the goodness to forward it to the gentlemen who signed the address. It ran as follows:—
“Civil Secretary’s Office,
“Wellington,
“March 16, 1853.
“Gentlemen,
“I am directed by His Excellency Sir George Grey, to acknowledge the receipt of your address to His Excellency, and to assure you that you may rely upon His Excellency endeavouring by all the means within his power so to carry out the recent Act of Parliament as to give full effect to the purposes of the Crown and the Parliament, and to render it productive of happiness and contentment to the inhabitants of these islands.
“I have the honour to be, Gentlemen,
“Your most obedient, humble servant,
“Alfred Domett, Civil Secretary.
“To the Gentlemen who signed the address.”
The “Gazette” of February 28, 1853, contained preliminary provisions for putting the Constitution Act into force. The boundaries of Canterbury were defined, and included Westland. There were to be thirty-seven members of the House of Representatives, of whom five were to be provided by Canterbury. There were to be twelve members of the Canterbury Provincial Council, distributed among four electorates, namely, Lyttelton, three members; Christchurch town, three members; Christchurch country, four members, and Akaroa, two members. In the same “Gazette” in which the foundation was laid for representative government there also appeared certain Land Regulations. Under them rural land was to be sold at 10/- per acre (or even 5/- if certified to by a Land Commissioner as not worth that sum), and it was specially provided that “Government Scrip” might be used for the purchase of land. Land reserved for the Canterbury and Otago Associations was
