1845, to July 20, 1847:--85 killed, 167 wounded."

A Report upon the condition of the Island, bearing a date more than two years subsequent to that 6 which

[Image of page 135]

I have quoted, has since been laid before Parliament, and it shows that the prosperity of the Colony has continued to increase during that period, and to become more firmly established. The revenue from Customs, which is the principal source of the Colonial income, had in the northern province been abandoned altogether in the hope of conciliating the Natives, in the latter part of 1845. The present Governor re-imposed duties on imports almost immediately after his arrival, and in 1846 they yielded a revenue of £21,888, which in 1850 had increased to no less than £48,945. It is a remarkable fact, showing the soundness of the present prosperity of the Colony, that this revenue has continued to increase, notwithstanding the large diminution in the naval, military, and civil expenditure of this Country in New Zealand. In the year 1850 the value of the exports had also risen to £115,441, having been no more than £44,215 only two years before; from the diminution of British expenditure the imports, as was to be expected, showed a comparatively small increase. The European population (exclusive of the troops and their families) was 22,408 in 1850, having been 16,996 in 1848 7. The Natives have shown increasing confidence in the Government and in British law; they are rapidly acquiring the habits of civilized life, and becoming possessed of property, including water-mills and coasting vessels, and are carrying on a large trade with the Settlers,

[Image of page 136]

to their mutual advantage 8. In short, the contrast between the state of things at the end of 1850, and that which the present Governor found existing on his arrival at the end of the year 1845, is so marked and so gratifying, that it is difficult to believe that so great a change should have been accomplished in the short space of five years. No general report of the state of the Colony, up to a later period than the end of 1850, has been laid before Parliament; but from the accounts in the newspapers it appears that, up to the date of the latest advices, nothing had occurred to check the progress of the Colony.

It is to the Governor, Sir George Grey 9, that New Zealand is mainly indebted for this happy alteration in its condition and prospects. Nothing but the singular ability and judgement displayed by him during the whole of his administration, and especially in its commencement, could have averted a war between the European and Native inhabitants of those Islands. It would have been one of the same character with that which has been raging so long at the Cape of

[Image of page 137]

Good Hope, but still more arduous, since the New Zealanders would have been yet more formidable enemies than the Kafirs, and the scene of the contest so much more remote. The war which had already begun when Sir George Grey reached New Zealand, and in which at that time all the advantage had been with our adversaries, would have been converted into a mortal struggle between the European and Maori races by the slightest error of judgement on his part, and by his failing to unite with the most cautious prudence, equal firmness and decision. Such a struggle, once commenced, could hardly have been closed except by our abandonment of the Islands in disgrace, or the extermination of their aboriginal inhabitants.

The best proof of the wisdom of Sir George Grey's policy towards the Natives is afforded by the almost unbounded influence he has established over their minds, notwithstanding the severity he has been compelled to exercise upon some occasions. He has never attempted to conciliate their favour at the expense of justice to the Settlers, or by showing indulgence to lawless proceedings; on the contrary, he has maintained his authority over them with an exceedingly high hand, and has strictly enforced various regulations calculated to be very unpalatable to them, especially his prohibition of any trade with them in arms and gunpowder. Yet he has succeeded in impressing them with a conviction that he is their best and truest friend, and commanded thus their willing obedience to all his measures. There are, in the

[Image of page 138]

voluminous papers which have been laid before Parliament, many remarkable proofs of the degree to which he has secured their affection and confidence. I will mention but two. When the Government House at Auckland had been destroyed by fire, a body of Natives came forward with an entirely spontaneous offer of their unpaid labour to rebuild it; and afterwards, when a report that he was to be recalled had been circulated by some of the White opponents of his Government, petitions to the Queen that he might be allowed to remain were signed by the Natives; and it is a curious circumstance that the first signature to one of these petitions was that of the Chief Te Rauparaha, whom he had kept so long in confinement. Some of the letters written by Chiefs to the Queen, expressing their earnest desire that he might not be removed, and the gratitude and affection they felt for him, are very interesting 10.

[Image of page 139]

Giving then to the Governor the chief credit for having brought New Zealand in safety through the perilous crisis of the last seven years, the merit which we are entitled to claim, is what belongs to us for having supported him in the policy he has pursued, and co-operated with him to the utmost of our power. His previous administration of South Australia, under difficulties of another kind, but hardly less formidable than those he had to encounter in

[Image of page 140]

New Zealand, and the justness of all his views with regard to the latter as explained in his despatches, entitled him to our unreserved confidence. This being the case, I am persuaded that we adopted the only course likely to lead to a happy result, in resolving to embarrass him by few positive and no minute instructions, but to leave it almost entirely to his own judgement to determine upon the measures to be taken by him, and to be guided mainly by his advice in what we were ourselves called upon to do.

This was the principle upon which we acted; and accordingly, when, a few weeks after we came into Office, we received despatches in which he expressed his opinion that, for four or five years, a larger force than he had previously applied for was required, we lost no time in taking measures to meet his demand, though there was much inconvenience in providing the 2500 men he had asked for, in addition to a naval force, for this distant Colony. 900 men, in addition to the 1100 already in New Zealand, were immediately ordered to join him from New South Wales; and 500 discharged soldiers from the army were raised and formed into a corps, called the New Zealand Fencibles, to make up the amount required 11. As this last was rather a novel measure, and has proved eminently successful, it is proper that I should give some account both of the reasons by which we were

[Image of page 141]

governed in adopting it, and of the manner in which it was carried into execution.

What Sir George Grey required, was rather to be enabled to command at a short notice an overwhelming force, to put down any resistance which might be attempted to the authority of the Government, than the constant service of a large body of troops. Hence it appeared desirable that a part of the force sent to the Colony should consist of men well trained as soldiers, but who, instead of being kept constantly under arms and in the receipt of military pay, should be established in the Colony as settlers, in such a manner that their military services when wanted might be commanded on the shortest notice, and yet that they might be enabled to maintain themselves principally by their own labour. By such an arrangement it was anticipated that the Colony would gain the double advantage, of protection in the event of war, and in peace of a supply of labour and a permanent increase of its White population.

Such were the objects with which it was proposed that the New Zealand Fencibles should be raised. The Pensioners of the army, who, under the authority of Lord Hardinge's Act, had been organized for service in this Country under the direction of Colonel Tulloch, together with soldiers who had been discharged before they had acquired a right to pension, would, it was ascertained, afford ample means of raising a corps of the required strength, without admitting into it any but men of good character and

[Image of page 142]

still vigorous constitution. In insisting upon the last condition, it was not of course expected that the men composing this force, however carefully selected, should be from their time of life as capable of enduring the toils of active warfare as the soldiers of a regular regiment. But as there would always be many posts which must be garrisoned for the protection of the capital and of the depots, (where all the supplies of the troops in the field require to be left in safety,) it was considered that a certain proportion of the force in the Colony might be of this description, without at all diminishing the number of regular troops which, on an emergency, could be employed in active operations. Nor was it overlooked that, though the experiment had been more than once tried, discharged soldiers had not hitherto proved good settlers; but there was nothing in these former failures to justify unfavourable anticipations as to the result of the present attempt. They were easily to be accounted for by the fact, that men accustomed during the greater part of their lives to be constantly under the care of their officers, and to be left very little dependent on their own forethought and prudence, had been sent to the Colonies under no superintendence whatever, and left to shift for themselves in circumstances altogether novel to them, and under difficulties with which they were little fitted to contend.

We trusted that, by avoiding this error, a different result might be obtained; and it was determined that the men embodied for service in New Zealand, al-

[Image of page 143]

though they were not to be constantly receiving pay, and employed in military duty, should be under the continual care and superintendence of officers in permanent pay. Six Companies of about 500 men were to be raised, and established in two or three villages, to be prepared for their reception, probably in the neighbourhood of Auckland. The men were to be accompanied by their wives and families, and each was to have a cottage prepared for him, with one acre of land, one quarter of which was to be cleared. A larger quantity was to be reserved, which they were to have the right of purchasing at a moderate price if able to do so; but it was not intended that they should look to the cultivation of this land as their principal means of support, at least in the first instance. Their land was expected to be used as a garden, to assist them in maintaining their families, and employment as labourers was meant to be their chief dependence.

Such employment there was no difficulty in assuring them that they should have, since, in addition to the private demand for labour, there would be that of the Colonial Government in the construction of roads, which were urgently wanted both for civil and military purposes. Much importance was attached to keeping the men together in villages, not only to render their services promptly available when wanted, and with a view to defence, but also to make it easier to provide religious instruction and education, for the men and for their children. A school-house, which was

[Image of page 144]

also to serve as a chapel, was to be erected in each village. At the end of seven years' service their cottages and land were to become the property of the men; in the meantime they were to have the use of them rent free, in consideration of their attending regularly for military exercise twelve days in each year, and mustering under arms on Sundays for Church parade. They were to receive pay, if called out for service, like the Pensioners in this Country.

These views, and the conditions on which the men were to be raised, were fully explained to the Governor 12, and they were sent to the Colony as soon as the necessary arrangements could be completed. The measure has entirely answered our expectations. The establishment of these men in the neighbourhood of Auckland has been successfully accomplished; they are doing so well, that a considerable number of them have already been able to buy a part of the land reserved for them, and others have purchased their discharge from the corps, by defraying the expense of bringing other Pensioners from England to take their place. Their presence has given quite the same feeling of security as that of an equal number of regular troops, while it has been clearly shown by the Governor that a very great saving to this Country has been effected by the substitution of a force of this description for an ordinary regiment of the same strength 13.

[Image of page 145]

Though the original cost of settling these men on their land, and building their cottages, was much heavier than was found to be necessary when two more Companies were sent out at a later period, with the advantage of the experience that had been gained by the first attempt; this charge has already been much more than covered, by the saving in the pay to which regular troops would have been entitled. The advantage which the Colony has obtained from this increase of its population may be best judged of by the fact, that the Crown land in the hundreds in which these military settlements are situated, is now estimated to be worth upwards of £67,000, though at the time the settlements were commenced its value was not above £5000 or £6000, judging in both cases of the value from the prices which have been obtained for land sold at the time. No doubt a part of the increased value of this land is owing to the generally improved condition of the Colony, but it has been principally occasioned by the formation of these settlements. At a later period the Governor permitted eighty-one families of Natives to occupy some land adjoining the military villages rent-free, on condition of the men serving, armed at their own expense, under the command of the Officer of the Fencibles, whenever the latter may be called out for drill or military service. This arrangement, the Governor states, is intended, in the event of renewed disturbances, "to secure for each division of Pensioners the co-operation and assistance of a body of Natives ac-

[Image of page 146]

customed to be drilled with them and attached to them from inhabiting the same locality and serving under the same officers, whose activity and knowledge of the country will in some degree compensate for the age and unfitness of the pensioners for rapid movements. In fact, the two combined ought to compose a force of a very useful description." 14

I must further observe as to this measure, that I regarded it as one of very great importance, not merely on account of its immediate results, but as an experiment on the practicability of combining the two objects, of providing for the military defence of the Colonies at a cheap rate, and increasing their British population and their supply of labour, by forming settlements of men under certain obligations of military service, but not retained constantly in pay or in the performance of military duty. If the experiment succeeded in New Zealand, I looked forward to the same principle being applied elsewhere, as it already has been to a certain extent in Canada, Van Diemen's Land, and Western Australia, but not yet by any means on the scale on which it is capable of being acted upon. It is not necessary that the men sent out as military settlers should be Pensioners; they might be soldiers of comparatively short service, still in the vigour of their age, and equal to any military duty they might be called upon to perform; nay, men

[Image of page 147]

might be raised for the purpose, and after being thoroughly disciplined in this Country, might be settled in the Colonies on the same terms as the New Zealand Fencibles.

In the Australian Colonies, where an increase of the means of military protection is desired by the inhabitants, a portion of their large emigration funds might be spent in carrying out and establishing on land Settlers of this description, instead of ordinary emigrants, with the further advantage of being thus enabled to place bodies of labourers where they are most wanted, which, in the event of the construction of railways being undertaken, might be of no small use. In all our Colonies possessing temperate climates this plan might, with modifications according to their several circumstances, be acted upon; and even in some of the tropical Colonies there are situations in the mountains perfectly adapted to European constitutions, and where the establishment of a British population would both morally and politically be of inestimable advantage. Not to mention other Colonies, in Ceylon, Mauritius, and Jamaica there are undoubtedly to be found situations in the high grounds, where there is no reason to doubt that British military settlers, with their families, might expect to enjoy as good health, and to be as capable of labour, as at home.

But I am sensible that this subject, in which I have long taken great interest, has led me too far from that which is my immediate concern. To return

[Image of page 148]

to New Zealand, I have shown that we gave to the Governor all the support he asked in the way of increased military force. We did so in the full confidence that he would not apply for more than was really required, and because we concurred with him in believing that, if a sufficient force were sent in the first instance, in four or five years' time, by the measures he contemplated, it would become safe to reduce it; but that it was to be feared, "if a sufficient force were not at once stationed in the country," to use his own words, "sanguinary and expensive yet petty wars may take place, which will entail on Great Britain a large and useless expenditure of blood and money, and retard the advancement of this country almost indefinitely; whilst, on the other hand, should a sufficient force be at once sent here, I feel satisfied that no further disturbance of any consequence will take place, and that in a few years the country will be able to defray the expense of its establishments 15." On this sagacious advice we acted, and the result was precisely what the Governor had anticipated; the large force placed at his disposal answered its purpose; so early as 1849 it became safe to commence its reduction, and before we left Office the military expenditure of this Country in New Zealand had been reduced within very moderate limits.

With regard to the civil expenditure of the Colony, the advice of the Governor was founded on the

[Image of page 149]

same principle, and we followed it with the same good effect. He pointed out that he was called upon to govern, not only the European population, estimated at that time at 12,000 souls, but the much larger native population, which was supposed to be 120,000; and that New Zealand was not therefore in the ordinary position of a young country, the establishments of which could grow in extent in the same proportion as its population, revenue, and commerce. A large population rapidly becoming civilized, and capable of immediately affording a considerable commerce and revenue, already existed there; but no establishments had been formed for the protection of life, property, or commerce, or for the control and government of this large population, who, if their energies were not directed into proper channels, and if they were not kept under proper control, would certainly attempt to set up the government of various ambitious Chiefs, and would keep the country in a constant state of disturbance and war. He urged that it was "therefore absolutely necessary that a considerable annual expenditure in excess of revenue should be sanctioned for a few years by the British Parliament, to provide for the formation of the public buildings, roads, and establishments which are absolutely requisite for the assertion and preservation of British supremacy, for the control of the turbulent, the protection of life, property, and commerce, and the security of the revenue which the country can at once yield 16." He expressed

[Image of page 150]

his strong confidence that, if the grants he considered requisite for these purposes were given, the revenue of the Colony would rapidly increase, and the demands upon the Imperial treasury would proportionally diminish, and in a very few years would cease altogether.

We concurred in these views, and therefore, though the demand we were compelled to make upon the liberality of Parliament was a very heavy one, we did not shrink from making it; nor did Parliament decline to accede to it. By means of the large grants which were voted upon these grounds for the service of New Zealand, the Governor was enabled to prosecute with vigour the various measures of improvement he had described as necessary; and among these there were none which both on civil and military grounds he considered so important as the construction of roads. With reference to these it is a remarkable circumstance which I hope there can be no objection to my mentioning, that at the very time when Sir George Grey was writing from New Zealand to represent the absolute necessity of roads with a view to military security, the great man whose recent loss the Nation has had to deplore was in this country expressing precisely the same opinion. The Duke of Wellington, who had of course been consulted on the military arrangements which were to be adopted in New Zealand, had strongly advised that one of the very first objects to be aimed at should be the construction of roads, so as to afford easy means of communication, and for the march of troops and artillery between the

[Image of page 151]

most important points. These works were accordingly carried forward as rapidly as possible; and as early as October, 1847, the Governor was able to report, "that the great lines of communication which were absolutely requisite to connect the town and port of Wellington with the good country lying beyond the ranges of mountains covered with forests, which surround Wellington, are rapidly progressing, and will probably be quite completed in about eight months from the present date; after which time that town may be regarded as in a state of comparative security, and I think it will then advance rapidly in wealth and prosperity."

In addition to the utility of roads when completed, both for military and civil objects, a very important incidental advantage was obtained from their construction by the employment thus afforded to a large number of the Natives. They eagerly accepted this employment, on account of the wages they earned; and the occupation and the pay they received were very useful, in withdrawing them from the temptation to join those of their countrymen who were inclined to turbulence and plunder; the work at the same time was very valuable, from the industrial training it afforded, as the Governor has remarked in the Despatch which I have quoted. The instruction of the Natives, and the influence over them acquired by the officers who directed their labours, was by no means one of the least valuable results of these undertakings; and Captain Russell, under whose charge

[Image of page 152]

they were carried on, deserves very great credit for the remarkable success with which he availed himself of the labour of the Natives, and for the pains he took in training and instructing them. His reports upon the progress of the work entrusted to his care, which will be found in the Parliamentary Papers, are very interesting; and it speaks highly in favour both of his intelligence and ability, and of the industrious disposition of the Natives, that he has been able to show that the roads he constructed with their help have been made at a very low cost, compared with that of roads in other countries. Major Marlow was equally successful in teaching a considerable number of Natives to work as masons and quarry-men; and he built by their assistance the enclosure-wall of the barracks at Auckland, as well as it would have been done by European labour 17, and much more cheaply. It was the Natives employed under him who made the offer I have mentioned, of their gratuitous labour in rebuilding the Government House.

The expenditure for this and the other objects pointed out by the Governor as being important, has completely answered the purposes for which it was incurred. He had, as I have shown, recommended this outlay, in the confident expectation (which we shared with him) that Parliament, by providing liberally for the wants of the Colony for a few years, would be adopting the course of truest economy, because it would thus be enabled the more speedily to diminish the

[Image of page 153]

naval and military force employed there, and also soon to reduce, and before long to discontinue altogether, the annual grants for the charges of the Civil Government of New Zealand. We trusted that this would be rendered practicable by the secure establishment of peace, the rapid increase of the Colonial revenue, and the diminution of expenditure, as the public works most urgently wanted should be completed.

This anticipation has been amply verified by the result. The amount voted by Parliament in 1847 for the service of New Zealand was £57,000; in the three next years, including a vote for arrears in 1850, it averaged about £27,000 a year; in 1851, the vote was reduced to £20,000; in the present year to £10,000, and in the estimates of this year it is stated that the Governor is of opinion that if Parliament should next year make a final grant of £5000, New Zealand will afterwards be able to maintain its own civil establishment without any further assistance. The fact that it has been found possible to provide at so early a period for relieving the Mother-country from any charge on account of the Civil Government of the Colony, is the best justification of the large votes we proposed in the first years of your Administration.

We also deferred to the opinion of the Governor upon another subject of extreme importance: I refer to the question as to the proper time for establishing representative institutions in the Colony. On our appointment to Office, at so late a period of the Session of Parliament as the beginning of July, we had

[Image of page 154]

but very little time to consider what measures of legislation were so immediately required as to render it expedient that they should be brought forward at once, instead of being deferred to another year. It was probably owing to our being compelled to come to a decision without an opportunity of full deliberation, that we were induced to adopt, what proved to have been a hasty and erroneous conclusion as to the propriety of giving a Representative Constitution at once to New Zealand.

There were not wanting what appeared to be very powerful reasons in favour of this course. The form of Government which existed in New Zealand had undoubtedly altogether failed in securing, for the last five or six years, a wise and vigorous administration of its affairs; on the contrary, there had been during that time a series of mistakes committed by the local Authorities, producing the worst effect on the interests of the Settlers, amongst whom a strong feeling of discontent with the whole system of government had thus been created, and an eager desire to take the management of their own concerns into their own hands. We were of opinion that there was so much substantial ground for these feelings, that we were extremely unwilling to defer till another Session obtaining from Parliament authority to make the desired change in the system of Government in New Zealand. We believed also, that the obvious difficulty of giving to a representative Legislature the power of legislating for the Natives, in the election of which

[Image of page 155]

they could have no influence, might be obviated, by empowering the Crown to define districts within which the laws and customs of the Natives, so far as they are not repugnant to the general principles of humanity, should be maintained in force.

Influenced by these considerations, we proposed to Parliament a Bill, which was passed into a law, by which the Crown was empowered to establish representative institutions in the Colony. The leading principle of the measure was, that there were to be two Provinces having distinct Legislatures, with authority to make laws on most subjects, but restrained from doing so on some, which were to be reserved for the consideration of a general Legislature acting for both Provinces. Within those portions of the territory not occupied by Europeans, provision was made for the government of the aboriginal inhabitants of New Zealand by their own laws and customs. The Act which was passed, prescribed only what was to be the general nature of the new Constitution, and conferred upon the Crown exceedingly extensive powers for filling up the outline thus traced, and making all the regulations of detail that were required for bringing the proposed system of government into operation. In the exercise of these powers, a Charter under the Great Seal and instructions to the Governor under the Sign Manual were prepared. By these he was authorized to summon the representative Legislatures which were to take the place of the existing Legislative Council, and all the arrangements necessary for

[Image of page 156]

that purpose were provided for. These instruments were transmitted to the Governor in an explanatory despatch, which bore date the 23rd of December, 1846 18.

When the above despatch reached the Colony, the Governor immediately wrote to represent in strong terms the danger which, in the then state of New Zealand, would have arisen from the discontent that would infallibly be excited among the Natives, by the proposed change in the form of government. He pointed out, that they were large contributors to the revenue, the disposal of which was to be entrusted to a Legislature in which they would be altogether unrepresented,--that they were quite intelligent enough clearly to perceive this, and the injustice to them of such an arrangement. Adverting to the disturbances which had just taken place, to the unsettled state of their minds, and the disposition to turbulence that still existed, he deprecated in the strongest terms the immediate introduction (at least into the Northern Province) of the proposed form of Government, which he said might probably, in a few years, be safely and with advantage established 19.

The Governor's despatches to this effect reached this Country in November, 1847, and we did not hesitate to act upon his advice. He was at once informed that we would propose to Parliament a Bill, to sus-

[Image of page 157]

pend for five years the operation of so much of the Act of 1846 as related to the establishment of Representative Legislatures in New Zealand, and to enable Her Majesty for the same time to reconstitute the former Legislative Council. As it appeared however from his despatches to be desirable, that the proposed division of the Colony into two Provinces with distinct Legislatures should take place, while it seemed doubtful whether, in the Southern Province, that Legislature might not be in part of a representative character, we intended that the Bill to be submitted to Parliament should contain provisions by which the revived Legislative Council for the whole Colony should be empowered to establish Provincial Legislatures, of which it should be at liberty to determine the constitution 20.

A Bill to this effect was accordingly brought in and passed. The authority thus entrusted to the Governor has been used with great discretion and advantage; he established subordinate provincial Legislatures, and by passing various important and useful laws, in furtherance of that general system of policy which I have described, he removed all obstacles to the establishment of representative government in New Zealand, even before the five years for which it had been suspended had expired; and if the pressure of other business in the House of Commons had not rendered it impossible, we should have brought in a Bill for this purpose in the Session of 1851. In the

[Image of page 158]

Session of this year it was one of the subjects recommended to the attention of Parliament in the Queen's Speech; and, after the change of Administration, a Bill was brought forward and passed by our successors, by which the intended grant of representative institutions to New Zealand has been accomplished,--not precisely in the manner I could have wished, but in one to which I see no material objection. The leading principle of the Act of 1846--the division of authority between subordinate Provincial Legislatures, and a general Legislature for the whole Colony--has been adhered to.

I must not quit the subject of New Zealand, without saying a few words on the relations between the New Zealand Company and the Government. Whatever may have been the merits or demerits of the original scheme of that Company, it was universally acknowledged that its chances of success had been greatly diminished by the ill-judged measures of the local Authorities, who had thrown difficulties in the way of the enterprise from its very beginning to which it ought not to have been exposed. Hence it had been acknowledged by Lord Derby, that the Company had a fair right to expect from the Government assistance, which might in some degree make up for the disadvantages to which it had thus been exposed. Before he went out of Office, he had commenced an arrangement, which was confirmed and completed by his successor, Mr. Gladstone, bywhich a considerable sum of money was to be advanced to them with this view.

[Image of page 159]

The Company however did not admit the sufficiency of this compensation; and, after much communication with them, it was agreed that a proposal should be submitted to Parliament, the principle of which was that a further advance of money, and very large powers of administering the Crown lands in the southern division of the Colony, should be entrusted to them; under an agreement that, if in three years they should fail in placing themselves in a situation to carry on with advantage their colonizing operations, they should be at liberty to resign their functions and all their claims to land into the hands of the Government. Should they decide on doing so, they were to receive in return for the surrender of their Charter and of all their other property and rights, a release from their obligation to repay the sums advanced to them, and a claim to have their original capital, which had been sunk in the colonization of New Zealand, repaid to them from the proceeds of the sales of land in the Colony.

A Bill to give effect to this arrangement was submitted to Parliament, and passed. I do not think it advisable, on this occasion, to enter into further particulars on this subject, partly because the transactions between the Government and the Company were so exceedingly complicated, (in consequence of proceedings which had taken place prior to our appointment to Office,) that an intelligible statement of what has taken place could not be made without protracting this Letter to a most tedious length, while the few

[Image of page 160]

persons who would be likely to take an interest in the subject will find all I could say upon it in a speech which I made in the House of Lords in June last, on the second reading of the New Zealand Bill, and which is of course recorded in the Debates 21. But my chief reason for abstaining from giving any more detailed account of the transactions in question is, that I understand it to have been arranged that they are to be investigated by a Committee of the House of Commons as soon as possible, and that, in the anticipation of such an inquiry, it would be hardly proper for me in this form to state my own view of the case. Here therefore I will close my Letter on the subject of New Zealand.

November 20, 1852.