OUR NEW GOVERNOR

Lyttelton Times, Volume V, Issue 275, 20 June 1855, Page 3

OUR NEW GOVERNOR

It is reported that Colonel T. Gore Brown, the ne% kppolrited Governor of New Zealand, saileli from Liverpool in the Mermaid For Mel'hounie, 'en 'route for tins Colony, at the begin'hins: of March. If 'this ie*port p*rove coriedr, 'Colonel Wynyaid will soon be relieved of the two offices 'he holds, as Adting Governor and CominTinder "off the Forces.— Wellington Independent. (Fro'ni the St. 'Helena Herald, "Dec. 14 3 1854.) The whole island was stait'ledon Monday last by the announcement that His' Excellency the Governor is about to leave us. He has only fulfilled a very little more Ethan one-half of tie time for which he was appointed, and is now thus suddenly recalled, to fill a place we undeistaud of more importance than that which he at ptasent'oedupies. >_><>.' * It is impossible,to express the feeling of^lie inhabitants "regarding tins. 4 withdrawal of His Excellency. One ciy of disappointment is lais'ed. {.liany, feel that they have lost a friend, o'theis feel that the, island h t is lost one of the best goveinois that has ever been granted to St. Helena. They had hoped to have enjoyed the adrantages ot the wise, sthiing, and beneficial goveinmentof Colonel T. Goie Biown for six jears;, they are deprived of them in veiy little more than half that time. And however much all may lejoice in the prospect of His Excellence's^ being benefitted by the change, they cannot foibeai an expiession of anno)ance that the Home Government should refuse to accoid to the island for the full peiiod of his appointment the advantages of a goveinoi who is a tboiough m<in of business, and whose whole aim appears to have been the good of the island on which he aimed, a peifect stianger. Immediately on his anival heie, His Excellencj set himself to understand the wants of the community. He inquired into what required to be done and what requned to be undone ; he did liis utmost to obtain fioni home advantages for the island which would have been of incalculable benefit; he exerted himself to stimulate the nulustiy and enterpuse of the cultivatois of the soil; he was a subscuber to and the patron of eveiy effbu to assist the island in commeice, m agiicultuie, or in education. He was the unbigoted suppoitei of eveiy leligious enteipri^e. t)n his anival he found v the tevenue of the island m a state fiw from favourable—he leaves it flomishing; in short, he has by an umaried course of stiaightfoi\\aid»judicioiis, and impartial dealing secured the affection and esteem of all classes of the inhabitants. It is tiue th.it all have not approved of t e\eiy measure which he has adopted, such a thing weie impossible auywheie, but e\en objectois have been constianieil to admit that though he m.iy have ened in judgment, his object was the benefit of the island, untinged by any selfish or unworthy motive. s It would not be a fair cutenon by which to estimate what His Excellency has done foi St. Helena, only to hok at the oidinances which he has enacted ; the teduction of the customhouse chaiges, the abolition of the haibour-nuster's

office, the arrangement for the proper registration of births and deaths, and the act ( for the discontinuance of interments in James 1 own, are only the first fruits of his government; the establishment of a bant, the providing for the covering over the Kurt, and for the removal of nuisances which have long injured the town, are objects which are now so far advanced that we trust they will jet be obtained even though His Excellency leaves them unaccomplished. Ana how much was there in contemplation which will now be abandoned ? what projects were under the Gfoverhbt's consideration which will now he forgotten ?—these; questions can only be answered by those who jwere inithehahit of conversing with Bis Excellency upon them, and will now, probably, greatly to pur; lbss, never be divulged. But we cannot fail to remember the efforts which. His Excellency made to secure a steam communication with England—the desire which he expressed and endeavoured to carry out that the commissariat and every other department of the public service, should be supplied by tenders on the island-the patronage which he afforded: to ;the. Agricultural Society, and the Island Society, for,developing the^re-; sources of thei island. The eagerness with which he listened to any proposal to^improverthe;c<m:^ dition of society, and the complete abanddnmenti of himself to the one object of benefiting those ■ over whom he was sent out as a governor, arid? amongst whom he bks lived as a father. i Regarding the private life of his Excellencyj it scarcely becomes a public journalist to speak ;y but we cannot refrain/ fromi paying a passing< tribute to the unostentatious benevolence with \yhich he and his excellent lady sought out and relieved oases of distress wherever they could be found. ThepooF will lament the departure'of the Governor and his lady, more, perhaps, than any other class jj they;may not have been ableto per-! ceive the heauty of his Exceliency's government but they feel the advantages^'of Mrs. Browne's charity, they may not Regret so niuch the de-' parture of an excellent goSvevnor as they will feel the loss of a bountiful donor. But we feel that it becomes us to forbear on this point. We could only wound by bringing'before the notice . 'of;the .public,'what was sought to. be .'concealed ; eb'tirely in the recesses of benevolenti hearts. s Their reward Is with their God.: - ' ■ •■n-r?i-i~-

We must now leave the subject without hiring , expressed one half what we feel, nor we are [ assured what almost everyone on the island feels.. Very few will charge";us with having said one word more than w£'ought, in' admiration" of Jiis excellency's conduct amongst us;,'some tnay censure us 'for! having- saidVaT, tqo;&$ll& '/-four columns are at their service to makeup our deficiencies, aiid we, can only express our regret that it has not fallen tb-the shaie of one to write this, who has been more intent'iipon looking for the good points, and less for the bad ones, in the administration of a governor to whom we may possibly get an equal—than whom we cannot get a better. ' " „ We copy the following from an article in the Spectator, headed " Hopes for New Zealand :" Moreover, a new Governor has been appointed ' for the colony—Colonel Gore Browne, who was lately Governor of St. Helena; and of whom we have heard, through more th;tn one channel such accounts as induce us to believe that he is a highly intelligent and upright man, with strong aspirations to do good. Our informant says, from peisonal knowledge, that Colonel Browne is imbued with " the tight piinciples" for his task, is heartily in favour of responsible government, approves of an elected Upper Chamber in place of a nominee Council, and altogether promises to be the best and most popular Governor New Zealand as yet seen. He is at present in London, and is to bail for New Zealand early in April. Having1 lately rente.cd the dark picture which the colonists sent home to us, we have now great pleasure in holding up a light which may cast a more hopefultiut upon the prospect.—Feb. 17, 1855.