THE CANTERBURY ASSOCIATION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume III, Issue 130, 2 July 1853, Page 8

THE CANTERBURY ASSOCIATION.

[From the " New Zealander."] We have before us a Parliamentary Blue Book, Avhich is probably the latest that has been issued on the affairs of New Zealand, as the papers which it contains were obtained by an Address of the House of Lords, dated November 22nd, 1852, and the order for their being printed was so recent as the 20th of December. It is entitled "Copy of Correspondence between the Colonial Office and the Canterbury Association since the date of the Charter of Incorporation of that Body ;" and, as the title intimates, is entirely devoted to the concerns of that Association, commencing with Mr. Hutt's letter of 14th Nov., 1849, requesting Earl Grey's " sanction to the agreement between the New Zealand Company and the Canterbury Association for the reservation of lands for the Canterbury Settlement, and also his support in Parliament to a bill on the same subject;" and coming down to a winding-up letter from Sir John Pakington (then Secretary of State for the Colonies) to Lord Lyttelton. Thus compreheniive, it neces« sarily includes a mass of official information respecting the schemes and proceedings of the Association which cannot be found anywhere else, and which must be of great value for purposes of reference in all discussions on the character and conduct of that body. Our immediate purpose, however, is to condense from it the substance of what has taken place between the Government and the representatives of the Association since the discontinuance of the Association's operations in England (on 30th Sept.), and the transmission to Mr. Alston, the Secretary of the Association, of the letter from Sir John Pakington—declaring, amongst other things, the intention of the Government to insist on "payment of the amount due to the Crown in respect of one-sixth received by the Association on land sales." The information in the Blue Book as to what has passed since that date is quite new to us, and Aye presume will be so to nearly the whole of our readers..

On the 7th of October, just three days after the date of Sir John Pakington's communication, Lord Lyttelton wrote to Sir John, as Secretary for the Colonies, a very long letter, controverting his views and conclusions. His Lordship opens by stating that, in consequence of the exhaustion of the funds of the Association, and the resolution to transfer their functions to the colonists, their executive power and machinery were entirely suspended: " they had no officers and no servants," (poor Association!) and therefore he, as Chairman, had undertaken to attend to any necessary business. He then proceeds to tell the Secretary of State that he cannot admit that the Association Avere wrong in resolving to transfer their functions to the Colony, seeing that the colonists desired such a tranfer, and that to have postponed it till the litigation with the NeAV Zealand Company had terminated would have been to defer it indefinitely, and, moreover, would have been "practically equivalent to a concession of the matter in dispute, inasmuch as the Association has not the means to sustain such litigation." In relation to the main point immediately at issue—the Secretary of State's expressed purpose, in ease the transfer of the Association's functions to the Colony should be made without payment of its debt to the Crown, to declare the powers of the Association, and of its substitute the Provincial Legislature, terminated, —his Lordship feelingly says,— " With respect to the suggestion that it only rests with the Association to avert that forfeiture by paying the debt (upwards of £4000) due to the Crown, I can only state that such a course is impossible, as not only the public funds of the Association are exhausted, but the private resources of many of its members have been largely drawn upon in aid of those funds." But the gist of the letter was yet to come. Mr. Sewell, on leaving England for the colony, had left with his Lordship '" a statement of his vieAVs on this announced intention on the part of the Government." Why Mr. Sewell—seeing that the intention was "announced," —did no! himself declare these views, is not explained. Perhaps he was,in one of his usual hurries; the " Minerva" may have been "just ou the point of sailing," and he may not have had time for even one of his "hasty" effusions. However this may be, he had left the treasures of his sagacity in Lord Lyttelton's keeping, and his Lordship could not withhold the benefit of them from the Government. "Mr. Sewell states (ivj substance) that the colonists would readily en 4

gage to pay the' debt of the Association on condition of retaining their land-selling powers; that all the funds of the Association have been spent duly and for the benefit of the colony." Mr. Sewell proceeds to express his apprehension that the threatened proceeding will be regarded as harsh, unnecessary, injurious, and impolitic, and pleads that " the Association is doing all in its power for the payment of the debt," — how think you, simple reader ?—why, '' by causing it to be undertaken by the Colony !" We cannot dwell on all the additional points on Avhich " Mr. Sewell contends," and " Mr. Sewell submits ;" it is enough that Lord Lyttelton, with amusing naivete, adds, '* I must repeat that the foregoing allegations are made solely by Mr. Sewell individually, and that I express no opinion on them in any way." His Lordship does, however, urge that the forfeiture of the landpowers should not be enforced till the result of Mr. Sewell's negociations with the colonists was ascertained.

To all this, the Secretary of State, under date October 18, replies, by briefly referring his Lordship to his former correspondence for the reasons which rendered the proposed step unavoidable.

On the 30th October, legal notice was given to the Committee of the Association, requiring them to pay into Her Majesty's Treasury, on the llth of December, the sum of £4,215 3s. Old., being one-sixth of the produce of land sold by them in the Settlement from the 6th of October, 1851, to the Ist of March, 1852, and one-sixth of such further sums as they may have received from land sales and pasturage licenses, down to the 30th of September last.

On the 29th of November, Lord Lyttelton addressed the Secretary of State acknowledging the receipt of this notice, but pleading poverty, and begging for time. As respects the second part of the demand, he would pay £925, being one-sixth of the money received for lands sold at home since the Ist of March; but as for the larger sum (the £4,215), it could not be discharged until the "special agent" despatched to New Zealand could make provision for it by means of their property in the Colony. " Stringent instructions" to do this Avere to be transmitted to him by the " Hampshire," which was to sail on the 7th December. His Lordship piteously reminds Sir John Pakington that " individual members of the Association have already advanced nearly £20,000 from thenprivate resources" for its objects, arid " respectfully solicits the forbearance of the Government." Sir John Pakington's reply to this appeal, though courteous, is firm. He informs his noble correspondent that the Government were legally advised that, under the existing contract and Acts of Parliament, the Crown is bound to pay to the New Zealand Company one-sixth of the price received by the Association for land sold, whether the Crown receives that sum from the Association or not; and that, acting on that advice, the Lord's Commissioners of the Treasury had already paid to the Company the sum of £4,215. Having shown that Her Majesty's Government, as guardians of the public revenue, could not allow such a state of things to continue, especially now that the Association intended to delegate their functions to the colonists, Sir John adds, — " Under these circumstances it appears that Her Majesty's Government have no alternative left but to put in execution their powers of terminating the functions of the Association, and that without delay, lest any operations should take place through the Agents oi the Association -in the colony which might have the resnlt of inflicting on them further pecuniary losses. " Your Lordship will therefore receive, without delay, a formal instrument, putting an end to the functions of the Association, under the power reserved to the Secretary of State by Parliament, of Avhich the Governor will be forthwith advised." This practically closed the correspondence. A subsequent letter from Lord Lyttelton is chiefly designed to exculpate himself and others from any imputation of unwillingness to pay j this debt, as they had discharged the other liabilities of the Association, out of their own resources, The non-payment of it, he states, was only because they regarded the claim of the New Zealand Company (" who, not the Crown, are the veal claimants") as an unjust one, and were convinced that, "in fact, the Company were their debtors, and not their creditors." ,

In connection Avith the preceding, we pub-' lish the folloAving letters which appear lithe " Government Gazette :"—, Civil Secretary's Office, ' \, Wellington, 3rd June, 1853. His ExcEiitjENO-: the Governor has been pleased to direct the publication of the following Despatches for general information. By His Excellency's command, Alfred Domett, Civil Secretary.

Civil Secretary's Office, Wellington, 3rd June, 1853. Sir, —I am instructed by His Excellency Sir George Grey to transmit to you a copy of a v_. despatch from the Right Hon. the Secretary of State, from which you will learn that the power of disposal over the lands confided to the Cauterbury Association has determined, and that Her Majesty has delegated to His Excellency authority to regulate the sale of those waste lands, as well as the other waste lands in the Province of Canterbury, until the General Assembly shall enact that it shall not be lawful for him to make such regulations. His Excellency directs me to say, that for the present he entrusts to you, as heretofore, the power of disposing of the waste lands of the Crown in the late Canterbury district. These you will therefore continue until further notice to sell under the regulations established by the Canterbury Association, and pay the proceeds, of the sales, Aveekly, into the Colonial Treasury. The publication of this communication, with its enclosure, will afford His Excellency an opportunity of being made acquainted with the feelings and wishes of the Canterbury colonists regarding the system upon which they would desire that the lands in that district should be disposed of, and he will then make such further regulations as may appear necessary and proper iv reference to this subject. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, Ai/fbed Domett, Civil Secretary. W. G. Brittan, Esq.

Enclosure. ' Downing-street, Dec. 15, 1852. Sic, —I transmit to you copy of such Correspondence of Avhich it is material you should be informed as has taken place between this department and the Canterbury Association since the^ date of my last advices to you on that subject. You will observe that the Association having made default in the performance of one of the conditions imposed on them by the Act 13 & 14 Vict., c. 70, namely, that of making payment to Her Majesty's Government of one-sixth part of the sum received by it for the disposal of land, I have felt it absolutely necessary to exercise the power given to the Secretary of State by that Act, and have informed Lord Lyttelton, as Chairman to the Association, that their power of disposal over these lands has determined. All that remains is to issue the formal instrument necessary to effect this determination, which Avill be forthwith done, and of which you will be immediately apprised. Until therefore the General Assembly shall otherwise provide, it will be laAvful for Her Majesty to regulate the disposal of these as Avell as the other waste lands of the Province, under the powers reserved to Her by Sec. 72 of the Constitutional Act, which power under Sec. 79 she delegates to yourself. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, (Signed) John S. Pakington. Governor Sir George Grey, &c. New Zealand.