New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Wednesday, September 15, 1847.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume III, Issue 222, 15 September 1847, Page 2

New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Wednesday, September 15, 1847.

For some time past the settlers have been | in expectation of an arrival from Auckland, with the necessary Proclamations from the Governor-in- Chief establishing the new Constitution and effecting a division of the colony into separate provinces. The Lieute-nant-Governor has arrived at his seat of Government, but cannot yet be said fully to have entered on the duties of his office. In this interval of suspense it may be useful to consider and report the opinions which have been elsewhere expressed on the proposed Constitution to be established in this colony. An idea seems to be entertained that the experiment about to be tried in New Zealand is likely to be repeated in the adjacent colonies, and that their institutions will be framed after our model. Under this impression the Sydney Morning Herald in one of the numbers recently received, takes occasion to examine the principal features of olir proposed form of Government, as descri- ' bed in the New Charter and Lord Grey's Instructions, and arrives at unfavourable conclusions as to the practical working of the measure. The objections which we have previously urged to its complicated and cumbrous machinery are repeated by our contemporary, who thinks the liability to mutual conflict and encroachment by the several provincial authorities increased, rather than removed by these arrangements, and " that the effect of the process of filtration, by which the more general bodies are drawn out of the more local, will be to yield not a ! quintessence, but a decomposed and flavourless ingredient ; not a fair representation of the ultimate constituency, but an image and j organ of the majority in the immediate eletive body." It is anticipated that the mass of legislation will be prodigiously increased from the establishment of these different Provincial Assemblies, of which the result may be different and inharmonious laws for

different parts of the islands, and jealousies between the different provinces, and complaints arising from these differences. But the chief objection to the system is in the mode of electing the members of the Provincial and Representative Assemblies, the great danger to be apprehended is (to use the words of our contemporary) " That the members of the Supreme House will not be a mixed and fair representation of the inhabitants of the colony, but will, in consequence of the very nature and manner of their election, be drawn from, and only represent, the majority predominant in the provincial House of Representatives. In like manner the members sent to the Provincial House will be the spokesmen, proteges, and reflections, not of the local District Council in toto, nor of the whole of the residents of the borough to which it belongs, but only of the prevailing party in that Council. A respectable minority may be represented, probably enough, in the District Council, but not in any of the Houses, provincial or general ; and it is needless to say how repeatedly bad measures have been thwarted, or at least im- * proved, by the exertions of a reipectable minority." These are grave objections, and well worthy the attentive consideration of those whose interests will be materially affected by this experiment. The great defect appears to be an attempt to overload small communities with institutions for which they are not yet sufficiently advanced, instead of making more simple and inexpensive provisions, better adapted to their present wants ; — an attempt to clothe the child in the garments of the full grown man, which prove " a world too wide" for the limbs they encumber rather than protect ; or to borrow an illustration still more obvious, it is the same mistake which has been made in the formation of this town in which a wide area has been included, streets have been laid out to be occupied by future generations, and a plan adopted which can only be realized in succeeding centuries — while the inhabitants suffer all the inconvenience and expense entailed upon them by this plan until it is fully realized, and from which they might have been relieved by the simple and common sense arrangement of concentrating the first settlers, and making a sufficient provision for the growing wants of the community.

The Scotia arrive J on Saturday from Sydney after a passage of sixteen days. By her we have received files of Sydney papers to the 24th nit. containing English news to 24th April : the May post office packet had not arrived at Sydney previous to the departure of the Scotia. The Frolic was advertized to sail for this Port on the 28th ult, and the John Fleming and Promise was also advertized to sail for this Port with stock via Twofold Bay.

Wairarapa. — We understand that lambing has commenced at several of the stations in this district, and that there is every promise of a favourable season. The rains duing the late south-easter occasioned the highest flood that has been known in the valley since stations have been established there, but fortunately without doing any serious damage. There was a report among the natives that the ctief Hapuka who lives at Ahuriri, had some intention of stopping the new road leading from the Hutt district to the Wairarapa.

We have been obliged to postpone the report of the trial in the Supreme Court on Monday last to our next number.

Programme of this day's Performance by the Band of the 65th Regiment : — 1. Overture — Guillaume Tell Rossini. 2. Duet — Se, Vederla arne non Liee — "l fl . ... 3. Royal Irish Quadrilles Jullien. 4. Song — Light of other Days — Maid*} n .- of Artois jßalj Bal f c ' 5. La Valse A Deux Temps Jullien. 6. Aria — Final, A non Giunge O mai, 1 „ „. . II Pensiere— Sonnambula j-^eltoii., 7. Pas Galop — Beniowsky JBocAsa. 8. Polka Keoniff.

Wellington Savings Bank. — Mr. A. Hort, sen., Rev. S. Ironside, Mr. H.S. Knowles, and Mr. J. H. Wallace, the Managers in rotation, will attend to receive deposits at Messrs. Johnson & Moore's store, from seven to eight o'clock on Saturday evening, the 15th September 1847; and at the Union Bank of Australia, from twelve to one o'clock, on Monday forenoon, the 17th September.

Mr. Amor's benefit took place last night at the Britannia Saloon ; when the pieces selected for performance weft effectively represented by the fall strength of the cfoiftpany. Several new scenes have been lately prepared, and the scenery and decorations were in excellent taste.