AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. (Hansard, 14 April 1842)

Lord Stanley

moved the Order of the Day for the second reading of the Australia and New Zealand Bill. The noble Lord said, the object of the bill before the House was to regulate the sale of land in the Australian colonies, so that one general principle might be applied to all of these colonies, instead of leaving them in their present state of uncertainty. He had been asked why he did not apply the same doctrine to the Cape of Good Hope? He had stated that there were 34,000,000 of -acres of land at the Cape unappropriated, and had inquired why these were not sold and the proceeds applied to the purposes of emigration. He (Lord Stanley) believed that the total number of acres unoccupied, and belonging to the colony, was between forty and fifty millions. The hon. Member (Mr. O'Brien) did not, however, appear to be aware that there were immense tracts of barren land, which, for want of water, were totally unavailable for the purposes of cultivation, and the fertile land was scattered here and there in small patches. The total quantity of land in the colony was estimated at 83,000,000 of acres, and that of 43,000,000 or 44,000,000 of acres had been appropriated, and of the remainder there were not more than from 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 of acres of fertile land—there being nearly 40,000,000 of acres absolutely unavailable. Now, the attempt to undertake a survey of that land on the same principle as had been applied to Australia would be altogether futile. If such a system were attempted to be put into operation at the Cape, the result would be that the expense of the survey would infinitely more than cover the amount of the value of the land. He believed that the reports of those best competent to form an opinion upon the subject were, that the colony was altogether inapplicable to the purposes of emigration, and it certainly was not the intention of the Government to recommend it, so far as regarded the Cape of Good Hope. With regard to the principle upon which emigration was 499 regulated in the Australian colonies, the House was aware that the Government pledged itself to apply 50 per cent, of the proceeds of the land sales to that purpose; but it certainly was not their intention to give encouragement to those great projects which they heard of every day of raising one or two millions of money by absorbing the whole of the land fund for the next twenty or thirty years, for the purpose of forming at once a great stream of emigration, into the colony. The hon. Gentleman wished to know whether it was the intention of the Government to draw any distinction between Protestants and Roman Catholics in their selection of emigrants for the. Australian colonies? Now, he, on behalf of the Government, begged to repudiate such an intention altogether, and so far as he had anything to do with the colonial emigration fund he should never, sanction any such distinction- What he looked to, alone, was the great want of labour, in the colony, and his object would be to select emigrants from that class whose habits of life, health of body, and age, would make them useful and valuable inhabitants of these colonies. He should look to their bodily qualifications and good character, but for one single moment he should never inquire whether the parties were Protestant or Roman Catholic, and repudiated such a principle altogether. With regard to, what had been said by the hon. Gentlemen respecting New Zealand, he should state in a few words, why the governor had not encouraged emigration to, the middle island and Banks' Peninsula. Although the French had made some small settlements in New Zealand, the Crown claimed sovereignty over the entire, and recognised no claim to sovereignty or right on the part of any other power. Some of the settlements had taken place, in the most| irregular and disorderly manner, and, it was that circumstance which had compelled the Government to, take upon itself the sovereignty of the entire colony of New Zealand, for the purpose, of adjusting these claims. The first thing to be done was to investigate these claims and, a, commissioner bad been, accordingly sent out, who was at the present moment engaged in, that investigation, and it was going on most systematically and sedulously. Under these circumstances, it was thought unwise to encourage what had been complained of over and over again, namely, the scattering of the colonists, over a great extent of 500 country, by which their labours would be to a great extent rendered unavailing. It was thought much better to confine the settlement to those districts where the claims had been recognised than to permit the occupation of distant and widely-separated tracts of land, involving the necessity of distinct establishments, and the governor had accordingly directed that the settlement should be confined to the northern and not to the middle island- It was true the New Zealand Company had settled their second colony on the middle island, but it had been done by no means under the directions or at the wish of the Government. With regard to the financial affairs of the colony of South Australia they were at present under the consideration of the Government, and it was his (Lord Stanley's) intention very shortly to move for leave to bring in a bill to regulate the civil government of the colony, and until that was done, while the question was under the consideration of the Government, he trusted the hon. Member would not press for any further information on the subject. He believed he had answered all the questions of the hon. Gentleman, and he begged to thank him for affording him the opportunity of explaining the views of the Government on the subject.