RESIGNATION OF THE GOVERNOR.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1502, 26 July 1912, Page 5

RESIGNATION OF THE GOVERNOR.

FORESHADOWED FROM LONDON.

TO GO TO INDIA.

APPOINTMENT TO A ROYAL COMMISSION. By Telegraph—Press Association— Oopyrfeht (Rec. 9.20 p.m., July 25.) London, July 25. It Is understood that Mr. E. S. Montague (Under-Secretary of ' Stata for India), when making the .Indian Budget statement, in the House of Commons on Tuesday, will announce that a Royal Commission will be set up to inquire into the Indian Public Services. The Commission will be under the presidency of Lord Islington, who will resign the Governorship of New' Zealand.

WHAT LORD ISLINGTON SAYS. WILL NEITHER DENY NOR AFFIRM REPORT. NO OFFICIAL INTIMATION. As soon as. the above message was received his Excellency the Governor was communicated with by telephone, and given the text of the cable message from London. The private secretary (Mr. Guise) etated that Lord Islington had , received no official intimation regarding the foreshadowed appointment, and therefore was not in a position to confirm the message or otherwise, In any case, ho was not prepared to make- any statement whatsoever until he had consulted his Ministers in the ordinary course. Asked as to whether he would resign tho Governorship of New Zealand if tho message was confirmed officially, Mr. .Guise ■ merely reitented that'his Excellency was not prepared to mako a statement of any nature whatsoever. Tho first intimation he had had was the press cable message, and he must await official confirmation of that, when ho would con6ult his Ministers as to what course of action he would take. . No further information could be elicited last evening. ■ ...

INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE.

SCOPE OF PROPOSED COMMISSION, 'A GENERAL OVERHAUL. The London correspondent of the "Manchester Guardian," on May 80, foreshadowed the appointment of the Royal Commission, mentioned in the cable message. He said.— _ "It is rumoured that the Government intend to appoint a Royal Commission on tho Indian Civil Service similar in gcope to the body np)v .royie.\ring,-the methods of appointment arid tenure obtaining in the home service. I mentioned some days ego ,that the minor officials in the India .Office, and particularly the Second Division clerks, were apprehensive that the relief which the Civil Service Commission is expected to bring to the lower branches of the Civil Service would not extend to them. An answer by Mr. Lloyd-George on behalf of the Prime Minister in the House of Commons seemed to confirm this fear, and inquiry has shown that tho practical difficulties of including: the. Indian Civil Service within the terms of reference of the present Royal Commission will render that couTse impracticable. Mr. MacCallum Scott's question was not intended to refer to the Indian Government Departments, tat simply to the India Office here, and as tho whole of the Indian service is now. to be inquired into the Department m Whitehall will receive the attention of the,second Commission. The India Office is often recruited from the other public Departments so for as the lower officials'are concerned, and as this f^r 0 ? ? f transfer is not likely to be disturbed by the Royal Commission on the Civil Service it is desirable that the methods pf appointment in tho India Office should be assimilated to those which will hereafter be imposed upon the home service. It is said that the Indian Commission will reveal many interesting varieties of appointment which have long flourished in that part of the Empire "

LORD ISLINGTON'S CAREER

WORK ON A PREVIOUS COMMISSION. _'Sir Join Dickeon-Poynder, first Baron Islington, was raised to the peerage on his appointment to the Governorship of the ilominion of, New Zealand in April, 1910, in succession to Lord Plunket. Lord IsWHB the son o£ the late Eearnt™ 1 /'?- P'S* 50,,, nn<l ™ s bora in fSI. • l educated at Harrow and Christ Uliuroh. •Hβ succeeded has uncle, Sir Alexander Oollingwood Dicksou as sixth baronet in 1884, and, in 1888, on coming into the estate of his maternal uncle, assumed, by Royal license, the additional name of Poynder. From * 1892 until January,. 1910, he represented Hie Chippenham Division of Wiltshire in the Houso of uommons, and served on the London County Council from 1898 to 190*. He was a Moderate in Municipal politics, and ■ Conservative in tho eariier port of hi 3 Parliamentary caTee-r. , His "Free Trade convictions lod to his severance from his party, and in 1906 hfl was elected for his old division in the Liberal interest. In 1909 he was appointed a' member of tho Commission designated, unde,r tho chairmanship of Lord Balfour of Burleiph, to investigate the trade relations between Canada and tho West Indies. Lord Islington also served in the Wiltshire Yeomanry, and in 1900 went out to South Africa on Lord Mefhuon's staff, ljeing awarded the pistingui?fliecl Service Order for gallantry in tte field during flic war. He maried in 1806, Annie, third daughter of Mr.. H. R. Dundas. of vScotland, and has one daughter, the Hon. Joan DicksonPoyndfcr. J

Durin? hi 3 short period of vice-regal responsibility as Governor cf Ntew Zenland, Lord Islington has taken a kindly interest in tTie people of tho Dominion generally, and aliown liim>self to bo a keen observer of agricultural and pastoral pursuits. The dov-olopmont cf the compui sory military training scheme, in this country has nlso attracted liis interested attention, as was evidenced by lids regular visits to the Territorial training camps. PAST GOVERNORS. : A CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD. New Zealand has had fourteen Governors since the establishment of responsible government, and on nine occasions the Chief Justice of the day has acted as Administrator during Hie period between the departure of ono Governor and the arrival of the next'. The list of Governors, with tho length of their Governorships is as follows :-- Sir George Grey, K.C.8., 1853, ten months (previously Governor under Crown Colony rcgiinn). Coloncil Thomas Goro Browne, C.B.', 1855-61, six years. Sir George Grey, K.C.8., 1861-68, sii years. Sir George Bowen, K.C.M.G., 1808-73, five yoars. Sir James Fergusson, Bart., P.C., 187371, ;.ix months. Tho Jlarquis of Norraanbv, P.C., G.C.M.G., 1875-79, four years. Sir Hercules Robinson, G.C.M.G., 18"!)80, about eighteen months. Sir Arthur Gordon, G.C.M.G., 1880-82, about eighteen months. Lieut.-General Sir William .Tervois, q.C.M.G., C.8., 1883-80, six years.

Tho Earl of Onslow, G.C.M.G., 1889-92, slightly under three years. The Earl of Glasgow, G.C.M.G., 1892-97, four years eight months. The Earl, of Eanfurly, G.C.M.G., 18971904, seven years. Lord Phinket, 1901-1910, six years. ■ Lord Islington, from Juno 29, 1910. Sir Jnines Forgusson made tho shortest stay in New Zealand of all the Govornore so far appointed. Hβ had spent tho previous lour years n9 Governor of South Australia, and shortly after reaching i-ngland on his departure from Now Zealand unsuccessfully contested a scat in the House of Commons. He subsequently was appointed Governor of Bombay. , Sir Herciilos Robinson, who also mado ?I i a b , r , lcf stny in N<w Zealand, resigned to take the Governorship of Cape Colony. bir Arthur Gordon's Governorship of eighteen months' duration came to an end, it is understood, because of his disapproval of tho Native policy of tho Ministry of tho day. Ho was absent m Fiji when tho Pnrihnka raid took plnco, and on roturniiis expressed his disapproval oC it. He was transferred from Aev Zealand to Ceylon on resigning. Lord Onslow also did not stay iu New Zealand for tho customary term. His resignation was announced in a letter to the Secretary of State for tho Colonies, in which ho said: "I find, that urgent and pressing affnira of a somewhat complicated nature connected with my property in England demand my presence there at an early date." Ho afterwards took a prominent part in British politics. Sir Eobert Stout acted as Administrator from Juno 8 fo 22, J'JIO. There was- no interregnum between tho departure and arrival of Lord Eanfurly and Lord Plunkct. Six months elapsed between, the departure of Lord Glasgow and the arrival of his successor. The longest gap was in 1851, when there was an interval of nine months before Colonel Gore Browne arrived. , It is in only a few cases that the gap. between two- Governorships has exceeded three months.