The New-Zealander.

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 280, 3 February 1849, Page 2

The New-Zealander.

Be just and fear not j Let all the ends thon ainu>'t at, be thy Country's, Thy Goo's, ami Truth's.

SATURDAY, FEbTuaHY 3. 1849.

In taking a retrospective view of the past Parliamentary session. In considering its wordy promise and worthless performance. In pondering its solemn mockeries, and shallow impertinencies—we cannot but feel impressed with a painful conviction that England is confided'to the- hands of men without intellect to understand, or energy to carry her scatheless through, the political perils that environ her. Let us turn to the best informed of the British journals — Reform or Conservative— and we shall find the opinion strongly expressed that the country is losing caste, and that if she does not utterly derogate from her past proud position, it is less owing to the sagacity of her Ministers, than to the inherent integrity and sterling sense of the British people. That sense has restrained insurrection, when the Continent was a volcano of revolution ;— when rebellion was impatient to deluge Ireland with blood :— and when Chartism struggled hard to excite a tumultuary diversion in England and in Scotland. Although the sense of the nation rose superior to the sufferings of the people, it is quite clear that endurance is a principle which may be pushed too far ; and that if the country continaes to be much longer ridden by men incapable to govern, that it will indignantly fling, if it fail to convince them. j In this woeful, weary, session, what has been done, but talk, talk, talk ! A lengthy list of practical measures were propounded :— not one of a statesmanlike character has been enacted. The English journals complain— loudly com - plain— that the elective machinery is imperfect, and that the intelligence and independence of the country is unfairly excluded its share j in representation of the country. | The, so-called, Reform Act, of 1831, has ; proved to be a delusion and a mockery. According to the London Daily News, it was but an ingenious device of the late Earl Grey to entrap the popular sympathies, upon whose steam the Whigs were borne into possession of that power they could not, single-handed, retain. In 1831 the whig majority «f the aristocracy, con. -vinced that under the.old boroughmongering system their rivals would always prove too many for them, seceded from the camp and patched up an »ll»»nce vrith the people. The new allies between them carried the Reform Act. The people believed that the fruit of that act was to be the breaking up of the old system of oligarchical government. The whig aristocracy knew better. The late Earl Grey on more than one occasion took credit with himielf for having so framed the Reform Bill that it would not permanently exclude either party from office. The meaning of this phrase was, that the Reform Act had gufficiently strengthened the whig party in parliament to admit of its holdiDg office alternately with the'tory, without admitting the people to any greater participation ,in political power than they had previously enjoyed. Experience has convinced the people that this description given of the Reform Act of 1831 by its author is almost literally true, and they now demand a real reform act. And the whig aristocracy combine with the toij aristocracy to refuse the people's request. An effort — and a vigorous one — to obtain real reform has been set on foot. A league has been formed without, and Mr. Hume has opened his trenches within, the walls of Saint Stephen's. It. is true that he has been discomfited, but not overpowered, by the combined

forces of the Ministerialists and Conservatists ; for he has rallied round him a Spartan band of eighty-six members, representing 314,000 electors, and a population of 11,500,000. Mr. Hume's motion was to this effect : — That thit house, as at present constituted, does no fairly represent the population, the property, or the industry of the country, whence has ariien great and increasing discontent ia the minds of a large portion of the people ; and it it therefore expedient, witka view to amend the national representation, that the elective franchise shall be so extended a* to include all householders , that votes shall be taken by ballot ; that the duration of parliament shall not exceed three years, and that the apportionment of members to population shall be more equal. The House divided :— Ayes, 84; Noes, 351. The Daily News thus analyses the Whig official element brought to contest the measure :—: — la the majority against Mr. Hume's motion there were only 132 members who, by the utmost latitude of language, can be called reformers,' to 221 tone*." Among the 132 professing reformers were 30 holders of office, 7 ymcials " unattached (as they *ay in the army), and 13 relations or connexions of ministers. There was also a large sprinkling of relations and connexions of whig peers, and candidate! for office at the f bar and in the >rmy and navy. Mr. Hume's ' opponents dis not venture \o attack reform as an unnecessary measure- : They tried by a series of feints, by a species of Parthian skirmishing, to shirk the question. They did not assault the subject— they only risked an irregular charge or two upon its details. The plan is not systematic, said they — ' it embraces no definite principles — it is open to the two faced question — why go so" far ;' and, since you go so far, why not ' go farther ? The reform minority (writes the Daily News) is a growing party ; the whig seceders are a diminishing party; and the growing party has in its favour the strengthening influence of a definite object. It dm» at rendering the representation of the people real by distributing the representatives in proportion to population and property, by increasing the number of electors, by affording the honest voter the protection of the ballot, and by shortening the leases of power confided to members of parliament. Their opponents have no principle or opinion in common. It is but a very Bmall portion of their number who venture to deuy. that any reform is necessary. Almost all of them admit that some reform is required. And men with a fixed political creed cannot faii to be constantly making converts from these opinionless uufuitunates. The work is well begun. Whatever be the majority agairst Mr. Hume's motion (says the Kelso Chronicle) there are certain facts which no man can dispute, and no reasonable man. trifle with, Let it be ever remembered that u nothing is more dangerous than a satisfied parliamentary majority and a discontented nation. They are twJ wheel* that have caught. Oue caunot stop without breaking the other." This was the reply of a well known French, journalist, last November, to those who inquired his opinion regarding the state of public &ffair« in Erance,, , at a time when. M. Ckwiot seemed quite hi strongly entrenched behind hit parliamentary majorities as Lord John Rubiell ia at prevent. We can give no more earnest and sincere proof of our delight in noticing the Debates of Thursday, (re- , marks the DiapatchJ which-, (or the present has concluded the Reform discussion, than the anxious with that it may be reud and digested from one cud of the kingdom to the other. We ask for no more than an honest, Impartial verdict upon the evidence and the arguments. Lord John Russell may very probably be hugging himself upon the majority of 35-1 votes against 84, and praising his own skill in not having had occasion to put foith a single speech of moderate ability to produce that result. It the battle weie to be fouuht in the Heuse, he might indeed be gratified with th» fruiu gathered with such extreme parsimony of labour and skill. He might even glory in the in utt ot ltavm gable men to be contended with by schoolboy spomers of empty common place, and by the witlings who lent! their help from an opposite camp of like mercenary soldiers, coming to the rescue of the trade of faction. But the nation is to read and to judge. The people of thi* commonwealth will be the jury. A year hence, ' only one year hence, it will be found both by Whig and Tory, that they would have been wiser in dealing , more reipactfully with thu real auditory in this case ; not the predetermined House of Commons, pledged to its owq abuses and corruptions, but the anxious, ex» pectin? public of this realm. They w.U find in that • time what have been the effects of the relative forceg engaged. When questions of sucb anxious importance to " a discpntented nation" are thus got rid of, there can be little hope for the colonies. The Senate which treats National Reform as a " Radical" dream, will, we doubt not, deal with Colonial Reform as a transmarine impertinence. The colonies are too much the perquisites of place to be enfranchised, save by an extraor- • dinary pressure from' without. Were the colonies to be entrusted with their own powers of self-government, what- would* become of the incapables so remorselessly quartered upon', them ? They would either starve or sink to that level for which nature designed them. The oligarchy of Downing-street well know this j and, hence, every expedient is resorted to to baffle or pervert colonial inquiry,— -to withhold colonial emancipation, and to continue the colonies moored by the nose, that they may remain the convenient lazarettos of official patronage. But inquiry is not altogether stifled. A few honest men will push disagreeable questions — will make uncourtly motions. The press, too, will insist upon unwelcome comments. Journalists perceive that the colonies, in themselves the elements of British might, are in a great degree a source of British expense, by the ruinous extravagance of an Office which can** ■ not govern, although it controls, the colonial energies, and destroys equally their liberty and their prosperity. The proceeds of the Bale of waste lands in tbe colon r es (in the opinion of the Daily News) ought to be devoted exclusively to promoting the purposes of colonization. At present a large, proportion is deducted and allotted to defraying the ordinary purposes of government. This portion of .the >viys twd.mpfrnt might be withdrawn without incurring tbe nccetitty qC ,

adding a tingle penny to the annual taxation of any colony by the sacrificei of the civil list. The civil list ii a portion of the annual expenditute withdrawn from the controul of the local legislature!, in order that the imperial government may always have wherewithal <;o reward agents who have been serviceable to them in this country by lucrative appointments in the coloniei. There it no colonial grievance that creates half bo much exasperation as these home appointments, held in defiance of public opiuion in thr colonies by a set of men utterly devoid of official aptitude, »nd uniformly con. ducting themselves with supercilious petulance towards the colonists. Leave local elective legislatures to decide how many officials and of what kind are necessary, and to devise the means of remunerating th«m adequately, and local government will be conducted better and at 1 less expense than now, and the «ntire land-fund left free for the legitimate operations of These are the comtruction of roads to Jay open all parts of the colony to settlement, the construction of piers, and other things necessary to impart completeness to natural harbours ; and the providing of free passage* for labouring emigrants. The public works we have named will afford security against the labour market being at any time glutted, and the continuous influx of labourers will draw capitalists after them. Government, besides having it in its power, at l*ast in the Australia!) colonies, to make the whole land fund available fur colonising purposes, has it also in its power to accelerate the increase of tint fund. The construction of roads and harbours, by rendering all parts of the colony accessible for settlement, and the relinquishment of all interference in loral government beyond the appointment of governors, by promoting economy and efficacy in civil administration, will augment the prosperity and increaie the general attrac tireness of the colonies. And in proportion to the increasing wealth of each colony will be the increasing demand for waste lands to reclaim, and the augmentation of the land fund. The exposures of Lord George Bentinck may be forgotten. The expositions of Sir William Moles worth may be disregarded, and his motioD thrust aside. The inquiries of the Honorable Francis Scott may be delayed ; but if the British press will only continue to advocate the colonial cause with the earnestness and intelligence it has recently evinced, the colonies may then have reasonable motive to hope that justice will ultimately prove neither a delusion nor a dieam.

His Excellency, as most of our readers are awaie, has manifested a great deal of anxiety to warn the Natives of the fearful character of Small Pox, and to guard them against that loathly disease ; a history of the disorder, its origin, consequences, and prevention having, at his desire, been drawn up, by Dr. Thomson, of the' 58th Regt., published in the " Maori Messenger," and reprinted in a pamphlet, intended to be widely circulated. To induce vaccination, the Governor was innoculated by Dr. Davies, on Wednesday, in presence of Te Whero Whero, and several other Chiefs. We trust sincerely that the lymph may have been sufficiently active, and that the ■example, thus set, may lead our Maori fellowsubjects to have recourse to so simple an antidote against a scourge whose ravages, if unhappily introduced, it would be deplorable to contemplate. Several Natives from Tonga, and other islands of the Southern Ocean, have, we are informed, been invited to visit Auckland, by the Missionary brig " John Wesley," in order that they themselves may be vaccinated, and acquire instruction in the art, and be furnished with the materials, for vaccinating their fellow countrymen. Wellington Subscription. — Mr. Heale, the Chairman of the Meeting at which this money was subscribed, having arrived in town during the week, the several sums will be refunded on application at the office of Mr. W. S. Grahame, on Monday and Tuesday next, between the hours of nine and eleven o'clock. Likewise by Messrs. Rout and Salmon — that is to say, by those to whom subscribers paid their contributions.