JAMAICA. 



419 



but in KCV '"* followed, and 



.tor and proprietor of 



.1 journal publi.slu-d on the 



nort.'. .Hind guilty, and 



months' Imprisonment, fr 



II the Government which 



:vd in hi-; m-w.-papir weeks before 



the riot t Morant Hay. This gentleman 1ms 



..-rd li\ tho new Governor, ono 



.-f whoso acts was to cause him to 



.( liln-rty. 



.overnment having decided upon 

 .: Mr. Eyre, that gentleman left tho 

 .nd on the 24th July, his friends 

 in tho colony giving him quite an ovation on 

 ire. It was at the same time pro- 

 '. that the sura of ono thousand guineas 

 should be raised in Jamaica, and presented 

 to him as a testimonial in acknowledgment 

 luablo services which his admirers 

 lie had rendered to the island, in tho 

 .;>t suppression of tho "rebellion" as 

 lantcr party persisted in calling tho out- 

 bivak. On the 5th of August his successor, 

 Sir John Peter Grant, arrived at Kingston, and 

 was sworn in as Governor on the Vth: and on 

 ;h Sir Henry Storks, whose brief admin- 

 ion had been marked by tho strictest im- 

 iity, and tho most sedulous, painstaking 

 attention to the duties of his office, left for Eng- 

 land, followed by the good wishes and prayers 



whole colored population. 

 The new Governor was selected with special 

 ace to the peculiar and trying circum- 

 stances in which the colony had been placed. He 

 -ome years before been Lieutenant-Gov- 

 crnor of tho province of Bengal, in which capa- 

 !.e had displayed remarkable administra- 

 tive ability, and had honorably distinguished 

 himself for the courage and firmness with which 

 he protected the natives from attempted op- 

 on at the hands of their European mas- 

 It now devolved upon him to inaugurate 

 the new constitution for Jamaica, as the first 

 step toward restoring the affairs of the colony 

 to something like order. That constitution 

 provides that the legislative body shall consist 

 of a council of thirteen members, including tho 

 Governor, six of whom are to be government 

 officials of high position, and six non-official, 

 appointed by the Governor. The Governor is 

 to be president of the council, and all measures 

 el' legislation must originate with him, or ob- 

 tain his sanction previous to being brought 

 forward. In the month of November the new 

 founcil met, for tho first time, at Spanish Town, 

 the seat of government, and its proceedings 

 v. ITO opened by Sir J. P. Grant, in a business- 

 .iko speech, remarkable for the out-spoken 

 -sion of his opinion that under the then 

 existing system of local laws justice was practi- 

 cally denied to the blacks. The council forth- 

 with proceeded with the work of legislation, 

 and up to the end of tho year it had passed 

 ;d measures for tho improvement of tho 

 affairs of tho colony. Among other reforms, 



tho old parochial vestries have been abolished, 

 and new boards for the management or local 

 all'airs appointed by the Government in tlu-ir 

 stead. Provision has been made for a Ktipcn- 

 diary magistracy, who are to be selected from 

 the English, Scotch, and Irish bars. For pur- 

 poses of economy a reduction in tho number of 

 parishes in the island from twenty-two to four- 

 teen has been determined upon ; all lands on 

 which the quit-rents and land-tax have not 

 been paid are to bo declared forfeited to the 

 crown; a new police force is forthwith to bo 

 organized ; and with a view to meeting the de- 

 ficit in the revenue, the excise tax on rum 

 has been increased. The elective principle hav- 

 ing been entirely abrogated in Jamaica, the ex- 

 ecutive administration of the affairs of tho isl- 

 and is now solely in the hands of the Governor, 

 who exercises a direct supervision and control 

 over all tho public officers and institutions, and 

 is responsible to the Imperial Government alone 

 for his official acts. So great a change as all 

 this involves, could not possibly bo made with- 

 out creating some discontent. For over two 

 hundred years Jamaica had enjoyed representa- 

 tive institutions, of which she has all of a sud- 

 den been deprived. But such is the confidence 

 reposed in the new Governor by the blacks, and 

 such has been tho rigid impartiality that has 

 so far marked his rule, that there has not been 

 the slightest disturbance of the public tranquil- 

 lity from any quarter, and tho strongest hopes 

 are entertained that under his judicious admin- 

 istration this old colony will succeed in re- 

 trieving its fortunes, and resume its place among 

 tho most valuable possessions of the English 

 crown. Where there is complaint as to the 

 new order of things, it is among the planters. 



Meanwhile steps have been taken in England 

 to bring to trial tho principal actors in the mas- 

 sacre of October, 1865. An association, known 

 as the Jamaica Committee, and including such 

 names in its list of members as John Bright, 

 John Stuart Mill, and Goldwih Smith, has been 

 formed with the view of vindicating humanity 

 and justice. By this body it has been deter- 

 mined to put Mr. Eyre on his trial for hav- 

 ing illegally caused George William Gordon to 

 be put to death, and tho military and naval 

 officers who took part in tho trial and execu- 

 tion of that unfortunate individual are also to 

 be arraigned on the same grounds. For tho 

 purposes of the prosecution a large amount of 

 money has been raised by subscription, and the 

 steps preliminary to the trial have been already 

 taken. Public opinion in England is divided as 

 to the criminality of these parties, some insist- 

 ing that the serious character of the outbreak 

 demanded and justified tho bloody measures 

 that were adopted, while others contend that 

 the danger was grossly exaggerated, and that 

 the very extreme proceedings of the ex-Govern- 

 or and his subordinates were wholly unwar- 

 ranted. The forthcoming trials, independent of 

 the intrinsic interest of the details they wilJ 

 bring forth, will be of the highest importance 



