SUSPENSION OF THE CONSTITUTION.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, 31 December 1868, Page 318 (Supplement)

SUSPENSION OF THE CONSTITUTION.

PMLJC, IEPTIIG. »|jp» J "'■■ , ►

A. PtJßiiO MSM4Stir€f, s^ •:;in^abdoia'«nee- ; with; ' • anadvertiseiifent,‘was'hteldmthe,Council ; .evening :of {Wednesday, / consider theadvisability pf amappeal to the. Home Government for; ;in';; the ! state? of, the' Colony,'and-eßpecially referring to the sub* : r ject of;aflUßpenai6n,of-;the conßtitutioii. • s - The. meeting; was largely attended, and onthe f motion of Mr .Lindsay, Mr Tiffen was Voted to tlie chair. : , The OHAiEMAN. said that the object of the meeting was to Consider the best bourse to be taken in unfortunate state of - the that the advertisementcalling the meeting.hadiuo naniee attached to it ;' but no one had been inclined to accept the respon- . ‘eihility of calling a meeting on such a subject/ The resolutions and memorial were,* he believed,- already - prepared- He had no farther remarks , to make, but would call upon. Mr'Tanner to address the meet- • ihg. . ' ■■

Sp.Mr Tankeb was obliged to the -Chairman for his explanation. Every one had acknowledged the necessity of a meeting of -this kind ; 4 but all seemed toO-fully preoccupied with their own affairs to move in the matter. • He had thought the best course to be adopted was to call/a meeting by advertisement, and he hopedimo fault would be found with the manner in which this had been done. He hadnotvto move the first resolutfon, which was as follows: That this meeting views with alarinthe.present aspect of affairs in this North Island, and is,.Of " opinion that an appeal to her Majesty the Queen for-aid. is under the circumstances advisable. —He had two reasons for moving this resolution. The first and principal one was 'that it' would ruin the Colony if it was left to fight its battles unaided; and the second was that we might reasonably expect assistance from England, 4 if «-ifc was asked for in a proper spirit—and he thought he would be able to show the advantages to be derived from an appeal to the Hopie Govern- - ment. The main cause of*the present difficulties of .the Colony was the war on the East and West Coasts, which was costing us at -the rate of' about half-a-million per annum. Where was this money to come from ? The' already over-taxed country could not' raise so large a sum in addition to its present •burdens. It was not his

purpose this evening to throw blame on the*Ministry, or to inquire why there appeared to be so little done as yet for so great an expenditure; he would carefully avoid allusion to them or to personal matters of any kind, and hoped the same rule would be followed by any other speaker. .[[Applause/} The present question was a greater one than whether a particular man was fit for a leader in the house, or another fit for a leader in the field—it was not one of men, but of means, and he did not see how any mere change of Ministry could alter their position in that respect. There was also another reason why he did not look upon a change of Ministry as a panacea for all our ills, and that was, that he feared, judging from past changes, that it woujdbring very little if any more unity ' ofaction. There would be, he feared, the same jealousy and dissension at work, . thwarting the efforts of those who were abld/ and willing to render the country good service: and be looked upon the internal poEUcal;straggles, of the Colony as almost more injurious to its true interests •as a • Colony than the present war with a portion of the native race. .There was nothing but a feeling.of distrust abroad, the , result of which could nbt.be otherwise than disastrous; and for these reasons he did * not feel'any confidence tlfat. the country he able to work out of her .present unaided. He therefore con*idered that under these circumstances the 4 wisest course to be adopted was to; apply * for such help ad she might be willing to'afford. He aid not agree with those who talked as if the British colonist

waß degeneratedbecauseheasked for help. Jar from, it. He believed that he only 'wanted tune and service to make as good a soldier as could be wished, but it. could hot be done in a day. The idea was quite ■ new to the colonist to have‘to fight; he came out for a far different purpose; but eyen if :he were left to fight the battles of the country, unaided, he (Mr T.) would hare no fear-of the ultimate result .as regarded the two raceß; ‘hut thought that at the end of the fighting the colonist would find that # though, he'had-gaihed the rictory he had * lost everything .else—his business and .pro* . party would, have been neglected, hisdebts accumulatihg, mid heavy taxes to J pay without :the?]mfms Of paying them. * The . Bettler.i wcmld be .the gainer by the .war, he; ahQuid hot complain ifhe?;: an'.utter-faflacy. ' of wOob : cold* ' “ifitt ahy. gain, his i whole . could they altogether, but *- n ®^7®fofa'buUek l a great - ;y thi^^n^eltoid^mwh^

h fc,h av eB een nipped ** if’.’ atill-re^athfed^^tfie|Bol6hyf Worildhave y o ted A the - maintenance of Buoh j’a fprce. - - This, he, felt sure; would done; the Southern members always professed a firm beffefin the chief advocates of whaifhad proved to be a false ecobomy,f the effects of.which Had.been most ruinous, The*fault of Mr Weld’e was that' if *was simply impracticable frOintheforeeof circumstances. He had readSirD.Munro’s lotter, and it %a given. him unqualified ‘ pleasure. He it a" masterly production, and hoped it 'would have .weight in England. He had also read Mr Fitz Gerald's letter: that gentleman’s style of writing was like his speaking, eloquent and flowery—but it lacked that sound practical judgmeut that carried conviction .with it;- There was-one point,, however,* in that gentlemap’s letter to which lie could say “hear, hear,” and that., wa's the one" that was printed in italics—that England, should provide the Colony with arms and money to carry on the war. [Applause] He thought, however, that if England Bent assistance in money, Bhe would also send- a responsible person to control its expendi* ture. After the way in which the money of the Colony had been "squandered, it was not likely -that she would entrust any of her funds to a colonial Government.. He had-not mentioned England Bending any of her army, but would not be sorry if this was done.*. The Colony was not overburdened with population ; some of her best men .were away at the Front, and labor could not be obtained, except at very high wages. If English troops were to be sentout, then some of these men who were now employed'in fighting would be'"free to aid in developing the resources of the country, we should be in a better position to bear the. -expenses contingent on the war, and the colony could go 'on and prosper, if England would thus assist in fighting- her battles. Then came the question of suspension of the Constitution. -Ho did "not kno w that it was wise to ask for this to be done, and thought it was a question whioh might safely be left to England herself. It shs chose to assist the colony without taking this step the act would be hers. We wanted aid,—let England say in which way it was to be furnished. [Hear, hear.] This was a British Colony, and had as much right to look for the protection of JEngiand as any country under her flag. A largo number of the natives, recognising the benefits they derived from law and;order, had become subjects of the Q,ueen, but a large number had never dorie ; So. >They had never acknowledged her .supremacy, and were determined never tg abidgsby her laws. He did .not think any one would be prepared to say that colonial- mis management was the. solo' cause of' our present troubles ; that, there had been gross mismanagement and some injustice done could not be denied. [How ?] It was not within the limits of the present discussion to say how injustice had been done, but he did hot see how it could be otherwise when it was considered -the different experiments different Governments had tried ; but he wished ic to' be understood that his object in referring to this subject was to show that some other cause existed, the_best proof of which was the fact that the friendly natives who are now valiantly fighting our battles against the fanatical hordes of their own race had suffered, as much from mismanagement as the rebels. [AYoice: Much more.] He believed, then, the chief cause to be the deep indigenous hatred of. an inferior to a superior race. The rebels were "jealous, of our position in their country. - The

friendly natives were' equally^jealous, but their good sense showed them' the hopeless nature of the contest, and the security of living under our laws. He thought the friendly natives deserved the greatest possible credit for upholding the oause of law and order against rebellion and anarchy. Titokowaru had shown the true feelings of the race in his manifesto, where he. said England for the Pakeha and Hew Zealand for the Maori—similar to the old Fenian cry; and the rebelliorishould be put down with a strong arm in Hew Zealand, as England put down Fenianism in Ireland He believed that the system of double Government had produced many evils, as £be two Governments had always clashed, hut' that objection could not be urged against the temporary suspension of the Constitution as there would then of course be but one Governing power in this country... He hoped he had not travelled beyond the legitimate limits of the discussion, add would he glad to hear the views of-the meeting on the subject, and any improvements in the memorial which might be suggested. He hoped that, any remarks whioh,. might be made would be free from personal or ministerial questions. [Applause.] '

Mr Kennedy seconded the resolution,

Mr Ferard said' that to suspend the Constitution' was a ' difficult : thing, and though some might-perfectly understand what wouldresiutfrom; such a course,the should; like to.heafalittle mere : about it himself, before supporting it. ; wished.; to passt•a resolution' askingfhe Homo Government - for aid,; eveu/thdugh the Gonstitmtiorimight be suspended buf bethoughtwei should; fimtactliketinen arid, i dov all.wpj oouldyfor iheff: accept-"thahkfiiuy He wouldaskif ahy wnwmber« how^B£^s ; twere' : ;admihj^irod; L 'Ooloi^^w' : :ihhderlfthe : the - Wtiutii Government. t^'er«^the'|p^>| Cotistjtuticra of New Zeabnd wWi.the i ’' ! • ‘-.V' , <rr £ '-M A*'*^**

tube lightly of. ~Wliat kindofrinah wouldfj eaent rbyx E n glari dw er e thefGon? stitutlon Acfc ;BUBpended.?Some .political fayonte* l^so&ie vi ruined ■ ’Who would H distribute - bis! favors •: among' his relations r and hangers-on. v . [Great., ap plause.] Surely, too,' they" did not: think England would keep a large standing army in New Zealand without control, and Jhe power of training thebolonists for its support. What kiiid of Governor was the last—a manrchosen by the Some Government to manage the natives. Did he not ask, almost force, the natives to take Government offices as bribes for their good conduct? A large army was sent put, at,enormous expense, commanded by a General whose chief principle seemed to be that as his men. bad cost so much money they were too precious to," use, and kept them a great, part of their time idle. What guarantee had we that this would not happen again ? If the Home Government took control of Colonial affairs' they would certainly make the Colony pay for it. Would they, not place Colonel Whitmore and men less liked than he in positions of command? Did not Gold bring trouble, [[hear, hear] -and- General Pratt; so that the Colony universally cried out against the military ? Whatever majority the. self reliant policy, had in the House, it was certainly called for by the almost unanimous voice of the Colony; Mr Stafford had taken, office professing to carry out that policy, and had not done so. Whafe great change had taken place that we were to go back humbly and say: “ We don’trknow how to take care of ourselves ” ? The natives really acted with' more, decision than ourselves, for we were so.paralyzed by the machinations of political parties that we were scarcely a. match for them. * What we wanted was’ an Assembly with the confidence of the public, who could correct the faults .ofr their predecessors, and the only way to. get them was to call upon the present representatives ■ to- resign, and vote honestly for honest men. Let us vote money fora defence force—not to . be cast to the winds as soon as it had been uted ; bat to be a standing force for the protection of the Colony. [Hear, hear.] The Asssembly should vote funds for such a force for five or six years; and drill and arm the militia so as to be ready for action at a moments notice. He did • not see wily the Home Government should be called upon to pay for'the defence.of the Colony. ..In the history of the American Colonies there were many instances of this self reliance ; and in their case, instead of the Home Government assisting them, the tiling derived a revenue from them. In'Yirginia, when the Indians descended upon the settlement and massacred four hundred people and burnt their homes, the people roie and conquered them; though their leader was proclaimed a rebel in consequence. They depended upon' themselves and resisted any encroachments on their liberties, [ and the consequence was that they were now a great nation. We were now asked-to surrender our liberties and part with our Constitution without the shadow of a reason ; and we need never expect to be an important nation if we squabble among ourselveß to such an extent as to have to askthe Home Government for protection. He was grieved to see the quantity of falsehood which found its way into the pu’Tic press, and the reckless manner in which the Ministry and others were attacked. [Hear, hear.] In the leading newspaper of the Province Mr Richmond—a gentleman of .refined tastes and retiring disposition—was recently described as migrating between the billiardroom and bar-room of a pubHc-house. [Shame!] Now not only was this .a lie, out the man who wrote it knew it to be such; and it was only one of many similar untruthful accusations contained in the columns of the same paper. Let us see blackguardism of this kind put down. It would have been well for the. Colony if Mrw eld’apolicy had .been carried out; and he could now. see no reason why the poor man in England should pay more for his tea and sugar on our account. We had come here to make our homes, and we should defend them. [Applause. ] He was sorry'that some of the people of Hawke’s Bay,- so proud of .their actions at Omaranui, should wish to . surrender their liberties as soon as they were" in difficulty. Let the colonists try to help themselves—first get a new Assembly, of honest men—and England would help them. Hr J. N. Wnsosr had not intended to address the meeting, but..something had Been said about the natives being treated with ihj iistice. Now they had been treated with justice and consideration without a parallel in the history, of the. world, and the injustice had always been to the colonists. The.reßtriotiye j laws'of.the Governthent were for. their real behefit, the Landi Purchase Ordinance'was the’best law ever known . in. ther Colony, and the Native Lands Act, by which .it, was [superseded, was the-most mischievous and indefinite with which - he }was acquaixited. He understoodthat certain persons wished to:\ask r aicL; fromthe Home; Government. HeWould the English "GoveHmmenlHto send trbops here torelievethe'settlersoftheir military duly,, .and enable, them to go brdmaiy ’duties? This;idea would hot hold: water for a<moment;} This.-was' net jfhat.-weLW»?teMlnfLthmdid wo repealof the cbnantutionwhat’.we ready Wanted whs 1 amohg^burselves.^ |<lthfloiSal’w&ssorstatemerits wbiobfiaa ph!puHlu^fifi».dFth¥pp^^l gqjmd&rto theProrinck. rsLttftoW

against the by that journal were a : disgrace to civilization. Publicity was given to the most unblushing falsehoods, one of which accused Mr Richmond of being the frequentor Of "a pot-hoqae. The man who wrote that .must have known it to be false. ' If the Government was»a bad one, the way to prove it was not to deride its every action, to prophesy the failure of all its plans, to heap upon it'unmeasured abuse, arid attenapt to weaken public confidence in its officers. Could they expect any men to go.to victory under such auspices ? We should never succeed while we fought among ourselves; and if we thought it necessary to ask help from - England, let us ask it on rational grounds., If we ask for a regiment or two of soldiers -it would be that we should pay. for them. D.o not let us ask for it to be done for us, and give no assistance ourselves. Anoth.ee point was the suspension of the' Constitution. Did any one in the room know what that meant, or what its result would be ? Would it suit them tohave. au%rbitrary Governor, with a nominated Council, and unlimited taxitfgpower ? Way it found to answor before ? Would they represent to the Home Government that after having a' Constitution For sixteen years, they*"asked to give it up, finding themselves unfit for the liherties.it conferred upon them? This might possibly bo the ease; but it would be a very humiliating acknowledgment. We should ask the Home.. Government for reasonable aid, and make a little extra sacrifice ourselves j not approach them in forma pauperis; and, above all, not'stultify ourselves by asking for a repeal of the Constitution. [lmmense applause.] Mr Wdho-AN differed with what had been- said on either side. He believed that affairs were now in such a muddle that it. would be a work of the greatest difficulty to extricate ourselves. It was no good looking to the pa^t —the stem factremained that we had in this island natives ready at any moment to shed our blood or burn *our houses, and that it was beyond our power to quell them. It was very well for Buch men as Mr Fitz Gerald to touch upon our pride or vanity; but this was a time to putprido in our pocket, and eat bumble-pie. It was everyone’s fate to eat dirt at some time or other, and it was;Our turn to doit now. We had not forgotfcen'the calumnies of the Imperial troops when in the Colony before ; and it would be with great reluctance that wie would ask for them again j but they were necessary, and wo must. We need hot fear that England would not assist us, for Hew Zealand was toorimportant a Colony to be left to its fate. He should like to see the terms of the resolution varied, as in a request of this kind he thought we should not state, terms. [Hear, hear.]

Mr Kinross said that so much had been said ot our dignity as colonists Ithat we seemed to forget our glorious birthright as - British subjects 3 and we should not allow false friends to prevent us from seeking.aid when we required it. He ob? jected to any mention of terms, and thought that to a simple prayer for aid the meeting would agree. He wished the proposed memorial read.

The Chairman read the memorial as follows:

To Her Most Gracious Majesty,—

Tour Memorialists view with serious alarm the preseat state of this country, particularly that of the East aud West Coasts of the Northern Island.

In consequence of the wide-spread disaffection of a large proportion of the aboriginal inhabitants, who have resolved, upon the extermination of all Europeans and friendly -natives, life and property are no longer secure in a considerable portion of the Northern Island.

Extensive districts, which have been successfully and peaceably occupied, are now all bat abandoned. Homesteads established for years have been destroyed, and their owners barbarously murdered. . Even iu localities not actually disturbed, the feeling of insecurity is so great as to lead, to a very serious suspension of all industrial pursuits. These evils have been on the increase for a long and period, no satisfactory effects hare resulted from the efforts made to suppress them. It is evident that unless rigorous measures are at once adopted, the wreck-of the settled districts wifi be complete, and the prospects of the enterprising colonists irretrievably ruined. . Your.Memorialists had entertained -the. reasonable hope of being able to maintain haw and order without requiring aid from the mother country; bnt.after a lengthened trial they find themselves unable to master difficulties of an unprecedented character, and repress the native .insurrection, which is daily acquiring more formidable dimensions.

Your Memorialists feel assured that without your Majesty’s gracious intervention and powerful and ready aid, the industries of the Colony-will be ruined, and the lives of the colonists sacrificed.

They, therefore, humbly and respectfully pray that; your Majesty will be pleased to direct that sucli measures be taken as. in your Majesty’s wisdom and goodness'shall seem fit'[either by a temporary suspension of the. Constitution Act and. the appointment of a Commissioner having ttneontrolled powers, orj by adopting such measures as will restore peace ana security to this part'of your Majesty’s dominions. :' ; .And your Memorialists, as in duty: bound, .will ever-pray,&c. .. /. ' :Mr' Ferarb "moved the following as nri amendment -to the motion before the meetfyg:—. ...j 7;.. That in the opinion of this meeting the present crisis in the affairs of the Northern Island required that .the Govwnor. shpuld.be assisted tythe advice pf a* Ministry airi;.U-GfeiieralAssembly'po3sessing the undoubted -confidence of the Colony, and that his ExceUbncy be requested to exercise, his undoubted prerogative liy ' dissolving: Honse pf Representatives: and: assembing: a- new ohe'irith theleastposaibledelay. ' Hni then spolce, but we pouldpnly; heap.a sm.allsiarb ofJhasspeeoh. Iphd jpad beeii 'in existehoa fori lS years, failed;: ; He spoke : highly iwd-that^theStßffo^d'Mutiitry: wbre unfit

memorial, and thought the: termsVhighfy- ;; becoming. -He .thought the best.conrsblfon the present would he'to’ keep Maoris' at the Front to hold thaeheiny!afc-- ' bay., ,•' •• • -

Mr wtrald not be put aside by Mr F’erard’e ment. He had been’ ihisrepreserited -by the gentlemen who spoke Bffter him.; -Ha had no wish for England to; find all thw men or money, bat simply what assistance she was willing ta- give ;; and if she refused to assist them oh other

conditions, to submit to the suspension of" the Constitution. We could not carry onthe. waf 'ourselves—we had not the means, and Englschd would feel herself bound tor assist us. She had spent £5,000,000: torelease some of her subjects from Abyssinia, where they had voluntarily gone and were not wanted; and she. would not sit with her hands in.her pockets and see her sons and daughters murdered in -Nevr Zealand.. He did not think so badly,off her. A new Ministry had been-spoken of “v as a panacea, but he had little hope from * any change in that direction j as, since the; Colony >-yras constituted, nd Ministry had’' ever more than a bare majority. He was.-. “• sorry that allusion' had been made to thostatements in one of the papers about MrRicnmond. He considered it waf attaching'too great importance to a libel which v no one would believe, and which shouldhave been beneath tile-notice of the xneet--ing. Mr Richmond himself was above taking notice of such dirt. As for asking England to send men tp fight our battles while we remained idle, nothing had been further from his ideas. He-had said thafcae Hew. Zealand had no manufactures,, she was dependent on her wool j that she had not the means to carry on the war; that if all her available labor was employed in fighting, her trade would be ruined; and: that, therefore, the Colony should seek the assistance of England. ’* He was'sorry that allusion had been made to -the army formerly in New Zealand, and. could not approve of the terms which General Prattand Colonel Gold had. been spoken o£’ If England assisted ns with her we might safely leave their ; control to heir - it ' was not for us to interfere, and criticise their actions. [That won’t do.] The case of the American cplonies was not -a parallel with that of New' Zealand. He

trusted that the meeting .would riot allowthe amendment to supersede his originalmotion.

Mr John Bepq- said that what had beam said about the troops was ; trae,' but th.emen themselves were not-tiSlblame, as tbey had never: been allowed 'to 7fighfc, If they were to come again, arid do as they did* before, they would "certainly not be. worth. £4O per man. [Applause.]; Mr Robinson disapproved: of the idesk of employing British troops. He remem-* bored too. well how the army acted in".Auckland. The militia and volunteerswere marched out of town, Auckland wasdenuded of men, who were kept for months doing nothing under Imperial officers. He remembered being with 1400men, keeping guard over some drays containing supplies—a duty, for,which, forty men- would have been amply suffioientThese drays were once moved a few and the men detained a. month or twomore. Mr Russell, the Defence Minister,, remonstrated in vain with the General on. the subject of keeping so many men idle»He could not support the memorial wL.ch ... had been read this evenings and jColnmit himself to asking: for a* repeal pf' the Constitution. He saw no reason, .why weshould throw away all our privileges, and. live voluntarily under a despotic Government. .

Mr Locke believed partly in both proposals'which had been made. He-would ask the Home Government for aid; but this aid, if granted, would_.not arrive at once. In the meantime a dissolution of the Assembly would be desirable. - ’ New. members would then be elected with special reference tn the subject now- fully occupying the mind of the Colony. f ,He did not approve of suspending; tho Constitution. He would Mr Eerard’s amendment. [Applai^} : -Mr Tanner said that' the- ameridirient. appeared to be'-iritended to out the ground from under the feet of -the resolution. He hoped; the meeting ,wonlcL not be beguiled away from by the minor one of thedissolrijaon of'the Assembly.

Mr Ferced would ’alter his amendment into a diatinct resolution "if Mr Tanner would waiTe'hisjrigbt of precedence. Mr Tanner having agreed,.Mr Ferard’a motion was put and unanimously parried. Mr Tanner’s motion Was then pat and agreed-to.

1: *7 • . . ' •, . * ;• Mr Tanner . moved the adoption "of the xriemorial. ,It had been; said that It would involve the saoaifide of oar liberties. It was to prevent : the jaorifioe. of eur lives and property. , ;

Mr W. R. Robinson would give the memorial his support, if the piassage referring to the suspension of the Constitution was expunged. [Applause.] 1 ;

- Mr TANNBR .had . no objection to omit the passage, alluded to, as|. the meeting seemed; to be in favorer, so, doing.? The psfft^indicatedhybraoketswas then strnok aridthe memorial put and canried. r ' *SaSL of 'alish-. tori St.*Hill, Rimross; arid T. Tanner, 5 were then thememq* nal, arid vote of thanks to the the mwt- v