New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, October 30, 1847.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 235, 30 October 1847, Page 2

New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, October 30, 1847.

In our last number we alluded to the delay which has occurred in putting in force the New Constitution. We have hitherto purposely refrained from entering on this subject from a conviction that time and due deliberation were required to mature the necessary arrangements, but after mating every allowance demanded' by circumstances it does not appear that any great anxiety is exhibited to, give practical effect to the Royal Instructions. On the arrival of his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor in this

district, it was supposed that no time would be lost in proclaiming and establishing the New Constitution ; in his answer to the ad* dress of congratulation presented by the settlers, they were assured that it would be proclaimed in a very few weeks; three months have elapsed since that period, and more than four months have passed away tince the Charter, with the accompanying Royal Instructions have been published in this settlement, but nothing has yet been done, nor is any intimation afforded that the Charter will be speedily brought into operation. Whatever objection may be raised to the cumbrous and complicated machinery of the New Constitution, the present position of the Southern settlements demands that its establishment should no longer be deferred. The anomalous situation of the LieutenantGovernor must be unpleasant to himself and productive of great' inconvenience to these settlements. Not having yet taken the oaths of office the settlers have received no official notice of his appointment : his appearance among3t them is "in such a questionable , shape" as almost to deprive him of authority, , ! and as long as the establishment of the New Constitution is delayed he will be unable to do more than continue the official routine of Government. The recent arrangement between the Government and the Company, the probability of the renewal of emigration on an extensive scale, and the formation of other settlements, are additional reasons why the settlers should be permitted to have a voice in the Government of the colony and the opportunity of expressing their wishes on matters affecting their interests in a way likely to be attended with practical results. Hitherto the Government has generally been arrayed in hostility to the Company, it appears probable that for the future they will be as cordially united as they were previously opposed to each other, but unless the settlers are to remain cyphers in the account, unless the free institutions which have been promised and which in England are supposed by this time to be in operation,are speedily conferred upon them, the entente cordiale which has just been established may prove as detrimental to them as the former controversy. If the future proceedings of the Company prove conducive to the prosperity of the cdlony the settlers under the new constitution will be able by their co-operation more effectually to promote their success, but if it be found that the Company seek only their own interests to the neglect or injury of the settlers, " the efficacy of free institutions" will be found to be material in compelling them to adopt a more liberal course. Doubtless many of the provisions of the new constitution may be found to work imperfectly, and to require alteration and revision, but the necessary alterations will more readily suggest themselves after a trial has been made of its practical working. Let a beginning be made, for we suspect that in this as in many other cases, the great difficulty consists in making a beginning.

The protest from Wellington against the Paper Currency Bill was laid before the Council by the_Governor on the 28th Sept., the day the Victoria arrived. His Excellency took the opportunity of satisfactorily explaining the accidental delay which had occurred in the circulation of the drafts of the bill in this settlement. We observe that our contemporary the New Zealander infers that the Wellington press does not represent the general feeling of the settlement in consequence of his receipt of a despatch from the south in which the writer gives an account of the state of things and opinions different from that expressed in the Wellington journals. The course our contemporary has adopted with reference to this communication is a sufficient refutation of the charge — he has declined to publish it as being too violent " for the reserved and temperate tone of his journal." The description of the communication sufficiently indicates the quarter from which it emanates, and as one swallow does not make a summer, neither is our contemporary's correspondent (if we are correct in our surmise), however like Bully Bottom he may wish to aggravate his voice, to be taken as an index of the opinions of the community.

Thk Calliope sailed yesterday for Auckland with a detachment of eighty men of the 58th regiment, under the command of Captain Laye. We -believe the Thomas Lovry will proceed to Wanganui, fq(r the purpose j of bringing away the remainder of the 58th regiment stationed there, which will proceed to their head-quarters at Auckland, and their place will be supplied by a detachment of the 65th regiment. The detachments •of the 58th now leaving this district have been stationed here for a period of upwards of two years, and have been very prominently engaged in the different operations undertaken during that interval for the suppression of the disturbances. in this district. We cheerfully acknowledge the services they have rendered the settlement, and we are sure it will always afford pleasure-to the settlers to hear of the prosperity and ■ successes of this gallant corps. .. "

The Thomas Lowry arrived yesterday 'from * ti the Bay of Islands, which, slie left on the , 19th instant, with 200 men "of the 65tE g& giment. under the command of Major Patience. On her passage ,from Auckland to the Bay she met with very boisterous weather. Our files of Auckland papers are to October 2 ; they contain no local intelligence of any interest. The Legislative Council was still sitting, but does not 7 appear to be making great progress. The Marriage Bill had been passed ; the Education Bill, Debenture Bill, Registration of Births Bill," and Fencing Bill, were in Committee. It was supposed that the sittings of the Legislative Council would last a fortnight longer, after which it is reported that his Excellency would proceed in the Inflexible to the Bay of Islands for the purpose of erecting the flagstaff, which has not been replaced since it was last cut down by Heki, after which he would visit Wellington.

A vessel built by Mr. Wilcox on the Waiwetu river was brought over to Wellington on Wednesday, in order to complete the necessary fittings preparatory to her first trip. She is very strongly pdt together, is of great breadth of beam, and is capable of carrying 120 tons of cargo.

Wellington Savings Bank — Mr.J. ]&. Taylor, Mr. J. Varnham, Mr. JrWallace, and Mr. Fitzherbert, the Managers in rotation, will attend to receive deposits at Messrs. Johnson & Moore's store, front seven to eight o'clock on Saturday" evening, the 30th October 1847; and at the ' [ Union Bank of Australia, from twelve to one o'clock, on Monday forenoon, the Ist November. • ' ' The Superintending Committee will meet at Barrett's Hotel, on Monday evening neit, November 1, 1847, at 8 o'clock.