LIEUTENANT-COLONEL BRUCE controlled the affairs of the colony from November, 1868, to September, 1869. It was at first supposed that Sir B. Pine would succeed Governor Hampton, but he went to the Leeward Islands instead. On 30th September, 1869, Mr. Frederick A. Weld arrived at Fremantle to take the reins of Government. Perth was gaily decorated, and the military and civic bodies affforded him a hearty welcome.
The period during which Colonel Bruce officiated was uneventful, except for a visit from the Duke of Edinburgh. The spirit of loyalty and patriotism had been frequently demonstrated in the colony. During the Indian Mutiny and on other notable occasions the people evinced an interest in British welfare as deep and subtle as could be found in any English centre, and great enthusiasm was aroused by news of the courageous exploits of the army. Nor have the succeeding years dulled the edge of national sentiment. It can be well imagined, therefore, that the welcome tendered the Duke of Edinburgh was warm and deep. He landed at Fremantle from the Galatea on 3rd February, 1869, and left the colony four days later. Fealty to the Throne was ardently testified in salutes, military and civic displays, addresses, banquets, and balls. The populace greeted the Duke with acclamation wherever he went, and sorrow was expressed that he did not remain longer in the colony. Prior to departing he placed in the hands of the Collector of Revenue £100 to be disbursed among the charities.
Governor Weld quietly associated himself with the aspirations of Western Australians. He was an appreciative supervisor of local interests, and speedily appraised the spirit pervading the community, and strove to lead it in what he esteemed the right direction. Enterprise of all kinds was promoted by him, and he eneouraged exploration with the earnestness of an enthusiast. Upon occasion he believed it his duty to deliver lectures to his people.
Before March, 1870, the new Governor had made a tour of about 2,100 miles to every settled portion of the colony except the north-west; he generally travelled on horseback. Some of his impressions were contained in a despatch written to Earl Granville, the then Secretary for the Colonies. His conclusions are interesting:—"The whole country from north to south, except the spots cleared for cultivation, may be described as one vast forest, in the sense of being heavily timbered; sometimes the traveller comes upon an open plain covered with shrubs and flowering plants in infinite and exquisite beauty; often in the north and east districts low scrubby trees and bushes fill the place of timber, but taking the word 'forest' in its widest sense—as wild woods and bushy country—Western Australia, so far as I have seen, is covered with one vast forest." He alludes to the various kinds of timber, and he considers the geological formation "such as would indicate the presence of gold." Vine-growing had not obtained the attention it deserved; moreover, "the Western Australian wines are rudely and unscientifically made, but they are likely to possess many of the characteristics of Spanish wines." Of the old complaint that the good land was patchy and scattered, he writes:— "This is perfectly true if reference is made only to corn-growing, or feeding stock on natural pastures, but nothing has struck me so forcibly as the fact that here almost any soil will grow something or other; thus the light sandy soil about Perth astonishes me by its abundant garden produce. The vine grows luxuriantly everywhere, even in the apparently sterile 'iron stone' ranges, and the flooded low lands; the brackish swamps would grow the New Zealand flax to perfection." There were some splendid wheat-growing districts producing corn of a fine quality, but the crops were generally light, "owing in a great degree to overcropping and slovenly farming." The roads were wonderfully good, and in no country he had ever seen were there "greater facilities for the construction of roads, railways, and lines of telegraph." The truth of this report has been demonstrated in more recent years, and Governor's Weld's description of the country is true of it even to-day.
Consonant with the assent given to Governor Hampton by the Secretary for the Colonies to a form of Representative Government, one of the first duties of Governor Weld was to inaugurate this privilege. Buckingham had said that if it were shown that the people wanted the form of government provided for in Act 13 and 14 Vic. he saw no reason why it should not be granted to them. His successor, Earl Granville, was similarly disposed, with the difference that he gave the matter more deliberate attention. Buckingham, at the end of an unusually busy and trying session, found the documents relating to the question in a Colonial Office pigeon-hole; he perused them hurriedly, and gave them the Imperial assent. His term of office was short, and Granville, with greater earnestness and more time, devoted himself to a thorough understanding of the position. Mr. Lee-Steere presented to the Legislative Council, in 1869, the petition of householders, containing 1,649 signatures, which had been carefully and systematically drawn up and furthered since the meeting of February, 1868. Governor Weld was at this time expected in the colony, and Acting Governor Bruce, therefore asked that the consideration of it be postponed. In this way the matter was shelved until the meeting of the Legislative Council in 1870. Colonel Bruce, however, had a Committee appointed to draft a measure, divide the colony into electoral districts, and make other recommendations, whose report he submitted to Earl Granville. Hence the path was already paved for the new Governor.
Both in speeches in the colony and in despatches to the Home Government Governor Weld showed his sympathy with the movement. He studied his people as well as his country, and recognised that Representative Government was inevitable. In a speech delivered at Bunbury on 15th February, 1870, he declared that the new system of government would be immediately introduced. In his opinion Act 13 and 14 Vic. was not theoretically perfect, but it was workable. He was no doctrinaire in regard to constitutions, and believed that a skeleton might do to be filled up with flesh and blood—to grow and be amended to suit the changing circumstances of the country. The colony was not ready for Responsible Government; not that such was bad in itself it was the apex and culminating point of Representative Government, and its perfection but he did not think the local politicians could give up their time and private affairs to take office on an uncertain and precarious tenure. He would unflinchingly perform his duty to the Home Government, and asserted that so long as large sums of money were expended in the colony from the Imperial Treasury so long ought the Home Government to have a strong voice in local affairs. Soon after his return to Government House, in Perth, Governor Weld, on 14th March, wrote Mr. Lee-Steere, stating hat he had received a confidential despatch from Earl Granville supporting the wishes of colonists. "It is unnecessary for me," concluded Governor Weld, "to say that I shall very cordially co-operate in
