THE NEW ZEALAND BILL.

Anglo-Maori Warder, Volume 1, Issue 12, 11 July 1848, Page 3

THE NEW ZEALAND BILL.

(From the Morning Chronicle, February 10.) Few specimens of what the late Mr. Bentham was want to call codification, have excited greater admiration on their first appearance than did the constitution conferred upon New Zealand. As a piece of constitutional machinery it wis deemed to be all bat perfect. At home, people could not sufficiently express their nmaz.meut th.it so well considered a work of teei.latioti had issued frcm what had been so I jur looked upon as a hot-bed of bunsling, quarrelling, and every description of mismmagement—the Colonial Office. The political savans of the. Continent were loud in their praise ol the wisdom and maananimi v of the British nation, in beaming, at ilie first buist, a full-grown constitution upon the youngest, le.ist developed, „nd most distant of its dependent ies. Sjroe ol our oldest oloi.ks were actually quite jealous of the New landeis, and expressed their anxiety to have a similar boun confei red upon themselves as sieedily as possible So puweiful aie the attractions which a bare theory can exercise upon the most practical persons, if more than uidinar) t.ikm be einploK.il in coliiniittiiijj it to papir. The New Zealand constitution was very cle-v.-ily couuivni, and its .itlrac nemss w.is increased hv the unusual compactness lucitU }, and precision.eviiicii

in its detials. It was altogether a harmonious piece of work, possessed many excellencies, and no doubt, when the colony is in a letter condition to profit by its provisions, it may, with certain modifications, be hereafter applied to some useful purpose* To the admiration expressed for this unusual and, as some though 1 , rather daring experiment in colonial legislation, there was from the first one remarkable and unfortunate exception. Every body was pleased with it except the people for whom it was intended. Its announcement in New Zealand created ;he greatest excitement and distrust among ihc native population ; while, on the other hand, the Governor of that c lony. the ablest man, without disparagement to other-, engaged in our colonial administration, anywhere, the man to whom the present pacification and prosperity of the colony are principally due, declared that for his part he could not undertake to govern the colony successfully under the system proposed to be introduced, that if the experiment was tried, he could no longer answer cither for the prosperity or tranquillity of the country. The remonstrances of such a man, supported as they were by tacts and arguments of the most convincing; character, could not be neglected. The constitution granted to the colony of New Zealand is to be suspended for five years. No one that we are aware of has advanced any valid objections to the propriety of this suspension. The only difference of opinion being, that some, like Mr. Gladstone, would pr.fer that the constitution was abolished, instead of being suspended. But Mr. Labouchere is undoubtedly right as to the general question when he says, "that Parliament j having pronounced an opinion on a point on which it I was competent to pronounce one, should not now take s any part that would have the effect of throwing doubt on . a question that was considered a settled." It is> clear ! that if Parliament were to make it a practice to revoke J all the colonial charters that did not give perfeet satisI faction at their first promulgation, and to pull to pieces J all the constitutions that did not work smoothly at first going off, there would be no end to legislative tinkering ; and that nothing done for the colonies would have that character of certainty and permanence which is especially desirable in legislating for infant communities. The habits and institutions of the New Zealanders' above all people, are in a state of rapid growth. So j extraordinary—we might say bo unexampled in the history of the world—are their faculties of civilizition, , so rapidly do they appropriate and familiarise themselves with European ideas, inventions, and habits, that it is impossible to say that the constitution which is perfectly impracticable among them at present may not suit them tolerably well after the lapse of a very few years. Meantime, it is proposed to allow the Governor of the colony the power of trying the experiment even before the expiration of the five years, if he should deem it expedient. Should Captain Grey continue, as we hope he will, to administer the nffairs of the colony for that time, his discretion may be fully relied on to make the experiment only when and where there is some chance of its being successful. Nay, we would s*y in addition, that if Governor Grey should at £Ome future time suggest alterations in the charter, calculated to obviate the defects which he has already pointed out in it. Parliament would do well to bestow upon the matter their moat attentive consideration. It does appear to us that the principal defects waich Governor Grey has pointed out might be ve r y easily remedied, and that such a revision of the charter, as soon as there is time for it—which as yet there has nt been—would be much better than, either its renewed »tS;ie«sion, which might otherwise be found i ecessary, or its abolition. Some provision might at tbe same time be made for the more gradual introduction of the constitution into those provinces of the colony where the state of society may be ripe for it, and where the amalgamation of 1113 aborigines with the settlers is further advanced than there is any prospect of its betng for some time to corns. Governor Grey cannot for ever remain in the colony, of which he must be regarded as the real founder. Much may safely be left to his discretion that another wou d not be competent to decide Ufton. Bat we think thut Government arc bound to call upon dptuin Grey, and other competent persons, for additional information as to tbe defects of the charter, as regards the pecului characteristics of the people for whom it was intended. And nest tessiou, when tins info ruction has batu laid before ir, it uill be the duly ui Parliament to revise th« New 2e;i and charter, if necessary, and leave it in fit condition fo. practical me, wh.n the term of its suspension shall have expired. A c regards the debate in the House of Cormons ' a st night, Lord Lincoln most correctly characterised j it as '* a very iuterruatitig discussion upon the affairs of j I NewZcaiand, but nodihcussinn whatever on the merits , of the bill itself It will, however, be regarded as ' highly satibfactory in tlrs count y, and will have a most j J powerful tendency to cairn th- apprehension* and the j distrust of the charier ent riained by the nativts, that 1 Mr. Labouchere has expressed in such decided terms ' the resolution of ihe Government faithfully to o'iserve I I the tieaty of Wiiuiigi, and to put the must liberal } i interpretation oa such of its provisions as admit of a > douule interpretation. No hiog is so important for J ' preserving the peace of tne colony, and consolidating t j tbe union of the two rjces, us impressing the natives i with the fu lest possible reliance on the good faith of [ the British Government. Certain iuteres «d parties, { ■ not natnes, n.ay possibly take extreme vhws of what the trtaty did admit to he the urn oubted property of . the nat ves ; and Mr. Labouchere ha* exposed suffiji ; ( ently the niibcv of these extreme vi ewj . £ u t cart . ! j must be taken, on the other hand, not to estimate by I ' anything of an English ur European standard the I | actual rtquisitiona of ttie native population. The Dibits j and the prejudices of the nati\e* and their chief* uju&t I be taken into account. The want ot agricultural skill t in the people generally, in couaequvnej of which they ; exhaust their in the course ot three or four yeais, i and tbe territorial pride of ibeir chief,, who naturalh | to retain botiie remnants of the great h.tmh.: grounda" of winch they were so lanly the uudii, t iutt.u lords, must be allowed for. Where there is such an abundance of laud, and so distant a prospect of any population growing upon it at ail adequate to its capacities, it. would be the height of absurdity, as well as imprudence, to higgle with the natives, or to attempt prematurely to nairow their claims to what in a more crowded county might he deemed a most liberal allowance for them. They are a noble and high spirited race ; they have a profound sense of their own rights, and me well able to revenge themselves if tho* rights are not treated with respect. Care must be taki-u that no oufri-cnulanee on the part of the British settlers shall Uaustoiui what is now tiietuo»t promising of our culcuie* into another CafWia.

The Royal Eomtyof .£lOl has le;n o.'s'oivej on Mra.Gl.uaCDL-k, widow or bkusivcl, U.N., roreiuly de,-ea*ed. The alters of the hue Licutsuaat Wade, of her II ,ioty'it ship Dido, who »„•> Kit ed in an ortioa with ihe |.ii» cs of llornt-o, in Id 11, haye b 11, also, picituud wuii ilUi) liom me same fund. 'i'lit- Colonists of Adet ode h.m- transmitted, through Govuriwr Uouc, jflUOu, »dO,i.iiji:.l for the relief 01 the distrrss d hy famine in In-huiil ~u,l Grout ilr.taw. A donation in vvh at, of jiimlar \m'.w, i- 1 ion y So follow.

The wmes of the Sydney district have usunHj been hitherto, of a light, or Rhunish character. We have stillto lcatn 'he results of Port Phillip manufacture. In the mean time I am anxious to caution my fellow Co* lonUts agtinibt the common practice of applying to these new descriptions of wine, the old and standard names of tl-e produce of the other hemisphere. All the diffdrt'nee in flavor in the enseot thj(ormer,is ever linble to be Wa cs Po r f,or Au-traiai Slier m , will never pass muster at tin ie-tive board* of the M -th.:r cmi.try. Under a Totally distinct nimenclituic, the Austr-ilian manufacture will s*aud upon it* own independent merits, in* strati of vainly for a position, under the adopted title of "European Wines."—Westgartb's Australia Felix. Tue British andNo&th Americas RovAt, Mail Steam-Ships,—The British and Nurt'i American Hoe may now te said to be the only succosbful line of ocean steamers yet org an i a id. The English established a lino and suuk a great deal of money in it, but ween London and New York, of which the British Qu<en, and the President were the principal boats. Another line was established between Brisbane and New York, which, with the exception of the Great Western, also turned out a failure like, that of the Lond-m line. The French, more recently, attempted the same thing betwetn Havre and New York, which hus met with some disasters, and also turned uut a similar failure. Even the American line betweeu this city and Bremen* in use he ad** mitted now to be a failure, for the first vessel, the Washington, appears to be entirely unlit foi steamnavigation, although she may be very beautiful in other seapects. We have had, lUeiefote, two English, one French, and one Ameiican, lines of ocean steamers—alt failures. None teem to have succeeded but the Liverpool line, composed of ve-sels built en the Clyde, with engines constructed in G'asgow. The Scotch line, as it may be distinctly called, is the only lino that has succeeded permiuently on the Atlantic. The blunders, errors, and miscalculations of the EngVa. French, ani American lines would fill columns- On the other h uul, the piudfnce, cuutiou, skill undenterpiizc, of the Untifih and North American Koval Mail hue, stand out aloof, aud must be admitted by all—New York Herald.