AUCKLAND. RESIGNATION OF MINISTERS. [From the Auckland Government Gazette] CONFIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 944, 19 August 1854, Page 3

AUCKLAND. RESIGNATION OF MINISTERS. [From the Auckland Government Gazette] CONFIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM.

At the commencement of the present session of the Genera] Assembly, a debate took place upon a resolution' asserting the necessity of a recognition of the principle of responsible Government in the sense in which that term is understood in the Constitution of England, and has been recently acted on in all the British colonies in which representative institutions are established. That resolution, after a debate of sevei al days, was adopted by the House of Representatives with but one dissentient voice. His Excellency, with the advice of his Executive Council, then determined to meet the views of the House, by admitting to the Executive Council three members of the House of Representatives, who , should hold .their offices so long as they could command -the assent of the majority of the -Legislative bodies ;, but it was .understood ,at the same time, that the arrangement then made ,. should , be cpnsidered to he a provisiomvl one, as a step towards the final establishment of the new-system of Government as s.oon as the public service should render the complete change necessary. It was further determined that ,the Attorney General, who had been appointed to.be Speaker of the Legislative Council, should conduct the Government business in that House ; and it was assumed that his position as Speaker would form no obstacle in his doing so. In a short time, however, the dissatisfaction of the Legislative Council at such an arrangement, rendered it necessary that a fourth member should be added to the Executive Council, with a seat in the upper House, charged with the conduct of the Government business in that body. After full consideration, his Excellency coincided in the necessity of that arrangement. In this manner the Government was conducted forsome weeks with harmony and success. Several important Bills brought in by the Government, imperatively necessary for the consideration and adjustment of the powers granted by the Constitution Act, were passed and carried through several stages. v But 'as the session advanced, new .circumstances 'arose, a .formidable opposition was formed ; which, although hitherto successfully met by the Government,, rendered it more than doubtful whether the -public .business could be

much longer conducted in the House of the Legislature, except by a strong and consistent Government, composed of the Holders" of the principal offices in the Executive, fl became every day more apparent that the attempt to conduct the Government 'in the Legislative Houses of the Assembly by other than the heads of the principal departments could not long succeed. It is to be observed that, that attempt was one never before tried, there being no instance of a Colonial Government being'conducted'in the Legislature except by the Executive Officers of the Government in person. The result of the proceedings of a Committee of the House on the subject of the public finances, and the statement of the public revenues and expenditure since the expiration of the last appropriation bill, 'ter. months ago, tended materially to lessen the confidence of the House and the public in the Government as at present constituted ; the public have had before' them in a definite and tangible shape, the existence and the results of a policy in the management of the revenues, in the administration of the Crown lands, and in various departments of the public service, which are emi-' pently distasteful to the great mass of the population. The result has been the growth of a general feeling of insecurity 'in the minds of the -public both in and out of the Houses of the Assembly, and to the conduct of the public business of the country, and a general determination, which there is every reason to believe, exists on the part not only of the opponents of the Government, but also of its supporters in the House not to grant the supplies necessary to carry on the service of the Government, unless upon the Constitutional security (derived from the presence of the principal holders of office in the Houses -of the Legislature, and the responsibility of their tenure of those offices) that the' administration of the Government would' for' the future be conducted in accordance with the will of the Legislature. ' This feeling has been increased by the consideration that in the Bill laid before the House of Representatives by the Government, it has been found necessary to a^k for very considerable powers being entrusted to the Executive, in the administration of the functions which those Bills proposed to create. And it is agreed with reason, that the Legislature would not be justified in granting such exclusive administrative power unless ample guarantee were afforded that those powers would be exercised under the constitutional control of the Legislature. Upon the whole, it is apparent that the Government of the Colony can be no longer conducted on the present footing, and it is more than probable that should the present arrangement continue, a very serious difficulty will be experienced in obtaining the supplies for the public service. The present holders of the unofficial seats in the Executive Council would be acting in neglect of their duty to his Excellency, to their constituent.", and to themselves, did they con-, tinue to hold office under an arrangement of which the only result must be to embroil the Executive with the Legislature, at a moment when the whole interests of the Colony are deeply concerned ifi conducting the Government with harmony. >■ There appear to be but three courses open, first : — that the present unofficial members o t f the Executive Council should be replaced by others, should any such be found, who, will accept seats on the understanding that the present arrangement shall be preserved. Secondly, that the Government shall be restored to the old form and shall be carried on without any unofficial members, in the Executive Council ; and, thirdly :— that the present holders of office should resign, and the Government be re-constituted ou the ordinary responsible basis. It is quite .obvious that, in the two first of these cases, an immediate prorogation, probably a dissolution, of the General Assembly must follow; and the Government of the Co-, lony must be carried on, for many months longer, without any legal appropriation of the public revenues. The organization of the pub- | lie departments, consistently with the requirements of the Constitution, a measure loudly called for by the present .state of .all 'public business, must be delayed for an indefinite time, and a conflict fraught with dangers to the peace and well-being of the Colony, will inevitably arise between the General and Provincial Governments, a conflict which cannot but end in the augmentation of the powers of latter to such an extent as seriously to endanger the unity of the Colony as a whole. * ' The third course proposed will have an exactly opposite result. The present holders of office have already signified their readiness to retire. It is understood as a sine qua non that proper pensions shall be provided for them on so doing. /'""*' The principle is admitted that the tenure of these offices is" to be changed as ~soori % as the service of the country shall demand it.' That is asserted by the' Executive Government Bill now before the "House. The onty question' left is anoroftime rand' that consideration It is presumed is not one' of such importance as'to'justify the risk that such grave conseque'nees as delay may' produce, Under these circumstances -it is submitted that the wisest course, the course most consistent with the- best interests of the country, would be that the present holders of office , should place their resignations at his Excellency's disposal, and that' so soon as the Executive Government Bill shall have passed, his Excellency should accept their resignations, and should appoint to the offices of Government under that Bill such persons having seats in the Houses of the Legislature as he may deem best able to conduct the affairs of Government in accordance with the wishes of the Legislative Bodies. TJames Ed. Fitzgerald. /■c;«ti«^\ J Fred. A. ;Weld. (bigned) < m TT „ ■ x ° ' jT. H. Bartley.