OUR ISLAND STORY 45

Lieutenant Governor Bannerman was consequently enabled to assure the members of the House of Assembly that Respon-

H

sible Government would be conceded— subject to these con-.

ditions." , In the course of their reply the members of the House of

Assembly expressed their gratiﬁcation in the knowledge “that

Her Majesty’s Ministers are not desirous of having the Govern-

ment of this Island administered in opposition to the wishes of

the inhabitants" and stated that they “hailed with the liveli— est sentiments of gratitude the declarations of His Excellency that “the Executive powers are to be placed in the hands of the Lieutenant Governor, who knows that he should conduct his Government in such a manner as to meet, as far as possible, the wishes of the community.”

There was, however, delay on the part‘of the Legislature over the acceptance of the terms upon which Responsible Govern- ment was to be granted. Doubts and fears and jealousies were encountered. How to obtain, year by year, the money required to pay the allowances demanded for the retiring officials, and for Civil List Bill, involved vexed questions concerning which there was much disputation. It was prOposed that a tax should be

imposed on the lands of the proprietors. This proposal was, of

course, opposed by all the proprietory inﬂuences. For a consid- erable length of time “no progress” was reported.

At length the Lieutenant Governor was constrained to send to the House of Assembly a message in which his “anxious desire to terminate, in accordance with his instructions, the discussions which have occupied his attention since the opening of the “ses— ion” Was vigorously set forth. A response was, a few days later, given by the Assembly. The following resolutions, prepared by a Committee of the Whole House, were adopted :———(1) “Resolv- ed that it be recommended to the House to pass a Civil List Bill embodying the allowances demanded by Earl Grey in his Lord- ship’s dispatch to His Excellency, of the 51st January, 1851, in order to secure the introduction of Responsible Government, and the demand of the Crown Lands and Crown and permanent revenues to the disposal of the Legislature of the Island; ” (2)

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