The New Zealand Herald AUCKLAND, SATURDAY, JULY 13, 1867. THE GOVERNOR'S SPEECH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume IV, Issue 1143, 13 July 1867, Page 5

The New Zealand Herald

AUCKLAND, SATURDAY, JULY 13, 1867. THE GOVERNOR'S SPEECH.

o . — SPECTEMtTE AGENDO. .< Q ive e verv man thine ear, but few thy voles • ?lie Zthmnn* centre, but Thta above all, —To tlilne own eolf oe trae ' And it must follow, as tlio niqht the Tbcn canst not then te false to any swn.

The Assembly Las, we learn, been opened oil the 9th instant, and Ins Excellency s speech on that occasion telegraphed to Nelson, has been received by us per the Airedale yesterday. It is as iollows : —

Honorable Legislative Councillors, Gektlemex of the Rocse of Represextath. es, I am happy to meet you again in Parliament, and to recur lo your assistance and ad\ ice. It has afforded me much satisfaction ha"\ e been able to give effect to the wish expressed by me at the close of the last session, to visit the southern portion of the Colony. I have thus had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with most of its leading towns and rising settlements,- in all of which 1 nave, as the Queen's representative, met with the most cordial reception. By the people of Auckland also, on the occasion of my recent, visit to that part of the country, 1 have been most warmly and loyally received. It has been a pleasing duty to me to report to the Secretary of State tnat ill no part of the • Empire has Her Majesty more loyal subjects than the inhabitants of the distnets through which I have travelled. I could not but be gratified by the rapid progress which it was evident the Colony generally had made, while in the settlements which have sprung into existence durinc the last few years in the interior, and on the "WeMTCoast of the Middle Island, I was at onco struck by their extent and importance, and gratified by the presence, notwithstanding the circumstances under which they were formed, of that regard for law and order which is the characteristic of our race. I can sav with confidence that security for life and property, and respect for the law, exist in as marked a degree in those recently populated districts as in any part of her Majesty's dominions.

I congratulate you on the re-establishment of peace generally throughout the North Island, in no part oi "which do I anticipate in any systematic or sustained hostility to the Queen s authority. The attitude of some Hau Hau fanatics, who, in October last threatened the town and settlement of Napier, was such as to cause a temporary anxiety, but by the judicious measures adopted by Mr. McLean, and gallantly given effect to by lieut.Colonel Whitmore and all classes of the inhabitants of the district, the offenders were severely punished, tranquility "was speedily restored asd has not since been disturbed in that neighbourhood. On the West Coast, also, the Natives who had for years been hostiJe to "the Queen's authority, met "wita a serious check at Pungarehu, from Xiieut-Colonel McDonnell and the colonial forces under his command, since "which time many of them have returned to their allegiance and others have expressed their intention of doing so. The conduct of Her Majesty's Colonial Forces, both European and Native, on these and other occasions, deserve the highest praise. During the recess I have made a journey, partly on foot, through the North Island, and have traversed Native districts which it had, for some time past, been deemed unsafe to enter. I everywhere found the embers of disaffection dying out, and I was received by the Maori population, even in districts recently in rebellion, in such a manner as to inspire confidence in the future peace of the country. A necessity having arisen for revising existing arrangements for the transmission of mails between tie Australasian Colonies and the United Kingdom by way of Suez, it was deemed expedient that the whole question of Ocean Postal Communication, so far as it effects these Colonies, should be discussed at a Conference of Eepresentatives of the several Australian Governments, I accordingly accredited Representatives on the part of this Colony to the Conference. The result of the deliberations of that body will be laid before you, and will, I trust, meet with your approval. This result appears satisfactoiy, not only as providing for the establishment of an efficient and comprehensive system of Postal Communication with all parts of the world, but also as demonstrating the great benefits which may be derived from cordial and united action on this and other subjects affecting these Colonies as a whole. The Act for the establishment of Post Office Savings Banks has been brought into operation during the past year, and the extent to which it has already been made use of warrants the belief that it will prove an important means of fostering industrious and provident habits among the popiuation at large.

The complicated and unsatisfactory state of the accounts between the Imperial and Colonial Governments rendered imperative a careful examination of those accounts, with a view to their early and final settlement. I accordingly commissioned a member of my government to conduct the inquiry on behalf of the Colony, in conjunction with an officer duly appointed by the Imperial Government. The correspondence on this subject, and a Report from the Colonial Commissioner will shortly be submitted to you. Papers concerning the administration of the Otago Gold .Fields will be laid before you. Gextleme> t or the House of Representatives, —

Accounts of Revenue and Expenditure for the past year and Estimates for the ensuing year | will be laid before you ; nnd I trust ] that you will be able to recognise in both that careful regard for economy upon which, at this juncture, the future prosperity of the Colony greatly depends. I recommend you to consider a measure for the conversion of Provincial Loans into Colonial Stock, with a view to placing the securities of New Zealand on such a footing that they may be more advantageously dealt with than is at present possible,— and to maintaining and improving our credit in the money market. A very general belief in the necessity for some such measure has long been entertained, and has recently increased. Such necessity is amply confirmed by the present position of many of the Provincial Loans. A bill will also be submitted to you for extending the benefits of the Colonial credit to enterprises calculated to foster and extend the important industry of the Gold Fields by offering a, guarantee of interest on capital invested (under proper restriction and supervision) in procuring supplies of water for the operations of gold mining The very special character of the taxation and laws of the Gold Fields justify and require such provision for their interests.

Honorable Gextlemek and Gentlemen*, — This part of her Majesty's dominions will probably shortly lie visited by his Eoyal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. I have at the earliest moment apprised you of the probability of this visit, as I am aware that you, and all her Majesty's subjects la New Zealand, will desire to make the best possible preparations to testify to his Royal Highness the pride and pleasure with which they receive a prince who has made so favourable an impression in other parts of her Majesty's dominions, and to show by their reception of one of her Majesty's sons how sineere and earnest is their attachment to tha* Sovereign who has established such lasting Claims upon, their gratitude and love. In accordance with the intimation made to you when I last released you from your duties, my Government have eanestly applied themselves to the preparation of a measure for the establishment of local self government generally throughout the country. This measure will shortly be submitted to you. The growing demand from all parts of the country for the establishment of institutions so congenial to our race, and which have largely promoted its prosperity and developed its habits of selfreliance, will secureforthis Bill your earnest and careful consideration, andyouwill discharge an important service if you meet this demand in a just and - comprehensive spirit by providing the . means e reby the Public Ponds shall be equitably expended on works of local improvement' under the

management and in accordance with the wishes of those immediately interested in their construction. Measures of this character tend to diminish the expence of governing the country, to increase the efficiency of such government, to promote settlement by stimulating local energies, to extend and maintain the rights of the subject, and to tiain and encourage all classes of the people in the performance of national duties.

The large miiinfj population on the "West Coast Gold Fields justifies an increased representation, n Parliament, of their interests : a Bill to effect tliat object will consequently be introduced. The establishment of Friendly Societies in New Zealand ha 9 been productive of great benelit to large classes of the community, and their daily increasinguumberandimportance render it advisable to improve the existing law. A Bill on this subject will accordingly be submitted to you. Several important Bills will also bo brought under your notice, with the object of consolidating and improving the Statute Law, and of otherwise providing for the growing requirements of the country, which looks to Parliament for such salutary measures as changing circumstauces demand. - The repeated recommendations of the Judges of the Supreme Court, and the proved necessity of providing more effectively than at present for the custody of persons convicted of serious crimes and sentenced to long periods of imprisonment, demand attention. It is therefore my attention to appoint at an early date a Eoyal Commission to inquire and report on the best mode of instituting a General Penal Establishment for the_ Colony, or such other means of meeting the necessity referred to as may suggest itself to tlieminthe course of their inquiries. I submit to your wisdom the consideration of these various important subjects, and I pray that the blessing of God may attend your deliberations, and . may guide them to the promotion of the welfare of this country.

[ . As might have been expected, the result of his Excellency's visit to the- various provinces and of his journey through the interior of the North Island, forms one of the principal features of the speech. To the attack on the house of the four men at Opotiki, and the abduction of two of them— since known to have been murdered—no allusion is made by his Excellency. The news of the murder ef Bennet "White was not known in "Wellington, even on the 9th inst. Doubtless, however, the same view as that taken by the press and public of Auckland would, even had the news been received by the Government, have been entertained; namely, that these were not political murders. Speaking, then, from the events which have taken place on the "West and East Coasts, from the feeling evinced towards his own person while journeying through the heart of the country, His Excellency feels himself warranted in congratulating the colony "on the re-establishment of " peace generally throughout the North '• Island."

"We cannot so cordially agree with the manner in which his Excellency treats the question of the postal conference. It is, however, hoping we suppose against hope, to expect that the A ssembly will do other than agree to the deliberations arrived at by the conference. A strong protest will, we trust, however be made by Auckland members against the system pursued by the Government, by which the costly Panama service is specially made r.s little useful as possible to Auckland. Of the intention to consolidate the loans of the colony, general and provincial, into one colonial stock, we had already fully apprised our readers. The speech does no more than confirm the statements already made.

"We cordially agree with his Excellency that measures should be taken to give his Boyal Highness Prince Alfred a fitting reception on his arrival, but the taking of these measures should rest, we believe, with the local authorities in the several provinces. If the Assembly decide on setting aside any sum for such purpose, it should be divided amongßt the several provinces to supplement local efforts, and not be devoted to the getting up a grand reception in any one particular spot. The most important perhaps of the subjects touched upon, is that in reference to the introduction of a measure for the establishment of local self-Government generally throughout the country. In this measure will be found the debateable ground of the session, if, as is expected, and as most probably the case, it is sought, through the introduction of this measure, insiduously to undermine provincial institutions. The measure will be acceptable only in so far as it gives increased local self-government, and members generally will look suspiciously upon it. Of its actual nature, as may be expected, the apeech is aB ambiguous as a Delphic Oracle. The measure may mean much, it may mean little or nothing. On the arrival of the next mail we shall doubtless receive a copy of the bill and other important papers.