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rent year, fully £10,000, (if not £15,000,) more than
it would have done under Sir G. Grey’s arrangement.
Such is the result of a centralizing policy, in a financial
point of view.

There are one or two points in the Colonial Secretary’s
statement which require explanation.

In his financial message (No. 5) to the House of
Representatives, his Excellency stated that there had
accrued, under Sir G. Grey’s arrangements on the 31st
of July last, an available balance (after deducting all
liabilities,) of £50,000.

Of this balance, which (considering that the Land
Receipts in every Province were considerably under-
stated, there is reason to believe must have been much
greater,) no notice whatever is taken by the Colonial
Secretary.

But it is clear that either the balance ought to have
been distributed amongst the several Provinces, in
conformity with the terms of the 66th clause of the
Constitution Act, or if not so distributed, that it should
have been brought to account, and treated and dealt
with as part of the Revenue for the current year.

In this latter case the financial statement would have
been as follows:—

RECEIPTS.
Available Balance on 31st July ... ... £50,000
Customs Receipts, less cost of collection ... £10,513 89,487
Land Fund less ... ... £5,000
N. Z. Company’s ... ... 30,930
Railways, &c. ... ... 14,557

Total estimated Receipts ... £179,030

EXPENDITURE.
Civil List ... ... £16,000
Expenses provided by Appropriation Act ... 36,497
Leaving, unissued of £77,443, as stated by the
Colonial Secretary, a surplus of ... ... 197,433

to be divided amongst the Provinces.

To cover the expenditure of £52,497 less than one-
third of the net revenue, (territorial and ordinary)
would suffice; and the Provinces would be entitled to
receive rather more than two thirds of the net receipts
of the Customs and Land Fund, instead of one-half as
under the Colonial Secretary’s apportionment.

The Colonial Secretary’s statement is equally un-
satisfactory in another respect.

By the Constitution Act all sums expended in ex-
tinguishing the Native title are made a first charge
upon the Land Fund—not of the particular Province
within which the land may be purchased, but of the
whole colony. But although the monies which have
been expended in purchasing lands within this Province
during the last twelve or fifteen months have been pro-
vided out of its own Land Fund, (and I believe that the
same remark will apply equally to Taranaki and Auck-
land) no information is afforded with respect to the
adjustment of the Land Accounts between the several
Provinces. The result is, that the Provinces in this
Island have paid out of their net Customs Receipts
fully seven-ninths of the expenses of the General Go-
vernment, and have also been called upon to bear the
whole charge of extinguishing the Native Title; while
the provinces in the middle Island have only defrayed
two-ninths of the cost of the General Government, and
having had the Native Title extinguished to all their
lands, with some trifling exceptions, have had the whole
of their Land Fund at their own disposal, instead of
that Land Fund being made chargeable with the ex-
penses of the General Government and the Native pur-
chases.

An Act having been passed to enable you to legis-
late upon the Waste Lands, it remains for you to con-
sider, how far it is expedient to exercise this power.
Believing myself, that the regulations of the 4th of
March, 1853, which gave the death blow to the suffi-
cient or high price system, under which the lands had
long been locked up, have not merely met with uni-
versal acceptance, but that they have acted most be-
neficially—that while they have prevented the evils of un-
due monopoly and speculation, they have placed land within
the reach and means of all classes, and have already
attracted a very considerable population to this pro-
vince, I have deemed it unwise in any way to alter them.
I have therefore contented myself with proposing some
additional regulations, with a view to facilitate the
operations of the Small Farm Associations, and to
encourage and promote the formation of agricultural
settlements. By these additions it is rendered impera-
tive on the Government to make ample reserves for the
sites of Agricultural and Small Farm Settlements in each
district, and to attach to each Small Farm Settlement a
block of adjacent land as common land, over which
the right of pasturage will be exclusively vested in
the Association. It is also proposed, that the Super-
intendent shall be empowered to vest the administra-
tion of the land within the Small Farm Reserves in
Commissioners elected by the members of the Associa-
tion.

Although the scheme of the Small Farm Association
has been ridiculed, and its failure confidently predicted by
many, who claim for themselves superior knowledge in such
matters, yet the settlement of Greytown already presents
such signs of vitality and progress, as not merely
to falsify the predictions of its opponents, but to justify
the Council in granting to all such associations whatever
assistance, advantages, or privileges can be conferred
without detriment to the public weal; for if so much
has already been accomplished by the small farmers, in
spite of difficulties, arising partly from the impassable
state of the Rimutaka road, and partly from the delay
(owing to the Commissioner’s absence) in adjusting
Native claims, still greater and happier results may
reasonably be anticipated, when all obstructions are
removed, and such additional privileges as those pro-
posed are granted.

However desirable it might have been to have vested
the entire administration of the lands of the province
in the Provincial Executive, yet after mature consid-
eration of the whole question I have been forced to the
conclusion, that as long as the charges at present im-
posed by the Constitution Act on the land, remain, or
until some equitable adjustment and distribution of the
public burdens of the colony can be made between the
provinces—the General Government cannot well divest
itself of its present control over the waste lands; nor
do I conceive that it would be for the interest of this
province to disturb the existing arrangements, until it
is either relieved from contributions towards the Com-
pany’s Debt, or the Native Title is extinguished to the
whole of its lands.

Of the Pasturage Regulations it is only necessary to
observe, that by calling upon every applicant for a run
to pay a deposit; by substituting for the present assess-
ment on stock, an average tax, and by making it impera-
tive upon the holder of a run to place upon it a certain
specified quantity of stock within twelve months after
the issue of the license, it is hoped, that mere specu-
lation in runs will be prevented—that parties will be re-
strained by the strongest of all motives—those of self-
interest—from taking a larger extent of country than
they can profitably stock—and that thus the chief diffi-
culties which have hitherto stood in the way of obtain-
ing runs, and which have disgusted and lost the pro-
vince many a valuable settler, will be effectually reme-
died, while at the same time a very considerable revenue
will accrue.

The Governor being authorised under the “Public
Reserves Act” to convey to the Superintendent lands
set apart as “Public Reserves” and also land below
high water mark, I have already applied for a grant
of such land within this harbour, and shall be prepared
on receiving it, to submit a Bill enabling the Govern-
ment to commence the work of reclaiming the land on
the plan originally proposed by Mr. Roberts; and also
for making provision for the management and disposal
of the property, for there is little doubt that the whole
land may be reclaimed not only without loss but at a
considerable profit.