Parliament of New Zealand.

Marlborough Express, Volume IV, Issue 178, 5 June 1869, Page 4

Parliament of New Zealand.

On Tuesday last, the General Assembly met at Wellington, and was formally opened by a Commission. Sir David Monro reading the following speech :

Honorable Legislative Councillors, and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives,— The fulfilment of a promise given last session, no less than the disturbed state of the country, have required a recourse to your advice and assistance earlier in the year than is usual That assistance you will no doubt freely give, for you will recognise that the Colony can no longer endure those evils under which it has, with but temporary intermission, long suffered, from the determined hostility of the turbulent portion of the native race.

Since the close of last session, that hostility has displayed itself in an aggravated form. Murders and other atrocities, entirely unprovoked, have been committed in cold blood on unarmed persons ; another missionary, whose life had been devoted to their service, has fallen a victim ; and neither age, or sex, nor race has been spared. Every means at the disposal of the Colony have been employed in the prosecution of the war which has thus been forced upon us, and which has had to be encountered on both sides of the North Island at the same time. Large numbers of men have been raised and trained, and have been engaged in active operations in the field ; and defensive works have been erected for the protection of places exposed to the attacks of the enemy. It will be your duty to consider how the efforts hitherto made may be sustained and strengthened. The thanks of the Colony are due to Colonel

Whitmore and to the officers and men of the Colonial Forces, European and Native, for the conspicuous courage with which they have encountered the enemy wherever he presented himself, and for the indomitable energy and zeal with which they have tracked and dispersed his retreating forces ; arduous and harrassing duties, in the course of which they have penetrated forests and inhospitable wilds hitherto unvisited by any European force, and inaccessible to the ordinary means of transport. The difficulties they have surmounted have had no parallel in the military history of this country. No troops could have displayed a more gallant spirit—no officers could have conducted campaigns with more enterprise, skill, and prudence. The great difficulty of the country must be grappled with, and a permanent remedy applied to a state of things which is paralysing industry, and in every way restricting the progress and settlement of the country. Any policy which fails of such a result will but abandon the country to disaster and ruin, which, spreading far beyond the scenes of conflict, will be felt by all sections of the community throughout New Zealand. Such a policy demands a highly organised force, embodied for a definite period, established in the best strategical positions, and occupied in perfecting their communications. Correspondence between his Excellency the Governor and the Secretaries of State for the Colonies, in reference to the retention of Imperial Troops in New Zealand, and especially to the resolutions on the subject passed by both Houses during last session, will be laid before you. The question cannot be further pressed by the Legislature with any dignity or self-respect, or any beneficial result to the people of New Zealand, A Bill of a temporary character will bo submitted to you providing summary means of dealing with persons taken in arms against the Queen, or who may have been concerned in exceptional barbarities on the part of the rebels. The conquest of a permanent peace will require an exceptional expenditure beyond what it is advisable to levy in the shape of annual revenue, and a portion of it should be provided by loan. An application for a guarantee to such loan has been made to the British Government. You will probably believe that the condition of the country requires a renewal of the application, and justifies the hope that the last prayer of the Colony to the Mother Country will not be rejected.

Gentlemen of the House of Representatives,— Estimates of expenditure for the ensuing financial year will be laid before you. While providing for the efficiency of the services, they exhibit with the exception of the requirements for Defence purposes, a reduction of the expenditure of the country.

The results of the operations under the Consolidated Loan Act, up to the most recent date, will be laid before you. You will gladly recognise that, owing to the able manner in which the operations have been conducted, a considerable diminution in the annual charges on the revenues has been effected.

Honorable Legislative Councillors and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives,— The Electric Telegraph is in course of extension to Wanganui on the one side, and towards Taupo and Auckland on the other. The cessation of active warfare will be immediately followed by the completion of the latter line to the Capital and Gold Fields of the North.

These singular and rich fields continue to increase in importance, and reliable authorities prognosticate the extension of discoveries of like deposits throughout many parts of the Northern Island, which will give profitable employment to a large population. The bearing of this on the early pacification and security of the country is important. The approaching termination of the present Parliament calls for legislation to readjust the representation of the people, in conformity with the altered condition of the several districts. You will be invited to consider a measure for making undevised real estate distributable amongst next of kin, in the same manner as personal property. Although the Native question will largely engage your attention, other mattters of public interest and importance will doubtless not be neglected. In the especial circumstances under which you are assembled, may the Spirit of Wisdom so guide your counsels as to promote the welfare of the people of New Zealand.