CHAPTER XVIII.

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF GUERNSEY.

IN February, 1842, General Napier was appointed Lieut.Governor of Guernsey.

The following letter of acknowledgment to Lord Hill, then Commander-in-chief, was written shortly before his departure for the island:

MY LORD,

"March 28, 1842,

"As I find I cannot have the honour of expressing my thanks for your kindness towards me in person, I take the liberty of doing so in writing.

"When your Lordship obtained for me the allowance for distinguished services, and at the same time expressed your own approval of those services, and your regret that they had entailed upon me such severe sufferings, I felt that I had been more than repaid for anything I had done to serve my country. Since then I have been overwhelmed with favours, which would oppress me if I did not know that a zealous discharge of my duties would be the most grateful return I could make to your lordship; and you will permit me to add that a long and wellconsidered esteem for your lordship's public and private character makes me feel that favours received at your hands are honourable and not onerous."

He describes his arrival in a letter to Mrs. Napier.

"We landed under a salute of thirteen guns, after a smooth passage. I am very ill and shall hardly escape another attack; but I got up, dressed in full red, gold sash and all, did all the current business of the office in the town, paid some bills, rowed some cheats, put my carriage in the hands of a coachmaker, and then prepared to receive all the great people. At twelve o'clock came the dean and clergy in formal church dresses. The dean made me a speech. I smiled and bowed, and spoke my acknowledgments, conversed and did king,-Emily says very well; so does my secretary, whom I like very much, he is so very good-natured and willing to work. At one o'clock came the militia officers; I did still better with them. At two o'clock came the Bailiff and Jurats, and with them I was quite right. The little college boys shouted for me, and I spoke to them and got a holiday, for which I am much loved by said boys."

He threw himself into his new duties with all his heart and soul; the object he proposed to himself being, as always, to do good; to ensure the greatest possible amount of happiness and wellbeing to all who came within the scope of his influence, to remedy abuses, to curb injustice, to protect the weak. A strong belief in the capability of mankind for progressive improvement was one of the principal features in his character. This made him a Reformer; and Reform was the business of his life, in which he included not only the reform of public and private grievances, but eminently of the infirmities of his own nature.

Reformer, then, he came to Guernsey, and very shortly became involved in disputes with the Royal Court, partly to maintain the prerogatives of the Crown, partly to oppose the unjust and oppressive measures of that body towards

those within their jurisdiction; and the statement of some few instances of the latter will show the nature of the evils he had to remedy.

General Napier landed in the island on the 6th April, and on the 7th he writes: "I have already ascertained that the defences of the island are in a very wretched state, and I have seen enough of the fort and entrenched camp to know that, in its present neglected condition and weak armament, it would be useless for offence and defence."

On the 27th.-"I have inspected the militia in a body and by regiments. They are fine men and willing, but somewhat discontented at the unequal pressure on the poor and rich of the militia laws, and at the neglect and decay of military spirit and feeling among the young gentlemen of the island. On the Queen's birthday review, seven or eight companies at least were, commanded by sergeants. However, by some measures I contemplate, I think I shall be able to revive their military pride, and render the militia a really efficient force of 2500 fighting men."

A few weeks after his arrival in Guernsey we find him writing to Mr. Roebuck:

"I am not well or comfortable here. I foresee great expense, and I feel it indeed already; so much so as to make me fear debt. Meanwhile, I am doing what I can to effect good, and though I have little hope of doing much, the pursuit of good is something in life."

Shortly afterwards he was seized with one of his dreadful attacks; and it was in June, when he was beginning to shake it off, that the author of this biography, then a young man of twenty-two, first saw General Napier, and was in his first interview much struck and captivated by the earnest gracious kindness of the General's manner of

receiving him. There was a gentleness of eye and indescribable look of eager amiability about the lines of the mouth; and altogether a most winning desire to please and to be pleased was apparent, arising evidently from extreme kindness of feeling. He was always particularly fond of the society of young men, and he would pour out for them a continous stream both of very interesting and of very funny anecdotes. No one ever had a keener sense of the ridiculous or a readier appreciation of true wit. Of Irish stories which abounded in the latter quality, he was remarkably full, and these he told with a relish and gusto that were most contagious. On this occasion he was in his bedroom, and was still suffering very acute pain, which he quite forgot when he became interested in conversation. He was just then much occupied with his cousin the Admiral's late successful campaign in Syria, declaring that it manifested great ability for military as well as for naval operations.

From the date of this first interview in June 1842, to the day of Sir W. Napier's death in February 1860, the author had the happiness and advantage of the closest intimacy with him, and cannot remember, during the whole of that period, to have received from him one unkind word or look. What wonder then that he should step aside from his work to dwell with chastened sadness on those early days,—to call to mind his tenderness, nobleness, greatness of mind and heart,-and to mourn so true and loving a friend who was so deeply loved and reverenced in return?

Before entering on General Napier's labours in Guernsey, it will be necessary to say a few words explanatory of the anomalous constitution of the island. The Royal Court was the Supreme Court of Judicature both in civil and criminal It was composed of a President called the Bailiff,

cases.

and of twelve members called Jurats; this body likewise claimed the chief executive authority, and this claim brought them into constant collision with the Lieutenant-Governors of the island. Their powers in judicial cases were unlimited and irresponsible, and they were guided therein neither by any fixed system of law nor by precedent in criminal causes. The two law officers of the Crown, answering to our Attorney and Solicitor-General, were, ex officio, members of the Royal Court. Besides these, only six advocates had the right to plead. These were all appointed by the Royal Court, necessarily from among the friends and relations of many of the members or judges. These advocates combined the functions of our barristers and attorneys. The principal island families were all related to each other by blood, and the members of the Royal Court were invariably chosen from these families; and thus the humbler population was entirely at the mercy and caprice of an irresponsible oligarchy. Greater temptation to tyranny and injustice never was presented to any men than to the members of the Royal Court of Guernsey, and the inevitable result was that many instances of gross illegality and oppression were perpetrated under the sanction of the law.

Take the following extract from a Report of General Napier :

"They (the Royal Court) sit first as Magistrates, with closed doors, to receive accusations-then as a Grand Jury in secret to decide whether trial shall be had-then they appoint the advocate for the accused. Then they constitute themselves the Petit Jury to try the cause; on the trial display either a profound ignorance of the law of evidence, or a total disregard of it. Terrien, the old Norman lawyer, and the practice of the present French courts; Blackstone, and the practice of the English courts, are taken as guides and authorities according to the pleasure or con