TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 1899. THE GOVERNOR'S TOURS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 78, 4 April 1899, Page 4

TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 1899. THE GOVERNOR'S TOURS.

With the arrival of the Tutanekai at the Railway wharf last Thursday afternoon concluded the official tour which His Excellency the Governor, Lord Ranfurly, resolved upon making as fai back as the date of his coming to this colony, now almost two years ago. Our present Governor is a man of high strung temperament, anything but robust of constitution, yet possessed of an indomitable will which invariably proves the master of his phj&ieal disabilities. An instance of this may be found in his setting out on a tour of this province when at the outset his physical state of health was such that it would, have justified his taking to bed. That the change should have effected an improvement in His Excellency's health, while a matter for congratulation, by no means detracts from the courage which was required to make a start to keep the arrangements concluded when rest and quiet would not only have been much more pleasant, but also desirable in the interests of a hoped-for restoration to good health.

Of the soundness of Lord Ranfurly's conception of his duties as a colonial Governor there can hardly be two ways of thinking; it is unquestionably desirable that the representative of royaltj- should visit the various parts of the country in which he is placed as the connecting link with the Imperial Government. Hitherto this duty has been very largely interpreted to mean visiting the main centres of population, and in doing this many of our Governors have concluded that their duties were fully, discharged. True, we have had men who have seen their duty identical^ with our present Governor, but we have had none who , has earned out more, exhaustively the dictates of his sense of what it is incumbent upon,him to do. .

The benefits accruing from such visits cover a somewhat wide range. The most important, as we understand it, is the fostering .of that spirit of loyalty to the Mother land—the feeling which makes even the colonialborn and bred speak of Britain as 'Home'—which binds the Empire and counts among its main sources of internal strength in times of/trouble. In this matter no one could take a wider view of his responsibilities than Lord Ranfurly. His constant reiteration of the advice, wherever he may go, not to let the children grow up ignorant of the great history of oucr Empire, and of the grand deeds which have made it .what it is to-day, the most widespread, populous and powerful the world has ever seen, musfbear fruit. That they did so on more than one occasion even at the time of their utterance those present can testify. Although patriotism and love of the country from which we have sprung is inherent in us, it is a passion that requires stimulation: very often not more than a few earnest words," but unless those words are spoken in. time the feeling is in danger of becoming gradually embedded under more passionate emotions and less easily reached; so that through long neglect there is just the risk that at a time of need it might be impossible to arouse the instinct which binds races and nationalities in a fraternal bond. Such, sentiments as the Governor has everywhere expressed are calculated to promote the unity of Great Britain and her colonies. The bond is one which none of us would wittingly injure, but under a course oi passivity it can hardly be expected to grow stronger. What' is required is someone to assist in the inculcation of the principle of unity, and the Governor of a colony is surely the fitting person to do that. While Lord Ranfurly holds office we need hardly be afraid of his forgetting his responsibility in this direction. Benefits both direct and indirect may be expected also from a man in the position of a Governor, and possessed of a mind trained to rapidly collate important facts, passing through a district. Those who have come into contact with His Excellency have been surprised at his quick and intelligent grasp of even matters connected with various industries which it is .impossible to strip of technicalities. It is in the power of a Governor to utilise the information he may gain in furthering the interests of the: colony I after the termination of his period of

office, and the more extensive and varied this knowledge the better.

In other directions good may be anticipated from gubernatorial visits. As an example of this we may instance the visit of His Excellency to the Old People's Refuge at the Thames. The institution created anything but a favourable impression, which was intensified by a statement that those who did a good day's work were rewarded with extra food. This suggested the inference that the other inmates received an insufficient or indifferent diet, although that was denied by the manager of the institution. However, the apparently unsatisfactory state of affairs in the home resulted in His Excellency speaking strongly to the administering authorities, and an inquiry will no doubt follow.' which, should there be just cause for complaint, may be relied on to put matters on a more satisfactory footing. We mention this as one example"^ the way in which good may arise in a direction not foreseen from such tours as Lord Ranfurly has just concluded.

In any case it is the duty of a Governor to take an interest in, every district of the colony, and this Lord Ranfurly has done; and for the thorough manner in which he has carried it out the best thanks of the colonists are due to him. On the other hand the reception he has received has invariably been of the most loyal and hearty description, and seems to justify the Governor's oft-made assertion that he can do little in the direction of rendering the relations existing between New Zealand and the Mother Country more cordial.