Thursday, August 23, 1849.

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 346, 25 August 1849, Page 3

Thursday, August 23, 1849.

Present— The Governor ami nine members. After Prayers wcie read by the Colonial Chaplain, the minutes of last meeting 1 wpic read and ronfnmed. Mr. Morriman loscto present a petition from Native Chiefs Ihe following translation was read, and the petition received and ordered to be printed.

To the Govi;uNOß-iN-CiiiEr and the Meeting of Elders. Fiiend the Governor— Salutinp you, — Listen, friend. Queen Victoria has consented thnt we should be allowed to dispose of our lands, »nd we now, as the whle people -10, pray of you to alow us the bom-fit of that Inw. At the Matins,' of Waitnnjri we did not crimnnt to allow the Governor to have control over rur Inland. Il was for the wt ite people From your laws (or management) we are poor- We have hcaid thnt the people of Wuirarnpa nre leasing their land* to llie white people. Why are we shut out ? Why not one law for uh and the Europeans ? The white people desire our land for their cattle to run upon; and we wish for tl'eir money. You h.ivp caused divisions amongst tho white people. The Queen has suid that she will protect us and our property. Give us our rights as Mtijects of ihe Qimi. Aie we children? Or are we "-laves, ih.il we nr. not allowed to dispose of our proprrty ? Friend Governor, you have pressed upon tiie Chiefs more than they can hear, and we have not opened our mouths ; l>ut they are not able to bear it longer. Girt; us laws like unto your own, that we may live peaceably and brotherly, lest we be jealous of each other. (< igncl by thiiteen native chiefs.)

Crown Lands Bill. On the motion of the Coloniil Secretary, Ihe iiill wit read a third time, ;ind passed.

ArruomiATioN Bill. On the motion of the Colonial Treasurer, the Bill whs read u third time, find passed. Crown TiTi<r.s Biu,. On the motion of the Attorney-General, the Council resumrd in Committee on thii Bill. Several of ihe clames were* further amended. On the motion that the Roy*! Confirmation Clause should itanii pact of the Bill, Mr. Merrimnn proposed, and Mr. Barstow seconded, that tho cluuse should be stiurk out. The Attornpy-Genernl would merely sny, that for the same reasons he hail given when proposing the bill for second reading, lie was still of opinion, ;md wished to ipeord it, that it would be belter to allow the clause to rrmiiiii part of the Ordinance. The Survcyor-Genem] thought, that ns the burthen of compensation to ndveise claimants had been placed upon the Und itself, there was now less reason than beloie th.it alteration that the clause should letnain. The Governor said, that under oilier circumstances lie should refuse his ns-cnt to the measure were this clause omitted, c-pcially aa the bill dealt so largely wth the Royal prerogatives ; but as large powers had been entitled to him to enable him to deal conclusively wiih these chitns, lie felt less hesitation in consenting to the clnu-»e beincj expunged. Still, he might say that, in Ins own opinion, t ne bill was better cs he brought it into th ■ Council thin in ihe shape in which the commitK" "ere abou! to leave it. lie had devoted more attention (o it thin to any other bill in the course of liih life ; it had been matter of deep concern to liim to muke iL comprehensively useful. Yet the Council bad done their be*t in cveiy unn rdmont to make it a public ben"l't ; he haidly knew tli'it he liad ever seen a legislative' body bestow ho much paitis upon n measure than thatCt.ui il liad given to this. Their own local cxpei ienre and bo'ter lcnowhdge of public opinion than he could li.ne, had girded them, he trusted, to biing the bill into Mich n form as would cive satisfaction. Mr Kcmpthorne wou'd eeriai/ily have prelened that the elame were allowed to rema n. The aniendinent was agreed to without ftnther op. position, and the clause was struck out- The Committee tl.cn adjourned.

Pensionfrs Bn.r.. On the motion of the Coloiiiul "•ecretnry, the Council resumed in Civrmiitec on this UH ; a new rlause was a^recl to ; die Committe adjourned, aad the report was bioiigi t up.

Native Lands. Mr. M< rrimnn moved that the rppovt of the Sub. Commit*, presented yesterday, thould be refcneJ back to that Committee, in order that certain alterations suggested by the Governor might be made. The Report was referred back accordingly, and, after being amended, was adopted by the Council. (The Report has been deferred, so that wp may give his Excellency's leply along witli it in our next.) The Governor said that he would read a written reply to the report on the following day. His Excellency then said that there was one subject connected wilh the sale ol Crown Lands, on which he wou'd wnh to have the opinion of the Council before the close of the scßsion, winch was, whether it was agrernble to the public that immediate payment in cash should be continued as one of the terms of sale — -or whether the iormer system of ten per cent, deposit, the tcmnindci payable in a month, would be prciencd. The alteration had been m title without his advice being token, but he believed it was done to prevent competition by those who bought for other purposci tlun those of occupation. When only a tenth of the purchase was required :il the time, it was supposed that persons would bid in hopes of selling, within the month, at an advance to the purchaser of adjoining lots. He believed the. alteration originated in a desire to promote the public good ; but it would be quite at their option to p.opose that it should be reverted to. Severs! notices of motion were given for FriJayTlie Governor said he had received a letter from Mr. J. S. Polack, gtaiing that he had been ready on l the d.iy before to be heard at the bar in mpport of his claim, and was only waiting to be summoned, lie ■ now lequested to be heard, either by attorney or in person, before the Council. His Excellency then proposed that he should be heard. The Attorney- General leconded the motion. The Governor called for a division, which took pluce, : when the motion was rejected by a mujority ot nine members. The Council then adjourned until two o'clock on Friday.

Friday, August 24. Present: The Governor and nine members. The uiu>il prayers were rend, anil the minutes of last meeting confirmed. Mr. Burs tow presented a petition from Edward Mcunint. relative to a piece of land in the vicinity oi Auckland, wluoli had been given to hu wife (a nauve wonrmn) by her relatives, as a marringo portion, but which had afterwards been claimed by the Government as Demesne Land of the Crown. Ou the motion of tlio honorable member, sreonded by Lieutenant-Colonel llulme, the petition

tra3 read and received. Mr. Barstow moved that it nhould tie printed, when Tlie Governor objected, staling that the Council should not give their sanction to the publication of a document containing, as the present petition did, a lerious olinrge against a Government officer. Mr. Bamtow hid authority from the petitioner to alter any phrase in the petition that might cause nny objection to its being received. Tlip Governor thought that if that were allowed, it might then be con sitU red as the honourable member's petition. The Attorney- General must object to put the public to the expense of punting petition*, unless good renson could be "-howTi why they should be primed. It had become quite customary in the Council for members who presented petitions to move for them to be printed, without assisting any specific reason for it. Mr. Kempthorne would certainly wish to see the petition printed. It was one of much importance, and hi' could see no objection to the proposition. Mr Mcitim.ui thought, that if Mr. Bar«tow had any motion to lound upon the petition, thpre was then good reason for piintmg it* lie could sec no seiious charge in it against nny Government officer, and if the petition was to he made the ground of any motion, he thought that momhfis should have it in their hniii's. Mr. Hnrstow intended to have brought the subject of the petition under consideration of the Council on the next ulay. lie thorn-lit, that as every petition hitherto received whs ordered to be punted, the At-torney-General's objection should not be ruised against this one. The Governor did not think the petition was such a one ns should even have bean received by the Council, containing, as it did, charges against Government officers that should have been made to the Executive Government. It lied become the practice, now as the Council was drawing to a close, to present petitions containing charges of a private nature that could only be met by the Go v ernmenr, and which it was not the duty of the Council to consider. Mr. Barstow thought that, as thin was likely to be the last petition that would be presented to the Council, it would look like making invidious distinctions to refuse to print it. The document would only be take for what it was worth, and would not appear as emanating from the Council, as the petitioner's nime was appended to it. Besides, the subject of it was not merely of private but of public nature, and might be considered of greater importance than in.my other petitions that had been presented. It involved the question of the rights of the half-caste portion of the population ; it was of importance to know what rights they were entitled to — whether Maori lights, English lights, or no rights whatever. The Colonid Secretary objected to the motion. He thought th«t the Council should not entertain such charges as were contained in the petition. It was certainly not the province of the Council to do so ; it wainot a Commibßioner's Court to exumme chums to land. The Govci nor thought that the Council should decline to interfere in charges brought by one Government officer against another. Such complaints should only be dealt with by the Executive Council. It would be most unlortunalc for the public service were the legislature to receive complaints of tliM kind. He, for one, would retire from a service in which such a state of things were allowed. The Council ought not to forget its dignity by sanctioning utiything approaching to such a practice. With respect to other complaints of the petitioner it was the busimsMof tie Supreme Court to hear them, and to see tint the petitioners nglitß should not be infringed. Alter Kcveiul other icmuiks from the Colonial Secretary, the Governor, and Mr. Merrimun, Mr. IJ.iHtow snd that he had only received the petition fiom the hinds ol the petitioner a short lime before the Council met, and had not time to examine it with the petitioner ; but as he know it to represent the wishes ot the petitioner, and as every non-official member seemed willing to have it printed, he would pros 1 * Ins motion. The Governor thought, that after what had beeu said, the unofficial members would not now support the motion Mr. Kcmpthornc suul, that ceitninly as the petition cast imputations upou Government officers that were pei Imps contiary to fact, he thought it would be hardly right to piint it. The Council should not consent to print any thing but what they thought to be matter of fact. Strangers were ordered to withdraw, and on being admitted, the Governor announced the result of the division to be — For the motion 4 Against it G

Crowns Tm,r,s Him,. On the motion of the Attorney-General this bill was reconsidered in committee, and after a few alterations had been made in it, the Report was brought up.

Pensions Bill, On the motion of the Colonial Secretary, tliii Bill was lead a third time und passed. On the motion of Mr. Me mm an, a correspondence that took place between W. S. Grahame, Esq., and tho Colonial Secretary, relative to duties upon articles imported for ship-building purpoies, was read to the Council. Mr. Barstow then gave notice that, on Saturday, he would move for a Committee of the whole Council to take into conMilfration the question of ihe rights and privileges oi hulf-caate child en. Mr. Merrimnn g.ive notice that, on Saturday, he would move that the Council do go into Committee to juldress the Governor to introduce a bill to amend the Resident Magistrate's Court Ordinance. The Governor said Hint he had been unable to prepare a reply to the Report of the Sub-Cominitfoe on Natives Lands, but that Ins would read it on the following d«y, The Council then adjourned until three o'clopk on Saturday.