RESOLUTIONS OF THE SETTLERS' CONSTITUTIONAL ASSOCIATION.

New Zealander, Volume 8, Issue 620, 24 March 1852, Page 3

RESOLUTIONS OF THE SETTLERS' CONSTITUTIONAL ASSOCIATION.

At a Meeting of this Association held on the 18th February, the following Resolutions were adopted :—: — Dr. Feather&ton moved the adoption of the first resolution, which was> seconded by Mr. Blyth, and carried unanimously — 1. That this Association, having carefully perused Earl Grey's despatch (of the Btb August, 1851) to Governor Grey, in which his Lordship instructs his Excellency to ascertain the opinions of the settlers o r i the various points connected with the Land Qupsdon, gladly avail themselves of the opening thus afforded them, both of putting her Majesty's Government fully in possession of their views and wishes on the matters alluded to by Eail Grey, and also of making suggestions for their determination and fin.il adjustment. This Association would, however, at the outset, venture \ c y respectfully to remind Earl Grey, that, inasmuch as the colonists of New Zealand have had no voice in the management of their own affairs — as they have been debarred fiom exercising the slightest contiol over the acts, whether of the New Zealand Company, the Colonial Office, or the Loc.il Government, they can neither be held responsible for the difficulties and embarrassments with which every question relating to this colony is beset and surrounded, nor fairly be called upon to suffer the penalties, entailed by measures, against which they have so uniformly, but in vain, protested. Fuither, this Association deem it incumbent upon them to state, that the suggestions which they submit in the following Resolutions to his Loidslnp's consideration, in regard to the Company's debt, to the Minimum upset puce, to the Company's " Terms of Purchase," &c, are made upon the understanding, and undei the firm belief, tint her Alajesty's Government, will during the present Session of Pailiament, have redeemed its pledge, and have conferred upon New Zealand a Constitution, which, if not in entire unison with the opinions and wishes of the colonists, as conveyed in the Draft of a Constitution which they last year transmitted to her Majesty's Ministers by ftlr. Fox, tlaeir political Agent, will at all events be such, as to bestow upon them not the semblance, but the substance of Self-Government, and that the application of the various remedies proposed for the present evils will be left to the future Colonial Representative Lt'»islature, the intervention of the Impeiial Pailiament being strictly limited, to confening upon such Legislature, the powers necesssary to give effect to, and carry out tlae arrangements now suggested. The second resolution was proposed by Captain Danniel, J. P., seconded by Mr. John M'Beith and carried unanimously :—: — 2. That in reference to the New Zealand Company's debt, this A-sociation bearing in mind the following facts, viz. : that, the Colonists have had no part in contracting that debt, and cannot be proved to have received any adequate return for, or to have derived any benefit from it — that the Company have repeatedly admitted that the funds placed at its disposal, whether by its own sh.nebolders, the land purchasers, or the Imperial Parliament have been frittered away that to quote (see 20th Repoit) the Company's own words, the funds thus placed in their hands " have been wasted in merely ptetending to carry out the objects of their Charter," "in maintaining establishments at home and abroad, which were rendeied useless by the want of a Crown Title to their lands" — that •' their expenditure went on without benefit to any body," — and that " of the functions attributed to them by their Charter, not one was perfoimed by them;" beaiing in mind, further; that of the £156,000 granted during the last three jeais by Parliament to the Company, not more than £20,84.1 have been expended on Emigration — that the sums furnished by the Purchasers of Land, would, if econoomically administered, have introduced double or tieble the amount of population, w Inch has been introduced by the Company, — and lastly, that both the Directors and the home Government have invariably admitted, that the Coloni&ts have been the chief sufferers from the " Unhappy differences" between the Company and the Colonial Office, conceive, that it is not only manifestly unjust to impose the Company's debt upon the Colony, t-ilher as a mortgage upon the Waste Lands, or as a charge upon the Revenue, but that it ought to be paid by the Impeiial Government, more especially seeing, that Eail Grey himself admits that the difficulties and losses of the Company are mainly attributable to the acts of the Government, and " to the serious errors committed in the gemr.il administration of the Colony." The third resolution was moved by Kenneth Bethune, Esq., seconded by Mr. Thomas M'Kenzie, and carried unanimously :—: — 3. That while, however, this Association denies and repudiates the liability of the colonists to pay the Company's debt — while they are aware, equally with the Directois themselves, that the present mortgage affords no adequate security for the payment of the debt, and that, under the agreement of 1817 and under the existing restrictions as to the sale of land, the colonists might defy the Company to obtain, for many years to come, (he payment of the interest, still less the redemption of any portion of the principal of the debt, yet they fiankly avow that, they are so fully conscious of the utter hopelessness of any ai tempt on their psut, to relieve the colony from a Mortgage sanctioned and miposi d by Pailiament — are so satisfied, that the existence of any such hen, will prevent them fiom dealing in any way with the Waste Lands, and will oppose a senous banier to the wellare and future progress of the colony, and above all, that (hey consider it an object of such paramom t importance, that there should be, henceforth, no interference in the internal aff.uis of the colony, either on the part of the Home Government, the New Zealand Company, or any other Associations that they are willing to consent to considerable sacrifices, if they can Buugest a scheme for the final adjustment of the Company's claims, nnd the other matters at issue, which while it shall prove satisfactory to the Company acceptable to her Majesty's Government, shall yet, not impose upon the colony buidens altogether beyond its resources. The fourth Resolution was moved by Mr. Revans, by Mr. Allen, and carried unanimously :—: — 4. That after having maturely weighed the subject in all its bearings, and carefully considered the various propositions made in regard to it by the Company, this Association tvoulcl with an earnest deaire to brm«j the matter to a clo&e without the necessity of further negociations or references between the respective parties propose the following plan for the final adjustment of the Company's claim, viz : — that the colonists of New Zealand (or the settlers of Wellington, in case the inhabitants of the other settlements should decline becoming parties to the scheme) should consent to the debt being made a charge upon their General Revenue, upon the following conditions — Ist. That the amount of the Debt be taken at £150,000, to boar interest at the rate of 3£ per cent, per annum, up to the period of its final liquidation. 2nd. That hencefoith the entire management of, and and control over all the Waste Lands of the Colony be vested in the Colonial Executive, responsible to the ! Representative Legislature. And 3rdly. That tho Company, upon having its 1 Dubt thus charged and satisfactorily guaranteed, at once surrender its present moitgage. In reference to the fust condition, this association would remark, that they consider the reduction of the Company's claim, to the amount mentioned, as only fair and reasonable, on the grounds — that the colonists will be called upon to puichaseund survey land in order to satisfy the Company's engagements with its land purchasers, that they will have to maintain, at a considerable annual expense, a staff of officials required chiefly for the purpose of preparing and issuing Ciown Titles to lands purchased of the Company twelve years sinee — and on the further giound that whuieas the Company, under the anangement of 184-7 agieed, in the event of iunendeiing its Chatter, to band over to the Government 1,073,000 acies, it lias during tbe last three years aher.atcd fulty 220,000, thus mailing the quantity of land to which it is at ptesent entitled only ' about 833,000 acrex, and theieby leducing its claim (at the late of .)>. an acre) to .£213,000. In iegaul to the second and third conditions, this Association would simply observe, that they constitute the s>ine qua non of '

the present suggestion, and that in the opinion of this Association, unless they be conceded, neither the present nor any other proposal to charge the Company's Debt upon the Revenue, will have a chance of being assented to or enter- tamed by the colonists. Mr. Biantlon moved the fifth resolution which was seconded by Mr. Brown, and carried unanimously. 6. l"ii at as the contiact, now suggested between the Imperial Government and tlie colony, involves mutual considerations, her Majesty's Ministers do propose to the Impeiial Parliament, an Act conveying to the Executive Government of New Zealand, subject to the control of the Representative Assembly, all the Waste Lands, &c, in consideration than an Ordinance of the legislature of New Zealand be passed assuming the debt of i. 150,000 and chaiging the same together with interest at the late of 3* per cent per annum upon the geneial revenue of tLe Colony. Mr. Kelham proposed the sixth resolution, which A\ab seconded by Mr. Quin and carried unanimously. — 6. That this Association desires to guard itself fn m being supposed de»nous of, either inteifeiing with the punciples upon winch feucb Settlements as Canterbury and Otago have been founded, or of committing their inhabitants, or those of any other Settlement to an appioval ot the plan above proposed. The Association wold however express its conviction, that tie scheme would be acceptable to the great majonty of the Colonists, and that the sums (under the name of vender's fund) for which the Associations of Canterbury and Otago were re-.pectively, onginally liible to the C )mpany, and are now liable to the Crown, would prove an ample equivalent for the exception of their districts fiom the proposed airangement, in case such exception should be desired. The seventh resolution was proposed by Mr. "W. B. Rhodes and seconded by Mr. James Smith.— 7. That this Association having stipulated in the above proposal, that the entire management of all the Waste Lands, should be vested in the Colonial Government would have deemed it unnecessary to have al'uded so the minimum upset price of land, had not Earl Giey so pointedly called the attention of the Settlers to the subject, aud intimated his wish to ascertain their views upon it. In compliance with his Lordship's request, this Association would therefore express not only their cordinl concurrence in his Lordship's opinion j —that it is utterly impracticable to tell land either at I the sum mentioned in the Company's terms of purchase I or at the pi ice of £l an acre established by the Act of Parliament entitled nn Act for regulating sale of Waste Lands, but would also express their conviction that the assent of the Colonists to the proposal to chaige the Company's debt upon the general revenue will only be given upon the understanding, that the Colonial Representative Legislature shall have full power to lower the present minimum upset puce. And in order to shew the impracticability and inexpediency of maintaining the £1 an acre system, this Association would respectfully submit the following observations for his Loidship's consideration ; Ist by refeience to the returns of the Land Sales in New South Wales, it appears, that in that Colony the aveiage demand of the three yeais j 1837-8-9 wa^ 322,330 acies at a piice of about ss. 2}rl. an acre that in 18-10 when the average price was 9s 9^d an acre the demand fell to 182,651 acres or not much more than half — and that in 1841 when the puce was neaily double that of 1840, the demand was less than half, being only 85039 acres. 2nd. Although the colony of South Australia was professedly established on the " high" or '' sufficient price" system, yet that the system was violated by attaching to each 80 acre rural section a town acre at the same price (viz. 125.) which was charged for the rural land; the value of the town acre being on the average equal to the whole amount paid for the accompanying rural section ; and the Commissioners, in one of their annual reports, admitted that had it not been for the '* bounty" of the town acres in Adelaide they could not have sold country land at l°2s. an acre, and the colony could not have been established. Sid. The Settlement of Wellington was also founded on the £l an acre system, but, as in the case of South Australia, a town acre was attached to each rural section of 100 acies, and it h notorious, that the value of these town acres have proved quite equal to the amount originally paid both for the town and countiy sections; in fact the Directois of the Company have avowed that their success in founding these Settlements was obtained by violating and setting aside the principles which they professed to cairj out, for, in thpiV petition to Parliament in 1815, thty said, " We attached to our lands a puce nominally high, but by making it the same for town as for country land--, and by disposing of both in eg al pioportions, section for section, we rendered it really low ." 4. The returns of the Company's Land Sales will show, that as soon as the Dnectors were unable to hold out the bait of town acies, they ceased to sell country lands. This Association would therefoie rppoat, that they entirely assent to the truth and justice of Earl Grey's remark " that considering the great amount of land in and near the settlements which is now in private hands, and can consequently be d'spoaed of at any pi ice, there is little or no piospect of completing the settlements on the original terms," or indeed (in the opinion of this Ai&ociation), of selling any amount of land for many years to come at £i an acte. The eighth resolution was proposed by Mr. W. Dorset and seconded by Mr. Revans. — 8. That with regard to the Company's •' Terms of Purchase," of March, 1819, which Earl Grey has been advised, constitute a contract between the Company and its Land Purchasers, and which consequently are held to the binding upon her Majesty's Government, this Association would observe, that no such contract ever existed between the Company and its Purchasers, but that the Company have invariably, in fixing and altering their " Terms of Purchase" done so without refeience either to the opinion or wishes of the lattei. In conoboration of thisa^seition, this Association would remind Eail Grey that the price of land in this settlement was originally £i an acre — that it was afterwards raised to 255., and subsequently incieased to £t an acre, without the Land Purchasers ever having been consulted in the matter ; and that even in the Terms of Purchase of 1849, ibe Directois declare that such Terms are only to be in force until further notice, thereby cleaily implying that the Company teserved to itself the sole right of altenng them whenever and as often as it might th nk fit. The ninth resolution excited considerable discussion ; it read when first proposed to the meeting as follows, but subsequently the latter part of it, which we have printed in brackets, was rejected — 9. That this Association regarding the Company's " Pastuiage Regulations" of March, 1849, as having been framed with no other object than that of compelling parties to puichase land — as calculated to crush and destroy the most lmpoitant interest of the colony — and as utteily opposed to the views and wishes of all classes — would protest most strongly against their being calk'd into operation ; and would on the other hand, earnestly urge ins Excellency the Governoi-m-Chxet to act upon aud carry out (at all events until the result of the present appeal to the Home Government be ki.own) those wise and judicious Regulations recently drawn up by himself, and which have met with such general appioval and acceptance. [Whilst however this Association gladly avails itself of the rare opportunity of expressing their sen-e of the wisdom of any of Sir G, Grey's measures, they feel bound to point out a practical defect in these legislations the general piinciplos of which they so cordially approve. Although the Squatting Regulations aie in the opinion of tins Association applicable to the mostpaitoi New Zealand, yet there are districts in which their operation would be manifestly unjust. The Association allude to suc'i distiicta as Rangitikei in which a considerable portion of laud has nl ready been purchased, and other similar districts. Iv this and similar districts, the intoiestH of puichaseis of crown land requite protection fiom the lnterfciencc of squatteis, ft ho do not own land, at the same time that the districts may not be ripe lor the introduction of the system of hundreds. This Association would suggest, in older to give every reasonable inducement to purchase lands of the crown, that in all districts where an amount not less than 15 per cent, of the whole acreage of the distiict should be actually purchased, the squatting privileges over all the waste landi of that disti ict should be granted rateably to owners of la id in that district, and to none otheis. This Association cannot forbear here to remark, that had the colony possessed a Assembly at the time of passing the above-mentioned Regulations, so glaring a neglect of local niteiests could not have occurnd without at least the protest of the membeis for the locahl'es niteie&ted.] The following addendum to Resolution 9, was subsequently moved by Mr. Brown, seconded by Mr. Blyth, and carried :: — ■ Which Regulations, however, require, in the opinion

of this Association, some modification in legaicl to partially settled districts, in older to protect the landowner against an undue inter feience 1 y the s-quatte. 1 . M>. Cliffoicl proposed the 10th resolution. — 10. That thus A-bOCiation regarding tLe proposa undni the Lind Claimants Ordinance (pasM d bv the late general Council) to allow the Absentee Pii'flm->eis, lo exchange their land and compensation Snip, for Government money Sciip, available as cash at a I future Land Sales — as confernng a most unfair and undue advantage upon the Absentees — as substitut d* an a't>gether diffeiont contract to that entered intobtt veen them and th-> Company— as repugnant to existing Acts of Pailiament— and as utterly subversive of the s hineh 'me now proposed for the final adjustment of the Company's claims, and for the tranbfereuce to the Local Government of the entire management of the Waste Lands, desire to record the feelings of gratification, with which they baveleaint Eail Grey's instruction to the Governor-m-Cbief, that he should cany out the original arrangement between the Absentees and the Company, and should at once specify and survey a di->tnct, within which the Absentees shall be required to select their lands within bix months, after notice shall have been given of such district being open ior selection ; and that this association would express their earnest hope that Ins Excellency will losp no time in complying with and cairying out Eail Grey's instillations on this point ; and this association would lemind his Excellency that it was an understanding with the late Colonel Wakefield, as Principal Agent of the New Zealand Company, that the Absentees should not be allowed to select land in any district that was awaided to the Rebidents. The resolution was seconded by Mr. Rowlands, and carried unanimously. Moved by Mr. M'Keiizie and seconded by Mr. Johnson, that — 11. That with respect to the other points touched upon by Earl Grey, viz : the fixing the Local Boundaries, " and the closing and determining the nffanV ot the various Settlements, this Ab&ociation deems it highly desiiable and important, that no decision should become to upon them, until the}' hu\o been submitted to the consideration of the Jature Representative Lcgislatuie. Moved by Mr. Revans and seconded by Mr. Marriott, and carried with one dissentient 12. That in the opinion of this Association, it would be a wise course for the Home Government to rai«o £200,000 on it 3 guarantee, and having paid over to the Company £150,000 in satisfaction of all its claims, to place the balance of £50,000 at the disposal of the Government of New Zealand, for the pui poses of purchasing land from the Natives, conducting the requisite surveys, and more especially of re-commencing colonization, which could now be carried on to the greatest possible advantage on the loan system, in the place of the wasteful and unproductive principle of granting fiee passages ; there being m the colony a large cla->sof responsible persons, who would readily avail themselves of the loan system, in order to biing out tbeir friends and relations. Moved by Mr. Brandon seconded by Mr. Bould.— 1.-5. That the provision in the Act of Parliament (1 1 and 15 Vie. c. 00) relating to Grants by her Majesty of Land purchased from the New Zealand Company is objectionable, inasmuch as the Giants to be issued under it, being clogged with conditions, all titles derived thereunder will be questionable and unceitain — on the other hand, the piovisions in that behalf contained in the ' New Zealand Company's Land Claimants' Bill,' while protecting sufficiently the interests ot' all parties concerned, decline that Grants to be issued thereunder shall be valid and effectual against her Majesty and all other persons, and thereby placing all titles on a simple and unquestionable basis, are greatly to be preferred. Moved by Mr. Edwards, seconded by Mr. Mcßeth— 14. That copies of the above Resolutions be tran— mitted to her Majesty's Government through the Governor-in-Chief, and Mr. Fox the Political Agent of this Settlement, and that Mr. Fox be requested to wait upon the Puncipal Secietary of State for the Colonies, and give any further explanation of the viewfa of the settlers that may be required. Moved by Captain Daniell seconded by Dr. Featherston and carried amidst loud applause. — 16. lhat the thanks of this Association aie eminently due, and aie heieby cordiilly awaided to Mr. Fox, the Political Agent of this settlement, and to Mr. Weld, for the zeil and ability with winch they have advocated the interests, of the settlers. Moved by Mr. Fitzherbert, seconded by Mr. Rcvans, and carried by acclamation, that the thanks of this meeting are eminently due to Dr. Featherston for the many and great services he has rendered this Association and the colony at large.