Lord Stanleywas accidentally absent on the previous night when the Order of the Day was read for going into committee on this bill, and he should now propose to postpone it until Thursday next, if it could be then brought on. As there could be but one object in passing this bill, he should be personally obliged to any hon. Members who might have any objections to it in its present shape to state them to him out of the House, so that all difficulty in the way of its passing might be prevented.
§ Mr. Mangles,seeing the noble Lord the Secretary for the Colonies in his place, begged to ask him whether he had used the language attributed to him in the Morning Herald of yesterday? It was as follows:—
With respect to the colony of New Zealand, he could not speak with the same confidence in point of information, because he had not the same means of judging with respect to the demand for labour in that colony: but 10,000 or 12,000 persons had emigrated thither, and as there were some funds still applicable to other purposes in the hands of the Government, New Zealand, of all the Australian colonies, offered for the moment the most favourable prospects to emigrants. He did not speak of the permanent prospects, nor did he speak of the New Zealand Company's settlements, or offer any opinion as to the stability of that colony, for he had reason to believe in this place that the emigration had already overtaken the wants of the colonists, as far as human labour was concerned, for the rate of wages there was very low, and many of the unemployed labouring classes were supported by the contributions of private benevolence?
Lord Stanleyhad no hesitation in saying, that what had fallen from him had 907 been misunderstood; the paragraph which had been read by the hon. Member was entirely wrong, and misrepresented what he had said. What he said was, that with respect to New Zealand he could not speak with the same confidence; but that in the Government settlement of Auckland there was a considerable demand for labour. He had also stated, that there was still the sum of 1,200l. in the hands of Government, applicable to the encouragement of emigration to that colony. With respect to New Zealand, he said, the company were better able to judge of the proportion which capital ought to bear to labour; but he did say, that he believed that at Port Nicholson, to a certain extent, wages had fallen and a number of persons were employed on the public works.