OPENING OF THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume III, Issue 143, 1 October 1853, Page 6

OPENING OF THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

This important event which had been looked forward to with impatient interest for many days previous, took place on Tuesday last, at Christchurch. After attending Divine Service, at which an appropriate sermon was delivered by .the Rev. R. B. Paul, commissary of the Bishop, taken from Deuteronony, iv. 7—-9, the members proceeded to the building prepared for their deliberations. This building, lately occupied as printing, offices, was fitted up for the occasion with considerable taste and skill. The body of the building was* devoted to the members, while ample spacfe for the public was reserved on the western side. The chair for the Speaker was slightly elevated above the floor of the House, and. placed at the eastern end; below was1 a table for the Clerk of the Council, on which all bills and'papers were placed; extending right and left of which were,the seats of honorable members; The, House altogether presented a vei'y comfortable-aspect, being papered and carpeted, the Speaker's chair and the seats of members., being covered with crimson cloth^^^A small space ; was devoted to Reporters, but miserably inefficient for the purpose^ Indeed, the contrast between the comfort with which honorable members had taken care to surround themselves, and the scant accommodation afforded the Press, was very.marked. An outlay of a few additional shillings would have obviated this, and we hope, therefore, that honorable members will see that the Reporters' seats be railed off, and protected from the south-west winds which blow through thft un-weather-boarded planks in their rear. A small desk for papers and other purposes might likewise be affqrded. We throw out these hints, feeling assured that they will be promptly attended to. The public ha^ve an interest in seeing that their Representa-i tives stick to their duties, and do not waste valuable time in unprofitable discussions, a weakness common to most legislative bodies. The best check upon this is the supervision of the Press, which should be accommodated with every facility for reporting. At one o'clock the House presented a very animated appearance ; the space below the bar, as also the front seats in the strangers' and importers' gallery, being filled with ladies, who seemed to take a lively interest in the proceedings. The strangers' gallery was densely thronged with the leading men in the settlement. It seemed to be universally felt that the proceedings weve not to be measured by the comparatively small interests of the oc-^ casion. It was understood that we were then for the first time inaugurating free institutions, and that upon the deliberations aiid conduct of the gentlemen comprising the Provincial Council much would depend, affecting the future welfare and progress of Canterbury.

Soon after one o'clock the members en- ; tered the House, all being presentwith the exception of Mr. Bealey, absent through, indisposition. Mr. Prichard acted temporarily as clerk to the Council. Soon after the members were seated, His Honor the Superintendant was announced, who was received on entering by the members standing. Having taken the chair, provided for the future Speaker, His Honor, after bowing to the House, read an address which was delivered with emphatic distinctness, and listened to with profound attention. Its delivery occupied over half-an-hour. Its length and our desire to jfuhlish it entire, have so occupied all our available space that we have no room for comment this week. We commend it to the serious attention !of our readers, as it embraces every topic of interest that can interest the- public. The following is the addressj::—« ' ,

Gentlemen of the Council, There is a certain solemnity about every crent which can occur but once in the life of an .individual, ov the history of a people : of such a character is the act which it falls to my lot to perform, in addressing, from this chair, the first legislative assembly of the Province of Canterbury. You will feel with me, that the language of ordinary congratulation falls far short of the dignity of the occasion; that it becomes me, rather,uptmmy own part, upon yours, and upon behalf of the community whose interests are entrusted to our cure, to acknowledge with deep thankfulness the goodness of Almighty God, that He has been pleased in the course of His . providence to restore.to us, in this legislature, a semblance of the revered and tried institutions j^of our native land ; affording to us thereby a "guarantee for the preservation of that mostpreciousgift to a people,the inestimable blessing of civil and religious liberty ; uniting us by fresh 'ties to the great empire of which we form a ; part ; and kindling afresh within every breast sentiments of loyalty and devotion to the Crown and person of Her Most Gracious Majesty our Queen. It would be presumptuous in me to remind you, did I not feel that, in sharing and presiding over your labours, I cannot be too often reminded myself, of the weighty responsibility which attaches to the privileges you are permitjnitted to enjoy, and to the duties you are called on to fulfil ; to. remind you that your responsibility is measured,,-not by the sinallness. of the interests, but by the magnitude of the principles with which you have to deal; that the laws which you enact ought not only to meet the immediate requirements of the present community, but should form the expression of principles which shall be applicable to the future,when every exciting interest shall have augmented to an hundred fold, its present importance. Gentlemen,-it may be well for us at this epoch of our history, to .pause and look back at the past, before we apply ourselves to the future— to take a brief survey of the condition of the Province at the time when legislative power is placed in our hands. v Three years have not yet elapsed since the 6rst body of settlers landed on these shores,and I,,think it may be asserted that rarely, if ever, has so much real work been done by so small a body in so short a time ; that never has any settlement been founded with so much of success, so little of disaster, to those who formed the forlorn hope of the enterprise. However in point of magnitude the undertaking may have fallen short of the hopes of its promoters, the nature and'character of the results which have been achieved deserve your most careful consideration, when you shall be called upon to" alter or to discuss the principles upon which the settlement has been founded. • Notwithstanding; -the -great temptation to leave the sober and; steadier, paths of agricultutural labor, and to stake all on the hazard of the gold finder's chance, there is at this moment in this Province, a population at least as huge as that which has landed here from England since December J 850. . The number of those who Irave left do not, so far as I can learn> exceed the number of those who have joined us from the neighbouring colonies. Now this may be somewhat accounted for by the great interest possesed in the land by the resident population of the Province. Out of 24,485 acres of land—the quantity sold to purchasers from the Canterbury Association—l find that nolessa quantity than 21,003 are owned by resident colonists, or are let oh lease to persons who are actually occupying and cultivating them ; and out of 4009 acres which have been appropriated for church and educational purposes, 1270 are leased and actually occupied. By no means an inconsiderable, part of these.lands are owned or occupied by men who came to this country almost penniless labourers, and are now growing into small tut prosperous and independent farmers. lam unable, in the absence of all authentic statistical returns, to tell you the exact quantity ofland in cultivation, but from enquiries which I have made, and on which I think some reli- ? ance may be placed, I conceive there are not less than 3-100 acres under crop this spring, and there are at least 7500 acres fenced in. If you turn from the agricultural to the pastoral interests, you will find the past to be no less creditable, and the prospect no less encouraging. Forming^" judgment as before, it may be stated that there are not less than 100,000 sheep in the nor many less than 4000 head of Qustle, and 400 horses. That

within the Canterbury block alone above a million acres are taken up for pasturage, producing a rent of £2400 a year, which will in four years have increased to above £7000 a year. This includes only the country within what was lately called the Canterbury block ; of the rest of the Province I can say nothing, the Commissioner of Crown Lands having, I regret tosay,declined to give me any information on the subjectof his department. Butthere cannotbe the least doubt that the revenue I have named as accruing in four years from this time, might be considerably more than doubled in that time, if the same, or any so, efficient system, as that which prevails within the block, were extended to the country beyond those limits. I cannot leave the subject of the pastoral interests without remarking the very beneficial and healthy manner in which the existing regulations, within the Canterbury block, have operated on the community at large. '' First, the small size and great number of runs, in proportion to the extent of country, proves that the profits to be derived from pastoral pursuits are shared by ,i very large number of the community instead of being monopolized by a few individuals ; and, secondly, the stringent rules which required the lodgment of a deposit, with the risk of forfeiture, has prevented runs from being taken up for merely speculative purposes, and has preserved the country for those who really could and would occupy it, with benefit to the settlement at large. Whereas, lam informed, by the pastoral settlers themselves, without the limits of the block, that the want of some; such rule has been proved by the very contrary results. I have endeavoured to procure a very rude estimate of the amount of actual property now in this Province in various kinds of investments, and I do not think I should make an exaggerated estimate if I were to state its value at nearly half a million of money. Gentlemen, I have placed this statement on record, bearing with it the sanction which is derived from the occasion upon which it is ! spoken, because an impression has, I am informed,goue abroad in Eiiglaud,that the experiment of the Canterbury Settlement has failed : nay,even that your new homes are deserted, and your lands given back to the primeval waste. It seemed, therefore, to me not unbecoming such an important occasion as the present, to correct statements so regardless of truth; to defend this community from the implied aspersion j either of, through fickleness, deserting the work they had undertaken, or of irresoluteuess in combating the unavoidable difficulties with which that work is surrounded. It is not for us to speak boastfully of these things. We have enjoyed peculiar advantages; not only derived from the physical character of the country itself, but arising from the original plan.of the settlement, which provided an efficient survey of the land, and a considerable amount of preparation before the arrival of the colonists. Gentlemen, I cannot leave this brief survey of the past, without alluding to one peculiar advantage which you have enjoyed ; I mean the presence amongst you, from the iirst, of that eminent man, who, having founded the Canterbury Association, presided over the Canterbury Settlement, during the first and most critical period of its existence. I will not eulogize the wisdom of all Mr. Godley's policy, because I will not even ri.-k awaking one single dissentient feeling in any of your minds ; but I cannot allude to the past without bearing this public testimony to the illustrious example-which he has bequeathed to his successors, of a stern and ever present sense of public duty, and a pure and earnest zeal for the public service. With almost uncontrolled power, had he been so minded to sacrifice public to private ends, Mr. Godley left us with a public character which no breath of suspicion has ever sullied. His unbending integrity, his unwearied exertions in the duties of his offices, which neither feebleness of health, nor severity of weather, nor domestic claims, nor personal comfort, .ever relaxed or excused ; —these rare and lofty qualities will never be forgotten by those whose privilege it was to serve under his government: they communicated energy down to the lowest official: they have stamped a tone and character upon the public service of this_s_euleii)eiit,which I tiustlt will ever retain as a cherished tradition. , . ; Before I turn to the future I-will advert for a moment to the state of the laws of ; lhis Pvaviuce

at the time when legislative power is placed in. your hands. The Common Law of England is the birthright of. every subject of the Crown : that we brought with us from our native land, and still enjoy. Its precepts depending for their sanction upon ancient custom, not upon written enactments, have been handed down by tradition, and are now incorporated in various works of legal authority, of which I think such as can be obtained ought to be placed in your library.

The written or Statute Law of England may be considered to be of two kinds, Municipal and Imperial. By municipal I mean those laws which refer to certain limited portions only.of the Empire, as for example the Constabulary and Poor Laws of England. Laws of this class do not apply to New Zealand. To Imperial Statutes, by which I mean those which apply to the .whole Empire, this Province is subject. I have been permitted to place a copy of the Statutes at large on your table, which, will enable you to ascertain the laws enacted by the Imperial Parliament, which are actually in force in the Colony. In addition to these, I have kid on your table copies of all the Ordinances which have been passed by the various legislative bodies, which have from time to time exercised lawful authority in this colony, or within that portion of it in which the Province of Canterbury is now situated. The laws of New Zealand, however, are not wholly contained in the written ordinances, but also in various instructions from Secretaries of State to Governors for the time being ;and in the Proclamations issued by the Executive Government, and published in the Government Gazettes. Nor would it be possible to ascertain the actual state of the law at any moment in any portion of this Colony, without possessing the means of reference to a complete file of those documents. Gentlemen, I regret to say I have received no answer to an application which I made some weeks ago to the General Government, to be supplied with these papers, for your information. ; and guidance : indeed I very much doubt whether any proper and complete record of the Acts and Instrument of Government, has ever ; bc>en made in this Colony. Such as I could procure from various incidental sources, are on your table. I now turn from the past to the future. Gentlemen, I have called you together at a very short notice, and with comparatively little preparation for such important duties. But I entertain no doubt as to your entire acquiescence in the course which I have adopted. The necessities of the time require that you should at once comprehend the position in which you stand, and the large powers entrusted to you under the Constitution Act ; and that you tdiould use those powers, not only with deliberation and care, but also with promptitude and energy. These powers are conveyed in a few simple, but impressive words, which ought to he graven upon the. memory of every member of your House, for they constitute the Magna Charta | of your liberties for all time. " It shall be lawful for the Superintendant of each Province, with the advice and consent of the Provincial Council thereof, to make and. ordain, all such Laws and Ordinances as may be required for the peace, order, and g-ood government of such Province, provided that the same be not repugnant to the law of England." Upon certain subjects specified in the following clause j'ou are not to legislate ; but with these few exceptions—exceptions which are of the more value that they seem to prove your powers, in all besides— you are at liberty to make laws fur the good of the Province. The immediate object of my calling 1 you together, is to vote a supply for the public service. You are aware that the present expenditure of the public revenues of the Colony is authorized under the Appropriat:on Ordinance of the last Legislative Council of New Zealand, and that-that Ordinance expires on the 30th of the present month. After that day there will be no legal authority for the. expenditure of any public monies whatever. Unless, therefore, I obtained, a vote of supply from the Council, the Government must have come to a stand stili, or I must have taken upon myself to appropriate the revenues without lawful authority.. Now whatever may be the difficulties, and there may be insuperable ones, in the way of calling- the Council together, at an early period in; other Provinces, yet, here, where there was novsuch impossibility, I confess I shrank from the idea

of inaugurating our new Constitution with a riolation of the law. I hare, therefore, adopted as the lesser evil the extreme inconvenience of calling the Council together at so short a notice. Having done so, I conceive it will be my duty to take advantage -of this your first assembling, not only to call your attention to those special subjects, which demand immediate legislation, but also to take a general survey of the requirements of this Province, and to lay before you the course of policy which I propose to pursue, and the chief objects which I desire to attain, during the period for which the local Government has been placed in my hands. I shall first notice certain measures necessary for the purpose (I will not say of supplying omissions,—for the Act is so large and so liberal, that I cannot call anything an omission, which we have the power to supply ourselves, —I will rather say) of completing the Constitution Act, and carrying into effect the intentions of the Imperial Parliament. With this object Bills will be laid before you, —to create a Common Seal for the Province —to create the offices of the Provincial Government, —to create an Executive Council, —to enable your House to call for all persons and documents within the Province ; and to compel their attendance or production under your Speaker's warrant; —to protect your Members in privilege of speech, and to relieve the publishers of documents under your orders from the penalties of libel.—to authorize the Superintendant to issue Government Gazettes, and to make the notifications so published legally binding on those whom they concern. With regard to many of the provisions of these Bills, it may be thought that they convey powers that are inherent in every legislative body. When, however, there is no exact precedent, it is better that the law should b.e clearly defined by Statute. With" regard to the Bill for establishing an Executive Council, it is necessary that I should make a few remarks. It seems to be necessary to the harmonious working of the local legislature, that some one or more Members of your House should be charged with the conduct of the Bills sent down by the Superintendant for your consideration, and in possession of the policy which dictated those measures. Apart from this'consideration, I thought it desirable that the Superintendant should habitually consult some one or more of the leading Members, upon the affairs of his Government, and especially upon the exercise of his patronage ; not, indeed, with the view of shifting to others the responsibility which properly belongs to himself, but of strengthening and aiding his own judgment by the advice of those who possess the largest amount of public confidence and esteem. With this design I have constituted an Executive Council, the members of which have, at my request, kindly undertaken to fulfil the duties which I have pointed out; and the Bill to which I allude will constitute this Board by legal enactment. Through this Executive Council, I propose that the relations between the Superintendant and the Provincial Council shall subsist. If the present advisers of the Provincial Government fail to obtain majorities of your House, they will resign their seats in the Executive Council; and I shall then request the assistance of others who shall possess a larger amount of your confidence. It .does not seem to me desirable that, in the present state of the Province, the representatives of the Government in your Council, should be identical with the Heads of Departments; although it is convenient that it should be so. But it would be far from easy to conduct the affairs of Government at all, under our present circum- I stances, if the Heads of Departments held their offices, like the ministers of England, virtually at the pleasure of the Lower House. The difference is, that, in England, the current and ordinary details of business in each department are conducted by standing under secretaries and clerks ; the Head merely directing the poliev. Here, the Head of the Department himself executes a principal part of the details; and the inconvenience,and indeed expense, which would ensue from the accession of men to office, who had all the office-details to learn, would sorely encumber the practical and economical worthier of the Government. I therefore propose that the Heads of Departments shall not necessarily be identical with tl-e Executive Council. The offices of the former shall not for the present be dependant upon the policy of the Government: the latter shall be responsible for that policy, and shall hold their

offices upon the condition of being able to carry the Government measures through your house. This plan is, I think, the nearest approximation which we can make to that, system which has worked with such remarkable success in England for many generations, and has been imitated more or less closely by most of the European States. I will next refer.to a Bill, the introduction of which will, I conceive, be met with general as- .. sent. In an assembly consisting of so few a number as twelve members, there will always be danger lest the patronage at the disposal of the :Superintendant should be used, or should seem to be used, so as to compromise the independence of the representatives of the people. The danger is not immediate; but that is the very ieason why it should be foreseen : for a time of public excitement is the very worst time for effecting constitutional change. Yet, should it ever happen that the public generally were thrown into hostility to the local government, at a time when the majority of the Council were holding offices of emolument under the Government, there can be no question, that some such law as that to which I allude, would be demanded, and probably extorted, by the people. I propose therefore, now, whilst we can act with deliberation, to pass a law, by which the custom in the English legislature should be imposed upon your House, namely, that if any member shall accept any office or employment under the Government, he shall vacate his seat, and shall be subject to a fresh election by his constituents. \At first sight this may seem an infringement of the Constitution Act; but this objection may be obviated, and the same results obtained, by framing the Statute so as to prohibit the Superintendant from appointing any person to an office of emolument under Government, or from entering into any contract with any person on the part of the Government, such person being at the time a member of the Provincial Council. The result will be, that any member of your House accepting office or emolument will have to resign his seat; and, after his appointment, subject himself to a new election. ! Gentlemen, I am persuaded you will agree with me in considering such a law as a necessary safeguard to the Constitution. When I have enumerated an Empowering Ordinance, which may be necessary in order to aecomodate the new title of Superintendant to the existing law, and to confer upon him certain powers hitherto exercised by the Governors and Lieutenant-Governors, I have named all the subjects upon which immediate legislation is necessary, in order to bring the new Constitution into effectual operation in tli3 Province There are, however, other offices which I conceive it will be necessary to create, and to which I will now allude. I think we require an office of Public Record, for the safe custody of all Acts and Instruments of the Government; for the custody of the Public Seal; and for the Registration of all Public Documents of every description, which ought to be preserved as the public memorials of a country. Upon the necessity of such an office there can be but one opinion. Owing to the want of it, I am, at this moment, unable to put you in possession of the whole law of the Colony. I anticipate the formation of such an office without any appreciable expense; for I propose to join it* to that of Registrar of Deeds and Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; so that the "Keeper of the Public Records" shall be charged with the management of all the Registration of the Province. Another office which I conceive you will shortly find to be necessary is a Court of Requests for the recovery of small debts ; and coincidently with this I conceive the Resident Magistrate's Court should be abolished. lam far from thinking the Resident Magistrate's Ordinance a useless one. In places where there is a large native population, and no bench of unpaid Magistrates, it does not appear unwise to entrust to some paid officer of the Government the powers now vested in the Resident Magistrate. But in an almost entirely European Settlement, possessing a Bench of Magistrates of no mean order in point of intelligence, property, and education, the system for the administration of Justice which prevails in England appears to me far preferable. But on the other hand, I shall propose to limit the unpaid Magistracy to the position which they occupy in England, us conservators of the Queen's Peace, and administrators of the Criminal Law in petty cases : for it does not seem to roe that gentlemen, who are for the most part without the

advantages of. legal education, are *,he best fitted to decide all the complicated cAses of civil claims and rights, upon which, tinder the present system, they are compelled to adjudicate. I therefore propose to establish ;i Court similar to the Small Debt's Courts in England, which have been found so eminently efficient in the last few years.

With the administration of justice in the Supreme Court it is beyond your province to interfere. I must, however, take this opportunity of remarking, that the present system is one very far more expensive than is warranted by the wants of the community. Without limiting the powers of the Supreme Court, it appears to me, gentlemen, that an intermediate Court might be established, with the greatest benefit to the community, analogous to the^ Courts of Quarter Sessions in England. Cases of aggravated crime, for which the law has allotted its extremest penalty, should always be tried before the highest legal tribunal in the country ; but these cases are, thank God, likely to be of very rare occurrence in this community. For minor cases of crime, such as those which are brought before the Quarter Sessionsin England, I think a local tribunal, consisting of the Magistrates, with the assistance of a Recorder or Assisling-Barrister, might safely be entrusted with the power of sentencing to two, or even three years imprisonment. In such a Court might be tried all Civil causes in the Province, leaving an appeal to the highest tribunal. This system for the administration of justice would be quite as effectual, and very much less expensive than the present; for, under the present system, although there may be but one or two causes to be tried, and these perhaps causeswhich are not far removed from the jurisdiction of the petty Courts, a very heavy expense has to be incurred, attendant on the visit of the Supreme Court to the Province. Gentlemen, although this is a matter not immediately within your powers of legislation, it is one which you may think it not unwise to discuss ; and, should you agree upon any course, to proceed by address to His Excellency, or to the General Assembly. The next subject to which I will allude; is that of finance. Communications will be laid upon your table from the General Government, which will place you in possession of the financial arrangements which have been made by His Excellency the Governor, pending any laws which may be made on the subject by the General Assembly. Of the Revenues arising from the Customs and Post Office, two-thirds are to be paid to the use of the Province : one third is to retained for the service of the General Government. But as it is contemplated that any increase in the Customs shall be in favour of the Province, the portion reserved for the General Government may shortly be altered to one fourth ; leaving three fourths for the Province. All other revenues, such as fees and fines from the inferior Courts, Auctioneers' and Publicans' licences, &c, will of course come into the Provincial Chest ; but it will be necessary to pass an Ordinance, authorizing and requiring the payment of such sums to the Provincial Treasurer. ,•*' Estimates will be laid before you of the Revenue which may be expected from the above sources during the year commencing the Ist October next ; and of the expenditure which will be necessary for the same period, to maintain the various Departments of Government in a state of efficiency ; but, as some weeks may probably elapse before you will have completed your consideration of these details, I propose to ask you, prior to all other business, to vote a small supply for the purpose of meeting the immediate expenses of Government before the estimates for the year can be passed. There are some trifling expenses which must be imme? diately met, and I am anxious that not one farthing of the public money should be expended without the sanction of the law; whilst lam equally anxious to establish the principle that the creditors of the Government should receive satisfaction of their demands without unreasonable delay. ,

I have endeavoured so to arrange the expend^ ture that it may be met by the ordinary revenue of the Province ; and I think this may be accomplished, provided that the utmost economy be maintained consistent with the public service. It may, however, leasonablybe anticipated,from two causes,-that that revenue will increase. First, because the proportion paid to the General Government is calculated in excess of what will be required ; and, secondly, because the

rapidly increasing -.exports will probably command a corresponding increase in the imports ; and therefore the revenue from Customs' Duties way be expected to exceed the sum which I have placed upon the estimate. With regard to the expenditure, I have recommended an increase in the salaries of many of the servants of the Government; but I do not anticipate that you will consider the sums I have named to be larger than those which the Government ought injustice to pay, at the present rates of wages, of prices, and of profits. The general principle upon which I have acted is this ; that Government is most economically conducted when its servants are liberally paid, whilst the whole of their time and of their energies are exacted and expended in its service. *-3A- numerous, ill paid, and half employed staff is the most wasteful machinery for conducting public business: I therefore propose, by the provisional union of offices, so to distribute the work to be done, that the time of every servant of the Government shall be fully occupied. The business of the Provincial Secretary's oflice I propose to conduct myself, with the assistance of a Private Secretary. The duties of Provin-cial-Treasurer, Resident Magistrate, & Sheriff, will be.performed by Captain Simeon, with the assistance of one clerk. Mr. Hamilton, who has been recently appointed by the General Government to be Collector of the Province, has kindly undertaken to superintend the Provincial Audit Office, the principal duties of that department being performed by one efficient clerk : and, in the event of your determining to establish an ".Office of Public Records,'1 Mr. Brittan has consented to execute the duties which will attach to it. The business of all the Departments will be conducted in accordance with certain Regulations which I have prepared, and which will be laid upon your table. The present mode of keeping the Government accounts has been entirely remodelled, and simplified. The great mass of formal and paper work has been put an ■end to, as affording no real guarantee for econo- . my, whilst it was itself tiresome, obtsructive, and expensive. The objects which the new regulations are framed to attain are, that tradesmen and others employed by, or supplying ibe Government, may receive immediate payment of their demands, without that trouble and delay which has hitherto existed ; that the Heads of Departments shall become personally liable for all expense incurred, without proper aifthority, and for all bills left outstanding beyond a -certain time ; and lastly,,that all the accounts of. the Provincial Government may be checked .and controlled by a constant, efficient, and watchful audit. Gentlemen, these changes, which I propose ' bringing into operation on the- first of next month, have not been effected without very unusual exertion on the part of the public servants ; exertions which you will the more high-ly-appreciate, when I tell you, that, although nine mouths have elapsed since the proclamation of the new Constitution in the colony, it was not until the 16th of the present mouth that Ii received any intimation from the General Government at to the financial and other arrangements which it was proposed to make, or that the Treasury was to be closed for payments on account of the General Government, on the 30th inst. Fourteen days, therefore, has been the time allowed for organizing the Provincial Treasury, arranging the system of accounts.aud providing means for carrying on the Provincial Government for the future, and this at a time when the necessity for calling the Provincial Council together was obvious and unavoidable. Gentlemen, I take this opportunity of acknowledging in the wannest terms how greatly I am indebted to the officers in the service of the Government and to the members of the Executive Council, for their cordial co-operation, and for their great exertions in enabling me, under circumstances of peculiar difficulty, to make the necessary arrangements for bringing the Government of the Province into operation, under the new law. It is owing to their assistance alone that I have been enabled to make such ' arrangements as will, I anticipate meet with your approbation. Gentlemen, you will find in the Estimates an item for providing for the law expenses of the Local Government. You are aware that some legal assistance is necessary. I will lay before you a copy of a letter which I ad--addressed to Mr. Sewell and upon which I have acted. Tho position which Mr. Sewell occupied in England, connected with the train-

ing and passing of the Constitution Act, and his intercourse with the authors of that measure, rendered me desirous of obtaining.his assistance and advice during the period of bringing it into operation. I therefore appointed him, provisionally, legal adviser to the Government, with a seat in the Executive Council. That appointment I propose, with your approval, to confirm, and the remarks I have made in reference to the assistance I have received, apply to no one more forcibly than to Mr. Seweli. It is right, however, for me to state, that in all matters connected with ihe affairs of the Canterbury Association, Mr. Sewell will not be consulted, and will not, when jsueh questions are under consideration, be summoned to the meeting of the Executive Council. Upon these matters the Local Government will have recourse to other legal advice, whenever such is necessary. Gentlemen, you will perceive that in .the Estimates of which I have been speaking no provision has been 'made either for immigration, or for public works ; and in fact, it is, under present circumstances, quite hopeless to expect that the Ordinary Revenue of the Province will supply means for either of those objects. The only fund which is available for these purposes, is the land-fund : and I have no-hesitation in expressing my belief, that the lands of this Province, if properly administered, will provide ample means for accomplishing all we can desire in either of these departments. You are aware that the waste lands are not at present within your control: it will, therefore, be unnecessary for nic to occupy much of your time upon a subject, with reference to which I am unable to propose any practical measures. At the same time, the question is of such vast importance to the welfare of the Province, that I cannot pass it over without notice: the more so, because, although you are debarred from dealing with it, by way of enactment, you are not debarred from expressing your opinion on it, by way of address or petition to His Excellency, or to the General Assembly ; and this you will probably think it right to do. There are two distinct questions involved, deserving separate consideration. First, the management of the waste lands, and secondly, the expenditure of the revenues arising from them. So far as I can learn the intentions of bis Excellency, from despatches which will belaid on your table, it is proposed to retain the administration of the Land Department in the General Government; whilst ceitain portions of their proceeds are to be handed over to the Province to be expended under your directions. I regret to say one important despatch on this subject came to hand only this morning; I do not therefore yet fully comprehend the intentions of the general Government upon this head. Gentlemen, how great soever is the importance of your obtaining the power of disposing of the Land Revenues, of equal, if not of greater importance is it, thatyou should possess a direct control over the management of the Land Department, over those entrusted with its administration, and especially over the expenses incurred in maintaining it. There is no Department of Government in anew country in which the facilities for mismanagement are so great, and the consequences so injurious: none in which the watchful and ever-present control of public opinion,acting through the constitutional means provided for its expression, is so needful to protect the public interests. In this Province especially, the Land Department is one which calls for immediate and wide reform. There are iv fact, two separate departments, and two separate survey establishments, where one is amply sufficient for all purposes of the Province. That part of the Province which is under the control of the Land-Office at Christchurch is becoming rapidly occupied for pastoral purposes, and it is to a great extent surveyed and mapped, and is producing a considerable revenue to the colony. That part of the Province which is under tlie department of the Crown Lam! Commissioner, has never been visited by that officer, or by any surveyor, or other person in the service of the Government; and I believe not one farthing of rent has yet been paid by the pastoral settlors within its limits. It is needless for me to add that these two departments might bo united with benefit to the Province, and with a great saving of expense to the Government. Gentlemen, the question to which I am now calling your attention, is one wholly distinct from that of the price of land, or of pasturage rents. That indued is a question which will shortly demand your nmst serious consideration,

but you will perceive that the question as to how you could most beneficially administer the waste lands of the Province, is subordinate and subsequent to that, as to whether you shall obtain the power of administration at all. This is the main point to which I conceive it would be most prudent for you to direct your attention in the first instance.' With the view of collecting your opinions on this subject, certain resolutions will be proposed in your council on the part of the Provincial Government. With respect to the expenditure of the Land Revenues, I will postpone the observations I have to make till a future occasion. When the entire management of the waste lands is in the power of the Provincial Government, 1 hope to lay before you measures which will vestove a stream of immigration to the settlement, supplying the labour of which the colony is so much in want; which will provide the means of completing- the public works so urgently needed ; and which will place the possession of the land within the reach of those of all classes who are able to occupy it with benefit to the community at large. As soon, then, as the question as to the management of the waste lands is finally set at rest, I shall again request your attendance, and will submit to you such measures as the settlement of that question may enable me to introduce. There is another subject of great importance, the consideration of which I am obliged to postpone. I mean the affairs of the Canterbury Association in reference to this Province. A brief correspondence has taken place between the General and Provincial Governments, and the Agent of the Association. This shall be laid on your table ; but the question stands in abeyance until Mr. Sewell shall have made some definite proposal, to which he has been invited by the Provincial Government. The delay in his so doing arises, I am informed, by»the absence of the accounts of the Association, which, have been sent from England, but have not yet arrived in the colony. Whatever proposition is made to the Government, shall be laid before the Provincial Council. Gentlemen, there is a subject connected with the internal police of the Province, upon which some legislation is necessary. I mean the laws relating to the prevention of disease in sheep. A bill will be laid before you with the view of introducing such amendments in the present law as may serve to meet the temporary emergency ; but the arrangements I propose to make are by no means satisfactory or sufficient. In the event of the waste lands being given over to the Provincial Government, I am in the hope of being able to frame a measure for introducing police regulations into the pastoral districts; and so combining them with the management of the lands themselves,that the public may reap the benefit without additional expense to the Government. Under such a plan disease might, I conceive, be effectually eradicated from the Province. There is another subject upon which some alteration of the law is greatly needed. I mean the law of trespass : but I conceive it will be better to postpone the consideration of this subject for a short time in the hope of some speedy settlement of the land question : for in effecting a complete revision of the law of trespass, you must recollect that it should not only be made applicable to the more settled parts of the Province, but must also be accommodated to the peculiar circumstances of the purely pastoral districts ; and the power of local management of the waste lands would afford us a machinery for carrying the law into effective operation in those parts of the Province. The next subject to which I shall invite your attention is the education of the people. I use the word in its largest sense, as comprehending the instruction of all classes, rich and poor; of all ages, old and young; in all matters, religious as well as secular. You are well aware, gentlemen, that this subject is one which, in our old country,is encumbered with greater difficulties than almost any other with which legislators have^ to deal; but we must recollect" that tliobe difficulties arise from circumstances which have no existence here. .They are occasioned in England by the necessity, and by the endeavour, to accommodate institutions founded upon the principles, the sentiments, and the traditions, of former ages to the condition and circumstances of the present time. It is your fortunate lot, gentlemen, to enter upon this question uninuumbered by such a conflict between the ideas of the past, and the necessities of the future: whatever you recog-

nize as theoretically right, it is in your power to earrv into action. Now the question of education presents to us two problems, upon which it is desirable that we should entertain distinct and consistent views ; and, if possible, establish them as rules to be adhered to in all our future legislation. First, what is the relation in which the State, in its corporate capacity, is to stand towards the various religious bodies existing within it? and secondly, in what manner and to what extent oughc the State to interfere in. the education of the young ? With regard to the first of these points, whatever our individual predilections on the subject may be ; however much we may wish that circumstances would admit of a different conclusion, I know not how we can accommodate to our existing political and social circumstances any other opinion than this—that the State should stand in an attitude of absolute indifference to all religious communities; that we should regard the State as an organization of society for the purpose of regulating the intercourse between individuals in matters relating to this world ; and religious communities as coexistent, but wliojly independent organizations of the same society, for the purpose uf ordering the conduct, and promoting the well-being of their several members, in matters relating to another world; and the only exception to this rule is, that the State, being subject to the common law of self-preservation, is necessitated and bound to oppose, and even to expel, those whose religious opinions iuvolve the destruction of the State itself. Gentlemen, I entertain no fear that this doctrine will produce irreligion amongst a people by whom it is distinctly understood, and consistently acted on ; lor I am peisuaded that if the State performs its duties in the affairs of this world, the Church of God will fulfil its mission in the affairs of the next. lam persuaded that those who, as Members of the State, "render unto Cassar the things which are Caesar's," will not fail, as members of a Church, to " render unto God the things that be God's." It does not, however, follow from the rule ■which I have endeavoured to lay down, and from which. I trust the Government of this Colony will never depart; it does not follow that the State may not be called upon to legislate in reference to religious bodies. The assistance of the Legislature may frequently be required to enable religious communities to manage their own affairs, which, under the existing state of the law, they may be unable to do without such assistance. Now an instance of this has occurred already. You are aware that a considerable amount of property is held in trust by the Canterbury Association for the purposes of education, and of Divine Worship in connexion with the Church of England in tins Settlement. Yon are also aware, that by the 76ih Clause of the Constitution Act the Canterbury Association are empowered to transfer to this Council all their "functions, powers, and authorities," and that your Council is " empowered to accept such transfer upon such terms and conditions as shall be agreed upon between the Council and the Association." By the terms of the Royal Charter of Incorporation gianted by the Association, the principal object of, and duty imposed upon'that body, is, to establish a>id maintain religious institutions in this Settlement, in connection with the Church of England. Now the Canterbury Association are desirous, in accordance with their charter, to transfer to certain Corporations or Trustees within the Settlement, the property which they hold for the above-named purposes ; and they conceive that, in accordance wiili the clause in the Act I have quoted, a legislative enactment by this Council is necessary, both to enable them to effect such transfer, and also to acquit them of the obligations imposed upon them by the Royal Charter as Trustees of the property referred to. The Association^ will therefor? probably petition your Council to pass two Bills which are in the course of preparation ; the one having for its object to create a Board of Trustees with perpetual succession, in which shall be vested that part of the property now held by the Association for exclusively Ecclesiastical purposes, and to confide to such Board the perpetual management of the same; die other, for the purpose of incorporating the Warden and Fellows of the Collce which is being established by the Associatimi, and of constituting1 such Corporation the Trustees and Managers of the remainder of the said

property, which has been designed as an endowment for the College when formed. I do not apprehend, gentlemen, that these Bills will be considered to violate the principles which I have expressed ; on the contrary,should any other religious body claim the assistance which is asked by the Church of England, they ought in justice to receive it at your hands. The State, you will observe by these Acts, does not convert property to the use of the Church; nor does it even assert the desirableness of such conversion. We have nothing now to do with hoio this property came into the possession of the Association. It may suffice us, that when we came into existence, we found it there. The only principle which is asserted in the two Bills to which your assent will probably be asked is, that it is expedient that the property in question should be placed in trust, and should be managed, within the Settlement, and subject tolthe control of those to whose benefit it is dedicated, rather than that it should continue to be vested in a Corporation existing in England.

I come now to the second question in what manner and to what extent does it become the State to interfere in the education of youth ? The obligation of the State to provide such education, is recognized by almost every statesman in every civilized countryat the present day,and it is acted on with more or less completeness and consistency by every European Government. But if the necessity which has compelled the recognition of this principle, has been so urgent in those communities where the appliances of refined civilization, and a complete organization of society, afford such extensive facilities for education through private means, and where the condensation of population places such vast numbers within the reach of schools so established, how tenfold more urgent must that necessity be, where, us is the case with us, the mass of the population are engaged in the arduous struggle to extort from a wild country the first necessaries of life, and to call around them in the midst of a desert, the comforts of a home ; — in a country, where the great demand upon the energies of all to provide for the material prosperity of the present,sorely, tends to obliterate the sense of the obligation to provide for the moral prosperity of those which are to come ; —where the inevitable dispersion of society renders all individual or unorganized efforts at education utterly fruitless.

Gentlemen, I know of no duty so incumbent upon a nation, as that of transmitting to. posterity, unimpaired, if not improved, that moral ami intellectual condition, which, muler the providence of God, it has inherited from the past. I know of no duty which hears with it so immediately, or so fearfully, its own punishment, in the degradation of the national character, the increase of crime, the diminution of all the sources of human happiness. And yet it is indisputable that a very small portion of the youth of this Province are enjoying the benefits of intellectual instruction, or of moral discipline, similar to that which their fathers received in England, still less similar to that which they might have received themselves had they remained in the land of their biv'.h: and, unless some universal, some very earnest and self-de-nying effort be made to avert the danger, I am at a loss to conceive how we can anticipate other than a deterioration in the character of the inhabitants, which itis bitterly painful to all rightminded men to contemplate, and keenly wounding to all honest national pride to submit to.

Bui the great necessity for some general scheme of education is still more strongly forced upon the mind, when we consider the peculiar character of ibis population, and watch the direction in which it is advancing. Speculating on the social condition of this Province, some few years hence, it must be apparent to all, that in the course of a few years, a very powerful body will have arisen in this country whom we should in England call peasant-proprietors— small farmers of their own lands; a class which I believe contributes the best and firmest basis upon which the superstructure of society can he erected. Tins class will be composed of those who once were labourers in England; ami you will see them rapidly growing up around you in wealth and political importance, a powerful and sturdy phalanx, whilst, unless some remedy be applied, they will, with equal rapidity, degenerate in intelligence and information.' There is something to my mind awful in the prospect of the great mass of a community rapidly increasing in wealth ami power, without that'moral rei iinement which ills them to enjoy the one, or

that intellectual cultivation which enables them to use the other. Gentlemen,l am deeply impressed with the • necessity of .averting-evils, which I foresee are otherwise inevitable, by the introduction into tin* Province of a general system of education, on a scale commensurate with the wants of the Province. But when I enquire into the means of accomplishing this great end, 1 anunetat once by the conviction, that there are no funds whatsoever at our command, which can be applied tosuch a purpose. The Church of England/indeed, possesses an endowment for educational purposes, which has hitherto provided means for the support of the schools at Lyttelton and Christchurch, which were founded immediately after the landing of the first Colonists. That endowment has already placed this settlement*" in a position of superiority to any colonial community of the same age and magnitude : but it is obvious to all that it is wholly insufficient to meet all the wants of the Settlement. If, therefore, we resolve to possess the blessings of a really national education, we must ourselves provide means by raising a rate or tax on the inhabitants of the Province. It would be premature' if I were-now to enter upon the details of the measure which I desire to propose. If you consent to the principle of providing a state education, and if you admit the necessity of raising money by taxation for the purpose, we should not be long in agreeing upon the details of some plan for collecting therequisite annual amount, and of distributing the burden fairly amongst all. But upon the mode of expending the education fund when raised I shall say a'few words. Keeping in view the principles with -which I started, I should steadily avow that the State is not bound to educate its subjects in matter* of religion. That is the proper business of the Church, or of the religious bodies to which the children happen to belong. The business of the State is to educate in matters secular,and in them alone. But this doctrine is quite consist-, ent with the admitted necessity of uniting secu-. lar and religious instructions in the education of youth. The Education Fund of the Province should, therefore, be used in all instances tosupply the secular instruction to schools set on foot by some religious body guaranteeing that religious instruction shall be given to the children attending it. For example, if the Church of England offers to provide religious teaching for a school at Biccarton, and guarantees an annual sum of money for that purpose, a grant would issue from.the education fund of the Province to provide secular instruction for that - sclioql. Upon this principle of the most perfect fairness to all religious sects, the State Education Fund should be expended. If the great mass of the people would consent to such a plan as this, (and without that consent cheerfully given,, from a deep sense of its necessity it is idle to imagine it would succeed,) I should not hesitate to lay a Bill on your table for carrying it. into immediate effect. If I gain that assent I contemplate not only day schools with really efficient masters, at each centre of population, but the establishment of ak good Agricultural Boarding School, where th^ children of the working classes may receivesuch an education as shall fit them for the higher and more influential position,whieh every sober, honest, and industrious man is certain to attain in this Colony ;and I think such aschool might be made self supporting. Gentlemen, if such an educational schemeas that which I have proposed is to be worth ... anything, it must be set o» foot with no nig-, gard's hand. You must have well educated, and therefore well paid masters. If the education which the State is to give is to Lave the effect of moulding the character and exalting the tastes of the population, the ministers of that education—your school teach- * cis — must be honored and respected in their generation ; and if the College which is about to be set on foot by the Canterbury Association, and which you will be asked to incorporate by charter, is to be a reality, and not a paper scheme, it is to that institution I shi-uld look to provide a supply of such instructors. If the masters in the Parochial Schools are well paid depend upon it young men will gladly take advantage of the College to qualify themselves for such situations. That.institution would thus acquire an additional degree of importance and usefulness. With its library, its scholars, and its staff of Professors and Fellows who have brought with them honors from the greatest academical insti-

tutions of the world, the College ought to =tand amongst us the living witness and symbol :.f that lofty mental culture, and that pure and disinterested love of learning, which are enshrined in the venerable institutions of our own \and. In such an aspect alone it might indeed be regarded as a luxury too refined for a young and strnggling commonwealth ; but, standing at the summit of a general educational system, reflecting its learning upon every individual in the State, by the supply of good instructors to the common schools, offering rewards and encouragement to those who from superior mental capackity, aspire to rise above their fellows, and long for the higher range of intellectual study,— in such an aspect, the college would become incorporated with the best interests of the people : it could not fail to be regarded, not only as the ■ m<£s valued of your institutions, but as an indispensible adjunct to the educational system of the Province. Gentlemen, I am not imagining that all this will be done in a day, AH I ask now is that this Province should commit itself to a principle •—a principle of such vast importance, that upon your verdict will, in my mind, rest the destinies of this country for many generations. Nor, in such a system, should we neglect the native population. Small as it is in this Province, we shall be bound to provide somemeansto enable the natives to share the advantages which the European population would in such case enjoy. You will remember that the natives bear their share of the expenses of the Government of this Province, by the consumption of articles which have paid duty to the Customs. They have, therefore, a direct claim to some share in the institutions of the Province, established for the benefit of the Community. Moreover, if we applied some portion of the proposed Educational Fund to the purposes of native instruction,-we should have a great claim to some portion of the seven thousand a year which is reserved by the Civil List for native purposes, to aid us in the undertaking. It would be possible either to establish a separate industrial School for the natives, or to admit them into a ward of the Agricultural School which I hope to found for the English labouring classes. _ Gentlemen, the number and importance of the subjects to which I have thought it my duty to advert, afford sufficient evidence that I did not, in the former part of this address, overrate the weight of the responsibility which attaches to your deliberations in this House. A due attention to all these various topics will demand no short space of time—probably longer than you will be able to devote to them during the present Session. So soon as the several Bills and Resolutions can be prepared, they will be laid before you in the order of their importance; and it will be your part to take them into consideration in such manner as the convenience of the Council and the interests of the public may suggest to you. Gentlemen, with respect to these measures, jvs to all others which may come under discussion in this House, I have the most entire confidence that they will receive at your hands a fair and candid consideration ; that, as the Representatives of this community you will, in all%our deliberations, reflect that, which has hitherto been its distinguishing character, an absence of the jealousies of party and of the animosities of faction ; that whilst with patience and perseverance you thoroughly weigh, sift, scrutinize, and, if you think it right, oppose propositions laid before you, either by the Government or by individuals ; you will in all be guided by one single end and feeling—a pure and conscientious regard for the public weal. It is because I entertain such a confidence, that, relying upon you assistance, your advice, Your co-operation, I indulge not only the hope out the conviction, that I shall be able to govern this Province, so far as it is committed to my charge, to the glory of God, to the honor of Her Majesty the Queen, and to the safety, welfare, and happiness of all classes of her subjects in this portion of her dominions. His Honor then declared the Council opened, and invited the members to elect their Speaker. He then retired, the mem- { bers, as on his entering, rising up. On the motion of Mr. Tancred, seconded by Mr. Cookson, the question was put by Mr. Prichard, Clerk to the Council, pro tern, that Charles Simeon, Esq., be elected Speaker. Carried. It was proposed and seconded that the

proposer and seconder of the Speaker elect do announce to His Honor the Superintendant that Charles Simeon, Esq., a member of their Council, had been elected Speaker,and that the Council respectfully request His Honor's confirmation of the election. The proposer and seconder accordingly proceeded to announce the election of the Speaker, and returned with a message to the Council from the Superintendant, that His Honor had much pleasure in confirming the election of Charles Simeon, Esq., as Speaker. The Speaker having been conducted to the Chair by his proposer and seconder, took his seat, and addressed the Council. Having thanked them for the honor conferred in electing him their Speaker, and hoping he should always receive the support of the House, in maintaining his dignity and position, the honourable gentleman spoke at some length on the duties and privileges of the House. Mr. Tancred then laid on the table, on the part of the Government, the draft of a bill, for authorising the issue of a Government Gazette, and to make it evidence when published. Also draft of a bill to grant to Members of Council certain privileges, such as freedom of speech, and freedom from actions, on account of anything said by members during sittings of the Council, and gave notice that on an early day he should move for leave to bring in these bills. He also laid on the table, by order of His Honor, drafts of standing Rules and Orders of the Provincial Council, and copies of despatches from the Civil Secretary of New Zealand, in reference to the arrangement and management of waste lands, &c. Mr. Hamilton then laid on the table draft of a bill for establishing a Provincial Government, also a bill for authorising the appropriation, by His Honor, of a sum not exceeding £200 to meet the immediate exigencies of the public service, till the estimates of revenue and expenditure should be passed, and gave notice that on an early day he should move for leave to bring in these bills. Mr. H. then laid on the table, by order of His Honor, copies of despatches from the Civil Secretary of New Zealand, relative to the financial arrangements of His Excellency the Governor; also an estimate j of the revenue and proposed expenditure of the Province, for the year commencing Ist October, 1853. Mr. Hamilton stated that these estimates-were laid on the table for immediate information of members, not as measures to which the Government were as yet definitively pledged ; because it might happen that the receipt of further communications from the General Government, before the Council could go into committee of supply, might render alterations necessary. On the motion of Mr. Tancred, seconded by Mr. Hall, the question was put that the draft of Standing Rules, now laid on the table, be adopted pro forma. Carried. Mr. Tancred then gave notice that tomorrow he should move that the Council do resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House, for the purpose of discussing and adopting the draft Standing Rules. Mr. Aylmer gave notice that he should on an early day, move that an address be presented, requesting His Honor to lay on the table copies of any correspondence between His Honor and the General Government, or other parties, relating to claims of Mr. Hempelman, to land on Banks' Peninsula. The House then adjourned till the following day, at 11, a.m. Wednesday. —The Council met at halfpast 11, Mr. Davie acting provisionally as Clerk. Mr. Tancred moved that the Standing Rules be discussed in detail. Mr. Hall, in seconding the motion complained of the unpunctuality of members in

not meeting, as decided, at eleven o'clock. The Speaker explained that the delay arose from the novelty and difficulty of making the various necessary arrangements. For the future he trusted punctuality would be observed (hear). He then left the chair, and the Rev. W. Aylmer was appointed Chairman of Committee. The Standing Rules were then gone into, which occupied the attention of the House during the remainder of the sitting. Various alterations and amendments were made. We have no space this week for further details but shall continue our report in full next week.