COLONIAL POLICY.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VI, Issue 518, 20 July 1850, Page 3

COLONIAL POLICY.

Speech of Lord John Russell in the House of Commons on the sth of February, in moving for leave to bring in a Bill for the government of the Australian Colonies. Lord John Russell : the house having gone into committee with a view to his moving for a bill for the better government of the Australian Colonies, said, — I believe there are few members of the house who do not consider it expedient that at this early period of the session a declaration should be made by the Government of the general policy it means to pursue with regard to our colonial affairs. (Heai% hear, and cheers.) So many statements have been made on the subject, such a variety of views, of interests, so many various facts have been put forward, that it is, beyond doubt, desirable and necessary ,that her Majesty's Ministers should not delay to declare what are the opinions they entertain as to the great colonial affairs committed for the time to their charge, as to what should be the permanent colonial policy of this country. (Hear, hear.) In undertaking this task I am appalled by its magnitude ; I feel that I am not able adequately to discharge it; but 1 consider it most desirable, if for no other purpose than to enable this house, in the course of the various discussions it may hold upon subjects connected with the colonies, to form some clear judgment as to the general principles which should guide it in its deliberations. (Hear, hear.) It is a great consolation for me to reflect that there are several members of the house who have applied themselves to colonial questions, and who have shown great ability and knowledge in what they have advanced. I may mention, among others, the honorable baronet the member for Southwark, and the honorable and learned member for Sheffield, who have, in speeches addressed to this house, and in printed pamphlets, displayed very considerable talent, and very great knowledge of this most important subject. (Hear.) Iv considering this question, I will first state generally how our present colonial empire stands, and as the facts in detail must be familiar to most members of the bouse, I will content myself with the merest outline of those facts. Putting aside the foundations of those American colonies which afterwards separated from us, I will state that our first settlements in the West Indies date from the conclusion of the reign of James 1., and the beginning of the reign of Charles 1., that is to say, before the beginning of the civil war. Islands which had been discovered and afterwards abandoned by the Spaniards were at that period found by British navigators to produce the richest fruits of the earth, and to be almost wkolly destitute ,of inhabitants, these having been exterminated by Spanish cruelty, — proofs at once of the bounteous benevolence of Providence, and of the harbarous wickedness of man. During the Protectorate, Cromwell bad to consider the pre-

tensions, enforced with great vigour, of that powerful country, Spain, who insisted that not only none of her discoveries on the continent of America, and none of its islands, should be occupied by our colonists ; but, further, that we should not carry on trade with any quarter of the New World. It was not to be expected that Cromwell, with his high notiapis of British power and energy, would yield to such pretensions ; and accordingly, an expedition was fitted out by him, which, though it did not attain its immediate object, effected, as its ultimate result, the conquest of Jamaica. Afterwards, in the reign of Charles 11., other West India islands were occupied and colonised; Such, then, was the beginning of our first colonial empire. Next, in the commencement of the next century, during the war, Gibraltar fell into our hands. After the glorious war of 1756, many more islands were, added to our dominions, and we besides obtained possession of Canada, as to the acquisition of which, the Marquis de Montcalm, a statesman as well as a soldier, declared that, although it would be a loss to France, it would lead to the separation of her American provinces from England, and thus compensate to France for her loss. (Hear, hear.) In the unfortunate war with the united provinces of America, our losses were far greater than our gains. But, in the great revolutionary war which began in 1 795, we made further additions by the naval and military forces of the Crown, which were confirmed to us, as cessions, by the peace of 1814 — 1815. I will enumerate to the house the colonial acquisitions made by England in the periods respectively between 1600 and 1700, between 1700 and 1793, and between 1793 and 1822:— From 1600 to 1700, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward's Island, Newfoundland, Bermuda, Jamaica, Honduras, Bahamas, Barbadoes, Antigua, Montserrat, St. Christopher's, Nevis, Virgin Islands, Gambia, St. Helena; from 1700 to 1793, — Canada, St. Vincent, Grenada, Tobago, Dominica, Gibraltar, Sierra Leone, forts and settlements on the Gold Coast, New South Wales; from 1793 to 1815, — St. Lucia, British Guiana, Trinidad, Malta, Cape of Good Hope, Van Diemen's Land, Mauritius, Ceylon. I will not here state the colonies which have since been formed. There will be other occasions on which to refer to them in the course of the debate. I will [ proceed to explain the general principles on I which the colonies I have enumerated were formed. In the first place the object seems to have been to send out settlers from this country, and to enable them to colonise these distant islands. But, in the next place, it was evidently the system of this country — as at that time it was the system of all European countries — to maintain strict commercial monopoly in relation to its colonies. By vaiious statutes to which I need not further allude, several of which have been very .recently under the consideration of the house, we took care that all the trade of the colonies should centre in this country ; that all their productions should be sent here, and that no other nation should bring those products to this country, or carry them abroad, It was conceived that we derived great advantages from this monopoly, and Mr. Dundas, so late as 1796, speaking of the colonies, expressed his opinion that unless the trade of our colonies was protected by us with monopoly they would find a market for their goods elsewhere, which would be productive of great loss and detriment to the nation. But there was another and a most remarkable characteristic attending these colonies, and this was, that wherever Englishmen have been sent, or have chosen to settle, they have carried with them the freedom and the institutions of the mother country. (Hear, hear.) I will take the liberty of reading some extracts from a patent given to the Earl of Carlisle when he went out to be Governor, and I tbink proprietor of Barbadoes, in 1627, that is to say, in the reign of Charles I : — ' Further know ye, that we, for us, our heirs and successors, have authorised and appointed the said James, Earl of Carlisle, and his heirs (of whose fidelity, prudence, justice, and wisdom, we have great confidence) for the good and happy government of the said province, whether for the public security of the said province, or the private utility of every man, to make, erect, and set forth, and under, his or their signet to publish such laws as he, the said Earl of Carlisle, or his heirs, with the consent, assent, and approbation of the free inhabitants of the said province or the greater part of them, thereunto to be called, and in such form as he or they in bis or their discretion, shall think fit and best. We will, also, of our princely grace, for us, our heirs, and successors, straitly charge, make, c.nd ordain, that the said province be of our allegiance, and that all and every subject and liege people of us, our heirs, and successors, brought or to be brought, and their children, whether there born or afterwards to be born, become natives and subjects of us, our heirs, and successors, and be as free a3 they that were born in England ; and so their inheritance within our kingdom of England, or other our dominions, to seek, receive, take, hold, buy, and possess, and use and enjdy hem as his own, and to give, sell, alter, and

bequeath then! at their pleasure j and also freely, quietty, <and peaceably, to have and .possess all .the iljberties, franchises, and privi leges of tluVkingdom, and them to use and enjoy as liege people of England, whether born or to be born, without impediment, molestation, vexation, injury, or trouble of us, our heirs, and successors, &c. Such were the terms in which the King, whose haughty assertion of his «prerogative afterwards brought about the civil war, set forth the rights and liberties of those of his English subjects who chose to reside in the colony of Barbadoes. The government of Jamaica, settled by Cromwell, was at first a purely military government ; but in the reign of Charles 11. it was made likewise a constitutional government, having an Assembly, and the right to levy taxes, and to administer its affairs according to the form and on the model of the English constitution. It so happened that this became, not long after, matter of question in the King's Council. In the early part of the reign of James 11. a question was raised in relation to the colony of Barbadoes, and, in fact, affecting all the British colonies. Mr. Fox, in relation -to that subject writes :—: — Among the various objections to that nobleman's (Marquis of Halifax) political principles, we find the charge most relied upon for the purpose of injuring him in the mind of the King, was founded on the opinion he had delivered in Council, in favour of modelling the charters of the British colonies in North America upon the principles of the rights and privileges of Englishmen. There was no room to doubt (he was accused of saying) that the same laws under which we live in England should be established in a country composed of Englishmen. He even dilated upon this, and omitted none of the reasons by which it can be proved that an absolute Government is neither so happy nor so safe as that which is tempered by laws, and which limits the authority of the Brince. He exaggerated, it was said, the mischiefs of a sovereign power, and declared plainly that he could not make up his mind to live under a" king who should have it in his power to take, when he pleased, the money he might have in his pocket. Now I consider it to be a very remarkable case, that we find the noblemen who advised ■ Charles 11. to dispense with his Parliament, " whose knowledge and ability had been most useful to that monarch, so thoroughly imbued with the principle that Englishmen, everywhere else, ought to live free as Englishmen athomejhhat in the King's council, when the question was submitted to him whether the population of an English colony were to be adjudged to live under the arbitary rule of the Sovereign, or under free institutions, he declared forcibly and unhesitatingly in favour of freedom. (Hear, hear.) That this opinion was in conformity with the general constitution of these colonies, that it was in conformity with the general principles of English law is, I think, proved by the opinion of Sir Philip Yorke, and the other law officers of the Crown, when he was Attorney General, which was quoted by Lord Mansfield in the well known case- of the Jamaica proclamation. The Assembly of Jamaica, having entered upon a dispute relative to the 4^ per cent, duties, it was referred to Sir P. Yorke to know " what could be done if the Assembly should obstinately continue to withhold all the usual supplies ?" They reported that if Jamaica was still to be considered as a conquered island, the King had a right to levy taxes upon the inhabitants, but if it was to be considered in the same light as the other no tax could be imposed on the inliabitants but by an Assembly of the island, or by an Act of Parliament. I think that opinion is quite sufficient with respect to the general law on the subject. (Hear, hear.) In the case of the island of Grenada, that island having been ceded to us by the peace of Paris of 1763, the King issued a proclamation which gave a council and an assembly to the island, with power and discretion to the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Council and the representatives of the people, to make, constitute, and ordain laws, statutes and ordinances for the good government thereof, and to levy such taxes as to the same might seem fit. It afterwards became a question whether the King had a right to tax the people of the island a certain amount to be paid to the Crown, and Lord Mansfield then declared, that whatever might have been the power of the Crown at the time of the acquisition, the proclamation which granted to the colonists the rights and privileges exercised under the British constitution, placed it out of the power of the Crown afterwards to make any arbitrary assessment. What has been the policy since that period 1 For various reasons, some of which I can imagine, but which I will not now presume to conjecture, from the peace of 1763 to the< peace which followed in 1814-1815, though there were some acquisitions which appeared at that time to be in a similar position with the islands to which I have referred, it does not seem to have been thought desirable to imitate the policy which had been formerly pursued, and therefore, in these acquisitions, whether under capitulation, or by an order of council, the old Spanish or Dutch institutions, or what-

ever they might be, were, for the most part, retained, and the government of the various acquisitions was not formed on the model of the English constitution. With reference to commercial relations and administration, there have lately been very great changes adopted deliberately by the Government of this country, or rather have been going on for many years past, in our commercial policy towards our colonies. In 1786, Mr. Pitt seems to have had for a time the belief that the relations between our West India colonies and the North American States, now become the United States of America, could be carried on | much as they had been when the latter were under the dominion of Great Britain, but this idea did not continue to obtain ; for, after an attempt to establish the seats of a strict monopoly at New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a view to the supply of the West India islands, which created a long contest with the United States, measures of a far more liberal character were introduced and carried into effect by Mr. Huskisson with reference to the commerce of our West India colonies. Lately we have gone very much further in this direction. By the repeal last year of the navigation laws, I conceive we have entirely put an end to the whole system of commercial monopoly in our colonies, (Hear.) We have plainly declared that, on the one hand, iif we require productions similar to those which our colonies produce, we shall be ready to take them from other parts of the world ; and, on the other hand, we have left the co- | lonies free to provide themselves with the products of other countries than our own, and i (o impose upon the manufactures of Great Britain equal duties with those imposed on foreign manufactures. It is not my purpose to go into the question whether this new policy is a right or a wrong policy. This, however, is evident, that while on the one hand it has produced much surprise, and in particular cases discontent, in some of our colonial possessions, on the other hand it has led at home to questions as to how the colonies are to be in future managed, and to a question, in some quarters, whether it is desirable to retain our colonial empire at all. I state this latter proposition broadly, though there are various modifications of it in various minds. Before we enter upon that point it is expedient to examine what has been the increase in several of these colonies, both in population and wealth under our dominion. I will take the increase of population, within a very short period,_<since the peace of 1815, in British North America. The population of British North America in 1816 was 462,250; in 1835, 1,099,904 ; in 1837, 1,866,891. This adbount comprises Upper and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and I am satisfied that at the present moment the population of these regions is not less than 2,000,000. The population in Lower Canada, in 1784, was 113,000; in 1825, 423,630, being an increase in forty-one years, of 310,630 ; in 1831, 511,992, increase in six years, 88,292, or seventeen per cent.; in 1844, 690,782, increase in thirteen years, 178,860, or 35 per cent.; in 1848, 770,000, increase in four years, 79,218, or 12 per cent. The population of Upper Canada, in 1811, was 77,000; in 1825, 158,027, increase in fourteen years, 81,027, or 105 per cent. ; in 1831,234,681, increase in six years, 76,654 or 42 per cent. ; in 1842, 486,055, increase in ten years, 224,995, or 45 per cent. ; in 1848, 723,292, increase in six years, 237,237, or 33 per cent. The population of Upper and lower Canada, in 1825, was 581,657; in 1831, 746,603, increase in six years, 164,603, or 29 per cent. ; in 1842 and 1844, 1,176,837, increase in ten years, 403,855, or 55 per cent. ; in 1 848, 1 ,493,292, increase in four years, 316,455, or 28 percent. (Hear.) This is the increase in Upper and Lower Canada, and its character may be more adequately appreciated by a comparison with the increase in the population of the United States, which I will give you at the decennial periods in which the regular census there is taken. The population of the United States, in 1790, was 3,929,827; in 1800, 5,305,925, decennial increase, 35*01 ; in 1810, 7,239,814, increase, 36*45 ; in 1820. 9,654,596, increase, 33*35 ; in 1830, 12,866,020, increase 33*26 ; in 1840, 17,069,453, increase, 3267. As to the imports and exports of Canada in the last few years the results are not less -remarkable. The imports in 1835, amounted to £2,730,082; in 1846, £4,052,378. The exports in 1835 amounted to £1,929,604 ; in 1846, £3,201,992. The shipping entered inwards in 1835, 1,077,874 tons, in 1847, 1,461,295. That outwards, in 1835, 1,025,527 tons; in 1847, 1,494,634 tons. This, at all events, shows a most remarkable increase both in population and in wealth ; and, if we go to another test of wealth, the assessment for local taxation in Upper Canada, the result is no less remarkable. This has been the annual amount and value of all articles assessed for local taxation in Upper Canada, under

the several assessment laws of that portion of the province. In 1825, £2,256,874; in 1830, £2,929,269, increase in five 'years, £672,395; 1835, £3,880,994, increase £951,725; 1840, £5,607,426, increase, £1,726,432; 1845, £7,778,917, increase, £2,171,491; 1847, £8,567,001, iv two years, £788,084 (Hear, hear). With respect to another portion of our colonies, in which there has been an increase of population of British descent, the facts are scarcely less remarkable. I look now more especially to our Australian colonies ; and, in the first place, to New South Wales. In 1828, the population was 55,000, one-half of whom were convicts. The exports at the same time were about £180,000. In 1848 the population had increased to 330,000, of whom but about 6000 were convicts. The exports at the same period had reached £2,000,000 in~ value. (Hear.) This will seem still more remarkable when I state that at the time of the separation from this country of our North American provinces, the whole exports of those provinces did not exceed in value £1,000,000 sterling. (Hear, hear). In 1836, Melbourne scarcely existed ; in 1846, it possessed 2000 houses, with a population of 10,000, assessed at £50,000, the whole population ofPortPhiJlip being 30,000. (Hear, hear.) Altogether, South Australia, which, at first, owing to some error, got into great pecuniary difficulties, has since made such extraordinary progress, that, in the course of ten years, its population has greatly increased, and the exports have risen in value to £300,000. I state these facts to show, that with reference to a large class of colonies under the dominion of this Crown there has been a marked increase in population and in wealth, to show the value of those relations on which so much discussion has taken place, the course of which has developed, I must think, in some persons, a very superficial knowledge of the subject. 1 will now proceed to colonies which have undergone two very severe trials, the very consequence of the great advantages which they peculiarly derived from those laws of commercial monopoly which this country till lately maintained as part of its system, and the alteration of which subjected these colonies — I refer, of course, to our West India Colonies — to changes which in the view of some parties, involve their certain ruiu. (Hear, hear.) The great social change there from slavery to freedom,' however much it might be demanded by the rules of justice and the precepts of Christianity, might well be supposed as leading to a diminution^ of industry in those colonies, and more especially of the more irksome and painful descriptions of labour. Again, the changes which took place in late years, first admitting foreign free-labour sugar, and then admitting foreign slave-labour sugar, exposed these colonies to a very severe trial (Hear, hear). Yet if the house will attend to a few figures, exhibiting the imports of sugar first, from our West Indian colonies, and then generally from the British possessions abroad, they will have much reason to see that the West India colonies have undergone the trial with far more success than might have been expected. (Hear, hear.) When I speak of the British possessions, of course it is to be borne in mind, that had the monopoly been maintained, the West Indies would have had to compete with the Mauritius and the East Indies. Taking the three years, 1815, 1816, 1817, before any of these changes took place, I find that the West ludies furnished for consumption in this country an average of 2,947,824 cwt. of sugar ; in the three years, 1830, 1831,, 1832, before emancipation took place, an average of 3,895,820 cwt. ; in the three years, 1843, 1844, 1845, before the great change of the sugar duties, 2,645,212 cwt. ; and in the three years, 1847, 1848, 1849, after both changes had been in operation, 2,807,667 cwt. (Hear, hear.) Now, if you compare the first amount I read to the House with the last, you will see the change has been from 2,947,824 cwt. to 2,807,667 cwt. — a much less diminution of the quantity of sugar consumed in this country from the West Indies than, I think, any one expected previously to the great changes which have been made. But if we take the whole amount received from the British possessions, the account stands thus : — The average quantity of sugar imported in the three years from 1815 was 2,982,608 cwt. ; in the three years from 1830, 4,004,185 cwt. ; in the three years from 1843,4,327,054 cwt. ; and in the three last years 1847, 1848, 1849, no less than 5,058,755 cwt., being an increase of more than 2,000,000 cwt. over the quantity of sugar from the British possessions consumed in this country in 1815. Now, considering the severe trials the colonies have had to undergo, I do say that this is a most satisfactory account of the state of the British possessions, so far as the production of a very valuable article is concerned. Having shown the increase which has taken place in this branch of commerce with our colonies since 1815, I come now to a question which had been much

agitated, and which has found supporters of very considerable ability, namely, that we should no longer think it worth our while to maintain our colonial empire. I say, in the first place, with regard to this proposal; ;tht,t I consider it to be our bounden duty to mtifftain the colonies which have been placed under our own charge. (Loud cheers, principally from the opposition side of the house.) I think we cannot get lid of the obligation and responsibility to govern those colonies for their benefit, and I trust we maybe the instruments of improving and civilizing those portions of the world in which they are situated. (Renewed cheers.) In the next place, I say that there are many reasons why we should consider that our colonies form part of the strength of the empire. (Hear.) I think that, in peace as well as in war, it is a question of the utmost importance whether we should retain these supports of the Imperial authority of this country, or whether we should be deprived of them. (Hear, hear.) I would observe further, that there are in some of these colonies native races which we have been able, in a certain degree, to civilize, and which we have brought into order and. subjection to authority. There is now in one of our recent colonies a most remarkable race, I mean the natives of New Zealand (hear, hear), which not many years ago were given up to practices the most abhorrent to humanity, but which from intercourse and communication with our countrymen appears to be far more capable of civilization than almost any of the savage races with which we have come in contact. There is also another race, the natives of Natal, in Africa, which shows every sign of docility and fitness for learning the arts of civilized life. There are other people also, who, if they were abandoned by us, would undoubtedly relapse into their savage habits, and who would probably commence a war of races with the few Europeans who would be hjft in command of them ; and we should thus give up parts of the world which have been reclaimed from barbarism to most cruel and desolating warfare. But there are other matters relating to the Imperial authority, and to the security of this country, which cannot be lost sight of in considering the value of our colonies. Every one will admit the value of that commerce which penetrates to every part of the globe ; and many of those colonies give harbours and security to th&t trade, which are most useful in time of peace, but are absolutely necessary in time of war. (Hear hear, and cheers.) I think that the persons who talk a'bout.giying up" the colonies, without investigating the subject, do not consider much what would be the probable result with respect to a great uamber of these colonies. It is easy to say that because the United States have formed a prosperous, and civilized, and free community, and that because they are not only great customers for our goods, but also receive our emigrants, other colonies might take the same course with equal advantage. But many of our colonies would be wholly unable to do so, from having but small means of preserving anything like independence or security amidst the savage races by which they are surrounded. What, then, would they do : If they were abandoned by Great Britain, they would most justly apply to some other country for pro'ection. (Loud cries of " Hear, hear"). The Cape of Good Hope would apply to Holland ; the Mauritius to France ; other colonies woulJ apply to other states, and they would say, "We have been abandoned by those to whom we were bound by allegiance ; protection is now taken from us, and we ask you to become our protectors, and to receive our allegiance." (Hear, hear.) Who can doubt that other countries would readily afford the protection asked, and that they would become strong on what would be our weakness ? (Hear.) Sir, if this scheme is not consistent either with our honour or with our policy, there are others which have been proposed, which I think equally objectionable. One is, that we should altogether abandon any share in the government of our colonies, and that we should likewise refuse them any means of defence. I think, Sir, that such a system would very soqn lead to the same result as the proposal I have just noticed. (Hear.) These colonies would say, "If we are not to be defended — if we are to receive no support from Great Britain — let us look for other protectors ; let us ask other States if they will assist us with their arms, and protect us against any attacks which may be made upon us. " (To be continued.)