The Lyttelton Times.

Lyttelton Times, Volume 1, Issue 2, 18 January 1851, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times.

SATURDAY, January 18, 1851. We stated our intention to avoid politics as much as possible. The news, however, which we are compelled to print to-day from the other colonies, forces two subjects upon our attention. First, the Transportation question; secondly, that oJ!L Self-Government. As to the first, we have given in another column Petitions which are in the course of signature in the Australian colonies, —colonies which have tried the experiment of receiving convicts, in every shape and form ; —colonies which have enjoyed the advantages of the white slave labour which it places at their disposal;—which have even grown rich thereby, and yet which deliberately cast it from them as an unclean thing. To explain the manner in which the Settlers in New Zealand are affected by this question, we have printed in full an article from the " Wellington Independent" of Jan. 8, to which we cordially subscribe.: The other political question is one which'

4 forces itself more immediately upon our at*y tent ion. It is the struggle which is going s-t on at this moment in all the New Zealand I Settlements, for the institutions of the land f from which they have sprung. To bur C Canterbury readers this is no new question. i Lonsr before the colonists left England, it I'excited their deepest and most anxious atteni twin. The question ever in their mouths .was ? —oAre we to be consulted in the appoint|m'ents of the officials in our Settlement? H Are we to have a control over the expenI diture of our public funds ?—We knew that to the government at present exist- ' ing in New Zealand, we should have neither ) the one nor the other. But we were confine dently assured of two things by the Associa- ! tion, first, that Lord Grey had promised f that as soon as our. settlement became rich \ enough to support its own Government, it 1 should be made a separate province; and, secondly, that all appointments to {govern--1 ment offices, should be made from amongst > r the Colonists themselves. With respect to representative institutions, we understood that one of the first bills

' introduced into Parliament next session, • would be a bill for giving Representative Institutions to New Zealand. The constitution given to New Zealand will be that under which we shall have to live. The other settlements, Auckland, Wellington, - and Nelson, are earnestly discussing its details. They are meeting, and appointing committees, and making up their minds as to what they want. They are settling the details of the Government under which they desire to live. These opinions of the New Zealand colonists will go back to England ; —they will be eagerly read by the Colonial party in Parliament, by none

mpre than by the leading members of the -'-Ganterbur-y--Association,_ Lord__Lytteltpn, \3jlr. Simeon, Mr. Adderley ; —they will* be '-> cited in the house of Commons ;—they will .act upon, the. Government; —they will more or less influence the great result—How we and our children are to be governed. """' We forbear""at present to do mere than-

call the attention of our fellow-colonists to the importance of the question which is agitating the public mind in the neighbouring settlements. Hereafter, we shall have -'.to speak more immediately of the part which we should take at Canterbury. The ' Canterbury Colonists possess one great ad- % . vantage in having organized themselves into a society, and having elected a working council before they left England : and we hope their council will not neglect this most important of all questions to the future - prosperity of the settlement.