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Rh acquire a great deal with which his predecessor, from his youth, had been familiar. Hence correspondence increased. He consulted his officers much; forming them, for that purpose, into little groups, like Councils. Sir George Campbell, in his Memoirs, mentions having taken part in those deliberations. 'I found him a very large-minded man, and it was a great pleasure to work with him.' The Lieutenant-Governor, for his part, quickly detected Mr. Campbell's abilities; and, when a vacancy occurred early in 1857, offered him the post of Secretary to his Government. It was accepted; but the Mutinies prevented Mr. Campbell, then in the Punjab, from taking it up.

The idle or the incompetent may have thought Mr. Colvin a hard man. He left the widest discretion and gave the most unflagging support to those whom he believed to deserve it. Impartial to the claims of all, easy of access, frank in personal address, courteous in correspondence, thoughtful of others, unsparing of himself, he soon gained the confidence of his subordinates in his new Province. His temperament was judicial. He liked to weigh, to examine, and to decide — not tardily, for he was prompt — but after due discussion. Though grave and rather stern in demeanour, his natural kindliness of disposition secured him the goodwill of his officers.