204 Voyage of the Novara. 



Council of 15 members, and a House of Assembly of 40 

 deputies. The executive power rests in the hands of the 

 Governor-General, appointed by the British Government. 

 All bills passed by this parliament require the royal assent 

 before they become law. 



It is impossible to speak in too high and eulogistic terms 

 of Sir George Grey, whom we had the happiness at the 

 time of our stay to find in the important position of Governor- 

 General of the colony. Owing to the wisdom with which 

 Sir George governed this important colony, he gained for 

 himself the love and admiration of the people to such an 

 extent that, after the expiration of the regularly fixed period 

 of his office as Governor, they petitioned the Queen of 

 England for his re-appointment. Sir George is not only 

 an able statesman, but also a sound scholar, possessing a 

 most complete collection of books and manuscripts on the 

 Australian, Polynesian and African languages, and he is a 

 most zealous patron of the numerous scientific institutions 

 of the colony. 



The astronomical observatory, under the superintendence 

 of Mr. Maclear, has preserved the celebrity which it attained 

 by the great work on the constellations of the southern hemi- 

 sphere, the materials for which were collected by Sir John 

 Herschel during his residence here some twenty years since. 

 There is now a transit instrument, which in accuracy excels 

 even that of the Observatory at Greenwich, and which is said 

 to have cost upwards of £^000. 



