New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK’S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, September 6, 1851.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 636, 6 September 1851, Page 2

New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK’S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, September 6, 1851.

When Mr. Godley taunts the Government, of which he is an officer, for having done nothing for the colonization of New Zealand, when he asserts that the Governor “ with unlimited powers and opportunities, with every conceivable advantage and facility for colonizing these Islands” has done nothing, and that the Association of which he is the Agent and representative in this colony “ has done more for colonization in a month than the Government have done for twelve years ; or, as every man in New Zealand well knows are likely to do in twelve years to come,” he makes positive statements which are obvious to the test of criticism, and which he cannot suppose will be allowed to pass without examination. We recently showed that these statements are unwarranted and at variance with facts, and that the occupation of the Canterbury block, though often previously contemplated, has been prevented by circumstances; indeed it was necessary for the New Zealand Company to buy up the claims of the Nanto Bordelaise Company before the Canterbury Association could take a single step. This fact Mr. Godley, as a Director of the Company and Agent of the Association, must be perfectly cognizant of. We also showed that the Government have been prevented by the mischievous pretensions of the Company from exercising their colonizing functions in this Province, and now that that body has been extinguished in disgrace, the colony has been saddled by them with a debt which is likely to render the land fund unproductive for the purposes of emigration for years to come, while the equitable adjustment of the claims which the Company have wholly failed to satisfy will occupy all the energies of the Governor, when they might otherwise have been employed in comprehensive plans for promoting the prosperity of these Islands. For further proof we may refer to the report of the select committee of the Legislative Council on the New Zealand Company s Land Claimants Bill in our present number, which exhibits in startling detail some of the difficulties created by this imperium in imperio, which the Government have to overcome, some of the impediments to colonization, which . they have to 1 remove. Now it may be very natural in Mr. Godley, an ex Director of the Nevy Zealand Company, who has mastered in that Direction the art and mystery of plunging a settlement into difficulties and debt on the most approved principles and at the shortest notice, to desire to repeat the experiment in the Canterbury settlement; we can easily conceive that one who, like Mr. Godley, has been a Director of the Company, an influential writer in the Morning Chronicle and in that capacity an assailant of the Government of which he is now a member, who is Agent of the Canterbury Association, and lastillustration of his name—one of “certain persons calling themselves a Constitutional Association,” we can easily conceive, we say, such a one speaking ex cathedra, and supposing his statements to go forth with an air of authority that will not admit of question ; but we have seen that his statements when stripped of their sophistry will not

bear to be examined. What • of which he boasts ? received accounts, the Associati / S sold 20,000 acres of land, an d are authorized to get into debt out of danger” is a homely Li? °> but no doubt these colonizers approved principles are f ar i u a these old fashioned notions, and" 0 to exclaim “ nous avons chanol Mr. Godley in discussing “ the violation of conscience th that a man when he comes to bmp’ ver troubles his head with the the seller of the purchase money 6 “’H ther he gets drunk with it, or builds'" with it, is of no concern to the nm-k This may be true enough as u. ChaSf! -' dividuals, and if the Association ' chased and paid for the land in whi i‘ are trafficking, if they had paid £2 & for the 2,500,000 acres placed uud °’r control, no one would question th • ‘•to do what they liked with, But when we find the Association £ legated powers practising, experfaJ? failure of which must be borne j British Government or by the cok both; when we find the price of w{ in the oldest settlements less acre, and that £3 an acre is demand Canterbury, the additional £2 being for conscience sake to which those mw the Church of England, and many of fa members, may reasonably object; whena attempt is made to throw the expeuse« settling the claims of the Akaroa settlenoi the other settlements to the exclusive at vantage of the Canterbury Association; e think these reasonable grounds of object® and protest on the part of the other setflea But Mr. Godley’s chief argument, that« which he lays the greatest stress in advocating separation, is the right of the settlen to a control over the revenue, and vet la denies their right, or the right of thefe vernor of the colony, to question the usesti which the land fund, a most importaa branch of the revenue, is appropriated byth Association. In speaking of the Government to bet pointed to the Canterbury Province, j Godley appears desirous of impressing! hearers with the belief that Sir Georg chief object will be to overburden the na constituted z province with an of officials. “ If. ” says he, “ we are US nothing by separation but the appoints of a number of officials with fine names® nominal duties—then I say emphatically) are infinitely better without it.” "Itisi cessary to say this very distinctly, lests George Grey should find in any thingi do an excuse for saddling us with a cos Provincial Government, and giving it, ai constituted, nothing to do.” Weharci desire to make invidious comparisons ho® ver Mr. Godley may provoke them, bit’ cannot refrain from expressing our te that the amount of real business and resp® sibility devolving on the Colonial Secrets of this Province (one of the officials "W fine names,” as he asserts “andno® duties,”) very far exceeds that imposed o? the Agent of the Canterbury Associate and that their duties are in the inverse rt of their salaries. But on turning to* George Grey’s despatches, we find bis October, 1849, strongly urging on U Grey the expediency of an alteration ® Royal Instructions which should enaJ “ in establishing new provinces to keep expenditure upon account of their sefi Governments within very narrow liffi^ 1 even considerably to reduce the ex account of the Government the existing Provinces." Thedespatc which the above is an extract was pu ‘ in the last Blue Book on New which arrived in the colony about the of June, a copy of which we may reapresume was received by Mr. Godleyever this may be, the despatch was • lished in the Spectator of ’ | taining the correspondence betw ■ George Grey and Mr. Godley w the occasion of the meeting a* - Sir George Grey took occasion press in Council his earnest desire, - it depended on himself, to render vincial Governments as simple® ll sive as was consistent with their j co! We forbear to make any leng ments on Mr. Godley’s insinua io -> must be permitted to observe a , j perfectly groundless and unwa the facts before us. The °P* nl ° n ley seems to be re-echoed by " lr *. e JiuiU who refers very confidently to t j and Royal Instructions to p‘°’“ i Civil List of the new Pr ° vn, p ha rter,«! £6OOO. On referring to the b the A_ct of Parliament in P“ rBU ? e( i that, 11 the Charter was issued, it is ® reS er*i c Crown shall have the P° wer from the revenues of any sepa s jf for the purposes of a Civil L

of money as shall not exceed £6000.” The amount may be less than £6OOO but must not exceed it. It is a pity that those gentlemen who take upon themselves the office of public instructors, do not take care to be better informed on subjects on which they are prepared to speak so confidently.

The following observations (extracted from the New Zealand Journal) referring to the Provincial Councils Bill, were made by Lord Lyttelton at a meeting of the Canterbury Association. As Lord Lyttelton is the most active and influential nobleman connected with the Association, his opinions are entitled to great weight; It is also to be borne in mind that Sir George Grey’s I'royincial Councils Bill is much more liberal in its provisions, particularly in the franchise, and confers greater powers than those granted to the Australian colonies. Mr. Godley may perhaps find it expedient, after this declaration by his Lordship, (whose opinions are reported to have great weight with him) to join Lord Lyttelton in recommending the Canterbury settlers to accept “ with satisfaction” the valuable privileges which have been offered them. °

Lord Lyttelton rose for the purpose of making a communication on a subject of deep interest to every Canterbury colonist; The promise made by Earl Grey, in 1848, with regard to giving representative institutions to New Zealand, was, probably, in the recollection of many persons present, and his wish to form separate provinces, with local self-go-vernment, in the different settlements. “ His subsequent recommendation to the Governor that Canterbury should be made into a distinct province, as soon as the population should warrant it, showed that there was a prospect from the first of that settlement soon enjoying the benefit of free institutions. It was not, perhaps, to be wondered at that a large discretion should be left to the Governor, Sir George Grey, as to the period of constituting such provinces. He had just received an official answer from Earl Grey, in reply to a communication from himself on the subject, that since his last despatch Lord Grey had received from Sir George Grey an intimation of his intention to introduce representative institutions into New Zealand, oh the model of those of New South Wales. Now, although this was by no means all that was required or expected, it might be accepted by every colonist with satisfaction as an instalment in the right direction.”

Odd Fellows.—The second anniversary ball, in aid of the “ Widows’ and Orphans’ Fund ” in connexion with the above Fraternity, took place on Wednesday evening last .in the Hall of the Mechanics’ Institute, and we are glad to observe that it passed off exceedingly well, the room being filled almost to excess. Dancing commenced at nine o’clock, and was kept up with great spirit until nearly six o’clock in the morning. During the evening songs, by amateurs, were introduced at intervals with good effect. The refreshments, which were of first-rate quality, were supplied by Mr. Laing. Much credit is also due to the stewards for the manner in which the whole arrangements were carried out.