The Sun. — London, England, 1846-12-30 00:00:00

NEW ZEALAND. The following letter, from the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, has been received, with in structions, &c., subjoined, by the secretary of the New Zealand Company : " Downing-street, Dec. 26. " Sir,—l am directed by Lord Grey to inform you that draughts of a new charter for the government of New Zealand, and also of a new commission and in structions to the Governor, having been submitted to, and approved by, her Majesty in Council, these docu ments, as soon as the necessary forms have been com pleted, will be published in the London Gazette, in conformity with the provisions of the Act passed in the last session of Parliament, from which they derive their authority. As the change which will thus be effected in the constitution of the colony must neces sarily be regarded with great interest by the New Zealand Company, and as the legal instruments, of which the publication has been prescribed by Parlia ment, might not by themselves be very easily intel ligible, lam further directed to transmit to you, for the information of the directors and shareholders of the company, the copies which I have the honour to enclose of a dispatch which Lord Grey has addressed to the Governor of New Zealand, and which will be forwarded to him by the earliest opportunity.—l am, sir, your most obedient servant, " T. C. Harrington, Esq., &c." " B. HAWES. INSTRUCTIONS TO GOVERNOR GREY. Downing-street, Dec 23, 1846. Sir,—you will have been apprised, long before your receipt of this dispatch, that in the last session of Par liament the Act which I now enclose was passed for the better government of New Zealand. The motives which suggested such an enactment are best explained by a general reference to the correspondence between your sell and preceding governors of this colony on the one hand, and myself and my predecessors in office on the other. Any more specific retrospect would, for my im mediate purpose, be superfluous. It is enough to say, that the necessity of a fundamental change in the sys tem adopted by the charter of November, 1840, has been insisted on by all parties to the discussion, and that there is an almost equally unanimous concurrence among them, in the opinion that the change should be in the direc tion of calling the settlers to participate much more largely in the business of legislation and local self-go vernment. The accompanying Act is accordingly framed on that principle. For the institutions established under the charter of November, 1840, it contemplates the substitution of mu nicipal corporations for the government of each separate district of New Zealand which is or which shall be set tled by colonists of European birth and origin. Every such district is to be erected into a borough; every such borough is to elect a common council, from which are to be chosen a mayor and a court of aldermen ; every such common council is to elect members to serve in a House of Representatives, forming one of the three estates of a Provincial Assembly. For this purpose the Whole of New Zealand is to be divided into two or more provinces. In every such Provincial Assembly laws will be made for the province by the House of Represents• tires, by a Legislative Council, and by the Governor, Who, together, will constitute the Provincial Legislature. But, as there are many topics of general concern to all the inhabitants of New Zealand, respecting which some uniformity of legislation and of administration will be indispensable, it is further provided, that a General Assembly of the New Zealand Islands shall be holden by the Governor-in- Chief. That General Ass embl y will be composed of himself, and of a Legislative Council, and of a House of Representatives. But no one will be a member of the Legislative Council of the General Assembly who is not also a member of one of the Legis lative Councils of the Provincial Assemblies ; neither will an y one be a member of the House of Representa tives of the General Assembly who is not a member of one of th e Houses of Representatives of the Provincial Assemblies. In order to adapt the system of the local executive Government to this scheme of provincial and general legislation, the charter (if the mere text of that instru bent be alone regarded) provides for, and supposes, the ?reation of five different offices. They are a Governor- In-Chief of New Zealand, a Governor of each province, and a Li eu t e nant-Governor of each. But the actu al appointment of five such distinct officers forms no part of_ the design at p rese nt entertained. It is proposed to a ddress to the same person the commissions of Governor- A e•Chief and of Governor of either province; and to ad dress to another person the commissions of Lieutenant `l:°,rernor for each. Although, with a view to precision question to various technical considerations, all the offices in ;I,T . stion are mentioned in the charter as distinct, they i r . b l thus (at least for the present) be combined in the 7)(te of two persons only. these, the highest—who will be at once Governor `° l Governor-in-Chief—will be the offi cial su p erior of t he.,. other, who will be designated in each p rovince as the Lieutena n t-G over nor of it. The relation will not be one ofe, ll* —ere precedency and rank, but will carry with it .e e nye authority on the one hand, with subordination ',•`„°,4 obedience on the other hand. To the Governor in- Ch ief it will b e long exclusively to correspond with her_ Majesty' Secretary Secretary of State having the dep artment of e ,_ Colonies. To the Lieutenant- Governor it will belong Correspond exclusively with the Governor-General. stateauthority and control exercised by the_Secretary o f over the Governor-in-Chief will, by the Governor- LI:I-Chief, be exercised over the Lieutenant-Governor. That authority will extend even to the suspension of the Lieutenant-Governor from office, if unhappily the neces sity for so extreme a measure should ever arise. The Governor-in-Chief will fix his own place of resi dence according to his own estimate of the greater or less demand for his presence in one or in the other pro- Vince. But, wherever he may be, he still acts as Governor 44 the province in which he may be resident, and as Zovernor-ite Chief of the whole of New Zealand, direct 4 1C and controlling the acts of th e Lieutenant-Governor vs eftea as he may think any such control or direction • 4 01 , e provide for the administratio n of the executive ernment of either province from which the Governor ise;?ihief may absent himself it will be in his choice, s er jeling to his view of the exigencies of the public re !ice, either to call on the Lieutenant- Governor to 4,, L ue and to act for him there, or to appoint a Lien wir-Governor for the purpose, whose appointment tn __` be made to terminate on the Governor-in-Chiefs re p.m and resumption of his own office as Governor of the province for which such temporary appointment may made. You will find that the necessary powers for this purpose are created by the charter. In favour of this executive polity, relyeme of municipal, legislative , and on the foll o wing considerations : •--It is framed with close stances would allow to the m adherence as circum stances %%ions, an object which I regae r l d of our English e e s cl adheres e the a s n e a highest nearly Portance in every such design, pra c ti c able to that scheme of eain N orth American i policy lo o n n i c o o s diffused over the greater p art of the colonial constituti ons; Continent, and still surviving in our re th ere, and yet to be distin ctl y traced in th e of the flourishing states new united into the American commonwealth. It provides for the great ~.▪ "flOvernment of districts in a country where the dis ,Veibn of the settlements is such as to render any one central authority incompetent to that task. But whil e • b lie spirit and a practical acquaintance with public affairsl will thus be cherished in every part of New Zea • the erection of provinces and provincial assemblies , I trust, counteract the tendency which such corpo i:ra, institutions must otherwise have to disunite, in F ru 'erest and in feeling, the various remote districts het i n each other. Natural causes forbid the combi neerl,ef all those districts in the choice of members to butl In single assembly for the whole of New Zealand; th e ,,"' lo such assemblies at present, and perhaps more and two such hereafter, may be sufficient to consolidate p a _ cement and protect the interests of the various se or"tte boroughs. To prevent those intercolonial contests oreerneh frequent occurrence elsewhere, and to watch O en the general interests of the whole country, the thoseral Assembly is charged with the exclusive care of sa m e interests and with no other function. The circum hersecehtohisat the General Assembly will consist of mem burbber en by the provincial assemblies out of their own t he othewill' hope, prove an effect ual security against and th e " P i" too probable conflict s between the local that f or general Legislatures. I antici p ate, however, Itrise for some time to come the occasions which will exceecrealling together the General Legislature will t.re, n eacted in gly rare, and the amount of business to be 'bat i t ev , ,bY it very small; it will only be necessary e,,Xiat o , °ll id meet when some change is required in the -aeegi,d: law upon those subjects with which the separate $y l will not be competent to deal. Y DI • se atear acing the corporations and the Houses of Repre ti,es or es in the relation of constituents an d re p resenta- With s each other, they w ill have such common int erests the n , t ° much of mutual control, as probably . to maintain Withoutoth in the possession of their appropriate powers, a ehenae the risk of encroachment on either side. The ex p)a , of executive government which I have briefly med will assure to the various authorities, muni dri and legislative, of New Zealand the benefit to be la ri th yed from oftuniy purpose and uniformity of system eervice e e . onduct the administrative branch of the public a s ystem project it has been objected, that it introduces ef e cie te u r t ia too complicated to be easily understood or t hink is, Y that ec th l e te • The answer to that objection I Problem to b e solved s 0 w n were e inevitable conditions of the practical more than usually numerous and complex. is the extent of the whole terri tory, so remarkable the dispersion of the settlements tws 7, so many -ne impediments to rapid intercourse be ehsr‘a them, and so strangely contrasted the habits and It be tters of the different races of the inhabitants, that of 0 "le necessary at least to attempt the reconcilement ti m pbaite and yet co -existing dangers. There was the tips er of enervating all the springs of Government by du e G as t h e dispersion of separate authonties, and there Govern dang er of impeding the useful action of the parr:eat by an undue centralization of its powers. e t which was submitted to and sanctioned by meat, as her Majesty's Government attempted as far W hethe r to escape from both of the se difficulties. rec onee the scheme adopted affords the be st attainable th et 'tient of them or not, it will scarcely be denied Saf e 50 ,7 ti Were serious diffi cu lties, and admitted of no on of a short and si m pl e character. tut: I n_ framing the Act, her Majesty's Government ere c ti not forgetful of their extreme liability to error when he-"_gcii f reference to a state of things so remote from yservati on aml from thpir own vet., t I thern the business of civil " x the.afore, studiously provided that the alt . pta l tio w n a o s i' 11/IT to the local circumstances of New Zealand should be transferable to those who should bring to the discharge of that duty the greatest amount of local knowledge and the best opportunities of ascertaining the state of public opinion amongst the colonists. The broad outlines of the scheme having been partly drawn by Par liament, and the Queen in Gunnell being authorised to complete these outlines, her Majesty was also empowered to delegate to the Governor-in-Chief the duty of filling up all the various details ; and so wide are these powers of delegation as to supply a remedy for any errors of mere ignorance or oversight into which her Majesty's confidential advisers may have unconsciously fallen. I now transmit to you four instruments for sarrying this Act of Parliament into effect. Of these the first is a new charter for the government of New Zealand. It is little more than a mere creation of the powers, muni cipal, legislative, and administrative, which the Act of Parliament authorises the Queen so to create. It re peals the charter of 1840, leaving it, however, to the Governor-in-Chief to determine at what time the new charter shall be promulgated and brought into operation. You will observe that the Act of Parliament enables her Majesty for a limited time to continue in force, as regards the province of New Ulster, the charter of 1840. When this measure was submitted to Parliament there seemed reason to believe that it might be desirable to make a distinction between the northern and the southern settlements, with regard to the time at which the intended change in the form of government should coins into ope ration; but more recent information has led to a different conclusion, and, accordingly, her Majesty has not been advised to avail herself of the power with which she was invested in this respect. The second instrument is the series of instructions under the royal signet and sign manual to which the charter refers. This, as will appear in the sequel, is the instrument in which the plan of the new constitution is exhibited in all the detail in which it has been possible to prepare it in this country. Technical reasons, into which I need not enter, render it highly convenient to make the instructions, rather than the charter, the channel of signifying the royal pleasure at full length and circumstantially. The third of the accompanying documents is your own appointment as Governor-in-Chief of New Zealand, and as Governor of each of the provinces into which those islands will be divided. The fourth and last instrument constitutes Mr. Eyre Lieutenant-Governor of each of the two provinces which it is now proposed to establish. It may be convenient that I should in this place point out how vacancies in these offices are to be filled provi sionally, whenever the necesssity for such provisional appointments may arise. If the Governor-in-Chief should die, or otherwise create an unexpected vacancy, the following is the order in which the various officers capable of a provisional succession will be called to it, each later designation always supposing the absence from New Zealand of any person bearing the- immedi ately preceding designation. In the case supposed, then, the provisional succession will devolve, first, on the Go vernor of New Ulster; secondly, on the Governor of New Munster; thirdly, on the Lieutenant-Governor of New Ulster, if appointed immediately by the Queen; fourthly, on the Lieutenant-Governor of New Munster, if appointed immediately by the Queen; and fifthly, on the senior officer for the time being in conarnand of the Queen's troops in New Zealand. On the death or absence or other vacancy of the office of the Governor of either province, his office will be tilled by the Lieutenant-Governor of it. On the death or absence or other vacancy of the office of Lieutenant-Governer of either province, the vacancy will be filled provisionally by an officer to he appointed by the Governor-in-Chief. I have already observed, that Lieutenant Governors so appointed will not stand in the line of provisional succession to the general go vernment. Provision being thus made for establishing the muni cipal, the legislative, and the executive institutions of New Zealand, there is a virtual accomplishment of all that is necessary for its future government. From those institutions will flow all subordicate powers, judicial, fiscal, magisterial, or of whatever ether nature they may be. The respective Legislatures will progressively mould these derivative organs of government into such forms as the exigencies of society shall require. To a great extent it will be competent to those Legislatures so to mould even the instutton which the charter itself creates, by regulating the elective franchise and the whole system of elections, municipal and legislative, care being taken that no such enactments be either re pugnant to the text or at variance with the spirit of the Act or of the charter. To prescribe fundamental rules, and to create an authority for the better adapta tion of them to the real wants of the colony, is the only function which the Queen or Parliament have assumed to themselves, or could properly have assumed. At first sight it may appear that something more than this has been aimed at in the accompanying royal in structions. They are unavoidably copious and minute ; but they will be found rather to impart powers than to lay down inflexible rules ; and s o w id e is th e field over I which the subject ranges, that even to accomplish this design has unavoidably led into many elaborate and pro tracted details. To render those details as clear and as useful as may be, they are drawn up, not in the usual form, but in a series of chapters, each of which is subdivided into sec tions, the whole being introduced by one comprehensive reference to the powers under which the instructions are issued, and by one equally comprehensive declaration of the royal pleasure that they shall be observed. Much tautology and useless repetition is thus avoided. Believing that the instructions, as thus prepared, will be found to convey their meaning perspicuously and completely, I abstain from any attempt to recapitulate or to explain their provisions. I turn to other topics, on which it seems indispensable that on the present occasion I should convey to you explanations for which, of course, no appropriate place could be found in the legal instru ments already mentioned. I advert especially to what relates to the aborigines of New Zealand, and the settle ment of the public lands in those islands. I cannot approach this topic without remarking, that the protracted correspondence to which it has given rise, the public debates and resolutions which have sprung from it, and the enactments and measures of your pre decessors in the Government, have all contributed to throw into almost inextricable confusion the respective rights and claims of various classes and individuals amongst the inhabitants of New Zealand, to render very embarrassing the inquiry into which you must doubtless be engaged respecting the line of conduct which her Majesty's Government expect you to pursue, and at the same time to make it almost impossible for us to deter mine, with any confidence, what that conduct ought to be, and how far, in a state of affairs so complicated, it is possible now- to act upon the principles to which, in the absence of these difficulties, I should have prescribed your adherence. I will not attempt any retrospect of those documents and proceedings ; I should but be adding to the perplexity which I acknowledge and re gret. It shall be my attempt rather to explain, as briefly as the nature of the subject admits, what is the policy which, if we were unembarrased by past transac tions, it would be right to follow, and which (so far as any freedom of choice remains to us) ought still to be adopted, regarding the right of property in land, which should be acknowledged or created, more especially as affecting the aborigines of New Zealand. I enter on this topic by observing that the accompany ing statute,',9 and 10 Victoria, chap. 104, sec. 11, repeals the Australian Land Sales Act, as far as relates to lands situate in New Zealand. Thus there is a complete ab sence of any statutory regulations on this subject. The Queen, as entitled in right of her crown to any waste lands in the colony, is free to make whatever rules hi•r charter Majest may occ rd see in Majestyrissuebsjtehcet. GovernorT heaccompanying charter accordingly authorises the Governor to alienate such land s . The accomp an y in g instructions direct how that power is to be used. I p roceed to explain the accordingly ona authorises motive s by which those instructions have been dictated. The opinion assumed, rat h e r than advocated, by a large clas s o f wr i ters on this and kindred su b j ects is, that the aboriginal i n h a bit a nts of any country are the pro prietors o f every partof its s oil of which they have been accustomed to make e rt accustomed to assert claim is repre sented Th.• as sacred, however an title. any use, or to which they have been of the arts or habits of civilised life, however small the number of occasional the uses they their tribes, hewever imperfect make of the land. Whether they are nomadic tribe s living by the chase, or sea coasts or the banks of rivers, frequenting the fis t , spasiering cattle, or hunters question is alike ascribed to them the proprietary title in From this doctrine, whether it be grounds of religion, or of morality, or 11. maintained on the o entirely dissent. What I hold to be re expediency, I with regard to property in land is that w e h - leh I find laid tru e principle down in the followieg passage from t h e w Arnold, which I think may safely be acceptedor as s o o f f Dr thority upon this subject, not only on account of his high character, but also because it was written, u r eference to passing events, or to any controversy Which with.lawas at that time going on, but as stating a principle which he conceived to be of general application:— " Men were to subdue the earth; that is, to make it by their labour what it wonld not have been by itself,• and with the labour so besto wed u p on it came t he right of property in it. Thus every land which is inhabited at all belongs to someb.idy ; that is, there is either some one person, or family, or tribe, or nation, who have a greater right to it than any one else has; it does not and cannot - belong to everybody. But, so much does the right of property go along with labour, that civilised nations have never scrupled to take possession of countries inhabited only by tribes of savages—countries which have been hunted over, but never subdued or cultivated. It is true, they have often gone further, and settled themselves in countries which were cultivated, and then it becomes a robbery; but when our fathers went to America and took possession of the mere hunting-grounds of the Indians—of lands on which man had hitherto bestowed no labour— they only exer cised a right which God has inseparably united with in dustry and knowledge." The justnes4 of this reasoning must, I think, be gene rally admitted, and if so it can hardly be denied that it is applicable to the case of New Zealand, and is fatal to the right which has been claimed for the aboriginal in habitants of those islands to the exclusive possession of the vast extent of fertile but unoccupied lands which they contain. It is true the New Zealanders, when European settlement commenced among them, were not a people of hunters; they lived in great measure, at least, upon the produce of the soil (chiefly perhaps its spontaneous produce), and practised to a certain extent a rude sort of agriculture. But the extent of land so occupied by them was absolutely insignificant when compared with that of the ceuntry they inhabited; the most trustworthy accounts agree in representing the cultivated grounds as forming far less than one-hun dredth part of' the available land, and in stating that mil lions of acres were to be found where the naturally fer tile soil was covered by primeval forests or wastes of fern, in the midst of which a fees patches planted with pote as woes , the en!. sere. el human h hitation and • iniu. (). New Z •alund art- not much less extensive than the British Isles, and capable probably of supporting as large a population, while that which they i actually supported has been variously estimated, but I believe never so high as 200,000 souls. To contend that under such circumstances civilised men had not a right to step in and to take possession of the vacant territory, but were bound to respect the supposed proprietary title of the savage tribes who dwelt in, hut were utterly unable to occupy the land, is to mistake the grounds upon which the right of property in land is founded. To that portion of the soil, whatever it might be, which they really occupied, the aboriginal inhabit ants, barbarous as they were, had a clear and undoubted claim ; to have attempted to deprive them of their patches of potato ground, even so to have occupied the territory as not to leave them ample space for shifting, as was their habit, their cultivation from one spot to an other, would have been in the highest aegree unjust ; but so long as this injustice was avoided, I must regard it a vain and unfounded scruple which would have ac knowledged their right of property in land which re mained unsubtlued to the uses ')t man. But, it' the savage inhabitants of New Zealand had themselves no right of property in land which they did not occupy, it is obvious that they could not convey to others what they did not themselves possess, and that claims to vast tracts of waste land, founded on pretended sales from them, are altoge ther untenable. From the moment that British domi nion was proclaimed in New Zealand, all lands not actually occupied in the sense in which alone occupatio:► can give a right of possession, ought to have been con sidered as the property of the crows), in its capacity of trustee for the whole community, and it should thenceforward have been regarded as the right and at the same time the duty of those duly authorised by the Crown, to determine in what manner, and according to what rules, the land, hitherto waste should be assigned and appropriated to particular indi viduals. There is another consideration which leads to the same conclusion. It has never been pretended that the wide extent of unoccupied land, to which an exclu sive right of property has been asserted on behalf of the native inhabitants of New Zealand, belonged to them as individuals; it was only as tribes that they were sup posed to possess it; and, granting their title as such to have been good and valid, it was obviously a right which the tribes enjoyed as independent comtnunities—an at tribute of sovereignty, which, with the sovereignty, na turally and necessarily was transferred to the British Crown. Had the New Zealanders been a civilised people, this would have been the case—if these islands, being inhabited by a civilised people, had been added either by conquest or voluntary cession to the dominions of the Queen, it is clear that, according to the well known principles of public law, while the property of individuals would have been respected, all public pro perty, all rights of every description which had apper tained to the previous sovereigns, would have devolved, as a matter of course, to the new sovereign who suc ceeded them. It can hardly be contended that these tribes, as such, possessed rights which civilised commu nities could not have claimed. Such are the principles upon which, if the colonization of New Zealand were only now about to begin, it would be my duty to instruct you to act; and though I am well aware that in point of fact you are not in a position to do so, and that from past transactions a state of things has arisen iu which a strict application of these princi ples is impracticable, I have thought it right that they should be thus explicitly stated in this dispatch (as they are in the royal instructions to which it refers), in order that you may clearly understand that although in many respects you may be compelled to depart from them, still you are to look to them as the foundation of the policy which, so far as it is in your power, you are to pursue. The imperfect information which alone at this dis tance I can hope to obtain as to the actual state of affairs in New Zealand renders it impossible for me to venture to prescribe to you how far you are to go in attempting practically to act upon the principles I have laid down. I should infer from your own dispatches, as well as from those of your predecessors, that the rights of the Crown could not now be asserted to large tracts of waste land which particular tribes have been taught to regard as their own. It appears that you have found it expedient to admit these pretensions to a considerable extent; and having done so, no apparent advantage could be suffered to weigh against the evil of acting in a man ner either really or even apparently inconsistent with good faith. While, however, you scrupulously fulfil whatever engagements you have contracted, and main tain those rights on the part of the native tribes to land which you have already recognised, you will avoid as much is possible any ttirther surrender of the property of the Crown. I trust also that the evil which would otherwise arise from the concessions already made may, to a great degree, be neutralised by your strictly main. taining the exclusive right of the Crown to purchase . THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNBSDAY M9RNING Ia DECEMBER 30, 1846. land rrotu the native tribes to which it has been assumed ,hat it belongs. '1 his right, resting as it does, not only upon what has been called the - Treaty of Waitangi, but also upon the general and long-recognised prin. ciples of notional law, is one so important, that it ought almost at all hazards to be strictly enforced. To suffer it to be set aside would be to acquiesce in the ruin of the colony, since it would be fatal to the pro gressive and systematic settlement of the country. It is by the sale of land at mere than a nominal price that its appropriation to individuals in allotments proportioned to their power of making use of it can alone be secured. It is the mode by which, with least inconvenience and dif- ficulty, finds can be raised for emigration, and for ex- ecutiiig those public works which aie necessary for the profitable occupation of the soil; in short, it is the very foundation upon which systematic colonization must be based. But if the native tribes are permitted to sell large tracts of land to individuals for a mere nominal consideration, it is obvious that so much land will be thrown upon the market as entirely to defeat the at tempt to sell such lands as the Crown may still retain, at a price sufficient to answer the objects of the policy I have described. _ It has indeed been asserted that the natives of New Zealand will never consent, unless compelled by force of arms, to the adoption of a system by which land bought from them at a nominal, or at all events at a low price, by the servants of the Crown, is to be resold at a much higher rate to actual settlers. I fear it may be more dif ficult than it would have been formerly to reconcile them to this practice, nevertheless the attempt must be made; and I still hope it may not be impossible to con vince them that the Crown receives the money so paid for land only as trustees for the public, and that it is applied for their benefit as forming part of the commu nity; that the price obtained for land which is sold to settlers affords the means of constructing roads and bridges, of building churches and schools, and of intro ducing an additional European population; thus really conducing far more to their advantage than the paltry supply of goods which, if they sold the land for them selves, they would obtain for it. These remarks apply to lands held by the aboriginal inhabitants as tribes, and by a title not resting upon actual occupation and improvement; as individuals, they should be as free as any of the other inhabitants of New Zealand to acquire and to dispose of property in land. The first and most important step which you will have to take with the view of introducing a regular system with respect to the disposal of land will be to ascertain distinctly the ownership of all the land in the colony. The extent and limits of all which is to be considered as the property either of individuals, of bodies politic or corporate, or of the native tribes, must, in the first in stance, be determined, and the whole of the remainder of the territory will then be declared to be the royal desnesne. The results of this inquiry must be carefully registered, and a regular record henceforth preserved, showing to whom all the lands of New Zealand belong. This measure has been repeatedly and earnestly inculcated on your predecessors, and I cannot too strongly repeat the same injunction. It ha; been with the single object of ensuring in the management of the waste lands of New Zealand the adoption of a system calculated, as the confidential servants of her Majesty believe, to promote the true in terests of all her subjects, that the instructions which accompany this dispatch have been framed. I do not pause to recapitulate their details; but the princi ples of them are, that the power of the Crown over these lands should never be employed for any purpose of patronage, influence, or favouritism; that the Crown shall not be at liberty to make a gra tuitous alienation of any extent of land, however small, except with a view to public works, in which the whole society may have a more or less immediate interest ; that the alienation of such lands to any private persons, or for any private purposes, shall always be preceded by a careful survey of the laud, and followed by an imme diate registration of the grant ; that no such alienation shall be made without a previous public auction ; that at all such auctions all lands shall be offered for sale at a certain upset price ; that the selection of the lands so to be put up to auction shall be made exclusively by the Government ; that the upset price of each lot shall de pendpallalocetmd,etnhtes,tthbreeelasctlacslasesss being town , su u believed to contain valuable i b n a n w h a i n e d h t u r i a s I being again subdivided into lands which are, and into lands which are not, i on the clabssr mine rals ; that lands on ce o ff ered for sale by auction, without finding a purchaser, that the first application may afterwards be purchased with - out auction at the ups et p rice ; of the land revenue must be towards defraying the ex penses incident to the a dministration of the Crown land department in all its branches ; and that the surplus or net land revenue should be applied towards the intro duction of manual labourers from this country, unless the o e f gener a l the n eral public principles when th e ex i gencies of t h e p u blic service may render the application o f i t to ot h er local purposes indispensable. general New views regarding the settle ment the kindr e d topic of th e by state which of the aborigines there. On h our relations to them should be governed, I have nothing to add to Lord John Russell's instructions toCaptainHobson, of the 9th December, 1841, No. 1 but I have to call your atten tion to the 10th clause of the 9th and 10th of Victoria, sanction tha t dispatch, to the that the c. 103, in whi c h P ar li ament has adopted and given t h e i r principlese laws laid w s and d wn b, customshi s of Lordshiptbenat i ve in New Zealanders, even though repugnant to our own laws, ought, if not at variance with the general principles of humanity, to be for the present , m a a n in d ta d in e ed r for apart i l c l ht such customs relations ustom s should ge a n with, e n ral s . bet each l will other be e; your and duty that ptoargtiicrueleaffrooditsttoricthtse t s o hould be so observed. l their s e prin ciples which would separate. by well-defined demarcation, those parts of New Zealand in whienhesthee native customs are to be maintained, from those in which they are to be superseded. For the sake of distinct ness, the one may . be called the aboriginal, and the other the provincial districts. Tne last, or pro vincial districts, will be entirely divided into the various municipalities already m , ntioned., With an increasing British population, and w i t h the advance of the natives in the arts of civilised life, the provincial districts will progressively extend into the aboriginal, until at length the distinction shall have en tirely disappeared. In the meantime the provincial dis tricts, and they alone, will be the seats of courts and mag , straci.s, and of other institutions requisite for the ermnent of civilised men. The aboriginal di,tricts will be governed by such methods as are in use among the native New Zealanders. The chiefs or others, ac- cording to their usages, should be allowed to interpret and to administer .their own laws. Even beyond those precincts the same practice should be followed in all ,cases, whether civil or criminal, in which the natives alone have any direct and immediate interest. Difficul ties will of course arise in the execution of such rules, but not, I think, any which may not be easily sur mounted ; for the administration of different laws to different races of men inhabiting the same country under one common sovereign, is a practice which has pre vailed so extensively, that scarcely any civilised nation can be mentioned in which some examples of it have not occurred. With the increase of Christian know ledge, of civilisation, of the use of the English tongue, and of mutual confidence between the two races, these dis- tinctions of law and of legal customs will, I trust, become unnecessary and obsolete. In the meantime we must await that consunsmation with every reasonable indul gence for the innocent habits and for the venial preju dices of the aboriginal race with which we have thus been brought into contact. I pass over in this dispatch, as in the accompanying instruments her Majesty has passed over, in silence, many topics of the greatest importance to the future good government of New Zealand. Such are the ad- ministration of justice, the management of the revenue, the education of youth, and the provision to be made (or public Christian worship. On these and similar questions I think it better to await, than to anticipate the deliberations of the legislative bodies about to be convened in New Zealand. They will properly form the subject of a separate and future correspondence. The Act of Parliament which I now transmit to you, and the instruments which have been issued in pursuance of it, are framed in the spirit of an unreserved confi dence, both i❑ the capacity and in the willingness of the British settlers in New Zealand to regulate their own internal affairs in such a manner as may best conduce to the welfare of the colony and of the empire of which it forms a part. To men to whom so high a trust has been committed, it is fitting that the Minister of the Crown charged with the communication. to them of her Majesty's gracious intentions should address himself in the language of frankness and of candour. I there fore do not scruple to observe, that the experience of our widely-extended empire has ascertained that the otherwise inestimable advantages of colonial self government are attended with at least one serious dan• ger. It is the danger that the powers conferred by this great franchise on the representatives of the people may be perverted into an instrument for the oppress'-on of the less civilised and less powerful races of men inhabiting the same colony. This abuse has arisen in our colonies, not because the wealthier and better edu cated classes of society there are in any respect in ferior in character to the corresponding classes of society elsewhere, but because they are exposed to a temptation from which the greater number of imperial and independent legislatures are ex. inapt. They live in a vicinity to which nothing parallel exists in the an cient states of Europe. Such a vicinity exists, and, conse quently, such a temptation will arise in New Zealand. I, therefore, acquit myself of a duty, involving no failure of respect to the future assemblies of that colony, in thus unreservedly pointing out to you, and through you commending to their attention, the sacred duty which will be incumbent on them, of watching over the interest, protecting the persons, and, as far as may be, cultivating the minds of the aboriginal race among whom they and their constituents have settled. They can render no service more acceptable to the Queen, to Parliament, and to the people of this country at large. Although her Majesty has confided to your discretion the time from which the new charter is to be promul gated and to take effect, and although in the exercise of that discretion you will of course we i g h ever y material circumstance, including many which it would be impos sible for me to foresee or to estimate aright, yet you will understand it to be her Majesty's pleasure that no delay should intervene which those circumstances may not justify and require. I have, &C. THE NEW ZEALAND CHARTER. Victoria, by the grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith. To all to whom these presents shall come, greet ing. —Whereas by an Act made and passed in the Par liament holden in the ninth and tenth years of our reign, entitled " An Act to make further Prevision for the Government of the New Zealand Islands," it is among other things enacted, that it shall be lawful for us, in and by any letters patent to be issued after the passing of the said Act, under the great seal of the United Kingdom,'from time to time to constitute and estab lish within any district or districts of the islands of New Zealand, one or more municipal corporation or corporations, and to grant to any such corporations all or any of the powers which (in pursuance of the statutes in that behalf made and provided) it is com petent to us to grant to the inhabitants of any town or borough in England and Wales, incorporated in virtue of such statutes, or any of them, and to qualify and restrict the exercise of any such powers in such and the same manner as by the statutes last aforesaid, or any of them, we may qualify or restrict the exercise of any such powers in England ' • and it is by the said Act further enacted, that it shall be lawful for us, by any such letters patent as aforesaid, to make and prescribe all such rule; as to us shall seem fit for determining the extent and boundaries of the districts to be comprised within any such municipal corporations as aforesaid, and for regulating the choice and election of the various officers of any such corporations, and of the members of the governing bodies thereof, and for ascer taining the qualifications of the members of any such inuni2ipal corporations ; and it is by the said Act further enacted, that it shall be lawful for us to execute any of the powers thereby vested in us, by instructions under our signet and sign manual, approved in oar Privy Council, and accompanying or referred to in letters patent to be issued as aforesaid, and that it shall be law ful for us, by any such letters patent or in s tructions, to delegate to the Governor-in-Chief for the time being of the islands of New Zealand, or to the respective Gover nors for the time being of the respective provinces into which the said islands may be divided, the exercise of such of the powers by the said Act vested in us as it may seem meet to us so to delegate, and to prescribe the man ner and form in which, and the conditions subject to which, such delegated authority shall so be exercised. Now, know ye, that in pursuance of the said recited Act, and in exercise o f th e powers t h ere by in us vested, and also in exercis e o f a ll and every ot h er the powers to us in that behalf in anyw i se b elong i ng , we, of our spe cial grace, mere mot i on, and certa i n k now l e dge, have constituted and est a bli s h e d , an d d o hereby consti tute and establish, within the said islands of New Zealand, such municipal corporations with such powers, qualifications, and restrictions, as are mentioned and directed in certain instructions by us given under our signet and sign manual, approved in our Privy Council, and bearing even date with and accompanying these presents. _ 11. And, in further pursuance and exercise of the powers aforesaid, we do hereby grant, appoint, and or dain, that the districts to be comprised within such mu nicipal corporations respectively shall be of such extent, and shall have such boundaries, as are prescribed and provided for in and by the said instructions, and that the choice and election of the various officers of the said corporations respectively, and of the members of the governing bodies thereof, shall take place ar.d be regu lated according to the rules and in the manner and form prescribed and provided for in and by the said instruc tions ; and that the qualifications of the members of the said municipal corporations shall, in like manner, be ascertained according to the rules and in the manner and form prescribed and provided for in and by the said instructions. 111. And whereas it is by the said recited Act fur ther enacted, that it shall be lawful for us, in and by any letters patent to b e i ssue d as aforesa id, f rom t i me to time to divide the said islands of New Zealand into two or more separate separate pro v i nces , and to const i tute an d esta tlishwith the same t wo or more separate assem bli es ; that is to say, one such assembly in and for each of such separate provinces, and that each of the said assemblies shall consist of, and be holden by, a Governor, a Legis lative Council, and a House of Representatives ; now, therefore, in further pursuance of the said recided Act, and in exercise of the powers thereby in us vested, we I I() hereby grant, ordain, and appoint, that the said islands of New Zealand shall be divided into two sepa rate provinces, to be called respectively the " Province of New Ul s t er ," an d the "Province of New Munster;" and we do hereby divide the said islands accordingly ; and we do hereby constitute and establish a separate assembly within each of the said two provinces, to con sist of and be holden by a Governor, Legislative Coun cil, and a House of Representatives ; and we do hereby declare, ordain, an d appo i nt, that the li m i ts o f t h e said provinces respecti ve ly, an d t h e t i me at w hi c h , i n eac h o f the said provinces respectively, the said assemblies shall be convened or holden, shall be determined in the manner and form prescribed and provided for in and by the said instructions hereinbefore mentioned. IV. And whereas it is by the said recited Act further enacted, that each of the said Legislative Councils, when constituted, shall consist of such persons as we shall fur that purpose appoint; and that the elections of the mem bers of the said Houses of Representatives shall take place in such manner and form, and under such regula tions as shall for that purpose be prescribed in any such letters patent as aforesaid ; now, therefore, in further pursuance and exercise of the powers aforesaid, we do hereby grant, appoint, and ordain, that the said Legis lative Councils shall consist of such persons as are for that purpose appointed or designated by us in the said instructions hereinbefore mentioned, and that the elec tions of members of the said Houses of Representatives respectively shall take place in the manner and form, and under the regulations prescribed and provided for, in and by the said instructions hereinbefore mentioned. V. And whereas it is by the said recited Act further enacted, that it shall be lawful for us, in and by any such letters patent to be issued as aforesaid, to constitute and establish a General Assembly in and for the said islands of New Zealand, to be called the General Assembly of New Zealand, which said General Assembly shall consist of, and be holden by, the Governor-in - Chief of the said islands, and a Legislative Council, and a House of Representatives ; and that such shLe gislativealifor that Council purposeshall appoint; consist and suchd that such Houseas s‘ of Representatives Representatives sha ll consist of members of the respec tive Houses of Representatives of the several provinces into which the said islands may be divided ; which mem bers, so to serve in the said General Assembly, shall be eleeted,nominatedr,oramnd, and ap uponpointe d and by b such persons, such ons s ,in such manner and rules and conditions as we, by any such letters patent as aforesaid, shall direct ; now, therefore, in further pursuance of the said recited Act, and in exercise of the powers thereby in us vested, we do hereby constitute i and establi s h a General Assembly n and for the islands of New Zealand. to be called "the General Aisembly I of New Zealand," and to consist of, and to be holden by, the Gov,rce.r-in-Chief of the said islands, it Lt•gislati!t. Comm]. and a Iloth,e of lioprescntatirt's ; and e‘e do hereby grant, appoint, and ordain, that the Legislative Council of the said General Assembly of New Zealand shall consist of such persons as are for that purpose ap pointed or designated by us in the said instructions hereinbefore mentioned ; and that the House of Repre sentatives of the said General Assembly shall consist of members of the respective Houses of Representatives of the said provinces, to be for that purpose elected, nominated, and appointed by the persons appointed or designated, and in the manner and form prescribed and provided for in and by the said instructions hereiabefore mentioned. VI. And whereas it is by the said recited Act further enacted, that it shall be lawful for ❑s, by any such letters patent, to be issued as first aforesaid, to make and pre scribe all such rules as to us shall seem fit, for ascer taining the qualifications of the members of any such Assemblies or General Assembly as aforesaid, and for determining the length of time for which every such Assembly or General Assembly shall be holden from the time of the election of the members of the said Houses of Representatives, and how and by what authority the same shall be dissolved or prorogued, and for prescribing the oaths to be taken or the affirmation to be made by the members of the said Corporations, Assemblies, or General Assembly, or lny of them, before entering on the discharge of the duties of their respective offices, and for prescribing the course of proceeding to be followed in the said respective Assemblies and in the said General Assembly, in regard to the enactment of laws, statutes, and ordinances therein, and for determining in what cases the Governorsin.Chief for the time being of the said islands of New Zealand, or the Governor for the time being of any separate province, shall, in our name and on our behalf, assent to any such laws, statutes, or ordinances, or reserve the significa tion of our pleasure thereon, together with all such rules as shall be necessary for determining the effect of the disallowance by us of any such law, statute, or ordinance, although not so reserved as aforesaid, together with all such other rules, not being re pugnant to the said Act, as it may seem to us ntces sary to make and establish for carrying into full effect the purposes and objects thereof; now, therefore, in further pursuance of the said Act, and in exercise of the powers so thereby vested in us as aforesaid, we do hereby declare our pleasure to be that upon and in respect to all and each of the matters and things last mentioned and referred to in the said recited Act, such rules shall be observed and followed as are for those several purposes prescribed or referred to in the said instructions herein before mentioned. VII. And whereas it is by the said recited Act further enacted, that it shall be lawful for us, by any such ler ters patent as first aforesaid, to appropriate and set apart from and out of the revenues of any such separate pro vinces as aforesaid, by way of civil list., for the mainte nance of the administration of justice, and the principal officers of the civil Government, or of such separate provinces as aforesaid, such sums of money as shall not exceed 6,0004 by the year, in any one of the said separate Governments ; now, therefore, in pursuance of the said Act, and in exercise of the powers thereby ♦ested in us, we do hereby appropriate and set apart from and out of the revenue of each of the said separate provinces re spectively, by way of civil list, for: the purposes last aforesaid, the sum of 6,000/. in each of the said Govern ments respectively ; which said several sums of 6,0001. shall, in each of the said Governments respectively, be appropriated and applied, and accounted for iu the manner and form for that purpose appointed and pre scribed in and by the said instructions hereinbefore mentioned. VIII. And whereas it is by the said recited Act among other things enacted, that it shall be lawful for us, by such letters patent as first aforesaid, to prohibit the grant or appropriation of any public money by either of the said Assemblies, or by the said General Assem bly, in any case in which such grant or appropriation shall not first have been recommended by us, on our he half, with a view to, or in aid of, some specific public service to be performed within the said provinces re spectively, or within the said Wands of New Zealand collectively ; now, therefore, in further pursuance of the said recited act, and in exercise of the powers thereby in us vested as aforesaid, we do hereby prohibit the grant or appropriation of any public money by either of the said Assemblies, or by the said General Assembly, in any case in which such grant or appropriation shall not first have been recommended by us, or on our behalf, with a view to or in aid of, some specific public service to be performed within the said provinces respectively, or within the said islands of New Zealand collectively. IX. And whereas by the said letters patent of the 16 , h day of November, in the fourth year of our reign, we did reserve to us, our heirs and successors, full power and authority from time to time to revoke, alter, or amend the same as to us or them should seem meet ; now, therefore, in exercise and pursuance of the powers so reserved to us, we do hereby revoke the said last-men tioned letters patent: provided always, that all laws and ordinances made and all acts done under and in pur suance of the said last-mentioned letters patent, in so fur as such laws, ordinances, and acts, are not repugnant to these presents, and do not interfere with, or prevent the operation thereof, shall be as valid and effectual as though these presents had not been made. X. And we do hereby require and enjoin, that the said General Assembly of New Zealand, and that the said respective Assemblies of the said respective pro vinces, shall, in pursuance of the said recited Act, matte and enact all such laws, statutes, and ordinances as by the said recited Act they are severally authorised and empowered to make and enact, and that the course of proceeding to be followed in the said General Assem bly, and in the said Assemblies of the said respective provinces, in regard to the making and enactment of such laws, statutes, and ordinances, shall be according to such rules as are in that behalf prescribed and provided for in the said instructions hereinbefore mentioned. XI. And we do further authorise and require the Governor of each of the said provinces to summon as an executive council for each of the said provinces respec tively such and so many persons as are for that purpose appointed or designated by us in the said instructions hereinbefore mentioned, or as shall at any time here after be by us appointed or designated in any other in structions under our signet or sign manual addressed to him in that behalf. XII. And we do hereby authorise, empower, and re quire the Governor•in-Chief of New Zealand, and the re spective Governors of each of the said provinces respec tively, to keep aed use a public seal for the sealing of all things whatsoever that shall pass the seal of the said General Government, or the seal of either of the said provinces respectively. XIII. And we do hereby grant to the respective Go vernors of the said provinces respectively full power and authority, with the advice and consent of the Execu tive Council of the said respective provinces, from time to time, to issue a proclamation or proclamations di viding the same into counties, hundreds, towns, town ships, and parishes, and to appoint the limits thereof respectively. XIV. And we do hereby give and grant to the respec tive Governors of the said provinces respectively full power and authority to make and execute, in our name and on our behalf, under the public seal of the said re spective provinces, grants of waste land to us belonging within the same, either to private persons for their own use and benefit, or to any persons, bodies politic or cor porate, in trust for the public uses of our subjects there resident, or any of them. XV. Provided always, that in the exercise of the powers last aforesaid the respective Governors of the said provinces respectively shall strictly conform to and observe the rules for their guidance prescribed in and by the said instructions hereinbefore mentioned. XVI. And we do hereby authorise, empower, and re quire the respective governors of the said provinces respec tively, from time to time, in our name and on our behalf, to constitute and appoint judges, and, in cases requisite, commissioners of oyer and terminer, justices of the peace, and other necessary officers for the administration of justice within the said respective provinces, and for the putting in force therein all laws made or to be made for the government thereof, and all such officers as may be requisite for the due administration of the civil go vernment therein. And we do further authorise the same governors, as occasion shall require, to suspend from the exercise of his office or employment, until our pleasure shall be known, any person or persons within their respective provinces holding any public office or employment therein at our pleasure. XVII. Provided always that in the exercise of such power of appointment and suspension of public officers, the same Governors shall observe the rules in that behalf prescribed for their guidance in and by the said in tructions hereinbefore mentioned. XVIII. And we do hereby authorize, empower, and require the respective governors of the said provinces respectively to administer, or to cause to be adminis tered, to all our officers, civil and military, and to all other persons within the said provinces respectively, such oaths for the due execution of their respective offices and employments as are usually taken by such officers, and the oath of allegiance. XIX. And we do hereby give and grant unto the re spective Governors of the said provinces respectively full power and authority, in our name and on our behalf, to grant to any offender convicted of any crime, or sen tenced to the payment to us of any fine, penalty, or for 3iture by any court or by or before any Judge, justice, e s c u t i b v j ey e t , t o a such conditions as b y an y law then in force ma y be pardon e s resp free c r r e m e aangdisturnactoenwdiitthioinn papearsdaiodn,por7ianc thereunto annexed, or any respite of the execution :of the sentence of any such offender for such period as to such Governor may seem meet, or a remission, either to tal or partial, absolute or conditional, of any such fine, penalty, or forfeiture. XY. And in the event of the death of the Governor in-Chief of New Zealand fir the time being, or of his absence from the New Zealand Islands, or of his bodily or mental incapacity for the discharge of the Jades of his office, any person being within the said islands and holding a commission from us to be Governor of the province of New Ulster shall, upon the occurrence of such death, absence, or incapacity, enter upon, and dur ing such vacancy by death, or during the continuance of such absence or incapacity, or until our pleasure be known, discharge all the powers, authorities, privileges, and duties of such Governor-in-Chief, as fully as if a commission for the exercise of that office during that period had by us been addressed to him. But, if there should not happen to be within the said islands on the oc currence of any such vacancy by death, or during the continuance of any su?h absence or incapacity, any per son holding our commission as Governor of the province o f New Ulster, then, upon the occurrence, and during the continuance of such vacancy by death, or during the continuance of such absence or incapacity, or until our pleasure be know xi. the exercise of the said office of Go vernor-in-Chief shall be assumed by any person being within the said islands, and holding a commission from us to be Governor of the Province of New Munster ; a nd, failing any such Governor of New Munster, then and in such case by the chief officer in command of our military forces within the said islands for the time bring• XXI And we do further declare our pleasure to be that Lieutenant-Governors of the said respective pro vinces stall by us, from time to time, be appointed by commissions under our signet and sign manual; but that in the event of the death, absence, resignation, bodily or mental incapacity, or suspension from office by the said Governor-in-Chief of any such Lieutenant-Gover nor, it shall be competent to the said Governor-in Chief, and he is hereby authorised and empowered, upon the occurrence and during the continuance of such last mentioned vacancy, by a commission under the public seal of the general government of New Zealand, in oar name and on our behalf, to constitute and appoint any proper person to be the Lieutenant-Governor of such province until our pleasure be known. XXII. And we do hereby declare our pleasure to be, that the Lieutenant-Governor for the time being of each of the said provinces (whether so appointed by such a direct commission from us as aforesaid, or by such a commission as aforesaid from the Governor-in-Chief of New Zealand) shall have, exercise, and enjoy all powers, privileges, and authorities, hereby or by the said in structions hereinbefore mentioned, or otherwise howso ever vested in the Governor for the time being of any such province, save only that the temporary and provi. sional administration of the office of Governor-in-Chief of New Zealand, on any such vacancy by death, absence, or incapacity as aforesaid, shall pass to and become vested in the Governor of the province of New Munster, in preference to the Lieutenant-Governor of the province of New Ulster, and in the Lieutenant-Governor of the pro vince of New Ulster, in preference to the Lieutenant- Governor of the province of New Munster; and that such provisional administration of the said office of Governor in-Chief of New Zealand shall, on any such vacancy, by death, absence, or incapacity, as aforesaid, pass to and become vested in such chief military officer as aforesaid, in preference to any Lieutenant-Governor who may hold the office of Lieutenant-Governor not in virtue of a com mission issued directly by us, but in virtue of a commis sion so issued as aforesaid in our name and behalf by any such Governor-in-Chief. XXIII. And we do further reserve to ourselves full power and authority, in our discretion, to appoint one and the same person to occupy at the same time the said several offices of Governor-in-Chief and Governor of each of the said respective provinces, or any two of those offices, and in our discretion to appoint one and the same person to occupy at the same time both of the said offices of Lieutenant-Governor of the said respective provinces. XXIV. And whereas it is by the said recited Act further provided, that it shall be lawful for us from time to time to amend, and for that purpose to add to, or, if necessary, to repeal, any such letters patent or instruc tions as therein mentioned —now, we do hereby reserve to ourselves, our heirs, and successors, full power and authority from time to time to amend, and for that pur pose to add to, or, if necessary, to repeal, these presents and the said instructions hereinbefore mentioned. , XXV. And we do hereby further declare our will and pleasure to be that these presents shall not take effect or come into operation in the said islands of New Zealand until the same shall have been p ublished and made known to the inhabitants of the said islands, by a proclamation to be for that purpose issued by the person commissioned by us to be Governor-in-Chief for the `ime being of the said islands. In witness whereof, we have caused these our letters o be made patent. Witness ourself, at Westminster, this 23d day of December, in the 10th year of our reign. DUTCH AND HAMBURGH MAILS. ST. PETERt3BURGH, DEC. 12.—0 n Saturday night his Majesty the Emperor set out for Warsaw, and returned to St. Petersburgh yesterday morning. THORN, DEC. 15.—While nothing of political influ ence is passing on this side of the frontiers, the accounts from Poland are very melancholy. Domiciliary visits and arrests still continue, and well-informed persons affirm that the number of persons imprisoned in con sequence of the attempted revolution amounts to 300, many of whom, after a vexatious inquisitorial proceed ing, have been banished to Siberia, and others hanged in the citadel of Warsaw the noblemen, finding themselves suspected by the Government, and be lieving that their ruin is intended and the more so, because the late "Half measures relative to the emancipation of the peasants seem to threaten their property and their personal safety. It has frequently happened that the peasants s c iideavour to realise by violence the,promises which have been made by the Government to grant them landed property, and , attack the estates of their lords, who, on- their part, complain that the GOvernment dogs not sufficiently protect them against the violence of the peasants. Under these circumstances,, it is easily accounted for that a re port that a part of' Poland, from Pluk, will be added. to Prussia, has arisen in Poland, and is now even ex pressed as a wish in. many quarters as likely to be ful filled. Travellers are treated with more '"civility than hitherto by the Cuttore-house olificers , ; however, every traveller, whether a foreigner or a native of Poland, is obliged to sign a =paper in the Polish, German, and French languages, in which he declares that he has no letters, books, notes, &c., with him, otherwise he is to be punished with all the rigour of the law. With respect to the organization of the schools in Poland, we learn that there are to be only four gymnasia in all Poland.rin connexion with which there are to be establishments where all the scholars aro to be boarded and lodged, and that they will be secured against any sinister influence. POSEN, DEC. 16.—The latest news that we have to communicate is, that, for some days past, a report has been spread among the Poles here that the abolition of the kingdom of Poland was to take place on the 13th of January next year (the Russian New Year's-day) is ad journed by a later resolution sine die. On the other hand, a Berlin correspondent of the Bremen Gazette writes on the 20th of this month—" The fate of the kingdom of Poland is decided, and it the accounts received here are correct, even the name of Poland will be obliterated at the beginning of the new year (From the Office of the Hamburgh and Altana Telegraph.) HAMBURGH, DEC. 22, P.M.—The Elbe up here is still traversed with ice• boats, but it is expected to break up very shortly. The harbour is cleared of ice, and com• munication with the vessels is carried on by means of barges. At Blankenese masses of ice collected together thi. morning. At Schalau also, and lower down, consider able masses are collecting. GLUCRSTADT, DEC. 22.—The ice is dispersing more and more. The large flakes of ice are breaking up. HAMBURGH, DEC. 25.—There is much floating ice at Schalau and Blankenese, yet the boat Wilbelmina, which left Altona yesterday, arrived safely in the evening at Schalau. GLIICHSTADT, DEC. 25.—The ice is rather increasing in the channel, yet the Fredericka Johanna, Captain Dewall, from Newcastle, arrived in the harbour yester day. The whole outer harbour is free from ice. POST-OFFICE NOTICES. VIGO, OPORTO, LISBON, CADIZ, GIBRALTAR, MEDI TERRANEIN,:EGYPT, INDIA.,AND CHINA.—The next mails for Gibraltar, Malta, Greece, the lon ian Islands, Egypt, India, China, &c., via Southampton ' will be dispatched from hence on the evening of the 2d January.. The Ta gus, for the Mediterranean, Egypt, India, China, &c., mails of the evening of the 2d January. The next mails for the Mediterranean, Egypt, India, China, &c., via Marseilles, will be dispatched from hence oa the evening of the 7th January. MADEIRA, BRAZIL, AND BUENOS AYRES: [From August to January inclusive, the packet touches at Per nambuco and Bahia on her outward passage to Rio Ja neiro, and the other six months on her homeward.] Her Majesty's brig Penguin, for the .mails of _the evening of the 4th January. - SYDNEY (N.S.W.)—The Bussorah Merchant, for the mails of the evening.of the 31st inst. WEST INDIES, &c.—The' Ta - y, for the mails of the morning of the 2d January 4: AMERICA..—The Eiihernie, f6r the mails of the even ing of the 4:h January. Snxp LETTERS. From Monte Video and Callao New York, by the American Eagle, Chadwick, at Dover LLOYD'S 81-11PPI 4 G::' L O NDON, DEC. 29.-LWilid SAE., light airs, and fine clear mild weather. DEAL, DEC. 28.—Wind, N.N.W., thick; S.E.— Arrd. Glenbervie, Russell, Port Philip; John Baring, gear man, New York ; Sarah Barry, Mowat, Saguenay. LIVERPOOL, DEC. 28.—Wind S.—Arrd. T. W. Sears, Eldridge, New York. sailed 4th inst. ; Mason, Upshnr, New York ; Rockshore, Evans, Quebec. Std. Chatham, Batten tine, Hong-gong; Granville, Touzell, Rio Gran de; Mole, Remedelle, Africa; Woodpecker, Williams, Jamaica; As tracan, Ford, New Orleans; Yucatan, Casey. New Orleans; Russia, Preble, Philadelphia • New York, Skiddy, New 'York. Off port, Sweden, Brown, Philadelphia; Orleans; Republic, Balti more; F. H. Shepherd, New York; Euclid, St, Stephen's, N.B. ; Mersey, Montreal; Souter Johnny, Montreal; Affghan, Quebec; Effingham, Quebec; Eliza Stewart, Que bec ; and Requiter, Quebec. OFF EASTBOURNE, Disc. 28.—Antoinette Maria, Batavia. Soutims.rroN, Dac. 25.—Arrd. R. Reynolds, Walker, Quebec ; 28th, Royal Tar steamer, Joy, Gibraltar. OFT SWANAGE.—Torgean, Hansen, Porto Cabello, for Hambnrgh. WATERFORD, DEC. 27.—Wind W. to N.N.W.—SId. 24th, Begot, Williams, New Orleans. Off port, Saterlina, Ha vannah, for Liverpool. Cogs, DEC. 26.—Wind N.N.E.—Arrd. Mary, Pinell, Newfoundland; Wanderer, Baltimore for Newport; Eliza beth Hughes, Havannah ; Virgilia, Woodauffe, Miramichi. Sld. Bache M'Evers, Batty, New Orleans. BROADRAVEW, DEC. 24.,Acrd. Dromahair, Pine, Quebec, for Clyde. ABERDICEN, DEC. 26.—Sld. 'Undaunted, Ritohie,Valparaiso. SHIELDS, DEc. 28.—Wind W.S.W.—Acrd. Aurelia, Ames!, North America. BRIDLINGTON BAY.—Arrd. John's, Gustard, St. John's, New Lrunswick, for Sunderland. GRIMSBY, DEC. 27.—Wind W.—Ajax, Cater, St. John's, New Brunswick, for Newcastle, leaky. SEA VIEW, ISLE OF WIGHT, DEC. 27.—A boat, about fifteen feet long, marked inside " Perseverance, of Ports mouth, William Collins, master," has been picked up here. WEYMOUTH, DEC. 27.—The Petrel, (R. C.) was towed in here this morning, leaky, having been on shore in Swanage Bay. BUDEHAVEN, DEC. 25.—The Bell Rock, Reece, from Car diff, was abandoned near here, in a sinking state; crew saved by the Stuckley, arrived here. CORK, DEC. 26.—A brig of about 200 tons, apparently a foreigner, was passed, dismasted, and on her beam-ends, on the sth instant, 35 lon. 46 lat., by the Elizabeth Hughes, Mullin, arrived here. _ MIDDLESBOROUGH, DEC. 27.—The Yorkshire, Lynas, struck on the East Gow, on the 24th inst., and came off leaky. BRIDLINGTON, DEC. 28.—The Sleepless, of Sunderland, and the Thomas and Mary of Burnham, are on the rocks on Flamborough Head. BLYTII, DEC. 27.-The report of the loss of the Maid of Athens, nearithis place is incorrect, that vessel having arrived safe at North Shields on the 23d instant. CAST MARBLE.—A discovery is stated to have been made at Charlottenburg, by which marble may be cast in moulds of any size, the marble being equal in quality to the purest Carrara marble. Sevcrel figures have already been cast of the size of life. The cast is stated to be only one'dollar a foot.—Hamburgh Correa poNdenten. THE GREAT BRI. TAIN. BRISTOL, DEC. 28.—The following rt , port f rom . b fr. Brunel has been printed for circulation am ovgst the pro . prietors : " TO THE DIRECTORS OF THE GREAT WESTERN STEAM. SHIP COMPANY. "Gentlemen.—According to your request I have, as soon as my engagements would allow of my leaving Lon don, paid a visit to the Great Britain, and I now beg to report to you the state in which I found the vessel, and my °pink n of the best means to be taken for recovering the largest possible amount of the property iav ested in her. If I state these opinions concisely, and without any qualifications, you will not suppose that I have th e pre sumption to think them infallible, but merely that I am compelled, by the shortness of the time left me to Trite to you, to avoid all circumlocution, and to give you as simply and briefly as possible, the opinions . I have formed. At the same time I am bound to say that I have not formed them hastily, and that my conviction* upon the several points on which I may express my feelings are very strong. " First, as regards the present state of the vessel. I was agreeably disappointed, after the reports which had reached me, to find her, as a whole, and independently of the mere local damages, of which I will speak presently, perfectly sound, and as strong and as perfect in form as the day she was launched. "In receiving this statement, you must bear in, mind the great difference between an iron vessel and a timber built ship. In the former, parts may be considerably damaged, or even destroyed, and the remainder may not only be untouched, but may be left unstrained and un injured. In a timber ship this can hardly be the case. If any considerable portion of a ship's bottom is stove in, the timbers or ribs completely across the ship, and the planking longitudinally, cannot fail to be strained to a very considerable distance in both directions. " You must therefore remove from your minds all im pressions derived from your experience of damages sus tained by timber-built-ships, in order to understand my statement, which is strictly correct • that, except the parts actually damaged, the ext en t of which is compara tively small, the ship is perfectly sound, and as good as the hour when she struck. This soundness and freedom from any damage extends from about the five-foot water line to the top (with the exception of the injury sustained by the knocking away of the rudder post, and a blow under the stern) ; nearly the whole of the vessel is therefore sound. The principal injury is in her bottom, under the boiler and engines. The vessel has evidently been thumping upon the rocks, and almost entirely upon this part of the bottom, from the first few days after she grounded, and at present, in all probability, her whole weight is resting on this part; yet, notwithstanding this, she is perfectly straight, and has not broken or even sprung an inch in the whole length. The boilers have been forced up about fifteen inches, and one of the condensers has been lifted about eight :inches, breaking the air pump. At present this is nearly the extent of damage done, all of which could easily be repaired if the vessel were in dock. " I will now state my opinion of the best means of re covering the largest possible amount of the property which has been invested in her. "In this view I can only imagine two alternatives; the one to break her up on the spot, and make the most of her materials; the other to get her afloat, and into port, and restore her into good condition, or sell her to those who would so restore her. The first alternative may, I think, be discarded at once. The plates and ribs of an iron vessel are difficult enough to convert into • useful materials for any other purposes, even in the midst of workshops, and with tools and appliances at hand. In such a place as Dundrum Bay, Ido not be lieve the materials would pay the expense of cutting up. The masts, spars, chains, &c., in tact, the stores, and, perhaps, a few of the lighter parts of the engine, might repay the cost of removal; but the whole would cer tainly not amount to many thousands —probably hundreds would be - a safer estimate of the amount to be realized, clear of all expenses. To remove the vessel and take her into port, and either restore her or sell her, is then the only means of recovering any part of the whole of the capital invested in this ship. It she is so brought into port, she may be worth, unrepaired, 40,000 L, 50,0001, or 60,0001., according to the opportu nities that may offer themselves of employing her use fully or of selling her. The only question is, then, how, at the least expense and at the smallest risk, is the vessel to be got into port? But as I will now endeavour to prove to you the mode of getting the vessel off the shore and into port is again quite secondary to the considera tion of how to preserve it where it is, so that it may be in a condition to be removed, and to be worth removing when the means of doing this are ready, and the proper time is arrived for attempting it. " In the first place, rasseit, unhesitatingly, that no man in his senses, and who thoroughly understands the circumstances of the case—the weight and position of the vessel—the amount of th• rise and fall of the tide, and draught of water around her—and the ex traordinarily exposed situation—would dream of cal culating upon completing the requisite means for float ing her under three months. In the mean time the ship must be protected. Even if it were practicable to construct the necessary apparatus, and to float the vessel to-morrow, it would be little short of madness to go to sea with it at this time of the year. But lam doing wrong to discuss a case which cannot arise. The vessel cannot, according to any rational calculation of chances, be got off under three months; and it is equally against all probability that, it left unprotected, there would be anything worth taking off at that time. It is useless, therefore, at this moment discussing the best mode of floating the vessel, and I think, under the circum stances, would be most unwise hastily to determine upon any plan. The first thing is, to know whether there are any means of preserving the vessel, and whether any such plans can be carried into effect at some reasonable cost, which it may be worth incurring. I have looked at the vessel, and considered the very exposed situation in which she is placed (and a more exposed one could hardly be found), and I am convinced that no fixed break water of ordinary construction could be made at any reasonable expense, or in time to prevent mischief. There is no depth of sand into which to drive piles, and the rock is too uneven and broken to allow of any fram ing being constructed and secured to it ; and any frame work would be liable to be destroyed during the pro gress of its construction,as that already attempted has been, and the timber might be the cause of serious da mage to the ship. ;,The plan I should recommend would, at least, be free from these objections, would be compa ratively inexpensive, and, I am firmly convinced, would be perfectly effectual as a protection. At the same time, few persons who have not seen the effect of a sea beating against fagots will share in that conviction. " What I recommend is, to form, under the stern and along the exposed side of the vessel, a mass of fagots, made of strong and long sticks, and used in the manner which has been so successfully practised in Holland and elsewhere, for the repair and protection of banks against the sea, the fagots being packed closely, and, for a con siderable thickness, against the ship's side, and up to the level of the deck, secured with rods run vertically through the mass, and chains laid horizontally, and bind ing the whole tightly to the ship. The heaviest sea has no effect upon such a mass; and I believe that the vessel would remain as uninjured, and indeed as unaffected by tLe sea, as if in dock. _ _ . " 8,000 or 10,000 fagots-300 or 400 fathoms of 1-inch or finch second hand chain cable, none of which need be lost-300 or 400 rods, sharpened at the ends-1,000 bags to ,fill with sand, with what stares you have on board, would suffice; end if next coming springs, and the gales which have hitherto accompanied them, are safely passed, I cannot foresee any difficulty whatever in completing the protection I purpose. Of course, in all works dependent upon wind, weather, and tide, certainty cannot be attained; but of one thing I am quite certain, that no other plan offers the same chance of success, or at so small a cost. " I have commmunicated to Captain Claxton the steps which I took in conjunction with Captain Hosken for procuring the fagots beforo I left Dundrum. I have also communicated to him the directions which I gave with respect to the engines, &c., and it is unnecessary, there fore, that I should repeat them. I will only recapitulate in a few words, the substance of the advice I have above given, and of my reasoning. " You have a valuable piece of property lying on a most exposed shore. If preserved for a few months that property will, in all probability, be worth 40,0001. or 50,0001. ; if neglected for a few weeks it will probably be worth nothing. Can you, as men of business, under such circumstances, waste your time at this moment in discussing what you will do three months hence, and which plan you will then adopt to take your property to market? But will you not rather first, and immediately, adopt decisive steps for preserving that property, and then consider what you had best do with it ? " I have no wish to escape the responsibility of ad vising you, as you request me to do so, as to my opinion of the best plan to be adopted hereafter for removing the ship ; but, adhering to the principle I have laid down, I should decline to do so at present did I not see reason to fear that you might be losing time and money, by relying upon expectations which, I am convinced, would be disappointed. I would strongly urge upon you not to place your reliance upon any plan which depends upon floating the vessel by camels, and taking her to sea unrepaired, and, therefore, entirely dependent upon those camels. The immense breadth of these floating camels, and the risk of taking such an unmanageable floating ill-connected mass to sea, cannot have been correctly and sufficiently estimated ; and the certainty of the whole going to the bottom, in the event of even a very moderate gale of wind or a slight swell, has been apparently quite lost sight of. lam also of opinion that the difficulty of lift ing the vessel at all by auxiliary floats has been under rated. The vessel has worked herself about five or six feet into the solid rock and sand, and may very probably get a little deeper before the time for lifting arrives. She must, therefore, be lifted say, at least, four feet to four feet six inches before she could be got out of the dock she has made ; and the floating power must there fore be calculated at least to raise her five feet six inches so to be quite sure of moving her. Now, there is not more than 10 feet of water around the vessel, even at high water of ordinary springs, and it would be impossible to calculate upon more than nine feet as a certainty. No floating power worth having can be got in the vessel, and the floating vessels must therefore be capable of sustain ing the whole weight, with a draught, when the vessel ii lifted, of only about four feet. The weight to be sustained is 2,000 tons, and to do this with ves sels drawing only four feet, would requir e that they should be upwards of 30 feet in breadth on each side, forming with the ship a total width of upwards of 100 to 120 feet, and upwards of 300 feet in l e ngth. I do not say that this operation is i m p ract i ca ble, but it i s at least a very di ffi cult one, and must b e a lmost entirely de pendent upon weather; and, unless in , perfectly sm ooth water, a vory haza r d ons one . My !;"9 lief and conviction is, that the safe mode of proceeding, and by far the cheapest, will b e to lift the vessel by mechanical means —to lay ways under her--and to haul her up sufficiently far to be safe from the sea to repair her just sufficiently to make her water-tight, then to launch (aid bring hex