THE OPENING SPEECH.

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 195, 12 April 1848, Page 2

THE OPENING SPEECH.

[From tbe Sydney Morning Herald, March 25.] The Governor's Address on the opening of the legislative sesiion yesterday, delivered by coramiision, and which will be found in this morning's Herald, is decidedly the belt production of the kind which it has been our province to notioe for many years pait. It it full of business, and of businesi, for the most part, more than ordinarily important. It« statements, too, are clear, concise, and exactly to the point. Thero is about it an air of sincerity, of candour, of plain dtal ing, which at once wins the reader* confidence. After adverting to the circumstance of this beiug the luit seibion of the present Council, His Excellency congratulates the colony upon the continued increase of its resources, adducing the cheering fact that the exports, in the year 1847, of our two leading staples, wool and tallow, far exceeded those of the previous year, ihe wool by more than 5,700,000 lbi., and the tallow by 49,000 cwt., the official value of the wool exported being £1,260,000, and of the tallow £107,0 0. In expressing his tense of the difficulties with which the agricultural and pastoral interests still have to struggle, from the scarcity of labour, His Excellency announces two facts which cannot fail to be hailed with general satisfaction. The first is, that the territorial revenue, 10 which we have been accustomed to look as our grand dependence for the introduction of immigrants, is now entirely free fiom the trammels of debt, and thus remains "available as a security for raising the necessary funds for any tddiiional supply of la l our which circumstances may render expedient," The fceeond ia, that m consequence of this prospeousr state of our finances, His Excellency has requested Her Majesty's Government to send out to the colony an addition to the five thousand statute adults already promised, and of whom the two rust ship loads have lately arrived. Another announcement, scarcely less interesting, is, that the long-discussed project of sending exiles to the colony is now ready to be carried out, provided it meet with the concurrence of the Legislative Council. The adjunct* of this scheme, a* cursoiily mentioned in the speech, go far towards abating the antipathy with which we should otherwise regard it. They are, that the men are to be (ollotfed by their wives and families, and by tree emigrants equal in number to the exiles ; and, better itill, lh*t tbe whole of this is to be done at the expense of the British Treasury. We must of ■ coune defer giving a deliberate opinion on the overture, until, by the publication of Earl Grey's despatch, vre shall be in possession of the particulars. At present, we cannot deny that, under the exigencies of our lab ur market, it wears a v«- ry attractive aspect. J The despatch respecting the separation of Port Phillip from the parent colony, and the pai oaing upon us o{ a new Constitution, having been elready laid before the public, His Excellency merely notices it in parsing. On this head the constituencies have done their part ; it now remains for the lepreientatives to do theirs. Of the statement with reference to public Education, we hate only to express our gratification on learning that it U intended to propose an appropriation, from tbe produce of the revenue arising fiom the assessment on stock beyor.d tbe boundaries, for the purpose of extending the blessings of education to those hitherto neglected localities. It is not, we hope, to be understood from His Excellency's intimation relative to steam communication with England, that Earl Grey has decided in. favour of the route via the Cape. Ihe colonists will have cause to rejoice at the acquisition of bo inestimable a benefit on almost any terms; but still, should the noble lord be found to have set up his own judgment in direct opposition not only to that of our Legislative Council, but to that also of the Lards of the Admiralty, and of every scientific person who has considered the question, there would be an additional reason for lamenting that the Colonial Department should be under the control of so wrong-headed a Minister. The proposed liberation of the Savings' Banks deposits from the unprofitable thraldom in which they have been so long locked up, will be a wise and benificient measure ; wise to the celony, on whose public works they may be so usefully employed ; and benificent to the depositors, to whom an acceptable rate of interest will be thereby secured. The Address concludes its enumeration of topics by promising to lay before the Council some despatches on the important subject of Railways. Among them is one transmitting a series of reports relative to a project respecting which we lately presented to our readers a number of interesting faots— the intended railway from Halifax to Quebec. As the noble Secretary of State again points out the great importance of establishing such means of communication at the earliest possible period in this colony, we may indulge the hope that the Local Government will feel authorised to co-operate with the Council and the public in the adoption of some means for the accomplishment of that great desideratum. And we trust the Council, thus encouiaged, will enter upon the subject with the earnestness and promptitude it deserves. We have thus glanced at the several matters touched ! upon in this lucid and very satisfactory Address. To [ several of them it will be our duty to demote a large 1 share of attention, when brought more fully before us.