The Sun.
London, England, 1852-06-19 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT,

HOUSE OF LORDS, June 18.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took hi seat OR the Wool-

sack at Five o'clock.
PETITIONS.
The Duke of NEWCASTLE presented petitions from
the Australian colonies against the transportation of
convicts to Van Diemen's Laud. The Noble Duke read
the petitions at length, but said he would refrain for the
present from making any remarks upon them.
The Earl of DESART denied that the colonies had
any right to complain of the conduct of the mother
country on this subject. The number of convicts had
been greatly lessened within the last few years, and
to show the readiness which was evinced by
the colonists to obtain convict-labour the Noble
Lord read a letter which he had received from
Hobart Town in January of this year, describing
the manner in which a convict ship on its arrival in port
was besieged by persons anxious to hire the convicts.
BREACH OF PRIVILEGE.
Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from Mr.
Richard Spry, complaining that he had been arrested
for down to their Lordships' House
to debt
attendwbeifloe in g
before the on the London Necropo-
lis Company. The case divided into two parts—one
affecting Mr. Spry as a witness, and the other affecting
him as a party. With regard to his being a witness, ho
ought to tell their Lordships that Mr. Spry was not
attending by any process or summons of their Lordships'
House, but voluntarily and of his own accord.
Lord CAMPBELL suggested that a Committee be
appointed to search for precedents.
Lord BROLTGAAM said there were precedents with-
out end on the subject, but he had no objection to the
Nth°eßßill,
appointment of a Committee, or to refer the whole peti-
tion to the Committee.
The petition was then ordered to be referred to a
Select Committe
NAVY PAY BILL.
TRUMBERLAND moved the
second
which he explained was to
effect an alteration in the mode of paying off ships.
Lord MINTO approved of the Bill.
The
readingD uk e
'Doff
After a few words from Lord WALDEGRAVE the
Bill was read a second tine.
CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS BILL.
On the motion that :he report with amendments be
agreed to,
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE said that he would
take the opportunity of remarking that he did not con-
sider that the amendments which had been introduced
into the Bill would at all conduce to its better
working. As it at present stood the only effect which
it would have would 5o merely to quicken and facilitate
the mode of action which at present existed, without
improving it in any other way.
After a few words from the Earl of DERBY, the re-
port was agreed to.
LAND SALES IN AUSTRALIA.
The Duke of ARGYLL presented a petition from the
Legislative Council of New South Wales. That body
was constituted under the Act of 1850, and it was car-
ried in Legislative Assembly of that body by an im-
portant majority. In order to explain the petition he
should recall the circumstances under which it was
drawn up for their Lordships. In 1842, two Acts were
passed, when the Noble Earl (Derby) was at the head
of the Colonial.office—respecting land in this colony.
One of them, the Land Sales Act, provided that land
sales should take place only under that Act, and that
no public land should be sold at less than 20s, per acre.
Out of the gross proceeds of the sale, which were to be
applied generally to the purposes of the colony, one-half
was to go towards defraying the expenses of emigration.
Another Bill, which had also been introduced by the
Noble Earl, conferred on the colony of New South
Wales a Legislative Assembly, two-thirds of
the members cf which were to be elected, and
one-third nominated by the Crown, and its powers of
legislation extended to all subjects, except one parti-
cular class, for which the assent of the Crown was
reserved. That was the state of the law up to 1850,
when the Noble Earl, then Secretary for the Colonies,
brought forward an Act altering considerably the powers
of the New South Wales Legislature, and establishing
legislative councils in the other Australian colonies also.
The powers of the New South Wales Legislature were
considerably increase' by this Act, particularly in refer-
ence to the reservation of assent or dissent to the mea-
sures of the Colonial Legislature, which had hitherto
been maintained in favour of the Imperial executive at
home. All the salaries of officers, with reference to
prospective appointments, might be altered, except those
of the Governor or judges, and the amount reserved for
religious purposes was also not to be touched. But in
the matter of Customs duties the colony was empowered
to levy all such as might be deemed necessary, provided
they were not prohibitory duties against the mother
country, or contrary to treaties entered into by the Im-
perial executive with foreign countries. Further, the
Legislature might alter the whole constitution, and in-
stead of one, establish two Legislative Chambers, both
of which might bo elective. From whatever cause,
however—whether from the change of views on the part
of the colonists, the wishes of the home Govern-
ment were not realised in reference to these alterations;
and the Legislative Council, which was elected under
the Act of 1842, drew up the petition which he had
now the honour to present to their Lordships, and which
petition the Legislative Council elected under the Act of
1850 had adopted. The Noble Duke here read the pe-
tition, which was to the effect that the Council declared
it a duty they owed to themselves and to posterity to
record their deep dissatisfaction with the constitution of
the 14th of Victoria, c. 76. They were dissatisfied with
the administration of the waste lands, and of the reve-
nues generally of the colony, and they found, to their
great regret, that the land schedules were inoreased in-
stead of being abolished. As the last act of their legis-
lative existence, no other course was left to them than
to protest against the Imperial policy; to declare and
remonstrate against it, and to enter that protest and de-
claration upon five grounds. They declared, first, that
the Imperial Parliament had no power to tax the people
of Now South Wales, or to appropriate their revenues;
but that all taxation should be made by the Colonial
Legislature; next, that the revenues arising from the
public lands, of which her Majesty was trustee, could
only be appropriated to the use of the colony; thirdly,
that the Customs, and other branches of revenue,
should be subject to the same control ; fourthly,
that the action of the Legislative Council should not be
fettered by interference with the Parliament at home;
and fifthly, that no Colonial Bills should be reserved for
the sanction of her Majesty, unless such as affected her
crown and dignity.
In conclusion, they declared they
were prepared, it intrusted with their own lands and re-
venues, to provide for all the expenses of the colony, ex-
clusive only of the Governor's salary. He (the Duke of
Argyll) was ignorant of the reasons which had induced
the colonists to intrust aim with the petition for presen•
tation to their Lordship, particularly as he had not been
present in their Lordships' House when the Aot of 1850
was passed. However, he considered he was bound to
present it, and to state how far he concurred in, or dis-
agreed with, the statements of the petitioners. One of
the main complaints of the petitioners was the reserva-
tions made in favour of the Imperial Government with
reference to the salaries of the judges and other officers
of the colonial Goverament, but he could not think the
ground of Complaint was quite just in this respect; for
the principle which had always been acted upon both in
this country and the colony in matters of that kind,
when an alteration Was proposed, was that existing
interest 3 should be protected, and with regard to the
the salaries of judges,
they were to be for life,
and that the judges should be raised above any in-
fluences which a legislature might bring to bear upon
them by means of lowering or raising their salaries. It
had been stated that the instructions which the Noble
Earl who was Colonial Secretary at that time had sent
out to the Governor of the colony with the Act of 1850
had had the effect of nullifying its provisions; but he
found that in respect to the salaries the Noble Earl's in-
structions were that the Governor should withhold his
assent to tiny Bill altering the existing salaries of officers
of the Executive then holding office, but that the Go-
vernment did not mean to refuse its assent to any pros-
pective regulations with regard to salaries which the
council might come to. With reference to the first ground
mentioned in the petition as that on which they pro-
tested against the Imperial policy towards the colony—
via., that the Imperial Parliament had no power to tax
the colonists or appropriate their revenues, he presumed
the petitioners founded their complaint on the prin-
ciple of the celebrated statute, the 18th of George
which declared that the home Government should not
levy taxes on any colony for the purposes of the Impe-
rial Government, and so far he agreed with the pati-
titioners ; but he could not agree with them in their se-
cond statement, that the revenue derived from the sale
of the public lands was to be regarded in the same light
as the revenue derived from taxation. The real ques-
tion for consideration was the manner in which the inte-
rests of the colony could be best provided for in the dis-
posal of the land found. As to the general principle laid
down in their second statement by the petitioners, he
could not assent to it ; but he must say that opinion
was much divided as to the effect which the price of land
as fixed by the Act of 1842 had produced on the cos
Ion). ; the general opinion in the colony being that it
had proved injurious, and for his own part he was not
sure that it would not be advisable to give up to the
colony the management of the waste lands, fixing, at
the same time, the geographical limits within which
that management should be exercised. With reference
to the Customs, he thought they ought to be at the
disposal of the colonial authorities. The fifth
statement however, was the most important—viz.,
that no Bills should be reserved from the Le-
gislative Council for the signification of her Majesty's
assent, except those which affected the prerogative of
the Crown and the general interests of the empire.
There could be but two modes of effecting that object;
one Wail to draw up a list of the subjects affecting Impe-
rial interests, which the colonial legislature should be
prohibited by Act of Parliament from legislating upon;
tho other was to retain a general power of allowance or
disallowance of colonial acts for the home executive, as
at present. In the discussions on the Act of 1850 this
subject had been much debated, and the former mo.o _
d
was strongly urged up Governon the Government of the day for
adoption, but the Noble Lord at the head of the .
n that
went at that time (Lord J. Russell) was of op e
initoo draw
it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible,as not quite
up such a list. He (the Duke of Argyll)
hew Noble Lord;
sure that ho concurred in that view of
thank that it was
but, at the same t' he could hardly
time was retained
thie power
a great cause of grievance that
ever, he could not
by the home Government.
Flowee dissatisfaction and
help being struck with the tone .
n and he doubted
irritation which ded the petite°
perva d t td the reten-
tha wisdom lof the policyamon
gst the members of
lion of Crown nominees Whenever any question of
the Legislative Council.
forence to the mother country,
importance, having re
they y
found the elected
aroso in the Council, b nominated
members on the
members on one side and t
h Weigl4 opini9h eyez
other, and that all t--
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