THE "Wellington Independent." Wednesday, March 5, 1851.

Wellington Independent, Volume VI, Issue 563, 5 March 1851, Page 2

THE "Wellington Independent." Wednesday, March 5, 1851.

I After the unanimous condemnation passed upon Sir George Grey's proposed Provincial Councils Bill by the Settlers in every Settlement, and after the full and elaborate exposition which they have given of their views, as to tho form aud principles of the Constitution best adapted to the circumstances of New Zealand, her Majesty's Ministers will neither be able to plead ignorance of their wishes, nor to accuse them of apathy on the subject. Still less will they be able to infer from their proceedings that they are happy and contented under the present despotism. If Ministers were justified in the conclusion, they drew, from the

silence of the Australian Colonists, that they desired no change or alteration in their Constitution, they must long before this have become deeply impressed with the conviction, that the Now Zealand Settlers will never cease their agitation until they have effected a radical change in the Government, and have succeeded in conferring upon their adopted country the Institutions of Freedom. The sincerity of the declaration made by Earl Grey during the last Session, that in framing a Constitution for any Colony, he was most anxious to consult the opinions and wishes of its inhabitants, will be tested by his reception of our various Memorials and Resolutions, which will reach him before the Bill, which lie stands pledged to introduce into Parliament this Session can have made any considerable progress, [n all probability, the progress, if not the introduction of the measure will be delayed by Ministers for the express purpose of receiving that explanation of our views, which they were informed by our fellow-settlers at Nelson, several months since, it was our intention to lay before them. As to the result, we ourselves entertain little or no doubt—we believe that a more perfect Constitution, one conferring much greater power, will be granted to New Zealand, than has been conferred upon any dependency since the establishment of the American Plantations: and that we shall gain by far the greatest portion of our demands. The justice both of the claims we have put forward, and of the principles we have advocated, will, we suspect, receive ample and additional confirmation from the agitation which is already commencing in the Australian Colonies, on the subject of the Constitution just conferred upon them. The Sydney Morning Herald thus notices its utter inefficiency as a measure of Self-Government—" One of the most important of the duties to which our new Legislature will have to address itself, is that of seeking by all proper means the enlargement of its own powers. It must demand, that on measures purely local, the Ministerial veto must be given up—that the Schedules (containing the Civil List) be rescinded—that all Colonial Departments be placed under its own control—and all Colonial Revenue, whether territorial or general, under its own administration." And similar language is held in all the other Colonies—all seem determined to use the power conferred upon them, for the purpose of wringing far greater concessions from the Home Government—all make not the slightest secret of their intention to be satisfied with uothiug short of Responsible Government. But we anticipate the issue of the present contest with far greater confidence, from the appointment of Mr. Fox as our political agent. The want of such an agent has always been the main difficulty we have had to contend with in obtaining redress for any grievance however gross and palpable. The rule that every Memorial addressed to the Colonial Office must be transmitted through the Governor of the Colony, without the settlers having the slightest chance of knowing the comments his Excellency may make upon it, until the appearance of the Blue Book, some eighteen months afterwards, has in reality operated as a denial of all justice, and has given the Governor an advantage of which they have never hesitated to avail themselves. In fact with a distance of 16,000 miles between the colony and the Parent country—and with a delay of at least twelve months—any Governor of New Zealand might well feel himself secure and omnipotent—and might safely defy any complaints made against him. But we must do Sir George Grey the justice to admit, that no previous Governor has ever estimated so highly the value of this distance and delay as a vantage ground, or has ever made so bold and unscrupulous a use of it as he has done. Does a single person in New Zealand seriously believe, that his Excellency would have been guilty of such gross and repeated mis-statements —that he would have dared to stigmatize and calumniate the settlers—to misrepresent their real wishes and opinions- -to mislead the Home Government as to the result of his measures—that, in short, one half of his Excellency's Despatches would ever have been written, had he not calculated upon the security afforded him by the distance of 16,000 miles, and by the delay of 18 months, before his attacks and misrepresentations could be replied to f His Excellency has however in a great measure lost this vantage ground; the appointment of Mr.'Fox as their agent will enable the settlers to meet Sir George in England upon much more equal terms. The antidote to any poison he may in future attempt to administer will be on the spot ready to bo applied. His Despatches will no sooner be published than they will be answered; and his misrepresentations will be exposed before they can produce their intended effect. Nay, the consciousness of such an agent being ever on the watch to protect the interests and advocate the cause of the settlers, will probably render his Excellency more cautious and guarded in his statements. It would indeed have been difficult for any colony to have found one so eminently qualified for the duties which devolve upon a political agent, as Mr. Fox. His great and acknowledged ability, his extreme readiness, both as a public speaker and writer, his thorough knowledge of colonial affairs, his long residonce in this colony, the active part ho has all along taken in all public matters, the peculiar opportunities ho has enjoyed

of acquiring information, having been, as it were, behind the scenes, his intimate acquaintance with Sir George's past career, his integrity and firmness of purpose, his enthusiasm in the cause of responsible government, his independent circumstances, the unlimited confidence placed in him by all classes of the community as evinced in his having been unanimously appointed their agent at one of the largest and most influential meetings ever held in the settlementare qualifications for the office conferred upon him, which are seldom found combined in a single individual. And when we consider the influence he must uecessarily have in England, we are not surprised at the efforts made by Sir George and his officials, by means of the most foul and unfounded aspersions, todamage and injure hispublio character. Armed as his Excellency knows Mr. Fox to be with documents to support every point of the settlers'case, he may well feel uneasy at the effect he will produce on the Colonial Office. It would be strange indeed if the " Official Faction " —if the men who have deserted the popular cause, who have proved themselves nothing more than gamblers in politics, should not exert themselves to the utmost to hunt down one, whose public career stands out in such bright and bold relief to their own. The members of the " Family compact" in Canada no sooner read Lord Durham's celebrated Report than they attempted to run down both his Lordship's talents and public character. Sir James Kempt during his government of Nova Scotia, on account of a trifling concession to the liberal party, felt for years the resentment of the " Official Faction," and was exposed to every species of opposition on their part. And so it has been in all colonies where the officials have been irresponsible. No single colonial reform tending to diminish their power can be broached, without the motives and intentions of its advocates being traduced and impugned. In the instance however of Mr. Fox, the slanders and misrepresentations to which he has been subjected, are rendered peifectly innoccuous from every one knowing, that they emanate from two or three of the officials, who, after using the influence of the settlers to obtain their present offices, have become renegades to liberal principles, and (as is always the case) the most subservient tools of despotism,

A dinner was given by the settlers to Sir George Grey during his visit at Nelson. It having been understood that it was not to be deemed in the slightest degree a political manifestation, it was attended by about 130 persons. Mr. Jollie presided, and in his speech proposing his Excellency's health, very ably and skilfully avoided all allusion to politics.