SEPARATION

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1729, 30 May 1862, Page 5

SEPARATION

(From the Hawkes Bay, " Herald," May 24.) Our readers, sve have no doubt, will be glad to hear the arguments which were urged at the meeting lately held i» Otago, in favour of the separation ot these Islands, and the formation of the Middle and Southern Islands into a distinct Colony. We have therefore reprinted from the Daily Times a somewhat lengthened report of the proceedings. It will be seen that the Superintendent, Major itichaidson, was in tie chair, and that the Provincial Treasurer and other members of the Executive Couucil were active promoters of the agitation — the Treasurer having moved the third resolution ; so that the movement has a sort of semi-official character, and the meeting may be considered to have been held " under the distinguished patronage of his Honor the Superintendent and the elite of Dunediu ;" although his Honor rather ambiguously disclaimed identifying himself with any resolution which might oe arrived at, whilst j at the same time he strongly recommended the meeting to cany out such resolution with determination — thereby not only anticipating the decision, but placing an it the seal of his approbation. The first resolution was moved by Mr. Walker — rather au ominus name by the way for the gentleman who was deputed to open the proceedings — and Mr. Walker's resolution appears to us to be rather illogical, because, if thepioper government of the Middle Island from a seat of Koverutueut in the Northern Island bean impossibility, as the resolution affirms; there must for anything we can see to the contrary, be an , equal impossibility in the proper government of one Province of the Middle Island from another. The resolution, it will be seen, is not confined to the assertion that the proper governmeat of the south from the extreme north is an impossibility, but from any part of the North Island, which would of course include Wellington, but as Wellington is about half way from Nelson to Canterbury, and very littie out of the high way of steam communication, it is evident tiiat, so far as Nelson and Maryborough are concerned, a sent of Government at Wellington would be more convenieut (tiking into account the present raean3 of access), than if the said Government were seated at Canterbury or Otago On the same view of the case, it would not be of very much consequence to Canterbury, as regards facility of communication, whether Otago or Wellington was the favoured metropolis; yet Nelson, Marlborough, and Canterbury are invited to join in an assertion that the proper government of those Provinces from the North Island (including of course the opposite side of Cook's Straits), is an impossibility. If such be the case, the proper government of any one Pro vince fruin auy other Province is an impossibility, and the agitation, to be consistent, should aim at the entire independence of each Province, and the substitution of " His Excellency" for " His Honor" in each. Mr. Walker's resolution was pissed unanimously by the thousand merry men of Dunedin who were present at the* meeting ; whereupon Mr. Gillies, M.H.8., steps foiward with resolution number two, which will be found to contain the gist of the agitation — a fact so obvious to Mr. Gillies, that he very naively, in

introducing it, knocked over the arguments of his predecessors, and, in a few words, but apparently unconsciously and unintentionally, exposed the fallacy of the resolution which had just been unanimously adopt. d. He admitted that by the aid of steam and the electric telegraph, the alleged impossibility was no impossibility at all, even ay applied to a seat of Government at Auckland j but that the real difficulty \vas the Native question, from which troublesome and costly affair the Southern Provinces wish to be set free. Oh this ground we can understand the consistency of Otago appealing to Nelson for co-operation, as well as the possibility of the latter acknowledging the appeal, even though the present pre-eminence of the former Province .should secure for it tne privilege of becoming the seat of the proposed new Government — a privilege to which the good citizens of Duuedin evidently aspire, notwithstanding that prudential motives prevented this laudable ambitionfrom being more than coyly hinted at; for it is just possible that the othei Provinces of the proposed Confederation might not appreciate the advantages of being ruled by Otago.

It would scarcely be consistent for us, (not lung relieved of the incubus of a distant Government) to oppose any reasonable claim in favour of separation on the part of the Southern Provinces ; which, no doubt, suffer much inconvenience in consequence of their distance from the presentseatofGovernmeui, and which also have to bear a large portion of the burden imposed •* on the Colony b} the Maori war; but it certainly appears to us that the evils, are; exaggerated, and that the heterogeneous assemblage of old settlers and new chums from Victoria, who now constitute the population of Otago, are fast loosing the "canny" character of the province, and are becoming intoxicated with their newly acquired prosperity. It does not seem a very liberal proceeding on the part of the Middle Island settlers, who are fortunately not troubled with a Native population, to seek to. throw the whole burden of Native difficulties upon their less favored neighbours. It should not be forgotten that the wholeof the Middle Island formerly belonged to the Natives, and although it has fortu irately been acquired at a nominal price, yet appears to us that any cost which the Government of the Natives may entail on the colonists, is as fairly chargeable on the revenue derived from the lands that have been obtained from them south of Cook's Straits, as on those to the north. We cannot see that Otago has much right to complain of the neglect of her interests by the General Government. She has herself by no means an insignificant voice in the Assembly, und it is simply rediculous to talk of the Middle Island being oppressed by the Northern. The Natives exercise no voice in the representation ; and if the recent influx of gold seekers to Otago has caused a temporary preponderance of population at that end of the Colony, — we all know that, so uncertain are the : movements of this cl ass, the scale may be again i turned in a month by the discovery of a few ! nuggets at Corornandel. We are not sure that separation would be a ivery severe blow to the North. It would preVent Olago aud other Southern members from exercising an influence on Native questions which is regulated more by considerations of economy to their own constituencies, than the pel fare of the Province directly affected. It fwould certainly, at the same time, cripple the fiescources of the colony, but this very fact would render it incumbent upon the Mother Country to bear the charge of governing the Natives — the revenues of the one Island alone being altogether insufficient for that purpose. But whatever the effdot of separation upon the Northern Island, we suspect that the consider* ation we have alluded to, will have full weight tlie Home Government when any petition for separation shall be brought before it. John pßull will scarcely, we think, consent to assume the cost of governing the Natives, much less to throw it entirely upon that section of. the colonists who happen to reside in their immediate vicinity. .