Obituary. 477 



admirable papers in 'The Ibis ^ (vol. i, 1859)^ written iu 

 conjimctiou with his brother, Prof. A. Newton_, papers which 

 bespeak the true naturalist in their every line, and which 

 we can only wish were followed by writers who seem to 

 think nothing further is needed than a diagnosis of the 

 species and its dimensions. 



In 1859 Newton entered the Colonial Service, being 

 appointed Assistant Colonial Secretary of Mauritius. The 

 avifauna of the Mascarene Islands was then scarcely 

 known in Europe, and had remained neglected since the 

 days of BufFon. Keen anticipations were entertained by his 

 brother naturalists that Edward Newton, if he might not 

 resuscitate the Dodo, would at least throw some light on 

 its history, and they were not disappointed. His official 

 career was as follows : — Auditor-General of Mauritius 18G3 ; 

 Colonial Secretary of Mauritius 1868-77; Lieut.-Governor 

 and Colonial Secretary of Jamaica 1877-83. He several 

 times administered the Government both of Mauritius and 

 Jamaica. He became C.M.G. iu 1875, and K.C.M.G. in 

 1887. 



During his long residence in Mauritius Newton made several 

 distant expeditions. His first was to Round Island, of which 

 he gave an interesting account in 'The Ibis ' (1861, p. 180). 

 In Sept. 1861 he was sent on an official visit to King 

 Radama of Madagascar to congratulate him on his accession, 

 being the first Englishman to enter Antananarivo for many 

 years. The ornithological results of this expedition Avere 

 recorded in 'The Ibis' for 1862, pp. 94 & 265. In the 

 autumn of the following year (1863) he paid a second visit 

 to Madagascar, not officially, but solely for the purpose of 

 ornithology, of which the history Avill be found in ' The Ibis ' 

 (1863), pp. 333 et seqq., 452 et seqq. In Nov. 1864 he made 

 an expedition to Rodriguez, which yielded rich results, as 

 recorded by him in 'The Ibis' (1865, p. 146), 'Reports' of 

 the British Association (1865, p. 92), and 'Philosophical 

 Transactions ' (Transit volume, 1869). In the spring of 1867 

 he visited the Seychelles, where he discovered a number of 

 new and unsuspected species, which he described in P. Z. S. 



