The Sun.
London, England, 1859-02-07 00:00:00

AUSTRALIA.

SYDNEY, DEC. 14.
Mr. Pritchard, the British Consul at the Feejee
Islands, arrived in Sydney a few days ago in the
missionary ship John Wesley, with a treaty in his
pocket, by which the protectorate of the Fejee
Islands is to be ceded to Great Britain on certain
conditions, and he proceeds to England by the mail
steamer to see if he can secure the ratification of
this agreement by her Majesty's Government.
Thakombun, the native potentate who thus Offers
to place his royalty under the guardianship of her
Majesty, has been induced to take this course to
escape from the pressure of demands made by the
Government of the United States. Some American
citizens hays been killed in Feejee, others have
been injured in their property and persons in
various encounters. The demands made for indem-

nity have never been satisfied. The claims, some
of which are of old standing, have been assessed by
a board of American officers at 45,000 dols.. and in
order to escape the payment or the punishment
which is threatened for non-payment, the Fejee
chief offers to hand over his dominions to the

British Government, and leave it with them to

make it right with the authorities at Washington.
He proposes to retain his titular sovereignty, but
to part with his real power, and to govern only in
accordance with the instructions of her Majesty's
local representative. To compensate for the £9,000
which her Majesty will have to pay for the honour
of being Queen of Feejee, he offers to give 200,000
acres of land in fee simple, with any other plots of
land that may be needed for Governmental pur-
poses.

Something more than curiosity exists in Sydney to
know whether the British Government will favour-
ably consider this offer. The establishment of
British power among the islands has been long
desired, not only by the missionaries, but the
traders, as a protection, not only against foreign
aggression, but also against internal organisation.
The occupation of Feejee would act as a counter-
poise against the French influence at Tahiti and
New Caledonia, and would break the line of French

posts across the Pacific. And, what would be
equally popular in Australia, it would necessitate

lie maintenance in those waters of one or two more

British ships of war. But, perhaps, the very reasons
why the colonists would like to see a British estab-

lisliment in Feejee were those which would most
strongly induce her Majesty's Ministers not to take
such a course. To multiply its isolated depend-
encies, except for very good reasons, is not the
policy of the Government ; still less so to purchase
a right of quarrel with the United States. The
Feejee Islands, however, would in themselves be a

valu-able possession. The two principal islands are
of considerable area, the lowlands are fertile, and
are capable of producing good cotton ; the moun-

tains are salubrious, there 2.silausgtLeAßdlAt
Thakomban's title to be chief or
at 200,6(1tra
the whole group is
r:rnot very clear whether

sound and marketable.

During the past month one session of Parliament
has closed and another has opened. It was consti-
tutionally necessary to try .and pass the estimates
for 1859 before Christmas. The Appropriation
Act for the present year was not assented to till
the close of November, so that the money was in
reality nearly all spent before it was voted. Party
squabbles and Ministerial changes have thrown the
Parliamentary work so much in arrear that it has
been found impossible to get the estimates passed
in time. An attempt is now being made to fetch
up leeway. The Government intend to bring
forward this session nothing whatever but the esti-
mates, and to pass them on as fast as possible, leav-
ing all general measures to the Reformed Par-
liament; but the Opposition have already shown a
desire to introduce various questions, and to impede
the progress of the mere financial business, so that
the session may yet be a long one.
During the interval between the two sessions an
ecclesiastical Parliament was held in the shape of
a conference of the Church of England clergy and
lay delegates, summoned by the bishop to decide as
to the establishment of a synod. The Church of
England in the colonies is in a somewhat anoma-
lous position. It labours, or is said to labour, under
special disabilities, which impede its free action.
But the Imperial authorities, for reasons affecting
the prerogative, decline to pass any bill definitely
removing these alleged disabilities. It only remains,
therefore, for an appeal to be made to the colonial
Legislatures. In Canada, in Victoria, in Tasmania,
acts have been passed legalising the convention
of synods. In South Australia and New Zealand
synods have been established by voluntary consent
of the parties concerned, and without any appeal
to Parliament. At the recent conference in Sydney,
it was decided by a large majority to apply for
Parliamentary sanction, and to present to the Le-
gislature not only an enabling bill, but a bill con-
stituting the ecclesiastical organisation of the synod.
Such a bill was accordingly agreed to, after careful
discussion of its clauses, and the conference has

been dissolved. But it is by no means certain that
the bill will pass Parliament. The Catholics have
_ _

been deeply offended of late by the return to the
colony unsanctioned of their bill to establish a Ca-
tholic College in connection with the University of
Sydney. In this bill the phrases " archbishop" and
" archdiocese" of Sydney were used, and the bishop
remonstrated against them, and not by petition to
the Assembly, but by letter to the Government, and
privately by communicating with high ecclesias-
tical authorities at home. Lord Stanley sympa-
thised with the objection, and sent the bill back to
be amended. R.solutions have been several times
brought forward in the Assembly by the Catholic
party strongly condemnatory of Lord Stanley's con-
duct; but they have been invariably met by.a
count out. This has only made the Catholics still
more angry, and they vow to have their revenge at
the next general election. They will certainly use
their.political influence which is very great, to pay
out the bishop by securing the rejection of his
Synod Bill, and in this they will be aided by
.the
non-episcopal portion of the religious community,
who are opposed to any recognition by the Govern-
ment of the internal constitution of the different
churches. A very respectable and influential
minor, too, in the Church of England
itself is
oppose to the bill in the shape in which it has
come out of the conference, so that its chances of
becoming the law of the land are not very bright.
The quarrel between the squatters and the Go-
vernment as to their rights under their leases seems
likely to be transferred to the Supreme
Court. One
of the acts passed in the late session imposed an
assessment on runs. There have been previously
assessments on stocks, but never before an assess-
ment on the carrying capacity of the runs, many of
which are altogether;uns tockedoronly very lightly
stocked. This change in the incidence of the tax
is said to be illegal and not sanctioned by the
orders in Council. Most of the colonial lawyers
take this view, though, of course, there are found.
erltlurtnhatthethpeiy.es
others prepared to argue on the opposite side. The
wealthy squatters. do not care to contest the point,
wenotuladrroannlgyeingeetntw,
inasmuch as victory would be disaster, for, were
they to, tfoulloNN'ier they
terms at any future settlement. But some of the
poorer squatters, on whom the tax Presses hardly,
and especially so as being a retrospective tax, for it
was not passed till the year had nearly expired,
threaten to try the right of the Government in the
law courts. The late Attorney-General has given
his written opinion that the Judge would be forced
to decide against the Government. As one adverse
decision would involve equally every case, this long