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informally and unofficially, while owing to the postponement of the second reading of the Supply Bill for a few days beyond the date originally fixed it was possible for him to be appointed to the Council in time to take part in the debate, Mr. Holyoak having left the Colony in the interim.
Otherwise, it would have been necessary either for Mr. Holyoak to resign, a course which would not
have been agreeable to him or to the Chamber of Commerce or
to myself, or for the most important business of the year to be carried through without the assistance of a representat- -ive of the principal mercantile interests of the Colony.
3. It is perhaps unlikely that a precisely
similar situation will arise again but there is always a
possibility that a member of Council who has been granted
leave of absence will be leaving the Colony on the day of
a Council meeting or the day after, so that it would be
very inconvenient for him to attend, while it would not be legal for the man who is to act for him to take his place until he has actually left. In present circumstances the
result would no doubt be that the member would not attend
the meeting but for several reasons I should much prefer to be able to secure a full attendance of the unofficial members whenever possible. I would suggest therefore that Article XV of the Royal Instructions should be amended so as to empower the Governor to grant leave of absence to an unofficial member of the Legislative Council without regard to whether he is or is not to be absent from the Colony. A similar alteration in Article III in connection with appointments to the Executive Council would be desirable
for the same reasons,
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant,
7.5. Stubbe
Governor, &c.