:
i
238
)
bo provided. I may observe that the Governor draws no
separate allowance to meet the charge of conveyance and
has to hire additional men to convey his guests when
occasion arises, and uniform for them has to be kept in
hand. The uniform is adopted in order to maintain the
dignity of the office of Governor, and in my opinion the
charge is a legitimate one upon the votes. I shall be glad
to know whether you wish that the established custom should
be changed, and that the Governor should personally pay
this item.
3.
The second point is the supply
of coel to Government House. The Colonial Secretary,
Sir
Henry May, who acted as Private Secretary to
the then
Governor as long ago as 1889, states:- *For as long as I
can remember Government House drew its Coal through the
Colonial Secretary's Department. (Formerly the Colonial
Secretary was Auditor-General and it was in that capacity
that he administered the coal vote). Such allowance was
nominally for heating the public apartments at Government
House and Mountain Lodge. In practice the coal in the
kitchen was likewise supplied". I may observe that the
excessive humidity of this climate for the greater part of
the year necessitates the maintenance of fires in order to
preserve