THE "GREY" VAMPYRE OF DOWNING STREET.

Otago Witness, Issue 65, 14 August 1852, Page 1

THE " GREY" VAMPYRE OF DOWNING STREET.

(From the Brighton Herald.) Two hundred years ago, according to Bancroft's veiy valuable History of America, the State of Virginia possessed self-government, and universal suffrage (the first country in the world where it was established), though the population scarcely exceeded 20,000 souls. The town of Sydney alone has 50,000 souls, and the white population in that part of the world probably exceeds one hundred thousand persons ; yet the right of self-government has not been conceded to it by any of our Home Governments, though some of them have set up high pretensions in favour of popular principles and self-government. The time, however, is come, when our wretched system must be given up, at least as regards Australia. The discovery of gold in those rogions will soon fill the country i with bold, daring men, who will probably soon ' apply Lynch law to all offenders, and will not ! wait for the slow process of law, nor care a single straw for the thunders of Downing-street, which will be found as harmless in the " diggings" as those of the Vatican in the present ! day. As soon as the Isthmus of Panama is opened by a railway, — perhaps before, — Australia will be at least as near to the United States as to (he British Islands, and we know that Brother Jonathan is not over delicate as to the means ' he adopts to extend the power of the Republic in the New world. The " New York Herald," which is the " Times" of the Republic, openly declares that the Republic will permit no European interference in matters relative to America, any more than the Republic is disposed to interfere in any European affair, unless provoked to it. If the miraculous stories about the gold in Australia be true, there will soon be as many American as British vessels in that part of the world, and an army of " diggers," ready with spade, rifle, or bowie knife, for any undertaking that promises to produce the " almighty dollar." Under such circumstances, Great Britain ought to knit the Colonies as closely as possible to the mother-country. We imagine that this is a position that none Mill call in question. What, then, has our Colonial Secretary — Lord Grey — done ? — What is he doing ? We have two documents before vs — one, a protest from the Legislative Council of New South Wales, giving expression to very indignant feelings at the way in which they have been recently treated ; the other, from the Great Australian Anti-Convict League, charging Earl Grey with violating his solemn promise not to send more convicts to Hobart Town. In regard to the first, the Legislative Council

of New South Wales complains — Ist, that the Magna Charta of the Colony (18th Geo. 111., cap. 12, s. 1) has been violated, and that in defiance of that, the " representative rights of all the British plantations" have been set aside, and a " large amount of our public revenue is thus levied and appropriated by the authority of Parliament;" 2nd, They express their deep disappointment at the Constitution conferred on them by the 13th and 14th Vie, c. 59, by which the "ordinary revenue of the plantation is placed under the sole authority of Parliament ;" (Where then is that self-government so much spoken of by Lord John Russell last session ?) 3rd, The Council complains of the administration of waste lands ; 4th, Of the appropriation of the revenues arising therefrom ; sth, Of the withholding the Customs Duties from their own control ; 6th, Of the dispensation of the patronage of the colony at the dictation of Lord Grey ; 7th, Of the veto exercised by the same minister on local legislation ; Bth, Of the fallacies of the Wakefield theory ; 9th, Of the pernicious Sale of Lands Act, which has driven thousands of emigrants to America) who would otherwise have gone to New South Wales or other British settlements ; 10th, They complain that emigrants — the outpourings of poor-houses at horne — have been sent out, who are not suited to the wants of the colony, instead of vigorous labourers ; 11th, That the distribution of offices is still made by Lord Grey, without any reference's to the just claims of the Colonists ; 12th, That the salaries of the officers of Government are placed beyond the control of the Council ; 13th, That the desire of the Colonists to maintain good order is mistrusted by the Home office ; 14th, Finally, That they are not allowed to exercise the most ordinary legislation without being subjected to Lord Grey's veto. They therefore declare—" That the Imperial Parliament has not, nor of right ought to have, any power to tax the people of this colony, of to appropriate any of the moneys levied by authority of the Colonial Legislature ; that this power can only be lawfully exercised by the Colonial Legislature; and that the Imperial Parliament has solemnly disclaimed this power, by the 18th George 111., c. 12. s. 1, which Act remains unrepealed." They then demand plenary colonial legislative powers ; that the revenue arising from land sales shall be under local control ; and that offices shall be held only by the settled inhabitants. Having made these protests, demands, &c, the Council, (as directed by the Act of last Session) retired, leaving the wrongs of the colony to be dealt with by the new legislative body, which it is probable will follow up the demands hinted at above. It may be seen, by the points that we have condensed, how far the government of Lord^ Grey is calculated to knit the Colonies to the Mother-country, or to induce them to reject the soon-to-be-proffered hands of American adventurers. At Hobart Town, the inhabitants have lately sent a very strong protest to Lord Grey, complaining that he has broken his " solemn promise, and disregarded the honour of the Queen in sending more convicts to that place." It seems that two vessels, the one named the " Lady Kennaway," and the other the " Black Friar," arrived in that harbour in May last, the former having on board 249 male, the latter 260 female convicts, in violation of the pledge of her Majesty's Government in 1847, that no more convicts should be sent to that colony ; and the violation of this pledge, the protestors declare, "has spread alarm and indignation i throughout the Australian colonies." | We shall, no doubt, take these matters very j coolly at home, as we usually do any thing re- | lative to the colonies 5 but if we do not know I the value and importance of the Australian colonies, the Americana do ; and if Lord Grey continues to reign over them, it will not be many years before they will be lost to Great Britain for ever.