No. 82

I regret to be compelled to trouble Your Grace with
additional correspondence upon the subject adverted to in
my letter of the 23rd instant,

but I forward a further
communication from Captain Gosset, lest, as he has urged it, he might complain of not having had every opportunity of making good his case.

2. In transmitting the previous correspondence, I said
as little as I could, for I felt loth to make any remarks
that might injure Captain Gosset's prospects, but as he
has by the letter

now enclosed, placed himself in a position
antagonistic to myself, I must request Your Grace will take
such notice of his continued attempts to coerce me into
bestowing the Appointment of Colonial Secretary upon him,
as you may, under the circumstances, think just and proper.

3. Your Grace was pleased to leave the appointment of
a Colonial Secretary in

my hands. Mr Young resigned solely
because the Salary was inadequate. Your Grace accepted his
resignation for that reason alone. Mr Young was contented
to remain, for the time, at my request, under the hope that
the increasing prosperity of the Colony would bring with it
a corresponding increase of Salary. This arrangement was
reported to Your Grace,

and I presume you were satisfied
with it. By it the Public Service has not suffered, but
on the contrary, has been receiving the benefit of the
services of a gentleman in every way qualified for the
Office, and my opinion of whose merits, I have already
conveyed to Your Grace.

4. Captain Gosset has had these matters explained to
him by me in several

personal interviews; and I trusted he
would have had the delicacy to cease his importunities, for
since September last he has perseveringly endeavoured to
bind me to a promise of making him Colonial Secretary; and he
has never missed an opportunity of parading before me his
appreciation of his own talents, encumbering the most common
place business letters with references to

his "superior
experience"; in fact, to such an extent had this practice
attained, to the serious detriment of Public business, that
I was obliged to request Captain Gosset to confine his
communications to clear and concise statements of facts,
and each letter to one subject. Mistaken regard for his
feelings has, perhaps prevented me sooner telling him in

distinct terms, that I could not recommend him for the office
of Colonial Secretary, even if it were vacant, at all events
unless he greatly changed both in his manner to me individually,
and to the other Officers of the Government; for I regret to
say, that, with scarce a single exception, I have received
personal representations from the principal officers of the

Government, as well as from others, of the rudeness of manner
exhibited to them by Captain Gosset in their official
communications with him, and judging from the attitude
Captain Gosset has chosen to adopt towards myself, I could
not discredit these complaints. These however, were incidents
which, although causing me much regret and annoyance, I did
not desire to take serious notice of, for I

trusted by gentle
measures to make matters go smoothly, but at the same time I
could not discard such considerations from my mind.

5. I could speak far more specifically, and could mention
the cases to which I now only superficially allude, and I
could cite other points of equal consequence in regard to
qualification, in support of my opinion as to the

unfitness
of Captain Gosset for an office where tact, judgement and
urbanity, are pre-eminently required, but I do not now consider
it necessary, as I am not bringing any complaint against
Captain Gosset, but merely mentioning my opinion, were it
requisite to make the appointment he desires.

6. In the responsible position I hold, I am bound to exercise
my judgment

in selecting Officers to fill particular offices,
and by considering any particular Officer unfit for any
any particular office, I do not, I conceive, "inflict any stain"
upon that Officer's character, as Captain Gosset alleges, nor
can he be thereby compelled to leave untried "no legitimate
means" to combat my action.