E—No. 3

FURTHER PAPERS RELATIVE sufficient measures adopted for controlling and guiding the stream of emigration or the erratic movements of individuals. 7. The assured predominance of English law was not however harmless, —one of its marked characteristics, viz., the independence of action eajoyed by individuals living under its shadow, even at the cost of the community, is inconsistent with the safety of a society of which the component parts, though living in juxta position, are in the opposite extremes of civilization. As an example I may observe that, in many parts of India, shooting a monkey or kite would produce an insurrection, and consequently regulations are enforced which would be absurd and intolerable in Europe. 8. In New Zealand the acts or even the suspected acts of an individual (vide my Despatch No. 110 of even date herewith) are always liable to be avenged upon the whole community or upon those of his race who are most easily within reach. Yet Englishmen are restrained by no special laws: they have been allowed to spread over the country at will, and are tacitly permitted to act, speak, and write with as much impunity as they would in a civilized country, while Government is held responsible for the consequences of imprudence, whether it affects only the individuals themselves or the community at large. 9. There is, I believe, little doubt that the King Movement has been fostered and advanced by Europeans, and Government has been constantly thwarted, misrepresented, and hindered l>y persons whose conduct is no ways amenable to law. 10. The result has been that English law has always prevailed in the English settlements,. but remains a dead letter beyond them; that Government has been continually exposed to contempt from being unable to perform its duty, and has been driven to temporise, and ignore aggression or crime which it could neither prevent nor punish. 11. A largo annual grant from the Imperial Treasury, full power, and great tact, enabled Sir George Grey to keep the country tranquil ; but he was unable to establish any system or machinery which could effectually prevent the collision of elements so discordant as those with which the Now Zealand Government has to deal. When the Constitution Act was prepared, a second opportunity was offered to declare English Provinces and leave Maori districts beyond their pale, to be governed by laws specially adapted to the people inhabiting them. Instead of so doing, however, the 71st clause of the Act declares that " it may be expedient that the laws, customs, and usages of the Aboriginal Inhabitants of New Zea- " land, so far as they are not repugnant to the general principles of humanity," should for the present be maintained " for the government of themselves in their relations to, and dealings with each " other," &c. This leaves the difficulty unsolved, either as relates to the customs which are repugnant to the principles of humanity, or to their dealings of any sort with Europeans who have been permitted to scatter themselves thinly over the whole Northern Island. 12. It has been urged that by a judicious use of moral influence, the Maoris might have been induced to adopt a system of self-government which would have supplied the place of English law. To exert this influence successfully has been the study of my predecessors and myself, and the aim of the Legislature of 1858, in which I cordially concurred. But while the difficulties attending the transition of Aborigines from absolute barbarism to comparative civilization, have been annually increasing, the power of the Governor has been diminished and divided, and the funds at his disposal greatly reduced. In plain terms, the means which Government could command have not been sufficient for the attainment of the end desired. 13. I now turn to the question of protection, and I venture to say that when Her Majesty's Government declared New Zealand a Colony, and invited the industrious and law-loving classes to emigrate, an assurance of protection was certainly —directly or indirectly given—and without it these men would never have left their native laud. If, however, Her Majesty's Government is prepared to punish aggression, "defend the centres " of population, and hold the keys of the country," as intimated by Sir G. C. Lewis in his Despatch above referred to, all will be done that has been asked or can be reasonably expected. It then only remains to enquire what force is necessary for the purpose,—what part of the expense should be paid by the Colony ; and what part of the actual duty the settlers should perform by means of Volunteers or Militia. 14. With regard to the first, I have already stated my opinion in decided terms and will not presume to intrude it again on Your Grace's notice. The payment of expenses might, I submit, be arranged with the General Assembly ; I agree with Sir W. Denison in thinking that as a general rule, a Colony able to afford it, should pay 50 per cent of the cost of its Military protection; I am also of opinion that when the finances (as in the case of New Zealand) are unable to bear such a burden, they should be relieved of an additional per centage, subject to readjustment every 3 or 5 years. 15. I now come to the employment of Volunteers and Militia. In the Mother Country, where there is a surplus population, the employment of this valuable and constitutional force is attended with little or no inconvenience, and even in the Colonies the enrolment of Militia and Volunteers for the protection of their homes is both necessary and effective. But though this description of force may always be used on an emergency occurring in the district from which it is raised, it can never be sent out of that district without payment, which must be as much in excess of a soldier's pay as the settler's labor, and his expenses are greater than those of an English laborer. Labor is worth at least ss. a day in this Colony, and a large proportion of those who form the r ank and file of Militia and Volunteer Corps are farmers, tradesmen, and persons possessing stock o r engaged in business which would be ruined by their absence for any length of time. For this