ENGLISH EXTRACTS, COLONIAL OFFICE EVASION. (From the Morning Clonicle, July 12.)

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 261, 29 November 1848, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS, COLONIAL OFFICE EVASION. (From the Morning Clon ic le, July 12 .)

We do not like trampling on the fallen, nntl as the official people connected with the Coli>i>i.il Office aio now, acccnding to universal consent, in that predicament, we ulmobt regret that it should become our duly to expose Ihcii proceedings once inoic to public reprobalion. There is something, however, in tho dcnieanour oi thr-si pcn'lpinpn so inronpistcnt witli the humility suitable to llieir position — theic is a chcciful belf-complacnt tone of injured innocence bo cooly put on whenever their policy is questioned, that , 'ill the compmclion which a Harmful man would naturally kel al ilia ide.i of pnr&ecutin^ the fiiendlci.<3, vanishes in the indignation excited by misconduct habitual and unrcpented of. Seriously Bprakmg (and ii is u mattci of p.iitiful^ consideration), tho couutiy 15 fast coming to the conclusion, not only that tln j statements of Colonhl Mmisteis me to be looked upon with f,iuve suspicion, but tlmt no iutctli^cnco or inlo-mation c,\n j),\dfi thtou^h tna' clianncl to Hie public, without beniß {,111'bk'l, fl.b'orKd, or falsihed. A iortni^hi hu» hardly elapsed since Hurl Grey told tho Peers of En^l vnd, in tin: tone which would bi'iit a wrongfully accused I'poctle, thai " oi courtc he hid only quoted fruin a (!ocu monl that pnit which suited the purjiosii 1 of his aigument" — a doctrine, ns H baa lieen well said, which, if sound, would jufltify the Athiest in quo'iuy Hcnplure on bebali of Itin do^m 1 that "Tlirri; i o no G,ul."— About thu same tiniw, Mi. IJauch was dcitndi ip ln.nSi'lf, Avilh considerable buccchs, against a ehu^o ol toiieealinent nnd misieprosentaiion, by n h'umplunt <"[)>oi>uie 0/ the blundeis of his own subordinates. — We b.ive now to call attention to another transaction of an analagom kind winch came out on Monday nijjht. i^ord Lincoln, it will be remembered, made, oa tho

Ist of June, lußtyeiu, the following motion ;<«-"That an humble nddrobs be pies.'titcd to hi Maj My, praying that she will lake into her giaciuuo <-<m t -nleiiitit>n the means whew by colonization may be made funsidiaiy to other measures for promoting (lie welf.uc of Ireland, and by which, consistently with full rrg.ud to Ihe interests of the colonies, ihu comfort and pro-purity of those who emigrate muy be dLctiii'lly pm'nolcd." A debate ciiMicd of a Homew li.it remarkable charm icr. Air. ll. uves who mrweied Loid Lincoln, made a loji<^ speech nu;niiiHt systematic colonization, and intimated very cleaily that Government intended to oppohu the motion. An the debate piuueeded, liowevei , it became manifest that Ministers would be beaton if they Look tluit conrse ; so Lord John Russell finally at'iccd to the motion, usinjj these words — " We are quite read} to ducct the governors of our Butish American provinces to consult the le^ihlativc mid executive belies as to those pluis, &c. lam quite ready to say thai we shall lay the whole result ot thege rccommcnd.itioiis before the house, at the same time giving the opinion of the Government upon them in another Region." Knowing, appaiently, the mm with whom lie hud to deal, Sir W. J.imcß icp"nled the question, — " Did the noble loul miend to make any uuiuines beyond tlio r e ordinal ily "I'Ulc ihroiif'h tlic c;oveinors of colonies?" to whidi tin- noble loid icpiictl, that " there would be pppii.il enqu'riea." On the 1 1th of the sann* monlh her iUujcsty answered the foieqouig nddicis as follows : " I u'm deeply sensible of the advantage which m iy be deiived Jrom further uumsiucs lor the promotion of colonization, and I will dncct such wqunies- to bo made as may enable J'uli.nncnt to adopt .i enure fice from those evils which pitcipitate legislation on (his subject mi^lit occasion." JJere, then, was apparently a complete and r itblactory arrangement ; an address for specal inquiry ununimonsly passed ; the assurance of thePiiiie Minister tint the inquiry should he made, and the opinion of government on its results given in this secsion ; and, a iortmght after, the condonation of tint as°nia'iec from her Majesty's own lips. Well, after having waited thirteen mouths (that is, as we think, a great deil too loir- ) for the mloiimtinn and opinion so solemnly promised, LonJ Lincoln vcntiucd, on Monday ni.;ht, io ask the- govinmcut what hul been done in consequence of Mb motion. It then tinned out, by th" cool ad.nissinn of Mr. Il.iwes and Loid John P.usicll, that nothing had be mi done — that nothing had been ever iuiciuled to be done — th.il the .ij-ecmcil fo tliß motion w 's merely :v "dodge" to aicrt a d< feat — that her Majesty's name was unsoiupulously used to saiiciion the delusion, and that from that day to tins, the whole affair has been tieatcd as a solemn faice— acted, hughnl at, and forgotten. We beg speciil attention to the in.inui'rtn which Mr. Ilawesnas instructed to answer Uie qu- slion <>f which Lord liiiieoLi had given notice. The question wis, " whether any special inqmiy li.id been matlv 1 , and, it so, what weic the results, and 1 lie opinion of p,ovcinment on the subject ?'' Mr. Iluwe. be^an by cayinc; that he wai " q cully indebted to the noble had for the notice lie Ji.'d given of this question ;" and then ha cucfully lcpeaied the lei mi of lyud Linco'n's om;;m,il motion, \;lneli lie acknowledged that " Llie noble, lo d had quite eon eelly Htatcd." lie next proceeded to say that a Committee ol the House of Lord.) hid been appointel to lnquiie into Hi? milter of Lish ( oloni/.atiuii; and, luuil'y, hut) noted ai.d "ralifud the lluuse f fur a')out ten minutes, by dcscrihini; the benefits'of the Ami tided V s>(iig-is Act, and stating the amount of Ihe CoKnii.il Emigration Fund, and the exief number or E'niijiiinls wh.) had to Austialia this year — all which was very vi i> factory and vjiy well nccived. .Loid Lincoln, liawovur, w.',3 ielcii.l si; he e\pio sed his sense of the, valuable inforrnatiou which the hotioiaide gentleman lul so 1 indU impardd, but bcg.j» d to say that what he had v.ibhed on I 1I 1 a' {Miiicular occasion to have, vin<i a simple answei ti a very simple question — " Jlad there been a spic: 1 mquiiy, and what were its resales ?" — and In: Inn her lniimaicd, pivtty cle.nly, hii suspicion that Mi. llawcs's attempted diversion wag another "dodge." Aa;uin, Mr. ll.uves, thus pressed, f^ot up, ,nd this time he was brief. With the courage of desperation he aseited that " the Lords' committee constitute I the spui.il inqu'iy promised." Mr. Mawcs was impmdmt; it ie([Uicd but one word to ovci throw that explanation, whirh wai evidently got up on the spur of tlicmomcnt. Lord Lincoln "simply olwi ved, " that the Loida' Con.mitlce was appointed on the 4th June, and that the Queen's answei was given on the ] lih, °.o that the (otmer could be no answer to this inqntty piorcrGed in the l.itlet." lie might have added, lud it been neccssaiy, tl at a promihe on the: part ot the Crown to dneft ni(|uiiioB to be made, could not pos Mbly be lulli'lcJ bv the inquiries of auotliT branch of the Lc^i'datuie, ol which mqnntos the Queen could, olSiiLlly, knuw no lun^. We arc not sui prised that Mr. llav.es had not an >rhcr word to say ; nor h ive we jiatienco to co mm nt ps we ou^ht on the minnci in which Lord John llusaell came io the asantance of his silenced colleague. Loid John'a ense w.is this, that "as rppauls Caii.'idn, the mquiiy (which, accoidin'i; to Mr. 11 awes, had been madej could not be made with an) advantage, bce.ui'-c there had been great sickncja und mortality amoiig the cmigranlu last year." We leave tho wholo affair to speak for itself : to ns it appears «• very pregnant illustration of that peculiar morality which appears to infect our colonial statesmanship, and of winch Lord Gicy has constituted himself, preeminently, the expounder and defender. It is melancholy to reflect that the chief obstacles to the devdopement of colonial uioipuiily are created and maintained by those whose spcci il business it is to promote it, and that the first step towards the improvement of colonization roust be— a revolution in the Colonial Oflite.