Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, MONDAY, 2nd JANUARY, 1865.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume V, Issue 208, 2 January 1865, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, MONDAY, 2nd JANUARY, 1865.

Responsibility, without the power of control, as exemplilied iu the so-called system ot responsible government conferred upon the colony of New Zealand, is a subject that has on former occasions engaged oar attention. This was especially the case at the time this mockery was enforced upon us. Our readers will doubtless remember the views we expressed upon that occasion,.and will not fail to see that the working of the system has fully borne us out.

Nor can wo think that individuals having capacity for legislation and government could have been so far misled by the specious language in which the boon was conferred upon us as to suppose fur a moment that it could in working prove any other than a delusion, the terms of the late Colonial Secretary’s despatch scarcely being sufficiently vague to disguise the intention of the Imperial Government to retain all practical control of Native affairs in every case in which there should be a difference between

His Rxccilcocy and bis responsible advisers. Yet we are gravely assured by a leading member of the late Government that they were so deceived, as appears by the words reported to have been used by Mr. T, Russell in the House of Representatives on the 6th December : I say sir, that the late Government took office believing that the colony had obtained from the Home Government full responsibility in native affairs. We believed, sir, tbaf. the boon conferred by the ch spaich of tlie Duke of Newcastle, and accepted by the colony, was a reality and not, a sham ; that the Horne Government really meant to allow us to govern New Zealand in native as well as in European affairs. Acting on this belief, we exercised the power energetically and promptly, and our measures were attended with success. It was only when Imperial interference came that we failed. The position wo held was this : We believed that tiie representative of Her Majesty was assuming a power that be had no right to assume ;we objected to his taking that power. The Secretary of State for the colonies now upholds the Governor in the exercise of the power ho assumed ; and we see that the Imperial Government have not given us what we thought they had—that in fact, they have withdrawn what the Duke of Newcastle gave ; if they really intend that the Governor should continue to exercise that power, I accept the position ; and say that rather than have this double Government, the Imperial Government should haye the whole control of affairs.

After tins statement, and as we must suppose made on the authorit}' of the whole Government, we can only conclude that such

was the case, strange as it may seem to us. That Sir George Grey himself did not share in the delusion is quite evident from his own words used in his celebrated despatch to the Duke of Newcastle to tins died;—lf any important difference should arise between me and my responsible advisers, I must change them for others, and appeal in fact to the General Assembly.” We scarcely supposed it would prove possible for the late Ministry to obstruct His Excellency in the execution of his pet schemes for the (mis)manageuient of Maori matters in the way they have done. They have prominently shown that this mock responsibility and double Government is an evil that the colony cannot by any means bear, and the new Ministry have full}’ endorsed their view of the matter, though the question how It can he remedied seems entirely unanswered. Certainly not by removing the troops and the Governor, unless this means entire separation from the Mother Country, which, we presume, is far enough limn their wish. There is and can be no question that the

philo-Maori party has sufficient influence in the Imperial Cabinet, to ensure protection for the interests of the “ poor aborigines'’ of those Islands, and let tiie utmost he granted that can be expected by the ultra-responsi-hilists, he may depend that a body of troops would still be maintained by her [Majesty’s Government to prevent those rights and interests from being encroached on by the

“ grasping colonist.” In this view we are fully borne out by Mr. Carleton, who remarked in reference to our. disputing the will of the Imperial Government :

Pat (hem at defiance, and what would follow? They would suspend the Uonstitulion and make peace with the natives, and perhaps leave two regiments behind to hinder the settlers from fighting the natives. And this is doubtlos the truth, and though we believe there is a remedy for the evil complained of by our legislators, that suggested by them is certainly inadequate to its demands. f