The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-07-24

for the bar. and was entered at Lincoln's Inn IN
1774. being then only 10 years old. inc Jaw;
however, did not attract him. and when n ITO
tho Seaforth Highlanders were raised ne oD-
tanned n commission. Three years atertheIesi
ment was sent to tho East Indies. where MATT
land saw a little active service and made good
use OF his time. az he afterward showed wheh
addressing the House OF commons on Indian
affairs: but he had not found his true sphere Oh
action. He seems to have tired OF the army as
he had tired l. OF the bar. At the end OF lIsu ne
returned to England with the rank oil MaJor'
and entering Parliament as member Tor the
HaddinGton burghs, he began at the age
Of 81 his third career. In February
1871. he delivered his maiden speech on the
occasion OF the war with Tippo sahib. he was
at this time what would now be calleda Little
Highlander and one of the earliest Of parlia-
mentary obstructionists In the course OF MS
speech he Violently denounced the policy OF tho
war. and made a spiteful assault on Warren
Hastings, whom in his capacity OF admins
TRAITOR he was afterward to emulate. He allied
| himself with the Whitbreads. the Sawbridges,
and the Greys. and was one Of the most con-
s~piouous Of the Friends OF the People" lie
was one Of a committee which in April, 1702,
drew up a demand for parliamentary reform.
followed by an address to the people OF Great
Britain which provoked the Government to
issue a proclamation against edltious writings.
Maitland. however. did not hesitate to show
himself q Jealous champion Of those revolu-
tionary principles OF which throughout his
subsequent official career he always exhibited a
horror. More ~sinEularly yet. when we consider
the part which he was afterward to play, he ut
tered in Parliament a violent diatribe against
highlands Mediterranean policy. Tho occupa-
ton Of Toulon. he said. was useless. and he rldl-
culed the idea OF capturing Corsica with only
4 Ann ,n1Isnrn H., a.. . 80 Nank fhA
island was captured without any soldiers at all.
When. in April. 1904. the Ministry brought in q
bill to permit the enlistment Of French emil
gr6s Maitland declared that tho proposed
, measure initiated against Magma Charta,
against the Bill Of Rights and against the Act Of
Succession. His final demonstration In the
part OF agitator was to vote In May, 1704.
against the bill to suspend the Habeas Corpus
act which he pronounced a subversion Of Eng
lands liberties and an odious piece Of dcs-
potism. This was Maitland's last appearance
as an obstructionist or as a Little Highlander.
He gradually withdrew from the debates.
and at the end Of 1897 no was appointed
Governor Of the western part Of San Domingo.
which since 1893 had been in the hands OF the
English. Tho Cabinets instructions were to
e~vacuate tho island with the exception Of the
two peninsulas or horns, namely, Mole St.
Nicolas and Jer6mie. The expenses Of the
evacuation were not to exceed 100000. In
the face Of innumerable obstacles he carried
out his instructions by the middle OF 1893.
and his actual outlay was q tri1e under one
half Of the sun allowed by the Cabinet. TIL
promptness and efficiency with which the work
had been performed marked him out for further
official employment, and no sooner had he re-
turned to England from San Domingo than he
was sent upon a mission oven moro arduous.
He was despatched to Philadelphia for the pur-
pose OF persuading the United States to CO.
operate with England in an attempt to bring
about some definite and acceptable arrange
ments with the black republic Of Hayti. He
arrived at Philadelphia in April. 1899.
and soon recognized that his mission
was doomed to failure. The element Of IN
certainty In regard to Hayti rather attract
ed the Americans than alarmed them. and they
had no desire to regularize the situation. Our
Secretary Of State declined to pledge himselfto
a common course OF action. and Maitland, per-
ceiving that further negotiations would be a
waste Of time, sailed for San Domingo, which
he found a scene Of confusion, torture, and
bloodshed. There was nothing to be done
there. and in August. 1799. Maitland was back
in London. After barely six months rest he
was again employed; this time In a purely
military capacity. he was deputed to command
the English expedition to Belleisle. in the
summer Of 1900. Belleisle is a consider
able islet of the west coast Of France. be-
tween rOrient and the mouth OF the Loire.
The object OF occupying this islet was to afford
a rallying point for the disaffected Royalists Of
the west. The expedition failed, first, be-
cause it was too weak. and unprovided with
heavy guns. scaling ladders or even landing
boats, and. secondly. because the greater part of
the troops were suddenly recalled and sent to
the Mediterranean. Maitland himself was or
darad horna In July 1Q0N II Nouorsko. 1910
he was made a member Of the Board Of Control
for India. and entered on the enjoyment of a
salary Of f1.500 q year. His tenure of this
office was not to be very long, however, for it
only lasted till May. 1904. About a year later,
namely. in July. 1906. he became Governor of
Ceylon. which under Frederick North's admin
istration had been brought to the verge Of ruin.
With the possible exception of the achieve
ment Of Stamford Rafle OF in Java, no finer work
has been done for England's colonial empire
than that which was wrought by Maitland dur
ing the five years Of his tenure OF Office as Gov
ernor OF Ceylon. What he accomplished NAV
be summed up in a few sentences. By the de-
cision Of his character and by his knowledge Of
men he became universally popular, although
he had to enforce severe retrenchments. In
an island whore there had been in one year a
deficit OF 100000 he reduced the expenses to
the level Of the revenue. and with his smaIl
army of 5000 men was able twice in the same
year to give ~eflectual aid t1the Government of
Madras, which had an 9rmy Of 10000. He
found the civil service inefficient, and he left It
purged from corruption and as efficient as a
service could be expected to be that was re-
cruited with boys OF Is. He found a mountain
OF debt, which he paid Oh. and vast leakages in
expenditure. which he stopped. He found
scandalous profits being made in every direc-
ton; these he could not always deal with
directly owing to the divided authority Of the
army. the navy. and the company, but he did
much to Brighten the peculators. He found
immense tracts OF country uncultivated, which
he brought back to cultivation. He found the
whole fabric OF native society dislocated; he re-
storedi it. He found war with the native kingdom
OF Handy impending; at tho expense of q few
pounds sterling and a few toys he kept It of
for Ave years. He found the restoration of the
Batayian Republic almost openly plotted; he
got rid OF the conspirator6. He found tha I'D,