CANTERBURY ASSOCIATION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VI, Issue 422, 19 November 1856, Page 3

CANTERBURY ASSOCIATION.

(From the'• GnardkiD,'1 July 16th.) On Wednesday sennight about thirty gentlemen, formerly members of this association, dined together at the Trafalgar TaA-ern. Greenwich, in congratulation of the satisfactory settlement of the claims of the association on the colony. Lord Lyttelton presided, and there were present the Bishops of Oxford and St. David's. Lord Courtenay, Sir Thomas Tancred, Sir Walter James, Sir John Simeon, Mr. Adderley, M.P., Messrs. T. Somers Cocks, M.P., F. M'Geachy, Selfe, Stuart Wortley, Halswell, Charles Wynne, Mantell, Eickards, W S. Vaux, Godlev, Harman, Blackford, and Revs. Messrs. Eyre and Torlesse. When the cloth was removed, The noble Chaibhan said—on occasions like the present it is usual to have a list of toasts prepared before hand, but no such formal arrangement has been made for " the conduct of the business this evening. At the same time I think that, under the circumstances in Avhieh. we meet, one or two toasts will not only not be out of place, but appropriate and necessary. (Hear hear.) I intend, therefore, with your peiinission, to propose two toasts, one on general and the other on particular grounds. I do not mean to say that I shall confine myself to these two, if in the course of the e\*eiiing I should see . reason to ask you to join with me in others, nor do I wish to limit in any Avay the discretion of other gentlemen present to propose any toasts they may think the occasion justifies. I anticipate that you Avill be called upon to respond to other toasts besides those I intend to propose; for I see at, least some near me avlio are not afraid of the sound of their oaa^ii voices. ("'Hear," and laughter.) The first toast Avhich, as I have said, I have to propose on general grounds is, as you, I am sure, anticipate, that which, Avith. Englishmen, is the universal toast —viz., the health of her most gracious Majesty the Queen. (Cheers.) And I may say that, as we are here assembled this evening with our minds full of the colony of Canterbury, I am sure that no portion of her Majesty's subjects are more filled with a loyal spirit than the colonists of that settlement. (Hear, hear.) I do not arrogate for them any pre-eminence in that respect over the Australian colonies ; for I have been always much struck, as all avlio know anything about them have been also, Avitli the intense feeling of loyalty to their Sovereign which, under all circumstances, has characterised them. (Hear, hear.) Indeed it would almost seem that their loyalty has increased iv proportion to the distance by which they are separated from the mother country. (Loud cheers.) The toast having been duly honoured, The Cuaieman again rose and said —I come

now to the toast which I have to propose to you , on particular grounds. You will agree with me when I say that it would not be right to separate this evening, considering the circumstances under which we are assembled, without expressing our hope, in the form of a toast, for the continued prosperity of the colony of Canterbury. (Cheers.) For me to make a set speech on this text is impossible. I apprehend that the object of this dinner is. in form, to acknowledge and celebrate the receipt of the recent news which ha.-? arrived from Canterbury, in respect to the pecuniary obligations undertaken by the colonists to certain parties in this country. At the same time, it is difficult for us to look upon the matte" in tbat narrow point of Aiew. It is not often th-.;t we, who are interested in the success of that colony, have met as some of us do to-day. It is an epoch of some importance. (Hear, hear.) The enterprise for the foundation of this colony, if I am not mistaken, Avas first set on foot now nearly nine years ago. Nine years iv respect to the progress of time is no very long period ; still, in respect to the time I and nuny others tvho are here have lived in the worid. it Is not inconsiderable. But, besides the lapse of time, the interest and the variety of the incidents that hare occurred in the history of the colony are so great, and the incidents themselves so numerous, that it would be quite out of the question for me to make a speech on such a subject without considerable preparation. And, even if I could do so, my speech would, I know, be tedious and prolix, and after all, when 1 aad done it. I Should not have gone through the numerous subjects of interest that since my connection with the association have taken place in reference to the colony. Nevertheless, as Aye are here met together. I cannot but advert shortly to a very few of the chief points which suggest themselves to the memory at the moment. First. I would say that there is one thing with which I have been peculiarly struck In the history of the colony, and that is the great harmony that has reigaed from the commencement amongst all who have taken an active part in its management (Hear, hear.) And if I do not call'that harmony perfect, it is because perfection does not belong to humanity. If lam not lu.staken, Aye have lost, in the common course of n .tu;-e, scarcely any of those who were orginally c* gagei ia this enterprise. Many are here now, and I know there are many others in various parts of the country who are not present with us, and t-her -- arc likewise many in the colony who were connected with the association atthebeginnins: ;ul these, I believe, are with us in spirit, and would have been glad to have been here. There are also many who haA-e joined it since—butlike the rivulets when they join the main stream — y'A haA-e goae on together in the same course, without any diiferenee of opinion serious enough to create any ksting discrepance or permanent difficulty-. It has been my lot ever since I iomel the association, which was not at the beginning exactly, but in the very early days of t:;. foundation of the colony,' to have been brought into immediate contact with all who I have taken a leading part- in its management, ! ana lam happy to say to have enjoyed their ' UiiAis-rved confidence. I may have seen occ^toaal differences of opinion, but have done mv p '. m re-mcibner them, out the result Iris !>.-.-.! thi. n-i h_\t- .ill '.soik- 1 t'._r"ther in hariii ii-. And chi<-. 1, •it r mi-int.-r.-d. hi-, bejn an i | uvta< jig oi no coum-m .;ind. h is one m wLv'i ;'",< pj:.K-i)iie> v.,-:,- imolwid, and av;i i_ i i .ii ii-j ... iiu.j-rju- a.i I v-ri _,;_.•__ ,t-' l^'Jl - ' •'_•,. J u.-ur.' \ou :!:..i It U a source of ~r.-' '•-'-'-■ a 't'"!! to m - n-i-.v f» r'fleet unon the ,:,r' '- ■ 't:!»M. .fid c,:,..jr; ,\ Wvh ha- .ill -'I'i.>_ h-._m.. 1. aiMi.h«'M.) It would lie idle 1 ■-••/. 'p» ''-V'th i«."*'.. I.vj.V v*-> o »i_ - i .j.. •> on W.J..1, „,, „ ..: 0 „. 1,-,,| ij- [ . im .„-_, -. «;..-• W ti.i. V—v-.y ;-yl .1: un ;,,.,i <-n>r ji.-.v.' \>> en -u-'i- -,/ui ni rt i'l-nig ihf ob- » <■"<''. thy ,i-s i■! irioii v,..~ lonndc 1. I .m .' - w:l' jit g.rnginto ih.ill-. ;i) ,t. gr ji rally i*' Ig "ll V. ' Vj'M a'l. »■> '.. 5 1 V y, „j, „', f - '..-■>/'' <•• '•" ' -vJ p.•',;.;j'. "' '' m ,; "' Can;'rb'M\ A--or hdi'm wa- ['■< 'i~-\' '..-. .■•«, v(, ; 1 011 . i' -"7 [, f ••• ;-vj' H■/ . ,■_},,„ ,a/ h . t' '' ■i' '•■ •■. 'ii ,- . •'. ■'. „.-'■ j I . ..; ' - • ' -,'j'i*:;.,'! .1 r I<■ \n j , m .t ' .ij\* m r ;,i '■] i \. , T\<- < ,I,i/ „[ ( j: ibury I. .t. „ t '''» f, t . „.f ], v '* " ;'"'"'', ;-!<' • ,;' •■ • ! -t-.^-r .. Our J r,J -, (1,.\\,... ,„', v> , „, , j(j ( . o ] vli , , jt ,j H , tl'U'.' V, Jltll If "■*-,( 1 l" "g'l ',!,(- *, ,•1 '1 *r,* t i,l h-.;i „; to v\y, ',ot ou thei.! d-,^-, !,ut on ihf

representatives of a distant body, is aware of that; and he is a-Avare also how successfully it passed through that period and entered upon the time when its own energies Avere to be its only reliance. And when it passed through that other extreme—Avhen the period of dependence upon others ceased, and the colony was cast afloat in deep water and had to swim for itself, it at once evinced the most abundant proof of self-sustaining poAver and reliance. We know well that the colony has been very hardly tried —that very hard measure has been dealt, to it. When Aye call upon a colony to bo self-reliant Aye do not expect that its very heart's blood Avill be extracted from it. (Hear, here.) But, despite of this great difficulty, Aye know that it has made successful progress, and I am perfectly certain that such is the present state and the future prospects of the colony that no colonist of Canterbury Avould exchange his nosition there for a corresponding position in any'other colony belonging to the Crown of England ; indeed I doubt much whether he would "exchange it for a similar position in England itself. T see some present who belong to the colony, and have recently left it purposing to return": they will, I am sure, confirm Avhat I am now saying. (Hear, hear.) But the self-reliance of* any colony, must, as a matter of course, depend upon the individual minds it can command ; and here I must allude very briefly- -for I am unAvilling to dwell upon any topic that can tinge our present meeting Avith a moment's regretbut I must be allowed to refer in a word or two to the very "heaA'y cloud which, by the last accounts, Avas hanging over the colony, but which I hope may hy this time have' dispersed ; whereby it has been* deprived of the exertions, I trust temporarily only, of one of the most powerful minds that has ever acted for its benefit. You may not all, perhaps, be aware that Mr. Fitz Gerald avlio, I believe, possesses the most able, intelligent, and active mind in the colony, is, for the present, incapacitated by physical disease from the application of his unequalled mental poAvers to the Avelfare of his adopted country. Allow me to express my fervent hope, in which I am sure you will all join, that this may be but a passing cloud-— (Hear, hear.) —-and that he will speedily be restored to the sendee of the colony. (Hear, hear.) I fear I should be thought garrulous if I were td pursue these subjects further. (No, no!) I have stated generally that the success of the colony is quite as great as Aye cA rer hoped that it would have been : and with regard to the particular circumstance that has giA-en rise to this meeting it is hardly necessary to do more than to refer to the great efforts the colonists haA re made to discharge the heavy liabilities incurred for their benefit and success. This is a matter too Avell known to every one present to make it necessary for me to dwell upon it here, and I avill therefore only repeat what I believe I said before, that not only has the Avhole charge been undertaken on the part of the colonists of Canterbury, without questioning a single item but taking the Avhole sum in the bulk—but that the manner and the language in which the\ T hav re done so, it is impossible for us who have watched the progress of the colony, and take a deep interest in fhe character and the welfare of the colonists, ever to forget to the last moment of our lives. (Cheers.) Ido sincerely hope that this burden which they hare so taken upon themselves Avill not be found to fall in any degree injuriously on, or occasion serious embarrassment to, the colo- ! Jiists of Canterbury. (Hear.) As I said at a former meeting, this undertaking on their part of a debt amounting in the aggregate to nearly | £40,000—0r, as was stated by my friend Mr. j Godley at the same meeting, to a charge equal to Avhat in this country would be a "debt of £200,000,000, or an annual charge £7,0fj0,000 or £8,000,000 a year,—must, in the nature of

things, be either an unparelled act of generosity or an act of the most far-sighted prudence, for they did not undertake it without any corre- | sponding arrangement, audit was not expected I they should, out in consideration of the transfer jto them of the property of the association existj ing in the colony. If that property is, as our i enemies used to say it was, totally valueless, ' tuevi J. -ay what the eolorilsts hive done is an { act of unparelled generosity ; but if, on the other 1 ban I, the lew frontages and buildings and other j :>'r.p-.:-.y they take he equal in value to the debt ] they have ir.'Miri-ed, then I say there can be no j stronger proof of the extraordinary prosperity ! and promise of the colony. (Hear, hear.) But, j 11 point of fact, I think we :n;*y regard this act

of theirs as both prudent and generous in regard to the ultimate prospects of the colony an act of prudence and profit, and generous as regards the burdens which for the present, and po sibly ior the next few years, may bo embarrassing to them, and a trial upon their good faith. (Hear, hear.) I feel that 1 have spoken too long for the occasion, and yet not long enough for the subject. (No, no.) Ido not say it Avill.be— for I trust it will not be —the last occasion when the friends of the Canterbury colonists will meet together as such at the convivial board. I can well imagine many occasions that may arise when such meetings would not only be gratifying, but most appropriate and desirable : as, for instance, the return (o this country of some of those persons iioav in the colony whose names are even now uppermost in our minds. (Hear, bear) There may be such and'many other occasions on Avhich the former members of the defunct Canterbury Association may meet together as Aye have done to-day. (Hea'r,",hear.) At the same time, that is a matter of do^t-and contingency, and for that reason I have felt it due to the colony to say these few words. I have only further to add'that, as some one ougt to be called upon in reply to address you, and as no one can do so well as the founder of the colony of Canterbury, Mr. Godley, I will, with your permission, propose his [health, and,call upon him to respond to the toast of '•'Prosperity to the Canterbury Settlement." (Loud cheers.)

The toast ha\ing being drank, Mr. Godl-ey—My Lord Lyttelton and Gentlemen—l was not aware until Avithin the last few moments that you intended to do me the honour of coupling my name Avith the toast of "Prosperity to the Canterbury Settlement," therefore if. I were otherwise capable, I am wholly unprepared to make a speech, or to dilate at any length upon the cir«-umstances that have brought us together. Perhaps, however, it is not altogether unsuitable that I, Avhom the colonists have chosen as their agent and representative, and Avho am hound to them by stronger ties of personal interest and affection" than any other person in this coun'.ry can be, should stand up here and return thanks for the honour you have done them. It is just thi cc years ago when upon the occasion of my return from New Zealand, a good number of my personal friends honoured me with an invitation to dinner in this house, and I should be one of the most ungrateful of men if I did not look upon that day, which'was marked by the greatest good feeling and harmony as one of the happiest of my life. Still it Avas impossible to avoid feeling on that occasion that'there, was. one subject a little difficult to deal with—one subject that it was necessary to pass over lightly—and that Avas, the losses and sacrifices Avhich had been incurred

by individual members of the association. It is true that the money has been well spent, and far he it from me to say that it was grudgingly given, but it is nevertheless not generally <i pleasant impression that one derives from finding that a large sum of money intended by those avlio gave it for one purpose is expended upon another. And it Avas to a certain extent undoubtedly a sign of failure that the Canterbury Association had to go to private persons to help it out-of its difficulties; and that gave rise to taunts and jeers which it was very difficult to bear or to meet. No one felt this more acutely than I did—no one had a right to feel it more — for no one was more responsible for the undertaking that had'given rise to those difficulties and sacrifices. And I knew further that many avlio were encountering those difficulties and incurring those sacrifices, had been led to join the undertaking by their personal friendship for me; though when once they had embarked in it, their public spin" and their interest in thejimdertaking induced them to go on with it, apart from all personal considerations. No one, therefore, feels more grateful than I do that that rock of offence has at length been removed ; and for this reason the present is to me a far more satisfactory meeting than the former one to which I began by referring. (Hear, hear.) For now I think we may fairly challenge ih<: world for a precedent and'an analogy to this case. (Hear, heir.) Lord Lyttelton has said as much perhaps as is nece.SHury on this p.irt of the subject, and I, as the representative of the colony, am not the person who ought to brag of its good deeds, but as his lordship has said something about the statistics I alluded to the other day, perhaps he will allow me to put the matter a little more distinctly before you, which

I am the more anxious to do, as I know there are some here avlio \vero not present on that occasion. Last year the total number of persons in the colony of Canterbury Avas 4,000, or rather less. Upon this small population a claim Avas made of about £31,000, to satisfy Avhat Avas a debt of honoui. To meet this claim of £31,000 in part, certain property Avas offered, producing an annual income of £800, thus leaving a balance to be made up of £1,100 a year. That is, after the revenue of the property so allocated Avas deducted, £1,100 a-year Avas what the people of tho colony engaged to meet by taxation. - This Avould average ss. a head on the Avhole population, and Avould be equal to taxes to the amount of £7,000,000 a year imposed upon the population of the United Kingdom. Everybody must admit that this was a great burden, and a great sacrifice for a young country that had everything to meet and provide for, to impose upon itself voluntarily, and I may almost say unanimously. Most of you are aAvare that the Council of Canterbury is elected by a constitneiicy based upon household suffrage. At the election the members of that council may be said to have been returned to decide this question of the debt due to the Canterbury Association. Avowedly and professedly, that was tho object for Avhich they Avere elected. That being the case, I looked narrowly at the progress of the election, and I can safely say that not only was there no candidate who professed himself to be adverse to these claims, but that not a single candidate Avas proposed Avho held out upon his flag or indicated in any way a disposition to caAil at the claims of the association, or to escape from the burden, nor Avas any disposition of that nature expressed in any of the speeches made by the candidates or their friends during the election (hear, hear). I should like to ask what Avoidd be said if so heavy an addition Avere proposed to the taxation for such a purpose? If the Imperial Parlia uant Avere dissolved upon the question of assuming the debt of an absentee corporation, and the question to be decided on the hustings was—should that debt be met bjr an additional income tax repreenting £7,000,000 a year, there would, I think, be found a strong party in the country to come forward upon the principle that " charity begins and ends at home," and to advance many powerful reasons Avhy such an obligation should not be recognised ; the more so if it were attended, as in the present case, by circumstances Avhich might afford grounds for cavil and criticism. Having said so much on this matter of the debt I Avill claim your indulgence while I say a few Avords upon the position and the prospects of the colony. I Avill not Aveary you Avith statistics, with Avhich you must be already pretty familiar, and which go to prove the great progress the colony has made in material prosperity, and the prospect of the continuance of that material prosperity for the future. I believe there can be no doubt—-and in confirmation of this opinion I may refer to many Avho are here present, and avlio can speak from their oavii personal experience—that there is no neAV community on the face of "the earth in Avhich there is less of failure, less of destitution, less of debt or less of difficulty of any kind, or in Avhich the elements of both moral and material prosperity are more favourable developed, than that of Canterbury (cheers.). There have been, indeed, amongst them many elements of prosperity Avhich are ext.emely rare in new communities. I speak Avith some knoAvledge of new countries—knowledge derived both from reading and personal experience—and I knOAv that in all new countries there are great difficulties, great dangers, and much suffering to be encountered by the first settlers ; but in Canterbury all these have to a great extent been avoided, and now there is both in moral and material prosperity as fair a chance for a long history of unchecked prosperity, in all respects, as evar any colony possessed (cheers). But, at the same time I Avill not deny that as Canterbury has special and peculiar advantages, on tho other hand, so it has special and peculiar dangers and difficulties m the other; and as Avhat I say may rossib'.y reach the colony, I will, Avith your permission, offer a few words by way of warning in reference to those dangers and difficulties. Tho chief of these, as it appears to me, is the danger of the deterioration of tho upper class of the population. By tho upper class I mean men of superior intelligence, tho men of cultivated minds and high education, to whom A\ re should look to direct the policy of the country, and give

tone to society. I must confess that I see in Canterbury some danger of the deterioration of this class of the population (hear, hear). That danger, as I conceive, arises from two circumstances—the one the AVant of labour—the other a deficiency in the means of education ; and to remove these causes and avert this danger should now be the great object of all Avho feel an interest in the colony (hear, hear). The Avant of labour is perhaps the more important of the two causes, for that affects the mainsprings of social progress i n every possible way. And Ido hope that all who have influence with the people of Canterbury will endeavour_ to induce them to submit to the present pecuniary sacrifice, whatever it may be,of keeping up a continuous stream of immigrant labour into the colony; for such is the labour-absorbing poAver of the country, that if you do not meet it in this Avay there will be a constant tendency to make the Avhole population labourers, and thus eliminate the means of cultivating intellect. The second cause—want of educational institutions —is, possibly o:'less importance, especially Avhen the other is removed, for if the people, have leisure and money they Avill of themselves create the moans of education. At the same time, it is highly desirable that at the very beginning they should have a sound system of education established, and such a system if once set agoing, will alv/ays, it may be hoped, keep the population up to a high intellectual standard. Nothing is more certain than that the disinclination most poople have to emigrate arises from the fear that they will have to separate their children from them, and to send them home to be educated. Remove this difficulty, and the complaint of the want of good society in the colonies will cease. Well, the question follows, what can we who are at home do to aid the colony in overcoming these obstacles ? As to the want of labour, that is a difficulty that must be met by the colonists themselves ; but there are few here present, I apprehend, who are not called upon, from time to time, to give advice and sometimes aid to emigrating labourers. On such occasions, I would ask you not to forget the claims of Canterbury. There is no country in the world Avhere the steady industrious labourer is more likely to prosper, or where his labour is more appreciated. In "this way, you may, to some extent, assist the colonists in supplying the want of labour. As to the other point, the want of education, tAvo or three gentlemen haA-e asked my opinion as to lioav they could usefully express their feelings in regard to what the colony has done hi the matters of the claims of the Canterbury Association, and I have also told them that anything in the shape of encouragement to education would best promote the permanent interests of the colony. I leave it to you to consider Avhether something may not be done here for that purpose (hear, hear). Perhaps I may now be permitted to say a word or two only, in reference to my own connection with the Canterbury Association. This, as your lordship has observed, is the last time in Avhich the members of the association will meet iv anythinglike a corporate capacity, and I cannot address them as a corporation for the last time without thanking them earnestly for the great kindness and confidence and personal regard that has been evinced toAvards me both by the members of the association and the colonists. I cannot trust myself to speak upon this part of the subject as I ought to speak (hear, hear). My feelings will not allow me to express myself in other than in a most imperfect and unsatisfactory manner (no). I Avill therefore leave this topic, and I Avill only add in conclusion, that I hope the members of the Canterbury Association, now that their official connection Avith the colony has come to an end, will not lose their interest in a settlement that oaves its existence to them, certain as I am that they will carry to their giwes the conviction that never have they employed their time, and their labour, and their money in any undertaking that will conduce more to the happiness of their fellow-creatures, or redound more to their own honour. I beg- to propose the health of Lord Lyttelton (much cheering). The toast was drank Avith honours. The Chairman : I have to thank you very warmly—as warmly as I can, and iv t indeed for tho first time—for the great kin/ness you have shown to me. (Cheers.) I have always considered myself a tolerably respectable figurehead for the association. (" Hear," and a laugh.) I do not mean in personal appearance (laughter),

but I have always, during the nine years of its existence, appeared to, myself to contribute a decent sort of a character to the undertaking. (Hear.) As I have said, I have been so mixed up with these matters in one Avay or another, that if I Avere to attempt to speak only to the main points in connection Avith the Canterbury Association, it Avould be to give you a great part of my OAvn personal history during the period I have named. My friend, Mr. Charles Wynne, who is here present, will, I dare say, remember writing to me a letter, I think in the month of November or December, 1847, asking me to belong to the committee of the association; and that was the first I had ever heard of the Canterbury Association. To that letter I answered "no." (A laugh.) And I must confess that (not certainly hoav, or at any time in my better judgment, but very often since, particularly five or six years ago) I have repented extremely that I did not adhere to that determination. What I then said Avas that I did not expect to be a sufficient time in London to enable me to devote my attention to the business. But, having thus answered " no," I came up to London a feAV months afterwards, and found myself sajing "yes." (A laugh.) I was going to* stay some time in town, and I said, " While I am here, if I can be of any use to you I shall be glad;" and I remember the first acting part I took was consulting with the committee in the small house in Cockspur-street whether or not we should have a brass plate on the door. Well, having consented to say " yes," I found it impossible not to say more, and since then I have been connected intimately with the association and with the committee, and have been, as I have said, the figure-head of the ship. (Hear, hear.) I am far from regretting the part I have taken, but I am bound to say that I never could have gone through what I have gone through but for the assistance I have received from various quarters. Some of those gentlemen by Avhom I have been assisted are here present; others are absent; but before we break up I shall be oblir ged to ask you to join me in drinking their healths. (Hear, hear.) I Avill not trouble you with any further details in reference to my connection with the association, which really are not worthy the occasion, but having been called upon to address you once more, I will avail myself of the opportunity to propose a toast which ought to stand in a prominent position, and upon a subject upon which I said nothing in my former speech. I am quite sure if I Avere to ask any gentleman present Avho is aAvare of the circumstances under which the colony was founded, what amongst the great principles upon Avhich we proceeded was second to none as a constituent element of the undertaking, the answer Avould be, our determination to make it a Church of England colony : and I am anxious now that that principle is fully established to ask your favour for the rev. gentleman Avho I am happy to say I am able to speak of as the Bishop-designate of the province of Canterbury. (Cheers.) I am well aware that this is not a subject that we cau look back upon Avith unmixed satisfaction, but the innumerable difficulties Avhich have attended the completion of that appointment it Avas. impossible for any one to foresee. The difficulties Avhich at a very early period of the enterprise obstructed this part of our undertaking few who are unaquaiuted Avith the facts can imagine. For instance, avlio could conceive, Avhen Aye found ourselves in a position, as Aye thought, at once to proceed with Avhat was always intended to be the earliest step—the appointment of the Bishop —avlio could conceive that such a difficulty Avould start up as that Bishop Selwyn, while he AA-as entirely at liberty to resign the whole of his diocese,* Avas not at liberty to resign a part ? And avlio, when that difficulty was discovered, Avould have supposed that the Radicals in Parliament would have sp.mt two months in objecting to a bill, introduced for removing it ? And Avho, again, could ever have anticipated that; Avhen that bill \vas passed through Parliament, a* it did at last contemporaneously Avith the New Zealand Constitution Act, the gentleman then intended for the office should have felt it necessary—a filing to which we thought ourselves bound to deter —to obtain the eeneurrer.ee of the Colonial L- gislature both to the appointment and to the proposed mode of endowment ? And still further, who could suppose that when the question was submitted to "the colony, j. difficulty Avould have been raised as to the validity of "the mortgage by which the endowment; was secured? "And, "lastly, ay ho could have

supposed that that difficulty should have occasioned a del aa* of two years before the colony were able to deal Avith it. and through the Legislative Assembly to pass a declaratory act to state that the endoAvment should be good, and have legal enect ? (Hear, hear.) I have referred to these extraordinary and unlooked-for difficulties da- Avhich Aye %vere met: and as soon as we hoard that- the last of them had been removed by the colony, and that there was no further difficulty in the AA-ay, then we set to Avork in tie way that was open to us to complete the appointment. The association finding theni-s-Avcsfnncfos qffirio, the Bishop ot NeAV Zealand being in this country, felt that they should oiler to hi in the charge of selecting a clergyman fur the appointment. (Hear, hear.) The Bishop would have done so, if he had been able, but the whole of the difficulties were not then solved, and the. Bishop left the country without the appointment having been completed, and it wis only during the last tew months that we beard of the last difficulty being cleared away. The last difficulty which has impeded the settle- i ment of this matter has arisen—not altogether 1 unexpectedly to me—-with certain Government j offices, avlio are much more famous for their | =.■•.-.re iv the investigation of a subject than ior their expedition in bringing it to a settlement. J t.Hfcar, bear.) These difficulties, about the letters patent, are the. oaly ones noAV, and Aye have reason from day to day to hope that they will be j removed, and that the appointment Avill be com- I pleted in all its forms. But it is on account of the want of this final step that we are not favoured Avith the presence of the Bishop-desig-nate amongst, us this evening. I need hardly »..y that the person recommended by Bishop Selwyu for the office is the Rev. Mr. Harper, a irentleman who I know is in every way fitted for the appointment. It would have given me great pleasure if he had been here to say a few words on this occasion, but as he is not, I knovr J shall not be acting counter to the wish of any one who hears me, if I venture to ask his diocesan, the Bishop of Oxford, to address a few words to us, partly In confirmation of Avhat I Live said of the character of Mr. Harper, and partly of encouragement as to the general prospects of the colony, upon which his long connection with the association well qualifies Idm to speak. (Cheers.) The Bishop of OxFor.D:—My Lord Lyttelton- —From the first beginning of the evening I have very naturally lamented the absence of my friend Mr. Harper, the Bishop-designate of this colony: but though it has been a .very honest and sincere feeling all along, I do not think I ever entertained it with the same intensity and j reality as I do now. because if he had been present, he would have been the proper person in- j stead of myself to reply to what- your lordship I lias said. To a great deal of it, as a Bishop, it i maybe that I ought to reply, but all that long j statement your lordship made of the difficulty j of hatching out your Bishop—all those false ! deliveries—the continual repetition of expecta- • tion of the thing's being born, to be followed ] (,'Ttly by disappointment and new difficulties, it I is not so easy for me to touch upon. (Hear, j hear.) The best light, perhaps, that I can put 1 • r in is this.—That- it is the universal experience i •.d'nature that that which is the most worth j saving h uncommonly slow in producing. . And ; I trust that by the same rule the establishment ' j.' this bishropiw, which has been so long in !:r:-!gmg about, will, when it does come, prove „, be a very good thing. (" Hear, hear," arid a laugh.) But with regard to the 3-emarhs with v.\de; j yr.mr lord>hip concluded your speech, I can speak with conlidence. Mr." Harper is, as w-u have -.:-.<.?, a clergyman in my diocese, and i^.vnig n j>?-gc number <f c'.-r^ymeii in that —;-bjiit o*.!■..'—l can sai'ely .-;>y that there i~ hoi a.mmg them a better, tru'-r, or more .verimg mm: than Mr. Harper. (Hear, hear.) lie has ahvays proved himself a inasi of the .-,i.:.:iphrst a:id xtorjiest integrity, eemd to the e.-pih-'-'u.-!its of^very Nation in which he has been placed, and has invariably commanded the !-..-.-:pef;t ami attracted the esteem of every person who has been hi any way officially connected with lviii ;_ whether pupils iv his house, parishioners in hi- parhh, or neighbours around him —those below or iho-e above him—with all lie };;.-s acquired. ;.u iuibunu^ and ;i power which :-:-thing but thorough and kindness of h.;::rt could have e.muded ...... t.-. amJa. (Hear, hw.r.j I think, my bird, Slii-s.-.- _t-.- {*„,■ omditie.* ■Ye V,-;illt ji) the jl.Jpu. L...1 ])>. iv,- „ .■-i,-. it :>■<)';!• ]i »..i!:.;r u'Jt to the coK::7 \-j <.--.;::.•,;•>■ —a .i.aa

Avhom everybody with Avhom he comes in contact will feel to "be a thoroughly honest and sterling man—a man avlio Avill hold bis own at all risks, and maintain the principle he believes to true, though every person in the colony Avorc opposed to him—who Avould never Hindi from fcarof consequences, or consent to pare them down for the-purpose of conciliating opposition—and yet a man of such a kindness of heart, that, d he Avere not fighting for principle, he would give as little oifeneo to those who dido-rod from him as any man living in maintaining the truth. (Hoar, hear.) Such%t man is Mr. Harpoi — (Cheers) —and therefore I believe the selection is a very happy one ; at the same time, I believe there are other clergymen in my diocese avlio might have been chosen if ho had not, of whom 1 could luia-o spoken with the same confidence ; but, as I have said, I believe that a very happy choice has been made. (Hear, hear.) You have spoken of me, my lord, as one who has long been connected with its earliest days; but the j press of business Avhich is inseparable from the duties of the Bishop of a large diocese has prevented my giving that constant attendance to i the interests of the association which your lordship and others have given. At the same time, its progress audits success have abvays been a subject of anxious and hopeful concern with me. I look upon this colony as one of the most hopeful signs of the times ; for if there is one great proof of the vitality of this nation, it is the casting forth from time to time new communities in itsownlikeness.togrow up elsewore. Providence favouring them, to maturity and strength. Of all others, this is the strongest proof of what avo may call the inherent strength and virility of the nation; and I believe this Province of Canterbury is the greatest proof avo have had since the time of Elizabeth, of the power of this country to cast forth something that shall be the reproduction of English society, of its manners, its civilisation, and its Church, in far-off lands, with the poAver of growing up and devolopiug again a new old England in another part of the Avorld. (Hear, hear.) No doubt there are difficulties, as our friend Mr. Godley has described. In the nature of things it must be so. The colony of Canteibury is in that age of existence when labour is sovereign, and, unless you can aid mental developmentnow, and inakeprovisionforitfor the future, there must be the danger of labour drawing doAvn everything to its oavh physical leA'el. (Hear, hear.) But what is the peculiar feature of England at this moment ? Is it not that labour is operating in the same Avay here ? Yet, what is the great strength of England .but the I honour given to labour ?—the power that belongs j to labour, and the true honour Avhich in every | society that thinks at all it commands—Avhat is | the great feature that distinguishes England, j and Avhat is the great source of her strength, j but that ? Therefore, I say, if j rou can evoke j those powers, of Avhich Mr. Godley has spoken, | to keep labour in its place, it appears to me that j the future of this colony is, under the blessing ]of God, secure. (Cheers.) My lord, it does not j occur to me to say airything more on this occa- ] sion, except to express my earnest hope that | God will accomplish all that He appears to have S disposed in this great work. (Hear, hear.)

! Sir. W. James—Seeing that some gentlemen | ; are about to leave, I Avish, before Aye separate, to ! make one proposition which my hon. friend Mr. iO. Wynne has asked me to submit to you. It j is, that- Aye may in future years have | gatherings of those gentlemen who have been ! j members of the Canterbury Association, and of | j our friends from the colony avlio may happen to j | be in England and can make it convenient to | ; attend. lam not going to trouble you with a J j speech, but will rather follow the example of the j j late Mr. Canning. avlio on a similar occasion i once said that it was not bis custom to speak ; ] under such v circumstance, but rather to imij tate the ihh :m<\ drink. (Hear, hear.) But here j the very iish "appear to be eloquent, and the j whitebait to join in the appeal a;!o jierjx-luu. i (Laughter.) A gentleman whose name has not \ been mentioned, but whose name will go down j to posterity as a man of genius, used to call ! Canterbury the Belgravia of colonies. To some ! extent, perhaps, it may be so, and I trust that j while it derive* front us the element of labour on I the one hand, it will continue also to derive from j us" the element, of civilization and intellectual ) reiiiiement ontbe other, and that both will j exist together in hearty and cordial friendship, : conducing to the pennameut prosperity of'the * in ■ A * *•- ; colony. (Hear.)

Sir J. Si.aieox —I had some trilling share in the early history of the colony, and was separated from it by circumstances to which I need not here allude. No one, however, takes a Avarmer interest iv its progress, and no one can rejoice more at tho good news we have received from it. At the same time, being ono of those who are largely interested in the pecuniary results, if I may so speak, it hardly belongs to me to remark upon the manner in which the colony have come forward to incur liabilities for tho purpose of relieving us. (Hear, hear.) But Aye should be Avanting' in gratitude, I think, if avo omitted on this occasion to recognise the services of a gentleman avlio more than any other has been instrumental in attaining the results we arc met here to celebrate—l mean Sir, "Selfe, (Cheers.) No one Iciioavs anything about the colony is ignorant of the important bearing his hiiluenec and exertions and his accurate attention to the details of business have had in the crisis of the colony that has been alluded to. With that modesty Avhich characterises him, he did not come forward in the early days of the colony, Avhen we floated upon the tide of'prosperity, hut Avhen that tide ebbed, and Aye were almost'stranded, then he stood forward and lent us his valuable aid. (Hoar, hear.) As one of those who have derived advantage from the financial results of that aid, I feel bound to register my thanks to Mr. Selfe for the constant and successful attention he has paid to our interests —interests Avhich, I ought to add, are in no respect contrary or contradictory to those of the colony itself. lam sure there is not one of us who would not rather cut oil' his right hand than receive any portion of the money the colony has so liberally contributed, if he thought the liabilities the colonists have taken upon themselves Avould inflict the slightest injury upon them, or retard in any Avny their prosperity. (Cheers.) I beg to propose the health of Mr. Selfe

The toast leaving been drank, Mr. Selfe acknowledged the compliment. There was one toast he said that they had too long neglected. He thought they ought not to separate Avithout imiting some of those present who had made the colony their home, to tell in a few Avoids their experience of the land of their adoption'; and to afford-them the opportunity of doing so he begged to propose "The Colonists of Canterbury," coupling Avith it the names of Mr. Wortley and Sir Thomas Tancred. The toast was drank with loud cheers. Mr. S. Wort-ley, as a colonist of Canterbury, desired to acknowledge in the first place the deep debt of gratitude he owed to those by Avhose exertions the settlement had been established. It was a country with Avhich his dearest interests and wnrmests friendships were bound up. He Avent there at a very early age, and all the friendships and ties he had since formed Avere connected Avith Canterbury. The name of Mr. Fitzgerald had been mentioned. When he Avent out Mr. Fitzgerald was his felloAv-passenger; he had had full opportunity then and since of judging of his character, and could confirm all that had been said in his favour. It was five or six years ago since a party was assembled in the Sir George Seymour to bid him and the other colonists who Avere going out farewell. On that occasion many sanguine hopes were expressed of Avhat the colony would be, and he was happy to say that none of those expectations had been 'belied in the result. (Hear, hear.) In every part of New | Zealand the colony of Canterbury Avas looked I upon Avith respect, and its .success avhs now i beyond question. For a time it was true there | might have been grounds ior despondency ; but that time had passed away ; and though those who went there expecting to liud the comforts and luxuries of the mansions of Belgi-aviu or the villas of the Regeut's-park might experience disappointment, anongst those who Avent with a determination to Avork as every man must do iv a new country, there hud not been, as far as he was aware, a single case of failure. Lord Grey had said the other day in Parliament that every one of his friends avho had gone out to Cantcr!bury had come back ruined men. He did not know who Lord Grey's friends were, but he could safely my that no friend of his who had gone out to Canferbuiy had route back a ruined man ; and he had every rea.Kou to believe the statement that any of the colonists of Cantorbury had been ruined in the way the noble lord insinuated, to be utterly without foundation. (Hear, hear.) No colony could, he believed, boabt of :;o large a proportion of gentlemen and

of men of high order of intellect as compared .with the entire population as Canterbury. He believed tho colony at this moment possessed all the elements of permanent prosperity, and he only expressed the feeling of the colonists generally Avhen he said that they owed a deep debt of gratitude to the association. (Cheers.) The CitAru.MAN must ask them to drink the health of one other gentleman avlio, before he left England, had done much of tho same kind of service as Mr. Selfe had done since, and had contributed largely, by constant labour, to bring about that arrangement Avhich had resulted in the satisfactory settlement upon Avhich they had to congratulate themselves—he meant Mr. Henry Sewell. This toast having been duly honoured, Sin Tiioaias Tancked, as Mr. SeAvell Avas in New Zealand, Avould respond for him, and in doing so, as a former Canterbury colonist, might be allowed to say a feAV Avords. He looked upon Canterbury as a land of great province. He had returned from it not from disappointment or disr' <s?sfaction, but because of those drawbacks to wifich Mr. Godley had alluded. The social disorganisations caused by the gold discoveries in the Australian colonies, and the deficiencies of educational means, had determined him, as a family man Avith young children, to leave a country which he looked upon as an earthly paradise. He still retained property there, and looked forward to tho .day Avhen some of.his younger children, for Avhom he intended it as a provision, Avould settle in the colony. It Avas gratifying to him to find that the long-pending question of Church government had at length been settled satisfactorily ; and having made the acquaintance of the Bishop-designate, he augured from his appointment to the office the greatest benefits to the colonists. The company then broke up, having spent a most agreeable evening, and prolonged the socialities of the occasion to a late hour.