PUBLIC MEETING AT CANTERBURY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 303, 1 November 1864, Page 5

PUBLIC MEETING AT CANTERBURY.

[From the Canterbury iVew.] Apublie meeting, convened by his Honor the* Superintendent upon the requisition of the member* off the General Assembly for Canterbury, was held yes-

teniaV evening in the new Town Hall, at 7 o'clockThe "U all, notwithstanding the stormy evening,'was crowded. . His Honor, on taking the chair, stated tlie object for which the meeting was called. He hoped that all partv prejudices -woutd be laid aside on this occasion. He should call on ilr. Weld to more the first resolution. . . . . Sir. Weld said lie had to begin by apologising for having detained the meeting, and hoped his excuse was a sufficient one, viz., the great distance he had; to come to attend. The resolution lie had the honor to propose was put into his hands only an hour ago, and it was ' " That the present condition of the colony, both politically and linancially, is causing the deepest anxiety to the public of this province, and in their opinion imperatively demands the grave consideration of the legislature ; and this meeting is therefore glad to learn that his Excellency has consented to call the General Assembly without, delay." He beared tlis evening thafthe General Assembly was to be called on the 15th of next month, aud thought that not only those before liiin, but also every muiwu Keiv Zealand would agree that it-was not a moment too soon. When last he had the honor to address a Canterbury audience this time last}ear, he recollected very well of opposing the resolution ot calling an immediate lneetiig ot the UeneraJ Assei - blv, aud the reason was tliut aciion was being ta.eu in accordance with the views of tl.e country generai y at that time. For the very same reason:'f J™ now press the calling of the Assembly, hadit called already. He believed that the re* dfc ot talUn„ the Assembly on that occasion wou d . impede action, whereas now the ci <Klin" would be to promote action, lie ° eucT «' ~(■ ~U T country i" winch it was niore neces °L 'that the voice of tb* representatives of the peoph

- . -should bs liewd. "We wore now ma position ol Imving apparently lost <our credit at home, ana o : • ■'being involved in immense expenditure and finanoa with un enormous army for which wc pay one million or ono million anrt a-la a year, monoy which was coming out of our pockcts, and whicli wo pai(i our proportion of, which might otherwise be spent in public works, and'in giving employment to many; and wc had Bright to ask our representatives in what manner that money was spent (aprplaupe). He thought Ave "liad a right to demand that ■that money should be spent in an efficient manner. He would recur to this at a later period of the eventing, and would now first ask the meeting to consider 'what was the external view taken of us—how we were looked at from England ; lie would then go -on to consider ourselves from our own point of view. In England wo were at present in very bad odour, and Ik wanted to know tho reason of that, whether it waa occasioned by prejudice, or by our own acts. He took up the English newspapers, and saw them filled -with attacks upon the colony, and charges against us ■of being greedy and desirous of the lands of tile Natives, and as been actuated by tho basest and most selGsli motives. He woultl add, that it might perhaps be some consolation, that lie found that it •was those who knew letv=t about the circumstances of the colony, and who studied least its constitution, who ■were the most violent in their invectives. He was veiy much surprised, and to uso a colonial word stogcred, at a speech delivered by Earl Grey, who speaks of us as colonists greedy of land, as exterminators of natives who have done us no harm, imd he states that the evils which beset New Zealand are vory extremely democratic institutions. He remembered hearing a debate on the question of New Zealand affairs. If any gentleman had any crVriosity on the subject ho oould show him Lord Grey's own words, in which lie stated that whilst the colonists and the natives were allowed to go on together without the interference of the Homo Government they got on very well, but at tho moment the English Government interfered evil and mis-government ensued. "Well, he remembered "that on subsequent occasions Lord Grey did not :show himself so chary of the rights of tho Natives ito the land. He was one of a Committee of the House of Commons whicli reported that the Natives had no right to the waste lands at all. He was ready to show book, cliaptcr, and verse, fof those assertions. He knew that when Lord Grey was Minister of the Colonies lie sent out instructions ■which amounted to absolute confiscation, not only of the land of the Natives in rebellion, but of the land of all the Natives, friendly and otherwise. He could not but remember well, when Lord Gre\ talked of our democratic institutions, that itwashehiin self who framed the most democratic clauses in tin constitution. There were other gentlemen mEnghun who had not taken the trouble to examine our legis lation and our conduct towards the Natives, and Win put us down as actuated by the basest motives. Hi believed that to arise from ignorance. If thei examined the subject tliey would find that in tin first session, in which we had ■nominally the powei of making our voice felt, our first act was to mak< the Natives get a price for the lands. He deprecatec the letters wliich had been written in England, au( which confounded the greed of a small part of on province of New Zealand with all tho provinces "While lie did this, he acknowledged that there hai been acts on the pi-.rt of the New Zealand legislatur which might have given some colour to those views but at at the same time it appeared to him extreme! unfair that, while his Excelicncy the Governor, win ■was the consenting parly to those acts, and tli movement of whose little linger might have stoppei their operation, was lauded as the saviour of ill Natives., the whole blame should lall upon tli Ministry. He himself did not approve of all the wu acts of last session. He was untwrtunately prevents from being present at the beginning of the scesioli when he arrived he rose in his place and stated hi .objections to the Suppression, of the Rebellion Acl which waa unnecessary and -unconstitutional, am beyond the proper powers which ought to be aske* by any Government. That it was unnecessary wa clear from the fact of its not being operate;! t;poi He protested against it as being an unjust Act. 1 allowed that the colonists were desirous of oppressiu tho Natives ; certainly, if it did incriminate th the colony, it must have incriminated his Excellent', the Governor. It was well known that up to tli present tune no Ministry since Sir George Grey hit been in'this country had any real power in Nativ affairs, and that the Home Government had written t liis Excellency, giving him most precise instruction that in Native affairs he alone was responsible. Now li had always held that wherever the responsibility lay there the power should lie too ; that was an axiom i; politics. It was on those grounds that at the Asseuibl, in Wellington he refused to take the shum respousi bility offered. He knew that the Home Governmon •were not inclined to give them any real power, wliil they forced upon us what they considered was th measure of power they would give us. Look at th result. Have they not now, by late despatches, ex plained away that modicum, of power until notliin; was left? No one could deny that; lie was mere! -stating the actual fact. They never had yet an. power, and if they had been employing the Britisi troops let it be understood that we have been em ploying them for a policy not our own—not to de lend our acts —not to carry out our views—but view which, approved of, or disapproved by us, have beei emphatically and distinctly the views of the Britisi Government. [Applause.] Ho would now say ; Jew words of what we should think of ourselves "What was our present state ? He was not here tcondem/1 any person or persons unheard. Th Assembly was called, then they should be able to ex press their opinions, and compare them and rub then together, and at the ond he hoped they should c m to some definite conclusion, and one which might b lor the good of the countiy. He had not much con fidence even in the personnel of the present Ministr or in their acts. Mr. Whitaker, at the head of tli present Ministry, a good business man, a man o good judgment and great talents for working out; policy; Mr. Russell who I believe is a good adminis trator from what I have heard; Mr. Reader AVood whom I never heard overburdened with principles [Laughter.] There was Mr. Fox, on the other hand who was perhaps over burdened with principles[laughter]—that is, principles hung up, as coat were in cupboards, and which could be taken dowi and used when wanted. [Laughter.] There wa Mr. Gillies, of whom he would say nothing except a a minister. Last session he did not show that tae and temper on some occasions which were neeessar; for the officc he held. He (Mr. Weld), from whatli had just said, would not be supposed to be toi favorable to the present Ministry. He could onl' look back on the conduct of the Ministry last sessioii which abdicated every attempt at leading the House He would go further and say they had inflicted irrepa rable damage on the colony in the question of th Panama contract. [Applause.] He would say thu after the conduct of the Ministers on this question, i appeared to liitn extremely doubtful whether an; man with proper self-respect and feeling could pu himself in the position of Mr. Ward, as he was treatei by the present Ministry. He had not finished will the category of offences against the Ministry by which if tliry were judged alone they must fall ■*r lCr -E> WCre °" lers equally great. He might speak o Mr. Wood's mission to England. It was tin opm on of every one that the very selection of a mai bo unfit as Mr. Wood to send home as ambassado to England, irrespective ot the consequences wliicl were the most disastrous to this country, would b. enough to ruin the reputation of any Ministry Am nan with the very slightest knowledge of iinancia attairs would have known that it was ruin to tin credit of the colony, and double ruin to thereputatioi ol the country following upon the repudiation of tin Panama contract—any person with the most ordinary common sense and capacity would not have put tli. colony in the position it was put, by allowing Mr Card well to bring a bill before the Houses of Parlia ment which wo could not accept unless we repudiate the claims of our creditors. He could conceivi nothing worse in policy than that and his subsequen act tons with regard to the loan. He would not speal at greater length on the subject; he had said enougl and the meeting could see he was no partisan of tin Ministry.—[Laughter ] At the same time he couli say this, that circumstances might arise, and possible have arisen in this colony, in which their reprcsenta tives might be called upon, without any great admi ration for the persons, and still less for the acts o the Ministers, to give them « certain amount of sup port on constitutional grounds. He thought it ver\ much more important to condone certain offences t.< gain the influence of the Assembly, rather than thai we should consider the special evil deeds of tho Ministry, and perhaps in so doing lose the liberty of the country. It would be obvious that if the Ministry had fallen in upholding th<? views of the representatives, then it would bo their dut3' to uphold them. H( had spoken his mind pretty freely on the Ministry ihu was unwilling to speak so freely on the Governor

In tho position Sn which ho wa * s > \ ie ,,^ 0, y sbroutted in that halo of respect. in which they >rl wish to see the representative of hor Majost}-, ' l sntne timo thov must rccollcet that his • stood hero—not in the position of a conshtution.vl H - vereign, who could do no wrong—but as a man en-, trusted with special powers ; who had been to . to take upon himself the duty and responsibility ot tin.Native question. Ho would not bo fullillmg the duty ho ovvtsl to tho country if, staot.mg on that platform, he ignored all criticism upon his Kxcetlomcv ': and lie would make this, the most unpleasant part of his task, as short as possible. Ho would only state truisms, which ho supposed his hxcellenuv would bo prepared'to admit. From the moment ol his arrival he has been trusted with the I nil est powers Tjy tho Home Government; the representatives ol tho colony never refused him any thing he asked; he never asked i'or any legislation which was refused ; certainly }iot ofa political character. lie hashad nothing refused liim ; in spite of which we are going down hill in a downward course. V\ r e are in the position of naving lost our credit- at home, and are involved in confusion which has never h:ul a -parallel to the history of this colony [applause]. \Vhen Governor Gove liiWM'.o left New Zealand he luul issued u proclamation to the Wnikntos, and told them in straightforward languaire he Would require certain (onus ; he would not allow the Maori Kind's authority to be set up In opposition to tho Queen's ; he would eiaice any arrangements with them, in anv way, hut he would not allow that. Tho right of making roads through the Waikato ivas nil other term; and ho lidded that if they did not concede those terms he would lake measures for compelling them. lie might have done right- or wrong ; Sir George Grey came out, awl set aside those term?, and went to the Waikato. Roads were made ; the Natives believed his Hxccllencv intended no hostile steps against the King's authority. This went on for two or three years It was a svstem of bribery and cajolery, until' the last thing brokcup, and then Sir Gorge Grey marched into ihe "N aifcato. His hxecllencv has claimed in England to be tho friend of the Natives—the peacemaker and par cxirllnirc the man of humanity. Tf Governor Gore llrowuo whs wrong in stating to the Natives what they should expect, Sir George Grey was doubly Wrong lor envin"' the Natives to suppose hi« policy was one lof peace. With regard to Mr. Fox's allegation ol I the threatened attack upon Auckland, those threat; had existed lor years, and all through, '.he. time oJ this peace policy. He regrenel that as Sir Gieorgi Grey's peace policy led ~'.o war, so at the present time his war policy, which had been called extravagant is not likely to lead lo peace or the con verse, but to serve up as a future legacy a store of difficulties. With such perils impending ovei the country lie was glad that the voice of (hi people might- be heard, now that the Assembly liar been called. Now tho question was, what was to In done in the future. As far as ho could see there was one course left to us. "\\ c were for the first time in Uio history of Nov Zealand, in the portion of being able, i we asked it, lo obtain entirely the Government ol on own nfl'aivs. He believed it. was neve Offered us before, i-iul he would say be did not 100 l without deep regret upon »ne circumstances in whicl it was offered to us now, and m a tit oi econona o the Knglish nation. lie believed if we said to tb English Government. "We will entirely take til whole charge of local affairs upon ourselves, takelh whole expenses ot the Maori questions, and will defl with tlieni as we like, and keep up our b>rces, they would close with the bargain. (I ' v w*as it wis to do so? His opinion was for such a course, at th earliest practicable moment, which moment was noiv We must ia'ke stops towards it at once, at tlie nex meeting of the General Assembly. It is impossibl that money should be spent year after year, which vcould not control, on any army which la\ m wintc quarters in Auckland and which we could not lnov. He was not ijoing to give up one iota about what wa our duty to enforce submission to authority anion tho natives. lie wi uld sooner lose half his incoin in taxes, and ho s-iid it deliberately, than that th settlers of Taranaki should be left in their miserabl condition, and giound down to the earth. As lon, as he had a voice to speak, or a penny to subscribi he would give both to support, the settle!s then [Applause.] He did not think they gained much b keeping a large force in the Northern Island. 1 gave great power to the Government, over whom w had 110 control; but il we had our own torees, mue smaller, and train'd for the purpose —well trained f< the bush, under (.dicers wo could afford to pay wel then wo could keep order in the Northern Islan without anything being drawn from the liom G-overnment. He would fur sooner depend upo the colonist than upon the vacillating rule to wliic wo havo been subjected ; and it he were a native li should not f. el less safe under the rule of the colonist than under their present ru'e. As far as the tiuanei.question went, he had something to say, but lie woul not trouble the meeting wtth it at this late boui There was one question, however, about which h would say something. He meant separation. [A ]: plause.] At lirst sight this cry of separation was ex eeedimrly tempting, and he, or any one, could nial; a speech which would be very telling in favor < separation. If lie did so, lie should be looking onl to the present and not to the future of New Zealand He could show they would receive more money a present, but he believed it would be at the ex pens of incalculable evils for the future. I.et those wh cry out for separation realize to themselves the sufl'ci ings of men and women in Taranaki ; the murders u women and children in Auckland ; ami that in thei prosperity they are abandoning those men along wit whom wo have fought. It he asked them to a.-si.-. tho North Island longer, he asked only that justic should be done, lie would add a lew words by wa; of explanation of what he had stated with regard t our entire self-dependence. He could not under stand why people should pay for the services ol on regiment. The fact ol one regiment romainin meant that the colonial tioops were to be under th command of tho officers commanding tliut regiment 15vcry regiment must go. He hoped that in th present session, which would be the most, important the crisis and turning point of our affairs, all woul pull together, forgetful of patty prejudices, and onl looking i'or honest men—for men who had in. bc-tra) ed their principles for peace, who righlh as far as in them lay, upheld truth and justice lo white and brown. He hoped all would do Iheir bet for their country at a time wVen our canoe wa stranded on the shore; let us take a long pull, strong pull, and a pull together. | Mr. Ollivicr wished before the resolutions wer put by the chairman, to make a few observation; He thoroughlj- and entirely concurred with the senti ments that had been so ably expressed by Mr. Weld but although agreeing with the resolutions ho ha proposed, he considered that as emanating from th most influential body of men in the province, that i did not go far enough to express thoroughly thei realization of the present crisis. It was all we! enough for the meeting there assembled to concu in the opinion that- the meeting of the Genera Assembly which had been called was a subject o congratulation to them—they believed that beyond, doubt. But did that resolution convey all that thus present felt on tho subject. He felt that while the were there it was only due that they should expres themselves more fully on the turn that tho politjca affairs of tho colony had lately taken, and which hai rendered the calling of too General As.-embly neees sary. Mr. Weld had stated it as his opinion that th time had now come when the interposition of th Home Government in their affairs should now ecasi and that the entire management and control of thei affairs should revert to their own hands, lie cordialb agreed with him. He also remarked upon th necessity of calling the General Assembly togothe for tho purpose of discovering how the vast .-ums o public money had been expended in the proseeutioi of tho war in tho Northern Island, lint lie though that moro was expected of them than a mere acknowledgement of thc-u necessities. It was their right U express their opinion that tho extravagant and unno cossary expenditure that was being carried on in t], ( Northern Island should be put a stop to. Were the\ aware of the fact—a fact that had recently Loci brought to the knowledge of the public—that th, enoi-mom expenditure of JtSO.OOO a month had li.r-i carried on in a clandestine manner in that part oi' tin colony ? The maintenance of the 10,000 Iniperia tioops now in the Northern Island cjst bevotid ; doubt tho sum of £35,000 ; and to this was'to h added the further expense of the colonial forces which were estimated at 0000 strong. Mr. Web had told them that beyond question if this enor mous outlay was continued the colony would hi involved, perhaps inextricably, in the greatest dilliculties, which would result in diro disie-ter. Now from the very /list commencement of the w.-ii they had been told by those who hell the reins o: go\ eminent that by a vigorous and energetic prosecution, affairs would assume a peaie'.ihle aspect and that tho war would bo terminated. But hou had thcto ideal prospects been realized? The win was bMII bJing prosecuted, and had not terminated

bccjiuyo it aid not correspond with the iutweeU of the Aueklnnders to put a stop to it,■ fyr by the sudden cessation of hostilities with the .Natives, the large expenditure hv 'ivliich tlio Auckland population were proiitin" wouid bo withdrawn ; but it was not for i the interest of Canterbury (liis unheard of and unprecedented outlay should tako place. Tho present | dullness prevailing in the province was perhaps to be attributed to the amount of capital withdrawn from their city and lavished amongst the Auckland crtmniuniM •' He had heard from a gentleman who had returned from Auckland that, tho aspect ol' I lie town was similar to that of ti, pale yard, and that tho amount of profitable business that went on was enormous, mid as long as the activity prevailed be (Mr. Olhviei') believed' that 80 long would the grasping population of Auckland endeavour to prosecute, the war at the expense trf other provinces. 110 would therefore h'™ permission to add the following resolutions to that"which Mr. Weld had already brought \ " That this meeting is of opinion that the colony of New Zealand is unable to bear tbo enormous cost arising out of the maintenance of British troops in the Northern Island. i "That the retention of so large a force ill the i colony is calculated seriously to paralyse tho commercial operations of the South, in consequence ot the inevitable charge which will he imposed upon the ordinary and territorial hi venues of the provinces revenues which are already burdened by local engagements, Ihe diversion of which will eteate cotlsicle'rable financial ditlicnlty and depression. " That the negotiation'of I.lns General Government loan for one niiUiCn, charging the repayment thereof upon ibe ordinary and territorial revenues of the eolonv. is a breach ol" public faith, and m direct violation of the power given to (lie provhieea uiulci the Land IReVenue Appropriation Act, 1858, an.,! under which loans have been negotiated and Contracts made by several ol the provlnvcS). " That thoYopresenlativis for tho jirovince of Canterbury he respectfully requested to withhold tlieji assent'to ;.ny hill which may l>o introduced . into tin tienei-ii Assembly purporting to set aside tlio A in question, in order to secure to tho General Government tlio Imperial g-'.aiuntco for any portion o: • the said lou.". " TUui. iu the event cf the General Government t'lOOlining to comply with these fcliggestions, and persevering iu the course ol extravagant expendituri now adopted, this meeting is of opinion that, tin leprCMinlatives of Caiiteibury should, and they an respiitlulty requested to, urge upon the Genera! As semhly Hie ex])ediency of at once placing thoSouthori Island under s. separate foi'ru ot' Government, am that such steps ho taken as the cirunistances of the ease may require to induvo the provinces of Otago Nelson, ami Southland to co-opeiate in such move iiu-nt." lie wished also to add a few worch on the subject o the New Zealand T/Otni, an attempt to negotiate which had Intelv been made, which infringed Pro vineial rights. ' In the I .and Regulations Act o ISSS it was distinctly specified that after certaii charges mentioned had been made, tho balance wa to be paid into the hands ot the Provincial .Trva surers, to be appropriated in such manner 113 th respective provinces thought fit;. Liuter tliat Ac obligations had been incurred hy tlie vnrious pro vinces that, thev were bound to keep good, am which thev Were certain to fulfil. et, in the tac of these obligations, they found that Mr. llcadc Wood, the delegate from'the General Government hud given his consent to stipulations of the luiperiii Government that an Actshould be introduced int the next Assembly by which the laud and every othe revenue would be piedged as a gurantee to tho loav lie (Mr. Ollivier) would ask them, could thoGeliel-: As.-emblv, with any thought for the honor of til provinces, give its consent, for by it Die provinch loans w< u'd be repudiated? What right had an minister to go home and mislead statesmen to su] pose that he had been invested with power to engag ill a contract which, with any due regard for th honor i>f the provinces, could not be fulfilled.' 111 therefore, considered they were, in duty bound t urge upon their representatives tho necessity of holt ing hack their absent to any bill which would si aside that Act. Nothing, he believed, had bee further from the thoughts of Canterbury than th proposal of reparation from the North Island, ti long as a policy was |-ur.-ued which was eqully belli tieial to the South as well as the North ; but no oil wouid willingly bear an unnecessary burden, an while they were looking to the interests of tli Northern Island thev wero bound also to look t those of their own. lie would compare the sepan tion question to the dissolution of partnership in large tirm. AVhcn one branch discovered that a ling and useless expenditure was being made, they n monslrated, and were their remonstrances not lieedei a separation took place—such was their case. J conclusion he would be permitted to remark ho deeply and sinceivly lie felt the loss of the wise an estimable Governor Browne, lie looked upon til Acts framed by the Government under fiiiu 11s tl best ever brought forward; and had those Aci framed by the wisest Government that ever licl otlicc in New /Zealand been thoroughly tested, tli dilliculties by which they were now surrounded won! never have been a cause of complaint. applause. ] Mr. Maude seconded the resolutions, suggesfin that, the separation should be nil alternative given t the Northern island in case of non-compliance wit the resolutions. Mr. Jchson, who spoke from the body of the 11 :> 1 commented upon the great expense in the Nort island, urging the advisability of forming a goveri incut of men who followed some definite line ( policy, and the neccs-ity of electing representative who carried out tho views of their constituents. Mr. Ciosbie Ward trusted the constituents did m intend placing their representatives in a ditheult. an unpleasant situation by endeavoring to force them t adopt a policy which was not wise and benelicial t the colony, lie would remark that he by no mean pledged hiniselfMo any step that he did not mule, stand. If his constituents insisted on his taking ccr tain views, or retiring, he should certainly adopt tli latter course. Much had been said 011 the subject o separation—but enough said, They had not assentei to leave their Northern brethren in distress, ami wa it their desire that ihey should be politically separu ted, and at the same time joined financially:-' Sliouli they not rather aim at getting Southern men int | Govevulllc.lt who would conduct the atliiirs of th colony with a duo regard for every part of it. It wa essential that no rash steps should be taken by whiel the Eolith could be compelled still to go 011 expend ing money for the North without htiving a voice ii till- control of that expenditure. It was one thin; to be angry with men who imperfectly did their duty and it was another to quarrel with the circumstance that have helped to bring about tlie position Ihe were in. There was no use however in quarrelliii' with the dry bones of history. They were in 11 sai po-ition, aud if the Nort hcrucrs did not do what t he wished iliey in st take steps within constitutioua bouni.s to render their power greater. If thev eouh establish a government that was able to withstand 1 in perial intrusion, they would probably be able t. escape f om the dilliculties by which they wero sur round d [Applause.] Mr W. "VViiliimis addressed the audience from th body . f the 1 Tall, remarking that it wa- not fair ti ase t that the people of Canterbury v,ere instru mental in prolonging the wr, and also sn.'trestei that an alteration in Mr. Ollivier's be mad •, and the words "strongly oppose" shouil be inse ted in the -Uh rlausc, instead " withhoh their as ent to." Mr. '1 orlesso briefly, remarking that tin pi■ d cti 11s ot Mr. X l l /.gerald and .Wr. h u turned out true with rospeetto the turn that Northen atlV.irs would tak -. Mr. Moor.iocs-; sr.d that, when be had come ii t. tlio hall that rt ght ; it had not been his intention U speak : but taut after the turn ihe meeting ha< taken, he could scarcely avoid it.. Although ho wa: debarred by his pressure of business from havini; much leisure time which he could devote to puhli: ailairs, he still lelt a g'reat :ntere.st iu the events tli.:! aie taking place in the North Island, the genu '■) which was hid yeats ago. lie had noticed thcourse that had been puisuid, and had stated h!."pinions at, the time when public feeling had bjeu freely eliiitoil. Although many ditiered from his own, bo had respected their opinions, for a freo discussion of political questions generally result in the wisest being adopted by the people, unless the society which giv. s 1 ise to it is disturbed bj' any excitement. lheir present position had been anticipated long ago both in speech and action, by a gentleman whoso labors wero frustrated iu such a way as to b : felt by the pocket of tho whole colony : they had hem advised to leavo dry bones alone, but the past must bo in all cases used to gnido them in tho iutui'c ; past experienco enabled them to detect tho soundness and unsoundness of a policy, and with coulidince to adopt the 0110 and dc-precato tho other. - lutd the good fortuno to belong to n party

who had Joprccated tho present policy of tlic General Government. lie hud always boon of opinion that, hud tlio native tribes been trealod in a pioper spiric that tho disastrous war would never have occurred-. There hud boon no reason, because Govetiibr BroiViio j iiafl thought it expedient to jmrSlie .ft iftilitaty coercion with one tfriV|6 ih Ti'rahaiti iWh'o Jiad Rebelled', that. U»<i sipno \Vas to. to pursued ynth- the Wholer&c'o, but not for the saino reason, for. the first hostilities did .not commcnco from a desire for the acquisition .of native lands. Colonel Browne had. endeavoured to oupij'ress i), riot in a soeialdistriet on land that belonged ta the Crown, but tho troops had unfortunately fallen into the hands of Colonol Gold, and their efforts paralyzed. Tho failure on tho part of the troops justified tie Waikato. tribes in believing that an attempt on their part to resist Uie authority of the Government would be equally Successful. Now, ho should not ■ hesitate Vo say that the continu!ancc of tho war was a great advantage to Auckland. It was a notorious fact that the war was the soul of tho place ; its coinniorco had always been inconsiderable, its exports exceedingly stnall, and its existence from tho very commencement had dopOnded upon tho Government expenditure, and iio bettei ineanH could have been devised for fostering that pijiotnliUlns than the invention of ;l Will" and the entertainment of a large number of troops. Now as lonj .is this slato of things lasted, ho was persuaded thai thoMiddlo Inland would never do any good for itsel: —mid he was sure in two or three years tin verdict of the country would bo in favor of hi; opinion—it might sound an ugly and unmtriot.ii thine; to say, but he was emphatically ill lavor o: sepaiation. What did wegaiti by hanging together! Wo gained tho privilege of paying for Ihb defend of our neighbours. "Well, it was a great privilege and gratification to* assist, bhe's friends; but it wa! a privilege which we might enjoy without getting as we (lid now, the additional privilege, o being exceedingly misgoverned. It was- cur rently known ii\ Auckland that, tho major cost o tlie war,,was defrayed out of the &(iddle Irland estate ■Thiil. hud not been mentioned to-night, but it wa present to tho mind of every one in '.ho Genera Assembly who had voted for tho continuance of th war (hat the greater part of tho cost woidd bo de frayed by Canterbury and Otago. That was on motive for continuing the war. Tho men of th -North Island said to themselves, " "We shall betaxei Gd., and our pVotit will be a £1 ; if we can get all th profit and bear only a-lliird of tho expenses, wh; should not Ihe wiir go onNo doubt that was j stronir inducement, and an inducement which wo ar ! not all sullicienlty pure to ignore. He almost laughc at the idea of its being a miserable thin's for the tw slaiuls to separate. What "'ould they lose by it They would lose li'.t'e, and gain a great deal. W should V: no less Knglishmen. lie was a quiet silt jec.t of the Queen, and was not looking forward t a time when New Zealand would wave its pigmy flu in defiance of Kngland. If Ui« islands wei separated Ihe North would have the advantage.l an undivided government, which was what it wante and ought to have. Tho ehnviieter of this Midd Island wa3 an ent'ro contra.'it to thoNorth as far as w: concerned for purposes of legislation, and tho be tiling lor us was to leave the North Island entire] to itself, except as far as we could assist it by payiiij 11(; whs not going in for repudiation. The Goner Assembly had ordained that we should bo siuldlc with a loan of three millions, and that was our lou; for in spite of all tho bunkum that had been talki about settling it by the sale of lands, they might re! on its being spread over tho whole island. He hf tho greatest faith that he should be found pertccf right about wh:!t he had said two or three years a; ! about the policy of those who wore initiating tho wa i when hi! was]cal'.ed '• the lion, and lugubrious membei for declaring that the expenses would turn out eno moiisly in excess of the e.-timates. He was almo alone in that, opinion ; but he had stated to his co leagues his firm conviction that the time would short come when the Middle Island would rebel again being called on to pay for the subjugation of men wh under proper government, would liuve been a peuc fill population. He begged the meeting not to 1 afraid of tlie word separation. What did separata mean ? Ii meant a municipal division of two par of her Majesty's dominions. We should have Governor in Ihe South, and they have their Govern in the North : we should have a Ministry advisii his JCxccliency here as they would have there. Win the dill'ionties of the North island were brought an end (which would be done all the sooner wla they could bring undivided couusels to bear, and i might be sure that the more wo provided the nvon the longer they would want to continue the wh then, as was the case with the liritish posscssio in North America, when a sufficient motive tiro: the two colonies would come together again. I? some purpose they must, always be federated, such postal arrangements, customs, means of clcfcnc Then as for Ihe Home Government, the only obje tion in that quarter would be that it would cnU ou Ihe Government the nuisance of a little mo woik ; they would have to keep an extra clerk in t I bureau of the Colonial Ollice to correspond w.tlv f I new Coventor, and issue an additional set: of I*o3' i instructions. So far as tho Imperial Governnic I was concerned, 110 doubt tllcy would regard with 1 | less jealousy a smaller dependency than the larg I one existing in the shape of both islands togetlu j Hut so long as we semi representatives to Aucktai j where they are not in the ascendancy, as they oug to be, they will be bullied by the majority and forci 1 into paying a large share of the expenses. As j giving instructions to the representatives of Cantc ! bury, he had been a representative himself tr | could sympathise with them, and be was strongly '. opinion that a representative should refrain fro | any distinct expression of opinion, or from deelarii | what, line he meant to lake, till he found himself t the scene of action, and had opportunities ol gcttii full light 011 every point, under dispute, blithe 11111 say that tho experience of tho last seven years of tl history of New Zealand justified him in bold asserting that the time had come when the Norl should be left to fight its own battles. Let the Soul | pay its just share of the ex penses already ineurre I let. I here be 110 repudiation, but as the North lias tl 1 whole of the advantages of success let it condu I the war at its own expense and Keep all the pr, I fits. When it became expedient, for the two islam | to unite again they would remember that they 111 i separated on the most peaceful t. mis, for that v I i.ad given I hem three millions of money to help' i conquer the Maoris when tlwy ought to have h and taught, instead of murdered. Was that deser < ing our brethren 'r fie called it rather condomi Ihf original oll'ence of having levied an iinjustiliab ■ war. Wo should part, company on good terms, lir paying the bill, and when they left off their ma , practices we shall be willing to join them again. >! should support Mr. Ollivier's ,resolutions because 1 believed they expressed the feeling of the Midd 1 Island, but be would go further still and advoea j separation of the two islands in any case, sure th i by doing so wc should do givat justice lo the Norl and effect groat economy in our own resources [M ; Muorhouse, who had been I'reqiientry applaudt during his speech, sat, down amid loud and prolong! cheers . .Mr. Steward, who addressed the meeting from tl body of the hall, spoke aL some length in opposilit lo the opinions e.spiessed by Mr. Moorliouse on tl subject of separation. After 11 little discussion as to whether the resoli ions of Mr. Weld and Mr. Ollivier should be pi :ogelher, or separately, it was determined that the ?11 o 111 d be put separately. The resolution moved by Mr. Weld was first put t the mewing and carried. Sir. Ollivier then moved his resolutions, wliie were also carried. Mr. Weld w.shed to be distinctly undcrsloo thai, he £0 the House of .Representatives nc as a delegate but lo use bis own judgment. He di not. li'iow iliat there was much difference betivee lih views and those of Mr. Ollivier, but be .vished i to l-e ■clearly understood that lie was acting entirel. according to his own opinion of what was best. Mr. W. Wilson moved :—That this moetin: ivgri'ts that his iixeellcncy the Governor should hav b' en adused to disregard the resolution passed b; the iiou.-o of Kepresentalives that tho next media; of the Assembly should be held in Christchurch.' He remarked 011 the siatements made by the Auek laud newspapers regarding the supposed want o accommodation for the Assembly in Christchur 'h whereas all who were acquainted with the difieren towns in New Zealand were agreed that there wa: not in the whole < olonv a ball that would bear a' instant's comparison with tint in which the meetinwere assembled. As >1 citizen of Christchurch, ane one interested in its progress, he wished to see tlx Assembly meet there, and hoped the meeting woulc adopt the lesolution. Mr. Kollestou seconded the resolution, which wa; carried. He only wished to make one remark, whiel was to add lo the u:jpeal already made to the meeting not to look on these resolutions us tying the hand; of their representatives, It was important to kno\i

what the feelings of the people -were, regard their representatives in the Assembly as liiprely delegates would be & departure frotal "te jpplitocal prinuipiea whioli lidd iilways liitlierto obtained in Canterbury. ; » !• r ; :ii.v , Tho .lion. Q. L. L'cc seconded the resolution, which was carried., ; i , .. • nMr. AVeld moved a vote at thanks to his. Honor tho Superintendent for. presiding over tlie meeting, which was carried, and the meeting then broke j