LORD STANLEYrose, and said, that neither the appearance of the House nor the period of the Session offered any inducement to him to make any lengthened observations upon this Bill. The state of affairs in New Zealand had long been a matter of complaint; and his firm belief was that, so long as the affairs of that colony were conducted upon their present footing, dissatisfaction would continue. He thought that the papers on which this Bill was founded ought to have been laid before their Lordships before they were called upon to give their decision. Although he rejoiced to know that the affairs of Now Zealand were conducted by a very able and excellent man, Governor Grey, who was remarkable for prudence, discretion, and firmness, yet he was convinced that the principle upon which the New Zealand Company was formed would be a source of perpetual difficulty and dissatisfaction; and he felt justified in saying this by the existence of two independent and conflicting authorities in that island. He confessed that he would see with satisfaction the day arrive (and he was confident it would arrive) when the Company would adopt the alternative which was given to them in the 19th Clause of this Bill, enabling them to surrender their property and their responsibility at once into the hands of Her Majesty's Government, when the affairs of that colony would be conducted upon the principle upon which all other colonies were conducted, namely, that of being subject to the direct control and consequently the direct responsibility of the Ministers of the Crown. And what were their Lordships about to 683 do by this Bill? They were about to grant to the New Zealand Company a sum of 236,000l. (which would be entirely free from interest); and they would take for security a certain portion of the net profits which, after the discharge of certain expenses of the Company, might possibly be realized. That was the whole of the security which they had for the repayment of this loan of 236,000l. The Company at this moment had an unpaid-up capital of 100,000l.; but the Government, instead of calling upon the shareholders to pay it up, called upon the country to give them a loan of 236,000l.; and if, after the expiration of three years it should turn out that that money was lost, and the Company could not any longer carry on their business, they were at liberty to hand over their affairs and responsibilities to the Government in complete satisfaction of this loan. But the Government had no power to compel them to transfer their property to them before the expiration of three years, even if they saw them openly squandering the loan. And not only would the Company be freed from the payment of the loan in case of failure, but the Government also pledged itself to become responsible for all the liabilities to which the Company might be subject at the time of the transfer, which liability would have to be satisfied out of the treasury of the country. However, it appeared that the House of Commons, whose peculiar province it was to deal with these pecuniary matters, was satisfied with the proposal. He thought that it was far from being an economical or satisfactory arrangement. He had no doubt that to the New Zealand Company it was perfectly satisfactory. His belief was that the experiment would fail; indeed he sincerely hoped, for the ultimate benefit of New Zealand, that it would fail, and that the 19th Clause would be fully acted upon, as that would have the effect of transferring the affairs of New Zealand to the proper hands, viz., the Government.
§ EARL GREYAs the noble Lord who had just sat down intimated his intention of not voting against this Bill, he should not go into the details touched upon by him. In respect to the payment to the New Zealand Company, Government had only adopted the view determined upon by a Committee of the House of Commons. That Committee had been sitting the greater portion of the Session, and by a considerable majority they had come to 684 the conclusions which had been embodied in the present Bill. It was supported, not only by the supporters of the present, but by many of the supporters of the late Government. The result of their deliberations had convinced him that there was a fair claim on the part of the Company to the sum which it was proposed to advance. The terms on which it was to be given were found fault with. It should be recollected, however, that for three years the Company was prohibited from taking any step without the sanction of the Government. The Company had expended a very large capital on this speculation—he believed upwards of 250,000l—not one shilling of which could be recovered, unless efforts were made to promote colonisation. He believed that in the end the money to be advanced would be found to have been well spent, were a colony of industrious Englishmen to be fairly established in those islands, already so highly endowed by nature.
§ Bill read 3a and passed.
§ House adjourned.