THE ACCOUNTS of the CANTERBURY ASSOCIATION:

Lyttelton Times, Volume IV, Issue 201, 4 October 1854, Page 3

THE ACCOUNTS of the CANTERBURY ASSOCIATION:

With Explanatory Remarks, in a Letter to Lord Lyttelton. By H. S. Seufe. London : J. W. Parker & Son, West-Strand. 1854. 12, King's Bench Walk, Temple, Januaryl6th, 1854. My Loud, —Various members and friends of the Canterbury Association have expressed a wish that an abstract of the financial accounts of the Association should be published. The accounts which follow have accordingly been prepared by Mr. Blatchford, our accountant. Your Lordship is aware that, as required by t£& terms of our charter, an inspector, appointed by the Board of Trade, has examined in detail, and reported upon the accounts of the Association, for three successive years. The first account, examined and approved, extended to the;l3th of November, 1850, and was published in the Canterbury Papers, page 262. The second account, to the 13th November, 1851, similarly examined,and approved, appears in the Canterbury PapHrs, page 327. The third account, extending to the Ist of December, 1852, in England, and to the 3lsfc of December, 1851, in the colony, was made the subject of a special report by the Government Inspector, which appeared in the Times of January 28th v 1853. The statement now published incorporates the three accounts so previously inspected, and also the receipts and expenditure in England to the present time, as well as the colonial accounts to September 30th, 1852, the latest which have reached this country. I propose to offer in this letter a few remarks explanatory of some of the items which appear in the accounts. And to make these more intelligible, I will first give, as shortly as possible, and in chronological order, a narrative of the proceedings of the Association, so far as they seem to me to bear upon the question of finance. May I bespeak the indulgence of those who read this letter, if I repeat. statements familiar to them, as introductory,to details which it may require some little attention to master ? I» March, 1848, appeared, the first document respecting the Association. It was subsequently published in the Canterbury Papers, page 1, and ' contains .the earliest outline of the plan formed for the establishment of the Canterbury Settlement, and of the views on which that plan is founded.' The site of the Settlement was not then fixed, and the document in question only states the general principles and intentionb of the promoters of the scheme. About the same date, the Association was formed, but not incorporated. In May, 1848, the New Zealand Company guaranteed an advance of £20,000 for the preliminary outlay in the colony for the purposes of the Association, and of £5,000 for certain outlay in England. In July, 1848, Mr. Thomas sailed for New Zealand as agent and chief surveyor, with a deputy surveyor and assistant, with instructions to select, in conceit with the Governor and Bishop of New Zealand, a suitable site for the proposed settlement. The necessary negotiations obliged Mr. Thomas to visit Wellington and Auckland, and some time and money were necessarily spent before the final selection ; but having at length procured ihe consent of both Governor and Bishop to his own selection of Port Lyttelton, Mr. Thomas, accompanied by his assistants, and a body of labourers, whom he had engaged in other settlements, arrived in yPort Lyttelton in July, 1849, and in the same •::nonth commenced operations. In October, 1849, Mr. Felix Wakefield was appointed by the Association agent for the sale of. land, on the conditions, fust, that he should receive 5 per cent commission on the gross price of all land sold, ' provided that £100,000 worth of land be sold within six months after the Association shall give notice to the New Zealand Company that they are prepared to offer land for fsale ;' and secondly, 'that the Association be not responsible for any expeuditure which he may incur* whether the necessary quantity of land be sold or not.' On the 13th of November, 1849, the Charter of Incorporation was obtained (page 57 of the Canterbury Papers). The charter says nothing about the price of land, but declares that ' the expenditure of the funds of the body corporate shall be regulated according to the distribution and appropriation thereinbefore mentioned ' — i.e.,' the said funds shall be- considered, as" dii

vided into six equal parts, whereof one-sixth part shall be appropriated to the acquisition of the. tract of land requisite for the site of the said intended settlement; two other sixth parts shall be appropriated to the emigration of settlers ; two other sixth parts thereof shall be appropriated to ecclesiastical and educational purposes ; and the remaining sixth part thereof shall be appropriated to the general purposes of the Association, including the execution of preparatory and other works and operations.'

On, the Ist of December, 1849, an agreement was entered into between the New Zealand Company and the Canterbury Association,* by which the New Zealand Company bound themselves to reserve and to place at the sole disposal of the Association, as the site of the settlement, 2,500,000 acres, more or less, situate, &c; and that the land should be so reserved for the Association for ten years, provided the Association sold land to the amount of £100,000 by the 30th of April, 1850, and to the amount of £50,000 in each succeeding year. The Association on their part undertook to sell the land at not less than £3 an acre ; to pay the Company for the land itself not less than ten shillings per acre, or one-sixth of the amount received by them ; and in addition to this ten shillings per acre, to deliver over to the Company live shillings per acre, being one-twelfth part of the amount received by them, (half their miscellaneous fund) towards repayment of the said advance of £25,000 for preliminary expenses. Then followed an important provision, that on neglect or failure by the Association to perform any portion of the foregoing stipulations, the Company was to be released unconditionally from further reservation of the land above mentioned for the purposes of the Association.

In the same month of December, 1849, Mr. Godley sailed for the colony, with the expectation and intention of superintending, on his arrival, the preparations for the colonists.

In January 1850, the Association for the first time offered land for sale, and published in the Canterbury Papers, page 41,' the first 'Terms of purchase.'

Up to this time, and for some months subsequently, the whole scheme of the settlement was avowedly hypothetical and contingent only. The Association had deemed it right to make public the provision before mentioned in their agreement with the New Zealand Company, by which, as was truly stated, ' the whole scheme will fall to the ground in the event of sales of land to theamountof 100,000?. not beingeffected by the 30th of April/ They had, in a paper published in the very first munber of the Canterbury Papers, p. 20, stated, in reference to the intended ecclesiastical aud educational endowments,' The Association wish distinctly to point out, what is applicable, indeed to the whole subject, but peculiarly so to the present branch of it, that such anticipations and calculations are at present wholly hypothetical.' And in the Terms of purchase, issued on the Ist Januaty, 1850 {Canterbury Papers, page 43), the 28th clause is as follows: ' In"case, through any un foreseen circumstances, it should be determined on or before the 30th of April, 1850, that the enterprise of the Association should not proceed, all deposits and purchase money previously paid will be returned in full, without interest.'

It will be well that this should be borne in mind, because, as your Lordship is aware, confident assertions have been made, that ' for the price of £3 an acre, purchasers were promised free communication between different parts of the settlement—-a Church Establishment, and Collegiate arrangements for the education of their children, equal to the wants of a superior Church community, &c, and the advantages and privileges before named were unconditional —i, c., not contingent on the amount received from tlie sale of laud.'

So fur from this being the case, it was notorious that the only funds at the disposal of the Association were the j£25,000 advanced by the New Zealand Company, as before mentioned, and three-fourths of whatever monies they might receive from the future sale of lands : the remaining one-fourth, or ]ss. per acre, being payable to the New Zealand Company, as I have already explained. Accordingly, in publishing in the first two numbers of the Canterbury Papers ' all the information at present procurable,' after giving extracts from Mr. Thomas's despatches, it was added, page 22, ' During the present year (1850) it is therefore calculated that „%,*-ParliamentaryPavers relating to the New Zealand Comjaany, No, 570, Ist Ju)y, 1852, p. 442. ;

a large proportion of tlie whole territory will be savveyed and rendered trav<Tsable by the formation of main road';. Mr Thomas is also empowered to erect such buildings as may appear indispensable to the convenience of the first colonists. In the ■performance of this task, he must, however, he limited not only by the time, but by the amount of funds at his disposal. It is impossible to state accurately beforehand how much these funds will enable him to do ; and, therefore, all that the Association can guarantee is, that they shall be, so far as lies in them, and (as they entirely believe) in Mr.Thomas's/Kmrcr, expended economically and effectually in improving the Settlement and in promoting the interests of the colonists' It was under these circumstances that an address, signed by intending colonists, was, on the 30th of March, 1850, presented to the Corami tte of Management! representing that 'the. general uncertainty which at present exists as to your going on with your undertaking (which, according to your own announcement, as contained in clause No. 28 of the terms of purchase, depends entirely upon a contingency), is operating very seriously as a bar to the sale of land, and serves essentially to retard that absolute success which, in our opinion, the foundation of the settlement should command. We have reason to know that a large number of families might be induced to decide at once, could any certainty be afforded that the plan, under any circumstances, would be persevered in ; and this number we think would be immediately and largely augmented if the contingency could be converted into a reality, free from all uncertainty and doubt. We earnestly, entreat you to take* this subject into your immediate consideration, in order to remove the uncertainty, and to satisfy the public mind that the settlement will really be founded. We are confident that on your announcing your resolve to embark the first body of colonists at an early period, with arrangements in accordance with. your declared principles, you will not fail of all the desired success. (Signed) « W. G. Brittan, J. Campbell, Lieut. Col., H. Phillips, E. R. Wabd, G.L. Rose, and others. 3 On the same day, 30th March, 1850, Mr. Felix Wakefield addressed a letter to the Committee %to the like effect. The letter is too long to give in extenso, but the following passages occur:— 'If I were to give a list of those whom I have heard as being likelj to purchase land and emigrate, when the plau shall be declared a reality instead of a contingency, the number of names would satisfy the Committee that at least 33,000 acres will be sold, if the Association can promptly announce that all uncertainty is at ait end with respect to the expediiiou of the first body of colonists lam quite persuaded that* the-33,000 acres will be sold, and a much greater quantity probably may be, if the main obstacle to success be at "once removed. Indeed, I fully believe that if all suitable steps were taken for the purpose, the maximum of 100,000 acres would be sold. The most important of such steps would be, an advertisement by the Association stating the time, or thereabouts, when the first expedition of colonists wiH positively sail.' The writer then proceeds to on the Committee the expediency, first, of extending the time for making applications for land, for three months, viz., from the 30ch April to the 30th of Juue ; 'if this was done, and the uncertainty removed, I shall feel very confident; of selling the whole 100,000 acres,'and, secondly, of adding to the terms of purchase a provision for allowing a pre-emptive right to occupiers <>i pasturage. He concludes by assuring th« Committee that' the view which I take of ilie prospects of the Association (provided the means of success shall be adopted immediately) bus been formed with the utmost care, and, with uue regard to the mortifying and painful siuuuum in which I should be placed if my coufiuem anticipations were not realized.' The Committee, peihaps unfortunately for themselves, though not for the colony, aeeuiUcl to these ' earnest eutreatios' uf the iuteiuiuigcolonists, and relied upon these 'conuViesu •anticipations' of Mr. Felix Wakeiiekl. Wilhuut waiting for further advices from the colo-ny as to the progress of the preparations there imuK-, or for the result of the iirst land sales, they ent Parliamentary Papers relatim Co the New Zealar..l C-jtu-jpany, 1552,N0. 570, p. 482. X See Parliamentary Payers, ibM, p. 4SO.

tered into immediate negotiations with the New Zealand Company, which speedily resulted in the consent of the latter being given to waive the provision which required "£ 100,000 worth of land to be sold by the 30th of April. But such consent was given only upon a personal guarantee by Lord Lyttelton, Mr. Richard Cavendish, Mr. John Simeon, and Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, ' to whom, in fact, at this crisis of its affairs, the Association, and the colony may be said to owe their existence,' who became bound, to the amount of £3,750 each, to make good to the New Zealand Company (on the 31st- of December, 1851) the amount which the Company would have received if the £100,000 worth had been sold on that 30th of April, 1850; in other words, to secure to the Company £25,000; viz., £16,666 13s. 4d., being ten {[shillings an acre on £100,000, the price of the land, sold, and £8,333 6s. Bd.,being five shillings an acre in repayment of the £25,000 advanced by the Company. The Committee of Management, on the 16th of April, 1850, in announcing this change (Canterbury Papers, page 60), stated, not that' all the advantages and privileges' which their plan in its completeness contemplated, should unconditionally and infallibly be secured, (the extent to which these could be provided was still necessarily dependant on the amount of funds the Association might receive;) but, 'that the Association was enabled to enter into a positive engagement to deliver the land that might be paid for, and to announce that the first body of colonists would positively proceed to their destination at the time originally contemplated.' They accordingly extended the time for receiving application for land to the 30th of June; they stated the first week in September as the very outside time at which the first ship would sail, and they added to the Terms of purchase a clause by which the preemptive right of freehold purchase was secured to the oceuapiers of pasturage; in short, they' adopted imjimediately' every one of the 'suitable steps' "which Mr. Felix Wakefield had recommended inhisletter of the 30th; of March, above quoted, and upon the 'adoption of which he had expressed his full belief c that the maximum of 200,000 acres would be sold.' One consequence of the removal of the 'deter#ng^ contingency' was, that; Mr. Felix Wakelield's commission on land sales, which up to this time had been entirely dependent on this contingency, became a certainty-—viz., five per cent, on any amount less than £100,000 that might be received. Accordingly, he received subsequently, as the accounts show^ £3,277 ss. for cotmnission on land sales ; whereas, if the J New Zealand Company had not been induced to waive the provision in question, he would\ b,ave received nothing. :It has been found convenient by certain hostile critics of the proceedings of the Association to suppress and ignore altogether these-letters of the 30th of March, 1850, though they in truth f-.trnisbed the ground upon which the ] Committee of management determined to com- I menee the execution of a largs and comprehen- ! sive plan, with means very unequal to the completion of more than a section of it. Your Lordship already knows, though it may surprise others to be informed, that it is mainly at the instigation of our sanguine land agent, nay, by himself, that every kind of complaint is now made against the Association and its agents, not only for wasteful expenditure, but for not having completed a particular road in the colony, (which is intended to pass through Mr. Felix Wakefield's land,) without i reference to die amount of funds at our disposal; j and'for the great mistake in having allowed a. settler to come out before the road was made passable;' nay, the Association are actually taunted with having ' based their plans on the assumption lhat the sale of 100,000 acres would be quickly .effected, an -idea (adds Mr. .Felix Wakefield's anonymous coadjutor) ridiculously inconsistent with any rational expectation.' In April, 1850, Mr. Godley reached New Zealand. He found that .Mr. Thomas had exhausled upon works in the colony, which are specified in the following account, the £20,000 placed at bis disposal ; in fact, he had exceeded the limits of his credit by nearly £4000, while the ibad from Port Lyttelton to the Plains was .'still-incomplete. The accounts now published show in what proportions this £24,000 was devoted to different objects, viz., to surveys, roads, buildings, &c. - ; Mr. G'j:lley, of course directed ths suspen-

slou of further outlay, which he had no authority to incur, and which the Association might Taave no means of making good, and he immediately wrote home his first despatch, stating distinctly the works which had been effected by iVIr. Thomas; that 'but one* opinion was expressed in that country by those qualified to judge, that the interests of the Association could not possibly have been confided to more efficient hands,' but stating also that the road from tlie Port to the Plains was unfinished ; that by * a. conjectural estimate,' at least j£7ooo was required to complete that road alone, and that * all operations must remain at a stand-still until fresh remittances shall arrive from England.'

~M.r. Goilley was necessarily unaware that in "tlje meantime, at the request of the colonists themselves, the settlement was to be founded, ' and the plan persevered in under any circumstances, and that the time of the departure of the first body had been determined without 'waiting for news of the extent of the preparations made for their reception. In May, 1850, the Committee of Manage-. ; nient having determined to charter ships on account of the Association, Mr. William Bowler was appointed Shipping and Emigration agent, and before the amount of land sales, or the consequent emigration could be known, an agreement was entered into with him, by which lie was to receive a commission of 7i percent. upon the first £20,000 expended, (he paying all expenses of advertisements, printing and surveys.) and upon any outlay after the first -sGSOjOOO a commission of 5 per cent. It is probable that your Lordship, in common with every other member of the Committee, will now consider that this was an ill-advised arrangement, inasmuch as, like that respecting the commission on land sales, it now appears improvldently liberal towards the employes of the .Association. - On the Ist of July, 1850, the applications for the purchases of land were opened in the order determined by ballot, when it appeared <fhat^B6§Q,, acr.gg had been sold (producing -sC^SpfyoOjrinsiea'a of the 100,000 acres predicted and expected. This was disheartening; and I remember, as a land purchaser myself, then er»tii*ely unconnected with the Association, that tile propriety of postponing the execution of the scheme was mooted. But to have postponed would have been virtually to abandon; and the Committee determined to go on with such means as they had. On the sth of July, 1850, the New Zealand Company surrendered their charter to Governnient. The consequence of their so doing was, tiiat they thereby disqualified themselves from performing their part of the agreement of Decembertk Ist, 1842f'viz., to reserve the Canterbury Block for the purposes of the Associatioix for ten years; the title to all the Company's land nnsold at once reverted to the Crown, and the Canterbury Association possessed no leg-al power to make any further sales. To remedy this defect, which, unremoved, must have "been fatal to the further progress of the scheme, a bill was immediately introduced into Parliament, which became law as the 'Canterbury Settlement Lands' Act,' on the 14th of August, ISoO. The bill was drawn by Mr. Henry Se-well, who had just been appointed Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Management, and your" Lordship can, I think, bear witness to tlie correctness of my statement, that it never woixld have passed but for his exertions. Cou- ... side ring the period of the session at which the bill was introduced, it unavoidably passed tlix-ough both houses of Parliament with some iia.ste, and it was, in some respects, defective; Particularly in its incorporation of certain pasturage regulations previously arranged by the founders of the Association, which practical experience in the colony soon showed to be imperfect. This defect was, at the earliest possible period, viz., the next session of Parliament, reaiored by.-the- Legislature, the only authority competent" to the task. But the act of 1850 revived the power of the Association to dispose of tlie lands in the Canterbury Block; the conditions were, that rural land should be sold at £3 per acre; that one-sixth of the produce of tiie sales, and of rents for pasturage, should be paid to the Crown (instead of to the New Zealand Company, as the agreement of 1849 hail Provided), and that the lauds sold in each year from the Ist of March, 1850, should average This last condition was particularly insisted on by Earl Grey. Failing compliance with any of these conditions, section 8 gave power to the Secretary of State to put an end

to the Association's power of disposition over tlie lands in question. -Armed with these powers the Association resumed operations, and on the sth August; 1850, further sales of land, to the extent of 4500 acres, were effected, making in all 13,150 acres, producing £39,450. Of this £39,450, one-third, viz., £13,500,0r (after deducling£6so., the land agent's commission) £12,500 was the whole sum applicable to religious and educational purposes; and out of this sum£9,ooo, to which was added £1000 collected by Mr. Jackson in aid of the Diocesan Fund, was forthwith paid over to the Trustees of the Colonial Bishopric Fund, this being insisted on by Government before consenting to the creation of the See. There remained therefore only £3500 belongra^ at that time to the Ecclesiastical Fund. Oi1 this sum £675 was at once invested in the purchase of 225 acres of land, with the concurrence and approbation of Mr. Jackson, the bishop designate, and in the belief that, as a permanent endowment for religious uses, this was the best form of investment. Certain other investments in land for religious uses were made at the same time, but these were provided for by subscribed funds. The particulars of all these investments, as well as those made by means of the ecclesiastical fund as by the liberality of pvivate individuals, were distinctly stated in the despatch to Mr. Godley, Ist of October, 1850, printed at the time in the Canterbury Papers, page 237. They passed under the notice of the luspector at his examination of the accounts, and were approved of by him. ' ' On the 7th of September, 1850, the first four ships sailed for the colony. Just before their departure, Mr. Godley's first despatch, before mentioned, reached England, and was shortly afterwards published in the Canterbury Papers, page 185, together with the reply of the Committee of Management thereto, dated 7th September, 1850. In the latter the Committee stated—'ln a financial point of view* the amount of land sales, small as compared with previous anticipations, is attended with inconvenience. In particular, it does not enable the Committee at once to place at your command the full amount which you estimate as required to complete all the works in progress in the colony.' In this emergency, three pvivate individuals—Lord Lyttelton, Mr. John Simeon, and Mr. Thomas Somers Cocks, Jun.—stepped forward, and gave their personal guarantees to the Union Bank of Australia for a credit of £ 10,000, on which Mr. Godley was authorised to draw, if necessary. As Mr. Godley most accurately informed the colonists on their arrival, 'as you are probably a ware, the means at ray disposal are very limited, the land sales having fallen far short of repaying what has already been expended; indeed, if individual members of the Association had not consented to become personally responsible for advances made, I should have hardly any means at all. 1 But here it must in fairness be admitted, that the notice prefixed in the Canterbury Papers to these despatches, page 185, was too positive and unqualified in its terms, and was calculated, for the time at least, to encourage unfounded expectations of the extent to which the colonists might look for the outlay of funds, which they well knew the land sales—their own contribution towards these expenses —had not provided. Ido not know who wrote the notice, but of course the Committee generally are responsible for it. It stated, 'that the reported suspension of the works was fully anticipated by the Committee, and that measures had been taken since the termination of the dependence of the Association on the New Zealand Com-.,; pany, to provide Mr. Godley with the means off resuming and completing the works in question, and, so far as may be necessary, making preparations for the settlement of the first colonists.' The notice was no doubt written and published in haste, in the sanguine belief that the ' conjectural estimate' of £7,000 for the com? pletion of the road might be relied on as sufficient ; and without reference to the fact, that other expenses on the first landing of the colonists would be unavoidable—for which the credit of £10,000 could alone provide. These circumstances may explain, but they do not excuse, the promulgation of soabsolutea statement, which indeed the terms of the despatch of the Committee (above quoted) immediately following it, qualified and contradicted. In October, 1850, Mr. Jackson sailed for New Zealand. The main object of his voyage was to see-and confer with Bishop Selwyn,and

to make arrangements with him as to the future territorial limits of his new diocese. The difficulties which had arisen upon this point, and; which seemed to render such a personal interview desirable, are stated with great distinctness in the Committee's despatch— Canterbury Papers, page 210. In this the main object of his mission—undertaken with the knowledge and approbation of many of the leading colonists—Mr. Jackson was successful; but his expedition necessarily involved the Association into* considerable expenses. Indeed, together with the items already mentioned, the outfit, passages, and salaries,of the clergy who left England for New Zealand in 1850, absorbed the amount belonging to the Ecclesiastical and Educational Fund received in that year. The Association chartered eight ships for Canterbury in 1850 ; and in each ship the Committee thought it right to send a Chaplain. Four only of them, however, were sent with any promise of employment in the colony. Considering the limited funds at the disposal of the Association, different opinions may fairly be entertained as to the expediency of expending so large a sum in providing spiritual superintendence for the emigrants during the long outward voyage. The Committee acted, upon this point, on the best judgment they could form, and with no object but the good of those who were temporarily entrusted to their care. In January, 1851, was published the Shipping Report of Mr. William Bowler, printed in the Canterbury Papers, page 268. lam bound to say that, in my judgment, that Report merits much of the condemnation which has been bestowed upon it. Mr. Bowler is in New Zealand, and unable to defend himself; without, therefore, assenting to the assertion that the ."Report was ' wilfully and designedly untrue,/ it is sufficient to say, that a closer examination of ics contents shows it to be fallacious and untrustworthy ; and I for one feel that we deserve much blame as men of business, for not detecting earlier its omissions and inaccuracies—for having allowed ourselves to be misled by it— and for publishing the Report, as we did, with expressions of approbation which it does not deserve. Two or three instances, though move might be cited, may show how calculated the Report was to mislead. The writer of it evinces considerable acquaintance with the shipping expenditure of the New Zealand Company. He could hardly fail to have been aware, therefore, that the colonial expenditure* upon each ship despatched by that.Company was estimated at £200. The colonial expenditure upon each ship despatched by the Association was certainly not less than £200. (See account No. 111. appended hereto). Yet there was no suggestion in the Report, no item in the debit side of the accounts, of any such expenditure. This alone on these eight ships would have made a difference of £1600. Again, the Report takes credit for as contributed by the land fund for emigration in the steerage in these eight ships. We ought to have known (whether the Emigration agent knew it or not), and to have perceived at once from his statement —first, that if £9750 had been so contributed, the emigration fund must have been considerably overdrawn, for the whole amount at that time received by the Association applicable to steerage passages, did not exceed £7800 ; and secondly, knowing as we did that the respective land-pur-chasers were entitled by the terms of purchase to nominate emigrants who should receive assistance from the Association towards the passage to the full extent of the said £7800, if we had carefully examined the accounts we should have seen that these land-purchasers had at that time exercised their right to the extent of £3300 only, and that consequently the association were liable—as they afterwards had, iv fact—to provide passages for nominated steerage emigrants to the amount of the balance, about 4000^. True, the colony had the benefit of the additional labour thus provided by the over-expen-diture, but the fact of such over-expenditure was not disclosed by the shipping agent's report, or by the Committee who too readily adopted and circulated if;. Iv February, 1851, the New Zealand Journal was revived at the instance of Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, and the Committee agreed to take 200 copies of each issue. On the face of that journal was the following, standing notice :—• The present conductors of the Netc •See Parliamentary Paper : New Zealand, No. 610, p. 605. '■ ■ p:'~~'~..;',:~-v^

Zealand Journal axe entirely unconnected with, and independent of, any particular Association or local interest in the islands.' This statement was not true ; and I have never ceased to regret that the Committee of Management did not peremptorily insist on its suppression, or withdraw their subscription to the Journal.

And here I must take leave to interpose a very few words respecting Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield. That gentleman was, with Mr. Godley, the first originator of the Canterbury Settlement, and ungrateful would the Association be, if they did not acknowledge the benefit derived in many instances from his experience, sagacity, and Unremitting devotion to the cause of New Zealand colonization, particularly for his assiduous efforts in collecting the emigrants to Canterbury; for the pains which he took to organize them as a united body in this country; and for his large share in the successful enactment of the New Zealand Constitution bill of 1852. But Mr. Wakefield never was a member of the Association. For whatever good they may have done, the members of the Committee of Management have been largely indebted to his suggestive genius and untiring energy; but, as they would not if they could, and could not if they would, shift from their shoulders to his the burden or responsibility of any of their acts, so, on the other hand, they have surely a right to claim that neither the Association nor the Committee be held answerable for his independent and uncontrolled action, nor in particular for any verbal representations which he may have made without their sanction or cognizance.

I cannot but take this opportunity of stating most positively that Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield never received one shilling directly, nor, as far as I know, indirectly, from the funds of the Canterbury Association. To your Lordship and the other members of the Committee of Management, this declaration is unnecessary; but all members of tlie Association may not be aware that the charge has been made, sometimes in vague though violent te-ms, the intended application of which it would be affectation to misunderstand ; and on one occasion at least, by a specific assertion that Mr. Wakefield received £1000 from our funds. For this assertion there never was the shadow of foundation. Of the private family arrangements between Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield and his brother, to which the latter has thought proper lately to refeiyl know nothing; nor do I consider it necessary further to advert to them.

\To he continued.~\