REPRESENTATIVE LEGISLATURE. The New-Zealander. SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 1845.

New Zealander, Volume 1, Issue 11, 16 August 1845, Page 2

REPRESENTATIVE LEGISLATURE.

The New-Zealander. SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 1845.

Be just and fear not . Let all the ends, thou aiais't at, be tby Country's, Thy G od's, and Truth's.

To those who reflect calmly, dispassionately, and as political observers, on the various great changes and events, as well as the strange deeds and acts, which have taken place in this Colony from its very commencement, — it must, we conceive, be most obvious, that there exists some one or more radical evils which thus, so directly, obstruct the progress of its properity, and damp and deter the spirit and energies of its British inhabitants. In meditating deeply on this sad state of things, we cannot but bring our mind to the conclusion, — after the excessive issue of Government debentures, — the strange proceedings in the Legislative £!ouncil, last session> especially on repealing the Property Hate Ordinance and re-establishing the Customs, — in addition to the conduct of the Executive, on more recent transactions at the Bay of Islands, — that the deepest root of all the mischief, and its disastrous consequences, is misc/ov eminent, — arising from the defective principles, and form of legislature, by which this Colony is at present ruled. In our 'reminiscences of the History and Statistics of British Colonies, we can recall no parallel instance of Government, — bearing in mind, that New Zealand is neither a conquered nor a penal Colony — to these Islands, on which there are 12,000 Britons*, and 100,000 natives, — not slaves, but possessing all the immunities and privileges of the subjects of Great Britain. Refer we to the West Indian Islands, in which there are, as here, a mixed population, — the whites bearing but small relative proportion to the coloured people, now, like the Maoris, free as Britons born — How are these Islands governed? Not by the delusive farcical proceedings of a Legislative body nominated, and absolutely and imperatively controlled, by a Governor- Popular opinion, sound argument, or substantive facts, have no chance against the measures of a Governor, | with his three official nominees, in a small Council of seven members. I—As,1 — As, we remember [ some twelve months since, it was most wittily observed by our cotemporary, the Nelson Examiner, — " they legislate by arithmetic ; their decisions are right according to Cocker, — all the arguments and public opinion in the world cannot make three outnumber four." A local Colonial Government thus constituted, is but a mere deju&ion ; and to conceive that, in these enlightened times, it can impose on popular opinion, as being any thing but absolute despotism, under the dictation of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, would evince perfect ignorance of human nature. It is this exercise of absolute power, regardless of any advice, counsel, suggestions, or acquiescence from the governed, which, at this veiy time, is hastening this beautiful Colony to ruin ; and until the form of government is quite changed, and assimilated to other Colonies in which there is a representative legislature, we consider there cannot be any *>olid basis on which to found hopes or expectations of rational, consistent, judicious measures, tending to the ceitain advancement and prosperity of the Colony. l It may be advanced, that at the foundation of a Colony, it is impracticable to bestow on j it the benefits ofiepresentative legislation ; but we would contend, that in this particular Colony such a form of Government might have been partially carried into execution long since, and ought now to be given as quickly as possible, if lor only one most cogent reason, — the great distance from England. To enter into argumentative detail, on the comparative merits and benefits between the present system of governing this Colony, and that, by which the internal aflairs of other Colonies, possessing representative legislatures, are conducted, we consider quite unnecessary and superfluous ; but we would make some few observations, in order to show that, from the number of British residents now in the Colony, they have just claims on the English Government, for the privilege to select, with her other Colonies, representatives from among themselves to participate in the administration of the government of the Colony.

The majority of the forty colonies , belonging to the Crown of Great Britain, are governed by a representative assembly, in some form : — Van Diemen's Land, Ceylon, and New Zealand, are the three most important that, at the present time, do not possess the privilege. The island of Ceylon cannot be strictly termed a distinct Colony, but an appendage to India, although it is placed under the controul of the Secretary of State for the Colonies : however, the very small number of European merchants and residents, dispersed over, the whole of that island, (about five thousand, and those chiefly of Dutch extraction), besides a native population of twelve hundred thousand, renders Ceylon an exception to the necessity of English representative legislation. Even the Mauritius, or Isle of France, as well as the Cape of Good Hope, both also conquered colonies, have their legislative assemblies. It is true, they are not actually elected by the people ; but, at the Cape of Good Hope, the members of the legislative council, after two years sitting, hold their seats for life, which must tend to their freedom of opinion, and independence of voting on the measures of government. But to revert to the islands of the West Indies, which bear greater analogy to New Zealand. Jamaica, with a population of about thirty-five thousand whites, and above five hundred thousand negroes, is governed by an Executive and Legislative council of twelve, and a House; of Assembly consisting of fortyfive members, elected by the inhabitants. — Similar are all the governments in the other islands, only varying in the number of the representative assembly, according to the white population : but the number of members is great, considering how few white and free black persons there were before the abolition of the slave trade. In Tobago, where the white population is only about four hundred, and free colored people three thousand, beside eleven thousand who were slaves, the house of assembly has sixteen members. In Grenada, the white people are six hundred, with about four thousand free colored persons, and above twenty thousand who were slaves ; and there are twenty-seven members in the house of as i sembly. Even the small island of Nevis, the i entire white and colored population of which does not exceed ten thousand, and of which about five hundred only are Europeans, there are an executive council of twelve— a legislative council of eleven, and a house of assembly of fifteen members. In Prince Edward's Island, where there are no slaves among thirtytwo thousand of population, there is the same rejn-esentative legislature ; and that pastoral and agricultural colony has its own Governor, council of nine members, and house of assembly with eighteen representatives chosen by the people. We consider we have adduced proof sufficient to show, that the settlers in this Colony, have most undoubted right and claim to a better system of government, and, also, to have some voice in its councils, by a representative assembly of their own selection. Of the pernicious, baneful effects of the present form and system of government in this Colony, every succeeding day and hour bring additional proof; and when these facts direct the mind to reflect on probable and possible events and contingencies, — who is the man that could depict justly, or foretel truly, the still more fatal ruinous results of this Colony being, — as in the case of the lamented Captain Hobson, — under the absolute controul of the present Colonial Secretary,— as the officer administering the Government of New Zealand, for some twelve or fifteen months ? If the Colony enjoyed the privileges and benefits of representative legislation, on an enlarged scale, proportionate to its British population, there might be some hopes that its internal management would not be so much controuled, or inteifered with, by the Home government ; because, they would naturally suppose, that such House of Assembly were best judges of the various oidinances and measures necessary for the success and welfare of the settlers, and for the general prosperity of the Colony. It has been the perfect ignolance of the Colonial office, as to the true state of affaiis in the Colony, when first it was taken possession of by Captain Hobson, that occasioned such subsequent dogged perseverance in the system, as regards the price of Land — the settlement of Land Claims — and the exclusive pre-emption retained over the land of the Native population. On these most important matters, the present Governor has, most certainly, evinced great good sound s'nise, united to prompt, beneficial, decisive action, and he deserves the greatest praise in such respect. From his prudent, sensible conduct, on these subjects, we truly think, that with a House of Assembly, elected by the Colonists, to counteract his Maori monomania, and to rescue the Governor from the baneful trammels of Lord Stanley, or any other headstrong Colonial minister, that Captain Filzroy, aided by independent representative legislation, would rule the Colony from the purest motives and most earnest endeavours for its true prosperity and welfare. In an English newspaper, the Jtlas, of 15th March last, now befoie us, theie are some pertinent observations on New Zealand, and our colonial system. The mischievous effects of too much interference by the Colonial office is forcibly and admirably pouitrayed, in thefol-

lowing extract, with which we shall conclude our present observations on this most interesting and vitally important subject; but will again and again continue to enforce the matter, until, by granting to the Colonists their rightful privilege of a local representative government, our rulers at home shall give proof of their earnest desire to advance promptly and truly the interests of the European, as well as the Aboriginal population of New Zealand. " And now let us pause fora few minutes over our svsteni of colonial government. In the volumes of Horace Walpole's Memoirs of the Early Years of the Reign of George 111., already published, that acute observer and faithful gossip — faithful as to things if not always as to men— writing before the quarrel with our American colonies had grown into a revolution, records the common opinion of the day, — that so long as the old Duke of Newcastle threw the dcs - patches addressed to him by the governors of those possessions into a closet unread, their affa'rs prospered; but from the moment George Grenville and his colleagues began to read and answer the despatches, confusion became worse confounded in the American colonies. The cause of this apparent inconsistency is not obscure. Those colonies had Representative Assemblies, and when unobstructed by home ignorance and prejudice, they governed themselves well ; but when their self-government was interfered with, interrupted, and over-ruled, disputes arose, the governors ceased to act in concord with the colonists, a spirit of disaffection was encouraged, unjustiliable pretensions on the part of the mothercountry were formed, and their application to the colonies forced them into armed resistance. And what onght this-lesson to teach us ? That colonies to be well, must be, mainly self governed. That large and liberal representative institutions must be given them. That those institutions must be left to their Jree action. And that the spirit of freedom therein must be encouraged — not represed. Contrast thejbackivard position of Canada with the pr iperouscondition of the neighbouring States of the American Union, and no cause for the mighty difference cm be discovered, save the jealousy with which the Imperial Government of Great Britain so long restricted the free action of the representative institutions of Canada. And mark, how, now that a rebellion has crushed that jealousy and bestowed elasticity on Canadian institutions, how rapidly that, province is also "going a head." Away then, with the stupid cant, that Englishmen in any colony are unfit for that system of representative government they enjoy at home ! Wherever Englishmen are " gathered together,'' under their sovereign's auspices, there they are entitled *o possess the greatest privileges they left. Nowhere is it constitutional to rule them by Governor's Ordinances or Colonial Office despatches. Government by such agencies was unknown to our forefathers ; why should it be practised on us, and to our disadvantage? Every settlement in the sixteenth and seventeeth centuries, hail, as the pre-condition of its formation, a charter and representation. Crown colonies came into fashion, only when we established penal settlements. They were meant for convicts, not for free men. J Of the forty-two colonies we possess, scarcely twentfyfc, have a representative system, but those which have ai c all k our older colonies. We deny to the British - settlers in Australasia, what we grant to the " niggers " in the West Indies/