Timehri. 



will leave it to those who come later on to say whether it has been for 

 the Colony's best interest that it was so or not. One thing I must add 

 and that is. it is a pity the Colony does not seem able to exceed its 

 100.000 tons a year. Would it could be a million ? 



I am proud to say that 1 did my little in helping to bury that 

 antiquated, but in its day very useful, old lady, the College of Keizers 

 and to bring about a greater measure of public spirit, let us hope a 

 healthy one. With Messrs. Straughn, Hinds and others. I took part in 

 the eirly days of the Reform movement. Messrs. Straughn. Hinds and 

 myself being a deputation who waited on Mr. Watt. M.P.. when on a 

 visit to Sir Henry Turner Irving. 



Of Governors my experience has been that »ve have had good, bad, 

 and indifferent — very few good or bad. but more indifferent. Amongst 

 the first class, towering head and shoulders above them were Sir Henry 

 Irving. Sir Alexander Swettenham and. we hope, one who will top the 

 list, our present Governor — each of these being imbued with a desire 

 in every way to further the real interests <ii' the Colony. Lord Gormanston 

 was also a good man. The one great evil this Colony has suffered from 

 has been the sending of men here merely to qualify for their pensions, 

 their principal occupation seeming to be how to increase the official staff 

 and swell the Pension list. 



Sir Henry Turner Irving was the first ( lovernor to tackle the Gold 

 Industry with all its possibilities, but it has by no means yet been made 

 the most of, owing to many preventable causes, among them being in 

 some cases the putting of unsuitable men as gold officers and of allowing 

 alcohol to be sold in the bush. Another blunder has been the encourage- 

 ment of •• Pork-knockers " under existing circumstances. I wish it to 

 be clearly understood that I am not against " Pork-knockers if under 

 proper and suitable control or under certain conditions. I have not time 

 in this paper to explain my meaning more fully as it would be a subject 

 sufficient in itself to form a paper similar to this. But to return to our 

 < Governors. Sir Alexander Swettenham. who followed Sir Henry Irving, 

 desired to open up the Hinterland, showing full well what he would have 

 done if he had not been called away by far too soon : yet some of his 

 work still seems to live and is likely to be carried on to a successful issue 

 by Sir Walter Egerton. if we. in our usual apathetic, pessimistic grum- 

 bling spirit, do not hamper him too much. 



In referring to these three especially. 1 do not for one moment 

 mean to say that "// the others have been of no use. by no means, some 

 of them good worthy old gentlemen, as I have already said, unfortunately 

 seeming to be imbued with the one idea of increasing as much as possible 

 the Civil List until it has become a huge Octupus, growing and growing 

 ami growing, until one wonders where it will end. It would not matter 

 if the welfare of the Colony increased in the same ratio. There can be 

 little doubt that with judicious amalgamation of some offices and better 

 and more faithful work of all officers though undoubtedly there are some 



