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So many conflicting, and, in some important particulars, wholly unwarranted reports relating to my position and proceedings in New Zealand, during the last few years, have obtained circulation, and the comments which have been based upon them by avowed political opponents, and even by persons who, although not openly hostile, yet have permitted themselves to be unfavorably influenced by onesided representations, have been so inconsistent with the real state of the case, that I feel called upon, in justice both to myself and to the service in which I have been engaged, to place on record the principal facts from which a true judgment may be formed. This I shall do mainly by documentary evidence, the authority of which cannot be successfully impugned. It is necessary, however, that I should introduce the series of Documents which form the APPENDIX (and to which I shall, step by step, refer), by some outline of the circumstances under which they were severally written, and of the order and connection in which they stand. But, in performing this task, I shall be as brief as possible, for I unaffectedly shrink from the seeming egotism of enlarging upon my own services. Still, as I have no intention of entering upon controversy or recrimination, I shall unavoidably be obliged to speak almost
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exclusively of myself, trusting to the candour of my friends to excuse any apparent self-commendation which may be indispensable to my simple and single object of selfvindication.
I shall pass over the period from my first landing in New Zealand, in the year 1845, to the death of Gen. PITT, in January 1851, as, although that interval included a stirring and eventful time in the history of the Northern part of the Colony, and although I was far from unoccupied or inactive during its progress, my duties were then confined to the command of my own Regiment, and of course were not marked by any political character. Neither shall I dwell here on my military position after the latter date, as Commanding the Troops in New Zealand, further than to refer to Letters Nos. 1 and 2 in the Appendix, from the first of which it will be seen that the Duke of WELLINGTON was pleased to confirm my appointment to that command, and, from the second, that the recommendations of Governor Sir GEORGE GREY, that I should have, in connection therewith, the rank of Colonel on the Staff, were negatived on each occasion only on the ground that there was a Senior Military Officer within the same command as New Zealand (in Van Dieman's Land), who had not been promoted to that rank.
My first connection with the Civil Government of the Colony was in April 1851, when the office of Lieutenant-Governor of New Ulster was provisionally conferred on me by the Governor-in-Chief, in the highly complimentary terms of the Letter, No. 3, in the Appendix. Her Majesty's
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gracious approval of the appointment was duly signified by the Secretary of State (Appendix No. 4); and when, on the introduction of the New Constitution in 1853, the office of Lieutenant-Governor was abolished, I had the satisfaction of receiving from the Duke of Newcastle, and from Governor Sir GEORGE GREY, the expressions of approbation of my conduct, which will be found in the Appended Letters, numbered 5, 6 and 7.
The office of Superintendent of the Province of Auckland, under the New Constitution Act, was to be filled, by popular election, in 1853, and I was urgently solicited to permit myself to be nominated as a candidate for it. At first I positively and repeatedly declined to do so, myself suggesting the very points of possible or probable objection to my holding the office, which were afterwards insisted on by my opponents. I did not consent until I had received a Requisition (No. 8 in the Appendix), signed by Five Hundred of the inhabitants, amongst whom were men of widely different political views, and many who, from length of residence, large stake in the country, education, or social position, were entitled to the utmost respect and consideration. After I had consented, I remained wholly passive as to all electioneering movements, attending no Committee Meetings, incurring no expense, engaging in no canvass, making no personal appeal to the Electors, and not even appearing on the Hustings to return thanks on the day of the official declaration of my election. Moreover, I took all means to ascertain the judgment of the highest authorities, both Civil and Military, as to the propriety of my
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accepting and retaining the office, declaring most explicitly my entire readiness, even after my election, to resign the Superintendency, if the performance of its civil duties were considered inconsistent with my military position, or if it were thought that my doing so would promote the public interests. The Letters in the Appendix (No. 9 to No. 12) will show, beyond dispute, that in holding both offices I had the approval of the Governor-in-Chief of New Zealand (No. 9), of the Major-General Commanding (No. 10); of Lord HARDINGE, the General Commanding-in-Chief (No. 11), and of the Duke of NEWCASTLE, Secretary of State for the Colonies (No. 12).
I now come to another, and an important, stage in my rapid summary of facts.
On the 31st December, 1853, Sir GEORGE GREY left the Colony for England, handing over to me--in addition to the duties I was already discharging--the weighty responsibility of the General Government of the Islands of New Zealand. A Letter by which this transfer was accompanied will be found in the Appendix (No. 13). The duties thus devolved upon me I continued to perform until relieved by Colonel GORE BROWNE, on the 6th September, 1855.
My first public act as Officer Administering the Government, was to call together the General Assembly. My views of my own position at the time, and my motives in convening the Legislature of the Colony, may be gathered from an Extract from my Address on opening the Session -- Appendix No. 14.
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Almost the first proceeding of the House of Representatives was to propose a fundamental change in the Government of the Colony, viz., "The establishment of Ministerial Responsibility in the Legislative and Executive proceedings of the Government"--(Appendix No. 15). My reply (in which I cordially recognized the principle, and agreed to an arrangement, which I trusted would meet the wishes of the Assembly for the time, and, until Her Majesty's pleasure could be ascertained), will be found in my Letter to Mr. FITZGERALD--(Appendix No. 16). The House acknowledged this by a vote of thanks--(Appendix No. 17).
Further demands were, however, subsequently made, which went beyond the limits within which I felt bound to confine myself until the views of the Imperial Government on the subject were known, or until a duly appointed Governor should arrive to fill the post which I only temporarily occupied. The Appended Documents, No. 18 and No. 19, will show the position of affairs which was thus brought about, and which resulted in the Prorogation of the Assembly. At the same time, I wrote to the Home Government, strenuously recommending that the request of the General Assembly for the establishment of Responsible Government in its integrity, should be granted: and, in due course, Lord GREY'S Despatch (No. 20 in Appendix), declared the prompt concurrence of Her Majesty's Government.
In January 1855, I resigned the Superintendency, in consequence of a Despatch from the Secretary of State,
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which, with my Reply, will be found in the Appendix No. 21. On this occasion, the Provincial Council passed a Resolution (Appendix No. 22) manifesting the good feeling existing between that body and myself, as well as a gratifying appreciation of my endeavours to co-operate with the Council in advancing the interests of the Province. Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S Despatch (Appendix No. 23), expresses the satisfaction of the Home Government at this evidence of a good understanding between me and the Council.
On the 18th August, 1855, the Third Session of the General Assembly commenced. I had previously made known, through the Government Gazette, the assent of the Imperial Government to the establishment of Responsible Government in the Colony; and, in my Address on Opening the Session, I expressed my hearty willingness to render every assistance in bringing the system into practical operation--(Appendix No. 24). The Reply of the House of Representatives contained a full acknowledgment of my efforts towards the attainment of this much desired object--(Appendix No. 25). It thus clearly appears that the concession of Responsible Government was placed in the hands of the General Assembly, with the power to deal with the subject at once, in such manner as might be thought best, before the termination of my Administration of the Government.
On the 6th September, Colonel GORE BROWNE arrived, and on the following day he assumed the Government, which I had administered for one year and eight months,
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during trying times, and confessedly under circumstances of peculiar difficulty.
Thus, on a review of my services in New Zealand, from January 1851, to the present date (March 1856), it will be seen that--in addition to the command of my own Regiment during the whole period, I also discharged the duties of the following Offices, viz.:--
1. The Command of the Troops in New Zealand for the term of Five Years and Two Months;
2. The Office of Lieutenant-Governor of New Ulster for upwards of Two Years;
3. The Office of Superintendent of the Province of Auckland, for One Year and a Half; and
4. The Administration of the Government of the Islands of New Zealand, for One Year and Eight Months:
thus having, at one and the same time, performed the duties and borne the responsibilities of no less than four distinct offices, one of which is, in ordinary cases, considered sufficient to occupy the time and energies of one man.
Of the thousands of official Letters which I had occasion to write, not one was returned for amendment, or officially found fault with. Of the twenty-four Provincial Acts of Council which received my assent as Superintendent, or of the thirteen Acts of the General Assembly which received my assent as Officer Administering the Government, not one has been disallowed or overruled. And, be it remembered that, while thus acting, I was without advice or instructions of any kind from the Secretary of State; and, indeed, without any aid beyond that derived from
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the co-operation of my own Executive Council, and the support which I received from the Provincial Council, as a body, in the conduct of Provincial Affairs, and from many of the most influential members of the community, but which (valuable though it was) obviously did not relieve me from the great weight of individual responsibility connected with the important, and frequently difficult, civil duties thus devolved upon one whose previous training had been strictly military.
I shall take leave to advert to a few additional facts, out of many which might be stated, if I were not withheld by the reluctance a man naturally feels in speaking at large of his own case.
The progress of the Northern Province under my guidance was borne testimony to by the Governor-in-Chief, and acknowledged by the Secretary of State:-- the Revenue of the Province, which when I entered on the office of Lieutenant-Governor in 1851 was about £30,000, amounted, when I left in 1853, to about £48,000.
The advance made by the City and Province of Auckland, during my Superintendency, might be illustrated by numerous facts; but, indeed, it has been admitted on all hands. On my election, the funds in the Provincial Treasury to start with, amounted to £1,663; at the time of my resignation, the Revenue of the Province amounted to about £56,000, and there was a balance in hand of £15,800.
The General Revenue of the Colony also improved during my administration of the Government. When I assumed that administration, in the beginning of 1854, it
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was £200,000; when I handed the Government over to Colonel Gore Browne, in September 1855, it was upwards of £225,000.
The tranquillity and progress of the NATIVE RACE in the Northern part of the Colony during my administration, were marked and very gratifying; and I had the satisfaction of finding, in some trying circumstances (as on the discovery of gold at Coromandel, in 1851, and on occasions when their minds were strongly excited from other causes), that my personal influence confessedly exercised a salutary power over the Natives. Even during the widely-extended feud at Taranaki, I am assured that it was not without effect; although, unhappily, local interferences and hindrances prevented so speedy or complete an adjustment of the quarrel between the Tribes as had been anticipated or hoped for.
It has been my lot, and I have esteemed it a high privilege, to have participated in all the most important steps in the introduction of Free Institutions, and Self-Government in the Colony. As Lieutenant-Governor, in November 1851, I formally inaugurated the first Municipal Corporation for Auckland. As Superintendent, I was the first to give actual effect to the workings of the New Constitution Act. As Officer Administering the Government, I not only assembled and opened the First Parliament of New Zealand, but I exerted all the influence which my position afforded, to secure for the Colony the boon of RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT in its fulness and integrity. To me was addressed the Despatch from the
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Secretary of State, announcing the liberal views of the Home Government on that question; and I must here repeat, that if the General Assembly had judged it advisable to act at once on that Despatch, the system might easily have been in actual operation before I was relieved in the Administration by Colonel GORE BROWNE. A report (assiduously circulated) to the effect that Col. GORE BROWNE was appointed and hastened to the Colony because the Home Government censured my conduct on that question, is confuted not only by the unequivocal tenor of the Despatches, but by the simple and decisive evidence of dates. Sir GEORGE GREY left the Colony on the 31st of December, 1853, and arrived in England about May 1854. Colonel GORE BROWNE was immediately summoned from St. Helena, and was selected for New Zealand on the appointment of Sir GEORGE GREY to the Cape of Good Hope; while my first Despatch on the subject of Responsible Government (dated Auckland, June 9th, 1854), was not received in England until October 14th, 1854, that is, until after the selection of Colonel GORE BROWNE for New Zealand. The Secretary of State's Reply to that despatch was dated December 8th, 1854; and Colonel GORE BROWNE did not arrive in the Colony until nine months subsequently, viz., September 1855, his Commission bearing date in February of that year.
In addition to the other marks of approval to which I now invite the attention of my friends--in opposition to the unjust and unfounded reports which have been circulated in relation to my career since 1851--I may be
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permitted to attach to the documents in the Appendix a copy of a despatch from the Foreign Secretary, bearing date 27th of April, 1852, accompanied by one from Count WALEWSKI, the French Ambassador at the British Court, conveying to me the thanks of the French Government, in consequence of the generous acknowledgment by Captain Count d'HARCOURT of the assistance rendered to him, and his officers and crew, on the occasion of the wreck of the Corvette "Alcmene"--assistance which the French Ambassador characterised as "a new token of the sentiments of cordiality which unite our two nations."--(Appendix, No 26.)
Auckland, New Zealand,
March 31st, 1856.
