Against these calamities there were the successful exhibition of a collection of Jamaica products at the International Exhibition which was held at Philadelphia in 1876, and the establishing of Street Cars in the City of Kingston through the enterprise of a private company. The Rio Cobre Irrigation Works were completed at a cost of £126,500 and the Dry River Bridge, which had for some years been in construction, was opened for traffic.

Sir William Grey relinquished the Government on the 10th March, 1877, in consequence of ill health, and Lieutenant-Governor Rushworth, C.M.G., was sworn into office. During his short administration Jamaica was admitted into the Postal Union; Kingston was lighted with Gas, and a Commission was appointed to enquire into the condition of the juvenile population of Jamaica, Mr. Rushworth died of yellow fever on the 10th August, 1877, and the government devolved on Major-General Mann, as President of the Privy Council.

Sir Anthony Musgrave, K.C.M.G., arrived and assumed the government as Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief on the 24th August, 1877. In opening the first session of the Legislative Council after his arrival, His Excellency had to make unfavourable announcements with regard to the public finances. By an arrangement made by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in deference to representations from the sugar planters of the colony, the immigration debt which then stood at £174,923 was transferred to the Public Treasury, together with the annual expenses of hospitals and medical attendance on immigrants. In addition to these assumed liabilities there was a deficit of £4,063 in the general accounts on the 30th September, 1877, and an anticipated deficit of £2,683 on the general accounts of the financial year 1877-78. To meet these demands the Legislative Council, on the recommendation of the Governor, re-imposed the poll-tax on breeding stock which was repealed by Law 14 of 1870 and raised a loan of £35,000 under Law 1 of 1878. The only other aids to the general revenue during the year (1877-78) were the trifling export duties on coffee and logwood, which were transferred from the Immigration fund to general revenue, as a set-off against the assumption by the public of the charges in connection with immigration. By a reduction in the expenditure on public works and other economies the finances of the year were closed with a surplus; but the new loan remained as an addition to the public debt.

In the next session Sir Anthony Musgrave announced that "in consequence of the healthy condition of the finances and the improved prospects of the coming year" he proposed to submit to the decision of the Council "the propriety of some special votes for purposes of public utility and the augmentation of the provisions already made for some objects of importance." Among the measures thus recom mended were an annual scholarship granting to the holder the means of prosecuting his studies to completion at any British University; the appointment of a governing body for the management of a high school to promote the higher education of the country; an increase in the number of Pupil Teachers at the Government Training College at Spanish Town and at other similar institutions, and the founding of an institute for the promotion of literature, science and art in Jamaica. He also recommended the construction of a line of Electric Telegraph between Kingston and Montego Bay, with a branch from St. Ann's Bay to Port Antonio; the subsidizing of the West India and Panama Telegraph Company for the purpose of securing telegraphic communications with other countries; the purchase of the Jamaica Railway and its extensions to Porus on the south-side and Ewarton on the north-side; the restoration of the buildings of the saline baths at Milk River and the extension of cinchona cultivation on the Government Plantations in St. Andrew. These recommendations were all agreed to and fully carried out. A system of registration of births, deaths and marriages, which had previously been sanctioned by the Legislature, was brought into operation on the 1st April, 1878. In the following year a new Marriage Law, which provided for the appointment of Marriage Officers and for purely civil marriages where the parties desired them, and a Divorce Law, were passed. A series of laws having for their object the improvement of the Judicial System and the consolidation of the superior Courts into one superior Court of Judicature and the appointment of a second Puisne Judge, were also passed. In the same year (1879) there was an extension of the telegraph line so as to complete the

circuit of this useful and civilizing undertaking, and the establishing of steam communication round the island by means of an annual subsidy.

Early in the following year (March 1880) their Royal Highnesses Prince Albert Victor and George, sons of the Prince of Wales, arrived in Jamaica in H. M. Ship "Bacchante" and were entertained by Lieutenant Governor Newton, who was then administering the government during the temporary absence of Sir Anthony Musgrave.

On the return of Sir Anthony Musgrave to the colony on the 4th June, 1880, he received an address of welcome from the inhabitants of Kingston, in which they expressed their obligation to him for "the institution of many enlightened measuresthe promotion of higher education, the extension of railways, the electric telegraph and other kindred improvements." Lieutenant-Governor Newton also received an address from the inhabitants of Kingston in which they expressed the feelings of respect and hearty good will with which the ability, urbanity and liberality he had exercised in the discharge of his responsible duties had inspired them.'

In the latter part of 1879 (from October 8th to the 13th) there were heavy rains which caused great destruction of property and loss of life in and near Kingston; and in the following year there was a severe drought which continued to the beginning of August, when ordinary rains fell. On the 8th a cyclone passed over the eastern half of the island which lasted for about five hours and did considerable damage to public and private property and to the growing crops of the peasantry. Nearly all the wharves in the Kingston harbour were destroyed and the shipping sustained much injury. But little rain fell in Kingston during the storm and there was moonlight throughout. Five persons were drowned and twenty-five died from the falling of houses, &c. A double shock of earthquake, each consisting of a large number of tremors, lasting 7 or 8 seconds occurred on the 7th December and was felt throughout the island. Towards the end of the year there were general and fertilizing rains, which had a beneficial effect on the growing crops. On the 4th March, 1881, a Census was taken, the population being 580,804; this gave an increase of 74,650 over the number returned by the Census of 1871 and showed that the population had increased at the rate of 7,000 per annum.

The Legislative Council met on the 22nd November, 1881, when the Governor announced a deficit of £44,446 on the accounts of the financial year, "This," His Excellency said, "ought not to be altogether surprising in a year which was admitted to have been one of severe distress to the masses of the people, almost all over the colony, in consequence of the protracted drought which succeeded the cyclone of August last year.' An anticipated deficit of £16,702 on the ordinary requirements of the succeeding financial year was also announced. To meet the total deficit (£61,148) the Legislative Council, at the instance of the Government, increased the excise duty on rum from 5/ to 8/ per gallon and imposed an additional 10 per cent. on all Customs' duties. The Government by curtailing all expenditure on improvements that could be postponed without injury to the country; by absorbing the annual profits of the Government Savings Bank and by adopting other financial re-arrangements were able to reduce the deficit to £18,178 on the 30th September, 1882. Thereupon the imposition of the additional 10 per cent. on the Customs duties was repealed, but it was considered expedient to continue the increased duty

on rum.

In the meantime (that is to say in July, 1881,) two actions were tried in the Kingston Circuit Court in the suit of General Pulido, of Venezuela, against Governor Sir Anthony Musgrave and Mr. Richard Gillard, Collector of Customs, for the detention in 1877 of the Schooner Florence and her cargo of arms and ammunition. Damages were laid in the two cases at £18,000. The vessel had, on her arrival at Port Royal, reported herself in distress, and after landing her cargo of arms and ammunition at Fort Augusta had been permitted to enter the Kingston Harbour for repairs. On the completion of these repairs the Captain was required by the Governor, on the advice of Mr. Attorney General O'Malley, to enter into security to proceed direct to St. Thomas, her reported place of destination, with her cargo of arms and ammunition. A thousand pounds was lodged in the Treasury by her consignees, which was repaid on the production of a certificate from the British Consul

at St. Thomas as to the fulfilment of the contract. It was for the delay and other contingent trespasses that the actions were instituted. The verdicts were for the plaintiff, the damages being assessed at £6,700. The amount (with the costs in the suits) was paid by the Governor by means of an advance from the Treasury, in order to save the interest at six per cent. which was running on the judgment, and to avoid the very probable indignity to himself of having his property levied upon and sold to liquidate the claim. But Sir Anthony Musgrave expressed his readiness to refund the amount should the course pursued by him be disapproved by the Secretary of State, and he asked for instructions as to how the damages and costs were finally to be paid. In December a Despatch from the Secretary of State directing the Governor to apply to the Legislative Council for a vote to cover the amount was received by His Excellency and laid before the Council. The despatch required the official members to support the vote. In consequence of this the Auditor General (Mr. J. C. Macglashan) and the Crown Solicitor (Mr. S. C. Burke) resigned their seats, the first on the ground that "the acts of the Governor in reference to the vessel were regarded by the Colonial and Foreign Secretaries as questions of imperial and international duty," and the second on the ground that "the damages and costs were incurred solely in pursuance of imperial policy and objects."*

The despatch was referred to a Select Committee who reported that "the Council would not be justified in sanctioning the vote as the detention of the vessel was made entirely to protect imperial interests and in no way could this island derive any benefit therefrom." The report was disagreed to by the votes of the official members of the Council and the further consideration of the question was postponed until after the Christmas recess. Public meetings in support of the views of the Select Committee were held in Kingston and several other parishes and on the reassembling of the Council in January, 1882, a number of petitions were presented against the passing of any vote of money for the damages and costs in the suits referred to. On the question being again brought on for discussion a resolution was carried by the votes of the unofficial members, to the effect, that the Council recorded its agreement with the prayers of these petitions. The Governor in forwarding the resolution to the Secretary of State informed him of the "total impossibility that the question at issue could be decided in favour of the Government with the present majority of unofficial members" and asked for further instructions.* On the 7th November a minute was read from the Governor laying before the Council a copy of a despatch from the Secretary of State, stating that Her Majesty's Government was prepared to ask Parliament to consent to the payment of one half of the amount of the damages and costs of the suits on learning that the payment of the other half from colonial funds had been sanctioned by the Legislative Council, and directing the Governor to bring a vote for the amount before the Council. His Excellency accordingly requested the Council to pass the vote required. On the motion for the vote being put to the Council eight official members and the Commander of the Forces voted in support of it and the six unofficial members present voted against it. At the meeting of the Council on the 11th November the Governor announced that since their last meeting he had received the resignation of the six unofficial members in question, namely, Messrs. McDowell, Gibb, Shirley, Michael Solomon, Kerr, and Henderson. (Mr. Sewell, who was in England, had tendered his resignation direct to the Secretary of State, and Mr. George Solomon who was also absent from the island resigned soon after his return to Jamaica.)

While the negotiations with regard to the case of the Florence were progressing Mr. George Solomon had proposed in the Legislative Council and carried by the votes of the unofficial members, a resolution declaring "that the expenditure of the island during the fifteen years of Crown Government had been in excess in the aggregate to the extent of £2,000,000 over any similar period in the history of the colony without, in the opinion of the Council, any adequate advantages being derived therefrom." The result of this resolution and of the representations that had been made in the petitions from the public meetings with regard to the case of the Florence was the appointment of a Royal Commission to enquire into the public revenue, expenditure, debts and liabilities of the island. Further action with regard to the

* Papers laid before Parliament, December, 1882.

Florence case was stayed by the publication of a despatch from the Secretary of State in which it was intimated, in connection with the resignation of their seats by the unofficial members of the Legislative Council, that Her Majesty's Government did not then propose to take any steps for filling the vacancies, as it would be convenient that no important legislation should be undertaken by the Council until the Report of the Royal Finance Commissioners had been received and considered.

Just before the arrival in Jamaica of the Royal Commissioners a calamitous fire occurred in Kingston (on the 11th December, 1882,) by which the greater part of the business portion of the town was destroyed, much valuable property consumed and great distress occasioned to the poorer classes. The area over which the fire extended was about 40 acres, containing 589 houses. The market value of the house property destroyed was estimated at between £150,000 and £200,000. Subscriptions were received from all parts of the Empire, from the United States of America and from the other parishes of Jamaica for the relief of the sufferers, the total amount received from abroad being £11,945 16s. 6d. and the total amount contributed locally being £4,810 1s. 74d. (These sums were exclusive of the large amount subscribed by the Masonic Fraternity in Jamaica and elsewhere for the relief of their Brethren who were sufferers by the fire.)

The Royal Commissioners arrived on the 5th January, 1883, and immediately entered on their important duties; their inquiry lasted to the 25th February when they left Jamaica for the Leeward Islands to prosecute similar inquiries there. Soon after Sir Anthony Musgrave assumed the government he had appointed a Commission to "inquire into and report upon the extent, composition and organization of the several public departments of the island" and in the month of January, 1882, their report was laid before the Council. The recommendations in the report were reviewed by the Royal Commissioners and in the majority of cases suggestions other than those included therein were made by them.

On the 20th April, Sir Anthony Musgrave finally relinquished the Government, having completed his term of office and been appointed to the Governorship of Queensland. The citizens of Kingston presented a farewell address to His Excellency, in the course of which they stated" that they had hoped that His Excellency's administration would have been extended so as to have enabled him to perfect and complete the many works of progress undertaken by him for the future advantage and prosperity of the colony." They concluded thus: "It is with gratitude that as a people we say that the administration of your Excellency has been one which, while it illustrates the capacity of the Administrator, has tended to develop both the industrial and mental capacities of the people, and cannot fail largely to contribute to their welfare and happiness.' His Excellency in a despatch to the Secretary of State, when leaving the colony, thus reviewed his administration of the government: "So far as it has been in my power to direct it, the policy of the Local Government has been to facilitate the ready administration of justice and the organization of public departments, to improve the sanitary condition of the people and the diffusion of education among them, and to furnish those means of communication by telegraph and post, and transport by railway, which in all countries are found to stimulate industry by giving value to its products."

Colonel Wiseman-Clarke administered the Government as Senior Member of the Privy Council until the arrival of Major-General Gamble, C. B., from Barbados, on the 4th May, 1883. During the latter's term of office a public meeting was held in Kingston "to protest against the continuance of the official Legislative Council" and "taxation without representation ;" and a deputation of gentlemen interested in Jamaica waited upon the Earl of Derby (then Secretary of State for the Colonies) at the Colonial Office in London "to express their views regarding a desired improvement in the Government and Legislature of the island, by which a legitimate control over the expenditure should be exercised by the non-official body." deputation was introduced in an explanatory speech by Captain Price, M.P., for Devonport. Addresses were also delivered by Mr. Richard Hill Jackson of Jamaica and Mr. James Ohlson, the Secretary of the West India Committee in England. Lord Derby in reply stated that Her Majesty's Government had "carefully considered the question of the Constitution of Jamaica and were prepared to take a new

The

departure, and that it was their intention to introduce something of an elective element into the new arrangements that were to be made."

On the 17th December, 1883, the inhabitants of Kingston presented Major-General Gamble with a farewell address, and four days afterwards His Excellency relinquished the Government to His Excellency Sir Henry Wylie Norman, K.C.B., C.I.E., who had been appointed Captain General and Governor-in-Chief of Jamaica and its dependencies.

An address of welcome was presented to Sir Henry W. Norman at the Town Hall. The address expressed the hope that His Excellency's accession to office would be signalized by the introduction of such a measure of reform as would give to the inhabitants of this ancient and loyal colony some control over the taxation and expenditure, and a legitimate share in the management of the Legislative machinery, of the country." His Excellency in reply stated " that some form of representative government would be introduced" and "that the representatives would have a substantial power and responsibility in the legislation of Jamaica."

On the following day a despatch from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, dated 1st December, 1883, was published in a Gazette Extraordinary. The despatch intimated that for the future the nine unofficial members of the Legislative Council would be elected by the people and instructed the Governor to appoint a Royal Commission to determine the Franchise. The despatch also stated "that the vote of the official members should not, as a general rule, be recorded against that of the unofficial members, if not less than six of the latter are present and agreed."

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On the 4th January an address was sent to Sir Henry Norman from a meeting of gentlemen" held in Kingston to consider the despatch of the Secretary of State for the Colonies respecting the future government of the colony. The address stated that "a large number of persons look upon the proposed new Legislative Council as differing little from the old, the only difference in fact amounting to this, that there is to be in it an unofficial elected minority, with special powers in matters of finance so fettered as to be practically useless, instead of an unofficial nominated minority possessing no semblance of power at all." The address also urged that "the Order in Council which would confer on the Representatives of the People the financial powers referred to in clause 5 of despatch No. 285 should also distinctly specify the instances in which the 'general rule' might be suspended." His Excellency in reply expressed "his regret that the gentlemen entertained such an unfounded belief as they did with respect to the intentions of Her Majesty's Government and that they failed to see any material difference between the proposed new Legislative Council and the old one." He continued: "I can only say that I entirely dissent from their view. I think that a real change was intended and that a substantial power and responsibility is to be given, under the terms of Lord Derby's despatch, to the elected members of Council, and that there is ample justification for his Lordship's styling the change "a moderate step in advance." With regard to the second point dealt with in the address His Excellency said that "it appeared to him that the power of the Governor to command a majority in the Council by filling the full number of official seats may be exercised in any extreme case by the Governor, who, however, would have to justify his action to Her Majesty's Government; and although this power would, under the terms of Lord Derby's despatch, be only justifiably used in a case of great importance and under a sense of great responsibility, it was impossible before hand to say that under no circumstances could a case of extreme importance arise which some persons might not consider came under the title of general legislation on a question of local interest."

Public meetings were held in St. Ann, Portland, Manchester and Kingston, to protest against the political constitution of the island as proposed in the Secretary of State's despatch of the 1st December. In the Kingston resolutions it was urged that "in matters of general legislation and government the elective minority in the Council would possess no power at all, and in matters of finance the power professed to be given to them would be so fettered that it could, at any moment, be overridden by the Governor." The resolution continues: "This meeting declares that