216 A COLONY IN THE MAKING chap 



believe, the strong air is in a great measure respon- 

 sible, it only arises from different points of view as to 

 what will be for the ultimate good of the country. As 

 is natural, the colonists are anxious to get the control 

 of their internal affairs at as early a date as possible ; 

 as to their fitness for such control, they are probably 

 rather prematurely sanguine. As is equally natural, 

 the Government, more especially in Downing Street, 

 are anxious to hold the reins as long as possible. The 

 position of Dictator must naturally be more easy and 

 pleasant to hold than that of salaried servant. The 

 view that they take, therefore, as to the fitness of the 

 inhabitants with respect to each advanced step towards 

 self-government is probably as over-gloomy as that 

 of the colonists is over-sanguine. 



The principal points of contention which arise on 

 these lines are the present position of the non-official 

 members of the Legislative Council, the Education 

 and Land Boards, and the desire among the colonists 

 that all such posts should be elective, the question 

 of the system of land tenure, and that of the 

 Asiatic population. Then, again, there are arising a 

 series of questions all leading up to what is certain to 

 be the first cleavage in internal politics, i.e., the town 

 population against the farmers. 



At the present day we have under the Governor, 

 who in his turn is of course under, and very much 

 under, the Colonial Office, three advisory bodies. 

 They are the Legislative Council, the Land Board, 

 and the Education Board. The last two have their 

 special functions and really exist to lighten the work 

 of the first named, and as the same remarks apply to 

 the composition of each, it is only necessary to deal 

 here with the first. 



