A SOURCE BOOK OFAUSTRALIAN HISTORY COMPILED BY GWENDOLEN H. SWINBURNE, M. A. DIP. ED. , MELB. UNIV. LONDON G. BELL AND SONS, LTD. 1919 CHISWICK PRESS: CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. INTRODUCTION I submit this volume to the public in the hope that it may increase theamount of interest usually shown in Australian History by deepening thegeneral knowledge of the subject, and illustrating it by those vividdetails which arrest the attention and enable the student to visualizepast events. The number of events described in a Source Book must necessarily besmaller than that in histories of another type; but the aim is to placethe student in contact with the evidence of history in order that he maybecome his own historian by drawing his own deductions from thecontemporary records. The greatest historian can find no materialsulterior to such as are here presented, for there is nothing ulterior tothem but the deeds themselves. They are the records written by the menwho gave their life and health to lay the foundation of Australia'sgreatness--by Phillip, weakening under the racking cares of the infantstate; by Sturt in the scorching desert, as the last duty of anexhausting day. They are aglow with the heat of action; they areinspiring in their quiet modesty and strength. In order to give greater continuity to the volume, short introductionshave been placed at the head of each selection. It has been impossibleto quote in full all the documents of which use has been made, butfuller information may be obtained by reference to the "source"mentioned at the head of each selection. The editor or author of thesource and its date of publication are shown in order to facilitatefurther research. The Source Book has been compiled with attention to the requirements ofschools, and it is hoped that teachers in Australia will availthemselves of the opportunity to introduce the study of history fromcontemporary documents, and thus in this respect bring Australia intoline with the other countries where source books are already familiar. The section on discovery and exploration may with advantage be used inthe study of geography. My thanks are due to the proprietors of the "Times" for permission toquote certain pages from "The Times History of the War in South Africa, "and "The Times History of the War and Encyclopaedia, " and also for the"Dispatch from a Special Correspondent at the Dardanelles, " printed inthe "Times, " 7 May 1915. It is with great pleasure that I acknowledge my indebtedness toProfessor Scott, of Melbourne University (at whose suggestion the workwas undertaken), for his interest and advice; and to Arthur Wadsworth, Esq. , Chief Librarian for the Parliament of the Commonwealth, for hiscourteous assistance. GWENDOLEN H. SWINBURNE. HAWTHORN, MELBOURNE. CONTENTS PART I DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION DISCOVERY OF TASMANIA DESCRIPTION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA THE FIRST VISIT TO THE EASTERN COAST BASS STRAIT THE _INVESTIGATOR_ ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS AUSTRALIA FELIX (VICTORIA) THE INTERIOR OF THE CONTINENT. I EXPLORATION OF THE EASTERN RIVER SYSTEM THE INTERIOR. II ACROSS THE CONTINENT. SOUTH TO NORTH. I ACROSS THE CONTINENT. SOUTH TO NORTH. II FROM WEST TO EAST. I. ALONG THE BIGHT FROM WEST TO EAST. II. THE INTERIOR PART II GENERAL HISTORY THE FIRST SETTLEMENT EARLY DIFFICULTIES PHILLIP'S RESIGNATION NEW SOUTH WALES CORPS THE IRISH POLITICAL PRISONERS THE BLIGH MUTINY THE BEGINNING OF THE WOOL INDUSTRY EMANCIPIST CONTROVERSY WESTERN AUSTRALIA WAKEFIELD'S SCHEME OF COLONIZATION FOUNDATION OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA FOUNDATION OF VICTORIA TRANSPORTATION INDEPENDENCE OF VICTORIA GOLD EFFECTS OF THE GOLD DISCOVERY THE GOLD MINES VICTORIA IN 1854 THE BUSHRANGERS ANTI-TRANSPORTATION MOVEMENT THE LAND QUESTION THE LAND QUESTION IN NEW SOUTH WALES QUEENSLAND PAYMENT OF MEMBERS CRISIS NEW GUINEA THE NATIONAL AUSTRALASIAN CONVENTION, 1891 THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA THE BOER WAR THE GREAT WAR LANDING ON GALLIPOLI WHAT ANZAC MEANS [Illustration: MAP OF AUSTRALIA] A SOURCE BOOK OFAUSTRALIAN HISTORY PART I DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION DISCOVERY OF TASMANIA +Source. +--Tasman's Journal (edited by Heeres), pp. 1, 11-16 The Spaniard Torres was probably the first European to sight Australia (Cape Yorke); but Tasman was the first who consciously discovered the Great South Land. In his search for fresh fields for trade, he came upon Tasmania and New Zealand. Journal or description drawn up by me, ABEL JAN TASMAN, of a Voyage madefrom the town of Batavia in E. India for the discovery of the unknownSouthland, in the year of our Lord 1642, the 14th of August. May GodAlmighty vouchsafe his Blessing on this work. AMEN. _Note_. --Days reckoned from midnight to midnight. Longitude calculatedfrom meridian of Peak of Teneriffe. _Item the 23rd Nov. _--Good weather with a south-easterly wind and asteady breeze; in the morning, we found our rudder broken at top in thetiller hole; we therefore hauled to windward under reduced sail andfitted a cross beam to either side. By estimation the west side of NovaGuinea must be North of us. _Item the 24th do. _ Good weather and a clear sky. In the afternoon about4 o'clock we saw land bearing East by North of us; at about 10 milesdistance by estimation. The land we sighted was very high. Towardsevening we also saw S. S. E. Of us three high mountains, and to the N. E. Two more mountains, but less high than those to southward. This landbeing the first we have met with in the South sea and not known to anyEuropean nation, we have conferred on it the name of Anthoony VanDiemenslandt, in honor of the Hon. Governor-General, our illustriousmaster, who sent us to make this discovery; the islands circumjacent sofar as known to us, we have named after the Hon. Councillors of India. _Item 28th do. _ In the evening we came under the shore. There are underthe shore some small islands one of which looks like a lion. _Item 29th do. _ In the morning were still near the rock which looks likea lion's head. Towards noon passed two rocks; the most westerly lookslike Pedra Branca, which lies on the coast of China, the most easterly, looking like a high rugged tower, lies about 16 miles out from themainland. Ran through between these rocks and the land. We came before away which seemed likely to afford a good anchorage upon which weresolved to run into it. We again made for the shore, the wind andcurrent having driven us so far out to sea that we could barely see theland. _Item 1st Dec. _ We resolved that it would be best and most expedient totouch at the land, the sooner the better; both to get better acquaintedwith the land and secure refreshment for our own behoof. About one hourafter sunset we dropped anchorage in a good harbour, for all of which itbehooves us to thank God Almighty with grateful hearts. _Item 2nd do. _ Early in the morning we sent our own pilot Major FrancoysJacobz in command of our pinnace manned with 4 musketeers and 6 rowers, all of them furnished with pikes and side arms together with thecockboat of the _Zeehaen_, with one of her second mates and sixmusketeers in it, to a bay situated N. W. Of us at upwards of a mile'sdistance in order to ascertain what facilities (as regards fresh water, refreshments, timber and the like) may be available there. About threehours before nightfall the boats came back, bringing various samples ofvegetables, which they had seen growing there in great abundance, someof them in appearance not unlike a certain plant growing at the Cabo deBona Esperance, and fit to be used as pot-herbs; and another specieswith long leaves and brackish taste strongly resembling persil de mer orsamphou. The pilot Major and second mate of the _Zeehaen_ made thefollowing report, to wit: That they had rowed the space of upwards of a mile round the said pointwhere they had found high but level land, covered with vegetation andnot cultivated but growing naturally (by the will of God) abundance ofexcellent timber and a gently sloping watercourse in a barren valley;the said water though of good quality being difficult to procure, because the watercourse is so shallow that the water could be dippedwith bowls only. That they had heard certain human sounds, and also sounds resembling themusic of a small trump or a small gong not far from them though they hadseen no one. That they had seen two trees about 2 or 2-1/2 fathoms in thicknessmeasuring from 60-65 feet from the ground to the lowermost branches, which trees bore notches made with flint implements, the bark havingbeen removed for the purpose; these notches forming a kind of steps toenable persons to get up the trees and rob birds' nests in their topswere fully five feet apart; so that our men concluded that the nativeshere must be of very tall stature or must be in possession of some sortof artifice for getting up the said trees. In one of the trees thesenotched steps were so fresh and new that they seemed to have been cutless than four days ago. That on the ground they discovered the footprints of animals, not unlikethose of a tiger's claws. They also brought on board a small quantity ofgum, of a seemingly very fine quality, which had exuded from trees, andbore some resemblance to gum-lac. That at one extremity on the point of the way they had seen largenumbers of gulls, wild ducks, and geese, but had perceived none furtherinward though they had heard their cries, and had found no fish exceptdifferent kinds of mussels forming small clusters in various places. That the land is pretty generally covered with trees, standing so farapart that they allow a passage everywhere and a look-out to a greatdistance, so that when landing, our men could always get sight ofnatives or wild beasts unhindered by dense shrubbery or underwood, whichwould prove a great advantage in exploring the country. That in the interior they had in several places observed numerous treeswhich had deep holes burnt into them at the upper end of the foot whilethe earth had here and there been dug out with the fist so as to form afireplace; the surrounding soil having become as hard as flint throughthe action of fire. A short time before we got sight of our boats returning to the ships, wenow and then saw clouds of dense smoke rising up from the land (it wasnearly always north of us) and surmised this must be a signal given byour men because they were so long coming back. When our men came on board again, we inquired of them whether they hadbeen there and made a fire, to which they returned a negative answer;adding, however, that at various times and points in the wood they hadalso seen clouds of smoke ascending. So there can be no doubt there mustbe men here of extraordinary stature. _Item 3rd Dec. _ In the afternoon we went to the S. E. Side of this bay, in the boats, having with us pilot Major Francoys Jacobz, Skipper GerritJanz, Isack Gilseman, supercargo on board the _Zeehaen_, subcargoAbraham Cooman and our master carpenter Pieter Jacobz; we carried withus a pole with the Company's mark carved into it, and a Prince flag tobe set up there that those who shall come after us may become aware wehave been here, and have taken possession of the said land as our lawfulproperty. When we had rowed about half-way with our boats it began toblow very stiffly, and the sea ran so high that the cockboat of the_Zeehaen_ was compelled to pull back to the ships, while we ran on withour pinnace. When we had come close inshore in a small inlet the surf ran so highthat we could not get near the shore without running the risk of havingour pinnace dashed to pieces. We then ordered the carpenter aforesaid toswim to the shore alone with the pole and the flag. We made him plant the said pole with the flag at the top, into theearth, about the centre of the bay near four tall trees easilyrecognizable and standing in the form of a crescent, exactly before theone standing lowest. This tree is burnt in just above ground and is inreality taller than the other three, but it seems to be shorter becauseit stands lower on the sloping ground. Our master carpenter, having inthe sight of myself Abel Janz Tasman, skipper Gerrit Janz and subcargoAbraham Cooman performed the work entrusted to him, we pulled with ourpinnace as near the shore as we ventured to do; the carpenter aforesaidthereupon swam back to the pinnace through the surf. This work havingbeen duly executed, we pulled back to the ships, leaving theabove-mentioned as a memorial for those who shall come after us, and forthe natives of this country who did not show themselves though wesuspect some of them were at no great distance and closely watching ourproceedings. _Item 4th Dec. _ In the evening we saw a round mountain bearing N. N. W. Of us at about 8 miles' distance. _Item 5th do. _ The high round mountain which we had seen the day beforebore now due W. Of us at 6 miles' distance. At this point the land felloff to the N. W. So that we could no longer steer near the coast here, seeing that the wind was almost ahead. We therefore convened the Counciland the second mates, with whom after due deliberation we resolved, andsubsequently called out to the officer of the _Zeehaen_ that pursuant tothe resolution of the 11th ultimo, we should direct our course due east, and on the said course run to the full longitude of 195°, or theSalamonis Islands. Set our course due east in order to make furtherdiscoveries. [This course brought them to New Zealand. ] DESCRIPTION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA +Source. +--The Voyages and Adventures of Captain William Dampier(published 1776). Vol. II, pp. 134-40 Dampier was an Englishman who had joined a company of American buccaneers. They arrived in May 1698 on the Western coast of Australia, which was by this time fairly well known to the Dutch under the name of New Holland. New Holland is a very large tract of land. It is not yet determinedwhether it is an island or a main continent; but I am certain that itjoins neither to Asia, Africa nor America. This part of it that we sawis all low even land, with sandy banks against the sea, only the pointsare rocky, and so are some of the islands in this bay. The land is of a dry sandy soil, destitute of water, except you makewells; yet producing divers sorts of trees, but the woods are not thick, nor the trees very big. Most of the trees that we saw are dragon-treesas we supposed, and these too are the largest trees of any there. They are about the bigness of our large apple-trees, and about the sameheight, and the rind is blackish and somewhat rough. The leaves are of adark colour; the gum distils out of the knots or cracks that are in thebodies of the trees. We compared it with some gum dragon, or dragon'sblood, that was on board, and it was of the same colour and taste. Theother sorts of trees were not known by any of us. There was pretty longgrass growing under the trees, but it was very thin. We saw no treesthat bore fruit or berries. We saw no sort of animal, nor any track of beast, but once, and thatseemed to be the tread of a beast as big as a mastiff dog. Here are afew small land-birds, but none bigger than a black-bird and but few seafowls. Neither is the sea very plentifully stored with fish, unless you reckonthe manatee and turtle as such. Of these creatures there is plenty, butthey are extraordinary shy, though the inhabitants cannot trouble themmuch, having neither boats nor iron. The inhabitants of this country are the miserablest people in the world. The Hodmadods of Monomatapa, though a nasty people yet for wealth aregentlemen to these, who have no houses and skin garments, sheep, poultry, and fruits of the earth, ostrich eggs etc. As the Hodmadodshave; and setting aside their human shape, they differ but little frombrutes. They are tall, straight-bodied and thin, with small long limbs. They have great heads, round foreheads and great brows. Their eyelidsare always half closed to keep the flies out of their eyes, being sotroublesome here, that no fanning will keep them from coming to one'sface, and without the assistance of both hands to keep them off, willcreep into one's nostrils and mouth too, if the lips are not shut veryclose. So that from their infancy being thus annoyed with these insects, they never open their eyes as other people; and therefore they cannotsee far, unless they hold up their heads, as if they were looking atsomewhat over them. They have great bottle noses, pretty full lips, and wide mouths. The twofore-teeth of their upper jaw are wanting in all of them, men and women, old and young; whether they draw them out, I know not, neither have theyany beards. They are long-visaged, and of a very unpleasing aspect, having no one graceful feature in their faces. Their hair is black, short and curled, like that of the negroes, and not long and lank likethe common Indian. The colour of the skin, both of their faces and therest of their body, is coal black, like that of the negroes of Guinea. They have no sort of clothes, but a piece of the rind of a tree tiedlike a girdle about their waists, and a handful of long grass or threeor four small green boughs, full of leaves, thrust under their girdle tocover their nakedness. They have no houses, but lie in the open air, without any covering, theearth their bed, and the heaven their canopy. Their only food is a smallsort of fish, which they get by making wares of stone, across littlecoves, or branches of the sea; every tide bringing in the small fish, and there leaving them for a prey to these people, who constantly attendthere to search for them at low water. This small fry I take to be thetop of their fishery; they have no instruments to catch great fish, should they come; and such seldom stay to be left behind at low water;nor could we catch any fish with our hooks and lines all the while welay there. In other places at low water they seek for cockles, mussels, andperiwinkles; of these shell-fish there are fewer still, so that theirchief dependence is on what the sea leaves in their wares, which, be itmuch or little, they gather up, and march to the place of their abode. There the old people, that are not able to stir abroad, by reason oftheir age, and the tender infants, wait their return: and whatprovidence has bestowed upon them, they presently broil on the coals, and eat in common. Sometimes they get as many fish as make them asplendid banquet; and at other times they scarce get every one a taste;but be it little or much that they get, every one has his part, as wellthe young and tender, and the old and feeble who are not able to goabroad, as the strong and lusty. How they get their fire I know not; but probably, as Indians do out ofwood. I have seen the Indians of Bon-Airy do it, and have myself triedthe experiment. They take a flat piece of wood that is pretty soft, andmake a small dent in one side of it, then they take another hard roundstick, about the bigness of one's little finger, and sharpening it atone end like a pencil, they put the sharp end in the hole or dent of thesoft flat piece, and then rubbing or twirling the hard piece between thepalms of their hands, they drill the soft piece till it smokes, and atlast takes fire. These people speak somewhat through the throat, but we could notunderstand one word that they said. We anchored, as I said before, January 5th, and seeing men walking on the shore, we presently sent acanoe to get some acquaintance with them, for we were in hopes to getsome provisions among them. But the inhabitants, seeing our boat coming, ran away and hid themselves. We searched afterwards three days in hopesto find the houses, but found none, yet we saw many places where theyhad made fires. At last being out of hopes to find their habitations, wesearched no further but left a great many toys ashore, in such placesthat we thought that they would come. In all our search we found nowater, but old wells on the sandy bays. At last we went over to the islands, and there we found a great many ofthe natives; I do believe there were forty on one island, men women andchildren. The men at our first coming ashore, threatened us with theirlances and swords, but they were frightened, by firing one gun, which wefired purposely to scare them. The island was so small that they couldnot hide themselves; but they were much disordered at our landing, especially the women and children, for we went directly to their camp. The lustiest of the women, snatching up their infants, ran away howling, and the little children ran after, squeaking and bawling, but the menstood still. Some of the women and such of the people as could not gofrom us, lay still by a fire making a doleful noise, as if we had beencoming to devour them; but when they saw we did not intend to harm them, they were pretty quiet, and the rest that fled from us at our firstcoming, returned again. This, their place of dwelling, was only a fire, with a few boughs before it, set up on that side the wind was of. After we had been here a little while, the men began to be familiar, andwe cloathed some of them, designing to have some service of them for it;for we found some wells of water here, and intended to carry two orthree barrels of it on board. But being somewhat troublesome to carry onthe canoes, we thought to have made these men carry it for us andtherefore we gave them some cloathes; to one an old pair of breeches; toanother a ragged shirt; to the third a jacket that was scarce worthowning; which yet would have been very acceptable at some places wherewe had been, and so we thought they might have with these people. We putthem on them, thinking that this finery would have brought them to workheartily for us; and our water being filled in small long barrels, aboutsix gallons each, which were made purposely to carry water in, webrought these, our new servants, to the wells and put a barrel on eachof their shoulders for them to carry to the canoe. But all the signs wecould make were to no purpose, for they stood like statues, withoutmotion, but grinned like so many monkeys, staring one upon another, forthese poor creatures seem not accustomed to carry burdens; and I believethat one of our ships-boys of ten years old, would carry as much as oneof them; so we were forced to carry our water ourselves, and they veryfairly put the cloathes off again, and laid them down as if cloatheswere only to work in. I did not perceive that they had any great likingto them at first, neither did they seem to admire anything that we had. At our first coming, before we were acquainted with them, or they withus, a company of them who lived on the main, came just against our ship, and standing on a pretty bank, threatened us with their swords andlances, by shaking them at us; at last the captain ordered the drum tobe beaten, which was done of a sudden with much vigour, purposely toscare the poor creatures. They, hearing the noise ran away as fast asthey could drive, and when they ran away in haste, they would cry, gurry, gurry, speaking deep in the throat. Those inhabitants also thatlive on the main, would always run away from us; yet we took several ofthem. For, as I have already observed, they had such bad eyes, that theycould not see us till we came close to them. We always gave themvictuals, and let them go again but the islanders, after our first timeof being among them, did not stir for us. THE FIRST VISIT TO THE EASTERN COAST +Source. +--Cook's Journal (edited by Wharton, 1893), pp. 237-249, 311-312 Captain Cook was the first Englishman to search for the Great South Land. After observing the transit of Venus, he made extensive explorations in New Zealand, and then sailed West, to seek the East Coast of New Holland. _April 1770. Thursday 19th. _ At 5, set the topsails close reef'd and 6, saw land, extending from N. E. To W. , distance 5 or 6 leagues, having 80fathoms, fine sandy bottom. The Southernmost land we had in sight, whichbore from us W 3/4 S. , I judged to lay in the latitude of 38° 0' S. , andin the Long. Of 211° 7' W. From the Meridian of Greenwich. I have namedit Point Hicks, because Lieutenant Hicks was the first who discoveredthis land. To the Southward of this Point we could see no land, and yetit was clear in that quarter and by our Long. Compared with that ofTasman's, the body of Van Diemen's Land ought to have bore due Southfrom us. The Northernmost land in sight bore N. By E. 1/2 E. , and asmall island lying close to a Point on the main bore W. , distant 2Leagues. This Point I have named Cape Howe; it may be known by thetrending of the Coast, which is N. On the one side, and S. W. On theother. _Saturday, 28th. _ At daylight in the morning we discovered a Bay whichappeared to be tolerably well sheltered from all winds, into which Iresolved to go with the ship, and with this view sent the Master in thePinnace to sound the entrance. _Sunday, 29th. _ Saw as we came in, on both points of the Bay, several ofthe natives and a few huts; men, women, and children, on the S. Shoreabreast of the ship, to which place I went in the boats in hopes ofspeaking with them, accompanied by Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander, and Tupia. As we approached the shore they all made off, except two men, who seemedresolved to oppose our landing. As soon as I saw this I ordered theboats to lay upon their oars, in order to speak to them; but this was tolittle purpose, for neither us nor Tupia could understand one word theysaid. We then threw them some nails, beads, etc. , ashore, which theytook up, and seemed not ill-pleased with, in so much that I thought thatthey beckoned us to come ashore, but in this we were mistaken, for assoon as we put the boat in they again came to oppose us, upon which Ifired a musket between the two, which had no other effect than to makethem retire back, where bundles of their darts lay, and one of them tookup a stone and threw it at us, which caused my firing a second musket, load with small shot; and although some of the shot struck the man yetit had no other effect than making him lay hold on a target. Immediatelyafter this we landed, which we had no sooner done than they throw'd twodarts at us; this obliged me to fire a third shot, soon after which, they both made off, but not in such haste but what we might have takenone; but Mr. Banks being of opinion that the darts were poisoned, mademe cautious how I advanced into the woods. We found here a few smallhuts made of the bark of trees, in one of which were four or five smallchildren with whom we left some strings of beads, etc. A quantity ofdarts lay about the huts; these we took away with us. Three canoes layupon the beach, the worst, I think, I ever saw; they were about 12 or 14feet long, made of one piece of the bark of a tree, drawn or tied up ateach end, and the middle kept open by means of stick by way of thwarts. After searching for fresh water without success, except a little in asmall hole dug in the sand, we embarked and went over to the N. Point ofthe Bay, where in coming in we saw several people; but when we landednow there was nobody to be seen. We found here some fresh water, whichcame trinkling down and stood in pools among the rocks; but as this wastroublesome to come at I sent a party of men ashore in the morning tothe place where we first landed, to dig holes in the sand, by whichmeans and a small stream they found fresh water sufficient to water theship. The string of beads, etc. , we had left with the children lastnight were found lying in the huts this morning; probably the nativeswere afraid to take them away. _Tuesday, May 1st. _ This morning a party of us went ashore to some hutsnot far from the watering-place, where some of the natives are dailyseen; here we left several articles, such as cloth, looking glasses, combs, beads, nails, etc. ; after this we made an excursion into theCountry, which we found diversified with woods, lawns, and marshes. Thewoods are free from underwood of every kind, and the trees are at such adistance from one another, that the whole country, or at least a greatpart of it, might be cultivated without having to cut down a singletree. We found the soil everywhere, except in the marshes, to be a lightwhite sand, and produceth a quantity of good grass, which grows inlittle tufts about as big as one can hold in one's hands, and prettyclose to one another; in this manner the surface of the ground iscoated. In the woods between the trees, Dr. Solander had a bare sight ofa small animal something like a rabbit, and we found the dung of ananimal which must feed upon grass, and which, we judge, could not beless than a deer; we also saw the track of a dog, or some such likeanimal. We met with some huts and places where the natives had been, andat our first setting out one of them was seen; the others had, Isuppose, fled upon our approach. I saw some trees that had been cut downby the natives with some sort of a blunt instrument, and several treesthat were barked, the bark of which had been cut by the same instrument;in many of the trees, especially the Palms, were cut steps of about 3 or4 feet asunder for the conveniency of climbing them. We found 2 sorts ofgum, one sort of which is like gum-dragon, and is the same, I suppose, Tasman took for gum-lac; it is extracted from the largest tree in thewoods. _Thursday, 3rd. _ After this we took water, and went almost to the headof the Inlet, where we landed and travelled some distance inland. Wefound the face of the country much the same as I have before described, but the land much richer, for instead of sand, I found in many places adeep black soil, which we thought was capable of producing any kind ofgrain. At present it produceth besides timber, as fine meadow as everwas seen; however, we found it not all like this, some few places werevery rocky, but this, I believe to be uncommon. _Sunday, 6th. _ The great quantity of plants Mr. Banks and Dr. Solanderfound in this place, occasioned my giving it the name of Botany Bay. During our stay in this harbour I caused the English colours to bedisplayed ashore every day, and an inscription to be cut out upon one ofthe trees near the watering-place, setting forth the ship's name, date, etc. Having seen everything the place afforded, we at daylight in themorning, weighed with a light breeze at N. W. And put to sea, and thewind soon after coming to the Southward, we steered along shore N. N. E. , and at noon were about 2 or 3 miles from the land, and abreast of a bay, wherein there appeared to be a safe anchorage, which I called PortJackson. It lies 3 leagues to the Northward of Botany Bay. CAPE YORK. POSSESSION ISLAND _Wednesday, 22nd Aug. _ Gentle breezes at E. By S. And clear weather. Wehad not steered above 3 or 4 miles along shore to the Westward before wediscovered the land ahead to be Islands detached by several Channelsfrom the main land; upon this we brought to, to wait for the Yawl, andcalled the other boats on board, and after giving them properinstructions sent them away again to lead us through the channel nextthe main, and as soon as the yawl was on board, made sail after themwith the ship. Before and after we anchored we saw a number of peopleupon this Island, armed in the same manner as all the others we haveseen, except one man, who had a bow, and a bundle of arrows, the firstwe have seen upon this coast. From the appearance of the people weexpected they would have opposed our landing; but as we approached theshore they all made off, and left us in peaceable possession of as muchof the island as served our purpose. After landing, I went upon thehighest hill, which, however, was of no great height, yet no less thantwice or thrice the height of the ship's mastheads; but I could see fromit no land between S. W. And W. S. W. So I did not doubt but there was apassage. I could see plainly that the lands laying to the N. W. Of thispassage were composed of a number of islands of various extent, both forheight and circuit, ranged one behind another as far to the Northwardand Westward as I could see, which could not be less than 12 or 14leagues. Having satisfied myself of the great probability of a passage thro'which I intend going with the ship, and therefore may land no more uponthis Eastern Coast of New Holland, and on the Western side I can make nonew discovery, the honor of which belongs to the Dutch Navigators, butthe Eastern Coast from the Lat. Of 38° S. Down to this place, I amconfident, was never seen or visited by any European before us; andnotwithstanding I had in the name of His Majesty taken possession ofseveral places upon this coast, I now once more hoisted English colours, and in the name of His Majesty King George the Third, took possession ofthe whole Eastern Coast from the above Lat. Down to this place by thename of New Wales, together with all the Bays, Harbours, Rivers, andIslands, situated upon the said coast; after which we fired threevolleys of small arms, which were answered by the like number from theship. This done, we set out for the ship, but were some time in getting onboard on account of a very rapid ebb tide, which set N. E. Out of thepassage. BASS STRAIT +Source. +--Voyage to Terra Australis (Matthew Flinders, 1814), Introduction, pp. Xcvi-xcvii, cxix-cxliii The first coastal explorations after the establishment of Sydney were conducted by Bass and Flinders. Together they discovered the Hunter River; Bass in a second voyage discovered Western Port; and again together they sailed through Bass Strait, proving Tasmania to be an island. 1795. On arriving at Port Jackson, in September it appeared that theinvestigation of the coast had not been greatly extended beyond thethree harbours; and even in these some of the rivers were not altogetherexplored. In Mr. George Bass, surgeon of the _Reliance_, I had the happiness tofind a man whose ardour for discovery was not to be repressed by anyobstacle, nor deterred by danger; and with this friend a determinationwas formed of completing the examination of the East Coast of New SouthWales, by all such opportunities as the duty of the ship and procurablemeans could admit. Projects of this nature, when originating in the minds of young men, areusually termed romantic; and so far from any good being anticipated, even prudence and friendship join in discouraging, if not in opposingthem. Thus it was in the present case; so that a little boat of eightfeet long, called _Tom Thumb_, with a crew composed of ourselves and aboy, was the best equipment to be procured for the first outset. In themonth following the arrival of the ships, we proceeded round in thisboat, to Botany Bay; and ascending George's River, one of two whichfalls into the Bay, explored its winding course about twenty milesbeyond where Governor Hunter's survey had been carried. The sketch made of this river and presented to the Governor with thefavourable report of the land on its borders, induced His Excellency toexamine them himself shortly afterward; and was followed by establishingthere a new branch of the colony, under the name of Banks' Town. 1796. We sailed out of Port Jackson early in the morning of March 25, and stood a little off to sea to be ready for the sea breeze. The sea breeze, on the 27th, opposed our return; and learning from twoIndians that no water could be procured at Red Point, we accepted theiroffer of piloting us to a river which, they said, lay a few milesfurther southward, and where not only fresh water was abundant, but alsofish and wild ducks. These men were natives of Botany Bay, whence it wasthat we understood a little of their language, whilst that of someothers was altogether unintelligible. Their river proved to be nothingmore than a small stream, which descended from a lagoon under Hat Hill, and forced a passage for itself through the beach; so that we entered itwith difficulty even in _Tom Thumb_. Our two conductors then quitted theboat to walk along the sandy shore abreast, with eight or ten strangenatives in company. After rowing a mile up the stream, and finding it to become moreshallow, we began to entertain doubts of securing a retreat from thesepeople, should they be hostilely inclined; and they had the reputationat Port Jackson of being exceedingly ferocious, if not cannibals. Ourmuskets were not yet freed from rust and sand, and there was a pressingnecessity to procure fresh water before attempting to return northward. Under these embarrassments we agreed upon a plan of action, and went onshore directly to the natives. Mr. Bass employed some of them to assistin repairing an oar which had been broken in our disaster, whilst Ispread the wet powder out in the sun. This met with no opposition, forthey knew not what the powder was; but when we proceeded to clean themuskets, it excited so much alarm that it was necessary to desist. On inquiring of the two friendly natives for water, they pointed upwardsto the lagoon; but after many evasions our barica was filled at a holenot many yards distant. The number of people had increased to near twenty, and others were stillcoming, so that it was necessary to use all possible expedition ingetting out of their reach. But a new employment arose upon our hands;we had clipped the hair and beards of the two Botany Bay natives at RedPoint; and they were showing themselves to the others, and persuadingthem to follow their example. Whilst, therefore, the powder was drying, I began with a large pair of scissors to execute my new office upon theeldest of four or five chins presented to me; and as great nicety wasnot required, the shearing of a dozen of them did not occupy me long. Some of the more timid were alarmed at a formidable instrument coming sonear to their noses, and would scarcely be persuaded by their shavenfriends to allow the operation to be finished. But when their chins wereheld up a second time, their fear of the instrument--the wild stare oftheir eyes--and the smile which they forced, formed a compound upon therough savage countenance, not unworthy the pencil of a Hogarth. I wasalmost tempted to try what effect a little snip would produce; but oursituation was too critical to admit of such experiments. Everything being prepared for a retreat, the natives became vociferousfor the boat to go up to the lagoon; and it was not without stratagemthat we succeeded in getting down to the entrance of the stream, wherethe depth of water placed us out of their reach. In 1798 Mr. Bass sailed (in a whaleboat) with only six weeks'provisions; but with the assistance of occasional supplies of petrels, fish, seal's flesh, and a few geese and black swans, and by abstinencehe had been enabled to prolong his voyage beyond _eleven_ weeks. Hisardour and perseverance were crowned, in despite of the foul winds whichso much opposed him, with a degree of success not to have beenanticipated from such feeble means. In three hundred miles of coast fromFort Jackson to the Ram Head he added a number of particulars which hadescaped Captain Cook; and will always escape any navigator in a firstdiscovery, unless he have the time and means of joining a closeexamination by boats, to what may be seen from the ship. Our previous knowledge of the coast scarcely extended beyond the RamHead; and there began the harvest in which Mr. Bass was ambitious toplace the first reaping-hook. The new coast was traced three hundredmiles; and instead of trending southwards to join itself to Van Diemen'sLand, as Captain Furneaux had supposed, he found it, beyond a certainpoint, to take a direction nearly opposite, and to assume the appearanceof being exposed to the buffetings of an open sea. Mr. Bass, himself, entertained no doubt of the existence of a wide strait, separating VanDiemen's Land from New South Wales; and he yielded with the greatestreluctance to the necessity of returning, before it was so fullyascertained as to admit of no doubt in the minds of others. But he hadthe satisfaction of placing at the end of his new coast, an extensiveand useful harbour, surrounded with a country superior to any otherknown in the southern parts of New South Wales. A voyage expressly undertaken for discovery in an open boat, and inwhich six hundred miles of coast, mostly in a boisterous climate, wasexplored, has not, perhaps, its equal in the annals of maritime history. The public will award to its high-spirited and able conductor, alas! nowno more, an honorable place in the list of those whose ardour standsmost conspicuous for the promotion of useful knowledge. 1798. Mr. Bass had been returned a fortnight from his expedition in thewhaleboat; and he communicated all his notes and observations to beadded to my chart. There seemed to want no other proof of the existenceof a passage between New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, than that ofsailing positively through it; but however anxious I was to obtain thisproof, the gratification of my desire was required to be suspended by avoyage to Norfolk Island in the _Reliance_. In September following, His Excellency, Governor Hunter, had thegoodness to give me the _Norfolk_, a colonial sloop of twenty-five tonswith authority to penetrate behind Furneaux's Islands; and should astrait be found, to pass through it, and return by the south end of VanDiemen's Land. Twelve weeks were allowed for the performance of thisservice, and provisions for that time were put on board; the rest of theequipment was completed by the friendly care of Captain Waterhouse ofthe _Reliance_. I had the happiness to associate my friend Bass in this new expedition, and to form an excellent crew of eight volunteers from the King's ships. THE WEST END OF THE STRAIT The south-west wind died away in the night; and at six next morning, Dec. 9, we got under way with a light air at south-east. After roundingthe north-east point of the three-hummock land, our course westward waspursued along its north side. A large flock of gannets was observed at daylight, to issue out of theGreat Bight to the southward; and they were followed by such a number ofthe sooty petrels as we had never seen equalled. There was a stream offrom fifty to eighty yards in depth, and of three hundred yards or morein breadth; the birds were not scattered, but flying as compactly as afree movement of their wings seemed to allow; and during a full hour anda half, this stream of petrels continued to pass without interruption, at a rate little inferior to the swiftness of the pigeon. On the lowestcomputation, I think the number could not have been less than a hundredmillions; and we were thence led to believe that there must be, in thelarge bight, one or more uninhabited islands of considerable size. From the north-east point of the three-hummock land, the shore trendedW. 1° N. Three miles; then S. 39° W. Four miles, to a rocky pointforming the south-west extremity of what was then ascertained to beThree-hummock Island. The channel which separates it from the land tothe west is, at least, two miles in width, and is deep; so that it wasdifficult to conjecture how the Indians were able to get over to theisland. It was almost certain that they had no canoes at Port Dalrymple, nor any means of reaching islands lying not more than two cable lengthsfrom the shore; and it therefore seemed improbable that they shouldpossess canoes here. The small size of Three-hummock Island renderedthe idea of fixed inhabitants inadmissible; and whichever way it wasconsidered, the presence of men there was a problem difficult to beresolved. The coast on the west side of the channel lies nearly south, and risesin height as it advances towards the cliffy head, set on the 6th p. M. The north end of this island is a sloping rocky point; and the firstprojection which opened round it, was at S. 32´ W. , five or six miles. Beyond this there was nothing like mainland to be seen; indeed, thiswestern land itself had very little the appearance of being such, eitherin its form, or in its poor starved vegetation. So soon as we had passedthe north sloping point, a long swell was perceived to come from theSouth-west, such as we had not been accustomed to for some time. Itbroke heavily upon a small reef, lying a mile and a half from the point, and upon all the western shores; but although it was likely to provetroublesome, and perhaps dangerous, Mr. Bass and myself hailed it withjoy and mutual congratulation, as announcing the completion of ourlong-wished-for discovery of a passage into the Southern Indian Ocean. We had a fine breeze at east; and our course was directed for a small, rocky island, which lies W. 1/2 N. 6 miles from the north point of thebarren land. This land appeared to be almost white with birds; and somuch excited our curiosity and hope of procuring a supply of food, thatMr. Bass went on shore in the boat whilst I stood off and on, waitinghis return. No land could be seen to the northward, and the furthestclearly distinguishable in the opposite direction was a steep island atthe distance of four leagues. Mr. Bass returned at half past two, with a boat-load of seals andalbatrosses. He had been obliged to fight his way up the cliffs of theislands with the seals, and when arrived at the top, to make a road withhis clubs amongst the albatrosses. These birds were sitting upon theirnests, and almost covered the surface of the ground, nor did they anyotherwise derange themselves for the new visitors, than to peck at theirlegs as they passed by. This species of albatross is white on the neckand breast, partly brown on the back and wings, and its size is lessthan many others met with in that sea, particularly in the high southernlatitudes. The seals were of the usual size, and bore a reddish fur, much inferior in quality to that of the seals at Furneaux's Islands. Albatross Island, for so it was named, is near two miles in length, andsufficiently high to be seen five or six leagues from a ship's deck: itsshores are mostly steep cliffs. The north-west cape of Van Diemen's Land, or island as it might now betermed, is a steep black head, which, from its appearance, I call CapeGrim. It lies nearly due south, four miles from the centre of Trefoil, in latitude 40° 44´; the longtitude will be 144° 43´ East, according tothe position of Albatross Island made in the _Investigator_. There aretwo rocks close to Cape Grim, of the same description with itself. Onthe north side of the Cape the shore is a low sandy beach, and trendsnorth-eastward three or four miles; but whether there be sufficientdepth for ships to pass between it and Barren Island, has not, Ibelieve, been yet ascertained. To the south of the Cape the black cliffsextend seven or eight miles, when the shore falls back eastward to asandy bay of which little could be perceived. 1799. To the strait which had been the great object of research, andwhose discovery was now completed, Governor Hunter gave, at myrecommendation, the name of Bass Strait. This was no more than a justtribute to my worthy friend and companion, for the extreme dangers andfatigues he had undergone in first entering it in the whale-boat, and tothe correct judgment he had formed from various indications, of theexistence of a wide opening between Van Diemen's Land and New SouthWales. THE _INVESTIGATOR_ +Source. +--Voyage to Terra Australis (Matthew Flinders, 1814), pp. 36-37, 60-61, 211-220, 229-231 In recognition of his services Captain Flinders was given command of the _Investigator_ in which to prosecute the exploration of Terra Australis. He sailed along the South coast and up the East, to Port Jackson: subsequently, he circumnavigated the continent and suggested its present name. _October 16th_, 1801. At daybreak we expected to see the highland of theCape (of Good Hope), but the weather being hazy, it could not bedistinguished until eight o'clock. At this time we had not a single person on the sick list, both officersand men being fully in as good health as when we sailed from Spithead. Ihad begun very early to put in execution the beneficial plan firstpractised and made known by the great Captain Cook. It was in thestanding orders of the ship, that on every fine day the deck below andthe cockpits should be cleared, washed, aired with stoves, and sprinkledwith vinegar. On wet and dull days they were cleaned and aired withoutwashing. Care was taken to prevent the people from sleeping upon deck, or lying down in their wet clothes; and once in every fortnight or threeweeks, as circumstances permitted, their beds, and the contents of theirlockers, chests, and bags, were exposed to the sun and air. On theThursday and Sunday mornings the ship's company was mustered, and everyman appeared clean shaved and dressed; and when the evenings were fine, the drum and fife announced the forecastle to be the scene of dancing;nor did I discourage other playful amusements which might occasionallybe more to the taste of the sailors, and were not unseasonable. Within the tropics, lime juice and sugar were made to suffice asantiscorbutics; on reaching a higher latitude, sour krout and vinegarwere substituted; the essence of malt was reserved for the passage toNew Holland, and for future occasions. On consulting with the surgeon, Ihad thought it expedient to make some slight changes in the issuing ofthe provisions. Oatmeal was boiled for breakfast four days in the weekinstead of three; and when rice was issued after the expenditure of thecheese, it was boiled on the other three days. Pease soup was preparedfor dinner four days a week as usual; and at other times two ounces ofportable broth, in cakes, to each man, with such additions of onions, pepper, etc. , as the different messes possessed, made a comfortableaddition to their salt meat. And neither in this passage, nor, I mayadd, in any subsequent part of the voyage, were the officers or peoplerestricted to any allowance of fresh water. They drank freely at thescuttled cask, and took away, under the inspection of the officer of thewatch, all that was requisite for culinary purposes; and very frequentlytwo casks of water in the week were given for washing their clothes. With these regulations, joined to a due enforcement of discipline, I hadthe satisfaction to see my people orderly and full of zeal for theservice in which we were engaged; and in such a state of health, that nodelay at the Cape was required beyond the necessary refitment of theship, and I still hoped to save a good part of the summer season uponthe south coast of Terra Australis. KING GEORGE'S SOUND On Dec. 30th our wooding and the watering of the ship were completed, the rigging was refitted, the sails repaired and bent, and the shipunmoored. Our friends, the natives, continued to visit us; and the oldman with several others being at the tents this morning, I ordered aparty of marines on shore to be exercised in their presence. The redcoats and white crossed belts were greatly admired, having someresemblance to their own manner of ornamenting themselves; and the drum, but particularly the fife, excited their astonishment, but when they sawthese beautiful red and white men with their bright muskets, drawn up ina line, they absolutely screamed with delight; nor were their wildgestures and vociferation to be silenced but by commencing the exercise, to which they paid the most earnest and silent attention. Several ofthem moved their hands involuntarily in accordance with the motions; andthe old man placed himself at the end of the rank, with a short staff inhis hand, which he shouldered, presented, grounded, as did the marinestheir muskets, without, I believe, knowing what he did. Before firing, the Indians were made acquainted with what was going to take place; sothat the volleys did not excite much terror. PORT PHILLIP _Monday, April 26th_, 1802. On coming within five miles of the shore ateleven o'clock, we found it to be low and mostly sandy; and that thebluff head, which had been taken for the north end of an island, waspart of a ridge of hills rising at Cape Schanck. We then bore awaywestward, in order to trace the land round the head of the deep bight. On the west side of the rocky point there was a small opening withbreaking water across it; however, on advancing a little more westwardthe opening assumed a more interesting aspect, and I bore away to have anearer view. A large extent of water presently became visible withinside; and although the entrance seemed to be very narrow, and there werein it strong ripplings like breakers, I was induced to steer in athalf-past one; the ship being close upon the wind, and every man readyfor tacking at a moment's warning; the soundings were irregular between6 and 12 fathoms, until we got four miles within the entrance, when theyshoaled quick to 2-3/4. The extensive harbour we had thus unexpectedly found I supposed must beWestern Port, although the narrowness of the entrance did by no meanscorrespond with the width given to it by Mr. Bass. It was theinformation of Captain Baudin, who had coasted along from thence withfine weather, and had found no inlet of any kind, which had induced thissupposition; and the very great extent of the place, agreeing with thatof Western Port, was in confirmation of it. This however was not WesternPort, as we found next morning; and I congratulated myself on havingmade a new and useful discovery, but here again I was in error. Thisplace, as I afterwards learnt at Port Jackson, had been discovered tenweeks before by Lieutenant John Murray, who had succeeded Captain Grantin command of the _Lady Nelson_. He had given it the name of PortPhillip, and to the rocky point on the east side of the entrance, thatof Point Nepean. Before proceeding any higher with the ship, I wished to gain someknowledge of the form and extent of this great piece of water; andArthur's seat being more than a thousand feet high and near the waterside, presented a favourable station for the purpose. After breakfast Iwent away in a boat, accompanied by Mr. Brown and some other gentlemen, for the Seat. I ascended the hill and to my surprise found the Port soextensive, that even at this elevation its boundary to the northwardcould not be distinguished. The western shore extended from the entranceten or eleven miles in a northern direction, to the extremity of whatfrom its appearance I called Indented Head; beyond it was a wide branchof the port leading to the westward, and I suspected might have acommunication with the sea; for it was almost incredible that such avast piece of water should not have a larger outlet than that throughwhich we had come. Another considerable piece of water was seen, at the distance of threeor four leagues; as it appeared to have a communication with the sea tothe south, I had no doubt of its being Mr. Bass' Western Port. _Saturday, May 1st. _ At day-dawn I set off with three of the boat'screw, for the highest part of the back hills called Station Peak. One ortwo miles before arriving at the feet of the hills, we entered a woodwhere an emu and a kangaroo were seen at a distance; and the top of thePeak was reached at ten o'clock. I saw the water of the Port as far asN. 75 E. , so that the whole extent of the Port, north and south, is atleast thirty miles. I left the ship's name on a scroll of paper, deposited in a small pileof stones upon the top of the peak; and at three in the afternoon, reached the tent, much fatigued, having walked more than twenty mileswithout finding a drop of water. _Sunday, 2nd May. _ I find it very difficult to speak in general terms ofPort Phillip. On the one hand it is capable of receiving and shelteringa larger fleet of ships than ever yet went to sea; whilst on the other, the entrance on its whole width is scarcely two miles, and nearly halfof it is occupied by rocks lying off Point Nepean, and by shoals on theopposite side. The depth in the remaining part varies from 6 to 12fathoms; and this irregularity causes the strong tides, especially whenrunning against the wind, to make breakers, in which small vesselsshould be careful of engaging themselves; and when a ship has passed theentrance, the shoals are a great obstacle to a free passage up the Port. No runs of fresh water were seen in my excursions; but Mr. Grimes, Surveyor-General of New South Wales, afterwards found several, and inparticular a small river falling into the Northern head of the Port. Thecountry surrounding Port Phillip has a pleasing and in many parts afertile appearance; and the sides of some of the hills and several ofthe valleys are fit for agricultural purposes. It is in great measurecountry capable of supporting cattle, though better calculated forsheep. Were a settlement to be made at Port Phillip, as doubtless there will besometime hereafter, the entrance could be easily defended; and it wouldnot be difficult to establish a friendly intercourse with the natives, for they are acquainted with the effect of firearms, and desirous ofpossessing many of our conveniences. In the woods are the kangaroo, the emu or cassowary, paroquets, and avariety of small birds; the mud banks are frequented by ducks and someblack swans, and the shores by the usual sea fowl common to New SouthWales. The range of the thermometer was between 61 and 67 and theclimate appeared to be as good and agreeable as could well be desired inthe month corresponding to November. In 1803, Colonel C. Collins of theMarines was sent out from England to make a new settlement in thiscountry, but he quitted Port Phillip for the South end of Van Diemen'sLand, probably from not finding fresh water for a colony sufficientlynear to the entrance. PORT JACKSON On the 4th of June the ship was dressed with colours, a royal salutefired, and I went with the principal officers of the _Investigator_ topay my respects to His Excellency the Governor and Captain-General inhonour of His Majesty's birthday. On this occasion a splendid dinner wasgiven to the colony; and the number of ladies and civil, military, andnaval officers, was not less than forty, who met to celebrate the birthof their beloved Sovereign in this distant part of the earth. Captain Baudin arrived in the _Geographe_ on the 20th, and a boat wassent from the _Investigator_ to assist in towing the ship up to thecove, it was grievous to see the miserable condition to which bothofficers and crew were reduced by scurvy; there being not more out of170, according to the Commander's account, than twelve men capable ofdoing their duty. The sick were received into the Colonial Hospital; andboth French ships furnished with everything in the power of the Colonyto supply. Before their arrival the necessity of augmenting the numberof cattle in the country had prevented the Governor from allowing us anyfresh meat; but some oxen belonging to Government were now killed forthe distressed strangers; and by returning an equal quantity of saltmeat, which was exceedingly scarce at this time, I obtained a quarter ofbeef for my people. The distress of the French navigators had indeedbeen great, but every means were used by the Governor and the principalinhabitants of the colony, to make them forget both their sufferings andthe war which existed between the two nations. _July. _ His Excellency Governor King, had done me the honour to visitthe _Investigator_, and to accept of a dinner on board; on whichoccasion he had been received with the marks of respect due to his rankof Captain-General; and shortly afterwards, the Captains Baudin andHamelin, with Monsieur Peron and some other French officers, as alsoColonel Paterson, the Lieutenant-Governor, did me the same favour; whenthey were received under a salute of 11 guns. The intelligence of peacewhich had just been received contributed to enliven the party; andrendered our meeting more particularly agreeable. I showed to CaptainBaudin my charts of the South Coast, containing the part first exploredby him, and distinctly marked as his discovery. He made no objection tothe justice of the limits therein pointed out; but found his portion tobe smaller than he had supposed, not having before been aware of theextent of the discoveries previously made by Captain Grant. After examining the Chart, he said, apparently as a reason for notproducing any of his own, that his charts were not constructed on boardthe ship; but that he transmitted to Paris all his bearings andobservations, with a regular series of views of the land and from themthe charts were to be made at a future time. NAMING THE CONTINENT Had I permitted myself any innovation upon the original term (TerraAustralis), it would have been to convert it into Australia, as beingmore agreeable to the ear, and an assimilation to the names of the othergreat portions of the earth. ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS +Source. +--A Journal of a Tour of Discovery across the Blue Mountains, N. S. W. (Blaxland, 1823), Introduction and pp. 1, 22, 29-34 For many years the settlement in N. S. W. Was confined to the coastal plains, owing to the impassability of the Blue Mountains. In 1813 Gregory Blaxland, accompanied by Wentworth and Lawson, accomplished the passage, and opened vast plains for settlement. TO JOHN OXLEY PARKER, ESQ. , OF CHELMSFORD, ESSEX _London, Feb. 10th 1823. _ Dear Sir, Feelings of gratitude for your kind attention to me in the early part oflife, have induced me to dedicate to you the following short Journal ofmy passage over the Blue Mountains, in the colony of New South Wales, under the persuasion that it will afford you pleasure at all times tohear that any of your family have been instrumental in promoting theprosperity of any country in which they may reside, however distant thatcountry may be from the immediate seat of our Government. Devoid as it is of any higher pretensions than belong to it as a plainunvarnished statement, it may not be deemed wholly uninteresting, whenit is considered what important alterations the result of the expeditionhas produced in the immediate interests and prosperity of the Colony. This appears in nothing more decidedly than the unlimited pasturagealready afforded to the very fine flocks of Merino Sheep, as well as theextensive field opened for the exertions of the present, as well asfuture generations. It has changed the aspect of the Colony, from aconfined insulated tract of land, to a rich and extensive continent. This expedition, which has proved so completely successful, resultedfrom two previous attempts. One of these was made by water, by HisExcellency the Governor, in person, whom I accompanied. The other expedition was undertaken by myself, attended by threeEuropean servants and two natives, with a horse to carry provisions andother necessities. We returned sooner than I intended, owing to one manbeing taken ill. This journey confirmed me in the opinion, that it waspracticable to find a passage over the mountains, and I resolved at somefuture period to attempt it. Soon after, I mentioned the circumstance to His Excellency the Governor, who thought it reasonable, and expressed a wish that I should make theattempt. Having made every requisite preparation, I applied to the twogentlemen who accompanied me, to join in the expedition, and wasfortunate in obtaining their consent. To these gentlemen I have to express my thanks for their company and toacknowledge that without their assistance I should have had but littlechance of success. The road which has since been made deviates but a few rods in someplaces from the line cleared of the small trees and bushes, and markedby us. Nor does it appear likely that any other line of road will everbe discovered than at the difficult and narrow passes that we werefortunate to discover, by improving which a good carriage road has nowbeen made across the mountains. Mount York is the Western summit of themountains, the vale Clwyd, the first valley at their feet from which amountain (afterwards named Mount Blaxland by His Excellency GovernorMacquarie) is about eight miles; which terminated our journey. I remain, dear sir, most respectfully, Your affectionate nephew, G. BLAXLAND. On Tuesday, May 11, 1813, Mr. Gregory Blaxland, Mr. William Wentworth, and Lieutenant Lawson, attended by four servants, with five dogs andfour horses, laden with provisions, ammunition, and other necessaries, left Mr. Blaxland's farm at the South Creek, for the purpose ofendeavouring to effect a passage over the Blue Mountains, between theWestern River, and the River Grose. On the following morning (May the 12th) as soon as the heavy dew wasoff, which was about nine a. M. , they proceeded to ascend the ridge atthe foot of which they had camped the preceding evening. Aftertravelling about a mile on the third day in a west and north-westdirection, they arrived at a large tract of forest land, rather hilly, the grass and timber tolerably good. They computed it as two thousandacres. Here they found a track marked by a European, by cutting the barkof the trees. They had not proceeded above two miles, when they foundthemselves stopped by a brushwood, much thicker than they had hithertomet with. This induced them to alter their course, and to endeavour tofind another passage to the westward, but every ridge which theyexplored proved to terminate in a deep rocky precipice, and they had noalternative but to return to the thick brushwood, which appeared to bethe main ridge, with the determination to cut a way through for thehorses the next day. On the next morning, leaving two men to take care of the horses andprovisions, they proceeded to cut a path through the thick brushwood, onwhat they considered as the main ridge of the mountains, between theWestern River, and the River Grose. They now began to mark their trackby cutting the bark of the trees on two sides. Having cut their way forabout five miles, they returned in the evening to the spot on which theyhad encamped the night before. The fifth day was spent in prosecutingthe same tedious operation, but, as much time was necessarily lost inwalking twice over the track cleared the day before, they were unable tocut away more than two miles further. They found no food for the horsesthe whole way. On Sunday, they rested and arranged their future plans. They had reason, however, to regret this suspension of their proceedings, as it gave themen leisure to ruminate on their danger, and it was for some timedoubtful whether, on the next day, they could be persuaded to venturefarther. On Wednesday, the 19th, the party moved forward, bearing chiefly west, and west-south-east. They now began to ascend the second ridge of themountains, and from this elevation they obtained for the first time anextensive view of the settlements below. At a little distance from the spot at which they began the ascent, theyfound a pyramidical heap of stones, the work, evidently, of someEuropean, one side of which the natives had opened, probably in theexpectation of finding some treasure deposited in it. This pile theyconcluded to be the one erected by Mr. Bass, to mark the end of hisjourney. That gentleman attempted some time ago to pass the Mountains, and to penetrate into the interior, but having got thus far, he gave upthe undertaking as impracticable, reporting, on his return, that it wasimpossible to find a passage even for a person on foot. Here, therefore, the party had the satisfaction of believing that they had penetrated asfar as any European had been before them. [This, however, proved to be Caley's Cairn. ] _May 21st. _--Their progress the next day was nearly four miles. Theyencamped in the middle of the day at the head of a well-watered swamp, about five acres in extent; pursuing, as before, their operations in theafternoon. In the beginning of the night the dogs ran off and barkedviolently. At the same time something was distinctly heard to runthrough the brushwood, which they supposed to be one of the horses gotloose; but they had reason to believe afterwards that they had been ingreat danger--that the natives had followed their tracks, and advancedon them in the night, intending to have speared them by the light oftheir fire, but that the dogs drove them off. On the top of this ridge they found about two acres of land clear oftrees, covered with loose stones and short coarse grass, such as growson some of the commons of England. Over this heath they proceeded abouta mile and a half, and encamped by the side of a fine stream of water, with just wood enough on the banks to serve for firewood. From thesummit they had a fine view of all the settlements and countryeastwards, and of a great extent of country to the westward andsouth-west. But their progress in both the latter directions was stoppedby an impassable barrier of rock, which appeared to divide the interiorfrom the coast as with a stone wall, rising perpendicularly out of theside of the mountain. In the afternoon they left their little camp inthe charge of three of the men, and made an attempt to descend theprecipice by following some of the streams of water, or by getting downat some of the projecting points where the rocks had fallen in; but theywere baffled in every instance. In some places the perpendicular heightof the rocks above the earth below could not be less than four hundredfeet. On the 28th they proceeded about five miles and three-quarters. Notbeing able to find water, they did not halt till five o'clock, when theytook up their station on the edge of the precipice. To their greatsatisfaction they discovered, that what they had supposed to be sandy, barren land below the mountain, was forest land, covered with goodgrass, and with timber of an inferior quality. In the evening theycontrived to get their horses down the mountain by cutting a smalltrench with a hoe, which kept them from slipping, where they againtasted grass for the first time since they left the forest land on theother side of the mountain. They were getting into miserable condition. Water was found about two miles below the foot of the mountain. In thisday's route little timber was observed fit for building. On the 29th, having got up the horses and laden them, they began todescend the mountain at seven o'clock, through a pass in the rock aboutthirty feet wide, which they had discovered the day before, when thewant of water put them on the alert. Part of the descent was so steepthat the horses could but just keep their footing, without a load, sothat, for some way the party were obliged to carry the packagesthemselves. A cart-road might, however, easily be made by cutting aslanting trench along the side of the mountain, which is here coveredwith earth. They reached the foot at nine o'clock a. M. , and proceeded two miles, mostly through open meadow land, clear of trees, the grass from two tothree feet high. They encamped on the bank of a fine stream of water. The natives, as observed by the smoke of their fires, moved before them, as yesterday. The dogs killed a kangaroo, which was very acceptable, asthe party had lived on salt meat since they caught the last. The timberseen this day appeared rotten and unfit for building. The climate here was found very much colder than that of the mountain orof the settlements on the east side, where no signs of frost had madeits appearance when the party set out. During the night the ground wascovered with a thick frost, and a leg of the kangaroo was quite frozen. They now conceived that they had sufficiently accomplished the design oftheir undertaking, having surmounted all the difficulties which hadhitherto prevented the interior of the country from being explored, andthe Colony from being extended. They had partly cleared, or, at least, marked out a road by which the passage of the mountain might easily beeffected. Their provisions were nearly exhausted, their clothes andshoes were in very bad condition, and the whole party were ill withbowel complaints. These considerations determined them, therefore, toreturn home by the track they came. On Tuesday, the 1st of June, theyarrived at the foot of the mountain which they had descended, where theyencamped for the night. The following day they began to ascend the mountain at seven o'clock, and reached the summit at ten; they were obliged to carry the packagesthemselves part of the ascent. They encamped in the evening at one of their old stations. On the 3rd, they reached another of their old stations. Here, during the night, theyheard a confused noise arising from the eastern settlements below, which, after having been so long accustomed to the death-like stillnessof the interior, had a very striking effect. On the 4th, they arrived atthe end of their marked track, and encamped in the forest land wherethey had cut the grass for their horses. One of the horses fell this daywith his load, quite exhausted, and was with difficulty got on, afterhaving his load put on the other horses. The next day, the 5th, was themost unpleasant and fatiguing they had experienced. The track not beingmarked, they had great difficulty in finding their way back to theriver, which they did not reach till four p. M. O'clock. They then oncemore encamped for the night to refresh themselves and the horses. Theyhad no provisions now left except a little flour, but procured some fromthe settlement on the other side of the river. On Sunday, the 6th ofJune, they crossed the river after breakfast, and reached their homesall in good health. The winter had not set in on this side of themountain, nor had there been any frost. AUSTRALIA FELIX (VICTORIA) +Source. +--Hovell's Journal, 1837, pp. 25-27, 39-42, 72-73 The country between Botany Bay and Bass Strait was unexplored until 1824, when Messrs. Hume and Hovell set out to discover if it were suitable for settlement. They encountered difficulties among the Australian Alps, discovered the Hume (Murray) River and reached Port Phillip. Oct. 2nd, 1824--Jan. 16th, 1825. _Sat. , Nov. 6th. _ They had now (it was noon) unexpectedly reached theS. W. Extremity of the ridge or spine, which here terminates in an abruptand very steep descent: the view from this spot consists of a valley(immediately in their front, S. ) extending in the direction S. W. , andvarying from one to two miles in breadth. Along the centre of thisvalley runs a small stream, and near by the stream is a brokenmountainous country: the view is closed by mountains, both of adifferent form (peaked) and of an infinitely greater height than anywhich they had yet seen. They now descended the table range, pursuingthe zig-zag course of one of the tributaries of the stream which theyhad observed in the valley, taking its rise in these mountains, not farbelow the spot at which they commence making their descent. At six o'clock in the evening they arrive in the valley. At seven, having still pursued their course along the same branch, they come tothe main stream. In effecting the descent from these mountains, they hadnearly lost one of the party, as well as a bullock; the animal hadfallen when it had reached about two-thirds down the mountain inconsequence of a stone slipping under its feet, and in its fall it hadforced down with it the man who was leading it. But their fall wasintercepted by a large tree, and the man as well as the animal was thusprevented from being dashed to pieces. The man, however, unfortunatelywas much hurt. Never was the great superiority of bullocks to horses (in some respects)for journeys of this description more observable than in the passage ofthis difficult and dangerous ascent. The horses it had becomeindispensable to unload, and to conduct each separately with great care;but if one of the bullocks be led the rest follow; the horse is timidand hurried in its action in places where there is danger; the bullockis steady and cautious. If the latter slip in its ascent, or if theacclivity be too steep for its usual mode of progression, the animalkneels down, and scrambles up in this posture. If it be descending, andit become placed in a similar predicament, it sits down, and turns itshead round towards the ascent, as if to balance its body. For thecrossing of unsound or boggy ground, the structure of its hoof isparticularly adapted, while the foot of the horse, on the contrary, isill suited for this purpose, and for which the fears and consequentagitation of the animal renders it unfit. (Bullocks ought, when used for these journeys, to be shod; their feet, otherwise, are very liable to become disabled. ) _Tuesday, Nov. 16th. _ Soon after sunrise they recommence their journey, having proceeded three and a half miles S. (the land gradually slopingas they advanced), arrive suddenly on the banks of a fine river. Thiswas named "The Hume. " This beautiful stream is found to be not less than 80 yards in breadth, apparently of considerable depth; the current at three miles an hour;the water, for so considerable a stream, clear. The river itself is serpentine, the banks clothed with verdure to thewater's edge, their general height various, but seldom either more orless than eight or nine feet, inclined or precipitous, as they happen bythe bending of the stream to be more or less exposed to the action ofthe current. On each side of the river is a perpetual succession oflagoons extending generally in length from one to two miles, and about aquarter of a mile in breadth. These, which are situate alternately oneach side of the river, within those elbows and projections which areformed by its windings, often for miles together, preclude any approachto its banks. Each of these lagoons was furnished with an inlet from theriver and an outlet into it. In general, the spaces between the lagoons and the river are thicklywooded (the trees consisting principally of the blue gum of a largegrowth), and are overgrown with vines of various descriptions, and thefern, the peppermint, flax plant, and currajong. The fern, currajong, and the flax flourish here in abundance, and the peppermint plant (whichthey had not seen in any other part of the country) seems to surpass, both in odour and taste the species that is generally produced in ourgardens. From the flax-plant the natives, as they afterwards discover, maketheir fishing-lines and nets for carrying their travelling gear andprovisions. Unable to devise any means of crossing the river, and in hope ofdiscovering some practicable ford, they now commence their progress downthe stream, proceed three miles and a half, and then halt. At half-pasttwo they resume their route, but are soon compelled from the continualsuccession of lagoon and swamp to return to some higher land, about twomiles from the river. [Crossing the river with difficulty, they travelled southwards for fourweeks. ] _Thursday, Dec. 16th. _--This morning they cross the river or creekwithout difficulty, the water not taking the cattle more than chesthigh. They now proceed S. W. By S. Through the plains about six miles, when they are struck with an appearance respecting which they cannotdecide whether it is that of burning grass or of distant water. They now therefore, having altered their course to the south, at fouro'clock, have the gratification satisfactorily to determine, that theappearance which had just created so much doubt is that of the latterobject, and which leaving the river a short distance, and directingtheir march from S. W. To SS. W. They soon ascertain to be part of thesea--the so long and ardently desired bourn of their labours. They nowagain alter their course to south-west and travel six miles in thatdirection along the shore, over excellent land, but clear of timber. Onthe downs, or plains to-day they had seen several flocks of emus andwild turkeys. The water near the shore was covered with waterfowl ofvarious descriptions, some of which were new to them, and by the timethey had halted for the night, they had procured an ample supply ofblack swans and ducks. They stopped for the night at seven o'clock in asmall wood, at a mile from the beach, but where there was no freshwater, having travelled to-day, they supposed, upwards of twenty miles. _Friday, Dec. 17th. _ They proceed this morning from the beach in adirection about N. N. W. Three or four miles in quest of water, when theyarrive on the banks of a creek, where they have the good fortune to findabundance of good water and of grass. Here they remain the day, in orderto refresh the cattle, who are not a little in want of this timelyrelief, more particularly as it is proposed to commence their returnto-morrow. This determination of so soon retracing their steps, thoughit cost them much regret, had become indispensable, not only from theextreme scantiness of their remaining supplies, and the certainty of themany difficulties they would have to encounter, but still more so fromconsideration that the mere circumstance of a fall of rain by swellingthe streams, might, in the weak and ill-provided state to which thewhole party were reduced, render their return altogether impracticable. (Four weeks' flour at reduced allowance and a small quantity of tea andsugar, but no animal food; independently of which, the ropes and othermaterial employed for crossing streams were now almost utterly unfit foruse. ) THE INTERIOR OF THE CONTINENT. +Source. +--Expeditions in Australia (Sturt, 1833), Vol. I pp. 1-2, 29, 45, 73, 85-87. The reedy marshes in which the Lachlan and the Macquarie appeared to end blocked Western exploration until the protracted drought of the twenties convinced Sturt and Hume that they would be passable. Accordingly an expedition was formed which was to solve the long debated problem of the character of the interior. The year 1826 was remarkable for the commencement of one of thosefearful droughts to which we have reason to believe the climate of NewSouth Wales is periodically subject. It continued the two followingyears with unabated severity. The surface of the earth became so parchedup that minor vegetation ceased upon it. Culinary herbs were raised withdifficulty, and crops failed even in the most favourable situations. Settlers drove their flocks and herds to distant tracts for pasture andwater, neither remaining for them in the located districts. The interiorsuffered equally with the coast, and men at length began to despondunder so alarming a visitation. It almost appeared as if the Australiansky were never again to be traversed by a cloud. But, however severe for the colony the seasons had proved, or werelikely to prove, it was borne in mind at this critical moment that thewet and swampy state of the interior had alone prevented Mr. Oxley frompenetrating further into it in 1818. The immediate fitting out of an expedition was therefore decided upon, for the express purpose of ascertaining the nature and extent of thatbasin into which the Macquarie was supposed to fall, and whetherconnection existed between it and the streams falling westerly. As I hadearly taken a great interest in the geography of New South Wales, theGovernor was pleased to appoint me to the command of this expedition. _Dec. 3. _ The first part of our journey was over rich flats, timberedsufficiently to afford a shade, on which the grass was luxuriant; but wewere obliged to seek open ground, in consequence of the frequentstumbling of the cattle. We issued, at length, upon a plain, the view across which was as drearyas can be imagined; in many places without a tree, save a few old stumpsleft by the natives when they fired the timber, some of which were stillsmoking in different parts of it. Observing some lofty trees at theextremity of the plain, we moved towards them, under an impression thatthey indicated the river line. But on this exposed spot the sun's raysfell with intense power upon us, and the dust was so minute andpenetrating, that I soon regretted having left the shady banks of theriver. _Dec. 31. _ I had no inducement to proceed further into the interior. Ihad been sufficiently disappointed in the termination of this excursion, and the track before me was still less inviting. Nothing but a denseforest, and a level country, existed between me and a distant hill. Ihad learnt, by experience, that it was impossible to form any opinion ofthe probable features of so singular a region as that in which I waswandering, from previous appearances, or to expect the same result, asin other countries, from similar causes. In a geographical point ofview, my journey had been more successful, and had enabled me to put torest for ever a question of much previous doubt. I had gained aknowledge of more than 100 miles of the western interior, and hadascertained that no sea, indeed, that little water existed on itssurface; and that, although it is flat generally, it still haselevations of considerable magnitude upon it. Although I had passed over much barren ground, I had likewise noticedsoil that was far from poor, and the vegetation upon which in ordinaryseasons would, I am convinced, have borne a very different aspect. Yet, upon the whole, the space I traversed is unlikely to become thehaunts of civilized man, or will only become so in isolated spots, as achain of connection to a more fertile country; if such a country existto the westward. [A report of better country to the North induced Sturt to turn in thatdirection. ] _Jan. 14. _ Nothing could exceed in dreariness the appearance of thetracks through which we journeyed on this and the two following days. The creek on which we depended for a supply of water, gave such alarmingindications of a total failure that I at one time had serious thoughtsof abandoning my pursuit of it. We passed hollow after hollow that hadsuccessively dried up, although originally of considerable depth; and, when we at length found water, it was doubtful how far we could make useof it. Sometimes in boiling, it left a sediment nearly equal to half itsbody; at other times it was so bitter as to be quite unpalatable. Thaton which we subsisted was scraped up from small puddles, heated by thesun's rays; and so uncertain were we of finding water at the end of theday's journey, that we were obliged to carry a supply on one of thebullocks. There was scarcely a living creature, even of the featheredrace, to be seen to break the stillness of the forest. The native dogsalone wandered about, though they had scarcely strength to avoid us; andtheir melancholy howl, breaking in upon the ear at the dead of night, only served to impress more fully on the mind the absolute loneliness ofthe desert. _Jan. 31. _ We came upon a creek, but could not decide whether it was theone for which we had been searching, or another. It had flooded-gumgrowing upon its banks, and, on places apparently subject to flood, anumber of tall straight saplings were observed by us. We returned to thecamp, after a vain search for water, and were really at a loss whatdirection next to pursue. The men kept the cattle pretty well together, and, as we were not delayed by any preparations for breakfast, they weresaddled and loaded at an early hour. The circumstance of there havingbeen natives in the neighbourhood, of whom we had seen so few traces oflate, assured me that water was at hand, but in what direction it wasimpossible to guess. As the path we had observed was leading northerly, we took up that course, and had not proceeded more than a mile upon it, when we suddenly found ourselves on the bank of a noble river. Such itmight in truth be called, where water was scarcely to be found. Theparty drew up upon a bank that was from forty to forty-five feet abovethe level of the stream. The channel of the river was from seventy toeighty yards broad, and enclosed an unbroken sheet of water, evidentlyvery deep, and literally covered with pelicans and other wild fowl. Oursurprise and delight maybe better imagined than described. Ourdifficulties seemed to be at an end, for here was a river that promisedto reward all our exertions, and which appeared every moment to increasein importance, to our imagination. Coming from the N. E. , and flowing tothe S. W. , it had a capacity of channel that proved that we were as farfrom its source as from its termination. The paths of the natives oneither side of it were like well-trodden roads; and the trees thatoverhung it were of beautiful and gigantic growth. Its banks were too precipitous to allow of our watering the cattle, butthe men eagerly descended to quench their thirst, which a powerful sunhad contributed to increase, nor shall I ever forget the looks of terrorand disappointment with which they called out to inform me that thewater was so salt as to be unfit to drink! This was, indeed, too true;on tasting it, I found it extremely nauseous, and strongly impregnatedwith salt, being apparently a mixture of sea and fresh water. Whencethis arose, whether from local causes, or from a communication with someinland sea, I know not, but the discovery was certainly a blow for whichI was not prepared. Our hopes were annihilated at the moment of theirapparent realization. The cup of joy was dashed out of our hands beforewe had time to raise it to our lips. Notwithstanding thisdisappointment, we proceeded down the river, and halted at about fivemiles, being influenced by the goodness of the feed to provide for thecattle as well as circumstances would permit. They would not drink ofthe river water, but stood covered in it for many hours, having theirnoses alone exposed above the stream. Their condition gave me greatuneasiness. It was evident they could not long hold out under theexcessive thirst, and unless we should procure some fresh water, itwould be impossible for us to continue our journey. Mr. Hume, with his usual perseverance, walked out when the camp wasformed; and at a little distance from it, ascended a ridge of pure sand, crowned with cypresses. From this he descended to the westward, and, atlength, struck upon the river, where a reef of rocks crossed its channeland formed a dry passage from one side to the other; but the bend whichthe river must have taken appeared to him so singular, that he doubtedwhether it was the same beside which we had been travelling during theday. Curiosity led him to cross it, when he found a small pond of freshwater on a tongue of land, and immediately afterwards, returned toacquaint me with the welcome tidings. It was too late to move, but wehad the prospect of a comfortable breakfast in the morning. On the 6th February we journeyed again through a barren scrub, althoughon firmer ground, and passed numerous groups of huts. At about eightmiles from our last encampment, we came upon the river where its bankswere of considerable height. In riding along them Mr. Hume thought heobserved a current running, and he called to inform me of thecircumstance. On a closer examination we discovered some springs in thevery bed of the river, from which a considerable stream was gushing, andfrom the incrustation around them, we had no difficulty in guessing attheir nature; in fact, they were brine springs, and I collected aquantity of salt from the brink of them. After such a discovery we could not hope to keep our position. No doubtthe current we had observed on first reaching the river was caused bysprings that had either escaped our notice, or were under water. Herewas at length a local cause for its saltness that destroyed at once theanticipation and hope of our being near its termination, and, consequently, the ardour with which we should have pressed on to decideso interesting a point. We calculated that we were forty miles from the camp, in a S. W. Direction, a fearful distance under our circumstances, since we couldnot hope to obtain relief for two days. Independently, however, of thestate of the animals, our spirits were damped by the nature of thecountry, and the change which had taken place in the soil, upon which itwas impossible that water could rest; while the general appearance ofthe interior showed how much it suffered from drought. On the otherhand, although the waters of the river had become worse to the taste, the river itself had increased in size and stretched away to thewestward, with all the uniformity of a magnificent canal, and gave everypromise of increasing importance; while the pelicans were in suchnumbers upon it as to be quite dazzling to the eye. Considering, however, that perseverance would only involve us in extricabledifficulties, and that it would also be useless to risk the horses, since we had gained a distance to which the bullocks could not have beenbrought I intimated my intention of giving up the further pursuit of theriver, though it was with extreme reluctance that I did so. As soon as we had bathed and finished our scanty meal, I took thebearings of D'Urban's Group, and found them to be S. 58 E. Aboutthirty-three miles distant; and as we mounted our horses, I named theriver the "Darling, " as a lasting memorial of the respect I bear theGovernor. I should be doing injustice to Mr. Hume and my men if I did not expressmy conviction that they were extremely unwilling to yield tocircumstances, and that, had I determined on continuing the journey, they would have followed me with cheerfulness, whatever the consequencesmight have been. EXPLORATION OF THE EASTERN RIVER SYSTEM +Source. +--Expeditions in Australia (Sturt, 1833), Vol. II, pp. 6, 8-69, 85-86, 111, 151-187, 204-217, 219. On his first expedition Sturt had proved that the interior was dry. He then attempted to find the destination of the Morumbidgee and the Darling. Travelling down the Morumbidgee he discovered the Murray and followed it to its termination, 1829. _Dec. 27th. _ M'Leay and I started at an early hour on an excursion ofdeeper interest than any we had as yet undertaken; to examine the reeds, not only for the purpose of ascertaining their extent, if possible, butalso to guide us in our future measures. We rode some miles along theriver side, but observed in it no signs either of increase or ofexhaustion. Everything tended to strengthen my conviction that we werestill far from the termination of the river. I was aware that myresolves must be instant, decisive, and immediately acted upon, as onfirmness and promptitude at this crisis the success of the expeditiondepended. About noon I checked my horse, and rather to the surprise ofmy companion, intimated to him my intention of returning to the camp. Henaturally asked what I purposed doing. I told him that it appeared to memore than probable that the Morumbidgee would hold its course good tosome fixed point, now that it had reached a meridian beyond the knownrivers of the interior. It was certain, from the denseness of the reeds, and the breadth of the belts, that the teams could not be brought anyfurther, and that, taking everything into consideration, I had resolvedon a bold and desperate measure, that of building the whaleboat, andsending home the drays. Our appearance in camp so suddenly surprised the men not more than theorders I gave. They all thought I had struck on some remarkable changeof country, and were anxious to know my ultimate views. It was not myintention, however, immediately to satisfy their curiosity. I had tostudy their characters as long as I could in order to select those bestqualified to accompany me on the desperate adventure for which I waspreparing. [Sturt accordingly built the whaleboat and embarked on the river. ] _Jan. 14th. _ The men looked anxiously out ahead, for the singular changein the river had impressed on them an idea that we were approaching itstermination, or near some adventure. On a sudden, the river took ageneral southern direction, but, in its tortuous course, swept round toevery point of the compass with the greatest irregularity. We werecarried at a fearful rate down its gloomy and contracted banks, and, insuch a moment of excitement, had little time to pay attention to thecountry through which we were passing. It was, however, observed thatchalybeate springs were numerous close to the water's edge. At 3 p. M. Hopkinson called out that we were approaching a junction, and in lessthan a minute afterwards we were hurried into a broad and noble river. It is impossible for me to describe the effect of so instantaneous achange upon us. The boats were allowed to drift along at pleasure, andsuch was the force with which we had been shot out of the Morumbidgeethat we were carried nearly to the bank opposite its _embouchure_, whilst we continued to gaze in silent astonishment at the capaciouschannel we had entered; and when we looked for that by which we had beenled into it, we could hardly believe that the insignificant gap thatpresented itself to us was, indeed, the termination of the beautiful andnoble stream whose course we had thus successfully followed. I can onlycompare the relief we experienced to that which the seaman feels onweathering the rock upon which he expected his vessel to have struck, tothe calm which succeeds moments of feverish anxiety, when the dread ofdanger is succeeded by certainty of escape. _Jan. 23rd. _ Not having as yet given a name to our first discovery, Ilaid it down as the Murray River in compliment to the distinguishedofficer Sir George Murray, who then presided over the ColonialDepartment, not only in compliance with the known wishes of HisExcellency, General Darling, but also in accordance with my own feelingsas a soldier. [They continued their course down the Murray till Feb. 9. ] After pulling a mile or two we found a clear horizon before us to thesouth. The hills still continued upon our left, but we could not see anyelevation over the expanse of reeds to our right. The river inclined tothe left, and swept the base of the hills that still continued on thatside. I consequently landed once more to survey the country. I still retained a strong impression on my mind that some change was athand, and on this occasion I was not disappointed, but the view was onefor which I was not altogether prepared. We had at length arrived at thetermination of the Murray. Immediately below me was a beautiful lake, which appeared to be a fitting reservoir for the noble stream that ledus to it; and which was now ruffled by the breeze that swept over it. The ranges were more distinctly visible, stretching from south to north, and were certainly distant forty miles. They had a regular unbrokenoutline; declining gradually to the south, but terminating abruptly at alofty mountain northerly. I had no doubt on my mind of this being theMount Lofty of Captain Flinders; or that the range was that immediatelyto the eastward of St. Vincent's Gulf. Between us and the ranges abeautiful promontory shot into the lake, being a continuation of theright bank of the Murray. Over this promontory the waters stretched tothe base of the ranges, and formed an extensive bay. To the S. W. A boldheadland showed itself; beyond which, to the westward, there was a clearand open sea visible, through a strait formed by this headland and apoint projecting from the opposite shore. Even while gazing on this finescene, I could not but regret that the Murray had thus terminated; for Iimmediately foresaw that, in all probability, we should be disappointedin finding any practicable communication between the lake and the ocean, as it was evident that the former was not much influenced by tides. Wepitched our tents on a low track of land that stretched away seeminglyfor many miles directly behind us to the eastward. It was of therichest soil, being of a black vegetable deposit, and although highabove the influence the lake had, it was evident, once formed a part ofits bed. Thirty-three days had now passed over our heads since we leftthe depot upon the Morumbidgee, twenty-six of which had been passed uponthe Murray. We had, at length, arrived at the grand reservoir of thosewaters whose course and fate had previously been involved in suchobscurity. I took Fraser with me, and, accompanied by M'Leay, crossed thesand-hummocks behind us, and descended to the sea-shore. I found that wehad struck the south coast deep in the bight of Encounter Bay. We had notime for examination, but returned immediately to the camp, as Iintended to give the men an opportunity to go to the beach. Theyaccordingly went and bathed, and returned not only highly delighted atthis little act of good nature on my part, but loaded with cockles, abed of which they had managed to find among the sand. Clayton had tiedone end of his shirt up, and brought a bag full, and amused himself withboiling cockles all night long. I would fain have lingered on my way to examine, as far as circumstanceswould permit, the beautiful country between the lake and the ranges; andit was with heartfelt sorrow that I yielded to necessity. My men were, indeed, very weak from poverty of diet and from great bodily fatigue. Hopkinson, Mulholland, and Macnamee were miserably reduced. It will be borne in mind that our difficulties were just about tocommence, when those of most other travellers have ceased; and thatinstead of being assisted by the stream whose course we had followed, wehad now to contend against the united waters of the eastern ranges, withdiminished strength, and in some measure with disappointed feelings. Under the most favourable circumstances, it was improbable that the menwould be enabled to pull for many days longer in succession since theyhad not rested upon their oars for a single day, if I except our passageacross the lake, from the moment when we started from the depot; nor wasit possible for me to buoy them up with the hope even of a momentarycessation of labour. We had calculated the time to which our supply ofprovisions would last under the most favourable circumstances, and itwas only in the event of our pulling up against the current, day afterday, the same distance we had compassed with the current in our favour, that we could hope they would last as long as we continued in theMurray. But in the event of floods or any unforeseen delay, it wasimpossible to calculate at what moment we might be driven to extremity. On the other hand, it was sufficiently evident to me that the men weretoo much exhausted to perform the task that was before them withoutassistance, and that it would be necessary both for M'Leay and myself totake our share of labour at the oars. The cheerfulness and satisfactionthat my young friend evinced at the opportunity that was thus affordedhim of making himself useful, and of relieving those under him from someportion of their toil, at the same time that they increased my sincereesteem for him, were nothing more than what I expected from one who hadendeavoured by every means in his power to contribute to the success ofthat enterprise upon which he had embarked. But although I have saidthus much of the exhausted condition of the men, I would by no means beunderstood to say that they flagged for a moment, or that a singlemurmur escaped them. No reluctance was visible, no complaint was heard, but there was that in their aspect and appearance which they could nothide, and which I could not mistake. We re-entered the river on the 13thunder as fair prospects as we could have desired. The gale which hadblown with such violence in the morning gradually abated, and a steadybreeze enabled us to pass our first encampment, by availing ourselves ofit as long as daylight continued. _Feb. 18th. _ The breezes that had so much assisted us from the lakeupwards, had now lost their influence, or failed to reach to thedistance we had gained. Calms succeeded them, and obliged us to labourcontinually at the oars. We lost ground fast, and it was astonishing toremark how soon the men's spirits drooped again under their firstefforts. They fancied the boat pulled heavily and that her bottom wasfoul, but such was not the case. The current was not so strong as whenwe passed down, since the river had evidently fallen more than a foot, and was so shallow in several places that we were obliged to haul theboat over them. On these occasions we were necessarily obliged to getout of her into the water, and had afterwards to sit still and to allowthe sun to dry our clothes upon us. The unemployed consequently enviedthose at the oars, as they sat shivering in their dripping clothes. I have omitted to mention one remarkable trait of the good dispositionof all the men while on the coast. Our sugar had held out to that point;but it appeared when we examined the stores that six pounds aloneremained in the cask. This the men positively refused to touch. Theysaid that, divided, it would benefit nobody; that they hoped M'Leay andI would use it, that it would last us for some time, and that they werebetter able to submit to privations than we were. The feeling did theminfinite credit, and the circumstance is not forgotten by me. The littlesupply the kindness of our men left to us was, however, soon exhausted, and poor M'Leay preferred pure water to the bitter draught thatremained. I have been sometimes unable to refrain from smiling as Iwatched the distorted countenances of my humble companions whiledrinking their tea and eating their damper. _March 17th. _ We had been drawing nearer the Morumbidgee every day; andthe following afternoon, to our great joy, we turned our boat into thegloomy and narrow channel of the tributary. Our feelings were almost asstrong when we re-entered it as they had been when we were launched fromit into that river, on whose waters we had continued for upwards offifty-five days; during which period, including the sweeps and bends itmade, we could not have travelled less than 1, 500 miles. Our daily journeys were short, and the head we made against the streambut trifling. The men lost the proper and muscular jerk with which theyonce made the waters foam and the oars bend. Their whole bodies swungwith an awkward and laboured motion. Their arms appeared to benerveless; their faces became haggard, their persons emaciated, theirspirits wholly sunk; nature was so completely overcome, that from mereexhaustion they frequently fell asleep during their painful and almostceaseless exertions. It grieved me to the heart to see them in such astate at the close of so perilous a service, and I began to reproachRobert Harris that he did not move down the river to meet us; but, infact, he was not to blame. I became captious, and found fault wherethere was no occasion, and lost the equilibrium of my temper incontemplating the condition of my companions. No murmur, however, escaped them, nor did a complaint reach me that was intended toindicate that they had done all they could do. I frequently heard themin their tent, when they thought I had dropped asleep, complaining ofsevere pains, and of great exhaustion. "I must tell the Captain, to-morrow, " some of them would say, "that I can pull no longer. "To-morrow came, and they pulled on, as if reluctant to yield tocircumstances. Macnamee at length lost his senses. We first observedthis from his incoherent conversation, but eventually from his manner. He related the most extraordinary tales and fidgetted about eternallywhile in the boat. I felt it necessary, therefore, to relieve him fromthe oars. _April 12th. _ I determined on sending Hopkinson and Mulholland, whosedevotion, intelligence and indefatigable spirits I well knew, forward tothe plain. The joy this intimation spread was universal. Both Hopkinson andMulholland readily undertook the journey, and I, accordingly, preparedorders for them to start by the earliest dawn. Six days had passed since their departure; we remaining encamped. I hadcalculated on seeing Hopkinson again in eight days, but as the morrowwould see us without food, I thought, as the men had had a little rest, it would be better to advance towards relief than to await its arrival. On the evening of the 18th, therefore, we buried our specimens and otherstores, intending to break up the camp in the morning. A singular bird, which invariably passed it at an hour after sunset, and which, from theheavy flight, appeared to be of unusual size, had so attracted mynotice, that in the evening M'Leay and I crossed the river in hope toget a shot at it. We had, however, hardly landed on the other side, whena loud shout called us back to witness the return of our comrades. They were both of them in a state that beggars description. Their kneesand ankles were dreadfully swollen and their limbs so painful that assoon as they arrived in the camp they sunk under their efforts, but theymet us with a smiling countenance and expressed their satisfaction athaving come so seasonably to our relief. They had, as I had foreseen, found Robert Harris on the plain, which they reached on the evening ofthe third day. They had started early the next morning on their returnwith such supplies as they thought we might immediately want. PoorMacnamee had in a great measure recovered, but for some days he wassullen and silent; the sight of the drays gave him uncommonsatisfaction. Clayton gorged himself; but M'Leay, myself, and Frasercould not at first relish the meat that was placed before us. THE INTERIOR. II +Source. +--Life of Charles Sturt (Mrs. N. G. Sturt), pp. 230-232, 264-267, 279-280 Observations of the migrations of birds convinced Sturt that there was good land in the interior of New South Wales, and in 1844 he set out to find it. His expedition failed because the season was exceptionally dry, and he was obliged to turn back before he had accomplished his object. "If a line be drawn from Lat. 29° 30´ and Long. 140° N. W. , and anotherfrom Mount Arden due north, they will meet a little to the northward ofthe tropic, and there I will be bound to say a fine country will bediscovered. " On what date Sturt pledges himself to the discovery of thisfine country is not stated, but when later regretting his failure toreach the tropic and to set at rest his hypothesis of the better countryto be found there, he briefly tells his reason for the supposition. "Birds observed east of the Darling in the summer of 1828 in about lat. 29° 30´ S. And long. 144° had invariably migrated to the W. N. W. Cockatoos and parrots, known while in the colony to frequent the richestand best-watered valleys of the higher lands, would pass in countlessflights to that point of the compass. In South Australia, in lat. 35°and long. 138°, I had also observed that several birds of the same kindannually visited that Province from the north. I had seen the PsittacusNovae Hollandiae and the shell paroquet following the shoreline of St. Vincent's Gulf like flights of starlings in England. The differentflights at intervals of more than a quarter of an hour, all came fromthe north, and followed in one and the same direction. "Now although the casual appearance of a few strange birds should notinfluence the judgement, yet from the regular migrations of thefeathered race, a reasonable inference may be drawn. Seeing then thatthese two lines (viz. , from Fort Bourke about lat. 30° and long. 144° tothe W. N. W. , and from Mount Arden in lat. 35° long. 138° to the north)if prolonged would meet a little to the northward of the tropic, Iformed the following conclusions: "First, that the birds migrating on those lines would rest for a time ata point where those lines met. "Secondly, that the country to which they went would resemble that whichthey had left, that birds which frequented rich valleys or high hillswould not settle down in deserts and flat country. "Thirdly, that the intervening country, whether owing to deserts orlarge sheets of water, was not such as these birds could inhabit. Indeed, such large migrations from different parts to one particular, argued no less strongly the existence of deserts or of sea to a certaindistance, than the probable richness of the country, to which as to acommon goal these migrations tended. "On the late expedition, at the Depot in lat. 29-1/2° and long. 142°, Ifound myself in the direct line of migration to the north-west; and tothat point of the compass, birds whom I knew to visit Van Diemen's Landwould, after watering, pass on. Cockatoos, after a few hours' rest, would wing their way to the north-west, as also would variouswater-birds, as well as pigeons, parrots, and paroquets, pursued bybirds of the Accipitrine class. From these indications I was led to lookstill more for the realization of my hopes, if I could but force my wayto the necessary distance. "I ran 170 miles without crossing a single water-course. I travelledover salsolaceous plains, crossed sand-ridges, was turned from mywestward course by salt-water lakes; and at last, on October 19th, atabout 80 miles to the east of my former track, I found myself on thebrink of the Stony Desert. Coming suddenly on it I almost lost mybreath. If anything, it looked more forbidding than before. Herbless andtreeless, it filled more than half of the horizon. Not an object wasvisible on which to steer, yet we held on our course by compass like aship at sea. "Poor Browne was in excruciating pain from scurvy. Every day I expectedto find him unable to stir. My men were ill from exposure, scanty food, and muddy water; my horses leg-weary and reduced to skeletons. I alonestood unscathed, but I could not bear to leave my companion in thatheartless desert. "Finding myself baffled to the north and to the west, seeing no hope ofrain, realizing that my retreat was too probably already cut off, Ireluctantly turned back to the depot, 443 miles distant, and onlythrough the help of Providence did we at length reach it. " Sturt, as he mounted to begin his retreat, was nearly induced to turnagain by "a flock of paroquets that flew shrieking from the northtowards Eyre's Creek. They proved that to the last we had followed withunerring precision the line of migration. " SCOPE AND RESULTS OF CENTRAL EXPEDITION AS SUMMED UP BY STURT My instructions directed me to gain the meridian of Mount Arden or thatof 138°, with a view to determine whether there were any chain ofmountains connected with the high lands seen by Mr. Eyre to the westwardof Lake Torrens, and running into the interior from south-west tonorth-east. I was ordered to push to the westward and to make the souththe constant base of my operations. I was prohibited from descending tothe north-coast, but it was left optional with me to fall back onMoreton Bay if I should be forced to the eastward. Whether I performedthe task thus assigned to me or wavered in the accomplishment of it;whether I fell short of my duty, or yielded only to insuperabledifficulties, the world will be enabled to judge. That I found no finecountry is to be regretted; however, I was not sent to find a finecountry, but to solve a geographical problem. I trust I am notpresumptuous in saying that, from a geographical point of view, theresults of this expedition have been complete. If I did not gain theheart of the continent, no one will refuse me the credit of having takena direct course for it. My distance from that hitherto mysterious spotwas less than 150 miles. In ten days I should have reached the goal; andthat task would have been accomplished had rain fallen when I was at myfarthest north. Had I found such a river as the Victoria, I would haveclung to it to the last; but those alone will really know the nature ofthe country who shall follow me into it When I determined on turninghomewards, with mind depressed and strength weakened, it appeared to methat I had done all that man could do. Now, under the influence ofrestored health, I feel that I did far too little. I can only say that Iwould not hesitate again to plunge into those dreary regions, that Imight be the first to place my foot in the centre of this vastterritory, and finally to raise the veil which still shrouds itsfeatures, even though, like those of the veiled prophet, they shouldwither the beholder. ACROSS THE CONTINENT. SOUTH TO NORTH. I +Source. +--Papers relating to the Burke and Wills Exploring Expedition, 1861. Published in the _Argus_, pp. 2-5, 19-20 In the year 1860 an expedition was planned to travel from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. The leader was Robert Burke, and though with Wills, Gray, and King he reached the Gulf, the return was fatal owing to the desertion of the Cooper's Creek Depot by the other members of the expedition. In the course of his evidence before the Commission of Inquiry Mr. King, the sole survivor, said: The day before we arrived at Cooper's Creek we were allowed to consumeas much provisions as we chose, in expectations of finding supplies sosoon. We had only one pound of dry meat when we got there. If we hadfound no provisions there, we should all have died. It was as much asany of us could do to travel along the side of the creek. We had been soweak, that for ten days before, we had scarcely been able to make muchdistance, or to walk about. I seemed to be worse than either Mr. Burkeor Mr. Wills, but after we arrived at the Depot I improved much morethan they did. We had no difficulty in finding the provisions there. Wearrived in the moonlight at half-past seven o'clock at night, afterhaving pushed on thirty miles that day. Mr. Burke rode on one of thecamels, and I and Mr. Wills on the other. We had our revolvers with us, and had been continually shooting at the crows and hawks. When we got tothe Depot Mr. Burke was a little ahead of Mr. Wills and myself. He hadoften before said, "I think I can see their tents ahead, " and madeseveral remarks like that until we arrived there. When we got near, hesaid, "I suppose they have shifted to some other part of the creek. " Itwas Mr. Wills who first saw the tree-mark, and saw the things scatteredabout the stockade. He saw the words, "Dig three feet to thenorth-east, " or north-west; I am not certain which. When he saw the dateat which they came to the camp, and the date at which they left, he saidat once, "They have left here to-day. If they had shifted to any otherpart of the creek, they would not have marked this. " We set to workdigging up the plant. We did not know where they had gone to, butthought they had left some instructions. Mr. Burke was too much excitedto do anything, and Mr. Wills and myself dug up the plant. I got thebottle there and Mr. Burke said: "Whatever instructions they have leftare in this bottle. " I then opened it and handed it to him. When he hadread it, he informed us that the other party, except Paton, and that theanimals were in good working order, and that on account of no personcoming up to them, they had made a start for Camp 60, taking a courseS. E. For Bulloo. Mr. Burke then said it was madness to attempt to followthem, as their men were in good order, and their camel too. He said wecould not expect to make forced marches, and catch them up. Had thelatter said they were in a weak state, as it appeared they were, weshould have tried at any rate to overtake them. We remained at the creeka few days, and Mr. Burke and Mr. Wills had a consultation as to whatwas best to be done. We left no provisions behind us, but took everything with us. When wehad consumed all the sugar but 12 lb. We gave some balls of it to thecamel. For a few days our principal food was porridge, which wepreferred to anything else. We boiled it with water and sugar. In goingdown towards Mount Hopeless, we found we could not carry all the thingswe brought with us. We had to leave the camel-pads and such things. Wemade two attempts to get to Mount Hopeless. After losing one camel weremained at the creek some short time, till we recovered strength tostart for Cooper's Creek again. We had only the clothes we stood in, andno bed-clothing but the camels' pads and two oilcloths. We had boots andtrousers, such as they were. BURKE'S LAST LETTER The following is the despatch of Mr. Burke, left at the Depot atCooper's Creek: Depot No. 2, Cooper's Creek, Camp No. 65. --The return party fromCarpentaria, consisting of myself, Wills and King (Gray dead) arrivedhere last night, and found that the depot party had only started on thesame day. We proceed on to-morrow slowly down the creek towards Adelaideby Mount Hopeless, and shall endeavour to follow Gregory's track; but weare very weak. The two camels are done up, and we shall not be abletravel faster than four or five miles a day. Gray died on the road fromexhaustion and fatigue. We have all suffered much from hunger. Theprovisions left here will, I think, restore our strength. We havediscovered a practicable route to Carpentaria, the chief portion ofwhich lies on the 140th decree of east longitude. There is some goodcountry between this and the Stony Desert. From there to the tropic thecountry is dry and stony. Between the tropic and Carpentaria aconsiderable portion is rangy, but it is well watered and richlygrassed. We reached the shores of Carpentaria on 11th February, 1861. Greatly disappointed at finding the party here gone. (Signed) ROBERT O'HARA BURKE, Leader. April 22nd, 1861. P. S. --The camels cannot travel, and we cannot walk, or we should followthe other party. We shall move very slowly down the creek. KING'S NARRATIVE Mr. Burke requested Mr. Wills to go up the creek as far as the Depot, and to place a note in the plant there, stating that we were then livingon the creek, the former note having stated that we were on our road toSouth Australia. He also was to bury there the field-books of thejourney to the Gulf. Mr. Wills being returned, it was decided to go up the creek and livewith the natives, if possible, as Mr. Wills thought we should have butlittle difficulty in obtaining provisions from them if we camped on theopposite side of the creek to them. He said he knew where they had gone, so we packed up and started. Coming to the gunyahs where we expected tohave found them, we were disappointed, and seeing a nardoo field closeby, halted, intending to make it our camp. For some time we wereemployed gathering nardoo, and laying up a supply. Mr. Wills and I used to collect and carry home a bag each day, and Mr. Burke generally pounded sufficient for our dinner during our absence, but Mr. Wills found himself getting very weak, and was shortly unable togo out to gather nardoo as before, nor even strong enough to pound it, so that in a few days he became almost helpless. Mr. Burke now proposedthat I should gather as much nardoo as possible in three days, and thatwith this supply we should go in search of the natives--a plan which hadbeen urged upon us by Mr. Wills as the only chance of saving him andourselves as well, as he clearly saw that I was no longer able tocollect sufficient for our wants. Having collected the seed, asproposed, and having pounded sufficient to last Mr. Wills for eightdays, and two days for ourselves, we placed water and firewood withinhis reach and started. Before leaving him, however, Mr. Burke asked himwhether he still wished it, as under no other circumstances would heleave him; and Mr. Wills again said that he looked on it as our onlychance. He then gave Mr. Burke a letter and his watch for his father, and we buried the remainder of the field-books near the gunyah. In travelling the first day, Mr. Burke seemed very weak and complainedof great pain in his legs and back. On the second day he seemed to bebetter, and said that he thought he was getting stronger, but, onstarting, did not go two miles before he said he could go no further. Ipersisted in his trying to go on, and managed to get him along severaltimes, until I saw that he was almost knocked up, when he said he couldnot carry his swag, and threw all he had away. I also reduced mine, taking nothing but a gun and some powder and shot and a small pouch andsome matches. On starting again we did not go far before Mr. Burke saidwe should halt for the night, but, as the place was close to a largesheet of water, and exposed to the wind, I prevailed to go a littlefurther, to the next reach of water where we camped. We searched about and found a few small patches of nardoo, which Icollected and pounded, and with a crow, which I shot, made a goodevening's meal. From the time we halted, Mr. Burke seemed to be gettingworse, although he ate his supper. He said he felt convinced he couldnot last many hours, and gave me his watch, which, he said, belonged tothe Committee; and a pocket-book, to give to Sir William Stawell, and inwhich he wrote some notes. He then said to me: "I hope you will remainwith me here till I am quite dead--it is a comfort to know that some oneis by; but when I am dying, it is my wish that you should place thepistol in my right hand, and that you leave me unburied as I lie. " Thatnight he spoke very little, and the following morning I found himspeechless, or nearly so; and about eight o'clock he expired. I remaineda few hours there, but as I saw there was no use in remaining longer, Iwent up the creek in search of the natives. I felt very lonely, and atnight usually slept in deserted wurleys, belonging to the natives. Twodays after leaving the spot where Mr. Burke died, I found some gunyahs, where the natives had deposited a bag of nardoo, sufficient to last me afortnight, and three bundles containing various articles. I also shot acrow that evening, but was in great dread that the natives would comeand deprive me of the nardoo. I remained there two days to recover my strength, and then returned toMr. Wills. I took back three crows; but found him lying dead in hisgunyah, and the natives had been there and had taken away some of hisclothes. I buried the corpse with sand, and remained some days; butfinding that my stock of nardoo was running short, and being unable togather it, I tracked the natives who had been to the camp by theirfoot-prints in the sand, and went some distance down the creek, shootingcrows and hawks on the road. The natives hearing the report of the gun, came to meet me, and took me with them to their camp, giving me nardooand fish. They took the birds I had shot and cooked them for me, andafterwards showed me a gunyah, where I was to sleep with three of thesingle men. They appeared to feel great compassion for me when they understood thatI was alone on the creek, and gave me plenty to eat. After being fourdays with them, I saw that they were becoming tired of me, and they madesigns that they were going up the creek, and that I had better godownwards; but I pretended not to understand them. The same day theyshifted camp, and I followed them; and on reaching their camp, I shotsome crows, which pleased them so much that they made me a breakwind inthe centre of their camp, and came and sat round me until such time asthe crows were cooked, when they assisted me to eat them. The same dayone of the women to whom I had given part of a crow, came and gave me aball of nardoo, saying that she would give me more only she had such asore arm that she was unable to pound. She showed me a sore on her arm, and the thought struck me that I would boil some water in the billy andwash her arm with a sponge. During the operation the whole tribe satround and were muttering one to another. Her husband sat down by herside and she was crying all the time. After I had washed it, I touchedit with some nitrate of silver, when she began to yell and ran off, crying out, "Mokow! Mokow!" ("Fire! fire!"). From this time, she and herhusband used to give me a small quantity of nardoo both night andmorning, and whenever the tribe were about going on a fishing excursion, he used to give me notice to go with them. They also used to assist mein making a wurley, or breakwind, whenever they shifted camp. Igenerally shot a crow or a hawk, and gave it to them in return for theselittle services. From this time to when the relief party arrived--a period of about amonth--they treated me with uniform kindness, and looked upon me as oneof themselves. The day on which I was released, one of the tribe who hadbeen fishing came and told me that the white fellows were coming, andthe whole of the tribe who were then in camp sallied out in everydirection to meet the party, while the man who had brought the news tookme over the creek, where I shortly saw the party coming down. ACROSS THE CONTINENT. SOUTH TO NORTH. II +Source. +--Explorations in Australia (J. M. Stuart. Hardman, 1865). Pp. 164-165, 406-411 Stuart accompanied Sturt in 1844-5, and subsequently became an enthusiastic explorer. Three times he set out to travel from Adelaide to the Indian Ocean; the first time passing through the centre, and finally attaining his object in 1862. The Overland Telegraph line is laid along his track. THE CENTRE _Sunday, 22nd April. _ Small Gum Creek, under Mount Stuart, Centre ofAustralia. To-day I find from my observations of the sun, 111° 00' 30", that I am now camped in the centre of Australia. I have marked a treeand planted the British Flag there. There is a high mount about twomiles and a half to the N. N. E. I wish it had been in the centre; but onit to-morrow, I will raise a cone of stones, and plant the flag there, and name it "Central Mount Stuart. " We have been in search of permanentwater to-day, but cannot find any. I hope from the top of Central MountStuart to find something good to the N. W. Examined a large creek; canfind no surface water, but got some by scratching in the sand. It is alarge creek divided into many channels, but they are all filled withsand; splendid grass all round this camp. _Monday, 23rd April. _ Centre. Took Kekwick and the flag, and went to thetop of the Mount, but found it to be much higher and more difficult ofascent than I anticipated. After a deal of labour, slips and knocks, weat last arrived on the top. The view to the north is over a large plainof gums, mulga, and spinifex, with watercourses running through it. Thelarge gum creek that we crossed winds round this hill in a N. E. Direction; at about ten miles it is joined by another. After joiningthey take a course more north, and I lost sight of them in the fardistant plain. To the N. N. E. Is the termination of the hills; to theN. E. , E. And S. E. Are broken ranges, and to the N. N. W. The ranges on thewest side of the plain terminate. To the N. W. Are broken ranges; and tothe W. Is a very high peak, between which, and this place to the S. W. Are a number of isolated hills. Built a large cone of stones, in thecentre of which I placed a pole with the British flag nailed to it. Nearthe top of the cone I placed a small bottle, in which there is a slip ofpaper, with our signatures to it, stating by whom it was raised. We thengave three hearty cheers for the flag, the emblem of civil and religiousliberty, and may it be a sign to the natives that the dawn of liberty, civilization, and Christianity is about to break upon them. We can seeno water from the top. Descended, but did not reach the camp till afterdark. This water still continues which makes me think there mustcertainly be more higher up. I have named the range "John Range, " aftermy friend and well-wisher, John Chambers, Esq. , brother to JamesChambers, Esq. , one of the promoters of this expedition. ACROSS AT LAST _Thursday, 24th July. _ Thring Creek, entering the Marsh. Started at7. 40, course north. I have taken this course in order to make thesea-coast, which I suppose to be distant about eight miles and a half, as soon as possible; by this I hope to avoid the marsh. I shall travelalong the beach to the north of the Adelaide. I did not inform any ofthe party except Thring and Auld, that I was so near to the sea, as Iwished to give them a surprise on reaching it. Proceeded through a lightsoil, slightly elevated with a little ironstone on the surface, thevolcanic rock cropping out occasionally; also some flats of blackalluvial soil. The timber much smaller and more like scrub, showing thatwe are nearing the sea. At eight miles and a half came upon a broad valley of black alluvialsoil, covered with long grass; from this I can hear the wash of the sea. On the other side of the valley, which is rather more than a quarter ofa mile wide, is growing a line of thick heavy bushes, very dense, showing that to be the boundary of the beach. Crossed the valley andentered the scrub, which was a complete network of vines. Stopped thehorses to clear a way, whilst I advanced a few yards on to the beach, and was gratified and delighted to behold the water of the Indian Oceanin Van Diemen's Gulf, before the party with the horses knew anything ofits proximity. Thring, who rode in advance of me, called out "The Sea!"which so took them all by surprise, and they were so astonished that hehad to repeat the call before they fully understood what was meant. Thenthey immediately gave three long and hearty cheers. The beach is coveredwith a soft blue mud. It being ebb tide, I could see some distance;found it would be impossible for me to take the horses along it; Itherefore kept them where I had halted them, and allowed half the partyto come on to the beach and gratify themselves by a sight of the sea, while the other half remained to watch the horses until their return. Idipped my feet, and washed my face and hands in the sea, as I promisedthe late Governor, Sir Richard McDonnell, I would do if I reached it. The mud has nearly covered all the shells; we got a few, however. Icould see no seaweed. There is a point of land some distance off, bearing 70°. After all the party had had some time on the beach, atwhich they were much pleased and gratified, they collected a few shells;I returned to the valley, where I had my initials (J. M. D. S. ) cut on alarge tree, as I did not intend, until I arrived at the mouth of theAdelaide, to put up my flag. Proceeded along the valley; at one mile anda half coming upon a small creek, with running water, and the valleybeing covered with beautiful green grass, I have camped to give thehorses the benefit of it. Thus have I, through the instrumentality ofDivine Providence, been led to accomplish the great object of theexpedition, and take the whole party safely as witnesses to the fact, and through one of the finest countries man could wish to behold, goodto the coast and with a stream of water within half a mile of the sea. From Newcastle water to the sea-beach, the main body of the horses havebeen only one night without water and then got it within the next day. If this country is settled, it will be one of the finest colonies underthe Crown, suitable for the growth of any and everything--what asplendid country for producing cotton! Judging from the number of thepathways from the water to the beach, across the valley, the nativesmust be very numerous; we have not seen any, although we have passedmany of their recent tracks and encampments. The cabbage and fanpalm-trees have been very plentiful during to-day's journey down to thisvalley. This creek I named "Charles Creek, " after the eldest son of JohnChambers, Esq. ; it is one by which some large bodies of springsdischarge their surplus water into Van Diemen's Gulf; its banks are ofsoft mud, and boggy. Wind, south. Latitude, 12° 13´ 30". _Friday, 25th July. _ Charles Creek, Van Diemen's Gulf. I have sentThring to the south-west to see if he can get round the marsh. If it isfirm ground I shall endeavour to make the mouth of the river by thatway. After a long search he has returned, and informs me that it isimpracticable, being too boggy for the horses. As the great object ofthis expedition is now attained, and the mouth of the river already wellknown, I do not think it advisable to waste the strength of my horses inforcing them through, neither do I see what object I should gain bydoing so; they have still a very long and fatiguing journey inrecrossing the continent to Adelaide, and my health is so bad that I amunable to bear a long day's ride. I shall, therefore, cross this creekand see if I can get along by the sea-beach, or close to it. Started andhad great difficulty in getting the horses over, though we cut a largequantity of grass, putting it on the banks and on logs of wood whichwere put into it. We had a number bogged, and I was nearly losing one ofmy best horses, and was obliged to have him pulled out with ropes; afterthe loss of some time we succeeded in getting them all over safely. Attwo miles came upon an open part of the beach, went on to it, and againfound the mud quite impassable for horses. Stopped the party, as thistravelling is too much for the horses, and, taking Thring with me, rodetwo miles to see if the ground was any firmer in places; found it verysoft where the salt water had covered it, in others not so bad. Judgingfrom the number of the shells banked up in different places, the seamust occasionally come over this. I saw at once that this would not dofor the weak state in which my horses were, and I therefore returned towhere I left the party, resolving to re-cross the continent to the Cityof Adelaide. I now had an open place cleared, and selecting one of thetallest trees, stripped it of its lower branches, and on its highestbranch fixed my flag, the Union Jack, with my name sewn in the centre ofit. When this was completed, the party gave three cheers, and Mr. Kekwick then addressed me, congratulating me on having completed thisgreat and important undertaking, to which I replied. Mr. Waterhouse alsospoke a few words on the same subject, and concluded with three cheersfor the Queen, and three for the Prince of Wales. At one foot south fromthe foot of the tree is buried, about eight inches below the ground, anair-tight tin case, in which is a paper with the following notice: "South Australian Great Northern Exploring Expedition. The exploringparty, under the command of John McDouall Stuart arrived at this spot onthe 25th day of July, 1862, having crossed the entire continent ofAustralia from the Southern to the Indian Ocean, passing through thecentre. They left the City of Adelaide on the 26th day of October 1861, and the most northern station of the colony on 21st day of January, 1862. To commemorate this happy event, they have raised this flagbearing his name. All well. God Save the Queen!" (Here follow the signatures of myself and party. ) As this bay has not been named, I have taken this opportunity of namingit "Chambers Bay, " in honour of Miss Chambers, who kindly presented mewith the flag which I have planted this day, and I hope this may be thefirst sign of the dawn of approaching civilization. Exactly this day nine months the party left North Adelaide. Beforeleaving, between the hours of eleven and twelve o'clock, they had lunchat Mr. Chambers' house; John Bentham Neals, Esq. , being present, proposed success to me, and wished I might plant the flag on thenorth-west coast. At the same hour of the day, nine months after, thenag was raised on the shores of Chambers Bay, Van Diemen Gulf. (On thebark of the tree on which the flag is placed is cut--DIG ONE FOOT, S. )We then bade farewell to the Indian Ocean, and returned to CharlesCreek, where we had again great difficulty in getting the horsesacross, but it was at last accomplished without accident. We have passednumerous and recent tracks of natives to-day; they are still burning thecountry at some distance from the coast. [_Note. _ The memorandum left by Stuart on top of the Central Mountainruns as follows:] John McDouall Stuart and party consisting of two men and himself arrivedfrom Adelaide in the Centre of Australia on Saturday evening the twentyfirst day of April 1860, and have built this cone of stones and raisedthis flag to commemorate the event, on top of Mount Sturt; the centre isabout two miles South South West at a small gum creek where there is atree marked facing the south. (Signed) JOHN MCDOUALL STUART (Leader)WILLIAM DARTON KEKWICKBENJAMIN HEAD. _21st April 1860, _ _Centre of Australia. _ The name of the Central Mountain appears in the published journal as_Stuart_. This is probably due to a mistake of the publisher's, whichremained uncorrected, as Stuart was very ill when his journal wasprinted. FROM WEST TO EAST. I. ALONG THE BIGHT +Source. +--Explorations in Australia (John Forrest, 1875), pp. 83-94, 107-114, 121-135. In 1870 Forrest set out to explore the country along the Bight. It had previously been considered desert land, but the expedition discovered valuable country behind the cliffs. We started from Perth on the afternoon of Wednesday, the 30th of March1870. His Excellency the Governor accompanied us for about three mileson the Albany Road. We had fifteen horses, and provisions sufficient forthe journey to Esperance Bay, a distance of about 450 miles, where itwas arranged further supplies would await us. _May 18th. _ Esperance Bay. After starting the party went in advance withBilly to prepare camp at Israelite Bay. When we reached it, weredelighted to find the _Adur_ lying safely at anchor there; proceeding onboard found all well. Procured abundance of water by digging one footdeep in the sand-hills, and good feed a short distance from camp. Our friends on the _Adur_ were looking anxiously for us. We were twodays behind the appointed time, and they feared some evil had befallenus, not taking into consideration the many delays incidental to such ajourney through strange and difficult country as we had made. On the 24th of May we determined to celebrate the Queen's birthday. Allhands from the _Adur_ came ashore, and I drew them up in line under theUnion Jack, which was duly hoisted near the camp. We presented arms;sang "God Save the Queen" vigorously, and fired a salute of twenty-oneguns, finishing with three cheers. I venture to record that our vocalefforts were as sincerely and heartily made in the Australian wildernessas any which rang that day in any part of Her Majesty's wide dominions. We were all highly delighted--not only feeling that we had done our dutyas loyal subjects, but other celebrations in more civilized places wereforcibly recalled to memory. _June 22nd. _ Saddled up at dawn, and steering southerly over clear, opengrassy plains for twenty-eight miles, we reached the cliffs, and restedan hour; after which we continued our journey and reached camp a littleafter dark, finding all well. _June 23rd. _ Made preparations for a start for Eucla to-morrow, and puteverything in travelling order. During my absence, Osborn had got thehorses' feet in order, and the pack-saddles had been overhauled andrepairs generally made. In looking round the camp, Tommy Windich foundshoulder-blade of a horse and two small pieces of leather. They no doubtbelonged to Mr. Eyre's equipment, and, on reference to his journal, Ifind he was here obliged to kill a horse for food. I cut off part of the shoulder-blade, and have since given it, togetherwith the pieces of leather, to His Excellency Governor Weld. _June 24th. _ Started at 8. 30 a. M. _en route_ for Eucla. Steering in aN. N. E. Direction for fifteen miles, reached the cliffs, and afterfollowing along them two miles, found a large rock water-hole, but in analmost inaccessible spot. While I was examining the cliffs near, to finda place where we could get the horses up, Tommy heard a coo-ey, andafter answering it a good many times, we were surprised to see twonatives walking up towards us, unarmed. I approached and met them; theydid not appear at all frightened and at once began to eat the damper Igave them. We could not understand anything they said. I beckoned themto come along with us, which they at once did, and followed so closelyafter as to tramp on my spurs. They pointed to water further ahead. After walking about a mile, four more natives were seen running afterus, who, on joining, made a great noise, singing and appearing verypleased. Shortly afterwards two more followed, making seven in all; allentirely naked. We found the water alluded to, on the top of the cliffs, but it being too late to get the horses up, we turned off to thesouthward half a mile, and camped on a small grassy flat, without waterfor the horses. The seven natives slept at our fire. We gave them asmuch damper as they could eat. They had not the least particle ofclothing, and made pillows of each other's bodies, and resembled pigsmore than human beings. _July 1st. _ Descending the cliffs with difficulty, we followed along thefoot of them, which was beautifully grassed, and, after travellingtwelve miles, beheld the Eucla sand-hills. On my pointing them out, every heart was full of joy, and, being away some distance, I heard thelong and continued hurrahs from the party! Eucla was all theconversation! I never before remember witnessing such joy as was evincedon this occasion by all the party. After travelling five miles further, we camped close to the cliffs at a small water-hole. We might havereached Eucla this evening, but I preferred doing so to-morrow, when wecould have the day before us to choose camp. We are now again in safety, Eucla being only seven miles distant; after having travelled 166 mileswithout finding permanent water--in fact, over 300 miles with only oneplace where we procured permanent water. I trust we all recognized withsincerity and thankfulness the guiding and protecting Father who hadbrought us through in safety. _July 2nd. _ Made an early start and steered straight for the anchorage, distant about five miles, having first ascended the range to have a viewof the country, which was very extensive. Far as the eye could reach tothe westward, the Roe Plains and Hampton Range were visible; while tothe eastward lay Wilson's Bluff and the Delissier sand-hills; and threemiles west of them we were delighted to behold the good schooner _Adur_, riding safely at anchor in Eucla harbour, which formed by no means theleast pleasing feature of the scene to our little band of wearytravellers. Made at once for the vessel, and on reaching her, found allwell and glad to see us. She was anchored between the Red and BlackBeacons. The latter had been blown down, but shall be re-erected. Therebeing no water at the anchorage, moved on to the Delissier sand-hills, where we found water by digging two and a half feet from the surface. Camped on the west side of the sand-hills. Landed barley, etc. , from the boat. There was a good feed for the horsesunder the Hampton Range, about a mile and a half distant. _July 11th. _ Osborn busy with the shoeing. Went with Billy to Wilson'sBluff, and saw the boundary-post between South and Western Australia, placed by Lieutenant Douglas. _July 12th. _ Erected the flagstaff with the Union Jack flying, andnailed a copperplate to the staff, with the following engraved on it: WESTERN AUSTRALIA. ERECTED BY J. FORREST, JULY 12TH, 1870. _July 17th. _ Was obliged to get up twice to bring back the horses, andat 4 o'clock made a start. The horses were in a very exhausted state;some having difficulty to keep up. About noon I could descry the landturning to the southward, and saw, with great pleasure, we were fastapproaching the Head of the Great Australian Bight. Reached thesand-patches at the extreme head of the Bight just as the sun wassetting, and found abundance of water by digging two feet deep in thesand. Gave the horses as much as I considered safe for them to have atone time. I have never seen horses in such a state before and hope neverto do so again. The horses, which four days ago were strong and in goodcondition, now appeared only skeletons, eyes sunk, nostrils dilated, andthoroughly exhausted. Since leaving Eucla to getting water at this spot, a period of nearly ninety hours, they had only been allowed one gallonof water each, which was given them from our water-drums. It iswonderful how well they performed this journey; had they not started ingood condition they never could have done it. We all felt very tired. During the last sixty hours I have only had about five hours' sleep, andhave been continually in a state of anxiety--besides which, all have hadto walk a great deal. _July 18th. _ This is a great day in my journal and journey. Aftercollecting the horses we followed along the beach half a mile, when Istruck N. For Peelunabie Well, and at half a mile struck a cart trackfrom Fowler's Bay to Peelunabie. After following it one mile and aquarter, came to the well, and old sheep yards, and camped. Found betterwater in the sand-hills than in the well. There is a board nailed on apole directing to the best water, with the following engraved on it: "G. Mackie, April 5th, 1865, water--120 yards. " Upon sighting the road thismorning, which I had told them we should do, a loud and continuedhurrahing came from all the party, who were overjoyed to find signs ofcivilization again; while Billy, who was in advance with me, and whom Ihad told to look out, as he would see a road directly, which heimmediately did, began giving me great praise for bringing them safelythrough a long journey. I certainly felt very pleased and relieved fromanxiety, and, on reviewing the long line of march we had performedthrough an uncivilized country, was very sensible of that protectingProvidence which had guided us safely through the undertaking. Before I conclude I have the pleasing duty to record my entireappreciation of every member of the party. I need not particularize asone and all had the interest and welfare of the expedition at heart, andon no occasion uttered a single murmur. Finally, sir, my best and mostsincere thanks are due to His Excellency Governor Weld for the veryefficient manner in which the expedition was equipped. It is chieflyowing to the great zeal and desire of His Excellency that I should haveeverything necessary, that the success of the enterprise isattributable. I have, etc. JOHN FORREST, Leader of Expedition. The Hon. F. P. Barlee, Esq. , Colonial Secretary, W. A. FROM WEST TO EAST. II. THE INTERIOR +Source. +--Explorations in Australia (John Forrest, 1875), pp. 149-162, 188, 201, 257, 261 Four years after his successful journey along the Bight, Forrest determined to explore the interior of Western Australia, and in so doing added greatly to the knowledge of that somewhat neglected State. The success which had attended my previous expeditions, and the greatencouragement received from the Government and public of each colony, made me wish to undertake another journey for the purpose ofascertaining whether a route from Western Australia to the advancedsettlements of the Southern colony was practicable. I also hoped tocontribute, if possible, towards the solution of the problem, What isthe nature of the Interior? My first journey, when I succeeded inpenetrating for about 600 miles into the unknown desert of CentralAustralia, had convinced me that, although there might, and doubtlesswould, be considerable difficulties to be encountered, there were noinsuperable obstacles, except a probable failure in the supply of water. That certainly was the most formidable of all the difficulties thatwould no doubt have to be encountered; but on the previous journey thescarcity of water had been endured, not without privation and suffering, but without any very serious result. Stuart's great feat of crossing the continent from south to north hadbeen followed by other successful efforts in the same direction. Anotherresult was the establishing a line of telegraph from Adelaide to PortDarwin. This might, therefore, be considered the eastern boundary of theunknown districts, and, moreover, was the point of departure for theSouth Australian expeditions in a westerly direction. It was also thelimit I desired to reach, and reaching it, I should achieve the object Ihad so much at heart. On the 18th of March, 1874, the expedition quitted Perth. The 19th wasSunday, and, according to practice, we rested. Every Sunday throughoutthe journey I read Divine Service, and, except making the dailyobservations, only work absolutely necessary was done. Wheneverpossible, we rested on Sunday, taking, if we could, a pigeon, a parrot, or other such game as might come in our way as special fare. Sunday'sdinner was an institution for which, even in those inhospitable wilds, we had a great respect. _June 13th. _ About one o'clock Pierre saw a flock of emus coming towater, and went off to get a shot. Kennedy followed with the rifle. Iclimbed up on a small tree to watch them. I was surprised to hearnatives' voices, and, looking towards the hills, I saw from forty tosixty natives running towards the camp, all plumed up and armed withspears and shields. I was cool, and told Sweeny to bring out therevolvers; descended from the tree and got my gun, and coo-ed to Pierreand Kennedy, who came running. By this time they were within sixtyyards, and halted. One advanced to meet me, and stood twenty yards off:I made friendly signs; he did not appear very hostile. All at once, onefrom behind (probably a chief) came rushing forward, and made manyfeints to throw spears. He went through many manoeuvres, and gave asignal, when the whole number made a rush towards us, yelling andshouting, with their spears shipped. When within thirty yards, I gavethe word to fire; we all fired as one man, only one report being heard. I think the natives got a few shots, but they all ran up the hill andthere stood talking and haranguing and appearing very angry. Were-loaded our guns, and got everything ready for a second attack, whichI was sure they would make. We were not long left in suspense. They alldescended from the hill and came on slowly towards us. When they wereabout 150 yards off I fired my rifle, and we saw one of them fall, buthe got up again and was assisted away. On examining the spot we foundthe ball had cut in two the two spears he was carrying; he also droppedhis wommera, which was covered with blood. We could follow theblood-drops a long way over the stones. I am afraid he got a severewound. My brother and Windich being away we were short-handed. Thenatives seem determined to take our lives and, therefore, I shall nothesitate to fire on them should they attack us again. I thus decide, andwrite in all humility, considering it a necessity, as the only way ofsaving our lives. I write this at 4 p. M. , just after the occurrence, sothat, should anything happen to us, my brother will know how and when itoccurred. 5 p. M. --The natives appear to have made off. We intendsleeping in the thicket close to camp, and keeping a strict watch, so asto be ready for them should they return to the attack this evening. At7. 30 my brother and Windich returned, and were surprised to hear of ouradventure. They had been over fifty miles from camp E. S. E. , and hadpassed over some good feeding country, but had not found a drop ofwater. They and their horses had been over thirty hours without water. _June 14th, Sunday. _ The natives did not return to the attack lastnight. In looking round camp we found the traces of blood where one ofthe natives had been lying down. This must have been the foremost man, who was in the act of throwing his spear, and who urged the others on. Two therefore, at least, are wounded, and will have cause to rememberthe time they made their murderous attack upon us. We worked all dayputting up a stone hut, ten by nine feet, and seven feet high, thatchedwith boughs. We finished it; it will make us safe at night. Being a veryfair hut, it will be a great source of defence. Barometer 28. 09;thermometer 68° at 5 p. M. Hope to have rain, as without it we cannotproceed. _July 3rd. _ Soon after starting, found a little water in a gully andgave our horses a drink. Ascended a spur of the range and had a goodview ahead, and was very pleased with the prospect. Steering N. E. Towards a large range about fifteen miles off, we found a great deal ofspinnifex, although the country generally was thickly wooded. I rodeMission, who went along pretty well for about twelve miles, whenWilliams gave in again, and Mission soon did the same. For the next sixmiles to the range we had awful work, but managed with leading anddriving to reach the range; spinnifex all the way and also on the top ofit. I was very nearly knocked up myself, but ascended the range and hada very extensive view. Far to the N. And E. The horizon was as level anduniform as that of the sea; apparently spinnifex everywhere; no hills orranges could be seen for a distance of quite thirty miles. The prospect was very cheerless and disheartening. Windich went on theonly horse not knocked up in order to find water for the horses. Ifollowed after his tracks, leading the two poor done-up horses. Withdifficulty I could get them to walk. Over, and through the rough range Imanaged to pull them along and found sufficient water to give them agood drink, and camped on a small patch of rough grass in one of thegorges. Spinnifex everywhere; it is a most fearful country. We cannotproceed farther in this direction, and must return and meet the party, which I hope to do to-morrow night. We can only crawl along having towalk and lead the horses, or at least drag them. The party have beenfollowing us, only getting a little water from gullies, and there isvery little to fall back on for over fifty miles. I will leave what Iintend doing until I meet them. I am nearly knocked up again to-night;my boots have hurt my feet, but I am not yet disheartened. [Forrest stayed in the Interior for nearly three more months. ] _Sept. 26th. _ Got off early and followed the river (Hamilton) about twomiles when it took a bend to the north, and as it was rather boggy nearit, we left it, and steered about east and E. N. E. For about twenty milesover most miserable country without any grass. We camped on a smallgully with a little water in it, and some old dry grass in a flat. Thehorses were very tired, not having had anything to eat for the last twoor three days; and some showed signs of giving in; in fact, all weak andknocked up, and we had to handle them very carefully. For the firstthirteen miles we passed many clay-pans full of water--water nearlyeverywhere--after which there was very little; and the rain does notappear to have been heavy to the east. The river is about a mile and ahalf north of us, and we have not seen it for some miles. Latitude 27°9' south. Hope to reach the telegraph line to-morrow. _Sept. 27th, Sunday. _ Continuing E. N. E. For two miles, came to theAlberga, and following along its right bank, over many clay-pans withwater, about east for twelve miles, and then E. N. E. For three miles, andreached the telegraph line, between Adelaide and Port Darwin, andcamped. Long and continued cheers came from our little band as theybeheld at last the goal to which we have been travelling for so long. Ifelt rejoiced and relieved from anxiety; and on reflecting on the longline of travel we had performed through an unknown country, almost awilderness, felt very thankful to that good Providence that had guardedand guided us so safely through it. The telegraph line is mostsubstantially put up and well wired, and is very creditable at thisspot; large poles of bush timber, often rather crooked, and iron oneshere and there. I now gave up keeping watch, having kept it regularlyfor the last six months. Marked a tree F. 104, being 104th camp fromGeraldton. PART II GENERAL HISTORY THE FIRST SETTLEMENT +Source. +--Historical Records of Australia. Vol. I, pp. 9-32, 373 In 1783 England recognized the Independence of her American Colonies, and thus lost the settlements to which she usually transported her criminals. By 1786 her gaols had become woefully overcrowded, and consequently it was decided to establish a penal colony at Botany Bay. Captain Phillip was selected as commanding officer of the expedition. GOVERNOR PHILLIP'S FIRST COMMISSION GEORGE R. George the Third, etc. , to our trusty and well-beloved Captain ArthurPhillip, greeting: We, reposing especial trust and confidence in your loyalty, courage andexperience in military affairs, do, by these presents, constitute andappoint you to be Governor of our territory called New South Wales, extending from the northern cape or extremity of the coast called CapeYork, in the latitude of 10° 37' south, to the southern extremity of thesaid territory of New South Wales or South Cape, in the latitude of 43°39' south, and of all the country inland to the westward as far as theone hundred and thirty-fifth degree of longitude reckoning from themeridian of Greenwich, including all the islands adjacent in the PacificOcean, within the latitude aforesaid of 10° 37' south and 43° 39' south, and of all towns, garrisons, castles, forts, and all otherfortifications or other military works which now are or may be hereaftererected upon this said territory. You are therefore carefully anddiligently to discharge the duties of Governor in and over our saidterritory by doing and performing all and all manner of things thereuntobelonging, and we do hereby strictly charge and command all our officersand soldiers who shall be employed within our said territory, and allothers whom it may concern, to obey you as Governor thereof; and youare to observe and follow such orders and directions from time to timeas you shall receive from us, or any other your superior officeraccording to the rules and discipline of war, and likewise such ordersand directions as we shall send you under our signet or sign manual, orby our High Treasurer or Commissioners of our Treasury for the timebeing, or one of our principal Secretaries of State, in pursuance of thetrust we hereby repose in you. Given at our Court at St. James's the twelfth day of October, 1786, inthe twenty-sixth year of our reign. By His Majesty's command. SYDNEY. GOVERNOR PHILLIP'S INSTRUCTIONS G. R. Instructions for our trusty and well-beloved Arthur Phillip, Esq. , ourCaptain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and over our territory of NewSouth Wales and its dependencies or to the Lieutenant Governor orCommander-in-Chief of the said territory for the time being. Given atour Court at St. James's the 25th day of April 1787 in thetwenty-seventh year of our reign. You are to fit yourself with all convenient speed, and to hold yourselfin readiness to repair to your said command, and being arrived, to takeupon you the execution of the trust we have reposed in you, as soon asconveniently may be, with all due solemnity to cause our said Commissionunder our Great Seal of Great Britain constituting you our Governor andCommander-in-Chief as aforesaid to be read and published. And whereas we have ordered that about 600 male and 180 female convictsnow under sentence or order of transportation whose names are containedin the list hereunto annexed should be removed out of the gaols andother places of confinement in this our kingdom, and be put on board ofthe several transport ships which have been taken up for theirreception, it is our Royal will and pleasure that as soon as the saidconvicts, the several persons composing the civil establishments, andthe stores, provisions, etc. , provided for their use, shall be put onboard the _Supply_, tender, and the transport ships named in the margin, and be in readiness to depart, that you do take them under yourprotection and proceed in the _Sirius_ with the said tender andtransports to the Port on the coast of New South Wales, situated in thelatitude of 33° 41' called by the name of Botany Bay, agreeably to theinstructions with which you will be furnished by the Commissioners ofour Admiralty, in pursuance of our Royal commands already signified tothem. According to the best information which we have obtained, Botany Bayappears to be the most eligible situation upon the said coast for thefirst establishment, possessing a commodious harbour and otheradvantages which no part of the coast hitherto discovered affords. It istherefore our will and pleasure that you do immediately upon yourlanding, after taking measures for securing yourself and the people whoaccompany you as much as possible from any attacks or interruptions ofthe natives of that country, as well as for the preservation and safetyof the public stores, proceed to the cultivation of the land, distributing the convicts for that purpose in such manner, and undersuch Inspectors and Overseers, and under such regulations as may appearto you to be necessary and best calculated for procuring supplies ofgrain and ground provisions. The assortment of tools and utensils which have been provided for theuse of the convicts and other persons who are to compose the intendedsettlement are to be distributed according to your discretion, andaccording to the employment assigned to the several persons. In thedistribution, however, you will use every proper degree of economy, andbe careful that the Commissary so transmit an account of the issues fromtime to time to the Commissioners of our Treasury to enable them tojudge of the propriety or expediency of granting further supplies. Theclothing of the convicts and the provisions issued to them, and theseveral civil and military establishments, must be accounted for in thesame manner. The increase of the stock of animals must depend entirely upon themeasures you may adopt on the outset for their preservation; and as theSettlement will be amply supplied with vegetable productions, and mostlikely with fish, fresh provisions, excepting for the sick andconvalescents, may in a great degree be dispensed with. For thesereasons it will become you to be extremely cautious in permitting anycattle, sheep, hogs, etc. , intended for propagating the breed of suchanimals to be slaughtered until a competent stock maybe acquired, toadmit of your supplying the settlement from it with animal food withouthaving further recourse to the places from whence such stock may haveoriginally been obtained. It is our will and pleasure that the productions of all descriptionsacquired by the labour of the convicts should be considered as a publicstock, which we so far leave to your disposal that such parts thereof asmay be requisite for the subsistence of the said convicts and theirfamilies, or the subsistence of the civil and military establishments ofthe settlement may be applied by you to that use. The remainder of suchproductions you will reserve as a provision for a further number ofconvicts, which you may expect will shortly follow you from hence, to beemployed under your direction in the manner pointed out in these ourinstructions to you. From the natural increase of corn and other vegetable food from a commonindustry, after the ground has once been cultivated, as well as ofanimals, it cannot be expedient that all the convicts which accompanyyou should be employed in attending only to the object of provisions. And as it has been humbly represented to us that advantages may bederived from the flax-plant which is found in the islands not fardistant from the intended settlement, not only as a means of acquiringclothing for the convicts and other persons who may become settlers, butfrom its superior excellence for a variety of maritime purposes, and asit may ultimately become an article of export, it is, therefore, ourwill and pleasure that you do particularly attend to its cultivation, and that you do send home by every opportunity which may offer, samplesof this article, in order that a judgment may be formed whether it maynot be necessary to instruct you further upon this subject. And whereas we are desirous that some further information should beobtained of the several ports or harbours upon the coast, and theislands contiguous thereto, within the limits of your government, youare, whenever the _Sirius_ or the _Supply_ tender, can conveniently bespared, to send one, or both of them, upon that service. Norfolk Island, situated in the lat. ----, and long. ----[blanks inmanuscript] east from Greenwich about----, being represented as a spotwhich may hereafter become useful, you are, as soon as circumstanceswill admit of it, to send a small establishment thither to secure thesame to us, and prevent it being occupied by the subjects of any otherEuropean power; and you will cause any remarks or observations whichyou may obtain in consequence of this instruction to be transmitted toour Principal Secretary of State for Plantation Affairs for ourinformation. You are to endeavour by every possible means to open an intercourse withthe natives and to conciliate their affections, enjoining all oursubjects to live in amity and kindness with them. And if any of oursubjects shall wantonly destroy them, or give them any unnecessaryinterruption in the exercise of their several occupations, it is ourwill and pleasure that you do cause such offenders to be brought topunishment according to the degree of the offence. You will endeavour toprocure an account of the numbers inhabiting the neighbourhood of theintended settlement, and report your opinion to one of our Secretariesof State in what manner our intercourse with these people may be turnedto the advantage of this colony. And it is further our royal will and pleasure that you do by all propermethods enforce a due observance of religion and good order among theinhabitants of the new settlement, and that you do take such steps forthe due celebration of public worship as circumstances will permit. And whereas many of our subjects employed upon military service at thesaid settlement and others who may resort thither upon their privateoccupations, may hereafter be desirous of proceeding to the cultivationand improvement of the land, and as we are disposed to afford them everyreasonable encouragement in such an undertaking: It is our will andpleasure that you do, with all convenient speed, transmit a report ofthe actual state and quality of the soil at and near the said intendedsettlement, the probable and most effectual means of improving andcultivating the same, and of the mode, and upon what terms andconditions, according to the best of your judgment, the said landsshould be granted, that proper instructions and authorities may be givento you for that purpose. [Having fairly established the first settlement of white men on thecontinent of Australia, Governor Phillip wrote an account of his work tothe Colonial Secretary. ] GOVERNOR PHILLIP TO LORD SYDNEY Sydney Cove, New South Wales, _May 15th, 1788. _ My Lord, I had the honour of informing your Lordship, by Captain Cox, who wasreturning to Europe from Madras that I was ready to sail from the Capeof Good Hope, and which I did, with the ships under my command, the 12thof November. The 25th, being eighty leagues to the eastward of the Cape, I left the _Sirius_, and went on board the _Supply_ tender, in hopes, byleaving the convoy, to gain sufficient time to examine the country roundBotany Bay and fix on the most eligible situation for the colony beforethe transports arrived. The _Supply_, sailing very badly, had not permitted my gaining theadvantage hoped for, but I began to examine the bay as soon as weanchored, and found that tho' extensive, it did not afford shelter toships from the easterly winds; the greater part of the Bay being soshoal that ships of even a moderate draught of water are obliged toanchor with the entrance of the bay open, and are exposed to a heavy seathat rolls in when it blows hard from the eastward. Several small runs of fresh water were found in different parts of thebay, but I did not see any situation to which there was not some verystrong objection. The small creek that is in the northern part of thebay runs a considerable way into the country, but it had only water fora boat. The sides of this creek are frequently overflowed, and thelowlands a swamp. The western branch runs up for a considerabledistance, but the officers I sent to examine it could not find anywater, except in very small drains. The best situation that offered was near Point Sutherland, where therewas a small run of good water; but the ground near it, as well as aconsiderable part of the higher ground, was spongy, and the ships couldnot approach this part of the bay. Several good situations offered for a small number of people, but nonethat appeared calculated for our numbers, and where the stores andprovisions could be landed without a great loss of time. When Iconsidered the bay's being so very open, and the probability of theswamps rendering the most eligible situation unhealthy, I judged itadvisable to examine Port Jackson; but that no time might be lost if Idid not succeed in finding a better harbour, and a proper situation forthe settlement, the ground near Point Sutherland was in the meantime tobe cleared and preparations made for landing under the direction of theLieutenant-Governor. As the time in which I might be absent, if I went in the _Supply_, musthave been very uncertain, I went round with three boats, taking with meCaptain Hunter, and several officers, that by examining different partsof the port at the same time less time might be lost. We got into Port Jackson early in the afternoon, and had thesatisfaction of finding the finest harbour in the world, in which athousand sail of the line may ride in the most perfect security, and ofwhich a rough survey, made by Captain Hunter and the officers of the_Sirius_ after the ships came round, may give your Lordship some idea. The different coves were examined with all possible expedition. I fixedon the one that had the best spring of water, and in which the ships cananchor so close to the shore that at a very small expense quays may bemade at which the largest ships may unload. This cove, which I honoured with the name of Sydney, is about a quarterof a mile across at the entrance and half-a-mile in length. We returned to Botany Bay the third day, where I received a veryunfavourable account of the ground that was clearing. The ships immediately prepared to go round, and the 25th--seven daysafter I arrived in the _Supply_--I sailed in her for Port Jackson, leaving Captain Hunter to follow with the transports, it then blowingtoo strong for them to work out of the bay. They joined me the nextevening, and all the transports were moored in the cove. Two sail had appeared off Botany Bay the 24th, under French colours, andanchored there before the _Sirius_ left it--the _Boussole_ and the_Astrolabe_. These ships were commanded by Monsieur La Perouse, whohaving expressed a desire of sending letters to Europe, I sent anofficer over, it being only eight miles, to tell him in what time it wasprobable the ships might sail. The clearing the ground for the people and for erecting storehouses wasbegun as soon as the ships got round, a labour of which it will behardly possible to give your Lordship a just idea. The necks of land that form the different coves, and near the water forsome distance, are in general so rocky that it is surprising that suchlarge trees should find sufficient nourishment, but the soil between therocks is good, and the summits of the rocks, as well as the wholecountry round us, with few exceptions, are covered with trees, most ofwhich are so large that the removing them off the ground after they arecut down is the greatest part of the labour; and the convicts, naturallyindolent, having none to attend them but overseers drawn from amongstthemselves, and who fear to exert any authority, makes this work go onvery slowly. As there are only twelve convicts who are carpenters, as many as couldbe procured from the ships have been hired to work on the hospital andstorehouses. The people were healthy when landed, but the scurvy has forsome time appeared amongst them, and now rages in a most extraordinarymanner. Only sixteen carpenters could be hired from the ships, andseveral of the convict carpenters were sick. It was now the middle ofFebruary; the rains began to fall very heavy, and pointed the necessityof hutting the people; convicts were therefore appointed to assist thedetachment in this work. The great labour in clearing the ground will not permit more than eightacres to be sown this year with wheat and barley. At the same time theimmense number of ants and field mice will render our crops veryuncertain. Part of the live stock brought from the Cape, small as it was, has beenlost, and our resource in fish is also uncertain. Some days greatquantities are caught, but never sufficient to save any part of theprovisions; and at times fish are scarce. Your Lordship will, I presume, see the necessity of a regular supply ofprovisions for four or five years, and of clothing, shoes and frocks inthe greatest proportion. The necessary implements for husbandry and forclearing the ground brought out will, with difficulty, be made to servethe time that is necessary for sending out a fresh supply. The labour of the convicts shall be as is directed, for the publicstock, but it is necessary to permit a part of the convicts to work forthe officers, who, in our present situation, would otherwise find itimpossible to clear a sufficient quantity of ground to raise what isabsolutely necessary to support the little stock they have; and I am torequest that your Lordship will be pleased to direct me to what extentthat indulgence may be granted the officers of the garrison. The _Sirius_ shall be sent to the northward to barter for stock, andwhich shall be employed solely for the purposes of increasing the breedof such cattle as she may procure. The _Supply_ is in no ways calculatedfor this service, as in the least sea her decks are full of water. The beginning of May the rainy season was once more supposed to be setin, but after a week we had fine weather. The three transports for China sailed the 5th, 6th, and 8th of May; andthe _Supply_ having been caulked sailed the 6th to Lord Howe Island, toendeavour to procure turtle, in hopes of checking the scurvy with whichmost of the people are affected, and near two hundred rendered incapableof doing any work. It is not possible to send the _Sirius_ to thenorthward, for she must then have her carpenters, and only three ofthose hired from the transports now remain; and tho' the detachmentbegan to build barracks for the use of the men and huts for the officersthe 14th of February, and near a hundred convicts were given to assistin this work, they are not yet finished, nor is the hospital or thestorehouse that is to receive the provisions still remaining on boardthree transports, and on these works the carpenters of the _Sirius_ areemployed. I have before pointed out the great labour in clearing theground as one cause of our slow progress. Your Lordship will, I hope, excuse the confused manner in which I havein this letter given an account of what has passed since I left the Capeof Good Hope. It has been written at different times, and my situationat present does not permit me to begin so long a letter again, thecanvas house I am under being neither wind nor waterproof. I have, etc. , A. PHILLIP. EARLY DIFFICULTIES +Source. +--Historical Records of Australia. Vol. I, pp. 45-51 The young colony was threatened by many dangers, but Governor Phillip with untiring energy and skill averted them, and with unusual foresight prophesied the future greatness of the country. GOVERNOR PHILLIP TO UNDER-SECRETARY NEPEAN Sydney Cove, _July 9th, 1788. _ My Dear Sir, You will see by my letters to Lord Sydney that this colony must for someyears depend on supplies from England. The _Sirius_ will be sent to the northward for live stock as soon as wecan spare her carpenters; and from what Monsieur la Perouse said toCaptain Hunter, one of the Isles des Navigateurs is the most likely tofurnish us with what we want. But though these Islands supply two orthree ships very abundantly, they will afford but very little towardsthe support of this colony, the situation of which I have particularlypointed out in my letter to Lord Sydney, and which I shall recapitulatein this, as the ship by which I now write may arrive before either ofthose that have my despatches on board. The Lieutenant-Governor has about four acres of land in cultivation. Ihave from eight to ten in wheat and barley. The officers will be able toraise sufficient to support the little live stock they have, and whichis all that can be expected from them. All the corn raised this year andthe next will be saved for seed, and if necessity should oblige us touse it, it would be only a few days' support for the colony; and fromthe rats and other vermin the crops are very uncertain. This country is subject to very heavy storms of thunder and lightning, several trees having been set on fire, and some sheep and dogs killed inthe camp since we landed. All the provisions we have to depend on until supplies arrive fromEngland are in two wooden buildings which are thatched. I am sensible ofthe risk but have no remedy. The greatest part of the stock brought from the Cape is dead, and fromthe inattention of the men who had the care of the cattle, thosebelonging to Government and two cows belonging to myself are lost. Asthey have been missing three weeks, it is probable they are killed bythe natives. All my sheep are dead and a few only remain of thosepurchased for Government. The loss of two cows and four bulls falls veryheavy. The horses do very well. With respect to any resources that the Cape of Good Hope might afford, Ihave only to observe that the strong westerly winds that prevailed allthe year between the Cape and the southern extremity of this countrywould render a passage to the Cape very tedious if attempted to thesouthward, and little less so if ships go to the northward. Batavia andour own settlements are at a great distance; and when the transports aresailed I shall have only the _Sirius_ to employ on a service of thiskind; and as I should not think myself at liberty to send either to theCape or the East Indies unless in a case of the greatest necessity, itwould in all probability then be too late. I mention these circumstancesjust to show the real situation of the colony, and I make no doubt butthat supplies will arrive in time, and on which alone I depend. Theprovisions sent to support this colony for two years being put on boardthree ships, was running a very great risk, for had they separated andafterwards been lost the consequence is obvious, for this country atpresent does not furnish the smallest resource except in fish, and whichhas lately been so scarce that the natives find great difficulty insupporting themselves. Any accident of this kind will be guardedagainst, of course; and soldiers or convicts when sent out will be puton board the ships with provisions to serve them for two years afterthey land; and in our present situation I hope few convicts will be sentout for one year at least, except carpenters, masons, and bricklayers, or farmers, who can support themselves and assist in supporting others. Numbers of those now here are a burthen and incapable of any kind ofhard labour, and, unfortunately, we have not proper people to keep thoseto their labour who are capable of being made useful. Officers decline the least interference with the convicts, unless whenthey are immediately employed for their (the officers) own conveniencyor when they are called out at the head of their men; the saying of afew words to encourage the diligent when they saw them at work, and thepointing out the idle when they could do it without going out of theirway, was all that was desired. The convicts were then employed inclearing the ground on which the officers were encamped, and this theyrefused; they did not suppose they were sent out to do more thangarrison duty, and these gentlemen (that is, the majority of theofficers) think the being obliged to sit as members of the CriminalCourt an hardship, and for which they are not paid, and likely thinkthemselves hardly dealt by, in that Government had not determined whatlands were to be given to them. But I presume an additional force willbe sent out when the necessity of making detachments in order tocultivate lands in the more open country is known, and from four to sixhundred men, will, I think, be absolutely necessary. If fifty farmers were sent out with their families they would do more inone year in rendering this colony independent of the mother country _asto provisions_ than a thousand convicts. There is some clear land whichis intended to be cultivated, at some distance from the camp, and Iintended to send out convicts for that purpose, under the direction of aperson that was going to India in the _Charlotte_, transport, but whoremained to settle in this country, and has been brought up a farmer, but several of the convicts (three) have been lately killed by thenatives, and I have been obliged to defer it until a detachment can bemade. The natives are far more numerous than they were supposed to be. I thinkthey cannot be less than fifteen hundred in Botany Bay, Port Jackson, and Broken Bay, including the intermediate coast. I have traced thirtymiles inland, and the having lately seen smoke on Lansdown Hills, whichare fifty miles inland, I think leaves no doubt but there areinhabitants in the interior parts of the country. Lists of what articles are most wanted will be sent by the Commissary, and I am very sorry to say that not only a great part of the clothing, particularly the women's, is very bad, but most of the axes, spades, andshovels the worst that ever were seen. The provision is as good. Of theseeds and corn sent from England part has been destroyed by the weevil;the rest is in very good order. The person I have appointed Provost-Marshal is likewise very useful insuperintending the carpentry; the person sent out by the contractor, whoassists the Commissary in the delivery of provisions, one that was clerkof the _Sirius_, a master smith, and two farmers, are very usefulpeople, and I beg leave to recommend them to Government. The grantingthem lands would draw their attention from their present occupations. A convict who fled to the woods after committing a robbery returnedafter being absent eighteen days, forced in by hunger; he had got somesmall support from the people, and the few fish left by accident on thebeach after hauling the seine, and had endeavoured to live amongst thenatives, but they could but give him but little assistance; he says theyare now greatly distressed for food, and that he saw several dying withhunger. It is possible that some of the natives at this time of yearmight find it easier to support themselves on birds and such animals asshelter themselves in the hollow trees, than on fish; but then, I think, they would not go to the top of the mountains, where at present it mustbe very cold. I intend going to Lansdown or Carmarthen Hills as soon asthe weather permits, if it is possible, and which will explain what isat present a mystery to me--how people who have not the least idea ofcultivation can maintain themselves in the interior part of thiscountry. When I went to the westward, in hopes of being able to reachthe mountains, we carried six days' provisions, and proceeded five daysto the westward; returning we were very short of provisions, and ourguns only procured us two scanty meals. I shall conclude with saying that I have no doubt but that the countrywill hereafter prove a most valuable acquisition to Great Britain, though at present no country can afford less support to the firstsettlers, or be more disadvantageously placed for receiving support fromthe mother country, on which it must for a time depend. It will requirepatience and perseverance, neither of which will, I hope, be wanting onthe part of Dear Sir, Yours, etc. A. PHILLIP. PHILLIP'S RESIGNATION After four years of strenuous labour Phillip was forced to leave thework he had so well begun. GOVERNOR PHILLIP TO LORD GRENVILLE Sydney, _21st November, 1791. _My Lord, I am honoured with your Lordship's letter of the 19th of February inanswer to mine to Lord Sydney, and beg leave to assure your Lordshipthat I should not hesitate a moment in giving up my private affairs tothe public service; but from a complaint which so very frequently putsit out of my power to use that exercise which my situation requires andthe present state of this colony, in which I believe every doubtrespecting its future independency as to the necessaries of life isfully done away, I am induced to request permission to resign theGovernment, that I may return to England in hopes of finding that reliefwhich this country does not afford. I have, etc. A. PHILLIP. NEW SOUTH WALES CORPS +Source. +--Historical Records of Australia. Vol. I, p. 122; Vol. II, pp. 573-576 The New South Wales Corps was a body of soldiers forcibly recruited to guard the convicts at Port Jackson. The soldiers quickly passed from bullying the convicts to bullying the free population, and assumed a high-handed attitude towards the Governor himself. THE RIGHT HON. W. W. GRENVILLE TO GOVERNOR PHILLIPWhitehall, _19th June 1789. _Sir, The discontents which have prevailed in the marine detachment, and thedesire expressed by most of the officers and men to return home as soonas they shall have performed the tour of duty they had undertaken, haveled to the making arrangements for relieving them. With that view HisMajesty has ordered a corps to be raised for that particular service, consisting of three hundred rank and file and a suitable number ofofficers under a Major-Commandant. This corps is ordered to be inreadiness for embarkation on the 1st of October next, and will, it isexpected, soon after that time proceed upon the voyage. GRENVILLE TO PHILLIP _Dec. 24th, 1789. _ The corps which I before informed you was to be raised to serve withinyour Government, instead of the marines now doing duty there, has beencomplete for some time past. A detachment from it, consisting of about100 officers and men, has been put on board the convict ships for theirgreater security against attempts which the convicts might meditate, and the remainder, under the command of Major Grose, amounting as youwill see by the enclosed establishment to upwards of 200 more, will, Iexpect, embark at Portsmouth on board His Majesty's ship the _Gorgon_, in the course of a few days. GOVERNOR HUNTER TO THE DUKE OF PORTLAND Sydney, New South Wales, _10th Aug. , 1796. _ My Lord, Having occasion in my letter, No. 9. By the ship _Marquis Cornwallis_, to notice very particularly a paragraph in your Grace's letter of the10th of June, 1795, which related to the conduct of the military servingupon Norfolk Island in 1794, and which gave me occasion to mentionsimilar outrage having been committed by the soldiers here since myarrival, I signified in that letter that I thought it might be improperin me to suppress or keep from your Grace's knowledge that outrage, andthat it should be communicated at a future opportunity. I thereforeenclose for your Grace's information a paper, No. 1, containing theparticulars, stated in as brief a manner as possible. I forbear, myLord, to make any observations upon this violent and extraordinaryconduct on the part of the soldiers. I transmit only a statement of thefacts, leaving your Grace wholly uninfluenced by anything I might haveoccasion to remark upon so daring a violation of the peace and order ofthe settlement, as well as in defiance of those laws by which that peaceis to be preserved. But as an alteration in the ration had at that time been ordered, Ithink it necessary to observe that their temper at the moment was soviolent that they positively refused to take it unless they were servedall flour, instead of part flour and part corn, a desire which could notbe complied with without manifest injustice to others, and also insistedupon being paid short-allowance money for the time they were on shortration, which they say Governor Phillip had promised them. This lastdemand I must request your Grace's instructions upon. The paper No. 2 is the Public Order which I gave out immediately afterthe outrage; No. 3 is a copy of my letter to the commanding officer ofthe corps upon that occasion; and No. 4 is a paper which was intendedto quiet the minds of the inhabitants of the settlement, who mightnaturally (if no steps were taken to punish the offenders in this case, nor any particular notice be taken of the offence committed by them)conceive themselves subject to such violence and oppression from themilitary whenever any soldier might think fit to take offence at them. These papers are all which I think it necessary to trouble your Gracewith upon this occasion, as the facts will best speak for themselves, and prevent the possibility of a conjecture that any unfairrepresentation could have been intended. I should feel myself deficient in that duty which I owe to His Majesty'sservice in this part of the world were I not to take a liberty which Ihave no reason to believe your Grace will be offended at--I mean, inremarking that the manner in which this corps has, since employed uponthis service, been recruited, does in a great measure weaken the effector service which we would expect to derive from the assistance of themilitary. Soldiers from the Savoy, and other characters who have beenconsidered as disgraceful to every other regiment in His Majesty'sservice, have been thought fit and proper recruits for the New SouthWales Corps, which, in my humble opinion, my Lord, should have beencomposed of the very best and most orderly dispositions. They are senthere to guard and keep in obedience to the laws when force may berequisite, a set of the worst, the most atrocious characters that everdisgraced human nature; and yet we find amongst those safeguards mencapable of corrupting the heart of the best disposed, and often superiorin every species of infamy to the most expert in wickedness amongst theconvicts. Our stores, provisions, and granaries must be intrusted to thecare of these men; what security can we have in the hands of suchpeople? None, my Lord. Your Grace will see the impropriety of suchrecruits being sent to this country, and mixed with a corps who have thecare of our most valuable concerns. Not to detain your Grace, I will begpermission to observe that a corps of military to be permanentlyestablished for the service of this colony, to which the dregs andrefuse of our native country are directed by its laws to be sent as apunishment, cannot be attended with that advantage which may have beenexpected from it. This, I confess, my Lord, to be my opinion, and for this reason, thatthey will make connections with infamous characters here, whateverattention may be paid by their officers to prevent it; by this meansthey will in time be corrupted and rendered unfit people for the trustwhich we must repose in them. It might probably be thought expensive torelieve them as other garrisons, once in three, four, or five years; butI cannot help believing, my Lord, that the service would be muchbenefited by such a measure; and two forty-four-gun ships armed _enflute_ sailing at a proper season would complete the relief, and returnin from twelve to fourteen months, frequently less. The expenseattending this measure will probably be an objection; but, my Lord, although the saving to be made by it may appear too remote to meritimmediate notice, yet I am convinced it would ultimately prove a saving, and no inconsiderable one. I have, etc. , JNO. HUNTER. (Enclosure No. 1) STATEMENT OF THE CASE OF JOHN BAUGHAN John Baughan who officiates as foreman of the carpenters working atSydney, and a private soldier of the New South Wales Corps, of the sameprofession, had some dispute when formerly working together on anoccasion when Baughan had the direction. This dispute, it appeared, hadnot subsided in the mind of the soldier, and probably was not whollyforgot by the other. It, however, was more conspicuous in the soldier, from the following circumstance:--One day when sentinel over astorehouse, knowing that Baughan was at work in a house some distancefrom his post, he set his arms down against the wall of the store, andseeing a man whom he knew, standing on the outside of the building inwhich Baughan was at work, entered into a conversation with him, ofwhich Baughan was the subject, and in which much abuse was bestowedwhich it was meant that he, Baughan, should hear. Baughan went out atthe back door unperceived, and seeing the soldier without his arms, wentto his post, where he found the musquet, which he took up and carried tothe guardhouse and delivered to the sergeant of the guard. The soldierwas, of course, taken notice of and relieved, being without his arms. The next day, 5th February, at half-past nine o'clock in the forenoonthe whole of the corps off duty at this place assembled, and in themost public and tumultuous manner proceeded to the dwelling of JohnBaughan, broke open his gates, doors and windows, entered his house, chopped the corner-posts of it, broke his bedsteads and bedding, chairs, window-frames, drawers, chests, and, in short, completely demolishedeverything within his possession to a considerable amount, for the manhad by great labour and industry built himself a neat house and had itwell furnished. Upon their first approach, having had a few minutes' notice, he armedhimself with a loaded gun and defended himself by threats for some time, but their numbers were so many that they surrounded his paling whichenclosed the house, which some tore down, and entered on the oppositeside to that which he endeavoured to defend, came behind him, securedand threw him down with his face to the ground, whilst one held an axeover his neck, and swore if he offered to stir, he would chop the headfrom his body. During the time he remained in this situation theycompleted the ruin of his whole property, to the very great terror ofthe man's wife, after which they went off cheering, as if somethingmeritorious had been effected, and marched in a body across the paradebefore their commanding officer's house. After so daring an attack in the open day, upon the dwelling-house of aninhabitant, and in direct defiance of all law, civil or military, theycould only be considered as in a state of mutiny. I immediately issuedin Public Orders the papers No. 2. (Enclosure No. 2) GOVERNMENT AND GENERAL ORDER _5th Feb. , 1796. _Parole--Milbrook. Countersign--Cawsand. The very riotous manner in which the soldiers have conducted themselvesthis morning, and the very unwarrantable liberty they have thoughtproper to take in destroying the dwelling-house of John Baughan, is soflagrant a crime against the laws established in this colony thatnothing but the want of proof to substantiate who the principal actorsin this disgraceful business were, could possibly prevent their beingimmediately tried for so glaring an offence against the peace of thecolony. The Governor thinks it necessary to assure the soldiers that heconsiders their conduct upon this occasion to have been disgraceful tothe character of a British soldier, and that he did hope to have foundmen amongst them who would have had pride enough to have stood forwardand have pointed out the ringleaders of so mutinous a conduct, for in noother light can it be considered than that of mutiny when the militaryassemble in such numbers unknown to their officers, who are at all timesready to listen to any complaints they may have to make, and to see thatagreeable to common justice they are redressed. If the soldiers expectthat the Governor or any of the officers in this settlement canhereafter consider them as hereafter meriting the honourable appellationof British troops, it must be by their bringing forward the ringleadersor advisers of this disgraceful conduct, in order that the stigma may bewiped away by such worthless characters being brought to trial for thisshameful conduct. (Enclosure No. 3) GOVERNOR HUNTER TO CAPTAIN PATERSON Sydney, _7th Feb. 1796. _ Sir, Since I saw you this morning I have turned in my mind the subject of ourconversation, and I have in consequence changed my intention of speakingto the soldiers myself. I see that it would be a condescension on mypart which their violent and unsoldierlike conduct does not entitle themto from me. I stand in this colony as the Chief Magistrate, and therepresentative of our Sovereign; anything, therefore, that could lessenme in the eye of the public would be degrading the King's authority, which shall never suffer in my person whilst I am capable of giving itits full power and consequence. I never can or will listen to thecomplaints of any set of men who feel themselves above preferring themwith moderation, and a decent submission to the laws and regulations ofthe colony; they must not--they shall not--dictate laws and rules forthe government of this settlement; they were sent here by His Majesty tosupport the civil power in the execution of its functions, but they seemdisposed to take all law into their own hands, and to direct it inwhatever way best may suit their own views. Their violence upon the late occasion shall be laid before the King, and the principal actors in it shall be pointedly marked, in order thatjustice the most perfect be done to everyone concerned in it. I mustdeclare to you, sir, that the conduct of this part of the New SouthWales Corps has been, in my opinion the most violent and outrageous thatwas ever heard of by any British regiment whatever, and I shall considerevery step they may go farther in aggravation as rebellion against HisMajesty's Government and authority, of which the most early notice shallbe taken, and those concerned be in due time obliged to answer for itmost probably with their lives. This is all I think it necessary totrouble you with. Their conduct will be pointedly marked thro' all itsstages, and I will be firm and resolved in such steps as it may benecessary for me to pursue, and of this you, as their commandingOfficer, will be pleas'd to inform them. I am, etc. , JNO. HUNTER. THE IRISH POLITICAL PRISONERS +Source. +--Historical Records of Australia. Vol. II, p. 128 In 1795, while Great Britain was at war with France, a great rebellion broke out in Ireland. During its suppression many of the Irish were transported to Port Jackson, and caused much trouble and disaffection among the convicts there. GOVERNOR HUNTER TO THE DUKE OF PORTLAND Sydney, New South Wales, _15 Feb. 1798. _ My Lord Duke, I have for some time been in doubt whether the representation I am aboutto make to your Grace should be private or public, but on consideringthat it might occasion the adoption of some measure interesting to theconcerns of this colony, I have preferred the latter mode. In order that your Grace should have the earliest opportunity of takinginto consideration the subject I am about to introduce, I could havewished to have been enabled to communicate it immediately. To come without further preface to the point in question, I have toinform your Grace that the Irish convicts are become so turbulent, sodissatisfied with their situation here, so extremely insolent, refractory, and troublesome, that, without the most rigid and severetreatment it is impossible for us to receive any labour whatever fromthem. Your Grace will see the inconvenience which so large a proportionof that ignorant, obstinate, and depraved set of transports occasion inthis country by what I now state, and which has taken place since Iwrote my letter No. 30, herewith forwarded. In addition to their natural vicious propensities they have conceived anopinion that there is a colony of white people in some part of thiscountry in which they will receive all the comforts of life without thenecessity of labour. They have lately taken away two of our breedingmares to carry them towards that part of the country and have madeseveral attempts to possess themselves of others. This, my Lord, is aserious inconvenience to the colony. The loss of any part of our smallstock of these useful animals is a matter of peculiar concern. A correspondence, it seems, has been carried on by these people from onedistrict to another, and plans have been projected for their escapingfrom the colony, and a few have attempted by land, as well as by water, and for the want of our having earlier information they have succeeded. I have found it necessary to divide them as much as possible, to preventsuch schemes being formed; but by this separation they have a betteropportunity of irritating and inflaming the minds of those convicts whobefore such acquaintance have been found of better disposition. Having already mentioned in my letter, No. 30, the escape of those whohad taken away two of our boats, and the disappointment of another gang, and similar attempt, I have now to inform your Grace of a far morenumerous gang, who had provided what they thought necessary for theirexpedition, had fixed upon the place of general rendezvous, and werefurnished with a paper of written instructions how they were to travelin point of direction from hence to this fancied paradise, or to China. This paper of directions will warrant my suspicion that some wicked anddisaffected person or persons lurk somewhere in this colony, and I havedone all in my power to discover them, but hitherto without success. Having received early information of the intention of this party, whowere said to have increased to about sixty, I planted a party of armedconstables, on whose vigilance I could depend, and they secured a gangof these Defenders of about twenty and brought them to prison. The nextday I spoke to them, but observing a considerable degree of obstinacyand ignorance about them, I conceived there could be no better argumentused to convince them of their misconduct than a severe corporalpunishment, which was inflicted, and they have since been strictlylooked after at their work. Some of those fellows had been provided witha figure of a compass drawn upon paper which, with written instructions, was to have assisted them as their guide. The ignorance of these deludedpeople, my Lord, would scarcely be credited if such positive proof of itwere not before us, and yet (which seems to imply a kind ofcontradiction) it is extraordinary with what art and cunning they formtheir horrible plans of wickedness and villainy. In their schemes of desertion from the colony, their own death, if theysucceed in getting away, is inevitable; but their minds have been workedup to such a pitch of folly, rashness, and absurdity, that nothing butexperience will convince them; if we suffer them to escape into thecountry they are lost, not only to us but to the world, for perish theymust. For the sake, therefore, of humanity, and a strong desire to save thesemen, worthless as they are, from impending death, I ordered four of thestrongest and hardiest of their numbers to be selected by the peoplethemselves, and to prepare for a journey of discovery for thesatisfaction of their associates, in order that they might have anopportunity of relating upon their return whatever they saw and metwith. I had, farther, for the safety and preservation of those four, directed three people, long accustomed to the woods, and acquainted withsome of the mountain savages, to accompany them; these men had also alittle knowledge of the language of the savages, from having lived somemonths amongst them, and they were instructed to lead them back when, fatigued and exhausted with their journey over steep and rockymountains, through thick and extensive woods, and fording deep and rapidrivers, they should feel disposed to abandon their journey. This planwas no sooner settled than I received information that a party of thesemiscreants had agreed with the four above-mentioned to meet them at acertain place absolutely to murder the very persons intended to be theirguides, and to possess themselves of their arms and munitions andprovisions, in addition to what each was supplied with, and to taketheir own route. These circumstances will, no doubt, appear to yourGrace wild and extravagant; but after having mentioned their ignorancein the manner I have it may serve to convince your Grace that there areimproper persons in this colony who work upon that ignorance to adangerous degree. In consequence of the information of this designagainst their guides, I ordered four soldiers to attend them to the footof the first mountain with orders how to act if any others attempted tojoin them; none appeared, and the whole of them returned with thesoldiers, most completely sick of their journey. Our flocks and our crops, my Lord, are all I feel any concern about;strict, rigid, and just punishment shall constantly hang over thesedelinquents, and this, I trust, they are already convinced of. I hopethe return of the above three, and the story they can tell, will serveto make them more contented with their present lot, and open their eyesto the comforts which in this country they may derive and enjoy, andwhich are certainly superior to any they ever possessed in their own. Strange as such instances of human ignorance and depravity are, I haveto inform your Grace that a small party of those very people, some shorttime after, actually contrived to make their escape, and aftertravelling for many weeks through the country, made shift to reach thesea-coast, near Botany Bay, but in a part where no boat has ever beenseen. Providentially, however, a boat had lost her way in going toGeorge's River and found those unhappy deluded wretches, on a placewhere they had been nine days, and where they must soon have perishedbut for this miraculous event. They were brought back almost exhaustedfrom want of food, and from sad and powerful conviction have promised towarn their countrymen against such wild excursions in future. I will here take an opportunity of mentioning that those men who hadleft a part of their crew upon an island to the southward, and hadreturned and taken a larger boat at Broken Bay, and had been wreckedupon the coast to the northward, built out of the ruins of their vessela small boat in which they reached the above Bay; but not being able topossess themselves of another, fit for their purpose, were, for want offood, driven to the necessity of travelling across the country; theywrote to me, but it was impossible to listen to their feigned story;they were armed and carried some appearance of an intention to defendthemselves; they, however, surrendered themselves up, and were tried andseverally pleaded guilty of the robberies wherewith they were charged, and two out of the six suffered death--an awful example, which, I hope, will have a proper effect and prevent such attempts in future. Severalof them assured me that they had seen the wreck of the first boat--whichI mentioned in my letter No. 30--and it is very probable the crew haveperished. I have, etc. , JNO. HUNTER. THE BLIGH MUTINY +Source. +--Historical Records of Australia. Vol. VI, pp. 208-213, 240-242 As the free settlers became numerous and prosperous they became self-assertive, and the most energetic naturally fell foul of a tactless autocrat like Governor Bligh, who governed New South Wales as if all were of the same status. MAJOR JOHNSTON TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH Headquarters, Sydney, N. S. W. _11th April, 1808. _ My Lord, A series of almost incredible circumstances have imposed upon me thedistressing task and responsibility of superseding the authority vestedin Governor Bligh by His Majesty's Commission, and of assuming theGovernment of this colony until His Majesty's pleasure shall besignified, or until the arrival of an officer authorized to relieve mein the Command. Whenever the facts that have influenced me throughout so solemn atransaction shall be laid before my Gracious Sovereign, I humbly trustHis Majesty will approve of my conduct, and that it will be apparent Ihad no alternative but to put Governor Bligh in arrest to prevent aninsurrection of the inhabitants, and to secure him and the persons heconfided in from being massacred by the incensed multitude, or, if theGovernor had escaped so dreadful an end, and retained his authority, tosee His Majesty's benevolent and paternal Government dishonour'd bycruelties and merciless execution. The event that I have the honour to report to your Lordship took placeon the 26th of last January, and although such a space of time has sinceelapsed, I have found it impossible to prepare that arranged detail, andthat connected chain of evidence which so uncommon a subject has made itmy indispensable duty to transmit to your Lordship. Why I have been unable to perform this task, I shall, as I proceed, endeavour to explain, and I respectfully hope that the information andthe evidence which I now propose to forward will prove to your Lordshipthat Governor Bligh has betrayed the high trust and Confidence reposedin him by his Sovereign, and acted upon a predetermined plan to subvertthe Laws of his country, to terrify and influence the Courts of Justice, and to bereave those persons who had the misfortune to be obnoxious tohim, of their fortunes, their liberty, and their lives. In the accomplishment of this plan, one act of oppression was succeededin a progressive course by a greater, until a general sensation of alarmand terror prevailed throughout the settlement. Several inhabitants weredispossessed of their houses, and many others of respectable characters, or who had become opulent by trade, were threatened with the Governor'sresentment if they presumed to build upon or alienate their own lands. These measures and various other acts of violence were projected andsupported by the Governor and a junto of unprincipled men, amongst whomit was well known and has since been proved, the notorious GeorgeCrossley, sent to this colony for perjury, was the principal person, andthe one most confided in by the Governor. Your Lordship will not be surprised that a Government conducted by theaid of such a Minister should be hated and detested as well as feared. All the inhabitants who were a little advanced in their circumstancesbeyond the common mass dreaded the approach of the moment when theirturn would come to be sacrificed to the avarice, the resentment, or thefury of the Governor and his friends. But whilst they were trembling with apprehension for their own safety, the eyes of the whole were suddenly turned from the contemplation of thegeneral danger to that of Mr. Macarthur, a gentleman who was many yearsan officer in the New South Wales Corps, and who now possesses a largeproperty in this Country. The extent of Mr. Macarthur's estate, the number of his flocks andherds, it had been long seen, had made him extremely obnoxious to Gov'rBligh. Mr. Macarthur, sensible how much he had to dread from theill-will of an officer of the Gov'r's well-known character, endeavouredto provide for his security by the most scrupulous circumspection andprudence of conduct. Secluded in a profound retirement on his estate, and unceasingly engaged in its management and the care and education ofhis children, his name was never heard of in any public business; butneither caution nor prudence could long shield him from the hostilespirit of the Governor. The attack was first commenced upon hisreputation, and terminated in the imprisonment of his person in theCommon Gaol. After a variety of introductory measures, which your Lordship will finddetailed in the copy of the proceedings of a Court of CriminalJudicature, to which I shall hereafter refer, Mr. Macarthur surrenderedas a prisoner at its bar on the 25th of last January, charged with twoseparate misdemeanours. When the members of the Court had been sworn in, and they were proceeding to swear in Richard Atkins, Esq. , theJudge-Advocate, Mr. Macarthur presented a protest, in which he urged avariety of objections against that officer's presiding at his trial. Mr. Atkins endeavoured to prevail upon the Court not to receive or hear theprotest read; but the members being of opinion it ought to be heard, directed Mr. Macarthur to proceed. The Judge-Advocate then retired fromhis chair and waited until Mr. Macarthur had read the protest. When thatwas done he advanced again, and declared Mr. Macarthur should beimmediately committed to Gaol. The Court then interfered on behalf of Mr. Macarthur, and after a longaltercation the Judge-Advocate retired from the Court-House, leavingbehind him his papers. These were immediately taken possession of and examined by the Members, and those papers led to a discovery that the whole plan of the trial hadbeen arranged, and every question prepared that was to be asked theevidence of the prosecution by the infamous Crossley. A very awful impression was made upon the minds of the inhabitants, as Ihave been informed, when they saw Mr. Macarthur taken to the gaol; manyrespectable persons hastened to him; and when the Court assembled at 10o'clock his two bonds men presented a copy of the Warrant for hisapprehension and a deposition from themselves. The Court directly wrote to the Governor a letter expressive of theirconcern and praying Mr. Macarthur might be restored to his bail. To thisletter no answer was given, and the Court having waited till 3 o'clockadjourned. When it was known that the Court had broken up without having procuredMr. Macarthur's enlargement, the agitation of the town became greatlyincreased, and information was brought to me at four o'clock by Mr. Harris, Surgeon of the New South Wales Corps, that an insurrection ofthe Inhabitants was to be feared. In a few minutes after I had receivedthis intelligence a Dragoon arrived with a letter from the Governor, inwhich I was informed that six of the officers of the New South WalesCorps had been charged with treasonable practices, and were summoned toappear before the Governor and the Magistrates at nine o'clock the nextmorning. I immediately set off in a carriage to the Town. On my arrival at the Barracks I saw all the Civil and Military Officerscollected, and the most respectable inhabitants in conversation withthem. The common people were also to be seen in various groups in everystreet murmuring and loudly complaining, whilst others were watching themovements of Crossley and the Magistrates who frequently passed from theJudge Advocate's to the Government House. At this moment it was alsoknown that the Governor was shut up in Council with the depraved anddesperate Crossley, Mr. Palmer, the Commissary, Mr. Campbell, aMerchant, and Mr. Arndell (the latter three, Magistrates) and that Mr. Gore (the Provost-Marshal) and Mr. Fulton (the Chaplain) were also atGovernment House, all ready to sanction whatever Crossley proposed orthe Governor ordered. The gentlemen who had assembled on my arrival earnestly entreated me toadopt decisive measures for the safety of the inhabitants and to dispelthe great alarm, as it was understood throughout the town that theMembers of the Court of Criminal Judicature would be thrown into Gaol;and it was expected after such a measure nothing could limit the excessof the Governor's cruelties; the gentlemen also warmly urged me to bailMr. Macarthur, so that he might consult with them on the measures mostproper to recommend at so extraordinary a crisis. As I had no doubt of the illegality of Mr. Macarthur's confinement, Ifelt no difficulty in acceding to the request, and Mr. Macarthur beingreleased from the Gaol directly joined the Assembly of Officers andinhabitants who were then at the Barracks. In a short time after, a letter was presented to me imploring meinstantly to put Governor Bligh in arrest, and to assume the Command ofthe Colony. This letter was also approved of by all the Officers of theCorps present at Head-Quarters; and as the events I had myself witnessedleft me no cause to doubt the propriety and necessity of complying withthis requisition, I immediately ordered the Corps under Arms, anddirected four Officers to proceed to Government House and summonGovernor Bligh to resign his authority. The Corps quickly followed, attended by the Civil Officers and a considerable number of respectableinhabitants. The four officers who had carried the summons met me at the Governor'sdoor and reported that he was nowhere to be found, nor any informationto be obtained of him, although the strongest assurances had been giventhat his person should be strictly guarded from insult or violence. After a rigid search the Governor, however, was at last discovered, in asituation too disgraceful to be mentioned, and which I solemnly declareto your Lordship would have been most gratifying to my feelings had itbeen possible to have concealed from the public. As soon as GovernorBligh made his appearance, I assured him of his personal safety and ofevery attention in my power to offer him. Whilst the search was making for Governor Bligh I was entreated by theCivil Officers and the Inhabitants to proclaim Martial Law, and thisrequest meeting my approbation, Martial Law was instantly proclaimed andcontinued in force until the next day. As not a single act of disorderor irregularity was committed during the interesting scene that I havehad the honour to describe to your Lordship, and as the most perfectpeace and tranquillity were restored throughout the whole settlement Ipublished a Proclamation the next morning, revoking the order of thepreceding evening and restoring the Civil Government. I ordered the Court of Criminal Judicature to assemble that Mr. Macarthur might be arraigned on the Indictment that was found amongstthe Judge-Advocate's papers, and that the trial might proceed on theplan Crossley had suggested to secure his conviction. The evidences wereexamined in the order Crossley had prescribed, and every question askedthat he had previously dictated. Your Lordship will discover from thecopy of the Trial that Mr. Macarthur was acquitted without being put onhis defence, and that a complete disclosure was made of the plans whichhad been deliberately formed for the ruin and destruction of thatgentleman. I respectfully trust this trial and the confessions of the Magistratesand other confidential persons will convince your Lordship of the guiltyintentions of Governor Bligh, and how little he regarded the sacredpersonage whom he represented by suffering himself to be guided by awretch like that man Crossley to persecute and oppress His Majesty'ssubjects. I am now, my Lord, arrived at the most painful part of my task--anexplanation of the causes that have prevented me from preparing a betterarranged Statement of the transactions in which I have been engaged; andit is with deep concern I find myself obliged to report to your Lordshipthat the opposition from those persons from whom I had most reason toexpect support has been one of the principal obstacles I have had toencounter. When the officers and inhabitants found themselves relieved from theoppressions of Governor Bligh, the general joy that was felt displayeditself in rejoicings, bonfires, illuminations, and in a manifestation ofthe most perfect unanimity. Even the lowest class of the prisoners wereinfluenced by the same sentiments, and for a short time abandoned theirhabits of plundering. The contemplation of this happy scene more thanrepaid me for the increase of care, fatigue, and responsibility to whichI had submitted for the public benefit; but the unanimity in which Ifelt so much pleasure I quickly discovered was not to be preservedwithout a sacrifice of His Majesty's interests, and a departure from theregulations that have been made to check the importation of SpirituousLiquors into the Colony. I shall no longer obtrude upon your Lordship on this occasion than tosolicit that whenever the representation of what has taken place hereshall be communicated to my Gracious Sovereign, your Lordship will havethe goodness to offer my humble assurances that I have sacrificedcomparative ease, and have taken upon myself so great a responsibilityrather than submit to be a witness of His Majesty's sacred name beingprofaned and dishonoured by deeds of injustice and violence. I have, etc. , GEO. JOHNSTON. PROCLAMATION GEORGE JOHNSTON The Public Peace being happily and, I trust in Almighty God, permanentlyestablished I hereby proclaim the Cessation of Martial Law. I have thisday appointed Magistrates and other Public Functionaries from amongstthe most respectable officers and inhabitants, which will, I hope, secure the impartial Administration of Justice, according to the laws ofEngland, as secured to us by the Patent of Our Most Gracious Sovereign. Words cannot too strongly convey my approbation of the behaviour of thewhole body of the People on the late memorable Event. By their manly, firm and orderly conduct they have shown themselves deserving of thatProtection which I have felt it was my duty to give them, And which Idoubt not they will continue to merit. In future no man shall have just cause to complain of Violence, Injustice or Oppression; No free Man shall be taken, imprisoned, ordeprived of his Home, Land or Liberty, but by the Law; Justice shall beimpartially administered without regard to or respect of persons; andevery man shall enjoy the fruits of his industry in Security. SOLDIERS! Your conduct has endeared you to every well-disposed inhabitant in thisSettlement, Persevere in the same honourable path And you will establishthe credit of the New South Wales Corps on a basis not to be shaken. God Save the King. By Command of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor. (Signed) NICHOLAS BAYLY, Secretary. Head-Quarters, Sydney, 27th January, 1808. MR. NICHOLAS BAYLY TO GOVERNOR BLIGH Sydney, _28th January, 1808. _ I am directed by His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor to acquaint you thatthe late Magistrates and other persons (who it is proved you were in thehabit of consulting) have been examined on Oath before Committeesconstituted under the Lieutenant-Governor's authority; that from theconfessions of those Persons it appears that you have been acting upon asettled plan to subvert the Laws, to terrify and influence the Courts ofJustice, and to deprive every person who had the misfortune to beobnoxious to you of their Property, Liberty, and Lives. TheLieutenant-Governor feeling that an offence of such magnitude must beproductive of the most serious consequences, is impelled by sentimentsof Humanity to give you this early notice that you may consider andseriously reflect on the measures which may be necessary for yourJustification. His Honour has further directed me to assure you that as soon as theexaminations are complete, you shall be furnished with a Copy, and that, if you think proper, all the Evidences shall be re-examined in yourpresence, and be directed to answer any questions you like to propose tothem. His Honour has also desired me to assure you that it will give himthe greatest satisfaction to contribute by every means in his power tothe Alleviation of the distress of your present situation, and to thecomfort and accommodation of you and your family. NICHOLAS BAYLY, Secretary. The British Government called the chief actors in the mutiny before acommission of inquiry. Johnston was dismissed from the army; MacArthurwas forbidden to return to New South Wales for eight years; and Blighwas made a vice-admiral. THE BEGINNING OF THE WOOL INDUSTRY +Source. +--Historical Records of Australia. Vol. V, pp. 510 and 566 The wool industry in Australia was founded by John MacArthur. Once established, the flocks increased rapidly in numbers and quality, and as it became possible to export wool, its manufacture was stimulated in the older countries. The annual value of Australia's wool export is now over £26, 000, 000. GOVERNOR KING TO EARL CAMDEN Sydney, N. S. W. , _20th July, 1805. _ My Lord, By Mr. MacArthur, who arrived the 9th Ult'o, I had the honour ofreceiving your Lordship's Letters dated as per margin. It will be my Duty and Interest to pay the strictest attention to HisMajesty's Commands and your Lordship's wishes in every point that canadvance the increase and improvement of the breed of sheep for which abetter foundation could not be laid, or the Success more ensured, thanthe progressive increase of the Stock throughout the Colony. Mr. MacArthur possesses at least a third of the Numbers, a considerable partof which were reported at the last muster to bear Wool of the finestkind, and the rest, as well as the other flocks, are continuallyimproving from the hairy Coverings of the original breed to wool ofdifferent qualities, principally owing to the introduction of a fewSpanish Rams some years ago. Soon after Mr. MacArthur's arrival we conversed together respecting theObjects of his laudable and, I hope, successful pursuits for the generalbenefit of the Colony, as well as for that of his Family, which he nowregards as attached to the soil. His having bought a Ship to be employedin the Whale Fishery, I consider an object equally laudable andbeneficial, exclusive of his being able to export the Wool of hisincreasing breed to England once in Eighteen Months or Two Years, andreturning with Articles of use and Comfort to sell the Inhabitants. Norought I to doubt from his assurances, that every expected benefit may bederived from his exertions, as he is certainly very equal to conduct andpromote the Object he has so earnestly and, I hope, successfullyembarked in. To attain which he does and will possess every localadvantage that a good Stock to begin with, a good Climate, and finenatural pastorage can offer. Taking your Lordship's Letter No. 18 as a data, respecting the Land tobe located to Mr. MacArthur, wherein you do me the honour to signify HisMajesty's Commands that "I will have a proper grant of Lands, fit forthe pasture of sheep, conveyed to the said John MacArthur Esquire, inperpetuity, with the usual reserve of Quit-Rents to the Crown, containing not less than Five Thousand Acres, " and Your Lordship havingnoticed that "It will be impossible for Mr. MacArthur to pursue thisplan unless he shall be indulged with a reasonable number of Convicts(which he states to be not less than thirty) for the purpose ofattending his sheep, and that as Mr. MacArthur will take upon himselfthe Charges of maintaining these Convicts, a saving will accrue toGovernment; and that you doubt not I will provide him with such as shallappear as most suitable to his Objects. " In order to expedite Mr. MacArthur's Object of exporting fine Wool toEngland, I have directed One hundred of the finest woolled Ewes fromGovernment Stock to be chosen for this gentleman to add to his own, forwhich he is to pay Grain into the Stores at the rate of Two Poundssterling for each Ewe. As I do not consider it an Object for Governmentto interfere in this pursuit, Seeing that the greatest exertions will bemade by Mr. MacArthur, And notwithstanding every attention has been paidto improve the Fleeces of Government Sheep, Yet that Stock will alwaysbe a reserve for supplying present and future Settlers with proportionsthereof, which will at once save the Necessity of purchasing to SupplyNew Settlers who have Claims, and preserve a residue for those deservingcharacters who may be allowed the advantage of exchanging Grain forEwes, agreeable to my Lord Hobart's Acquiescence with my proposal onthat Subject. The number of Male Convicts assigned to Mr. MacArthur for the Care ofhis Stock, etc. , previous to his return, was Sixteen; Since then theyhave been increased to Thirty, exclusive of those hired and retained inhis service who have served their terms. Should Mr. MacArthur wish foran increase, they shall be assigned him when more arrive from England;but your Lordship will observe by the number and employment Return thatthe Public Labour absolutely necessary to be carried on, and in whichAgriculture on the part of the Crown is nearly given up, will not allowof more Men being assigned at present until more arrive. I have, etc. , PHILLIP GIDLEY KING. MACARTHUR'S OBSERVATIONS ON SHEEP-FARMING A Report of the State of Mr. MacArthur's Flocks of Sheep, with someobservations on the Advantages which may be expected from the Growth offine Wool in New South Wales. Paramatta, N. S. W. , _2nd Oct. , 1805. _ The fine Woolled Sheep imported here from the Cape of Good Hope in theYear 1797 were said to be of the Spanish Breed. The excellence of thefleece of these Sheep combined with the consideration of their peculiarform, bears strong evidence in favour of the Correctness of this Report, tho' it is impossible to say whether they originally sprung from thebest kind of Sheep that is bred in Spain. Be this as it may nothing isbetter established than that the Wool of this Breed of Sheep hasconsiderably improved in this Climate, and as Mr. MacArthur has had thegood fortune to bring out from England Four Rams and one Ewe, purchasedfrom His Majesty's Flock of Spanish Sheep, It is to be hoped that thesevaluable animals will be the cause of a still further Melioration in theQuality of our Wool. Indeed there appears no reason to fear but that theWool of this Country may by care and judicious Management be placed onan equality with the very best that is grown in Spain. It has been Mr. MacArthur's invariable practice to keep the Spanish Breed apart from allothers, and as fast as Spanish Rams have been reared they have been putamong the coarse-woolled Ewes. The result of this system has provedextremely satisfactory, his Flocks now consist of more than FiveThousand, of these Sixty are of the pure Spanish kind, and the whole aremuch improved in the quality of the Wool; he is of Opinion the bestjudge will be unable to discover any material difference between theperfect and the mixed Breed in Seven years. With respect to Constitution, Size, and Aptitude to fatten, he has triedall the Breeds he could obtain in the Colony, and he has found theSpanish surpass them all in every one of these qualities. In therepresentations that Mr. MacArthur had the honour to make in England toHis Majesty's Ministers, he stated that he thought a Flock of Sheepwould double itself in Two Years and a half, longer experience induceshim to think it may be done in rather less time; but in the Estimate henow proposes to make, he will govern himself by the same data on whichhis original Calculations were made, for he is desirous rather torepress too sanguine Expectations than to encourage such as may provefallacious. Estimating the Sheep in New South Wales at Twenty Thousand, a plainArithmetical progression will prove that the present Stock may increasein Twenty Years to Five Millions, and calculating two pounds and a halfof clear washed Wool to each Sheep, they would produce almost twice asmuch Wool as England now purchases from Spain at an Annual expense ofOne Million Eight Hundred Thousand pounds. Should Great Britain still require a much larger supply, Sheep can beeasily multiplied to any Extent in the immeasurable Forest whichSurrounds us. It is difficult for the Mind to embrace all the Advantages which mustflow from the Successful Progression of this great National Object; forif we contemplate the progress of the Cotton Manufactory we shall seethat at the commencement of the Eighteenth Century the quantities of rawcotton imported into England did not exceed Two Millions of Poundsweight. At this period it amounts to more than Twenty Millions; andaltho' its price has considerably advanced, yet Manufactured CottonGoods have fallen full Two Hundred per cent. This prodigious diminutionin price is attributable to no other cause than the introduction ofMachinery, by which the expense of Manual Labour is comparativelyreduced to nothing. Now, repeated experiments have demonstrated that the same Machinery isequally applicable to every Branch of the Woollen Manufactory, and intruth it would long since have been adopted, but for the popular Clamourthat thousands of Labourers would be thrown out of employment. "Itcannot be denied, " say its Opponents, "that Machinery would reduce theprice of Woollen, as it has done that of Cotton Cloths, but the twoCases bear no Analogy, for when Machinery was applied in the Manufactureof Cotton the increased Quantity of the raw material furnishedabundance of Employment in some other branch to those whose Labour theMachine superseded. Make but the same experiment in the WoollenManufactory, and its fatal effects upon the poor will soon be felt; foras you cannot increase the quantity of Animal Wool now being broughtinto the Market, any Invention that has a tendency to diminish ManualLabour is, and must be, pernicious. " This reasoning has had great weight on the Minds of best informed Men;but if we can by our united Efforts (as assuredly we can) raise in thisColony any Quantity of fine Wool, all its force would be at oncedemolished. Whatever the demands of Great Britain may be for thatCommodity, we certainly may supply it. The universal use of Machinerymight then be safely sanctioned, and the British Manufacturers would beenabled so to reduce the price of Woollen Cloths, as would assurethroughout the world the most Monopoly that any people ever possessed. We also should largely participate in the profits of this gainful Tradeand should enjoy the pleasing Consolation that our Labours werecontributing to the Support and Prosperity of that parent Country towhom our debt of Gratitude can never be paid. JOHN MACARTHUR. EMANCIPIST CONTROVERSY +Source. +--Historical Records of Australia. Vol. VII, pp. 245, 580-617 A storm of protest was aroused among the free settlers by the action of Governor Macquarie in recognizing convicts as ordinary members of society directly their terms of imprisonment had expired. The free community became sharply divided into emancipists and anti-emancipists. GOVERNOR MACQUARIE TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH Sydney, N. S. W. , _30 April, 1810. _ My Lord, I had the honour to address Your Lordship by Lieutenant-Colonel Foveauxin a brief Despatch, under dates the eighth and twelfth of last Month;but lest that Despatch may not get safe to Hand I shall in my presentone recapitulate the substance of my last, and furnish your Lordshipwith a more detailed Account of my Proceedings. I was very much surprised and concerned on my arrival here, at theextraordinary and illiberal Policy I found had been adopted by all thePersons who had preceded me in Office respecting those men who had beenoriginally sent out to this Country as Convicts, but who, by long habitsof Industry and total Reformation of Manners, had not only becomerespectable, but by many degrees the most Useful Members of theCommunity. Those persons have never been countenanced or received intosociety. I have, nevertheless, taken upon Myself to adopt a new line ofconduct, Conceiving that Emancipation, when united with Rectitude andlong-tried good Conduct, should land a man back to that Rank in Societywhich he had forfeited, and do away, in as far as the Case will admit, all Retrospect of former bad Conduct. This appears to me to be thegreatest Inducement that can be held out towards the Reformation of theManners of the Inhabitants, and I think it is consistent with thegracious and Humane Intentions of His Majesty and His Ministers infavour of this class of people. I am aware it is a measure which must beresorted to with great Caution and Delicacy; but I am hopeful that intime it may be extended beyond the line within which I must restrictmyself for the present. The Number of Persons of this Description whom Ihave yet admitted to my Table consist of only four. Namely: Mr. D'ArcyWentworth, Principal Surgeon; Mr. William Redfern, Assistant Surgeon;Mr. Andrew Thompson, an opulent Farmer and Proprietor of Land; and Mr. Simeon Lord, an opulent Merchant. Three of these Persons have acquiredProperty to a large amount; they have long conducted themselves with thegreatest Propriety, and I find them at all times ready to come forwardin the most liberal manner to the assistance of the Government. In orderto mark my sense of the merits of Mr. Andrew Thompson, I have alreadyappointed him a Justice of the Peace and Magistrate of the Hawkesbury, where he has a large property, and I intend to confer the same Marks ofDistinction on Mr. Wentworth and Mr. Simeon Lord when Vacancies in theMagistracy at Sydney, where they both reside, may occur. Before I conclude this Despatch, permit me to express my gratefulacknowledgements to your Lordship for the Appointment I have now theHonour to Hold, and to assure your Lordship that, as far as myjudgement and Abilities extend, I shall exert them in the faithfuldischarge of the Trust reposed in me, with the Hope that in the widefield for improvement here, my Services may not be unimportant, and thatthey will ultimately meet with the Approbation of my Sovereign and HisMajesty's Ministers, and thereby Confirm the Opinion you did me theHonour to form in my Favour. I have, etc. , L. MACQUARIE. GOVERNOR MACQUARIE TO EARL OF LIVERPOOL Sydney, N. S. W. , _17th Nov. , 1812. _ My Lord, Since my last Public Despatch under Date 28th Oct. 1811, Transmitted pership Friends, via Rio-de-Janeiro, I have been honoured with YourLordship's Several Despatches, under Dates 26th July 1811, and 4th, 5thand 19th May, 1812; and also the several other Letters with theirrespective Enclosures and Accompanying Documents from Your Lordship orthe Under-Secretary of State, as noted in the margin. In the first Despatch I had the Honour of addressing to Lord Castlereagh(Your Lordship's immediate Predecessor in Office) under date the 30th ofApril, 1810, I stated my Reasons for restoring those Persons _who hadbeen Convicts_, to that Rank in Society, which they had lost, but which, by long habits of Rectitude and Meritorious Conduct in this Colony theywere fully entitled to be restored to. I have found the greatest benefitto result from the adoption of this System of Policy. Some Men who hadbeen Convicts have been appointed Magistrates by me; Some of the sameDescription of Men have been honoured with His Majesty's Commission, which in my Mind is alone a sufficient proof of the eligibility of thesepersons for any Society. On all occasions I have found and experiencedvery great assistance from those Persons in the Habitual and Zealousdischarge of the Several Duties attached to their respective Situations;and they act at all times as if they conceived it to be theirindispensable and first Duty to assist the Government of the Country. Altho' the principal Leaders, who headed the Faction which occasionedso much mischief and Anarchy in this Country (previous to my arrival), have left it, Yet the Seeds of it were so deeply sown that aconsiderable part of that factious spirit still exists among somediscontented and disaffected Persons in this Colony, whose restless andVicious Minds cannot endure any Control or legitimate form ofGovernment. The only measure of mine which to my knowledge they havedared to attempt to counteract, is this extension of just and humaneIndulgence to those Persons (who had formerly been Convicts), whom Ihave brought forward and patronised by admitting them to my Society, butwhom the factious Persons herein alluded to found it advantageous totheir Interests and illiberal Prejudices to consider as Outcasts, beneath their notice and for ever doomed to oblivion and Neglect. It would therefore be highly gratifying and Satisfactory to Me, if YourLordship would have the goodness to honour me with a Communication ofHis Royal Highness the Prince Regent's Sentiments on this Subject whichI consider as one of the greatest possible Interest and Importance tothe Welfare, Prosperity and Happiness of this rising Colony; which, asit was originally settled for the Reception, Punishment, and eventualImprovement of Convicts, appears to Me to require that theirImprovement, Welfare and Happiness should form the first and chiefObject of Attention in the important Duties entrusted to the Governor ofit. This Despatch will be delivered to your Lordship by Lieutenant RichardLundin of the 73rd Regiment, to whom I take the liberty of referringYour Lordship for any particulars relative to the Colony that may haveescaped my recollection in my Public Despatches; and I further beg leaveto recommend him to your Lordship's Favour and Protection. I have, etc. , L. MACQUARIE. WESTERN AUSTRALIA +Source. +--The State and Position of Western Australia, by CaptainFrederick Chidley Irwin of H. M. 63rd Regiment; late Commandant of theTroops, and Acting Governor of the Colony, 1835, pp. 32-37, 42-46. The settlement of Western Australia was undertaken in 1825, with the purely philanthropic idea of relieving the overcrowded population of Great Britain. The early difficulties were due to the ignorance of conditions in the country, and the unsuitability of the emigrants. Mr. Peel was chief promoter of the scheme. The reader's attention will now be drawn to some of the mis-statementswith respect to the colony, which have appeared in recent publications. Under this head he would especially notice a work entitled "England andAmerica. " At page 33, Vol. 2 of the work in question, there is said tobe, in Western Australia "abundance of good land and of land, too, cleared and drained by nature. " After adverting to the amount of capitaland live stock, and the number of labourers introduced by the firstsettlers, it is asked, what has become of all that capital, and allthose labourers? Then comes the following passage: "Why this failurewith all the elements of success--plenty of good land, plenty ofcapital, and enough labour? The explanation is easy: In this colonythere never has been a class of labourers. Those who went out aslabourers no sooner reached the colony than they were tempted by thesuperabundance of good land to become landowners. " The writer proceeds to state, that Mr. Peel (who, as he had beeninformed, had brought out a capital of £50, 000 and 300 persons of thelabouring class) had been thus left without a servant to make his bed, or to fetch him water from the river; and that, in the absence of hispeople, his capital had perished. "The same thing, " he adds, "happenedin many cases. " Further on, it is stated that some of the labourers, whohad become independent landowners, died of hunger, at a period when alarge supply of food had reached the colony, and that they were starvedbecause where they had settled was not known to the Governor, nor evento themselves--"such, " says this writer, "was the dispersion of thesecolonists, in consequence of superabundance of good land. " It is added, that the settlers who remained had petitioned for convicts, though oneof the chief inducements to settling in the colony was an undertaking, on the part of the English Government, that none should be sent thither. If this writer's statement be correct, that labourers on their arrival, tempted by the superabundance of good land, did with impunity deserttheir masters, leaving their property to perish, and did themselvesbecome landowners, it will be apparent, either that there were then nolaws in the colony, or that they were not in force. The reverse, however, is the fact--there were laws, and they were enforced. The following is No. 8 of the land regulations: "No grant of land willbe made to servants under indenture; nor shall persons receive grantswho shall appear to have come to the settlement at the expense of otherindividuals without sufficient assurance of their having fulfilled thecondition of any agreement under which they may have come. " The authordoes not remember an instance of this regulation being relaxed; and itis manifest that destruction of property and the ruin of the capitalistmust have been inevitable, had the Government not enforced it. Equally without foundation is the statement that the indentured servantcould desert his master with impunity. The indenture was binding equallyon master and servant, and was strictly enforced by the colonial law. Ifthe master failed to give the wages, food, or whatever else might havebeen stipulated for in the indenture, the servant, on establishing hiscomplaint before a magistrate, obtained his discharge. On the otherhand, if the master proved a breach of the indenture by the servantunduly absenting himself, refusing to work, etc. , the magistrate wasunder obligation to imprison the servant. Also any person employing anindentured servant, without permission of the master, was subject to avery heavy fine. Mr. Peel and his people were in this manner circumstanced. The authorhas read many of their indentures; in all of these Mr. Peel was bound topay them daily wages (generally three shillings) out of which their foodand clothing were to be deducted. The capital imported by Mr. Peel, though very considerable, was understood to consist chiefly of storesand live-stock. However this may have been, he found it convenient aftera time, to grant most of his people permission to work for othersettlers, reserving a right to recall them when he chose; but allowingthem the alternative of their discharge, on their reimbursing him theexpense of their passage out. As his people could get higher wages whenworking for others, they gladly accepted the permission. Occasionalmisunderstandings took place between him and some of them, and it wasnot till after the Governor, accompanied by the Law-Adviser ofGovernment, had more than once repaired in person to Mr. Peel'slocation, that an adjustment of those differences was effected. Theauthor has known several servants of Mr. Peel to be imprisoned forbreaches of indenture. A number of them, however, were excellent men, who would have conscientiously adhered to him, had he not given them theoption of working for others. It is but justice here to acknowledge the great benefit conferred on thesettlement by Mr. Peel, in the introduction of men who were not only ofgood conduct, but well acquainted with farming pursuits or with trades. For himself, the author feels happy in having this opportunity toexpress his sense of it, having had upwards of four years in hisservice, a family brought out by Mr. Peel. The father of this family isa man of intelligence and observation. Besides his own trade of brickand tile-making, he has a complete knowledge of farming, gardening, bricklaying, lime-burning, and brewing, in which various occupations heemploys himself. Such is his industry that he has been seen working forhours in the garden by moonlight, after spending a long day at labour inthe field. His wife is a regular dairywoman. One of the sons is acarpenter, and another a ploughman, besides having each a knowledge oftheir father's trade; and the rest of the family, down to the youngest, are training up habits of industry and labour. Although, as has been shown, the conditions of the indentures were bythe colonial laws enforced, it will nevertheless be manifest, that nolaw, in any country, can prevent an artful and unprincipled servant(anxious to be rid of his engagement) from acting in so vexatious amanner, that some masters, in preference to keeping such a one, wouldforgo any benefit the indenture might offer. Such a course has beenadopted in the colony by some masters thus circumstanced. Those, however, who had been careful to bring out men of good character, and towhom they allowed an equitable compensation for their services, haverarely had cause for complaint; and, on the contrary, have generallybeen rewarded by the cheerful obedience of their servants. The author is the more desirous of disproving the alleged lawless stateof society in the colony, as the implied reproach is totally unmeritedby the Governor, Sir James Stirling, who has been most indefatigable andself-denying in his exertions for the public welfare; and it is equallyso by the magistracy, who have, from the outset, administered the lawswith vigour and impartiality. With reference to the assertion that some individuals had perished withhunger from not having been able to inform the Governor as to where theyhad settled, the author can only say, that he did not hear of any suchcircumstance while in the colony, and that he considers it veryimprobable; as, with the exception of the people connected with Mr. Peel, the settlers at the period alluded to were located on the Swan andthe Canning, by following down which rivers they could have reached inthe course of a single day the towns of Perth or Freemantle. He has also to confess his ignorance of the colonists having, as stated, petitioned for convicts--he knows that such a wish was not expressed intheir memorial drawn up in 1832, and laid before His Majesty'sGovernment by Sir James Stirling in person. The colonists having hadbefore their eyes, in the neighbouring penal settlements, the seriousevils inflicted on society by the employment of convicts (especially asindoor servants) have firmly resisted the temptation to seek such aremedy for their wants. The extreme difficulty, which it is notoriousrespectable families there experience, to sufficiently guard the moralsof their offspring, and to secure their being brought up in thenecessary principles of virtue and integrity, is alone a considerationwhich, it is believed, will keep the colonists in Western Australiastedfast on that point. No mere worldly prosperity whatsoever cancompensate for the tremendous risk to which children in a penalsettlement are exposed, as many a heart-broken parent can testify. It now remains for the author to offer a few observations 1. On the failures that occurred among the early settlers. 2. On the origin of the reports so widely circulated to the prejudice ofthe country. 3. On the tardy progress of the colony, compared with what had beenexpected. The following extract from one of the earliest despatches of theGovernor (written in January 1830, and addressed to the Secretary ofState) will serve to preface these remarks, as it bears immediately onthe first point. Adverting to the circumstances under which the firstsettlers came out, he thus proceeds: "There could not be a great numberwith minds and bodies suited to encounter the struggle and distresses ofa new settlement. Many, if not all, have accordingly been more or lessdisappointed on arrival, with either the state of things here, or theirown want of power to surmount the difficulties pressing round them. Thishas been experienced, in the beginning, by every new colony; and mighthave been expected to occur here, as well as elsewhere. The greaterpart, incapable of succeeding in England, are not likely to prosper hereto the extent of their groundless and inconsiderate expectations. Manyof the settlers who have come should never have left in England a safeand tranquil state of life; and, if it be possible to discourage one setof people, and to encourage another, I would earnestly request that fora few years, the helpless and inefficient may be kept from thesettlement; whilst, as to the active, industrious, and intelligent theymay be assured with confidence of a fair reward for their labours. " If, after what has been said, it be granted that Western Australia, asfar as natural advantages go, is well suited for the purpose ofcolonization, still it will be apparent, from the principle on which thecolony was founded, that its success must be greatly dependent on thecapital and exertions of the settlers. The charge of maintaining amilitary and a civil establishment being all His Majesty's Governmentwas pledged to, every other expense was to be borne by the emigrant;such as his outfit, voyage, and settlement in the colony. No arrangement prior to leaving England having been made by theemigrants to ensure the advantages of co-operation on the part of theirfriends at home, and among themselves in the colony, each depended onhis own energy and resources for his success; and the foregoingdescription of many of the original settlers will account for thedisappointments that ensued in various instances. Few who abandoned the settlement under such circumstances, were willingto admit their failure was the result of their own want of exertion, ortheir unfitness for the enterprise in which they had embarked;accordingly, wherever they went, and in their letters home, the blamewas laid on the country. Thus many of the evil reports respecting it, which were current at home and in the neighbouring colonies, may betraced to this source. A prevalent cause of distress among the early settlers arose from theirhaving generally brought out with them little ready money, compared withtheir other property. This was chiefly owing to the Governmentregulations admitting of land being assigned to those only whointroduced labourers, and various kinds of property required by farmers. Many of the settlers, therefore, to the extent of their means, were inthis way amply provided; but having understood in England that moneywould be of little use in a new country, numbers, without questioningwhat they wished to be true, incautiously expended most of their meansin the property that would entitle them to obtain land in the colony. However, when they had been some time in the settlement, they discoveredthat there, as in other places, money was needful; and on wishing toprocure some by the sale of part of their property, they found itdifficult to do so without loss, in consequence of most other settlershaving brought out similar investments. Another cause of depression, which has borne seriously on the settlers, has been the occasional high price of the necessaries of life. With aview of remedying this evil, cargoes of provisions have been repeatedlyimported by the Local Government--the actual cost alone being charged tothe settler. Even a shipload of bullocks and pigs was introduced fromJava. But, numbers of the bullocks and pigs getting loose, soon becameas wild and difficult to recapture as if they had been natives of thewoods, whither they had betaken themselves. Experience has shown that the system of free grants, which was the firstadopted in Western Australia, is decidedly injurious to the prosperityof a settlement, from the facility it affords to persons possessed ofcomparatively little capital to acquire extensive tracts of land, thegreater part of which, for want of means, they cannot use foragricultural or pastoral purposes. It also occasions the too widedispersion of the settlers; thus necessarily increasing the expense ofGovernment, and, at the same time, producing serious inconvenience tothe farmer. WAKEFIELD'S SCHEME OF COLONIZATION +Source. +--A Letter from Sydney. E. G. Wakefield (Gouger, 1829), Appendix The failure of the first attempt to settle Western Australia gave rise to much thought upon the theory of colonization. The ideas most generally accepted were those of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who summarized his theory as follows: OUTLINE OF A SYSTEM OF COLONIZATION It is suggested: Article I. THAT a payment in money of---- per acre, be required for all futuregrants of land without exception. Article II. THAT all land now granted, and to be granted, throughout the colony, bedeclared liable to a tax of---- per cent. Upon the actual rent. Article III. THAT the proceeds of the tax upon rent, and of sales, form an EMIGRATIONFUND, to be employed in the conveyance of British labourers to thecolony free of cost. Article IV. THAT those to whom the administration of the Fund shall be entrusted, beempowered to raise money on that security, as money is raised on thesecurity of parish and county rates in England. Article V. THAT the supply of labourers be as nearly as possible proportioned tothe demand for Labour at each Settlement; so that Capitalists shallnever suffer from an urgent want of Labourers, and that Labourers shallnever want well-paid employment. Article VI. THAT in the selection of Emigrants, an absolute preference be given toyoung persons, but that no excess of males be conveyed to the colonyfree of cost. Article VII. THAT Colonists providing a passage for emigrant Labourers, being youngpersons, and equal numbers of both sexes, be entitled to a payment inmoney from the Emigration Fund, equal to the actual contract price of apassage for so many labouring persons. Article VIII. THAT Grants be absolute in fee, without any condition whatever, andobtainable by deputy. Article IX. THAT any surplus of the proceeds of the tax upon rent and of sales, overwhat is required for Emigration, be employed in relief of other taxes, and for the general purposes of Colonial Government. FOUNDATION OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA +Source. +--Six Months in the new Colony of South Australia (J. HortonJames, 1839), pp. 1, 28-37 The settlement of South Australia was undertaken to test Wakefield's theory; but instead of turning their land to good account the colonists left it idle, hoping to sell at a high price. The result was disastrous. SITUATION AND EXTENT The New Province, called South Australia, which, by an Act of theImperial Parliament, was erected into a free British colony on 15thAugust, 1834, is situate on the South Coast of the Great IslandContinent of New Holland, in the Southern or Indian Ocean, extendingfrom 132° to 141° E. Longitude, and from 38° to 26° S. Latitude, andcontains nearly two hundred millions of acres. It is twelve thousandmiles distant from Great Britain. This distance of twelve thousand miles ought to be performed by a fastsailing ship in twelve weeks, at the rate of a thousand miles per week, which is the fair average running of a good ship on distant voyages; butit is better to allow something for light winds and calms near theEquator, and to say in round numbers one hundred days in all, which israther more than fourteen weeks. This is Port Adelaide! Port Misery would be a better name; for nothingin any other part of the world can surpass it in everything that iswretched and inconvenient, packages of goods and heaps of merchandiseare lying about in every direction as if they had cost nothing. Stacksof what were once beautiful London bricks crumbling away likegingerbread, and evidently at each returning tide half covered with theflood; trusses of hay, now rotten, and Norway deals, scattered about asif they had no owner--iron ploughs and rusty harrows--cases ofdoor-frames and windows that had once been glazed--heaps of the bestslates half tumbling down--winnowing-machines broken to pieces--blocksof Roman cement, now hard as stone, wanting nothing but the staves andhoops--Sydney cedar, and laths and shingles from Van Diemen's Land inevery direction; whilst on the high ground are to be seen pigs eatingthrough the flour-sacks, and kegs of raisins with not only the head out, but half the contents; onions and potatoes apparently to be had forpicking up. The sight is disheartening. What with the sun and therain--the sand and the floods--the thieves with four legs and thethieves with two--the passengers hug themselves at the recollection that_they_ have brought no merchandise for sale, glad enough to be able totake care of themselves. The sooner they get out of this horrid hole thebetter, so they enquire if there is any coach to the town--they areanswered by a careless shake of the head, and so, like good settlers, they determine to set off and walk, carrying their light parcels withthem, and leaving the heavy things with a friend who refuses to go anyfurther. They ask for a drink of water before starting--there is notsuch a thing to be had; but the bullock carts are expected down everyminute with the usual supply! "What, no water?" exclaims our passenger. "No, sir, but the Commissioners are sinking a well, though they have notyet found any but salt water; but they are going to dig in anotherplace, shortly, we understand. " Away they start for the City of Adelaide, and after ten minutes of roughwalking through the loose sand, which is fatiguing enough, they gain thefirm and beaten road, with the cheerful hills before them, glad enoughto have overcome their morning troubles. Though very warm the walk isagreeable, and out of a cloud of dust before them, they soon descry adray or two, each drawn by a long line of bullocks. They perceive by thesplashing of the water from the open bungs that the casks contain thedaily supply for the port, and the drivers very cheerfully give themall a drink; this enables them to walk on with renewed spirits, over thenaked plain, and, tired and dusty, in about seven miles more they reachanother iron store, the property of the Commissioners, where they nowbegin to see a few marquees and huts, and people walking about. Theystep across the "Torrens, " without knowing it, and enquire for the inn. They are directed to the Southern Cross Hotel, then kept by a German Jewof the name of Levy, considered the best house in this settlement, andhere we will leave them for the present, hungry, thirsty, andfatigued--covered with dust and perspiration--and with feelings of shameand disappointment at being so taken in! CITY OF ADELAIDE. "When things are at the worst, they mend, " is a common saying, and atrue one; and so it was with our passengers. Though rough, dirty anduncomfortable, they enjoyed the Jew's dinner or table d'hôte, though itconsisted merely of a baked leg of mutton at the top, with a bakedshoulder at bottom and a dish of small potatoes in the middle--nothingelse whatever--neither pie, pudding, or cheese; but they had giventhemselves a good wash, and a change of linen, and a bottle of Barclayand Perkins at dinner had now restored them to good humour. They found that the company at the table was much better than thedishes, and that they had all gone through the same miserable landing atthe Fort, and some of them had even suffered considerably by fallingdown in the mud; so, as we draw comfort out of other men's misfortunes, and it is better to laugh than weep, our newly-arrived emigrants beganto think the place was not so bad after all. They were, at any rate, great travellers, and were determined to make light of troubles andinconveniences, as all travellers do. They saw that the gentlemen attable were a very nice set of fellows, and as they had evidently had torough it, much more formerly, than was necessary at the present day, they should make up their minds to think well of everything--to lookonly at the advantages of the Colony--and in their letters to any Londonfriends, they were resolved decidedly to recommend the place--but not aword about the mud. The Town of Adelaide, as depicted on the maps, is the very beau ideal ofall possible cities--there is an elegance and vastness of design aboutit, that almost makes one blush for the comparative insignificance ofLondon and Stromboul; of Paris and Canton;--but on going to the spot, like many other works of art and imagination, it resembles the picturevery slightly--it is altogether on too large a scale; and of all thefollies committed by the inexperience of the surveyor-general, who is, nevertheless, in every other respect a most gentlemanlike, entertaining, and intelligent person, next to its inland situation, this monstrousextent of Adelaide will turn out to be the most fruitful of complaints. You may lean against any tree in the City and exclaim, "This shadowydesert, unfrequented woods, I better brook than flourishing peopledtowns. " And yet there are sprinkled up and down the place a few substantialbuildings; one belonging to the Company, on an enormous scale--anothergood brick house to Mr. Hack--another to the enterprising Mr. Gilles--one to Mr. Thomas, and a couple of new taverns. The rest of thedwellings are made of very slight materials, and the number of canvastents and marquees give some parts of the settlement the appearance of acamp. Most of the new-comers settle down on what is called the ParkLands, where they are handy to the little rivulet, and they run up aRobinson Crusoe sort of hut, with twigs and branches from the adjoiningforest, and the climate being fine and dry, they answer well enough astemporary residences. The principal streets have been laid out in thesurvey of the town 132 feet wide, which is nearly twice as wide asPortland Place, and the squares are all on such a scale of magnitude, that if there were any inhabitants in them, a cab would almost berequired to get across them. Before any person has been ashore at Adelaide twenty-four hours, eventhe greenest and most inexperienced put these two very naturalquestions; First--Why did you make the plan of the future town so large?Answer--Because the land was of no value, and it was a pity to becrowded when there was so much room! And the Second question is--Why didyou select the town eight miles from the landing-place? Answer--Becausewe preferred being away from the nasty sailors, and thought it betternot to be annoyed with the demoralizing influence of a Sea Port! Unless this is promptly remedied, the "Wisdom of our ancestors" will notbecome such a favourite saying in South Australia, as it is in the OldCountry, for the town, including the park lands, is already eight milesround, with 3, 000 inhabitants only. This, from persons who are all forconcentration, seems strange; and the consequence is as might have beenexpected, that in the daytime persons are constantly losing themselvesin the midst of the city. Whilst at night it is impossible to move outof the house without company, unless you have any desire to sleep undera tree. This has happened to the oldest inhabitants, about whom manydroll stories have been told. Some of the highest officers in thecolony, after wandering about for hours in the dark, either runningagainst trees, or falling over logs, or into holes, have chosen ratherto give it up in despair, content to take a night's lodging beneath atree, than run the risk any longer of breaking their necks although inthe midst of the township, and when day-light appeared, not perhaps morethan a pistol-shot from their own hut. It is hardly possible that such ablunder as this is, this Adelaide and Port Adelaide, can much longer betolerated by the respectable parties about proceeding to the Colony, andthere is not the remotest chance that the unnatural abortion can evercome to good. Another town of more modest and moderate pretensions willrise up in the land-locked basin of Port Lincoln, along the margin ofthe deep water, consisting of 640 acres, divided into building lots ofone rood each, which will be enough for a population of 50, 000 persons, which is as many as the most sanguine friend of the Colony cananticipate for a century to come. There, under the shelter of BostonIsland, or in Spalding Cove, the merchant may leave his office and walkacross a plank into the last ship that arrived from England, and all thehundreds of bullocks now employed dragging up waggon loads of rubbishand merchandise from Adelaide Swamp to Adelaide Township, may then bedispensed with and go a-ploughing, as they ought to have done longsince, which will save £20, 000 a year to the settlers in the item ofland carriage alone, and by being employed on the farms instead of onthe road the Colony will not require such frequent importations of farmproduce from Van Diemen's Land, to the great impoverishment of thecommunity. What, abandon Adelaide! I think I hear the carriers exclaim. Oh no, let Adelaide remain as before, it will always answer well enoughfor a country village, and stand a monument to the folly of theprojectors, but let the Governor and Civil Establishment move theirhead-quarters without loss of time, to Port Lincoln, before more moneyis thrown away. Every month that this measure is delayed it is mademore difficult and therefore should not be postponed at all. The buyersof the 1, 200 town acres would feel much disappointment at the measure, as the market would be spoiled for the sale of their building lots, butthey would be rightly served for asking a monopoly price to respectablenew-comers, who ought to be enabled to obtain a town allotment for atrifle of the Government. In New South Wales they are sold by auction as applied for, and put upat 20_s. _ each, at which price they are generally knocked down; but witha view to prevent any monopolizer buying them up, to the injury of the_bona fide_ settler, every purchaser must sign a bond to the Governmentin a penalty of £20, that he will build a house on the allotment, of acertain value, within three years, or otherwise the land revertsabsolutely to the Crown, and the penalty is enforced too. This is as itshould be, and the evil working of the old system ought to have beenforseen, but at South Australia the Commissioners and Survey Departmentdisdained to copy anything from such a colony as Sydney and made the oldsaying good about advice, that those who want it most like it least. Nowthe late Governor, Captain Hindmarsh, was quite the opposite of this, and was most diligent in seeking out the best way of doing everything, and was not above learning even from those ignorant neighbours, NewSouth Wales and Van Diemen's Land. Here is a proof. (Copy) "Government House, _25th April, 1838. _ "The Council being about to meet this morning to discuss a subject withwhich Mr. Horton James is particularly well acquainted; the Governorwill thank Mr. James, if he would do him the favour to attend theCouncil this morning about half-past nine o'clock, to give the Councilhis opinion on the subject. "T. H. JAMES, ESQ. , Adelaide. " The character of the late Governor, Capt. Hindmarsh, pleased meexceedingly, not only for the frankness of his manner towards strangers, and the easy terms on which he admitted every respectable resident tohis table, but by his constant, steady, and unremitting attention tobusiness. Many difficulties of a new and serious nature would sometimessuddenly involve him, during my residence in the colony, especially inreference to the native blacks, who had been committing some violencesin the camp. The settlers were very violent and rash, calling loudly forimmediate and strong measures of retaliation, and going up in mobs toGovernment House, thirsting for revenge against the natives. But theGovernor on all occasions acted with a praiseworthy and becomingfirmness, and would listen to nothing like reprisals on an unarmed andnaked population; and while he took the most upright, they turned out tobe the wisest and most successful measures he could have adopted for thepacification of the place, which in a day or two became as quiet asever, and the danger so much talked of was disregarded and forgotten, entirely owing to His Excellency's pacific treatment. Notwithstandinghis severe and inflexible adherence to these measures, in accordance tohis instructions, and in opposition to the murderous wishes of some ofthe settlers, Captain Hindmarsh, after the hours of business, surroundedby his amiable and accomplished family, was just the same as ever, zealous, enthusiastic and humane, when speaking of the colony and itsblack population; and gentle and sincere in his intercourse with hisfriends; never exhibiting the slightest degree of reserve, parade oraffectation, but winning all hearts by his attention to his guests. Itis hard to say why such a suitable person was recalled. He seems to havebeen sacrificed to clamour; but to accuse, and prove, are verydifferent, and in any enquiry that may be hereafter instituted, CaptainHindmarsh will, I am sure, come off without reproach. FOUNDATION OF VICTORIA +Source. +--Batman's Journal, Victorian Pamphlets, Vol. Cxxvii, pp. 10-13, 16-22 Convictism in Tasmania caused great dissatisfaction among the free settlers; in 1835 John Batman crossed the Strait in search of fresh pastures. Melbourne stands on the site he selected for "the future village. " _May 29th. _ Daylight had no sooner broke this morning--and never had itscheerful return been so ardently longed for--than we were again greetedby the sight of Port Phillip Heads, at a distance not apparentlyexceeding eight miles. By 9 a. M. We were between the Heads, with thetide running out, and nearly at low water; a heavy surf and the windlight and baffling. We effected an entrance with difficulty at a part ofthe bay where the width was about a mile and a quarter. We succeeded, however, in entering one of the finest bays, or basins of water, wellsheltered, that we remember to have seen. Within the Bay the water was, compared to our late tossing in the boiling and foaming waters outside, as smooth as a mill-pond, and our little bark floated gently along likea sleeping gull. I shall, however, take this opportunity to remark thatit will be desirable to enter its mouth only at the times of the tiderunning in. We continued our course down the bay, and found the countryeverywhere of the same richly-grassed character. _May 30th. _ Robinson Crusoe was never better pleased with the appearanceof the first ship which arrived, and rescued him _from_ his desolateisland, than I was with the vessel which proved the means of thusopening to view a country capable of supporting a future nation, andwhich, we trust, will be the means of relieving the Hobart Town countryof its over-stocked cattle, and the Mother Country of her surplus andhalf-starved peasantry. Futurity must develop this prophecy! Furthertravelling and examination only added to my pre-conceived estimate ofthis extremely interesting and extensive territory; consisting of plainsor downs at least twenty miles long by a width of 10 miles, and thedistance may have been greater, but for the interruption of hills morethan ordinarily high, which broke the horizon in different directions. One of these vistas, which I have at present in view, cannot form a lessarea than 100, 000 acres. Its general character presents that ofcultivated pasture for centuries past; the few trees appear as thoughthey owed their plantation to the hand of man. All the high hills arecovered with grass to their summits. I discovered the fires of the natives or aboriginal inhabitants of thismarvellously fertile country, and felt delighted beyond expression thatthe task of its discovery should have devolved upon myself. _June 2nd. _ My Sydney natives came on board this morning for the purposeof assisting in packing up, and otherwise making preparations for ourcontemplated expedition into the interior. As it continued to rainheavily and a heavy bank of fog prevailed, and prevented our seeing anydistance, I proposed, rather than lose time to go with the vessel to theriver (Saltwater), and from thence take my departure for the bush. Wemade the river by 3 p. M. , and observed that the whole of the coast atthe head of the bay was clear of timber, and a constant plain coveredwith grass. Near the head of the river, on the point, was a plantation of she-oak. We endeavoured to sail up the river, but found the water not more than afathom deep. .. . To-morrow, weather permitting, I intend taking mydeparture up the river. _June 3rd. _ Everything being in readiness, we left the vessel about 9a. M. , and proceeded in a boat up the river for about five miles. .. . Intravelling further up we passed over several rich flats, about a milewide, by two or three miles long, destitute of trees, and coveredknee-deep with grass, from which hundreds of tons of good hay might bemade. The land was of the best description, equal to anything in theworld, nor does it appear subject to being flooded. For twenty-six mileswe continued following the course of this river, and found on both sidesof it, as far as the eye could stretch, fine open plains, with a fewtrees of the oak species; one striking object was the absence of freshwater all throughout this distance. Just before sundown as we werepreparing to camp on the bank of the river, I caught sight of a dampplace, and, on sending one of my men, Gumm, to make a hole with a stickto the depth of two feet, we had in the course of an hour a plentifulsupply of good water. .. . I have named this place Gumm's Well. _June 4th. _ Recommenced our journey up the river at 8 a. M. ; aftertravelling four or five miles, I turned off to obtain a view of MountsCollicott, Cottrill, and Solomon. .. . We continued travelling over theplains, and in eight miles again made the river. Having crossed theriver, we travelled over the richest land I had ever seen in my life;marsh mallows with leaves as large as those of the cabbage tribe, and ashigh as my head. We recrossed at a native ford, and we observed on awattle tree, which they had been stripping of the bark, scratches ormarks of figures, representing blacks in the act of fighting. Thesefigures I copied as near as I was able. _June 6th. _ We made an early breakfast and resumed our journey in orderto reach the camp of the blacks, the smoke of whose fires we had seenyesterday. We travelled over land equal to any that we had seen, a deepblack diluvium with grass three or four feet high, and thinly-timbered. After travelling eight miles we struck the trail of the natives which ina short time led us to a branch of the tribe, consisting of one chief, his wife, and three children--fine, plump, chubby, healthy-lookingurchins they were. To this distinguished royal chieftain of the prairiesI gave one pair of blankets, handkerchiefs, beads, and threepocket-knives; upon the receipt of these presents, he undertook the partof guide. We crossed a fresh water creek with good land on either bank. Our new guide informed us that he would take us to his tribe, at thesame time naming many of their chiefs. After travelling about eightmiles, we were surprised to hear a number of voices calling after us, and on looking round encountered six men, armed with spears fixed intheir wommeras. We stopped; and they at once threw aside their spears, and came up to us in a most friendly manner possible. We all shook handsand I gave them knives, tomahawks, etc. , whereupon they took the lead, and brought us back about a mile, to where we found huts, or gunyahs, and a number of women and children. We sat down in the midst of thesesooty and sable aboriginal children of Australia; amongst whom weascertained were eight chiefs belonging to the country near PortPhillip, over which we had travelled, and with which we had so muchreason to be pleased. The three principal chiefs were brothers. Two ofthem were fully six feet high and tolerably good-looking; the third wasnot so tall but much stouter than the others. The other five chiefs wereequally fine men. And a question, to myself, here arises, and the answeras speedily follows, viz. , now is the time for entering into andeffecting a purchase of their land. A full explanation, that my objectin visiting their shores was to purchase their land, they appeared tounderstand; and the following negotiation or agreement was immediatelyentered into. I purchased two large blocks or tracts of land, about600, 000 acres, more or less, and, in consideration therefor, I gave themblankets, knives, looking-glasses, tomahawks, beads, scissors, flour, etc. I also further agreed to pay them a tribute or rent yearly. Theparchment, or deed was signed this afternoon by the eight chiefs, eachof them, at the same time, handing me a portion of the soil; thus givingme full possession of the tracts of land I had purchased. This most extraordinary sale and purchase took place by the side of alovely stream of water, from whence my land commenced. A tree was heremarked in four different ways, to define the corner boundaries. Goodland, to any extent, either for stock or tillage, with good water washere in abundance, ready for sheep, cattle, or the plough. Ournegotiation was terminated by my Sydney natives giving ournewly-acquired friends a grand corroborree at night, much to theirdelight. The group consisted, altogether, of forty-five men, women, andchildren. Sunday, _June 7th. _ I awoke this morning with the agreeableconsciousness of my being able, like Alexander Selkirk, of school-boymemory, to say: "I am monarch of all I survey; my right there is none todispute. " With a view, however, of securing this right more permanently, I busied myself with drawing up triplicates of the deeds of the land Ihad purchased, and in delivering over to the natives more property. Thiswas done on the banks of the lovely little creek which I have namedBatman's Creek, as a memento of the novel and interesting transactionoccurring on its banks. After the purchase and payment at the conclusionof the preliminaries, I had made preparation for departing, when two ofthe principal chiefs approached, and laid their royal mantles at myfeet, begging my acceptance of them. Upon my acquiescing, the gifts wereplaced around my neck and over my shoulders by the noble donors, whoseemed much pleased at their share in the transaction, and begged of meto walk a pace or two in their (now my) princely vestments. I asked themto accompany me to the vessel, to which request I received a ratherfeeling reply, by their pointing, first to their children, and next totheir own naked feet, importing that they could not walk so fast asourselves, but would come down in a few day. In the course of the latetransaction, I had no difficulty in discovering their sacred and privatemark, so important in all their transactions, and universally respected. I obtained a knowledge of this mark by means of one of my Sydneynatives, Bungit, who, going behind a tree, out of sight of the femalesmade the Sydney aboriginal mark. I afterwards took two others of mynatives, and the principal chief of Port Phillip to whom I showed themark on the tree, which he instantly recognized, and pointed, also, tothe knocking out of the front tooth. This mark is always madesimultaneously with the loss or extraction of the tooth. I requestedthe chief through the interpretation of my Sydney natives, to give theimprint of his mark. After a few minutes hesitation, he took a tomahawkand did as he was desired, on the bark of a tree. A copy of this mark isattached to the deed, as the signature and seal of their country. About 10 a. M. I took my departure from these interesting people. Theprincipal chief could not be less than six feet four inches high, andhis proportions gigantic; his brother six feet two inches, also a fineman. I recrossed Batman's Creek, and travelled over thinly-timberedcountry of box, gum, wattle, and she-oak, with grass three of four feethigh. Travelling twelve miles down we came, subsequently, upon athinly-timbered forest of gum, wattle and oak. Here, for the first time, the land became sandy, with a little gravel. The grass was ten incheshigh, and resembled a field of wheat. We have not seen the slightestappearance of frost. After leaving this forest, we came upon the river Ihad gone up a few days before. Intending to come down on the oppositeside and hail the vessel, I crossed on the banks of the river, a largemarsh, one mile and a half broad by three or four long, of the richestdiluvium; not a tree was to be seen. Having crossed this marsh we passedthrough a dense tea-tree scrub, very high, expecting to make the vesselin the course of an hour or two, but, to our great surprise, when we gotthrough, we found ourselves on the banks of a much larger river than theone we had originally gone up. As it was now near sundown, and at least two days would be required tohead the river, I decided upon allowing two of my Sydney natives to swimacross it, and go to the vessel, distant about seven miles, to fetch theboat. Bullet and Bungit started on this enterprise, and returned inabout three hours from the time of their departure. Their return withthe boat was most opportune as we had got on the point of junction ofthe two rivers, where the tide had set in, and was already up to myankles. I first despatched the party with the dogs in the boat to theopposite bank, and, on the return of the boat, myself and old Bull, whohad cut his foot, went in first-rate style, to the vessel. I hope mytravelling on foot will terminate, at least for some time. I had nowaccomplished a most arduous undertaking, and, in order to secure thefruits of my exertions I intend leaving Gumm, Dodds, Thomson, and threeof my Sydney natives--Bungit, Bullet, and old Bull--as overseers andbailiffs of my newly acquired territory, and of the possession of whichnothing short of a premature disclosure of my discovery on the part ofmy companions, can possibly deprive me. These people I intend leaving atIndented Heads, as my head depot, with a supply of necessaries for atleast three months. The chiefs of the Port Phillip tribe made me apresent of three stone tomahawks, some spears, wommeras, boomerangs, andother weapons of warfare. _June 8th. _ This morning the winds set in foul for Indented Heads, and, having made several attempts to get out of the river, we gave it up ashopeless. We went in the boat, up the large river coming from the east, and after examination six miles up, I was pleased to find the waterquite fresh and very deep. This will be the place for the futurevillage. TRANSPORTATION +Source. +--Report from the Select Committee of the House of Commons onTransportation (Molesworth, 1838), pp. 8-10, 31-33, 43 As Australia was shown to offer greater and greater attractions to free settlers the agitation against transportation increased. In 1838 the British Government appointed a Select Committee to inquire into and report upon the whole system. Their verdict is given below. To plant a colony, and to form a new society, has ever been an arduoustask. In addition to the natural difficulties arising from ignorance ofthe nature of the soil, and of the climate of a new country, the firstsettlers have generally had to contend with innumerable obstacles, whichonly undaunted patience, firmness of mind, and constancy of purpose, could overcome. But, whatever the amount of difficulties attendant onthe foundations of colonies, those difficulties were greatly augmented, in New South Wales, by the character of the first settlers. Theoffenders who were transported in the past century to America, were sentto communities the bulk of whose population were men of thrift andprobity; the children of improvidence were dropped in by dribletsamongst the mass of a population already formed, and were absorbed andassimilated as they were dropped in. They were scattered and separatedfrom each other; some acquired habits of honest industry, and all, ifnot reformed by their punishment, were not certain to be demoralized byit. In New South Wales, on the contrary, the community was composed ofthe very dregs of society; of men, proved by experience to be unfit tobe at large in any society, and who were sent from the British gaols, and turned loose to mix with one another in the desert, together with afew task-masters, who were to set them to work in the open wilderness;and with the military, who were to keep them from revolt. Theconsequences of this strange assemblage were vice, immorality, frightfuldisease, hunger, dreadful mortality among the settlers; the convictswere decimated by pestilence on the voyage, and again decimated byfamine on their arrival; and the most hideous cruelty was practisedtowards the unfortunate natives. Such is the early history of New SouthWales. After sentence of transportation has been passed, convicts are sent tothe hulks or gaols, where they remain till the period of their departurearrives. On board convict vessels the convicts are under the solecontrol of the surgeon-superintendent, who is furnished withinstructions, as to his conduct, from the Admiralty. The precautionswhich have been taken against disease, and the better discipline nowpreserved in these ships, have applied an effectual remedy to thephysical evils of the long voyage to Australia, and prevented themortality amongst the prisoners which prevailed to a fearful extentduring the earlier periods of transportation. Little diminution, however, has taken place in those moral evils, which seem to be thenecessary consequences of the close contact and communication between somany criminals, both during the period of confinement previous toembarkation, and during the weariness of a long voyage. As soon as a convict vessel reaches its place of destination, a reportis made by the surgeon-superintendent to the governor. A day is thenappointed for the colonial secretary or for his deputy to go on board tomuster the convicts, and to hear their complaints, if they have any tomake. The male convicts are subsequently removed to the convictbarracks; the females to the penitentiaries. In New South Wales, however, regulations have lately been established, by which, in mostcases, female convicts are enabled to proceed at once from the ship toprivate service. It is the duty of an officer, called the principalsuperintendent of convicts, to classify the newly-arrived convicts, thegreater portion of whom are distributed amongst the settlers asassigned servants; the remainder are either retained in the employmentof the government, or some few of them are sent to the penalsettlements. On the whole, your Committee may assert that, in the families ofwell-conducted and respectable settlers, the condition of assignedconvicts is much the same as the condition of similar descriptions ofservants in this country; but this is by no means the case in theestablishment of all settlers. As the lot of a slave depends upon thecharacter of his master, so the condition of a convict depends upon thetemper and disposition of the settler to whom he is assigned. On thisaccount Sir George Arthur, late Governor of Van Diemen's Land, likenedthe convict to a slave, and described him "as deprived of liberty, exposed to all the caprice of the family to whose service he may happento be assigned, and subject to the most summary laws; his condition"(said Sir George) "in no respect differs from that of the slave, exceptthat his master cannot apply corporal punishment by his own hands orthose of his overseer, and has a property in him for a limited period. Idleness and insolence of expression, or of looks, anything betrayingthe insurgent spirit, subject him to the chain-gang or the triangle, orhard labour on the roads. " On the other hand, a convict, if ill-treated, may complain of hismaster; and if he substantiate his charge the master is deprived of hisservices; but for this purpose the convict must go before a bench, sometimes a hundred miles distant, composed of magistrates, most of whomare owners of convict labour. Legal redress is therefore rarely soughtfor, and still more rarely obtained by the injured convict. With regard to the general conduct of assigned agricultural labourers, there was a considerable diversity of opinion. The evidence, however, ofSir G. Arthur, appears to your Committee to be conclusive on this point, with regard to which he wrote to the Secretary of State for the Coloniesin the following terms: "You cannot, my Lord, have an idea of the vexations which accompany theemployment of convicts or of the vicissitudes attendant upon theirassignment. Their crimes and misconduct involve the settlers in dailytrouble, expense, and disappointment. The discipline and control of theconvicts in Van Diemen's Land is carried, perhaps, to a higher degreethan could have ever been contemplated. Many of the convicts have beengreatly reformed when in the service of considerate and judiciousmasters; but, with all this abatement, there is so much peculation, somuch insubordination, insolence, disobedience of lawful orders, and somuch drunkenness, that reference to the magisterial authority isconstant, and always attended with loss of time and expense to thesettlers. There can be no doubt things appear better in the colony thanthey really are; for, in numberless instances, masters are known tosubmit to peculation rather than incur the additional expense ofprosecuting their servants. Two hundred felons, after having been for alongtime under confinement in the gaols or hulks of England, andsubsequently pent up on board a transport, are placed in charge of themasters or their agents to whom they have been assigned. The master hasthen to take the convict to his home (either to the other extremity ofthe island, a distance of 140 miles, or nearer, as the case may be), andwell would it be if he could get him quietly there, but the contrary isof too frequent occurrence. Either with some money the convict hassecreted, or from the bounty of some old acquaintance, the assignedservant, now relieved for the first time for some months from personalrestraint, eludes the vigilance of his new master, finds his way into apublic-house, and the first notice the settler has of his servant, forwhom he has travelled to Hobart Town, for whose clothing he has paid theGovernment, for whose comfort he has, perhaps, made other littleadvances, is, that he is lodged in the watch-house with loss of half hisclothing, or committed to gaol for felony. " The members of the anti-emancipist party in New South Wales attributethe increase of crime in that colony partly to alleged relaxation ofconvict discipline under Sir Richard Bourke; partly to the action of theJury Laws, which permit persons who have been convicts to become jurors;and lastly, to the increasing number of emancipists. The first-mentioned cause of the increase of crime in New South Walesrefers to the Quarter Session Act, passed in 1833; by that Act, thesummary jurisdiction of single magistrates over convicts, was somewhatdiminished, and a magistrate was prevented from inflicting more than 50lashes for a single offence, instead of 150 which he might have givenbefore at three separate inflictions. These complaints do not seem toyour Committee to have the slightest foundation in fact, and Sir RichardBourke appears to have acted with wisdom, justice, and humanity in histreatment of the convict population. With regard to the second alleged cause of the increase of crime, namely, the jury laws, your Committee need hardly repeat, that thewell-proven effect of transportation is to demoralize, not to reform anoffender; therefore, in a community like New South Wales, wherein solarge a proportion of the population are persons who have been convicts, to permit such persons generally to sit upon juries must evidently havean injurious effect. Your Committee, however, must observe, that under agood system of punishment, an offender should, at the expiration of hissentence, be considered to have atoned for his crimes, and he should bepermitted to commence a new career without any reference to his pastone. With regard to the last alleged cause of the increase of crime, namely, the increasing number of emancipists; little doubt, your Committeethink, can be entertained of the pernicious consequences of annuallyturning loose a number of unreclaimed offenders on so small a communityas that of New South Wales. One of the supposed advantages of transportation is, that it preventsthis country from being burthened with criminal offenders, after theexpiration of their sentences. It is now, however, evident thattransportation does not tend to diminish the sum total of offencescommitted in the British Dominions; it may, perhaps, relieve GreatBritain and Ireland from a portion of their burthen of crime; though, from the little apprehension which transportation produces, that factmay be reasonably doubted. On the other hand, it only transfers andaggravates the burthen upon portions of the British Dominions, which, like New South Wales, and Van Diemen's Land, are least able to bear it. In 1836, the free population of New South Wales amounted to 49, 255, ofwhom about 17, 000 had been convicts. In 1834, the free population of VanDiemen's Land did not exceed 23, 315, of whom about 3, 000 were expirees. Of the state of society in the towns of these colonies, a general ideamay be formed from a description of Sydney, according to the accountsgiven of it, by the Chief Police Magistrate and by Mr. Justice Burton. In 1836 Sydney covered an area of about 2, 000 acres and contained about20, 000 inhabitants; of this number 3, 500 were convicts, most of them inassigned service, and about 7, 000 had probably been prisoners of theCrown. These, together with their associates amongst the freepopulation, were persons of violent and uncontrollable passions, whichmost of them possessed no lawful means of gratifying; incorrigibly badcharacters, preferring a life of idleness and debauchery by means ofplunder to one of honest industry. Burglaries and robberies werefrequently perpetrated by convict servants in the town and its vicinity, sometimes even in the middle of the day. No town offered so manyfacilities for eluding the vigilance of the police as Sydney did. Theunoccupied bush near and within it afforded shelter to the offender andhid him from pursuit. He might steal or hire a boat and in a few minutesplace an arm of the sea between himself and his pursuers. The want ofcontinuity in the buildings afforded great facilities for lying in waitfor opportunities of committing crime, for instant concealment on theapproach of the police, and for obtaining access to the backs of housesand shops; and the drunkenness, idleness, and carelessness of a greatproportion of the inhabitants afforded innumerable opportunities andtemptations, both by day and night, for those who chose to live byplunder. The greater portion of the shopkeepers and the middling classhad been convicts, for the tradesmen connected with the criminalpopulation have an advantage over free emigrants. Those of the emancipists who were possessed of property had generallyacquired it by dishonest means, by keeping grog-shops, gambling-houses, by receiving stolen goods, and by other nefarious practices; they led alife of gross licentiousness; but their wealth and influence were suchthat one-fourth of the jurors who served in the civil and criminalcourts during the years 1834, 1835, and 1836, belonged to their number. More immorality prevailed in Sydney than in any other town of the samesize in the British Dominions; there, the vice of drunkenness hadattained its highest pitch; the quantity of spirits consumed in Sydneywas enormous; even throughout the whole of New South Wales the annualaverage, for every human being in the colony had reached four gallons ahead. Such, according to the authorities already quoted, are the townsto which transportation has given birth; and such are the inmatesfurnished to them by the criminal tribunals of this country. Your Committee having, in the preceding pages of their Report, discussedthe nature and effects of transportation, and what alterations can bemade in the existing system, now consider that they have submitted themost unquestionable proofs that the two main characteristics oftransportation, as a punishment, are inefficiency in deterring fromcrimes, and remarkable efficiency, not in reforming, but in stillfurther corrupting those who undergo the punishment; that thesequalities of inefficiency for good, and efficiency for evil, areinherent in the system, which, therefore, is not susceptible of anysatisfactory improvement; and lastly, that there belongs to the system, extrinsically from its strange character as a punishment, the yet morecurious and monstrous evil of calling into existence, and continuallyextending, societies, or the germs of nations most thoroughly depraved, as respects both the character and degree of their vicious propensities. Your Committee, therefore, are of the opinion that the present system oftransportation should be abolished, and will now proceed to offer a fewobservations as to the description of punishment which, in theiropinion, ought to be substituted in the stead of transportation. INDEPENDENCE OF VICTORIA +Source. +--Port Phillip Gazette In 1844 New South Wales (including the Port Phillip and Moreton Bay districts) was granted representative government, but the distance between Sydney and Melbourne and the disproportion of representatives made it a farce as far as Port Phillip was concerned. Melbourne proceeded to demonstrate to the British Government the necessity for Separation. Victoria was established as a separate colony in 1851. _Jan. 3rd, 1848. _ The Separation Despatch. --To such writers as cannotcomprehend the policy of the Russell administration, it is common todecry everything which they have attempted, as stupid and impracticable;but we, who deem ourselves wiser in our generation, view their conductin a very different light, and give them credit for no ordinary talent;great energy, and more perseverance in our affairs, than can be, underexisting circumstances, ascribed to any Ministry in our day. They tookoffice at a period of great political excitement, and still they havedevoted much attention to Colonial interests; and they haveextraordinary claims upon our beloved Victoria, having granted us thatboon we long demanded in vain from former Ministers. The Despatch officially announces that Earl Grey is to bring in a Billfor the Separation of this, from the Middle District at last, and thatwe will form a Colony of our own, under the new name of Victoria. TheConstitution of this Colony will to some extent be identified with thoseof the other Australian Colonies. At present, Earl Grey has put forth simply the general principles; thedetails, he says, will form matter for serious consideration and anxiousdeliberation. We anticipate some of the Sydney papers will be coming out with acart-load of nonsense; running down Earl Grey's plan, but we will defendit from their senseless and ignorant declamation. Monday, _July 10th, 1848. _ Political Gazette. The Elections. Our readers must be aware that the writs for the election of members toserve in the new Legislative Council of the Colony of New South Wales, have been issued, and that his Worship the Mayor of Melbourne will holda meeting of the electors of the City of Melbourne, in front of theSupreme Court House, La Trobe St. On Tuesday, 25th day of July, for thenomination of a member to serve in said Council for the ElectoralDistrict of Melbourne. Wednesday, _July 19th, 1848. _ The Elections. The outrageous attempt to thrust Mr. Adam Bogue upon the District, asone of our members for the Legislative Council, has displayed that weare looked upon as a refuge for the destitute; and that the opinion ofPort Phillip in Sydney is, that any beardless boy without name, character, or property may be raised upon our shoulders into an officeof great influence, and almost supreme importance. We have the welfare of the district sincerely at heart, and we advisethe electors to return no members from Sydney. Let them nominate PortPhillip men and Port Phillip residents whether they can go to Sydney ornot. We entreat the electors not to be made the instrument ofdestruction to themselves; let them not elect Sydney members to plunderPort Phillip. Electors, place five Port Phillip men in nomination, and one half ofthem may go up to Sydney, who would be worth a thousand Sydney AdamBogues. Remember that the nomination will take place to-morrow, opposite theCourt House at noon. We have no wish to treat the pretensions of anyperson who comes forward as a candidate for a public office withdisrespect; but we cannot regard the attempt of a young man of neitherstanding nor capital to thrust himself into the Legislative Council onPort Phillip influence, other than a piece of impertinence. We should, however, have passed it unnoticed, had not this very same personinsulted every man in this Province so recently, by endeavouring tothrow Port Phillip out of the line of steam communication withEngland--when Port Phillip wanted a friend he gave her a kick, and thisshould have been the last district for Mr. Bogue to make an offer of hisservices to. Wednesday, _July 26th, 1848. _ To-day's Election. We approved of the principle of returning no members for the LegislativeCouncil (so far as the District was concerned) and we regret that anattempt is about to be made to overthrow these proceedings, by returninga Member for Melbourne in the person of J. F. L. Foster, Esq. This is a question upon which, we are aware, some difference of opinionexists; but, having commenced the principle, so far as the District isconcerned, we ought to carry it out; if we act otherwise it will bethrown in the teeth of the citizens of Melbourne that they disfranchisedthe District and then returned a Member on their own account torepresent their city. There required, however, to be unanimity to accomplish this, and some ofthe electors having proposed Mr. Foster as a fit and proper person torepresent the City; those who were in favour of carrying out theprinciple already adopted at the District Meeting, had nothing left butto bring forward an opponent to Mr. Foster, and in the person of theRight Hon. Earl Grey has this opponent been found. True, did the City wish to send a practical man, we are willing toaccede that Earl Grey is not in a position to sit and work for us in theCouncil, but we wish, by electing a man who cannot act, at any rate foreighteen months, to carry out the principle which the Electors of theDistrict have already agreed to be correct; we deem it then the duty ofevery honest man in this community to give his vote to Earl Grey, not somuch out of respect for His Lordship, as to carry out a principle; aprinciple to which we consider the honour of Melbourne to be pledged. Mr. Foster is, no doubt, a very excellent kind of man, but having beenwithdrawn by his friends, on the morning of the District Election, wemust look upon him as shelved for the present. Let us then return EarlGrey as one member, and it may do us more good than we can well conceiveat present, as it will give His Lordship a practical illustration of ourhelplessness, and thus hasten on Separation. Hasten then, electors to the poll! and record your vote in favour ofEarl Grey and SEPARATION!! The Poll commences at Nine o'clock this morning. Saturday, _July 29th. _ Domestic Gazette. Election of a Representativefor the City of Melbourne. --On Wednesday last, no little commotion wascreated by the election of a member (nominally) to represent theinterests of the Citizens of Melbourne in the Legislative Council, butthe thinking portion of the community having arrived at the conclusionthat representation in the Legislative Council at Sydney, under existingcircumstances, was a farce, had determined, virtually, upon adopting asimilar course to that pursued at the nomination of Candidates for theDistrict, and the Right Hon. Earl Grey was consequently proposed as afit and proper person to represent our interests in the LegislativeCouncil, and this proposition, with two or three exceptions, met withunanimous approval at the meeting. After the first hour's polling, itwas clear that Mr. Foster had no chance, and as this became more andmore apparent as the day advanced, some hundreds of voters who hadintended to support the favourite were deterred from doing so under aconviction that their votes would not be required, and the unfavourablestate of the weather counteracted the desire to be present at the sceneof action. It was understood that the Mayor would, on the following day, declare on whom the election had fallen, and at noon, many hundredpersons and, notwithstanding the still unfavourable state of theweather, assembled outside the supreme Court House, and a few minutesafterwards the excellent Band of the Total Abstinence Society, might beseen wending their way to the spot, headed by Mr. J. P. Fawkner. The Mayor addressed the Meeting as follows:--"Gentlemen, I have calledyou together again for the purpose of declaring on whom the lateelection has fallen, but previously to doing so I will read twoprotests, one of which has been sent to a deputy returning officer, andthe other to myself. " His worship then read the protests, which are asfollows:--"I, the undersigned burgher of Bourke Ward, do hereby protestagainst the Returning Officer receiving any votes for the Right Hon. Earl Grey, on the following grounds:-- "First, that Earl Grey as a Peer of the British Parliament cannot hold aseat in a Colonial House of Legislative Representation. "Second, That he cannot move Her Majesty in two distinct Legislatures. "Third, That he is not qualified according to the Act. "Fourth, That he is an absentee, and there is no one present torepresent him--to state that he will sit if elected. (Signed) "Sidney Stephen, Barrister-at-law. " The Mayor remarked that these protests were very respectably signed, andwere deserving of attention, but although they were signed by numerouslawyers he believed he was relieved of all difficulty on the subject bybeing guided by the 96th clause of the Constitutional Act which renderedit imperative that all complaints of this nature must be addressed inthe form of a petition to the Governor and must be addressed by one ofthe candidates, or one-tenth of the whole of the electors. Several otherauthorities were then referred to by His Worship, who expressed himselfthoroughly satisfied as to the course he ought to pursue, and announcedthe following as the final state of the Poll in the Respective Wards. WARDS GREY FOSTER Gipps Ward . . 50 . . 17 La Trobe Ward . . 102 . . 15 Bourke Ward . . 43 . . 32 Lonsdale Ward . . 100 . . 28 ___ ___ 295 92 leaving a majority for Earl Grey of 203, who was declared amidstenthusiastic cheering, to be duly elected as a member of the LegislativeCouncil for the Electoral District of the City of Melbourne. GOLD +Source. +--A Lady's Visit to the Gold Diggings of Australia in 1852-53(Mrs. Charles Clacy), pp. 19-29, 82-85 Gold was discovered in Australia at a time when the people of every nation in Europe were demanding a greater share in their respective governments. Many who immigrated in search of gold took a leading part in making the Australian Governments democratic. Melbourne, 1852. --The non-arrival of the Mail-steamer left us now noother care save the all-important one of procuring food and shelter. Scouts were accordingly despatched to the best hotels; they returnedwith long faces--"full. " The second-rate, and in fact every respectableinn and boarding or lodging-house were tried, but with no bettersuccess. Here and there, a solitary bed could be obtained, but for ourdigging-party entire, which consisted of my brother, four shipmates, andmyself, no accommodation could be procured, and we wished, if possible, to keep together. "It's a case, " ejaculated one. At this moment the twolast searchers approached, their countenances not quite so woebegone asbefore. "Well?" exclaimed we all in chorus, as we surrounded them, tooimpatient to interrogate at greater length. Thank Heavens! they had beensuccessful! The housekeeper of a surgeon, who with his wife had justgone up to Forest Creek, would receive us to board and lodge for thirtyshillings a week each: but as the accommodation was of the indifferentorder, it was not yet as _une affaire arrangée_. On farther inquiry, wefound the indifferent accommodation consisted in there being but onesmall sleeping-room for the gentlemen, and myself to share the bed andapartment of the temporary mistress. This was vastly superior togipsying in the dirty streets, so we lost no time in securing our newberths; and ere very long, with appetites undiminished by these pettyanxieties, we did ample justice to the dinner which our really kindlyhostess quickly placed before us. The first night on shore after so long a voyage could scarcely seemotherwise than strange, one missed the eternal rocking at which so manygrumble on board ship. Dogs (Melbourne is full of them) kept up anincessant barking; revolvers were cracking in all directions tilldaybreak, giving one a pleasant idea of the state of society. The nextfew days were busy ones for all, though rather dismal to me, as I wasconfined almost entirely indoors, owing to the awful state of thestreets; for in the colonies, at this season of the year, one may go outprepared for fine weather, with blue sky above, and dry underfoot, andin less than an hour, should a _colonial_ shower come on, be unable tocross some of the streets without a plank being placed from the middleof the road to the pathway, or the alternative of walking in water up tothe knees. Our party, on returning to the ship the day after our arrival, witnessedthe French-leave-taking of all her crew, who, during the absence of theCaptain, jumped overboard, and were quickly picked up and landed by thevarious boats about. This desertion of the ships by the sailors is anevery-day occurrence; the diggings themselves, or the large amount theycould obtain for the run home from another master, offer too manytemptations. Consequently, our passengers had the amusement of haulingup from the hold their different goods and chattels; and so great wasthe confusion, that fully a week elapsed before they were all got toshore. Meanwhile, we were getting initiated into colonial prices--moneydid, indeed, take to itself wings and fly away. Fire-arms were at apremium; one instance will suffice--my brother sold a six-barrelledrevolver for which he had given sixty shillings at Baker's, in FleetStreet, for sixteen pounds, and the parting with it at that price waslooked upon as a great favour. Imagine boots, and they were verysecond-rate ones, at four pounds a pair. One of our between-deckpassengers who had speculated with a small capital of forty pounds inboots and cutlery, told me afterwards that he had disposed of them thesame evening he landed at a net profit of ninety pounds--no triflingaddition to a poor man's purse. Labour was at a very high price, carpenters, boot and shoe makers, tailors, wheelwrights, joiners, smiths, glaziers, and, in fact, all useful trades, were earning fromtwenty to thirty shillings a day--the very men working on the roadscould get eleven shillings per diem, and many a gentleman in thisdisarranged state of affairs, was glad to fling old habits aside andturn his hand to whatever came readiest. I knew one in particular, whosebrother is at this moment serving as a Colonel in the army in India, aman more fitted for a gay London life than a residence in the Colonies. The diggings were too dirty and uncivilized for his taste, his capitalwas quickly dwindling away beneath the expenses of the comfortable lifehe led at one of the best hotels in town, so he turned to what as a boyhe had learnt as an amusement, and obtained an addition to his income, of more than four hundred pounds a year as house carpenter. In themorning you might see him trudging off to his work, and before nightmight meet him at some ball or soirée among the elite of Melbourne. I shall not attempt an elaborate description of the town of Melbourne, or its neighbouring villages. The town is very well laid out; thestreets (which are all straight, running parallel with and across oneanother) are very wide, but are incomplete, not lighted, and many areunpaved. Owing to the want of lamps, few, except when full moon, darestir out after dark. Some of the shops are very fair; but the goods allpartake too largely of the flash order, for the purpose of suiting thetastes of successful diggers, their wives, and families; it is ludicrousto see them in the shops--men who before the gold-mines were discoveredtoiled hard for their daily bread taking off half-a-dozen thick goldrings from their fingers, and trying to pull on to their rough, well-hardened hands the best white kids, to be worn at some weddingparty, whilst the wife, proud of the novel ornament, descants on thefolly of hiding them beneath such useless articles as gloves. The walking inhabitants are of themselves a study; glance into thestreets--all nations, classes, and costumes are represented there. Chinamen, with pigtails and loose trousers; aborigines, with a solitaryblanket flung over them; Vandemonian pick-pockets, with cunning eyes andlight fingers--all, in fact, from the successful digger in his blueserge shirt, and with green veil still hanging round his wideawake, tothe fashionably attired, newly-arrived "gent" from London, who staresround him in amazement and disgust. You may see, and hear too, somethoroughly colonial scenes in the streets. Once, in the middle of theday, when passing up Elizabeth Street, I heard the unmistakable sound ofa mob behind, and as it was gaining upon me, I turned into the enclosedground in front of the Roman Catholic Cathedral to keep out of the wayof the crowd. A man had been taken up for horse-stealing, and a rareruffianly set of both sexes were following the prisoner and the twopolicemen who had him in charge. "If but six of ye were of my mind, "shouted one, "it's this moment you'd release him. " The crowd took thehint, and to it they set with right good will, yelling, swearing, andpushing with awful violence. The owner of the stolen horse got up acounter demonstration, and every few yards the procession was delayed bya trial of strength between the two parties. Ultimately, the policeconquered; but this is not always the case, and often lives are lost andlimbs broken in the struggle, so weak is the force maintained by thecolonial government for the preservation of order. THE DIGGINGS Of the history of the discovery of gold in Australia I believe few areignorant. The first supposed discovery took place some sixty years agoat Port Jackson. A convict made known to Governor Phillip the existenceof an auriferous region near Sydney, and on the locality being examinedparticles of real gold-dust were found. Every one was astonished, andseveral other spots were tried without success. Suspicion was nowexcited, and the affair underwent a thorough examination, which elicitedthe following facts: The convict, in the hope of obtaining his pardon asa reward, had filed a guinea and some brass buttons, which, judiciallymixed, made a tolerable pile of gold-dust, and this he carefullydistributed over a small tract of sandy land. In lieu of the expectedfreedom, his ingenuity was rewarded with close confinement and otherpunishments. Thus ended the first idea of a gold-field in thesecolonies. Suddenly, in 1851, at the time that the approaching opening of theCrystal Palace was the principal subject of attention in England, thecolonies of Australia were in a state of far greater excitement; as thenews spread like wildfire, far and wide, that gold was really there. ToEdward Hammon Hargreaves be given the honour of this discovery. Thisgentleman was an old Australian settler, just returned from a trip toCalifornia, where he had been struck by the similarity of the geologicalformation of the mountain ranges in his adopted country to that of theSacramento district. On his return he immediately searched for theprecious metal; Ophir, the Turon, and Bathurst well repaid his labour. Thus commenced the gold-diggings of New South Wales. The good people of Victoria were rather jealous of the importance givenby these events to the other colony. Committees were formed and rewardswere offered for the discovery of a gold-field in Victoria. Theannouncement of the Clunes diggings in July 1851 was the result; theywere situated on a tributary of the Lodden. On 8 September those ofBallarat, and on the 10th those of Mount Alexander completely satisfiedthe most sceptical as to the vast mineral wealth of the colony. Bendigosoon was heard of, and gully after gully successfully attracted theattention of the public by the display of their golden treasures. EFFECTS OF THE GOLD DISCOVERY +Source. +--The Gold Digger (Rev. David Mackenzie, M. A. ), pp. 28-31 The excitement produced throughout the colonies, but especially inSydney and Melbourne, by the publication of the gold discovery, may beinferred from the following facts: In one week upwards of 2, 000 personswere counted on the road to the Bathurst diggings, and only elevencoming down. Hundreds of men, of all classes and conditions, threw uptheir situations, and leaving their wives and families behind them, started for the diggings. Whole crews ran away from their ships, whichwere left to rot in our harbours, the men having willingly forfeited alltheir wages, clothes, etc. Within one week the prices of the followinggoods rose twenty-five per cent. In Sydney: flour, tea, sugar, rice, tobacco, warm clothing, and boots. Throughout all the towns nothing wassaleable but provisions and diggers' tools and clothing. Every man whocould handle a pick or spade was off, or preparing to be off, for thegold-fields. The roads were crowded with travellers, carriages, gigs, drays, carts, and wheelbarrows; mixed up in one confused assemblagemight be seen magistrates, lawyers, physicians, clerks, tradesmen, andlabourers. The building of houses, bridges, etc. , was suspended for want oftradesmen, nearly all of them having gone to the diggings. Many housesmight be seen half-finished for want of men to proceed with the work, though the owners or contractors were offering enormously high wages toany that would complete the work. The fields were left unsown, flocks ofsheep were deserted by their shepherds. With one stockholder who hastwenty thousand sheep, there remained only two men. Masters were seendriving their own drays; and ladies of respectability and ample meanswere obliged to cook the family dinner. Servants and apprentices wereoff in a body; and even the very "devils" bolted from the newspaperoffices; in short, the yellow fever seized on all classes of society. Intwenty-four hours prices of provisions doubled at Bathurst and theneighbouring places. In all our steamers and trading vessels the rate ofpassage was raised, in consequence of the necessary increase in thewages of seamen. All the trades held their meetings, at which a newtariff of charges was agreed upon; and even the publicans raised atleast twenty-five per cent. The prices of their wines, beer, andspirits. Van Diemen's Land and New Zealand poured upon our shores shiploads ofadventurers, attracted by the golden news; and South Australia is nowalmost drained of its labouring population, one of the consequences ofwhich is that the shares in the famous Burra Burra copper mines therehave fallen from £230 to £45, a fall which has entailed ruin onhundreds. In walking along the streets of Sydney or Melbourne you hear nothingtalked about but gold; you see nothing exhibited in shop windows butspecimens of gold, or some article of equipment for the gold-digger. Inevery society gold is the interminable topic of conversation; andthroughout the colonies the only newspapers now read are those whichcontain intelligence from our golden fields. Soon after the discovery the Government of New South Wales, seeing thatit could not prevent the community from digging for gold on Crown lands, quietly made virtue of necessity, and merely sought to legalize andregulate the diggings by the following announcement, published in the"Official Gazette": THE GOLD MINES Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney, _23rd May, 1851. _ Licenses to Dig and Search for Gold. With reference to the Proclamation issued on the 22nd May instant, declaring the rights of the Crown in respect to Gold found in itsnatural place of deposit within the territory of New South Wales, HisExcellency the Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council, hasbeen pleased to establish the following Provisional Regulations, underwhich Licenses may be obtained, to search for, and remove the same: 1. From and after the first day of June next, no person will bepermitted to dig, search for, or remove gold on or from any land, whether public or private, without first taking out and paying for aLicense in the form annexed. 2. For the present, and pending further proof of the extent of theGold-field, the License fee has been fixed at £1 10_s. _ per month, to bepaid in advance; but it is to be understood that the rate is subject tofuture adjustment, as circumstances may render expedient. 3. The Licenses can be obtained on the spot, from the Commissioner whohas been appointed by His Excellency the Governor, to carry theseregulations into effect, and who is authorized to receive the feepayable thereon. 4. No person will be eligible to obtain a License, or the renewal of aLicense, unless he shall produce a certificate of discharge from hislast service, or prove to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that heis not a person improperly absent from hired service. 5. Rules, adjusting the extent and position of land to be covered byeach License and for the prevention of confusion, and the interferenceof one License with another will be the subject of early regulation. 6. With reference to lands alienated by the Crown, in fee simple, theCommissioner will not be authorized for the present to issue Licensesunder the regulations to any persons but the proprietors, or personsauthorized by them in writing to apply for the same. By his Excellency's command, E. FEAS THOMSON. VICTORIA IN 1854 +Source. +--The Golden Colony (G. H. Wathen, 1855), pp. 49-53, 78-81 Even on the spot it is often very difficult to learn when, by whom, andin what manner, a new gold district is first discovered. When the yieldof an old working begins to fail, the diggers throw out small"prospecting" parties of twos and threes, to explore promisinglocalities. These "prospectors" may occasionally make importantdiscoveries; but far more frequently they are the result of chance, orof the desultory efforts of shepherds and other servants of the settlersresident in the particular locality. It sometimes happens that a diggingparty, travelling from one district to another, camp for a night in avalley which they may think looks very promising. Being delayed here, perhaps, by the loss of their horse, or some other accident, they sink apit or "hole" in a "likely spot. " At length some one strikes a richdeposit. If so, it cannot long remain a secret. A few dozens or scoresare shortly at work on the adjacent ground; and if these too aresuccessful the news spreads like wild-fire, and within a week all theroads and tracks leading to the spot are covered with diggers and theircarts, on the way to the new Dorado--the _newest_ being always by reportthe _best_ and richest. In a few days the hills around the new workingare dotted over with white tents, the forest around them quicklydisappears, being felled for firewood. Government, on hearing of thediscovery, sends down a Commissioner with a body of horse and footpolice. These establish a camp on some central elevated position, and anirregular wide street of tents springs up like magic in the valleybelow. There are stores, large and small; butchers' shops; doctors'little tents; and innumerable refreshment booths, where, under the guiseof selling lemonade and home-made beer, an extensive illicit trade iscarried on in vile, adulterated, and often poisonous spirits. Theblacksmith is always one of the first on the ground, and presentlyextemporises a forge out of a few loose stones or turf-sods. Flags areflying from the stores and shops, and give gaiety to the scene. TheUnion Jack floats proudly above the Government camp on the hill, andmilitary sentinels are on duty before the gold-tent. As the diggers reach the spot they pitch their tents on the lower slopesof the hills or in the green flats. At night their watch-fires gleam farand wide, and from a neighbouring height the place has the appearance ofa large town illuminated. A new goldfield is the favourite resort ofhorse stealers, thieves, and miscreants of all kinds, who, lost in thecrowd and confusion, here find ample opportunities for carrying on theirnefarious practices. Their common haunts are the "sly grog-shops" whichspring up like weeds on all sides. Here they rendezvous, and concoctthose deeds of darkness which have given the colony such an unenviablefame. Horses are stolen and ridden off to Melbourne, Geelong, or to thenearest goldfield and sold by auction. The roads leading to the newdiggings become infested with bushrangers; stories of being "stuck up"(or robbed) are more and more frequent; till at length a cartload ofruffians, heavily handcuffed, is seen moving towards the Government Campwell guarded by mounted troopers. These are the bushrangers who havebeen hunted down and just captured by the troopers. And now for a timethe roads are safe. No life can be more independent and free than that of the Australiandigger; no travelling more agreeable than summer travelling in the Bush;carrying about with you in your cart your tent, your larder, and allyour domestic appointments. In choosing a halting place for the nightyou have the whole country open to you--no walls or hedges to shut youin to a dusty turnpike road. You drink from the clear running creek; thesoft green turf is your carpet; your tent your bedroom. Your horse dulyhobbled, enjoys the fresh pasturage around. The nearest fallen treesupplies you with fuel for your evening fire. One of the most fruitful sources of discontent was the method ofcollecting the gold revenue. When the first discoveries were made atBallarat, the Melbourne Government, following the example of that atSydney, issued regulations by which all miners were required to procurea monthly license to dig for gold, and to pay 30_s. _ for the same. Buthow was this tax to be enforced among a migratory population, living intents scattered through a forest? The mode adopted was, to send outarmed bands of police, who, coming down suddenly on a gully or flat, spread themselves over it demanding of everyone his license. A fewmounted troopers formed part of the force to cut off defaulters whomight attempt to fly. All who could not produce their license werecaptured and marched off, probably some miles, to the nearestmagistrates, and, after some detention, were either fined £5, orimprisoned for a month. Such a system naturally led to great discontentand irritation. At some of the goldfields a curious plan was hit uponfor evading these inquisitorial visits. No sooner was a party of policeseen approaching than the diggers raised the cry of "Joe! Joe!" The crywas taken up, and presently the whole length of the gully rang with theshouts "Joe! Joe! Joe!" and of course all defaulters instantly made offfor the depths of the forest. The dissatisfaction was exasperated by the method of collecting thelicense fee. The collector did not call on the tax payer, but the latterhad to seek the collector. The digger was compelled to walk from his owngully to the Commissioner's Camp--distant, perhaps, several miles--andthen often wait for hours under a fierce sun while a crowd of others, who had arrived before him, were paying their 30_s. _, or weighing theirhalf ounce of gold. Greater facilities were indeed subsequently offeredfor the payment of the fee, but the mode of enforcing it continued thesame. The diggers complained loudly and unceasingly of these harsh andun-English measures. "First you tax our labour, " said they, "and thenyou collect your tax at the point of the bayonet. " The dislike of thesystem was universal; disputes were frequent, and collisions between thepolice and diggers sometimes occurred. Another of the diggers' grievances was the extreme insecurity of lifeand property on the mines. While the police force were snugly housed atheadquarters, in a peaceable and orderly neighbourhood, the populous andremote gullies were the nightly scenes of deeds of robbery and violence. Every evening men were knocked down and brutally treated or "stuck up"and robbed. Every night horses were stolen, tents broken into, and"holes" plundered of gold by the "night fossickers"--miscreants whowatched for the richest "holes" during the day, marked them, andplundered them at night. In October 1852 at a place called MoonlightFlat (near Forest Creek), these desperadoes had become so numerous andshameless, and their outrages so frequent, that the miners rose _enmasse_ against them. A public meeting was convened; blue-shirted diggersmade stirring appeals to their auditory; a deputation was appointed toproceed instantly to Melbourne to remonstrate with the Government, andto implore it to adopt energetic measures for extirpating the "hordes ofruffians" that infested their neighbourhood, and the persons of many ofwhom were well known there. THE BUSHRANGERS +Source. +--The Golden Colony (G. H. Wathen, 1855), pp. 138, 143-150 The combination of convictism in Tasmania and gold in Victoria and New South Wales produced bushranging on a large scale. Convicts now had a chance of living well if they escaped, and many took advantage of the opportunity. If the Australian roads in winter may be well likened to those Englishroads of 200 years ago, out of which the King's Coach had to be dug bythe rustics, so may the Australian Bushranger be regarded as thelegitimate representative of the traditionary highwayman who levied tollat Highgate, or stopped the post-boy and captured the mailbags in EppingForest. The real, living bushranger is, however, more of a ruffian andless of a hero than our ideal highwayman; for time, like distance, softens down the harsh and the coarse, and gives dignity to the ignoble. Never, perhaps, did a country offer so tempting a field to the publicrobber as Victoria did during the first year or two after the golddiscovery. The interior was wild and uninhabited, abounding with lonelyforests. Travellers were numerous, and mostly carried money or gold; fornone were poor. The roadside public-houses were daily the scenes ofdrunken revelry. The police were few and untrained; and the mixed andscattered population at the several diggings offered a ready asylum incase of pursuit. Add to all this that, separated from Victoria by a merestrait, was the depot for the most accomplished villains of GreatBritain, and it needed no prophet to foresee that the roads of the newgold country would very soon be swarming with thieves and desperadoes. It is no uncommon occurrence in the Australian Colonies for a largenumber of shearers or others collected in the hut in the country to be"stuck up, " that is, subdued and bound, by two or three determinedbushrangers. Fifteen or sixteen strong active men may be thus treated, and have been, frequently. At first, one is ready to conclude eitherthat they must have a private understanding with the robbers or else bethe veriest poltroons. I thought so myself till I had an account of oneof these affairs from a man who had been one of a large party thus"stuck up" by two very notorious bushrangers, the life and death ofwhom, would furnish materials for a romance. Their names were Daltonand Kelly, and they will long be famous in the annals of daring andoutrage in Van Diemen's Land. Dalton was a stout, powerful man, and about thirty years of age at thetime of the rencontre I am about to describe. His accomplice Kelly, wasabout twenty-three years old. They were both prisoners of the Crown inVan Diemen's Land. Dalton was transported at an early age, and had for atime been confined in the "Ocean Hell" of Norfolk Island, the gaol ofthe double-damned convict; but was afterwards taken back to Van Diemen'sLand. From the same informant I learned some particulars of theirescape. They were confined in a penal establishment on a strait or anarm of the sea, wide enough, it was thought, to preclude the possibilityof flight. Dalton, Kelly, and five or six other prisoners, however, weary of a wretched life, determined to risk that life for liberty; andhaving one day eluded the vigilance of their guards, attempted, thoughtheir legs were weighed down with fetters, to swim to the oppositeshore. One after another their strength failed them; they sank anddisappeared till at length only Kelly and Dalton survived. Kelly'sstrength was rapidly waning, when Dalton called out to him "Catch holdof me, Kelly! I can swim another hour yet. " When at last they both got safe to land, Dalton exclaimed, "Well, thankGod, I shall have one comrade at any rate. " They now quickly freed themselves from their irons, procured arms, and, knowing that they would certainly be hotly pursued they at once startedon a marauding expedition, visiting the neighbouring stations insuccession, and pillaging each; intending eventually, to make their wayacross Bass's Straits to Victoria. Dalton was a very formidable fellow;strong, active, and resolute, reckless of human life, and now rendereddesperate by despair. He was, too, a first-rate marksman, and could"stick up a glass bottle. " What follows is an account given me by my informant. Kelly came up tothe hut, which was full of men. I was standing at the door at the time, but did not know who the man was. When he came close he asked me if Ihad heard that the bushrangers were out. I answered "Yes, I had. " Thenhe pointed his gun at me, and said "I'm one of them. Go into the hut. " Iwent in, but on turning round I saw one of my mates standing against thehut in a corner, with another man standing over him, covering him withhis gun. The other was Dalton, Kelly's mate. After I had gone into thehut, Kelly stood at the open doorway, with his gun pointed at thoseinside, swearing he would murder the first man who moved an inch. Therewere about fourteen men in the hut. Then he asked if there were anyprisoners among them. One man said that he was. Kelly then ordered himto tie their arms together, one by one. While doing so, one man complained that he was being tied too tight; butthis only drew forth another volley of oaths and threats from Kelly. When all were secured, Kelly went out to assist Dalton who still stoodover the man whom he had pinned to the wall of the hut, threatening toshoot him if he stirred. Kelly then tied up his hands while Daltoncontinued covering him with the gun. He was then marched into the hut tojoin the others. And now Dalton began walking up and down the hutharanguing his prisoners. "He'd no doubt" he said "that some of themmight be good and honest men, and some scoundrels. That for his part, hewouldn't hurt a hair of any good man's head, if he could help it. But hehad been forced to take to this sort of life. It wasn't his fault. Hehad been lagged (transported) when only twelve years of age; had sincethen over and over again tried to obtain his freedom by good conduct;but they wouldn't give it him, and it was useless to try any more byfair means. And he had now sworn to gain his freedom, or lose his lifein the attempt. He didn't want to hurt anyone. What he wanted was money;and money he would have, come what, come might. He'd show them presentlywhether he was game or not. He'd go into the master's house and bringout, single-handed the man he wanted, no matter how many he might findthere. But let them beware. If any man dared to move or tried to escapehe swore he'd scatter his brains about the yard, and blow the roof offhis head. " Dalton now left the hut, and went to the house of the settler, theirmaster, which was close at hand. All this time the household knewnothing of what had been passing in the hut. He entered, and wentstraight up to the sitting-room, where several gentlemen and ladieshappened to be collected. He opened the door, and deliberately advancedwith his gun pointed at those within. But a lady, who chanced to bebehind the door, on seeing the levelled gun, slammed the door in therobber's face. This was a timely diversion, and the signal for ageneral scattering of those present. The men in the hut were subsequently tried for collusion with thebushrangers; but when asked how they could suffer two men to "stick up"so many, one replied to the magistrate, that, with their permission, hewould himself "stick up" the whole Bench. The free servants were acquitted; those of the party who were prisonersof the Crown were sentenced to imprisonment; but on Government beingpetitioned by their free mates, who protested the innocence of all, theywere liberated. After this the two bushrangers boldly carried on their depredations, roaming about from station to station, "sticking up" the men, androbbing the masters; while a large party of the police were following ontheir track. One day they came to a hut full of men, and, opening thedoor, tried the old plan of intimidation by standing with loadeddouble-barrelled pieces in the doorway, and threatening with deep oathsto "drop" the first man of them, who moved hand or foot. But it happenedthat several of the pursuing constables were within the hut. One ofthem, named Buckmaster, rushed towards Dalton. The robber fired and theconstable fell dead. Dalton still stood unmoved in the doorway, with hislevelled gun, and calmly said "Ah, how d'ye like that? Now, then, I'mready for another!" This coolness saved them both and for a time theyescaped capture. But such an outrage on one of their officers roused theGovernment. A large reward was offered for the capture of the twobushrangers, and they were hunted through the island more hotly thanever. Driven to desperation, they seized upon a whaleboat; by threats pressedfour boatmen into their service, and actually compelled them to work theboat across Bass's Straits to the opposite shores of Victoria. Here theysafely landed on the solitary coast of Western Port and made their wayup to Melbourne. News of the escape of these formidable andblood-stained freebooters had been immediately transmitted to theauthorities of Victoria. As they had left Van Diemen's Land in an openwhaleboat, there was no doubt but that they would make for the WesternPort shores; and the Victoria police, stimulated by the hope of a largereward, were keenly looking out for two persons answering to thepublished description of the robbers. The boatmen who had conveyed themacross the Strait were seen and arrested at Dandenong, between WesternPort and the Capital; but no further trace of the bushrangers could beobtained. The Melbourne newspapers furnish us with the conclusion of thetragedy. The following account of the capture of the chief of these desperadoes, from the Melbourne "Argus" is more like a page from a romance than apassage in real life. It is one more instance of what appears like aspecial Providence laying its resistless hand on a murderer at the verymoment when he seemed to have secured his escape, and dragging him forthto public justice. Within four hours after his capture, Dalton wouldhave been on board a ship bound for England. "Between eleven and twelve o'clock on Friday night, Dalton entered acoffee-shop in Bourke Street, in company with a man who had engaged toput him on board the _Northumberland_ at daylight the next morning fromSandridge, and for which he was to pay £4. This man, we understand, wasquite ignorant of the person he was bargaining with. Dalton asked theproprietors of the shop, if they could change him some Van Diemen's LandNotes for gold, as he was about to embark for England. They could not doit, but a gentleman named Brice, formerly a cadet in the police force, suspecting all was not right, said that he could, as he was agold-broker, if Dalton would only accompany him to his office. To thisDalton consented, and placed three £20 and one £10 notes of theLauncestoun Bank in his hands. They then left the shop together; thenight was extremely dark; the stranger, however, led the way, Dalton andthe boatman following close behind. After proceeding some little way, they turned into Little Collins St. And by the back entrance, into theyard of the Police Court. Here it was so dark that the outline of thebuilding could not be distinguished. The guide then showed them the doorof his alleged office which was no other then the clerk's room of theSwanston St. Watch-house. The man at the door was in plain clothes, andwithin were several of the detective officers, and twowatch-housekeepers at the books, all, however, in private costume. Oncein, Mr. Brice stated that he had brought these men to the station onsuspicion of having come by the notes wrongfully. "Dalton at this time must have known where he was, but made noobservation beyond affirming that they were his, and making someremarks relative to his being brought there on so paltry an accusation. During this he was smoking a cigar, and behaving himself in a carelessnonchalant manner. Meanwhile, the detectives were making use of theireyes, and seeing if the descriptions they possessed corresponded withthe figures before them. The watch-house keeper finding that Mr. Bricehad no charge to prefer against him, returned Dalton his notes, who wasabout to leave the office, when Detectives Williams, Murray, and Easonpounced upon him, and fixed him in a corner. Dalton endeavoured to drawa pistol from his belt, but was prevented and overpowered. Findinghimself mastered, he said, 'You have got the reward of £500. My name isDalton!' He then said if he had only seen the bars of the station-housewindow, as he was entering, he would have sent a ball through hisconductor. He further said that he had been in the Police Court thatmorning, and had recollected going up a flight of steps which he did notsee that night, as he had been led in the back way, and had he but seenthese steps, his guide would have been a dead man. He was thenhandcuffed and searched, and two large horse-pistols heavily loaded andcapped, besides a small one, were taken from his belt; he was thenlocked up. " Kelly, the other accomplice, was arrested the next day, and both weresent back to Van Diemen's Land, tried, and executed. ANTI-TRANSPORTATION MOVEMENT +Source. +--Port Phillip Gazette, 21st January 1851 The uselessness of protests against Transportation from the various states, proved the necessity for the whole of Australia to act together in external affairs. Thus the inauguration of the Anti-Transportation League was the first step towards Federation. BREAKFAST TO THE TASMANIAN DELEGATES On Monday, the members and promotors of the Launceston Association forsecuring the cessation of transportation, entertained at Publicbreakfast the gentlemen delegated to represent the interests of theColony at the Australian Conference, which is about to be held inMelbourne. A cold collation was prepared at the Cornwall, and about 100gentlemen sat down, amongst whom were many magistrates and gentlemenrepresenting the most influential and respectable portions of thenorthern and midland districts. Breakfast being concluded, the Chairmanrose, and said, it was a matter of pleasure to him to meet so large andrespectable a body of gentlemen, some of whom he had known for a quarterof a century. They had not assembled to petition; it was a truthdeplorable and sad that petitions had hitherto been unavailing and theywere now met to force from Her Majesty's Government, relief from an evilof which history presented no parallel. (Hear, hear. ) Petition afterpetition had been transmitted home, but the prayers of the Community hadbeen constantly rejected. It now remained to try other means. The Rev. J. West rose and said he felt some embarrassment in addressingthat meeting. He, however, felt grateful for their recognition of hisappointment, and should rely on their indulgence during the few momentshe might address them. The colonists had been led up to a position fromwhich it was impossible to recede. Van Diemen's Land must obtain a sharein the general freedom, or for ever sink. They had petitioned for acessation of transportation; whilst there was a possibility of the othercolonies receiving a portion of the convicts annually sent from Britain, they expected by the more general distribution to experience somerelief. But the resistance of the other colonies had removed the faintanticipation, and shut up to us this last hope--to our union with them. When it was proposed to solicit the co-operation of the adjacentcolonies, some persons prophesied a failure; it was thought by some, improbable that the colonies would feel any interest in our fate. Butthe heart of an Englishman is ever susceptible of pity; and when wespoke of our wrongs they listened; and when we exposed the enormousdanger, they consulted their own safety, and came forward to our help. Let us look well to our position. We have to change the policy andcontend against the power of a mighty Empire. In the effervescence andexcitement of public speaking it was not at all surprising that a threatshould sometimes be uttered; but many years must elapse before an appealto physical force would bear even the semblance of reason. We have, thena mighty Empire to contend against--one which can laugh our threateningto scorn. And what are the weapons we must employ? What, but the weaponsof truth? We must diffuse right information; we must expose ourwrongs--and we must appeal to the justice of the British Nation. Letthe evils and injuries under which this fair domain of the Crown nowsuffers, be laid before the English people, and a cry will be heard fromLand's End to the opposite shore, "transportation shall cease because itdegrades the British name. " (Cheers. ) The injuries resulting fromtransportation to the colony are various. A gentleman, however eminenthis station and virtues, going to a distant part of the world mustcautiously suppress the fact, that he came from Van Diemen's Land, oreven this quarter of the globe. (Hear, hear. ) Yes, Sir, our sons, whohave quitted this colony in search of a home denied them in the land oftheir birth, have been compelled to conceal the place from which theycame, and to drop into the box, by stealth, those letters which were torelieve parental anxiety, and express their filial affection. And isthis to be for ever endured? Shall our own children never know thepleasure and pride of patriotism? Shall we not ask all the colonies ofthe Australian empire to aid us in our struggle? Shall we not confide inthe justice of Australasia? When it is said that England cannot support 4, 000 or 5, 000 offenders thequestion naturally occurs: What has she not done? Did not England forher Continental wars incur a debt of £800, 000, 000: did she not give£20, 000, 000 to free her West India slaves; did she not expend £7, 000, 000to combat the famine of Ireland? Is not the proposed expenditure for theNational Executive of the present year an evidence of her boundlessopulence? And yet to save a trifling outlay compared with the injusticenow done, the representative of Her Majesty is compelled to carry aboutunder his skirts a parcel of convictism; to deposit these tokens ofimperial interest he is driven to have recourse to artifice, trickeryand falsehood. (Hear, hear. ) As England glories in her past history, andhas found means to keep afloat that flag which has never been lowered;so she must find means to carry on a nobler struggle with her ownpoverty and crime. Hitherto, Van Diemen's Land has not been heard athome; but if by the united voices of the other colonies, a sort oftelegraphic communication can be opened with Britain, if a speakingtrumpet be formed, we shall be heard. When he (Mr. West) heard thatMinisters had departed from their promise that transportation shouldcease, he was astonished and desponding--he thought that if a promise sosolemnly given could be so recklessly broken, hope was delusion. But asin the moral, so it is in the political world. The Divine Beingfrequently ordains that good shall arise out of apparent evils; that atedious delay shall make the remedy more perfect. Had we been relievedwhen Ministers promised; then, transportation to the other colonieswould have been continued, and its evils accumulate there. (Hear, hear. )When it was proposed that all the colonies should receive a share ofconvicts, all things considered, he, (the speaker) for one could nothave then objected to Van Diemen's Land being joined in the co-partnery. Had such been the case a century might have elapsed before the reproachof convictism had been removed from this hemisphere. But the refusal ofthe other colonies occasioned by the injuries inflicted on this, hasroused us all into action, and now all declare that not a man, no, notone--in fetters shall be landed in Australia. (Tremendous cheering. ) If an unfortunate offender becomes as a penitent desirous of amendinghis life, and disposed to conform to the usages, and claims of honestsociety, he will find no man here spitefully to remind him of his formererrors. But if he is brought wearing the badge of disgrace we will nothave him. We will say to the British Government "Until you can withsafety discharge him into your community, he shall not enter ours. "(Loud Cheers. ) This is the righteous principle upon which we have takenour stand. Whilst we were disputing among ourselves who should bear theload, we were likely to be sacrificed by our ungenerous divisions. Butwe have now a new principle; and a principle is a wedge--if sufficientforce is applied, every obstacle will be riven into shivers. We now saythat no man should be an involuntary gaoler, much less shall theinhabitants of these colonies be the penal slaves and gaolers of theBritish Empire. (Cheers. ) We assert that a community should deal withits own crime, at least so deal with it that in its disposal it shallnot injure those who never offended--so at least that the honest andindustrious labourer should not be brought into unfavourable comparisonand competition with the hardened criminal, so that, at all events oursons shall not be driven from their homes to seek employment in distantlands--to meet there suspicion and contempt. These are the wrongs ofwhich we complain--wrongs which could never have been perpetrated but inoblivion of that first great Law, alike the basis of private and publicvirtue: "do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you. " TheRev. Gentleman resumed his seat amidst loud and prolonged cheering. W. P. WESTON, ESQ. --It was with mingled feelings that he rose to addressthat meeting; but when he ascertained that Mr. West was to accompanyhim, he lost all fear, and at once accepted the invitation. It had not been considered necessary to furnish them with writteninstructions how to act; it was left entirely to their own judgement;they had, as it were, a _carte blanche_; but he thought it advisable tomention one or two points towards which he and his colleague woulddirect public attention on the other side of the Straits. The first was, that transportation as hitherto conducted, was altogether and entirelyrotten. He anticipated no very great difficulty in establishing thatpoint. The next was, that no country had a right to force its crime upona distant and unoffending one; it was a moral wrong. He was much struckat a remark which appeared in the Public journals in Melbourne. It seemsto have been the custom of some persons to collect all the filth andrubbish from their persons and during the night to force it upon thepremises of their neighbours. Now, these persons were designedmiscreants, the paragraph commenced "the miscreants have been at workagain. " But he considered that the Government who would force a mass ofmoral filth upon a small and helpless colony were miscreants in the veryworst sense of the term. (Hear, hear. ) However severely the evils ofconvictism may have been felt in this community, they will be felt atMelbourne in a greater degree. Any evil may be counter-balanced andperhaps removed, if it can only be seen. The convicts come to this landunder restraint and are completely at the disposal of the Government, but after completing their education in a chain-gang, and filling up, asit were, the measure of their iniquity they go over there where they areunknown to the police and consequently their crimes escape detection. The very worst characters amongst us proceed to the neighbouringcolonies as soon as an opportunity offers. This fact accounts for theinsecurity of property at Melbourne. A short time ago he was there andnot more than two or three days after his arrival the linen which hadbeen put out for washing, was stolen. Shortly after whilst the familywere sitting at tea, information was given that the bedroom window wasopen and upon proceeding to ascertain the cause it was discovered thata thief had effected an entrance and carried off whatever he could layhis hands upon. A letter lately received mentions that six gentlemen's horses in onelocality had been robbed and that Melbourne was full of thieves. (Alaugh. ) No opportunity had previously offered of talking to theMelbourne people upon the subject, they were so occupied in endeavoursto obtain separation from Sydney that every question was lost sight of;but now the matter was settled he did not apprehend any difficultly inestablishing this point also. We are a loyal people, and have given abundant proof of our loyalty; butit is not an unalterable principle. There is an old Spanishproverb--"The sweetest wine makes the sourest vinegar, " and so it willbe with us. But the British Government must, and will yield, for they will find itwill be to their interest, as well as their duty to grant the reasonablerequest of the Australian Colonies. (Cheers. ) Three cheers were then given for the Chairman, and three more for theQueen, and the meeting terminated. THE LAND QUESTION The adjustment of the English land laws to Australian requirements was adifficult task. The question was discussed in New South Wales in 1855, but South Australia, under the leadership of Torrens, was the first toeffect reform (1859). LAND QUESTION IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA +Source. +--Speeches on the Reform of the Law of Real Property (Torrens, 1858), pp. 5-6, 8-11 Extract from an address to the Electors of the City of Adelaide delivered in the Theatre on 31st January, 1857. (From the South Australian Register of February 2nd, 1857). The next topic which I have put down to address you upon, is one withrespect to which I should have wished to have had time to arrange mythoughts--it is the cheapening of the law of Conveyancing of realproperty. (Applause. ) Next to affording fair facilities for obtainingpossession of the waste lands of the Crown, and converting them intocornfields and homesteads of independent yeomanry, it is the duty ofthe State to afford a cheap and at the same time a secure mode ofconveying that property from man to man. (Hear, hear. ) I have for yearsfelt that the law of England in that respect, which we brought with us, required amendment. In looking also to the laws of other countries withrespect to the transfer, mortgage, or encumbrance of real property, Ihave come to the conclusion that the law of England is inferior to mostof them with regard to cost and security of title. The old Conservativefeeling of England adheres with a sort of veneration to laws and usagesrespecting title which originated under the feudal system, and is loathto abandon them for a system adapted to the requirements of moderncivilization. I would illustrate my views by observing that, in ancienttimes, before the Wars of the Roses, a baron, or even a yeoman, wouldsurround his residence with a moat to be crossed only by a drawbridge, and instead of the convenient door of modern times, he would have aportcullis, which he would raise or let fall to admit a friend, orexclude a foe. A visitor, too, would have instead of gaining immediateaccess, to sound a horn at an outer gate, and hold parley with a warderupon a lofty tower, before he could gain admission. There could be nodoubt that all these ceremonies and parleyings were necessary in thosedays, but it does not follow that we should carry them out in our times. Were any person now, to surround his residence with a deep and broadditch, and observe those ceremonies when a visitor called upon him, wewould call him insane; yet, that is precisely what we do with regard tothe transfer of real estate, observing still the tortuous roundaboutmethods of conveying, resorted to in those days for the purpose ofevading the oppressions of feudalism. Nay, the analogy is so strong, that in our Law Courts, and Deeds we still use the same barbarous NormanFrench jargon in which the parley was in those ancient days held at thegate of the baronial residence. (Hear, and applause. ) It is perhapspresumptuous of a person who has not received a legal education, toaddress his mind to this question; seeing, however, that the personswho, by ability, and education, are best fit to cope with the subject, are not willing, or, at least have not done so, I have taken the taskupon myself. (Hear, hear). With your permission, I will give you anoutline of the plan. The purchaser of land from the Crown shall receivea title deed, a land grant, as at present to be executed in duplicate, and one copy filed in the Registrar-General's office. When an originalpurchaser sells the land to another, he shall transfer it by a simplememorandum, which being brought to the office of the Registrar-Generalthe original land grant must be surrendered, and then the Registrar willissue a new title to the second purchaser direct from the Crown. (Hear, hear. ) This will get over the difficulty of tracing title through allmanner of intricate transactions between purchasers, and instead of aman having to carry about an immense bale of papers, he would have onesimple document, which would, nevertheless, be a title valid andindisputable, because it would be an original land grant. (Greatapplause. ) Speech delivered on 4th June, 1857, in the Legislative Assembly by the Hon. The Treasurer, Mr. Torrens, on the introduction of his Bill for amending the law relating to the Transfer of Real Property. Mr. Speaker, I do not attempt to remedy the evils complained of, byamendment of the existing law; that I believe to be impossible: Ipropose to abolish a system irremediably wrong in principle, and tosubstitute a method which I believe will, when explained, commend itselfto the House as consistent with common sense, perfectly feasible, andeffectual for all purposes required. The first and leading principle of the measure which I introduce, isdesigned to cut off the very source of all costliness, insecurity, litigation, by abolishing altogether the system of retrospective titlesand ordaining that as often as the fee simple is transferred, theexisting title must be surrendered to the Crown, and a fresh grant fromthe Crown issued to the new proprietor. The principle next in importance prescribes that registration _per se_and alone shall give validity to transactions affecting land. Deposit ofduplicate of the instrument, together with the record of the transactionby memorandum entered in the book of registration and endorsed on thegrant by the Registrar-General, to constitute registration. This methodis designed to give confidence and security to purchasers andmortgagees, through the certainty that nothing affecting the title canhave existence beyond the transactions of which they have notice in thememoranda endorsed on the grant. My third principle aims at simplicity and economy by prescribing certainstereotyped forms of instruments available to each occasion to besupplied at the Registry Office, so that any man of ordinary sense andeducation may transact his own business, without the necessity ofapplying to a solicitor, except in complicated cases of settlements orentails, which are unusual in this colony. Many will admit that the system which I recommend might have beenintroduced at the first founding of this colony, with facility and verygreat advantage, but doubt its practicability now that titles havebecome complicated. Admitting a difficulty, I deny that it isinsurmountable, or such as should cause us to hesitate in securing theadvantage of transfer by registration. I do not propose a schemeinvolving violent or arbitrary interference with existing titles, butwould leave it optional with proprietors to avail themselves of it ornot. It will thus be gradual in its operation, yet will put titles insuch a train that the desired result will eventually be obtained. Mr. Speaker, I cannot conclude without expressing my grateful sense ofthe compliment which the House has paid me, in listening with suchmarked attention to an address extended to an unusual length upon asubject admitted to be dry and unexciting. I propose, it is true, a sweeping measure of reform, yet not morethorough than the nature of the case imperatively demands. In this view, I am again borne out by the high authority of Lord Brougham, who, in aspeech which I have before quoted, thus expresses himself: "The presentsystem has grown out of ingenious devices to evade the oppressions offeudal tyrants, but under it we are subject to the tyranny of the legalprofession, and burdens little less grievous. The reform, to beeffectual, must be thorough. _Delenda est Carthaga_ must be our motto. " THE LAND QUESTION IN NEW SOUTH WALES +Source. +--Fifty Years in the Making of Australian History (Sir HenryParkes, 1892), pp. 70-71, 81-90, 148, 153 On July 3, 1855, I, (Sir Henry Parkes) moved for the "appointment of aSelect Committee to enquire into the state of agriculture, with specialreference to the raising of wheaten grain, and to the causes ofhindrance or failure in that pursuit, whether arising from the habits ofthe people, the policy of the Government, or the physical character ofthe country. " To understand the interest that fairly attached to mymotion, we must review, or rather glance at, the state of the colony. The colony still included the whole of Queensland, and embraced an areaof 978, 315 square miles. Men of leading positions with seats in theLegislature, described it for the most part, as incapable of tillage, and only fit for grazing sheep and cattle, and for "nomadic tribes. " Apopulation not numbering more than 277, 579 souls imported largely itsbreadstuffs from South America and other foreign countries. It is nowwell known that in all divisions of the colony--north, south, orwest--there are as rich wheat lands as in any part of the world; butthen the mass of the population were densely ignorant of the truecharacter of the country, and those who knew better, were in too manyinstances personally interested in keeping them ignorant. The storiesthat were told of the fruitless endeavours of industrious men to obtainpatches of land for a freehold home under the Order-in-Council seem, tothe present generation, like cruel bits of romance. APPENDIX TO EVIDENCE OF MR. J. ROBERTSON (before Select Committee. ) On entering upon the subject under enquiry by the Committee, it is mypurpose to assume that the state of agriculture in general, and of wheatculture in particular in the colony, is exceedingly unsatisfactory, and, if not absolutely declining instead of progressing, is at least so withreference to population. The causes of hindrance or failure ofagriculture generally, and of the raising of wheat, in particular, Itake to be the first and greatest, that for many years the policy of theGovernment of the colony, whatever may have been its object, hasunquestionably tended not only to check the formation of new agricultureestablishments, but to depress existing ones. While the agriculturist has been absolutely excluded from leasing anyportion of the public land, and thwarted, harassed and dispirited atevery turn in his efforts to obtain the submittal of such lands to sale, and subjected to public competition at auction before suffered even thento purchase, the grazier has been allowed to use them under a system ofleases, affording him the greatest possible facility of possession, andat the lowest imaginable rental, namely, at the rate of 10_s. _ per annumfor 640 acres, with the right, in an overwhelming majority of cases, topurchase choice spots therefrom, without the slightest delay or troubleand at the lowest legal price, namely, 20_s. _ per acre, and absolutelywithout competition. Some of the difficulties above alluded to, as attending the purchase ofa farm from the Crown, by any other than the favoured pastoral class, may be stated thus: The person seeking to do so must first make hisselection--a matter not very easy of attainment, for persons holdingland in a neighbourhood, instead of helping with information, almostinvariably place every possible obstacle in the way of the newcomer. Theselection made, the next step to be taken is to apply by letter to theSurveyor-General to have it measured. Shortly thereafter, that officerwill reply and inform the writer that his application has been receivedand submitted to the District Surveyor for his report as to whether theland is fit for agriculture, etc. , etc. And that when it is received theSurveyor-General will communicate the result, intimating at the sametime that, should the District-Surveyor consider the land suitable foragriculture, and should there be no other difficulty, such as its beingheld under a squatting lease, or any of several others, it will besubmitted to sale by auction. The applicant may now expect to hear no more of the land for three orfour months, when, if all goes on favourably, he will be informed thatthe District-Surveyor, having reported satisfactorily, has received fromthe Surveyor-General instructions to measure it. Now another wearyingdelay of several months' duration will in all probability occur, beforethe expiration of which, if the applicant is not a person possessed ofconsiderable determination of character, he will abandon, in despair, all hope of ever becoming an Australian farmer, and help to swell one orother of our overgrown towns, by accepting employment there. If, however, he possess sufficient perseverance, he may visit theDistrict-Surveyor, and probably learn from him that the land cannot thenbe measured, because the district under that officer is so very large, that it would be highly inconvenient for him to move from one portion ofit to another to measure a single farm; that when several are appliedfor in the same vicinity, he will proceed there; in the meantime he hasseveral months' work where he is, or the District-Surveyor may, afterexpressing sympathy with the applicant's loss from delay, candidlyassure him that, in consequence of the great delay in receiving pay forhis public work, he is absolutely necessitated to accept privateemployment in order to obtain sufficient cash to keep himself and partyof four men on, until the Government make him his remittance, now threeor four months due. These and other preliminary difficulties the applicant must prepare toencounter; but even when all are surmounted and the land measured therewill be two or three months' delay--in all probability eighteen monthsor two years from the date of his first application--before it isoffered for sale. Then, at last, the applicant will obtain his land, ifhe be fortunate enough to escape the determined opposition of somewealthy person in the neighbourhood, or has money enough, anddetermination enough to purchase it, that opposition notwithstanding. If it is a fact that the agricultural interests of the country aresubjected to more climatic difficulties than are the pastoral interests, I take it that that circumstance cannot, properly, be brought forward asa reason why the agricultural interest should not, under our laws, havea fair field and no favour, as compared with the pastoral interest, inentering the market to borrow money in time of doubt and general want ofconfidence in monetary matters. If the agriculturist, in borrowing moneyto secure his crop, has to encounter a higher rate of interest than thegrazier has to encounter, in consequence of the risk of damage to hiscrops from an unfavourable season being greater than the same in thecase of the produce of the grazier, surely there is no reason why heshould be compelled to submit to a still greater increase of interest, to compensate the capitalist for the additional risk of the borrower'sinsolvency before the crops are realised, especially when the grazieris, through the aid of "The lien on Wool Act" exempted from paying forsuch risk. The effects of the policy of the Government, which I have described, maybe found, on the one hand, in the fact that the number of persons whohave been bred to agricultural pursuits, at present residing in thetowns of the colony, is, beyond example, excessive, showing our socialconditions in that regard to be in a most unsatisfactory state; and, onthe other hand, in the other fact, that the wholesale price of flour inthe colony is three times higher, per pound, than the wholesale price ofanimal food, of the very best description--a state of things not to befound in any other civilized country. I am aware that the deficiency of agriculture, which is so remarkablein this country, is attributed to the aridity of the climate by manygentlemen whose experience entitles their opinions to respect; but, as Ihave during the eighteen years last past annually cultivated and sownwith wheat a large quantity of land, in various parts of the UpperHunter District--a district generally considered to be unfavourable forthe purpose--and have, in that long period, only failed twice inobtaining crops, and have reaped two self-sown, which in a great measurecompensated for even their loss. I can come to no other conclusion thanthat, whatever may be the disadvantages of the climate they are notsufficient to cause such neglect of agriculture as has occurred. On the whole, I am confident that the difficulties placed in the way ofagriculture by the climate are as nothing compared with the overwhelmingobstacles furnished by the policy of the Legislature and Government ofthe Colony. Before concluding this communication, I cannot resist the opportunity itaffords to place on record my opinion, that even should all other meansfail of providing the country with an ample supply of agriculturalproduce, a remedy may be found by allowing any person to enter upon andoccupy 80 acres of waste land, without competition or delay, and pay forit at the upset price, four years thereafter; provided that he clearsand cultivates 10 acres the first year, and 10 additional acres in eachof the three succeeding years, and is at the end of the time residing onthe spot. JOHN ROBERTSON. Yarrundi, Aug. 6th, 1855. I also gave my general support to the Robertson Land Bill, which passedthrough a determined opposition, and became law eventually, after theviolent expedient of "swamping the Upper House, " which swamping, however, had no practical or immediate effect, as the old members, including the President, retired in a body when the new membersattempted to take their seats. By the Constitution, the first Councilwas appointed for five years only, and the term was near its expirationwhen this historical incident occurred. So nothing could be done withthe Bill, or anything else, until the next Council was appointed, whoseterm was for life. Sir John Robertson's Act did immense good. Its broad scope was toenable men to select land for themselves in blocks from 40 to 320 acres, at £1 per acre, without waiting for any surveyor or other Governmentofficial, but subject to the conditions of a deposit of 5_s. _ an acre, actual residence and improvements to the value of £1 per acre in value. The balance of the purchase-money was to remain for a time, not limitedby date, at 5% interest. It is no figure of speech to say that this lawunlocked the lands to the industrious settler, and notwithstanding theabuses which too widely grew up, it was the means of bringing intoexistence hundreds of comfortable homes in all parts of the colony wherethe name of its author is held in grateful remembrance. It will havebeen seen in a previous chapter what a network of difficultiessurrounded the man of small means who tried to obtain a rural home informer years; and perhaps the highest tribute to the memory of Sir JohnRobertson is that, after all the amendments which have been carried, thechief principles of his Act are still imbedded in the law of thecountry. QUEENSLAND +Source. +--Sessional Papers of the House of Lords, 1861, Vol. XI The Moreton Bay district was first colonised from Sydney as a penal settlement for doubly convicted criminals. But so soon as transportation to New South Wales ceased, remarkable progress was made in exploiting the vast natural resources of the colony of Queensland. COPY OF A DESPATCH FROM GOVERNOR SIR W. DENISON, K. C. B. , TO HIS GRACETHE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE. Government House, Sydney. _Dec. 5, 1859. _ (Received _Feb. 9, 1860. _) My Lord Duke, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Grace's Despatch, No. 11, dated 18th August last, enclosing copies of the warrantestablishing Queensland as a colony separate from New South Wales, andappointing Sir George Ferguson Bowen, K. C. M. G. , Governor of the same;also of the instructions issued to Sir George Bowen, and of theOrder-in-Council empowering him to make laws and to provide for theadministration of justice in the said colony. Sir George Bowen arrived here by the mail steamer on the 15th ult. ; heremained with me at Sydney, making arrangements for the establishment ofthe various departments of his Government, in which I gave him everyassistance in my power, and he sailed for Moreton Bay in Her Majesty'sship "Cordelia" on the 3rd instant. I enclose copies of the proclamation issued by me notifying theseparation of the two colonies. The Proclamation Sir George has takenwith him to Brisbane, and by its publication there the fact of itsseparation will be made known to the inhabitants of Queensland, whichwill from the date of that Proclamation, that is, 1st December, be inevery respect freed from the interference of the Government orLegislature of New South Wales. .. . I have, etc. , (Signed) W. Denison. His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, etc. , etc. , etc. COPY OF A DESPATCH FROM GOVERNOR SIR G. F. BOWEN TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OFNEWCASTLE. Government House, Brisbane, Queensland. _Jan. 6th, 1860. _ (Received _March 12, 1860. _) My Lord Duke, In my Despatch, No. 3, of the 28th November ultimo, I mentioned thatextensive districts within the colony of Queensland are well adapted forthe growth of the sugar cane among a variety of other produce. 2. Since I wrote the above Despatch, I have seen three specimens of thesugar cane, which have been grown near the town of Maryborough. Thesespecimens, which were finer than any that were shown me at Mauritius, were forwarded to Sir William Macarthur, a gentleman of large property, well-known ability, and great experience in scientific and agriculturalpursuits; and who was Commissioner for New South Wales at the ParisExhibition of 1855. I have received permission to transmit to your Gracethe following extract from a letter containing Sir William Macarthur'sopinion of the samples submitted to him:--"I yesterday made severaltrials of the juice of the sugar cane forwarded by Mr. Aldridge, ofMaryborough. "As I had to extract the juice by pounding the cane in a mortar, I onlyexperimented upon the largest and the smallest of the three forwarded. As they appear to have excited some attention, I may mention that theywere quite ripe, of a bright, yellowish-brown colour, with the jointsfrom two to five inches apart, the largest being about ten feet long, not quite eight inches in circumference, and weighing just eighteenpounds. About three feet of the upper end, however, was tooshort-jointed to yield abundantly, and hardly ripe. "The walls of this cane were exceedingly thick, giving it greatstiffness, and solidity to resist storms of wind. It proved to be hardlyso juicy as I expected. "I understood you to say that these canes had been produced in eight ornine months from being planted, and without any particular care. "Taking this for granted, there can be no question, I think, that withsufficient capital, and under efficient management, the cultivation ofthe cane for sugar ought to prove one of the most profitablearrangements which offer themselves in Australia, I mean at Maryborough, or other places equally well situated on the North-eastern coast. I havefor many years thought that sugar plantations to the northward ofMoreton Bay ought to be highly remunerative. The climate is favourable;there is no lack of good land, and unlike the Mauritius, we never hearof the ravages of hurricanes. " 3. The opinion of so high an authority as Sir William Macarthur coupledwith a number of facts within my knowledge, leave no doubt in my mindthat, when Capital and Labour shall have been introduced, thecultivation of sugar may be carried on in this colony, with at leastequal success as at Mauritius, and on a vastly more extensive scale thanin that island. 4. I beg to subjoin a short description of the district of Wide Bay, orMaryborough (referred to above) condensed from a recent publication by awriter of local knowledge and competent authority. The back country is extensive, its capabilities are so well known weneed not dwell upon them. The soil on the branches of the River Mary andits tributary creeks, and within easy approach to the same is excellentand in large quantities. Its producing capabilities may be illustratedby the following facts: In one piece of ground may be seen growing inperfection the sugar cane, cotton plant, grasscloth plant, arrowroot, tascan wheat, yams, sweet potatoes, cassava, custard apples, pineapples, banana, guava, and many other tropical productions; alongside ofwhich may be seen turnips, wheat, barley, mangel-wurzel, Englishpotatoes, artichokes (Jerusalem), broad beans, maize, etc. At the sameplace a crop of maize (which was estimated to yield from 80 to 100bushels to the acre) is in a forward state of ripening, and from thesame piece of ground, three crops of maize have been gathered within thetwelve months. Where is there another river in Australia withcapabilities for the growth of such varied productions, each perfect ofits kind, and such facilities for shipping, by vessels of the largesttonnage, the produce direct to any part of the world? Wheat has beenonly grown in small patches--each time, however, with success. Cottonwas here produced in the same way from a few plants, and pronounced bycompetent judges to be of the finest quality both in staple and texture. Equally favourable results have been obtained with the other productsnamed above. The particulars of climate I give from a resident of thetownship of Maryborough for a period of twelve years before the placewas surveyed, who declares his own health and the health of his wife andchildren to have been excellent, and better than he or they ever hadbefore, that he has never experienced a hot wind in the place and thatthe sudden changes of temperature as felt in Sydney are never felt inthis favoured locality: that the rain showers are regular and abundant, more so than in any other place he has been in, in this colony; hencethe extraordinary growth of vegetables, etc. Eight months in the year, not a finer climate can be found in the world, and the remaining foursummer months are not so oppressive in their effects as in the otherwarm countries, from the temperature being more uniform, and the purityof the atmosphere so great. The same gentleman declares that he has, upon his occasional visits, experienced the heat in Sydney much moreoppressive. Great natural capabilities exist in the township ofMaryborough for the formation of dams at a trifling expense, which wouldcollect large bodies of water. Minerals consisting of gold, copper, iron, and coal have been procured in several places in the district. Timber exists of cedar, cowrie, and hoop pine, a white hardwood known asfluidoza, gums, dye woods, and other most useful and valuable cabinetwoods, are to be found in great abundance. The dugong is found in largenumbers in Hervey's Bay, from which the famed oil is manufactured, alsothe pearl oyster. All these are sources from which wealth will be derived, and which willafford employment to a large population. As to the aborigines of thisdistrict it may be placed to their credit, that they are willing attimes to work, and even well. The steamer which trades to the placeevery fortnight always takes from Frazer's Island a number of them todischarge and load the vessel. They are also largely used in the townfor cutting wood, drawing water, bullock driving, horse riding, andbreaking up the ground in the gardens. The population and trade of the town of Maryborough are rapidlyincreasing. The source from which the business is at present entirelyderived is the pastoral or squatting interest, leaving all othervaluable and important interests to be yet developed, such asagriculture, mining, fisheries, and the timber trade. A largeagricultural population may be expected to settle themselves down on theriver. Maryborough has been recently proclaimed as one of the greattowns wherein District Courts are to be held. The exports are wool, tallow, etc. , with great power of expansion. 6. I beg to suggest that a copy of this Despatch, together with a copyof my Despatch of even date herewith, respecting the cultivation ofcotton in this colony, should be transmitted to the Royal GeographicalSociety. I have, etc. , (Signed) G. F. BOWEN. His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, etc. , etc. , etc. No. 10. COPY OF A DESPATCH FROM GOVERNOR SIR G. F. BOWEN TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OFNEWCASTLE Government House, Brisbane, Queensland, _April 7, 1860. _ (Received _June 18, 1860. _) (Answered, No. 22, _July 19, 1860_, p. 84. ) My Lord Duke, In continuation of my former Despatches No. 5 of the 19th and No. 8 ofthe 23rd Dec. , 1859, and No. 18 of the 4th February, ult. , I have thehonour to enclose copies of the Addresses presented to me at the threetowns of Warwick, Drayton, and Toowoomba, which I visited during anofficial tour of inspection, from which I have lately returned. 2. It will be satisfactory to the Queen and to Her Majesty's Government, to receive these further proofs of the affectionate loyalty of thepeople of this colony towards Her Majesty's throne and person and (Imay, perhaps, be permitted to add) of their confidence in thearrangement made, under Her Majesty's favour, for their Government. 3. My recent journey extended through those districts of Queensland, which have been longest settled and are mostly thickly inhabited. I waseverywhere received with cordial hospitality by the principal settlers, and with loyal enthusiasm by all classes of the community. The numerouscavalcades of hundreds of well-mounted horsemen, which came forth tomeet and escort the first representative of their Sovereign, presentedspectacles such as can be exhibited in only two countries in theworld--in England and in Australia. 4. As it was during your Grace's first administration of the ColonialDepartment that the wishes of the Australian Colonists were crowned bythe concession of responsible Government, I will take leave to draw yourattention to a paragraph in one of the enclosures, which explains asentiment generally entertained by this people. After stating that "the journey of his Excellency has been one continuedovation from beginning to end"; that "all classes have vied in doinghonour to the representative of the Queen"; and that "all littlesectarian differences, petty jealousies, and presumed rival interestshave been merged in the laudable wish to give our first Governor ahearty welcome"; the "Darling Downs Gazette" proceeds as follows: "Notthe least pleasing reflection that suggests itself when reviewing thesedemonstrations of general joy is the confirmation of the fact, now solong and in so many lands established, that those descended from the oldstock at home, to whom self-government has been a timely concession, nota charter wrung from the Mother country by the force of arms, stillrecognize and revere the grand old institutions, which have made Englandthe greatest power on earth. " 14. I have described in a former Despatch, that rich pastoral Districtof the tableland which is known as the "Darling Downs. " The droughtsand the epidemic diseases which are frequently fatal to sheep and cattlein other parts of Australia seem alike unknown in this favoured region. Many large fortunes have been amassed there during the last 15 years. 15. While the impression created on my mind by the journey across theDarling Downs was still fresh, I stated in my reply to the Draytonaddress, that it had "filled me with surprise and admiration". Evenbefore I left England I knew by report the rich natural resources andthe picturesque beauty of this district, the scenery of which vividlyrecalls to my mind the classic plains of Thessaly. But I confess that Iwas not fully prepared for so wonderfully rapid an advance in all thatcan promote and adorn civilization, an advance which has taken placeduring the fourth part of an average lifetime. Not only have I seen vastherds of horses and cattle, and countless flocks of sheep overspreadingthe valleys and forests, which, within the memory of persons who haveyet scarcely attained to the age of manhood, were tenanted only by wildanimals, and by a few wandering tribes of savages; not only have Itravelled over roads beyond all comparison superior to the means ofcommunication which existed less than a century ago in many parts of theUnited Kingdom; not only have I beheld flourishing towns arising inspots where hardly 20 years back the foot of a white man had never yettrodden the primeval wilderness; not only have I admired these and otherproofs of material progress, but I have also found in the houses of thelong chain of settlers who have entertained me with such cordialhospitality, all the comforts, and most of the luxuries and refinementsof the houses of country gentlemen in England. The wonderful advance ofthis portion of the colony during the last 10 years, is due to no suddenand fortuitous discovery of the precious metals; it is derived whollyfrom the blessing of Providence on the skill and energy of itsinhabitants, in subduing and replenishing the earth. Assuredly, I haveobserved during the past week very remarkable illustrations of theproverbial genius of the Anglo-Saxon race for the noble and trulyimperial art of colonization. I have, etc. , (Signed) G. F. BOWEN. His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, etc. , etc. , etc. PAYMENT OF MEMBERS CRISIS +Source. +--Victorian Sessional Papers, 1877-8 Thirty Years of ColonialGovernment (Bowen), Vol. II, pp. 80-83, 114-119 Owing to the lack of the political traditions of the English Parliament friction was bound to rise between the Houses of the colonial Legislatures. A bill to provide temporarily for the payment of members had been passed several times by the Victorian Parliament, but the Council was opposed to making a permanent provision for the purpose. In 1877 Sir Graham Berry tacked the measure to the annual appropriation bill, which was consequently rejected by the Council. Memorandum to His Excellency the Governor. The Premier on behalf of himself and his colleagues, respectfullyadvises the Governor to sign the message required by the 25th Clause ofthe Constitution Act transmitting for the consideration of theLegislative Assembly the accompanying additional estimates for theservice of the year 1877-8. His Excellency will observe that it has been thought right by hisResponsible Advisers to include in these Additional Estimates provisionfor reimbursing members of the Legislative Council and the LegislativeAssembly their expenses in relation to their attendance in Parliament atthe rate of £300 per annum each, from and after the present session ofParliament. (Signed) Graham Berry, Treasurer. 21st Nov. 1877. The Governor acknowledges the receipt of the Memorandum submitted to himby the Hon. The Premier on this day. The Governor has in conformity with the advice of his ResponsibleMinisters signed the message submitted to him by them, transmitting forthe consideration of the Legislative Assembly additional or furtherestimates for the service of the year 1877-8. (Signed) G. F. Bowen. Government Offices, Melbourne. _21st November 1877. _ _January 12, 1878. _ Address from the Legislative Council to His Excellencythe Governor. TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR GEORGE FERGUSON BOWEN, KNIGHT GRAND CROSS OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHEDORDER OF ST. MICHAEL AND ST. GEORGE, and Commander-in-Chiefin and over the Colony of Victoria and its Dependencies and Vice-Admiralof the same, etc. May it please your Excellency, We her Most Gracious Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, themembers of the Legislative Council of Victoria, in Parliament assembledbeg leave to approach Your Excellency with renewed assurances ofunabated loyalty to Her Majesty's Throne and Person. We desire to draw Your Excellency's attention to the answer given by theHon. The Post-Master General during the sitting of the Council on the1st instant to the question put by one of our members, viz. :--Whether itis the intention of the Ministry to afford this House the opportunity ofconsidering the propriety of renewing or discontinuing the payment ofmembers of Parliament by submitting the measure by Bill as heretofore. The answer was as follows:--In reply to the Hon. Member the Cabinetdesire me to state that it is unusual and inexpedient to state theintention of the Government otherwise than by the due presentation ofbusiness to Parliament; but in this instance there is an additionalserious objection to the question of the hon. Member. It deals with theappropriation of revenue which is the exclusive privilege of theLegislative Assembly, and it is highly undesirable that the LegislativeCouncil should interfere even by a question with appropriation, theinitiation of which is by message from the Crown, on the advice of theresponsible Ministers and is further controlled by the exclusiveprivileges of the Assembly. This being the opinion of Your Excellency's advisers, were we tocontinue silent it might with some show of reason be inferred that wewere satisfied with the answer of the Government, and would accept theirdictum as representing the true position of the matter as between thetwo Chambers. We have thought it incumbent upon us to lay before Your Excellency thefollowing circumstances connected with the question of payment ofmembers:--In the session of 1860-1, a separate Bill for payment ofmembers was introduced into the Assembly, but was lost in the Council. In the session 1861, Sir Henry Barkly, who was then Governor, was warnedby the Legislative Council of the inevitable consequences of a sum beingincluded in the annual Estimates of Expenditure for the compensation ofmembers of Parliament, and the objectionable item was not included inthe Estimates for the year when laid before the Assembly that session. On five subsequent occasions separate Bills for the same object havebeen sent up from the Legislative Assembly, three of which wererejected, and the two last were passed by the Legislative Council, buton both these occasions the principal supporters of the Bills distinctlystated that their votes were given on the understanding that themeasures were to be tentative only, and limited in their duration. The question at the present time is in exactly the same position as itwas when originated in 1861, and is still in the region of experimentallegislation. It is not a mere question of the appropriation of thepublic revenue, but of public policy upon which an uniform usage hasbeen adopted in the colony, with the concurrence of both Houses, withthe marked co-operation of Her Majesty's Representative in 1861. The usage, moreover, is in strict conformity with the Royal Instructionswhich direct that "in the passing of all laws each different matter mustbe provided for by a different law without intermixing such things ashave no proper relation to each other, and that no clause or clauses beinserted in, or annexed to any Act which shall be foreign to what thetitle of that Act imports. " We desire to inform Your Excellency that we claim the right to exercisethe same free and deliberate vote on any Bill which may be submitted tous for providing compensation to members of Parliament as we haveexercised on all previous occasions and we submit that the inclusion ofa sum for that purpose in the Annual Appropriation Bill might make suchprocedure the instrument of enabling one branch of the Legislature tocoerce the other. GOVERNOR SIR G. F. BOWEN, G. C. M. G. , TO THE EARL OF CARNARVON, RECEIVED23RD JAN. 1878. Telegraphic. _23rd Jan. 1878. _ In consequence of the rejection of the annual Appropriation Bill by theLegislative Council, ministers have made large temporary reductions inthe public expenditure to economise funds for Police Gaols, andprotection of life and property to the latest possible moment, and thatis about until next May. A number of civil servants and minor officersof the judicial department have necessarily been dispensed withtemporarily, but sufficient provision has been made for theadministration of Justice and maintenance of law and order. TheGovernment will do nothing contrary to law or Imperial interests. Full Reports by Mail. TELEGRAMS FROM MELBOURNE Melb. _14th Jan. _ Appropriation Bill was rejected by Legislative Council consequent uponclause for payment of members being inserted. Government in Councildismissed at a moment's notice all County Court Judges, PoliceMagistrates, Wardens, Coroners, many Heads of Departments. Furthersweeping changes announced. Great Alarm and Indignation. Tradedisorganised. _25th Jan. _ No political change. Many more dismissals. _30th Jan. _ Eminent Counsel declare Acts of Sir George Bowen in closing Courtsillegal. The country alarmed. Secretary of State urged to await lettersby mail and not act on exparte statements. To the Right Hon. Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Bart, M. P. Government House, Melb. _April 12th, 1878. _ Sir, On the 29th ultimo I forwarded to you a telegram announcing the happytermination, through a fair compromise honourable to both sides, of theprotracted crisis and "deadlock" between the two Houses of Parliament, which had caused so much excitement and agitation, and so muchsuffering and loss in this community, and which was straining theconstitution of this Colony to a degree which it could not have enduredfor long. Ever since December constant efforts have been made to induce theconflicting Houses to agree to an honourable compromise of theirdifferences. Personally I omitted no proper opportunity of recommendingmutual forbearance and mutual concessions. It was proposed on behalf ofthe Ministry and the Assembly that the Council should agree to pass theseparate Bill sent up to them in December, and that the assembly shouldsimultaneously, or as nearly so as might be, appoint a Committee tosearch for the Appropriation Bill which had been "laid aside" and shouldthen reenact that Bill without the item objected to by the Upper House. The Ministers, a strong minority of the Councillors, the Assembly, andthe general public--all united in pressing the Council to accept thisarrangement, but there were many disappointing delays and failures inthe negotiations. Finally, however, all difficulties were overcome, and both the separateBill continuing the reimbursement of the expense of members and theannual Appropriation Act have become law. General satisfaction has been felt and everywhere expressed at thistermination of the late dangerous and disastrous parliamentary"deadlock, " and the political and social animosities caused by it arealready fast subsiding. The country is tranquil and generallyprosperous. Before the commencement of the political crisis there hadbeen a partial depression in trade and depreciation in the value ofcertain kinds of property, in consequence of a long drought succeeded byvery heavy floods, and from other temporary causes. These evils had beenaggravated by the sense of uncertainty rather than of insecurityproduced by the fierce and protracted political and social agitation andantagonism of the last four months. But a young and strong communitylike that of Victoria, full of life and energy, and of that general goodhumour which flows from the habitual prosperity of all classes, rapidlyrecovers from depression and discontent, however caused. It has been very satisfactory to me to receive the assurances thatthroughout the late financial deadlock, no public money has beenexpended except in due form of law, and in strict accordance withparliamentary usage. Those public works which had been legally providedfor by Railway and Loan Acts, or otherwise, have been carried onwithout interruption; while by dint of strict economy and of the largeretrenchments in the civil service effected by the Ministry, theadministration of justice and of the several departments of theGovernment has proceeded regularly and without intermission. In a speech delivered in last October before the actual beginning of therecent crisis, but in anticipation of its near approach, I recommendedthe members of both Houses of Parliament and of both political partiesto lay to heart the subjoined passage in one of Mr. J. S. Mill's works: "One of the most indispensable requisites in the practical conduct ofpolitics, especially in the management of free institutions, isconciliation, a readiness to compromise, a willingness to concedesomething to opponents, and to shape good measures so as to be as littleoffensive as possible to persons of opposite views, and of this salutaryhabit the mutual 'give and take' (as it has been called) between twoHouses is a perpetual school; useful as such even now, and its utilitywould probably be more felt in a more democratic constitution of theLegislature. " Nor have I ever ceased to urge the adoption of suchprinciples as those laid down by Mr. Merivale when he wrote "Moderationin success, self-denial in the exercise of power, habitual considerationfor the opinions and feelings of others, readiness to compromisedifferences, love of justice and fair play, reluctance to pushprinciples to extremes, the moral courage which will dare to stand upagainst a majority, the habit of constantly, and, as it wereinstinctively postponing self to the public interest, and this whetherarising from moral choice or from the constraint imposed by publicopinion; these are the balancing qualities which prevent the misuse ofpolitical freedom. " With regard to the opinions which I have formed concerning the properposition and mutual relations of the two Houses of the VictorianParliament, it will be remembered that my opinions are identical withthose placed on record on that subject by the late Lord Canterbury, myable and experienced predecessor in my present office. It will also berecollected that I have steadily followed, during the crisis of 1877-8, the precedents made, and the constitutional course pursued by LordCanterbury during the previous crisis of 1867-8. In acknowledging LordCanterbury's despatch of 18th July, 1868, reporting the termination ofthe crisis of 1867-8, the then Secretary of State for the Colonies (theDuke of Buckingham) wrote as follows: "I have to express my approval of your firm adherence to yourconstitutional position through these trying discussions; and I learnwith satisfaction the cessation of a state of affairs which has beenproductive of so much inconvenience in the Colony. " Having pursued exactly the same course and acted on exactly the sameprinciples with my predecessor, I am confident that I shall receivesimilar personal support. Moreover, I submit that it is of supremeimportance, on public grounds, that the people of the AustralasianColonies should know that the actions and conduct of successiveGovernors are not prompted by the personal views or idiosyncrasies ofindividuals, but that they are guided by a consistent and uniformpolicy, sanctioned by the authority of the Imperial Government. NEW GUINEA +Source. +--New Guinea. By Charles Lyne (special representative of the"Sydney Morning Herald"), pp. 1-28 In 1882, the Queensland Government took alarm at certain rumours of the intention of Germany to annex New Guinea, but for a time the British Government refused to move. When the establishment of a protectorate was authorized, only the southeastern portion of the island was available, Germany having, in the meantime, annexed the northern part and the group of Islands known as New Britain. Commodore Erskine in H. M. S. _Nelson_ arrived at Port Moresby on Sunday, the 2nd of November, 1884, and the Union Jack now flies from theflagstaff at the mission station, the Proclamation of a BritishProtectorate having been made with much ceremony on Thursday Nov. 6. On the Wednesday afternoon, the chiefs and a number of other nativeswere brought on board the H. M. S. _Nelson_, and a grand assembly tookplace, with a feast for the chiefs and an address from the Commodore, apresentation of gifts attractive to the native eye, and the firing ofsome of the ships' guns. The flags of various nations were hung over thequarter-deck in the form of an awning, and the officers wore frock-coatsand swords. Most of the chiefs were destitute of clothing, the mop-likehair and foreheads of some of them being bound round with bands ofsmall shells and the hair ornamented with tufts of feathers. Two orthree wore old shirts, and one, Boe Vagi, the chief of the Port Moresbynatives, who was appointed by the Commodore to be the head chief of theMotu tribe, was dressed in a shirt, with a handkerchief round his loins, a red felt hat on his head, and some green leaves through the lobe ofhis left ear. Evidently he had been attired specially for the occasion, as his usual dress is as scanty as that of his fellows. There were inall about fifty of the chiefs, most of them being representatives of theMotu tribe; and after having been permitted to look round the ship, theywere directed by the missionaries, Messrs. Lawes and Chalmers, to seatthemselves upon the deck. Then a great tub of boiled rice, sweetenedwith brown sugar, was brought on deck, and basins of this mixture werehanded round to the chiefs who received them, and devoured the rice withevident satisfaction. Ships' biscuits were also served out, and thescene presented by the feasting savages, and by the grouping of the_Nelson's_ officers and the parading of the bluejackets on the oppositeside of the deck--so that a photograph might be taken of the wholeassembly--was exceedingly interesting and picturesque. When the feasting was over, Commodore Erskine came upon deck, and thechief, Boe Vagi, having been invited by Mr. Lawes to come forward, theCommodore addressed him, and his fellow chiefs, and said: "I have asked you to come on board to-day in order that I may explain toyou about the ceremony which will take place to-morrow on shore. I havebeen sent to this place to notify and proclaim that Her Majesty theQueen has established a Protectorate over the southern shores of NewGuinea, and in token of that event I am directed to hoist the Britishflag at Port Moresby, and at other places along the coast and islands. To-morrow, then, I intend to hoist the English flag here, and to read aProclamation which will be duly translated to you. I desire, on behalfof Her Majesty the Queen, to explain to you the meaning of theceremonial which you are about to witness. It is a proclamation thatfrom this time forth you are placed under the protection of HerMajesty's Government; that evil-disposed men will not be able to occupyyour country, to seize your lands, or to take you away from your ownhomes. I have been instructed to say to you that what you have seendone here to-day on board Her Majesty's ship of war, and which will bedone again to-morrow on shore, is to give you the strongest assurance ofHer Majesty's gracious protection of you, and to warn bad andevil-disposed men that if they attempt to do you harm, they will bepromptly punished by the officers of the Queen. Your lands will besecured to you; your wives and children will be protected. Should anyinjury be done to you, you will immediately inform Her Majesty'sofficers, who will reside amongst you, and they will hear yourcomplaints, and do you justice. You will look upon all white personswhom the Queen permits to reside amongst you as your friends, and HerMajesty's subjects. The Queen will permit nobody to reside here who doesyou injury. You will under no circumstances inflict punishment upon anywhite person; but if such person has done you wrong you will tell HerMajesty's officers of that wrong in order that the case may be fairlyinquired into. You must know that it is for your security, and toprevent bloodshed, that the Queen sends me here to you, and will sendher officers to live amongst you. And now I hope that you clearlyunderstand that we are here amongst you as your friends. You will allkeep peace amongst yourselves, and if you have disputes with each other, you will bring them before the Queen's officers who will settle them foryou without bloodshed. Should bad men come amongst you, bringingfirearms and gunpowder, and intoxicating liquors, you are not to buythem, and are to give notice at once to the Queen's officers, so thatsuch men may be punished. Always keep in your minds that the Queenguards and watches over you, looks upon you as her children, and willnot allow anyone to harm you, and will soon send her trusted officers tocarry out her gracious intentions in the establishment of thisProtectorate. " At the Commodore's request Mr. Lawes read a translation of this addressin the Motu language, the chiefs listening attentively: then calling thechief, Boe Vagi, forward, Commodore Erskine shook hands with him, andintroduced him to Mr. Romilly; and the Commodore's intimation of theappointment of a High Commissioner for New Guinea and his explanation ofMr. Romilly's position, were interpreted to the chiefs by Mr. Lawes. This was followed by the appointment of Boe Vagi as head chief of theMotu tribe. To make his appointment more distinct, he was presentedwith an emblem of authority in the form of an ebony stick with a florinlet in at the top, the Queen's head being uppermost, and encircled by aband of silver. Handing to Boe Vagi this stick, the Commodore said: "Ipresent him with this stick, which is to be an emblem to him of hisauthority; and all the tribes who are represented by the chiefs here areto look to the holder of this stick, Boe Vagi. This stick represents theQueen's head, the Queen of England; and if at any time any of the peopleof these tribes have any grievance or anything to say, they are, throughthis man, the holder of this stick, Boe Vagi, to make it known to theQueen's officers, in order that it may be inquired into. This stick isto be the symbol of his authority, and all the tribes are to havecommunication through him with the Queen's officer. " Directed then to descend to the main deck the chiefs walked one afteranother into the Commodore's cabin, where each received a presentconsisting of a tomahawk, a butcher's knife, a coloured shirt, or apiece of coloured cloth, and some figs of twist tobacco. It was acurious sight to see these chiefs, some of them very old men, but othersyoung, erect and muscular, filing in at one door, and after shakinghands with the Commodore and receiving a present, leaving by the other;and it was very amusing to notice how startled some of them were atsuddenly discovering themselves in a large pier-glass, which they had topass before leaving the cabin. The Commodore did not fail to point outthrough Mr. Lawes to the chief who had burnt the village of another, that for the future he would not be allowed to commit such an act, andmust through the Queen's officers seek redress for any grievance hemight have; and the man was evidently impressed by what was said to him. At half-past six next morning the landing of officers and men of thesquadron for the purpose of publicly proclaiming the establishment ofthe Protectorate, and hoisting the British flag, commenced. The generalorder issued by the Commodore directed that the dress for officersshould be cocked hat, undress coat, and epaulettes; the dress for seamenwhite frocks and hats, and that for marines white tunics and helmets. There was, consequently, a very attractive display of uniforms, andaltogether it was an exceedingly interesting spectacle. The early hourappointed for the landing permitted of the ceremony being performed ata time when the heat, which was intense while the _Nelson_ was on thecoast, was not likely to be very trying to the men. The water of theharbour lay placid as a lake, with the ships of war far out from theshore, and here and there native canoes moving slowly along or restingidly on the surface; and the hills and valleys were green and shadedfrom the sun, and wore that refreshing appearance which is notable whenthe trees and the grass have been bathed in dew, and when the sun's raysare strong enough only to make the dewdrops sparkle, and to deepen theshadows in the recesses where the sunlight has not yet penetrated. The boats conveying the officers and men to the shore, each flying thewhite ensign, imparted life and colour to the scene upon the water, andnothing could be more picturesque and beautiful than the view on shore, where the houses of the native villages bordering the beach, with theirbrown occupants gazing in amazement on what was taking place beforethem, were shaded by a grove of cocoanut palms, the refreshing darkgreen fronds being rivalled only by the lighter green of the plantationsof the banana trees on the sides of the hills, which, rising high abovethe village, were, notwithstanding the evidence of cultivation by thenatives, and the existence of the little mission settlement, dressed inalmost all their native loveliness, and robed in delicately-tintedmorning mists. Inside the enclosed ground stood the mission house, and on a spotcommanding a view of almost the entire harbour was the flagstaff whichwas now to display the flag hoisted with the authority of the Queen byCommodore Erskine; and it was around this flagstaff that the troops weredrawn up in a hollow square, the men facing inwards, with the officersto the front, and the Commodore and his suite standing with themissionaries and Mr. Chester on the verandah of the mission house. Thenative chiefs who had been on board the _Nelson_ were seated in apicturesque group on the ground immediately in front of the Commodore;and other natives and a few white spectators stood in a crowd at therear of the blue-jackets. The only representative of English womenpresent was Mrs. Lawes, wife of the Rev. W. G. Lawes, who wasaccommodated with a chair, and sat near the Commodore and the officerson either side of him. Immediately the blue-jackets had landed they were marched up the hillto the mission compound, but the marines remained upon the beach untilthe Commodore landed, when they presented arms, and afterwards, withbayonets fixed, marched with the band to join the bluejackets in frontof the mission house. On the Commodore appearing before the troops they presented arms, and hethen read the following proclamation: "PROCLAMATION. "Proclamation on behalf of her Most Gracious Majesty Victoria, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India, establishing a Protectorate of Her Most Gracious Majesty over a portion of New Guinea, and the Islands adjacent thereto. "To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting: "Whereas it has become essential, for the protection of the lives andproperties of the native inhabitants of New Guinea, and for the purposeof preventing the occupation of portions of that country by personswhose proceedings unsanctioned by any lawful authority might tend toinjustice, strife and bloodshed, and who, under the pretence oflegitimate trade and intercourse, might endanger the liberties, andpossess themselves of the lands of such native inhabitants, that aBritish Protectorate should be established over a certain portion ofsuch country and the islands adjacent thereto. "And whereas Her Majesty, having taken into her gracious considerationthe urgent necessity of her protection to such inhabitants has directedme to proclaim such protection in a formal manner at this place: Now, I, James Elphinstone Erskine, Captain in the Royal Navy, and Commodore ofthe Australian Station, one of Her Majesty's naval aides-de-camp, dohereby, in the name of Her Most Gracious Majesty, declare and proclaimthe establishment of such Protectorate over such portions of the coastand the adjacent islands as is more particularly described in theschedule hereunto annexed. "And I hereby proclaim and declare that no acquisition of landwhensoever or howsoever acquired, within the limits of the Protectoratehereby established, will be recognized by Her Majesty; And I do hereby, on behalf of Her Majesty, command and enjoin all persons whom it mayconcern to take notice of this Proclamation. " "SCHEDULE. "All that portion of the southern shores of New Guinea commencing fromthe boundary of that portion of the country claimed by the Government ofthe Netherlands on the 141st meridian of east longitude to East Cape, with all islands adjacent thereto south of East Cape to Kosman Islandinclusive, together with the islands in the Goschen Straits. "Given on board Her Majesty's ship _Nelson_, at the harbour of PortMoresby, on the 6th day of November 1884. "(Signed) JAMES ELPHINSTONE ERSKINE. "Commodore. "God Save the Queen. " This was interpreted to the natives by the Rev. W. G. Lawes, who, at therequest of Commodore Erskine, had translated it into the Motu language, and then, by direction of the Commodore, the Union Jack was slowlyraised to the truck of the flagstaff. All this not a little astonished the natives, though some of those whosehomes were at Port Moresby had witnessed the firing of a _feu-de-joie_before; but though the firing startled some of them it had, with thegeneral display, the effect of impressing them all with some sense ofthe solemn importance of the ceremony that was being performed. Thefiring party were then ordered to shoulder arms, and the Commodore, addressing all present at the ceremony but the natives, said: "Officers and men, Mr. Romilly and Gentlemen, This interesting andimportant ceremony now formally concluded, it only remains for me, inHer Majesty's name to express the fervent hope that under the blessingof Almighty God the establishment of this Protectorate may conduce tothe peace, happiness and welfare of the people of this vast territory. May the British flag which we have this day planted on these shores beto the people of this portion of New Guinea the symbol of their freedomand their liberty, and the Proclamation which I have just read, thecharter of their rights and privileges. May it be to them a Protectoratein deed, as well as in name, protecting them alike from the encroachmentof foreigners and the aggressive or unlawful actions of any othernationality; may the blessings of civilization and Christianity, theseeds of which have been already sown by English hands in the persons ofthe brave and good men present on this occasion, increase and multiplyexceedingly amongst them; and lastly, as the Union Jack which has onseveral former occasions been hoisted on the shores of New Guinea andthe adjacent islands is on this day for the first time displayed andhoisted on New Guinea under the authority and by the command of her MostGracious Majesty Queen Victoria, I most fervently pray that theestablishment of a British Protectorate on these shores may tend toinsure the integrity and inviolability of the great Australian Colonies, and promote the best interests of their people; and I trust that thisimportant step may be attended with the happiest results, and redound tothe honour of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, for whom I now inviteyou to give three hearty cheers. " The call was right loyally responded to, and with Captain Bridgeleading, three British cheers rang out and echoed among the hills; andthen, with a royal salute, the troops once more presenting arms, theceremony was brought to a close. THE NATIONAL AUSTRALASIAN CONVENTION 1891 +Source. +--National Australasian Convention Debates, pp. 3-5, 23-28, 322 After self-government had been granted to the Australian colonies, the need for united action in certain matters became apparent. Under the leadership of Sir Henry Parkes a strong movement for federation was organized. His labour bore fruit in the meeting of the National Australasian Convention in 1891. At this assembly were passed the resolutions which form the foundation of the Federation Act. _March 3rd. _ Mr. Munro rose to move: That, the Honourable Sir Henry Parkes, G. C. M. G. , Premier of New SouthWales, do take the chair as President of this National AustralasianConvention. He said: I think this is a fitting honour to confer upon the author ofthe movement on the part of these Australian colonies, which resulted inthe Conference held in Melbourne last year. The hon. Gentleman hastaken a deep interest in the subject of federation for a great number ofyears, and we, moreover, meet in the colony of which he has the honourto be Premier. I have no doubt that in the position of president he willaid us with his council and advice, and that his occupancy of the chairwill reflect credit upon our proceedings. Mr. Dibbs: We look to Sir Henry Parkes as, to some extent, the architectof the structure we are about to build, and we, like the other gentlemenpresent, look to our Premier for advice and explanation, and hope thathe will in due time place before us such a programme as will enable usto proceed with the great work before us; I can assure the honourablegentleman that we appreciate the compliment paid to the Colony throughour Premier, and personally I have great pleasure in supporting theproposition which has been made. Question resolved in the affirmative. The President elect, being conducted to the chair by the Hon. JamesMunro, and the Hon. Sir Samuel Griffith, said: Mr. Munro, Sir Samuel Griffith, and honourable gentlemen, I could not, under any circumstances, do other than yield to your unanimous choice. Iam very conscious indeed of my disqualifications for the office ofPresident. It is hardly in my nature to observe that studied decorumwhich is so shining a quality in the Chair. I have not been fitted forthat situation in life. I therefore feel how great the honour is to beplaced in that position on this great occasion and by this great body. Ishall trust to that generous unanimity which has prevailed in carryingthis motion to support me in discharging duties in the Chair, dutieswhich may become onerous; and I am quite sure I shall not trust in vain. It becomes my duty to give this assurance, that so far as I know myself, I will command myself to do the duties of this Chair so that there shallbe no cause of complaint. I will try to conduct the business as tooffend none, and, if possible, secure the good opinion which appears tohave been formed to-day. I thank the honourable gentlemen for the greatdistinction you have conferred upon me, and I trust none of you will seecause to regret the vote you have given. _March 4th. _ Sir Henry Parkes: I have the honor to move, That in order to establish and secure an enduring foundation for thestructure of a federal government, the principles embodied in thefollowing resolutions be agreed to:-- 1. That the powers and privileges and territorial rights of the severalexisting colonies shall remain intact, except in respect to suchsurrenders as may be agreed upon as necessary, and incidental to thepower and authority of the National Federal Government. 2. That the trade and intercourse between the federated colonies whetherby means of land carriage or coastal navigation shall be absolutelyfree. 3. That the power and authority to impose customs duties shall beexclusively lodged in the Federal Government and Parliament, subject tosuch disposal of the revenues thence derived as shall be agreed upon. 4. That the military and naval defence of Australia shall be intrustedto Federal forces under one command. I submit these resolutions as a groundwork on which a debate may beraised on the whole question with which we have to deal. They certainlygive a fair expression of the outline of the constitution which we want, as it exists in my own mind, and to that extent I at once acknowledgethe paternity of the motion I make. I venture to appeal to every colony, and to every delegate representing every colony, to meet the work onwhich we are about to begin, in a broad federal spirit. We cannot hopefor any just conclusion--we cannot hope reasonably for any amount ofvalid success--unless we lose sight to a large extent of the localinterests which we represent at the same time that we represent thegreat cause. There can be no federation if we should happen, any of us, to insistupon conditions which stand in the way of federation; there can be nocomplete union of these governments, of these communities, of theseseparate colonies, unless we can so far clear the way as to approach thegreat question of creating a federal power as if the boundaries nowexisting had no existence whatever. I cannot too fervently impress uponmy co-representatives from all parts of Australia the necessity ofkeeping in view the one object of the better government of Australia, the whole Australian people. By my second condition I seek to define what seems to me an absolutelynecessary condition of anything like perfect federation, that is, thatAustralia, as Australia, shall be free--free on the borders, freeeverywhere, in its trade and intercourse between its own people; andthat there shall be no impediment of any kind--that there shall be nobarrier of any kind between one section of the Australian people andanother; but, that the trade and general communication of these peopleshall flow on from one end of the continent to the other, with no one tostay its progress or to call it to account; in other words, if this iscarried, it must necessarily take with it the shifting of the power oflegislation on all fiscal questions from the local or provincialparliaments, to the great National Parliament sought to be created. Nowour country is fashioned by nature in a remarkable manner--in a mannerwhich distinguishes it from all other countries in the world forunification for family life--if I may use that term in a national sense. We are separated from the rest of the world by many leagues of sea--fromall the old countries of the world and from the greatest of the newcountries; but we are separated from all countries by a wide expanse ofsea, which leaves us with an immense territory, a fruitful territory, aterritory capable of sustaining its countless millions--leaves uscompact within ourselves; so that if a perfectly free people can ariseanywhere, it surely may arise in this favoured land of Australia. Whatever our views may be on other points, I think we shall all beagreed upon this; that for the defence of Australia to be economical, tobe efficient, to be equal to any emergency that may arise at any time, it must be of a federal character, and must be under one command. I donot mean that the naval and land forces shall be under onecommander-in-chief, but that they should be under one kindredcommand--that the naval officer in command equally with the militaryofficer shall be a federal officer, and amenable to the nationalgovernment of Australia. As to the wisdom of the great step we have now taken, for so manyeminent men from different parts of Australia meeting in this Chamber asdelegates from their colonies is in itself a great step--as to thewisdom of that step we have the warning of every country in the worldwhich has used government by a confederation. Here we find a people I suppose about 4, 000, 000 strong. They haveafforded in the great cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbaneand Hobart abundant proof of their power of founding an empire. Gobeyond the cities; they have accomplished under responsible governmentwhat appear to me, and what must appear to any stranger who knew thecountry thirty-five years ago, marvels in the way of internalimprovements. Not only the railways, but the telegraphs, and everythingthat conduces to the best ends of a civilized community, has beenachieved by this scattered people in a marvellous manner. But allthrough this great, this noble, this successful effort, we have haddifferent sources of irritation, of bad neighbourhood, of turmoil, ofaggression, which, if they were to go on, must make these co-terminouscommunities instead of being one people of one blood, one faith, onejurisprudence, one in the very principles of civilizationthemselves--instead of that must make us cavilling, disputatious, foreign countries. The only way to stop that is for the wholepeople--and remember that the whole people in the final result must bethe arbiters--to join in creating one great union government which shallact for the whole. That government must, of course, be sufficientlystrong to act with effect, to act successfully, and it must besufficiently strong to carry the name and the fame of Australia withunspotted beauty, and with uncrippled power throughout the world. Onegreat end, to my mind, of a federated Australia is, that it must ofnecessity secure for Australia a place in the family of nations, whichit never can attain while it is split up into separate colonies withantagonistic laws and with hardly anything in common. I regret to say, Mr. President, that my strength is not such as willenable me to keep on my feet many minutes longer. I have submitted theseresolutions--perhaps it is all the better--without any great effort intheir support. I trust I have indicated with a clearness sufficient whatthe great object we aim at must be, and the means by which alone we canhope to accomplish it. I do not doubt that the gentlemen present willeach of them address themselves to the subject, which, I think, theresolutions have the merit of fairly launching, in a spirit ofpatriotism, always keeping in view the welfare, the prosperity, theunited strength, and the ultimate glory of our common country. _March 13th. _ I am aware that outside these walls, at any rate, there isa feeling that we ought to wait; that the time has not yet come. I canonly repeat what I have said in other places. If we miss this particularopportunity, every year that rolls over us will make the difficultiesgreater; these difficulties which our separate existence have imposedwill go on increasing. They can only have one crop of fruit; they canonly produce antipathy, disunion, aggression, reprisal, wide-spreaddiscontent, and, if they are suffered to go on, civil war. That is aprospect which no man of just mind can contemplate--that these colonies, sprung from the same stock, possessing the same great inheritance ofequal laws and all the riches of science which have been achieved andstored up for us in the mother country--that we, side by side, insteadof living in brotherhood and amity, should live in constant irritationand hostility. Either we must join hands, or we must hold out our handsin defiance of each other. In the very nature of things we cannot bedivided and be one. In the very nature of things we cannot submit tocauses of irritation, causes of infliction, causes of dissatisfaction, causes of exasperation, and still live in brotherhood. It is only byjoining hands in good faith as the people of one kindred; it is only bygiving and taking--by entertaining compromise as far as compromise canbe entertained without deadly injury to principle--it is only by doingthat, we can hope to found this union. If we unfortunately miss thisgreat occasion, and leave the work undone, it will be done in a fewyears hence, and it will be done by younger hands, who will gain thecredit of having effected this bond of union, which will be in itself, if rightly effected, of more value than any other achievement in thehistory of this continent. This is no time for glowing periods; it is no time for rhetoricalflights; but it is a time for hard and steady work in trying to do whatwe are called here to do, and I would ask the honourable members to dotheir utmost by a calm self-suppression, by a close attention to theobject which has brought us here, by mutual respect, mutual forbearance, and disposition to compromise where compromise is possible, to assisteach other in bringing about this great work; and I would say that if wedo seize the occasion and succeed in doing the work, we shall have, notnow so vividly as hereafter, the blessing of this and succeedinggenerations in what we have accomplished. THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA +Source. +--The Melbourne Argus, 10 May 1901 OPENING OF THE FIRST PARLIAMENT Ten years after the great conference of 1891, the work of Sir Henry Parkes and his fellow federationists reached its culmination. The first truly Australian Parliament was opened by the Duke of Cornwall and York (King George V). By the hand of royalty, in the presence of the greatest concourse ofpeople that Australia has seen in one building, and with splendid pompand ceremonial, the legislative machinery of the Commonwealth wasyesterday set in motion. The day was full of smiles and tears, thesmiles predominating. Rising gloomily, the dispersing clouds allowed thebright sun to peep through, and when the great ceremony was in progressin the Exhibition-building, the atmosphere was radiant, and illuminatedthe vast spaces of the building and the great sea of faces with a brightAustralian glow. A sight never to be forgotten was the assemblage which, in perfectorder, but with exalted feeling, awaited the arrival of the Duke andDuchess in the great avenues which branch out from beneath the vast Domeof the Exhibition-building. We have not in Australia any sense of thehistorical prestige which attaches itself to a royal opening of theBritish Parliament. There the stately function is magnificent in itssetting and pregnant in its associations, but it is in scarcely anysense of the word a people's function. Here, by a happy inspiration, the function was made, to the fullestextent, a popular one. Twelve thousand seated in a vastamphitheatre--free people, hopeful people, courageous people--entrustedwith the working out of their own destiny, and rejoicing in theirliberty, must be impressive by reason of their numbers alone. But there was not wanting splendour of accessories. The mighty arches ofthe dome, the spread of the great transepts, the grace of thedecorations, were in themselves inspiring; nor was even the sombre shadeof the mourning dressing, softened by splashes of purple here and there, out of keeping with the event, typifying, as it did, our reverentialregard for the memory of a great Constitutional Ruler, the mightiestSovereign of the people the world has known. Broadly speaking, what was represented in the noble assemblage wasworth. The worthiest of Australia were there--the men who hold theirdistinguished positions because they have won them, and because theydeserve them. All that is best in politics, in commerce, in industry, inthe arts, in the Church, in the school, in the public service ofAustralia was represented there, and every heart beat high with prideand with hope. Faint and far off, just about noon there came the sound of the NationalAnthem, and there was a multitudinous murmur and stir, for here was theactual event coming at last. Then near at hand came the blare of atrumpet heralding the approach of the Imperial envoys, and a moment ortwo after, with royal punctuality, the Duke and Duchess were on thedais, and the strains of the National Anthem came pealing through thebuilding. The religious feelings of the occasion were stirred by the singing ofthe grand "Old Hundredth" to the words of the metrical psalm, commencing"All people that on earth do dwell. " This was taken up by thousands ofthe audience, and its swelling harmonies rose grandly to the dome. LordHopetoun, setting aside all complicated questions of religiousprecedence, himself read several prayers, in his clear, penetratingvoice, so pleasantly familiar in Victoria. When the Duke stepped forward to deliver his speech to the two Houses, a"Hush" ran round the assembly, and everyone listened intently, but thesound of the ever-moving feet on the boarded floors went on. His RoyalHighness spoke deliberately, in a clear, strong voice, and the speech heread was distinctly heard by thousands of those present. It was adignified, a graceful, a kindly, and a congratulatory speech, and itexpressed a confident belief that the new powers granted to Australiawill only strengthen the affection of the people for the throne andempire. At the final words, "I now declare the Parliament of the Commonwealth ofAustralia open, " the Duchess touched an electric button which gave thesignal outside for the hoisting of the Union Jack on all the Stateschools of the Colony, and for the sending of a message to Englanddeclaring the object of the journey of the Royal envoys accomplished. Trumpets rang out the signal, and outside was heard the booming ofcannon in royal salute. After a brief pause the Duke of Cornwall and York stepped forward oncemore and read a special cable message of congratulation from His Majestythe King. And now Australia asserted herself. She had been suppressingher feelings to show that she knew how to behave with old-world decorumin the presence of Royalty, but this message, direct from the Kinghimself, was too much--they simply had to cheer. And cheer they did. Itwas done without order or without concert. It was taken up time aftertime by sections of the audience; it ran round the aisles, and surgedthrough the galleries; a hearty, spontaneous, irrepressible Australiancheer. It was not down in the programme, but it formed a most effectivepart of it. The final part of the ceremony, which altogether occupied aboutthree-quarters of an hour, was the swearing-in of members by theGovernor-General. He stood on the dais and read out the oath, whilst themembers, Bible in hand, followed him in sections. Then Lord Hopetounstepped to the front of the dais, and directing the audience by thewaving of his hat, called for three cheers for His Royal Highness theDuke, which were given with splendid heartiness, and followed by anotherround for the Duchess, after which the Duke and Duchess retired and thegreat ceremony was over. TELEGRAM FROM THE KING His Royal Highness read the following telegram from His Majesty theKing: "My thoughts are with you on the day of the important ceremony. Mostfervently do I wish Australia prosperity and great happiness. " REPLY TO THE KING The following telegram was despatched by His Royal Highness the Duke ofCornwall and York to His Majesty the King immediately after the openingceremony: "I have just delivered your message, and, in your name, declared openthe first Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. I also read yourkind telegram of good wishes, which is deeply appreciated by your lovingAustralian subjects, and was received with great enthusiasm. Splendidand impressive ceremony, over 12, 000 people in Exhibition-building. " MESSAGE FROM THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT When the newly-elected President of the Federal Senate and Speaker ofthe House of Representatives were presented to His Excellency theGovernor-General at the Old Treasury buildings yesterday afternoon, LordHopetoun intimated to them and to the members of the CommonwealthLegislature who were present that he had received the subjoined messagefrom the Secretary of State for the Colonies: "His Majesty's Government welcomes the new Parliament that to-day takesits place among the great legislative bodies of the British Empire andthey feel confident that it will be a faithful interpreter of theaspirations of a free and loyal people, and they trust that itsdeliberations will promote the happiness, prosperity, and unity of thewhole continent of Australia. " The message was subsequently read in both Houses of the FederalParliament, and received with cheers. THE BOER WAR +Source. +--The Times History of the War in South Africa, 1899-1902, Vol. III, pp. 30-31, 34-35; Vol. IV, p. 428 The clash of interests in South Africa between settlers of Dutch and of British origin gave rise to much ill-feeling, and in 1899 Great Britain decided to annex the South African Colonies in order to protect the interests of her subjects. In the ensuing struggle the Colonies freely offered support, both moral and physical. Of all the colonies the Australian ones were the most directlyinterested in the South African controversy. In view of the vast andincreasing trade between Australia and the mother-country, the safety ofthe Cape route must always be a question of the very highest importancein the eyes of Australian statesmen. And apart from such considerationsof contingent self-interest, Australians had strong personal feelingsover the issue between Kruger and the Uitlanders. Australian minersformed no small section of the population of the Rand. Australians wereunder no illusions as to the idyllic character of the peasant-owners ofthe Transvaal. As soon as the crisis became acute, public meetings wereheld all over the Australian colonies to express sympathy with theUitlanders and to support the attitude of the Imperial Government. Thequestion of sending Australian contingents to join the Imperial forcesin the event of a war was discussed at an early stage. The idea ofactive participation in the wars of the Empire was not altogether a newone. As far back as 1867 Tasmania had sent a contingent to assist theImperial forces in the Maori war. More recently a body of New SouthWales troops took part in the Sudan campaign of 1885. A little activeservice and much tedious waiting at Suakim was all they saw, and onemight have imagined that in Australia the result had been to damp anyinclination to repeat the performance. But the partial disappointment of1885 made the Australians all the more eager to try again. Between October 28 and November 5 the first Australian contingentssailed amidst the most enthusiastic popular demonstrations. They wereofficered and manned almost entirely by members of the various colonialvolunteer forces, and thus possessed the advantage of a certain amountof initial training which was destined to stand them in good stead inthe field. It should never be forgotten that their success was mainlydue to the persistent effort of those officers, whether Imperial orcolonial, who during the past twenty years had given their services tothe development and organization of the colonial forces. It was theexistence of these forces that kept up the military spirit in thecolonies. Small as was the force contributed by the Empire (nearly 80, 000 men) itwas none the less a material assistance, whose value can hardly beoverrated. It practically doubled the mounted force, and thus madepossible those sweeping movements by which Lord Roberts reachedPretoria. Above all, it gave the Imperial Government a moral supportwhich enabled it to face with equanimity the almost universal hostilityof the European powers or the fanatical outcries of a fewanti-Imperialist partisans at home. Never, probably, in modern times hasthere been a greater consensus of honest opinion in support of a greatnational movement than that which backed up Britain's effort to maintainher position in South Africa. It was simply that the free citizens offree countries asked to be allowed to venture their lives for the sakeof a political ideal which was personally and intimately dear to eachone of them, and that, in spite of the paralysing absence of eitherprecedent or preparation, many thousands actually achieved their desire. The war has not shown what the Empire can do, but it has revealed tothose who perhaps doubted before, what an Empire we can make if we butchoose. ELANDS RIVER Amongst varying fortunes and many indecisive actions, the defence of theposition at Elands River stands out as an achievement only made possibleby courage and grim determination. For several weeks Colonel Hore, with a small garrison at Brakfontein onthe Elands River, had been keeping up the connection between Mafekingand Zeerust, policing the district and forwarding on convoys toRustenburg. At the beginning of August the force which he had for thispurpose, as well as to guard a large store of supplies, consisted of 500men, nearly all Imperial bushmen or Rhodesians, an old muzzle-loadingseven-pounder, and two maxims. By this time Lord Roberts had determinedthat several isolated posts in the Western Transvaal, such as this one, which were in constant danger of attack, must be evacuated, and onAugust 1 ordered General Carrington to march to Elands River to coverHore's retirement. But De la Rey, with three detachments of his troopsunder himself, Lemmer, and Steenekemp, each numbering about 300 men, andeach with a gun and a pom-pom, and a maxim, had arrived there beforehim, and on the morning of August 4 had aroused Hore's camp by shell andrifle fire from the north-west, east, and south-east. The camp was on asmall boulder-strewn kopje, in the centre of an amphitheatre about fiveacres in extent, and half a mile east of the river. Most of the men wereon this central kopje, but two small hills on the bank of the river wereheld by detachments under Captain Butters and Lieutenant Zouch. Luckily, an attack had been expected, and stone sangars and shelters of ox-wagonshad been made and further protected by biscuit boxes and bags of flourand sugar from the stores the men were guarding. Nevertheless the Boerattack seemed to have every chance in its favour; their guns were insafe positions 2, 400 yards from the camp, and along the river banks theycould creep close up to the defenders. Hore's old seven-pounder, thoughit succeeded in silencing a Boer gun, and killed a German gunner, wasvery capricious in its working, and was obviously no match for the Boerguns. The thousands of horses and oxen which were in the camp under nosort of cover were nearly all killed on the first day by the Boershells; and the stench arising from these dead animals in the narrowcamp makes it almost marvellous that the men who escaped the Boer shellswere not killed by pestilence. Moreover, the only chance of gettingwater was to take the water carts down to the river at night, and thenthe drivers and escort were not always safe. To make matters worse, onthe second day of the siege Carrington's advance scouts, after appearingon the rise to the west, were soon seen retiring again, so that rescuefrom this side seemed now out of the question. When starting, Carringtondid not know that Hore was invested, so he carried very few rations. Heno doubt had a small force with him and was badly off for supplies; buthe had gained a ridge from which he commanded the way to Elands River, and under the circumstances of Hore's pressing danger he was too quicklydiscouraged from a more determined effort to bring out the garrison. From the east another attempt was made to relieve Hore which provedequally abortive. On August 5 firing had been heard in the direction of Elands River, sonext day Baden-Powell marched with his own and Mahon's mounted troopsabout half-way to Brakfontein. Here he heard guns firing in a westerlydirection, but as the sound seemed to grow fainter and fainter, heassumed, without, however, waiting for the reports of his scouts, thatCarrington had succeeded in withdrawing Hore towards Mafeking. After Carrington's retreat to Zeerust on August 5 and Baden-Powell's toRustenburg on the 6th, Lord Roberts had given up all hope of saving thisgarrison. But on the 13th a runner from Colonel Hore had arrived atCrocodile Pools, announcing that he had not surrendered. On hearing thisthe Field Marshal ordered Kitchener to take part of his force to relievehim. Kitchener started on the 16th. From Quaggafontein with Little's, Broadwood's, and Smith-Dorrien's brigades. After Carrington had come upand gone away again on August 5, the garrison, though apparently left totheir fate, would hear nothing of surrender, but made up their minds tofight as long as they had ammunition and strength to use it. Luckilythey were well provided with food, and the Boers, as usual in theirsieges, were content to sit round and fire at them without seriouslyattempting to rush the place as they should have done. The garrison alsokept up their spirits by sudden raids at night on adventurous Boers orguns that came too near. Thus, as at Wepener, it became a game ofpatience for the garrison, dissimilar only in this, that at Elands Riverthere was no promise of support to buoy up the garrison with hope. However, on August 16, after eleven days' siege, De la Rey moved away onthe news of the approaching relief columns, and Lord Kitchener rode into set free the garrison. This siege, like that of Wepener, was especially a Colonial triumph;there the garrison had been chiefly Cape Colonials, here the majoritywere Australians of Carrington's first Brigade, the rest beingRhodesians, and it would be difficult to praise overmuch thedetermination and fine spirit shown by these Colonials in their firstopportunity of distinguishing themselves as a corps. Every soldier whosaw the place afterwards expressed surprise that they could have heldout so long, and it is therefore the more creditable to them to havedone so when every hope of relief seemed entirely cut off; while, at atime when surrenders and retreats were not sufficiently rare, theexample shown by these splendid men was even more important than theposition they held. THE GREAT WAR +Source. +--The Times History of the War and Encyclopaedia, Vol. I, p. 161; Vol. II, p. 31; Vol. III, p. 126 The aggressive policy of Germany led to the outbreak in 1914 of the greatest war in history; for nearly every country in the world ultimately became involved in the struggle. Germany advised Austria to demand most humiliating concessions from Servia, and the resistance of Servia supported by Russia resulted in war between Germany and Austria on one side, and Servia, Russia, and her ally France on the other. For strategical reasons Germany determined to attack France through Belgium, declaring that the international treaty which bound her to respect Belgian neutrality was but a "Scrap of Paper. " Great Britain, as one of the signatories to the treaty, protested against such a violation of good faith, but finding protestation vain declared war upon Germany on 4 August 1914. The whole Empire solidly supported the Mother Country and shared valiantly in all her achievements. THE RALLY OF THE EMPIRE Important as were the offers of help, both of men and provisions, whichthe self-governing Dominions and the Indian Empire made to the MotherCountry almost immediately after the outbreak of the war, the knowledgethat these great daughter-nations were morally convinced of the justiceof the British cause, was a factor of even more far-reaching importance. Great as was the necessity of organizing and expanding the Imperialforces, and thus creating an extra army or armies to reinforce theBritish Expeditionary Force in France, urgent as was the need of takingadvantage of the prompt offers of help which came from all parts of theEmpire, the necessity of convincing the self-governing Dominions and theEmpire at large of the righteousness of the cause for which GreatBritain was fighting was more imperative still. For in the long run theconsciousness of the justice of the principles for which a people isfighting, alone can ensure the massing of material force sufficient tosecure material victory. Evidence that the case for Great Britain was fully understood andthoroughly approved, not only by our own peoples, but by the bulk of theneutral States of the world, was not long in presenting itself. TheDominions as a whole had satisfied themselves that the British cause wasjust, before Sir Edward Grey had made it plain by his speech of August3rd that the British Government had done everything short of sacrificingthe honour of the country to avoid war. In the words of Sir RichardMcBride, the Premier of British Columbia, "Should it unfortunatelydevelop that Great Britain is compelled to engage in hostilities, Canadawill automatically be at war also"; while in Australia, Mr. Fisher, theex-Prime Minister, declared, "Should honour demand the Mother Country totake part in hostilities, Australians will stand beside her to the lastman and the last shilling. " These sentiments found expression in theoffers of help of men and material, which have been described in thepreceding chapter. To those offers the King replied by a message to theOverseas Dominions: "I desire to express to my people of the Overseas Dominions with whatappreciation and pride I have received the messages from theirrespective Governments during the last few days. "These spontaneous assurances of their fullest support recall to me thegenerous, self-sacrificing help given by them in the past to the MotherCountry. "I shall be strengthened in the discharge of the great responsibilitywhich rests upon me by the confident belief that in this time of trialmy Empire will stand united, calm, resolute, trusting in God. "GEORGE R. I. " THE SINKING OF THE _EMDEN_ (German cruiser) Against us there were known to be some eight or nine German cruisersabroad, all efficient for commerce-destroying purposes, and several withvery high speed, which it was recognized would require a great deal ofcatching. .. . The _Emden_ was a small vessel of some 3, 500 tons, with a speed of about25 knots--quite fast enough to overhaul any British steamer she waslikely to encounter, and fast enough also to run away, if necessary. The_Emden_ was generally heard of where she was least expected, and afterreaping her harvest of merchantmen, as unaccountably disappeared. Insomething under six weeks she had captured nearly twenty steamers, always contriving to pick up a collier among them, so that she was ableto keep her bunkers replenished. .. . As a variety of adventure, the _Emden_ steamed one evening into MadrasRoads, and threw shell into the outskirts of the town for the space ofhalf an hour or so--some oil tanks were set ablaze, and two or threenatives killed; Fort George returned the fire--probably withouteffect--and the _Emden_ retired. It may be assumed that the German captain received information bywireless of the probable approach of colliers or other vessels, as hewas so very much on the spot; in any case, he was a courageous andenterprising man, and a good sportsman; but we wanted very badly tocatch him. There are so many holes and corners in that part of theworld, where a vessel may lie for a time with little chance ofdetection, and the _Emden's_ speed would have enabled her to reach somesuch refuge very quickly. The last act in the drama of the _Emden_ took place off theCocos-Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean. .. . It was to this desolate spot in the Indian Ocean that Captain Von Mullerbrought his ship, in the early days of November; with him was one of hiscaptures, the _Buresk_, which was full of coal. The object of this visitof the _Emden_ was the destruction of the important wireless stationthat is established on the islands, and on the morning of November 9th, the officials were unpleasantly surprised by the landing of an armedboat's crew from a cruiser, which had come to an anchor, and which theyfirst imagined to be H. M. S. _Minotaur_. They were quickly undeceived bythe German officer in charge of the party, who informed them that theiroperations from the wireless station had greatly hampered the movementsof the cruiser. One detachment of the Germans then rounded up all theofficials and their servants, placing them under a strict guard, while asecond party prepared to blow up the wireless installation and to smashthe instrument rooms of the cable office. This they did most thoroughly, but the officials seem to have kept their heads in the most praiseworthymanner, as, just as soon as they discovered that the enemy was uponthem, they sent out distress signals by wireless, and warned adjacentstations by cable that they were about to be smashed up. The landing party now blew up the wireless mast and the store in whichspare cable and cable gear was kept; a third explosion wrecked thewireless hut, and completed the destruction of the installation. Thedynamo rooms and workshops were destroyed with flogging hammers andaxes, everything breakable, including clocks, being smashed to atoms. Their next proceeding was to cut the shore ends of the submarine cables, and this was done in full view of the prisoners. There are three cablesfrom the Cocos--to Perth, to Batavia, and to Rodriguez--and the pleasureof the prisoners can be imagined when they saw the Germans spend muchhard labour in destroying a dummy cable. Eventually the Perth cable andthe dummy were cut, the others being left, presumably because theGermans did not know that they existed. The party from the _Emden_ had landed at 7. 30 a. M. , and by 9. 20 theirmission of destruction was accomplished. At this time a signal was blownon the siren from the ship; the officer in command collected his men, marched them down to the beach, and re-embarked. The telegraphistsreport that they were fairly and courteously treated. On arrival the_Emden_ was still using her now famous fourth funnel, a dummy, and thisit was that caused the telegraphists to mistake her in the firstinstance for the _Minotaur_, which is a four-funnelled armoured cruiser. As she steamed away in the bright light of the tropic morning for whatwas so shortly to prove her last cruise, the _Emden_ hauled down, andstowed away, her dummy. The action that ensued between the _Sydney_ and the _Emden_ is heregiven in the official despatch of Captain Glossop, dated from Colombo onNovember 15th: I have the honour to report that whilst on escort duty with the convoyunder the charge of Captain Silver, H. M. A. S. _Melbourne_, at 6. 30 a. M. On Monday, Nov. 9th, a wireless message from Cocos was heard reportingthat a foreign warship was off the entrance. I was ordered to raisesteam for full speed at 7. 0 a. M. And proceeded thither. I worked up totwenty knots, and at 9. 15 a. M. Sighted land ahead and almost immediatelythe smoke of a ship, which proved to be the H. I. G. M. S. _Emden_ comingout towards me at a great rate. At 9. 40 a. M. Fire was opened, she firingthe first shot. I kept my distance as much as possible to obtain theadvantage of my guns. Her fire was very accurate and rapid to beginwith, but seemed to slacken very quickly, all casualties occurring inthis ship almost immediately. First, the foremost funnel of her went, secondly the foremast, and she was badly on fire aft, then the secondfunnel went, and lastly the third funnel, and I saw she was making forthe beach on North Keeling Island, where she grounded at 11. 20 a. M. Igave her two more broadsides and left her, to pursue a merchant shipwhich had come up during the action. 2. Although I had guns on this merchant ship at odd times during theaction, I had not fired, and as she was making off fast, I pursued andovertook her at 12. 10, firing a gun across her bows and hoistingInternational Code Signal to stop, which she did. I sent an armed boat, and found her to be the ss. _Buresk_, a captured British collier, with18 Chinese crew, 1 English steward, 1 Norwegian cook, and a German prizecrew of 3 officers, 1 warrant officer, and 12 men. The shipunfortunately was sinking, so I took all on board, fired four shellsinto her, and returned to _Emden_, passing men swimming in the water, for whom I left two boats I was towing from _Buresk_. 3. On arriving again off _Emden_, she still had her colours up atmainmast head. I inquired by signal, International Code, "Will yousurrender?" and received a reply in Morse, "What signal? No signalbooks. " I then made in Morse, "Do you surrender?" and subsequently, "Have you received my signal?" to neither of which did I get an answer. The German officers on board gave me to understand that the captainwould never surrender, and therefore, though very reluctantly, I againfired at her at 4. 30 p. M. , ceasing at 4. 35, as she showed white flagsand hauled down her ensign by sending a man aloft. 4. I then left Emden and returned and picked up the _Buresk's_ twoboats, rescuing two sailors (5. 0 p. M. ) who had been in the water allday. I returned and sent in one boat to _Emden_, manned by her own prizecrew from _Buresk_ and one officer, and stating I would return to theirassistance next morning. 5. I lay on and off all night, and communicated with Direction Island at8. 0 a. M. , November 10th, to find that the _Emden's_ party, consisting ofthree officers and forty men, one launch and two cutters, had seized andprovisioned a 70-ton schooner (the _Ayesha_), having four Maxims withtwo belts to each. They left the previous night at six o'clock. Thewireless station was entirely destroyed, one cable cut, one damaged, andone intact. I borrowed a doctor and two assistants, and proceeded asfast as possible to _Emden's_ assistance. 6. I sent an officer on board to see the captain, and in view of thelarge number of prisoners and wounded, and lack of accommodation, etc. , in this ship, and the absolute impossibility of leaving them there, heagreed that if I received his officers and men and all wounded, "then asfor such time as they remained in _Sydney_ they would cause nointerference with ship or fittings, and would be amenable to the ship'sdiscipline. " I therefore set to work at once to tranship them--a mostdifficult operation, the ship being on weather side of island, and thesend alongside very heavy. The conditions in the _Emden_ wereindescribable. I received the last from her at 5. 0 p. M. , then had to goround to the lee side to pick up 20 more men who had managed to getashore from the ship. 7. Darkness came on before this could be accomplished, and the shipagain stood off and on all night, resuming operations at 5. 0 a. M. , onNovember 11th, a cutter's crew having to land with stretchers to bringwounded round to embarking point. A German officer, a doctor, diedashore the previous day. The ship in the meantime ran over to DirectionIsland to return their doctor and assistants, send cables, and was backagain at 10 a. M. , embarked the remainder of wounded, and proceeded forColombo by 10. 35 a. M. , Wednesday, November 11th. 8. Total casualties in _Sydney_: killed, 3; severely wounded (sincedead), 1; severely wounded, 4; wounded, 4; slightly wounded, 4. In the_Emden_ I can only approximately state the killed at 7 officers and 108men from captain's statement. I had on board 11 officers, 9 warrantofficers and 191 men, of whom 3 officers and 53 men were wounded, and ofthis number 1 officer and 3 men have since died of wounds. 9. The damage to Sydney's hull and fittings was surprisingly small; inall about ten hits seem to have been made. The engine and boiler roomsand funnels escaped entirely. 10. I have great pleasure in stating that the behaviour of the ship'scompany was excellent in every way, and with such a large number ofyoung hands and people under training it is all the more gratifying. It will be seen from Captain Glossop's despatch that he was on escortduty with the convoy under the charge of Captain Silver of H. M. A. S. _Melbourne_. This convoy was carrying Australian and New Zealand troopsto the scene of the great conflict in Europe. The act of self-denial onthe part of Captain Silver in sending the _Sydney_ to engage the_Emden_, instead of taking that duty upon himself, certainly deserves tobe noted. This officer denied to himself and to the officers and menunder his command, the privilege of dealing with the notorious raider, and in so doing he was actuated solely by his high sense of duty and theresponsibility that he owed to his country. In his judgment the _Sydney_was the more suitable ship, so she was sent, and the _Melbourne_remained with her convoy until the affair was concluded. LANDING ON GALLIPOLI +Source. +-—Dispatch from a special Correspondent at the Dardanellesprinted in The Times, 7 May 1915 Soon after the commencement of the war Turkey joined the Central Powers, and consequently the Australian Imperial Forces, having experienced a rigorous training in Egypt, were used to assist the Navy and other Allied troops in an attempt to force the Dardanelles. VIEWED FROM A BATTLESHIP Slowly through the night of April 24th our squadron, which was to landthe covering forces of the Australian contingent just north of GabaTepe, steamed towards its destination. .. . At 1 a. M. The ships arrived off their appointed rendezvous, five milesfrom the landing-place, and stopped. The soldiers were aroused fromtheir slumbers, and were served with a last hot meal. A visit to themess decks showed these Australians, the majority of whom were about togo into action for the first time under the most trying circumstances, possessed at 1 o'clock in the morning courage to be cheerful, quiet, andconfident. .. . At 1. 20 a. M. The signal was given from the flagship to lower the boats, which had been left swinging from the davits throughout the night. Oursteam pinnaces were also lowered to take them in tow. .. . On the quarter-deck, backed by the great 12 in. Guns, this splendid bodyof colonial troops were drawn up in serried ranks, fully equipped, andreceiving their last instructions from their officers, who, six monthsago, like their men, were leading a peaceful civilian life in Australiaand New Zealand, 5, 000 miles away. .. . At 2. 5 a. M. The signal was given for the troops to embark in the boatswhich were lying alongside, and this was carried out with greatrapidity, in absolute silence, and without a hitch or an accident of anykind. .. . The whole operation had been timed to allow the pinnaces and boats toreach the beach just before daylight, so that the Turks, if they hadbeen forewarned, would not be able to see to fire before the Australianshad obtained a firm footing and, it was hoped, good cover on theforeshore. .. . At 4. 53 a. M. There suddenly came a very sharp burst of rifle fire fromthe beach, and we knew our men were at last at grips with the enemy. This fire lasted only for a few minutes, and then was drowned by a faintBritish cheer wafted to us over the waters. .. . The first authentic news we received came with the return of our boats. A steam pinnace came alongside with two recumbent forms on her deck anda small figure, pale, but cheerful, and waving his hand astern. Theywere one of our midshipmen, just sixteen years of age, shot through thestomach, but regarding his injury more as a fitting consummation to aglorious holiday ashore than a wound; and a chief stoker, and pettyofficer, all three wounded by that first burst of musketry, which causedmany casualties in the boats just as they reached the beach. From them we learned what had happened in those first wild moments. Allthe tows had almost reached the beach, when a party of Turks, entrenchedalmost on the shore, opened up a terrible fusillade from rifles and alsofrom a Maxim. Fortunately most of the bullets went high, but, nevertheless, many men were hit as they sat huddled together forty orfifty in a boat. It was a trying moment, but the Australian volunteers rose as a man tothe occasion. They waited neither for orders, nor for the boats to reachthe beach, but, springing out into the sea, they waded ashore, and, forming some sort of a rough line, rushed straight on the flashes of theenemy's rifles. Their magazines were not charged, so they just went inwith cold steel, and I believe I am right in saying that the firstOttoman Turk since the last Crusade received an Anglo-Saxon bayonet inhim at 5 minutes after 5 a. M. On April 25th. It was over in a minute. The Turks in this first trench were bayoneted or ran away, and a Maximgun was captured. Then the Australians found themselves facing an almost perpendicularcliff of loose sandstone, covered with thick shrubbery, and somewherehalf-way up the enemy had a second trench strongly held, from which theypoured a terrible fire on the troops below, and the boats pulling backto the destroyers for the second landing party. Here was a tough proposition to tackle in the darkness, but theseColonials are practical above all else, and they went about it in apractical way. They stopped a few moments to pull themselves together, and to get rid of their packs which no troops could carry in an attack, and then charged their magazines. Then this race of athletes proceededto scale the cliffs without responding to the enemy's fire. They lostsome men but did not worry, and in less than a quarter of an hour theTurks were out of their second position, either bayoneted or in fullflight. This ridge under which the landing was made, stretches due north fromGaba Tepe, and culminates in the height of Coja Chemen, which rises 950feet above the sea level. The whole forms part of a confused triangle ofhills, valleys, ridges, and bluffs which stretches right across theGallipoli Peninsula to the Bay of Bassi Liman, above the Narrows. Thetriangle is cut in two by the valley through which flows the streamknown as Bokali Deresi. .. . In the early part of the day very heavy casualties were suffered in theboats which conveyed the troops from the destroyers, tugs, andtransports to the beach. As soon as it became light, the enemy'ssharpshooters, hidden everywhere, simply concentrated their fire on theboats. .. . Throughout the whole of April 25th the landing of troops, stores, andmunitions had to be carried out under these conditions, but the gallantsailors never failed their equally gallant comrades ashore. Every one, from the youngest midshipman straight from Dartmouth and under fire forthe first time, to the senior officers in charge, did their dutynobly. .. . When the sun was fully risen and the haze had disappeared, we could seethat the Australians had actually established themselves on the top ofthe ridge, and were evidently trying to work their way northwards alongit. .. . The fighting was so confused, and took place amongst such broken groundthat it is extremely difficult to follow exactly what did happenthroughout the morning and afternoon of April the 25th. The roleassigned to the covering force was splendidly carried out up to acertain point, and a firm footing was obtained on the crest of the ridgewhich allowed the disembarkation of the remainder of the force to go onuninterruptedly except for the never-ceasing sniping. But then the Australians, whose blood was up, instead of entrenchingthemselves and waiting developments, pushed northward and eastwardinland, in search of fresh enemies to tackle with the bayonet. Theground is so broken and ill-defined that it was very difficult to selecta position to entrench, especially as after the troops imagined they hadcleared a section, they were continually being sniped from all sides. Therefore they preferred to continue the advance. .. . The Turks only hada comparatively weak force actually holding the beach, and they seemedto have relied on the difficult nature of the ground, and theirscattered snipers, to delay the advance until they could bring upreinforcements from the interior. Some of the Australians who had pushed inland were counter-attacked andalmost outflanked by these oncoming reserves, and had to fall back aftersuffering very heavy casualties. It was then the turn of the Turks to counter-attack, and this theycontinued to do throughout the afternoon, but the Australians neveryielded a foot of ground on the main ridge, and reinforcements werecontinually poured up from the beach as fresh troops were disembarkedfrom the transports. The enemy's artillery fire, however, presented avery difficult problem. As soon as the light became good, the Turksenfiladed the beach with two field guns from Gaba Tepe, and with twoothers from the north. .. . In vain did the warships endeavour to put themout of action with their secondary armament. For some hours they couldnot be accurately located, or else were so well protected that ourshells failed to do them any harm. .. . Later in the day the two guns to the north were silenced . .. And acruiser moving in close to the shore, so plastered Gaba Tepe with a hailof shell that the guns there were also silenced and have not attemptedto reply since. As the enemy brought up reinforcements, towards dusk his attacks becamemore and more vigorous, and he was supported by a powerful artilleryinland, which the ships' guns were powerless to deal with. The pressureon the Australians and New Zealanders became heavier, and the line theywere occupying had to be contracted for the night. General Birdwood andhis staff went ashore in the afternoon, and devoted all their energiesto securing the position, so as to hold firmly to it until the followingmorning, when it was hoped to get some field guns in position to dealwith the enemy's artillery. Some idea of the difficulty to be faced may be gathered when it isremembered that every round of ammunition, all water, and all supplieshad to be landed on a narrow beach and then carried up pathless hills, valleys, and bluffs, several hundred feet high, to the firing line. Thewhole of this mass of troops, concentrated on a very small area, andunable to reply, were exposed to a relentless and incessant shrapnelfire, which swept every yard of the ground, although, fortunately, agreat deal of it was badly aimed or burst too high. The reserves wereengaged in road-making and carrying supplies to the crest, and inanswering the calls for more ammunition. A serious problem was getting away the wounded from the shore, where itwas impossible to keep them. All those who were unable to hobble to thebeach had to be carried down to the hills on stretchers, then hastilydressed and carried to the boats. The boat and beach parties neverstopped working throughout the entire day and night. The courage displayed by these wounded Australians will never beforgotten. Hastily dressed and placed in trawlers, lighters, and ships'boats they were towed to the ships. .. . I have, in fact, never seen thelike of those wounded Australians in war before, for as they were towedamongst the ships, whilst accommodation was being found for them, although many were shot to bits, and without hope of recovery, theircheers resounded through the night, and you could just see, amidst amass of suffering humanity, arms being waved in greeting to the crews ofthe warships. They were happy because they had been tried for the firsttime in the war and had not been found wanting. They had been told tooccupy the heights and hold on, and this they had done for fifteenmortal hours, under an incessant shell fire, without the moral andmaterial support of a single gun ashore, and subjected the whole time tothe violent counter-attacks of a brave enemy, led by skilled leaders, whilst his snipers, hidden in caves and thickets and amongst the densescrub, made a deliberate practice of picking off every officer whoendeavoured to give a word of command or lead his men forward. No finer feat of arms has been performed during the war than this suddenlanding in the dark, the storming of the heights, and above all, theholding on to the position thus won whilst reinforcements were beingpoured from the transports. These raw Colonial troops in those desperatehours proved themselves worthy to fight side by side with the heroes ofMons and the Aisne, Ypres, and Neuve Chapelle. WHAT ANZAC MEANS By Senator Pearce (Minister of State for Defence) +Source. +--The Melbourne Argus, 25 April 1916 In an army a knowledge of its past achievements is a mighty factor inits future success. Before this war Australia had practically no armytraditions, and it is to the meaning of the Gallipoli campaign in thisconnection that I would direct attention to-day, twelve months after thehistoric landing. To the peoples of Europe the thought of war was ever present in thepopular mind; but to the Australian, born and bred in an atmosphereuntainted by war, living amid peaceful surroundings and desirous ofremaining on terms of friendship with the rest of mankind the worditself has a jarring sound. Yet the German challenge to the MotherCountry finds 233, 720 of her Australian sons who have voluntarilywrenched themselves from their parents, wives, and friends, and fromcomfortable and cheerful homes, to answer the call of their country tofight the Empire's battles on distant shores. Nor has the thunder of the cannon been necessary to inspire Australianswith a conception of their duty; and the explanation of it all is thatwe have inherited to the full that spirit of our forebears which enabledthem, not so long ago, to tear themselves from homeland firesides toshape careers in this great island continent, and to overcome withindomitable pluck the awful hardships of a pioneering life. For generations to come the story of the entry of the Australian troopsto the European battlefield will ring in the ears of English-speakingnations. The chronicler of the future will provide many thrilling pagesof history, magnificent material for the moulding of the youthfulAustralian character. A distinguished military officer told us before the war that Australianswould require to be in the majority of two to one in meeting a foreignfoe on our own shores; but the furious onslaught that accompanied thelanding at Gallipoli, the bitter fighting and terrible trials of theoccupation, and the wonderful skill that made possible the bloodlessevacuation have shown us that the Australians carried out a feat of armsnot excelled by the most highly-trained regulars of any nation of theworld. The following messages are eloquent in their tribute toAustralian bravery: "I heartily congratulate you upon the splendid conduct and braverydisplayed by the Australian troops in the operations at the Dardanelles, who have indeed proved themselves worthy sons of the Empire. "--HisMajesty the King, _April 1915_. "The capture of the positions we hold will go down to history as amagnificent feat of the Australians and New Zealanders. "--General SirWilliam Birdwood, _November 1915_. "Happen what may, the Australians who have fought at Gallipoli willbequeath a heritage of honour to their children's children. "--GeneralSir Ian Hamilton, _November 1915_. These are examples of the praise which that feat of arms has won, andsuch is the standing of military bearing which the improvised army ofAustralian citizens has set up for the citizen army of Australia--astandard which, we may rest assured, has not failed to impress ourenemies in computing the military value of our forces. Every unit of the citizen army will now have its tradition. Everysoldier of the Australian army will have that inspiring example of theAnzac heroes to live up to in his military work, and we can regard thefuture with a calm confidence in the military prowess of our soldiers. The Allied troops evacuated the Gallipoli Peninsula in December 1915, and the majority of the Australian Imperial Force was then transferred to the Western Front in France, where on fiercely fought fields such as Pozières, Messines, Cambrai, Amiens, and others too numerous to detail here, they won imperishable fame. THE END CHISWICK PRESS, CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. BOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON