which could never afterwards be recovered. The French are far more likely to attempt Alderney by a surprise, which would almost certainly succeed, than to attempt Guernsey and Jersey by a methodical operation of war; and Alderney, once in their hold, will insure the ultimate reduction of the other islands, or at least render them of no value.

"I beg of you to consider, that from La Hogue to the Bill of Portland is little more than fifty nautical miles;— that Alderney, with its Swinge and Race, cannot be blockaded, and consequently fourteen or fifteen miles of the fifty will be in secure possession of the French, with harbours for fifteen or twenty large steamers of war;that the sun rises at the back of this position, and consequently French steamers and privateers will see an English vessel two or three hours before she can be distinctly observed from Portland; that they will pounce upon her, and if an English steamer, or two, or three, follow to rescue, a safe harbour receives the prize and captors, while an overpowering force from Cherbourg can issue forth to cut off the pursuers' retreat. Say a whole squadron pursues; the French vessels may run for St. Malo, where an immense basin to contain a great fleet is nearly finished; the English squadron, once drawn into the Gulf of Avranches, if composed of sailing vessels, may be kept there for weeks, thus diminishing the English Channel fleet, and leaving the French Cherbourg fleet an open sea for action, or at least a fair chance to do mischief. What mercantile losses! what an immense expense! what dangerous chances are thus opened! what a number of ships of war must be employed! what difficulty of blockade!

"But if Alderney be secured, the chances are all on the Dangerous currents.

English side. The blockade of Cherbourg would be effectual from Alderney, without a greater expense than keeping one steamer off that harbour. Nay! by raising a tower on the Touraille Hill, or on Essex Heights in Alderney, Cherbourg may be looked into with a glass.

"The works I proposed for the defence of Guernsey were not lightly recommended. I founded them upon this consideration, that with tides rising from 28 to 30 and even 40 feet, all security for the island from its rocks and tides disappears before steam. Works therefore which would force an enemy's fleet to touch at a given point or quarter, would, if they could be so constructed without any inordinate expense, be the proper mode of protection; and I have shown what works and the right site to effect this. My views, both for Guernsey and Jersey, as well as Alderney, have been confirmed by the Commissions sent out to verify them: among the most important was one on the Brehon Rock in the channel of the Little Russel; and one on the hill of the Druids' Altar, to defend the northern harbours of this island; the south side offers no temptation to an enemy; and hence, while the Brehon work would render the east side impervious to

fleet, the Druids' Altar would nearly do the same for the northern harbours; and the west side alone could be attacked. But the Brehon Rock standing in the midst of a terrible tide, the work cannot well be constructed in winter, and would under any circumstances require two years to complete it.

"The present harbour in Guernsey-I mean that now to be executed—is vastly larger than the one I contemplated, and in a different place, though very near. It will be a grand work; and in a warlike point of view infinitely better, concentrating all the power, naval and military, together, offering greater facilities for ingress and egress,

and greater space within. But it will cost, I judge, not less than 300,000l., and will, with that of Alderney, swallow up the whole sum, viz. half a million, which I allotted for all the harbours and military works of Alderney, Guernsey, and Jersey. I am convinced that sum would secure all the three islands, but these greater harbours give more security if the military works necessary are also constructed. Nevertheless the question occurs-Can England in a war with France spare fifteen thousand troops and a great fleet merely to defend these islands? I doubt it.

"The harbour which the Bailiff will desire is that which I proposed; it will combine the mercantile interest of the island with its military defence: the State would in that case, as I formerly informed Sir James Graham, furnish 50,0007. on certain conditions, and the land recovered from the sea would sell, I have been and I believe truly informed, for 40,000l. more, whereas the highest estimate of the expense, namely, Mr. Walker's, did not exceed 150,000Z."

General Napier's term of office as Lieutenant-Governor, according to the usual custom, expired in April, 1847: the climate had never agreed with him, and the measures he had felt it his duty to take in the exercise of his functions had brought him into frequent collision with the principal island families. His representations had procured the appointment of a Royal Commission to inquire into the criminal law with a view to its reform; as well as a promise on the part of the Government of a similar Commission with reference to the civil law. Dissatisfied however with the slow reformation of evils the prevalence of which he so keenly felt and had so often urged, and doubtful of the support of a Government whose cautious action he construed into unwillingness to act, he quitted the island in September with the intention of resigning his post;

and fulfilled that intention by forwarding his resignation officially on the 1st of January 1848.

In announcing General Napier's retirement to the Duke of Wellington, then Commander-in-Chief, Sir George Grey stated "It would afford me great satisfaction to learn that his distinguished services and merit had entitled him in your Grace's estimation to any military distinction and appointment which could be conferred upon him."

may

To which the Duke replied-"I have every desire to mark my opinion of his services when it be in my power; and upon an opportunity offering of recommending them to the notice of the Queen, I shall avail myself of it with the greater pleasure from the knowledge that any act of favour which it may please Her Majesty to extend to him will be in accordance with your views and wishes."

The first vacant regiment, the 27th, was accordingly conferred on General Napier on the 7th February, and the first vacant K.C.B. shortly afterwards.

The biographer has thought it right, at the risk of fatiguing the reader in this chapter, to enter into many details of slight general interest, in justice to General Napier: the more so, because, until he obtained access to all the documents connected with the Guernsey official business, the writer, in common with many others, had received the impression that many of the differences which occurred between the Lieutenant-Governor and the Royal Court might have been avoided without sacrifice of principle, and were in fact due to the vehemence of General Napier's character. But a careful examination of the documentary evidence has convinced him that the commencement of these disputes was due to the LieutenantGovernor's proper and conscientious exposure of abuses in the administration of justice; that throughout his connection with the island by far the greater number of points of

difference involved some important principle, nearly affecting the wellbeing of the inhabitants, military discipline, or the Royal prerogatives, which he could not conscientiously yield; and that a quiet life could only have been secured at the expense of the public good. Undoubtedly, the General's temper was fiery; and the peculiarly painful attacks from which he constantly suffered, which were aggravated by the dampness of the climate, rendered him more prone than he otherwise would have been to resent petty and designed annoyances, and increased his impatience with factious and selfish opposition offered by the few to measures calculated to benefit the community.

The termination of the rule of this stirring, vigorous, and uncompromising Governor was probably felt as a relief by the chief and subordinates of the Home Government. It was, however, otherwise regarded by the bulk of the inhabitants of Guernsey, who were still smarting under the operation of antiquated laws partially administered, and who were eager for reforms which demanded a resolute and powerful advocate. By these his resignation was felt as a publie loss.

Among the many expressions of these sentiments received by General Napier at the time of his departure, the following letter from Mr. Le Cras, the editor of a Jersey newspaper, may be taken as a sample of the feelings which his labours had excited among intelligent and disinterested men.

"Jersey, Nov. 10, 1847.

"My inflexible devotion to the cause of law reform in Jersey during my long residence of nearly 30 years has exposed me to much persecution. I am not, however, vain enough to think that anything which I have done or could have done has had much influence on the destinies of the Norman Isles; because I am fully persuaded that we all