SIR GEO. GREY'S MEMORIAL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 258, 30 October 1874, Page 4

SIR GEO. GREY'S MEMORIAL.

We recently published a telegraphic summary of a petition against the abolition of Provincial Institutions, adby Sir George Grey to the H&overnoriof New Zealand, and which Wia pnolißbed at length in the Auckland Hcraldi The following extract contains'the chief argameots used by the petitioner in favor of Provincialism : — That, under tbe sjstem of Provincial Government, c large portion of the population of these islands is trained to the diacuasioD of political questions and to tb4 exercise of political functions, whilst tnaoy of them are being educated in tt|eari of, government. This country alao f^pos^eßses at. convenient points CoudqHp oomposad of members chosen by the people,' anxious to earn the approval of These Councils possess perfe'et freedom of debate, and abuses can in them at least be exposed, if Btfcredreesed. A few years of such . a sy^twri of government must make all educated men to some extent statesmen — mjoaf .call) into existence an' intelligent and^onteqte^Qo'mmuaity, prepared to meet: any: difficulties that may arise wit^ moderation, fafrness, and enlightenment, whilst a perfect guarantee is agprdq4 : Ihat^the spirit of the population' shall not- be broken, or their lives 'embittered by oppressive privilegejß^beinggryra to any separate caste, That your petitioner confidently appeals feube" histories of all nations and ' of a.ll,t|meß to show that it is to the want of tbe' education of populations in and by such institutions that practical slavery,; idißgbVerbment, persecutions, . ignorance, ferocity, bloodthirstiness, andiyrajjant disparity in wealth and ranJfej^fjßjnainly to be attributed. Tfaiibe Provincial or Federal system has been perfectly successful in thi^c^ptry. That, under its influence proftper^uSrCommunities have grown up, havecmarVeUously increased in population, wealth, and enlightenment. That V3S^n^6ometimßß appalling difficulties ha?^; Qgen' ..met and overcome, and that general contentment •• and welldoing^ prevail. That fonr petitioner hoped that this fecfim eyitem might have helped to solve many of the political difficulties of thoj/jy^u^ij;! I'batbaply hereafter the wSS^^^n^iisb speaking race . mighty have bje^HweldpiT together, in come Bagb t (B^jr/itjog v ABd a degree of. peace, proßperity r and! commerce thus inaured for mankind^ fsucb as no previous age of the wofld'h#B 'witnessed. ' Thaf your petitioner sees every person^'^JS^ssian race convinced that Iheir country is marching on to a great future, which they have before them. TheHa/nfrfeelipg prevails in the United S«l€«'>of ArteTica. Tbe German and Italian speaking races are federating into separate great Empires with a view t^^fijjGrt ? jjro|reßß. The : dependencies of the jJriiish Crown alone appear to be utterly neglected, to be formed by degrees into isolated* communities, often when questions unnecessarily created between 'tfiem which are likely to give rise to jfpture disputes. Id jSome instances they are absolutely abandoned. FbVtbem no- future is opened oat, and yeW petitioner ' would dread to. see a fs^a],. fly stem abolished, which, he trnßled^ offered tbe prospect of a solution'for> these difficulties. Indeed so fiU^ccepsful had the federal system proved injJ^jJß^'cploby, that it was adopfed in Canada. , That' it was orderd by Her Majesty's late Government if possible to^fa^nlroauccid irito South Africa, al^9ag^,tbey had up to this time been opposed to that measure, and that the G»ve»rjor"iof j the Cape colony has rownt^statetf thjlt, if that Government had Been" allowed 1 to re-unite the whole ofcSwJte Africa when it might eaatly^ have been accomplished, he would have bad '. ydfjcjifof* apprehension for the future; but, as it is> he is afraid federation is still far in the distance. before-mentionedlprivilegea and pth^r l rights confirmed to the ißhiwftknfe 3 of«ew Zealand for watchi»^ffif/soatrplling tbe pubjic expenditure, ao i 3yf6r< .guarding against anunjost aDq. partial alienation of public la'Saß; 1 6y > the scrutiny of a Jocal freelyekg^^gisrktive body, ani of tbe greater^Value* to them because in the General Assembly of the colony, which is composed of three estates; a Governor, a Legislative Council, and a House of Representatives, which form of Legislature was imposed upon this country by or under an Act of Parliament in which its inhabitant were not repre-^ sented, tbe Crown reserved to itself the right two out of three estates of Buch Legislature, viz , the Governor and the Legislative Council, tbe members of which body are nominated by the Crown for life. That your petitioner and his fellow colonists are thus only directly represented in one branch of tbe said Legislature, and are subjected to a Constitution repugnant to that of Great Brmffh. < That the Crown derives no advantage' from this power of Dominati*a being reserved to it. For it has here no rights or privileges to protect against popular encroachment, and can but bav£ in view to secure the welfare a'tfFs/r&e'rve the affection and attach, ment toyta New Zealand subjects, and l^ttHis power of nomination reserved to-tnVCrown, really obliges the Crown to identify* 1 itself with parties in this .to. give its aid in party Sjb-jfo\whicji m,uat result in its becoming uTCmaiejy 1 'obnoxious to some portion 3riH l 2ulsy<sls in this country. That .your petitioner believes that the" 6Stih' freedom the inhabitants of this colony enjoy, io the election of

their own Superintendents or Governors and in their own Provincial Institutions, and; the means they thus possess of rewarding eminent public men, are of greater value to them on account of tbe steps recently taken by the Colonial Department to reward the public men of this country by tbe creation of two new honors, each of which, both in an Imperial aud Colonial point of view, is open to serious objection, and one of | which beiug repugnant to law and i constitutional usage, and apparently in' violation of the New Zealand Representative Constitution Act, is probably void and useless. That an attempt was made to introduce into Great Britain an Upper House only in small part similar to the Legislative Council' established here, and that such proceeding was declared' td be illegal, was strenuously resisted by a large majority in pacn House of Parliament^ and by almost tbe entire natietf,^ jsnd was abandoned as being unconstitutional and contrary to law. ■ •That tbe Crown having been made by j Act of ' Parliament the nominator of twp estates out of three of the General A^senibly, (be 1 British ; Parliajoijent !s4o a icertnin extent responsibVe' for tbe acts of that Assembly, 1 ; and ought therefora to continue any protection toi weak am truly representative bodies of her Majesty's subjects against! "the encroachments df.eucb Assembly, which Parliament has hitherto afforded to them, and that her Majesty's: advisers should therefore be carefully guarded' by those • whjgj -represeut Imperial interests in tjqF country from uoconstitutioDally, hurriedly, or without full information taking ateps in this matter/ as their doing so must involve them in serious Parliamentary difficulties. That for the better preservation and security of the rights and liberties of the people of this colony; tbe British Parliament enacted that the General 1 Assembly should only have power, to. constitute ,ne,w provinces in New Zealand, to alter the boundaries of existing provinces^ and to make laws respecting tha election of members of Prdvineia! Couociis, and the powers of such Councils, and the distribution of the surplus revenue 1 between the several provinces of New Zealand.. In other words,. that body whichy inasmuch as two out, of its three/ estates were nominated by tbe Crown", whilst part' of the remaining .thicd estate , was in various ways brdught under the influence of the Crown or of those Jiolding tbe powers of the Crown in this country, could only be said to represeut tbe. people of New Zealand in a remote and imperfect mantfer, was by special, enactment restrained from destroying'or attempting to destroy; those bodies which, together wltfr : ibeir elected Superintendents, did' represent tbe inhabitants of New Zealand in tbe m6s£ perfect,/ complete, and thorough manner; that could be desired; apd this was a wise and necessary .precaution, as the very independence of the latter bodies was almost certain to excite the ill-will of" & roorej powerful- body 7 so differently constituted from th'ebhselVies.