The Press.
London, England, 1853-12-17 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

which have been carelessly j)erinitted to thee►
I►y those who have preeeded us. while lye
loyally withhold all countenance from them
US SOldiel'S of foreign army, subjects of
an alien prince. and confessed emissaries and
instntments ail pretender to unive►sal ew-
pi►e.

THE CRISIS 15 JAMAICA.

THE new Oovernor of Jamaiea has lost no

time in explaining his views regarding the
future management of that distraeted colony.
Whether or not he will sueeeed in carrying
out the various projects of reform is a matter
of some doubt. But his reception, both by
the Assembly and by the eolonists at large,
induces his friends to augur favourably of the
future. We trust they may not be disappointed.
Sir HENRY D.►nKL.v has undertaken a task re-
quiring ifor its successful accomplishment the
must eminent administrative abilities. The

oublie ere lit of .Itonaiea is at the lowest eh h,

private in►luatry is pairalysed, and the institu-
tions of the island no longer• command the
respect of its inhabitants. It is idle now tat
dwell upon the causes of this unhappy con-
summation. A long series of legislative blun-
ders has ►educed .lam►aica to her present
deplo►able condition, and an attempt must be
made to remedy theta, unless w•e are prepared
to witness the utter ruin, social as well as
financial, of our finest West India colony.
Sir HENRY DARKLY hilt( n►adO Up his mind

that the Legislature of Jamaica requires
thorough reform. The extraordinary financial
privileges possessed by the Assembly are in-
compatible, according to his views, with the
principles of constitutional government. They
pm-neatly invest that body with the supreme
authority in the island, and enable it to set at
defiance both the Council and the Governor.
In order to remedy this anomaly it is proposed
that the latter should possess in the Assembly
one or more organs who should represent his
views and prepare financial IllenSill'en in the
mode adopted by Ministers of the Crown in the
Imperial Parliament. Should this change be
found practicable it would undoubtedly infuse
into the proceedings of the Assembly an
amount of order and consistency which of re-
cent years it has rarely exhibited. But it may
well be doubted whether the popular branch
ar

,d* the Jamaica Legislature will etnsent to any

curtailment of its privileges: To show tinit
these have worked well is tnllo►slsil►le ; lint
they have been enjoyed without intemption
for nearly two hundred years ; and the in-
fringement of ancient rights offers too tempt-
ing a theme for declamation to lead us to
anticipate that they will be surrendered with-
out a struggle. Whatever may be the result,
no one, at least on this side of the Atlantic,
will blame Sir HENRY BARELY for attempting
to correct so glaring a defect in the institutions
of Jamaica.

But his projected reforms do not end here.
He proposes to place the Council upon an en-
tirely new footing. That body consists at
present of about a dozen salaried officials, and
the obstinacy with which they have of late
years opposed the various rehemes Of retrench-
ment sanctioned by the Assembly has tended
in no slight degree to diminish their moral
influence in the colony. In order to restore
the Council to public favour, the governor pro-
poses to add to it a certain number of unofficial
members, chosen from among the resident
]►roprietors of the colony,—a measure which
has lung been advocated by those who have
most studied its interests, as offering a power-
ful motive to persons /if intelligence and wealth
to settle there. At present no such induce-
ment exists ; indeed, it may be asserted
generally that no ,Jamaica proprietor now
resides on his estate excepting from necessity.
Both branches of the .Jamaica Legislature,
therefore, have been called upon to surrender
important privileges, but, its the mice of these
concessions. material assistance is offered to
the colony on the part of the Imperial Goveni-
ment. A loan is offered, not only for the im-
mediate necessities of the island, but for the
purpose of effecting a reduction in the interest
of its public debt front six to three per cent.

4'

Money will also be supplied from the Imperial
tieasury for the 'imposes of Illllltigrtltlutl, and
it is Illitlerstoilit that the prittlellt
Sir JOHN I'iAINOTON tOr the intro-
duction of Chinese will In vigorously
followed up. Hut all these important aids are
eontingent upon the acquieseence of the
Jamaica Legislature in the proposed reforms.
Should the Assembly resolve to maintain its
privileges at all hazards, Sir HENUY itAssam
will have undertaken his enterprise in vain.