CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 449, 12 October 1850, Page 130

CORRESPONDENCE.

To the Editok of the Nelson Examines. Sir— ln forwarding to you a second letter •Co Mr. Godley, I take the opportunity of saying that, in the observations you refer to, I had in view certain articles of the Independent news* paper. How far, by re-publishing, and thus giving a wider circulation and currency to these lucubrations, you become an accomplice, or "particeps crtminis," it a matter on which every one must of course judge for himself; opinions will vary, and mine, in all probability, would slightly differ from your own. But I very willingly acknowledge that you have.. of late, exercised a liberty of choice in selecting ~ from these "Elegant Extracts" — as for instance in the article you reprinted last week ; although that was not the one I referred to, but aaother that I met with by accident in Nelson, which, among other .flowers of rhetoric, qualified us with the very refined appellation of "Government lickspittles." As far, therefore, as the accusation of using ungentleraably langaage extends, I confine it exclusively -to the editors of the Independent, and heartily wish I could make my answer still more satisfactory. I am, sir, yours, &c, y J. D. Greenwood. 1

To J. R. Goolst, Esq. ' : . Sir— ln order to justify the language of the sth Resolution; which you have adopted as your own, it seems to me necessary to show that the acceptance of a seat in the Council was in itself a humiliating act, and that the conduct of the members afterwards was that of men who were puppets and servants of Sir G. Grey, and bound to be so. Now, our first acceptance might be censurable for three reasons— tbat we accepted insufficient powers; tbat we consented to humiliating or indeed any restrictions on those powers, supposing them to have been sufficient in tha first instance ; or lastly, that we prevented the adoption of better plans in their stead. Bat, as I before- stated, our powers were the same as those to be given to the future Representative Council; and no one baa yet ventured to say that any secret stipulations were made as to their exsKsse. One reserve • tion there certainly -w»sf in my own case ;

namely, that my acceptance should not pledge me to the principle of local Councils of any sort, as they appeared to me likely to entail heavy and unnecessary expenses on the colony, and to afford opportunities for petty rivalries and local jealousies, whilst a General Assembly, composed of members taken from many distinct and widely- separated districts, would always have a majority against any attempt at local jobbing or unfair partialities. There remains only the third supposition— that we stood in the way of a more popular form of government ; and this is the only one which is worth any serious consideration; the only one in which the public takes any lasting interest. In order to understand this question, it will be necessary for me to go back a little to its history. About four years ago, Earl Grey, on the report of our , Governor that the colony was fit for self-govern-ment, sent out a most elaborate plan for a constitution, which, on examination, was unanimously declared unworkable, and its introduction suspended until the receipt of fresh instructions. When these arrived, they showed that his lordship, most probably disgusted with the cool reception given to what he looked upon and intended for a great boon, left the whole matter in the bands of Sir G. Grey for four years. Sir George, upon this, introduced the present Provincial Councils' Ordinance, and. on being pi eased to concede the principle of representation, declared most positively and emphatically, that he would not take upon himself such a responsibility. After that declaration, the opposition to bis plan could have but one of two objects in view; either to compel him to act in a way which he had declared to be dangerous and impolitic, and pledged himself against in a most solemn manner; or to recur to the former despotism. Like all my fellow-colonists, I was opposed to the old dictatorship as soon as the necessity for it had ceased to exist ; but, unlike many others, I did not look upon the attempt to force a man who had the exclusive control of the matter in his own hands, and who possessed the unbounded confidence of the home authorities, to act in direct contradiction to his own deliberate and strongly-expressed convictions/as likely to be attended with success. I thought then, and still think, that the course he took was not the most straightforward or judicious; and that he would have found support where he encountered nothing but opposition, had he met the settlers fairly and frankly upon the question. He might have said, " Gentlemen, whether right or wrong, I am pledged irrevocably to a certain extent ; but beyond this I am ready, as far as possible, to meet your views. I will not undertake to fix the elective franchise; but meanwhile I shall be happy to appoint those who possess the public confidence; and if you will call a public meeting, and give me a list, I will appoint the men of your choice.* 1 I believe Sir G. Grey did wish, and honestly endeavour to select the most fitting menj but he fell into the error of all those who are accustomed to wield arbitrary powers — the error of acting for instead of through the people ; and he met, as might have been expected, with a most determined and rather unscrupulous opposition. It perhaps would not be a very difficult task to retort upon some of its leaders the weapons they have used so unsparingly themselves; but dirtthrowing is not to my taste, and I yield to them most willingly the whole field of petty acrimony and personal imputation. My object is to show that other and tatter reasons may be given for acting in opposition to the mandates of the Wellington Triumvirate, than the sordid and self-seeking ones that have been so generously assigned to as. Looking then upon the attempt to force Sir G. Grey into an j act of political suicide as hopeless, what remained, but of two plans presented for our choice, to take the best? The old Council was in fact a pure despotism, qualified by liberty of l speech ; for the majority was composed of the Government officers, bound to vote on its side, ' even against their own convictions, or to resign their situations ; and the minority was removable at the mere will and pleasure of the Governor. On the contrary, the Provincial Council was made up, one-third of members of Government, and two-thirds of settlers, not removable except by the Queen in Council; and it was formed on the express condition and formal pledge that it was only to be looked upon as a temporary measure, to be followed by a Representative Assembly, at furthest in four years. Meanwhile, it possessed all the powers of that Representative Assembly ; and I, for one,' frankly confess I was not sorry for the opportuuity of looking this gift-horse in the mouth a little more closely than most of my neighbours seemed inclined to do. The interval which has passed already has not been unproductive of results. It has shown that the reserved £6.000 is too large for its ostensible purposes, and that the surplus may be applied to the retention and multiplication of offices •ither unnecessary or opposed to the general feeling; it has shown that ifae absolute reservation of this ram, instead of its being contingent on the withholding of the supplies, is inconsistent with any efficient control over the public expenditure; and 'that consequently to make the introduction of representative institutions depend upon paying our own expenses, it to make them depend upoo our paying whatever the Colonial Office may think fit to impose upon us. It has brought to light that most extraordinary and surreptitious attempt of Sir G. Grey to increase, this sum to £10,000— an attempt which the Wellington Government was afraid to make public until the last hour of the sitting of the Council—an attempt wbicb, if successful, reduces the proposed Representative Assembly, whose whole strength lies in its control over the public expenditure, to a mere mockery and delusion. It has proved, at least to my mind, that all these Provincial Governments are an-

necessary, and will become, sooner or later, mere sponges for money, and man-traps for political opponents ; and that our only chance of union, or of escape from political non-entity, lies in the constitution of a General Assembly composed of members from all the settlements, necessitating, of - course, the employment of titeamers, which the Governor, on his last visit to Nelson, engaged to introduce within twelve months from that time. And, lastly, it has ehown, that whilst Government may count upon support in spite of opposition, obloquy, and invective, as long as it respects the law, and, notwithstanding occasional short-comings, keeps within the pale of its duties, yet that no map, be he knight or earl, however eminent for ability or high in station, can reckon upon a single follower beyond those limits, or secure on any other terms than an adherence to duty the independent support of honest men. lam not bound to prove, nor do I maintain, that all the acts of the late Council were " wisest, virtuousest, discreetest, best," for I opposed many of them : but I do say that the members of it were as independent in their conduct, and as free from any improper bias, as any even the roost moderate of their impugners ; that in every case they curtailed the powers which the Government asked at their hands; that in every money-bill, the option of levying money, and the exclusive power of controlling its expenditure, were left to those from whose pockets it came; that the objections to its inefficiency would apply equally to a similar Representative Council ; that if the bills it passed were comparatively few and unimportant, such a course was in accordance with its well understood temporary and provisional character; and that in the only real important matter (except checking the Estimates) which it undertook, viz., the subject of Education, the very importance of the question was given as a reason why it should not have been undertaken; and hostile criticism was confined to a verbal inaccuracy ; the Committee being made to speak both in the first and third persons; for which error I most humbly acknowledge myself to be solely, responsible. I cannot however but think even this preferable to leaving the whole power of passing new laws, until the introduction of representative institutions, in the hands of the Governor; for, as Earl Grey very significantly remarks, " although they will of course be subject to alteration by the new Legislature, no such alteration can take placa without the consent of the Governor;" " and would be liable, like all other measures ' of the Local Legislature, to be disallowed by her Majesty." "An enactment, therefore,' creating a permanent charge on the revenue for expenditure," " would afford all the security \ thes could be desired." But from first to last , tbe question of the Council . has been taken up < in a spirit wbicb I will not again stop to characterise; and instead of our quietly snd steadily securing every offered advantage and concession, we have been amused with discussions on the rights of man, and disquisitions on the ancient Britons and their municipal institutions. Imperfect as it was, I would never have yielded the vantage ground even of the Legislative Council, though Sir G. Grey himself bad moved tbe sth Resolution, had not his own act destroyed his work, and set at nought the law which was its Charter. It ha« been well said, that nations are distinguished less by their laws than by the respect which is paid to them— a criterion not very much in favour of our present Governor. And now, sir, I think it hardly worth while to analyze the latter part of the sth Resolution, that we were the mere puppets and servants of Sir G. Grey, and that we were bound to be so. Nobody really believes it; not even the ready writer who penned it. It was sufficiently abusive and contemptuous, it was put into the mouth of another, and what cared he for the rest? I will therefore conclude with one remark which concerns my own conduct individually. It has been covertly insinuated more than once that I am, or have been, an applicant or candidate for place. lam not likely to hear the accusation put in a direct manner, but you are; for you are associated with those amongst whom I believe the slander to have originated. It is false — I never, either directly or indirectly, made any such application. The only offer of entering the public service, made to me by Governor Fitzßoy, I declined. After five years' gratuitous medical attendance on the natives, finding that others bad received remuneration for a single exertion of their skill, I applied. My application was pot answered, but I Was offered an annual fee or honorarium to continue my services, and accepted it. It pledges me about as much to the support of Government, as printing the Gazettes does the editors of the Independent. I took the office of Deputy-Registrar gratuitously, to save the inhabitants of Motueka much trouble and inconvenience, and because there was no one else to take it; and think its duties would be overpaid at one ponnd per annum. I have written once on the subject of the management of the natives of Motueka; my letter was in doe course acknowledged, and in due course laid on the shelf, to be thought of no more. If it is asked for, it is much at the service of tey one who chooses for publication.

* Tfc* httd nl frmt of ray ofltadfag

How lar your good faith has been aurprised, or how far you have deliberately adopted the conclusions I have here endeavoured to controvert, I have no means of knowing;, and if I require an apology for addressing, you thus publicly, 1 trust to find it. in appealing to what your own feelinga would be if exposed to similar attacks and imputations.

I am, sir, your obedient servant, J. D. Greenwood.

Nelson, Sept. 30, 1850,