DEPARTURE OF THE GOVERNOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 824, 13 September 1867, Page 2

DEPARTURE OF THE GOVERNOR.

(From the Daily Timks, Sept. 9.) The rumor that Sir George Grey was recalled, created a great sensation at Wellington as soon as it was noised about. .All kinds of accounts were current as to the nature of the despatch recalling him. On only one point did they all agree — that he was recalled in disgrace. The "various degrees of censure, which the re«all implied, were differently construed by the sagacious persons who professed to Ikuow all about it. When the House met, a question was put to Mr. Stafford on the subject ; in reply to which, that gentleman gave, as usual, a somewhat enigmatical answer. The despatch would be laid on the table the following day, as soon as it was printed ; in the meanwhile, it was true the Governor had received an intianation that his successor was appointed, and the intimation was given in a despatch ■which referred, by marginal notes, to the several despatches concerning which there 3iad been such differences of opinion between the Home Government and His Excellency ; and, therefore, it was fair to presume the two were connected. Such was the substance of what Mr. Stafford stated. The next day the despatch was laid on the table. An. exceedingly short one it was. Read "vrith•out the light of any knowledge behind the scenes, by an unprejudiced person, it certainly beara no interpretation to the «fiect -which was construed from it. It aaerely stated, that because of the General Itaving probably left the Colony, and Iwcause of the soldiers being removed, — all T>ufc one Regiment, which would still be subject to the control of Her Majesty's ..Representative, — there was no object to bo gained in re-opening the vexed correspondence. It ended by s.iying that by the next snail His Excellency would be informed of the name of his successor. Now, it amist be borne in mind, that the term of appointment of Colonial Governors is six years, and that only in special cases, and very rarely, is that term allowed to be exceeded. As an ordinary matter, the intimation to a Governor at the close of the sixth year, that his successor would b© mamed, would not be open to even a remote construction of recall in disgrace, [f we look to the context, it scarcely supplies the Jink which Mr Stafford attributes to it. ©a the contrary, had the intention been "to censure Sir George Grey, or to convey "the impression that the whole affair being -over, there rested in the mind of the <3olonial Office the impression that he was "4o blame, instead of the reason for terminating the correspondence being attributed

to the departure of the General and. the Troops, it would Have been attributed ,to the approaching departure' 6f th© Governor. In v short, had' the occurrences been deemed to warrant- personal blame, the personal departure would have been the cause for ceasing to. refer to them. On the other hand, if they had been deemed to belong not to Sir George Grey personally, but to the Governor of the Colony, then the departure of . Sir George would not put an end to the discussion, it would be an heritage to his successor. It seems to us, therefore, that [in not referring to Sir George Grey's departure as a reason for bringing the controversy to a close, the Secretary of State omitted to take the obvious course he would have taken if he wished jto imply or to state that Sir George was being recalled in consequence of that controversy. We are arguing the matter from all that we, in common with the i public, are allowed to know of it. It is quite possible that there were some private despatches, conveying the assurance that the recall is not on account of the expiration of the term of office, but because the Colonial Office desires to mark its displeasure. JWe incline to think, however, that there are no such despatches, and that nothing more is known than the one despatch i published indicates.

But although the Governor is not recalled in disgrace, we must not be understood to indicate that he is recalled in a friendly spirit. Although the rules of tha service permit, or rather make it the usual thing, that a successor to a Governor should be appointed ?t the end of the sixth year, there is a particularly exceptional condition on this occasion, that makes it an unfriendly thing not to allow, at least, a few months' excess of the term. The visit of a Royal Prince to the Australasian Colonies is not only not a usual thing, but the instructions which have been sent out, and the surrounding circumstances, show that the Home Government desire to invest the occurrence with its full amount of significance. To recall Sir George within a few weeks, not to say days, of the expected arrival of the Prince, is of itself an unfriendly act, not to mention that it will lose him probably a baronetcy. But then, every one knows that the Conservatives have a particular " down," if we may use the word, on Sir George Grey. It i 3 to be hoped he will learn the reason why. There is no one in New Zealand but must regret Sir George Grey's departure. There is no one who, looking back on the past, and remembering even the strong differences of opinion which there have been, from time to time, concerning the acts and the policy of His Excellency — there is no one, we say, who can fail to recognise that Sir George Grey has uniformly been actuated by a sincere love for the Colony, and a sincere desire to serve it. But surrounded with regret as will be his departure, it is not to be forgotten that there stretches before him a career of wider usefulness — a career in which he may serve not only this Colony, but many Colonies, — a career in which, ss we have said, he may learn why he has aroused tho hostility of the Conservatives. There are few English statesmen now who make Colonial affairs their specialty, and of these there are few, if any, who may be considered representative men, or prominent statesmen. Sir George Grey speaks well ; his exquisito tact never deserts him in any position in which he is placed ; lie knows just as well what not to say as what to say; his knowledge of the Colonies generally is probably larger than that presented by any English statesman. Needs it to be added that these qualifications point to the House of Commons as the worthy field for Sir George Grey's future, and that that is the career which, full of distinction, lies open before him.