NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR AND Cook's Strait Guardian. Wednesday, April 12, 1854.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 907, 12 April 1854, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR AND Cook's Strait Guardian. Wednesday, April 12, 1854.

Prompted by the convention of the General Assembly, and pursuing the train of thought to which expression was given in this journal on Saturday last, we now lay before the public some reflections on the subject of Responsible Government. Let us first attempt a definition. The phrase "responsible Government" belongs exclusively to the language of countrie ha 'ing free o popular institutions. It has no meaning in absolute states. It has been invented foi the use of countries in which either the whole people, or some considerable portion of them, are authorised by a constitution to elect representatives. Whether all or only some, those who choose representatives, are called the people. It is only to the people, and in this sense, that a government can be accountable. Speaking generally, a government is responsible when the people, through their representatives, effectually influence the whole conduct of public affairs. This popular influence may be exerted in two different ways ; one direct and very simple, the other indirect and somewhat complicated. Under the former, the popular representatives are themselves the government. The people elect both the legislature and the executive, who between them manage all public affairs, and are directly accountable to the people. This is the Americo-republican way. The other, which is less simple, may be termed the Anglo-monarchical. Under the lat- | ter, a single person, not elected, is a , branch of the legislature co-equal with the representative body ; and he is also the sole depository of executive authority. His office is highly dignified and important, but not responsible. Then how can the whole government be responsible? The representative body is so by its elective, character; and in order that the whole conduct of affairs may be responsible while the head of the government is not, there has been invented that wheel of the English constitutional machine, which is called ministerial responsibility. Whilst the non-elected head of the government has such high authority both legislative and executive, all his acts must be advised by certain persons called ministers, appointed by him, but with a conditional tenure of office. The condition is that they hold office only so long as they enjoy the confidence of the representative body. In this indirect way, the ] people through their representatives, and the representatives through the ministers, effectually influence all public affairs, and government is substantially as responsible as under the Americo-republican system. We need not enquire which system is abstractedly the better. Besides that Englishmen prefer their own, the New Zealand constitution is monarchical, asi

well as representative, in its principles and its forms. Under it, there must be ministerial responsibility or none. The question of interest for us all as colonists, is not which sort of responsible government should we prefer, but whether or not we shall obtain the only sort that is possible, i and when. * | But is this a question ? Is not ministerial responsibility for New Zealand a I necessity ? With it, the combination of monarchy and representation always works well ; without it, always comes a stop. The rule is not general but universal, without a single exception. Here are some examples. When the House of Commons had grown into a real representation of the people, Charles the First lost his throne and life because he would not take for ministers men in whom the representative body had confidence. Charles the Tenth was expelled from France because he insisted on keeping ministers not agreeable to the Chamber of Deputies. Most of the European imitations of the British constitution have broken w down, always through wanting that ministerial responsibility which is an essential part of it ; and at this time the Kings of Holland, Belgium and Sardinia, owe the security of their existence to their unqualified adoption of Responsible Government on the English plan. British colonies without end, to which representation was given, have been incessantly distracted by it until ministerial responsibility was added ; and there is now not one of them, which has tittained that natural consequence of representation combined with monarchy, but enjoys a state of peace and prosperity. If the lessons of history and living facts should weigh with our rulers, there will be no hesitation about adopting the only means whereby a representative constitution on the English model can be made to work for good : and those lessons teach us that the other alternative can only produce agitation, demagoguism, and hot water in general. But it will be well to examine the subject in the most practical light. On the 24th May, the House of Representatives will be constituted by the election of a Speaker. What is to happen next? Even the choosing of Speaker may be a hash, through the want of concert or understanding between the House which elects and the Governor who can disallow. But suppose the Speaker approved of by the head of the Government, then comes his Excellency's speech opening the session. This document will not have been advised by any one member of the House of Representatives ! The policy set forth by it, generally and in detail, may be agree ible to the House ; or it may not. If not, there will be an attempt to bring about agreement by means of Addresses and Messages. But this mode of endeavouring to reconcile differences between the head of a monarchical government and a body of representatives, is very inconvenient and very imperfect ; so much so that it has never, we believe, accomplished its object. Let us imagine, however, that by some means his Excellency and the House have come to a good understanding on all points of moment ; then will begin legislation for the purpose ! of carrying his Excellency's policy into effect. The House will want much and varied information ; not statistical documents alone, which might be supplied by Message, but explanations, long as well as short, not merely concerning- facts, but relating to the opinions and intentions of the Executive, and often required suddenly in the course of discussions. By whom will it be supplied ? By whom will Bills be prepared ? By whom will Government be represented in the House ? j By whom will the House be represented towards the Government? There might perhaps be an attempt at mutual representation, by some members of the House friendly to the Government and willing to do the part of amateur ministers ; but the bulk of the House would resent such impertinence, and ask these unauthorised uninvited pretenders to the character of responsible ministers, who they were, and by what warrant they undertook official functions. If they had the Governor's warrant, they would be ministers, and the House would take care of their responsibility : if they took an official part without warrant, they would be scouted as officious. With make-believe representation on either side, there would be a mess, ending soon in a dead lock. It would follow that there must be a real represen-

tation or none at all. The only possible real representation of both sides is ministers appointed by the Governor and confided in by the House ; in other words, Responsible Government. If there were none at all, the New Zealand legislature would exhibit whflt has never beeri seen before under the monarchical form of government — a representative body left entirely to its own devices, unlcd, unadvised, uninformed, and so unconnected with the Executive as to be compelled either to do nothing', or to usurp, by means of Standing Committees and written calls upon the Government, the functions which only a republican form of Constitution j devolves on representative bodies. Since, j assuredly, the popular delegates would not be quite inactive, we should have a strange imperhnn in imperio — a republican power at work within a monarchical system. This has invariably happened before in British colonies, whenever members of the Executive, having seats in the Representative House, were not supported by a majority ; whenever, that is, there was not concert between the Governor and the Representatives by means j of ministers enjojing the confidence of both : a fortiori it seems inevitable when, as in the present case, not a single member of the Executive Council has a seat in the House of Representatives. The New Zealand case, as it stands at present, is unique, without precedent or parallel. There never hVthis world was any thing like it before. Surely,*the application of some remedy to such a state of things cannot be open to question, but may be deemed a'necessity. Reason and all experience concur in suggesting not merely the proper remedy, but the only possible one ; namely, some arrangement whereby some of the principal advisers of the Governor — that is, members of his Executive Council — shall also be members of the House of Representatives, with the understanding that they hold their .seats in the Council subject to the condition of being supported by a majority of the House. This done, all is done: less than this is nothing: and this happy consummation of the Constitution instead of a catastrophe, is not such a mighty piece of work after all, but only an arrangement easy to make if set about in the right spirit. Easy to make, but not to make suddenly or in a hurry. It would require time and patience for those parleys, and negotiations, and accommodating expedients, whereby, at home or elsewhere, a new Ministry is formed. Scats ill the Heuse of Representatives would probably be resigned, in order, to made room for persons not having seats there but enjoying the confidence of his Excellency. For this an adjournment of some weeks would be requisite. An adjournment would operate beneficially in keeping the House quiet whilst the business of forming a Government was progressing. Thus time and tranquillity would both be gained at once. But we must conclude for the present by recurring to the main point of our observations on Saturday : there is an indispensable condition precedent of any satisfactory issue of the crisis ; viz., that from the hour of their arrival at Auckland, in deed, word and thought, collectively and individually, in private as well as public, the members of the House of Representatives should be guided by discretion in the fullest sense of that comprehensive word.

We received by the Chcrl.md Mail our usual files of Auckland papers, but they contain no local intelligence worth extracting. The only item worthy of remark is an attempt to establish a Grammar School in connection with the Church of England on the following plan, as reported in the New Zealander. The Head Master is to be a clergyman, being a member of one of the Church of England and Ireland Universities, and in the first instance to be selected by the Bishop of New Zealand, the Rev. H. Venn, and the ltev. E. Hawkins. A salary of £300 per annum is to be guaranteed to him for three years, to be increased as soon as the funds admit, and the Governors think desirable. Guarantees to the amount of £400 per annum shall be secured to the Board of Governors to meet this salary and other expenses of the school. All persons guaranteeing the sura of £10 annually, for a period of three years to have the right, if required, to nominate one pupil for every £] 0 so guaranteed, and to be qualified to vote at the annual election of a Board of Governors ; the board to be composed of three clergymen and four lay subscribers, under whose management the School will be placed. The Bishop, or iv his absence the Archdeacon, is to be permanent Chairman of the Board.

An Inquest was held on Monday List at Te Aro Hotel, before Dr. Fitzgerald, coroner, on the body of Eogcr Perkinson, who died on the

Saturday previous. From the evidence it appeared that the deceased was very much addicted to drinking, he was in the habit of working occasionally for Mr. T. Brown, butcher, in Willis-stieet ; on Thursday last he complained to 2Jr. Brown of being in great pain, and the latter advised him to have medical advice, the deceased accordingly went to Dr. Monteith who gave him medicine and advised him to go to bed and be quiet. Dr. Monteith found one of his ribs on the left side was fractured. The deceased had been very drunk the previous Tuesday and the medical evidence went to show that his system was disorganised from the effects of intemperance. The decreed got rapidly worse, and at length died late on Saturday night. The jury returned a \erdietuf •' Die J from the effects of Intemperance. *'

The Steamer Nelson arrived yesterday from Port Victoria. She was twenty-three hours on her passage thither against a light southerly breeze, and twenty- foil i' hours on her" return with alight N.E wind against her. We understand she will sail for Auckland positively on Thursday at noon, fhe mail for Wellington is on board the Government Brig, which left Lyttelton on Saturday. The Duke of Po?-tland was the only vessel at Port Victoria when the Steamer left. The. Steamer on her way up passed a large vessel, supposed to be the Akbar, going to Port Victoria.

We have at different times received numerous and repeated inquiries for information on the subject of the Acts passed during the last Session of the Provincial Council. With the view of satisfying the general desire for information we propose to jmblish an analysis of the different Acts, while the more important ones, such as the Fencing Act, Eoad Act, and one or two others we intend to print at length. In our present issue will he found the Fencing Act, on which in our next number we shall offer a few observation's.

The following is a list of the Members of the House of "Representatives of New Zealand. The whole number is thirty-seven, divided among the different Provinces as follows. Auckland returns 12 members, Wellington 8, New Plymouth tt, Nelson 0, Canterbury 5, and Otago 3 members. We published a short time since a list of the members of the Legislative Council: —

Auckland.— Mr, OBrien ; Mr. O'Neil ; Mr. B-utiev; Mr. Mernraan ; Mr. Porter; Mr. Forsaith ; Mr. Lee; Mr. Taylor; Mr. Gray ; Mr. Greenwood ; Mr. Bacot ; Mr. Carleton.

WEtLiNGTo.v. — Mr. Clifford s Mr. Kelham ; Mr. Hart ; Mr. W-ikefield ; Mr. Ludlam ; Dr. Feathe'-Pton ; Mr. Regans ; Captain Rhodes. Or* go. — Mr. Mac Andrew ; Mr. Cargill } Mr. Cu»ten — . -+ r -w~f . lima- rN 11

CAMir.RBUUY. — Mr. Fitzgerald; Mr. Sewell ; Mr. Wakefield ; Mr. Wortley 5 Mr, Moorhouee (resigned.) Nelson. — Dr. Monro; Mr. Weld; Mr. Mackay ; Mr: Pickard ; Mr. Cautley ; Mr. Travel" (resigned).

Nfw Plymouth. — Mr. King ; Mr. Gledhill; Mr. Crompton.

Tun Government Brig arrived this morning from Fort Victoria, having experienced light and contrary v.incK We are informed that tuo pei'hon* from Port Phillip have recently made a purchase at Otago under Sir George Grey's Land llogulations of two blocks of land comprising 80,000 acres; the purchase had caused considerable excitement in the Province.