SIR GEORGE GREY'S PETITION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 262, 4 November 1874, Page 2

SIR GEORGE GREY'S PETITION.

,_:< ,;. {Canterbury JV«a*/ October ?4) Tha lon;» effusiottlil^m Sir Georgg "%^p ; io the iabar^^[-"a petition to tb? Governor, woroPa^peared among iSor yesterday's telegrams, has doubtless been received with enthusiasm by the Ultra-Proviocialiats. They have found jk^champipn at lsst. Never in the palmiest (lays JqJJ jreVe theories of provincial "dignity and provincial rights pushed to such extreme . Jpog ihs, and rqaintaiped with ,augh jaypr flinching resolution. Even Mr Mapajidre^ must; confess himself outdone. Sir George wey begins by ctsiming for Provincial Government* a - co-ordinate place with the Legislative Council aad ;*he : Hoosf qfrßepr^sentativea a%]cfoJ9(S|(tye|ta'teHf thej&ljjt. He proceeds to ophold them aa the bodies who most closely and completely represent the people, whose function is If to. a^'checlt on the Geoeral G^ «. : vefneren^ to cbtitrd! the publife expondi- : tare p/#e coanm^ s and tojwatph qv,er the irfitnistratio^of W Wale'!8 le'!a O dß. Ha coHcludea by contending that no Provincial GoQncil can be abolished except by its own consent, " obtained by Act passed by itself," and then only upon receiving •• an equivalent for the rights resigned and lossea prosper, tive.*' Oafc of What f antia £ha corapenafttion is to be paid, and to whom made payable, he prudently perhaps, refrains from specifying. I f i*Sfr *?• Gr8 7 H ffi ow^ to adidiess the through' apprehensidua; of j Mr proceedings :in Eoglaad. He has heard l • he h sayV that 6nAf the Pre- j mier's objects in visiting England is to obtain from the Imperial Parliament such an alteration of the Constitution Act as will confer on the General Assembly the power of abolishing the existing lr>^j(ric^|aJid|PlfoyincialJi3rqi vernmefife-of &ew Z&larii, Hl%enounces this action on the part of Mr Yogel as illegal and unconstitutional. He begs his Excellency to telegraph to her Ma|ea|y^Go t ve|rnmenfro|al there is no person qualified to commuuicaJ|i|sJMbe|sj£> the] suhW^ and that aby such negotiaCion'wmild be ! a violation of the rights of the people oi New Zealand, "and an unntcea"sary public error.** This last expression is somewhat singoiar. It is not, appareotly the enormity of the error w4ji|hH^oae| |T|-iG (fify'jr indignalfol, bU he fad that HMutcP ba an •« unnecessary" one. JBte thinks, we suppose, withFouche, that a blunder t isw4)rsß than a crime. But with re-. Premier, we;«ntirely agree, wit^im. m^f ogfeMSa^ ;^Hv fgife with the intention of obtaining powers that will enable him to carry his measure through, over the heads of the F*°sM hrarcpß^cfrt caflT^i jbentoo severely reprobated. tfarwWprooir is there that he has? Sir G. Grey dQea-DOifc^affirtti^it- ftom -hia, peraonal ! knowledge; he "has been informed,"; he that such^l^t^^tfle^ Similar statements have appeared io some of our- <CoQjtempjrariM; | but We

*liveije7ver understood that they had any foundation beyond surmise. Unless -some direct evidence can be' produced, we .f.§«!o BO;.~ : reason for assuming that Mr Yogel has the intention ascribed to him/arid we are sore that no application of the kind is likely to be sueWe farther agree that no steps to■wir'aV'the abolition of the provinces should be taken hurriedly; and that before ,any constitutional change is efieeied the proposed alterations should i>ei submitted to the people. But we 'Wauai^dißsolotion, not of the Provincial iCpVncjiJe, bat of the House of Repreaefltatives, .On this point Sir G. Grey js 'nol consistent; He presses for a BjDdcial aeaeion of the Assembly for the pnr^osejpf considering the question; &Uh£jbgb,'.a'few sentences before, he hait peremptorily denied the right of the Assembly to deal with it, and had maintained that the initiative must be 4aken bythe Provincial Governments. Btifc if bo, what would, bo the use of the special session ? To call the Asjembly together upon a question which, el&en^, assembled, it could not todeb, iwdaldibe a very senseless proceeding. 'It'tftfttW be what Sir G. Grey thinks •»!£ particjilarly ' objectionable —an unjSiecesjaary public error. 4«<With the two points just mentioned, 1 trhich are. merely incidental to the main question, our agreement ends. The rest of the petition is a tissue of fal|acious argument and erroneous Btaftementa, In reading it we are -divided between laughter and amazeiffefttr—laogbter, at its palpable absur,dities'; amazement, that such plain jn^onaense should have proceeded from taoyooe of the writer's ability and tffp&riehce. The petition is a perfect . 3 Con6sKy of blunders. Sir G. Grey is totally mistaken in bis conceptions of iCjOnst^tutioQal principle, and altogether t ftt4sa with his facts. There is scarcely a sentence which doeß not cootaio some r^asoning.obviously false, or some asser.iiW glaringly wrong. We shall take ?foms;:otber: occasion to examine the .1ddr«88" io detail y at present we shall only call attention to a few of the more „ (jprpminent. errors, iM I» ike&ni place Sir G. Grey repre•l»ntß Hie 'two Houseß of the Assembly aad P/ovincial Governments as , placed by the Constitution Act on an neqoal footing ; with "their powers all *' carefully balanced," each keeping a 'cTi^cTr upon the rest, and the whole combining to form the representative government of the country. The Constitution Act does nothing of the kind. It makes no attempt to define the f Jjbwers of the Provincial Governments; jßijeooiuiba complaiDt of the provin- . cialists ip that they have been left so entirely undefined. And so far are •^lJProvincial- Legislatures from being as a balance or check against the Assembly, that they are placed in a distinctly subordinate position. Any of the General , Assembly, op any subject whatever, sets aside and overrules any Ordinance of any Provincial Coaocil. .s^KText; Sir G. Grey says that the Governor "is for some acts responsible to the General Assembly, for i responsible to the Pro- : "**vinciarGovernment." It is almost incre&bie that such a statement should rh^made by: one who has himself filled: tha post '-of Governor. Surely Sir. George ia aware that the Governor of. a colony is responsible to none but thej Crown. In a certain sense perhaps ' C^Sl?S^ ) o(^ e Wa y of speakiDg) he^ may be called responsible to the Assembly; that is to say, the Ministers: ofideiT^rhose advice be act are respon--Bibie.i I! Bot' J as regards the Provincial Governments there is no shadow of responsibility. They have nothing at all jjrajjfo^fh/the^ ; Governor, and neither be nor bis Ministers" are responsible to them in any shape or form. It might as well beß»id that the Governor is responsible $0 the. Road ; Boards. * • * '-"IBttftlyifSir G Grey attributes to the: .^coyjftcia^ Qonncils the power, not o<i*ly of dontrollicg the public expendipower that is strictly limited ? fo°lneir bwri local revenues— but of /jf.fttcbjug over the waste lands and of -ffigaarding against any unjust or 'partial alieuaticn." Of all things in jthe wp.rld, that is what they cannot do. y^he management of the waste lands nis reserved from their jurisdiction by the Constitution Act ; and on this '^iijt.tfie 'Assembly has always refused t tO;aUQW. the smallest relaxation. The -Px^Lvinoial Councils have no shred of «pb*w^r T 6ver the waste lands. Any J&^iAeial Ordinance which affects them in' the slightest degree is ultra TeireX./They can only be dealt with by, or under the authority of, the General Assembly; which on its part can alienate or dispose of them in any .way it pleases, just or unjust, partial or impartial, without any Provincial . having the ; slightest power of ' Ifiteijlerfng. The "privileges and. 'Ipdtyf*. * hsch 'Sir G. Grey,ascr(be3 to jjth^ Provincial Councils in this .respect have never existed. > We can proceed! no further with our criticism of. this. petition. There are ■ inorev^blundera, but the above are ''sufficient specimens. Considering that it is the woik of, an ex-Goveruor of New Zealand, from -whom we might at leaaC expect an accurate acquaintance with the insiUuiioDß of the 'colony, it is)&e>{oo*i>wondßrful production that. ever came under pur notice. We can only.^ay,tbat ; anyone who, on the mere rudinrdnts and simple facts of constituprinciple and practice, falls into -i«a^J errors^ we have pointed out, ' is not entitled to set himself up as an '*tfthority,itfd can duly tfrffig ridicule