180 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE 



to be appointed to the office, it was indeed mentioned that 

 Mr. Van Batenburg, the late governor, was to be reinstated; 

 he certainly took his departure from the colony for Holland, 

 and took England in his way, where the commencement of 

 hostilities obliged him to remain. 



Information having reached England that the colonies were 

 again in the possession of the British, it appeared as if the 

 fates determined Mr. Van Batenburg to be a governor; for he, 

 though a Dutchman, was appointed governor of Berbice, an 

 English colony ! ! Being provided with powers from the 

 court of St. James, and a commission under his Majesty's sign 

 manual, he arrived in Berbice and displaced Lieut.-Col. Ni- 

 cholson, who was appointed for the interim by the commanders 

 of the expedition to whom the colonies surrendered. By the 

 laws of Great Britain, no foreigner can be placed in any os- 

 tensible place under government, or appointed governor of 

 any colony, island, place, or any of its dependencies ; this 

 Was a stretch however of the Addingtonian power, which 

 was also put in force at Demerary, by sending Mr. Beaujon 

 there, another foreigner, as governor. 



Though the government of Berbice is separate from that 

 of Essequebo and Demerary, the code of laws is the same, 

 with some exceptions as to general rules. Governor Van Ba- 

 tenburg, after he was returned to the government of Berbice 



