fare -of New Zealand, and were anxious, that the blessings of tb'e British constitution should be extended to that colony as speedily as possible, he received from those persons representations so strong, of the inconvenience aud injury of the delay which had already taken place, of the full expectation derived from the late Government, and confirmed by her Majesty's speech, that no fur ther time would be lost in settling this important question^ and of the hardship upon the colony of being deprived of their civil rights in consequence of the accident of a change of Administration in this countryman argument which, if it a.viiled now, might, for the same reason, , avail next sessioo ;' — be received, he repeated, representations on these grounds so strong, thai he felt bound to spare no labour. on his own.^art to .satisfy wishes so reasonable ,in tbemselyes^ariO so justified by circumstances, and he had therefore, with the concurrence of his colleague?,, prepared the mea sure which he now proposed to submit to the House. At.the same time be felt called upon to say, that with every anxiety to meet the wishes so expressed, it would have been utterly impossible for him, amid his multitudinous and arduous oc cupations, and in the short time be "had filled the office, to even endeavour to settle this qnestiou, had it not been for the very important assistance he had derived from the materials prepared for a measure which had been left in the office' by his predecessor, from the.valuable suggestions of the present able governor of New Zealand, and from the suggestions also of the gentlemen connected wi^h the colony to whom he had already adverted. Without tracing back the history of Nevr Zea land, he might observe that this. colony, one of the most interesting, was also one of the most recently acquired dependencies of the British Crown. The first advance of civilization there was effected by missionaries of the Christian Mission in 1808 ; and their visits were followed up by those of merchants and others connected with trade, whose intercourse with the natives by " degrees led to irregularities and even crimes, which it became necessary for the Go vernment at home to put a stop to. 