New Zealand War. Sir George Gray and the Constitution Act.

To the Editor of the New Zealand Examiner.

Sir,—The remarks made in the debate on the second reading of the New Provinces Bill (New Zealand), on the 28th ult., in the House of Lords, were such that, for the time, I could not believe the Duke of Newcastle was in earnest in making the statements he did; but when I read the Queen's Gazette of June 4th, that her Majesty has appointed Sir George Gray as Administrator of New Zealand, I can have no further doubt upon the subject. Had I been aware, at the beginning of last month, that such an appointment was likely to be made, I should have published a large volume why Sir G. Gray was not a fit and proper person to be reappointed Governor of New Zealand. Sir G. Gray is an admirable dispatch writer, and by his dispatches is he only known, either to the editors of the press or Colonial Ministers. Colonists who have read his dispatches, and who have been in the colony during his administration, are far better qualified than either of the above named to give a faithful opinion either of his abilities or capabilities. But how are our colonies governed at home? It is not many days ago that Mr. H. Merivale (India Board) gave evidence before a Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Colonial Military Expenses, that he had sat and served under no less than seven Secretaries of State for the Colonies in one twelvemonth.' And that was between the years October, 1854, to October, 1855. The following are the names of those Honourable Secretaries of State for the Colonies :—The Duke of Newcastle, Sir George Gray (acting), Sidney Herbert, Lord John Russell, Lord Palmerston (acting), Sir William Molesworth, and Mr. Labouchere. When this evidence was given, there was a roar of laughter, not only among the Honourable Members of the Committee, but from the strangers and reporters of the press who were present. Select Committees do, at times, certainly obtain marvellous information. Such being the case, does it not clearly account for the loose manner in which the colonies and the colonists are managed? There has been great difficulty with our Colonial Minister in finding a fit and proper person to succeed Governor Gore Browne. A first rate engineer officer is the proper man in any colony, especially New Zealand. Governors under a responsible government are mere nonentities to what they formerly wore. The representatives spend the colonists' money with their consent. We do not allow the Governor to spend it, as Sir G. Gray used to spend it. Why do not the Imperial Government give us wholly responsible govern- page 6 ment—that is to say, the management of our native affairs? Had such been granted in 1854 no war would now have been in existence. Is it not natural to suppose that colonists of 20 or 25 years standing, and who fill the most important offices in the Houses of the Legislature in New Zealand, are not better judges than any Colonial Minister in Downing-street, or any Governor (take Sir G. Gray as a sample of the latter)? Why, sir, so little does a Colonial Minister know how to act in the present affairs of the colony, will be proved by the following:—May 31, Mr. Adderley asked Mr. C. Fortescue in the House of Commons 'whether the Bill passed by the New Zealand Legislature for constituting a Native Council differing in its relation to the Colonial Government from the Bill of last Session, had received her Majesty's assent and confirmation? Mr. C. Forteseue replied, or words to the same effect, 'That the Colonial Minister had referred the case to the Cape of Good Hope, 7,000 miles away, for Governor Sir George Gray's opinion, but would review the whole question when Sir G. Gray reported upon it.' Sir, is the Governor of the Cape colonies her Majesty's private adviser on New Zealand affairs? New Zealand in 1861 is not the New Zealand of 1853. I consider that Mr. Fortescue's reply was not only an insult to our Colonial Minister, but to the colonists generally. I believe his Grace the Duke of Newcastle has been informed by a colonist or two, that Sir George Gray dare not accept the Governorship of New Zealand. Why? Sir George Gray framed the New Zealand Constitution Act, and by the assistance of Earls Grey and Derby they carried it through Parliament, June 30, 1852. Why did not Sir G. Gray abide by the 43rd and 81st clause of the Constitution Act, and bring the said Act into active operation before he left the colony? Earl Grey tried, and as he thought, very cleverly, to get his friend Sir G. Gray out of his unfortunate dilemma in the House of Lords on the 28th May; he stated 'that the reason was (what made him refer to it?) because Sir George Gray pointed out in his dispatch that the war was scarcely over, that both the natives and the settlers were in a great state of excitement, that by the proposed constitution the entire power over the revenue would be vested in the representatives of the settlers, &c, &c, &c.' Sir, if there was such excitement as Governor Gray reports in his dispatch, between the natives and settlers, why did he, 'he model governor of the Colonial-office,' leave the colony at so critical a time, making over the Governorship to the Commander of her Majesty's forces, a man totally incapable of governing either Europeans or natives, as I think my letters have very clearly proved to those at the Colonial-office? As Earl Grey has given his dispatch version, allow me to give my colonial experience version—Is it not the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, that Governor George Gray dared not meet face to face the representatives of the people in the General Assembly? He spent the customs and territorial revenue in whatever way he thought proper. He certainly did call his Government nominees together once in eighteen or twenty-four months for their advice; but what Sir G. Gray said in Council was to his Councilmen law. To prove the inability of the then Commander of the Forces governing either Europeans or Natives, I will reprint the following, of July 20, 1853, viz.:—

In October last, I heard that General Wynyard (Lieutenant-Governor at the Cape of Good Hope) was likely to be appointed as Governor of New Zealand. I could not, at the time, believe that such was the fact; but in the course of a few weeks I heard that there was every chance of his appointment to that colony as Governor. I, therefore, in November, wrote the following letter to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, enclosing at the same time a copy of a letter which is appended, dated July 26, 1853, addressed to Lord Hardinge as well as to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and also to the War-Office, &c, &c. I am not in possession now of the different references. Under the present disturbed and very critical state of New Zealand, I alluded to in my latter letter to Lord Hardinge, &c, dated July 26, 1853; but were I, it is only natural to suppose that I could have greatly strengthened my assertions. These references were sent to the Colonial Office at the time :—

'To the Right Honourable Secretary of State for the Colonies

'Sir,—As a New Zealand Colonist of long standing, having resided in that colony from 1839 to 1859, possessing an intimate knowledge of the colony, of the native inhabitants, as well as of the settlers, having always taken an active part in public affaire, and being connected in the welfare of the country from interest as well as from inclination, I feel it a duty which I owe to that country, to myself, as well as towards her Majesty's Government, to address you concerning a statement which has been the round of the public prints, during the last few days, and from private parties, to the effect that the present Governor in that colony, Colonel Gore Browne, is to be recalled, and General Robert H. Wynyard, now at the Cape of Good Hope, formerly Commander of the Forces in New Zealand (fifteen years), to be appointed Governor of that colony in place of Governor G. Browne, can well suppose that that appointment must be a subject of great difficulty and anxiety to her Majesty's Government, and that their only wish and desire must be to appoint—in the expressive phrase of the day—the right man in the right place. Believing that her Majesty's Ministers are most earnestly sincere in this, I have no hesitation in saying, in the most absolute language I can use, that General Wynyard is not only deficient in the necessary qualifications for such an office, but, by his former conduct in the colony, has positively disqualified himself. I go so far as to say that his appointment at the present time would prove a most serious evil to the colony, and I warn her Majesty's Government of it I hope, in good time, to save any such calamity. I send an accompanying letter, addressed by me on July 27th, 1853, to the Colonial-office, and to Lord Hardinge, then Commanding-in-Chief, on the occasion of the General, then Colonel Wynyard, while commanding the troops in New Zealand, and as being likely to become Governor of the colony. Contending in a popular election for the Superintendency of the Province of Auckland, at £800 a year, with one of the citizens, a Mr. William Brown, of which paper the Colonial-office was furnished with a copy at the time. That paper describes the origin and occasion of these political differences, which placed Gen. Wynyard in complete antagonism with a very large number of its colonists, in fact, divided the whole of the Northern Province into two parts. The election was carried on on General Wynyard's side page 8 with a bitterness of spirit and unscrupulousness of conduct unparallelled in electioneering contests. The whole of that community were, for the first time, called upon to take sides in the contest, and so complete was one division that it exists, but with little diminution, to the present day. I think it unnecessary to allude more particularly to the old matters than to say that the bitter hostility and party feeling engendered by that contest have not even yet subsided, and it merely requires his presence in a situation of power, to make it break out afresh as strongly as ever. General Wynyard, then, himself so utterly and entirely fell into the hands of the most reckless and unscrupulous partisans, and not merely during the preceding weeks of the accomplishment of his election, but maintained the same conduct throughout the period of his residence in the colony, though not, of course, to the same active extent as during the heat of the election. He not only made no effort to conciliate those opposed to him, but refused or neglected to avail himself of proffered opportunities of reconciliation. In a word, the same bitter party spirit was as great at the end of his career in 1858 as in 1853, when it was commenced. To send General Wynyard out with these feelings still rankling, and at a critical time like the present, when the best Governor will require the most cordial co-operation and assistance of all parties—indeed of every individual—could not but be most prejudicial, if not positively disastrous. It would be so with a Governor of undoubted tact and ability, but General Wynyard is not known to possess any such; on the contrary, he is known to the colonists as completely wanting in any such mental qualifications, and as a civil Governor, wholly deficient. I am safe enough in saying that a more objectionable appointment could hardly be made. I wish to say nothing against General Wynyard as a private individual, nor as to his military capacity, regarding which I do not profess to be a judge; at the same time, under this critical juncture when military capacity is also of vast importance, I will not seek to avoid the conclusion that my other remarks point to, viz., that since General Wynyard is so deficient as a civil Governor, so neither, in my opinion, can there be expected from him much military tact and sagacity. He had been long in New Zealand, yet, however, showed that he possessed no knowledge of the natives and of the peculiar treatment and management which they require. He was never known to have any idea of his own on the subject. In respect of the natives as of everything else where knowledge of government was required, he threw himself entirely into the hands of subordinates, nor had he the happy judgment of selecting these either from among the best informed or most reliable in the community. General Wynyard was interim Governor of New Zealand in 1854, when responsible government was discussed and attempted to be inaugurated, and the Colonial Office have documents in their possession showing his management on that occasion. He then put himself into the hands of Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, which gave the greatest offence, and the result was most disastrous. A dispatch connected with these proceedings was written by the Colonial Minister, commenting in terms of great disapprobation on General Wynyard's conduct. Without going into further particulars, I may only say generally that a page 9 worse appointment could not be made. If so made, it will give great offence to a large portion of the colonists, particularly in the Province of Auckland, where General Wynyard is more particularly known. I may add my belief that many of the colonists (now in London) will corroborate the assertions I have expressed. But, on the other hand, there are also several of General Wynyard's warmest partisans here who may be expected generally to say something in his favour, though I hardly think any of them will go so far as to maintain that General Wynyard is the proper man for the occasion. There are several here, I feel sure, who would, if necessary, give equally strong testimony against General Wynyard's fitness. At the same time, I am well aware that it is so unpleasant a matter to oppose the appointment of any one by urging objections to it, and so few have the moral courage and inclination to do it, that I can well suppose it may be much easier to find settlers here willing to give a general assent to the appointment, bad as it may be, than it will be to find others inclined to come forward with the objections I have now made. Knowing them to be founded on truth, however, I hesitate not to make them, and I have only to express my anxious hope that the appointment will not be made without due inquiry concerning them, and without affording an opportunity, if need be, of substantiating them by other names and evidence. I may venture here the name of one gentleman who will, I have no doubt, corroborate these remarks, as he must be known from the records of the Colonial Office. I mean Mr. Wm. Brown, the gentleman referred to in the enclosed printed letter, and subsequently elected Superintendent for the Province of Auckland, and after General Wynyard had been ordered to resign that appointment. Mr. Brown had been formerly a member of the Legislative Council appointed by Governor Fitzroy, subsequently by Governor Grey; he was also a member of the House of Representatives under the present Constitution of the Colony.

'I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient Servant,

'Walter Brodie,

'(Late Member of the House of Representatives.)'

'Auckland, New Zealand,

26th July, 1853.

'My Lord,—I have the honour to lay before your lordship the following statement relative to the proceedings of Lieut.-Colonol Wynyard, Commander of the Forces in New Zealand, and of certain officers of the 58th Regiment in connection with the bringing into operation the Representative Institutions lately conferred upon this Colony by the British Parliament.

'Lieut.-Colonol Wynyard will be furnished with a copy of this statement, which will likewise be published in the Colony, in order that every facility for rebutting it should be afforded. It is proper to add that a statement to the same effect, in another form, will be laid before the House of Commons.

'It is clear that in a small community, the military influence of the Commander of the forces, in command of a regiment and of the artillery, taken with that of the ordnance and commissariat departments, must be of almost overbearing force. It is for your lordship to say whether it be constitutional, or in accordance with the principles page 10 of military discipline that such power should be exercised; mora especially when brought to bear upon what is, as yet, but an experiment of the Home Government—Representative Institutions newly conferred, and rights bestowed upon colonists as yet unpracticed in the exercise of them. I content myself with giving yon facts, from which your own conclusions may be drawn.

'Before adverting to those points which may be supposed to come under your lerdship's more special cognizance, I shall offer you, for your information, a short abstract of the whole proceedings, accompanied by reference to local journals in which the question is set forth at large.

'The first public step to be taken towards introducing the New Zealand Constitution was the issuing of writs for the election of Superintendents of Provinces. It had been originally intended that these officers should be appointed by the Queen; but the Home Government, after consideration, finally decided that they should be elected by the people.

'The first who presented himself to the constituency of the Auckland province as a candidate, was Mr. Bartley, a barrister of high reputation, a gentleman universally respected and esteemed, but of no political party.

'The second in the field was Mr. Brown, a merchant and large landowner, and the acknowledged leader of the Opposition to a most unpopular Government.

'The third was Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard, Commander of the Forces, and Ex-Lieutenant-Governor. In stating that he was third in the field, I do not deny that canvassing had been going on for him before the other two candidates had come forward; but as he did not declare himself until after their appearance, he cannot be placed in any other position.

'His declaration was consequent upon the presentation of a requisition with 606 signatures appended. Of these 320 were enrolled pensioners, and 30 discharged soldiers. The gross number of the constituency is about 2,000.

'Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard certainly possessed a most imposing combination of influences. He enjoyed a certain amount of personal influence remaining to him from his former position as Limit. Governor (in which his good humour had won for him much popularity), and from the exercise of patronage. He could calculate upon being supported by the whole body of officials, who are interested in the maintenance of the old official system under the new regime;—by the great majority of the pensioner corps, who feel his influence as that of their commander during the regular drills, or when in active service, and who besides, would naturally give the preference to a military man over a civilian;—by the military residing out of barracks, who are allowed, most improperly, to vote;—and by the civilians connected in various ways with the different military departments.

'Mr. Bartley, deeming himself unable to contend against such an array of force, retired from the field.

'The contest now assumed a different character. So long as it lay between two civilians, it had been amicably conducted; had it remained between two civilians, it is probable that not a single private page 11 friendship among their respective supporters would have been disturbed. In one instance an attack had been made upon Mr. Brown's private character by some of Mr. Barley's partisans; but that gentleman at once came forward and put a stop to this mode of electioneering. But when the contest came to lie between a civilian and a soldier—between Mr. Brown and Lieutenant-Colonel "Wynyard—the bitterest exasperation arose, which indeed has given a shock to the social condition of this province that it will take years to recover from. The most disgraceful charges against Mr. Brown were manufactured by some who belonged to Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard's committee, by the newspaper in Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard's interest—charges which will yet become the subject of legal investigation. Indecency, malice, lying, disloyalty, and infidelity, were imputed to him. He was accused of having obtained a letter surreptitiously; he was described as a man whom no oath could bind; and Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard, the soldier, instead of at once coming forward like Mr. Bartley, the more chivalrous civilian, to forbid such proceedings in his behalf, was content to remain silent and to reap whatever advantage could be derived from them.

'After two months of such stormy and acrimonious electioneering as it is to be hoped this colony may never witness again, the day of nomination arrived. Lieutenant-Colonel Wynward declined presenting himself at the hustings; the consequence of which was that neither his proposer nor seconder obtained a hearing. Various causes (with what truth I know not), have been assigned for his absence; among others, his disinclination to answer questions which it was known had been prepared for him. It might indeed have been to maintain the appearance, at a distance, of remaining absolutely passive in the affair; of suffering himself to be borne into office by the community. But the active and open canvass made for Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard by officers of his own regiment, to which further allusion shall presently be made, will sufficiently preclude the entertainment within the colony of such an idea.

'The numbers at the poll were as follows :—

	Brown.		Wynyard.
	Votes.	Majority.	Votes.	Majority.
City of Auckland	336	91	245
Suburbs	26	—	59	33
Pensioner	143	—	397	254
Southern Division (excluding Pensioner)	116	18	98	—
Northern Division (excluding Pensioner)	141	69	72	—
Civilians voting at Pensioner settlements	7	1	6	—
Bay of Islands	51	1	45	—
Totals	820	185	922	287
Majority for Wynyard				102

page 12

Among those who voted for Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard were 59 military and 31 officials; these being abstracted, a majority of 5 remains for Mr. Brown. The pensioners, a quasi military corps, being likewise abstracted, a majority of 258 bona-flde colonists remains for Mr. Brown,—a sufficient answer to the defamatory statements which Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard did not come forward to repudiate.

'There is no gainsaying these numbers. It is clear that Lieutenant Colonel Wynyard has been forced upon the community. Even had he been borne in unanimously, there would still have been grave objections to his acceptance of the office. But what excuse can be offered for him who can produce nothing but a trifling majority composed of soldiers and officials, in justification of having deliberately caused a whole community to be torn to pieces by dissension. Let him argue as he will he cannot escape from two broad facts, namely, that the civilian candidate has a large majority among the bona-fide colonists; and that party spirit between the respective partisans of the civil and of the military candidate rages here, and will rage still, to a degree that I have never yet seen equalled. Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard has indeed been a firebrand among us.

Such is the outline of the proceedings in this election. I consider them as an infraction of the Constitution, and presume that your lordship will consider them unmilitary and subversive of discipline for the following reasons:—

Unconstitutional.

1. Because Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard, commander of the forces in New Zealand, has obtained a high civil position partly through his military influence. For the officer in command of a regiment has the power of affecting the constituency by making vetes. By allowing his own soldiere, as many as he pleases, to reside for a certain time out of barracks as householders, they become entitled to electoral privileges. But the exercise of these privileges is entirely under his own control; for the soldiers cannot vote at all if he be disposed to hinder them. He has merely to order them to remain within their barracks and they cannot even go to poll. In point of fact all such votes are at his command, tor reasons which will be sufficiently obvious to yourself. When I inform you that the voters of the 58th regiment were ordered into barracks, and there interrogated—I believe, by the Serjeant Major—as to the use which they intended to make of their votes, you will be at no loss to account for the unanimity with which they supported their Lieut. Colonel at the poll. A list of these as well as of other parties belonging to the different military departments, and therefore more or less under Lieut.-Colonel Wynyard's immediate control, is printed in an accompanying number of a local journal.

'It may be proper to mention that the members of the police force in New Zealand are prohibited from voting at elections; and likewise that the Bench of Magistrates at Auckland has refused to allow military officers to sign recommendations for publicans applying for licenses, on the ground of such officers not being, properly speaking, householders.

'2. Because Lieut-Colonel Wynyard might have occasion, in his military capacity, to call out the troops to support himself in his page 13 civil capacity. He might even, in case of an election riot, have had occasion to call out the troops m support of his own private and personal pretensions.

3. Because, in case of the Governor's decease or absence from the Colony, the commander of the forces in New Zealand succeeds as interim Governor; for which office, indeed, he appears to be selected on account of his supposed non-connection with the Colony, and freedom from party. But in consequence of the present violent contest, he has thus far disqualified himself for the office, having destroyed his position by leaguing himself with a section of the community.

'That although Lieut-Colonel Wynyard, in the event of succeeding as Governor, would be able to resign the Superintendence, yet that there is no power in New Zealand which could dislodge him, were he resolved to retain it; whilst, in holding the two offices, he would be serving two masters—the Queen and his own constituency. It is clear that such an issue was never contemplated by Parliament when framing the Constitutional Act for this colony. As well might Governor Grey contend for the Superintendency as Lieut.-Colonel Wynyard.

'Because it is contrary to the spirit of the Mutiny Act, the 54th section of which declares that no person "who shall be commissioned and in full pay as an officer, shall be capable of being nominated or elected to bo Sheriff of any county or other place, or to be Mayor, Portreeve, Alderman, or shall be capable of holding any office in any municipal corporation, or any city, borough, or place, in Great Britain or Ireland."

'You will, perhaps, consider the assumption of the Superintendency by Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard, and some of the proceedings connected with his election, as subversive of discipline, and otherwise

'Unmilitary.

'1. Because the effect has been to create an acrimonious feeling between the military and a large majority of the bona-fide colonists. The latter feel, and felt throughout, that they were being overridden by a combination of extraneous or illegitimate influences—the power, the patronage, and the military votes that have been brought to bear against them by the Commander of the Forces, and they naturally visit the fault of Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard upon the class which he represents. Under similar circumstances, and with such a feeling in a more populous and powerful colony, such as that of New South Wales, the danger of collision at the polling would have been extreme.

'2. Because an evil of the opposite nature is likewise involved; for that while the military are too much at variance with one section of the inhabitants for the interests of the Colony, they have become too intimately linked with another section for the interests of her Majesty's service.

'3. Because military voters have been exposed, notwithstanding the expectation that they would vote for their commanding officers, to the deteriorating influences of canvassing—influences so well understood as not to need enlarging on.

'4. Because of the conduct of some of Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard's military supporters.

'I have the honour to inform your Lordship that certain officers of page 14 the 58th Regiment, Captain Petley, Lieutenants Shipley and Withing ton, who had not been six months in the Province (the legal time for acquiring the franchise) registered themeelvos as householders of six months standing, thereby passing themselves off for that which they were not. After so getting upon the roll of voters, attention was publicly called to the fact in expectation that they would at least abstain from exercising a privilege which had been thus acquired; notwithstanding which, they deliberately went to the poll. I would here call your attention to the fact that officers in New Zealand claiming to vote as householders, acquire that right by means of the Queen's lodging money.

'That Lieutenant Gladwyn Wynyard attempted to vote for his father in a district for which he had no vote, and that his voting paper was refused by the returning officer.

'That at Russell, (Bay of Islands) one of the three places of nomina nation, Capt. Parratt, commanding a detachment of the 58th Regiment, was an open and active canvasser for his Colonel. So active, indeed, was he, that he did not scruple to use the name of a most influential settler, one of Mr. Brown's chief supporters, for the purpose of obtaining promises; stating that the gentleman alluded to had engaged to vote for Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard, an assertion contrary to fact.

'Capt. Parratt did obtain the promise of several votes by this means; his conduct was afterwards objected to by the gentleman whose name he used. I do not bring this forward in the shape of a charge; but if evidence be desired by your Lordship it shall be supplied. I apprehend that the statement will not be denied.

'Of other military canvassers I make no mention; but would call your attention to the facts, that Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard's nomination at Russell was seconded by Captain Parratt, and that on the day of polling, the Wahapu, (the Camp at the Bay of Islands,) as I am given to understand by several of the Russell settlers, was left without a single officer; all being absent at once at Russell for the purpose of voting.

'Such are the main facts connected with the direct military influence exercised by Lieuenant-Colonel Wynyard. But he has had another source of influence; the exercise of which, though not strictly unconstitutional, must yet be considered as highly reprehensible.

'The Pensioner Corps (whose votes form nearly one-third of the Provincial voting list) cannot be called civilian settlers except by putting a forced meaning upon words. They are still under military rule, subject to the control of their officers, which many of them complain of as arbitrary and unnecessarily severe, and are still liable to severe punishment for offences which civilians would consider as merely nominal.

'For instance, should they neglect on three several occasions, within a certain period, presenting themselves at their Sunday parade,—no matter how far distant their daily labours may have caused them to reside,—they are subject, at the discretion of their officers, to being deprived of their hard won cottages and acres. It is clear that the hope of being leniently dealt with, should they vote along with their officers, must suggest itself occasionally to their minds.

page 15

'It is, moreover, only to be expected that they should be strongly influenced by esprit de corps. But this feeling ought never to have been awakened by Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard, in his own favour, against a large majority of Civilian Colonists. It is easy to say that they are free agents; so they are, in theory; but it was notorious from the beginning that three-fourths of them would vote for Lieutenant Colonel Wynyard as a matter of course, and in opposition to a majority of purely civilian colonists. The work of years in amalgamation with the colonists has been thus undone.

'I would specially call your Lordship's attention to the fact that Lieut.-Colonel Wynyard, by thus fostering a spirit of antagonism between the pensioners and a majority of the settlers, has most distinctly and unequivocally stood in the way of a fair trial of the Constitution.

I am quite aware that observations concerning the pensioner corps are immaterial to you, in your official capacity. I bring them before you merely for the sake of giving as complete a view of the subject as can be afforded.

'I now proceed to make the formal request, that to prevent the recurrence of a similar state of things, and because the colonists do not possess such power in themselves, your Lordship will be pleased to issue an order that neither officers on full pay in her Majesty's service, nor privates, be permitted for the future to interfere with elections in this Colony, either by exercise of the franchise, or in any other way whatever. 'I have the honour to be, my Lord,

'Your Lordship's most obedient humble servant,

'Walter Brodie.'

'To the Rt. Hon. General the Viscount Hardinge, G.C.B., Commanding in Chief.

'To the Right Hon. Secretary of State for War.

'To the Right Hon. Secretary of State for the Colonies.'

When Mr. E. W. Stafford, our first Colonial Minister in New Zealand under the Constitution Act, took possession of office, he was compelled to give a receipt for all moneys in the chest at the Treasury, and, however absurd it may appear to my readers, such is the fact, his receipt was for the great sum of 2½d. (Two pence halfpenny.) How has Sir George Grey established his reputation in this country for conciliating the natives of New Zealand? By no other means than spending scores of thousands of pounds sterling amongst them in the shape of cargoes of flour, sugar, rice, treacle, &c, tons of tobacco, and bales of blankets and prints. I recollect in 1839 many of the Church missionaries at the Bay of Islands complaining that the Roman Catholic Bishop (a gentlemanly and most excellent man) was converting a great many of their converts over to the Roman Catholic faith; but how did the Roman Catholic manage? Simply by giving the Church Missionary natives, flour, sugar, rice, treacle, tobacco, blankets, prints, &c. &c. But after a certain time the Roman Catholic Bishop found this a most expensive way of obtaining converts, and very wisely gave it up. What was the consequence? Why, all the supposed converted Roman Catholic natives immediately returned to their old friends the Church Missionaries. Such was the case in Sir George Grey's latter reign in New Zealand, and such will be the case page 16 should he go out from the Cape to New Zealand. By going to New Zealand, how can Sir G. Gray be expected to reverse all his former policy, particularly regarding the natives selling their lands? When Captain Fitzroy was appointed Governor of New Zealand his orders from the Colonial Office were, 'on no account to draw upon the Home Government for money, there being plenty in the New Zealand Treasury.' Shortly after Fitzroy went out I arrived in this country (ergo, I never met him in the Colony). On my arrival here, I called at the Colonial Office to give a true account of the Colony, which much surprised Mr. W. G. Hope, who was then, I think, Under Secretary, and M.P. for Southampton. He, Mr. Hope, informed me, that Mr. Willough by Shortland, the then Acting-Governor (after Governor Hobson's death), had written home, stating, that, upon the arrival of the next Governor, he would find £50,000 in the Treasury. But what was Governor Fitzroy's a astonishment when he arrived in the Colony, not only that there was not a shilling in the Treasury, but that the Government officers had not received any pay for nine months, and some of them had not received any pay for twelve months ! What did Governor Fitzroy do to save the Colony, and did save the Colony by his actions? He allowed the Natives to sell their land on the penny-an acre system, and issued debentures. On the latter, he was recalled, and replaced by Sir George Gray, who had a power given him, unprecedented. In the first place, as the real position of the Colony was ultimately known at the Colonial Office, Governor Grey was allowed to call for any military or naval force he thought proper to ask for, backed by a Parliamentary Grant, of from £30,000 to £50,000 a year. Why was not Governor Fitzroy allowed such advantages? Many people believe Governor Gray to be a very clever man, I deny such being the case; let any of my readers prove truthfully, if they can, that he is. Sir George Gray has been a very fortunate and lucky man. If I were to answer Lord Grey's speech in the Lords, it would occupy the space of a large pamphlet, in reality a more absurd speech never was made, and, in fact, I believe, the Noble Earl thought he was speaking correctly, but he ought, at the same time to have recollected that his speech was only made up upon the evidence of Governor Sir George Gray's dispatches. The concession to them, the natives, by Governor Fitzroy in 1844, with the content of the Colonial Office, to sell their lands to Europeans, after being in operation about one year, was withdrawn by Governor Gray. The withholding of these said rights has, to a great extent, been the root of the present difficulties in New Zealand. Governor Gray's policy has brought about the disaffection of the natives resulting in the present war. He never made any attempt to amalgamate the races—to give the natives equal laws—or to bring them under British laws; all difficulties were patched up by bribing them with presents (above-named), so that his policy has boon well described 'the treacle and flour policy.' He held that regular marriage between a European and a Maori forfeited the land rights of the latter, and he seized upon and sold the land which was given as a dowry in the case of Meurant, papers sent to Colonial Office, 1847. A portion of this land was sold at public auction, and the then Colonial Secretary, Andrew Sinclair, benefitted by the purchase of it. This case nearly brought about a war, but, perhaps, 'the treacle and flour policy, page 17 prevented it; at all events the widow Mourant lost 20 acres of land, now valued at £4,000. This is a fair case for the Aboriginal Society to take up, and which they are bound to follow up. Governor Gray's policy at New Plymouth, in 1847, caused the land league, for he then told Wirimu Kingi and others that they had no right to their lands there, and that the Government would seize upon it, and lake whatever they chose by force if necessary. (Despatch, March 2, 1847, Parliamentary Papers, 1847, page 2.) 'The European settlers he set against himself by a system of untruthfulness and defamatory despatches, and he was openly and publicly hold up to reprobation. The following are resolutions passed at a public meeting, condemning the attempt to get up a public dinner on his leaving the colony, December 24, 1853, a copy of which was sent to the Colonial Office: