The New-Zealander. AUCKLAND, SATURDAY, NOV. 4, 1853.

New Zealander, Volume 9, Issue 789, 5 November 1853, Page 2

The New-Zealander.

AUCKLAND, SATURDAY, NOV. 4, 1853.

He just ami fear not: Let all the ends thou aim'st at, be tliy Country's, Thy God's, ami Truth's;.

By the Dolores we have received .Melbourne papers so (ho 13th ultimo, being a week later than our files by the Kestrel. The anxiously looked for decision of Lieut.-Governor Lnlrobe on the new—or rather the pertinaciously re-enacted —"Convicts Prevention Bill," was communicated by Message to the Legislative Council on the Hlh. His Excellency staled thai "it was not in his power" to give the Hoyal Assent to the Bill, and thai he "considered it his duty to reserve it for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure (hereon, in obedience to the Royal Instructions;" —but he added that the Act of last year will remain in force until the Queen's disallowance of it be received and notified according to law, and that, under a strong sense of " the critical position in which the Colony is placed" he will assume the responsibility of abstaining to give Ihe disallowance effect by formal promulgation, until Her Majesty's Government have been made acquainted with the course taken by the Colonial Legislature.

It remains to be seen how far this altemp 1 to please all parties will share the proverbial fate of such attempts by satisfying none, — neither the Home Government nor the Council. So far as the Argus may be deemed an exponent of the views of the colonists, ihe course taken by his Excellency met speedy condemnation. That journal characterises it as "supernaturalfolly," and "a half-and-half measure designed as a salaam to Prerogative on the one hand, and a hypocritical bow to the representative principle on the other." The Lieutenant-Governor found himself placed in a peculiar difficulty, however, by the production of his Despatch to the Secretary of Slate on transmitting the Actof last year, in which hestrenouslypleaded on its behalf, and represented that even its most stringent provisions were not " more rigorous than was imperatively demanded." He has now sent Home further Despatches on the subject, but as he can urge nothing be) oiid what he had already staled, it seems exceedingly doubtful whether the Imperial Government will reverse a disallowance which was founded, not on incidental or collateral circumstances, but on broad and essentially constitutional grounds. In the meantime, we apprehend, the course pursued by the Council will inevitably be found to have greatly weakened the barrier against thai evil which they professed such an ardent desire to exclude. It is admitted on all hands that the Act, during the year it has been law, did not attain its object, but that large numbers of convicts from Van Diemen's Land arrived in Victoria notwithstanding the severity of the provisions of the •'Prevention Act;" indeed, it is believed that this very severity operated injuriously by rendering the administrators of the law less willing to enforce penalties, the justice of winch in many cases was at least matter of grave question. It certainly is not to be expected that the Act will be more rigorously carried put note,—when the Imperial Government have declared it highly objectionable, and when Her Majesty's disallowance of it, though not formally promulgated, is universally known. How much better, even for the accomplishment of their own professed purpose, would it have been had the Council agreed to alterations which would have left the measure still one of great practical force, while in its amended form it would have been approved at Home, and probably much more efficiently carried out in the Colony*! As the case stands, it will not be very easy, we suspect, to convince the English public of the wisdom of the Victorian Solons, - even should an Address to the Queen, which they were about to forward on the occasion, be taken as satisfactory evidence of their loyally, and " devoted attachment to ihe Institutions of the Empire."

The Financial Statement, with Ihe Estimates for Uio next year, had been laid before the Council, and occupied a large space in the newspapers. And a truly astonishing picture of the wealth and progress of the colony is presented by them. The Revenue for 1854 is eslim sled at 3,215,500/., while the scheme of expenditure extends to an outlay o( 5,205,70!/. Thus enormous as is the Income, the Expenditure is designed to exceed it by upwards of 52,000. Tins, however, will not involve an actual incurring of debt, as it is' anticipated that the Revenue of the current year mil leave a balance over the expenditure amounting to not less than 108,823/. In the Lieutenant-Governor's Statement, and the Colonial Secretary's " Budget" Speech, (Mr. Forster having played the part of Victorian Chancellor of the Exchequer), amongst the " Ways and Means" for raising this Revenue some new or increased taxes are proposed. The duty on spirits is to be raised to ten shillings per gallon, together with "a moderate addition" to the existing duties on wines, sugar, and beer; but no additional duty on tobacco, tea, or coffee was intended. The acknowledged design of the Government was to derive by some means from gold raised on Crown Lands a revenue of 5 per cent, oh the value, and an export duly was plainly hinted at,—but against that particular mode of taxation a strong opposition evidently would be arrayed. The Melbourne Herald contends against it because of the facility with which gold could be smuggled; and on a general review of the "Ways and Means," hopes that the Government, taking instruction from financial errors and failures, "may at length turn their attention, per force, to the jnst and natural fiscal resource of new countries, —the rental of public lands."

The Estimates propose a large extension of the several Departments, to keep pace with the growing population and the rapid augmentation of public business, and a corresponding increase in the sulanes of officers to meet the increased amount of duty and cost of living, important supplementary grants for house rent arc added to the salaries of all officers for whom quarters are not provided, she scale ofallowaueo being,—in Melbourne and Geelong, to officers receiving salaries not exceeding iOQOI. per annum, 50 per cent, on their salaries, and to officers whose salaries exceeded 1000/. per annum, 500/.:

- one-half of these allowances in (he Country District. At the same lime, the Colonial

Secretary, in a very lucid and able speech, challenged the production of a Budget in any oilier colony in which the proportion set apart for salaries to members of the Executive and Legislative Departments was so small as compared with the proportion appropriated to Public Works, Police, Post Office, Education and other purposes directly beneficial to the community. The Argus highly compliments the Auditor-General (Mr. Chihlers) on the "masterly manner" in which he has performed his"duty, producing "in all the first requisites of a financial statement —a full explanation, lucid arrangement, and accuracy—the most complete and satisfactory document we have seen in the colonies;"— but, in a subsequent article, our contemporary proceeds in his own trenchant way to dwell on the Tacts that the number of persons actually in the employment of the Government, and paid as such, amounts to no fewer than five thousand and ninety-six, and that, taking the population as 250,000, the cost of Government will be about 15/. per head. Alter this calculation, the Argus exclaims, "At such an expense, oh Mr. .Guilders Mr. Childers, what a government you ought to give us!" There was an interesting discussion in committee of the whole House on the 12th ultimo, on the subject of Postal Communication with England. Mr. Goodman proposed that 50,000/. be voted to assist in carrying out steam communication with Great Britain for the ensuing twelve months. He was decidedly in favour of the Indian route, and thought the Peninsular and Oriential Company entitled to preference on many accounts. The Colonial Secretary, however, strongly though briefly showed the advantages of the Panama route, and moved an amendment to the effect that 3000/. per month should be granted to any Company conveying a regular monthly mail from England to Melbourne within sixty days. Thus (as he expressed it) he would make the reward "a prize that all should race for." A long discussion terminated in the adoption of the following resolution:--

"That it is (he opinion of this committee, thai 5000/. per month he paid from (he public revenue lo any and every company which shall engage to carry during the whole year, from the Ist March, 1834, lo Ist March 1855, a regular monthly mail from England lo Melbourne within 65 days for the first six months, and within GO days for the last six months, to be reckoned from (lie time of their departure from England, to the lime of their arrival in Hobsons Bay; and (hat such sum of 5000/. be paid only for those months in which the voyage may be successfully performed within the lime specified."

We copy the following passage as containing the only reference to New Zealand that we find in the report of ihe debate:

" Mr. Rulledge could not agree with the hon. member who had accused the Colonial Secretary of want of sincerity in the amendment he had made. He agreed* with the amendment, as he considered it was liberal, and he also agreed with the hon. member (Mr. Russell) that the New Zealand Company had obtained a good character. The route he advocated would be a great •convenience to the mother country, and was of all others the best for passengers, and more 'preferable than the route by India. He hoped and sincerely trusted thai he should see three premiums awarded, and the best way to see that brought about was by offering a a premium for each route. The voyage by the Cape and Panama could be done within that time, and if (hey did not perform the distance in sixty days, then they would not be entitled to the" money of the colony, and he therefore supported the amendment with confidence as being by far the most feasible."

The meaning of the words we have marked by italics is not very clear, ant! no light is thrown on it by the few lines in which the preceding speaker's remarks are condensed—(the Argus obviously constructing its Council Reports —except in special cases—on the principle of mercilessly—or mrrcifidh/—culling down the speeches to very narrow dimensions). That the words do not really mean what appears on the surface, we lake for granted ; as the man not personally implicated in the "New Zealand Company's" transactions who should now affirm that that unprincipled confederacy of speculating sharp-shooters have "a good character." must be a vara avis,— a curiosity of a man, whom it would be worth travelling some distance to look at. Possibly Mr. Rutledge's meaning was that the Australian Pacific Steam Company, which proposes to include New Zealand in the route of its vessels, had "obtained a good character" and was entitled to the favourable consideration of the Council. We need not say that for this Colony the Panama route is incomparably the best, and we therefore must feel an anxious desire that it may be permanently chosen,—as indeed we are satisfied it ultimately will be, from its great supc iority for the purposes of Australia, viewed altogether apart from the interests of New Zealand. The agitation at thediggingsin opposition to the License Fee, which was already virtually extinct, was formally terminated by a Public Meeting at Bendigo, at which it was agreed that "the Anti-Gold-License Association should be dissolved, as having accomplished its objects." At therame time, with a view to maintaining the nucleus of an organization for future action, should that be ihought necessary, it,was resolved to form a new Society to beealled "The Gold Diggers' Union, for the promotion and protection of their social and political rights." Dr. Jones, Chairman of the late Association, who presided at the meeting, in the course of his speech drew the following brief but impressive picture of a gold digger's lot, which—coming from so well-informed a quarter — may he especially commended to the serious consideration of those who even yet look to " the diggings" as a charmed ground of wealth and happiness. lie said, — "But the diggers had no house-rent to pay ! Why, houses were no good (o them. The very nature of (heir calling forbade them enjoying I his luxury. They lived, many thousands of (hem, in a manner which would shock Ihe sensitive nerves of those who thus talked ; and to his (the Speaker's) knowledge, hundreds who came to search for gold, found a coffin. ('Too true, too true V) The life of a gold digger was one of toil, discomfort, and danger; it was a life that no reasonable man would envy. There were but few privileges attending il. Very few did well, while thousands of them merely existed." There was not much commercial or shipping news in the short interval since the departure of the Jfesirel; the latest will be found in another column.