er; his information is
derived from A. or B.; he is a tool in their hands; he will undo all the
good which others have effected by enlisting the sympathies of England in
our favour.' He would have been deemed a party man, and become an object
of suspicion and distrust.

It was soon found, however, that the new Governor was as anxious as his
predecessor had been to conciliate the good will and promote the interests
of all ranks of the community in a spirit of perfect fairness and
moderation. The agitation of vexed constitutional questions he earnestly
deprecated as likely to interrupt the harmony happily prevailing between
the several branches of the legislature, and to divert the attention of
influential members of the community from the material interests of the
colony to the consideration of more exciting subjects. 'I do not
underrate,' he said, 'the importance of constitutional questions, nor am I
insensible to the honour which may be acquired by their satisfactory
adjustment. In the present crisis of our fortunes, however, I am impressed
with the belief that he is the best friend to Jamaica who concentrates his
energies on the promotion of the moral well-being of the population, and
the restoration of the economical prosperity of the island.'

[Sidenote: Questions of finance]

The finances of the colony were at this time in a state to require the
most careful treatment. At a moment when the recent violent change in the
distribution of the wealth of the community had left the proprietary body
generally in a depressed condition, the Legislature had to provide for the
wants of the newly emancipated population, by increasing at great cost the
ecclesiastical and judicial establishments; and at the same time it was
necessary that a quantity of inconvertible paper recently set afloat
should be redeemed, if the currency was to be fixed on a sound basis.
Under these conditions it was not easy to equalise the receipts and
expenditure of the island treasury; and the difficulty was not diminished
by the necessity of satisfying critics at home. Before long an occasion
arose to test Lord Elgin's tact and discretion in mediating on such
questions between the colony and the mother-country.

Towards the end of 1842 a new tariff was enacted by the legislature of the
island. When the Act embodying it was sent home, it was found to violate
certain economical principles recently adopted in this country. An angry
despatch from Downing