Guide 3 to NSW State Archives relating to Responsible Government - OCR - Flipbook - Page 43
Government
A Guide to New South Wales State Archives relating to Responsible
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cattle, and horses, do not carry with them the muniments or title deeds which
belong to.real property, and-which are or -ought to be :handed . over to the
mortgagee," "nothing but a registry. can he substituted -for them." •
'But Lord Stanley lhadpreviouslyintimated, that if the act waa:not repealed
by the 22bil July;1846,:it should then be disallowed by the-.Queenlin:Coimell ; . and the .committee -afteranimadyerting on the .circunistanee that their
endeaVoors for the welfare of the
should be rendered:nugatory by
mere theoretical surmises," on the-part of theautharities at - home, ,proceed
to meet.theldilenithain:Whiehthe Courteilir placed, yagreehag tothe.propesedrepealonl22ed `July, 1846, in the•vtew of passing neonsolidated-a•ct,
which should embridy.all the useful measures on the:subject thateithermow
exist in -the present act, or that subsequent:experience may recemmend.
The Governor suggested several alterations, the most important-of which
teas, that the " Act shall continue in force till the 31st day of •December,
. 1848, and see longer." The "Act to give .to• valid mortgages of sheep,
. cattle, and horses, priority according to the date of the registration thereof,"
was also similarly disposed of, after several•alteratious and a limitation to
two additional years.
••
•
SEPARATION FROM NEW SOUTH.. WALES.For the last six years. the Port
Phillip colonists have manifested a strong and uncommonly unanimous
desire for a separate and independent administration of Government in their
..District. This subject has not, until lately, assumeda sufficiently objective
more.* It appears not.unreasonable toantieipate for the future a consider-
form, to find a conspicuous place. in a record of facts and events like the
present. Bet the recent movement regarding " Separation" on -the part of
the Horne Government, in answer to the Petition drawn op last year. by Dr.
Lang, and signed and forwarded to Britain by alt the Port Phillip representatives, has given a prominent character to lists subject that demands a more
titan usual notice. •
.
'there are two principal. grounds • on which . Separation from New South
Wales is claimed by-Port .Phillip; namely-1st. On: account • of the great
distance of thepresent seat of:Govermisent at Sydney ; 2nd. From the injury
sustained by the District from the considerable transfer of surplus revenue
which, for the last two or three.years, -has regularly taken place from the Port
'Phillip toile Sydney Treasury. The colonists of the former settlement apPear apprehensive that there is no valid security for the future.against the
.periodical recurrence of this evil.
. •
1.The..mpid.: progress of Port Phillip, and its remote situation from Sycl• Rey, the capital:Of the old Colony of New South Walei,.have already constituted, this. District, in reality, into a separate colony, possessing, like the
Middle Distriet,a _commercial centre, or port. of direct import and export,
through.ivhich the commerce of the. settlement indepeudentlyllows. In accordance•with these circumstances, it has been found .necessary-gradually to
form a distinct stiff of Government at Port Phillip, in communication with
the goverinnelitatSydney ; and latterly by a Treasury Order froni Britain,
the Customs Department in consequence, as the instructions state, of the.im- .
portance:of thePort Phillip business, and- the -great distance • of Melbourne •
from Sydney, is made to communicate. directly with Loudon. These were
preliminarysteps, which.-are now likely to be succeeded by the division of
thelColohy,• and the erection of the-Smithern Or Tort Phillip District into an
independent s- ettlement, leaving the: Middle and - Northern Districts still
:maderthe'Sydney• Government.- -The 1prospective Colony of Poit Phillip,
thoigh much the . smallest of the:two:divisions-of New South Wales, is however,_ by no means of limited dimensions, being considerably larger than the
United Zingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
2. The.surplus of revenue transferred to Sydney from this District during
1845, maybe-estimated at not leesthanl-S48A9 ; and from a return calcuiuted for 31 December; 1844, (See "Afelliourbe Courier" of 26111 November,
1844), obtained by Mr. Itobinsoo-':M.C..for Melbourne, and certified by the
Auditor-General, it nppeais that the amoontup-to that date -was £177;200
able annual loss of Revenue to Port Phillip, a young. settlement possesing
a large area of unsold Crown" Lands, much of which is ..unnsually .rich and
capable of .production, from her connection with the Northern_Colouy,,a
muchblderand more populous,settlementiwhose Crown Lands are toa great
extent disposed of,•the remainder being comparatively misaleableunder•the
present land:regulations.
Iris understood that the Governor has received instructions.froni the Home
Government to take evidence on the subject of. the Port Phillip olaims ; • and
accordingly the Port Phillip Representatives now resident in Sydney have
been examined -beforetheReenotwe Connell. • In•the•meantime, a Committee
has been selected by the Melbourne Corporation and the District Council of
Bourke,- from among the members of these respective bodies, for the 'purpose'
of taking evidence on the subject of Separation. • The . form: of 'Government.
suitable for Port Phillip, •in the event of :its being constituted. a separate.
Colony, will also receive attention.
•• •
•
VAN DrEMEN's Lain, .Some degree • of exeitementhas occurred in
Diernea's Lard from the resignation, towards the end of last year, of six 'of
the non-official members 'of the Legislative Council of •that colony, The
ground of dissatisfaction appears to have. arisen chiefly. from the :grent and
disproportioned expense -:entailed. on the. colony • from the I:limbers of her
criminal population. .One of these members (Mr. Gregson) declared:" that
it was his fixed determination, and that of those with whom he acted, that no
• bill should pass, levying one shilling en the public, until thellome Government had paid the Judicial, Police, and Gaol Expendituret .On the Rase •
quest passing of the Estimates for 1846, the six members resigned their seats.
. To those who were invited to fill the-vacancies iu the Council, the GoVernor despatched a circular letter. of .explanation,- wherein he• distinguishes
between a Legislative Council and a Legislative :Assenably-; the latter to
make laws, the former merely to tender advice.
In consequence of tick ..proceedings,-a great publinmeeting of the free
inhabitants of the colony was-held at Bobart•Town, .on the .20th December'
last, at which a petition to the Queen.Was. drawn .up, praying :for the.re,
medy of various political and commercial. abases •and hardships, and for a
representative legislature. The• present. Legislative Council, it vas stated;
consists of fourteen members, six of -whore.are members ex-Officio, andrill •
are nominated by the Crown. .The :petitioners complain of the total want of
control over Goyernmenton the part of the public. The salaries of the Governor and offidial members :amount unitedly to .£10;200 per annum.
The expenditure of the Colony is far beyond • the natal. proportion to the
population.. . In 1843, this amounted to £1u6,835, exceeding the revenue by •
L36,612 ; in 1844, the excess was • £53,841 ; leating for these two. years-a •
debt of £90,453,
scheme foradditional taxation had beenbrought.forward .
by the Government and •put iti. forcel• and not only was the voice of -the colonists notheard in the laying on . of taxes, but .the public were not even
made aware as to•how the proceeds of the: Revenue were expended. • .A• non,.
• It should be remerhed.that £176,000, or nearly. the whole of ibis • large amount et
debt, which Part Phillip claims against Sydney, consisted •of Crown. Revenue' .nad war
occasioned by .the expenses-of the excessive bounty immigration into New'Sonth Wales in
18-1U-42. The Sydney Exchequer became empty before her proportion of tho expenses •
was fully paid .for and the deficiency was supplied from Per Phillip, whose extensive land
sales during -183d--41 produced the enormous sum of nearly £400,000. The:balance of
£1,200, on the •ordinery revenue,' may, however, by certain ailmissable .altesatione, and
tranifere from the-land revenue,-such, for -examPle, as eliereioc- the Crowd Lands with
'Aborigines' expenses, be raised to upwards of £30,000; and
Cure, in a late elaborate
calaulation, has .made this proportion considdriblv more, and also the total debt arsainsc
Sydney somewhat larger than the estimates of the Alidifor:General.
t It ens probably an account of thesngreat expenses that the Yen Diemen's Land authorities lately refused mincer any chargeam detecting or bringing back to jestica e sop,̀
posed thief, who had cscapod to Port Phillip, . •
Comments about the separation of Port Phillip from New South Wales in a printed
Phillip,
pamphlet entitled A Commercial, Statistical and General Report on the District of Port
merchant
of
by
a
1846
January,
31st
of
ended
year
half
for
the
Wales,
South
New
Melbourne, William Westgarth, SRNSW: CGS 909, M6785 in [4/1022]
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State Records Authority of New South Wales