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personal knowledge of the characters and qualifications of all the parties by whom he will be surrounded, will enable him to exercise such a trust in the best possible manner. His instructions from the Association, agreeing, as we know they will, with his own judgment, will lead him to select from the colonists for recommendation in each department those persons who can most advantageously be employed for the service of the colony; and we are satisfied that in his impartial and disinterested judgment the colonists as a body will have implicit confidence.

We thus hope to avoid those causes of discontent which have not unfrequently occasioned serious drawbacks to the success and growth of an infant colony.

The Association are fully aware of the large discretion upon such a subject which must be necessarily left to the local authorities—a discretion which it would be highly presumptuous in them to attempt improperly to control. At the same time they venture to make these suggestions, relying upon the disposition of your Lordship already expressed, to entertain an application of this nature with as much favor as circumstances will enable you.

I am desired by them to conclude by expressing to your Lordship their most cordial and sincere thanks for the co-operation and assistance which they have hitherto received from you in their undertaking.

I have, &c.,
(Signed) H. F. Alston,
Secretary.

The Right Honble.
Earl Grey.
&c., &c., &c.

(Copy.)

Colonial Office,
16th September, 1850.

Sir,—

1. I am directed by Earl Grey to acknowledge your letter of the 4th of this month on the subject of the official appointments necessary to be made at Port Lyttelton.

2. It will be his Lordship’s desire to meet, as far as possible, the views of the settlers both in respect of the arrangements to be made for performing the essential function of Governor in the new settlement, and in the selection of persons to hold the new appointments which may be created there.

3. Lord Grey will therefore instruct the Governor to take measures for proposing to the Legislature to sanction such expenditure as may be requisite to provide for the wants of the new settlement, and as may be reasonable with reference to its contribution to the general revenue of the colony.

4. Lord Grey will also make known to the Governor the recommendations which he has received from the Association of Mr. Simeon and Mr. Godley, with an intimation that he will be glad if their services can be made available in the manner proposed.

5. His Lordship feels, however, that he must (as indeed the Association anticipate) intrust a large discretion to the Governor, whom he does not think it would be expedient to fetter by positive instructions.

6. He will also inform Sir George Grey, that it is his wish that some municipal organization should be immediately given to the settlement (without waiting for the completion of more perfect arrangements) by which measure as large a share as possible of the management of their own affairs may be entrusted to them.

7. His Lordship does not feel prepared to direct the Governor to be absolutely guided by Mr. Godley in the selection of magistrates, although Sir George Grey will, no doubt, be disposed to give all due weight to that gentleman’s advice.

8. A copy of your letter, and of my present answer to it, will be immediately despatched to Sir George Grey, accompanied by the necessary directions, as soon as the consent of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury may have been obtained to the financial part of the arrangement.

I have, &c.,
(Signed) B. Hawes,
Secretary to the Canterbury Association.

Report of the Select Committee on the New Zealand Company’s Land Claimants Bill.

(Laid before the Council, July 23, 1851.)

The Select Committee of the Legislative Council, appointed on the 1st July, “to whom the New Zealand Company’s Land Claimants Bill, together with certain proposed amendments and other documents relating thereto, were referred for consideration and Report,” have agreed to the following Report:—

The object of the bill being to settle the claims depending upon the unfulfilled contracts of the New Zealand Company for the disposal of land, the attention of your Committee was first directed to an inquiry into the general nature and extent of those claims. In proceeding to that inquiry they were met by the difficulty of there being no accurate published statements by the Company of its liabilities for land, or of the total quantity it had disposed of: and your