THE NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS.

Yesterday, being the anniversary of the Prince Consort's birthday, was fixed for the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the new Council Chamber and Government Offices. The site chosen is situated near the eastern end of Bridge-street, and will in future be known as Albion-square.

The morning was a very rainy one, and it seemed at one time as though the ceremony, which should be an imposing one, was destiued to pass off with very litHe eclat. But towards noon the clouds began to disperse, and the weather cleared up. The day wus generally observed as a public holiday ; and the public attended in considerable numbers. The members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows having met at their own hall, proceeded to the Masonic Hall, where they were joined by the members of the Southern Star Lodge of Ereetaaaons ; and together they walked to the Depot, to join the Executive Council and others. The procession (which went by way of Hardy-street and Tasman-street to Albion-square) was formed in the following order : — Banners. The Nelson Brass Band. The Loyal and Independent Order of Odd Fellows of the Nelson and Howard Lodges, in full regalia, and carrying their dispensations, in gilt frames. Banners. The Southern Star Lodge of the Ancient Order of Free and Accepted Masons, in full regalia, and accompanied by their Chaplain and other' Officers, in full costume. Flags and Banners. His Honour the Superintendent, and the Members of the Executive Council. The Architect of the Building. The Contractors. Officers connected with, the Provincial Government. Dr. Hochstetter and friends. The Clergy of the Province, including the Bishop of Nebon, in full canonicals. The Justices of the Peace. The Members of the Provincial Council. Flags and Banners. Merchants, Tradesmen, and others. Members of the Cricket Clubs. &c, &c. Flags and Banners. Having arrived at the site, the various bodies took up then* appointed positions— the Freemasons and Odd Fellows forming a circle; the Superintendent and others being within it. The scene was at this time most impressive. A spacious marquee had been erected for the convenience of the ladies, and was well filled with a numerous assemblage ; while young and old crowded round. Silence having been obtained, Mr. Buby said : That, as the architect of the building, the foundation stone of which they were now about to lay, ho would give to the Superintendent tho bottle containing — A Nelson Examiner of the 24th August, 1859. A Supplement to the Nelson Examiner, of the 3rd August, 1859, containing that interesting and instructive Lecture on the Geology of the Northern | Island ; delivered at Auckland, on 3rd June, 1859, by Dr. Hochstetter. Tho Colonist newspaper, of this day's date, cont taining a notice of this day's proceedings. A parchment, containing the autographs of all the Government officers and members of the Executive Council. A parchment, containing the autograph of the first Bishop of Nelson, the Right Reverend Edmund Hobhouse, D.D,, who was consecrated on Mi-chaelmas-day, 1858, and installed in Christ Church, Nelson, on April 28th, 1859. A printed comparative statement of the times the principal races have been run in on the Nelson course.

A parchment, with the following information engrossed upon it: — " The foundation stone," &c, &c., &c. A piece of Pakawau coal. A small nugget of Kelson gold. A piece of copper ore from Current Basin Mine. A piece of flax, manufactured and prepared by Mr. M'Glaslien, at his new mill, Waimea-road. Two pieces of Nelson cloth, manufactured by Messrs. Blick and Co., Nelson. Also the following coins : — A sovereign, half-sove-reign, crown piece, half-crown, florin, shilling, sixpence, four-penny piece, three-penny piece, penny, halfpenny. And a Nelson Directory, by Mr. J. L. Bailey, which contains an abridged but interesting account of the formation and progress of this settlement from its birth. The ladies, he hoped, would then sing " God oave the Queen," after which the Bishop of Nelson would deliver a prayer, and then the Superintendent would address them. The Superintendent then placed the bottle within the stone, and having spread the mortar, the stone was lowered to its place, and having tried it with the level, tho Superintendent declared the stone to be well and truly laid. The band then played " God save the Queen," all present joining and singing the anthem, after which, the Bishop of Nelson offered up the following prayers, which were listened to with mute attention by the assembled multitude.

COLLECT. Prevent us, 0 Lord, in all our doings with Thy most gracious favour, and further us with Thy continual help ; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in Thee, we may glorify Thy holy Name, and finally by Thy mercy obtain everlasting life, through «Je3us Clirist our Lord. Amen.

O eternal God, mighty in power, of majesty incomprehensible, who, though the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee, yet humblest Thyself to behold the tilings that are on earth, look down, we beseech Thee, on this the work of Thy servants' hands, and bow Thine ear to accept the prayers, praises, and thanksgivings offered to Thee this day. O Lord, by Thy holy Word Thou hast taught us that except Thou buildest the house, their labour is but lost that build it. Suffer not the labour bestowed on this building to be lost for lack of Thy blessing. Regard, we pray Thee, with loving-kindness all who are engaged in this work ; purify their motives ; direct their minds with wisdom and skill ; quicken their zeal ; strengthen them with unity of purpose, industry, and perseverance ; preserve them from any evil occurrence that may mar their plans, or blight the fruit of their toil. And when Thou hast vouchsafed to our eyes that which they desire, to behold this building completed in all the fulness of its design, then, good Lord, let Thy gracious Hand ever be over it to fulfil, in many a coming generation, the hopes and purposes of its founders. Grant that, in these halls, Thy Name, O God of justice and of truth, and wisdom, peace, and love, may be for ever honoured and hallowed by dutiful upholdings of Thy precepts, and faithful execution of Tby laws. Grant that the counsels adopted withiu these walls may be conceived in dutiful allegiance to the Queen, for the maintenance of her empire, for the well-being of her subjects, and the stablishing of her authority in their hearts. Grant that the sword which Thou givestto rulers to be a terror to evil works may never be borne in vain, through weakness, wavering, or injustice. Give to the weakest his right, and to those who strengthen themselves in wickedness their recompence. So that the Judges of this land may be Thy ministers for good, to speak Thy praise of good works without fear of mnn, and to be Thy revengers upon every soul of man that doeth evil. To these our prayers, O Lord, we add our unfeigned praises and thanksgivings. Of Thee come riches and honour, and TJuou reignest over all. In Thine Hand it is to make great and make small. The nations and kingdoms of the earth Thou buildest and Thou plantest. Thou throwest down and Thou rootest up, nnd this land is witness to al )these tilings. Thou stillest the madness of the people ; Thou orderest the unruly wills and affections of men 5 so that violence is not heard within our lands, wasting nor destruction within our borders. Thou hast planted this land afresh with the " seed of man and the seed of beast." Thou hast made our own nation to Btrike root herein, and to overshadow 1 it with goodly branches, and to bear fruit on hundredfold.

For all this Thy good Hand upon us, we thank Thee, and praise and glorify Thy holy Name. O let thy manifold mercies to us return to Thee in the abundant thanksgivings of those who receive them. Let the remembrance of these mercies dispose our hearts to serve Thee more faithfully, to promote in all that we do or strive to do, as a people, Thy honour and service, to unite for all that concerns Thy glory in the growth of holiness and truth. Finally, O Lord, teach us so to use the earthly blessings of Thy gift, that they may not withdraw our affections from those heavenly things which Thou hast prepared for those that love and serve Thee ; through the merits and mediation of Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord ; to whom with Thee and the Holy Ghost bo all honour and glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, the Prince of Peace j we beseech Thee to take away from us all pride and prejudice, and whatsoever else may hinder us from godly union and concord ; that as there is but one body and one spirit, and one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may henceforth be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, aud may with one mind and one mouth glorify Thee ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our Father, which art in heaven. Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only wise God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be honour and glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Superintended then said, addressing those present as his friends and fellow-settlers, that he must confess that when first applied to, to have this formal ceremony, he expressed great unwillingness that anything of the kind should take place ; but upon it being again represented to him that the ceremony was for the province an exceptional one, and that founda-tion-stones of similar public buildings were usually hud with some little parade, he had undertaken thus publicly to lay the present stone. He had not objected upon any particular grounds, but he believed his fellow-eettlers were almost too utilitarian to derive good from so useless a ceremony : though now, on looking around, he really fancied that in that opinion he must have erred, or else they must have had some other cause for bringing them there in such numbers, and that would be to honour local self-govern-ment [hear, hear]. He oordially united in the feeling of pleasure at meeting them, and he should henoeforth look upon the day with great joy. He had been attached to local self-government for many years. He doubted not that some now around him had thought the old system of governing the colony had been a good one, but he felt sure that all would admit that the form of government now existing was the best not only for themselves but for others, Many who had arrived within the last few years were unaware of tho difficulties which had been encountered by the early settlers. On this very spot they had removed the bush, so that the natives might find no cover from which to make onslaught on the settlers and their families. Some had been engaged in watching themountain-passes, while others again had constructed on the church-hill a place of refuge for their wives and families. Those to whom they had a right to look for aid had not as* sisted them, but this arose from their then faulty government. Many might think that though they

now paid rates and taxes, that these were not exacted in former days, but they would be gravely mistaken. Hundreds of the beat of .abourers had been in a state almost bordering on starvation, and had gladly performed a week's hard work for the m^ney now paid for a single day (.hear, hear]. These things had passed away, but 'still renamed strong on their memories. The theu bad state of affairs hid led to the holding of the largest po'itical meeting ever assembled within the province, ami that was on the spot where they now stood [hear, hear]. On the spot where they were now assembled for laying the foundationstone of their future Government offices, they had in years gone by asserted their political rights 5 had agitated for local self-government, and had obtained it. He had always acted under the motto, that, c< for a nation to be free, 'tis sufficient that she wills it." And it was, he believed, this fearless expression of their desire which had obtained their Constitution, though all must admit that it was to the freedom-loving people of Wellington they owed their Magna Charta. Under tins Constitution their affairs had prospered, their material and social condition had improved. Some people might think they possessed too large a measure of freedom, but for himself he would say, let us have the management of our own affairs, unbiassed and uncontrolled by distant Governments. He then read the following quotations :— " The primary fundamental principle, then, of true free institutions is— that all local affairs, of common interest, shall be administered and controlled by true practical insititutions of local self-government ; general affairs, affecting the common good of the several institutions of local self-government, boing those only with the administration of which the General Assembly of representatives for all those institutions of local self-government has concern. ******* The whole matter may be very shortly summed up. The question between centralization and local selfgovernment is a question between dogmatism on the one hand and discussion on the other ; between the supremacy of an irresponsible oligarchy on the one hand, and the practical asaej tion of the rights and responsibilities of freemen on the other. The question is, whether the mass of mankind are but unreasoning animala, to be dictated to and drilled j or whether man is a creature c but a little lower than the angels,' and whose high nature can only truly be developed — ■ but is able to be developed — by every inducement being held out to independent thought and self-reli-ance : whether there is a right divine in any few to think for, manage, and govern the many, or whether the many are able to think for, manage, and govern themselves, and have it as their highest and noblest birthright and inheritance— their right, duty, and responsibility — to do this. These questions must not be blinked ; nor can any man who has a true and earnest faith in free institutions and in human progress, suffer them, in any individual cases, to be avoided or speciously disguised by any plea of exceptional expediency, any Bpurious liberalism, or any sickly sensimentalism. ' What arc the fruits that local self-government bears, and what are the fruits that centralization bears, must never be forgotten. Local self-government makes men, everywhere, the maintainers of their own rights liberties, independence, and well-being; it breeds self-respect and moral dignity. Centralization undermines, everywhere, all those rights, liberties, independence, and well-being, under pretence of setting hired functionaries to guard them ; it breeds subservient sycophancy and moral degradation. Local self-government cherishes and develops every moral and intellectual faculty, and gives to each of them, in every man, full scope for action ; it humanizes and elevates, and kindles every kindly charity. Centralization crushes and deadens every moral and intellectual faculty, and sets up, in their stead, the presumptuous pedantries of hired functionaries, by which life shall be regulated and action shall be guided ; it brutalizes and debases, and begets and fosters a grovelling material selfishness alone. Local self-government seeks the continual progressive adaptation of what is tried, and practical, and known. Centralization loves crude speculation, Procrustean pedantry, and empirical law making. Local self-government maintains true peace and confidence between man and man, by the firm bond of mutual sympathy and mutual peacepledge and responsibility. Centralization strives to keep up an external show of order, by begetting apathy in some and unmanly dread in others, while the fruits of the evils that it generates are sought to be kept from showing themselves above the surface by a mercenary and demoralizing system of centralized police. Local self-government makes men to know and to distinguish and actively to discharge the rights, duties, and responsibilities thai belong to freemen, whether within the domestic circle, the local district, or the national union ; and it keeps every representative body, local and general, in sound and wholesome activity, because kept within its due functions by active safeguards. Centralization seeks to obliterate all sense of the rightß, duties, and responsibilities of freemen ; to throw every obstacle in the way of the discharge of all of these ; and to make representative bodies, whether local or general, but practical falsehoods, kept only as forms, under the mask of which the work of despotism may be the more effectively carried on, and all reality of free institutions the more easily blotted out. Local self-government makes freemen always to do folk-right among each other; and tries and adjndges [ always according to the golden and straight metwand of the law. Centralization loves only summary jurisdiction 5 and tries and adjudges always according to the uncertain and crooked cord of discretion. Local self-government brings law and folk-right, and the exercise of all political functions, home to every man's door, speedily, frequently, and costlessly ; Centralizazation makes the pretences of cheap law, and of political franchises, but tho cover for sapping independence and extending costliest functionarism. Local Self-Government does all its work in open day, before the face of men: — Centralization shuns the light of day ; works secretly, stealthily, and by indirect and tortuous courses behind the backs of men. Local self-government unites all classes and interests in one effort for the common weal, making every proposition to be freely and fairly discussed before all, and to be determined only after such, discussion 5 that so each may work its way on its own merits, for the common good, and with the common consent of all. Centralization stirs up jealousies, and strifes, and heartburnings, between different orders and different classes; hinders all discussion, and thrusts down, instead, its own dictated conclusions ; it seeks to sow division, that it may the better rule ; it fosters only selfishness, and the narrowest individualism. Local self-government is identified with the interests of the mauy ; with the reality and lastingness of free institutions j and with true human progress. Centralization is identified with the interests of the few 5 with oligarchism and arbitrary rule; and with the forced repression of man's natural progress." In conclusion, he said, that on these opinions he had thought deeply, and in them he heartily concurred. He hoped the words inscribed on the stone, " Let justice bo done to all Though the heavens fall," would be their motto, and that prosperity and happiness would long attend them, and that every m»n would always get a fair day's wages, for a fair day's work [hear, hear].