The New-Zealander. AUCKLAND, WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 3, 1862. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

New Zealander, Volume XVIII, Issue 1720, 3 September 1862, Page 2

The New-Zealander.

AUCKLAND, WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 3, 1862. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim’st at, be thy Country’s Thy God’s, and Truth’s.

We were enabled in our last issue to ffi vo to our readers some of the leading facts relating to recent proceedings at Wellington, our report of the debates in the House of Representatives, which wo give to-day, w il> I supply details. It appears, then, that a Ministry, said to be “ strong,” has been ini. provised in the House itself with some startling or melo-dramatic incidents. Messrs. Ward and Wood, responsive to the voice of their country, typified by the silver tones of some honorable members who were laudably anxious to get the Session over and stop the talking, appear to have joined the new Ministry impromptu on the “ floor.” We do not observe that it is recorded amongst the other gushes of sentiment upon that occasion that Mr. Domett threw himself upon the bosom of his newly-found Treasurer and executed a theatrical embrace after the renowned manner of .Mr. Vincent Crummies but the demonstration of general satisfaction upon the auspicious occasion appear to have been so vivid that the incident may have escaped the notice of the reporters, or of our “ Own Correspondent.” Mr. Fox himself, not unmoved amidst the storm of patriotic devotion, pronounced, in the “ heavy father” vein, a queer benediction upon the union just effected, and then made his own adieux to office with great dignity and with no less truth. On the next day Mr. Sewell floated placidly back into his accustomed chair, and the Ministry was complete. For the first time since the establishment of free institutions we have a Government without a recognised, or indeed a possible, leader. The business of the Session, however, goes on. On the 14th ult., Mr. Dillon Bell, in his capacity as Colonial Treasurer, made a very long and, under the circumstances, creditable financial statement, which, after the recent manner of Treasurers, threatens to take the separate form of a pamphlet. The copy which we have received, not being complete in the important item of figures, we are unable to publish the speech to-day;— the chief points may, however, be compressed into a nut-shell. The actual Revenue of 1861-2 exceeded the estimated Revenue by £IIO,OOO. The Fox Ministry were very good indeed, and, after paying off many debts, and setting the whole financial system in order, they left a surplus of £30,740. Of the £150,000 war loan nearly £12,000 remain. We shall take an opportunity of commending to the special attention of the war-men the several items of that little bill. The Duke of Newcastle’s claim, in. Tuition, is admitted to be £186,000. The progress of the Colony is shown, nevertheless, or therefore, to have been satisfactory, and the “ deposits” in the Ranks to have approached a million and a-half. The following is the estimated ordinary Revenue for 1862-3 : Customs i.413,000 Postal 20,000 Judicial 14,000 Registration of Deeds 7,000 Registration ot Births, Deaths, and Marriages 1,500 Crown Grant Fees 1,500 Miscellaneous 1,000 £458,000 A million is proposed to be borrowed for the carrying out of what is called “Sir George Grey’s plan of Native Government.” The despatch of the Duke of Newcastle appears to have had a wonderfully sedative effect upon the “ war spirit” in the Assembly. The most fierce of the old adherents of the British Lion are anxious to prove that when they insisted upon thrashing the Maories and confiscating their lands, they had no particular meaning, and that their real object was peace. As peace cannot now be attained in their fashion, they are going to try the other persuasion ; the “ Asiatic” nostrum has not been even spoken of for more than a month. This is, of course, very gratifying. Remembering ail that used to be talked so loudly, and written so boldly about the war being an “ Imperial” war, and the charges incurred in its prosecution “ Imperial charges, and how the Imperial Government must do this, that, and the other, we read with a kind of humiliation the abject address proposed by the New Ministry to be presented to Her Majesty by the Assembly. The address will be found in our report; it is a relief to turn from it to the “amendments” proposed to be made by Mr. Fitzgerald, which we print below. It w B3 thought that the business •of the Session could not be brought to a close laffore the middle of the current mouth. Mr. FitzGerald to move the following Resolutions, as an amendment to an Address to Her Majesty to be moved by Mr. Domett — 1. That this Mouse has taken into its most serious consideration the Despatches recently lam on its table, from His Grace the Duke of Newcastle to His Excellency Sir George Grey, especially the Despatch dated the 2Gth May, 1862. 2. That this House learns from the contents ot those Despatches—1. That Her Majesty’s Government, recognizing that the government of the Native race by the Colonial Office lias failed, has resolved v that in future the powers and responsibilities of the Crown in that behalf shall he exercised and undertaken by the Queen’s ordinary Government in the Colony. 2. That the Imperial Government will in future decline to contribute towards the burden of educating, civilizing, and governing the Native race, in any other manner, or to any greater extent than by remitting the contribution t iwards the cost of maintaining the imperial troops in the Colony, which the Colony has undertaken to pay to the extent of five pounds a head for every man so employed. 3. That for the troops at present stationed m the Colony that contribution amounts to about twenty-five thousand pounds a-year, but that it is the intention of the Imperial Government shortly to lecall a consider;! e. portion of the troops so employed, and o that extent to diminish the ainoantol tie Imperial aid to the Colony. . 4. That no ship of war can he placed at 13 service of Mis Excellency Sir Giej» notwithstanding that His Excellency’ 3 P 1 ®* equally needed at various po» nts <

the coast in order to treat with the Native tribes; but that if such a ship of war is rerequired, it must be provided by the Colony out of its own resources. 5. That a sum amounting to nearly £200,000 advanced by the Commissariat chest for the expenses of the Militia during the last war must be forthwith repaid by the Colony to the Imperial Government. That all such expenses must in future be paid by the Colony; and that the whole cost of constructing the Military road to the Waikato by the troops must be refunded in like manner. 0. That the Duke of Newcastle is under the impression that the wars which have hitherto taken place in New Zealand were wars between the Settlers and the Natives, and were undertaken in accordance with the wishes and for the benefit of the Colonists.

7. That His Grace is of opinion that the Colonists of Now Zealand have exhibited a disinclination to make such sacrifices as they might fairly he expected to make, in defence of their own lives and properties, and in the maintainance of the Queen’s authority throughout the Colony. ,‘3. That this House, being of opinion that, in the divided authority heretofore maintained in the Government of the Colony, has lain one main cause of the evils under which the Colony has laboured ; learns with great pleasure that that source of disunion and disorder has been put an end to, and that the udminstration of Native affairs will in future be conducted in the ordinary manner by the

Queen’s Government within the Colony. 4. That, in the opinion ofthis House His Grace the Duke of Newcastle has been greatly misinform-

Ed as to the nature, origin, and objects of the wars in New Zealand, and that tins House deems it right, on behalf of the Colonists, to repudiate the charge of having at any time occasioned, desired, or counselled such wars ; and to assert that such

wars were undertaken wholly at the responsibility of the Queen’s Representative in the Colony, at a time when he was accountable solely to the Imperial Government, and when the Legislature of the Colony had no control over Ins actions. 5. That, whilst this House will not shrink from the grave responsibilities now imposed upon it, it deems it right to record its opinion that an act of great injustice will he committed, if the inhabitants of a young and struggling Colony are charged with the whole cost of educating, civilizing, and governing a race over whom the Government of the Queen and the authority of the law have as yet been only very partially extended ; an act of still greater injustice if that burden bo thrown on the Colony at a time when the cost, the difficulty, and the danger of the task have been vastly increased by past government in which the Colony lias had no share, and for which it has been in no degree responsible. G. That, whilst this House recognizes to the full on behalf of the colonists the duty of defending their own lives and properties, it desires to express its conviction of the impossibility of eliciting the military ardour of a Colony under a system which places the local forces in a position of marked inferiority to the Queen’s ordinary army, not only in the performance of military duties, but also in the distribution of honors and rewards due to meritorious service. 7- That this House deems it necessary to record its strong conviction that, in a country where the adoption of any particular policy may require the aid of the Military power, it is essential that the Government charged with the responsibility of directing that policy should be armed with the control of the military power by which it is to be enforced. That great calamities have already fallen upon this Colony; wars have been needlessly prolonged ; lives lost, and treasure squandered solely for the want of some local authority having power to remove inefficient and incapable Commanders, and to entrust the execution of military operations to men capable of conducting them to a successful issue. This House is therefore of opinion that the safety of this Colony im-

peratively demands that the disposal and control of the whole of the Military forces within its limits * fl&ftuld be absolutely vested in Her Majesty’s ilepresentative. 8. That, in the opinion of this House, the time has arrived when the wholeofthe relations between the Mother Country and the Colony as to the extent of their mutual obligations in respect of the Native race, demand a careful revision and adjustment. That such adjustment should be based upon a calculation of the whole cost of reclaiming the Native race from barbarism and completely establishing the Queen’s authority throughout these Islands. That the share of this cost, to be contributed by the Mother Country and the Colony respectively, should be ascertained by a fair estimate of the interest of each in the result, and by a consideration of the extent to which tile cost and difficulty of the work has been increased by the Government of the Natives during past years. That, in consideration of a money contribution so ascertained, the Imperial

Government should be held to be discharged from

all future obligation in respect to the Native race. And that in consideration of the Colony now undertaking the sole management of Native affairs, it should he held to undertake the entire cost and responsibility of their conduct for the future. That if it were thought desirable that any Imperial troops should be Jolt in the Colony, the whole cost of such troops should charged as a part of the Imperial contribution. But that this arrangement should be deemed to refer solely to the Native policy, and should be distinct from and in no wise prejudice, any arrangement which may be made between the Mother Country and the Colonies generally, for settling their joint contributions towards the Military defence ot the latter.

9. That respectful Addresses be presented to her Majesty, and to both Houses of the Imperial Parliament, setting forth the views embodied in

the foregoing Resolutions. 10. That a respectful Address be presented to his Excellency the Governor, praying his Excellency to support the prayer of such petitions by all the means in his power. 11. That it is desirable that a Special Commis-

sioner or Commissioners be despatched to England to lay the said Addresses at the foot ot the Throne, and before the two Houses of Parliament; ami that an Act of the General Assembly be passed, empowering the said Commissioners to act for and on behalf of the Colony, and to make all such arrangements as may be necessary in order to carry the objects of the foregoing Resolutions into full effect, and to appear if necessary by Counsel before the Houses of Lords and Commons.