412 TRINIDAD. 



ment ; it is regarded as the worst which could possibly have been 

 invented. " We can see vividly and distinctly the evils of our 

 present rule ; the oft-time inconsistency the lack of responsibility 

 the disregard of the interests of the colony the subserviency 

 to private interests, and the unaccountable privacy and mystifica- 

 tions of the acts and turns of the governmental machine ; and 

 we believe that many of them might be done away with, if the 

 wishes of the governed could be brought to bear on them." This 

 succinct portraiture of our government was drawn, not by an 

 enemy or a reformer i , but by a friend and one who supports the 

 pesent rule: it is to be found in " the Port-of-Spain Gazette," of 

 May, 1855. Evidently, a governor who would have to bear the un- 

 mitigated onus of his own acts, w r ould probably show rather more 

 discretion than he now does, under a divided responsibility : at 

 present he may exhibit in all his undertakings a perfect reckless- 

 ness of purpose, totally at variance with every principle of sane 

 government. 



The assumption that a sufficient number of independent and 

 qualified persons could not be found, is rather presumptuous on 

 the part of our rulers ; for, a purely elected body would certainly 

 be, at least, as independent and qualified as the anomalous and 

 nameless machinery at present in operation. 



The majority of the population is stated to be foreign in lan- 

 guage and habits ; this I might disavow though, even granting 

 the postulate, I still maintain that it is by no means a sufficient 

 ground of objection ; for, it has not yet been satisfactorily proved 

 that a peculiar language and certain habits are necessary qualifi- 

 cations for representative government. Lower Canada and the 

 Cape Colony may be cited as examples to the contrary. Never 

 have these two possessions been more tranquil and prosperous, 

 than since a representative government has been permitted them. 

 A man may not speak the English language fluently, nor possess 

 British habits, and yet, may be able to form a very good judg- 

 ment of what is best adapted to the requirements of the society of 

 which he is a unit, and choose his representative accordingly. 



The preceding are the specious reasons assigned by the 

 interested upholders of the rottenness of precedent; but the 

 real though secret objections to any civil reformation, are the 

 following : the very natural desire of those who hold almost 

 despotic power, to retain it in all its integrity; the origin and 



