THE ROMANCE OF A -PROCONSUL.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 160, 8 July 1899, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE ROMANCE OF A -PROCONSUL.

MR JAMES MILNE'S "LIFE OF SIR

GEORGE GREY."

SOME EXTRACTS.

(From Our Special Correspondent.)

LONDON, May 26.

Whatever may be the opinion of experts with regard to the historical accuracy of Mr James Milne's "Romance of a ProConsul," there can be no doiibt the bright-ly-written little voh#ne would have immensely pleased Sir George Grey himself. It shows us indeed the great Pro-Consul as *ie appeared as New Zealand's Grand Old Man. Mr Milne's chief attraction to Sir George was that he know nothing directly about the Antipodes. He was a respectful, receptive, and, above all, highly Intelligent listener, and Sir George keenly enjoyed chatting to him. After a. time a. note-book was permitted, and the sum and substance of the old gentleman's narratives, dotted down. I daresay mistakes will be detected. Sir George's memory had even in 1895 begun to fall, and he got mixed at times.

Mr Milne's monograph is published todoy, and only reached me half-an-hour ago. I have not therefore had time to do more than glance at it. Judging, however; from the pnssages I chanced on, the book seems* to be written In the clever and often really brilliant style to which the author's capable contributions to the "Dally Chronicle" have accustomed us. For extracts to-day I am compelled to borrow \ from the "Daily News," which alone has a notice of the "Romance of a Pro-Consul."

Sir George Grey was never at a loss for a witty reply or un effective act when he had to denl with tho natives.. There aro several stories of how he gained a difficult point in debate with native chiefs by his niinbloness of mind. But the most amusing tnlo is the account he gives of the rival Maori newspapers which for a short time circulated in New Zealuad.

The Maoris had founded a paper to propagate tho King movement. They christened It by a name which might be freely translated by "The Giant Engle Flying Aloft." With my approval Sir John Gorst brought on a protagonist to the Maori weekly. I furnished the requisites for the venture, the money coming from revenues applicable to native purposes. The Idea was to counteract the teaching of the "Giant Eagle Flying Aloft," to show how absurd It was for any section of tho Maoris to think they could beat the English. Our organ was designed to be educative and In that respect to help In the maintenance of peace. The title of the Maori paper was an allusion to a great eagle which, at a remote period, had existed In New Zealand. The Maoris hud chants about It, and In their legends it was described as "Bedfollow of earth-shaking thunder." Very well, Sir .Tohu Gorst replied to their grand title by another in Maori signifying "The Lonely Sparrow on tho Housetop." This, of course, was suggested by the Scriptures, and Its force of contrast at onco tickled the Maori sense of humour. Sir John Gorst's satire was so keen that they could not themselves help laughing over tho fun which "The Lonely Sparrow on the Housetop" made of tho "Giant Eagle Flying Aloft." It went on for several numbers, perhaps half-a-dozen, when the Maoris Informed Sir John that ho must stop his paper or they would throw his printing materials into the river.

This threat they carried out, and the "Lonely Sparrow on the Housetop" ceased to twitter defiance at its more august contemporary. The sword proved mightier than the pen In that duel.

Sir George Grey was tilled with n consuming faith In the Anglo-Saxon race. X^rom his youth up he was an Imperialist, a "sane Imperialist," to quote Lord Rosebery's phrase. He believed In calling Into existence the New World which should counterbalance the Old. It was his aim to plant "posts of an Anglo-Saxon fence which shall prevent the development of the New World from bein£ interfered with by the Old World." He laboured all his life long to make secure these outposts. It Is interesting to note how always at the back of Sir George's mind there was the knowledge that whoever misunderstood him the Queen did not. He says: "But for her action events would most probably have ended in the cutting adrift of some of the colonies. She saw true, and clear, and far, as the Prince Consort when alive had seen; and the Anglo-Saxon' race has reason to be thankful." In dealing with the native tribes Sir George Grey always spoke to thorn directly in the name of the Queen. "It was the Queen's utterance," he says, "though spoken through me, and it would be difficult to indicate how well the charm worked." There were no portraits of the Queen in the. kraals of the Kaffirs, It is true, yet the Queen entered them, a beneficent influence in many a crisis. Read, for instance, the following pathetic letter from an old Kaffir woman, "whom nobody oWjncd," to the great white Queen:—

I am very thankful to you, Queen Victoria, that you have sent for me a good doctor, a clever man. I was sixteen years blind, Mother and Queen, but now I see perfectly. I see everything. I can see the stars and the moon and the sun. I used to bo led before; but now, Mother, O Queen! lam able to walk myself. Let God bless you as long as you live on earth! Let God bless Mother! Thou must not bo tired to bear our infirmities, O Queen Victoria!

Scattered throughout the pages of this book will be found Sir George Grey's confession of faith as an Imperialist. We have not space to quote any of his deeply.interesting remarks on this subject, but those who still wish to define that much-disputed term might do worse than carefully read what this veteran pro-consul has to say.

Many quaint and picturesque anecdotes of the people ,Slr George Grey met are to be found In the volume. We can only find room for one, and with it we close. It shows Lord Salisbury in a new light:—

As I recollect Lord Robert Cecil in New Zealand, he was not more fond of exercise than Lord Salisbury appears to be to-day, always being studious. He did not care to take long walks, but once I persuaded him with another young Englishman to go and see the beautiful Wairarapa Valley. They walked there and back, aud on the last evening, while returning, were caught in a terrific rain-storm. They sought the shelter of some rocks, contrived to make a fire, and over. It dried thejr shirts,

"Were it not that a parallel to the incident recorded is very likely possible in our own country we would perhaps be disinclined to accept without the proverbial pinch of salt the following yarn published by the "Sketch" to the effect that the late Sir Eose Lambai't Price had the curious experience, during a trip through the Rocky Mountains, of catching a trout and cooking it while it was still at the end of his line. It happened, says the paper, on the "Fire Hole" Eiver, so called on account of the geysers which occur along its banks. Sir Eose found one so close to the stream that, when he happened to hook a trout at that spot, he simply jerked it out of the cold water into the hot, and it was eaten ten minutes afterwards! Sir Rose had more than the average angler's respect for the veracities; and, indeed, the feat is a common enough one in that locality.