NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT BILL. House 01 Lords, Feb. 29, 1848.

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 224, 22 July 1848, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT BILL. House 01 Lords, Feb. 29, 1848.

Eail Guny, in moving the second reading ofthc New Zetland Government Bill, would biicfly stitc tho grounds upon which tho measure had boon introduced into Pailiament. The noble Eail pi occeded to no ice: the pi ogress of the attempts to colonise New Zealand down to the time of Governor Grey, to whoso able piTfoimaucc of tho duties assigned to linn he (Earl Gnu) felt bound to bear testimony, because lie was one of those who, at the time when ihe appointment was annoiiiiced, did not think the selection altogether judicious ; not beciiiibe even at that time lie had otherwise than u veiy high opinion of Captain Gay, but became looking to the dillicuUics with which he would have to contend, and to the lael that in intioduciiig a new system oi administration he would piobably luvi no litlle opposition to encountei hotn many public seivauts in the colony who had been enga»od in cany ing on formei sys'ems, and that he would have to communicate with officers who wcie his seniors, he (Earl Giey) ccitainly di I fear that he would want that advantage of peisonal weight and authoiity which, in a case of this kind, was of extreme impoitanco. lie (Bail Giey) lejoiccd that that appiehcnsion had proved cntiiely unfounded. The encigy and ability of the new Goveinoi of New Zealand had more than supplied the place oi those adventitious advantages of position (htm, hear); and almost from the veiy moment ol his landing he had obtained the confidence of those about him, and had expciicnccd an ascendency which gave stiong and clear piooi'ofasuperioi mind. The change which took place in the aspect of aflans in New Zealand after the ai rival of Captain Giey was no less l.xpid than giatifying. Iti Novembci, 1845, when dipt Giey reached the colony he found affairs in a state ofthc utmost confusion ; the revenue had dwindled almost to nothing — lebf-llious natives, in spite of all opposition, were invading anil plundering the Biitish settlements, and, elated with their bin cibs, they held iv contempt a government

v,\ IHI they found ton focblr to oftiu effectual le-aistaneo to their attacks , those natives who siill ictainod ics|)ccr fir Biitisli authority placed no ldiance upon the powci of the government to pioteet them ; the Biitisli settlers were discouraged ami desponding : and, what was still worse, the military and naval loiees weie lieginning to he dispirited by the ill-success which had attended their operations. In the com so of five or six week? the whole aspect of affahs was changed. Such Jaws were passed as weie rendeied neccssaiy by the pressing exigences of the times ; and amon« them was an ordinance prohibiting the impoitalion oi aims and ammunition — for stiangc as it might appear, although the colony was in a state of war, no attempt had until that time been made to prevent a trade in arms and ammunition from being caaiied on with the hostile natives. Public confidence was completely lestored ; most successful expeditions were undei taken against the hos> tile tribes ; in a short time the rebellion was almost quelled ; and from that period to the present the condition of the colony had been steadily impiovino[. It was tine that hostilities had moie than once bioken out jii different paits of the inland, but the mcisiues ofihe Governor foi the suppression of such distiubancc% and for the maintenance of the public peace, had boon attended with unit Jim success, arid lie had seemed in the highest (le«iee the confidence both of the native inh'lbilanti and ofthe LJiitish settleis. The natives Ind also made considerable advances in intelligence, education, and civil isition, and ehieily by theii uisUmnentahty gieat public woiks had been undertaken, and Important lines of road had been concluded between the settlements and most extensive and luitile districts of the country. The levenue had also increased beyond the most sanguine expectations, and trade, as was shown l)y that increase of levenue, was flourishing and prosperous He (Earl Grey) had stated these lacts, not mcicly in order to pay to the present Governor of New Zealand a tiibute to which he was justly entitled, but with the view of showing their Loulships how expedient it was, in carrying on the affairs of that colony, to be guided almost implicitly by the advice of a person on the spot, who had shown piaetically that he so thoroughly undci stood the position and the inteiests of ho colony. Accordingly, the measuie which he (Kail Gicy) was about to ask theii Loidships to sanction was founded almost ontirely on the lecommendatinns of Captain Grey. Before, however, lie pioceodcd to explain the details of that bill, it was necessity that he should bric/ly state the nature of the measure which had previously been sanctioned by Parliament for the government of New Zealand, and which it was now pioposcd to supersede. Their loidships were aware of the disasteis which had unfortunately occuired in New .Zealand after it became an avowed liiilish colony; and though he was not anxious to give pain to any one connected with administering the affairs of iliac colony, lie felt bound to say that those draslcrs were entirely attributable to the mistakes of those to whom the powcis of government weic intrusted. Itwas, thcrcibic considered desirable that a much larger control than they previously possessed over colonial affaiis should be given to the settlers ; and that opinion had been almost unanimously expiessed in the other house of Parliament. All hough many objections might be urged a<jaii»st such a scheme, he consideied it was better that the chief contiol over the affaiis of New Zealand should be lodged in the hands of the settlers themselves, rather than in those of a governor appointed by the Home government. , In IS4G, when the picsent Minis, tcis cimc into office, the latest advices lccoived fiom New Z 'aland did not extend to a period of inoie than live 01 six weeks after Captain Giey had assumed the administration of affairs ; and though much had been accomplished, even in that short time, there appeared to be nothing in the then existing stale of affahs, to altei the opinion which had been previously entertained as to the expediency of giving a gi cater sh:>ie of powci to the settlors. That opinion was further conlumod by the (act that the unfortunate mistakes winch had been committed and the disasters which had oecuircd in New Zealand had so completely dcslioyed all confidence in the local government on the part of pet sons in this country who were interested in the affairs of the colony, that unless some more popular form of government were cstabluhed theie appeared no means of reviving the spiiit of enteipiiue in New Zcahi'id colonisation which had existed a few years before. Jt ccrtainiy was highly debirable, if possible, to revive that spirit of enterprise, and again to dir. ct the stream of emigration to the shores of New Zealand ; and this rorwderstion led to the conclusion that, though it was difficult lor an A Jminislration which sue ceded to office in July, on y just before the termination of the session, to submit a propeily matured measure to Parliament, yet that the Government were bound to make an effort to establish a more popular form of govern.'ii' nt in New Zealand. Accordingly, he recommended to his colleague^, who concurred with him, that a bill to tffect that object should be submitted to Parliament with the least possible delay ; and the result was, that the measure the operation of which he now proposed to suspend by the present bill was introduced and adopted by the Legislature. It might be nccessaiy that ne should explain the nature of the form of government which it was proposed to establish in New Zealand under tlic authority of that act and of the lloyal instructions issu d under its provisions. The foundation of this new system of government was intended to be the cvealion of municipal institutions ; and in adopting tha^ plan they were acting he believed, in confoimity with the opinion of almost every person who had c nsidered the subject of colonial — he might a most say of i epresenta ive government. He believed that the success of free institutions in this country was altribu- : table, in a great measure, to the degree to which the administrations of affairs was commuted to local bodies, and it had been said by an higli au'hority, Mr. Burke, that, in the most flourishing colonies of Great Britain, which had since become the United Stales, general government was built up upon the municipal institutions. On the other hand their Loidshipj were aware from experience that representative government without such organiz ition, might lead to gieat em. harrassments. lie need scaicely recall to tneir lordship's recollection the lemarks contained in the Report which was laid before Failiament a lew years ago with refeieuce to the state of Canada, and which showed that the absence of any system of municipal institutions in Lower Canada had been attended with very injurious cona cjuences. It had been proposed to meet this difficulty ia the ca^e of New Zealand, thul the municipal bodies should elect ihe representative branches of the legislative body, and thus to adopt tlu earlier system of this country, when a very Urge portion of the metnbeis of the Housa of Commons were returned, not directly by the inhabitants of towns, but by the members of corporations, le was further proposed—as their object was to establish a popular government in r\ew Zealand,— to follow the old model of colonial legislatures, rather than the systems which had been a_oprei in later days. Jt w^s accocdin^ly proposed to model the constitution of New Z aland upon those of JamaiCJ, Ikibadoos, and some of the eaj er colonies, and, instead of allowing nominees of the Crown and representatives of tlid people to meet together in a single chamber, to establish a House of Assembly, consisting excluaivaly of representatives of the people, and ,a Council, cons sting of person* nominated by autlunty ot the Crown. Hut iv New

Zerland :i still furilvr difficulty w<>s (o he encountered ia consequence i)i the pcculi ir eiirnur.'/iiuvs «i tin 1 colony, and tin 1 distance beUvpen the two most impoitant ser'lements, AuHJand ;ind Wellington. — those places w?re about- 400 miles a >aif, and t ho cotnmnnication was difhcull «n I uncertain. If the scat of government had been lived at oithci of those places it would hive been highly inconvenient to the inlnbitauts of the oilier ; and this inconvenience would have been increased in consequence, of the jealousy ousting betwecMi the two towns as t) which shou'tl he the enpiul of the colony. It thercfoie seemed advisable that two legislative bodies should be established — one fit Auckland and the other at Wellington— and that the colony should be divided into two distinct provinces. Tint if the two le^islatuies had been instiliit d eich being enabled to act without lefeience to the proceedings of ths other, great inconvenience might have arisen from their adopting different rates of duty upon lnipoitod goods, and thus rendenng necessuy the establishment of an intern u line ol custom houses. It theicforo seemed adviwblc to cbtablish a joint autlionl), consisting o( depulalions liom the two scpai.ile lc;rislaluics, \>'nch bhould have the exclusive powci of dealing wilh cut tain subjects, and especially with the imposition of dunes upon impoits. 111 1 did not appe.u nocessaiy fli.it this body should meet at any stated peiiod, and it had theieloic been jnoposed that, ii occasion aio^e, provision should be made lor calling togcthci for a hhoit lime, {and foi special and limited objpcts, the body having llicso goneial poueis. It had also liocn pi opo' id ill it the nc.\ ioiiii of lepicsonlalivr" government should only c\t3ii<l to those districts mainly inhabited by settlers, and that the natives should be left in tho enjoyment of their own laws and customs, except in those particular districts where municipalities weie established. Such was tho geneial design of tho plan, many siibsidiaiy de-tails being left to be amnqcd by the Governor and the new Legislative Assemblies. If it were possible at present to establish popular government ii New Zealand, he (Kail Grey) had no leason to iiifer that the Govcnor of that colony saw any reason to object to the general scheme he had desciibcd ; but he was of opinion that, as yet, populai "overnment could not he established in New Zealand to the extent which had at fust been contemplated, llic main giound on which the Governor of New Zealand objected to the immediate ci cation of the system of leprosentativc government was, because tho natives, though not sufficiently advanced in civilization to bo safely admitted to shaic all the privileges, of that foim of government, wcioyutso enlightened and intelligent that they would not fail to pciceive the injustice of having the duties on the impoits mainly paid by themselves appiopiiated by a Jcgisla'uic in which they had no voice. Despatches to this effoct having been icceivcd from the Governor of New Zealand, no time was lost in preparing a bill to suspend, foi a limited ' period, the pioposcd form of government ; and, as long as New Zealand did not pay its own expanses, he (Earl Grey) thought that the scttlcis would not have a just light to complain of not enjoying lopiesentativo government so completely as ccitain other colonies. Under these circumsl meets* it was intended by the pic sent bill to suspend the pioposed lonn of government in New Zealand for five ycais; though it would not noccssaiily follow that at the end of that tcim of five years that scheme oi government would conic into operation ; still the limited peiiod of suspension would lender it absolutely neccssaiy lh.it the whole; subject should 'n:;aiii be brought umlci consider ition. 'I ho noble E.ul hcie lcfeircd to sevct.il despatches iccuved liom Govcmoi Gicy, and slated tliat the bill holoie the house was foil uLd on the suggestions made therein. In lefeience to the municipal institutions under the piescnt ch.ulor, he, on considuing Govcinoi Grey's despatches, saw no reason for sus|vni)i]ig that pait of tiie chailcr wluoh related to them. They aught be safely alluwcd. Within the municipalities theie wus no considerable numbu* of natives ; and many of them would be found perfectly fit to cxcicise wilh advantiijo the n unicipal iranchibc, and to ta«e part in municipal government. It was feme, that by itisuuctions sent out utthe clo c e of the year IS 1G it was provided that the municipal franchise should be ixerused only by suth persons as culd read and write English. The governor icported thut the majority, by fdi , of Ihe native* could read and write their own language, and that many could spcaU EngUMi ; but tlut he knew none that could icad and wiite English, He (Eail G.ey) approved of endeavouis to extend die English lan^ua^e in the colonieb. iiy far the closest bond of union that could exmt between this country and the colonies was the use of the same tongue ; and when the people of tho rolonies spoke a different language from the governing authorities, affairs seldom happened to proceed entncly satisfactorily. He therefoic concurred in the policy on which he believed the noble Lord opposite (Lord Stanley) had acted — that of eniledvaunng to induce the inbubitaurs of English colonies to use the English language. Hg thought u a great error on the part olthe missionaries m New Zealand that they had reduced tlie barbarous language of the tribes there to the canJition of a wtitlen language, and he believed tliat it would have been far more advantageous if from the beginning, when the natives were taught to read and wine, they had bticu taught to read and write the English language. In that case they would have enjoyed the immense benefit of being put at once into the possession of those great intellectual advantages which our language was the medium of conveying ; but so long as the New Zealand tongue was made- the means of instruction for the natives, they woukLbe excluded fiom those ideas and that information wmch centuries of civilization had liitrodneed into this country, or could at most only become acqiniutcd with them by means of the necessarily imperfect translations of English b.jolcs and English ideas into their nide and inartificial language. Under existing circumstances, then, it was pioposed by the piescni bill to leave to the governor the power of regulating the qualification of burgesses in corporate distiicts, thougti he (Earl Grey) thought that, alter a reasonable interval, the power of leuding and writing Engish should be enforced as a necessary qualification for any franchise. Looking, then, at all that could be said on both sides> of ths several questions that had been brought" under the notice of their lordships, ke ventured to believe that the balance of advantage was in favour of the course pursued by tho Government, and he thought thut ho should at present be-st discharge his duty as a member of thut house, and a member of the Government, by abstaining from any remarks which were not s tiictly connected with a reform iv the administulion of the affairs of New Zealand. - — .Lord Stanley said, that the noble Lord who had just concluded his speech, told them that he had confined himself to the topics which were strictly con. nected with the government ot New Zealand. Now, he would take the liberty of saying that the noble Earl hud not pmclised any such abstinence; for his own part, he must say, that with every disposition to adopi the measuie pioposed by the Government, he did not see, even upon the statement of the noble Earl himsell, any near prospect ot ihe settlement . which he anticipated, and which, under the present circumstances ot the colony, it wa& most desirable siiould be accomplished with the least possible deluy. He wished at the outlet to remind their lordships that Farliauiont need not fall in.o nvy inconsistency i n tjie

rlMiart'T o f it. ic^Ulntion wi li r^'ii.l to N>'« Z<m* land. It must, of iuun>", b* in thnr loul .hijis' ncilli'Ctiou, llui at I'ie end of a ve;y long and evntlul ',e->sioii, when tlic nolle li.nl earn/ into office, h<i propose.! a bill, out of which thii measure Denessanly arose. That bill did not make further provision foi the better govei nment of New Zealand, but, on the contrary, its purpose wa. to »ive power to the Government at home to mike regulations for the better government of Now Ziiil'ind. Under tint bill certain in si ructions ln<l been issued to the authorities at New Zealand, and in those instructions there beinsj certain defects 01 imperfections, the bid now befoie their loidships had been intiodu-cd for the purpose of tcmedy ing the in stiuclions issued undei the aulhonty of Ihe prpvious act, and it was not at all for the piupjfe of altering the aci itself that the present measuic hid been intioduced. He did not mean to sty that if he lad been in his p'fine in Parliament lie should have opposed the former ref . lie believed he should have given hib assent to it, foi t'us among other reasons, that he thought the le>s tint I.i nan. cut interfiled with the disci etionary powers intrusted to the Secretary of Sta'e, the bettci would the c<l mies of this country he governed. Tho tormer nvasuie he conceived to h ivi' been hasuly and premaiuu'ly brought Joi'ivard — founded as it w-vs upon a too ieady c incuSaio.i (o tha demands for papular rights mid piivilegos. He did not go l)ack to the early hibtory of our snttlement in New Zealand, and he should meiely confine hlmsilf to this obseivatton, that in the discussion which aiO3C upon that subject, there had been m> LtLlc acuibity and violence of lecling. He should not ';o fuitlier than lernind the bouse that in the state in which sunn a colony then was, and still must continue to bj, there could not fail to be great difficulty in giving privileges to one c'a^s of her Majesty's subjects there and refusing them to another, lie need scaieely say that he had listened with g|oat gratification to the eulogium which the noble J£a*il pronounced upon the ability, zeal, mid prudence manifested by the picscnt Governor of New Zealand, He, on his own pair, was pcileclly willing to bear his most cheeiful 'cstunony to the mciits of Governor Grey. He had had the satisfaction of selecting him. for that office, and co lfeuiug on him that appointment; but in listening to the praises of that able and skillul admistiator of colonial aflahs, lie could not help icgi\tting that tho noble Earl opposite had thought it neccssaiy mvis diou«»ly to contrast (he merits of Captain Grey with those of Captain Fitzßoy. Although the latter gentleman was ice died, yot, never was there a man iniiuenced by nioie honouiablc, mote high, and piaiseworthy piinciplcs tlnn Captain Fiizßoy. lie took the government of Now Zealand at gieat personal loss to himself— by taking it he sacrificed tho position which he had picviously In Id in this countiy ; he relinquished much w Inch few men would willingly give up, tor the purpose of doing that which lie believed would be for the public good. Then, in any attempt to contiast the conduct of one governor with tint of another, it was not to be foi gotten that much l.uger means and authority, hid he given to Captain Giey than had ever been con-fc-ucd upon Captiin I'it/iloy, and thus another lpsson had been given which he hoped would not be lost on the other house of Pnliament, and moie especially he hoped tint the oilier lesson which our experience in tins matter taught would not be tlnown away upon either house of Parliament. They had been fioin the outset told tint New Zealand was to be a bolf supporting colony; that cmigiautswcie to be seated thcic, and weio to be siii rounded with all the advantages of civilized life, and ill tlm was to be done at no expense whitcver to the counliy; tint tho colony wis to be planted upon a faolf-Mippowin.l piiuciple ; that it was to enjoy free institutions, und pay us own wiiy ; and wirnt was the result? In the year 18JG, they were to d that for the next few ycais, the mother country must conti.iuo t) be at an expanse of .i'3G,OOO per annum, ai.d that for ihe puijio^e of in lintaiTlTng the establishments there a foicc of 2,50ij soldieis was absolutely necessary. It was said also to be necessary, for the purpose of maintaining ordei amongst all the inhabitants and for preserving peace between the uaiv.s und i lie be lltis, Uiat an English vessel ot war should be se.it to that station and kept there. 1c was most niatethl their lordships should bear in mind that those e>iabhs!ime'its bad boon foi cod on the government by Pdiliauieni ibclt. If the people of this country would have distant settlements, if emigrants from England were to be allowed to settle down here and se^le down theie, on the meiegiound that such settlements were to be no cvpense to the mother country, 1 squiring neither money, nor nivul supporc, nor militaiy support, t en he did not hesitate to 6ay, that evei y new •■etllemcnt was a new deception, and every new es>tab" hbliment wt uld form but a new draught upon the naval and military establishments of this country. Whatever might be the protests, and whatever might be Hie declarations made on the subject before Capt, Fitzßoy was sent out, thcie could bs no doubt of the fact that after he went to New Zealand he foun 1 himself in a position of great t'iihculty, and iclt the necessity fora naval and military foiceinbUiinounUble. Ha had great diflicul-ies with which to contend. He found in the colony natives in number about 120,00 J, the Europeans not amounting- to 12,000, and scarcely a sjldierto aid him in maintaining peace between the natives and the bcttlers ;— -it was not just or generous to say tint under such circumstances, Capt. Fnzlloy had tailed in aa experiment wheiein Capt. Grey had succeeded, neither was it wise to give much weight to many of the theones which went abroad respecting our intercourse with uncivilized tribes; there seemed to be a great deposition to underrate the physical means wlucii they possessed, and the degiec ol civih/iition which they enjoyed. Every year new tacts must come to the knowledge of the government, tending to undeceive them on ih^se points. In illustration of the errors which prevailed on these subjects, he might be allowed to recall the attentiou oi die house to the terms in which ths noble E trl opposite spoke of the languigcof the native inhabitants of Now Zealand. He described it as a baibarous dialect, ihiou^h the agency of which no complex ideas, could be expiessed, or any subtle principles conveyed ; in reply to that he should merely obieive, that trorn one specimen a loas it might be considered quite sufficient for all the purpo ses of oidinary l-usiness. It was said by thoicsu-called barbarians, that "the Crown & the Sovereign might cast ashadjw over the land, but that the substance of the soil should still rest in tli 3 natives." The powers of the language, thcu, he look uponhinself to say, were underrated, lie would beg to reiniud their lordships ot another proof of the civilization of the New Zea* landers, — they alliemembeied the cuse of the woman and the two children who were taken in si log-hou^e, when her husband and another soldier wire killed in battle ; the woman and the childien were passed torward tj the European iroops at a time when the n,i» tives were in a state of the highest possible excitement. A more lecent case occurred in a skirmish where two or three soldiers were killed, and, sofai f 10111 the natives commit ing any act ot indecency or in any m inner mutilating the corpses, they took \lu bxhes ot tuc soldiers und performed the buiial seivice over them Then in the ysir 1816, a despatch from Gov^r.ior Grey informed the Government that the native inhabitants ot Neiv Zealand had no objection to Customs' duties ; they oaid they wdie awaie that 110 Government could go <M without revenues ; that luxuries and ne*

rc~ K\ric •> unpnrlcd mid Non 'A ■nl.uul miijht fairly be 1 nii',"il with (In- rX|», ti-,fs nl llu «y«tem under wbiclt tli -y w,'i i int<<«ri<"'u!« ami that the oniumeri of such mm lc< omilit tf.» p,jy foi (hem whatever was in its nffii naiuir r«';i-,onnblc. They considered, that 'so loin; as the Government icvenacs weie derived from dv ies on lu-Miriv~o, the Government would have a deep interest m the piojpcuty and well bem/r of the natives of New Z aland, and that gave them the best possible seuinty that the happiness of their social state would be iiicleiilifieil with the interests of the Government. A people who reason°d thus rcquiicd no enlii^htenment from the science of political economy. Governor Grey had stated some very satisfac'oiy fuels rcsppctinp the works of improvement undertaken and executed by the natives of New Zealand. Iv one of his despatches he enclosed a report from Major Mai low, commanding the Royal Kngineers, from which it appeared, that about 70 natives were then daily employed upon the worts in progress by the Engineer Depattment ; that many of these men were in some kinds of skilled Ixbnur, equal to Eiuopcart mechanics; and a party of Maoties had uuasMSlcd by Europeans, limit aw<ll of consiJcr.ib.e extent, in .1 mO3t ciedifable nuunei, that out of (>7 men employul by Major M irloiv on oie w oik, there was n->t one who could not read his own language, and only 0113 who could not write; that during tix months 'them had I) tn only one ca.be of druukenntss amoni^b the natives employed by the Engineer department, and tint many l.iy by u portion of their wa^es ; whilst nothing could be more satiafacto-y than the testimony borne by Major M,n I w to the moral and religious characlci of the natives he employed. These people, therefore, wpre not to be ter.ned savages. He now called the attention of (heir lordships to the propooitioa of the noble Earl, „nd to the necessity assigned for the bill lie had brought forward. The only ground for thd measure was, thnt although Her Majesty h,U tlu power of amending or repealing the letteis patent and instructions, there wa 1 ? a doubt whether Her M.jes'y had the piwT to suspend them. Ir, thcie1 fore, the noble li\i l Ind not insisted upon the punciplc of Suspension, leaving it to the Governor of the colony to earn the constitution in o cff. ct; it ha had been only satisfied with advising Her M..j sty 10 amenrl or repeal so much of the letter* ptucm. or in* situations as he no* proposed to suspend tlieic \.onlj have been no noce-,sity 1..r coming bef>re thoii 1 mishipsatoll- With ivipcct U\ tlic c itutitulioi. ltte'f, some things had been said by the no'jle Eu I with which Ik' (Urd Stanley) cordially a^ieo.!. LIo concurrc.l with him in the expediency ot g.anim^ to a colony 1 ke N w Zealand, a certain degree of pam-i to etyrci'-e Jocul tixition mid local goyrrnrucn' , but he mubt fay, although he wa3 willing to give municipal 'institutions to the Beulers, those institutions, and me uatuie of the functions tobj exercised by the settlers,, ought to bo adapted to the numbers of the population, and nut to beouch as were toially incompatible with \> their circumstances. If power were given (0 Ihe settlers .to 'imposa taxes for loca,l improvement.^ a power which had nothing to do with general legislation, all would be done tint was lequired. Tlu population of the isia-ids wis 12,000, or 1 1,000, or 1G,OUO; and whit w.u the ma lunery of government to be given to these 16,001) pe ia on,? Ihere was a Gjvemor in chief, and a legislitive council, and piovincial legislative cjuncil*, icpresentanvc assemblies, mayois, and toy.i ounci'h, und all for 16,000 persons. There would be hiully a single individual who \vonK» not be one of these lunctitminch; they wouU be <*\\ elected, and no electors. In the despatch of Governor Gieytothe noble Earl pointing out the inexpediency of intro lucintj ihj new consuiutioii into New Ulster, ho said— "by the introduction of the proposed conbUtuuoo, her M.jcity, will iut confer, a^ is intended, upon her biil>j,cts, the inestimable cdvaniagei of belt (jovcnimunt, but she will »ivc to a small fraction of one race, llie power of Rovernin^ the large majoiity of her subjects of a different race She will notgivj to hcrsubjicis Uic valuable piivilegu of appiopiiatiu^ us they think proper a hir«e icvei.ue laised by taxstion fiom the great majuruy of her subjects of another race j and these further difficulties attend this question, that the race which is in the majority is much the mo.,t powerful of tue two ; the people* belongii gto u aie well armed, p. oud, and independent, and tl ere is no reaso.i that I am acquainted with to think thnt they would be satUfi-.d with, and submit to, the rule of the minority, whilst there ire many leasous to believe that they will resist it to the utmoot. Her Majesty s naiivt; subjects will ceitainly be exceedingly indignant at finding that, they are placed ma position of inferiority to the European population. A great change has ahoiecentiy taken place in their position ; the mutual (jealousies and animosities of the tribes have greatly disappeared, and a fee'iig of class or race is rapidly springing up, and has been greatly fomented by the efforts which have been mule by designing Europeans to obtain thrir land fiom them for a merely nominal consideia^on." This was a point to which the noble e.irl adverted when ho s id that if any observations wore inndo connected with it he should be ready to reply to them. lie (Lord Stanley) did not mean to revive tin question between Her Majes'y's Government nnd the NewZialsnd Company, but be was convinced that the rights of landed ptopuctors, Hiu, all tint belonged to these rights, weie just as well understood among the /Jew Zealand tribes as 'hey were in this country. That prtnciple w tt s distinctly adverted to m the terms of the agreement, and upon that principle the natives had been peisuaded to submit to the Government of Great Britain, and na attempt could be made by this couutry to inlerfeie with, that principle without raising vpry dangerous feelings on the part ot the naiive population. The noble earl condemned what he termed the improper tone and longerons tendency of the Bishop ot New Zealand's loiter. He (Lord Stanley) must say that the error of the bishop, it an error, was a veiy pardonable one, and " was an error into which he (Lord Sunl y) certainly h d ftillen, as to the construction of the noule Earl's despatch regarding the rights of the natives of New Zealand to the land of the islands. The noble Earl had undoubtedly qualified that passage in his despatch; but he (Lord Stanley) was not bUie that the noble Earl had no preserved to the Governor of the colony a distinct power not to part with land but upon the principle be had laid down, and had not requued him not s to abandon the principle vthich the native tribes had no light of property in land which they did not; occupy, and which hud remained unsubdued to tho puipuses of man. Upon this subject which ho thought was indis-olubly connected with all legislation ie>pucting the island*, he was, sui prised that the papeis latu before Parlia nent contained no opinion ol Capt.vn Grey as t) the mstiuctiona he had lccinved fiom the nolle E-irl upon that head. 11« (Lord Sunlev) believed firmly that Captain Grey wa* as much determined to maintain the integrity of the lights of tie 11 itives to the land us any person in this country. We believed that theie were lands which the native tnbca would be icady to make over to the government on 'mod rats term.-,, provided it was understood to br a regular act ot bargain and sale. He did not dissent tioin disproportion to establish some local gov rn«>cnt m the settlement ; but he entertained grevt