TO THE ELECTORS OF THE PROVINCE OF CANTERBURY.
:fS ENTLEMEN,-— Mr. ; FitzG-Exaxd \JT" having announced his intention oi resigning the office of' Superintendent of this Province, I have the honour to state, that^ 1 shall present myself to you as a Candidate for it when the;period of Election shall arrive. _ It may perhaps>he thought presumptuous^n me to take, this step without .-haying, had the way, prepared by the customary requisition. But the fact that I should ; he a candidate, in case Mi-. FitzGerald did not desire again to be elected, has been .so .long and so generally known, that it would have been affectation m me to have waitedfov one. I. have thought the'Meßß necessary, too, because the means uv which signatures to such documents are now too often obtained have tended to invest themwiLh almost as much of disrepute as credit. At all events they have deprived them .of much ,ot that value m public estimation which such tes-, timonials once possessed. -^ t 1 I feel it to be my duty, Gentlemen, to state
at the outset of this address some of the considerations which have led me to offer myselii to your notice and to ask at your bands the highest civiL appointment it is in your power to bestow. 1 have been a resident among you almost from the foundation of the-settlement, and have ever taken n more or less active part in the public affairs of the province. It is now two years since I had the honour of obtaining a seat in-the'Provincial Council. Since then my time has'been wholly engaged in the public service; and there is scarcely an office under the Provincial Government, if I except that ol the Solicitor and that of .the' Provincial Engineer, the duties of which I have not for some period discharged. I mention this not to found any present claims on your confidence, for I ieei too conscious how great the distance is between the most important of the offices I have held and that to which I now aspire, but to show that 1 have had considerable experience in the administration of the affairs of the province, and thus, I hope, establish the presumption, that "1 possess some of the qualifications required for ■ the discharge of the administrative duties which attach to the office of Superintendent. - - You will, Gentlemen, probably expect from those who may present themselves to your notice on this occasion some general exposition ot - the views they take of the nature of' the otttee for which they are' candidates, and the leading principles by which, should they succeed, their conduct of affairs would be guided. To that task, therefore, I now address myself. Had this been the first election of a Superintendent, this task would have been one of very • considerable difficulty. In no part is the Con- , stitution Act more defective than where it defines the duties of the Superintendent. It would almost appear as if the iramersof that Act, unable to determine with anything like precision the status the Superintendent should occupy in the Government of the country and the functions he should discharge, had confined themselves to simply denning his legislative duties, leaving it to time and circumstances to develop the amount of executive power he should exercise. Gentlemen, that which the Constitution Act lelt so vague and unsettled, time and experience have to a great extent'determined. The Superintendent is now recognised not merely as the legislative but also as the executive head of the province, endowed with very ample powers. Within his jurisdiction the Empowering Ordinance has, in some cases definitely, in others provisionally, invested him with a large proportion of the executive authority of the Governor himself; and the recent legislation of the General Assembly.-.while it appears to lean towards a restriction of his legislative, shows no disposition to interfere with his executive functions.. The necessities which have led to the investiture of the Superintendent with these important powers have also suggested the means by which he should be-guided in their exercise. Thus, in this Province'as in others, an Executive Government Ordinance has been passed by winch theSuperintendent is bound to have an Executive1" Council, by whose advice he is to be guided in carrying on the Government of the province. I do not consider it necessary in this place: to discuss at length the advantages or otherwise of this order of things. I simply lay before you the nature of the office as I find it, and^ t! c circumstances that have led to its present form of development. Nevirtheiess-, I will not si rink from avowing' my opinion, that not only theoretically is the existing anangement to'be approved and do fended,1" but that, in practice also, it supplies,: under the present physical peculiarities of New Zealand, the scantiness of its population, and the difficulties of inter-comnninication. thebest and most elfirient iuouiis by which the affairs of the vaiions provinces can be at present administered. In it too the groat principle of self government is fu'i'y recognised. The power you possess, and wl.L'h you have periodically to exercise, of electing vnur Superintendent, ought to secure urn the sltvhvs of an active and intelligent officer. '1 hat oflicer h.is the assistance of an Executive Comu-il whose acts inu-t oe supported by the ;;pprowil of rise Provincial Council. Timmglou! the whob nrrai-gement the principle of ivsj.ouh.biliM is ■ought to bear. The Superintendent is nspoiisu.ie to thojiro-vim-e, the Ex.cutivi-Coiiiu-il to the Provincial' Council, and tlu- P-.vviiAi.il Council in its turn to the people. WluU dn\ the Constitution. A*t remains unalwivvl. 1 am unable to inu-gina-a system of Provincial Government under it
combining more of simplicity, efHciency, and ■ economy^. I say -while the'Constitution-Act, is 'unaltered, for you arenot unaware that many fersons are of opinion that it can '.be.; amended, t.would, however; be; an unprofitable occupation of your timeahd altogether beside Liny. present purpose to. consider .on . this occasion .possible ■:changes.: ■■ My duty:is An deal with; facts; .^J; lf • changes are ! introduced; it -can' only be^--byi ■ inn .-authority-to-which.-Superintendents in common with jiU'others aftectediby them ra'ustbow.:. >, ;
I take it, then^thatthe Superintendent iivhis -, Executive capacity;.is simply:! theirliead->bfi the .:Goverument andinot the Government •,itself;: an officer,charged<.;.with? -the '< -execution: otl certain ; duties committed; to ihim (by• law -.and:; for the most part by: 1 aw, and;tliat in all original t, and.discretionary acts ,of;importance.he is bound ;to proceed in .conformity >with :the advice he.may .receive fromihis Executive Council, i.-i.; ■■• -; ;
.Gentlemen, this view of the office as much from choice.as -necessity* No consideration xjould induce me to: undertake ijt ; if ;tlieres-; ponsibilifcy.of Govern in eh t were not shared 'in tin's way./ ;.i.:..;;.-->^!'. ■.>;■ : ■■.'■': '■•- ■■•■■ ; • ;--'-- ■■'■■'■"■>;:' ■
, vyoujAvill then, I; have no doubt, concur with me in tliinking -that, it would;, be inconsistent ; for a candidate holding: these •:• views ■ to : express - himself dogmatically on particular subjects,' or 'labour to ipro'duce \yhat is termed; '-a'policy 7 l)y' . which.he should be considered boundduring.his -.tenure ofoffice. . L: have shown .that: the law--compels the'Superintendentstoiactmnder advice.l -I'have also shown-that he can :only retain isuch advisers as the Provincial Council will support. It, is^obvious^ nayicertainjithat••■■those advisers niav, at one;time,,be' persons holdingione setbf .opinions,;:and at another, time'ipersons;holding! ,: opinions^directly opposite. .' It is equally obviousl ithat the Superintendent'could: not agree witli: , both. -;;.SKi)uldhe .nhfortunately ditfer:with those: .(whb:-ihave;; the:' Confidence -.ofi.the '.v Provincial; . Council;! he! must .'either attempt to' carry, on thei or.'modify; '.his views in deference: ioi theirs;-i>.l think tliei ; cases' can be very few indeed: in which doubt ,can , exist as; to which course-should be pursued. ) ■
.•But while; forthese -reasons,* •loabstain from', :po]icy<which: shalLii'riplyl i& rigid.adherance,to.particulai'.views on particu- - Jar-subjects,, as being,both:-indiscreet; andi-a'tl- ; viiri;ince; with the spirit of our.!presentlaw^ >1 j ihave, no liesifcation-.;in ; expressing /riiy opinion's} frankly on: some subjects'of general -interest''arid ! importance, which X believe are being at.present; discussed byyojii-.b »■•; • '•■■>:>.>,.■■■< ;::; -^.ii>: ■•-.•;;i;r.r "J
-;,It is said,-bufc with what amount of accuracy -I-.am-.unable;to state, that there are s6rrie> persons ,\vho do not: approve of the price that has beesv jixed on .our W^stu lands and who: will niiifce it the subject of appeal to you. i : r :■: • It must: be unnecessary,, Gentlemen!, to insist on the ; factthat nothing, can be-more objeetiona]>le. ;fiTOonp;st our. own selves,^ or more calculated to. ■discourage .persons: in other -countries; from' settling; hei;e than .uncertainty><nithis point.•• I could almost say.-i that it would be wiser;to adliere, to an arrangement having some-imperfec-tions in it :.than by frequent changes to;create' tjie :ii3ipres.sibn that no settled law on^ this subjecfc- will ever prevail amongst us. '*: But;I yen-' ture,,to>iissert that the question has already received as ample deliberation as under any circ v um.stances it could ireceive;v When the^price Ojf .land was under deliberation in the legislature of.tliis.province.. every reasonable sum, and almost every imaginable mode of payment was' prop:)spd:toitlie Council and discussed. ;I slionld probably 'je.within the mark were I to say that 3«-'ire than a dozen divisions took/place on this jwint. T;>n, tv/enty, thirty, forty, 'fifty, and sixlv; sliillings were all separately advocated and proposed. The mode of paynieut, too, whether l>Yr misnay down or by instilments, was.equally tlvf su'bjecfc of disV;enee of opinion and division hi. ih-i Council, jj; iength, however, by almost universal concurrence, the present price of £2 p:|.rac-i\ : j_(pvbinptipa.yment) was dotennined on. Tb'it price has not yet been tried more thana fvfsiyi'inonth, and even if ther« were no experJeufvj in its favour, I should still, for the reasons I rhavß given, be indisposed to change. But I ti\fak the experience o" the brief time during whi;;h £2, has-been'the establislied price may be saiely ;«])pealed to in its support. The sales of lauu.wltiio.iit' bejng'in any ivay forced, have been ivoe a»d contiimnus ever since. Nor is there at-' ]M'?s«;it Juiy indication of l;ilih;g off. And i;h«;iU tbat-e he no falling ofF, t!ie estimated rev,;;ji>.' iVuin. this souive during the coming year i;. £:i.p,ODO. But what' appears to me to be th c
most satisfactory fact connected with those sales is this—thatthe-;large majority of them have been made,to persons of the working classes and to boim fide settlers and cultivators of the soil. It may be fairly asked, how much of this land would have found its way into their hands had the'price Wen* materially lower? It is matter of notoriety that, within two or three days of the present regulations coming into operation, some largVcapitalists arrived here for the purpose of making extensive speculative purchases, 'even' outside the original Canterbury block, and at - a distance from the cultivated districts. 4 How much land, worth having would have been left ".'inside, arid especially in the neighbourhood '6f ''.your towns, had the cheap land policy prevailed, 1 leave you to, conjecture; But there are ; alsp extensive interests to be consideyed in -this qiiestidn of price. On the tiriu belief .thiit'lit >yas definitelysettle.d a very large amount1 of capital has been embarked in pastoral piir'suits'; 'and I'think the faith..of the legislature* and'tlVe'Governmen^is" pledged to its protection—that -is, protection to. this extent —;' that the order of [things wider winch that capital wasT iiivested and' theistockpwners'induced to enter, on their separate enterprises shoidd not be liable; to'treqiient change. But I am dis-; posed to maintain that,regard.for our.own interests, no Jess than'good.,'faith"towards others,' should 'prompt us to resist any alteration: in the; price of land.. ,TJie, produce of our pastoral dis-i tricts how constitutes'a most important item hv pur ■commerce. Whilst agritulture is at present; ia.iiguis.hjng, and. its prospects are much clouded,; the 'pastoral interest is happily flourishing' as; much as could reasonablybe desired. Already,' wool is our main export?, the clip of 1856 being valued at £70,000;,and,in a few .years.it will acquire' 4 jftstiiy. Tall which;'legislation; lias done'towards encoura •; ging its growth. Nor is this'alL :< While the: pastoral interest is contributing to the progress! of the country, as "every interest"'does which' materially increases; l its:'export tratlej: it is also; yie"lding" : :largely to' our' • terntoriai ■ /revenue. ; Within aiyear or.two the Tents'derivable from; that source will be alone sufficientj not only to • pay the large contribution annually -required; from this province towards the extinguishment; of the New Zealand Company's debt, but will leave a considerable balance available for the use of the province. The present price-of land, Gentlemen,'? constitutesf the; main;1 !almost the only protection of the pastoral interest; and I ask/you .seriously.' to reflect whether it is expedient to withdraw it—-whether, it ,is/ s wise to.kill the goose for the golden egg, and interrupt this steady and satisfactory, prpgress for ./the sake of a sudden influx "of nioney into the 'Treasury, \vhich:.. four Aresoui'ces'invlabour nia'y not permit us profitably to expend,- ;and ,the possession of which might tempt us,to r extravagance. My own conviction is that it would'not.
.'^Another subject on ;which; I • desire -to say .a few more words is our form ; of:!.Govei-hinenti There are some persons who regard the present mode ..of' administering' the. affairs ; of , the ■ : province as too cumbersome and: too ipretentious, and who talk of conducting; the Government afterthe model of a corporate town.in England, of which a Mayor/Aldermen,- and .Council are the presiding geniuses. Never having been a memb.er of one of those select ..societies,.l am perhaps unable io .^appreciate properly the advantages of such a inodeof Government.. It is,. however, not Jong since that .the jobbery, peculation, and corruption', which had "grown nut of the old: corporate:.".system in England, led to a sweeping measure of. reform, by which the whole'of' tJioKerniodeT Governments, except-' ing that of LoYulou, were swept away. And nowit nppears that the days of the corporation of London itself are numbered. Experience,, therefore,does not appear to justify the pre-: foreru'e shown for corporation rule, and, personall v, I can feel but little attachment to a system whiohiias produced'suchresult*. But-'irrtrnth, there 'is no fairanalogy between the circumstances <n a rnnnicipji'l corporation in Eiigland and a province m New -Zealand.■■' To. no corporation has there cvev: been committed anything like tlio power conferred on the Superintendents and Provincial Councils of this country, namely, the power to legislate for the entire people of a province—or, in the words of the Constitution Act —";to niake and ordain all such laws ar.d ordinances -as maybe required for the police, order, and good government of the province.''1 This alone destroys all parallel in the cases. : . ;..■;:•
It is said, however.,that even if the analogy fails, it will be '•'■mmii'*e'c'dridmic to do away with the existing departments and'have the business of thfe; Government conducted by the Provincial Council divided into committees;;-:'l'* must say that I disbelieve in this altogether. It assumes that these committeesfwilli do their, work without remuneration. .1 know not on "what grounds gentlemen can be expected'to devote their time to the public service without return. > Nor do I think the public>'desire: .that :they should do so. But there is: no > warrant for believing'that any persons could be found who would-so1 aett Certainly thes practice, of the Provincial Council at the present time does not.justify-the expectation. Every ;.in rember*esiding ; beyond*a certain distance from Christchurch' is paid a cei-tain sura per diem Jor: eyery day he attends the.Council. If, then, the members of committees are all to be paid their expenses merely, the system will not only be cumbrous and ■ clumsy, but more expensive than the present one. Ifthey are not to bcrpai'd; my belief, is-'that the attendance will be so irregular as iitb make the system obstructive of the business of Government. I yield, gentlemen, to no imairiu a desire's to see introduced into all the departments of v Government a rigid economy. It ihust, however, be one consistent with eliiciency. It is not economy else. My conviction, is,:th'at the plan put forward is as fatal both to' efficiency and i ecpnomy as ingenuity could devise./ . •••.•-'. There is one further subject to which' I will allude, for though it does;not-come within our control and is not 'a question ,of domestic policy, it is one^ nevertheless,.on-which the efficient Government of" the province is•so'>'<depenIdenf.as in-iny^opinion to demand notice in this place. I refer toitheiseatiof the General Government. Every.|day's:experience shows how seriously the administration:: of bur affairs is embarrassed by .the great-distance of this General Government, from; us/ , I :am-anxious therefore to state my desire; in whatever position I may be placed', to co-operate with'those who will strive td: bring it to a more central spot. rr^rf:-. i 5,;,;,. ■...;. ..■.-.-.- :•;:••■ . : .; : ,-.\:j'- ..• There are many other subjects^ gentlemen, to which I might direct .;yourattentimi/ but this address has already, I fear, exceeded convenient length. Opportunities, "however, will doubtless be presented in which such subjects may be discussed between.'.hisJ-. It :will.bemy business, so far as may be practicable/ to wait 'upon you. With regard;'^however, to a canvass,.! 'must express my great regret that one should be necessary, not on the score of trouble, nor because it may expose a candidate to inconvenient questioning, b.ut because I entertain a strong conviL-lion th;:t the highest office of the province should be conferred by the people rather than won from them by tlie ordinary means of an'electioneering canvass. Motives' more or less impure will be attributed to the candidate, which.Cannot fail todisturb those feelings of deference and ! regard which should,attach.to^the person filling so high an office:', ißy; some'he will be lobked ; upon as an_ adventurer practising on the confidence of his fellow-citizens for some; unworthy object—by , some .as stimulated by indrdinate S vanity arid 'ambition—arid;by others as impelled ;by a loye of official power ; whilst it c;an hardly ! be possible in an active canvass to avoid i-oiising feelings ;;of animosity and hostility which it is most desirable should not exist: ,1 can only say :for myself that it will be my anxious desire to keep the canvass*asjclear of these evils-as'pos-sible. " .....
; 'And now,'gentlemen, it only remains, for me to assure -you that, whatever the result of this appeal, Lsshall be perfectly satisfied with your decision. While I admit"niostfreely ■'•that the Office ; 6P Superintendent of. this province may well be regarded as an object of litudabltJ ambition,yet I feel so conscious of the labour, anxiety, and responsibility of the office, as to regard ifc with much more of apprehension than desire. I have. v however; endeavoured'to show that the Government-will notWt solely on the Superintendent, but on him in conjunction with advisers. With this view of the nature of the office, and with'"' the '< Hope that, should you cwifor it upon me, 1 shall not fail'&o secure" the assistance, of good and ( able advisers, I respectfully oiler myself to you. as a .candidate fur it. .; . I.have,the honour to-be, ; •; '•••■■■- " "Oentrenien, ; j Your very obedient and humble servant, j , . , r .JOSWPfi BRITTAN. ; Limvoqd,;April 3^ 1857^ -...,•.,
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Lyttelton Times, Volume VII, Issue 470, 6 May 1857, Page 3
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3,075TO THE ELECTORS OF THE PROVINCE OF CANTERBURY. Lyttelton Times, Volume VII, Issue 470, 6 May 1857, Page 3
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