SELF-GOVERNMENT

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 169, 13 April 1921, Page 3

SELF-GOVERNMENT

EARLY SETTLERS’ STRUGGLES

FOR REPRESENTATIVE INSTITUTIONS

(By W, A. Edwards, Historical Section, Early Settlers’ Association.)

To those acquainted with the earlier Mstory of the settlement around Port Nicholson, one of the most interesting chapters is that covering the strenuous fight put up by our early settlers for self-government interpreted as representative government. In the Provisional Constitution adopted on the eve of the Mret colonists' departure from England, and rendered necessary by the want of recognition by the Home Government, the elective principle wns recognised, but could not be carried out. The next form of local government, under tho Municipal Ordinance Act of 1842, was the most democratic measure ever introduced in the Empire, both in its representation and elective principles, and this was framed in Wellington by n representative body of our early settlers. As wo know, this was disallowed by the Homo Government after one term of office of our first Municipal Council. These are onl> mentioned as showing the principle of our settlers. When Governor Hobson arrived in New Zealand in February, 18W, he seems to have located himself as far aa possible from the settlement of the New Zealand Company, and his short career- as Governor wns marked by a strong spirit of opposition to the company’s operations; and not until August, 1841, did he visit Wellington, after having written to the Home Government in disparaging terms, both of the place and the colonists. His temporary successor (Willoughby Shortland) manifested the same spirit towards the south. Captain Fitzroy, whose arrival late in .1843, had been earnestly looked forward to by our settlers, was 'looked upon as the harmoniser of the differences bo tween themselves and the Government, and to settle the now serious disturb ances with the Native race. Deep was their disappointment with the result; he brought with him prejudices mere btter than those which had animated his predecessors, and on his one visit to the Cook Strait settlement, which ho made in January, 1844, 'he was successful in alienating the proffered affections of the whole population. His success-n (Captain Grey) came to the colony with practically a free hand, his instructions i being literally to extricate the Home Government from the difficulties into which his predecessor had got it. The leading event in Iris governments seems to 'have been the struggle between himeelf and the colonists on the subject of self-government. During the, debates that led to the recall of Captain Fitzroy, Sir Robert Peel and other statesmen on both sides all agreed that self-govern-ment by tho colonists was the only remedy for the existing evils. Governor Grey, shortly after his arrival here, expressed his concurrence in those opinions, writing to Mr. Gladstone, then Secretary for the Colonies, that of all the colonies he bad ever known those of the southern settlements of New Zealand (Cook Strait) were the most fitted to govern themselves. A Constitution was framed by Parliament in 1846 conferring large powers of eelf-government, and sent out to the colony for immediate introduction. Governor Grey did not, however, introduce it, but criticised it and suggested certain amendments, with the result that the Homo Government suspended the Constitution for five years and gave Gov. ernor Grey discretionary power in the interval to create institutions, embodying' any amount he might think proper of the representative principle. This principle was entirely discarded by the nominee Provincial Council measure of 1848.

We must now return to our “ettlera in. Wellington, for it is in lhet« that we are mostly interested. The above reference only leads up to and in a measure explains the proceedings following. In January, 1849, the Settlers’ Constitutional Association was formed in Wellington for the 'purpose of watching Governor Grey’s proceedings, and a6B®rting the political rights of the colonists. A petition to .Parliament protesting against the .nominee council measure was prepared by it. and received the .signatures of about three-quarters of th® male adult population of *he settle- ' nient. The petition was addressed to the "Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland assembled, the humble petition of the undersigned inhabitants of Wellington, in New Zealand, sheWeth: .That your petitioners having by a series of legislative enactments of the British Parliament, etc., etc., had their just and /reasonable expectations excited that representative institutions were about to be at once introduced into the southern province of New Zealand, are now equally surprised and disappointed to find that notwithstanding the various pledges of the British Government and the Governor of the colony on the subject, the Introduction of such institutions has been deferred by the latter . for a period of sever al years at least; and that he has in the meantime created a set of councils for the colony, cunlisting of his own nominees, a form of government most repugnant to the feelings of your petitioners, and proved by all experience in New Zealand and else where to be entirely inefficient for good , government, etc.” Tho petition goes on to recapitulate different events lending ■up to the then position and a general , criticism of Governor Grey and his latest nominee council, pointing out. that only those not In the confidence of the people had accepted nomination, etc. The great enthusiasm with which tide petition was signed suggested the idea of a. great public demonstration in the shape of a grand reform banquet, which took place on Thursday evening, March 1, 1819, in the theatre, proved to be by far the most numerous gathering that had ever taken, place in Wellington, and perhnne in the colony. Some two hundred individuals, compr>»ing the most respectable of every class, sat down to a really sumptuous cold dinner, prepared by 311-.' Howland Davis The chair was taken by Mr. J. Hornet, a little after G o'clock. Every seat was filled, and had then; been more room there would have been occupants still for every chain. The theatre had been finely decorated for the occasion with flags, evergreens, etc., and a new scene, painted by Mr. Marriott, especially for tho occasion, tapestried ■i . the wall behind the chair, representing a Roman arch, flanked by pillars, surmounted by tho figures of Justice and • Victory. The price of tickets had been, fixed at five shillings to meet the convenience of all classes, but. ti subscription opened by aboqt 40 gentlemen selected and -placed on the bible as ample display of wines as might he desired, from the best to I>s. found in the settlement. Notwithstanding this liberal supply, tho utmost decorum and good order prevailed. An amateur bund was in attendance, and -several songs contributed to the harmony of tho evening. After the dinner was removed the I chairman proposed the health of Her Maj-esty, and the usual routine foams followed, with tho usual honours. The toast-master having announced the toast of "Representative Institutions, and their Immediate Introduction,” tremendous 'cheering ensued, which lasted afweira.l minutes. Dr. Featherston said, in giving such a toast, he could not forget the character of those he addressed, iw given some years ago by the present Chief Justice of this colony. His Honour. :n describing the Port Nicholson settlers. ■ ettdgnat-ed them as an enterprising, grumbling, moniornlising set of poop'e — laid he for one looking back on their past career—to the whole tone and course off their public proceedings

frankly admitted that a more true account and faithful description was never given of any community. That they were enterprising was proved, not merely by the fact of their having left their native land, uncertain many of them of their place of destination, ignorant all of them of the reception they might meet with from the Native population, but still more by their having manfully stuck to the colony, in spite of nil the dangers and obstacles they had to encounter. But the bright and, distinguishing feature in their character undoubtedly was that they were a set of grumblers, and memorialisers. On this point he suspected they would have little difficulty in obtaining the most satisfactory certificates, lx>th from the local Government, Her Majesty's Ministers, and Parliament itself. But at what had they grumbled—for what had they memorialised? They had grumbled at the form of Government they had been placed under —at that odious and hateful despotism which had cramped all their energies, rendering unavailing all their enterprise, and entailed upon the colony a serieo of disasters under which all not Englishmen would long since nave succumbed. They had memorialised for the free institutions of their Fatherland —for those institutions under which tilono a British colony could ever ad rance to any real or permanent prosperity. And that, too, nothing daunted by the ill-success of their past exertions, undismayed by the failure of -all their petitions, remonstrances, and memorials, they had that, evening met to testify that in spite of their having for nine years bean subjected to the debasing influence of despotism. thev had still retained in nil fheir freshness the feelings of Englishmen, to prove that their attachment to free institutions was ns warm, their abhorrence of nominee councils as strong as ever, hut, above all, they had met to pledge themselves not to cease from their present agitation until the great object of the struggle—the great prize of selfgovernment—had 'been obtained. He asked bis hearers not. to forgot that it was ever by the assertion of great principles that their forefathers had won and secured those rights and privileges which' had been handed down unimpaired through so many generations. In regard to the present council, they protested against it not lyecause they anticipated any immediate danger from it—they scouted and rejected it because of tho principle on which it was based--because of the principle of nomineeisjn, because of the principle of irresponsible government, because it violated the great maxim that the public were themselves the best judges of their own interests, and that those interests would only be uniformly consulted when they themselves had the management of their own affairs. Dr. Featherston here commented on the conduct of those gentlemen who had accepted seats on the nominee Coun-cil-commenting most scathingly on the reasons they gave to justify their acceptance of seats. They had been told by one of the honourable nominees that they were too inexperienced, too young as legislators, too young as electors, that their education was not' sufficiently advanced to render it safe to entrust them with the weapon of self-government; that their youth and inexperience rendered it necessary for them to attend for, a period of- at least four years in the "red blanket chamber,” there to receive their education; there to imbibe lessons -of political wisdom, etc.; in fact, they had been told that before obtaining their political rights they must start from the point their barbarous ancestors started ro many centuries ago. After showing that laws and institutions must ever keep pace with the progress of the human mind. Dr. Featherston said in the principle of the nominees’ argument, instead of availing themselves of the discoveries of chemistry and astronomy, they ought to content themselves with the absurdities of the alchemists and astrologers, ariff- ’lien expressed the hope that they would. yet be edified by seeing the nominees entering the "red .'blanket chamber,” with their bodies besmeared with paint and clad in the skins of wild beasts (that is, should they wish to prove the sincerity of their opinion). When they heard such- arguments, they might well exclaim, "Who mn'de them judges and rulers over us? ’ He then regarded this question as one of expediency, and glanc.ng at the history of the American colonies, showed that the amoun-t of prosperity enjoyed had ever been in proportion to the degree of self-government enjoyed by it, and urged them to look at the rapid strides Now South Wales had made since representative government had been conferred, to the increase in her material wealth, etc., to the remarkable, change in her social, moral, and intellectual aspect, etc., to look what numbers of men ol the highest character and intelligence now resorted to it, etc., e c., and then referred to the hardships inflicted upon the industrious classes from their bang unable to bring their. produce to the market, owing to the money which ougbto be expended in making them roads being squandered upon a useless official staff. Dr. Featherston concluded by Buying that the course they bad uniformly pursued in regard to this question—the presence of so many at Uit banquet, the petition having received th-, signatures of more than mne-tentbs o+ the male adult population—afforded sut ficient proof thiut their zeal in the good cause had not abated, and they more determined than over not to relax in their present exertions until they I v d conferred representative institutions upon this, their adopted Mr. Vincent, who proposed the next toast, observed thill they had assembled together to manifest by their prcs&uce the deep anxiety which all felt for the immediate inlrodaction of 1 epi- sen a tive institutions,” and their abhorrence of the nominee system forced on them by Sir George Grey. He went on to speak of what the colonists had been led to expect, and the they had suffered, etc. The Goveinoi hud offered scats in that Council (nominee) to several gentlemen who had macle themselves conspicuous by their opposltion to.anv form of rule other ta representative institutions, and those gentlemen had manfully, firmly, and eonsistently maintained their principle-. The colonists had need to be proud them. Mr. Vincent urged upon all to persevere in the efforts made to eel nd of the disgraceful taTOe called .% Couu.nl, an.U lo rally round those who had not flinched in their support of those pi’Ociples which ought to be tho guioang star of all men. The toast was then given. ' The health of those gentlemen who declined seats on the nominee Council, viz., W. Fox, Esq., J.P., A. M'Donald, I>q., J.P., Dr. Featherston, Captain Dun- ; iells’ J.P.. J. Johnston, Esq., K- Bethune, Esq., and F. A Weld, Esq, JP. The t-xiist was received with loud and long acclamations, and musical honours. Dr. Featherston resjxmded to the toast, observing that however flattering the compliment, it was, in his opinion, altogether uncalled for, for after tho manner in which they all stood pledged to representative institutions, and having so publicly expressed their determination not to sanction nominee Councils, they woinu, h.i-l they accented -'nils'. been guilty of tho grosscet dereliction of public duty, would have proved themselves void of every principle of honour and integrity. He then referred to an attack made on him by a ‘‘Journal,” and refuted their accusation warmly as to one assertion made —he had taken every opportunity to impress upon His Excellency the strong and unanimous feelings that existed against his Council, and the determination of all to oppose it to the uttermost, and to appeal to Parliament. (To be continued.)