REASONS FOR DISSOLVING THE ASSEMBLY.
. (From the New Zealander.) What have the late mails taught? Nothing less than this, that we ought to have a completely fresh start in Colonial as well as in Provincial legislation. The six provinces—the hexarchy—of New Zealand, are about to enter on a new lease of constitutional administration:-—the co-r lony, as a whole, ought to do the same. We will briefly give our reasons for the above seemingly dogmatic assertion. - From one end of the colony to the other we have had proof on proof that the con-
stituency have vastly changed their minds since the last general election :—proof from the intervening Provincial elections proof from prudent resignation of seats in the House of Representatives. . , :. Then there is the fact of the £500,000 loan having been guaranteed by the Imperial Parliament—a loan opposed by many of the present members of the House of Representatives. The colony ought, therefore, to have an opportunity of expressing its opinion, whether those men who so opposed the financial policy of the Stafford-Sewell - ministry, are to be entrusted with the distributive appropriation of that loan. But above all—far above all—is the fact, that the Imperial Parliament have now placed it in the power of the General Assembly to revise and alter the constitution of this colony, subject to the exceptions contained in the resolutions agreed upon in the last session of the General Assembly. We have not space now to go into details. But chief and foremost among the alterations which this last Act of the Imperial Legislature empowers the Colonial Parliament to make in our constitution, is the mode in which the Superintendent of the Provinces shall be elected or nominated or appointed. Now here is a distinct and a most important issue raised—one entirely unthought of by the constituency throughout the colony* -when the last election for the General Assembly took place. The' present members of the House of Representatives may take one view of the matter —the constituency may entertain a totally different opinion. The decision of the point at issue is one of vast importance to the colony—for every Province is vitally interested in that decision, whatever it may be.
REASONS FOR DISSOLVING THE ASSEMBLY.
Colonist, Issue 25, 15 January 1858, Page 3
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