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GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS 233
of twenty-seven he had been entrusted by Parliament with the conduct
of a most important expedition, in quest of a new passage to the Pacific
Ocean. His courageous qualities were sternly tested in the prosecution
of this bold enterprise and for more than a year he endured the rigors
of an arctic winter. Nor did the results derived from this hazardous
undertaking prove of an ephemeral character. In a publication which
attracted wide notice not only in England but on the continent he set
forth these results, eliciting the admiration of savants and winning a
fellowship for himself in the' Royal Society. It was through the influence
of the Earl of Halifax that he is said to have obtained his appointment
as lieutenant-governor of the province of Georgia.
On arriving in Savannah, Governor Ellis was greeted with every ,
manifestation of joy. Guns were fired both from the shore and from
vessels in port. Great hopes were kindled by his coming. Disappointed
in Governor Reynolds the populace was prepared to embrace any change
as a change for the better. But "pausing not to dally with the saluta
tions of the citizens," he went at once to the home of Governor Rey
nolds, where he paid his formal respects to the chief executive. This
obligation of courtesy having been discharged, he then responded to the
public welcome in a decorous manner. At a subsequent meeting of the
king's council, in the presence of Governor Reynolds, who had accom
panied him to the chamber, he produced his commission at lieutenant-
governor. This having been read, the great seal was then placed in his
hands, thus ending the ceremony of his installment. In the evening there
was an illumination of homes. Doctor Little was burnt in effigy; and,
amid a blazing of bon-fires, the night was passed. On the day following
there was a continuous stream of callers. Visiting out-of-town delegates
brought him messages of congratulation; and he was also waited upon
by a deputation of Masons. But an episode which touched him most
of all was the part taken in his formal welcome by a band of school
boys, organized as a military company, not one of whom was more than
half grown. Speaking through its captain, this company of youngsters
saluted the newly arrived governor in a brief address which captivated
him so completely that, throughout his whole after life, it is'said to have
been one of his most cherished recollections.
Lieutenant-Governor Ellis found the province in a greatly disturbed
condition. There was a prevalent spirit of discontent growing out of
the recent high-handed rule of Governor Reynolds and one of the first
acts of the new administration was to reinstate two members of the coun
cil who for no good cause had been removed; but in reinstating them
such tact was employed that no offense was given. Governor Ellis made
it evident from the start that he was to be the tool of no faction; and,
quick to perceive his intentions, the people were drawn to him in a
friendship which further acquaintance only served to augment. In one
of his earliest letters to the board of trade, he urged the appointment
of a chief-justice for the province, in order that all causes of action
might be heard promptly and all complaints growing out of a lack of
uniformity in the law might be quieted. Provision had been made for
such an officer, as we have already seen, -but no appointment had as yet
been made by the crown.
Early in the spring, Governor Ellis made a tour of the province for