THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS JOHN ROBERT GODLEY. THE LIBRART OF CALIFO! ,,OS EXTKACTS FKOM LETTERS OP JOHN EGBERT GODLEY TO C. B. ADDERLEY. LONDON : PRINTED BY SAVILL AND EDWARDS, CHANDOS STREET, CO VENT OABDEN. 1863. Hams, Christmas, 1862. MY DEAR LYTTELTON, To you, as the Friend we have both most highly valued, I especially offer these extracts from Godley's private letters to me to you especially, but also to the rest of that inner circle of his Friends whose names your Harrow epitaph records not forgetting the tenderer interest which will be taken in them by his Widow, nor the legacy they contri- bute, quod contra decuit, to Parents whose uncommon worth was his inheritance. For no one else is a single copy to be printed. These extracts, simple as the current of ordinary conver- sation, exhibit, at least to some extent, the sterling character of mind which made so many men of mark hold Godley in such high estimation. There are, no doubt, many of his letters more studied than these, and well worth publishing none more so than some on political subjects to the Duke of Newcastle, all of which the Duke told me that, entertaining the opinion invariably formed of Godley by all his acquaintance, he had carefully preserved. I know that you have kept a large correspondence extending over many years, and including the completest history of the Colony of which you and he were the principal Founders, which illustrated the revival of National Colonization, whose chief Port bears your name, its seaward headlands bearing mine and Godley's. I know of only one book that Godley ever published, Letters from America, (published by Murray 1844,) dedicated 1138782 vi Letter to Lord Lyttelton. to myself, which the American Minister of that day (Mr. Everett) recommended, as the soundest and most original English work on America, to the Select Committee to which Parliament referred the enquiry about Irish Emigration. Many pamphlets and fugitive pieces of Godley's writing, and a whole volume of articles for London and Dublin news- papers on the leading questions of his time, deserve careful examination, for the purpose of extracting such as relate to general subjects, or to subjects of permanent interest, for publication. Meanwhile, this light thread of thoughts of his, on all sorts of topics, public and private, from the year of his leaving College to that of his early death, may serve to retrace upon our hearts and memories the habitual characteristics of one of the most leading minds, and soundest judgments, and most uncompromising consciences we may ever come in contact with. Ever affectionately yours, C. B. A. Inscription by Lord Lyttelton on a Tablet in Harrow Chapel. JOANNES B. GODLEY VIR, SI QUIS ALIUS, FORTIS, MAGNANIMUS, REBUS GERENDIS ET IN HOMINUM MODERATIONEM NATUS. JUVENIS NATALE SOLUM NECNON AMERICA NONNULLA ADCURATE EXPLORAVIT : /EQUALIUM MENTES AD MAJORUM PR^CEPTA QUIBUS COLONIZE NON TAM REGEND^E SUNT QUAM CREAND.E, INTER PRIMOS REVOCAVIT : FLORENTISSIMAM IN CANTERBURIA awoiKiav EXCOGITAVIT, DEDUXIT, INSTITUIT, ET DUM VIXIT IN CORDE HABUIT : REDUX IN MILITARIBUS CONSILIIS EGREGIE OPERATUS : SED INFIRMA VALETUDINE PRjEPEDlTUS NE AD SUMMA PROGREDERETUR, IMMATURAM UT LOQUIMTIR MORTEM OBIIT XVII. Nov. MDCCCLXI M-s. XLVII. H^EC APUD SCHOLAM CUJUS ALUMNUS FUIT PAUCI EX AMICIS QUOS SIBI DEVINCTISSIMOS TENUIT POSUERUNT. C. B. Adderley. Lyttelton. Newcastle. T. S. Cocks. F. A. McGeachy. Eoundell Palmer. Devon. Arthur Mills. R H. Pollen. J. E. Fitzgerald. Monck. W. P. Prendergast. W. E. Gladstone. W. Monsell. H. S. Selfe. De Grey. G. A. Hamilton. John Simeon. M. J. Higgins. E. Thornton. Walter C. James. Edwd. Twisleton. C. G. Wynne Resolution passed in the Provincial Council of Canterbury, New Zealand, 28M Oct. 1862. Moved by the Provincial Secretary, seconded by Mr. J. E. Fitzgerald : "That this Council, desiring to record its deep sense of the loss which the Province of Canterbury has sustained by the death of its Founder, and deeming it right to preserve for ever among the inhabitants of the Province the memory of labours to which it is so deeply indebted, as well as an example of worth and excellence in private life, and of wisdom and uprightness in the administration of public affairs ;" Resolves : " That a Statue of the late JOHN ROBERT GODLEY be erected in the city of Christ Church, in such public place as his Honour the Superintendent shall direct ; and that his Honour be respect- fully requested to take such steps as may be necessary to carry this Resolution into effect ; and this Council undertakes to make due provision for the cost of such a work out of the public revenues of the Province." CONTENTS. 1. Called to the Bar. 1839. June 24 1 2. Aunt killed. 1839. Sept. 3 '2 3. Faith only Support under Affliction. 1839. Sept. 24 . 2 4. Life in London. 1839. Sept. 30 4 5. Begins to discuss General Subjects Theory of Allegiance. 1840. Nov. 23 4 6. On Whig Principles, and on Party. 1840. Dec. 14 . 9 7. Fragment on reading History 14 8. On my Sister's, Mrs. McGeachy's, Death. 1841. Jan. 16. 15 9. Circuit. 1841. March 23 16 10. Tracts for the Times. 1841. March 29 17 11. Sewell and his Irish College of St. Columba. 1841. April 17 18 12. On the Irish Eegistration Bill. 1841. May 8 . . . 19 13. Country Business and Sport. 1842. Jan. 3 . . . . 21 14. Alone at Killigar Eeflections. 1842. Feb. 10 . . 22 15. Studies, Classical and Mathematical. 1842. May 24 . 23 16. Starting for Canada. 1842. July 4 25 17. Account of Tour. 1842. Oct. 9 27 18. On Keturn from America. 1842. Dec. 1C .... 30 19. Reflections on Transatlantic and English Politics. 1842. Dec. 23 31 20. On Advance of Democracy in England. 1843. Jan. 21. 33 21. Letter to " Evening Mail" on Canadian Politics. 1843. Jan. 26 39 22. Plans for Life. 1843. Feb. 10 3D 23. Course of Reading. 1843. Nov. 5 . 4 1 s Contents. ^ETTEK 24. Carlyle's "Past and Present." 1843. Nov. 10 . . . 45 25. Laing's " Notes of a Traveller." 1843. Christmas Day. 46 26. Eevolution of '88. 1843. Feb. 27 48 27. On Tradition. 1843. April 10 51 28. On Faith and Works 57 29. Further Remarks on Tradition. 1843. April 26 . . 70 30. Lord Ashley's Motion for an Address on Education of Working Classes. 1843. March 6 71 31. Lord Ashley's Education Clauses in Factory Bill. 1843. March 29 73 32. State of Ireland. 1843. July 12 74 33. State of Ireland. 1843. July 15 75 34. State of Ireland. 1843. Aug. 7 76 35. Threat of Assassination. 1843. Oct. 28 78 36. Preparation of his " Letters from America." 1843. Nov. 27 80 37. Signs of Peelite approaches to the Whigs. 1844. May 27 81 38. Grand Jury Work in Ireland Friends marrying off 1844. July 13 83 39. Irish Terrorism Physical Improvement National Education Readings. 1844. Aug. 13 . . . . 85 40. State of Church and Morals in North Wales. 1844. Oct. 11 88 41. " Young England " Irish Education, Juries, &c. 1844. Nov. 10 90 42. Trial by Jury, with People against Law. 1844. Nov. 16 91 43. Letters to Newspapers Irish Trial by Jury Whig Principles. 1844. Dec. 12 92 44. Irish National Education and Payment of Priests. 1845. Jan. 24 95 45. An Irish Magistrate murdered Gladstone's Retirement from Peel on the Maynooth Question. 1845. Fel). 8 97 46. Maynooth Grant State of Ireland. 184,1 Feb. 18 . 98 47. Assassinations Secessions from Church Newman. 1845. Nov. 25 101 48. Life threatened Corn Laws Hunting Secessions. 1845. Dec. 3 102 49. Peel's Resignation. 1845. Dec. 15 105 Contents. xi LETTER PAGE 50. Peel Corn Politics "What should be done in Ireland. 1846. Jan. 19 106 51. Anti-Corn-Law League. 1846. Jan. 22 108 52. Dislocation of Parties Peel's New Corn Bill and Irish Coercion. 1846. March 13 109 53. Changed Votes of Peel's Friends. 1846. March 28 .110 54. Irish Politics and Peel. 1846. April 15 112 55. His Sister's Marriage State of Ireland. 1846. June 11 . 113 56. Announcing his own Marriage. 1846. June 30 . .115 57. Free-trade in Sugar Marriage Plans. 1846. July 26 116 58. Lord J. Russell's Prospects in New Ministry. 1846. Aug. 26 116 59. Irish Famine, and Government Relief Works. 1846. NOT. 26 118 60. Irish Famine Works. 1846. Dec. 31 119 61. His defeat in Leitrim Election. 1847. Aug. 24 . . 120 62. Irish Lamentation and Woe. 1847. Sept. 24 . . .121 63. Letter on Colonization to " Spectator " Distress in Ireland and England. 1847. Oct. 26 .... 122 64. Lord J. Russell's Irish Policy Colonizing Scheme. 1847. Dec. 7 123 65. Proposals from the New Zealand Company : First Hint of a Church Colony. 1847. Dec. 15 123 66. Committee for proposed Church Colony. 1848. Jan. 16 124 67. Irish Jury System Lord G. Beutinck's Death 1848. Sept. 24 125 68. Attacks made on the Canterbury Church Colony. 1848. Dec. 2 126 69. The Same. 1848. Christmas Eve 126 70. Bronchitis Politics. 1849. Jan. 9 127 71. Hudson's Bay Company Colonial Motions. 1849. April 9 127 72. New Zealand Company Pamphlet on Australian Con- stitution Bill. 1849. Aug. 8 128 73. Thanks from the Cape for Defence from the Infliction of Convicts. 1849. Sept 129 74. Must leave England. 1849. Sept. 129 75. Going to New Zealand suggested by E. G. Wakefield. 1849. Sept. 24 130 xii Contents. LETTER PAGE 76. Australian Anti-Convict Move A Bishop for Canter- bury. 1849. Sept. 27 130 77. Pressed to start. 1849. Oct. 16 131 78. Last Instructions going out. 1849. Nov. 2 . . . .131 79. Is to start from Plymouth Asks me to see Wakefield. 1849. Nov. 12 132 80. At Pole Carew's under sailing orders regrets my not coming. 1849. Friday, Dec. 8 133 81 . " Letter to Gladstone" Articles in " Morning Chronicle." 1849. Dec. 11 133 Extracts from the "Letter to Gladstone." 1849. Dec. 12 135 82. On the Voyage. 1850. Feb. 19 138 83. Arrival at the Canterbury Settlement. April 22 . . 153 84. At Wellington Character of New South Welsh. 1850. Aug. 13 169 85. On the proposed New Zealand Constitution. 1850. Nov. 21 173 86. At Lyttelton. 1851. Jan. 30 174 87. Futility of Instructions from Home. 1|51. May 22 . 175 88. The Association interferes too much with the Colony. 1851. June 19 177 89. Resistance of Canterbury Colony against Interference. 1851. Aug. 29 178 90. Political Demonstration. 1851. Sept. 5 179 91. Management must be transferred to the spot. 1851. Dec. 15 180 92. Double Difficulties of divided Government. 1852. Jan. 20 182 93. The Association becomes as bad as the Colonial Office. 1852. March 17 184 94. Association must abandon power, or transfer itself. 1852. June 4 185 95. Economy and Success of Colony Daughter born. 1852. Aug. 2 18C 9G. New Zealand Constitution Bill. 1S52. Sept. 20 . .187 97. Of com ing Home. 1851. Sept. 22 189 98. Corning Home, and Constitution. 1852. Nov. 11 . . 189 99. On Way Home. 1853. Jan. 27 190 Contents. xiii IETTEB PAGE 100. On subscribing to Support of Colonial Clergy. 1853. Aug. 31 191 101. On taking Income-tax Commissionership given him by Gladstone. 1853. Oct. 8 192 102. Mode of Life. 1853. Oct. 21 193 103. Australian Article in " Fraser" Canterbury Lands. 1853. Nov. 2 194 104. New Zealand Affairs. 1854. Jan. 5 194 105. Abandonment of Orange River Territory. 1854. Feb. 8 195 106. Debate, in 1791, on Turkish Question. 1854. Feb. 14. 197 107. Income-Tax Circuit Reflections on Life On Govern- ment postponing Reform for Russian War. 1854. March 9 197 108. Regrets at having left New Zealand Colonial Clergy Bill Emperor Nicholas, &c. 1854. March 23 . .199 109. Removed to Income-Tax Commission in London Killarney. 1854. April 2 202 110. Commissioners' Circuit. 1854. April 20 203 111. New Zealand Debate. 1854. July 10 20t 112. Debate on Proceedings of the New Zealand Government by way of giving Effect to the Constitution Act. 1854. July 15 204 113. Letter from Godley to the " Spectator" on the Represen- tation of Colonies in the Imperial Parliament. 1 85 4. July 1 206 114. Second Letter on same subject. 1854. July 6 ... 207 115. Letter to " Morning Chronicle" on New Zealand Debate. 1854. July 19 213 116. Sir W. Molesworth to be Colonial Secretary. 1854. July 21 213 117. Colonial Debates Lawley's Appointment A.lison, &c. 1854. Aug. 7 213 118. Letter in " Spectator" on Colonial Representation. 1854. Aug. 25 214 119. On the Union of North American Provinces. 1854. Aug. 28 216 120. Letter from Godley to the Hon. Joseph Howe, Provincial Secretary, Nova Scotia. 1854. Sept. 5 . . . .217 121. Letter from Hon. Francis Hiucks, M.P.P. Canada, to me. 1854. Sept. 4 220 xiv Contents. LETTER PAGE 122. On Hincks's Letter. 1854. Sept. 28 222 123. Letter from Hon. Joseph Howe to me. 1854. Nov. 4. 222 124. On Howe's Letter. 1854. Nov. 25 229 125. From W. H. Prescottto me, on same Subject. 1854. Nov. 4 229 126. Visit to Hawarden Castle Asking Gladstone for more Work or less Pay. 1854. Oct. 16 233 127. Hears from Heneage "Wynne, before Sebastopol. 1854. Oct. 27 234 128. Of Heneage Wynne's Death at Inkerman. 1854. Nov. 25 234 129. Eeflections on Sudden Death. 1854. Nov. 27 ... 234 130. Debate ou the War in Parliament Colonial Association. 1854. Dec. 17 235 131. Church Government New Zealand Crisis Crimean War. 1855. Jan. 6 237 132. Convocation War Maladministration. 1853. Jan. 19 238 133. Lord Aberdeen ousted. 1855. Jan. 26 239 134. Palmerston's Difficulties with the Peelites. 1855. Feb. 6 240 135. Offer of Troops from Canada. 1855. Feb. 17 . . .240 136. Canadian Offer of Troops Secession of Peelites from Ministry. 1855. Feb. 24 240 137. On Moving Thanks to Canada. 1855. March 2 . . 241 138. Emperor of Russia dead. 1855. March 4 .... 242 139. Our Troops in Australia employed in putting down Ballarat Riot. 1855. March 9 243 140. Chance of change of Government losing him his Office. 1855. May 11 243 141. Foreign Legion Sir J.Robinson. 1855. May 12 . .243 142. Harper consecrated Bishop of Lyttelton. 1855. Aug. 14 244 143. Preparations against Sebastopol. 1855. Aug. 21 . . 244 144. The War. 1855. Sept. 12 245 145. Hincks made Governor of Guiana The War. 1855. Sept, 18 246 146. Recruiting. 1855. Oct. 5 247 147. Canterbury Colony paying off its Debt to the Association. 1855. Nov. 30 247 148. Improved State of Ireland. 1855. Dec. 23 . . . .248 149. Salary raised. 1856. Feb. 4 249 150. Changes in his Office. 1856. July 26 249 151. Wellington Colony offering me an Agency in Parliament. 1856. Aug. 1 250 Contents. xv LETTER PAGE 152. Discharged German Legion sent to the Cape, and kept there by Sir G. Grey on Full Pay as Soldiers. 1856. Aug. 13 250 153. German Legion. 1856. Aug. 29 250 154. Tour of Inspection of Depots of Arms. 1856. Sept. 30. 251 155. Colonial Church. 1856. Oct. 6 254 156. Gladstone's Speeches for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Jersey and Guernsey. 1856. Oct. 13 254 157. To the Editor of the " Guardian" on Gladstone's Speeches. 1856 255 158. Observations on the Cultivation and Tenure of Land, put together for publishing, from Letters cliv. and clvi. 1856. Oct. 20 257 159. German Legion Transportation. 1856. Oct. 20 . . 260 160. On the way to Paris German Legion. 1856. Oct. 24. 260 161. On Return from Paris. 1856. Nov. 7 261 162. Speech on Church Government in New Zealand New Zealand News English Politics. 1856. Dec. 17. 263 Extracts from New Zealand Speech 263 163. Laudatory Article in "Economist" on the Letter on Tenure of Land Politics. 1857. March 23 . .276 164. Offence given to Farmers by recommendation of Leases to the highest bidder. 1857. March 26 .... 276 165. The Election. 1857. April 3 276 166. On Return from Switzerland. 1857. Nov. 3 . . .277 167. On Indian Government Question. 1857. Nov. 10 . . 280 168. Return to Town. 1857. Nov. 21 282 169. Indian Government. 1857. Nov. 27 283 170. Invitation from Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, Colonial Secretary. 1858. Aug. 11 284 171. Visit to Sir E. Bulwer Lytton New Zealand News. 1858. August 21 284 172. Religious Earnestness Mr. Gladstone's Commission to the Ionian Islands. 1858. Nov. 5 285 173. Departmental Committee on Colonial Military Expendi- ture. 1859. Oct. 23 286 174. Canterbury News Reform Bill. 1859. Oct. 28 . . 286 175. Report of Departmental Committee on Colonial Military Expenditure. 1859. Nov. 9 287 xvi Contents. LETTER PAGH 176. At Scarborough Throat little improved. 1860. Jan. 8. 287 177. Debate on Departmental "Report Proposes Select Com- mittee on the Subject Spirit of Controversy. 1860. June 3 288 178. New Zealand Disturbance Eeform Bill. 1860. June 12. 289 179. Greg's "Creed of Christendom." 1860. June 14 . .290 180. New Zealand Self-helplessness Throat worse. 1860. July 13 290 181. On an Essay of mine Health better Lady Simeon's Death. 1860. Aug. 26 291 182. Essay Health Conjectures about Death. 1850. Aug. 30 292 183. Political Economists' View of Landlords. 1860. Sept. 28 293 184. New Zealand Natives' Rebellion. 1860. Oct. 20 . .293 185. Health New Zealand Colonists' Inaction. 1860. Oct. 26 294 186. New Zealand Politics Resolution to resign rather than stay longer from Office. 1860. Oct. 28 .... 295 187. Lord Russell's Despatch justifying Sardinia New Zea- land War America. 1860. Nov. 15 .... 295 188. New Zealand Native Government Bill. 1860. Nov. 23 296 189. Describing a Shipwreck. 1860. Nov. 28 297 190. On relieving English Distress by Emigration. 1860. Dec. 16 298 191. New Zealand Politics. 1860. Dec. 22 298 192. Return to London in better Health. 1861. Jan. 23 . 299 193. Suggesting line of evidence for Arthur Mills' Committee on Colonial Military Expenditure. 1861. April 23 299 194. Suggesting Report for A. Mills' Committee. 1861. June 4 . 301 195. Colonial Civil Expenditure. 1861. July 1 .... 302 19G. Government propose to follow up the Committee's Report Lord Herbert's Death. 1861. ,Aug. 5 . . . 302 197. Reflections on Lord Herbert's Death-bed Despair of his own Life Old government of Ireland not analogous to present of Colonies. 1861. Aug. 13 ... 303 198. Lord Monck Governor- General of Canada Bishop of Oxford on Religious Doubt. 1861. Aug. 26 . . 305 Contents. xvii LETTEB PAQB 199. A Colonist's Letter Lord Monck going out. 1861. Sept. 7 305 200. Troops sent to Canada. 1861. Sept. 12 306 201. Eemoving his Son to Rugby. 1861. Sept. 25 ... 306 202. Return to London Worse Symptoms. 1861. Oct. 18 307 203. Danger increasing Commends a Pamphlet on Colonial Relations. 1861. Nov. 9 . . .307 APPENDIX. Letter to the " Dublin Evening Mail," on Canadian Government. 1843. Jan. 25 . . . .309 EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS OF JOHN EGBERT GODLEY TO C. B. ADDERLEY. i. Called to the Bar. 1839. June 24. Killigar. I HAVE submitted to the painful operation of being called to the bar in Dublin, so that I am now nothing less than a Barrister- at-law ; if I could now bring myself to devote myself entirely to my profession, and had any chance of distinguish- ing myself in it, I think it would be the best thing in the Avorld for me, as I am sure that by having constant occupation and a definite object to live for, I can alone succeed in sober- ing and regulating my restless and turbulent disposition, for I cannot, like you, take pleasure in country pursuits. When I am here I know nothing about the farms or the woods or the tenantry, I never even see anybody in the house except at meal-times, in fact live a most useless and unsocial life ; whereas if I become a regular lawyer, and attend the courts, and go circuit, &c., it will humanize me without offering any temptation to vice or dissipation. But then, in some par- ticulars, the Irish bar is disagreeable ; in the first place I know nobody at it hardly, besides it is greatly overstocked and there is comparatively little business, so that there is not much chance of a man getting on at it who is not compelled by poverty to work night and day for his bread ; and I am sure you must be aware that however fond of reading generally a man may be, it requires no ordinary presence and strength H 2 Extracts from Letters of of mind to work steadily at Fearne and Coke, &c. I shall go to London in the latter end of October, to remain all the winter, D.V., at a pleader's office. I have given up all thoughts of elections or politics for the present ; some ten years hence, perhaps, if I am alive, when my character is more formed and my principles more settled, it will be time enough for me to think of embarking on the troubled sea of politics. n. Aunt Killed. 1839. Sept. 3. Delgany, I HAVE been brought here from home by the occurrence of a most melancholy accident which has plunged us all in the deepest affliction I mean the death, under most dis- tressing circumstances, of my Aunt, whom you met at Powers- court. She was driving in a pony-carriage with my little Sister, who was with us at that time if you remember, when the pony ran away, the carriage was upset, and my poor Aunt Avas thrown out and killed on the spot ; my Sister, thank God, escaped altogether unhurt. To all who knew; her she was most dear, but particularly to me, to whom she had always been a second mother ; and I really did not think the loss of any human being could have affected me so much. I am writing now from the house of my Grandmother, with whom she lived, and who of course was completely overcome by the shock, but she is now recovering wonderfully. I find it difficult to write on any other subject just now than this, which almost entirely occupies my mind; it is on such occasions as this that one feels the want of that strong faith which can look beyond the tomb, and consider earthly separations and misfortunes as matters of comparatively utter unimportance. in. Faith only Support tinder Affliction. 1839. Sept. 24. Killigar. THERE is no more sure indication of a religious frame of mind than a disposition to believe that is, a temper of mind Jo/in Robert Godley to C. B. Addcrky. 3 which does not require that overwhelming evidence with respect to unseen things which we are content to do without in matters of less importance a disposition so intimately allied to all holy and pious feeling as to account, in a great measure at least, for God's having made faith the test and watchword and groundwork of the Christian religion : I think, too, there is nothing in which one is more injured by early contact with the world that is, with the scoffing and profligate and sensual part of the world than in this, that one loses all that freshness and candour of mind which gives a predisposition to " believe all things," and which is succeeded by a hard, suspicious, cavilling temper, bad enough when applied to the ordinary course of human action, but most irreconcileable with the humble confiding spirit which is the essence of the Christian character. I was led to this train of thought by the observations which you make as to the duty of keeping our minds fixed constantly on an immaterial futurity as the object of our hopes and desires and the goal of our earthly pilgrimage. This is, of course, the essence of all religion ; and it is this, this subjection of the palpable to the spiritual, of the present to the future, which makes religion so difficult and distasteful to man's corrupt nature. Do you not find a great difference in yourself when alone and when in the world ? For my part I can hardly believe myself to be the same person. Here among my books, when my only companions are the spirits of the mighty dead, the philoso- phers and divines of old, who in their writings at least seem to have got over all the obstacles and clogs which matter throws round spirit, I really feel as if I could do so too, and as if my greatest happiness would be to lead a life of contemplation and study and prayer, till I became, even before my body's death, almost the tenant of a spiritual world ; but then, when I meet with " gay companions o'er the bowl," and am exposed to the amusements and temptations of the world again, all " longing after immortality " vanishes. B 2 4 Extracts from Letters of IV. Life in London. 1839. Sept. 30. Killigar. You will not, I hope, give up your plan of reading law in Lon- don ; I am sure that to a person like you, who have numerous cares and avocations at home, it must be extremely difficult to read continuously or to advantage : and remember that now is your only chance for this kind of study at any rate, for when you have a wife at home, I feel (as Wynne would say) that you would find Lincoln's Inn out of the question. I confess for my own part I like London extremely in all its aspects in November fog as well as July sun and the better in Avinter because there is the less to regret in the country. I like the complete independence and liberty of a club and lodging-life ; I like the sights and sounds of a great town, and the varied aspect under which human life and human nature present themselves ; and I like, too, being in the centre of politics, where each hour there is the excitement and variety of fresh news, and the bustle and hurry of the actors in the play. But at the same time while I enjoy all this, I feel how danger- ous it is to one's better part, and how much fitter a state of mind for preparation for eternity is the calmness and tran- quillity produced by a life of retirement and contemplation. 1 hope and trust I may be preserved from yielding to temp- tations which to me are very, very strong. I hope to be in town about the 15th, and I shall look out immediately for a lawyer to engage myself with. I hope you have not been suffering such dreadful weather as we have here ; such a harvest has never been remembered since 1810, and then it was followed by famine and fever ; " avertat Jupiter omen." Begins to discuss General Subjects. Theory of Allegiance. 1810. Nov. 23. Dublin. IT will be very useful to both of us occasionally to put upon paper our ideas 011 the subjects you refer to, about which we may be reading or thinking, and I am quite willing to John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 5 accept your challenge so to do. Have you Gibbon's Miscel- laneous Works ? If so, just read his Autobiography. I am much mistaken if it will not give you both useful hints and much encouragement. But to come to the points mentioned in your letter. The only analogy I perceive between the cases of marriage and allegiance is, that in both cases Scrip- ture lays down a rule in apparently unqualified terms, and we are left to see whether, by the comparison of other texts, or by the exercise of reason in the obvious interpretation of the rule, it is to admit of any deviation. Now, in the case of marriage, we find that our Saviour excepts " the cause of for- nication" when laying down the inviolability of the tie. (At the same time I should have strong scruples as to the validity of an Act of Parliament divorce, even on this ground ; and am inclined to think that those whom the Church, as an accredited representative of God upon earth, has joined, no purely secular tribunal can disjoin.) In the case of allegiance, I think we must evidently understand " the power " to mean not literally might or brute force, but the lawful power or the poicer in its lawful exercise. This applies to all forms of government equally; the consuls in Rome, the senate in Venice, the President in the United States, just as much as to the King here or the Emperor in Russia. The difficulty with me is not as to the abstract right of resisting any noto- rious violation of law on the part of the government (for thisj as you say, would be to make all constitutions a dead letter), but, 1st, in the right of the subjects, after having successfully resisted such violation, to alter the constitution by imposing more stringent ties on the hands of the governor ; and 2 nelly, in their right, under any circumstances, to consider themselves as absolved from their oaths of allegiance to the government altogether, and free to choose a fresh Sovereign and create a fresh constitution. Now these rights, I confess, I am inclined to deny. I can see no warrant in Scripture for forcing an alteration of the law on an unwilling ruler, still less for considering the violation of the law by a single indi- vidual as an abrogation of the constitution altogether; and it is here, I think, that our Revolutionists were wrong. I would G Extracts from Letters of go along with them in saying that James, in assuming a legis- lative power, broke expressed as well as implied contracts, violated the fundamentals of that constitution from which his own right to their obedience was derived, and thereby forfeited that right ; by a virtual abdication he saved them from the decision of the difficult question, as to whether that forfeiture extended beyond the unconstitutional acts which caused it; but I maintain that nothing which he did, or could do, would amount to an abrogation of the constitution, so as to justify the jjeojjle in altering the succession and making the monarchy virtually elective. If by his abdication the throne become vacant, the lawful heir that is, his son came into it, in the same position, under the same constitution, and possessing the same rights as his father had done, and there- fore I think the regency party were the right- judging and constitutional politicians of the day. We must put totally out of view the consideration of consequences in this question ; nothing is more certain than that a man may only use lawful means for the best ends : that, for instance, a man might not perjure himself, though by so doing he might believe he could avert the downfall of Christianity in a whole kingdom ; and, therefore, all the excuses made for the conduct of those who brought in a foreign family, on the grounds that if they had not done so, Protestantism would have been subverted, seem to me totally beside the question. All we have to do with is whether they used justifiable means for a confessedly good end : if they did not, they were Avrong ; and that good effects followed, that God brought good out of evil, can have nothing to do with the merits of the ease. My idea is this : if we were so unfortunate as to live under a government where there is no constitutional check on the Sovereign, to every exercise of his power we should be bound to submit till cir- cumstances occurred which gave us a peaceable opportunity of obtaining, either from his favour or convenience, a more liberal constitution ; as we live under a government where the limits of the king's powers and rights arc as clearly denned as those of any other magistrate, to those limits we arc justi- fied in confining him. The present dynasty have come into John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 7 possession on a Parliamentary title derived from express con- tract, and have thereby recognised the right of the subject to resist a violation of it ; at the same time I declare I cannot help wishing that our dangers were now from the usurpations of monarchical power ; I am convinced that it is more tolerable and more productive of happiness to individuals than its converse the arbitrary power of a democracy and this I see every day making head more and more. I do not, how- ever, think a man less likely to be a loyal subject because he has made up his mind as to the principles on which that loyalty rests, and the extent to which it may be carried ; but we must always recollect that, to justify forcible resistance, there must not only be the existence of the abstract right, but a fair chance of that resistance being successful, and of the result being so much preferable to the present state of things as to compensate for the dreadful evils of civil .war. Who that felt this would be too prone to seek for an excuse to rebel ? I do not admit in its unqualified extent Hume's dictum, that rights cannot exist without remedies ; many moral rights do so exist, as, for instance, the right of the brute creation, or of slaves, to kind treatment by their mas- ters ; and it is this kind of right only which unqualified non- resistance men would contend for on the part of all subjects. / think that British subjects have further rights, namely legal rights, and that such would be merely nominal without remedies. Upon this all my reasoning is founded. You will find the subject well treated, as well as I remember, in Burke's " Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs -j" only he does not seem to me inclined to admit all the necessary inferences from his principles. I have written so much more diffusely than I intended that I have but little room for news. I have after all taken Mrs. Carroll's lodgings, and now that I have become accustomed to their " shabby-genteel " look, and put some ncAv furniture into them, I find them very comfortable. They look very well, and the situation is most convenient, so I shall probably remain there for some time. I like this way of life well ; you know I always advocated the comfort and independence of a town-lodging life, and though I have not 8 Extracts from Letters of much society that I like, and wish greatly for Prendergast at breakfast and you at dinner, I contrive like yourself to make the spirits of the mighty \rj t^sa/ae) in ourselves, makes individual opinion the test of truth, and leads us to look inwards and downwards for a law, instead of to a positive, external, independent agency, derived from God, and making itself known and felt in various ways indeed, but always totally independent of the judgment, or feeling, or opinion of individuals, and as unalterable as they are fluctuating. See how widely this root of error branches out. In politics its obvious tendency I do not say this tendency will always be carried out will be to democracy as opposed to monarchy (for " the people is the source of power "}, and to movement and change as opposed to conser- vation (for if prescription and establishment are not allowed to be a law, people will always imagine that they can improve upon the existing state of things) ; in religion it leads to dissent as opposed to catholicity, and to infidelity as opposed to revealed religion (for Avhat is the use of positive creeds, when whatever seems to each individual to be right is right to /tin/ ?} ; iii philosophy to vague theory as opposed to ex- 1 Extracts from Letters of perience of results (for what is unsupported theory but opinion, and what are results but the operation of God's law expressed in his works ?) ; indeed I am convinced the habit of mind thus engendered may be traced in all the innovations and improve- ments of the day, in the exaltation of manufactures at the expense of agriculture, in the attempt of universal secular education, in the collection of men into towns instead of leaving them under the influence of local superiors, in the universal mania (as you so justly express it), for lettering our condition, instead of calmly and contentedly performing its duties. Now the misfortune of the last century was that whig principles were universally received among statesmen. True, they were modified and restrained by the weight of old monarchical and aristocratic habits, by the yet remaining power of the crown and the overwhelming political influence given to the aristocracy by the nomination borough system ; but still I cannot help thinking that the leaven was gradually pervading the mass, and that the immense advances made by the democracy in the present day are but the legitimate results of the principles advocated by men of all parties, whether they called themselves old or new Whigs, court or country, from the time of Walpole's accession to power. The only exception to this universal whiggism is Burke ; this may appear a paradox, but I think no one can read Burke's writings without perceiving that, connected as he was with whig associates, fettered as he was by early prejudices and names and party watclnvords to the whig side, in spite of all this, to the principles of whiggism he was a decided enemy, and this more and more as he advanced in years, and especially after he had burst the trammels which had bound him to the parti/. It is true that this departure from the principles of the party by whose name he called himself led him into many inconsistencies ; while he argued irresistibly against all the deductions which I have enumerated as fol- lowing from whig premises, he was debarred from boldly denying the premises themselves, and consequently, in study- ing his works, we must not be startled by finding here and there a paragraph about popular rights, liberties, and privileges John Robert Godley to C. It. Adderley. 11 which would come with a better grace from the pen of a Fox or an Erskine : but look to the spirit of the whole. I am fully convinced that if Burke had lived one hundred years earlier, he would have avowed the High-Church principles of Claren- don, if fifty years later, those of Gladstone. You ask me whether I can go along with Burke in the sentence you quote, " Political problems, &c." I answer, in an unqualified sense certainly not ; in the sense which Burke had in view when writing it I certainly can. When an express command from God supervenes, there is no more to be said : we are no longer to calculate or argue we have nothing to do but to obey ; but except in such cases, and they are rare (I mean cases are rare where a divine command can be obviously applied to existing circumstances), I can imagine no rule in politics but expediency in a large sense. Let us see whom Burke was arguing with : with men who, like Tom Paine, maintained that every man is born to the possession of certain abstract rights as to freedom, equality, political power, &c. ; that these rights are independent of and superior to positive law, and may be asserted by the possessor whenever he has the power, without reference to circumstances or consequences of any kind. All this Burke denied ; "Theremay be such rights/' he said I am not quoting his words but the spirit of his argu- ment " or there may not ; you may assert them and I may deny them, but we can never get a step farther in the contro- versy ; they are and can be founded on no other ground, and tried by no other test, than each man's feeling and opinion that he possesses them ; aiid therefore I say that to base legislation upon them that is, upon the gratuitous assumption of them, without reference to vested rights and to the general good is most unsafe, unjust, and unwise." Let us take an instance, the strongest perhaps which the advocates of such rights could find, and canvass it the question of slavery. All men, says one theorist, are by nature free : a man has from his birth a r'tijltt to liberty, and you are therefore committing or per- mitting an injustice if you do not instantaneously burst his bonds. Never mind what the consequences of his emancipa- tion mav be his own condition mav be deteriorated, a 12 universal war or massacre may be the consequence ; with this we have nothing to do the existence of a single slave is a contradiction to the doctrine of this inalienable right of man to freedom -fiat justitia, mat cesium ; that slave has a right to assert, and you have no right to refuse, immediate and unconditional manumission. To such arguments I would reply, in the spirit of Burke, " Your claim I disallow, your right I deny. Revelation nowhere says that slavery is a state in itself unlawful, and where revelation is silent I know nothing of such abstract rights as you contend for ; I wish, as well as you, for the abolition of slavery ; but upon what grounds ? upon the ground of expediency, upon the ground of its results ; because I think it tends to produce cruelty in the masters, degradation and misery in the slaves; because true political economy tells me that free labour is more pro- ductive than slave labour; because, in short, I believe the con- sequences of the system are bad ; but, under particular circum- stances, these bad consequences may be overbalanced by worse consequences on the other side; itmaybe better to allow slavery with all its abuses to exist than that its abolition should give rise to a famine or a massacre of the population of a country; in a word, I strike a balance of the benefits and the evils on both sides, and decide accordingly." I have been rather prolix in my illustration, but I thought it would give the best idea of what I conceive to be Burke's theory of results as the test of political measures instead of imaginary rights. The expressed will of God is, of course, predominant over both. I am most anxious to say a word to you upon the subject of joining a party, that is, of supporting generally the mea- sures recommended and brought forward by a certain set of men, and of assisting those men in the attainment and preservation of power. Such aline of conduct I fully believe to be absolutely necessary for any one who wants to be generally useful. Having once made up your mind which of the great parties which divide the state is, on t/ic V/HJ/C, the most deserving of your confidence, you should support them on all occasions where a positive John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 13 and applicable command of God does not interfere (which, as I said before, is seldom the case) ; to this extent here, as in every other case of submission to authority, you must reserve an ultimate right of private judgment ; the more cautiously you exercise it the better temper you will show, but it must be and ought to be the last appeal. In the im- mense majority of cases I am sure you are bound in duty to promote as far as you can the great principles which you be- lieve the party you attach yourself to are advocating, by a deference upon matters of detail to the general opinion. I was going to enlarge upon this, my favourite principle, of " men not measures," and the necessity of being a " party man," when I bethought myself, fortunately, that, as Puff says in the Critic, my mighty master thought of the same thing before me, and that I cannot do better than refer you to him. Read carefully and weigh well, I beseech you, the last five or six pages of " Thoughts upon the Present Discon- tents," beginning at the paragraph " This cabal has, with great success, &c." The pamphlet is one of his earliest and most whiggish publications, but this part is invaluable. The man who professes to stand alone, to decide for himself how he will vote upon every question, exclusively upon his opinion of the merits of that question, and without considering what effect his vote may have upon the general interests of the party which he believes to be generally right, is a worse than useless, he is an injurious, public man. Even supposing him to be invariably right, instead of, as he must be, generallv wrong, I affirm that he will do more harm than good. I want you to tell me what you think of Sir Robert Peel ; I greatly fear that he is, according to my definition, a Whig : nevertheless we must support him ; better an old Whig than a modern Radical. Always strike your balance. I congratu- late you on your parliamentary prospects, and I hope that you will enjoy the satisfaction of filling welltlic most enviable situation on the face of the earth, that of a conscientious in- tellectual English country gentleman. Be satisfied to go fair and softly; there is surely no necessity for giving a resume of your political opinions to every one of your con- 14 Extracts from Letters of stituents ; deal in generalities, and look about you a little before you express opinions on individual subjects. I long to see your address commit yourself as little as possible. If you should happen to change your opinions in future, you will find any strong profession you may have made a mill- stone about your neck ; and remember, vagueness in language by no means induces indecision in conduct. Shall we meet in February ? Three weeks' quiet at Oxford would be delight- ful, though you might not take an interest in my hobby the Oxford Tract controversy. VII. Fragment on reading History. You ask me to advise you about reading, and to give you my opinion of Hume and Smollett ; my own experience leads me to think that these abridgments, or rather compen- diums, of history leave so fleeting an impression on the mind as to be of very little use, but others may not find it so. In my opinion, the best way by far is thoroughly to get up the most important periods, such as the Rebellion, Revolutions (French and English), Reformation in England and abroad, &c., reading authors on both sides of a question, and any contemporary memoirs or correspondence which may serve to illustrate the subject, and, afterwards, read the general view which connects these. Hume's style is inimitable, but he is not trustworthy or accurate ; Smollett's work is a dry compilation from the newspapers, without either interest or authority, except as a mere register of well-known facts. I know no plcasanter or more profitable way of becoming ac- quainted with the history of George II. 's reign than by read- ing " Walpole's Correspondence." Of George III.'s rcigii there is absolutely no decent account ; that by Belsham, the Socinian controversialist, is as bad in execution as in princi- ple ; you must be content to get at it indirectly from bio- graphy, letters, speeches, &c. (unless from the l< Annual Re- gister") . The two first volumes of Scott's ' ' Napoleon" give the best account I know of the causes and circumstances of John Robert Godlcy to C. B. Adderley. 15 the French Revolution, and " Alison's History" is a mine of reference, though I fear you would think it too long to read through (at least, I should, if it had not come out in separate volumes and tempted me) ; the part which treats of British parliamentary history, finance, &c., is, however, well worth a careful perusal. I never read " Lingard," but I should think some whig book, such as " Brodie" or " Hallam" would be a better correction to " Hume." I must repeat that I should far prefer getting up important periods tho- roughly, and reading all sorts of writers about them, to working through Smollett's " Gazettes of the King of Prussia's Battles," &c. Suppose now, in the case of the Revolution, you read Dalrymple's "Memoirs, with Appendix," Fox's " Fragment," Pusey's " Sermon on the Fifth of No- vember," or any other High-Church comment on the affair, and top up with Hume's sketch ; these are all quite short, might easily be mastered, and would leave you such a fami- liarity with every side and turn of the subject, that you could then arrange and fix your own conclusions, and exer- cise yourself by putting them on paper. VIII. On >;/// S/xfer, Mrs. McGeachy's, Death. 1811. Jan. 1C. 17, Batchelor's Walk, Dublin. I WAS most grieved to receive your melancholy news grieved for you and all those that the departing spirit leaves behind ; for most truly and heartily do I agree with you when you say that to one in her frame of mind it is indeed a blessed thing to die. Every year, every day, do I more deeply feel that this life is not worth living for, and that any one who docs not habitually look forward to the grave as the gate of his prison-house, the. goal of his race, can have 110 happiness even here. Yet how few there are, who, even when convinced of this, do not shrink from the passage of the valley. I think illness enables one to overcome this earthly feeling ; I hope so, at least, and really at times I do feel willing to make the experiment, but then the awful 16 thought recurs : Have I fulfilled the conditions required ? Have I repented, believed, obeyed? And then one longs for more time. It is very wholesome and useful to dwell on the thought of death, and such warnings as you have now, and I have had lately, bring home its reality to one's own breast better than a thousand sermons. Let me hear from you soon again. I feel for you, thrown, in your present state of mind, into the bustle and turmoil of election dinners and the contact of men to whom the wretched transitory rattle of this world's toys is all in all. How is McGeachy ? He, I trust, has the best, the only consolation, in that faith which triumphs over death. IX. Circuit. 1841. March 23. Killigar. I TOOK advantage of a Aveek's interval between two circuit towns which I wanted to be present at, and ran over from Belfast to Edinburgh by Glasgow. I need hardly say how delighted and astonished I was at the former ; to say I have never seen any town to compare with it is nothing ; I really cannot imagine any more striking and picturesque. The circuit from its novelty was rather amusing at first, but I got very tired of it before it was over ; the dinners used to present scenes reminding me strongly of the accounts one reads of American table d'kotes. There was one painfully interesting trial for the murder of an " agriculturist," imported by a gentleman in Armagh to improve his estate; the details were most horrible, it being evident that the murder was not the result of private malice, but the execution of a judicial sen- tence. The murderer was most clearly identified, but from the crown giving Tip its right to challenge jurors, the prisoner has now only to challenge up to one safe man, /. e. brother Kibbonman, and he may laugh at the Avholc court. Such was the case here : eleven jurors were for conviction, the twelfth, however, stood out, and after being confined all night, the judge discharged them without a verdict. Such is the almost universal working of the law here. If yon John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 17 look over the Irish criminal trials at the last assizes, I venture to say you will hardly find one conviction in ten prosecutions when the case bears anything of a political or religious character ; and every day's Gazette shows the result of the impunity of the guilty in fresh crimes, while the Government and their supporters actually have the audacity to quote the paucity of convictions as a proof of the tran- quillity of the country. Adieu ! Let me know how you are, and what you are about. x. Tracts for the Times. 1841. March 29. Killigar. I ADMIRE the spirit in which you speak of discussions upon difficult points, either of doctrine or discipline, but I think that a reluctance to enter upon such topics may be carried too far; we are desired "not to receive every spirit, but to try the spirits, whether they be of God/' and to " prove all things" before we " holdfast that which is good." Many of the questionsat present under discussion are, I think, intimately connected with the duties and practice of individual Chris- tians, so I really think we have unconsciously slid into such extremely lax notions upon what are commonly called Church matters, that a movement of the kind that has been made at Oxford had become absolutely necessary, and has been, in spite of the disputes to which it has given rise, highly bene- ficial to the Church. You must not think, from what I have said, that I am an unqualified admirer of the Tracts, and all the doctrines contained in them ; on the contrary, I think that the writers have, by a perhaps natural reaction from what they perceived to be the rationalistic and latitudinarian tendency of the age, been driven in many instances to a contrary ex- cess, and I am sure that in many of their views they approxi- mate fully as mucli to the Church of Rome as to the Church of England; but still I like, on the whole, the tendency of their writings. I prefer superstition to scepticism, an undue regard to forms to a neglect of them, and I think the spirit of the 18 Extracts from Letters of age so much more inclined to Ultra-Protestant than to Roman Catholic errors, that I look with less apprehension on what seems to savour of the latter than the former. If you wish to read a summary of the principal points in dispute without working through the Tracts, I recommend to you Pusey's letter to the Bishop of Oxford, and particularly a sermon of Dr. Hook's on Tradition, preached at an ordination held by the Bishop of Bipon. The best short thing on the other side is a pamphlet by Dr. Miller, master of Armagh School, which I think takes very fair and moderate and, as nearly as I can judge, Church of England ground; but read the others first, the three will not take you three days. You may like to see an account of the origin of the Oxford movement ; it is de- tailed, in a letter from Mr. Percival, in the paper I send you. Sewell and his Irish College of St. Columla. 18-11. April 17. Bachelor's Walk, Dublin. SEWELL was over here last week for a few days ; he is most anxious and sanguine about the projected institution \_which lecame St. Columla College]. The plan of it seems to be this : they want to establish a seminary to be situated in some Irish-speaking district, where boys may receive an education with a view to becoming ministers for the Irish- speaking population ; from this seminary they would proceed in the usual course to Trinity College, Dublin, where steps would be taken to give them an opportunity for completing the course of instruction which they would have begun. There is already an Irish professorship there, which might be rendered efficient, and they hope to establish exhibitions for the pupils of their school. Subordinate to this main object would be that of training and keeping in operation a superior class of catcchists in the rank of the ordinary artisans and labourers of the country, who might be of use as pioneers for the authorized ministers of the Church, and mix with the population in a way which it is impossible for the others to do to the same extent. These last should of course be under John Robert Godley to C. B. Addcrlcy. 19 strict superintendence, and care should be taken that they did not start as " preachers on their own account." The site has not yet been fixed on, but they have been successful be- yond their expectations in collecting funds and procuring promising members for their future staff. The Primate has taken the matter up, as is his Avont, most warmly and cordially, and many others high in station, both among the clergy and laity. They have already, though no " appeal to the public" has been made, got nearly 3000^., and promised subscriptions to the amount of between 200^. and 300/. a-year, and they fully anticipate being enabled to carry out their plans on a large scale. All details are as yet subject to revision, but I think the idea of the scheme excellent. Alas ! that it should not have been dated three hundred years earlier ; if it had been, who knows how much guilt and blood might have been spared to both countries. XII. On the Irish Registration Sill. 1841. May 8. Dublin. WE are all in a fever of expectation here, waiting for the last night's debate [on Irish Registration] . The Con- servatives write in high spirits from London, but till they actually arc in office I shall never believe them again. It seems that a dissolution cannot take place, whichever party are in, till after the 5th July, or at least till after the neces- sary bills regulating the customs, &c., have been passed, but I should think there must be an election in summer. I, alas ! have no personal interest in the matter, further than that I suppose I should have to stay and register my small votes in Leitrim and Dublin on the right side. I see no prospect at all of an opening to Parliament, so I must only bide my time. I think if the registration were put on a satisfactory footing I might have a chance in my own county, where they arc always wanting me to stand, but at present success would be too doubtful to warrant so great an outlay as would be necessary. It is totally impossible to calculate c 2 20 what would be the effect of Lord Stanley's Bill on the num- bers of the electors ; but whatever it would be, the framers of the Reform Bill cannot complain of it, as the whole and sole object of it is to prevent fraudulent claimants from obtain- ing the franchise that franchise itself not being meddled with at all. If its practical effect would be to diminish the number of electors, that only proves that a great propor- tion of those who now possess the franchise have no right to do so. It seems to me that nothing can be more fallacious than to compare the number of electors with the population in Ireland and in England respectively, and then argue that because the proportion of the former to the latter is smaller here than there, therefore the franchise ought to be propor- tionably enlarged. The whole principle upon which political power is made (as it is under our constitution) dependent upon property at all is this, that persons possessing a certain amount of property are likely to be better qualified, by the stake they have in the country, and consequent interest in its well-being, by the superior education and intelligence usually attendant upon the station in society which the possession of property confers, to exercise an influence on the Govern- ment ; it is surely not an arbitrary separation of a certain proportion of the whole population, which proportion is to be preserved according as that population increases or diminishes, without reference to any peculiar qualification whatever. Now if the class possessing the requisite amount of property, and consequently likely to possess the qualifications which are supposed to attend upon property, be smaller in proportion to the population in Ireland than in England, surely there is no hardship in permitting the number of electors to remain smaller in proportion to the number of non-electors. If a man possessing property worth 5 a year in England is not considered likely to make a proper recipient of political power, what is there to make it likely that a man possessing that amount in Ireland would be so ? The fact is that the possession of a vote by such a class as Lord Morpcth's bill Avould have admitted would be anything but a boon to Hi cm ; they would be, as the 1 Os. freeholders were formerly, nothing John Robert Godlcy to C. R. Adderley. 2 L but passive victims to be quarrelled for by the priests and the landlords, and sure to be bullied, perhaps ruined, by one side or the other, whichever way they voted. All history, as well as one's own experience, tells that in the present condition of the lowest class of Irish peasantry they are the most unfit depositaries of political power that exist on the face of the earth ; you must first civilize them, instruct them, open their minds, and then talk of enlarging the franchise. I am sure any one who knows the sort of men who have it now, would say we have gone quite low enough. XIII. Country Business and Sport. 1842. Jan. 3. Killigar. I BELIEVE I shall be here for two or three months alone. I shall not be sorry for this, as I shall be necessarily to a certain degree my father's locum tenens in his absence, attend on the grand jury, &c., which will give me an oppor- tunity of making acquaintance with the people of the county, and acquiring some little practical knowledge of country business, of which I am now (to compensate for the book- knowledge you envy me) as ignorant as a child. I find very few woodcocks here, but I reconcile myself to the deficiency with a most philosophical resignation. I suppose the true instinctive love of sport, the ardour for hunting down one's prey, does not often last in civilized communities after the age of twenty-five. It is too purely animal. The pride of skill, and the want of an object for exercise, prevent men from giving up field-sports, but the passion is quite a different one, at least I feel it so. I will go to London for February and March ; however, I should prefer a sejour there later in the season, when more of my friends are in town. All here desire the kind wishes of the season. I surmise that 18-12 will be an important year for us. May it be at least a profit- able one, whether we live or die. 22 Extracts from Letters of XIV. Alone at Killigar Reflections. 1842. Feb. 10. Killigar. I AM just now playing viceroy at Killigar in the absence of my family, and pretty solitary, as you may imagine. I read and write all the morning, and then go out and shoot my dinner ; the only thing I dislike in this way of life is that I find great difficulty, particularly after taking much exercise, in keeping awake after dinner ; however, my evenings will be more lively, when my Sister and O'Brien return to their cottage from the south of Ireland, where they have been for some time on a visit. Thank you for your note from the House of Commons; whenever anything turns up worth putting upon paper, I wish you would cheer my solitude with it. I have just heard from that he is on the point of starting for the Continent, where he is to live for three or four years. Imagine what a life ! to lounge and smoke away his days in some provincial town of Prance or Italy. As I tell him, I would infinitely prefer clearing ground in the back- woods of America; however, so it is, and as I should like to shake hands with him before his departure, I intend to pro- ceed to London immediately after our assizes (at which I am to attend as a Grand Juror) are over, i.e., about the 28th, or 1st of March. I anticipate much satisfaction in a daily talk with you about men and things over our quiet dinner at the Caiitoii. It is very odd that they will not appoint to our vacant bishoprick ; I believe it will be given to Dean O'Brien, a very good and clever man, but ultra-Low-Church. I greatly fear that these arc the principles most acceptable at head quarters. Lady DC Grey said to my Mother, "I am sorry to hear your Son-in-law is a dreadful Puseyitc " (which, by the bye, he is not). However this is better than the " Whateleian " school of the last men. "We arc very anxious to know whether anything, and what, will be done about Education in Ireland. I suppose at present Corn Laws absorb everything else with you ; I thought of you last night, and of the agitation and excitement by which you John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 23 were surrounded, as I sat over my fire with a German play in my hand the very antipodes of all that is real and practical in life and I must say I was unpoetical enough to envy you. I look out anxiously for Saturday's newspaper with the result. I greatly fear a Conservative outcry, and should not be at all surprised at a " split." We must hope for the best, however, but I am certain Sir Robert is just what you once so happily described McGeachy as being a Whig by nature, a Tory by circumstances. xv. Studies, Classical and Mathematical. 1842. May 24. Killigar. IT is certainly very disinterested in me to rejoice so much in your marriage, for I must necessarily be the sufferer by it ; not (God forbid) that there should be less cordiality or friendship or affection between us, but that we must neces- sarily live much less together from the difference in the habits and life of a married man and a bachelor. No more tele-a- te be dinners, 110 more tours 011 cars, &c., but I will not go on to enumerate the desagre'mens of a change, for which I have been long most anxiously wishing, for I really did not think it possible for you adequately to perform your duty, in the line of life marked out for you, till it took place. Do you remember how you once, in the romantic mood engendered by that magnificent sunset which we witnessed on " the Ken- mare road," vowed that you would spend your honeymoon at Killarney ? Is there any chance of your executing that resolve ? I like Adam Smith exceedingly : he and two other writers, Fcarnc and Bishop Butler, are those of whom the study reminds me most of the pleasure felt after solving a difficult problem in Euclid; it proceeds partly perhaps from their obscurity and difficulty, which of course add zest to the victory over them, but partly also from a sense of satis- faction and completeness, produced by accuracy of reasoning and cogency of demonstration. This is most perfect, of course, in necessary matter, with which the exact sciences arc con- 24 Extracts from Letters of versant, and, I suppose, constitutes the whole pleasure derived from the study of pure mathematics. The sciences whose subject matter is human conduct, as theology, politics, &c., have of course an interest apart from this, and a far higher interest, requiring the exercise of a higher faculty, but from their nature can but seldom afford the kind of pleasure I have been speaking of in its perfection ; their conclusions may be in the highest degree probable but they are never certain, literally speaking, and upon them there will always be a dif- ference of opinion ; there will always, however, be infinite de- grees of approximation to accuracy; and, as I have a peculiarly rationalizing tone of mind (I use the word in its popular, not its true sense) that is, with me the understanding predomi- nates greatly over the reason, I delight in writers who ad- dress themselves to the former faculty, as is the case remark- ably with the three whom I have named. "With you, I think, it is otherwise ; and it is curious enough, by the bye, that, this being the case, we should each have been led to adopt the line of study opposite to our respective idiosyncrasies I the classical and you the mathematical perhaps fortunately, as a corrective. It may seem strange that a person fond of demonstration, proof, conclusiveness, should be able to recon- cile himself to the adoption of what are called Church prin- ciples, involving as they do submission to authority as their foundation : and certainly such a temper of mind presents a very unfavourable field for their reception, and is the source of con- stant temptation and trial ; the understanding will rebel, whicli rebellion must be continually quelled, but the temptation is not to Protestantism or Dissent, but to Scepticism. I think I could show that a rationalistic mind must, if consistent, be either catholic or sceptical ; if it has that within it whicli revolts from the latter, and refuses to be satisfied without a positive religion of some sort, it must at once abjure the "right of private judgment" as it is commonly understood, i.e., the unlimited exercise of the understanding in matters of faith; it is only because they are not accurate reasoriers, and do not carry out their own principles, that religious men can main- tain it. I can perceive the same causes to produce the same John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 25 effects (parms componere magna) in 's mind, which is the most rationalistic one I know; he is too religious to be a sceptic, and too acute not to see that if he admits the prin- ciple of only believing what he can understand, he must be- come one, so that he has come to the conclusion that the province of the understanding in matters of religion must be confined within the narrowest limits consistent with free agency, namely, to ascertaining upon what authority to rely : and this, I think, as it is entirely a matter of external evi- dence, presents a perfectly fair field for argument, proof, 84 Extracts from Letters of meanwhile my time has not been wasted. I should like to pay you a visit in the autumn, for I saw nothing of you in town. In fact, I fear I must make up my mind to much more scanty personal intercourse with you than formerly. When a man marries, his own happiness is infinitely increased, but he is necessarily in great measure lost to his friends from the pressure of domestic duties and employments we cannot ride, and walk, and dine, and travel, together, as we used to do. I foresaw this in some degree, but hardly realized com- pletely what a difference would ensue from your change of condition. You must not think that I complain of this, or that I have the most remote suspicion of any change in your sentiments towards me. God forbid. I know that what I allude to is absolutely the inevitable result of the changed circumstances. I speak, then, of it chiefly with reference to its bearing upon my own course of life ; in proportion as my friends marry off, and retreat into the centre of their own domestic circles, my pleasure in living in the world is naturally diminished, my motives for leaving home become fewer, and I am more and more tempted in self-defence to marry, and settle, also. Perhaps active local occupation, which will probably increase upon me, may answer the same purpose, and prevent my mind from consuming itself in its restless and unprofitable energy ; at any rate it is worth trying, and at least, as I said before, I shall be sure I am doing right : Avhich, while wandering about the world continually, I never was. I am just now in very great perplexity about the pro- priety of joining the scheme of national education for Ireland ; it has been so much modified in practice as to include schools carried on as ours (here at Killigar) arc ; but then arises the question, is it right to sanction a system which extends its assistance to other schools carried on upon totally different religious systems from ours, and thereby seems to affirm a principle of indifFereutisni ? So : is it right for the Church of France to receive a proportion of a common fund which provides indiscriminately for the support of Catholics, Pro- testants, Jews, &c. ? I wish you would talk this over with others, and write to me what you think. It is a matter of John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 85 great practical importance. Did I advise you to get and read Alison on the Poor in Scotland ? Pray do so. It will occupy you a very short time, and is most interesting. Prendergast, almost the last of my bachelor friends, is coming to see us on Tuesday. The " rest of the coterie" is done for. XXXIX. Irish Terrorism Physical Improvement National Education Readings. 1844. Aug. 13. Killigar. STRANGE that on the second day of grouse-shooting I should be lounging over my writing-table in inglorious ease, with my books about me, instead of breasting the mountain side with my dogs before me. I think I am right, however ; it would not have looked well to start off again so soon after having professed to take up my tabernacle and assume my duties as a country gentleman and magistrate. After hav- ing remained here for three or four months, I may think my- self justified in taking another fling. I am reading a good deal, but hardly with so definite a plan as I could wish. We are quite alone here not even any of my brothers at home so that I have no temptation to do anything else, and the only difficulty is to find an excuse for out-door exercise. My magisterial duties are not onerous, consisting principally in attending petty sessions, but then one must be in the way to be ready if any emergency should occur. The country a few miles farther to the westward is in a very lawless state, though in consequence of the terror in- spired by "midnight legislation" the people hardly ever come forward to prosecute, and then arguments are founded on the assumed tranquillity Avhich prevails. A clergyman's house about six miles from this was attacked and fired into a fort- night ago. I went over there the next day and was delighted with the courage shown by the daughter-in-law of the old gentleman ; and he told me she had not been the least frightened, but had loaded her husband's arms, while he 86 returned their fire from the windows. The assailants soon decamped, their purpose having apparently been terror rather than actual injury, but there is just as much chance of discovering them as there is of finding out the author of Junius. There is, however, notwithstanding isolated cases like the foregoing, a wonderful change come over the spirit of people's dreams this year, compared with the terror that prevailed twelve months ago. Then all was war and rumours of war, fortification of houses and laying in of arms ; now the terror is forgotten and the folk are only anxious to throw a veil over their former fears. Equally absurd were the panic and the security ; except in the immediate vicinity of the monster meetings, where temporary outbreaks were very pos- sible, there was no danger whatever of rebellion last year, nor is there any reason whatever to suppose the people less disaf- fected and organized now. A lull, however, is of great im- portance, as tending to facilitate " material" improvements, and thus gradually undermine the main evil of the country its poverty. The bright spot is, that in spite of agitation and everything else, the physical condition of the people is de- cidedly improving, and their minds becoming more awake to their own interests in that respect. The national educa- tion system must, whatever be its merits or defects, be of use so far as secular interests are concerned, for the schools are admirably managed on the whole, and the secular instruction very good; 350,000 children attend them, and the number is progressively and rapidly increasing. I am of opinion that we should join them, so far as to accept salaries, and books, and inspection. If we do so, without askhig them to litild, they do not insist on the acceptance of their whole system, but allow the patron to have ny religious iiistniclion he chooses given in the school, provided that he does not require any child to be present at that instruction whose parent objects to it, and that lie provides for all children adequate secular instruction. This conies nearly to the principle of separate grants to different religious communions, except that it so far infringes on the authority of the master over the children as to specify what kiml of instruction he is to give in the John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 87 cases of those who dissent from his religious views. We have to accept the responsibility of teaching to certain children secular things, while we are debarred from teaching them spiritual things. Is this too great a compromise ? If not, it is most important (quoad expediency) that we should accede ; otherwise the Board, from its financial and admi- nistrative superiority, will draw from us not only Roman Catholics but the children of our own Church, who will thus be subjected to far worse conditions than we could obtain for them by putting our existing schools under the Board. As it is, our delay, conscientious as it was, has done in many cases irreparable harm, and there is nothing our opponents dread more than our coming round to them. I have lately read Ward's " Ideal of a Christian Church," which is very interesting as being the manifesto of the Roman school which he represents. I wish you would read it, for in many points he would meet your own opinions, particularly his leading principle the supremacy of the conscience or spiritual appre- hension over the intellect in religious matters but you are, of course, as usual, too much occupied with other things. I am certainly very fortunately circumstanced in having so much time to read, though perhaps steady obligatory occu-' pation would be a better discipline for the mind. I am in the middle of Stanley's " Life of Arnold," a most interesting account of a very remarkable man ; it is really a most valu- able lesson in tolerance to see a man apparently so clear- headed, so sincere, and so religious, differing from oneself in- tellectually in so many important respects. How much more tolerant one becomes as one advances in life, and comes to appreciate the various 'external influences which contribute to modify and mould a man's opinions ! The true plan, I feel more and more convinced, is to act steadily up to the truths and principles AVC have, and we shall be guided to more and higher ones. " He that doeth my will" (as far as he knows it) " shall know of my doctrine." The path of duty is gene- rally so wearisome and so full of thorn?,, that we arc continu- ally tempted to stop in it, as it were, till we have disentangled ourselves of various intellectual doubts and difficulties which 88 Extracts from Letters of we erroneously believe to be the only impediments to our forward progress ; and while we do so, the real difficulties the moral ones become more formidable, from the relaxation of our efforts to overcome them. Have you seen Smythe's " Historic Fancies ?" They are very ambitious, trashy, and superficial bad imitations of Macaulay and the dedication to Lord J. Manners, I look upon it as the ne plus ultra of absurdity and affectation. What would you have said if I had exposed you in a similar manner to public derision ? Do you know what Punch says of " Young England "? That he is prepared to prove they are " the lost tribes of Israel." I have written to Canada about emigration, but not yet got an answer. Write to me whenever you have time ; I promise not to complain even of your most hurried line. I have a very vague plan in my head of trying to get up an Anti- Repeal newspaper, but have not sufficiently matured it even to consult you on the subject. State of Church and Morals in North Wales. 1844. Oct. 11. Cfn Amwlch. I HAVE now been for three or four days with Charles Wynne at this most remote of all possible localities, a second edition of John o'Groat's house, twelve miles from the nearest post-town, without a neighbour of tolerable calibre, and not ten people in the whole district who speak any lan- guage known to the civilized world. What do you think of the proportion of Dissenters to Churchmen being generally ffty to one ? In many parishes not a single individual in communion with the Church. In this one the Welsh service has been discontinued for want of a congregation. No chil- dren in the parochial schools (/. c ., the very few which have been established), and of course the Avhole population in a position of absolute hostility to the Church they have left. It does really seem that there is a providential fatality attached to the existing system of the Church of England, which makes her, in proportion to her means and opportu- John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 89 nities, the most inefficient and unsuccessful in the world. Here she had, apparently, everything her own way. The whole population of Wales accepted the Reformation ; they were primitive in their habits, religiously disposed, as all Celtic nations are, without commerce, manufactures, or large towns, and provided with ample means of church instruction ; and behold the result ! Is it that the circumstances of her own Reformatory schism preclude her from effectually incul- cating the duty of unity or that the nature of her con- nexion with the State prevents the exercise of discipline or that the very fact of establishment produces sleepiness, carelessness or what is it ? With every apparent advantage in her favour she has succeeded in transforming the popu- lation of an entire country from children into bitter foes. Nothing at all like this can be attributed even to our much- abused Church in Ireland, though her success has been small enough. I went on Wednesday to the petty sessions at Pwllheli, and heard some bastardy cases which made me open my eyes. Fancy a woman brought forward as corroborative evi- dence by a girl who wished to affiliate a child, and swearing that she was in bed with both the parties, the mother and the putative father (all together), while another woman swore she was in another bed in the same room. Not the slightest astonishment was evinced by the audience ; and one of the magistrates assured me that the woman who was got with child under such revolting circumstances would not be looked upon at all in a worse light by her neighbours than if she were the most modest of maids. " It is too common to make any sensation," he said ; ' ' there were plenty of others almost as bad" e.r inio flisce. I really think I prefer the ' ' wild justice " of Tipperary to such systematic and cold- blooded vice as this. Charles Wynne was there, but, as everything that was said had to be interpreted to him by his brother magistrates, remained necessarily pretty passive. I delight iu his Wife. She is most anxious to do good, and fully sensible of the duties and responsibilities of property; but of course she finds all attempts at reformation very up- 90 Extracts from Letters of hill work. She has set up both a Sunday and day school, but finds it very difficult to induce the parents to send their children ; they have never been accustomed to it. And the clergyman does not know what to make of it at all, and looks very coldly upon the efforts made. Certainly -what I see here will cure me of ever complaining of my position in Ireland. XLI. "Young England" Irish Education, Juries, fyc. 1844. Nov. 10. Killigar. I HAVE no enthusiasm at all for Young England, but what capital speeches they made at Manchester ! Disraeli's, in particular, was one of the most brilliant I ever read. I am very curious to know what O'Connell meant by his "federal" move ; he is too crafty to have made a false step, and yet hitherto he seems to have gained nothing, while he has cer- tainly inspired the ultra-national men the Young Ireland party with considerable "fears and jealousies." I am engaged in writing answers to a set of queries which Lord Devon has sent me, touching emigration to America (as evidencefor a Select Committee}. Did I mention James's [Sir Walter'] pamphlet in defence of the Metropolitan Visiting Society ? It is really very good, in every respect. I must not forget to tell you that I have acted upon the conclusions we both came to, and applied yesterday to join the National Education System, upon the conditions which I explained to you, p. SO. I am more and more convinced that I was right in so doing, but, unfortu- nately, fear there is no chance of the great body of the Church adopting the same view. This county, though not this immediate neighbourhood, is in a most unwholesome state not politically, but socially. Armed parties out continually, robbing arms, and threatening and ill-treating those who transgress their agrarian code. The law is powerless, from the innumerable chances in favour of an accused party. How people arc led by a phrase ! I dare say there are hardly one hundred people in England who do not con- John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley* 91 sider trial by jury, formula and sham as it is, to be the acme of sublunary perfection as a judicial process. Have you read "Lord Eldon's Life?" There are some choice anecdotes of jurors in it. I am happy to see even the Quar- terly does justice to my hero of heroes, Arnold, who certainly seems to me to combine, more than any other character I know, the most apparently opposite great and noble qua- lities. I have just got another most interesting book, Burke's " Diaries and Correspondence :" this you must get and read. XLII. Trial by Jury, with People against Law. 1844. Nov. 16. Killigar. Tins country is in a very unwholesome state, not politically, but socially ; armed parties out every night, and nobody able to exercise the rights of property without imminent danger of unpleasant results. No chance of convicting offenders ; in- deed, the only matter of surprise to me is, that everybody is not murdered against whom anybody else has a spite, so infinite are the chances of impunity. I feel more and more convinced, and if I thought people's minds ripe for it, would try to impress my conviction on others, that the system of British law, however it may be made to work well in spite of itself by a well-disposed population, is peculiarly ill calcu- lated for the discovery of truth and the repression of crime, where, -either from party feeling, or a more deeply-rooted social disease, the people are not friendly to its operation. How very obvious it seems to me that an administration of justice, stronger and more despotic, and less formal such a one, in short, as would be applied to a similar state of things in any other country in Europe would be productive of more general well-being and more individual security than the one we have; and if so, docs it not seem a sacrifice of certain present advantages to a vague apprehension of future ill, to continue guarding the subject so carefully against any possible encroachment of military despotism, at the price of securing, 92 Extracts from Letters of in nine cases out of ten, impunity to undoubted criminals ? I wish you would tell me what you think of this. Do you take so very enlarged and philosophic a view as to fear any diminution of the existing liberty of the subject, or any altera- tion of the present forms of law, in the face of the flagrant, obvious evils which result from them, in their shielding the criminal ? I like much your remarks upon Cobden's singularly clever speech, but fear that a support of the Corn Laws, grounded solely upon an opinion that they tend to preserve and extend the feudal relations, and mutual interdependence of classes, which you conceive to exist generally in the rural districts, is hardly sufficient. At any rate, however, it is true, tangible, and good as far as it goes ; not so the economical arguments of the Pro-Corn-Law people, which seem to me complete sophistry. Cobden is very forcible upon the topic of the disaffection and bad feeling evinced by incendiary fires, threatening let- ters, &c., among the agricultural population. If he can once make out that the rural labourers are not more moral and religious, not more attached to their employers and contented with their situation, than the manufacturing operatives, your ground is cut away. I do not, however, think though, per- haps, from my limited knowledge, not qualified to judge that, taking the whole country into consideration, he could at all fairly do so. But he has a plausible case, in spite of his parade of universal individuality. XLIII. Letters to Newspapers Irish Trial by Jury Wltiy principles. 1841. Dec. 12. Killigar. I SEND you the two newspapers which contain my letters ; send them back, for I have no other copies. I was gratified by finding them most violently attacked in the Freeman's Journal, which is the leading organ of the priests in Dublin, which showed that they told. I am very glad you think with me about our judicial system ; surely it hardly admits of John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 93 question that, while one evil-disposed person who contrives to get on the jury can defeat the ends of justice, the jury trial cannot be an effectual plan for curbing crime. I do not, how- ever, see that my views upon this particular point necessarily result in a preference of despotism i.e., of absolute monarchy. I only say that the particular judicial machinery which we originated, and inflicted upon the world, is defective, and liable to be rendered at any time perfectly inefficient l>y the very state of things which would require peculiar stringency in the judicial department. I should certainly, if I were you, find no difficulty in abusing the Whigs, though, perhaps, I might find some in selecting the proper topics for praising the Conserva- tives upon. Perhaps the most pernicious error of the Whigs was the considering (in accordance with what we have often agreed was their fundamental heresy) the ex- tension of political power and privileges to the lower orders as the panacea for all their grievances and ills. They care comparatively little about their physical comforts ; their school of political economy sneers at the idea of tailing care of them in any way ; they care less for their moral and reli- gious instruction. ' ' All these things should be left to the laws of demand and supply," say they. " Only give them votes ; construct a scheme of government which may tally as nearly as possible Avith our theory of ' power from the people ;' make population the basis of representation, give a demo- cratic constitution to your municipal corporations, your boards of guardians, your Universities, and as to the rest, laissez faire Government is but a committee for managing the 'material' interests and affairs of, that joint-stock com- pany, the people ; and the less power is delegated to it by its masters, the better." Their dislike of the Church (the repre- sentative of authority), their contempt of and sneers at alms- giving and mutual dependence, and all sorts of schemes for practically bettering the poor (as if those schemes lowered their dignity), derive from the same anti-Christian root, the sin of pride, the upsetting principle, which considers it as the ae /!//(-- iil-lra of human felicity to take off one's hat to nobody. Something like this view of Whig philosophy, in connexion 94 Extracts from Letters of with its unchristian, selfish character, and a contrast drawn between it and the tone adopted (with more or less practical discretion) by Churchmen and Tories, might, I should think, be effective. Another weak point in the Whig administration of affairs, as compared with Sir R. Peel, seems to be a prosti- tution of government patronage to serve both their private interests and their hold of place. This, at least, is particu- larly remarkable in Ireland, where they filled the small offices of police and law with people who ought to have been trans- ported, and really made men peers whom one would hardly have asked to dinner. Sir Robert has been particularly dignified about this last point, and, indeed, in his general distribution of patronage has looked, perhaps too exclusively, to the qualifi- cations of individuals in their specific line, without reference to interest or general political principle. Might not his foreign policy be advantageously contrasted with Lord Palmerston's ? I myself have that sort of sympathy and respect for the thorough John Bullish feeling of the latter, who was deter- mined to make England the arbitratrix of the world, that I could not bring myself to attack him for it, yet certainly sound discretion must condemn his vagaries. I certainly think the state of the English mind at this moment may be most favourably contrasted with that of other ages and other countries., in the boldness and candour with which it addresses itself to probe social wounds, and at least attempt their cure. In every thickly-peopled country they exist, but in no other, as far as I am aware, would the dragging them to light be tolerated ; a Frenchman would sooner see a million of his countrymen die of hunger, than have his national vanity mor- tified by publishing their case with a view to their relief. AVho troubled his head during the last century about the periodical famines which desolated Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland ? Look at Fielding's pictures of country squires in those days, and compare them with what we now see going on in every village. Is it possible for the wildest imagination to conceive the politicians and Ijini r-irnntu described by Walpole and Sehvyn doing good in any way to anybody ? I am very far indeed from being inclined to become a laudator lemporis acti, JoJin Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 95 though I look with suspicion and alarm upon many of the schemes and theories which our new-born zeal in the cause of good is producing. XLIV. Irish National Education and Payment of Priests. 1845. Jan. 24. Dublin. I CANNOT quite accept your criticismson my letter [xxxix., on Irish National Education'], or concede that, because I ad- mit children who refuse to accept my religious instruction, I am responsible for the religious instruction they get from their parents or elseAvhere. All that I am concerned with is, that they get nothing in itself bad from me. Would not your argument apply equally to the case of a drawing or dancing master, Avhom you would make responsible for the erroneous religious teaching which his pupils may get at home ? Now I, with regard to those children whom we speak of, put my- self into exactly an analogous position, with this difference (which is all in my favour), that I offer to them, and press upon their parents the duty of accepting, my religious teach- ing too ; and also that I do this, not for the mere purpose of imparting to them a knowledge of reading and writing, but with reference to the ulterior end of more effectually guard- ing and instructing the consenting children. A very different ground must be taken by those who absolutely sanction and pay the teachers of erroneous opinions. Nor can I quite make up my mind on that point. However, I am disposed to think favourably of it, and in this way would defend it. The subject should be viewed, in its totality, with refer- ence to religious expediency ; i.e., when doubting whether it be lawful to adopt a course which political prudence obviously counsels, I must first ask myself the question "Will what I am going to do be prejudicial to the cause of true religion ? If so, I cannot allow political good to induce me to consent to it. But I cannot see that there is anything inherently un- lawful in giving a salary to teachers of error, unless I believe that the cause of error will be promoted thereby, to the 96 Extracts from Letters of detriment of truth. The fact of their doing wrong is certainly no reason for not paying them, if I consider it prudent to do so, any more than a conviction that an individual had attained by unjustifiable means to parliamentary station and influence would prevent me from giving him place, if I thought it de- sirable to conciliate him. I find Roman Catholics and Pres- byterian teachers, who have acquired an influence by means which I do not approve, but I do not consider that I am bound to scrutinize those means. I am only to look to the fact that they have the influence, and to use every means in my power to avail myself of it for good, instead of allowing it to be enlisted on the side of disloyalty and disorder. If I thought my doing so would enable them to pervert members of my own Church, or in any other way on the whole weaken the cause of what I believe to be right, I would not consent to it ; but I am inclined to think no such results would follow from paying the Roman Catholic clergy. On the contrary, if it made them good and loyal subjects it would strengthen the cause of the Church, as of every other element of the Constitution. Such is, hastily sketched, the theory which commends itself to my mind at present. But I am quite open to hear your objections to it, and to modify, or change it, if you show cause. I think the cases of Trinity College and of the National Schools are analogous in this way. Both are exist- ing established institutions, and in both the only question for us is, are we to take advantage of them ? If the question was, are we to establish the National Education system ? I admit to quote Trinity College would be unfair. That one wrong thing has been done is no reason for doing another. But 1 think, on reflection, you will see that we who have nothing to do with establishing either, stand in the same position with respect to both. Again, I am still inclined to draw a dis- tinction between a Bishop's expressed opinion and advice and his positive commands, just as, even in the case of an in- spired Apostle, the Corinthians were clearly permitted to do so with respect to celibacy, which St. Paul recommended, but did not enjoin. John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 97 XLV. An Irish ^Magistrate Murdered Gladstone's retirement from Peel on the Maynooth Question. 1845. Feb. 8. Killigar. McLEOD was murdered for no reason on earth but because he refused to take bail for certain notorious offenders. A pretty state of society !. Can you not fancy how encouraging it is to us, who live in it, to hear Ministers and ex-Ministers bandying phrases about the ' ' tranquillity of Ireland "? But I won't croak any more. I differ from you about Gladstone's conduct. It is far better for his character and future career, I think, that he should not be ministerially responsible for such measures as appear to be intended. The suspicions of him which are very rife in his peculiar following it is most important to allay, and at a future time he will come in unpledged to any principles which the mass of them disapprove. How ludicrously characteristic of Peel was the use he made of Gladstone's defection ! " How very liberal," he says to Lord John, " must be my intended measures when he leaves me, and how very anxious must I be to carry them when I am ready to sacrifice the advantage of his countenance on Church questions ! " I believe him. Is it a libel on the 19th century to say that Peel is its concentrated essence? I think it is, yet in some measure he unites those spiritual accomplishments which are most valued by it. "At the same time with no depth to discern its ulterior tendencies, still less with any magnanimity to attempt withstanding these, his greatness and his littleness alike fitting him to produce an immediate effect ; for he leads where the multitude is of itself dimly- minded to run, and keeps the van not more by skill in commanding than by cunning in obeying." [Sir Jabesli Windlag~\. There is nothing that disgusts me more than his constant half-objurgative, half-coaxing appeal to opponents. " See how like you I am ; see how little right you have to find fault." Will he not be terribly 98 weak in nominal supporters in the House of Commons Stanley and Gladstone both gone ? Pitt, to be sure, had only Dundas ; but then he was far stronger in the country as well as intrinsically. XL VI. Maynooth Grant State of Ireland. 1845. Feb. 18. Killigar. I CONFESS I see no dereliction of principle in increasing the grant to Maynooth ; it only seems reasonable to adhere to the spirit of the original enactment, by giving additional facilities for education in proportion as the population and their clergy increase in numbers. Nor do I see what detri- ment to the cause of religion can ensue from having a better educated Roman Catholic clergy. You may depend upon it they will not be enabled thereby to gain over a single member of the Established Church, and that, I cannot help thiriking, is a sufficient test of the lawfulness of the proposed measure. As to \tsprudence, I think that a different point, and should be inclined to decide against it. It is impossible to imagine anything more distasteful to the Protestants of Ireland ; and, discontented as they now are with Peel, I think it unwise to offer them further provocation just at this time, in the vain hope of conciliating the other party. Improved education may tell advantageously, in the long run, upon the feeling of the priests and Roman Catholic laymen of the better class, but Sir Robert Peel must not flatter himself that there is even a tendency to improved feeling among the masses, who constitute the real strength of Irish discontent. I think it is becoming every day more apparent (and it is on the whole a bad sign), that the people are acting independently of the priests, that Ireland is becoming more and more democratic, as she becomes better educated. The late movement among them upon the Charitable Bequests Act was a strong symp- tom of this ; almost everywhere the mob carried the priests along with them against the bishops and the Pope. The same tendency is more alarmingly exemplified by the existence John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderlcy. 99 and increasing spread of the Ribbon Society, against which I do believe the priests are very honestly exerting themselves, but in vain. In this county and elsewhere the priests are beginning to receive threatening notices, like landlords and clergymen, and I know from various facts that have occurred that they feel the people to be getting away from them. Under these circumstances, as to the policy of paying the priests, this further question opens itself whether you would, supposing you thereby gained the majority of priests to your side, have advanced far towards gaining the people whether the ties between priest and people being thereby relaxed, an opening would not be left for more dangerous and unscrupulous leaders in the shape of lay demagogues. At any rate, any healing or conciliatory political measure ought to be preceded by such an alteration of the judicial system in disturbed districts as would ensure the supremacy of the law 7 , which is now a dead letter. Till that is done, every concession appears to be the effect of weakness, and government becomes the object of contempt, not attachment. Englishmen, judging by the political surface merely, speeches at Conciliation-hall, and fluctuations in the Rent, form a totally erroneous estimate of the " tranquillity of Ireland/' These things are, I assure you, comparatively unimportant. ]S~o Irishman troubles his head really about repeal ; the real and grave subject of anxiety is the wide-spread determination to defy the law, and the utter poweiiessness of the latter to prevent complete social anarchy. It is quite openly avowed that no jury would convict of murder in any of the disturbed counties ; witnesses are afraid to come forward, and now it seems the engine of terror is to be brought to bear 011 magistrates. Yet such is the English prejudice in favour of the forms of English law, that I fear it is hopeless to expect its discontinuance in a state of society which is avowedly and notoriously as unfitted for it as would be that which prevails at Timbuctoo. "Without some effective and stringent alteration of the criminal law, such as may give a reasonable chance of punishing the guilty, and that decent security for life and property which is to be had in every other civilized country, ii 2 100 Extracts from Letters of no political measure can have any effect. Even while English capital is flowing in, Irish proprietors are flowing out, and becoming absentees. I do not fear insurrection ; that would be fatal to our adversaries ; there is no government stronger against actual outbreaks than ours, because then they become emancipated from the monstrous forms of British law ; but against a population hostile to law, and determined to avail itself of every possible means of both legal chicane and physical intimidation, our executive appears to me utterly powerless. It is really frightful to compare the list of reported crimes with that of prosecutions, and again that of prosecutions with that of convictions. It cannot be too often repeated and insisted on that the jury-lox is the source of our weak- ness and their strength. How can it possibly be supposed that, as the prisoner has twenty peremptory challenges, he cannot among the first thirty-two names called find one (and that will ansAver his purpose) accessible to fear or favour ? The infinite probability unfortunately is that nearly the whole will be influenced by either or both. I am determined to devote my energies, such as they are, to awakening people's minds in England to this important subject, and should be very glad to get into a connexion with some London news- paper of large circulation, so as to command its columns for leading articles. This is the next best thing to speeches in Parliament. I do hope, however, to prevail upon you or some other English member to take up our cause, which is that of humanity and justice, there. It should be done by an Englishman, for we are always considered as influenced by improper motives. I send you an extract from an Irish paper which conveys pretty nearly the substance of what I wish to urge upon you and others : viz., the distinction between the large political agitation upon such questions as Repeal, Emancipation, &c., and the less noisy, but infinitely more dangerous, influence which has undermined the frame- work of Irish society. John Robert Godley to C. 13. Adder ley. 101 XLVII. Assassinations Secessions from Church Newman. 1845. Nov. 25. Killigar. I THINK you will be glad to hear occasionally of our goings on. I would have written before, but that I have been still hoping to get a letter on the subject of Church matters, which your last note promised. Is not everything bearing out what I used to say in London ? These assassinations are now becoming so frequent, that not a week passes free from them. Of course such is the case, as long as impunity is certain, and (equally of course) if something be not done to render the law more efficient, everybody must leave the country, and it must be left to be fought for by bailiffs, policemen, and Whiteboys. People have not, and never will have, generally, the spirit of missionaries and martyrs ; if they have not decent security, such as every other government in Europe gives its subjects, they will not live in the country. Even I get sometimes so savage, when I think of the treatment which one meets with for trying to do good, that I feel strongly tempted to let them starve after their own fashion, and live at my ease in some place where I can go to my own hall-door without running the risk of being shot. What do you think of Hopkins* adventure ? \Sir Francis Hopkins shot at, at his own door~\. There is a man whom nothing in the world but a sense of duty induces to live in Ireland, and who, I believe, has been most anxiously endeavouring to improve his estate and neighbourhood, and this is his reward, "pour encourage? les autres" What a pity it is that he had not pistols ; he might have bagged both the fellows ! [_Ite very gallantly secured une.~\ Nothing has happened here lately, except what 1 cannot but consider a clumsy attempt to produce intimidation and excitement, by sending an anonymous letter to a stipen- diary magistrate Avith information that in a certain house he would find concealed a list of the persons marked for assassi- nation during the winter. He did so, and found the list, the first name on which was John (jodley, but it bore so manifestly the tokens of having been placed there by the 102 Extracts from Letters of party who gave the information,, that I am only surprised that any weight was attached to the circumstance, except in so far as it showed an " animus" which is not pleasant. I have no great fears of a famine in this part of the country ; the ravages of the disease, though terrible in the cases of some individuals, have not been on the whole nearly so great as we feared at first, and there is a larger stock of oats in the country than ever was known before. Everything, however, depends upon the manner in which the potatoes stand in the heaps. Of course, if the rot continues, there is no knowing what may be the consequence. We are trying the experi- ment of the chlorine gas, which I see you advocate, but are not able yet to report the result. Church matters are looking very gloomy, I fear, at least I hear every day of new secessions, and those among our most pious and zealous, if not most learned and wise, men. You are not quite fair in reprobating Pusey for his tenderness in speak- ing of Newman's defection, upon the ground that he does not consider the tAvo churches as estranged sisters. Now I take it that this is (whether rightly or wrongly) just the view that he does take, and therefore he is consistent in considering New- man as still within the pale of the Catholic Church. Newman does not think so, of course, as you say, but it is that very point on which they differ. Of course after what has hap- pened, I cannot think of leaving home for the present. XLVIII. Life threatened Corn Laws Hunting Secessions. 1845. Dee. 3. Killigar. THE report of my being fired at originated in the apparition of a stranger, evidently avoiding observation, and once armed with a pistol, on three successive days in our woods. However, I am strongly of opinion that the alarms proceed from a design to produce excitement and intimidation not from an " intent to kill." Others remain of a different opinion, and the affair is certainly mysterious. The attack on Hopkins shows how neces- sary it is to be always armed and on one's guard. I dare say John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 103 he dreamed of nothing less than being fired at on that night. What we are threatened with at present is a passive resistance to rents, which it will be necessary to meet by the most vigorous measures, and which may lead to outrage in many instances. Otherwise, there is in this county a reaction against " Molly Maguireism/' and no Whiteboy offences have been committed lately. What we want is law not nominal but real, effective, enforced law. If we had that, we could afford to invest money in improvements, to treat Roman Catholics with confidence, in fact to do our best in getting rid of a state of feeling and conduct which has led to most of our present evils, but which, while the country is in a state of war, we cannot dispense with. My conviction of the impolicy of the Corn-laws is very strong, and I should therefore be very glad of an opportunity of repealing them with so good an excuse as is afforded by the threatened famine. Even if I did not think them injurious in themselves (which I do), I am convinced that they would be too dearly bought at the expense of the agitation, ill- will, &c., which they cause. Whenever there is a bad har- vest they will be fiercely attacked, and each successive attack will be more feebly repelled than the last; till at length, whenever the emergency is urgent enough, they will go with a crash. Nobody doubts this ; nobody thinks that Sir Robert will maintain them, if he maintains them, this year, on any other ground than that he thinks there will not be a famine; if the harvest were bad enough, everybody feels they would go. Is this a point for so much disturbance and mutual bad feeling to be kept up about ? Twenty years after they are repealed, people will be astonished at such im- portance having been attached to their preservation. I cannot say that I am sorry your hunting career has been cut short, not that I do not admit with you the abstract permissibility of the sport. In moderation, I even think it rather desirable than otherwise, for ordinary men, who would be, if not hunting, perhaps doing worse. But you don't want it ; your time is fully occupied, and in a far better way. As it is, you are the first to admit and complain that you are forced to leave much business undone. 104 Extracts from Letters of and to do much in a hurried manner, for want of time. Why then go out of your way to adopt a fresh pursuit, which, in your position, there will be every temptation to pursue to excess, and which will bring you into connection with a set whose whole tone of thought and feeling is different from your own. Did you ever know a really earnest-minded, in- tellectual man who was an habitual Nimrod? If not, surely you would wish to find yourself rather out of your element there. All these arguments appear to me to apply with double force to a clergyman, whose duties are more distinct and definite than those of a country gentleman, and whose time is, generally speaking, more fully occupied with those duties, if they are well performed. Besides this, if you look at the ordination service, and consider the answers therein made by the persons ordained, you cannot avoid seeing that there is a more especial dedication of the whole man to spiritual things therein assumed than would be possible or desirable for the mass of mankind. The extent and nature of the distinction may be indefinite, and liable to be modified, but its existence I conceive to be undoubted. Take the far lower example of inanimate things consecrated to the service and ministry of God's worship say a church or communion vessels. Who would not feel revolted at a ball being given in Westminster Abbey, and the vessels of the altar being used for drinking cups at it ? For a similar reason (among others) I certainly do feel that a certain " odour of sanctity " should surround those men who are dedicated to the office and ministry of the' altar, and that there are certain occupa- tions and amusements which derogate from, and interfere with it. Every serious person feels in the same way, more or less, and dislikes the notion of a clergyman going into battle, becoming a director of a railway, dancing, hunting, &c.; and the fact that he docs so constitutes, I think, a double argu- ment against such practices, as being a testimony that they arc wrong, and as evincing the inexpediency of them, as regards the effect they produce on a clergyman's influence and usefulness. Am I not right ? Do not you. feel, as well as (I/ink, with me ? JIow miserable is the state of things as regards the John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 105 Church miserable in the loss of so many men of zeal, piety, and talent, and miserable in the indirect effect upon those who are left behind ! I dread, however, more a tendency to universal, though perhaps often unconscious, scepticism, than to the old narrow-minded Puritanism of Stiggins and Co. In the midst of these fluctuations and contradictions, and mutual denunciations on the part of those best-informed and best-intentioned, how fearful is the temptation to echo Pilate's mocking question, and to be equally hopeless and careless about receiving a satisfactory answer ! How fortunate are the child-like minds to whom no intellectual difficulties ever occur, and whose only care it is to act up to the truth which they implicitly receive. I feel the impos- sibility of accepting Roman conditions more strongly than ever. Conceive Newman having been rebaptised, thereby affirming that till now he was not a Christian, and that the sacramental influences which he professed to be acting under and to feel, were an unreality and a delusion ! XLIX. Peel's Resignation. 1845. Dec. 15. Killigar. WKITK me a line with all speed about this astounding event. What is to be the result? How will Peel and those who support kirn deal with the new ministry whom they have put in for the purpose of carrying a particular measure ? After it is carried is Peel to come in again ? If not, how are the Whigs to carry on the government, not being able to com- mand a majority in either House? Is there to be a dissolu- tion, and, if so, will you stand again, and on what principles as regards the great question at issue ? I am altogether etete, and long for you, or somebody who is nearer the centre of news, to tell me what is thought of the matter. I doubt (or should doubt if it were anybody else) Lord John's undertak- ing to form a ministry, and then Peel would of course re- construct his Cabinet and carry free-trade with flying colours. I wonder he did not do so, as he did Roman Catholic Email- 106 Extracts from Letters of cipation in '29. I suppose he was afraid of a repetition of the obloquy he got then. Is it not tantalizing to have every- body saying to me, " Of course you are going to stand for Leitrim"? L. Peel Corn Politics What should be done in Ireland. 1846. Jan. 19. Killigar. I WAS right, you see, in my prognostications of the impos- sibility of forming either a Protectionist or a Whig Cabinet. What I now fear is that Peel will be forced from behind to bring forward a settlement which will not settle i.e., some- thing too far short of total repeal to get rid of the question altogether which will probably have the effect of disgusting the agriculturists as much as repeal would do. This, I say, I fear, but I hope that he will see that the grand object is to have something which people will see to \>e final, and nothing less than the total abandonment of the principle of Protection (as it is called) will be that. Of course an equalization of burdens is perfectly consistent with such abandonment ; and 1 confess, as at present advised, I can see no fair argument against a comprehensive scheme which shall embrace both. There will be, I should think, an almost insuperable difficulty in dealing with Poor-rate ; and the Church would object to receiving a salary from the Consolidated Fund, in lieu of tithe ; but Land-tax and Malt-tax ought to go, as well as all protective duties on manufactured goods ; the deficiency to be made up out of increased Income-tax. How intensely interesting Sir Robert's statement will be ! I hope he will be allowed to carry it into effect, he is so much the best man to conduct the nation through any economical revolution of such a nature as is proposed. It is his peculiar clement, and hardly anybody else could do it safely, as far as I can see. Strange as it may appear, I have it from the best authority that there will be no allusion at all to corn, &c., in the Queen's speech, the projected alterations being reserved for parliamentary state- ment at an early period of the Session [find. so it, u'as~\. How I John Eobert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 107 should like to hear it ! But I cannot conveniently leave Ireland till after the assizes, i.e., the last week in February, and the interest will have comparatively evaporated before that time. The agriculturists are very stout in their speeches ; still, I have no doubt whatever that Peel will carry his scheme, however liberal it may be, by a large majority. When (as maybe said almost literally) all the men of talent in a country are agreed upon one side of a question, and it has arrived, by gradually increasing majorities, to anything near a numerical equality of votes, there can be no difficulty in saying how the victory will ultimately go ; and if ultimately, is it not much better for all parties that it should be now ? There will be a paragraph in the speech recommending the adoption of measures for the prevention of crime in Ireland ; but I anticipate nothing really effectual or decisive on that point from Peel. Here we are now wonderfully quiet, but in Limerick and Clare things are as bad as they were last spring and summer with us. Murders, outrages, in fact almost open insurrection, and the law utterly powerless ! The two things I especially want (and which I shall certainly not have) are first, a law enact- ing that in districts proclaimed to be in a state of disturbance, people should not be allowed to be out of their houses at night without giving an account of themselves ; and secondly, the constitution hi suck districts of a tribunal of a summary kind, constantly sitting, instead of the tedious and ineffective process, or rather mockery of justice which now prevails. Did you read the Times Commissioner's letters from Ireland ? On the whole they were very good. Some of our Irish Con- servatives have been making great fools of themselves about an " Irish party/' against which I mean in some shape or another to remonstrate in print. America talks very big [Oregon Territory] , but I feel perfectly certain there will be no war. Have you read Newman's book ? If not, you must do so, though I do not think it will interest you as much as it has nie. 108 Extracts from Letters of LI. Anti-Corn-Law League. 1846. Jan. 22. Killigar. I QUITE agree with you about the Jacobinical tone of the Anti-Corn-Law League, but I think the way to meet it is not by maintaining that which is in the abstract indefensible, and thus giving them an opportunity of attacking, under cover of sound principles of political economy, the aristo- cratic influence of which they are the enemies. By abolish- ing the Corn-laws at once you put an end to the Anti-Corn- Law League, just as by conceding Reform you put an end to the combinations of the working men called Trades' Unions, which presented a yet more offensive and formidable appear- ance. If their organization revive under another name, (and it will be very difficult to get one anything like as plausible), you can meet it the more effectually from having exposed the falsehood of the professions which they put forward. I cannot admit the wisdom of defending a bad cause lest concession should be misinterpreted as weakness. The weakness is not in the defenders but in the fortification, and will appear so if the defenders throw themselves into a better position before they have suffered too much to do so with effect. Just ask yourself whether you consider that there is the smallest shadow of possibility that against the present weight of opposition (composed of all the talent and statesmanship, and the greater part of the active and dis- posable wealth of the country) the Corn-laws in any shape can stand longer than a certain limited time. As a per- manent arrangement, I suppose no Hampshire farmer even hopes for them. If so, I cannot see the advantage, in any point of view, of a protracted defence, which you know before- hand will ultimately be unsuccessful. I have not courage to enter upon a critique of your pamphlet \on Reformatory Punishments] just now. My idea, generally, is that you have attached too much importance to the attempt at reform- ing the criminal, and too little to the primary object of punishment, namely, the deterrent principle, the force of John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 109 example. Both, no doubt, should be combined, if possible, but the latter comes first. Is it not a melancholy and alarming thing that the jury would not convict the murderer (in intention) of Hopkins ? Will anybody maintain that in such a country jury- trial is of the slightest use ? LII. Dislocation of Parties Peel's New Corn Bill and Irish Coercion. 1846. March 13. Killigar. How will parties arrange themselves after the extraor- dinary dislocation which has taken place? The juncture a little resembles that of 1783, when Fox and Lord North eat their words respectively, and thereby, though for the mo- ment triumphant, broke up their own party irrecoverably. The grand difference is that Fox acted from personal ambi- tion, and in order to obtain place ; Peel acts, as I firmly believe, for what he is convinced is the good of the country, and in so doing deliberately faces the almost certain loss of place. Peel was to blame before, but I am sure he is now acting on his convictions. The great evil of the course which he has pursued, and which his supporters have imi- tated, is that it shows how very weak and ill-grounded, how- ever conscientious, men's convictions are, and consequently throws one altogether into a state of uncertainty as to what will come next. For my own part, I am very hopeful, and have no fears about the ultimate effects of this shock. I am sure the measure itself is a good one, and that when people find that out they will forget their present mutual animosi- ties, which must, I fear, for some time prevent any cordial co- operation between the sections of the Conservative party. I hope sincerely the Lords will not throw out the bill. Their doing so can hardly have any definite object, and will only give them more dirt to eat when they ultimately pass this or something even more sweeping. My Father and Mother are settled for the present in Dublin. I am staying at my Brother-in law's parsonage, where I intend, (n.\ '.), to 110 Extracts from Letters of remain till after Easter. There is a good deal to be done in the country just now with reference to public works, &c., to be undertaken for the purpose of employing the people. We are very quiet hereabouts, and likely, I hope, to remain so. The vigorous measures which we adopted in the summer, patrols, guards, fining town-lands, &c. have been entirely successful ; but I am sorry to say that about Mohill, and from thence westward, things are as bad as ever. Armed parties parading in every direction by day and night without opposition, taking arms and money, and obstructing the execution of the law in every way. Clements, who has changed his note since the days of his celebrated opposition to the Arms' Bill, is almost in despair. His only hope is in the new Coercion Bill, which, I trust, you will attend to sup- port, and canvass others to do the same. English members in general care so little about our troubles and dangers that I greatly fear lest O'Connell and his myrmidons should suc- ceed in castrating a measure which is not vigorous enough to bear weakening. We cannot trust ministers, of course. I wish heartily that Johnny Russell had charge of the Bill instead of Peel. Let me have a line to say how Mrs. Adderley is. I hope you and she had no friends included in that terrible Indian list [Sikh war] . Did anything in ancient or modern times ever equal the gallantry of our troops ? But there must have been terrible want of generalship. mi. Changed votes of Peel's Friends. 1846. March 28. Sackvillc-strcet Club. WHILE I sympathize with and admire the spirit which your letter expresses, and join fully in your vituperation of Peel, whom I hardly know whether to consider disingenuous, or unstable and absolutely destitute of fixed principles, yet still I cannot help warning you to reflect more calmly than you have perhaps hitherto done, on the grounds of your opposition to l/iis measure [Resolutions for Relaxation of Duties on Coni~\ . Burke says " Legislation and government are matters of reason and judgment, not of passion and feel- John Eobert Godley to C. B. Adder ley. Ill ing/' and it certainly behoves you, before you commit your- self, to reflect upon the alternative consequent upon Peel's defeat. If the measure be good for the interests of the coun- try at large (which I think you will hardly deny), don't reject it because Peel brings it in. Pass it, and then vote want of confidence in him if you like, which would far more effectually mark your indignation at his proceeding, but do not engage in a hopeless struggle for an unsound principle. The question of resigning is a very difficult one, and unless the circumstances were very peculiar indeed, I should not do so, for I maintain that you are sent to exercise a free and unbiassed judgment for seven years upon every question according to the circumstances of the matter and the period, and that you are not delegates bound to obey the dictates of your constituents. However, this reasoning does not apply to the case of men who have pledged themselves, or who have by implication sanctioned the idea that they were to represent a certain definite course of action upon certain questions. I maintain that if they did so they were wrong, but that they are bound by the pledge they have directly or indirectly taken, and I dare say that there are enough in this predicament to make nearly the hecatomb you speak of. But let them do so ; let them appeal to their constituents, and explain their reasons for changing their views, and if they are turned out, they will have done their duty ; but surely if they have changed their views if they do think that, consi- dering all things, it is better that Peel's measure should pass than that a worse one should supervene after an injurious struggle then it is clearly wrong in them to vote against it, that is, against their judgment, because three or four years ago they thought differently. Look at the opinions of foreigners of all shades of opinion on this very proceeding which you think will damage the national character. I never knew them upon any other occasion so unanimous in their praise. No army is damaged in character by abandoning a really indefensible position, unless, as I said before, it had pledged itself to maintain it ; and then, no doubt, it is bound to give those who gave the fortress in charge the opportunity of replacing it by another garrison. This may be the case 112 Extracts from Letters of with a vast number of Conservatives, and I think with you they must act accordingly. But upon what principle is the anti-Peel battle to be fought ? You yourself, as you once told me, would repudiate " protection abstractedly from inequality of taxation," and that must be the cry if there is a dissolu- tion. It will not be enough to say, " I dislike Peel though I like free-trade, and I will vote against him, though I can- not maintain the existing Corn-law." I mean this will not do for an election- cry now. After the Corn -laws go (as go they must) you may say " Out with the Jonah !" LTV. Irish Politics and Peel. 1846. April 15. Killigar. I AM terribly solitary just now. However, I have plenty to keep me occupied ; my only difficulty is to keep awake in the evening. I cannot get away, with any sort of regard to con- science, I fear ; for we are just in the agony of presentment ses- sions, relief committees, &c., for the purpose of employing the people during the apprehended distress. Here there are as yet no signs of extraordinary want, still less of famine, nor will there be any deficiency of employment till June, so that, as far as we are concerned, I think the appointment of relief committees was quite premature. However, as it has been done, it is most essential that we should have the management of them, and not leave them to priests and demagogues. The Committee for this district, e.g., is pretty well satisfied to let me do as I like, but if I were away they would play all sorts of pranks, I well know. It appears to me, that even if there should be no extraordinary distress this year, these committees may be made very useful ; and, if found so, may be continued inde- finitely, as subsidiary to the workhouse system, to which our poor-law restricts legal relief. The principle is precisely that of the French Bureaux de Bioifuisance, and the Prussian Armen Direction (described by Laing), and it is the best way that I can think of for applying a moral screw to the pockets of the rich, particularly the absentees, whom the sights and John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 113 sounds of distress and want cannot reach. What I should like to see is a really liberal and comprehensive poor-law, assimilated in all essential respects to your English system. I have never seen a plausible answer to Wakley's simple and obvious question, " Why are Irish proprietors to escape the burden of maintaining their poor, while English proprietors have to bear it ?" The worst of it is, that Scrope, and the Times, and most of the other advocates of such a measure, adopt a tone of such gross unfairness, and such indiscriminate violence against landlords, as really to injure a good cause, by setting fair men against it. In spite of my prognostication, we have managed to put down for the time open insurrection here by means of the ordinary laws ; but in the south, where the whole population is enlisted on the anti-law side, there is hardly a chance but by means of some " coercive" measure. A friend of mine, a barrister, who was engaged for the Crown at the Tipperary assizes, writes word that he never saw any- thing like the temper of the people there, nor could have conceived it every 'individual below the rank of undeniable gentry, sympathizing openly with' the criminals (some of whom were murderers of the blackest dye) , and endeavouring to defeat the ends of justice. The mind recoils with horror at having to deal with such a state of things, and yet so curiously constituted are we, that generally, and when not under the influence of a fit of despondency, I prefer the ups and downs, the difficulties, excitements, and partial successes of an Irish gentleman's life to the comparative somnolency of a more thoroughly civilized country. LV. His Sister's Marriage State of Ireland. 1846. June 11. Killigar. I WOULD have written to you before, but for the perpetual hurry and fidget in which I have been kept by the wedding, the state of the country, &c., &c. On Thursday last we [/its Sister and Pollen'] were very successfully married, notwith- standing the inopportune circumstance of a regular down- 114 Extracts from Letters of pour of rain, which lasted all day, and made the afternoon arrangements even more stupid and annoying than usual. The honey -lunatics are now at Archdeacon Beresford's, near Cavan, amusing themselves, and return here for a few days on Friday, before they start for England. Everything in that quarter is couleur de rose, for it is impossible that we could have desired for Charlotte a better match in every respect. Our political (or rather social) prospects are still as gloomy as possible, nor do I see how, with the means we possess, any remedy is to be applied. The country is traversed in every direction by armed parties every night, and neither military or police, of whom the country is now full, can ever meet or trace them. Nothing will stop this but the confinement of all persons (who have no good reason to give for being out) to their own houses between certain hours, to be enforced by domiciliary visits, and a really effective tribunal for the trial of offenders, which we now are absolutely without. Our own immediate district has been kept free from nocturnal depredations, but it is by means which I find it most painful to adopt, and which in no country under the dominion of civilized government and law ought to be tolerated for a moment. The Protestants, who are very strong and numerous hereabouts, have formed themselves into a regular military organization, and established sentinels, patrols, and guards throughout the whole district. At least sixty men, well armed, sit up every night, and as yet they have behaved per- fectly well, confining themselves strictly to their posts, and offering no molestation to any one; but considering the unbridled spirits of both parties, and the innumerable chances of collision, I really dread, every morning when I get up, to be met with the news of some desperate affray. I go out and visit the stations and patrol the roads myself constantly at night, but I have no magistrate to back or assist me, and of course I am physically unable to keep up an adequate super- intendence, even over the immediate neighbourhood of this place. It is most painful, too, to be forced in self-defence upon the position (in some measure) of a party leader, and thus indirectly to contribute to the perpetuation of one of John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderlcy. 115 our greatest curses, religious discord. And yet what can I do ? I was most anxious to get the more respectable Roman Catholics to act with us in preserving the peace, but I found that the mutual jealousy and suspicion of the two parties was such, that they could not be brought to act together ; in fact, if I had persevered the whole scheme would have been at an end, and our district, like all the rest of the southern part of Leitrim, have been left a prey to the marauders. If law were, as it ought to be, paramount, we could afford to act with perfect impartiality between the two classes, and to prosecute our schemes of improvement, con- ciliation, and amalgamation. As it is, we are forced by the impotence of law, to throw ourselves upon that portion of the population whom, on account of our common danger, we can implicitly trust. Thanks for the note touching arms. I got twenty carbines from Sargant and Co., and have just ordered twenty more. Announcing Jus own Marriage. 1816. June 30. Carrick-on-Sliamion. I MUST now impart to you, in strict confidence, rather an important piece of news (as regards me) which I had an in- superable reluctance to communicate viva voce. I am en- gaged to be married, and to Miss Wynne, Charles's Sister. As far as regards our prospects of happiness it is enough to say that after having known each other as intimately as brother and sister for ten years, it would be very odd if we deceived ourselves upon the question of our being mutually suited to each other. My present plan is, that of which I once spoke to you in a general way, namely, to live in Lon- don during the session, and endeavour to get into parliamen- tary business as a lawyer ; the other half of each year will be devoted to Ireland. If you have any railway interest I shall hope to see it exerted in my favour. Palmer, a good judge, is very sanguine as to my chances of success. 1 have on mv hands two contracts for making roads about 116 Extracts from Letters of which I have as little idea as the babe unborn my church, relief committees, the assizes, &c. &c. &c. LVII. Free-trade in Sugar Marriage Plans. 1846. July 26. Dublin. I AM, after much doubt and hesitation, prepared to say, that I would support free-trade in sugar, upon the ground that to attempt, by means of tariffs, to exercise an indirect influence on the internal institutions of foreign countries is a task which we cannot and need not undertake. It is too complicated and vast, and the data upon which we must pro- ceed too uncertain to make it worth while, upon so proble- matical a good, to sacrifice the obvious interests of our fellow- countrymen at home, whose field of employment it is our plain duty to enlarge. This is my view now, but I feel by no means so clear about it as I did about corn. I hope to be married in about six weeks, but no day is fixed, and the Wynnes may choose to postpone it longer. I am very anxious to come over again to Ireland before the summer and the leaves are gone, for first impressions are im- portant, and I should like them to be favourable in every respect. The Whig appointments here have given great satisfaction in general. The only bad one is that of Brady to be Chan- cellor a shrewd, sensible man, but utterly destitute of " equity." LVIII. Lord J. Russell's Prospects in New Ministry. 1846. Aug. 26. London. MY opinion decidedly is that the Protectionist party cannot, as at present constituted,, hold together. They must get better leaders, and a more intelligible and available bond of union than mere regrets for principles that have passed away. Lord George Bcntinck, with all his energy and industry, is John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 117 no fit leader for a party. He really seems to me to get into a mess every time he speaks. I should be decidedly in favour of supporting Lord John. My doubt is as to the policy of some of his Irish appointments, and the effect that his coun- tenance of Repealers may have in discouraging the loyal. However, I would be content to try the experiment. I think he will be able to carry on the Government for a few years, more through the forbearance of part of his opponents and their disunion than from his own strength; then some ques- tion will arise upon which the various sections of the Carlton Club will unite against him. Differences and mutual abuse will have had time to be forgotten, and a new aristocratic government will be formed, with a whig and democratic opposition. Perhaps by that time the distinction will have become more clearly one of aristocracy and democracy, and the Lansdowne-house Whigs will come in under the Conser- vative banner. Till, however, Peelites and Protectionists can coalesce, Russell will carry on ; and they seem as rabid as ever still. There will not be a dissolution, people now say ; and I believe it is true. Not but that I should have thought it would be a good time for Johnny's purposes, to dissolve while the Carlton is divided. Very bad accounts from Ireland of potatoes, but the volcano is fast asleep just now. There has hardly been a single outrage for months. Have you read or thought at all of the curious and apparently unaccountable split among the Repealers ? Of course all that humbug about moral and physical force, is a mere pretext, the real reason being, I am convinced, a fear on the part of the priests of the rationalizing and licentious tendency of the religious or irre- ligious principles professed by the "Nation" [Newspaper}. They dread its influence among their flocks, as likely to under- mine their religious opinions, or at any rate, to weaken the power of their ecclesiastical superiors, and they have come to the conclusion that the support which " Young Ireland " gave to the anti-English cause was too dearly purchased by the en- couragement of a school which is the genuine descendant of the French Republicans. I wish, for other reasons, besides a lover's impatience, that matters could have been more speedily ] 18 Extracts from Letters of arranged for our marriage, for I have some scruple at being away so long from Ireland ; and yet I cannot bring myself to be absent just now from my ladye-love. LIX. Irish Famine) and Government Relief Works. 1846. Nov. 26. Killigar. WE are walking steadily and with our eyes open into an abyss of financial ruin, which if the present system last only one year more, must close over the heads of half the landed proprietors of this country. The whole labouring population is employed upon the roads, i.e., in cutting down harmless hills, and filling imaginary hollows, of which the County Engineer in Cavan said to me the other day, that the best thing we can do for the next three months is to replace mat- ters in their former condition. In the meanwhile the tillage of the ground is 'utterly neglected. The farmers cannot com- pete with the overseer of the public works, who gives large wages for doing nothing, and all landlords and farmers are so terrified at the prospect of having to repay their share of this enormous burden, that they have neither the inclination nor the means to invest additional capital in improving their estates. Rents are altogether unpaid, while it is expected that one is to employ, give, do all sorts of things, besides paying the interest of iricumbrances, out of that said negative quantity. The only consolation I see is, that when things arc at the worst they must mend ; all parties seem, now agreed that a crisis of some kind is unavoidable, and if one lives through it, perhaps one may find oneself on one's legs when it is over. One tiling this year's experience must have taught to the blindest, viz., that out-door relief to the able- bodied, limited only by a labour test, is absolutely out of the question. It would not be simply the transference of pro- perty from one set of owners to another, but the conversion of a whole people from tillers of the soil into pauperized idlers, supported by the charity of a neighbouring country : you may imagine how long that would last. I anticipate a complete John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 119 failure on the part of the Whigs to deal with the " situation," and if they fail, and are beaten, who is to come in ? Will the Tories trust Peel ? or could he come in with the Whigs, and in reality ruling them ? Both seem improbable ; yet what is to be done ? LX. Irish Famine Works. 1846. Dec. 31. Killigar. THINGS here are tolerably quiet, but there is dreadful dis- tress, and who dares to contemplate the end? A whole population living upon alms, and a country borrowing more than its year's income to be spent within the year ; agricul- ture neglected ; the law a mockery ; no rents paid ; and in spite of all, the people starving ; seem to me to make up a spectacle unprecedented in the history of the world. We are struggling as well as we can. I have with the greatest difficulty induced the proprietors of this barony to act under Labouchere's letter, and the consequence is that after a frightful expenditure in obstructing the public communica- tions, we are going to try our hand upon drainage ; under every disadvantage, as regards machinery, and with but little chance of doing much ; but at any rate it is better than roads. The Board of Works have allowed me to appoint Prendergast Inspector of Drainage in this county. He came down here yesterday, and we have been getting him into harness to-day a little. To-morrow he starts on his first tour of inspection. I am engaged in a troublesome and responsible task as one of the Committee of Landed Proprietors, who are now agitating in Dublin. I have been writing constantly materials for their circulars, and next week am to have a report on future legislation with reference to the poor in Ireland ready to be laid before the Irish members, in preparation for the meeting of Parliament. It is sure to be opposed, of course, by other members of the Committee, and I must go up to Dublin to defend my views. We had rather a stormy meeting the other day, when the Committee was formed ; but things have 120 Extracts from Letters of gone on more smoothly since. We intend, D.V., to be in London on the 15th. I believe I am to be employed by two Railway Companies at the meeting of Parliament. It will be wanted, as I expect to get nothing from Ireland this year at all. There are some Whiteboy outrages ; but on the whole we are pretty quiet ; as my Father's miller said to me to-day, " They axe past that now, and do what you will, they'll starve." I feel some remorse at leaving Ireland just at this time ; but poverty leaves no choice. I must try to earn something for myself. LXI. His defeat in Leitrim Election. 1847. Aug. 24. Killigar. SINCE the election I have been over in London to fetch my Wife, and altogether in such a fuss, and with so many things to do, that I hope you will excuse me for neglecting to write to you earlier. I was beat by the priests, who for no reason in the world except that the gentry took me up, determined to oppose me with their whole might. Even the Priest of my own parish, who had not only promised me his vote, but actually canvassed with and for me, turned right round, voted against me, and carried with him all those of his flock whom he was able to influence. I cannot say that, upon calm reflection, I am sorry not to have contracted any addi- tional ties with such a constituency, or, indeed, as I am at present circumstanced, not to incur the pecuniary liabilities which cannot fail to attach to county-membership. Even now, liberally as I have been supported, I find myself, quite against my intention, involved in expenses which are very seriously embarrassing to me, and I am by no means sorry to return to a way of life where I may have a chance, at least, of adding to my income by my exertions. I intend remaining here for some months now as quietly as I can. llintoul wants me to Avritc for the Spectator on Irish subjects: this is the only intellectual task I have in view ; but there will be enough to do in starting the New Poor Law under circumstances of unprecedented difficultv. What a curious John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 121 thing your Warwickshire contest was ! I am very glad you had the courage to vote for your brother-in-law \_LeigK\ ; I should have plumped for him, as Peel did. His dqing so, by-the-bye, is another symptom corroborative of all that I have seen and heard lately, that a coalition impends. Lincoln, almost in so many words, tells me he and his party wish for it (don't repeat this), and Ministers must come to it. They cannot exist without some addition to their strength ; and so the Dalhousie appointment [to India] appears to show that they think. My Wife desires to be remembered to you and Mrs. Adderley. We made a very successful journey, and are very jolly, baby and all. LXII. Irish Lamentation and Woe,. 1847. Sept. 24 Killigar. You are fortunate in working in, and for a country where you have friends to assist, and hope to cheer you. Here I see nothing for many many years to come but lamentation, and mourning, and woe. That there must be a frightful mortality this year among the poor, accompanied by a com- plete disorganization of society in the attempt to collect rates, no man in his senses can doubt. A " gigantic" emi- gration would have been the only alternative, as is now generally recognized ; and yet imagine that the proposal of it was made a popular topic for abuse of me at the hustings, as though I wished to " transport " the people ! Lincoln is very keen about a petition here, great numbers of bad votes having polled for my opponents. I do not attribute much importance to petitions ; they are such a lottery, and so expensive that I will not interfere. I am most anxious to get a Colonization Society together, and intend to devote all my energies to that object first. I have not yet been able to fulfil my contract with Rintoul. I have put a good deal on paper, but meet with so many interruptions that I never can get it into proper shape, and he is so particular that he would put in nothing that was not carefully done. 122 Extracts from Letters of LXITI. Letter on Colonization to " Spectator" Distress in Ireland and England. 1847. Oct. 26. Killigar. As you have found me out in the Spectator, my proceedings and thoughts are open to you. I am very glad you like me there ; I feel certain of ultimate success in the colonization movement, that is, sooner or later ; but the difference between " sooner" and " later" may be the difference between right and wrong success and failure. When I meet you in town we will concoct a scheme for joint agency, by means of an association and a periodical. The times are very awful murder, rapine, and famine spreading over this country, and you crippled in your re- sources, so as not to have the power of assisting us. At the same time your distress is evidently of an accidental and temporary kind, by no means affecting your substantial resources j in fact, merely a reaction from the unhealthy prosperity and speculation of the railway mania, where, as in Law's time in France, every one voted himself rich, and spent accordingly. It is of no importance at all sickness after a surfeit only that it makes one feel that commercial and manufacturing greatness has its drawbacks. One is often tempted to wish that we were poor and agricultural, like our ancestors. Have you read an Essay of Laing's on the distress of '42 ? It was lent to me the other day, and I found it well worth reading, though all on the dark side of things, which I don't like. You mn*i read the " Colonization Committee (Lords') Itcport and Evidence" [before which lie was examined}. Don't you think this distress of the country will (very unreasonably) bring the Whigs into disrepute ? As Napo- leon used to say of some of his generals, " They are not in- capable ; they are worse unfortunate." John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 123 LXIV. Lord J. Russell's Irish Policy Colonizing Scheme. 1847. Dec. 7. Killigar. YOUR view of the Ministers* Irish policy is perfectly just. They have, to say the truth, no policy, hut confine themselves to stopping gaps (as an Irishman stuffs an old hat into a broken pane) with the first thing that comes to hand that will keep out the wind. How it would puzzle Johnny to be asked what he expected, or even wished, to be the state of things in Ireland five years hence. He has no more real statesman- ship or enlarged forethought than George Bentinck, only his egotism and ambition are so rampantly prominent, and he can make a better calculation as to the adapting of means to ends as to possibilities. The distress is not nearly so ex- treme as was expected, as yet, but the pressure of the unem- ployed increases daily. My Father has nearly ninety men at work every day, so I hope, for their own interest, they won't shoot him. What a melancholy absurditv the Ministerial Prevention of Crime Bill is [the successor to the Bill on which Peel was unfairly ousted^ infinitely worse than none at all for, under the pretence of having given us a " Coercion Bill," we shall have all manner of compensating injustices perpetrated. We leave this after Christmas, and are to spend a fortnight in Yorkshire on our way to town, where I hope to be at the meeting of Parliament. I have a grand colonizing scheme in petto, which is too complicated to be explained in a letter, but which, I feel sure, will enlist your sympathy and co-operation. LXV. Proposals from the New Zealand Company : First Hint of a Church Colony. 1847. Dec. 15. Killigar. HAVK you read (among your Irish readings) " Past and Present Policy of England towards Ireland ?" You should look at Swift's and Berkeley's writings, too. Do you recollect Lord Clare's speech upon Roman Catholic disabilities in 124 Extracts from Letters of 1793 ? You once read it here, and seemed to think it a very able statement of that side of the question. I cannot write on these subjects, there is too much to say ; but we will talk them over at length when we meet. Did I tell you that the New Zealand Company are flirting with me to get me into their " direction," so as to work the labouring oar in the business of colonization there. If I take up this affair, I have a scheme for the formation of a Church of England colony. I bespeak you as a member of the Committee which must carry out my plan. While writing to you there came a definite offer to me from the New Zealand Company, which I shall accept, so you will see me in full work there next month. LXVI. Committee for Proposed Church Colony. 184,8. Jan. 16. 39, Portman Square. MY present business is to procure a certain number of good and creditable names with which to go before the public as our Committee of Management. I do not want them to be taken mainly from any one party in the Church, but wish to have a broad basis, composed of those who wish the Church well, and are known as zealous in her interests, without hold- ing extreme views. Those of whom I am already sure are Lord Courtenay, lloundcll Palmer, Simeon, Ernest Hawkins, Dr. Hinds, and (I trust) yourself. I am this morning going to call on Sir Robert Iiiglis, and Palmer has promised to help me in getting John Walter. Now, there are two men, whom I am very anxious to secure early, and with whom I think you can assist me ; they are Lord Ellcsmere and Lord Harrowby. As to Lord Harrowby, he is not in town, I believe, but perhaps you will send him the enclosed letter, which is nominally addressed to you, and which will explain what I want. If you would accompany this by a note, asking him to consent that his name should be used on the Com- mittee, with the understanding that we ask neither for money John Hubert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 125 nor trouble, though of course we shall thankfully accept any active co-operation that we can get ; but what we ask is simply his name : also upon the understanding that he only gives an assent conditional upon approval of the names to be associated with him. I think he will hardly refuse this, as I see his name on the Committee of the New Zealand Church Society, established for the purpose of establishing a bishopric there, and we are only following in their wake. LXVII. Irish Jury System Lord G. Bentinck's Death. 1848. Sept. 24. Rodbourne. I HAVE had much interesting talk upon politics lately with leading men, especially Lord Hardinge, besides Lincoln and Card well, and should very much like to go over the same ground with you independently of many other things, on which I never or seldom meet with any one who quite sym- pathizes with me, except you. I have been writing a great deal in the Chronicle, and a little in the Spectator, especially with reference to an alteration in the jury system for Ireland the result of a long conversation with Lord Hardinge on the subject, in which I found he fully agreed with me as also Lincoln now, I am happy to say. The latter looks thin and depressed, but as usual is full of interest on politics, and uncom- monly shrewd and sensible about them. George Bentinck's death will also be the death-knell of the Protectionist party, of which he was not only the best, but the only man. I do not see my way to a reunion, I confess, for some time yet but the country gentlemen must again rally round Peel, or be politically snuffed out, like an old tallow candle. You will see extraordinary and unexpected revelations at the Clonmel trials mind my words and very damaging to the "VVhigs personally. Give my love to Simeon ; I do not know any one to be compared to him for goodness of natural dispo- sition, affection, kindness, honour, conscientiousness, and simplicity. 126 LXVIII. Attacks made on the Canterbury Church Colony. 1848. Dec. 2. London. I HAVE heard from Lyttelton, who is delighted with your letter {reply to an attack on our Church Colony, Canterbury, New Zealand'] . He says " it leaves no point untouched, except, per- haps, the necessity of going to the middle island for elbow- room, away from others." He is all for answering the other man B.B. whom he presumes to be " Blundering Block- head." I thought your letter a complete answer, so far as Canterbury was concerned : all the colonists, who have not got their titles, are pledged and mortal enemies to the Company, and lose no opportunity of injuring everything and everybody connected with it. These, and the Missionary faction, with whom it has been always at war, have succeeded in creating an enormous out- cry, and inflicting a very general unpopularity. B.B. is some mere enemy of the Company probably a disappointed land- jobbing missionary but it needs no answer from us. Some Scotch intending-colonists have started a " Canterbury news- paper." I will send you the proof copy. Were you not sorry for C. Buller ? The Pope has left Rome in disguise for France. No other news this evening. LXIX. The Same. 1848. Christmas Eve. London. FIRST and foremost, the best wishes of this blessed season to you and yours. Our Christmas will not be so joyous as it might be, as we are almost the only people in town. The C. Wynnes and we, however, dine together, and make as merry as we can. Lyttelton has written an exceedingly good letter, which will appear in the January number of the Colonial Church Chronicle, in answer to B.B. I must say that we have, in a very unusual degree, the best of it in this con- troversy, both as to argument, information, and taste. If the readers of the Magazine have any discrimination, the John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 127 matter will have done us infinite good. I am rather dis- appointed in Macaulay, so far as I have gone ; but it is very pleasant reading still. [1st Vol. Hist, of England.'] LXX. Bronch it is Politics. 1849. Jan. 9. Gloucester Place. You will be surprised to hear that I am going for three weeks to the Isle of Wight, ordered there by Ferguson on account of my throat. I am so much afraid of chronic bronchitis, that I think it better to submit, though you may conceive how inconvenient it is. I go to-morrow, and Charlotte follows on Friday. We hope to be back for the meeting of Parliament without fail. I will join with pleasure in a Canterbury speculation if I can screw up money enough at the time. I have had this year, between ourselves, to live and furnish my house almost entirely on what I earned by the sweat of my brain, for poor-rates take the place of rents in Ireland now. You may imagine, therefore, that I am not very " flush " of money. Lots of reports about the Ministry. Almost certainly an attempt making to bring in a Peelite in- fusion. A very leading Whig told me to-day they wanted to get Graham " for the Colonies/' but that they knew his terms would be too hard that is, that he would require too many seats in the Cabinet for his friends. Lyttelton, who is at Gladstone's house, has promised to look after any Canter- bury business that may turn up in my absence. I am indeed delighted to hear that you talk of " settling " by the middle of February ; but I almost fear it is too good to be true. If you write within the next few days, direct here. When I am settled, I will write again to say how the sea looks, &c. I am carrying a lot of books with me, but not much writing materials. LXXI. Ilinlxon's Bay Company Colonial Motions. 1849. April 9. London. I DON'T think we can act on your suggestion, of Vancouver's Island for a new colony, till we have got rid of the Hudson's 128 Extracts from Letters of Bay Company [see Lord Lincoln's Speech of this date against the grant to that Company of Vancouver's Island] in some way. Their charter is an insurmountable obstacle ; but they cannot stand against a brisk assault. Did you see my article on Fitzgerald's book [Examination of the Charter of the Hudson's Bay Company. By J. E. Fitzgerald. Saunders. 1849.] in Saturday's Chronicle ? This motion of Francis Scott's \_for Committee on Colonial Self -Government] is most inopportune, and the best thing that can happen to it is a count- out. But I should not be sur- prised if Government gave him his committee, on purpose to stop all colonial matters for the session. It has been whis- pered to me, indeed, that he is in league with the office, and will make it a cross. However that may be, his " committee" is a humbug [Baillie's Ceylon Committee came in the way of if]. However, I will speak to Gladstone, and arrange with him the best way of dealing with the matter. Molesworth's motion [Select Committee on Colonial System~\ is a reality, and may, if properly managed, lead to great results [as it did, in increasing interest in colonies] . LXXII. New Zealand Company Pamphlet on Australian Constitution Bill. 1849. August 8. Horsley. I AM here for a fortnight's grouse-shooting on the Durham moors. I hope to pay you a visit on my way to town lefore the 1st of September. As to shooting, I shall have had enough of it by that time. The N. Z. Company have given way not graciously or well but still the point is gained. It is not " bad faith" which makes them unmanage- able, but simple stupidity and narrow-mindedness. When I am at the Board, I find them ready enough to do what is right, because T can make things clear to them. "What a battle we shall make next session for colonial self- government if we are alive and well ! Canada, and the West Join Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 129 Indies must bring things to a crisis, and force us to decide finally according to what views our colonies are henceforward to be governed. LXXI1I. Thanks from the Cape for Defence from the Infliction of Convicts, 1849. Sept. London. I HOVE you noticed the cordial gratitude which the Cape people have bestowed upon yew. I rejoice in our prognostica- tions being so thoroughly fulfilled. Now, I will tell you what I want you to do take the Cape movement as a text for a letter to the Chronicle. The Times of Saturday has a most insulting article, taking Lord Grey's view of the sub- ject, saying that we have spent 2,000,000^. for the Cape, and asking (in so many words) " if we are not to use our colonies for convict settlements, we beg to ask our Cape friends, What is the good of a colony ?" The subject both of colonial government, and of convict transportation as bearing thereupon, ought to be kept before the public during the recess, and I will try to get Molesworth, yourself, and Mont- eagle, &c., to write occasional letters, upon which I may comment in " appropriate leaders." LXXIV. Must leave England. 1849. Sept. Keigate. I HAVE a piece of news to give you, at which I hardly know whether your affection for me will make you rejoice or lament, I have quite made up my mind to leave this country, and go to a warmer climate for the winter. I need not tell you what a mortification this is to me in various ways. This you can easily conceive. But, having quite become convinced that I shall not get well without it I should be, I think, suicidal in hesitating. I write from Wakefield's [Edward Gibboii\ he has shown me your letter, which disappoints me from the somewhat disparaging tone in which it talks of the Cape resistance. K 130 Extracts from Letters of Why call it "rather wildish?" It is noble, perfectly justifiable, and sure to be successful not one bit " wilder" than was perfectly necessary. I hope you will write to the Cape to the chairman of the meeting, for example patting them on the back. LXXV. Going to New Zealand suggested by E. G. Wakefield. 1849. Sept. 24. London, I CANNOT say how much I thank you for your affectionate and sympathizing letter. If anything could remove my mortification at the course now forced upon me, it would be the kind solicitude of my friends, and their apparent convic- tion that I have not determined to desert my post without evident necessity, and struggling as long as I could. Wake- field has broached to me the idea of New Zealand, and I am very much inclined to it myself. Of course, however, there are innumerable family difficulties. And then, there is so little time to settle a matter of such importance. My Wife may not be confined till the middle of October, and I ought to b off by the 1st of November. This would not matter, if I only went to Naples, where she could follow me but how could we manage if New Zealand were our destination ? LXXVI. Australian Anti-Convict Move A Bishop for Canterbury. 1849. Sept. 27. " The Morning Chronicle" Office. II AVI; you seen the accounts of some very important pro- ceedings at Sydney where the people have followed the Cape example ; held public meetings, denounced Lord Grey, and memorialized the Governor not to allow the shipful of con- victs, which arrived per the "Hashemey/ J to land. Sir C. Fitzroy lias yielded, and the convicts remain on board, until I In- pleasure <>f (he Home Government le known ! I am most anxious to find, before I go, n,l$'ishop for Canter- bury. Do you know, or can you think, of such a man ? In John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderlcy. 131 two words, he ought to he a sober enthusiast. Lyttelton is the only man to manage it, because it will shock the Coleridge party excessively to go on, without waiting for Selwyn's [Metropolitan of New Zealany seeing a man (who by the bye was a Stationer in Leamington a year ago) perched on the top of a tree with a telescope, who told her, when he came down, that he had come out to milk his cow, and was looking for her. Pigs and crops, too, are in- compatible, unless you go to a great expense in fencing ; it is the same with poultry, which destroy your garden, and though the country abounds with game and fish, time is said to be too valuable here for the pursuit of such luxuries. We have bread bought at the bakers for 2^/. per lb., milk from 4d. to Q<1. a quart, fresh butter 1*. Zd. per lb., meat ft-\//. On the following days we walked and rode L 146 Extracts from Letters of about the immediate neighbourhood of the town, prying into all the houses, talking to the people, and looking at the views. We have been much pleased with the labouring people. I never saw such a nice, tidy, civilized population in manner and appearance ; their little cabins, though of course small and rude, are quite neat and clean ; the children equally so ; and on the Sunday evening everybody turned out, extremely well dressed, for the Scotch service. Out of a population of eight hundred souls there are, I am told, two hundred communicants. All the labourers we spoke to appear con- tented with their lot, and glad that they came out. There is very little stir and business here certainly, and not nearly so much cultivation as there ought to have been by this time ; but there is not a possibility of distress (in the old-country use of the word), and a slow steady progress seems reason- ably certain. The chief mistake that has been made is that everybody has gone into business, and very few upon land ; one reason for which is perhaps the smallness of capital ; a man who has a little hoping to turn a penny on it quicker by traffic than by clearing. Immediately near the town there is very little good land that is not covered with " bush," and bush land costs nearly '601. an acre (they tell me) to clear ! At about eight or ten miles from hence the real agricultural part of the district begins, consisting of large grassy plains, into which the plough may be introduced without any preliminary trouble or expense. On one day I rode with Mr. Kettle, the Company's Surveyor, to the top of a hill about 2300 feet high, from whence there is a magnificent view of the country for thirty or forty miles round. It is infinitely diversified; great part consists of barren volcanic hills, tossed about like the waves of the sea, with beautiful little green dells between the ridges ; in another direction stretches away the plain of which I spoke before, with a considerable river and a chain of lakes running along it ; in the extreme distance, all round the landward view, a range of mountains, which the late hard weather has sprinkled with snow ; while directly under me lay the long land-locked harbour, with its town, and beyond it the open sea. The day John Robert Godley to C. E. Adderley. 147 was lovely ; indeed ever since we have been here, the weather has been delightfully quiet, realizing what one has heard of the New Zealand climate warm atmosphere and clear sky during the day, but cool mornings and evenings, rendering a fire very pleasant. On another day I rode to Mr. Valpy's. He is quite the great man of the place, probably the richest in New Zealand, having, they say, 2000^. a year to spend. He has fifty acres under plough, and employs from thirty to forty labourers at 3*. Qd. and 4-$. a day (for eight hours' work). Yesterday I rode with Mr. Kettle to a part of the Taieri plain, about ten miles off, by a good hard road (or rather track, for it is not metalled) over hills covered with grass and flax ; they say it is good pasture, but to my eyes it did not look very promising. However, when I got into the plain, I perceived that it has great agricultural capabilities. It extends without a break for twenty-five miles, and contains about 50,000 acres, all of which, Mr. Kettle said, is good alluvial soil, deep and dry. There is on it, too, a fine wood of 500 acres, besides plenty of bush on the hills around. After seeing it I am more than ever astonished that though the colony is two years old, and wheat averages 201. per ton, not a single plough has yet been put into this plain. Recollect that the market, as far as its limits go, is as good as London, and appears likely to remain so for a considerable time to come, and that there is a good road to it from the plain. This being the case, even with the present exorbitant price of labour, the first year's crop off the land I have been speaking of, ought to pay for its culti- vation, added to the original price of the land. Fernlaiid is sour, and will hardly give a crop the first year, but such is not the case, I am told, with that which bears grass and flax. We visited the " AVarri" (or hut) of a " Shagroon," i.e., one of the retired whalers, who have married Maori wives, and live a half savage life in the bush with the natives. This one seemed intelligent and was very civil ; he offered us lea, and with it produced some capital wild pork, cured by him- self. He told me there are vast numbers of wild pigs in the L 'I 148 Extracts from Letters of hills surrounding the plains ; that he had caught with his dogs sixteen in one day last week, and, if he had chosen, might -have caught one hundred. He showed me a young one which he had kept ; it was hardly different from an ordinary tame pig, of a bad breed, with long nose and long legs. He told me there were also great numbers of wild ducks and eels, and we saw abundance of quail. April 4. I find there is a difference of opinion about the merits of the Taieri plain ; some of the colonists to whom I have spoken since I visited it, insist that the far greater part of it is swamp, subject to be completely overflooded in winter ; and that what I saw (or rather what I rode over) is the only sound and dry part. Between statements so conflicting as this and the one which I received from Mr. Kettle and Captain Cargill, I cannot decide. At any rate, it is strange that whatever is sound and dry should not be cultivated. I see by a statement in to-day's Olago News that as yet only twenty and a half acres have been cultivated with wheat in the settlement, which, at the end of two years, is almost incredible. The first thing, naturally and obviously, that colonists ought to think of, is raising produce from the earth, first for home consumption and then for export : whereas these people seem to think their first business was to make a town, and to live by buying from and selling to each other that is by ex- changing and consuming their respective capitals. There are less than 1200 people in the whole settlement ; and of these 800 are either in or immediately about the town of Duuedin, besides nearly 100 more between Port Chalmers and Otago (a native village at "the Heads"), so that a lamentably small proportion have betaken themselves, as yet, to their work. Of the population, as above stated, about 750 are Scotch Presbyterians, 800 English Churchmen, and 150 of miscellaneous sects. The same statistical paper gives only 219 acres in cultivation, of which 92 arc potatoes, 07 corn, and the rest gardens and grass. Sheep, 3408 ; cattle, 921 ; pigs, 7 -'52; horses, 45: altogether I must say a very poor return. (\. Yesterday we walked to see the house and clearing John Robert Godley to C. B. Adder ley. 149 of two brothers named Carter, who have been here only five months, and in that time have really done wonders. They have built a very pretty little house with the rough stems of the fern tree, the crevices being stopped with lath and plaster, and nothing added but a lining of lath and plaster. There is a bow window, a little porch, a sitting-room, bed-room, and kitchen. Besides this, they have cleared and laid out an exceedingly pretty little garden, quite the most advanced one we have seen in the settlement ; and to crown all, they have the most lovely view to look round upon, of hill, forest, lake, and rock, that you can possibly conceive. The owners of this " little terrestrial paradise" (as George Robins would call it), are evidently gentlemanlike, well-educated young men, come out, not to make money, but to realize a poetical dream of wild life. They neither make, nor care about making, their investment pay, but they live happily, and have neither wants nor cares. They have few expenses, for their guns and fishing-rods provide them with the chief part of their food, and they keep no servants, taking it by turns to act as cook and housemaid respectively. My Wife was much amused and pleased with these picturesque specimens of the gentleman colonist, admiring especially their Salvator-like mien and dress, their long black hair and moustaches, and their white leather caps, scarlet flannel shirts, and white trousers. The universal working-day costume of colonists here, by the way, is this flannel or serge shirt, worn instead of a coat and waistcoat over the trousers, and confined by a belt round the waist. From Mr. Carter's we went to the house of a carpenter named Thompson, in which one of our fellow-passengers has taken lodgings while clearing for and setting up his own house. This man is a favourable specimen of a class in which the settlement seems rather deficient, the enterprising and indus- trious pioneers. He lias been out eighteen months, and beyan, he says, with only 30*., and he has now bought seven acres of land, built a good house, cleared and cultivated with potatoes a good bit of ground, and has debts owed to him in the colony to the amount of more than 150^. All this has been done by working at his trade, or rather trades, for he is 150 Extracts from Letters of a good axeman, sawyer, and carpenter, just the sort of man whose services are sure to be in demand in a young settlement. Here we dined, on a piece of fresh beef, and a pigeon which I had shot during our walk. These pigeons, by the bye, are excellent, and much larger than English ones ; the parrots, too, of which there are many kinds, are both beautiful in plumage and very good to eat. All our fellow-passengers, who have been living with the "English" party in the settlement, have come back open- mouthed (at second hand) against Captain Cargill, Mr. Kettle, and Mr. Burns, as well as, generally, against the Company, the Association, and the system on which the settlement has been colonized. As to the individuals above mentioned, I shall say nothing, because I did not become sufficiently acquainted with them to judge fairly of their merits ; though it is unfortunate, it is not perhaps their fault that they are not more generally popular. But as to the Company, they have simply done what they were bound to do by contract with the original purchasers ; or rather they have done much more than they were bound to do, to their own serious pecuniary loss, their expenditure being very far in advance of the fund derived from land sales. If they have not chosen the best possible instruments for carrying out their plans, it has certainly not been for want of endeavouring to do so. And as to the system, it may be a good or a bad one, but it is rather unfair for men who, Avith their eyes open, accepted its conditions (having the whole world beside to choose out of), to turn round and abuse it now. But so it always is with emigrants ; they come out with the most erroneous ideas of the country they are coming to, and of the life they arc to lead ; especially, if any managing body, such as a Government or a colonizing company, has had any hand in assisting them or inviting them to go out, they conceive that such a body is responsible for their success, whatever it may be. This is one reason, among many, for giving colonists from the first the management of their own affairs; it deprives them of all excuse for this peevish helpless way of carping at the John Robert Godley to C. E. Adderley. 151 authorities (whatever these may be) under which they live, for not enabling every one of them to prosper and make a fortune. April 9. At sea again. My impressions of Otago on leaving it are not so favourable as they were at first. I think the colonists are not thriving. They do not show signs of either possessing capital, or of being likely to make it by industry and enterprise : it must also be an extremely dis- agreeable place to live in, on account of the factions into which society is split, and the hatred with which they regard each other. On the other hand, every one to whom we spoke praised the country, soil, and climate, and almost every one professed satisfaction athaving come out, with a determination to remain permanently in New Zealand. The labourers and mechanics are extremely well off, and the landowners might be so, I am convinced, if they had capital and energy. The revenue of the port leaves, I believe, a considerable surplus after paying the expenses, which is surprising. Everything pays duty. British goods, 10 per cent. ; foreign, 12^. Wine, spirits, and munitions of war, a good deal higher. The expenditure, on the other hand, must be small, for there is in fact no government. What they profess to do, such as keeping up the harbour, police, and post-office, is as badly done as possible. For example, the letters that we brought out from England were sent from Port Chalmers to Dunedin by the postmaster, loose, in the pockets of a gentle- man who happened to be riding up; and I saw them spread upon the dining- table to be tumbled about and criticized by the company, and very likely to be mislaid. The people to whom they were addressed, and to whom perhaps their contents \vere of vital importance, could not have got them till forty hours, at least ; after we arrived, if then. What does a governor, living at Auckland, and neither dependent in the slightest degree upon the people of Otago, nor interested in their affairs, care about such a grievance as this '? What motive has he for appointing proper officers, or redressing local complaints ? There are two points connected with the management of 152 Extracts from Letters of the Company's affairs at Otago, which appear to me deserving of special animadversion. One is the existence of an " emigration agent" receiving a salary of 100^. a year, in the person of an auctioneer at Dunedin, Mr. Cutten, who has lately married one of Captain Cargill's daughters. Now it is possible that in the early days of the settlement, when the chief agent had really a great deal of business on his hands, such an assistant might have been required ; the office, however, has been only in existence during the last nine months ; that is, during a period when the whole emigra- tion has been carried on in the Company's ships, at the rate of one every two months, landing on an average about thirty persons each, and when the chief agent has had, I may say, nothing to do whatever. Two men are, in fact, engaged in doing half a man's work. The second point regards the employment, by the Company, of a certain number of labourers, permanently, for the sake of giving them employment ; that is, not because they are wanted, but because they are in distress. Under all circum- stances, and everywhere, I believe this kind of " national workshops" to be a very bad method of relieving distress ; but in a colony like Otago, where wages are so high as to paralyze agricultural enterprise, it is not only unnecessary but detrimental and absurd in the highest degree. It is true that on the charity-works the labourers only get 3*. a day, whereas private employers give 3s. Qd. to 4*. (shepherds 50/. a year besides rations), but the difference is compensated in the labourer's eyes by the circumstance that in one case he is paid for working, and in the other for only making believe to work ; in fact, for standing with his hands in his pockets and his pipe in his mouth. It is not merely on account of the direct expense to which these abuses subject the Company that I deplore them ; a far worse effect is the impression of bad management and jobbing which they produce in the minds of the colonists. The colour which they put upon the creation of a useless office, and upon the unnecessary or detrimental expenditure of the public money, is that they pay for these things, and that the Company is spending their John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 153 funds for the sake of increasing its patronage, or the popu- larity and influence of its representatives. An analogous subject of bitter complaint among the landowners is that Captain Cargill has sent on to other settlements emigrants who had been consigned from home to Otago. Now, in doing so, though he is in my opinion quite wrong, he is also perfectly consistent. By employing people (be they ever so few) for charity, he of course records his opinion that there is surplus labour in the settlement, i.e., labour which cannot be absorbed by private employers ; and such being the case, it would of course be foolish in him to receive labourers whom, upon his own principles, he would have to employ in doing nothing, for charity, per day. The mistake consists in not perceiving that where wages are 3-9. Qd. to 4*. for eight hours' work, there cannot be surplus labour. A man Avho now employs two men at 4*. would gladly employ three at 2s. Qd., and I hold it absurd to main- tain that where provisions are not higher than in England, and where a labourer may be said to pay no rent, 2s. Qd. for eight hours' work Avould be so low a wage as to call for the assistance of public charity. The fact is that the bane of a young agricultural settlement is the extravagant price of labour, and all fears of bringing it down too low are utterly groundless. All the "grievances" of the landowners are represented and worked by the Otago News, a wretchedly written and mischievous publication, which appears, by the bye, to be on its last legs, as the publisher has applied to Thomas for his patronage, in the view of removing to Lytteltoii ! a proposal on Avhich Thomas very judiciously threw decidedly cold water. LXXXI1I. Arrival at the Canterbury Settlement. April 22. Wellington. ON Thursday evening (the llth), after a tedious day's work, beating up the northern shore of Banks' Peninsula, we came to an anchor about seven o'clock, just outside the heads 154 Extracts from Letters of of Port Cooper. If we had had two hours more daylight, we should have gone in, but our Captain is very cautious, and though we had been positively assured that nothing could possibly happen, even if we ran in blindfold, he preferred waiting till morning. At six we weighed anchor, the wind being fair, though light, and passed quietly up the bay. None of us, I believe, were prepared for the beauty of the scenery ; it took us more by surprise than even at Otago, for the sketches which we had seen in England were very far from inviting. The character is very different from that of the lovely lake on the banks of which Port Chalmers lies, but I am not sure that I do not prefer it. The hills are very bold, both in face and in outline bare for the most part that is, with only small patches of wood at the bottom of the glens, but with much of that sublimity which is produced by extent of view and rugged wildness. The harbour is very fine, both in a picturesque and a utilitarian point of view ; the Captain and all the nautical men on board were delighted with it, arid gave it a very decided preference over Otago, as being equally safe, and far easier of ingress and egress. It consists in a regularly shaped inlet, about seven miles long from the entrance to the end, and varying from a mile to a mile and a half in width. It is open to one wind (E.N.E.), but everybody agrees that it never blows hard from that quarter, and also that the swell is loit before it reaches the harbour. There is a good anchorage outside in seven fathoms, and from thence it gradually shoals to three fathoms, about five miles up. There are two small bays in which, if it should be necessary, shelter for ships may be found from the only wind to which the rest of the harbour is exposed. No pilot is required, as there is literally nothing to avoid except the hills on each side, and there is width enough to beat in or out in fine weather. Half way up the harbour w r e passed a whale-boat, which informed us that we might go up to anchor opposite " the town/' At that time we had seen no sign of civilization, except the line of a road in process of formation along the face and over the top of the hill on the northern shore, and no human habitation except some Maori John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderlcy. 155 huts close to the beach ; but we held on, and presently another whale-boat, with Captain Thomas, the chief Sur- veyor of the Association, on board, shot from behind a bluff on the northern shore and boarded us. Immediately after- wards we let go our anchor, though "the town" was not yet visible, and my Wife and I went off with Thomas. On rounding the bluff aforesaid, again I was perfectly astounded with what I saw. One might have supposed that the country had been colonized for years, so settled and busy was the look of its port. In the first place there is what the Yankees would call a " splendid" jetty, from thence a wide beaten- looking road leads up the hill and turns off through a deep cutting to the eastward ; on each side of the road there are houses scattered, to the number of about twenty- five, includ- ing two " hotels" and a custom-house ! (in the shape of a weather-boarded hut, certainly, but still a custom-house). In a square, railed off close to the jetty, are four excellent houses, intended for emigrants' barracks, with a cook-house in the centre ; next to this square comes a small house, which Thomas now inhabits himself, and which he destined for an agent's office ; behind this, divided from it by a plot of ground intended for a garden, stands a stately edifice, which was introduced in due form to us as "our house." It is weather-boarded, has six very good-sized rooms, and a verandah ; in short, after seeing it we could not help laughing at our own anticipations, of a shed on the bare beach with a fire at the door. Thomas had received, about a week before our arrival, a letter announcing it, which I had sent by the " Monarch :" so that he had everything ready, expecting us to stay. I had, however, for many reasons, quite made up my mind to go on to Wellington, and not to settle finally at Port Cooper, till after hearing something tolerably decisive about Canterbury from England. Indeed, I ascertained in the course of the first five minutes' conversation which I had with Thomas, that he has already overdrawn his credits to a considerable extent, and consequently that the works must be suspended as soon as possible. I should,, therefore, have literally nothing to superintend or to do at Port Cooper, and 156 Extracts from Letters of can employ myself more usefully here in communication with Mr. Fox, the principal agent of the Company, and the other leading men among the colonists, from whom I want to learn as much as possible pertaining to colonial politics, society, and other local subjects. My chief objects in communicating with Thomas were to see what had been done, to ascertain what has been expended, and to give directions for the conduct of future proceedings. The two last were soon accomplished ; for, the funds being exhausted, there is no difficulty in determining that until we get more we must stop indeed a stop would have been come to some time ago, had not Mr. Fox offered, on behalf of the Company (to whom, in case of our failure, the land reverts), to advance a sum, in addition to what was originally contemplated, of about 3500^., which, Thomas calculates, will keep things going on a reduced scale until the next advices. With this arrangement I determined not to interfere, as everything had been settled in conformity with it. I therefore contented myself with directing that no new contracts should be entered into, and that preparations should be made for discontinuing operations at the close of the arrangement now made with Mr. Fox for an extension of credit. In order to get a general idea of the country, I asked Thomas to have a couple of horses taken from the carts and saddled for us ; upon these we started to cross the hills into the plain. The track lies up the side of what may fairly be termed a mountain ; in fact, it can hardly be called a track at all, and it requires some habit and nerve to keep the saddle. Near the top we both dismounted, and scrambled up the rocks on foot, leading our horses. It is about two miles and a half iu a straight line from the port (Lyttelton) to the nearest point of the plain, and it took us two hours to ride to Deans' farm, which is nine miles off. From the top of the hill there is a perfect view of the whole district intended for our settlement, and I was struck by the accuracy with which its reality corresponded with the idea conveyed by the map. In fact, you have it before you in the ofiicc at Charing Cross almost as vividly as on the spot. There is an amphitheatre of Jo/m Robert Godlcy to C. B. Adderlcy. 157 mountains, not snow -covered, but snovr-aprin&led, and a vast grassy plain, without the smallest apparent inequality on its surface, stretching between them and the sea absolutely no other feature whatever, except a large lake close to the sea on the S.W. corner of Banks' Peninsula (or rather pro- montory), and several streams which, from flowing in very deep channels, make a small show at a distance. The pro- montory itself must contain exceedingly beautiful scenery, as its whole surface consists of hills covered with forest, broken and diversified in outline and indented by bays, reminding me of the " fjelds" and " fiords" of Norway. The hills immediately around Port Cooper alone appear comparatively bare; their character resembles very much that of the mountains which form the ' Ogwen Pass' near Banger, or perhaps still more that of the ' Bosom of Fann/ on Lough S willy ; for while the Welsh mountain is higher and grander than ours, it would, on the other hand, be very unjust to compare our beautiful dark blue bay to such a paltry lake as Ogweii. The first view of these plains, as of all others that I have seen of New Zealand, is rather disappointing to an English eye ; that is, one misses the greenness and luxuriance which the growth of grass in a country long cultivated and grazed ever exhibits. The flax plant, too, which grows largely all over them, exactly resembles at a distance that kind of bulrush which we call flags so that, although in fact the presence of it denotes, as I am told, unerringly, that the soil is sound and sufficiently dry for cultivation, the appearance given by it is that of barren swamps. When we got down into the plain we soon perceived the difference between the real bulrush, which does actually grow in some spots, and the flax. We overtook several of our fellow-passengers who had started before us walking ; and found them, unaccustomed to new countries as they were, open-mouthed about the want of luxuriant grass. We saw the country to great disadvantage, for there have been six months of almost unprecedented dry weather; but, after making allowance for this, I am sure that, until it shall have been broken up or grazed over, no 158 Extracts from Letters of oart of it will produce grass to be compared with that on soil of equal quality in old countries. There is no difference of opinion, however, so far as I can learn, among those who know the country, as to the land in the Canterbury plains being of fully average quality, capable of fattening sheep and cattle, as well as of giving good crops of all kinds. When we arrived at Mr. Deans' farm we had a proof of this, for his garden which never saw or heard of manure, is producing luxuriantly every kind of vegetables and fruits. I never saw a finer show of apples, pears, or peaches. Everything, in short, flourishes. I wish I could send home a specimen of the apples they look like wax-work. Mr. Deans has been for several years a settler on these plains. Dissatisfied with Wellington, he came down here on an exploring expedition, and had judgment enough to foresee and to say that sooner or later the plains would be the site of a large settlement ; he has been long waiting for it, and was almost tired of his solitary abundance ; I am told that two years ago he had nearly made up his mind to go away. However, he is now rewarded, and I am glad of it ; his title has been recognised to 400 acres of land, with 25 acres of wood close to the site of our intended capital so it is his own fault if he does not make his fortune. He has 1500 sheep, 300 cattle, and 30 or 40 horses. He grows corn enough for his own consumption, and says he gets from 35 to 10 bushels of wheat per acre. He has been made a Justice of the Peace, and administers justice on the bench at Port Cooper, with the collector of customs and the stipendiary magistrate from Akaroa. The "bush" beside which Deans' house is placed is exceedingly valuable; it extends over fifty- five acres, and it, with one other piece about twice as large, is the only source of supply for wood in the immediate neighbourhood of the ' ' Capital." It is strange that there should be so very little, and this can only be accounted for on the supposition that the bush has been destroyed gradually by accidental fires, such as even now threaten and occasionally diminish what is left. I understand that as we approach the mountains we find more and larger patches of wood, and along their base stretches John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 159 a dense unbroken forest ; but on the Port Cooper side, the main supply must, until plantations shall have grown up, be derived from Pigeon Bay and the other harbours of Banks' Peninsula. The site of our chief town is laid out on the banks of a river navigable for the largest barges, that is, with more than four feet water; and there is already a constant communication by water between Port Cooper and Pigeon Bay, on the one hand, and the surveyors occupied in laying out the site and surveying the neighbourhood of it, on the other. By this channel sawn timber can be laid down at the town for \2s. 6c/. per 100 feet, and fuel for 15*. a cord (I quote the present prices, it is impossible to calculate how far the proportion of demand to supply may be affected by a large colonization) , the same as at Port Cooper, and thirty per cent, cheaper than at Dunedin, which is in the middle of woods, a most important fact in illustration of the cheapness of water-carriage, and of the facilities which it will afford to us for remedying our deficiency in timber on that part of the plain which is within reach of water. The chief work now in progress at Port Cooper is a road over the hills from Lyttelton (the port) to Christchurch (the intended chief town), a distance of ten miles and a half. Until this shall be completed, the only mode of conveying goods from the harbour to the plain will be by boats round the heads of the port and up the river bcforcmentioned, and this will of course only be available in fine weather. The completion of the road is therefore an object of primary importance, as the track over the hills is hardly practicable, even for a horseman. On our return to the port we found our passengers and creAv scattered about; loud in their praises of the progress which has been made in so short a time, as well as of the prospects held out by the settlement; comparing everything with Otago, very much to the disadvantage of the latter, which seems to have found favour in nobody's eyes. They forget that Thomas has had the spending of a larger sum of money on a given spot than any pioneer of settlement in this country, has had, so that the superiority of his operations is not to be laid altogether to the account of his merits. 160 Extracts from Letters of However, certainly no body of settlers ever found so much done to smooth their path for them as ours will find. Most agricultural produce, except flour, is already cheaper than at Otago. Meat is plentiful at 5|^. per Ib. ; fresh butter, \s. per Ib. ; " native" cheese, Is. per Ib. ; eggs and milk apparently varying in price, but generally reasonable enough ; potatoes, 4l. a week to the foreman and 55*. a week to eleven journeymen, besides their passage free ! I dare say he might not have been able to get good workmen at all for less, but then he might have done without the greater part of them altogether. It will cost more than 7000^. to finish the road, without which the plain can hardly be called available for settlement, and, with the labour at our disposal, a considerable time will be required, too, for its completion. However, Thomas has so evidently done his best, has spared himself so little, and has evinced so much zeal, that I thought it would be cruel, as well as useless, to find fault with him, except in the mildest form, for his errors in jiidgment. The only point on which I feel not so chari- tably disposed towards him, is the excess of expenditure over credit, inasmuch as nothing could be more explicit or impera- tive than his instructions on this point, and, with ordinary foresight, he might easily have adhered to them. There is, however, something very satisfactory, and useful too, in creating at the earliest possible moment that appearance of civilization and finish which young settlements are so long deficient in under our present system, and I feel sure that the advanced and prepared look of Lyttelton will materially influence the character of the colony, by encouraging and welcoming the first settlers, and producing upon their minds pleasant Jirsfi impressions. Much of the deterioration in manner, costume, and even in more weighty matters, which we all see and deplore in colonists, may doubtless be traced to the coarse, rough, scrambling life which they are compelled M 2 1G4 Extracts from Letters of to live during the early days of settlement, and which becomes habitual and traditionary among them. A little care and expense in preparing for them decent habitations, passable roads, and suchlike elements of civilization, "would enable them to keep up old-country habits from the first, and per- haps modify the whole character and fortune of the growing people. These are things which ought to be done by the Government of a colonizing nation ; it is in default of such performance of duty by our Government that mercantile companies and amateur associations are compelled to attempt a task for which they are by no means equally fitted ; for a mercantile company must necessarily in the main be actuated by mercenary motives (I do not use the word in a bad sense), and amateur associations are generally deficient both in earnestness and in means. We have no choice, however, and must work with such means as we have ; and I think all those who see the Canterbury settlement will admit, that as I have said before, no first body of colonists from Britain have ever found so much done to prepare for and welcome them as ours will find. In fact difficulties, in the usual sense of the word, as applied to colonization, there will be none ; no roads to make, no forests to clear, no want of food, or lodging, or of facilities for choosing and settling upon land. Many things will no doubt be expensive at first ; for example, Avood, some articles of provision, and labour ; but every man's enterprise may be made the subject of a calculation on paper, as in an old country; humanly speaking, there is no un- certainty, or chance of disappointment to provide against ; he may lose his money, but if he does (again I *uy, humanly speaking), it will be his own fault and not the result of obstacles which he could not foresee. I feel certain that a vast deal of the discontent and mutual bad feeling which is so painfully conspicuous at Otago takes its origin from the discomforts and embarrassments experienced by men thrown with their wives and children upon a bare shore at the beginning of winter, without a road, or a clearing, or a sign of civilization to welcome or to cheer them. At that time JoJm Robert Godlcy to C. B. Adderley. 165 they not unnaturally acquired the habit of abusing the Association, and the Company, and their leaders, and each other; and they have certainly never lost it. I earnestly trust the example may not be lost upon us. While we were absent with Thomas, the Captain, with some passengers, had gone up to Mr. Rhodes' farm, and came back in the evening highly delighted with him and with what they had seen and heard. I am amused at seeing how those who had been the most inveterate sneerers and croakers about our settlement during the voyage have changed their tone since they have been on the spot ; very often, indeed, with almost as little reason as they had for their former pre- judices. Even the disappointment of those who expected far more luxuriant vegetation on the plains, has entirely yielded to the unanimous testimony of men who are practically acquainted with the results of the soil and the climate in combination, as regards the production of crops. Our explorers brought back some magnificent "cobs" of Indian corn, perfectly developed and ripened, and some water-melons, also perfectly ripe, both of which the Maories had grown in their gardens. Rhodes, too, not only spoke highly of the agricultural capabilities of the country, but backed his testi- mony by exhibiting a very full and nourishing garden. In the course of the afternoon a brigantine came into the harbour from Wellington, chartered by Thomas to take back the Maories to their own country, which is the central part of the Northern Island. They had bargained with him to be taken back before the commencement of the cold weather ; but they will be delighted to return, if required, in the spring, and I have no doubt that this experiment will lay the founda- tion for a regular supply of native labour to the middle island. As yet it has been found impossible to make use of the Maories for farm-work ; they require the stimulus of society and superintendence; but from idleness and canni- balism to gang work and Christianity is a much longer step than from their present state to complete civilization ; so that we may hope to see one instance, at least, of a reclaimed and amalgamated native race. 166 Extracts from Letters of Thomas is very proud and happy at the successful result of the new plan of surveying. It is very cheap ; not more, he assures me, than five farthings an acre for the whole district, and very accurate and satisfactory. The colonial surveyors who began by disapproving, have all read their recantation ; and Captain Stokes, of the "Acheron," a most competent judge, has told him that " he has seen nothing south of the line" to equal the maps that Thomas has shown him. He has triangulated about 700,000 acres, and promises that by July the maps of at least 300,000 acres of the best agricultural land will have been completed in detail. After that our progress must be regulated by our financial accounts from home. The supposed discovery of bituminous coal is not confirmed, but there is undoubtedly some anthracite, and, at different places, especially along the Courtenay River, considerable quantities of peat. It is very fortunate that carts can traverse the plain in every direction (except, of course, where rivers intervene) so that the deficiency of wood, though very im- portant, is more easily remediable than it would be elsewhere. However, the first settlers must fence with banks and ditches, and plant gorse and quicks upon them, and they must also make up their minds to pay a high price for their fuel. This is the one drawback to what would otherwise be an incom- parable district for settlement, and its existence should be known and published, to prevent deception and disappoint- ment. There are quantities of wild pigs on the plain, and quail and wild ducks innumerable. I wish I had a good pointer and retriever. Probably the Indian sport of boar- hunting on horseback with the spear will be introduced, as the country is specially fitted for it. I cannot bring myself to wish for foxes, but deer and hares we must positively have, as well as partridges and pheasants. There are a pair of partridges at Dunedin, which, after being imported with much difficulty, turned out to be both cocks ! so, as I cannot hear of any others in the colony, I fear the unfortunate animals are doomed to spend the rest of their lives in cheer- less celibacy. If the Association goes on and flourishes, it John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 167 could not do better than send out, by each skip that it charters, pairs of these animals, until it receives intelligence that a sufficient number to make the propagation of the species certain have safely landed. It is impossible, of course, to draw a general conclusion from our limited observation of the climate ; but it is worth . remarking that, though we have now been just a month in or on the coast of New Zealand, at the end of autumn we have only had one wet day, and not above three or four that were showery or otherwise unpleasant. In general the sky has been almost cloudless, and the temperature pleasant quite warm and summery in the daytime, and cool at night, with heavy dews. On Sunday morning (the 14th) we sailed from Port Cooper with a light southerly breeze, which died away when we were about twenty-five miles from the harbour ; and before evening it came on to blow from the N.E. Since that time we have been beating about or lying-to with the wind dead on end for a week, and only anchored in Wellington harbour this morning between midnight and one o'clock. It is a land- locked lake, about six miles long by four broad, surrounded by low hills, partly covered with grass and partly with wood. The town is much more considerable than I expected j in. fact, what the Yankees would call " quite a smart city." It is scattered over a large expanse of beach and hill, and there is a general air of bustle and stir about the port which is very pleasant to see. I have just received a visit from Mr. Fox, the New Zealand Company's principal agent, and accepted an invitation to my Wife and myself to dine with him this evening. The " Woodstock," now in port, is to sail direct for England in two days, so we shall have an opportunity of sending our letters by her bags. April 27. I cannot say that my throat has derived any material benefit from the voyage ; I am much where I was in point of health. It remains to be seen whether New Zealand air and regular exercise will be more useful. Every one here tells me the climate suits that sort of complaint particularly. I have taken a very nice cottage, with six rooms, a stable, 168 Extracts from Letters of and garden ; there is from it a beautiful view of the town and harbour, and all round charming walks over downs and through woods. I am looking out for horses for Charlotte and myself, but have not yet seen any to suit me. Both Wife and Child are in excellent health and spirits, and if I could only get over the mortification of eating perforce the bread of idleness here, I have no doubt we should be very happy. There is much comfort, even in my ill-health ; I see so distinctly that some such discipline was required to wean me from the intense worldliness into which I was falling. If Canterbury does not go on, and nothing keeps me here, I hope to visit the Australian Colonies before I return to Europe ; but I ought not to anticipate anything so unfortunate, even hypo- thetically. I write, officially of course, to Alston [Secretary of the Canterbury Committee\. My friends in England must not think that I forget them individually, because I don't enumerate the names of all I love ; I can't write, either, separately, to a large number, and must therefore trust that you will manage to let those who would be interested in my letters see them, or such parts of them as are fit to be seen. Mr. Sidney Herbert was good enough to say he would like to see my letters. If you think this was meant for more than mere civility, please to let him know. If you see or write to Fitzgerald, remember me very specially to him ; I had hoped to be able to write to him, but can't. John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 169 LXXXIV. At Wellington Character of New South Welsh. 1850. Aug. 13. Wellington. I OFTEN wonder whether so long an absence from home as ours under any circumstances must be, will end by cooling our friends' recollection of us, and filling up the gap or trace which at first we leave in the circle. My Wife says it will ; I think not, judging perhaps erroneously, from what I feel myself, that is, if possible, fonder of those I left behind than when with them. I have come very deliberately to one conclusion, viz._, that nothing but dire necessity would induce me to expatriate myself permanently, even as a colonist, after a certain period of life (which I have passed). After having formed (as I have done) habits of English life, and interwoven one's whole being with the sympathies, feelings, and associations of relations and friends, it is too great an uprooting to move. A whole clan might do it, or a set, such as we could tell of, of our own ; but they would not, unless under the pressure of some such force as a social revolution, or a religious persecution, or a foreign conquest. We may all be driven from England, and if we were so collectively, I could make this country my home without repining, but till then, no. I have the love of country (and of those who live in my country) too strong upon me ; I would rather break stones (or do something equivalent) in England than be a great man elsewhere. This is very tame, but it is the truth. But enough about myself and my yearn- ings after you all. I have much to be thankful for here. My health is vastly improved. I doubt whether I shall ever perfectly recover, that is, Avhether my throat and chest will become strong, but I do begin to hope that I may struggle on, enjoying tolerable health for a considerable time to come perhaps even live to be old, which of late I had considered as out of the question. I am now strong and in good con- dition, walk from twelve to fifteen miles a day without incon- venience, besides riding a good deal, eat and sleep " like bricks/' and have in fact no ailment except a chronic hoarse- ness, and a kind of uncomfortableness and embarrassment 170 Extracts from Letters of about the throat and chest, which is aggravated by talking much or loud. I have no cough, and a stranger would never suppose there was anything the matter with me. I write these particulars at length to you, because I know they are what will interest you most. My daily life and conversation are detailed in a journalizing letter, which I write/r0z day to day, and send by instalments to my Father and C. Wynne. I have asked him to let you kno\v whenever he receives one, and if you like to see them Charles Wynne will forward them to you, but they are almost too long and trivial for any one to read who has not lots of time on his hands, and I would advise you to wait till I get home, when in one way or another you will soon extract from me the pith of all that I have seen and learned. Until intelligence arrives from Canterbury Office, our minds are in a state of uncertainty. The respite, however, and forced idleness have been, I have no doubt, very beneficial to me physically. 1 only hope I may not contract habits of indolence and self-indulgence, of which I feel there is much danger, when one has nothing to do but to think of one's wretched body, its ailments and its changes. My Wife has adapted herself most wonderfully to her new circumstances, and is in excellent health and spirits ; so is the little boy, who since the voyage has worn a nautical dress, which is very jolly and quaint-looking and attracts much attention; just a blue Guernsey jacket, blue trousers, and a straw wide-awake hat. We made it to please the sailors, and liked it so much, that we have kept it on. He docs no lessons, nor do we intend to hurry that period at all ; but his intellect seems to be developing itself naturally by the aid of pictures, maps, and observation of external objects. I often wonder whether he will retain any permanent impression from his travels. What you are doing at home is rapturously received out here, and the colonists are going to ask you to be their representative in the Imperial Parliament. My letter to Gladstone has been copied and commented upon by every newspaper in this part of the world, and unanimously extolled, quite curiously so, indeed, for there has not been a word of censure or reply even from official organs. It is John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 171 singular that I sent you a copy of the Sydney Morning Herald, praising my views up to the skies, before I saw that Ministers make use of the same paper in the debate as a testimony in favour of their views. The fact is that the New South Welsh are a most unsatisfactory and disappointing people to Avork for or with. They are corrupted entirely (if there was ever anything to corrupt), and don't care a farthing about religion, or politics, or arts, or letters, or any subject whatever, except wool, and the result of wool pounds sterling. Their news- papers make one melancholy, they are so bald, so mean, so destitute of any fixed views on any subject except shopkeeping. Do you remember what Arnold says somewhere about Peel ? " He will change his mind about almost everything, for upon almost every subject he has no conviction ; but there is one subject on which he has convictions and in which he takes a real interest, and with respect to that he will not change, but will carry out his views thoroughly and well. That subject is the currency." This is exaggerated censure as applied to Peel, but it would be ludicrously exaggerated praise as applied to colonial politicians. The moral I draw from this is (of course) that the system on which our colonial society has been formed is radically bad. We have never allowed them opportunities of interesting themselves about higher matters, and the feeling of miserable and zealous subserviency and helplessness which we have fostered shows itself in everything ; every day's experience tends to impress upon me the almost miraculous truth and accuracy of Wake- iicld's views on all subjects connected with colonies. There is, however, room for grave doubt whether the evils, econo- mical and political, for which he proposes remedies, have not gone too far to allow of the application of those remedies. Whether, in short, you can make the existing population a starting point and instrumental for reforms. Oh, if we could but have started Canterbury with free institutions ! The start is everything, though indeed still we should have been exposed to the dangers of being swamped by importations from other settlements, and we should find great difficulty in keeping up the price of our land in the face of the fact that it is a drug 172 Extracts from Letters of elsewhere. This colony, as a field for the investment of capital, is, I firmly believe, unrivalled in the world. Sheep and cattle-keeping here will pay does pay, in fact according to the most moderate computation thirty per cent, on the average, and has often paid one hundred per cent, and more, and this will last, and even increase, until the best available districts of the middle island are filled up, for every year we shall more and more certainly undersell the Australians. Is it not most wonderful that there should under these circum- stances be hardly any capital flowing into the country ? A man beginning with 5000/. is quite a Jones Loyd here, and I know a man who began with about two hundred sheep and fifteen or twenty horses seven years ago, and who has now sheep and other stock worth at least 10,000^., besides having one hundred and fifty acres under the plough, and large farm buildings, a brig of his own, &c. Everything, no doubt, depends on personal, or, at least, trustworthy management, but what each family in England ought to do is this, to send out one of its own members, if qualified, and make him superintend the investment of the family capital. It might with ease and certainty be doubled in four or five years at present rates. I am sure of this, and you know I am not given to rash or headlong speculation. I could prove it to you by a thousand instances well known here. But before I would come to live here, I would make sure of a decent government. At present there is no government at all ; only a den of idle officials supported by a fictitious revenue, which government expenditure supplies. It makes one sick to see it. 15th. I am taken by surprise with the announcement that the mail for England closes to-day, so, having oceans to write, must stop. My very best and kindest regards, and those of my Wife, to Mrs. Addeiiey ; remember me also to McGcachy. I wish you joy of having got together so in- fluential a body as your colonial reform team, but fear that some of them will bolt. Tell Lyttelton I am sending him some plants for llagley, that is, collecting them with a view to sending, for they wont go till next year. I hope to send you also a good assortment. John Robert Godlcy to C. B. Adderlcy. 173 IAXXV. On the proposed New Zealand Constitution. 1850. Nov. 21. Wellington. [Received May 19, 1851.] SIR G. GREY has published a scheme on the basis of our provincial constitution. Finding the more influential and intelligent colonists refused to accept places in the nominated council, which he substituted last year for representative institutions proposed by Lord Grey, he was compelled to make it up in what materials he could. The result was an exhibi- tion made too ludicrous for repetition, and all had resigned except three, when this scheme came down from Auckland to replace it infinitely worse than its predecessor, because more likely to be final if once adopted. Household suffrage, biennial parliaments, paid members, no property qualifica- tions, everything except ballot clap-trap for concealing w r ant of self-government. I feared its taking with the opposition or reform party, which instinct always makes radical and democratic. But a public meeting, 350 out of scattered 4000 of all ages, rejected the w T hole in one lump. It does not give us management of our affairs. Our example will be followed by the rest of the southern Settle- ments, and we hear Auckland has pronounced virtually against it. Sir G. Grey can't get nominees, and can't govern without a constitution. Parliament must give us self-government in reality these colonists are pledged to resist shams, such as the Aus- tralian Bill of this year. My conviction is immeasurably strengthened, that no colonist will maintain the status quo the worst form on earth. Confine your attention to this one point, self-government. Give us despotism rather than a sham. Colonial reformers have such lukewarm support in colonies because they have allowed questions of detail to occupy them. The contests about civil lists all involve what is called respon- sible government. This and waste lands are the points they care most about. Do not allow the fallacy of English analogies to pass. People say judges ought to have their places and salaries secured, because it is so in England. No 174 Extracts from Letters of one answers " appointments at home are made by responsible ministers, which destroys the analogy altogether." What we complain of is that the colonial Ministers appoint these judges, and fix their salaries. It is no answer to say another minister appoints similar officers at home ; he is responsible to the Parliament about them. LXXXVI. At Lyttelton. 1851. Jan. 30. Lyttelton. I THI:NK I have written to every one about things in general more at length to Lyttelton, whose letter you can see if you like. In some respects indeed in most I am very well satisfied with the state of affairs. The colonists are a good lot, wonderfully little disposed to grumble, but not, I think, as a lot, very well qualified to get on in a new country. The Association shows, together with a most flattering and complete confidence in me as regards great matters, rather too much inclination to meddle in details, which at a distance they cannot meddle in effectively. I should be quite ashamed to publish some part of their instructions, whilst other parts are most statesmanlike and able. One stumbling-block, like that of all states, systems, and societies, will be finance. If I had obeyed the (all but) express instructions of the Committee, I should have given away all the land we have been spending money upon land which constitutes a very valuable public property, and on which I rely, for the anticipation I am now making of land sales. I am a little puzzled as to what ought to be done in political matters. The people are thinking too much of getting on their land, just now, to care much about attending public demon- strations which may come to nothing, and yet I don't like not showing any interest in the cause at this time. I fear we must be content with ajjajtcr demonstration at present. Of course we shall await with the deepest anxiety the event of next (or rather this) session's debute on our constitution. I am very busy, as you may suppose, and still, on the whole, 1 enjoy very tolerable health very much better than for the last two JoJtn Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 175 years before I left England. I like my work, too, and if I were living in a pleasanter locality, should be perfectly happy, but this Lyttelton in itself is a detestable hole : hot, choky, intolerable from dust, and without any ingress or egress, save by mounting almost perpendicular hills. We have made one very pleasant excursion in the plains, with horses and tents, and intend going again soon. The weather has been lovely. I wish you could see the picturesque assemblage of huts and tents which compose this place. And Christchurch is still more funny-looking for a capital. My Wife and Child are flourishing and happy, save that she, in spite of perpetual goodhumour and manlike energy, is very homesick. I promise her that if we are alive and nothing unforeseen happens, we shall go home at the end of next year, so as to be at home in the spring of '53. But that is a long look- out to speculate upon. Where may we all be before that time ? LXXXVII. Futility of Instructions from Home. 1851. May 22. Lyttelton. THINGS go on very well here, on the whole, but I am more and more convinced every day of the utter impossibility of carrying on the administration of affairs under instructions received from home. The history of my doings here can be little more than a history of such instructions either dis- obeyed or evaded (where positive disobedience would be ille- gal), with the unanimous approbation of every individual in the colony. 1 had to begin by disregarding the monstrous instruction to alienate property on which the Association had spent 5000/. or GOOD/., for no earthly reason but to give one or two individuals exorbitant incomes for life at a blow. Such a transaction, if completed, would have fixed on the Association a charge of jobbery which could never have been got rid of. Now, I am engaged in endeavouring to evade the regulation which makes a rent of 20s. per 100 acres the condition of granting pasturage licenses a regulation which is blighting the prospects of the settlement by wholly pre- venting the pasturage from being taken up. It is sufficient 176 Extracts from Letters of to say that the Government are letting their land outside our block at less than one-fourth of the price, so you may imagine we are in a fair way to be a Gideon's fleece in the country. Then, the Association writes me word that it has sent me a 10,00(U. credit, but the Union Bank having received no advices of it refuse to recognise it ; so I am forced to raise money how I can, on private credit of my own. Is this fair upon me ? I am only telling you one -half of my grievances. Every day some fresh appli- cant arrives here with a story of promises made to him at home, which I am expected to fulfil without any kind of means for doing so. You, on the other hand, complain, no doubt, of want of information, want of materials for legisla- tion, &c., all which I rejoice at, for I trust it will disgust you all with the attempt to legislate for us. Pray stand by me, and by our common principles, in urging the immediate trans- fer of the whole legislative and administrative powers of the Association to the colony. I often think what fun we should all have taken in old times out of the didactic despatches which are written to me, if they had emanated from Down- ing-street. Have you ever read them ? To one reading them out here there is something inexpressibly comic about those (especially) on the conduct to be pursued towards the natives, and on the ecclesiastical arrangements. It is very fortunate, though it sounds a cocl-y thing to say, that you have an agent who does not consider obedience to orders as part of his duty, and who feels himself strong enough and independent enough to act upon his own views of what is right and politic. I hope that you will set your face against a multiplication of offices when the Province of Canterbury is constituted ; that is one of the things, 1 fear, some of our friends at home are very fond of. We don't want, for ex- ample, a Lieutenant-Governor, with " His Excellency" on his card, and a mock court in his train. The resident magis- trate should be the chief of the executive for the present,, or you may call him Superintendent if you will. Anyhow, give him some real work to do, independently of his executive primacy. And so with the other offices. We don't want John Robert Godlcij to C. B. Adderley. 177 separate treasurer, secretary, auditor, &c. &c. &c., all with clerks and offices. Let the people here make the offices, and then if they make too many, they can blame no one but themselves. Oh ! that I could have two hours' conversation with you on all these matters. My Wife and Child, thank God, are exceedingly nourishing ; and, as to myself, I have not been so vigorous for twenty years. If, when I return home, my health sinks again, I shall come out here for the rest of my days ; but I long earnestly to see you all. LXXXVIII. The Association interfering too much icitk the Colony. 1851. June 19. Lyttelton. THE Canterbury Association is the most remarkable modern instance of the absence of avToyvwaig that I know of. I plead guilty to some part of the impeachment myself, inasmuch as I did not anticipate the impossibility of governing even tem- porarily the affairs of the settlement from home. Six months' experience has shown me that the present system is practi- cally as well as theoretically intolerable, and that to get it changed is just our one business for the present. I enclose you a duplicate of a letter which I have written to Wakefield, but of which I do not know whether it will ever reach him, as I am enclosing it to Ilintoul, with a request that he will exercise his discretion about giving it to W. So, when you have read it, send it on, please, to Wellington-street. I see so fatally exemplified here all the evils of distant government, and I feel so strongly the impossibility of our making any decent stand against the Colonial Office till we have purged the beam from our own eye, that I must make it a most par- ticular request of you to take the matter up and carry it through, as you can easily do if you will take the trouble. Wakefield and Sewcll, both of whom, I suspect, are fond of power, will doubtless abuse me heartily, but I trust to Lyttel- ton, and you, and Simeon. My own movements must remain uncertain till 1 bear what the Association is going to do. If they persevere in the present system, I must go home as an N 178 Extracts from Letters of agitator ; if they transfer their power to the colony, I must stay to help the transfer. I hope earnestly, therefore, that I may not go home until the end of next year, at any rate. No one can guess what effect the gold-mania, now springing up at Sydney, may have upon the future of these colonies, if it continue. I fear a most disastrous one, both morally and materially. On consideration, I won't send you "VVakefield's letter. I have written very fully to Lyttelton. Pray apply to him, or, in his absence, to the acting chairman, for a copy of my letter. LXXXIX. Resistance of Canterbury Colony against interference. 1851. Aug. 29. Lyttelton. You will receive, with this, a newspaper, giving an account of our first political manifestation. I feel sure you will be pleased with the tone of it ; it is, at any rate, very different from that which so justly displeases you in the Wellington Constitutionalist. I hold it to be a clear political duty to put squeamishness into one's pocket, and stick to those who advocate one's principles in the main, whatever one may think of the way they do it in. But it is an enormous relief to fall back upon the comparatively moderate and gentle- manlike demeanour and language of our Canterbury poli- ticians. Mark the moral of it. The people come out from England, determined to be free, indeed, but in no wise radical or bitter against authority. After a short apprenticeship of colonial agitation, however, a most marked change comes over them. They get bitter, abusive, disloyal, democratic, in short, colonial. This process has made the Wellington and Nelson people chartists, in about seven or eight years. How long will it take to chartizc Canterbury ? It makes me mad to sec this deteriorating machinery at work before my eyes, to know what the end must be, if it be suffered to go on working, and to see also, so plainly and clearly, the remedy, without being able to get it applied. But, so long as the practical management of Canterbury affairs is carried on at John Robert Godlcy to C, B. Adderley. 179 Adelphi-terrace, Are have no right to complain of the Colonial Office. We shall be deeply anxious for intelligence of how the Association receives our proposals for getting rid of it in its present shape. I consider all questions for this colony as subordinate in interest to that one. I have no hesitation in saying that I would give up every advantage which can be derived from the co-operation and puffery of our grand friends at home ; I would even give up, so far as is consistent with good faith, all the distinctive features of our scheme, sooner than go on as we are now going. I would follow out my principles to their ultimate results. If the people of this colony don't think our scheme a good one, we ought not to persevere in it ; we can do no good by persevering in it; their resistance must be, sooner or later, successful ; only, if they succeed, after a struggle, their victory will be a vengeance, and they will rush into the precisely opposite extreme. One comfort I have at any rate ; and that is, that the colonists will be with me to a man. I do not believe I have a per- sonal, and I do not know that I have a political, opponent in the settlement ; and that is a good deal to say, considering what innumerable grounds of possible antagonism there are. xc. Political Demonstration . 1851. Sept. 5. Lyttelton. I HAVE just written you a longish letter by the "Laura/' and only send a scrap by India to say How d'ye do ? in case the other one should be delayed. I have to thank you, as usual, for several affectionate and most welcome letters. It is an incalculable pleasure to get them, yet they always make me wish so much to be back in England, that the regret half counterbalances the pleasure. I will say one thing, which I should be afraid to say to any one but a most intimate friend, and that is, that I am ashamed of my popularity. I do quite blush and get uneasy when I hear of all you in England say about me ; it is so utterly, immeasurably, above my deserts, that it frightens me ; so much is this the effect of the over- N -2 180 Extracts from Letters of praise which I receive, that I hope I am saved from being spoiled thereby into a mere coxcomb. But enough of this. I have received the report of the managing Committee to the Colonial Association, and read with considerable impatience two elaborate schemes of Mr. SewelPs for the Church and College of Canterbury. I have written to the Committee to request that the colonists may have some voice, however small, in the correction of these " schemes," before they be- come definitely settled. It is enough to drive one mad to see the old game played over again, to a card. Sewell is to Can- terbury, in his small way, what Locke was to Carolina, and Lord Grey to the Cape. We have had a famous political demonstration, of which you will see an account in the paper I send you by this mail. My speech was intended rather to rouse the people to politi- cal activity generally, than with reference to the special object professed and I think we have been most successful. The enthusiasm and unanimity were really very striking. 1 trust Sir George Grey's bitter and wanton attack on us may do him harm at home. That depends on your relations with the Colonial Office when the news of it arrives. xci. Management must le transferred to the spot. 1851. Dec. 15. Lyttelton. I HAVE just received from England an official acknowledg- ment of my despatch of March last on Local Self-Govern- nicnt a thorough Downing-strect document, conveying a dry intimation that there are " insurmountable difficulties/' and trying to floor me by asking me for the details of a plan. I never will believe that my friends (especially my dear friend Lyttelton), who have struggled with me for the great cause of colonial freedom, arc the real parents or promoters of the policy of the Canterbury Association. There is an influence at work, of which they arc perhaps hardly con- scious, and which is too potent for them; the influence which working officials always have over amateurs. Oh, for one day, one hour, with Lyttelton and you ! Oh, that you John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 181 could breathe a colonial atmosphere, and hear colonial poli- tics discussed by colonists for one day, one hour ! I fully agree with the Bishop, who says, that every man who comes out to a colony undergoes at once, in some magical way, a complete intellectual revolution ; that he sees everything from a point of view perfectly antipodean, in a figurative as well as a literal sense. But I have wearied you with all this ad nauseam before. The main point I wish to write about just now is one which, if I had you alone to deal with, would be a very unnecessary one to enlarge upon, I mean, my per- sonal conduct. I have seen a letter from Adelph-terrace, in which the writer presumes that I advocate a transfer of the Association's powers, either because I am recklessly desirous to get home, or because I have got into the hands of a few individuals about me, &c. &c. I can easily imagine that it will be found convenient to attribute to me personal motives, and an absent man always lies undet enormous dis- advantage; still I feel certain I have left men behind me who will answer for me as they would for themselves, that my reason for saying anything I have said is, simply, because I think it. If I wanted to go home, what was to hinder me from tiding over a year or two here, appointing a successor, and bequeathing the inevitable mess to him ? What has my advocating the transfer to do with my going home ? It is much more likely to keep me here, because I am ready, as I offered, to stay as long as I could be of any use in settling the new Constitution, and making it work. As to my " getting into the hands," &c., I should like to know what hands there are for me to get into Sir George Grey's, or the Bishop's, or Brittan's and Fitzgerald's ? What stuff all this is ! I find, after trying the matter \vith, necessarily, the strongest predilection for your present system, that it wont work. Am I not bound to say so ? Why go out of one's way to look for bad motives, when good ones lie on the surface? Do you think it is pleasant to run the risk of offending and estranging all one's best and dearest friends, and at the same time of damaging one's own reputation, which those friends have contributed to exalt most unde- servedly, by having a civil war in the Canterbury camp, and 182 Extracts from Letters of thereby producing scandal and calumny about an enterprise with which one is irretrievably bound up? Is it at all likely that, if I had only personal motives for all this, I should be backed by the opinion of every single individual in New Zealand, from the Bishop to the most bitter Radical in Wellington ? That is the point which it is desirable for you in England to keep in mind : that you are powerless without the colonists, and that the colonists will have self-govern- ment in its most complete form, land-fund and all. If it be argued that the result of handing over the land-fund to a local constituency would involve its diversion from the objects originally intended, I answer that I cannot conceive a more fatal admission than that those objects are distasteful to the colonists. If so, is it right or wise to force them on a re- luctant people? Mind, non meus /tic seniio. I don't say that the scheme is incompatible with local administration; but if it be, then I have no hesitation in saying, let the scheme go to the wall. No scheme could be carried out against the will of the colonists ; and if it was to be carried out with their will, why not entrust them with its manage- ment ? It Avill be most painful to me if I have to enter into an open conflict with the Committee ; it is like going to war with one's brothers. I am always gloriously well now, though for some time past I have spent the whole of almost ecery day in my Grace. The work I have had this year would have killed me ten times over in England. We had a capital cricket-match on Tuesday the club against the mechanics and Brittan and I distinguished ourselves very creditably, I natter myself. Thanks for books and pamphlets. xcu. Double Difficulties of divided Government. 1852. Jan. 20. Lyttelton. 1 AM horribly harassed and worried, as you may imagine, by being obliged to place myself in direct opposition to my best friends ; and I am placed in an exceedingly false position too, by being forced to speak for and defend the Association John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 183 against all enemies, while in secret I too have a battle to fight, not less important and severe, against them. I earn- estly hope, and firmly believe, that we have now seen the last of colonizing associations. I long held with Wakefield that they were positively good ; then I came to look on them as lesser, but necessary, evils; now I am convinced that they do more harm than good. A most curious illustration of the enormous absurdity of distant government is to be found in the effect of the New Zealand Settlements' Act of last Session. Exactly at the time that it was passing through Parliament an ordinance was passing through the Legislature here on the same subject, but in a perfectly different sense. This has now been law for six months ; people have been acting on it, buying scrip under it, taking land, &c., when, lo and behold ! out comes the Act, and everything that has been done under the Ordinance falls to the ground. It is enough to make angels weep, to see such fantastic tricks played with men's hopes and fortunes. I am so entirely overwhelmed with writing for this mail that you must excuse a short and hurried letter. My heart is very sore after read- ing the " Fatima" letters. I find that my friends on the Committee are most unreasonable and inconsiderate, quite as much so on their side as I can have been on mine ; Wake- field out-IIerods Herod in the outrageous virulence of his abuse ; tells me 1 am inconsistent, ungrateful, wild, furious, incapable, worn out, perverse, delirious ; and winds up by advising me to retire into the country and cultivate my health, which is all that I am now fit for. I think, if God spares my life, I may show him yet that I am fit for some- thing else. But let that pass. I hardly see my way to getting back to you in England. I think I am more wanted here, and that I ought to stay until Canterbury affairs are settled on a satisfactory and permanent footing. Will you oblige me by*reading my despatches by this mail with their enclosures ? It ought to be difficult to persuade Colonial lleformers that the entire community of Englishmen inha- biting New Zealand are wrong with respect to a point on which they are unanimous, and on which they have such complete opportunities of forming their opinion. 184 Extracts from Letters of XCIII. The Association becomes as bad as the Colonial Office. 1852. March 17. Lyttelton. You say the Committee defended themselves against the charge of dictation, by saying they only suggested. This is altogether contrary to the fact. They settled things which we could not unsettle. For example, they put into their Act, and their Terms, pastoral regulations which we could not repeal. They refused to make the second Act available for the purpose of correcting the errors of the first. They have refused, even up to the last despatch, to give me the ordinary powers which every agent has of dealing with the private estate of his principal, and actually undertake the enormously absurd responsibility of letting their reserves in London to people who have never seen them. They have refused, until too late, to let any rural land be sold in the colony, con- trary to an express contract Avith the public, conveyed in the first printed instructions to me. They absolutely endea- voured to impose on us, without asking our leave, a new code of real property law and a registration of titles. (What has the Association to do with our laws?) They refuse to publish their accounts, contrary to another express contract with the public [Canterbury Papers, No. 1, p. 17.], and blow me up in very unambiguous language, because I choose to redeem their pledge, as far as regards my own accounts. They propose to nominate a Committee, responsible to them- selves, to conduct the most important department of Govern- ment in the settlement, while they declaim against Lord Grey for precisely an analogous course in the other depart- ments. They have framed and sent out an elaborate scheme of Church Government, which expressly states that every- body connected with the administration of the ecclesiastical funds is to be under their control, and removable at their pleasure. If you call these mere suggestions, I don't know what authoritative interference is. In fact, what single thing, in the way of policy, have they left me and the colo- nists to settle ? Just ask them that. A few trifling details include the whole discretion left to me, and if I do exercise John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 185 any discretion on any points not expressly referred to me I am sharply pulled up. One word about Wakefield's saying this is not a colony, and should therefore have its affairs managed for it at home. I should like to know how many hundred times I have heard him say, ' ' Numbers don't signify the first ship's company is the colony. They should make laws for thcmsel\ 7 es on board ship. Look at the Pilgrim Fathers how many of them were there?" He cannot bear to have his theories applied to himself. He would make the most intolerable Colonial minister that ever lived in Downiug-street. XC1V. Association must abandon powers, or transfer itself. 1852. June 4. Lyttelton. IT is needless to repeat how much I wish I were going home at once, but nothing is more clear than that it is my duty to stay here. There are plenty of people at home ; here it would be difficult just now to fill my place. Sewell must come out, whether as agent or not. If your proposed measure pass this year [Xei.v Zealand Constitution Bill], I will, D.V., see it put into operation ; if it fail, I Avill try to get home before next session, or about March, '53, at farthest. We have got a new newspaper, milk- and- waterish, but respect- able. It will not last three months. We are too small for two newspapers. I wish to say a word about the " incon- sistency" which you think you see between my "objurga- tions " against the Canterbury Association and that passage of my speech of last August, in which I defended the Can- terbury Association for " retaining the powers of which it was trustee " until it could get a free government to give them up to. I know nothing that I said elsewhere incon- sistent with this. In my letter to Lord L. of June 10, I recommended that, if possible, the Association should give up its powers to a free government, and if not, that it should retain it* powers, but transfer its own local habitation to the colony. It was not necessary for my argument, nor would it have been proper in my position, to have gone (in my 186 Extracts from Letters of speech) into my differences with the Association, and the particular plan which I had proposed for getting rid of them. The question I had to deal with was the defence of the Asso- ciation retaining its position as an independent body, so long as we have a despotic Government. It was a totally distinct question how that independent body was to be composed, and where it was to reside; into that question I did not enter. You are doing all you can (I mean the Government is) to hasten the inevitable period of the independence of Australia. I have very nearly become a convert of Dr. Lang myself, and feel quite certain that if I live twenty, or even ten, years longer, I shall assist, (in the French sense of the word) at that great event. The pains that English politicians take to make themselves hated by colonists is perfectly mar- vellous. I will not even touch on the subject of European politics. It is too large, and we are too far off. It would be rather a bore to find ourselves snapped up by a French privateer on our way home. Economy and Success of Colony Daughter Lorn. 1852. Aug. 2. Lyttelton. WE are deeply anxious of course to know what is to be done for us this session. If we hear that a Bill is to be passed transferring the powers of the Canterbury Association to the colonists t/tis year, I will stay to assist in bringing it into operation ; if, as I fear is most probable, legislation on this subject be deferred for another year, I cannot undertake to wait for it, as it would bring me Avell into Ib5t, and during the ensuing eighteen months I should have literally nothing to do. Nothing can exceed the economy with which things have been conducted here, I am almost astonished myself that I was able to resist spending more, considering that I was the only public purse-holder in a country where everything had to be made, and that I was always egged on by despatches promising wonders " by the next ship." It is satisfactory to reflect that we have got a thriving colony John Robert Godley to C. B. Addcrley. 187 fairly started : a colony which, if it be not all that we once hoped for, is at least unsurpassed, na) r , unrivalled, among mo- dern British colonies for the morale of its population, and its promise of prosperity. The occurrence of the gold-mania has been a terrible drawback to us, preventing the importation of stock, as well as attracting away our labourers, and keep- ing provisions up to famine prices. Still, on the whole, I have no doubt we shall be the better for our proximity to so rich a market in a thousand ways. Now for a private matter. Have you heard by chance that my wife has been confined of a daughter lately ? So it is, at any rate, and the young lady was baptized last Sunday-week by the name of Rose Mary. I am thus particular, because I took the liberty of naming you as her godfather, Charles Simeon standing proxy for you; the godmothers are, my Sister- in-law, Mrs. Cocks and Charlotte Pollen I hope you wont refuse to act in this capacity for my little Xe\v-Zealander. It will be satisfactory to me to have a fresh link for con- necting your name with my sojourn in New Zealand. My AVife is very well, and the pnrvu.s lulus too, thank God. It would be a great disappointment to me to be away from home at the general election, and to lose my chance of coming into Parliament, were it not that I feel my old complaints have not left me, so that I am certain one session of late hours and Parliamentary excitement would use me up. xcvi. New Zealand Constitution 1852. Sept. 20. Lyttelton. I HAVI; been putting off writing on the subject of our new Constitution, the " Gladstone township," and the afl'airs of the Association generally, until the last moment, in the hope of receiving direct communications from home about all these matters by the " Stately," which we know to have arrived at Wellington a fortnight ago; but her mail has not yet reached us, and the ""Pauline" sails to-morrow for Melbourne, 188 Extracts from Letters of so I must delay no longer to say one word. We collect a very imperfect idea of tlie New Zealand Constitutional measure from Sir J. Pakington's speech, especially as it is differently reported in every paper we have received ; but we gather enough to know that it is a very imperfect one, show- ing most inadequate notions on the subject, with defects which it will be imperative, yet most difficult, to remove. Still, on the whole, it is workable, and as coming, in a certain way, from our friends, and couched in a friendly spirit, we will try to make the best of it thankfully and cheerfully. There are four chief defects : the nominee upper chamber ; the general proviso that when the Central and Provincial Legislatures differ, the former override the latter, instead of having a definite and distinct jurisdiction to be asserted in a Supreme Court; the native reserve fund of 7000/., to be placed at the disposal of the Governor; above all, the Civil List. I would place a fifth defect, the lowness of the fran- chise, but to change tit at would at present be hopeless. That is a crotchet, or rather a strong conviction of my own, which others do not share. AVe look with intense anxiety for the Bill. As to the "Gladstone township," it will be a very good thing for the Association and the Colony, but perfectly unprofitable for Sir Thomas Tancred and his followers. Land abutting on the town of Christclmrch is now to be had for from 30*. to 21. an acre, so that it cannot be wise for a man to give 3/. for land surrounding a distant and proble- matical town, not to mention that I do not know of any town-site possessed of even tolerable natural advantages ; for this reason, I went over the whole district with the express view of selecting the best and most likely spots for the church not six months ago; so that the Gladstonians come too late. I am most heartily tired of all these schemes, with the letters written by Waken" eld, and signed by Simeon, Tancred, or whoever else is the " leading colonist" of the moment at least. I am most earnestly anxious to get rid of the responsibility of carrying them out, and this Tancred plan would hasten my resignation, did I not feel that if the Association is bund fide going to resign its func- John Robert Godley to C. B '. Adderley. 189 tions, I am bound in honour to assist at the funeral ; how- ever, the " Stately V mail will settle all that for me. I see in the papers that Mr. Gell is positively coming out as Bishop. We cannot conceive how he is to be paid, as the Association, most improperly, in my opinion, has spent all the money intended for the endowment in the purchase of land which is not likely to bring in any rent for the next ten years. xcvu. Of coming Home. 1851. Sept. 22. Lyttelton. I HAVE not had time yet even to read the Constitution Bill. I fear you will think I am not half jolly enough about it. I can only plead that colonists are licensed grumblers. I should have liked more, but I expected far less. Until I know what the Association will do about its land I can't say what I shall do about going home. I am intolerably impatient to return, but I cannot go honourably if I am positively wanted here, and there is no good talking about it now. At farthest I intend, D.V., to leave this about March, so as to be home in June ; and if there seems no chance of effecting the transfer of the Association's powers at once I will go even sooner. Of course there is no chance of my being returned for Leitrim. I would prefer being returned for any other place in the British empire. XCVIII. Coming /ionic, and Constitution. 1852. Nov. 11. Lyttelton. You will not be very much grieved at the purport of this hasty line, which is, in short, that I have finally and irre- vocably (to speak as a man) made up my mind to return to England, and that, if I have good luck, I shall, D.V., sec you aboiit two months after you receive this. The cause of this determination consists chiefly in the news brought by the last mail, coupled with my having discovered that I cannot 190 Extracts from Letters of be present at the first meeting of the Provincial Council without waiting here until the beginning of 1854; for I must get to England at the beginning of a summer. The news, too, which the last mail brings make it clear to me that the transfer of the waste lands to the Provincial Council, at which I wished to assist, will never take place. Under the circum- stances which now exist they would not look at the lands, which will therefore go by lapse to the general Government. I have written to Lyttelton at great length by this mail, in full explanation of all the circumstances connected with the liabilities of individuals undertaken on behalf of the Association, as well as of my views and plans with respect to them. I recommend not moving in the matter at all, but retaining the reserves as security for the liabilities, to which they will be in a very short time amply equal. I have re- commended also that the sums subscribed this year by you and others should be charged on the lands by way of mort- gage. I must refer you, however, to my letter to Lyttelton for a full explanation and justification of my advice. The people here are so anxious for me to stay and become their first Superintendent, that it is not without some hesitation and remorse that I refuse. You will see in a newspaper which I will send you this week what passed between me and the deputation which waited on me for the above pur- pose. You will also see that we have been meeting to thank you and others for your activity and zeal on our behalf. The Constitution will do very well, and the people are as keen as possible about working it. Nothing but electioneer- ing addresses, canvassings, &c., to be heard of everywhere, and so far, too, in a very good spirit. Fitzgerald will, I hope, be the successful candidate for the Superintendency. xcix. On // uy Home. 1853. Jan. 27. Sydney. I WRITE just to tell you that we have got thus far on our way to England, where we hope, n.v., to arrive some time in John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 191 June. We have taken cabins in the " Anglesey/' having been dissuaded by everybody from going by one of the steamers, which are utter failures, as regards both regularity and speed. It will be a little cold off Cape Horn in April, but we must take plenty of blankets and opossum rugs. We left political affairs in New Zealand rather in an unsatisfactory position. Grey shows symptoms of postponing indefinitely the meeting of the General Assembly, saying, he does not know how he shall be able to get nominees to accept office. In the mean- time he can exercise unlimited control over the lands. I have not been here long enough to pick up any politics, and the Legislature is not sitting. We are delighted with the scenery, as well as with the progress and activity which are apparent here. But society is thoroughly dislocated, and I cannot imagine a more detestable place to reside in. Most of the better classes who can afford it are either going home or sending their families, as they can get no servants, and all hospitality, in fact, society, is at an end. Ladies cook their own dinners, and gentlemen clean their own boots. c. On subscribing to Support of Colonial Clergy. 1853. Aug. 31. Malvern. I THINK there is a very good reason for English people subscribing towards missions among the heathen in South Africa, as elsewhere. But I think there is nothing in the argument that because there are a great many poor people at the Cape, therefore the community should come to England for the support of its clergy. The colonies must learn to cultivate a national spirit, and to look upon themselves, and every part of themselves, as constituent parts of a self- sufficing nation. There are many parts of Scotland and Ireland where the people are too poor to support their clergy, and I should be very much ashamed of sending to beg in the United States, or Prussia, for subscriptions for them. I see no reason for supposing that the Cape nation is not rich 192 Extracts from Letters of enough to provide for its spiritual wants ; but it may possibly be so, in consequence of the wars and famines which the Bishop speaks of. These were our doings, and constitute a claim on us. There may, however, be exceptional cases. What I contend for is the principle, that, as the colonies are generally quite able to provide for themselves, so they ought generally to do so. What riled me most was to see an audacious appeal from the Bishop of Melbourne. The Western States of America would never think of asking money of us. Their inhabitants are not a bit better off than our colonists. I don't quite see the point of the Bishop's allusion to the Dutch. I suppose the Dutch are well able, but not more than the English, to support their clergy. We leave this, D.V., to-morrow. ci. On taking Income-tax Commissioner ship, given him by Gladstone. 1853. Oct. 8. Income-Tax Office, Dublin. I HAVE bachelor lodgings in Kingstown for the present; my Wife and Children are at Killigar, which is a very praise- worthy piece of self-denial on our part, but I could not refuse to my Father and Mother the pleasure of having a little of them. I don't like taking a house, or making any perma- nent arrangement until I see how I stand the winter, which I must consider doubtful. I have quite made up my mind, if I find myself injuriously affected by the cold and damp, to throw up my place and go to the South of Europe. I do not care enough about the place to make this even a sacrifice, though it was clearly my duty to accept it under the circum- stances. My colleague is easy enough to get on with ; but there is nothing in which 1 find advancing years affect me more than in the; distaste I feel for the society of new ac- quaintances unless they are very congenial indeed. Perhaps my uncertain health may have something to do with this feeling. The bore is, that we have to travel round the whole of Ireland, to every town, in the months of December and January, to hear appeals. However, we shall sec how it John Eobert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 193 all turns out ; and in the meantime I lie at single anchor. One advantage my office has, though I am almost ashamed to call it one, and that is, that there seems to be, except at particular periods of the year, very little to do. My reading just now is rather desultory, but I intend to go regularly into the question between the Roman and English churches, which I am rather ashamed of never having studied much yet. Oil. Mode of Life. 1853. Oct. 21. Dublin. I DO most fully acknowledge myself to be in your debt for a visit, and am only sorry I did not go to you when I was in England. But the fact is, I was so anxious not to lose a chance of health-getting that I did not like to spend even a day away from Malvern, and, besides, my hours and habits are or were, upon principle, such, that I was really unfit to go visiting, even to where I should be so much at home as with you. At Voelas I never appeared either at breakfast or dinner, and that is a mode of life not fit for decent society, except at one's Father-in-law's. I am thankful to say that since I have come to Ireland I have been very much better ; in fact, if it were not for occasional reminders, I should say icell. How long this will last, or how my cranky chest will stand the winter, God only knows. I have just bought a horse, and now ride in and out of Dublin (fourteen miles in all) every day. I am still en garqon ; the Wife and Bairns come, I hope, next week from Killigar. I sent my Australian journal to Parker, and an extract from it will appear as an article in " Fraser " next month. Have you read the " Eclipse of Faith," by Rogers ? It is extremely able and interesting. I strongly recommend you to get it. A really good book on the Christian side of the controversy is very comforting, always. 194 Extracts from Letters of era. Australian Article in "Fraser" Canterbury Lands. 1853. Nov. 2. Dublin. I HAVE published extracts from my Australian journal in this month's " Fraser" (Journal of a V-isit to New South Wales in 1853; Fraser' s Magazine] ; the remainder will pro- bably be published on 1st December. Grey has taken pos- session of the Canterbury lands, and, as a private letter says, ' ' asks the colonists in a proclamation for their opinion as to how he should manage the lands." This seems queer, and not very intelligible. But there is no doubt that his cheapen- ing the land has been a very clever dodge ; the populace are so delighted with the result that they don't care how it has been accomplished. I envy you if you have "no misgivings" about the Roman controversy; but that any one can be even tolerably well satisfied with the position and doings of the English Church any one, I mean, who thinks on these matters at all passes my comprehension. I don't mean to say I feel any attraction towards Home ; I only record my grievous difficulties about England. The " Eclipse of Faith " is, as you probably know, directed chiefly against Newman and other disbelievers in any form of Christianity. The reflections on Australian politics in my journal are pub- lished opportunely, just as we have been all startled by the strange proposals emanating from the Sydney Council. You will see some day in the journal my views of that body. I shall be very curious to see what the Duke [of Newcastle, Secre- tary for the Colonies] will do in this affair. [Colonial Church Regulation, and Colonial Clergy Disabilities. ~\ My Wife and Children are with me now, and we are all staying at Monck's for a visit. I come into Dublin every morning. civ. New Zealand Affairs. 1854. Jan. 5. Dublin. I HAVE most interesting letters from New Zealand. Fitz- gerald is both Superintendent, and Member of the Assembly John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 195 for Lyttelton ; Sewell for Ch. Ch., and Law Adviser to Fitz- gerald as Superintendent. But no one knows when it is to meet, though nine months had elapsed since the Con- stitution arrived in the colony. I am disgusted at not being able to go over and join in the meeting which is meditated on New Zealand affairs ; but this miserable office holds me fast. I wish I had enough to give porridge (even) to my children without it, and some one else would soon be col- lecting the income tax. cv. Abandonment of Orange River Territory. 1854. Feb. 8. Ballymena, Co. Antrim. I SYMPATHIZE as much with you, and antipathize as much against Evans on the Cape question as you can possibly wish. A soldier, above all men, ought to scorn taking such a view of the responsibilities and glories of empire. As if the wealth of a rich country could be better employed than in extending civilization and planting freedom far and wide over the earth ! Don't tell me that there are domestic objects which claim our first care. If we were never to perform any duty or undertake any work till we had carefully gauged and weighed every other conceivable duty and work, in order to see whether we were observing the correct order of precedence, we should spend our lives upon the vain calculation, and do nothing after all. The truth is, almost literally, that the more we try at the more we attain. Each effort gives us fresh strength. " The virtue that goes out of us," to create or to heal, reacts in blessing on ourselves. Will Sir De Lacy Evans say that we should have done more for the factory children if we had not emancipated the slaves ? that we should have repealed the Corn-laws, or reformed the gaols, or educated the people, sooner or better, if we had not been colonizing Aus- tralia and New Zealand ? Depend upon it a great, and vigor- ous, and progressive people must be " at all times in the ring." There are men enough and means enough for all demands, and half our capacities and resources will lie dormant if we o 2 196 Extracts from Letters of limit in the smallest degree the field for their exercise. Look at America. See how, with her oldest States but half inha- bited, her most obvious and accessible resources but half developed, she is expanding, and colonizing, and bringing, almost every year, new islands and continents under her sway. She cannot help it ; it is the law of her being. She might as well try to curb by artificial barriers of prudential restraint her natural instinct of expansion, as a growing youth could say to himself, " I will be five feet ten, and no taller." I hold that a healthy and vigorous nation is neces- sarily elastic, i. e. always tending to enlarge its borders, though of course not necessarily doing so. Voluntary self- curtailment is a symptom, not of increasing wisdom, but of decreasing strength. Of course, what I have said does not apply to a case of unjust aggrandizement. That introduces a totally new element into the question. I feel strongly about this, and would give a good many income-tax fees to have a chance of saying my say about it before the tribunal of the Commons. But I must not com- plain; considering my worldly position, I have had more opportunities than I could have reasonably hoped for of giving effect to my views, and it is more than doubtful whether, even if I were in Parliament, I should be able to use the advantages it would give me. Still human nature is frail, and I confess my stomach revolts at the combination of sinccurism with drudgery of the most common-place kind, which I am condemned to now. I am travelling slowly round Ireland, hearing appeals in each town I come to, and this will last two months longer, after which I hope to enjoy a little life again. This is not life ; it is vegetation. If it were not that I am within a post of you and a few others, I Avould ten thousand times sooner be in New Zealand. My Wife and Children are in Portman-square. She is to be confined in about six weeks before I can get back to her, unfortunately. I shall look \vith great in- terest to your education scheme. I wish you would send me anything that is published about it, to give me an idea of what it is like. Surely Bunscn can't have been right about the war. John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 197 [Bunsen, then at Hams, indulged its with running comments on the news arriving daily from Prussia. He took the Radowitz line, asserting Pmssia's pretensions in Germany, and her power and right to take to arms, and the prospect of war in vindicating them against Austria, and that this would keep both those powers out of the Russian war.~\ CVL Debate in 1791, on Turkish Question. 1854. Feb. 14. Income-Tax Office, Dublin. I HAVE just come across a remarkable debate in the Com- mons [March, 1791] which is so applicable to the present state of affairs, that I wonder it has never been quoted. It is to be found in the "Annual Register" for that year, ("History of Europe," p. 253). Amongst others, Mr. Burke observed that " the attempt to bring the Turkish Empire into the consideration of the balance of Europe, was extremely new, impolitic, and dangerous. We were, it appeared, about to plunge into immoderate expense, in order to bring Christian nations under the yoke of infidels." It was said, in support of Lord Grey, that " Russia was so far from deriving any increase of power from her conquests to the South, that the true method of preserving the peace of Europe, would be to permit her to pursue them. But were she to realize all her imputed views of ambition, to take Con- stantinople, and drive the Turks from Europe, mankind, so far from being injured, would be greatly benefited by it." All the Whig speeches are in the same tone, but those are the weightiest. Do not suppose that I agree with the views above quoted, in their application to existing circumstances. cvn. Income-Tax Circuit Reflections on Life On Government postponing lief orm for Russian War. 1854. March 9. Lismore. I AM pursuing my weary way round the south (as I have finished the north) of Ireland, and have more than once 198 Extracts from Letters of struck on the line of our old tour, of what year was it ? I have not been in these parts since, and it is with a very mixed feeling that I look back to that time. The years inter- vening have not been quite thrown away, I hope, by either of us, yet how much more ought we to have done ! You are in your right position, but I sometimes feel quite dispirited at finding myself stranded, as it were, at forty, upon a sort of gentlemanlike clerkship, the sole recommendation of which is the . s. d. with which it is connected. I might have done as well ten years ago, if this was to be my end. But then, on the other hand, I reflect that positive, definite results are not in man's power ; and that I ought to be satisfied with doing the work before me, however humble it be. It is not by our accomplishments that we shall be judged, but by our endeavours. I am not, however, going to bother you any farther with my complainings, promoted as they are a good deal by solitude and seediness. This travelling about does not agree with me as much as I hoped, and my throat has been troublesome for some weeks now. I hope to have finished my visitorial labours in about four weeks, and then to get leave of absence for six weeks or two months, which, please God, I will spend in London. There is one thing to be said for this business that I am engaged in : it gives one a good deal of insight into the statistics of trade, manufac- tures, &c., in the various parts of Ireland, only that my time is so much occupied by the routine business of deciding appeals, and then travelling from one place to another, that I have hardly time for anything else, in the way of reading, inquiry, &c. The country is on the whole extremely peace- able, and (for Ireland) prosperous ; emigration goes on almost as briskly as ever, and enlistment too. There is no sort of feeling apparent against accepting the " Saxon shil- ling ;" but, of course, I know well that Irish disaffection is never extinct, only dormant; a chronic, inextinguishable disease. We are all thinking and talking of the Budget, which touches it.? more keenly than other people ; I am afraid they won't give me a per ccntage on the increased income- tax. I admire Gladstone's speech (or speeches) exceedingly; but the Government has behaved most shabbily on the John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 199 Reform business. I agree with poor, well-abused Sir John Shelley, that it was a sham ; at least, that they have been far from candid or truth-telling about it. If the war is a good reason for postponing it now, it was a good reason a month ago. Why not say boldly that they found that they could not carry it, and did not choose to resign or to dissolve ? For my part, I think it was a capital Bill, all but the reducing of the borough franchise, which is low enough in all conscience, and I am very sorry it can't be carried. My Wife writes to me that Fitzgerald's speech, at Canterbury, is to be published as a parliamentary document. I don't know how this can be, and have written to ask what the meaning of it is. Every- thing colonial will go to the dogs now. If there were a chance of drawing attention to them, I would ask you to look into the subject of these Australian constitutions, which will all come before the Duke this year. It is very curious to observe the difference between the proposals of the various Colonies, and not very encouraging to see that two out of four go for unmitigated nomineeism. Their franchise, however, is alto- gether a fiction. The Orange Territory question will come before the Office also. I do hope you won't lose sight of these matters, which I can't help looking upon as your most peculiar province, and which, you may depend upon it, have not been settled yet for good, as the public seems to think. It has just struck twelve, and I must stop. I am wiiting in the coft'ee-room of a country inn. Write me a line from time to time. It was my Father who first drew my attention to the Eastern debate of 1701. I don't agree with you about the war. I think there is a good cause for it, and I rejoice to see that the old English martial spirit is not deadened by years of peace and" commercial prosperity. CVIII. Regrets at having left New Zealand Colonial Clergy Bill Emperor Nicholas, fyc. 1854. March 23. Sligo. I CONFESS it is most unphilosophical, and what is worse, most unchristian, to be discontented because one's work is 200 Extracts from Letters of not great enough, or because one is not doing just what one likes best, and I am fully determined not to talk such folly again. But what I think is an inevitable ground, not of complaint, of course, but of remorse, is that having before me a field of usefulness which I had an obvious and special vocation to occupy, in New Zealand, I should from mere want of courage and self-denial, have given it up, to do here what any one else could do equally well. Vain though regrets may be now, I shall never, as long as I live, cease to condemn myself for leaving New Zealand. I did it against my con- science, too, though I could make out a plausible case for doing it. Enough, however, about myself. I have read the Colonial Clergy Bill [to enable the Colonial Clergy to meet for Ecclesiastical regulation the Bill was dropped], and I think it good so far as it goes. I should certainly support it as it is, but I would have nothing to do with it if Pakington's amendments were added to it. The purpose for which it is intended is solely to relieve scrupulous or timid churchmen from the apprehension of subjecting themselves to prtemunire. It is a limited object, no doubt, but the claim to be relieved is manifestly just, and no one who is not either unjust or illogical could possibly object to it. What have all the other questions, about the Supremacy, or the faith and doctrine of the Church, to do with this ? The Bill enables them to do nothing except what every other class of the Queen's subjects can do without an enabling Bill namely, meet and agree among themselves what to do in matters relating to them- selves alone. I wish we could go a great deal farther ; I wish, and Gladstone told me he entirely agreed with me in wish- ing, that the Colonial Church were entirely emancipated, and allowed to do what they pleased in every way, without any reference to the Church of England's antecedents and present position. I wish the bishops and clergy of the Colonial Church were relieved from the necessity of adhering to our formularies, and were placed precisely in the position of the American bishops and clergy ; i.e., in communion with the Church of England, but independent of it. I should like to know whether this could be done without an Act of Parlia- John Robert Godley to C. J3. Adderley. 201 ment : I should think it might. At least, the English bishops consecrated the first American bishops without (of course) imposing on them the canonical obligations which attach to the English episcopate, and I don't think an Act of Par- liament was passed to authorize that proceeding. So they might do the same by the Colonial Church, if they could get rid of the notion that it is desirable to keep up a forced con- nexion and dependence. The object of my speech was to show how well complete ecclesiastical independence worked in America, and no one can say that the American Church has not continued on terms of communion with the English, as intimate as anybody could wish. I find it is by very slow degrees that the idea of colonial independence (in all things not trenching on allegiance), is getting into people's minds. The very language used by those who advocate the doctrine is perfectly inconsistent with it. But all this is beside the present question, and should be most carefully distinguished from it. I thought the merit of this Bill was that no one could con- found it with what it is not a new arrangement of Colonial Church affairs. Now, with respect to a history of the last ten years in Canada, there is nothing I should like better than to under- take it. I have plenty of time (generally, though not for a few weeks now r ), and would consider it a labour of love. But I should not like to do it in my own name, for the views I entertain of Lord Elgin's policy about the Rebellion losses, and the part I took in opposing it, would make it impossible, I fear, to obtain his co-operation in such a work. I should like the plan you sketch to be reversed, and would be de- lighted to help you, if you would be the mouthpiece and principal. But I am greatly pleased with the idea, and we must not let it drop. I don't know when I have been more interested than in reading the "Confidential Correspondence" of Sir Hamilton Seymour about Nicholas. I think, considering the extreme delicacy of the circumstances in which they found them- selves, our Ministers acted uncommonly well. But the French will be furious with Nicholas. I am amazed that 202 Extracts from Letters of he should have, as it were, challenged the publication. I have just received a number of most interesting letters from New Zealand, which you must see. They are going the usual round of Selfe, Lyttelton, and yourself. It is perfectly monstrous that Grey should escape, as he will, not only with impunity, but reward. I send four copies of my speech. I should be very glad if you could give one to Sidney Herbert and the Bishop of Oxford. I have a great fancy for going to Paris, to see the empire, its works, and its prospects, for a few days. I suppose you will not join me? I conclude Nicholas will have Louis Napoleon shot, which would utterly floor us, so I want to go there before that catastrophe takes place. cix. Removed to Income-Tax Commission in London Killarney. 1854 April 2. Killarney. IN the first place I must tell you I am going to be settled in London. Gladstone has placed one of the London Com- missionerships, just vacant, at my disposal ; and I have, of course, accepted it. It was extremely kind of him to think of me and my Avishes in the midst of his own overwhelming cares. The nominal duties and the salary are the same as here ; but I don't mind being idle (officially) in London, as I can always make work for myself. How Killarney stirs up old recollections of our tour Moriscll, Sewell, Adare, &c. Don't you recollect us all together at the " Muckross Hotel" ? Killarney seems to have grown even more beautiful since then, making allowance for the season not being so favourable, or else I have become more susceptible to its beauties. I am sure I never saw anything so perfect elsewhere. The rugged outline of the mountains, their varied colouring, the amazing richness of the ever-green vegetation, the shape of the lakes diversified with innumerable islands the rocks, the waterfalls, the ruins, any one of these elements of beauty would make the fortune of another place ; united, as here, in their perfection, they are unrivalled and incom- Join Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 203 parable. There is but one thing that offends the eye, and that is, the numerous frightful, cockneyfied-looking houses which have sprung up in every direction, and disfigure more or less almost all the views. There ought to be a special Act of Parliament, a privilegium, enacting their destruction, and making it penal to build within five miles of the lakes any- thing of which the design should not have been previously approved of by a committee of taste. The weather would be lovely, even in the middle of summer. I am writing at 11 P.M., close to a wide-open window. My colleague, Alfred Montgomery, sees Killarney for the first time, and appre- ciates it as I could wish. Since you were here, Herbert has built an extremely good house, in the Elizabethan style. It is really an addition to the scenery, which is saying a great deal ; but there is not so fine a view from it as there ought to be. I fancy he was puzzled by the difficulty of getting a good aspect and a view together. The grounds are admi- rably kept now. ex. Commissioners' Circuit. 1854. April 20. Saffron Walden. I WRITE to say that we shall not be in your parts till the 3rd May, before which time of course you will be back in London. Old B. is quite a study; clack, clack, clack,, goes his tongue all day long, with a perennial stream of social and political gossip, while, never having travelled in his life before, his fussincss and excitement are absolutely febrile. I feel sure he will have a fit before we get back. He is particularly well- adapted for the laborious office which we have the honour to hold, being nearly blind, and totally in- papable of the smallest mental exertion. He and D., whose place I occupy, and who is just dead, at nearly 80, would have been a perfect team. One thing B. said to-day struck me as curious, coming from a regular gossip-organ it was that he thought, if this Ministry broke up, the Queen would send for Lord Grey ! Can this be ? I shall spend the Fast- 204 Extracts from Letters of day at Leeds under Dr. Hook. At Yarmouth they did not seem to be quite comfortable at the thought of having Charley Napier only between them and Nicholas ; something like " a plank between them and eternity." CXI. New Zealand Debate. 1854. July 10. 69, Gloucester-place. I HAD an hour with Lord Lyndhurst on Saturday, about New Zealand. He said, when I came away, " Well, we shall be lucky if we get half as clear a statement of the case in the House of Lords as yoit, have given me " a compliment which I am proud of, from him. How the Lords came out on Friday, 7th, [in Committee on the Oxford University Bill, especially the clause for new Halls'} as radical reformers ! All the Tories say (quite seriously) that they must have the " black rascals " (the Bishops) out of the House. There is no revolutionist like your defeated Tory. cxn. Delate on Proceedings of the New Zealand Government by way of giving effect to the Constitution Act. 1854. July 15. London, Saturday. LYTTELTON made his statement [on the proceedings of the Government of New Zealand'] last night to about eight drowsy old peers, and the Duke of Newcastle followed in one of the strangest speeches I ever heard, ending with a high-flown panegyric on Grey ! There was even less attempt at answering the charges than Peel made, except with respect to the Injunction [issued by the Supreme Court on the Governor's land proclamation, and disregarded ly him'], on which we may possibly be mistaken as to the fact of its being issued. The word used in the Colonial newspapers is that it was " in force." I hardly think Sewell John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 205 could be mistaken as to the position of the Court, and if he is not mistaken, the Injunction must have been issued. But imagine the Duke's asserting, in justification of Grey's wholesale reduction of the price of land, that it was to please the natives ! This is such a perfectly new idea, that it astounds even me, and certainly will make the colonists stare. One circumstance is worth mentioning, namely, that not one acre in the Middle Island, to which he ex- clusively referred, has been bought from the natives since the reduction in the price to colonists. Into the question of delay he never went at all; half his speech was made up of a melodramatic description of Grey's mother's death, and of his having offered to go back to New Zealand when he found war had been declared, and such like palaver. Still, I suppose the eight lords were satisfied, and probably those who read the speeches (if anybody does read them) will be so too ; and so the colonists are governed. I used to think the colonization of new countries by Englishmen would be im- peded by their being independent. But would it not be truer to say that it is impeded by their dependence ? If it be not, it is because people don't know till they go out what the despotism of the governors and the indifference of the British public really is. I am sure the Yankees are better governed iu the most extreme of their democracies. You will see another letter of mine in the Spectator of this day \_most ally discussing Mr. Howe's proposal of incorporating Colonial legislatures with the BritisJi}. I wish very much that you would fire off something on the subject, if (as I suppose) your views differ from mine [Jtis were in favour of preparing for ultimate independence] . I look upon a Congress \_for Eng- land and the Colonies} as too impracticable to be even talked about. The establishment of it would reduce Parliament to a municipal body, which it never would consent to. I leave town with much pleasure, and shall try to throw myself into Irish country business again, so far as I can, during my stay at home. 206 Extracts from Letters of CXITI. Letter from Godley to the " Spectator" on the representation of Colonies in the Imperial Parliament. 1854. July 1. S IRj The last number of the Spectator contains a paper entitled "The Natural Allies of England," in which you comment on Lord Ellenborough's speech advocating the com- plete separation of the North American Colonies from the Mother- country, and a speech of Mr. Howe, Provincial Prime Minister of Nova Scotia, advocating their incorporation. In that paper you express yourself as favourable to the latter view. Will you allow me to state, as shortly as I can, my reasons for differing from you and Mr. Howe? By "incor- poration" is meant, of course, a legislative union ; that is, a representation of the Colonies in the Imperial Parliament. His idea is not new. Burke alludes to it as one which " he might be inclined to entertain if it were possible, but to which he did not see his way." Since his time, it has been repeatedly canvassed by colonial reformers, and has numbered, if I recollect right, Mr. "Wakefield and Bishop Hinds among its advocates. I confess, sir, that the idea appears to me altogether visionary. I hardly think those who favour it have sufficiently considered the character and magnitude of the results to which its adoption must lead. " Incorporation" would involve one of the two following alternatives. Either, 1 . The Provincial Parliaments must be suppressed, and the Imperial Parliament must transact the whole business of legislation for the Empire as completely as it now does for the United Kingdom ; or, 2. A Congress must be constituted, of which the business would be to manage the affairs of the Empire at large ; and the Parliaments of the component Provinces, including that of the United Kingdom, would be restricted to local or municipal concerns. That these are the only possible alternatives, I hold to be almost self-evident ; yet, strange to say, Mr. Howe does not seem to contemplate either, lie speaks merely of sending Colonial Representatives to the (existing) Imperial Parliament. John Eobert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 207 Does he suppose that such Representatives could be allowed to exercise powers of legislation, taxation, and internal control, over Great Britain and Ireland, while the Representatives of Great Britain and Ireland should not exercise corresponding powers over the Colonies ? The idea is plainly absurd. I should be glad, therefore, to know whether Mr. Howe is prepared, as a consequence of Imperial representation, to abandon the powers of local self-government which the Colonies now enjoy. Does he seriously think a Parliament sitting in London, of which only a tenth or a twentieth part consisted of colonists, would manage the tariffs, the public works, the waste lands, and, generally, the internal adminis- tration of British America, as well as the local Assemblies do ? If he does, I must say I do not ; and I think the colonists would agree with me. On the other hand, whatever may be the abstract excellence of a Federal constitution under a Monarchical head, with an Imperial Congress and State Legislatures, I am sure you know as well as I do, that there is about as much chance of the English people turning their ancient Parliamentary system into such a constitution, as of their deliberately restoring feudalism or the Heptarchy. It is hard enough to get the smallest and most necessary constitutional changes carried in this country ; and I am inclined to think that if a Minister were to come down to the House with a proposal for abolishing Parliament and issuing writs for a Federal Congress; the result would simply be his immediate consignment to Bedlam. I think, sir, a more natural, and a more practicable policy towards our Colonies, is open to this country ; and if you will give me leave, I will discuss it on a future day. J. R. G. CXIV. Second Letter on same sulject. 1854. July 6. London. SIR, I am encouraged by your kind notice of my last letter to make some further observations 011 Mr. Howe's speech. 208 Extracts from Letters of His chief objects appear to be 1. to set forth the great- ness of the British American Colonies, and the improbability of their long remaining contentedly subordinate and de- pendent; and 2. to show that they ought to be "incorpo- rated" with England. It appears to me, sir, that Mr. Howe is more careful to prove, and more successful in proving, the first of these pro- positions than the second. You quote his speech against the views expressed by Lord Ellenborough in favour of separation ; I must say I think it tells quite as strongly the other way. In my last letter I endeavoured to show that " incorporation" is impossible, and I gather from your comment on that letter that you incline to the same opinion. If the event prove that I am right, Mr. Howe will, I conclude, become a separatist ; for he says plainly, ' ' Either North America must claim consolidation with the realm of England, or she must hoist her own flag." Now, Sir, this is a serious matter, and deserves attention. Mr. Howe is Prime Minister of the second in population and wealth of our American Provinces. His abilities are consi- derable, his popularity great, and he has proved his loyalty and attachment to England in very trying circumstances. It is surely worth while to consider what he says on this subject. In Mr. Howe's opinion, then, the British Americans are outgrowing their political position, and are assuming the characteristics as well as the dimensions of a nation. Mr. Howe evidently expresses the popular sentiment when he dwells on the painful impression which a sentiment of con- scious inferiority perpetually produces on their minds. They see, he says, that in the eyes of the world they are of no account. Nations not half so great and powerful as they are despise them as " provincials," and they have no voice in questions of international policy, even where their own interests are most deeply concerned. We have been in the habit of saying that in compensation for these disadvantages they have our protection. But it is very evident that this language does not satisfy or please them now : the word ''protection" grates upon their ears ; they are beginning to John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 209 think they can protect themselves, as nations weaker than they are have done before now. In short, I see in Mr. Howe's speech a decisive proof that the bolder and more thoughtful among the colonists are aspiring to nationality nationality in connexion with England, if possible, but, at any rate, nationality somehoiv. On the other hand, the Colonies are loyal ; that is, they are really and deeply attached to the Mother- country, and would be very sorry to separate from her. Thus they are acted upon by two conflicting sentiments, each noble and honourable in its way, and which, I greatly fear, the nature of things precludes the possibility of reconciling. But it is evident, also, which of the two has a tendency to become stronger, and which weaker, by time. On the one hand, the Colonies are growing, with almost incredible rapidity, in numbers and strength ; and of course their aspirations for the complete freedom and independence which constitute nationality will grow correspondingly. On the other hand, the sentiment of loyalty to England is exposed to perpetual checks and trials, from the very nature of the relation, with its undefined rights and duties. For example, if Lord Derby were in office again, I am not at all sure that he would not attempt to prosecute what he calls England's " mission" to establish literally her own constitution in the Colonies, whether they liked it or not. At any rate, he would be pretty sure to insult and annoy them sufficiently to effect, in a very short time, a considerable change in their sentiments of " loyalty." Again, cases of bond fde conflicting interests can hardly fail to arise : for example, we might get into a Avar with the United States about some matter with which the Colonies were not concerned ; in such a case, nevertheless, their hearths and homes would probably be the seat of war, or, at any rate, their interests \vould be vitally affected. Or they may get into quarrels, and if we refuse to get them out they will be desperately offended. On the whole, I cannot help feeling that the tie of sentiment, strong as it is at this moment, is essentially precarious. "When I look back at the period preceding the war of American 210 Extracts from Letters of Independence, I see that loyalty was, to all outward appear- ance, as much the prevalent feeling among colonists then as it is now ; yet it passed away under the influence of mis- government, like a dream ; and so it would be again under similar circumstances. I have striven against this conviction ; I have endeavoured to believe that the national subordination of a colony to its metropolis might continue to exist for an indefinite time, provided the latter conceded local self-govern- ment. But the more I think on the subject, the more I am con- vinced that I have been wrong, and that the colonial relation cannot be looked upon as permanent, or in any other light than as a training for independence. The Greeks, Sir, took a different view of colonial relations from that which modern nations have taken. They considered that the business of a colonizing country was to found, not to govern. From the very day on which the band of emigrants left their native shores, they possessed not merely complete autonomy, but every other attribute of a nation. It does not appear that the feeling which prevailed between the metropolis and the colony was the less cordial and affectionate from their political independence. Rather the more, perhaps. Corinth held herself, under ordinary circumstances, morally bound to succour Syracuse against the Carthaginians, and Athens Ionia against the Persians, as we should to succour Canada against the Yankees. The colony, too, possessing a national organization of its own, was able to return the obligation. There was, in fact, as a general rule, a perpetual offensive and defensive alliance between them, supported, not by formal stipulations, but by mutual affection, habitual intercourse, community of race, language, historical traditions, and religious rites. It appears to me that this was a better political arrangement than that which has prevailed in later times. But it does not follow that we can return to it. I am quite ready to admit that our colonists, having gone out on the understanding that they were to remain formally (C part of the empire/' have a right to the fulfilment of it ; and I think, if tins country were ever so base as to cast them off' against their will, because they were a burden to her, she John Robert Godlcy to C. B. Adderley. 211 would deserve the " decline and fall" which her cowardice would prognosticate. But it is a very different thing to hold them by force, if they wish to go. This, I trust, the British people will never attempt to do. I do not think there is anything disgraceful in letting it be clearly understood that we have no interest in this matter separate from theirs, and that whatever is best for them we shall be ready to promote. It is just possible that our commercial intercourse with them might be to a certain extent diminished by their independence ; it is possible also (though very improbable) that they might annex themselves to a foreign nation, and contribute to the aggrandizement of a rival power. A more probable evil would be the discouragement of colonization among those who, while changing their country, shrink from the idea of changing their nationality, and wish to remain Englishmen still. But, after giving due weight to these objections, I am sure the attempt to retain a colony in unwilling subjection would involve far greater evils ; not the least of which Avould be the suppression or distortion of those natural and honourable aspirations for nationality of which Mr. Howe's speech is a sign, and which the noblest and most gifted among the colonists will feel the most keenly. But the strongest argument against such an attempt, after all, is its hopelessness. A nation of three millions of Englishmen is really master of its own destinies. If our dominion over British America were materially a source of strength not of weakness, a privilege and not a burden, it would still be foolish to engage in a contest of which the issue, sooner or later, could not possibly be other than defeat. Whenever, therefore, the colonists shall, with anything like unanimity, demand independence, we should give it them at once, even joyfully, and without one arriere-pensee of ill-feel- ing or regret. And, keeping constantly before our minds that this demand must come, we should in all ways endeavour to prepare for it ; so that when our children set up house for themselves, they may have no reason to complain of the education which their parents gave them. With this view, in the first place \ve should concede to, or rather impose upon our Colonies, the most complete freedom of internal self- p 2 212 Extracts from Letters of government. Upon this point it is not necessary to enlarge, as most British statesmen admit the theory, though their practice is often lamentably inconsistent with it. But besides this, we should promote the military organi- zation and martial spirit which are the natural accompaniment and the best safeguard of freedom. By assuming not only the military defence, but to a great extent the police duty of our Colonies, we have systematically made them helpless and effeminate, and have thereby incapacitated them from pro- tecting themselves and from assisting us. When British America has an army and navy proportioned to its population and resources, it will, I hope, be equivalent to a correspond- ing augmentation of our own forces. If the colonial policy of Corinth had been the same as ours, there would have been no Syracusan triremes at jEgos-Potamos. Again, still keeping the same end in view, we are bound, I think, to call out and exercise the higher qualities of states- manship in our colonists by every means in our power. Why should they not ever be employed in the diplomatic service, or in India, or as governors of colonies ? If we wished to make them discontented with their present position, and yet unfit for a higher one, we could adopt no better course. It is by systematically training the colonists to manage their own affairs, bear their own burdens, and defend their own rights, that while we prepare for the inevitable severance of the colonial relation, we shall also postpone it until it be clearly desirable, and prevent, as far as possible, the risks by which it must be accompanied. On the other hand, those who would act on the assumption that British dominion over colonies is a right to be maintained by force, that colonists arc destined to remain permanently subordinate, and that their affairs are to be managed according to our notions of what is right, and not their own, such politicians, I say, are separatists of the worst kind. If they had their way, not only would the colonial connexion be shortlived indeed, but its severance would inevitably lay the foundation of civil anarchy and international hostility. J. R. G. John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 213 cxv. Letter to "Morning Chronicle" on New Zealand Delate. 1854. July 19. London. I HAVE just done what I fear will make red-tapists stare and blame, i.e., written a letter to the Morning Chronicle [it appears in number of same date as this letter} on the Duke's defence of Grey, the said Chronicle having had the impudence to write against Lyttelton. I met Gladstone riding in the Park yesterday, and rode for some time with him. He said he had read my " J. R. G." letter in the Spectator with great pleasure. " Indeed/' he added, " I often wish I had you to speak my sentiments on colonial affairs, for I know no one with whom I so entirely agree." If this was not " bosh/' it is satisfactory. But Lyttelton says he never will take any part now in specific questions out of his own line of business. I hear the meeting at Lord John's was very unsatisfactory, and that a great deal of ill-feeling was displayed. John Barton Acland goes with a brother barrister by the " Royal Stuart," to Canterbury. cxvi. Sir W. Molesworth to be Colonial Secretary. 1854 July 21. You see the Times talks about Molesworth for the Colonies. I do not care a farthing who has them, but would rather prefer a Tory of the old school, as "likely soonest to make a mess of it. cxvn. Colonial Debates Lawley's Appointment Alison, 8fc. 1854. Aug. 7. Killigar. I AM glad to see you were able to take part in two colonial debates. Your observations on Lawley's affair [appointment to Government of South Australia cancelled'} were very good, 214 Extracts from Letters of and had an important result, in eliciting from Gladstone that expression of his agreement with you about elective governors [that if the South Australians desired to recommend their own Governor, it would be wise for the Queen to gratify that desire] . This speech will produce a sensation in the colonies. I am toiling through Alison, which I really think the worst book that ever was written. It has no merit, except that it contains a record of interesting facts. The style, the criticisms, the philosophy, and the descriptions, are all so bad that they would disgrace a country newspaper. I am also reading some controversy Miller on the one hand, and Chillingworth on the other. We start on our circuit on the 1 Oth. Direct to me always, Income-Tax Office, Dublin- Have you seen the article in the Quarterly on the House of Commons ? It is very amusing. So poor old Agliouby is dead. Hamilton (the Treasurer of Canterbury) writes to my Wife that he expects the revenue for this year to be 70,000/. ! CXVIII. Letter in "Spectator" on Colonial Representation. 1854. Aug. 25. Belfast. I HAVE at length seen and read with much pleasure and sympathy your Spectator letter [suggesting a central Committee of Delegates from colonial Assemblies']. I do not intend to reply to it, because, though I cannot agree with you as to the feasibility of your proposals, I wish against myself, and shall be very glad to find myself mistaken ; so that I am reluctant to weaken the effect of your appeal by throwing on it the cold water of my doubts. In private, however, I do not hesitate to tell you that I think the " Council of the Indies"* * Ferdinand established the India Board of Spain as a department of the Executive. Afterwards there was a special Committee of the Council (of the Indies). Though this is no precedent lor colonial participation in a general repre. seutative legislature, yet it is an example of colonies sharing alike with John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 215 presents no available precedent. I have no books at hand to consult about it, but my idea, founded on recollection, is, that it was simply and solely a colonial office, and did not profess to represent the colonies at all, directly or by impli- cation. Being a department of the general Government, it was, of course, subject to the authority of the Crown, and could not lead to a conflict of jurisdictions, such as must have arose if it had been a body emanating from and responsible to the Colonies. But you seem to contemplate a larger sphere than merely colonial affairs for your council. If I understand you, it should take cognizance of all imperial or federal questions ; in other words, it would be a congress, usurping a large (and that the highest) part of the functions of Parliament, and reducing the latter to a municipal legis- lature ; a change which I have already contended (and you have, I think, admitted), to be impracticable. But though I cannot agree with you upon the question of representation, I go entirely with your views as to the desirableness of promot- ing the union of the American Provinces. I think the Statesman must be blind who does not see that the great peril which overshadows the future of the civilized world lies in the vast power and progress of the United States, coupled as their gigantic material resources are with unbounded energy and inordinate ambition. To raise up to this over- weening power a rival on its own continent, would be a work far more valuable and important to England than the curbing of the power of Russia. Such a rival as British America would be to the United States, necessarily inferior in power, would for its own sake be a faithful ally to England, for on England's friendship and support her existence would depend. If, on the other hand, the British American States remain disunited, they must be annexed one by one to the mammoth the home country the common government of the empire; in fact, of colonies being treated as integral parts of the empire. The form of government in the case of Spain was alike despotic to both home and colonial subjects. The question is, whether any inferences may be drawn from thence as to the possibility of community of citizenship under representative government. 2] 6 Extracts from Letters of republic. And when the Federal Union embraces all North America, with a population (in twenty years) of sixty millions, will it not be mistress of the world ? I will write to Howe at once. I have been hammering with Milner and Chillingworth on the old point on which all depends the question whether or not an Infallible Church was a part of the Christian revelation. If one could but believe so, how much distracting doubt on every other question might be saved ! I am heartily tired of this wandering life, and wish I could afford to give it up. I am finishing this at the Giant's Causeway Hotel, where I intend to spend to-morrow (Sunday) . I am getting exceedingly anxious for news from New Zealand. cxix. On the Union of North American Provinces. 1854. Aug. 28. Income-Tax Office, Dublin. I HAVE to thank you for two very interesting letters. I have not time to write to you at length upon the subject of them. But I will say at once that I entirely agree with you as to the desirableness of effecting a union of the Provinces in North America. Whether they remain connected with England or not, I should be of this opinion ; but it is more important in the latter case than in the former, for one of the chief objections to separation is the chance that the Provinces might one after the other be annexed, and swell the power of the giant Republic ; and this they would never do if they had formed themselves into a great federation first. The plan has been entertained at various times by British and Colonial statesmen, but either from want of earnestness, or from colonial jealousies, it has fallen through. My present idea is that any movement in this direction should originate in the Colonies, in the shape perhaps of Addresses to that effect from the respective Parliaments. I doubt whether it would advance the scheme to do anything here in the first place. But suppose you were to write to llincks and Howe, both of whom you know, and find out whether there is any John Eobert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 217 tendency that way among influential people out there, and what can be done. I am thinking of writing to Howe myself, on the subject of his speech, and if you think well of it, will ask the question. I should greatly like to go over, and talk to them ; but just now I cannot get away. It would take two months. You should see what Lord Durham says about this matter, and also refer to Bancroft's account of the first steps taken by the Provinces towards federation, previously to the Declara- tion of Independence. I have no means of consulting books, if I had, I should like to look through Franklin. cxx. Letter from Godley to the Hon. Joseph Howe, Provincial Secretary, Nova Scotia. 1854. Sept. 5. London, Carlton Club. I PEEL that I am taking a great liberty in addressing you. I am encouraged to do so by my intimacy with tAvo gentle- men, who were acquainted with you while you were in Eng- land, and who have authorized me to make use of their names as an introduction ; I mean Mr. Adderley and Mr. Twisle- ton. I trust to your kindness to accept this apology. My object in writing is to express, in the first place, the deep interest and admiration with which I read your great speech of (I think) June last, on the subject of what may be called British American Nationality; and, in the second place, to ask you whether any step is likely to be taken by the American Colonists in the direction which you have in- dicated. From your speech I infer that you consider two distinct movements not only as inevitable, but as likely to commence at no distant period : one to amalgamate the British Provinces in North America ; the other to assert a British American Nationality, based either on equality with, or on independence of, this country. As regards the first, namely the establishment of a ''Federal/' or Legislative Union of the Provinces I think I may say there is a very general opinion in this country favourable to it. All who 218 Extracts from Letters of think much on these subjects are aware that there is no danger to the balance of power, and the peace of the world, from any other quarter, comparable to that which is likely to arise from the overweening power and aggressive dis- positions of the people of the United States; and the obvious bulwark against that danger is the creation of another American Power, capable from its natural advantages and national character, of becoming a counterpoise to the Yankee Republic. If British America were united, and a nation, it would be such a Power. Disintegrated into Provinces, its value (if I may use such a term) in the political system of the civilized world is thrown away. Perhaps the full im- portance of these considerations is realized only by a few ; but I am not aware that there are any politicians who hold opposite opinions, and the great majority of English people would be quite content in a matter of this kind, to acquiesce in whatever might seem good to the colonists themselves. I repeat, therefore, that in my opinion (and I see and hear a good deal of what goes on among people who are interested in these matters) there would be every disposition on this side to facilitate and promote the formation of a British North American Union. It is not for me to hazard, in writing to yourself, a conjecture as to the probability of such a scheme finding favour in the Colonies. But the past suggests obvious doubts whether under any pressure less strong than that which forced union upon the old Thirteen Provinces, the various provincial interests could be reconciled, or rather (which is a much more accurate way of putting it) whether provincial jealousies could be allayed, so as to bring about a real and lasting incorporation. It appears to us, Sir, that you are in a manner committed, after your great speech, to a further consideration of this subject ; and I know that there are many in this country, interested in colonial affairs, who look with solicitude for your next " move." With respect to the second division of your speech, there is of course here an almost infinite difference of opinion. I refer to that part in which you treat of and compare equality and independence. I have no intention of troubling you with John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 219 an exposition of my own views on this matter. I venture,, in lieu of doing so, to enclose two letters [cxiii. and cxiv.] which I wrote when your speech first came over to us. In doing so I have to apologize for the freedom with which I endeavoured to controvert part of your argument. My letters were written somewhat hastily, under the pressure of other business, and writing anonymously, I hardly weighed my words suffici- ently. Those letters will at any rate convey to you the difficulties which men who cordially agree with you in prin- ciple feel about the practical working out of that principle. To say the truth, I do not see my way at all at present to any move in the direction of " equality " or " indepen- dence." The difficulties which I have indicated in my first* letter, above all, the conservative habits and prejudices of the people of England, put " equality" out of the question, you may de- pend upon it. I cannot help doubting whether any scheme founded on it would be acceptable to the colonists ; but I am as convinced as I am of my own existence, that it would never be listened to here. There are almost equal difficulties in the way of " independence." So far as I can judge (but this, again, I say with the utmost diffidence,) there are few among the colonists who desire it. Undoubtedly there is among the best of them the more intelligent, energetic, and patriotic a considerable amount of discontent at provincial- ism, and of aspiration to take up a higher position among the nations of the world ; but on the other hand, it is impossible not to remember that the great majority of mankind are not sensitive to grievances which only affect the imagination, or which at any rate do not come home to their business and bosoms, and do not interfere with their material prosperity. My own idea is, that the colonial mind generally is not de- sirous or ripe for any sweeping political changes, and that the present system of relations between the Mother-country and the colonies may very probably rub on for an indefinite number of years. But I also think that any year almost any day an untoward incident, political or military, might bring about a complete change in these dispositions; and the chances of such an incident occurring, while on the 220 Extracts from Letters of one hand they are diminished by the improvement which had taken place in colonial policy, are on the other hand increasing in proportion as the power and population of the Colonies increase, and as, consequently, they grow more and more into a position of physical equality with the Mother- country. I will not trouble you further with what must appear to you crude speculations on a subject to which you have paid so much attention. I write in hopes of inducing you to tell us whether you contemplate taking any practical steps to- wards the realization of the views expressed in your speech, and whether you think any corresponding movement can advantageously be made by the friends of the Colonies at home. cxxi. Letter from Hon. Francis Hincks, M.P.P. Canada, to me. 1854. Sept. 4. Quebec. [Arrived, Sept. 21.] / am favoured with your letter of the \\th ult., and hasten to give you the benefit of my opinion, such as it is, on the subject of Constitu- tional changes. I have long been of opinion that the people of Canada have nothing to desire beyond what they can obtain through the medium of their own Parliament. I read Mr. Howe's speech at the time of its publication with some attention. It was delivered on the occasion of a motion recommending the union of all the Northern Provinces. My impression is that Mr. Howe dwells principally on the necessity of con- ceding representation in the Imperial Parliament. This measure I have always looked on as perfectly absurd. We want no representa- tion in England, and have no claim to it. We may occasionally want Imperial legislation, although our questions are now nearly all settled; but it is clear to me that we should have ten times more influence by getting the Governor to move the Colonial Secretary, and applying to Parliament through the Governor, than we should have with our own Re- presentatives. As to Union, it may be considered under two aspects Federal and Legislative. A Legislative Union would be objectionable for many reasons : the French Canadians would never consent to it, and, moreover, our Province is already too large. I might give many more reasons, but it is quite sufficient for me that Lower Canada would not consent to such an union, and I think it would be very unsound John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderky. 221 policy to force it. I must not, however, be misunderstood. I cannot say that the Canadas would not be in favour of the legislative union ; and, in point of fact, no scheme of either legislative or federal union or of imperial representation has been broached in our House. With regard to a Federal Union, I am clearly of opinion that such a measure would be dangerous to British connexion, and for this reason : the separate Provinces would necessarily have very democratical consti- tutions ; they would have elective Governors, and it would be impossible to have any responsible Ministry such as we have now. I think that if once you get the republican system established in the separate Pro- vinces, it would be most difficult to carry on another system in the Federal Legislature. But there is another objection : in the United States the tendency has always been towards maintaining the indepen- dence of the States ; I mean, crippling the power of the Federal and exttnding that of the State Legislature. That is the natural tendency of things. Now what are the duties of the Federal Legislature? To provide for common objects such, for instance, as defence, main- tenance of diplomatic relations, &c. These are precisely the subjects which are now provided for by the Imperial Government. And in point of fact we do not cost you one shilling for defence or diplomacy. Diplomacy can cost nothing, because your Ministers are resident at every place where we can want to make any representation ; and as to defence, if we ivere independent, you would of course take our part in the case of aggression as you do that of Turkey. In point of fact, our Federal Legislature would have nothing to do, and it would be a very cumbrous and expensive machinery. As to my opinion about separation, I can assure you ivith sincerity that I believe there is hardly a man in Canada who thinks of it. Rely on it that everything is going on here as well as possible. If any change were to take place, I am more inclined to think that we in a few years might divide the two Canadas, which would be the most feasible plan of the ivhole. P.S. / had written thus far, and determined to wait the mail-day to conclude. We have just had a curious political crisis. Our Govern- ment had a large majority for its measures, foremost among ivhich was the one for secularizing the Clergy Reserves. You may recollect my difficulty with Sir John Pakington, and his remarks about accidental majorities. Well, there was a special appeal to the country on this ques- tion, and out of 130 members, not more than 20 were in favour of it. The whole Conservative strength was about 30, ours 70, and the Demo- cratic opposition, say 30, of all shades. The 30 ultra-Radicals and 30 Conservatives, with some weak men of ours, beat us in the Speaker- 222 Extracts from Letters of ship by 3, and were determined to oppose our A ddress by amendments of various kinds. On a question of privilege we asked twenty-four hours' delay, and were beaten by the new combination of all kinds of people. The ultras relied on coming in, as the Conservatives could not carry our Secularization Bill. I resigned before the Address. The Governor- General sent for Sir Allan Macnab, who is at this moment at work and will succeed, as I have determined to give him all my influ- ence at this juncture. He and the Conservatives have undertaken to carry this great measure, which has been the cause of so much heartburning. CXXII. On Hinc/cs's Letter. 1854. Sept. 28. Galway. HINCKS'S letter shows (what I suspected) that the Colonies will not move while things are peaceful and prosperous. The conservatism of well-to-do individuals and peoples is great. There will be nothing done till a breeze comes, for clearly if Hincks speaks the sense of the majority of Canadians, as I sup- pose, a move from this side would be a gratuitous failure. Some day or other, when we least expect it, the row will come, but there is nothing, I am convinced, to be done now by us. If there is to be a movement, it must be spontaneous and colonial. cxxm. Letter from Hon. Joseph Howe to me. 1854. Nov. 4. Halifax. I WOULB have replied to your letter of the 2kth of August before, but waited for the receipt of Mr. Godley's, which only reached me by the last mail. I have read both, with their enclosures, carefully, and if I were in London would be much disposed to discuss with you in the " Spectator," or in some of the newspapers, the points upon which we appear to be at issue. But you being both on one side of the Atlantic, and I on the other, the absurdity of the present state of things is forcibly illustrated. We cannot discuss at all, however John Robert Godley to C. J2. Adderley. 223 deeply important may be the topic. Tour letters in the "Spectator" I should, perhaps, never have seen, if you Jiad not kindly sent them ; and, were I to answer them in one of the Halifax papers, twenty copies might not go into the two kingdoms. But, let us suppose tlial there was some recognised arena into which we could all three go, and conduct an argument, with the fair chance of an audience, and the certainty of our at least interesting each other, how soon would the question be disposed of! It is the want of such an arena that perplexes and mystifies us all, day by day. Fancy that Franklin and Wedderburn could have met face to face, on fair terms, and expended in manly debate tfie bitterness ivhich we can only measure now by the extent of the mischief pro- duced. Fancy Patrick Henry, before matters had gone too far, called to discuss before the able men of both continents their mutual relations, claims, and grievances. The fiery Virginian, his soul satisfied with the dignity and responsibility of a position which no antagonistic nationality could improve, would have lent his fine powers to the preservation of the Empire, to the dismemberment of which he dedicated the talents that Englishmen would not permit him, in their presence, to display. So things went on in the olden time, and British statesmen not being able to understand the colonists, nor the colonists them (the clever men at each side having an audience of their own), matters at last came to extremities, and the Grenvilles, and Rockinghams, and Burgoynes of that day, never comprehended tlie physical proportions or mental calibre of the men they had dared to mortal combat, until they were fairly beaten by these men off the, fields of diplomacy and war. The reasons are obvious. TJiere was no common arena where they could see each otlier strip. If there had been they ivould have fought out their points of difference they would have bvffetted each other into mutual respect. A great audience, having a common interest, would have enjoyed the sport, and bestowed the prizes. Burgoyne loould have been sent to write />/ys, and Wash- ington might have been selected to command a brigade in Inlanders. Jefferson would probably have been a Secretary of Stale, and the Declaration of Independence might have been indefinitely postponed. Bat there was no national council, except in the restricted sense of the term ; no arena where the able men of the two continents could meet, and argue each other into mutual respect, and the appre- 224 Extracts from Letters of elation of sound views of a common policy. The English politick ins of that day thought (as Mr. Godley thinks) that the system might " rub on." They were, as you say of the English of the present day, "abhorrent of fundamental change." But by-and-by thirteen noble Provinces were "rubbed off" and the men for whom no room could be made in old St. /Stephen's, or in the army, or navy, or diplomatic services of the Empire, made room for themselves. They signed treaties in old coats, and sat down with kings and princes, Jiaving taught those who were too conceited or too careless to make " changes" which common sense might have shown to be indispensable, some "fundamental " experiments, which your Englishmen of the present day still gaze at with wonder, but liardly yet appear to comprehend. But Mr. Godley seems to think that all this must happen again, only in a more friendly and pacific mode. Like Tom Moore s Cupid in the song, lie would "pilot us off, and then bid us good-bye." But is not this absurd ? You and I do not want to separate ; on the con- trary, we want to draw more closely the kindly relations which liave long subsisted, and which we would fain hope and believe may still subsist, between the two countries. This is the feeling now of Britons and British Americans, with, perhaps, a few exceptions. But Mr. Godley says your wit can devise no means by which this can be done ; shake hands, and bid each other adieu. Yet, with a strange incon- sistency, he expects, when we have parted, British A merica to main- tain an army and navy, to co-operate with the mother country, which excludes her from citizenship, against the " overweening power and aggressive disposition of the people of the United States" who would admit us to tlwir confederacy on equal terms to- morrow. Now here lies the danger. You Englishmen assume that we shall like you better than Brother Jonathan when the separation comes. But why should we ? If at peace with the neighbouring republic, or if incorporated into the confederacy, we shall have no frontiers to defend but the seacoast, and our combined mariners and Jishermen would guard that at small expense. You forget that now there is a powerjul suction towards the republic, while you apply no coun- teracting forces the other way. You fold your arms and deprecate "fundamental change ;" you think that things may "rub on" a few years longer ; you hope that, when disgusted with your apathy, in- difference, and want of resources to keep affection alive, we shall still John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 225 come to your aid with fleets and armies, and embroil ourselves along a frontier of 1500 miles to back you in the contests which Repub- lican insolence (Jtardly now restrainable without war) will be sure to provoke. /Scarcely had you given up our fisheries, as a peace-offering to Jonathan, to keep him out of the Russian war, when Captain Hollins gave you a slap in the face by burning Greytown and in- sulting your flag. Give Jonathan the fine Provinces of North America, and you will have insults enough, or I'm mistaken. It is clearly then your interest (and this Mr. Godley perceives and con- fesses") tJuit he should not get them, and yet the chances are five to one in his favour, if you make no effort to organize and retain them, but permit them to drift about a few years longer in utter un- certainty of what their future is to be. Upon your English Statesmen, then, and not upon me, rests the onus of averting this separation. T/tat Burke could not see his way to work out this problem may be true, yet why should we be deterred from attempting its solution ? Burke never saw railroads or electric telegraphs, and Dr. Lardner could not see his way across the Atlantic by steam, yet the ocean navigators of our day laugh at his obsolete dicta. Mr. Godless Greek illustrations prove nothing or they prove too much. Fifty soap-bubbles may be blown into the air, each one beau- tiful in its perfect organization and entire independence ; but the boy who blows them is not much strengtJiened by the diversion, and certainly never expects to see them again when once they are over the fence. J^ow John Bull, blowing up and blowing off colonies in this fashion would make a good frontispiece for " Punch." John blew off thirteen at one angry puff, and now there are thirty-one States on this side of the Atlantic, as perfect Colonies as ever swarmed off from the crowded hives of ancient Greece. But how tmich of sym- pathy and succour have the// ever given to tJie Mother Country ? When Bonaparte was assembling his armies upon l/te British Chan- nel, where then were Mr. Godley's Greeks ? Invading our Canadian frontiers. W/ien again the Czar threatens all Europe, who hears of one word of sympathy, or of one act of generous co-operation ? Instead, we have grumbling and menace, till the North American Jiaheries are given up, and bullying insolence immediately after. But the North American Provinces, it is assumed, if suffered to drop off peacefully , would be actuated by a different spirit. Perhaps they mig/tt be, if there were only barbarians on this continent. If Q 226 Extracts from Letters of all the territory south and west of the St. Croix were inhabited by Persians and CartJiaginians we might, and probably would, sympa- thize with the Greeks at home. Syracuse might come over to the aid of Corinth, and Ionia strike a blow for Athens ; but, unfortunately for Mr. Godley s argument, the free States to the south and west of us are not peopled by barbarians, but by our brethren, who are " Yorkshire too." Why should the bees, who have swarmed off", tear each other to pieces, to benefit those who crowded them out of their original hive, and who refuse, even for the purpose of mutual con- sultation, to permit them to return ? But tlie Greeks had, what we have not, the National Festivals their Olympic games their gatherings for the encouragement of art, and arms, and literature. The race was open to all comers, and tJie wreath might be won by the poorest native of the feeblest State. These gatherings brought the leading men together for mutual consultation. A national spirit was thus fostered which controlled or modified local attachments and prejudices. Tlie Greeks had, then, the ever-present pressure of the barbarian outside to teach them mutual respect, but they had also the very arena for the development of a common policy, a/id the inspiration of the patriotic spirit, which we never have had, and which Mr. Godley deems it " vision- ary" to attempt to provide. Mr. Godley is right in assuming that the British-Americans are " loyal," and " would be sorry to separate from the Mother Country." But yet, in the next breath, he tells us that separation is inevitable, because the wit of man can devise no means by which the natural aspirations and honourable ambition of this high-spirited people can be (/ratified without offence to British prejudices. If I thought so, for one, I should be loyal no longer. I cling to tJie Mother Country because I believe Mr. Godley 's argument unsound, and because I anticipate that disciission will eradicate the prejudices the strength of which I do not under-estimale. This matter of colonial loyalty ought to be rightly apprehended. Our attachment to England is something very distinct from an intense personal affection for all the English, Irish, and Scotchmen who at present inhabit the British Islands. We regard these men as our brethren, not as our fathers. Our obligation to love them may be fairly measured by the love and fraternal affection and generous confidence which they display towards us. W/tat we venerate and regard, with an intensity of feeling which few men seek to disguise, John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderky. 227 are the British Islands themselves, with the treasures of art and literature, the records of freedom and of high achievement which they contain. Whether you allow the claim or not, we feel that we have a common right of inheritance in much that our ancestors have bequeatJied. Tlie rigid of the resident Englishman to property in the soil, and to all the wealth that it sustains, is freely conceded, but we claim to participate in all that our forefatJiers have transmitted that ministers to national pride, and we think that we ought, while we remain part and parcel of the British Empire, to have a fair Jield of competition on which to illustrate, side by side with the other brancJies of the family, the heroic or intellectual qualities which " run in the blood." Let me individualize a little. I walk into Westminster Abbey, and the Howe banner hangs as high as any other in Henry VII.'s Chapel. I walk into Greenwich Hospital, and there stands "Black Dick," in white marble, with the broad chest and ample forehead which the Howes of " this ilk " have never wanted. Now I feel that I have a property in these two noble piles, which our common ances- tors built, quite equal to that of any gentleman in London ; and thinking of the " First of June" may I not be pardoned if I am as proud as any lord of tlie bedchamber, who, inheriting Lord Howes title and estates, may not have done as much to preserve the empire for which he fought as his humble namesake across the sea 1 But, Mr. Godley tells me, " Go, good man, get over your amiable weakness, there is no room for you Jtere. Have a flag of your own t raise an army and navy, but be sure always to fylit upon our side" Well, then, I turn away from Greenwich and Westminster, with none the less of veneration for their architectural glories and heroic memorials, but with a thorough contempt for the lack of statesmanship by which the warm feelings of millions of men are chilled and fine Provinces jlung away. Mr. Godley talks of England " succouring Canada from the Yankees ;" but Canada will never need such succour if she does not adhere to England. If we say to you, as he says to us, " Go, take care of yourselves," we are safe for ever from all aggression on this continent. But Mr. Godley relies on our " habitual intercourse" with Englishmen to keep alive our mutual attachment. Bat surely he knows that more Canadians go into the United States in a day than visit England in a year ; that t/tere are more Nova-Scotianx 228 Extracts from Letters of at this moment in Boston, tJian ever saw London. That coloniza- tion would not be discouraged by our separation and " change of nationality" is proved by the fact, that ten British subjects go now to settle in the United States for one that emigrates to the outlying portions of the empire. I must confess that it makes me sad when a man of Mr. Godleijs talents and experience acknowledges that he is "prepared for the inevitable severance of the colonial relation." WJien the North American Provinces are gone, how long will Spain keep Cuba or England tlte West Indies ? Will not Australia, Jive times further off, soon claim her share in England's nationality or proclaim Jier independence ? That the British Islands, with their ivealth and population, may still maintain a respectable position in the world when aU the Provinces are gone that they may still retain India by the sword, and conduct a profitable commerce, is very probable. But I would rather see the Empire organized in time, and England the honoured centre of a mighty system, than contemplate her chances of resist- ance to outward pressure wlien all the Provinces inhabited by tlie British races, and which cherish freedom and high civilization, had renounced their allegiance, and set up for themselves. But you ask me how is this to be done ? And I answer, nothing more easy, if t/tere is the disposition to do it ; nothing more difficult, if there is not. Any ingenious man may start fifty objections, and any of them may prevail if the presence of an imperative necessity does not overrule our disposition to cavil and object. My plan is very simple ; but I need not bore you icith details. I would retain the colonial legislatures ; I would create no colonial peerage ; nor would I change the clmracter of the House of Commons, or flood it with any large number of colonial representatives. I would retain all that is good in our present imperial and colonial organizations, and supply an element, now wanting, that, while it shocked no pre- judice, would secure mutual consultation, and open the united services and all the public departments of the State to colonial enter- prise and ambition. fa conclusion, permit me to say that I liave been gratified by the terms in which my speech of last winter has been spoken of both by yourself and Mr. Codley, and by such of t/ie English newspapers as have noticed it at all. PerJutps I may sometimes feel that the men who can make such xpeeclics might be of service in the Colonud John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 2:29 Office, or make as good Governors as some of tlie broken-down gamblers tliat (in sheer absence of better material, it would appear from your debates) you sometimes select at home. But I trust tluit the day may never arrive when we shall be driven to make better speeches in a very different spirit. The good men and true in England, who, like Godley, yourself, and many others, have laboured disin- terestedly and ably for Colonial regeneration and improvement, will have nothing to reproach themselves with s/tould that day come. CXXIV. On Howe's Letter. 1854. Nov. 25. Voelas. I HAVE read Mr. Howe's rambling letter, and do not return it, because I shall make a few notes on it before doing so, and send them to you, in case you should write to him again. I don't think you will find it worth while, however, as he evidently " has not it in him" to do anything. I donbt whether he could influence even his own countrymen much, so unstatesmanlike and illogical are his views on politics. Certainly lie could have no influence or weight out of Nova Scotia. I am very much, though perhaps unreasonably, disappointed. I wish you could do anything about " Colonial Volunteers ;" but unless spontaneous, it could come to nothing. I am rather surprised the idea has never occurred to any colonist. cxxv. From W. 11. Prescott to me, on same Subject. 1854. Nov. 4. Boston. I HAD the pleasure, ivhile in the country a fortnight since, of receiving a letter from you, ivhich I shoidd luive answered at once, but I waited till my return to town would enable me to consult some books which I had not with me, touching the Council of the Indies. The Canadian question is one of those difficult problems, hard to be solved, and which grow harder with the growth of the nation to which it relates. Tin- English Government kas adopted certainly a most liberal legislatuni in 230 Extracts from Letters of reference to her American Colonies of late. But in the meantime they seem to be growing almost too powerful for a state of dependence, how- ever light it may be made to them. Indeed their interests are so entirely consulted now, and so far left to their own management, that the parent country would seem to gain little more by the connexion than she would have if they were independent states ; while, on the other hand, she is largely burdened with expenses for their protection. This undoubtedly is the only policy that would be endured; and yet, as the fruit ripens faster under this fostering care, will it not be ready the sooner to fall? Canada, prosperous and powerful, will become the more exacting in her demands, and the less tolerant of any distinctions in favour of any por- tion of the British empire, even of Englishmen themselves. If the colonies which now form the United States insisted three-quarters of a century ago on the right of representation in Parliament, will the remaining English colonies on this continent be willing, in their ad- vanced condition, to forego what they may consider as the natural right of freedom ? When the time comes for resolutely insisting on this, what equivalent can you give them for it ? A body formed like the Council of the Indies would, I should think, be little to their taste. This was a body nominated by the king, and the persons who filled it many of them jurists, " old Spaniards," and persons entirely subservient to his will. It had supreme control over all the colonial affairs, made the laws, imposed the taxes, fitted the offices, civil, military, and ecclesiastical; in short, the vote of two-thirds of that body was sufficient, with the royal assent, to decide any measure, however arbitrary, in reference to the American possessions. TJie Spaniards of the time of Charles V. and his successors, had little idea of a representative government. The name of Cortes indeed survived; but it was the nominis umbra. The Spanish colonists had no better idea of representation. They were not made of the stuff of the Anglo-Saxon race. Both the parent country and the colonies were broken in to a tame subjection to the throne, in whatever form its power might be exerted, whether directly by the monarch or by the agency of councils. In your idea of a council you would have a representation drawn partly from the colonies themselves. But then the power of such a council would be confined simply to recom- mending measures. The power of determining and enforcing them must, after all, be lodged in Parliament ; and in that body the colonies would have no representative. You point out a serious difficulty that of harmonious action between monarchial England and a country like Canada, which hat so large an infusion of democratical spirit in its John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 231 people. Our country in this respect is more favourably situated than yours. We have our colonies colonies in everything but in name; but they are all sure sooner or later to be incorporated into the Union. Take California for example, on the Pacific Ocean. She is now recog- nized as an independent State, appoints her own governors, her officers, civil and military, has her own legislature. This she does in her capacity as a separate and independent State. But, in her federal capacity, she sends, like the other States, her representatives and senators to Congress, and her citizens are eligible to the highest offices in the country, including that of the President. It is to all intents and pur- poses an integral part of the republic. We have, however, a vast extent of country in the "far west," parcelled out into Territories, all whose great officers are appointed by the executive at Washington. The only political right which these Territories possess, which in any ivay associates them with the national Government, is that of sending a delegate to the House of ^Representatives in Congress, who has the power of speaking on all questions, but of voting on none. But the Territories know that their time will come for the full enjoyment of all the privileges enjoyed by the States of the Union. For so soon as their population has reached a certain amount they can demand to be made States, and so incorporated into the Union. They feel, therefore, their present condition to be that only of a necessary apprenticeship, and the// submit to it without complaint. But I imagine John Bull would hardly like to see a transatlantic deputy ivithin tlie ivalls of Parlia- ment. The truth is, I suspect, that England does not feel to her colo- nies as the United States feel to theirs. She may feel very parental and protecting, but she does not hold out the right-hand of fellowship, as to brethren possessed of identical rights, and forming part and parcel of the same great family with themselves. This is our feeling, at least the principle on which we must act, in regard to every new accession of territory to the republic ; and there seems like to be no lack of this, to judge from the spirit of annexation that runs so wild in some parts of the country. But it is time I should bring my long yarn to a close, or you will regret having brought such an avalanche on your head. In truthl shoidd never have dreamed of talking with you on a subject of which I know so little, but that I was unwilling to decline a compliance with your request, though it would serve little else than to show my oivn igno- rance of the subject. Indeed, I know less of Canada and her relations with England than I do of England herself and her relations with the 232 Extracts from Letters of rest of Europe. I have never dabbled in politics; but I belong by inheritance and inclination to what is called the Whig party of this country, and to that portion of it which cherisJies a reverence for the old Federal policy of Washington. I have ever held annexation as a curse to the country 05 mischievous to the nation as it is for a farmer to be beset with the idea of for ever " rounding off his corners," by getting hold of the lands next his own when he has already got more than he can profitably manage. I trust the day is far distant when we shall seriously talk of connexion with Canada. T/tough, it ts true, if our reckless administration goes on as it has of late years been going, ab- sorbing slave territory to any extent in the South, a northern man might feel more disposed to strengthen himself by resorting to a similar 2)rocess on the North, if it were only to trim the ship and prevent her from capsizing altogether. But the day, I suspect, is far distant when England will be inclined to part with her American Colonies, however little the good she may get from them. It will be scarcely more likely that they would wish to enter into the American Union. The Canadian never loved the Yankee. And if Canada should ever become indepen- dent of her father-land, I imagine she would feel strong enough to set up for herself. What form of government she would then be likely to take you can judge better than I can. But I suspect that one more or less popular in its nature would be the only one that could live in t/te atmosphere of this continent. It will not be very long before I shall inflict on your goodnature a much larger amount of twaddle than I have now ; but it will at least be on a subject that I know something about. I am going to press in a fortnight with the first two volumes of my "History of Philip the Second" and I shall do myself the pleasure next spring to forward you a copy. It is only the beginning of a work which may extend, horresco referens, to four or five volumes, before I have done with it. I feel as I write to you that I am talking with you on the beautiful banlcs of the Tame. I often recal the pleasant hours I passed there in your society, when Lord, Lyttelton and his charming wife were your guests, and our good friend Twisleton. He, too, has become a Bene- dict. I hope you like his pretty little wife. She was a pearl of much price among us. I trust that both you and Mrs. Adderley continue to enjoy your health. Pray remember me most kindly to her. It is rather a coincidence, that since I began this letter the new Governor-General of the Colonies, Sir Edmund Head, and his lady, came to town, and have dined with me. He seems to be a man of good sense and amiable manners, and, so far, well suited to the place. John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 233 cxxvi. Visit to Hawarden Castle Asking Gladstone for more Work or less Pay. 1854. Oct. 16. Killigar. I AM going to Hawarden, where I am asked to meet Gladstone and Lyttelton ; from thence to London, to make definitive arrangements with Wigram or Young about the Canterbury immigration. I have received a letter of absorb- ing interest from Weld at Auckland. It seems they carried an address in favour of responsible government ; "VVynyard replied favourably, and " sent for" Fitzgerald, who has formed a ministry, of which Weld and Sewell are members. I have sent the letter to Lyttelton, and it will reach you in due time. You may imagine how delighted I am. I am not very well satisfied with my own position here. It is rather irksome to feel that in the full enjoyment of good health, and with a considerable capacity for Avork, I am employed about work which the most uneducated man, if he have only common sense and integrity, could do as well, and which, except during the three months a year which I have to spend in travelling, does not take half an hour a day. I took heart the other day, and in spite of my reluctance to " ask for things," which I have never done yet in my life, got Lyttelton to express to Gladstone my wish, not for more pay, but more work. He replied very kindly, that he fully entered into my feelings, and would promote my wishes if he had an opportunity, but that it is difficult, &c. You see I am shut out from Parliament by poverty. I have only 50U/. a year, which, I need not say, is not enough to support my family as I should have to support them under such circum- stances (to say nothing of election expenses) . So office affords my only chance of public work, and to that I must look exclusively. I send you my letter to Howe, which return. It did not go till long after the date, being delayed for various reasons, so I have not had time to receive an answer. I am very uneasy about the army in the Crimea. Their position seems to me ticklish and difficult in the extreme. It is difficult to think of anything else. 234 Extracts from Letters of cxxvu. Hears from Heneage Wynne, before Sebastopol. 1854. Oct. 27. Killigar. WE have this morning again got a delightful letter from Heneage at the camp in front of Sebastopol. CXXVIII. Of Heneage Wynne's Death at Inkerman. 1854. Nov. 25. Voelas. MANY thanks for your affectionate sympathy. We have letters to-day from the Colonel and young Cocks. Poor dear Heneage died instantaneously, shot through the head, in the act of encouraging three companies of the 68th to charge an overwhelming force of Russians on a hill above them. He was buried in the same grave with Cathcart and Goldie. It is a most terrible, terrible, blow to us all : but Mrs. Wynne, whom we feared for most, is wonderfully well to-day. She did not get up yesterday, and slept little last night ; but I now hope and believe she will not be the worse in health for the great sorrow she has to bear. To me the circumstances of dear Heneage' s death are very consoling. To die a martyr to duty, full of the noblest aspirations, without pain, or languor, or decay, is surely (supposing a general habit of life not unsuitable for death), the very thing one would choose for oneself or those one loved. But his poor Mother and Sisters alas ! alas ! cxxix. Reflections on Sudden Death. 1854. Nov. 27. Voelas. I AM not at all satisfied to hear of your bronchitis. It was from a heavy cold, coining on an enfeebled state of body, that my chronic illness, which I shall never shake off, was John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 235 derived. But while I recommend care, I dread and eschew drugging, especially with blue pill. I fully and completely agree with all you say about the circumstances of poor dear Heneage's death. Indeed it is a remarkable coincidence that, a few hours before I got your letter, I had been expressing, in conversation with my wife, the very same ideas in the very same words. When she read your note, she said " I can hardly believe you did not write this." I had been led to talk in that strain, by her having laid some stress on the " preparation for death " idea, which always appears to me both futile and eminently mischievous. It has been a great fault among theologians to dwell so much on the question " How a man died," to the exclusion of the far more important question " How he lived." For my own part I have a great dread of old age, and if it were not pre- sumptuous, would pray for "sudden death." Heneage's death seems to leave nothing to be desired for 1dm. We have a letter from a brother officer, which confirms the pre- vious accounts. Three companies of the 68th were return- ing from a successful attack, when they came unexpectedly on a large body of the enemy. Our dear Brother was in the front, and in the act of shouting to the men to charge Avith the bayonet, when he received a musket ball in the head, and never stirred or spoke afterwards. Can't you fancy his tall figure being conspicuous at such a moment, and attract- ing the enemy's fire ? But none can know, but his own family, what a loss he is to tJiem. As Charlotte said to me yesterday, he was l ' like sunshine in the house," so kind, so affectionate, so cheery, so fond of home, and of the children, so full to the very brim of all that was loveable. cxxx. Dcuate on the War in Parliament Colonial Association. 1854. Dec. 17. Wexfonl. I HAVE very little time for writing this week, which is a very busy one. I thought the Opposition did better than I 236 Extracts from Letters of expected on Tuesday, [December \%tli, on the Address at meeting of Parliament, accitsing Government of leant of plan in the war,~\ and the Ministers worse. No attempt was made . to account for their absurd over-confidence, and consequent apathy, after the expedition to the Crimea was ordered. I have just seen a letter from General Estcourt, in which he complains bitterly of " the authorities at home not taking the advice of the people on the spot, but determining on the expedition at a wrong time of year, and with insufficient means." I wish one could ferret out what the secret of all this is. I was glad to see that Estcourt adds, " Sebastopol must now be taken, somehow ; " but how, and when ? That is the question. It is not fair to compare our efforts now with what they were in the last war, even if we could do so with advantage. Then we stood alone ; we had calls to meet in every part of the world, and Ireland was in chronic rebel- lion. Now, with doubled population, and quadrupled wealth, and with the most powerful nation in Europe for an ally, we have only one spot on which to concentrate all our energies ; and yet with all this we cannot beat the old times. I am greatly disgusted at the Foreign Enlistment Bill. Govern- ment evidently is not equal to the emergency, but can think of nothing better than to follow the rotten old precedents of the last century's wars. I was glad you said your say about the Colonies, though, between ourselves, I don't believe in their making any serious efforts or considerable sacrifices in the cause. I wish I may be wrong. I need not say that I shall be delighted to work at your Colonial Association. As to my being Coryphaeus, that is all my eye. And, unfortunately, for the next ten weeks, at least, I shall have hardly a minute's respite from travelling like a post-horse. I greatly doubt the possibility of getting up any interest in the Colonies here, while the argument is ready " they arc going on very well ; let them alone." We should have a far better chance, if half of them were in re- bellion. I fear that no scheme for promoting colonial re- form, that has its basis in this country, will come to anything; 1. because the public in this country don't care about it; John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 237 and, 2. because the colonists never take kindly to English- made reforms. I wish we could stir up the colonists to claim their rights ; that's the thing. It makes me almost hope that Grey may make a thorough mess of the Australian constitu- tions, so as to kick up a row there. I should be inclined to begin, if possible, by communication with leading colonists. Are there any in London ? Would Lowe take to the idea, and write it up in the Times ? If you are in town, speak to Rintoul about it. No one could give a better opinion. Are you aware that the idea of imperial representation was repeatedly started by the friends of British connexion during the years just preceding American Independence, and de- liberately rejected as illusory and impracticable by the colonial legislatures ? See Bancroft's third volume. I have sent my notes on Howe to Lytteltoii. When they return, I will forward them to you, and if you think it worth while, you can send them to Howe. I do not intend to write to him again myself. I shall be glad to hear from you whether others, to whom you may have mentioned the colo- nial reform scheme, take to it. You must make no demon- stration till you have ascertained privately that it will be successful. Have you seen Twisleton lately? Would he join? He has nothing else to do, and would be invaluable, if he liked. He sent me his pamphlet on Common Schools in Massachusetts, with the tenor of which I fully agree. I am meditating a letter to him on the subject. But tempo materlale is very deficient just now. This long scrawl does not look like it, you will say. Good-bye. The best wishes of this joyful Christmas time to you and yours. How many there are this year who will pass it in bitter sorrow ! " Rachels weeping for their chil- dren." cxxxi. Church Government New Zealand Crisis Crimean War. 1855. Jan. G. Killurney. \'ou know how very highly I estimate the importance of self-government to the Church, but I almost despair of 238 Extracts from Letters of obtaining it, against the unreasoning conservatism and un- reasoning anti-churchism of the English government and people. I am rather anxious you should pay some attention to the New Zealand ministerial crisis, both as interesting in itself, and because there may be discussion of it at some time or other. The parallel drawn by Wakefield, between this crisis and that in which Metcalfe was engaged in Canada, is worth studying. But it is not a correct one. Metcalfe was wrong too ; i.e., he did not intend to concede real responsible government, but then he never professed to intend it, and took every opportunity of explaining what he meant by it, which was quite different from what we mean. I cannot express to you how much the war, and the conse- quences to our national reputation of our failures and short- comings, depress me. The idea of Nicholas rubbing his hands over our daily papers, makes one almost mad. But I think it very unfair to condemn Lord Raglan, who, I dare say, could show that his shortcomings are the result of his being short- handed and unprovided. The real fault is at home, and they must not be allowed to make him their scape-goat. The two grand faults, which will appear to posterity almost incredible, were the not providing for the increase of the army when war was declared, by the measures which are being adopted now ; and the not preparing, when the expedition to the Crimea was decided on, for the contingency of a winter campaign. What a melancholy farce it is, to be sending out huts, navvies, warm clothing, &c. now, when winter is half over, and the army half destroyed ! cxxxn. Convocation War maladministration. 1855. Jan. 19. Carlow. You K argument about Convocation is perfectly sound, metaphysically. But practically it is impossible to doubt that the formal recognition by that body, as representing the clergy, of the right of the laity to take part in the government of the Church, would be a very material step John Robert Godlcy to C. B. Adderley. 239 towards the establishment of a representative governing body with real powers. I marvel much that you can speak " doubtfully about wishing this done/' or that you can weigh in the balance against its inestimable advantages, such things as " public thanksgivings, fasts, &c.," which might, at any rate, be had quite as well if the Church had the ordering of them and not the State. I deny that we have at present a Church at all, except in name. A Church without organs of corporate expression and action, is an absurdity. In your hopes of " a good Ministry that may some day give us a good Discipline Act," I cannot share. As I say with respect to colonies, so I say with respect to churches, " Don't try your hands at disciplining or governing us. Give us means of ^//-discipline and ^//-government : we ask no more." I look with the most complete indifference at these nego- tiations for peace, because I don't in the least believe in them. If I believed in them, I should be alarmed, for I am sure a peace now made would be a dishonourable one for us. 21st. I finish this at Powerscourt. A letter from the Crimea says, " It is quite impossible to exaggerate the mal- administration of our affairs. It is quite useless for the people of England to spend money upon us, for nothing ever reaches us ;" and much more to the same effect. I have just heard of the death, by dysentery, of my cousin, Charles Daly, Major of the 89th. They were sent from Gibraltar in their old clothes, without an iota of additional clothing. Is it not maddening ? CXXXIII. Lord Aberdeen ousted. 1855. Jan. 26. Manor House, Stokesley. YOUR news is great news. Fancy the undignified exit ! What a breakdown for the Ministry of All the Talents ! This political change [Lord Aberdeen ousted ly Roebuck's motion for inquiry] though I cannot regret it on public grounds, is unfavourable to my chance of promotion in the 240 Extracts from Letters of public service. I wish I could afford to cut it, and try Par- liament, but there's no use in wishing. I may be in town for one day about the 6th of February. Then I shall be for six weeks more abroad on this abominable circuit. I don't know what B. wants me for, except to help him to do nothing. cxxxiv. Palmerston's Difficulties with the Peelites. 1855. Feb. 6. Carlton. PALMERSTON can't arrange matters with Gladstone; but I hear he is determined to form a government somehow. It is really monstrous, at such a crisis, to have men standing out to get so many more Peelites in the Cabinet ! In the meantime, our credit in Europe is diminishing every day, our enemies exulting, our allies losing their confidence. Rintoul may well say that the prestige on which we have lived for forty years is gone. I long for a Dictator. cxxxv. Offer of Troops from Canada. 1855. Feb. 17. Newry. I WANT you to look in the last Guardian, page 131, for an account of the offers made by the Canadians of -men as well as money, and of the disgusting way in which they were met. You really must follow up this. I go along with the Times in all its denunciations of our rulers. Everything betokens the most utter apathy as regards the nation's emergency, and the most dogged resolut ; on to persevere in the accursed routine which has destroyed the army. cxxxvi. Canadian Offer of Troops Secession of Peelites from Ministry. 1855. Feb. 24. Belfast. COLONEL PRINCE made the offer ; he made it first to the Colonial Office, which red-tapishly referred him to the War John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 241 Office; then to the War Office, which, on September 23rd, replied that " his Grace did not think it expedient to make such a demand on the labour market of the Province !" What business had Sir George Grey not to know this ? \Sir George Grey replied to my inquiry, that no distinct offer of men had been made by Canada, but only an intimation by a Member of the Assembly. ~] What is the meaning of this secession of Peelites ? It is all nonsense to give the reason publicly announced, for it would be a most singular coincidence that an objection to Roebuck's Committee would affect precisely the Peelite members of the Government, and no other. It must be a general jealousy and disagreement. CXXXVIT. On Moving Thanks to Canada. 1855. March 2. Coleraine. THE advice I shall give you, on the very interesting point \johetJier to move an Address for thanks to Canada, and that commissions should be offered to Canadians raising regiments'] you refer to, is this. Lord Derby's objections are mainly, if not wholly, directed to the vote of thanks, and undoubtedly there is inconvenience in taking special notice of the par- ticular kind and degree of assistance offered by Canada for it is, after all, a very small tribute, and only valuable as showing an animus. So I would omit that part of your pro- posed resolution, and confine myself to the other, which is by far the most important, limb. Urge Lord Derby by every possible means to support this, and also I should recommend you to see Gladstone and Herbert about it. Being now out of office, they will be more accessible, and more likely to help. But, unless you can get support from either one or the other faction, I would not make the motion, as it would be of no use, and it rather injures a man to make proposals which he can get no one to agree with him upon. Do you know Lord Ellenborough ? I should think he would be R 242 Extracts from Letters of likely to take to your idea ; but lie is queer to manage, and might object to anything that he did not originate himself. There is one thing you ought to be quite clear about, namely, that there have been actually offers made, or at any rate disposition manifestly shown, to take advantage of such encouragement as we ask to have given. It would not do to have this country committed to such a proceeding, and then to have no results. You can ascertain that fact (which I have repeatedly told you was stated with names and dates in the Guardian of the 14-th February) either from the Duke of Newcastle, or Peel, or Merivale. I don't think much could be done (through the House of Commons) with an elaborate proposition for raising regiments in the colonies, and remov- ing British troops. The latter would follow probably from the former measure, and the possibility of the latter would be a strong argument for the former. But I would not mix them up, except in debate. I send you a very civil letter from Sidney Herbert, in reply to one of mine, in which I said I should be glad to exchange my present office for one connected with the colonies, either at home or abroad. Amongst other disagreeable incidents of my present office, is a regulation that no one shall sit in Parliament for one year after he resigns it. Is it possible that the Peelitcs should join the Derbyites? I doubt it. But the objection to the Committee could not be the real cause of the late split. That could not apply exactly to the Peelites, and no others to Cardwell, for in- stance, and not to Palmerston or Grey. CXXXVIII. Emperor of Russia Dead. 1855. March 4. Deny. FANCY the Emperor being dead ! It is like a catastrophe in a melodrama. I am not so sanguine about peace as most people seem to be. John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 243 What will the Peelites do ? Can Graham and Newcastle ever act with Derby and Disraeli ? / think not. cxxxix. Our Troops in Australia used to put down- Ballarat Riot. 1855. March 9. Castlebar. UNDOUBTEDLY this Ballarat riot (or insurrection) is a start- ling illustration of the necessity for some change in a system by which our troops are made to do the duty of colonial police. But the only way to force reforms of that or any other kind on Government is to get up a party for them among those who are not government. CXL. Chance of change of Government losing him his Office. 1855. May 11. Nottingham. I SHALL not be at all surprised, though of course a good deal mortified, if I lose my new place by the fall of the Go- vernment. I have of late thought it very doubtful whether their backs would prove strong enough to carry any measure, let alone a considerable reform. I am thoroughly dissatisfied with my present occupation (or no-occupation), and must try to get some colonial appointment that will give me work, if I can get none at home. Yet one would think these were times when a man, able and willing to do real work, ought to get a chance. How can Derbyites and Layardites put up their horses together ? And if they can't, how can Derby maintain himself? The future is gloomy and dark, and we are all getting ripe and inclined for great changes. CXLI. Foreign Legion Sir J. Robinson. 1855. May 12. London. IT seems that an attempt is being made to raise a ' ' Foreign Legion" in the North American colonies. How alien is such a notion from the true spirit of an Imperial Federation ; yet I shall be glad, even so, to see a martial spirit roused in those money-getting communities; and the brotherhood in arms must promote international (or homogeneous) feeling between the colonists and ourselves. I found on Saturday, to my surprise, on my table the card of Sir John Robinson, Chief Justice of Upper Canada. I knew him at Toronto in '42, and it was very kind of him to hunt me out now. I called yesterday, but did not find him at home. He is the ablest man in British North America, as "Wakefield always said, but a family compact Tory, and great friend of Sir F. Head. You will find him a most agree- able and instructive man. CXLII. Harper consecrated Bishop of Ly Helton. 1855. Aug. 14. War Department. How are you all ? We flourish at Hanwell. Lyttelton, Tom Cocks, Selfe, and I saw Harper consecrated last Sunday at Lambeth. I don't think, after all that has happened, that unless I had seen it, I would have believed it. I must write fully to Canterbury about the educational funds given or promised to me for the colony. The people there are very anxious for money to build the college with. I send you one of their "appeals," but I think I shall give my 100^. to found some exhibition or other prize. It is in human nature to prefer being perpetuated in a permanent endowment to investing in wood and paint. CXLIII. Preparations against Sevastopol. 1855. Aug. 21. Hanwell. I HAVE been terribly busy of late, or I would have written to you before. AVc are engaged in sending out mortars and shells enough to bury Sebastopol under solid iron, and huts enough to shelter the whole population of Southern Russia, John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 245 and the worst of it is, that we have to find steamers for them all. We shall despatch some forty steamers, for the Crimea alone, within six weeks. Heaven help those who will have to pay the bill. We are expecting daily to hear of the assault on the Malakoff ; the Redan will not be attacked this time, so the British will be out of the race. I spend next Sunday at Hagley, for the baptism of my Godson ; let me have a line before that. Have you read Hincks's pamphlet, and Howe's rejoinder? [On the union of North American Provinces, and their representation in British Parliament. Ridgivay, 1855.] I must say I infinitely prefer the tone and spirit of the latter, and sympathize far more with his aspirations, though I cannot assent to his plans. CXLIV. The War. 1855. Sept, 12. Ordnance Office. must not allow our good old custom of correspondence to die out because we are kept pretty busy. I have always been of opinion that the allegation of want of time is, in 999 cases out of 1000, an excuse, not a reason, for not writing to one's friends. It is a reason for not writing long letters but what one wants is not a long letter, but, to use your own regular phrase, "one hurried line/' just to show that " out of sight" is not " out of mind ;" such letters, in short, as you used to write ly every mall to me when I was in New Zealand, and which were, to my mind, as strong a proof of affection as any I have ever had from you or any one else. I cannot help being terribly nervous to day, waiting for the "nominal return" of the 2000 men we lost in the lledan on Saturday. I think if my Brother was killed it would almost kill my Father ; and we have had such a fatality among our relations in this war, that it is difficult to avoid superstitious fears. There is, of course, a good deal of dissatisfaction, especi- 246 Extracts from Letters of ally among the lower classes, at the final triumph having been due to the French so much more than to us. Politi- cally, I think it is rather a good thing, as our people are keen enough and sure to be all right ; whereas, Louis Napoleon has, no doubt, great difficulty in keeping the French up to the mark about the war. How (almost) childishly delighted the English are with military glory or success ! I have no doubt that a succession of victories would reconcile them to an endless war, with all its sacrifices and sufferings. I am sure you were glad to hear that Hincks has got his Governor- ship, for the sake of the principle [of appointing Colonists} . Did an elaborate paper in the last Illustrated London News on the " Organization of the Empire," catch your eye ? It was full of errors in fact, and wretched in its theorization ; but so far interesting, as it shows that the subject attracts attention. CXLV. Hincks made Governor of Guiana The War. 1855. Sept. 18. Hanwell. THANKS for your letter and Hincks's pamphlet [in reply to Iloice on North American Union'} . The latter is to me unsatis- factory. It states the obvious objections to Howe, not very forcibly, and fails to respond to, or admit, what is true and good about his views. Read by the light of Hincks's sub- sequent promotion, it looks like a cast for Colonial Office favour, and nothing more. But the fact is that any move- ment towards closer union, founded on more complete partici- pation of the colonists in Imperial privileges, must originate with them, and I see no sign whatever of their taking such a sound and philosophical view of their own position, as may lead one to expect anything good from them in this respect. No news from Simpson or Pelissier, which puzzles us all; except that Simpson talks this morning of sending lack mor- tars and shells ! which docs not look as if he anticipated a regular siege of the northern forts. Old llintoul comes down to an early dinner with us here to-morrow ; also Alfred John Robert Godley to C. 11. Adderley. 247 Denison, just returned from Paris. He says his brother Evelyn, who is one of the British Exhibition Commissioners there, reports dislike and indifference about the war among "good society " at Paris. They take little interest, he says, even in military glory, because " the army is not an aristo- cratic profession " now ; it is true that among the names of military men now mentioned in the newspapers one hardly ever sees an old historic name, such as Grammont, Mout- morency, Richelieu, &c. CXLVI. Recruiting. 1855. Oct. 5. Ordnance. I AGREE with you that wages don't constitute the only question bearing on recruitment ; still they have a great deal to say to it, and I suspect not mani/ of your Staffordshire colliers go soldiering. The worst of our system is, that it relies altogether on the instrumentality of stimulants, border- ing on palaver. Consequently, we don't get the best kind of men, the most reasonable and intelligent or men at all, in fact ; only boys, generally naughty boys. Tom Cocks, who is always swearing in recruits, tells me he can always dis- tinguish at a glance between those who enlist in the Land Transport Corps and those for the line the former arc so immeasurably superior in physique, manner, and intelligence. The reason is, apparently, that the odranlayes of the Land Transport Corps arc very much greater ; so much so as to make it a good investment for a prudent man. CXLVII. Canterbury Colony paying off its Debt to the Association. 1855. Nov. 30. War Department. I HAVE most satisfactory accounts from Canterbury. The colonists accept every item of the Association's debt, with- out any " cheeseparing " and with interest, since it was iu- 248 Extracts from Letters of curred ; the principal to be paid off in ten years ; the interest payable in London at six per cent. Nothing can be more creditable both to the Association and the Colonists than the way in which it has been done, and take it how you will, no verdict could be more complete on the merits of the Asso- ciation's work. That a colony four years old should be able to adopt a liability of 30,000 without serious, indeed with- out ruinous inconvenience, is a most remarkable proof of material prosperity, and that they should be willing to do it is an equal proof of moral well-being. I should like you to see the account of their debates, &c., because there was not one single dissentient voice in the Council (of twenty-four members, elected by universal suffrage), either about the merits of the Association, or about the propriety of repaying their advances, nor does there appear to be a single dis- sentient out of the Council, if one can judge from the news- papers and their correspondents. CXLVIII. Improved State of Ireland. 1855. Dec. 23. Killigar. IN the first place, I wish you and yours a happy Christmas and many returns of it. This is the first Christmas I have spent " at home" for nine years, if " home " there be to such a sojourner and wanderer. It is a great pleasure to my Father to have for once all his children (except Charlotte Pollen) about him, and I never saw him more vigorous and cheerful. We had a very successful journey the day we left Hams, and a beautiful evening for our passage to Dublin. Personal observation seems to confirm all one had heard about the prosperity and contentment of this country ; at the same time, one must not take it for more than it is worth. It is material prosperity, and animal contentment with that prosperity ; nothing more. A recurrence of distress would at once reveal that all the elements of a society radically un- sound exist still. Separation of races and classes, religious bigotry and animosity, political disaffection all these are John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 249 "scotched" not killed, dormant but unweakened. People tell me, indeed, that they never knew religious animosity more virulent, or society more sharply divided into two parties, holding no intercourse with each other. This is very melancholy, the more so that I see no end to it. For the present, however, all is like " the smooth surface of a summer sea," and so long as rents, profits, and wages keep up, may probably continue so. CXLIX. Salary Raised. 1856. Feb. 4. War Department. You will be glad, I know, to hear that it has been deter- mined to raise my salary from 1000^. to 1200 L a year, which is pleasant in itself, and also as showing, I hope, that I have given satisfaction to my superiors. Things look very pacific, unless this Yankee bravado encourage the Muscovite to raise his terms. CL. Changes In his Office. 1856. July 26. War Department. A MOST unsatisfactory Session. No power or energy any- where. The Ministry incompetent, and the Opposition a nullity. I can't say I think with you that Palmerston " blunders right." But there is no one to trip him up when he blunders. If Monsell takes the whole War Department duties, I shall look with interest to his debut. Hawes will be permanent Under Secretary of State, and Mundy will, I believe, go somewhere else. I confess I should be glad to get out of it all, for there is nothing congenial or interesting about the office I hold. 250 Extracts from Letters of CLI. Wellington Colony offering me an Agency in Parliament. 1856. Aug. 1. War Department. I HAVE just seen a Wellington colonist, who tells me that the Provincial Council at Wellington have appointed you " parliamentary agent" for the Province, with a salary of 500^. a year. Have you heard anything about it, and, when you do, what answer will you give ? [/ declined it.~\ My own opinion is that they don't want a paid parliamentary agent, as there are really hardly any political questions now likely to occur. But they ought to have an office and an agent for the purpose of managing their emigration, and giving general information. CLTI. Discharged German Legion sent to the Cape, and kept there by Sir G. Grey on Full Pay as Soldiers. 1856. Aug. 13. I WANT you again to ask in Parliament whether the Germans [legionaries discharged at end of war] were not put on full pay from the date of debarkation, so that we have the pleasure of paying them at the full rate of British soldiers, while Grey [the Governor'] tells us that the colony was most peaceful and prosperous, and that the German colonists are settling quietly on their farms. The Colonial Office won't venture to deny it now, I think. And they will make a great fuss about Grey's sending two regiments to India [on the Mutiny breaking out~\ (if he does send them), the numbers of which will not be half those of the German reinforcement. CLIII. German Legion. 1856. Aug. 29. War Department. I AM very indignant about this monstrous proposal to found a German military colony at the Cape, at the expense John Robert Godley to C. B. Addcrley. 251 of this country ; for tlie 40,000*?. voted by the Colony will go very little way towards it. Sir George Grey says 8000 are to go, and that they are to he paid d. a day each for three years i.e., 60,000^. a year. Besides, they must have capital to settle on their land say 40/. a-piece and their passages. Why they will cost this country more than half a million before you've done with them, and then not be half as useful as ordinary labourers. You can't combine the colonist and the soldier, and as they become the former, they will cease to be available as the latter, except in the way of isolated rifle- men. All their regimental organization, goose-step, &c., is thrown away. I can't Avrite openly against Government but I wish you would consider how one can protest against this iniquity. I think I will write to Gladstone about it. CLIV. Tour of Inspection of Depots of Arms. 1856. Sept, 30. Hull. HAVING an hour to spare before the train starts that is to take me to London, I don't think I can spend it better than in telling you Avhat we have been doing and where we have been since we left Hams. Where have we not been ? What have we not. done ? Seriously, considering the time at our disposal, and that I was bound to a particular route, I flatter myself we have seen a good deal of what is best worth seeing in Scotland. The night of the day we left you we slept at Windermere, having had time before dinner to drive along the lake to Fox How, Rydal Mount, and nearly to Grasmere. The next morning we went across Kirkstone Pass and along Ulswater to Penrith, and spent the afternoon at Carlisle, where I had a Store to inspect. I believe Windermere and Ulswater together give one a good idea of the character of the scenery among the lakes. The head of Windermere I thought specially beautiful, far surpassing my expectations, which, however, were not very high. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we spent at Edinburgh. I have store establish- 252 Extracts from Letters of ments in the Castle and at Leith, which {par parentliese] I found in a very unsatisfactory state. We ran down on Friday to Melrose and Abbotsford, which are eminently worth seeing on every account. Hope Scott is building largely, and buying every acre on Tweed side that he can lay hold of. On Monday we visited Stirling Castle, where there are stores, and thence went on by Perth and Aberdeen to Fort George (twelve miles from Inverness) my next station. It is to be the principal depot for troops and stores in the North of Scotland. From Inverness we steamed down the Caledonian Canal to Fort William, thence by Glencoe to Loch Lomond, diverged, for one day, to see the Trosachs and Loch Katrine, then down Loch Lomond to Glasgow, and finally parted company at Carlisle, I coming on to visit the garrisons at Tynemouth Castle and here, Charles proceeding to London. I agree with you in thinking the Lady of the Lake country, i.e., Loch Katrine and the Trosachs, the finest scenery that we saw. Indeed, independently of the surpass- ing interest of its poetic associations, its loveliness is won- derful. I know only one thing that beats it, and that is Killarney ; but Killarney does beat it hollow, in variety, in picturesqueness of outline, and above all in richness of colour- ing. I always look back on that drive down the Kenmare- road from the police barrack, on that beautiful evening, with the sunset glow on the lakes, as " the brightest spot," liter- ally or pictorially, "in memory's waste/' I Avonder whether it would be possible for any one else to do for Wales or Ire- land what Scott has done for Scotland made every moun- tain, and lake, and river classical, and, as it were, sacred. I doubt whether any single writer has ever done so much as Scott to augment the sources of human enjoyment, and that, too, in the best way, by purifying and elevating the taste. It is impossible, without travelling through Scotland, to ap- preciate fully the infinite obligations under which, not Scot- land only, but the whole civilized world, lies to him. I was greatly struck by the conspicuous excellence of the farming everywhere in the Lowlands. Even to my ignorance, its superiority was very evident. 1 made many inquiries about John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderlcy. 253 the system pursued, and found, to my surprise, that the system of letting by tender at the expiration of each lease, has now become almost universal, and that no farmer ever reckons upon, or cares about, getting a renewal. Tenancies at will have almost disappeared, and I was astonished at the sums which I heard of farmers investing on nineteen years' leases. Yet all (farmers as well as landlords) agree in saying that there is no business which has paid so well as farming for the last seven years. The labourer has partaken of the general improvement. The average wages through the year in the Lowlands are 15*. Seven years ago they were from 11*. to 12s. One farmer told me he gave in harvest time 18*. and food. Almost the only exception to the lease-and-tender system is the Duke of Buccleuch's estate, which is farmed on the English fashion, feudally, i.e., by tenants at will, who are expected to vote with their landlord. A very intelligent man, the manager of the Caledonian Railway, told me it was calculated that the Duke lost 15,000^. a year by this course. The crops seemed splendid, but I fear half of those north of the Forth will be lost, as there was very little cut when we were there, and it has now rained almost without ceasing for ten days. At Fort Augustus I saw Lord Digby, who pressed me to stay and have some deer-stalking with him. I was much tantalized, but could not manage it. Brewster [Peel's Irish Attorney General~\ has a moor close to Digby's, and pressed hospitality on me too. I am going to town, and home to Ilanwell to-day, stopping for an hour at Lincoln to see the Cathedral (the only one in England that I have not seen, I believe) . \Vhether I shall be able to visit the Channel Islands or not depends on the business I find awaiting me at Pall Mall. I have just seen the terms of the Cape military colonization. They exceed in extravagance and folly even what I feared. It now remains to be seen what Parliament will say. I suppose as usual, nothing effectual. 254 Extracts from Letters of CLV. Colonial Church. 1856. Oct. 6. War Department. THANKS for your letter. I am off this evening for the Channel Islands. When I return I will send you my Cape paper. I agree with you that nothing could be more unfair than Gladstone's pressing the case of the United States into the service of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. As long as the American Church had any connexion with England, it drooped ; when the connexion was cut, it flou- rished. Gladstone was one of the first to detect and de- nounce the fallacy of preparing colonies for self-government by a preliminary course of government from Downing-street. Yet he advocates preparing colonial churchmen for managing their own affairs and paying their own clergy, by a course under Ernest Hawkins. CLVI. Gladstone's Speeches for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Jersey and Guernsey. 1856. Oct. 13. War Department. I SEND you my Cape paper, which I shall be much obliged by your forwarding to Mr. Gladstone, at Hawarden, when you have done with it. I also send a letter of Lyttelton's, con- taining observations by Gladstone on a letter I wrote to Lyttelton, attacking the Mold and Liverpool Society for the Propagation of the Gospel speeches. I have asked Lyttelton to send you my rejoinder. I think of writing a letter in the Guardian on the same subject. I have just come back from Jersey and Guernsey, which I was glad to have an opportunity of seeing. They are very like Devonshire, but with the peculiarity of very small farms, each with a house large and substantial enough for a Lothian or Lincolnshire farmer. They pay an enormous rent (generally from !/. to 5/. an acre) and land fetches a John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 255 proportionately high price (from lOOi?. to 150^. an acre). It is marvellous that they can make it pay, for the agri- culture is very bad, They do it, I believe, by living in the most economical and hard way, spending, in fact, less than an English labourer, and turning every penny to account ; besides that they are industrious and laborious beyond measure, every member of the family working from morning till night. The land is most fertile, too, and they have a sort of artificial market at their doors, as there are some 3000 resident strangers, chiefly half- pay officers, who live there for the sake of retirement and comparative cheapness. It is curious to go at once, as I have just done, from one extreme to the other, in the way of agricultural systems ; in Scotland large farms, large capital, scientific agriculture, educated farmers living like gentlemen, the whole thing in short conducted on the most enlightened commercial principles ; in Jersey, ignorant but industrious labourer-farmers, living from generation to generation on the same land, indeed, three-fourths of them owning their farms, spade-labour, no improvements ; but both systems resulting in enormous produce and high rents both producing far more than what may be called the intermediate system in England. I think there is very likely to be a row in France soon ; they are sure to have a wide-spead commercial crash, and that is very likely to lead to a political one. I wish I could go over to Paris for a fortnight. If I could, would you come ? CLVII. To the Editor of the "Guardian" on Gladstone's S^eec/tes. 185G. SIR, I hope I shall not be accused of presumption if I offer a few words of respectful criticism on the speeches lately delivered by Mr. Gladstone on behalf of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. I cannot but think that the 256 Extracts from Letters of principle of self-dependence, which he so forcibly and elo- quently affirms, is inconsistent with the systematic applica- tion of English funds to the support of Colonial Churches. It is true that Mr. Gladstone anticipates this objection, and meets it by saying that the proper function of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel is only to assist colonists in their early days of difficulty and struggle. But I cannot acquiesce in this view. In the first place, it appears to me that there lurks in it a fallacy somewhat of the same kind as that which led us to believe, until lately, that a colony during its early days is not fit for civil freedom, nor capable, politically, of self-support. With this latter fallacy, no man living has dealt more triumphantly and effectively than Mr. Gladstone; no man has more frequently pointed out, that individuals and communities become, not more, but less, fit to stand alone so long as they are supported by others. I ask him to apply the same principle to ecclesiastical matters. Depend upon it it is not means, but inclination, to support their clergy, which is wanting in colonial communities ; and my experience has convinced me that, under the system of requiring subsidies from England, the disinclination increases with the habit of immunity. But even if there be ever cases, such as Mr. Gladstone supposes, where a colonial community is literally unable to support its church, he will hardly say that any such case exists at the present time. Certainly, I know of none to which his theory can fairly be applied. For it is not enough to show that there are certain districts of a colony where the population is too poor or too scattered to provide for their clergy. Those are cases for the colony, as a whole, to deal with. There is between the various parts of colonial com- munities a "solidarity" of the same kind as that which exists between the various parts of the United Kingdom, and it docs not exist, cither in sentiment or in fact, between this country and the colonies. If it did, there would be reciprocity, which nobody contends for or aims at. When I see societies like the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel raising funds indiscriminately, and dispensing aid John Robert Godley io C. B. Adderley. 257 wherever required, both at home and in the colonies; or else, when I see corresponding societies formed, and sub- scriptions raised, in Toronto and Melbourne, to build churches in Bethnal-green, or to pay clergymen in the Pot- teries, then I will freely admit that there is nothing incon- sistent with sound principle in our maintaining an organized machinery for supporting the Church in the backwoods and at the diggings. But as it is I cannot but see that, with the public at least, the practice is founded, not on the natural and Christian theory of the relations between the rich and the poor, but on an unsound and mischievous theory of the relations between a Mother-country and a Colony. I trust, Sir, that it will not be supposed, from what I have said, that I undervalue the mission and the labours of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Far from it. That venerable society has a noble field for its operations. We have ample scope for Christian liberality in connexion with it, without trenching on the independence of Colonial Churches. Among the heathen nations which inhabit or border on our empire, among the natives of India, the Kafirs of South Africa, and the islanders of the Pacific, there is a work to be done which must command the sympathy of every Christian, and which is sufficient to tax the highest energies and the most effective machinery of the English Church. CLVIII. Observations on the Cultivation and Tenure of Land, put together for publication, from Letters cliv. and civ. 1856. Oct. 20. I HAVE, within the last few weeks, visited Scotland and the Channel Islands, and I cannot say how much I have been struck by the contrasts which those extremes of the United Kingdom exhibit in their rural economy. 1 had heard much of the progress which the system of giving leases and letting farms by tender had made of late years in Scotland, but 1 had no idea of the extent to which it has been already carried. I believe it is now as rare to find a farm unleascd s 258 Extracts from Letters of in Scotland as to find one leased in England. The usual term is either nineteen or twenty-one years, and the farmer no more considers that he has a claim to renewal at the end of it than he has to the fee-simple of the land. He makes his calculations entirely on the basis of keeping the farm so long, and no longer ; if he looks to getting a renewal, it must be by paying at least as high a rent as can be got in the market, for he knows that tenders will be advertised for, and, c&teris paribus, the highest taken. The sums invested by farmers in permanent improvements on certain though limited tenures, guaranteed by lease, are almost incredible. A very intelligent Tweedside farmer told me that a neigh- bour of his, a tenant of Sir Thomas Brisbane's, had invested 40,000/. (including stock) on a farm of 1000 acres, for which he paid 21. 2s. an acre. This is probably an extreme case, but 2QI. an acre is by no means uncommon. Yet all agree that no business has paid better than farming for the last ten years. Under the new system rents have risen enormously, in many cases 50 per cent., and it is satisfactory to find that the labourers have shared in the general prosperity, wages having risen from 10s. or 11s. to lis. or 15s. in the agricul- tural districts. One farmer told me he gave in harvest 18*. and food. It is strange that in Scotland, where so much of feudal sentiment has lingered so long, and indeed still lingers, this purely commercial system of land-letting should have established itself, while in England it is hardly known. The cause, I think, lies not in any deliberate change of opinion or feeling, but in the necessities of the Scotch landlords, who have been driven to turn their property to the most profitable account, without reference to any other considera- tion. In England, on the other hand, the landlords have acted under the influence partly of personal sympathies and attachments, and still more of a desire to keep up their political power, and they can, generally speaking, afford to make pecuniary considerations subordinate to such motives. "Well, in Jersey and Guernsey you see the precise con- verse of what 1 have been describing. Instead of large farms, scientific agriculture, and a shifting tenantry of edit- John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 259 cated gentlemen-farmers, with large capital and commercial ideas, you have farms averaging 10 acres (each farm generally a separate estate), primitive though careful cultivation, fami- lies living upon and farming the same land for hundreds of years, and apparently much in the same way and Avith the same tools as hundreds of years ago. Each of these little estates or farms is divided from its neighbour by an immense hedgerow, so that the country from a height looks like a continuous wood. The farmhouses are substantial stone buildings, as good externally as ordinary farmhouses in Warwickshire, but the people live, I was told, more hardly and poorly than English labourers, very rarely eating meat, and scarcely taking as much rest as is sufficient to preserve health, such is their covetous industry. The amount of produce that they get out of the land is marvellous, the average rent of it being quite 4?l. an acre. It is curious to see how each of the two systems I have been describing, opposed as they are to each other, results in immense produce, far greater than what may be called the intermediate system, which prevails in England, makes. I suppose, the largest amount of all is produced in the Channel Islands, but then they have great advantages in their soil and climate (which, I think, are on the whole more favourable to vegetation than any other that I have seen), in the abundance, close at hand, of seaweed manure, in (what may be called) an artificial market afforded by 4000 or 5000 resident strangers, and in the remarkably industrious, laborious, and acquisitive character of the Norman race which inhabits them a character which appears to compensate by the possession of those qualities for the want of Anglo-Saxon intelligence and enterprise. At any rate, the rural economy of Guernsey and Jersey is not transplantable ; it may subsist and prosper indefinitely in these days where it has been handed down, but no one would think of creating it where it did not exist ; whereas the Scotch system, with all its drawbacks (and in a moral and social point of view they are many), is conceived in the very spirit of the age, and will, I have no doubt, eventually prevail throughout the whole of this kingdom. 260 Extracts from Letters of CLIX. German Legion Transportation . 1856. Oct. 20. War Department. IN the first place, I did not over-estimate the expense of settling the Germans at 201. a head. [Referring to a Debate I raised, on Godlet/'s authority, about the Cost of settling the German Legion in South Africa.] On the contrary, it so happens that that is the very sum which has been defini- tively offered to them, though I did not know it. Indeed, it is not unlikely that my paper was a guide to fixing the sum, which is not at all too much. Of course the gross sum required will be very much less than my estimate, which was based on Sir G. Grey's statement that 8000 would go ; whereas I hear not more than 2000 or at the most 3000, will do so ; but I under-estimated the cost per hea d. I should see no objection, myself, to transportation limited as you describe; but the question is not what'^cw or I might think objectionable, but what the colonists would, think so; and I don't think that, in the existing state of feeling, any colony would choose to let in the small end of the wedge. "Remember that the critical or touchstone part of the argu- ment turns on the possibility of attracting capitalists to a convict settlement. You should, therefore, examine and expound the experience (pro or con] of New South Wales and Van Dicmcii's Land on that point. The question is- Can we, by a proper application of convicts' labour while under sentence, prepare a market for their labour as free men after the expiration of the sentence ? CLX. On t/te icay to Paris German Legion. 1856. Oct. 24. Folkestone. So far am I on my way to Paris ! hoping to be back in a week. I scud you a note which I have received from Glad- stone, and which pray return ; it is too flattering not to be kept. I replied that no public use must be made of my paper, John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 261 or my name, but that I did not think I was precluded from any amount of private communication with, and expression of opinion to, my friends on public subjects. Nice fellows these Germans are ! For two days they have been in open mutiny at Portsmouth, broken open the gaol at Gosport, and committed all manner of excesses. Fortunately, these loyal defenders of British Colonies had not been en- trusted with ball-cartridge, or they would have murdered their officers. They are now to have their arms also taken from them. Their paymasters have resigned, saying their lives would not be safe for a day among the men after receiving a consignment of money. CLXI. On Return from Paris. 1856. Nov. 7. War Department. I WAS charmed with Paris ; every time I see it I understand better how, to a Frenchman, exile from it is death. It is not merely the architectural beauty of its buildings, and gardens, and quays, but an indescribable brilliancy which shines all through it like an atmosphere, and seems to inspire as well as to evince universal enjoyment. To me a walk along the boulevards at night is a thousand times more interesting and amusing than the most elaborate scenery and acting at any theatre. But it is all a whited sepulchre ; beneath the sur- face you find only discontent and mutual distrust, and above all a vague fear of the future a sort of " fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation." No one would give three years' purchase for any political institution or personage; and (what is more curious and, so far as I know, unprece- dented) while every one grumbles at the present rt'y'niie, and many say " anything would hi: better," hardly any one knows what he would have, if the power to choose were before him. The clergy, and those who go among the poor, say they never knew the ouvriers worse off or more discontented, and the commerce of Paris, though active just now, is felt to rest on the most unsound basis. At the same time, every one 262 Extracts from Letters of thinks the troops are, for the present at least, on the Emperor's side, and to be depended on, and they are strong enough, no doubt, to put down active insurrection. But even his military system is artificial and unsound ; the whole army is sacrificed to the corps d' elite, i.e., the Imperial Guard and the Zouaves, who are actually allowed to skim the cream from the line regiments and leave them the refuse. The difference, accordingly, between a regiment of guards and one of the line is like the difference between our Life Guards and a newly-raised militia corps, with this difference, that the corps d' elite in France are 40,000 men. They say the line are infinitely disgusted at this treatment, but of course, for a foreigner, it is very hard to judge on such a point. Meat, and bread, and butter are rather dearer than in London ; house-rent considerably dearer. A room for a workman in the centre of Paris can't be got (unfurnished) under 350 francs a year ; outside the barriers at 200 francs. Wages from 2 francs to 2'50 per day. Servants' wages nearly as high as here, but I think they are not so particular, and will do more work. No news here to-day. I hear Cockburn wont take the Chief Justiceship, and it is generally supposed that^ Wilson will take the Inland Revenue. If so, Peel will go to the Treasury, and who will come here ? Everything of this kind now waits the Cabinet next Tuesday. Nothing but excessive vanity can make Wilson hesitate about the Inland Revenue. But he thinks he is sacrificing a certain premiership if he goes. I have left my Wife and Chicks at Folkestone. I had a long talk with Mrs. Twisleton yesterday. She is looking very well and pretty, and is (of course) in a state of the greatest excitement about the Presidential election. I must say, I never felt much interest, because I never felt the slightest doubt about it. The South has its property, perhaps its existence as a community, at stake ; the North is fighting for an abstract principle. It is easy to anticipate which will win. Join Robert Godley to C. B. AdderUy. 203 CLXII. Speech on Church Government in New Zealand New Zealand News English Politics. 1856. Dec. 17. Dublin. I SEND you a speech of mine on Church Government, which I have been chiefly induced to reprint just now, from Gladstone having asked me to put my notions about that subject on paper for him. It appears to me that much of what presses so unfavourably on many minds in the operation of our Church, is the result of want of government ; and I think you are of the same opinion. I have just heard, to my very great delight, of Fitzgerald's being elected Superintendent of Canterbury. Sewell is a candidate for the General Assembly ; and Wakefield having quarrelled with both the old parties, government and consti- tutionalists, goes in as the champion of the working classes, and the advocate of giving them land for nothing, under the name of compensation. What news is this ! I always thought the Reform Bill would be a terrible embarrassment, but I did not dream of its losing them Palmerston. It is a terrible blow to the Ministry, in the present state of foreign affairs first, because vast numbers of people were induced to trust Ministers solely on account of him ; and, secondly, because, once out of office, he is sure to find an occasion for fault-finding, and most dexterous in making use of it. Besides, there is a prestige about him; he is the " Poliorcetes," the "king-maker;" the puller- down of governments (cart'so^rjv ; and I suspect he likes the reputation and the work. Who is to be Home Secretary? Lord John? Sir George Grey? who? Write to me about things in general. Extracts from ^,ew Zealand Speech. When men. form or join a society, ecclesiastical or secular, the idea is almost necessarily involved of their doing some- thing in combination, which, as individuals, they could not or would not do; otherwise why should they combine? Hut 264 Extracts from Letters of a society, in order to work, must have an organization and a government ; it must Lave forms, laws, qualifications, execu- tive instruments it must have a head and hands. Accord- ingly every association of men, for any purpose whatever, begins by constituting its government ; however small or humble be its scale and its object, whether it be a penny club, or a building society, or a political union, or a religious sect, as a matter of course it appoints its managing com- mittee, or its president, or its synod, or whatever else it may please to call its legislative and executive organ. Through the medium of this organ it acts, and speaks, and does its business ; without this organ it would be an unmeaning and objectless list of names. Therefore I call it a truism to say, that it is exceedingly desirable for the Church of England in NCAV Zealand to have a form of government. The wonder is, indeed, that at this stage of our ecclesiastical existence we should have to enunciate so self-evident a proposition. Yet so it is ; this truism is not merely ignored it is actually dis- puted. While, so far as I can recollect, there is not in the world another instance of a society without a government, to many Englishmen it appears right and proper that such should be the normal state of their Church. If you go to the shareholder in a joint-stock bank or a railway company, or to a Wesleyan or Presbyterian, and ask him how the society he belongs to is governed that is to say, who makes and who executes its laws not one of them would be for a moment at a loss for an answer; he could inform you with respect to its organization as easily as he could with respect to its character and object. But if you go to a member of the Church of England and ask him the same simple question, what answer can he give? Is there any one here present who can tell me how the laws of the English Church are made who speaks our collective voice does what we have as a Corporation to do in a word, who manages our affairs ? One man may refer rne to certain laws made in the year 1C03 for the Government of the Church, and may reply to me by describing the judicial machinery provided for the execution John Robert Godley to C. 13. Adderley. 265 of them. Another may tell me that Parliament governs the Church ; another that the Queen ; another that the Bishops govern it. And in. each of these answers there would be a certain amount of apparent truth. The Canons are nominally the statute-hook of the English Church. Parliament does occasionally legislate in matters ecclesiastical. The Queen is, in theory, her executive head. The Bishops exercise, after a fashion, certain governmental functions in their re- spective dioceses. But still the question " who governs us?" taken in its ordinary, common-sense meaning, remains unanswerable. The Canons are necessarily and properly for the most part obsolete and unexecuted : as indeed, it is ab- surd to suppose that any human authority could devise com- plicated rules of action for a society, which would answer its purpose and supply its needs for 250 years without addition and alteration. Parliamentary legislation in Church matters is a usurpation founded simply upon might. The Queen's authority is as purely nominal in ecclesiastical as iu civil affairs. The Bishops have no recognised collective authority at all ; and in their respective dioceses exercise the simply ministerial office of carrying out the existing laws. Xo real governmental power resides in any of these functionaries : because a right to make laws is an essential attribute of a real Government ; and no existing authority lias a right to make laws for the English Church. In considering this state of things, I confess it seems to me difficult to resist the con- clusion that even the endurance of it implies in a degree paralysis ; contentment under it would imply the absence of life. A society that cannot make a law for the regulation of its own affairs, or express a corporate opinion, or do a corpo- rate act that is unable, in short, to perform any of the func- tions of life can only, by a great stretch of language, be said to be a living body. Whatever may be the numbers and energy of its individual members, as a society, I say it is virtually dead. And, I confess, I see little hope that the Mother-Church will be able to extricate herself from this anomalous and helpless condition. Parliament will never, I 266 Extracts from Letters of fear, concede to her, so long as she holds her present endow- ments and her present position, the liberty of independent action ; and the Church, on the other hand, will not sacrifice her position and her endowments for the sake of her liberties. For, indeed, the dis-establishment of the English Church would be, beyond all doubt, a fearful revolution, leading to consequences which no man can foresee ; and if her children shrink from bidding for her freedom at such a price, I can- not wonder at them, and I dare not blame them. But fortu- nately our position here is a more hopeful one in reality, although at first sight it may seem to be the reverse. The Church of England being in such a state as I have de- scribed, has sent out numerous bodies of offspring to all parts of the world. I beg your pardon; she cannot send, because, as I have explained to you, as a Church she cannot do any- thing ; I should have said, numerous bodies of her offspring have gone out from her, bearing with them the principles and traditions of their spiritual mother, and they have to adapt these, as best they can, to a new set of political and social circumstances. Amongst other things, they have to see IIOAV they can get on without government in a state of things which urgently requires corporate action. The Colonial Church is cast on her own resources altogether ; she has, generally speaking, neither influence, nor funds, nor con- sideration bequeathed to her, or provided for her ready made ; she must obtain them as she can, by personal efforts, if I may use the term. But personal efforts require, of course, a personal agency : in order to collect funds to build churches, to get and keep congregations, to exercise order and dis- cipline amongst them,, and to convert the heathen, a machi- nery is wanted ; the old machinery, such as it is, is inappli- cable or inadequate, and there is no one with authority to create new. The consequence is, tbat the Anglican com- munion almost invariably falls, at the commencement of a colony, below the level of other denominations. I do not recollect a single instance when, under such circumstance, she can be said to have held her own. Other sects come out, accustomed to self-organization and self-government ; each John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 267 branch is complete in itself, prepared at all points, ready for its work. Anglicans alone, when removed from the sphere of their old associations, stand bewildered and apathetic, and unable to move or act; looking for help from Government, or from the Mother-country j from every quarter, in fact, but from themselves. Though generally richer than other de- nominations, they cannot or will not support their own minis- ters ; at least, I know that in those colonies with which alone I am personally acquainted, it is so. In British America the English people, through the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the Additional Bishoprics' Society, and in New Zealand the people of England, through the Church Missionary Society and Parliamentary grants, support the clerical establishments of communities which are perfectly well able to do it for themselves, and would be perfectly willing too, if they were not enervated by long disuse of the habit of acting for themselves in ecclesiastical affairs. At the same time it would be only fair to say that the Church of England in the colonies is far from being on a level with other sects, as regards freedom of action. Deprived as she is of the advantages resulting (or supposed to result) from State connexion, it is believed (for such is the absurdity of the system, that no one seems to know exactly what its prin- ciples or practices are, but it is believed) that she still remains fettered by the liabilities which were the incidents of her establishment in the Mother-country. I will illustrate what I mean, by an example which occurred not long ago in this colony, A member of the Anglican Church wished to marry a Jewess : the clergyman refused to perform the marriage, and persevered in his refusal ; but the bishop told me he had been informed by the judge, that if the parties applied for a mandamus to compel the clergyman to marry them, he (the judge) would have felt it his duty to grant it. I am not going to enlarge on the intolerable tyranny involved in the existence of such a state of things ; I allude to it at present as showing the necessity, not only for a complete review of our ecclesiastical all'airs, and for the establishment of new and radically different principles of Church organization, 2G8 Extracts from Letters of but also, perhaps, for parliamentary assistance in breaking our bonds. I have now, Sir, attempted to show why, in the words of the resolution which I am about to propose, it appears desi- rable that a form of government for the Church of England in New Zealand should be established, with as little delay as possible. I have attempted to explain that without it she cannot properly fulfil her most ordinary and necessary func- tions, and that to the want of it is mainly to be attributed the apathy and helplessness which have been, to so great an extent, characteristic of our colonial churches. I will next endeavour to corroborate the view I have taken by quoting the example set to us with respect to this matter by a sister Church which found itself not very long ago in circumstances analogous to our own I mean the Protestant Episcopal Church of America. It is often said by enemies of the Eng- lish lleformed Church, that she is the creature of the State, dependent on her Establishment and her endowments for existence, and incapable of standing, like other ecclesiastical bodies, humanly speaking, by her own strength, and working with her own means : and I confess, if I were to look at the present state of our colonial churches alone, I should find it difficult to rebut the sneer. But I can show another side to the picture. I can prove, I think, that the converse view is nearer to the truth. AVhen the United States declared their independence, it may be said (humanly speaking again) that the Church fell with the monarchy; episcopacy, especially in communion with the Church of England, was, for obvious reasons, not only unfashionable, but almost infamous ; the endowments of the Church, which had been very large in some of the States, were taken away ; her edifices were de- stroyed ; even her Communion-plate was sold ; numbers of her clergy emigrated, together with the most earnest members of their flocks. In short, it is impossible to conceive a more complete and overwhelming prostration than the American Episcopal Church then suffered ; one would have said. that, within the lifetime of a generation, her existence in thu United States, like that of the British Constitution on which John Eobert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 269 she is said to depend, would be a matter of history. Now let us look at the sequel. For some little time the depression consequent on the revolution continued, but the American churchmen who were left were not dismayed : they had sense to see that new measures were required to meet the emer- gency, and faith to believe that they would be sufficient to meet it. Now, it is instructive for us to remark that the first step they took, when forced to shift for themselves, was the formation of a governing body. The first General Con- vention of the American Church met in 17S5, only three years after the peace ; the first American Bishop was conse- crated in 1787. The Church was organized with a rapidity and completeness eminently characteristic of the administra- tive talents of the people ; the civil constitution of the He- public serving naturally to a great extent as a model. A General Convention was constituted consisting of all the bishops, and of clerical and lay representatives from each diocese, and possessing full legislative powers for the Avhole Church. Diocesan Conventions exercised similar powers within their respective jurisdictions : vestries administered parishes. By degrees the outline thus sketched was filled up ; canons of discipline were passed ; the liturgy was re- vised ; provision was made for education, for foreign missions, for domestic extension. Scattered and helpless individuals became an animated, active, working body, far inferior in- deed to most of the other denominations in outward circum- stances, but at least able for the first time to do justice to itself and make free use of its own resources. Before I de- scribe the result of these measures, I must remind you that the Episcopal Church had another disadvantage to contend with. It is notorious that of the emigrants to America, a comparatively small proportion are even nominally members of the English Cliurch. The causes of this are too obvious to require enumeration, and the fact is undoubted. The American Episcopal Church, therefore, was forced to rely largely upon proselytism, if it hoped to hold its own in num- bers and influence. But to return to the historical facts. I cannot find out what the number of Episcopalian clergymen 270 Extracts from Letters of was after the Revolution. I can only ascertain such isolated facts as that the State of New York, which, in 1844, had 304 clergymen, had only five in 1787. I am compelled, therefore, to begin my general comparison at a later date. In 1814, I find that the Episcopal Church numbered 24-0 clergymen, officiating in organized parishes; in 1844, the last year for which I have been able to procure the statistics, it had 1202. Assuming that its congregations multiplied in equal propor- tion, and there seems no reason for doubting it, we have here the fact that in thirty years the number of American Church- men increased fivefold, or about twice as fast as the whole population of the Union. So that even if we allow, for argu- ment's sake, that immigration supplied them to an extent proportionate to their original numbers, they must have more than doubled themselves by conversions alone in thirty years. And that they have done so at least seems to be shown by the fact, that in 1839 more than one-half of their clergy and nearly one- half of their bishops had been Presby- terians, Congregationalists, Methodists, or Baptists. I need not say that the proportion of converts is likely to have been larger among the congregations than among those who rose to office and dignity in the Church. Again, the American Church gets plenty of money. Her clergy, which now amount to at least 1600, have an average income of 200^. a year, and if I add the funds raised for church building, education, missions, and other Church purposes, I am sure I shall be within the mark if I set the income of the American Church at half a million sterling annually ; that is, speaking roughly, 10s. a head for the members of her communion ; or 2/. 10s. for every family. " In fact, we do not want money," says her historian ; " we have funds enough ; we want men for the ministry." This is the natural result of the zeal and interest which is engendered among her members by an active participation in the management of her affairs. But it is not only in subscribing money, that this zeal and interest are displayed. Just as civil freedom promotes patriotism, so does ecclesiastical freedom promote that religious esprit de corps which is one of the strongest human incentives to zeal John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 271 for the interests of the Church. (I trust I may say this with- out seeming to disparage the higher and more spiritual motives on Avhich every Christian should primarily act.) "When I was in America, I paid particular attention to this point ; and I must say, I was forcibly impressed by the zealous, indefatigable, and systematic manner in Avhich the ' ' Episcopalians " of that busy, restless, worldly nation carried on the business of their church. In every depart- ment of her proceedings the advantages of her system are visible. When an extension of the Episcopate is required, she is not obliged to go, like some other people I have heard of, to a heterogeneous Legislature composed of men of every religion, or of 110 religion, nor to a Colonial Minister, who may be her bitter enemy, in order to ask leave to consecrate a bishop, and to discuss the boundaries of the diocese, and the amount of the endowment. The American Church settles that for herself, as every church ought. But I need not ex- patiate longer on the advantages of system and organization which the American Church enjoys. I have been induced to say thus much on her constitution and progress, because as present- ing the only instance of an ecclesiastical body in communion with the Church of England, which possesses a regularly con- stituted representative Government, she affords the only avail- able precedent for our own case, and also because the signal success which has attended a career begun under such dis- couraging circumstances, seems to show that, in order to fulfil her mission, the Church of England does not require endow- ments or State connexion ; she only wants to have her hands untied, a clear stage, and no favour. Mind, I do not by any means wish it to be understood that I propose the American Constitution, in all its parts, to you as a model ; nor (of course,) do I mean to assert that self-government is the only cause of the success of the American Church. But I must say it docs appear, not only to be remarkably coincident with that suc- cess, but to constitute almost the only material difference between her position and that of the Colonial Churches which are so far behind her in available life and energy. 1 will next notice one or two of the objections commonly 272 Extracts from Letters of made to a representative Government for the Church ; for I need hardly say that the form of government we wish to obtain, involves the representative principle. It is said that it would encourage factions, debatings, and party contests. I will not insist on the argument, that a similar objection would lie against all representative government civil as well as ecclesiastical. I would rather point to the American Church, and ask whether such an effect has been produced there. Of course, I don't mean to say that there has been no party feeling on Church matters in America. I only say it has not been so strong, nor has it led to such evil results, as in England ; and that there, as elsewhere, in the Church as in the State, free and regular institutions have been not the cause, but the cure of faction. Again, it may be said that self-government will lead to rash and heterodox alterations in the formularies of worship, and in the discipline of the church. And here I must not be misunderstood. I would certainly claim, on the part of the New Zealand Church, the right of managing to the fullest extent its own affairs, includ- ing, of course, the regulation of worship, and the control over formularies. "While it is necessary and right that the Formu- laries of the Church of England should be the basis of union among those who combine to form a constitution for a colonial church, I must say, that after it is formed, I think it would 1)0 unworthy of our position as a national church to bind ourselves to those Formularies for ever. Why should we not have the same right of revising from time to time our Liturgies and Articles to suit our circumstances, which every national church, and which the Church of England herself, has repeatedly claimed and exercised ? Are we afraid we shall exercise that natural and obvious right badly ? It is possible we may. But I am quite sure, if we are inclined to do so, no paper restriction will prevent us. Nor is it advisable that it should. If bishops, clergy, and laity should at any time wish for alterations, I really sec no good in trying to make them use forms which they would on the hypothesis dis- approve of. But having said thus much on the abstract right to effect changes, I point to the American Church as my John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 273 ground for anticipating that they will not be effected; at least not to any injurious extent. There was everything in the circumstances of the American Church and people to make wide deviations on their part from the English ritual a priori probable ; yet it is well known that the deviations actually made are altogether unimportant, both in number and character ; nay, it is remarkable, and forms a strong testimony in favour of our formularies, that in several in- stances where alterations have been actually made, the Church has subsequently returned, after experience of the change, to the more ancient usage. The last, and perhaps the strongest, objection to representa- tive government which I shall consider, is founded on the difficulty of settling how the lay element in the proposed governing body shall be constituted ; in other words, who shall possess the church franchise. This difficulty is un- doubtedly a formidable one ; indeed, it is hardly susceptible of a perfectly satisfactory solution; for in whichever way it be settled by any particular class of persons, it is always open to another class to ask them who gave you authority to settle it ? But this is not properly an objection : it is only a difficulty, and difficulties are made to be overcome. Although we may never arrive at a solution of the question which shall be logically satisfactory, we may get in a rough and approxi- mate way at a settlement of it, which will be sufficient for all practical purposes. For example, a plan might be pro- posed by the highest authority in our church the bishop, or bishops involving a settlement of the franchise question ; and if that plan were accepted by the clergy, and the great body of those who call themselves churchmen, it will pro- bably be thought that as near an approximation to the desideratum of a general assent as is necessary for practical purposes would be arrived at. For my own part, I am very anxious to have this question raised; and though it is not strictly relevant to the matter in hand, and the discussion of it may appear premature, I will ask your indulgence while I say a few words about it. After much and anxious reflection, I can sec no proper qualification for a church franchise but T 274 Extracts from Letters of that of full communion ; and I say this quite irrespectively of any doctrinal opinion about the nature and effects of that Holy Sacrament. I say it, because this qualification, or something strictly equivalent to it, is in consonance with invariable usage in the ancient church, and also, indeed, in every Christian denomination, except our own, of which I ever heard. I say so, moreover, because we can have other- wise absolutely no guarantee that those who assume to legislate for the church are even nominally churchmen : still less, that they observe those laws, an observance of which all her members admit to be of the very essence of churchman- ship ; and while I entertain what many would consider very democratic views about the participation of the laity in church government, it is a sine qua non with me that they should be church laity. Now, it seems a contradiction in terms to say that a man is in communion with the church who never communicates. The very word communion, as applied in- * discriminately to Christian fellowship, and to a participation in the LORD'S Supper, proves that the two ideas are, in the minds of Christians, identical. Indeed, I may be wrong, but I cannot help thinking that those who hold a different view in this matter either have hardly thought out the question, or are mainly actuated by what I conceive to be a mistaken view of expediency. Some of them fear that non-communi- cants would be offended ; but, I must say, I think a man who deliberately and habitually abstains from communion with the church, is not one to whose opinions and feelings church rules should be made subordinate. Others fear that a communicant's franchise might lead to a profanation of the Sacrament. Have they inquired whether in other religious denominations, where conformity to religious ordinances is invariably required, as a qualification for church government, any such profanatory effect is experienced or even suspected ? The fact is, it would really not be worth a man's while, for the sake of so small an inducement, to be habitually guilty of so great a crime. But even if it were found, as is just possible, that such a rule might aggravate the guilt of a few abandoned individuals, ought we to place their supposed John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 275 spiritual interests in competition with the welfare of the whole church? Others, perhaps, have heard the maxim, that taxation involves representation, and think accordingly that every man who pays money for church purposes has a right to participate in church government. Have they considered how far this abstract proposition would lead them ? Certain it is, that no political or religious community in the world ever admitted or acted on such a principle. No matter how far a nation may go in the direction of universal suffrage, it always stops short of making contribution to its revenue the sole qualification for political power. Women, children, idiots, convicts, aliens, may and generally do contribute to revenue, but they never enjoy its supposed correlative, that is, power. Go and subscribe to a Wesley an Meeting-house, or a Presbyterian Church, and see whether your doing so will get you a vote for members of the next Conference or the next Assembly. You may reasonably make pecuniary contribution one qualification ; but I cannot even conceive a proposal deliberately made that it should be the only one. On the other hand, I hardly think any one will propose as permanent qualification for church government a simple statement of church membership. This again would be quite unheard of. No religious or political privilege was ever yet granted on the mere condition that a person claimed it for it comes to that ; there is always required some test of his sincerity ; something that involves a question of fact upon which the claimant may be objected to, if he be not telling the truth. There remains to be considered the plan of a double franchise ; i.e., a state- ment of church membership, combined with a payment ; and this is the franchise which has been apparently proposed for adoption in Wellington, and, it may be said, in South Australia also ; for seat-renting involves in some degree a profession of churchmanship as well as money payment. To this rule I object, in the first place, that it does not secure the real churchmanship of the governing body and in the second, that pecuniary payment ought not to be mixed up with church franchises at all. Wherever it is adopted, the best churchmen may be excluded because poor; while persons who are T 2 276 Extracts from Letters of notoriously not churchmen will have votes in church matters, and assist in making church laws. On the whole, therefore, it does appear to me that no good reason can be assigned why the Church of England should adopt a more lax rule with respect to its franchise than any other ecclesiastical body. CLXIII. Laudatory Article in " Economist" on the Letter on Tenure of Land Politics. 1857. March 23. War Office. I SEND an extract from the Economist [on the Letter on Tenure of Land, clviii.] which you will like to see. I observe (not that it matters a straw) that my theorizations are laid to your door. The Derby ites bowled over everywhere. I see ' ( looming in the future " a ' ' reform " Government, with Lord John, Graham, Sidney Herbert, Cardwell, (per- haps Cobden), &c. in it. That is the way this coach will be upset. CLXIV. Offence given to Farmers ly recommendation of Leases to the highest bidder. 1857. March 26. I AM very sorry my poor letter [on Tenure of Land~\ has got you into a scrape at your election, and I need not say that you are at liberty to throw the onus of its heterodoxy on me, by name if you like. I am afraid it is almost as bad to have such an heretical friend. CLXV. The Election. 1857. April 3. War Office. MOST cordially do I wish you joy. I can't tell you what a relief it was to my mind when I opened the Times to see John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 277 "Adderley and Child" in the list of returns, McGeachy having croaked a good deal to me, and made me feel very anxious yesterday. If you had been beaten, there really would not have been a soul I cared about personally, much, in the House ; all my other intimate friends, Palmer, Monck, and Cocks, having lost their seats. You certainly had it all your own way, and I only wonder how Buller can have been fool enough to start. F. Peel was asked, but was too knowing. He said besides, that " he would not oppose Adderley," a good deal for him to say. CLXVI. On Return from Switzerland. 1857. Nov. 3. Folkestone. HERE we are, back again, after a successful, though, of course, too rapid, run to Switzerland ! We went by Paris and Strasburg to Lucerne, thence by the Entlebuch valley to Berne, Thun, Friburg, Vevay, Geneva, Lyons, and so to Paris again. I could not ask my Wife to remain longer away from the Children, and, besides, the days were getting really too short for travelling ; otherwise it would have seemed a great pity to come home so soon when one had got so far. Neither of us had been in Switzerland before, so we were glad even of a passing glance, which is quite sufficient to lay in a store of pleasant recollections, and to give reality and (as it were) body to history and description. The wea- ther was perfectly lovely the whole time, and though of course nothing makes up for the want of the long summer mornings and evenings, yet so far as mere beauty is con- cerned, I don't suppose we could have seen the country to greater advantage at any other time, for October had steeped the woods in all the colours of the rainbow ; and I doubt whether even on the banks of the Hudson the autumn tints arc brighter and more gorgeous than in Switzerland. It is true that the sugar-maple, which supplies the scarlet of the pattern in America is absent, but there is a fruit-tree, a kind of 278 Extracts from Letters of plum, I think, of which the leaves give almost as bright a red. There is not quite as much of this particular tint as one might desire, but every other hue is in abundance and perfection, set off by the stern and uniform background, or rather framework, of the dark green pine. Our tour com- prised the finest part of the accessible i.e., lowland districts? and especially the three lakes which I wished particularly to see Lucerne, Thun, and Geneva. You know them all, of course, so I shall not say much about them. You will, per- haps, laugh at me, when I say that I stick to my old love, Killarney, as nearer to my idea of perfection. in its way, than anything I have seen since. I think the forms and outlines of its shores, and of the hills about it, are quite as beautiful as Lucerne, while in colouring (independently of the tempo- rary accident of the October tints, which affect only the actual woodland, of course) Killarney is far superior. The combination of arbutus, holly, mountain ash sparkling with red berries, and, above all, purple heather coming down to the very edge of the water, clothing and yet showing at intervals the grey rock, and forming a perpetual succession of perfect foregrounds, this combination, I say, still appears to me un- equalled, and more than equivalent to the obvious advantage possessed by Lucerne in tbe greater height of the mountains' and the snow on the summits of the distant peaks. The snow indeed is rather a failure there (except in so far as it produces the idea of greatness and height) ; for it is patchy, and broken by black cliffs. I have taken Lucerne as a point of compa- rison, because I think on the whole it is the most beautiful of the lakes I saw. At Thun we were unlucky, the mountain- tops being covered, so that we only saw the Bernese Alps clearly from a great distance. We had a splendid view of Mont Blanc, both from the Lake of Geneva, and afterwards from Lyons certainly, both in form and colour, the ideal of the monarch of mountains, and as such, i.e., as perfectly satisfying the want which one's imagination felt of an ideal mountain, well worth by himself a journey to Switzerland and back. There is one point, certainly, in which Swiss scenery beats Ireland hollow, and that is the human acces- John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 279 series of every kind. The costumes of the people, and the architecture of the buildings, down to the smallest cottage, add to the picturesqueness of the scene quite incalculably, while at Killarney they do their very best to spoil it. Besides which, I am sure you must have felt the effect of the histo- rical and poetical associations which hallow so much of Swit- zerland to a degree which I think no country in the world, except Palestine not Greece, or Rome, or Scotland can beat. At least, this is my feeling. The traditions of Rome and Greece are broken and marred by their subsequent history and by the degeneracy of their present inhabitants ; while Switzerland remains Avhat Tell made her, and every inhabi- tant of the country knows and feels it, and the anniversaries of Sempach and Morgarten are kept as national and religious festivals, and they have shewn hundreds of times since, up to the French invasion of 1798, that they are ready to do over again what they did then, which with me adds incalculably to the interest I take in it all. There is something, too, very pleasant to an Englishman in feeling himself to be in a free country. I know this sounds pedantic to many people, but with me it is really and palpably an enjoyment. To have no passports, or per mis de sejour, or gendarmes ordering me about, and to know that what I hear the people say, and read in the newspapers I take up, about politics, is, or may be the genuine sentiments of the speakers and writers, unfettered by fear of " espionage " or " censure," all this produces on me the effect of the open air after a sick room. So far as one who (literally) runs can read, Switzerland has all the appearance of being very well governed. The people seemed to be very well dressed and well housed, the roads admirable ; the elec- tric telegraph is everywhere, even carried round the naked rocks of Lucerne Lake, and up to the top of Righi, and you only pay one franc for a message ; we saw few beggars, which rather surprised me, as I had heard they were numerous; but what struck me most was the marvellous bodily industry we saw everywhere. It is not, of course, a mark of very ad- vanced civilization that the whole population, male and female, should be at work from morning to night at manual 280 Extracts from Letters of labour, and though it is pleasant to see a population thoroughly busy and in earnest, still it is certainly overdone in Switzerland. The women look like men disguised, and do navvies' work, literally. One wonders how the children are looked after, for there are quite as many women as men in the fields. I had not time to visit any of their poorhouses or prisons ; I hear they are very well managed. I should like to know whether your impressions of Switzerland were as favourable as mine ; I mean socially, not as regards beauty of scenery. I should like very much to travel quietly through it with you, observing and speculating. We heard at Lyons of the taking of Delhi, from a Frenchman in a diligence of course, with the addition, that the British were besieged in their turn after taking it, and short of provisions. How they all hate us ! We must, I think, be an unamiable people ; mere envy of our prosperity is not sufficient to account for the dislike that the whole world entertains of us. I confess it is not plea- sant to think that our fall would give greater satisfaction to more people than almost any other possible event of a public nature. CLXVII. On Indian Government Question. 1857. Nov. 10. Folkestone. I AM glad to hear you are preparing for the discussion on Indian questions. You should read the debates on Fox's Indian Bill in '82 especially Burke's speech. I did not get Mill, not being quite sure whether it was worth my while to buy him, and not being able to borrow him at the London library. I agree with you that the government of India by the Company ought to be abolished. It never had anything to say for itself except that it worked well, and it can't say that now. I have always maintained that there were two of our disputed political questions which did not appear to me matters for argument the double government of India, and the question of purchase in the army. In neither case is John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 281 there (literally) any one thing to be said for the existing system, except that it exists, a.ndih&tqmetanonmoveridebent. And I agree, under qualification, in what you say about letting the local government, as a general rule, settle local questions. But I certainly would not give to any viceroy unlimited power, or make him in any sense of the word, a despot. To the supreme power in this country he must be strictly accountable, while and because that power backs and supports him. We cannot get rid of our responsibility for our agent, and we must therefore see that he does not abuse the power he derives from us. Despotism of any kind is most dangerous and liable to abuse ; but despotism backed by the overwhelm- ing force of a foreign nation, and therefore independent of the nation governed, is of all forms of government the most liable to abuse. It is because publicity and rapidity of com- munication bring responsibility home to Indian Governors, that I believe in the possibility of tolerable government in India. If I thought Warren Hastings's rule could be repeated, I should deprecate our remaining in India at all. I don't think the history of the revolt justifies your views about semi-independent Princes. They have been almost without exception our firm allies, while the revolt has extended itself over our own territories. Nor can I admit that a treaty between a strong state and a Aveak one need be, or ought to be, a sham and a fraud, though of course there is danger of, and temptation to, its becoming so. We are now reaping the benefit of the faith we have kept with Scindiah, Ilolkar, Gliolab Singh, &c. ; and expiating the breach of faith we were guilty of in annexing Oude ; for, though the annexation will probably in the end turn to good, I have no doubt but that it was a breach of faith, and the best authorities hold that it precipitated, if it did not partly cause, the insurrection. Would you real/// like to see Lord Ellenborough wielding despotic power in India ? I admit his administrative abilities. As regards patronage, if you mean the power of making local appointments and dismissing from them, I quite agree that the head of the local Government ought to have it; indeed, I believe he has it now ; but I see no reason why he 282 Extracts from Letters of should have the patronage of original appointments, nor indeed could he well exercise it, as they must of course be made in England ; and this will be the bugbear held up as a difficulty in the way of a change as it was in Pox's time. However, the system already adopted of admitting to the civil service by open competition has removed great part of the difficulty, and I see no reason why the same principle should not be extended to the military service. I should most strongly deprecate such an enormous addition to the already enormous and much-abused patronage of the Horse Guards. I have been reading over again here " Stanley's Life of Arnold," and " Prior's Life of Burke/' models of excellence in biography and the reverse, respectively. Arnold and Burke had many points of resemblance in their characters, especially that vehement, almost fierce, earnestness with which they threw themselves into questions of public interest, and the combination of that vehemence with the greatest tenderness and gentleness in private life and domestic rela- tions a combination which has singular charms. I think I am going on Saturday to shoot Walter James's pheasants, and on Monday, D.V., return to town. I shall be ready to defend the Swiss against Mrs. Aclderley when we meet, on every point except mercenary soldiering, which I detest, but which all governments sanction by their practice, and should not therefore be charged against the Swiss as a special crime. CLXVIII. Return to Town. 1857. Nov. 21. War Office. AI;E you coming up to town on the 3rd ? I suppose so, of course. I can't but think there will be something pro- posed for supplying the East India Company with money they are all but bankrupt. At any rate there is sure to be much talk on interesting subjects. You must have been greatly shocked at poor Stafford's death. The account, as given at the inquest, is most sad. John Eobert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 283 Fitzgerald was to sail from Sydney on September 20th for England. The prosperity of the colony [Canterbury] is plethoric. Fancy their revenue having reached 40,000/. a year. Land sales steady at 400/f. a week the price being 21. an acre. CLX1X. Indian Government. 1857. Nov. 27. War Office. I DON'T know that I have much additional remark to make on your last letter. Only bear this in mind. The Govern- ment in India cannot be an independent self-sustaining power like the Government of a colony. It must depend wholly for support on England ; therefore it must be subject to and controlled by the Government of England, and there- fore the Government of England must be responsible for the Indian Government's doings. No paper constitution can guard against this. If we don't actively back our Governor- General and his Legislature with our money and our arms, he falls ; therefore Ave must see that he and his Legislature do nothing that we are not justified in backing, othenvise AVC establish the most odious of tyrannies, an irresponsible des- potism. Local despotism is responsible to the ultima ratio of its subjects' indignation and despair; but a Roman Proconsul (or a Governor-General, as you seem to Avish that he should be) cared nothing for his subjects, and never was called to account by his superiors. Therefore he Avas almost necessarily and invariably a Verres. I hear all is coming true that I said about the Caffres ; " they are deserting in great numbers," says a private letter which I have just seen from one of the officers in charge. This is a pretty announcement for the fag end of a IICAVS- paper article. " The Government are going to propose the abolition of the Company." I did not think Palmerstou Avould have had the courage ; but it is quite true, and you Avill have a pretty kettle of fish to fry. This Cabinet is utterly unequal to the task, and I fear Avill make a mess of it. Oh, for one year of Burke ! 284 Extracts from Letters of Of course this involves the amalgamation of the armies, and (I trust) the death- warrant, in consequence, of the pur- chase system in ours. There is one other point, the colonization of India by Europeans. I consider this out of the question, for the reason that you can't rear children there. No man will go, except to make a rapid fortune, to such a climate. This will also prevent (as a rule) Governors from staying there long. CLXX. Invitation from Sir U. Bulwer Lytton, Colonial Secretary. 1858. Aug. 11. War Office. I THINK the inclosed will amuse you ; at any rate I hope you will be impressed by the rapidity with which I have arrived at such considerable military rank. I have promised to go down for Saturday and Sunday nights to Knebworth, as I really think I may be of use. When I told him I was not a colonel, he threw up his hands in a theatrical way, " What ! only Godley, Esq.? Well, such is fortune." CLXXI. Visit to Sir E. Bulicer Lytton New Zealand News. 1858. August 21. War Office. I HAD a most interesting and pleasant visit at Knebworth. Sir E. Lytton talked incessantly and charmingly, quite realizing my idea of an illogical, eloquent, man of genius. The house is not in good taste, but picturesque, and full of all sorts of articles of vertu, paintings, books, old furniture, &c. After dinner, the first day, he lionized me round his his- torical portraits, descanting most admirably on each. Sun- day he spent entirely in the house, dressed in a black and red slashed dressing-gown, unshaven, and with his hair unbrushed, looking like a wizard, and smoking the whole time a long cherry-stick pipe. He is (literally) half mad about his responsibilities, and fancies he is going to reform the whole colonial empire, lie gets up in the middle of the John Eobert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 285 niglit to write despatches, and is furious if they don't actually go in twelve hours. I hope to pay you a visit in October, without fail. Shall I find some wild partridges left ? It is rather odd that I feel, thank God, particularly well, and not the least done up, or in want of rest, though I have been unusually hard worked this year. I ride in every morning by ten, and try to gallop home, so as to have half an hour's cricket with Arthur before dark. This is a wet evening, to which (partly) you owe this letter. I have wonderful news from Canterbury. Bowen, the Treasurer, tells me they are selling from one to two thousand acres steadily per week, at 21. an acre, and that the day before he wrote they took in the Land Office 2500/. He adds, that it is all bought by our own people as they get rich ; none by speculators from Australia. It is the most complete triumph of the "high price." Fitzgerald intends to send a ship a month now, with (on an average) 320 souls in each. CLXXII. Religious Earnestness Mr. Gladstone's Commission to the Ionian Islands. 1858. Nov. 5. Voelas. I ACCEPT your sermon thankfully. I am quite conscious of the difficulty of reconciling real earnestness in one's work with a genial and catholic acceptance of, and participation in, ideas and pursuits not immediately connected with it. But I don't really think my besetting sin or chief danger is devotion to one pursuit ; rather the contrary ; a restlessness and love of change, leading me to be " everything by turns and nothing long." However, I wont be tempted into egotism in this matter ; whether I am personally an illustration of your views or not, I at any rate thoroughly agree in them. I must just add one remark. The extreme difficulty of realizing the supernatural, and considering religious observa- tions and studies otherwise than as duties, is not the result, I think, of any exclusive devotion to secular work, and would be equally felt if one's life were spent in play and pleasure. 286 Extracts from Letters of To be deficient in religious r]0og is a great defect of character; but it is not the result of any particular pursuit ; nor do I think it is aggravated by any such. I will do my best to satisfy Mercer (my Keeper} on Tues- day, and on Wednesday go by Radley to London. I fear this will interfere with my having you as a companion. This is a strange escapade of Gladstone's [Commission to Ionian Islands} . To any other Statesman but him it would be a vir- tual abdication of public life, to be absent during so impor- tant a crisis, which must result in a break-up of parties and ministries ; but it may suit him, as he can't be more " out of the betting" than he now is. CLXXIII. Departmental Committee on Colonial Military Expenditure. 1859. Oct. 23. Voelas. I RECEIVED yesterday the inclosed letter from Hamilton of the Treasury [Committee formed of Hamilton, Elliott, and Godley] I need not say with what surprise and pleasure. You know how hopeless I thought it to bring such men as him and Elliott [Colonial Under Secretary} anywhere near my views, and even now I cannot believe that they will subscribe to anything so revolutionary. But evidently Gladstone does, and will advocate them in the Cabinet. On the whole, I think there is a fair prospect of an impor- tant step towards our grand object, the nationalization of the British Colonies and any man may be proud of contri- buting, however humbly and obscurely, to the taking of it. CLXX1V. Canterbury News Reform Sill. 1859. Oct. 28. Voelas. THANKS for your note and for Gore Browne's {Governor of New Zealand'} very interesting and satisfactory letter. Pray let Lyttelton sec the latter, as the passage about Canterbury John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 287 will delight him. It is amusing to find people still talking about "the Canterbury failure," in the face of facts. I don't think you will find it easy to sell your debentures, notwith- standing 6 per cent. ; they are not known or understood except by ourselves, and none of us are buyers. I shall be curious to hear if you have picked up any inklings of the Reform Bill. I think the best thing Government can do would be to adopt the Aberdeen Government's Bill, which was a very moderate one, and to which some of their most formidable opponents are pledged. We have had charming weather, and capital shooting, but I shall not be sorry to get back to my work, which is second nature to me. CLXXV. Report of Departmental Committee on Colonial Military Expenditure. 1859. Nov. 9. War Office. I AM very busy on my own Colonial Report. Gladstone writes to Hamilton, " I have read Mr. Godley's admirable paper. He is thoroughly master of the subject, and makes it as clear as day. I cannot say how strongly I agree with him. When the Duke of Newcastle has seen it, I will have it printed for the Cabinet." Sidney Herbert says he is " quite delighted" with it, and promises earnest advocacy. Elliott of course disagrees, defending the present system ! Never mind. The great thing is to have it out and published, and that I look to you for. CLXXVI. At Scarborough Throat little improved. 1860. Jan. 8. Scarborough. WE intend to go to town to-morrow, D.V. There is not much change in my throat ; but I am pretty well on the whole, and think there is a fair chance of my being able to stay on in London without injury, and do a certain mild amount of 288 Extracts from Letters of work. Arthur is at Killigar, where he is delightedly occu- pied with skating, bird and rabbit trapping, and going out with his Uncles shooting. They have had very fair woodcock shooting. Charles Wynne and my two brothers killed (I think) 89 woodcocks in the first three days ; they had not beaten all the coverts when they wrote, and I don't know what they did afterwards. The lakes are all frozen over, and they have, therefore, miles of first-rate ice for skating; Arthur writes word that he gets on capitally now. His head- aches, too, are much better, and I intend to send him back to school; but these constant interruptions are most injurious to his education. Herbert's peerage, involving De Grey's removal, is a great loss to the office and to me. We have never had anything like so good an Under- Secretary, and a thorough good fellow to boot. This is the coldest day here, that we have yet had. I look forward with anything but pleasure to the journey. CLXXVII. Delate on Departmental Report Proposes Select Committee on the Subject Spirit of Controversy. 1860. June 3. Malvern. I AM very grateful for the way in which, as always, you have stood by me [Debate on the Report of the Departmental Committee on Colonial Military Expenditure] . It was better, I think, to have the debate go off as it did, than to be over- whelmed with hostile speeches. It would be very desirable to have a Select Committee, but it should not be moved for by you. You must not appear in the light of the only person who takes an interest in the subject. If you could get General Peel to move (he having said in his speech there ought to be a committee) it Avould have a capital effect ; or Stanley, or Colonel Sykcs, or Arthur Mills, might do it. I am very glad you are going to write to me on Greg's book [Creed of Christendom'], only go into it not in the spirit of one who is looking merely for the weak points of an adver- sary's armour, for the purpose of exposing and refuting him, John Robert Godley to C. J2, Adderley. 289 but as weighing what he says judicially, and giving him credit where he is right, as well as pointing out where, in your opinion, he is wrong. I feel always disposed to welcome as a fellow-worker any one who appears to have as his sole object the discovery or elucidation of truth, even if he arrive at different conclusions from mine ; what I cannot bear is the tone of controversialists who, starting with settled conclu- sions of their own, fly out against those who cannot accept those conclusions as wrong-doers, and abuse them instead of considering what they say. CLXXVIII. New Zealand Disturbance Reform Bill. I860. June 12. Malveni. I AM sorry to see there is a row in New Zealand, and (of course) an instantaneous sending for troops from everywhere. There are only 55,000 natives in the islands, of which more than half would be friendly or neutral : on the other side there are 70,000 colonists, without any old people among them, and, as usual in new countries, a considerable preponderance of males ; and from 1300 to 1400 soldiers, with artillery and all military appliances. Compare this with the position of the New Englanders in the face of the Indian population of the American continent ! Wynyard repeatedly wrote to us that it was quite impossible to get the settlers to take any trouble, or make any sacrifices, with a view to their military organization for self-defence. Their only notion, on the approach of danger, was to shriek for troops, and abuse the Im- perial Government. So the llcform Bill is given up ; I cannot but think the way it has been dealt with is most discreditable to both parties in the House, and may be the source of great evil and danger. I don't know which is the worst, but I think the Conservatives rather. 290 Extracts from Letters of CLXXIX. Greg's " Creed of Christendom." 1860. June 14. Malvern. I RETURN you the notes [on Greg~\ which I have read with much interest. Greg is, I dare say, occasionally inaccurate, occasionally unfair, and occasionally illogical. I have no doubt Paley, or Sumner, or any of the evidential writers, might he easily convicted of similar faults, by any one who read their works for the purpose of picking holes in them ; but to do so would be far from settling the general question of their argument. What I want to see is a defence of Christianity, by some one who shows that he really appre- ciates the force of the objections made to orthodox doctrine by modern, especially German, " sceptics/ 7 and whose object is the discovery of truth not the confuting of an opponent. Jowett, although hampered by his ecclesiastical status, is per- haps better qualified for such a task than any one else. Have you read the " Essays and Reviews " by him, Temple, and others, lately published ? There is much to be thankful for when the mature judgment confirms traditional belief. Rational, humble, conscientious faith is far more comfort- able even than rational, humble, conscientious doubt. What we have to do in this world is generally clear enough to a conscientious man. All problems will be solved soon. " Now we know in part ; then shall we know as we are known." The difference between you and me is, that you think the " part " we are meant to know here is somewhat larger. I think I am better in health, but my progress is very slow. CLXXX. New Zealand self -helplessness Throat worse. 1860. July 13. Malvern. WOULD you have any objection to ask the following, or similar, questions in the House of Commons ? 1. Whether any accounts have been received of the people of the Pro- vinces of New Zealand not immediately threatened by Maori John Eobert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 291 hostilities, volunteering for the assistance of their fellow-colo- nists at Taranaki ? 2. Whether any intimation has been received from the Colonial Government of its intention to propose to the Colonial Parliament a vote for the purpose of contributing to the expense of the civil war? 3. Whether it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government, that the whole should be defrayed from the Imperial treasury ? It is no answer to say that as the Imperial Government manage native policy, it should pay for every expense (although I need not say, I am against Imperial manage- ment). So long as the present anomalous connexion lasts, one party must manage, and both must help and pay. If we give the colonists the management, I would not say we ought therefore not to help them. I am certainly stronger; I Avalked yesterday without stopping to the top of the Beacon (the highest of the hills), and was not either blown or tired, which shows my lungs to be in pretty good order. But I can't get my throat better, and suffer acute pain from it, especially in swallowing. Gully thinks it is neuralgia. I don't want you to come and see me just now. My voice is so much affected that I am forbidden to talk, so that it would only tantalize me to have you with me. CLXXXI. On an Essay of mine Health better Lady Simeon's death. 1860. Aug. 26. Filey. I RETURN your proofs [Essay on Human Happiness] with some pencil notes. On the whole I agree and admire greatly. I am not much disposed for writing a book just now. Perhaps the oestrum may come. I have no material, i.e. tangible, change in my health to report ; but I feel better, cat and sleep well, and am in more force, I think, on the whole. Arthur spends all his time almost in fishing bring- ing home more whiting and flounder than we know what to do with. Poor John Simeon is losing, or has lost, his Wife, lie and the Children were devotedly fond of her, and I am so u 2 292 Extracts from Letters of sorry for him. It is the parting, the parting, that is so sad. If it were not for that, how little terror death would have ! Shall we meet again ? If so, when, how, tinder what con- ditions ? Mystery of mysteries ! CLXXXII. Essay Health Conjectures about Death. 1850. Aug. 30. Piley. THE objection which I have to your triple classification [of men, 1, of independent wealth, 2, routine employment, 3, or manual labour^ is that it cannot be made accurate or complete. "What is the difference (in a scientific point of view) between the professional man, paid by fees, and (say) the skilled labourer, paid by a salary ? or between me, for example, and the office porter ? or between an attorney and an attorney's clerk ? And, if you could draw the distinction, it would be useless for the purposes of your Essay, the duties of both your classes being, as regards the issue raised by you, analogous. I cannot, I fear, undertake a joint authorship; I have no taste or talent for metaphysical or ethical studies, nor any vocation to write on such subjects. I have not so much time on my hands as you would suppose, for I am out (by order) almost the whole available day, and go to bed almost immediately after tea. This place, and the life I am leading, decidedly agree with me; I have gained seven pounds in weight during the last month, which is very satis- factory, as my great emaciation was perhaps the most alarm- ing symptom of my case. I had lost twelve pounds between November and June. I don't plead guilty to the charge of useless inquisitive- ness for noting (not in any spirit of complaint, but as a fact) the entire ignorance in which we stand as regards our meet- ing beyond the grave with those whom we know on earth. We can only ctij<"<-/nrc as to the conditions of identity, &c. Now, as a matter of fact, this ignorance and uncertainty torrn a great aggravation of the terrors of death, and are not John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 293 at all answered or remedied by the general, but necessarily vague, belief that " all will be for the best." It seems to me impossible to say that there will be no pain or evil be- yond the grave, in the case of any body ; and how can you or I know the form which pain or evil, if we are to suffer it, may take in our cases ? Pray give our love to the Twisle- tous. How charming and good they both are ! CLXXXIIT. Political Economists' view of Landlords. 1860. Sept. 28. Filey. I THINK you do not do justice to Mill and the economists, for want of drawing a distinction between the moral and economical aspects of the landlord question. In an economi- cal point of view, it is undeniably correct to say that a land- lord is a burden on the land, inasmuch as he is a consumer of its produce ; but that is not at all inconsistent with his being also "productive," in a moral sense, and of moral benefits ; and Mill would not at all dispute or undervalue these, though he may be of a different opinion from you as to the proportion of landlords who realize this ideal, or approach to it. What I object to is the tone of " invidia/' or antagonism, in which you represent the difference, instead of merely stating that it is two aspects of the same shield. I am grieving greatly about poor Hawes. lie has just lost his daughter, having before, within the year, lost a son, a father, and a brother-in-law. I am so distressed at not being able to relieve him, and would try to do so except for my loss of voice, which would so greatly cripple me in the Office. CLXXXIV. New Zealand Natives' Rebellion. 1SGO. Oct. 20. Filey. I THINK the best answer you can give to AVeld [writing from Auckland, in defence of the r'ujhts of the Croicn against 294 Extracts from Letters of Wikingi's claims] will be that the initiative of any change in the system of dealing with the Natives must come from the Colony, and that if a remonstrance to the necessary effect comes from the Colonial Parliament you will back it. Nothing can be more injurious than the Colonial Office theory, that the Governor should not be advised by his Ministers on Native affairs, and that all that is wanted is a change in the instructions to him. No change of law is needed. My plan is to go to London about the 31st, and, if per- mitted by the doctors, to try as an experiment the resumption of office-work. Perhaps I might be allowed to try it for November and December, with the prospect of going to a warmer climate for the severer months at the beginning of next year. CLXXXV. Health New Zealand Colonists' inaction. 1860. Oct. 26. Filey. THINGS here are in statu quo. Dale says I am going on favourably, and Charlotte has persuaded me to stay in these latitudes a fortnight longer ; but I think we shall move into Scarborough, which is warmer than Filey. I don't feel at all inclined to an Egyptian tour. Nothing but positive neces- sity will drive me from England. I hope your hunter will turn out better than the last. I quite sympathize with your wish to have a really good one, though I have not much sym- pathy with hunting or hunters. Lady Hatherton and Miss Leigh came over to see us on Wednesday. I thought Lady H., whom I had never seen before, singularly attractive and nice. She is a great friend of Fitzgerald's, and takes a great interest in Canterbury. I send you a letter from Fox, which please to return at once, for I want to send it to Rogers. The utter absence of all martial spirit in the young men of the Southern Island is very striking. One would have thought some at least would go to the Avar from mere love of adventure, to say nothing of sympathy and duty. And Fox's account of the unarmed, disorganized, and help- less state of the colonists generally is full of instruction and John Robert Godlcy to C. B. Adderley. 295 warning. If the early colonists of America had not been more self-helpful, America would still be the Red-man's. It is all our own fault. We have encouraged, almost en- forced, the absence of all military spirit and training among the colonists, and virtually adopted the whole responsibility of their defence. Of course they expect now that we shall discharge it, and as we can't or wont, consider themselves injured and deceived. I wish I was not a Government ser- vant, and could write a letter to the Times pointing this out. CLXXXVI. New Zealand Politics Resolution to resign rather than stay longer from Office. I860. Oct. 28. Filey. THERE would be no use in such a memorial as you describe. [On the part of New Zealand Colonists willing to undertake their own affairs.'} I see by the papers that the Duke of New- castle is expected on the "30th or 31st," and you would get no one to sign the memorial but a few of the Canterbury set, perhaps half a dozen. At any rate, I should not like to have anything to do with it : it is hardly fair to Sidney Herbert, that one of his subordinates should be perpetually bullying and harassing one of his colleagues ; and I suspect he is bullied about it already, though he is too good-natured to tell me so. I have sent Fox's letter to Gladstone, who will perhaps make some use of it. Thanks for your invitation. You know how much I should like to see you ; but I have deter- mined not to absent myself one day from London, except directly for purposes of cure. This " situation" is becoming intolerable to me. I must either go back to my work or resign my office. CLXXXVII. Lord Russell's Despatch justifying Sardinia New Zealand W ar America. 1800. Nov. 15. Scarborough. WE linger on, uncertain still when we shall go to town, reluctant to go so long as this place seems to agree with nir, 296 Extracts from Letters of which, "according to Hoyle," it- does. I suppose we shall stay at least a fortnight longer, and avoid the November fogs in town. I send you two articles, from Irish "national" papers (as they call themselves), on Lord John Russell's despatch [to Sir J. Hudson, Turin, justifying Sardinia assisting Naples'] . I want you to send them to Lord Derby or Disraeli, as the despatch is sure to be discussed when Parliament meets, and it is desirable to show how his recklessness is taken advantage of. What a capital article that was in the Economist about it ! I will also send you, but not to-day, a New Zealand paper, with a speech of Featherston's on the Maori war very important and instructive. That too is a subject which ought to be thoroughly ventilated early in the session. The New Zealand Government seems to have plunged most unjustifiably into war of course intending that we shall pay for it all. Sidney Herbert writes to me in a tone of intense disgust at it, but says he has been obliged to send two regiments and a battery of artillery. If we don't turn this affair to account in supporting our general views, we shall throw away a good card. Is Disraeli open to argument about it ? Your party are so strong now that he could bully the Government on such a question. I quite despair of the present Colonial Office, and look now to your side. I am looking out with some excitement to the news of the Presi- dential election, which took place on the 6th, and which is a more than usually important one [as it turned out Lincoln's] . CLXXXVIII. New Zealand Native Government Bill. 1860. Nov. 23. Scarborough. I SEND you Fox's last. You will observe what he says about the New Zealand Bill of last Session. [Introduced by Govern- ment at the instance of the Governor and Bisho}) of New Zealand, for constituting a Native Council, fyc.; Int withdrawn.] I rejoice to think the colonists will make a row about it. Strange as it may appear, I gather from the [colonial'] debates that not even John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley, 297 their Ministers were aware that the Governor had proposed Imperial legislation. Pakington should, I think, see Fox's letter; it will show him that he was right, at least in the colonists' opinion, in taking up the question on your represen- tation. Perhaps, however, we had better wait till next mail, when there will be more decisive out-speaking. Send Fox's letter to Lyttelton, to be returned by him to me. It would be very presumptuous in me, or any one here, to pronounce on the rights of the land-question ; but so far as I can judge, Featherston and Iladfield have the best of the argument by far. This at least is clear on general principles of equity that it is wrong to leave questions so complicated, difficult, and important as these Native titles, to the decision of a sub- ordinate agent of the Executive Government, and that, in the absence of a tribunal of proper weight and independence, Government should not buy disputed land. CLXXXIX. Describing a Shipwreck. 1860. Nov. 28. Scarborough. WE have had great excitement here, in watching a Prus- sian brig that came ashore in a gale, in the middle of the day, when every one was out and looking on. One lifeboat, after trying for an hour to get at her, failed, from the heavy sea and wind ; then they launched another and heavier one with a fresh crew, and these pulled right up to her, and lay under her stern till the crew (8), dropped into the boat, and then pulled back in triumph. When the lifeboat grounded, the steersman stood up and waved his cap, and you may imagine the cheer that rose from the countless spectators who had been watching the struggle, while the poor fellows that had been saved, began embracing their deliverers. I have nothing to say about my health ; I seem to be very station- ary. I think we shall stay here another fortnight. 293 Extracts from Letters of cxc. On Relieving English Distress by Emigration. 1860. Dec. 16. Scarborough. IT only pays to cultivate emigration to Australasia if you look on it from the colonial point of view ; it is far too costly to be regarded as a means of relieving distress, espe- cially local and temporary distress, at home. For example, your 5000/. would only carry off 250 or 300 persons a mere drop in the bucket. If you wish to " deport" them at all, you had better send them to America, which is also a country where silk-weavers would have a better chance of finding em- ployment suited to their habits than they would in New Zealand. The Canterbury Emigration Office is sending very few at present, and therefore has no difficulty in finding emigrants of a more useful description than distressed wea- vers, who are the worst possible material for colonists in an agricultural or pastoral country. I have no change to report in my health. It does not seem to me that I have made any progress during the last month ; but my health is generally good, and I suffer little discomfort, except in speaking, or swallowing food. I wish so much I could be present at your cover-shooting. I am quite up to a moderate day's walking ; but I am reluctant to leave this place just now, and, at any rate, should not like to diverge from the direct route to London. This will be the first year since I was fourteen, that I shall not have taken out a game-licence (except when I was in New Zealand) ; I wonder whether I shall ever take out another ! cxci. New Zealand Politics. 1860. Dec. 22. Scarborough. AFTER wading through a ton of New Zealand papers, I have extracted one or two scraps which may be interesting or useful if you arc engaged in a debate on the war next session. First, here is Sir G. Lewis's despatch to Governor Browne. John Robert Godlcy to C. B. Addcrley. 299 I doubt whether the Duke of Newcastle would have written so strong an one. Then there is a stupidly candid admis- sion by Moorhouse, Superintendent of Canterbury, in one of the debates, that " the Native difficulty has no interest for southern members ! \" Then there is an interesting speech by Swainson, showing that the colony is virtually responsible for its share in the expenses of the war. See also the quo- tation in the leader of the same paper, from C. J. Arney. Then there are Fox's resolutions, which were certain to be carried (I can't find an account of the actual result), protest- ing against the Bill that Fitzgerald and you defeated last session. Keep all these safely, where you can lay your hand on them when required. The best of Christmas good wishes to you and yours. We are deep in frost and snow. I hope Miss Leigh is coming to dine and spend Christmas evening with us. cxcn. Return to London in letter Health. 1861. Jan. 23. War Office. I WRITE you a line to say that we are safe and at home, and that I seem quite up to my work here. My doctor seems pleased at the improvement he sees in me since he saw me last, and hopes that time may cure me. I am not very san- guine myself, but am very glad and thankful to be able to work for the present, and to suffer so little discomfort as I do. CXCIII. Suggesting line of evidence for Arthur Mills' Committee on Colonial Military Expenditure. 1861. April 23. War Office. IT is chiefly important to examine military witnesses and colonial governors with reference to the following points : Our argument is 1. That the garrisons we now keep in our scattered military posts (with the exception of Malta and 300 Extracts from Letters of Gibraltar) are inadequate to resist an attack by a hostile expedition ; 2. That the fate of those posts is in the hands of the Power which commands the sea, and which can therefore, in time of war, bring the largest force to bear upon them ; and, 3, That by sending inadequate garrisons, we assume the responsibility of defending posts which, if we did not do so, would be far more effectually defended by the colonists. We hold that it is quite useless to keep garrisons at the Falklands, Bahamas, St. Helena, &c. &c. If we want them for war purposes, we can occupy them when war breaks out if we are strong enough ; and if we are not strong enough, we could not keep them as it is. Why should we suppose that the Nova Scotians would not fortify and defend Halifax, as the Victorians are doing with Melbourne, if they knew that we would not? Are liberty and independence less important to them than to others ? Why should they not defend them ? The knowledge that they must do so would be far better for them than the 1300 soldiers who now profess to take the responsibility off their hands. If the witnesses assert, either that isolated colonial garrisons can defend posts, or that colonies containing large and war- like populations cannot or will not defend themselves, they should be asked to adduce one single instance from history in support of either position. The one broad fact is that (barring Malta and Gibraltar) we have not one garrison that could hold its own unless we held command of the sea, and that, with command of the sea, we could hold the post without garrisons. Bring out that. Pray prepare your questions beforehand, as far as you can. Will you show this note to Arthur Mills ? He might find something in it, in the shape of hints hasty as it is. Re- member, we have no fortifications worthy of the name any- where. John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 301 CX CIV. Suggesting Report for A. Mills' Committee. 1861. June 4. Folkestone. THE first and principal thing to be considered is the object with which your Chairman is to propose his first draft of Report i.e., whether he is to aim at carrying as much of it as he can, or at expressing what he conceives to be sound doc- trine. If the first, it must of course be of a negative, or at least vague character in fact, a compromise : if the latter, he will not be fettered at all. I confess I am very strongly of opinion that it will be best to enunciate the whole of the true doctrine, be beaten upon it, and send it in with the other as a ' ' minority Report." In the first place, it is very doubtful whether he could carry anything even decent ; and if he tried and failed, he would have lost his chance of proposing a really good Report. In the second place, it is really desirable that the truth should be told, and should appear in parallel columns, as it were, with the error, so that the public may judge between them. And it seems to me that the number of names attached to each respectively signifies very little to the weight and value. Elliott's Report is quoted against ours just as much as if we were not two to one against him. However, this point must be settled very carefully, and of course there will be no use in preparing a thorough-going Report if a compromise is to be accepted by you and Mills. I think the sketch you sent me points to something too long. It appears to me that all that need be said may be best said in a very short compass, and it is most desirable to have it short enough to be published entire in the newspapers. Be sure not to let them hurry you into a precipitate Report. Insist on having time enough to analyse and compare the whole evidence. This will enable you also to sound the members individually, and sec how far each will go. We do not propose being in town till Thursday, and I wish you would write me one line by to-morrow's post, to say whether you are to have Gladstone \Jo fj'ire evidence] or not. The 302 Extracts from Letters of weather is very fine. We have just been to see a review of artillery with twenty-four Armstrong guns, at Shorncliffe. cxcv. Colonial Civil Expenditure. 1861. Julyl. War Office. DECIDEDLY attack the civil expenditure on the colonies. It is in every way a stronger case than the military. Depen- dencies like Malta, or even Mauritius, may say, " WE don't want your fortifications and garrisons ; if YOU choose to make us defensible, do so at your own expense. We don't care about it, and protest against being called on to pay for it." But no community can say that about its civil expenditure, whether executive or judicial. It is absolutely necessary for the existence of society that these institutions should be kept up, and as they alone benefit by them, they alone should pay for them. It is nothing to us Englishmen whether civil society in the colonies is in a state of dissolution or not ; why should we pay for keeping it together ? The only answer that can be made, is in the case of those colonies which have no representative governments or on which we impose Civil lists. They may say, " We don't want such expensive establishments, governors, judges, &c. ;" and we should meet this answer by reducing to whatever extent may be required by saying, in short, " Pay as little as you please, but pay whatever it is necessary to pay, your- selves." It is very desirable, indeed, not to lose this oppor- tunity of showing that the Civil expenditure comes at least as much under our ban as the military. I am ashamed to say I had no notion we were paying all these things salaries to governors, &c. cxcvi. Government propose to follow up the Committee's Report Lord Herbert's Death. 1861. Aug. 5. War Office. IT may interest you to hear that the Government has so far taken your report an serieux, as to appoint a Departmental John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 303 Committee to propose for the consideration of the Cabinet the best way of carrying out your recommendations. Baring was to have represented this Office ; I don't know who is to do so now. This was the first thing Sir G. Lewis spoke to me about when I saw him at the Office. I said I thought there had been Committees enough, and that what remained to do could only be done by himself and the Duke of New- castle. " Well/' he said, " nothing can be settled till the evidence is printed" and so left it. I have jiist been shown a very touching letter describing poor Herbert's last hours. The following is an extract from it " He sank rapidly through the night. At twelve he received the Holy Communion after which he made his last requests, and towards morning saw his Children. He had now become thoroughly conscious, and spoke long with Lady Herbert, who never left him. His last request to her was that she would be smiling on him when he died, and close his eyes. He blessed and counselled the Children, and said he felt grieved to think the little girl of two years old would not remember him. He was quite calm, and said all that was soothing to comfort his Wife. He died at twenty minutes to twelve. He saw her smile, smiled back upon her, and died in her arms." cxcvn. Refections on Herbert's Death-led Despair of his own Life Old government of Ireland not analogous to present of Colonies. 1801. Aug. 13. War Office. I QUITE agree with your second- thought view of Herbert's death-bed [t/iat our Saviour's religion maintains life's duty to the last, and the care of His Mother was one of His latest thought,^. It appears to me that death should by no means be made purposely and (as it were) artificially religious : I dislike therefore the custom of sending for a clergyman, and all that sort of thing. Passing out of life should be neither more nor less religious than passing through it ; and though of course there is a natural tendency (varying with iicrve and 304 Extracts from Letters of temperament) to think more of God and eternity when about to die than when in health, yet I think the best and noblest natures are those who are more occupied with the welfare and consolation of those they are leaving, than with what is going to happen to themselves. I saw Williams last week : his opinion of me is much the same as Weber's, only that he appears to think the mischief already done in the lungs has been more extensive. He did not suggest any material alteration of treatment. My own opinion is that I shall not recover : according to all rule, indeed, I ought to have died long ago; but I have a peculiar elasticity or toughness, combined with debility of constitution, which seems able to keep me hanging on for an indefinite time. Evidently I puzzle the doctors. We intend to go to the north-east coast again in September probably Whitby, for a change. I hear it is prettier than Eiley. Hawes is away [Herbert, Gocttey, and Hawes died, in that Office, within a few months of each other} which gives me a little more to do just now ; not half enough though. The case of Ireland was not at all analogous to that of the colonies [in comment on a contrast I had drawn between oiir former treatment of Irish, and present of Colonial fellow-subjects] . Ire- land maintained a certain number of regiments for general service, which were called the "Irish Establishment," and Pitt induced the Irish Parliament to appropriate the surplus, referred to, to the naval force, because there was no Irish navy. But the whole relation between England and Ireland was anomalous and almost incomprehensible. The Irish Govern- ment was not responsible to the Irish Parliament, but simply represented the English Ministry. Lewis seems to have cooled again about colonial military expenditure. lie says " some members of the Cabinet" are against moving in the direction of the Committee's report. I suppose this is Pam himself, who is most reactionary in all his notions on this question. How dilatory they are about printing the evidence ! John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 305 cxcvni. Lord Monck Governor-General of Canada Bishop of Oxford on Religious Doubt. 1861. Aug. 26. War Office. I MUST first tell you a piece of news, which has excited me a good deal. Monck is appointed Governor- General of Canada ! Very flattering to him in the present critical state of North America. I cannot but think that you very inadequately appreciate the differences between the Bishop [of Oxford] and Goldwin Smith. [The one had said, " Cast doubt from you ;" the latter rejoined, ' ' What if Luther had so shirked doubts /"] I see no indi- cation that the Bishop thought " the authority of revelation a proper field for argument/" i. e. for doubt and inquiry. On the contrary, his precept to " Cast out doubts/' must apply to precisely that kind of doubt, or it is a mere truism ; no one, I suppose, having ever contended that it is right (or even con- ceivable) to question or doubt what is admitted to be God's revelation. Whether such and such facts or doctrines are revealed by God, is, and must be, the only question on which the doubt arises. CiCIX. A Colonists Letter Lord Monck going out. 1861. Sept. 7. Whitby. WE have just got into lodgings here, and like the look of the place. I return the letters [from a Colonist] . They are those of a sensible man ; but there is nothing in them to strike a British public, which always assumes that colonists, writing about local politics, have some local object, and are not to be trusted. You may as well send them to the Times, however, as the writer evidently intends you should. I saw Monck, who was very cheery, and complained bitterly of the Colonial Office, which could not even give him any information about the pay of his staff, or tell him where the Governor-General resides now ! He told me he intended to 306 Extracts from Letters of offer his private Secretaryship to my brother Denis, who, I hope, will take it, though it is no great thing in itself and leads to nothing. cc. Troops sent to Canada. 1861. Sept. 12. Whitby. I DON'T understand why you attribute importance to the stupid extract from the Army and Navy Gazette [on an increase of British troops in Canada, sent against threats of filibustering from America], quoted by the Times, for the sake of showing how its remonstrances have influenced the authorities. Monck is, I think, thoroughly " sound " on colonial politics ; but he can do little or nothing, and if he is wise will attempt nothing. I observe in every newspaper a protest against the increase of the force in Canada, based on the ground of its being their own business to defend themselves. This includes the Satur- day Review, which last year was so rabid the other way. On the whole, considering that the question was only brought before the public two years ago, I consider our views have made wonderful progress. cci. Removing his Son to Rugby. 1861. Sept. 25. Whitby. I AM now going to bespeak your assistance in a matter of some importance to me. There has just been an examination for a gold medal at E-adley, at which all the boys in the three first forms (about forty) competed, and Arthur got twelfth place, though much of the work, including all the mathematics, was so completely above him that he never attempted it at all. Now this shows me more clearly than ever his disproportionate position as regards the general level of the place. Only eleven boys above him, at fourteen, in an examination conducted under conditions so unfavourable to him, leaves very few rungs to the top of the Radley ladder ; John Robert Godley to C. B. Adderley. 307 and it is impossible but that before he is old enough to go to college, say three years at least, he will be far ahead of the other boys as well as, probably, of the teaching ; in short, will want a larger field of competitors, and more undeniably first- class masters. The reason I have troubled you with this long story is, that I shall be very much obliged if you can ascertain from Temple whether there is any chance, now or within any reasonable time, of getting him into Rugby. I consider that our cause [drawing out colonial self-defence] is making more rapid advances, far, than I expected. If you remember how short a time it is since we first raised the question, which was never even thought of before as a practical one, you will wonder at the hold it has taken on opinion. The Saturday Review, which attacked me so savagely last year, now endorses my views and the Times is working most effectively on our side. Even the poor old Illustrated News is having its kick at the colonists " trusting to the Mother-country for defence." ecu. Return to London Worse Symptoms. 1861. Oct. 18. 11, Gloucester-place. I WRITE you a line to say I am here. Hawes wrote to say I should be wanted at the Office next week, and I was not sorry to leave Whitby. My throat, I think, is somewhat better, but I was most unfortunately attacked by diarrhoea nearly three weeks ago, and have had it constantly ever since, so you may imagine it has pulled me down terribly a serious matter to one who has so little flesh or strength to spare. However, I am decidedly better to-day, and hope it will be removed at once by the change of air, water, &c. CCIII. Danger increasing Commends a Pamphlet on Colonial Relations. 1861. Nov. 9. Gloucester-place. THE diarrhoea did return, and I forthwith took to my bed, x 2 308 Extracts from Letters, fyc. where I have stayed ever since, doing my work, however, regularly. It has now subsided again, but I dare not move, fearing a relapse. I return your proof \_Letter to Disraeli on Colonial Relations] , I cannot say how much pleased I am with it. You know how unpityingly I criticize, when I think it necessary ; so you will believe in the sincerity of this unqualified commendation. Soon after this, he sank rapidly, having continued his office- worlc till very shortly before his death. His last lines were written to me, asking me to come quickly as he felt very ill, I arrived too late. He died (Nov. \ltli) with the same calmness with which he had often lately talked of death, and written many letters to me from which I have taken no extracts even for this private collection. He said at the last to the doctors, "Why prolong this struggle ?" but to their reply ', " It is for us to do all we can, and your duty to be patient," he simply nodded his assent. His firmness of mind, and almost stern acquiescence in what his solid judgment sanctioned, and his truthfulness to conscience, never once forsook him to the last. APPENDIX. Letter to the " Dublin Evening Mail," on Canadian Government, January 2oth, 1843. (See Letter xxi.) SIR, Having recently returned from Canada, where I have been travelling during the summer and autumn, my attention has been drawn to the fact that, while several members of the Con- servative press, and among the rest your own journal, have attacked the policy pursued by Sir Charles Bagot in that country, not one, as far as I can learn, has undertaken to defend it. I have, under these circumstances, thought that I might employ myself usefully in stating the grounds on which, as it appears to me, that policy may be successfully vindicated. The circumstances which pre- ceded Sir Charles Bagot's administration were as follow : After the suppression of the late rebellion, the Queen's Government in- troduced a Bill for uniting the two Canadian Provinces, giving each an equal share in a common Legislature ; this Bill, framed expressly for the purpose of neutralizing the preponderance of French in- fluence in the Lower Province, was, by the whole French party, vigorously opposed : they considered it as indicative that their wishes and interests were to be invariably sacrificed to those of the British Province ; they complained that they were saddled with a share of the Upper Canadian debt that they were only allowed to return an equal number of members, while the propor- tion of their population to that of Upper Canada, was in the ratio of eight to four and a half. Their complaints, however, were disregarded, and the measure passed into a law : the election took place under it for the ni'st United Province parliament, and it then soon appeared that the calculation of both the advocates and opponents of the union had been erroneous. Notwithstanding the most unscrupulous and unconstitutional use of Government in- fluence, the French Canadians succeeded in returning such a body of representatives favourable to their opinions, as to give them, with the assistance and co-operation of the so-called reformers of 310 Appendix. Upper Canada, a virtual preponderance in the Lower House. As long as Lord Sydenham lived, he succeeded, by the influence of his talents and the terror of his name, in carrying on the Government as he pleased, and browbeating the parliament into acquiescence. His Ministry were men of considerable administrative talent, but combined without reference to unanimity of political sentiment, commanding the cordial support of no party, and dependent upon him alone for their political existence. This state of things could not last ; defections were daily taking place ; isolated elections went invariably against the Government candidates, and even be- fore Lord Sydenham's death, it was admitted by all parties that a change was unavoidable. Such was the state of affairs which awaited Sir Charles Bagot on his arrival, and which it was neces- sary that his policy should be shaped to meet. Three courses were open to him 1st. To form his Cabinet of the British, or Tory party exclusively, 2ndly. To select the moderates of both parties, and 3rdly. To throw himself unreservedly into the hands of the French Canadians and their allies. Now, I propose to show that the last of these was the one which presented the fewest diffi- culties, and was most likely to conduce to the general good and in so doing, I fully admit that this course, too, has difficulties that it is open to plausible nay real and grave objections ; but I maintain that greater difficulties and stronger objections present themselves to the advocates of any other. Let us consider, 1st, the policy of forming an exclusively British Cabinet. By the adop- tion of this course the Governor must have given up all hopes of commanding a majority in the House of Assembly. I consider the division which took place upon the Address, presented to him im- mediately after the change of Ministry, as decisive upon this point : it was to the effect that the House approved of such a policy as would admit the French Canadians to a fair share in the Execu- tive, and was carried by a majority of fifty-five to four. Now, this division, considering the juncture at which it took place, must fairly, I think, be construed to indicate a qualified approval on the part of the House of the measures which had been just adopted, and is, at the very least, a proof that nothing like an exclusively British Cabinet would have been tolerated ; indeed, there can be no doubt that the large majority which the present Ministry commands would have been in opposition to one com- posed of Tories. Nor would thejcase have been mended by a disso- lution. The present Parliament was elected, as I said before, under the pressure of an influence strongly unfavourable to the Appendix. 311 French, and there was every reason to suppose that they would be still more powerful in a new one. Now it would be an extreme, a dangerous, nay, without strong military support, an impracticable undertaking, to carry on the Government of Canada in opposi- tion to a permanent majority in the House of Assembly, even though it should be contended that the " principle of responsible government," admitted by Lord Durham and Lord John Russell, is not to be considered as inviolable. No reasonable man would, I think, wish to see it violated without an obvious and extreme necessity. Without unanimity between the legislative and exe- cutive bodies (where a representative constitution exists), the whole machinery of Government is obstructed, the most useful and necessary measures are neglected, constant irritation is kept up, and a plausible ground is afforded for persuading the people that their wishes, expressed through their representatives, are systematically disregarded, and that they are to regard the Gover- nor and his Ministers as the organs of a foreign and hostile Power. Under such circumstances Canada would not be worth paying and fighting for, and the sooner the separation was effected the better for both countries. But, 2ndly, an objector may say, " If I concede that it is impossible to govern Canada by means of a Cabinet from which the French party is excluded, I have still a right to ask, why select men so notorious for their hostility to British con- nexion as MM. Lafontaine, Girouard, Baldwin, &c. ? Why not take men of French extraction but unquestionable loyalty, and by forming a Ministry composed of them, united with moderate Tories, secure the confidence of the House, without giving en- couragement to disaffection 1" The answer is simple, Because it was impossible ; the men were not to be found ; the object could not be attained. It most unfortunately happens, that all the leaders of the French party, all those who possessed the confidence or could command the support of their party, were (perhaps in many cases from that very circumstance) suspected, with more or less justice, of being concerned in the proceedings which led, directly or indirectly, to open rebellion. The fact is, that immediately upon the outbreak, in the exercise of, perhaps, a wise and necessary pre- caution, the Governor, in Council, suspended the Habeas Corpus, and arrested, or offered a reward for the arrest of, all those whom, either from the prominent part they had taken in the Opposition, or from private information, he had reason to suspect of being en- gaged in instigating it. This was the extent of the " proscription" so much insisted upon in the cases of Lafontuiuc and Girouard. 312 Appendix. Neither of them was ever tried, much less convicted ; and though I admit that a suspicion so grave and so notoriously evinced con- stituted a reason, and a good reason, for not employing them so soon afterwards in the public service, I deny that it ought to be deemed one so decisive as to outweigh all considerations for public benefit under any conceivable circumstances, and to doom its objects to irredeemable ignominy. At any rate, if it were so con- sidered by Sir Charles Bagot, he thereby decided upon forfeiting the support of the French Canadians, and with it all chance of a majority in the House of Assembly. To have promoted unpopular or unimportant individuals, with the view of conciliating the party to which they had been attached, would have been as hopeless as if the Queen, professing a personal objection to Sir Robert Peel, or Lord Stanley, had selected some obscure Tory members to supply vacancies in Lord Melbourne's Cabinet for the purpose of com- manding for that Cabinet the support of the Conservative party in the House of Commons. Sir Charles Bagot cannot be supposed to entertain an abstract preference for men of suspected loyalty ; if he could have found unobjectionable men to answer his purpose, who can doubt that he would have chosen them 1 It is then fair to argue that he felt the impossibility of so doing. Having thus shown (as I think) the great, the almost insurmountable difficulties which attended the adoption of the two first-mentioned plans, I will proceed to consider those which applied to the third namely, the formation of an exclusively French and reforming Ministry. These may be reduced, I think, to first, the evil effects produced in the province by the discouragement of loyalty, and the stimulus to revolutionary principles thereby given ; and, second, the example which it holds out to Radicals at home, and particularly in Ire- land. Now, as to the " discouragement of loyalists," as it is called, which consists in telling the persons who supported the Govern- ment during the rebellion that they are not to expect a permanent monopoly of office, whatever may be the detriment to the public interest resulting therefrom, I confess I do not look forward with much apprehension to its effects. The same feeling of self-interest which, upon their own showing, prompts this attachment to the British Crown, will, under any circumstance, insure their ad- hesion to the Government in difficulties, so long as it is generally recognised among them that the connexion with England is beneficial to Canada and no longer. I am far from denying nay, I rejoice in acknowledging the existence of very many among the British party who are loyalists in the true sense of Appendix. 313 the word meu whose loyalty is not dependent upon the possession or expectation of place, but is shown in promoting the general good of the country, and facilitating the administration of Govern- ment, even though they may consider themselves as individually entitled to complain. But such are not the men who talk of leaving the Government to shift for itself in the event of another emergency, because, forsooth, they have not gained by their sup- port of it all the personal advantages which they expected. I abhor the principles of these men, but I have no fear of their seriously acting upon them. If, however, they do so, I think we may fairly set against such a defection the chance of conciliating the French Canadians. It may be too late to conciliate them ; but the experiment is well worth trying. If ever there was a people fitted by nature to be good and loyal subjects of monarchical government, it is the French population of Lower Canada ; nor can any course be conceived more repugnant to all their principles and feelings, than that of opposition and disaffection to the powers that be. A well-founded dread of the restless, innovating, pro- gressive spirit of the British population (who are daily gaining upon them, and pushing them out), strengthened by a systematic neglect on the part of the Government of their national claims, habits, and prejudices, has led them lately to look upon British con- nexion and authority as an evil, and united them in a temporary alliance with the Upper Canada reformers the very antipodes of themselves, and with whom common opposition to the Govern- ment policy forms their only bond of union. Let them once be convinced that Great Britain means to act fairly by them, and that their laws, usages, and language are not to be proscribed, and they will again show the loyalty and devotion which saved the Province in 1812-14, and which was so ungratefully forgotten when the danger was past. But it is said that the example which Sir Charles Bagot's policy exhibits to those who are disaffected at home is of so pernicious a tendency as to justify him in disregarding its apparent advantages. Now, what does the example amount to ? I think it will be found, upon consideration, that the principle which Sir Charles acted upon is one which is clearly and unques- tionably incorporated into the practice of the British Constitution namely, the principle of " responsible government " or, in other words, the principle that upon the deliberate and permanent sense of the nation, expressed in the constitutional manner through their representatives, the political existence of a Ministry depends. Such is the only inference which the alleged reseoa- 314 <* Appendix. blance between the circumstances of the two countries can possibly suggest ; and, as I think no reasonable man can doubt that, if Mr. O'Connell himself could unfortunately command a decisive majority in the British House of Commons (a majority which would follow and support no other leader), her Majesty would commit to his hands the administration of affairs, it does seem to me perfectly chimerical to accuse Sir Charles Bagot and Sir Robert Peel of having introduced, by their Canadian policy, a novel and dan- gerous principle into our constitutional practice. But it may be objected that the principle of responsible government though necessary at home, is not so in the Colonies. Now it has been my object to show that it was, if not absolutely necessary, at least (what comes to the same thing in practice) pre-eminently expedient, to act upon that principle in Canada ; and if I have succeeded in doing so, the argument founded upon the evil effects of the example falls to the ground. But the truth is that the very nature of Colonial government admits of conferring office upon those with whose principles the Supreme Government does not concur, with peculiarly trifling risk of pernicious results, because the Governor can always, backed by the power of authorities at home, exercise a control over their policy, and place a veto, if necessary, upon measures which may appear to him of a revolu- tionary or injurious tendency. But it is time that I should con- clude. I am sure that the condemnation which has been pro- nounced upon Sir Charles is based upon an imperfect consideration of the circumstances in which he was placed, and above all, on a fancied analogy between the cases of Ireland and Canada an analogy which does not really exist, either in the character and conduct of the parties, or in the influence which they possess in the respective Legislatures and I feel equally sure that a calm and temperate consideration of the reasons which determined his decision in what was confessedly a choice of difficulties, would convince the Irish Conservatives that that decision was, on the whole, wise, judicious, and necessary. A TRAVELLER THE END. LONDON : SAVILL AND EDWARDS, PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET, COVENT GARDEN. ' University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 this material to the library m JUL , ILL . Form L 1998 '/COS DA 950.23' .