NEW ZEALAND

GOVERNMENT GAZETTE.

(PROVINCE OF WELLINGTON.)

Published by Authority.

All Public Notifications which appear in this Gazette, with any Official Signature hereunto
annexed, are to be considered as Official communications made to those persons to whom they may
relate, and are to be obeyed accordingly.

By His Honor's command,

WILLIAM FITZHERBERT, Provincial Secretary.

VOL. III.] MONDAY, JANUARY 1, 1855. [No. 1.

SPEECH
OF

HIS HONOR THE SUPERINTENDENT

AT THE
OPENING OF THE THIRD SESSION OF THE
PROVINCIAL COUNCIL OF WELLINGTON,
On THURSDAY, 27th DECEMBER, 1855.

Mr. SPEAKER, AND GENTLEMEN of the Provincial
Council :—

If on this, as upon a former occasion, I am obliged
to admit, that unforeseen difficulties have arisen in
carrying out the Constitution—that its machinery
has not moved as smoothly as was anticipated—
that, as far as the General Government is concerned,
it has hitherto entirely failed to realize the expec-
tations of its framers, or to fulfil the purposes of its
creation, still, I see no reason to despair of the ulti-
mate success, of the great experiment in which we
are engaged; and the issue of which is watched by
Statesmen at home, and by the leading minds in
the neighbouring colonies, with a far greater in-
terest, than has ever attended the inauguration of
any previous Constitution.

When, indeed, it is remembered that during the
very period, when the guidance of a firm and reso-
lute hand was most needed, the reins of Govern-
ment have been held by a mere ad-interim Admin-
istrator; that the chief offices have been filled by
an irresponsible Executive, between whom and the
General Assembly there has existed a state of con-
stant collision, it can scarcely be a matter of sur-
prise, that the wheels of Government should have
been clogged, or that there has not been that har-
monious action between the Central and Provincial
Governments, which is essential to the successful
working of the whole machine.

The arrival, however, (after an interregnum of
nearly two years) of a Governor, who no sooner
lands, than he avows his intention to govern by
Ministers enjoying the confidence of the People's
Representatives; who declares that the policy
of the majority shall be his policy, — and
that he will interfere only on points which in-
volve Imperial interests; the desire he has evinced
to make himself acquainted with the wants and
requirements of the whole Colony, his anxiety to
convene the General Legislature within the short-
est possible period; above all, the promptness with
which he has already redressed some of the most
crying grievances of the Provinces, — may well
inspire us with a hope, that His Excellency will, if
he receives that support to which he is fairly en-
titled, not only vanquish and overcome the many
difficulties and embarrassments bequeathed to him
by his predecessors, but will establish the whole
Constitution on a firm and lasting basis.

But if, as far as regards the working of the Consti-
tution, there is necessarily some disappointment,—
some cause for discouragement, no such feeling can
well exist with respect to the progress of this Pro-
vince; for the Census and other Returns which
have been recently published, afford the most un-
mistakable evidence of its steady, if not rapid
advancement in all the elements of wealth. If you
compare these various returns with those of 1853,
you will find, that there has been an addition to
the population of nearly two thousand souls—that
the flocks have increased from something under
100,000 to 193,000—the herds from 12,000 head to
18,000—that notwithstanding the dearth of labour
two thousand additional acres have been fenced in—
and that the value of the exports has augmented in
a similar ratio; but after all, the most gratifying
proof of its prosperity is, the rapidity with which its
most distant parts are being peopled.