The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-20 00:00:00

ENGLAND BEYOND SEAS.

One hundred and one year; ago the two British Secre-
taries of State, who until then had divided the world
between them, were joined by a third. He was styled
Secretary for the Colonial or American Department.
Ominously enough it was in 1768 also that General Gates
went to Boston. Nine years later he had captured the
British army under Cornwallis ; fourteen years later the
"Colonial or American" Department was superseded, fur
our chief colonies had established their independence. For
twelve years after that date, until 1794, the affairs of the
colonies as well as of Ireland were entrusted to the
Home Secretary, The great war broke out, the war in
which colonies changed hands as rapidly as railway shares
change hands to-day, and the colonies were then, appro-
priately enough, transferred to the newly-appointed
Minister of War. Under his jurisdiction they remained
all through that 23 years' battle of the giants which ended
at Waterloo, and through the 39 years' peace which fol-
lowed. In 1854 we again had a continental war on hand,
and by that time our colonies had so greatly increased
that it was found absolutely necessary to separate two
offices which had been held jointly until then, only because
the post of Minister of War had long been extremely easy.
It was because Czar Nicholas threatened to give the sick man
at Constantinople his quietus that our colonies attained for
the first time since 1782 the dignity of a separate depart-
ment of State. There is little fear that they will lose that
dignity so long as they remain connected with the mother
country. The post of Secretary for the Colonies is new
one of those most coveted by rising politicians. Earl
Granville, for instance, has scorned the luxurious delights
of such ornamental posts as the " Privy Seal " and the
Presidency of the Council, preferring to pass laborious
days in Downing-street, whence he may rule the ten
million subjects of Queen Victoria who inhabit England
beyond seas.
There are forty-eight colonies under the Crown. They
lie scattered through every degree of latitude and longi-
tude, through every zone, from the Falkland Islands in
the far South to the frozen regions of British North
America within the arctic circle. They are of every age,
constitution, and physical configuration. There is New•
foundland, which we have held for three centuries. There
is Queensland, which we have settled within ten years.
There is Gibraltar with its strict military rule, and
Victoria with a constitution more democratic than that
of the United States. There are the snow wastes Of
Labrador and the " cinder-heap" of Aden ; the spice
groves of Ceylon, and the fur-trapper's run in the Hud•
son's Bay Territory ; there is the rock-fortress of Malta,
and there are the inexhaustibly fertile plantations of
Jamaica; the continent of Australia, and the rabbit-warren
of Heligoland. There are colonies which have been
settled peaceably, colonies which have been ceded 137
treaty, colonies which have capitulated in war. There
are colonies for planters and colonies for convicts;
colonies for sheep-breeders and colonies for soldiers
There are colonies in which the governor has to be content
with a modest £5OO a year, and colonies in which he enjoys
the income, and much more than the influence of, an
English archbishop. All these peoples and nations and
languages are governed in a two-fold way ;by themselves
and by the mother country ; by governors and councils and
assemblies, and by a Secretary of State, a Government
department, and Parliament.
The 48 colonies may be arranged in six groups : Europe,
which includes Gibraltar, Malta, and Heligoland ; Asia,
which comprises Ceylon, Hong Kong, the Straits Settle'
meats, and Labuan ; Africa, by which we include the
settlements on the West Coast, the Cape, and Natal, and
the islands of St. Helena and Mauritius ; America, which,
comprehends Bermuda, British Guiana, and the Feliciano
Islands, in addition to that great dominion which stretches
from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island ; the West
Indies, by which are meant not only the islands, but also
Honduras; and Australia, which consists of Australia
proper and New Zealand. This division is not Oar'
ried out in the Colonial Office. In that establish'
ment there are eight departments; but four ni
these are concerned with finance, registries, Pavii".
mentary papers, and similar matters. The rest divide
the colonies among them. The West Indies have *
department to themselves ; Europe and a part of Africibt.,
go together. The Eastern department includes not only
the Asiatic colonies, but Mauritius and British Columbia'
The most formidable group of colonies is that which is PI
under the supervision of the " North American and
Australian" department. While the Secretary of State
and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary change with the
Ministry, there are two permanent Under-Secretaries, with.
out whom the work would be badly done. Sir Frederic
Rogers, Bart., has filled his present post since 1860'
Previously to that he had a distinguished Career.
He took a double first at Oxford, and carried off various
scholarships and fellowships. After being called to the
bar, he was appointed Registrar of Joint-Stock Companies'
a commissioner on the Colonial Land and Emigration,
Board, and an assistant-commissioner for the sale et
encumbered estates in the West Indies. Sir Frederic/
Rogers was also for some years a journalist. Ills colleague'
Sir F. Sandford, is also an Oxonian, and a first clasarnsr.
He was appointed examiner at the Privy Council Office in
1848, assistant-secretary in 1854 ; was knighted for 1,15
services as secretary to the Commissioners for the Exhlbr
tion of 1862, and was promoted to his present post at the end °f
lastyear. But, though holding the most responsible positions
next to that of the Secretary of State, they are but novice*
in the civil service compared with three other gentlemen-
Mr. Gordon Gairdner, the'chief clerk, Mr. Henry Taller'
and Sir George Barrow, the eldest senior clerks, have been
in the office for nearly half a century, the two first hal
entered in 1824, and the third in 1825. Mr. Taylor ,
known outside official circles as one of our most eccerci
plished poets and essayists. Official life has not destroyed
the imagination of the author of " Philip van Artevelde,o
nor the fine critical power of the author of " Notes onl3o°lce.,„
These gentlemen have for colleagues more than a score of;
sistant clerks, jenior clerks,and assistant junior clerks. e
or
are also supplementary clerks, copyists, and other tellee
officials, making tha total personnel of the Colonial °T.r,
about 70 in number. There is at Park-street, WestrainP; ;
a sort of succursale to the chief office in Downing-street
it is occupied by the Colonial Land and Emigration Ut7oo
missioners, 11 in number. Beside, there are 15 ernigr o sd,
officers, stationed at the principal ports of the kine,e
Their duties are scarcely so heavy as they might b
the only colonies which promote immigration fron
United Kingdom by means of their public funds are l
toria, the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, New Zealand, With
Tasmania. One might have expected that Canada'
its boundless unoccupied territory, would have
attractions to that capital which she so greatly

an
The political relations between the colonies dte
mother country vary greatly in the degree of closelia-
The colonies are of three kinds. There are first the erci
colonies, in which the Crown has the entire control er;
legislation, and the administration is carried on LT °flihc:
under the uperl ision of the Home Government Suc's t-hr:
Malta, Ceylon, Hong Kong, Heligoland, and inanY ;la-
Wcreoswtnlrnedsitasnuplosnlancodnsq;ueasntdorhcereessitohne. authority (If w-
e other
which that authority Crown colonies in •
statute. Such are Jamaica, British Columbia, West ancl
Australia, the various 'West African settlements, vin
the Falkland Islands. The secondgreat di/41°-
• titutions,
comprises colonies possessing representative ins
but not r • esponsible government, and in which the vie
hasG no more than a veto upon legislation, but the ",seo
laws
retains the control of public officers. In
of
are made by the governor with the concurrence cu.
There are
uxe,ronon
n.
of two legislative bodies, of which one, at least, is rePreBs
are
Wive. In the Cape of Good Hope both bodies uct
elective ; Barbadoes, Grenada, Tobago, Bahamas' i'the
Bermuda the Council is nominated by the Cr3syn'f the
Assembly is elected. In Natal, Honduras, and dy
West Indian Islands there is a single Chamber, Pilo-
nominated, partly elected. The third principal c .0.
4°
comprises those colonies which possess representativeh.lcb
stitntions and a responsible government, and iu
the Crown has only a veto on legislation, and the ° t
any Government has no control over public offi 6
cer excel )
the Governor. This class is made up of our Pril2
colonies, those in British North America, and those

Australia.
li
tempirev
ehda has takengreet
impetuslong to
under
ir80: thecolonistseu thitoo
utterli
Tod
regardless of the •
theirrd wereown were buccaneers, the
and thTei
3wes
were
crfoierns dt
_iv ors
i
rights of the aborigines. of
less _
soon found that other powers would be as regard
their rights, such as they were, and it became necessarl l'ou,
place themselves under the authority and the protectionnf'
the Crown. To that lawless age succeeded the Age
grog'•
Chatheanuggill
regular fighting,
the
great
wars
were cap•
when colonies
g settle
turgid and re-captured until the Treaty of 181' est
possession
soldiers,lw,no
si Otesh e
su r
Raleigh,a c l colonial ni a
their destination. To that period belong the two lest
minions of our colonies, the two which together COlatiot7.
half of our colonial population—the Canticles and CeY _ 0
'The great Australian colonies, which bid fair to surpnbe
the rest in a very few years, belong to the third itge: the
age of peace and labour, the ago not of the spear an
sword, but of the pruning-book and the plougl'. • in
It need scarcely be said that there is no proporto
bas
the colonies between area and population. Ceylon
_,
ulation;
an area of only 24,700 square miles, and app °
OTC? 2,000,000, Queensland has an area of 67810 °gill iste
Pile°, and a population of less than 90,000. But thegoo
nave held Ceylon three-quarters of a century ; we er
Bloreof
settled Queensland only ' ten years. ceylons
large as is the total population in una. ill
there aro but some 3,000- Xuroveans ; 0 `-7.1 011
Queensland nearly the whole of the inhabitants aroxleig
own rate. It remains only to be said that the 01P,og
ogee! more or less in governing this oinerlterbl.
which the sun never sets, would le 5 a vorY 01—„; riotil •
army, >L''ortnnatel~•, the duty of Inathan coy" 11
paying hOla
for the most
of the DrititthP46, fall uPou the ovorbarcloted 1---
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