COUNCIL PAPERS.

New Zealander, Volume 8, Issue 680, 20 October 1852, Page 3

COUNCIL PAPERS.

Keceived by E. M. S. Austialian, 9th Sept. 1852. . (Copy.) Downmg-street, 2nd June, 1852. Sir, — I transmit to you a copy of a despatch, which I have addressed by the present mail to Lieutenant-Governor La Trobe, on the subject of the emergency created by the recent gold discoveries in that colony. I wish you to regard that portion of it which relates to the transfer of the revenues arming from licenses to gold diggers, or otherwise deiived from the gold, to the Legislature Council, as intended to apply to New South Wales as well as to Victoria. I do not think it. neces3ary to address you separately on the subject, inasmuch as 1 am aware of no difference between the circumstances of the two colonies, which should render those instructions inapplicable to the provinces under your immediate Government; I should, indeed, have adopted the course of addressing these instructions directly to yourself, as GovernorGeneral of the Australian colonies, but that the necessity of communicating more particularly with Lieutenant-Governor La Trobe, in consequence of the suddenness and severity of the difficulties in which he has been placed, appeared to render it more advisable to embody them in the general directions which it was necessary to give to him. I am, Sir, (Signed) John S. Pakington. To His Excellency Sir Charles Fitz Roy. To Lieutenant-Governor La Trobe. Downing-fetveet, J June 2, 1802. j Sir, — I fake the opportunity afforded by the i mail of this day, to communicate to you the further \ lews of her Majesty's Government rGspeti- ! ting the recent gold discoveries in Victoria, and the unforeseen difficulties in which the colony has been thereby placed. 2. Adverting to my despatch, headed " military," of the 14th ultimo, I have now to inform you that, on consideration of the serious nature of the emergency, and the delay which would be occasioned by sending troops from Ilong-kong, as therein proposed, her Majesty's Government have determined on altering the arrangement then contemplated, and intend to send a regiment direct from home for the service of Victoria and New South Wales, as soon as the necessary preparations can be made for their conveyance. Tho btvongtd of the regiment to be sent out will not be less j then GOO rani- and file, and the distribution of that | force which I before announced, viz., 400 men to | be stationed at Melbourne, and 200 men at Sydney, v. ill be adhered to. 3. Rofonnsx to what T then stated, as to the cost of the pay and subsistance of these troops, f wis'i to explain to you that her Majebty's Goyeminent expect that you will place tho&e items

on the estimates, and propose them to the Legislative Council, inasmuch us it appears impossible that this service can be charged to the unappropriated moiety of the Land Fund, which under existing circumstances, is already heavily burdened. 4 Referring again to the last paragraph of the same despatch (p. 37, pppors. May 19), and also to my own of the 30th April, and 14th ultimo, on the subject of desertion from merchant ves-i'ls, I have to direct you, in order to make available the assistance which her Majesty's ships will be ready to render towards checking such desertion, to communicate with the magistrates in Melbourne, directing them to concert with the officer in command such measures as they may think necessary under the powers vested in them by the Merchant Seaman's Act or otherwi&e. It will also be very desirable ns one important mode of increasing the power of naval officers to render assistance in this respect that you should grant commissions of the peace to such officers as the officer in command may designate to you for that purpose. 5. Her Majesty's Government have under their consideration whether it is desiiable that greater power than the law now gives should be confered, with a view to checking the prevalence of desertion : and you will be early informed of any de • cision on this subject. 6. It is also desirable that you should give such instructions to the Captain of Port as you may judge necessary in order to regulate the anchoring of mci chant and 'emigrant vessels in snch a position &nd at such distance from shore as the ollicere in command may recommend. I presume that your powers for this purpose are amply sufficient undei the local laws, especially the Act of New South Wales, 4th Vie., No. 4. 7. With respect to the police force at your disposal, I approve of the increase which you have thought proper to cause to be made on their pay, and also of your application to the LieutenantGovernor of Van Diemen's Land (as reported in your despatch, No. 7, of January 12th last), for the assistance of military pensioners, which i will I trust by this time have been rendered with advantage to the public service. 8. Her Majesty's Government are sanguine that the extreme exigency of the case, and the social dangers which must have arisen from the sudden disturbance of the ordinary condition of the colony, and the influx of emigiants from neighbouring parts, will ere this time have been met by the co-operation of the community at large with the Local Government for the purpose of maintaining order. 9. But they are anxious to afford such, further j assistance to you as the nature of the case per- j niits; and they are informed that any measures for improving the efficiency of the police in the colony, would bo at this moment of great value. 10. They believe that it will be practicable to obtain the services of selected men from the Irish mounted conatabulary force, and they are of opinion that the experience and high discipline of that force would enable men selected from it, to afford sufficient aid in the present state of the colonies; they therefore purpose, if they are able to make the necessary arrangements with the Irish Government to take upon themselves the responsibility of sending out to Melbourne, as soon as possible, a body of not less than JO pensioners, upon terms to be agreed upon here, and which they trust will bo willingly confirmed and carried out by the Legislative Council, under the financial arrangements to which I shall hereafter adveit. 11. On the receipt of any intimation from you, that the colony is desirous of further assistance of this nature, and stating thd manner in which you] propose to defray the expenses, they will be ready immediately, a 9 far as may be in their power, to meet your views. 12. I have also approved generally of the increase of pay to other public servants, as a measure rendeied indisp'insible by the situation in which you were placed. 13. With respect to the financial position of the colony, Iha\e great difficulty in conveying to you any specific directions as to the expenditure of the funds which may be at your command, in ! absence of full information (which, no doubt, it ] was out of your power to convey) as to the I appropriated moiety of the land fund which was at your disposal, after the heavy charges which you had found it necessary to lay upon it. 14. I find, however, that the colony had derived from licenses to dig for gold and from payment for escort, not less than ,£24,000 during the quarter ending December 31st, and there was apparently every probability of an increase under this head. 15. This fund will be legally at the disposal of the Crown; but Lord Grey, in his despatch of October 17th, to the Governor-General, expressed his concurrence in Sir Charles Fitz Roy's views, that the proceeds of such licences ought to be regarded as a fund principally if not exclusively, applicable to the expenses entailed on the colonial Government by the discovery. In this view I also concur. 16. It appears, however, to her Majesty's Government, that to meet the exigencies of the present occasion, the, most advantageous course which can be taken for the public service, will be to expend this fund under the advice of the Legislative Council of the" colony. 17. The arrangements to which I have above refered for increase military force and improved police, will impose additional burdens upon the finances of the colony, and those burdens will be created by the recent discoveries of gold : her Majesty's Go\ eminent consider it just that they should be defrayed by the revenue which those discoveries may yield. 18. I have therefore to instruct you to place this fund (after securing- whatever permanant charges you may have already placed on it) at the disposal, of the Legislature,' for their assistance in providing for the service of the colony, relying fully on that body for its application, along with other funds at their disposal, in such manner as best to assist the local government in conducting the affairs of the colony through the difficulties of the present crisis. 19. It will therefore be for the Legislative Council to fix the amount of fee at which licences should from time to time be granted. It will be for them in addition, to take into consideration the propriety of raising a revenue from the mineral produce of the colony, either by export duty on gold, or by royalty, or in any other manner which their local experience may suggest. 20. Leaving the subject of these several modes of raising a revenue to the consideration of the Legislative Council, I feel it the less incumbent on me to add any abservations of ray own, on a question which they will have the advantage of local knowledge in considering. It appears to me doubtful, however, whether the present system of licenses, although obviously open to the objections which you suggest as to the inequality with which it is felt, has not great advantages, both in respect of ease of collection, and also of itt> furnishing to some extent spontaneous aid to the maintenance of order and regularity among the miners, while it can scracely be considered as a hardship, that he who voluntarily encounters the chance of good or ill success, should contribute in the first instance towards an object so impoifant to all. 21. I need scarcely add, that the imposition of such a royalty is legal by virtue of the prerogative of the crown; on which head I refer you to the regulations alioady issued by the local government in New South Wsiles (esp<vi\i!ly those of August filli last) [Correspondence printed for Parli.iment, Grd February, p. G7] which regulations I.er M'ijcbly\ Government have been advised are legal. But the t>ame object can be effected by act of Ihe local legislature, with the a^ent of her Majesty, and you are authorised ju--cordiiigly t(. at.t.c'iit (in jour own discretion) to such acts as the leg isl.it si re may pass on the subject of the revenue derivable from the gold, with- j

out requiring the insertion of suspending clauses, unless where they appear to you, with the advice of your Executive Council, to be necessary, but subject (of course) to the ultimate power of clisallowanoe by the Crown. 22 It will be for her Majesty's Government to comitler v. bother the authoiity to you to deal in this maunc under present circumstances with the revenue derivable from gold shall be confirmed in more formal manner by a royal instruction ; but I have not deemed it necessary at present toincur the delay which the preparation of such an instrument would involve. 23. Her Majesty's Government further authorise generally the application by youi'self, wilh the adadvice of your Executive Council, of the unappropriated moiety of the land fund to the purposes rendered urgent by the present crisis, as far as this can be done without absolute inconvenience to the departments of the public service. They cannot but regret the resolution to which the Legislative Council appear to have arrived (as I judge from your despatch No. 53, of 3rd December last )( papers 25th April, p. 12) against applying the funds arising from the general revenue to the purpose of these extraordinary services. I trust, however, they will have seen reason to modify that resolution, judging, especially from the manner in which you report them in your despatch No. 7, of January 12th (papers 19th May, p. 6.) last to have made provision for the mail service of the colony. But you will bo fully aware that it is not in the power of her Majesty's Government, even if they considered that policy required such a course, to make, on their own authority, any concession to the views of the Legislative Council on this subject. The appropriation of the Land Fund is fixed by Acts of Parliament, and the policy of those Acts cannot be reconsidered without much deliberation. I am, however, especially anxious to a\ oid all controverted topics at a period so critical as the present, and therefore leave the subject in your hands, to be dealt with, subject to the foregoing instructions, as your judgement may dictate ; it being fully understood that her Majesty's Government would, in no event, be justified in calling on Parliament for assistance towards these extraordinary expenses, if the Land Fund should prove insufficient. 24. I must now advert to the question of emigration, and, in order that you may understand accui'ately what has been done, and is in progress, I think it desirable that I should go back to the time when the first intelligence of the gold discoveries was received in this country. 25. You are aware that the first despatches announcing those discoveries reached my predecessor in the month of September last. At that time the Emigration Commissioners were endeavoui'ing to send out about six ships in a month, of which two ships a month were to be despatched to Victoria, and two to South Australia. Only three ships in two months were to be sent to New South Wales, because the land revenue of that colony was charged with a considerable debt, — the revenue itself less productive than in the other colonies, and the funds available in this country of less amount. 26. But the despatch of the 18th July, which was received on the 14th November, having suggested that emigration to New South Wales, at the expense of the Colonial Revenue should be discontinued, my predecessor acted on that suggestion, and directed the Emigration Commissioners to stop the few ships which the funds at their command would have enabled them to despatch to Sydney. 27. But a few days after the arrival of that despatch a strong representation was made to the Emigration Commissioners by gentlemen interested in Victoria, and assuming to represent the views of the settlers there, urging the necessity of an increased emigration to that colony to supply the place of those who had deserted their employments for the gold fields of New South Wales, and proposing the relaxation of the rule &o as to admit of pei sons with large families and of more advanced ages, who would be the least likely to proceed to the gold fields. In consequence of this representation, the Emigration Commissioners, with the approval of my predecessor, as you will have seen by my despatch of 23rd January last, so far relaxed their rules as to admit of families with four children under twelve to lower the deposit on children, and to extend the ages at which the parents are accepted, from forty to forty-five. They also accepted the offer of Mr. J. C. King, of Victoria, to proceed to the North of Ireland for the purpose of stimulating emigration from that quarter. 28. The effect of these arrangements was to enable the Commissioners to send out in the month of December no less than 1890 emigrants, of whom there were sent i

30. The Emigration to New South Wales would have been greater had not its rate been lowered both on account of the want of funds, and on account of the suggestion to which I have above referred. 31 On the sfch and 6th of April, I received from you a despatch, enclosing bill of exchange for i£11 3,000, to be applied to emigration purposes, and on the 30th ot the same month, a despatch from the Governor-General enclosing hills from Sydney for £G9,000 reached my hands. On the receipt of your despatch, I called on the Emigration Commissioners for a report as to the funds and the manner in which those funds wonld be most efficiently applied to the prosecution of puugnlion. In my despatch of the 13th ultimo you ill find the report which the Commissioner made to me in answer, and the further relaxation of these rules which I sanctioned. The ' piincipal of those relaxations consists, in tho ! reduction of the deposits ou artizans and | mechanics, from X's to X' 2, in consequence of your l suggestion that " preferably the introduction of ; artizans and mechanics shov.ld be secured." j As it is oL' couvio impossible to maintain different systems in colonies so near, tho relaxation adopted lor Victoria will also be applicable to New South "Wales.

32. But in the actual acceptance of emigrants, the Commissioners will bear in mind that the reasons for promoting the emigration of mechanics and artizans to Victoria are not supposed to exist with the same force as with regard to Sydney. 83. Meanwhile I am informed by the Emigration Commissioners that they find at present no difficulty in obtaining emigrants in sufficient numbers. They havirg entered into correspondence with some gentleman connected with the Highlands of Scotland, with a view of obtaining emigrants accustomed to the care of sheep and cattle from Skye and the adjacent country, — they are also in communication with various parties interested in the hand-loom weaving of Paisley, Carlisle, and Kidderminster, a certain number of whom they j> 1 "°P 0&e( l send out under the reduced deposit of £2 for artizans and mechanics. These people have been accepted under the belief that they are less likely to leave the constant and less arduous duties of shepherds and herdsmen, for the more laborious though remunerative pursuit of gold seeking. The Commissioners have also very numerous applications from persons in every part of the kingdom. But at present their operations are cramped for the want of shipping. The great demand for ships for the una&bisted emigration joined to the alarm caused by the desertion of the crews on the arrival of the vessels in Australia, have raised freights to a very unusual height. To mitigate this difficulty, the Commissioners are endeavouring to make arrangements for despatching vessels from the Clyde as well as from London, Plymouth and Liverpool, and they have latterly forwarded their advertisements for tenders for vessels to all the principal ports in the United Kingdom. There has scarcely been time as yet to ascertain the effect of these arrangements. 34. In conclusion, I have only to refer you to the approval already combed by my despatch of the ] 4th ult., *of your general conduct, and to assure you that the fuller consideration which her Majesty's Government have now been enabled to give the contents of your .despatches has in no degree tended to diminish their strong feeling of the extraordinary difficulties of your situation, and of the zeal which those difficulties have been met both by yourself and by the officers under your directions, whose detailed and careful reports on the subject referred to them, under circumstances of so much embarrasment, deserve general commendation. I am, &c, John S. Pakington.

Io flew South Wales u&i Po Victoria 88f Po South Australia 253 uin f.n Wflsfm % n Anst.vnhn 121

bmps. Jwnigrair L'o New South Wales 4 1081 L'o Victoria 13 4774 Co South Australia 8 2335 iS, 25 8190

Since the Ist of January the same exertions have been made to keep np the stream of emigration, and there have been sent up to the present date —

Ships. Emigrants. Fo New South Wales 2 710 Ho Victoria G 2479 L'o South Australia 2 5(36 10 3775

And shipping has already been engaged for the conveyance in the month of June.

New South Wales. Ships. Emigrants. 1850 3 725 1851 3 794 1852 G 1791 Victoria. 1850 2 533 1851 3 1040 1852 19 7253 South Australia. 1850 5 1200 1851 8 2100 1852 10 2901 Total Ships. Total Emigrants. 3850 10 2,458 1851 14 ..: 3,934 1852 35 11,945

29. The whole number of emigrants foy whom passages have been or will be provided to Australia, in the first six months of the present year, as compared with, the number sent out in the two previous years, will stand thus :—: —