Enter-Probincial News.

Colonist, Issue 20, 29 December 1857, Page 2

Enter-Probincial News.

Xi- V: - ( J^v-'^WELLINGTON;' ::-r-'f ":''" Br ; <thd Mary Thompson, which vessel arrived . yesterday from Wellington, our files of papers extend to the 23rd instant. > A public meeting of the electors was* held on ■the 16th instant, to consider the propriety of adopting a petition to the Governor,, praying him to dissolve ihe General Assembly,.:in order that, the representation of tins Province may be amended in accordance with the progress of public opinion. William Bowler, Es«[., oecu-: , pied the chair. " ■ ; The following resolution was moved, at the conclusion of a very lengthy speech, by-Mr. E. J. Wakefield, and seconded by Mr. liudlam :— , v ', ■■. ••'■■...■-.; . ■■■ ■' ■••"- "■' That, in order that the representation of this Province in the General Assembly may be .amended in accordance with the progress of public opinion,—and in order also to "avoid the danger of leaving the Pro- ;. vince for a considerable time and in a considerable degree unrepresented through the possible resignation of the members of the Houße of Representatives who have lost the confidence of the electors,—it is very desirable that there should be, if possible, a general. • ■ election before the next meeting of the General As- , sembly ; and that the following petition,-humby requesting his Excellency the Governor to dissolve the General Assembly, be therefore adopted. <„ ? ;. Mr Johnson (tinman), moved as an, amendj merit, .■ '' . .;. \, ■•. -- ,:i That the petition be ordered to lay underthe table; and be.read this day six months. ~,.< ; , -• Not seconded. , ;^i :<:;: , The resolution was then carried unanimously. :n. After thanks to the chairman the meeting ..bfjolce.up, and the memorial was signed by a gfeat number of those present. .... : ;. , following is the petition as adopted :— A} To-His Excellency Colonel Thomas Gore Browne, i .*,;: :i Companion of the most honourable Order of the. ■A ]§ath, Governor of the Colony of New Zealand, ".; &c. f ,;-.,-. • - '■:'■••■''/.■ ■";:" -;.-':. : " .. .The Petition of the undersigrtedi Electors1 'of the fprbvinceiof Wellington humbly,flhew«ih—• - •'- ''V v IS ; That the opinion of a majorityj/of'the elee'torS of , this^Province, Qn affairs of importance relating to"; the JGeneral. Government, has undergone an important; f rchan'ge since the last elections for the House of Bepre-, [} sentawves. ■ >:' 0 That this change of opinion has been proved by the ,; result of the recent Provincial elections, in which se-; veral of the gentlemen tormerly returned as.member9> '•of^the House of Representatives, because they held 1 Provincial qffices, have been rejected by large ■ .majorities, showing that those.gentlemen no longer ; ; possess the confidence of the electors for the manage- >'. ment of public affairs even immediately under their , own observation. .. .; . That this is so mnch the case that, without quoting! . particular instances, your petitioners may safely as- \ sert that five- of the sitting members are likely to b§ ' requested by a majority of their constituents.to, resign 1 their seats if this petition should not be favourably 1 entertained by your Excellency. That one of them 1 has publicly stated his intention to resign if so asked, '•■ and another has expressed his inclinationl to resign I because he was rejected by a neighbouring consti- ■ ency to that which he represents in the General As- ; sembly. ;' That a vacancy exists in one of the two seats ) for the Hutt, caused by the resignation of Mr. F. D.; •Bell.. . That if further resignations to the extent above inr I* dicated should cause further vacancies,.there would be six out of eight seats for this Province vacant at 1. the next meeting of the General Assembly, '■ ' 1 That the said six seats, owing to the delay arising from the only course for supplying them prescribed :by the- Constitution Act, could'not be filled until a considerable of the Session should have elapsed, 1 and until some of its most important business, per- ''"• haps, should have been concluded. .v *' That your Petitioners have been informed that in i several other Provinces similar circumstaixc^a.' sre »,: likely to conduce eimilar results: so thai.'ujilesfl there could be a Jgenersil ©lection before the Westing

of the General- Assembly,i a.largeLriumber ofthe'c'Onstituehcies might be either^ misreppesented,-or-unre---1 presehtedduring theearlier^^^pariqft^ Session. . ? That owing to hcgoeiattons for a■ loan of 500,000?. guaranteed'by the British Parlumejnit, which your Excellency's present -advisers h'aiye o|ought to a successful termination/ affairs' of great" importance to every constituency will, in all prolikbility, be discussed and settled by the next.'; General Assembly; which is, moreover, empowered by-'a-new Act of Parliament to make organic changes an'tfee Constitution deeply, affepting the whole, colony. IL'": Thatnt would, therefore, be a matter of serious re-: gret,rand perhaps..great detriment:tb the' colony at large ho less than to the indiyidualfconstituencies, if many of the latter should ttos:hay.e;'no:alternative between being either represented. ; H by f ! members in whom they may not have confidence, or. else not represented at al during■ 'a'"larg^jjojetionrof-the-Ses-. sion. ■•■■ ■,-. .'■' ■-;---" .-■ ■ ',' "■''•"' "','^'"~. ,,. | .-"" ; . That your Petitioners therefore^Kummy pray that your Excellency will be pleased to afford the constituencies of this Province, whose cfrcuDqEances have been set forth above, an opportunity of ahSteriding their representation inaccordance with the'pr^gressof- public opinion, by dissolving the General -Assembly.;' And your Petitioners will fever pray, &e. ■■'■ -;■'■.-'■ ■"■;"'/ /;;;; caution s^'; ' WITH REGARD TO THE EXPENDITi&ijE OF PUBLIC ,■ -■ ■■■.■••■ ■■■■•■:-:'-":" money:;;';:;; ;^' y/ '■' . ■■. u ■ (JFromthe tpectaiorl Decebiierl^.).^ . The formal notices^ of yhid);,ti)er'fulio^ving are \ copies,- were delivered ohJMpn<Jaytithiinst., ai the- •OffioeV!iof the ',Super|risfcandf3nl^r Treasurer; Secifetary^a^ ib^eii'!"tcans'iuitted' io allvthepnei/Hifcafrers id the"' .Province, : .... -....: : -}-J •$.-.,/£ .« *-"-: ~ •'* '']', .. -Wellington, 14th December, 185?:'; -; Sib,—You are hereby required to; take notice that; if youi shall grant or sign "any warrantor: warrants authorising the payment 'of any public money: for defraying the charge of the Government of ,th6 Province of .Wellington after $e' 3lst;day of Pecetnber, 1857, contrary to law, you will be held personally responsible for the same. '..'• .'..".. . . ; . r ,;J , , ; Wf have the hohqur;tb'b'e,r,:'- •■■■ ' /•...-.:..- ■ • ..-'■■■ ■■. .■•;' S"v ■,,^\\ 'v ■ - •• Your Honors obedient servants, •'■' *■.■■ .■■/ r-. -\ -I'"'- GeorgeMoore, •■:'■" ■■ ■■ ;• «' Alex. iMackay, ■■•;■■ , ~.'.' -.-.■' G.'H. lLuxfbrd, .-,.., .. ■ Frederick .Uchison, .."",... .. ;.< -W. Rowlands, ... ~ ,--.-.. John-H; Horner. To his Honor Isaac EarLFeatherston, iE^'.; Superintendent of..the Province of Wellington. Wellington,. 14th. December,'lßs7. Sin-—■You are hereby required to take notice that, if you shall pay any piiblic money for defraying the charge of the Government of the Province of Wellington after the 3 i-st day of December,, i. 857, contrary to law,—or if you shall1 advise the Superintendent in any way to authorise any such' payment, or consent to his doing so, you will be held personally responsible for the same. ,Jt :.■ '■■''■ " . . ■■■ ■■ . • ,-. &c, '.;'/; '*'■•■'' "' ■ ■ . ' : . .(Signed by the above six gentlemen). Jonas Woodward* Esq., Treasurer of the Province of Wellington, anjl a member of the;Executive Council thereof. ' -.. : :■: •:'.'(■:'.■ '*■'■ ■ ■ '■■■'■•"'■■ _____ i,.?.-..,.-. -.. ■:• ■ , Wellington, 14th December, 1857. Sir,—You are hereby required tOitake notice that, :if you shall register in your office anynvarrant or warrants which the Superintendent mayjgrant or sign for the payment of any public money jfor defraying the charge of the Government of the Province of Wellington after- the 31st day of December, 1857, contrary to law, or if you shall advise, the; Superintendent in any way to authorise any such payment, or consent to his doing so, you will be held personally responsible, for the same. ;. ,c r ■'"■■."' .''' ".' We.haye,,&c, ■—■■/: ,■>-.-<■■ ' '■■ ' .'■' "■'. (Signed by the abpve';gix gentlemen.) William Fitzherbert, Esq., Secretaryifor the Province of Wellington, and , a member .of ithe-Executive Council thereof:". .J; ~; : '.- v ;-v T) ■■-'■''' y< ' 'Wellington, lith Dec?mber, 1857/ • ~. Sir, —You.are hereby.'required..,to; take notice;th?,t, if you shall ,a;dvise the SupbrintendeWtito grant op 'sign^ any warrant or- warrant? ftutlipp;i«jiggj^.Q,c,j>ajTiiC!nt.i.of.'= ■'any public money fordefraying the charge of : the Go-, vernment of the Province of Wellingtpn after the 3tst day of December,' 1857, contrary'tto law, or in. way., to authorise any such, paymentjor-if you shall consent to his doing so, you will be .^eldTpersonallyrer spbrisible for the same. ;. '..';!>:. •■■ ,■■.. '•■ . •■■■■■;• '■'■ We have, (fee., l ,•. , ". ■ ' . ■ ■ ..,....■■• -(Signed by the'above six.gentlemen.)' • Acopyeachto ;' :• . .-Tf '•• ■ A. de B. Brandon, Esq., Solicitor; for the Province; and a member of the Executive Cquncil. Samuel Sevan's, Esq^ a member of the. Executive Council. . „ . : William Fox, Esq., a member of v the Executive ■ ■'. -■ Council. ';•■•. ;■ '■ -<"'.'■■■.>'".■■ V- ■'■''• THE LAND QUESTION IN |jpr SOUTH ■■■■■'■■ :; ■_'-:: _.WALES. ;.\|^J ]■■:■ ■■•■•' [There is so much good sense in the speeches of the chief speakers, at the great torchlight meeting, Sydney, that,we are induced to"give the one delivered by Mr. H. Parkes, the Chairman (publisher of the, Empire), at full-lengthyas also that of Mr. Blackman. As the resolutions of the meeting must in the. nature of things be interesting, affording an index to popular evenls and opinions relative ; to land, they may be of sohie importance, at least suggestively, arid for the purposes pf political philosophy. The light of the Sydne^ torches may be, useful even here; for we arein^ clanger of adopting, in our little, corner of a country, the pastoral follies of an immense region {where they have flourished in large room. .: . r It will be a sad evil if the squattingison sheepruns, &c, obtain muchjonger in our petty settlement, occupy ing 4n its glorious clime the millions of comfortable nooks that wouldotherwise'hecbme happy.homesteads of healthy agriculturists and their families. It behoves the -bulk ;of the population to rise ,at" onceV and' for'%ver,'insisting in the strongest terms on the means- being fairly offered to all for the occupation of s tne soil^ t-Ed. Colonist.] ': ■ ;||' !c- ■ ;';V;." ..,"' X-'- - 'A-public meeting was held, on the 7th instant by ■ torchlight in Wyhyardr-square, i, : to. /petition agains't the present Land Bfll, arid lo^naugurate a .Land^liej^ue^i It w^s one of:tli« rWe^have; seen5 * in this fcity for sonje time past,-,the numbers- preseht being' estimatea at little short,of ijjiye.thousand. The meeting "was" comprised in the v mass of working men apd tradesmen.1; Th6 proceedirigs were remarkable for the good-order that 'prevailed; and there was astriking Unanimity of 'feeling in opposition to the measure under discus- •- .' ' " :• ■■■ ~.-' .;-:,^. f v ;: :;■■:■ v): A waggon drawh J up in the square!, jaihd fitted with a table.and a few chairs, served as aPtilatform. : Sufficient light forHhe transaction of business was .'aiSbrded by oil lamps and torches:- The arrangements, though somewhat rude, answered the pur- :; pbse intended; and the scene, as a whole, was novel, and not without an air of the picturesque. ,:i The preparations having been completed, the chair was taken shortly before eight o'clock, by I\lr. H. Parkes, who on taking his seat was greeted \yith loud and general cheering. v - . The Chairman rose. amid renewedaicheering. He said, I will preface my observations by reading the advertisement, in virtue of which this meeting •iscalled:— A monster meeting by torchlight upon'the Land Question, will be held in Wyriyard-squ'are, on Monday evenintj, December 7th. Citizens! Eleotons! and Working Men of New. South Wales K. assemble in thousands once more to petition against the gigantic ; Land Swindle of Squatters and L?.nd Jobbers, and to .inaugurate a Land Leagued r-^.p ? ".Hereditary" bondsmen, know ye not^—':--ivt '■ Who would be free, .themselves -must? strike the ■"■■■ "-'-''■ : 'biOW?" ' .'..' -:.-;-. '.' ': . ; ';- / 1;,,'.. ,;. : ■ ■;. ■ Chair to be taken by Heniy Parkes, Esq'.' ~ - : You have been invited here, gghtlemen, by a .number of working men;; and -I' take" this to be emphatically and peculiarly a tteiTionsti-ation of the working classes of this city. Why I Avas invited to take yxe chair, I do not know, unlessiit he that ■lam perhaps thehardest working, manin-the city.

(Loud cheers.) But, be nfl^i }t may, I have such a strong regard'for thjat class which produces all the wealth of every civilised country (hear, hear),-I am so anxious tor the respectability, moral and physical, and the elevation of that class in the social- scale, that I am glad of every opportunity that I have to manifest this respect, and to show that I have not forgotten,' and never shall forget, my identity with that large and important class of society. (Loud cheers ) You have been invited here as working men—invited by working men— to consider a question, which, above all others, :a peculiarly requiring your < attention; for, if ary question in the whole economy of a young country can be important to the operative classes, it is this question of settling the lands of this young country. You have all, unquestionably, an inalienable right in the apportionment of lands of a country recently taken possession of, and yet. to be peopled by the people of your nation. Ido not of course mean by this any wild idea of socialism, such as it exists on the continent of Europe. I only mean that in the making of those laws by whichthe wild lands of the country are to come into private occupation, and freehold holding, you, all of you, are interested. You are interested to an extent which, on account of your children and those dependent upon you, you cannot and ought not to forego. You ought to see that in all legislation on this subject, every principle of equity is carried out, so that every man has a fair field and no favour. And it is not only for yourown good that you see to this thing, but it is for the good of every other class in the country ; for, gentlemen, the merchant would find his business extending and his fortune accumulating much quicker.by "your settlement - far and wide "oh the wil<fc' la^s of the cou&tiyii^ The capitalist would fihailfs investments fructify " more quickly- and to a richer end by your settlement on the' wild lands, and your bringing those lands into productive richness and fertility. The moral welfare of the community would flow on with greater rapidity. Education would.implant itself in a much purer and more successful manner by the progress of population throughout the wilds of this interior. It is for the welfare of every class that your rights are respected—that is, your rights as colonists—having come' here, or having been bome here as children of those who did come here, with the object to carve out for.yourselves independence and a happy home. Jfow, gentlemen, I am very sorry to say that the bill now before Parliament has been framed, so far as I can decide on a calm and dispassionate judgment, with an entire absence of regard to these great ends and considerations. I feel adverse to that bill, both as to its general character and to the manner in'which the question has been treated by its framers all through the recent discussion. I say there have been a levity and an indifference to the public interest, and as far as I can see,'an absence of» just appreciation of the important bearings of this subject, which are highly discreditable both to the ministry and to Parliament. It appears to me ?hat the great, the sacred object in dealing with this question, which can never be dealt, with again on the same footing as now, has been entirely lost sight of. Why, gentlemen, what are we called upon to do? We, a mere handful of people—l mean the whole population of this countryr—are called upon to distribute the bountiful gifts of the Creator—those gifts which can never be reproduced to come fresh into our hands as now,' so long as this remains a coun'ry: We are called upon to do this, as it may affect the interests of unborn millions; and it is monstrously absurd for any authority to stand up now and talk of some quarter of a million people settling this question now, as against the rights of some twenty millions who may come after us. We ought, therefore, not to touch this question—neither. you in this great meeting, nor the gentlemen elected to the Legislative Assembly, nor those gentlemea who form the Government of the passing moment, for Govern- % ments in these days only tell their existence by moments. We ought not, I say, to approach this question- without grave and" most serious thought, without a full sense of the obligation, more sacred than any other obligation, that is imposed upon us; because we are taking possession of a country __ —that is, .taking possession" of it in" arilmlustrial " sense as subjecting it to the' uses of civilised society, in a manner which must, as I said before, affect all those who come after us through all time. And, gentlemen, I cannot help remarking that it is for the interest of the largest landed proprietors of the present day that this question should be settled on an equitable basis; because assuredly if any thoroughly dishonest practice obtained now in disposing of this question, it would be righted hereafter by the strong arm of natural justice. And it is for the interests- of the rights of property as much as for the interests of the rights of labour, each within legitimate limits, that this question should be approached now in a calm, rational, philosophical, and comprehensive spirit, and that it should be settled with regard to the eternal principles of justice. Gentlemen, in taking the' chair now, I; would only say that I do not entirely, agree with the resolutions which have been submitted to me; but they are the resolutions of the gentlemen who got up the meeting; and I contend that it is. better - that they should throw off their own, thoughts, . undictated to by me: or any one else—that they should give to you the principles which they^ be- ; ; ing representative men of the working classes of^ this city, bold, unaltered, unadorned,'untouched by , the hands of any one else whatever. I contend it is best that this meeting should dispose of these resolutions upon'their merits. Therefore Ido not offer any observations beyond stating that I do not concur with- the resolutions in some minor par- . ticulars, but that I fully assent to the general ob- ' jects aimed at. Gentlemen, 1 have only one, more word to say in taking the chair, and that is, that you will so demean yourselves as to set an example to the Legislative Assembly itself. Show the . men who nominally, represent you, that you are as fully capable of grappling with the great question of State as- they are; 'Show them that you can approach a question of pure reason without any admixture of passion or of anything that shall be unworthy of the consideration of a question of such importance. Therefore let your proceedings to-night be characterised by the utmost order, by temperate language, by the fullest amount of fair play. While you are stern and unbending in the assertion of your own rights and the maintenance of your own views, do not.interfere with any one else, either" present or absent. Let the proposer* . and seconders of the resolutions argue the question before you' uninterruptedly. your ap- .. proval. of. dissent'like rationai/men^ Give "nine : . '. times nine" cheers, if'yq^l^ey.^^.^ottrßeiveS'j'y''' but 3o v not give any other manifestation of your : feeling. This islhe-only indulgencelasltfbr myself in presiding over* you; and knowing as X do, • the thorough respectability of the working classes of Sydney, I am sure I have not to ask this in , vain. T^e Chairman then called upon' Mr. William Blackman, wffa rose to move the first resolution , as follows:-— "; That in the opinion of this meting the primary object of the Government of a country, blessed like ffsw. South Wales with a splendid ■ climate, and, an , abundant supply of the richest agricultural soil, ought , to be to encourage the settlement of an agricultural population, and that from'having lost sight of this object, the Land Bill, as introduced by the Cowper . Ministry, and recently modified^ is based upon wrong:: principles, not calculated to facilitate the settlement of the waste lands of the Crown; unsuited to the wants, and contrary to the wishes of the great body of the colonists of New South Wales; and that this meeting appeals 60 his Excellency to dissolve the Legislative Assembly. ■■~■•,■' '.

He said he was sure that when he saw such a vast concourse of the citizens and working-classes of* Sidney as had congregated there that evening, he might safely say that the cause in which. they were all embarked wa9 favourably progressing. In fact, numerous as they were there that evening there were a great many more throughout the colony in their favour. The whole/ public press of the colony had spoken out in their favour; and without any previous concert the great majority of the people at largo in the country districts had instinctively given utterance to the opinions that had been adopted by the people of Sydney. He was sure they would take all this in connection with the numerous'and enthusiastic meetings already held in Sydney, as an earnest that the hopes • "■which had lured thousands of working men to the shores of this colony would be realised. The great mass of people did not come here merely to obtain

permanent or remunerative employment, great as those advantages were, but the great object of every one ought to be, in a new colony, the possession of homes and freeholds, where they might live free and independent, where they might be their own masters and their own employers, and be, if not entirely secured, in some degree sheltered from the "uncertainty of. hand-to-hand existence, from the demoralising fluctuations of the labour market. These were their great objects. He need not say they had hitherto been unattainable under all past Governments; and he was sorry to say that under the present administration they seemed further off than ever. Nevertheless, convinced as they were that they had been time after time hoodwinked and deceived, he hoped they would not injure the cause by promulgating anywild theories, but by theVjustness of their principles and the fairness of their demands set an example that would be emulated throughout the length and breadth of the land; and that they would raise a voice there ,ihat evening that would wake a response in the, breasts of all thoughtful citizens arid colonists. , T?hey must be determined to act with moderation—that was the first essential of success; but just in proportion to the fair-. £ ness and'moderation of their demands ■ must be their determination to band themselves into a league never to be dissolved until a Land Bill should be passed, which? should offer the utmost encouragement to the bond fide settlers and cultivators of the soil, and, therefore, conducive to the welfare of the entire coinm unity, and leave also plenty of room for the millions whom it was to be * -hoped would soon, or Some* day, be able to arriye at these shores,"mid .^Jkh?: jit "ought to- be- their ¥" jlit^r^yHhe'iiiiosf-|ißeraj .measures to attract. hey should distribute the lands in .such1 a way .that every man might have a. little^- and no one have more than he could profitably use for his own advantage as well, as-for the public benefit. It was not that they wanted all the people of the colony to turn to agricultural pursuits. Such a thing would be absolutely, impossible. At the same time it would be better than to see the people of the colony huddled and crammed as they are, like damaged merchandise, in our large cities and .towns. It would be a great deal better to see them scattered abroad over the face of the country. But that would not suit the squatters. Depend upon it, it was only population that could develop the resources of a country, and make it wealthy and great; and when they provided for the material wealth of a'cpmmunity, they inevitably paved the way for their moral and intellectual elevation* They did not say that agriculture should constitute • the whole social edifice; .but they did say that without agriculture as a foundation you could not raise your edifice at all. He knew very well that an eminent statesman in this colony (Mr. DonaldBon) who he hoped was present this evening, had made one of the most extraordinary statements that issued from the mouth of a political economist. Mr. Donaldson had stated in the Legislative Assembly; that it ought not to be the primary object of the Government to encourage the settlement 6f an agricultural population. And for this reason, because it was well known that one agriculturist could produce twenty times more than he could consume. What an extraordinary nuisance was productive labour; what a dreadful pity it was to see the earth so teeming and prolific! Now he (Mr. Blackman) thought this was exactly the reason why agriculture should be encouraged. They wished to see the people of this colony engaged in remunerative employment; and if Mr. Donaldson had not been the veriest political hypochondriac in existence, he never could have said that it ought not to be the primary object of the Government to encourage, the settlement of an agricultural population, for fear and in dread of the poor honest farmer being overwhelmed with the bounties of nature; for:fear of his being encumbered with an unmanageable agricultural produce at the very time wherrwe have sent away two millions of pounds to purchase breadstufFs from abroad, arid when we are now sending at the rate of seven hundred thousand a.year for this Surpose. What an extraordinary, time to be in read of an agrieultural"fpq^ulaitioni -If. it had """""Beenpossibletokeep this ra.<>ney/m the country, they would not have seen everything in the listlessness and stagnation that now prevail in this couritryi They would not see hundreds of men •walking about the streets of ; Sydney, unable to obtain remunerative employment. And they would not see what was seen the other day at a shop in Sydney, where there vyere 200 applications for the situation of light -porter, warranted to carry 2 cwt. about Sydney. , Let them see how things were managed by Canada or America. The speaker then entered into an elaborate statement of the land system in America and British Canada, adducing instances of the wonderful progress caused thereby, ap compared with our own slow advances, and showing how the settlement of an agricultural population gradually grew into a thriving village, the thriving village became magnified into a bustling town, and the bustling town expanded into a great and flourishing city; and that, on the spot where, 20 years before, nothing was seen but desolation, and nothing heard but the howl of the prairie-dog. It was her land system that had made America the greatest agricultural country in the world, the land of promise to the down-trodden millions of Europe-^ And it was the policy that led to this state of things that had been repudiated by Mr. Donaldson, and abandoned by Mr. Cowper, Returning to the measure now under consideration, he called upon them to show their total repugnance to the Cowper Land Bill, and their unqualified disapproval of its principles and modifications from beginning to end. It had been said that there was a soul of good in evil things, and that if they were favourably disposed they might extract.this good; but he had been unable to discover one redeeming feature in the Cowper Land Bill.. Its whole tendency appeared to him to be to perpetuate that unwholesome state of society, composed of squatters, capitalists, and land-jobbers, driving and eating into the heart of the country like rats into a cheese; and on the other hand a vast mass of working people utterly severed from.the soil, depending for their existence upon daily labour^ and therefore, living in a.state of vassalage and subservience. Now, he was sure that such a state of things would not be tolerated by Englishmen. He was sure they had not come' 16,000 miles to be put ufcon a levei with Chinamen and coolies. They hadnot come 16,000 miles not to rise a step in the social scale, but to find themselves strangers, and aliens, and outcasts, uuonih,'eir, own soil..* He must say then, that'he'qld^iiigh'ly admire the judicious iiripractibility' 6f Mr. Forster,.'. who utterly abandoned the idea of licking the Cowper measure into anything like sliip-shape. That gentleman knew very well that out of the wrecks of the Orders in Council it would be utterly impossible to make a land bill that would be satisfactory or beneficial to the country, and therefore he utterly repudiated the idea of making a silken purse out of a sow's ear. There were two great classes of politicians in this country. There was first the Donaldson type/ These gentlemen declared it ought not to be the primary object of the Government to encourage the settlement of an agricultural population, and yet by a charming and bewitching inconsistency, they would fain persuade the people that they proposed to bring in a popular Land Bill. Arid then there was the Cowper and Martin class. And these were the most dangerous. They declared it ought to be the primary object, of the Government to encourage the settlement of an agricultural population ; but they demolished their own theories by bringing in a Land Bill which destroyed the right of the people to the soil.- Whatever the professions of the late and present Governments, it was pretty clear that they were thedrips of the same block ; and was it any wonder that the whole country was disgusted with such trifling as they had seen going on? Which of them Who had "listened to this promises which were made y by the Cowper Ministry when out of office, or listened to the eloquent, to the virtuous indignation with which Mr. Cowper denounced his political opponents, or to the eloquent ■ vituperation which was poured upon them by Mr. Martin, ever expected that the first act of the Cowper Ministry, upon their accession to office, would be to clandestinely appropriate the land measure of their opponents, and Wing in a Land Bill, which Was not a genuine and wholesale adoption of the Parker Land Bill, htt th« -w<M»t of all imitations, the parody and the

caricature of thoi&pstale and musty originals which' when out of office aVidangling for .popular suffrages, the Cowper Ministry hacVcondemned and repudiated. Was thai' patriotism; or justice to the" people ? Was this?a lofty and intelligent statesmanship ? He woujd'tell them something it was like. It was something,Very like the manoeuvring dodges and pverreaching> ; of horse-jockies and gamblers. Never did a Ministry go into : office with finer opportunities of doisg good, backed by the sympathies and unbounded confidence of the* people. And how had (they used those opportunities but. for their own personal interests and aggrandisements? How lad they" acted towards their fol-, lowers, their benefactors—the public at large f Why, just as tlte vfrozen snake which was warmed into life ■by : the' unsuspecting peasant, and whose first use of that life was to inflict a mortal wound upon the hand byVwhich it.had been so generously but injudiciously;!warmed into life. And what had Mr. Covvper.done when he found himself in a fix from the pressure within and the pressure without, and in dread of his life that all political existence would be : .squeezed out of him ? Why he determined to give way. And what had he conceded? Nothing to the people, but the whole country to the land-jobbers and monopolists; and though he was no admirer of the Sydney Morning Herald, yet he must say that in its issue of Saturday last it had rendered a most essential Service to the whole country by exposing the whole fallacy of this last move. It must be quite clear to them, all that until theiauctibn system was utterly annihilated jthe jcapitalistriand the land-jobber would find it jusjk^aa^a^y.tQjforce up land ait tWlq_C nominal price as at theiiigh nominal price; but there would be this great difference, that under the high upset .price,, the, land-jobber would be compelled to pay, at least jr per acre, but under the low upset price of ss. be vrould be enabled to get any amount* of the lands of the colony at ss. per acre. So long as the auction system was retained, it would-be utterly impossible for the poor man to bid against the land jobber. He was sure he expressed the sentiments of this meeting, when he said they did hot want the lands of the colony to get into the hands of jobbers. They only wanted them alienated to bonafide settlers, who would develope' the resources of the country, and thus enable the Government, if they are wise, to come down upon, accumulated wealth for the expenses of Government, rather than upon the wages of labour or articles of consumption. He would only say," in conclusion, that they must all put their shoulders together, and determine to have such, a land bill introduced as would re-produce the most successful features of the American and the British Canadian land system, and thus afford the greatest possible facilities for the acquisition of land ; the land only to be alienated to the bonu fide settler, and in' such proportions as he could turn to profitable account; and land-jobbing to be totally repressed. ■ But if the land-jobbers did manage to give' them the slip and plunder the public property, then they must be determined to come down heavy and.hot upon them with such an amount of taxation as would make them disgorge and render up the ill-gotten booty. He had much pleasure in moving the first resolution. The following resolutions were also proposed and unanimously adopted :— " That tins meetingus of opinion that no Land Bill will be adequate to the wants and wishes of the people which does not embody the following principles, or such principles as will make the occupation of the waste lands infinitely easier than at present, and repress land jobbing. •:;>That' all unalienated Crown iands of the colony be opened to the free selection of individuals intending; to occupy and cultivate the same in farms vavyingfrom 30to 320 acres, without competition, surveyed or unaurveyed, at a price not exceeding 11 per acre, town and suburban lands excepted. That a deposit of per cent, be paid upon the selection of the farm, and the balance at the end of years with interest on the unpaid purchase money. Tliat if at the end of years 20 per cent, be not brought into cultivation, the land shall be considered as uncultivated land, and be subject to a tax of so much per >acre, and no' title be given until. 20 per cent, .be brought into cultivation. That all ajieußteSr Grown ;Lands not*occupied-shall"be'subject to a tax of somuch per acre." ;''- * : ' . i - " This meeting is of opinion that in order to secure a land bill for this colony, in accordance with the spirit, of the foregoing resolutions a Land League should be formed forthwith, and.this meeting pledges itself to support such league, and also earnestly invites the co-operation of every district in the colony. That the following gentlemen compose the committee, with power to add their number:—Mr. Haydon, Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Stswart, Mr. Parker, Mr. M'Phail, Mr. Camithers, Mr. Douglas," Mr. Reid, Mr. White, Mr. GladaU, Mr Blackman." J