1038 ADMINISTRATION AND LEGISLATION [PART Vv 
but that also was refused on the same grounds as before. 
Then Sir H. Murray was sent out, and £5,000 was advanced 
to meet the immediate needs of the people. and later on 
£15,000 was placed at his disposal. 
Sir H. Murray was subsequently appointed Governor of 
the Colony, and on February 22, 1898, he telegraphed for 
instructions with regard to the sale of the Government 
railway in the Colony.? He was asked in reply for details, 
and on February 28 he sent the details by telegram, and 
a further message urging that the Secretary of State should 
give him instructions as to whether he should sign the pro- 
posed contract for the sale of the line or not. The Anglo- 
American Telegraph Company telegraphed on March 2 to 
the Secretary of State protesting against any contract which 
would interfere with their exclusive rights to build and 
work telegraph lines and land cables in the island. On the 
other hand, the Government urged that the contract would 
provide work for thousands of men urgently needing it, and 
afford a sum of money to pay off debenture bonds which 
was required at once. They argued that the assent to the 
contract should at once be given, allowing the matter of 
further consideration to proceed when the Act was sent home. 
Mr. Chamberlain replied on March 23 that the future of the 
Colony would be placed by the contract entirely in the 
hands of the contractor, that the essence of the transaction 
seemed to be the sale of a million and a quarter acres for 
a million dollars, and the additional annual charge of 170,000 
dollars was a serious thing in conjunction with the deprivation 
of all its assets for a Colony so heavily burdened already. 
He added :—* You should point out those considerations to 
your ministers, but, as entire responsibility rests with them, 
you would not be constitutionally justified in refusing if they 
ask for your signature. In that case it will be necessary to 
reserve and safeguard specifically all rights of the Anglo- 
American Company under Act No. 2 of 1854. The Governor 
was asked by the Company and by the Opposition to reserve 
* Parl. Pap., H. C. 104, 1895 ; C. 7686. 
¥ Parl, Pap., C. 8867, pn. 1. 
3 Ibid., p. 3.