The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-05-13

symbol, drawng together the united powers of
the whole. Earl Grey describes the principle
of this great revolution as follows: 81
"Kseping steadily in view that the welfare
and civilization of the inhabitants of the col.
onies, and the advantage which the empire at
large may derive from their prosperity, are
the only objects for which the extension of
these dependencies IL desirable; and believ-
ing also that there can be no doubt az 10 the
superiority of free Governments, to those of
an opposite character, as instruments of pro-
noting the advancement, of communities, in
which they can be made to work with sue
cess, consider it to be the obvious duty and
interest OF this country to extend representa-
tive institations to every one of its dependen-
cies where they. have not been established,
and where this can be done with safety"
The late rebellion in Canada was the imme-
date cause of putting the colonies upon the
footing of the mother country in the freedom
of its institutions. The American Revolution
had taught q lesson that was not lost. Earl
| Grey says
The system now established in Canada is
that of parliamentary government that is to
8 say, government by means of parties. This
form of government is now working well in
that and the neighboring provinces, and is
probably, on the whole, the best plan hitherto
adopted Of enabling colony, in an advanced
stage of its social progress, to exercise the
privilege of selfgovernment. it may there.
fore be regarded as the form which represent
alive institutions, when they acquire their full
development, are likely to take in the British
colonies" fJs
In pursuance of this plan, when Lord Elgin
was sent to Canada to give it practical effect,
his Instructions bore On their face the unquali.
fed declaration, that " II cannot be too distinct
| ty acknowledged that ii is neither possible nor
desirable to carry on the government of any
Of the British provinces in North America an
| oppos't'on TO the opinion O the Inhabitants"
This was declaration of independence by the
Government, in advance of that contemplated
by the people; and the consequence was, that
the Reformers came into power in the Cana
das, and, instead of perssting in the idea of
annexation to the United States, they have be.
come our rivals in progress, and hold their as
ISOLATION with the renown and power of Eng.
land as comforting advantages over US, from
| whom they are content to ask only fair field
for competition on this continent in q reciproci.
ty treaty.
This scheme of securing the allegiance of
the nations Great Britain has in her train, by
imparthg to them the benefit of the free insti.
tutions she enjoys, has been carried out in
greater or less degree, all over the world. In
the West Indies, in defiance of the violent OPP
position of island aristoctrscies, 1.-THE lords of
the sol, the Government consulted the great
est good of the greatest number, and set free
all the slaves; and, what was held to be equal
ly disastrous, it struck off the letters of monop-
oily, which, by means of differential duties, gave
the home market to the sugar planters without
competition. This double act of emancipation,
| tripled by the repeal of the navigation act,
raised the cry of the privileged owners every
where, that ruin was inevitable. Lord Grey
shows the result in figures from the custom
house; and it appears that both in the West
Indies and East Indies, comparing five years
before with FIVE years after the act of Freedom,
the increase of the sugar crops alone, in the
last five years, under free labor and free com.
petition, was 635,869 cwts. Mr.. d Israeli, who
had been Tory croaker against these reforms,
afterwards, in a speech in Parliament, made
the Gmende to Lord John Russell, who was
their author. After comparing results in de-
tail, he Jumps the matter, and says:
In other words, British production has in.
creased by ], 250,000 cwts., and foreign produc-
ton THAT is slave-grown sugar. has decreased
about 500, 600 cwts. may be called traitor
may be called renegade; but want to know
whether there is any gentleman in this House,
wherever he may sit, who would recommend
differential duty to prop up PROSTATE indus.
try which is already commanding the metro
politan market"
The same system of assmilating the provin.
cial institutions to the British has been pursued
in the cannibal island of New Zealand, and
brought to bear successfully on that warlike and
powerful race, said to be superior to our Shaw
nees in bravery and intelligence. They have
been trained into stone maeons, road builders,
farmers, and traders municipal officers, and
Legislators, by the elective and representative
rights conceded to them under the instruc-
ton and assistance of the English authority.
In Australia, once the land of convicts, the
experiment works well. There parliamentary
tactics are piled, and we hear of debates ending
in the expulsion of ministry who fail to meet
the public expectation. 1t is now land of
gold, of herds, of agriculture, of commerce, of
busy cities filled with refinement. Earl Grey
tells US that in 1850 a census was taken of one
element of this prosperity: "Of persons who
had originally been prisoners, who were actu-
ally in the enjoyment either of entire freedom,
or that degree of freedom conferred by condi-
tional psrdon-the result of the investigation
was to show that of such persons in these col
onies there could not have been less than forty
eight thousand ; and out of this large number,
those who were not, in some way or other,
maintaining themselves honestly, either by
their labor or the property they had acquired,
were 40 few that they formed mere fraction
of the whole"
The Secretary goes on to account for this
by ascribing it to the salutary effects of trans.
plantation; to change of scene, of society and
habits, removal from temptation, and being
forced by necessity to labor where wages were
tempting, in the field or in tending herds, and
having the opportunity to form new charac-
ter among a new people. Another obvious
cause of this reformation, we'll understood in |
this country, is found in the ease of acquiring
homesteads in the crown lands of Australia |
To promote this, regulations were adopted, az
Earl Grey expresses it, "with view of In
suring the distribution of land to those by
whom it was wanted i" since" as he adds. |
"there is no such fatal obstacle to the progress
of a colony as having large proportion of
its lands engrossed by persons who make little
use of the estates they acquired" This was
effected by selling to settlers at the minimum
price, and then providing that " the money re-
ceived for the land may be so laid out that
the bona tide settler may receive, in the in
creased value for occupation of the land he |
buys, full compensation for the price he is re-
'quired TO pay for it." And he adds, that it is |
!" an essential part of the policy which ought |
to be pursued with regard to the alienation of
land, hat the proceeds Of the land sales should
be always 30 applied as to give this advan.
tage to the purchaser" This is almost q |
homestead bill; for it gives back the price of |
the land, received in one hand, BY paying it for |
theinprovement of it with the other hand
1 have drawn thus largely on Secretary Grey's |
explanation of the colonial policy of Lord John |
RusselPs Administration, to point the eye of
our Government to the causes of that success
which is now the wonder of the world. India |
alone gives trouble and that, doubtless, is at
tributable to the fact, that it has always been
in, fho ho~I d. &c