[From the Government Gazette, July 20.] DESPATCHES OF HIS EXCELLENCY SIR GEORGE GREY,K.C.B., GOVERNOR-IN-CHIEF OF NEW ZEALAND, TO THE RIGHT HON. EARL GREY, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES. (Continued from our last Number.) (Copy, No. 4.) Government House, Auckland, 2nd February, 1849.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume v, Issue 415, 25 July 1849, Page 4

[From the Government Gazette, July 20.] DESPATCHES OF HIS EXCELLENCY SIR GEORGE GREY,K.C.B., GOVERNOR-IN-CHIEF OF NEW ZEALAND, TO THE RIGHT HON. EARL GREY, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES. (Continued from our last Number. ) (Copy, No. 4.) Government House, Auckland, 2nd February, 1849.

My Lord, — In reference to my Despatch, No. 106, of 29th November last, in which I detailed for your information, the measures I had, in obedience to your Lordship's command, adopted for the introduction into this colony of a complete Representative form of Government, if such a constitution of the nature I proposed' met with your Lordship's approbation, I have now the honor to report the further proceedings which I have taken in reference to this subject. In the despatch to which I have before alluded, I stated it as my opinion, that at the end of about four years I had every reason to believe that a Representative form of Government might with safety be simultaneously brought into operation throughout the whole of New Zealand, and my intention at the time I wrote that despatch was not to have promulgated in the colony the outline of the form of Government, which I had recommended for your Lordship's approval, until I had received your directions to lay my proposed plan before the Provincial Councils in these Islands, who might then have reported their opinions regarding it, and your Lordship with these reports before you, could then have gone to Parliament for such a measure as, with the information before you,, .might have appeared best adapted to promote the prosperity of this country. I had calculated that in point of time the whole of these preliminary steps might have been taken in less than two years, which would then have left an ample period for the settlement of the details of the future Institutions, and for the necessary arrangements for its introduction before the expiration of the period which I still think should be allowed to elapse before an attempt is made to introduce a Representative form of Government into these Islands. Upon my arrival at Wellington I found, however, that many of the persons who •were most interested in the colony, appeared to regard it as essential to its future welfare, and to the promotion of emigration to this country, that the nature of the plan I intended to recommend for your Lordship's adoption should at once be made known, and as this desire upon their part appeared to me to be reasonable, and as what I proposed was merely a modification of a form of Representative Government which your Lordship had wished to confer upon this country, but which, upon my recommendation, you had suspended, I thought that 1 should in no way embarrass Her Majesty's Government by at once making public the purport of my recommendations to your Lordship, and by allowing at the earliest possible period that public opinion should be expressed regarding them. When, therefore, upon the 22nd December last, the Legislative Council of the colony of New Munster brought up to me an address,, a copy of which I have the honor to enclose, I felt justified in returning to them the reply, a copy of which i 3 also enclosed. When my reply was delivered to the Council a long discussion ensued, which ended in their unanimously adopting, upon the 26th .December, the Report, of which a copy is enclosed. The Council, at the same time, passed unanimously the enclosed resolution, expressing their satisfaction at the exposition of my plans for the introduction of Representative Institutions into New Zealand. Throughout the whole of these proceedings I understood thiat the form of Reprepresentative Government which, l had recommended for your Lordship's approval, met with the cordial approbation of every member of the Council, with the exception of the single point alluded to in their Report, viz., the number of persons who I proposed should be summoned to the Provincial Councils by Her Majesty, to which

point I need not have alluded, as my reasons for the recommendations I made on this subject are fully explained in my despatch .N,o. 106, of the 29th November last, and I should add .that after waiting to the present date no representation adverse to the form, of Constitution I have proposed has reached me from any quarter. ' The only objection regarding any general part of my plan', which was raised in the Legislative Council of New Munster, was the time at which I proposed Representative Institutions should be introduced into this country, a feeling in favour of their almost immediate introduction being very prevalent t ner e,: — as it is amongst one party in the colony, — although I believe that a large portion of the most intelligent members of the community feel with me that their immediate introduction would be impossible. The only other objection that I have heard raised is an objection to the constitution of the present Provincial Legislative Councils composed of members nominated by the Crown, a very general feeling I believe existing, that the inhabitants of the colony generally would rather be governed by a Governor and Executive Council alone, than by a Nominee Council, until Representative Institutions are introduced, as they think that if they are to be bound by laws made by their fellow colonists who are not Government Officers, they should themselves choose which of their fellow colonists should make the laws which they are to obey. On this latter point I had clearly no choice but to adopt the course I did, because Parliament had a^eady created a Nominee Council for the whole of New Zealand, the members of which being composed of Auckland gentlemen, had no knowledge of the requirements or wishes of the inhabitants of other portions of New Zealand, and I was therefore, from the necessity of my position, compelled to govern by a Nominee Council of this kind, and I cannot but think that I have substituted a less objectionable one in its place, and I have no doubt that it will shortly be generally admitted that I have done so — for I know that I, in this respect, carry with me the feelings of a large number of most intelligent persons. The other point, namely, the objections which exist to the delay I propose in the ; introduction of a complete form of Representative Government into New Zealand appears to require more lengthened remarks J from me. ' " i Yonr Lordship will remember that all my previous recommendations to her Majesty's Government for the introduction of Reprepresentative Institutions into New Zealand have been of a partial kind, being restricted to that portion of the Southern Province which embraces the district immediately surrounding the town of Wellington and the Middle Island ; and that looking to the large number of native inhabitants in the North of New Zealand I have always expressed great doubts as to the period when Representative Institutions might safely be introduced there. But the state of continued tranquillity and prosperity which the whole of these Islands have now for some time enjoyed, has led me to think that within the reasonable period of time I have stated to your Lordship it might now be possible to introduce throughout the whole of New Zealand a Representative Government of the form which I have recommended, and the great advantage which would result to the whole of these Islands from a uniform system of Government continuing to prevail throughout their entire extent, is one reason which makes me think that the plan I have recommended for adoption would be preferable to any attempt that might be made immediately to introduce Representative Assemblies into the South of New Zealand, confining the Province in which Wellington is situated to the district immediately round the town, and leaving the North of the Island under the same form of Government as now exists, a proceeding which would evidently defeat the whole of that portion of my much more extended plan, which contemplates the carrying out the recommendations which your Lordship has made, that New Zealand should be divided into four Provinces of nearly equal extent in that manner which the magnitude and system of colonisation about to be pursued in reference to this country appear to render necessary. Another reason which makes me think that the introduction of Representative Institutions even into the South of New Zealand, should for the present be delayed, is, that , from' causes over which I had no control, vrfy plans in reference to the completion of military roads, and the entire amalgamation of the interests of the native population with those of the European have* not been completed within the period of time at which I had calculated, and cannot be so for a further period of three or perhaps four years.

These plans. . have, up, to the present period, been, as I believe is admitted byr all, completely successful. Any sudden stoppage in them would render useless all that has been done, and. would certainly entail a greatly increased military expenditure upon i Great ' Britain besides again arresting the progress of the colony, and throwing it back into the state of difficulty from which it has emerged. 1 Whereas, when these plans are completed, there will be no future chance of any extraordinary military expenditure being rendered necessary, by the Government being required to undertake offensive or defensive operations against the natives, and even the ordinary military expenditure may then be much reduced by the withdrawal of a considerable portion of the troops now stationed in the country. The completion of these plans involves, however, the necessity of the continuance for a short time of the aid which has hitherto been received from Parliament in order that the requisite expenditure may be defrayed ; a considerable reduction in which expenditure can, however, be made during the year 1850 ; and rapid decreases in the expenditure can be carried on in each year subsequent to that date. It is always, however, difficult to make such reductions in the expenditure of a colony, particularly when it is defrayed by the Home Government, without creating great discontent. And this would be, I fear, especially the case if the legislature of the country were a representative one, which had been habituated for several years to see a great proportion of the Civil expenses of the country defrayed' by the British Treasury. I think that such a legislature could hardly fail to sympathise with their constituents, who would very unwillingly relinquish the advantages they at present derive from the Government expenditure. The misfortune of this country also is that any great discontent on the part of the European population reacts upon the native population, the turbulent amongst whom always become encouraged at any signs of weakness in the Government, and this discontent amongst the native population would be heightened in the instance under consideration from the fact of the natives as well as the Europeans being equally interested in the continuance of the Government expenditure, and being certain equally to feel its reduction, unless that reduction is most judiciously conducted, and considering the large ! number of natives who would be thrown out ■ of employment, this discontent might produce most dangerous results. I feel therefore that there is, in the present instance, great necessity for enforcing the rule that the inhabitants of the colony should be required to defray the expenses of their own government before a Representative form of government is granted to them, and I think that if a guarantee were afforded to them, that such a form of government as I have recommended shall be introduced into this country so soon as they can defray the expenses of their own government, I could then make the requisite reductions in the government expenditure with the cheerful concurrence and co-operation of the great mass of the colonists; and that all danger of discontent and disturbance would thus be avoided. Your Lordship will see from the whole of the proceedings which passed in the Legislative Council of the Province of New Munster, that there appears to be a general desire that some guarantee should be given that a Representative form of government should be introduced into New Zealand at the period which I have named, and the best mode which has yet suggested itself for securing such a guarantee is, that the provisions of the proposed form of government should be embodied in an Act of Parliament to take effect at the date named. I think that after having stated at such length as I have above done, the reasons which induced me to recommend that the introduction of Representative Institutions into the whole of these islands should be delayed till the period I have recommended, it will not be necessary for me to trouble your Lordship further on this subject, and this the more especially as in my despatch, No. 106, of the 29th November last, I detailed also at some length other reasons which made me think that the country was not in a fit state for the immediate introduction of a Representative form of government. I would therefore only add, that should her Majesty's Government think proper to de,clare that a Representative Government should be introduced into this colony at the period named, or at such earlier date, either throughout the whole colony or in any Province or Provinces as may for that purpose i be proclaimed by the Governor- in- Chief, j that I would neither shrink from the responsibility of declining to introduce such Institutions into any Province until I believe t^ey, can safely be conferred lipon dt,~noE'

will Ijgpdn, f the pther hand for a single fl«y unne^ssajnlyidelay, obtaining! for the; roha? bitants,, p,fj this cojpny .a boon which I*ra most apxious to see conferred upon-thenxji I have, &c, - - ,iji^-.^-(Signed) Gbst. ■ To the Right, Honorable Earl Grey. * "■ -