ADDRESS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VII, Issue 462, 8 April 1857, Page 6

ADDRESS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT.

On Opening the Eighth Session of the Provincial Council, April 2nd, 1857. (From the Provincial Government' Gazette.') Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the Provincial Council, —In opening your Council for the last time I cannot forbear asking you to survey the four years which have elapsed since your duties commenced, and to. examine what has been done during that time. * You will remember that although almost unprecented success had attended the Settlement, which had then been formed less than,three years, yet we commenced our duties in a. community in which there were no-existing establishments, nor even traditions of Government; in which everything had to be created and organised from the beginning; and with an exchequer so absolutely empty that we had to borrow a small sum in order to make the iirst payments of salaries. The settlement was then at a stand. The operations of the Canterbury Association were at an ■ end—lmmigration had ceased—Public Works had been abandoned-—and there were looming in the distance questions, such as the settlement of our relations with the Canter-1 bury Association, and the adjustment of the Land question, to which no one could look without some: anxiety. I may indeed congratulate you on the change which has taken place since that time. Our population, our trade, and our Revenues are steadily increasing ; our exports have increased so 'largely as to promise, and at no distant date, to balance the. imports ; whilst in the formation of new homesteads, in the cultivation of the land, in the increase of stock, in the accumulation of wealth and the advancement of civilzation and comfort of every description, the same remarkable progress exhibits itself in every direction. You may without vanity, Gentlemen, claim a share of the credit due to the prosperity of the province for which you have legislated ; for however difficult it may be some- ■ times to trace the immediate influence of good or bad government upon the social condition of a community, in some respects, at all events, that influence makes itself directly felt, especially in everything1 which affects the public credit. It is due to you, gentlemen, that whereas, when your Immigration Agent went to England three years ago, the Provincial Governmenfwas absolutely without any credit whatever, you are now in a position to raise without difficulty any sums that you may require, to carry on Immigration and Public Works, at the ordinary Colonial interest. In opening the first Council in 1853,1 ventured to point out a line of policy for your adoption, and I enlarged especially.upon the nature and extent of the establishments of Government which would become necessary. You concurred in the opinions I then laid'down, and the experience.of four years has but confirmed me in these views. The best mode of conducting the Provincial Governments has naturally been1 a matter of constant enquiry and discussion in the several Provinces of the Colony ; but it is obvious that all our opinions on this subject must be modified by the policy of the General Government, and by the attitude which it is to assume towards the several Provincial Governments. If the whole of what are properly called the powers of Government are to be assumed and administered by the General Government, then the Provincial Governments will descend into mere Parish Boards, for managing local Public Works. But that is not the case at present. It is undeniable that at present almost the whole real Government of gthe country is administered by the Superintendents of the Provinces ; and when I look on the past.four years, or look around me to ■'what is going on at the present moment; I confess I see no reason to wish that this state of things should be altered.

I am sorry to be compelled tc/ say, that since I addressed this Council in September, 1853, scarcely a step has been made in solving any one of the political difficulties in* which-this-cofony 'is inyolved; and I do not hesitate to say that since the introduction of Ministerial. Responsibility into the General Government those difficulties^have been even greater than before. For you well know that there were certain great .questions with which the General Government alone could deal, and in respect of which the complaints of the provinces have been loud, constant, and increasing. I will name some of these:—The confusion in the Finances of the colony; the deficient administration of Justice by the-Supreme Court; the mismanagement of the Native Land Purchase Department j the conflicting jurisdiction between the General and the Provincial Governments; the inconveriiericeof-the. Steam and Postal arrangements. Now,' what has been done by the General Government towards the settlement of any one of these great questions ? The Finances are conducted on a schemewhiclr is still awaiting settlement by the Parliament of England ; the deficiency of the administration of Justice by the Supreme Court has never been greater or more oppressive than now; the complaints of the Native Land Purchase Department are louder than ever ; not even an attempt has been made -to put an end bylaw to the mischievous, connection of "authority between the General and Provincial Governments, whilst the mode in which the Government is administered at present has tended to stimulate to the utmost that most unseemly conflict; and lastly, the Steam Postal Service is about to be arranged in a manner both inconvenient a m d unjust towards the greatest part of the colony. ■ Now, when I regard these things, and watch the progress of the colony during; the past four years, I am bound to confess, and I believe that there cannot be two opinions on this matter, that the" whole of that progress has been due to local enterprise, to provincial action, and to the Provincial Governments, and that the General Government has either been absolutely inert in guiding or advancing the prosperity of the colony, or has been positivelymischievous in its action. In those departments which fall peculiarly to the charge of the General Government, there is either no improvement, or an absolute retrogression j whilst the action of the Provincial Governments generally has been to keep pace with .the increasing requirements and the expanding energies of the country. Gentlemen,' I see no prospect of any alteration in this state of things for many years to come; and therefore Ido not wish to see the action of the Provincial Councils in any way curtailed, or their present powers contracted.

It was in the anticipation that this might be the case that I counselled you to establish your "Provincial Government'not like.a mere Corporation,-'or Vestry,'or Parish Board—forms of local government indeed well adapted to the limited powers and petty interests with which they are invariably entrusted—but to regard it as a Government in the usual ac«eptation of that word, charged with great powers, responsible, in truth almost solely responsible, for the happiness and well being of the community, and therefore to be surrounded with so much of. state, and so much only, as to secure its dignity, and encumbered with so much of form, and so much only, as should secure the patient and considerate use of those powers. You began by considering your Superintendent to be, although under another name, (as the late Sir W. Molesworth pointed out in the House of Commons he must of necessity be) the Lieutenant Governoi\of the province, having ten times more real power for good or for mischief to the people under his rule than the Governor of the Colony himself. You therefore adopted the form of government in your province which has been sanctioned by immemorial usage in the British colonies—you constituted an Executive Council to advise the Superintendent in the execution of his duties.

: But We did not think it desirable to pledge ourselves, as an invariable rule of government, to the full usage of what is termed "Ministerial Responsibility." Indeed it must be sufficiently apparent to thinking-men, that it is impossible in the ProvincialiGovernments to insist .upon havingia "ministry,1' formed of the heads of departments, resigning office with every adverse vote of the legislature.: Such an attempt in a small community-in which there are often no clearly defined political parties, and where the matters under discussion are for the most part of a social and local character, upon which individuals may agree or difier without respect to party ■principle—such an attempt is not duly impossible in itself but is invested with an appearance of absurdity to lookers on. But '■.'without going to ':the: length of adopting all - the- forms and fashions of party government, I, maintain that you have enjoyed in this, province, even in; a.greatermeasure than most other, parts of New Zealand, all the benefits of a real and practical responsibility of the Executive tothe Legislature, and through the Legislature to the people. I earnestly hope you .will never consent to any alteration in a form of government which has secured this responsibility. You cannot overlook the feet that in that province^ where the doc-

trine of responsible government has been completely set aside, there, party hasb'een most violent and government more unpopular aud inefficient than in any other. • • ■ '

So far'as the Executive government of the provincesis created* by the Provincial Legislature, the -object to be gained is very simple. The Constitution! Act, by giving to the Superintendent alone the right of issuing any public money/virtually places the whole Executive power of the province into his hands. Your object then must be to secure a harmony of action between the Superintendent and the Provincial Council, and to secure a responsibility to the' Council for his acts. I know of no practical way by which this can be accomplished, except by requiring him always to act by the advice of a committee of the Provincial Council, which inustfnecessarily, if harmony between the Superintendent and the Provincial Council be attained, consist of the members of that body- generally looked up to as Us leaders, and enjoy the confidence.and esteem of the community. That seems to me the best practical government which you can adopt in these communities. It is the least formal and expensive form of government which can be trusted with the exercise of so great powers, and which offers sufficient guarantee for their moderate and prudent exercise. lam aware it has been thought by some few persons, that this form of government is costly. Those only can hold such an opinion who have neglected to study the public accounts. So essential do I think it that there should be no mistake on the minds of the- people in this matter, that I have placed the accounts of the past year and the estimates for the present year before you", in a form which shows the public expenditure on account of the Executive Government, the Legislature, the Administration of Justice, and so on, under separate heads. ' I find that the cost of the Executive Government during the first half-year ending in March, 1854, was 25 per cen£ of the whole expenditure of the province. In the three subsequent years the cost of the Executive Government varied form 7j to 8% per cent, of that expenditure; and on the expenditure of the current year, if the estimates before you are adhered to, it will be less than 4 per cent- So that out of the whole expenditure during the ensuing year, 96 per cent, will consist of expenses which may be incurred or not, as you please, but which have nothing whatever to do with the form of government, and will equally be incurred under one form of government or another, I think then you will perceive, gentlemen, fhat nothing can be more fallacious than the idea that the form of government you have maintained during the past four years is an expensive one. Amongst the various subjects with which you have dealt, there are two to which I will specially allude, and upon which I am able to congratulate you on the result of your legislation. The first is the Waste Lands. You have had to make laws for the management of the Waste Lands which should at once open the country to the small farmer and working settler, and at the same time afford such security to the squatter as would induce him to pursue his lucrative though speculative trade. You had to satisfy claims and to protect interests often supposed to be hostile or incompatible. It must be admitted your policy has been most successful. Not only have none of the squatting settlers abandoned their pursuits, but every acre of new country is applied for for pastoral purpose's as soon as discovered ; whilst at the "same . time land is being sold in small lots for agricultural purposes, quite as quickly as the utmost wants of the Province demand; more quickly even than it can be profitably occupied by the purchasers. I think I may say there is such a general sense of stability and security in the present arrangements, a feeling that the interests of the pastoral settlers are protected, whilst those of the-agriculturist" are not in_ the slightest degree interfered with, a feeling that justice has been done to all parties andinterests, that, we may anticipate the maintenance of "the present laws in all their main features for many years to come. Whilst adverting to the Waste Lands I desire to j draw your attention to a correspondence between j the Superintendent and the Waste Lands Board, which will be laidi before yon. ; My chief object in this correspondence has been that there should be a clear understanding as to the ' duties and position of the Waste Lands Board, and j as tothe rights of the public. The Waste Lands now practically belong to the people. Anapplicant for waste land does not go to the Board, asking as a •favor to be allowed.to purchase land, but demanding, as aright, to be put in possession of land which the . ,la%v makes his own upon certain conditions.. -The. Board sit.there judicially, simply to decide Whether the requisite conditions are fulfilled, and;'to record the sale ;, and there can be no doubt that, any person Avho is wrongfully rpreventedfrom occupying land.as a pastoral settleror as a freehold-purchaser has an ,action against the Board for depriving him' of his rights. I believe this state of the law to be immeasurably the, greatest boon. which has been.conferred upon a colonial community; it places at once the most absolute bar to all unfairness or land jobbing, because no man can be depiived of his right to laud

not already sold or reserved, and which he has once applied for.' I feel assured that you, gentlemen, will preserve for the people this great right which they have now acquired, and" that you will agree with me in thinking that this principle cannot be too clearly enunciated* • « " In case an Action is brought against the Board, I have been asked to give a general guarantee of indemnity. I have of course declined to do so. The only funds out of which I could give such an indemnity are at your disposal, not at mine; and I could not take on myself to depart from a rule you have 'already laid down,' and the wisdom of which seems to me indisputable, namely, that officers of government who incur legal expenses through their own faults' must bear the loss themselves.

But I do not mean to say that the Board should be compelled to pay all'the costs of actions in which they may become involved by mistakes honestly made, after all due care on their part to do what is right. I simply assert that the Superintendent can give them no general guarantee, but that in every casg of the kind it will become your duty to decide whether you will depart from the general rule you have laid down for the guidance of myself and my successors, and will order such costs to be paid. I shall leave it to your decision whether you think the case to be brought before you is one which ought to be treatfid!as an exception to the rule. The second subject to which I referred is the settlement of the affairs of the Canterbury Association. It rarely falls to the lot of any legislative body to deal with a question so full of difficulty and delicacy as that lam alluding to. Still more rarely does it follow -that such matters can be arranged with perfect satisfaction to all parties concerned. The termination of our relations with the Cantersbury Association may be looked back upon by all concerned with unalloyed satisfaction ; and, as frequently happens with actions performed in an honorable and generous spirit, the burden which the province assumed in undertaking, the debt of the Association has proved to be far less onerous than 'might have been anticipated, whilst the conduct of the province in the matter has tended more than anything else to establish its credit in England. I desire to warn you, however, that this result will st 11 depend solely on the manner in which the Association' s Estate is managed, and on the punctuality with* which the rents are collected in the colony. If this be not attended to, you will be called on for heavy advances from the revenues to pay the dividends on the" loan.. which must of course be punctually paid in London at all sacrifices. I would further strongly counsel you to expend all the monies arising from .the sale of. portions of. the estate to pay off these debentures.. As a matter of honour and credit I think the proceeds of this estate ought to be devoted to the same purpose which it would have been had it remained in tne hands of the Association. I shall therefore ask for a vote this session to enable me to discharge five hundred pounds of the debt, for which monies are already, or will be shortly in^hand. Full accounts of.the management of'the estates ■will, of coursej be laid before you. Whilst referring to our relations with the Association, I cannot but again remind you how much we owe to the continued attachment of its members, especially Mr. Godley and Mr. Selfe, to the interests of this province. The Council are aware that these gentlemen have again advanced considerable sums to induce Messrs. Willis to continue the immigration, and that these debts have not yet been all discharged. The papers on your table will inform you that. they were prepared to guarantee the interest, due in July last, had not the funds arrived in time. Although the necessity did not occur, still the province is under no small obligation to gentlemen, who, without any hope of pecuniary reward have been so generously ready to afford pecuniary assistance, rather than that the interests or credit of the province should suffer. / I think son.c special acknowledgement of the services of Mr. Selfe nnd Mr. Godley is due from the Government of the province. [The conclusion in our next.]