WELLINGTON.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IV, Issue 162, 11 February 1854, Page 5

WELLINGTON.

X [From our own Correspondent.] I Wellington, Jan. 20,1854. I Since my last letter to you by the " NorthI fleet," the important intelligence has arrived1 § from New Plymouth that the Council of that fProvince, on considering an Appropriation Bill I for a second quarter, have condemned the GoI vernor's financial arrangements as contrary to I the Constitution, in terms as decided as those I of Canterbury or Nelson. I These Resolutions [printed in the Lyttelton I Times, Jan. 21.] were carried by a majority of I 6 to 1, in a Council consisting of only 9, ineluI ding the Speaker. The decision of the Council ! was probably in a great measure brought about ' by the conduct of a Mr. Flight, who holds, under the General Government, the combined offices of Sub-Treasurer, Resident Magistrate, ■ and Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, at New Plymouth. This officer, finding that ? the Council would not vote his salary, because his department was not placed under the control of the Provincial Government, retained some of the funds (about £400) in his hands, c and set at nought the instructions of the Civil - Secretary to pay them over to the Provincial *' Treasurer. Thus the Council found out how ; little they could depend upon a financial arrangement unsupported by law, and very natui rally recurred without further hesitation to the 1 principles laid down by the Constitution for the I disposal of the revenue. ' The result, however, is, that three of the *, Provinces have now agreed in decidedly con- \ detuning the Governor's financial arrangements. * I cannot give a stronger indication of the state of t the Presshere, than by remarking that neither of f« the Wellington papers has taken the slightest 1 notice of these decisions of the Nelson and *• New Plymouth Councils, even so much as to ,- leport them without comment. When the :* Canterbury Council took the lead in that polil' cy, both papers were full of sneers on the sub- \\ ject against the ignorant Canterbury folks : but "'now that there is a certainty that the opin;",.ion of Canterbury in this matter will be con- - curred in by other Provinces, the papers ,C both conceal from their readers the fact of that <f concurrence on the part of Nelson and New > Plymouth : the Spectator, lest blame should $i attach to Sir George Grey ; the Independent, $ lest it should be seen how miserably the memj bers of the present Provincial Government of Wellington have fallen off from that eager ad- ( « hesion to constitutional law, and ardent oppo- |« sition to arbitrary government, which, as ieaj ders of the old Settlers' Constitutional Associal tion, they used to hold forth as an example to ) the rest of the colony. They cannot bear to acknowledge that the mantle has fallen on other shoulders. The proceedings in Council here, since my last letter to you, have tended to damage the I Provincial Government in public estimation : f and this is a matter of regret rather than of I triumph even with those who conscientiously i oppose them on many occasions, because it \ tends to impede the steady carrying out of real ' Responsible Government, which has been initiated with considerable success, and is daily more and more understood and appreciated, both by the Council and by the people of the Province generally. The weakness of the Government consists chiefly in two characteristics : first, the intolerant tone adopted by his Honor's advisers towards other members ; secondly, the carelessness and incapacity with which many of its measures are framed. As an instance of both these traits, I would draw your particular attention to the debates on Friday and Monday last, the ) 3th and 16th inst. You will find a full and fair report of them in the Spectator of the 18th. The Independent of the same date suppresses them altogether, as though too damaging to the Government which it supports. The querulous and sneering language of the Provincial Secretary, Mr. Fitzherbert, towards independent members had become so extravagant and irritating, and occurred so frequently, especially towards Mr. Wakefield, that the latter ielt it his duty to bring the matter formally hefore the Council, as a question of order. He did so in a short address, which made a powerful impression, both upon the Council and upon a densely crowded gallery, by its courteous and conciliatory tone in claiming reparation for unprovoked contumely and insult. Mr. Fitzherbert, to the astonishment of nearly every one present, replied that he would not he frightened

by threats, that if the case were to occur again, he should probably use still stronger terms, and that he claimed the liberty of expressing his opinions as he chose. Upon this, Messrs. Revans, Bell, Brown, Ludlam, and Moore, expressed the strongest condemnation of the Secretary's language and conduct, as unbecoming the dignity of the Council and obstructive to public business. The legal Adviser, Mr. Brandon, made the matter worse by an attempt to justify his colleague. The Speaker, Mr. Clifford, being appealed to as the conservator of order, decided that the language of the Secretary was quite unjustified. The leader of the House then apologised to it, but at the same time said he did so from the absolute necessity of obeying the Speaker, and with the same strong conviction in his own mind that he himself was right. Had any motion been made, the Government would have been beaten by^9 to 5, apart from the Speaker; and the deplorable spectacle would have been afforded of a vote of censure on his Honor's responsible advisers for intemperate and unjustifiable language. Mr. Brown then moved an address to the Superintendent, suggestive of the absolute urgency of a real audit of accounts, to be made independent of both Government and Council. In so doing, he represented a strong feeling out of doors that such a check is loudly called for, when the public expenditure of the Province this year is to amount to about £65,000, including'a loan of £50,000, the raising of which has been authorised by the Council. The Secretary spoke petulantly against the motion, asserting that, on the principle of responsible government, the Executive alone were responsible to the Council for the proper auditing of the public accounts, and that it was quite absurd to say that the Auditors should not be members of either Government or Council. Some other members supported Mr. Brown; and, finally, Mr. Wakefield made, perhaps, the most telling speech of the Session, in which he traced, step by step, the legislation of England on this subject ever since the Revolution of 1688: showing beyond a doubt that, under Responsible Government as understood and worked in England, Parliament has always jealously provided for the efficiency and purity of the Auditors, and for their independence of party politics, by various and repeated enactments ; the chief provisions of which are, that the officers shall hold office, like the Judges, during good behaviour, with fixed salaries paid out of the Consolidated Fund, and be disqualified from sitting in the House.of Commons; and that they shall have very great powers of compelling the attendance of witnesses and the production of accounts, under heavy penalties for refusing their summons and for perjury. His Honor's advisers at once, without further opposition or cavilling, agreed to Mr. Brown's motion, which they opposed at the beginning of the debate. This subject is one of great importance ; and I think you would find the debate upon it of sufficient interest to your readers to be extracted at length from the Spectator of the 18th. On the same day, the "Contractors' Bill" was brought forward to be read a second time. It is really a Bill having the same objects as the Canterbury "Limitation of Patronage" Bill. Under the cover of a misnomer, the same objects are sought. The iirst clause is to disqualify contractors with the Government from sittin°" in the Provincial Council. The second is to compel the resignation, and ordeal of a new election, of members accepting office, —as already enjoined by resolution of the House only at the beginning.of the Session, —notwithstanding the repeated urging of Mr. Wakefield and other independent members, that this principle should he enforced by enactment. But, instead of keeping within Provincial powers by doing as at Canterbury,—making it unlawful for the Superintendent, to appoint members to office unless they first resign, or to make contracts with members at all, —this Bill proposes to deprive members, although constitutionally elected, of their seats. This blunder was ably*pointed out by Mr. Bell, and several other independent members concurred in his view. The Legal Adviser having tried to palliate this infringement of the Constitution Act by dwelling on its small extent and feeble importance, great amusement was afforded by Mr. Wakefield likening Mr. Brandon to the girl who, having a child which she ought not to have had, claimed forgiveness because it was " such a little one." Finally, the Government

withdrew the Bill, in order to re-produce it in another shape. One very decided step has been taken by the Council, namely, that of addressing the Queen at once on the subject of the suspension of the General Assembly. I enclose you a copy of the address to this effect, as recommended by a Committee of which Mr. Revans was Chairman, and unanimously adopted by the Council. I conceive that the Council and people of Canterbury may also feel how useless it has been to memorialize the Governor on the subject, and may in this follow the Wellington example. " Address to the Queens Most Excellent Majesty by the Provincial Council of Wellington, REPOET. " Report of Committee moved for by Mr. Revans, to ' consider the mode in which His Excellency the Governor has brought the Constitution into operation-.'— " The Committee appointed by the Council, to ' consider the mode in which His Excellency the Governor has brought the Constitution into operation,' begs leave to report, that it has unanimously agreed upon the accompanying Address from the Council to Her Majesty the Queen, which it recommends should be signed by the Speaker on behalf of the Council, and by him transmitted to His Excellency the Governor, and to Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies. S. Revans, Chairman. December 19,1853. ADDRESS. Mat it please tour Majesty— We, the Provincial Council of Wellington, cannot approach your Majesty without expressing our loyal attachment to your Majesty's person and throne, and our most grateful thanks to your Majesty for having been graciously pleased, with the consent of the two Houses of Parliament, to bestow upon New Zealand that free constitution of government which enables us to address your Majesty as the elected representatives of your Majesty's subjects in this Province. We dutifully submit to your Majesty, that we attach the highest value, as an indispensable means of good government in this country of distinct and isolated settlements, to the local legislatures which the New Constitution confers upon each P/ovince, and which are now most beneficially in actual operation throughout the colony, but that, at the same time, we are intimately persuaded that the action of a general legislature is no less indispensably required, both as the only means whereby the Provinces can obtain an extension of their authority to matters of the utmost local importance which are at present excluded from their jurisdiction, and also as a means of uniform law and administration with regard to subjects properly belonging to general government. It is therefore with deep regret that we submit to your Majesty, that the General Assembly of "the colony has not been convened, and appears likely to be suspended for an indefinite time. Although we cannot doubt that His Excellency the Governor has reasons for delaying any meeting of the General Assembly, yet, as those reasons are entirely unknown to us, we cannot acknowledge their validity. A minority of us, from their confidence in His Excellency, deem it probable that when his reasons for the course pursued shall become known, they may appear of sufficient force to justify the proceeding; but we are all, without exception, unable ourselves to discover any valid reasons for leaving an essential part of the Constitution in abeyance ; and we are equally of oneiinind in declaring, that we are impressed, more and more every day, with a sense of the practical evils arising from the suspension of the geueral legislature of the colony. Wherefoie we unanimously and most earnestly pray, that your Majesty will be pleased to take tin's subject into your gracious consideration, and, provided your .Majesty shall see no sufficient reasons for refusing our petition, to direct that the whole Constitution of Ne-.»- Zealand, as granted to the colony by Parliament, may as soon as possible be carried into full effect. And we shall ever pray to Almighty God that your Majesty may long live in health anil happiness, to reign over the great Empire lo which none of your subjects are more proud of belonging' than the colonists of New Zealand. On behalf of the Council, Chakles Clifford, Speaker. Council Room, Wellington, Jan, 6, 1854.

Mr. Revans has brought forward two measures of great practical utility: viz.: the Mixed Partnerships Act, which enables firms or companies to be established, some of whose partners are liable only to the amount of each liis own subscription ; and a Scab and Catarrh Bill, somewhat more stringent than even that of Canterbury. The first measure has become law,"and is well worthy of imitation at Canterbury in the next Session. I enclose you a copy of the Act, for publication or analysis should you think tit. The Scab Bill is being in a degree opposed by the Provincial Secretary ; who is said by some to represent, in so doing, the intense dread of preventive legislation on the subject by the Rangitikei stock-holders. The latter have, in their compensation allotments, obtained too much land for cultivation, and too little for commodious and successful sheepfarming. They have no room to shift dressed sheep unto a clean part of the run : and there is little doubt but that, if the Bill becomes law as it now stands, many of these pent-upjstations will involve serious loss. The bond Jide painstaking sheep-owners, and especially those on a large scale, having runs in the Eastern part of the Province, very naturally support the Bill, as tending to prevent the influx of scabby flocks from the Rangitikei into the Aliuriri district. The conduct of the Provincial Secretary is watched with some care; since several of his most thorough-going supporters are supposed to be equally interested with himself in the defence of the Rangitikei sheep-farms, in their present state of cure-defying- disease and inadequate treatment. 251h January. I have just heard of a private letter received here, in which the writer, who left Auckland after the last mail, states that Sir George and Lady Grey were to sail for London in a few days afcei he left. 27th January. To-day a short Bill, appointing an Agent in England for the Province, was read a second time. It was only at this stage that the name of the Agent was inserted ; and the Provincial Secretary seemed to wish to create a surprise by the announcement that Mr. Godley was the gentleman selected. The most flattering testimony on Mr. Godley's fitness for the trust, was expressed by Mr. Fitzherbert, Mr. Brown, Mr. Revans, and Mr. Wakefield, especially the latter, who said that, among the large numbers of statesmen and public men whom he had known in connection with colonial politics, he knew none superior, if any equal, to Mr. Godley for the soundness and sincerity of his views in favor of the greatest possible measure of local selfgovernment for colonies. Mr. Revnns, though not knowing Mr. Godley personally, avowed his satisfaction at the advice given by him at the Greenwich dinner to British statesmen with regard to their colonies, to "let them alone." The Secretary rather inopportunely wound up the discussion by praising Mr. Godley for having been a member of the defunct Settler's Constitutional Association. I do not mean that Mr. Godley deserved no praise for having joined their ranks: on the contrary, being a member of it myself, I was always, like all other members, glad .of his co-operation, and proud of his advocacy of our principles. But the praise came with a ludicrous want of grace from the chief responsible adviser of that policy which has, in its grasp of Provincial power, aided and abetted the Governor in his most arbitrary and unconstitutional doings.