end by the difficulty of controlling his own people and the motley band of white settlers who flocked to the new Alsatia from all quarters of the globe. In 1859 he offered the sovereignty of the island to the Queen, but, on the advice of the Duke of Newcastle, the proposal was rejected. The same fate befell the suggestion that England should assume a temporary protectorate, and in 1864 a responsible Ministry was formed under the King on the Anglo-Saxon model. A Parliament was subsequently created, which came to loggerheads with this Cabinet. The Ministry now fell to pieces, and on their resignation Mr. Thurston was called to office by the united voices of settlers and natives, becoming Chief Secretary and Minister for Foreign Relations in May 1872. In March 1874 he was appointed "chosen and special adviser" of the native King and chiefs, to confer with her Majesty's Commissioners as to the annexation of the islands to Great Britain; and upon the offer of cession became Chief Secretary under the "ad interim Government." He was again nominated as special adviser to the King and chiefs in Sept. 1874, for the purpose of conferring with Sir Hercules Robinson as to the act of cession. When that was completed in Oct. 1874, Mr. Thurston was appointed Colonial Secretary and Auditor-General of the colony, and also Secretary to the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific in Sept. 1879. He administered the government of Fiji from Nov. 16th to Dec 20th, 1880, and in 1880 and 1881 was sent upon special duty connected with treaty negotiations to the Friendly Islands. He was Deputy Governor of Fiji in Oct. 1882, during the absence of the Governor on duty as High Commissioner for the Western Pacific; and administered the government from Nov. 1883 to July 1884. He was appointed Assistant High Commissioner for the Western Pacific in Nov. 1883, and acted as Consul-General for the Western Pacific from April to June 1884. In March 1885 Mr. Thurston was summoned to England in connection with the joint commission appointed to inquire into the claims of German subjects to lands in Fiji; and in August of that year was appointed British Commissioner on the Anglo-German Commission for the discussion of the interests of German and British subjects respectively in the South Seas, and for the more precise definition of British and German territorial interests in those regions. He again administered the government in 1885-6, and was made Lieutenant-Governor in 1886. He held this position till the next year, when he was appointed Governor of Fiji and High Commissioner and Consul-General for the Western Pacific. In 1880 he was created C.M.G., and K.C.M.G. in 1887. Sir John married on Jan. 14th, 1883, Amelia, daughter of John Berry, of Albury, N.S.W.
Thynne, Hon. Andrew Joseph, M.L.C., son of Edward Thynne by his marriage with Miss B. Fitzgerald, was born on Oct. 30th, 1847, in co. Clare, and educated at the Christian Brothers' School at Ennistryman and at the Queen's University, Galway College. He went to Queensland in August 1864. In 1866 he entered for the first Civil Service competitive examination ever held in the colony. He soon relinquished Government employment, and was admitted a solicitor in Dec. 1873. He is Lieut.-Colonel commanding Volunteer Force, Southern Military Division, and was one of the promoters of the Irish volunteer corps. He was called to the Legislative Council in July 1882. Mr. Thynne was appointed Minister of Justice under the McIlwraith Administration on June 13th, 1888, and represented the Government in the Legislative Council. On Mr. Morehead becoming Premier, on Nov. 30th of the same year, Mr. Thynne retained his post, but resigned with his colleagues in August 1890. He was one of the Queensland delegates to the Sydney Federation Convention in 1891. Mr. Thynne, who has twice won the Queen's Prize at Queensland Rifle Association meetings, and on several occasions was Captain of Queensland Rifle teams in intercolonial competitions, was married at Brisbane in 1869 to Miss M. A. Cairncross.
Todd, Charles, C.M.G., M.A., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., Postmaster-General and Superintendent of Telegraphs, South Australia, was born in London in 1826, and was for some time assistant and calculator at Greenwich Observatory. In 1848 he was appointed assistant astronomer at Cambridge Observatory, and in 1854 he took
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