COLONIAL POLICY.

Wellington Independent, Volume VI, Issue 503, 7 August 1850, Page 3

COLONIAL POLICY.

(From the'Guardian,.February 13J

Lord John Russell's exfß)sition'"of the colonial policy of his Gbv'fefmnent, "deli, veredlast. Friday, cannot'be reckoned among his It fell extremely flat, and "see'm's-to- have quite satisfied nobody/except the-'A'wies. Common places about ttre fights of Englishmen, and so forth, aW ill very well in in. their place—that is iii apreafnble or a .peroration; but the , House', .'on Friday, •wanted' , .a .plaiir answer- : t6 ? three definite and practical questions. "First, whether one particular colony (New Zealand) was to obtain represen,tatn ; einstirutioris without a four, years'. delay ; --r-tb » have them j now,"as sctoolbpys say/"or wait , till-she! get them "— secondly, vvhether (Jotonial institutions generally are to be framed on i a goodjcnodel qr.abad pile?—-and, thirdly, whether, our whole colohiltl empire is to j be, 'heretffter; it has been hitherto, by receipts from..' the Jast i)f thbsetquestions/jbord Yes; :totheiirst, No., His tlie thirdis presented in the tangii|fi, shape of a newT edition of vthe,Austjra|ijn : Colqnies Bill, which formed the; the^is/oT Mis.discourse.

We ought not, perhaps, to expect from any Prime Minister—least of all.a Whig —to;have the boldness (official men would say-the .temerity) the scheme of colonial government for which Mr., Wakefield and Buller prepared the way, and of whjch Mr. Adderley and Sir W, Molesworth are now the most prominent exponents'. We ourselves may be disposed to think it in substance both true. an 3 "practicable, and the present practice 'oTSubmitting all the acts of all the legislatures of all bur colonies to the arbitrary djspi-estioii of an iiliuformed, distant ahd^R^ically.irresponsible official fund a.nieu^lly'vicious and wrong,. But on this, sHj&jgct every body is entitled to his, «\m-opinion. With respect to the .Australian "charter, however, .there certainly, appears-ito be some jiist groundfprthe 'The coiistitutiontgiven to these gre|t'settleiaients, the cradle bf an empveitfiemsMves thoroughly English, with no Admixture of , savage or alien races, oiigh|'snrely to be framed with the., greatest -possible caie, on .the soundest possible basis!'" Moreover, it should be framed with:an eye to the poseibility tbatitv;aiay seryjßttfl some extent ■as a model. :J despije' tlhe differences of climate- and population, on which : so - mnqh stress islaid, th*rg miay— paj'j, there /ewrtwnly»wilj^be. £ .somelii}ng. 6?' a , model of/Ecgland. as there is a model cha|fcef'gpbiitaneously adopted .by thevariou^.' gffishootsrof the J American Ujuiqn.r Mrtoadstb"iie. ! :th ci best practicable ifypCpf a Colonial ■Legislature is, twoXegfslitive Chambers. We think so Job. itself thinks so, fpr it to-establish two 'elective •Chambers^..at'' / the Cape- The Committee of. the," Priylr";Council thinks so, as; its report ou, tfr| Cape charter plainly shows ".Then "wliy-foist upon the population, of,, >Australi&n continent that; paltry makeshift, a single Chamber Composed partlyof Goyemraient nominees anomalous |f in priiicipjei' incbli:Vertient in practice, wj^c^the'colonist ac- ; •cept only* .it; a better bWgainithan;* NorameefCbuncU. '