446 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. fjAN. i, 1894. 
of Pioneerti— for , after all, it is to them and to their 
invaluable men, that we are indebted for resnlt-i so 
creditable to theni, and .so iniporlunt to the public 
intereats. 
I remain, Dear Sir, 
Yours faithfully, 
T. Skinner. 
J. Mitchell, Esq., 
of Kelburne Estate.— Happootella. 
The death at Kamboda of ]m old chief General 
rra.ser in May 1862 was a great grief to Major 
Skinner, e.specially as he was too late to be with 
the General at the end, as the latter earnestly 
desired. In March 1865, Sir Hercules Kobinson 
arrived, and no Governor more fully appreciated 
Major Skinner'.s unequalled experience and good 
work. The Governor began at once to travel a 
great deal over the island, generally on horseback, 
and taking the head of the Public Works Depart- 
ment with him, he thoroughly profited by all 
lie learned in this way. 
In September 1865, on the death of Mr. 
Pennefather, Auditor-General, Sir Hercules Ko- 
binson requested Major Skinner to take up the 
acting appointment in order that he might pre- 
side over the Royal Commis.>iioii to determine 
the Military Force and Expenditure requisite for 
the Colony. The evidence and lieport of this 
important Commission were published in December 
1865 Owin" to his wife's serious illness (and 
subsequent deaoh) in 1866, Major Skinner had 
to run hurriedly to England, and while there he 
was specially consulted by Lord Carnarvon, 
Secretary of State for the Colonies, who invited 
him to High Clerc. He returned to Ceylon only 
to prepare for retirement in June 1867, an event 
which was made the occasion for a unixersal 
expression of esteem and good-will, and of a 
series of farewell Addresses, one being from Colo- 
nists Merchants, Planters, &c., praying the 
Secretary of State to make Major Skinners a 
full-pay pension of £1,000 per annum. From 
the long farewell notice in the Observer we 
quote but one passage :— 
With the formation of nearly every mile of road 
and the erection of every bridge in the country. Major 
and tne eieouiu ■' j intimately connected 
^U?r as eubord"nrte or Chief of the Public Works 
DSartment; while we cannot for.et that s.multane^ 
Ueparnneu , amidst exposure and privation of 
Xchire SrexploreTs of theliandian Provinces can 
have bSt the faintest idea, in surveying and fixing the 
of the Co ony. and especially that of the Mouu- 
S Zone with which his name, in conjunction wi a 
He of Fr^ser and GaUwey, will be ever honourably 
associated. 
A harder worked or better Public Servant than 
Major Skinner never lived in any Colony : as 
he wrote himself, from the age <.f 16 when he 
was first employed away from his regiment, 
scarcely any labourer could have worked much 
harder or none through greater exposure, than lie 
WHN subjected to during his 49 years' nervice in 
ti-opieal Ceylon. We liave liinted more than 
once at the high luora) character of the bubject 
of our notice : Major Skinner was the friend of 
Christian Missionaries in Ceylon and of all good 
work in every direction. After liib retirement 
in 1869, the Duke of Buckingham as Secretary 
of Stale, on Sir Hercules Robinson's recommend- 
ation, wished to .submit liis name to Her .Maje.^ty 
for the " K.C.M.fi. ; hut the veteran publii- 
servant while expressing his gratitude, dei-lared 
he was too poor to covet the knightliood and 
begged that the honor lui^ht be " C.M.G." 
instead, and tiiis was agreed to. He was con- 
sulted alxjut the visits of tiie Duke of Etlinburgii 
and Prince of Wales to Ceylon, and lie kept 
up his taste for Natural History — Conchology 
especially— and his love for lisning in Cuiulier- 
land, Ireland, or Scotland, till the end of his 
life. His daughter (Miss Annie Skinner, after, 
wards Mrs. MacDonnell) who edited the auto- 
biography, thus littinglj' closed the volume and 
the life-hLstory of her father : — 
It was my privilege to be with him during the last 
few years of his life, which he spent principally in 
visiting old friends and travelling, the latter being 
always a special pleasure to him. He felt bis work 
was done, and he was just waiting for his call Home 
It is not for me to add to the record he has left o- 
what that work was ; I can only speak of the bright 
ness of the eventide, which seemed to shine more 
brilliantly as the end drew near. One day, looking 
up, he said, '-My child, all, all is bright; there is not 
a single cloud anywhere." 
On the 2lth -July 1S77 he passed peacefully away to 
the Home he was so longing for. and I felt the promise 
was fulfilled that 
•• At evening time it shall be light." 
So passed away in his 74th year, Ceylon's 
great Roadmaker, Pionoer of Progress, and most 
devoted Public Servant. His family originally 
consisted of two daughters and five sons, namely, 
Miss Skinner who became Mrs. M. H. Thomas, 
wife of jMr. M. H. Thomas, a well-known 
mercantile and planting Colonist still in our 
midst ; Miss Annie Skinner, editor of the above 
Biography, now Mrs. MacDonnell ; w bile of the 
sons, G. Skinner (the second) died as Capt. in 
the Intli Regiment; M. Skinner died as Com- 
mander K.N ; W. Skinner was in the Oriental 
Bank and was killed in Bombay by a fall from his 
horse. Of the two surviving, one is now (1894) 
Major Monier Skinner, K. E., and the other 
and eldest son of the family, T. E. B. Skinner, Esq. , 
is well-known for his thirty-three years' official 
work in the Civil Service of this Colony, and is now 
Postmaster-General and Director of Telegraphs 
in Ceylon, one of the most iniportant adminis - 
trative posts connected with the l.sland. 
