The Sun.
London, England, 1839-10-26 00:00:00

NEW ZEALAND COLONIZATION

1 year for the upholding of our poor, and 5,000,0001.
eiven to uphold an bbled bodied poor, Rifling to Work,
j but.without employment, and kiesWifig that there are
I thootatids and tens of ihniisandi ivith whom 1 am ac•
tluainied, in a state of destitution in an interesting part
of our country—l say it is marvellous to me that our
Government—and I speak of no one Government more
than another--bas never considered it to bee its duty, on
it ertart national Scale, to promote emigration, and to
lay the foundation of great Christian kingdoms in other
parts of the world who might yet arise to rival us.—
( Cheers.) And what power has Britain for this pur-
. pose ? Do we not find her colonies all over the world ?
Where will we look that we do not find a field for our
surplus population ? Why should there be discontent
and murmuring in our land, when on the face of the
earth there is room for us all--when we can say " there
need be no strife among us—go you to the left or to the
right, dare is room for all of us."—(Cheers.) Look at
Canada, with all its interminable forests, here and there
green with lovely spots cultivated by kind hearted
Highlanders.—(Cheers.) Look at Australasia! What
a territory there—greater, I am told, than all Europe
together—and still unpcopled. Look to that Archi-
pelago of beautiful islands which lie sleeping on the
bosom of the great Pacific. There is such a land and
such a climate as would employ all the surplus popula-
tion in the country, raise our commerce, and our wealth
at the same time. What nation ever existed that
could boast colonies so unparalleled as ours, Look
again at the millions in India. Only a few years ago
we got possession of a great nation in that part of the
world, the very existence of which had hardly been
heard of before ; the Burmese country.—(Cheers.) In
fact, in all pens of the world our colonies were found,
embracing about one-sixth of the population of the
globe—the sun indeed never sets on the dominion of
Great Britain.—(Cheers.) And why has Providence
marvellously honoured us with such an extent of
colony ? Can it be only to increase our commerce—to
give us the spices of the East, to yield us a few more
jewels and diamonds to the crown of cur well-beloved
Sovereign ? No, certainly, a far higher honour is await-
ing our country. I believe that Britain is destined to
be the grand instrument of enlightening all the nations
of the world, and believing, as I do most honestly be-
lieve, that such an honour does await us, let the clouds
darken around us more and more, and let gloomy
minded men profess what they may, Britain, I believe,
is destined to be still greater than she has been.=
(Great cheering.) -My Lord, the occasion of our
meeting here this night is singularly delightful. 'We are
met to celebrate the sailing of the first ship from Scot-
land to the great island of New Zealand, which, as we
are credibly informed, is equal to the whole of Great
Britain in extent, and is vastly superior to it in capa-
bility, in climate, and in soil. And, oh, my Lord, cen-
turies after this, when we aod ours have passed into
oblivion, the occasion of this meeting will, if history
stands true, be an occasion of intense interest to genera-
tions yet unborn. Who can read the history of the sailing
of the ships of Columbus to the New World without being
thrilled with intenseintsr..s.? And yet methinks that,in the
future history of New Zealand, antiquarians a thousand
years hencewill be found tracing their descent from Scotland
and England ; and we may look to the time when people
will pride themselves in being descended from High-
landers, and trace themselves up to another St. Columba,
and talk of the college of New Zealand as we now do
of the college of lona.—(Long-continued cheering.) I
will not detain you by stating, what 1 trust no indivi-
dual here is disposed to combat, that the greatness of
every nation and the happiness of every nation depends
entirely on the moral and religious character of that
nation.—(Cheers.) To what do we owe our unrivalled
position among the nations of the earth? It needs not
the researches of a great historian, like that now in my
eye (Sluriff Alison), to tell us that it is because all our
institutions, which are the envy and the wonder of the
world, have been based on religious principle, and that
to this cause we are to trace our greatness and prospe-
rity as a nation.—(Cheers,) That is the spring anti
secret of our greatness as a people, and not only so,
but it is the foundation of our happiness and our liber-
ties as a people. And while we talk of the great
and good men that have passed away, we should re•
member that to those devoted men of God does Britain
owe mainly her civil liberty. You now have, in carry-
ing out a clergyman of the Church of Scotland to the new
colony, shown not only Christian feeling as:Christian men
but you have exhibited the wisdom and the common
sense of British merchants, because I thoroughly believe
that if any individual merchant here to night, may have
no higher object than to make wealth by this specula-
tion, yet, even on that low ground, he could not
have adopted a more wise or prudent plan than that of
establishing the ordinances of religion among the people
with whom you are going to associate.—(Cheers.) This
is the only way to civilise them, to establish the security
of property, to raise a barrier against violence—the
only way by which you can get safely your goods
into the country, and promote the intercourse that
through time will take place between that coun-
ti y and the city in which we are now assent-
bled.—(Cheers.) But, taking higher ground than
that—Oh ! is it not a delightful prospect, that front
our own beloved city, we are sending forth a herald of
the Gospel to that benighted shore—that we may look
confidently forward to the day when the Sabbeth bell
shall be beard in the land, and when that interesting
people, of whom Dr. Logan spoke so highly, shall have
the doctrinevof the cross preached to them in purity.
—(Cheers.) Mr. M'Farlane, though the first, is only
the predecessor of others who will follow, from time to
time, from our shores, and by and by the Church of
Scotland shall have in that distant land, more of little
sisters and daughters planted—more churches—than
she can number in the mother land.—(Cheers.) I be-
lieve your Committee never had a more difficult duty
assigned them than that of finding a suitable clergyman
for the colony of New Zealand. It is difficult to find
a good clergyman for any place.—(Laughter.) We
always think we have plenty of
good young men, and
we have plenty of good old men too—(Laughter)—but
when we look for a young man to fill a particular
place, it is a difficult matter, I assure you ; and were
I asked to find a suitable man for St. Kilda, I declare
I do not know a man that could fill the place but the
worthy clergyman that is in it already. I had a conversa-
tion some time ago in the Trongate about this matter with
a gentleman, when I stated the difficulty there was of
finding a suitable person ; I said I was averse to send-
ing goods to a foreign market that did not take at home.
_...(Laughter.) I said almost in despair that I never
was asked a more difficult question. We have plenty
of eloquent preachers, and men who do very well in this
new church and the other ; but then there are things
called common sense, and common prudence, and judg-
ment, and diffidence, and piety, and simplicity of inten-
tion--there is, in fact, a combination of qualities re-
quired for such a [lace as New Zealand, that I thought
was not to be found in the market. A few days alter
this I heard that trey respected friend Mr. M'Farlane
had offered to go to New Zealand. I was delighted to
hear this—l have a sincere love and affection for my
friend, and I do say that it is a blessing to have got
such a rnan.—(Cheers.) He then proposed the health
of Mr. M•Farlane, which was drank with loud applause.
The Reverend Mr. M'FARLANE returned thanks,
and in conclusion, he proposed the Aborigines of New,
Zealand, which was drank with all the honours, .
Mr. BRIDGER, in proposing the health of Dr. E7ans,
might state, as an instance of Dr. Evans's sagac;ty, and
knowledge of the Scottish character, that some, years
ago, when examined before a Committee of the ' Houk?.
of Lords, in reference to the Colony of New Zealaryl,
he had stated distinctly, in answer to a qUestian rut to
him, that there could be -no doubt, -in 'the esterit-of a'
Scottish Colony going to New Zealank. that' they -
would take a minister of the Scottish Chureh along i,
with them. This opiniOn of Dr. Evans theitita.4"Oiat
night seen verified. Mr. B. referred to liPth other
gentlemen connected with the English -Colony, in
terms of high approbation, particularly Mr. Douglas
Sinclair, heir to Sir George Sinclair, who,' with all
the prospects of title, &c. in this country, was, never-
titeless, leaving it for the shores of New Zealand.
After some reference to the immense capabilities - of'
New Zealand, which he believed would yet turn out
another Britain, Mr. B. concluded by proposing the
toast, which was warmly responded to.
The LORD PROVOST proposed the health of a gentle-
man well known to them all—not more distinguished as
an historian and for the highest literary acquirements,
than as an honourable and upright Judge—Sheriff Ali-
son.—(Great cheering.)
Sheriff ALIsoN hail a toast to give of momentous in-
terest to the country, and of peculiar interest at the pre-
sent moment, when addressing an audience in the city
of Glasgow—the toast was, " Ships,
Colonies, and
Commerce." Thirty-four years had elapsed on last Sun-
day since the conqueror of Europe was seated on the I
heights c f Ulm, when he beheld the captive armies of
Germany pass before him, and when every eye turned
with involuntary homage to the hero who had filled the
world
but the eagle eye of Napoleon
looked withbe)
and
exclaimed, " Gentlemen, this is all well, but I must have
to
nhdi s
allrenown
the
tr
i;u
inphs that lay before him,
greater things than these ; I must have ships, colonies,
and commerce."—(Cheers.) In the year after these 1
memorable words were spoken, yesterday thirty-four ,1
years ago, the empire of the seas was irrevocably 1
taken from his grasp/ and the combined fleets
of France and Spain, which had threatened the
independence of the British empire, were conquered
by the intrepidity of Nelson, and ships, colonies, and
commerce remained in the hands of Britain.—(Cheers.)
And at this day, after a lapse of thirty-four years, there
remained only, of the great armament which had
threatened the independence of our country, a few rid-
dled hulls to testify the magnitude of their defeat, and
carry a tale of victory to future times. The Learned
Sheriff then proceeded to show that upon ships, colo-
nies, and commerce depended the safety and glory of
the British empire, and that upon her colonies must
Britain depend for that commercial eminence which she
had so long sustained. The Learned Sheriff then made
the following statements, to exhibit the real character
of our present position as a maritime state :—British
shipping, in 1802, amounted 2,167,000 tons ; in 1833,
it amounted to 2,800,000, so that in 36 yeais the ship-
ping had increased 28 per cent. In the same period the

(Prom the Glasgow Argus of Thursday.)
On Tuesday evening- a public dinner
ra„,
Trades' Ball by the Weft i.4,f ri6etiaiin Committee of
the New Zraleld Land Company, purchasers of land,
int.enzling colonists, merchants, and others interested in
Ole colonization of New Zealand, to celebrate the de-
parture of the first Scottish colony from the Clyde. 'rho
Chair was occupied by Lord Provost Dunlop ; and
Alexander Johnston, E'sq , of Shieldhall, and Andrew
'ferment, Esq., acted as Croupiers. The company,
whicn amounted to about 150, was composed of men of
all parties. At the principal tables, besidca the Chair-
man and Croupiers, we observed Sheriff Alison, Mr.
Wallace, M.P., Professor Nichol, Dean of Guild Brown,
Deacon Convener Neill, Michael Rowan, Esq., Bathes
Leadhetter and itolßttson, James Hutehinson, Esq.,
Jones Canipladl, Esq., Dr. M Leod, Dr. Burns of
Paisley, Dr. M•Naughtam of Annan, Mr. M'Farlane,
first Scottish mimsfur for New Zealand, &c. Dr.
,eod asked a blessing-, and Dr. Burns returned
thanks.

The LORD PROVOST having given, in succession, the
Qeeen—Queen Dowager, and the rest of the Royal
Family—Army and Navy—both Houses of Parliament
—craved a particular bumper for the next toast. Ile
had great pleasure in proposing the 'widths of the Go-
vernor, the Deputy-Governor, and Directors of tile
New Zealand Land Company. It is to those gentle-
men, observed his Lordship, we are mainly iedebtud for
the effort now making to establish a British colony in
New Zealand ; and when 1 mention the name of Lord
Durham, as standing at the head of this Company, with
the other gentlemen of character and distinction who
go along with him, I am sure you will think that its
affairs are in hands that will do them ample justice. This
colony is about to be commenced in very favourable cir-
cumstances; and when we consider the advantages which
the country possesses in respect of climate and fertility
of soil—when we think of its many rivers and har-
bours, and its very favourable locality, I think we
may fairly anticipate that in the course of time it
will become a flourishing colony, and one of the most
desirable fields of emigration from this country.—
( Loud cheers.) Surely it is better that Great Britain
should extend her empire by colonisation, than by
conquest.—(Cheers.) Surely it is much more delidlit-
ful to see vessels leaving our shores, filled with emigrants
and carrying along with them implements of husdandry,
with a view to taking peaceful possession of countries
hitherto unoccupied, or at least occupied by rude and
barbarous savages, whose habits and customs are a bar
ries to their improvement., as well as to the increase of
their numbers.—(Cheers.) It is no objection in my
mind to the colonisation system that America has as-
serted her independence of Britain ; that is a result
which may fairly be expected to flow. We must expect
that when a colony rises into great importance, and
feels its distance from the mother country a disaiivan-
tage, that it should desire its independence ; and it is
right that it should be independent. But, on the, other
hand, it is desirable that the separation should be
avoided as long as possible, as it must always be
attended with painful circumstances. It should ever be
our duty to take care that our colonies are well go-
verned, to secure the attachment of those who have
emigrated from the mother country for as long a
period as possible ; and, when the tune wines that
it should be, let a separation take place in an ami-
cable spirit, and it will be found of advantage to
both countries.—(Cheers.) Unfortunately, this was
not the case in North America. A separation was
there effected in a spirit of hostility ; but let us hope
that spirit of hostility is fast dying away.---(Cheers.)
The Americans are our brethren ; they are of the same
stock with ourselves ; and why should we not live in
amity and peace ?--(Cheering.) His Lordship then
proposed—" Lord Durham, Governor ; Mr. Somes,
Deputy Govermir ; and the Directors of the New Zea-
land Company." Drank with all the honours.
Mr. JOHNSTON proposed as the next toast—"
Logan, and the Scottish Colonists," and took occasion to
pass a high eulogium upon the merits of the Doctor.
He referred to the fact, that Dr. Logan was an expe-
tienced voyager to the South Sea Islands, and that he
was entitled to receive from Government a grant of
land in New South Wales on certain conditions, but
that he had relinquished his monopoly, and resolved to
go with the colony to New Zealand. From the expe-
rience which Dr. Logan had acquired, and from his
intimate knowledge of mankind, they could well trust
him with the situation Which he was appointed to hold.
He trusted that the Scotch colonists would do honour
to the place of their birth, and exhibit, in the distant
land to which they were bound, that capacity of mind,
that steadiness of purpose, and that kindness towards
each other, and towards their fellow-creatures of every
class, which was so characteristic of their countrymen.
One thing he would most especially impress upon them
was, that, in all their transactions with civilised and un-
civilised men, they should know only one principle, the
principle of justice and conscientiousness.—(Cheers.)
Ile had no fears for the Scottish colonists, but was con-
fident that, go where Scotsmen would, they would excel
in intelligence, honesty, and uprightness of purpose. The
health of Dr. Logan, and the Scottish colonists, was then
drunk amid loud cheers.

Dr. LOGAN returned thanks. We understood him
to say that it was not very long since he had left the
colony of New Zealand, of which he spoke in terms
exceedingly favourable. Indeed but one opinion could
be given upon that subject. The natives were the
most splendid race of savages he ever saw, though he
had been in almost every quarter of the globe. They
were very capable of improvement, and excessively de-
sirous of learning the arts of Europeans. Nothing was
wanting for their improvement but opportunity, and the
progress they had made within the last few years was
truly astonishing. One thing was much wanted among
them—books ; and these they could not get in the
number that was necessary—the only printer in the
colony being an individual who confined himself to
printing a few copies of extracts from the New
Testament, a few Psalms, and the Church of England
Prayer-book. The most valuable thing in the estimation
of a native was one of those books, whether he was a
Christian or not,, and this he might illustrate by a single
anecdote. He was informed that, on one occasion a
native travelled about 60 miles in a very wet day to ob-
tain a copy of a book. When he went to the person
horn whom lie expected to obtain the book, the latter
told him that he was wet, and in all likelihood hungry,
and as it was now night, advised him to go to a neigh-
bouring hut, and repose himself till morning, when he
would give him some books. In the morning, however,
he was surprised to find the native lying at the door on
the wet stones, wrapped up in his blanket, and on asking
him why he had not gone to the hut during the night,
his reply was, that he was afraid some other person
would come and get the books before him.—(Great
cheering.) Dr. Logan then told another anecdote illus-
trative of the sense of justice in the native New Zea-
landers, by which it appeared that, instead of resorting,
as formerly would have been the case, to an exter-
minating war in consequence of a murder perpe-
trated by a native upon one of another tribe, the
offender had been singled out, and capitally exe-
cuted for the offence. Doctor Logan then stated that
he had seen a great many of the natives baptised, and
though the ceremony itself was not more interest-
ing there than here, the scene afterwards was a
great deal more impressive, from the attachment which
they exhibited to each other, the elder Christians, one
alter another, going up and embracing their new made
brethren ; and even the strangers were induced to do the
same. What rendered these scenes still more impres-
sive, was to see the tears starting from the eyes of all of
them, more particularly the old chiefs. He had been
present likewise at the anniversary of she Wesleyan
Missionaries landing in the island, on which occasion
they always celebrated the Sacrament of the Lord's
Supper. He saw 300 of them allowed to partake of
that ordinance, and it certainly was a moving scene, par-
ticularly when he reflected on their former conduct, and
thought of almost the whole of them, a few years ago,
regaling themselves on the flesh of their fellow-creatures.
—(Hear.) That the New Zealanders were capable of
vast improvement, there could not be the shadow of a
doubt, and be believed the time was not far distant when
they would yet become our rivals, not only in the arts,.
but in the sciences.—(Cheers.) After some explana-
tion in reference to his appointment as Surgeon-Super-
intendent of the Bengal Merchant, the Doctor said
that, during the last few years, New Zealand and its
natives had been his hobby, and he was glad to see so
many influential persons taking such a leading part in
the colonisation. In conclusion, he proposed the
Chairman and the West of Scotland Committee.
Drunk with all the honours.

The LORD PROVOST returned thanks. They at one
time thought of having an independent Company for
Scotland, but after further consideration it was con-
sidered best to have one strong Company for the whole
kingdom.—(Cheers.)
The Rev. Dr. APLEon then addressed the company.
I am sure that amid all our differences of opinion there
is at least one standard around which we can rally with
cordial patriotism and high enthusiasm, and that is our
respect. for Great Britain—a land to which we all stand'
indebted, and which has risen so high in the scale of
national glory.—(Cheers.) And no marvel that it
should be so ; for I believe that the sun of heaven
has never risen on a land for which the Almighty has done
so much as the land with which we are connected, and
which, in spite of the evils that are in it, and all our
follies, is a land reposing on the bosom o the sea, which
has won to itself, under the direction of a gracious
Providence, by the prowess of her arms and the wisdom
of her Senate, a name that stands nnrivalled amid all
the nations om the face of the earth—a land that has
oane aen''l and planted colonies till her
n
fame has heard on every shore, her fleets
seenlonr'e(:ery sea, and the commerce of the universe
has poured into her rivers and harbours.—(Cheers
co me, unacquainted with these matters, it does ap-
pear Great Britain, the first
world,mari-
tleall
with so mlny ships lying in
o parts of the world, contain-
ing millions of acres of the finest land, with a vast sur-
plus population, burdened as we are'with 7,000,0001. a
tpireadale irna power
estrange
wit in
n colonies in fact,t

littE stiN, LONDoN, SATITItnAY, OCTOilEit 26 1b1).

1 • eXpOrti of England from 38,309,980/. to 101.890.0001.
and the imports froth 213,t325,f)00!. to 61,268,000/.
Now, he asked who had caused all the diiTerenee he-
tWdeti the ttto pstiods ? it had Veen eati.:ed by the
other European stags, thOte who scion Might becothe
our enemies. It appeared that from 182') to 1821 or
trade with Russia had declined from .539 ships to 2(1;
with Denmark from 57 to 16 ; with Norway from 168
to 15 ; and with weden from 123 to 66. In the same
period Russian ships trading with l,nglirdi bed increased
from 258 to 903 ; Danish from 44 to 624 ; Norwegian
558 to 785 ; and Swedish from 71 to 250. The ton-
' nage to Canada in 1836 was 560,000 tons, and the ex-
ports 2,742,000/. The tonnage of British shipping
from 1802 to 1836 had delined in Europe from 65 per
cent. to 48 per cent. To America it had increased from
6to 9 per cent. To Canada it had increased from 18
to 26 per cent. To India from 3to 5 per cent. While
the tonnage of England was continually declining in our
intercourse with the Continental States it was conti-
nually increasing in our intercourse with our own colo-
nies.—(Cheers.) Here was the great and important
truth illustrated, that it was in colonial enterprise that
we found a counterpoise to all the antipathy and all
the machinations of other States. These facts were the
more valuable as they had occurred at a time when the
commercial policy of this country bad been founded on libe-
ral, wise, and enlightened principles, when the English
Government had thrown down the olive branch to the
whole world, and endeavoured to carry out that system
of reciprocity which common sense laid down a 3 the best
prinLiplc of communication with all nations. He would
give one other statement of facts, to show the case in a
yet stronger light, as proving how much more our com-
merce depended on our own colonies than on foreign
States :—ln 1836 our exports to Prussia were 160,000/-;
to Germany, 4,433,0001 ; to Portugal, 1,085,000/. ; to
France, 1,595,000/. ; to Russia, 1,743,000/. ; to Swe-
den, Norway, and Denmark, 284,0001. Now, they
would see what a miserable driblet of our exports went
to the Continent of Europe. From this dark, gloomy
prospect, let them turn to one of a different descrip-
tion—to the trade with our own colonies, or those who
were our own progeny. The exports to the United States
in 1836 were 12,425,000/. ; to our British American
colonies, 2,732,0001. ; to the %Vest Indies, 3,786,000/. ;
and to the Australian colonies, 1,180,0001. When they
contrasted these facts, they must be sensible that the
source of British strength was to be found in her de-
pendencies. He could not here forbear quoting to them
an extract from the elegant historian of the Decline and
Fall of the Roman Empire, which seemed to have been
written with something of that prophetic
.foresight,
which was the characteristic of genius. The Learned
Sheriff having referred to the fact of our ancestors
living in a savage state, and compared that with the
enlightenment and knowledge that had supplanted the
savage state, read the following quotation from Gibbon :
—" The hostile tribes of the North, the barbarians of
the land and sea, the Scots, the Picts, and the Saxons,
spread themselves with rapid and irresistible fury, from
the wall of Antonius to the shores of Kursk. Their
southern neighbours have felt, and, perhaps, exagge-
rated the cruel depredations of the Scots arid Picts ;
and a violent tribe of Caledonia, the Attacotti,
the enemies and afterwards the soldiers of
Valentinian, are accused by an eye-witness of delight-
ing in the taste of human flesh. When they hunted the
woods for prey, it is said that they attacked the shep-
herd rather than his flock ; and that they culiously se-
lected the most delicate and brawny parts, which they
prepared for their horrid repasts. If; in the neivh-
bourhood of the commercial and literary town of Glas-
gow, a race of cannibals has really existed, we may
contemplate, in the opposite periods of Scottish history,
the extremes of savage and civilised life. Such reflec-
tions tend to enlarge the circle of our ideas, and to en-
courage the pleasing hope, that New Zealand may pro-
duce in some future age the Hume of the southern he-
misphere." This was the reflection of the infidel his-
torian seventy years ago ; but what would have been
his reflection if he had lived till now, and seen in this
city the starting of the first colony from Scotland for
New Zealand—to see the descendants of the cannibals
of Scotland send forth a colony to reclaim the cannibals
of New Zealand.—(Cheers and laughter.) In conclu-
sion, the Sheriff gave " Ships, Colonies, and Corn-
merce." Drank with all the honours.
_ _

Mr. JAMES CAMPBELL, after some high compliments
to Mr. Wallace of Kelly, for his efforts in behalf of
Post-office Reform, and in bringing about the penny
postage scheme, proposed the health of that gentleman,
coupled with Post-office Reform.—(Drank with loud
cheers.)
Mr. WALLACE, in rising to return his very best
thanks for the kind manner in which his health had been
proposed, in conjunction with the great reform of penny-
postage, begged to asure the meeting that he was par-
ticularly proud of having his endeavours thus noticed in
the city of Glasgow, with which he bad all his life been
so intimately acepainted, and which, as the great empo-
rium of trade and commerce of the country, he considered
as expressing the sentiments of the country at large. He
had taken up the question of cheap postage from the con-
viction of its being eminently essential to the comforts,
the happiness, and prosperity of the whole body of the
people. Above all, he looked upon cheap postage as the
mainspring of universal education in this and other coun-
tries, and on that ground he confessed he had laboured
a,siduously. This was not a proper place for entering at
any length on themany benefits lie had all along anticipated
from cheap postage ; he, therefore, would show the
deep interest taken by the people in this matter, by
stating that he had reason to believe that more than
two thousand proposals had been sent in to the. Lords
of the Treasury, in competition for the best mode of
using stamps in the collection of postage. Thus the
intense interest taken by the people in the great mea-
sure he had been instrumental in carrying was demon-
strated beyond dispute. Before sitting down, he trusted
this meeting would permit him' to allude to his much
valued friend, Mr. Rowland Hill, the sole projector of
penny postage. lam aware of the intentions so gene-
rally and properly entertained, of conferring a generous
and lasting testimony of_ public gratitude on Mr. Row-
land Hill, and the public prints inform me, that my
oan friends in certain quarters have mixed up my
services with those of Mr. Hill. Now, my Lord
Provost and Gentlemen, allow me earnestly to en-
treat you to separate us entirely. Pray bear in mind
the high honour which has been conferred on me by
this meeting of my countrymen, and let me remind you of
the distinguished place I have held in the House of
Commons, as Chairman of the Postage Committee, and
as the person chosen to present the petitions of the
people, in favour of Penny Postage, from the Land's
End to John O'Groat's House—from Cape Clear to
Port Patrick. Such, gentlemen, have been my rewards.
They are rewards worthy of a Member of the Legisla-
ture who is anxious to serve his country to the best of
his humble abilities ; and, therefore, I publicly disclaim,
in the strongest terms, any right or title, and far less
the wish, to interfere, in the slightest degree, with the
pecuniary reward so justly due to my esteemed friend
Mr. Rowland Hill. Mr. Wallace repeated his thanks
to the meeting, and being called on to give a toast, pro-
ceeded to say—The toast I have been requested to give
is very appropriate to this meeting, and involves views
of the highest importance to the country at large. The
toast is, " Lord John Russell and Colonial Reform."
My belief is, that the Colonial department is in great
need of reform, and that no other requires it more.
For Lord John Russell as a public man, I have a
high respect : yet I cannot conceal from myself the po-
' si Goa he is placed in, by being at once the reader of the
House of Commons, and the administrator of justice
to the colonies and dependencies of Great Britain. If
tins"' meeting will for a moment reflect on the claims
'which,:as leader of the House of Commons, there must
be, on the .mind ,and the time of Lord John Russell,
-who; night after, night, during a long protracted Session,
has`to contend with a political phalanx nearly equal in
numbers to those who generally support him, has always
to provide against the contingencies of opposition from
the more Liberal section of the House, who frequently
act upon his flank with an active guerilla warfare—how
then can there be time to perform in a sufficient man-
ner the innumerable and increasing duties of the colonial
department? As one who looks upon emigration as the
great desideratum for the welfare and prosperity of this
country, and who has ever supported its extension and
improvement, I have felt it to be my duty to throw out
these hints as to the system of colonial management, in
order to induce this meeting, and others entertaining
similar sentiments, to represent to Parliament the
insufficiency of the present system, with the obtain-
ing one much more enlarged and extensive. The
Colonial Office is reported to be in a state of great
confusion, owing to an accumulation of business be-
yond the powers of the officials employed therein, the
great proportion of whom have not, like Lord J. Russell,
to appear in Parliament, but have comparatively easy
and irresponsible duties to perform. Again expressing
my confidence in Lord John Russell as a faithful pub-
lic servant, I beg to propose the toast committed to my
care, in the belief of reform in that department being
essentially wanted to carry out a general plan of wise
administration in the Colonies, and the extent of emi-
gration so essential to the future prosperity, and the
trade and commerce of this country. Mr. Wallace
then gave—" Lord John Russell, and Colonial Re-
form."

Mr. CRAWFORD—My Lord Provost, we have drank
the Navy—her Majesty's Navy—a toast which will al-
ways be received with enthusiasm in this country. Still,
however strong the sentiment in favour of the British
Navy, we may in these piping times of peace, when the
fiery fight is heard no more, be permitted to inquire
whether our ships of war may not be converted into ships
of peace, and some of them at least, be honourably and
usefully employed as emigration ships.—(Cheering.)
This may be thought by some a startling proposition,
and they may say that it would vulgarize the Navy, and
undoubtedly it would if you were to cram—literally to
cram—the emigrants into crazy and unseaworthy ships,
to make no provision for their health, their comfort, or
their safety on board during the voyage, and leave them
to the tender mercies of a set of greedy shipowners
who care nothing, except how they shall most cff ectually
fleece the emigrants of their hard-earned savings, ga-
thered for many a long day, to send team and their wives
and families to the country they have chosen for their ,