Our First Half-Century: A Review of Queensland Progress Based Upon Official InformationQueensland
History
Our First Half-Century: A Review of Queensland Progress Based Upon Official Information
Queensland
Queensland -- History
When on 10th December, 1859, Governor Bowen, accompanied by Mr. Robert
George Wyndham Herbert, his private secretary, had landed amidst great
popular rejoicings at Brisbane, read the Queen's proclamation of the
new colony, and been sworn in as Governor by Mr. Justice Lutwyche (the
Resident Supreme Court Judge for Moreton Bay), he was compelled to
choose Ministers and then govern the colony for nearly six months
before they could be constitutionally approved by the representatives
of the people in Parliament assembled. Sir George Bowen was faced by
the dearth of seasoned public men, and by the dread of enlisting the
services of strong partizans whose opinions and personal qualities
were alike unknown to him. But as a constitutional Governor he could
do no executive act until he had secured responsible advisers, and
therefore the immediate appointment of Ministers was imperative. Hence
on the day of the official landing a "Gazette" notice contained the
proclamation of the Queen's Letters Patent, and notification of the
appointment of Mr. Herbert as Colonial Secretary with Mr. Ratcliffe
Pring as Attorney-General. Thus with the Governor and his two
Ministers an Executive Council was at once formed; and five days later
Mr. (afterwards Sir) Robert Ramsay Mackenzie was gazetted Colonial
Treasurer.[a]
These appointments gave umbrage to certain colonists, particularly to
those who, having represented Moreton Bay constituencies in the New
South Wales Assembly, were deemed in many respects most eligible as
advisers of the Queen's representative. Mr. Herbert had come out from
England with Sir George Bowen as private secretary at the moderate
salary of L250 a year. He was a scholarly young man of 28 years, and
among other advantages had enjoyed the privilege of holding for a
time the post of private secretary to Mr. Gladstone. Indeed, both the
Governor and his secretary, although the former had been selected
by Sir E. B. Lytton, Colonial Secretary in the superseded Derby
Administration, may be classed among the Gladstone school of
politicians. Sir George Bowen probably recollected the injunction of
Sir E. B. Lytton against partizanship, and the danger of identifying
himself with the "squatters." For not only were they, speaking
generally, partizans of a pronounced type, but the reservation of
tenant rights made by the Order in Council of 6th June was calculated
to taint them with a strong personal, or at least class, bias in land
legislation and administration.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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