THE PRESENT CRISIS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XII, Issue 4406, 27 December 1875, Page 3

THE PRESENT CRISIS.

To the Editor of the HrcRAT.n.

Sir, —I offer no apology for appearing in print at the present time in reference to the great 'questions tbat are agitating the publio mind. I consider it to be the duty of every one who is enabled by circumstances, or ie possessed of experience or ability, to boldly express Ms views at this critical juncture, and will therefore give my experience in one or two instances of the legislation o£ the past, as well as a brief comment upon those subjects at present exciting public interest. AUusion has been made by several candidates for the General Assembly to the socalled compact of 1858, and the bankrupt state of the province, which, I consider, in a great measure, has been caused by the illadvised action taken in native matters. For my own part, I look back with considerable self-satisfaction at the course I took. I was one of the first members of the House of Eepresentatives when Responsible Government was adopted, and having considerable knowledge in native affairs, I strongly advocated a resolution in the House, to the effect that a council of gentlemen acquainted with Maori customs should be appointed to advise with His Excellency, in connection therewith. Had this been done, a consistent and ' honest course of policy might have been pursued towards them, ! which would have had the effect, _ I am bold to assert, of averting the native war which has entailed such disastrous consequences upon the Northern provinces. With regard to the compact of 1856, by which the land revenue became provincial revenue, I may state, as allusion lias been made to the part I took in that important qne#ibn, that I Insisted that 2s 6d an sere should be appropriated by the General , Government ::;-~-Had-lhia arrangement been carried' out, < the province of Auckland would to a large extent hare shared in the 'lend revenue of the colony. So itrongly did-I'feel on this 'question, in common with others, that we • memorialised the Home Government on the injustice that was

done to the North, by localising the whola of the land revenue. This unjust resolution •was carried by a bare majority. Snch being the cise, I then considered, and now censider, that morally neither the electors o£ Franklin (which I had the honor to represent) nor myself were bound by it It ia all very well for the South to treat it as a compact. "Compact," 1 take it to be a course of action resolved upon by general consent. That such was not the case, the division list" of the day will shew. It surely wrti no fc f or one moment be argued that what was felt to be an injustice, and has been proved to be such, should be maintamed. In common fairness and honesty restitution should be made to those provinces robbed of their birthright, and I consider that the electors, not only of this province, but of Wellington, Taranaki, Aapier, Nelson, and Maryborough, should unite in returning only those members who pledge themselves by all means in their power to annul this mis-termed compact of ISSG. I not only consider that the land revenue enjoyed by Canterbury and Otago, by virtue of this so-called compact, should be made colonial revenue as formerly, bnt that the judgee o£ the Supreme" Court should be appointed to determine to what amount the other provinces should be relieved of apportionment of their indebtedness of the loan; moreover, whatever course may be determined upon for the future Government of this colony, I feel convinced that it will be ineffectual unless a system of Government somewhat similar to Provincial Institutions is adopted, more especially with regard to large centres of population, such as Otago, Canterbury, and Auckland, with local self-government in the out-lying districts : as also equal representation for the two islands. If this can be effected, no difficulty will be presented of maintaining the unity of the colony, a desideratum that should be aimed at by all well-wishers of the colony, as I look upon Separation as a last resort, ' Another injustice done us by the South wa* the removal of the seat of Government This step was in violation of all good faith, as the implied understanding upon which thousands of pounds were invested ia the lands of the province was that Auckland should remain the capital of the colony. Under all these circumstances, few will dispute but that Auckland hae not only a just claim to restitution on account of the deprivation for so long of its land fund, bnt st substantial, grievance in the incalculable loss sustained through breach of faith in the removal of the seat of Government, as also- its committal to an expensive and disastrous native war.—l am, Sec, Robert Graham. Ellerslie , , Deoember 25, 1875.