THE GLOBE. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1882. OUR NEW GOVERNOR.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2693, 24 November 1882, Page 2

THE GLOBE. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1882. OUR NEW GOVERNOR.

After having been practically without a Governor for a considerable time the Home Government have appointed Major-General Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, G.O.MG., 0.8., R. 8., to superintend the destines of this colony. Wo have certainly managed to get along in a fairly comfortable manner without a Governor for the last few months, but none the less heartily shall we welcome a new one, more particularly as he happens to be a very capable and popular man. The machinery of the State has worked smoothly of late, but it must be remembered that, although the occasions on which the necessity for a Governor is forced on the attention of the public are very few and far between, they are none the less real on that account. It is evident that, as far as the gubernatorial functions which appertain to the leading of the society of the colony are concerned, we can manage to a certain extent to dispense with them. We are not aware that the general tone of the community has deteriorated lately because Sir Arthur Gordon has been absent. But had any political crisis occurred during his absence, such as a collision between the two Houses, the result might have been awkward and disastrous. On such occasions the utility of a Governor, who is raised above party considerations, is self-evident. The Administrator of the Government would no doubt have done his beat iu such a crisis, but his ruling would most certainly have been carped ar, and he would have been credited with political bias, however much ho might have tried to steer clear of such a feeling. Besides, under ordinary circumstances, the want of a Governor would have been more felt than it has lately been. Lord Dufferin’s celebrated dictum that the Governor should be like an engine-driver, whoso principal duty is to oil the machinery and keep everything smooth and in working order, is true enough generally speaking. But the present Government is one that does not require lucubrating, for it is already as oily and accommodating as it possibly can be. It has made up its mind that it will clash with nobody and be all things to all men. The people of Canterbury are not as well satisfied with it as they might be, hut that is simply because the Ministry have found it impossible to please everybody. It is the parable of the old man, the boy, and the ass, translated into practical politics. Had there been a Government in power with a stiffer backbone, there can be ho doubt that the want of a Governor would have been more severely felt.

The new Governor will start with one great advantage. He succeeds a predecessor who certainly was not popular, and whose ’attention was distracted from his work here by the duties connected with hia High Commissionership. Sir Arthur, Gordon did not possess that geniality of disposition which is calculated to make a man acceptable to the public. Besides, he held decided views on the Native question—views which were at distinct variance with those hold by his responsible advisers. Sir William * Jervois, on the other hand, is credited with qualities which render him exceeding popular wherever he goes. The way iu which he has played his part in South Australia has endeared him to the public there, aud has induced the people of Y c oria to wish for hia appointment to the Governorship of that colony. He is not in the least likely to bo a Maoriphilist of a pronounced type, and, lastly, he may render ns very practical service in the direction of forwarding our schemes for national defence. The services Sir William has already performed in planning and executing defences in various parts of the Empire, are almost too well known to need recapitulation. As long ago as 1842 he was engaged in making roads, building bridges, and establishing military posts at the Cape of Good Hope. During the Kaffir war, some yetra later, he made a military survey and map of Kaffraria. In 1852 he designed fortifications for the island of Alderney. In 1856 he was appointed to the post of Assistant Inspector-General of Fortifications under Sir John Bnrgoyne, and was Secretary to a Royal Commission formed to report upon the defences of Great Britain.

Ho was a member of the Special Com—mifclee on the application of Iron to Ships and Fortifications. In 1862 w« find- him the Director of Fortifications, and in the following year he was sent on a special mission to report on the defences of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. In 1864 he was again sent to Canada to confer with the Canadian Government on the question of the defence of that province, and the defences of Quebec were carried out on the plan recommended by him. Ho has also been Secretary to. the Permanent Defence Committee under the presidency of the Duke of Cambridge. It will thus be seen that Sir W. Jerveis’experiences in the defence line have been almost worldwide, and under his governorship very decided steps are almost certain to bo taken towards placing the shores of New Zealand in a satisfactory stats of preparedness against an enemy. The reorganisation of our Volunteer system, will, moreover, by no means suffer by our having amongst us so distinguished aa officer.

Sir Arthur Gordon, it will be seen, is going to Jamaica. As far as salary is concerned the step ia a rise in the service, seeing that the Governor there gats £2OOO a year more than the Governor here. He will, moreover, have ample scope for developing his love for the black races. In that island there are about 13,000 white people and upwards of 300,000 black people. The latter are about as lazy and as generally useless as can well be imagined, so that Sir A. Gordon may well occupy himself in instilling into their minds habits of industry, cleanliness, and economy. If ha succeeds in this he will earn the good will of all concerned, and to gain popularity there should not be difficult, as he succeeds Sir Anthony Musgrave who is not in the least liked. A petition has lately been got np, praying that Sir Anthony may serve another term of office in Jamaica, but it is not signed by any of the leading people, and is, in point of fact, a document not worth the paper ibis written on. The people of Jamaica are not at all likely to weep over tha departure of their Governor to Ceylon, where it is to he trusted that the “ spicy breezes” credited to that island, and tha continuance of an income cqnal to that he received at Jamaica, viz , £7OOO pet annnm, will turn Sir Anthony into a more agreeable individual that ha is at preseub credited with being. It will be seen that there has just been a good shuffling among tha Governors, and New Zealand has probably drawn as good a card out of the pack as to be found there.