It will 1 thus be seen that from the birth of the ■ colony, through all its struggles for its very existence with the natives, J through all the changes political and , social that fifty years bring to a young country, the late Mr Cooper was not t only behind the scenes, but aided in i “ pulling the wires,” and thus shaping i the destiny of New Zealand. He was, in fact, from 1868 till 1891, the trusted and confident l al adviser of every suc i cessive Premier; and it became a saying that “nothing could be done , without George Cooper.” During that period the Under Seoretary was not only regarded as a permanent officer, unaffected by changes of Minis try, but as the chief executive officer » of the Government. And it is due to the memory of Mr Cooper that while wielding immense power he never used his influence either to the hurt of a fellow man, or to enhance his own fortune. He died, comparatively, a poor man, for if we are rightly in formed, he had but his pension, a small one at that. It may well be believed that on the accession to power of the late Mr Ballance, an officer, such as Mr Cooper, the embodiment of official i knowledge, of official honor, and of official traditions, was a stumbling block. He stood in tbe way of revolu tion, of topsy-turvidom, of caddishness in high places. He was more also than this—he was a gentleman. And so before a year was completed of the new order of things under the so-called Liberal Government, Mr Cooper was sacrificed on the shrine of the “ spoils to the victors.” He was compulsorily retired with no more courtesy or con sideration of his meritorious services than if he had been a junior clerk. It is a reproach to Mr Ballance that will never be forgotten, that he never knew how to act towards a public officer who had spent a life time in the service of the oolony, with the generosity and justice due to that servioe. 