Page 5 Advertisements Column 2

Lyttelton Times, Volume IV, Issue 171, 15 April 1854, Page 5

altered the old law with regard to the Governor's Executive Council, under which the Governor consults or not with that Council, and when he does consult with them takes their advice or not, just as he pleases. The policy, therefore, may be either that of the Governor alone, without any advice from his Executive Council, or it may be in accordance with their advice, or it may even be in direct opposition to their advice. The members of the Executive Council cannot beheld responsible for the acts of the Governor, when their advice may, legally, be either acted upon, acted k against, or not asked at all. The policy being determined on by His Excellency, whether with, without, or against advice, liovv is it to be communicated to the legislative bodies? and how, when communicated, is it to be advocated or defended from opposition ? As far as can be foreseen, the Governor will have no other means than speech or message, by which to convey his views and intentions to the House of Representatives at least; since no one member of his Executive Council has a seat in that House, and only one (Mr. Swainson, the Attorney-General) has a seat in the Legislative Council whose members are appointed for life by the Crown. The advocacy and defence of the Governor's policy appears likely to be quite unprovided for, or left to the ineffective championship of chance members; who, not being in the intimate confidence of the Governor and his Executive Council, will be no more responsible for the acts and policy which they happen todefeud,than tbeGovermnentitself will be responsible for the argumentsand opinions which its amateur defenders happen to put forth. To every one who is at all acquainted with the very different working of Responsible Government in its integrity, it is clear that the course of proceeding above described must be utterly incompatible with the existence of legislation in which the Representatives of the people are summoned to take a part. If, then, it appears likely that the attempt will be made by Colonel Wynyard so to administer the Government of this colony in the face of a House of Representatives, it becomes the bounden duty of every member of that House to be punctual in his attendance on the 24th of May next, either to provide a defence against the evils which sucb an administration would entail on his constituents and the whole colony, or to assist in originating" and carrying into effect a system of real Responsible Government for the colony, under which the Governor shall be bound to act by the advice of his Executive Council, and under which those advisers shall resign their offices whenever they do not possess the confidence of a majority in the House of Representatives. In so critical a state of affairs, every Province must feel equally anxious to be duly and fully represented in the General Assembly. I trust, then, that before this letter reaches you, you and the other electors of the Province of Canterbury will have done, like the elecLors of Wellington, in urging as strongly and as publicly as possible on every one of your Representatives the paramount duty of attending punctually on the 24th o{ May at Auckland. For lam naturally desirous of co-operating in the General Assembly, not only with the largest possible number of my fellow members in support of a . good system of government for the colony at large, "but also with the largest possible number of my colleagues from the Province of Canterbury, in order that her special wants and rights may be as fairly provided for and guarded, in the course of our deliberations and legislation, as those of any other Province. I hope that you have already adopted such a view, and pressed it with unanimity on your Representatives: the object being not so much to weigh more with your members (whose public spirit and earnest advocacy of your interests there is no reason to doubt, so as to fear lest any one of them now in New Zealand should absent himself,) as to produce a confidence in their minds of your vigorous support, and an iinpiession on the colony at large that they are really your delegates, and the true representatives of your feelings and wishes. Two circumstances lie in the way of the lull representation of Canterbury in the General Assembly. The first is the fact, that Mr. FitzGerahl, 'the member for Lyttelton, is also Superintendent of the Province, and. cannot leave it to attend the General Assembly unless provision be made for the performance of bis Executive functions by a Deputy. This case had