THE COLONIST. NELSON, FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 1860.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 295, 17 August 1860, Page 2

THE COLONIST. NELSON, FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 1860.

The Governor's speech and the reply to it, at the meeting of the General Assemblyi on the 30th July, will be found, in another column. ; On Wednesday, August 1, in the House of Representatives, the reply to the Governor's speech was moved by Mr. Fitzgerald. He tho.ught that Ministers had done well in not introducing too many subjects on ,the native war. He believed now, though he had formerly thought otherwise, that the Governor had not rushed hap-hazard, but had rather been'dragged into the war. He found fault with the weak and vacillating policy of former governments. He denied that this was a local affair, but involved the Whole question of the purchase of native j lands; and ridiculed the existing water ' and • sugar-and-blanket' policy. Mr. Heale briefly seconded the adoption of;----the reply, which was agreed to without, debate. A debate on the adoption of the reply to the speech took place, on Thursday, August 2nd, in the Legislative Council. The reply war moved by Mr. Crawford, and seconded by Mr. Cutfield. It was passed without amendment, though not without comment. If ' thanking' his Excellency be any gratification to him, then is our Governor the best 'thanked' man.in the colony. Sir 0. Gibbs said, that ' anything more cold, or formal, or more strongly indicative of red-tapeism, than the sixth clause, referring to the conduct of the troops and the volunteer forces he never read.' He then made some strong observations on certain Europeans being allowed to hold communication with the Maoris while in a state of unwarrantable and armed rebellion; and after declaring that a temporising policy should no longer be pursued, he said, ; Settkrs had not come/into this country to have their lives and property placed in jeopardy, but with the understanding that, even in this distant colony, the standard of England would afford them protection.' --• Captain Curling advocated a stringent policy towards the Maoris, and declared their Christianity to be only skin deep. On the whole, he approved of the Governor's address. Mr. Gilfillan declared that he had not been convinced that W. Kingi had no title to the land, but thought, according to native usage, he had a claim to it; and if so, the Governor had no right to make war. He denied the connection between the king movement and the rupture at Taranaki, and declared the two movements to be 'entirely distinct.' He said that a temporising policy would have been better till we had a stronger force. He concluded his very bold and able speech by announcing , that if confiscation of native land by the Government was intended, then we must have ten times the force we now have. The Chief Justice did not think it expedient that the House should pledge itself to the facts and principles contained in the speech. It it consisted of mere generalities, like imperial speeches at home, they might answer it in a general way. The Attorney-General contended either for the adoption or rejection of the reply as it stood; as by that means the facts and principles it embodied would still be open to full discussion by the House at some future time.

We should vastly like to have seen the decision of the highest legal authorities in this colony, on the subject introduced into the speech. There can be no doubt that his Excellency, as in. duty bound, did submit this case to such constituted legal authority, and we think the public are entitled to the benefit of it in assisting them to draw conclusions on matters s"> vitally affecting their welfare. On Friday, August'3rd, Mr. Richmond moved, in ihe House of Representatives, for leave to 'introduce a bill to enable the Governor, in certain cases, to prevent dealings and communications with aboriginal natives offending against law.' A twelve hours' debate followed. Well may the-Southern. Cross say, to report in lull the steady hard debate on this motion of the Native Minister would require the reporting power of the Times. We refer to the article on this debate which we extracted in full, under the head General Assembly, in our last issue. It con'ains much valuable information on native affairs, and tends to clear up the character of some persons on whom slurs of a disagreeable nature had been cast by some of the speakers on the adoption of the reply to the Governor's speech. Archdeacon Hadfield's interesting letter, in explanation of certain observations made in this debate upon his conduct, will be found in another part of the paper. We shall return to this important debate in future numbers, as it embraces the principal business of the session, and shadows forth the future policy of the Government, as well as approves-of or denounces its past conduct.

The long expected barque Constantine from England, via Wellington, anchored in the Bay at nine o'clock on Tuesday night. She left Wellington on Sunday, 12th, at noon ;■ wind strong and west. After clearing the. Heads the wind shifted to the south-east, with strong winds and rain. At half-past three a.m., rounded St. Stephen's Islarid, and after entering the Bay, the wind fell light and variable* which continued up to

the time of anchoring in nine fathoms water. By. her we ascertain that the steamer Airedale sailed from Wellington 1 to the South on 'Saturday, the -11th; that the steamer Whife Swan arrived in Wellington from Auckland on Sunday, 12th; and that the Margaret Thomson sailed that day for Otago, having put back four times from heavy south east gales.