The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY.) FRIDAY, JULY 5, 1878.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5389, 5 July 1878, Page 2

The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY.) FRIDAY, JULY 5, 1878.

In reference to the Governor's despatches, and to the memoranda between his Excellency and the Premier upon the proposal to present them to the General 'Assembly, which were published in the Government Gazette on the ,21st June, >we had occasion'to note the remarkable difference of opinion regarding the rights of the Imperial authorities and the, duties of a Governor, which were entertained by Sir . George Grey, and expressed in his despatches as Governor of this colony, and the opinions expressed by Sir George Grey as Premier in his memoranda to Lord Normanby.

There is no subject, in a now colony 'particularly, upon which there is such general ignorance ns there is in regard : to what, may bo _ called contemporary history. There is no written or continuous • record of it to which recourse: can' bo had in order to get a comprehensive view of events .in their sequence or in their connection ; life is fast and busy, and change is rapid; there is no time for the majority, and not much inclination if there were time, to undertake the labor of digging but facts from blue books and musty record-', without oven the. aid of such an index as memory affords to thp few , np.w remaining who shared in the rough work of settlement in the earlier, times.

Since the proclamation of the Constitution Act by Governor Grey in 1853 great changes have taken place ; the original number of ; members returned to the House of Representatives at the first meeting of the'; General Assembly was thirty-seven: it is now eight/yeight.-. The'; European population, in the North Island in 18»1 Was estimated at 18,000 souls, whilst the', natives , were supposed to number 70,000 The European population in the South Island at that time was very small; probably 30,000 would represent the whole in both islands. In twenty-seven years the increase has been immense; the last census returns give 414,000 as the total European population in March of the present year." The increase since 1872 by immigration from Great Britain, as well as from the Australian Colonies, has been very largo, and it might be said with truth that in all the shouting crowds who have responded to the eloquent rhapsodies of the Premier on his recent stumping tour, not one man in five hundred knew anything, or could know anything, of the early history of this colony,, or of Sir George Grey’s official connection with it. His own memory, as we see, is bad; and if it were otherwise, it could hardly be expected that he would, venture to enlighten his hearers in regard to the past. The records are, however,- accessible, and it is the duty of the Press to supply such information as to facts and opinions in these records as may help to illustrate current events or topics, and to guide public opinion in regard to them. Wo have already called attention to an important omission made in the schedule to the Premier’s memorandum of date Bth June, in which the supposed limits of the authority of the Secretary of State were defined. After stating in a cloud of words the dangers to liberty from the action of the permanent Under-Secretary, from the influence of wealthy colonists residing in London, and from other causes of like character, Sir George Grey says—

23. It was tlic objection entertained by many leading British statesmen to such dangerous powers being left in tiro hands of the Colonial Office, that induced the British Parliament to attempt to secure to the people of New Zsa and. and other dependencies of tire Crown, the power of controlling their own affairs, and of shaping their own future, without the interference of tile Colonial Department.

Notv, in 1851, in his despatch of date 30th August to Earl Grey, giving an explanation of the ‘constitution which lie proposed for New Zealand, Governor Grey, tracing the Executive Government from the Governor downwards, writes:—“ The duties of the Governor-in- “ Chief would' consist in corresponding ‘ with and receiving all necessary in- “ struotions for his guidance in the Go- “ vernment of these islands from her “ Majesty, through one of her Majesty’s “ principal Secretaries of State. . . . “ I think also that the Governor-in T Cluef “ should be the sole Commander-in-Chief “ in the New Zealand Islands, and should “ alone have the power of issuing to the officer in command of the forces within “ these islands, and these dependencies, “ orders for the march and distribution

“of troops. .... I think further “ that the Governor-in-Chief should alone “ be entrusted with the power of giving “ orders regarding the temporary occou- “ patiou of Crown Lands for depasturing “ purposes. . . . . Ib like manner “ I think that the expenditure of the “ Civil List and of such sums as may be “ reserved for purposes connected with “ the welfare of the entire native population, should be under the direction of “ the Governor-in-Chief, subject to such “instructions as ha may from time to “ time receive from the Secretary of “ State.” We have here in this despatch very different . views of the relations which should exist between the Government of; New Zealand and the Colonial Office from those which are propounded in the memoranda which we are now considering ; it would be difficult for an uninstrnctocl reader to suppose that both could have been written by the same hand. The difference is in the point of view. Governor Sir George Grey would rule autocratically by means of .instructions from the Secretary of Slate for the Colonies, Premier Sir George Grey will not allow the Secretary of State to express an opinion even upon a question regarding the exercise of the Royal prerogative "’submitted for bis decision by the Governor. Surely there is something very absurd and unreasonable in all this. It may be said probably—as indeed it would appear from the papers —that the Premier in this quarrel is expressing his individual opinions _ and not those of the members of his Cabinet. They may not have been consulted upon the subject; but it is impossible that they can escape their share of responsibility unless they adopt the course, which in respect to larger questions they have followed, of publicly expressing their dissent from the opinions of their chief, and their determination to take an. independent course. Wo may assume at least that the projected election of a Governor is not part of the common programme.