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shall give such information as shall lead
to his or their apprehension.

By command of His Excellency
the Governor-in-Chief.

For the Colonial Secretary,
J. Coates.

(Circular.)
Downing Street,
25th September, 1847.

SIR—In the last session of Parliament
an Act was passed ‘For the Naturalization
of Aliens,’ 10th and 11th Vict., ch. 83. I
herewith enclose a copy of it.

The Preamble of that Act explains
briefly the circumstances in which it originated. In almost all of the British
Colonies Laws had, of late years, been
enacted, the object of which was to impart
the privileges of Natural-born British
subjects to Aliens inhabiting the Colonies
in which those enactments were made.
On referring those Acts to the successive
Law-Officers of the Crown, it appeared
from their answers to such references, to
be a matter of great doubt whether they
were valid and effectual for their purpose,
and whether the Queen could properly
be advised to confirm them. The principal ground of this doubt was the existence
in the British Statute Book of various
General Acts respecting the Naturalization
of Aliens, some of which Acts of Parliament, and especially the Statute 7th and
8th Vict., ch. 66, were supposed by Her
Majesty’s Legal Advisers to extend to,
and to be in force throughout the British
Colonies. But the Colonial Acts in
question being found to be in several respects
at variance with, and repugnant to those
Acts of Parliament, it was inferred that
such Colonial Enactments were null and
void either in whole or in part.

To obviate a conclusion replete with so
much inconvenience, and recommended
by no assignable advantage, Her Majesty’s
Government recommended to Parliament
in their last session, the passing of the
Act which I now enclose.

The result of that Act is first, to give
validity to all Colonial Naturalization
Acts formerly passed, and to declare that
they shall be taken to have been valid
from the time of their enactment. Secondly, the Act then proceeds to provide
that all Naturalization Acts which shall
hereafter be passed by any Colonial Legislature shall, within the limits of the
Colony have the force of law, any Law or
Statute to the contrary notwithstanding.
But thirdly, both the retrospective, and
the prospective operation of the 10th and
11th Vict., ch. 83, is confined to Colonial
Acts which authorize the enjoyment of
the privileges of Naturalization within
the limits of the Colony within which
such Acts shall have been, or shall be
made. It also declares, fourthly, that all
such Naturalization Laws shall be subject
to the rules which regulate the enactment

and disallowance of Colonial Laws on any
other subject. And, finally, it declares
that the 7th and 8th Vict., ch. 66, does
not extend to the British Colonies.

The result of these enactments will be
to remove all doubts which have hitherto
prevented the confirmation of various
Naturalization Acts of the different
British Colonies, and to ascertain the
competency of the Colonial Legislatures
to confer on Aliens the privileges of
Natural-born British subjects, if the exercise of these privileges be limited to the
particular Colony in which the Enactment
may be made.

It may obviate a possible misconception
to add that inasmuch as that part of the
Navigation Act which confines to British
subjects the ownership of British-registered Shipping is not repealed but continues in full force, the disability of an
Alien, naturalized under a Colonial Act,
to own such shipping, is not removed by
the accompanying Statute 10th and 11th
Vic., ch. 83. It would indeed be at variance with the terms of that Act, to
claim such a privilege in pursuance of it,
inasmuch as the privileges which it authorises the Colonial Legislatures to
confer, are expressly restricted to the
limits of the Colony within which they
may so be conferred.

I propose, in a series of separate Despatches, to advert to, and dispose of, the
particular questions of this kind which
have hitherto been pending; those separate Despatches being, of course, addressed to the Governors of those Colonies only, in which any such questions
have arisen.

I have the honor to be, Sir,
Your obedient humble Servant,
(Signed) GREY.

GOVERNOR GREY.

PROCLAMATION.

By His Excellency EDWARD
EYRE, Esquire, Lieutenant-
Governor of the Province of New
Munster in the Islands of New
Zealand.

WHEREAS an Ordinance was enacted
by the Lieutenant Governor of
New Zealand, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof,
Session 7, No. 17, intituled An Ordinance
to repeal the Cattle Trespass Ordinance,
and the Cattle Trespass Amendment Ordinance, and to provide for the summary
recovery of compensation for damage done
by Cattle trespassing, it is amongst other
things enacted that—‘If any Cattle shall
be found wandering at large in any street,
or public place within the limits of any
Town or Village, which shall be proclaimed
by the Governor, (or Lieutenant-Governor) to come within the operation of this
present provision, the owners thereof shall
forfeit and pay for every head of Cattle so
wandering any sum not exceeding Five