43

A.—3a

No. 24. Copt of a Despatch from Governor Gret to the Right Hon. Earl Geet. (No. 149) Mt Loed, —■ Government House, Auckland, 22nd October, 1849. Adverting to your Lordship's Despatch No. 54, of the 13th July, 1848, authorising me to take whatever steps I might deem advisable for the formation of a third province in the Middle Island, so as to include the settlement founded at Port Otago, I have the honour to state that hitherto the fact of the population at Port Otago not having amounted to a thousand souls, and the probability which has arisen of the establishment of a settlement at Port Cooper, and the creation of a fourth province in these Islands under the auspices of the Canterbury Association, have rendered it most advisable to refrain from taking any steps in reference to declaring the portion of the Middle Island which lies in the vicinity of Otago a new province. 2. I. wish also to point out to your Lordship that it is most probable that there is at present no authority in New Zealand which is legally competent to proclaim any new province in addition to the two now existing. 3. By the Act of Parliament, 9 and 10 Vict., c. 103, intituled " An Act to make further provision for the Government of the New Zealand Islands," it was declared to be lawful for Her Majesty to divide the Islands of New Zealand into two or more separate provinces; and by the third section of the New Zealand Charter, of the 23rd December, 1846, Her Majesty did, in pursuance of the abovementioned Act, ordain and appoint that the Islands of New Zealand should be divided into two separate provinces, to be called respectively the Province of New Ulster and the Province of New Munster; and the Governor-in-Chief was empowered by the fourth chapter of the Instructions, under the Eoyal Signet and the Sign-Manual which accompanied the Charter, to determine the boundaries of the two provinces, by excepting and excluding from the Province of New Ulster certain portions of the Northern Island adjacent to Cook Strait, which power having been exercised by Proclamation by the Governor-in-Chief, all powers vested in him for the purpose of the division of the Islands into provinces expired, and I apprehend that before he could now proclaim any further provinces in these Islands it would be requisite that he should be empowered to do so by Instructions under the Eoyal Signet and Sign-Manual, after the necessary alterations had been made in the New Zealand Charter. 4. But I further think that, before the Islands of New Zealand are divided into other provinces, it would be extremely desirable that some alteration should be made in the second chapter of the Eoyal Instructions which accompanied the New Zealand Charter, by which an Executive Council is constituted for each of the provinces into which New Zealand may be divided, which Executive Council is made to consist necessarily of the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney-General, the Colonial Treasurer, and the senior officer of the military forces within the province. 5. An Executive Council of this kind renders necessary the formation of an expensive Government establishment, as it is necessary that the remuneration given to officers holding seats in the Executive Council should bear some proportion to their rank and the responsibility thrown upon them ; whilst the duties of the Executive Council, by withdrawing them from the duties of their offices, renders necessary the employment of additional persons in the Government departments. 6. I think, therefore, that it might be found very advantageous, instead of the rule laid down in the existing Eoyal Instructions, to provide that the Executive Council of each province might be composed of all the persons at present named, or of any two of them, provided always that the principal officer in command of the military forces within the province, being a field officer, should be one of them. 7. Should your Lordship think proper to permit this alteration to be made in the Eoyal Instructions I think it might be found possible, in establishing new provinces, to keep the expenditure upon account of their several Governments within very narrow limits, and even considerably to reduce the expenditure on account of the Government establishments in the existing provinces by transferring officers to the provinces which might hereafter be established. I have, &c, The Eight Hon, Earl Grey, &c. G. Geet.

No. 25. Copt of a Despatch from Governor Gbet to the Eight Hon. Earl Geet. (No. 161.) Mr Loan, — Government House, Auckland, 30th November, 1849. Upon the 29th November, 1848, and the 2nd February, 1849, I had the honour of addressing to your Lordship two despatches upon the subject of the form of Government it was proposed to bestow upon these Islands, and I then stated it as my opinion that, in a period of about four years, all the necessary preliminary steps would have been taken to enable a system of representative institutions to be brought into complete operation throughout the whole Islands. 2. Since the dates of those despatches the state of tranquillity which has continued to prevail in these Islands has altogether surpassed my expectations, as have also the continued advances of the Natives in civilisation and submission to our laws. A very great increase to the European population has also taken place, and continues to take place, especially in the northern province. Tour lordship will also have perceived from my Despatches No. 39, March 27, 1849, and No. 130, of October 1, 1849, that the northern province has been divided into hundreds, which are authorised to elect wardens with certain municipal powers, which scheme appears to work well, and by which an advance has already been made towards representative institutions. Again from my Despatches No. 101, July 24, 1849, and No. 131, October 3, 1849, your Lordship will fiud that a general measure has been passed, apparently with the complete concurrence of all parties, for the settlement of the questions connected with the old land claims; whilst those which had arisen under the ten-shillings-an-acre and penny-au-acre Proclamations had been previously adjusted. Moreover, the Government expenditure is rapidly being reduced within the limits I have already reported to your Lordship.