HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XI, Issue 734, 11 July 1854, Page 3

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Tuesday, July 4, 1854. The Speaker took the chair at 5 o'clock. The Speaker announced to the House the decease of Mr. Coates, and that until another appointment was made the under clerk (Mr. Martin) would perform the duties of clerk. William Thorn ks Locke Travers, Samuel Stephens, and Isaac Earl Featherston, Esqs. took the oath and their seats as members of the House. Several messages were received from his Excellency the Officer administering the Government, enclosing returns, and laid on the table. Mr. Bell brought up a message from the Legislative Council, enclosing the following standing order, that " it shall be competent for any member of the Legislative Council, when duly requested to do so, to attend, as a witness, before any Committee of the House of Representatives." Mr. Fitzgerald postponed asking leave to bring in a Bill allowing the person supplying members of the House with refreshments, to do so without a license. Mr, Woktley gave notice that, on Wednesday next, he would move that the following be added to the standing oiders of the House, " It shall be competent for any member of the House of Representatives, when duly requested to do so, to attend as a witness, before any select Committee of the Legislative Council." - Major Greenwood asked the Government, if any steps were being taken to forward the electoral returns from the South, by the steamer ' Nelson.' Mr. Fitzgerald replied that the matter would be duly attended to. Mr. Travers gave notice of his intention to ask the Government several questions, on Friday next. Mr. Fitzgerald asked leave to introduce a Bill for declaring certain portions of the Revenue raised whlxin

the Colony of New Zealand, to be Revenue raised under an Act 'of the General Assembly, and for declaring ceitain. other portions of such. Revenue to be R,e venue af the Provinces.— Leave granted and the Bill read a first time. Mr. FiizaKitALD asked for leave to introduce a Bill for vesting in the Superintendents of Provinces within the Colony certain powers heretofore vested in the Governor and the Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of New Zealand and of the Provinces thereof.— Leave granted and Bill read a first time. The House went into Committee on the Public Reserves Bill, Mr. Merriman in the chair. On the first clause being read, Mr. Kelham observed that no provision had been made in this Bill for the management of the Native Reserves, he meant those set apart for the use of the Natives, by the New Zealand Company, at Wellington, Nelson, and New Plymouth. They amounted to 40,000 acies and formed a most valuable property. 2<30 of them were town acres ; 100 at Wellington', 100 at Nelson, and 50 at New Plymouth, and a large rental ought to be accuring from them. He thought they might very properly be placed under the control of the Superintendent and Provincial Council of those Provinces. Mr. Suwrix stated that it was the intention of Government to deal with those reserves by a separate measure, and thought they might very properly be placed under the control of the Provincial Councils. Mr. Kelii AMjsaid he was pleased at having elicited this reply from his hon. friend, as he was sure that the public was not satisfied Avith the state in which those reserves were left at present. The subsequent clauses were then severally read and agreed to. On the preamble bsing read, Mr. Haht moved, and Mr. J. Wakefield seconded, that, after the words " Be it enacted " all the words be struck out, and the words 11 By the Governor of New Zealand by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Representatives thereof, in General Assembly, and by authority of such Assembly," be substituted. ; The House divided, there being for the amendment : — Ayes 9, Noes 21. The preamble and title were then agreed to, and the Chairman reported progress. Mr. Sewell moved that the report be brought up on Thursday, 6th instant. Mr. Sewell would move, on Friday, the third reading of the Public Reserves Bill. On the motion of Mr. MacAnduew, the House adjourned, till <5 o'clock to-morrow.

Wednesday July 5. The Speaker took the chair at 5 o'clock. Mr, Seavell gave notice that on the report of the Public reserves being brought up to-morrow, he would move the addition of the following clause. "In case any Grant shall have been made by the Governor of the said colony of any land which but for such grant would have come within the provisions of this act to any trustee or trustees for any purpose of public utility within, the said colony, and such grant shall not have been accepted and acted on by such trustee or trustees, such grant shall bo and is hereby declared to be void and of no effect, and the lands included therein may be granted and disposed of according to the provisions of this act, in like manner as if no such grant had been made." Mr. Travehs gave notice that on Tuesday, 11th July, he would move that "a Select Committee consisting of Mr. Wold, Mr. E. J. Wakefield, Dr. Featherston, Mr. Cutten, Mr. King, Mr. Taylor, Major Greenwood, and the Mover, be appointed to consider and report upon the best means of establishing and maintaining regular postal communication between tho chief towns and the various outlying districts within the several provinces of New Zealand." On the order of the day being called, Mr. Sewell rose and said that he Avould call the attention of the House to a question of privilege. The hon. member spoke at some length, but the gist of his observations was a complaint of the inaccurac)' with which the reply of the hon. member for the Hutt, on the debate concerning the exemption of Auckland from the New Zealand Company's Debt had been reported by the press. Of this he gave three several instances of inaccuracy. Mr. Carllto.v expressed his belief that in at least two instances out of the three, the report was correct ; with regard to one pomt — involving a difference of date, namely, between tho years 1849 and 1850, he was sure of it. • In this he was supported by the recollection of several members of the House. Messrs. Pouter, Gledhill, and Bartley, confirmed the accuracy of the report, in regard to such points as they happened severally to recollect. The subject was then dropped. Mr. Seavell in the absence of Mr. Fitzgerald, gave notice that on Friday, 7th July, he would move "the second reading of the Revenue and Empowering Bills." Mr. Weld gave notice that on Tuesday, 11th instant, he would move that, the debate on the Waste Lands be resumed. Dr. Bacot withdrew his motion respecting vacillation. Mr. Cauletox obtained leave to bring in a bill to enable the Banisters and Solicitors of the Supreme Court, to act as general practitioners. Mr. Carlv.ton, on moving that an address be presented to his Excellency the Officer administering the Government, requesting a return of Correspondence between Governor Gvey and the Colonial Office on the subject of the publication in the 'Southern Cross' of Governor Grey's letter to the Bishop of New Zealand, dated Aug. 30 ,1847, said. — Mr. Speaker, in bringing the present motion before the House, I propose to show that in moving for returns of correspondence, I am not actuated by motives of mere curiosity, or by an unconquerable desire of exposing Gov. Grey's misdeeds ; but that I am merely fulfilling a duty to those whose characters have suffered incessant and undeserved detraction at his hands. I shall not trespass unduly on the patience of the House, but shall compress a long narrative into the fewest possible Avoids. In September, 1547, Mr. Brown, then a member of the Legislative Council, obtained cognisance of a letter written by Governor Grey to the Bishop, requesting his Lordship to use his influence with the Missionaries to induce them to surrender their grants. He moved in Council for a copy, and was refused, on the ground of no such letter having been written. At the next meeting of Council he repeated his request, under a new form of motion. Governor Grey replied, that he had looked carefully over the letter book, but had found no letter which in any wise answered to the description. Mr. Brown feeling certain of his information, brought the subject forward on a third day. This time, lie particularized the letter, giving the date. Governor Grey perceived that he could not venture to deny it any longer, but turned the subject, by vague declamation about the land claims. That which had been refused within the Avails of the Council Chamber Avas obtained Avithout ; copies of the letter being sent to Mr. Brown and to myself. Mr. BroAvn, in self defence, to relieA-e himself from the charge of having made an unfounded statement in Council, published the letter in the ' Southern Gross.' His Excellency's annoyance was unspeakable ; but he gave A-ent to it by spreading abroad that the hon. member had published a priA'ate ' letter, without the consent of the •writer, or of the party to Avhom it was addressed. No w, sir, this charge was a flat absurdity. In the letter itself, Governor Grey, unconditionally, Avithout reserve, requested the Bishop to communicate its contents to the Missionaries. From the moment of such communication, AA'liich the Bishop had no choice but to make, or else to return the letter to his Excellency, with a request that he would send it himself, it became their property. It had assumed the character of a broad letter — an open document, and became their property, as fully as if it had been directed to them. The Bishop had no right to make objections to the publication ; and the Governor had already AvaiA r ed them. I myself, in conversation Avith the Bishop, laid the question in this point of a icAV before him, and ho did not deny the validity of the ar- j gurnent ; although on a subsequent occasion, but not ' to me, he did revive the old objection— the publication of a letter without the consent of the writer, or of the person to Avhom it was addressed. We noAV come to another stage of the proceedings. Governor Grey sent a despatch to Lord Grey, inveighing against Mr. BroAvn, in terms which I Avill not characterize by the fitting epithet, and accused him of gaibling the letter in publication, — of haAing suppressed a sentence, " which he (the Governor) considered important." I Avillrcad the whole paragraph to the House, including the " important " sentence alleged to haA-e been kept back :—: — " I haA-e ventured to trouble your Lordship Avith the copy of a letter receiA'ed this afternoon from Archdeacon Williams, not that I A\ishto impose upon your Lor.lship the trouble of even reading this letter, if yon do not desire it, much less of expressing any opinion upon it." The Avords, "much less of expressing any opinion upon it," are the Avords Avhich form the important sentence alleged to have been suppressed. The charge becoming knoAvn to Mr. Brown, after a long interval of time, and only the medium of a Blue Book, he wrote to the Bishop, requesting a copy of the original. The Bishop acceded to the request, informing Mr. Bioaa'ii that no secrecy was desired. But the "important sentence" was not in the original, after all. Mr. BroAvn Avrote to Lord Grey , asking that GoA'ernor Grey should be required to make an unqualified retiactation of the charge, the letter, as printed, being Avord for AA r ord as it stood in the original. His Excellency admitted the fact, but defended himself by asserting that the letter

hid been obtained in a "suspicion-)," an " i"d feet," anil "improper" manner. Ho likewise end >sed a statement from his assistant private secretary, to this effect, — that the important sentence was in the draft letter, but had been accidently omitted by himself in making a fair copy for the Bishop. The despatch which covered Mr. Brown's letter produced its due effect. Mr. Brown was informed by Lord Grey, in answer, that he had brought the injury upon himself, by publishing " a letter which he had obtained in some surreptitious manner which he still dscuned to explain." Lord Grey had now become the principal ; by the use of this expression, he had taken the burden of the accusation upon himself. Reparation, was no longer demanded from Governor Grey — from whom, indeed, it would not now have been accepted, but from the Secretary of State for the Colonies. His Lordship refused to retract the word, on the ground of information not having been yet supplied. The demand of reparation was repeated ; his Lordship was reminded that Mr. Brown had never yet been asked to explain, bv any one ; his attention was drawn to the internal evidence by which the letter proved itself to be a public document, to the Bishop's observation that no secrecy was desired, and to Mr. Brown's assertion — siifficient in itself— that the letter had not been surreptitiously obtained. Also, to take away from his Lordship the slightest pretext for refusal, the required information was given, in a letter enclosed by Mr. Brown with his own, and which, by permission, I shall read to the House. My dear Sir, Your favour of the 2nd September came to band after tbe departure of the last vessel hence to your port, or I should have answered it promptly. In that letter you request me to give you authority to mention my numo as the party who gave you a copy of Sir George Grcj 's letter to the Bibhop of New Zealand, soliciting his good offices with the Missionaries, touching their land claims ; and as it appears that you are charged with obtaining the same siu - rcptitiously, I do not hesitate to relieve you from so dishonest a charge, by giving you my full authority (by tbe publication of this letter, if such be considered necessary by you) to state, that I gave you the copy of the letter in question, another copy of which I gave to Mr. Carleton. Had not Sir Geoige so positively denied in Council that he had wntten such a letter, or any letter bearing such a construction, and thereby placed your chai deter, as a man of truth, in such a perilous position, I should not have exposed him to the obloquy which was sure to attend the publication of his letter. The gentleman who gave me the letter is now far distant. He gave it to me for the purpose of relieving j ou from the false position in which you had been placed by the denial of Sir George ; and I am confident that his only object was that truth and justice should prevail. Tour's, &c. ■ • William Brown, Esq. This letter was forwarded, under sealed cover, to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, together with an unsealed copy, minus the signature. The original was to "be opened, conditionally upon reparation being made ; but it was to be assumed, as a matter of form, that the reparation should take place of the disclosure. For reparation was due, unconditionally, upon the face of the facts ; the disclosure being a mere matter of personal courtesy to Lord Grey. Should the reparation be refused, the sealed copy was lo be destroyed in the Colonial Office. Nearly two years after date, Mr. Brown was informed that on account of the length of time which had elapsed, and on account of his having treated the matter as a personal question between himself and Lord Grey, the Colonial Office could not interfere. This answer is a mere evasion. The lapse of time was caused by Governor Grey himself, who, in accordance with his usual tactics, had kept back Mr. Brown's letter and enclosure for a year. The second of the reasons assigned is equally invalid ; for reparation had been sought from Lord Grey, not as from an individual, but as from the head of the Colonial Office. Now, sir, the whole of the correspondence has not been given in the Blue Books. There were despatches of Governor Grey's which Mr. Brown has made every effort to obtain, but hitherto without success. I trust that the House will offer no objection to their being produced. The object of my motion is to enable Mr. Brown to send a complete statement of the whole proceedings to the Colonial Office, and to extract the reparation which has been so long denied. The House will not refuse the means of obtaining complete justice, at last, for an upright and conscientious man, who has been traduced, in company with so many others of the same stamp, by the despatches of Governor Grey. Mr. Pic uid seconded the motion. Mr. Lm said : —Will the hon. member for the Bay of Islands inform us if he read the whole of the letter ? Mr. Cauleton : — What I have read as a whole, is not likely to be anything but a whole. Mr. Lee : — Did you read the signature ? Mr. Cari/eton : — I have already stated that reparation must take place of disclosure. Motion put and carried. Mr. Sewell obtained leave to bring in a bill, which was passed through its several stages. Allowing the person supplying the members of General Assembly with refreshments, to do so without a license. On the motion of Mr. Sewell the House adjourned until to-morrow at 5 o'clock.