The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-23 00:00:00

'heir j,tiereasons upon an able paper furnished by the chief
et,,,eo of the Cape of Good Hope, aho comeeeteliei the
wi!eer of the popul sr element o the goverintint.
Which ought to have two ussi inbOis. the upper one f
41'4'
for hould be nornieneed by the Crown, and should
pare ever. And now he asked them to see, with re-
;all to the Australian colonies. up in what the Govern-
ceret founded their ' reasons for departing from the
uuttilr'e they originally held. Tee reason was they said,
to
th custom had concilia'ed tied et'ecld the colony
a Present form of.government, that any materiel
tenon in th it respect was undesired, and teat if
they
citablisheil that form of govertimeet in
est
.souli Wales, it would not be wise to
etetle!esh a different form of government in the
to°,'..t.ralian colonies. In a letter from Lord Grey
ttn_.lr Charles Fitzroy, dated the 30t.h July, 1847.
I.u. 1,0 Sir Charles Fezroy'e lett .r in reply to it, the pro-
;icat for naN g two houses was recommended, and in the
Lai,';
6ir IVilliam Tennyson from Val Diemun's
tee?, '; that gentlemen strenuously reeenteee tel I the
theta, "n of the see h ruse of aseetubly. Frein theie
the he might conclude that the reasons assigned by
pri nEnen t for departing from the ol,'-?stalifished
eionieltde of colonial goverment were futile and 'Mewl.
The instittaiens which colonist 'eight to
lase when he r.rrivecl in the colony should he precisely
jn':e. Or very similar to those which he left behinii hint
t, ifter country. The British nannies ought, in fact,
oo brought iet the closest harmony with the term of
Zl'lrtje,,rt,ametit. which we eajoyed here. At present he
ri)ll,, at the Government were aeting upon a ► erroneous
ret. 'Me, told if the principle %%Inca ha was c ,n,
800uld be aeopte ', and a second branch of the legis-
lature iut -Aimed into our modern system of doniel
to '''enteent, then the vestion arose, what should be the
'H3tittition of the upper chamber? The Hole Mem-
,,ol)l4ed that tt,er should be elective, on the same
4sis• But if they were he did not think they
Auldae work will together. The lion. B Crone, the
t'ivolber forSouthwark. who took so deep du interest in
subject. had proposed, by laying an aineedrnent on
• a tale of the House, that the colony should be divided
kte senatorial districts, out of which members of the
upper house should be chosen, having higher qualifice-
eue.o..
and by men of older standing than those by whom
he members of the other house were chosen. He should
defer the amendment to the Bill as it stood at present.
a! thought the Crown ought to have the poet er of no-
tiLtiatin some members of the council. He preferred
ef3e,, eamendment as more consisteut with their former
ree towards their colonies, and more in conformity
With tee constitution of this country. Ile thougt he
teeht to have the consent of the Government to
poT, amendment he proposed, because it was the
ICY t, which they had always adhered, except when
Pressed by an' urgent necessity which was not shown
to
te exist in this case. He rested his proposition on
7 grounds—the right of the colonies to have the
.
trip institutions as they had enjoyed in this country ;
secondly, that the best way to connect them
securely
with this country was to give them an identity
Of
e laws and institutions. He was encouraged by
b
ilium had fallen.from the Noble Lord on a farmer mea-
t)ot when he referred to what had been declared abonies
road,
Only whispered in that House, " that the col
Boreet not only no advantage, but a burden," upon which
beae askee them not to consider that the colonies could
,1„ Separated from them without injury;"-and added,
billet he was determined to maintain them unbroken."
i; Wished also to remind them of the observation cf
;Once Talleyrand, " that if her enemies could deprive
Itt"le country of her colonies, they would break dOwn her
the
wall, and fill up her last dike." He could not run
hiee risk of losing these possessions upon the plea of a
Lc:try economy. They were an outlet for their popula-
and sources of their wealth. They could not be
11°.parated without breaking down the stability and
that
of the empire. He entertained a strong opinion
ioat they should give the colonies the same institu-
honste_ as they enjoyed at home, fel. if they did not
t;_leY could not expect the same advantaites from
OXiet as outlets fur their population, as the better
eses of emigrants would not go to them, un-
less they mill realise in their now location the same
expectations as they could anticipate at home. As
°purees of wealth neither could they expect the same ad-
vantages, He was ready to admit that British prosperity
Was indebted to the superior skill and energy of the pee-
r. At the same time, he thought they owed much to
2.e. form of their Government, and the liberty and order
Which it secured to property. He would retain the colo-
rzle R ee.a as the mainstay of their power, nor suffer them to
_I for want of cohesion, by placing them on the broad
eitetfarm of a common liberty, through which they might
be united with them for even—(l:kar, hear.) They
should consider all as members of one large family,
joined together by ties of a common loyalty to the same
constitution,
and a people enjoying the same laws, united
by a community of interest and reciprocating the im-
INeetneets of the whole world. He would apply the
sentiment of a great man as the principle of these unions:
'"'ll;"Populus cairn non omnis cashes hominum quoquo
e °tlo congregatus, sod ccetus tnultitudinis juris consensu
utilitatis communione sociatus." If we have the
'Aria consensual," the rest would be certain to follow.
.'"(ticar.) If we give them the same institutions as we
°tirselves enjoy, we shall find the same liberty, the
'lame law„-tbe same morality, and religion going to-
Rether,—(Elenr, hear.) We shall thus be doing justice
to the. eolonie y and extending the resources of this great
einpire for our own advantage. He thought that the
"tiumple which we would thus be setting to others would
i
no mean degree contribute to the moral advancement
and the social and intellectual improvement of every
Other nation. He ought to apologise fer bringing for-
ward this subject at :itch a time as the present, but feel-
Log convinced that a great opportunity WAS now atTord,d
?f uniting the colonies to us more closely than we had
hitherto done, by identifying their interests with ours—
bY assimilating their institutions to our ,own—he could
not refrain from submitting these observations to the
better judgment of the House. Tout being done, he
had only to thank the Committee fir their indulgence,
and the attention with which he had been heard, and he
had now to submit to their consideration the proposi-
tions of which he had given notice. The Honourable
mid Learned Gentleman concluded by moving —" The
innissien of the second Clause, and to substitute instead
thereof the following provisions: —• And be it enacted,
that there shall be within each of the said colonies of
New South Wales and Victoria a legislative council and
l'epreventative assembly;' " and resumed his seat amidst
the cheers of the House.
Mr: lIA.WES maid, if the Government had deviated
from
introducing into this Bill time-honoured institu-
tions, they did not do so on light grounds. They did
So. on the broad principle that they should have the con-
lent of the colonies to measures which they brought for-
'iverd, He admitted that the dispatch of his Noble
Friend Earl Grey was the basis of the present measure.
The Learned Gentleman referred to the report of the
Committee of Council, which he stated gave an opinion
favourable to the establishment of two chambers, but ho
did not quote the reasons which they assigned in a sub-
Sequent part of the report for deviation from such a
Course. The people of New South Wales were not dis-
contented with the form of government which they en-
joyed, and strongly urged that no alteration should be
made in it without the consent of the people. They were
not, however, bound irrevocably to this Bill, but the
Government thought they might alter and vary it as the
colonists Might hereafer think most in accordance with
Itheir feelings. There was an unanimity of sentiment
ainong the colonists upon this point, however, they
IMight (tiller upon others. But no alteration should be
Inade in the constitution without their consent. The. ells-
' Patch of Sir Charles Fitzroy referred to a petition
Which was transmitted from ,Sidney, signed by 3,100
Persons of great respectability and of various political
°Onions, the prayer of which was thee they sho
b eulen d not
have two houses of assembly. A petition had also
f4warded from Pore Philip that thee, were contentei
With their constitution; and " another 'from Windsor, in
Sim h Ausera,lia, to the same effect. The First Lord of
the Treasury had presented 'a petition from merchants
connected with the trade of the colony, arid signed by
Parties who had been members of council, and who
knew the feelings of the colonists. They stated that the
Bill would bo well received in the four colonies—Vic-
toria, Van Diemen's Land, South Australia, and New
South Wales. All the local newspapers in the colony
approved of the Bill in all its main provisions, and as far
as the sentiments expressed through that me hum to
represent the opinions of the colonists, it would prove
they were in favour of the Bill.—(Hear, hear.) Except
these manifestations of opinion, he knew none
.adverse
to the Bill. A great meeting took place at Sidney,
and all the speeches delivered there were in approval
of it. Mr. Wentworth, a gentleman well known to
gentlemen opposite, said at that meeting, whatever
might ho the opinion with regard to a second cham-
ber, " there was no absorbing interest taken in
its establishment;" and a resolution was come to,
that no change should be made without their consent.
Attention had been directed to the dispatch of Lord
Grey in 1848, in reply to the Governor, Sir Charles
Fitzroy, in which he stated that he did not regret the
delay which had taken place, because it afforded an op-
portunity to ascertain the feelings of the colonists. lie
came to that conclusion because he did not desire to force
a government against the feelings of the people, how,
ever it might be suited to the taste and feelings of the
people of this country. If they wished institutions to
take root it was not by forcing them against the senti-
ments of the people, however honoured by time and ex-
perience. The Learned Gentleman referred to the opi-
nions of governors on this question, but he had a right
to claim the approval of the Governor of Van Diemen's
Land, that this would. give the colony the same institu-
tions as the other colonies. Sir Richard Bourke, Sir
John Franklin, and Sir George Gipps, as well as Sir
George Arthur, expressed the same opinions, as well as
his friend Mr. Charles Buller. They had, therefore,
• evidence that the Bill would give satisfaction.—
(Hear, hear.) He believed that there was a degree of
concurrence of testimony amongst the colonists of New
South Wales that their constitution should not be a!-
tertd without their content. If there was any consti-
tution that should be forced upon them it was the
native constitution of England. They would propose
to impose a constitution in the shape of
greetAt of par-
liament, independently of their wishes, but ferred
to allow them a voice in the matter. What was pro-
posed by Government was in accordance with thu ex-
pressed will of the colonist.. They proposed to give
them a constitution as it existed, and with it concede to
the colonists the power of altering it according to cir-
cumstances. If anything was wrong it would then gra-
dually right itself. Were they to enforce a parliamentary
•
constitution it would be injurious to the colonists and the
empire at large.—(Hear.)
Mr. AGLIONBY said he would not dare to force his
opinions upon the coltinists until they were prepared to
receive them. His dared not force a second chamber
upon them against their consent. He did not wish to
make them the subject of theoretical changes. The
colonists themselves deprecated such attempts. They
wished to have a constitution founded as nearly as pose
taible upon the same principles as the constitution of this
country. They would like to have two legislative
houses, but they thought that they were net yet pre-