The wise and good (de facto) governor (1)

In a recent scholarly book, The Pursuit of Victory, a study about the life and achievements of Horatio Nelson, Roger Knight details with impressive thoroughness and authority the superb qualities of leadership and charismatic character of Sir Alexander Ball.

In my opinion the importance of this publication is not only its intrinsic interest but also its demonstration that in the early 1800s Malta's political fate was continually in the balance depending on the fluctuating fortunes of war in the politically charged Mediterranean basin. In these difficult circumstances when Britain's intentions about Malta were not clear, Sir Alexander Ball's credentials were beyond reproach and his achievements impressive, fully deserving the popular designation as de facto Governor of Malta. Ball's accomplishment in the interest of the Maltese insurgents is fully documented and greatly appreciated as evidenced in the exquisite memorial in his honour by the Maltese in the Lower Barrakka. Irrespective of Ball's official appellation in those turbulent days of the early British period, some form of commemoration would have been fitting on the bi-centenary of his death in Malta which fell last month, October 2009.

The eminent poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, of Rime of the Ancient Mariner fame, served as one of Ball's secretaries in Malta; in his publication Life of Sir Alexander Ball, Coleridge calls him "a very extraordinary man - indeed a great man. And he is really the abstract idea of a wise and good Governor". Roger Knight in his biographical sketches writes: "On the fall of Valletta, Ball was left out of the negotiations and returned home in April 1801. He returned to the island in June 1802 when he was de facto governor".

Donald Sultana, an acknowledged expert on Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in a public lecture in 1993 under the auspices of the British Culture Association (Malta), revealed that Coleridge was fully aware of the prevailing situation with regard to the official designations of Major General W. Villettes, (the Military Commissioner) and Sir Alexander Ball (the Civil Commissioner). Coleridge implies that Villettes and Ball were referred to as Military Governor and Civil Governor respectively.

The 200th anniversary of the death of Sir Alexander Ball in Malta in October 1809 passed virtually unnoticed. Little, if any, has been mentioned of Ball's impeccable leadership, courage and his determination to convince Britain of the political maturity of the Maltese. This is also shown in his hard dealings with Henry Dundas, Secretary of State for War on behalf of the Maltese in order "to prevent Malta being made a nest of home patronage" by giving government posts exclusively to British personnel. Instead, recent newspaper correspondence on this anniversary got bogged down on such trivialities as titles and designations. In all honesty it must be stated that in the prevailing circumstances the title of Civil Commissioner could not be officially changed to Governor before 1814, the date when the great powers of the time acceded to Britain's demands of sovereignty over the Maltese islands.

Ball's impeccable credentials can be gleaned from the following dispatches. Lord Nelson to Sir John Jervis (St Vincent) Admiral of the Fleet in 1798: "Captain Ball has the important command of the blockade of Malta, and is as eminently conspicuous for his conciliating manners as he is for his judgment and gallantry". In a letter to Earl Spencer, at one time First Lord of the Admiralty, St Vincent described Ball as "a thinking and judicious man without pomp and display". Undoubtedly, Sir Alexander Ball was a great English gentleman fully deserving of a special place in our national memory.