Page:The founding of South Australia.djvu/126

 "The committee wish me to express, in the first place, their fear that their objects have not been thoroughly understood by Mr. {Secretary Stanley. It is true that at the interview to which you refer, Mr. Stanley suggested that the association should be a Joint Stock Company, for the purchase and sale of land; but this never was the object of the present association; and I may add that the proposal at the conclusion of your letter for bestowing land on such a company at a lower price than that which should afterwards be paid by others, is directly contrary to one of the chief objects of the association, viz., that in the intended colony, land should be uniformly sold upon equal terms to all applicants.

"In order to express what have been the objects of the association, I must briefly advert to the difference between a Chartered Colony and a Crown Colony.

"A colony founded by charter is one example of that delegation of authority which, in perpetual succession, has for ages been a leading principle of the British Government; while a colony founded by the Crown is an example of that central authority, acting at whatever distance from the seat of Government, by means of temporary agents, which is a leading principle of the French government. In either case, however, the trouble, the responsibility, and the authority necessarily go together.

"Now the object of this association was to found a colony by means of an authority delegated in perpetual succession to certain persons who should incur the trouble and responsibility of conducting the undertaking. Mr. Stanley obje3ts to such a delegation of authority. It follows that he objects to a chartered colony; for, of course, no body of persons would consent to take the trouble and responsibility of such an undertaking without obtaining at the same time sufficient authority for carrying their objects into effect.

"But while the committee conceive that Mr. Stanley's