(63)
me, by Mr. Earp, that a fourth settlement should
be formed at Port Cooper, for the claimants of
land in the Middle Island. At first the plan ap-
peared feasible; but, after giving the subject
much consideration, and viewing it in all its bear-
ings, I deline to comply with the suggestion. I
deem that the course suggested would not be an
honcurable one to pursue. Port Cooper contains
in its vicinity, a large quantity of the best land to
be found in the colony, and to form a settlement
there would not be fair either to the New Zealand
Company, who are colonizing that part of the
country, under the sanction of Her Majesty's
Government, or to the colonists themselves at
Port Nicholson or Blind Bay. To those settle-
ments, in their present infant state, I think it
wou'd not be fair to set up a rival settlement,
which would be the case if the Government were
at present to form a settlement at Port Cooper.
There is, also, this further objection to the adop-
tion of the suggestion of forming a settlement at
Port Cooper. Even if I were disposed to accede
to it, I am not by any means sure that that dis-
trict has been validly sold to the claimants by the
natives, or that they are willing to sell it to the
Government. I shall now leave the considera-
tion of the bill to the Council. In the situation
in which I am placed, it would not become me to
enter into debate on the subject. I might make
remarks which the other Members of the Council
might not feel themselves at liberty to answer
with the same freedom, as they would do if pro-
ceeding from any other member. I shall, there-
fore, now leave any discussion that may arise upon
the bill, to the other members of the Government.

The Colonial Secretary. -I now move the Or-
der of the Day for the second reading of the "Land
Claims' Bill." I beg, at the same time, to offer a
few observations on its general principles, and to
explain briefly some points, which do not appear
to have been generally understood. When the
subject was first brought before the Council at
the commencement of the present session, and
the main objects of the Bill were stated in the
speech of his Excellency the Governor, they ap-
peared to give general satisfaction; but since the
bill itself has been made public, some mistrust,
the cause of which it is not easy to divine, has
prevailed as to the ultimate intentions of Govern-
ment. Before entering on the question, I would
beg of Hon. Members to divest their minds of any
prejudice which may have been created by state-
ments they have heard elsewhere, and to give the
Government credit for being actuated only by a
desire to promote the general good, in their en-
deavours to bring to a close this difficult question,
There is no wish to urge the premature adoption
of this bill, either upon Members of Council or
upon the Colonists. On the contrary, an oppor-
tunity of explaining it fully is desired, and time
will be given for its deliberate consideration. The
Government is conscious that, upon your right
decision mainly depends the future prosperity of
the colony; unless, however, the bill meets with
your support, or that of the colonists generally, it
is not intended to persist in carrying it out. The
object of the measure proposed is to establish a
sound system of colonization on a fixed principle,
without which it is clear that this colony can never
attain that high position, which, from its geograph-
ical situation, and advantages of soil and elimate,
it is in the opinion of all persons who have writ-
ten or spoken on the subject, destined to reach.
In establishing this principte, it has been the aim
to effect as much public good, and to inflict as
small an amount of individual injury, as the ques-
tion, from its complicated nature, admits of. It
was to be supposed that persons, who had specu-
lated extensively in lands, and had formed extra-
vagant expectations, would experience some dis-
appointment; but it was hoped that all persons
would be satisfied who would be contented with
a fair return for the outlay of their capital. It is
necessary to bear in mind that this question ought
not only to be considered in reference to any im-
mediate benefit it may confer, but to the ultimate
advantage to be derived by each individual settler,
from the permanent prosperity of the entire
colony. The bill passed by the Governor and
Legislative Council of New South Wales, during
the period when New Zealand was a mere depen-
dency of that colony, was prepared with all the
talent that so eminently distinguishes Sir George
Gipps. His Excellency, however, from being so
far removed from those who were best able to ad-
vise on this question, could not have had an in-
timate knowledge of the various and conflicting
interests to be provided for; which indeed could
only be acquired by residing amongst its colonists.
The principal evil of the New South Wales' Bill
is, that under its provisions many years must
elapse before claimants can be placed in posses-
sion of their lands, and that consequently no ex-
changeable value can, for the present, be attached
to them. In the absence, however, of any instruc-
tions from England, the bill was re-enacted
at the first session of the Council of New Zealand;
but, upon mature reflection, principally from the
consideration that the Ordinance could not be
carried out without causing great delay in the
settlement of the numerous claims, it has been
proposed to substitute the present bill. It is an
admitted truth that the waste lands of the colony
are scarcely of value, until occupied by settlers.
It is population which brings those lands into
the market; and, had it not been for the arrival
of immigrants, the lands of the old settlers, in
nearly every instance, would have remained at a
nominal value, and scarcely an indi-
vidual would have been found who would have
deemed himself safe in re-purchasing from them.
On the subject of the bill now before the Council,
three petitions have been presented to His Excel-
lency the Governor. The one from Kororarika
cannot but have created feelings of surprise. I
know that many of the gentlemen by whom it is
signed, are of the highest respectability, and, con-
sequently, their petition, from being published
before even it was laid before the Council, must
have had a mischievous effect on the public mind.
It is very deeply to be regretted that those gentle-
men should have taken so hostile a position to the
measure now proposed by the Government, before
having obtained a knowledge of its details. The
assertions they hazard appear to have been foun-
ded on the general outline of the plan, set forth in