CHAPTER III. 



THE TRANSITION TO RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. 



SIB CHABLES HOTHAM had failed to disentangle the intricate diffi- 

 culties which, to use his own words, he had inherited from the 

 weakness shown by the previous Executive. As he could not un- 

 ravel the Gordian knot he cut it with the sword of authority, and 

 found himself denounced all round for his obstinacy and impulsive- 

 ness. But it must be admitted that he showed much judgment in 

 endeavouring to secure the best advice from those whom he fancied 

 he could trust. He was certainly not afraid of responsibility, though 

 he more than once honestly declared that his limited knowledge of 

 colonial requirements debarred him from acting promptly on his 

 own initiative. While deploring the necessity for delegating any of 

 the functions of Government, he yet appointed Boards of Inquiry 

 and Royal Commissions with a free hand. Besides the important 

 ones already referred to, such as those on the financial position, the 

 squatting tenure, and the management of the goldfields, there were 

 inquiries going on in connection with the police, the commissariat 

 department, and other sources of reputed waste. Two of these at 

 least did good work and secured substantial reform ; others revealed 

 grave irregularities, and nipped in the bud a growing tendency 

 towards corruption and scandal. 



The report of the Goldfields Commission, however, probably dis- 

 turbed him most. It was a tediously lengthy, and by no means 

 conclusive deliverance, and with the voluminous evidence made 

 about three days' solid reading. It distributed blame pretty freely 

 all round, but it fenced its accusations with so many "ifs" and 

 " buts " that they did not lead to action. Some of its recommenda- 

 tions were undoubtedly good. It decreed the abolition of the 



licence fee, not so much on the ground of its injustice as of " the 



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