GENERAL ADMINISTRATION. 191 



Attorney- General, and the Commander of the Forces, under the 

 presidency of the Governor. It is a mere consultative body, 

 which the Governor calls together on important occasions, in 

 order to have their opinion, which he may follow or not, as he 

 pleases. 



Legislative Council. — This council consists of the Governor, 

 as president, and fourteen members, of whom six are " official " 

 and eight " non-official." The official members are the Colonial 

 Secretary, the Chief Judge, the Attorney-General, the Solicitor- 

 General, the Receiver- General, and the Protector of Immigrants. 

 The non-official members must be British-born usbjects ; they 

 are nominees of the Crown, and chosen from among the most 

 respectable inhabitants of the colony. 



The position of the chief judge, as a member of the legislative 

 council, is a rather delicate one, since he may be called upon to 

 give at the board his opinion on matters which will have after- 

 wards to be decided on the bench. 



The legislative council discusses and adopts such ordinances 

 and measures as are introduced or proposed by the Governor, or 

 any member of the council. To become law, all measures passed 

 by the council must receive Her Majesty's sanction. Ordinances 

 which have been neither disapproved, nor formally approved 

 within two years of their having been passed, become void and 

 null. Generally, whenever any member proposes a legislative 

 measure, he must himself prepare it in a legal shape — an objec- 

 tionable course, in my opinion, because it is almost impossible 

 that, under such circumstances, errors should not creep in and 

 render the law defective. It may also happen that such a 

 measure, though passed in council, is not transmitted home for 

 confirmation, and thus becomes null after two years. This was 

 the case with the ordinance establishing vestries for the Roman 

 Catholic churches in this island. And yet it was seriously stated 

 that it was the fault of the Roman Catholics, since they ought 

 to have asked for its transmission home, and for its confirmation. 



The legislative council discusses also and votes the estimates 

 for each following year. The items may be ranged under two 

 heads, viz., the fixed and the unfixed establishments. The esti- 

 : mates, as regards the fixed establishment, are laid before the 

 board as a mere matter of form, and are not submitted for 

 discussion. Members, however, may propose alterations in the 



