450 TEINIDAD. 



of Port-of-Spain and the embellishment of the city, which owes to 

 him its present appearance ; he would ride over the town to see 

 with his own eyes before taking* any decisive steps. He laid out 

 Brunswick Square, and had Marine Square Promenade planted 

 after the land had been recovered from the sea and made up ; 

 he saw the New Market House finished. He also directed the 

 formation of the Botanic Gardens at Saint Ann, which he placed 

 under the management of Mr. Lockhart. 



In 1816 he laid the foundation-stone of the Catholic cath 

 dral, and of Trinity Church, the Anglican cathedral. He 

 also laid, in 1815, the foundation-stone of the Church of S 

 Jose de Oruna. 



It was under the government of Sir Ralph Woodford, and 

 his request, that a Catholic bishop was appointed for Trinid 

 which previously formed part of the diocese of Guiana, or Ango 

 tura. Doctor Buckley, Bishop of Gerren in partibus infideliu 

 arrived here in March, 1820, as Vicar- Apostolic for the British 

 and Dutch West Indies; he lived on the most friendly term 

 with the Governor, and died, two months before his friend, 

 March, 1828, much regretted by persons of all denominations. 



Dr. Coleridge, who had been appointed Bishop of Barbado 

 and the Windward Islands, visited Trinidad in March, 1825/ on 

 a pastoral tour. 



I should here mention that Sir Ralph Woodford always 

 showed the greatest respect for the Catholic Church, of which, as 

 Governor, he was patron ; and consideration also for the Catholic 

 inhabitants. Of course Sir Ralph was not without his faults : 

 he was haughty, bore opposition with impatience, had of his 

 magisterial powers an exaggerated idea, and at times adminis- 

 tered arbitrarily ; yet it cannot be said that he was tyrannical. 

 He, I believe, never did aught but that which he thought to be 

 for the good of the colony ; in fact, during his long administra- 

 tion, Sir Ralph Woodford proved an efficient and good Governor. 

 He has left his imprint on the colony, and may be proposed — in 

 important matters at least — as a model administrator. To judge 

 him fairly we should go back to the epoch in which he lived ; 

 he may not have been in advance of, but surely he was not 

 behind, his time. 



I have said that Trinidad always was a safe asylum for the 

 refugees from the Spanish Main. I must acknowledge, however, 



: 



