s of the Crown against whom he has,
for unworthy purposes, dishonourably laboured to excite the prejudice
and hatred of the ignorant and malicious." It is worth while to note
that this extract contains a clear admission by the Lieutenant-Governor
that his Government was regarded with disfavour by "the most portion of
the population:" an admission directly at variance with many statements
made by him in former despatches, as well as in speeches to the
Provincial Parliament.

Upon reaching England Mr. Willis put himself into immediate
communication with the Colonial Office. He took up his quarters at the
house of his brother, the Reverend W. D. Willis, at Bath. There he
prepared an elaborate statement of his case, which was duly forwarded to
the Colonial Secretary. After some delay he succeeded in obtaining
copies of the several despatches of Sir Peregrine Maitland in which the
charges against him were formulated with wearisome reiteration. These
indictments against him, which, though signed by Sir Peregrine, were
doubtless in reality prepared by Mr. Willis's arch-enemy,
Attorney-General Robinson, were certainly of the most formidable
character. They went over the whole course of the Judge's procedure,
from the time of his arrival in the Province down to his departure
therefrom. To the serious grounds of complaint which had unquestionably
been given were added numerous delinquencies of the most petty and
trifling nature. It was stigmatized as "a great indecency" that Judge
Willis had been seen in a dress "but little according with his
situation."[113] In view of the interests involved, and of the grave
nature of the questions to be decided, it seems ludicrous that the
appellant should have been called upon to reply to an accusation of this
nature.[114] A perusal of these despatches, however, rendered necessary
a supplementary statement and narrative, wherein every count in the
indictment was either traversed, or, in legal parlance, confessed and
avoided. But Mr. Willis soon found that he was not to gain so easy a
triumph over his enemies as he had previously allowed himself to suppose
would be the case. The question to be decided was a purely technical
one, and after the matter had been for some time under consideration at
the Colonial Office it was referred for decision to the Privy Council,
where it was not disposed of for nearly a year. The conclusion finally
arrived at was that Mr. Willis had been wrong in his view of