OUR NEW GOVERNOR.

Marlborough Press, Volume XXI, Issue 1251, 3 December 1880, Page 3

OUR NEW GOVERNOR.

yi*'Sir! Arthur Gordon arrived in' Wellington 6n MoncjajrJaßt,,and;has now assumed the position of Governor, and the following account of his official carder will be read with interest Sir Arthur .Gordon, Who is the youngest son of the late Earl of Aberdeen—a former Premier of“Englami—was born’ in 1829, and is therefore in his 51st year. He entered Parliament in 1854, at the age of 25, as member for Bever'lev in the Liberal interest. In 1857; when Lord Palmerston was defeated, a dissolution of Parliament was granted, and Sir Arthur unsuccessfully contested Liskeard, in Cornwall, with Mr Ralph Grey. During his father’s premiership, our hew Governor acted as his private secretary, iii Which eabftcity he acquitted himself' with mpeh 'ability, llaviug "thus afft)r(ied i fili?‘f I P«^-| : mtse of doing jjood servi.'e in'ah'bfflliiahvfbliplo'miitic capacity, Sir Arttiur.Gorddn' wiis Selected gs an,,'attache tb Mr ffiVsSion’ to the lonian arrange " ■ differences' ’bfetp'een' the/ 'inhabitants"of those islands and the British Government, when the latter exercised a protectorate over them. "At the age of 32—the age at whick the Earl’of Belmore assumed the Governorship of New South Wales—. Sir Arthur Gord.m in .1861 was appointed by the Palmerston to administer the Government of New Brunswick. In ,1866 he was promoted to the post of Governor of Tfihidad, where he showed himself to'be a competent ruler of mixed races. There, however, lie, became somewhat unpopular with the sugar planters, but notwithstanding he continued to govern the affairs of the colonies according to his own views of matters. He had to stand as an impartial and just arbiter between the planters and the natives —-the employers and the employed—and he succeeded in performing his difficult task with.firmness and discretion, though certainly not to the satisfaction of certain persons. At Trinidad, Sir Arthur Gordon introduced a system of education which .lias since proved a great boou to the island. He- also improved the colony in other respects, and left With the good wiihes of the greater portion of the colonists. lln 1870, he was transferred to the Mauritius, in succession to Sir Henry Barkley, which colony he ably governed for five years, and was much, respected. there. On the annexation of Fiji as a British dependency, in 1874, he was appointed its first Governor, for which office he was deemed peculiarly fitted, from his previous official career, We hardly know]how to estimate fairly Sir Arthur Gordon’s official career in the Fiji Islands, hut it appears that while he was disliked by some of the planters he earned the respect of the settlers generally and of the natives. He accorded every possible protection to the missionaries throughout the group, regarding them as having been the means of working ui'uoh good amongst the natives of the islands. From recently published statistics it would appear that Sir Arthur Gordon’s government of this infant Crown colony has been a prosperous one ; and as he will continue to occupy the position of High Commissioner of Polynesia, notwithstanding his being Governor of New Zealand, Fiji may reasonably expect to reap the fruits of his wisely progressive administration in its future government. Sir Arthur is said to entertain very decided religious views, and to be somewhat strict, as the world goes, with respect to the countenance of gaieties and amusements of that class which some people deem to be frivolous. Theatres, balls, and horse racing, Sir Arthur is said to view with disfavor. During his recent visit to England Sir Arthur attended one of the Wesleyan mis sionary meetings in London at which, he was reported in tlife Press, as having made an effective speech. The Wesleyan missionaries in Fiji lately presented him with a parting address, in which they have given an expression of their approval of his conduct as Governor of that group. In his private relationship Sir Arthur. Gordon is said to be loyal and devoted to his 'personal friends, and scrupulously faithful in fulfilling any pledge-hetmay give.-—N.Z Times. >