236 HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, ETC., 



which the accounts relate, and of all ordinances for the imposition 

 of taxes, with copies of the despatches sent him by the Secretary of 

 State, conveying the sentiments of his majesty's government upon 

 them ; and it is required that full detailed statements of the revenue 

 and expenditures of the colony be published in the Colonial Gazette 

 immediately after the accounts are transmitted. 



These are some of the regulations, which will tend to show how 

 great is the authority still retained by the crown, or in reality by the 

 ministers, and how little discretionary power the Governor has. He 

 is required personally to superintend or authorize things of such 

 small concern that it almost approaches the ridiculous ; for instance, 

 a wheelbarrow cannot be mended without an order in writing attested 

 by his signature. Such an order may be necessary, but one would 

 think that other persons might be authorized and trusted to perform 

 such acts. The colony is treated as though it were a den of rogues, 

 and required the constant supervision of the ministry at home. I 

 was told that no one could conceive the mass of despatches containing 

 instructions that a single year produced, and these are often found 

 conflicting with those that had gone before, and thus require a 

 reference back to the Secretary of State. The practical inconvenience 

 is apparent, and it is not surprising that it should excite the ridicule 

 as well as disgust of all thinking men in the colony, to see the attempt 

 to govern the affairs of this rising state by the royal prerogative, 

 exercised by one of her Majesty's principal secretaries of state, in 

 despatches to a governor, whose recommendations are usually adopted, 

 thus making him, at least in part, his own instructor. When the time 

 necessary to pass these communications, which is at least eight 

 months, is considered, there appears great reason for reform, and it 

 is not surprising that the thinking part of the population are very 

 urgent for it. 



The high and confidential officer of the crown, which the Go- 

 vernor really is, is looked upon as the mere agent of the ministry at 

 home. 



The community do not feel themselves at all protected by the 

 Legislative Council, although they have, apparently, a voice in its 

 proceedings ; as its members are composed, to the extent of one half, 

 of persons who do not hold office. In practice, it is not found that 

 this amounts to a check; for on all government questions the members 

 who hold office will be present, and therefore vote in their full 

 strength ; while the members of the people, appointed from the most 

 respectable landholders by the crown, do not take sufficient interest 



