CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 384, 19 December 1849, Page 3

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

Having acquainted our readers as to the determination of Sir Harry Smith with respect to the disposal of the prisoners by the Neptune, we now furnish the proclamation in which he made known his purpose. —

PROCLAMATION. Whbrbas I have this day been urged, by* large and influential number of the citizens of Cape Towu, not to allow the Neptune, transport ship, now expected with convict! from Bermuda, to anchor or remain in the waters of this colony, hut on the contrary, to send the said ibip, with the said convicts (o England, consigned to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State, And whereas this singular, not to say startling, demand appears to be founded on the opinion that the said convicts will bring with them to thi« colony, and upon their arrival here will posseis a right capable of being asserted by process of law, to be set free, either absolutely, or with certain restrictions, from personal restraint : And whereas such an opinion, if entertained by me, would, so far from inducing me to take the course suggested, necessarily withhold me from taking that course, inasmuch as I, who here represent Her Majesty, the guardian md protector of the law, could not, nor would, resort to force to send out of this colony the laid convicts, or any other of Her Majeity's subjects, there being and entitled to freedom, without tho warrant and authority of law : And whereas I am advised, ia point of law, that, according to the true meaning and construction of the several Acts of Par*

liament in force concerni»g transportation, no " ticket* ofrleave," or other instrument of a like nature, having the force of law within this colony, or legally entitling any convict to conditional freedom within this colony, could be isiued by the authoiity of the Governor or any other functionary of Bermuda . And whereas I am also advised, not only that no " tickers-of leave" could lawfully be issued for this colony at P.ermudi, but that there is no Act of Parliament, Order in Council, or other instrument or thing now known of. or which can reasonably believed to be in existence, by force or virtue of which any convict on board the Neptunp could by legal process require me, as Govern r ol the Cape of Good Hope, to grant to him a ticket of leave, or, on my refusal entitle him to demand, ai of legal rght, the'same privileges which he would havo been entitled to had a ticket of leave been granted to him : And whereas lam further advised that the true state and condition of the convicts aforesaid, upon their arrival, willjbe such, tiiat it would, under ordinary circumstances, have been my duty, after rigidly investigating the conduct of the convicts during the voyage, to withhold tickets of leave from those only who, by misconduct during the voyage, had shoiva themselves undeseiviug of that favour; but that, in law, the issue of a ticket of leave by me is not imperative, but discredonary ; while, until the ticket of leave be granted by tne, the convict awaiting it remains a convict under sentence of transportation, whose labour is, by law, not at hit owu disposal, but at the disposal of the Governor of the settlement to which, under Order in Council, the coi'vic', <"s oomeyoJ : And wherpus the nature and object of ",i lnM<t {-leave" were to bontfii well com a tul nmn,,, hy eo-ilmiig them to earn their own 1-vdfhood k) :<>AMg tae masters willing to employ them a* peaceful Tt:u >c „ of a peaceful soci'ty. Ann vvLe-«. s the universal repugnance of the inhabitants of ili.s coloi.y t0 leceive employ, assist, or tolerate any cornier l.udud vurier * ticket oMexve has been 10 unequivocally mannered, and the imminent danger to which any iu.;l> convict would be exposed from popular excesses, which the humane and considerate would be unable to ren train, it so apparent, that I should not be justified in insuring ttckets-of-leave, even if the convicts themselves were so mistaken ao to desire them :— Now, therefore, I do hereby Proclaim, Declare, and Make Kn»wn, foe genet al information, the several matters following, that is to say — First,— That it is my intention, for the reasoni already stated, to withhold tickets-of-leave from the con vie is expected by the Neptune. Secondly,— That unless I should, by the Neptune or otherwise, receive instructions or authority from the Secretaty of State to despatch the convicts in question to some other settlement* I shall cause arrangements to be made for keeping them on board some ship or ship* in Simon's Bay, until I shall hare learned Her Majesty's gracious pleasure relative to their ultimate destination. Thirdly,— That, pending the announcement of Her Majesty's pleasure, no communication between the convicts and the land will be allowed, save for the purpose of supplying food and religious and moral teaching, except in case of sickness, when it may be necessary to remove the sufferer to hospital on shore* Fourthly, — That this detention, which, however distressing to the convicts, is absolutely ioditpensible to their personal safety, will as much as possible bs alleviated, and be arranged so as to preserve or promote habits of industry and order, and disappoint as little as c rcumstances will psrmit the favourable intern tions of Her Majesty in their behalf. Fifthly, — That whiltt I am thus prepared to exert to the utmost every power belonging to my office for the purpose of allaying the alarm and distress which the «lea of landing the convicts in question has so powerfully excited, it is, at the tame time, to be clearly understood that all my powers in reference to these men are bounded by the limits of this colony,— that I have no right, or pretence of right, to send thesH to England, or any other pluce, and that to take such a course would render the confinement of the convicts on the high seas wholly wrongful and illegal, and would, in law, justify them to take life in the assertion of their liberty. Sixthly,— That I a-n the mire withheld from the acfi of unlawful force which I have been called upon to do, because I am convinced that the revocation of the late orders in Council, m'lkm* this colony a penal settlement, an object to which the hearts and hopes of all Her Majesty's subjects in this colony, (and of no one more thau mysel/), are now directed, would be retarded, rather than promoted, by a proceeding contrary to law, and mt needed in order to keep the convicts from landing, pending the announcement of Her Majesty's gracious pleasure ; and a proceeding, moreover, which, though recommended for my adoption in a loyal and obedient spirit, might appear to be wanting in due reverence for the authority of the Crown and Parliament of Great Britain. God Save The Queen !