Up to this point the issue raised by the action I have taken is very clear: Is it within the province of the Chief Justice to report to the Governor on the condition of the Registry? If action is being taken by the Government which in his opinion is prejudicial to the efficiency of the Registry, and so to the effective administration of justice, is it his duty to protest?
If he may not do either he is completely severed from the Registry, on the efficiency of which he is often dependent. If he may do either, he must obtain reliable information from the officers of the Registry, on which he can base his report. The keeping of a diary is the recognised means of obtaining such information, and I believe such diaries are kept by many high officials in the public Departments in England.
So far as Mr. Seth is concerned, I have always been convinced that he thought his personal dignity was affronted by the request: and that had I made it verbally there would have been no difficulty. So far as the action of the Colonial Secretary is concerned, I shall refer to it in a later paragraph.
I now come to the paragraphs of Your Excellency's despatch dealing with the Registrar's duties, and
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