We come to so late as 1848–49 when Sir Charles Grey was Governor. He
rode in a State Coach drawn by four horses, and had outriders as part
of his equipage. Besides coachman and groom he had two footmen behind
his coach holding, in their dignity, their straps in holders; all in
splendid livery. When the Honourable James Gayleard was President of
the Council, he rode too in State Coach and pair, with coachman and
groom on the box and a footman behind standing with strap and holder,
all too in livery. Sir Joshua Rowe, Chief Justice, in his stately
barouche with liveried servants. The Honourable William Church
Macdougall driving in uniform with high-booted postilion. The
Honourable Alexandre Bravo, always arriving in town on the first day
of the meeting of the Council, of which he was a member, with four in
hand, his wife and then young family inside, himself on the driving
box with his son Alexandre, afterwards Major and Acting Governor in
one of Her Majesty’s Colonies in Africa, seated beside him; while Mr.
Moses Bravo followed with his wife, driving a gay and attractive
tandem. “Old Saint Jago” has its traditions, and is full of memories
of the old past and the greater days of Jamaica. A hundred of these
memories as it were pass before my eyes, and I feel a real pleasure in
recalling some of them, associated as they are with the days of my
boyhood and my early manhood. I well remember the first day of the
inauguration of a new Governor, attended at old King’s House by all
the heads of departments and highest officials of the colony. The
Lieutenant-Governor, who was always then the Major-General commanding
the Forces in this island, and his brilliant staff, the Admiral with
his staff, the Commodore on the station—the whole in full dress
uniform. The Bishop with his mitre on, and his black silk gown with
ample lawn sleeves. The three Archdeacons in their full college dress
and honours. The Chief Justice and Puisne Judges in their purple
robes. The Registrar in Chancery and Clerk of Patents, gowned in black
silk and bearing on a scarlet velvet cushion the insignia in gold of
Equity and of his office. The Clerk of the Crown and Supreme Court
with parchment scroll surmounted by the British Crown in gold. The
Military and Navy in full dress uniform. The foreign Consuls also in
uniform—those of Spain, France, Austria, and the Mosquito territory
being most conspicuous for their splendour. The three members of “the
mixed Commission” (for the adjudication of cases arising out of the
slave trade treaties) in their peculiar dress of white kerseymeres
trimmed in silver, and their silver-sheathed swords suspended in fine
silver chains. The military band of music arriving from the barracks,
at the head of the regiment, with standards flying and taking up their
position in the present garden on the left hand opposite to the front
of the King’s House.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account