SIR GEORGE GREY AND THE CONSTITUTION.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4260, 14 November 1874, Page 2 (Supplement)

SIR GEORGE GREY AND THE CONSTITUTION.

TO THH EDITOR. Sin,—Since the time of my first addressing you on this subject, several of the propositions which I deduced for comment from Sir G. Grey's petition have been sufficiently answered either by His Excellency the Governor, who is well able to defend his own dignity, or by the numerous and sensible criticisms of the colonial Press. I need not, therefore, waste my own or other people's time over these. There remain, howevei - , a few matters well worthy of remark, particularly Sir G. Grey's ideas as to the general and special political value of the provincial system. This is a part of the subject on which I shall need some self-control, in order that I may maintain that adherence to the discussion of principles and that temperate tone which I hope I may presume I have hitherto preserved. It is a point on which I confess I have, during all the years of my acquaintance with this colony, held very decided and strong opinions, which time has steadily strengthened and consolidated. Here, certainly, I may adopt the language of the Roman poet—" Incedo per iynes suppositos cineri doloso." The fires are yet aglow beneath the saddening embers on which we tread. But what am I to think when I read in Sir G. Grey's petition such passages as the following :—" Under the system of Provincial Government, a large portion of the population of these, islands is trained to the discussion of political questions and to the exercise of political functions, whilst many of them are being educated in the art of government. . . . A few years of such a system must make all educated men to some extent statesmen, Sec." Then come those fine passages about, the " guarantee against the embittering their lives by the giving of oppressive privileges to any separate caste . . ." for watching and eontrolling the public expenditure, and for guarding against an. unjust and partial alienation of the public lands, Ac." Well, as I before said, these are points of detail on which the experience and observation of the colonists will best enable them to decide for themselves. But really this sort of talk sounds to me quite obscure and ambiguous. Am I reading some of those sentences of scathing irony wherein the Swiftian power of the author of "Erewhon" is wont to wither up and annihilate some social or political abomination ? Or am I really to take these plain English words as meant to e: - press that meaning which, on the face of them, they seem to convey? Really when Sir G. Grey next wishes to write like this, he ought to follow the classic precedent of Artemus Ward, and write under the passage, " This is a goak," or " This is not a goak." Let every one, I say again, form his own opinion as to the sort of " statesmen " the system has trained, and as to the value of the political and governmental education that has come of it. But was there ever on this earth devised a system better contrived to deliver up the whole country body and soul—property and influence—to a very small number of people than this ? Was there ever enacted on this world's stage a greater farce than the system of so-called " Responsible Government" in the provinces of this colony ? The one absolutely indispensable condition of the pure and efficient working of such a system as tbiaj is sphere for its exercise—an area, that is, for the play of its political action. In other words, such a system, where there is not a sufficient number of persons capable of taking part in the administration of the Government, is not only absurd and ridiculous, but it must, by its very nature, be inefficient and inappropriate, and probably corrupt. The other day the telegrams told us the Governor of Natal resigned his position because of this precise absurdity. When, moreover, it was first proposed to introduce this system of Parliamentary Government in tho General Government of the colony, this truth was very acutely and wittily hit off by a member of the then existing Legislature: —"A London alderman finds fault with his wife about tho way his soup is prepared. To remedy the evil 'Responsible Government' is established in tho family, and the cook and tho housemaid form the Ministry; but the work is badly done, and they must go out of office; The housekeeper and her assistant now take their places; but still there is dissatisfaction, and they too must resign. But there is no third party in the house to take office: so the alderman is obliged to bring back tho cook andhousemaid, and to have his soup peppered as they please." Just so. ■ We are all pretty familiar by this time of clay with tho beautifully uniquo and simple swing of tho provincial pondulum, tho refreshing alternation between the provincial cook and the provincial housekeeper, and I presume most of us know something of the flavor of tho provincial broth. Tho horrible muddlo into which tho law. of the colony has been brought by tho enlightened legislation of these Councils is soma thing of which tho pockets of tho people have a sensation, and of which they will have Htill a keener sensation yet when tho inevitable time cornea for making the attempt, at the expense of tho colony, to introdueo some order and system into the disgusting chaos. My own firm conviction is that the excessive amount of sham political action, necessarily degenerating into personal scheming, and the never-ending agitation of elections of some sort or other which this system has inaugurated among us, has very seriously demoralised tho people of this colony.. Of this I have not tho smallest doubt, for I have watched it going on under my own eyes in different part;! of the colony. I know a province where tho character of the people, under the influence of these causes, lias already

to a large extent divested itself of its British type and colour, and most indubitably taken in their place the Italian type of. Machiavellian duplicity. lam quite serious in this. To my certain knowledge, tho system of continental espionage is in full play there. If you unluckily incur the suspicion, or the displeasure of the reigning demagogues, the sleuth-hounds are set on your, track to dog your steps, to note your words and your acts. So much for the political • education of the people and the statesmanship... Heaven save me from such education and such statesmanship. I will just leave " the unjust and partial alienation of the public-lauds" in the past and the present to the public sense of the province. That is a. sore point. But now let us look for a moment at the superiority of provincial control in money matters. Well, some people in this province remember an episode of a four years' experience in that line. But let that pass : that is a sore point too, so I wont touch it. But, says Sir George:—"The provinces have assured to them the entire right of the expenditure of their own funds, and freedom from any interference on the part of the Home Government, to compel them to incur any expenditure of which they may disapprove, ■which is a privilege not enjoyed by the General Assembly." Once more, is this ironical ? Verily lam puzzled what to think. The foundation of Parliamentary taxation is its necessity for the public service, as declared by the -Crown, through its -political advisers.— (May's Pari. Practice, p. 431.) It is accordingly a fundamental rule of the House of Commons, that the House will not entertain any petitition, or any notice for a grant of money, or which involves the expenditure of any money, unless it be communicated by the Crown. The purpose is to make log-rolling as difficult as possible. The 54th section of the Constitution Act is this :—" It shall not be lawful for the House of Representatives or the Legislative Council to pass, or for tho Governor to assent to, any BUI appropriating to the public service any sum of money from or out of Her Majesty's revenue within New Zealand, unless the Governor, on Her Majesty's behalf, shall first have recommended to the House of. Representatives to make provision for the specific service towards which such money is to be appropriated, and (save as herein otherwise provided) no part of Her Majesty's revenue within New Zealand shall be issued, except in pursuance of warrants under tho hand of the Governor, directed to the Public Treasurer thereof." If any one will look he will see that exactly the same provision is made respecting the Provincial Governments in section 25, and in the same terms. The same thing is also repeated in the amending Act, 25 and 26 Vic, cap. 4S, section' 4, sub-section 0. Now, here there is exactly the same restriction in both cases. Wherein, therefore, consists the greater security of the provincial control ? Again, who is it, I ask, that makes out and takes the responsibility of tho estimates of expenditure for the colony ? Is it the Governor personally, or is it his responsible political advisers ? And have we in the General Government of the colony such a thing as Responsible Government at all ? It would seem Sir George Grey doe 3 not believe we have, else why does he speak of tho "Home Government compelling the Assembly to incur expenditure,of which they disapprove ?" Truly lam here again in a fog. Perhaps Sir George Grey would condescend to clear up the obscurity. As for Sir George Grey's point about tho abolition of an independent legislature without its own consent and the consent of the "people of the provinces previously obtained in a lawful and constitutional /manner," there is no parallelism whatever between the cases no doubt impliedly referred to—those, namely, of Scotland and Ireland, and the case of these Provincial Councils. There are two fatal distinctions. First, those were independent, or at least national,jlegislatures; these certainly are not. See sections 19 and 53 of tho Constitution Act. Again, those were not cases of double representation ; these certainly are; —the people of the provinces act through their representatives in the Colonial Parliament. Upon each of the two points of the necessary implication of the reform of our nominee House in the proposed abolition, and the alleged unconstitutional conferring of honors on two of our statesmen, brief remark will suffice. As to the former, it is my opinion that a change in the constitution of the Upper House will come before long, quite apart from the present change. As to the alleged unconstitutionality of " life peerages," I may say, first, that all peerages were originally for life ; and secondly, that though some twenty years ago the English peers, under the dictation of Lord Lyndhurst, threw these peerages " like physic to the dogs," tho day is close at hand when, if they desire their order to continue a healthy and useful member of the commonwealth, they will be very glad indeed to take the " physic " back again. If I have not by this time exhausted the patience of your readers, I should like to devote another communication to the vulgar and juggling use of the words " constitutional" and " unconstitutional," and the real nature of administrative centralisation. —I am, &c., J. H.'Shaw, L.L.B.