APPEAL TO THE PEOPLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XII, Issue 4297, 21 August 1875, Page 1 (Supplement)

APPEAL TO THE PEOPLE.

To the Editor of the Herald. Sir, —I very heartily approve your late leaders, and suggest the following as a form of petition suitable to the circumstances :— " To the Most Noble the Marquis of Normanby, Governor of New Zealand, &c., &c. "We, Her Majesty's loyal subjects, approach your Excellency, praying that you will be pleased to exercise your powers by vetoing the bill known as the Abolition Bill, should it pass the Assembly and be presented for your Excellency's sanction. "(1.) We humbly represent to your Excellency that the said bill seeks to subvert the Constitution, and to over-ride a law of the Imperial Parliament, to which Her Majesty s assent has been graciously given. " (2.) By the said law the Government of New Zealand was vested in certain Provincial Councils and in a General Assembly. And Lord Carnavou, Her Majesty's Secre-

tary of State for tho Colonies, has stated in a dispatch to your Excellency, dated , that the powers of the Assembly to deal -with the said law enabled them to discuss any proposed alterations, but His Lordship did not state that it enabled tho Assembly to pass Acts in contravention thereof. " (3.) That your petitioners have no faith in the Assembly as at present constituted— that it was not electcd to deal with Constitutional questions—and that it could not fail to bo more or Icsb demoralised by the great expenditure of borrowed' money during its 3xistence. " (4.) That the Legislative Council is nominated by the Ministry. That the members iro not liable to impeachment or to any penalty, if abusing- their high position, and that they have not in any way displayed the disinterestedness, patriotism, or devotion that could alone gain for a nominated House tho confidence of the people. " (5.) That the House of Representatives, with the limited duties devolving upon it foi many years, has not been an object of watchful concern to the people, and that greater abuses have therefore been allowed to creep into its organisation. " (6.) That we humbly submit to your Excellency the following simple facts with reference to the representation in support of our statement: —Tho province of Auckland has 16 members, representing 15,483 electors. The remaining provinces have 68 members, representing only 30,340 electors. Of these latter, the following 29 [here state the names] represent only 12,023 electors, while tho remaining 29 [here state the names] represent 24,317, or more than twice the number. " (7.) That your petitioners believe it is nol Bafe either for the liberty of the people or foi the just incidence of taxation, or for the equitable dealing with the public lands, tc vest tho solo power of the colony in a Legislature bo constituted. "(8.) That in further support of their petition, your petitioners humbly assure youi Excellency that Ministers have notoriously suborned in various ways a great part of the Press in the colony. That they have effected this partly by the formation of newspapei companies, in which they or their supporters ire large shareholders—partly by giving places of trust and emolument to theii ivowed newspaper partizans either in the management of said papers or in tho public service of the colony, and partly by the great influences they are able directly and indirectly to bring to their aid through the expenditure of borrowed money to an extent unprecedented in so small a body. •*(9.) That they now seek to subvert the Constitution by a daring attempt to bribe the people from the public revenues of the ;olouy or from money borrowed on the se:urity of the industry and property of the said people, and that Ministers wrongfully withhold from tho people the money so used, sxcept on condition that this Abolition Bill ibouid become law.

| "(10.) "Sour petitioners therefore humbly | beg that your Excellency will not approve the said Act if passed by the Assembly, bat i will give to Her Majesty's loyal subjects an opportunity of considering calmly a measure fraught with permanent effects to their future liberties and welfare, and will generously leave them further time for decision before the approaching general elections. "And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. I think, sir, a petition somewhat to the above purport would be of some avail and save us from the disastrous agitation sure to follow any attempt to force abolition against the will of a very large proportion of the people.—l am, Ac., I An Elector.