COLONIAL POLICY.
In the early part of this session intelligence had arrived which announced a disastrous collision in New Zealand between the natives and the settlers at the Bay of Islands, and which terminated in defeat and serious loss on the part of the latter. This intelligence produced considerable sensation in the public mind, more especially among those connected with the colonists in those islands. The New Zealand Company loudly accused the colonial office, and the administration of the governor, Captain Fitzroy; while other parties contended that the evil which had arisen had been in a great measure induced by the company itself. The event became the subject of several discussions in parliament. The first of these discussions took place on the 11th of March, when Mr. Somes moved for all copies of correspondence between the colonial office and the governor of New Zealand, respecting the issue of debentures and the rendering them a legal tender in that colony, the taxes proposed in the legislative council, the outrages recently committed by the natives in the Bay of Islands, and a proclamation issued by the governor of New Zealand, allowing the sale of land by the natives at a less price than that fixed by the act of the 5th and 6th Victoria. This motion was seconded by Mr. Aglionby, who asked whether government was not aware that in that colony inconvertible paper had been made by the governor a legal tender for sums as low as two shillings? whether the governor had previously received authority by warrant from the colonial department to issue such debentures to the amount of £15,000? whether it was true that in a colony that was to flourish by its agriculture a tax of 10s. had been levied on every sheep imported, and a similar tax on every dog imported to herd them? what the house thought of a governor who placed a tax of £1 on every house in which more than three rooms were inhabited? and whether the governor had vindicated the character of this country by protecting the whites from the outrages of the natives? Nine of our countrymen, he continued, had been tomahawked after they had given up their arms: had the governor made inquiry into the circumstances of this massacre? or had he gone, as was reported, to the murderous tribes, and declared himself satisfied? He also wanted to know in what manner the honour of the British flag had been vindicated, after it had been cut down at the custom-house; and made several inquiries respecting the sale of lands in New Zealand, observing that when he had obtained an answer to his questions, he should bring forward a distinct motion on the subject, and should call for further information. Mr. Hope, the under-secretary, protested against the course pursued by Mr. Aglionby, demanding why he did not boldly come forward, make his charge against government, and endeavour to substantiate it. He proceeded, however, to answer the questions put by Mr. Aglionby. The government, he said, had disapproved of the debentures issued by the local governor, ami they had been withdrawn. Respecting the taxes imposed in New Zealand he knew nothing, as government had been an unusually long time without intelligence from that colony. With respect to the outrages at the Bay of Islands, troops had been sent for their repression; and the governor, he thought had sufficiently vindicated the honour of the British flag. On the other subjects of interrogation he had no information to communicate. Other members took part in the discussion; and finally the motion was agreed to.
A more lengthened discussion on the condition of this colony took place on the 17th of June, on which occasion Mr. Charles Buller brought forward a series of resolutions relating to the policy pursued towards New Zealand. In his speech he contended that the colonization of New Zealand, after it had been successfully commenced by the New Zealand Company, had been marred by the interference of her majesty’s government. He proceeded to show the superiority of the scheme of colonization adopted by the company with that pursued by the colonial office. After pointing out the great importance of New Zealand in a national and political point of view, and the fair field which it afforded for the development of the capital and labour of England, he showed that at the time when it was first colonized, strong reasons existed for colonizing it regularly, lest it should be colonized irregularly. The whole of the native population did not exceed 100,000 souls, and they were principally concentrated in the northern parts of the island. Was that a circumstance which ought to prevent any other country from colonizing the southern parts of it, which were almost totally unoccupied, or the northern parts, which were almost all left uncultivated? It was wicked to deny the right of civilized man to cultivate the wilderness; but he was bound to treat the savage with kindness, and to communicate to him the advantages of civilization. The New Zealand Company had treated the savage with kindness, making him ample compensation for the land purchased of him, by setting a part of it to his service after it had been brought into cultivation. The colonial office, however, conceived that its duty was discharged towards the savage when it had obtained for him a large price for his land, and had not taken any measure to apply it to his future amelioration. Mr. Buller next entered into a minute history of the proceedings of the colonial authorities in New Zealand, from the time of the conclusion of the treaty of Waitangi, down to the present period; and vindicated the conduct of the New Zealand Company, showing that their settlements had been founded on a scale of liberality and munificence hitherto unknown in the history of English colonization. Their principal object had been merely to protect themselves from loss, whilst engaged in diffusing the arts and industry along with the laws and language of England; yet Lord Stanley had adopted measures which had marred all their prospects of future success. Mr. Buller proceeded to enter into a discussion of the land question between Lord Stanley and the New Zealand Company. He contended that the company had a right to expect to be put in possession by government of the number of acres awarded to them; yet, after spending £800,000 of its own, and £300,000 more on credit, obtained from the public, it had not obtained the grant of a single acre. Its capital was exhausted; its proceedings were suspended; and, what was worse, the unhappy emigrants had been debarred from all access as owners to the land which they had purchased with hard cash in England. The crops which they had raised were destroyed by fire, and their lives had been menaced; and when they applied for redress to the colonial office, that aid had been coldly refused. They now apprehended a general massacre; and yet Captain Fitzroy prohibited them from arming themselves in self-defence. His policy had inspired the New Zealanders with an overweening confidence, and our countrymen with fierce resentment; and the consequence would be that the first would perish under the attacks of the last, as they would be no more in the hands of Englishmen than mere children in the hands of full-grown men. In conclusion, Mr. Buller expressed his conviction that Lord Stanley had put down the most promising experiment of colonization that had ever been attempted by England; and moved that the house resolve itself into a committee of the whole house to consider the resolutions. The motion was seconded by Mr. Milnes, who contended that a case had been made out for the interference of the house. Mr. Hope defended the character of Lord Stanley at great length, denying that his lordship was influenced by any hostility either to colonization or to the New Zealand Company. He was not prepared, he said, to justify all the acts of Captain Fitzroy; but he was convinced that he did himself frequent injustice by the scanty reports he sent home. In reply to the allegation that the colonial office was chargeable with all the disasters of the colony, he insisted that they were mainly attributable to the hasty proceedings of the New Zealand Company, in taking possession of that island without authority from the crown. Mr. Hope next proceeded to give an account of the state of the colony according to the latest advices received from thence; endeavouring to show that the settlers and the natives generally were on good terms, and that there was no fear of a collision between them. He concluded by entering into a consideration of the resolutions, and by declaring that government would not consent to them. The debate was then adjourned, and on the following day it was resumed by Captain Rous, who brought some grave charges against the New Zealand Company. He did so, he said, for the purpose of giving the directors of that company, who had been described as philanthropic gentlemen, an opportunity of replying to those charges. Mr. Aglionby, in reply, protested against them; but declined to enter into a refutation of them on the present occasion: the details of them all had been inquired into in the previous session by the select committee, and on every one of them a verdict of acquittal had been given by that committee. Other members who took part in the debate for the motion were Lords Howick and John Russell, and Messrs. Ellice, Hawes, Mangles, Colquhoun, and Shiel; against it, Sirs Robert Peel, James Graham, Robert Inglis, and Howard Douglas and Mr. Cardwell. After a brief reply from Mr. Buller, the house divided on the motion, which was negatived by a majority of two hundred and twenty-three against one hundred and seventeen.
Towards the end of the session the New Zealand question again became the subject of a lengthened investigation. Intelligence continued to be received from New Zealand of the hostile disposition and violent conduct of the natives, and the precarious tenure on which the lives and properties of the settlers depended. Under these circumstances, on the 21st of July, a petition was presented by the New Zealand Company, praying the house “not to separate without taking measures calculated to allay the apprehensions prevalent among the colonists of New Zealand, and to revive confidence in the company, by which its usefulness would be restored, the friendly communication between the colonists and the aboriginal races renewed, and the prosperity of New Zealand secured.” On the same day Mr. C. Buller proposed a resolution to the effect, that “the house regarded with regret and apprehension the state of affairs in New Zealand, and that those feelings were greatly aggravated by the want of any sufficient evidence of a change in the policy which had led to such disastrous results.” A long debate ensued, which was continued by adjournment; but on a division the motion was negatived by one hundred and fifty-five against eighty-nine. A few nights afterwards, on the vote being proposed, in a committee of supply of £22,565 for New-Zealand, Mr. J. A. Smith stated that negociations had been resumed between the Colonial office and the New Zealand Company, and that the result only waited the final approval of Lord Stanley, who was absent from town. He asked, if the hope of a favourable issue were not realized, whether Sir Robert Peel would afford another opportunity, before the close of the session, for some remarks on the present state of New Zealand, Sir Robert Peel promised to do so; but expressed a strong desire to co-operate in the colonization of New Zealand, and to bring the differences with the company to a conclusion. It would seem that government were now, indeed, convinced that the policy of the government of New Zealand was unfavourable to the prospects of the colony; for about this time Captain Fitzroy was recalled. Government also appears to have been convinced that some better policy must be adopted; for Mr. Hope, on the occasion of the last debate on New Zealand, stated, that a gentleman unconnected with the subject had been called in to give his advice, and he was now engaged in arranging the matter for his full consideration.