How New Zealand got its Constitution.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 934, 24 January 1890, Page 8

How New Zealand got its Constitution.

BY SIR WILLIAM FOX, Section 11. There has been a controversy lately between the Auckland an 1 Wellington newspapers as to the date when aud the eeutro from which New Zealand was colonised. Some have credited the missionaries with it several years before IS-49, because a dozen of them, with their families, resided amoug the natives. But nothing is clearer from historical records than that the missionaries opposed colonisation to the utmost of thenpower, and, by their influence with the Colonial Office, actually postponed the'event for many years ; and when it commenced iu earnest they described colonisation iu their official reports a 3 * the enemy pouring iu like a flood.’ Others allege that the existence of Kororareka was the commencement of colonisation. But those who know what Kororareka was—a mere congregation cf hardly a dozen trading stores, which provided the means of mutual debauchery for the crews of a fleet of American whalers, and. the native tribes which ooeupied the Bay of Islands, resulting in a demoralisation hardly equalled since the days of the ‘ Cities of the Plains ’ —those who remember this will, it is to be hoped, be ashamed to claim Kororareka as the birthplace of the colony. (See Dr. Thompson’s ‘Story cf New Zealand/ p. 281, and a contemporary sketch of the place.) A more plausible and less unsavoury origin ia put forward in the shape of Consul Hobson’s official declaration of the Queen’s sovereignty at the date of the Treaty of Waitangi—the 29th January, 1840 ; hut the proclamation expressly prescribed that the sovereignty was not to take effect till the 21sfc May following. But whatever effect this technicality might have on our right to colonise New Zealand, it was not itself colonisation. It neither imported immigrants, nor placed them on land, nor performed any other function of colonisation properly so called. There is no doubt that the truo colonisers of New Zealand were the New Zealand Compaoy, the rerra of which originated ia England in 1825, and which, after years of struggles for existence and constant combat with the Colonial Office, attained maturity in 1539, when, without a Government charter, it became a joint stock compauy, subscribed a large oapital (£200,000), and finally aont out in May of that year a preliminnry expedition to purchase land from the natives for the purpose of settlement. The expedition arrived in Port Nicholson 17th September, 1889, and large tracts of land wore immediately purchased, the site of a oity determined on, aud on the following 22nd January, 1840, a fleet of emigrant ships sent from England by tho company, dropped anchor iu Wellington harbour, and commenood the practical business of colonisation. Steadily pursuing tho method of systematic colonisation of Gibbon Wakefield, the con.pany established, in the next ten years, all the settlements south of Auckland—Wellington, New Plymouth, Nelson, Canterbury, and Otago—covering four-fifth* of the territory of tho whole colony, and peopled exclusively wiih selected free immigrants from England and Scotland. In its first four years it brought out nearly 10,000 immigrants in upwards of 50 frhips ; while the paternal Government sent out only SOO, and a few juvenile convicts called Parkhurst Penitents, all located in t.ho Auckland district. In tho same period (aud before the establishment of Otago and Canterbury) the company expended on the work nearly

£600,000 of its own capital and the proceeds of laud sales; Bo successful a colonising work has never been done anywhere in the world either before Or since. In ISSI the company, by an arrangement with the Imperial Government, closed its existence, aud left its offspring to go alone, which it was very capable of doing. I may say incidentally that in the groat debate in the Imperial Parliament, which will be presently referred to, both tho Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, and Lord John Russell, who had been Secretary for the Colonies, while censuring tho New Zealand Company for some of its acts, spoke iu terras of the highest appreciation of the good work, accomplished by it, and expressed their desire for its continued co-operation in a work which, as they said, it could perform' much better than the Government could.

During all the years in which the New Zealand Compauy was endeavouring to procure a charter of colonisation from the English Government, one of the principal stumbling-blocks was the determination of the Colonial Office not to give the colony any powers of self-government. And when, finally, the Imperial Government found itself compelled by the company’s bold action to assume the responsibility of governing New Zealand as a British colony, it took care to provide no other machinery than the old despotic form of a Governor appointed by the Queen, and a Council of three officials the Colonial Secretary, Treasurer, and Attorney General ; and the tlireo senior Justices of the Peace on the roll, which meant simply the Governor's nominees. Its ‘ natural selection 1 of Governors was on the old plan already described. The first was Captain Hobson, an elderly naval officer, a very respectable man, but iu thoroughly broken health, and with no previous experience of what he had to do. He clied in about two years, leaving the Government to bo administered by his Colonial Secretary, a lieutenant in the navy, who spelt secretary with one R, and who is said to ‘ have been entirely destitute of those qualities which in England wi.uld be held essential to the exercise of very inferior authority.' He was followed in the course of twelve months by Captain Robert Filzroy, It. N., an officer who had distinguished himself as a nautical explorer. He was a descendant, with a ‘ bar sinister,’ from King Charles 1., and had apparently inherited from his royal ancestor his inaptitude to govern a people of free instincts. ‘ He rendered himself famous by a career of such melancholy incapacity* aud folly, that the Secretary of State (Lord Stanley), who had previously treated him rather as a colleague than a suboidiuata, was under the necessity of recalling him after he had been a few months in-the colony, without offering a word in his defence.’ He nearly ruined the colony ; involved it in a war with the natives, which lasted till long after he was gone, and in which he encountered nothing but repeated and disastrous defeats, destroying the prestige of our troops. He overwhelmed himself with financial exigencies, from which lie endeavoured to escape by is uing ‘ assignats ’ (which are called in colonial phrase, ‘ shin, plasters’) of as low a value as 2s each, aud which he made a legal tender ; ho abolished the Customs revenue by a scratch of his pen, and the land revenue by his 1 penny an acre proclamation and, finally, ha brought the colony to a condition of absolute stagnation, bankruptcy, aud panic. The New Zealand Company, ever on the watch, and kept well informed by its settlers, appealed to the Imperial Parliament for a eoimni-tee to consider the state of affairs. A great debate took place, which occupied three whole nivhts, the 17th, 13th, and 19fh of June, 1545. It was led by Charles Builer, one of the ablest of Wakefield’s co-operators. The Government treated it as a vote of want of confidence, and secured a majority on the division ; but not till Sir Robert Peel, a just and wise man, had announced that Captain Fitzroy had been already re-called. The unfortunate man went home in disgrace ; but after a decent interval was appointed to the command of a new frigate called, by the irony of fate or the lords of the Admiralty, the Arrogant, shortly afterwards he invalided, and was appointed to the Hydrographic department as prognosticator of squally weather ; the last, a branch of the service ot Iris own invention, and for which no doubt his marina experiences on the coast of South America and his intercourse with hia subjects in New Zealand had qualified him. He invented the.valuable system of storm signals which has saved from destruction so many good ships and sailors. It was a cruel thing when the Colonial Office first took him from his quarter-deck, and made him a Governor, involving both himself and the colony in such disaster. (The report of this great debate will be found in the English Hansard for the year 1545. It was also printed by Murray in an octavo volume of 252 pages, of which there is a copy in the Auckland Institute.) The important part of this debate, however, was not the recall of Governor Kitzroy, bat the question of colonial self-government, to which nearly all the leading men on both sides of the House gave their adhesion. Sir Robert Peel, the Tory Prime Minister, said, ‘ I am strongly inclined to think that representative government is suited for the condition of the people,’ and he proposed tho introduction of institutions similar to those which existed iu the North American Colonies—quoting Burke as an authority.. Lord John Russell (who had lately been Secretary for the Colonies, and was Prime Minister shortly afterwards) expressed his belief that ‘ the voice of the settlers themselves, speaking through their representatives, could alone extricate the colony from the difficulties into which it «• as plunged.’ Lord Ilowick (now Earl Grey) ‘hoped that they would resort to the ancient and wise policy of their ancestors, and allow the colonists to gove'n themselves. He must say that experience was decidedly in favour of allowing the colony to govern itself, We had a melancholy proof of the height to which m egovernment might bo carried in the Colonial Office, and lie was purauaded that it was impossible for any one man, be hia talent and industry what they mighr, to administer the aff airs of the British Go o- ics, scattered as they were all over the world.’ Mr Benjamin Hawes (shortly afterwards Under-Secretary for the Colonies) said ; ‘ Do

what they would they must emancipate the colony from the laborious trifling of the Colonial Office ; they must lay the foundation of self-government, and the colony left as free as possible would soon display the energy of the parent stock. The remedy he proposed was simply this, that the oolonies should have local self-government/ The Hon. Richard Lalor Sheil, Mr (now Sir Henry) Barkly, Sir James Graham, the Home Secretary, and several other leading men spoke to the same effect. This debate was the turning point of the whole question of Colonial self-government. Never before had there been so nearly a unanimous opinion, I might say any opinion, iu favour of it from ail sides of the House. F oin the hour that the debate closed it was morally certain that the old Colouial Office system was doomed, and that every British colony in existence, which chose to ask for it, would have that self-government for which New Zealand had fought the advance battle, and had gained the victory. The persistent advocacy for nearly 39 years of the men who fiist proposed to colonise and fiually did colonise New Zealand, is entitled to a large share of the credit for having brought about so desirable a consummation. I think that up to that time no other colony except Canada had so much as lifted up its voice ; certainly not so as to be heard. And yet, after all this, it was eight years before New Zealand got representative government. Why 2 Parliament was ready to give it ; the Colonial Office was ready, and very nearly did give it. The only impediment was our own Governor, Sir George Grey, and between ns and it he stood the only obstacle for all those years. (To bo continued.)