248 TlMEHRI. 
crushing autocratic power of the Government can fur- 
ther be gathered from the fact that, on its having ap- 
peared that all the then members of the Koloniale Raad 
had signed on the 1st May, 1844, in their private capa- 
city, jointly with other parties, a protest or petition, 
containing their grievances against the dealings of the 
Particular IV. India Bank, conducted by the Govern- 
ment, — and a Government institution — leading to a 
depreciation of her notes, said members were most arbi- 
trarily dismissed by an Order of the Crown, in November 
1844, and the five first and high officials of the Govern- 
ment appointed in their stead and invested with the 
prerogatives of the Raad ; which act was followed by 
another Order of the Crown in April 1845, appointing 
members of the Raad, six persons chosen partly among 
the inhabitants, and partly officials and submitted to the 
Crown for election by the Governor alone. 
In 1845, a Royal Rescript of the 14th May, No. 43, 
introduced some alterations and amendments in this 
fundamental law of 1832. The form of the local Gov- 
ernment of Surinam remained unaltered. The system 
of its administration remained based as provided for 
in the Constitution of gth August, 1832. The power 
and authority of the Governor continued as before. But 
he was no longer the Governor General of the Dutch 
West Indian Colonies. A Royal Rescript of the 9th 
April, 1845, No. 8 had, previous to the Royal Rescript 
of May 14, 1845, No. 43, decentralized the Government 
of the colonies, into two separate Governments, Suriname 
and Curacao, the former with a Governor and the latter 
with an Administrator ; the two being independent of 
each other ; the authority of the Administrator of 
