COLONIAL REFORM.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume V, Issue 214, 17 July 1849, Page 3

COLONIAL REFORM.

' In every society 'colonial fortunes and colonial government form subjects of anxiou3 disquisition \ aud' observant criticism. There is not a question of home policy — be itthe state of trade, the rate of wages, the price of food, the adjudication of pauper j settlements, the area of rating, or the increase of I population — but what is somehow or other implicated in the Condition of the Colonies question. That which engages attention out of Parliament can hardly fdil to meet with it in Parliament. Already notices of motion on colonial subjects are rife. Bej fore many weeks are over we may expect to see the, whole of our colonial system overhauled. Too long have our colonies been the hospital for effete courtiers, incapable soldiers, or disgraced men of tank. Too long have they groaned under the despotism of the ignorant, the caprice of the unprincipled, the folly of the coxcombical, or the depravity of the vicious. But though much depends upon the fitness of a Governor, more depends upon the freedom of the governed. " The Office" might be spared one-half of its present trouble if the colonies were only allowed to look after their own affairs a little more freely. There would be some little awkwardness at first, perhaps, with an Australian or Capelaud Parliament ; but, unless Engliahmen on the other side of the Equator are very different from what they are here, this is an awkwardness which wou'd soon wear off. Be it remembered that every day which defers the privilege of self-Government, will make it more difficult whep is is conceded ; and that the temper of a people trained from the beginning to the enjoyment of civil liberty is vastly different from that of a colony which extorts it after years of bickering and dispute. We have seen this principle preseive to Nova Scotia and Newßrunswick a loyal and patriotic j spirit in the midst of trouble and rebellion ; we have seen it save Canada from insurrection and revolt. ! Why should it not Bhield our other and more promibing dependencies from the dangers of internal discontent, external miegovernment, and financial ; meddling ?— Times, The time is rapidly approaching when the system of relations between Great Britain and its Colonies must undergo an entire revision. Within the last quarter of a century the entire power of local selfgovernment may be said to have been vested in the I inhabitants of Canada and Nova Scotia, two of our most important colonies ; pretty considerable advances in the same direction have been made in tho colo ny of New South Wales ; and hopes of similar !

concessions which it would be dangerous to disappoint, have been held out to other colonies. During the same period the constitution of society in. many of our colonies hiul undergone a material change : slavery had been abolished throughout the tropical colonies, and Australia is no longer one large gaol for the incarceration of convicted felons. Lastly, the progress made in the substitution of a system of free trade for the old, complicated, and artificial system of protection and restrictions, is entirely changing the nature of our relations in the colonies. Many years cannot elapse before all these mutations and their consequences muke themselves felt in demands for an entire change in the system of colonial government ; and it is of the utmost consequence that Ihe people both of the colonies, and the mother-country, should bring to the discussion of these demands such »n nccuate knowledge of the facts, such clear and jusi apprehensions of principle, as can alone ensure thuir being conducted in an amicable spirit and to a satisfactory result. Of the old colonies of Great Britain none surpassed in well-regulated and successful enterprise the New England colonies. Before tho war of independence they had engrossed by far tho moat im» portant part of British Jeep sea fisheries, and had extended them into regions io which the inhabitants of the old country bad never dreamed of carrying the pursuit. They carried on a lucrative commerce with our own VVest Indies, and one scarcely , less important though more irregular with the Spanish colonies. They were affluent, and in consequence valuable customers of the mother-country. In their admirable arrangements for general public education they were even at that early period in advance of every country in Europe : and a more moral and well-regulated' community did not exist. To revert to the question of public expenditure, about 1765, the entire civil government of Massachusetts Bay, cost annually .£12,000; of Connecticut #1000 ; of New Hampshire and Rhode Island £'3500 each; in all £ J 20.000. When we look back upon the history of the foundation und growth of these colonies, we find on the one hand that the home government never contributed a farthing towards their settlement ; and on the other, tlut the home government allowed ths founders to organise and administer their civil government without interference. The pilgrim fathers and their descendants passed no laws and appointed no officials that were not absolutely indispensable for preserving peace and order among themselves, and protecting the oommunity from the assaults of the Indians. Their simple frame-work of government proved amply sufficient, and cost little or nothing. Contrast this chapter of colonial history with, that .which relates to the settlement of New Zealand, That colony was founded like New England, without the consent or co-operation of the government, by a band of settlers containing a large admixture of Ihe educated middle class. But it was not con^ sistent with the principles of the Colonial Office to leave them alone, as the government of the 'seven* teenth century had left the New Englunders. The cumbrous and complex machinery of an administrative government, fitted for a numerous and full grown »ociety, was forced upon them, and they were denied all control of it. The consequence is, that the development of the natural resources of New Zealand has in a manner yet to be begun ; that instead of protecting themselves, they are placed under a guard of a considerable military detachment and three ships of war, for which we of the old country pay; and that the 17,000 inhabitants of New Zealand pay £41,524 of taxes, of which jg4 0,306 are annually expended to maintain its civil institutions. In addition to this sum considerable advances have been made to defray the earlier expenditure of the colony, out of the imperial exchequer. For tbe present we leave our readers to draw' their own inferences from these contrasting histories of two colonies.— Unity News. We will now deal with the theory, that it is requisite to pay a sum of that amount, in order to enable a Governor to live handsomely and hospitably ; and that he may fairly expect to have the means of doing se without entrenching upon his private fortune. Assuming, for the sake of argument, that all governors appointed by the Colonial- | office are men of approved probity ; that the Secretary for the Colonies takes a3 much pains to ascertain their private character for honesty and morality, as he would of course do, where he selecting a bailiff or a" butler for himself — an assumption which we are certainly not justified in making — what: | course must these gentlemen pursue when they leave in England — as too many of them do — hosts of importunate creditors ? Why, they must live as cheaply as they can in their governments, entertain nobody, screw everybody, and send home, from time to time, reasonable instalments, to diminish the liabilities which they have left behind them. If they do not act thus, they are rogues, unfit to be trusted at all; and yet, if they do, the "entertainment 1 ' ergument will no longer stand on its legs. If our colonial governments are to be considered by the colonial-office as retreats for needy men who have deserved well of their party— or, on the other hand, as rewards for meritorious men who, having distinguished themselves in other branches of public employments have not been sufficiently remunerated for their services — let Lord Grey say so ; and let him explain, as he best can, why our colonists ought to be mulcted to supply such deficiency. But let us hear no more rigmaroles about the importance of securing able and independent men as Colonial Governors, and of enabling them, by enormous salaries, to maintain proper establishments— so long as men, circumstanced as Lord Torrington, Sir Charles Grey, and Mr. More O'Farrall are to be allotted, at the expense of our wretched colonies, "out-door relief to the amount; of considerably more than double the pay of Sir William Parker, the Commander-in-Chief of our Mediterranean fleet, or of the Earl of Dundonald, the Admiral command- ( ing our sqadron in the West Indies.-— Daily Neivs.