244 TlMEHRI. 
Royal Commissioner, subject to the approbation of the 
Crown. Two members yearly vacated their seats. 
They were re-eligible. The nomination of new mem- 
bers was made by the Governor out of a double number 
sent up for that purpose by the Gemeente-Bestuur. The 
powers of this corporation were regulated by a separate 
Ordinance enacted by the Royal Commissioner. It was 
in all its acts under the immediate orders and super- 
vision of the government and subject to the jurisdiction 
of the Hooge Raad. 
Acting under the instructions left by the Royal Com- 
missioner, the Hooge Raad, presided over by the Governor, 
introduced a number of Ordinances by which several 
branches of the local administration were organized and 
reformed. Important changes were introduced in several 
departments. A revised system of taxation and duties 
and customs was introduced. The legislation of the 
mother country imposing a duty or tax on successions 
under the name of succession tax or duty, came into 
force. Up to the present day it is numbered among the 
taxes levied in the colony. 
Thus all political life was extinct and the Governor 
assisted by his High Court ruled under instructions 
emanating from the Crown. It was, as was foreseen, of 
very short duration. The organisation effected by the 
Royal Commissioner in 1828, was abolished in 1832. 
The centralization of all the Dutch West Indies under 
one Government General, centred in Surinam, remained 
however as before. 
The year 1833 brought a new form of government. 
A new fundamental law for Surinam was introduced by 
Royal Rescript of the 9th August, 1832, No. 89, and pro- 
