ADDRESS IN REPLY.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 2, Issue 82, 27 July 1868, Page 181

ADDRESS IN REPLY.

and congratulated tlie. House and. the .Colony ..on?,the fact olhis Excellency havingmade -himself^ac^nainted a great part of this country in so^sliort a time/'and oir the warmth of his receptiP tf by‘tlie He the necessity .of, alluding to tlie .painful fact of the attempted assassinatienrof the Dukei of Edinburgh/ which' 1 he described as a deed of enormity .barbarity,and disloyalty. He then'reviewed the; remaining paragraphs, of, the, speech,; and concluded by askiug the House to concur with • him- in reciprocatinguthe prayer- of his Excellency that the blessing of God’ may attend his administration, and give wisdom and; stability tp the Ministers charged with Conducting the affairs of the colony. Mr. Reid seconded the motion.

Mr Travers thought the address contrasted unfavorably, with some of those made at the opening of previous Parliaments, in that there were several marked omissions in it,—no reference being made to the progress of the Colony ; nor any comparisons of the present state of the country withits 3tate last year; no reference to the progress 51 of acclimatisation; no remark as to the state' and progress of the native race; nor allusion to the state of our relations with them. He considered this as the.more remarkable as his Excellency had addressed a circular letter to persons able to furnish information on the subject, and bad received a large number of replies. Nothing is said of the disturbance at Patea, although 400 men had been despatched to that district, it was said to carry on offensive operations there. Such omissions were to cast suspicion on; the whole policy of the Government, of which, in. fact, the speech does not convey any idea beyond that ho new loans are to be tolerated. He did hot approve of that, as there was no more wholesome policy than to develope the resources of a new country by antici* pating the future, and laying on it a portion of the burden. He trusted that these matters would be explained. Mr Reynolds admired the way in which the Government congratulated itself on having passed ‘an illegal Act The Westland County Act.” Ministers were ,aware of its illegality, and had caused a hill to he introduced into the Imperial Parliament to make an important alteration in the Constitution Act ; and this without consult ing. the Legislature of the Colony. | Mr 'Borlase was agreeably suiprised to find that there was a prospect of reduced taxation. He - "was at a loss ; to understand how the “ inhabitants ” 1 of these islands could be described as 1 exhibiting,. “ good sense, patience, and mutual forbearance,” such terms being ; inapplicable to the Maori people. He was glad no more money was to be : borrowed, and , considered that the Westland scheme of local government had broken down.

Mr'Hall proposed to notice the observations concerning the Westland scheme. '. An hon. ; member had described the Act as illegal, and stated that the Government must have known, or ought to. have known it. .. He replied, the Government.-did. not know it yet. That hoh. memher had quoted from printed papers on the table ; showed tkat the Goverh-ment-did-not attempt ficulties that existed. . doubt-wasadmitted ai ; to; .the- power of the House to pass the’ Act, - and the question lavVr^fi^je&^bf Crown, andtheyhad. givenan; opinion-^—only ceedeid.M pp^ers^f :: • had taken steps to obtain thepower

House; to do what it desires to! ddfaiid ‘-had 5 attempted; 'An Son. ’m'cfaibet had said that' the Westland ! Act had failed. Tliey would' have said the .same in any j case... More misrepresentations had been; made by thos organs of thepress connected with that gentleman’s party, with regards to that Act, than; any> other ‘ subject in shier memory. '-- 3 He shoiild- 'cbntenkhiihseif with a. denial of the. statement.

Mr Graham referred to some omissionss in the speech, particularly ; the Auckland gold-fields, of which no mention was'made, although they were a great means of forwarding the prosperity of an important district. He also regretted’ that no recognition was made of the services of an officer who had been instrumental in preventing bloodshed—Mr Mackay. He could not agree with the expression of satisfaction with the operations of the Westland Act; but was : gratified that uo more debts were to-be incurred* and he hoped to see a reduction made in the estimates by the amalgamation ofdepartments.

Mr Haughton thought members who attacked the address set up phantoms to knock down again. The chief ground of complaint was omissions. He was glad the speech was so short' No amendment had been proposed, and he was doubtful whether or not the opposition had any policy to substitute for that of the Government.

Mr Jollie thought it a proper and creditable custom for members to criticise the words put into the mouth of a Governor bv his advisers on the opening of a session. Native affairs were assuming a grave aspect. He hoped they would have some assurance that the Government would not allow the country to drift into another expensive war. He thought it satisfactory that the Government had elicited information'respecting the' operation of the Westland Act, and that there would be further legislation on the subject. Larger powers and a greater interest should be given to local bodies in the waste lands of these districts. He was glad that expenditure 5 was to be “ resolutely kept down.” Such action on the part of the Government would do more to lengthen their term of office than the- organisation of any policy, however good or new. Fresh taxation could not be borne.

Mr Richmond said that it was sufficient io say that there was a natural objection to making the Governor express contrary opinions, which might happen with rapid changes of Ministry ; yet he thought the policy of Government sufficiently explicit. . It was made evident that the ; views of the Government . were unchanged. Large'constitutional changes were imminent, and Government would renew, in a less complex form, the attempt the House rejected last year. The Finance policy was that the country should live within its means.:, The Patea affair was not alluded to, as the Government were desirous to cause no premature'alarm,* and to treat the-af-fair as individual crime rather than rebellion. Criminals had committed minor offences, and had been captured; two had been released; . one escaped, and their accomplices had, in revenge

for tlie affront' shewn them, committed a ; series of murders; on unoffending settlers; : Government has been very ckreffikih its .treatment of the natives, indulging a (trembling 1 hope -that the storm .fiad passed. It had' treated them most liberally ;; had given them grants ofland : ahdtone^ ceived - with every ' consideration and attention ;—-yet they committed ;: rob-i

beries/ and* when these were checked, murder; ► Ah ; hon'. member has asked why ■ the -name : of Mr rMackkyi wasmot mentioned 1 in his' Excellency’s : If -all" such: acts as !"tbese were’.to be spoken (■ of/' the ; Governor-.* might* be speaking 'yet. In the r case at Patea the.robberies were evidently/intended to worry , the settlers -out of the district. .Abold magistrate, assisted by bold constabulary, succeeded in taking three prisoners under regular warrants. Two were- examined, and the evidence against them not being sufficient, were discharged ; tlie third ; was -detained for trial, but he escaped; - Nofcconfent with the escape of all three • from punishment, they and -their- friends have come down and committed murders—four, or perhaps more. So the case stands now/ and the Government consider that any allusion to the case; in the speech would alarm the minds of peopleaf-home, and create-a feeling of anxiety-not warranted by circumstances. The Government had not adopted, any pet scheme of native government, nor indeed meddled with the natives* except: on; one occasion, when himself and 'Mr ; Mackay had prevented blood beingshed’in the north/ He thought the utterahce of' the Go-! vernment was sufficiently clear. _lf it was not so it was not from any intention to be obscure on its part; r;:

Mr Ludlam said the address' was an echo of the speech. He considered'-it a matter on whichftHe House might express its opinion, though this might not usually be done, , except, when .particular lines of policy-were indicated. He felt that both the Parliament and the people of the Colony regretted the removal of the late Governor,/'though.

the present one was a man/pf ability/ and well qualified for : the office. He thought much good would result from; the Governors visits to the* different parts of the Colony, by making the 1 people, feel more like one Community.' He regarded the present session as one of • great importance, and " as' : being looked at with great interest by the 1 country. A salient point in the address! was the intention : of. the: Government; to bring in a Bill to extend RoadBoards* and increase the principle of local self government.' He believed a ; demand for such a measure was" be-' coming extended* ■ but' :: he saw ' great difficulty in adapting inch a measureto the .different putlymg . districts. of; the Colony-. No one, particular act could meet, the-requirements of all' thei districts. Another saliemf‘point was’ Finance. He was sure and the country was glad to hear that' there was “ a resolute determination to effect a reduction in the expendi-. ture,” and also that tbere would be no fresh : taxation unless- fresh loans 11 were required. He ilio agreed with' the Goverument ia its opposition to' raising freslTloans, and " regarded the idea of expending suchin. reproductive” works as a fallacy.; There was nothing, to show for the 3,000,000 loan: which-; had been already expended. ; He re- 5 " garded the already existing taxation 'or’ the colony a Clog on its progress, and! as preventing the coming of The wisest course was to reduce taxa-/ tion to its lowest possible limits, 'and; “Live within our means.’- He did ! not regard the “ Westland bill ” as“a perfect measure, and . was sorry . the 1 members representing, that district f were not present, that they might point: out the defects of the measure so that v it might be made a practical Agreeing with he stiU reserved hi 3 freedom of opinion.. pin ' suck measures as it might bring ! before the House.

■Mr! Brandon reserved his right off he saw afeunnihgnoss in the! dimness

of: the. Government in. tlie address, partrictSi.jincrease4>: powers. : to as aimatfOr of ,courtesy toa high .officer, * and not - ascomproffiising members in any pledging them? to support ; ; the measures .of the Government.,