tatements before the Commons of mis-appropriation of crown lands, which
had been the text of colonial articles without number, when a secretary
from the colonial-office stated that the more serious were unfounded;
that many were ministerial acts; and the whole series were reduced to
comparative nothingness.[199] While Arthur had the power, he was not
sparing in its use: he endowed his friends. Nor is it incredible, that a
private service to himself detracted nothing from weight of public
obligation.

Arthur was no fickle or hesitating patron, and the qualities he approved
are nearly allied to virtue: he appreciated humanity, sobriety,
industrious habits, and religious decorum. Respectable men, who did not
question or cross his path, might usually calculate on his complaisance.
But those who reckoned up his estates; numbered the benefits conferred
on his friends; estimated the cost of his government; or criticised his
public works; found that he did not fear, although he detested them. The
imperial officers cared not in what direction his patronage was turned,
and their nominees experienced and praised his generous discretion.

The impressions of devout men were usually favorable to Arthur: he told
them his objects and trials with apparent humility and devotion. He
listened with deep attention to their plans of usefulness, and talked,
especially of the prisoners, in strains of christian compassion. His
sanction was given to every benevolent scheme, and he gathered around
him a very large proportion of those persons who care more for the
circulation of religious knowledge than the civil enfranchisement of
mankind. The ready countenance of their labors lessened, in their view,
his civil faults. Nor can it be denied, that the decorous habits of the
governor confirmed his religious pretensions. Wherever he appeared,
ribaldry and drunkenness vanished. The open licentiousness of public
officers he did not tolerate, except the offenders were distinguished by
official cleverness.

Addresses from all denominations of Christians expressed their
admiration of his religious sympathies and his moral worth; and in the
most bitter outburst of party spirit, his domestic character was never
assailed. The testimony of Messrs. Backhouse and Walker, members of the
Society of Friends, would generally be adopted by most persons of their
class:--"Our first interview with Colonel Arthur gave us a favorable
impression of his character as a gov