Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-01-24

907.
GOV. JAMES A. SWETTENHAM
Now Tncc to Face with n Terrible
Problem, A Character sketch writ
ten by One who Knows Him.
Fron the Montreal Standard
A tall, commanding, stately figure, clad
in plain suit of white drill, with steel
buttons. Short, crisp, silver-grey hair,
whitening on tho brow and At the SIDE
high, massive forehead; rudy complex
Ion; rare Roman features, with the excsp-
ton Of tn. chin, which IL full Arm and
determined; deep-set. keen, searching eyes
OF steel-srey, overhung with magnificent
bushy eyebrows Of silver and black clean
cut mouth md heavy. silver mou.tache;
square shoulders; large, prehon.ile hands;
form MS straight a. die; that il jaime.
Alexander Sv-ttcnham, governor OF
Jamaica. and the man upon whom all tho
responsibility OF maintans order ana res
torins calm TO tn. terrified and ,rci:en
n'tivos Of Kingston. Jamaica, hs, fallen
There is probably no man In tho British
civil service better fitted to discharge
such onerous duties; certainly there +. no
man who would face them with greater
camness, steadfastness and grim deter
mination to see the thing through"
is IRON ALL THROUGH
The occasion requires a man OF iron Sir
j. a. Swettenham Is iron all through, when
duty calls. Tho man /. the apoth.o.i. Of
determined power, possessing a will that
brooks no obstacles. force OF chsra cter
that HTS him MP a. leader OF men, and
a capacity for work which il at once
the marvel and pride OF the colonial
Office at home. His resourcefuness has
never been known TO fail him; his cool
ness has never asserted him; hts fearless
nos. won him in the Strait. Settlements
the sobriquet OF master OF warriors"
from the fierce Nalays: and his unhnch-
ing courage and stern justice have carved
for him a way along road which
greater man with less vlll-poyer would
have failed TO tread. His purity Of life
has been the object Of admiration I'm a
world which forsive- much to clever men;
his dogEedn.as and. his nvorldn-sr arc
alike features which mark him ont among
many other men as gifted and az clever
for a prominent place.
His capacity FOR work is extraordinary
He Will ride all day, sleep four or i've
hours. tour whole area ~ sugar estate,
forest. swamp and scrub talk with the
natives listen 70 thcir complaints tell
them in language OF extraordinary direct
mes. and simplicity what they ought to do
md then spend an hour before dinner
playing with some little child He is no
rcspcctcr o, persons. and his sense Of
Justice +. exact. HIS eyes are cveryu here;
his ears .re always open: he can sum
up an intricate debate with the directness
ana point OF a criminal Judge and he
never lose. his temper.
He +, an ernpire-builder. when. after
doing splendid work in Ceylon and other
eastern colonies IN minor positions he was
appointed colonial secretary Of the straits
Settlements with his brother. Sir Frank.
as governor. there was much curious
speculation as 70 what the two would
do.
They were known to be gifted men
with original ideas, but they had a task
Of almost superhuman difficulty before
them The Straits Settlements were a
failure: they did not pay their way; the
p.onlo we're disconnected rebellous: they
would no, work. and with a dearth Of
labor tho future Of the colony looked very
dark. But these two ner. were dcternin-
ed to mako the colony 90 ahead They
go, into close touch with the natives.
tried 10 make them work. and whom
they found that thi. was ,rnno.sible i'm
ported native labor from outside began
building roads, opening the country UP,
developing trade. and showing the PEG