MEETING OF LAND-PURCHASERS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume 1, Issue 1, 11 January 1851, Page 6

MEETING OF LAND-PURCHASERS.

Osr Friday, December 2Glh, three ships, ihe "Charlotte Jane," the "Bandolph,"and "Sir George Seymour," having arrived, the first general meeting of land-purchasers took place in this town in one of the large rooms of the emigration barracks. - It having been understood that the question of an immediate selection ofland was to be discussed, the meeting was thronged with .colonists. * Mr. Goblet attended on behalf of*the Association. W. G. Brittan, Esq., was called to the chair. The Chairman read a minute agreed to at.a meeting of'the colonists held in London on the 27th of June last, in which the organization of the land-purcbasers of the settlement by council and 'secretaries was arranged for the convenient transaction of business, and by which minute the council was authorized to call a meeting such as the present so soon as twothirds of their number had arrived at Lyttelton. The council, in compliance with this minute, having met, had determined on bringing before the general body of land-purchasers, two questions of immediate and pressing importance on which" their opinion was desired. Mr. Godley. , who had been instructed by the Committee of Management in London to act as far as possible in accordance "with the expressed wishes of the colonists, and who was therefore desirous to ascertain their views for his guidance, was pre-. pared, on the two points in question, to act in conformity with their wish. The first was the expediency of an immediate selection of land; the second, the determination of the proper site of the capital'town. Upon the first point he was of opinion that if ail' the holders of landorders,- or their representatives, were present, there could be no difficulty about proceeding to an immediate selection in the proper order of choice ; and he had ascertained-that the probability was, that upon the arrival of. the " Cressj," the whole of. the first portion of the fi^st body of colonists would be represented here. Of course, according to the strict terms of purchase, no one was bound to* make his choice before the expiration of two months ; but he had no doubt but that, for,the. sake of the manifest general convenience which it would afford, no one would object to the allotment of at least the town sections, so far as the orders of choice were found to follow each other continuously, Qn-tlie second pointy—the proper site of the chief town, —although most of the colonists v had left England strongly of opinion that Lyttelton should be at once the port and th/e capital of the settlement, every one who now befield the place must see that nature her' self had ordered it otherwise,. and that the capital, if it were ever to be a large town, must, be planted somewhere else. In his opinion, the site of Christchurch 'had been selected with judgment, and he was prepared to recommend its confirmation to the present meeting. After some discussion, the Chairman asked the question of Mr. Gadley, whether he, as Agent of the Association, could authorize an ! immediate selection ofland. Mr. Godlet replied that he would have no hesitation in incurring the risk of contravening the strict construction of the terms of purchase in this respect. But he would require au indemnity from every party availing himself of such. a. privilege, against any action which such party might bring against him (Mr. Godley) for s-.:eh departure from the strict letter of the terms of purchase. Mr. Dampiee then moved the following re r solution, which was seconded by Mr. Choluoxdeltst:—'> That Mr. Godley be requested on the part of th« Association, to consent to an ira'mediate selection of the lands by .such of the. purchasers as are willing to select, subject to the rights of priority of choice of any absent or dissenting parties, and that an early day be fixed for the town and rural selections." The Besolution was passed unanimously, Mr PHillips then raored the following resolution, which was seconded by Mr. Ware:— "That this meeting is of opinion that of the two sites offered to their selection by the Association for ths-capital, that that marked on the map by the name of " Christchurch," is the more eligible, and that Mr. Godley be requested to declare immediately that the capital of the settlement will he fixed at that site." The^.resolution, after a brief discussion, wae put ,to the ■ meeting, and was passed unanimously ; and after a vote of thanks to the Chairman, the meeting separated.

On Tuesday Dec. 31st., another meeting of the land-purchasers took place in the large room of the Asswiaiion's Store: Mr. Bbittajj in the Chair. j The Chairman said that the object of the Council in calling the present meeting was to lay before them a communication which they had received frim Mr. Godley. He then read the following letter, addressed to the Hon. Jas. Stuart Wortlejr, is one of the secretaries:—

I Dec. 17, 1850. Sir,—l have received a. letter from {you, dated August Ist, in 'wiich you inform me officially of the appointment >f a Colonists' Council, and request me to enter hto communication with it as the organ of the wifbs of the body of-colonists. In acknowledging you- letter I take the opportunity in the first plade.of expressing the sincere satisfaction with whi|ll have received the above intelligence, and in | tie second, of explainiug 'to you . the views whicMl hold generally upon the matter to which it refert. . i I .consider mjrsilf, as I need hardly say, to be placed here, not|iii2rely to act on behalf of the Association, as 1 my think best for the interests of the colonists, but to do so subordinate^ to their expressed wishel; I hold not merely that the inte- I rests of the Asjioiiation are identical with yours, but that, as a general rule, it is for you, and not for ' me, to determine,?low those common interests may '. best be consulted. While I*m ready, therefore, to bear the full wtight of responsibility which pro- • perly devolves ujioi me as an executive officer, andfurther to exercist my discretion as to the cases which may probity arise, in which I may be compelled to act independently of you, I repeat as a general rule, admi«£ir» of very rate exceptions, that I shall guide mysell'by your directions, so long as T ' shall be satisfied pat your body does really and adequately represent, he land-purchasers of the settle. raent. It is their mmey of which lam entrusted with the expenditure; it is their i&terest which is primarily involve^ in the extent and mode of that expenditure; I ate here solely for the purpose of serving them, and they ought to know how I can serve them best |lshall, therefore, habitually consult the Colonists' Council, and through them the body of purchasewai'pon every point of importance which may come Before me, and I shall afford you, at all proper timei, access-to.the accounts of the Association, and to all documents which ™>«*y Ue necessary for your information in forming a decision ■ on such points. ~ '_.'-' Although the exp anations which I am now about to make, hare no immediate connection with the special subject oft'is letter, you will,. lam sure, allow me, as lam io^v addressing you-for. the first time, to say a few words upon what has been done, as well, as on what is proposed to be done, by the Association here. Personally," my responsibility may almost be said to date from your arrival only, as until that time I had neither means nor opportunities of effecting Any thing (or hardly anything) except the stoppage of an expenditure which had exceeded its proper! limits. But I should not be acting fairly or generously towards my predecessor, if I forebore to exnress my opinion that in most difficult circumstances he exercised a wi.se discretion in the conduct of hit operations. Of course to every detail of his management I cannot pledge myself, but I repeat, that sjjeaking generally, I can hardly find .language strong enough to do justice to his ! merits, merits which it requires some experience of ' the difficulties of getting work done in a new colony, adequately to appreciate. In connection, with this matter, there are one or two points of detail, which I understand^ have caused some ■ discussion among the colon/sts, and on which I -wish to make a few observation*. One is the limited amount of lodging-accofhodatiqu available for the passengers of the ships chartered by the Association. The other is the difficulty of procuiing means of conveyance to the plain.- Now, with respect to tlie first of these points! submit with confidence to the calm consideration of the colonists, whether it would have been wise or right to expend a very large portion of their funds in the erectioti of buildings suitable to a purpose so essentially temporary as emigration barracks. The chances were very great, perhaps as fifty to one, that we should never be required tofind accomodation for more than the passengers in two ships at a time. If the ships had arrived at intervals of a week or ten days, there would have been no difficulty, : and very, little that such would *be the {case was infinitely more ; probable than the reverse, and we were bound to calculate on probabilities, and; to act. as seemed most Kkely to give the greatest accomodation at the least expense. If we had acted otherwise, and if, as might reasonably have been expected, no occasion had arisen for using the whole accomodation provided, I cannot but think that much greater;dissatisfaction would have been felt, and with much more reason, at the needless reserve of land, and at the extent of an outlay which would have been utterly tlirpwn away. The question being between a possible temporary inconvenience, and a certain ultimate lorb, it wm preferred as I think judiciously, to tun the risk of the former and though unforeseen circumstances have realised

the contingency of inconvenience, I have no hesitation in appealing to the good feeling and good judgment, of the colonists, upon-the propriety of the course pursued. I will only add" one word upon the point of the assurances of adequate accomodation ■said to have been given by the Association in London. I cannot know exactly what was said, or what impression prevailed" in London, on the point, but I presume the answers to enquiries of this kind were given in the only way in which information can be given at a distance of 16000 miles (in other words, a four months' voyage) from the' scene of action; that is, by an expression of belief and expectation; by a conjecture, in short, which may turn out more or less well-founded. If a fire, or an earthquake had destroyed the barracks before your arrival, no one would have accused the Association of not fulfilling its promises, though accomodation had been wanting; and upon the same principle, I submit that they ought not to be blamed if they spoke on the subject with a confidence which would have been justified by the event, had not a contingency not at all less improbable than a lire or an earthquake (namely, the arrival of three ships within twelve hours) actually occurred. The other point to which 1 referred is the difficulty of procuring boats. I.have been repeatedly asked why the Association did not provide boats and charge freight for goods, so as to prevent exorbitant charges. Now, the answer which I have been compelled to make involves a general principle of great importance. I cannot attempt to enter into the carrying trade with public funds unless I ani prepared t» undertake the whole of it. No axiom in mathematics is more certain thai) that private parties would never enter into competition with an amateur' Association dealing with public money. j No exertion would be made to procure boats by any 1 body else if the Association were to engage that boats should be procured without exertfon. I had therefore- to determine -whether I would leave the whole matter to private speculation, or undertake to convey all the goods of the settlement between the port, and the plain. Now I have calculated, that within the next few months there will probably be a demand for the freight of at least 1,000 tons of goods per month between this place and the plain, and I certainly did not feel myself justified in embarking upon a speculation so extensive, so costly, and so hazardous, I had no means for it; I had t not boats, nor crews, nor money to buy and, hire them, if T had had th em I should necessarily have done the thing very badly, and I si v <mia have squandered means ou which there are plenty of more.ie-^. gitimate demands. " I thought it far better to let it be known, that in the matter of freight, as in that of. provisions, wood, and every other necessary fur the settlement, I would not interfere,-but leave prices to find their own level, confident that nothing but temporary difficulty and consequent high price will stimulate persons to the exertion necessary to overcome the difficulty and lower the price. Hay- ' ing thus, however, given my own opinion on this subject, I am willing, in conformity with the rule which I have laid down, to yield to the clearly exI pressed wishes of the colonists, and will undertake, if they require me, to do my best towards conveyj ing goods and passengers from hence 46 the plain. ! I confess that L am exceedingly anxious that they should not require me to do so;. for I wish to devote the whole of my available means to the completion of the road to Sumner, which the chief surveyor informs me he hopes to complete, if funds be supplied, before, the end of summer. You are probably aware that the means at my disposal are very limited, the land sales having- fallen far short of repaying what has been already expended, and if individual members^of the Association had not consented to become personally responsible' for advances made, I should have hardly any means at all. If, therefore, in accordance with the wishes of the colonists, I were to embark, on behalf of the Association, in the carrying trade, it would be obviously impossible for .me;;to proceed with the road.—The same principle which I have stated in respect to boats applies to the case of wharfage and storage. If I continue to land goods gratis at our jetty, or keep them gratis at our store, not only will no fund accrue for keeping the buildings in repair, and for paying the salaries of proper superintendants. but it. will be idle to expect that private persons will put up jetties or stores for the convenience of the public, . unless after the demand shall have largely exceeded the supply afforded by the Association. I therefore propose to charge, after the immediate hurry of the firs* embarkation is over, the ordinary rates of wharfage and storage. I shall thus be enabled to keep the wharf and store properly maintained and superintended.—The only public works which I thinkat at present desirable to undertake,beside the road, are a land and survey office, and a small emigration barrack, both-at the chief town. I have now, I think, treated.of all the points whiqh have been, or arc likely to be, subjects of interest or discussion among the colonists. The unreserved manner in which I have done so will I hope, convince them that my first wish is to act in harmony and co-operation with them, and* above all things to discuss and explain, fully and freely every matter upon which there may be a difference of opinion. lam anxious that there should be" no

trcret dissatisfaction; I wish.as many opportunities as possible to be afforded for speaking out, convinced that where both parties mean well, the best chance of coming to entire agreement is by promoting fair and amicable ditcuKsion.

I cannot conclude without thanking you, most heartily and sincerely, for the kind manner in which you speak of myself personally, and expressing a cordial hope that our intercourse may continue to the end, unclouded and friendly as it has begun. I am, Sir, your very obedient, servant, . john kobp:rt godley,

# _ Agent Cant. Assoc. P.S. I did not think it necessary to say anything in the former part of this letter, upon the question of the reserves laid off for the Association in this town, because I" do not believe that it has been raised, among the colonists here; but, as some stress seems to have_been laid upon it by the Association at home, I think it may be well not to leave it unnoticed. The Committee, while leaving with me a discretionary power with respect to the whole matter, intimates generally their wish that I should allow the land on which their buildings, i.e. the emigration barracks, the. store, the boat-houses, and the agent's house, should be given up for selection. After con- . suiting some of the leading colonists on this point, I consider it so clearly for the public interest, .that the land should be retained, that I have determined to take the responsibility of retaining it. Nor do I think it a point which it would be fair or proper to • refer to the body pf colonists after the orders of choice are drawn and known, because the question being obviously between the interests of the two or three first holders, and the rest of the purchasers, to appeal upon it to a general meeting, -would be Bierely a formal proceeding, adopted for the purpose of relieving myself of responsibility. If I had permitted one or two persons to select the land on which the Association's buildings are erected, the result wov/ld simply have been that they might have made their own terms with us; we should have been completely in their power. The land is necessary for the conduct "of our operations ; a large sum of money has been laid out on the hypothesis that it was to be reserved; and, knowing all this, the owners would have.at once perceived that we should have been compelled to pay them any rent they chose to ask, sooner than at such a time as this, to permit our buildings to be pulled down.' ■ I-do not believe that there is a single land purchaser who would wish that the funds of the Settlement should be thus prematurely burdened, for the ssks of assuring an exorbitant income to one or two fortunate individuals. •On the other hand, the reserves as they now stand are public property, which may.be sold,-and the proceeds applied to the general good, if at any future time it may cease to be required for the present purposes. J. It. G. In answer to this communication, the Council had drawn up die following report. " The Council of Colonists having carefully considered the several.^subjects referred to in' My. Godley's communication, have. resolved unanimously to draw up the following Report thereon, and to submit it to the general body cf land-purchasers for their approval and adoption. In framing their Report, your Council feel it due, in the first place, to Mr. Godley, to take the earliest opportunity of thanking him for the public spirit and devotion which led him at to early, a period of the Association's plan to throw himself into it, and leaving, his native home to become the pioneer of our great undertaking, and also for the great exertions he has made to provide for the reception and accommodation of the first body-of settlers under circumstances of unusual and unexpected difficulty. They would also express the entire confidence they feel in his ability, integrity and judgment for the. proper management of their affairs and regard to their interests, in the arduous and responsible position which he holds hs chief agent of the Association. Proceeding to the leading topics referred to in Mr. Godley s communication, your Council, in the first place, think this a fitting opportunity of expressing their readiness to resign the trust confided to them a<*ain into the hands of tie general body of colonists ;.and this they are led to. do : as we}) for their own satisfaction, to prevent any misiiuderitand'.rg as to the manner and validity of their election, and in order to afford to M*r. Godjcy the assurance be requires that your Council does really and adequately represent the land-pujr- . chasers of, the settlement. Should, however, the geyeral body of land-purchasers, as represented at this meeting, unanimously express their desire that the present Council do'continue to- represent them, they are ready to re-accept the trust. . " ypui Council most heartily agree in Ijie jii»t euiogium paid to Captain. Thomas, and Would suggest that a special vote of, thanks is dub from the whele bedy of colonists \o that g>eMlemuu for the judgment, energy, skiH, and

perseverance which he hat shown under great difficulties in preparing the first site of the «eu tlcment for. the occupation of the colonists. " On the subject of the amount of lodging accomodation that had been .prepared, and which was found available for the; passengers on their arrival, your Council agree|with Mr. Godiejr as to the perfect propriety of; the course pursued, and that it wcould not have been wise or right to have expended any larger portion of their funds in the erection of buildings so essentially temporary as emigration barracks, and that any more extended preparations in this department, would have involved a needless reserve of land, and outlay of money. Thefoiore so as the council have ascertained from the immigration department, that sufficient accomodaiion has actually been afforded to nearly 400 persons, without including the cabin passengers, and that no oabin or intermediate passenger in the four ships has yet applied for shelter, without having received accomodalion. j " On the last and most important subject, of the best appropriation of ihe funds at present at Mr. Godley's disposal, your council are unanimously of opinion that the early completion of the road to Siunner (which'will open up the readiest communication between Port Lyttelton and the plains) is the work beyond any other by which the permanent interests of the settlers, and the future development of' the resources of the colony will be best promoted. "They admit that the temporary accomodation which would be afforded to the present settlers by having the means of more readily transporting their goods by water: to' the plains, would doubtless be a great present boon, and prove very acceptable. But looking, as they consider they ought to do, more a-head to the future wellbeing of the colony, and the readiest means of developing its nascent resources, they cannot but think that any larger outlay in this direction, which would have the effect of stopping or retarding the great work of the road to Surnner, would be greatly to be deplored. They therefore unanimously concur in recommending that the whole available funds at". Mr. Godley's disposal, be at once devoted to the speedy completion of the road to Sumner. -

" The Council believe that ihe difficulties which have hitherto stood in the way of transmitting luggage to the plains,, are temporary, but unavoidable : temporary, becaust^as soon as the arrival of so many ships is made in own iu> the neighbouring settlement, boats will come from all quarters, which will supply the accommodation required; unavoidable, because until our actual arrival of course no boats would coirte. Arid even had the road been completed, to Ohristchtirch, a similar delay must still, hate taken place until the demand had attracted carts and horses from the neighbouring colonies. These and other^ difficulties are less than those which have stood in the way of all other settlers in entirely new countries, and your Council have no fear but that they will be* cheerfully met, and manfully overcome." " YV. G. Biuttan, Chairman.' After a brief discussion Mr- Dampier raeved that the Report of the Council upon Mr. Gqdley's letter of the 17th of December, be received and adopted. The motion, having beejt .econded by Mr. S. Fisheb, was aflinned with one dissentient voice. Mr. Bkittan then addressed the meeting on the subject of the present position of the Council as representing the body of land-purchasers. He was himself of opinion that the best course would now be to elect a new Council; but if the Meeting thought otherwise, he considered it at i least desirable that the Meeting should take that opportunity of expressing1 their continued | confidence in them, 01 otherwise:,and with that view he tendered, pro forme, the resignation of the present Council, ' Therrujwi* Mr., Chompton moved "That tuo present ' Council be requested to retain office for two months from the present date, and that a general meeting be then called ibr the-purpose of electing a new Council." Mr. Poi/LAito seconded me motion, Mr. Bukke moved as an amendment, tha{ " the, present council' be guested to retain office for twelve months, and tli.it steps be immediately taken,for .filling up die present vncaitcies. Mr.. ivußiicsoconded .tK> aia«»dmeiit, The question1 being put. ihei'e appeared ' For M-r. Bute's suß&nlmeitt,; 17 For original motion 10 Majority for the Amendment 7

Mm. B»utan feared .that so wide a diversity of opinion as to the ternv.of office of the Council, might be construed into a mark of want of confidence in them, and for himself, under these circumstance*, he should prefer to resign and submit to a new election.'

Mr. Fitzgkbalb would adopt the same course. Other members of the Council intimated the like desire.

Mr. Dampier then mored, " That the present Council be requested to retain office until a new Council can be elected* and that a general meeting of land-purchasers be called for that put pose for Tuesday, the 7th of January, 1851. Mr. Ppllabd seconded the motion, whick was passed unanimously. Mr. Bbittah then, in the name of the Council, acceded to the terms of the foregoing r«alution, and the Secretary was ordered to take steps in accordance with it. . '_■

Mr. Fitzgriuld then.addressed the meetingin terms of high eulogy on the service done by Captain Thomas to the colony by the work* finished and in progress, at the arrival of the colonists, and he begged leave to propose th« following resolution— » •' That the. Council be requested to communicate the cordial thanks of the colonists to Capt, Thomas, the chief surveyor ef the Association, for his conduct of the undertaking until the arrival of Mr. Godley in the colony, *m& th«warm admiration with whick they have, seen the various works which he has accomplislisd under circumstances of great and peculiar difficulty. The .Hon. J. Stuakt Wortxey secosded the motion, and the resolution was. unanimously adopted. - The meeting then adjourned to tke 7th of January.

Oh Tuesday, the 7th inst, the Special General Meeting, convened for the purpose ot Meeting the »ew Council, was held in the 3arge;«k»m of the Association's Store. Mr. Bkittax took the Chair. PreViius te the transaction ©f the special business of the day,

-Mr. Bbittan rose arid s?id, that before the commencement of (he business for which the meeting had been called, he had the honour to introduce Dr. §el\vyn, the Lord Bishop of Nvtr, Zealandj^who had at the request of a. deputation of the council, who had waited upon his lordship; L'iiidjy consented to be present, and who, he believed, desiied to address the'colonist^on csveral matters of deep interest to the future well-being of the colony, more particularly as regarded the ecclesiastical arrangements of the Association.

■ The Bishop said that lie was glad to have thisopportunity of meeting the body of colonists, as lie was anxious to address them upon one or two points connected with the welfare «f -the colony. The first was io do away with an impression which he apprehended had been entertained l>y some, that he h?d been opposed t* the dismemberment of the diocese of New Zealand. Tlie' fact however was that, up to the present moment he had had no official intimation of the proposal of the Canterbury Association, t© create a separate diocese of the Whole of the Middle and Southern Islands. The iirst intimation he had received of this proposal, was through a printed paper which had been put into his hands at Sydney a short time ago. He had always cherished the idea of founding si separate bishopric for the New Zealand Company's Settlement in Cook's Straits, and he had now written to Lord Lyttelton, to propose that the new diocese of the Bishop of Lyttelton should extend over all the Middle and Southern Islands, south of a parallel of latitude drawn through .the most northerly point of the Canterbury district. That a second diocese should extend over the New Zealand Company's Settlements in Cook's Straits, leaving his own ui»cese over the Government colony in the aertk. In consequence of a legal impossibility of subdividing the diocese of New Zealand without his (the bishop's) consent. Dr. Jackson would come oat in the tirst instance uuconseciated; uad ,-

therefore he (Bp. Sslwjrn) would probably be ulaced for some time in the relation, of ,dioc«cesan io the colonists. He was, therefore, anxious to ascertain the opinions uud feelings pf;the ciionists on one or two points. He had 6b£e,yvid with great pleasure that a good deal of kindly Reeling had grown up between the c»k>ttiitts and clergy on board the ships, so that tacb ship had been in some degree a sort «f parftfc, and he believe*1 fr«m the iutercourse he had bad

*Uh the settler*. that tbry would in almost all cases desire to have for their pastor, the clergyman whose ministration they r .d enjoyed on board their respective Vessels. He was about to return again to Lyttelton in about three weeks, in which time he hoped the land par* chasers would have made up their minds as to where they were likely to be located; and he should then"be glad, with the advice and assistance of Dr. Jackson, whom he hoped then to meet at this place, to apportion the several clergymen to such districts as would be most agreeable to the settlers. He wished also to mention to the colonists, that he found the clergy had come out with only very limited incomes guaranteed to them, less than that of the other clergy in the diocese. His lordship entirely agreed with the system of eudowment adopted by the Association; but thought, that until that, endowment should increase, so as to afford the clergy sufficient incomes, a joint system ofendovraeut,and voluntary would be desirable, and hoped that as soon as the. clergy were settled in the various districts, the colonists would by some voluntary additional aid, make up for the time a sufficient income. ■ His lordship then requested the attention of toe colonists to die subject of ecclesiastical synods of the Church in the colonies, and laid on the table several Copies of a series of minutes which had recently been framed by the bishops of Sydney, Tasmania, Adelaide, New Zealand, and Newcastle, and expressed a hope that the diocese oi Lyttelton would contribute its support to carrying into effect the object of these minutes. . '

His lordship concluded by expressing the X™.*™P athJ he felfc f°' the colonists; his belief m their fair prospects of success, and the great pleasure te experienced in ascertaining the highly religious tone of feeling by which tbey appealed io be actuated, wishing them every prosperity in their undertaking.

Mr. Fitzgerald moved the thanks of the colonists to his lordship for his kindness in attending the meeting, and for the address which they had just heard. Having been on the managing committee of the Association, he explained, in reference to the fact stated by his Lordship, that he bad bad no intimation of the purpose of subdividing the diocese, (which seemed U> involve a charge of great discourtesy against the Association,) that there never was any desire or intention on their part that the limits of the diocese of Lyttelton should be extended beyond those of the Canterbury district; but that at the last moment, when all the preparations for making that diocese were being completed: her Majesty's government refused to make so small" a diocese, and had decided that the bishoprick of Lyitelton should extend over the whole of the Middle and Southern island. This had not been communicated to. his Lordship, solely because there had not been time to do so He J* r- had seen lettere written &y himself, three months before he left England delivered here a fortnight after his own arrival! Ana Dr. Jackson had been under the impxession that the vessel in which he was saflinar, would arrive in Lytteitoa aslsoon as the first ! four ships, so that he could himself bring all ! Use intelligence which otherwise would lave \ been sent. • . I

In 'respect te the incomes of the clergy none or tne colonists were eoguisaat of the arranjrelaenta which bad been made, as they had been wholly leit to Dr. Jackson. He, Mr. Fitzgerald, i»ad no doubt that ultimately, the amount of income would be insured to the clergy which '.the original design, o£ the Association contemplated, la the mean time, he was suve that the settlers would consider aaost attentively the suggestion which had been made by bis Lordship. Mr. BaiTTaK rose, and, as a member of the managing.. Committee of the Association, connrtnedall that had been stated by Mr. Fitzgerald, and assured his lordship that thecplonists would be ready on hig return to acquaint him in some formal manner, as fur as they were able, with their v'i&iks oa the subjects his Lordship had been so good as to bring before them. The Bishop then briefly express«d the satisfaction with which he had heard the explanations which had been given, and baring thanked the-meeting for the vote of thanks, left the meeting. ' ¥he 'business of the day was lien proceeded with, The Secretary raeeired the voting paper* from all present, and vn behalf of many unable to. attend. Some discussion then took plaoo as to whether the nominees for s«l«otion of laad

merely, should have the right to vote for the Council on behalf of their principals. 1 be question having been put to the meeting there appeared, ;.yes, 16, Noes, 11, shewing a "■J.W*J o» « in favour of their right to vote PVn^?* pe's wert en «>«>»*«<* «" conformity with, this resolution, and when all had been received, j Mr. Pjercrvai. Jnoved, " T hat/ sub-committee of three gentlemen be appointed to examine the voting-papers, and declare who.are dtjjlr elected." . Mr Dampizk leconded the motion, which was adopted, ancttfr. Pollard, the Hon. J. Stuart Wortley, aid Mr. Ward were appointed for this duty. Mr. Fjtzoksau tlien moved "That the Council prepare a sen* of rules and regulation* ior tne*>governmenl of the society of land-pur-chasers, and lay thki before a special general meeting, to.be called for that purpose on Tuesday the 21st inst.".' This.resolution,'having been seconded by Mr. Pkbcevai, was adopted. It having been! mentioned that delay in the selection of town and rural sections, was taking place in consequence of the non-appearance of * M'-pwaley, either in person or by agent, and tnat thereby serioos inconvenience was likely to be caused to all Uie purchasers lower down on the list m the orde/of choice, it was moved by Mr. Dampier, seconded by Mr. Rkad, and paased unanimously-- . . "That it is thejepinion of this meeting, that in consequence of Mr. Bradley's absence, and m order that the; selection of lands may proceed, a committee of three persons be appointed to make the selection for him, on the faith of his maintaining the so made; and that the same Commitfe be also requested to sslect forpnj other land|purchaser who may not have * arrived m the>lony, and who is not represented by agent.",| Which being agreed to, the following gentlemen, not being land-purchasers, were named for tie purpose. Mr. Godlbt, Chief A«ent, Mr.^oujas, Assistant Surreyor, Mr. E. J. WiKiaa^n^J. - The Meeting then adjournedto the 21st. inst.