-Y^LU'WJMaviEi&sinrY''

MY COLONIAL SERVICE

MY COLONIAL SERVICE
IN BRITISH GUIANA, ST. LUCIA,
TRINIDAD, FIJI, AUSTRALIA, NEW
FOUNDLAND, AND HONG KONG
WITH INTERLUDES

By SIR G. WILLIAM DES VCEUX, G.C.M.G.

WITH PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. I.

LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET
1903

J \

TO
MY WIFE

PREFACE
MY official life terminated more than a decade ago,
when ill-health caused me to resign the govern
ment of Hong Kong. It was passed mainly in distant parts
of the Empire, and the same cause which brought it to an
end has since precluded me from taking part in public
affairs. As it is thus probable that even my name is hardly
known to the great majority of my countrymen, I fear that
this book, when judged by its outside, is likely to be re
garded as the " ponderous biography of a nobody." I hope,
however, that such a view may be in some measure modified
by a perusal of the contents. For they not only comprise
an account of a variety of scenes which are unfamiliar to
the great majority of possible readers, but will also be found
to throw some light, which I venture to think much needed,
upon the manner in which the Colonies, especially the
Crown Colonies, are governed.
The principles of Colonial Government have, indeed, been
abundantly set forth elsewhere ; but in so far as I know,
there has been hitherto no attempt to illustrate in detail, at
least with reference to the Crown Colonies, the operation
of these principles in practice. And this, I submit, can only
be adequately done by a personal record of colonial service
and administration.
In undertaking the task of compiling such a record of
my own experiences of office, I quickly found that these

viii PREFACE
could not be clearly understood without a general account
of my life while they were being undergone ; and so I have
been compelled to intrude far more ofthe "ego" than under
ordinary circumstances would be desirable, or even capable
of justification, in the case of one whose personality can
have so little interest for any but his immediate friends.
I have, moreover, been faced with this difficulty. Many
of the incidents of my official life have been not altogether
to the credit of those who had part in them ; and as they
occurred, none of them less than twelve, and some nearly
forty years ago, a considerable number of these persons
are no longer living. A strict adherence to the nil nisi
bonum principle would thus cause the omission of some
of my principal difficulties ; but in order to create as little
heart-burning as possible from the revived memory of
events for the most part forgotten, I have substituted letters,
which are not the proper initials, for the names of those,
whether alive or dead, of whom circumstances are related
likely to be regarded as not altogether to their credit.
Though I am aware that the persons indicated will be
recognised by some, yet by this expedient they need not
be known beyond a comparatively narrow circle which is al
ready acquainted with most ofthe doings as herein recorded.
As some of these were officers in Her late Majesty's service,
I feel specially bound to express my confident belief that,
taken as a whole, the public servants in the Colonies are a
body of men of whom any nation might be proud, and that
though living, as many of them do, in unhealthy climates,
they do their work as faithfully, with an at least equal
expenditure of time, as their more fortunate confreres at
home ; while as regards Governors, of whom I claim to
be only an average representative, it will be gathered from

PREFACE ix
my narrative that if they do their duty, the luxurious life
they are supposed to lead is at least not an idle or easy
one. As the consequence of several dangerous maladies, in
cluding yellow fever and sunstroke, and two serious acci
dents which caused concussions of the brain and spine,
almost the whole of my life as a Governor was a continual
struggle against ill-health ; and either on this account or
for some official duty I was compelled to take somewhat
long vacations in Europe.
I have had some doubts whether I should include in my
narrative any account of my doings on these occasions.
I have, however, decided to do so in order to intersperse
with somewhat lighter reading that which is mainly serious
and most probably dull. I had the good fortune in these
holidays to come in contact with various people, more or
less distinguished, my references to whom may prove to be
not without some interest. And, further, it has seemed to
me that a few touches of home experience might serve to
throw into relief the picture of my life in the Colonies.
In an introductory chapter I have given a short sketch
of my early life, not that I expect it to have any general
interest, but because there might otherwise be attributed
to me suppression of what I have little reason to look
back upon with satisfaction.

I. — A 2

CONTENTS
PREFACE . . . , t page vii
Introduction ..... pages 1-20
BRITISH GUIANA
CHAPTER I
Voyage to Guiana in H.M.S. Nile — Curious custom — Bermuda and
blockade runners— Arrival at Georgetown, British Guiana— Appointed
magistrate of Upper Demerara River district — Guiana travelling boats
— Negro boat hands and their songs — Description of river — Hyde Park
police station — Extraordinary effect of damp — Trial of cases — Great
rainfall — Timber punts — Berlin police station — Dalgin Court House —
Attack of yellow fever there, and experiences connected with it —
Bishop Austin — Christianburg — Extraordinary snoring . pages 21-35

CHAPTER II
Seba — Theft by ants — Experiences of blood-sucking bats — First Falls
— Mr. Forsyth : his reminiscences of Waterton, author of the
Wanderings — Practical joke with dead snake — Passage of the rapids
— Adventure with criminal half-breed — Difficulty with regard to
crimes within the jurisdiction of Supreme Court — Child carried
off by eagle — Indian path to Essequebo — Charles Couchman's :
photograph of tree here appears in Charles Kingsley's At Last —
George Couchman's timber-cutting grants — Last civilised settlement
— The Great Falls of the Demerara — Indian modes of capturing fish
— Canimapo, and attempt to murder me . . pages 36-51

CHAPTER III
The tributaries of the Demerara — Scenery of creeks — The troolie palm —
Delusion about tropical vegetation — The Camoonie Creek — A settle
ment of Chinese — Instance of Chinese honesty — First experience of
tropical forest ; its distinctive characteristics — Verification of timber-
grant boundaries — Savannahs — Adventure with snakes — Day sounds
of the forest — Cries of goatsuckers . . . pages 52-61

xii CONTENTS

CHAPTER IV
Another path from Demerara to Essequebo — Indian mode of marking
route traversed — Lost in the forest — Upper Essequebo — Kaieteur
Falls unknown — Mythical settlements of women — Bird's-eye view of
forest country — Electric eel as source of amusement — Canaimas, and
the fear of them — Indian drinking-bouts — Curious custom connected
with child-birth — Cassava, the Indian's principal food ; dangerously
poisonous when uncooked — Guiana no country for the sportsman —
Peccaries — Huge size of boa-constrictor — Toucans — The blow-pipe
— Wourali poison .... pages 62-74

CHAPTER V
Deer-shooting from canoe — Jaguars — The Waracaba tiger — Night sounds
of the forest — The kinkajou — Appalling roar of howling monkey —
The houtou and his tail-trimming — Onomatopoeic names — Cushi ants
— Jager ants and their service to man — Night invasion of Jagers —
Tenacity of life in ants — Termites ; their extraordinary voracity —
Ant intercommunication — Killing a monkey, and its effect on the
killer — Burning of a hollow tree . . . pages 75-83
CHAPTER VI
Inspection of Massaruni penal settlement — The Lower Essequebo — The
coconut palm and its taste for salt — Sound of tropical rain in forest
heard at great distance — Sanitary benefit of bare feet — Capon sitting
on eggs — Scenery of Essequebo above rapids — Adventure in ascend
ing rapid — A rash swim — Jiggers and their extraction — Scarcity of
animal life in Upper Essequebo — Kingfishers and jacamars — Fireflies
of different varieties — Mosquitoes and gallinippers ; story illustrating
difference between them — River Waini — The balata tree and its gum
— Water communication between Pomeroon and Upper Orinoco —
Deserted missionary settlement — Experience with bats pages 84-94
CHAPTER VII
Visit to River Cuyuni, Lower Essequebo, and mouth of Massaruni — First
rapids of Cuyuni — Weight carried by Indians — Bargain with Indians
— Fast in a rapid — Arrival at gold-diggings — British Guiana Gold
Company — First touch of fever — Humming birds (?) at night — Primi
tive gold-washing' — Passage down rapids — Wonderful swimming pages 95-104
CHAPTER VIII
Visit to England in 1865 — "Mad blood" and its cure — Cannes — Race
between English gig and French naval boats — Lord (afterwards Duke
of) Abercorn — Interview with Lord Brougham, the ex-Chancellor ;
his extraordinary memory of the distant past — A flogging and its

CONTENTS xiii
consequences — Lady Jocelyn— Conversation with Mr. Gladstone —
Witnessed Bill passed in one day through Lords and Commons ;
speeches from many leading statesmen — Return to Guiana — Political
condition of colony — Negro vanity — Act in new district ; experi
ences there — Mr. Crosby — Chief Justice Beaumont — Appointed to
West Coast district — My disagreeable position — Appointed Adminis
trator of St. Lucia .... pages 105-128
CHAPTER IX
Rising of coolies in British Guiana ; my letter to Lord Granville as to
causes of discontent ; its composition under pressure — Appointment
of Royal Commission to inquire into Guiana immigration system —
During visit to Trinidad suffer from concussion of the brain ; my
nervous system permanently injured — Proceed to Guiana to attend
Commission — Am boycotted — Postponement of Commission — I re
turn to St. Lucia — Sympathy of friends — Return again to Guiana —
Mr. Jenkins, author of Ginx's Baby — Embarrassed by crowds of
coolies — My difficulties — My examination by Commission — Help
lessness against libels — Report of Commission satisfactory — Finally
leave Guiana ..... pages 129-140

ST. LUCIA
CHAPTER I
Visit Barbados — Mr. Rawson, Governor-in-Chief— Government of "Con
stitutional" and Crown Colonies — Arrival in St. Lucia— Government
House and its surroundings — My home life there — Inquiry into the
administration of justice, and its result — Suspension of magistrate and
resignation of other officers— Chaotic condition of Registry : its cause :
remedy applied — Mr. F. Grey, magistrate : his unpopularity with
planters : his untimely death, and gallant conduct ; feeling shown at
the funeral, and its cause . . . pages 143-165
CHAPTER II
Isolation caused by preceding events — Governor-in-Chief 's sympathy —
Poisonous snakes ; obtain vote for their destruction — Vote refused
during my absence, but restored on my return ; remarkable decline
of death-rate in consequence — Vote eventually dropped on account
of persistent opposition — Introduction of mongoose — Mongoose v.
snake at Government House— Testimony to value of measures
twenty-two years afterwards — Curious story about original intro
duction of rat- tail— Visit of H.M.S. Bristol— Visit of Flying
Squadron— Admiral Beauchamp Seymour and his discipline— Visit
of Governor Rawson — Accompany him to Soufriere and Vieuxfort —
St. Lucia feasts .... pages 166-173

xiv CONTENTS

CHAPTER III
Visit to Trinidad — Hon. Arthur Gordon, Governor — Charles Kingsley :
my impression of him — Charles Kingsley visits me in St. Lucia —
The "Cinquante Pas du Roi": difficulty at Canaries and its settle
ment ; subsequent gratitude of villagers — Visit of Judge Norton —
Invasion of fleas — Captain Warbiirton, R.E. — Telegraph subsidy —
Castries Corporation : neglect of its duty and its abolition — Bad
condition of roads, and cause — The corvie system : its abuses —
Substitution of poll-tax for corvee and its success . pages 174-182

CHAPTER IV
Legislation in 1869, 1870, 1871 — Abolition of Tribunal of Appeal and
substitution of an improved court — Measure for reducing costs on
judicial sales, with remarkable effect — Consitution of office of Colonial
Trustee — Provision of telegraph subsidy — Inducement of immigrants
to remain — Establishment of Government Savings Bank — Provision
for sick poor and establishment of hospitals — Constitution of office of
Colonial Engineer and Surveyor — Law for removal of dangerous
persons — The better maintenance of roads — Charitable institutions
and measures for improvement — Rapid increase of revenue — New
tariff passed unanimously after much opposition — Official approval of
proceedings — Visit of Lord and Lady Frederick Cavendish — "De
Lord is come" — Natural history observations . pages 183-194

CHAPTER V
Arrival in England — Death of two sisters — Sir George Grey — Brooks's :
my first entrance and meeting with Lord Rosebery — Brooks's betting-
book — Extraordinary coincidence — Reverend George Wilkinson,
afterwards Bishop : some work for him and its results — Thanks
giving Service at St. Paul's, and my experiences there — Go to
Scotland — Seaton House — Invermark Castle — St. Andrews and
golf— Malham Tarn — Eshton Hall — Brighton — Cannes — Burley-on-
the-Hill — Leave England . . . pages 195-208

CHAPTER VI
Return to St. Lucia — Reception there — Chaotic condition of law in the
island — Undertake the compilation of a Civil Code — Move for intro
duction of central factory system to counteract French sugar bounties ;
visit Martinique to see system at work ; difficulties of introduction
into St. Lucia ; the subject causes my return to England — Roman
Catholic Archbishop removes chief cure — Decline to pay salary to
successor pending appeal to Rome . . . pages 209-216

CONTENTS xv
CHAPTER VII
Efforts on behalf of central factory system in England — Country visits —
Meet (fifteenth) Lord Derby and Colonel Stanley (present Lord Derby),
each afterwards Colonial Secretary — Lord Tweeddale (eighth Marquis)
— Chatsworth and seventh Duke of Devonshire — Hawarden and Mr.
Gladstone— My negro valet— Stonor and the family there— Difficulties
in connection with Central Factory Company, and unsatisfactory solu
tion— Apsley House and Mr. Delane, editor of The Times — Engaged
to be married — Correspondence with Colonial Office . pages 217-226
CHAPTER VIII
Return to St. Lucia : reception there — Satisfactory result of recent
measures — Visit of a Governor — Interview with negro proprietors —
Central Factory Ordinance passed — Repartee of Mr. Robert Lowe —
Arrival of U.S. ship of war : desertion therefrom — Earthquake —
Corpus Christi celebration : an amusing incident — Trouble caused by
local lawyers — A forest temple — Funeral panegyrics — St. Lucia fune
rals — Singular phenomenon — An accident — Archbishop of Trinidad
and religious endowment — Visit Soufriere — Mr. and Mrs. Quintin
Hogg — Curious work of lunatic — Colonial office delay pages 227-250
CHAPTER IX
Visit of French frigate — Financial proposals approved — Earthquakes —
Discussion with clergyman — Cat and parrot — Visit of Governor
Rawson ; anticipates failure of Hennessey as his successor — Inspect
new lunatic asylum — Earthquake — Supernatural Religion — Long
meeting of Council — Pass financial measures and twelve Ordinances — ¦
Completion of Civil Code — Rawson's appreciation of work, with
Lord Carnarvon's favourable comment — Visit of Gordon Duffs —
Suffer from sunstroke — Ordered to England — Illness on voyage pages 251-259
CHAPTER X
My marriage — The Tennant family — Yester and Lord Tweeddale — Sir
George Bowen and Sir John Pope Hennessey — Return to St. Lucia —
Jealousy of parrot — Troubles with servants — An alarming incident —
Stupidity of ants — Birth of son — Visited by Pope Hennessey; estimate
of him and his doings — Riot at Vieuxfort, and measures in conse
quence — Official appreciation — Obeah and its terrors — An Obeah
child-murder — Take responsibility of ordering execution — Relief of
people after event .... pages 260-275
CHAPTER XI
Ordered home on public affairs— Disappointments caused by central fac
tory — Its various difficulties — Loss to shareholders but gain to Colony
— Civil Code in Legislative Council — Opposition to civil marriage

xvi CONTENTS
instigated by Catholic hierarchy and supported by Pope Hennessey —
Amusing legal objections — Priestly strong language — My action ap
proved at home — Civil Code becomes law — Return to England .
pages 276-284
TRINIDAD CHAPTER I
A spelling-bee — Mr. Robert Lowe (Lord Sherbrooke) at Caterham ; my
impressions of him ; his match-tax proposal ; an enemy's epitaph of
him — Appointed Acting-Governor of Trinidad — Proceed thither —
"Hennessey's escape from Royal Commission — Cold reception at Trini
dad — New Government House — Hostile motion in Council, and happy
result — Visit of North American Squadron — Admiral Sir Cooper Key
— Copper poisoning at Government House — Ball given by colonists —
A painful duty — Withhold assent from recently passed law — Revolu
tion in Venezuela and difficulty caused thereby — Visit San Fernando
— Great Central Factory — Extravagant bridge — Defect in Immigration
Law — Complaints against magistrates in India . pages 287-306
CHAPTER II
Sunday guests — Charles Warner— Botanical garden — Queen's birthday —
Hair-cropping of female convicts — Vote for increase of Governor's
salary disapproved — A curious discovery — Appointed C.M.G. — Mis
appropriation of revenue fines — First West Indian mangosteens —
Speech on railway extension — Isle of Monos — Fish-eating bats —
A Guacharo cave — Visit of French squadron — French official re
cognition of hospitality — H.M.S. Eurydice: her sad fate — Leave
Trinidad — Warm " good-bye " demonstration . ^a^M 307-319

FIJI
CHAPTER I
Return to St. Lucia — Accept Acting-Governorship of Fiji — Voyage
thither — Barbados —Jamaica — Panama — Disagreeable incident at
Acapulco — Thresher and whale : curious difference on the subject —
San Francisco — First use of telephone — Hawaii — Leave northern
hemisphere — Touched by hurricane — Sydney — Medical examination :
comical incident — Sydney to Fiji : unpleasant voyage — Arrive at
Levuka — Warm greeting from Gordons — Government House, Nasova
— Comfort v. magnificence — The Queen's birthday — Fijian dances —
A chief's wife— Month with Gordons — My inauguration as Head
Chief: native ceremony — The Vunivalu (ex- King Thakombau) —
Habitual cannibalism probably of recent origin — High opinion of
Thakombau's character — An accident at table — Maafu, his character
and antecedents — Cruelty not inconsistent with great qualities —
Pretended angels punished . . . pages 323-342

CONTENTS xvii

CHAPTER II

Visit to chief's house — A princess— Chief's dignity and good manners-
State of colony — Poll-tax : its evil effects — Replaced by produce-tax
— Sir Arthur Gordon had pacified natives, but whites still discontented
— Size of colony: common notion of it dispelled — I assume adminis
tration — Memorial of missionaries ; its publication ; find their com
plaints groundless ; my reply ; singular method of rejoinder ; my
final decision unanswered, and confirmed by Secretary of State — The
High Commission — Appointment of Chief Justice as Acting High
Commissioner ; incongruity of two offices ; difficulties thereby caused
— Chief Justice's intention to visit New Guinea happily not carried
out — The Stormbird incident — Chief Justice threatens gaol delivery of
convicted prisoners ; with difficulty dissuade him — Departure of Royal
Engineers — Unique position of Government ; dependent solely upon
native loyalty — Necessity for careful scrutiny of reports — Anxiety
caused and quickly allayed — Land claims and their difficulties — Sir
Arthur Gordon's remarkable work . . . pages 343-359

CHAPTER III
Arrival of Commodore Hoskins — A question of precedence and its settle
ment — Visit to Bau — Tribute to early missionaries — Contrast between
Bau past and present — Messrs. Langham and Fison, chief mission
aries — Curious similarity between African and Fijian names — Official
relations with missionaries not agreeable — Polygamy and its diffi
culties — Continual attacks upon native policy; irksomeness of fre
quently repeated defence ; falsity of adverse representations — Poly
nesian immigrants ; their unsatisfactory condition ; impracticability
of adequate remedy — Pass law against a. minor abuse — Visit to
Wakaya ..... pages 360-369

CHAPTER IV
Open Veibose (meeting of chiefs) at Bua — Subject of speech on the oc
casion — Misconduct of Roko Tuis (native provincial governors) and
their punishment — Distribution of presents — Procession of chiefs — A
girl chieftainess — Subjects before Bose sagaciously discussed ; its
resolutions and my speech at close of meeting — Favourable impres
sions produced by meeting — Visit to Rewa River ; rough experiences
on way thither — Unwelcome night visitors — Residence in native house
— Meals in public — Social life — Australian Governor's anecdote — Open
Oddfellows' lodge — Inauguration of Levuka Mechanics' Institute —
Birth of son and early death — Considerate behaviour of Native Con
stabulary—Appalling telegram . . . pages 370-381

xviii CONTENTS

CHAPTER V
Death of Tul Thakau ; I attend his funeral — A unique law ; " The
Uniform Date Ordinance " — 180th meridian : misapprehensions on
the subject — Arrival of Leonidas infected with small-pox and cholera —
Difficulties of guarding against infection ; how surmounted — A risky
shot — Loyal assistance of natives — Measures for promoting vaccination
and their success — Pass indemnity law — General approval of measures
by Secretary of State — Law for preservation of beche-de-mer and its
necessity — Appearance of coffee-leaf disease ; measures in consequence ;
I refrain from destroying infected plantation ; my reasons approved
by Kew authorities — Intemperate act of Maafu ; a disagreeable diffi
culty and its happy solution — Rotumah desires annexation to Fiji —
Depute Commander Bower to proceed thither ; his report — Long
swims by the Fijians — Act of extraordinary heroism ; Her Majesty
desires copy of my report upon it — Leavetaking by chiefs ; their
tribute to my wife — Touching speech by Thakombau — Sir Arthur
Gordon's return ; his appreciation of my work — Leave Fiji pages 382-4

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS VOL. I
FACE PAGE
Portrait of Author .... Frontispiece

Visit to Chief Canimapo . .
Hauling Boat up Rapid, Essequebo River
At Vallombrosa Villa, Cannes, 1866
Cul-de-sac Valley, St. Lucia (showing Central Factory)
Nasova ......
Thakombau . . ...

50
98
106
152
332
338

Map of the Fiji Islands . . . . At the end

MY COLONIAL SERVICE
AND ITS INTERLUDES
INTRODUCTION
MY father was the Rev. Henry Des Vceux, a younger
son of the first baronet of the name, and grandson
of a Huguenot1 who, emigrating from Normandy, settled
in Ireland at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
His mother was also of a Huguenot family, being one
of the several daughters of Dean Champagne, who, though
dying only in 1800, is ancestor of over five hundred persons
now living, among whom are twenty-one English peers
(including the Dukes of Richmond, Marlborough, Rox-
burghe, and Leinster), besides thirteen heirs to other
peerages. The Dean (whose mother was the daughter
of the second Earl of Granard, one of the Englishmen
who took part in the capture of Buda-Pesth from the
Turks) was the son of Josias de Robillard de Champagne,2
1 I have recently learned that my great-grandfather, here referred lo, was
pasteur of a Huguenot congregation at Portarlington, and that he received an
honorary degree from the University of Dublin ; but I have had no oppor
tunity of verifying, and have not therefore included in the text, the statement
in Burke's Baronetage that his father was Monsieur de Baquencourt, President
of the Parliament of Rouen, and that having incurred the displeasure of his
family by becoming Protestant, he, on emigrating, made the significant change
of name to " Des Vceux."
2 I have in my possession the interesting account, written by herself, of
the escape from France of Major Champagne's mother (who, born de la
Rochfoucauld, signs herself Marie de Ia Rochfoucauld de Champagne), when
her husband's property and her own had been ruined by the Dragonnade.
She describes the arrival of herself and family in England, her hospitable
reception there, their subsequent removal to Holland because of her objection
I. — B

2 INTRODUCTION
Major of a regiment of French Huguenots which took
part in the battle of the Boyne.
My mother was the daughter of Mr. George Hutton
(afterwards Hutton-Riddell), of Carlton, Notts, and I have
heard that she also had Huguenot blood in her veins from
her mother, one of the Northumberland Mitfords, and
sister of Admiral Mitford, of Hunmanby, Yorkshire, the last
male representative of the elder branch of that family.
I specially venerate the memory of my Huguenot
ancestors, though differing profoundly from their religious
views, because, holding those views conscientiously, they,
rather than be forced to change them, faced the loss of
their homes and property and preferred permanent exile
from their country; and, though laying claim only to an
extremely modest share of their great qualities, I attribute
to this strain of blood that spirit of resistance to oppress
sion which was the dominant note of my career in the
Colonies. My mother unhappily died when I was two years old,
and my father (as I have been told, in accordance with
her dying request) married as his third wife1 her friend,
Julia Denison, daughter of John Denison, of Ossing-
ton, Notts, and sister of several brothers, all more or
less distinguished. Of these the eldest, Evelyn, became
Speaker of the House of Commons and Lord Ossington ;
another, Edward, was at the age of thirty-three created
Bishop of Salisbury; a third, William, was successively
Governor of Tasmania, New South Wales, and Madras
(acting for a time as Governor-General of India); while
to place her sons in the service of a Catholic king, and the sympathetic
kindness which she experienced from the Prince and Princess of Orange,
whom her husband and her son Josias subsequently followed to England.
One of this lady's daughters married, at the Hague in 1692, Charles de la
Motte Fouque, Baron de St. Surin, and two of the sons of this marriage, Baron
de la Motte Fouque and Baron de St. Surin, became distinguished Prussian
generals, high in favour with Frederick the Great, the former being grand
father of Friedrich Baron de la Motte Fouque, the celebrated German author.
1 His first wife was Frances (only child and heiress of Daniel Dalrymple),
in whose right he became lord of the manor of Barrow, Derbyshire.

CHILDHOOD 3
one of the youngest, George Anthony, was perhaps the
best known of all as the Archdeacon of Taunton and
Vicar of East Brent — a man who, though deserving by
his impulsive bravery the witty sobriquet given him by
his friend Lord Lyttelton of "George without the drag-on,"
was yet held in high respect and affection by those who
knew him, even by many, such as Mr. Gladstone, whom
on conscientious grounds he had strenuously opposed.
My father had before my birth been for some years
Rector of Stapenhill and incumbent of other benefices
(which, I am told, then included the present town of
Burton-on-Trent) in the gift of his cousin, Lord Anglesey
(the first Marquis) ; but a difference arising between them,
he resigned all his preferments and thenceforward never
undertook any regular duty. At first he lived principally
abroad ; and so it happened that I was born at Baden
Baden in 1834. We travelled from place to place on the
Continent, coming home only for short intervals. Several
winters were spent at Dresden — a fact of which, as after
wards mentioned, I was reminded nearly half a century
afterwards by the Empress Augusta of Germany, when
in 1885 my wife and I were being entertained by Her
Majesty at Homburg.
Of this period I know very little. I recollect my German
nurse (from whom I learnt her language, unhappily long
forgotten), and I faintly remember my nursery, with its
great stove reaching to the ceiling, which I believe to have
been in Dresden, and also long sittings in the rumble of a
travelling carriage. But the strongest impression retained
from that time was derived from a great gilt crucifix in the
centre of a long bridge, though where this was I have never
been able to ascertain. Beyond this memory is blank.
In, I think, 1839, mv fatner brought his family to
England, and we lived at first in London at one of the
houses in Old Burlington Street. Afterwards he moved
to Leamington, where were spent most of my Christmas
holidays up to the age of twenty. Our summers were, for

4 INTRODUCTION
the most part, at the sea; but one was passed at Bilton Hall,
near Rugby (once the home of Addison, and then belong
ing to cousins of my stepmother, the Misses Bridgman
Simpson), and another at East Brent with Archdeacon
Denison. Being the eighth of a family of nine, I was not treated
at home with much consideration — in fact, I was hardly,
even harshly, brought up ; and I well remember travelling
on the top of a coach during a very cold winter's day,
without any great-coat to cover the shivering body, to
my first school. This was kept by one Miss Thrupp
at Moseley, then a village in the fields at a distance of
some two miles from Birmingham, but now, I understand,
completely surrounded by the town. Going there at
seven years of age, I remained until I was eleven, when
I proceeded to the Charterhouse, having received from the
second Lord Grey (the Prime Minister of the Reform
Bill) an appointment to the Foundation — an appointment
which, as carrying with it an almost free education and
an exhibition at the University, was (as shown by the
letters of the Duke of Wellington) at that time so much
in request as to be more difficult to obtain than others
of much greater worldly consequence.
I remained at Charterhouse until December, 1853, when,
being in the sixth form and head monitor of Gownboys,
it fell to me on Founder's Day to deliver the annual Latin
oration. I cannot say that my life at Charterhouse, with its gloomy
atmosphere and surroundings, was ever a very happy one.
Being probably a specially unattractive boy, I suffered in
extreme measure from bullying, then disgracefully preva
lent ; and yet during my first years there it was always a
question with me whether I disliked most my school or my
home. But my preference was decidedly for school when,
this stage passed, I had become a monitor, and had ob
tained a place, which I occupied for three years, in the
cricket eleven.

AT CHARTERHOUSE 5
Still, even then it was a relief to get away for Saturday
and Sunday to my Aunt Grey's house in Seamore Place,
or to my Uncle Charles' in Belgrave Square, though these
visits were for a boy not of a very lively nature. For my
aunt being already an old woman (though she lived for
many years afterwards), and my uncle's second family1 con
sisting of very small children still in the nursery, I saw
nothing of young people. Nor had I the opportunity, ex
cept on very rare occasions, to go to any theatres or amuse
ments ; and it was a red-letter day when, as a six-foot
boy of seventeen, I was considered a sufficiently stalwart
protector for a party of ladies going to hear the Ethiopian
Serenaders, of which party one is still alive, Miss Bulteel,
then maid of honour, and now Lady Ponsonby.
But my aunt's house, though it could not be termed gay,
provided me with excellent food for mind as well as body.
For at her luncheons I had the opportunity of listening
with wonder, not unmixed with awe, to the talk of various
statesmen, all of whom were at the time, had been, or were
to become Cabinet Ministers, including Sir George Grey,
the third Lord Grey, Sir Charles Wood (afterwards Lord
Halifax), Mr. Edward Ellice (commonly called "the Bear"),
and Lord Panmure (afterwards Lord Dalhousie); and though
I cannot say that their conversations were always of a
serious character, I suppose it may have been from them
that I unconsciously imbibed that inclination to liberal
principles which I have ever since retained.
On Sundays I used to accompany my aunt across the
Park to St Paul's, Knightsbridge, of which, I regret to say,
my principal recollection is the fact that on two occasions
she requested me to admit into the pew Mr. Higgins, the
celebrated Jacob Omnium, who was standing at the door.
If I had any vanity about my stature, which in after-life
1 His first wife having been Christina, daughter of Richard Hird, of
Rawdon, Yorks, he after her death, when at the age of sixty-three, married
as his second wife Lady Cecilia Paulet, daughter of the thirteenth Marquis
of Winchester. Like his cousin Lord Anglesey, he had a cork leg, his natural
one having been amputated after the battle of Alkmaar in 1799.

6 INTRODUCTION
I have found rather a disadvantage than otherwise, this
circumstance was sufficient to modify it. For in standing
by me he looked down upon me complacently from a height
of nearer seven feet than six.
At Charterhouse I enjoyed fairly good health, with the
exception of one serious illness, in which the kindly nursing
of my stepmother provides me with the reminiscence of
her upon which I most like to dwell ; though at the same
time I must not omit to mention the devoted attention of
the dear old matron, known to me and all Charterhouse
Gownboys as " Mother J." But partly from want of en
couragement at home when I did well, and partly from a
disposition naturally indolent except when under excite
ment, I worked only by fits and starts, leaving many in
tervals of comparative idleness. I was not unfrequently
flogged, for the most part deservedly, but sometimes for
what was rather my misfortune than my fault.
I was never able to write decent verses, whether Latin,
Greek, or English. Poetical imagination was wanting, and
a deficient memory could do nothing to supply its place.
And yet on every Wednesday for several years I was set
to this hopeless work, which, in spite of genuine effort,
I always failed to do creditably. At length in despair
I began to obtain assistance from other boys, in which
" deception " I was more than once detected. Also I had
extreme difficulty in learning by heart, and however much
I tried I could never master completely the lines of repeti
tion which had to be prepared every morning, and the num
ber of which was too great except for the best memories.
It was a rule — and, I venture to think, a bad one — that a
boy, whose name had been twice in the week entered in the
"Black Book" for faults or omissions, should on the Satur
day say the whole " repetition " of the week to the head
master, failure in this ordeal involving a third entry in the
book, and a consequent flogging. I can say without hesita
tion that on every one of these occasions I should have
met with this unhappy fate, but that Dr. Saunders, the

AT CHARTERHOUSE 7
head master (afterwards Dean of Peterborough), perhaps
with kindly intention, was usually inattentive, and thus
gave me the opportunity of reading, out of a diminutive
Horace or Virgil held in the hollow of my hand under his
table, the lines which I ought to have repeated by heart.
Both of these defects caused me discouragement in my
work generally (some of which, especially mathematics, I
was able to do better than the average of boys), and
directly or indirectly contributed to several of my floggings.
These, however, were latterly rendered less painful by a
friendly monitor, who in taking out the birch would sur
reptitiously draw it under his foot and thus remove some
of the buds.
At last my deficiencies in these respects were recognised
as incurable. For though my memory was still strained
by having to attempt the impossible, my failure in repeti
tion came to be looked upon with indulgence, especially
when I had shown proficiency in other directions. And
as regards verses, I was permitted to substitute for this
exercise one of Latin or Greek prose.
When this concession was made, the discouragement
from which I had so long suffered was in a great measure
relieved, and by work, often secretly prolonged far into the
" small hours " of the morning, I made a great effort to
recover my place in the school, not without a considerable
measure of success,
When this improvement occurred, Dr. Saunders, I sup
pose, came to regard my errors of conduct (which I do not
pretend to justify) as at least to some extent excusable,
and must also have imagined himself to discern in me other
qualities worthy of consideration ; for he appointed me
monitor as soon as I entered the Upper Fifth, before others
who were above me in the school. In that position I am
happy to think that I took full advantage of its authority
for the purpose of putting down with a strong hand the
practice of bullying, from which I had myself suffered so
severely. And in recognition, I suppose, of this action on

8 INTRODUCTION
my part I received on leaving from a number of small boys
a present of books — such gifts being then very unusual
except when proceeding from friends of similar age with
the boy leaving — and I value the memory of this quasi-
testimonial more than any other occurrence of my young
days. It was a pleasure to learn long afterwards at a
Founder's Day dinner from Mr. Eardley Wilmot, who
entered the school after I had left it, that in his time my
name was still held in kindly remembrance.
From Charterhouse I at nineteen proceeded to Balliol,
Oxford, where my eldest brother Henry (the late Sir Henry
Dalrymple), then a fellow of All Souls, had taken his
degree some years before. My time at the University was
spent almost wholly in amusement. I rarely attended lec
tures, and to my lasting regret I took very little advantage
of the opportunity of solid education which was then offered
by the distinguished body of Balliol tutors. I was several
times " admonished," and it has always been a matter of
wonder to me that the leniency of " The .Dons " permitted
me to escape rustication, which I richly deserved. I passed
" Little Go " and " Moderations " almost entirely by means
of what I had learned at the Charterhouse, and then in the
middle of my third year matters came to a crisis.
My father, who had always intended me for the Church,
then told me plainly that he would continue to maintain
me at Oxford only on the condition that I should, on ob
taining my degree, " take orders " ; and he offered as the
only alternative that I should seek a livelihood in the
Colonies. I was already by no means orthodox in my views,
and feeling impossible the pretence of assent to articles
which I did not believe, chose what was then regarded as
banishment. He, in consequence, declined to discharge my
debts, which, though they were eventually paid in full, were
a log round my neck for some years.
And so I left the University without taking my degree,
and thus came to an end a period which, despite all draw
backs, was the happiest of the first forty years of my life.

MY FIRST SPEECH 9
Yet I have never ceased to regret the recklessness which
caused so utter a waste of precious time ; for though by
severe work since I partially recovered the ground then
lost, I have always felt the impracticability of doing so
completely. In connection with this confession of my Oxford mis
doing I may mention a characteristic remark of Professor
Jowett. For the first time for more than a quarter of a cen
tury after leaving Balliol I met him at Lansdowne House,
then in the occupation of Lord Rosebery. After inquiries,
addressed to my wife and myself, about our colonial life, he
said to me, with one of his cherubic smiles, "Well, Des
Vceux, I have heard enough of you from time to time to
make me regret we cannot flatter ourselves we had much
to do with your education." Unhappily I never saw Jowett
again ; for though he was kind enough to ask us to name
a day for a visit to him at one of his week-end parties, we
were, owing to ill-health and absence from England, never
able to avail ourselves of his hospitality.
In the autumn before leaving England I was called upon
to make my first speech in public. My sister and I were
spending a pleasant fortnight with the James Murrays in a
cottage occupied by them on the Tay about half a mile
below the bridge at Dunkeld. Lady James's brother (Fair-
holme) had been lieutenant of the Erebus, one of the ships
of Sir John Franklin's ill-fated expedition, in which my
brother Frederick had been mate (his promotion to lieute
nant immediately after his departure never having become
known to him). During our visit occurred the annual
Atholl gathering, and the Duke kindly invited me to
accompany his brother to the dinner in Dunkeld Park,
at which Lord Tullibardine (the present Duke), then an
Eton boy, was also present. As the entertainment was
coming to an end I was suddenly touched on the shoulder
by one of the guests and told, to my horror, that it was the
custom for any stranger present to propose the Duke's
health ; and so at only a minute's notice I was obliged to

io INTRODUCTION
get up and make an impromptu speech. The Duke had
been particularly kind to me in respect of fishing and otter-
hunting, and I ought to have been at no loss what to say ;
but whether I should have been able to say it is a question
which can never be determined. For as soon as the High
landers understood what I was attempting to do they, in a
body, put their feet upon the tables and made so frantic a
noise that after various, no doubt expressive, gesticulations
I sat down. After the mention of the Duke's name not a
single word could be heard ; but my silence was probably
quite as effective as the most elaborate oration.
Two incidents of my young days, occurring one in a
school holiday the other during an Oxford vacation, stand
out clearly in memory as having in each case made me
alive to the near neighbourhood of death. When as a very
small boy I was with two other boys playing with a pistol,
it accidentally went off while in the hands of one of them,
the bullet actually grazing the skin of my ear. The boy in
question, the eldest son of a peer, who long since succeeded
his father as one of the great London landowners, seemed
to experience a shock when recently I assisted him to
recall a circumstance which I had the better reason to
recollect, and which having happened nearly sixty years
ago had not unnaturally almost escaped his memory.
The other incident, which occurred in 1855, was to me
a much more serious matter, as I remained for several
months in fear of the most terrible of deaths. Being at
Market Lavington on a visit to the Vicar, the Reverend
Mayow Wynell Mayow, I one Sunday after church re
leased from his kennel a retriever, which seemed sleepy
and not in the best of health. I remembered afterwards
having observed, though I took no particular notice of it,
that he had apparently torn down some latticed chicken-
fencing within reach of his chain. Suspecting nothing, I
played with the dog for some minutes on the lawn, and
then went into the house, leaving him at large. Only a
few minutes afterwards I heard screams, and looking out

CANADA 1 1
of the window I saw the dog in the act of attacking one of
my host's two children, who were coming up the garden
path with their nurse. Rushing down at once, I found that
the dog had bitten both children, with whom he was ordi
narily a great favourite, one of them, a little girl of some
eight years old, in the face. Horrified at a misfortune
which was in a measure due to my fault, I at once applied
my mouth to the wounds for the purpose of sucking out
any poison which might have been lodged in them, con
tinuing the process in the case of each child alternately for
some minutes. The dog died the next day, and his
body having been forwarded to the Veterinary College
for examination, was pronounced to have died of rabies.
Various supposed remedies were applied to the children,
among them being a certain powder sent by the father of
the present Lord Clanwilliam, which had the effect of bring
ing out a violent perspiration on the neck and shoulders.
Whether they were thus cured, or whether there was never
any virus to remove or counteract, it is impossible to say.
But happily the children both escaped hydrophobia, though
for months afterwards I was anxious, not only about them,
but on my own account. For I had at the time a cracked
lip, which a doctor informed me I ought to have had
cauterised immediately after the event, thus indicating
that I was not altogether free from danger. Happily,
however, I escaped all ill effects except a certain nervous
apprehension, from which I was not altogether free for
some months.
I chose Canada as my destination, not that I knew any
more of this than any other colony, but because of the
shorter sea-passage, and also because I could get more
letters of introduction to residents there. Among these
was one from Mr. Edward (" Bear ") Ellice to Mr. (after
wards Sir) John Rose, who held a power of attorney for
Mr. Ellice's seigniory in Lower Canada, and lived at Mont
real. After a stormy passage of fifteen days, during more
than a week of which I was unable to eat a single morsel,

12 INTRODUCTION
I arrived at Montreal in October, 1856. By Mr. Rose's
advice I shortly proceeded to Upper Canada (now Ontario),
and after visiting Toronto and other places, I finally decided
to discard my first idea of farming, as offering little chance
of success, and to read law. I therefore entered as a law-
student at Osgood Hall, Toronto, in which town I finally
settled after a sojourn of some months in the Canadian
London. Finding that I could shorten the ordinary five years of
studentship by two years if I were to possess a university
degree, I procured admission to Toronto University, being
allowed the benefit of my Oxford terms, and after a short
spurt of reading passed the examination for B.A. and re
ceived that degree.
For some years my law-reading was of a very desultory
character. I especially disliked the solicitor's work, which
in Canada was then almost necessarily combined with that
of barrister. Consequently I took unduly long vacations,
partly in the hope of finding some occupation more agree
able to my taste. One autumn I had some weeks of
prairie-shooting in Illinois. At other times I visited Sara
toga, Newport, and New York ; and on one occasion I was
chosen as long-stop to play in the Upper Canada eleven
against Lower Canada, and took part in the match at Mont
real. But my longest holiday was when, after occupying
a house at Washington for a fortnight with the late Lord
Frederick Cavendish, Mr. (now the Right Honourable)
Evelyn Ashley, and Mr. Corbin, we went together to the
Southern States and visited Mr. Corbin's plantation in
Georgia, as well as other slave - estates in Virginia and
South Carolina.
At Saratoga I unexpectedly met "Bear" Ellice, who at
an age considerably beyond seventy was making a tour in
the United States. He told me that he had escaped from
England without the knowledge of his family, who would
probably have been solicitous about the health of an old
man going alone upon a journey which in those days was

SOUTHERN STATES 13
regarded as a much more serious undertaking than it is
now. He had come in contact during his life with nearly
all the prominent statesmen of Europe, and had a large
stock of anecdotes concerning them. His talk was indeed
so interesting that one day when I was dining with him at
" The Lake," all of some twenty guests stopped one by one
to listen to him, and were evidently not bored, as people
usually are by monopolists of conversation.
Dining one night at the White House, Washington, with
President Buchanan, for whom the honours were charm
ingly done by Miss Lane, I had the good fortune to sit next
to Mrs. Slidell, the wife of the senator who afterwards
obtained a world-wide celebrity by the Trent affair. Chiefly
owing to her bright and lively talk, a dinner which I had
expected to be stiff and stately was one of the most agree
able of my life. While in Washington we attended a ball
given in honour of Lord Napier, the retiring British Minister,
the invitation for which was signed by William H. Seward,
afterwards Secretary of State during the Civil War, and
also by Senators Mason and Slidell, the Commissioners of
the Southern Confederacy, who were taken prisoners on
board the Trent, only one name intervening between the
three. Among other places at which we stayed in our visit to
the South was the house of Mr. Ward McAllister at Sa
vannah ; and in the following year I spent some weeks with
him at his villa in Newport. This gentleman afterwards
became well known by his invention of the name " Four
Hundred " for the leading set of New York society.
Though, like most men, he had his defects, I have nothing
to say but in his favour ; for he was always kindness itself
to me. It was therefore with special regret that I read his
extraordinary book, Society as I Have Known It, which was
justly subjected to such severe criticism. His references
to our party were indeed intended to be highly compli
mentary ; but there are passages in the book which indicate
a character so unlike that which I knew as to lead me to

i4 INTRODUCTION
the conclusion that in his latter years he must have been a
completely altered man.
In New York I experienced much of that liberal hospi
tality which is usually extended to educated Englishmen,
and I much enjoyed my visits there. During one of these
arrived the news of one of the disastrous defeats of the
Union army on the Potomac. The excitement created was
far less than might have been expected under the circum
stances ; and in spite of many reverses, the calm resolution
of the people to win in the end was most striking. What
I observed then was forcibly recalled by the attitude of the
British people in the winter of 1899-1900, during the pain
ful occurrences in South Africa.
Though I had a strong sympathy with many of the
Southern planters, whose fortunes were bound up with the
institution of slavery, the burthen as well as the benefit of
which they had inherited from England, I nevertheless
wished with my whole heart for the success of the North ;
for apart from the anti-slavery feeling which had been caused
by my visit to the South, it was easy to see that peace
established by the recognition of the Confederate States
would be very short-lived, and that war between the two
kindred nations would be continually recurring until the
ultimate predominance of one or the other. By letters
received subsequently from Frederick Cavendish I was
glad to find that he altogether shared my views, though in
holding them he was almost alone in London society.
Having found no opening in other directions, as the time
approached when it was possible for me to be called to the
Bar, I at last set to work in earnest. For some eight
months I read law for ten to twelve hours a day, so that I
was able to offer for examination not only the ordinary
common law and equity subjects required for " call," but a
number of extras, such as Justinian's Institutes and the
Principles of the Civil Law, Jarman on Wills, Story on
Conflict of Laws, etc. On all of these papers were set ;
and as I answered nearly all the questions correctly, and

CANADIAN BAR 15
was the only one of several candidates who attempted
them, I was somewhat surprised and disappointed that I
did not get " Honours." Mr. Gwynne, the Secretary of the
Law Society, in reading out the names of those who had
passed, simply announced that I had passed a distinguished
examination, and I had to be content with that. Mr. Hill-
yard Cameron, the then leader of the Bar, was unfortunately
absent at the time, or he would have been one of the ex
aminers. On his return, however, he expressed to me his
indignation that I had not obtained what he considered to
have been my due ; but I was left to guess what had been
the cause of failure. This, however, I accidentally learnt
long afterwards when passing through Canada on the way
to my second administration of Fiji. At the table of Lieu
tenant-Governor Robinson, one of those who had been my
examiners, in the presence of several others, voluntarily
alluded to the subject, and said they were all agreed that
my papers deserved " Honours," but that a majority, to
his great regret, and against his strong protest, decided
that it would be a bad precedent to distinguish one who
had been so intermittent in his attendance at his office !
He also not indistinctly intimated that there was a pre
judice against me as an Englishman — a feeling which,
though then somewhat prevalent in Canada, I am happy
to think has now almost subsided, probably owing to the
improved relations between the mother country and the
Colonies. Shortly after being called, I began the practice of the law
(not, I was told, without considerable promise of success)
in partnership with Mr. Strong (now the Right Honourable
Sir Samuel Strong, Chief Justice of Canada). But after
some months' experience I found my dislike of the
solicitor's part of the business, which principally fell to
my share, to be greater than ever ; while even as regards
barrister's work, I had serious doubts whether I could with
stand the close air of Courts of Justice, which has proved
fatal to many better brains than mine. And so I again

16 INTRODUCTION
began to look out for other employment, which this time
happened to be not long in coming.
Through Frederick Somerville,1 whom and his family I
had known from boyhood, I became acquainted with his
regiment, the ist Battalion of the Rifle Brigade, then
quartered at Hamilton, some forty miles from Toronto.
A captain then serving with the battalion was Lord Edward
Clinton (now colonel, and lately Master of the Sovereign's
Household). Having become intimate with him in the
course of several visits to the regiment, he, learning my
wish for a change, kindly offered to transmit an application
for a colonial appointment to his father, the Duke of
Newcastle, then Secretary of State for the Colonies. The
Duke had been in Canada the year previous in attendance
upon the Prince of Wales, and mine was probably the
first application received from the colony since his return
to England. As I had passed the best law examination
of the year, he deemed a legal appointment the most
suitable ; and so in the course of a few months I re
ceived from him the offer of a stipendiary magistracy in
British Guiana, with a commencing salary of £700 a year.
I was at the time under the impression that the colonial
service was one like that of India, in which under ordinary
circumstances good work brought promotion. It was well
that I was thus ignorant ; for had I known what I had to
face in British Guiana, and that no magistrate of that
colony had ever been promoted to another, I should pro
bably have declined an appointment which turned out in
the end to have been a most fortunate one.
But though I started for my new post with high hopes
for the future, I left Canada with great regret ; for I had
received there much kindness and made many friends, only
a few of whom I have ever seen since, and those only at
long intervals. A special subject of regret was my separa
tion from the family of the late Sir John Robinson, Chief
Justice of Upper Canada, the first Canadian baronet.
1 Brother of the eighteenth Lord Somerville (title now in abeyance).

LEAVE CANADA 17
Every Sunday during the years I spent in Toronto I was
a guest in his house, which I had come to look upon as a
second and more genial home. He died shortly before
I left Canada, and it can be truly said of him that never was
a man more universally respected by those who knew him
or more loved by those who knew him well. Not only he,
but all those whom I was in the habit of meeting regularly
at his table, became intimate friends, separation from whom
caused a pang of regret at least as severe as' that from my
proper home ; for the chances were great that we should
rarely, or never, meet again.
And now began my official life, which is the proper
subject of this book.

1. — c

BRITISH GUIANA

BRITISH GUIANA

CHAPTER I
Voyage to Guiana in H.M.S. Nile— Curious custom— Bermuda and blockade
runners — Arrival at Georgetown, British Guiana — Appointed magistrate of
Upper Demerara River district — Guiana travelling boats — Negro boat hands
and their songs — Description of river — Hyde Park police station — Extra
ordinary effect of damp — Trial of cases — Great rainfall — Timber punts-
Berlin police station — Dalgin Court House— Attack of yellow fever there,
and experiences connected with it — Bishop Austin — Christianburg — Extra
ordinary snoring.
IN October, 1863, I left Canada to take up my appoint
ment as stipendiary magistrate in British Guiana.
Embarking at Boston on a homeward-bound Cunard
steamer, which carried me to Halifax, Nova Scotia, it
was my intention to take passage there in one of the
mail packets which then ran from that port to St. Thomas
vid Bermuda. But having boarded the Alpha to see the
deck cabin assigned to me, I found that the pleasures of a
sea voyage on a small, narrow vessel, certain to roll heavily
in any case, were to be enhanced by a deckload of cattle
tied up in such a manner so that their tails were within a
few feet of the cabin doors.1 A prospect so agreeable was
not, however, to be realised ; for visiting a friend on board
H.M.S. Nile, the flagship of the station, then on the point
of sailing, I became introduced to the Admiral, Sir
Alexander Milne, who, on hearing my destination, most
kindly offered me a passage.
1 The Civil War in America being in progress, Bermuda obtained its sup
plies of beef from Halifax, the regular line of passenger steamers being de
voted to its transport, 21

22 BRITISH GUIANA
The Nile, her commission nearly expired, was leaving
the port for the last time, a circumstance which afforded
me the opportunity of witnessing a curious custom, now
probably fallen into disuse. A bluejacket stood on the
truck of each mast, and whirling a barn-door cock round
his head threw it into the water, the boats of the other
war vessels in the harbour racing to pick up the birds
as they fell. This proceeding symbolised, I was told,
retirement from the supremacy of the station.
The popularity of the flagship was pleasantly attested
at Halifax as we steamed down the harbour by the firing
of guns, the waving of flags, and the plaudits of dense
crowds. During the first half of the voyage, or until we reached
Bermuda, I spent the greater part of my time in the cock
pit, where the first lieutenant, Mr. Phillips, generously
gave up to me his cabin. For I was always more or less
ill, and found from various experiments that going on deck
or into the wardroom only made matters worse, besides
bringing my sorrows into public view. I thus saw more
of the inner life of a man-of-war than I ever have since,
though of the 170,000 miles which I have compassed in
ocean voyages, over 6,000 miles have been in H.M.'s ships.
For, as on every subsequent occasion, I was carried offi
cially, and was usually affected with the same weakness,
I saw little beyond the quarter-deck and captain's quarters.
On this, my first voyage in a warship, I, as a lands
man, had vividly conveyed to me, as no written description
could do, what an extraordinary variety of life is com
pressed into so small a space. One practice I may mention
which I have never seen referred to elsewhere. At four
o'clock every morning the midshipmen and naval cadets,
whose hammocks were slung close to my cabin, were
aroused by the boatswain's cry of " Show your legs !
show your legs ! " reiterated as he paced the deck. Each
youth thus addressed was expected to put up one of his
" nether extremities " to prove that he was awake and

BERMUDA 23
ready for the watch. While I knew that to get up under
such circumstances was part of the happy life of a sailor,
a very rough and cold voyage made me specially com
miserate the small boys who were obliged to face a freezing
north-easter in the dark hours of the early morning.
Of our fortnight's stay at Bermuda, I spent a week with
a cousin, Captain Charles Milligan, whom I unexpectedly
found in barracks at St. George's, and who, after some
years of service on the staff, had just rejoined his regiment.
In the harbour of St. George's there lay at the time a
number of vessels employed in running the blockade of the
Confederate ports. These were long, low, narrow steamers,
and to my surprise all of them painted white — a colour
which I had previously thought the most conspicuous of
all, and therefore the least likely to avert the disagreeable
attentions of the Union cruisers. The stir and bustle
caused by these ships served somewhat to arouse the in
habitants from their normal lassitude, so different from that
tireless energy I had recently witnessed in the United States
and Canada. But the presence of the crews did not add to
the amenities of life, for they spent their enormous pay in
continual "drinks," and might be seen or heard day and
night perambulating the streets with women of all shades
of colour, and loudly vociferating in amatory dialogue or
drunken squabbles.
At Bermuda Lady Milne left the ship, having so far
accompanied her husband, and the Admiral, having thus at
his disposal one of his cabins on the poop, very kindly
offered it to me. The better air, though of course more
agreeable, scarcely improved my condition, which Sh; Alex
ander playfully attempted to alleviate one morning by the
tempting offer of a piece of very fat pork, pretending much
concern that I respectfully declined to accept what he re
presented as a sovereign remedy.
At St. Thomas I heard that a mail steamer would shortly
depart for Georgetown, and so felt sorrowfully compelled to
quit my friends in the Nile, from whom I had received so

24 BRITISH GUIANA
much kindness. I regretted afterwards that I had been so
precipitate, for, owing to delay at St. Thomas, on reaching
Barbados I found the Nile already there in the roadstead.
A very small cabin in the extreme bow of the Derwent
compared unfavourably in all respects with my comfortable
quarters on H.M.'s ship.
I arrived at Georgetown, British Guiana, a few days before
Christmas. The Governor, Mr. A., at once appointed me
to the charge of the Upper Demerara River District (one
of the nine or ten into which the colony was divided), the
office of Stipendiary Magistrate being in this case combined
with that of Superintendent of Rivers and Creeks. The
scene of my future work extended, I found, to southward
from a point on the river about ten miles from Georgetown,
without other definite limit. As my duties nominally in
cluded the protection of the Indian tribes of the interior,
my jurisdiction might be held to extend to the borders of
Brazil, though in practice previous magistrates had never
gone beyond, and rarely so far as the Great Falls of the
Demerara, which by the windings of the river are about
250 miles from the sea. There being no suitable house in
the district, the magistrate was compelled to have his head
quarters in town. I provided myself in this respect, and at
once set about procuring a boat, as my travelling could be
done only by water.
As I was destined to spend a large proportion of the next
four years in them, it may be as well to give here a short
description of the boats used for travelling in Guiana by
Europeans and the upper class of coloured people. Con
structed usually of silverballi (one of the few woods of the
country at once hard, durable, and light), they have four to
six oars, and are undecked, a space of from seven to eight
feet towards the stern being covered by a " tent " of wood.
Side awnings protect from sun and rain, while for sleeping
removable planks are fitted level with the seats, under which
are the lockers for stores. Behind the tent a length of
about three feet is uncovered in which sits the " cox." In

BOAT TRAVEL IN GUIANA 25
his absence the boat can be steered from the tent. The
rowers were usually negroes or " coloured men," who, when
they got away from town and drink, showed marvellous
endurance. I have known them of their own accord labour
steadily at the oars for sixteen to eighteen hours, with
scarcely any intermission, when they had any special desire
to reach their destination quickly. At first when they
began to tire I used to give them spirit, but I soon found by
experience that this was worse than useless. It put some
additional life into the stroke for a short time, but always
caused a very quick collapse afterwards. At night the pace
was increased when they sang in chorus. The songs,
usually led by a Barbadian negro, were much of a kind
described in Marryat's Peter Simple, remarkable neither for
sense nor tune.1 Only one of these songs, as far as I re
member, had in it anything approaching to melody. That
was the Union battle-song of "John Brown," with the
refrain of " Glory, hallelujah, as we go marching on." And
even that, reiterated many times, became, to say the least,
monotonous ; especially during the night hours when sleep
in view of the next day's work was desirable. But however
wanting in other respects, this singing was always in good
time and no doubt lightened the labour, as it seemed abso-
1 The chorus of one of them, which I took down in writing and happen to
have preserved, ran as follows : —
" He hi ha, bow wow wow, the days of the petticoats are coming,
Never mind the weather, but get over double trouble ;
Then we're bound for the happy land of Canaan."
The verses, of which there are many, preceding this chorus were equally
nonsensical. For instance : —
" Tom Sayers and Heenan, they made a night to brag,
They swear'd they'd beat all creation ;
But the little Malitia Boy did tap him on the nose,
And knocked him in the happy land of Canaan."
This was, o course, a reference to the celebrated prize fight which had re
cently taken place in England, " Malitia " being evidently intended for " Beni
cia," and the singers quite innocent of the fact that the "Benicia Boy" was
Heenan himself.

26 BRITISH GUIANA
lutely essential to good going ; so that whenever there was
necessity for expedition I never put an end to it.
A row of about twenty-five miles, or about five hours
with the tide, would bring the boat to the first police-station
of the district, situate at a village called, for some occult
reason, Hyde Park. For some eight or nine miles from town
the chimneys of sugar plantations appeared, rising above
the mangroves on both banks of the river, which is here
from three-quarters of a mile to a mile wide. After that
the banks, still almost level with the water, were lined with
low, second-growth trees, broken only here and there by the
entrance to a " creek " (the local term for the smaller rivers
of the country) or by a few coco palms, which indicated the
existence in the present or the past of some negro's house
behind them, though this was rarely to be seen from outside.
In front of the forest were even more continuous lines of
moka-moka, a tall arum with bare stalks, six to twelve feet
high, and several inches in diameter at the base, and bear
ing here and there a large yellow-white flower, but this
never in sufficient quantity to relieve sensibly the prevail
ing green of the vegetation. These lines of moka-moka are
a characteristic of all the larger rivers of Guiana, and extend
in the Demerara up to the first fall, or about a hundred and
fifty miles from the town — the extreme limit of tidal in
fluence. The plant becomes gradually smaller with distance
from the sea, in the interior being only about four to five
feet high, and with proportionately thinner stalks. Another
feature of this lower portion of the river is the great num
ber of wading birds (mostly white, with an occasional pink
or brown one) standing in the mud and shallow water near
the bank. But after some fifteen miles have been passed,
except in the early morning or late evening, when parrots
of many kinds flew across, signs of all animal life become
few. Here, also, the trees on the banks become higher and
present the first sight of virgin forest.
At Hyde Park police-station I usually stayed the night
after leaving town. This consisted of a one-storied shingled.

HYDE PARK STATION 27
wooden house containing four or five rooms, one of them
used and fitted as a court-room, having in front a "stell-
ing," or jetty on piles, stretching out into the turbid stream,
here about four hundred yards wide. Though a few cot
tages, constituting the village, were in the immediate neigh
bourhood, all of them were hidden by dense foliage, and as
no human sound, save from occasional boats passing, reached
the house from outside, the impression was one of primeval
solitude. Only in the room occupied by the black police-
sergeant was there furniture of any kind, and here, as every
where else on the river, except at Christianburg (to be men
tioned later), I slept in a hammock. According to the
advice of old hands, mine was of soft cotton made by the
Indians of the interior, and was wide enough to enable the
sleeper to lie at will either diagonally or completely cross
wise as well as lengthwise, or to be folded over him for
warmth. As a safeguard from insects and, in the forests,
from snakes, I had a mosquito net made with arms to cover
the ends, and looking in shape like a huge shirt falling to
the ground.
On waking in the morning after my first night at
Hyde Park, I was astonished to see that my boots, which
when taken off were black, had become, during the night,
of an equally uniform white, as if from a fall of snow. They
were, in fact, completely covered by a growth of fungus —
an effect of the extreme dampness of the night air which is
observable throughout the interior of Guiana, though not
often to the same extent. I may mention with regard to this
damp that it sometimes imparts a sensation of extreme
chilliness even when the thermometer is in the neighbour
hood of 8o° Fahrenheit.
On the morning after the magistrate's arrival he usually
held his court, the summonses for which had been issued
and served by the police or special constables before his
departure from town. The charges were rarely of a very
serious kind. In certain cases the magistrate's jurisdiction
included punishment up to six months' hard labour and

28 BRITISH GUIANA
fifty dollars fine ; only on rare occasions was anything
beyond this required. So that in my first two years, as far
as my memory serves me, I did not send more than a
dozen cases to the Supreme Court.
The "parties" in this locality were almost exclusively
black and dark-coloured people, the exceptions being Por
tuguese shopkeepers and more rarely Arowak semi-civilised
Indians. Assaults and abusive language formed the great
majority of charges ; but their triviality by no means ren
dered it easier to get at the truth. Lying for the defence
was the almost invariable practice, while the complainant,
even when his charge was a just one, commonly lied also in
order to strengthen it. Abusive language was punishable
when it was of a kind likely to lead to a breach of the
peace, and the frequency of its indulgence obliged me to
treat it with severity, it being apt to end in assault with
any weapon, however dangerous, within reach. One pecu
liarity of these cases struck me at once. " Liar," " black
guard," " thief," and even unmentionable words were usually
received with comparative equanimity ; but the climax of
" nigger " almost invariably led to blows, and this though
the object of the language was as black as Erebus. Here,
as elsewhere within my experience, words contemptuous of
race are usually more galling than the foulest aspersion of
morals. These cases, which fortunately were sometimes relieved
by a touch of the ludicrous, or their endless reiteration
would have become intolerably monotonous, usually began
thus : —
Magistrate : " What have you got to say against the
defendant?" Complainant : " Oh, massa, he " (or more commonly she)
" aboosed me too ba-ad."
Magistrate : " What had you said or done ? "
Complainant : "¦ Dun nothing at aal, yr wusship, but he "
(or she) "called me  " and then issued forth a long
stream of evil names as pat as if learned by heart.

THE SANDHILLS 29
It was generally assumed by the excited witness that the
magistrate, who had probably never seen either party be
fore, knew by intuition all the preceding facts and circum
stances which might have rendered it intelligible. Not
until after many questions, involving much patience, was
the truth slowly evolved from obscurity, and not unfre
quently it was found, even if there were no cross-complaint,
that one party was as bad as the other, the event being the
dismissal of the case if trivial, or occasionally the convic
tion and fining of both parties, the complainant on a new
charge ordered to be made out on the spot. Many of the
people occupied a whole day, some even two or three days,
in going to and from court, chiefly animated, I imagine,
by a desire to obtain a pleasing variation from the dull
life of the bush rather than any particular vindictiveness
against the offender.
Twenty to thirty cases disposed of, a start was made the
same evening if the tide suited, or if not, in the small hours
of the next morning, for the next court-house. This was
at Berlin, about four or five hours further up the river. A
short distance from Hyde Park are " The Sandhills," the
first rising ground seen since leaving Georgetown. These
form part of a ridge running a long distance parallel with
the sea about forty miles from it, and probably marking a
former coast-line — the whole of the land now used for plan
tations, besides a vast area still uncultivated, having pro
bably in the course of time been formed by alluvial deposit
of the rivers.1
The Sandhills passed, signs of human existence become
1 The annual rainfall on the coast is about 100 inches, and carefully taken
observations on the plantations extending some ten miles up the river showed
a quantity regularly increasing with distance from the sea. From my expe
rience, I should say that this progressive increase continues for a long distance
inwards, and that at the Great Falls of the Demerara the figure would
be nearer 200 than 100 inches, perhaps even more ; for during the wet season
there is a thunderstorm nearly every afternoon there, when the rain comes
down more heavily than, in my long experience of the tropics, I have ever
seen elsewhere, even in the " record " storm subsequently described, which I
witnessed at Hong Kong in 1889. The weight of the drops causes them to

30 BRITISH GUIANA
fewer. Often in reaches with a perspective of several miles
there was visible not a single indication of the presence of
man. Sometimes, indeed, would be seen, but only on near
approach, a canoe carrying a single Indian or Creole, creep
ing silently or phantom-like along the bank in the shade
of the trees ; and now and then in the absolute silence
which prevails in the forest at midday (save for the occa
sional shrill note of the pi-pi-yo, or very rarely the metallic
toll of the bell-bird) there would be heard the sound of
paddles long before any boat was visible. Then most com
monly appeared the curial (a canoe dug out from a single
tree) of bush negroes, Arawak Indians (clothed and com
paratively civilised), or Bovianders (as are called the off
spring of Indian and negro or " coloured "). More rarely
would be seen a " woodskin " J manned by Indians from
the interior (Accawoios or Macusis), who were absolutely
naked but for a very narrow strip round the loins. Furthest
of all would be recognised the approach of a timber-laden
punt, the shouts of its negro crew being audible miles away
over the silent water. These punts, though commonly used
for taking back to town the black labourers who had been
working for three to six months in the bush under the
holder of a wood-cutting grant, served only a subsidiary
purpose in the carriage of passengers. Their principal use
is floating great loads of logs braced to their outside by
strong bush-ropes (lianes), which, being principally com-
rebound from the water, thus forming with those falling a mass apparently
almost solid for several inches above the surface. With such a, rainfall it is
probable that the water entering the sea from the Demerara, though little
more than 300 miles in length, is greater in quantity than that from any river
in Europe, and as there are along the coast of British Guiana alone, besides
several small ones, three great rivers, two of them — the Essequebo and the
Corentyn, with courses from 500 to 650 miles in length, the solid matter
carried down by them must be so enormous as to render the extent of alluvial
land easily intelligible.
1 The woodskin, like the curial, was made from a single tree, but simply of
the stripped bark turned up at the ends. The material being softer than the
solid wood of the curial, and its low freeboard causing the stroke of the
paddle to fall upon it noiselessly, these boats approached much nearer than
the others before being heard.

YELLOW FEVER 31
posed of greenheart and mora, would otherwise sink to the
bottom. I can well remember my surprise at first seeing
one of these large punts with its gunwale almost level with
the water, though it seemed to carry but a small load within.
In fact, many of the exogenous trees of equatorial climates
have a specific gravity greater than water. To carry the
logs as an inside load would require a much larger vessel
of inconvenient draught, so that the mode adopted for
bringing them to market is probably the cheapest and
best that could be devised.
Berlin police-station was merely a three-roomed cottage,
standing solitary in a very small clearing closely hemmed
in by the forest. There being no landing jetty, getting out
of the boat at low water involved the risk of a plunge in the
mud. Furniture was even more gloomily conspicuous by
its absence than at Hyde Park, for the officer in charge,
being only a corporal, contented himself with merely a deal
table and two or three chairs. Needless to say, I slept at
Berlin only when it could not be avoided, which was only
two or three times during my whole service.
Some few hours' journey above Berlin was the village of
Dalgin, in which was the residence of Mr. George Allen,
the black Chief Special Constable. In return for the honour
and the small pay attached to the office he gave the use of
his house for a court-room. The clearing around it was
much larger than at Hyde Park, comprising several small
buildings, one a schoolroom, which served also as a church.
The surroundings were thus somewhat more cheerful than
at the places previously mentioned, and the proprietor was
a most worthy man, who quickly became a friend and strong
supporter of mine.
At Dalgin some nine months after my arrival in the
colony occurred one of the great crises of my life. George
town and the coast generally were then suffering from a
specially severe epidemic of yellow fever. Many new-comers
had been attacked, including a considerable number of
officers and soldiers of the garrison, and deaths from it had

$2 BRITISH GUIANA
been in even greater proportion than usual. Coming from
town I had held court and slept at Hyde Park, had started
early the next day for Berlin, and held court there also.
Feeling very unwell, I determined to go on upwards, know
ing that if I could reach Dalgin I should be at least some
what better off than at these places, and should have kindly
people to take care of me. Accordingly I started about
three o'clock in the afternoon, with my four boat hands,
and my black servant steering. Having already on a trip
to the gold mines on the Cuyuni River had an attack of
chills and fever, I hoped that my shivering and sickness
proceeded from nothing worse, and that a dose of quinine,
aided by the healthier air of the interior, would quickly
make me all right. But unfortunately about sundown there
came on a severe thunderstorm, which lasted far into the
night. The tremendous rain could not be kept out of the
tent, and the pitch darkness also sorely delayed us, it being
sometimes impossible to steer but with the aid of the light
ning flashes. Consequently, when we arrived at our destina
tion, about nine o'clock, I was very ill indeed, and in the
still pouring rain had to be carried to my sleeping-
place. This was an absolutely bare room about twelve
feet by six, only just large enough for my hammock. Be
ginning to recognise yellow fever, with the signs of which
I was unpleasantly familiar, I took one of several doses
with which I had come prepared for such an emergency.
These were composed each of twenty grains of calomel
and twenty-four grains of quinine, the remedy at that time
most in vogue. Some hours afterwards, while I was still
conscious, another of these was given to me, and I was told
that, according to my request, a third was administered
after I became delirious. I thus took certainly forty
(perhaps sixty) grains of calomel and possibly seventy-two
grains of quinine within sixteen hours ! It has always
been a question with me since whether the medicine cured
the disease or whether my constitution proved sufficiently
strong to withstand both.

BISHOP AUSTIN 33
Towards evening of the next day I came to myself, and
found my hammock soaked with blood, which they told
me had come from my eyes and ears. But I was decidedly
better, and I determined to take advantage of a favourable
tide for making my way back to town. On the return
passage, save for a single brief stoppage, the hands rowed
the eighty miles, or thereabouts, without rest, and we arrived
in the harbour of Georgetown the following afternoon after
a " record " passage. When still some ten miles from
Georgetown, the boat of an inspector of police came up
to us. He looked at me for a moment through the awning,
and, I suppose, imagining me to be insensible, said quite
audibly, " Row on hard, or you won't get him home alive ! "
But my miseries were not at an end ; it took more than an
hour to get a conveyance, and meanwhile I was tossed
about in the broiling sun by a heavy swell which added
sea-sickness to other ills. The result was a relapse, which
is usually held to be certainly fatal. But I falsified all prog
nostications, and chiefly owing to the devoted nursing of
the old coloured lady in whose house I lodged, I gradually
recovered. I may mention also that another pleasant
reminiscence connected with this illness is furnished by
the letter of warm sympathy received from a sister-in-law
whom I had never seen ; my brother Henry having
recently married Alice, daughter of Lord Wilton (the first
Earl). It was at Dalgin about Christmas-time, as he reminded
me years afterwards on an Atlantic voyage, that I had the
pleasure of entertaining at dinner (which included an
English plum-pudding) the late and much-lamented Dr.
Austin, Bishop of Guiana (afterwards Metropolitan of the
West Indies), who was on one of his annual visitations to
the river. I see now in my mind's eye his tall, handsome
form emerging from the tent of his boat, dressed as
correctly as if he were attending a Pan-Anglican gather
ing, tights, silk stockings, and buckled pumps included.
However uncanonical may have been his garments inside
1. — D

34 BRITISH GUIANA
his boat, he was never visible to the profane world in any
but the most orthodox episcopal costume. The position
which this most estimable man occupied for many years in
Guiana was by no means an easy one, and I cannot praise
it more highly than by saying that his conduct in it was —
in human view — as faultless as his dress.
Some two hours above Dalgin is Christianburg, which
in my time was the only civilised residence in the whole
district. To the proprietor, Mr. Paterson and his family,
I was on several occasions indebted for a bed and other
comforts, which were specially appreciated on returning to
town after some weeks spent in the bush. There was a
large sawmill for cutting greenheart into planks, a con
siderable extent of out-buildings, and a clearing of several
acres, which altogether afforded relief to the eye wearied
with perpetual forest.
There was resident at Christianburg in my time a book
keeper named M'Connell, remarkable for a peculiarity to
which I have never known a parallel. His snoring was
so loud and harsh as to be absolutely appalling to one
who, being unprepared, heard it for the first time. Though
-he was brother of a leading colonist, and would naturally
have been lodged in the house, it had been found im
possible to keep him there, as his sleep meant the wake
fulness of all the other inmates, and so he was given
quarters in a distant out-building. Having myself more
than once listened to this cacophony, I can well be
lieve the following anecdote told me on good authority.
M'Connell and a companion, whom we will call Smith, had
started on a journey through the forest, accompanied by
several Indians. The party having made their first camp
(which in the Guiana forest usually meant a large fire, with
the hammocks of travellers as well as Indians hung round
it in a circle upon the neighbouring trees), the travellers
had gone to sleep, when suddenly Smith awoke, and by
the light of the fire saw to his astonishment that the
Indians were untying their hammocks. Becoming con-

INDIAN TIMIDITY 35
scious of the awe-inspiring sounds proceeding from his
friend's sleeping-place, he at once divined the cause of the
Indians' perturbation, and endeavoured to persuade them
to remain. Their fear, however, was too great. They
bolted in a body, and the expedition had to be given up.
Nothing would induce them to return while M'Connell,
whom they believed to be an evil spirit, was of the party.

CHAPTER II
Seba — Theft by ants — Adventure with boat hands — Experiences of blood
sucking bats — First Falls — Mr. Forsyth : his reminiscences of Waterton,
author of the Wanderings — Practical joke with dead snake — Passage of
the rapids — Adventure with criminal half-breed — Difficulty with regard to
crimes within the jurisdiction of Supreme Court — Child carried off by
eagle — Indian path to Essequebo — Charles Couchman's : photograph of
tree here appears in Charles Kingsley's At Last — George Couchman's
timber-cutting grants — Last civilised settlement — The Great Falls of the
Demerara — Indian modes of capturing fish — Canimapo ; his attempt to
murder me.
BETWEEN Christianburg and the First Falls, which
are really only rapids, the aspect of the Demerara
River in my time remained much the same as below, the
only observable difference being the gradual decrease of
width, the lessening influence of the tide, the diminishing
size of the moka-moka, and the still greater sparsity of
human habitation. The journey upwards occupied about
twelve hours, or more in the rainy season, and, save in
times of exceptional pressure, I usually gave the boat
hands a night's rest on the way.
It may be a matter for surprise that there should ever have
been pressure in respect of time, but in fact this occurred
not infrequently. Some of the witnesses summoned lived
far away, at the heads of creeks, and required one or
more days' journey to reach the place appointed for court.
They would thus lose the better part of a week by their
attendance, even if the court were punctually held at the
time fixed. If the magistrate then failed to appear, the
loss of time would be greater, and any prolonged delay
would naturally cause them to return home. As sum
monses ordinarily required to be issued ten days to a fort
night previous to a court, in order to ensure their being
36

DEPREDATION BY ANTS 37
all served in time, accidents not unfrequently happened
meanwhile rendering it impossible, or extremely difficult,
for the magistrate to reach his destination punctually. He
might be delayed by official business in town, or while on
the way up the river might be suddenly called to hold a
coroner's inquest (that being among his functions), which,
if in one of the creeks at a distance from the main river,
might easily cause a delay of days. So that in fact, in
order to be as punctual as possible, it was sometimes neces
sary to travel night and day whenever the tide suited.
Owing to this uncertainty being the greater the longer the
distance from town, I used latterly, whenever it was neces
sary to have a court above the First Falls, to issue sum
monses only when I arrived there, and then wait in the
neighbourhood during the interval.
Few places between Christianburg and the First Falls
remain very clearly in my recollection, as I never passed a
night more than once or twice at any one of them.
I stopped once at the house of a grant owner, by name
Alcock. The name of his place was Seba, familiar to
readers of Waterton's Wanderings, and here occurred an
incident impressed vividly upon my memory. Arriving
there late one afternoon, I felt too unwell to proceed. The
house being temporarily without occupant, I, with permis
sion from the proprietor, made use of it for the night.
Having had good reason to suspect the boat hands of
pilfering my stores (which were specially precious, as I
contemplated a three months' excursion into the interior),
I caused some of the packages to be brought into the
house and placed near my hammock. Among them was
an unopened bag of rice, and my surprise and indignation
may be imagined when next morning I found about a third
of the contents abstracted. I had heard no one about in
the night, although I had been the greater part of it
awake, had been several times up, and had, moreover,
trained myself to wake at the slightest movement near
me. It seemed difficult to understand how such a theft

38 BRITISH GUIANA
could have been attempted without instant detection in a
spot only some eight feet from my sleeping-place. There
was no opening in the bag except a very small hole near
the bottom, and being unable to imagine the culprit to
be other than human, I supposed that the bag must
have been lifted up for the purpose of emptying the con
tents into some convenient receptacle, without reflecting
that in the case of so small a hole this would have been
an inconveniently slow process, and the thief incredibly
maladroit not to have made a larger one while he was
about it. I at once summoned the boat hands, and show
ing them the depleted bag, called upon the delinquent to
confess. All loudly asseverated their innocence, and one
of them, presuming upon my condition of illness, became
excessively insolent. Believing that he was the culprit
and that he was adding insult to injury, I lost my temper
and knocked him down. Vain punishment ! His head
was so hard he was not hurt at all, while my knuckles and
hand suffered for a week after !
Continuing too unwell to proceed, I passed another day
there, and having occasion to get up during the following
night, I saw in the bright moonlight a dark line passing
through the doorway. It appeared to be composed of
living creatures, and at once striking a light I saw it to be
a column of ants (of the kind commonly known as " leaf-
carrying," or, in the local vernacular, " cushi ") passing
through the door. On closer scrutiny I found that half of
the column was passing into and the other half out of the
house, and thus was the mystery of the theft cleared up ;
for while the ants entering were all empty-mouthed, those
going out were (with the exception of the larger ones, or
officers) each carrying a grain of rice. Every few moments,
as grains were removed from the hole in the bag, the weight
of rice from above caused more to fall out, so that in the
course of another night the whole would have been carried
off. I traced the column for some hundred and fifty yards,
when the density of vegetation upon what had been a

VAMPIRE BATS 39
recently abandoned patch of cultivation would have com
pelled me to desist even had I been in better condition for
prosecuting the search. The next morning the ants had
totally disappeared ; there was a faint mark on the ground
showing their line of march, which would doubtless have
enabled me, with perseverance and some cutlass work, to
find the nest. But as this might have been far distant in
the forest, I was unable to afford time for the attempt.
I of course made amende to the boat hands, which proved
so satisfactory that the physical sufferer expressed a wish
to be knocked down again at the same price !
When passing the night on one occasion at a place called
Akyma, situate a few miles below the Falls, I was much
worried by a bat, which persistently fluttered round my
hammock, and I then sought to verify in my own person
the blood - sucking habit of these creatures. Having in
several instances seen bites involving considerable loss of
blood, which had been inflicted during the sleep of the
victim without his being conscious of it, I concluded the
pain could not be great. There was at that time much
scepticism on this subject, notwithstanding the testimony
of Waterton, the vampire bat being regarded by many as
almost equally fabulous with the vampire itself. That I
might be able to speak from personal experience, I put
one of my feet outside the mosquito curtain of my ham
mock and awaited events. The sound of wings soon
reached my ear, as if in gradually narrowing circles. All
at once I felt puffs of air, as from a fan, on the exposed
foot, over which the creature was evidently hovering. But
this was too much for nerves weakened by fever and the
experiences of the two previous years, and I withdrew the
foot into the netting. Summoning courage again, I twice
repeated the attempt, each time with the same experience.
But though I regretfully confess that I could never suffi
ciently control myself to receive the bite, I had at least
convinced myself as to what would have happened had I
permitted it. The blood-sucking habit of these creatures

40 BRITISH GUIANA
is now, however, too well established to need such confirma
tion.1 Just below the First Falls in my time, on the left bank of
the river, was a small wooden building specially intended
for Church service ; and on the right bank, somewhat higher
up, was a diminutive wooden residence and shop. The
latter belonged to a very old Englishman, Forsyth by name,
with whom on various occasions I had interesting talks.
1 Among many instances which at one time or another came under my
notice, three are specially prominent in my memory. On my return from
England, Nicholson, a young engineer officer quartered in Georgetown, was
accompanying me on one of my trips to the interior. I had strongly urged
him to bring a mosquito curtain for his hammock as a protection, not so much
against mosquitoes (which in the Demerara River are by no means trouble
some) as against bats or snakes falling from the trees. He, however, neg
lected my advice. We slept the first night at the Chinese settlement in the
Camooni Creek. Early the next morning I was awaked by a cry from his
hammock, which was close alongside. The white cotton of the latter showed
a large patch of blood, and on the toe of the foot he was pitifully examining
was a small triangular hole, as though pierced by the end of a file. He had ¦
evidently lost much more blood than had been taken by the bat, and had he
continued with me would probably have undergone the same experience again.
So as it was impossible to obtain the necessary curtain, he wisely returned to
town. On another occasion I had arrived late one evening at a small Indian
"clearing" on the Upper River. The occupants of the "benab" (small
Indian hut), being excited by the arrival of the magistrate, neglected to
attend to their own concerns. They had a small boy, who, they afterwards
told me, had been brought to his very visible condition of emaciation by con
tinual blood-letting from bats. As a protection they had recently been in the
habit of sewing him up every night in a. rice bag ; but on the night of our
arrival this had been forgotten, and though the little fellow had of his own
accord inserted himself into the bag, he was not to escape scatheless. He had
left the top of his head uncovered, and there in the morning the bat was seen
to have left his mark, while a small red patch on the ground showed that the
creature had not "taken nothing by his motion."
The propensity of the vampire to come again and again to the same person
was shown in another case, which occurred within my experience years after
wards. While I was administering the government of Trinidad (where the
Governor had been compelled to enclose with wire-netting the stalls of his
stables, owing to injury from bats suffered by his horses) my wife and I were
spending a few days on the islet of Monos, in the Gulf of Paria. Her English
maid had the bad habit of putting her foot out of her mosquito curtain, and
she paid for it on this occasion severely, for she was bitten by a bat two nights
successively in the same place, in her foot, and lost much blood on each
occasion.

WATERTON, AUTHOR OF "WANDERINGS" 41
He told me he came to Guiana as a boy, and that shortly
after leaving England on his voyage thither, he had seen
the fleet of Nelson returning from the battle of the Nile.
He well remembered Waterton, the author of the delightful
Wanderings, and told me many particulars of his eccentri
cities. The story told by Waterton, about his ride on the
alligator as it was being dragged out of the water, Mr.
Forsyth believed to be absolutely true, as it was a matter
of common talk at the time. One of the naturalist's
peculiarities was the habit of using the smooth surface of
the water every morning as a looking-glass while shaving.
So imperative in those days was the fashion of smooth lips
and chin, that a moustache could not be tolerated even in
the bush.
Though on subsequent occasions I usually had my
hammock hung in Mr. Forsyth's house, on my first trip
I slept in the church, for which the magistrate had per
mission from the bishop. Mr. Plummer, my predecessor
in the district, who accompanied me, happened to kill,
close to the building, a " labarria " snake, a very deadly
species. As the boat hands were at some distance and
did not see this, it occurred to him to get some amuse
ment from it. He accordingly coiled up the body of
the snake upon the church steps and managed to erect
its head in a threatening attitude. When the men who
had been ordered to hang our hammocks in the church
saw in the rapidly failing light this creature barring the
way, their attitude of fright was beyond expression ludic
rous. After a time, one of them cut down a sapling some
twelve feet long, and with absurdly cautious approach
brought it down bravely on the dreaded reptile snake at a
very safe distance. This doughty feat achieved, the fellow
strutted about with the air of a conqueror. The incident
gave us much amusement, and put some life into a tired
and somewhat sulky party.
Though the First Falls are only rapids, the current is far
too fast to permit of ascent by other means than hauling.

42 BRITISH GUIANA
This was done in places from the bank, but principally
from shallow spots in the stream. The rush of water in
the rainy season was such that I have seen men carried off
their legs when they were immersed little above the ankles.
Descent of the rapids was made with oars or paddles, the
time occupied as compared with ascent being as minutes
to hours. I always shipped a special coxswain for this
purpose, usually an Indian of the neighbourhood, as the
experiment would almost certainly have had a fatal end
with an inexperienced hand at the helm. Consequently,
although narrowly escaping, I never had an accident.
One afternoon, after a long expedition into the interior,
we were, when some half an hour from the Falls, hailed by
an Indian, who informed us that a woman had just been
nearly killed by her " Boviander " husband. Going at once
to the place she indicated, I found the woman grievously
injured, and apparently dying. I at once took her deposi
tion, which, though extracted with much difficulty, fully
confirmed the information given. Starting again in my
boat, we had reached a point some three hundred yards
above the rapids, when the Indian coxswain pointed out
the accused man, paddling his curial up-stream. I hailed
him, and he, being evidently unaware that I knew of the
crime, at once came alongside. I ordered him to get into
my boat, and when he showed a disposition to push away
and escape, commanded the boat hands to hold fast to his
canoe and the constables to arrest him. The latter, how
ever, who on this occasion were Indians, were in too great
fright to touch a notorious bully, who was, in fact, the
terror of the neighbourhood. Though in those days I was
not wanting in strength, it is probable that, in an encounter,
the man in question would have been more than a match
for me even on land. When, therefore, I put my hand
upon him to arrest him myself, it is tolerably certain that,
had he resisted to the utmost, he would have had the best
of the struggle, which would have inevitably resulted in our
both being thrown into the water. As it was, his resistance

A NARROW ESCAPE 43
being slight, I got him into my boat without great difficulty,
when the cries of the Indians drew my attention to our
position. During the above scene the boat had been drift
ing, and was now close to the Falls, going broadside on
to them. To have been caught by the rapid in this position
was inevitably to have been swamped, and the greater part
of us drowned.1 But by frantic efforts the boat was turned
in the right direction, just as the quick water was reached.
Arriving safely at Mr. Forsyth's, I had the prisoner se
cured there, but finding that the terror of him was such
that he would otherwise be very probably allowed to escape,
I was obliged to have my own hammock slung across his
door. Next day I tried him. His wife, being then con
siderably better, and having been carried across the portage
in a hammock, gave her testimony again, in his presence,
and altogether the evidence against him was quite conclu
sive. Yet I was in some difficulty in coming to a decision.
If the case were to be remitted to the Supreme Court,
which could alone award a sufficiently severe sentence, it
was almost certain that the offender would escape punish
ment altogether, owing to the absence of the necessary
witnesses. The woman on recovering would be made to
disappear, while not only fear of making a dangerous
enemy, but the Indian dread of appearing in the Supreme
Court under any circumstances, would have caused the
others to avoid the subpoena by hiding in the interior.
On the other hand, there was a risk in dealing with the case
myself, as the woman being in a very feeble condition,
there was yet a chance of her dying. Under the circum
stances I postponed sentence, and carried the man on with
me down the river. When a few days afterwards I heard
that his wife was recovering, I sentenced him myself to six
months' hard labour, the heaviest penalty it was in my
power to inflict.
1 In fact, this actually happened about the same time to a party in a similar
rapid of the Massaruni, when several lives were lost, including the son of the
Governor and one or more naval officers.

44 BRITISH GUIANA
About two hours' journey above the rapids was an
Indian settlement of two or three " benabs " (thatched sheds
without walls), which was the scene of a singular occur
rence. Passing there one evening in my boat, we saw an
Indian woman crying on the bank, and upon inquiry I
learnt that her two little children, one about three and the
other under two years old, had gone together to play in the
forest. Only one returned, and he was unable to give any
account of what had occurred to his brother. A number
of Indians had come to assist in the search ; but though
two days had passed, the missing child had not been found.
It was supposed that some animal or bird of prey had
carried him off. On my next journey up the river, which,
owing to an intervening visit to England, was not for some
months, I heard, on good authority, that a piece of the linen
rag that the child had on him was seen on the top of a
forest tree, rendering it probable that the captor was a
harpy eagle, one of the largest species in the world. I
never saw one of these birds, except in flight far up in the
sky ; but the claw of one, in the possession of the superin
tendent of the penal settlement on the Massaruni, had a
leg nearly as thick as my wrist, making it easy to suppose
that the Indian stories as to the size ofthe prey carried off
by these birds are not exaggerated.
Some four hours above the rapids was the woodcutting
grant and \pg house of one Charles Couchman. Here is
the nearest point between the Demerara and the Essequebo,
and one end of an Indian " path," which I most frequently
used for passing from one river to the other, the walk across
occupying six to eight hours. At the edge of a small
clearing around the house stood a tall mora. Having car
ried a photographer with me on one of my circuits for the
purpose of getting pictures of forest scenes and native
groups, he took one of this tree. I appear in the picture
standing against the trunk, and one of the boat hands is
sitting on a log close by. Years afterwards in St. Lucia I
gave a copy of this picture to Charles Kingsley, when he

"THE LAST OF THE GIANTS" 45
visited me there, and a print of it appears in his book At
Last over the legend, " The Last of the Giants." It would
no doubt be regarded as a giant in Trinidad, where readers
of the book probably supposed it to grow ; for the greater
part of the land in that island has at one time or another
been cleared for cultivation, and the trees are thus mostly
smaller than those of virgin forest. But being only about
190 feet in height, it is not, I think, a specially tall tree of
its kind, which is equalled in this respect by many others,
and is, indeed, greatly surpassed by some, the Brazil-nut
and the silk-cotton sometimes reaching a height of 250 feet
and more.
Above Charles Couchman's, at a distance of some two
hours' journey by boat, was the house of his brother, George
Couchman, also the owner of a wood-cutting grant, for
whom I always had a special regard. Though, judging by
his full brother Charles, he must have had negro blood in
his veins, he might easily have passed for a white man. He
had married an Indian wife and had lived so long among
the Indians that no man in the colony understood them
better, and it was through him and his interpretation of
their languages that I learnt most of what I ever knew of
this strange people. His house was always a resting-place
for travellers from town, including the itinerant missionary
clergyman and the bishop on his annual visit. He and his
family, like all inhabitants of the river above Christianburg,
slept in hammocks, such a thing as a bedstead or bedding
being an unknown luxury. He had, however, taught his
wife the virtue of cleanliness, and on this account, in the
many days and nights when my hammock hung in his
verandah, I had comfort rarely experienced elsewhere.
With him, also, I obtained change of food, which was most
welcome after a long course of tinned meats, salt fish, bis
cuits, and flour dumplings ; for he had Indians continually
"hunting " and fishing for him, and after this fare a fresh fish
"pepper-pot" and the flesh of deer, tapir, accouri, or labba,
however inartistically cooked, seemed to be palatial luxury.

46 BRITISH GUIANA
Mr. Couchman was a Justice of the Peace, and complaints
were usually sent to him to await my arrival, unless they
were of sufficient gravity to warrant a special messenger.
As a rule the only cases of importance tried above
the rapids were charges for unlicensed cutting of timber
on Crown land. Except, of course, on private land, which
above Christianburg existed only in one or two places, the
cutting down of greenheart, mora, and other valuable
timber trees was legal only under special licence from the
Governor. Cutting on the part of persons without any
licence was rare, as the necessity of making a timber path 1
to the water for bringing the logs to market rendered dis
covery almost certain. The charges, therefore, were almost
invariably against licensed holders for transgressing the
limits of their grants. For the licences were good only for
special areas with fixed boundaries, and any transgression
rendered the licensee as liable to penalty as if he had no
licence at all. When any new licence was granted, it was
the duty of the magistrate to inspect the boundary posts
placed by the surveyors. The grant was always an oblong
area, usually, I think, about two miles in length and about
half a mile in width, with the base on a river or creek.
The surveyor always cut a narrow path along one of the
long sides and also along the short side furthest from the
water, being thus able to determine the position of the four
corner posts. Though three of the boundaries were thus
clearly defined, the fourth, being only an imaginary line
through dense forest, was not so obvious. Though this
boundary might have been easily ascertained by the grant-
holder, yet his neglect to do so had been so long tolerated,
that during my first year I did not exact a penalty (fifty
dollars fine or six months' imprisonment, or both) unless
depredation had been very serious. When, however, the
* A timber path was a wide road cut through the forest, across which,
at intervals of every few feet, log sleepers were placed, in order to permit of
the squared logs being dragged more easily to the water. The hauling was
done by large gangs of men, sometimes assisted by oxen.

"THE GREAT FALLS" 47
trespass had been beyond the surveyor's line and the
necessary timber-path for the logs joined that of the grant-
holder, I had no mercy, as it was then clear the offence
must have been committed with the latter's connivance.
These cases gave a great deal of trouble, and the conflict
of evidence was sometimes such as to involve a delay of
one or more days occupied in personal inspection.
Some four hours above Yawaribaro (the Indian name of
Mr. Couchman's residence) was the house of one Giles, a
negro grant-holder, which was at that time farther in the
interior than any other non- Indian residence. Thence in
wards to Brazil there were only aboriginal inhabitants.
Two hours above this place were the Great Falls, which,
in addition to rapids, comprise a most picturesque cas
cade of about forty feet in height. The pools below of
dark, clear water contain many paco, a large flat-fish of
about the size of a turbot, which is very good eating, and
is easily hit by Indian arrows. These are sometimes
attached by string to the bow or the arm, so that the fish,
when pierced, can be at once landed. When the object is
so far off that the string would spoil the shot, the arrow is
allowed to go free. It has a loose point, which, on striking
the fish, becomes partly detached, allowing the long reed
which forms the shaft and is still held to it by a short cord,
to float on the water. The shaft indicates the position of
the fish which has carried off the arrow, and if a large one,
it becomes the object of an exciting chase in woodskins.
On several occasions I had much amusement from this
sport, and made frequent efforts to learn the art of fish-
shooting. But I cannot say I ever became proficient,
though, having practised archery when a boy, I soon learnt
to shoot with the native weapon at a mark above water
almost as well as the Indians themselves. Indeed, in this
latter respect they never seemed to me to be remarkably
expert, the acquisition of guns having probably caused
intermittence of practice with the inferior weapon. To hit a
mark under water, however, is quite another matter. Not

48 BRITISH GUIANA
only does refraction cause the object to appear in a different
position from its real one — a difference which increases
proportionately with the depth — but, unless the shot is
perpendicular, the resistance of the water deflects the arrow
upwards, both contributing to a miss from aiming at the
wrong place. Much practice is needed therefore to be able
to judge with accuracy the right point at which to strike the
surface. Another method of fishing I have seen practised with
great success. The Demerara is unsuitable for it, as, except
at very low water in the first rapids, the portion of the river
beyond tidal influence as far as the Great Falls, and even
many miles beyond them, runs in only one channel. The
Essequebo, on the other hand, in most of its rapids is
studded with islands and rocks, and so divided into many
streams, some narrow enough to be easily stopped with
large stones, enabling the water, but no fish of any size,
to run through. The place required is a large, deep pool
with a narrow entrance at both ends. On the day previous
to the fishing the Indians have been engaged in finding,
cutting into convenient lengths, and then macerating with
clubs, a certain bush-rope (liane). The juice is caught
in a woodskin and diluted with water, the mixture being
a yellowish-brown liquid about the colour and consistency
of thin pea-soup. During the night the two means of
exit from the pool are suddenly blocked by large stones
previously made ready for the purpose, and in the early
morning one or more canoe-loads of this liquid, accord
ing to the size of the pool, are thrown into the stream
above the upper entrance. In the course of a few moments,
as the drug mixes with the water in the pool, the paco,
partially stupefied, appear rising to the top of the water,
and then the fun begins. Some of the Indians are content
to stand on rocks and thence to shoot the fish with arrows ;
but others, screaming with excitement, jump into the pool,
and, swimming and wading, endeavour to catch the prey in
their arms and carry them to land. This is no easy task,

TWO ESCAPES 49
for the paco, though half intoxicated, is quite able to
struggle violently when seized, frequently carrying a man
off his legs, even when he has already touched ground with
his feet. In the course of an hour or so all the fish that it
is possible to capture (some recovering themselves after a
time) are safely landed ; but the excitement and laughing
over the ridiculous sights witnessed often continue all day
and far into the night. I ahvays enjoyed these scenes
greatly, the prolonged merriment serving as a welcome
relief to the sombre life of the forest.
A short distance below the Great Falls, on a rising ground,
was the settlement of an Accawoio Indian, named Cani-
mapo. He always had a large number of dependants who
were much in awe of him, and he was in this respect more
like one of the native chiefs whom I have known elsewhere
than any other Indian of my acquaintance in Guiana.
Though my relations with him were, in appearance, friendly
during the whole of my service in this district, they were on
my part cautious after the following occurrence. Accom
panied by the photographer above mentioned, I stayed two
nights in his settlement. On the first morning after arrival,
with much difficulty I induced him and some of his people
to be photographed in groups, and perhaps imprudently
allowed him to see the negatives. He appeared not merely
astonished, but alarmed, and the whole day and far into the
night the sound of excited talking could be heard coming
from his benab. In the evening he sent me as a present a
fresh-fish pepper-pot, which the Indians usually made very
well, and which, though far too pungent for the taste of a
newly arrived European, is grateful to the jaded palate of
one who has been a few months in the equatorial heat.
Fortunately for me, when the present arrived, we had al
ready finished our dinner, and I gave the pepper-pot to my
boat hands, who partook of it freely. In a short time all
became ill, two so violently that I began to fear fatal
results. Yet whether through strong doses of brandy and
chlorodyne, or from strength of constitution, they quickly
i. — E

50 BRITISH GUIANA
recovered, and at daybreak next day they were ready and,
I may add, anxious to proceed with our journey. I did
not then suspect intentional poisoning, but a circumstance
occurred almost immediately after starting to arouse our
suspicion. I was sitting on the top of the tent of my boat,
as I frequently did before the sun rose above the trees, for
enjoyment of the fresh air, and on the look-out for a passing
shot. Hearing a flight of parrots coming, I asked for my
gun. As it was handed up to me, stock upwards, some
dirt fell out of the muzzle. Examination showed that both
barrels had been plugged with mud, some of which, having
dried, had thus betrayed its presence. This could not have
been the result of accident, as a space of some two inches
at the end of each barrel was clean and bright. However
caused, the obstruction would inevitably have burst the gun
had I fired it. The escape was therefore a narrow one.
On this discovery I at first thought of going back and
charging Canimapo with attempt to murder me ; but on
second thoughts I refrained from doing so. In view of the
awe in which he was held, I reflected that with the very im
perfect interpretation at my command, it was scarcely con
ceivable that I could bring the offence sufficiently home to
him to warrant referring the case to the Supreme Court,
while to fail in obtaining a conviction would be far worse
than leaving the matter alone. It happened also to be im
portant that I should get to town quickly, and all things
considered, I determined to ignore the matter altogether.
Mr. Couchman informed me afterwards that the old savage
had probably been much frightened by seeing the picture
of himself. He conceived the notion that this gave me
some occult power over him, and that his only hope of
safety would be in my death. My double escape doubtless
made him regard me as invulnerable. More than once
afterwards I stopped for the night at another settlement of
the same chief, at some distance above the Great Falls,
when he showed me a respect which amounted almost to
servility, and strikingly unlike the ordinary indifference of

BEYOND THE GREAT FALLS 51
the aborigines. But " once bitten twice shy," and on the
principle of " Timeo Danaos," I was, after the above occur
rence, always wary of his presents.
At the Great Falls the magistrate's jurisdiction practi
cally ended. Without the aid of a force of men I never
had at command, it would have been impossible to carry a
tent boat over the portage, and any travelling beyond was
necessarily done in an Indian woodskin, which, having no
shelter, was by no means comfortable in rain. The popula
tion, moreover, being entirely composed of Indians who
had very rarely or never been in contact with white men,
was so sparse that settlements, rarely exceeding a dozen
people, were several days' journey apart. British law
nominally prevailed ; but it was in my time utterly un
known there, and any attempt to enforce it would have
been fruitless. For these reasons no magistrate before my
time, so far as I could ascertain, had ever ascended the
river further ; and though, taking advantage of my office
as Protector of Indians, I on several occasions made ex
peditions into trie further interior, I cannot say that I did
so from any strong sense of duty, or from expectation of
any great good to arise therefrom. In fact, I much pre
ferred the wild life of the bush to the society of the coast
with its never-ending talk, and all-pervading atmosphere,
of sugar ; and I was, moreover, curious to visit an almost
unknown region, and to observe the habits of people, many
of whom had never seen a European, as well as to learn
something from the unaccustomed sights and sounds of an
almost untrodden forest.

CHAPTER III
The tributaries of the Demerara — Scenery of creeks — The troolie palm —
Delusion about tropical vegetation — The Camoonie Creek — A settlement
of Chinese — Instance of Chinese honesty — First experience of tropical
forest — Its distinctive characteristics — Verification of timber-grant boun
daries — Savannahs — Adventure with snakes — Day sounds of the forest —
Cries of goatsuckers.
HITHERTO I have been dealing with the main river;
but there are many creeks tributary to the Deme
rara, which in any climate with less rainfall would them
selves be regarded as rivers. Some of them are navigable
by boats for two or more days' journey. Though I never
held court upon their banks, the duty of inspecting wood
cutting grants, and once or twice of holding a coroner's
inquest, necessitated considerable acquaintance with them.
Indeed, in selecting a suitable site for the Chinese settle
ment, to be described later, I went almost to the limit of
canoe navigation, up most of the streams entering the
Demerara within forty miles of Georgetown. In their
vicinity the richness of equatorial vegetation is perhaps
more striking than anywhere else — and by " equatorial " I
distinguish the flora within a few degrees of the line from
the less luxuriant vegetation of countries nearer the out
skirts of the tropics. The light furnished by the opening
to the sky between the trees on each bank permits of a
dense undergrowth which is almost entirely absent in the
eternal gloom of the forest, and is seen elsewhere only in
swamps in which large trees are extremely few. Though
no description, however vivid, of a whole which is made up
of such an infinity of details ever presents a true picture
to the mind, it may be mentioned that the principal char
acteristic which distinguishes the banks of these streams
52

SCENERY OF CREEKS 53
from those of temperate climates is the total invisibility of
the soil which supports the vegetation, every inch of it, even
in places recently laid bare by the water, being covered with
plants struggling for the mastery. Here a clump of tree
ferns, there a single wild banana or a group of prickly palms
show themselves above the confused chaos beneath ; more
rarely a great bunch of feathery bamboos, which I always,
rightly or wrongly, regarded as exotic and indicating
former civilised residence. But in the creeks within seventy
miles of the coast the most striking object is the troolie
palm, which shoots its enormous fronds directly out of the
ground at the edge of the bank to a height of thirty feet
and more. I am inclined to think that these palms do not
exist, or are at least very rare, in the far interior, for I
never saw one growing there ; the Indian benabs were not
thatched with them, though their leaves are for this pur
pose incomparably superior to any others, and are, when
obtainable, invariably used for it, both by the Indians and
the coloured people who live nearer the coast. Other leaves
which especially attract notice are those of what I supposed
was a species of arum, and are larger than any I have ever
seen elsewhere. I recall one in an upper reach of one of the
creeks (I think that named Hibibia) which was so large
that drooping down from its stalk it made a graceful arch
over the channel through which my canoe passed. When
approaching the source of one of these streams, way has
to be made through water-lilies growing completely across
the channel, while the giant trees on either bank seem to
make a special effort to occupy the narrowing avenue of
light, and are joined together by innumerable lianes, until at
length, while there is still water for the canoe, they meet
overhead, and there is thus a midday twilight scarcely less
obscure than that of the forest.
I may mention here that those who, excited by the glow
ing descriptions of imaginative writers, expect the green of
the vegetation to be diversified by great masses of other
colours, will almost certainly be disappointed. In Trinidad

54 BRITISH GUIANA
frequently, and occasionally in Guiana, I have seen here
and there a great tree covered with blossoms of yellow or
red ; but these were never otherwise than very sparse, ex
cept in the immediate neighbourhood of civilised dwellings,
so that for the most part they had in all probability been
artificially planted. Such a sight in the Guiana forest is
not a common one, and the picture of a creek would
ordinarily be untrue to nature if, beyond the immediate
foreground, it showed any other colour than the blue of the
sky-path above, the clear coffee-brown of the stream, and
the varied shades of green in the vegetation. Other
colours, showing here and there in some red or purple
orchid, or cream-white water-lily, cover what is compara
tively so insignificant a space that they require to be very
close to the eye to have any appreciable effect.
The largest and perhaps most important of these creeks
is the Camoonie, familiar to the readers of Waterton's
Wanderings as being the scene of his famous interviews
with big snakes. It was here that I selected the site for
the Chinese settlement which Mr. Edward Jenkins, the
well-known author of Ginx?s Baby, has described in The
Coolie: his Rights and Wrongs. As that book was pub
lished nearly thirty years ago, I may mention here that,
through the representations of a specially intelligent
Chinese, by name O Tye Kim, having become interested
in the forlorn condition of many of his countrymen who
had completed the terms of their indentures on the sugar
estates, I induced the Governor to move the Legislature
for a grant in aid of a settlement for them. The amount
voted, however, was so small as to permit of nothing be
yond maintenance for the people during such time as was
required for the clearing of the land, the building of their
houses, and the reaping of the first crops. All the Crown
land within reasonable distance of a market was occasion
ally flooded, and as no expense could be incurred for dams,
it was necessary to select what was least subject to this
scourge, and that, according to the best available advice,

CHINESE HONESTY 55
was on the left bank of the Camoonie Creek at a short dis
tance from the main river. When I last saw the settlement
some six years after its establishment, and some three years
after I had ceased to have the power to take active interest
in its concerns, it appeared to be in a somewhat languishing
condition, owing to a recent flood, and I am unaware
whether it still exists ; but it will probably in any case
have been of one permanent benefit to the colony in show
ing the economical superiority of the Chinese method of
charcoal burning in large clay kilns over the comparatively
clumsy and wasteful system previously in use by Creoles
and natives. Certainly it caused some two hundred people
for several years to be freer and happier than they had ever
before been in the colony, and so I never repented the
labour expended on its establishment.
One circumstance connected with the settlement afforded
a touching instance of combined honesty and gratitude.
The public money being insufficient for the number of
people desirous of taking plots, I had helped some few of
them with small sums for their maintenance. Among these
were two whose strength proved insufficient to make much
headway with the great hard-wood trees on their lot, and
they suddenly disappeared, being in my debt at the time.
Never expecting to hear of them again, I was astonished
some months afterwards by the receipt of the money in
full. The men had indentured themselves anew to a plan
tation in Berbice, and the payment of this money had
taken much the greater part of the fifty dollars which they
had each received in bounty money.
It was, if my memory serves me, in the Camoonie that
I had my first experience of a tropical forest while inspect
ing the boundaries of a new grant. I am bound to say
that at first all other sensations were subordinate to an
instinctive fear of snakes. In walking along the narrow
and newly cut path, the least stir in the herbage around
seemed to indicate the presence of the dreaded enemy ; for
I did not then know that in the great majority of cases it

56 BRITISH GUIANA
was caused by lizards, which exist in Guiana in many
shapes and sizes, including the big bloated iguana which
has its home in the trees, and the more slender sahmpenter,
sometimes exceeding five feet in length, which lives on the
ground, and, as the natives know to their cost, is addicted
to carrying off chickens. But though there is, of course,
considerable danger from snakes in the forest, and though
every native, whether Indian or Creole, keeps his eye on
the ground when walking there, and rarely omits to look
at each place where he puts his foot, yet in all my marches,
of several hundreds of miles in the aggregate, the number
of snakes met with scarcely exceeded a dozen. Owing to
the remarkable manner in which the colour of snakes
assimilates to their surroundings, it is certain that the
majority escaped notice, and as so few were seen, the fear
of the creature soon ceased to be troublesome.
One cannot help being immediately struck with the dis
similarity of the Guiana forest from any to be seen in a
temperate climate. This is not so noticeable in the foliage,
for in the depths of the forest palms are rare, the superior
height of the exogenous trees depriving them of light, and
so for the most part killing those few which spring up ;
and the mora, everywhere abundant, where its outline can
be seen, is not unlike a gigantic elm. But the trunks of
this and many other trees are, near the ground, surrounded
by buttresses which seem to be provided by nature for the
support of the huge columns above them, so that a trans
verse section at the base, instead of being round, is star-
shaped. Again, up to a height of eighty to a hundred
feet, no branches appear, all the strength of each being
apparently required for success in the desperate struggle
for light far above. So dense is the green canopy thus
created that one may walk for miles without seeing a single
peep of blue sky, and it is wonderful that the prevailing
gloom is not even more intense.
But though forest-walking on Indian paths always gave
me a certain pleasure, I must confess that this grant duty,

SAVANNAHS 57
when the novelty wore off, was almost wholly disagreeable.
The necessity for straightness in the path caused it to be
made through or over every intervening obstacle. It passed
through swamps where every foot of progress had involved
severe cutlass work, and where consequently the abund
ance of lopped plant-stems rendered walking arduous and
painful, while razor-grass insufficiently cleared was con
tinually tearing clothes or skin. Moreover, the path went
up and down steep gulleys, where many a tumble was
caused by rock or root hidden under the carpet of decayed
leaves — all these disagreeables being bearable enough in
the excitement of sport, or when passing through un
explored country, but trying the temper far more severely
when experienced in the performance of a by no means
interesting duty. When, in addition, one was soaked with
rain and covered from head to foot with bete rouge, causing
an almost maddening irritation during momentary stoppage
of exertion, not to mention ticks requiring to be scraped
off the skin with a knife, and leaving a burn as if made
with fire, the circumstances were indeed trying, and would
have exercised the patience even of an archbishop.
But the scenery of these creeks was not exclusively of
forest. Occasionally one came upon a savannah of a few
hundred acres — a flat expanse of very long grasses, pools
of water being visible here and there, mostly covered with
water-lilies. The only prominent objects rising above the
general level were a few palms, chiefly of the Eta variety
with great fan-shaped leaves. These are the trees which
the Warau Indians of the Lower Orinoco, the Barima and
the Waini use, or formerly used, for their temporary homes,
for their principal food, and other useful purposes. To
protect themselves while engaged in fishing from the floods
and other enemies, biped and quadruped, they built their
huts up in the branches, while a farinaceous diet, much
resembling sago, was made from the pith. The enormous
number of these trees in the places named gave a practically
inexhaustible supply for these and all other purposes.

58 BRITISH GUIANA
Now and then on the savannahs a great crane showed
himself above the surface of the grass, intently watching for
his prey in the water, while a kind of bittern (called here
and in the United States by an unmentionable name which
describes his peculiar habit in getting up), rising lazily
before the canoe, gave a tempting shot. I never but once,
however, attempted to kill one of these, having then learned
that the bird when dead was totally useless, except to a
collector. Ducks were occasionally seen in the open water, but they
were few and very difficult to approach. The endeavour to
get a shot caused me one of my few disagreeable experi
ences with snakes. I was in a very small " curial " (or
dug-out canoe) with a single Indian steering, using the bow
paddle myself. A flight of ducks was marked entering the
forest at the side of the creek, and on reaching the spot I
found that the water had overflowed the bank and covered
the ground as far as it was possible to see. Being doubtful
whether the birds had settled in it, or upon the trees (where,
as in the case of the wood-duck of North America, they
not infrequently alight), I had put down my paddle and
taken hold of a branch for the purpose of dragging the
canoe inwards, when suddenly a large labarria snake
dropped from the tree into the exceedingly short space
between me and the bow — in fact, within a foot of my bare
leg. The start which I gave nearly upset the rickety craft
and half filled it with water. But fortunately the snake was
even more alarmed than I was, and, making off over the
side, disappeared before I could take up my gun.
My only serious encounter with a snake was in the
course of one of my longer journeys. From an Indian
settlement above the Great Falls, and near the source of
the Demerara, I had gone with a single Indian for a day's
walk into the forest in search of something to shoot. We
had had no luck, and in the afternoon, when far from home,
met with heavy rain. It would be thought that the naked
skin of the Indian would be so inured to the climate as to

ADVENTURE WITH SNAKE 59
feel no inconvenience from the heaviest storm ; but in fact
he has a feline dislike of the least downpour, especially
when the heat produced by hard exercise makes the drops
feel the colder. Consequently he will place himself under
the densest foliage he can find until that no longer affords
shelter, and then, when obliged to move, he will, if possible,
find a large palm leaf which he uses umbrella fashion while
walking. On this afternoon we were delayed many precious minutes
by this shelter-seeking, which was to me all the more irri
tating, as being myself scarcely more clothed than the
Indian himself, I was suffering no unbearable inconvenience.
It was late when we started for home. The Indian went
off at a tremendous pace, making it difficult with my tired
legs and sore feet to keep up with him. But I knew from
experience that getting home before dark is, with the
Indian, a sufficiently powerful motive to make him forget
all other considerations ; and to be left alone in the forest,
with nothing to indicate the route except a few twigs which
had been broken for the purpose when passing in the
morning, and which night would render entirely invisible,
was no pleasant prospect. While hurrying along in this
way, I was suddenly startled by a frightful shriek from the
Indian, and I immediately saw that he was jumping away
from the coils of a great " bush-master " snake (called by
the Indians Cooni-Cushi). The creature had no doubt
been asleep, and was aroused by the touch of the Indian's
foot. Before I could stop myself I was close up to the
brute, whose head with laterally waving tongue was raised
for striking within a yard of my thigh. In an instant I
covered him with my gun and pulled the trigger; but the
rain had damped the cap (it was before the day of breech
loaders), and it missed fire. My sensation at the moment
may be imagined, but it was fortunately as short-lived
as the snake; for the other barrel, fired instantly, took
the brute's head off, and I was safe. When brought to
camp, the headless trunk was found to measure over six

60 BRITISH GUIANA
feet in length, while its thickness in the middle was about
that of my forearm.
Although the encounter has taken so long to describe,
all that occurred between the Indian's cry and the fatal
shot probably did not occupy more than two or three
seconds, yet the impression created has remained vivid to
this day, and as long as I live I shall never forget the eyes
of the creature as they gleamed in the twilight. Those of
other animals when angry convey the idea of heat, while
these seemed cold beyond expression, and long after
haunted me in dreams. The snake in question is re
garded as the most deadly of those which inhabit the
Guiana forest, and had he struck me on the bare thigh
which was nearest to its head, these memoirs would never
have been written, for I should probably have been dead
within half an hour.
Except as regards the low hum of insects, other life than
that of the vegetable world was, in creek journeys, not
visibly or audibly abundant. Early in the morning there
was now and then a flight and much chattering of parrots,
which afforded some sport for the gun and very tolerable
soup for the pot. Only at the time when wood-ants were
taking wing and clouds of them were rising above the trees,
there would be seen high up a number of large swallow-
tailed birds sailing round and round in graceful circles and
presumably in the act of taking prey.1 Of smaller creatures,
sometimes a great blue butterfly would rise over the trees,
flashing his silvern underwings in the sunlight, or a buzzing
as of an exaggerated bumble-bee, and a gleam of iridescence
near at hand would betray the presence of a humming
bird passing from flower to flower and probing each as he
fluttered over it. In midday, as in the main stream, there
was silence broken only now and then by the shrill note of
the pi-pi-yo, and rendered not less evident by the low
1 I once shot a specimen of these birds, and in so far as I remember identi
fied it as an insect-eating eagle, which has sometimes been seen in Europe.

GOATSUCKERS 61
whirring of grasshoppers and the constant hum of other
insects. When passing the night in this lower part of the district,
I was often startled by a weird, shrill sound close to my
hammock, much resembling " Who are you ? " pronounced
very quickly, this being the onomatopceic name given to
a species of goatsucker by the English-speaking natives.
Further up the river a large goatsucker, mentioned also by
Waterton, makes itself heard early in the night, though I
cannot say I was ever able to recognise the sound attributed
to him of " Work, work-away," or " Willie-come-go." There
is, however, another bird ofthe same species, which, though I
never saw him, I should judge from the extreme loudness
of his note to be larger still. This sound is one of the most
beautiful, and by far the most melancholy, of any within
my experience proceeding from a bird or any other animal.
I heard it only in the depths of the forest, and after night
fall. It consists of four notes in a regularly descending
scale, separated one from the other by a short interval.
Other goatsuckers convey by their cries the idea of wailing;
but this particular one does so to such a degree as almost to
affect the spirits. In fact, it gives the impression of a lost
soul mourning its unhappy fate. It may be mentioned
here that, except about an hour before daybreak, when
the gallinaceous birds begin to crow, most of the cries
emitted at night by the inhabitants of the forest, of larger
size than frogs, are very far from exhilarating, and would
seem to indicate distress.

CHAPTER IV
Another path from Demerara to Essequebo — Indian mode of marking route
traversed — Lost in the forest — Upper Essequebo — Kaieteur Falls unknown
— Mythical settlements of women — Bird's-eye view of forest country —
Electric eel as source of amusement — Canaimas, and the fear of them —
Indian drinking-bouts — Curious custom connected with child-birth —
Cassava the Indian's principal food — Dangerously poisonous when un
cooked — Guiana no country for the sportsman — Peccaries — Supposed trap
set for them by boa-constrictor — Huge size of the latter — Toucans — The
blow-pipe — Wourali poison.
FROM the Demerara to the Essequebo, by the path
which reaches the former river between the first
rapids and the Great Falls, is a march of six to eight hours,
the longer time being required in the wet season ; but the
path between the two rivers principally used by me, and
always on my longer journeys, was one about two days'
paddle above the Great Falls. This was too long for a
single march, and involved camping once or twice en route in
the heart of the forest. The characteristics of both paths
were much the same, and, except as regards length, the
description of one would almost equally apply to the other.
Neither was really a path in the ordinary sense of the
word. The upper one, indeed, was trodden by human feet,
and this only by the Indians of the far interior, not prob
ably more than two or three times a year. Consequently,
to the untrained eye, no track was to be seen, and the only
visible mark of the route to be taken was that furnished by
saplings, broken and turned down for the purpose by the
passing Indian. By this device the light colour of the
under leaves, invisible when the plant is erect, at once
catches the eye, and serves as a valuable guide. The quick
ness with which the operation is performed, and the strength
62

LOST IN THE FOREST 63
of wrist it demands are remarkable. In an instant, with
out slackening his gait at all, the man will break a growing
stick, a quarter of an inch thick, and double it down so
that the broken top will hang down the stem. The habit
of doing this is so ingrained in the Indian that he indulges
in it mechanically and unconsciously when other broken
saplings in the neighbourhood render it unnecessary. If
he failed to keep up the practice thus, he might neglect it
when it is all-important. But for such landmarks in the
excitement of hunting, he would certainly lose himself in
the forest ; and I have more than once had occasion to
bless them, when, by accident, I have been left alone to
find my way to camp. For want of this precaution I
once had a most disagreeable experience, which might
easily have ended disastrously, though it was in the imme
diate neighbourhood of civilised dwellings.
Being at the penal settlement on the Massaruni, subse
quently described, I went out early in the morning with
a companion for a short walk in the forest. In half an
hour we turned round towards home, but after going
a much longer distance than that of our outward stroll,
and finding that our position was still quite unrecog
nisable, we were in a dilemma. We had, unfortunately,
no compass with us, and the sun was, as usual in the
forest, entirely invisible ; but a single glimpse of the sky
to show its direction would enable us to make for the
river, and thus find our way. After a long search we
found a fallen tree, the gap made by which, though nearly
filled up by the surrounding foliage, was still sufficiently
large for the purpose. At length we reached the river,
but were not, in a double sense, " out of the wood." It
turned out we were several miles from the settlement,
and in order to keep touch with the stream, we had to
proceed nearly in a straight line, forcing ourselves through
swamps and over all other obstacles. Fortunately we
had cutlasses with us, or we should never have reached
home before night. Even so, it was late when we arrived,

64 BRITISH GUIANA
exhausted with heat, hunger, and fatigue, with our clothes
and skin lacerated with the razor-grass, and altogether in a
pitiable condition. That we rnust have traversed a con
siderable distance was shown by the fact that the convicts
had been sent in all directions for some miles round, and
though continually yelling, were not heard by us until our
trouble was nearly over.
Of the Upper Essequebo I can remember little beyond
general impressions, as except at the ends of the paths from
the Demerara I never stopped more than once at any par
ticular place. It has always been a matter of deep regret
to me that I never saw the Kaieteur Falls, discovered by Mr.
Barrington Brown during his geological survey, shortly after
I left the colony. Oddly enough, I never heard of these
falls from the Indians, from whom I received accounts,
true or imaginary, of many natural objects in the country ;
for on more than one occasion I passed the mouth of the
Potaro, from which that natural wonder is distant only
two or three days' journey. As neither Schomburg nor
Waterton saw these falls, I incline to think there must
have been some superstitious reluctance on the part of the
natives to mention them to strangers. Another subject of
regret is that I never reached the site of the fabled city of
Manoa, nor the wonderful mountain plateau of Roraima,
probably unique as regards the great area practically cut
off from the rest of the world by lofty, perpendicular, and
almost unscalable cliffs. Illness, accidents, delays in rapids,
and once a sudden call to the lower part of my district,
always shortened the time at my disposal, and so my cher
ished intention to see these places was never fulfilled.
Roraima was first mentioned to me by the Indians as
the site of a wonderful settlement of women, who admitted
men to their society only once a year. As a similar account,
with equally curious details not to be mentioned here, was
given me at other times, the locality described being always
different, I began at length to regard the story as a sur
vival of the ancient myth of the Amazons. Once, however,

VIEW FROM MOUNTAIN 65
a Macusi strenuously asserted to me that he had been one
of the visitors of a community of this kind, which lived in
this case on one of the rivers falling into the Essequebo
above the Repununi. His account was full of such minute
particulars of the severe, and by no means altogether
pleasant, ordeal which he had had to undergo that I
scarcely believed them to be all imaginary, especially as
he offered to take me to the place. But as the month
in which alone he would venture to approach these
formidable ladies was one when, owing to the rain, it
was specially difficult to ascend the river, I never had
an opportunity of satisfying my curiosity as to whether
there was not some slight foundation for his story. I may
mention that Mr. McClintock, for many years Superin
tendent of Rivers and Creeks in the extreme west of the
colony, and whose knowledge of Indians was unsurpassed
among white men, subsequently informed me that he did
not altogether disbelieve the story, as a similar settlement
of women had once appeared on the Pomeroon, but had
left after only a few months' residence.
Of the mountains of Guiana I had only distant views,
but the ascent of hills, which I should say never exceeded
2,000 feet, cost far more labour than would ordinarily be
required elsewhere for mountains several times higher.
One experience of this kind in the neighbourhood of the
Demerara I have special reason to remember on this
account. For some five or six hundred yards before reach
ing the summit the gradient was so precipitous that I was
forced to seize a sapling or liane almost at every step for
the purpose of dragging myself up the next one. Each
time the support gave way, I had an unpleasant fall, which,
but for the abundance of vegetation enabling me to arrest
descent, would have been dangerous.
From the top of this hill, which was the highest ground
I ever ascended in Guiana, the view was a remarkable one.
Except a glimpse of water here and there, probably bends
in rivers, the whole area beneath was covered with a dense
1. — F

66 BRITISH GUIANA
mass of foliage. The tops of the trees had almost the
effect of a huge, undulating grass plot, with a bush rising
out of it here and there, indicating the position of some
specially huge giant.
On my longer journeys I was always accompanied by
Indians. While marching they were usually silent, the
forest seeming to affect them with its gloom.1 But during
the early hours of the night, especially if we had reached a
river, they were continually talking and laughing, busily
relating grotesque stories of their hunting adventures,2 and
sometimes, I suspect, making merry over the peculiarities
of the white man. The seemingly utter indifference to the
presence of strangers which is ordinarily shown by Indians
coming from the interior — probably the product of mingled
shyness and pride — entirely wears off on closer acquaint
ance, and they exhibit the utmost curiosity about the white
man and all belonging to him. All awe quickly disappears
when they are kindly treated, yet I recall one instance when
it was suddenly revived in a ludicrous manner.
My camp being on the bank of the Essequebo, I was, as
usual early in the morning, about to bathe. I had just
passed beyond the edge of the water, when there came a
sharp, warning cry from an Indian. Following with my eye
the direction of his finger, I saw, a few feet in front of me,
what seemed like a snake moving slowly in the shallow
water. An arrow, shot at a range of only two or three
yards, quickly pierced the creature, which, by means of the
attached string, was forthwith hauled on shore, and proved
to be an electric eel, some four or five feet in length ; so
that I had had a narrow escape. When it had been some
time on land, and had, therefore, lost much of its danger-
1 Only those who have experienced this gloom can fully appreciate an illus
tration of one of Mr. Stanley's books of African travel, and the delight at
emerging from the forest, which is shown in the special liveliness of the gait of
the long line of porters.
2 A particularly "creepy " one I still remember. The man told how, when
he was intently engaged in following a herd of peccari, he suddenly discovered
that he was himself being stalked by a jaguar.

CANAIMAS 67
ous power, I touched it with a cutlass, receiving a severe
shock. It then occurred to me, as I had suffered no un
pleasant effect beyond the momentary sensation, that the
curious power of the creature was still sufficient to afford
amusement to a somewhat jaded party. Accordingly, I
caused the Indians to join hands, and giving a cutlass to
the foremost, made him touch the eel with the point. At
the moment of contact he threw the cutlass violently down,
and the whole row of five or six men got a shock which
produced at first consternation, followed by intense amuse
ment when they found no harm was done. In order to
increase their astonishment, I took a piece of wood about
two inches long and pressed it upon the creature's skin.
When the Indians saw that this had no effect on me, they
were easily induced to repeat their first experiment with
the cutlass. The result being, naturally, much the same as
before, they regarded me with deep respect, and, I after
wards learnt, as something of a " pe-i " (or medicine-man).
I may add that the vitality of this eel was remark
able, as even after several hours on land it could still make
its power very sensibly felt.
Occasionally, on the upper waters both of the Essequebo
and Demerara, I met a single, haggard, unkempt, and
strangely painted Indian, paddling himself silently down
stream, and usually close under the bank. Such men were,
I was informed, Canaimas, who were under an inherited
obligation, considered by them as sacred, to revenge upon
one or more of the family of the offender some wrong
perpetrated, perhaps, long ago — an obligation, in fact, very
similar to that of the Corsican vendetta. They paid atten
tion to a signal only by paddling away faster than before, and
even if I had thought it of any use to follow them, it was
doubtful if any of my Indians would have consented to do
so ; always evincing a strange fear, even of talking about
these supposed murderous devotees. From all I could
gather, a Canaima usually came from a distance, and, being
always a young man, who had undertaken his task imme-

68 BRITISH GUIANA
diately on arriving at manhood, had, consequently, never
been seen in the neighbourhood where his design was to be
accomplished. Except when unavoidably travelling on the
water, he remained concealed in the bush, and would remain
in hiding for long periods, awaiting a favourable oppor
tunity. The victim, at length taken unawares, would be
clubbed, and, while insensible, would be subjected to a
horrible operation for prolonging his torture. I was never
able to verify such stories ; but it is not improbable that
sudden deaths, of which I sometimes heard months after
their occurrence, may have been so caused. In a thinly
populated country, so large in extent and so difficult to
traverse, with a climate productive of exceedingly rapid
decomposition, it is obvious that the chances would be
infinite against the capture and conviction of the criminal.
It will thus be understood why the natives of by far the
greater part of the interior of Guiana, though nominally
British subjects, are practically amenable to no other law
than their own.1
Of other unpleasant customs of the Guiana natives, their
drinking-bouts most commonly attract the stranger's atten
tion. They have at least two intoxicating drinks — one
"piwari," produced from the cassava (manioc), the other
" caseeri," from the sweet potato, both made in the disgust
ing manner which I have seen practised by the South Sea
Islanders in the making of kava (the Fijian "yaghona"),
namely, by chewing the root2 into a pulp, which, when mixed
1 It always struck me as curious that the Canaima should make himself con
spicuous by painting and otherwise, and thus advertise his deadly mission, the
success of which depended on secrecy. This point I never had cleared up,
and I can only suppose that while to render himself thus hideous was for some
reason obligatory, he obviated the effects of the exposure by never allowing
to be seen the place where he slept. As a matter of fact I never saw a
Canaima except in the act of paddling on a river, which he was obliged to use
for making a journey of any great length, and I am inclined to think that the
other natives were in too great awe of his mysterious and unknown errand to
think of following him.
2 In the case of piwari, it is not the raw root, but the bread made from the
root which is chewed.

INDIAN ORGIES 69
with water, produces the necessary fermentation. When
a canoe has been filled with the drink, the guests assemble,
join hands, and walk sideways round it, chanting at the
same time what, no doubt, they regard as a convivial song,
but which is more like a dirge. It consists entirely of
two notes in the minor key, the higher one coming first
and the lower one occasionally long drawn out — " Ay —
ah, ay — ah, ay-a-a-ah." Now and then the chain is broken
and two or more dip calabashes (gourds cut in half) into
the canoe, and having drunk the contents at one draught,
complete the circle again, the droning chant continuing
sometimes for twenty-four hours and more until the liquor
is finished, all the performers, however — women as well as
men — being, before the end, very drunk indeed.
Curiously enough, the effect of these liquids seems to be
exactly the reverse of that produced by the Polynesian
kava. For while the latter renders the legs useless, the
head still remaining clear, the former never seems to pre
clude an upright posture, even when all other signs of in
toxication, even the most disgusting, are only too evident.
Thus when anyone chooses to leave the circle for a time he
has no difficulty in returning, and is at once admitted again.
One presumes that there must be some pleasure in these
orgies, or indulgence in them would not be so frequent, but
it is difficult to understand in what it consists. The
hilarity of which the Indians — the Accawoios and Macusis
especially — are so capable is entirely absent. The faces of
all are funereal in expression, even from the first, while the
subsequent sickness one would think destructive of all
other agreeable sensations. But whatever pleasures these
revels may afford to the participants, to one sleeping in the
neighbourhood and compelled to listen hour after hour to
the melancholy tones they become at last intolerable. In
fact, once when I was ill they affected my nerves to such
an extent that, though it was the rainy season, I preferred
to take my hammock out of shelter into the neighbouring
forest.

70 BRITISH GUIANA
Arawaks, who inhabit the creeks near the coast (and
were thus at an early period brought into contact with
the Dutch and used by them to catch escaped slaves),
seemed to be as fond of these drinking-bouts as the more
unsophisticated natives, though the sparseness and small
size of their settlements, which rarely exceed a single dwell
ing, rendered prolonged orgies on their part of less frequent
occurrence. In fact, in mode of life and habits all the
natives of Guiana — not excluding the so-called tree-inhabit
ing Waraus — were much alike, the Arawak differing from
the Indian of the interior merely, as far as I could see, in
wearing more clothes, having a slightly paler skin and a
somewhat superior intelligence, with greater gravity of
demeanour. This gravity seemed imperturbable. I do not
think I ever saw an Arowak smile, and I am sure I never
heard one laugh.
One peculiar custom of the interior natives has, I think,
been abandoned by the Arawaks. Arriving once at a
settlement, I asked why the father of the family, who
seemed quite well, did not get up to receive us, but re
mained lying in his hammock. Mr. Couchman, who was
with me, informed me that this was because his wife had
just been delivered of a child. She, poor woman, natur
ally not looking very happy, was busy with her work,
paying only very occasional attention to the squalling in
fant, and evidently with no intention of lying down. The
husband was being treated exactly as if he was the invalid,
and I was told would continue recumbent for several days
lest any accident happening to him should affect the child.
During this vicarious illness, moreover, the man was for
bidden certain meats, for fear that the qualities of the
animal from which it came would attach to the child.
Venison, for instance, being tabooed in fear of its causing
timidity, and the flesh of other animals for similar reasons.
The natives themselves are very uncommunicative on the
subject of this custom, being apparently ashamed of it.
The principal food of the natives, and also of myself

ABSENCE OF SPORT 71
when far away from town, was bread made from cassava
(manioc). This, when carefully made, is excellent in taste
as well as most nutritious, and as it is superior in both of
these respects to oat-cake, I have often wondered that it is
not better known in Europe. If Professor Crookes' prog
nostication should prove correct as to the coming failure
of the world's wheat crop to supply the ever-growing
population, I apprehend that some day both this and
plantain flour will largely enter into the consumption of
non-tropical countries.
The poisonous quality of the bitter variety of cassava
when in its natural state, and the mode of its preparation,
are well known. But a peculiarity of the pressed juice
before boiling, which I have never seen mentioned, is its
attractiveness to animals. The natural instinct which
ordinarily distinguishes the nutritious from the harmful
seems in this case to be wanting, for it is generally believed
in Guiana that all four-footed beasts have a liking for it.
At all events, cattle and goats drink it greedily, even when
abundance of water is within easy reach, and a knowledge
of this furnishes an easy and safe means of killing stock
to anyone having a grudge against its owner. In more
than one instance I had little doubt that the destruction of
a woodcutter's cattle had been maliciously caused in this
way ; but unhappily it proved impossible to bring the
offence home with sufficient certainty for a conviction.
For sport the forest of Guiana cannot be recommended.
To get near any game is a matter of extreme difficulty,
and to see it, even when close at hand, is scarcely more
easy, owing to insufficiency of light. Presumably, because
the Indian hunter has left them no peace in the past, all
the wild quadrupeds, from the jaguar to the accouri (the
agouti of the Spaniards), fly before the approach of men,
which must be stealthy indeed to give the chance of a shot.
As far as I could learn, the only exceptions to this rule are
one of the varieties of peccari and the Waracaba tiger,
the latter, in my time at all events, unknown to naturalists.

72 BRITISH GUIANA
Peccaries are always in herds. The largest and smallest
variety are said to be comparatively timid, and therefore
less dangerous, unless actually brought to bay ; but those
of the middle size, or about that of a three-quarters grown
Berkshire pig, were frequently described as being very
awkward customers indeed. The Indians told me that
when they came across any they at once ran to the nearest
climbable tree, and one described to me that he had, after
climbing, been kept aloft for many hours until a jaguar
put the herd to flight. Though I often walked for many
hours in search of larger game, sometimes going long
distances in their track, I am not absolutely certain
that I ever saw any in the forest. As regards the last-
mentioned variety of peccaries, my failure was perhaps
fortunate, as a single gun would have been useless against
such a number, and, as weighing some fourteen stone I
was never very active in tree-climbing, I should probably
have come off very badly in the encounter.
Camoodies grow to an enormous size in the colony. A
planter told me of one killed on the west coast, which
had measured forty feet in length, and I recollect see
ing many years ago, in a book by Stedman on Dutch
Guiana, a picture — largely, I should say, imaginative — of
a huge monster hanging from a tree, with two slaves swarm
ing up the carcase while in the act of skinning it ! Twice
only did I get a sight of these creatures. Once, while on
shore at a negro's plantation about fifteen miles from
Georgetown, I saw, what was of no uncommon occurrence,
a porpoise floating down rapidly with the tide, and at short
intervals coming to the surface. In this case, however, it
had been caught by a big snake, in all probability a water
camoodie, whose coils were plainly visible for the two or
three minutes during which the object remained in sight.
On another occasion, when travelling with Sir William
Holmes (then Provost-Marshal of the colony) on the River
Waini, towards the western extremity of the colony, we,
while going down the stream as fast as oars would carry

THE BLOW-PIPE 73
us, passed quite close to a floating island, a disgusting
smell from which would, even without sight of them, have
made evident the presence of snakes. Two of these
monsters were lying upon the grass coiled up in separate
heaps. Four barrels were quickly fired at short range,
which caused the creatures to move ; but the pace we were
going prevented us from seeing any other effect, and they
were quickly beyond our sight.
As regards shooting, a considerable number of parrots
might sometimes be obtained early in the morning on the
river or in clearings of the forest, and now and then, sitting
on the tent of my boat, I had a chance of bringing down
a toucan while crossing the river high up above the trees.
The latter have a curious flight, unlike that of any other
bird. They seem unable to carry their large beak on a
level plane, and their movement is one of constant curve,
ascending and descending. For the same reason, probably,
they are very easily shot, and fall at once if struck by only
a single pellet. Other birds, such as "powie" (curassow),
maams, etc., were only obtained by "pot shots" when sitting
in the trees, and even if I had cared for such shooting,
I should have had but little success, as again and again I
failed to see a bird, even after looking hard at the place
where it was sitting, until my Indian killed it.
The instrument ordinarily used by the Indians for killing
game was a cheap " Brummagem " gun ; but when they did
not possess one, the home-made bow and arrow served them
fairly well. For small game, sitting on the ground or on
second-growth timber, they took a blow-pipe. The effective
use of the latter weapon I found by no means difficult
after very little practice. Though it is impossible, of course,
to take aim along it as with a gun, the eye seems instinc
tively to point the tube straight to the object. I have seen
a complete tyro hit an orange at ten to fifteen yards'
distance after very few attempts. Both arrows and blow
pipe darts for shooting game are poisoned with wourali,
which, when fresh, will cause a powie or monkey to drop

74 BRITISH GUIANA
to the ground in a few seconds. This preparation being
almost, if not entirely, 'identical with the curare of Brazil
(though its makers in Guiana pretend that the vegetable
juice which produces its potent effect is mixed with virus
from snakes, tarantulas, and manourie ants), has been too
often described to need extended reference here; but I
may mention, from my own experience, that arrows so
poisoned lose their peculiar efficacy very rapidly, and
I have seen a hen walking about picking up grains with
complete indifference, though she had sticking in her
several blow-pipe darts, one of which had instantly para
lysed another only a few weeks before. Probably the
strength might be preserved if the paste were kept air
tight, but this I never had the opportunity of trying.

CHAPTER V
Deer-shooting from canoe — Jaguars — The Warracaba tiger— Night sounds of
the forest — The kinkajou — Appalling roar of howling monkey — The
houtou and his tail-trimming — Onomatopceic names — Cushi ants — Jager
ants and their service to man — Night invasion of Jagers — Tenacity of life
in ants — Termites — Their extraordinary voracity — Ant intercommunica
tion — Killing a monkey, and its effect on the killer — Burning of a hollow
tree.
AS regards larger game in Guiana, the only kind the
ii shooting of which ever afforded me sport in the
English sense of the word was the deer, which is about
the size of the fallow-deer, but with short, unbranching
horns. I usually took with me two woodskins, myself and
an Indian in one, and in the other two Indians with a dog.
Arriving at what seemed a likely place, one of the Indians
went ashore with the dog. With him he carried a horn
made out of a hollow gourd, which, when blown in these
solitudes, was audible for miles. From time to time he
would thus indicate his whereabouts, and so enable us to
keep as near him as possible on the river. After we had
paddled an hour or two following the direction of the sound,
the horn, if we were to be lucky, would emit a different
note, indicating that game had been found. Presently
the barking of the dog would be heard, faintly at first,
and becoming gradually louder as it approached the water,
for which the hunted deer invariably makes. Sometimes
the sound would become suddenly very loud at a con
siderable distance from us up or down stream, and then
began a frantic paddling in order to reach the spot in time.
The deer would then be seen entering the water, or some
times only the splash would be heard, and the animal
would first become visible when actually swimming. The
75

76 BRITISH GUIANA
paddling would now become still more frantic, until the
deer was close to the other bank. A few seconds more,
and unless stopped by a bullet he would be safe in the
forest, at all events for that day. Paddle is breathlessly
exchanged for rifle, and crack ! crack ! echoes over the water
just as the quarry has topped the bank. Has the animal
fallen, or has he escaped ? Once or twice it was the latter,
involving a lost day, the miss due, as I flattered myself, to
a hand shaking from violent exertion ; but after some ex
perience such failures were rare. I did not carry a second
Indian to relieve me of all work, partly because my dead
weight would have diminished speed, and also because
without the violent exercise the excitement would have
been far less.
The tapir and the labba (the lap of Trinidad) may be
shot by the same method, but do not afford by any means
so exciting a run.
Jaguars were sometimes heard near our camp at night,
but only on two occasions did I see one. The puma (which,
I suppose, is the brown tiger, specially feared by the Indians)
and all the smaller cats, including the Waracaba, which the
natives dread more than any other animal, also eluded me.
These creatures are said to be about the size of pointer
dogs, and are never met with except in large packs (for
which reason I imagine them to be rather canine than
feline). When they are heard approaching, safety is only
to be obtained by getting on the other side of the stream,
which they will rarely or never cross. Once when camped
by the side of a burn in the forest I heard strange cries
which seemed to proceed from a great number of animals.
My Indians, very frightened, began to take down their
hammocks, calling out, " Waracaba ! Waracaba ! " But
the sounds gradually died away and we were able to sleep
in peace. Possibly the stream saved us; at all events, I
never saw the animals so as to be able to verify whence
the sounds proceeded. In my time the existence of this
gregarious tiger was, I believe, much doubted by naturalists ;

NIGHT SOUNDS OF FOREST 77
but the subsequent narrative of Mr. Brown, the discoverer
of the Kaieteur Falls, serves to confirm the Indian stories
about these animals, though, like myself, he never actually
saw one.
Night in the forest has many other strange sounds, most
of which, however, quickly become familiar and are easily
recognisable. At dusk, in the neighbourhood of a river or
other opening, is heard, almost exactly at the hour from
which its name is derived, the shrill burr of " the six-o'clock
bee." In reality, it is a small cicada under two inches in
length, and yet its note is so loud as to be audible over
water at a distance of at least one third of a mile. At the
same time begins the croaking of a great variety of frogs,
one, called by the Creoles the paddle frog, giving out a
sound so extremely like that of an approaching boat that I
more than once could scarcely believe it anything else.
Later the more subdued chirruping of tree frogs becomes
incessant, and now and then in the depth of the forest one
is suddenly startled by the hoarse staccato grunt of the
bull-frog, sounding from some hollow trunk close by. Then
there are the notes of the various goatsuckers ; and about
midnight the inexpressibly melancholy, yet melodious wail
of the largest one above referred to. Once only I heard the
low yap of an animal moving in the trees above my head.
It was, I was told, the night-prowling kinkajou.1
But of all the night sounds of the forest, that of the howl
ing monkeys is unquestionably the loudest. To a stranger
it is really appalling and may be heard for miles. One or
two man-of-war sirens and half a dozen angry bulls bellow
ing in unison, would be required to produce music equally
1 This animal also inhabits the island of Trinidad, and one of them sub
sequently caused myself and my family a very unpleasant experience. Years
after my departure from Guiana, when I was administering the government of
the colony in question, and sleeping in Government House, the household was
awakened in the middle of the night by the agonised screaming of a wild parrot
in a treetop close at hand. This continued for fully a quarter of an hour,
growing fainter and fainter until it died away. In the morning the partly
devoured remains of a green parrot were found at the foot of the tree — the
victim of the kinkajou.

78 BRITISH GUIANA
loud and melodious. According to the natives, the creatures
roar thus while hanging upon branches by their tails, and
swinging backwards and forwards.
The approach of day is always announced by different
gallinaceous and other birds, and by degrees I came to
know the time from them with considerable exactness. An
hour before the first sign of dawn, or about half-past four
o'clock, is heard several times repeated the crow which
gives its name to the small partridge called "Doura-quarra."
Half an hour later comes the short whistle of the maam
(tinamou), a bird also resembling a partridge but much
larger ; and finally, actual daybreak is announced by the
hannaqua, the so-called pheasant of the country, though
extremely unlike one. Also, in the early morning, but not
so regularly, is heard the sad note of the houtou, called
elsewhere, I believe, the motmot, a bird which has the
curious propensity of biting off a part of its tail. I would
observe that the picture of this bird, given in the ex
planatory index of Mr. Wood's edition of Waterton, is
unlike the specimens which I saw in Guiana, and evidently
is that of a distinct species. The birds seen by me had the
vanes of the long tail-feathers bitten off for an inch or more
exactly at the point which, when the tail was doubled back,
would be reached by the beak, the end of the tail, unlike
that in the illustration referred to, being of much the same
size as the part above the gap. The Indians believe that this
bird has the habit of thrusting his tail into bees' nests, and
that the gap in the tail-vanes is caused by the wearing pro
cess of eating off the honey. In this way they accounted
for the fact that some sticky substance was adhering to the
end of the tail of a specimen obtained by me.
All these names, with most of those given by Indians to
birds and animals, are so strictly onomatopceic that, when
locally pronounced, it would be scarcely possible for the
human voice to approach more closely the sounds intended
to be imitated. The many varieties of parrots are all, I
think, named on the same principle, as kissi-kissi, hia-hia,
toa-toa, and many others.

JAGER ANTS 79
As regards other inhabitants of the forest, the cushi, or
leaf-carrying ants, already referred to, can hardly escape
notice, even in a short walk. Their going and returning
legions, always close to one another, and together making
a solid column several inches wide, are so numerous that it
would be difficult to go many miles in any direction with
out meeting them. These ants are most destructive of
useful vegetation and are regarded simply as a pest; but
there is in Guiana one species of ant which is really service
able to mankind. I refer to the jagers, or hunting ants.
At night, when an inmate of a woodcutter's house or an
Indian hut is asleep, sharp bites in various parts of his
body cause him to spring up and strike a light. He finds
that hundreds of jager ants have marched down the ropes
of his hammock. Looking on the ground, on the posts
supporting the roof, on the rafters, and on the thatch, he
sees countless legions of the same insects covering all, and
a dense column still pouring in. Cockroaches in abundance
are now seen rushing about the thatch and occasionally
falling to the ground. If examined closely, these are found
to have several ants fastened on to them. The fall attracts
the ants on the ground, which immediately close round the
struggling victim, and in the course of a few seconds he is
being borne off on a line parallel with the legions still
entering. Scores of cockroaches are thus dealt with, and
now and then a great centipede shares the same fate.
Falling from the roof, he writhes for a moment on the
ground, apparently endeavouring to free himself from
his clinging enemies ; but that moment is fatal. Hundreds
rush upon him from all sides, and in less than a minute he
also is borne off, though still alive, and sufficiently strong
to give his carriers a very unpleasant time with his contor
tions. Occasionally a gecko lizard comes scampering down
a post, and though he gets away for a moment, it is doubt
ful whether he will escape altogether ; for there may be
sufficient ants upon him to ensure a fate scarcely less rapid
than that of the cockroaches. After an hour or two occu-

80 BRITISH GUIANA
pied in searching every nook and cranny, the ants depart
as suddenly as they came, and nothing more is seen of
them perhaps for many months. They have, however, left
the place completely cleared of all insects and vermin, even
of rats, which, if not destroyed, are at least driven away, so
that however disagreeable for the moment, they have really
done a most useful service. Meat requires to be protected
from these ants by an impermeable covering, or they
quickly tear it to pieces ; and their attacks upon people
asleep render it probable that, if unable to move, one would
quickly meet a horrible fate.
Other ants which are familiar objects are the black man-
ouri, about an inch in length, and the diminutive red ant,
which, relatively to his size, is quite as venomous. The
former resembles a long, wingless, black wasp, and, like the
latter, uses his mouth to hold his prey, while he stings with
his tail. His venom is so powerful as invariably to give fever,
and it is therefore not improbably true, what I was told,
that even a single sting has been known to cause death.
Fortunately I never was stung by a manouri, but the red
ants once caused me a most unpleasant experience. Coming
out of the water after bathing, I inadvertently sat down in
a nest of them. My Indians laughed, and I do not doubt
I furnished a sufficiently amusing spectacle, but the incident
was no joke to me. For several hours I suffered severe
pain, as if red pepper had been rubbed into numerous pin
pricks, and fever followed which I did not get rid of for two
days. Ants of several different kinds have their home in or
chids, and I do not think I ever procured one of these
plants without finding in it a numerous colony. On one
occasion, when a large cattleya had been obtained, together
with the elbow of a branch on which it was growing, the
ants were so numerous and venomous that I caused both
them and their home to be thrown into the water and
dragged behind my boat, using a stick frequently for the
purpose of keeping the whole under the surface. For hours

WOOD ANTS 8 1
afterwards ants were coming up and floating away, until
they appeared to be all gone ; but when the log was taken
up the next day several others astonished us by running
out apparently quite uninjured. Either, therefore, they
must have been able to survive without air, or sufficient for
them had remained in the many cavities of the plant.
Even more noticeable in the forest than any of the above
are the wood-ants. In most other parts of the world they
are called " white ants," though they are never white, and
are not ants, but termites, which belong to an entirely
different order of insect. As one passes through openings
in the forest, and especially along the river, one cannot
help being struck with a great number of trees completely
bare of foliage, but still standing erect as ever and with
naked branches sharply outlined against the sky. On
many of these will be noticed, high up, what are seemingly
huge excrescences, most of them looking in shape like
enormous footballs. These are nests of the wood-ant, and
an examination of the trunk shows the covered passages
leading to them. These bare trees could hardly have all
been killed by lightning, as commonly supposed by the
natives. Yet death had certainly come neither from stran
gulation by lianes, of which there was never any sign, nor
from the ordinary decay of old age ; so that possibly there
was some connection between the condition of the trees
and the residence of the termites whose local name be
tokens their fondness for wood. But, though wood is prob
ably the principal food of these creatures, they seem to
be almost as omnivorous as the cockroach ; for on one of
my passages from the Demerara to the Essequebo, when
accompanied by Captain (afterwards Colonel) Morley, of
the Buffs, we left two umbrellas and some pairs of boots on
the bank of the Demerara to await our return. After an
interval of only a few days we found of the former nothing
but the frames, while the latter were simply skeletons, the
seams only being left, the cobbler's wax having proved dis
tasteful. The destroyers had evidently finished their repast,
as there were none visible on the spot.
i. — G

82 BRITISH GUIANA
What a mysterious faculty of communication have ants !
Once, lying in a hammock close to the floor in the covered
verandah of my house in Georgetown, I observed an ant
which, after discovering a large piece of sponge cake, im
mediately scampered over it in apparent excitement, and
then went off without taking any away. As the ant was
one of those with a special liking for sweet food, this pro
ceeding was so strange that I resolved to observe the
further action of the creature. I was at the time weak
from fever ; but I managed to crawl to the other end of the
verandah, a distance of some ten yards, where I saw the
ant make for a hole in an interstice between the boards.
In less than two seconds ants began to pour out of the
hole in great numbers, and all went in a straight line to the
cake, which in the course of an hour was all carried off.
No doubt, though indistinguishable from the others, the
discoverer had led the column ; but the question arises, How
did he so instantaneously communicate his discovery ?
Was it by sound inaudible to human ears, or by a touch
which permeated in a moment the dense mass of his fellows
like a shock of electricity ?
The Indians are by no means averse to the flesh of
monkeys, and indeed at one time I myself found it by no
means intolerable when other food was scarce. In Guiana,
however, no kind of monkey is easy to shoot, as they are
rarely to be seen except on the tops of the trees. When
there, I found them too difficult to hit, as they were only
visible for an instant when moving rapidly, while loose shot
even of large size would not bring them down from such
a height. However, having one day fired with an Eley's
green cartridge, there fell down a large one of the spider
variety. To my horror I saw that a young one, clinging
to her, had fallen also, though apparently it had not been
touched by the shot. The piteous and almost human look
of the mother when dying was such as I shall never for
get. I felt like a murderer, and from that day I never
killed another monkey. Nor, however hungry, did I ever

HOLLOW TREE-BURNING 83
consciously eat one again. But as in pepper-pot all meat,
after a day or two, tastes much alike, I cannot say that I
may not have done so unconsciously.
The burning of hollow trees close to our camp was a
favourite amusement of Indians. Once when I permitted
mine to indulge in it, the spectacle presented was a grand
one. The hollow trunk made a tremendous draught, and
the fire running up in it quickly a great mass of flame
poured out from the lofty top with a roar like that of an
enormous blast furnace. Showers of sparks rose in the air,
as though hundreds of Roman candles were being fired
together, with the difference, however, that this pyrotechnic
display and its accompanying noise lasted for several hours
and precluded sleep until long after midnight. However
wonderful the sight, I cannot say that on reflection I con
templated it with unmixed satisfaction. It is certain that
with the dead tree must have been destroyed a vast num
ber of living creatures, including frogs, ants, many kinds of
insects, bats, and probably owls. Even at the risk, then,
of being regarded as a sentimentalist, I could not on this
account regard tree-burning as justifiable when done for
mere amusement, and it was not repeated.

CHAPTER VI
Inspection of Massaruni penal settlement — The Lower Essequebo — The coco
nut palm and its taste for salt — Sound of tropical rain in forest heard at
great distance — Sanitary benefit of bare feet — Capon sitting on eggs —
Scenery of Essequebo above rapids — Adventure in ascending rapid — A rash
swim — Jiggers and their extraction — Scarcity of animal life in Upper
Essequebo — Kingfishers and jacamars — Fireflies of different varieties —
Mosquitoes and gallinippers ; story illustrating difference between them —
River Waini — The balata tree and its gum — Water communication between
Pomeroon and Upper Orinoco — Deserted missionary settlement — Experi
ence with bats.
AMONG the duties of magistrates in British Guiana
. was the inspection of the penal settlement,1 which
was made each month by two public officers specially ap
pointed for the purpose. It was situated on the Massaruni
River, near the mouth, and near also the junction of that
and another great river, the Cuyuni, with the still greater
River Essequebo. The journey was usually made in one of
the colonial steamers from Georgetown, along the west
coast of Demerara as far as the mouth of the Essequebo,
and then some sixty miles up that river. On the passage
up are several islands, some of them a mile or more in
length, that near the junction of the three rivers being
Kykoveral, which was one of the principal settlements of
the Dutch (recently, I understand, used for a leper asylum).
Besides the real islands one is certain to meet a large num
ber of so-called floating islands, which are commonly seen
also in the Demerara, though in less numbers. These are
composed of great masses of growing grass, which, having
spread from the river-bank, have been torn away when the
1 This settlement was a prison for persons convicted in the colony and
sentenced to penal servitude. 84

COCO-NUT PALM 85
water has risen to an unusual height. Once let loose, they
float up and down with the tide, and as the ebb, assisted
by the stream, is of course the stronger, they eventually
are carried into the sea, though sometimes occupying many
days in getting there. I have occasionally seen small trees
growing on these islands, so it is evident that there was soil
on them, which must have lodged there before the support
ing grass became detached from the land. Population on
the Essequebo was in my time still more sparse than on
the Demerara ; and probably seemed even less numerous
than it was owing to the practice of concealing residences
from view with a mass of foliage in front. To one passing
up the centre of the river the banks appear to present an
almost unbroken line of forest ; and it is only on nearer
approach that one saw here and there a narrow boat channel
and one or two coco-nut palms, indicating the existence of
a house at the back.
The mention of the coco-nut palm reminds me of a
peculiarity of this tree, which though probably familiar to
naturalists, I have found to be by no means generally
known to others. I refer to its extreme liking for salt.
According to my somewhat varied and extended experi
ence in the Southern and Eastern Oceans, as well as in
the West Indies, this tree naturally bears well only in the
immediate neighbourhood of the sea, and the quantity of
fruit steadily diminishes with distance inland. I have
occasionally seen one or two nuts on a tree near water
which is now and then brackish ; but at a distance of only
a few miles from salt water these palms, though often
appearing healthy and well grown, were all, except in one
instance, absolutely barren. The exception was noticed
by me on the Demerara, and when I remarked on the
unusual circumstance, the proprietor informed me that
he produced a crop on the tree in question by artificial
means. Whenever he finished a barrel of salt fish or pork,
he poured the whole of the brine on the roots. He did
not consume enough salt provisions for the service of more

86 BRITISH GUIANA
than one tree, so that the others, of which there were several,
all remained barren.
The Massaruni penal settlement has often been described
by travellers. A day or two before I arrived on one occa
sion a monster herd of peccaries, in attempting to cross the
river, was attacked and hundreds killed by the occupants
of boats collected from all directions. It may be imagined
how formidable would be the meeting of such a crowd in
the forest.
The large expanse of water in front of the settlement
gave me more than once an opportunity of observing at
how great a distance one can hear the sound of equatorial
rain falling in the forest. One heard the dull roar for over
five minutes before the effect of the rain became visible, by
falling into the water at the further bank of the Essequebo,
some two miles away. As the storm then took over ten
minutes more to reach the settlement, it may be gathered
that the rain must have been at a distance of at least three
miles when the sound of it was first heard.
The children of Captain Kerr, the genial superintendent
of the settlement, were never allowed to wear shoes and
stockings and were perhaps the healthiest offspring of
white people I ever saw in the tropics, the two circum
stances being regarded by their father as cause and effect.
This may be worth the consideration of parents in hot
countries ; the more especially as, other things being equal,
the superior robustness caused by bare feet has evidence
in its favour from many quarters, and constitutes a theory
adopted in the therapeutic system of the celebrated Father
Kneipp, of Wbrishofen, which has attained so much success
in Bavaria and Austria.
While at the penal settlement I once saw what was to
me a novel and curious sight — a capon sitting on five-and-
twenty eggs. Captain Kerr informed me that this distor
tion of nature was advantageous, not only because the
number of eggs so hatched was much larger than could be
covered by a hen, but because the foster-father was more

UPPER ESSEQUEBO 87
faithful to his charge than the natural mother. I cannot
remember the process by which the quasi-maternal instinct
was induced, except that a part of it was the pulling out
of some feathers from the breast and giving the bird a dose
of spirits. I know, however, it was not a difficult one, and
as it is well known that the males of some species of birds
take turn and turn about in sitting with the females, it is
possible that the same instinct once existed in the gallina
ceous family or its ancestors, and may be easily revived.
At different times I made several journeys into the in
terior, starting from the Massaruni settlement. One of
these was up the Cuyuni, to the diggings of the British
Guiana Gold Company, an enterprise which, initiated in
1864, had but a short existence. An account of this
journey written at the time is given in a separate chapter.
Between the first rapids of the Essequebo and the lower
path used by me between it and the Demerara, there is
much beautiful scenery. Though with little high ground
on either bank, the river is interspersed with beautiful
islands, and in several places divided into many separate
channels, containing rapids more or less dangerous to
navigation even in small boats. On one occasion I was
ascending one of these rapids in a large barge belonging to
Captain Kerr. The rest of the party, which included two or
three other Europeans, had gone ashore to walk along the
bank, while the boat was being dragged up by a number of
men hauling at a long rope. Two Indians (Arawaks)
remained with me, one at the bow and one at the stern,
each fortunately wielding a large paddle. While lying
down in the tent, imagining myself in perfect security, I
was admiring the grand sight afforded by the great river
lashed into white foam for several hundred yards in front
of me, watching too with interest the struggles and tumbles
of the men as they tugged against the great rush of water.
Suddenly I became aware that the boat had reversed its
course, and was going rapidly down-stream. The rope had
snapped, and we were running headlong down the rapids,

88 BRITISH GUIANA
after having, by the labour of some two hours, nearly
reached their head. The swamping of the boat seemed
inevitable, in which case my fate would have been sealed ;
as in a rapid so full of rocks even the Indians with their
wonderful powers of swimming would have had but little
chance of escape. At this crisis there was not presented
to my mind an instantaneous picture of my past life, such
as others have described in similar circumstances. My sole
thought was of getting out of the tent and rid of my
clothes as quickly as possible, and this I achieved with a
rapidity which the spectators described as marvellous.
The excitement of the moment enabled me to drag off in
a few seconds a pair of long boots, which, under ordinary
circumstances, would have taken as many minutes. By
this time the boat was hurrying along at a tremendous
speed in a position diagonal to the stream. I was not left
long in suspense ; for almost immediately the stern grated
heavily on a rock, and the bow, still in deep water, swung
round until we were at right angles to the bank. This,
ordinarily the most dangerous position of all, now proved
our safety. In an instant we were at the edge of a long
eddy in which the water coursed upward ; and the Indians,
who had seemed up to now paralysed and helpless, at once
recovered courage. Dashing in their paddles, they with a
few frantic strokes brought us into safety — the whole
occurrence having occupied probably not more than two or
three minutes of time.
While encamped overnight on an island not far above
the head of these rapids during a short trip made with
Mr. Quintin Hogg (of London Polytechnic fame), my
companion started to swim across a channel of the river
some hundred and fifty yards wide. The stream was not
very rapid, and for a strong swimmer, as he evidently was,
there was no reason for alarm on that account. But
noticing unusual excitement among the boat hands, I was
informed on inquiry that that part of the river was greatly
infested with perai — a flat broad fish much dreaded by the

"JIGGERS" 89
Indians owing to its propensity to take large bites of flesh
from the person of the unwary swimmer. Nothing would
induce my men to enter the water at that place. Fortu
nately, Mr. Hogg got back safely, but not before I had had
a very mauvais quart cTheure ; for, in addition to other
anxiety, the thought struck me that, had a disaster hap
pened, I, being supposed to be better " up to the ropes,"
would certainly have been held responsible.
Close to the third series of rapids I was, on another
occasion, for the first time, made alive to the extraordinary
number of "jiggers" (the Spanish chegoes) which infest
abandoned Indian settlements. I determined to use a
deserted shed as shelter for the night; and being very
tired, as soon as my hammock was slung I went straight
to it from the boat in my bare feet. The distance was not
more than thirty yards and was only traversed once again,
and yet in the next two days over twenty jiggers were
taken from my feet. The Indian process of extracting
them is by no means a painful one ; in fact, it gives rather
a pleasant sensation. It is done with a sharp piece of very
hard wood, which is far better than the needle usually
employed, as it enables the whole "sac" to be removed with
out puncture. More painful, however, is the application of
tobacco ash to the wound for the purpose of preventing
the spread of infection by killing such germs as may be
left. In the Essequebo, over a hundred and fifty miles from
the coast, animal life, apart from insects, and in the morn
ing and evening birds, was rarely visible. Caymans were
sometimes pointed out to me by the Indians, and a com
motion in the water as we approached showed where one
or more had entered it ; and the muffled roar which was
said to proceed from these creatures was common enough
at night to show that they must have been plentiful. But
I am not sure that I ever saw one ; in fact, the only wingless
animals which were ordinarily visible were the great iguana
lizards, and these only for an instant, when now and then

90 BRITISH GUIANA
one would flop into the water from an overhanging branch
at our approach.
As far as I remember, the only human beings I ever saw
in this upper portion of the river, with the exception of one
or two Canaimas, were Indians from the interior in large
canoes making their way to town for the purpose of selling
hammocks, tame monkeys, parrots, toucans, etc. These
people are always too shy to take notice of the strange
intruder on their domain, and passed by in apparently total
unconcern, the row of brown bodies bending to the paddles,
with parrots perched along the gunwale, and perhaps one
or two sakawinki or marmoset monkeys squatting on a
heap of hammocks in the bow, forming a curious spectacle.
The Guiana kingfishers, though all have apparently the
same habits as the one familiar to us in England, are very
unlike him in one respect ; being comparatively shabby in
plumage and entirely without the bright feathers of their
English cousin, a circumstance the more remarkable inas
much as birds in Guiana are generally far more brilliantly
decked than in Europe. As though to compensate for this
defect, nature has created another bird, the jacamar, also in
several varieties, all of which are singularly like the king
fishers in shape and habits, but with plumage of a beauti
fully iridescent green. They have the same habit of sitting
on low boughs over the water, of dashing off now and then
and quickly returning, but unlike them, they do not touch
the water, and their flights seem aimless. But perhaps as
they live entirely on insects, the prey seized is ordinarily
invisible at a short distance.
Fireflies are sometimes attracted by the camp fire in such
numbers as to become a nuisance. I once tried, after the
example of Waterton, to read by the light of many of them
collected in a bottle. It was possible to do so by passing
the bottle over the letters as they were read, but the opera
tion was a tedious one. I do not doubt the light would be
useful, as mentioned by Waterton, for finding a note in a
pocket-book : but as there is in the forest an entire absence

GALLINIPPERS 91
of wind, I should even for this purpose prefer a lucifer
match, which in Waterton's day was unknown. There are
two kinds of fireflies in Guiana, one of them common in
town, which emits its light from its tail, and only, I think,
when it opens its wings ; the other met exclusively in the
forest, which gives a continuous light from two round mem
branes in its head, having the effect of eyes. In Fiji I have
seen a variety of the same insect which combines both of
these lights.
Mosquitoes are not common away from the coast of
Guiana. A bluish variety sometimes paid me a visit in the
forest, but there was never more than one or two at a time.
In the towns, however, and on the coast they are a veritable
plague. The urban variety is quite distinct from the rural
one, being far more active and elusive. It would indeed
almost seem as if the continual presence of the enemy, man,
had produced special alertness against his attacks ; for how
ever quick the motion of the hand in the endeavour to kill
him, the town mosquito generally escapes ; whereas his
country cousin of the coast permits himself to be crushed
with comparative ease. On some parts of the coast these
creatures are in enormous numbers. Driving once along
the Berbice coast with an officer of police, and observing a
great number of these plagues on my companion's back, I,
with his permission, struck his coat with the flat of my hand,
and there remained a very fair impression of the palm and
fingers in dead mosquitoes. As it was midday with a
bright sun, when the insects are in least abundance, it may
be imagined what the numbers must have been at night.
There is a less common variety of mosquito, the
" gallinipper," which, unlike the others, drives into the
flesh so long a proboscis that when it is entirely inserted
the creature seems to be standing on his head. Some years
before my time, when troops were quartered in New Am
sterdam, Berbice, two officers after mess went out into the
marsh close to the barracks, with bared backs, for the
purpose of deciding a bet as to which would withstand the

92 BRITISH GUIANA
mosquitoes the longer. They were allowed to smoke. At
length one of them could bear the pain no longer, and he
began to get up, when, seeing his companion writhing with
his head buried in his arms, it occurred to him to touch his
naked back with the lighted end of his cigar. This proved
too much for endurance. The patient, jumping up, ejacu
lated, " By heavens ! I can stand mosquitoes, but I'm
hanged if I can stand a gallinipper ! "
The doubt which is commonly expressed as to whether
mosquitoes are more prevalent in tropical or temperate
regions I have good reason to share from my own experi
ence. The two places where I found them most numerous
were the Mahaicony Creek, one of the smaller rivers which
falls into the sea east of the Demerara, and on the Lake
St. Clair in Canada, where I was once duck-shooting. In
either place it was impossible to open one's mouth after
dark without a number going down the throat, and even
before dark, by a rapid motion of the hand, one could make
a visible lane in the dense cloud surrounding one's head.
In Newfoundland, also, as regards the unsettled districts,
I found them almost equally numerous. With reference to
the recent discovery of mosquitoes as the source of malaria,
it becomes of special interest to inquire into the cause of
the common experience that malaria is usually most viru
lent on the windward, and not, as might be expected, on
the leeward side of the marsh, where mosquitoes are bred
and malaria is supposed to arise.
During my service in the Upper Demerara River district,
taking advantage of short periods of leave, I made two
expeditions with Sir William Holmes, one up to the head
cr Mahaicony Creek (which after a course of some eighty
miles in length falls into the sea to the east of Demerara)
and one to the Waini River. Sir William was interested in
the production of balata, a gum which is contained in the
bully tree, bearing a close resemblance to gutta-percha,
and said to be quite equal to it for non-conducting pur
poses. Though the tree in question is abundant in Guiana,

RIVER WAINI 93
especially about the lower courses of the Waini and the
Barima, the cost of labour is too great for obtaining gum
in sufficient quantity by the process of tapping. To meet
this difficulty, Sir William conceived the idea of crushing
the bark of felled trees by machines, several of which he
had at work in different parts of the colony. Unfortu
nately this process extracted from the bark other ingredients
besides the gum, which was thus rendered valueless, and so
the enterprise failed. If, however, there should be some
day discovered an inexpensive means of separating the
tannin from the gum, the millions of bully trees in Guiana
would thus be rendered available for increasing the world's
supply of gutta-percha, of which the continual rise in price
shows that it has become very inadequate to the demand.
In the expedition to the Waini we went by sea to
Plantation Anna Regina, at the extreme end of the culti
vated portion of the coast beyond the Essequebo. There
we took to a tent-boat, and proceeded by a canal which
connects this plantation with the Pomeroon River. Descend
ing that river to a point near its mouth, we entered the
Moruca channel, which connects the Pomeroon with the
Waini. Another channel connects the Waini and the
Barima ; and had we chosen, we might have entered the
Orinoco and, without leaving the boat, have ascended it
and its tributaries to the immediate neighbourhood of
Santa Fe de Bogota, making altogether a journey of some
thing like 2,000 miles, all by fresh-water navigation. But
we went no further than the Barima, and after spending
two days on the Waini returned by the route we came, the
journey occupying some ten days altogether. After leaving
Anna Regina, the only white man seen was Mr. McClintock,
the Superintendent of Rivers and Creeks of the Pomeroon
district, at whose house on that river we spent a night both
going and returning. McClintock was a singular character,
who, however, earned liking and respect from all who came
in contact with him. He had for years lived a solitary life,
surrounded only by Indians, of whom his knowledge was

94 BRITISH GUIANA
unsurpassed. As he was the only educated man in the
colony with similar experience, I always regretted that I
was able to see so little of him. His visits to the civilised
part of the colony were very rare ; and so this was the first
as well as the last time we ever met.
When in the Moruca channel on that journey we came
to a long-abandoned Catholic missionary station called,
I think, San Antonio. The building, though much dilapi
dated and with vegetation forcing itself through the walls
in all directions, nevertheless afforded enough shelter to
induce us to spend the night there. When preparing to
sling our hammocks we were astonished to see what looked
like a black curtain hanging from one of the rafters. On
closer inspection this turned out to be entirely composed
of bats hanging to one another by their feet, with their
heads downwards. We were told they were vampires.
As the windows had altogether disappeared, and there
were abundant other openings in the building which did
not form part of the original design, it was impossible to
get rid of the creatures altogether. During the whole
night we were disturbed by the frequent whirr of their
wings, and the boat hands, who had no mosquito curtains,
showed their belief in the blood-sucking propensity by
huddling all together in the tent of the boat with the
curtains fastened down.

CHAPTER VII
Visit to River Cuyuni, Lower Essequebo, and mouth of Massaruni — First
rapids of Cuyuni — Weight carried by Indians — Bargain with Indians —
Fast in a rapid — Arrival at gold-diggings — British Guiana Gold Company
— First touch of fever — Humming-birds (?) at night — Primitive gold-
washing— Passage down rapids — Wonderful swimming.
I HAVE in a former chapter referred to a visit paid by
me within the first few months of my service to the
gold-diggings on the River Cuyuni, and I insert here an
account of it, written immediately after my return, and
almost the only contemporary record of my impressions
now in my possession.
On Saturday, July 9th, 1864, having obtained a week's
leave from the Governor, I started on a trip to the gold-
diggings of British Guiana. It has been long known that
gold existed in the tributary of the Essequebo called the
Cuyuni. The Venezuelans, who occupy the territory at its
source, have for some years had " diggings " there. Some
miners, making their way thence towards British territory,
found pieces of auriferous quartz much nearer the mouth
of the river, and this discovery led to the formation of
" The British Guiana Gold Company, Limited." A grant
was obtained from the Government of a tract of land on
either side of Waria Creek, where the gold had been found.
This stream falls into the Cuyuni about twenty-five miles
from its mouth. The place is most difficult of access, owing
to a large number of almost impassable rapids intervening
between it and the nearest settlement. An idea of these
may be formed from a knowledge of the fact that, without
anything deserving the name of a cascade, the river in
twenty-five miles falls about one hundred and twenty
95

96 BRITISH GUIANA
feet. Owing to this difficulty in the way of the projected
enterprise, the Government was very liberal in its terms,
granting the exclusive right of mining for twenty-one
years over about thirty square miles of land. Only a few
acres of this tract, however, were known to be auriferous,
the rest being entirely unexplored, and the whole covered
by a dense forest.
I started from Georgetown in the colonial steamer at
8.30 a.m., Mr. A., the managing director of the Gold
Company, who was to be my compagnon de voyage, being
also on board. After leaving the Demerara two hours of
roughish sea brought us to the mouth of the Essequebo.
I am ashamed to say that before my arrival in Guiana this
river was scarcely known to me even by name. It is, how
ever, nearly as long as the Elbe, and has four or five tribu
taries longer than the Thames, two — the Massaruni and
Cuyuni — probably twice as long. A strong ebb tide was
against us, so that it took us nearly seven hours to reach
our destination at the mouth of the Massaruni. In this
fifty odd miles of its course the stream was, I should say,
never less than a mile wide. Islands abound, covered
down to the water's edge with dense masses of foliage.
It is thus, frequently for miles together, impossible to see
both banks at the same time. Inhabitants are few and far
between. Here and there a narrow opening in the " bush,"
and a boat at the bank, indicated the presence of a settler.
The house, however, is almost invariably concealed from
view. One solitary black, paddling a "curial," was the
only human being we saw until we reached Macouria
Creek, about thirty-five miles up. Here several sea-going
vessels were lying alongside the bank. The crews appeared
to be moving about busily on deck, the distance preventing
us from seeing what they were about. There is, however,
little doubt that they were taking in timber, the only cargo
to be obtained there. With these exceptions, nothing was
to be seen but sky, trees, and water. The colour of the
latter, as in most other rivers of Guiana, is that of porter

RIVER CUYUNI 97
or beer, according to the depth — much, in fact, like that of
a Scotch burn which has run through a peat country.
When held up to the light in a tumbler it appears, how
ever, only slightly discoloured, and is by no means un
pleasant to the taste.
A short distance up the Massaruni, itself about a mile
wide at its mouth, is Her Majesty's penal settlement for
the convicts of British Guiana. From there, after a night
passed in our hammocks on board the steamer, we started
again at daybreak. Our conveyance was a " curial," or dug
out, that is, a large tree hollowed out into a canoe-shaped
boat. Our locomotive power consisted of twelve men with
paddles. Proceeding a short distance up the same bank of
the Massaruni, we then crossed over to the other side to
get some provisions for the men at a store belonging to
the Gold Company. Here some huge rock-boulders and
an occasional house relieved the monotonous outline of
forest. A brown object appeared, motionless, on one of the
rocks, which, on nearer approach, proved to be a naked
Indian, squatting on his haunches, and fishing with a short
rod and line. His eyes were intently fixed on the water,
and he never raised his head or moved a muscle of his body,
though we passed within twenty yards of him, and such a
boat-load as ours must have been an extremely rare sight.
Only when we had gone a considerable distance did he
condescend to look up. I have observed the same be
haviour in Indians inhabiting the far interior. What
appears to be a total absence of curiosity is really shyness.
When they become acquainted with you they will examine
everything you possess with the minutest scrutiny, though
they usually pass a stranger without appearing to be aware
of his presence.
We soon reached the Cuyuni, which, at its mouth, is also
more than a mile wide. After about three and a half hours'
paddling up that river the rapids came in sight. Here we
left our curial and walked over the portage on a road
recently cleared by the Gold Company. The party con-
1. — H

98 BRITISH GUIANA
sisted of twenty, chiefly Indians and Bovianders, besides
myself and Mr. A., and even this number hardly sufficed to
carry our impedimenta, which included several days' rations
for the workmen at the diggings, besides our own canisters
and hammocks. Not for the first time was I struck by the
ease with which Indians manage to carry an enormous
weight. One sturdy little fellow had on his back, nearly a
foot below the position of a soldier's knapsack, a bunch of.
plantains weighing probably about eighty pounds, and then
took upon his head a canister of provisions weighing nearly
a hundredweight. The latter was put down once only
during a march of about five miles, which was accomplished
under the two hours. The plantains were hung on the back
by means of a broad belt, made of a single leaf, passing
across the chest and over the arms.
All along the road we heard the roar of the rapids near
us, though dense foliage prevented even a glimpse of the
water. On reaching the river again we embarked in a tent-
boat awaiting us, in which we were rowed against a rapid
current for five hours. The stream was, in many places, as
picturesque as running water, studded with green wooded
islands and banks, could possibly be, in the absence of high
ground and all signs of human existence. Occasionally I
was reminded forcibly of the Thousand Islands in the St.
Lawrence, the scenery of which somewhat falls short, in my
opinion, ofthe description usually given of it by enthusiastic
travellers, owing to the wants above mentioned. Just
before starting again, an Indian, paddling alone in a wood
skin, came alongside. We saw that he had game, which
proved to be a Winebisere deer, a powie (bush-turkey), and
an accouri. " What for you sell 'um ? " says Mr. A., point
ing to them. " Knife," replies the Buck.1 " Give you
dollar — one, two, three, four shillings," rejoins Mr. A., hold
ing up that number of fingers. Buck : " No, six." Mr. A. :
" Well, give 'um here." The money was paid. The Indian
placed it alongside him without remark. (He had no
1 Buck is the local name for Indian.

HAULING BOAT UP RAPID, ESSEQUEBO RIVER

FAST IN A RAPID 99
pocket, for the good reason that he had no breeches, and
only a strip of cloth round the loins.) After handing over
the game, he looked up and pointed to his mouth.
"Soapy?"1 asked Mr. A. An infinitesimal toss of the head
signified " Yes." A large allowance of rum was handed to
him. He took it down neat with the utmost sang-froid.
Not a word or gesture of thanks. A very slight elevation
of the eyebrow on finishing the draught was the only sign
of satisfaction. Otherwise not a muscle of his face moved,
He handed back the cup, and paddled off silently as he
came. He was probably off to town to get drunk on one
shilling of the six, and while in that condition to be
cheated out of the rest — a handsome reward for a hundred
and fifty miles of paddling.
At five o'clock we reached another rapid, which it was
necessary to avoid in order to accomplish our journey in
a day. The baggage had again to be carried, this time
only a distance of a hundred yards. A large " banaboo,"
or thatched shed, had been erected here for the benefit of
people benighted on the way. Now came the exciting part
of the day. We had to pass a long rapid before dark, and
every nerve had to be strained to reach it in daylight. In
order to inspirit the men, who were beginning to show signs
of fatigue, I took a paddle myself and began to work it
vigorously, much to the astonishment of the natives. An
hour's hard work, and we reached the foot of the rapid, just
as the sun was going down. In this equatorial latitude
twilight does not last long, so that we had no time to spare.
Paddling was now useless, owing to the rapidity of the
current, and all hands had to jump into the water, some
to pull at a long rope fastened to the bow, and others to
shove. By a slow process of alternate paddling and haul
ing we got about three-quarters through the quick water,
when we suddenly stuck fast. All our strength failed to
move the canoe either forwards or backwards. It would now
have been quite dark but for the meagre light of the moon,
1 The Dutch soupfe, a little sup.

ioo BRITISH GUIANA
wanting about two days of its first quarter. A dense bank
of clouds had nearly reached us. Here was a pretty fix. At
least two hundred yards of roaring, foaming water was on
either side of us, being far too deep in many places to
admit of wading. The prospect of passing a night in an
open boat in such a position was, with rain impending, by
no means pleasant. We found at last, however, that the
canoe was fast on a narrow ledge, so that, by applying
all our force at the extremities, we managed to turn her
round, and thus got her into deep water again. We now
made various unsuccessful efforts to grope out a passage
in the darkness, each time having to go back, until at last
by a tremendous effort, stimulated by a liberal allowance of
grog served out to all hands in the water, we managed to
get through, and in a short time arrived at our destination.
A light shining on the bank announced the neighbour
hood of human beings, of whom save the Indian we had
seen none since the early morning. A house was ready
for our reception, such as I was surprised to find in this
wild neighbourhood. A substantial meal also was prepared,
our voices having been heard through the still night air
long before our arrival ; and last, but far from least, there
was the cheery face of Mrs. P., the wife of the manager, to
welcome us.
I was kept awake the greater part of the night by mos
quitoes (having neglected to bring my curtain). I mention
this because, after some four months of travel on the rivers
of Guiana, this was the first time that I saw any mos
quitoes in the bush. Why they should be here and not in
the Demerara it is hard to say. To make up for this
annoyance there were no bats. Mr. P., the manager of the
Gold Company, told me he had never seen any there.
I suppose that, having been so recently settled by men,
these interesting blood-suckers, so prevalent elsewhere in
the Guiana forest, had not yet discovered so promising
a field for their operations.
The next day neither Mr. A. nor I was fit for much,

NOCTURNAL HUMMING-BIRDS 101
being tired with the long day's journey of the day before.
A pain in my back and a feeling of extreme lassitude,
Mr. A. told me, betokened " colony fever." Feeling up to
nothing, I spent most of the day in my hammock reading
the batch of the Times brought by the last mail. Mean
while I had ample opportunity of looking about me. The
house in which we were was raised many feet from the
ground on piles. It was built throughout of wood, which
had been cut and sawn on the spot. Only the nails and
glass had been brought from town. The work done on the
place in little over two months certainly did credit to
Mr. P.'s energy. I could see from the verandah that a
space of about ten acres had been cleared, and on it had
been built several large and substantial-looking "logies"
for the workmen. The river was close in front, about three
hundred yards wide, with a very rapid current. I was told
that the land opposite is an island, there being a wider
branch of the river on the other side of it. The island must
have been a very long one, as there was no sign of its coming
to an end in the long reach down which I was looking.
The following night I was astonished by a loud hum
ming, like that of a monstrous bee. I lit a candle and
found two humming-birds flying about and occasionally
dashing themselves against the windows. I could not catch
them, and they would not fly out, though I gave them the
opportunity ; so I had to endure the nuisance, and soon
went to sleep in spite of it. These little creatures announced
their presence in like manner the two following nights, dis
appearing during the day. As the bird is not nocturnal in
its habits, there was a mystery which was not solved in our
short stay.1
1 Years after the above was written, on seeing an illustration in M. Bates'
books on the Amazons, showing an extraordinary likeness in shape between
humming-birds and sphinx moths, the noise made by both in flying being also
much alike, there occurred to me, as the possible explanation of the mystery,
that the disturbers of my night's rest on this occasion might not have been
humming-birds at all, but specimens of the insect which imitates them so
strangely.

102 BRITISH GUIANA
July 12th, 1864. I was ill all day with unmistakable
fever, and was thus unable to accompany Mr. A. " aback,"
whither he went to inspect the gold-washing. I managed,
however, in the afternoon to stroll over a little hill close by
the house. It was almost entirely composed of quartz
boulders. Being unable to find in these a single trace of
gold, and knowing that this was to be the site of the crush
ing machinery, and this the stone to be operated on, I almost
came to the conclusion that the company would not pay.
When, however, in the evening I told Mr. A. my impressions
about the absence of gold from the quartz, he smiled quietly
and said he could convince me to the contrary before we
left. The next day, after coffee, we started with Mr. P., the
manager, for the washing-ground. The latter is situated
on a little creek two miles from the river. A road thither
had been made through the bush, that is, the trees had
been cut down, leaving an avenue about twelve feet wide.
In other respects morass would better describe what we
walked upon. Labour and perseverance, such as employed
by Stephenson on Chat Moss, would be required to justify
the name of road. However, we waded through at last,
and found the diggers hard at work. A space of about
two acres had been cleared, and two logies erected for the
workmen, who preferred sleeping there to the walk out and
in. A little brook had been dammed to form a reservoir.
The dam appeared to be unnecessarily strong for so small
a body of water, being composed of a double row of piles
with clay puddled in between. I was informed, however,
that a barrier nearly as strong had been swept down a few
weeks previously by one night's rain. Nowhere in the
world, I imagine, is the proverb, " It never rains but it
pours," more true than in Guiana.
(Here follows, in the original, a minute description of
the gold-washing process as I saw it. Being the primitive
mode adopted in the early days of Californian and
Australian " diggings," it has been so often described that

RUNNING RAPIDS 103
its details may be omitted here. It may be mentioned,
however, that the soil being washed was taken from a
stratum of yellow clay about two feet thick and about two
feet below the surface, and that when a large barrelful had
been washed, I had the satisfaction of seeing a few grains
of gold drop through the small residue of heavy black sand
which was left by the process.)
The rain poured down in torrents during the whole of
our walk home, rendering the road even less " negotiable "
than before.
During our absence one of the large boulders near the
river had been blasted. Many of the pieces contained
small specks of gold, and, according to Mr. A., stone
of that character would give about five ounces to the ton,
whereas two ounces would pay handsomely. I hope for
the sake of the company that all the stone in the neigh
bourhood is like this. I have, however, strong doubts on
the point, as much of it appeared to my inexperienced eye
as of a very different character. Besides, only boulders
are apparent, and though possibly rich veins exist, it is
problematical whether the capital of the company will hold
out until they are found. The following day we started
homewards. Our speed down-stream was a great contrast
to the long and weary toil upwards, and we accomplished
in five hours what had before taken twelve. Instead of
walking over the path, we " ran " the rapids. This was an
operation more exciting than safe, several lives having been
already lost by it in the year the company has been at
work. The water was so low that one of the rapids had
become a cataract, which it was impossible to pass by
" running." So the boat was brought to shore and turned
round with her stern to the water. She was then dragged
out into the current by a long rope tied to her bow, all
hands wading, some holding the rope and others the gun
wale of the boat. In this way we were gradually lowered
down the fall, and also down about a hundred yards of
rapid below it. When the water was too deep for wading,

104 BRITISH GUIANA
some of the hands would swim down to a rock, one of them
holding the end of the rope, the others meanwhile holding
the boat, and only letting her go when their companions
were safe on terra firma.
These half-breeds swim in a wonderful manner. For pure
amusement they would throw themselves into and under a
current running faster than the fastest mill-stream with sharp
rocks jutting out in every direction. In a few moments
they would reappear scrambling out a hundred yards down,
laughing and screaming in a way which showed clearly that
they were not out of breath. It was a marvel that they had
not been dashed to pieces. I was told, however, that they
only use one hand in swimming, the other being held out to
act as a buffer.
We found that the superintendent of the penal settle
ment was absent from home, and not expected until next
day. As the steamer had gone and there was no other
means of conveyance but what he could afford us, we were
compelled to await his arrival. The next afternoon he
came, and kindly lent us his large boat with a crew of ten
convicts. After pulling the whole night, with the exception
of a very short rest when the tide was too strong against us,
we arrived by daybreak at Plantation Philadelphia, whence
there is a road along the coast the whole way to the Deme
rara. The boatmen sang, or rather yelled, during the whole
passage, rendering sleep impossible. As they do not pull
as well without this licence and time was an object to us,
we let them have their way. That they were in a condition
to pull and sing for twelve hours with scarcely any inter
mission argued well for their treatment at the settlement.
Having procured a conveyance, we arrived at Georgetown
about noon.

CHAPTER VIII
Visit to England in 1865 — " Mad blood " and its cure — Cannes — Race between
English gig and French naval boats — Lord (afterwards Duke of) Abercorn
— Interview with Lord Brougham, the ex-Chancellor — His extraordinary
memory of the distant past — Administer a flogging, and its consequences —
Lady Jocelyn — Conversation with Mr. Gladstone — Witnessed Bill passed
in one day through Lords and Commons, hearing speeches from many
leading statesmen — Return to Guiana — Political condition of Colony —
Negro vanity — Act in new district ; experiences there — Mr. Crosby —
Chief Justice Beaumont — Appointed to West Coast district — My dis
agreeable position — Appointed Administrator of St. Lucia.
IN December, 1865, bad health obtained for me leave for
six months to visit England. Passing a second time
the whole panorama of lovely islands from Barbados to St.
Thomas, I embarked at the latter place on the (at that
period) great paddle-steamer Seine, which conveyed me
to Southampton in thirteen days. When informed that the
Lizard light was in sight, though still suffering from sea
sickness, I managed to crawl up on deck, and I shall never
forget my sensation on seeing the two eyes of the light
which told of home after long years of absence. Though
a similar experience was to be often repeated, its effect was
never quite the same.
Having gone down to Leamington with Frederick Somer
ville to attend the Warwickshire Hunt ball, we had dined
at the Clarendon Hotel there. Immediately afterwards
I had a severe attack of what is called in Demerara " mad
blood," an aggravated form of nettle-rash. Remembering
a remedy made known to me by Bishop Austin, I took at
once a very hot bath, and a complaint which usually
remains for many hours was so quickly cured that about
105

106 BRITISH GUIANA
half-past ten we drove to Warwick, where the ball was
held. This was a somewhat dangerous experiment in mid
winter with the snow on the ground, but being young then,
I suffered no ill effects, and enjoyed much the meeting with
several old friends.
In March, 1866, I went to the Riviera to visit my aunt
and sister at Cannes. Again the effects of a hot climate
made themselves unpleasantly evident. Lord (afterwards
Duke of) Abercorn had there an English gig, in which I
sometimes took an oar, and though I was never of profes
sional form, and had not rowed when at Oxford, much
practice in Canada and Guiana had rendered me (as I per
haps flattered myself) nearly as good as others of the crew,
and I was therefore anxious to take part in a coming race
against the boats of the French fleet. But an attack of
malarial fever prevented me from training, and the race
took place without me.
Mr. (now Captain) Philip Green, entirely untrained,
pluckily took the place at the last moment of another who
had not put in an appearance ; but, though thus heavily
handicapped, and in spite of an accident in turning the
flagship at the end of the first half of the course, the
Englishmen passed all the other boats except one, and
only lost the race by a few inches after a desperate finish
with the twelve-oared galley of the French Admiral.
Besides Mr. Green, our crew on this occasion consisted of
Lord Mount Edgcumbe, Colonel (now General Sir George)
Higginson, and Mr. Erskine, of Cardross (now Serjeant-at-
Arms of the House of Commons), with Lord Elphinstone
as coxswain, all of whom, except the last, are still alive.
Lord Abercorn, though he was not one of the crew in
the race, very frequently took an oar, and rowed a very good
one, despite the fact that, as he was proud of saying, he
already had over twenty grandchildren. He had still a
remarkably fine physique, and it was easy to understand
that when he married Lady Abercorn (who, it may be
added, combined with her fine features and figure the charm

AT VALLOMBROSA VILLA, CANNES, 1866

¦ 1 llT7v I L~*

Lord Elphinstone
Lady Ernestine Edgcumbe
Author (standing)
Sir Kenneth McKenzie, Bart.
Lieut. -Colonel Cocks (late
Coldstream Guards)

456 7 a \
Mrs. Henry Baring
Due de Vallombrosa (standing)
Lady Albertha Hamilton (now
Marchioness of Blandford)
Countess of Mount Edgcumbe
David Erskine, Esq. , of Cardross

10 11 12 13 15 10
T4
ei. Marquis (afterwards Duke) of
Abercorn (standing)
12. Duchesse de Vallombrosa
13. Col. (now General Sir) George
Higginson
14. Earl of Mount Edgcumbe

*7

19

15. Lady Georgiana Hamilton (now
Countess of Winterton )
16. Hon. Mrs. (now Lady) Hiccinson
17. Lady Elphinstone (standing)
18. Lady McKenzie
19. Mrs. (now Lady) Horatia Erskine
I. — Fiue p. 106

CANNES 107
of manner which belongs to the real grande dame) they were
regarded as the handsomest couple in England. Once
walking up from the boat he made remarks to me which
after events caused to be specially remembered. He said
he supposed that when his party came into office, he would
probably be offered Ireland, meaning the Lord Lieutenancy;
but he did not think he would accept it, as X. (mentioning
a recent holder of the office) had told him it too much
deprived his girls of London society. Shortly after my
return to Demerara I learnt that a Conservative Govern
ment had been formed, and that he had been induced to
accept the office in question, which, indeed, he filled on two
occasions, each time with distinguished success. The ex
tent of this success showed that there were latent in him
unrecognised abilities which required only the occasion to
evoke them. In connection with the above remark, it may
be mentioned as curious that all the daughters, both of
himself and of the previous Lord Lieutenant whom he
quoted, became the wives of husbands who either were at
the time, or afterwards became, peers.
Cannes had at this time, as compared with now, a very
small English society. Balls and dinner-parties were
comparatively rare, the principal social amusement being
picnics, of which two or more took place every week.
During my stay at Cannes I had an interesting interview
with the celebrated Lord Brougham. Coming out of church
one day, he said to my aunt : " Lady Grey, I hear the
Governor of Demerara is staying with you, and I should so
much like to see him." He had, at the time, so entirely
lost his memory as regards the people about him that his
mention of her name was remarkable. The cause, probably,
was that it was that of her brother-in-law, the Lord Grey,
of the Reform Bill, who was so closely connected with his
official life, and especially with the singular episode which
marked its close. Though the attempt was made to
explain to him what was the actual nature of my office,
nevertheless, when I visited him a few days after, he still

108 BRITISH GUIANA
regarded me as Governor of Demerara. After putting to
me various questions with regard to the present state of
the colony, he gave me a most interesting account of its
condition at the time of the court-martial on the missionary
Smith, in connection with which case he made one of the
earliest of the great speeches of his life. His familiarity
with minute details of the events of that time was extra
ordinary, this being one of many instances when memory
of the distant remains vivid when that of the recent past
is altogether extinguished. The notes made of our con
versation, which lasted for over an hour, have unfortunately
been lost. I, however, remember this of him. At the time
I had never previously heard of the missionary Smith, the
memory of whose grossly unjust trial and brutal treatment
had already, I think, died out in the colony; but being
deeply interested in what was then told me, and especially
so because the spirit manifested in connection with the
court-martial in question had, notwithstanding the aboli
tion of slavery, by no means altogether disappeared from
the colony, I subsequently read up the subject, and was
then astonished at the accuracy with which the veteran
lawyer had, after the lapse of forty-two years, restated the
facts of the case and his arguments in connection with it.
During his relation he became much excited by a revived
indignation. With one hand he took repeated pinches of
snuff, which before the end of the interview was abundantly
sprinkled over his shirt-front, while his other hand made
quick gestures as though he were addressing a large
audience. I saw him only once again, at a party given
by the family in his villa. During the evening he walked
through the room, taking, as far as I saw, no notice of any
one, and apparently unconscious of what was going on—
a truly pathetic spectacle.
Another episode of my stay at Cannes naturally made
on me a deep impression. A concert for a charitable object
was being given by Madame Goldschmidt (the celebrated
Jenny Lind), and one of the singers who took part in it

AN ADVENTURE 109
was a Count H., a Belgian of a well-known family. During
his performance there was manifest excitement among
some of those present, and it subsequently became known
that this man had on several occasions grossly insulted
Englishwomen whom he happened to meet in out-of-the-
way places. The indignation of those specially concerned
was naturally not lessened by the report that the man had
been boasting of his misdeeds at the club, though pre
sumably the description had fallen very short of their real
gravity. At a conference of men principally concerned
it was considered out of the question to prosecute, as that
would have involved the giving evidence by the aggrieved
in court. Finally, it was decided to give the man a thrash
ing, as the only available security against a repetition of
his proceedings. After some days of looking for him in
vain in the outskirts of the town, I met him in one of the
principal streets. I was armed with a thick " supplejack "
— a flexible stick made from a liane of the Guiana forest —
the blows of which, though exceedingly painful, could do no
permanent harm. He was of a size equal to my own, and
had also a good stick in his hand ; but he made no defence
when I began to beat him, and ran off, I pursuing him and
administering repeated blows until he reached a house into
which he rushed headlong and escaped.
Immediately afterwards I learned to my dismay that the
house in question was that of the mayor, and that Count H.
was a lodger or guest there. Without a moment's delay,
and as it proved most fortunately, I went to see the Due de
Vallombrosa, who was then one of the principal landowners
of the place, for the purpose of asking his advice. He had
been educated in England, was fond of English sports and
pastimes (including boxing), and with the aid of a charming
wife, who belonged to one of the best families of France
(Des Cars), made his house an agreeable rendezvous for the
English, as well as for French Legitimist society. As he had
been most kind and hospitable to me, and had had a long
acquaintance with the place and its people, while all of the

no BRITISH GUIANA
victims of the offence which I had punished were more or less
intimate with his wife, he at once occurred to me as the best
adviser with respect to the course to be taken. I stated the
case to him, and just as I finished my story, who should be
announced but the mayor himself! He was in a violent
passion, and when he learned who I was, if looks could
kill, he would certainly have made an end of me there and
then. His French poured out at such a rate that my
unaccustomed ear could not keep pace with it, though the
words "prison" and "cachot" were unpleasantly prominent.
I remained silent, as also did his other hearer. When, how
ever, the philippic had come to an end, the latter, after
relating the acts which preceded my action, said : " Yes,
Monsieur le Maire, M. Des Vceux, though he was ignorant
that the premises entered were yours, and deeply regrets the
intrusion, has of course broken the law, and will patiently
bear the penalty. But you must allow that the provocation
was very great, and, having now heard the circumstances,
that the punishment inflicted was not more severe than was
richly deserved. He will, if so sentenced, go to prison with
out murmur ; but he will certainly write to his Times in order
to show what Englishwomen may henceforward expect to
suffer here without available redress. Now you know, Mon
sieur le Maire, that the English visitors have much enhanced
the value of your property as well as mine ; and this case
when made public is not likely to render the place attrac
tive to them, while it will be disagreeable to you personally
to have it known that you have harboured such a black
guard in your house."
Seeing that this speech had had effect, I then expressed
my deep regret for my unconscious offence against the
dignity ofthe mayor's position, adding that, in his ignorance
of the circumstances, his indignation was only natural. After
the Duke had thrown more oil on the troubled water, the
interview ended satisfactorily, and the mayor and I shook
hands with mutual expressions of esteem.
Count H. immediately left Cannes, and shortly afterwards

LADY JOCELYN in
I heard that the wretched man, probably overcome with
shame, had committed suicide. The news gave me much
pain, but there was consolation in the thought that I had
done nothing avoidable, and that the death of such a man
could not be a great loss to anyone ; for it appeared that he
had had to leave Belgium for offences similar to those he
had committed at Cannes.
At Cannes I was fortunate to see much of Lady Jocelyn,
who had come there for her daughter's health ; fortunate,
not only because she was a specially charming and agree
able woman, but because her subsequent intervention had
probably much effect in relieving me from a painful position
and thus beneficially changing my whole career. The
daughter of Lady Palmerston (by her first husband, Lord
Cowper), and having made an early marriage, which seemed
in every way desirable, her early life gave promise of ex
ceptional happiness, while the sweetness and amiability of
her disposition seemed to be the last to deserve the cruel
fate which awaited her. Only a very few years after her
marriage her husband, after going one evening1 in good
health to the Tower, where he was on duty, died the next day
of Asiatic cholera ; and when dying herself of a lingering
illness before reaching old age, she had already suffered
the loss of all of her four children.
On my return from Cannes I spent some days at Drake-
lowe, a place then occupied by my cousin, (Sir) Henry
William Des Vceux, having been left to his wife (Lady
Sophia2) for life by her first husband, Sir Roger Gresley.
Relations with whom one does not happen to be intimate
are not apt to be always agreeable ; and as the party in the
house was a very small one, I scarcely expected my expe
rience on this occasion to be a very pleasurable one. But,
in fact, I have rarely had as much enjoyment from a country-
1 The cholera was rife at the time in and around the Tower, where Lord
Jocelyn's Militia Regiment was quartered, and though not bound to do so, he
had felt it his duty to sleep there, so as to incur the same risk as his men.
2 Daughter of Lord Coventry (7th Earl).

iiz BRITISH GUIANA
house visit. One of the guests was our cousin, Lord
Anglesey (the second Marquis), who, to say the least, was
very " good company," and our host having in him a large
fund of ready and genial wit, they kept up between them a
continuous flow of good stories, interspersed with good-
natured " chaff" and quick repartee, which were to me speci
ally entertaining as being in such strong contrast with my
recent colonial experiences. Of these stories, among many
others more amusing, only one has remained on my
memory. Mrs. X., the wife of a great railway magnate
(once much courted as being capable of making the fortunes
of others besides his own), was being taken down to dinner
by the host at  House, when, seeing a statue in the
hall, and being told that it represented Achilles, she said :
" Oh, one of your lordship's ancestors, I suppose."
One day there came over to look at some thoroughbred
racing foals with a view to their purchase Captain Machell,
who afterwards became so well known on the turf. He was
then a young man, tight-trousered and otherwise " horsey "
in appearance, and he struck me as shrewd beyond his
years — in fact, I surmised that if he bought the foals, as I
believe he did, he would not have the worst of the bargain.
My cousin Henry William (whom I designate thus to
distinguish him from by brother Henry Dalrymple, who
subsequently succeeded to the baronetcy) was a member
of the Jockey Club, and usually had a few horses in train
ing. One of them of former years had been named " Heart-
breaker " ; and being curious as to the origin of this name,
I asked his wife on the subject. She told me that the horse
had, as a two-year-old, run a dead heat with two others
(Hernandez, afterwards winner of the Two Thousand
Guineas, and Ariosto) for a race at Newmarket, and she,
having expected him to win easily, was grievously disap
pointed at the failure. Hence the singular name.
Just previous to my return to Guiana I had an interest
ing conversation with Mr. Gladstone. I happened to be
at an evening party at his house in Carlton House Terrace ;
and when he heard from Frederick Cavendish where I was

TALK WITH MR. GLADSTONE 113
serving he became much interested, and detained me in
conversation a considerable time after most of the guests
had taken their departure. He asked me many questions
as to the condition of the colony, as to the extent to which
it had recovered from the effects of slavery abolition, as
to the state of the emancipated negroes, and of the coolie
indentured labourers (about which I then knew compara
tively little), and as to the continued existence of several
estates of which he knew the names. He did not tell me,
and I did not then know, that his family had owned pro
perty and slaves there ; and I was naturally struck, there
fore, by the extraordinary extent and minuteness of his
local knowledge. His reputation for interest in the Colonies
was at the time not great, and this, if it were to be
taken as an average sample of his acquaintance with them,
was therefore the more wonderful. When I afterwards
came to know the facts, his knowledge ceased to be so
astonishing, though it was still remarkable, considering that
some thirty years had elapsed since his family's connection
with the colony had ceased. There was, however, another
circumstance which rendered this conversation specially
noteworthy. Mr. Gladstone then held the position of
Chancellor of the Exchequer, and on a motion from what
was called " The Cave of Adullam," a debate in the House
of Commons had been adjourned on which depended the
fate of the Ministry. The motion was eventually carried,
causing his resignation ; and it was no ordinary man who
at such a crisis could so divert his thoughts as to be able
to talk with evident interest to an almost unknown stranger
upon so comparatively unimportant a subject. I may men
tion here that years afterwards, when on a visit to Lord
Sherbrooke (better known as Mr. Robert Lowe) at Cater
ham, I understood him to say that the first speech he had
heard made by Mr. Gladstone in the House was one in
defence of slavery,1 for the abolition of which his family
1 I believe this to have been a mistake, and that the speech was not in
favour of slavery, but against sudden emancipation.
I. — I

H4 BRITISH GUIANA
received compensation. As Mr. Lowe was not then a
Member of Parliament, I presume he must have been there
as a visitor ; but perhaps I misunderstood him as to his
having himself heard the speech.
While in England on this occasion I was a frequent
visitor to the House of Commons, where by the friendly
intervention of Frederick Cavendish or Alfred Denison,
the Speaker's secretary,1 I usually obtained a seat under
the gallery, now become a much rarer privilege. In one
of these visits I was fortunate enough to witness a
very exceptional occurrence, viz. the passing of a Bill
through all its stages on the same day, and also to hear
most of the leading speakers on both sides — Gladstone,
Disraeli, Lord Cranborne (now Lord Salisbury), John Bright,
John Stuart Mill, and others. Mill, though the matter of
his speech was excellent, had a manner of delivery which,
in Oxford parlance, savoured of " donnishness." What I
heard from most of the other speakers only answered the
expectations which had been formed from their reputations ;
but as I had known little of him previously I was surprised,
as well as much struck, by a remarkable speech from The
O'Donoghue, the effect of which, in my opinion, was im
proved by a slight brogue, as well as by a fine presence
and easy delivery. The subject of discussion was an Irish
Coercion Bill ; and after it had passed the Commons I went
into the House of Lords, and there also saw it pass through
all its stages, hearing at the same time speeches from Lord
Russell (better known as Lord John) and Lord Derby, the
father of the two Ministers, each of whom was subsequently
my chief at the Colonial Office.
Some months after my return to Guiana a Government
letter informed me that, in consequence of the absence of
the senior magistrate, I had been appointed to act in the
east coast and east bank Demerara district. This com
prised the east bank of the Demerara for some fifteen
miles up to the southern limit of my own district and
1 Brother of the Speaker and my stepmother.

POLITICAL CONDITION OF COLONY 115
about an equal portion of the cast coast, Georgetown
being in the centre. It contained a considerable number
of important sugar estates besides several negro villages,
including Plaisance, the largest in the colony. I cannot
say I liked the prospect of the change ; but when I ex
pressed to the Acting Governor how more than willing I
should be to be left in my own district, usually considered
much less desirable, he informed me that as being one of
the only two magistrates with legal training I had been
chosen on that account.
In order that my reluctance may be understood, some
description is necessary of the constitution and condition
of the colony. Trollope had termed the government of
British Guiana a "despotism tempered by sugar." It
appeared to me rather a despotism of sugar — and a sugar
which in this, as in some human constitutions, is apt to
turn acid. Though the legislative body, the Court of
Policy, had a bare majority of officials, some even of these
were permitted, as I think improperly, to own, or to be
pecuniarily interested in, sugar estates, while the whole of
the unofficial members owed their position and livelihood
to the same product. Again, the additional members, com
posing with the Court of Policy "the Combined Court,"
which alone had the power of voting supplies, were nearly
all either directly interested in sugar as managers of
estates, or were carrying on a trade which chiefly depended
on it. The revenue also was largely affected by the sugar
crops, and that depended on a regular supply of labourers
from the East. For though the negro is by fits and starts
a far more effective workman than the coolie, it is only
where, as in Barbados, density of population renders it
difficult to obtain a livelihood otherwise, that reliance can
be placed on him by the average employer for that regu
larity of work, or that special work in emergency, which is
absolutely necessary not only for sugar, but for coffee,
cacao, and, in fact, all of the more valuable West Indian
exports. It may be easily understood, therefore, that the

"6 BRITISH GUIANA
Governor, while of course bound largely to consider the
sugar interest, required to be, in an exceptional degree,
strong and upright, in order to act independently of that
interest for the welfare of the unrepresented classes which
are the great majority of the population. Unless almost
superhumanly politic also, his independence would meet
with unmitigated abuse from the Press, he would have had
a social life very far from agreeable, and might even have
failed to obtain necessary supplies.
Very early in my career I had observed with dismay the
effect produced on officials by this condition of things, and
the awe in which the omnipotent planter was held by those
of them who, not having been brought up in a West
Indian atmosphere, were not always inclined to fall in with
his view. I had, moreover, when occasionally holding a
court for a brother magistrate, seen enough of the system
of coolie indentured labour to dislike extremely the task of
enforcing its draconic laws. Before I knew that such a
task was to be imposed on me, I had expressed freely this
dislike, with my reasons for it, in a letter to Lord Frederick
Cavendish, who, as I knew, sympathised strongly with my
views on the subject. When, in the angry excitement
caused by my representations to Lord Granville, subse
quently referred to, it was alleged against me that this
dislike was due to personal feeling against planters, Lord
Frederick considerately published this letter, in order to
show that my view had been formed when I was still in the
Upper Demerara district, and when, as I had had at the
time scarcely any relations with planters, personal feeling
against them was impossible. So the existence of this letter
proved to be fortunate.
But however disagreeable the task before me, it had to be
faced, and my life, which, owing to the comparatively small
amount of official work, had up to this time been largely
occupied in the observation of nature, was now to be mono
polised by labour which became more and more distasteful
as time went on.

NECxRO VANITY 117
As Georgetown was now in the centre of my district, I
arranged to live there, and to " keep house" with my friend
Sir William Holmes, whose family was in England. The
mention of his name recalls an amusing incident occurring
about this time, and curiously illustrating the extreme fond
ness for display which characterises the lower class of negro.
Sir William's housekeeper had suddenly lost her husband,
and seemed to be plunged in the deepest grief. She had
received assistance towards the funeral, which she had
caused to be made as imposing as possible, after the foolish
custom which is prevalent in other parts of the world
besides Demerara. On her return she was asked whether
the ceremony had gone off to her satisfaction, when she
replied : " Ah, funeral too sweet, Massa — fourteen silk
umbrellas!" The fact of this special respectability of follow
ing had much tempered, and for the moment had entirely
overcome grief, which was, nevertheless, undoubtedly gen
uine. An amusing illustration of the same weakness is
given by Trollope, in his story of the two young black
girls, who each, going to church, took by turns the part of
the finely dressed lady and the kerchief-turbaned servant
carrying the prayer-books behind her. One of these young
ladies was afterwards pointed out to me by a West Coast
planter, who confirmed the truth of the story.
In the new district I found the cases to be tried very
numerous, and the great majority of them, though of small
importance, presented difficulties in the way of ascertain
ing the truth, which, if justice were to be done, required
much patience in overcoming them. Even with three to four
courts a week I was continually obliged to sit far into the
afternoon ; and I was vain enough to consider myself not
so inferior in brains to the other magistrates as to preclude
continual wonder how it was that they managed to dispose
of sixty to eighty cases in the course of three or four hours.
The difficulties were caused by (1) lying, which in the case
of the Indian coolie indicated such fertility of imagination
and invention of pictorial detail as almost to amount to a

n8 BRITISH GUIANA
fine art ; (2) by extreme want of intelligence on the part of
many of the witnesses ; and (3) chiefly, by the necessity of
employing interpreters in the majority of cases. These
were never good, speaking and understanding English very
imperfectly, and sometimes knowing the witnesses' lan
guage but little better; while frequently I had reason to
suspect, and sometimes was morally certain, that they had
been rendered even more incompetent by bribery. At
nearly every court there was required interpretation for
two or three Indian languages and one or more varieties of
Chinese ; while rarely a week passed without cases in which
witnesses or "parties" spoke only Portuguese or some
dialect of savage Africa. In the latter case to get anything
beyond the vaguest idea of what was said was sometimes,
even with the employment of the utmost patience, im
possible. As regards the character of the cases to be dealt
with, there was rarely a court day without one or more
serious charges, either of the gravest crimes, such as
murder, wounding with intent, etc., the evidence of which
had to be carefully recorded for trial by the Supreme
Court ; or of offences, some of them scarcely less serious,
such as plantain-stealing in gangs, practice of Obeah,
certain kinds of grave assaults and breaches of the Revenue
laws, for the first two of which the magistrate could award
up to thirty-nine lashes with a cat-o'-nine-tails, and for all
of which his jurisdiction extended to six months' imprison
ment with hard labour. Then there were in abundance
petty theft, assault, and abusive language cases, brought
not merely by Creoles,1 as in my former district, but in
about equal number by the many-tongued, indentured
immigrants, and there were also a considerable number of
petty debt suits.
But far surpassing all in number were complaints against
immigrants and free labourers for breaches of the labour
laws. While many of the other cases caused doubt and
1 Creoles are not necessarily of mixed blood, the term being applied to all
persons born in the West Indies, whether white or coloured.

PLANTATION MANAGERS no
much consideration as to where lay the truth, these were
the subject of special anxiety. The law had been so framed
and its net, covering all possible offences, was woven so
closely, that not even the smallest peccadilloes could escape
its meshes ; so that, in fact, the manager, whenever a
labourer annoyed him, had almost always in reserve some
trifling neglect or other legally defined offence on which he
could bring a complaint involving fine or imprisonment
with hard labour, or both. Though probably only a few
managers availed themselves of this power to its full extent,
I came by degrees to see that, even in the case of the most
humane, there was necessity for inquiry whether their griev
ances were really those of which they were complaining.
Now that I have the light afforded by a long official ex
perience, I am inclined to regard this matter less harshly
than I did ; and I am willing to allow that a hatred of
tyranny and a repulsion against anything indicating an
approach to slave-driving may have caused me to have
too little appreciation of the very great difficulties of the
manager's position, and that I characterised perhaps with
undue severity his occasional loss of temper.
I am not conscious that I ever did any substantial in
justice to a manager, and most certainly I did not in
tentionally run my head against a stone wall by giving an
opening to attack from the all-powerful interest which he
represented ; yet it was possibly true, what was afterwards
said of me, by the only newspaper which dared to say a
word in my favour, namely, that in my effort to stand up
right against the pressure of that interest I may sometimes
have seemed to lean backwards.
On the other hand, when tyrannous or illegal conduct,
even such as was to a certain extent excusable, was justified
in a hectoring tone, indicating that the planter's point of
view would of course be accepted, and the labourer's plea
necessarily rejected, public rebuke was plainly justifiable.
Many symptoms pointed to the fact that this kind of tone
was not merely adopted for the purpose of " trying it on "

120 BRITISH GUIANA
with a new magistrate, but was induced by previous ex
perience of facile persuasion. In fact, it became very easy
for me to understand how, without supposing great inferi
ority in myself, it was possible for other magistrates to dis
pose of the business so much more quickly than I could do.
Indeed, it is probable that here might have been found one
of the" principal causes of the universal want of confidence1
in magistrates' decisions, which was afterwards found to
exist by the Royal Commission.
While the careful examination which, for the reasons
above indicated, was required for even the most simple
cases no doubt restored confidence to the subject races, it
also probably had the effect of prolonging inquiry in other
cases as suggesting possibilities of success by means of false
excuses. But however this may have been, notwithstanding
all possible efforts to get at the truth, I feel little doubt that
I sometimes failed, and that such failure was much more
often at the cost of the labourers than of employers. For
the conviction gradually forced itself upon me that with
doctors entirely under the control of estate owners and
having so much duty imposed upon them that, however
conscientious, they could not do it otherwise than perfunc
torily, it was quite impossible in many cases to decide with
any confidence whether the labourers' excuses of illness for
failure in work were just or not. And thus, though man
agers showed a growing displeasure because of the few of
their charges which I dismissed, I was continually troubled
with the feeling that I ought to have taken this course more
often than I did.
Moreover, while the law compelled me to punish for
desertion, and the fear of causing wholesale abandonment
of the estates rendered it necessary to make this substantial,
1 A minor, though by no means insignificant, cause of this want of confidence
was the practice, which I refused to follow, of permitting the more influential
managers to sit on the bench alongside the magistrate during the trial of their
cases. For such a privilege could not but give the subject races the impression
that decisions against them were unfairly obtained.

MR. JAMES CROSBY 121
the half-starved appearance of most of those convicted
could not but raise unpleasant doubts as to the conditions
of life on the plantations which caused them to prefer to it
the precarious existence of a fugitive.
Altogether, what with work in its nature intensely dis
agreeable and in quantity such as to make physically
impossible its proper performance, what with the feeling
that while causing bitter discontent to employers, I was
probably not doing complete justice to the labourers, and
what with health suffering severely from depressed spirits
thus produced, my position was by no means an enviable
one; indeed, it was only the sympathy of three or four
warm friends which prevented it from becoming intoler
able. But for the consideration urged upon me by them
that resignation, even if it proved a relief to myself, would
certainly not lead to improved conditions, I should have
" thrown up the sponge," as I was more than once on the
point of doing.
Among these friends the principal was Mr. Crosby,
the Immigration Agent-General. Nature had made him
thoroughly kindly and courteous, and though his long resi
dence in the colony had made him so accustomed to its
atmosphere that it disagreed with him less than myself,
he on the whole regarded the immigration system much
as I did, and his patient attention to the complaints of
immigrants, even though, from want of the Governor's
support, he was but seldom able to redress their grievances,
made him so popular with them that they commonly spoke
of him with respect bordering on affection. Though he
has now been dead many years, I am told his name is still
preserved among them — the Immigration Department
being called, and still, I trust, deservedly, " Crosby Office."
As in addition to his amiable qualities and to sympathies
akin to my own, he was an educated man and a Cambridge
graduate, we became great friends. I regarded him as one
of the most upright public officers of the colony, and my
subsequent resentment against Governor A. was in no small

122 BRITISH GUIANA
degree due to his unjust treatment of Crosby, as brought
to light by the Royal Commission.
Other valued friends were Chief Justice Beaumont and
his clever and amiable wife. They occupied on Plantation
Houston, in my district, a house which had formerly been
the residence of the proprietor, and it was to their kindly
hospitality that I was indebted for some agreeable society
at a time when it was specially valuable. Mr. Beaumont
united with much legal and general ability a fearless
independence which was not at all in accord with the
spirit which had previously predominated in the colony.
Recognising, as I did, the undue consideration for plantersJ
interests which was evidently expected from the courts, he
bestowed a specially careful scrutiny upon the proceedings
of the magistrates, who he believed to be generally biassed
in this direction, and he offended the dominant class
by frequently overruling their decisions on account of
apparently trivial defects in procedure. Then his equity
training caused him to regard and to condemn with severity
the irregularities of trustees and executors, which must
have been unusually prevalent in a colony where it was
a familiar saying : " Don't make me your heir, make me
your executor." As the trustees of estates of any value
were usually men of prominence, and the cestui-que-trusts
were often coloured people, the language employed by him
in such cases, while earning for him universal respect from
the weak, added greatly to the bitterness of the strong.
But what perhaps more than all caused the enmity of the
ruling class was his disregard of what had apparently come
to be accepted by the courts as a settled principle, viz. that
when the evidence of "white" and "coloured" was opposed,
that of the " white " must necessarily prevail ; his view, that
the adoption of this principle would render the weak hope
less of redress when really injured, having been strengthened
by cases where wrong and falsehood were unquestionably
on the side of the white.
The animosity thus caused induced a hostile movement

CHIEF JUSTICE BEAUMONT 123
against the judge which received powerful co-operation from
Governor A., who did not lose the opportunity of con
ciliating those who could do so much to assist or obstruct
his policy. Mr. Beaumont was drawn into controversies
with the Executive in which he usually had right on his
side, and as he wielded a forcible pen, he would, I have no
doubt, been ultimately victorious, but that he allowed him
self to be goaded into indiscretions which laid open his
guard and gave the opportunity for a fatal thrust.
Eventually, on the petition of the Court of Policy, stren
uously supported by Governer A., Mr. Beaumont was
removed from office on the recommendation of the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council, despite the eloquent, and
to my mind convincing, appeal in his favour of Sir Roundell
Palmer (afterwards Lord Chancellor Selborne).1
But whether the Committee's recommendation was right
or wrong, I have not the least doubt that the removal of
Mr. Beaumont and the temporary triumph of Governor A.
was, in a high degree, harmful to the colony ; for it rendered
independence on the part of judges and magistrates doubly
difficult and dangerous, and I am much inclined to think
that the disturbances which subsequently occurred on
estates were, to a considerable extent, traceable to this
cause. The evil would not have been so great if the judge
had been offered another place elsewhere, as I venture to
think he ought to have been, especially after the revelations
respecting the administration of the colony which were
made by the Royal Commission. For no act of his was in
the least degree dishonourable. In fact, he had done vastly
more good by his uprightness than any possible harm from
his indiscretions, and most decidedly he did not deserve
punishment which meant his ruin. But official forgiveness
1 Sir Roundell Palmer evidently recognised that the real ground for attacking
the judge was not that put forward, and regarding this as insufficient to
warrant so heavy a penalty, he, to his great honour, sacrificed many hours of
several days in the busiest legal season by undertaking the judge's defence
gratuitously.

124 BRITISH GUIANA
is not often extended to those who cause trouble. Mr.
Beaumont remained in private life, and died a few years
afterwards of a broken heart.
I have referred to Mr. Beaumont's case in what may
appear to be somewhat unnecessary detail because it had
a very important effect upon my own future. I was one of
an exceedingly select number of Europeans who did not
disguise their sympathy with the unfortunate Chief Justice.
We took no open part with him, as that would have been
quite useless ; but our feelings were not concealed, and we
were quickly to suffer for entertaining them. Mr. Crosby,
who was the only leading official among us, shortly after
wards received that treatment from the Governor which was
condemned by the Royal Commission, while the demeanour
of His Excellency towards myself made me apprehensive
that I should in no long time feel his displeasure. The
opportunity soon came to him. The senior magistrate
having returned to his district, I had some months pre
viously taken up again the charge of my former district.
On returning from one of my journeys up the river, I
asked to breakfast with me at Hyde Park station a clergy
man who had been visiting the Chinese settlement before
referred to. In the course of conversation I expressed
disapproval of some recent Government policy. I had
never seen this person before, and have, happily, never met
him since ; but it was quickly evident that he had lost no
time in relating our conversation to the Governor. For a
few days afterwards I received a letter from the Colonial
Secretary containing a request, which was practically a
demand, on the part of His Excellency for the particulars
of this conversation. Had I been asked in a proper way
for my view on the impugned policy, I should have given
it without hesitation ; but being naturally indignant at the
use made of a private conversation by one who had taken
part in it while partaking of my hospitality, and especially
at the Governor's conduct in taking advantage of it, I met
the request with a firm, but entirely respectful refusal. I

TRANSFERRED TO WEST COAST DISTRICT 125
heard no more of this matter, but within a week came
what was, practically, the Governor's rejoinder. This was
an order to take charge immediately of the West Coast of
Demerara district.
This transfer involved the removal of my headquarters
to a distance from town, the hire of a house in the district,
and the disturbance of all arrangements for comfort which
I had made in the expectation of permanent residence.
Moreover, as the new district was one which could only be
worked by road and also extended to such a distance from
town that the use of hired conveyance was out of the
question, I had at once to purchase a carriage, horses, and
harness. As the Government allowed nothing for these
changes, and my boat and canoes had to be sacrificed for a
nominal price, the cost to me was severe. Even when such
transfers are made purely in the public interest, such ex
penses operate as a heavy fine, which ought not to be in
flicted in this form even in the case of misconduct. Of
this, however, there was no pretence in my case. For
whatever my sympathy with the deposed Chief Justice, I
had done nothing to deserve, and had never received any
thing approaching to, censure of my acts, official or un
official. But, however this may have been, it quickly
became evident that pecuniary loss was the least of the
evils which I had to suffer from the change.
Of the work of this district I need say little, except that
it was almost precisely similar to that described in connec
tion with the other sugar district in which I had acted, and
was even more disagreeable. For being compelled to live
at a distance from town, whither I could go but rarely, I
had practically no society, and having to drive on the
average from seventy-five to a hundred miles a week,
such little time as was not occupied by courts, and going
to and from them, was for the most part spent in solitude
amid the dreary surroundings of a half-abandoned planta
tion, having a pasture, usually sodden, in front of it and
the view of the sea entirely cut off by a dense row of

126 BRITISH GUIANA
mangroves at a distance of some two hundred and fifty
yards. The planters of this district were among the most in
fluential in the colony, and as they were a very united
body, their displeasure was therefore the more formidable.
But though there were some who under other circumstances
I should have liked to know well, I quickly found that
nothing beyond a distant acquaintance was possible, so
diametrically opposed were our views as to what should
be my line of conduct in court, where we were necessarily
thrown into frequent contact.
It may be imagined that under these circumstances my
life was not a happy one, and I should have found it even
more difficult to bear but for an occasional visit to my
friend Colonel Herbert,1 then in command of the troops,
who was one of the few who sympathised with my position,
and who, whenever a few days' change was required, always
afforded me a ready hospitality.
At last, after some six months of this life, the planters
having become more and more hostile, one of them in
sulted me in open court, because I had discharged from
custody two of his coolies, who, having been merely absent
from work, had been illegally arrested without warrant.
The only redress which the law permitted to me was the
removal of the offender from the court, but as he was a
Justice of the Peace, the case was one in which the Ex
ecutive might have properly intervened by offering him
the alternative of a public apology or the loss of his
commission. Meanwhile, Governor B. had succeeded Governor A., but
the change was nothing in my favour. It was King Log
following King Stork ; and so, in making application to
him, I had little hope that he would have the energy to
accord me proper support. My doubt on this point proved
to be only too well justified. While listening courteously
to my representations that Executive support to the
1 The Hon. William Herbert (now General).

APPOINTED ADMINISTRATOR OF ST. LUCIA 127
magistrates was absolutely necessary for securing a decent
measure of justice to the subject races, he declined to take
any action, being evidently too afraid of the planting in
terest to run the risk of offending it.
Under these circumstances my position became well-
nigh intolerable, and I almost made up my mind to resign
my office ; for I foresaw that if this were not done volun
tarily, it would ere long be rendered compulsory, if not by
my increasing ill-health, by concerted action on the part
of the planters, such as had proved fatal to Chief Justice
Beaumont. Before finally throwing up the sponge, however, I deter
mined to make an effort to obtain a transfer to another
colony, and I accordingly applied to Lord Granville, then
Secretary of State for the Colonies, for an appointment
elsewhere, expressing willingness to accept one even with
a smaller salary if it offered any prospect of promotion.
Magistrates in Guiana had very rarely been promoted at
all, and so far as I could ascertain, had never been trans
ferred to another colony. Though for this reason I had
little hope of success, I was quickly and agreeably dis
appointed. In less than two months from the despatch of my appli
cation a letter from Lady Jocelyn, followed the next mail
by a despatch to the Governor, announced to me the offer
of the appointment of Administrator of the Government
and Colonial Secretary of St. Lucia. Needless to say, I
gladly accepted it, though the salary was no greater than
that which I was receiving, and the house free of rent
would not be compensation for the necessary expenditure
upon entertainment. On this account the new appoint
ment was not generally held to be to my advantage, and
this consideration added to the pleasure of the sugar
magnates at my departure — a pleasure which received
emphatic expression in the daily newspaper which was
published in their interest.
From some half a dozen of friends I parted with great

128 BRITISH GUIANA
regret, though with the hope that my future residence
being at no great distance I should occasionally see them
again. As regards the coloured people, I had much touch
ing evidence of their sorrow at the loss of one of their few
sympathisers among the dominant race, and this enabled
me to feel that I had done for them at least some little
good, and that my five years in the colony had not been
altogether thrown away.
I left Guiana early in May, 1 869, my pleasure at getting
away from the colony being enhanced by the feeling that
I should henceforward be, comparatively speaking, my own
master, and that there would be now before me an opening
for ambition and the chance of doing some good work of
more than merely temporary effect.
But little as I guessed it at the moment of my departure,
Destiny had already ordained that I was to return to the
scene of my five years' official labours in Guiana.
The cause of my return was singular and my sojourn
brief — almost dramatic ; but it was to mark what up to
that moment was the most impressive page of my public
career.

CHAPTER IX
Rising of coolies in British Guiana — My letter to Lord Granville as :
causes of discontent ; its composition under pressure — Appointment
Royal Commission to inquire into Guiana immigration system — Durir
visit to Trinidad suffer from concussion of the brain ; my nervous syste
permanently injured — Proceed to Guiana to attend Commission — Am bo
cotted — Postponement of Commission — I return to St. Lucia — Sympatl
of friends — Return again to Guiana — Mr. Jenkins, author of Ginx's Bat
— Embarrassed by crowds of coolies — My difficulties — Governor's passi'
obstruction — My examination by Commission — Helplessness against libe
— Report of Commission satisfactory.
I HAD been some seven months at my new post studj
ing a new set of problems and engaged in a ne1
round of duties, when information came to me that thei
had been a rising among the coolies in Guiana, and th
Governor, in apprehension of more extended disturbano
had applied to the General at Barbados for addition;
troops. This news caused me much perturbation of spiri
What I had long feared had, or was about to, come to pass
the oppressed had risen against those who, either rightl
or wrongly, they regarded as oppressors. Believing that
knew at least some of the causes of discontent, I felt keenl
that I ought to disclose them ; but though my position no1
enabled me to do so with some probability of practicj
effect, my time was, if possible, even more fully engrosse
by immediate duties than it had been in Guiana. But afte
anxious consideration, I determined that I would writ
directly to Lord Granville, giving him my view of th
causes of what appeared to be a very grave condition c
affairs, and suggesting the directions in which remedie
were to be sought. With no time for this purpose durin
the day, in order to catch the next outgoing mail, I had t
i. — k 129

130 BRITISH GUIANA
take many hours from my night's rest. When I came to
face the subject I found myself in great difficulty for want
of notes to refresh my memory as to dates, etc. For it
may be imagined from the account of my life in Guiana
that having insufficient time for obligatory duty, I had none
whatever for a private diary, and I had also been compelled
to forego almost entirely correspondence with friends and
family in England. Moreover, I was at a distance from all
official records ; so that I was reduced to the necessity of
giving my general impressions of the state of the colony
with such illustrations of it as were possible from memory.
My letter was for these reasons defective. Had I had more
time at disposal, and in any case if I had had more experi
ence of the higher official life, I could have written with
equal force and effect, and yet with more prudent considera
tion for myself. But as it was, carried away by enthusiasm
for the cause, and by the sense of urgency, I took no account
of personal consequences, forgetting altogether that what
was so real and true to my own mind might turn out to be
very difficult of proof.
However, the letter was commenced, finished, and sent off
within a few days of the arrival of the above news, and in
order that it might be placed without the least delay under
Lord Granville's own eye, I forwarded it to Lord Frederick
Cavendish, who I knew to be on intimate terms with him,
and who at once recognised its importance.
In the course of a few weeks the information reached
me that my letter had had the effect desired : that a Royal
Commission would be appointed to inquire into the treat
ment of immigrants in Guiana, and that I should be
required to give evidence before it. I had at first unmixed
gratification at the thought that the truth would at length
be revealed ; but I did not even then recognise the full
effect of what I had written. Had I been told that my
letter was, as The Times afterwards termed it, the severest
indictment of public officers " since Hastings was im
peached for tyranny over the Lord of the Holy City of

AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT 131
Benares and over the Ladies of the Princely House of
Oude," I should have repudiated the statement with in
dignation ; for I had intended, however imperfectly the
intention was carried out, to attack not individuals, but a
system. I felt that magistrates, doctors, and others were
placed in a position in which impartiality was well-nigh
impossible, and while I mentioned cases by way of illustra
tion of my views, I gave no names and did not at the time
contemplate the necessity of their ever being mentioned.
The only exception was in the case of the Governors,
whose designation could not be avoided. But even against
them I had not a particle of vindictive feeling ; and in the
case of all others, even those who had been most em
bittered against me, I had no wish that they should suffer
at all from the inquiry. I simply hoped that they would
be taught by independent outside opinion what was due
from them to a people towards whom they all stood in a
quasi-fiduciary relation.
But that my hasty writing had permitted other views to
be taken of my action I was soon to learn to my cost.
As the Commission was not to meet for some months, and
I was in a condition from overwork which imperatively
required a change, I obtained leave of absence for a short
visit to Sir Arthur Gordon (now Lord Stanmore), then
Governor of Trinidad, whose views in respect of coolie
immigration and the subject races generally were much in
accord with my own, and who had already carried out
in Trinidad some of the reforms which I desired for British
Guiana. During this visit a fall from a horse caused me a
concussion of the brain, which rendered me insensible for
some eight hours. Sir Arthur Gordon and his private
secretary, Mr. Arthur Gordon (now C.M.G.), who kindly
watched the whole night by my bedside, informed me
afterwards that I had, while entirely unconscious of my sur
roundings, talked incessantly, and chiefly about Newman's
Apologia, which I had recently been reading ; the thought
of this book having been perhaps excited by the place in

132 BRITISH GUIANA
which, as subsequently described, I had only a few months
before met Charles Kingsley.
When I recovered consciousness, not only had I no
knowledge of this talk, but memory of the events of the
preceding weeks was almost completely extinguished, and
was never altogether recovered. This, however, was of little
consequence compared with another effect of the accident.
My nervous system was so shaken that I found it impos
sible without great strain to maintain connected thought
about any subject which caused me strong interest ; and for
months afterwards, including the whole period of my attend
ance upon the Commission, I suffered from insomnia, some
times for many days together being deprived completely of
sleep save that induced by narcotics. When proceeding some
weeks afterwards to Demerara in order to attend the Com
mission, in passing Trinidad I stayed again for a night or
two with Sir Arthur Gordon, who was on the point of quitting
the island to assume the government of Mauritius.
On my arrival at Georgetown I found that the colony
was, and had been for some months, in a state of intense
excitement. Abuse of me had been poured out whole
sale, and keepers of hotels and lodging-houses had been
threatened with boycott if they presumed to receive me
within their doors. Such indeed was the power of the
dominant class over the livelihood of every person in the
colony, whether white or coloured, above the rank of
labourer, that it is doubtful whether I should have found
a roof to cover me, if I had not been offered hospitality by
one of the officers of the garrison, who were almost the
only independent people in the colony.
My stay in Georgetown on this occasion was only of a
few days' duration, as, delay having occurred in the forma
tion of the Commission, the sittings were not expected to
begin for some weeks. I therefore went back to my work
in St. Lucia. On touching at Barbados I happened to
mention my difficulty as regards lodging to the General in
command of the troops, who at once kindly undertook to

SYMPATHY OF FRIENDS 133
provide for my accommodation on my return during any
further time which I should require to spend in Demerara.
During the interval previous to my return, I heard that
at the instance of an old Oxford friend, Walter Morrison,
M.P. for Plymouth (and lately for the Craven Division of
Yorkshire), the Aborigines Protection Society and the Anti-
Slavery Society in combination had engaged a barrister to
go out for the purpose of taking the part of the coolies
before the Commission, Morrison himself having contributed
a large sum towards the expense. This was only one of
many instances of his unpublished munificence.
Besides this mark of sympathy from an old friend, I re
ceived another about this time from a newer one, in a letter
from Arthur Gordon. Writing under date June 29th, 1870,
from St. Thomas, when on board The Elbe, which was carry
ing him to England, he said —
" I write one line to tell you we are so far on our way and to
wish you God-speed under your present difficulties. I am hearing
you abused as I write, but I think you may get something out of
 , one of the magistrates. His wife's brother, a rather nice
young fellow, is on board, and swears that what you say is true,
though you may not be able to prove it, and that there are many
in Demerara who rejoice at the Commission."
I give this extract in order to show that there was secret
sympathy with my views on the part of at least one of the
Demerara magistrates, though for obvious reasons he never
dared to express it openly. In order to save him from the
obloquy and danger which would ensue from honest testi
mony of the kind which he was obviously able to give, or
from the temptation to dishonestly suppress it, I never called
this officer as a witness, nor made any approach to him with
a view to gain his evidence, though, as will be seen, such
support was at one time very grievously required.
On reaching Georgetown again I found that Mr. Edward
Jenkins, the barrister above referred to (well known as the
author of Ginx's Baby), had arrived more than a week be
fore me. He had already visited several sugar plantations,

134 BRITISH GUIANA
and having been much feasted by the planters, appeared to
have been somewhat biassed towards their side of the ques
tion at issue. In view of the torrent of slander which was
being poured upon my devoted head, he would scarcely
have been human if he had not been. I should mention,
moreover, that in the several months which had elapsed
since the announcement of the Commission, the planters
had made great exertions and had expended large sums
(estimated at the time in hundreds of thousands of pounds)
with a view of improving the estates for the inspection of
the Commission. Hospitals were enlarged and improved,
water-tanks erected, coolie barracks built or improved, and
yards cleansed, so that, as Mr. Crosby and others informed
me, some of the inferior estates had had their aspect
entirely altered.
In view of this outward appearance of comfort in the
coolie surroundings, I should probably have had greater
difficulty in persuading Mr. Jenkins that something was
rotten in the state of Denmark, but for the crowds of
immigrants who, from the moment of my arrival, came
from all parts of the colony to besiege me with their com
plaints. In truth, the continual pressure of these people
proved to be a very serious embarrassment. From earliest
dawn they began to collect round the little house which I
occupied on the Crown reserve adjoining the barracks, and
whenever I showed my face there came a great cry of
supplication, touching to hear, but impossible to satisfy.
When I went out I was followed, and during all the hours
of daylight I was left no peace. I did not apply to the
police, partly because I knew that the chiefs of the force
were, or were obliged to pretend to be, as bitter against me
as the rest of the white population, and chiefly because I
dreaded the rough treatment of the men who had come
looking to me for help. Some of those who had come long
distances seemed to be exhausted with fatigue and want of
food ; and my slender purse was continually being drained
to supply what appeared to be very urgent want. Possibly,

COOLIE COMPLAINTS 135
and even probably, much of this was feigned to excite com
miseration ; but time was wanting for inquiry, even were
it possible, and I could not discriminate between deserving
and undeserving. Mr. Jenkins and I, assisted by his clerk,
took down very many of their statements ; not that I held
them of much value, but rather with a view of preventing
a sense of complete disappointment. Even if the Com
missioners were unable to investigate the individual com
plaints, the general tenour of these might prove useful as
clues for inquiry. Moreover, I had the hope, which proved
to be justified, that the apparently universal sense of in
justice might have some effect, not only upon them, but
upon Mr. Jenkins, who, as before mentioned, was not at
first by any means enthusiastic for the cause which he had
come to advocate. Stories of ill-usage, arbitrary cutting
of wages, improper refusal of admission to hospital, ejec
tion from it involving obligation to work before complete
cure, denial of comforts ordered by the doctor, forcible
turnings out from dwellings to work, together with the
utter uselessness of appeal to the magistrates, came from all
parts of the colony and were reiterated usque ad nauseam.
Probably there was much exaggeration, but that consider
able reality lay beneath all this alleged grievance, could
hardly be doubted. But however this may have been, they
took up nearly the whole of my time, and left scarcely any
for work useful to the Commission.
But even with more leisure I doubt whether I could
have been very useful in this direction. Though, with
great effort and much patience, I could manage to take
down a statement, a brain weary with sleeplessness and
shattered nerves rendered me almost incapable of connec
ted thought.
Fortunately the feeling that, whatever happened to my
self, some good must come, and, indeed, already had come,
from my action, sustained me against the depressing sense
of isolation. For that isolation was almost complete. The
Governor had taken no notice of my official call ; and

136 BRITISH GUIANA
though, after persistent application, he permitted me to
have access to the books containing the list of cases which
had been tried before me, he made not the slightest offer
of assistance, and I felt it to be hopeless to have made, or
to make myself, those searches of records which were
necessary for the complete presentation of my case. As
regards others than the Governor, a few friends and
sympathisers came to me in secrecy and under cover of
night ; but, with the exception of Mr. Crosby and a mer
chant named Perot, not a single white person, and very few
others except coolies, dared to visit me in the daytime.
Even among the officers of the garrison, with whom I
messed, there were one or two whose remarks or silence
showed antagonistic sentiments. For my friend Herbert
had unfortunately left the colony, and the commanding
officer who had succeeded him was as unlike him in feeling
on this point as in every other respect.
Mr. Perot was at this time regarded as the first merchant
in the colony. Other firms may have done larger business,
but no single man at that time had such credit, or was in a
position of equally complete independence. Though he
had intimate business and social relations with the planters
of the West Coast, his friendly attitude towards me in no
way altered in consequence of my differences with them.
He recognised, almost as well as Mr. Crosby, the substantial
truth of my allegations, and though I had never been inti
mate with him, he knew me well enough to be indignant
at the general attitude assumed towards me, and at the
anonymous libels directed against my character. And now,
alone among the upper unofficial world, he had the courage,
at whatever cost to himself, to outrage the popular senti
ment by showing me open countenance; and my breakfasts
under his hospitable roof are among the very few agreeable
memories of an otherwise most painful experience.
At the opening of the Commission I appeared as the first
witness, and the ordeal through which I had to pass was
indeed a severe one. Including the Commissioners, white

A PAINFUL ORDEAL 137
persons occupied the whole space in front of me, among
whom I could recognise, besides Mr. Crosby, only one other
friendly face.1 And now my rash offer of proof recoiled
upon me with a vengeance. For having determined to take
no personal part against anyone, and neither to call nor
cross-examine any witnesses, I, for this and other reasons
above indicated, had little evidence to offer beyond my
own bare word. Even as to this my physical and mental
condition was such as to render it very far from being as
forcible as it might have been. Not desiring to hurt individ
uals, I refrained from saying much which was likely to do
so, having full confidence in the character of the two prin
cipal Commissioners that their investigation would bring
out the general correctness of my views, whatever might be
said in mitigation or disproof of my specific allegations.
By this very uncomfortable position my nervous state
was naturally not improved, and my thoughts became so
confused that I sometimes failed to understand the simplest
questions. My examination lasted, I think, three days alto
gether, and though I remained in the colony several weeks,
in case I should be wanted again, I did not further attend
the sittings of the Commission.
The latter portion of my sojourn was even less agreeable.
The pressure from crowds of coolies continued, and I was
depressed by the sense of personal failure. Mr. Jenkins,
whose assurance of the final success of our cause had
latterly done much to comfort me, was obliged to leave
the colony ; and immediately after, perhaps in consequence
of, his departure there issued from the local Press a series
of anonymous libels against my character and conduct,
even more gross than any that had previously appeared.
But while the falsity of these attacks was on a par with
their malice, I was absolutely defenceless. Their authors
knew perfectly well that, even if there might be individual
men brave enough to take the side of truth and justice,
1 That of Mr. Darnell Davis, the Secretary to the Commission, now Auditor
General of British Guiana.

138 BRITISH GUIANA
no Guiana jury would ever render a verdict in*my favour.
Yet the bitterness of my enemies was such as to render
absolutely certain that these charges, if just, would long
previously have been brought to official notice, instead of
being made anonymously in the newspapers, and the fact
that this course was not taken would, I considered, reveal
their untruth to any impartial mind. But, apart from the
truth or untruth of these imputations (which, being made
in the principal organ of the planters, must undoubtedly
have been favoured if not originated by their executive
committee), only the blindness of passion could fail to see
their specially gross indecency under the circumstances,
and that their publication during the sitting of the Com
mission was a serious tactical mistake. Abuse of the
plaintiff's attorney is always held to be an indication of
a weak case, and I think it probable that this consideration
rendered the investigations of the Commission even more
searching than they would otherwise have been, and thus
tended to its generally satisfactory result.
When some months afterwards the Report of the Com
mission reached me in St. Lucia I, though expecting much
from two of the members, was yet agreeably surprised by
the thoroughness with which the work had been done. It
is true that as regards myself the Commissioners did not
spare censure wherever such was possible, while, as The
Times pointed out in its review of Mr. Jenkins' book, The
Coolie: His Rights and Wrongs, they ignored altogether
how much they were indebted to me for the direction of
their lines of inquiry, and in how many respects the facts
elicited by them proved the justice of my representations.
But when they expressed the opinion that the planters had
extricated themselves from " dear bargains " with Chinese
immigrants in a manner not creditable to the colony ; when
they pointed out how Governor A. had gradually with
drawn all power from the officer charged with the protec
tion of the immigrants ; when they reported the universal
want of confidence among the coolies in the administration

FINALLY LEAVE GUIANA 139
of justice by the magistrates ; when they recommended for
valid reasons that the doctors should be rendered inde
pendent of the states and be made public officers ; when
they showed how completely the state of the law put every
indentured immigrant at the mercy of an unscrupulous em
ployer; that there was "here and there excessive indulgence
in the practice of arbitrary stoppage of wages " ; that
various arrangements necessary for the well-being of the
coolies were in some cases extremely defective, and that
when these defects were pointed out to the Executive, ex
treme weakness had been shown in enforcing remedies —
they had brought to light more than I expected and almost
as much as I desired.
Thus ill as was performed my part in this coolie ques
tion, I have never for a moment regretted that I under
took it. It involved a heavy cost to me in health which
never recovered its former robustness, and it probably con
tributed largely to the long delay in my promotion. But
I have always felt compensated by the thought that the
improvements in legislation and the increase of executive
vigilance not only in Guiana, but in Mauritius and several
other colonies which resulted directly or indirectly from
this Commission, must have added at least something to
the comfort and happiness of several hundreds of thousands
of indentured immigrants.
With my attendance on the Commission my connection
with British Guiana came to an end. Though life on the
coast was always distasteful to me, I have often looked
back to my experiences in the interior with a wistful regret
that they could never be renewed. Despite all the draw
backs of solitude, of disagreeable work, of insect and other
pests and of general discomfort, there was to me, as a lover
of nature, a fascination about the tropical forest which has
created a continual desire to return to it. Often in after
years have I had a longing, now, alas ! never to be gratified,
to visit again the scenes described above, and to pursue
at leisure the investigation of the wonders there present

140 BRITISH GUIANA
in such special abundance, with which I never had time or
opportunity for more than a very superficial acquaintance.1
1 If my enthusiasm on the subject should be at all shared by any of my
readers, let me recommend them to a book, In the Guiana Forest, by
Mr. James Rodway, F.L.s. The work of a trained observer and most graphic
writer, it conveys more vivid impressions of the scenes described, and presents
pictures more attractive, than any which have appeared since Waterton's
Wanderings. Also as of exceptional interest may be mentioned the more
recent work of Mr. E. im Thurn, who seems in later days to have equalled, if
not surpassed, my friend McClintock in his knowledge of the Guiana interior
and its inhabitants.

ST. LUCIA

ST. LUCIA

CHAPTER I
Visit Barbados — Mr. Rawson, Governor-in-Chief — Government of " Constitu
tional" and Crown Colonies — Arrival in St. Lucia — Government House
and its surroundings — My home life there — Inquiry into the administration
of justice, and its result — Suspension of magistrate and resignation of other
officers — Chaotic condition of Registry : its cause : remedy applied —
Mr. F. Grey, magistrate : his unpopularity with planters : his untimely
death by an accident and his gallant conduct on the occasion — Extraordi
nary feeling shown at the funeral and its cause.
ON my way to St. Lucia x I paid a visit to Barbados, in
order to see Mr. Rawson, who, as Governor of the
Windward Islands, was my immediate chief. Learning
from him that my commission had not been received from
England, I accepted his hospitable invitation to stay at
Government House until its arrival.
The three weeks of my sojourn there were agreeable, and
afforded me a much-needed rest. I took the opportunity,
too, of reading many despatches and papers relating to
St. Lucia, and obtained valuable information as to the con
dition ofthe colony which I had been appointed to govern —
a condition which appeared to be far from promising, either
financially or otherwise.
Mr. Rawson was a most kindly, amiable man, who rarely
made an enemy; or if so, the fault was not on his side.
During the six years of my official connection with him I
could hardly have wished for a better chief. In his private
letters he gave me much prudent advice, and he allowed me
such a free hand that I largely attribute to his generous
1 The journey was previous to the occurrences described in last chapter,
which, for the sake of more convenient arrangement, have been related out of
chronological order. 1 43

144 ST. LUCIA
attitude in this respect my success in clearing out a very
hotbed of corruption and in restoring the island to a condi
tion of comparative prosperity.
In undertaking the government of St. Lucia I made my
first essay at work which afterwards became a familiar task.
It is a common notion that the quantity of work required
of a Governor increases in direct proportion to the im
portance of the colony governed. Evidences of this error
among home authorities have, within my experience, been
by no means wanting; and it was even shared by so great
a man as Mr. Gladstone, according to the following story
told by the late Sir William Gregory.
Sir William, who had just returned from Ceylon, met
Mr. Gladstone in Pall Mall. The Prime Minister did not
recognise him at first, but, after he had passed, called out to
him, " Mr. Gregory, when are you going to publish your
Aristophanes ? " To which the reply was : " I have of late
years been so occupied with public business that I have
made very little progress." Mr. Gladstone : " How can you
say that ? You have only charge of a little island, whereas
I in my present position always manage to give one or
two hours a day to classical work." This reflection I ven
ture to think unjust, and I have a confident belief that had
even Mr. Gladstone been Governor of Ceylon, he would not
have been able to fulfil the duties creditably without more
time than he ordinarily gave to the work of governing
Britain. The fact is the work required from a Governor varies
rather in inverse than in direct proportion to the import
ance of what is governed. The higher the place in the
official hierarchy, the more capable as a rule are the sub
ordinate workers ; the lower the place, the greater is the
amount of drudgery to be undergone by the administrator,
who is obliged to do much which is ordinarily done by
subordinate officers, and has also to exercise a much
closer supervision over his assistants. In all Crown
Colonies, moreover, small and large, the obligatory work

CROWN AND "CONSTITUTIONAL" COLONIES 145
of the Governor is incomparably more severe than that of
His Majesty's representatives in colonies under Consti
tutional Government (which, for the sake of convenience, I
shall term Constitutional Colonies). The single exception
is the Cape of Good Hope, where the Governor is also
High Commissioner,1 and as such a kind of Supreme Crown
Governor of all British territory in South Africa outside
the established colonies.
Although I have myself had charge only of one of the
less important Constitutional Colonies, I have had oppor
tunities in my career which ought to have rendered me
as well equipped as it is possible to be for forming a judg
ment upon this point. Besides my governorship of four
Crown Colonies, and apart from experience gained in
Newfoundland, I have through intimate acquaintance with
several " Constitutional " Governors learned exactly what,
and how much, is required of them. Specially well did
I know the late Lord Normanby,2 to whom I paid visits
in New Zealand — one of them of several weeks' duration.
Though not a man of great ability, he had sound judg
ment, abundant tact, robust common sense, and an im
perturbable temper. Want of means did not permit him
to make the large expenditure from private resources
by which recent Australian Governors have been dis
tinguished ; but though he never practised the art of
popularity-hunting, it was easy to see in travelling with
him, or in driving through the streets of Melbourne, that he
had earned very general respect. By judicious and impar
tial dealing with opposing parties, he succeeded in calming
the passions which had been excited to fever heat by the
weakness of his predecessor, and was generally regarded as
one of the best Governors who had presided over the
colony. In citing Lord Normanby's experience, therefore,
as to the amount of work required for the satisfactory
1 This was written before the recent change.
a The second Marquis, successively Governor of Queensland, New Zealand,
and Victoria. I. — L

146 ST. LUCIA
administration of a Constitutional Colony, I cannot be far
wrong, and I know from him that when he had spent two
or three hours at his desk, he regarded it as a very excep
tional day's work, and that there were many days when
there was no obligatory duty at all to be performed.
Lord Normanby, with these qualities and character, was
able to exercise considerable influence upon the conduct of
affairs, and, similarly equipped, any other Governor might
do likewise ; but beyond this the Governor of the larger
colonies has very little power. Though appointments to
public offices are officially announced as made by him, he
has no part in the selection of the officers, and he has no
control over any one of them, except the secretaries and
aide-de-camps who compose his personal staff. He can
not even order a new lock for a door of Government
House without the authority of the Department of Works,
though there may be a Legislative vote for the purpose.
Even the power, nominally given him by his commission,
to pardon prisoners or to commute for other punishment
sentences of death, has now been virtually taken away ; for
he is instructed to consult in such cases the Executive Coun
cil, which, in Constitutional Colonies, practically involves the
obligation to follow their advice. Indeed, beyond exercising
discretion in his acts, writing, and public speeches, so as to
avoid the slightest appearance of interference with politics
or of favour to any particular party, he has really no responsi
bility whatever except at times of parliamentary crises.
He has then merely to decide whether a vote in the Legis
lature adverse to the Government should be accepted as
the will of the country. If he believes that it ought to be
so accepted, he has to determine for whom he will send to
form a new Ministry, as being most likely to command the
strongest support. If, on the other hand, he thinks the
matter doubtful, he accedes to the demand of the defeated
Premier for a dissolution. Usually, the matter for decision
in such cases is perfectly plain, and the term of office of
many Governors is passed without the occurrence of any
real difficulty.

"CROWN" GOVERNOR'S DUTIES 147
In practice, therefore, the obligatory work of the Governor
of a Constitutional Colony is confined within very narrow
limits. He has to keep the Secretary of State acquainted
with important events and the course of affairs in his
Government, to correspond directly with the chief officers
of the Army and Navy, to prepare occasionally a speech
on the laying of a foundation stone, the opening of a bazaar,
the inauguration of some philanthropic movement, or at a
school prize-giving or some other social function, and he
has to sign his name some hundreds of times each month
to land grants and other public papers ; that is all.
Very different is the case of a Crown Colony Governor.
He concentrates in his own person all the power and
responsibility which, in a Constitutional Colony, is shared
between the Governor and all his Ministers. All and even
more ; for having usually the command of a majority in
the Legislature, he has the power of passing any measures
or making any laws which after discussion he feels to be
expedient. On questions of serious moment he is in
structed to consult his Executive Council, but he is not
bound to follow their advice. What are regarded as ques
tions of serious moment depend much on the calibre of the
Governor. If he is a strong man, they are very few. The
Governor is also personally responsible for the work of
every department, not merely that of the Colonial Secretary,
who is the mouthpiece of his decisions and acts as a buffer
between him and correspondents, but the Treasury, Audit,
Police, Gaols, Works, Hospitals, Medical, Post Office, and
Native Departments. From several or all of these he
receives papers daily, requiring minutes of his decisions,
while his duties in respect of correspondence with the
Secretary of State and with the chief officers of the Army
and Navy are the same as in the case of a "Constitutional"
Governor. He decides, moreover, about applications for
leave of absence and on the provision to be made for the
duties of the absent, and he has also the power of appoint
ment to fill vacancies in every public office, from that of

148 ST. LUCIA
Chief Justice to that of messenger or landing-waiter.
True, such appointments are subject to the confirmation of
the Secretary of State ; but in practice they are never set
aside in the case of the lower offices, and very rarely in
those of medium status. Even in the case of the highest,
when I had not desired the appointment of an outsider,
and had made strong representations as to the fitness of
the officer nominated, my recommendations were almost
always, I think invariably, adopted.
Again, the responsibility of exercising the prerogative of
mercy, which, as we have seen, is in the Constitutional
Colonies now only nominally attached to the Governor, in
the Crown Colonies falls practically on that officer alone.
For though he is bound in graver cases, such as murder, to
consult the Executive Council, the decisions of that body
are usually (within my personal experience invariably) in
accordance with the opinion of the Governor, who in any
case may take the responsibility of acting contrary to the
advice given.
For the benefit of any of my readers unacquainted with
the modes of British colonial government, it may be well
to explain here the cause of this great difference in the
position of Constitutional and Crown Governors, and the
exceptional power entrusted to the latter.
Though not formerly so, in these days Crown Govern
ment, with the exception of Gibraltar and Malta, exists
only x in colonies where people of non-European races are
in a great majority. To grant the suffrage to the latter
under a Constitutional Government would be to render the
position of Europeans precarious, if not altogether un
tenable. On the other hand, to confine the suffrage to a
small community of Europeans would almost certainly be
prejudicial to the interests of the majority. The form of
Crown Government has therefore been devised in order to
secure a fair treatment for both. While the Legislative
Council consists principally of Europeans who, speaking
1 Not in all such Colonies, the Cape and Natal being exceptions.

ST. LUCIA DESCRIBED 149
generally, are the better qualified for the position by educa
tion and intelligence, the Governor and his subordinate
officials are given great power, and in Crown Colonies of a
severe type a preponderating power, for the purpose of
guarding the interests of the unrepresented, or almost
entirely unrepresented, majority. Experience has shown
that without this safeguard, or where this has been neutral
ised by weakness in the Executive, the Government is apt
to become that of a narrow and selfish oligarchy. On the
other hand, where the interests of the ruling and other
classes are sharply divided, as is especially apt to be the
case where the former become settlers simply with a view
to make their fortunes and return to their homes, caring little
or nothing for the future of the place of their temporary
residence, the Governor may be so continually called upon
by his duty to take the part of the unrepresented as to
seem regardful of their interests alone. The Press in such
colonies, commonly edited in the interest of the ruling
class, may abuse him violently on this account ; but con
sideration for his own peace and comfort, and (the value of
a Governor being apt to be officially rated according to his
ability to " keep things quiet ") his self-interest also, render
it morally certain that he will, however conscientious, do
all possible, consistently with his duty, to appease those
who are able, far more effectively than are the coloured
races, to make their voice heard outside the colony.
The above explanation will, I hope, serve to justify much
which would otherwise seem arbitrary in the action de
scribed in the following pages.
St. Lucia, the island which was to be the subject of my
first essay at government, is some forty miles long with a
maximum width of fifteen miles. In the small space of
240 square miles it contains many mountains, some of them
nearly 3,000 feet in height, which were in my time, and
probably are still, almost entirely covered with forest.
Cultivation is confined to portions of the valleys in the
neighbourhood of the sea, and to the plain of Vieuxfort,

iS° ST. LUCIA
at the extreme north-east of the island. The population
in 1869, at the time of my arrival, was under 35,000, of
which only about 900 were white, mostly of French de
scent, and habitually speaking the French language, the
rest being all more or less of African blood, and using a
French patois.
I arrived at the port of Castries, the capital, from Bar
bados early on the morning of July 12th, 1869. The views
of the west coast of the island, as we steamed along it,
seemed inexpressibly beautiful, even to an eye which had
become accustomed to the richness of tropical scenery.
The twin rock giants — the Pitons — which stand sheer out
of the sea at the south-west extremity, with the peep of
the town of Soufriere nestling between them at their base,
the rich green of the forests covering the numerous moun
tains, varied by the lighter colour of the cane patches on
their lower spurs and in the valleys separating them,
together with the brilliant blue of the sea, presented alto
gether a picture never to be forgotten.
The harbour of Castries seemed almost equally striking
as regards natural beauty, but the town with its wharf pre
sented, on near approach, a very forlorn appearance.
Mr. Dix, the Treasurer, who had been administering the
government since the departure of my predecessor, to
gether with various officials and other leading colonists,
came to greet me on board. On landing I was duly sworn
in as administrator before the Executive Council. After
making the acquaintance of many who came to pay their
respects, and transacting some affairs requiring immediate
attention, I rode up to the Government House on Morne
Fortune, by the steep bridle-path which ascends over 700
feet in less than half a mile. The coloured people gave me
everywhere a kindly and respectful greeting, but without
any of the touching enthusiasm which I experienced from
them in after days.
Approaching the summit, one came upon a large open
space, covered with long grass, on the nearest end of which

MORNE FORTUNE 151
was Government House. The first sight of what was to be
my home, off and on, for nearly nine years was not highly
inspiriting. It had been built and, until the withdrawal of
the garrison some years previously, had been used as a
military hospital. It consisted of a main building of one
storey, some fifty yards long, with a wing at either end,
the one used for a kitchen and offices, the other for ser
vants' rooms and stables. On each of the long sides of the
main building was a covered stone gallery faced by brick
arches. The construction of these, as of the house generally,
was of the solidest, the walls being made to withstand
hurricanes and being almost two feet thick. But this
solidity, though no doubt useful for its purpose, had the
effect of largely obstructing light, and would in any other
than a very bright climate have caused the interior to be
intolerably gloomy. It seems that the architect had gone
to the extreme of safety in consequence of the disastrous
hurricane of 18 17, when the Government House was blown
down and the Governor killed in its ruins. But while the
house, on the whole, was capable of being made comfortable
enough, the furniture was very dilapidated ; the small gar
den, which was enclosed by a rusty iron railing running
parallel to each side of the house and at a distance of only
a few yards from it, was much neglected, while the long
grass of the pasture around, being interspersed with wild
guava bushes, showed that it had not been cleared for
years. Judged by the appearance of its Government House
and its surroundings, the condition of the island was indeed
a wretched one.
In the afternoon, accompanied by Mr. Dix, I walked
round the War Office reserve on which the Government
House was situated. On the summit of the hill, which
retains the old French name of Morne Fortune^ and at
some fifty feet above the site of my residence, is the fort
which was formerly the scene of much fighting between the
French and English, and which, on the occasion of one of
its captures by the English, had the Union Jack planted

1S2 ST. LUCIA
on it by Her late Majesty's father, the Duke of Kent.1
The buildings, occupied by police, were in fair condition,
though showing the same neglected surroundings noticeable
at Government House. Slightly below the same level were
the old officers' quarters, a larger building of two storeys,
with a gallery round each, at this time occupied as separate
flats by the magistrate of the district, Mr. McLean, and
the Superintendent of Police.
Close by was the old mess house, a building similar to
Government House, though on a smaller scale, then occupied
by Mr. Dix. Dining with him that first night I was not
altogether surprised to hear from the ladies of his family that
on several recent occasions they had found in their house
snakes of the deadly species (" rat- tail," or fer-de-lance, or
lachesis lanceolatus)which has given St. Lucia so evil a repute.
As these snakes at that time were extremely abundant in
the island, the risk of being bitten by one was considerable,
and was greatly increased by the existence of a large space
of uncleared land adjoining residences. This may be judged
from the fact that when under my instructions the whole
property was being cleared, the workmen killed some forty
of these snakes, many others having escaped. While this
process was going on, one morning within the first month
of my residence, on getting up I found one of the reptiles,
about two and a half feet long, under my bed. Cast snake-
skins were several times found in the cellar and hurricane
house, which were below the level ofthe surrounding ground;
but never after this during the whole of my residence did
I see or hear of another of these creatures getting into the
house ; and so this one must have been frightened by the
unaccustomed disturbance of his haunts. Yet Mr. Dix's
household, though suffering much less than previously, by
no means enjoyed this complete immunity. My native
servants would rarely move about the galleries at night
without a light ; and though I sometimes did so in moon-
1 The English expedition on this occasion was commanded by Sir Charles
(the first Earl) Grey, whose second son married my aunt.

Centra] Factory

CUL-DE-SAC VALLEY
(TAKFA1 FROM MORM-; FORTUNF.)

l.-F.we /. I52

VIEW FROM GOVERNMENT HOUSE 153
light, I was never sure what was lurking in the shadow of
the pillars.
The view on both sides of the house largely compensated
for the want of cheerfulness near at hand. On the south
side one looked down upon the valley of Grand Cul-de-sac,
with a high-peaked mountain at its eastern end and the
blue ocean at the other. Beyond, it was bordered by a hill
somewhat higher than the Morne, and beyond that were
several lines of mountains, the green of their covering foliage
becoming gradually blue with distance, and the peaks of
the Pitons just showing above a depression in a nearer
range. The hill on the other side of the Cul-de-sac valley
runs out into the sea and forms with the spurs of the Morne
an almost landlocked bay, at the further side of which were
visible the buildings of a small plantation surrounded by
the light green which betokens canes and always presents
a strong contrast to the darker hues of other vegetation.
On the northern side of the house a shoulder of the
Morne, covered with pasture, shut out the view of the town
and most of the harbour at its foot ; but the Vigie pro
montory, with its fort, on the further side of Castries Bay,
was just visible; while beyond was the curved outline of the
Anse de Gros Isle, with the island itself at the further end,
under the shelter of which Rodney and (on one occasion)
Nelson kept watch upon the French fleets lying at Fort
Royal (now Fort de France), Martinique. On most fine
days was visible the profile of the whole west coast of that
island, and also the Diamond Rock — once manned and
equipped as a British man-of-war — while in exceptionally
clear weather, which occurred two or three times a year
before heavy rain, there could be seen what looked like a
round rock in the sea, and in fact was the summit of the
highest peak in Dominica, over a hundred miles distant.
Being entirely unprovided with the personal staff which
does so much to relieve the isolation of the Governor's
position in the larger colonies, the greater portion of my
time was passed in solitude, which only abundant and

154 ST. LUCIA
absorbing work rendered tolerable. For it must be under
stood that, even if he has any desire in that direction, the
Governor of a Crown Colony cannot — or ought not to —
become intimate with any of the residents. If he does
make a friend he is certain sooner or later to have to decide
something which brings into conflict his friendship and his
public duty. Questions which come up for his decision are
so various as to render it probable that in the course of a
few years there will have been one or more affecting almost
every one of the educated inhabitants ; questions of disci
pline and conduct in the case of public officers ; questions
respecting forfeitures by the Customs affecting merchants
and traders ; questions about the treatment of indentured
and other labourers concerning planters, and about the re
mission of fines and penalties which may possibly affect
anyone from the highest to the lowest. Again, for every
vacancy in office there are several, sometimes many candi
dates, the appointment of any one of whom will not im
probably offend all the others and their backers. Under
these circumstances it is obvious that any decision, however
impartial it may be, in favour of one with whom the
Governor is on terms of exceptional intimacy is sure to be
put down to favour, and a loss of respect is incurred in
consequence. But apart from all this, the friendship of the
possessor of so much local power is so eagerly sought by
those who hope to gain something from it, that if accorded
to one it is certain to cause heartburning in others who
consider themselves equally entitled to it ; and this last con
sideration alone, as I learnt directly from Lord Normanby
and Sir William Jervois, has induced the best Governors of
even Constitutional Colonies to preserve a " splendid " but
by no means altogether agreeable " isolation."
I recognised the necessity for such isolation from the
first ; but how complete it was to be, in a small colony such
as St. Lucia, I was quickly to learn from painful experience.
Of the sort of life which I led, the following will give a
sufficient idea. Rising usually at six o'clock, and some-

CONSTELLATIONS VISIBLE IN THE TROPICS 155
times owing to sleeplessness much earlier, I then dealt with
the papers which had come up the evening before. Be
tween ten and eleven o'clock, about four days in the week,
I rode down to town to superintend the work in the Colonial
Secretary's office and to receive those who desired to see
me on business. Being Colonial Secretary as well as Ad
ministrator, assisted by only two very young clerks, I had
to read over carefully every letter written from my minutes
to make sure that an unconscious turn of phrase did not
convey a different meaning to that intended, or render the
tone less courteous than was desirable. As I was at that
time Registrar also, it was necessary that I should go fre
quently into the Registry to observe how the work was
progressing, and also to make occasional visits to other
offices, such as the Treasury and Audit Office. Sometimes,
also, I paid surprise visits of inspection to the gaol and to
the different asylums, of which one was for the poor and
others for lunatics and Yaws patients (there being then no
hospital on the island).
The necessary day's work done, before going home I
usually rode a few times round the top of the Morne, that
being the only level spot within easy reach for a gallop.
Except on the two or three nights a week when I had
guests, I passed the evening alone in reading or in work
of an immediately pressing nature. On bright moonlight
nights I often spent much time in walking up and down
the fifty yards of gallery on either side of my house pon
dering on the work in hand or to be undertaken. The
glorious panorama of stars which is there presented re
minds me of the curious ignorance in England that in the
tropics are visible at one hour or another of the night all
the principal stars of both hemispheres. From my house
in St Lucia, while the Great Bear and the whole sky familiar
to Englishmen were to be seen from the north gallery, there
were also visible from the south gallery the Southern Cross,
the two great stars in Centaurus pointing to it, Canopus,
Sirius, the Scorpion, and all the principal constellations of
the southern hemisphere.

156 ST. LUCIA
Heavy official work soon loomed in front of me, enough
to occupy all my thoughts and to relieve the dullness of
my surroundings. For a few days after my arrival in the
colony statements were made to me about the conduct of
the Chief Justice of so extraordinary a nature that it was
impossible to ignore them. Accordingly, when I found that
they were confirmed in several quarters apparently trust
worthy, on application to Mr. Rawson, I obtained from him
a Special Commission for inquiry into the administration
of justice, enabling me to examine witnesses under oath.
No sooner was this Commission announced in the Govern
ment Gazette than the Chief Justice at once applied to
retire from the service on pension.
I was, of course, unable to accept a resignation offered
under such circumstances ; but I was compelled immedi
ately afterwards to permit the judge to leave the island
on leave of absence, in consequence of an extraordinary
medical certificate to the effect that, unless I did so, he
would probably commit suicide !
The inquiry, being thus conducted in the Chief Justice's
absence, could have no final result. The examination of
witnesses, too, was attended by an unexpected difficulty in
their extreme reluctance to depose on oath to what they
had freely stated in private. A few, however, proved to be
more courageous, and after some weeks I was enabled to
send home a report, upon which was framed charges against
the Chief Justice of (i) corruption, (2) drunkenness, and
(3) indebtedness to the practitioners in his court. These
charges were tried by a Commission specially appointed
under instruction from the Secretary of State, and consist
ing of officers unconnected with the colony. In the absence
of the Chief Justice he was represented by counsel. All
the charges were proved, and it was thus rendered im
possible for the judge to resume his office. It was indeed
most unfortunate that he should have been permitted to
remain so long in it, as apart from the demoralising effect of
his example which was observable in many directions, the

FORENSIC AMENITIES 157
colony had in at least one respect suffered heavy material
loss from his utter want of control over the practitioners
in his court.
Returns obtained by me of the costs allowed on the
judicial sale of the real property of deceased or bankrupt
persons, showed that of the twenty-eight properties so sold
in recent years, twenty-seven per cent, of the proceeds had
been consumed in costs ; that excluding the large estates,
the proportion was forty-four per cent., and that in the
case of some very small holdings the whole proceeds were
thus swallowed up, the creditors having obtained nothing
at all. Real property had thus become almost no security
for money, and the use of credit for agricultural develop
ment had practically ceased. It was scarcely necessary to
look beyond this for the cause of the extreme depression
which I found existing in the island.
From testimony elicited in this inquiry, it appears that
once the judge, having tried a man for burglary, solemnly
addressed him on conviction as though his offence had
been rape, and that there were several other cases of a
similar kind. An advocate had addressed the opposing
counsel as, "Ah, vieux coquin!" to which the angry retort
was, " Et tot, voleur ! " without rebuke by the bench.
Some ten years before this time the same judge had
been formally accused of drunkenness, and though the
principal offence was, I was assured, committed in the
sight of a great number of witnesses, the accused was
acquitted. Hence the impunity which he had enjoyed in
the interval and the reluctance to give evidence on the
present inquiry for fear of a similar abortive result.
While the case against the Chief Justice was still pend
ing, a despatch arrived containing an application from the
judge for a pension on retirement. The mere forwarding
of the application by the Secretary of State implied that
the grant of a pension would not have been disapproved.
I was still more surprised when, after the receipt of the
Commissioners' report, a further application was forwarded

158 ST. LUCIA
to me by the Colonial Department for the grant of a com
passionate allowance to the offender's family. I laid both
applications before the Legislative Council without com
ment, and in no way attempted to influence the judgment
even of the official members. Though not without a
strong feeling of compassion for the unfortunate sufferers
from the judge's misconduct, I felt that his misdoings had
already cost the colony so much as to render any grant
indirectly benefiting him undesirable. But I felt much
more strongly that any such action on the part of the
Legislature would, in the general indifference to misconduct
and corrupt proceedings brought about by this judge's ex
ample, serve as a powerful and very harmful counterpoise
to the deterrent effect caused by his removal from office.
The evil from which the island was suffering was not fully
appreciated at home, and it is doubtful whether it could
have been adequately conveyed by despatches. Both
applications were rejected.
It is indeed scarcely conceivable that in the latter half
of the nineteenth century there could have existed in a
British colony such a state of things as was revealed by
this inquiry and disclosures subsequently made.1
1 Earlier in the century there had been almost equally strange occurrences
both in St. Lucia and other of the West Indian colonies. Here, for instance,
is a story which came to me as having been told by Sir Frederick Rogers
(afterwards Lord Blatchford), who had been for many years Permanent Under
Secretary for the Colonies. The Government had for a long time been
desirous of abolishing the legislative system of the Virgin Islands, in which
diminutive community there had been established an absurd copy of the
British Constitution, consisting of a Governor and two legislative chambers.
However, all attempts in this direction had failed until there occurred the
following event. The Speaker of the House of Assembly having entrusted
his mule to a coloured boy while the House was in session, the animal was
found afterwards in a condition which showed that it must have been severely
galloped in the interval. The Speaker brought this circumstance to the notice
of the House, which promptly voted it to be a breach of privilege, and the
boy's father was fined some dozens of rum. The fine being paid and the
spirits brought to the House, the unofficial members tested them so freely that
the Government members, previously in a. hopeless minority, were able to
pass measures for the abolition of the Constitution and the establishment of a
single legislative chamber. This story having come to me at second hand, I
cannot vouch for its exact correctness, but I do not doubt that there was
substantial foundation for it.

CHAOTIC STATE OF REGISTRY 159
The judge's example had not been without imitators.
Before the end of the year 1869 it was my painful duty to
gazette the dismissal from office of one of the magistrates,
his offence being misappropriation of the funds entrusted
to him for the payment of paupers.
Among the various offices at that time held for economy's
sake by the Administrator, was that of Registrar. The
Administrator was thus constituted an officer of the
Supreme Court, which was presided over by his subor
dinate, the Chief Justice, and it is a matter for surprise
that so anomalous an arrangement had not been the occa
sion of public scandal.
On examining the Registry I found all of some nine or
ten registers in a condition of almost complete neglect.
In order to explain what was thus involved, I should
mention that the Registrar included among his duties, not
only the functions usually discharged by the Registrar of
the Supreme Court and by the Registrar- General of Births
and Deaths, but also those appertaining to the registra
tion of deeds, mortgages, and judgments affecting real
property. For the latter purpose there were kept books
according to the French system, in one of which all such
documents were recorded at length, while in another there
was an index of names with references to the other book.
By these registers, when properly kept, it was possible to
ascertain in a few minutes all valid incumbrances against
any given property and also to a considerable extent the
pecuniary position of the owner. Noticing that the last
entries in these books were of somewhat ancient date, I
innocently remarked that apparently transactions in real
estate had recently been of rare occurrence. In reply my
attention was drawn to a heap of documents, two or more
feet high, which I then found had been during many months
past lodged for registration, but had not been entered in
the books. Though I had already observed apathy and
its effects on all sides, I had not before appreciated its
full extent. For, owing to this neglect of duty, any one

160 ST. LUCIA
desiring to ascertain the incumbrances on a property would
require not only to search the registers, but also to make
careful examination of this great heap of papers ; so that
his task, instead of only a few minutes, would occupy
several hours. The reason that this state of things had not
at once been brought to my notice probably was that the
searches were usually made by lawyers who were paid
according to the time occupied, joined to the fact that the
Deputy- Registrar was a popular man, who had no doubt
been in his time an efficient officer. He had, however, of
recent years been imitating his legal chief in habits of inso
briety, and as my predecessor had taken no notice of it or
its effects, it was hardly to be expected that the officer who
acted during the interregnum would do so. Thus was the
condition of the office fully accounted for.
Measures of remedy were at once undertaken by the em
ployment of extra clerical assistance under the chief clerk
of the Government office, who was also acting as my
private secretary. The Deputy-Registrar's ill-health still
continuing, no steps could be taken for his suspension ; but
all difficulty on this point was shortly removed by the un
happy termination of his career from the effects of drink.
The two I have mentioned were only the first of many
similar instances which occurred within my experience ; and
while I cordially accord all due credit to Dr. Manson,
Sir William MacGregor, and others, who are endeavouring
to discover, with a view to destroy, the source of malaria —
from which I myself have been so great a sufferer — I feel
that even greater honour should be paid to one who finds
some effective remedy for the drink craving to which
Europeans are specially subject in the tropics. For malaria
only destroys physical health, while undue drinking affects
both mind and body, and, as I have seen in many in
stances, paralyses the moral sense in men who, previous
to indulgence of the habit, were strictly honourable.
The measures for restoring order to the Registry being
successful, the Secretary of State in due course expressed

OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT 161
his appreciation of the manner in which the work had been
done "without entailing additional expenditure on the
colony." Official misconduct, which I do not doubt was largely
caused by the impunity so long enjoyed by the Chief Justice,
was by no means confined to the cases above mentioned,
and my time during my first year of administration was
largely occupied with its investigation. As the result,
besides the dismissal of several subordinates, three other
superior officers were compelled to resign their appoint
ments, viz. the chief, and practically the only, medical
officer, the chief revenue officer, and a member of the
Executive and Legislative Councils.
The medical officer was leniently dealt with by the
Secretary of State in the first instance, and, after I had
suspended him, was restored to office with a severe repri
mand and the loss of some months' salary. His compara
tive impunity, however, proved to be an encouragement to
misconduct; and I was again proceeding for his suspension,
when he resigned and again appealed to the Secretary of
State. According to information received from Mr. Rawson,
this appeal was very near being as successful as the former
one, and I should have again had him back upon my hands
but for a fortunate circumstance which revealed clearly
what ought to have been apparent before.
Having made complaint that he was insufficiently pro
vided with surgical instruments, I had instructed him to
make a requisition for what he required. This was for
warded to the Secretary of State, who submitted it to an
eminent surgeon with tropical experience. The verdict
was, I believe, that the requisitionist must have been out
of his mind. He had apparently copied out almost the
whole trade list of Mr. Weiss, the celebrated maker of
surgical instruments, including many articles which could
not be required, and some quite unsuitable for use in the
tropics. The officer's appeal was in consequence unsuccessful
I. — M

1 62 ST. LUCIA
and his resignation accepted. I never heard what became
of him afterwards, but, as he was a competent surgeon, I
do not doubt that in other than a tropical climate he was
capable of useful service-.
The member of the Executive and Legislative Councils
above referred to was discovered to be defrauding the
Excise in connection with his rum distillery. This practice
had seemingly been of long continuance, having escaped
detection owing to what I will charitably suppose to have
been mere carelessness on the part of the chief revenue
officer, whom I had caused to resign shortly before this
discovery was made. I may mention that this revenue
officer had, most improperly, been permitted to own a
sugar plantation, and thus to be himself interested in rum
manufacture in the very district in which he was charged
with the Excise supervision.
Only a few weeks after my arrival in the colony there
came also to it Mr. F. Grey, who had been appointed
stipendiary magistrate by the Secretary of State. The
coincidence was a singular one, considering how few of
the officers in the island were British born. For I had
known him from childhood, even before he went to Charter
house, where he was for some years my fag, and he had
been one of the several small boys who had joined in giving
me a present of books on my leaving for Balliol. He was
a son of the Mrs. Grey, author of various novels (such
as The Gambler's Wife), formerly of considerable repute ;
his father, long dead, having been colonel of the Scots
Greys. Knowing something already of the condition of the
Second District, to which I found it necessary to appoint
him, I felt sure that one who had had the training of an
English gentleman would experience similar difficulties
to those which had rendered my life so painful in Guiana ;
and though, not to discourage him at the outset, I did not
warn him of this, he very quickly made the disagreeable
discovery for himself that, apparently in accordance with
the practice of previous magistrates, he was expected to
mete a different "justice" to different classes.

A PATHETIC DEATH 163
Such being the condition of things, collision between
Grey and the planters was almost certain to occur, and I
was not at all surprised when complaints against the new
broom reached me from various persons, all of them leading
planters. He proved, however, to be an excellent public
officer, and assisted me greatly with information sug
gestive of the many reforms which were carried out in the
following and subsequent years. His residence was at
Soufriere, between which town and Castries passage could
then be made only by open boat on a sometimes very
rough sea (the asthmatic steam launch which was after
wards put upon the route not having yet been purchased).
Though the time which was thus required for the journey
to and fro precluded me from seeing Grey often, I always
felt that he was one of the extremely few on whom I could
entirely rely, while, owing to our early associations, I had
much more in common with him than anyone else in the
island. Imagine, then, what I suffered by his untimely
death, which occurred after a service of little more than a
year. He had come up to stay with me for the Christmas of
1870, and had, early one morning, gone out for a boating
excursion to Gros Islet — at the extreme north-west of the
island. The boat belonged to a merchantman in the har
bour, and was in charge of its captain with his sailors at
the oars. In spite of these apparently safe conditions, the
boat was upset, and all on board, including the captain,
were drowned, with the exception of Mr. Chadwick, the
chief of the island police, and one sailor. Mr. Chadwick
afterwards related to me that Grey, being a weak swimmer,
had been invited by him to put his hand on his (Chadwick's)
shoulder. As the distance to shore was a long one, Chad
wick was at length becoming exhausted himself, when
Grey, observing this, said : " I won't drown you, old fellow.
Good-bye," and taking away his hand immediately went
under, never to be seen again alive.
Hearing of the accident by special messenger, I rode
down at once from the Morne and found that two bodies,

1 64 ST. LUCIA
that of Grey being one of them, had already been re
covered, and that efforts were being made to revive them.
Under my direction these efforts were continued for several
hours, according to the various modes prescribed for such
cases. All, however, in vain.
The funeral took place next day, as is necessary in such
climates, and the news of what had occurred having reached
the extremities of the island the same night, people col
lected from all parts to attend it. I was glad to see among
them several planters who had learned to respect the
man — however much they differed from his view of duty.
But what was much more remarkable, was the attendance
and demeanour of the coloured people. Some two thou
sand of them followed this but newly arrived Englishman
to his grave — many of them crying. A very large pro
portion of them had come from Soufriere, and would have
lost one or two days, besides what was, to poor people, the
heavy cost of passage and of maintenance away from home.
The cause of this display of feeling was not far to seek.
As was said to me at the time by an intelligent black man,
" He, for the first time, showed us what was the meaning
of justice." The incident seemed to indicate clearly that,
in the Second District at all events, there had before Grey's
advent been justification for the significant proverb which is
common to the coloured people of St. Lucia and Martinique:
" Ravette ne tini raison douvant poule," ravette being the
French-Creole name for the West Indian cockroach and the
fowl its principal enemy. For the sake of those who are
unacquainted with the Creole French, I may mention that
" tini " is equivalent to and probably a corruption of tient,
while " douvant " is devant. The cockroach is intended to
represent the black man, the fowl the white man.
I may mention here, as having occurred more than a
year before Grey's death, an incident which shows how
little will earn the gratitude of subject races who are accus
tomed to be treated as though they scarcely belonged to
the genus homo.

AN EXAGGERATED EPISODE 165
One day, riding down from the Morne, I saw an old
woman struggling in vain to put back on her head an
enormous load of bananas and yams and other provisions
which she had been carrying to market in Castries and had
put down for a rest. There was no one but myself in sight,
and so (as I presume every English gentleman would do)
I at once got off my horse and assisted to return the load
to its proper place. I thought nothing further of the
matter until, some months afterwards, the incident was
recounted to me with some exaggeration. It seems that
the news spread all over the island and beyond, appearing
even in print, and being actually recalled to me by the
black editor of The Creole newspaper when I went to attend
the Commission in Guiana some months afterwards. It
seems to have been regarded as astonishing that such an
act should have been done by any white man, and still
more when he was the Governor. That so much should
have been made of so little caused me reflections not wholly
pleasant.

CHAPTER II
My increased isolation caused by preceding events — Governor-in-Chief's ex
pressed sympathy — Poisonous snakes — Obtain vote for their destruction —
Vote refused during my absence, but restored on my return — Remarkable
decline of death-rate in consequence — Vote eventually dropped on account
of persistent opposition — Introduction of mongoose — Mongoose v. snake
at Government House — Testimony to value of measures twenty-two years
afterwards — Curious story about original introduction of rat-tail — Visit of
H. M. S. Bristol — Visit of Flying Squadron — Admiral Beauchamp Seymour
and his discipline — Visit of Governor Rawson — Accompany him to Soufriere
and Vieuxfort — St. Lucia feasts.
HOW much work, worry, trouble, and anxiety were
caused to me by all the difficulties with leading
public officers above described, and how little time was
at my disposal for the careful writing of my letter to
Lord Granville about the Guiana coolie question then
raging in the sister colony will now be understood ! :
All of the impeached officers had friends and relations,
making together in a very small community a formidable
band of opposition which made itself continually felt by
attacks in the local Press and anonymous letters conveyed
to my house. My chief, Mr. Rawson, fully appreciated
my isolated position, and sympathising deeply with the
exceptional difficulty, he not infrequently sent me by way
of encouragement passages from his despatches in my
favour. Thus, towards the end of January, 1870, he had
addressed the Secretary of State as follows : —
" I cannot abstain from pointing to the demoralised condition
of the public service in St. Lucia and to the anxious and painful
duties which Mr. Des Vceux has had at his first start to perform,
and which he has executed with laudable zeal, with much labour,
both mental and physical, standing almost alone and surrounded
1 See page 129.
166

DESTRUCTION OF SNAKES 167
by persons from whom he has received little assistance and
sympathy. I have endeavoured to afford him mine, but he will
be greatly encouraged by the expression of your lordship's
approval of his exertions, and I hope you will consider him
deserving of it. Your lordship will observe that he has lost no
time in appointing a Commission to make inquiry into the manage
ment of the several institutions which were lately under Dr.  's
charge." In December, 1869, I succeeded after some opposition
in obtaining a unanimous vote from the Legislative Council
of £300 to be expended in rewards for the destruction of
poisonous snakes, and I, at the same time, expressed the
intention of making an attempt to introduce to the island
the mongoose — the well-known enemy of the Indian cobra.
The deaths from the bites from snakes were at this time
about twenty-five each year, sometimes reaching to thirty,
and owing to absence of registration it is almost certain
that many were never reported. Taking the then popula
tion of St. Lucia at 35,000 and that of India at only
200,000,000, the same death-rate in the latter country
would indicate the annual loss of 140,000 lives, an im
measurably greater number than is actually destroyed by
snakes, tigers, leopards, and all other man - destroying
creatures. The rat-tail is reproduced in enormous numbers — ninety
to one hundred at a single birth — and as the greater part
of the island was covered with dense forest, the prospect of
complete destruction was well-nigh hopeless ; but it seemed
by no means beyond possibility that in the settled districts
these pests might be greatly reduced in number, and the
attainment of this object, at all events, seemed to be worth
attempting. For there was naturally great dread of these
serpents on the part of all strangers, as well as most of the
inhabitants, and thus the investment of money in local in
dustries was hindered and the credit of the colony seriously
injured. The vote in question was utilised by the offer of
a reward of half a crown for every five heads, and the

1 68 ST. LUCIA
effect of this may be gathered from the fact that the vote
was quickly exhausted — 12,000 heads having been pur
chased in seven months. In spite of this success, when
the vote was again proposed by the Acting Administrator
during my temporary absence in Guiana, it was strenuously
opposed by the unofficial members. The merchants, as
living in town, were never in danger, and resisted the
measure on the ground of expense, while the planters re
garded snakes chiefly as the enemy of rats which are
destructive to sugar canes. The vote was consequently
refused ; but on my return to the colony I brought the
subject forward again, and having after a prolonged discus
sion changed the view of Mr. John Goodman, the most
influential and one of the most enlightened of the planters,
I passed the vote by a majority. When on a subsequent
occasion I was absent from the colony on leave, the vote
was again refused, and I felt it useless to persevere in a
measure which would almost certainly be defeated on my
final departure. This was the more unfortunate, as though,
owing to exhaustion and intermittence in the votes, the
payment of rewards had been interrupted by several in
tervals, the number of deaths was steadily reduced : having
been twenty-two in 1869, sixteen in 1870, and twelve in
1871. As regards the mongoose, with the kind assistance of
Dr. Sclater, I obtained some specimens from the Zoological
Gardens, London. In order to test whether the natural
instinct of snake-enmity survived in those bred in captivity,
I caused an experiment to be tried in the grounds of
Government House, when a mongoose was pitted against
a live rat-tail some three feet in length. What occurred
was described by me at the time in a paper written for the
Zoological Society. The mongoose became much excited
as soon as he caught sight of the snake, and there ensued
an exciting combat which lasted for some minutes. The
movements of attack and parry were too quick to be
followed by the eye. At first the reptile appeared to have

INTRODUCTION OF MONGOOSE 169
the best of the fight, but eventually the mongoose, after
being struck in the neck, running away, and feigning defeat,
suddenly jumped on the snake's back and quickly made an
end of him. My paper on the subject, I may add, caused a
discussion in the Field newspaper as to whether the
mongoose was proof against snake poison, this experiment
apparently indicating that he is, as the snake succeeded in
effecting a bite which had drawn blood.1 The mongoose
in the case in question had certainly no opportunity of
obtaining a curative herb, to which the animal is said to
have recourse when bitten ; it did, however, feed on his
conquered enemy, and consumed all of him — except the
end of the tail — in the course of the next few days.
The usefulness of the animal being thus established, all
the specimens received were turned out. At first the
experiment seemed destined to fail. The mongoose un
luckily likes chicken as well as snake — possibly prefers
it — and the neighbours finding this out, came to me
with piteous tales of losses thus caused. Sometimes
feathers were brought to me by way of proof, which I began
to suspect belonged to birds which had been eaten, not by
the mongoose, but by their owners. Of this I at length
became so confident that I refused further compensation,
which up to then I had been making from my own pocket.
After that, I heard no more of the mongoose or its ravages,
and feared that all the animals imported had been des
troyed. But they perhaps survived ; for twenty-two years
after my administration of the island had come to an
end I came across the following : —
" The mortality from serpent bites was in 1898 reduced to one,
from two in 1897. At the very start of registration in 1869 I had
to chronicle twenty-two deaths from this cause. I have looked at
the fluctuation and the diminution since, and I venture to affirm
that the measure which Mr. (now Sir William) Des Vceux intro-
1 The controversy was, I think, at length decided by doctors, who stated
that mongooses had in several instances died quickly when cobra poison had
been infused into their veins.

170 ST. LUCIA
duced into the Legislature in the early seventies for the destruc
tion of serpents by a payment for every head brought in, and the
subsequent importation in large numbers of the mongoose — first
brought to the colony by Sir William Des Vceux, who one day
gave with it an object-lesson on the lawn of Government House
— are the factors in the decrease of the mortality from twenty-two
in 1869 to one in 1898. There were at the time differences of
opinion as to the effectiveness of the former measure, but there is
no question now as to the good which has resulted from the latter.
For while the mongoose protects life by dealing destruction to all
reptiles, it is the planters' best friend by ridding his canes of all
rodents."1 It may be fairly claimed, then, that my preventive
measures have saved several hundred lives, besides adding
largely to the security of men — and canes.
It is remarkable that, though the whole of the Windward
and Leeward Islands are believed to have once formed a
continuous cordillera of which the mountain-tops alone re
main above water, these poisonous snakes should be found
in only two of them — Martinique and St. Lucia. If it be
true, as I have been told, that they were originally im
ported some three centuries ago by the planters of Martin
ique, in order that the terror so caused might check the
escape of their slaves, who frequently contrived to hide in
the depths of the forest, what has long been a puzzle to
naturalists would be explained.
Among the social events of the first year of my adminis
tration, that which remains most clearly in my memory is
the visit to the harbour of Castries of Her Majesty's train
ing ship Bristol, commanded by Captain Wilson. Besides
the ordinary complement of officers she had on board some
eighty naval cadets. I first entertained the captain and
principal officers at dinner, and then asked all of the officers
and the whole "society" of the island to a dance at Govern
ment House. On the appointed evening I was surprised and
somewhat embarrassed by the arrival, some two hours before
1 Report of the Registrar-General of St. Lucia, 1898.

THE "SWELL OF THE OCEAN" 171
guests were expected, of the whole of the cadets. It appears
they had heard so much of the danger from snakes in the
ascent ofthe Morne after dark that, not having sufficient lan
terns, they had prudently come while there was sufficient
daylight. The effect of such an inroad upon an unfortu
nate bachelor, with his preparations still unfinished, may
be imagined. There happened, however, to be in the house
a number of old card-tables, which had apparently not
been used for many years. The boys helped me to get
these out, and in the course of half an hour all were fully
occupied. The dance proved to be a great success, there
having been nothing like it for many years, and its effect
was largely to diminish the bitterness caused by my action
against the public officers.1
The Bristol gave me a dance in return, the whole of the
quarter- and main-decks being covered in with flags. In
spite of a heavy downpour of rain, the colonists enjoyed
themselves greatly, and the entertainment proved highly
successful. It was also within the same period that the Flying
Squadron, under the command of Admiral Beauchamp
Seymour (afterwards Lord Alcester), visited the island and
remained for two days. The ships raced from St. Vincent,
which they had left the previous night, and were seen from
my gallery early in the morning. As they approached the
harbour under full sail in a strong breeze they were a sight
never to be forgotten, and which now, alas ! never will be
seen again. Among the officers of the squadron who called
at Government House I was specially glad to greet Captain
(now Admiral Sir) F. Sullivan, then in command of the
Immortalite", whom I had not seen since he left Charter
house in 1858. In the evening Admiral Seymour and some
1 Several of the boys who were my guests on this occasion were fated, alas !
to perish in H.M.S. Captain, which foundered in the following year. Among
them were Childers, son of the Cabinet Minister, then First Lord of the
Admiralty, and Herbert, son of the even better known Mr. Sidney Herbert
and brother of the late Lord Pembroke.

172 ST. LUCIA
of his officers came to dinner, and the Admiral stayed
overnight. I had observed before sunset that the flagship
had got under weigh and gone off to Gros Islet Bay,
where she was plainly visible at anchor. On my asking
the Admiral the cause, he said, " Oh, she came to anchor
badly to-day, and I sent her out there to practise all to
morrow. So the unfortunate crew, instead of getting a
run on shore, spent the whole of the next day in getting
under weigh and coming to anchor. The lesson was prob
ably salutary, but severe.
The following night I dined with the Admiral, who, as
in keeping with his sobriquet, " The Swell of the Ocean,"
had a cook whose equal I never had the good fortune to
come across either on board ship or in the Colonies, with,
perhaps, a single exception. On my telling the Admiral
that his dinner was the best I had eaten in my six years of
the West Indies he was evidently very much pleased. Years
afterwards, when I had just returned to England after a
long absence, and was dining alone at " The Travellers "
(Club), I was startled by a voice exclaiming in my ear, " I
hope your dinner is as good a one as you found mine at
Castries." It was Lord Alcester.
In the latter part of 1869 I received a visit from Mr.
Rawson, who was for some days a guest at Government
House. He came in a ship-of-war, in which I accompanied
him to Soufriere and Vieuxfort, situate respectively at the ex
treme north-west and north-east of the island. We together
visited the Soufriere Mountain, and amused ourselves by
boiling eggs in the volcanic water coming up through the
barely hardened sulphur in innumerable places. The views
during the ascent to the Soufriere and behind the Pitons
are of unsurpassed beauty, the rich colour of both sea and
land between and around these giant rocks almost equal
ling what I have since seen in the coral islands of the
southern hemisphere.
At Vieuxfort we went ashore and rode to the plantation
of Mr. John Goodman, forming a large cavalcade mounted

ST. LUCIAN FEASTS 173
on ponies and mules. Mr. Goodman provided the large
party with an excellent dinner; and I may say here that
when specially commending Beauchamp Seymour's cook I
must not be taken as depreciating West Indian dishes,
some of which are of a nature to please the most critical
palate. What is wanting in them is rather variety than
quality. In St. Lucia, on the very few occasions when I
dined out, the dinner, though excellent, was always nearly
the same. The pike de resistance was a saddle of lamb
with both legs intact and the tail visible (experience indi
cating the necessity of insisting upon a tail with hind-
quarter joints to make sure that it was not goat). Then
there was always a large, truffled turkey, a huge, beautifully
made meringue, and land-crabs dressed in their shells,
besides luxuries imported from France — such as ceps, pdte
de foie gras, etc. — the whole assisted by a great variety
of French wine, which, owing to the continual intercourse
preserved with France, was of specially good quality.

CHAPTER III
Visit to Trinidad— Hon. Arthur Gordon, Governor— Charles Kingsley : my
impression of him— Reasoning of monkeys — Charles Kingsley visits me in
St. Lucia— The "Cinquante Pas duRoi" : difficulty at Canaries and its settle
ment — Subsequent gratitude of villagers— Visit of Judge Norton — Invasion
of fleas — Captain Warburton, r.e. — Telegraph subsidy— Castries Corpora
tion : neglect of its duty and its abolition — Bad condition of roads, and
cause — The corvie system : its abuses — Instance of double action of brain
— Substitution of poll-tax for corvie and its success.
EARLY in January, 1870, when overwork was impera
tively demanding a short change, I accepted the
hospitable invitation of Mr. Arthur Gordon (now Lord
Stanmore)1 to pay him a visit in Trinidad, of which island
he was then Governor. I was the more eager to do so,
because, being already an Administrator of experience,
he had views and tastes with which I had much sympathy.
Among these I may specially mention his love of nature,
his predilection for forest travel, and his strong feeling on
the subject of due protection for the immigrants from India
and China.
The Government House at Trinidad, which I afterwards
inhabited, was not then built, the Governor living in a
large bungalow situate at the western end of the beauti
ful botanic garden. The dwelling, itself a picturesque
object, was surrounded by much varied beauty of foliage
and mountain. Nothing could exceed the kindness of my
reception by Mr. and Mrs. Gordon ; their ever-considerate
attention to one who was not in good health contributing
largely to make my visit specially agreeable. Needless to
say that this result was also in some measure due to the
presence in the house of Charles Kingsley and his daughter.
1 Youngest son of the fourth Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister.
!74

CHARLES KINGSLEY 175
I had previously known the author of Westward Ho ! only
from his books, and, as I imagine is usual in such cases, I
found the man to be very different from my idea of him.
His stammering and other peculiarities did not seem to
indicate the manly nature which I knew he possessed. His
expressions of admiration evinced an almost feminine
enthusiasm, and he gave the impression of extreme earnest
ness even about insignificant trifles by a peculiarity of
voice which I have frequently observed in clergymen
when they read out numbers of chapter and verse, as well
as the text itself, with the same solemnity. Nevertheless,
I felt for him by degrees a strong personal attraction, es
pecially as he took extreme interest in, and never lost an
opportunity of drawing from me, my experiences in the
tropical forest, which were still fresh in my memory. It
seems that I was mistaken in supposing this interest
assumed out of kindliness to a sick man leading a very
isolated life. On reading Kingsley's Memoirs, I found
there, in a letter written to his wife and not intended for
publication, a reference to me as " Mr. D. V., Governor of
St. Lucia" (in terms too complimentary to be repeated
here), from which it is clear that my narrations had given
him real pleasure. It appears from this, also, that he had
known my father and mother — a fact which I do not
remember his mentioning to me at the time.
Mr. Gordon expressed deep interest in my letter to Lord
Granville about the condition of the Guiana coolies, the fate
of which was as yet unknown. He had discovered defects
similar to those I had pointed out in the system of immigra
tion in Trinidad, had already remedied some of them, and
was about to deal with others. Needless to say that this
confirmation of my views afforded me much comfort at
what was naturally a period of great anxiety.
Sadly I left this pleasant house and party to return to
my dreary life in St. Lucia, which was only rendered toler
able by the perception, already acquired, of how much field
there was for continuous labour towards improvement.

176 ST. LUCIA
Shortly after my return I was delighted to see again
Charles Kingsley and his daughter, who paid me a visit of
some hours at my house while the steamer which was
carrying them to England remained in harbour. I then
gave him some photographs, which I had had printed in
England, of the Guiana forest, and among which was that
of the great tree before mentioned as subsequently appear
ing in At Last. I gave him, also, a curious natural history
specimen which, if I knew where it is now, I should be glad
to see again. It was a rat-tail partially swallowed by a
harmless snake which is his deadly enemy. The swallower
was, I think, no larger than the swallowed, with a skin so
distended as to be almost transparent. This swallowing
feat was witnessed by a considerable number of people.
The particulars of the preliminary battle I have now for
gotten, except that the conqueror managed to encircle his
victim and kill him by breaking his back, proceeding im
mediately afterwards to devour him, head first. When
some inches of rat-tail had disappeared, both were taken
and put into rum, in which condition they were presented
to me. I was told at the time, though I never had an
opportunity of establishing the fact, that what was observed
on this occasion is not an uncommon occurrence, and that
when the victim, as in this case, is too large to be devoured
at one meal, a portion only is taken in and digested without
being separated from the remainder, which is dealt with by
instalments in the same way. If so, the gastric juice of this
snake must be of marvellous power, and might prove to be
a medicine more valuable than pepsine.1
Of Kingsley's conversation during his visit, I have re
tained clearly only one remark. On observing in my room
his brother's novel, Geoffrey Hamlin, for which I expressed
1 Before leaving the subject of snakes, I may mention that a dead rat-tail
was once brought to the Government Office in Castries, from which emerged
over eighty live young ones. As these were all about an inch in length, they
could hardly have been then born ; and this circumstance, therefore, seems to
give confirmation to the common belief that in a moment of danger the young
seek refuge in the body of their mother.

"CINQUANTE PAS DU ROI" 177
much admiration, he said, as I thought, with an air of
superiority, " Yes, the best book Henry ever wrote."
Early in 1870 took place an occurrence which before
a settlement was reached occasioned much trouble and
anxiety. When the French governed the island, they
granted the land to private persons, reserving for public
purposes a strip all round the coast fifty paces from high-
water mark, still called the "Cinquante Pas du Roi." Some
of the proprietors of neighbouring estates, having been
allowed to use this reserved land for generations, had come
to look upon it as their own, and the power of resumption
possessed by the Crown had been almost forgotten.
In the Bay of Canaries, situate on the western coast
between Castries and Soufriere, the proprietors of the estate
situate in the neighbouring valley had seventy years before
permitted a negro village to spring up on the " Cinquante
Pas." So long as the inhabitants of this village continued
to be the obedient servants of the proprietor they were per
mitted to remain undisturbed. But disagreement having
occurred on the pretext of alleged trespasses by the villagers,
the proprietor was preparing to eject them, and actually
applied to the magistrate to have their stock destroyed.
On receiving Grey's report of the circumstances, and after
making due inquiries, I saw that such unjust proceedings, if
permitted, would cause a dangerous feeling throughout the
island, especially as other arbitrary acts on the part of the
proprietor had already embittered the villagers' feelings
towards him. The proprietor had sufficient remedy at law
against trespassers to obviate all necessity for extreme
measures of this kind, even if they were legal, which I
was advised these were not. In any case, to render home
less some hundreds of people for the faults of a few was
unjustifiable. After full consideration of this subject in Executive
Council I determined, in spite of a somewhat hesitating
compliance on the part of the other members, to resume
the "Cinquante Pas" on behalf of the Crown and to sell it

178 ST. LUCIA
in lots on easy terms to the people who possessed houses
there. As such a proceeding was unprecedented, it excited
much bitterness among a certain class of proprietors,
especially those of French descent ; but I was glad to
find that some of the more enlightened acknowledged its
justice and expediency as tending to obviate dangerous
disturbances. The expediency was proved by the result. For the
baffled proprietor, finding it necessary to cultivate amicable
relations with his black neighbours, entirely changed his
attitude towards them, which they reciprocated by working
his estate as in former times. The villagers also showed
gratitude to the Government for their improved position,
and, regarding Grey as the moving cause of it, they came
up in a body to attend his funeral. Years afterwards, when
I was temporarily leaving the island, they presented me
with an address recognising in warm terms what had been
done for them ; and, moreover, at a subsequent time they
made a voluntary offer of assistance to the Government for
the purpose of quelling a disturbance in another part of the
island. Though the cure and prevention of abuses occupied my
time largely in my first year, I was continually taking notes
with a view to measures of improvement. Before the end
of 1 87 1 I had already passed a considerable number of
ordinances making salutary reforms of various kinds.
Several of these dealt with subjects requiring more or less
elaborate provisions, and as I found it to be necessary to
draft them myself as well as to advocate them in the Legis
lature and explain them to the Secretary of State, my work
was so severe that I was frequently threatened with a break
down of health. From this, however, I was saved, partly
by visitors, to whom an attention was due, which interrupted
the strain, and partly by brief vacations — one spent in
Barbados and one in St. Vincent, where my friend Mr.
Dundas was then Lieutenant-Governor. A second visit to
Mr. Gordon in Trinidad, which was intended to have this

CAPTAIN WARBURTON 179
effect, proved unfortunate owing to the accident, previously
mentioned in that part of my narrative relating to Guiana.
Of my visitors on the Morne, one was Judge Norton, of
British Guiana, whose stay was rendered memorable by an
invasion of fleas, such as happily I have never experienced
before or since. They appeared suddenly one morning
without notice, and in such numbers that it was impossible
to keep them out of one's clothes, the irritation thus caused
reminding me forcibly of the bete rouge of the Guiana
forest. Fortunately in two or three days the plague dis
appeared as suddenly as it came, and what is still more
singular, I never afterwards saw one of the creatures in my
house. Another of my visitors (of the human species) was
Captain Warburton, of the Royal Engineers. He was a
man of very marked ability, for whom there seemed a
prospect of a brilliant career. I found that he was on terms
of friendly correspondence with one of the distinguished
brothers 1 of my stepmother, Sir William Denison, who be
longed to the same corps. In the evenings while smoking
in the gallery we discussed many subjects, including re
ligion, on which we held similar views — views which I have
found to be common to most men who, leading solitary
lives, have been compelled to think for themselves. With
out discussing these here, I cannot forbear mentioning with
approval as evidence of really liberal views on the part of
a sectarian, a sentiment which Warburton repeated to me
orally, attributing it to William Penn. It was as follows :
" The good, pious, and devout souls are everywhere of one
1 With regard to one of these brothers, the well-known George Anthony,
I may mention as interesting and not, I think, generally known, that Mr.
Ditcher, the Vicar of South Brent, who was the plaintiff in the celebrated
suit of Ditcher v. Denison and might be supposed to have been bitter at the
defeat of his extreme Low Church views, sent for George Denison to console
him when he was dying, though there were many other clergymen in the
neighbourhood who would have been available — a fact equally to the credit of
one and the other. For myself, I may say that there was no one known to
me in my youth for whom I retain a warmer feeling than for the irrepressible
G. A. D.

180 ST. LUCIA
religion, and when death takes off the mask they shall
know one another, though the divers liveries they wear in
this life make them strangers."
Early in 1 870, by dint of arguments carried on through
four hours of an intensely hot afternoon, I succeeded at
last in persuading the Legislative Council to sanction a
subsidy of ^500 a year for the West India and Panama
Telegraph Company. The ship laying the cable was then
off the port, and had the subsidy been refused, she would
have passed the island, and communication by telegraph
with the outside world could have been obtained afterwards
only at greatly increased cost.
Yet at the time I dreaded the telegraph as likely to
curtail my freedom of action ; but my fear proved ground
less, while the daily arrival of news, however scanty, tended
to lessen the isolation. And the cable proved to be in
many ways useful both to the Government and people.
In 1870 the Corporation of Castries passed a bye-law
which would have so seriously interfered with the trade of
the port that I felt compelled to disallow it. The work of
this petty municipal body had been in various respects
unsatisfactory, and the town under its rule had fallen into
a very neglected condition. Finding that a desire for its
abolition was very general, I determined to take advantage
of it, and among the many measures of improvement
which were passed within the first two years of my admin
istration was one putting an end to the Elective Council
and establishing in its place a nominated Board responsible
to the Government. This change took place with a public
approval which was almost universal, being opposed only
by a few members of the deposed Council and others who
aspired to be such, while a public petition against it re
ceived only one signature. In a very short time its value
was shown by the greatly improved condition of the town,
its wharves and its finances.
The roads of the island generally were in an equally
parlous condition with the streets and wharves of Castries,

ABOLITION OF CORVEE 181
and my attention was equally directed to their improve
ment. The sea being the principal highway, the roads
were for the most part only bridle-paths ; but it was none
the less necessary that they should be in a condition to be
used with safety, and that the bridges over the numerous
streams should be in repair.
But the care of the roads had been entrusted to Com
missioners, most of them planters, supplied with labour by
the " corvee" a survival from the period of French occupa
tion by which every able-bodied man was obliged to give
six days' labour on the road or to pay a commutation
of six shillings per annum. Under strict supervision this
system might have worked well enough, and perhaps did
in the time of the French ; but now the days of corvie
labour were an occasion rather of jollification than of real
work. Such work as was done was too often directed, in
the absence of any Government superintendence, to the
private roads of planters rather than to those belonging to
the public. The laxity of the system was early shown by
the fact that when Mr. Grey within his district endeavoured
to get from the corvie some approach to real work, the
number of commutations in money nearly doubled.
I lost no opportunity both in Council and elsewhere of
exposing the abuses of this system. And so in 1871, 1 was
able to pass through the Council a measure abolishing the
corvie and substituting for it a poll-tax on all adult male
inhabitants of six shillings a head, provision being at
the same time made for the appointment of a Colonial
Engineer, responsible for the condition of the roads all
over the island, as well as for the construction and main
tenance of public buildings.
Previous measures imposing poll-tax in the West Indies
had not been fortunate, and, I believe, in every instance
had had to be withdrawn after much rioting and dis
turbance as well as evasion. Consequently all kinds of
evil were predicted of this measure, and I cannot say
that I was altogether without apprehension as to the

1 82 ST. LUCIA
result of the experiment. All fear on this head, however,
proved to be groundless. The people had evidently come
to feel that the government was directed to their benefit.
The tax was very generally and cheerfully paid in the
first year, and the collection, being by degrees made more
stringent, became almost exhaustive before I left the
island, thus adding a not inconsiderable sum to the public
revenue and enabling an improvement of the roads which
could only be appreciated by one who had seen their
previous condition.

CHAPTER IV

Legislation in 1869, r87o, 1871 — Abolition of Tribunal of Appeal and substi
tution of an improved court — Measure for reducing costs on judicial sales,
with remarkable effect — Constitution of office of Colonial Trustee— Pro
vision of telegraph subsidy — Inducement of immigrants to remain —
Establishment of Government Savings Bank — Provision for sick poor and
establishment of hospitals — Constitution of office of Colonial Engineer
and Surveyor— Law for removal of dangerous persons — The better main
tenance of roads — Charitable institutions and measures for improvement
— Rapid increase of revenue — New tariff passed unanimously after much
opposition — Official approval of proceedings — Visit of Lord and Lady
Frederick Cavendish — " De Lord is come " — Natural history observations.

IN order to convey to the reader with no knowledge of
the work of a colonial Administrator, some idea of its
scope, merely on the official side, I will herewith present
him with some specimen measures to which I gave my
time and attention during the first two years of office. It
will be seen that there was no lack of variety ; and I may
add that all of these measures were subsequently confirmed
by H. M. Secretary of State for the Colonies.
1. A law constituting the Chief Justice President of the
Tribunal of Appeal from magistrates' decisions. The
court previously existing had been one of the weak ex
pedients adopted for the purpose of lessening the ill-effects
of the late judge's doings.
This law prohibited the introduction of new evidence in
appeal, the permission of which had encouraged subor
nation of perjury. When the measure came into force
there was a significant diminution in the number of
appeals. 2. A new Masters and Servants Law to replace the
183

1 84 ST. LUCIA
Order-in-Council which had been made with reference to
newly emancipated slaves, and had become in many re
spects seriously out of date. Other laws were :
3. For reducing the costs on the sale of real property,
these costs being one of the many scandals of the recent
regime in the Supreme Court. An estate sold judicially
immediately after the new regulations came into force real
ised £6,500, and of this sum the creditors obtained £500
more, and the public treasury £go more than they would
have received previously.
The average proportion of these costs to the proceeds of
sales, which previous to this law had been 28 per cent., was
in the succeeding years reduced to 3 per cent., and in 1875
to 17 per cent.
4. For constituting a new officer, the colonial Trustee,
whose principal duty was to take charge of vacant succes
sions and estate of bankrupts and unrepresented absentees.
The administration of these estates had furnished another
of the many legal scandals. There had been no systematic
compulsion to render accounts. Sometimes these were
never seen at all, and even when brought to light were
most unsatisfactory.
5. To provide a subsidy for the West India and Panama
Telegraph Company, in return for specified services to be
rendered. 6. To provide inducement for immigrants from India
to remain in the island after the termination of their
indentures service. By this a not inconsiderable amount
of labour was. retained which would otherwise have been
lost to the colony.
7. Establishing a Government Savings Bank. This
bank, I am glad to hear, has existed and flourished ever
since, the deposits showing an annual increase.
8. Providing for the better care of the sick poor, for the
establishment of a general and district hospitals, and for
the maintenance of an improved medical service. This
subject will be dealt with further below.

REMOVAL OF DANGEROUS PERSONS 185
9 and 10. Constituting the offices of Colonial Engineer
and Colonial Surveyor.
11. Giving power to the Governor to remove from the
island persons dangerous to its peace and good order.
This was one of the few laws passed which it was deemed
necessary to refer for the sanction of the Secretary of State
before putting it into force. As it turned out, he objected
— and rightly objected — to my draft, and I was instructed
to substitute for deportation a banishment order, with
penalty for disobedience. This was a decided improve
ment, as by the simple order of banishment the Govern
ment avoided responsibility for the destination chosen by
the person banished.
A measure of this kind had been rendered necessary
by the arrival of highly objectionable persons from two
different quarters. French convicts had come from
Cayenne, either having escaped or having been sent to
this destination by the Government. On the other hand,
there had been serious troubles and insurrection in Mar
tinique, and various coloured agitators, in fear of punish
ment, had crossed to St. Lucia, where there was good
reason to believe they continued to plot against the French
Government. Though this was the subject of several com
plaints from the Governor of Martinique, I could not deal
with these men unless some offence were proved against
them which rendered them amenable to extradition. More
over, their offence being of a merely political character, it
would under ordinary circumstances be contrary to British
policy to interfere with them. The circumstances of this
case, however, were exceptional. The peoples of Martin
ique and St. Lucia are so closely connected by common
blood and language, as well as by frequent intermarriage
and intercommunication, that any disturbance arising in
the one island is almost certain to have dangerous effects
in the other. The race-hatred, which had become so violent
in Martinique, was not without a certain counterpart in St.
Lucia, and there was clear evidence of efforts to increase this

1 86 ST. LUCIA
ill-feeling. The Government printer had been induced to
issue an inflammatory pamphlet which would almost cer
tainly have had serious consequences if the majority of the
people had not come to look upon the Government as their
friend. On this account, fortunately, the dangerous seed
fell mostly on ground unfavourable to it, while a wholesome
fear of the new law rendered it almost unnecessary to en
force it. Indeed, I do not remember that it was enforced
at all, except against one or two escaped convicts.
The pamphlet referred to was an able one, and, if I
remember rightly, abounded in insidiously veiled sugges
tion. I have unfortunately preserved only one passage of
it, which I noted as strikingly true, and, but for its connec
tion, harmless. It was as follows : —
" The offensive manner of many coloured people and the un
happy prevalence among them of dishonest and disreputable
living, which are often put forward as the cause of their exclusion
from society, is in reality quite as much its effect. But this
objectionable familiarity is in reality a phase of wounded vanity,
demanding a constant assertion of equality, while despair of social
advancement involves the absence of what is to most men one of
the strongest inducements to rectitude."
12. Providing for the better maintenance of the roads
and bridges of the island, and for bringing them more
completely under Government control.
I had passed altogether over thirty ordinances, all but
one or two formal ones having been not only conceived, but
actually drafted by myself; and I may mention that, there
being no shorthand writer in the island to report what was
said, I felt it expedient for the information, not only of the
Secretary of State but of the local public, that very full
minutes should be published of all debates in Council. As
I had at command no one capable of doing this to my
satisfaction, I was always occupied immediately after each
of the many meetings at which these ordinances were
passed, and while my memory was fresh, in recording for
publication as complete a summary as possible of all dis-

WRETCHED PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS 187
cussion upon them and other business. I was specially
careful to enter all arguments in opposition, and after the
minutes had been published in the Government Gazette
members were always at the next meeting afforded an
opportunity of objecting to any errors of commission or
omission. That these reports were faithfully given may be
gathered from the fact that in the whole of my career in
St. Lucia only on one occasion was such objection offered,
and then all the other members, except the objector, as
serted their understanding of what he had said as being
what I had recorded. In the case of important meetings
these minutes occupied several columns of small print, so
that it may be imagined the labour in preparing them was
by no means slight, every sentence having to be carefully
considered, to avoid the possibility of giving false impres
sions of what was said.
Among the earliest subjects which engaged my attention
was the condition and inadequacy of the public charitable
institutions and the almost utter inability on the part of
the great majority of people to obtain medical aid in case
of illness or accident. These institutions then consisted of
a lunatic asylum, a Yaws asylum, and a poor asylum.
There was no hospital, such patients as were treated at the
public expense being, whatever their diseases, lodged in the
poor asylum, together with aged poor and occasionally
even with lunatics — for whom there was no room in their
proper asylum. The Yaws asylum, much overcrowded
with patients suffering from that leprous disease, was a
wretched and wholly unsuitable building, close to the luna
tic asylum and under the same management. The building
for the latter was even more unsuitable in itself, while it
was entirely without any enclosure, so that the wretched in
mates were necessarily confined to the house and its small
verandah. The insecurity of the premises had, perhaps,
suggested and kept in use various forms of restraint which
had been long abandoned in more civilised communities.
As regards want of medical aid, I found that many, in

188 ST. LUCIA
all parts of the island, died from trifling diseases and acci
dents, who, with the aid of the most ordinary professional
skill, might have been saved. I found also on the examina
tion of the mortality returns that the high death-rate
was principally caused by a very disproportionate loss of
children. In fact, the chance of living to the age of five in
St. Lucia was no greater than that of reaching fifteen in
England. Apart from the question of humanity, simple
economic expediency rendered imperative attempts to re
duce this excessive mortality in an island where prosperity
so much depended upon the amount of available labour. By
continually urging this consideration I succeeded in gradu
ally overcoming the opposition of some of the unofficial
members of Council to the expenditure required for the
most obviously necessary improvements.1
Though, as the natural result of the various reforms
above indicated, the revenue began at once to increase
rapidly, it was impossible to meet from it all these new
charges without some additional taxation.
After full consideration of all possible alternatives, I de
cided upon a small increase of the import duties, especially
those upon spirits and tobacco, such a measure having
more than ordinary justification in the fact that the objects
for which additional revenue was required were chiefly for
the benefit of the poorer classes. Placing my proposal
before the Secretary of State, together with an exhaustive
review of all other possible forms of taxation and my
1 Before I left the island in 1876 the most crying evils had been remedied in
the following particulars : —
1. A large house with extensive recreation ground attached had been pur
chased and adapted for the use of lunatics.
2. The old lunatic asylum, repaired and improved, was utilised as an addi
tional Yaws asylum.
3. One large central hospital, capable of accommodating 200 patients, had
been built at Castries, and two auxiliary hospitals had been provided — one at
Soufriere and one at Vieuxfort.
4. This permitted of the poor asylum being used exclusively for paupers.
5. Provision had been made for the salaries of a Colonial Surgeon and three
assistant surgeons.

CONCURRENT ENDOWMENT 189
reasons for rejecting them, I, with Mr. Rawson's support,
received his sanction for that which I had chosen.
To obtain the approval of the Legislative Council with
out the use of the official votes was a matter of greater
difficulty. There was strong opposition on the part of all
the unofficial members ; but after prolonged argument the
planters were converted, and the merchants eventually
followed suit, so that the new tariff passed unanimously.
In reporting the successful outcome of this Council meet
ing I remarked that unanimity with regard to such a
measure was unprecedented in the history of the island;
and Mr. Rawson, in addressing the Secretary of State on
the subject, while confirming the above statement, said —
" I concur with the Administrator in considering that the suc
cess of his budget and the disposition of his Council are subjects
of congratulation j I have satisfaction in adding that I attribute
both to his zealous and able administration of the affairs of the
island." I may mention here that my first and only serious differ
ence with Mr. Rawson happened during 1871. It was a
time when the home Government was bent upon the
abolition, as far as possible, of all religious endowments.
He and I felt that such abolition would in St. Lucia be
inexpedient, and that what was required was some degree
of " levelling up " between the endowments allotted re
spectively to Roman Catholics and Protestants. The
former were greatly in the majority, and the total amount
given in salaries to their ten cures was very disproportionate
to that of the stipends of the two Protestant ministers.
Being, perhaps, more alive to greater needs of the colony,
I was desirous that there should be no increase in the total
amount of religious endowment, and that the inequality
should be remedied by distributing that amount strictly
according to the numbers of the two sects. Mr. Rawson,
on the other hand, in order to retain the existing salaries
of the Protestant ministers, which were, indeed, little
enough, advocated additions to the Roman Catholic vote,

190 ST. LUCIA
which I felt would mean undue increase of expenditure ;
and he, perhaps not unnaturally, resented the somewhat
vigorous presentation of his subordinate's opinions.
The decision of the Secretary of State, to whom this
matter was referred, though more in accord with my view
than Mr. Rawson's, was a compromise between the two
extremes. I must acknowledge that I was wrong in
advocating endowments in exact proportion to numbers.
For the Catholic clergy had means of increasing their
emoluments by fees, of which they fully availed themselves,
while the English ministers being almost entirely without
such assistance, the cutting down of their stipends on the
occurrence of vacancies would probably result in depriving
the Protestants of all ministry. I was fortunately ignorant
of what irritation at my opposition caused Mr. Rawson to
write of me on this occasion, until it was published long
afterwards in a Parliamentary Blue Book, and so the
estrangement between us which was caused by the differ
ence was short-lived. I frankly acknowledged where I had
been in error, and our relations continued to be as agreeable
as at first up to the conclusion of his term of office.
Apart from the question of clerical stipends, the religious
difficulty, as in larger communities, showed itself in matters
of education. An Education Board, of which the Adminis
trator was chairman, decided in what proportion the educa
tional vote was to be distributed between the two sects.
In the face of an increasing opposition on the part of the
Catholic clergy, I always supported the equal division of the
vote, on the ground that the Mico Charity, though con
ducted by Protestants, gave education without regard to
the religion of the pupils, and that their schools were
utilised by many Catholic parents who desired a superior
education for their children. I was sorry to hear that after
my departure from the island this excellent charity found
it necessary to abandon its work in St. Lucia, the pressure
of the Catholic clergy having caused the withdrawal from
their schools of most of their non-Protestant pupils.

"DE LORD IS COME" 191
In December, 1871, I received a visit from Lord and
Lady Frederick Cavendish, who, remaining with me some
days, afforded me an agreeable change from the monotony
of my ordinary existence. Sir Graham Briggs, a leading
planter in Barbados, who also owned property in St. Kitts,
was my guest at the same time, and on his invitation our
whole party accompanied him to Barbados on a visit to
his estate. I was then in far from good health, and
my memory of this period is very indistinct. I, however,
recall one circumstance which caused me much surprise.
I pointed out on my table some specially small dwarf
bananas, which I thought were probably new to my English
guests, when Lady Frederick informed me that the plants
from which this banana had been first cultivated in the
West Indies had been sent from Chatsworth, and that it
was called Musa Cavendishiana ; which reminds me that
during a visit to Chatsworth in the winter of 1873 I was
admiring the ordered beauty of the great conservatory
there, when Lady Frederick remarked, with much truth,
" After all, it is not as beautiful as one of your negro
gardens." Our drive across the island of Barbados to Sir Graham's
plantation was one prolonged ovation. The local yeomanry
escorted the carriage, and crowds of people in all of the
many villages cheered, or rather screamed and yelled
vociferously, some of them occasionally shouting, "De
Lord is come ! " I am not without a suspicion that the
more ignorant had an idea of some special relation between
the English nobility and the Maker of the universe !
While in Barbados Mr. Rawson (who also extended to
us his hospitality), seeing my condition of health, persuaded
me to avail myself without further delay of the leave of
absence which had been more than once accorded to me,
but of which I had not taken advantage. Accordingly, the
Cavendishes having returned with me to St. Lucia, I quickly
finished all immediately pressing business, and left with
them in the mail steamer for England. That my health

192 ST. LUCIA
had come very near a breakdown was not altogether to be
wondered at. I had been unwell from the moment of
arrival, two and a half years before, and in the interval had
occurred my accident in Trinidad, the Guiana Commission,
and my labours in St. Lucia of which I have given a very
inadequate description.
On my departure several addresses were presented to me.
These were signed by the leading representatives of all
classes, white and coloured, and showed clearly that my
work for the island had at length become generally appreci
ated. Their effect was therefore an encouragement such as
I had never before experienced.
I have omitted to mention that in October, 1871, cholera
and small-pox being rife in the neighbouring islands, it
became specially necessary to give attention to the sanitary
condition of the towns and villages. With a view to im
provement in this respect, I devised and drafted some
general regulations, which a local law enabled the Governor
to put into force on their proclamation. The effect produced
was beyond my expectation, the people recognising the
object and value of the provisions far more generally than
has been the case in some communities usually supposed to
be more enlightened.
It may be presumed that the Secretary of State approved
of these regulations. For though I was never directly in
formed of the fact, I received some months afterwards a
circular despatch, addressed to Governors of Tropical
Colonies, containing a copy of my regulations and recom
mending them as worthy of general adoption.
My time in St. Lucia was always so fully occupied that
I had little to spare for other than official work. Natural
history observations were necessarily confined almost exclu
sively to such as could be made in the immediate neigh
bourhood of my house. In the grass on the Morne there
was abundance of the common sarsaparilla,1 the only plant
1 Having seen the plant recently in * conservatory, I was told that its
scientific name is Asclepias curassavica, or swallow-wort.

NOCTURNAL HUMMING-BIRDS? 193
growing wild, which I have seen in many parts of the world
widely separated. For I have noticed its little red flowerswith
their yellow centres not only in St. Lucia, on the sea wall
in Georgetown, Demerara, and in Trinidad, but in Australia
and in several islands of the Western Pacific. Sensitive
plants were also in great profusion, and where many grew
close together it was curious to notice the effect on all of a
slight touch upon one, which by its immediately shrivelled
appearance seemed to affect with sympathy all its neigh
bours. The hollow cones constituting the traps of the ant-lion
were so abundant that they could hardly fail to attract
notice. When an unwary ant reached the loose sand at the
edge of the trap, the falling of grains aroused his enemy
lying concealed at the bottom. Immediately the powerful
hind-legs of the ant-lion would throw up a shower of sand,
which, falling on the ant, caused it to tumble down the side
of the cone and to be quickly seized and devoured. In so
far as I know (but I confess that my knowledge is ex
tremely limited) this is the only animal in the whole range
of natural history which uses for obtaining its prey a weapon
which is not part of its own body. For the stories about
monkeys throwing sticks are, I am inclined to think,
apocryphal, and have probably arisen from the fact, which
I myself observed in the Guiana forest, that monkeys, when
alarmed, in running quickly along the tops of the trees
cause the breaking of dry twigs in their passage over
them. The ruby-breasted humming-bird was a frequent visitor
to the flowers which grew about the galleries of my house.
They were particularly fond of a perennial purple convol
vulus, the flowers of which opened in the early morning
and did not last beyond the day. Climbing with it was a
white convolvulus, an annual which flowered only at night
(Iponuza bona nox) ; and I noticed as curious that the hum
ming-birds appeared to find its attraction so great as to
abandon for it their usual habit of going to roost at sunset.
1. — o

Missing Page

Missing Page

196 ST. LUCIA
also in a precarious condition, and my first weeks were spent
at Folkestone, where she shortly afterwards also died.
In London I occupied at first the house of my old aunt,
Lady Grey, who herself was, as usual, at Cannes for the
winter. The house in question (7, Seamore Place, Curzon
Street) revived many memories of Saturday and Sunday
outings from Charterhouse and of the statesmen whom I
had formerly seen as guests there. One of these who was
still alive, Sir George Grey, I during this year saw there
again, and we had a long talk, chiefly about my doings and
prospects. Though considerably past seventy, he appeared
then in excellent health. I can remember little of what he
said, except that he referred to his son (who died not long
afterwards) as having come to see me in Canada when he
was in attendance on the Prince of Wales some ten years
previously. He, however, gave me the impression that he
was a man of specially good judgment, so that I can well
believe what is said of him, that his opinions carried more
weight in the several Cabinets of which he formed part
than those of others who hold a more prominent position
in the history of their times.
Immediately after my arrival in London I went to
Brooks's (Club), to which I had been elected in my absence
some years before. On my going into the Club there
occurred an amusing incident. None of the very few
members known to me being there at the time, I asked to
see the proprietor (it was then a proprietary club, though
it has since been bought by the members). His name was
Banderet, which in his letter to me announcing my election
I had misread as Bauderet. The servant apparently did
not hear me clearly, and there presently came into the
strangers' room one whom I at once recognised as having
been summoned under a mistake. He was one of the
members, the first syllable of whose name sounded, though
it is not spelt, like " Bo." Though I had not for a moment
taken him for the proprietor, it may be imagined by those
who are acquainted with the sobriquet by which he was

LORD ROSEBERY 197
commonly known that he was by no means pleased at the
mistake. A few days after my arrival I was sitting alone at a late
hour in the little octagon room on the second floor, which
was then the only place in the club where smoking was
permitted. (Up to a very recent period, however, there was
always at the door of the morning-room a box of snuff for
the use of members.) Presently there came into the room
a young, entirely beardless man, looking almost as if he
were still at school. I had never seen him before, nor he
me, nor did I know who he was. In the course of conversa
tion, when he referred to some recent event I mentioned
that I knew nothing about it, as I had only just come from
the West Indies. He at once showed much interest, and
his questions about the various colonies evinced a know
ledge of them which, in so young a man, who had never
been there, I thought wonderful. My astonishment was
still greater when I found that he had read, and evidently
digested, all the recently published reports on Her Majesty's
colonial possessions, and that he knew more than I did
about those with which I had not been immediately con
nected. Presently he astonished me by asking whether I
knew anything of a Mr. Des Vceux, whose report had par
ticularly struck him as conveying much more suggestive
information than such reports usually do ; when he in turn
showed a very genuine astonishment on hearing that I was
the individual in question. As he then had the advantage
of me, I thereupon asked him his name, when he replied,
"Rosebery." Many years afterwards, in December, 1883,
when Lord Rosebery was being entertained at a public
dinner at Sydney by the Speaker of the New South Wales
House of Assembly, I, in the course of an after-dinner
speech, told this story of him by way of reply to state
ments which had been made that his colonial enthusiasm
had been recently assumed.
Brooks's, which in the days of Fox and Sheridan had
been celebrated for its gambling and conviviality, and, in a

198 ST. LUCIA
later day, had been the scene of much political excite
ment (as when Lord Derby, afterwards the Tory leader,
harangued the Whig magnates from the morning-room
table), had now attained to a decorum nearly approaching to
dullness.1 Even a whist table was rarely seen ; the billiard-
room was scarcely ever used ; and the only relics of former
gambling were the hazard table, which had been formerly
surrounded by Fox and his kindred spirits, the specimens
of gambling counters (one representing ^500), and the old
betting-book.2 Political excitement had also nearly vanished, except
perhaps, at the time of a General Election, when the polls
were being posted (and now, since the division of the
Liberal party, has almost entirely disappeared).
The Brooks's betting-book, in which all bets made in the
Club were formerly recorded, bears striking testimony to
the wide difference which separates the manners and habits
prevailing at the end of the eighteenth century and the
beginning of the nineteenth from those of the present day.
Bets were entered there between persons of great position,
to be read by all members of the Club, which, if made now,
a man would hardly dare to avow to his greatest friend ;
while many others of a less objectionable character seem to
indicate what we should now regard as a curious want of
delicacy and sense of propriety. (I have recently noticed
that some of the more outrageous of these records have dis
appeared.) Bets, if ever made now in the Club, are not
entered in the book, the last entry being many years old.
Only once have I heard a bet made at all, and that was as
long ago as 1872 or 1873. It was in the same little smok-
1 The late Frank Lockwood, I am told, once said that the solemnity and
stateliness of dinner at Brooks's always suggested to him the poor Duke lying
dead upstairs !
a I observe that in a recent novel the writer describes the younger members
of Brooks's as endeavouring to revive the old days of gambling. Nothing could
be more untrue. In the many years which have elapsed since I joined the
club I have never seen, nor do I believe that there has been, any gambling
at all.

EXTRAORDINARY COINCIDENCE 199
ing-room mentioned above, and was between the late Duke
of St. Albans and (I think) the late Mr. George Fitzwilliam,
or his brother Charles, as to whether the late Lord 
had or had not dined a hundred and thirty times in the
Club during the previous year. The proprietor, Mr. Banderet,
was called in with the entry-book of diners, and it was
found that the backer of the high number had won.
Another occurrence witnessed by me in the same room
which I recall as taking place at this time was when Lord
Fife, at a late hour, brought in his son, the present Duke,
and — a somewhat unusual occurrence — introduced him to
all the members present.
In February, 1872, 1 was most hospitably entertained for
some weeks by friends in Grosvenor Place. During this
visit there occurred to me the most extraordinary coinci
dence that I ever experienced or even heard of. There had
been a dinner-party, which I specially remember, because
1 sat next to a lady of remarkable attraction, the young
wife of the Prince de Broglie, son of the then French
Ambassador. Smoking in London houses was then not so
common as now, my hostess particularly objecting to it ;
and so, after dinner, my host and I took our cigars outside.
We were walking slowly round Eaton Square, and I was
asking about the subsequent careers of our Oxford con
temporaries. After hearing about others, I inquired, " What
has become of ' Honeydew ' ? " that having been the Balliol
sobriquet of Edwin Lascelles. My voice reached farther
than was intended, and another replied, " Here I am."
Thereupon emerged from the fog the very man whom I
had named, and whom I had not seen for fifteen years !
His mother, Lady Caroline, lived in the square, so that his
presence there was in no way remarkable, but I was en
tirely ignorant of this. I met him, subsequently, several
times before his untimely death, at Brooks's and elsewhere,
and have often endeavoured to account for what, if mere
coincidence, must have had against its occurrence many
millions of chances to one. The only possible explanation

200 ST. LUCIA
that has occurred to me is that we may have previously
passed him in the square, and, though he was not recog
nised either by myself or my host (who knew him well), his
features, in the foggy night, may have made some im
pression on my brain and revived the recollection of him.
What is certain, however, is that neither of us who were
walking together were conscious of having seen anyone
at all.
Close to us in Grosvenor Place were the church and
residence of the Rev. George Wilkinson, then Rector of
St. Peter's, Eaton Square, and since successively Bishop of
Truro and St. Andrews. As he was married to my first
cousin, and they and their family were very intimate with
my host and hostess, I saw much of him. Though my
religious views and his were as the poles asunder, I could
not help admiring greatly the earnestness and thoroughness
of his work in the parish. I came to have so great a regard
for him that I was very unwilling to refuse doing anything
which he thought helpful. So when he asked me, with this
object, to attempt the conversion to more rational views of
certain socialists who rejected religion chiefly because it
seemed especially belonging to the rich, I reluctantly con
sented, on the understanding that I should refrain altogether
from touching doctrinal points.
Accordingly, on one or two Sunday afternoons, I called
at a house, I think in Pimlico, where several of such men
were in the habit of assembling. Whether my conversations
and arguments with them (which appeared to be attractive,
as derived from an experience of conditions utterly unlike
those of England) had any permanent result, I never knew,
but that they had some temporary effect was clear, as the
news of them went abroad in the poorer parts ofthe parish.
My doings thus became known to one of the district visitors,
and I mention this circumstance because, through a singu
lar concatenation of circumstances, it proved to be beyond
measure fortunate. Through the district visitor in question
I became acquainted with the late Lord and Lady Claud

THANKSGIVING SERVICE AT ST. PAUL'S 201
Hamilton, and at their hospitable invitation paid several
visits during the year to Heathfield, the place then occupied
by them in Sussex. Meeting there Lady Claud's brother-
in-law, William Baillie, I when later in the year staying
with his mother, Lady Georgiana, at Brighton, met General
(now Sir Richard) and Lady Jane Taylor. And it was at
dinner at the Taylors' house in Eaton Place that in January,
1873, I met tne father and mother of my future wife, to
whom, as I left England almost immediately afterwards, it
was highly improbable I should have otherwise become
known. It is thus to those little meetings in Pimlico that
I am able distinctly to trace by far the greatest happiness
of my life.
While staying in Grosvenor Place there occurred the
Thanksgiving Service at St. Paul's for the recovery of the
Prince of Wales from his dangerous illness. I was present
at the ceremony with a young cousin, and was much struck,
as we drove through the streets to the Cathedral, with the
extraordinary contrast between their then and their ordi
nary appearance. The people on the footpaths were so
densely packed as to render movement impossible, while
the centre of the roadway, usually crowded with traffic, was
so clear of vehicles that we passed along rapidly and with
out any stoppage the whole way. Our seats in the Cathedral
were not very good ones, and we saw the pageant and heard
the service but imperfectly. I had not been in the Cathe
dral since, when a boy on a bitterly cold November day in
1852, I had had almost the best possible view ofthe funeral
of the Duke of Wellington from one of Lord Harding's1
seats near the north-west angle formed by the crossing of
the nave and transept. On both occasions I was similarly
struck with the singular effect produced by leaves2 of the
printed service turned over at the same moment by the
congregation. I missed, however, at the later ceremony the
1 Then Commander-in Chief.
2 Since writing the above I have read Sir Edward Malet's reminiscences,
and I observe that this effect was noticed by him also.

202 ST. LUCIA
beautiful effect of the silver trumpets, which in the funeral
service accompanied the organ. The Thanksgiving Service
was, however, rendered to me specially memorable by cir
cumstances which occurred immediately after it was over.
As we were coming out of the Cathedral, Mr. Onslow,
Chaplain to the Prince of Wales, who had been one of the
party occupying the same seats with ourselves, was seized
with a fit. With the aid of another, I managed to lift him,
and forced our way through the crowd to place him on one
of the stone seats in the side of the wall. The poor man
was purple in the face, and seemed almost in extremis, the
attack being, as I supposed, apoplexy. It is almost incred
ible how some persons under such circumstances lose their
heads, and the offers made for alleviating the patient's
condition were extraordinary, one man actually tendering
a package of sandwiches ! With difficulty, however, we
obtained a knife from one of the bystanders, and cut open
shirt and dress in order to afford relief to the breathing.
I then took hold of the sufferer's body, someone assisting
with the legs, and carried out through the crowd into the
open air what appeared to be the heaviest weight I ever
lifted in my life. Leaving the poor man in good hands, I
hurried back into the church to find my cousin, and found
her bending over the prostrate body of a young lady, who,
being well acquainted with Mr. Onslow, had fainted at the
sight of his condition. I had then the comparatively easy
task of assisting to carry her out also, she, however, quickly
recovering on reaching the open air.
When some days afterwards Mr. Onslow also was better,
he wrote me a very grateful letter ; but he died, I believe,
shortly afterwards, and I never saw him again.
In May, my hosts having gone abroad, I moved into
lodgings in St. James's Place, and began to take part in
the "gaieties" of the season. Being fond of dancing, I
went to many balls, one of which was probably the last
held at the old Northumberland House, since removed to
make way for the avenue of the same name.

INVERMARK SHOOTING 203
After a dinner at Lady Cawdor's in South Audley Street
on the Derby Day, I walked down with Mr. Pole-Carew
(since become the distinguished General of that name) to
the Marlborough Club, and played with him a game of
American bowls in the alley which then existed there, but
has since been removed. It was the first and last time I
ever saw the game in England, though I had often played
it in America, and it has always been a matter of surprise
that an amusement which requires skill and combines ex
citement with exercise has never become naturalised here.
Though British air had much improved my health,
London dissipation, which only excitement enabled me to
sustain, at length began to tell upon me severely, and I
went with William Baillie to Malvern for good air and rest.
Early in August I went to Scotland to pay a visit at Seaton
House, near Arbroath, to Mr. Strachan Carnegie, husband
to the sister of my friend Grey, whose death two years be
fore had caused me so much sorrow. A charming hostess
and an agreeable party in the house contributed to make
a very pleasant week.
About the 18th August I availed myself of an invitation
to shoot grouse, which had been given me in the summer
at my Aunt Grey's by Lord Dalhousie, known to me in
boyhood as Mr. Fox Maule. After a circuitous railway
journey and a sixteen-mile drive from Brechin, I arrived
at Invermark, Lord Dalhousie's shooting-lodge, where
Lady Susan Ramsay was assisting her brother to entertain
a large party. Included in this were, together with their
eldest brother, Ladies Constance (now Lady Elgin) and
Beatrice Carnegie, who had not been the least agreeable of
the guests at Seaton House. Besides Lord Carnegie and
his uncle John (Captain R.N.), the shooting-men were
Major Young and Major Ramsay (nephews of our host)
and Mr. Claud Carnegie, the son of my host at Seaton.
The non-shooters were all ladies, with the exception of
Lord Halifax (the former Sir Charles Wood), who with
two members of his family arrived some days after myself.

204 ST. LUCIA
The lodge, which I think Lord Dalhousie had built him
self, was a very large and comfortable one, while the shoot
ing was then probably, if it is not now, the best in Scotland.
Lord Dalhousie liked to be credited with large bags, and
his nephew Major Young had that year, and I believe in
two previous years, by sleeping on the moor, and thus
getting to work very early, secured on the 12th August,
two hundred brace of grouse to his own gun. Each " gun "
was, as a rule, sent out separately, being provided with a
pony to carry him to and from his beat and another to
carry the game, and he was also accompanied by a keeper,
with two gillies and two brace of dogs.
At the time of my arrival the bloom of the shooting, so
to speak, had been taken off; but nevertheless, on the first
few days of my visit forty to sixty brace fell to every gun
except mine. My bag had never exceeded twenty-five to
thirty brace, partly because I was perhaps the worst shot
of the six, and partly because illness and the West Indian
climate had rendered me less able than they to hold out for
a long day's moor walking. In fact, I usually returned to
the house an hour or two before the others. My indiffer
ent performance was consequently a subject of much
" chaff," and I determined that for once I would try to
beat all of the others. Accordingly, having heard one
evening that next day I was to have a particularly good
beat, I arranged to start very early, and got out on the
moor by eight o'clock, or probably nearly two hours before
the others. Walking hard whenever the dogs pointed, and
allowing only twenty minutes for luncheon, I shot on until
dark, and arrived at the lodge only just in time for eight
o'clock dinner. I could hardly speak from exhaustion, but
I had bagged sixty-three brace, or three and a half more
than the best of the others, the crack-shot Major Young,
who in turn came in for much chaff on the subject.
Our host said that mine had been a " record " perform
ance for so late in the season (26th August), and expressed
the intention of having it painted up on the wall with my

A SHOOTING ACCIDENT 205
name attached to it ; but whether this was ever done I
never learnt. Lest it should be thought that my shooting
was particularly good, I may say at once that it was not.
The birds were so numerous that Major Young in the
same place and in equal time would have killed close upon
one hundred brace. How abundant they were on these
moors may be judged from the fact that on the only day
on which I had a shooting-companion I made a wager
with him at luncheon-time that I would bag three brace
while I was smoking a single cigar, which was to be kept
lighted. And I won.
In those days " drives " for grouse were not as common
in Scotland as I believe they are now. Lord Dalhousie
usually had one on Saturdays, and on such occasions shot
himself, using a very light gun (28-bore Purdy, I think),
his gouty fingers being unable to grasp the barrel, so as to
check the recoil of a larger weapon. Even with this dis
advantage he did considerable execution, and I always found
him with several dead birds round his box.
For these drives guns were invited from the neighbour
ing moors. At one in which I took part Lord Cairns was
present, coming from his " shooting " (I think, called Edzell)
close by. He happened to be in the next box to me, when
the line of guns was under a long bank with a slope nearly
approaching the perpendicular, some six feet high. A
brace of grouse coming towards me, I killed one in front,
and when the other had passed between me and Lord
Cairns I most fortunately killed it also, just as it was going
out of sight over the bank. At the same moment I heard
a loud ejaculation, followed by the strong language which
usually proceeds from an angry man. A pellet had struck
the Lord Chancellor about an inch under the eye, and he
was not unnaturally indignant at what appeared a reckless
shot. I was, however, able to point to my bird dead at a
spot from which lines drawn to our respective boxes would
have formed almost a right angle. If, therefore, the shot
came from my gun, it must have glanced from a stone in

206 ST. LUCIA
the bank at the top of which the bird was lying. A re
bound of this kind, however, is so extraordinary that I have
always had a suspicion that the shot was a spent one from
a more distant box, especially as it only just entered the
skin. But however this may have been, I shouldered the
responsibility, and of course expressed extreme regret,
which, when the circumstances were explained, was received
in good part. Some years afterwards, when meeting Lord
Cairns at a party at Lord Derby's, he alluded good-
humouredly to the affair, and, I was glad to hear, had
suffered only very temporary inconvenience.
At the beginning of September I went to St. Andrews,
and for the first time of my life saw the game of golf. On
the introduction of Mr. Elliot, who with his wife, Lady
Charlotte, were very hospitable to me, I became a tem
porary member of " The Royal and Ancient " Club, and
made acquaintance with many enthusiastic golfers, among
them Mr. Whyte Melville and his son, the author of Digby
Grand and other books which had delighted my younger
days. Golf had at once for me a strange attraction ; but
after those few days spent at St. Andrews I had no further
opportunity of playing it until I started a club in Hong
Kong seventeen years afterwards.
Subsequently in that autumn I paid shooting visits to my
friend Walter Morrison at Malham Tarn, almost, if not
quite, the highest inhabited house in England, and to Sir
Matthew Wilson at Eshton. Yorkshire birds, coming to
maturity earlier than those of Scotland, are too wild to be
approached with dogs after the first day or two of the
season, and the shooting at both of these places was by
drives. One of the beats at Malham is on the side of
Pen-y-gent, one of the highest mountains in England, and
there was thus a great extent of view from the boxes, which
much adds to the excitement of the sport. Sometimes on
this beat I have seen many hundreds, perhaps thousands,
of grouse on the wing at the same moment.
The late autumn was mostly spent at Brighton, which

A LUCKY SHOT 207
was recommended to me as specially invigorating. In the
winter I paid a flying visit to Pau and Cannes, which my
Aunt Grey, at a very advanced age, still made her winter
quarters. Pau, which is so beautiful in fine weather — the
view of the Pyrenees across the rich valley of the Gard
being hardly to be surpassed in loveliness — is most depres
sing when the heavens are unpropitious ; and as it rained
steadily for three days, I was driven away, and made the
very unpleasant cross-journey to the Riviera.
Cannes I found much enlarged during the six years of
my absence, but assuredly not improved, the increase of
building and enclosure having in many directions shut out
the view of the Mediterranean. Except the Vallombrosas
and my own belongings, scarcely anyone remained of the
society I had previously known there. I had intended, how
ever, to remain a week or two at all events, but was sud
denly called away by urgent business to England after a
stay of only four or five days. The Vallombrosas renewed
their kindly hospitality, and at a party there, chiefly com
posed of French Legitimists, my hostess introduced me to
the Duchesse de Castries, in conversation with whom I
found to my surprise that my capital in St. Lucia had been
named after one of her husband's family. I did not know
previously that the family still existed ; but my surprise
arose chiefly from the fact that the name is pronounced
" Castre," so that I did not at first recognise it.
Just before leaving again for the West Indies I spent a
very agreeable week at Burley-on-the-Hill, the beautiful
place of my Oxford friend, George Finch, then and still
member for the county of Rutland. Among a large party
staying at the house I had the pleasure of making the
acquaintance of Miss Montgomery, the author of that
most touching of stories, Misunderstood. We had a good
day's shooting the day I left, and I remember it specially
from the fact that the carriage to take me away having come
up to the edge of the cover, I was fortunate enough, just
before I got into it, to kill the only woodcock of the bag.

208 ST. LUCIA
This may have been an augury of good fortune. The
following day in London I first made acquaintance with her
who was destined to be my wife. Immediately afterwards I
was again on board the Seine bound for the West Indies.
I have forgotten to mention that while in London at my
brother Henry's house (which was then in Great Cumber
land Place) I met at dinner two friends of his who had been
his contemporaries at Balliol, one of them George Glyn,
afterwards created Lord Wolverton, the other Edward
Baring, afterwards created Lord Revelstoke. When I had
replied as might be expected to the question as to how,
when I was in Guiana, I had liked Governor A., they with
one accord said that they also had good reason to remember
him, when he was Premier of Canada, in connection with
the establishment of the Grand Trunk Railway, in which
they had both taken a large, and, I believe, unfortunate
interest.

CHAPTER VI
Return to St. Lucia — Reception there — Chaotic condition of law in the island
— Undertake the compilation of a Civil Code — Move for introduction
of central factory system to counteract French sugar bounties — Visit
Martinique to see system at work — Difficulties of introduction into
St. Lucia — The subject causes my return to England — Roman Catholic
Archbishop removes chief cure — Decline to pay salary to successor
pending appeal to Rome.
ON my return to St. Lucia I was cordially received, the
enthusiasm of the coloured people showing itself in
noisy and somewhat embarrassing demonstrations. They
followed and surrounded my horse as I rode up the Morne,
cheering, screaming, and waving handkerchiefs. It was a
relief to find peace in my house.
During my absence Mr. Armstrong, a barrister of Lower
(French) Canada, had been apointed Chief Justice, and had
arrived in the island. His attention had at once been
attracted to the unsatisfactory state of the law, the
ordinary uncertainty of which was increased by vagueness
of knowledge as to what law was actually in force. The
coutume de Paris was perhaps still valid, in so far as it had
not been altered. But many modifications had been made
by Louis XVI., under pressure from the flowing tide of
republicanism, and others were introduced after the Revolu
tion, all of which must be supposed to have been in force
at the period of the cession to England, though owing
partly to hazy knowledge of them, and partly perhaps to
anti-republican sentiment, they were little if at all recog
nised. When it is added that there had been many deci
sions on the part of the Court of Appeal of the Windward
Islands, which was composed of English judges unin-
i. — p 209

210 ST. LUCIA
structed in the Civil Law, and sometimes, as I was told,
expressing open contempt for it as being French, it may
easily be understood that, even apart from the doings of the
late Chief Justice, legal matters were in a state of almost
hopeless chaos. To restore some nearer approach to cer
tainty, Mr. Armstrong proposed to me to introduce the
English versions of the Civil Code and the Code of Civil
Procedure of Lower Canada, with only some slight altera
tions. Though I had formerly passed a comprehensive examina
tion in Civil Law, I had never before seen the Lower
Canada codes. On reading them, in order to form a judg
ment upon their suitability for the intended purpose, I
quickly found the French version to be a very able com
pilation founded for the most part on the Code Napoleon,
and as regards the commercial portion, upon English law.
But I observed at the same time that the English version,
all but the commercial chapters, must have been prepared
by those to whom English was not a familiar language,
and that while no doubt of great use when printed along
side the French, it would be apt to mislead frequently
when appearing alone.1 The printing of both versions
would not only double the expense, but would tend to per
petuate the French language in the island, which was for
many reasons undesirable. On the other hand, the English
version would for the above reason require much amend
ment to be satisfactory by itself. It occurred to me also
that while this code would, no doubt, be sufficiently intel
ligible to properly educated lawyers, there were many terms
in it which would produce hopeless confusion in the minds
of the local practitioners, most of whom had had but very
limited opportunities for legal education. For this reason I
deemed absolutely necessary a Chapter of Interpretation —
1 As one of many instances of such ambiguities, the term " execution " with
reference to a will, which in the ordinary acceptation means the act of signa
ture, is used in the Canadian Code to signify the exercise of their functions by
executors.

A CIVIL CODE 211
a want which, as I was subsequently informed by Mr. Henry
Reeve,1 had been felt in connection with other codes even
in the most civilised countries.2 Furthermore, I found
various provisions in this otherwise excellent code which,
as savouring of priestly influence, I could have no part in
legalising. To make the necessary amendments and improvements
described would involve much labour and delay ; and as
Mr. Armstrong was most anxious to bring into force some
fixed code at once, I had much difficulty in impressing him
with my views. When, however, he at length came to see
the matter in the same light as myself, he gave a loyal
assent, and he agreed to read the codes over with me,
clause by clause, advising me, from his experience of this
law in practice, as to the probable effect of suggested altera
tions and assisting me in making the English more intelli
gible when divested of the French version. For the former
of these purposes he proved very useful, but not for the
latter. For though coming from an English portion of
Lower Canada (now Quebec), he was obviously more
familiar with French, and was thus unable to see or to
correct defects in the English translation.
The work proved to be very heavy, as in the course of
1 Registrar of the Privy Council and the accomplished Editor of the Edin
burgh Review.
2 This Chapter of Interpretation cost me much greater labour even than I
had anticipated. Though it was finished at last, and met with expert approval,
its difficulties proved to be such as sometimes almost to lead me to despair of
overcoming them. To give in a few lines the meaning of a term, the definition
of which occupies several pages of a legal text-book, is in itself difficult enough,
and is rendered still more so when it is found, as I did in some cases, that of
a number of high legal authorities no two exactly agree. Fortunately, their
errors corrected one another, and enabled me, I hope, to avoid them all. To
give an idea, however, of the labour required to arrive at a satisfactory result,
I may mention that the words "delict" and " quasi-delict " occupied me several
days, the final definition having been arrived at only after many failures, as
covering either too much or too little. Indeed, my experience in this matter led
me to think possibly true the story that an attempt to codify English Criminal
Law was given up because the experts employed could not agree upon a defini
tion of murder.

212 ST. LUCIA
reading many improvements suggested themselves, requir
ing much consideration to make satisfactorily, and my
spare hours were largely occupied with this task during the
greater part of the time passed in St. Lucia in the subse
quent two and a half years. In March, April, and May of
1 873, and for several months of 1 874, Mr. Armstrong came
up to the Morne on most days, and we spent two or more
hours in reading. Some corrections would be made by me
at the time, but others, requiring more care, I made in the
intervals, and read them to the Chief Justice afterwards.
Soon after my return my attention was directed to a
movement, begun during my absence, towards the intro
duction into St. Lucia of the central sugar factory
system, which had proved most successful in the neighbour
ing French island of Martinique. There had been ideas,
more or less vague, on this subject among the local colonists
for some years past, and these had assumed a somewhat
more definite form since the publication in the Parliamen
tary Blue Book of my report on the island for 1870, which
had attracted the attention of Lord Rosebery. In that
report, some twenty-nine years before the subject was taken
up by Mr. Chamberlain, I drew attention to the effects
certain to ensue from the policy of bounty upon the export
of sugar which had been, or was being, adopted by various
foreign countries, and to the necessity of special effort to
meet an ever-growing danger. I suggested that one of
these should be the introduction of the central factory
system, which had already shown such satisfactory results
in Martinique, pointing out at the same time the special
advantage which it afforded to small cultivators, unable to
afford expensive machinery, who could obtain from it a
better reward for their labour, while at the same time avoid
ing the risk of manufacture.
Various deputations on this subject came to me ; and I
promised to give to the matter my best attention, feeling
sure that without the provision of some remedy, the im
portant sugar industry of the island was doomed to extinc-

CENTRAL FACTORY SYSTEM 213
tion. But the reduction of the central factory idea into
practical form presented many difficulties, some of which
were probably peculiar to St. Lucia. There was a not in
comprehensible reluctance on the part of the owners of
most of the larger plantations already established to give
up the complete control which they had hitherto enjoyed
both of cultivation and manufacture ; and so, while I
preferred that the first experiment should be made
in districts of the island where a sufficient supply of
canes was already assured, I was compelled to give up
all contemplation of this, owing to the prohibitory price
demanded there for cane contracts. No planter at either
Soufriere or Vieuxfort, where were the principal estates,
would consider any price less than the highest rate paid in
Martinique ; and as the success of the more recent factories
which had been compelled to give this high rate was not as
yet assured, I felt that it would be unsafe to start on such a
basis in an island where the conditions were, in several
respects, less favourable.
After consultation with one or two French experts whom
I induced to come to the island for the purpose of inspect
ing and reporting upon the locality, and its suitableness as
the site of a central factory, I determined to make the
effort to establish one in the valley of Grand Cul-de-sac,
within view from the south side of my house on the Morne.
But the proprietors, previously liberal of promises, became
difficult to deal with when they thought the selection of the
site definitely made. Negotiations about the acquisition of
the necessary land, about the right of way for the factory
tramways, about the supply of canes and the price to be
paid for them, and about advances of money in aid of
cultivation, all of them necessarily conducted by myself,
occupied several weeks, and occasioned a voluminous
correspondence ; I then encountered a degree of grasping
narrow-mindedness which I now feel ought to have been
to me a deterrent warning. At length, however, all seemed
sufficiently settled by provisional contracts to enable me to

214 ST. LUCIA
bring the matter before the Legislative Council, with a view
to a public guarantee of interest for some years on the
capital necessary for the provision and working of the
factory. After a prolonged debate, which was for the
most part favourable to the scheme, my proposals were
eventually carried unanimously; and I was authorised to
proceed to England with the object of gaining the sanction
of the scheme by the Secretary of State and of obtaining
the necessary capital.
Before proceeding on this mission I paid a visit to
Martinique for the purpose of seeing in operation some of
the factories there. Crossing the thirty miles of sea, which
separates the two islands, in the little coasting steamer
which local enterprise had recently procured, I arrived at
Fort de France, and was hospitably entertained in his house
by Admiral Cloue, then Governor of the island.
The contrast with St. Lucia, presented by the compara
tively civilised appearance of Martinique, could not but
strike the most unobservant spectator. Travellers who in
very short visits pass judgment without any adequate know
ledge or thought of the circumstances, have put down this
difference to misgovernment on the part of England ; but,
in fact, the principal of several causes is the earlier settle
ment of Martinique and the importation thither of much
greater numbers of African slaves. Europeans also were
thus attracted in greater numbers, so that, despite the ex
tremely rapid increase of population in St. Lucia, the people
of Martinique in my time outnumbered those of St. Lucia
to the extent of about five to one, though the area of the
two islands is in the proportion of only three to two. The
wider extent of cultivation which can thus be undertaken
in Martinique for export purposes, and which is necessary
for the support of the inhabitants, naturally creates much
larger sources of revenue ; and this advantage is largely
increased by the heavy expenditure (£100,000 to £150,000)
which is annually incurred by France for the support of its
colony, while England for many years previous to my time

VISIT MARTINIQUE 215
had on St. Lucia spent nothing at all. I may mention,
moreover, that density of population, which in Martinique
is almost equal to that of Belgium, has had much the same
effect as in Barbados, creating for the negro an increased
necessity for work. On the other hand, the abundance of
vacant or extremely cheap land enables the St. Lucian by
a few days' labour on his own behalf to supply himself
with all necessaries (in which clothing is hardly included)
and frees him from any compulsion to work for others.
But whatever the causes, the contrast referred to was
indeed great. Huge sugar factories in all directions were
active, and instead of the indifferent bridle-paths of St.
Lucia there were well-engineered and well-kept carriage-
roads. The towns, too (though resembling those of St.
Lucia as regards cobble-stoned streets with drains in the
middle), had reached in many respects a much higher level
of civilisation than those of my own island.
After examining two or three sugar factories and seeing
other points of interest, I took leave of my kind host and
hostess with the cordial expression of a hope that they
would be able to pay me a return visit as soon as my
English mission was finished. This hope was not, however,
to be gratified, as when I returned to St. Lucia in the follow
ing February Admiral Cloue had been succeeded by another
Governor. Though a more active Government in St. Lucia, and
something more of sympathetic interest on the part of
England, might no doubt have rendered less striking the
contrast above noticed, it is to the credit of the Govern
ment of St. Lucia that for some twelve years previous to
my time it had been governed with no troops nearer than
Barbados, and without discontent sufficiently acute to lead
to serious disturbance. In Martinique, on the contrary,
there had been a very dangerous rising only three years
before, and I noticed a scowl on the faces of many of the
coloured people, which was very different from the cheery
looks to which I had become accustomed in St. Lucia.

216 ST. LUCIA
The white inhabitants told me that they would not be safe
without the garrison and ships-of-war in the harbour of
Fort de France, and this was confirmed afterwards by a
French admiral who visited me when I was administer
ing the government of Trinidad.
I had intended leaving for England immediately after
quitting Martinique, but was delayed for a fortnight (that
being the interval between the steamer departures) by some
of those worries resulting from misconduct in office which
had been so unpleasantly frequent in my previous experi
ence, the annoyance being the greater in this case, as
occurring amid all the difficulties connected with arrange
ments for the proposed central factory.
There was also another matter. The Archbishop of
Port of Spain, who exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction over
the Roman Catholic priests in the island, had for some un
known reason suddenly transferred to an inferior cure, in
another island, M. Trouette, the Cure of Castries and
Vicaire Forain, who was extremely popular in his parish
both with whites and coloured. As I myself had for him
both respect and regard, I willingly forwarded a largely
signed petition to the Archbishop, praying for a recon
sideration of the case. But its prayer was refused, and
another priest was appointed as cure. Trouette, still re
maining in the colony, appealed to Rome, and it then
became a question as to whom the official salary was to be
paid. The Archbishop requested, indeed almost demanded,
a decision in favour of the priest newly appointed. But
after consideration and correspondence I declined to accede,
determining to withhold payment until the last word of the
Church had been spoken, and my decision on this point
was upheld by the Secretary of State. Rome, however,
supported the episcopal authority, and during my absence
in England M. Trouette left St. Lucia, much to my regret,
as he was one of the extremely few well-educated men in
the island.

CHAPTER VII
Efforts on behalf of central factory system in England — Country visits —
Meet (fifteenth) Lord Derby and Colonel Stanley (present Lord Derby),
each afterwards Colonial Secretary — Lord Tweeddale (eighth Marquis) —
Chatsworth and seventh Duke of Devonshire — Hawarden and Mr. Glad
stone — My negro valet — Stonor and the family there — Difficulties in con
nection with Central Factory Company and unsatisfactory solution — Apsley
House and Mr. Delane, editor of The Times — Engaged to be married —
Correspondence with Colonial Office.
IMMEDIATELY on arrival in London I set about the
endeavour to convince the Colonial Department, not as
to the advantages of the central factory system, which are
self-evident, but as to the absolute necessity of Govern
ment assistance for the introduction of the system into
St. Lucia. The correspondence on this subject and on the
form which this assistance should take occupied several
months ; and it was finally settled that instead of giving a
guarantee of interest which I had proposed, the colony
should subscribe £25,000, to be raised by loan, towards
an enterprise estimated to cost £100,000. Meanwhile I
was not otherwise idle, visiting Scotland several times
and Paris twice for the purpose of discussing with experts
questions relative to the supply of the necessary capital
and machinery. On one of these journeys I went over
the great works of Messrs. Cail and Cie., near Paris. This
firm had constructed most of the usines in Martinique,
and their great experience of this kind of work and their
high reputation led me to incline strongly towards employ
ing them for my purpose. As will be seen, however, events
and other opinions caused me to be overruled in this re
spect. I understood that Messrs. Cail had been remarkably
217

218 ST. LUCIA
successful. Though they employed over 4,000 workmen,
they had never had any strike, which they attributed to the
fact that the greater part of the men had a direct interest
in the business, and in addition to their wages participated
in its profits.
During the following autumn and winter, in the intervals
of correspondence, I paid several visits to Mr. Pender (who
had promised financial support to my projects) at Minard
Castle, on Loch Fyne, and others to Sir Charles Tennant
at the Glen, to Walter Morrison at Malham Tarn, to Lord
Tweeddale at Yester, to the Duke of Devonshire at Chats
worth, to Sir Stephen Glynne at Hawarden, and to Lord
Camoys at Stonor.
At Minard, where I became engaged to my wife, there
were, at each of my visits, a large number of guests.
Among them were on one occasion the late Lord and Lady
Derby and Mr. and Lady Constance Stanley (the present
Lord and Lady Derby). Both of these brothers subse
quently became my chiefs at the Colonial Office. Walking
one day with (the late) Lord Derby, I had the advantage
of discussing with him many colonial subjects. As he had
already been Foreign Minister, he surprised me by saying
that the most interesting portion of his official life was
when he temporarily acted for his father in the Colonial
Department. He at the same time expressed a fear that
that office would never fall to him again, meaning, I sup
pose, that it was regarded as inferior to that which he had
subsequently held. Had he remained a Conservative, it is
probable that his fear would have been justified by the
event; but on his joining Mr. Gladstone, that which I
presume to have been his wish was gratified.
Having arrived at Minard on one of these occasions after
a rapid journey from Paris, I was attacked by violent in
flammation of the lungs— the result of a cold caught in
crossing the Channel— and for a day or two my life was
in considerable danger.
At the Glen what would have been otherwise a pleasant

LORD TWEEDDALE 219
visit was somewhat spoiled by an attack of malarial fever.
Fortunately, under the kindly care of Mrs. (the late Lady)
Tennant, it proved a short one, and I was well enough
to be driven out next day by Miss Tennant (the late Mrs.
Gordon Duff), then the eldest survivor of five sisters, several
of whom have become well known for exceptional clever
ness. This young lady, who afterwards, as Mrs. Gordon
Duff, became a great friend, had a splendid pair of cobs,
which she called " Bryant and May," because they were such
" good matches ! "
At Yester I heard many most interesting experiences
from old Lord Tweeddale, especially about the Peninsular
War and his government of Madras. He confirmed what
I had heard the previous year from Sir William Gomm1 at
Brighton about the extraordinary scenes which took place
after the storming of Badajos, and the madness which seized
upon our soldiers under the excitement of relief from the
long siege ; and he astonished me by telling of his having
at that time taken a pack of hounds all through Spain and,
I think, into France. Lord Tweeddale, then very deaf,
was evidently a man of exceptional ability, and by careful
attention had brought his estate, which had been left to
him in by no means satisfactory condition, into wonderful
order. He ascribed the good health which he enjoyed at
his advanced age largely to the fact that he had for years
past taken a long drive every day at a very rapid pace, his
horses being, for English trotters, exceptionally fast.
During this visit to Yester there came over to see her
grandfather Lady Susan Bourke (afterwards Lady Con-
nemara). I regarded her with special interest as the
daughter of Lord Dalhousie (the first and last Marquis of
that name), who from what I had read of him seemed to
1 The mention of Sir William Gomm's name reminds me that when playing
billiards with him in his house at Brighton he received a letter announcing his
appointment to be Constable of the Tower. The news caused him a pleasur
able excitement which I should hardly have anticipated in one of his advanced
age, who had already received so many honours. He explained the cause as
being that the office had been held by his old chief, the Duke of Wellington.

220 ST. LUCIA
be a model proconsul. Though dying of his work at the
age of forty-six, he had left a mark upon India such as has
rarely been equalled by any of his predecessors or suc
cessors, and has perhaps been surpassed by none.
One of Lord Tweeddale's guests on this occasion was
General Rowan, in whose company I had some excellent
low-ground shooting. He had been formerly A.D.C. to
our host when Governor of Madras. I had known him
years before in New York, where he held for a long time
a very singular official position. He was, I believe, sup
posed to be occupied with a lawsuit by the British War
Office against an American firm, in respect of rifles sup
plied for the Crimean War. But to the outsider his post
seemed a sinecure, his time and thoughts to all appearances
being exclusively engaged in the enjoyment of New York
society, in which for five or more years successively he was
a well-known figure.
At Malham Tarn I had another pleasant shoot with
my friend Walter Morrison. At a drive at Pen-y-gent a
shot from one of the guns covered me with pellets, which
coming, fortunately, from a distance, did no harm. On my
mentioning this to a keeper, he said, "Oh, sir, that was
Mr.  ; he has used scores of cartridges, and you are
about all he has hit the whole day."
At Chatsworth I found myself and Sir James Lacaita the
only strangers amid a large family party. Pole-Carew,
whom I had met the previous year, was scarcely an ex
ception, he being a cousin of Lady Frederick Cavendish.
But owing to the kindly courtesy of Lady Louisa Egerton,
who acted as hostess, and other members of the family, I
experienced no isolation whatever, and my visit was in
every way agreeable. One day a sharp frost permitted
skating on the adjacent lake, and it was a curious experi
ence after so many years in the tropics to practise again
gyrations learned in Canada, which before the day of
artificially frozen rinks were not so common in England
as now. I passed much of my time in examining the great

THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE: MR. GLADSTONE 221
collection of art treasures, and in the library, which Lacaita,
who knew it well, made specially interesting.
But what perhaps interested me at Chatsworth most of
all was the personality of the Duke of Devonshire himself,
who, having all the courtesy and dignity, without a particle
of the arrogance, of the typical " Grand Seigneur," united
with them scientific capacity and other attainments of the
highest order, and was besides one of the best, most con
siderate, and most successful landlords of England. One
of his many admirable qualities was a high sense of duty,
forcing him continually to do what cost him actual suffer
ing. He considered that his position required him to
entertain London society, and he consequently did so
largely, though his intense natural shyness rendered it a
severe task. The same shyness made him very silent at
dinner, though his benevolent face and his pleasing voice,
when he did speak, showed that moroseness was not the
cause. At Hawarden was a large party, which was rendered
specially interesting by the commanding presence of Mr.
Gladstone. Mrs. Gladstone acted as hostess for her brother.
I for the most part occupied the position of a mere
listener to the great man's talk, and I deeply regret that
I omitted to take notes of many things on many sub
jects — all worth remembering — which I heard from his
lips, and have now unhappily escaped my memory. One
day I watched him cutting down a tree, and having seen
lumberers at work in Canada, as well as among the hard
wood trees of Guiana, I was amazed at a skill which
seemed quite equal to theirs. Never a stroke wasted, each
one falling exactly on the right spot — a feat only to be
appreciated by those who have attempted it. The vigour
also was remarkable which enabled him at his, even then,
advanced age to bear this violent labour without any ap
parent fatigue.
Among other guests in the house was young Lord
Aberdeen, in whom Mr. Gladstone, no doubt owing to his

222 ST. LUCIA
friendship with his grandfather, took a special interest,
paying him great attention. Lord Aberdeen was then
nominally a Conservative, but I foresaw the effect on his
plastic mind of the great man's seductive talk, and in a
letter at the time foretold that he would before long take
Mr. Gladstone's side in politics. Time soon proved the
truth of my prediction. Many older heads, I imagine, may
well have had their most matured judgment disturbed by
half an hour's talk with such a man. I recall that Mr.
Gladstone was specially severe upon the House of Lords
for having thrown out a Bill for carrying the District
Railway close to the Mansion House, and thus causing the
nearest station to be at such a long distance from that
centre. He ascribed this to aristocratic inconsiderateness
for the welfare of the people.
I noticed that one or two of the guests brought axes
with them — literally I mean, of course — but their manifest
inferiority to Mr. Gladstone in using them suggested a
doubt whether their enthusiasm for the exercise were not
assumed for the occasion.
One evening at Hawarden there was a servants' ball,
attended by all the guests in the house, including the late
Duchess of Westminster, who had come over from Eaton
to dinner. I had with me in England a black valet,
Samuel Cox, a native of Barbados, who had been in my
service several years, and I was most amused in observing
that he was in great request among the ladies' maids, and
was evidently enjoying himself vastly. I had often during
the year been surprised at the warmth of his reception by
English servants, which seemed to show that colour anti
pathy is not instinctive, but largely a matter of prejudice.
In the previous summer, culinary pupils not being per
mitted at Brooks's, I had procured for the man lessons in
cooking from the chef at the Carlton Club, who found him
very quick at learning and gave him a strong testimonial
of efficiency. One Sunday, when crossing St. James's Park,
I was surprised to see a black man with a good-looking

VISIT TO STONOR 223
English girl on each arm. It proved to be Mr. Cox, with
two of his female fellow-pupils. Again, in the autumn at a
certain country-house, one of the valets called him "Sambo"
at the steward's-room table. This was regarded as insulting
by the maids, who forthwith sent the offender to Coventry ;
and in order to be restored to favour he was obliged to
get up at the table, on the following day, and make formal
apology, addressing the injured man as " Mr. Samuel
Cox"! On another occasion, being summoned suddenly
to London, I was obliged to leave another country-house
very early in the morning, while it was still dark. Getting
into the carriage, I was kept waiting by Cox. Looking
about to see what had become of him, I at once recognised
the cause of delay. Mr. Cox was receiving a very fervid
send-off from several maids who had risen thus early for
the purpose !
My visit to Stonor I hardly expected to be agreeable,
for though I liked much of what I had seen of old Lord
and Lady Camoys, I knew they had a shrewd suspicion of
my engagement, not yet announced, to one in whom they
took special interest. I imagined, therefore, the invitation
to be partly with a view to a judgment on my fitness.
However, I was quickly made free from embarrassment on
this account. Not only the host and hostess, but their son
and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Stonor (the latter
the daughter of the great Sir Robert Peel), contributing in
various ways to make my visit a pleasant one. The Stonors,
as an old Roman Catholic family, kept up the practice of
having a priest-chaplain always staying in the house with
them. But I saw him only at dinner, and he withdrew on
the appearance of dessert. My first experience of partridge-
driving was here, all the shooting of my boyhood having
been over dogs — a form of sport which, as regards this
kind of game, steam -reapers and other causes had already
brought almost to an end. My visit to Stonor proved to
be only too short, and the Frank Stonors became friends
whom I grievously missed on our return from long absence
in Fiji, both having died prematurely in the interval.

224 ST. LUCIA
During all these visits I was continually in correspond
ence, official and otherwise, on the subject of my mission,
and had also various interviews in London on the same
subject with financiers, brokers, and others. I encountered
everywhere reluctance to embark money in any West
Indian enterprise, and was often told that the only chance
of " floating " my company would be to pay ten per cent.
commission for underwriting — or £10,000. But, entirely
unacquainted with City ways, I regarded such proposals as
improper, and without any hesitation declined to entertain
them. I soon found that without underwriting the diffi
culties in the way of starting the company were very great,
and more than once seemed to render the prospect of suc
cess hopeletss. Innocently unaware, also, of the practice of
securing influential directors by the offer of free shares,
I was amazed and repelled by suggestions that I should
avail myself of it. After many disappointments, I suc
ceeded ultimately in obtaining an absolutely honest Board,
all the members of which agreed to pay for their proper
quota of shares, and the prospectus was published.
The issue proved a bitter disappointment. The amount
of subscriptions was wholly inadequate, and the larger share
of them was on the part of my own and my future wife's
family and other immediate friends. Complete failure
seemed imminent, when a proposal was made to which I very
reluctantly consented. It was that a large portion of the
unsubscribed capital should be taken by a firm of mechani
cal engineers who would supply the requisite machinery,
one of the firm being placed on the Board. The firm in
question was of high repute, and the terms offered for the
necessary plant and work were more favourable than those
of Messrs. Cail and other firms which had been approached.
But, foreseeing great difficulties in the way of an English
firm carrying on operations in a colony where French was
the language of the people, I should still have preferred
Messrs. Cail, notwithstanding their higher terms, in that
their experience in Martinique, and the ready assistance

DELANE, EDITOR OF "THE TIMES" 225
which they could obtain on emergency from their many
skilled workmen in that island, would stand them in good
stead. This preference, however, was necessarily overruled
by the circumstances (though subsequent experience showed
it to have been well grounded), and the above arrangement
was duly settled.
During this winter there took place an occurrence which
at the time made upon me a great impression. Dining one
night at Apsley House (where I had previously been shown
by his son the bedroom of the great Duke, with a little iron
bedstead and other modest furniture exactly as he had used
it), I met there a party of intimates to whom I was a com
plete outsider. Besides the Duchess's brother, since become
a great friend, Lord John Hay (now Admiral of the Fleet),
there were Delane (editor of The Times'), Fleming (com
monly known as " The Flea "), Alfred Montgomery, and
Henry Calcraft. During dinner, Delane having somewhat
imperiously expressed an opinion on a colonial subject
with which I believed myself well acquainted, I ventured
to disagree, to the obvious astonishment of the other guests,
the great editor included. Walking up Piccadilly after
wards to Brooks's with John Hay, he remarked in a tone
which I fancied quite serious, " Well, you have done for
yourself ! " On my asking for explanation, " No one," he
replied, " ever ventures to differ with Delane, and you may
depend he won't forget you if he gets a chance." I was
then unaware of the awe in which the editor of The Times
was held, and the view expressed as to the deference paid
to his opinions was not wholly illusory. But the anticipa
tion of Delane's vindictiveness was meant as a joke ; only
not seeing it at the time, it caused me some apprehension.
My fears proved to be groundless, and I have since learned
from John Hay, as well as others, that Delane was really
one of the fairest and most amiable of men.
During this visit to England I had correspondence with
the Colonial Office on several other subjects beside the
central factory, especially with regard to the difficulty,
1.— Q

226 ST. LUCIA
which proved to be great, of obtaining competent medical
men to fill the newly constituted offices in St. Lucia. In
fact, this official visit to England was by no means a sine
cure, as some of my experiences might suggest, and whether
I was in London or the country, there were few days on
which more or less work had not to be done on behalf of
the colony.

CHAPTER VIII
Return to St. Lucia : reception there— Satisfactory result of recent measures
— Visit of Governor — Interview with negro proprietors — Central Factory
Ordinance passed — Repartee of Mr. Robert Lowe — Arrival of U.S. ship-of-
war : desertion therefrom — Earthquake — Corpus Christi celebration : an
amusing incident — Trouble caused by local lawyers — A forest temple —
Funeral panegyrics — St. Lucia funerals — Singular phenomenon — An acci
dent — Archbishop of Trinidad and religious endowment — Visit Soufriere —
Mr. and Mrs. Quintin Hogg — Curious work of lunatic — Colonial Office
delay.
ON reaching St. Lucia again, in March, 1874, and meet
ing with a specially enthusiastic reception, I had the
satisfaction of learning that some of my work had had a
beneficial result in a very unexpected direction. The high
wages given in Trinidad had proved so attractive to the
people of the neighbouring islands that 3,689 had gone
thither from Grenada and 1,633 fr°m St. Vincent, while
only twenty had left St. Lucia. In mentioning these figures
to the Legislative Council, on the authority of Mr Rawson,
the Governor-in-Chief, I was enabled to add that the com
parative immunity of St. Lucia from this depopulation was
attributed by him to the measures adopted in recent years
for improving the condition of the labouring classes.
With regard to the events of 1874-5, I have the means
of refreshing my memory from notes, taken by me at the
time — an advantage which is wanting with respect to by
far the greater part of my life. From my letters to my
wife, preserved in the form of a journal, I give some
extracts, omitting the abundant references to my work on
the Codes of Civil Law and Procedure and the business
connected with the central factory. The former is suffici
ently described elsewhere ; and, instead of the notes record-
227

228 ST. LUCIA
ing the daily labour, the manifold annoyances, and the ex
tremely voluminous correspondence caused by the latter
task, I will give here a short account such as will present a
general idea of the events and transactions to which they
relate. Having successfully accomplished the object of my
mission to England, which was expected to confer so great
a boon upon the Cul-de-sac planters, I had imagined that
the preliminary arrangements made before my departure
would render the final settlement with them a matter of
comparatively little difficulty. But regarding the benefit
of the factory as secured to them, they generally endea
voured to exact concessions as the condition of fulfilling
their promises. The owner, too, of the proposed site of the
factory, who had agreed to give it free of cost, now de
manded an extravagant price for it. To institute suits at
law was impracticable, and so I was forced into negotia
tions with each. When the correspondence on this subject
seemed likely to be interminable, I quickly brought it to
an end by an offer to the planters of Soufriere to place the
factory at the other end of the island. The mere offer
brought the obstructives to their senses, and they became
more amenable to reason. Thus after many weeks of
delay a settlement was reached, and the contractors could
commence their work.
During the two following years the business connected
with the factory occupied me several hours each day. The
frequent letters to the directors in England proved to be
specially irksome, as I was on many occasions obliged to
copy them myself. Altogether, this business, the work
upon the codes (which I had determined, if possible, to
finish before leaving the island), and the ordinary task of
administration involved an accumulation of labour which
proved to be too much for my strength, and caused the
complete breakdown which occurred in 1875. Needless to
say, had I had an inkling beforehand how incongruous with
my position as Administrator would prove the necessary

A GOVERNOR'S VISIT 229
business relations with people of such a character, no
inducement would have sufficed to make me undertake
so ungrateful a task.
The following paragraphs, preceded by dates, are extracts
from my diary : —
March 25th. — Interview with Dr. H, the new head of
Medical Department. Was gratified to hear from him that
my Medical and Poor Relief Law (which was in many
respects entirely my own) has been highly approved in the
other colonies and that a similar measure is about to be
passed in Trinidad.
March 26th. — Sent circular to members of Council as a
conciliatory measure, in view of my having pledged the
credit of the island without consulting them, and in defence
of the bargain sanctioned by the Secretary of State.
March 28th. — At half-past nine a.m. in walked un
expectedly, Mr. J., lately Governor of  , on his way to
assume the government of  . He was accompanied by
 , who is largely interested in West Indian planta
tions ; and I should have imagined his conversation to be
specially directed to this gentleman's edification, but that
it was entirely in accord with the character I had heard of
him. Evidently the interests of the white minority, if not
the sole object of his consideration, is, at least, that to
which all others are subordinated. He is, nevertheless, a
great favourite of the Colonial Office, for he has received un-
precedentedly rapid promotion, and is likely to go further.1
His visit has caused me low spirits ; for if ever I am to
rise, it must be by a very different road.
March 29th. — Engaged to-day in drafting a Barbadian
Immigration Ordinance, in lieu of that passed last year and
disallowed by the Secretary of State. The former ordi
nance was approved of by the Emigration Commissioners;
but I suppose that Lord Kimberley, with a view to the con
templated confederation of the Windward Islands, deemed
it desirable to conciliate the Barbadian magnates, who found
1 This anticipation proved correct.

230 ST. LUCIA
my law likely to prove too attractive to the redundant popu
lation, and fear that emigration will increase wages. I must
now pass an emasculated law which will in all probability
be comparatively useless, and the abject poverty of a por
tion of the Barbados people which we have the means of
partially remedying must be allowed to continue.
April ist. — A letter from Mr. Rawson saying that, but
for the factory business, he should certainly have offered
me the provisional appointment of Lieutenant-Governor of
St. Vincent or Grenada; and he goes on to say that "You
may therefore claim the merit of having sacrificed yourself
for St. Lucia." I should not, however, regard such a change
as promotion, except in name. For though the salary in
each case is nearly double that of this place and " Lieu
tenant-Governor" is a more high-sounding title than "Ad
ministrator," neither island is in the least more important
than this, and if I am to have no wider scope for my ener
gies, I prefer to remain where I am.
One of our doctors has left his district without leave and
been in town for three days, his patients meanwhile being
entirely unprovided for. I have written for explanation.
These doctors give more trouble than the whole of the rest
of the civil staff, now that this has been weeded out and
reorganised. Eyes and head suffering severely from glare.
(This was evidently the first symptom of the affection, called
by Sir Rutherford Alcock a light-stroke, which prostrated
me in the following year.)
April 2nd. — Meeting of peasant proprietors, all black or
nearly black, at my house. Spoke to them in explanation
of the objects of the central factory, and chiefly to con
vince them that they were offered less than the larger pro
prietors, not because they were black, but simply because
their canes were less valuable owing to the comparatively
small quantity supplied at one time, the longer average time
between cutting and delivery, and less careful cultivation.
The men went away enthusiastic about giving their canes,
and apparently well pleased with themselves.

BENEVOLENT VICAIRE FORAIN 231
Apti $tk. — The face of one of those who dined with me
to-day reminded me of the saying, " No one could be half
as wise as my Lord Thurlow looks." Being one of the
colonial magnates whom I have come to know well, I
should say that appearances were in this case specially
deceptive. April yth. — Of three ordinances to be brought into
Council this week, one, The Companies Status Ordinance,
was drawn up for me by the Chief Justice, this being the
first assistance of the kind I have received since December,
1870. Before my time all instructions to public officers
were conveyed in official letters beginning, " Sir, I have
the honour to be," and ending, " Your obedient Servant."
If I had continued this practice, I should never have got
through my work, but I long ago abandoned it for simple
minutes headed with the name of the officer addressed.
Saw to-day the new Vicaire Forain (the local vicegerent
of the Archbishop of Trinidad). I made a difficulty about
recognising him when he was appointed last year, and he
was reported to have been very indignant. I must suppose
that with Christian benevolence he has forgotten the matter
now, as at parting he enclosed my hand in both of his with
a gentle pressure. As far as I know he is a good, harmless
man ; though as he talks not a word of English, he assists
to keep the people French, which is undesirable in an
English colony.
April gth. — At opening of Council to-day made the
members a complimentary speech on rejoining them again.
What I said was true of one or other of them, but had I
said all that I knew and thought of others, it would have
caused a volcanic eruption. Possibly I may have aroused
even in these a spark of public spirit. The Central Factory
Ordinance passed without a single dissentient voice, and
unaltered, except — unprecedented fact — that one of the
members actually suggested an increase of the loan from
£25,000 to £30,000 to provide interest during construction.
Barbados Immigration Ordinance also passed with like
unanimity.

232 ST. LUCIA
April wth. — Letter from Rawson, who has just received
my correspondence with the Colonial Office about the
factory. He is abundant in praise. This is generous of
him, as he has been ignored throughout the whole business.
Rennie, Lieutenant-Governor of St. Vincent, and his wife
came to breakfast. I like both. He has more than average
brains. April 14th. — Read with interest and some amusement
the correspondence about ecclesiastical affairs in St. Lucia,
which took place two years ago between the Secretary of
State, Rawson, and self, now published in Blue Book, 17th
June, 1873. Rawson must have been indeed angry at my
disagreement with him. He can hardly have expected that
I should see his despatches. As evidently the Secretary of
State did not agree with him, his insinuations have done
me no harm ; and in any case I shall take no notice of them
now, as he has done his best to make amends since.
April 19th. — Mail very late owing to head wind. At
length, at four p.m., the gun from Fort Charlotte announced
that the steamer was sighted. Usually I see her first, but
she had been covered by a shower of rain, so that all my
spasmodic rushes to the telescope were thrown away. You
can hardly imagine what the mail means to me in this
dreary isolation.
April 20th. — Ten at dinner. Bob Lowe's mot about
x's and y's served me a good turn in relieving a very dull
situation. [This story, which had reached me in a recent
letter, was as follows : A young and somewhat " cheeky "
member of the Conservative Government recently come
into power, called across the table to Mr. Lowe at a dinner
party, " Well, Mr. Lowe, how do you like being an ex ? "
To which the reply was : " I should like it the better if we
had been succeeded by the y's " (wise).]
April 2$th. — Petition from the inhabitants of Castries
praying for the efficient dredging of the harbour on the
ground that R.M. Steamship Company contemplate making
this, instead of Barbados, the port of call for the alternate

U.S.S. "BROOKLYN" 233
home steamer. This is only one of several cases where my
ideas have been taken up years after they were expressed.
The very notion of spending four or five thousand pounds
on such an object would, before now, have been scouted.
May 4th. — Finished Regulations for Barbadian Immi
gration. May yth. — Am reading in odd moments Hayward's
Essays. As collector of an amusing pot-pourri of stories,
I am bound to say he attracts me. But from what little I
have seen of the man, I can to a certain extent understand
the bitterness of Disraeli in giving him the sobriquet of
" Literary Louse," as living on other men's heads.
May wth. — U.S. ship-of-war Brooklyn arrived, and her
salute, returned by H.M.S. Spartan, woke the echoes
of our little harbour. Received the captain's visit at my
office. He was unable to come and dine, being already
engaged to the captain of the Spartan. Though very un
well, I was sorry ; for I never like a man-o'-war, especially
a foreign one, to go away without some of the officers being
entertained at Government House. Took a short ride,
however, with the captain and three of his officers, they
coming back to my house discussing brandy and soda, and
admiring the view.
May 12 th. — The Brooklyn sailed this morning. Extra
ordinary stories are told me about the condition of the ship.
What is certain is that many of the sailors have deserted
at every port, and that here at least one, braving the sharks,
tried to escape by swimming, though the ship was anchored
half a mile from shore. One of the officers of the Spartan
was in a boat near her late in the evening when three shots
from a revolver were fired at him, one bullet whizzing close
to his ear. He had been mistaken for a deserter. A strange
manner of proceeding in foreign water. At a dinner-party
to-day was so ill I could hardly sit at table.
May 14th. — Dr. Carter, our new P.M.O., came and
ordered me to leave off work entirely for three days.
Took a short ride, and on my return found at my house

234 ST. LUCIA
Farquharson and Holland, two officers of the Spartan, the
former of the Dorsetshire family, one or more of whom are
known to me — not one of the Invercauld people, of whom
I used to see much in my boyhood ; the latter, the son of
the present Baronet,1 Assistant Under-Secretary at the
Colonial Office. I asked Captain Carter to send up some
of his officers to dine and sleep when he could spare them,
and he had unluckily chosen this night, when being ill, I
had dined early. I managed to get them something to eat,
however, and sailors' appetites supplied the sauce. We
talked up to a late hour, discussing, among other subjects,
the curious ignorance of the Colonial Office on some
colonial matters, combined with its minute knowledge of
others. In my opinion one at least of the clerks should
have a knowledge of each colony derived from a visit
to it.
May 21st. — At three p.m. occurred an earthquake, the
fourth I have felt since I came here. The shock is usually
accompanied by a dull grinding sound. But even when it is
silent, as to-day, one recognises it at once by the fact that
the windows rattle on both sides of the house, instead of
only on one, as they do when moved by the wind. A
" quake " which I felt in my first year here was much more
severe, and split one of the brick arches of the north
gallery. It lasted quite three-quarters of a minute, and
was still continuing when I got clear outside. The house
was rocking so that it seemed about to tumble on our heads.
On that occasion the whole population of Castries and
Soufriere was kneeling in the streets — a remarkable sight,
which I regret having missed.
May zoth. — This being market-day, many countrywomen
were carrying loads to town. The dexterity sometimes
shown in this kind of carriage on the head is as remarkable
as the enormous weight of the ordinary load. Any day a
woman may be seen walking swiftly down this steep hill
and balancing on her head, apparently in complete un-
1 Afterwards Lord Knutsford, Secretary of State for the Colonies.

CORPUS CHRISTI CELEBRATION 235
consciousness, a narrow uncorked French bottle, standing
upright, and containing milk or some other liquid.
June ird. — The day after the mail is usually a bad one
for me. Letters and newspapers have transported me into
a different world, and then comes the reaction and sensi
bility to disagreeables at hand. Discovered to-day that the
Colonial Engineer, who was appointed also for surveying
work, is charging so enormous a price for private surveys as
to render his further employment impossible. His office
was constituted partly that there might be available here at
least one trustworthy surveyor. A tariff must be fixed,
and if he does not consent to it, he must go.
June 4th. — This is Corpus Christi, which the people
usually spend in praying, dancing, genuflecting to the
carried about Host, and getting drunk. By immemorial
custom a salute is fired from Morne Fortun6 as the Host
leaves the church. I object strongly to the practice for
several reasons, and have contemplated putting an end to
it ; but hardly think it worth while to raise a storm of
wrath. How singular are the notions of what will please
God ! The early Israelites apparently supposed that He
would be gratified by burnt sacrifices. And now these
Christians desire to honour Him, whom they regard as
the Saviour of Humanity, with the noise of deadly weapons.
An amusing account was given in the evening of the
procession through the town. The people were praying on
their knees, and some firing pistols as it passed — an odd
combination. The priest poked one man in the procession
with his umbrella for not marching fast enough. Instead of
resenting the assault, the man went down on his knees in
the muddy street, and crossing himself, begged pardon.
June \2th. — I am puzzled what to do about petitions,
which are continually increasing in number, and to which,
however absurd, I always reply. How utterly sick I am
of the sight of " May it please your Honour ! " The great
majority of the people look upon me as a completely

236 ST. LUCIA
absolute monarch, and the old French notion of paternal
government has survived scarcely less among the upper
class than in the lower. For many of the foremost people
look for Government assistance, and are sometimes abjectly
dependent upon it, in matters which Englishmen would
deal with entirely by private enterprise.
June 17 th. — Have managed to catch a coup de vent, and
have a woodenly stiff neck in consequence. I wonder
how it came about that stiffneckedness is almost synony
mous with obstinacy. I never felt less obstinate than at
this moment, and I fear that even my most cherished
principles might prove weak if I were pressed just now.
June iSth. — Effusive letter of thanks from Fitzwilliam
Dick, for whom I had done a singular commission — that of
causing to be exhumed in Dominica and sent home to
England the body of a relation who had died out here,
and about whose despatch to the West Indies Dick seemed
to have qualms of conscience.
June 20th. — An instance occurred to-day of the mischief
done by the local lawyers. A boundary question, which
had already caused serious trouble and threatened worse,
had arisen between a French captain, who with his wife
had settled in the interior, and some Africans liberated
from slave-ships who had obtained land from a private
proprietor. Having taken the trouble to hear both sides
of the question, I felt sure that the matter might be amic
ably settled by a little tact and patience, backed by the
African respect for the Governor. A meeting between the
parties was arranged to-day at my office ; but when I got
there I received a notice from a lawyer that the case could
not be settled by the Executive. Needless to say that
" the Executive," as such, had no intention of interference,
and I was merely acting as a friendly arbitrator to whom
both parties had had recourse. There must now be an
expensive lawsuit, which the lawyer had persuaded the
ignorant African to enter upon as the best means of getting
his way. Both sides will now ruin themselves.

A FOREST TEMPLE 237
June 22nd. — Even more amused to-day than usual by the
loudly vociferated fine language of a black girl who acts as
herdswoman to a number of cattle on the Morne. The
other day I heard her say (her cows all have names) : " Oh,
Eustatia, stop your vagariousness ! " To-day the form was :
" Now, Jemima, don't you deviate from the right path ! "
June 2$th. — The Chief Justice, while engaged with me
on the code to-day, told me that he had submitted some
of my alterations of the Canadian Code to one of the best
lawyers in Quebec, who highly approved of them and ex
pressed astonishment at their being the work of an amateur.
This is satisfactory ; but, in fact, I am now scarcely an
amateur in the ordinary sense. For there cannot be
many, if any, professional lawyers who, within the last
five years, have drafted so many legal provisions that have
become actual law.
July ist. — Long letter by the mail from Mrs. Frank
Stonor, telling me much Society gossip and of the pain
ful scene at  House on the announcement of the en
gagement of Lord X. The Duke of Wellington has sent
me some rhea (ramie) grass seeds to plant here as an ex
periment. But I must guess at the kind of cultivation
required, as he has forgotten to tell me.
July 14th. — Rode down with McHugh to his little estate
at the head of the Cul-de-sac valley. In one place near it
four clumps of bamboos formed an almost perfect square,
and their foliage intermingling far overhead, presented a
wonderful likeness in green to what may be seen in a
Gothic cathedral where the nave and transept cross one
another. Hitherto since the days of the aboriginal Caribs
this forest temple has remained almost undisturbed. But
now the railway of the factory will pass within two hundred
yards, and it is in contemplation to organise Sunday pic
nics to the place — a sad desecration. Heavy showers made
us thoroughly wet through, and we galloped the whole way
home. July 28th. — To-day received from my legal adviser with-

238 ST. LUCIA
out alteration the drafts of two ordinances which I had
prepared in a hurry and knew to be defective in several
points, and also a draft deed of the site of the factory pre
pared by the proprietor's lawyer. The latter I was advised
to sign at once ; and on my asking whether the title was
all right, the reply was that it was sure to be. I, however,
sent to the Registry and received entries of three mortgages
which would have rendered the deed almost worthless. I
also found that one of the proprietors had signed by at
torney, and there was no verification of the power. Fancy
my position if the factory had been erected on a site with
a bad title !
July 2,0th. — Read to-day a French funeral panegyric,
which, though not of course so absurd, reminds me by its ex
travagance of one which, when in 1859 I was on a visit to
Governor Aiken at his plantation in South Carolina, he re
peated to me as having been heard by him in Congress. It
was as follows : "His name, sir, deserves to be written on
the portals of heaven in letters of gold with a pen plucked
from a seraph's wing and dipped in the concentrated milk
of human kindness " !
July 2\st. — Heard to-day of Lord Dalhousie's death. He
was always very kind and hospitable to me, and would have
been a good friend in other respects had I ever asked him.
An old Carthusian himself, he came to Charterhouse on
Founder's Day when I was orator, and proposed my health
at the dinner afterwards.
August yth. — Rode this afternoon over the range of
mountains which form the backbone of the island to an
estate in the north-east corner, where I passed the night.
The country people, who had apparently heard of my
coming, saluted me everywhere with gun-firing, rag-waving,
and vociferous shouting as I passed.
August 8th. — Rode down to the sea early. The Atlantic
was in good humour, and the waves, sometimes here
eighteen to twenty feet high, now scarcely ruffled the sur
face and broke gently on the beach. With no land be-

A ST. LUCIA FUNERAL 239
tween me and England, imagination bridged the interven
ing space. A restive horse, eager to enjoy an unwonted
stretch of level land, brought me back to the world around
me, and that was indeed beautiful. High cliffs on either
side, plants or shrubs clinging to them at every possible
resting-place, and forest trees at the summit, with a long
strip of yellow sand at the base, make as lovely a little bay
as can well be imagined. A little stream rippled into the
sea close to one of the cliffs ; not a solitary human being
was in sight. I noticed that the greater part of the more
conspicuous vegetation was not indigenous, and probably
sprung from seeds brought here by the French planters.
Several kinds of cactus grew on the rocks ; and aloes in
every stage of growth, some with their long spikes standing
high in the air, occupied every convenient ledge. Even the
coconuts along the sand, with their stems twisted into fan
tastic shapes by the ever-blowing trade wind, are of foreign
importation. But all add to the original loveliness. I
longed for the rest of this quiet retreat, and it was with
considerable regret that I rode back to Castries, the negroes
saluting me on the road as before.
August 1 2th. — Attended in town the funeral of Mr.
Joseph Goodman, a member of Council and brother of Mr.
John Goodman, also a member, and one for whom I have
considerable regard. The manner of funerals here is as
follows : All persons who know the deceased, however dis
tantly, or who wish to pay respect to his memory, collect
at the house. The priest (there were in this instance three
of them) arrives with a procession of acolytes and choristers,
the whole in vestments more or less gorgeous. Some cere
mony is performed in the house, and then in a few minutes
the procession emerges again, followed by the coffin, a long
line of people following, two and two, the men of all classes
going first, and then the women, usually quite as numerous.
After a twenty minutes' service in church the procession,
in the same order, and lengthened by many accessions,
proceeds to the cemetery. The negroes evidently enjoy a

240 ST. LUCIA
funeral. They dress in their best, and have a chance of
showing finery, on which is spent a very large proportion
of their earnings. To-day I walked in the procession
with the Chief Justice — he, poor man, rather low, owing to
the departure yesterday for Canada of his wife and family.
August 1 8th. — Busy now preparing my estimates for 1 875,
which are complicated by the fact that I have determined
to abolish the export duties and make up the deficit by in
creased import duties. For estimating revenue under these
circumstances I have to do all the work in miniature which
a Chancellor of the Exchequer has ready " cut and dried "
for him by competent clerks. For instance, in order to
calculate the effect of increased import duties, I have had
myself to go through every single article one by one, and
find the average of its importation in the last three years.
I am in doubt whether to allow anything — and if so, how
much — for decrease of consumption in consequence of in
creased duty. Two causes point to decrease, the one men
tioned and also the low price of sugar, which makes the
people poorer. But, on the other hand, there is the progress
of the island, which has been steady for some years, and
will now receive an additional stimulus. Although I have
started an amount of public works since the beginning of
last year, which has made the Colonial Office quite nervous,
I find that up to the end of June last the ordinary revenue
has increased enough to pay for the whole.
August 2$th. — To-day occurred one of the grandest
thunderstorms I ever witnessed. Each peal here begins
like a rattling volley of musketry from twenty thousand
men ; then comes the booming of big guns ; and then
echoes from the mountains, at first loud, and dying away
by slow degrees.
September 4th. — Looking on from a place where they
could not see me, I was pleased to observe the factory
labourers working with a will, and with only here and there
any sign of the listless dawdling which usually characterises
the negro. The women seemed even more active than the

CURIOUS PHENOMENON 241
men. One sturdy young amazon seemed to take delight
in trotting away with three sleepers on her head, weighing
probably 130 pounds avoirdupois. I was scarcely surprised
to see that wheelbarrows were being used by the people,
though it is a common West Indian belief that the negro
cannot be induced to have anything to do with them.
September 1 \th. — A singularly still morning. As the sun
rose I witnessed a very curious phenomenon.1 A number
of light-rays converged upon a point of the horizon exactly
opposite the sun almost as though the sun were setting
instead of rising. As the steamers came from Barbados
and Trinidad I could hear their paddles distinctly when
they were a long way off — the Trinidad one when it was
more than five miles away.
September 14th. — A letter from Mrs. Frank Stonor tells
me that Lord Carnarvon has said very pleasant things
about me to her sister-in-law. I hope that this may mean
something. September 21st. — Witnessed to-day a startling accident.
Riding round Fort Charlotte with McHugh, we passed an
angle of the wall where a very narrow bridle-path hugs it
closely, the other side being a long slope at an angle of
forty-five degrees. McHugh's horse shied, and in an
instant fell over the bank and lay still about twenty feet
from the top. McHugh was thrown some twenty-five feet
further, but got up apparently little the worse after a
momentary dizziness had gone off. Galloping off to get
assistance, I found, on my return five minutes afterwards,
that the horse was already stone-dead, the shock having
apparently broken some internal blood-vessel. McHugh's
escape was marvellous.
September 22nd. — My fortieth birthday and an auspi
ciously fine day to welcome me into middle age.
1 Years afterwards I witnessed more than once a similar phenomenon in
the island of Ovalau, Fiji. When the sun, though not actually set, had be
come invisible behind the mountains at the back, there was a similar conver
gence of rays to a point in the sea horizon, which was, as nearly as I could
judge, exactly opposite the position of the sun.
I. — R

242 ST. LUCIA
September 2$th. — To-day bitten by a centipede — the
second time within the month. Quickly taking off coat
and waistcoat, I found the creature on my arm. Though
it was only four inches long and had operated through
shirt and gauze undershirt, the pain caused was severe.
The bite of a large one — eight inches long — such as I once
saw on a lady in Demerara, must mean agony.
October 16th. — Here is a specimen of the local character.
A leading planter to-day offered 10,000 tons of canes to
the factory at 1 8s., saying that he would give out the price
as 1 5 j., the highest given to others !
October ifth. — At dinner to-day, among others, was a
young fellow who I am rather inclined to like, as he reads
and thinks about subjects very foreign to the ordinary
colonial mind. Now, however, he told me confidentially
that he had been a pessimist, but since he had come to
St. Lucia he had turned optimist. Fancy this place, of all
others, as the cause of such a change ! I felt tempted to
say," You were a great donkey, and now you are a greater."
October 2yd. — The Archbishop of Port de Spain, accom
panied by his local Vicaire Forain, called at my office, but
was unable to come to dine on the Morne owing to in
ability to ride. Heard by telegram to-day of the reported
capture of Nana Sahib. I should not be surprised if the
maudlin sentimentality of the day were to save him from
getting his deserts. The number of people appears to be
continually increasing in England who reserve all their
sympathy for criminals and have little or no regard for the
sufferers from crime or for the interests of society.
October 24th. — Returning the Archbishop's call to-day,
I had a long talk with him. Though a hopelessly in
tolerant priest, I have respect for him as practising in his
life the severe austerity which he preaches. He complained
of disproportionate endowment in the case of both the
Roman Catholic clergy and their schools. On the former
point he had more ground for complaint even than I had
previously imagined. I told him, however, that while any

ARCHBISHOP OF TRINIDAD 243
representation of his would be carefully considered, I feared
that the question having been so recently settled at home
was not likely to be reopened. As regards schools there is
really no substantial injustice. For the Mico schools, prin
cipally supported by an English charity, because of the
superior education afforded, have nine-tenths of their pupils
Catholics, though they are under Protestant Government.
I could not put forward this justification for fear of a
renewal of persecution against the parents who prefer
the Mico schools. I told him, however, I hoped to be
able shortly to take up the general question of education,
when he would have the opportunity of expressing his
views, and that these would, of course, be given due weight.
At the same time, I promised that I would endeavour to
induce the Mico trustees to forego the reading of the Bible
to Catholic children, and if they refuse consent, it would
become a question whether all Government subsidy should
not be withdrawn from them and schools established
directly under Government. Though my views and those
of Romanists are as the poles asunder, I agree with them as
to the baneful effect of permitting the Bible to be read in
entirety, " without note or comment."
October 28th. — Under much pressure made an exception
to-day to my rule against dining out, for fear the Arch
bishop being unable to dine with me, my persistent refusal
to meet him might be misconstrued. The conversation,
notwithstanding my efforts to the contrary, was directed to
somewhat embarrassing subjects — Tyndall's address to the
British Association and the recently published Supernatural
Religion. This book the Archbishop said he should read,
though one argument against it was sufficient for him — he
had actually seen a miracle ! He is a native of Mauritius,
and at the end I made him laugh heartily with an old
story of Theodore Hook, which he had never heard.1
1 Hook was Treasurer of Mauritius, and his accounts being found in great
confusion, he had to leave the Service. Being asked why he had returned
home, he replied, " Something wrong in the chest ! " The Government
Treasury is in some colonies termed "The Chest."

244 ST. LUCIA
November ist. — Rode down to the factory and there em
barked in a small coasting steamer which had come to
Cul-de-sac for the purpose. Our destination was Soufriere
but we landed at several points on the way to inspect cul
tivation for the factory and the fitness of the various sea-
fronts for the erection of jetties. The village of Anse-le-
raye being in front of one of the contributory estates, I
walked through it for the purpose of examining a swamp
which is said to render the place unhealthy. The drainage
would be neither difficult nor very expensive, but the
question of funds is the real trouble.
At Canaries the people, recognising my being on board
by the Union Jack, greeted me with much loud shouting and
firing of guns, many running a long way along the beach
until the steamer outstripped them. These people have
never forgotten a service I rendered them three years ago
when I saved their village from extinction.
The amphitheatre of hills, at the foot of which nestles in
a hollow the little town of Soufriere, looked even more
lovely than usual, the cane-cultivation, always beautiful at a
distance, being now especially so, owing to the plants being
in blossom. Inspected the district hospital, for which I
obtained a vote before leaving last year and which has been
since erected. The building is decidedly a better one than I
had expected for the money. Talked to the patients, and
looked into the various arrangements. These are not as
good as I should like, but probably the best which the funds
permit of. Passing Canaries on our return in the dim twi
light, a blaze of lights appeared all along the beach, and
a firing began which indicated that every gun in the neigh
bourhood which would hold powder had been brought into
requisition, the people having this time had more time for
preparation. Unfortunately want of light prevented them
from seeing me, or I them, so I could not acknowledge their
greeting. Rode up the Morne in pitch darkness, the horses
finding the way, which is more than I could have done.
November fth. — Weather strangely sultry for the time of

DISAPPOINTMENT 245
year. The hurricane season seems to be gradually extend
ing its limits. It was supposed to end on the 26th October,
until a few years ago, when the great St. Thomas hurricane
occurred on the 28th. Now the telegraph reports one at
Jamaica on November 1st.
November 10th. — Wrote to Lord Dufferin asking him to
procure for me two large paper copies of the Canadian
Code, which I find are all in the hands of the Canadian
Government. By-the-by, Lord Dufferin's recent speech
at Toronto realises my ideal of what a Governor General's
language ought to be. It will have an effect far beyond
Canada, and will help to raise the pride and sense of empire
which the unwise utterances of English vestry politicians
have been tending to destroy.
November 12th. — The skin of a rat- tail snake has just been
found in my cellar, its freshness showing that it has been shed
within a day or two. I thought I caught sight of one in
the garden yesterday, though by the time I could reach the
place it had disappeared.
November igth. — It accidentally became known to me
to-day that for the last twenty years the papers of notaries
who have died, instead of being deposited at the Registry,
as they should have been, have been sold to other notaries,
who (as in the case before me now) actually refuse to people
a sight of the deeds of their own properties.
November 21st. — Most reluctantly obliged to issue a pro
clamation to-day stopping any further payment this year
for serpents' heads, the amount expended having already
much exceeded the vote for the purpose. The number
brought in this year must be nearly approaching twenty
thousand. November 23rd. — Private letter to-day from Lord Car
narvon. Very kind, though disappointing. In reply to
my application for Barbados, which is the only govern
ment I could accept just now without deserting the factory
at a critical time, he says : " I doubt whether this would
be consistent with my arrangements which I have in view,

246 ST. LUCIA
but you may be sure I will not forget or overlook your
work." I subsequently heard that Mr. Pope Hennessey
had already been nominated.
November 2fth. — The Royal Mail Company wants a
subsidy from us for a contemplated direct line to New York.
Our funds are not yet in a condition to warrant such expen
diture, and, moreover, I should much prefer assistance
towards a direct communication with Canada, which the
Guiana Government has in contemplation.
The inspector of the Mico schools told me to-day that
the Roman Catholic cur£ had actually asked him to inspect
the Roman Catholic schools. This looks as if the priests are
coming round to reason, and the chances of harmony are
further increased by the fact that the Mico trustees have
acceded to my request for the adoption of a conscience
clause. November 29th. — This evening there came up the hill two
little Italian boys — one with a harp and the other with
a violin. Their music was not of the best, but neverthe
less affected me deeply, being the first of any kind — except
the distant notes of an out-of-tune piano — which I have
heard since I left England.
December 2nd. — A kind letter from the Duchess of Aber
corn, telling me that the Duke had been interesting himself
in my favour. Lord Carnarvon had replied to him that my
official work had given him much satisfaction, and that he
would have much pleasure in promoting me when oppor
tunity offered. She writes in very low spirits, alluding to
Lady Mount Edgcumbe's death. The Directors of the
Factory Company have sent me a resolution of thanks for
my work, so the news altogether affords some little com
pensation for the thought that I shall probably have to
remain here at least two more years.
December $th. — In working to-day at an ordinance for
consolidating the laws respecting offences within the juris
diction of magistrates, I find some curious anomalies. For
instance, if a man steals a fowl he may be dealt with by a

SINGULAR LUNATIC 247
magistrate, but if he takes an egg he must go before a
higher court and have the benefit of a jury.
December 12th. — Mr. and Mrs. Quintin Hogg arrived on
their way from Demerara to England. It was threatening
rain, so she did not come up the Morne. He and I rode
together into the Cul-de-sac for inspection of the factory
works. He expressed himself as much impressed with our
prospects, and said there would be now no difficulty in dis
posing of the four hundred shares of the company which
remain to be " placed." This is encouraging as coming
from a large owner of sugar estates, who has had much ex
perience. Went down and paid a visit to Mrs. Hogg on the
steamer. She says she is very sorry to leave the West
Indies, and would like to live in Demerara altogether — odd
taste, but in view of her husband's large interest there and
other considerations, not unintelligible. I parted with the
Hoggs with much regret.
December ifth. — Visited the new lunatic asylum to-day.
One of the patients spends his time in drawing all over the
walls of his room, with burnt cork, the most extraordinary
pictures, closely resembling those of ancient Egypt and
Assyria. If he has never seen such a book as that of
Layard, the character of his work would seem to imply
some mental reversion to a far-off Oriental ancestor. In
any case, it is remarkable, and as he is at times very dan
gerous, he is allowed to occupy his time in this way as
much as he likes.
December 18th. — Natal is vacant by now, and but for the
factory, which ties me to this part of the world, I should
have applied for it. What a heavy penalty I have to pay
whenever I get outside of the ordinary groove, and how
many temptations there are, as Arthur Gordon recently
wrote, to do nothing but keep things quiet !
December 2$rd. — The Times of the 5th announces the
appointment of Arthur Gordon to Fiji. It is a particularly
good one, for he is specially fitted for the work before him
there. I envy him the chance of making a new colony

248 ST. LUCIA
" off his own bat " under entirely unprecedented conditions.
I was also glad to see in The Times an appreciative notice
of him, which will be a consolation after all the abuse
he has experienced from interested people whose "little
games " he has thwarted.
December 24th. — I fear that a telegram I sent direct to
the Secretary of State some days ago will increase my un
popularity at the Colonial Office. More than three months
since I sent home the estimates for 1875 as based on my
new scheme of finance. As the introduction of this scheme
involves much legislative and administrative work, and will
cause many changes in the revenue and the accounts, it is
of very great importance that I should have a decision
before the end of the year, or much labour of one kind or
another will in any case be thrown away.
December 25th. — To-day the reply received from the
Colonial Office is, " Financial proposals partially approved.
Despatch mail." This does not tell me what is approved
and what disapproved, and I am no wiser than before.
The despatch cannot arrive until the end of January, so
we must begin the New Year on the old tariff.
Yesterday evening the nuns of the convent sent me for
a Christmas present a smoking-cap with beautiful embroi
dery on violet velvet. I could never use such a head-
covering, but nevertheless appreciate their kindness. Had,
according to my usual custom, asked to dinner a number
of men who are living apart from their families, including
the Chief Justice ; but as owing to illness I had been obliged
to delay the invitations, they were all engaged. I cannot
say I was sorry ; and, dining alone, I had, for some not
altogether intelligible reason, one of the happiest Christ-
mases for years.
December 27th. — This week it is just eleven years since I
arrived in the West Indies and entered Her Majesty's Ser
vice, and yet after all my work I am pecuniarily worse off.
Yet with many enemies I have made some warm friends.
I have survived without, I hope, permanent damage to

WEST INDIAN POISONING 249
health, and, above all, I have one prospect which compen
sates fully for all actual ills.
January 2nd, 1875. — The Duke of Wellington has sent
me some more ramie seeds, the first lot having failed to
come up. If some means were invented, as will assuredly
be the case some day, for cheaply cleaning the splendid
fibre of this plant, its successful cultivation here might be
of great benefit to the West Indies. I carried some of the
seed to Dix, who manages to coax vegetation in a manner
quite beyond me.
January $rd. — A conversation with one of the new doc
tors has confirmed me in the opinion that much poisoning
goes on here without detection. We could not afford to
pay a competent analytical chemist, and it has occurred to
me to propose the appointment of one for the whole of the
Windward Islands, each contributing to the cost propor
tionately to its revenue. Such an officer would be most
useful, not only for convicting poisoners, but for detecting
adulteration in manures, drugs, and food. Considering
what a number of poisons are known to the negroes and
the impossibility of detection, it is wonderful that murder
in this way is not more common than it is.
January $th. — Attended the funeral of Mr. Drysdale,
formerly Administrator of this colony, who has been for
some time residing here with his family. In extreme old
age he was converted to Romanism, and was to have been
baptised when the Archbishop was last here. When it came
to the point, however, he refused, and the ceremony was, in
fact, performed only when he was in extremis.
January 6th. — My work on the codes to-day was that of
incorporating with that of procedure, and inserting in the
right places, some of the " Rules of Court " which have
recently been made by the English judges. They embody
a large concession to common sense, but the wording of
some of them is, to say the least, careless. Perhaps they
will be in force in St. Lucia before coming into general
operation in England.

250 ST. LUCIA
January \$th. — Dix came in to-day with the report that
the Treasury is specially flourishing, so that anxiety caused
by the remissness to send out a decision on the estimates
is to a certain extent removed. It is believed that the
sugar crop of this year will reach 12,000 hogsheads, the
largest ever made, and 2,000 more than in the best year of
slavery.

CHAPTER IX
Visit of French frigate — Financial proposals approved — Earthquakes — Dis
cussion with clergyman — Difficulties of Interpretation Chapter for Civil
Code— Cat and parrot — Visit of Governor Rawson — Anticipates failure of
Hennessey as his successor — Inspect new lunatic asylum — Earthquake —
Supernatural Religion — Long meeting of Council — Pass financial measures
and twelve ordinances — Completion of Civil Code — Rawson's appreciation
of my work, with Lord Carnarvon's favourable comment — Visit of Gordon
Duffs — Suffer from sunstroke — Ordered to England — Illness on voyage.
/ANUAR Y 25th. — Received a telegram from Rawson
to-day, in which he makes a similar mistake to that of
the Colonial Office. He says : " Estimates approved, and
also all financial proposals, except one." As he does not
tell me what the exception is, I cannot even yet get to
work, as something might be disallowed which would
render the whole scheme impossible.
January 26th. — A French frigate came in to-day, and the
captain came up to call, accompanied by the French consul.
January 27th. — To-day returned the French captain's
call. Foreigners regard an English civilian's uniform to be
quite as much his proper dress as is that of a soldier or a
sailor, and to call in plain clothes is considered discourtesy.
So for the first time since I came here I put on official
clothes. The sight was so unusual that a great mob col
lected, and there was much hurrahing as I went off to the
ship. Though I had specially requested the captain not to
salute owing to our inability to return it, he nevertheless
did so, no doubt with the most friendly intention, but much
to my annoyance. Up to last year salutes used to be fired
from Fort Charlotte, and since the removal of the troops,
by the police. But the training of the police for this pur
pose was a great waste of time, and as they never attained
251

252 ST. LUCIA
proficiency, they were specially liable to accidents. As,
moreover, salutes cannot be expected where there are no
troops, I had forbidden them for the future.
In the evening the French captain and some of his officers
dined with me. The dinner, at which were also several
colonists, went off well ; and the French officers (who, by-
the-by, seemed to be all Orleanist) left with much effusion
of complimentary speeches. Despatch from Rawson arrived
by schooner to-day, embodying Lord Carnarvon's decision
about my financial proposals — just about two months after
it might and ought to have been here. All my proposals
are approved, including abolition of the export duties.
Nothing is disapproved, and there is only a mere sugges
tion, not an order, that I should decrease the duty on flour
and add proportionately to that on spirits. Had the official
telegram of December been, "All approved except high
duty on flour," I might before this have at least had all
ready for Council. As it is I can begin only now, and
there must be still further delay and loss of revenue. I
must also either repay many small sums already paid in
taxes which are to be abolished, or postpone the introduc
tion of the new scheme until the next financial year. The
omission is not the fault of Lord Carnarvon, but is simply
due to unimaginative carelessness on the part of some of
his subordinates.
February ist. — Mr. Semper, the English clergyman, whom
I like, came to breakfast. We discussed, among other sub
jects, the arguments for and against miracles and Dr.
Lightfoot's reply to the author of Supernatural Religion.
I was in disagreement with my guest in thinking this
attack to be written in a tone not at all likely to advance
its cause among the unprejudiced. I wish Semper lived
nearer here. He is a really good man, and he has educa
tion enough to permit our broaching subjects which for
various reasons I can hardly touch upon with anyone else.
Drafted a law this morning to legalise life assurance. The
French law, which is still in force, regards it as immoral !

GOVERNOR RAWSON 253
February 8th. — At a dance the other night in Castries I
am told there were fifty women — all white, or supposed to
be so. There is another to-night. I am again invited, but
shall not go. Apart from its Governor, St. Lucia is getting
quite gay. The servants have all gone to look on at the
dancing, and I am left alone in the house to face the
ghosts of several generations of soldiers who have died
here, and who, the negroes believe, parade the galleries at
night. # # * * * #
My cat and Demerara parrot are the constant com
panions of my solitude, and give me a pleasure which no
one in ordinary circumstances could appreciate.
February 15th. — At nine this morning a man-of-war was
signalled to leeward, and in an hour the Argus came in
with Rawson on board. At noon he, his private secretary,
and the captain came up, the latter staying to luncheon,
and then going off in his ship to join the admiral. Raw-
son (who remained as my guest) wishing to be quiet to
day, I had with him the first game at billiards, I think,
which I have played for six months.
February 20th. — Rawson left two days ago. During his
stay he, after reading my private letter to Lord Carnarvon
and his reply, remarked, " You have said nothing that you
were not fully entitled to say, and there is much more
which you might justly have said." Of the reply he said,
" After this you may expect something good before long."
I confess I cannot see how this is possible, as any other
promotion but Barbados would mean abandonment of the
central factory, which I fear is out of the question at pre
sent. Rawson was in a very confidential humour, and told
me that Lord Carnarvon had plainly intimated to him that
he was unable to offer him further employment. He said
he feared he had been too long in subordinate positions to
make a satisfactory chief. Rawson's principal defect is
fear of responsibility, but this he has in common with
several special favourites of the Colonial Office ; and he is

254 ST. LUCIA
at least a gentleman, which is for governors evidently not
a sine qud non. And so as Rawson, despite his age, is
still in robust health, I think he might in preference to
others be given renewed employment. His judgment
about one thing is, I feel sure, correct. He says the
appointment of Hennessey to Barbados for the purpose
of carrying Confederation is a serious mistake. He is a
Roman Catholic, and the Barbadians are more fanatically
Protestant even than the Scotch.
One day Rawson and I rode down to the factory site.
Some two hundred people were actively engaged on various
occupations, and these, with three tramways carrying
material, a steam-crushing machine crushing ballast, and
a pumping engine in full play, created a busy scene not
often seen in the West Indies. Afterwards we went to the
lunatic asylum. It is only a short distance by water across
the harbour, but I preferred to ride round by land in order
that the visit might not be expected ; for the sight of our
boat would have let the cat out of the bag. Rawson was
much pleased with his visit, and with the great improve
ment which has taken place since his last inspection in the
condition and treatment of the lunatics.
Asked Dix and Clavier, the Registrar, to meet Rawson
at dinner, the latter, who is one of my best public officers,
in order to show that I make no distinction in respect of
" colour," and partly for the benefit of the " whites," who,
though he is about the best-educated man in the island,
recently passed a marked slight upon him.
The last quarter of an hour before the departure of the
steamer Rawson made me talk to him, and our parting at
the termination of our six years of official connection was
of the warmest.
February 21st. — On Friday morning at about three
o'clock I was awoke by an earthquake. It felt as if my bed
had been suddenly converted into a sieve and I was being
sifted. Various things in the room rattled unpleasantly.
The tremor, however, quickly came to an end, and I have

RELIGIOUS PREJUDICE 255
become so used to the sensation that I quickly went to sleep
again. Being worn out with work, I to-day read the second
volume of Supernatural Religion, which I have dropped for
some time. The argument to prove that the gospels in
their present form were unknown to any of the earliest
Christian writers, even far into the second century, appears
conclusive. But a far more powerful one against inspira
tion exists in the discrepancies and actual contradictions in
the several accounts, such as neither Paley nor anyone else
has explained satisfactorily to any mind not predetermined
to be convinced. Moreover, miraculous inspiration is to
me scarcely conceivable without miraculous preservation.
Every day's experience makes me more thankful for the
instinct — I can hardly call it conviction — which made re
pellent to me the prospect of becoming a clergyman, and
caused me by preference to exile myself in the Colonies.
February 23rd?. — In the evening read Lecky's recent book,
which tells far more than I knew before of the horrible enor
mities committed in the name of religion by Protestants as
well as Catholics. I had previously no conception of the
abominable cruelties practised by Scotch Presbyterians
against religious opponents, or the refinements of torture
perpetrated upon thousands of helpless old women. I have
often observed, even in modern life, that the superlative
reverence for every word of the Bible operates to produce
cruelty in a certain class of mind. Indeed, what else can
be expected of people who, so long as they can save their
own souls, contemplate with equanimity the eternal torture
of by far the greater part of humanity ? I have been told
by those who hold strongly to this doctrine1 of future
1 The following is a curious instance of the profession of this doctrine. A
foreign Protestant princess recently told me this story of what happened to her
self, she being, it may be remarked, of a peculiarly amiable disposition and
with a character beyond reproach. When lately saying "Good-bye" to a
Roman Catholic, an old and intimate friend of very advanced age, she ex
pressed a hope that they might meet again in the spring, if not, in the next
world, to which the reply with regard to the latter alternative was, "Helas !
malheureusement non; nous partons par des routes differentes !" Having the

256 ST. LUCIA
punishment for disbelief in their peculiar creed, that they
were happier than I am. Possibly, but I would prefer to
be without this form of happiness.
March 4th. — In consequence of a telegram from Rawson
telling me that the Gordon Duffs were on board the steamer
on their way to Trinidad, I rode down early to see them.
I cannot tell how glad I was to see again a face connected
with "the other side of the water," and especially a great
friend of M. as well as myself. The bride looked well after
her voyage, her face and manner as sweet as ever. She
told me that her sister Charlotte1 had suspected my "en
gagement," and I was compelled by silence to admit it.
Before leaving, the Duffs agreed to come and stay with me
on their return from Trinidad.
March 8th. — Council to-day. Three members are against
my financial scheme, the other unofficials doubtful. A peti
tion against it came in to-day. There were a considerable
number of signatures, including, I think, every clerk in the
employ of the three principal mercantile firms. A more
illiterate and foolish production probably never issued from
the leading members of a community. The purely mer
cantile members denied at the Board that they intended
any reflection on me, though its prayer is against my
" arbitrary, oppressive, and unconstitutional measures" ; and
Mr. John Goodman, another member, who is chiefly planter,
was indignant that the name of his firm had without his
knowledge been attached to it. Knowing the people as I
privilege of the friendship of the old lady in question, and knowing her to
abound in excellent and amiable qualities, which render her always genial and
happy, I can only imagine that her instinct really rejects the doctrine which she
is bound to profess. I may mention with regard to this lady that she is an ex
traordinary instance of the retention of all the faculties in extreme old age.
She was presented to Louis XVIII. and danced with Charles X., and being
now, I believe, 98 years old, still receives visitors every evening, and at her
not infrequent dinner-parties (as we ourselves saw five years ago) keeps up the
fashion of our fathers by carving, and carving well, the pike de risistance,
taking at the same time a lively part in the conversation, which she frequently
enriches from her memory and experience.
1 Now Lady Ribblesdale.

LONG COUNCIL-SITTING 257
do, I ought not to be disturbed by the language of this
petition, though it comes from those for whom I have been
slaving for five years, and to whom my work has brought
a prosperity they have never known before.
March 11th. — The meeting of Council came to an end
to-day after four days' sitting. Twelve ordinances (one of
them having sixty clauses) were passed through all their
stages, first, second, and third readings, with committee,
each involving a speech from me on introduction, a reply
to opposition on second reading, and much talking in com
mittee. Altogether in the four days I was speaking for
sixteen hours. On the last day I replied to all the objec
tions to my financial scheme, having previously made known
that in consideration of what had been urged, I would re
tain the tonnage dues and diminish the proposed import
duties on certain articles. I had the satisfaction of hearing
afterwards that my speech had changed one vote in my
favour. With this addition there were three unofficials on
my side and three against, so that with the official vote my
budget, as amended, was carried by seven to three.
March 1 2th. — Rode down early to the factory with Mr.
Chapman, and on my return felt quite worn out. What
with the Code (to finish which I have been working at high
pressure), the factory, the meeting of Council, and ordinary
routine, I must have been at my desk during the last month
more than twelve hours a day on the average.
I learn from the official records that on leaving me after
his visit above described, Sir Rawson Rawson, in the course
of a highly complimentary report to Lord Carnarvon, said :
" Mr. Des Vceux has completed the two codes of law
(Civil Law and Civil Procedure) founded on the law of
Canada on which he has been for a considerable time en
gaged."1 1 This was practically, though not absolutely correct. I had completed the
Civil Code, but as regards the Code of Procedure, I had not made the final
revision which I considered necessary, though I believe that, as eventually
passed, it contained little, if any, alteration from my draft.

2 58 ST. LUCIA
In concluding the same report, Rawson said : " It is but
just to Mr. Des Voeux that I should avail myself of this,
perhaps the last, occasion of testifying to his untiring
energy and industry, and to his great desire to improve the
condition of the people committed to his charge." In reply
to this and other despatches of a similar character, Lord
Carnarvon, then Secretary of State, gave me for the first
time that substantial encouragement which I was perhaps
presumptuous in thinking I had deserved three years before:
" lt gives me much satisfaction to learn that the colony is
so prosperous, and I agree with you that this result is due
in no small measure to the energy and industry of Mr. Des
Vceux." A few days after the last date recorded in my journal
the Gordon Duffs stayed with me for some days. She was
the daughter of Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles) Tennant, and
had only very recently been married to Mr. Thomas Gordon
Duff, the eldest son of Mr. Gordon Duff, of Drummuir.
Their visit caused me very great pleasure, but came too late
to save me, by the distraction thus caused, from the break
down which, fortunately for me, though unfortunately for
them, occurred while they were in my house. When they
arrived I was suffering severely from sleeplessness, caused
probably by overwork, and so I gladly accompanied them
on various expeditions, the particulars of which I have
mostly forgotten. I was returning with them from a visit
to Mr. John Goodman, who had hospitably entertained us
at Vieuxfort, and we had ridden over the twelve miles of
hill-country which separates it from Soufriere and come
back to Castries by water. On riding home up the Morne,
I felt more than ever before the glare of the setting sun as
reflected from the sea. While dressing for dinner I sud
denly lost consciousness, and the Duffs, hearing me fall,
rushed into the room, where I was found in a state of com
plete collapse. Nothing could be kinder than the attention
received from the Duffs, who, one or other of them, watched
by my bedside during the one, two, or three nights, I forget

GO HOME ILL 259
how many, during which I remained in the island. The
doctors being of opinion that my only chance of recovery
was to go home at once, I embarked in the mail steamer,
the Duffs accompanying me as far as St. Thomas.
It was not expected either by the doctors or anyone in
the island that I should live to reach home ; but by the
time the vessel reached St. Thomas I seemed so much
better that I ventured to go ashore. The effort proved too
great, and being taken ill again, I had to be carried on board
the homeward-bound steamer.
The voyage home was very miserable. Owing to rough
weather the screw was continually out of the water, causing
on each occasion a vibration in my brain which almost en
tirely deprived me of sleep. Smoother water during the
last few days gave me some relief, and I reached the hotel
at Plymouth without much difficulty. But another attack
there caused a doctor to be summoned, who led me to think
that I was in serious danger. On that account I was the
more anxious to get to London, and, despite the doctor's
earnest dissuasion, started by the express next morning.
The railway journey, strangely enough, affected me less
than might have been expected, and I reached London
none the worse for my hardihood.

CHAPTER X
My marriage — The Tennant family — Yester and Lord Tweeddale — Sir George
Bowen and Sir John Pope Hennessey — Return to St. Lucia — Jealousy of
parrot — Troubles with servants — An alarming incident — Stupidity of ants
— Birth of son — Visited by Pope Hennessey — Estimate of him and his
doings — Riot at Vieuxfort, and measures in consequence — Official appre
ciation — Obeah and its terrors — An Obeah child-murder — Take responsi
bility of ordering execution — Relief of people after event.
THE effects of the sun-stroke (or rather "light-stroke,"
as I believe this affection was termed by Sir Ruther
ford Alcock to distinguish it from heat apoplexy) did not
vanish at once. Indeed, one effect, an extreme sensitive
ness in facing light, whether natural or artificial, has never
left me. Another was sufficiently curious to deserve men
tion. Being always fond of music, and then, owing to long
deprivation, specially desirous of hearing it, I found that
one, and only one, note of the piano had become intolerable.
When that was struck, it set up a vibration in the brain,
which if prolonged would have been maddening. I believe
that when a tuning-fork is struck, any other within a short
distance which is of exactly the same pitch will vibrate in
unison,1 and I can only presume that some fibre in the head
had become attuned to the note in question.
But though by no means completely well, I was in the
course of three months sufficiently recovered to be no
longer regarded as an invalid ; so that, other difficulties
having been surmounted, there was nothing to interfere
with my marriage. This event took place on the 24th July
at St. James's Church, Piccadilly. After the ceremony,
while the register was being signed, someone touched me
1 This discovery is, I believe, the principle governing wireless telegraphy.
260

PRECOCIOUS CLEVERNESS 261
from behind, and a voice said in what was no doubt in
tended as a whisper, but which had rather the character of
a stage aside, "Why don't you ask Lady Salisbury to sign?"
Turning round, I recognised from his dress that the speaker
was the verger, who, as I had never before been in the
church, was entirely unknown to me. He had, it appeared,
been for many years in the position, and so acquired the
freedom of speech and manner common to old servants.
But unaware of this, and being entirely unacquainted with
Lady Salisbury, who I felt sure was not present, I suspected
the fellow had gone mad, when a lady, who was close by
and heard the verger's question, exclaimed, " I'm coming,"
and immediately went up to the table and signed. It was
Lady Derby. Only then did it occur to me to whom the
man had referred, and that having known her who had been
Lady Salisbury, he was ignorant of, or owing to old age
had forgotten, the fact of her remarriage.
After a wedding tour of three weeks we returned for a
few days to Footscray Place, Mr. Pender's residence in
Kent, and then went for a round of visits in Scotland.
Among these was one of a week to the Glen, when we
became even more alive than before to the attractiveness
and cleverness of the girls of Mr. (now Sir Charles)
Tennant's family. The younger ones, Laura and Margot
(the late Mrs. Alfred Lyttelton and Mrs. Asquith), were at
the time only about ten and eleven respectively, and yet
they were contributing poems to the Family Magazine,
which, I believe, appeared for some time periodically. I
still possess one of the numbers which they gave me at the
time, and the poems in it signed " L. T." and " M. T.", while
evidently the productions of extreme youth, yet indicate
an amazing precocity. What, however, was to my mind
a far better test of their cleverness was displayed at the
well-known game of "Twenty Questions." Their pro
ficiency would have been almost beyond belief if I had not
witnessed it. In several trials, which would have proved
too difficult for most " grown-up " people, they were always

262 ST. LUCIA
successful without exceeding the prescribed number of
questions. During our visit to the Glen I met with an accident,
which lamed me for some weeks and much interrupted the
progress of recovery. Playing a match at lawn tennis at
King's Meadows with Miss Charlotte Tennant (now Lady
Ribblesdale) for my partner, against Sir Robert Hay and
his son, in making a rush for the ball in the deciding stroke
of the game I felt what seemed to be the sharp blow of a
stick upon the calf of my leg. In fact, however, no one
had struck me, and I had broken one of the small tendons.
Such severe pain ensued that, after vainly attempting to
hop to the house, I was seized and carried thither. Being
kindly cared for by Lady Hay and her family, I was able
to return to the Glen the next day; but the accident did
much to spoil our Scotch tour and precluded all shooting
at Yester, where we went immediately afterwards.
Lord Tweeddale had aged considerably since my visit
of two years before, and was much deafer. But nothing
could exceed his kindness to us both, and our visit was
wholly pleasant. The celebrated court-martial on the
officers of the Vanguard was proceeding at the time, and
Lord Tweeddale showed himself proud, as well he might, at
the exceedingly able manner in which the proceedings were
presided over by his son John (now Admiral of the Fleet).
Returning to Footscray Place and spending the final
fortnight there, we left England for St. Lucia in September
in the Royal Mail s.s. Nile — the fifth voyage made by me
in the same vessel.
We found on board the Nile Sir John Pope Hennessey 1
(who was to be my new chief) and his wife, my Demerara
friends Crosby and Perot, together with some of my former
enemies of that colony. Hennessey, whatever objections
there afterwards proved to be against official connection
with him, showed himself on this voyage to be socially most
1 Sir John Pope Hennessey, then recently appointed Governor of Barba
dos, and afterwards Governor of Hong Kong and Mauritius.

SIR JOHN POPE HENNESSEY 263
agreeable. I had met him previously at the Queen's birth
day dinner given by Lord Carnarvon in Bruton Street,
where Sir George Bowen was talking, according to his wont,
in a somewhat loud voice. After a remark had fallen
rather flat to the effect that he had had an interview on the
same day with the Pope, Victor Emmanuel, and Garibaldi,
he shortly afterwards said, apropos of nothing : " Very
extraordinary thing, very extraordinary ; I was asked to
dine the same day with the Prime Minister and with the
Archbishop of Canterbury." Upon which little Pope
Hennessey, who was sitting on the opposite side of the
table, said even louder : " A much more extraordinary
thing has happened to me, Sir George," and when asked
what, replied : " / have been asked to dine neither with the
Prime Minister nor with the Archbishop of Canterbury!"
Hennessey had that peculiarly Irish faculty of giving a
humorous complexion to every ordinary incident. More
over, however rough the sea or high the temperature, he
appeared to be always in good spirits, and was especially
considerate to us. As an instance of his thoughtfulness,
I remember that when a flying-fish came into the port of
his cabin, he had it cooked for my wife, who had been un
able to eat any solid food for several days. Altogether
I could not have wished a pleasanter travelling companion,
and in consequence I cherished the hope that our official
relations would be equally satisfactory — a hope which the
sequel proved to be not altogether justified. On the first
day of real heat some of us were amused by one of the
Demerara men, who, after imbibing with marked satisfac
tion several " swizzles " one after the other, remarked, with
a sigh of pleasure, " What a blessing it is to have again a
good healthy thirst ! "
Parting with the Hennesseys and our other friends at
Barbados, we the next day arrived at St. Lucia. There
we were received with the usual demonstrations, none the
less fervent in that for the first time for many years there
was to be a lady resident at Government House.

264 ST. LUCIA
During my absence Mr. Dix, who was administering the
government, had caused some alterations to be made in
the house, which made it more fitted for occupation by a
lady. There was also some additional furniture which had
at my instance been purchased for the colony without ex
pense to it. In order to explain this, I may mention that
some years before the Colonial Office had sanctioned the
magnificent addition of £100 a year to the wretched salary
of my office. Mr. Rawson, who was by no means extrava
gant in his ideas, and the members of the Legislature, who
were even less inclined in this direction, had considered that
an addition of £300 was the least which would meet the
case. I myself did not care to accept the inadequate in
crease authorised, and so while for the sake of my successor
obtaining the increased vote, had repaid the extra amount
into the Treasury. But this course, while permitted, had
been objected to by Downing Street ; so I made the sug
gestion, which was approved, that the total amount repaid
by me should be expended on additional furniture for
Government House, on the understanding that it should
belong to the colony and remain for the use of my suc
cessors. The continual presence in the house of a sympathetic
companion made now a vast difference in my life. First,
I was relieved from household worries and management,
and again, in social duties I had tactful and valuable assist
ance. As a consequence I came to take a calmer view of
delinquencies and difficulties; and though my troubles
were still great, I regarded them with comparative equa
nimity. My rides now were rarely or never solitary. We
had a daily gallop round the Morne, where alone within
many miles there was sufficient level ground, and in our
longer excursions there was a continual pleasure in intro
ducing to an appreciative companion the scenic beauties
of the tropics.
Save in one quarter, my wife was greeted everywhere
with effusive warmth (a warmth which, as in every other

DOMESTIC DIFFICULTIES 265
colony, increased as she became known). My old Demerara
parrot Jocko, which Mr. Dix had cared for during my ab
sence, seized with a fit of extraordinary jealousy, rushed at
her in the most aggressive way whenever she appeared.
Indeed, it was some weeks before in her presence he was
restored to his former tranquillity.
Nor was this the only domestic " difficulty " which met
my wife at the outset. My servant Sam, who had been
with me twice to England, deliberately assumed on the
voyage an attitude of unprecedented insolence, and I was
compelled to discharge him at his native Barbados, evi
dently his secret object.
We afterwards discovered many reasons for Sam's fear of
remaining with us, his doings having been such as my wife
would have been sure to discover, though to me, occupied
as I was with other business, they had remained " a sealed
book." Without entering into these peccadilloes, I may
mention an amusing trick which, according to the other
servants, he had played upon me more than once. I dis
tinctly remember that on one occasion, when I had been at
my desk from early morning, asking the man : " Why
have I not had my breakfast ? " To this he replied, " Oh,
sir, you had it two hours ago." This, though much sur
prised, I believed. It now appeared that having gauged my
absence of mind in respect of anything except what I was
engaged upon, he had purposely deceived me in order to
save himself trouble. He had boasted of the trick to the
other servants, but they, out of fear of him, had concealed
the circumstance until he was gone. How many times I
had thus been defrauded of my meals I shall not pretend
to guess.
We thus arrived in St. Lucia accompanied by only two
maids whom my wife had engaged from her mother's house.
One of these, though for some years in a position of trust
and never before having exhibited any such tendency,
began almost immediately after our arrival in the tropics
to show symptoms of inebriety. After bearing with her for

266 ST. LUCIA
some time, we were reluctantly compelled to pay her pas
sage back to England. Fortunately my wife quickly made
herself beloved by the coloured servants, and the other
English maid proved to be a treasure, so that these annoy
ances, which at first threatened to be serious, came to an
end. Not long after our arrival an incident occurred which
would have seriously disturbed the equanimity of one with
less courage than my wife. A plot of ground near the
house had been used as the soldiers' cemetery when a
garrison occupied the neighbouring fort, and was supposed
to be much infested by snakes ; I had therefore begged
her not to go there. Her maid, however, went one day to
inspect the tombstones and related to her what she had seen ;
and on my return home that evening my wife said, laugh
ing, " I know now why you didn't want me to go near that
cemetery. Lizzie saw there the tombstones of six gover
nors and one governor's wife, who all died within one year."
Such was, indeed, the tragic fact. At the period in ques
tion the administration of the island was entrusted to the
officer in command of the troops, and an epidemic of yellow
fever had carried off within a single year, besides the wife
of one of them, six officers who had successively taken
charge of the government. If my wife was at all terrorised
by this circumstance — and the event which occurred within
a few months rendered this specially probable — she never
permitted me to see it.
On one occasion we had the opportunity of observing a
curious instance of the doings of ants. A legion of these
insects was endeavouring to drag a large cockroach up a
perpendicular wall in one of the galleries outside our house.
They were very diminutive in size, and so, while succeeding
again and again in taking the load six or eight inches up
wards, its weight always then proved too great for them,
and it was allowed to drop. With extraordinary perseve
rance this operation was repeated during nearly the whole
of two days, and as far as we were able to observe, during

A NEGRO NURSE 267
also the intervening night, always with the same unsuccess
ful result, until the whole had been torn to pieces and car
ried off piecemeal. During nearly the whole of this pro
ceeding there were many ants running over the back of the
cockroach, thus adding largely to its weight; and there was
thus illustrated the fact, humorously noticed by my friend
Mark Twain in one of his books, that a curious stupidity
is mingled with the extraordinary intelligence which ants
appear to exhibit in other respects. For these ants were
all of the same small variety, and evidently belonged to the
same nest, so there was no attempt, as I have seen in
other cases, to drag the object in different directions.
On June 4th, 1 876, occurred the birth of our eldest child.
The usual anxieties connected with such an event were ag
gravated by circumstances. One of the least of them was
that the coloured nurse, the best at our disposal, proved to
be utterly incompetent, to say the least. When no one was
at hand to prevent her, she forced what she called "a gill"
of new rum down the throat of the unfortunate infant within
a few hours of its birth, insisting that it was the customary
and proper thing to do! Possibly the dura ilia of negro
children may be able to withstand such a dose, but neither
I nor our angry doctor could imagine those of an English
baby being able to do so with impunity. I ascribe largely
to this act the ill-health with which the child was long
affected. The woman being at once discharged, my wife's
young maid proved equal to the occasion, though utterly
without previous experience, and successfully carried the
child through this trying period. At the same time she
proved to be a devoted nurse to my wife, who remained
seriously ill for more than two months, and has never since
completely recovered.
From the first my wife had to undergo many ordeals of
a nature to which she, in the course of years, became well
accustomed, but which, at a time when she was utterly
without experience, would have been very trying to anyone
less endowed with common sense and readiness of verbal

268 ST. LUCIA
resource. But though she could never be "drawn" for in
formation and declined listening to gossip, her sympathetic
attitude towards all who approached her, to whatever class
they belonged, her kindly greeting, with something pleasant
to say to all her guests, and the patience with which she
listened to grievance-mongers, never failed to conciliate, and
gained for her, according to abundant evidence, a general,
I may almost say, a universal affection. And more than
this, by mitigating disappointments, soothing asperities, and
sending away pleased with themselves people inclined to
be malcontents, she proved to be a most efficient aid in
administration. In December, 1875, Pope Hennessey paid his first, and I
think his only, visit to St. Lucia, when he was duly sworn
in before the Executive Council as Governor-in-Chief.
During the presence of the Governor-in-Chief the office of
Administrator became temporarily suspended, its occupant
ceasing to be responsible for administration and becoming
merely Colonial Secretary without even a seat in the Execu
tive Council. Hennessey showed himself in the house, as
on board ship, most agreeable socially. As regards public
affairs, he touched only very lightly upon the local politics,
confining himself for the most part to complimentary
speeches. Yet he was very full of his project of Confede
ration and the Barbadian attitude towards it, and spoke to
me with singular frankness of his plan of action, based on
the principle of " Flectere si nequeo Superos, Acheronta
movebo " (" If I cannot bend the whites, I shall stir up the
blacks!"). In fact, he evinced a somewhat rash confidence
in the discretion of one whom he knew so slightly. For had I
been otherwise than absolutely loyal to my guest, or dis
closed what was said to me on this occasion, the position
which his extraordinary policy produced in the following
year would have been even more critical for him. Though in
his projects and acts Hennessey showed an unscrupulous-
ness, which he sometimes avowed in a manner indicating
either unconsciousness or cynicism, and though official con-

POPE HENNESSEY IN ST. LUCIA 269
nection with him proved to be far from altogether agree
able, yet from the first I was compelled to admire his moral
courage and sympathy with the oppressed. These qualities,
together with his humorous cheeriness, prevented me from
ever really disliking him, and I thus came to regard with
comparative equanimity doings which, to say the least,
were not worthy of commendation. A sample of these
took place in this visit to me.
At this time much of the contents of my Civil Code,
which had been finally copied out from my draft during my
absence in England, had become known, and some of its pro
visions, especially with regard to civil marriage, to marriage
in extremis, and to bequests made by persons within a year
of death, had created strong feeling among the Roman
Catholics, which, needless to say, was being fomented
by the priests. Hennessey, though well aware of this,
attended a breakfast given to a large number of guests,
exclusively Roman Catholic, which was given by the Cure
of Castries, and to which I was not invited. Whether the
report was true or not to the effect that the conversation
on that occasion was largely directed to politics, it is certain
that after it Hennessey was looked upon as a sure opponent
of the Code, at least as regards these obnoxious provisions.
And this confidence was proved by the event to be fully
justified. This was not the only disagreeable occurrence of the day
in question. After the breakfast Hennessey went to pay
a visit of inspection to the gaol. He expressed himself as
much satisfied with its condition, and added that he would
like to mark the occasion of his visit by granting a free
pardon to one of the prisoners whom the gaoler might
recommend. The gaoler thereupon brought forward the
one whom he favoured, and the man was at once allowed
to go free. This proceeding and its effect in the way of
inconvenience and embarrassment may be gathered when
I mention, that this gaoler was a very inefficient officer,
the reports against whom, both by the late and the exist-

270 ST. LUCIA
ing head of his department, made me doubtful whether I
ought not to move for his dismissal. If I had held my
hand, it was because his long service would soon enable
me to bring about his retirement on account of age, and
because in view of the daily visit to the gaol on the part of
his superior officer, his shortcomings could do little harm.
This superior officer was Mr. Gall, the Chief of Police,
whose office I had recently amalgamated for the sake of
economy with those of Provost Marshal and Town Warden,
and to him was entirely due, and not to his subordinate
gaoler who merely carried out his orders, the credit for the
satisfactory condition of the gaol. As the gaoler was a
Roman Catholic and his chief was a Protestant, Hennessey's
action in this matter, impelled by a careless inadvertence,
was unfortunately ascribed by the public to a determina
tion to snub the Protestants all round, myself included.
This was not the only point in which Hennessey's pro
ceeding was open to exception. The prisoner released, as
is often the case with the worst criminals, had recom
mended himself to the gaoler, who was really nothing more
than a kind of head turnkey, by special obsequiousness.
He was, however, of all the occupants of the gaol the very
last who should have been pardoned. He had recently
been found guilty of maliciously setting fire to a cane field,
a crime of which, though very common and liable to be
ruinous to the sufferers, no one had been convicted before.
This form of incendiarism had become a common means
of revenge against a proprietor who had caused offence ;
and not only was its perpetration liable to cause ruin to
him and his neighbours, but its detection was extremely
difficult. Accordingly this release caused a general and
justifiable indignation when it became known among the
planting body of St. Lucia.
I freely confess I was relieved when Hennessey left the
island, which he did within a week of his arrival. Though
I expressed my views on these matters with as much warmth
as was possible to a guest in my house, I am bound to say

A RIOT 271
that he took them in such good part that I did not make
them a matter of official difference, and we parted on ex
cellent terms. In order to retain this happy condition I
kept back until I was finally quitting the island the intro
duction of the Civil Code to the Council, wherein, as I will
show, we seriously differed ; otherwise I had no cause to
complain of anything in our official connection. He ap
proved of all my proceedings, and indeed on one or two
occasions honoured me and them with a somewhat ex
travagant laudation.
In April, 1876, occurred an incident which caused
some temporary anxiety, though its importance was un
duly magnified by a telegraphic report which reached the
neighbouring islands. A riot occurred at Vieuxfort,
occasioning much destruction of property. Rumours were
prevalent — a common occurrence in such cases — that this
was only a prelude to a general rising of the negroes.
The local magistrate having asked urgently for assistance,
I sent to him a small force of police with extra rifles for
special constables, giving him instructions at the same time
as to the means of soothing an excited people, and caution
ing him not to fire even blank cartridges except in the face
of a very urgent necessity. He was also to let me know
by special messenger if more aid should be required.
Though I did not believe the rumours of general dis
affection, they were so persistently brought to me by
terrified people that I deemed it well to take precautions,
and made all preparations to proceed myself with the rest
of the police in the improbable event of their being required.
When, however, I received by special messenger an offer
from my old friends the villagers of Canaries to the effect
that they would volunteer to a man in support of order,
I became certain that the disturbance was only local and
would not spread. And this turned out to be the case.
The cause of trouble proved to be some petty sectarian
quarrel. The rioting ceased on the appearance of the police,
and the ringleaders were arrested and eventually punished.

272 ST. LUCIA
On receiving my report of this affair Hennessey sent
me a despatch containing the following passage: "A some
what exaggerated telegram had been communicated to me
on the subjeet at the time ; but it caused me no apprehen
sion, as I had sufficient confidence in your thorough know
ledge of the people and your sound judgment in dealing
with any such emergency. The prompt action which led
to the rapid termination of the disturbance and the cessa
tion of all anxiety is most creditable to your Government,
and I can well understand how gratifying to you personally,
as well as officially, must have been the loyalty and grati
tude of the inhabitants of Canaries, who are evidently
sensible of the special benefit your Honour's administration
had been to them." Hennessey also wrote to Lord Car
narvon what drew from him the following acknowledgment :
" Mr. Des Vceux appears to have acted with promptitude
and good judgment in the measures he adopted for pre
venting further and more serious riot." This language,
though justified by Hennessey's report, was much more
than the occasion deserved.
In the account of my life in Guiana I have referred to
that product of African superstition which in the British
West Indies goes exclusively by the name of " Obeah." 1
The practices connected with this relic of savagery had
not then, and probably have not now, entirely died out
among the descendants of the slaves; and as they were
apt to become rapidly more prevalent when ignored, it was
necessary to repress them with the utmost severity, if it
were only on account of the extreme terror which they
caused to the ignorant. Early in my career in St. Lucia
one of my servants came to me in a condition of the most
abject fright, showing me at the same time a small image,
intended to be in human form, with a pin stuck into it
about the region of the heart. Persuasion by no means
entirely succeeded in calming an excitement which was to
1 "Obeah" is evidently much the same as the "Vaudoux" of Haiti, as
described by Sir Spenser St. John.

OBEAH MURDER 273
a great extent shared by the other servants, none of whom
were not quite sure that this warning might not have been
intended for him or her.
Notwithstanding rumours to the contrary, I had up to
this time been inclined to think that terror was the only
evil caused by Obeah ; but an event occurred early in
1876 which rudely undeceived me. One who had long
been reputed to be a dangerous Obeahman was convicted
before the Supreme Court on the clearest evidence of mur
dering a little child with the object of using the body for
some of his abominable rites.1 The principal witnesses
against him were his own children, examined separately ;
and the body of the victim was mutilated in a peculiar way,
which was sworn to be the method employed for Obeah
purposes. It came out subsequently, when after the man's
death people were no longer afraid to speak out, that this
wretch, Adolphe la Croix by name, had previously disposed
of one of his own children in the same horrible manner.
Further, it appeared that it was in the immediate neighbour
hood of this man's house that a child had disappeared, for
the discovery of whom I had some years before offered a
large reward without success.
When this case came before the Executive Council for
decision as to the execution or remission of the sentence
of death, I was placed in a position of some difficulty.
During his stay with me Hennessey had mentioned his
horror and disapproval of capital punishment, and at the
same time desired me orally to forward to him, previously
to any decision upon them, the papers connected with any
trial terminating in a death sentence. Partly perhaps be
cause of a knowledge of Hennessey's views on this point,
but chiefly owing to a belief in the supreme power of
Obeah, there was a general, indeed, an almost universal
opinion, among whites as well as coloured, that death would
1 The recent publication of some of the records of the "Chambre Ardente''
shows that murderous rites of this kind were rife even in Europe up to the time
of Louis XIV.
I. — T

274 ST. LUCIA
be commuted for imprisonment. I felt, on the other hand,
that the man must die, or other Obeahmen would be en
couraged to similar crimes, while the almost universal terror
of them would be greatly aggravated, not to mention that
fear of the particular man among his gaolers would in all
probability conduce to his escape from imprisonment.
Feeling at the same time sure that Hennessey, if he had
the chance, would decide for commutation, and that the
Executive Council, if they were made officially aware of
Hennessey's oral instructions, would all vote in the same
direction, I determined, as these had not been conveyed to
me officially, to make no mention of them. Moved there
fore by the evidence alone, and perhaps gathering from my
very emphatically expressed views that I should probably
overrule any decision contrary to them, the members voted
unanimously that the sentence should be carried out. I
had, indeed, quite made up my mind that it was my duty
to have the man hanged, and only afterwards to make
report of the case.
After it became known that the man was to pay the ex
treme penalty, various packages were sent to me, containing
ridiculous images with pins sticking in them,1 which, we
were told, were intended to bring about my death. Then
came an occurrence which clearly showed that my decision
was a right one. During the whole night previous to the
execution hundreds of people were marching round and
round the fence enclosing the grounds of Government
House, many remaining until, in the early morning, the
news was brought that the man was actually dead. These
people fully believed that either an attempt would be made
on my life or that something else would occur to prevent
the execution. When they heard the truth, however, they
1 The belief that an image, made with the accompaniment of magical cere
monies to represent an obnoxious person, would cause that person to suffer
any injury inflicted upon it is a very ancient African superstition. A papyrus
record shows that the making of wax figures of this character formed part
ofthe great conspiracy against Rameses III., who reigned in Egypt about
1300 B.C.

RELIEF ON MURDERER'S EXECUTION 275
showed intense relief and satisfaction, which proved to be
general throughout the island. Thus, though somewhat un
comfortable as to what might be the official view of the
affair, I had compensation in the feeling that my action had
added sensibly to the comfort of the people of the island.
Hennessey never replied to my report on the subject.
Perhaps he was at the time too much occupied with troubles
nearer home. But I always congratulate myself that our
official connection terminated shortly afterwards.

CHAPTER XI
Ordered home on public affairs — Disappointments caused by central factory
— Its various difficulties — Loss to shareholders, but gain to colony — Civil
Code in Legislative Council — Opposition to civil marriage instigated by
Catholic hierarchy and supported by Pope Hennessey— Amusing legal
objections — Priestly strong language — My action approved at home — Civil
Code becomes law — Return to England.
IN July of this year (1876) I unexpectedly received a
telegram from Lord Carnarvon instructing me to pro
ceed to England as soon as public affairs permitted, for the
purpose of conferring with the directors of the Factory
Company. The affairs of the factory, which in previous
years had given me so much trouble, cost me even more in
1875-6. At the outset of cane-crushing operations there
were continually occurring disappointments. Much of the
working could be seen from the south gallery of my house.
With a powerful glass I was able to observe the locomotive
drawing truckloads of canes — each containing two tons — to
the factory. Then the contents of each truck would be
hoisted en masse by a crane and dropped upon the "carrier,"
which, moving slowly by steam, fed them into the crushing
mill. Knowing the importance attached to the continuous
working of the machinery, I for many weeks together,
while working at my desk on the Morne, was in the habit
of going very frequently to the telescope to see what pro
gress was being made. But though always in hope that at
last the mill would work continuously for a whole day, I was
ever doomed to be disappointed. Sometimes eleven or
twelve truckloads would be steadily disposed of, but then
would invariably come a stoppage. When this was pro
longed I rode down to the factory to discover the cause,
276

THE CENTRAL FACTORY 277
which was usually either the disarrangement of some portion
of the machinery or a failure in the cane-supply. The
former cause was the more frequent in the early weeks, and
the latter afterwards. I was told that breakdowns are
common in the first year of work, even with the best crush
ing machinery ; and for the sake of my peace of mind it
was unfortunate that I had not been told this before. Yet
as this particular machinery proved afterwards unexception
able in construction, I cannot help thinking that the fre
quency of its stoppage from disarrangement indicated
grave faults in erection or control.
Still more unexpected was the failure in the cane-supply,
against which not one of the many experts had given any
warning. The planters had, I think every one of them,
grievously overestimated the number of tons which they
could furnish. They had also, perhaps owing to miscalcu
lation, failed to supply themselves with sufficient mules to
carry such canes as they had to the tramway, and though
this want was little felt at first when the fields were being
'' cut " which were near the line, it became serious when the
more distant were reached and when, moreover, heavy rains
had rendered the rich soil difficult for carriage. And so it
happened that from one cause or another even the short
supply of canes that were actually grown could not be all
taken off during the " crop-time." Again, though the rich
soil of the valley produced large crops of canes, an excep
tional rainfall there rendered the juice of low quality as
regards saccharine, and consequently the return of sugar
per ton was much below expectation. Together with these
there were many other troubles on account of the factory
which beset me at this period, and caused me interminable
correspondence, both local and with the directors in Eng
land. To mention one. Though the manager and the
English employees lived in houses built in a dry and com
paratively healthy spot some two hundred feet above the
sea, one or other of them was always ill, sometimes several
together. The residents of the valley, whether white or

278 ST. LUCIA
coloured, had shown no signs of malaria; but it now
proved to exist there, and told severely upon newly arrived
Europeans whose work at the factory exposed them to it.
As is commonly the case (especially with uneducated men
who have no means of occupying themselves during the
hours of rest), some of these endeavoured to overcome with
strong drink the lassitude which, as I well knew by per
sonal experience, is apt to beset the intervals of malarial
fever. The manager, whom I believe to have been of tem
perate habits when he came to the island two years before,
unfortunately succumbed to this temptation, which was no
doubt increased by the worries incident to his exceptionally
difficult task. Recognising in him valuable qualities and
qualifications which it would be difficult to find elsewhere
in combination, I had come to like him, and was exceed
ingly loth to deal severely with him. But when, after re
peated warnings I found him again and again unfit for
work, I was compelled in the middle of the " crop " to re
place him with an estate-manager obtained from Guiana
and recommended by the attorney of Mr. Quintin Hogg.
But notwithstanding all these drawbacks and disappoint
ments, the sugar of excellent quality manufactured by the
works would have realised sufficient for a fair dividend on
the capital of the company even in this first year, had the
price of sugar remained as it was when the company was
founded. But the market fell and continued to fall until
it reached, and in subsequent years rarely or never sur
mounted, a point far below the lowest of previous ex
perience. In my Blue Book report of 1871 I had antici
pated a decline in consequence of the bounties on export
granted by foreign countries. But in common, I believe,
with everyone else, I failed to foresee the extent of this
bounty infection and how it would spread and increase
over the whole continent of Europe and the United States,
until the value of sugar had been diminished by half, some
times more than half. Being in subsequent years for the
most part at an immense distance both from London and the

THE CIVIL CODE 279
West Indies, I had but little opportunity of following the
affairs of the company ; but I do not doubt that this, if
not the only, was the chief cause of the failure of the
company. Lord Walden, who on account of ill-health
resigned very shortly after the commencement of opera
tions, was succeeded by a chairman of the first order of
business capacity, who devoted himself to his duty with
untiring patience and perseverance ; so that no fault could
be found with the English direction, especially as that was
for a time aided by the experience of Mr. Hogg, a most
successful West India proprietor. But from whatever
causes, the company never paid a dividend, and after some
years of precarious existence, the business passed into
other hands.
The serious pecuniary loss to myself, my own and my
wife's family, and my immediate friends, amounted in
the aggregate to close upon £20,000. But though the
pain and disappointment thus caused was severe, there
was some compensation in the thought that the colony
on the whole gained largely by this enterprise. There
was, indeed, a direct loss of the £30,000 contributed from
the colonial funds ; but, on the other hand, expenditure,
including that upon costly machinery which is still being
used, to the extent of some £120,000 accrued to the
benefit of the island. Moreover, before the failure of this
factory became recognised, two or three other such factories
were established which, with the original one still working,
have largely increased the sugar crop of the island and
thus caused a great increase of trade and revenue. Thus
my work on this project was by no means wholly thrown
away. I turn now to a more agreeable subject, which, however,
at the time was scarcely less embarrassing — I refer to the
Civil Code and the means taken before I left the island
for passing it into law. In July, after a complete copy of
the proposed Code had, after public notice, been for some
five weeks lying at the Registry for inspection, I brought

280 ST. LUCIA
into Council a Bill for its legalisation. I had at first in
tended to have it read and debated clause by clause in
Committee ; but it soon became evident from the opposition
aroused that this mode of proceeding would take months ;
and when the summons arrived for me to proceed to
England, the chance being considerable that I should
never return, I felt that some other course must be adopted
in order to save the work of three weary years. For the
Chief Justice was feeling the bitterness of Romanist
hostility against the marriage provisions, causing it to be
publicly known that I was their sole author, and I could
see plainly the improbability of his maintaining his position
firmly in my absence against an opposition having the
Governor-in-Chief in sympathy with it. Under these diffi
cult circumstances, when I was almost in despair, there
occurred to me during a sleepless night, by a kind of
inspiration, the following device, which I at once put into
execution. Without a day's delay, I drafted a Bill in which the
Code appeared as a schedule. It contained a clause sus
pending its operation until Her Majesty's sanction was
proclaimed in the colony and legalising the Code as it
might be amended in the meantime by the Legislative
Council, whether under the instructions of the Secretary of
State or otherwise. I correctly anticipated that the oppo
sition members would, in the case of this Bill, confine
themselves for the moment to its principal portion and
permit the schedule to be formally read without debate.
For the opportunity would come afterwards of bringing
their weight to bear upon the objectionable clauses with a
considerable chance that, in my absence, there would be
little or none in the opposite scale. And so, after debates
in which there was little reflection of the violent language
which had been used by the priesthood, the Bill was
passed by the official vote, those of the officials who as
Roman Catholics were in heart opposed, no doubt expect
ing to justify themselves to their Church on the ground

PROVISIONS OPPOSED 281
that while fulfilling their duties as Government servants
they were in no way prejudicing an ultimate decision in
favour of the ecclesiastical view. In the protest made
immediately afterwards by the unofficial members the
only point on which they were agreed was as to the
indiscreet haste with which the lately compiled Code of
Civil Law " had been forced through the Council by the
official majority." My reply to this was obvious and com
plete. The Code had not been forced through at all,
there being still the fullest opportunity for the considera
tion, discussion, and amendment of the few disputed
points in a long compilation, by far the greater part of
which all parties regarded as likely to be useful.
And now as to the provisions which caused this unusually
strenuous opposition, and which were all nevertheless
eventually sanctioned. The merchant members who were
Protestants, approving generally the rest of the Code, were
hostile to the clauses abolishing imprisonment for debt.
These also, although entirely approved by the Chief
Justice, were, as was well known, also drafted by me.
They were much in accord with the recently passed
English law on the same subject — such imprisonment being
continued merely for disobedience of an order of Court
made against one who could pay and would not. I in
sisted upon this amendment of the law, as there had been
several cases within my knowledge, and probably many
others before my time, where unfortunate people who had
no means of paying had been kept in gaol for long periods
simply out of revenge on the part of their creditors.
The provisions in respect of marriage provoked more
general opposition. The custom which had been for many
years permitted to supersede the existing law was highly
objectionable, to use no stronger term. The French law on
this subject had for the most part been annulled by the
Queen's Order in Council of 7th September, 1838, which
prescribed certain formalities as indispensable to valid
marriage — formalities which, it may be remarked, would

282 ST. LUCIA
preclude marriage in extremis. But the Catholic priests
had for many years ignored these formalities altogether, and
had celebrated all marriages, including those in extremis,
on the strength of dispensation by the Archbishop. It
seems almost incredible, but is yet true, that the Attorney-
General of the colony officially justified this proceeding on
the ground that the Order in Council was in violation of
the Proclamation of 1803, whereby, as he alleged, the cap
tors of St. Lucia, who issued it, had guaranteed to the
inhabitants "les memes avantages qu'avant la derniere
cession." On turning to the records I found that on the
occasion of capture in question the island had surrendered
unconditionally, and that the Proclamation of the captors
merely guaranteed to the people " the enjoyment of their
properties under the existing law until the decision of His
Majesty should be definitely pronounced." But even if the
terms of the Proclamation could be held to override the sub
sequent Order in Council and the quotation from it had
been correct, it is extremely doubtful whether the action of
the priests would have been legal even under the law
existing at the time of the derniere cession. For there is a
strong presumption that at that time the coutume de Paris
modified by royal edicts (which had previously been the
law), had been superseded by the Republican Code of 1789,
by which no other than civil marriage was recognised.
But even failing this, there is the edict of Louis XVI.,
which became law in Martinique (then under the same
government as St. Lucia)1 in 1787, and which authorises
marriage by the officers of justice, and neither this nor
any other law recognised marriage in extremis.
Another objection urged against the marriage provisions
was their non-recognition of the dispensing power of the
Church. This dispensation, I may remark, had been used
not merely as against the legal formalities required by law,
but to permit, in consideration of very heavy fees, the union
1 The French records of St. Lucia had mostly been lost, but there is little
doubt as to this law having come into force there at the same time.

CLERICAL STRONG LANGUAGE 283
of near relations. My reply, of course, was that no such
power had legally existed ; but I did not say, what was in
fact the truth, that most of the Catholic marriages for many
years had been null and void, and that if the question was
ever raised it would have to be settled by an ex post facto
law such as has sometimes been passed by the British
Parliament. Altogether my proposed provisions were more
liberal in respect of religious marriage than that which has
been deemed necessary in Catholic countries such as France,
Belgium, and Austria, where a civil ceremony is indis
pensable. For either religious or civil marriage was to be
valid alone under easy conditions. As regards in extremis,
I had reproduced what had been the law of France for
more than a century, and I may mention, by the way, that
a far more stringent law on this subject had been sanctioned
for Trinidad, where a priest celebrating such a marriage
(in any case having no legal effect) is guilty of felony unless
he gives notice with reference to certain particulars within
seven days.
I forwarded the Bill, as passed, to Hennessey, with an
urgent request that he would permit me to assent to it, in
order that my signature of assent might appear in the
future upon what had been mainly the product of my
labour ; pointing out at the same time that the clause
suspending operation until the Code was in a form approved
by the Queen precluded any just objection to this course.
But Bishop O'Connor, who was at the time locum tenens
for the Archbishop, had written that the marriage chapter
was a "scandal which is calculated to arouse among the
people feelings of just indignation," and also, "The
Attorney-General has done what, as a Catholic, he ought
to do, viz. consulted his Archbishop to ascertain if he can
vote lawfully for such an ordinance ; he is ready to tender
his resignation rather than violate his conscience. The
judgment of the Archbishop is that he cannot conscien
tiously vote for the clauses which contradict the law of the
Church." Whether moved by priestly injunction or other-

284 ST. LUCIA
wise, Hennessey did not accede to my request, and though
his refusal to do so was disapproved at home, the despatch
on the subject could not have reached Barbados until he
had left for Hong Kong.
Early in August we embarked for England in com
pliance with Lord Carnarvon's summons, and then prac
tically came to an end my administration of St. Lucia —
more than seven years from its commencement. For
though I returned in February, 1878, my stay of only a
few weeks was too short for any effective work. I may
mention, however, that in the meantime the Civil Code,
after careful revision by Mr. (now Sir John) Bramston, the
legal adviser of the Colonial Office, and after further con
sideration by a committee, consisting of Chief Justice
Armstrong and a local barrister, was finally sanctioned
and became law, with, I believe, not a single substantial
alteration from my draft.
The Code of Civil Procedure, which was also sanctioned
about the same time, is, I believe, almost precisely as I
left it in 1874.
Besides these codes, I left behind me an almost complete
draft of a consolidated law relating to summary offences,
which I do not doubt was passed after my departure,
though the fact was never made known to me.
On the whole, in view of the many other measures pre
viously mentioned, which resulted in a greatly enhanced
trade, a revenue increased by more than fifty per cent., and
considerably improved security both for life and property,
I can look back upon my work in St. Lucia, which occupied
the best years of my life, with the feeling that though
bestowed upon an unimportant corner of the Empire, it
was not altogether thrown away.

TRINIDAD

TRINIDAD

CHAPTER I
A spelling-bee — Mr. Robert Lowe (Lord Sherbrooke) at Caterham — My im
pressions of him — His match-tax proposal — An enemy's epitaph of him —
Appointed Acting-Governor of Trinidad — Proceed thither — Hennessey's
escape from Royal Commission — Cold reception at Trinidad — New Govern
ment House — Hostile motion in Council, and happy result — Visit of
North American Squadron — Admiral Sir Cooper Key — Copper poisoning
at Government House — Ball given by colonists — A painful duty — With
hold assent from recently passed law — Revolution in Venezuela and diffi
culty caused thereby — Visit San Fernando— Great Central Factory — ¦
Extravagant bridge — Defect in Immigration Law — Complaints against
magistrates in India.
AT one time there was much in vogue a diversion called
ii a "spelling-bee." One of these took place on
board, on our voyage from St. Lucia to England, in which
nearly all the passengers took part. I was appointed um
pire, and after a severe competition among a large number
of persons, the final struggle lay between two — a young
school-girl and a commercial traveller. Many words were
correctly spelt by both until I set them "catamaran."
This time the " bagman " was wrong and the girl right ; so
I awarded the prize to her. The man was very angry
and protested that the word was unfair. " It is not," said
he, in an angry tone, " an English word." I replied that,
like many others, it had become so by usage. Still un
satisfied, and insufficiently chivalrous to yield the palm
to the girl, he appealed to the dictionary. Three different
ones were found on board, and when it was found they all
contained "catamaran," he at length with a very bad
287

288 TRINIDAD
grace gave way. For the rest of the voyage the nickname
" Catamaran " attached to him, and he met me always with
a scowl, which could hardly have been more sinister if I
had done him a deadly injury.
On landing we went to Footscray Place in Kent. Here
my wife underwent a serious illness, which the doctors
unanimously attributed to a cause which ordinary skill in
St. Lucia would have averted.
In consequence of this illness the greater part of our
time during the next three months was passed either at
Footscray Place or at Mr. Pender's house in Arlington
Street (formerly the London residence of "Bear" Ellice,
and with intervening occupation by Horace Walpole,
once inhabited by the celebrated Nell Gwynne). I paid
alone, however, a visit of some days to Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Lowe at their house at Caterham. I had made
their acquaintance through their fondness for my wife,
whom they had known from early girlhood. Mrs. Lowe
interested me much with an account of the life led by
them when Mr. Lowe was a leader-writer for The Times.
She said that at any hour of the night or early morning
they would be aroused by a messenger from Tlie Times
office, bringing the news that some important event had
occurred which required notice in an article to be published
in the immediately ensuing issue of the paper. She would
then get up and write from her husband's dictation while
he was still in bed, messengers carrying off to the printers
each slip as soon as finished. I heard at the same time
much which was most interesting about their life in Aus
tralia. Mr. Lowe showed me his spectacles, which were of
a kind possibly well known, though I have never seen or
heard of such elsewhere. They consisted of two eye-shaped
pieces of tin in the form of a shallow saucer with the con
cave side inwards. In the centre of each, so as to be
opposite the pupil of the eye, was a scarcely visible hole.
No pebble or glass was used, and the advantage to the
sight consisted merely in the exclusion of light and the

MR. ROBERT LOWE 289
concentration of the field of view. Without these glasses
Mr. Lowe, who had the pink eyes of all albinos, was almost
blind. With them he could see with effort, but fairly well.
To Mr. Lowe's example I owe the adoption, for my own
use, of two machines which render me valuable service even
at the present day. I refer to the bicycle and the type
writer. Mr. Lowe took daily exercise on one of the clumsy
" wheels," which were the best then invented, the " safety "
being of much later date. He strongly advised me to take
to one also, as a potent means of health improvement. I
consequently took two or three lessons soon afterwards,
which were brought to an end by my departure from
England. I learnt enough, however, then to render com
paratively easy the acquisition of a tolerable proficiency
when in Paris some twenty years afterwards, Mezger, the
celebrated masseur, recommended to me the exercise for
the strengthening of a weak heart. When care is used to
avoid excess, there is no doubt about the value of the
machine for this purpose. And so, at the age of sixty-
eight, I continue occasionally to use it.
Mr. Lowe had but recently taken to the typewriter,
which I had never seen before. He was much pleased
with it, saying that it saved his own eyes and his corre
spondents' temper. My own hand having become execrable
from too much writing under extreme pressure, I imme
diately, after leaving Caterham, obtained a machine, and in
the course of a few days wrote or " typed " to Mr. Lowe a
letter upon it. To this he made a characteristic reply, also
in typewriting, which was highly complimentary about my
suddenly acquired proficiency ; and after remarking that
this surpassed his after months of practice — a circumstance
by no means to be wondered at in consideration of his
defective eyesight — he added that it was only another
proof that " old dogs cannot learn young tricks." In the
same letter, referring to a recent article in The Times, the
purport of which I have forgotten, he said that its argument
was a petitio principii.
1. — u

290 TRINIDAD
Mr. Lowe had in some respects the most remarkable in
tellect with which I have ever come in contact, not excepting
Mr. Gladstone. He had a capacity for clearness and incisive-
ness of expression which I have never known equalled. I
attribute his comparative failure as a politician to his
extreme "straightness" of speech. He was intolerant of
slovenly thinking, even of slow understanding. When he
had enunciated a proposition with a perspicuity which he
thought should make it understood by an average mind,
he would not further trouble himself. He could not, as
Gladstone commonly did, explain what he intended again
and again in different terms and with varied illustration, so
as to make it intelligible to the meanest capacity. He
ignored the fact that people who are stupid or slow of
comprehension have sometimes an influence which renders
them worth conciliating. Hence though he had warm
friends they were very few, and such political following as
he had at one time obtained owed little to personal attach
ment. At the same time, that which brought him the most
general unpopularity — the proposal of the match-tax — I
believe to be a measure which ought to have been pressed
and passed.
Parliament at the time was influenced and imposed upon
by the procession of wretched-looking workers. Their
wages being already so small could hardly have been re
duced, and beyond an infinitesimal increase in the price of
matches (which is now so low as to cause enormous waste)
any loss caused by the tax would have fallen upon em
ployers, who could well afford some deduction from their
profits. Altogether I venture to agree with Mr. Lowe that
there is scarcely any nameable tax which would be so
little felt in proportion to the amount raised, and I should
not be surprised if some day another harassed Chancellor of
the Exchequer, supported by a strong majority, were again
to propose a match-tax. In such case Mr. Lowe will be
shown to have been as wise in this matter as he has un
doubtedly proved to be in others of greater importance.

EPITAPH FOR MR. LOWE 291
Shortly before my visit to Caterham an epitaph for
Mr. Lowe had been published, which ran something like
this :— " Here lie the bones of Robert Lowe,
A faithless friend and a bitter foe.
Where he's gone I do not know ;
If to the realms of peace and love,
Farewell to happiness above,
If to a place of lower level,
Then we commiserate the devil."
It was scurrilous and grossly unjust ; yet Mr. Lowe,
proudly conscious of its injustice, evinced no sign of anger in
referring to it. On the contrary, he had been amusing him
self by making paraphrases of the English lines of the
libel in Greek and Latin verse. At my request he dictated
these to me as I wrote them. Though the paper con
taining them has been unfortunately lost, I believe that I
sufficiently well remember the Latin version : —
"Robertus Humilis hie jacet
Qui nobis mortuus valde placet ;
Amicus minime fidelis,
Amarus hostis et crudelis ;
Quaenam conditio sit futura
Ambigitur, sed, spero, dura.
Si coelum scandet iste pestis
Vale concordia coelestis,
Si apud inferos jacebit
Diabolus etiam poenitebit
Et nos diaboli miserebit." 1
When I left Caterham after a visit of only a few days I
had conceived for Lord Sherbrooke a liking bordering on
affection. He had a warm heart, and his hatred and scorn
for injustice and oppression was such as to win my warm
1 Quite recently, and since writing the above paragraph, I have read the
Life of Lord Sherbrooke, of which I had not previously heard. In it are not
only Lord Sherbrooke's paraphrases of the epitaph, but also others in Greek,
Latin, and Italian by Mr. Gladstone. The official Latin version is almost
identical with mine, with the exceptions of " Conditio qualis " for " Quaenam
conditio" and "sit" for "sed."

292 TRINIDAD
sympathy. Altogether I judged his character to have
differed widely from the ordinary estimate of it by those
who only knew him in public life.
In December I received from Lord Carnarvon an offer,
which I gladly accepted, of the Acting-Governorship of
Trinidad, during the absence on a year's leave of Mr.
Irving, the permanent Governor. My gratification, how
ever, was not from any prospect of pecuniary advantage.
For though the half-salaries of my own and the acting
office would make up an emolument in the aggregate three
times as large as the St. Lucia salary, I knew that expen
diture must be proportionately even greater. For though
he has little more than half the income of the permanent
officer, an acting-governor must spend almost as much on
establishment and entertaining, or, however well he perform
his other duties, his administration will not be regarded as
a success ; and I felt that this aid to popularity was espe
cially necessary to myself, acting in a colony where all the
leading people were sure to be strongly prejudiced against
me from sympathy with the Guiana planters. What I was
really glad of in this appointment, was the improvement of
official position and the opportunity of work in a much
larger sphere. Trinidad is six times the size of St. Lucia,
and had then a revenue ten times greater, with population
and trade in similar proportion. The larger island, more
over, was in an exceedingly flourishing condition, and, as I
calculated at the time, its exports per head of population
exceeded in value those of any other colony or country of
which I could obtain statistics.
On the Nile, which had carried me across the Atlantic
four times previously, I had as compagnon de voyage Mr.
Barlee, who had been for a long time Colonial Secretary of
Western Australia, and was going out to undertake his
first administration as Lieutenant-Governor of Honduras.
He told me that he had been nominated for recommenda
tion to the Queen as a member of the Royal Commission
which had been going out to investigate the causes of the

COOL RECEPTION 293
troubles in Barbados ; but that suddenly, and to him in
explicably, the projected inquiry was withdrawn. Years
afterwards I learnt from one, who claimed to have seen the
telegram, that Hennessey had wired home to a lady of
great influence to the following effect : " Save me from this
Commission, or I perish''; and that in this way Hennessey
escaped from an extremely awkward position.
Again years afterwards, I happened to tell this story to
a distinguished admiral who was staying with me at the
time, when he said : " How very extraordinary ! I thought
no one had seen that telegram but myself" ; and then it
for the first time occurred to me that he was a great friend
of the influential recipient.
Changing into an inter-colonial steamer at Barbados on
the ist of February, I arrived in two days at Port of Spain,
Trinidad, touching on the way at St. Lucia (where many
came off to congratulate me), St. Vincent, and Grenada.
My reception at Trinidad I knew would not be a warm
one ; it proved to be frigid beyond anticipation. Scarcely
any preparation had been made, and for some time I
thought that I should have to land alone. However, before
disembarking there arrived a Mr. Bourne, a member of the
Legislative Council, whom I had known in Demerara,
when he was visiting his father-in-law, my old friend
Crosby. And just as I was getting into the boat to go
ashore appeared Mr. Bushe, the Colonial Secretary, who
had been acting as Governor, and whom my appointment
had superseded. Though cordiality could not be expected
under the circumstances, I am bound to say that both then
and afterwards he behaved unexceptionally, and responded
loyally to my special efforts to lessen his natural feeling of
disappointment. Yet I was not long in perceiving justifi
cation for Lord Carnarvon's action in appointing an out
sider to a vacancy in the Government which might last for
a year or more. Such, indeed, should always be the rule
where the local candidate has been a long time in the
colony and has family connections there.

294 TRINIDAD
The Government House, to which we drove up on land
ing, was a much more imposing residence than the
bungalow cottage of pleasant memories where I had stayed
with the Gordons. But I cannot regard it as an architec
tural success either within or without. Considering that
the mean daily temperature of Trinidad is little less than
80° Fahrenheit all the year round, and that owing to its
neighbourhood to the Equator there is very little differ
ence between the hottest and coolest months, it was some
what surprising to find verandahs so high and narrow as to
be almost useless for keeping out the sun. The building
had cost an enormous sum, I believe £40,000, and yet,
though it contained fine rooms for entertaining, was in no
other way comparable to the Government House at Hong
Kong, which cost much less. This and the police barracks,
costing nearly £80,000 — and yet, owing to the absurd size
of the rooms, insufficiently large to contain the small
force required — were memorials of serious mistakes made
subsequent to the regime of Arthur Gordon.
After breakfast, at which I was first introduced to the
oysters which grow on trees (mentioned in Tom Cringle's
Log), a branch covered with them being on the table,
I, in company with Mr. Bushe and his son, whom I had
appointed to act temporarily as my private secretary, was
driven down to the Government offices to be sworn in
before the Legislative Council. A faint cheer was raised
by the people assembled about the door as we drove up ;
but when I entered the council chamber, where the members
were seated round a great horseshoe table, they, while
rising with proper respect, preserved a demeanour which
seemed chilling. After the Queen's Commission had been
read and I had been duly sworn by the Chief Justice, a
motion was at once made for the production of the despatch
announcing my appointment. Though such a request was
a very unusual one, and one which I might have justifiably
refused, the expression of the Queen's pleasure in her
Commission being really all that was necessary for a loyal

ARRIVAL OF BRITISH ADMIRAL 295
acceptance of the appointment, I at once saw that the
opportunity was one to be seized for clearing the situation
and for rendering the supersession of Mr. Bushe more bear
able by him and more satisfactory to the colonists. I said,
therefore, that I was most glad of the opportunity to state
that my appointment must not be regarded as in any way
a reflection on Mr. Bushe, whose long and valuable services
were fully recognised, but, as Lord Carnarvon's despatch
would show, simply because it was desirable that an acting
appointment, which might be for a somewhat long period,
should be held by one who had had no previous connection
with the colony. I added that I was most glad to find that
Mr. Bushe had fully justified his high reputation by loyally
accepting the situation, and that I did not doubt our official
relations would be (and they certainly should be as far as I
could make them) of so cordial a character that his ex
perience would continue to be of great assistance towards
the due administration of the government. Under the
circumstances, if the terms of the motion were modified so
as to no longer imply an obligation on my part to produce
the despatch, I would most gladly consent to it. My
suggestion was at once adopted, and the despatch read, my
speech having been received with marked approval. In the
afternoon, when the whole of the members and many other
leading people of the community came to pay their respects
at Government House, it seemed as if the view previously
taken of me had already been considerably modified.
Two or three days after my arrival, there came into the
harbour of Port of Spain several of the ships of the fleet
serving on the North American and West Indian Station.
Vice-Admiral Sir Cooper Key, with his personal staff and
two other captains (one of them now Admiral Sir James
Erskine, afterwards better known to me when he was Com
modore of the Australian Station), came to stay at Govern
ment House. The reception of so many guests, together
with the leading colonists expecting to meet them, was
rather risky at the commencement of my housekeeping

296 TRINIDAD
with a very much extemporised establishment. However,
all went well, with one disagreeable exception. On the
second evening after the Admiral's arrival I had a large
dinner-party, to which various soldiers and leading colonists
were asked to meet the officers of the fleet staying with
me. Being far from well after my long sea-voyage, I went
to bed early, leaving the Admiral and the rest of my
guests playing " pool " in the billiard-room under the care
of Mr. Bushe. During the night I was seized with violent
pains, and next morning found to my dismay that all
my guests, including the Admiral, had suffered similarly,
the symptoms being those of copper poisoning. On in
vestigation I found that some of the kitchen vessels which
had been brought into requisition for an unusual number
of guests were in a neglected condition, and the result
might easily have been tragic.
I quote now from a diary, kept for my wife's information
on her arrival.
Erskine left in the afternoon, much to my regret, and
Lord Parker, who had arrived on the Bellerophon, came to
occupy his room. At dinner were the guests in the house
and the captain of the Dryad, and afterwards the whole
party, except the Admiral, who was still very unwell, went
to a ball given in honour of the fleet at the Prince's
Building.1 I was received at the door by two of the
stewards, the band playing " God save the Queen," and
was led up to a dais covered with red cloth at the end
of a really fine ball-room. I danced the first quadrille
with Mrs. Bushe, the chief lady of the colony. She was
the daughter of Archdeacon Cummins and a sister of
Lady Harris (wife of a former Governor of Trinidad
and mother of the very pretty girl who married Haig,
the Duke of Edinburgh's equerry). Though the ball had
been very hastily organised, it was a success ; the supper
was tolerable, and the decorations, consisting chiefly of
1 So named after Prince Alfred, afterwards Duke of Edinburgh and Grand
Duke of Saxe-Coburg.

SUPPOSED MYSTERIOUS POLICY 297
huge palm leaves reaching from the ground to the ceiling
of the room, some thirty-five feet high, were in good taste.
Altogether I was much pleased with my first impression of
Trinidad society. Parker, I may mention, was irate that
the band did not play " God save the Queen " again on my
leaving, as it is usual in other colonies, but on inquiry it
appeared that this had not been the custom here and that
certainly no slight had been intended.
Friday, February gth, 1877. — This morning said "good
bye" with great regret to the Admiral and sailors, Lord
Parker, who had obtained a passage on the Dryad, also
leaving. Yesterday I had to discharge my first really
disagreeable duty in refusing an advance of two months'
salary to one of the higher officers of Government, who,
it appears, is in great pecuniary difficulties. All such
advances have been invariably refused by me, because if
allowed to one they must be granted to other officers. I felt
impelled to declare that whatever other Governors may
have considered themselves justified in doing, I was unable
to do what I regarded as injurious to the Service.
Saturday, February loth. — Lawn tennis with Bushe in
early morning. Astonished to find that the marketing
accounts for the week are considerably beyond what I
receive in salary, without any allowance for Marion's ex
penses in England. Living is ruinous. It, no doubt, counts
for something that three servants, employed by Govern
ment to look after the house, have all their families close at
hand. Telegraphed to the General at Barbados an offer
for Hennessey's carriage and horses, as yet unsold. The
only conveyance to be got here — at six dollars a day — is
by no means equal in appearance to one of the better flys
of an English watering-place. The three local newspapers
all appear confident I have come out to carry out some
mysterious policy, and are evidently forming expectations
which will be grievously disappointed. I shall not be here
long enough to carry out any substantial reforms, and I
cannot, in loyalty to the permanent Governor, take legis-

298 TRINIDAD
lative action in any way differing substantially from his
policy. Sunday, February wth. — The church where I attended
morning service has no pretensions to architecture, but
looked well cared for, and seemed, together with the appear
ance of the congregation, to betoken a thriving community
— as, indeed, does everything else which I have seen here.
The usual prayer for His Excellency the Governor being
read, with the substitution of " Lieutenant-Governor " for
" Governor," the pointed reference to me caused, I noticed,
the whole congregation to look in my direction. Walked
home with Dr. Mitchell, the chief of the Immigration
Department, who stayed to luncheon. Afterwards we
discussed immigration matters, of which his experience is
second to none in the West Indies. Later, walked through
the Botanic Garden with Mr. Tanner, Director of Works,
and Dr. Crane, the Surgeon-General, who came to dinner
afterwards. Both of them highly intelligent, well-educated,
and, I should judge, trustworthy officers.
Petitions begin to pour in, most of them, as in St. Lucia,
for quite impossible favours. One, this morning, refers to
the decision of the examiners who have rejected two candi
dates for free education in the Royal College, and asks me
to set it aside, on the ground that their answers were on the
whole good enough, and that many great men have been
wanting in some branch of " educational knowledge." As
an instance of this, among others of a similar kind, was
cited Sheridan's ignorance of arithmetic! Worked from
9.50 till 1.50 at a mass of papers requiring to be dealt
with, among them being (1) the medical account of the
voyage of the immigrant ship recently arrived, (2) a long
quarrel between the two managers of a Government-assisted
primary school, neither of whom seems fit for his place,
and (3) a controversy between the Audit Office and the
newly established Customs Department. Mr. Bushe pre
sented to me, for my formal assent, two ordinances which
were passed by the Council just before my arrival, saying

VENEZUELAN TROUBLES 299
that my action would be merely ministerial, as the ordi
nances had been passed at the instance of Governor Irving.
I differed from this view, saying that, in making these
passed Bills into law by my assent, I became personally
responsible for them, and that, therefore, I could not sign
them until I had read and considered them. I, of course,
would not think of altering what had been approved by the
permanent Governor, for whom I was acting; but if these
proposed laws contained principles which I did not approve,
as they seemed to do at first sight, I should feel impelled
to refer them to the Secretary of State before assenting.
Visited and made a careful inspection of the gaol of Port of
Spain, the principal one in the island. All that I saw there
reflects great credit on the administration.
Tuesday, February 13th. — Reading in the night a Par
liamentary Blue Book, was surprised to find there a
despatch of mine on Hennessey's famous six points of
Confederation. As usual, one of the most important sen
tences is made into nonsense by a misprint. Hennessey
makes use of this and other despatches in a manner some
what unwarranted. I was very far from being in favour of
what I believe to have been his general scheme of Con
federation, and I dealt with nothing beyond the specific
" six points." My sudden departure from St. Lucia pre
vented me from writing, according to my expressed inten
tion, the further despatch, enunciating views differing
considerably from those of the other "advocates of Con
federation." Held an Executive Council, the members
being the officer commanding the troops, the Colonial Sec
retary, and the Attorney-General. Among other matters
discussed were the measures to be taken in view of the
threatened revolution in Venezuela, the movers in which
are apparently making this colony their base of operations
— much to the vexation of the Venezuelan Consul, who
keeps writing indignant letters on the subject. I find that
nothing can be done under the Foreign Enlistment Act
unless the revolution has actually broken out and the

300 TRINIDAD
revolutionists have attained an established footing such as
to bring them under the extended meaning of " a foreign
state." Under a local law I can stop the exportation of
arms, and this has already been done. But I believe a large
consignment got away last week, the Consul only giving
notice when the vessel had left her moorings and could not
be overhauled. Without information given in time, I am
practically helpless, as it is obviously out of the question
to have opened every exported package. I much wish I
could do more to frustrate these acts intended for hostility
to an established government. But for the moment I do
not see my way to do so.
Among my callers were the Archbishop (Roman Catho
lic) and his coadjutor Bishop, my assailant in the controversy
about civil marriage in St. Lucia. The Archbishop naively
remarked that when we parted in St. Lucia he had not ex
pected to meet me next here. I replied that it was by me
equally unexpected and not on that account less pleasurable.
Mr. Frederick Warner, a Harrow man, who has been long
practising here as a lawyer, also called. He seemed a
thorough gentleman, and I am glad to have such a one in
the Council. Besides the visitors of to-day, some hundred
odd people have written their names in the book.
Wednesday, February 14th. — Attorney-General came to
breakfast, after which we worked together at a scheme for
the more effectual collection of the legacy duty, which is
now evaded by three-fourths of the people who ought to
pay. About one, drove to the wharf and embarked in the
Government steamer Pelican, which is used for carrying the
Governor about the Gulf of Paria. Mr. Tanner, the chief
of the Works Department, accompanied me. Our destina
tion was San Fernando, distant about forty miles. The sea
was smooth, as it ordinarily is in the gulf, and with the
trade wind blowing freshly in our faces, there could not be
more delightful travelling. The only objects specially worth
notice on the journey were the pelicans, which, as we ap
proached San Fernando, were collected in very large num-

ST. MADELEINE CENTRAL FACTORY 301
bers. A large shoal of fish must have been in the bay, for
the huge birds were continually swooping down into the
water, and in so far as I could see, always secured a fish.
Shortly before getting in we met one of the local steamers
loaded with passengers. She dipped her flag as we passed,
and I, as in duty bound, got up and doffed my helmet in
acknowledgment, the Union Jack being also dipped.
Thursday, February i^th. — Drove off early to see the
great " Usine " of St. Madeleine, five miles distant, belong
ing to the Colonial Company, of which my host, Bourne
(son-in-law of my Demerara friend, Crosby), is the chief
representative in the colony. Though somewhat larger, it
is in appearance much like the St. Lucia factory, but I
observed signs of greater perfection in working arrange
ments, possibly owing to its being longer in use. These
huge works, with their enormously heavy machinery, es
tablished so far from the sea in a country previously acces
sible only by bridle-paths, is a striking monument of what
Anglo-Saxon energy is capable even under a broiling sun.
The white manager, but recently arrived from England,
looked in good health, though parts of the factory into which
he has to go have a heat of something like 1 20° Fahrenheit.
Later, drove to see a bridge which has proved a costly mis
take. It is of iron, with a span of something like 200 feet,
though one of 50 feet with central pillars, to which there
was no objection, would have served equally well. The
cost had been £8,000, when £1,000 would have been amply
sufficient. Mr. Bourne, himself an engineer, said five to six
hundred pounds.
Friday, February 16th. — Drove early into San Fernando.
Inspected the police barracks and court-house — a very
large stone building just finished. The cost has been about
£30,000, 1 understand, and yet it seems very ill-adapted to
its purpose.1 After looking into the English and Catholic
1 The head of the Works Department, who was immediately responsible
for these costly mistakes, had some years before been transferred to St. Lucia,
a much lower position. I have omitted all reference to my own very disagree
able experiences in connection with this officer,

302 TRINIDAD
churches, went over the hospital and inspected carefully
its working arrangements. These were a credit to the
colony with one exception, and that a serious one — a
patient was dying with nothing to hide him from the view
of the other patients. This will not occur again. Inspected
the ground where it is proposed to construct waterworks
for the town. Finally, looked at some quarries which it is
in contemplation to buy for Government in order to save
the enormous cost of road-metal. Got back very tired,
the temperature not being of the coolest. In the evening
came to dine Mr. and Mrs. Marryat, he a contemporary of
mine at Charterhouse, she belonging to one of the old
Spanish families of the island — a very pretty Creole. Both
he and Bourne have very unusually liberal views on burn
ing subjects — in some respects the antipodes of those
prevalent in Demerara. Marryat recently resigned his
seat, after administering a thrashing to a man who had
grossly slandered him.
Monday, February igth. — At the office received an Eng
lish telegram that Marion had sailed this morning. Long
interview with Mr. Ludlow, the Attorney-General, on (i)
proposed Legacy Duty measure, and (2) the Imprison
ment for Debt Ordinance, to which I have deferred assent,
and which after his explanation appears less objectionable
than it did at first. I had, however, detected an ambiguity
which might be used for the imprisonment of poor debtors
for one year when their superiors in delinquencies would
get off with six weeks. Determined to send a circular to
magistrates asking them how they interpreted this clause,
with a view to withhold assent altogether if they any of
them construed it in the objectionable way. It would be
interesting to know whether any of the members of the
Council observed the error and allowed it to pass. Dis
cussed also a proposed Gun Licence measure, for which the
planters are asking because one of them was shot a few
weeks ago. They want every gun to be registered, whether
used or not, and to pay a licence fee. It seemed to me,

IMMIGRANTS' "LOST DAYS" 303
and Ludlow agreed, that this would serve no useful pur
pose. Without placing an indelible mark upon every gun,
which would be impracticable, the same licence would
cover any number of guns in charge of the same person,
and thus the main object of the law would be defeated.
The best we can do is to impose a licence for carrying and
using. This might raise a little revenue, but would be
otherwise of little use. As the result of this interview,
and from what I had previously seen of him, I concluded
that Ludlow was more able and a better lawyer than any
legal officer whom I have yet met with in the West Indies.
I feel sure he is " straight " also, the defect in the debt law
being evidently an oversight as far as he is concerned. . . .
Afterwards a long interview with Dr. Mitchell about im
migration matters and certain proposed changes in the
law regarding them. One improvement is evidently neces
sary for the sake, not merely of the immigrants, but of the
colony and of the planters themselves. The employer is
permitted to register all lost days and to add to the term
of indentured service the time represented by their aggre
gate. This is fair enough if each lost day be mentioned to
the immigrant at the time. The practice, however, in many
cases is to make known the total only at the end of the
original term of service, when the immigrant is quite un
able to bring forward any lawful excuse he may have had
for one or more of his absences. As a consequence, many
regard themselves as unfairly treated, and leave Trinidad,
which resource the neighbourhood of Venezuela renders
peculiarly easy. Many, Dr. Mitchell thinks, have deserted
for this very reason, and their services are lost to the
colony, the labour-supply of the more honourable planters
being thus unduly reduced. " Lost days " must clearly be
established at the time, and, in the case of dispute, before
a magistrate. February 22nd. — This place in my peculiar position cer
tainly allows me no breathing time. At half-past four
began to arrive people whom I had asked to a roller-skating

3°4 TRINIDAD
party. This was held in two large rooms opening into one
another, which, being unfurnished, had been used by Irving
for this purpose. The guests went away evidently pleased.
One lady informed me, with amusing frankness : " You
know, Your Excellency, we were all against you before you
arrived ; but the way you dealt with what was intended as
an attack on you in Council, and all we have seen since, has
made everyone turn the other way round."
Saturday, February 24th.— Courtenay helped me some
what to-day by making precis of some of the papers. I
like him much, and he promises to be very useful, if he is
permitted to stay with me as aide-de-camp; but as his
regiment is short of officers, that appears to be doubtful.
One of the papers to be dealt with to-day was a letter from
the committee of the Planters' Association, complaining of
the illegal action taken by some of the Bengal magistrates
in respect of the recruiting of emigrants for this colony.
Oddly enough, I had this very morning written a despatch
on this very subject, pointing out to Lord Carnarvon that the
hands of the Government on this side would be weakened
in exacting all that can be claimed on behalf of the coolies
if illegalities in India were permitted to injure the interests
of employers. I am told here, I do not know with what
truth, that some of the Indian magistrates are interested in
Assam tea plantations, for which, as much as in the West
Indies, labour is required from outside, and hence the ob
struction to emigration for the West Indies. Though the
magistrates' action is improper in any case, I trust that the
real reason for it is doubt about the coolie's improvement in
condition when he comes here. Since I have read more
about the extreme poverty of the population of India, I am
glad to say that my doubt on this subject is removed. In
the short time I have been here I have already been much
struck by the difference in appearance and demeanour be
tween the coolie just landed and one who has been a year
or more in the colony. The downcast, depressed look of
the new-comer is succeeded by a free and independent bear-

VIOLENT EXERCISE AND HEAD-WORK 305
ing which by no means betokens servitude or oppression.
I attribute this happy state of things largely to Arthur
Gordon's work, and the encouragement he gave to Dr.
Mitchell, whose judicious management kept things on a
fairly satisfactory footing, even through the freezing regime
of his successor. Irving, for whom I am acting, in so far as
I have seen of his work, seems to have been on the whole
a really good and by no means weak Administrator.
My wife having arrived a few days afterwards, thence
forward my life for the eleven succeeding months of
my administration was, as regards official work, much as
described above. During the whole year I was much
troubled by ill-health, and was at that time under the im
pression, remaining more or less under it until my final
breakdown fourteen years afterwards, that very hard exer
cise was necessary to the maintenance of health in the
tropics. This is really a serious mistake, especially for one
who is daily working his head for several hours, and thus
"burns the candle at both ends." Gentle exercise in the
freshest air obtainable is undoubtedly good even for the
hardest head-worker. But violent exertion such as pro
duces even temporary exhaustion is bad for everyone, even
for those who have no head-work. Of course, a strong con
stitution which has gone through no severe ordeal may
survive in spite of it for a long time ; but a certain retribu
tion will come sooner or later. It is now evident to me
that my early games at lawn tennis, producing a certain
exhaustion before the commencement of work, were a
potent aid to the heat in prolonging the effects of the sun
stroke of two years before, producing that head weariness
after a few hours of work, and the sleeplessness from which
I suffered almost continuously at this time. In St. Lucia
my exercise was almost exclusively that obtained from rides
of rarely more than seven or eight miles, and, except upon
the Morne, always from the nature of the country at a slow
pace. Had I had a lawn-tennis ground there my work
would probably have come to an end long before it did.
1. — x

306 TRINIDAD
In Trinidad, when my wife arrived, I found that she had
been forbidden to ride again during the rest of her life, and
consequently I made little use of the hack which came by
the same steamer which brought her. Such expeditions
as we made were therefore entirely on the water or in a
carriage, by one or other of which could be reached all
parts of the country which were important to be seen during
a short and temporary administration.

CHAPTER II
Sunday guests — Charles Warner — Botanical garden — Queen's Birthday —
Hair-cropping of female convicts — Vote for increase of Governor's salary
disapproved — Mechanical officialism — A curious discovery — Appointed
C.M.G. — Misappropriation of revenue fines — First West Indian mango-
steens — Speech on railway extension — Isle of Monos — Fish-eating bats —
A Guacharo cave — Visit of French Squadron — French official recognition
of hospitality — H. M. S. Eurydice : her sad fate — Leave Trinidad — Warm
' ' good-bye " demonstration.
SOCIALLY our life in Trinidad was on the whole a
pleasant one. The possession of suitable rooms made
entertainment easy, and we thus had the pleasure of seeing
the young people enjoying themselves at frequent dances.
Our official and other formal dinner-parties were indeed as
dull as such functions usually are everywhere; but as we
had near at hand several educated and agreeable men, with
whom was possible a certain freedom of converse, we could
always, when desired, make a pleasant addition to our
house-party. On almost every Sunday we had as guests
Mr. Tanner, Dr. Crane, and, though last, certainly not least,
Mr. Charles Warner, who was socially one of the most
agreeable men I ever met. Coming of an old West Indian
family and born in the West Indies, he had been educated
at Eton, where he had apparently taken full advantage of
the opportunities which, though offered to all, are seized
by so few. Building on the foundation probably laid there,
he had become a man of remarkable culture, which together
with a considerable fund of humour made him an invaluable
addition to our society. It was chiefly owing to him that
our Sunday dinners in Trinidad were among the pleasantest
social events of our whole colonial life.
The beautiful botanical garden which surrounded our
307

308 TRINIDAD
house was a never-ending source of interest and enjoyment.
In one of its deep and specially hot ravines were growing
close together specimens of the, I believe nearly allied,
trees, " Wardia " and " Amherstia," both of them with huge
bunches of beautiful pink flowers growing on long, pen
dulous strings. The Amherstia, which in colour and in
the shape of its flower-clusters was the more beautiful of
the two, was not less remarkable for its history than for
other peculiarities. I was told, I think by Mr. Prestoe, the
accomplished curator of the gardens (who had been edu
cated at Kew under the great Hooker), that this tree has
never been seen growing wild, and that the original plant
from which all others have been propagated was found
flowering in an Indian temple during the viceroyalty of
Lord Amherst, from whom it received its name. As in the
case of other plants which have been artificially cultivated
for ages, seeds are either not produced at all or are no
longer prolific. This particular plant has, however, the
additional peculiarity that it is extremely difficult to pro
pagate in any way, while only in very exceptional situations,
such as the hot, damp gully in the Trinidad garden, can it
be induced to flower. Here for the first time in the West
Indies had its blossoms been seen, and Mr. Prestoe de
scribed to me the many and various efforts he had made
to propagate from this tree, for a long time without success.
When he had eventually succeeded, it was by burying in
the ground a branch, and separating it from the parent
stock only after the formation of substantial roots. Even
then such was their tenderness that many plants died when
transplanted. For further description of these gardens,
with their lovely ferns, standard and climbing palms, and
other still more beautiful trees, I must refer my readers to
the pages of Charles Kingsley's At Last. I may, however,
mention, as an additional indication of the kind of vegeta
tion by which we were surrounded, that within a very short
distance of our house, in no case greater than a hundred
and fifty yards, there were three trees, each of which with

HAIR-CROPPING OF FEMALE PRISONERS 309
its foliage covered two-thirds of an acre. Such, also, is the
quickness of growth that some creepers which we planted
close to the house shortly after our arrival, in order to
relieve the barrenness of the walls, had within ten months
grown to the height of some forty feet.
On the Queen's birthday, in order to afford enjoyment to
the largest possible number of people, we, besides the usual
dinner-party, inaugurated a competition in athletic sports,
the first time that there had been such in the island, at
least on the same scale. The prizes, which were furnished
by public subscription, were won by persons of all classes
of society, Europeans, coloured people, and coolies, and
the novelty was generally pronounced a great success.
The Queen having been on the throne when there took
effect the great measure of negro emancipation, her name
will always be revered by the people of the West Indies on
that account alone. But it is nevertheless well, here as
well as elsewhere, to keep alive and stimulate the feeling
of loyalty by the provision for the masses of enjoyment
connected with the name of the Sovereign.
Early in 1877 I noticed in the returns of the penalties,
some sentences of hair-cropping against women, notwith
standing that this form of punishment had been prohibited
by the Secretary of State. In reply to my inquiries I
found that these sentences were passed merely in ter-
rorem, and were not actually inflicted. Regarding this as
unsatisfactory, if for no other reason because sooner or later
the absence of power to carry out the sentence would be
discovered, I was led to investigate the subject. I found
that there was a certain class of prisoners who were so
hardened and irreclaimable that something more deterrent
than the ordinary gaol punishments — such as hard labour,
short rations, and solitary confinement — was necessary in
order to preserve discipline. The fear of being flogged
operated as a wholesome restraint upon the men ; but the
women, knowing that this in their case was illegal, could
only be kept quiet by the threat of having their hair cut

310 TRINIDAD
off. Until such a threat was resorted to, they would render
themselves stark naked by tearing off all their clothes,
would destroy all prison furniture within their reach, and
would make day and night hideous with screaming abuse,
of which the negro possesses a specially choice vocabulary.
Having satisfied myself that all possible alternatives had
been tried in vain, I reported the matter to Lord Carnarvon
with a view to the withdrawal of the prohibition. I repre
sented that while corporal punishment was out of the ques
tion for women, hair-cropping was the only one that could
be suggested for placing them on a just level with men,
than whom for purpose of gaol discipline they were, in fact,
far more difficult to manage. Negro women dread the loss
of their hair even more than do Europeans, and I am in
clined to think, from what I have observed, that many of
the abandoned class referred to would, if they were offered
the choice, even prefer to be flogged. Lord Carnarvon, in
his reply, said that evidence was accumulating to the effect
that hair-cropping was necessary in certain cases, but he
nevertheless maintained his prohibition until further ex
perience had been gained. I have never heard what was
the result of the decision, but I should imagine it was not
a happy one.
In April, I think, of the same year, a resolution was pro
posed in Council, without suggestion or countenance from
me, that the salary of the Governor should be raised from
£4,000 to £6,000. This was carried by the votes of the
unofficial members, the officials, including myself, remaining
neutral. The grounds were the enhanced cost of living and
the increased numbers of the society requiring to be enter
tained by the Governor, together with the more expensive
establishment necessary for the new Government House.
At this time there were persistent rumours that Governor
Irving, who here at all events proved himself an excellent
Administrator, was to be promoted, and that I should in all
probability be appointed to succeed him. Thus the resolu
tion, while a marked compliment to Irving, was scarcely

UNSCRUPULOUS INGENUITY 311
less so to me, and, as I was informed by several of the
" unofficials," was intended as such. Though I concurred
in thinking that there was ground for increase of the salary,
I regarded that proposed as too large, and considered that
a smaller addition, such as was approved not long after
wards, would meet the case. At this time, however, Lord
Carnarvon declined to sanction any increase, and by tele
gram, received in October, instructed me to pass the esti
mates without any of the increases in salaries which had
been proposed. The Colonial Office is quite right to be
cautious in such matters, as colonists who are inclined to
be lavish upon "establishments" in time of prosperity,
show themselves sometimes, under less favourable circum
stances, equally desirous of reducing them.
In the course of my work here I came across an amusing
instance of unscrupulous ingenuity on the part of a former
officer of the Government, which taught me a lesson as to
the necessity of carefully scrutinising the drafts of all Bills
presented to the Legislature. By a former ordinance what
was supposed to be the whole town of Port of Spain was
divided into two portions, the boundaries of which were
described. Tracing out these boundaries on a map, with
a view to a new measure which was in contemplation, I
observed that a small section of the town had been left out
altogether. This omission rendered that part outside the
scope of the ordinance and thus caused it to be free of
taxation, which accordingly it had ever since escaped. It
was at least curious that in this omitted portion had been
the residence of the officer by whom the ordinance had
probably been drafted, and who was in any case responsible
for it.
At one of the meetings of Council, held for the purpose
of apportioning the vote available for the maintenance of
the public roads, there took place an occurrence which
illustrates the inexpediency of permitting public officers to
undertake the cultivation of land for profit. The Chief
Justice urged the claim of a certain road". I endeavoured to

312 TRINIDAD
avoid discussion by intimating my regret at being unable to
entertain it. But when the matter was pressed notwith
standing, I was compelled to give as a reason that the vote
was for public roads, and that the road in question was a
private one which merely served a single cacao plantation.
This was, in fact, the Chief Justice's own estate.
At our dinner-party in celebration of the Queen's birth
day, or at one given a few days before, I was informed by
telegram from the Colonial Office of my appointment as
C.M.G. The message was in cipher, and my secretary had
deciphered it as far as " The Queen will appoint you," when
the guests began to arrive. There was thus no opportunity
of learning further, and until all had gone, some three hours
after, we were kept in suspense. The rumours of my appoint
ment as Governor had become more precise, as though
proceeding from authoritative information, and we had an
almost confident hope that this would prove to be announced
by the message. When therefore the truth was disclosed,
there was a strong revulsion of feeling. Not that I did not
fully appreciate this mark of Her Majesty's favour and
Lord Carnarvon's recognition of my service in recommend
ing me for it, but in view of what others had received I
could scarcely avoid feeling that such a recommendation
should have come from the department years before,1 and
that by this time I might fairly look for some permanent
promotion. Before obtaining this, however, I had still to
wait some years, to undergo even severer experiences, and
incur far greater responsibility.
In June I made the unpleasant discovery that the one-
third of the proceeds of revenue fines, which was for a long
period the legal perquisite of the Governor, had for the pre
vious twelve years been illegally received. As application
1 In these days the standard of service required for such honours has indeed
been lowered, unless it be supposed that modern work is much superior to that
of my day. As one out of many instances which might be quoted, I may men
tion that both the last and present Administrators of St. Lucia received the
higher dignity of K. C.M.G. while still in office in that island.

GOVERNOR'S FEES— UNPLEASANT DISCOVERY 313
was nearly always made to the Governor to reduce penalties
which were inflicted in addition to the loss by seizures, I
disapproved from the first of a system making him a judge
respecting that in which he was pecuniarily interested. On
account of this feeling I had, before the oversight was dis
covered, reduced penalties probably to a greater extent than
the circumstances warranted ; so that my share, which with
out the reduction would have amounted to £806, had in fact
been only £20. I at once reported the error of practice
which had continued so long, but I have no note of the
Secretary of State's decision on the subject. I think, how
ever, it was to the effect that owing to the difficulty of
recovery from several Governors (some of whom, I think,
were dead), the inadvertence was to be overlooked. As this
source of income, however, was, of course, to be closed for
the future, I think that the circumstance should have been
considered in the decision in respect of the increase of the
Governor's salary recommended by the Legislature.
In the middle of the year (which cannot be called sum
mer, as that is eternal) I forwarded for the use of the Queen
a package of mangosteens — the first which had ever been
produced in the West Indies. They were to be kept as
cool as possible during the voyage ; but, unfortunately, ice-
storage not then having come into vogue, they reached
England in a condition unfit for consumption. I do not
know whether the cultivation of this delicious fruit has
spread in the West Indies. Judging from Eastern experi
ence, the tree flourishes to the extent of producing freely
only in Singapore, Java, and in islands with specially moist
temperatures close to the line ; and it was doubtful in my
time whether even the climate of Trinidad was sufficiently
equatorial, except under specially favourable circumstances,
such as those of our botanic garden under the scientific
care of Mr. Prestoe. Recently I have seen this fruit for
sale in London, and now that cold-storage has been brought
to such perfection that Tasmanian apples, coming through
the torrid heat of the Red Sea, arrive here in perfect con-

3M TRINIDAD
dition, it is matter for wonder that mangosteens, and other
of the more delicate kinds of tropical fruit, do not come in
larger quantity to England, where, if offered at somewhat
less prohibitive prices, they would probably meet with ready
and remunerative sale.
In October, 1 877, I brought before the Council a project
of railway extension, which had been initiated by Governor
Irving. I introduced the subject by a long speech, pointing
out in detail the many advantages and the excellent
pecuniary prospects of the proposed line. The measures
authorising the enterprise, and the raising on the colony's
credit of the necessary loan, were passed unanimously. I
heard afterwards that this speech and the trouble taken
with it were regarded at home as superfluous, inasmuch as
the Secretary of State had already approved of the project.
I was, however, not aware of this fact, nor was it made
known to me by the Colonial Secretary (who had charge
of the despatches), when in reporting the passage of the
measures through the Council I wrote as follows : " I have
not assented to either of these ordinances, because I scarcely
feel justified in considering that your lordship has finally
decided upon the expediency ofthe railway." Had I known
of the Secretary of State's sanction, I should of course have
assented at once. I was very anxious for the immediate
commencement of the work, so as not to lose the dry
season, and in this very despatch I with this object pressed
for sanction by cable. But even if I had known the Secre
tary of State's approval, I was, and am, unable to regard as
supererogatory the task of making clear to the colonists the
prospective advantages to be derived from the large sum to
be expended. Even in a Crown Colony it is unwise, in the
absence of urgent necessity, to exhibit the iron heel of des
potism, or to permit it to be supposed that expenditure is
to be incurred on the mere ipse dixit of the Secretary of
State without the fullest consideration for the interests of
those who have to bear the necessary taxation. In this
case, moreover, previously to my full exposition of the pro-

ISLET OF MONOS 315
ject, public opinion was by no means unanimous about its
expediency, and even some of the members of Council were
doubtful on the subject. That my speech was generally re
garded as useful is attested by the fact that I was specially
thanked for it in the address which was presented to me
by the Legislative Council on my departure a few months
afterwards. I understand that the railway in question, for
which Governor Irving deserves the chief credit, has fully
justified all my anticipations and, notwithstanding the
severe depression of the sugar interest, has invariably made
a good return of interest on its capital expenditure.
During the hottest season, August and September, we
made several short visits to Monos, a secluded bay near
the " Dragon's Mouth " entrance to the Gulf of Paria. A
hill at the back gave protection from the sun's rays during
a considerable portion of every afternoon, and this caused
a sensible diminution of temperature ; while owing to the
receipt of letters only once a day and the impossibility of
being approached except by sea from Port of Spain,
distant some twenty-five miles, we were afforded there a
much-needed rest. The place was not, however, without
its drawbacks. There was a great abundance of blood
sucking bats, and it was here that my wife's English maid
suffered severely. The bats did not confine their attention
to phlebotomy. About nightfall, and by moonlight after
wards, we observed many of them, probably of a different
variety, continually dipping into the water, and we had
little doubt that they were playing havoc with the small fry
with which the bay abounded. The fact of fish-eating by
bats being uncertain, we managed with some difficulty to
obtain a specimen of these creatures, and on opening it
found fish-bones. Rats were not less abundant than bats,
and when lying in bed in the early morning we could see
them gaily running in and out of the " slats " of the jalousie
windows in numbers which would have been terrifying to
those unaccustomed to such inconveniences.
But despite these drawbacks, we always greatly enjoyed

316 TRINIDAD
our visits to Monos, amusing ourselves during the day with
sea-fishing in the calm waters of the gulf — the fish being
abundant and readily taking bait — or with excursions round
the coast. In one of these we visited a " Guacharo " cave,
which proved to be an extremely interesting experience.
The Guacharo is a night bird of the order of goat-suckers,
akin to the English nightjar, and like it having a throat
almost as large as its body. According to Humboldt, it is
killed in large numbers by the Venezuelans of the neigh
bouring coast with a view to the extraction of oil. Going
out only during the night, the bird lives in the daytime in
sea-washed caves, congregating there in large numbers.
The particular cave visited by us was, in so far as I re
member, situate in the "Dragon's Mouth." Our boat,
which besides myself and the boat hands contained my wife
and her maid, was taken into the narrow entrance with
much difficulty. At the moment of entering all on board
were made to lie down. For the sea came so near the roof
that any head protruding above the gunwale would be liable
to be crushed. At length we were fairly inside, and then
eyes and ears were greeted with equally remarkable sensa
tions. By the dim light, proceeding only from the opening
through which we had come, we could see a large chamber,
and upon its numerous ledges, as the eye became more ac
customed to the obscurity, could be observed the birds
sitting, closely packed together, in numbers probably reach
ing to many hundreds. The noise made by them, owing
to alarm at our intrusion, was so deafening that it was
necessary for us to scream to one another in order to be
heard. Some flew from one side to another, but by far the
greater number " sat tight '' and simply watched the in
truders. Wishing to obtain two or three specimens, I had brought
with me a small drawing-room pistol, carrying very minute
bullets, which I deemed sufficient for the purpose. On
firing, the bird aimed at did not move — much to my
astonishment, as the distance was one at which in a room

GUACHARO CAVE 317
I could hit a half-crown. Again and again I fired, the
attempt being equally futile. The water in the cave being
almost motionless, the boat scarcely moved, and as no effect
of the bullets could be observed on the wall of the cave, I
became more and more perplexed, when accidentally the
cause of the failure was discovered. A match having been
struck for the purpose of finding something which had
fallen, all the cartridges used were seen to be lying at the
bottom of the boat with the bullets intact. The bore of the
pistol having become enlarged, each time the pistol was
raised to fire the bullet had dropped out, while the noise
of the birds and the snap of the lock had probably pre
vented me from noticing the absence of explosion. The
defect was remedied by improving the fit of the cartridges
with paper, and then the desired specimens were quickly
obtained. With this amusing discovery ended an incident
which the boat hands, in such weird surroundings, had par
donably begun to regard as " uncanny."
In December came into the harbour of Port of Spain
a French squadron, including the flagship of Contre-
Amiral Maudet. When the Admiral made his official
call, accompanied among others by a nephew of Marshal
McMahon (at the time, I think, President of the French
Republic), I informed him that we did not possess a saluting
battery, and as, moreover, there was no British man-of-war
in port, we had to our great regret been unable to return
his courtesy in saluting the port. I intended this as a hint
that he should omit the usual salute to myself when I re
turned his call. However, when I went on board his ship
the next day, he not only fired the prescribed number of
guns, but also manned yards — a very unusual compliment.
At dinner the night before, to which he came with several
of his officers, on my informing him of the pleasure given
to Trinidad by the visit of a French squadron, none having
been seen there for many years past, he replied that the
visit was an equal pleasure to himself, and declared he
had specially come to see me. For he had heard much of

3i 8 TRINIDAD
me from Admiral Clou6, my former host in Martinique,
and also of my reception of other French naval officers, of
which he was happy in the opportunity of showing his
appreciation. I have always felt it to be the duty of the Governor of a
colony to show all possible courtesy and attention to the
ships of friendly Powers visiting its waters. This duty is,
I am happy to think, regarded as an obligation by most
Governors, but that it is unhappily not so with all I have
gathered from several foreign officers who have visited me
at different times, and also may perhaps be indicated in the
following passage extracted from a naval officer's report
which appeared in a French Yellow Book some years after
wards. The report in question was that of the captain of the
French cruiser Hussard, who came to Fiji in 1879, and a
copy of it was given me in 1882 by Capitaine Menard, of
the Hugon, when also on a visit to us there. Captain
Paregot concludes it by saying : " Son Excellence et
Madame Des Vceux nous ont montre une grande aim-
abilite exempte de toute raideur Anglaise. L'invitation
des premiers jours s'est renouvelee plusieurs fois, de telle
suite que j'ai passe une grande partie de mon temps au
Gouvernement." Besides the French squadron we received visits during
the year from several British ships-of-war. One of them
was H.M.S. Rover, Captain (now Admiral) Barnardiston,
who on leaving through the " Dragon's Mouth " kindly
conveyed us down to Monos, thus affording to my wife her
first experience on board a man-of-war in motion. Another
such visit was from the ill-fated Eurydice, for the officers of
which, as she stayed some days, we gave a dance. For
Captain Hare and some of his officers we took a special
liking, which I may presume was reciprocated, as he volun
teered a promise that on his way home he would put in to
St. Lucia, whither we were expected to return shortly after
wards. This promise was fulfilled, and the beautiful spec-

LEAVE COLONY 319
tacle afforded by the vessel as she left the port of Castries
under full sail was almost the last seen of her. For within
a month she was lost with all hands in the British Channel
when she was on the point of reaching home again.
In January, 1878, I received a letter from Governor
Irving announcing his immediate return to the colony, and
two days after his arrival, previously writing our names in
the Governor's visiting-book, as a matter of respect to Her
Majesty's representative, we embarked on the mail steamer
which was to take us back to St. Lucia. And then
occurred a demonstration which was specially gratifying as
being unexpected. Not only the Government steamer, but
many other boats of all sorts and descriptions came off
crowded with passengers who desired to bid us "good-bye."
These included, I believe, not only the whole of the
members of Council, and nearly, if not quite all of the
prominent persons in the community, but people of every
class, from the highest to the lowest. The ordeal of hand
shaking we had to undergo was as pleasing as it was
physically severe ; all who were able to say a word ex
pressing great, and apparently sincere, regret at our de
parture. While naturally much touched by this warm and,
as we were told, unprecedented demonstration of feeling,
we were especially gratified by the contrast thus presented
to the extreme coldness of my reception a year before.
By the colonists at least my work and my wife's discharge
of her duties (which were especially mentioned in a com
plimentary address presented to me by the Legislative
Council) had been fully, and in my case perhaps unduly,
appreciated.

FIJI

FIJI

CHAPTER I
Return to St. Lucia— Accept Acting-Governorship of Fiji— Voyage thither —
Barbados— Jamaica— Panama — Out of the frying-pan — Disagreeable in
cident at Acapulco — Thresher and whale : curious difference on the subject
— San Francisco — First use of telephone — Hawaii — Leave Northern
Hemisphere — Touched by hurricane — Sydney — Medical examination:
comical incident — Sydney to Fiji : unpleasant voyage — Arrive at Levuka
— Warm greeting from Gordons — Government House, Nasova — Comfort
v. Magnificence — The Queen's Birthday — Fijian dances — A chiefs wife —
Month with Gordons — My inauguration as Head Chief : native ceremony
— The Vunivalu (ex-King Thakombau) — Habitual cannibalism probably of
recent origin — High opinion of Thakombau's character — An accident at
table — Maafu, his character and antecedents — Cruelty not inconsistent
with great qualities — Pretended angels punished.
I RETURNED to St. Lucia not in the best of spirits,
and this especially as recent appointments had made
even clearer than before that to keep things quiet and do
little was officially regarded as the best claim to promotion.
Some time in February a telegram arrived from the
Secretary of State. It stated that Sir Arthur Gordon was
leaving Fiji for a year's leave, and asked whether I would
proceed thither and act for him, at the same time request
ing me, if I consented, to go as quickly as possible. The
promotion was not the permanent one I had a right to
expect ; still, had I been a bachelor, I should have accepted
it without hesitation, the more especially as I had pre
sumably been nominated by my friend Arthur Gordon.
But, on the other hand, the voyage would be an exceedingly
trying one for my wife, who was in very delicate health,
323

324 FIJI
with an equally delicate child only twenty months old.
She, however, with her usual courage, insisted that she was
willing and desirous to take the risk ; and so I accepted.
We left St. Lucia about a fortnight after the receipt of
Lord Carnarvon's telegram, and I received on my depar
ture a warm and appreciative address numerously signed
by representatives of all classes of the population.
I did not take formal leave of the Council and the
colony, as I should have wished to do had I known I was
never to return. But my presence there at that moment
showed that a merely acting appointment did not neces
sarily lead to a permanent one ; and indeed, as will sub
sequently appear, my doubt on this point was very nearly
being justified. Having determined to go by Panama, San
Francisco, and New Zealand — the route suggested by the
Colonial Office — we proceeded in the first instance to
Barbados to take the mail steamer for Panama.
At Barbados we were hospitably entertained by Governor
Sir James Strachan, who, by his cheery manner and with
the efficient aid of his charming wife and sister-in-law,1 did
his best to make our two days' stay in the island agreeable.
From Barbados the R.M.S. Medway (Captain Revett,
with whom I had already made five voyages in the Nile)
took us to St. Thomas and thence to Jamaica, where we
were " put up " for the night by the Governor, Sir Anthony
Musgrave. Reaching Colon (called by the Americans
"Aspinwall") some ten days after leaving St. Lucia, we
at once took the train for Panama. The delights of the
journey across the isthmus were heightened by the reflec
tion that it had cost us nearly fifty pounds — the transit
being at that time probably the most expensive in the
world for so short a distance.
Panama, I should say from what we saw of it, could
never be a very attractive place of residence. At the
time of our arrival it was even less so than usual. A
great fire had driven so many people into our hotel that
1 Now Lady Falkland.

PANAMA 325
it was full to overflowing. Only with difficulty could we
obtain any lodging at all, and that most uncomfortable.
There were no bells, and servants were " conspicuous by
their absence." Consequently we had to go ourselves in
search of any requirement, with much difficulty securing
for purposes of washing a meagre supply of water, sus
picious in appearance and odour. The rooms on either side
of ours were crammed with men, seen through the open
doors to be gambling with their coats off, and whose uproar,
continued far into the " small hours," rendered sleep im
possible. The food provided and the manner of providing
it was on a par with the other arrangements. After the
experience of one night and morning we determined to go
on board the steamer which was to carry us to 'Frisco,
though its departure was not to take place for several days.
The Georgia apparently had that cleanliness which is
characteristic of American steamers, and we therefore con
gratulated ourselves upon our change of lodging. Alas ! for
appearances. As night came on we found our "state room"
alive with small beetles. Then the attempt to sleep re
vealed the presence of unmentionable insects of two distinct
varieties, one of which in much rough travelling I had
merely heard of, but never seen before. A single night
was a sufficient ordeal ; and for the whole of the three
weeks occupied in our voyage to San Francisco we slept
on deck. This condition of the ship was no fault of the
captain or officers. All that they could do to keep the
ship clean was done, but the filthy condition of some of
the passengers taken on board at South American ports
rendered all their efforts futile.
Despite the discomfort of sleeping many nights on chairs
or benches, the voyage was by no means altogether un
pleasant. The sea was generally calm, and the views of
the mountainous coast of Central America and Mexico
presented continual variety and were sometimes grand.
Only two incidents of the voyage occur to me as worth
recording.

326 FIJI
We were lying one night in the harbour of Acapulco —
a night which would have been in any case remembered,
as owing to the exceeding clearness of the sky, the light
of several planets and stars made paths of silver in the
water — when I had a disagreeable rencontre. Three men,
though seeing my wife asleep on a bench in the "social
hall," persisted in vociferating loudly close to her. I bore
the infliction for some time, but when one of them expec
torated in a disgusting manner within a foot of her face,
causing her to wake and start up, I entirely lost patience
and drove them from the ship.
Immediately afterwards I heard to my dismay that the
men I had thus put to flight were Mexican Customs
officials ; and so until our departure next afternoon I was
in continual apprehension of arrest. But luckily I never
heard of the matter again. No doubt there are many
charming people in Acapulco, but it was my lot not to see
them, and when I remember the dirt of the town and the
exceeding beauty of its surroundings, I think of it only
as a place " where every prospect pleases, and only man
is vile." As we approached Cape St. Lucas, the extreme southern
point of Lower California, both air and sea became actually
crowded with visible life. The number of gulls and Cali
fornia birds (apparently ,jrom their shape and gliding flight,
a small variety of the albatross family) which surrounded
the ship, made walking the deck by no means agreeable.
The sea was at the same time alive with porpoises, while
whales were spouting in all directions, over a dozen being
counted at one time. An incident now occurred which
has given rise to much discussion in my presence on the
part of naval men.
All the passengers on deck believed they witnessed what
is held to be a not uncommon spectacle — a whale spouting
repeatedly while some heavy body threw itself repeatedly
out of the water seemingly in the act of attack.
Though the distance of over a mile precluded certainty

THRESHER (?) AND WHALE 327
on the subject, nautical authorities asserted that what we
saw was a thresher beating a whale. There happened, how
ever, to sit next me in the saloon an old New England
sailor, who told me that he had been whaling for forty
years in all seas — arctic, antarctic, tropical, and temperate.
"Sir," said he, "you may take it from me, there is no fish
which thumps the whale as a thresher is said to do. What
seems to be a fish jumping upon the whale is really a part
of the whale's body."
A few months after this Lieutenant (now Captain) Moore,
R.N., then engaged in surveying the Fiji group, was dining
at my table at the Nasova Government House in that
colony when this subject was discussed. He laughed at
this old sailor's view, and said he was quite confident he
had often seen a thresher beating a whale, the same being
subsequently told me by other sailors. A year afterwards
Mr. Moore, still engaged in the same survey, was again
dining with me in the same place, when he suddenly said,
" The old whaler was right, sir, after all, about the thresher.
The other day I saw the same sight which I had often seen
before, and as the whale was at no great distance from the
ship, I went off in a boat in order to clear up all doubt on
the subject. To my astonishment, on getting near to the
whale, I found that what I had taken for a thresher was
really part of the whale itself — apparently a fin which was
being thrown up so as to fall heavily on the animal's back,
or the sea close beside it, the integument which joined it to
the body being invisible beyond a very short distance ; and
so I must admit I was wrong." Many other sailors with
whom I have discussed the matter have declared themselves
as strongly in accord with Captain Moore's first opinion ;
but I could never ascertain whether they had had the same
opportunity for close observation. Where there is a pre
conceived notion imagination sometimes plays strange
tricks.1 1 Having referred my account of the above episode to Captain U. Moore,
he confirms it, and kindly adds the following : " It is quite certain, from my

328 FIJI
At San Francisco I for the first time had the opportunity
of testing the telephone— that wonderful invention which,
now so familiar, was then only beginning to come into
general use. The astonishment with which I recognised
my wife's voice at a distance of some two miles, though it
may now excite a smile, was very real indeed.
The first steamer leaving for New Zealand and Sydney
was the Zeelandia, in which we embarked some thirteen
days after our arrival.
About a week afterwards we had the opportunity for a
few hours of seeing something of Honolulu, where, on
driving from the wharf, we were startled and amused by
the knowledge of vernacular English displayed by the dark
brown Hawaiian driver. My wife and I had been talking
freely in the belief that he did not understand us, when, on
my asking her the time, he suddenly turned round and
said, "Dunno; I left my turnip at home !" Some Hawaiian
ladies passed us, riding astride on their horses, with their
habits hanging down on either side— a strange but not un
graceful sight.
After leaving Honolulu the sea, which had previously
been very rough, became comparatively calm, and the
Pacific, in that portion of it best known to early navigators,
thoroughly justified its name. Becoming accustomed to
the gentle rolling of the ship, I was for the first time able to
appreciate what to good sailors may be the pleasure of the
sea. Lying on our chairs on the deck at night, with a
balmy breeze tempering the tropical heat, it was a matter
of special interest to watch the gradual verging towards the
horizon of the stars of the Northern Hemisphere with the
corresponding rise of the Southern Cross, its bright
" pointers " Alpha and Beta Centauri, and the other con-
own personal observation, that there is a rogue-whale of no commercial value
which has a fin such as you describe. It lies on the surface in calm weather
and throws up the fin vertically at intervals, bringing it down again with a
tremendous smack, which can be heard a mile off, throwing up tons of water
and giving the appearance of an attack from another fish. Since I saw this
one that calm day near Koro (Fiji) I have never believed in the thresher."

AUCKLAND AND SYDNEY 329
stellations of the southern sky. But on the night when,
after crossing the line, the Pole Star was no longer visible,
it seemed as if we were losing a familiar friend. One even
ing we saw a sky which, by its remarkable contrast of
exceeding blackness in the clouds and bright golden yellow
in a great gap between them, recalled Millais' picture of
"The Sower,"1 which I had previously regarded as imagina
tive in this as well as other respects.
At Auckland we dropped several passengers, including
Lord Ronald Gower, and on the way thence to Sydney we
came in for the edge of a hurricane. For some two hours,
immediately after a dead calm, the wind blew in terrific
fashion, and the sea ran very high. It was hardly consoling
to hear from a sailor that if we shipped a " green sea," which
seemed likely, it would probably sweep away the deck
houses in which were our cabins. I had just determined to
take my wife below, when the wind ceased as suddenly as
it arose. As we entered the harbour of Sydney, we were boarded
by the Health Officer. This gentleman, no doubt ordinarily
competent, appeared on this occasion to be non compos.
The passengers were ranged in a row for examination ; he
passed me without notice, but coming to my wife, caused
her to bare her arm, presumably to find the vaccination
marks. Not apparently satisfied, he asked, " Have you
been vaccinated?" And when she answered, "Yes," replied,
" That will do," and passed on. But this was not all. The
crew of his own boat ranged themselves with the passengers
for inspection. They were each examined, to their great
delight and to the general amusement, this marvellous
doctor being entirely innocent of their identity and uncon
scious of the cause of laughter.
At Sydney we were hospitably entertained by Mrs.
Hoskins, wife of the Commodore of the station, in her hus
band's absence, and the same evening we embarked on the
steamship Wentworth bound for Levuka, Fiji.
1 This picture belonged to my father-in-law.

33° FIJI
An exceedingly rough sea kept us for the most part
below decks, where smells were even more than usually
varied and noisome. Apparently for a long time previously
no attention had been paid to cleanliness, and though a
spasmodic effort had been made towards improvement in
our cabins, there were corners even in them with sufficient
dirt to grow mustard and cress. Until I had in recent years
made passages on the London and South Western steamers
running between Southampton and St. Malo, I could have
said with truth that this was the dirtiest vessel on which it
had ever been my lot to travel. Subsequent voyages on
other steamers of the Australasian S. N. Company showed
decided improvement in this respect, but none of them were
at all equal in cleanliness to the vessels of the New Zealand
Company, which were always models of comfort, and had
installed in them electric light long before it had come into
general use on English passenger steamers.
To add to our discomfort we were kept awake night after
night by a squalling baby. On one occasion, after several
hours of this music, my wife — though herself very unwell
from the heavy rolling of the ship — got up and went for the
purpose of rendering assistance. She found the infant in
want of food and otherwise in a terrible state of neglect, the
unnatural mother making not the slightest effort towards
relief and showing surprise that anyone else should do so.
In the course of a quarter of an hour my wife had procured
the necessary food and succeeded in appeasing the un
fortunate child, earning thereby the gratitude of the rest
of the passengers.
We passed close to Norfolk Island, but otherwise saw no
land until we entered the Fiji group. The view of the island
of Ovalau, as we entered the passage through the barrier
reef with its long, irregular outline of mountains and the
little town of Levuka nestling at their base, struck us as of
exceptional beauty ; but I refrain from describing what has
been so well described by others.
As soon as we were at anchor there came on board to

ARRIVAL AT LEVUKA 331
greet us Mr. Arthur Gordon, the Governor's private secre
tary, whom I had known and liked so much in Trinidad,
and Captain Knollys, A.D.C. They took us ashore in the
Governor's barge, a fine boat manned by sixteen Fijians
dressed in a boating livery devised by Sir Arthur, consist
ing of white short-sleeved jackets and sulus — a kind of
Fijian kilt — bordered with Turkey red, which looked ex
tremely well against their brown skins.
" As we watched them rowing towards us," my wife wrote
at the time, " a prettier combination of colour could hardly
be seen. For the sea, indigo-blue outside the reef, is, over
it, of every imaginable shade of green, to which the red in
the men's uniforms made an agreeable relief." In the same
letter my wife continues : " We were only a few minutes
getting from the steamer to the jetty ; and it was delight
ful, in setting foot on shore, to feel that after our three and
a half months' travelling we were really at the end of our
journey. For from this little pier you walk straight into
Government House. Sir Arthur was waiting in the gallery
to receive us, and William walked on quickly to meet him.
But Harry and I, in charge of Mr. Gordon, went much
more sedately, the cause being my unsteadiness on terra
firma. After all my voyaging, I could have gone quicker
if the wharf had been rolling about. The only one of us
who was not delighted at landing was Harry, who had be
come thoroughly attached to the sea. He had a fit of crying
on leaving the boat, and the wild appearance of the native
guard, who were drawn up in front of Government House,
proved far from consolatory, causing another deluge.
" Nothing could be nicer, kinder, and warmer than the
Gordons' reception of us, and we were at once made
thoroughly at home."
The house which was to be our home for eighteen months,
and also for a further year and a half when I returned to
Fiji as Governor, has been already described in Miss Gordon
Cumming's attractive book, At Home in Fiji ; but, as
regards its surrounding " amenities," it had been much

332 FIJI
improved after her departure. The main building had been
constructed by the European Government of King Tha-
kombau, part being used for the meetings of his Parliament
and the remainder as Government offices. To this had been
added by Sir Arthur Gordon, at his own expense, a wing
and outhouses necessary for civilised residence. -The roof
was of thatch, and, except as regards Sir Arthur's additions,
both outer and partition walls were of reeds. The build
ings were almost entirely surrounded by verandahs, the posts
of which were covered with beautiful creepers. These, to
gether with fine clumps of variegated crotons planted by
Sir Arthur, gave an additional element of beauty to a house
in itself picturesque. The materials of construction afforded
a refuge for noxious insects ; but in most other respects the
house was an ideal one for tropical residence. There were
no fine rooms with elaborately decorated ceilings such as
we had left in Trinidad, but it was all on one floor — a
great consideration in a hot climate — and there was accom
modation for a proper establishment of servants, such as
was there almost entirely wanting. As my wife puts it in
one of her letters : " You can see that the house has been
designed, and its arrangements settled, by one who knew
the requirements of a suitable establishment. There is thus
far more comfort than in the Trinidad house, where magni
ficence only was kept in mind and accommodation for the
people to be in character with it was entirely forgotten or
ignored." On the Queen's birthday, which was celebrated the day
after our arrival, there was a dinner to which some fifty
people sat down, all men except Lady Gordon and my
wife. After a cordial response had been given to the loyal
toast of the day, Sir Arthur proposed my health in far too
complimentary terms, saying that I was the man of all
others he would have chosen for carrying on his work.
What, however, had for me the principal interest of the
day was the part taken in the celebration by the natives.
I copy the account of what occurred from one of my wife's
letters : —

A "MEKE" 333
" In the afternoon several chiefs came with their re
tainers, and each party separately performed a dance on
the 'rara,' that being the native name for a large level
space covered with grass close to the house, and somewhat
resembling an English village green. We all went out to
watch, and I never before saw so curious a sight. The
only thing I can think of in the least approaching it is
perhaps a scene in a pantomime where wild men appear
with horribly painted faces and got up in leaves, etc.
Imagine this, and then you may be able to picture the bad
description I am going to attempt. While we were waiting
for the chiefs, groups of Fijian women were settling them
selves on the grass, and very picturesque they looked with
bright-coloured flowers in their hair, put in one by one, for
the most part over the ears and on the top of the head.
Presently a fine and rather pretty-looking young woman
came towards us. This was the wife of the ex-king's son.
Such ladies are rightly treated with special respect by the
Governor and Lady Gordon. So an A.D.C. was sent to ask
her to come and sit by us, and she at once came with her
three ladies-in-waiting. I was introduced, and she shook
hands, sitting down on the ground for a talk, which natur
ally consisted only of signs, though we were able to convey
thus more than might be imagined. She made a careful
examination of my clothes, saying 'Vinaka' (which ex
presses approval) to each. Also I let her try on my rings
and bangles, at which she was highly pleased. The wife
of a chief is a very great personage, and is most distant to
those beneath her. The ladies-in-waiting are treated with
supreme indifference, and never walk or sit but behind
their mistress. The right thing is not to speak to them,
and though much wishing to do so and to shake hands
with them also, I was obliged to refrain, as I was told this
would give great offence. Soon up came a party of dancers,
the chief walking in front and his men in single file behind
him. The chief sat down near us and his followers defiled
in front of the Governor's chair, each of them as he passed

334 FIJI
depositing on the ground a yam or a sugar cane, this being
the native way of expressing respect and goodwill. All
were got up in their best, and curious objects they looked.
Their faces, which in general are nice-looking, were dis
figured with paint, some having daubed their noses red
and the rest of the face black, while others had smeared
the black dye over the whole countenance as well as the
neck and shoulders, with a yellow patch here and there,
two or three apparently regarding a yellow eye and nose as
their ideal of beauty. Their heads were all bound round
with ' tappa,' the native cloth (made, I am told, from the
bark of the paper mulberry), either entirely white or in
striking patterns of black, white, and brown. The upper
part of the body was generally bare, dyes only taking the
place of clothing, though in a few cases they had around
them wreaths of red leaves. The ' sulu,' or native kilt, was
of tappa, with wreathed leaves forming a kind of over-
skirt. Some of the men were girt round over their sulus
by many layers of this material, so that they were ' bunched
out' as though they had on huge crinolines. They are
evidently very proud of themselves in this holiday gear;
but to me it was painful to observe that such a fine, noble-
looking people, whose faces are ordinarily full of expression
and intelligence, should still be such savages at bottom.1
" The dance began with about forty forming in a row,
perhaps twenty standing behind them in a circle, in the
middle of which was the leader. The men in this circle
were the band, which gave time to the dancers in front
by regular hand-clapping and the singing of a melan
choly wail which was far from suggesting life or move
ment. Gradually the dancing began, the dancers joining
in the wail. The dancing consisted of very slow move-
1 It is with a view not to ornament, but to disguise, that this painting of
the face was practised. A man so tricked out is almost wholly unrecognisable,
and the private feuds which would have resulted from hostile encounters
between tribes, had any man been killed by another known man, were thus
to a great extent avoided.

INAUGURATION AS SUPREME CHIEF 335
ments, giving the impression that some solemn play was
being acted.1 The men continually bowed to one another,
and went through all imaginable gestures, the song never
ceasing and never getting out of the wail. Occasionally
they clapped their hands together in such perfect time that
the sound made by all seemed as one. Each dance took
about a quarter of an hour, one party succeeding another,
and being supposed to do something different from the
rest, though all appeared to me much the same, the sight
after a time becoming very monotonous. Quick dances, I
am told, are much more amusing, but are not considered
quite so respectful ; so we saw none. The audience never
applauded, and preserved a dead silence, which was only
now and then broken by a cry of ' Vinaka ! ' from the
Governor's native A.D.C, which was intended to signify
the Governor's approval.
" Lady Gordon goes to church carried by six men ; and
as I am unfortunately not strong enough to walk and sit
through the service, I suppose I shall have to do the same,
as it is considered improper here to be seen in church in a
habit. But as one has to go right through the town, it re
quires some nerve to face the ordeal."
Sir Arthur Gordon had determined before my arrival to
remain a month in the colony afterwards, in order to " post
me up " in his policy and to make me acquainted with the
unprecedented conditions under which government had to
be conducted. It was fortunate that he clM so ; for, as
usual, I was much exhausted by the long voyagt,, and for a
time so ill that it was doubtful whether his departure would
not have to be further postponed. However, by the end of
three weeks I was sufficiently recovered to undertake the
administration, and the Gordons were able to leave at the
time originally appointed.
Before the Gordons left there was a meeting of native
chiefs, who came expressly from all parts of the colony
for the purpose of taking leave of the Governor and of
1 As it was.

336 FIJI
installing me as their new head chief. The ceremony took
place in the native "bure," which had been constructed
specially for such functions in the immediate vicinity of
Government House. The chief part of it consisted of a
"yagona" (kava) drinking, which is a necessary element of
all Fijian solemnities. I cannot improve on the descrip
tion given of this proceeding which has been given by
Miss Gordon Cumming and other travellers ; and so I will
merely mention that when I drank of the cup presented to
me, all the chiefs present gave a loud " tama," the peculiar
sign of respect shown by all Fijians to a superior, the ex
ample being set by the ex-king Thakombau (then officially
styled by the native title Vunivalu), who on this, as on all
other occasions up to the time of his death, seized every
opportunity of showing his loyalty to the new regime.
Thakombau was in many respects a most remarkable
man. He was the son of Tanoa, one of the most savage
chiefs of a savage country, whose barbarous cruelty, as
described by many writers, was almost beyond belief. His
youth was passed at a time when the introduction of guns
by escaped Australian convicts had largely increased the
taste for cannibalistic food by affording so ready a means
of gratifying it. For, when during the thirties of the last
century Fiji first became known to the civilised world, the
numbers of men who were being killed and eaten were
such that it is impossible to suppose such a rate of destruc
tion to have been of long continuance. I am strongly in
clined to think that before the islands were visited by white
men the eating of human flesh was a comparative rarity.
Intertribal wars were perhaps as frequent, but they were
not, in so far as I could gather, very deadly. The fighting
was of a very cautious character, and the numbers actually
killed were probably few. A general melee between two
tribes, if it ever occurred at all, was of very rare occurrence.
Men were, as a rule, not killed in fair fighting, but were
surprised and clubbed, often by an enemy creeping up be
hind ; and when two or three bodies were secured in this

EX-KING THAKOMBAU 337
way, the slayers would retire and celebrate a victory. The
eating of the slain followed as an additional means of
triumphing over and insulting an enemy, and it is doubtful
whether there was then any special taste for this kind of
food. The introduction of guns, however, undoubtedly
rendered the latter motive the stronger. The new weapons
so largely increased the number of victims that the canni
bal habit, constantly practised, quickly created a craving
for its indulgence at any cost. So when the early mission
aries reached Fiji, the chiefs had come to prefer human
flesh to any other food, and were so anxious to provide it
for visitors that they sometimes winked at the killing of
their own or friendly people, when their larder was insuffi
ciently supplied with dead enemies.
But however this may have been, we know that from very
early in his boyhood, and probably from the time when at
six years old he was made to club another boy, Thakombau
had eaten " bokola " (human meat), and that he continued
the practice until he was nearly fifty years old, when he be
came Christian. Considering the large supply of bokola
which was maintained by his father, and also by himself
up to the period mentioned, and that the supreme chief
was always offered a portion of every roasted victim, I do
not consider improbable the estimate I have heard that he
had in his lifetime eaten portions of more than a thousand
human bodies.
And yet here was a man for whom I had a very high
respect — a feeling which had been previously entertained
by Sir Arthur Gordon, and in fact was shared by every
educated European who had the opportunity of knowing
him, with the possible exception of those whose schemes
he had thwarted for exploiting the services of his people.
I always found him wise in counsel, just in decision,
and loyal in speech and action. He had, moreover, an
indescribable dignity and a manner indicative of mingled
pride and courtesy, which was shared more or less by all
the high chiefs, while his bearing towards children was such

338 FIJI
as to immediately win their hearts. My own respect gradu
ally ripened almost into affection, and when he died a few
years afterwards, during my second administration of the
colony, I mourned for him as a valued friend.1 He, as well
as most of the other high chiefs, was frequently at our table,
where his behaviour was unexceptionable. Though.of course,
unaccustomed to the European mode of eating and drink
ing, his tact was such, and his perception so rapid, that he
committed no solecisms, and but for an occasional hint from
the native attendant behind his chair, no one could detect
that he was undergoing an unfamiliar ordeal. Only once
in the many times he dined with us was there a slight hitch
in the proceedings. He had taken on his plate some pine
apple ice, and his attendant, unaware of its nature himself,
not warning him, he put a spoonful into his mouth. The
effect was no doubt startling to an unaccustomed palate,
and what followed reminded me of the similar case of Dr.
Johnson, when he ejected a mouthful of scalding liquid with
the remark, " A fool would have swallowed it." Thakombau,
however, made no allusion to the mishap ; he maintained
his usual matchless imperturbability, and, while his atten
dant mended matters with a clean napkin, continued the
conversation in which we were engaged.
Though nearly all of the great chiefs were in different
ways remarkable, I will merely refer to one other who was
specially distinguished. Maafu was at the time of my
arrival a Government officer. He was Roko Tui Lau ;
Roko Tui being the title of the native Sub-Governors ap
pointed to rule provinces and Lau being the most eastern
1 My friend Mr. Victor Williamson, C.M.G., after reading this description
of the ex-King, writes of him as follows : "It may possibly seem an exag
geration to write of Thakombau as one of 'the great men of whom the world
knows little,' but it is impossible to exaggerate the debt which the British
Empire owes to the unswerving loyalty to this old man, of whom probably
999 out of every 1 ,000 Englishmen have never heard. Had he not invariably
gone 'straight,' and had he joined in intrigues to embarrass the Government,
Fiji might have easily proved such a thorn in its side as would have made
England rue the day of its annexation as a British colony." I heartily sub
scribe to this view.

THAKOMBAU
(EX-KING, STYLED THE VUNIYALU)

I. — Face p. 338

MAAFU— ROKO TUI LAU 339
province which comprised many islands, none of them
nearer to the seat of government than one hundred miles
and some nearly two hundred miles away. He was by
birth a prince of Tonga, the kingdom ofthe Friendly Isles,
situated some four hundred miles to the south-east of Fiji.
The Lau group had been largely recruited by immigrants
from Tonga, and there was to be observed there more than
anywhere else in Fiji the mixture of blood between the
light-coloured Polynesian and the Melanesian, which is
characteristic of most of the natives in the colony, the
darker strain being specially marked in the western por
tion of the group as being nearest to the Melanesian
Archipelago. The people of Lau, after the example of their kin
in Tonga, had been the first to become Christian, and
Maafu, having made them subject to him, became the
recognised leader of the Christian forces in their wars
against those who had not accepted the " lotu," by which
name the new religion was generally known. His success
in this position seems to have stimulated a naturally am
bitious character, and latterly rendered him indifferent to
the religion of those who stood in the way of the desired
increase of his power. So, though Thakombau had for
many years become Christian also, Maafu was preparing to
attack him, and would in all probability have succeeded in
becoming master of the whole of Fiji, but for the advent of
British government. Though on the whole I liked the
Fijians better, the Tongans were manifestly both in body
and mind a superior race, and I am inclined to think that
most of the Fijians who were foremost physically and intel
lectually had more or less of Tongan blood in their veins,
as we know to have been the case with several of the chiefs.
Maafu was in appearance a magnificent man, with a finer
physique even than that of Thakombau, who was himself
distinguished in this respect ; and though they were prob
ably equal in shrewdness and natural capacity, Maafu had
a more furnished mind. Living at a greater distance from

340 FIJI
me and thus being more rarely seen, Maafu was less known
to me than the Vunivalu. I was satisfied, however, that
he was equally loyal, which was all the more creditable,
because while the British power saved Thakombau from
probable annihilation, Maafu's ambition was thwarted just
when it was on the point of gaining its object. Though
not a cannibal, he was probably as cruel as those who had
been, if the stories told of him were true. Once it was
said when he was general of the so-called Christian army
and had taken a number of " heathen " prisoners, he and
his " Mata-ni-vanua " (aide-de-camp) clubbed the whole of
them while bound and helpless. When one reflects upon
innumerable occurrences in Europe after many centuries of
Christianity, it is scarcely to be wondered at that a com
paratively recent convert should not at once abandon a
practice, however cruel, sanctioned by immemorial usage.
In fact it is wonderful that Thakombau should, on receiving
the lotu (Christianity), have at once given up entirely all
his savage practices, though from having been so inveterate
a cannibal he might naturally be supposed to be the more
cruel of the two. On one occasion when I asked a Fijian
chief the truth of a story of cruelty, he replied, "And
did not Samuel hew Agag in pieces before the Lord ? " —
which did not lessen my conviction that the unrestricted
reading of the Bible, at least the Old Testament, by the
uneducated is not of unmixed advantage.
The following incident, related to me by Sir Arthur
Gordon, illustrates at once Maafu's shrewdness and strength
of character: —
" On one of the Lau islands, Matuku, a sort of religious
frenzy had seized the people in consequence of the preten
sions of certain persons (three or four men and one woman)
to have received from heaven a special revelation which
constituted them angels. In that capacity these people
were issuing orders of all kinds to the simple and credulous
islanders, none of whom, except the native schoolmaster
and his wife, seemed to have thought of questioning the

MAAFU AS MAGISTRATE 341
authenticity of the revelation. A very serious state of
things might have resulted, for had these proceedings been
allowed to go on unchecked a superstition would probably
have grown up presenting similar features to Hauhauism,
in New Zealand, and with the same pernicious effect.
Happily Maafu put an end quickly to any such danger.
Hearing of the sensation thus caused in Matuku and the
neighbouring islands, he at once went off in his English-
built yacht, the Xarifa, to the centre of disturbance. The
angels, being summoned, appeared before him in the local
court-house, one of them, the woman, having a baby in her
arms. Thereupon Maafu said, ' I will take the case of the
female angel first,' thus intentionally causing a laugh
among the audience. He began very politely, ' That's a
fine baby you have there ; is it your own?" Reply: ' Yes.'
' Are you married ? ' ' Yes.' This answer disappointed
Maafu, who had intended, if she were unmarried, to point
out the incongruity of the character of an angel with a
breach of the moral law. Immediately, however, he took
another tack. ' So you are married and fancy yourself an
angel ? ' Reply : ' I know I am one. It has been revealed
to me.' Maafu : ' Pooh, my good woman, you have quite
mistaken your vocation. Can you read ? ' Reply : ' Yes.'
Maafu : ' Very well, go home, then, with that child of yours
and read the twenty-second chapter of St. Matthew. You
will see there that angels neither marry nor are given in
marriage. You can't be an angel.' When the general
laughter caused by the decision had subsided, Maafu, with
a fatherly air, said : ' There, let her go away and take good
care of that baby.' Then he turned to the men and said :
' As I came down in the Xarifa I looked over the laws, and
as I find nothing there about the personation of angels, I
dismiss the case against you.' The men, well pleased, were
beginning to get up from the floor, where they were sitting
in the attitude of respect, when Maafu thundered out, ' Stop
a bit ; there is no law about angels, but there are some
about obtaining money under false pretences. That is what

342 FIJI
you have been doing for the last two months. Your sen
tence is to work six months upon the roads in Loma Loma.
Off with you to the schooner.' Thus was the angelic craze
suppressed, never to appear again, by a judicious mixture
of ridicule and severity."

CHAPTER II
Visit to chief's house— A princess— Chiefs' dignity and good manners— State
of colony— Poll-tax : its evil effects ; replaced by produce-tax— Sir Arthur
Gordon had pacified natives, but whites still discontented — Size of colony :
common notion of it dispelled — I assume administration — Memorial of
missionaries — Its publication — Find their complaints groundless — My reply
— Singular method of rejoinder — My final decision unanswered, and con
firmed by Secretary of State— The High Commission — Appointment of
Chief Justice as Acting High Commissioner — Incongruity of two offices —
Difficulties thereby caused— Chief Justice's intention to visit New Guinea
happily not carried out — The Stormbird incident— Chief Justice threatens
gaol delivery of convicted prisoners ; with difficulty dissuade him —
Departure of Royal Engineers — Unique position of Government ; depen
dent solely upon native loyalty — Necessity for careful scrutiny of reports —
Anxiety caused and quickly allayed — Land claims and their difficulties-
Sir Arthur Gordon's remarkable work.
ONE of Thakombau's sons, Ratu Timoci,1 being Roko
Tui of Loma Viti, the province which included
Ovalau and a number of other neighbouring islands, lived
at the native village of Draimba, within a short walk of
Nasova, so that we saw much of him and his wife. Here
is an extract from my wife's account of our first visit to
them on July ioth, shortly after the Gordons' departure.
" We had sent word beforehand to say we were coming,
and so they had their best house ready for us. The house
is native-built, the whole of the exterior walls and roof
being of thatch. You enter by a very small door, which
only admits one at a time. Ratu Timothy was in the house
to receive us, and handed me to a sofa which he had pro
cured for us to sit on ; for natives of all ranks always squat
on the floor, and any article of furniture for sitting upon is
1 Ratu and Andi are the appellations to which are entitled respectively all
men and women who are well-born. These may be termed the patricians, as
opposed to the plebeians (Kai-si). 343

344 FIJI
unknown in their houses. After making use of the sofa for
a few moments, by way of acknowledgment of their
thoughtfulness, we, in order to put our entertainers more at
their ease, took to the floor ourselves, saying (what was quite
true), that we preferred it, for a soft, yielding floor makes a
chair an uncomfortable seat. The mats were beautifully
clean, soft, and springy, there being several layers of them
lying upon a thick underbed of coconut fibre, quite delight
ful to sit upon, and very tempting to sleep on. Presently
Ratu Timoci's wife came in and, after shaking hands,
put herself on the floor beside her husband. Rarely have
I seen a handsomer pair. He is tall and well made, with
an exceedingly benignant face, and looks particularly well
in the native dress, which they keep to here. She is a
Tongan, of a light olive-brown colour, not very tall, and,
perhaps, according to our taste (which is not that of the
South Pacific), a little too fat, but having beautiful eyes and
a most fascinating smile. Her dress was simply a tappa
sulu put tightly round her and falling just below the knee.
For upper garment she had simply a red-and-white plaid,
made exceedingly full, and hanging like a curtain round
her. This part of the dress comes of missionary teaching,
and they rarely go out without it, though I do not fancy
that, except on state occasions, they ever wear it in their
homes ; for they seem awkward and uncomfortable in it,
seldom putting their arms into the sleeves, so that it hangs
about them somewhat untidily. The visit, after a short
time, would have become tedious, but for the novelty of
the scene and the strange structure of the house, so utterly
different from what we had ever seen before." (Here follows
a description of the house, much like what may be read in
Miss Gordon Cumming's and other books.) "The Ratu
and his wife parted with us with much cordiality, being
evidently much pleased ; and we were also glad to observe
in another instance a dignity, courtesy, and intelligence
which removes these people to an immeasurable distance
above what is the ordinary idea of savages." In this, as

CONDITION OF COLONY AT ANNEXATION 345
in all my subsequent visits to native chiefs, they furnished
an example in good manners which might be imitated with
advantage by many people considering themselves vastly
superior to the highest Fijian.
Before beginning the account of my administration of
Fiji, I may as well give a short sketch of the state of the
colony at my arrival.
When Sir Arthur Gordon reached Fiji, some three years
before, he had, indeed, a difficult task before him. Some
40,000 of the natives, or more than a third of the whole
population, had just perished of measles, and the depression
under which the people were suffering on this account was
increased by a system of taxation (as entirely repugnant to
native feeling as it was to principles of justice) which had
been devised not merely for revenue, the ordinary object of
such taxation, but to provide the planters with a supply of
forced labour. A head-tax of £1 per annum had been
placed upon all male adult natives with the full knowledge
that the greater part of them would be able to pay it only
in one way, viz. by obtaining advances from employers of
labour in return for contracts of service. This system was in
Fiji even less justifiable than it would be now in Africa, be
cause the African native population tends to increase, while
that of Fiji, apart from the loss by pestilence, was showing
signs of diminution in the presence of the white man — a
process which the separation from their homes for long
periods of a large proportion of the young men was certain
to accelerate by decreasing births as well as increasing
deaths. The white population of the group was scarcely less
depressed. The favourable conditions of the islands, as
regards soil and climate, for the growth of all tropical pro
duce, and the high market price of cotton caused by the
American Civil War, had attracted a large number of
settlers who had commenced planting, most of them with
very little capital and with even less knowledge of agricul
ture. The falling markets which followed peace brought

346 FIJI
disaster, from which the cheap forced labour provided by
Thakombau's Europeanised Government had failed to save
them. Then, again, the Europeans were laying claim to
over a thousand tracts of land, many of which the natives
declared had been acquired from the wrong owners, and
nearly all of which were in extent larger, some enormously
larger, than intended by the grantors; these opposing
contentions demanding rigid investigation and just deci
sion as the only security for future peace. Hence discon
tent, openly expressed by the whites, but on the part of
the natives for the most part silent and sullen. Moreover,
the mountaineers of Viti Levu (the largest island, about
equal in size to Jamaica), who had never been conquered
by Thakombau, though they had tendered their submission
to British rule, showed this to be only nominal, and in con
tempt for outside authority committed savage outrages upon
some of the coast towns.
In addition to these unpromising conditions, in 1875 the
Treasury was empty, and the Governor's only means of
initiating the new British regime was by drawing upon a
credit of £100,000, which had been conceded by Her
Majesty's Government. I mention at once with regard
to this subsidy that it was considerably less than France
has during the whole of the last century spent annually
upon the single island of Martinique, with an area of land
some thirty times less than that of Fiji. Yet though it was
considerably exceeded in amount by the sum required to
settle debts incurred before the cession, it was the last as
well as the first pecuniary assistance 1 conceded to this new
colony. The insufficiency of this subsidy was at once recog
nised by all those immediately connected with the admin
istration, it being clear to them that more liberal assistance
at the outset would make all the difference as regards future
prosperity. Nothing, of course, could be afforded for troops from
outside. A company of Royal Engineers had, indeed, been
1 It was not even a "grant-in-aid," but an advance expected to be repaid.

PRODUCE-TAX 347
sent for the purpose of constructing such works as were
absolutely necessary for the commencement of civilised
government. But they, distributed in very small bodies
upon different islands, could be of no use for any purpose
other than their proper work ; and so for the maintenance
of order Sir Arthur was compelled to rely entirely upon
the natives themselves. It is to his lasting credit that by
his sympathetic dealing with them and his wise and just
measures he so quickly gained their confidence that for
this purpose they proved amply sufficient. Under a few
white officers native police proved to be all that was re
quired for ordinary circumstances ; while the armed Native
Constabulary, some of whom usually took the part of the
Governor's Guard, showed themselves to be an efficient
nucleus for the native levees which Sir Arthur (taking the
responsibility of rejecting military advice to await reinforce
ment from outside) used exclusively for subduing and pun
ishing for their outrages the mountaineers of Viti Levu.
Sir Arthur Gordon at once saw the evil effect of the poll-
tax. He recognised it as certain to produce disaffection
among the natives, as well as conducing to their rapid ex
tinction. But to find a substitute for it by which the natives
could contribute to the revenue was difficult. The solution
which he devised was a system of payment in produce, the
cultivation of which was to be carried on by the people
under their own chiefs. The amount in money, to which
the contribution of each province was required to be equiva
lent in value, was fixed by the Governor in Council, any
surplus realised beyond this sum being returned to the
contributing province. This system, however objectionable
it may seem in principle, was admirably adapted to suit
native prejudices, and I do not hesitate to say that no other
could have brought an equal amount to the Treasury with
out danger to the peace of the colony and without complete
disregard of what was due to those who had voluntarily
ceded their country in return for a promise of protection.
The financial result of this system had been remarkable.

348 FIJI
In addition to large sums returned each year to provinces
whose contributions had realised more than the amount
required of them, the receipts of the colonial Treasury
from these sources were £9,343 in 1876, £15,103 in 1877,
and promised to be still greater in 1878, the year of my
arrival. They eventually proved to be over £18,000. Con
sidering that the total native population was under 110,000
and that a considerable number of these were mountaineers
who had not yet been subjected to taxation, the last sum
must have nearly approached £1 a head of the male popu
lation of an age and in a condition of labour, and was far
more than had ever been raised by Thakombau's Govern
ment, or could have been obtained in any case from the
superseded system which had caused so much friction and
natural discontent.
While Sir Arthur had worked unceasingly for the benefit
of all classes of the population, and had succeeded in fully
satisfying the natives, the white people at the time of my
arrival still remained for the most part in a state of depres
sion and discontent. Great efforts had been made with
considerable success to obtain for them adequate supplies
of cheap labour from the Melanesian islands, while arrange
ments had been concluded for immigration from India. In
fact, all possible had been done for the planters, who never
theless were complaining bitterly of Government discour
agement of Fijian engagements at a distance from their
homes. Subsequent experience, however, convinced me
that want of capital and the market conditions would have
precluded success on the part of most of the planters, even
if all the available labour in the colony had been exploited
for their benefit, in utter disregard of the native welfare.
The following, extracted from one of my official reports,
gives an idea of the area of the colony : —
" Owing to the small scale of the maps in use, the dimensions
of Fiji are but little known. Even educated people would seem
sometimes to regard it as about equal in this respect to the Channel
or Scilly Islands, and to believe that a large portion of it may be

CONTROVERSY WITH MISSIONARIES 349
visited in an afternoon's sail. It will therefore be a surprise to
many to know that a line drawn round the extremities of the
colony would describe a figure of which the shortest diameter
would be over two hundred and sixty miles in length, the longest
over three hundred and seventy miles,1 and that a steam vessel
passing over this line at a rate of ten miles an hour would occupy
little less than five days and nights in the voyage. It would sur
prise them still further to learn that of the eighty or more in
habited islands enclosed by this line one is about as large as
Jamaica and considerably larger than Cyprus, that a second
would contain Mauritius three times and Barbados ten times, and
that the aggregate area of the whole is greater than that of all the
British West India Islands, excluding the Bahamas."
Soon after taking the reins of government I was forced
into a controversy with the chief local representatives of
the Australian Wesleyan Missionary Society. This Society
had had the principal part in the conversion of the Fijians.
It had almost sole charge of the native education, and
though its power had been somewhat curtailed by the
advent of civil government, yet by means of an organisa
tion extending to every village in the colony it still re
tained, and deserved, great influence. Such a controversy,
therefore, was entered upon reluctantly ; but the circum
stances left me no option in the matter. A memorial was
addressed to me, with the request to forward it to England,
stating, at considerable length, grounds of complaint against
decisions of Sir Arthur Gordon in Council, by which
the Society had been deprived of foreshore and other
portions of the land claimed on its behalf. As these de
cisions were at that time by law final, I had no power of
granting redress, even if complaint against them was just,
and under ordinary circumstances I should have saved
myself further trouble in the matter by forwarding the
memorial to the Secretary of State together with all infor
mation obtainable on the subject. This course was, how
ever, precluded by its publication in the local newspaper
1 About six hundred miles since the British flag was hoisted in Rotumah.

35° FIJI
immediately after its presentation to me. The Mission
representatives thus figured as protagonists in the agitation
of the dissatisfied land-claimants. It was evidently im
portant to detach, if possible, this powerful body from the
ranks of the discontented.
After a long and careful investigation, involving the
examination of many documents, I became convinced that
the impugned decisions were not only not unjust but ex
tremely liberal to the Society, and in an exhaustive minute
I gave my reasons for this opinion. My object was, how
ever, not attained. The Society's representative disputed
my conclusions by questioning the accuracy of some of the
principal facts upon which they were based. It was there
fore necessary for me to establish these facts, which I did
so completely that my minute on the subject never re
ceived any reply.
An incident of this controversy was sufficiently remark
able to deserve notice. The exceedingly elaborate reply to
my first minute was delivered to me at night after I had
gone to bed, the English mail, which was then monthly,
having just closed. This reply occupied thirteen pages of
a printed pamphlet, and I had reason to believe that many
copies of this ex parte presentment were sent away by
steamer to England as well as to Australia, thus tending
to create beliefs which it would take a month to dissipate.
The course adopted was so improper that it deserved a
severe rebuke ; but, for the sake of peace, I contented
myself in my final minute with the following moderate
language : —
" The letter referred to in this minute will, as requested,
be forwarded to the Secretary of State by the first oppor
tunity. I did not forward it by the steamer which left early
on the morning of the 20th inst, because it only reached
me at 9.50 the previous night, after the English mail was
closed — a late delivery which is the more to be regretted
from the fact that the letter had already been printed in
a pamphlet, together with the memorial and my former

OUTBREAK OF SAVAGERY 351
minute, and thus appears as the close of a correspondence
which was in fact incomplete."
I was much urged to publish this correspondence, but as
some points in it were not altogether creditable to recent
employees of the Mission, I refrained out of consideration
for a Society to which Fiji was so much indebted.
I may add here that the Secretary of State approved of
my part of the controversy and of my reasons for taking
it ; but in view of the many complaints against the land
decisions of the Governor in Council, Sir Arthur Gordon,
while in England, to show that he did not fear further
investigation, approved of the creation of a Court of Re
hearing, in which the Executive Council would be assisted
by the Chief Justice, the Commissioner of Native Affairs,
and a legal commissioner sent out from England for the
purpose. This court, presided over by Sir Arthur Gordon,
subsequently granted to the Mission all the land origin
ally claimed — of right as regards such part of it as was
not upon the sea (in view of deeds which were brought
forward for the first time, and had previously for some
mysterious reason been kept back), and ex gratid as
regards such part as was foreshore, probably with a view to
conciliate a powerful body who might much obstruct his
native policy. If this was his object it was not attained,
and I am inclined to think that he had reason afterwards
to repent of his generosity.
Shortly before Sir Arthur Gordon's departure there oc
curred a serious outbreak of savagery in Vitu Levu, the
largest island of the group. A band of men, pretending
that they had the authority of the Roko Tui, entered a
mountain town in the province of Ra, and having secured
the men, ravished the women and committed other atroci
ties — the affair being, in fact, a recurrence of some of the
worst features of savage warfare. The Provincial Court,
presided over by the stipendiary magistrate of the district,
had tried the prisoners charged with this offence and sen
tenced them to long terms of imprisonment with hard

352 FIJI
labour, the ringleaders to receive a flogging in addition.
This proceeding was, of course, technically wrong, the grave
crimes committed being such as were properly within the
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court alone. But the charges
actually tried were within the jurisdiction of the Lower
Court, and the sentences were not heavier than could be
legally awarded. And so when the report of the case came
before me, after full consideration of the circumstances,
I approved of the magistrate's action, and justified it to the
Secretary of State. Lawlessness of this kind would be apt
to be contagious among a people who had not yet by any
means divested themselves of savage instincts, and in order
to prevent it from spreading it was all-important that
punishment for such crimes should be immediate and cer
tain. A trial by the Supreme Court would have involved
considerable delay, and owing to the great number of wit
nesses, much expense which the Treasury could but ill
afford. Moreover, my experience in Guiana and elsewhere
had taught me that failure of justice is at least highly
probable where the proof of crimes is dependent upon the
evidence of natives, who, awed by the unaccustomed sur
roundings of a high court, can be frightened into saying
anything desired by a defending counsel. On these and
other grounds the course taken by the magistrate was the
right one in the interest of the colony.
When the Chief Justice heard of this case and my
approval of what had been done, he wrote me a strong letter
on the subject, and there ensued a correspondence which
caused me much anxiety, as it was only with much difficulty
that I succeeded in dissuading him from proceedings which
would have caused a grave scandal, as making public a
serious difference between the Executive and Judicial
Departments of the Service. Even when he had abandoned,
in consequence of my remonstrances, the still more objec
tionable course which he had at first threatened, he informed
me that he should proceed to deliver the gaols of the
prisoners as being in his opinion illegally convicted. After

WESTERN PACIFIC HIGH COMMISSION 353
persuasion on this point had failed, I was compelled to tell
him that I should be obliged to prevent any such proceed
ing by force, at the same time pointing out that "gaol
delivery " had no concern with convicted prisoners, and that
an attempt to apply it to such had been the principal ground
for the removal of a judge from the bench of another colony
by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
I was not altogether without apprehension as to the view
which might be taken by the Secretary of State, and I was
therefore relieved to hear that my action, being supported
by Sir Arthur Gordon, received his full approval.
In connection with this case I may mention that, owing
to considerations similar to those which had governed my
action in it, the Secretary of State had some years before
sent out the draft of a law, with instructions to pass it, by
which the Governor was empowered to declare any district
outside the jurisdiction ofthe Supreme Court and to appoint
special commissioners for the trial of offences committed
within any districts so excluded. Under this law such ex
clusion had been applied to the mountain district of Viti
Levu, where the people were still savages, and this case
rendered me doubtful whether the same principle might
not with advantage be applied to other parts of the colony.
Further difficulties were caused to me about the same
time by the Chief Justice in consequence of action which he
proposed to take in his capacity of Acting High Com
missioner of the Western Pacific. The authority of the
High Commissioner, in accordance with the Act of Parlia
ment which created his office, at the time extended, as
regards all British subjects, over all the islands, not within
the jurisdiction of a civilised power, lying between the
Society Islands in the east and Dutch New Guinea in the
west, between New Zealand in the south and a boundary in
the north which included the Carolines and the various
groups commonly designated together with them as the Line
Islands — the area thus comprised being greater than that
occupied by the Russian Empire. As the proper exercise
1. — 2 A

354 FIJI
of the authority thus vested in the High Commissioner
might occasionally necessitate long voyages by sea, Sir
Arthur Gordon, out of consideration for my unfortunate
tendency to sea-sickness, had thought proper to delegate
this portion of his functions to the Chief Justice., who thus,
while subordinate to me as regards the government of
Fiji, was in this respect independent, so that he could, with
out leave and at his own discretion, absent himself for in
definite periods in distant parts of the High Commission
jurisdiction. And so it happened that, in consequence of reports as to
troubles in New Guinea between the natives and parties of
prospectors, this official informed me that he had asked the
Commodore for a ship-of-war to take him thither. Such a
voyage would inevitably take many weeks, and might under
easily conceivable circumstances occupy several months,
during which time all proceedings in the Supreme Court of
Fiji would be suspended. For the Chief Justice was sole
judge, and there was no one else in the colony at all fitted
to act in that capacity. Moreover, it was the unanimous
opinion of those who were best acquainted with the Pacific
that such a voyage on the part of the Chief Justice to New
Guinea could not possibly do any good, and might easily
cause difficulties with the Australian Governments, which
were at that time by no means well affected towards the
High Commission. For these reasons I did my best to
dissuade him from his intention, being moved quite as much
by imperial as by purely local considerations. But I began
to fear that I was about to fail when there occurred the
opportune arrival of Commodore Hoskins in the Wolverene.
This experienced officer, when he learnt the circumstances,
entirely agreed with my view, and was consequently averse
from sending away a ship on such an expedition, as being
incompatible with the proper provision for more important
services required of his small squadron.
About the same time the Chief Justice intended other
action which might have involved much more serious con-

UNIQUE EXPERIENCE 355"
sequences. He informed me that he was about to cause
the seizure of a vessel called the Stormbird, then be
longing to the Government of Hawaii, in consequence of
irregularities in the recruitment of Melanesian labourers
while recently under the British flag. Apart from her now
foreign nationality, this vessel being in Levuka Harbour
was not within the High Commission jurisdiction, and any
responsibility for her seizure would therefore be mine.
Without, however, irritating him by prematurely putting
forward this fact, I succeeded, not without much difficulty,
in convincing him that his contemplated action would be
regarded as an international outrage, and not improbably
lead to complications, not only with Hawaii, but with the
United States, which power had already assumed some
thing more than a sentimental interest in the affairs of that
country. As the official in question has since died under specially
sad circumstances, I have touched upon these difficulties
as lightly as possible. I should have been glad to omit
mention of them altogether, but that the picture intended
to be drawn of the varied responsibilities and anxieties
of a governor's life would thereby suffer.
I have already said that the Government of Fiji was
without any European troops for the maintenance of order.
A company of Royal Engineers, with three officers, en
gaged in the construction of necessary works, was still in
Fiji at my arrival. But I was apprised that if this force
was to remain any longer, it must be at the expense of the
colony. As the scanty funds at my command were in
sufficient, I reluctantly requested that this little force should
be withdrawn. And so within a few months I had to
depend exclusively upon the loyalty of the natives for the
peace and security of the colony. I cannot say I was
altogether without a tinge of anxiety when the Engineers
embarked for England and were gone beyond recall. For
though their number was too small and they were too
much distributed to have any appreciable effect against

356 FIJI
a general native rising, it was not easy for me to determine
with certainty whether the mere presence of some of the
Queen's troops had not had a moral effect in checking any
tendency to disturbance. Sir Arthur Gordon's just, wise,
and sympathetic government had operated favourably on
most of the chiefs, but there were persistent reports that
two of the Roko Tuis, Ratu Epeli, the eldest son of
Thakombau, and Tui Thakau, the autocratic chief of the
island of Taviuni, were disaffected. The position was one
with respect to which I could hardly avoid feeling a weight
of responsibility ; and, indeed, for that position it would
be difficult to find a parallel in the history of the British or
any other empire. For as the mail steamer then arrived
only once a month, if a disturbance occurred immediately
after her departure, it would have been impossible to obtain
assistance from New Zealand or Australia in less than six
weeks, and during all that time the white population, of
under 4,000, sparsely scattered through many islands, might
be almost at the mercy of the 1 20,000 natives. Sir Arthur
Gordon had been in a similar position when he first arrived,
the Royal Engineers having only come some months after
wards. But there was then a man-o'-war continually in
the group, a fact which might have conduced to maintain
tranquillity. Thus, though believing the natives to be
generally loyal, I was by no means free from anxiety as to
the consequences of sudden excitement among a peculiarly
excitable people. Owing to the scarcity of funds white
officers were few and far between, some of them located
upon remote islands from which news could rarely be ob
tained in less than ten days or a fortnight. Any injustice
or imprudence on their part, or even want of firmness
against "white" aggressiveness, might easily lead to local
danger, and such possibility was sensibly increased by the
extraordinary reports as to the intentions of the Govern
ment towards the natives, which were continually being
put in circulation by settlers who, with little or nothing to
lose, apparently hoped to gain something from native dis-

LAND CLAIMS 357
turbance. Apprehensions on this score necessitated specially
careful scrutiny of the reports which came in daily from
magistrates and from Rokos and other native officers.
Fortunately for me, there was at the head of the Native
Department Mr. D. Wilkinson, who had an intimate
personal acquaintance with all the leading chiefs and an
unequalled knowledge of the people with whom we had to
deal. On several occasions he detected in reports passages
which meant more than appeared on the surface, when it
would have been dangerous to leave the matter referred to
without immediate attention. The exercise of the large
powers left to chiefs in connection with the maintenance
of native law and customs required careful watching to
prevent it from becoming oppressive. For, in the old days,
undue exactions were liable to be summarily remedied by
the club, whereas now the oppressed could obtain redress
only from the Government. For the sake of promptness
in dealing with the numerous reports relating to native
affairs, which arrived almost daily from different parts of
the groups, it was arranged that they, instead of being
forwarded through the Colonial Secretary's office, should
come to me directly from Mr. Wilkinson. Either he, or
when he was absent on his travels, the acting Colonial
Secretary, Mr. Thurston (whose knowledge of natives,
though not so sympathetic, was scarcely inferior), came to
me daily to explain doubtful points ; and as there were
decisions to be minuted in connection with all the other
departments of government, as enumerated in my account
of St. Lucia, it may be imagined that with difficulties of
finance, disputed claims to land, and work provided by
dissatisfied missionaries, incessantly complaining settlers,
and an obstreperous Chief Justice, my time and thoughts
were very fully occupied.
Land claims alone occupied a large portion of my time.
At the date of the cession there had been some 1,650 of
such claims by white men to land alleged to have been
sold to them by natives. As nearly all of these were dis-

358 FIJI
puted, special commissioners took the evidence on the spot,
and the written depositions were forwarded to the Governor
for decision in Council. Nearly all of these claims involved
points of difficulty. Apart from the opposition of natives
on various grounds (such as (i) alleged purchase from
only some of many joint-owners, (2) boundaries including
far more land than that actually sold, (3) fraud in pro
curement of signatures and in the preparation or alteration
of deeds, (4) non-payment of consideration, etc.), some
of the claims were also contested by white men. For
owing to careless or fraudulent definition of boundaries,
utterly unintelligible to the native vendors, the white
claims frequently overlapped one another to such an ex
tent that the same land was claimed by several different
people. Some of the evidence which came before me
showed that the natives had very clear conceptions as to
the ownership of land, and held it to be of so sacred a
nature that permissive occupation for any length of time
had no effect in prescribing the rights of the original
proprietors. In one case reported the occupiers of certain
land were asked if they were the owners ; to which the
reply was that at a period long past, having been driven
out of their own territory by a hostile tribe, they were
allowed to settle upon it by the true owners ; that they had,
therefore, no right in it themselves, and still regarded
themselves as " vulagi " or strangers.
The reports of the special commissioners, which were
intended to assist towards the decision of the Governor in
Council (though not by any means as complete and ex
haustive as they became afterwards when made by my
friend Victor Williamson, an English barrister specially
selected by the Secretary of State for the purpose of these
inquiries), were most of them fairly well done, and in most
cases threw valuable light upon the evidence taken. In so
far as I could observe, the treatment of white claimants
had been by no means harsh. On the contrary, any doubt
which arose in my mind was whether they had not been

LAND CLAIMS 359
favoured with undue liberality at the expense of the
natives. Where there had been bond-fide occupation
grants had always been made ex gratid to the claimants
of a considerable portion of the land claimed, even where
that title was manifestly bad, while in some cases large
tracts were conceded to the white purchasers where the
circumstances under which the original owners had been
extruded seemed open to much exception. Taken as a
whole, however, the work done in the decision of these
claims appeared to me admirable, and its amount incredibly
large, as done by one otherwise occupied with a difficult
administration. Out of the 1,650 claims, Sir Arthur
Gordon had in his first three years disposed of 836, while
his minutes in all cases of difficulty (some of which, as
regards complication, could only be compared to specially
involved Chancery suits) were a standing evidence of his
careful and patient consideration.
But though these 836 claims were at that time considered
as finally disposed of, many of them had to be considered
again by the Rehearing Court, which, as I have already
mentioned, was afterwards constituted with the approval of
Sir Arthur Gordon. It thus happened that in 1879 and the
succeeding years there had to be disposed of not only the
balance of over 800 original claims, but the rehearing of
many others when either the claimants or the natives had
been dissatisfied with the original decisions. The proceed
ings and judgments in some of these rehearings were
subsequently published in Parliamentary Blue Books.
What labour and anxiety was undergone by the first two
governors of Fiji in dealing with these claims and other
subjects altogether foreign to the ordinary duties of govern
ment was never understood or appreciated at home ; and,
indeed, this is scarcely to be wondered at, as to convey in
words an adequate idea of it is practically impossible.

CHAPTER III
Arrival of Commodore Hoskins— A question of precedence and its settlement-
Visit to Bau — Tribute to early missionaries— Contrast between Bau past
and present — Messrs. Langham and Fison, chief missionaries— Curious
similarity between African and Fijian names — Official relations with
missionaries not agreeable — Polygamy and its difficulties — Continual
attacks upon native policy ; irksomeness of frequently repeated defence ;
falsity of adverse representations — Polynesian immigrants— Their unsatis
factory condition — Impracticability of adequate remedy — Pass law against
a minor abuse — Visit to Wakaya.
ON the 22nd August, 1878, Commodore Hoskins arrived
at Levuka in H.M.S. Wolverene. Owing to a defect
in the colonial regulations, it was doubtful whether it was
his duty or mine to pay the first official visit. But having
never held these matters of the importance to warrant the
controversies which have arisen in respect of them between
officers of different branches of the Service, I at once offered
to pay the first visit to the Commodore, though by his in
structions he had on arrival to visit the Chief Justice, my
subordinate officer. Commodore Hoskins, whose common
sense perceived this anomaly, did not permit himself to be
behindhand in courtesy, and we at once settled the matter
amicably by dispensing altogether with official visits, he
coming ashore to stay with us at Nasova. Having reported
the doubts on this point to the Secretary of State, the
question was settled by a new regulation prescribing, among
other things, that Acting-Governors, as well as Governors,
are to receive the first visit from all naval officers.
During Commodore Hoskins' visit he carried me in his
steam-launch to visit Bau, the small island off the coast of
Viti Levu, which had been all his life the principal residence
of Thakombau, and where, before he was christianised,
360

BAU 361
he had been witness of and had partaken in many of the
unspeakable atrocities which have made the place notorious.
Sir Anthony Hoskins (now Admiral and recently a dis
tinguished principal Naval Lord of the Admiralty), who was
the Commodore in question, in writing to me lately on the
subject, remarks : " You were rather the worse for the roll
on the way, and were much comforted afterwards by a
ter Hne of foie gras, the possession of which raised me
greatly in your estimation ! " Though I fear I must plead
guilty to the sea-sickness, which was the more humiliating
as the sea within the barrier reef was comparatively calm, I
cannot admit that the high estimate I had formed of the
Commodore from the first could have been raised even by
the valuable possession so opportunely produced ; and I am
fortunately able to aver, by way of a friendly retort, that he
showed much anticipatory delight at the fine turtle pre
sented to him by Thakombau ! 1
Probably no spot on the whole earth has been the scene
of more cannibalistic orgies than was this little island with
in the short period of years immediately before and after
the arrival of the first missionaries. Though experience has
rendered me generally unfavourable to missionary enter
prise in foreign countries and to the belief that whatever
may have been the case formerly, the enormous sums spent
upon it are for the most part wasted, and in some parts of
the world, especially in China, are doing, and have done,
much more harm than good, I must frankly acknowledge
that Fiji is an exception to the general rule, and that the
work of its pioneer missionaries was a grand one. In fact,
I yield to no one in admiration for their bravery and their
devotion to a noble work of civilisation. The contrast be
tween the Bau which I saw and the awful scenes which
would have been witnessed there by a visitor arriving some
forty years previously, is well set forth by Miss Gordon
Cumming in At Home in Fiji, to which I refer my readers
1 Since the above was written his country and his many friends have in
curred the loss of this distinguished officer,

362 FIJI
who may. be interested in the subject. The contrast be
tween " now " and " then " struck me most in the evening,
when the rhythmic notes of Christian hymns might be heard
coming from the different houses around the very spot
which not many years before had continually resounded
with the dread tones of the death-lali.1
I am inclined to think that horrors of the past affect the
imagination more in a place like Bau than when one looks
upon scenes in civilised countries — such as the Place de la
Concorde in Paris — where have been enacted inhumanities
of almost equal abundance and horror. For in the latter
the signs all round of an advanced civilisation seem so in
congruous with the terrible antecedents as to render these
the more difficult to realise, while in Bau the appearance of
the place and people was even then so little removed from
savagery as to render easy a mental reconstruction of the
old-time sights.
During our short visit to Bau we of course paid a visit
to the Vunivalu, who received us with his usual courteous
dignity. I also visited Mr. Langham, whose kindly recep
tion was in marked contrast to his political attitude. Both
he and Mrs. Langham did all possible for my comfort and
convenience, and in this short experience of them and their
home I was enabled the better to understand Miss Gordon's
enthusiastic account of them.
Mention of my visit to Mr. Langham, the chief repre
sentative in Fiji of the Australian Wesleyan Missionary
Society, recalls the fact that at the time of my first visit to
Bau my social relations with him and his colleague in the
local administration of the Mission were all that could be
desired. When on several occasions these gentlemen dined
at Government House, I found in Mr. Langham a store of
information about the past history of Fiji which, though
presented from a somewhat narrow point of view, was
nevertheless well worth hearing.
1 The " lali " was a great wooden gong made of a transverse section of a
tree-trunk hollowed out. One was in daily use at Nasova to announce meals,

SIMILARITY OF FIJIAN AND AFRICAN NAMES 363
Among many interesting things told me by his colleague
Mr. Fison was one which furnishes a subject of curious
speculation about the distribution of races. He said that
having had his attention directed to recent discoveries in
Africa, he was astonished to find that besides Tanganyika,
which he had long recognised as a Fijian word (signifying
a kind of fishing-net), several other names of places marked
on the map as surrounding that lake were also Fijian words.
The conjunction in the same order of the many letters re
quired for the word " Tanganyika " by the inhabitants of
places so widely distant as Fiji and Central Africa, is in
itself very singular ; but when similarly identical conjunc
tions are found in other words belonging to both places, the
case is surely removed from the category of mere coinci
dence, and would seem to point to some former connection
between the two peoples. Moreover, the coincidence, if it
really be such, does not end here ; though knowing little of
the Fijian and nothing of the African languages, I mention
the matter merely for the purpose of drawing attention to
the subject. Looking at a map of Africa, I observed long
ago how frequently in the names presented there the letter
" b " is preceded by " m," the letters " g " or " d " by " n."
These conjunctions are perhaps not less common to other
languages in the middle of words, but not so, I think, at the
beginning, as in names such as Ngami, Ngoro-ngoro,
Ngegimi, Mpoto, Mpopwa, Ndaye, Mbongo, Mbanga, in
Africa, and Mbau, Ngau, Ngoro, Mbatiki, Mbua, Mbenga,
in Fiji. For though in printing Fijian words the initial
letter in these cases is often omitted, its sound is always
present in pronunciation, and I think it probable that a
similar desire of brevity may have caused many African
words to be similarly docked. There may be observed also
in the word Ngoro-ngoro and others, such as Niam-niam,
Kota-kota, etc., a repetition of two syllables, which in Fijian
names is very common, as, for instance, Loma Loma, Savu
Savu, Somo Somo, Ruku Ruku, etc., etc.
I do not find that any of the peculiarities mentioned exist

364 FIJI
in the names of Australia, Melanesia, New Guinea, or the
Malay Archipelago, which intervene between Africa and
Fiji, and this renders the more remarkable so many simi
larities in language of places separated by some nine
thousand miles.
Social intercourse apart, I regret to say that my official
relations with the representatives of the Wesleyan Mission
were somewhat strained from the first. Shortly after the
close of correspondence in respect of the impugned land
decision, the chief representative of the Mission attacked a
law on the subject of marriage which had been passed by
the Native Regulation Board, with the approval of Sir
Arthur Gordon, more than a year before. The principal
objection was against a clause which recognised as valid all
marriages contracted according to native custom, and which
by the same custom were still binding at the time the law
was passed. This provision, no doubt, had the effect of, to
a certain extent, recognising polygamy ; but, as I informed
Mr. Langham in defending it, I considered that preferable
to the conditions which had been brought about by the
missionaries. I referred to their practice of compelling their
converts to abandon (which in practice involved leaving
them to the tender mercies of the community) all their wives
but one, and even in some instances (which the Native Com
missioner mentioned to me and expressed his willingness to
prove) permitting the putting away of all previous wives
with a view to a contract of so-called Christian marriage
with another woman. For this and other reasons I strenu
ously, defended the regulation, and the opposition to it was
discreetly permitted to subside.
Without describing in detail other action on the part of
the Wesleyan missionaries, which at different times during
this acting-administration caused me embarrassment and
much unnecessary correspondence, I may mention, as
specially characteristic, that in two instances within my
first year natives were suspended or dismissed from Church
membership for assisting on Sunday in the carriage of my

THE WESLEYAN MISSION 365
official letters, marked " Immediate," and happening to be
of great importance. The explanation was to the effect
that though the carriage was obligatory as required by the
Government, the punishment was not for the work, but for
receiving payment. So that, in fact, natives had to choose
between the gratuitous performance of a compulsory ser
vice and expulsion from Church membership, and this in a
colony where a letter sent from the seat of Government to
some of the out-districts could not, even with the utmost
despatch, reach its destination in less than ten days or a
fortnight. I may mention that expulsion from Church
membership involved a social degradation which was re
garded by the Fijians as a very severe punishment.
During my second administration Mr. Langham assisted
the planters — a somewhat incongruous combination — in de
termined attacks, which happily proved unsuccessful, upon
the Government native policy. His letters with my replies
having been published for Parliament, I make no further
reference to them.
Besides the Wesleyans there were also in Fiji some Roman
Catholic missionaries, who, having arrived later, had made
a comparatively small number of converts. Though the
existence in the group of these antagonistic forms of Chris
tianity sometimes gave rise to difficulties, I am bound to
say that the conduct of the Catholics towards the Govern
ment and its policy was in marked contrast with that of
their rivals, and that, in so far as I was able to learn, they
were invariably loyal in both speech and action, while their
apostolic poverty and the extreme simplicity of their lives
entitled them to special respect.
But even at this time Fiji owed much to the Wesleyan
mission, despite the unfriendly attitude of its representa
tives in the islands ; and these, I do not doubt, were worthy
men, who believed themselves actuated solely by the best
motives. Moreover, they would have been scarcely human
if they were not to a certain extent unconsciously actuated
by the change in their position which had resulted from the

366 FIJI
advent of British government ; for before the cession they
exercised an autocratic sway over their converts, which by
laws and administrative action had been gradually modified.
When men suffer loss of power it is scarcely conceivable
that they should be without resentment against that which
has caused it.
Not the least irksome of the tasks which was imposed
upon me during both periods of my administration in Fiji
was that of continually defending the native policy of the
Government against attacks coming from many quarters.
But of all the very numerous allegations intended to
discredit the system which in the course of six or seven
years were made in official communications intended for
the digestion of the Secretary of State, nearly all proved
to be either pure inventions or so exaggerated as to bear
little resemblance to the truth. In most instances, though
unhappily not in all, those responsible for these statements
made them, I do not doubt, in good faith. I imagine that,
being greatly interested in believing them true, they ac
cepted without inquiry, rumours deliberately put in circu
lation by the disaffected.
For example, the Secretary of State was informed that
five recent suicides had been caused by the oppression
suffered from the native taxation. On inquiry it was found
that the cause of three out of the five was jealousy or sus
picion of conjugal infidelity, while the other two cases had
occurred in a district of Colo (mountains of Viti Levu),
to which, owing to its recent conquest, the taxation system
had not yet been extended ! The proneness of the Fijians
to commit suicide on account of love troubles was illustrated
by a case which occurred only a few weeks after the above
statement first appeared in print. A native killed himself
in Levuka on being told that his wife (whom he had volun
tarily left for a year on a contract of service) had become
unfaithful. If the records of the Colonial Office were
examined, I have little doubt that the European complaints
against the two first Governors of Fiji and the system of

MELANESIAN IMMIGRATION 367
native government, together with the replies and all papers
connected with them, would fill a very large volume of
print. Before I had been many months in Fiji I became im
pressed with the unprotected condition of the Polynesian
immigrants. These were people imported by planters
under labour contracts for three years' service. They came
from many quarters — from the New Hebrides, Solomons,
New Britain, and New Ireland, some thousand miles or
more to the westward, and from the various groups of
islands near the line to the northward. The conditions of
this system of immigration seemed in several respects un
satisfactory ; but Sir Arthur Gordon had found the system
in operation, and, whatever his objections to it, he could
not abolish it without facing the certainty of greatly in
creased pressure for the enforced employment of Fijian
labour. And so he tolerated one evil in order to avert a
greater, doing probably all that was then possible by way
of modifying it, especially in passing a law which greatly
improved the system. Considering that there was only one
inspector to look after these immigrants, scattered all over
the colony, whose local visits were only annual, I felt some
qualms as to what might be happening unknown to Govern
ment, especially when so many of the planters entirely
lacked the means of providing properly for their labourers.
For I had learnt by experience how many Europeans hold
in practice to the principle announced in the celebrated
Dred Scott decision of the Supreme Court of the United
States that the coloured man " has no rights that the white
man is bound to respect," and how when a European em
ployer is in embarrassed circumstances the chief sufferer is
apt to be his coloured labourer. I had grave suspicions
that the high death-rate of these wretched Polynesians
might be lowered had we the necessary funds. But, alas !
the extreme niggardliness of the home Government towards
the new colony precluded the supply of even more obvious
wants. And so the local Government was helpless not only

368 FIJI
in this matter, but in that other still more important — the
proper provision for the welfare of the Fijians, so as to
arrest the depopulation of the islands.
For the above reason I was able to do but little during
this temporary administration for the Polynesians, the want
of inspection rendering it impossible to detect the sus
pected abuses which, during my second administration,
were largely brought to light. For one abuse, however,
which was being perpetrated under the very eye of the
Government, I provided an immediate remedy — an abuse
which, though trivial in character, revealed a disposition to
take advantage of Polynesian helplessness, which was not
likely to be less displayed in places remote from inconveni
ent supervision. The wretched wages of the Polynesians
— three pounds a year — were paid only at the end of his
period of service, and then not in money, which would be
useless to him on his return home, but in goods. In some
cases to which my attention was drawn the value of the
goods thus supplied to departing labourers was so utterly
disproportionate to the amount of wages due that, despite
receipted accounts for the proper amount, it was clear that
either there had been extreme carelessness in the purchases
or collusion between the employer and the seller in fraud
of the labourer. The law forwarded by me for sanction in
February, 1879, put an end to this abuse by requiring all
payments to Polynesians to be made through the Agent-
General of Immigration.
In April, 1879, all of us requiring change, we went to
spend a few days on the island of Wakaya, which lies oppo
site to Nasova, our place of residence, at a distance of some
twelve miles. The house, which had been placed at our dis
posal by the proprietors, was situated near the shore, in a
beautiful spot whence glimpses of the blue water, seemingly
snow-flecked by breaking waves, might be seen through
groves of coconut palms. Though owing to the absence of
interviews I enjoyed here comparative rest, the frequent
arrival of papers by no means permitted me to be idle.

ISLAND OF WAKAYA 369
The island does not, I should say, speaking from memory,
exceed five miles in length or three in breadth; but it has in
it valleys, entirely surrounded by land, which seemed as
though they might be a thousand miles from the sea or
from human habitation. There was at that time but little
cultivation, and that chiefly of coconuts and near the shore.
Though here and there in the island there were fine trees
(viz. ivi, ndilo, and ndrala), the greater part of it was
covered merely by coarse grass, dotted by the somewhat
grotesque forms of a species of pandanus. There were,
however, bays, edged with white sand and washed by a sea
of indigo-blue, which, with no sail in sight, seemed as
though they might never have been visited by man.
But life here, however enjoyable at first, became quickly
monotonous ; and so we were not altogether sorry when one
morning, after a week's sojourn there, Mr. Thurston ap
peared with the news that I was wanted at headquarters.
He had come in a cutter-yacht belonging to Thakombau,
in which we at once embarked and returned to Nasova.

1. — 2 B

CHAPTER IV
Open Veibose (meeting of chiefs) at Bua — Subject of speech on the occasion
— Misconduct of Roko Tuis (native provincial governors) and their
punishment — Distribution of presents — Procession of chiefs — A girl chief-
tainess — Subjects before Bose sagaciously discussed — Its resolutions and
my speech at close of meeting — Favourable impressions produced by
meeting — Visit to Rewa River; rough experiences on way thither-
Unwelcome night visitors — Residence in native house — Meals in public —
Social life — Australian Governor's anecdote — Open Oddfellows' lodge —
Inauguration of Levuka Mechanics' Institute — Birth of son and early
death — Considerate behaviour of Native Constabulary — Appalling telegram.
ON the 14th November, 1878, 1 went in H.M.S. Nymphe
to open the Veibose, or great meeting of the chiefs,
at Bua.1 These meetings were held annually, with the
object of promoting free discussions amongst the natives.
I was met by the Roko Tui and Mr. Blyth, the stipendiary
magistrate of Vanua Levu. I made a long address to the
chiefs on this occasion, beginning with, " I deem myself
fortunate, my friends, chiefs of Fiji, in having the oppor
tunity during my short term of office here of attending
your great annual meeting, and I see in this large and
punctual attendance an encouragement to the Queen's
Government in its efforts to promote through you the
welfare of her Fijian people." After touching on various
subjects, I suggested that they should take up seriously, at
the point at which it was left at the close of the previous
year's meeting, the question of the distribution and succes
sion of lands ; I combated strenuously the notion that the
natives must necessarily die out before the white man,
feeling sure that this feeling of despondency tends even
1 A province situate at the extreme western end of the Vanua Levu, the
smaller of the two large islands of the group.
37°

VEIBOSE AT BUA 37 1
more than insanitary conditions to the disappearance of
native races. I pointed out instances where native races
had increased in number in face of the white man. " In
Java, which is inhabited by men of almost the same colour,
and probably in considerable measure the same race with
yourselves, the number of people has enormously increased
since the coming of the white man, and has more than
doubled in the last fifty years, while in India, with its
190,000,000 of people living peaceably under Her Majesty's
rule — 1,800 for every one in Fiji — difficulty is caused to
the Government, not by the decreasing, but by the too
rapidly increasing, numbers of people." After strongly
urging the acceptance of vaccination as a safeguard against
small-pox, I adverted to the native laws, customs, and
government, solemnly assuring them, "notwithstanding all
you may be and are being told by designing persons to the
contrary," there was no intention on the part of the Govern
ment to abolish them, the belief of the Government being
that, when modified and improved under the chiefs' advice,
they were best adapted to the character and habits of the
people. In one or two instances I suggested subjects for
their discussion and recommendations, such as increased
protection for married women, improvement in the marriage
law, and increased facilities for entering the married state.
Finally, I appealed to them earnestly to give no opening
for attack on the part of those unfriendly to the native
policy, "to refrain from putting unduly heavy burthens
upon your people, from exacting contributions to feasts
which exhaust their supplies of food, or taking from them
labour or property which may be more necessary to them
than to yourselves. For I must tell you that the experi
ment of self-government by natives is being closely watched,
and the nearer it approaches to success, the greater will be
the exertions of those who wish its failure."
The same evening I embarked again on the Nymphe, and
the following day arrived at Levuka.
I had felt obliged to exclude from the Veibose two Rokos

372 FIJI
for grave offences, and I knew this would be regarded by
them as a serious disgrace. I decided upon this measure
only after careful consideration. For the actual Roko Tuis
were those who wielded the most hereditary influence, and
there was a risk that the supersession of any of them would
involve the appointment of others who would be no better in
other respects, while carrying less weight of authority. Still
I felt that misconduct such as had now been acknowledged
by those guilty of it ought, at any rate, to be marked with
public reprobation, or the Government inaction would be
sure to give rise to sinister surmises in the native mind. It
would be supposed either that we were afraid to punish high
chiefs or that we looked with a lenient eye upon their mis
doings. In either case the prestige of the Government would
be injured, and there would be seriously impaired its reputa
tion for equal justice, which it was beyond all things desir
able to retain.
The attendance of the high chiefs at the Veibose was re
garded by them as a great privilege, while they were by no
means insensible to its accompaniments of pleasure, in the
shape of feasting, dancing, and distribution of presents.
Exclusion, therefore, together with the disgrace involved in
the public knowledge of it, was by no means a light penalty,
and for the case of drunkenness I deemed it sufficient, in the
hope that it might bring about improvement. More, how
ever, was required for the other offender, who was Ratu
Timoci, before referred to, one of the younger sons of
Thakombau. His further services were dispensed with, he
was deprived for two years of the powers and dignity of
chief, and was directed to live during that period under his
father's eye at a village near Bau. Thakombau, with whom
I had conversed about the case, had in a spirit worthy of
his position suggested to me the expediency of severity,
as the only means of saving his son from a career of vice
and crime. These public examples produced an excellent
effect among the people, and for a time it induced improve
ment among those chiefs whose conduct was open to
exception.

DIGNITY OF FIJIAN PRINCESS 373
Some five weeks after leaving Bua I returned thither to
close the meeting. Before the serious business was brought
to an end there took place in my presence a great distribu
tion of presents, each province having brought a large sup
ply of its products, tappa (native cloth), sinnet (the string
made of fibre used for tying the rafters of houses and for
other purposes) in huge rolls, salt in lumps weighing some
of them over a hundredweight, yams, taro (the much-
esteemed esculent root of a variety of calladium), bananas,
turtles, pigs, etc., etc. There was emulation among the
provinces in their contributions to the general stock for dis
tribution. One of these was sufficiently startling to impress
itself particularly on the memory. Amid tremendous yelling
of excitement and approval, a large double canoe in full sail,
with its whole crew on board, was dragged by hundreds of
men upon rollers on to the rara in front of me and formally
presented by the Roko of Bua, who being in some respects
the host of the chiefs, apparently felt impelled to surpass
all the rest in munificence.
Ih the course of this function the head chiefs of each
province passed before me in procession, each walking
proudly in front of his followers, though his figure had been
rendered enormously bulky by a great roll of tappa wound
round and round his waist, of which he proceeded to dis-
burthen himself, as part of his contribution. Maafu, who on
account of illness had been unable to attend, had sent his
young daughter to represent him, and it was a sight not
easily to be forgotten when this little lady, apparently not
more than eleven years old, walked past me in the most
stately fashion with her train of tappa carried by some two
hundred of her father's retainers. A short conversation
with this girl afterwards, as well as the demeanour of the
chiefs generally, confirmed the impression previously re
ceived that the families of chiefs in Fiji, both in their oldest
and youngest members, have a remarkable dignity, which
as an accompaniment of hereditary rank is sometimes in
Europe noticeable by its absence.

374 FIJI
After all the presents had been deposited, the distribution
took place, the arrangement of shares being amicably
effected by the native aide-de-camps (mata-ni-vanuas) of
the different chiefs. A large share was awarded to the
Governor, which, with the exception of one turtle, was, as
customary, handed over for the use of the native armed
Constabulary. During my absence from Bua the Bose had prepared for
my consideration twenty-eight resolutions, each adopted
only after earnest debate, in the course of which some of
the chiefs, especially Thakombau and the Roko Tuis of Ra
and Bua, made speeches and remarks, indicating remark
able wisdom and good judgment. These resolutions dealt
with a great variety of subjects, and previous to the final
ceremony for closing the Bose, I dealt with each of these
resolutions in detail, approving nearly all of them, and
referring sympathetically to others, which as touching ques
tions of permanent policy I did not feel to be subjects for
the decisions of an Acting-Governor.
After thanking all present in the Queen's name for the
earnest and effective attention they had bestowed upon so
many important questions, I closed the meeting.
I was greatly pleased generally with what I saw at Bua,
which convinced me that the assemblage of people from
all parts of the group was in various respects useful. Never
theless, I gathered the impression that the numbers attend
ing were unduly large, and that these might without dis
advantage be considerably restricted. This impression was
confirmed by my subsequent experience, when it became
evident that each province, as in its turn the meeting was
held there, was endeavouring to " beat the record " in dis
play, and during my second administration I took measures
accordingly. Since my time these meetings have become
simply a medium of political discussion, all the picturesque
and by no means useless characteristics of them having
been ruthlessly eliminated. There may, of course, have
been good reason for this in the altered circumstances;

MY VIEW OF VEIBOSE 375
otherwise I should deplore the change. For the distribu
tion of presents was a means by which each province
obtained easily from others requirements which it did not
itself produce, one having a speciality in rock-salt, another
in sinnet (the twine used for house-building and other pur
poses), another in mats, etc. Moreover, I doubt whether
Fijian chiefs would discuss business so cheerfully or thor
oughly if deprived of their principal amusement during
hours of leisure — I refer to "mekes" (native dances), which
necessitate the presence of a considerable number of people.
Even if, as is probable, the principles of administration
have now become so settled that much less than formerly
requires to be discussed, it may be presumed that there
must be some business, or there would be no meetings,
and in that case it would be perhaps well to remember that
"all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" applies
even more to the Fijian than to the average man.
The thousands of people present at this gathering most
certainly did not wear the dejected appearance of the op
pressed, as white malignity against the native policy repre
sented ; on the contrary, their facial expression and general
demeanour furnished strong evidence to the contrary. In
fact, I never saw in any country a great number of people
of the labouring class with happier faces or with clearer
indications of fine physical condition. I was particularly
struck by a body of two thousand men who came over from
the neighbouring province of Macuata for the purpose of
taking part in the concluding festivities. In stature and
general physical appearance it would be difficult to find
their equals in the world — a fact the more remarkable as
Macuata is, or was, owing to the comparative poverty of
the soil, one of the poorest provinces. Altogether the
meeting considerably raised my estimate of the character,
capacity, and existing condition of the Fijian chiefs and
people. In December, 1878, being somewhat overcome by the
heat of an unusually hot summer, I was ordered by Dr.

376 FIJI
Macgregor1 to give up business for a time and to take a
short change in order to avert a threatened breakdown. I
determined to go to the Rewa River, which has a winding
course of over one hundred miles, in the island of Viti Levu.
I had been offered the use of a house situated on its right
bank about twenty-five miles from the sea. It belonged to
Andi Kuela, the daughter of Thakombau, and one who,
having a masculine intelligence and force of character, was
admirably discharging on behalf of her young son the
duties of Roko of Naitisiri, an inland province of Viti Levu.
I started for this destination early one morning, accom
panied only by my private secretary. When our boat had
proceeded only a short distance, I became so ill that I felt
compelled to return ; but getting better towards afternoon,
I was induced to start again, my wife this time insisting on
being my companion, though her own condition of health
by no means fitted her for an expedition promising rough
experiences. The distance from Levuka to the mouth of the Rewa is
over forty miles, and our start took place too late to permit
of reaching our destination that night. The wind, more
over, was unfavourable, rendering impossible the use of
sails, and despite the exertions of the sixteen oarsmen who
manned Sir Arthur Gordon's barge, night came upon us off
the coast of Viti Levu when we were still a long distance
from Bau, where we had hoped to sleep. At last it be
came so dark that, as we had no compass on board, further
progress was deemed impossible. Finding that we were in
shallow water, two of the boat hands (all members of the
armed Constabulary) volunteered to swim to shore and
ascertain our whereabouts. Hour after hour passed with
out sign of their return, and it seemed probable that we
should have to pass the rest of the night drifting about in
an open boat. But about eleven o'clock some loud shout
ing announced approaching humanity, and presently came
alongside a small canoe which had been brought to take us
1 Now Sir William Macgregor, K. C.M.G., Governor of Lagos.

NIGHT EXPERIENCES IN NATIVE VILLAGE 377
ashore. Even this drew too much water to approach close
to land, to reach which we all, my wife included, had to be
carried by the boat hands, some of whom had swum from
the barge on purpose.
The " town " at which we had arrived was not a favour
able specimen of a Fijian village. It was built in a swamp,
which, though in the darkness not evident to the sight, be
trayed its presence to other senses by a chilly dampness and
somewhat noxious exhalations. The chief, however, did his
best for us with the usual native courtesy, and placed his
house at our disposal. Soft heaps of mats were placed for
our beds, over which we caused to be hung, as evidently
necessary, the mosquito curtains which we had brought
with us. As soon as politeness permitted we retired to
rest, but not to sleep. At length my wife was on the point
of doing so when she was aroused by a grunt close to her
head. The dim light burning at the other end of the room
at once revealed the presence of a pig. This animal, doubt
less infected with something of the native courtesy, had in
vaded the premises also for the purpose of paying his un
welcome attentions to the strangers. After I had driven out
the intruder, my wife was again disturbed on the verge of
slumber by another animal, this time a biped. The light
being suddenly obscured by some intervening body, her at
tention was at once aroused, and it was naturally with some
alarm that she saw a dark face peering into her mosquito
curtain. Again called up from my neighbouring couch, I
found that the trespasser this time was a very old woman,
looking, in the faint light given by a single candle, an ideal
witch. It appeared that she (the chief's wife) had never before
had the opportunity of seeing a white woman at such close
quarters, and curiosity had got the better of her at a time
when, believing we were all asleep, she hoped to gratify it
without discovery.
When at length towards morning we had closed our
eyes to some purpose, we were again, as it seemed almost
immediately, awoke by a tama proceeding from several

378 FIJI
throats. A number of natives were sitting on either
side of the door, and had entered the room so silently that
their presence was only made known by the conventional
murmur of respect. They proved to be our host and the
chiefs of neighbouring villages, who had come to present
whales' teeth, the native token of respectful welcome, as
well as some roast pigs, yams, etc. I of course made due
acknowledgment of their courtesy, and though inwardly
wishing that their visit had been better timed, I managed to
conceal my feelings and sent them away highly pleased
with themselves.
Later in the same day we entered the mouth of the Rewa
River (catching on the way a large king-fish, over two feet
long, with a bait consisting only of a piece of calico rag),
and, proceeding up the river, arrived in the afternoon at
Andi Kuela's house.
This, which was to be our home for some days, was a
native house, constructed in the ordinary way with thatched
walls and roof. It was of much more than average size, and
as belonging to a high chief was of specially careful con
struction, while as further distinguishing it from the houses
of the common herd it was adorned on the outside with
the white cowry shells which are indicative of rank in the
owner. Its single large room had its floor covered with
many layers of beautifully clean soft mats, into which the
feet sank deep in crossing them, specially fine ones being
upon a slightly raised dais, intended for the sleeping quar
ters of the principal occupants. With the aid of large
sheets of tappa, we were able to make compartments so
as to provide fairly comfortable rooms.
We were never able to have our meals in private.
Always while they were in progress, and, in fact, during
the greater part of the day, numbers of natives (who,
according to chief's custom, were allowed to enter at will)
were squatted against the wall at the lower end of the
room, watching us keenly. Every now and then, when in
accordance with European habits we did something which

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNOR'S STORY 379
was outside their previous experience, they would clap then-
hands and make a low murmur, indicating at the same
time wonder and approval. This was amusing at first, but
after a time somewhat irksome. Indeed, though after the
novelty wore off we would have gladly dispensed with
this publicity, we preferred to bear with it rather than
hurt the feelings of people who had no idea of anything
but a kindly respect. But never before had we been able
so keenly to appreciate how disagreeable must have become
to those very august personages, the French monarchs, the
obligation of eating their dinners in view of a crowd of
spectators. Though under ordinary circumstances we
should probably have much enjoyed it, I must candidly say
that our sojourn here can only be regarded as pleasing in
retrospect. For the heat, severe outside, was intensified
within the house by want of ventilation, the only openings
for air being two narrow doors. Moreover, flies, ordinarily
troublesome in Fiji, were here a real plague, and combined
with an intense lassitude to render writing and even reading
difficult, sometimes impossible. We were therefore not
sorry to get back to our comfortable quarters at Nasova.
During the ensuing seasons (1878-9) we had a dance at
Government House, which the colonists regarded as most
successful, and we entertained at dinner all the high chiefs
who visited Ovalau as well as all the principal Government
officers and leading settlers, some of them several or many
times, succeeding thus in softening many political asperi
ties. The demeanour at table of most of the "whites " was
beyond reproach, though in manners several would have
done well to take example from the native chiefs, whom
they were pleased to despise as inferiors. Apropos, I re
member an Australian Governor once telling me that
among the members of the House of Assembly whom he
was entertaining at dinner was one who, having passed his
life in the " bush," was not au courant with the ways of
civilised life. Apparently he had been " coached " for the
part of guest at the Governor's table, and had been told

3§° FIJI
that it was bad manners to appear hungry. So after two
or three mouthfuls of each course he put down his spoon
or his knife and fork, with the intention of taking them up
again after a short interval. But the servants being active,
on each occasion his plate was carried away before he could
resume the attack upon its contents, and in this way he
lost all but a very slender portion of soup, fish, etc., etc.,
and there seemed every prospect of his getting up from
dinner hungry. At last there was put before him some
wild turkey, a viand he evidently regarded with special
favour. He was determined not to lose that, and so while
again putting down his fork in what he regarded as the
orthodox fashion, he remained on guard with his knife.
When again a servant attempted to remove his plate, the
guest, now become irate (and who may be supposed to have
consumed more champagne than food), startled the as
sembled guests by exclaiming in a loud voice, " Ah, you
would, would you ? If you do I'll cut your b  fingers
off! " at the same time holding up his knife as though quite
ready to carry out his threat.
A boy was born to us in February, 1879, at Government
House, Nasova, which lived only a few weeks and was
buried on the hill-spur which divides the valleys of Nasova
and Draimba. This time of serious anxiety and another
similar occasion during my second administration of the
government of Fiji, recalls in grateful remembrance the
extraordinarily considerate conduct of the Native Armed
Constabulary. Though nearly a hundred men of this force1
were quartered within a stone's-throw of our house at
Nasova, they for the whole of the two months during
which on each occasion my wife was in a more or less pre
carious condition, preserved a remarkable silence. Scarcely
a sound came from their quarters, whence ordinarily during
hours of leisure proceeded much shouting and other
evidence of noisy gaiety. Even laughter utterly ceased,
1 Some of this force were recently in London for attendance on the occa
sion of His Majesty's Coronation.

AN APPALLING TELEGRAM 381
and their talk must have been entirely in whispers. I
question whether any other force in the world would for so
long a time have preserved a similarly considerate restraint.
In connection with this child's birth, I find from a letter
of Lord Stanmore's written at this time, that a curious
mistake was made in transmitting the news to England.
After congratulating us on the event, he expresses the hope
that the telegram announcing it was not literally accurate.
"Its appalling announcement," he wrote, "was 'nine boys
born on such a day.' "

CHAPTER V
Death of Tui Thakau— I attend his funeral — A unique law — " The Uniform
Date Ordinance" — 180th meridian: misapprehensions on the subject —
Arrival of Leonidas infected with small-pox and cholera — Difficulties
of guarding against infection— How surmounted — A risky shot— Loyal
assistance of natives — Measures for promoting vaccination and their suc
cess — Pass indemnity law — General approval of measures by Secretary of
State — Law for preservation of beche-de-mer and its necessity — Appearance
of coffee-leaf disease — Measures in consequence — I refrain from destroying
infected plantation — My reasons approved by Kew authorities— Intemperate
act of Maafu ; a disagreeable difficulty and its happy solution — Torumah
desires annexation to Fiji — Depute Commander Bower to proceed thither —
His report — Long swims by the Fijians — Act of extraordinary heroism ;
Her Majesty desires copy of my report upon it — Leavetaking by chiefs ;
their tribute to my wife— Touching speech by Thakombau— Sir Arthur
Gordon's return — His generous appreciation of my work — Leave Fiji.
ONE day in March, 1879, I learnt by special mes
senger that Tui Thakau (the Roko of the province
which included the island of Taviuni and, after Cakombau
and Maafu, the most important chief of Fiji) was dead, and
that the funeral was postponed in order that I, as Supreme
Chief, might be present at it. This was the first death of a
high chief since the organisation of the new colony of Fiji,
and recognising the importance from the native point of view
of celebrating the obsequies with all possible honour, I waited
for the assistance of a ship-of-war. There was no difficulty
about this on the score of delay. For in that climate it is
quite as difficult to preserve a body two days as for any
longer period, and as according to native custom weeks
have to be passed in due preparation for the burial of a
high chief, deceased is usually covered with lime a few
hours after death.
I proceeded to Taviuni in H.M.S. Cormorant, taking with
me the Vunivalu (Cakombau), his eldest son, Ratu Epeli,
382

FUNERAL OF TUI THAKAU 3»3
Roko Tui of the eastern province of Viti Levu, and Mr.
Thurston, Colonial Secretary. The funeral took place on
the 25th. I followed as a mourner, as also did Thakombau
and other high chiefs, and the ship's company of the Cor
morant accorded naval honours. I remember being much
struck by the solemn demeanour of the large concourse of
natives who attended the ceremony. If they did not deeply
regret the death of the chief, as I believe they did, their
sorrow was at least wonderfully feigned. In any case the
majority were probably apprehensive of the consequences
which might ensue from the chiefs death, and were
anxious about the appointment of his successor. For this,
being made by the new Government, would emphasise to
them more than ever before the change which had come
over the country.
In making the necessary choice I was somewhat em
barrassed. Mr. Thurston, who was under considerable
obligations to Tui Thakau's family in respect of circum
stances which occurred previous to the cession, strongly
urged the immediate appointment of Ratu Lala, his eldest
son. Though no other head of the province was so likely
to be generally accepted, I felt that any permanent appoint
ment was of much more importance to Sir Arthur Gordon
than to myself, and that as he was expected within a few
weeks, I was not justified in anticipating his choice, and
this more especially as I had doubts, which subsequent
events during my second administration proved to be justi
fied, whether the young chief, who was being educated in
Sydney, and had naturally become Europeanised in his
habits, should not have a certain probationary training for a
very un-European position, before being entrusted with its
functions. Consequently, I was glad to find that for at
least one, if not both of these reasons, Mr. Wilkinson, the
Commissioner for Native Affairs, was inclined to a temporary
measure, by which several of the most influential chiefs of
the province would together undertake the functions of
Roko, pending a permanent appointment by Sir Arthur

384 FIJI
Gordon. When this idea was suggested to the Vunivalu,
he strongly approved of it, and I accordingly determined
to adopt it. I was glad also to hear afterwards that the
honour paid to the chief's remains had had a very useful
effect throughout the group.
In April or May, 1879, my attention was drawn to the
inconvenient consequences which might ensue, as the colony
became more populous, from the fact that the meridian of
1800 passes through the group. As it actually traverses
Taviuni, the island which, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu,
is next in point of area and importance, it would be pos
sible, given observations of sufficiently exact accuracy, for
a man to stand there with one leg in Monday and the other
in Tuesday nearly at the same hour! And even in the
absence of this unattainable precision, he could, within the
compass of a very short walk, pass from what is certainly
Monday to what is with equal certainty Tuesday, or vice
versd. Doubts might thus be easily raised as to the date on
which any event had taken place, such as the commission
of a crime, or the signature of a promissory note, and an
opening would be given for fraud and legal complications.
To obviate this inconvenience, I drafted with some difficulty
and passed into law an ordinance which is of a sufficiently
singular character to deserve insertion here, together with
my message to the Legislature explaining it.1
1 The Ordinance ran in this wise : —
Fiji.] AN ORDINANCE. [No. XIV., 1879.
(Enacted by the Governor of the Colony of Fiji, with the advice and con
sent of the Legislative Council thereof. )
TO PROVIDE FOR AN UNIFORM DATE THROUGHOUT THE COLONY.
(L.S.) G. W. Des Vceux.
Whereas according to the ordinary rule of noting time any given time
would in that part of the Colony lying to the east of the meridian of 180 degrees
from Greenwich be noted as of a day of the week and month
"am C' different from the day by which the same time would be noted in
the part of the Colony lying to the west of such meridian :
And whereas by custom the ordinary rule has been set aside and time has
been noted throughout the Colony as though the whole were situate to the
west of such meridian :

MERIDIAN OF 1800 385
MESSAGE TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
"G. William Des Voiux.
" The Lieutenant-Governor administering the government has
directed to be laid on the table an Ordinance of which the short
title is 'The Uniform Date Ordinance, 1879.'
"The Colony of Fiji being crossed by the meridian of 180°,
reckoned from the meridian of Greenwich, that part of it lying
to the west of this line, is, according to the ordinary rule of
noting time, nearly twenty-four hours in advance of that lying to
the east — so that, for instance, when at the town of Vuna, in the
island of Taviuni, it was noon on the first day of January, 1879,
it was, properly speaking, only a few seconds after noon of the
31st December, 1878, at Nai-sele-sele, situate only a few miles
distant in the same island.
" The custom which has obviated this inconvenience by adopt
ing for the whole Colony the date which, according to the ordinary
rule, is correct only in the western portion, has besides uniformity,
the additional advantage that the date in question is the correct
date in all the other Australian Colonies, and is in use even in
islands lying to the eastward, where communications are principally
with those Colonies.
" The Ordinance in question, by legalising this custom, will
remove all doubts on the subject for the future, doubts which, as
the affairs of the Colony increase in number and importance,
might otherwise be productive of much inconvenience.
" By His Excellency's Command,
"John B. Thurston,
"Nasova, lgth February, 1879." " Colonial Secretary.
And whereas in order to preclude uncertainty for the future it is expedient
that the above custom should be legalised :
Be it therefore enacted by the Governor with the advice and consent of the
Legislative Council as follows : —
Time_ I. Time in this Colony shall be noted as if the whole Colony
how were situate to the west of the meridian of 180 degrees from
calculated. „ . ,
Greenwich.
(Exempli gratia. — To-day, which according to the ordinary rule for noting
time is on the island of Ovalau the fifth day of June and on the Island of
Vanua Balavu the fourth day of June, would by this Ordinance be deemed to
be the fifth day of June, 1879, in the whole Colony.)
c. _. , II. This Ordinance may be cited as the Uniform Date
Short Title. . '
Ordinance, 1879.
Passed in Council this fifth day of June in the year of Our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.
I. — 2 C

386 FIJI
This law may well be cited as unique. Except, perhaps,
some coral atoll in the Pacific, the meridian of 1800 passes
over no other land but Taviuni in Fiji and the extreme end
of Asiatic Russia, some hundreds of miles east of Kam
schatka. Yet such a law may be required in the Chatham
Islands, which though situated some five hundred miles
from New Zealand, form part of that colony. Though the
180th meridian does not pass over them it lies between
them and the principal islands, so that they are in the
western hemisphere, while New Zealand proper is in the
eastern. Should these islands continue subject to the
courts of justice of the main colony, it is possible a case
may some day occur which will necessitate a similar law in
New Zealand.
With respect to the change of date caused by crossing
the 180th meridian, before my first voyage across the Pacific
I was ignorant on the subject, as I believe still are the great
majority of Englishmen. The dropping of a day from the
week, or the adding one to it, according as the voyage is
westward or eastward, naturally occasions curiosity as to
the cause of this anomaly. The average brain does not,
I still find, grasp the situation easily, and in each of my
several voyages across the Pacific, I have been rendered
weary by demands from many quarters for explanations,
which sometimes had to be reiterated again and again to
the same person before the dawn of comprehension.
Confusion of mind on this subject is not, however, con
fined to ordinary steamboat passengers. When reading in
Fiji in this same year 1879, a well-known book of travel, I
was surprised to find the following in the description of a
yacht-voyage from Hawaii to Yokohama : —
"Thursday, January nth, had no existence for us, as in cross
ing the 1 80th parallel of latitude (sic) we have lost a day. Friday,
January 12th. Wednesday morning with us was Tuesday even
ing with people in England, and we are now twelve hours in
advance of them. To-day the order of things is reversed, and we
are now twelve hours behind our friends at home."

ARRIVAL OF INFECTED SHIP 387
Apart from what may be regarded as a slip of the pen,
viz. the mention of " latitude " instead of longitude, there
are here two serious errors, which I leave the reader to
detect for himself.
While on the subject of this change of date, I may men
tion that when in 1883, during my second administration
of Fiji, in discharge of the functions of High Commis
sioner, I paid a visit to Samoa in H.M.S. Diamond, there
was in harbour an American ship-of-war which was keeping
as Sunday the same day as that which we were regarding
as Monday, our Sunday having been kept the day before.
The Americans were in fact right and we were wrong, but
the Diamond having only within a few days entered into
west longitude, and it being our intention to return im
mediately, it was naturally not deemed desirable to alter
the day twice within one week, and this especially as Samoa,
though east of 1800, having been first settled from Australia
and New Zealand, had adopted the day of those colonies.
In May, 1879, occurred an event which caused to me
some weeks of intense anxiety. To satisfy the planters'
demands for labour, Governor Gordon had arranged with
the Indian Government for the introduction of coolies from
Hindostan. The first ship chartered for this purpose, with
480 immigrants on board, arrived off the Port of Levuka
on the 14th of the above month. Having failed to enter
the harbour that evening, early next morning Mr. Thurston,
the Colonial Secretary (whose early training made him
specially expert in nautical matters), observed her getting
into a dangerous position, and went off in an open boat
outside the reef for the purpose of saving her from immi
nent loss. On approaching the ship someone on board
called out that both cholera and small-pox were, or had
been, among the passengers. Such news was, indeed,
alarming. Less than five years before measles, introduced
by a ship-of-war from Sydney, had caused the death of
more than 40,000 natives out of a total population of about
160,000. If these more virulent diseases were to be per-

388 FIJI
mitted a foothold, it was probable that the people would be
all but extinguished. And yet how could we with the means
at our disposal prevent such a result ? To make the situa
tion clear, I will quote passages from my despatch to the
Secretary of State on the subject (which was printed in a
Parliamentary Blue Book), dated 7th September, 1880.
" After carefully considering a number of possible alternatives,
I determined, with the full concurrence of Dr. MacGregor,1 that
the vessel should be brought within the barrier reef, and be
anchored near it in that portion of the harbour which, with refer
ence to the prevailing wind, is to the leeward of the town. Had
we had at command, or deemed it possible to obtain, a sufficient
number of police or other officers or persons upon whom reliance
could be placed for guarding the vessel efficiently, I should have
much preferred an anchorage near some uninhabited or less popu
lous part of the Colony. But after considering the 'personnel'
at my disposal, the unanimous opinion of my advisers was to the
effect that the course chosen was the least dangerous, and afforded
the only reasonable hope of preventing the escape of infection.
To bring the vessel to some anchorage was necessary for various
reasons. The stores, judging from the number of days occupied
in the voyage, were nearly exhausted, and to place on board what
would be required, even for a short cruise, would have been ex
tremely difficult, if not impossible, in the open sea. At any rate,
as the consignee had no powers, the master would not have
proceeded again to sea without negotiations on the subject of
charter, insurance, etc., which would occupy time and afford oppor
tunities for dangerous communication. Had it been possible to
ensure that the vessel, if prevented from entering the harbour,
would leave the group altogether without touching anywhere, or
receiving any visits from natives or others, it might have become
a question whether she should not be sent away, even at imminent
risk to 500 lives, rather than 100,000 lives should be subjected
to a risk scarcely less grave. But having no man-of-war at hand,
or other means of prevention, it would be almost certain that the
ship, if sent away, would put in at one of the many islands lying
in any course which could be taken for leaving the Colony, and
in that case, while the 500 would perhaps have been sacrificed,
1 The chief medical officer.

MEASURES AGAINST INFECTION 389
the 100,000 would have been in still greater jeopardy. Moreover,
the risk from cholera appeared to be slight, and as our stock of
lymph, though small, was not exhausted, there was a reasonable
hope of being able to utilise the panic that was certain to ensue,
for the purpose of vaccination, and thus affording protection from
small-pox before the disease could make much progress.
"Accordingly the Leonidas was brought within the reef; but
an accident at once occurred, which for the time seemed likely to
render the danger of infection far more imminent. From some
cause, which I have as yet had no opportunity of ascertaining,
the ship passed the appointed station and went aground upon the
reef. There followed, as may be imagined, a period of intense
anxiety to those on shore, who, like myself, were able to appre
ciate the gravity of the situation. If the ship could not be moved,
it would probably, as being constructed of iron, in no long time
go to pieces, and to prevent contact with some of the 500 persons
on board would under such circumstances be impossible. But
fortunately the tide was rising, and in about two hours, just as
high water was reached, I had the satisfaction of seeing the ship
float and shortly afterwards come to anchor."
The means adopted for guarding the ship and also for
communicating with it and for supplying it with necessaries
in such a manner as to avert danger from infection — the
product of Dr. MacGregor's ingenuity — was as follows.
A platform on trestles, resting on the reef at low water,
permitted of articles required for the ship being placed on
it ; and being washed by each rising tide, was thus cleared
of possible infection.
To guard the ship effectively was much more difficult,
and the more important inasmuch as the authorities on
board, and even the ship's doctor, did not appear to appre
ciate the necessity for strictness of quarantine.
"A large schooner was provided and moored between the
Leonidas and the shore, this being intended to serve for the
main guard and as quarters for the men employed as guards when
off duty. Three other boats, each to contain three men, were
stationed at different points, in such a position that a line drawn
through them and the schooner would describe the half of a circle,

39° FIJI
with a radius of about 350 yards, having the reef for a diameter
and the Leonidas close to the centre. The necessary men were
obtained by drafting all that could be spared from the armed con
stabulary and the police, and they were provided with rifles for
the purpose of firing on anyone who, after warning, might attempt
to break the quarantine.
"Two Europeans were employed, and provided with the neces
sary boats and crews for the purpose of securing frequent and
regular visits to the guards by night and day; and in order to
impress the men with the importance of the duty with which they
were charged, I visited and addressed them on several occasions
myself." When on one occasion making a visit at night I found a
man asleep, I deemed it necessary to cause him to be sum
marily flogged, strong measures being absolutely necessary
where many thousand lives might very easily be lost by
such carelessness. My despatch continues,: —
" I wished to place guards on the ship itself, but there were no
trustworthy Europeans available ; while natives, besides being in
any case useless for such a purpose, would almost certainly have
died of fright.
" The greatest difficulty of all had yet to be solved, viz. how
safely to dispose of the coolies on board so as to get rid of the
ship without incurring demurrage, which the scanty funds in the
Treasury would be but ill able to pay. After much consideration
I determined to have the coolies carried to Yanucu Lailai, a small
island off the coast of Ovalau, at a distance of some ten miles
from Levuka, and within its barrier reef. This island had been
intended to be used for a coolie depot, and in anticipation of the
arrival of the ship, houses had, by my order, been built upon it
sufficient to lodge 350 men. But the number of coolies on board
being in excess of this number, additional accommodation for 150
people had to be at once provided. With this object I put into
force my powers as Supreme Chief, and levied all the male native
population of the island of Ovalau and the neighbouring island
of Moturiki. My summons was obeyed with alacrity, and though
it was only issued on the 18th May, by the 20th of the same
month 700 men were collected on the spot, the necessary food
for them being forwarded from Levuka. The next day I went

A RISKY SHOT 391
down to Vanuca Lailai for the purpose of selecting the guard
stations and making other necessary arrangements. I found the
natives working with extraordinary activity, preparations for the
commencement of building being already in a forward state. It
was arranged that each house should be entrusted to a separate
town, and the emulation thus excited proved to be so effective a
stimulus to exertion that in three more days the whole of the
houses were completed; while the guard stations, consisting of
raised platforms on the reef and houses upon the extremities of
Ovalau and Yanuca Levu, on either side of Yanuca Lailai, were
in a forward state.
" In the course of a very few days all preparations were made
for the reception of the coolies, and then we had to face what was
perhaps the greatest difficulty of all — that of carrying them to the
island. It was impracticable to move the Leonidas to Yanuca
Lailai, so that guards would be required for the island in addition
to those for the ship, which, as we gathered from the temper shown
by the white men on board, would have to be watched with equal
vigilance after the Indians had been removed. Moreover, it was
necessary to station, guards armed with rifles along the whole
coast of Ovalau, between the ship and the island, to prevent con
tact between the boats carrying the coolies either with other boats
or with the shore. Having no men available for the purpose, I
called upon Ratu Epeli, the eldest son of Thakombau, to furnish
them, he being Roko Tui of Tai Levu, the nearest province of
the large island of Viti Levu. He responded loyally, and on the
27th May all was ready for the transport of the coolies, together
with the stores required for them, and the cargo of the ship."
This proved a very tedious operation. Oars only being
available for a course of nearly twenty miles, the boats
could make only one trip each day. As every load of
coolies was of necessity accompanied by a guard boat
carrying one of my very few white officers, the process of
transport was trying to us all. Up to the third day the
process of transfer continued without serious interruption,
when an event occurred which threatened to defeat all our
precautions. On my usual afternoon trip to Yanuca I had
gone half-way when I heard the sound of firing and loud
shouts. With the aid of a binocular I quickly saw what

392 FIJI
was the matter. The sailors of one of the emptied boats
were amusing themselves by rowing into the guard-boat,
which was bringing away from Yanuca not only the officer
in charge of it, but two others who had been superintending
the work there. If the infected boat were to come into
contact with it, I should be obliged to put into quarantine
all on board, and by thus losing the services of three of my
best officers I should probably have found it impossible to
continue successfully the fight against the inroad of infec
tion. With only about fifteen yards of space separating '
the two boats, the sailors still gaining rapidly, instant
action was required to save the situation. Stopping my
boat, and ordering it to be steadied with the oars, I took
a rifle from the stroke oar, and at a distance of some six
hundred yards fired at the bow of the offending boat.
The thought darted through my mind : ' If I have killed
a man I shall be liable on going home to be tried for
murder.' It was an anxious moment, but relief came
quickly. The shot struck the water, slightly short, but
sufficiently near to frighten the crew, who at once drop
ped their oars.
In two or three days the whole of the coolies were trans
ferred to their destination on Yanuca, together with the
ship's doctor, whom I induced to go into quarantine with
them. The captain of the Leonidas still caused trouble by
threats of breaking quarantine, of which he was unable to
see the necessity. But happily he was at length appeased,
and to my intense relief the ship soon left for San Francisco.
No further cases of small-pox or cholera occurred on
Yanuca, and when the last patient had been some weeks
convalescent, the imprisoned people were at length released.
During the whole of this anxious period I was taking
measures to counteract the effects of possible infection.
The Roko Tuis of the different provinces were ordered to
send trustworthy men to Levuka to be instructed in vaccina
tion, the object being to vaccinate from many centres at
once. By the time these men arrived and had been duly

BILL OF INDEMNITY 393
taught, the Australian and New Zealand Governments,
which had been requisitioned for the purpose, had largely
added to our supplies of lymph ; and so readily did the
people accept this safeguard, the necessity and usefulness
of which I had strongly impressed on the chiefs at the Bua
meeting, that in about three months some sixty thousand
people had been thus protected. As evidence of the blind
faith which the people had come to place in the Govern
ment, I heard afterwards — and the news as much touched
as amused me — that when the supply of lymph failed, some
whole villages had excoriated their arms, in the belief that
to suffer that part of the enjoined process was better than
to do nothing !
When I knew that the Leonidas had not only gone out
of harbour, but had really left the group without touching
at any of the out islands, we all experienced a relief im
possible to describe, and, for the first time for several weeks,
were able to obtain a proper night's rest. For, what with
the necessity of frequent supervision of the guards to en
sure alertness, the continuous arrival of people from differ
ent parts of the colony with messages requiring immediate
attention, the anxiety caused by hearing the report of fire
arms which had been entrusted to men who, while they
knew how to fire, had but a faint perception of accurate aim
— anything like continuous sleep had been impossible. The
fatigue I suffered on this account was, I know, experienced
in even greater degree by Dr. MacGregor, upon whom fell
the principal work, which, I may say, could not have been
more admirably performed.
When this exciting episode in our life came to an end, I
brought a Bill into Council, not only to indemnify the
officers of the Government for the breaches of law involved
in the strong measures which the occasion had demanded,
but to protect future Governors from the heavy responsibility
I had been obliged to undertake without sanction of law.
Among the various ordinances passed by me through the
Legislative Council in the year 1878-9, and approved by

394 FIJI
the Secretary of State, was one devised to meet one of those
difficulties apt to arise suddenly in a colony such as Fiji,
which, if not promptly dealt with, have dangerous conse
quences. The ordinance in question was one "For the
Preservation of Beche-de-mer," a title by no means convey
ing the serious import which attached to the subject. The
circumstances which rendered this law necessary, together-
with its object, were set forth in my despatch to the
Secretary of State, dated in July, 1879.
Beche-de-mer, a species of sea-worm, is much prized by
the Chinese as food, and, indeed, as I know from personal
experience at the Melbourne Club, can be converted, by an
accomplished chef, into a soup quite equal to turtle. It is
thus a valuable article of commerce, and a considerable
quantity of it was already being exported from the colony.
The coral reefs where these worms are found were re
garded by the natives as their own, each particular one
being held by a province, island, or town, with as distinct a
notion of proprietorship as in the case of land uncovered by
water. They thus resented the intrusion of whites, who
were beginning to occupy themselves in the beche-de-mer
fishing, and who, unlike themselves, took small and large
alike, thereby threatening the extermination of this source
of profit
To remedy the denudation thus caused, the chiefs of
certain provinces had placed a " tabu " on their reefs for
some time previously, but when they had thus repaired the
injury, whites again appeared, and began to deprive them
of the results of their own self-denial.
The irritation occasioned by this proceeding in the pro
vince of Ba was so intense that, but for the forcible inter
position of the Roko (who sent back to their provinces the
natives employed by the white vessel-owner), it would have
resulted in bloodshed— the chief having shown on this
occasion a self-control under specially aggravating circum
stances, almost as remarkable as his bravery elsewhere
referred to.

INVASION OF COFFEE-LEAF DISEASE 395
In another case, to avoid a like danger, the European
magistrate felt it necessary to seize the " white " vessel and
send it to Levuka. The action of both of these officers
was from an executive point of view amply excusable ; but
it was no doubt technically illegal, so that the Chief Justice
considered himself justified in awarding heavy damages.
The situation thus threatened to become a serious one, and
though the permanent policy with regard to the reefs was
not a matter to be determined by a locum-tenens, especially
when the Governor was expected back almost immediately,
some immediate action was imperatively necessary. Under
the circumstances I passed without delay through the
Legislature the above ordinance, rendering illegal the
taking of beche-de-mer without licence from the Governor.
Early in July, 1879, it was made known to me that the
terribly destructive coffee-leaf disease had invaded the
colony, having been brought in a Wardian case of plants
imported from Ceylon by the owner of Great Amalgam,
the infected plantation. I recognised at once that the
situation was a grave one. Dr. MacGregor suggested the
immediate destruction of the plantation, but without
pledging myself to adopt that expedient, I lost no time
in bringing a Bill sanctioning it into the Legislative
Council — in case, after full consideration, it should seem
advisable. The Bill was opposed by Mr. Leefe, a planter member
not interested in coffee, on the ground that I had a few
months previously refused to sanction an award to him
of a subsidy for the manufacture of coir-rope, and also
because he was opposed to all protection to industry ! The
Chief Justice also opposed with characteristic vehemence
on the ground of expense, which including compensation
to the proprietor was estimated at £4,000. The cost was
undoubtedly a serious consideration. For our financial
condition was at this time even more than usually
straitened. We were largely in debt to the Bank of
• New Zealand, and while no news had been received from

396 FIJI
home with respect to the loan which had been proposed by
Sir Arthur Gordon, there were persistent rumours in the
colony that it had been found impracticable to raise it.
Yet I should have had no hesitation in incurring the neces
sary expense, but for grave doubts whether the money so
much needed for other purposes would not be thrown away.
There were no other coffee plantations within a hundred
miles of that infected, so that there was no danger of the
infection being spread by the wind ; but if the germs of the
disease were so minute, as Dr. MacGregor's report repre
sented them to be, that they could, in dangerous quantity,
and yet invisible to the naked eye, be carried away in
clothing, the many visitors to the plantation in the several
months during which the disease must have been present,
had in all probability by that time disseminated it over all
the colony. And so, after passing the Bill, I determined to
delay acting upon it until the arrival of Sir Arthur Gordon
in the course of a few days.
On Sir Arthur's arrival, which was unexpectedly de
layed, he regretted my decision, this being the only excep
tion from his general approval of my administration. The
event, however, went far to render it probable that I was
right. The authorities at Kew were of opinion that the
disease, having been some months in the colony, could not
have been suppressed at the time the report was made to
me. In confirmation of this view it may be mentioned
that shortly after my departure the disease was discovered
on plantations situate on islands more than one hundred
miles from the Great Amalgam, probably carried thither at
least some weeks previously. The sequel of this episode
was that Sir Arthur Gordon adopted a treatment of the
infected coffee trees on the Great Amalgam which cost
the colony some ^2,5oo.1 This attempt at prevention,
1 This sum included the compensation which, by a judgment of Chief
Justice B. during my second administration of the colony, was awarded to the
proprietor, who had introduced the disease, in respect of the unsuccessful ex
periment upon his plantation, and who would in any case have lost all benefit
from the trees upon it.

AN IMPETUOUS CHIEF 397
however, proved ineffectual, and the disease spread all over
the colony.
Still, I question whether the disease was not after all
a blessing in disguise, as saving many large sums which
would have been uselessly expended in coffee plantations.
For the luxuriant growth of the coffee plant, and the
abundance of its fruit in Fiji, had already caused many
to contemplate the establishment of plantations, and, but
for the inroad of the disease, their projects would in all
probability have been carried into execution. In such
case I have little doubt there would, even in the absence
of the disease, have been general failure from causes
similar to those which produced the unprofitableness of
cotton, viz. insufficient command of cheap labour. For,
unless all my reading on the subject has misled me, the
amount of labour required on a coffee plantation is by
no means uniform all the year round, and requires a large
accession at the time of " picking." But such an accession
in a great part of Fiji is unobtainable, or obtainable no
where with certainty, while indentured labourers in suf
ficient number for the busiest season could not be other
wise than unprofitable, as there would be no employment
for many of them during several months of the year. I
even doubt whether, in any case, Fiji coffee, as being
grown at a lower elevation than the best product of
Jamaica, Ceylon, and Java, would be of a quality capable
of bearing the cost of imported coolies.
Shortly before Sir Arthur Gordon's return in September,
1879, there occurred a disagreeable incident which might
easily have had serious consequences. Maafu, the Roko
Tui Lau, being in Levuka, having seen one of his people,
as he considered, ill-treated in the gaol, and having lost
his temper while remonstrating with the gaoler, forcibly
removed the man from custody. This was, of course, a
serious breach of the law which could not be overlooked ;
and yet the public punishment of such an offence would
so humilitate one of the most powerful chiefs as to seriously

398 FIJI
injure his prestige with his people, and would thus not im
probably render him disaffected. Fortunately, my rela
tions with him had been of a very cordial character, and
gave me grounds for hoping that a private interview might
have a good result. I therefore sent Mr. Le Hunte1 to
bring him to me. Le Hunte, who was at the time acting
as my private secretary, was fortunately intimate with him,
being one of those rare Europeans who in talking with
natives can avoid patronage and condescension, and are
possessed of a sufficiently sensitive delicacy to permit of
intercourse with them without making them feel their in
feriority. Le Hunte met Maafu on his way to see me
with his rescued prisoner, which showed that however
wrong-headed the act, it was not done out of deliberate
contumacy. I found that the difficulty of dealing with the matter
was increased by the fact that the rescued prisoner had
really been treated with undue harshness, so that the loss
of temper on the part of his chief who witnessed it was
not without excuse. However, after listening patiently
to Maafu's story, which I interrupted only by one or
two questions, I was glad to observe that he was already
much cooled down when I began to express my view of
the matter. I, of course, told him that however bad might
have been the act of the gaoler, his own was worse. He
had committed a serious offence, to overlook which would
seriously compromise the reputation of the Government
for impartiality. I pointed out to him that everyone,
from the Queen to the humblest of her subjects, was
subject to law, and I was fortunate in being able to illus
trate this by what had recently occurred to myself. For
only a few weeks before I, Her Majesty's representative,
had had to pay a fine in respect of one of the animals
belonging to Government House — I forget whether it was
a pony or a cow — which had been caught trespassing
and taken to the pound! This information evidently
1 Now Administrator of New Guinea.

ROTUMAH: OFFER OF CESSION 399
astonished him greatly, accustomed as he had been to a
condition of things in which chiefs were above the law,
and I had no longer any great difficulty in persuading
him to go before the magistrate and submit to any punish
ment which might be awarded for his offence. In order,
however, to save his dignity as far as possible, I arranged
that his case should be tried as soon as the court opened
next morning, when there would be little or no public
attendance, he at the same time undertaking to plead
guilty. He appeared at the time appointed, the magis
trate fined him £10, and thus the matter was happily
settled. So far from being rendered disaffected by the
occurrence, Maafu, when he saw me afterwards, showed
clearly that his respect for British justice had increased ;
and no one joined more heartily than he in the demonstra
tion of regard to my wife which was made by the chiefs a
few days afterwards.
In August, 1879, I received a communication from the
head chief of the island of Rotumah, expressing a desire
to be under the same Government as Fiji, and requesting
me to send him advice in view of the fact that war was
about to break out. Rotumah, since annexed to Fiji, is
over 250 miles north of any islands properly belonging to
that group. It is of small area, scarcely exceeding fifteen
square miles. Its inhabitants, then numbering about 3,000,
though much resembling in appearance others of the
light-coloured Polynesian races, seem to be nevertheless of
different origin. For while the languages of the peoples
of Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, and eveH.of the New Zealand
Maoris have evidently been originally the same, though
the first and last of these places are some 3,000 miles apart,
yet the language of Rotumah, with the exception of some
Polynesian words, is of a totally different character. Cap
tain Dawson, R.N., on whose ship I was carried to the
island in 1881, and who had recently come from Japan,
was struck with the likeness in sound between Rotu-
man and Japanese; and though my visits to Japan were

400 FIJI
too widely separated in time from my last hearing of
Rotuman to be able to confirm his impression, I note it as
worthy of being the subject of future inquiry. It is, in
any case, curious that the people of a little lonely island
in the Pacific should be so different in language and other
respects from any of their nearest neighbours ; and it seems
at least possible that at some distant period a Japanese
vessel, perhaps one of those which formerly traded to
Siam, had drifted far out of its course and was eventually
wrecked upon Rotumah. On such a small population a
very insignificant number of a superior race would have
great effect, and perhaps the Rotuman language, whatever
it may originally have been, was thus largely modified.
But whatever the origin of the people, they were certainly
possessed of a higher average of intelligence than any other
people of the Western Pacific with whom I came in contact.
They were specially distinguished as sailors, and were thus
able to command upon Australian vessels the same wages
as white men. As many of the able-bodied earned large
sums in this way, and the island produced all that is neces
sary for native consumption, while the government of the
chiefs (each of whom with one exception, the Sau, was rather
primus inter pares than of a different order) was a very mild
one, the people might have remained in peace and reason
able . happiness but for the curse of religious differences.
Though all had been converted to Christianity, about two-
thirds had become Wesleyan and one-third Roman Catholic.
As the votaries of each faith had, as usual, been taught to
regard those ofthe other with pity and contempt, it is not
surprising that on one or more previous occasions hostilities
had broken out between them, though, as far as I could
learn, without any decisive result. It would almost seem
that the authorities of the Wesleyan Mission in Fiji looked
upon this warfare at least with complacency, as likely to
end in the extermination of the Catholics. For when shortly
before my arrival in the Pacific Sir Arthur Gordon had re
quested them to permit his charter of the mission vessel

FIJIAN COURAGE 401
with the object of putting an end to the fighting, they
declined with what appeared a very inadequate excuse.
My reply to the Rotuman chief on this occasion was to
the effect that I would report his wishes for the Queen's
consideration, but I was unable to say whether Her Majesty
would gratify them. With regard, however, to the request
for advice, I took this course. Lieutenant (now Sir Graham)
Bower happened to be in Levuka harbour in command
of H.M. schooner Conflict. He was bound for the New
Hebrides, but at my request consented to diverge from his
course for the purpose of a visit to Rotumah. He under
took also to make inquiries into the condition of the island
as regards the desirability of annexation, and, above all, to
do his best to prevent war, at least, until the receipt of
H.M.'s decision.
This commission Lieutenant Bower fulfilled admirably.
He succeeded in obtaining promises of peace until the re
ceipt of news respecting the fate of the petition for annexa
tion, and his report, in so far as I remember it, was an
excellent one, giving indication of the ability which after
wards caused the appointment of its author to a high civil
position. The subject of Rotumah is further dealt with in
the account of my second administration of Fiji.
I have mentioned above that the warfare of Fiji in its
cannibal days was, as far as I could learn, principally of the
cowardly character which characterises that of most savages.
I attribute this, however, to the fact that as great credit
attached to the destruction of an enemy by stealth and
cunning, as by fighting on equal terms. For several in
stances occurred during my life in the South Seas which
showed that Fijians could, when the occasion arose, do acts
of extraordinary courage. During my first administration
of Fiji, it was my agreeable duty to present to Roko Tui Ba,
one of the high chiefs, a sword sent for him by order of the
Secretary of State as Her Majesty's recognition of an act
which could hardly have been surpassed in bravery by any
of those which have earned the Victoria Cross. During
1. — 2 D

4°2 FIJI
the expedition undertaken in 1877 against the Viti Levu
mountaineers, a native house, containing several barrels of
gunpowder, caught fire. The loss of the ammunition to the
Government force would have caused much inconvenience,
while the explosion which seemed imminent would probably
have proved fatal to many of the soldiers engaged in ex
tinguishing the fire. Whereupon the chief in question coolly
entered the building, though it was blazing all round, and
kicked out the dangerous barrels. I was told by a spectator
that these were too hot to be touched, and it was a miracle
that the man and the building were not blown to atoms.
Again in 1879 there occurred an instance of heroism on
the part of a woman which showed not only high courage
sustained through two days and nights, but wonderful
presence of mind at a critical juncture when it might be
supposed that, after so long a struggle against imminent
danger, further power of resistance would have succumbed
to physical fatigue. The case was so remarkable a one that
I described it in a despatch to the Secretary of State, which
interested her late Majesty so much that she requested a
copy to be sent to her for her private use.
What probably interested Her Majesty most was a
translation of the account given of their experiences by
Aisea and Namalai and Mereani (man and wife), the
heroine and hero of the occurrence.
"We left in a canoe in the month of May to attend a Solevn (feast) at
Totoya. There were twenty-three of us on board.
" We started from Susuii, Lomaloma, and put in at Nayau, remaining there
two Sundays, ' leaving again on the Monday for Vanua Vatu, where we
remained three days.
"On Friday morning of the same week we set sail, with a northerly wind
which carried us east of Navatu Reef, passing quite close to an island called
Taranasici, from which, just at dusk the same evening, we sighted the island
of Rabara, when the wind died away.
"We sculled the canoe during the night until a southerly wind sprang up,
when we kept the canoe head to wind until morning. Joni (captain) then
proposed that we should make sail again, and Saimone, one of the crew,
removed the ' totoko,' 1 which allowed the yards to swing inboard, causing the
outrigger, which was thus over-weighted, to sink.
1 A pole used for booming out the yards and sail.

MARVELLOUS ADVENTURE 403
" The canoe then filled and turned over. While she was under water we
got on it, adjusted our clothes and prayed, after which we dismantled the
canoe of her gear to enable her to float better and endeavoured to turn her
over, but did not succeed.
"The captain of the canoe then told us to abandon her and swim, but to
keep together. We did so, leaving the canoe about eight or nine a.m.
(Saturday), taking the mast, sculls, poles, and other things belonging to the
canoe to help us in swimming.
"We swam together all day until evening, when it came on to rain with
thunder and lightning. My wife and myself got separated from the others
during the night and we never saw them again, whether because we swam
faster or went in a different direction we cannot tell, but are inclined to think
we swam faster than the others, as a great number were clinging to the mast
and could not make so much headway as we did.
"My wife and I had with us one canoe scull and a medium-sized cedar box,
which contained our clothing and some Government despatches.
' ' After swimming for some time my wife got sleepy, and I then took her by
the hands and swam with her for some time, and then when she awoke we
continued our course again, swimming side by side.
"I then got sleepy, and my wife took me by the arm and kept me afloat
until I got over my sleepiness, when we both swam on, changing and taking
turn and turn with the box and the scull, for the box affording a better sup
port than the scull, the one who had the latter became tired in the course of
time. ' ' This was our first night in the water away from the canoe.
' ' Next morning, Sunday, we were still swimming and continued so up till
midday ; at this time my wife saw an old (ripe) cocoanut drifting ; we picked
it up, I husked it with my teeth, and we ate it.
" We kept on swimming until evening at which time we sighted Totoya,
but could distinguish no break in the reef and continued swimming till mid
night. "When we got abreast ofthe passage (this passage is on the north-east side
of the island) a shark came up and passed close to my wife, touching her on
the breast. She let go the box and clung to my neck. The shark swam away,
but soon returned, and this time it caught hold of my foot. I then said to my
wife, 'A shark has bitten me.' I, however, managed to frighten it away with
the scull, but it soon returned again and caught hold of my wife's cloth (sulu)
and after a short struggle succeeded in tearing it away from her and swam
away with it. Probably the cloth got over its head or else entangled in between
its teeth, for it never returned.
"I felt so weak from the effects of the bite of the shark that I grew faint
and almost went down, when my wife let go the scull to which she was cling
ing and assisted me on to the box to rest myself, whilst she made an effort to
get us both towards shore, which we reached during the night, but did not land
together nor at the same place.
" We were lifted by a wave by which my wife succeeded in gaining a rocky
ledge on the shore to which she clung.
"I, however, was swept out again by the returning wave and was carried
to some distance from where my wife landed, losing hold of the box, which I

4o4 FIJI
soon afterwards heard striking against the rocks close to me. On hearing this
I knew that I must be near the shore and swam towards it. I landed and
remained where I was until daylight (Monday), when my wife walked along
the point and found me lying down. She raised me up and led me to a small
cave near the point where she landed. She then returned to the spot at which
I reached shore and brought the box to where I was. We opened it, took out
the despatches and clothing and spread them out to dry, after which we laid
down in the cave and slept. During our sleep a man came to the cave and on
seeing the box called out. My wife heard the cry and went out to him. The
man's name was Akuila. He asked her, ' Where have you come from ? ' She
replied, 'We have been wrecked.'
" They both then came into the cave and woke me. After a little conversa
tion we begged him to give us some food. He at once went and got us some
bananas and sugar cane, and cooked the bananas for us.
"We asked him if he would go to his town and get a canoe to take us
there. " He did so, arriving with it that night. We then left for the town (Ketei),
at which place we arrived safely about midnight.
"We then thanked the living God for so sparing us.
"Provincial Office, aoAi August, 1879."
I mentioned in my despatch that Aisea and Mereani,
having come from their home at my request, spent some
days near us at Nasova, that their modesty and ingenuous
ness much impressed us, and together with various cor
roborating circumstances told me by their chief, Maafu,
tended to confirm their story. I forgot to mention, how
ever, that I was chiefly convinced of the truth of what was
primd facie so incredible, by the severe cross-examination
to which I subjected each of these young people when out
of hearing one of the other. The searching questions I
put to them as to unimportant details, about which collusive
invention was practically impossible, received replies which
were in every case so consistent as to dispel all doubt of
their genuineness.
With further reference to the question of credibility, I
quote from my despatch : —
"As regards the distance they swam, and the time they passed
in the water, I find on inquiry that many similar instances are on
record. Several cases have been mentioned to me that have
occurred within recent times, where natives, usually women, have
displayed scarcely less endurance in the water; and I am in-

NATIVE SWIMMING-POWER 405
formed that quite recently a party of women swam from one of
the Yasawa islands (in the western part of the group) to a town
in the province of Ba, on the coast of Viti Levu, a distance of
about thirty miles.
" Moreover, as stated the other day at my table by the Roko
Tui Tai Levu, there is, within the memory of people still living,
another instance of heroism performed under similarly difficult,
and if possible, still more pathetic circumstances, where a woman
upset with her husband between the islands of Bau and Gau, swam
with him until he died from exhaustion, and was at length saved
while supporting his lifeless body.
" Whether the specific gravity of woman is less, or their form
is better adapted for support or movement in the water, their
power of endurance in that element seems to be unquestionably
greater than that of man ; so that when accidents happen such as
that above related, women are more commonly the survivors.
"The possibility of sleeping in the water appears to be well
known, and the finding of the cocoanut was by no means an im
probable circumstance, inasmuch as the shores of the islands to
windward are fringed with innumerable palms of this species, and
the fruit is not infrequently met with far out at sea.
"As regards the carrying off of the woman's 'sulu' by the
shark, the Roko Tui Tai Levu has mentioned to me a case within
his own experience, where a man was saved under almost exactly
similar circumstances. This shark, though strong enough to get
the better of the woman in the struggle, was, as appears from the
shape of the man's wound, evidently a small one ; and no doubt
a fathom square of cotton print would have proved an incon
venience, such as for the time to preclude further pursuit, whether
it covered his eyes, became entangled in his teeth, or even if it
had been swallowed,"
There have been instances in the South Seas of natives
being picked up by passing vessels when swimming out of
sight of land. That which prevents long swims anywhere
but in the tropics is the coldness of the water, whereas the
sea around the Fijian islands is always of a temperature in
the neighbourhood of 80° Fahr.
In reply to my despatch on this subject the Secretary of
State conveyed Her Majesty's appreciation of the heroic

406 FIJI
conduct of Mereani and her husband, and suggested that
as neither the Albert Medal nor that of the Royal Humane
Society were applicable to the case, some reward should
be given to them by the colony. I do not doubt that Sir
Arthur Gordon, who received this despatch after I had
left for England, gave a liberal interpretation to this
suggestion. On hearing of our approaching departure, the high
chiefs spontaneously and without any suggestion from me,
collected from all parts of the group to bid us farewell.
After the conclusion of the native ceremonies (including of
of course a yaghona-dr'mking), appropriate to the occasion,
and after they and I had exchanged official, and at the
same time cordial farewells, there followed an event which
was entirely unexpected and not on that account less
gratifying. Thakombau sent a message to my wife, in
quiring when she would receive him ; and when she had
appointed a time, he, to the astonishment of all who saw
it, appeared at Nasova, carrying a mat on his shoulder,
Maafu next to him, and all the other high chiefs following
in single file and doing the same. Coming into the house
(I being at the time designedly absent at my office), Tha
kombau first, and then each of the others in turn, laid their
mats at my wife's feet, upon which the ex-king made to
her a most touching speech, heartily recognising her in
variable kindliness to them, wishing her, myself, and Ratu
Popi (the native name for my little boy, at that time called
" Poppy ") prolonged health and happiness, and finally ex
pressing a hope that when far away in England she would
sometimes give a thought to her warm friends in Fiji. The
astonishment mentioned above was occasioned by the fact
that Thakombau should condescend to carry anything but
a club. I was told that he had never before done so on
a public occasion, and intended it as a specially great
compliment. When, as I have mentioned, Sir Arthur Gordon returned
to Fiji, my official connection with the colony for the time

END OF FIRST ADMINISTRATION 407
ceased. He landed from the man-of-war, which had carried
him from Samoa, in full uniform, covered with the scarlet
silk gown of D.C.L., which he had recently received from the
University of Oxford, thus causing considerable sensation
among the whites as well as natives. By his express desire
I consented to take part in a formal ceremony, in which — a
considerable concourse being present — I handed back to
him the seal of the colony, and he thereupon thanked me
cordially for the manner in which I had conducted the ad
ministration during his absence. I fear that the absence
from my nature of the sentimental precluded my part in
this unusual function from being adequately performed ;
but the kind intention which suggested the idea was none
the less warmly appreciated. A few days afterwards we left
Fiji for Sydney on our way home. Among the many who
came to see us off was Maafu, who was crying as he wished
us good-bye. However incongruous are tears with so
huge a frame as that of this chief, we in this case could
not but be touched by them, especially in view of the
disagreeable scene which I had had with him a few days
before. And so came to an end my first administration of the
government of Fiji. It will be seen that it was assumed
under peculiar difficulties, and that events occurred during
the year and a quarter of its duration which caused it to
be invested with special responsibilities. Indeed, having
had the advantage of reading the records of several colonies,
I am able to assert positively that numerous Governors
pass through their six years of office with much less cause
for embarrassment and with far fewer calls for the exercise
of responsibility under unprecedented conditions than
occurred to me within this short period. Though circum
stances compelled me on several occasions to adopt some
what strong measures, all of them were approved by the
Secretary of State ; and while no act of mine met with
even a shadow of censure from him, it will be seen in the
sequel that the general conduct of my office met with his

408 FIJI
special recognition. And yet it is to this exceptional ser
vice that the Treasury, as I understand in accordance with
its usual stolid routine, applied a rule, which, with respect
to pension, ignores acting appointments — a rule, moreover,
which had never been made known to me or the colonial
service — so as to cause me, on my final breakdown in
health, a loss of a quarter of the pension which I had fairly,
and I may add very hardly, earned.
A special service for which I was summoned from the
other end of the world, which involved voyages, going and
returning, of some 28,000 miles, and which, in the opinion
of the highest authority, was well performed, would seem to
have deserved exceptionally favourable treatment. It was,
however, entirely forgotten or ignored when, on my re
signing the government of Hong Kong on account of
prolonged ill-health, the question of pension came to be
considered, and I was treated in respect of it exactly as if
I had remained in my comparatively unimportant post at
St. Lucia.

END OF VOLUME I.

PLYMOUTH
WILLIAM BRENDON AND -SON, PRINTERS

YALE UNIVERSITY I

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