66] made in 1876, only seven happened to be
natives and coloured, out of a population in which the latter element
is so preponderant as to excite the fears of Mr. Froude. In
educational matters, though he could not with any show of sense or
decency re-enact the rule which excluded students of illegitimate birth
from the advantages of the Royal College, he could, nevertheless,
pander to the prejudices of himself and his friends by raising the
standard of proficiency while reducing the limit of the age for free
admission to that institution--boys of African descent having shown an
irrepressible persistency in carrying off prizes.

Every one acquainted with Trinidad politics knows very well the
ineffably low dodges and subterfuges under which the Arima Railway was
prevented from having its terminus in the centre of that town. The
public was promised a saving of Eight Thousand Pounds by their
high-minded Governor for a diversion of the line "by only a few yards"
from the originally projected terminus. In the end it was found out
not only that the terminus of the railway was nearly a whole mile
outside of the town of Arima, but also that Twenty [67] Thousand Pounds
"Miscellaneous" had to be paid up by the good folk of Trinidad, in
addition to gulping down their disappointment at saving no Eight
Thousand Pounds, and having to find by bitter experience, especially in
rainy weather, that their Governor's few yards were just his
characteristic way of putting down yards which he well knew were to be
counted by hundreds. Then, again, we have the so-called San Fernando
Waterworks, an abortion, a scandal for which there is no excuse, as the
head of the Public Works Department went his own way despite the
experience of those who knew better than he, and the protests of those
who would have had to pay. Seventeen Thousand Pounds represent the
amount of debt with which Governor Irving's pet department has saddled
the town of San Fernando for water, which half the inhabitants cannot
get, and which few of the half who do get it dare venture to drink.
Summa fastigia rerum secuti sumus. If in the works that were so
prominent before the public gaze these enormous abuses could flourish,
defiant of protest and opposition, what shall we think of the nooks and
corners of that same squandering department, which of [68] course must
have been mere gnats in the eyes of a Governor who had swallowed so
many monstrous camels! The Governor was cal