HOUSE OF LORDS.—May 9. CONVICTS TO VAN DIEMLN'S LAND.

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 566, 17 September 1851, Page 3

HOUSE OF LORDS.— May 9. CONVICTS TO VAN DIEMLN 'S LAND.

Loitn L\ ii i i ion ios 1 to pioiout two petitions fiom Van Diemen's Lund, pmyiiig for the cessation of ttanspoitalion to iliat colony; ami after detailing the giievauee.s wine li the colonists RuHeied under the piesent sy-lom, called llio attention of tho Government (o llio necessity of supplying its place by some beltei uilangemon'. 'I ho Aucituisiior of Hum in could not fmbcai, ns the question oi lianspoitation was befoio the House, to give his testimony to tho excellent working of the refonnatoiy system now being c.iined out with iet;a)d to ciniiinals in lieland. ]Jut thoujjli our cfFoits at Jiorno ropiu luccobslul, lio was souy to t».iy that evoiytlun;; lie had lately lioaid tondi'd to piovo lint criminals could not be permanently leclaimed in our penal colonies. Lord d"\ \ ruitoiAtcd his niovious statement in denial oi li'i/in" promised cosbatiou. 110 duclaied that, o,\ii' Ie the d( m.iiul of Wobti'in Austi.ilia lor convict I, ' ' , tl'f c was ( vciy jiiobabihty that Cor tho (mi-jiiid" >\k '< onlhs Van i)i(Miiun's Land would not locivo onolialf llie mnubor of convicts .sent out (lining tho last six month*, of 1 !!.)(), and .djo obsoivcd: — " Van Diemen's hind possessed what bcaicely any other colony possessed — roiids i'i|ii!il to fiie ro:uh in (hn countiy. He need not tell them tlrttl.iuilityof communication w.ir, peihaps, of all tho instiiiineiilß ol civiluiUon the most jioweiful. It pobaossud, also ; advantages in (he supply of blvdled labour, ol which, in the giuat biukling that oininnenled Hyde I'niL, their loidships might sec an cuamplo, for, considenng its population, it made a better .show in that exhibition than any other colony thiit we possessed. Some ol' tho specimens of woik in wood from Van l)iempn'H Lnnd leilectcd the p^'eateht [lossiblo ciedit on no younij a community, (lleai , lioiu.) lleboliovedlb.it that colony w as likely to make veiv grentpiogiess; but, having had all the advantages of the penal f 3 yiitem, tho inhabitants of Van Dicmen'st Land weio not entitled to tain lound upon t!io mother country and s.iy, 'This system shall be discontinued piecisoly at tbe moment tliat nliall buit us, without any leieienco to your convenience.' 'I hat nppi\nod to be a pretension upon the pait of Van Diemen's Land winch was utteily unwarrantable ; for while it was the duty of the Government and o( L'.uliament to consult the mtoidsta and advantages ol Van Diuiuu's Land as Ini (u-i possible, at the same time it was only justice to the people of this countiy that their interests also should not be lost Bight of. (llpar, hear.) Alter Rome coiv^idciable discussion, ii> which tho Bishop of Oxioid, Lord IMontoiigle, llio Duke of Argyll, and Lord VVodehouse took jiait, tho suhjoct diopped, and their Lordshipa adjourned.

lIOUSFi OF COMMONS.— TuriDAY, 20m May. Sir W. Moi Lbwomif, in moving an addiess to Iho Crown, piaymgfoi the discontinuance of Uanspoitation lo Van Diemen's Land, lof cried lo tl>o petitions which li.id been prcsc ntod for its abolition, signed by tlie most rcspcctnblo and influential p< i 'oih in the colony, including tbo h< id , i>f tho list iblishod Church. Those petitions showed m striking i '>h>ui >*tlio evils by which the system ot trnii portaton Ind l>een attended, .mil that tlio Incvitublo ellect of it must 1)0 to weaken tbcioelinga ol conlulcnco and affection which liad once attached tlio colony lo llio molliur coiintiy. In tho autumn of last, year llnec most important public mootings h,\d been held in tlio colony, which iveio conclusive us to the slate of public feeling amongst the inhabitants. iSticli was the unhappy pu'dominanco of tlio cinmuiil elenient in the population, that thriT-fouiths of the adult males consisted at ono tiinu of poisons who hsi'l been convjets, and at present the piopoi'tion wns estimated at fourtenths. A nu.liij liuty of evils, both material and inoial, flowed ijnja iiu> influx of tiaiwpoitcd convicts — inteifeience with the mar Lot of fieo labor, (Icmoiahisation of feeling in bociely, and a feaiful prevalence of atrocious crimps. Such wan the peivei'HO insolence wlnc! r animated that el.iba, t lint they bad even thieat*nr;d to dnve out the free sottkrs as inlrudon. What eKe could be expected from such n system as was still obstiiriio^ peisevcied in, but llio election of a niminnl lopublic, with liheity of wiong-doing, equality of infamy, nnd fiateimty in guilt, 1 1 wag (or the, government to d< cide whether they would govern tlio inliab. ltantb of Van Diomeu's L.iud ia the manner best for our own inteiests. or lor theus. 'Was it fair to make that colony the cesspool of the Empire! Ministers had laid down a rulo thul convicts should not bp tiansporled to any of the colonies without tJic consent of their Legislatuio, but they peisislcd iv malcin« an exception as rejj aided Van l>iuinen's Land. Let the Ilous" lecollect that that colony, if well governed, would cost us nothing, whilst H would furnish abundant scope foi tbo employment of oui suiplus population, and extensive maikots for our mantifacluied pioduco from inexhaustible natural lesources. Mi. Humh seconded the motion. Sir G. Gin v said the greatei part of the aignnients adduced by tlio lion. Gentleman applied to transpoitation to evoiy oilier colony as well as Van Dienicn's Land, and it' the ifouso weie induced by them to tlio goneial di&coutiriiriuco of transportation, (hey vvonW havo (o decide what should he done with our cnnnn.'ils. Jt was truo that the P.H lumen tary Comii'iiteo of 10 10 condouuied the system of tinnsportatiou us it was cariied on at thaf tune; hut thoy Mi' !-,(: l'Couled tlioir opinion that tJie ultimato 't' a ill oi ciiminals to a novv spbeie, when. 1 they xni(<hf find a field for their lndustiy, instead of throwing them back into the mass of coimpt association in tins countiy, might be attained without iucuuing tboie specific evils of a very grave character to which the attention of the Committee was immediately directed. Since then the opinion of that House in favour of tlio modified continuance of the i-ystem of transposition had been lepeatodly oxpie.ssed in the clearest, t linns, and in 1847 and 11MK a Committee of the House of Louh also recorded their dehheiato opinion that tianspoitfition ought not to bo abandoned, lie called on the 1 louse theiefore, not to deal with the question in such a manner as (o rcndei it impossible (ov iho Government to carry into eflect the express und avowed opinions of both Houses of Paihament. jlu admitted tbat tJieio was a very gofioml desiro amongst the inhabitants to be freed from iho presencoof convicts, and some g'lound for dissatisfaction also, arising fiom the non-fulfilment of expectations held out in somo ofhcial communications. But tlio llonouiablo JJaronet over staled tho caao m saying that tho laith of the Government was pledged to (lie discontinuance of traiihpoit.'ition. Wh.U Govi'innwnL had promised wns, j that tiansporutiou, as earned on pievioutdy to 10 Id, should Jiot bo lestiinetl. Tlio evils desciibed by the llononiable Jjaionet arobo from the lnghtlul accumulation of convicts who had undo) gone no pieluninary piccoss of moial reformadon. Aliiimcd by tlio Jiwglit to winch ihcse had reached, ll«' Government of Sir i Hobert I'ecl detaiininoil to suspend ti,iiisj>oi tation to Vim Dwmim'ti Laud for two ycnii ; and the present j Government on coming into ofhre, m fonsequenco oi communications held <vnli their I'ledecessoi-., came at onco to ll hi conclusion of adbeimg to tJiat [lolicy. If any convicts bad anived in Vuu Diemon's ijiuul in , U-'fO oi 11(17, they must have been sent horn this ! connliy Ixioii" ihe di oisiou was formed, 'llw views j and nip ntions of (Jovennn-'nt, in i cfoi rjneo to (lie discon'iuu.iuce of tii'inspoitatKH' inuljodii'd in a dcipalch of iCiiil Gioy (') i i' \\ . Pen' 'in, weie ncessanly modified by tilt- |>mi"!,il (lil'kilim . oxpoiKMioed in cnirving tfieni into «'i' t, wlntli louhl only be fully known to t lias ■ \'l p o v\ei>> fh.ii^i'd uitli the lc-ijionsilnlity of < v ).iinumr n t')'i ('iimin.il I'iw'i. 11, il Giey did not say in in , lie ,p.> r I) tint it ifi'j cud oi tl n i> ye ai-> ti tnspott ition Aould not Ij' 1 lesumed, bill he di tinctly pointed to what, the Guveinnu'iil idwajs hid m viow — the ultimate innival of convicts, ailii undi'i/.oii'jj a coui-jij di pen il di.cipliiie m this count) y, to the Aiiitiali in < ohiiiii i, (vluili picsf'iited piuiliai advanlaj 'J Joi dJi\tin^ then dvp 1 istyn, tmd conluu"u^ tho

icfoimatmnol eluinctei begun lieinio then airi\al there. ]t \\ .ib distinctly pioclaimed lhat the new mcJi^Hro tln'ii adopted was iin oxju'i uncut. Sir \\ . Deuisou put, netli.ipd a larger contu*i notion on tho sense of tiioso (locuinctits fhnn the. Government nntieipated tli.it lie would have done. There w»s not a Hontenoo in tl>P riiuo'-.pondi'iicc which could bo oou^tucd as nnioinise, binding tlio pledged faith ol the Government, Kill less oiiului" hituio Gou'inim tits or l'ai I laments, that ti-iinspoiliilioii should, und i no ciicumstuncus, bo lchtiiucd to Van Diomun's Lmd, or th.it that country should he made an excoption from llio other colonies. ]t had Ikhmi found nocoh&ary to discontinue the plan of sendinsj out convicts as <-\llos, the freedom horn nil control li.ivin;; led to c\ ds of which the colonists had :i )iwt right to complain ; nnd the S)Floin of tickct-of-le.ivo lmd bocn substituted, as uHommended by Sn W. Denison. Tito llij>lit lion liiuonet then olucid.itcd tlio wot King of the Hysstcm, and Iho ultoiationa which e^pL'llcn3o lmd bliowii to bo necessary, by cxtiacts, from the accounts tuinsnnttod by (lie Colonial Govornois. 'Iho UonKaionet had oxa^ointeri thoactual nuinbci of convicts to Van J)ioinon'3 Land; the numbor of niah' convicts sent ttince IUU), inclusively, was but 2 y, ■)!)(>. 01 that numbi-r no moio than 4,800 have been .scnlsinco 1»U». Last year, it was tiuo, a con-.idci.iblo number nuivod out— a larger iiumber than ought 1o have been sent, except undei pressing ncce Mty. Ho admitted thcro was much luason in the complaints of the colonists, and it wws tho intention of Government to give; oveiy puicticable lehef to Van Dicmeu'H Land. Thn lion Jkionot had spoken disparagingly of tho moral condition of the convicts under (lie new system; but all tho evidence of persons piatlu-ally acq\imntod with Us operation was ugaiiibt linn. It wan not to be assumed that transportation, can icd on under a totally dilloront form from that established Romo ycais ai^o, must nocessanly produco the same evils as hsid then sprung; up. From Western Aii-thiilu, and also fiom Moreton Uay, tlio Govennnent had received accounts which had led them to behove that th» introduction of convicts into those distiicts would bo attended with thn happiest effects, and that thoie GMatcd the best possible disposition on tho part of the inhabitants to receive them. Jt was necessary that the true condition of the colony should be made known, in oider that emigianta might not bo doteired by cxagfteiatcd statements. Jle hoped that llio 11 oust) would nor, by a hasty adoption of the resolution, impose on the Government greater diflicullics and cmbarrassmpnts than those which they had felt to exist in tlio sjstem heretofoie maintained. It was tho desire of tiio Government to act unpaili.dly, f.inly, and justly by the colonists, and to reconcile the interests of both countries in dealing with this snbjoct, Mr. Ansity then procooded to address the Houro, but bad made very Inllo progiess, when n count out took place, tho numbers present having dwindled to :33.

TiiArrAiuANnM. — In the House of Commons on the j^th May, Sir 11. Hull wished to nslc lm nohlo fi icml sit the head of the Government whether the archbishops ami bishops had taken any stops in pursuance of the letter addicsscd by the Secietnry of State to tho Archbisdiop of Ciintcrhuiy, for the purpose of suppressing certain pi notices in places of worship bolonging to the Kstabhshed Church ? and whether tho Bishop of London had taken, or waa about to talce, any legal pioceednigs against thoso who sanctioned what bia lordship called "hiafnonic performances" in the churched of hia diocese 1 Lord John Russell said that, in consequence of tho letter which hiH right honournl)le friend tho Socrot.uy of tho Homo Department addressed to the Archbishop of Cantei bury, tho Archbishop lcpliod, stating that ho would lay tho letter before tho bishops, and oall their attention to the subject. There was also at tho same tuuo un address issued by thebishopa to tho clergy of the Established Church, respecting tho practices to which tho honourable member had alluded. The Government had not heard anything further on tho subject from the Aichbishop, and ho could not, thoreforo, inform tho llouso what further steps tho bishops proposed to take. The House waB in possession of the guriei.il views of tho bishops and he did not think it would be possible or convenient that in every case ho should bo called upon to Btuto what stops particular btbliopa intended to take.