THE NELSON EXAMINER. Nelson, July 13, 1850.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 436, 13 July 1850, Page 78

THE NELSON EXAMINER. Nelson, July 13, 1850.

Journals become more necessary as men beuome more equal and individualism more to be fealfed. ' It would be to underrate their importance to suppose that they serve only to secure liberty: they maintain civilisation. Db TocaußTiLU, Of Democracy in America, vol. iv., p. 200.

The selection of town sections in the new town at Waitohi, commenced on the Ist, and was concluded on the Sst instant. We are informed that the parties who visited the site of the town previous to the selection, were much pleased with its appearance, and with the judicious way in which the natural capabilities of the place had been taken advantage of. The respective sections present less disparity than is generally the case, as after those possessing an earlier value for business purposes have been obtained, the remainder generally are so well calculated to make pretty sites for residences, as to bestow a fair average value upon the most of them. The town has not yet received a name, but we understand that one will be given to it on an early day. This selection being the last instalment of the alterations, from the scheme of the settlement, contemplated by the Resolutions of July, 1847, we sincerely rejoice that we are enabled to state that all the conditions, either original or subsequently devised, for the satisfactory establishment of the Kelson settlement, have now been complied with, and that all questions affecting the sales of land up to the present time, with the sole exception of the balance of our Trust Funds, being now settled, we may look forward to its unimpeded progress. We trust that some well-considered plan will be adopted for tbe future, by which the proceeds derivable from the sales, or leavings for

depasturing purposes, of tbe lands adjoining those which were originally intended to comprise this settlement, may be added to the existing Trust Funds, and a constant accession to our numbers and means of rendering the settlement attractive be thereby secured.

Should such a scheme be judiciously conceived and carried out, and should the belief in the existence of a communication between the Wairau district and the " Great Southern Plain 8 " be proved to be a correct one, we' we may fairly -anticipate tbat what was at first the Nelson settlement, may eventually become a very considerable portion of one uninterrupted community exteuding from Cape Farewell to Foveaux Strait.

By the arrival of the Poictiers, from London on the -5 th, and Hyde on the 24th February, we have received English papers to the 23d JFebruary.

Parliament was opened on the 31st January. In the absence of her Majesty, who was prevented from attending by her approaching accouchement, the speech from the. throne, which will be found in another colnmn, was read by the Lord Chancellor.

In the House of 'Lords, the Earl of Essex moved, and Lord Metbuen seconded, the Address, which, as usual, was a mere echo of the Speech. An amendment was mov.ed by Lord Stradbroke, and seconded by the Karl of Desart, in favour of protection to the agricultural interest, which, on a division, was lost by 49 votes, there being for the amendment- 103, against it, 152.

la tha House of Commons, the Address was moved by Mr.Tilliers, and seconded by Sir S. Duke. An amendment to the same effect as that in the Upper House, was moved by Sir S. Trollope, and seconded by Colonel Chatterton. After an adjourned debate, Ministers had a majority of 119, in a house of 503.

The most interesting debate that had occurred since the opening of Parliament, took place on the 6 th. February, when Mr. Hawes moveid for the re-appointment of a Select Committee to inquire into the affairs of Ceylon.

The debate that ensued was most damaging to Government. Mr. Bailiie, the chairman of the committee appointed last session, which committee was composed of gentlemen of all parties, and which unanimously agreed in its-Report, stated, " that Lord Grey had insulted that committee as never "committee had been insulted before." Evidence had been withheld, and the witnesses demanded by the committee had not been summoned, &c. Mr. Bailiie further stated, and was in that statement supported by Mr. Hume -and other members, " that the proceedings of General Haynau in suppressing the bloody revolution in Hungary,' were mild, merciful, and legal, compared with the conduct of Lord Torrington — Earl Grey's relative — in suppressing a paltry insurrection in Ceylon." He also accused the Government of attempting to suppress the truth, and screen Lord Torrington at all hazards. Mr. Disraeli,* Sir J. Graham, and other members, condemned the conduct of the Colonial Office, and moved an amendment of a vote of censure on Earl Grey. Lord "J. Russell declared that he would consider a vote <of~cen sure on Earl Grey, as one against the Ministry, thus compelling many members who agreed with Mr. Bailiie to vote for Ministers. On a division, Mr. Disraeli's amendment was negatived by 140 against 68. A second amendment by Mr. Hume, to the effect, that the witnesses asked for by the committee of last year should be sent for by next mail, was lost by 109 votes against 100. On the Bth February, Lord J. Russell, in introducing a Bill for the bestowing a constitution on the Australian Colonies, delivered a very interesting speech explanatory of the future intentions of Government in reference to the Colonies generally. We believe that much of the liberality professed by the IMinisters]'on the question may be attributed to their desire to forestall the Colonial Reform Society, and stave off motions on colonial questions, notices of which were likely to become unpleasantly frequent. Lord J. Russell stated in the strongest manner, that, " English colonists carry out with them, wheresoever they go, their native rights and privileges" — a declaration which must compel the Government, if they desire to preserve any character for consistency, to lose no time in allowing these " native rights and privileges" to have free scope. We can trace, however, the cloven bitch in the proposed bill of Ministers, viz., the retention of the power of disallowing laws passed by Colonial Legislatures for local objects, qualified as it is by the statement, that the Imperial Government should but rarely interfere in the local affairs of the colonies, and " never further than it clearly and dicidedly necessary."

But Lord Johncould not see how the distinction between " freedom of Colonial Legislatures with respect to local laws, and Crown sanction in Imperial laws," can be defined by Act of Parliament.

This question will be " defined " sooner or later either by the Imperial Parliament or the Colonies respectively, and in the mean time Ministers will, should their Bill not receive the necessary amendments, entail an inherent element of discord, certain to produce a continual feeling of irritation, if not a permanent hostility, between the Imperial and Colonial Legislatures, which must tend to weaken the spirit of national unity between the mother country and her progeny, the maintenance of which is so essential to the power and stability of both.

Altogether, we have ample subject for congratulation in the very increased importance attached to colonial questions, as evinced by their being so early and frequently brought before the House. The Times terms Lord John Russell's exposition of the future colonial policy of Ministers, the turning crisis 4n the history of Great Britain.

The information which w« have been enabled to gather, from private letters and verbal accounts, as well as publications received by the Poictiers, with respect to the prospects of the Canterbury settlement, is on the whole very satisfactory. We have been favoured with a view of the two first numbers of a periodical, called " Canterbury Papers." From this work we shall make extracts in a future number : at present to have only room to notice the main points of tbe information contained in it. A list | of the " present Committee and Officers of the Canterbury Association for founding a Settlement in New Zealand, incorporated by Royal 'Charter, dated 13th November, 1849," consists of nearly the same names as those given forth in the earliest publications of the Association : we observe, however, that' Mr. John Hutt is the Chairman of the Committee; that the Bishop of Norwich (Dr. Samuel Hinds) has become a member of the Committee of Management; and that Lieut* -Colon el Archer, Samuel Lucas, -Esq., F. Alleyne M'Geachy, Esq., Charles Wynne, Esq., and the Rev. James Cecil Wynter, have joined the ranks of the Association — the last four gentlemen as members of the Committee of Management. The list of officers in New Zealand, besides Mr. Godley as Resident Chief Agent, and Captain Thomas as Chief Surveyor, contains the names of Messrs. Thomas Cass and -Charles Obins Torlesse as Assistant Surveyors. There is a -very good "Sketch Map" of the site of the settlement, and of New Zealand, with the <east coast of the .Middle Island, corrected according to the survey of H. M. S. Acheron. The pamphlet contains letters from Captain Thomas, Captain Stokes, Messrs. Deans of Riccarton, near Port Cooper, the' Chief Surveying Offi- j cer of H.M.S. Acheron, Mr. Man tell, the Government Commissioner, and the Bishop of New Zealand, all of which describe the site in the most glowing terms, and some of which have already appeared in our columns.

Next come the " Terms of Purchase," dated Ist January, 1850. We shall take an early opportunity of reprinting them at full length. We may, however, observe here, that " the whole quantity of land reserved for the Canterbury settlement, is about 2,400,000 acres in a block;" that " with the exception of such land as may be selected by the Agent of the Association for the site of the capital (Christchurch), and of harbour and port towns, all the land will be open for purchase as rural land ;" that " the minimum quantity of rural land that can be purchased is 50 acres ;" that " the first body of colonists will be composed of such persons as may become purchasers of land, to an extent not exceeding 101,000 acres, on or before the 30th April, 1850;" and that every member of this body is to receive a gift of half-an-acre in the capital town in respect of every rural section of 5.0 acres purchased. The concluding portion of the pamphlet contains Extracts from Mr. Godley's Instructions ; a very able paper on " Church Colonisation," by the Rev. James Cecil Wynter, M.A., Rector of Gatton; and another, "by an intending Colonist," on " the Club Principle," which concludes with the words, " The standard it raised! Who will gather round it? Who will join our Canterbury Clull" A " Colonists' Room X has been established on Adelphi Terrace ; and we learn from private sources, that, at the date of the departure of the Poictiers from London, there had been already so much land sold as to exceed the expectations of the promoters of the scheme, and that " there is every prospect of a capital society at Can-

terbury; the very best sort of people are coming forward." We understand that two of the passengers in the Poictiers, one of whom landed at New Plymouth, have purchased land in the Canterbury settlement.

From what we can gather, the dissolution of the New Zealand Company in the present month was likely.

The project of steam communication between Nelson and other ports in New Zealand, was laid aside for the present.

The Colonial Reform Association was in full activity, and different members of the House connected with it, had given notice of a series of motions on Colonial affairs. We print below a circular letter and Address which we have received from the Society, and shall call further attention to it again :— To the Editor of the Nelson Examiner. Saunders's Library, 6, Charing Cross, London, February 2, 1850. Sir— l am directed by the Council of the Society for the Reform of Colonial Government, to transmit to you the enclosed Address, and to request that you will be so good as to give it all the publicity in your power. I have the honour to be, &c, J. E. Fitzgerald, Secretary, i

THE SOCIETY FOR THE REFORM OF COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. The Council?— -The Hon. Francis Baring, M.P., Chairman; C. B. Adderley, Esq., M.P., R. Cobden, Esq., M.P., the Right Hon. J. M. Gibson, M.P., M. J. Higgins, Esq., E. Horsman, Esq., M.P., J. Hume, Esq., M.P., the Lord Kinnaird, the Lord Lyttelton, F. A. M'Geachy, Esq., Sir William Moleswortb, Bart., M.P., J. Napier, Esq., M.P., J. A. Roebuck, Esq., M.P., the Hon. Francis Scott, M.P., H. Ker Seytner, Esq., M.P., Augustus Stafford, Esq., M.P., S. H. Walpole, Esq., M.P., the Lord Wodehouse address; by thb council, to the public or great britain and the colonies. This Society has been formed for the following reasons:— 1 Because the inhabitants of the British Colonies are suffering under grievous misgovernment.; their interests have been neglected, their enterprise checked, and their property wasted: They are heavily and needlessly taxed, and their public revenues have been extensively misapplied and squandered : A heavy and unnecessary burden is imposed on the United Kingdom for their government and protection : Their great natural resources are not adequately developed, and especially the disposal of their waste lands is grossly mismanaged : Emigration is obstructed, to the detriment both of the mother country and of the colonies; and unnatural limits ars thereby imposed to the interchange of home and colonial manufactures and produce: They are wronged and degraded by being made, against their will, receptacles for the convicted criminals of the mother country : Notwithstanding the promises which have been made, year by year, there is no assured prospect of an effectual improvement in the present system of colonial policy; and the colonists, having neither representatives in the Imperial Parliament, nor, for the most part, representative in* stitutions in their several countries, are without constitutional means of effecting such reform : The spirit of discontent and disaffection which for the want of such reform, is spreading in many of the colonies, threatens their disrnption from the British Empire : The Council are of opinion tbat these evils are mainly owing to the great central power of the Colonial Office, placed at a distance from the countries which it governs, of necessity ill-informed as to their conditions and interests, and irresponsible to those whose affairs it administers. That this 'authority is of recent origin, is irreconcilable with the habits of the English people, and is repugnant to the principles of our constitution. In all the earlier colonies of England legislatures were established, one estate of which, at least, was wholly elected by the people; nor was it ever within the prerogative of the Crown to establish any other system of government, or to make laws or impose taxes, except by the free consent of the people. That it is not to be expected that British subjects in the Colonies will long submit to be deprived of those constitutional rights which their forefathers in this country most jealously defended from the encroachment of arbitrary power. That the absence of representative government in the Colonies has been marked by a repression of energy, a waste of resources, and a growth of discontent, except only where corrupt submission has been produced by the influence of extravagant imperial expenditure. That English Colonists have ever thriven best when left to manage their own affairs, from their first landing on their adopted shores ; and that, with this local independence, they united a warm and loyal attachment to the mother country, whilst a desire for separation has always originated in vaxatious imperial interference. That they have ever desired to obtain institutions resembling those of our own country, and that they are both ready and able to provide for the expense of their own government, when .

their public revenues shall be left under their own control.

The Council are therefore of opinion, that it is right and expedient to delegate to all the British Colonies, whose population has been mainly formed, or is being still augmented by emigration from this country, full authority to administer their own affairs.

That the Colonies which are at present entitled to self-government are the North American Colonies, the South African Colonies, Van Diemen's Land, and New Zealand. To these Colonies, the Council hare determined to limit their operations in the first instance. They therefore abstain, for the present, from offering any opinion as to the government of those dependencies in which the mass of the population is composed of the coloured races, auch as the West India Islands, Mauritius, and Ceylon; and they consider that military stations, such as Malta, Gibraltar, &., ought not to be considered Colonies, and need not necessarily be governed as such.

In respect to the mode in which the Council intend to act, they desire in the first instance to place themselves m direct communication with all tbe Colonies above named, 6O that they may possess the earliest and most correct information respecting them. For this purpose, they especially invite each of these Colonies to appoint an Agent resident in London, accredited to the Council, upon whom they may rely for a full andjfaitbful representation of the affairs and wishes of the Colonists.

The council will meet once a week, at least, during the Session of Parliament, to determine on a course of action in respect to matters brought under their notice. It will be tbe chief concern of the Council to procure the passing of general Acts of Parliament, in which the principles of this Address, respecting the government of tbe Colonies, shall be fully recognised. But it will also be their care to watch narrowly all proceedings by which the interests of British Colonists may be in any manner affected; and, either by notice in Parliament, or by representation to the Govern, ment, to obtain the redress of any special grievances which may be brought before them, as well by the inhabitants of those Colonies upon which their attention is immediately concentrated, as by those the general consideration of whose government the Council are compelled for the present to postpone. It is also in contemplation to extend, by publications or otherwise, a correct knowledge of the Government of the British Colonies, of tbe real grievances of which they complain, and of the remedies which they justly demand. The Council desire, in conclusion, to express their warm sympathy in the fortunes and interests of their fellow subjects, in every part of the Colonial empire; their conviction of the deep importance to this conntry of her vast Colonial possessions, as opening wide fields for commercial enterprise; as providing for the unlimited increase of population; as being tbe germ of nations by whom the language, the institutions, and the religion of Britons will be extended and preserved j and their firm belief that the principles they profess, and the measures they are about to propose, will tend to increase the prosperity, the stability, and the unity of the British Empire. With the principles and tbe objects herein expressed, the Council of tbe Society for the Reform of Colonial Government now confidently appeal to the public, both at home and in the Colonies, for that active co-operation and support which will enable them to carry their views into effect. (By order of the Council) Jambs Edward Fitzgerald, Secretary. 6, Charing Cross, Jan 29th, 1850. P.S. All communications may be addressed to the Secretary; but none will be received of which the postage is not paid. Any person may become a Member of tbe Society upon the payment of a Subscription of One Pound every year. Subscriptions may be paid to Messrs. Cocks and Diddulph, Charing Cross ; Messrs. Ransom and Co., Pall Mall East; anil Messrs. Currie and Co., Cornhill.

The Lord William Bentinck was advertised to sail on the 20th of March, for Auckland and Wellington, and the Mariner, under charter to the New Zealand Company, for their settlements, on tbe Ist April.

Some English extracts will be found in our columns.