The New-Zealander.

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 563, 6 September 1851, Page 2

The New-Zealander.

Be just ami fear not : Let all the ends thou ainis't at, be Ihy Countiy's, Tlis God's, ,ukl Tiutli's.

AUCKLAND, SATURDAY, SEPT. 6, 1851.

Our readers have already been made acquainted with the principal features in the Charter of Incorporation for the newly erected Borough of Auckland; but, the document having paramount local interest, we this day publish a Supplement in order to give it in exienso, together with the very able and comprehensive explanatory despatcli from the Goveenor-in-Chief by which it has been accompanied. It is unnecessary that We should bespeak for these documents an attentive perusal ; our only desire is that they may be read without prejudice, and with a determination t 0 weigh their statements impartially. We do not indeed expect that this, or any other measure proceeding from Sir George Grey, will be received in some quar_ ters without cavil ; and we already hear notes of preparation for waging warfare against the Charter. It is not for us, who look upon it as a most liberal introduction of local self-government, to anticipate the objections which possibly may be urged by those who make hot haste to denounce it as a " sham," an ' oppression," and " a pretence ;" — or dog_ matically to pre-determine that we will pay no regard to such objections. On the contrary, we avow an entire willingness to give them our best consideration, and to acknowledge, if we should perceive, their force. We hold ourselves freely open, not only to conviction from without, but to the expression of any modified opinions on the whole matter -which we may form upon such closer examination of the various bearings of the Charter as its importance must lead us to bestow upon it. Meanwhile the reader is placed in circumstances to judge for himself how far the measure merits the unqualified condemnation expressed in such epithets as those we have referred to ; or how far it is, as we believe it to be, an extension of free institutions in the management of local affairs, so full and large that, if it appear faulty to any, it might be expected to seem so only to those who regard the country as not yet in a sufficiently advanced state to be entrusted with powers of self-government, — certainly not to those who have been the clamourous advocates of what they deem popular rights. Sir George Grey's despatch is a commentary of the utmost value upon the more technical language of the Proclamation, not only communicating a variety of important collateral information, but also developing the views and principles according to which the Charter has been framed. All who have cast their lot in this district must feel a lively personal interest in a measure which, we are satisfied, is capable of being worked with great advantage to the whole community; and, let us add, which any who may cavil at it cannot now annul, or keep out of operation. It will, therefore, be the part of good citizens to address themselves to the useful task of

turning to the best account the privileges which it brings within tlic reach of the public at large. Wo also insert at much length a Report of the discussions in the Legislative Council on the Address to the Queen, praying for the adoption of an uniform system in the administration of the waste lands of the Crown. We are free to confess that we devote so large a portion of our space to this Report, mainly for tlio purpose of presenting, in its connexion, and without abridgment the speech of the AttorneyGeneral of New Zealand. This elaborate Address deals with the question of colonization, — especially as affecting this colony, and as illustrated by the reckless schemes and disastrous failures of the New Zealand Company in the past, and the indications which render it too probable that the Canterbury Association also " contains the elements of certain self-destruction" — with a fidelity, clearness, and cogency which give it a documentary value, and induce us to feel pleasure in placing tlie whole of it on record in our columns.

TfiE Simlah, from England the 2Gth April, arrived on Wednesday, having 1 been delayed by the necessity of putting into Hobart Town, in consequence of the mutinous conduct of part of her erew — the particulars of which will be found in our Shipping Intelligence. She brings the name of English news to the Bth of May? received at Hobarfc Town by way of Bahia and Melbourne ; but the abstract given contains nothing of the least importance in addition to what the Thames had previously placed in our possession. Her own mail, of course, does no more than h'll up the vacancy in our files intermediate between the papers by the JSorfolh and those by the Thames. The mass of journals now loading our table includes — amidst a great number of articles which would have had interest and value had we received them earlier, but which are now of little or no use — a considerable variety of intelligence which will repay perusal, as, from time to time, we may find opportunity to lay it before our readers, without excluding matter of more immediate importance. To-day we confine ourselves here to an attempt to present a view, so far as we can gather it from a comparison of the mulifarious statements before us, of the position occupied at the latest dates by the two leading questions, — the "Ministerial Crisis," and the AntiPapal- Aggression measure. We shall notice the latter first, as upon its fate the determination of the " crisis" would materially depend. No one fact is more obvious from the general tone of the press, than that there prevailed a very wide spread feeling of dissatisfaction with the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, especially in the amended, or rather emasculated, form in which the Govern^ ment were eventually desirous to carry it. Those who thought that there should be no legislation whatever on the subject, were not conciliated by the excisions which the Home Secretary announced ; and those who regarded the Bill, even as it originally stood, has but a feeble breakwater against the flood of Romish aggression — a miserable mus to be produced by the parturient mountain of Lord John Russell's letter the Bishop of Durham, — necessarily looked upon it with deepened disgust and contempt when the clauses which gave it its small degree of stringency were lopped j away. Sir Robert Inglis, in one of those terse phrases which ho sometimes strikes on so felicitously, gave apt expression to j this view when he said that, at first the measure was only milk and water, but now the milk was taken out of it. Many who | voted for the second reading did so with | the avowed intention of endeavouring to improve the Bill in committee, by at least | the restoration of the omitted clauses, if not by the introduction of new and more vigorous provisions. The primarily imj minent struggle was to be on amendments of which Mr. Walpole, member for Midhurst, had given notice, and which, it was alledged, would have the support of the entire Stanley party, amongst whom the learned gentleman stands so high that it was thought, should they come into power, he would be appointed Attorney or Solicitor General. To the first amendment, indeed, — which simply declared the Papal rescript, and all authority and title conferred by it, unlawful and void— Lord John Russell stated that he had no objection in principle, although he thought that its object would be better effected by the recital in the preamble of his Bill ; but his Lordship added, "As to the other amendments proposed by thehon. gentleman, the government, after full consideration of the matter, came to the conclusion that they could not agree to them." It was proposed in these amendments to punnish, with fine for the first offence and deportation from the countiy for the secoud, the exercise of any jurisdiction over any part of the United Kingdom by virtue of the Papal Brief; or the future publication of any similar instrument or writing from the Bishop or See of Rome. As we shall probably hear more of these amendments, it may bo woll to give them in the Mover's

own words. Mr. Walpole proposes to enact that if any person " Shall do, or assume to ilo, any aci, deed, matter, or thing under or by virtue of tbeaforetviid liner, Rescupt, 01 Letteis Apostolical ; or if any peison hhill heieafter obtain, or cause to be procured fiom the said Bishop or See oi Rome, or sball publish or put in use within any part of the United Kingdom, any Brief, Rescript, or Letteis Apostolical 01 any othoi instrument or writing of or to such or the like nature aud effect as the aforesaid Bnpf, Rescript, or Letteis Apostolical; or if any person shall under pi etence of any authority from the said Bishop or See of Rome, assume or claim to have or exercise any authority, jurisdiction, or power over any province, diocese, district or tenitory, or any pretended province, diocese, district or teiritory, within the United Kingdom," — . 'J hen follow the penal words, — '* Every such person shall be deemed to be an offender under tins act, and being lawfully convicted of any of tbo offences hereinbefore mentioned he shall forfeit and pay for the first offence the penalty or sum of £ , to be recovered by action of debt, at the suit of any person iv one of Her Majesty's Suppnor courts of law- ; and for ths second oflence in addition to die penalty of 10U/. so lecovered as aforesaid, be shall be adjudged to cUpatt out of this realm witbin a time to be limited in such judgment; and if he shall be found theiem after such (ime in such judgment limited, it shall be lawful for Uer Majesty's Secretary of State for the Homo Depaitment, by wanant under his band and seal, to give such person in chaige of one of Pier Majesty's Messenger-., or of such otber person or persons to whom he shall think fit to dnect such wiriant, in order to his being conducted out of the Kingdom iv such manner as shall be suitable to his character and station." It was not probable, on tlie "whole, that the Bill would pass without being moulded, by the pressure from without as well as by the plastic power in action within Parliament, into some shape more accordant with the wishes of the great bulk of Protestant England. Should it have passed in that mutilated form, however, it is difficult to see what good it could accomplish worthy of being compared with the discontent it would excite even in the most opposite I parties. The Roman Catholics would (and by j their chief parliamentary and priestly orators already did) denounce it as an insult andja grievance,— a cruel revival of the penal laws, — an interference with their Church which was to be denounced and resisted always and by all means; while the Protestant majority of the nation would view it with mingled contempt and indignation as an imbecile pretence without any reality of security against Papal Intrusion, — a cowardly recalcitration from the principles ostentatiously avowed in the Premier's first declaration, — one of the most egregious shams that this age of political shams has produced. The fate of the Russell administration would undoubtedly depend to a great extent upon the issue of this amorphous piece of legislation. But even if it were out of the way, difficulties would still hem them in on every side. Their defeat on the first night of committee on the Income Tax was probably only the forerunner of additional discomfitures on that and other measures ; and indeed their existence as a government so palpably rested upon the mere sufferance of the House, that there would be nothing surprising in their being left, at any hour, or on any question, in a disgraceful minority. The latest rumour we have met with was one to which the John Bull gave currency — that "notwithstanding Lord Torrington's defence of himself in t the House of Lords, Lord John Russell I and his colleagues have no faith in the motion on the affairs of Ceylon, and have made up their minds to die at last under that Damocles' sword so long suspended over their heads." The opinion prevailed that Lord Stanley's tactics were to permit Lord John to struggle as he might through the inevitable difficulties of the most embarrassing measures, and then to gather his strength for an assault which would once more drive the Whig Cabinet from power, and again place within his own reach the formation of a Protectionist Administration, — a task which he and his friends declared he could now accomplish, notwithstanding his recent confessed failure. Others thought that his Lordship was only gratifying his party by pretending to seek a station the responsibilities of which he would be most reluctant to assume in reality. This is the view forcibly urged in a striking letter in the Spectator, written, (so the Editor states), "by a shrewd observer of men and politics, to a friend at a distance," and which, judging from internal evidence, we should conjecture to be from the pen of Thomas Carlyle. He believes, on the one hand, that " Lord John never intended to retire altogether, but only made a party move in resigning, with a view of whipping the ' Advanced Liberals' into subordination, and perhaps of bothering Stanley by forcing him to exhibit the utter official weakness of his party ;" and, on the other, that " Stanley hates work and fears responsibility so much as to be incapable of undertaking a task of excessive labour and responsibility ; for let us remark further, that he would not have a single colleague fit to share with him the troubles of governing ; it is difficult to conceive a Premiership more onerous than his would be." The writer winds up with the following Latter Day Pamphlet denunciation of the "shams" of all parties and foreshadowing of the evils in which they may eventuate : — " So according to this theory, all the shams of the last four years are revived, — the Whig sbnm of doing battle for Free Tmde, which is not in the slightest danger ; the Stanley sbam of fighting for Protection, which is dead and gone ; the Radical sham of supporting the Whigs against impossible reaction, and pursuing a Liberal policy winch baa no definite existence; and the Peehte sbam of abstinence iiom damaging the Government by a nval policy, when in liuth theie is no such policy, nor any policy, m the mind of any one of tbendbelents of the dead statesman, who, with all their official and debating ability, appear to be as destitute of giasp

and self-reluncp as Russell or Stanley. Uovr long it may all la^t, nho shall venture to guess?? In what manner it may break up, would be still moi-e difficult to conjecture. But 1 think one should be safe in aayiug that it is degrading all authority and undermining many insulations, and in predicting that the result will be a storm or" the destructive l.uid. Without attempting to look so far forward, I only stick to my doctrine of Stanley's insuperable love of ease and fear of responsibility, together with his admirable skill in pretending to his party that he means to bring them into power." The opinion that Lord Stanlry -would shrink from the responsibility of office may possibly be true, but it certainly is not in accordance with the popular estimate of his Lordship's character, which attributes to him energy, impetuosity, and self reliance, rather than cowering timidity or distrust of his own resources. Meanwhile it may interest some of our readers to sec the programme of a STANLEY Ministry, as it was put forth during the Easter recess by the London Morning Herald, a journal supposed to be, more than any other of the morning papers, in the confidence of the party, and therefore likely to give some approximation to the scheme then in their contemplation. First Lord of the Treasury, Lord Stanley ; Lord President of tne Council, the Duke of Richmond; Lord Chancellor, Sir E. Sugden ; Lord Privy Seal, the Earl of Malmesbury ; Chancellor of the Exchequer Mr. T. Baring ; Home Secretary, Sir J. Buller ; Foreign Secretary Lord Elleneorough ; Colonial Secretary, Mr. D'lsraeli; First Lord of the Admiralty, the Duke of Northumberland I President of the Board of Control, Lord HoTHAM; Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests, Lord Lonsdale; President of the Board of Trade, Mr. Herries; Postmaster-General, Lord Glengal; Sec-retary-at-War, Lord John Manners.... Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the Marquis of Salisbury ; Chief Secretary, Mr. G. A. Hamilton; Under Secretary, Mr. James Martin; Lord Chancellor, Mr. Blackburne. It would be waste of words to enter seriously upon a consideration of appointments wliich may never take place ; but we cannot help remarking on the extraordinary nominations for the offi ce that most directly concerns ourselves. In most of the other nomination, those who are acquainted with the politics and the men of the last twenty years can see some fitness, real or imputed, to warrant their being selected for the respective offices, considering the great paucity of presentable statesmen in the ranks from which they were to be chosen ; but it would puzzle a conjuror to discover on what grounds Mr. D'lsraeli should be chosen for the government of the Colonies, — unless that he must be fixed somewhere, and that the colonies might be expected to receive with a degree of grateful acquiescence any change that relieved them from Lord Grey.

Our Hobart Town dates by the Simlah are to the 20th ultimo. They contain a few items of news worth noting. A meeting of the friends of Sir William Denison's Government had been held to congratulate him on his return to the seat of Government, after a journey through the Island. The Address, (which was adopted after some opposition in which a Mr. Wright was the most conspicuous actor) made especially laudatory reference to His Excellences "exertions to develope the resources of this rising Colony, and the toil regulated by a well-ordered ability, which he has in the management of the Public Works of this Colony, invariably displayed." Practical usefulness of this kind is a grand secret of popularity. Many -who are vehemently opposed to Sir W. Denison's political administration, admit and admire his zeal and liberality in forwarding really valuable public workß. A subscription list was opened to defray the expenses connected with the erection of a triumphal arch and other preparations for His Excellences reception. Let us hope, however, that the Tasmanians will pay for their display in this instance, better than they did for their rejoicings on tteh c passing of the Australian Colonies Bill, as we perceived that the " Demonstration Committee" are still unable to collect from the subscribers money enough to discharge the debts incurred on that occasion. The " Tasmanian Female Immigration Association," — on receiving intelligence that the Emigration Commissioners had engaged the JBeulah to convey to the Colony two hundred free immigrants, (of whom about one hundred and fifty are young females, chiefly from Ireland) — had applied to the Lieutenant- Governor to sanction the payment from the land fund of the cost of supporting the immigrants until their transference to services. His Excellency had readily consented, and had also approved of the Association taking upon itself, in conjunction with'^tli© Immigration Officer, Captain King, the exclusive management of the immigrants. A corresponding arrangement would be made respecting the expected Shetland women, who, it appears, were not to embark until June or July. The prices in the Hobart Town Markets on the 19th of August were, Wheat 10s. per bushel, and expected to advance ; Flour £25 per ton ; Potatoes £23 per ton ; Bread sd. the 2lbs loaf. At Launceston, on the 16th, Wheat was 10s. and Flour £24 to £25. The market had been rendered firm by news from the Mauritius that Wheat was selling there at 13s. 6d. per bushel, and Flour at £52 per ton. We have by this route news from the Cape of Good, Hope to the 7th of June, which will be found in our other columns. We regret to find that the Kaffir War not only continued, but that the insurgents had obtained some advantages over our forces, and that the immediate prospect of affairs was far from satisfactory.

Auckxakd Freehold Laxd Societt. — A Meeting of Shareholders was hekl at tlic Me^

chanics' Institute last evening, at which officers were appointed, and other necessary steps taken foi* carrying forward the affairs of the Society. The project promises to be successful, upwards of ninety shares having been already subscribed for. Auckland Auxiliary Bible Society. — It -will afford pleasure to the friends and supporters of this Association to learn that, — in response to a communication in October last, in which £50 was remitted from Auckland to the Parent Society — . a consignment of two cases, containing more than a thousand copies of the Scriptures has just been received here for circulation under the direction of the Local Committee.