i IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V. // {/ i/.ji m/U. 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■f^i^ iiiiiii. ^ lis IIIIIM lU JA lljj 1.6 6' V] > %:'* 'w Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 \ ,v % V 4? i\ \ ^1? ^z^ -^ ^J^ \j^ ^ v" \ %^ ^ 'D THE COLONIES. IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, MARCH 1, Ais]^ APEIL 26. 1870. EXTEACTEB FKOM " HANSARD'S PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES," VOLS. CXCIX.-CC. LONDON: COENELIUS BUCK, 23, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.G. tONDON: COBNELIUg BUCK, 23, PATERNOSTER RO"W, E.O, E t: c t t p a ii t] n I d t( ■\v ii ei ii w tl ni m tl h( EMIGRATION. HOUSE OF COMMONS, MAECH 1, 1870. t Me. E. TOEEENS said, in undertaking to bring under th«. notice of the House the efficacy of emigration as a remedy for the distress so widely prevaihng, he did not presume to claim credit for any truer or warmer sympathy with that suffering than he was satisfied stirred the hearts of other hon. Members ; but he stood, in relation to this question, in a position so far peculiar that, owing to his having resided for nearly a quarter of a century in a land where such distress was absolutely unknown, its very strangeness rendered him more sensitive to its influence, impelling him to action ; and the same circumstance placed him in the position of being enabled tc testify, as an eye-witness, to the efficacy of emigration, when judiciously conducted, as a re- medy for that condition of suffering which all alike deplored. He would not take up the time of the House by dilating upon details of that distress ; but having already assumed its existence to be admitted and sympathized in, he would content himself with observing that the statistics of pauperism, though exhibit- ing a serious increase, by no means afforded a true measure either of the extent or intensity of suffering actually existing, inasmuch as they disclosed only the increasing number of those who, succumbing to pressure, become actually chargeable upon the poor rate, but tell nothing of the suffering of the still greater number who, with a patience and fortitude deserving all com- mendation, endure the pangs of insufficient sustenance and all the depressing incidents of extreme poverty, hoping against hope from day to day, if by any means they may escape the de- gradation of becoming chargeable on the parish. The evidences of this state of things, though not afforded by statistical tables, are only too patent to all who will be at tho pains to inquire into the condition of tho working classes. There might be — he B 2 •wisliGd it vrcYO in his power to say confidently there -were — reasons for believing this calamitous distress to be but tem- porary as regarded the condition of the artizan class ; but as regarded tho agrioultural labourer, the case throughout a great part of tho country was undoubtedly chronic. AVhen there was employment for two there were three socking for it, and by this competition wages were kept at a scale M'hieh barely sufficed to sup- ply food, clothing, and lodging essential to sustain a single man in vigor. In tho case of tho married labourer, therefore, that amount of food must be curtailed that tho wifo and children micht bo clothed and not starve. Lassitude and depression, induced by in- sufficient sustenance, created a craving for ardent spirits to arouso tho system, or for the drugged beer of the pot-house to stupify and deaden the sense of suffering. The dwelling of the labourer seldom afforded sufficient accommodation to admit of separation of the sexes i.nd observance of tho ordinary decencies of civilized life. The conditions of such an existence were inconsistent with moral or intellectual culture— and the labour of a man thus en- feebled in body and almost brutahzed in mind was dear even at tho paltry M-ages paid for it. Disease and .premature decay in- duced by those causes incapacitated for labour at a comparatively early period of life ; a result hastened by despair of being able to rescue himself and family from the downward track at foot of which the inevitable workhouse yawned to receive them. This was no exaggerated picture, but a true description of the state of ihings in certain districts, and its existenco was a disgrace to the civilization and humanity of this wealthy nation. Happily it was confined to certain districts. Notably our Northern counties were free from that opprobrium, a circumstance which afforded absolute assurance that it was remediable by lumian agencies. But wherever this state of misery existed — whether the locality bo rural or urban — whatever be tho industry, whether agricul- tural or manufacturing — and whether tho distress be temporary or chronic, tho proximate cause was one and the same, excessive competition — competition induced by the existing disproportion between the number of labourers and the amount of employment afforded within tho limits of these islands. Probably no one would be found to deny that the distress which they deplored would at once be alleviated if only it were possible to interpose Nova Scotia or New Zealand in tho ocean space between Great Britain and Ireland, so that the labour and capital here in ex / cess might pass ovor to fertile lands inviting cultivation. The competition in the market for each would bo relieved— the Irish land famine would bo appeased — and the previously im- poverished, because inadequately employed, labourers would, with their families, become largely customers for the manufac- tured products of those whom they had loft beliiud in tho old locations. Tho beneficial agency of sucli u migration would therefore be two-fold— immediate in reducing competition for employment, and ultimate in increasing the amount of em- ployment for those who rcmainod. As this augmentation of acreage of these islands was impracticable, as the mountain could not move to Alahommed, Mahommed must move to the mountain. That was, for migration they must substitute emigration, and analogous, if not identical, results would be attained. He was aware tbat that had often been denied, and probably would again be denied, by those who pleaded that emigration drained the coun- try of its strength, its best producers ; since it was tlio young, the vigorous, the entorprizing, who emigrated ; leaving the aged, tho feeble, the listless, to burden the ratepayers of the country. To that he would venture to reply— first, that the emigration which went on spontaneously or with the aid of Colonial funds, and which could not be interrupted, was almost exclusively of that valued class ; but the emigration which he was prepared to advocate for the relief and at the cost of the mother country, would be almost exclusively of middle-aged parents accompanied by their children. Secondly, tliat the young, the vigorous, and the entorprizing were a strength only in the proportion in which the country afforded them employment. Wlien they exceeded that limit they were not a strength but a danger and little less a burden than tlio aged and infirm. Thirdly, he would reply that the declaration of policy by Her Majesty's Minister for the Colonies in "another place " should go far to dissipate the idea that those who took up their abode in British Colonies ceased to constitute portion of tho strength of the Empire. Large em- ployors of labour need not be uneasy lest emigration be carried to such excess that upon a revival of trade they should find a scarcity of hands to avail of it. The ties of home and kindred were strong and not liglitly broken. The reluctance to abandon an occupation in Avliich skill and adroitness have been acquired by long practice, in exchange for one laborious and irksome, be- cause unaccustomed, was also powerful, and would not bJ en- countered except under pressure of circumstances amounting to something like necessity. Upon revival of trade, or any other cause supplying pornianont cniploynnnit at adocpiato wages, emi- gration would cease of its own accord ; but, pending the con- tingency of increased employment from that source, they wore not justiliod in leaving in indigeuco and misery thousands of their ft.'llow-countrymcn who, if removed to a poisition of com- petency in the Colonies, would, as customers fur our manufac- tures, ho largely instrumental in bringing ahout that revival of trade so oaimestly desired. Again, it had been urged that that class of men were not suitable cfdonists, arid that th(> demand for skilled lobour Mas limited. There was some truth in tliat objection; but, after the experience of nuiny years as a colonist, ho dared assert that its applicability had been greatly exagge- rated, lie had known hundreds of artizans whoso strong limbs and determined hearts had overcome whatever there was of diffi- culty or irksomeness in the change of avocation. He nuist, how- ever, admit that there was a considerable degree of truth in that objection ; and therefore it was desirable that any continuous or extensive emigration promoted or directed by the Government of this country should be of the agricultural class. The wisdom of this course would appear manifest when it was remembered that experience xn-ovcd that new inventions and devices for increasing the efficacy of human labour when applied to manufactures did ultimately and vastly increase the amount of employment, inso- much that it might, without exaggeration, be said that wherever by such means two men wore enabled to perform the task of 1 the result had been to cause 10 to bo employed where two only found work before. This was so because manufacturing industry, co-expansive with the markets of the world, could not be cir- cumscribed by the narrow limits of these islands. But as re- gards agriculture this was reversed. If the steam plough, the mowing machine, and tlie reaping machine, superseding the spade, the scythe, and the flail, enabled two men to perform the task of 10, no increased demand for labour ensued to absorb the eight thrown out of employment so long as the limits of these islands were allowed to circumscribe the area within which that industry was to be exercised. Hence it would be their true policy to divert to other fields of production the labour which con- stantly gravitated from the rural districts towards the towns, intensifying the competition for employment already excessive in those groat centres of inrlustry ; and by thnt means, rather than by nny oxtonsivo onii^n-ntion of tlioir sidUt'd Uibnnrors, they mii^lit indiroctly and gradually, but safoly ami clfr. tiuilly, re- liovo tlio distrossod condition of their artizans and mechanics. Ho believed ho had now made out a sufficient case to establish the expediency and the eftieacy of emi-'ration as a remedy for the distress so deplorably prevalent. It remained to conr.ider Irom what sources the funds retpiisito for the applicjition of tliat remedy might bo derived. The Colonies, a8 they would benefit at least equally with the mother country by nny well-considered system of emigration, had naturally boon looked to as a source from whence aid might be expected. Speaking with a very in- timate knowledge of the facts, ho regretted his inability to en- tertain any sanguine expectations of material aid from that quarter. The Government of the Dominion proposed to afford sonie small aid in looking after the emigrants when landed on their shores, and, not without a fair show of reason, excused themselves from further contribution, by pleading that their money would be availed of by emigrants en route to the United States. Througliout Australia, prior to 1837, the Wakefield system of colonization had been more or less operative ; the prin- ciple of which was that the value which population conferred upon land on which it was located should constitute a fund for defraying thu charges of emigration. The waste lands of the Crown, so far as they Avere placed at the disposal of the local goverumonls, were so placed to bo alienated by sale only, and the proceeds held subject, as regarded one moiety, to lien in tho interests of the people of England, available for generations to come, to relieve this country of surjilus population. He lacked words wherewith to convey to tho House an adequate idea of the beneficial working of this system. In au evil hour, no less for the Colonies thau for this country, tho Colonial Minister of the day conceived the idea of bestowing upon these small com- munities the vast estate of the people of England in these lands, without any reservation of tho emigration moiety ; and, at the same time, a form of government, tho most purely democratic tho world had ever known, was introduced into them. An im- mediate consequence of throwing the entire control of this land revenue into tho hands of tho class of hired labourers had been the abandonment of tho AWikefield system— they withdrew the bridge by which themselves had passed to independence— and 8 since that timo but a mcagvo and irifl equate feum had boon gnidgin^^ly doled out by tlio Austrplian Logiwluturos for omigi'n- tion. "Wages Imd l)eeu foreed i;p to Gs. or 7 s. per day; but tlio proviouisly rapid advance iu popidatiou and wealtli had hvvn arrested, and tho -worlcing classes of this country, without their L:no^\ledgo or consent — and he ventured to add Avithout tho cog- liizancu of their representatives — had been deprived of that fund which, at a period of severe distress liko the present, would liavo boon available to transport them to lauds where liberal wages and a fair future prospect woidd icm urd +lieir industry. {Such coudilious did not warrant any reasonable hope tluit tho Colonies would contribute any sum suilicient to liave an ni^pro- ciable effect iu relioAiug tho labour market of this country. If, therefore, that relief was to be aflbrdod they must look nt homo for '\o means ; and tluit brought him to the conchul'ng con- sideration, towards which all the remarks, with which Iu; had, lie feared at t■ "' «'■"' 'l-ir eye,, to the faet hat the scope and magndude of the work in Ihi, ca»e remdriug o ,e .lone wax allegether beyond what ,,.uld be accomplished by K.vate henevolenee. If anything elfcctaal wa, to be done f.. the rchef of the present distress, or for the pern.aaen "nprovement of the een.litieu of the working ch,,,,,e, it wn, net n. hundrcl. hut in tl,„n»ands that ifn.ili int t T: . rannda-ded; and for snch a work ,I„.y nu,,t h,„k elsewhere than to pm-a le resottrcos and voluntary associations. It remained for coasK eral,on whether the fands recpured for this object mtght wtth greater justice a,„l expediency, he drawn front le a rates from he general taxation, „.. f,o„, b„„,. It had been oV'otcd, and the objection insisted on with seme pertTnaeUy tha a leea rate for emigration would lay an additiial burd™ on those wdto rematned for the advantage „f these who en,i.™t« Ihatobject,en w-otdd bo fatal were there any ,p,cstien 0°^^^^^^^^ rate for enugt.at.on ; but as he would presently show that s n ly by ^ .nere,,ud„.o„s use of the atnoants already drawn fro I pockets ot the ratepayers, they wotdd be in a position teTtod ^bsttntta rehcf, that objection, on the score „/ injustice, M t„ the ground. For the emigration of a fan.ily .such as he had refe„.ed to as drifting towards pauperi.sm, but net ; ZnZr^l ay, the parens ever -lO jears of age, and four child n'nlr 10 ecin,va.ent to fear statute ad,dts-the sum of £50 would sumee ,f ransplanted to Australia, „r iao if trans^ 1™ to Canada. The n>can of these amo,n,ts-£JO-woull o„ H,„ terms en which moneys were advanced to Itish land eifo, Z tmproyement of their estates, impose o.t the parisl r^In „ annnal charge e £2 12,. for interest and sinking fund. C" the case needed but to be stated in order to satisf^ every rati™* I 10 ■ person that, in guaranteeing ratepayers on encli terms as these against the more than probable contingency of having to support tins family in the workhouse, there would be the truest economy for those who remained in this country, and that, so far from imposing any additional burden, the future pressure on the rate- payers would be effectually relieved ; whilst, at the same time, the higher wages and cheap and abundant food which reward industry in new countries would enable the emigrating parents to bring up thoir family in comfort, with a well-assured prospect of future independence. To render that praeticablo it would be necessary to amend the existing law, 3 & 4 JFill. IV. c. 76, so as to place Boards of Guardians on the same footing as Iriah land- lords, as far as regarded the privilege of borrowing from the public Treasury on the security of the rates. The law, as it already stood, recognized tlio principle of borrowing of money for emigration purposes ; but, in addition to other disabling conditions, it required the sum so borrowed to be repaid within five years, and limited the amount to a sum not exceeding the average of a half year's rates collected in the parish or union. The amendment of the law in that respect was the second sug- gestion which ho ventured to submit for the consideration of the House and of Her Majesty's Government. But as a district which once relieved of its surplus labourers by the procedure ho had been recommending would bo liable to bo again overbur- dened by the influx of indigent wo'.-kmen from other districts, attracted by the improved state of the labour market, it was desirable to encourage simultaneous action wherever the number of labourers was in excess. And in that view, as well as on the grounds that all classes throughout the kingdom were interested in the solution of this momentous question of the condition of the working classes, ho felt justified in advocating the policy of stimulating local efforts by subsidies from the general revenues of the country, proportioned to the amounts expended by the several localities. That Avas the third suggestion which ho begged to submit, \niilst in the interest s uf the mother country he thus earnestly advocated t]\o emigration of large families at the cost of ratepayers and the general public, ho must in the interests of the colonists and with equal earnestness protest against any scheme that could have the effect of transferring to them the burden of supporting our habitual paupers, or persons not capable of earning subsistauce for themselves and families. 11 Tlio colonists, 111 Australia at least, had serious grounds for com- plaint on this score in times past, and in order to guard against the revival of any such abuse, it would be necessary that aU emigrants sent out at public expense should, before embarkation be passed by the emigration agents of the several Colonies in this country Subject to this condition, no reasonable objection could be raised by the Colonies against receiving emigrant families of the suitable class. On the contrary, he was convinced that such families would be welcomed if sent out at the cost of the mother country although it was true that the . olonists, as they were reasonably entitled to do, required that Colonial funds should be expended exclusively on the emigration of young adult persons as the mos valuable producers. In conclusion, he would remark that as he knew of no question of equal importance or to the solution of which the highest intellects of the country mio-ht more worthily be devoted, neither was he aware of any obfect ior tae attainment of which the resources of this great country might more legitimately be drawn upon. He begged to express his gratitude for the patience with which the House had borne with him for so long a time, and would conclude by niovino- his Resolution — ° " That, in ovdcr to arrest the increase of Pauperism, and to relieve tha adopted for fliczlitatins tho Emigration of poor families to British Colonies/' THE COLONIES. HOUSE or COMMONS, APEIL 26, 1870. Mr. E. TOEEENS said, that a sufficient apology for briug- iug forward at tliis time tlio Motion of which he had given notice would, he felt assured, bo recognized in the feeling of uneasiness and uncertainty respecting the character and the per- manency of the pohtical relations existing between this country and her self-governing Colonies. Ho had observed with pain that recent official commimications between Her Majesty's Secre- tary of State and the Governments of some of these Colonius ex- hibited a tone of irritation, dissatisfaction, and distrust sadly in contrast with the spirit of mutual respect and confidence which had hitherto generally characterized that intercourse. He had also noticed that these conditions, so favourable for the mu'pose, were taken advantage of by men of groat ability to j)ropagato opinions adverse to the integrity of the Empire, opinions which were rapidly gaining a more tolerant if not a more aiDproving assent in this country and in the Colonies, but which his expe- rience had entirely satisfied him were as inconsistent with the true interests of those Colonies as they were incompatible with the future greatness of this Empire. The school of politicians to which he referred — and lest he should misrepresent them he would quote the language of their great apostle, Professor Goldwin Smith — declared — " That our possessions, if regarded as military posts, must bo abandoned, because in these days of free trade comnierco no longer needs cannon to clear her path ; but if regarded as Colonies they must be abandoned, because in adopting free trade wo have destroyed the only motive for retaining our Colonies." He would not occupy the time of the House by discussing the arguments by which these philosophers of tho closet attempt to sustain this view, because the same premises woidd force tho very opposite conclusion irresistibly upon the conviction of every practical man observant of tilings us they r' ally are. Such men 13 do not need to bo told that the result of free trade in rendering? England the workshop of the ^vorld has been to concencrate a population vastly greater than can be fed u.^on the produce of these islands, and so has brought it to pass that the very life of our people is dependent upon our retaining command of the seas the high road for the transport of the people's bread and of the manufactures with which it is purchased. But the time has passed away when our navies spread tlmir sails to the wind as the only motive power ; in these days tho command of the seas means coals accumulated in secure and convenient depots where our steam navy may replenish ; free trade therefore, so far from rendering it unnecessary to retain such of our possessions as afford advantages of this kind, places us under the strongest obligation of necessity to retain them. Again, free trade, instead of " destroying the only motive for retainmg our Colonies," has destroyed the only rational motive for casting them off, since it has abolished monopolies which, under the previous reghn^, imposed an onerous taxation on the inhabitants of this country for the benefit of the Colonies amounting, on the single article of sugar, to over £2 000 000 per annum. The most frequent objection against England maintaining her Imperial position as the central cohesive power amidst tho free communities wliieh she has brought into exist- ence IS based upon tho alleged costliness of that position, and a heavy bill is made out by including the expenses of military posts and convict establishments in tlie same account with expenditure on account of Colonies properly so called But on referring to a Eeturn recently laid on tlie Table, it would be seen that the charge entailed on this country for military do fences, and other purposes of tho self-governing Colonies in Austraha, amounted, in 1865, to £69,004, and, in 1807-8 to £106,863, giving a mean of £87,963 only, a sum barely siW- cient to cover the expenses entailed on these communities by the residuum of an evil inheritance entailed upon them for tho relief of this country. So far, therefore, as regarded the fivo self-governing Colonies in the Australian group, this argument on the score of costliness was absolutely without foundation If, however, other settlements founded under the auspices of the Colonial Office have entailed enormous cost, that cireum«tnnee aUorded them no argument for casting them off, though it furmshed a vaHd reason for reforming that management 14 The casting off of our Colonies, and especially those of the great North American group, had also been advocated, on the plea that by that means we might evade the obligation to defend them against foreign aggression. But, ho would ask, could England remain tamely quiescent whilst communities of her children, founded under her protecting auspices, were subjected to aggression or forcible annexation ? Would she not, in such case, sink dishonoured in the estimation of the whole world, and forfeit the prestige acquired by so lavish an expenditure of blood and treasure in times past ? Assuredly this result would follow upon such pusillanimous ( onduct in either case, equally whether those communities, ambitious of more complete inde- pendence, parted from us in amity or remained content to com- bine the privileges of perfect local self-government with those of common citizenship in this great Empire. Nay, even Mr. Goldwin Smith repudiates a policy founded on cowardice and dishonour, declaring that — " Supposing Canada to become independent, anrl supposing her independenco to bo afterwards threatened by the aggressive combination of any foreign power, no Englishman would vote more heartily than himself for risking the fortunes, and, if it were needed, the existence of the Empire in her defence." If it be argued, as it had been argued, that the scattering of our naval and military forces in time of war would prove a source of weakness, he would confidently reply that if, once our relations with the self-governing Colonies were placed upon a reasonable and permanent basis, the wealth and strength of the 7,000,000 of the English race who inhabited them would constitute the wealth and strength of the British Empire little if at all less efi'ectively than if those 7,000,000 were resident within these islands. He based this assertion upon a perfect knowledge of the hearty and fervent loyalty of these people, a loyalty not confined to the British-born but quite as earnestly felt by the Colonial-born subjects of Her Majesty. That loyalty, that fer- vent desire for continued identity ^\ith this country had not died although, with the deepest regret, he must state that a con- viction — whether founded on adequate grounds or otherwise — had been induced upon the Colonial mind, that it was the deliberate policy and set purpose of Her Majesty's Govern- ment to bring about a separation ; that in furtherance of that purpose some Colonies were encouraged by significant sugges- tions to ask for independence, whilst others were being incited and goaded on to the same end by an unequal and inconsistent 15 course of action, l>y refusal of reasonable aids in times of diffi- culty, by misrepresentations and bitter taunts, when the circum- stances rather caUed for indulgent and sympathizing considera- Z.'m 7' \'''-^" poHcy had been distinctly disavowed by Her Majesty s Mmisters, and he accepted that disavowal in per- feet good faith ; still, the reports which reached us simultaneously doubt that the hue of conduct which had of late been pursued- be the motive of that conduct what it may-had had the effect of inducing upon the minds of the colonists the belief to which iie had referred. ^^^jj. In the Dominion Parliament we find Sir Alexander Gait 'rtatmg his conviction, based upon correspondence with Her Majesty's Government, that— ment Ta'nd! !fZ a' ' hJ^Curto thS'Sn"""' '' '' the Impenal Govern, same ground as thVMili:tirTofThi''c;wn TE^^lar"''"'' '" ''''' °" ''' The impression oroated by this statement had been strengthened by the refusal of the Secretary of State for the Colonies to aUow the pubhcation of the correspondence referred to, thou-h re quested by Sir Alexander Gait, and urged by a Member of this House In the same Parliament, the Hon. L. S. Huntington was reported to have said— ® fully and loyally as if I had origSy p omotcd t B t tloVrj' '"/''""" been taken I see dangers in delay, and^ be! Svo t is exp dL to So Y'"^ sures for the severance of our present rehtinnlMedin,crvcr;;!;^i^:^^lZ^^^^ ^^^^'crance is Icing It was passing- strange fo find sueli eoncm-ront testimony an-mng szmnltanoously from such autliorities, soparatecl W each other by half the earth's circumference, anl ea^; ofestC ^ have derxvoci his information from the same authentic so^^ Her Majesty's Colonial Ministers-and yet to bo assured by iL Majesty's Mnusters themselves that they entertained no sitch views, and utterly repudiated the pohcy atLbuted to hem Ho behoved that the House would agree in the opinion that" the occ^^joe of such a phenomenon warranted' the in" Wl ether some modification might not with advantage be int^-o- uced in the existing machinery for official intercommunicaHon between Her Majesty's Colonial Minister and the Govei'm nts of those great dependencies ?' ' ^-Li^mtuis _ In contmst to the feelings which found voice in tho extracts which he had read, as also in answer to those who regarckd I' Colomal possessions as a source of weakness, he would draw Z attention of the House to the manifestations of hearty Svct loyalty and desire for permanent union exhibited only a C years back by this same 7,000,000 people who inhabite^l thtl great Colonies, a loyalty, as he had said before, not confined to the Lntash-born, Out, if possible, more earne tly felt Ty he Colomal-born sul.'ects of Her Maiestv, nud vo^^h^d bv sub ^annal proofs. Canada, during the Crimean Wari'had oii^^ to aid the mother country bv fnr,i,-«l,^,^ ^ re-inicut bappeucd to bo in Melbourne when the He news of tho Trent affaii- 18 firrivod. TherP TrfiR a gonoval conviction that war was inevitable — if, indeed, it was not then already raging. The Victorians saw clearly enongh that their Colony would bo a special object of attack — that the gold shii^s leaving their port woidd bo to the Privateers from California what tho Galleons were in days of old to tho Buccaneers of tho Spanish ]\[ain. Tho lir.st inti- mation that hostilities had commenced would probably be tho presence of an American ship of war laying the town and shipping under contribution. Tlio quarrel was ono in which they had no concern, no voice. They were involved in it solely through their connection with this country, yet no thought of severing that connection was for a moment entertained. Ono spirit animated all — ono common voice called aloud to stand or fall by the old country. Yet this was the Colony in which Mr. G. Duffy had, imder tho irritation produced by recent despatches, and, apparently, with general concurrence, advocated what was tantamount to severance, though within' so short a iieriod tho cry in Victoria and throughout those Colonies was — "Eng- land's distress is Australia's opportunity," raised in a sense the opposite of that in which it was used by the great Irish Agitator, and tho response to it appeared in tho shape of munificent contributions on tho occasions of tho Irish Famine, the Cotton Famine, the Crimean AVar, and tho Indian Mutiny. He regretted that Returns which ho had asked for two months ago had not been laid upon the Table, as they would furnish the particulars. lie could, however, from another source convey to the House some idea of tho spirit which, at a time so recent, animated our fellow-subjects in that part of the ■^^'orld — ho referred to a recent work of great interest, entitled Krpcn'cnccs in Vicercfjal Life, the author of which was not entirely unknown to Mr. Speaker, and, with the permission of the House, ho would read a brief extract descriptive of a meeting held in Sydney, on tho 20th February, 18.55, to raise a fund for the relief of Avidows and orphans of soldiers who fell in the Crimean War. " What charmed mo most was tho feeling of tho people. There seemed such a hearty loyalty towards England, such an evident pride in being spoken of as Britons, and having their British sympathies appealed to— any expression of tho kind being sure to bo followed by hearty applause ;— such a cordial recognition of the blessings they enjoyed under British rule, and of the claims therefore which England liad on them — a point which was frequently dwelt on by the speakers, and always so cordially applauded that it was delightful to pe(._ £0 odO was subscribed on tho spot, thou"'h this was only tho coinmonce- mcnt ; and there are still collections to bo made all over the Colony." Such were the feelings towards this country which at time per- vaded those Colonies — feelings now estranged, though he trusted 19 taiy of S ato for tho Colonies. Ho was anxious to guard ao-dnst boing misumlorstoocl on this point. Ho fully rLgnizod the great akhtios of tho noble Lord the Secretar/for the^ C onit ando usnght hon Friend who represented that Deplrtmen; m thatllouso ; and ho was also satisfied that they were actuated by thobost xntentions. Their deficiency was one which thy shared in common with their predecessors in Office~an unavoid^ able Ignorance of the real condition and reauirements and, That ^^as of no lessmiportance, the aspiuttions and sentiments of the greatcomnmmtios in the administration of whoso affairs thoso good m entions and great abilities were employed. What had occurred was the natural product of tho departmental machinery That Department consisted of a permanent staff imbued witli a ti-acitional po icy, acquired not in the Colonies but in the offico Itself, in which pohcy it was their business to instruct the guasi responsible Minister, who was not always selected for any specTa qualification for that post, but rather as the conveiLce of pohtical parties might dictate, and who was usually removed just about the timo when ho was beginning to gain an insight into the real condition and requirements of tho communities whose interests were committed to his charge. Such a system was weU adapted for its original purpose-namely, for enfircino- the policy or the will of this country upon military posts, convict settlements, and plantations in which a few European masters or drivers accumidated wealth by tho forced labour of numbers of a darker race ; but its very aptness for that state of things con- stitutedits unfitness for conducting the afi-airs of a great Empire comprising powerful and intelligent communities of Englishmen m the enjoyment of constitutional government. Applied to ,such communities the precedents of the past assume the character of partiality, inconsistency, ilHberality, and an ofi-ensive assump- tion of superiority intolerable to communities which claim incor- poration m tho Empire on terms of equality or not at aU _ This statement was susceptible of easy proof; and ho claimed the indulgent attention of the House whilst he cited instances to show that he liad not brought it forward rashlv or upon insufficient grounds. He would abstain from gnino- bach to any remote date, not because there was any lack of such instances in the history of past administrations-unfortunatelv there was an evil uniformity in that respect~-but because recent 20 transactions, woll ^vitliiii tlio memory of tlio IIousio, afTordod ample material for his purpose, llo Avoiikl Lcgiu with the Ivccl Ptiver uiillculty as tho must rcc'eut. Tho Tapers laid ou tho Table proved great care and masterly fjtatesmanship on tho part of Ilcr Majesty's Secretary of Stato for tho Colonies in bringing- to a conclusion tho negotiations Avhich had been so long pending bot\\'een tho Hudson's Bay Company and tho Dominion Government for tho cession to tho lattL'r of tho North-West country. Tlio pecuniary obligationa and interests of tho high contracting parties had been most carefully attended to. Ho also observed a laudable consideration for tho interests of tho aboriginal tribes. But there -were others of Her Mnjcsty's subjects nearer in blood, and who, from their numbers as well as from the progress they had made in settling tho country, were entitled to bo called into counsel on a matter vitally aliecting their interests ; yet tho very existence of theso Bottlers, numbering some 20,000 souls, appeared to have been ignored throughout the negotiations, unless, indeed, ho assumed that they were tho ''third parties" referred to in Part of tho Memorandimi addi-essod by Mr. M'Dougall, on tho 28th Decem- ber last, to tho Governor General of Canada, which, as it was very brief, ho would read — " Tliat youv Excellency will bo pleased to express to his Grace, as tho opinion of tho Canadian Government, tiiat it is highly expedient tiiat tlio transfer which tho Imperial Parliament lias authorized, and the Canadian I'arliamcnt approved, should not ho delayed by negotiations or corrospondenco with private or tliifd parties, whoso position, opinions, and claims havo heretofore embarrassed both Governments in dealing with this question." Admitting that the North American Act of 1867, which In fSoction 146 sanctioned tho incorporation in tho Dominion of tho then outstanding Colonics upon Addresses of their respectivo Legislatures to Iler Majesty, ordained also that Rupert's Land, not having a separate Legislature, might be incorporated upon Address to Iler Majesty by the Parliament of Cancula alouo ; fctill that provision did not appear to contemplate, still less to sanction, tho extinguishment of tho inherent common-law rights of theso 20,000 British subjects to bo allowed a voico in the settlement of their local government and taxation and to havo their rights and p: '■hty for her Colonics, especially in case 'of war wj Sa,^^ 1,0 origui and conimonccmont of tlio war now being waged in New zJahnd ho believed it to bo a just war ;" ° ^caiana, and tho present Prime Minister, being at that timo ChanceUor of tJio Exchequer, declared that— i;ai a;;^.J?r iHiii^s s^i^^c^nSte ;?" " '^^ "°'- «-~' Notwithstanding these statoments-as jnst as thoy were expHcit ami notwithstanding the express condition for future aid. nndor wluch the Legislature of New Zealand agreed to reHevo this country from responsibibties attached to Nativo affairs, they found that Colony impoverished by tho coutiuuanco of the war 22 ftnd oppressed hy the unr-xftrnplod taxation of £6 5s. per head, appealing in vain to tlio Oovcrunu'nt of this cutiutry not for monoy, but nimply for a guavantfM", whidi, witiiout costing the taxpoycrs of this country one fuvtliing, would have t-nublud thoiu to raise a war loan at 4 per cent, instead of 6j^ or 7 per cent. AVlien it was noted tliat tlie guarantee tluis drnied to Now Zealand, under oircunistanoes amounting to s(nuctliing like a life (u- death necessity, was at tho kuuio nKMucnt granted to the Canadian Govermneut — not because of any .sucli necessity, but in further- ance of an objcit Avhich could not bo deemed more than one of expediency — thru this denial, grievous and unjust in itself, was aggravated by evident partiality. Tho sumo partiality and absence of any guiding principle was exhibited in the nllowanco of military aid to tho Dominion Government fSir Trevor Chute, and with the Admiral on the station, ho had reason to fear that — "tho withdrawal of that regiment woidd lead to a general rising of tho Native race, and tragedies as dreadful us those of Delhi and CaAvnporo." In defence of that conduct, it was alleged that the Secretary of State for the Colonies was only carrying out the policy of his pre- decessors. That statement, however, was not borne out by tho facts as disclosed in tho Papers before tho House. They, on tho con- trary, exhibited a constantly shifting pohcy. For example, they found the right hon. Gentleman tlvo present Secretary of State for AVar, in 18^6, and his successor Lord Carnarvon, in 18G7, when Secretary for the Colonies, proposing to leave one regiment, on condition that a certain sum was contributed by tho Colony — £50,000, ho believed — for Native purposes, a condition Avhich liad been faithfully complied ■\\ith. Next they found tho noble Duko (tho Duko of Buckingham) — in his despatch, dated 8tli July, 1869— declaring that Her INfajesty's Government had no intention of ■withdrawing tho troops if tho Colony would pay for them. And, finalh', they had the present Secretary of State, in his de- spatch, nf tlio 21st M(\y last, intimating — ^''tluit ho would not have ordered the withdrawal of the troops had he been awaro that tho Colony was willing to make saerilices ;" and yet, iu tho 23 month of Novombrv following, though informed tlmt the Colony liud nuKlo provision for payment of ail the oxponsos of tho regi- mont, lu) abaiuloncd that pl.-a altcg.)th(T, and p(.r<"mptorily or- dor('d tho withdrawal of tiio troops on tho nrw ph-a that possibly thny might he employed " in support of a policy," wlii.h, as he stated, ''tho Imperial Oovorumont had always regarded as pregnant with danger." And tluit refusal was persisted in, ultliougli a stipulation had l)eon offered that tho troops should r(>nuun in gan-ison under direeti.m of Imperial authority, as, in fact, tliey had ronuuned duriiij,^ the last two years without having been called upon to fire a s]u)t, although hostilities liad pre- vailed incessantly, and N'ttloments had been devastated, Momen outroged, infants slaughtered almost within sight of tho barracks. The p()li(;y which it was aUeged tho Imperial aovernmeut regarded as "pregnan^ with danger"— as far as could bo learned from the d(>spatch of .November last— was tho confiscation policy and tho non-recogniticm of tlio so-called :^[aori king. AVhat wero tho facts as regarded those confiscations ? Peace- ful settlements— witliout tlie slightest provocation given, or oven alleged to have been given— wero attacked by savago fanatics, tho women outraged, infants and young children ruthlessly slaughtered, the lunnesteads, created out of tho M-ilderness by the labour of half a liletinu", given to the llames, impl(>ments and materials destroyed, tho cattle and horses driven oil' as plunder. Year after year that process had been repeated, and as often as tho ]\[aori found it desirable to sue for peace- that was as often as ho had expendetl his ammunition, or his crops required attention— p(\^co was granted liim witliout exacting compensation for tlio destruction of i)roperty, or restoration ol" the iDlunder. Under such a system ^\ ar, always congenial to tho Maori, became a very profitable pursuit. In fact, such a system offered tho greatest incitements to renew the career of murder and outrage so soon as tho necessary ammunition could bo obtained from tho American whalers which frequented that coast for that express trade. It was at length found unavoidable to change tliat policy, and, as a condition of peace, to exact rcti-ibution for murder ai:.t outrage, and compensation for destruction of property. But upon wliat could compensation bo levied? The rebel Maori po.sofisPfl no movable property. His lands alone were available for tho purpose; and therefore, upon the recommendation of Sir George Grey— in his despatch to tho Duko of Newcastle, dated 24 30th November, 18G3— tliis confiscation policy ^as adopted by Ilor IMajesty's Government, -s^'lio at that tmio retained tho management of Native affairs in theu- own hands cxchisively. Ho woukl trouble tho House witli a few extracts from tho de- spatches, setting forth Lhe policy approved by Her Majesty's Government at that tin;e. Tho Duko of Newcastle, in reply to )Sir George Grey's clespatch, said — " I tliink that any boi'y of Natives wliicli talio up arms against Her Majesty on such grounds as those alleged by Waikatoes may properly he punished by a confiscation of a largo portion of their common property. I think the lands thus acquired may properly bo employed in meeting the expenses of carrying on tho war ; nor do I sec any objection to using them as sites for militaiy settlements." AVe find the same policy endorsed by Mr. Cardwell, who suc- ceeded the Duko as Secretary for tho Colonies, in tho following words : — " We have accepted iJic principles upon ivhich he (Sir George Grey) has acted— tho chastisement of tho guilty Natives— tho exaction of a reasonable in- demnity for the expenses incurred by the war, and a moderate security for tho settlement and future protection of tho colonists." And again — "The objocts which Her Majesty's Government have been desirous of effecting for the colonists were substantially these— they have wished to inflict on tho rebel tribes, or some of them, an exemplary punishment in the way ot forfeiture of lands, which should deter them from wanton aggression in the future. ' Notwithstanding this explicit adoption of tho confiscation policy, Her Majesty's Secretary of State, in his despatch of the 7th of October last, intimated, in effect, that troops were withdrawn and a guaranteed loan denied, with the express object of plating tho colonists, under compxihiion of dire necessity, to purchase a tempo- rary and disgraceful truce by the restoration of tho lands most righteously forfeited. Ho behoved that ho should bo supported by everyone who had any hnoAvledgo of savage or semi-civilized races when ho said tliat tho restoration of those lands would bo viewed by the Maori as an indication of weakness, and wotdd bo the signal for a fresh onslaught. The refusal to recognize tho sovereignty of the Maori chieftain, who had thrown off his allegiance to Her Majesty and assumed tho title of King, was not originally the policy of tho colonists, but was transmitted to them as portion of the evil inheritanco of which they had undertaken to reUevo this coimtry on tlio conditions ho had referred to ; and the reversal of that policy at this time ^rould, in the judgment of all who had any knowledge of tlie true condition of affairs, at onco ahonato the more powerfid and higher-class tribes who remained faithful to their allegiance, and refused to recognize tho assump- tion of a sovereign position by a second-class chieftain. 25 be loreecl upon them consequences so disastrous tliat even the eruel necessity of separation from the mother countrr.vo.ld b ofTeS^^^^^^^^^ ''' ^'^^'^^^^-^^-^0 «f the nLrandun infinitelySos. consido a iuT^'a British sub 'or'- T "^''"f ''^ P'-^'*^ '' '^ Knsland fbi- no pecuniary saciifice t Iv S^ /" ^'"','=" '•'"^^- '^''^^^^ ^^^^ TImt tlic lability «f tho Empire had rocc-ivea a ,cvoro »! ock hroug-h ,h„ ,„,,u„ess a.ul the i„j„.,ic.o of h Cm- a.l»P oa t„,v„vd. New Zoula.ul. „-a. undeniaUe. TO J t "4 a^kcd, wa„ tho utility „f „„;„„ „-;„, e^at Britain if did no ensure auutual aid and syn.pathy ;„ ,,„„, „f „;„;„„; -'^^f ;'" To afflnn that whil.t the Colonic, ...nainod obnoxioL to ho"ti J nvas™,, .n c„n,,e,xuonco of their connection with GrearMt " hey we,,, to be .ef.t.od .ueco,,. and oountonanco in th Lt n'^ and d,,h.es, wa, an nntcnable proposition. In the langnao-elf a nght hon. Baronet opposite (Sir Charles Adderley)- " Such terms of intercourse compose no rrionrUlim r,,,,. u- munity, nor solid connection of any^ so^^b t a toV ''"r"^^ promises and expectations, equally visionarv ^nJ ovn „ ^T^'f, ""^ ™"'"--^» ^vill undertake the duties as well L e p iviie^'o?^ \' '''° 0°'°"'^^ „-o on together as members of one gr at E, p e^o.ch mr /nVf ''^ ''^ '"/^^ nigaself, and tho whole reatly to rally imni;";:Stf:;L Joint -''' ""'"'"" The passage lie had qitotod described tJie true position us regarded the obhg-utious of tlxo Colonics, but the proposition^ conversable. It was equally a condition of •• our gjug on too' ther us membex. of one great I^mpiro/Mhat the^ni'^n ^ sliould . undertalc. the dttti.s as well as the privileges of' t ' l^ad of tha great Kn.pire, and that she had not ione scTin tl ^ of ^ew Zealand was bitt too painfttUy manifested. The colonic s neither des red nor expected to continue burdensome to tt? payersof tins country, To be self-supporting as well as 'o^ governmg was their normal coi^ ^^tion ; but this, like eveiy othet general nde was subject to exceptions, of which the mutu.llv reciprocal obli^.ation to afford aid and sympathy in time of w/ distress, or difficulty was tho chief. ^^ ^'' Ho believed that Her Afajesty Cfov obbgation on the parent State, although the iU-adv hud been pursued had induced a contr ;erument recognized this ■ised course that •ary opinion. He repeated 26 his belief that tho misunderstanding which had arisen was attri- butable not in any degree to lack of ability or lack of good in- tentions on the part of Her Majesty's Ministers, but wholly to the unsuitableness of departmental machinery. He had con- sidered various schemes which had been suggested for rectifying that deficiency with the respectful attention that was due to the character and experience of the gentlemen from whom they emanated. Some had proposed to give tho Colonies representa- tion in that House ; others, the establishment of a Council ex- terior to, and, as regarded certain great Imperial questions, supe- rior to this Parliament ; others, a Council of Advice similar to that which assisted the Secretary of State for India ; and he had come to the conclusion that the noble Lord the Secretary of State for the Colonies was right in rejecting them one and all, either as im- practicable or as inconsistent with the theory of tho Constitution. On the other hand, it was a great error to suppose, as had been asserted by Earl Granville, that the Governors constituted the proper channel of official communication between the Go- vernments of the great self-supporting Colonies and the Secretary of State. The Governors constituted a most suitable channel for conveying to the Colonial Cabinets the policy of Her Majesty's Government, and very potent instruments for promoting that policy ; but, as the servants of tho Imperial Government, de- pendent as regarded their future prospects on the favour of the Secretary of State, they were not, and never could be, suitable channels for advocating the colonists' case from the colonists' point of view at the Imperial Court. Ho was glad to find himself borne out in that view by the right hon. Baronet opposite the Member for Staffordshire, from Avhose recent very admirable work on Colonial Policy ho woidd hero read a brief extract— " It was true that Colonial Governors, however dependent their Ministers rnioht bo on tho confidence of local representative bodies, arc likely enough themselves to keep an eye on the policy of the Home Government, and tuno their own course with it." He would also avail himself of the concurrent testimony of one whose experience had been gathered, like his own, in the adminis- tration of Colonial Cabinets. Mr. M'Ctdloch, late Chief Secretary in the Colony of Victoria, had said, in a recent debate upon the relations with the mother cotmtry— " Ilo deprecated tho system which made the Governor, rather than tho Ministry of the day, rcspot.sible lor the despatcho. whi.h were sent m reply to Imperial communications; these despatches, about which the people in tho Colony knew nothing, were taken in England as expressive of tho communi y here, when tho fact was neither thcpooplc nor the Ministry had anything to do with them. This position seemed to him to bo a wrong one which shoulUnotbe continued. 21 ..m ^? ^f''\^'' ^'^''''^ *^^^ a very smaU alteration would suffice to adapt the present machinery of the Colonial Office for the efficient administration of affairs under the novel relations which the great development of the self-governing principle in modern times had brought about. What he behoved practicable and al«o sufficient for the purpose was - Krst, to limit the veto upon acts of the Colonial Legislature to cases in ;vhich those acts infringed upon the Prerogative, or were inconsistent with treaty obligations; secondly, to permit such Colonies, as might elect so to do to send envoys duly empowered and authenticated, who should stand to the Secretary for the Colonies on precisely the same footing which the envoys or charff6 d'affaires of foreign countries occupied in their intercourse with the Foreign Secie- tary to watch over the interests of their respective Colonies, entited to be made cognizant of any measure in contemplation affecting them, and that, before the Minister had committed himself by any action to a particular course; entitled, more- over, to proffer advice and suggestions, wliich, being founded on personal experience, would prove invaluable to the Secretary of State and secure him from faUing into errors such as had recently been committed. What would be thought of a suggestion that Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, instead of being advised as at present by ambassadors or charffS d'affaires, duly authen- ticated from the Governments with which we have diplomatic relations, should be advised respecting the affairs of those coun- tries by officers of his own appointing, who had neither special knowledge respecting those affairs, nor any mission to advocate the interests of those countries from their own special point of view; but, on the contrary, a direct interest to square their ad- vice m accordance with the proclivities of the Secretary of State on whose favor they were dependent for future advancement ? Surely no one would affirm that such an arrangement was calciaated to perpetuate friendly relations; but, on the contrary woidd expect from it the frequent occurrence of mistakes and misconceptions, giving rise to recriminations and antagonistic feehng. let this was precisely the machinery by means of which our diplomatic relations with the great self-governino. Colonies were conducted. Every man of practical experiencn would acknowledge the immense advantage of personal inter" views for preventing cUfficulties and irritations, and for smoothing them away when they arose, and he firmly believed that if 28 cither of tlio Coloniiil sfatosmou now in thist country on a fspocial niisHion from Now Z(>alnucl, liad Lgou nutliouticatod from the fomuicncomont, and Loforo tlio .Secretary for the Colonies had ply that tlio Loud of union liehveon ili(> parent Ntato and the now adult Colonics was not (strengthened hut ntrainod hy an un- duly close associatidu ])erpelualiiig- thu condition appropriate to uonugo, iiud the conviction forced upon him by a long- and varied e.\p(>rienco in Colonial all'airs Avax, that tho alternative lay between ultimate .separation and the recognition of those Colonies on tho same looting as foreign >Stat(\s in alliance so far as rogardfi thi.s matter of diplomatic relations. He beliiwed ho had mjule out a sulliciont case for impiiry. He had occupied the attcnition of tho House at too great length, ('onscious as he was of imibility to do justice to so gnnit a subject, ho must thanhfully aclvuowledgo the kind attention a\ ith which the House had favoured him. Loyalty and patriotism wore potent spirits, liad -worked wonders in times past, and might again; but they were spirits intaugibl(\ incorporeal — once evapo- rated they could never again lay hold of them. They wore lost for ever. This consideration should temper and guide not only our dealings, Ijiit our touo of conauunicatiou with our great solf- maiutaiuiug and self-governing Colonies. A great opportunity now presented itself for consolidating, on an oven and pernmnent basis, tho union of their great Colonial Empire— an opportunity -which, if alloAved to pass aA\-ay, might mwer return, for imitiug those great self-governing communities Avith the parent .State by the bond of a common allogianeo, aifordiug to each the advantages of common citi^oubhip, and to both tho strength of union iu a great Empire. LO^S'DON : COENELIUS BUCK, 23, PATEMsOSTER EOAV.