THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 NEW HOMES/: 
 
 THE RISE, PROGRESS, PRESENT POSITION, 
 AND FUTURE PROSPECTS 
 
 OF EACH OF THE 
 
 §^usttaliau Colonies aitb ^efo ^enfetiJr, 
 
 KEGARDED AS 
 
 HOMES FOR ALL CLASSES OF EMIGRANTS. 
 
 THOMAS HENEY'BEAIM, D.D., F.E.G.S., 
 
 &C., &C., &C.i' 
 
 LATE AECHDEACON, DIOCESE OF MELBOURNE, AND NOW RECTOR OF 
 bishop's CAUNDLE, SHERBORNE, AND CHAPLAIN TO THE MOST 
 NOBLE THE MAEQUIS OF LOTHIAN. 
 
 "God bleuued them : and God said unto them, Re fiuitful aud multiply, aud 
 replenish the earth, and subdue it." — Qen. i. 28. 
 
 "God Himself hath formed the earth .and made it ; He hath established it, He 
 created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited. — Isa. ilv. 18. 
 
 LONDON : 
 BULL, SIMMONS & CO., 9, WIGMORE STREET. 
 
 1870.
 
 4,0 "D 
 
 673 -v, 
 
 TO 
 
 WHO, 
 
 IN TESTIMONY OF AN ENLIGHTENED DESIRE FOR THE BENEFIT 
 
 AND rROfiRESS OF ENGLAND AND HER COLONIES, 
 
 HAS ACCEPTED THE HONOURABLE POSITION OF 
 
 Imibcnt nf t|^ gatiDual Cmigvation l^agur, 
 
 THIS BOOK 
 IS, BY THE KIND PEKMISSION OF HIS GRACE, 
 
 MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. 
 
 503050 
 
 LIB SETS
 
 ^refau. 
 
 So many books have appeared on the Australian Colonies, 
 and among-st tliem so many of sterling- merits that it might 
 seem presumptuous to l)ring out another. Those books^ 
 however^ have generally been limited to one or two par- 
 ticular colonies^ and puljlished at a high price. At this 
 moment, when the popular mind is so strongly directed to 
 the emigration of the masses, it was considered by compe- 
 tent judges that if a single and reliable volume could g-ive 
 a bird's-eye view of the whole of the colonies which form 
 the Australasian grouj), and also of New Zealand, and that 
 at such a price as would bring it within the means of the 
 million, it would supply an acknowledged desideratum. 
 
 The Author having been in AustraHa for more than thirty 
 years, leading there an active life in scenes far removed 
 from literary ease, is quite aware that this little comjiilation 
 may have serious defects regarded as a mere composition ; 
 but he trusts that it will be kindly received, and judged in 
 a friendly spirit, as the production of one who has aimed
 
 vi PEEFACE. 
 
 only at writing what might be useful, and might be de- 
 pended upon as a truthful description of the several colonies 
 of which it treats. 
 
 To the Agents- General of each of the colonies, to the 
 Manaa-ers of the Banks connected with Australasia and 
 New Zealand, and to a host of kind advisers and helpers 
 too numerous to be named in detail, he begs to return his 
 sincerest thanks. 
 
 The Rectory, 
 
 Bishop's Caundle, Sueeboene.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 9 
 CHAP. I.— INTRODUCTION 
 
 II.— AUSTRALIAN DISCOVERY.— NEW SOUTH WALES 62 
 
 119 
 III. — TASMANIA 
 
 IV. — WESTERN AUSTRALIA 
 
 v.— VICTORIA (FORMERLY PORT miLLIP) 189 
 
 257 
 VI. — SOUTH AUSTRALIA 
 
 Vii.—QUEENSLAND (MORETON BAY) 
 
 VIII. — NEW ZEALAND
 
 Ueto f^mxts. 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 T is, I am told by those who are well 
 versed in the subject, a matter of very- 
 general complaint, that there does not 
 exist any one single volume which gives, as it 
 were, a connected view of all the Colonies which 
 form the great Australasian group, including the 
 various provinces of New Zealand. Books almost 
 without number have appeared, treating on one 
 or other of these places. Many of them are written 
 by very able men, and contain a vast mass of most 
 useful information. At this moment, however, 
 public attention is increasingly attracted to the sub- 
 ject of Emigration ; and it has been thought that 
 a cheap and popular book would be appreciated. A 
 book such as may be found not only on the Library 
 table, but at our Mechanics' Institutes and "Working 
 Men's Eeading Eooms, and wherever, in fact, men 
 congregate for the purpose of getting useful and 
 practical information. Such a work must needs be 
 written by a man who speaks from local knowledge, 
 and from personal observation. Having been myself 
 a resident for more than thirty years in three of the
 
 10 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Australian colonies, and having had great opportu- 
 nities for becoming acquainted with the rest of 
 them, I trust that I may be enabled to write such a 
 sketch of them as may be found to be extensively 
 useful. My object is simply utility. I aim at pre- 
 senting to the enquiring reader, who is looking out 
 for information or thinking of removing to a new 
 home, such an epitome of each colony in succession 
 as may, I hope and believe, assist him in forming a 
 right judgment. And of one thing the reader may 
 rest quite assured, viz., that I wish to bring before 
 him nothing but a candid statement of facts. I have 
 no favourite theories to advocate, and no pet colony 
 to praise at the expense of another. I only wish 
 them all to be better known at home than they are. 
 The more they are known the larger will be the 
 exodus to them. Since my return to England I 
 have been requested to deliver lectures on Australia 
 at several large centres of population. Such lectures 
 have been invariably received with much favour. 
 But those attending them have owned to me their 
 almost entire ignorance of Australian geography 
 and history. I wish to help in removing this igno- 
 rance, and to make people in England better ac- 
 quainted with these great colonies, which are rapidly 
 growing up into a nation of no mean importance. 
 Perhaps by some it may be argued that I shall not 
 be a writer who should be trusted on all points — 
 religious ones, for instance — inasmuch as I am a 
 clergyman of the Church of England, and may be
 
 NEW HOMES. 11 
 
 supposed to haye peculiar feelings in favour of my 
 own communion, and prejudices against other deno- 
 minations. I do not hesitate to say that no fault 
 will be found with me on this head at least ; although 
 being and glorying in being a clergyman of the 
 Church of England, I have lived so long abroad, 
 where there is no State Church, and where all deno- 
 minations are on a perfect equality, that I am not 
 likely to err in this respect. Besides which, I know 
 most intimately men of all creeds, and have the 
 greatest respect for all those " who love the Lord 
 Jesus Christ in sincerity," by whatever name they 
 may pass among men. 
 
 Having thus given a reason why I think such a 
 book as I am writing should be presented to the 
 public ; having stated that I write from no mere 
 hearsay, but as having for so long a time dwelt 
 amid the scenes I describe ; and having also re- 
 moved what might have raised a prejudice against 
 myself as a chronicler of Australian history, I will 
 without further preface address myself to the task 
 before me. And if, within the compass of a small 
 volume, I can take you out to the colonies, travel 
 with you from one to the other of them, tracing by 
 the way " their rise, progress, present condition, 
 and future prospects," and then bring you safely 
 home on a voyage by steam, round that region of 
 storms. Cape Horn, I think you will agree with me 
 that I have beaten the electric telegraph JioUoiv. 
 But who shall go on the voyage ? For whom are
 
 12 NEW HOMES. 
 
 these colonies fit and promising places to resort to 
 as an adopted home ? My own lengthened expa- 
 triation has made England, and much of what I see 
 in England, quite new to me. The style in which 
 all classes appear to me to live is completely altered. 
 A great deal of the old and charming simplicity 
 which I remember in bygone days has passed 
 away for ever. There is a restlessness among 
 masses of the people ; a great amount of competi- 
 tion in every grade of society ; all ranks vie with 
 each other in expense of living, of dress, and of 
 equipage ; people dress in broad cloth who in my 
 boyish days dressed in fustian ; and silks and satins 
 are the attire of people who used to appear in 
 prints. And the puzzle to me continually is arising. 
 How is all this done ? How can the people, as a 
 whole^ make such a display ? Of course I know 
 that England is a great and wealthy nation — 
 greater and wealthier than any other nation — but 
 still is all that I see the result of improved cir- 
 cumstances ? I fear not. I suspect from all that 
 I see, and from what I am told, that a vast pro- 
 portion of our population are given to keep up 
 appearances. Men do not like their neighbours to 
 outvie them in the goodness of their houses, the 
 richness of their furniture, the style of their dress, 
 or the quality of their entertainments ; and hence 
 there is a continual and most unwholesome com- 
 petition and rivalry existing. Many a man rides 
 in his carriage who ouglit to be walking ; and many
 
 NEW HOMES. 13 
 
 a lady is dressed to receive visitors whose house- 
 hold duties lU'gently claim her personal superin- 
 tendence. But this is considered necessary^ in 
 order to keep up the credit of those who are in 
 business. Surely, however, this is a very hollow, 
 artificial state of society. True, says every one to 
 whom you speak, most true. But so it is ; and 
 " when you are at Eome, you must do as Eome 
 does." To my mind it appears quite clear that in 
 this great and famed land every profession and 
 every business is overcroioded. The land cannot 
 hold them, and continue to be healthy and vigorous, 
 as of old. The remedy is emigration. When we 
 read the word emigration^ we are apt to confine it 
 to poor labourers and their families ; we picture to 
 ourselves an English or an Irish port, with its 
 vessels crowded with hundreds of poor exiles 
 quitting their native land, to seek bread on other 
 and fairer shores. But that is not my idea. I 
 think that new homes should be sought by all 
 classes, excepting of course those who by birth or 
 by position are so happily placed as to be above 
 the necessity of working for their subsistence. I 
 have seen around me since my return many a pro- 
 fessional man of every kind, many a merchant, 
 farmer, tradesman, and mechanic, as well as the 
 miner, the labourer, and the domestic servant, 
 whose position might be greatly benefited by seeking 
 on other shores that remuneration for his labour 
 which he so richly merits, but which he sees no
 
 14 NEW HOMES. 
 
 prospect of here. I think that at all times, but 
 just now especially, the capitalist whose attention 
 is drawn to the Australian colonies would reap a 
 return for his money which here he may seek in 
 vain. Without entering upon the dangerous field 
 of speculation, he might invest his money in almost 
 any one of the colonies, and in almost any under- 
 taking, with the certainty of obtaining for it a far 
 better return than he can do in England, where 
 money appears to be a drug, with only a nominal 
 value attached to it. The colonies are expanding 
 so much every year, that professional men of average 
 ability will in time work themselves into a position. 
 There is a great want of earnest-minded ministers 
 of relicrion of all denominations. And I do not 
 hesitate to say that, as a lody, they are better ojQf 
 than in England. Of course we have no great 
 prizes, no rich deaneries or fat rectories ; but then 
 there is none of the actual tvant which is to be 
 found among English curates, nor the necessity for 
 keeping up appearances, which seems so requisite 
 among the occupants of the smaller livings in this 
 country. But it may be objected, " Yes, but who 
 would live in a country where you have to depend 
 on the voluntary system — where your ot\ti people 
 provide your stipend ? " I would. And I have 
 done so, and would not mind doing so again. 
 I believe that the respect shown to the clergy in 
 the colonies is quite equal to what they receive 
 here ; and that if a man does his duty, he will be
 
 NEW HOMES. 15 
 
 properly provided for without any violence being 
 done to his feelings. In many of those new town- 
 ships which are continually springing up, the 
 merchant and the tradesman, if they will but be 
 content to creep before they walk, and to walk 
 before they run, will find an opening which year 
 by year will go on improving. I have been living 
 a good deal in the country since my return. I find 
 the small tenant farmer gone, and the country par- 
 celled out into large farms, held by men who are 
 in many cases only struggling against a host of 
 diflS.culties. Look at the Australian farmer, and 
 compare his position with the English tenant- 
 farmer, and I am sure you will see the superiority 
 of the former over the latter. If he have a little 
 capital he may select his own virgin soil, have a 
 large farm direct from the Government, pay a mere 
 trifle for it as rent or interest for a few years, and 
 after that it becomes his otvn for ever, without the 
 payment of any price at all. If he have a family, 
 every one is a help, and not an encumbrance. Of 
 course, such a man must go through a great deal 
 of hard work ; he must take off his coat, and work 
 with a will ; his wife must not think so much of 
 her dress as of her household duties ; but then 
 they are working for themselves and for their 
 children. Every year their property is increasing 
 in value ; and if they will be but true to themselves, 
 they will, God blessing their industry, reap a rich 
 reward. A story is told of two professional men
 
 16 NEW HOMES. 
 
 who, worn out with anxiety and crushed down by 
 competition, and by keeping up hollow appearances, 
 often talked together of trying to better their lot, 
 and getting rid of the mockery by which they were 
 surrounded. At last it was arranged that one 
 should go out first and report progress. He went 
 and got some land, and reared his hut and got 
 some corn. Little by little you might see fences 
 rising round you, and crops going in ; and though 
 the new farmer had no money, he had money's 
 worth in his cleared freeJiold land and his increasing 
 stock. Then came out his friend, a man of another 
 stamp, and when he visited the farmer, he found 
 the lady who when last he saw her was dressed in 
 satins, presiding at the piano in a handsome 
 drawing-room, now with her gown sleeves tucked 
 up making her butter ; and the husband's axe in 
 the distance telling fearfully on some giant in the 
 forest. And he was disgusted. It would never do 
 for him. But the lady told him that she had never 
 known what comfort was till then ; they worked 
 hard and slept well; they were making a home 
 for themselves, and for their children after them ; 
 if they were spared for two or three years more 
 the worst of their toil would be over ; and above 
 all, she said, we have no " Mrs. Grundy " here. 
 Yes, in all the colonies there are hundreds of 
 families, many of them gentlemen and ladies by 
 birth, and many more who are nature's noblemen, 
 who have thus, in the wilds of Australia, raised
 
 NEW HOMES. 17 
 
 themselves to positions of comfort and independence. 
 The desire to possess a "bit of land," which he can 
 call his oivn^ seems to be a desire implanted in the 
 human heart. I know of no countries where this 
 most reasonable ambition can be more easily grati- 
 fied. I have spoken of the farmer as having capital. 
 And a little capital is a great advantage ; nay, is 
 almost necessary. But then, I do not mean such 
 a capital as is required for a large farm in England. 
 Many a labouring man, knowing what he is about, 
 will become a servant on a farm for a year or two. 
 Whilst in that capacity he will keep his eye about 
 him, spy out a bit of good land, save up his large 
 wages, get it, and commence operations in a small 
 way. Such a man nearly always succeeds if he 
 have but common prudence. The mechanic may 
 emigrate with great advantage. Some trades are 
 more in demand than others ; and we shall hereafter 
 be able to speak more to the point on this subject. 
 There are times when mechanics are less in 
 demand than at others ; and in new countries, 
 with a shifting population, it is not easy to give 
 advice to this class of persons. They sometimes 
 have to go long distances before they get their 
 work ; and at others they are without work. 
 But as you will see as you read further the wages 
 are very high. The hours of labour are, as a rule, 
 eight hours. This class generally manage as soon 
 as possible to put themselves up a little house of 
 their own, so as to save the landlord's demands, and
 
 18 NEW HOMES. 
 
 the tax-gatherer does not so frequently make his 
 calls upon them. It has always appeared to me 
 that the great fault of such persons is clinging to 
 the large towns, and being too particular as to what 
 they do. If the towns are full, strike out into some 
 country place. If your own occupation is at the 
 moment overcrowded, take labourer's work — any 
 work, for a short time. All will come right pre- 
 sently. Get into work of some kind. Work brings 
 money, and time brings experience. If emigrants 
 pursued this plan, and met the difficulties insepa- 
 rable from a settlement in a new country with a 
 hearty good will, and laughed at, instead of grum- 
 bling over, the discomforts of the first few months, 
 we should hear less of that discontent which arises 
 at times from those who will not be satisfied unless 
 they can see all the appliances of an old and artifi- 
 cial state of society transplanted ready to their hand 
 in their new homes. There is a difficult class to be 
 dealt with, who are very ready for emigration, but 
 who perhaps are most unfitted for it, I mean 
 young men brought up in offices. Men who can 
 write and read and cast accounts, and nothing else ; 
 whose hands are white, and who physically are not 
 equal to any exertion, even if they were disposed to 
 work at rough employments. There are now so 
 many natives of the soil whose parents have a con- 
 nection and a certain amount of local interest, that 
 they generally get a preference in our banks, in- 
 surance, merchants', and other offices. And if a
 
 NEW HOMES. 19 
 
 young man of this class, arriving at any one of the 
 great centres of population, can do nothing else but 
 office work, he may, and I know he often does, meet 
 with great disappointment. But the number of such 
 young men is, I trust, on the decrease. In these 
 days of athletic exercises, when Oxford and Cam- 
 bridge, and all our great schools, vie with each 
 other in muscle as well as in brain, this race of " do 
 nothings" will gradually disappear. Our ablest 
 men now, with the pen and with the tongue, are 
 also our best at the oar, the bat, and the leaping bar. 
 Send out such a man. If he did not get into an 
 employment which was most congenial to him^ why 
 he would take off his coat and " turn to " at any- 
 thing that was honest, however hard, till his time 
 came. And of a man made of such material there 
 is no fear eventually. There is one view of the 
 Australian colonies which is not, I think, presented 
 to the English reader with sufficient prominence. 
 I mean as a home for those of delicate constitutions. 
 Medical men are beginning to turn their attention 
 to these countries. How many are there who are 
 constitutionally quite unfitted for living in England, 
 to whom its moist and foggy winters produce the 
 worst results, and whose early death may be ex- 
 pected, who might be greatly benefited by a change 
 to one or other of this great group of colonies. Dr. 
 S. Dougan Bird, in his excellent work on Australa- 
 sian Climates, and their Influence in the Prevention 
 and Arrest of Pulmonary Consumption, says : — "In
 
 20 NEW HOMES. 
 
 these colonies we have good examples of all the 
 varieties of climate, air, and soil required for the 
 treatment of pulmonary consumption, whether in 
 winter or summer. Thus Launceston, in Tasmania, 
 (24 hours by steamer from Melbourne) fulfils 
 every condition which we should require for the 
 class of persons to which Pau is beneficial. It is in 
 a moist, clayey soil, in a valley at the junction of the 
 North and South Esk, about 40 miles from the sea, 
 protected from all winds but the north by high 
 ranges of mountains, whilst the heat and dryness of 
 these winds are obviated by their passage across the 
 Bass's Straits. The atmosphere is usually still, 
 moist, and equable, and to healthy persons relaxing, 
 as the ozoniferous west and south-west winds cannot 
 reach the valleys. Count Strzelecki compares the 
 winter climate of Launceston to that of Lisbon, 
 while in summer it is not warmer than Cheltenham. 
 There are excellent hotels and lodging-houses in the 
 town, and living is not dearer than in any English 
 watering-place, whilst the scenery is highly pic- 
 turesque, and there is no lack of society and the 
 amusements which can be expected in a provincial 
 town. There are other parts of the northern coast 
 of the island whose winter climate is identical with 
 that of Algiers or Sicily, considerably warmer, and 
 less damp and relaxing than Pau, without the dry 
 and stimulating air of the mainland. Ilobart Town 
 and the southern coast may be looked upon rather 
 as a summer climate for invalids than as a winter
 
 NEW HOMES. 21 
 
 residence, although in Europe it would take a high 
 rank amongst the latter, its coldest month having a 
 mean temperature of 45-82° Fahrenheit, that is to 
 say, considerably warmer than the winter of Pau, 
 and on a level with most winter climates in the south 
 of Europe. The whole of Tasmania is very salu- 
 brious and well suited to European constitutions, 
 particularly those exhausted by residence in India 
 or other hot climates." The mortality of Hobart 
 Town is far lower than any town mortality in 
 Europe. " But," continues Dr. Bird, " the climate, 
 ]?ar excellence^ of these colonies is that of Moreton 
 Bay and its neighbourhood, in Queensland, not far 
 fi'om the southern limit of the tropics. Here the 
 average winter temperature on the coast is 62" or 
 63", warmer even than Madeira — an air soft and 
 soothing, without being relaxing, and sunny brilliant 
 weather. This, of all climates that I ever heard of, 
 is the one most likely to prolong the life of an ad- 
 vanced case of consumption in an irritable consti- 
 tution, whose bronchial membrane resents any fall 
 in the temperature. A considerable number of 
 instances are familiar to the inhabitants of the more 
 southern colonies of persons, apparently in a hope- 
 less stage of disease, recovering sufficiently in 
 Queensland to follow their ordinary avocations." 
 
 The climate of South Australia is dry, warm, 
 tonic, and stimulating. " The soil for many miles 
 around the city of Adelaide is a light sandy loam, 
 in which the vine, the orange, and the geranium
 
 "22 NEW HOMES. 
 
 flourish in great vigour and beauty. In the matter 
 of temperature, South Australia may be compared 
 with Malta, or even Tunis, but in general salubrity 
 they will bear no comparison. 
 
 " Many of the northern districts of Yictoria, on 
 the frontiers of New South Wales, and still further 
 north, have winter climates which present admirable 
 modifications of this type — dry, warm, and tonic — 
 but not so stimulating as that of South Australia. 
 But besides the decided antitheses of climate, we 
 have others which, without such positive charac- 
 teristics of soothing or stimulating air, are suitable 
 to that numerous class of consumptive patients 
 who require simply a warm, bright, and salubrious 
 climate in winter, and have not any special re- 
 quirements beyond this. Sydney, and the coast of 
 New South Wales in general, differ very con- 
 siderably in climate from that of Victoria. It is 
 several degrees nearer the Equator, and out of 
 reach of the west and south-west winds. The 
 result of which is, that the average temperature 
 is higher both for the year and in winter, the 
 air is less ozoniferous and stimulating, the changes 
 are fewer and not so rapid, and have more regu- 
 larity. The winter temperature at Sydney is about 
 53°. The winters are warm, light, and pleasant 
 during the day, but chilly at night. Taking it all 
 in all, there is perhaps no climate in the world 
 so generally suitable to consumptive cases at all 
 seasons of the year as Melbourne and its neigh-
 
 NEW HOMES. 23 
 
 bonrliood. With the winter temperature of Eoine 
 or Barcelona, the southern littoral of Victoria is not 
 hotter in summer than Paris ; less moist and 
 boisterous than New Zealand, it equally falls short 
 of the excessive dryness of South Australia, and 
 the close damp heat occasionally experienced at 
 Sydney." 
 
 Since my return to England, observing how 
 numerous is that class of persons who are obliged 
 to seek out some mild retreat, at least for the 
 winter, it appears to me important that the peculiar 
 advantages presented by the different Australian 
 colonies should be brought prominently before the 
 public. And it must be borne in mind that the 
 voyage is now, as compared with what it used to 
 be, more like a pleasure excursion, and is most 
 generally of the greatest benefit to the invalid. I 
 believe that when the climate of Australia is better 
 known at home, there will be a far greater number 
 of persons seeking it than at present. And it is 
 not only in cases of consumption that it appears to 
 be so beneficial. But when persons go out at an 
 advanced period of life, they seem to renew their 
 youth, and to take a fresh lease of life — like trees 
 transplanted into a more congenial soil. 
 
 There is another class of persons to be found 
 pretty frequently in all parts of England, and in 
 the continental towns. I mean those who are in 
 possession of small fixed incomes arising from 
 property. These incomes are so small, that there
 
 24 NEW HOMES. 
 
 is a perpetual struggle going on to "make both 
 ends meet." Such persons often leave their native 
 land and go amongst foreigners, not that they like 
 their, surroundings, but simply led to do so by 
 motives of economy. I cannot but think that they 
 would feel themselves more at home in the Aus- 
 tralian colonies, and far more comfortable. They 
 would enjoy a fine climate, have all the comforts 
 and conveniences of life in the midst of a society 
 which is thoroughly English, and not have to 
 exercise such rigid economy as they are obliged 
 to do now. But such an one may say to me, "Is 
 it really so ? What kind of places are your towns ? 
 What are your houses like ? What is the state of 
 society ? Have you the same or worse trouble 
 with your servants ? Are the means of grace 
 within your reach ? What is the state of edu- 
 cation ? " All the cities and large towns are very 
 like English towns. Fine broad streets, handsome 
 shojDS — as handsome as those in Eegent Street — 
 crowds of well dressed people and numbers of well 
 appointed carriages meet you at every turn. These 
 cities have, in most cases, parks and botanical 
 gardens ; and the same amusements are to be found 
 in them as in England. The houses are built after 
 the English plan, except that they are frequently 
 to be found with the broad verandah to keep out 
 the rays of the sun. House rent is high, but is 
 falling every year ; and the rates and taxes are 
 very small compared with those at home. The
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 25 
 
 various building societies which are in existence 
 enable persons of small means to become their own 
 landlords on easy terms, whereby those who are 
 obliged to live in towns soon escape from the 
 necessity of paying rent. The state of society is 
 of course varied. It depends upon the locality in 
 which you are placed. But if your lot be cast in 
 any of the great centres of population you will find 
 really good society. It was formerly considered 
 rather exclusive. This arose from the necessity of 
 the case in the early days of the different colonies, 
 but the cause for it is dying out. 
 
 But it is not only in the large towns that you 
 are privileged to meet with thoroughly well edu- 
 cated men and women, but in the remotest parts of 
 the various colonies. In travelling in the interior 
 I have often come upon the settler's hut at night, 
 and been received with that warmth of welcome 
 which characterizes that class. And though the 
 house was perhaps nothing but a slab hut, if only 
 it were blessed with a mistress, you would see 
 signs of refinement all about you. The master 
 receiving his periodicals and his reviews by each 
 mail, and first-rate standard books ; and the 
 evening often enlivened by music and by song. 
 And hardly ever through all my travelling, and 
 mixing as I have done with all kinds of people, 
 have I been obliged to retire to my room for the 
 night without the host and hostess and the mem- 
 bers of the family joining with me in reading 
 
 c
 
 26 NEW HOMES. 
 
 the word of God, before we bent the knee to Him 
 who watcheth over us by night and by day. Nay, 
 if the settler knew beforehand of my approach he 
 would generally send round to the out-stations and 
 to his neighbours, if he had any, so that I fre- 
 quently found a large gathering to join in the 
 evening sacrifice of prayer and praise. I have 
 often joined in worship in the stately cathedrals of 
 England, and much as I have enjoyed our services 
 in those venerable piles and listened to the peal 
 of the fine organ and the sweet voices of the 
 choristers, I never yet have found anything so 
 enjoyable as these little bush services, composed of 
 people hastily drawn together from all quarters. 
 The Christian minister has much to be thankful for 
 in these colonies, for his message is ever gladly 
 received and he is himself cordially welcomed. Of 
 course he sometimes has to put up with somewhat 
 strange quarters, but then he does not mind that. 
 I remember on one occasion, after travelling all 
 day, I came upon a remote station late at night. 
 It happened to be on the last night of the year. I 
 found that the settler was a Scotchman, and that 
 there was a great gathering of his clan to dance 
 the old year out and the new one in. I was glad 
 to escape to my little crib or bunk. But tired as I 
 was I could not sleep, for the music and the 
 dancing and the singing and the shouting came to 
 my room. During the darkness of the night I 
 heard a scuffle at my door, and great confusion as
 
 ^%-i^-^^p?^f-^-
 
 NEW HOMES. 27 
 
 from men who perhaps had taken a little too much 
 whiskey. But it shortly ceased. In the morning 
 I was told that one Highlander in his cups had 
 become so smitten with his fair partner that he 
 proposed to her then and there, and determined on 
 rousing up the parson to get him to marry them 
 off the reel. .All his friends joined with him ; but 
 the settler himself, mindful of the rites of hos- 
 pitality, got some to stand by him, and his party 
 proving to be the stronger they protected my room 
 from being invaded. At another time I slept in a 
 little cooking hut with a broad open chimney made 
 of wood. And down this chimney came opossums, 
 and got on to my bed and came smelling about me, 
 causing me like a frightened child to. hide my 
 head beneath the clothes. And often, if inclined to 
 study astronomy, I could do so without fatigue, as 
 I could watch the stars quite well between the 
 openings in the roof. Perhaps the funniest night's 
 accommodation I ever had was in the colony of 
 Victoria, many years ago. I was desirous of visit- 
 ing a new village, at a distance of about 60 miles 
 from the town in which I had been staying. There 
 was. no road, and only a track here and there. A 
 clergyman, to whom I stated my difficulty, kindly 
 agreed to drive me to it. We started, and travelled, as 
 we thought, GO miles with the same horses. Night 
 came on and we saw no signs of the village. Ten 
 at night came and we were still out. Quite dark. 
 1^0 food. Nay, we had not even a lucifer match
 
 28 NEW HOMES. 
 
 with us, wherewith to strike a light. By-and-hye 
 my friend said, "I am sure there is a shepherd's hut 
 within a mile or two of this spot. Will you go and 
 hunt for. it, or will you stay and mind the horses ? " 
 The expedition appeared so Quixotic that I pre- 
 ferred staying by the horses. And off he went. I 
 was thus left in the darkness of the night with two 
 strange horses in the grim forest alone. What if 
 he should lose himself and not return ? What 
 should I do ? Should I raise a loud " coo-ee" ? If 
 I did some of the natives might come, and it might 
 not be over safe to be found under such circum- 
 stances. After two hours — which seemed to me like 
 two days — he came back, accompanied by a man 
 with a lantern. He had discovered a shepherd's 
 hut by a light placed in the window. We went to 
 the hut, having previously tied our horses to gum- 
 trees with their bridles. They thus, after a journey 
 of 60 miles, picked up what little grass they could 
 for themselves, and were ready to start fresh with 
 us next morning. What would an English groom 
 think of this ? The shepherd's wife kindly gave us 
 the invariable mutton-chop and damper, and some 
 post and rail tea. And then we thought of bed. 
 Yes, bed in the singular number. For there was 
 but one in the whole hut, for the two clergymen, 
 the shepherd and his wife, and their three children. 
 However, they most politely gave us the bed, put 
 the children across at the bottom, and slept under- 
 neath themselves. In the morning you can easily 
 imagine that we got up rather early.
 
 NEW HOMES. , 29 
 
 Then comes the question of domestic servants. 
 This and the weather seem to form the two grand 
 subjects of discourse in England, Therefore you 
 cannot be surprised that it should be a trouble also 
 abroad. But I really do not think we have more 
 annoyance on this head there than here. "Wages 
 are much higher, of course. In days gone by 
 there was a very dijBPerent state of things. All our 
 servants then were convicts. I have lived in the 
 country and had eleven or twelve of them in the 
 house. And capital servants they were. They 
 were assigned to you by the Government. You fed 
 and clothed them. They could not leave your 
 premises after certain hours without a "pass" 
 from you, or they were liable to be taken up by the 
 constables. Going into Hobart Town to dinner, 
 from Boa Yista, where I then resided, I requested 
 a prisoner footman to come and walk home with 
 me through the bush. During our dark and dreary 
 walk I said, '' John, why were you sent out ? " 
 And he then told me that he was a baker by trade, 
 and that in a passion he had stabbed his master with 
 a carving knife, and only just escaped the gallows. 
 Not a very pleasant revelation to be made to one 
 under the peculiar circumstances in which I was 
 just then placed. But he was a very faithful fellow, 
 and I parted from him with great regret. In fact you 
 had these people so much under your control — so 
 much of their little comforts depended upon you, and 
 your report had so great an influence on the time
 
 30 NEW HOMES. 
 
 at which they obtained their tickets-of-leave, that, 
 unless they were radically bad, you got on very well 
 with them. K^ow and then, however, you were 
 left without servants. This happened just after our 
 arrival in the colony. We had a baby in the house, 
 and no " help " of any kind. I could nurse the 
 baby, and that was pretty well all I could do. 
 But what about dinner ? My wife knew nothing 
 about cooking. But there happened to be hanging 
 up a line-looking piece of beef. She came to me 
 in great trouble, hoping but hardly expecting that 
 I should be able to start some valuable suggestion. 
 She said she had tasted a dish called "bubble and 
 squeak," which appeared to be made of slices of 
 beef mixed with cabbage, and she thought she 
 could manage to cook that very well. To show my 
 sympathy I put down the baby and went into the 
 garden and cut some fine cabbages. And so I left 
 it. After a time I was told that dinner was ready, 
 and I went down to it and helped first my wife 
 and then myself. But our knives and forks were 
 soon put down, and we looked most comically at 
 each other. The meat was raw and the cabbage 
 hard. We had to dine ofi" bread and butter. I»[ow, 
 we afterwards discovered that the meat should have 
 been previously cooked and the cabbage boiled. 
 My wife resolved from that day that if she ever 
 had any daughters they should not be educated, as 
 she herself had been, in utter ignorance of all 
 culinary arts. And this pledge she fully redeemed,
 
 NEW HOMES. 31 
 
 bringing up lier children so that they were initiated 
 at an early period in all such domestic duties. 
 
 As regards the ordinances of religion, they are 
 now dispensed far and wide through all the colonies. 
 The village must be very small and the neighbour- 
 hood very scattered which does not now enjoy the 
 means of grace. All denominations of Christians 
 have ministers. And I do really believe that these 
 men will compare satisfactorily with their brethren 
 in this highly- favoured land. How different is all 
 this from what it was when I first went to Australia ! 
 Then, my ecclesiastical superior was the Archdeacon 
 of Australia (Dr. Broughton), and my bishop was 
 the Bishop of Calcutta — the well-known and much 
 beloved Daniel Wilson. Just imagine one man 
 having the spiritual oversight of the whole of the 
 vast continent of Australia, Tasmania, and New 
 Zealand, and acting under a bishop as far off as 
 Calcutta. Dr. Broughton became the first Bishop of 
 Australia, and afterwards Bishop of Sydney and 
 Metropolitan. In order to obtain the help of suffra- 
 gan bishops, he generously gave up a large portion 
 of his own income. After a long life of labour the 
 aged bishop went on a visit to England. He lost 
 his life from his unremitting attention to some of 
 the passengers who had yellow fever, and just as 
 he closed his eyes in death it was evident that his 
 thoughts were dwelling on the land he had left 
 behind him — that land which he had loved so well 
 — for he was heard to whisper these words, '' The
 
 32 NEW HOMES. 
 
 earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, 
 as the waters cover the sea." 
 
 And no one need be afraid respecting the educa- 
 tion of his children. I knew the time when the 
 want of it was sorely felt, when the best boarding- 
 school in one of the colonies was kept by a prisoner ; 
 when even young ladies were taught by that class 
 of persons. But that is completely a tale of days 
 gone by. There are now excellent schools to be 
 found in every town and village, available for the 
 children of all denominations alike. The teachers 
 hold their certificates from the ^respective govern- 
 ments ; they are well paid, and the schools are 
 inspected by the officials most regularly. In the 
 large towns, there are besides first-rate colleges and 
 grammar schools, presided over by men of mark 
 from the English and Scotch universities ; and the 
 more advanced colonies of New South Wales and 
 Yictoria have universities, with their affiliated col- 
 leges, and a curriculum of study similar to that 
 laid down by the home universities, and with the 
 power of granting degrees in law, medicine, and 
 arts. 
 
 I often hear the complaint made in England that 
 it is a non-marrying age. The J^oung men like 
 their liberty. They do not marry. Those in the 
 upper classes prefer the luxury of their clubs to 
 the comforts of a home; and men in the middle 
 ranks of life seem afraid of commencing house- 
 keeping. A lady at the West- end of London told
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 33 
 
 me lately, that the men were so fond of their club- 
 life that you had to tempt them with the best of 
 dinners and the choicest wines or they were deaf to 
 your invitations. What is the cause of all this ? 
 Does it arise from the expensive style in which all 
 classes are now living ? Are the young women of 
 the present day less domesticated in their habits, so 
 that men shrink from incurring obligations which 
 they may be unable to fulfil ? It would seem to 
 me that these causes have a great deal to do with 
 the non-marrying propensities of the present day. 
 And it is a subject of such grave importance as to 
 be well worthy of careful consideration. When I 
 was a youth myself, it was very common for a pro- 
 fessional man to feel that he could prudently marry 
 so soon as he had a very moderate income, some two 
 or three hundred a year ; and many of my compeers 
 did so, and brought up their families respectably on 
 such incomes. And if you went a step lower in 
 the social scale, there were numberless marriages 
 on incomes of £150 a year, or even less than that. 
 But it is not so now. It seems to be considered 
 necessary to have fine houses, handsome furniture, 
 means of getting about for holiday trips, ability to 
 entertain, and to dress expensively, or you must not 
 entertain the idea of matrimony. I think this is 
 all very wrong and greatly to be deplored. And 
 I am sure that it is felt much by young people of 
 both sexes. Some time ago I was travelling, and 
 at a house where I was staying we were talking on
 
 34 NEW HOMES. 
 
 the subject, and a lady of a certain age, the burden 
 of whose song was "N^obody coming to marry me, 
 nobody coming to woo," took an opportunity of 
 asking, " If I thought there would be a probability 
 of her getting settled in life if she went to Aus- 
 tralia." And the same thought probably passes 
 through the mind of many a woman as she sees her 
 years creeping on, and finds the hair beginning to 
 turn, and the prospect as far off apparently as ever 
 of obtaining a home of her own. There can be no 
 doubt at all that the number of marriages in the 
 colonies, as compared with those in England, is 
 greatly in favour of the former. People are on the 
 whole better off there, and they are not so tied down 
 by the rules of society as to feel themselves com- 
 pelled to live at the same expensive rate. I am a 
 great advocate for early marriages generally, and 
 especially in the colonies. Many a young couple 
 who may have been engaged for years in the mother 
 country waiting for something to turn up which 
 may give them a fair start in life, and thus en- 
 courage them to settle, might do so safely abroad, 
 and find their prospects improved as well as their 
 comforts vastly increased by the step. 
 
 But if these colonies are well adapted to all the 
 classes of whom I have been speaking, they present 
 peculiar advantages to the labouring population. I 
 am living in Dorsetshire, and I see before my eyes 
 every day the state in which the labourers here are 
 obliged to live. The wages are from nine to ten
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 shillings a week, and tlie man paj^s rent for his 
 cottage and has to purchase fuel and keep his family 
 entirely out of that sum. Mr. Bonwick, in his 
 timely little publication on Emigration, says : — " A 
 fortnight ago I had the folly to ask a Devonshire 
 cottager the price of beef. She fairly laughed at 
 me for thinking that she, that never tasted such a 
 luxury, could tell its price. I wonder whether she 
 has heard the tune of ' The Eoast Beef of Old 
 England.' Poor soul I Old England was the time 
 of her father and grandfather. How she did stare 
 when I spoke of farm labourers getting meat three 
 times a day in Australia." As we proceed with our 
 work, the labouring man will find under the head 
 of each separate colony the wages which are to be 
 obtained. Many of them in addition hold out in- 
 ducements to emigrants in the shape of grants of 
 land. Here the labourer as a rule remains a labourer 
 for life, there he only continues in that position 
 until he has gained colonial experience, and saved a 
 little money, and after that he has every chance of 
 becoming his own master, and very probably an 
 employer of labour himself. But it is, remember, 
 the country for hard work. "The hand of the 
 diligent maketh rich." There are loads of idle, 
 dissipated fellows — " loafers," as they are called — 
 to be found there as everywhere, and these men are 
 loud in their condemnation of the colony. But the 
 fault is in themselves. The men to whom our 
 colonies hold out inducements are the able-bodied
 
 36 NEW HOMES. 
 
 and the willing workers. Persons devoid of energy 
 and without physical powers are not adapted for 
 roughing it in a new country. But, strange to say, 
 you find the masses of the agricultural population 
 anything but inclined to move from home. And 
 this arises in a great measure from the want of 
 energy produced by poor living. Go amongst the 
 intelligent artisan class, or those engaged in mining 
 pursuits who work hard and live well, and they 
 readily lend an ear to any proposition which may 
 be made to them of improving their position. The 
 great drawback to success is very often drink. Men 
 earn money more, readily, and unless they are 
 strong-minded and set some great object before 
 them, they are apt to give way to habits of intem- 
 perance. These habits are a curse anywhere, but if 
 in a warm climate a man gives way to this soul and 
 body destroying vice, there is little hope of him. 
 The governments hold out all facilities to the la- 
 bouring classes. There are savings' banks in every 
 township, and in most places mechanics' institutes 
 or rooms of some kind, where, when the short day's 
 work is done, the workman may pass a portion of 
 his time in wholesome relaxation. 
 
 For female servants of every class — if only they 
 know their work — this is indeed just the country 
 to go to. Such persons will, as in the case of men, 
 find under the head of each colony the rates of 
 wages which are given. When a cook or a 
 laundress can set from £30 to £40 a year, a
 
 NEW HOMES. 37 
 
 parlour- maid £30, and a general servant from £25 
 to £30 a year, such a country may well be re- 
 garded as the place to" which good servants may 
 resort. It is true that dress is rather more expen- 
 sive, perhaps 20 per cent, dearer. But still this 
 leaves a large margin in favour of Australia. The 
 only thing of which the employers of labour have 
 to find fault is, that they cannot keep their ser- 
 vants. Only get a nice girl who knows her work 
 and is prudent, and she soon gets married. For a 
 long time every servant in my own house only left 
 our employ as, by marriage, she went to a house 
 of her own. Why, here in England, girls " walk " 
 with their young men, and never dream of any- 
 thing but " walking," till they have worn out 
 more pairs of shoos than would have bought a farm 
 in Australia. But the servants must not only 
 know their work but be of truly respectable cha- 
 racter, or there is no hope of their getting into good 
 families. A continuous supply of such women 
 would be a great boon to all the colonies. It would 
 not be easy to glut the market, for the servant of 
 to-day is the mistress of to-morrow. 
 
 When I talk to such people about going out, 
 they say they dread the voyage. " It is so long. It 
 is so dangerous." It used to be long and it was 
 formerly more dangerous. But now it is neither 
 the one nor the other. Nautical men tell us that 
 it is the safest voyage that can be made. After the 
 first few days — and all people do not even suffer for
 
 58 NEW HOMES. 
 
 that short period — it is a most enjoyable life, and 
 if you were to see immigrants after a three months' 
 voyage, you would agree with me in thinking 
 that it certainly had done them no harm. The 
 Yictoria Government at this moment are contem- 
 plating the establishment of a line of large steamers 
 which shall sail monthly round the Cape of Good 
 Hope, carrying 500 passengers at each trip^ on 
 reasonable terms. If this be done it will be a great 
 boon to all classes of emigrants. Do not think 500 
 too many. I came home in the noble steamer the 
 Great Britain^ and there were nearly 900 of us on 
 board. Everything was managed most admirably : 
 the living like that in a large hotel, a German 
 band played upon the deck, and music and singing 
 and dancing and private theatricals seemed to 
 enable the passengers to pass the time right merrily. 
 But the labourer and the female servant may say 
 to me, " Suppose all this to be true, and that we 
 should like to go, but how are we to get out? 
 We have not the money wherewith to pay our pas- 
 sages." Free passages are granted to single female 
 servants of good character, from eighteen to thirty- 
 five years of age. And on your arrival at your 
 destination you are not cast adrift but received for 
 a time into a " Home," which is carefully super- 
 tended, until you have the opportunity of obtaining 
 employment. 
 
 A new company has just been formed under 
 most flattering auspices, which promises to be of
 
 NEW HOMES. 39 
 
 material service. We subjoin its prospectus for the 
 information of the intending emigrant : — 
 
 "inMIGRANT and COLONIST'S AID CORPORATION 
 
 -J— i (Limited). Incorporated under the Companies Acts, 
 1S62-1SG7. Capital £250,000, in shares of £1 each, with 
 power to increase. 10s. to be paid on application and 10s. on 
 allotment. The shares will thus be fully paid up, with no further 
 liability. 
 
 TRUSTEES. 
 
 His Grace the Duke of Manchester. 
 
 The Viscount Bury, M.P., President Royal Colonial Society. 
 
 R. R. Torrens, Esq., M.P. 
 
 R. N. Fowler, Esq., M.P. 
 
 DIEECTOES. 
 
 His Grace the Duke of Manchestee, Chairman, 1, Great 
 
 Stanhope-street, W., Kimbolton Castle, St. Neot's, and 
 
 Tandragee Castle, Ireland. 
 The Rev. Henry Alexander, B.A., The Vicarage, Shelford, Notts, 
 
 Chaplain, R.N. 
 H. G. Ashurst, Esq. (of H. A. Smith and Co., Merchants), 
 
 9, Fenchurch-street, E.C., Chairman English Assurance 
 
 Company. 
 J. Bergtheil, Esq., 48, Clifton-gardens, Maida-hill, W., late 
 
 Member of the Legislative Council, Natal. 
 Sii- George Bowyer, Bart., D.C.L., Radley-park, Abingdon, 
 
 Bucks, and 14, King's Bench-walk, E.C. 
 S. J. Cooke, Esq., 47a, Moorgate-street, E.C, late Commissioner 
 
 of Crown Lands, Victoria. 
 C. W. Ligar, Esq., F.R.G.S., Westminster Palace Hotel, S.W., 
 
 Managing Director, late Surveyor-General of Victoria. 
 •Captain Bedford Pim, R.N., 11, Belsize-square, N.W., Chairman 
 
 Central American Association. 
 
 (With power to add to their number.)
 
 40 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Bakkers. — Messrs. Dimsdale, Fowler, and Bernard, SOjCornhill. 
 SoLiciTOES. — Messrs. Kimber & Ellis, 79, Lombard-street, E.G. 
 Secretary. — Colonel Francis C. Maude, R.A., V.C., C.B., 
 F.R.C.S., F.S.A., F.E.G.S., Member of Council, National Emi- 
 gration Aid Society. 
 
 Offices. — 5, Queen-square, St. James's-park, S.W., and 47Aj 
 Moorgate-street, E.C. 
 
 "ABRIDGED PEOSPECTUS. 
 
 " This Corporation has been formed for the purpose of securing 
 the success of the emigrant and colonist, without making him 
 an object of charity, paying a fair return for the capital em- 
 ployed on his behalf, and at the same time carrying out the 
 designs of the benevolent and philanthropic. 
 
 " It is proposed to effect these objects in the following 
 manner : — 
 
 " By obtaining concessions of land, by purchase or otherwise, 
 on terms which will enable the Corporation to subdivide it, and 
 make grants of intermediate portions thereof to settlers, either 
 gratuitously or on easy terms ; 
 
 " By providing passages for approved persons and their 
 families, and advancing money for that purpose ; 
 
 " By procuring for the settlers a suitable reception in the 
 colony they may select ; forwarding them from the port to 
 their homesteads ; advising them as to the best mode of pro- 
 cedure ; giving them such aid towards social organisation as 
 shall be best calculated to secure to them a successful career in 
 their new home ; and assisting them in money and kind to- 
 wards erecting their dwellings and cultivating their land ; 
 
 " By assisting emigrant colonists of vocations other than 
 agi-icultural to obtain employment suited to their respective 
 capacities ; 
 
 " By making arrangements between colonial employers and 
 mechanics and labourers for their mutual advantage. 
 
 " In apportioning the land, it is proposed to adopt a plan of 
 temporarily reserving, as nearly as possible, intermediate allot- 
 ments between the locations of the different settlers, which in
 
 NEW HOMES. 41 
 
 course of time mvist become valuable, from the mere fact of the 
 adjoining land being settled; opportunities will thus be afforded 
 to the j^rosperous settler of extending his borders, and to the 
 Corporation of realising profit. 
 
 " A strong inducement will thus be presented to capitalists 
 to settle on the unoccupied land of the Corporation, since 
 families with capital desiring to settle thereon can calculate on 
 agricultural assistance in its immediate vicinity amono* the 
 emigrants sent out by the means of the Corporation itself. 
 
 " The Corporation proposes to repay its shareholders in the 
 following manner : — 
 
 " By the repaj^ment by the settler, with interest, of moneys 
 advanced to him on security of his allotment ; 
 
 " By the allotment to the shareholders of parcels of land to 
 be specifically reserved for them as after mentioned ; and 
 
 " By the sale, at advanced prices, of reserved lots, townships, 
 villages, and business sites, rendered valuable by the settlement 
 of adjoining lots. 
 
 " As soon as a sufficient number of shares have been taken 
 to enable the Directors to send out a first batch of emigrants, 
 arrangements will be made to do so without waiting for the 
 subscription of the whole capital ; shareholders will then have 
 the right, in a certain order, of nominating a family or indi- 
 vidual emigrants, duly apjjroved, to be sent out by the Cor- 
 poration. 
 
 " The Directors will receive the shares of the subscribers at 
 par, in whole or part payment of passage-money and advances, 
 according to circumstances — thus relieving the settler of a like 
 amount of indebtedness to the Coi'poration. 
 
 " The Corporation proposes to ensure the life of every head 
 of a family emigrating, for the amount of advances made to 
 him. The premium on the policy to be included in such 
 advances. By these means the widows and children of settlers 
 will have their heritage free from the debt created by the head 
 of the family. The Corporation, on the other hand, will 
 recover its advances without injuring those whom it desires to 
 protect. 
 
 D
 
 42 NEW HOMES. 
 
 " The Directors propose, when acquiring grants of land, to 
 set aside a certain number of acres to the shareholders, to be 
 allotted and conveyed at so much land for every share held. 
 By these means the shareholders will have real estate as 
 security for their capital, with the prospect of a considerable 
 and continually increasing value being put upon it. To prevent 
 such land, however, becoming waste by non-occupation, the 
 Corporation reserves to itself the right to manage such allotted 
 lands, if ynoccupied, and to let them, or to call upon the share- 
 holders to sell them at certain minimum rents or prices, which 
 will be announced on each allotment. 
 
 "The Corporation will also undertake to contract with 
 Colonial or other Grovernments for the management of emi- 
 gration, or with private persons wishing to send out emigrants. 
 
 " The Corporation has received several offers of land in 
 eligible situations and at moderate prices, which are under 
 consideration. 
 
 " The Directors have also been informed by competent 
 authority that it may be fairly assumed that the respective 
 colonial Governments will afford liberal assistance to the 
 Corporation ; and they beheve that certainly one, and probably 
 others of them, will undertake the collection, and guarantee the 
 repayment of the advances made by the Corporation to emi- 
 grants settling in their colonies. 
 
 " The Directors will endeavour to select land in such lo- 
 calities as will offer the greatest advantages in point of soil, 
 climate, facility of access from the coast, &c., and the proba- 
 bility of an early re-sale at advanced prices. 
 
 " The Corporation will accept loans, on security of its land 
 or otherwise, on terms to be agreed upon, from any persons 
 desirous of forming a memorial town or village on its lands, or 
 for any other of its objects. Money will also be accepted on 
 deposit from settlers themselves, or clubs, which will be allowed 
 to bear interest, and be appropriated as the depositors may 
 think fit, for promoting the emigration of relatives or friends, &c. 
 
 " Full prospectuses and any further information may be
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 43 
 
 obtained on application to the Secretary, at the Offices of the 
 Corporation, or from its Solicitors." 
 
 And a few married couples may be helped out, 
 but this will do but little towards relieving that 
 immense body of people in England, who, destitute 
 of work, are craving for food. It is an exodus 
 which is required to be of material benefit to this 
 country and of essential service to the colonies. 
 There, their waste lands are waiting for the hand of 
 man; and here, every occupation is overcrowded. 
 The state of our pauper population is the most 
 important question of the day. Some writers are 
 proposing emigration on a large scale, to be carried 
 on at the expense of the government or of the 
 board of guardians ; that on arrival at their desti- 
 nation they should have work guaranteed to them 
 for at least twelve months on new railroads or some 
 such public works ; that thus the colonies would be 
 opened up and an increased value given to the 
 waste lands at least equal to the expenditure in- 
 curred. This matter of expense is just the question. 
 It is hard to say how it is to be overcome. We 
 heartily trust that some scheme may be devised by all 
 the parties who are interested, whereby this country 
 may be relieved of its surplus and the colonies 
 correspondingly benefited. I own that I am not 
 at all sanguine of Imperial help in the matter. The 
 Ministry of the present day seems disposed to ignore 
 all colonial claims. Nay, there appears to be a
 
 44 NEW HOMES. 
 
 desire to throw off the colonies altogether. On this 
 subject a very able paper was lately read before 
 the Society of Arts by Mr. John Robinson, F.E.G.S., 
 an excellent analysis of which is to be found in 
 that admirable paper the Australasian^ from which 
 we give the following extract : — 
 
 " Mr. Robinson, in a bold yet careful generalisation, dis- 
 cusses the commercial, social, and political condition of the 
 colonial empire, and in an able argument, supported by full and 
 carefully compiled statistical tables, shows how ill England 
 could afford to lose any 'poriion of a state so magnijicent and 
 powerful. Forty years ago the Australasian group had prac- 
 tically no existence. New South Wales in 1836 was a penal 
 settlement, and New South Wales was Australia. In 1850, the 
 import trade was two millions, and the export trade two 
 millions and a third. In 1866 its imports were nearly nine 
 millions, and its exports eight and a half. The imports of 
 Victoria — startled into life by the gold discoveries — had ad- 
 vanced during the same period from £744,000 to more than 
 £14,000,000. The exports of the whole Australian colonies in 
 1850 amounted to £4,648,178. In 1866, they had advanced 
 nearly 700 per cent., being more than £31,000,000. The 
 export of gold in 1866 amounted to £11,708,397, of which 
 Victoria contributed more than half. The wool shipments 
 advanced from five to nine millions sterling ; and coal, coke, 
 flour, grain, hides, horses, cattle, copper, gum and timber, have 
 been shipped from her many ports. In sixteen years, the trade 
 of the group had increased from £9,027,894 to £67,164,616, 
 and of this £30,500,000 was done with the United Kingdom ; 
 and the population of the seven dependencies, which in 1861 
 was 1,266,432, is now 1,662,063, while a public debt of 
 £24,000,000 has been incurred on account of railways, public 
 works, and immigration. Such has been the rapid rise of the 
 Australian empire. In twenty years a city has arisen out of
 
 NEW HOMES. 45 
 
 the wilderness, and a people possessing a marine, a press, and 
 distinct nationality, has grown up almost in a night. 
 
 " It is with this ' nation ' as it now exists that English 
 legislators have to deal ; and in treading on this delicate 
 ground, Mr. Eobinson shows as much modesty as courage. 
 Pointing out the claims of the colonies to self-government, and 
 crediting the colonists with every wish for the maintenance of 
 colonial governors in a style befitting their position, the lecturer 
 strongly animadverts upon the Imperial selfishness which too 
 often saddles a young colony with the burden of self-defence. 
 To permit the privilege of self-government and enforce the 
 penalty of self-protection is a one-sided system of policy, the 
 effects of which have been lately made manifest. A young 
 colony is like a young man, and at the best it is scarcely fair 
 for the wealthier, older, and wiser nation, to impose upon feeble 
 shoulders the whole burden of a responsibility so heavy and 
 galling. On one point Mr. Robinson speaks with an earnest- 
 ness which we can appreciate — the necessity for naval defence. 
 While a part of the British Empire, a colony can claim such 
 assistance as a right. As an independent state, obscurity, 
 distance, and insignificance would at once combine to shield it 
 from aggression ; but as a vulnerable part of a great empire it 
 offers a tempting inducement to attack. Yet, if the claims of 
 her colonies upon England are heavy, the gain is worth the 
 cost. The colonial empire, more especially that portion of it 
 which is termed Australasia, is the Jason arisen out of the 
 cauldron. England, with her multitude of struggling workers, 
 her thousands of suffering poor, seeks for an outlet for her super- 
 fluous population, and finds it in a new land, where there is room 
 for countless homes and work for unnumbered hands. There is 
 no exile, no banishment. The same tongue is spoken, the same 
 laws protect, the same God is worshipped ; and the time will 
 surely come when England will find herself no effete nation 
 sinking into her second childhood, but the wise, revered, pro- 
 tecting, and protected centre of a vast system of states, whose 
 interests, language, laws, and religion shall be one. 
 
 "'Here,' says Mr. Robinson, 'in this old and thickly-
 
 46 NEW HOMES. 
 
 crowded land, it may be that men find it hard to stem the 
 ton-ent of competition, or to rise to higher levels of social life 
 or public usefulness. But there, in .those fifty dependencies, 
 openings abound for every kind of eflbrt and every grade of 
 ambition. There, the farmer can acquire by slight outlay and 
 by indisputable title breadths of soil that in Europe would 
 almost make a jDrincipahty. There, the honest working man 
 can live on his own freehold, and work his way on by rapid 
 steps to a condition of honourable independence. There, the 
 earnest youth who looks to public life as the proper field of 
 patriotic aims, can find the object of his aspirations within 
 ready reach. There, the distinctions may be less dazzling, the 
 sphere of public recognition may be obscm-er and less pro- 
 minent, but the chances of attaining them are incomparably 
 more abundant, and the influence exerted, when viewed in its 
 bearing on the future that is now being shaped and fore- 
 shadowed, is, if anything, more direct and more enduring.' " 
 
 It is very encouraging to see the subject of the 
 " colonies " taken up, as it has been of late, so ably 
 by the Times. Several letters, showing great 
 acquaintance with the subject, have just appeared. 
 One of them, " H. D. W.," closes with the follow- 
 ing remarks : — 
 
 " We are not, in the continental sense, a military nation. 
 Our horror of a conscription prevents it. We are not invariably 
 successful in dealing with subject races. We find in the fields 
 of industry and commerce formidable competitors. But there 
 are two points in which we ai-e signally predominant— our navy 
 and our colonies. In these we have never failed. 
 
 " In all human institutions there is a crisis ; but wise nations, 
 like brave men, overcome it. They do not abandon a great 
 future for a transient obstacle. If there are defects in our 
 colonial system we will remedy them. If we have overlooked
 
 NEW HOMES. 47 
 
 opportunities we will utilize them. To abandon the colonies 
 would be as suicidal as to suppress our navy rather than 
 substitute iron for wooden ships. 
 
 " Everything points to the continuance of colonial prosperity, 
 and knits us closer to our colonies. Telegraphs bring daily 
 tidings to our homes ; the Suez Canal opens a nearer track for 
 our commerce and emigrants. A visit to the colonies has 
 become the complement of a polished education. Colonists 
 are holding the highest posts in our Government and foremost 
 places in our legislature, our literature, and science. 
 
 " Is this the moment to sacrifice a great career for a utilita- 
 rian chimera ? Are we to enrich others by the wealth we 
 reject, and to subside into a second-rate European State, or to 
 continue at the head of a confederation of free nations ? " 
 
 An " Australian Colonist " closes a pamphlet 
 on the subject thus : — 
 
 "I cannot see what the English legislators are about to waste 
 so much breath and money about things not affecting the 
 masses of the country, and quite ignore matters, like emigra- 
 tion, essential to the vitality of the nation. The English 
 Government should at least help the colonist to pay the 
 passage, as both ends get an advantage. Despots might wish 
 to keep men as ' food for powder ; ' but a Christian com- 
 munity must, and will soon, help the poor to better quarters." 
 
 We know not from what source the help may 
 come, but that some well-devised scheme of emi- 
 gration may speedily be set on foot is greatly to 
 be desired. 
 
 Having thus glanced at the different classes to 
 whom emigration would be of advantage, let me 
 beg you to accompany me on my own voyage to
 
 48 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Australia, as it took place in the year 1835. I was 
 but a stripling, just fresh from St. John's College, 
 Cambridge, when the offer of an important post in 
 the colony of Tasmania was made to me, which I saw 
 fit to accept. My ship was selected, my outfit econo- 
 mically prepared, my cabin fitted up, and all things 
 secured. The day for sailing, in the month of 
 August, came at last. I shall never forget the 
 feelings with which I saw the shores of dear old 
 England vanish from my sight. The man who 
 takes a short trip to the continent, or even to the 
 American colonies, cannot realise the feelings of 
 one who, especially in those days, was going to 
 the other side of the globe, to a land whence in all 
 human probability he would never return. What- 
 ever may have been his feelings in the daj^s that 
 are past, however unkind circumstances may have 
 been to him, and however bright the future may 
 appear; however in the days gone by he may, like 
 an Englishman, have grumbled and found fault, 
 yet when he catches the last view of his native 
 land, he cannot but feel, if he does not say, " Eng- 
 land, with all thy faults I love thee still, my 
 country ! " In the days I refer to, nearly thirty- 
 five years ago, a voyage to Australia was no joke. 
 From five to six months were required for it. The 
 only really good vessels that went out were the 
 convict ships. There was no P. and 0. Company 
 in existence then, making a kind of pleasure trip 
 of it, and landing you in less than fifty days ; there
 
 NEW HOMES. 49 
 
 was no Panama route dreamt of then. There was 
 no calling for passengers at Plymouth, no joining 
 your ship at Marseilles. No, no ! Gravesencl 
 was the place. A sad name, and sad were the 
 associations connected with it. Having gone on 
 board late at night, I was told that we should sail 
 with the tide about two in the morning. I awoke 
 then and heard the water splashing against the 
 side of the ship, and feeling quite well I began to 
 think that going to sea was very pleasant. About 
 eight o'clock the steward came into my cabin, and 
 in my simplicity I ventured on some remark to 
 that effect. What was my surprise and disappoint- 
 ment to find that we were still lying quietly at 
 anchor, and my fancied immunity from the ills the 
 voyager is heir to was premature. During the day 
 the good old ship did weigh anchor, and all was 
 favourable until we arrived in the Bay of Biscay — 
 that sad meeting of the waters, where so many a 
 good ship, like the ill-fated London, has foundered, 
 and her passengers have met with a watery grave. 
 This bay I have seen as smooth as a pond. But on 
 my first visit to it a storm arose, a fearful jumble of 
 a sea — that thing which sailors so greatly dread — 
 quickly got up ; all that we could do was to '' lay 
 to," all progress was out of the question, for wind 
 and wave were alike against us, and thus 
 
 " We lay, till the next day, 
 In the Bay of Biscay, ! " 
 
 And it was unmitigated misery to almost everything
 
 60 NEW HOMES. 
 
 ou board. Old sailors felt qualmish, none could 
 
 keep their feet, all mirth was hushed, even in the 
 
 forecastle. As for the passengers, let me draw a 
 
 veil over their misery. It can be felt^ but it cannot 
 
 be described. 
 
 " Ye gentlemen of England, who live at home at ease, 
 little do ye know of the troubles of the seas." 
 
 The next day rose bright and clear. The sea 
 went down. We soon began to get on deck, for- 
 getting the misery of the past in the pleasure of 
 the present. , We bowled along, just catching sight 
 of the cloud-capped peak of Teneriffe ; then met with 
 nothing till we crossed the Line, and had all the 
 exciting scene of Neptune coming on board and 
 claiming toll from the passengers. In good time 
 we rounded the Cape of Good Hope and saw such 
 seas as I think are seen in no other part of the 
 world's oceans. They tell us that the height of a 
 wave seldom if ever exceeds forty feet. But that is 
 quite enough. Imagine, not only being uncere- 
 moniously lifted up forty feet on the crest of a 
 wave, but then — and it is far worse — going down 
 head foremost into the trough of the sea. And this 
 agreeable process repeated continually. One good 
 thing is, that the sea and the winds are generally 
 in your favour there. The huge waves come tear- 
 ing after your ship, and a landsman would think it 
 impossible to escape being swallowed up. Some- 
 times, as with us, the wind dropped, but the sea 
 kept chasing us still. And then in the dead of the
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 51 
 
 night grim-looking monsters, dressed up in pea- 
 jackets and sou' -westers, with lanterns in hand, 
 like so many Guy Fawkes, came unceremoniously 
 into our stern cabin to put in the " dead lights," 
 lest the sea should strike the windows and fill the 
 cabin if not endanger the whole ship. 
 
 " Sail ! " Ay, what excitement that was. 
 The monotony of your life broken, the constant 
 inspection of sea and sky interrupted by a home- 
 ward bound ship heaving in sight. The pleasure 
 of speaking, sending letters on board to loved ones 
 at home, was quite an event. 
 
 To the southward of the Cape, but before you 
 near it, and right in the track of vessels outward 
 bound to Australia, lies the island of Tristan 
 d'Acunha, with which quite a romantic story is 
 associated. The island was so named after the 
 Portuguese navigator who discovered it in 1506. 
 It is about five miles square, and rises perpendicu- 
 larly about 3,000 feet out of the sea. The highest 
 mountain is said to be more than 8,000 feet above 
 the sea level. It is very remote from any settle- 
 ment, more so in fact than any other place. St. 
 Helena, which is the nearest place to it, is about 
 1,200 miles from it. It was formally taken posses- 
 sion of by the English in 1817, and a guard was 
 kept there during the earlier part of Napoleon's 
 captivity at St. Helena. But it was soon abandoned. 
 A corporal named Glass obtained leave to remain, 
 behind with two other men. And by degrees a
 
 52 NEW HOMES. 
 
 little colony was formed, and the inhabitants were 
 a most interesting people. "When we sighted it in 
 1835, the weather was clear, the sea smooth, and 
 the captain in a good humour. And it was agreed 
 that we should endeavour to get supplies of pigs, 
 poultry, eggs, vegetables, and milk. Governor 
 Glass came off to us in a fine whale boat, and took 
 some of us on shore. The first thing we saw as we 
 landed through the heavy surf was sea-lions basking 
 on the shore. The cottages at the base of the hill 
 were neat, and the people exceedingly simple and 
 urbane. Whaling ships sometimes call off there 
 for supplies and for purposes of trafiic, but there 
 had been none there for a long time. And so the 
 island ladies had not a single pin or needle or bit 
 of thread left. The school-master, who acted as 
 chaplain, showed me his only book of sermons, 
 actually in tatters from constant perusal. All these 
 wants we were able to supply. But whilst we were 
 admiring everything around us, behold we cast our 
 eyes towards our ship, and we saw her drifting in 
 to the iron-bound shore. The wind under the 
 influence of the mountain had dropped, and the 
 current was setting us on to the rocks where so 
 many a brave ship had been wrecked before. The 
 captain hurried us on board, sent out a boat ahead 
 to tow us off, but apparently in vain, so that ship- 
 wreck stared us in the face. But man's extremity 
 is God's opportunity, and presently, just as we 
 could almost have thrown a biscuit on the shore, a
 
 NEW HOMES. 53 
 
 slight cat's-paw was seen on the waters, the upper 
 sails filled, and we were saved. And here I may 
 just mention a curious coincidence that happened 
 with reference to this island. Eleven or twelve 
 years after I had been settled in the colony, a 
 gentleman's yacht came to Sydney on a cruise from 
 England, a beautiful yacht, which had only to be 
 seen to be admired. Its owner, Mr. B. Boyd, was 
 kind and hospitable, and invited a large party of 
 gentlemen on board to dine. I was one invited, 
 and sat on my host's left hand. After dinner, he 
 was requested to give us an account of his outward 
 voyage, which he did in a most agreeable manner. 
 In the midst of his remarks he said, " By-the-bye 1 
 must not forget to tell you of one of the most plea- 
 sant days I ever spent in my life. It was on the 
 little island of Tristan d'Acunha. The day I 
 arrived there, old Governor Glass's wife was con- 
 fined of a daughter, and he was of course highly 
 delighted. I asked him if he would yield his 
 power to me for one day, and let me be governor 
 instead of him. To this he assented. I pro- 
 claimed a holiday for every one, and got all kinds 
 of good things from the vessel and invited all 
 the islanders to dinner. And a right glorious 
 dinner we had. After dinner I made a speech ; and 
 in drinking the health of the ' baby,' I said, ' "Who 
 amongst you has got any good sheep for sale?' 
 I bought some fine ewes, and handed them over 
 to trustees to watch over them and their increase,
 
 54 NEW HOMES. 
 
 giving them power to sell and invest, and to hand 
 the entire proceeds over to the young lady when 
 she came of age ; so that, if the trustees be faithful, 
 she will have a nice do^vry to bring to the man 
 of her choice, if God should spare her. In the 
 evening we had service, and after it the school- 
 master chaplain showed me his books and tracts — 
 all well thumbed, and some of them tattered and 
 torn — and he said, ' It is now twelve years since 
 we had a new book, and then these were given 
 to us by a young gentleman who was on his way to 
 Australia.' " I was enabled to corroborate the truth 
 of this, for by a somewhat strange coincidence I, 
 sitting at the speaker's side, was the young gentle- 
 man referred to. Now that I think of it, that young 
 lady must be now about twenty -one years of age. 
 And in these days of sordid calculation this may be 
 a hint to some young man desirous of getting settled 
 if he could see his way clearly. Just look at the 
 advantage of the whole thing. There would be 
 "love in a cottage," near a wood, or perhaps in a 
 wood ; no rent, no taxes, and no Christmas bills, for 
 there are no shops. 
 
 Poor Benjamin Boyd ! In his love of adventure 
 he travelled from place to place, visiting many a 
 remote savage island of the sea, and on one of 
 them, as he and his crew were on shore getting 
 a supply of water, he was cruelly fallen upon and 
 tomahawked. And thus his bones are bleaching 
 on a far off shore.
 
 NEW HOMES. 55 
 
 His Eoyal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh 
 visited the island of Tristan d'Acunha in the 
 Galatea, and was exceedingly kind to the people. 
 The old governor had gone to his rest. A hand- 
 some white marble headstone bears the following 
 inscription : — 
 
 "William Glass, 
 
 Born at Kelso, Scotland, 
 
 The founder of this settlement at 
 
 Tristan d'Acunha, 
 
 In which he resided 37 years. 
 
 And fell asleep in Jesus 
 
 Nov. 24, 1853. Aged 67 years." 
 
 " Asleep in Jesus : far from thee 
 Thy kindred and their graves may he ; 
 But thine is still a blessed sleep. 
 From which none ever wake to weep." 
 
 The chaplain of the steamer, and author of " The 
 Cruise of the Galatea,''^ went on shore and baptized 
 sixteen children. And he would gladly have j)er- 
 formed other duties if the parties had only been 
 willing. "The remarkable coincidence of there 
 being seven unmarried girls in the place — one 
 of them remarkably pretty — and just seven equally 
 eligible bachelors, naturally suggested to the chap- 
 lain the propriety of offering them an oppor- 
 tunity of pairing off then and there in the 
 orthodox way. He therefore expressed his willing- 
 ness to remain among them two hours to perform 
 the ceremony, if any should be so inclined. But 
 the maidens were coy and the swains were slow,
 
 56 NEW HOMES. 
 
 and no advantage was taken of tlie offer. Possibly 
 the much, vexed question of Married Life v. Celibacy, 
 which among us appears just now to incline to the 
 disparagement of the former state, had got imported 
 into the place with the crinolines and elastic boots, 
 and the youth in this far away spot espoused the 
 views of our West-end club houses, giving in their 
 adhesion to the order of the Benedicts. At any 
 rate, the chaplain's offer found no favour, and 
 Hymen no votaries." 
 
 But to return to our voyage. By-and-bye we were 
 becalmed. The sea was as glass, and near us there 
 was another island — Amsterdam. "We had heard 
 that the sea close in shore was literally alive with 
 fish, and that if we stepped ashore there was a 
 boiling spring, like those in Iceland, where we 
 could cook them. Off we went, only too glad to 
 escape from our prison walls, and indeed I never 
 saw such fishing in my life. We were all intent on 
 throwing over our lines with nothing but a bit 
 of red rag on them, and the fish almost jumped 
 out of the water to be caught. It was the most 
 exciting sport of the kind I ever saw. One after 
 another we pulled the huge fellows in, till presently 
 the captain called out, " Stop, look at the boat ! " 
 And then we found that we had filled it so full that 
 we were just level with the water, and we had to 
 throw overboard part of our prizes. Back to the 
 ship, where the next day the rigging was covered 
 with fish hung up to dry, and the ship's company
 
 NEW HOMES. 57 
 
 had fish to their heart's content till we reached 
 Australia. And at last, thank God, the man on the 
 look-out aloft cried, " Land on the larboard bow, 
 sir ! " And sure enough there lay the land of our 
 adoption looking like some fantastic cloud. It was 
 the southern coast of Yan Diemen's Land — now 
 called Tasmania — which we had sighted. By-and- 
 bye we entered d'Eutrecasteaux Channel, where we 
 were delighted to see, here and there, a cottage 
 with a trim little garden, and the smoke curling 
 up amongst the trees of the forest. Presently an 
 officer came to the captain and reported, " A boat 
 coming off, sir." "Back the main-yard ! Throw a 
 rope over the gangway ! " A boat came alongside, 
 and a little old man jumped aboard, took no notice 
 of the captain, gave his orders to the man at the 
 helm, and acted as if he were in full command. 
 Our captain did not like this, and he went up to 
 him in no very pleasant mood, but the little man 
 pushed him aside, and went on giving his orders. 
 In about five minutes he took the captain to the 
 side of the ship and showed him a reef of sunken 
 rocks, not laid down in the charts of those days, 
 right on to which he had seen that we were run- 
 ning. Being an old pilot, "who had coiled up his 
 ropes and anchored on shore," he had observed our 
 ignoiiince of the danger, and had been the means 
 under God of saving us from a watery grave. And 
 so our voyage ended. We had grown so fond 
 of the old ship that we went down and dined on 
 
 E
 
 58 NEW HOMES. 
 
 board two or three times a week, and when she 
 sailed it seemed like parting from an old friend; 
 besides which, it was the connecting link between 
 us and our fatherland. 
 
 And what is the effect of a long voyage on the 
 mind? That depends on how the time is spent. 
 To very many it is a sad ordeal. All kinds of idle 
 and expensive habits are formed which are not 
 easily got rid of; but to the well disciplined mind 
 there is something profitable in a long voyage. 
 There is but a step — there is but a plank — between 
 you and death. You realize the presence of God, 
 and the frail hold you have on life more I think 
 on board ship than anywhere else. And many 
 an one has found that it has been good for him, in a 
 spiritual point of view, to have voyaged on the 
 mighty deep. I would earnestly recommend every 
 emigrant to set himself to some definite work for his 
 voyage, and to avoid especially the habit of drink- 
 ing, which is so very common, and for which there 
 are far too great facilities furnished by the ability 
 to purchase spirits at a low rate. And it behoves 
 the voyager to be very careful what friendships 
 he forms — perhaps his after-life will be greatly 
 influenced thereby — and it is not easy to shake 
 off intimacies formed under such circumstances. 
 When we landed we bid farewell to many of our 
 fellow passengers, and we have never met since. 
 About one of them, however, I must just say a word. 
 One day on board I observed a venerable white-
 
 NEW HOMES. 59 
 
 haired old man sitting quite apart from the rest. 
 I o:ot into conversation with him. He told me his 
 story. He was nearly seventy years of age. His 
 wife was nearly his own age. They had one only 
 son who was very dear to them ; he had been an 
 apprentice in London, and had gone astray through 
 the influence of bad companions. He had been 
 sent out to the convict settlement. The poor parents 
 were distracted. They knew not what to do. They 
 could get no rest. They felt that they could not 
 go down to their graves in peace and leave their 
 boy to perish. And so, in the hope of saving him 
 from the evil influences by which he was sur- 
 rounded, and leading him, if it pleased God, to Him 
 who is "the sinner's Friend," these old people 
 agreed to part. There were no free passages in 
 those days, and thej could not muster money 
 enough to pay for both ; and so the old man tore 
 himself away from the wife of his youth and the 
 stay of his declining years, and undertook the long 
 voyage to Australia. On landing in the colony, 
 I found that the lad had been re-convicted and was 
 working in chains on the roads, and thus the poor 
 father's hope of getting him assigned to him was 
 out of the question. He was provided with a home, 
 a solitary room over our coach-house, in which he 
 delighted, and there he lived for years. Time 
 rolled on, and at length, by the exercise of a little 
 interest, the son's ticket-of-leave was obtained, and 
 the old man went into the bush to live with him.
 
 60 NEW HOMES. 
 
 I then lost sight of Mm for more than twenty years. 
 For old people in going to the colonies frequently 
 take as it were a new lease of life, and enjoy " a 
 green old age." Shortly before I sailed for England, 
 when making an archidiaconal tour to the gold- 
 fields near Ararat, the clergyman of the district 
 told me of a venerable patriarch, nearly a hundred 
 years of age, who was held in the deepest reverence 
 by all around him and who was most anxious to 
 see me. On enquiry I found that it was my old 
 friend. His son had married, and was a respectable 
 member of society, and the father's wishes had 
 I trust been gratified. Shortly after this " he fell 
 asleep in Jesus," full of years, full of blessings, full 
 of faith in God, as a God who hears and a God who 
 answers prayer. 
 
 And now, after this general introductory chapter, 
 we must proceed to describe one after another each 
 of the colonies which form the Australasian group. 
 And to whichever of them you may give the pre- 
 ference, resolve to go to it in a right spirit, and 
 turn neither to the right hand nor to the left, and 
 depend upon it success will eventually crown your 
 efforts. Do not be over anxious about making 
 money. '' A man's life consisteth not in the abun- 
 dance of the things which he possesseth." Of 
 course I do not mean that you should not endeavour 
 to better your condition, for that probably is the 
 very object for which you leave your native 
 country. But there is so much of speculation.
 
 NEW HOMES. 61 
 
 SO many are not content to reach, the top of the 
 ladder step by step, but want to spring up all at 
 once. They may succeed : the probability is that in 
 the long run they will fail. Whereas by steadily 
 feeling your way and going on gradually, you will, 
 with God's blessing on your honest endeavours, 
 reap a rich reward.
 
 ATJSTEALIAN DISCOVEEY. — NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 OE a long time before anything was known 
 of the Australian continent, it was the 
 settled opinion of astronomers and geo- 
 graphers that there must be some great continent in 
 the southern hemisphere as a balance to Asia and 
 Europe. The coast-line from the north-west round 
 by the east to the south shore was known to the 
 Portuguese in 1542. In 1606 Luis Yaez de Torres 
 sailed through the strait between New Guinea and 
 Australia, and it was afterwards called " Torres 
 StraitsJ^ In 1642 Tasman anchored in Frederick 
 Henry's Bay, to the south of the island of Tasmania, 
 and landed there. He hoisted Prince Frederick 
 Henry's flag, and named the land in honour of his 
 master, Anthony Van Diemen. He also went to 
 the north of the great continent and explored the 
 Gulf of Carpentaria, so called by him in honour of 
 Carpenter, the president of the Dutch East India 
 Company. In consequence of these discoveries the 
 Dutch assumed to themselves a national property in 
 this vast continent and gave it the general name of 
 " New Holland."
 
 Ntew HOMES, ^/^(y 63 
 
 The first of our countrymen who saw any part .of 
 Australia were Dampier and Cook (not the renowned 
 navigator). They cruised along the west coast, 
 landed at several places, careened and watered their 
 ships, and then started again on their privateering 
 expedition. Ten years after this Dampier published 
 a very exaggerated account of his discoveries. In 
 the year 1768, Cook, the great circumnavigator, set 
 out on his first voyage of discovery round the world, 
 chiefly with a view of determining the existence of 
 a great southern continent. After having discovered 
 parts of New Zealand, he steered westwards towards 
 the "terra incognita Australis," that land the shape 
 of which had been for nearly two hundred years 
 baffling the skill of the scientific world. He passed 
 Cape Howe, and named it after his admiral — Howe, 
 He anchored, and saw many natives on the shore, 
 who went on quietly with their occupations, taking 
 no notice of the movements of those on board the 
 "big canoe." But as soon as they attempted to 
 land they were in arms, and brandishing their clubs 
 and spears rushed upon them. A musket was dis- 
 charged in self-defence, which wounded one of them, 
 whereupon they all took to flight. At the spot 
 where Cook first landed, the Philosophical Society of 
 Sydney have placed a plate of copper with a suitable 
 inscription. It bears the date of April 28, 1770. 
 And as a century will soon have elapsed since that 
 period, steps are now being taken in Sydney to 
 erect a statue to commemorate the circumstance of
 
 64 NEW HOMES. 
 
 his first setting his foot upon the shores of Australia. 
 "When Cook went on shore, Banks and Solander ac- 
 companied him. They found the land covered with 
 beautiful flowers, hence Cook named it " Botany 
 Bay," a name which in after years struck terror into 
 the hearts of very many. The soil in the neigh- 
 bourhood is very sandy and barren, and up to this 
 day it remains almost in a state of nature. It is 
 about six miles from Sydney, through a track of 
 sand. But a fashionable hotel, tea and zoological 
 gardens have been established there, and the place 
 is frequented as a retreat for newly married people 
 to spend their honeymoon in. Cook stayed a week 
 in Botany Bay, and left it on a Sunday morning 
 with a fair wind, and keeping within two or three 
 miles of the land. Whilst the captain was at 
 breakfast, the look-out at the mast-head — a man 
 named Jackson — rei:)orted that he saw the entrance 
 to what appeared to be a good anchorage, and so 
 the captain, half in derision, named it "Port 
 Jackson ; " that beautiful bay at the head of which 
 the city of Sydney was afterwards built. On went 
 the good ship towards the north until they entered 
 the tropical sea near Moreton Bay (which now 
 forms part of the great colony of Queensland). 
 Here it was that Cook first fell in with the wild 
 turkey, and he named the place "Bustard Bay." 
 Here they also found plenty of turtle and saw 
 kangaroos. They gladly ate its flesh but found it 
 somewhat insipid. They had not then learned how
 
 *^/f / \ // // 
 
 // ^ 
 
 NEW HOMES. *' 65 
 
 to dress it as a " steamer," nor did tliey know tliat 
 the tail makes capital soup. They also found fish 
 in abundance. The finest kinds are the guard-fish 
 of the mainland, and the trumpeter of the Derwent, 
 in Tasmania. They also found some enormous 
 cockles, some of them, they say, having 20 lbs. 
 of meat in them. The insects, the plants, the 
 animals, were all of the deepest interest to the 
 naturalists who accompanied the expedition. When 
 Cook, after many narrow escapes from coral reefs, 
 reached Cape York, at the entrance of the Gulf of 
 Carpentaria, he hoisted English colours and took 
 possession of the whole eastern coast by the name 
 of N'ew South "Wales, in right of his Majesty King 
 George III. And thus England, with the tacit 
 consent of Europe, became possessed of this magni- 
 ficent country, comprising nearly one-half of the 
 vast island continent. 
 
 At first it was thought that Yan Diemen's Land 
 formed part of the mainland; but Bass, in 1798, 
 discovered a passage through, thus proving it to be 
 an island. From an examination of the south coast 
 of New Holland, and the north shore of Tasmania, 
 it is quite evident that originally they were united. 
 Bass' Strait is studded with large and picturesque 
 islands. These were formerly inhabited by runaway 
 convicts and their sable partners, but they have 
 now been let on lease by the government as sheep 
 and cattle stations. 
 
 From the very earliest days of the settlement of
 
 66 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Sydney in Port Jackson, instructions were constantly 
 sent out to its governors to fit out expeditions for 
 exploring the adjacent bays and rivers, and sur- 
 veying ships were dispatched from time to time to 
 ascertain the latitude and longitude of every cape 
 and headland. And the sons of the soil have been 
 noted for their indomitable perseverance in making 
 discoveries inland. From the Windmill Hill in 
 Sydney a fine view was obtained of the country in 
 the distance. To the westward a glimpse could be got 
 of some high mountains, which from their colour they 
 called the Blue Mountains. Eor a lengthened period 
 these were only looked at, and speculations were rife 
 as to what there was beyond them. A strong desire 
 grew up to find out. In 1812, Mr. Oxley was ap- 
 pointed Surveyor- General, and Mr. Evans Deputy- 
 Surveyor of Lands ; and they found on enquiry 
 that two enterprising colonists, Wentworth and 
 Blaxland, had penetrated into the interior and 
 found there well-grassed plains beyond the barrier 
 of the Blue Mountains. Further exploration brought 
 to light a beautiful country. Convict labour formed 
 a capital road, and the spot was subsequently visited 
 by Governor Macquarie, who fixed the site of what 
 is now the flourishing city of Bathurst, near to 
 which, nearly forty years afterwards, the great 
 gold discovery took place. Bathurst is a large and 
 prosperous place, 120 miles from Sydney, and is 
 situated about 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. 
 The grandson of the venerable Marsden, so well
 
 / 
 
 NEW HOMES. 67 
 
 known at Parramatta, and who was styled the 
 " Apostle of New Zealand," has just been appointed 
 as its first bishop, and if he only make as good a 
 bishop as he has proved himself an able parish 
 priest, he will prove a great blessing to his diocese. 
 
 In the year 1817 Evans traced the Macquarie 
 and Lachlan rivers till they lost themselves in the 
 marshes of the interior. The great want of Aus- 
 tralia is navigable rivers. The greatest of them, 
 however, the Murray, and which is now of the 
 utmost value to the settlers of the interior, enabling 
 them to get up their stores and to send down their 
 wool by steamers, runs a course of nearly 1,500 
 miles. 
 
 Next to Evans and Oxley as explorers come 
 Hovell and Hume, two settlers, who followed the 
 Murrumbidgee and Yass rivers to their junction 
 with the Murray, and thence to the western shores 
 of Port Phillip — now called Victoria. Then came 
 poor Allan Cunningham, who discovered a fine 
 grazing country, but died in the bush. He was 
 followed by Captain Sturt, the "Father of Austra- 
 lian exploration," as he is called, from his having 
 penetrated furthest inland towards the centre of the 
 continent. Then came Sir Thomas Mitchell, whose 
 well-known book details at length his discoveries. 
 And then a Polish nobleman, Strzlecki, penetrated 
 the dense forests of the Australian alps, and gave 
 the name of Mount Kosciusko to the highest peak — 
 6,500 feet — in memory of his country's national
 
 68 NEW HOMES. 
 
 patriot. And then we find poor Ludwig Leicliliardt, 
 whom I had the great pleasure of knowing well, and 
 who, being an enthusiast in the study of botany, 
 resolved on undertaking the fearful task of crossing 
 the continent from the east to the west coast. 
 Starting in 1844, they explored tropical Australia 
 for 1,500 miles, to Port Essington. They were so 
 long absent that they were mourned as lost. A 
 second time, in the year 1848, they started, and have 
 never returned. Even to this day great interest is 
 felt as to their fate, and once more it is proposed to 
 send out another expedition to discover some traces 
 of them. Kennedy, a government surveyor, failed 
 in his endeavour to explore the eastern flank of the 
 Australian cordillera within the tropics. The poor 
 leader was speared by a black and died. He had 
 with him a friendly native guide who describes the 
 sad scene in touching terms, thus : " He said, Jackey, 
 give me paper and I will write. I gave him paper 
 and pencil and he tried to write, and he then fell 
 back and died ; and I caught him as he fell back 
 and held him, and I then turned round myself and 
 cried. I was crying a good while rmtil I got well ; 
 that was about an hour, and then I buried him. I 
 digged up the ground with a tomahawk and covered 
 him over with logs, grass, and my shirt and trousers. 
 That night I left him near dark." 
 
 The attention of the Eoyal Geographical Society 
 was, after this, directed to the desirability of ascer- 
 taining the true natui-e of central Australia. Mr.
 
 c 
 
 1!TEW HOilES. 69 
 
 Gregory was' in England at this time (1854), and as 
 he had had some experience in exploration he was 
 entrusted with the command of an expedition, 
 ■whose object was to try and reacli the centre from 
 the north-west coast. He ascended the Victoria 
 river of Stokes, and after penetrating 300 miles into 
 the interior found that it was a desert. 
 
 In 185 8, the Victorian government offered a reward 
 of £1,000 to the first party who should cross the 
 central region from sonth to north, or vice versa. 
 And in the meantime, John McDouall Stuart, a 
 South Australian colonist, penetrated 500 miles 
 north-west from the head of Spencer's Gulf, and dis- 
 covered some available country. In 1860, he crossed 
 the centre of the country, and reached 18° 40', but 
 was driven back by the blacks. A mountain in the 
 centre of the land bears his name. Again he went 
 forth and manfully fought his way till he reached 
 the shores of Van Diemen's Gulf, which is washed by 
 the waters of the Arafura Sea, a distance of 1,600 
 miles in a strais^ht line. 
 
 But Stuart was not the first to make this journey 
 from sea to sea. Twelve months before he arrived 
 at Van Diemen's Gulf, Burke and Wills had 
 achieved the work. They started from Melbourne, 
 and crossed the central region some 300 miles 
 east of Stuart's track, and reached the Gulf of 
 Carpentaria. But Burke and Wills both died 
 within a short distance of the settled districts. 
 Their bodies were brought to Melbourne, and a
 
 70 NEW HOMES. 
 
 public funeral was decreed to their remains. A 
 handsome monument has been erected to their 
 memory in a prominent part of Collins Street. 
 
 In 1862, Landsborough followed up the Flinders 
 Eiver and traced its source in the mountains of 
 Queensland, and discoyered the source of the 
 Thomson Eiver. And McKinlay started from the 
 Leichhardt Eiver and traversed an immense tract 
 of unknown country in the centre of the continent. 
 I^ow, then, we know that the land is about 2,500 
 miles from east to west, about 1,900 from north 
 to south, and contains nearly three millions of 
 square miles. 
 
 Before New South Wales was taken up as a 
 place of banishment for convicts, offenders against 
 the laws were sent to Virginia, in America. When 
 the American colonies gained their independence, 
 in 1783, Cook's account of the salubrity of the 
 climate of Australia determined the government on 
 sending their prisoners to it. 
 
 Their doing so was opposed by a well known 
 writer of the day, who said, "If you form a colony 
 in New Holland it will soon throw off the yoke of 
 England and become dangerous to it, for it will 
 be nothing but a nest of pirates." Not very com- 
 plimentary this to the Australians, who through 
 good report and evil too have ever been noted for 
 their loyalty to the British crown, and who are 
 anything rather than piratically inclined. 
 
 It was in 1787 that the first fleet was dispatched.
 
 ^ ^ NEW HOMES. *^ ^ 71 
 
 At first they went to Botany Bay, but subsequently 
 removed to Port Jackson. The voyage out took 
 eight months. On the 26th of January the people 
 were landed, the British flag was hoisted, and the first 
 steps taken towards forming a settlement on the 
 shore — a day still regularly kept as a holiday by all 
 classes of the people. Compare the wild forest of 
 that day, with a silent stream of water running 
 through it into the bay, with the present noble 
 city of Sydney, and it seems to have been the 
 work of magic. 
 
 The fii'st governor of the infant settlement was 
 Captain Phillip ; the chaplain, an officer who was 
 almost forgotten in the arrangement of the expedition, 
 was Mr. Johnson ; the whole population, 1,030. The 
 entire stock consisted of one bull, four cows, one 
 horse, three mares, and three colts. Kow, this 
 single colony, reduced so vastly as it has been of 
 late years in its area, contains 14,000,000 of 
 sheep, 1,728,427 horned cattle, 280,201 horses, 
 and 173,168 pigs. 
 
 The prisoners soon began to be troublesome. In 
 the very earliest days there were rumours of the 
 discovery of gold. The convicts broke up quartz 
 yielding gold and paved the streets of Bathurst 
 with it. Each governor from the very first knew 
 that it was an auriferous country, but the fact was 
 carefully concealed, for had it been known when the 
 whole population or nearly so were prisoners, nothing 
 but anarchy and confusion could have arisen.
 
 72 NEW HOMES. 
 
 The troubles of the early settlers were great 
 indeed. Famine frequently stared them in the face. 
 They were reduced to the greatest straits. So short 
 were they of bread on one occasion that when the 
 officers were invited to dine at Government House 
 each guest was requested to bring his own bread ; 
 and so one waggish lieutenant stuck his piece on his 
 sword, and marched with it thus to the governor's 
 quarters, greatly to the amusement no doubt of the 
 soldier who presented arms to him as he passed. 
 
 The convicts soon tried to escape into the bush. 
 One man — an Irishman of course — said he wanted 
 to get away to China, a distance of 5,000 miles, but 
 he went travelling round and round in a circle — as 
 you are very apt to do in the bush — and never got 
 more than fifteen miles from Sydney. 
 
 'The next governor was Grose. Phillip, on his 
 return to England, represented to the government 
 the advisability of inducing free settlers to go to the 
 infant colony. But it was very difficult to persuade 
 people, although tempting offers in the shape of 
 land and convict labour were held out to them. 
 Some of the officers on duty, when their time of 
 service was expii-ed, accepted the government offers 
 and remained; and among them the father of 
 Australian sheep farmers, John Macarthur. 
 
 The prisoners were dressed in yellow — hence 
 called " Canary Birds" — and, chained together, were 
 marched to their work on the roads, which they 
 performed under a guard of soldiers with loaded
 
 ^/7 . 
 
 // { X^ IS'S^N HOMES. 73 
 
 muskets. They formed the fine roads which exist 
 in the colony, and particularly the one between 
 Sydney and Parramatta ; and much as we may 
 decry the system, they by their labour did the 
 work of a century in a very few years. In fact 
 to convict labour and to the discovery of gold 
 Australia owes its present commanding position. 
 With roads came of course traffic ; commerce, 
 industrial pursuits, and manufactures flourished. 
 
 Hunter succeeded Grose as governor, and to him 
 the colony was indebted for its first printing press. 
 It was introduced in the year 1795. The first 
 newspaper was published in the time of Governor 
 King, in 1803. Funny things those early newspapers 
 were. Even later than that a good deal, we have 
 seen copies of newspapers in Tasmania printed on 
 the blue paper in which grocers wrap up their tea ; 
 and in the early days of Port Phillip, John Pascoe 
 Fawkner brought his out in manuscript. 
 
 Then came Captain Bligh as governor. In those 
 days, 1806, the governors had almost absolute 
 power. Bligh cruelly persecuted Captain Macarthm*. 
 This exasperated the military, who went to Go- 
 vernment House, under the command of Colonel 
 Johnson, where the governor was found hid under a 
 feather bed, whence he was taken and marched 
 down to his ship. Bligh, you will remember, com- 
 manded the Bounty when the crew mutinied and 
 escaped to Pitcairn Island. 
 
 In 1810, Governor Macquarie came to the colony ; 
 
 F
 
 74 NEW HOMES. 
 
 an excellent governor, and a great friend to the 
 prisoners. Hitherto the expenses of Kew South 
 Wales had been enormous. In 1823 it was found 
 that between five and six millions of money had 
 been spent in the colony for Imperial piu'poses ; but 
 from that time it became gradually self-supporting. 
 The country was rapidly becoming rich. In 1815 
 the export of wool was 30,000 lbs. ; in 1867 it ex- 
 ported 21,708,902 lbs. As soon as the fineness of 
 the wool and the adaptability of the country for 
 sheep was discovered then commenced the era of 
 free immigration. Numberless younger sons of 
 good families, having a younger son's slender por- 
 tion, which was as nothing at home, went out and 
 turned their capital to great advantage as "squat- 
 ters" on the government lands. The new comers 
 were the pioneers of the wilderness, pushing out 
 farther and farther into the unknown regions. And 
 it was soon discovered that the land was not only 
 fit for sheep and cattle and horses but for grain, and 
 , in fact almost all the products of the world can be 
 grown in some part or other of Australia. Tasmania, 
 the southern parts of Yictoria, and !N'ew Zealand, 
 agree with everything English, and the northern 
 parts of Yictoria, New South Wales, Queensland, 
 and South Australia, with almost everything tropical. 
 Yery early orange groves were planted at Parra- 
 matta, near Sydney, and we read of a single grove 
 producing an annual income of £1,000. Wine was 
 soon made by Macarthur, under the management of
 
 j NEW HOMES. 75 
 
 some Greek convicts wlio were assigned to him. 
 The Australian wines are improving every year, and 
 there can be no doubt that they will become great 
 wine countries. This colony alone has now 1,483 
 acres of vineyard, which produced last year 993,863 
 gallons of wine and 13,582 gallons of brandy. 
 
 The two next governors were Sir T. Brisbane and 
 General Darling. Then, in 1831, came Sir E. 
 Bourke, a very popular governor, who was liberal in 
 his views, an encourager of religion, of education, 
 and of manufactures. And he was succeeded by 
 Sir George Gipps, who commenced his term of 
 office in 1838 and continued until 1846. During 
 his governorship the upset price of land was raised 
 to .£1 an acre. There was extravagant speculation 
 everywhere ; this was followed by general embar- 
 rassment. A calamitous drought extended over 
 three years. Wool fell greatly in price, and was 
 reduced both in quality and quantity. Boiling down 
 sheep for their tallow commenced. Transportation 
 was discontinued, the corporation of Sydney was 
 formed, and the "old legislative council" sat for 
 the last time in 1843. On the 1st of August, 1843, 
 the first representative assembly took place, and 
 many important acts were speedily passed. Sir 
 George Gipps had a most trying time of it. Poli- 
 tical parties ran very high and caused him no little 
 anxiety. This was to be fully expected under the 
 new system of government which was introduced. 
 His enemies complained that there was a want of
 
 76 NEW HOMES. 
 
 courtesy in Ms manners, but those who knew him 
 well did not think so. But, however many persons 
 differed from him, all were agreed as to " the talent, 
 unremitting labour and integrity of purpose with 
 which his Excellency discharged the arduous duties 
 devolving upon him." In June, 1846, Sir George 
 Gipps, broken in health and spirits, left for Eng- 
 land, and died very shortly after his arrival. 
 
 Sir Charles Fitzroy, the brother-in-law of the 
 Duke of Eichmond, was the ninth governor of New 
 South Wales. During his term of rule the dis- 
 covery of gold took place, and in the midst of all 
 the turmoil that arose therefrom it was very fortu- 
 nate for the governor that the colonial secretary, 
 Mr. E. Deas Thomson, was at hand, whose great 
 ability and long experience were of the utmost 
 benefit to the colony. Lady Mary Fitzroy met 
 with an accident in the colony which caused her 
 death. The most important circumstance which 
 occurred during his administration was the founda- 
 tion of the Sydney University. Up to this time 
 the Sydney and Australian Colleges, the College of 
 Lyndhurst, the King's School at Parramatta, and 
 a few private grammar schools, were the only 
 places where the upper classes could provide any- 
 thing like a suitable education for their sons. As 
 the colony advanced in wealth something more was 
 felt to be necessary. Here and there a young man 
 was sent to Oxford or to Cambridge, but the risk 
 was very great, and the outlay enormous. The
 
 NEW HOMES. 77 
 
 government granted a valuable building site of 130 
 acres, ample assistance was offered by the legisla- 
 ture, and thus arose the Sydney University, "an 
 association of students without respect of religious 
 creeds." The Church of England and the Eoman 
 Catholics erected colleges in connection therewith. 
 Degrees in arts, law, and medicine are conferred; 
 and, by royal charter, the same rank, style and pre- 
 cedence were granted to its graduates as are en- 
 joyed by those of the English Universities. It is 
 endowed with £5,000 a year. The first provost 
 was Mr. E. Hamilton, a Cambridge wrangler of 
 high standing. He was succeeded by Sir Charles 
 Nicholson, who has been a most liberal patron of 
 the University. Dr. Woolley, the professor of 
 classics, was lost in the ill-fated London steamer on 
 his return to the colony. The building is a mag- 
 nificent edifice, comprising all that is necessary for 
 the conduct of the institution. Eighteen scholar- 
 ships of £50 a year have been provided for out of 
 the University funds. 
 
 Sir W. Denison, vacating his post of lieutenant- 
 governor of Tasmania, became the tenth governor 
 of New South Wales. He was a man of oreat 
 administrative talent, and a most healthy tone was 
 given to society by himself and by Lady Denison. 
 Kesponsible government having been conceded to 
 the colony for so short a time, there was a constant 
 change of Ministry. Like a set of nine -pins, they 
 were no sooner in their places than they fell. It is
 
 78 NEW HOMES. 
 
 said that Sir William was so continually bowing 
 one set of ministers in and another out that he did 
 it like an automaton. Mr. afterwards Sir Stuart 
 Donaldson was the first minister under responsible 
 government. The colony is governed now, 1870, 
 by the Earl of Belmore. 
 
 It was in the year 1851 that the discovery of 
 gold took place, which has of course altered every- 
 thing in the colony — caused a nation to be born in' 
 a day — and has exercised, and is still exercising 
 a great influence on the markets of the world. 
 Hargreaves, who had just returned from California to 
 Bathurst, discovered gold. The place was named 
 the "Valley of Ophir." Great excitement at once 
 prevailed, especially when a poor black fellow, know- 
 ing nothing of its value, found a mass of quartz 
 containing 106 lbs. of gold. From that moment 
 madness seized the whole community ; shepherds 
 left their flocks untended ; the crops were left 
 unreaped upon the ground ; merchants and shop- 
 keepers closed their stores ; clerks and civil officers 
 threw up their paltry £500 or £600 or even £1,000 
 a year, aud off they went. Before the year closed 
 nearly 150,000 oz. of gold had been exported. 
 The squatters were in dismay, little thinking of the 
 great advance which would take place in the value 
 of their stock from the influx of new comers to 
 the El Dorado. The regular trade of the colony 
 was for a time paralysed. When a ship arrived in 
 harbour the crew would all desert ; and so, in self-
 
 /t^^ 
 
 NEW HOMES. 79 
 
 defence, the captains, in some cases, agreed to head 
 their crews, and take them for a trip to the 
 diggings. Judge Therry in his interesting work 
 on the colony gives some amusing instances of 
 the state of things in Sydney at this time. House 
 rent, he says, rose 100 per cent. ; hay rose from £5 
 to £20 a ton ; a cabbage cost 2s. 6d. ; and a man 
 and his wife, as servants, asked £3 3s. a week as 
 wages. Sydney was like a deserted village. Streets 
 of empty houses were sold for a few hundreds of 
 pounds, which in a year's time were re-sold for 
 as many thousands. The Judge gives some mar- 
 vellous instances of individual success. A retired 
 soldier had saved, during fourteen years' service, 
 £100 ; he bought with it 100 acres of land, 
 and within two years of the discovery of gold 
 sold it for £120,000. A "lollipop" maker, whose 
 fortune did not exceed £10, kept a public house 
 on the diggings at which, he made £6,000 a year, 
 and went home with £20,000, leaving freehold 
 property behind him producing £1,500 a year. 
 
 There is a branch of the Eoyal Mint in Sydney. 
 The yield of the precious metal during the last 
 three years shows a considerable falling off. There 
 were 222,715 oz. sent to the Mint and 12,328 oz. 
 exported. The average wages of the miners last 
 year was £67 4s. 5d. a man. 
 
 But ]N'ew South Wales possesses that which is of 
 greater importance to her than gold. I mean her 
 inexhaustible coal mines at ITcwcastle, to the north-
 
 80 NEW HOMES. 
 
 ward of Sydney and elsewhere. Last year she ex- 
 ported 473,357 tons, of the value of £253,259. 
 They are able now to ship nearly 4,000 tons a day. 
 Newcastle, the capital of the district, is now an 
 episcopal city, and it is a free port, ranking as the 
 second in the colony. Hence up the Hunter, to 
 Morpeth and Maitland, is a very fine agricultural 
 country, and it is mainly taken up by farmers and 
 settlers. 
 
 The Eegistrar- General of New South Wales has 
 lately issued his statistical reports, of which we 
 largely avail ourselves as the most reliable source 
 of information. The population is 466,739; there 
 had been 3,426 marriages, 18,317 births, and 8,631 
 deaths. Only 2,179 persons had arrived from Great 
 13ritain. In the two lunatic asylums there were 
 1,061 persons. There are 62 charitable establish- 
 ments. In the hospitals 4,421 received medical 
 treatment, and 5,825 received outdoor relief. Pro- 
 vision was made in the benevolent asylums for 3,277 
 inmates. There are 650 churches and chapels, and 
 the average number of persons attending the services 
 is 135,263. The number of ministers of religion 
 was 438. Sunday schools are attended by 39,512 
 children, being a considerable increase over the past 
 year. There are 651 day schools assisted by the 
 government, and 529 ^^I'ivate schools, making a 
 total of 1,180. The orphan and industrial schools 
 are also very largely assisted from government funds. 
 The public schools are now under a " council of
 
 NEW HOMES. 81 
 
 education." The legislature provided last year 
 £86,766 13s. 8d. towards their support, and the 
 voluntary subscriptions were £30,719 Gs. 8d. The 
 criminal statistics show a decided improvement. In 
 1860 the ratio per thousand of the population was 
 as 1 in 483 ; in 1867 it, was 1 in 372. Trade and 
 commerce show a great falling off. The returns 
 have not been so low since 1861. The imports are 
 now £6,599,804, and the exports £6,880,715. But 
 still the value of the imports was at the rate of 
 £15 Os. 8d., and the exports £15 13s. 6d. per head 
 of the population. A corresponding decrease has 
 taken place in the shipping, there being 231 less 
 ships than in the preceding year. There are now 
 155 steam mills, and a total of 188 mills in the 
 colony for grinding and dressing grain. Of late 
 years a great demand has sprung up for colonial 
 tweeds, owing to their great durability. In the last 
 year 175,348 j-ards of woollens were manufactured. 
 Soap and candles are also largely produced. Both 
 these items show a large increase ; there are now 30 
 establishments in operation. Tobacco manufacture 
 is making slow progress. In 1867, 6,933 cwt. 
 were manufactured. There are 40 boiling-down 
 establishments, and last year 54,862 sheep and 3,842 
 cattle were slaughtered at these places. The esti- 
 mated value of all minerals raised at the various 
 mines in 1867 may be thus summed up : gold, 
 £909,812; coal, £342,655; copper, £35,316; and 
 kerosene shale, £17,957 ; making a total of
 
 82 NEW HOMES. 
 
 .£1,305,740. The total number of the occupiers of 
 land on the 31st March, 1868, (excluding those for 
 pastoral purposes) is 25,875, who hold 7,737,651 
 acres. The increase under this head is very large. 
 The wheat crops average 9 bushels 36 lbs. to the 
 acre ; maize, 32 bushels 26 lbs. ; barley and oats 
 were below the average. Attention is being drawn 
 to new crops. Thus last year 76 acres were laid 
 out in cotton, which produced 13,680 lbs. ; sugar is 
 receiving some attention ; and, on the Paterson, 7 
 acres of rice were put in and produced 1,000 lbs. to 
 the acre. Potatoes were the crop in 15,440 acres, 
 and hay in 74,346. There are nine banks, having 
 liabilities amounting to £6,906,466, and their assets 
 to £10,574,571, showing an excess of assets over 
 liabilities to the amount of £3,668,105. In the 
 savings' banks there are deposits amounting to 
 upwards of £700,000; and in the penny banks 
 nearly £6,000. In 1867, at the Eoyal Mint, 
 2,370,000 sovereigns and 62,000 half-sovereigns 
 were coined. Since the opening of the Mint, in 
 1855, 6,214,391 oz. of gold have been coined, and 
 gold coinage issued to the amount of £24,349,427. 
 
 The receipts on account of public revenue 
 in 1867 were £2,012,041, and the payments 
 £2,225,075. The public debt of the country is 
 about seven millions sterling. The total receipts 
 from the railways were about £190,000, and 
 the net earnings nearly £72,000. There are 477 
 post-offices in the country, and nearly 7,000,000
 
 ^ >!fEW HOMES. 
 
 83 
 
 letters were posted in the year. In the twelve 
 months £810,000 were expended in public works ; 
 684 persons became insolvent, whose liabilities 
 united came to £737,789. At the close of 1867 
 there were 1,537 volunteers on the roll. If the 
 reader has only taken the trouble to go carefully 
 through the long array of figures above, it will 
 show him how great must be the resources of 
 this colony, although the past year has shown a 
 reduction in many of the items— reductions which 
 we trust and believe are only of a temporary 
 character. 
 
 The form of government in the colony is known 
 as "responsible." There are two chambers — the 
 members of the Lower House being elected on a 
 residentiary suffrage of six months, and the mem- 
 bers of the Upper House are nominated for life. 
 The tendency of the legislation is democratic. The 
 highest offices of the state are within the reach of 
 everybody. The newspapers are the great vehicles 
 for political instruction to the masses of the people. 
 Sydney has two daily papers— the Morning Herald 
 and the Empire. The former has a circulation of 
 about 12,000. Great ability is displayed in them, 
 and they are remarkable productions for so young a 
 country. 
 
 Of the religious bodies, the two largest are the 
 Church of England, numbering 160,000, and the 
 Eoman Catholics 100,000. The Presbyterians stand 
 next, at 35,000 ; and the Wesleyans at 24,000.
 
 84 XEW HOMES. 
 
 Until lately the only training theological college 
 in connection with the Church of England was 
 what is known as " Moore College, " which has 
 done and continues to do a great work for New 
 ?outh Wales, and also for Victoria, in the training 
 of young men for holy orders. But now most of 
 the denominations have ceased to depend entirely 
 on England for their clergy, and have established 
 local institutions for this purpose. 
 
 Sydney gives you the impression of being a 
 much older town than it is. There are some very 
 fine buildings in it. The Government House is 
 in every respect worthy of the colony. It is a 
 handsome castellated building, from whose massive 
 tower floats bravely the " meteor flag of England," 
 when the governor is in residence. The house is 
 170 feet long and 40-J feet high, and has some 
 noble rooms. The grand staircase is a noble speci- 
 men of Australian workmanship, and is built of 
 cedar. The chimney pieces are all of colonial 
 marble. A fine statue by Bailey of Sir E. Bourke 
 stands in the domain. It was uncovered by the 
 then governor in 1842, who declared that the 
 view presented from the spot where he stood 
 equalled in loveliness any scene in the known 
 world. In truth it is a most lovely spot. This 
 leads you to the Botanical Gardens — a very ex- 
 tensive and beautiful promenade overlooking the 
 glorious bay. The fashionable suburb of Sydney 
 is called- Woolloomooloo, and is the residence of
 
 /(
 
 85 
 
 NW^OMES. 6x ^ 
 
 many of the colonial aristocracy. Hyde Park is 
 one of the few fine open spaces, which contribute 
 much to the health of the city, and enable the 
 people to get fresh air and the bracing sea-breeze 
 within a few minutes' walk of the busiest parts of 
 the town. Most of the banks have now handsome 
 buildin2:s. There are also three theatres, a school 
 of arts, three clubs, and a very fine museum. 
 A "free library" has just been opened. The 
 churches as a whole are not fine specimens of 
 architecture. We must however make an exception 
 in favour of St. Andrew's Cathedral — I am sorry 
 to say the only Church of England cathedral 
 worthy of the name in the southern hemisphere. 
 This was commenced in 1836, and has only been 
 lately opened. It is 155 feet long, 60 feet wide, 
 and 70 feet high. The organ is a very fine one, 
 by Hill and Son, and cost £1,500. Joshua Watson, 
 a great friend of Bishop Broughton's, presented 
 the eastern window. The font is of New Zealand 
 stone, and is considered very handsome. All the 
 principal windows are of stained glass. A re- 
 cumbent figure of the first bishop in Caen stone, 
 by Lough, is a wonderful likeness of that remark- 
 able man. No less a sum than £30,000 have already 
 been expended on this building. It is said that 
 the completion of the towers will cost £5,000 more ; 
 and that bells and clock will require about £1,200 
 in addition. 
 
 The Eoman Catholics had their cathedral in
 
 86 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Hyde Park, but it was destroyed by fire. "With 
 tlie energy wbicli cliaracterises that body they 
 are erecting a new one, which it is said will far 
 surpass the former one. 
 
 There are two dry docks, two patent slips, and 
 one floating dock. The high rate of wages keeps 
 back the shipbuilding trade. The goyernment have 
 however of late been manufacturing on the spot 
 goods' trucks for the railways and the bodies of pas- 
 sengers' carriages. 
 
 When detailing the statistics of the country, we 
 stated that the public debt of the colony was about 
 seven millions. This debt has been mainly incurred 
 in the construction of the railways, the whole of 
 which belong to the government. There are three 
 trunk railways, of two of which Sydney is the mari- 
 time terminus. You go from Sydney to Parramatta 
 junction on a common line, then you branch off to 
 the west, climbing the Blue Mountains till you get 
 to an elevation of between 2,000 and 3,000 feet. 
 This is an unpromising country for the most part ; 
 but afterwards the rich west opens to your view. 
 Pathurst will be the terminus of this line, while 
 the southern line reaches to Goulbourn, 150 miles 
 from Sydney, and the seat of a bishop's see. The 
 northern railway has its maritime terminus at "New- 
 castle, and proceeding westward to Singleton it crosses 
 the riyer and turns northward to Murrunundi. The 
 return obtained as yet has been far from satisfac- 
 tory, not more than two per cent, on the capital;
 
 /L^ 
 
 iP<- ^>
 
 / 
 
 NliW HOMES. 
 
 87 
 
 Tjut when once completed and in full working order, 
 a much better result is confidently anticipated. 
 
 But it is time that we refer to what is the 
 " vexed " question in New South Wales, as well 
 as in all the colonies — the land. In the early days 
 there were free grants of land. The upset price 
 was afterwards five shillings an acre ; that was 
 raised to twelve shillings, and subsequently to a 
 pound. With such an extensive territory as that 
 which New South Wales possesses, there were 
 those who thought that it would have been wiser 
 not to have raised it to a pound. There is a good 
 deal of land of very inferior quality, only fit for 
 pasturage, and it was considered that it would 
 have been wiser to have attached to the soil a 
 proportion of that shifting population who might 
 have been settled permanently down if they could 
 have obtained the fee simple at a remunerative 
 rate. Before the year 1861, all the land which had 
 been previously surveyed was sold by auction. 
 But by ^'the Crown Land Act" of that year sale 
 by auction and previous survey were both dispensed 
 with. A man can now go and make his free selec- 
 tion before survey of any quantity of landj not 
 less than 40 nor more than 320 acres, at twenty 
 shillings an acre. But the intending settler cannot 
 at once obtain the freehold by paying the purchase 
 money. He makes a deposit of five shillings an 
 acre, resides on his land for three years and makes 
 specified improvements. He can then pay the
 
 88 NEW HOMES. 
 
 balance and get his title, or, should he prefer it, he 
 can leave the unpaid balance as a kind of mortgage 
 at five per cent. This plan is generally pursued. 
 There is a kind of vague hope that ultimately the 
 government will forego the payment of the balances. 
 When the conditional purchaser, as he is called, 
 selects his 320 acres, he has a grazing right over an 
 area of three times the land selected. After all, the 
 grand point is to get an increased population iden- 
 tified with the country and permanently settled 
 therein, and whichever colony can put forth the 
 most liberal land bill, soil and climate being equal, 
 will draw to it the largest population of immigrants. 
 Of course when this bill was first introduced the 
 large body of squatters were violently opposed to it, 
 and have since suff'ered much from it. They could 
 not view with a favourable eye a class of men who 
 went prowling about, looking anywhere and every- 
 where for a bit of good land, and disturbing the 
 cattle and sheep upon the runs; and frequently 
 this was the greatest grievance and did serious in- 
 jury to the settler. And since the passing of the 
 Act, the settlers complain that the conditional pur- 
 chasers have in a great number of cases evaded the 
 law as to residence and improvement. The squat- 
 ter's homestead is secured to him as a pre-emptive 
 right to the extent of 640 acres, at the price of 
 twenty shillings an acre. A great impetus has been 
 giA^en to the occupation of land under the new Act, 
 and it is said that there is very little available land
 
 / / NEW HOMES. 89 
 
 anywhere in the colony which is not now under 
 lease. The country east of the Darling River is all 
 mapped out in runs, and to the north-west of that 
 country, as far as Cooper's Creek, at which place the 
 explorers Burke and Wills died, has been taken up. 
 This inland salt-bush country suits the settler's pur- 
 pose well. Although the squatters may not make 
 the large fortunes they once did, yet I think they 
 will be protected from the sudden fluctuations in 
 the value of their stock, to which they were for- 
 merly subjected. The system of curing meat for 
 the English and continental markets appears to be 
 a great success. If the smallness of the local popu- 
 lation presents no demand for the meat, an opening 
 to any extent is to be found in the English markets, 
 which will prove of great benefit to the Australian 
 settler and a boon to the English labourer. The 
 meats which have been sent to our markets from 
 Mr. Mort's establishment, and fi'om some other 
 ^aces, are exceedingly good. The other day a cler- 
 gyman procured three tins of Australian mutton, 
 and with the addition of vegetables and rice or bar- 
 ley, made an excellent dinner for 120 people. The 
 cost of the meat was 3s. 6d. a tin; a meat dinner 
 for rather more than a penny. A short time ago a 
 cask of sheep's tongues was sent to me from a rela- 
 tive in Victoria ; there were 900 of them, and they 
 are as sweet as though they had been cured last 
 week in my own kitchen. The essence of beef pre- 
 pared at Mr. Mort's establishment is so good, that 
 
 (3t
 
 90 NEW HOMES. 
 
 it is of the greatest service in the sick room, where 
 you want a nomishing beef-tea made without any- 
 trouble and at a trifling cost. So good is it, and so 
 much better than any kinds that I know of, that I 
 went along journey the other day in order to secure 
 some. As long as this demand lasts — and as far as 
 I can see there is no limit to it — there is no fear for 
 the squatter. I remember however the day when 
 his position was a sad one. I was dining once in 
 Sydney with a very rich man. The night's post 
 brought my host a letter which seemed to disconcert 
 him. He told me that he had a mortgage on a run, 
 and that his debtor had written to say that he 
 was quite unable to pay the amount due, and 
 that he had better take the run over. On cal- 
 culating, it turned out that the sheep would cost 
 tenpence a head and the run be obtained for 
 nothing. And this disconcerted my friend who 
 was anything but pleased at having this run thus 
 forced on him. ^ 
 
 When the last mail left the colony a bill was 
 before the Legislature on behalf of assisted immi- 
 gration, and if it be carried and be a judicious 
 measure, we believe that it will add materially to 
 the population. It contemplates the emigration of 
 mechanics of every description, agricultuiists, la- 
 bourers, and female domestic servants. The terms 
 are very liberal, and will we do not doubt be highly 
 appreciated, if the bill becomes law in its present 
 shape, as it is expected that it will. We give a
 
 U-NEW HOMES. 91 
 
 copy of the bill below for the benefit of the general 
 
 reader : — 
 
 " ASSISTED IMMIGEATION. 
 
 " The following is a copy of the bill introduced into the Legis- 
 lative Assembly, and read a first time on the motion of the Hon. 
 the Colonial Treasurer (Mr. Samuel), to authorise and regulate 
 Assisted Immigration : — 
 
 " Preamhle. 
 
 " Whereas it is expedient to promote and assist immigration 
 to this colony by the issue upon condition of certain payments 
 being made of Immigration Land Keceipts available in the pur- 
 chase of Crown lands in manner hereinafter provided Be it 
 therefore enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty by and 
 with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and 
 Legislative Assembly of New South Wales in Parliament assem- 
 bled and by the authority of the same as follows : — 
 *' General ])rovisio7i as to immigrants nominated in colony and 
 others not so nominated. ■ 
 
 " 1. Upon certain payments being made as hereinafter pro- 
 vided by persons already resident in the colony passage certifi- 
 cates shall be given for the introduction of immigrants to be 
 nominated by them as hereinafter mentioned and Immigration 
 Land Keceipts available as hereinafter provided in that behalf 
 shall be given to the resident persons so nominating immigrants 
 for introduction And upon condition of certain other payments 
 as hereinafter mentioned passage certificates and land orders or 
 scrip certificates as hereinafter in that behalf mentioned shall be 
 given to or for persons not so resident who shall be desirous of 
 emigrating to this colony from ports in the United Kingdom 
 Provided always that such immigrants and persons emigrating 
 shall be of a suitable class and description as hereinafter 
 required. 
 
 " Hesidents in colony may nominate immigrants on certain 
 payments. 
 
 " 2. Persons already resident in the colony who may be de- 
 sirous of introducing other persons as immigrants shall be
 
 92 NEW HOMES. 
 
 entitled upon payment of eight pounds for eacli adult and four 
 pounds for each child under twelve years of age to nominate 
 any number of such persons being suitable and thereupon to 
 receive passage certificates for their introduction at the cost of 
 the Government of the colony and also to receive Immigration 
 Land Receipts for the amounts which they shall have so paid 
 Provided that the persons to be introduced shall be named or 
 sufficiently designated and that such particulars shall be fur- 
 nished concerning them as shall be required by the regulations 
 to be made under this Act. 
 
 " Passage certificates to le given and Immigration Land 
 Meceipts. Certificates to he used ivitliin twelve montJis. 
 "3. The persons so nominated shall be provided with pas- 
 sages by her Majesty's Emigration Commissioners in London 
 or such officer as shall be appointed by the Governor in Council 
 for that purpose imless they shall be found by such Com- 
 missioners or officer to be ineligible under the provisions of this 
 Act in which case the passage certificates will be cancelled but 
 nevertheless the Immigration Land Receipts for the amount 
 paid -as aforesaid will remain in full force Such passage certi- 
 ficates must in all cases be presented to such Commissioners or 
 officer as aforesaid within twelve months of the date thereof 
 and the proposed immigrants named therein must within that 
 period also present themselves for emigration otherwise the 
 certificate will lapse unless such Commissioners or officer shall 
 in any case think fit to enlarge the time for any period not 
 exceeding three months. 
 
 " Such Immigration Land Receipts lioio available. 
 " 4. The Immigration Land Receipts to be given to residents 
 in the colony upon such nomination and payments as aforesaid 
 shall be transferable by the holders thereof and shall be avail- 
 able for the amount therein mentioned (together with interest 
 thereon at the rate of one shilling in the pound for every 
 complete year from the date thereof) in payment for Crown 
 Lands in the manner following that is to say — During the first 
 three years from the date thereof in payment for Lands pur-
 
 '/r -^ Y>(/ 
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 93 
 
 chased under the thirteenth section of the Crown Lands Alien- 
 ation Act of 1861 and thereafter during a further period of 
 twelve years and no more in payment by the holders thereof for 
 any lands purchased by them from the Crown under any of 
 the provisions of the same Act or of any other law then in 
 force for regulating the sale of Crown lands. 
 " Persons not nominated ly residents may receive passage and 
 Immigration Land Beceipts upon certain pay merits. 
 
 " 5. Persons in the United Kingdom being of a suitable cha- 
 racter and description as hereinafter provided who may desire 
 to emigrate therefrom to the colony or who may desire to assist 
 others in so emigrating shall upon payment to her Majesty's 
 Emigration Commissioners or such officer aforesaid of the sum 
 of fifteen pounds for each adult and ten pounds ten shillings 
 for each child under twelve years of age be entitled to receive 
 passage certificates for their passage to this colony and also 
 certificates from the same Commissioners or officer on the pay- 
 ments made by them as aforesaid And the persons emigrating 
 in virtue of such payments shall if duly approved of on arrival 
 become entitled to Immigration Land Receipts available in the 
 purchase of Crown Lands as hereinafter next mentioned. 
 
 " Immiyration Land Receipts to such immiyrants as last 
 mentioned. Sow available. 
 
 "6. On the arrival in this colony of immigrants under the 
 last preceding clause and upon their being approved and passed 
 as eligible under this Act by the Immigration Board of 
 Sydney the immigrants holding the certificates of payment 
 mentioned in that clause shall be entitled to receive in substitu- 
 tion therefor Immigration Land Eeceipts bearing the date of 
 such arrival and available in the purchase of Crown Lands in 
 the colony in manner and subject to the conditions herein men- 
 tioned that is to say — During the first three years after the date 
 of such Immigration Land Receipts as herein mentioned they 
 shall be available for the amount therein mentioned (with 
 interest at the rate of one shilling in the pound for each com- 
 plete year) in payment for land selected under the thirteenth
 
 94 KEW HOMES. 
 
 section of the Crown Lands Alienation Act by the persons 
 originally receiving the same or by members of their families 
 •who shall have immigated with them and thereafter during a 
 further period of twelve years and therefore such Immigration 
 Land Eeceipts shall be available on payment of the amount 
 therein mentioned without interest by the holders thereof for 
 lands purchased by them of the Crown under any of the pro- 
 visions of the said Act or of any other law then in force for 
 re^ulatino- the sale of Crown lands And after such period of 
 three years the Immigration Land Eeceipts shall be transfer- 
 able by the original holders thereof then being resident in the 
 colony or by their representatives if they shall have died in the 
 colony. 
 
 " All persons elirjihle as immigrants. Immigrants under s. 6 
 to be subject to approval on arrival. 
 
 " 7. The persons eligible for immigration under this Act will 
 be mechanics of every description agriculturists domestic ser- 
 vants and all persons of the labouring class being of sound bodily 
 and mental health and ability and fitness for industrial employ- 
 ment and of a moral character And in the case of persons 
 arriving as immigrants under clause six of this Act they shall 
 be subject to approval by the Immigration Board at Sydney 
 and no Immigration Land Eeceipts as aforesaid shall be given 
 in respect of the payment made for any person who shall be 
 found ineligible under this Act. 
 
 " Immigrants how forxoarded. Ten days for Tiiring after 
 arrival in port. 
 
 " 8. Immigrants introduced under this Act shall be forwarded 
 to the colony in ships chartered by and subject to regulation 
 by her Majesty's Emigration Commissioners in London or such 
 officer who shall have been appointed as aforesaid or otherwise 
 in such ships and subject to such arrangements as the said 
 Commissioners or officer may make on behalf of such immi- 
 grants Provided that in all cases such immigrants (unless 
 they be single females and be removed as hereinafter mentioned) 
 shall be entitled to be maintained on board of the ships in which
 
 /i 
 
 ^NEW HOMES. 95 
 
 they shall ai'rive and to he accessible and have access from and 
 to the shore so as to give full opportunity for engagement in 
 service for ten days after their arrival at the port of destination 
 but after the expiration of that time they will be discharged and 
 will be required to provide for themselves. 
 
 " Single females to he at Depot under clue protection. 
 
 " 9. All single females not being members of families immi- 
 grating with them and desirous of continuing with them shall 
 so soon as conveniently may be after arrival at the port of des- 
 tination be conveyed to the Female Immigration Depot to be 
 provided at tlie public expense to be there properly cared for 
 and maintained until they shall be removed by their relations 
 or persons who shall have nominated them or shall have engaged 
 in service with the approval of such persons as shall be ap- 
 pointed by the Board in that behalf And no engagement 
 shall be made by any such single female immigrant unless such 
 persons as last mentioned shall be satisfied of the respectability 
 and suitableness of the intending hirer and shall sanction such 
 engagement Provided nevertheless that the right of any such 
 female to such protection and maintenance shall cease and 
 determine so soon as employment aj)proved by any such person 
 or persons so appointed shall be offered to her. 
 
 " Lunatics, Criminals, ^c, may he returned to port of 
 emharJcation. 
 
 " 10. If any person shall arrive in the colony as an immigrant 
 under this Act who shall be a lunatic or idiot an habitual 
 pauper drunkard or prostitute or who shall have been convicted 
 of any serious crime it shall be competent to the Governor in 
 Council to direct that such person be returned to the port at 
 which he shall have been shipped and thereupon he may be 
 returned accordingly at the pubUc cost and shall be detained in 
 safe custody until a convenient opportunity shall be found for 
 his removal. 
 
 " Poiver to make Regulations. 
 
 " 11. It shall be lawful for the Governor in Council to make 
 such regulations as may be necessary for carrying this Act into
 
 96 NEW HOMES. 
 
 effect in respect of all matters to be done in this colony and in 
 the United Kingdom and elsewhere in furtherance of the objects 
 hereof and for enforcing cleanliness order and good conduct on 
 board of the ships chartered for immigration under this Act 
 and all such regulations shall so far as they shall not be incon- 
 sistent with this Act have the same force and effect as if enacted 
 therein. 
 
 " Commencement and Short Title of Act. 
 " 12. This Act shall take effect on the first day of January 
 now next and shall be styled ' The Immigration Act of New 
 South Wales passed in 1869.' " 
 
 The progress of the colony has been very marked up 
 to the present time, and there is ground for believing 
 that its onward progress will even be accelerated. 
 What would Collins think if he could stand in 
 the streets of Sydney and see to what it has grown ? 
 Besides the steam communication by the P. and 0. 
 boats, via Melbourne, the government are entertain- 
 ing a new route, via Torres Straits, so as to have 
 a fortnightly mail. And ere long the electric tele- 
 graph will be in direct communication with Europe. 
 
 Although the area of Kew South Wales is so 
 vast, and the room for selection so great, not five 
 millions of land have as yet been sold ; whilst the 
 Crown tenants hold on lease about 120,000,000 of 
 acres. 
 
 It only needs an increase of population and 
 capital to develop the mineral resources of the 
 country. Iron, copper, lead and tin are scattered 
 all over the land. Arts and manufactures in like 
 manner are but in their inftmcy. But still
 
 '"{,^1 NEW HOMES. 97 
 
 enough is being done to give a happy omen of the 
 future. 
 
 There was a great clamour made for powers of 
 self-government, and concession was made to the 
 full extent of what was demanded, but strange to 
 say the mass of the people do not exercise the 
 franchise. At the last election 44,000 persons only 
 voted out of a roll of 120,000, that is not much 
 more than one person in three exercised a pri- 
 vilege which we should have thought would have 
 been highly prized. Life and property are quite 
 safe in all the towns. The remote parts have been 
 disturbed by bushrangers, it being extremely diffi- 
 cult to protect a country of such an enormous area. 
 
 Great excitement prevailed lately in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Mudgee at the supposed finding of 
 an enormous diamond, which would have made the 
 far-famed Koh-i-noor hide its diminished head. 
 But it proved to be a mistake — perhaps worse. 
 There is however no doubt that diamonds are 
 being found, and they will be discovered now in 
 far greater numbers, as special attention is being 
 paid to the subject by the formation of "Diamond 
 Companies." 
 
 There is no State Church in the colonies ; all are 
 ou a perfect equality. In 1862 an Act was passed 
 by the Legislature whereby government aid is for 
 the future to be discontinued, protecting however 
 the interests of all the present incumbents. There 
 are about 400 registered clergymen of all denomi-
 
 98 NEW HOMES. 
 
 nations. The Bishop of Sydney and Metropolitan 
 is the Eight Eev. Dr. Barker, who is provided with 
 an income of £2,000 a year, and who is much 
 beloved. The amount of good which he has done . 
 since his appointment is very great indeed. Mrs. 
 Barker is also a great helper, and she takes 
 a special and lively interest in the '^ Clergy 
 Daughters' School," which is a great boon to 
 the clergy having large families, and who are so 
 often situated at such remote places as to be quite 
 unable to procure suitable education for their 
 children in their own localities, and whose incomes 
 are such as to shut them out from the advantages 
 of the best class of boarding schools. There are 
 now five bishoprics in the colony, viz : Sydney, 
 Newcastle, Goulbourn, Grafton and Armidale, and 
 Bathurst. Each diocese is governed by a synod, 
 the powers of which in 1866 were "agreed upon, 
 and an Act of the Legislature made any of its 
 rules and ordinances binding for all purposes of 
 Church property on its members. The synod meets 
 annually, each incumbent is summoned to attend, 
 and each district according to its size sends two 
 or three lay representatives, who sign a declaration 
 that they are members of the Church in full com- 
 munion. The bishop presides ; he has no vote, but 
 each ordinance must have his assent, and as the 
 members can insist on voting by orders, it follows 
 that each act must have the assent of bishop, 
 clergy, and laity. It is provided also that a tribunal
 
 r ^ NEW HOMES. 
 
 9& 
 
 may be established for the trial of offences by • 
 clergymen; the i^iinishment, if found guilty, being 
 deprivation of licence. The constitutions also pro- 
 -vide for the holding of a '' Provincial Synod of all 
 the New South Wales Dioceses " once in three 
 years. In this the bishops are to sit in one house 
 and the diocesan synods or representatives in a 
 sejparate one. The object of the new Church Con- 
 stitution is gradually to supersede the provisions 
 of the "Church Temporalities Act" of 1837 by 
 others better adapted to the wants of the Church ; 
 and although the Church has many difficulties to 
 contend with we look hopefully to the future. 
 
 The poor aborigines. This is a sad subject. 
 Here, as elsewhere, they are disappearing before 
 the march of civilization and its attendant vices. 
 The last man of the Sydney tribe died in 1846. 
 It has been the fashion to deride the poor creatures, 
 to regard them as little better than the beasts. But 
 this they did not merit. Many years ago, a gentle- 
 man settler picked up in the bush a deserted infant, 
 a boy, and instead of leaving the little one to perish 
 as so many would have done, especially in those 
 early days, he took him to his station and had 
 him properly cared for. As he grew up he had 
 him educated, and I was once asked to examine 
 him ; he not only could read and write and cast 
 accounts, but he knew the elements of geometry, 
 algebra, and Latin. 
 
 The physical aspect of the Australian continent
 
 100 NEW HOMES, 
 
 is devoid of any of those striking features which, 
 from its great superficial extent, it might have been 
 expected to present. The great dividing range, 
 extending throughout the whole length of eastern 
 Australia — a distance of upwards of thirty degrees, 
 — attains in many points an altitude of not less 
 than from seven to eight thousand feet. The 
 summits of some of the mountains in Gipps' Land 
 would appear to be within the limits of perpetual 
 snow. The proximity of the dividing range to 
 the coast necessarily circumscribes the course of 
 the rivers flowing to the eastward. Those best 
 known are the Hawkesbury, the Clarence, and the 
 Brisbane, which collect the waters of the eastern 
 slope of the Elue Mountain Eange. The general 
 character of these streams is, that in the upper part 
 •of their course they consist of mere mountain 
 torrents, dry, or forming water holes during the 
 summer, and becoming converted into rapid streams 
 in the rainy season. 
 
 So far as climate may be considered as influencing 
 the organization of man, its effects in New South 
 "Wales appear to be analogous to those observed 
 in countries elsewhere of a tropical or semi-tropical 
 character. Eapid growth, with early development 
 of the physical as well as the intellectual powers, 
 characterises each sex, but more particularly the 
 female. But this remarkable precocity appears to 
 be compensated for by early and premature decay. 
 The gii'l of fifteen, possessing all the charms and
 
 /^ c^ At/
 
 NEW HOMES. 101 
 
 many of the graces of womanhood, must at the 
 age of thirty yield the palm to her who, realizing 
 the triumphs of her sex at a later, preserves them 
 to a more advanced period of life. These remarks 
 apply to those born in the colony. The climate 
 would seem to have an opposite effect on such 
 as come into the country in middle or advanced 
 life. A hundred years has been the age attained 
 by many even of those whose past lives had been 
 fraught with hardship and severe penance — the 
 fruits of in-egular and vicious living. 
 
 Catarrhal affections often prevail epidemically. 
 Rheumatism, especially in the early days when men 
 were exposed to great privations, was prevalent. 
 Eemittent fevers are seldom met with, from the 
 absence of marsh miasmata. Measles and scarlet 
 fever have been productive of great mortality. The 
 last named disease carried off large numbers of the 
 native-born population who were attacked by it, 
 and for the time it lasted, its influence was scarcely 
 less fatal than that of the Asiatic cholera on the 
 first introduction of that disease into Britain. It 
 seems to be a law with epidemics of this class, that 
 they should prove much more devastating on their 
 first appearance in any country than subsequently, 
 after having expended their morbid energy, and 
 when they become as it were acclimatized. The 
 course of disease is much more rapid than is the 
 case in England. There are none of those bed- 
 ridden years which it is the sad lot of many to spend
 
 102 NEW HOMES. 
 
 there ; you either recover rai^idly or you are carried 
 off. On the sea-coast, or on the coast side of the 
 great dividing range, the climate is moist and 
 warm, but tempered by a cool sea breeze during 
 the summer months. Snow and ice are very rare, 
 but the westerly winds are keen in winter and 
 are felt by invalids. To those who are however in 
 robust health, the bright clear days of winter are 
 most enjoyable. The hot winds in summer are 
 trying, and the nights also are hot then. I think 
 that if a person were to spend the three summer 
 months in Hobart Town and the remaining nine 
 months in Sydney, he would have the perfection of 
 climate. As you get farther away from the coast 
 and ascend the hills the climate is much cooler, 
 for though the summer days are hot the nights 
 are cool. In the winter it is really cold. 
 
 In speaking of this colony and referring to its 
 past history it is necessary to say a word on the 
 subject of transportation. The last convict ship 
 arrived in 1840; and the different colonies have 
 arrived at that stage when it would be most inju- 
 dicious to attempt a revival of transportation to 
 them. I had an opportunity of watching the whole 
 system both in Van Diemen's Land and in New 
 South Wales. I have no hesitation in saying that 
 it is an admirable mode of punishment. I consi- 
 der that England must go back to the old system. 
 I believe that she will not long be able to endure 
 the letting loose of her prisoners at home when
 
 
 NEW HOMES. 103 
 
 their sentences have expired. They too often go 
 back to their old associates ; they find extreme dijK- 
 culty in turning over a new leaf in their native 
 land ; many refuse to employ them, and so they 
 become confirmed in their evil habits. But send a 
 man to a far off country where all is new, let him 
 see the prospect of regaining the position he had 
 lost and of becoming a respectable member of 
 society, and vast numbers will avail themselves of 
 the opening; nay, under the old and most imperfect 
 system in the Australian colonies great numbers 
 became respectable members of society. If only a 
 suitable country could be obtained, I am sure that 
 economy and philanthropy would alike commend a 
 return to the transportation system. I know full 
 well all the evils of the assignment system as it was 
 administered, but a "knowledge of a disease is half 
 the remedy" and 2i judicious system of assignment is 
 an admirable system. It separates the prisoners from 
 their partners in crime, and it brings them or ought 
 to bring them under domestic influence. It will be 
 found that it was too often the bad master who 
 made the bad man. And the system of ticket-of- 
 leave is an excellent one ; not, I grant you, in 
 England, but away from that country. I do not 
 shrink from saying that I know intimately and 
 respect highly many men, and many women, who 
 originally left their country for their country's good. 
 All honour to them that they raised themselves by 
 their industry to independence, and won the respect
 
 104 NEW HOMES. 
 
 of tlieir neighbours by the goodness of their charac- 
 ter. I repeat it, that I should deeply regret seeing 
 Australia become a receptacle for criminals again. 
 That is not to be thought of ; at the same time I 
 never could quite agree with the old settlers in their 
 denunciation of the transportation system, nor did 
 I ever feel that they had a right to be aggrieved 
 thereat. When I went out to the colonies I knew 
 that they were the receptacles for England's crimi- 
 nals, and so did others. And I cannot consider that 
 the Home Government were wi'ong in continuing 
 that system. At all events we, as colonists, had no 
 right to complain ; it was our own act and deed. 
 We went there knowing all about it, and what we 
 should have done without the prisoners I cannot 
 tell-. In one word then, I consider that transporta- 
 tion with judicious assignment is the perfection of 
 ,prison discipline, and the sooner England can 
 remove the plague spot from her own shores the 
 better will it be for herself and for her criminals. 
 
 The local journals on the Macleay report favour- 
 ably of the sugar growing enterprise in that locality. 
 The climate and the soil will both suit. The fear 
 we have is about the cost of production, both in this 
 colony and in Queensland. 
 
 A movement is on foot, we learn from the 
 Bathiirst Times, for the establishment of a meat 
 preserving company in that locality, an entei-prise 
 that will surely prove remunerative in a district 
 where all the essentials to success are close at hand.
 
 NEW HOMES. 105 
 
 His Excellency the Governor, just prior to the 
 sailing of the last mail had opened Parliament in 
 person, and as the " speech " contains much va- 
 luable information we give it below : — 
 
 "Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, 
 
 AND GtENTLEMEN OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 
 
 " 1. I have not considered it advisable to call you together at 
 an earlier date. It appeared to me preferable to meet Par- 
 liament with the measures of the Grovernment and other 
 arrangements in such a state of forwardness as to enable 
 honourable members to proceed at once with their Parlia- 
 mentaiy duties, rather than to incur any risk of inconvenient 
 or unnecessary delay by a premature commencement of the 
 session. 
 
 " 2. During the recess Ministers have been occupied in the 
 preparation of important measures of administrative and legis- 
 lative reform, some of which it may be unnecessary to complete 
 before the close of this session, but all of which will be found 
 worthy of attention. 
 
 " 3. Progress has been made in effecting such moderate reduc- 
 tions in the Public Expenditure as have been found compatible 
 with efficiency, and with due recognition of the just claims 
 of Public Servants. Efforts in this direction will be continued. 
 
 " 4. Among the documents which will be laid before you, will 
 be a Despatch from her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State 
 for the Colonies, announcing an important change in the polic}' 
 of the Imperial Government with regard to the em])loyment 
 in this colony of Imperial Troops. 
 
 "5. Negotiations have been entered into with the Government 
 of Queensland, with a view to the establishment of Telegraphic 
 Communication with Europe, and of additional Postal Communi- 
 cation by way of Torres Straits, Avith the particulars of which 
 you will be made acquainted. Attempts have been also made 
 to bring about, upon various subjects of common interest, a 
 conference of the neighbouring Colonies, which is only delayed 
 
 H
 
 106 NEW HOMES. 
 
 in consequence of their Governments not having as yet agreed 
 as to time and place. 
 
 " 6. The controversy between Victoria and this Colony, as to 
 the ownership of Pental Island, has been the subject of further 
 correspondence ; and a proposition has been submitted, by the 
 Government of this Colony, which is likely to lead to an 
 early and satisfactory settlement of this vexed question. 
 
 " 7. New arrangements for the conduct of the Colonial Agency 
 in London have been adopted, which, it is hoped, will place our 
 interests there upon an improved footing. 
 
 " 8. Provision has been made for the commencement of a Free 
 Library in Sydney. The premises of "The Australian Library" 
 have been rented, and the books of that Institution purchased. 
 Steps will be taken without delay for the erection of suitable 
 buildings. 
 
 " 9. The area of land sold, particularly by conditional sales, 
 has increased this year to an unprecedented extent, as compared 
 with previous years, not excepting even that which followed 
 the passing of the existing Crown Lands Acts. This increase 
 has, during the first six months of the present year, reached 
 a rate of 50 per cent, over that of any like period since 1862. 
 Every effort has been made to render more effective the 
 collection of revenue from this source, by holding out larger 
 inducements to Land Agents and by the issue of additional 
 Land Kegulations calculated to facilitate and encourage the 
 payment of interest and of outstanding balances by conditional 
 purchasers. 
 
 " 10. Changes have been made in the Gold-Fields Regu- 
 lations ; but this subject wdll be brought under j'our special 
 consideration by a Bill which will be immediatel}^ introduced. 
 
 " 11. Eailway Lines have been completed to Musclebrook 
 and Goulburn. Those to Bathurst and Murrurundi are pro- 
 gressing. A proposition for further Eailway Extension will 
 be submitted. Other important Public Works are rapidly 
 approaching completion. 
 
 " 12. The Telegraph Lines of this Colony have now reached
 
 NEW HOMES. 107 
 
 an extent of about 5,500 miles, and nearly 500 miles more 
 are in com-se of construction. 
 
 " Gentlemen of the Legislative Assembly — 
 
 " 13. I have directed the Estimates for the ensuing year 
 to be laid before you forthwith. They have been prepared 
 with a due regard to economy and to the requirements of the 
 Public Service. 
 
 " Honouea-Ble Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, 
 AND Gentlemen of the Legislative Assembly — 
 
 " 14. The Debentures of this Colony continue to command 
 the confidence of English capitalists, the rates last reported 
 being higher than they had been for some years past. The 
 Treasury Bills issued under the Act 32 Victoria, No. 14, have 
 been all negotiated in the Colon}', at prices which were never 
 before realized for securities of this nature. 
 
 " 15. Bills will be submitted to you for the following and 
 other purposes : — 
 
 " Correcting anomalies in the Electoral System of the 
 Colony as regards particular districts, and shortening the 
 duration of Parliaments ; Amending the Law relating to Gold- 
 Fields ; Reduction of the Salaries of future Governors and of 
 other high functionaries ; Amending the Law relating to 
 Marriage ; Amending the Law relating to Municipal Institu- 
 tions ; Providing for Immigration ; Amending the Law re- 
 lating to Railways ; Aiding and facilitating the Artificial 
 Supply of Water ; Defining the Grazing Rights of Conditional 
 and other Purchasers ; Amending the Superannuation Act ; 
 Regulating Minor Roads ; Amending the Impounding Law ; 
 Regulating Commons ; Amending the Law relating to Dis- 
 tillation ; the more effectual Audit of Public Accounts ; Con- 
 solidation and Amendment of Customs Laws ; Amendment of 
 the Law relating to the Mercaiitile Marine ; Amendment of 
 the Law relating to Lunacy ; Preventing the spread of Con- 
 tagious Diseases ; Abolition of Ad Valorem Duties and News- 
 paper Postage Rate ; to Amend the Laws relating to Friendly 
 Societies.
 
 108 NEW HOMES. 
 
 " 16. Notwithstanding the depression consequent upon the 
 low price of wool and the effects of the severe drought of last 
 year, the Revenue up to this time considerably exceeds that of 
 the corresponding period of last year. There is reason con- 
 fidently to expect that the Revenue of 1869 will not fall short 
 of the amount estimated. 
 
 " 17. The prospects of Agricultural and Mining Industry 
 are highly encouraging. 
 
 " 18. I now invite you to proceed to your arduous and respon- 
 sible duties, in fervent trust-that, under Divine Providence, your 
 deliberations may tend to a happy issue." 
 
 The Sydney Morning Herald gives the following 
 "leader" on the matters contained in the speech : — 
 
 " Our Parliament has been once more assembled for dispatch 
 of business, but whether business will be dispatched remains to 
 be seen. There are scarcely three months available for its 
 transaction, and before the end of January Parliament will ex- 
 pire by effluxion of time. When we take out the Christmas 
 holidays, the days on which the House does not sit, the days 
 devoted to private business, and the time invariably and appa- 
 rently inevitably devoted to sm*plus talk, there is not much 
 time left for hard work. The apology given by the Government 
 for having postponed the session so long is, that they have 
 thereby really saved time, inasmuch as they have been fully 
 occupied in preparing measures to submit to Parliament. They 
 have, however, rather overdone this sort of preparation, for 
 they have presented a list of twenty-one bills, all said to be in 
 a state of forwardness, if not absolutely ready to be produced. 
 And, in a short session, v/hich will not probably have thirty real 
 working days, it is not at all likely that the whole, or even a 
 half, of the bills will be got through. Certain it is, however, 
 that the work is in a greater state of forwardness than usual for 
 Parliament to deal with. It has been too much the custom for 
 Governments to dawdle over the first weeks of the session, and
 
 ^ C^.'-'^w NEW 
 
 NEW HOMES. 109 
 
 to sound the feeling of honourable members before they intro- 
 duce their measures. The present Administration, however, is 
 ready to go on v/ith some of its bills at once, and provide work 
 for both Houses. At the same time several of these bills relate 
 to matters which have already been pretty fully discussed, and 
 on which the opinions of the present Assembly have been 
 already taken. 
 
 " The propriety of doing any business at all, except what is 
 absolutely necessary for the purposes of Government, has been 
 disputed on the ground that a Parliament so close to dissolution 
 can hardly legislate with the requisite independence, inasmuch 
 as any serious opposition that would put the Government in a 
 minority would immediately send honourable members to the 
 hustings. But the threat of dissolution now is a very different 
 thing to what it would be at an earlier period of the Par- 
 liament's life. That threat is scarcely a threat, and its execu- 
 tion could at the most only anticipate by a few weeks what 
 must inevitably take place. The House generally has not ac- 
 cepted the theory that it is not fit to work in its last hours, 
 and is going into the discussion of the measures prepared for 
 it. In fact, it suits the political purposes of both parties to 
 get the programme developed. The Government is proud of, 
 and confident in, the goodness of its policy, and is anxious to 
 have the whole of it thoroughly displayed prior to the appeal 
 to the constituencies. The Vice-regal Speech on the opening 
 of the session has been stigmatised as an electioneering placard, 
 and, as the soft indictment was not resented, but rather ad- 
 mitted, it is clear that the Administration rests its claims to 
 the support on its ability and willingness to carry on important 
 reforms. 
 
 " On the other side, the Opposition also wish the programme 
 to be unfolded, being confident in the destructive power of hos- 
 tile criticism. It is never very difficult to discover something 
 that can be found fault with in any measure, and, out of twenty- 
 one bills, some weapons of attack are sure to be forged. But 
 though both sides thus have reasons for wishing the principal 
 measures of the session to be produced, it does not follow that
 
 110 NEW HOMES. 
 
 there will be tlie same unanimity in cariying them tb rough all 
 their stages, and we cannot therefore assume that this session, 
 which lias opened so exuberant in bills, will close fruitful in 
 Acts. 
 
 " The Budget is to be produced on Thursday next. The chief 
 anxiety in respect to the Treasurer's statement relates to pos- 
 sible changes in taxation. "VVe already know pretty well how 
 the revenue stands for this year, but the Government has dis- 
 tinctly promised the abolition of the ad valorem duties, and as 
 they are now producing not very much less than £200,000 a 
 year, we are curious to know how the deficiency is to be made 
 good. The projects of retrencliment hitherto disclosed, even if 
 they are all as effective as anticipated by the Ministry, will not 
 make good so large a loss in revenue. It is probable that some 
 additions may be made to the Stamp Act, which, in its present 
 form, is not so comprehensive as it might be — or, indeed, as it 
 was intended to be ; but "whether anything further is designed 
 in the shape of direct taxation — whether there is to be anything 
 like a beginning made in the way of an income and property 
 tax; — is a point on which much natural curiosity exists. The 
 mercantile community are very anxious to get rid of the ad 
 valorem duties, which have proved themselves to be a great 
 nuisance, and have immensely interfered with the intercolonial 
 and re-export trade ; and therefore they would put up with a 
 good deal to see them finally abolished. But Avhether the 
 country at large is prepared for even an instalment of direct 
 taxation is very doubtful, seeing that even municipal institu- 
 tions are taking root very slowljr. 
 
 " The Estimates laid on the table disclose the fact that some- 
 Avhat over two millions sterling will be required for the purposes 
 of Government. This, no doubt, seems a large sum for taking 
 care of 400,000 people, especially as we have no army or navy 
 to support other than the cost of our Volunteers and our con- 
 tribution to the troops stationed in the colony. But then, it 
 must be remembered by English critics that our population is 
 scattered over a territory six hundred miles square, that we 
 liave to pay the interest on a considerable debt incurred for
 
 ^ *-^ Mw HOMES. 
 
 Ill 
 
 public works, inasmuch as our railwaj's at present do little more 
 than pay their working expenses, and that we have to provide 
 out of the public revenue for nearly all the local works and 
 local wants which in a more settled country press on local 
 revenues. 
 
 " Although • the railway pohcy of the Government has not 
 yet been expounded, it is clear from the Estimates that that 
 policy is not finality. They propose to add two millions to the 
 public debt, and of this amount about one million and three- 
 quarters is required for railway purposes. The demand for 
 improved communication is so great that no Government can 
 resist it, and unpopular as taxation is, the general feeling of the 
 country is in favour of railway extension, even at the risk of 
 increased taxation. There is an instinctive feeling that the 
 country cannot get on without railways, and that they are 
 essential to our progress even though they may press incon- 
 veniently on our incomes." 
 
 " Quartz mining is exciting more and more attention in the 
 colony every day, and reefs are being discovered and opened up 
 in every direction — south, west, and north. Even since our 
 last summary some rich reefs have been opened upon and ad- 
 joining to the old Major's Creek Gold-field. From these the 
 accounts are so good that the Eungonia reefs have been well 
 nigh deserted for the new land of promise, Keports from that 
 quarter mention that the stone shows well, as, though the gold 
 is very small, it is well diffused through the stone. No 
 crushings have yet been had there, but steps are being taken 
 to test the quality of the stone prior to the erection of crushing 
 machinery. Ou the Little Eiver, also in the Braidwood district, 
 there has been a very rich find of gold in the Homeward Bound 
 claim on the Mosquito Reef. A leader was struck, which at 
 one part contained nearly more gold than stone, and the parties 
 netted some £3,000 only by hand crushing. Since then the 
 country round has been regularly rushed, and several new reefs,
 
 112 NEW HOMES. 
 
 some of them showing excellent prospects, have been opened. 
 From the experience gained by prospectors it is now evident 
 that the whole of the first fall of the land, or rather the first 
 plateau from the table land on the east coast of Australia, from 
 Bungonia southward to the boundary of the colony, is auriferous, 
 and more or less thickly intersected by gold-bearing quartz reefs. 
 
 " Kiandra is once more looking up, owing to the plentiful 
 supply of water furnished by the winter's rains. This has 
 enabled sluicers to go to work, though it has stopped pro- 
 ceedings in some of the deep claims. The reefs in the Gundagai 
 district have also been turning out well, and rather more than 
 the usual quantity of gold has lately been received there. One 
 parcel of stone crushed at Kimo gave 27-| oz. for 65 tons quartz, 
 whilst the Adelong crushings have averaged over an ounce. 
 
 " In the South bordering on the Riverine country, reefs are 
 being opened and worked with good success. Melbourne specu- 
 lators, in this as in other cases, have set the ball going, and the 
 New South Wales men have not been slow to follow the lead 
 given to them. 
 
 " New alluvial workings have just been opened on the Emu 
 Creek Gold-field, at a place called the Quondong, some seven 
 miles from Grenfell. The wash dirt has not yet been tested, 
 for there is no available store of water on the ground, but three 
 shafts put down at intervals over a line of some two miles have 
 each bottomed on auriferous drift with wash dirt from two to 
 three feet deep, and calculated by the test of the dish, to go 
 about 12 dwts. to the load. The alluvial workings on this field 
 have been altogether very successful lately ; a great portion of 
 the gold sent thence by escort being due to this source. The 
 stone has not gone so well lately, and the average of the 
 crushings shows something less than an ounce to the ton. 
 
 "Of the Western Gold-fields, Tambaroora and its reefs cer- 
 tainly keeps the lead which it has so long held. From 40 tons 
 of stone from James Brown's claim, no less than 650 oz. were 
 obtained ; whilst 247 tons of stone crushed during seven weeks at 
 the Victorian machine gave 1,120 oz, Trunkey Creek promises 
 to become an established reeling country. Three companies
 
 / 
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 113 
 
 are now actively engaged there, two being Sydney, and one 
 Melbourne, companies. The first established of these Sydney 
 companies is now well on in its preparation, its dam being 
 nearly finished, and the machinery rapidly arriving, and being 
 fitted up as quickly as received. The Melbourne company have 
 the One Eye property on lease where there is a store of perma- 
 nent water. Here their machinery will be erected as it arrives. 
 New reefs are being discovered in this district in all directions. 
 " From the Northern Gold-fields we learn that a rich auri- 
 ferous vein has been struck in a reef at Bowling Alley Point, in 
 Williams' and Co.'s claim, from this by hand picking and 
 crushing. The party have been making for some time past 
 from £15 to £17 per week per man. The Denison reefs, on a 
 tributary of the Hunter, near Scone, have lately been exciting 
 more than usual notice ; the last crushing reported being 29 
 tons of Landrigan's stone which gave 51 oz. The crushing 
 from January to August, eight months, 415 tons had been 
 crushed, the product being 750 oz. gold. There is only one 
 quartz-crushing machine on the ground, and it is worked by a 
 water wheel." 
 
 The Sydney Ernpire gives the following description 
 of gold from the neighbourhood of Braidwood : — 
 
 "According to the official telegram just received by the 
 Colonial Secretary from Braidwood — and it would be difficult 
 to conceive any more authentic intelligence — the New South 
 Wales gold-fields are now 'looking up' in the inventory of our 
 local assets. At a time when the strong tendency of opinion — 
 not in the colonies but in the mother country — seems to be in 
 favour of the proposal to turn us adrift at the very first favour- 
 able opportunity, it is as well that we shonld keep stock of our 
 resources as they are developed. The telegram to the Colonial 
 Secretary stated that three hundred and fifty pounds weight of 
 gold was awaiting conveyance by escort to Sydney, vid Goul- 
 burn, and the Braidwood papers received this morning report
 
 114 NEW HOMES. 
 
 the particulars. It seems that a quantity of quartz, of most 
 surpassing richness, had heen taken from the ' Homeward 
 Bound ' claim, the whole weighing about three hundred and 
 fifty pounds. But, instead of being like quartz mixed with 
 gold, it is described as ' gold mixed with quartz.' The net 
 weight of gold was supposed to be about a hundred and twenty 
 pounds, valued at £6,000 sterling. This prize was found at a 
 depth of only about twenty-four feet from the surface. ' The 
 stone,' says the report, ' clings together with the precious metal, 
 and many of the thinner pieces bend like so many pieces of 
 lead.' The same report adds, ' there is no saying how much 
 more of it there may yet be to take out ;' and as it is only a 
 few Aveeks since seventy-five pounds weight of gold quartz was 
 taken from the same claim, it is certainly not unreasonable to 
 anticipate the unearthing of many a ' find ' as rich, or richer. 
 Such incidents give life and energy to the digger, by reviving 
 hopes which had perhaps declined through long periods of 
 weary disappointment, and proving that, while millions upon 
 millions in value of the precious metal had continued to be ex- 
 ported, and long after the desponding had pronounced the New 
 South Wales gold-fields to be worked out, mines of wealth, 
 literally speaking, continued to remain as they had done for 
 ages, though enterprising men and experienced diggers may 
 have passed over them unheeding. So it will long continue to 
 be ; and the experience of every month and every week serves 
 to show that the auriferous resources of this country are only 
 yet in the infancy of their development. Further to the west- 
 ward, also, the prospects of the steady miner, who goes to work 
 with a will at quartz reefing, are highly encouraging ; and the 
 magnificent specimens of auriferous quartz from Trunkey Creek, 
 a§ exhibited in the lobby of the Assembly in Sydney the other 
 day, reminded old miners of the palmy days of BaUarat. The 
 remarkable success of gold mining in Victoria at the first, 
 attracting, as it did, a vast population, not only from Europe 
 and other parts beyond seas, but also from our own mines, 
 which were held in disparaging comparison, caused our Southern 
 neighbours to outstrip us to an extent not warranted by the
 
 
 115 
 
 natural capabilities of one colony as compared with the other. 
 People are now, to use a nautical expression, ' trying back ;' and 
 with the inestimable benefit of experience, they are likely to 
 discover much that they had before overlooked. The Braidwood 
 paper compares the quartz reefs at the Little Kiver to those of 
 the Thames district, in New Zealand ; and, judging from results 
 already obtained, we see no reason why the comparison should 
 not hold good. From Burrangong, also, we learn by this 
 morning's post that the Junee reefs are making a profitable 
 yield." 
 
 Mucli dissatisfaction has been expressed at the 
 infrequency of the wool sales held in London, and 
 the heavy taxation which was levied on the Colonial 
 producer. Influential meetings have been held on 
 this important subject both at home and abroad. 
 At the last meeting on the subject in Sydney, the 
 following resolutions were agreed to : — 
 
 " 1st. They are of opinion that all enquiries into the matters 
 alluded to, from the absence of the proper channels of inforaia- 
 tion in the colony, may be best made in London. 
 
 " 2nd. That to enable these enquiries to be made as searching 
 and as independent as possible, a committee of gentlemen, 
 representing all the Australian colonies, be appointed in London, 
 and that the following gentlemen be invited to represent New 
 South Wales there, viz. :— Donald Larnach, Esq., W. F. De 
 Sabs, Esq., William Mort, Esq., Edward Hamilton, Esq., 
 Sir D. Cooper, Bart., John Peters, Esq., F. H. Dangar, Esq. 
 
 "3rd. That the gentlemen above named be requested to 
 confer with the committee which now regvilates the sale of wool 
 by public auction in London, and from that and other sources 
 of information ascertain the reasons, if any, which uphold 
 quarterly sales .of the wools of these colonies in preference to 
 bi-monthly or even monthly sales ; to enquire into the mode of
 
 116 NEW HOMES. 
 
 warehousing, with a view of affording greater facilities for ex- 
 hibiting the wools of the different colonies separately ; to ascer- 
 tain whether any reduction can be obtained in the existing 
 charges ; and generally, in the interests of the colonists, to in- 
 vestigate the question whether any and what improvements can 
 be made in the mode of selling Australian wools in London. 
 
 " 4th. That the said Committee be also requested to consider 
 the propriety of the formation of a permanent committee in 
 London to represent the interests of the colonies in regard to 
 the sale of wool generally, and to prevent such misrepresentation 
 as is exposed in the letter of John L. Bowes and Brother, pub- 
 lished in the Home Neios of 13th August, 1869. 
 
 " 5th. That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the 
 chairmen of the various Chambers of Commerce of the Austra- 
 lian colonies, requesting them to appoint such parties as they 
 may deem desirable to act with the committee appointed to 
 represent this colony in London." 
 
 To those interested in "station" property, the 
 extracts from the late papers given below will im- 
 part some useful information : — 
 
 " There is still a fair demand for really good stations, and 
 these have been disposed of advantageously during the past 
 month. We have sold by private contract the Tooloom Station, 
 in the Clarence district, with 1,100 head of cattle, at £2 15s. 
 per head, stores, horses, &c., to be taken at a valuation. Terms, 
 a,s usual. Fattening cattle-stations, well situated for this or 
 the Victorian markets, have changed hands at higher rates, 
 according to their quality and position, and in one instance 
 reached £5 per head for a run on the Lachlan River. For 
 Northern Queensland cattle-stations there has not been the 
 enquiry we anticipated. In sheep-stations we do not expect 
 any business until after the shearing is over, when we hope to 
 see more confidence in these properties, as the result of the 
 •cheering news per last English mail. Store Cattle: — There
 
 / 
 
 NEW HOMES. 117 
 
 has been but little done in these, but as there have been fine 
 rains in Victoria and Kiverina, we shortly expect numerous 
 demands for bullocks of suitable ages for fattening. In conse- 
 quence of the fall in the price of fat cattle in Melbourne, 
 Southern buyers are offering rather lower rates ; and we quote 
 superior bullocks, delivered South, £3 15s. to £4 ; superior 
 bullocks on Northern stations, £2 10s. to £2 15s. ; store cattle 
 (equal sexes) two to seven years, on Northern stations, £2 to 
 £2 5s. ; mixed cattle, six months and upwards, on Northern 
 stations, £1 10s. to £1 15s. Store Sheep : — There is only a 
 limited demand for large framed wethers, at about 3s. 6d. to 
 4s. for shorn sheep. We have sold 7,300 from the Barcoo, de- 
 liverable on Liverpool Plains in January next, with nine months' 
 fleece, at 5s. 3d. per head." 
 
 " Fat Sheep : — Although stocks are abundantly supplied, the 
 supply of the present week falls very short of that of former 
 weeks, and competition at auction sales is decidedly greater for 
 every description. An advance of 6d. to Is. 6d. per head may 
 be noted. The carcase price remains at -|d. to Id. per lb. 
 Groldsborough, Burt, and Co. sold Hunt and Crawford wedders, 
 from 8s. 8d. to 8s. 9d. ; ewes, 7s. lOd. They also sold of 
 another flock 1,000 wedders, at 8s. The market for fat lambs 
 has been better supplied, and prices have ranged from 4s. to 
 12s. 6d. Three lots were sold as follow : Christian's at 10s. ; 
 Dine's at 12s. 6d. ; and M'Innes at 7s. 
 
 " Store Stock : — In this description of cattle there is little 
 doino-. Good lots of mixed sexes have realised £3 10s. to £4. 
 But a glut reported at Melbom-ne will doubtless keep prices 
 down. 
 
 " Farm and Dairy Produce is very plentiful and cheap. 
 Fowls, 2s. 9d. to 3s. 3d. per pair ; ducks, 3s. 6d. to 4s. ; geese, 
 6s. to 6s. 6d. ; turkeys, 6s. to 12s. ; eggs 7d. per dozen ; bacon, 
 3M. to 5id. per lb.; store pigs, 2id. to 3d. per lb. ; calves, 
 10s. to 25s. each. 
 
 " Breadstuffs and Cereals. — The market in breadstuffs is very 
 dull, vendors holding on with confidence for an advance in 
 prices, and buyers being little disposed to pay current rates.
 
 118 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Quotations are quite nominal. For best Adelaide silk dressed 
 flour £15 to £16 is asked; for flour manufactured in Sydney, 
 £14 10s.' to £15. Californian rules also at these latter rates, 
 but very little has been quitted. For wheat 7s. per bushel is 
 asked, and we have heard of no sales of Adelaide at a lesser 
 rate. Maize is easy at 4s. ; barleys, Cape, 2s. 9d. to 3s. ; 
 English, 3s. 9d. to 4s. ; bran, 15d. ; lucerne hay is quitted at 
 £2 to £2 10s. per ton: oaten, £2 to £3; straw, £1 10s. to 
 £2 lOs." 
 
 From the above it will be seen that the expense 
 of all the necessaries and many of the comforts of 
 life is small, while the rates of wages for mechanics, 
 for labourers, and for domestic servants are very- 
 high. 
 
 Although New South Wales is the parent of the 
 Australian colonies, and a good deal of her strength 
 and vigour have been transferred to her offspring, 
 yet when we consider her fine climate, her com- 
 manding position, her noble harbour, her vast area, 
 and her exhaustless resources, we feel assured that 
 she is herself as yet only in her infancy, and that 
 a great future is in store for her.
 
 III. 
 
 1 
 
 ^^ 
 
 TASMANIA. 
 
 T is but of late years that the island has 
 officially borne this name. It was for- 
 merly called ''Van Diemen's Land," 
 In 1642, Abel Jansen Tasman discovered and named 
 it after Anthony Van Diemen, the Governor-General 
 of the Dutch East Indies. That it was an island, 
 and not a part of the mainland, was unknown till 
 1798, when Bass (whose name was subsequently 
 given to the Straits which separate the mainland 
 from the island) discovered a passage through. It 
 was in the year 1802 that the Home Government, 
 jealously watching the movements of France, sent 
 out instructions to the Governor of xsew South 
 Wales to form a penal settlement on this island. 
 In consequence of this Captain Bo wen, E.N"., was 
 sent down with a gang of convicts, guarded by a 
 body of marines. They passed through d'Entrecas- 
 teaux Channel, and entered the beautiful river 
 Derwent, in the month of June, 1803. They met 
 with many difficulties and suffered no little from 
 the cold. Bowen went up the river for a good 
 many miles, and then fixed upon a spot for the
 
 120 NEW HOMES. 
 
 infant settlement, which, wearied as he was with 
 his undertaking, he called "Eest down," which 
 name remains to this day, but it has been corrupted 
 to " Eisdon." Things were going on favourably in 
 the infant settlement when Bowen was somewhat 
 unexpectedly superseded by Governor Phillip's sec- 
 retary, Colonel Collins. Perhaps one of the most 
 interesting works which we have on the colony of 
 New South Wales is from his pen. This book 
 brought him under the notice of the government, 
 who subsequently (1804) employed him to go to 
 Port Phillip (now the colony of Victoria) for the 
 purpose of forming a settlement there. He was 
 accompanied by a fleet of convict ships, and all 
 things necessary for the formation of an extensive 
 settlement. After entering the heads he went to 
 the eastward, and subsequently went some distance 
 in the direction of Western Port. But he was dis- 
 appointed. He saw no good land, and found no 
 good water. Somewhat hastily, therefore, but we 
 presume under instructions furnished to him, in the 
 event of his inability to establish a settlement at 
 Port Phillip, he left the country and steered for the 
 Derwent. 
 
 Somewhat strangely, it is said that Collins knew 
 nothing of Bowen having been previously dispatched 
 to this locality. As two settlements were not needed, 
 Bowen retired, leaving Collins as the first lieute- 
 nant-governor of the island. This island, from Cape 
 Grim to the north-west to the South Cape, extends
 
 NEW HOMES. 121 
 
 about 230 miles, and its greatest width is about 
 190 miles. It contains 24,000 square miles, and 
 has an area of nearly seventeen millions of acres. 
 Collins very wisely removed the infant settlement 
 to the opposite side of the Derwent, and here he 
 laid the foundation of Hobart Town, at the foot of 
 a mountain more than 4,000 feet high, and which 
 was afterwards called " Mount Wellington." The 
 town was called " Hobart," from Lord Hobart, who 
 was at this time one of the Secretaries of State in 
 England. Collins was accompanied by the Eev. E. 
 Knopwood, government chaplain, a surgeon-super- 
 intendent, three assistant surgeons, a mineralogist, 
 commissary-general, surveyor, and two superinten- 
 dents of convicts. There was a small body of 
 marines, commanded by Lieutenants Sladen, John- 
 son, and Edward Lord. The convicts amounted to 
 367. From the ''Official Eecord of the Inter- 
 colonial Exhibition," to which we are much indebted 
 for some interesting particulars, we learn that the 
 first Tasmanian house was built by Edward Lord, 
 on land adjoining the Macquarie Hotel. It was a 
 rude concern, just like the huts in the bush, with 
 port -holes instead of windows. The first govern- 
 ment house was a little cottage, hardly fit for the 
 residence of a mechanic. 
 
 The land in the immediate neighbourhood of 
 Hobart Town was found to be very inferior ; but, to 
 a certain extent, this was compensated for by the 
 beauty of the scenery. Ascending to the top of
 
 122 KEW HOMES. 
 
 Mount Wellington, by a route which is at least ten 
 miles long, through forests of gigantic growth 
 and fern-tree yalleys of extreme beauty, you get 
 from its summit a most magnificent view of the 
 town, the shipping, and the river. The whole 
 island is more or less mountainous. Many of the 
 early settlers were Scotchmen ; and hence we meet 
 with Ben Lomond and other names, marking our 
 fondness for carrying our home associations and 
 names with us wherever we may go. 
 
 Tasmania rises towards its centre to about 1,500 
 feet, and so all the rivers run from the centre to- 
 wards the sea on every side. The two chief rivers 
 are the Derwent, running south, and the Tamar, 
 north. As we remarked with reference to New 
 South Wales, the convicts' labour was at once em- 
 ployed in road making. They constructed at an 
 early period a beautiful road right through the 
 island, from south to north, a distance of 120 miles. 
 It continues to this day in admirable order ; and, 
 especially considering the mountainous character of 
 the country, it was a gigantic undertaking. In the 
 interior of this country there are some most fertile 
 valleys and plains, the alluvial soil reaching to a 
 depth of from three to twenty feet. As the work 
 of exploration went on, these charming localities 
 were soon taken up. As Yan Diemen's Land at 
 this time formed part of New South Wales, the 
 same land regulations prevailed, which were these : 
 On your arrival you stated what means you had ;
 
 NEW HOMES. 123 
 
 the government then gave you a tract of land in 
 proportion to those means. The maximum grant 
 was fixed at 2,560 acres, and the minimum at 320. 
 You had 640 acres given to you for every £500 
 sterling that you possessed, up to the maximum 
 named above. Stock and implements of husbandry, 
 and half-pay, were all taken into account as so 
 much money. It was not therefore to be wondered 
 at that as soon as it became at all known, many 
 men of good family, and retired naval and military 
 officers, made this their home. And this accounts 
 for the allowed fact, that from the earliest days 
 there was to be found a small but most select and 
 exclusive body of gentlemen, into whose society it 
 was not easy to get. In fact there were but two 
 classes in the early days, the gentry and the pri- 
 soner population. Lieutenant Jeffreys, one of these 
 early settlers, gives us the following account of his 
 own experience in Tasmanian farming. He says, 
 " Having fixed upon a spot, I was supplied by the 
 governor with three or four convict labourers, to 
 ■whom were added a ploughman and overseer, both 
 free men. The site of the intended farm was pre- 
 viously well known to the overseer. These men 
 were provided with three weeks' provisions, and 
 such tools and implements as were necessary to 
 their labour. Having a cart to carry their tools, 
 they arrived at the spot about four o'clock in the 
 afternoon. It was out of my power to accompany 
 them, but as they themselves relate the story, the
 
 124 NEW HOMES. 
 
 ploughman was appointed cook, and whilst he was 
 making the necessary arrangements for refreshment, 
 the rest, with their axes, cut down such timber as 
 was requisite to erect a temporary hut. This they 
 completed and rendered perfectly water-tight before 
 sunset, when they all sat down to such a repast as 
 the cook had provided for them. Their meal con- 
 sisted of the hind- quarters of a kangaroo cut into 
 mincemeat, stewed in its own gravy, with a few 
 rashers of salt pork. This dish is called a 
 'steamer.' They added to that a sufficient quan- 
 tity of potatoes, and a large cake ('damper'), 
 baked in the wood-ashes of the fire. Afterwards 
 the grog went merrily round, and the plains and 
 valleys rang with three times three, and 'Success 
 to the Captain's farm.' In a few days the plan and 
 foundation of a garden were laid out, after which 
 they all set to work to build a more commodious 
 house for themselves and their master. This house 
 consisted of two rooms, occupied by the overseer 
 when I was not there, and a large kitchen and 
 sleeping place for themselves. In a very short 
 time I had the satisfaction to see 20 acres of land 
 broken up, and about 200 acres fit for the plough. 
 In doing this it was not necessary to cut down more 
 than 500 trees. In this manner it is possible for 
 hundreds of settlers, at a very moderate expense, to 
 establish themselves in this delightful part of the 
 globe, the abode of peace, plenty, and rural hap- 
 piness."
 
 NEW HOMES. 125 
 
 It is a curious fact that as sailors generally took 
 to farming, soldiers took to sheep and cattle stations. 
 On one occasion I had an opportunity of going 
 carefully over the farms in a celebrated agricultural 
 district, and on enquiry I found that not one of 
 the farmers had had any previous knowledge of his 
 work. There were tinkers, tailors, soldiers, sailors, 
 apothecaries, and thieves in abundance, but there 
 was not a ploughboy amongst them. And yet these 
 people, scratching the surface of the virgin soil, 
 produced from it, year after year, 30 or 40 bushels 
 of wheat to the acre, without change of crop, rest, 
 or manure. 
 
 "We have hitherto been speaking of the southern 
 portion of the island — of the land in the vicinity of 
 Hobart Town. But at or about the same time a 
 settlement was formed in the north. A vessel was 
 sent round to Port Dalrymple to survey the en- 
 trance of the river Tamar. The report was a fa- 
 vourable one ; and it was followed by a detachment 
 of prisoners being sent to it from Sydney, under 
 the command of Colonel Paterson. This was to- 
 wards the close of 1804. After staying for a time 
 at York Town they removed to the land above the 
 North and South Esk, where they discovered beau- 
 tiful plains, free from timber, ready for the plough. 
 At this time Captain King was the governor of all 
 the Australian settlements. He came from Corn- 
 wall, and so in honour of him Paterson called the 
 new town " Launceston," and the river the
 
 126 NEW HOMES. 
 
 "Tamar." The two establishments, at the north 
 and south of the island, were quite distinct. It was 
 not until 1807 that Lieutenant Laycock made his 
 way to Hobart Town — a distance of 120 miles — and 
 he appears to have excited great astonishment in 
 the minds of the inhabitants of the southern town. 
 A cart was shortly afterwards driven through the 
 bush the whole distance, without having to cut 
 down a single tree. In 1812 the whole island was 
 placed under one governor. 
 
 Collins was governor for six years. His time 
 was employed in settling things at head-quarters, 
 and but little progress was made in agricultural or 
 pastoral pursuits. So little was done that they had 
 to get their supplies from New South Wales. And 
 when, owing to floods, this supply failed, wheat and 
 maize rose to from £5 to £6 a bushel. And in the 
 year 1810, in which year Collins died, the popula- 
 tion were on the verge of starvation. The first 
 governor just before his death established a news- 
 paper called the Derwent Star. A temporary church 
 had been erected in Hobart Town, called "St. 
 David's," and in its churchyard the remains of 
 Colonel Collins were deposited. He appears to 
 have been much respected, for 600 persons followed 
 him to the grave. In 1838 Sir John Franklin 
 erected a monument over his buiial-place. 
 
 It was not until 1813 that Colonel Davey was 
 appointed as the second lieutenant-governor. In 
 the interval good progress had been made in agri-
 
 ^^^" NEW HOMES. 127 
 
 cultural pursuits, and the stock in the country had 
 greatly increased. At this time General Macquarie 
 was the governor-in-chief; and before the second 
 permanent appointment he visited the island. He 
 seems, both in New South Wales and in Van 
 Diemen's Land, to have thrown himself much into 
 the improvement of towns and the erection of 
 buildings. The number of places that bear the 
 name of "Macquarie" is very great indeed. The 
 inhabitants of the infant town were delis-hted to 
 welcome him. He found the people building their 
 little cottages any how ; every one doing what was 
 right in his own eyes. He got the town properly 
 laid out, and the streets named. They were, of 
 course, Macquarie Street, after himself; Elizabeth 
 Street, after his wife ; Liverpool Street, after Lord 
 Liverpool, the prime minister, and so on. The new 
 governor (Collins) did not pay very much attention to 
 etiquette, for report says that if the day were warm, 
 he forgot his dignity, in a regard to his personal 
 comfort, and was to be seen walking about the 
 town with his coat hanc^ins: on his arm. 
 
 Until the year 1813 the ports had been closed; 
 but now they were opened. Expeditions were 
 formed for exploring the country, both by sea and 
 by land. In 1816 Mr. Birch fitted out a vessel to 
 explore the western coast of the island, and a 
 monopoly for one year of the trade he thus opened 
 was granted to him. The first large houses of 
 business were kept by persons whose names "old
 
 128 NEW HOMES. 
 
 hands " will not fail to recognise, snch as Edward 
 Lord, Kemp, Gatehouse, and Eeiby. Port Davey 
 and Macquarie Harboui's were discovered at this 
 time. Another colonist, whose name is not yet for- 
 gotten, Andrew Bent, started a newspaper called 
 the Hohart Town Gazette. This was in 1816, about 
 which time the first flour-mill was erected, thus 
 showing the gradual extension of agricultural pur- 
 suits. From early days a good deal of attention 
 had been paid to the whale fishery, for which this 
 island has continued to be so noted. A deputy- 
 judge-advocate (Abbott) was appointed; a local 
 court, for .the recovery of debts under £50, was 
 established ; and the new church of St. David's was 
 built in 1817. After his term of office had expired, 
 Colonel Davey went and settled himself on a grant 
 of 3,000 acres of land which had been made to him, 
 but subsequently went home, and died in 1823. 
 
 The country was steadily if not rapidly pro- 
 gressing. But it received a great check about this 
 time from the terror caused in the country by 
 armed and desperate gangs of " bushrangers." A 
 system of assignment had been commenced, whereby 
 the settlers got the services of the prisoners in their 
 houses and on their farms. This was a great bene- 
 fit to the settler or farmer where labour was so 
 scarce, and it was encouraged by the government, 
 because it saved them the expense of feeding and 
 clothing the prisoners. As we remarked before, a 
 great many of the early settlers were naval or
 
 NEW HOMES. 129 
 
 military men. From their previous habits these 
 men were great disciplinarians, and the punishment 
 of the "lash" was very common indeed. Too 
 common by far. It cannot be doubted that many 
 men were by means of it driven to desperation, 
 and quitting their masters' employ had no alter- 
 native but to take to the " bush," where, partly 
 from revenge and partly from necessity, they be- 
 came desperate characters, turning their hand 
 against every man. We shall see more of their 
 sad doings as we proceed with our history. 
 
 The next lieutenant-governor of the island was 
 Colonel Sorell, whose administration extended over 
 seven years, that is from 1817 to 1824. He 
 was a cautious man, and just the man who was 
 wanted for the colony at the time. Free immi- 
 gration received a great impetus now. Several 
 interesting books appeared in England treating 
 on the advantages of a settlement in the island. 
 The goodness of the climate, the excellence of 
 the soil, the free grants of land, the loan of seed 
 and stock, rations for the emigrants, and too the 
 convicts who were assigned to them as labourers, 
 for six months, and the high prices which the 
 produce fetched in the Sydney market, were all 
 inducements of no ordinary character to men whose 
 circumstances or whose love of novelty led them 
 to think of seeking their fortunes in a new land. 
 An addition of at least 10,000 was made to the free 
 population during his administration. In 1820 the
 
 130 NEW HOMES. 
 
 large snm of £20,000 was obtained for wheat 
 exported. The live stock also had increased very- 
 fast. . In 1821 there were 170,000 sheep, 35,000 
 head of cattle, 5,000 swine, and 550 horses. At- 
 tention was also attracted to wool as an export. 
 In the early days it was considered valueless, and 
 the skins with the fleeces on them were thrown 
 to the pigs. But one enterprising settler, Mr. Henry 
 Hopkins — a man who rose to great wealth in the 
 colony and was most highly respected — bought 
 up wool at fourpence a pound and sent it to 
 England, where it was sold at sevenpence. "When 
 the duty and all expenses had been paid, the margin 
 was very small, if it did not actually entail a loss. 
 But it had the effect of turning men's attention 
 to their wool, and it was more carefully prepared 
 for market. The returns from wool in 1821 were 
 only £88, but within two years of that time they 
 had reached the comparatively large sum of £4,399. 
 As trade increased, the want of a suitable currency 
 was much felt. Hence most of the transactions 
 were by barter. Even the government frequently 
 paid their debts in rum at £1 a bottle, and this 
 rum passed as currently as sovereigns or bank notes 
 do in more civilized communities. Every man who 
 was considered a " good mark," that is a solvent 
 man, issued his own notes, at sums varying from 
 sixpence upwards. During the time of the French 
 war, when specie was very scarce, the Spanish 
 dollar was much used. A circular piece was struck
 
 NEW HOMES. 131 
 
 out of the centre about the size of a shilling, and 
 it was called a " dump," and the rest of the dollar, 
 called from the circular piece taken out a " ring- 
 dollar," was valued at four shillings. At one time 
 six sheep had to be given for a gallon of rum, 
 and two or three hundred acres of freehold land, 
 valued at half-a-crown an acre, were given for 
 a horse. The first bank was established in 1823. 
 In the year 1822 the Eev. W. Bedford was ap- 
 pointed as senior chaplain. This gentleman for 
 a great many years took a prominent part in all 
 that took place in the colony. He enjoyed the 
 confidence of the Bishop of Australia ; and before 
 his death. His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury 
 marked his sense of his lengthened services by 
 granting him the honorary degree of a doctor of 
 divinity. The Wesleyans and the Presbyterians 
 established themselves in the island during Colonel 
 Sorell's term of office. The first Eoman Catholic 
 priest was the Eev. P. Connolly. The British and 
 Foreign Bible Society established a branch at a very 
 early period, which has continually remitted from 
 that day to the present most liberal contributions to 
 the Parent Society. I shall never forget my own 
 association with this Society. Approaching my new 
 home in 1835, I felt sadly cast down. I was in a 
 strange country, where I knew not a single indivi- 
 dual. One of the first things that happened was a 
 request that I would attend a meeting of this body 
 which was about to take place ; and when I saw its
 
 132 NEW HOMES. 
 
 work, and met its friends, " I thanked God, and took 
 coiu'age." The Eev. J. Youl (a name still well 
 known in England and in Victoria) was the first 
 Church of England chaplain in Launceston. His 
 little wooden church was in those days also used as 
 a court-house, as a bed-room for gangs of prisoners, 
 and, report says, also as a stable ! 
 
 Whilst Colonel Sorell was governor, coal was 
 discovered at Tasman's peninsula, and a penal set- 
 tlement was formed there for the purpose of work- 
 ing it. Another settlement of a similar character 
 was formed at Macquarie Harbour, where the 
 prisoners were employed in cutting timber for 
 building purposes. On one occasion fourteen pri- 
 soners efi'ected an escape from Macquarie Harbour 
 in a boat, and landing within a few miles of Hobart 
 Town formed a hiding-place, whence they used to 
 issue out on the defenceless settlers, and rob and 
 not unfrequently murder them. There were two 
 desperate fellows amongst them, named Brady and 
 McCabe, each of whom became the head of a 
 powerful gang. Lieutenant Gunn with a small 
 body of soldiers was sent against Brady. Many 
 a man who reads these pages will remember Mr. 
 Gunn, a fine man, standing six feet seven inches 
 high. Failing to find the miscreants, he had gone 
 to a friend's house, when he was asked to go out to 
 speak to some one. This turned out to be Brady 
 himself, who came thus to beard the lion in his den. 
 The lieutenant, suspecting treachery, came out with
 
 NEW HOMES. 133 
 
 a loaded pistol in his hand, on seeing which the 
 ruffian discharged the contents of his rifle at him 
 and shattered his arm. Colonel Davey had tried 
 the effect of martial law. Sorell mustered the in- 
 habitants of Hobart Town, and urged them to 
 take the matter into their own hands, and help 
 to put a stop to these atrocities. From eighty to a 
 hundred guineas were subscribed, and rewards 
 offered for their apprehension. An engagement took 
 place, and Geary, the leader of one of the gangs, 
 was slain. Still three desperate characters were 
 known to be at large, named Howe, Watts, and 
 Brown. But they were all taken. At the penal 
 station of Port Arthur the discipline was very 
 severe. The men loathed the place so much, that 
 it came out in evidence in the supreme court in 
 Hobart Town that murder was committed, simply 
 that the prisoner might be taken to the capital for 
 trial, although he knew that death was sure to 
 follow. The number of persons who were hanged 
 was sometimes frightful. On one occasion it is 
 said that the kind-hearted chaplain to the gaol 
 went in a great hurry to the governor, and com- 
 plained that they were going to hang thirteen 
 together, whereas he was sure there was only room 
 to hang twelve " comfortably." 
 
 The inhabitants parted from Governor Sorell with 
 great regret in 1824. He died in 1848, having 
 enjoyed the whole time a pension from the colonial 
 government.
 
 134 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Colonel Arthur was the next governor — a man 
 of fixed purpose and stern resolve. His character 
 seemed to have reached the colony before him, for 
 he met with but a cool reception. He seems to 
 have regarded the colony simply as a receptacle for 
 prisoners; whereas there was becoming a strong 
 feeling against this idea being entertained, by a 
 large and wealthy body of free settlers. A 
 Scotch company, with a capital of £100,000, was 
 formed for the purpose of exchanging the products 
 of the country for home manufactures ; and a large 
 body of intelligent Scotchmen came out under these 
 auspices, and did a great amount of good. By 
 means of this company the old "monopolies" in 
 trade were done away with for ever. 
 
 Just before Colonel Arthur's arrival, a supreme 
 court was opened, and Mr. Pedder, afterwards Sir 
 J. L. Pedder, appointed as the first judge. The 
 names of Gellibrand, the first attorney-general, and 
 Mr. Joseph Hone, who was so greatly respected for 
 a lengthened period, and who was the first master 
 of the supreme court, are familiar to all old residents. 
 
 When Mr. Bent started his newspaper, to which 
 reference has already been made, the government 
 had helped him, so as to enable him to buy his ma- 
 terial. The paper had always been under official 
 supervision. This Mr. Bent now threw ofi*, and 
 Mr. Thomas commenced his duties as the editor. 
 Mr. E. L. Murray became a correspondent, and 
 wrote so strongly as to startle the governor. A
 
 NEW HOMES. 135 
 
 long and angry altercation took place. Mr. Howe 
 and Dr. Eoss became printers of the Government 
 Gazette. The colonists protested against Colonel 
 Arthur's attempt to interfere with the freedom of 
 tlie press, but he replied that the press in a convict 
 colony could not be free. But the press could not 
 be "gagged." A little later, and two papers were 
 started in Launceston, by Mr. Fawkuer and 
 Mr. Dowsell. 
 
 "His Excellency," as the governor was hence- 
 forth called, instead of "His Honour," had to 
 submit to the controlling powers exercised by a 
 legislative and an executive council, which were 
 the shadows in the distance of those great legislative 
 privileges which were in a few years to be conferred 
 on all the colonies of the Australian group. 
 
 A great company was formed at this time, named 
 the "Yan Diemen's Land Company," professedly 
 for the purpose of improving the stock in the 
 colony, and of making England independent of 
 foreign supplies of wool. Mr. Edward Curr was 
 the local agent. They ultimately got 350,000 acres 
 of land in different parts, which, including the cost 
 of survey, did not exceed half-a-crown an acre for 
 the purchase of the freehold. 
 
 So rapidly was the country advancing, that the 
 single bank we mentioned just now, enlarged its 
 capital to £50,000. The "Tasmanian" and the 
 ' ' Der went ' ' were then established. The ' ' Cornwall ' ' 
 was started in Launceston. Then came the great Bank
 
 136 NEW HOMES. 
 
 of Australasia, and the Tamar in the northern capital. 
 It is said that the manager of the former went to 
 the latter every morning with a wheelbarrow, and 
 carried away, to the disgust of the Tamar, dollars 
 in exchange for notes. The " Union of Australia," 
 at a later period, was added to the number. But 
 the colony did not progress only in its commercial 
 transactions. A Mechanic's Institute was opened, 
 and has continued from that time forward to be well 
 supported. The King's Orphan School, now called 
 the Queen's Asylum, one of the very finest buildings 
 in the colony, was established for the reception of 
 destitute or neglected children. The nucleus of the 
 present "Eoyal Society of Tasmania" was pro- 
 jected. 
 
 It was during Governor Arthur's time that the 
 settlements of Port Phillip (now Victoria) and of 
 South Australia took place; and the demand for 
 stock and colonial produce of all kinds was enormous. 
 From the statistics of 1836 it appears that the 
 population had increased from 12,000 to 40,000 ; 
 the revenue from £16,866 to £106,639; the im- 
 ports from £62,000 to £583,646; the exports from 
 £14,500 to £320,679 ; the colonial vessels from 1 
 to 71 ; the churches from 4 to 18. 
 
 As yet we have said nothing of the poor abo- 
 rigines of the island. A sad war had long been 
 going on between the settlers, the convicts, and the 
 natives. For some years after Colonel Arthur's 
 arrival things only got from bad to worse. We
 
 NEW HOMES. 137 
 
 wish it were possible to pass this subject over 
 without any allusion to it. We have just risen 
 from the perusal of that most interesting but very- 
 sad book "Bonwicli's Last of the Tasmanians," 
 and our sympathies are deeply stirred on behalf of 
 the poor sons of the soil. It would appear that at 
 first the natives were quite disposed to be friendly, 
 and that we have oiu'selves to blame for the frightful 
 atrocities which were subsequently committed. It 
 was in 1830 that the "line," a very important 
 feature in the "black war," was formed. The idea 
 suggested by Colonel Arthur was, that they should 
 try and drive all the natives from the interior to 
 Tasman's Peninsula, by forming a "line" right 
 across the country. There were 119 leaders of 
 parties, with a guide to each; 738 prisoners also 
 were allowed to take part in it. The whole force 
 amounted to 4,850 men in arms. They formed a 
 complete military cordon^ extending sometimes for 
 60 miles. It was supposed that they were thus 
 driving before them the whole of the natives, whose 
 number was estimated at nearly 2,000. After six 
 weeks of hard work they deemed their work nearly 
 over, for the cordo7t narrowed to East Bay Neck, 
 which is not more than half a mile wide. Instead 
 of the 2,000, the prey consisted of one old ivoman 
 and a sick man ! The rest had, of course, with that 
 cunning which is so prominent a feature in the wild 
 savage, escaped, if they had ever been enclosed at 
 all. This expedition cost about £30,000 of govern-
 
 138 KEW HOMES. 
 
 ment money. But it had its effect on tlie natives, 
 and helped in a very great measure the cteps which 
 were taken at a subsequent period. 
 
 The government knew not what to do in this 
 dilemma, for the depredations of the blacks still con- 
 tinued. At this juncture a builder named Eobinson 
 came forward and proposed a scheme of conciliation, 
 believing that by promises of clothing and of food 
 he could lure them into the town. He proposed to 
 take with him two native men who had been par- 
 tially civilized. The government were only too glad 
 to accept his proposals and to give him supplies. 
 Mr. Eobinson had been favourably known amongst 
 the Wesleyans, to which body he belonged, for a 
 long time. He had been engaged as a tract distri- 
 butor, Sunday school teacher, and secretary to the 
 Bethel Mission. He had long taken an interest in 
 the poor creatures, and was much liked by those 
 who knew him. The terms which were made with 
 him were not very liberal — a pound a week and 
 certain rations. But I suppose the government 
 were suffering under the loss of the .£30,000. This 
 allowance was shortly afterwards raised to .£100, 
 and afterwards to £250 a year. In 1831 Mr. 
 Eobinson reported that 123 of the natives had 
 yielded. He went on with his good work, over- 
 coming great difficulties by his indomitable perse- 
 verance, until, on the 22nd January, 1835, he was 
 enabled to report to the government that his work 
 was accomplished — that the island was swept of
 
 ^ NEW HOMES. 139 
 
 its aboriginal inhabitants. They were removed to 
 Flinders' Island, in the Straits, and Mr. Eobinson 
 was appointed as commandant. In 1838 he left 
 that port and was appointed protector of the 
 aborigines of Port Phillip, with a salary of £500 a 
 year. He ultimately returned to England, and died 
 at Bath in 1866. 
 
 Flinders' Island is about 40 miles long and from 
 12 to 18 miles broad. The natives never liked 
 their place of residence ; great mortality took place 
 amongst them ; and at last it was resolved to remove 
 the miserable remnant that was left to Oyster Cove. 
 Their number was then reduced to forty-four, and 
 there were no infants amongst them. And so it 
 went on, until in October, 1864, one man alone 
 remained, named William Lanne. The Hobart 
 Toivn Mercury of that date says : "At the last ball 
 at Government House, Hobart Town, there appeared 
 the last male aboriginal inhabitant of Tasmania. 
 He was accompanied by three aboriginal females, 
 the sole living representatives of the race beside 
 himself, but not of such an age or such an appearance 
 as to justify the expectation of any future addition 
 to their numbers." Lanne became a whaler. When 
 the Duke of Edinburgh was in Tasmania, in January, 
 1868, he warmly greeted the aboriginal king, who, 
 clad in a blue suit, with a gold-lace band round his 
 hat, walked proudly with the prince, conscious (says 
 Mr. Eonwick) that they alone were in possession of 
 royal blood. But on the 5th of March, 1869, we
 
 140 NEW HOMES. 
 
 find this sad record in one of the local papers : 
 
 " Lanne had an unfortunate propensity for beer and 
 
 rum, and was seldom sober when on shore. He 
 
 was paid off on Saturday last, when he received a 
 
 balance of wages and lay amounting to £12 13s. 5d. 
 
 He took up his residence at the "Dog and Partridge " 
 
 public-house, at the corner of Goulbourn and Barrack 
 
 Streets, and died of a severe attack of English 
 
 cholera. His body was removed to the Colonial 
 
 Hospital, where it awaits burial, and to-morrow the 
 
 grave will close over the last male aboriginal of 
 
 Tasmania." Mr. Bonwick closes his "Last of the 
 
 Tasmanians " with these words : " The ' last man ' 
 
 has gone. The woolly-haired Tasmanian no longer 
 
 sings blithely on the stringy-bark tiers, or twines 
 
 the snowy clematis blossom for his bride's garland. 
 
 The concern awakened for his condition comes too 
 
 late. The bell but tolls his knell, and the ^olian 
 
 music of the she-oak is his hymn and requiem. We 
 
 cover our faces while the deep and solemn voice of 
 
 our common Father echoes through the soul 'Where 
 
 is thy brother ! ' Oh, if he were here how kindly 
 
 would we speak to him ! Would we not smile upon 
 
 that dark sister of the forest, and joy in the prattle 
 
 of that piccaninny boy? And would not the 
 
 Christian cheek, once pale with reproaches and 
 
 tearful with penitence, glow with delight to tell of 
 
 a found Saviour to the lost savage ? But now the 
 
 burden of each saddened spirit is, 
 
 ' Would I had loved Mm more.'' "
 
 '/ 
 
 u 
 
 IfEW HOMES. 141 
 
 Colonel Arthur's administration extended over 
 the long period of twelve years, and he left the 
 colony in October, 1836. He was succeeded by a 
 man of a character totally different to his own — the 
 mild and benevolent Su' John Franklin. He con- 
 tinued in office for seven years, and during that 
 time, or rather for the greater part of it, the colony 
 went on steadily progressing. Shortly after his 
 arrival he made a tour through the island, and was 
 much struck with all that he saw. The people of 
 Launceston were specially pleased with his visit, for 
 they had a grievance. They found that "Hobart 
 Town was the island," and that Launceston, with 
 its very great advantages of soil and position, was 
 all but ignored. Sad altercations were carried on 
 at this time between the government officials and 
 the free settlers, which all the kindly efforts of Sir 
 John and Lady Franklin could not allay. 
 
 Up to this time the day schools for the working 
 classes were entirely under the control of the Church 
 of England, subject to the government regulations ; 
 but in 1838 the British and Foreign system was 
 introduced. The archdeacon at this time was an 
 old college friend of Bishop Broughton's, named 
 Hutchins, and he protested against any change in 
 the plan, as did also the first bishop (Nixon) on his 
 arrival ; but no alteration was made during Sir John 
 Franklin's term of office. 
 
 Shortly before Colonel Arthur left his government 
 he was anxious to establish a grammar school on
 
 142 NEW HOMES. 
 
 liberal principles, and the head mastership was 
 offered to and accepted by the Eev. Mr. Eusden. 
 But it did not get on. Shortly after my own arrival 
 in the colony the governor kindly laid a proposition 
 before me, offering the head mastership of a some- 
 what similar institution to me, with a large salary 
 annexed to it ; but I did not feel myself at liberty to 
 accede to His Excellency's wishes, and so the matter 
 was left in abeyance. When Sir John arrived the 
 question was re-opened, and in 1839 he put himself in 
 communication with the late Dr. Arnold, of Eugby, 
 on the subject. An old and favourite pupil of 
 Dr. Arnold's — the Eev. J. P. Gell, now incumbent 
 of St. John's, Netting Hill — was appointed to the 
 mastership, but after existing for a brief time it 
 was closed. A proprietary school on a more liberal 
 basis was afterwards suggested, and after some time 
 was established. 
 
 Lady Franklin was a great benefactress to the 
 colony. She spent nearly £1,000 in endeavouring 
 to extirpate the venomous black snake, giving a 
 bonus of a shilling for every one which was brought 
 in to her. 
 
 Poor Sir John Franklin ! His subsequent career 
 and his martyr's death are known but too well. I 
 hold him, and with reason, in affectionate remem- 
 brance. On one occasion I was voyaging in com- 
 pany with Lady Franklin from Sydney to Hobart 
 Town ; the owner of the ship had just sold it, but 
 having a few days' provisions on board, he asked the
 
 NEW HOMES. • 143 
 
 purcliLiser to allow liim to utilize them by taking the 
 party down. On the third day we were signalized 
 at Hobart Town as entering the channel ; but then 
 a fearful hurricane arose and blew us off the coast, 
 drove us past New Zealand, where we were under 
 bare poles for more than a month. Nearly all our 
 provisions were gone, we had barely enough to keep 
 life in us. The crew were disabled and were unable 
 to work the ship, and all hope that we should be 
 saved appeared to be gone. We were meanwhile 
 mourned as lost. I was residing at this time at 
 Boa Vista, which is situated at some distance from 
 town, but Sir John Franklin regularly every 
 morning sent his orderly out to my house with the 
 news from the telegraph station to my family. And 
 at last the good old sailor-governor ordered out the 
 government schooner, went on board himself, and 
 cruised about for a long period, and at last provi- 
 dentially picked us up, had us removed on board, 
 fed us little by little as we were able to bear it, 
 with great judgment ; and thus, after a seven tveeks^ 
 cruise — a lonsrer time than it now takes to make the 
 
 o 
 
 voyage out from England — brought us to the haven 
 where we would be. 
 
 This voyage T remember was full of mishaps. 
 "When I first went on board in Sydney Harbour to 
 select my cabin, the steward drew back in order to 
 open the door, I was behind him, and stepped away 
 to give him space, not seeing that the hatch was off 
 leading into the main hold, and I fell backwards
 
 144 NEW HOMES. 
 
 to the bottom of tlie ship among a number of oil 
 casks. I was completely stunned. On coming to 
 myself I heard them say, " Poor fellow, he's done 
 for !" But when they drew me up by ropes it was 
 found, thank God, that I was not done for ; no limb 
 was broken. A little brandy and water was given 
 to me and it revived me, and though I was lame for 
 a long time, I completely recovered. I remarked 
 just now that we had privations to endure during 
 this voyage. One thing however appeared to be 
 plentiful. Did you ever hear of Holloway's Pills ? 
 There was a sick woman on board. The captain 
 had great faith in these pills ; he administered them 
 in oft-increasing doses, till at last she took so many, 
 that they were mashed up in a saucer and eaten 
 something like pease-pudding. The poor creature 
 died, and I consigned her body to the deep, till that 
 day when, at the sound of the Archangel's trumpet, 
 the sea shall give up its dead. One day I was saun- 
 tering through the empty hold of tlie ship, and 
 amongst the ballast I kicked against something, which 
 turned out to be a keg of tripe. 0, what a luxury 
 did we deem it. It served us by careful manage- 
 ment for dinner for many days. I never see tripe 
 now, after a lapse of nearly thirty years, without 
 thinking well of it, and my mind reverts with satis- 
 faction to the boon we then considered it. Lady 
 Franklin had on board a favourite Arab mare. 
 Unknown to her ladyship, we sat in solemn council 
 on the life of this beast more than once, and nothing
 
 NEW HOMES. 145 
 
 but a strong desire to please her saved its life. Had 
 we been out much longer it would undoubtedly 
 have proved our only food. 
 
 Sir John Franklin was with Captain Flinders on 
 his voyage of discovery, and held his memory in 
 great veneration. Accordingly Lady Franklin went 
 to Port Lincoln, via Adelaide, for the purpose of 
 erecting a monument to his memory. An obelisk 
 was put up entirely at Sir John's expense, and 
 bearing a suitable inscription. It cost £250. 
 
 The sum of £60,000 was voted about this time 
 for the introduction of free immigrants. But the 
 plan adopted did not succeed, and great dissatis- 
 faction existed in the minds of the immigrants when 
 they found they had to compete with prison labour. 
 After a period of unusually high prices and of 
 mad speculation, a great crash came, which seemed 
 to threaten universal ruin. "Wheat was down to 
 half-a-crown a bushel, and sheep to half-a- crown a 
 head. But somehow there is such elasticity in a 
 new country that, phoenix-like, she seems to rise 
 from her ashes with new vigour. And such after a 
 time was the case here. Sir John's recall was very 
 hasty and unexpected. Although many persons 
 might differ with him as to some of his public acts, 
 all were agreed in this, that he was a man of deep 
 and unaffected piety, and of a most philanthropic 
 disposition. 
 
 Sir Eardley Wilmot, formerly M.P. for Warwick- 
 shire, assumed the reins of government in 1843.
 
 146 NEW HOMES. 
 
 The same struggles between the two great classes 
 agitated his term of office. A formidable petition 
 was got up against him by many of the leading 
 colonists, praying for his recall. The Secretary of 
 State for the colonies saw reasons for acceding to 
 their request, and he was superseded. At this 
 time, however, he was in a very delicate state of 
 health, and he only survived his recall a period of 
 about three months, and died at Hobart Town. He 
 was buried in St. David's burial-ground, near to the 
 tomb of Governor Collins. 
 
 After a brief interval, during which the govern- 
 ment was administered by Mr. La Trobe, who was 
 afterwards first the superintendent and then the 
 governor of Victoria, Sir W. T. Denison arrived as 
 governor of the colony, to assume the reins of office. 
 For some time past the Home Government had been 
 pouring in convicts in increased numbers, greatly to 
 the annoyance of the free population. Petitions 
 were got up against Lord Stanley's probation 
 system. It was found that 5,500 prisoners were 
 scattered over the country in twenty gangs. The 
 petitioners prayed that by degrees a total abolition 
 of transportation should take place. The Cape 
 colonists refused to let convicts land ; Victoria did 
 the same; and Sir Charles Fitzroy was desired to 
 send away the cargo by the Ilarkaiuay^ even at the 
 cost of the colony. Tasmania could not go thus far, 
 but a feeling so strong was excited, that it hastened 
 on the time for the total cessation of transportation.
 
 NEW HOMES. 147 
 
 The great Australian League was formed in 1851. 
 It was " The League and Solemn Engagement of the 
 Australian Colonies, declared by the Delegates in 
 the Conference held at Melbourne." The different 
 delegates took this pledge : — 
 
 " 1st. That they engage not to employ any person hereafter 
 arriving under sentence of transportation for crime committed 
 in Europe. 
 
 " 2nd. That they will use all the powers they possess — official, 
 electoral, and legislative, to prevent the establishment of English 
 prisons or penal settlements within theii- bounds, &c. 
 
 " 3rd. That they solemnly engage with each other to support 
 by their advice, their money, and their countenance, all who 
 may suifer in the lawful promotion of this cause." 
 
 These bold and united steps on behalf of the 
 colonies had due effect. But whilst the agitation 
 was at its height, the discovery of gold took place, 
 fh'st in Sydney and then in Victoria ; and statesmen 
 in England at once saw that England's penal settle- 
 ments could not be in such close proximity to the 
 rich gold-fields of the mainland. On the 10th 
 August, 1853, the despatch announcing the discon- 
 tinuance of transportation reached the colony. The 
 greatest joy prevailed. It was just fifty years since 
 the formation of the settlement, and the jubilee was 
 right merrily kept. 
 
 When Sir W. Denison left Tasmania for New 
 South Wales, a purse of 2,000 guineas was pre- 
 sented to him by the colonists. 
 
 Hitherto the officer at the head of the government
 
 148 NEW HOMES. 
 
 had been only a lientenant-goyernor, but from this 
 time he became " Governor- in- Chief of Tasmania." 
 Sir Henry Young was the first who held this rank. 
 He had been governor of South Australia before his 
 removal. He was the first civilian who had held 
 the office of governor. Sir "W. Denison before 
 leaving had predicted that the cessation of trans- 
 portation would convert Hobart Town into a fishing 
 village. But the time for its decay had not come 
 yet. The gold-fields in the neighbouring colonies 
 raised the price of all colonial produce to so high a 
 rate, that trade was brisk and money plentiful. In 
 1865 the colonists subscribed no less a sum than 
 £26,294 for the relief of the widows and children 
 of those who had fallen in the Crimea. It was very 
 tantalizing to the Tasmanians to see gold so abun- 
 dant in the neighbouring colonies, while they them- 
 selves were without a gold-field. Fingal had been 
 suggested as a likely place for gold. The govern- 
 ment devoted £2,000 towards a fair trial of the 
 ground, and that there tvas gold was evident from 
 the fact that about 120 ounces were obtained. As 
 yet no paying field has been opened, but strong 
 hopes are still entertained, and by those too whose 
 geological knowledge is very considerable, that it 
 is but a question of time, and Tasmania will be 
 found to be auriferous. Sir Henry Young left the 
 colony in 1861, and then came Colonel Gore 
 Brown. He had to contend with many difficulties. 
 Eesponsible government, when but recently estab-
 
 ^ NEW HOMES. 149 
 
 lislied, and an empty treasury, are great trials. 
 The capital is now lighted with gas; an Interna- 
 tional Exhibition was held in Hobart Town ; a hand- 
 some Town Hall has been erected there, near the 
 new monument to the memory of Sir John Franklin, 
 and not far from the site of the old Government 
 House in Macquarie Street. 
 
 The present governor is Mr. Du Cane. This 
 gentleman was formerly M.P. for Maldon, in Essex. 
 He married the only daughter of the late Lord 
 Lyndhurst. The family residence is Baxter Park, 
 Essex. When in parliament he was an unflinching 
 advocate of the agricultural interest, and great 
 hopes are entertained of the benefits likely to arise 
 to the colony from his administration. 
 
 Tasmania has up to this time had a great many 
 serious drawbacks to its prosperity. First, its being 
 overcrowded with prisoners, so that at length free 
 immigration was diverted from its shores, and many 
 of its wealthy and most respectable colonists left it ; 
 then, the settlements of South Australia and of Port 
 Phillip drew away merchants and settlers, as well 
 as a large proportion of the free labourers; and 
 before it had time to rally from these drawbacks 
 there came the discovery of gold in New South 
 Wales, Yictoria, and New Zealand. The southern 
 part of the island sufi'ered most severely, because 
 Launceston had still a good deal of trade with the 
 gold colony. House property became a drug in the 
 market, so that many landlords who had previously
 
 150 - jS'ew homes. 
 
 been considered in prosperous circumstances, had to 
 begin life afresh. But notwithstanding the present 
 depression, we feel confident that ere long things 
 will take a turn, and this island will become a 
 favourite residence. Many of the old inhabitants, 
 whose estates are in the hands of the banks, may 
 probably have to succumb ; but it cannot but be 
 that a country for which nature has done so much, 
 will rise superior to her present difficulties, and 
 become a prosperous home for large numbers of 
 people. The government are doing all in their 
 power to attract population. Strange to say, little 
 or nothing is known of great part of the island to 
 the present day. When the exploring spirit which 
 has up to this time been diverted to discovery on 
 the mainland turns its attention thitherward, we 
 may hear of much that will help to develop its un- 
 doubtedly great resources, and cover the land with the 
 homesteads of the industrious. An Act has lately 
 passed proposing liberal terms to those who are 
 disposed to become residents in the island. The 
 following epitome of the land regulations will be 
 read with interest : — 
 
 "Any person desirous of proceeding from Europe to Tas- 
 mania to settle there, on paying his own passage out shall be 
 entitled to a grant of land of the value of £18 for himself, with 
 a like grant for every person of the age of 15 years and upwards 
 whose passage money he pays, and to a grant of the value 
 of £9 for every immigrant child between the age of twelve 
 months and 15 years he so brings out with him. Again, any 
 person arriving in the colony from Europe or India, with
 
 £/ 
 
 NEW HOMES. 151 
 
 a view of settling in it, whose passage money has been paid 
 by himself as a cabin or intermediate passenger, and who has 
 not previously received or accepted any order for a grant of 
 land as above referred to, shall be entitled to demand thirty 
 acres of land for himself, and, supposing him to be a married 
 man with a family, he shall also be entitled to demand twenty 
 acres of land for his wife and ten acres for each child, provided 
 that be done within twelve months of the date of arrival. 
 In neither case, however, is the grant of such land to be issued 
 until the person claiming it has resided five j-ears in the colony, 
 although the person claiming the grant may reside on the land 
 and cultivate it." 
 
 Small as this island is there are great parts of it 
 up to this moment quite unknown, and although 
 much of it may prove unfit for cultivation, it cannot 
 be doubted that there is a large area which will 
 eventually be thickly populated. The whole island 
 has so greatly the advantage of the mainland in 
 the number of its rivers and the abundance of its 
 supplies of fine fresh water. In point of climate, too, 
 it has to my mind the advantage over all the other 
 colonies for persons coming from Europe. 
 
 Beyond the remarks on this subject which I made 
 in the introductory chapter, I would refer to some 
 valuable information on this subject, contained in 
 the " Official Eecord of the Intercolonial Exhibition 
 of 1866-7," to which I have already been so much 
 indebted. The great salubrity of the climate is 
 universally admitted. In that respect it has the 
 advantage not only of the Australian mainland, but 
 of most parts of the world. It is neither too hot in
 
 152 NEW HOMES. 
 
 summer nor too cold in winter to be agreeable. 
 At all seasons of the year, but especially in summer, 
 it is the resort of visitors from the other colonies. 
 An old resident in Tasmania, Dr. Hall, bears his 
 testimony on this point to the following effect. He 
 says that the island has an undulating surface 
 throughout ; that its highest mountains only attain 
 a height of 5,000 feet in two instances ; that the 
 country rises from all its shores gradually to its 
 central watershed, along which is arrayed a chain of 
 lakes that give origin to the principal rivers of the 
 island ; that these rivers generally have a rapid fall, 
 and marshes are certainly exceptional ; that the 
 northern side of the colony has a warmer and 
 moister climate than the southern ; that there are 
 no volcanoes and no earthquakes. Again, during 
 the summer months a cool south-east breeze may 
 be expected to set in about 11 a.m. and is very 
 bracing and refreshing. The climate is decidedly 
 breezy and invigorating, for after the hottest day 
 one may calculate on having a cool night. With 
 reference to the effects of the climate on health. 
 Dr. Hall says : " Invalids from China, India, and the 
 hotter colonies of Australia, if not past recovery, 
 mend speedily in Tasmania, and the increased appe- 
 tite for food is the first and most surprising change. 
 With such clear skies, abundance of ozone, and bracing 
 sea breezes, the lamp of life burns quickly as well 
 as brightly, and demands a much more abundant 
 and nutritious supply of food than suffices elsewhere.
 
 NEW HOMES. 153 
 
 Food of the best and most varied kind is plentiful, 
 and the actual consumption per individual greatly 
 exceeds the highest European calculations. Tasma- 
 nians spend much of their time in the open air, and 
 many of the diseases which afflict European commu- 
 nities are unknown, others have a minimum of in- 
 tensity. Even eruptive fevers, scarlatina and measles, 
 though frequently imported, and at times severe, 
 have speedily worn themselves out, only re-ap- 
 pearing at long intervals and in mild type." 
 
 Tasmania has always been a favourite resort of 
 officers from India when on furlough. This was 
 more frequently the case formerly than it is now, 
 because of the facility of reaching Europe speedily 
 by means of the P. and 0. steamers. In 1858 a 
 commission, presided over by Colonel Hamilton, 
 reported in snbstance as follows, on the subject of 
 the probable effects which would result from the 
 establishment of a Military Medical Sanitarium in 
 Tasmania. That the salubrity of the climate is 
 equal, if not superior, to that of the healthiest part 
 of Europe ; and for the restoration of health to 
 those who suffer from the diseases incidental to 
 exposure in a tropical climate, better than that of 
 any other in the world. That the voyage from 
 Calcutta or Bombay to Hobart Town, in the steam 
 vessels which carry Her Majesty's mails, would be 
 performed in less than a month ; the accommodation 
 would be good, and an immediate change to a better 
 climate. That Tasmania could be reached more 
 
 L
 
 154 NEW HOMES. 
 
 readily than the Hill Sanatoria, in the Himalayas ; 
 the prospect of restoration to health greater, and 
 the house accommodation better ; and that 2,000 
 men conld be received and housed and attended at 
 small expense. It came out in evidence before the 
 Commission that the mortality amongst the troops 
 during fifteen years had not been quite 8 in 1,000, 
 whilst in England it was 33, in India 50, in 
 China 103. 
 
 The Parliamentary Librarian of Yictoria, Mr. 
 James Smith, visited the island in 1865, and de- 
 livered a lecture on the subject of his impressions, 
 which was received enthusiastically by the audience, 
 and was afterwards published. He was greatly 
 struck with the thoroughly English character of 
 all he saw. He travelled from Launceston to 
 Hobart Town, which charmed him greatly. He 
 says, " The coach was English, the pace was 
 English, and even the very inns and wayside 
 villages were English. I almost expected to 
 see the village green, the worm-eaten stocks, 
 and the waggon-headed tents of the wandering 
 gypsies ; to hear the caw of the rooks wheeling 
 homeward from the upland fallows, and to catch 
 a glimpse of an ivy-mantled tower peeping from 
 its leafy covert in some sequestered nook. I don't 
 think I should have been very much astonished 
 if I had come upon an old English pound, with 
 Mr. Pickwick seated on a wheelbarrow in the 
 middle of it, looking the picture of perplexity, and
 
 NEW HOMES. iO'J 
 
 amazed at the pertinacious curiosity of the by- 
 standers. The rosy faces of the children, too, 
 smacked of the old country. Many of the houses 
 I passed had a square, solid, substantial look 
 about them, suggestive of permanence and com- 
 fort. They seemed to say, ' Look at us ! We 
 were not run up by a speculative contractor the 
 week before last ; and we have no intention of 
 tumbling down the week after next.' " In very 
 felicitous language he describes the glorious view 
 from the top of Mount Wellington, whence ''The 
 city itself sloping to the water's edge looks like 
 a collection of the tiniest of toy houses, dropped by 
 a child in careless play ; and the altitude at which 
 you stand, coupled with the amazing extent of 
 country comprehended in the view, enables you 
 to realise the prospect visible from a balloon." One 
 more extract we must just find room for : " There 
 is a green lane at New Norfolk, than which I know 
 of nothing more thoroughly English in the pages of 
 Mary Russell Mitford, or on the canvas of Gains- 
 borough, Constable, or Creswick ; or in the beau- 
 tiful county of Kent itself. All the elements of the 
 picturesque are there — the lofty hedgerows, white 
 with blossom in the spring and crimson with 
 berries in the autumn, the luxuriant foliage, the 
 winding lane, the sweet breath of the new-mown 
 hay, the sweep of the scythe through the long bush 
 grass, and the rustic bridge spanning a brawling 
 brook; the hop-gardens, with their long drawn
 
 156 NEW HOMES. 
 
 aisles of vivid green, the delicate curves and spiral 
 movements of the graceful vine, the sunshine 
 dropping in golden rifts, and the shadows falling 
 in dark brown lines — all hint of good old Saxon 
 Kent ; so do the gurgling rivulets that wind away 
 in the secrecy and darkness among the pollard 
 willows, until they empty their waters into a stream, 
 cool, shadowy, transparent and impetuous — such as 
 Sir Humphrey Davy or Christopher North would 
 have delighted to angle in, and old Izaak Walton 
 have loved to have wi'itten about." 
 
 Some years ago a Committee of the Assembly 
 was appointed to consider and report on the intro- 
 duction of salmon into Tasmania. Messrs. Youl 
 and Edward Wilson, who were residing in England, 
 entered heartily into the matter. After several 
 failures Messrs. Money, Wigram and Sons, the great 
 Australian ship owners, offered, in 1864, to send the 
 ova out in one of their fine clipper ships, and it has 
 now proved a complete success. 
 
 The Church of England in the colony has now for 
 its head the Right Eev. Dr. Bromby, who was 
 formerly principal of the Cheltenham Training 
 College. He is the son of the late venerable vicar 
 of Hull, and the brother of the popular head 
 master of the Melbourne Church of England Gram- 
 mar School (Eev. Dr. Bromby). The Church in 
 Tasmania has lately suffered a severe loss in the 
 death of Sir Eichard Dry. His remains are interred 
 under the communion table of Hagley Church,
 
 NEW HOMES, 157 
 
 which was built at his expense and to which he 
 gave an endowment of £400 a year. 
 
 The editor of the Melbourne Argus, having re- 
 ceived the latest statistics of the island, devotes 
 a leading article to the subject, which is so im- 
 portant, that we offer no apology for transferring it 
 to our pages entire. He says : — 
 
 " Tasmania is bound to progress some day, having, in certain 
 natural circumstances, so much the advantage of the mainland 
 colonies, which are progressive now. She has a finer climate, a 
 more picturesque and better watered surface, and the special 
 facilities for trade offered by an insular position. She has su- 
 perior forests and fisheries, orchards and gardens ; and though 
 the search for gold appears to be a delusion, there are a variety 
 of minerals, including coal. And, as will bye-and-bye prove the 
 not least important fact, her shores are within easy reach of the 
 principal city and busiest port in the hemisphere, the head- 
 quarters of Australasian enterprise and capital. These things 
 are sure to tell in time, but the time has not come round yet, 
 as we see by the report furnished for the year 1868 by the 
 Government statistician, Mr. Nowell. There is some improve- 
 ment, but, in the main, the figures repeat the same story as in 
 previous years. The tide has not yet turned. Progress has not 
 yet begun. Other colonj.es, with their gold-fields, their more 
 commercial towns, their more energetic life, induce a yearly emi- 
 gration from Tasmania ; and population, industry, and trade do 
 not advance. The change must be effected, the impetus must 
 come from without. But the leading colonies are still too much 
 occupied with the development of their own resources to spare 
 attention to those of Tasmania. And when their activity does 
 overflow, it is attracted just now to other quarters. The rapid 
 spread of gold-discovery in New Zealand, with its attendant 
 mercantile openings, the growing of high-priced tropical pro- 
 duce in Fiji and Queensland, and the unlocking of a vast ex-
 
 158 NEW HOMES. 
 
 panse of grazing land in the centre and nortli of the continent, 
 all combine to delay the investment of Australian capital beyond 
 Bass's Straits. 
 
 " The population of the island at the end of last year was 
 100,706, of which fifty-six per cent, were males. The increase 
 during the year was 2,251, to which immigration contributed 
 723 persons. The year before, the number of arrivals was 3,559, 
 and of departures 4,025 ; in 1868 the arrivals were 5,043, and 
 the departures 4,320. And we see that an emigration agent 
 was despatched to Germany, for Germans being less ambitious 
 and restless than the British emigrant, are more likely to settle 
 down on the soil and not be attracted away to the gold coun- 
 tries. As for the increase of births over deaths, ' so low a rate 
 has not occurred since 1858, the furthest date to which the in- 
 vestigation was carried.' And there appears to have been for 
 years a constant decrease in the ratio of births to deaths — so 
 much so, that if it continue, ' all accession to the population 
 from that source would in little more than seven years entirely 
 cease.' The circumstance is not accounted for. The climate is 
 lavourable to health, and the emigration, though composed 
 almost entirely of the grown youth, should be more considerable 
 to cause it. The births in 1867 were 2,971, and the deaths 
 1,418 ; the births in 1868 were 2,990, and the deaths 1,464. 
 
 "Imports decreased last year by the value of £11,196. In 
 1867 they amounted to £856,348 sterling ; in 1868 to £845,152. 
 But exports, £920,820 in 1868, showed an increase of £130,326 
 on the previous year — being the largest increase in any two 
 consecutive years since 1857. The imports are principally from 
 and through Victoria. About half as much comes directly from 
 the United Kingdom. The Mauritius, with a long interval, 
 ranks next, and New South Wales is close behind. Nearly half 
 the exports go to the United Kingdom, more than a fom'th to 
 Victoria, and New South Wales comes next, followed by New 
 Zealand. There is only a trifling trade with the other colonies, 
 and none with foreign countries, except now and then a cargo 
 from China, Valparaiso, or Calcutta. It is only in Launeeston, 
 as the northern port, that the enlargement of exports is exhi-
 
 u 
 
 NEW HOMES. 159 
 
 bited. The shipments of wool, we are told, exceeded any year 
 since 1858, and were thirty per cent, more than last year. Of 
 barley, also, there was a great increase, and, in minor degree, of 
 bran and pollard, flour, oats, hops, sperm oil, sawn and hewn 
 timber, and vegetables ; and a diminution in bark, butter, cheese, 
 fruit, wheat, hides, leather, horses, and sheep. 
 
 "As regards the consumption of various necessaries and 
 luxuries some interesting statistics are given. There is a re- 
 markable and beneficial change in the drinking habits of the 
 population. In 1838, the consumption of spirits per head was 
 2 gal. ; in 1851, it was 1-1 gal. ; in 1857, 1-7. ; in 1861, 12 gal. ; 
 and in 1868, only 0-66 gal. In the United Kingdom in 1867 
 the consumption was 0"98 gal. The report remarks : — ' It is 
 not easy to say with any certainty what are the causes of this 
 decrease in the consumption of spirits. Some have supposed 
 that it is brought about by the substitution of malt liquors of 
 home produce ; but here we are met by the significant fact that 
 the number of breweries was returned as 38 in 1858, and only 31 
 in 1868. The emigration of large numbers of working men, the 
 increase of 2s. per gallon in the duty on rum in 1863, and the 
 general decline in the consuming power of the people, must 
 certainly have had a large share in causing the decline.' Such 
 causes, however, cannot fully explain the fact. For our part, 
 we feel no hesitation in ascribing it to the naturalisation of the 
 inhabitants. The taste for intoxicating drinks is not among 
 the faults of the native-born in these colonies. It is a taste 
 which weakens with each successive generation, and the Tas- 
 manian settlement is now several generations old. Moreover, 
 as the period of the convict system becomes more distant, the 
 habits of the populace naturally improve. As for other articles, 
 the consumption per head in the five years 1859-1863 was of 
 tea, 740 lb. ; sugar, 91-41 lb., and tobacco, 1-93 lb. In the 
 five succeeding years, namely, 1864-1868, the rate was, of tea 
 6-08 lb. ; sugar, 70-29 lb., and tobacco, 1-58 lb. But though 
 Tasmania is just now the least prosperous of these colonies, the 
 consumption of articles which are necessaries is nearly double 
 that in the United Kingdom. There in 1867 the proportion
 
 160 NEW HOMES. 
 
 was, of tea only 3-68 lb., and sugar 40-58 lb. ; of tobacco it was 
 1-35 lb. We agree with the report tbat nothing can more 
 clearly prove how much better is the condition of the people 
 than it is in old countries. 
 
 " An Australian Customs union is strongly urged. To illus- 
 trate the want, ' we need only point to the injury which Tas- 
 mania suffers in her trade from the duty imposed in Victoria on 
 her grain, timber, and fruit.' A keen public sense of this re- 
 quirement has now grown up in all the colonies as well as 
 Tasmania. 
 
 " The shipping returns are favourable. The tonnage inwards 
 for the three years 1S66-7-8, is set down respectively at 107,903, 
 93,390, and 110,553. Outwards the figures are 106,065, 
 102,754, and 111,491. There were six more whaling ships than 
 in 1867, with 150 additional men, and the increased value of 
 the produce was £29,000, or 130 per cent. Of coal 9,054 tons 
 were raised against 8,341 in the previous year. As to debt, 
 'the actual indebtedness' of the public treasury is £727,400. 
 The general revenue amounted to £333,069, being an increase 
 of £60,110 on 1867. The insolvencies were 63 against 107 in 
 1867, and the number of persons tried in the Supreme Court 
 was 87 against 127. The returns of crops and live stock having 
 arrived late, are added in an appendix to the report without a 
 comparison with 1867, but we are told that there is ' an absence 
 of agricultural improvement.' Two lines of railway — the 
 Launceston and Western, and the Mersey and Deloraine — are 
 in construction, and a survey has been made for one between 
 Hobart Town and Launceston. As a whole, these statistics for 
 last year exhibit some improvement, though still very far short 
 of the required change." 
 
 His Excellency the Governor, in proroguing 
 the Parliament, read the speech which we give 
 below : — 
 
 "HONOUEABLE GrENTLEMEN OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, 
 
 AND Gentlemen oe the House or Assembly. 
 " 1. In relieving you from further attendance in Parliament,
 
 (/ NEW HOMES. 
 
 161 
 
 I desire to thank you for the earnest devotion which you have 
 manifested in discharging the responsible duties that devolved 
 upon you. 
 
 " 2. I announce to you with pleasure that the official 
 accounts of the progress of gold discoveries, in various parts 
 of the island, continue to sustain the expectation of improved 
 material prosperity as the result of the successful development 
 of the mineral wealth of the colony. 
 
 " 3. I acknowledge with satisfaction the patience and assi- 
 duity with which you have prosecuted your Parliamentary 
 duties ; and congratulate you upon the large amount of use- 
 ful Icffislation that has resulted from the labours of the session, 
 and upon the enactment of several measures for amending and 
 consolidating the laws affecting the interests of the trading and 
 commercial classes. 
 
 " 4. In the Acts to authorise the construction of a Main 
 Line of liailway, and the completion of other large and useful 
 public works, you have consulted the general anxiety and 
 growing demand for extended and improved means of internal 
 communication, with a due regard to the financial capabilities 
 of the colony. I anticipate the happiest results from this 
 recognition of the first and principal requirements of a new 
 and mainly agricultural country. 
 
 " 5. I trust that the appointment of a Minister of Lands and 
 Works will ensure the efficient control and more economical 
 working of the important branches of the public service in- 
 tended to be combined under the new department. 
 
 " 6. The provision which you have made for taking a census 
 of the population early in the ensuing year will supply a 
 valuable groundwork for revising the existing system of the 
 representation of the people in Parliament. 
 
 " 7. It may be reasonably hoped that the measures which 
 you have passed to permit distillation, and to encourage manu- 
 factures from colonial products, will prove beneficial both to 
 the agricultural and the industrial interests of the country. 
 
 " 8. I thank you for the Supplies you have granted for the 
 service of the year : and desire to express my gratification that
 
 162 NEW HOMES. 
 
 you have been enabled to make suitable provision for the 
 public requirements without imposing any additional burdens 
 on the people. 
 
 " 9. I entertain an earnest hope that the various measures to 
 which I have referred, and the general effect of your legislation, 
 may be found to conduce, under the Divine blessing, to the 
 happiness and well-being of the community. 
 
 " I now declare this Parliament prorogued to the 2nd day of 
 June next." 
 
 There appears some hope that the anxious wish 
 of the inhabitants as to the discovery of gold will 
 be promptly gratified : — 
 
 " Some half dozen gentlemen from Ballarat arrived in 
 Launceston, and sent two of their number to Waterhouse to 
 examine and report. The report was most favourable ; and 
 the result was the formation of a company, whose office was 
 to be in Ballarat, but with some of the directory in Tasmania. 
 The shares were launched at £5, and subsequently increased 
 to £7 10s. It is understood that all that were meant to be 
 disposed of in Tasmania were taken up, and now we await the 
 result. Some disappointment has been felt that operations 
 have not been gone about more speedily. The principal claim, 
 the Pioneers', has been in the possession of the company for 
 some weeks, but no men have as yet been set to work. Mean- 
 time a partial reef-seeking mania has set in ; scores are now 
 at Waterhouse prospecting, and claims innumerable have been 
 taken up. A small steamer has made her first trip, and is 
 again advertised for a second ; and the prospects of a veritable 
 gold-field in this colony are discussed with greater eagerness 
 than the probable results of the Australasian harvest. Nor 
 is Fingal behind with her claims, which Ballarat is to take 
 advantage of also. There, at the Break-o'-Day, have the good 
 folks from the mining capital taken interests, and are again 
 arranging to float another company. The country the in- 
 spectors saw there surprised them, being rich beyond their
 
 \y NEW HOMES. 163 
 
 anticipations. Althous^h all is not gold that glitters, a spirit 
 seems to be now abroad which in the end may set at rest 
 that question v;hich, although before us for years, has so 
 pertinaciously remained in doubt." 
 
 The last mail has brought an encouraging account 
 from the new gold-field : — 
 
 " The Waterhouse diggings are now assuming such propor- 
 tions that the opening up a proper means of communication 
 with that gold-field has become a necessity so well recoo-nised 
 by Government that the Director of Public Works accompanied 
 by Mr. Gunn, Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands, is on 
 the 16th inst. to commence an inspection of the country, and 
 the best routes for a road. These gentlemen will generally 
 make themselves acquainted with whatever may be necessary 
 for the convenience of persons travelling to or from the diggings, 
 or the accommodation of those located there, and report thereon 
 to Government, who will acting on that report do whatever is 
 necessary for the development of the diggings and opening up 
 of the country. Without full information not only as to the 
 work required, but also the probable permanency of the diggings, 
 the hon. the Treasurer could not under his pledge to Parliament 
 expend any of the money placed at his disposal for roads in the 
 Waterhouse district, but fortified by such a report, the necessary 
 roads Avill be at once proceeded with, the condition attached by 
 Parliament to the vote having been fulfilled." 
 
 The commercial article of the Ilohart Toivn Mer- 
 cury gives a cheering account of things in the 
 island : — 
 
 "Although we cannot report any considerable improvement 
 in business since our last summary of news for the home mails 
 on the 9th October, yet a busier month has been passed by our 
 commercial classes. The arrival of two London vessels, the 
 Ethel and Sea Wave, with general cargoes, and in the case of
 
 164 NEW HOMES. 
 
 the Ethel a large one, and the unprecedented arrival of a vessel 
 direct from the Mauritius with a cargo of sugars, has naturally 
 given a spurt to business. The approach of the wool season 
 and the preparations of the jam makers, with the brightening 
 prospects of the agricultural classes, have also tended to throw 
 a spirit of hopefulness and an appearance of bustle amongst our 
 community which has not of late pervaded it. The drapery 
 trade still seems the most depressed, and wholesale houses are 
 heavily stocked both by direct shipments, and by imports via 
 Melbourne. With the retail branch of this trade, the same 
 complaints of dealers prevail that was reported last month. 
 The grocery and ironmongery trades are in a better state, 
 though we have to report the failure of one small house in the 
 latter trade, for a small amount, principally affecting Victorian 
 houses. In our last we noticed the splendid rains that the 
 country had been favoured with, and the favourable appearance 
 of the crops in consequence ; after the lapse of a month it is 
 gratifying to again be able to record that the hopes of the 
 farmers have every prospect of being fulfilled. The weather 
 has been most seasonable, fine warm days have alternated with 
 refreshing showers, and the growth of all descriptions of vege- 
 tation has been marvellous. A large breadth of land has been 
 placed in crop, and all hands will be busy in another month or 
 two in securing the fruits of their winter and spring labours. 
 The hop-gardens are said to be in fine bearing this year, and 
 we shall have a considerably increased yield on last year's pro- 
 duce of the rapidly extending export. Shearing has commenced 
 in several districts, and we yesterday noticed the arrival of the 
 first lot of country packed wool, for shipment per Ethel. The 
 wools this year, from the fine feed that has prevailed, and the 
 abundance of water for washing, will be in good condition, and 
 notwithstanding the ravages of the scab in some quarters, it is 
 anticipated that from the increased care observed in the prepa- 
 ration of the wools for market, that the character of the Tas- 
 manian flocks will be fully maintained by this year's exports. 
 It is not expected that there will be any falling off" in quantity. 
 The first wool ship that will leave this port for London will be
 
 f ^^^CA 
 
 ^°* NEW HOMES. 165 
 
 the Ethel, Captain Harmsworth, who expects to sail somewhere 
 between Christmas Day and the New Year. The Etliel will 
 be followed by the new ship the Bunnymede, Captain Hay. 
 It is not possible at present to say when she will get away. 
 The cargo of sugars ex Tasso, imported direct from the Mau- 
 ritius by Messrs. Crosby and Pearce, was disposed of by public 
 auction and privately, and realised fair prices, fully sustaining 
 previous rates. Another cargo of sugars is expected daily, per 
 Argo, from the same port, to the order of Askin Morrison, Esq. 
 " At the time of the departure of the last mail, the Houses 
 of Parliament were in session. They have since been prorogued, 
 and the several measures we then noticed as under consideration, 
 which have a direct bearing on the commercial prospects of the 
 community, have become law, having received the royal assent 
 at the hands of the Governor, Charles Du Cane, Esq. The 
 principal item of these, and as more directly having reference 
 to the London Money Market, is the authority granted to the 
 Governor-in-Council to issue, as a bonus, the sum of £300,000, 
 in six per cent, debentures, to any company that will undertake 
 to construct and work a Main Line Railway from Hobart Town 
 to Launceston. The Government have the power of offering 
 any such company the option of having £25,000 paid them 
 annual!}' for a period of 20 5'ears, in lieu of the total sum of 
 £300,000. "We refer to another column for fuller details of 
 the measure, merely remarking that the grounds on which 
 hopes are placed of this railway, if constructed, giving an in- 
 creased prosperity to the colony, are the effect railways have 
 alwa\'s produced where constructed between great centres of 
 population. The other measures which affect our commercial 
 or pastoral interests, are the Bill for the production of colonial 
 industries, such as the establishment of woollen factories, salt 
 factories, and the growth of sugar from beet-root, by the offer 
 of bonuses. The only one at present started of these factories, 
 is one on a small scale for the manufacture of salt, by evapo- 
 rating the salt water of the sea. It is calculated to turn out 
 about 20 tons per week, and if successfully conducted will stop 
 shipments from home to the other colonies to some extent.
 
 16G NEW HOMES. 
 
 The Scab Bill has become law, and its effects will be apparent 
 in the course of a season or two, but for the first eighteen 
 months its provisions are only precautionary, and admonitory, 
 to the sheepowners, but if at the expiration of that period the 
 flocks are still found to be scabby, the penal clauses of the 
 Bill will begin to take effect, so that virtually the sheepowner 
 is allowed 18 months to clean his sheep, and if after that period 
 he has not got rid of the scab from his flock, he comes under 
 the supervision of the Inspector. 
 
 "Our money market presents few features to notice. Money 
 is plentiful for all discount purposes, and the banks report that 
 trade bills are well met. There have been a few share sales 
 during the month, the largest of them to-day, when 85 shares 
 in the Tasmanian Steam Navigation Company were offered at 
 auction, by Messrs. Guesdon and Westbrook, and all sold at 
 dEll per share, being an advance of 7s. per share since the last 
 reported sales, when £10 13s. was realised. Some Tasmanian 
 Debentures, 6 per cent., were also disposed of by auction on the 
 29th October, and realised £107 to £108. 
 
 "Consequent on the fine season, and the news that the other 
 colonies had received abundant rains, and so saved their crops, 
 the breadstuffs market has been depressed ever since last mail. 
 Shortly after the departure of the mail, wheat receded from 7s. 
 to 6s. 6d., and it now hangs at from 6s. 3d. to 6s. 6d. Flour 
 also receded to £15, and these prices still prevail, with great 
 heaviness in the market, the demand being entirely confined to 
 local wants. We shall, however, be dependent on the northern 
 side of the island for some month or two, before our harvest 
 comes in, but the price continues on the decline there, and 
 wheat is quoted in Launceston at 6s. Flour, £13 10s. Po- 
 tatoes, which were in large demand for export at our last mail 
 at £5 5s., have continued in fair demand during the early part 
 of the month, but have recently declined in value to £3 10s., 
 and the export demand has slackened. With the exception of 
 butter, all other colonial products remain as at last. Butter 
 has fallen to about lOd. to Is. per lb., the large quantity of 
 fresh now coming into the market preventing the sale of the 
 potted.
 
 \J^ NEW HOMES. '*^^'"W.. 167 
 
 " A considerable quantity of bark will be shipped home this 
 year, both by vessels direct and via Melbourne. The present 
 price for green bark is £2 per ton ; for dry long, £3 to £3 10s. 
 is the quotation. 
 
 " We may mention that the first lot of washed fleece wool 
 loose, arrived in town this morning. It was scarcely of suffi- 
 cient quantity to test the local market for loose lots. The 
 same party obtained 8H- last year for his clip. This year he 
 sold at the same price. Generally growers look to obtaining 
 last year's rates, but the feeling of buyers tends to a decline of 
 a Id. to 2d, per lb. The sale to-day would tend to show that 
 growers will obtain their prices. 
 
 " There have been no meetings of our public companies since 
 our last. The prices of shares are well maintained, showing 
 that money for investment is abundant. There has been 
 another company formed on the northern side of the island for 
 working one of the reefs discovered at Waterhouse, making two 
 companies now in existence. The certainty of the commercial 
 value of the reefs at Fingal is now established without a doubt, 
 the government having deputed a gentleman named Hurst to 
 inspect the locality, and act as gold commissioner. Mr. Hurst 
 has returned to town after a sojourn on the spot of some time, 
 and the government have decided on his report to erect 
 buildings for a Commissioner's residence, and to accommodate 
 a necessary Police Force. As the prospects of the colony as 
 regards her gold reefs are fully reported on in another column, 
 we refrain from repeating it here. 
 
 " Our whaling fleet continues successful, and there have been 
 several ai-rivals of oil since our last, but we refer to oui- shipping 
 columns for full information on this head. With respect to 
 the quantity of sperm oil at present known to be afloat in colo- 
 nial ships, it will be seen by reference to the reports of the 
 whalers in our shipping columns, that there are 186 tuns of 
 sperm oil in 9 vessels. In addition to this quantity, there are 
 the takes of three vessels now in port, the Emily Downing, 68 
 tuns; the Rumiymede, 62 tuns: together 130 tuns, 100 of 
 which will be shipped by next Monday in the Ethel, leaving
 
 168 ^"^ NEW HOMES. 
 
 O' 
 
 30 for the Windward, in addition to the 9 tuns ex Offley. The 
 130 tuns of oil above mentioned, have been disposed of in this 
 market to one firm, at about £76." 
 
 The rates of wages are not so high as in some 
 of the other colonies. Still they are not to be 
 despised. Coachmen get from £35 to £50 a year ; 
 grooms, £30 to £35 ; gardeners the same ; female 
 cooks, £25 to £30 ; laundresses, £25 ; housemaids, 
 £20 to £22 ; nursemaids, £16 to £20 ; general 
 servants, £20. 
 
 From all that we have said, it will be gathered 
 that we think highly of this island as a place of 
 residence. And we may safely recommend it to 
 those for whom a mild but decidedly healthy climate 
 and a charmingly picturesque country have at- 
 tractions. Those who are in haste to be rich, and 
 who love an exciting life, may probably do better 
 elsewhere ; but if you are content to " plod on," 
 and are satisfied with making a comfortable living, 
 Tasmania should present ample scope for any reason- 
 able man.
 
 "WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 
 
 LTHOUGH we have become well ac- 
 quainted with the eastern and the southern 
 
 coasts of New Ilolland, we have up to the 
 
 present day but little knowledge of the western half 
 of the continent. It is only now that the settlers, 
 feeling that the land is taken up in the older or the 
 more favourite localities, are turning their attention 
 to new fields for the pasturage of their flocks and 
 herds. 
 
 When, after the war with France, that country 
 began to look about for new territories abroad, the 
 English government, fearing lest she should carry 
 out an intended project of settling on the west 
 coast of Australia, sent out instructions to the 
 governor of New South "Wales to be beforehand 
 with her, and to take formal possession of it in the 
 name of England's king. This was done in 1826. 
 Vancouver had, in 1792, discovered one of the finest 
 roadsteads on the Australian coasts, King George's 
 Sound, which is an inlet from the Indian Ocean. 
 This was the place fixed on for a settlement. The 
 town of Albany stands now on its site. All the 
 
 M
 
 170 NEW HOilES. 
 
 country in tlie neighbourhood is a vast tract of 
 sand ; but the climate was found to be exceedingly 
 good. The military occupation of this post was 
 during the term of three years, during which the 
 soldiers had to depend on the elder colonies for 
 all such supplies as could not be obtained from 
 the whaling ships which put in there. 
 
 About this time public attention in England was 
 being directed to these far-off colonies. Some at- 
 tractive books had been written, speaking in glow- 
 ing terms of the climate and of the rapid progress 
 which was being made on the sheep and cattle 
 stations, the owners of which, aided by convict 
 labour, were reaping a rich harvest. Still there 
 was the great drawback — they were convict colonies. 
 And though many men of good family and with 
 some capital would like to follow in the prosperous 
 career of which they read such satisfactory accounts, 
 they could not make up their minds to go to 
 " Botany Bay." After the agitation of the question 
 for some time, it was suggested that Australia was 
 a vast island continent, and there was ample room 
 to found difree colony on its shores, so remote from 
 the penal settlements as to run no risk of contami- 
 nation from association. This was taken up at 
 length by some of our aristocracy and by some mem- 
 bers of Parliament. Sir Francis Yincent, Colonel 
 Latour, and the Peel family took an active interest 
 in the proposed colony. Large capitalists remem- 
 bered the fortunes that had been made in the
 
 :!-. -' NEW HOMES. 171 
 
 Americau colonies, by obtaining vast tracts of freehold 
 land on low terms, and so they looked forward to the 
 probability of pursuing the same plan on the coasts of 
 Australia. The plan being favourably received by the 
 government, a commission was appointed for drawing 
 up a kind of constitution for the new colony, and ar- 
 ranging the tetms on which land should be acquired, 
 and emigration carried out. The exact spot was 
 settled by Captain Stirling, E.N., who had surveyed 
 part of the western coast, and he was fixed upon as 
 the first superintendent of the infant settlement. 
 It is a vast colony, including all that portion of 
 "New Holland situated to the west of 129° east 
 longitude. It is 1,280 miles from north to south 
 and 800 miles from east to west. The area is 
 1,000,000 square miles, or eight times the size of 
 Great Britain and Ireland. If was far enoujjh off 
 from the dreaded convict settlements, for Sydney 
 was more than 3,000 miles away, and Yan Diemen's 
 Land 2,300. The commissioners fixed on Melville 
 Harbour as the exact spot for the fii'st settlement, 
 into which ''Swan Eiver" flows. And so the 
 colony was commonly known as the " Swan Eiver 
 Settlement." Persons taking out emigrants at their 
 own cost, or introducing live stock, &c., had grants 
 of land made to them on nominal terms, viz., one 
 shilling and sixpence an acre. In fact land was 
 the mode of paying salaries. All the govern- 
 ment officers, surveyors and others, received part of 
 their incomes in land. This all seemed so attractive
 
 172 NEW HOMES. 
 
 that there was a perfect rush as to wTio should 
 get. on to the spot first so as to secure a priority in 
 the selection. Endless confusion followed. Before 
 the governor arrived several ships had got there, 
 crowded with passengers, who knew not what to 
 do or where to go. And we can very readily 
 helieve that they were sadly disheartened at all 
 they saw on the shore. It was mid- winter, June, 
 1829, when they got there, and before the year was 
 out twenty-five ships had landed their immigrants 
 on the inhospitable shore. During the next year 
 thirty more ships came in. Great delay took place 
 in surveying the land. In the meanwhile the poor 
 immigrants, many of whom were persons belonging to 
 the upper classes, and knew nothing of " roughing " 
 it in a new land, went just where they liked and 
 settled themselves on the shore. All the eagerness 
 to take possession of what they had considered 
 in imagination as an ''El Dorado" gave place 
 to gloomy forebodings. Meanwhile provisions ran 
 short ; the settled colonies, whence supplies could 
 have been drawn, were far off, and money was 
 not very plentiful. Live stock had been intro- 
 duced, both sheep and cattle, but there was 
 some plant upon which they fed which killed 
 them. And yet it was as a pastoral country which 
 the greater part of the settlers had been looking 
 forward to the occupancy of. The first settlement 
 was named Perth. But it was found inconvenient 
 to take the cargoes from the ships as they arrived
 
 NEW HOMES. 173 
 
 to it, and »o a seaport was established at the entrance 
 to the harbour, fourteen miles distant by water, and 
 which was called Freemantle. There was also a 
 town-site called Clarence. Before two years had 
 elapsed the most wretched accounts had reached 
 England, and emigration thence was abandoned. 
 An address was presented to Governor Stirling 
 complaining most bitterly of their losses and of the 
 wreck of all their fondly- cherished hopes. Amongst 
 other grievances they found fault with the regula- 
 tion which required that an amount equal to the 
 value of the freehold had to be spent in permanent 
 improvements, which in the great majority of cases 
 proved to be useless; and that the preferential 
 claims of officers in the army and the navy, and 
 even of absentees, shut out the hond fide farmer 
 from obtainins: land so situated as to be of benefit 
 to him. And so it went on struggling against the 
 greatest difficulties till the year 1849. In the 
 interior, many of the settlers who were in a position 
 to do so, had gathered together the wreck of their 
 substance, and left for those very colonies which 
 they had originally so much despised — New South 
 "Wales and Tasmania. And it is a curious fact that 
 the very colony which was fixed at so remote a 
 point, in order to avoid any connection with con- 
 victs, should at this very time be the convict colony 
 of Australia, and that too at the urgent solicitation 
 of the colonists themselves. Governor Stirling left 
 in 1838. His successor, Governor Hutt, was at the
 
 174 NEW HOMES. 
 
 head of the colony for seven years. Colonel Clarke 
 succeeded him ; but he died in the following year. 
 He was succeeded by Captain Fitzgerald in 1849. 
 The colony recovered from its sadly depressed state, 
 but by very slow degrees. The establishment of a 
 settlement at Leschenhault Bay, named "Austra- 
 lind," was commenced in 1835, but proved a failure. 
 
 In 1849 it was found that the colony had a popu- 
 lation of nearly 5,000; that 7,000 acres of land 
 were under cultivation; the live stock numbered 
 157,855; the imports were £45,411; the exports 
 £29,598; the shipping inwards 15,494 tons. This 
 was the position of the colony just twenty years 
 after its establishment. It seemed to have failed as 
 a free colony, and so at this time the inhabitants 
 prayed that it might be taken up as a receptacle for 
 convicts. Up to this period the colony had borne a 
 high character for morality, which, however, was 
 very soon lost after the prayer of the petition from 
 the people had been granted, and the colony became 
 a large gaol. 
 
 At this time the members of the Church of 
 England numbered three-fourths of the whole popu- 
 lation. The other fourth was made up of Eoman 
 Catholics, 337 ; Wesleyans, 276 ; other Protestants, 
 311 ; Protestant Dissenters, 188. Archdeacon Hale 
 was the local head of the Church of England ; but 
 since that time the colony has been erected into a 
 bishopric, and the late archdeacon is now the 
 Bishop of Perth. There were seven clergymen of
 
 '-l^W HOMES. 175 
 
 the English Church, partly supported out of the 
 proceeds of 8,000 acres of land ; ten churches ; 
 several chapels, which were served by three 
 ministers ; and a Eoman Catholic bishop, who had 
 three priests under him. 
 
 The manner in which the aborigines were treated 
 by the settlers at the Swan Eiver stands out in 
 favourable contrast with what we have seen in the 
 other colonies. There was a kindness and con- 
 sideration shown to them from the very commence- 
 ment, which the natives themselves were not slow 
 to appreciate ; and it only shows us how different 
 might have been the state of things in the other 
 colonies if the same course had been pursued in 
 them. The natives in Western Australia became 
 the servants of the settlers; regular wages were 
 given to them, and they proved invaluable, espe- 
 cially during that part of the colony's history when 
 immigration all but ceased. The most pleasing 
 accounts have reached us from time to time of the 
 great progress in education made by the natives, 
 both in the Church of England and Wesleyan insti- 
 tutions. In this colony the government gave the 
 aborigines the same right as British subjects, and 
 their disputes with the settlers are willingly referred 
 to the English courts of law. 
 
 The English government, smarting under the 
 increase of crime arising from the system of keeping 
 their prisoners at home, gladly availed themselves 
 of the opportunity of sending them out to this
 
 176 NEW HOMES. 
 
 colony. Wishing to avoid the evils of the old 
 system, it was arranged that they should not be 
 assigned to the settlers, but should be employed in 
 the construction of roads, bridges, and jetties, at 
 the expense of the Home Government. After they 
 had received their tickets-of-leave, they could enter 
 into the service of the free inhabitants. At first 
 all seemed to go well. There was a large expendi- 
 ture of money, and great works were carried out to 
 completion. But by-and-bye, when the lock was 
 no longer turned on them in the gaols, but they 
 began to mix in numbers among the colonists, then 
 discontent arose. The settlers were alarmed at the 
 great increase of crime, and the free labourer did 
 not like the prisoner coming into competition with 
 him, and thus lowering the rate of wages. In ten 
 years 5,465 were sent out, and they cost the British 
 government o£180 a head ! 
 
 And then in 1851 came the discovery of gold in 
 New South Wales and in Victoria. As soon as this 
 was known, the great body of free labourers — all 
 those at least who could manage to do so — rushed 
 away ; and the prisoner population were eagerly on 
 the look out for opportunities to escape to lands 
 where honestly by labour, or dishonestly by depre- 
 dation, they could get gold. 
 
 The colonies on the eastern shore had purged 
 themselves of the convict element, and were not 
 likely to bear quietly this wholesale introduction of 
 the old leaven. Victoria and South Australia passed
 
 ^"^ NEW HOMES. ^' IT 7 
 
 an Act, which was afterwards annulled by the Queen 
 in Council as beyond their powers, forbidding any 
 convict to set foot on their shores. Petitions were 
 got up to the Queen to do away with transportation 
 to Western Australia. A commission of enquiry 
 was appointed, Avho recommended not the discon- 
 tinuance of transportation but an increase of it. 
 This was met with extreme indignation by the 
 colonies, who showed their earnestness by actually 
 sending a ship-load home to England at their own 
 charges. This was in 1865, and it had its effect, 
 for the Queen was advised to discontinue transpor- 
 tation by degrees, so that in three years it should 
 cease. 
 
 Still, in the midst of all. Western Australia was 
 making considerable progress. Fitzgerald was suc- 
 ceeded in office by Governor Kennedy, in 1856. 
 And his successor was Mr. Hampton, the well- 
 known superintendent of convicts. And now the 
 colony began to suffer from another cause. Al- 
 though many of the gentlemen who had been 
 amongst the original settlers had left it in disgust, 
 some had remained, and they had met with success. 
 But having become possessed of considerable pro- 
 perty, they left the colonies with their gains, and 
 went to enjoy the fruits of their labour in their 
 native land. 
 
 When New South Wales was first settled, for a 
 considerable time the people were disheartened from 
 the sandy nature of the soil; when they went to
 
 178 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Port Phillip it was the same, and the original immi- 
 grants at the Swan appear to have lost all energy, 
 and gave np the whole country as worthless, because 
 the sand prevailed so much on the coast. This sand 
 does prevail for fifty miles or so ; then come the 
 ranges, like the Blue Mountains in New South 
 Wales, and beyond these ranges there are fine 
 grassy plains and valleys. 
 
 Gregory, Eoe, and Lefroy discovered well-grassed 
 and arable land, and going northwards, at 1,000 feet 
 or more above the sea level, fine grassy downs were 
 found sufiicient to depasture millions of sheep and 
 cattle. And from this period we may consider that 
 the prosperous days of Western Australia com- 
 menced. In the other and more thickly peopled 
 colonies, the land was being very quickly taken up, 
 or the new land bills had so raised the rent of runs 
 or encroached upon them, that the attention of 
 squatters was directed to this vast country. The 
 government did all they could to give an impetus to 
 this movement. They offered 100,000 acres of land 
 rent free for twelve years to the first settler who 
 should come westward with stock, and companies 
 were formed in Melbourne and in Sydney, managed 
 by skilful old colonists. It is but a question of time 
 and we shall hear of this becoming a great and 
 prosperous colony. It is just the place for young men 
 to go to who wish to turn their attention to pastoral 
 pursuits. The area is so vast that there is plenty of 
 elbow room, and this is always a thing to be specially
 
 (y<J, 
 
 C- 
 
 NEW HOMES. V 179 
 
 looked out for. The younger and the larger the 
 countrij^ the letter the chance for the enterprising 
 settler. 
 
 The prevailing winds are from the west, and 
 there are abundant rains, so that this colony does 
 not suffer from drought. Fish is abundant. The 
 heat of summer is moderated by alternate sea and 
 land breezes. All sorts of vegetables and fruits 
 (especially the vine) flourish luxuriantly. The 
 Darling and Eoe Eanges, rising to about 1,500 feet, 
 are at a distance of from ten to twenty-five miles 
 from the western coast, and parallel to it, and they 
 are dotted about with thriving farms. These ranges 
 are from twenty to fifty miles across, and on their 
 eastern side are the chief stations. 
 
 The Colonial Secretary in his report for 1868, 
 says, " The colony possesses one of the most healthy 
 climates in the world. The mortality since its 
 occupation has not averaged one per cent. I 
 doubt if any portion of the world is better suited 
 to the European constitution. It is subject to no 
 extremes of heat or cold. Snow is never seen." 
 Maize, potatoes, the apple, pear, orange, banana, 
 fig, peach, and apricot, with the melon and the 
 vine, grow most luxuriantly. Attention is being 
 paid to drying fruits, and excellent specimens of 
 figs and raisins have been exhibited. The cultiva- 
 tion of the vine promises to be highly remunerative, 
 but though the soil is of very varied character, it 
 appears to flourish in them all. The wine made is as
 
 180 NEW HOMES. 
 
 yet very limited in quantity, and is consumed in the 
 colony itself. On one occasion some was sent to 
 Queensland, to a gentleman holding a prominent 
 position there, and he reported most favourably of 
 it, estimating its marketable value at 12s. a gallon. 
 In the year 1861, Lord Grey spoke of Western 
 Australia in the following terms : " The develop- 
 ment of the resources of Western Australia is a 
 matter of the highest moment. Coal is to be found 
 there, and, in steam communication with India, I 
 need scarcely remind you of the vast value of such 
 a product. Further, I may state that Western 
 Australia abounds with forests of the finest timber, 
 while it possesses a climate and soil capable of 
 producing anything which a tropical region of the 
 earth may be expected to yield." The coal referred 
 to above is found on the Irwin Elver, in the Yictoria 
 district, and also on the southern coast, near the 
 Fitzgerald Eiver. Its character is that of the Welsh 
 coal, well adapted for engine purposes. The mines 
 have not yet been worked, but the attention of 
 capitalists will be turned ere long in this direction. 
 The forests of timber are very extensive and valu- 
 able. There is the jarrah (eucalyptus marginata\ a 
 wood very similar to the Honduras mahogany. Its 
 grain is fine, and highly effective in point of orna- 
 ment. It has the advantage of being extremely 
 durable, and the property of resisting the attacks of 
 the ivhite ant. Some of the seeds of the jarrah tree 
 were recently forwarded to Dr. Miiellcr, the super-
 
 'I A 
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 181 
 
 intendent of the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne, 
 who reports that they are worth from 15s. to 25s. a 
 pound, and perhaps more, when once the value of 
 this important tree is properly and generally under- 
 stood. The wood of this tree, if cut at the proper 
 season, when the sap is down^ will be found the most 
 enduring of all woods. Time, weather, water, the 
 white ant, and the sea-worm have no effect upon it ; 
 and it is so abundant, that Admiral Sir James 
 Stirling stated before a committee of the House of 
 Commons, that there is sufficient of it to build 
 twenty British navies. It is of the greatest value 
 for railway sleepers, and is likely to be much used 
 for this purpose both in India and in the other 
 Australian colonies. 
 
 Another valuable tree is the tooart, a kind of 
 white gum. It is very close-grained, and is used 
 for keels, naves of wheels, capstans, windlasses, &c. 
 The sandal-wood has long proved a valuable export. 
 
 If the price of freight could be reduced, there is 
 a fine field for the employment of capital in the 
 woods of this country. The government are holding 
 out all encouragement to those willing to embark in 
 the enterprise, by issuing licenses to cut timber at 
 merely nominal rates. 
 
 The Perth Inquirer is recommending the cultiva- 
 tion of the castor-oil tree, since the oil prepared by 
 the newly-discovered process is worth £40 a tun in 
 the English market. 
 
 It would seem that there is an inexhaustible
 
 182 NEW HOMES. 
 
 quantity of iron ore. Gold has not been discovered 
 as yet, but copper is found in abundance, and the 
 ore is exceedingly rich in quality. Lead is also 
 found. It would be impossible in such a book as 
 this to enter fully into this subject, but those who 
 seek for more exact information can readily obtain 
 it from a paper by Frank Gregory, Esq., F.G.S., to 
 be found in the " Official Eecord of the Intercolonial 
 Exhibition." The Geraldine lead mines turn out 
 ore having from 70 to 86 per cent, of pure lead. 
 
 The pearl fisheries are yearly advancing in value. 
 By a vessel which lately arrived in Melbourne 
 twenty-five very handsome pearls were received, 
 which were exhibited at a jeweller's shop in Collins 
 Street. Some of them were declared by good judges 
 to be perfect in shape, and of very fine colour. It 
 is said that one of the finest would fetch £25 in the 
 London market, and there are several others worth 
 from £8 up to £15. 
 
 This colony has room for many thousands of 
 enterprising settlers. As was formerly the case in 
 the older colonies, so now here, the squatters are 
 pushing out farther and farther every year. It is 
 expected that there will before long be a rush in 
 the direction of Nichol and Eoebuck Bays. Be- 
 tween these two bays the government surveyor 
 recently reports having passed over millions of acres 
 of first-class pastoral land. The grasses have a pecu- 
 liarly succulent character, and are found to remain 
 nutritious even after a drought of eighteen months.
 
 ^-^ 
 
 NEW HOMEa"*"*^ / ^- 183 
 
 The land regulations offer great inducements to 
 squatters and others. Country lands are sold to the 
 first applicant, without auction, at ten shillings an 
 acre, in blocks of forty acres and upwards. 
 
 Town lands in small allotments, by auction, at an 
 upset price of from £1 to <£6. 
 
 The pastoral lands are divided into three classes, 
 and are let on the following terms : — 
 
 Lands in class A, which comprises all the land 
 nearest to the settled districts, are let on an annual 
 tenure at the rate of £1 for 1,000 acres. These 
 lands are open to purchase to the first applicant. 
 
 Class B includes all lands in the settled districts 
 not in class A. They are let on lease for eight 
 years in blocks not exceeding 10,000 acres, the 
 rent for each lease being £5 a year and ten shillings 
 for every thousand acres comprised in it. The 
 lessee has a preferable claim for a renewal of 
 his lease. He has also the pre-emptive right over 
 the whole lease during the first year, and over 
 such portion as he may choose for his homestead 
 during the two succeeding years, after which all 
 the land is open to general purchase. 
 
 Class C includes all the newly discovered districts 
 to the north and east. Permission for free pas- 
 turage for one year is granted to applicants, during 
 which year they are entitled to select 100,000 acres 
 of land in one block, of which a free run is granted 
 for three years, after which period leases are issued 
 in blocks not exceeding 20,000 acres for eight years
 
 184 NEW HOMES. 
 
 on the annual payment of £5 for each lease, and five 
 sliillings per 1,000 acres during the first four years 
 of its currency, and ten shillings per 1,000 acres 
 during the last four years. And lessees are en- 
 titled to a preferential claim for a renewal of such 
 leases. 
 
 Tillage leases are also granted, in blocks not 
 exceeding 320 acres for eight years, on an annual 
 payment of £5 for the lease, and one shilling an 
 acre for each acre comprised in it, the lessee having 
 a pre-emptive right over any portion of the land 
 during the currency of his lease. 
 
 Every facility is afforded to test mineral lands, 
 by annual license, on payment of two shillings an 
 acre for the first and four shillings for the second 
 year. And when such lands have been satisfactorily 
 tested, leases of ten years' duration are issued at 
 eight shillings per acre per annum, with a pre- 
 emptive right during the currency of the lease. 
 
 Mineral lands are sold at a fixed price of £3 an 
 acre ; £1 payable on application for the land and 
 £1 in each of the two succeeding years. 
 
 We have copied out these regulations at length 
 because of their importance to the intending settler. 
 To the squatter, the farmer, and the miner they 
 offer great inducements. And if a man does not 
 get on under such a land law the land must be very 
 poor indeed, far poorer than we have reason now 
 to believe that it is. 
 
 From its proximity to India, this colony has been
 
 ^ NEW HOMES. 185 
 
 looked to for a supply of horses for that coimtrj^ 
 A cargo of 130 were sold to the Madras govern- 
 ment at <£58 a head. 
 
 Some time ago Dr. Eennie, a staff-surgeon who 
 had been stationed for several years in the colony, 
 gave the following testimony, in a letter to the 
 Editor of the News Letter^ on the important 
 points of (1) the climate, (2) the physical effects 
 of the climate on European constitutions, (3) the 
 effects of the climate on children, and (4) the 
 effects of the climate on longevity : — 
 
 "Sir, — In reply to your letter requesting me to furnish you 
 with some remarks for publication respecting the capabilities of 
 Western Australia as a sanitarium for the invalids of the Indian 
 Army, I have to state that I have no hesitation in doing so — a 
 residence of upwards of six years in the colony, during which I 
 had a very large professional charge, consisting of soldiers, women, 
 children, foreign officers, and convicts, having afforded me exten- 
 sive opportunities for forming definite conclusions on the subject. 
 The following embrace the chief facts upon which an opinion 
 very favourable to the formation of an Invalid Establishment in 
 Western Australia, for the sick of the Indian Army, has been 
 based by me : — 
 
 "1. Climate. — It would be difficult to imagine a more de- 
 lightful temperature and climate generally than that of Western 
 Australia, more especially the winter, which, though invigo- 
 rating, is never very cold. The summer is warm, but the 
 average heat does not very materially exceed that of the 
 warmer portion of the winter months ; and, as a general rule, it 
 is free from any depressing effects, readily admitting of active 
 occupation and ordinary labour being carried on in the sun by 
 the European settlers, military, emigrants, and convicts, without 
 detriment to health. At Freemantle the temperature of the 
 winter months, extending from May to October, is 60", and 
 
 N
 
 186 NEW HOMES. 
 
 that of the remainder of the year about 73", which figures may- 
 be taken as giving a fair average of the temperature over the 
 colony generally, and certainly neither of them in excess, being, 
 if anything, rather over than under the average ranges of the 
 thermometer in other parts of Western Australia. The climate 
 of this portion of Australia is also materially modified by its 
 geographical position, the whole of the inhabited parts of the 
 colony being within the influences of the sea-breeze, which, as a 
 general rule, sets in every afternoon, and is distinctly percep- 
 tible seventy and eighty miles inland. 
 
 " 2. The Physical Effects of the Climate on European Con- 
 stitutions. — It is almost impossible, by any description I can 
 give, to do justice to the Western Australia atmosphere. To be 
 appreciated, it must be experienced. Many a time, on leaving 
 my house in the morning, have I been struck with the wonder- 
 ful elasticity of body and mind which the cloudless sky and 
 refreshing atmosphere seemed to develop : and often has the 
 thought occurred to me, ' What a splendid climate for a sani- 
 tarium ! ' My impressions in this respect are by no means 
 singular, and I believe them to be those of residents there gene- 
 rally — except, perhaps, a few whose vicious habits tend to 
 counteract the blessings of climate they enjoy ; sensations of 
 debility arising from sensuality and vice being attributed by 
 them to their residence in a temperature warmer than England 
 — climate being too frequently made the scapegoat for the evil 
 effects of gluttony, narcotism, and intemperance. I have been 
 assured by old settlers, that at a time when the afiairs of the 
 colony presented the gloomiest aspect, and evei'ything connected 
 with it was calculated to depress them, still that their minds 
 seemed to refuse to yield to the pressure from without ; and 
 their spirits kept up in a manner so remarkable, that they could 
 account for it in no other way than by referring it to the clear 
 and exhilarating atmosphere in which it was at that time their 
 misfortune, in a financial point of view, to be residing. 
 
 "3. Effects of the Climate on Children. — They enjoy a re- 
 markable immunity from the infantile diseases which are so 
 fatal elsewhere. The Eegistrar-General of the Colony, in his
 
 NEW HOMES. 187 
 
 report accompanying the last census returns, drew attention to 
 the fact that one-fourth of the population of Western Australia 
 consisted of children, as a proof of the comparative exemption 
 which the colony enjoyed from infantile disease of a serious na- 
 ture ; and I may here mention, as a farther illustration of the 
 general saluhrity of the climate, that small-pox, measles, scarlet- 
 fever, &c., are as yet unknown in Western Australia. I may 
 add, also, that the same remark almost applies to acute pulmo- 
 nary afi'ections, their occurrence being rare in the extreme. 
 
 "4. Effects of the Climate on Longevity. — The settlers, as a 
 general rule, retain their mental and physical faculties to a very 
 considerable age in Western Australia. The per centage of 
 deaths in the whole colony by the last census returns was only 
 0'55, or 5i in the thousand. Frequently, on taking into consi- 
 deration the habits of many of the residents, I have been asto- 
 nished at the apparent immunity from disease they enjoyed, 
 and accounted for it only from the fact that they were living in 
 a primitive atmosphere, and in a settlement free from any of 
 the ordinary external exciting causes of disease ; also that their 
 occupations were active, and their circumstances of life were 
 generally such as to counteract the injurious tendencies of their 
 special habits — the sun in Western Australia being, as a general 
 rule, free from those debilitating effects which usually charac- 
 terise solar heat elsewhere. The climate of Western Australia 
 is vastly superior to that of any other of the Australian colonies, 
 including Tasmania, and the period of the year best adapted for 
 the arrival of invalids from India will be the end of March to 
 the middle of July ; through which, as a general rule, they will 
 be able to enjoy six months uninterrupted cool weather, and, if 
 sufficiently recovered, return to India as the cool season is 
 setting in there." 
 
 With this testimony in its favour we may well 
 bring our remarks to a close. This colony has been 
 as it were under a cloud for a long time, from the 
 disappointments experienced by its first settlers;
 
 188 NEW HOMES. 
 
 from the apparently barren and sandy nature of its 
 soil, until the recent explorations had taken place, 
 and afterwards from its penal character. But we 
 predict that it will be a great and rich colony yet ; 
 and we advise young men of energy who want 
 to push their way in the world, and are not afraid 
 of those difficulties and that isolation which natu- 
 rally fall to the lot of the pioneers in a new land, to 
 have a look at Western Australia before they settle 
 down.
 
 VICTORIA (rOEMERLY POET PHILLIP). 
 
 E now come to Victoria, the smallest 
 almost, but in extent the richest, of all 
 the Australasian colonies. Its boundaries, 
 as settled by statute 13 and 14 Vict. c. 59, and 
 passed in the year 1850, when it was separated 
 from New South Wales, are as follows: It is 
 bounded on the north and north-east by a straight 
 line drawn from Cape Howe to the nearest source of 
 the Eiver Murray, and thence by the course of that 
 river to the eastern boundary of the colony of South 
 Australia. The whole southern boundary is formed 
 by the waters of Bass's Straits. Its extreme length 
 from east to west is 420 miles, and its greatest 
 breadth 260. It is estimated to contain 86,831 
 square miles, or 55,571,840 acres. If we bear in 
 mind that it is only 35 years since the foundation 
 of this colony, and then look at its present state of 
 prosperity, it must strike us as presenting a mar- 
 vellous instance of rapid growth, almost if not quite 
 unexampled in the history of colonisation. 
 
 In 1770 Captain Cook sighted Cape Howe, the 
 extreme south-eastern point of the continent, but 
 thence bent his course northwards. In 1797 Bass
 
 190 NEW HOMES. 
 
 went on a voyage of discovery from Sydney in a 
 whale boat, and passed through the strait which 
 bears his name ; but he went westward only as far 
 as Western Port. Port Phillip, the splendid harbour 
 of the colony, was not discovered until 1802, by 
 Lieutenant Murray, who commanded the Lady 
 Nelson. Fancying that a hill at the south-east of the 
 harbour was like "Arthur's Seat" in Edinburgh, 
 he gave it that name. Somewhat strangely, within 
 a few weeks of his discovery, Baudin, the French 
 explorer, and Flinders, both entered this bay. It 
 was the latter of these who named Indented Head 
 and Station Peak, and whose own name is presented 
 in the busy Flinders Street, of Melbourne, and in 
 that fine river in the north which Burke and 
 Landsborough have made so well known to us. 
 Murray's account of his discovery induced the 
 Home Government to form a second convict settle- 
 ment there. It was in 1803 that Collins was sent 
 with a detachment of prisoners. Owing to the 
 want of fresh water, and to the unfitness of the spot 
 they selected, this settlement was abandoned, and 
 Collins went to the Derwent, in Van Dicmen's 
 Land. We hear little or nothing of this part of 
 the coast until 1824, when Hamilton Hume and 
 Hovell projected an overland journey from Sydney 
 to the Southern Ocean. The governor of New 
 South Wales was anxious to ascertain if any large 
 rivers passed towards the east coast through the 
 country that lay to the south. He was liberal in
 
 ^ NEW HOMES. 191 
 
 promises if they succeeded, but he gave them but 
 little present help. They started from Hume's oul- 
 stalion, and reached the Murrumbidgee, which they 
 found to be a broad river and full of water, and 
 which they crossed on a raft. Going on towards 
 the south, they discovered the Upper Murray, 
 which was eighty yards wide. They also came 
 upon the Ovens and the Goulbourn. Hence they 
 proceeded as far south as 37° 8', but were so im- 
 peded by the thick scrub and sharp grass, that at 
 a hill, which they called "Mount Disappointment," 
 they altered their course to the south-west, and 
 shortly afterwards sighted a well-known hill, whicli 
 is now called ''Mount Macedon." Shortly afterwards 
 they saw the waters of an inlet of the Southern 
 Ocean, and were told by a native that it was called 
 Geelong, a name which at a later period was given 
 to a large town, ranking as the third, if not the 
 second in the colony. 
 
 Ten years roll on. The little island of Yan 
 Diemen's Land, or rather all that was known of it, 
 was getting covered with flocks and herds, and the 
 settlers were eagerly on the look out for fresh pas- 
 tures. A native-born colonist, named John Batman, 
 sailed from Hobart Town, and arrived in the har- 
 bour of Port Phillip in May, 1835. John Pascoe 
 Pawkner followed him, but did not arrive himself 
 until November in the same year. The question 
 has been keenly agitated as to which of the two 
 was really the father of the colony. It would ap-
 
 192 NEW HOilES. 
 
 pear that without doubt Batman was the first settler 
 on the land ; but Fawkner selected, as a good site 
 for a village, that spot on which the capital now 
 stands, and he may therefore well be styled the 
 ^' Father of Melboui-ne." Batman obtained a grant 
 from the natives of a thousand square miles of 
 land for a few blankets and gewgaws, which were 
 to be given them yearly. This bargain was very 
 properly annulled by the government. It has been 
 calculated by Westgarth (the well-known writer on 
 Yictoria, to whom we are greatly indebted for much 
 valuable information) that within twenty years this 
 so-called purchase might have been valued at 
 £40,000,000 sterling. As soon as Batman got his 
 ^' title deeds " he returned to Hobart Town and 
 formed a company, who were the fathers of Port 
 Phillip colonisation; the names of the partners 
 were Charles Swanston, Thomas Bannister, James 
 Simpson, J. T. Gellibrand, J. and W. Eobertson, 
 J. H. Wedge, John Sinclair, Henry Arthur, J. T. 
 Collicott, G. Mercer, W. G. Sams, A. Cotterell, and 
 M. Connolly. When the government disallowed 
 their bargain with the natives, it was arranged that 
 if they purchased lands at auction they should 
 have a remission of purchase money to the extent of 
 <£7,000. And in 1838 they bought lands in fee 
 simple, to the west of Geelong, at the rate of five 
 shillings an acre. Batman had entertained the idea 
 of emigrating to Port Phillip eight years before he 
 went. He had detailed his plans to Mr. Gellibrand,
 
 U NEW HOMES. 193 
 
 who liad agreed to assist him, but the government 
 declined to listen to his request. Messrs. Gellibrand 
 and Hesse, in 1836, were lured on further and fur- 
 ther to the westward, by the beauty of the country 
 and the fineness of the grasses, and never returned. 
 It is presumed that they were both killed by the 
 natives ; in fact, many years afterwards, the re- 
 mains of one of the murdered gentlemen were found, 
 and were brought into the town of Belfast, where 
 I then resided, and were identified. It is reported 
 that one of the natives got Mr. Hesse's watch, and 
 took it for a god, but hearing it " tick," he got so 
 frightened that he threw it away and rushed from the 
 spot. In November, 1835, Batman came and settled 
 himself permanently on the slopes of the green hill 
 in Melbourne, which was called "Batman's Hill," 
 but which has lately been cut down for railway pur- 
 poses. He opened a "general store," and Fawkner 
 commenced a public-house. The former died about 
 four years afterwards ; the latter lived to a good old 
 age. He saw the colony rise to its present state of 
 great prosperity ; he witnessed the rise of Melbourne 
 from a wilderness to a beautiful city; he took an active 
 part in the politics of the day, and became a member 
 of the Upper House, and died in September, 1869. 
 His funeral was one of the largest ever seen in Mel- 
 bourne. Persons of all political creeds, and of every 
 religious denomination, laid aside for the day their 
 private feelings, and combined in order to do honour 
 to the brave old man who had been identified with
 
 194 
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 the colony from its birtliday. He was 77 years of 
 age. 228 carriages followed his remains to the 
 grave. He always had a regard to the intellectual 
 improvement of the people amongst whom he was 
 cast. When he kept his inn he always provided a 
 large supply of periodicals and of books for the use 
 of his customers. He published the first newspaper 
 in the infant settlement. Some day, if not now, it 
 will be regarded as a curiosity, and so we give a 
 copy of the first number of it. It was brought out 
 at first in manuscript. We make the extract from 
 the Aiistralasian^ that enormous and most ably-con- 
 ducted Melbourne paper, which is indeed a giant by 
 the side of Fawkner's tiny dwarf : — 
 
 THE 
 
 MELBOURNE ADVERTISER. 
 
 PORT PHILIP AUSTRALIA. 
 
 No. 1. Written for and published by John P. Fawkner. 
 
 January the 1st Monday 1838 Melbourne. 
 
 Vol. 1st. 
 
 We do opine that Melbourne cannot 
 
 reasonably remain longer marked 
 
 on the chart of advauciug civilisa- 
 tion without its Advertiser. 
 
 Such being our imperial Fiat We 
 
 do intend therefore by means of this 
 
 our Advertiser to throw the resplen- 
 
 dant light of publicity upon all the 
 
 affairs of this new Colony, Whether 
 
 of Commerce or Agriculture or of 
 
 the arts and Mysteries of the Gra- 
 zier. All these patent roads to 
 
 wealth are thrown open to the ad- 
 venturous Port Phillipians. All 
 
 these sources of ric'hes are about to 
 
 (or already are) become accessible 
 
 to each adventurous Colonist of 
 
 N. O. U. S. The future fortunes of 
 
 the rising Mclburnians will be much 
 
 accelerated by the dissemination of 
 
 intelligence consequent upon the 
 
 Press being thrown open here. But 
 until the arrival of the printing 
 Materials we will by means of the 
 Humble pen diffuse such intelligence 
 as may he found expedient or may 
 arise. 
 
 The energies of the present popu- 
 lation of this rapidly rising district 
 have never been exceeded in any of 
 the colonies of Britain. 
 
 Its giant-like strides have filled 
 with astonishment the minds of all 
 the neighbouring states. The Sons 
 of Britain languish when debarred 
 the use of that mighty Engine the 
 Press. A very small degree of sup- 
 port timely afforded will establish a 
 newspaper here, but until some fur- 
 ther arrangements arc made it will 
 merely be an advertising sheet and 
 will be given away to Householders.
 
 NEW HOMES. 195- 
 
 " After the issue of nine weekly manuscript numbers, Mr. 
 Fawkner obtained a small parcel of refuse type from Laun- 
 ceston, and secured the services of a ' Vandemonian youth of 
 eighteen/ who, when about ten years old, had worked for a few 
 months as a compositor. Thereupon a printed Advei'tiser, 
 about twelve inches long, containing four pages of two columns 
 each, was issued. The Advertiser was not destined to run a 
 long career. Captain Lonsdale, government superintendent, 
 discovered that money had been received for advertisements, 
 and this circumstance bringing it under the existing Newspaper 
 Act, he forthwith suppressed it until the heavy sureties required 
 by law could be entered into at Sydney. In the beginning of 
 1839, however, Mr. Fawkner was once more in the field with 
 the legal Port Phillip Patriot. About the same time, he pur- 
 chased a block of 800 acres of land at Pascoevale, and engaged 
 extensively in farming operations. The year 1845 was a period 
 of commercial depression, and Mr. Fawkner, who had become 
 interested in many mercantile adventures, was forced by the mis- 
 fortunes of others, to succumb and seek the protection of the In- 
 solvent Court. He was soon at work again, however, with his 
 accustomed energy, converted the Patriot into a daily paper, 
 formed a sheep-station, and finally devoted himself to garden- 
 ing and wine-making. During the period of his own private 
 troubles he still found time to render the state good service. 
 In 184-2 he served as one of the mai'ket commissioners, and in 
 1843, 1844, and 1845 he was elected a member of the City 
 Council. The large blocks in which land was sold preventing 
 the poorer colonists obtaining sites for houses, he projected a 
 freehold land society, which was a great success. Many per- 
 sons now owning valuable properties in the suburban districts 
 owe their position entirely to Mr. Fawkner's disinterested 
 efforts. In the anti-transportation movement, also, he played 
 a prominent part ; and he was one of the leading actors in the 
 struggle which led to the separation of the Port Phillip district 
 from New South Wales. It was upon his proposition that the 
 electors determined not to send any more members to the 
 Sydney Legislature. Instead, Earl Grey was returned — a pro-
 
 196 NEW HOMES. 
 
 ceeding which attracted attention to the movement, and gave 
 point to the remonstrances of the Port PhilHp settlers. 
 
 " In 1850, when the colony of Victoria was proclaimed, a 
 Legislative Council — partly elective and partly nominee — was 
 called into existence, and Mr. Fawkner, now one of the acknow- 
 ledged champions of popular rights, was retvirned as memher for 
 the counties of Dalhousie, Anglesea, and Talbot. The discovery 
 of gold, and the consequent rise in the value of property, fortu- 
 nately placed him in circumstances of moderate independence, 
 in which he afterwards remained. Though his name is not 
 connected with the introduction of any important measure, he 
 took an active part in the proceedings of the Council. He was 
 one of the warmest opposers of the extravagant claims put for- 
 ward by the squatters under the Orders in Council, and the 
 new Constitution Act received his support, though he opposed 
 both the ballot and state-aid-to-religion clauses. When the 
 Constitution Act came into operation, and two Houses of Par- 
 liament were established, Mr. Fawkner, upon whom age was 
 now creeping, and whose health was far from firm, felt unequal 
 to the turmoil, work, and strife attendant both on an election 
 and en a seat in the Lower House. He sought, however, the 
 suffrages of the electors of the Central Province, and was re- 
 turned second on the poll as member for that district in the 
 Legislative Council. He speedily became a necessary part of 
 the Council ; the House would have been well nigh as complete 
 without the President as without him. The absence of the 
 President would not have been more strange than that of the 
 velvet skull-cap and the old-fashioned blue cloak in which Mr. 
 Fawkner was wont to sit, and the interjectory remarks he was 
 prone to indulge in. He watched narrowly all questions which 
 came before the House ; he spoke also distinctly and decidedly 
 upon nearly all, and his natural shrewdness and large colonial 
 experience caused his advice to be of great value. 
 
 " Mr. Fawkner's health had been failing for some time, and 
 his death, which took place shortly after eleven o'clock on 
 Saturday morning, at his residence, Smith Street, Collingwood, 
 did not, therefore take any one by surprise. He had been suf-
 
 NEW HOMES. 197 
 
 ferino- for a very long period from chronic asthma, in addition 
 to one or two other ailments incident to old age, but his death 
 was the result more of a general breaking up of the constitution 
 than of any specific malady. He had just completed his 
 seventy-seventh year, and his system seemed to have completely 
 worn itself out. He, however, retained his faculties to the last, 
 and only two days before his death, he rode into town in his 
 carriage for the purpose of seeing his medical attendant, Mr. 
 James." 
 
 But, willing as we have always been to give due 
 honour to Batman and to Fawkner, it would appear 
 that not sufficient credit has been awarded to the 
 Henty family, who, in 1833, that is two years hefore 
 the other two, had gone over to Portland Bay and 
 established a whaling station there in connection 
 with their extensive mercantile firm at Launceston. 
 True, Portland has not become so great a place as 
 Melbourne, and that may make a difference; but 
 the fact remains the same. 
 
 When the first settlers landed on the shores of 
 Port Phillip, the natives showed a disposition to 
 meet them in a kindly spirit. This may, perhaps, 
 be partly accounted for from the fact tliat a white 
 man was not quite a novelty to them, for they had 
 one with them who had been enrolled amongst, 
 and been as it were one of themselves for a period 
 of 32 years. This was an English prisoner named 
 Buckley, who escaped from Collins' fleet in 1803. 
 Three others escaped with him, but they perished. 
 The natives behaved well to him ; he became one 
 of them, and had a black wife or wives. His great
 
 198 NEW HOMES. 
 
 stature (for he is variously stated to have been 
 six feet nine inches, and six feet five inches in 
 height) had probably great influence on the abo- 
 rigines. It would not appear that he raised them 
 at all in the social scale, but he himself adopted 
 their savage habits, till his very face in time looked 
 like that of one of the aborigines. This was his 
 appearance when I knew him in Yan Diemen's 
 Land, after his recovery. The Australian natives 
 have a superstition that white men are of their own 
 race, who after death have come to life again. 
 This may have had a good deal to do with the way 
 in which they treated Buckley. Many years ago a 
 near and dear relative of my own was living on the 
 banks of the Campaspe Eiver, and a black woman 
 came begging for a gown. It was not convenient 
 to give one (for I dare say gowns were gowns in 
 those days), when the poor woman said, " Some day 
 me go dead, and jump up again white woman ; and 
 then me give you plenty gown." The promised 
 reward had, I believe, the desired effect, and the 
 poor lubra got the coveted garment. When the first 
 settlers came over, in 1835, Buckley resolved on 
 going to them ; but as he approached them strange 
 emotions seized him. He could not remember a 
 word of English; but when he went u]d, one of 
 them gave him a piece of bread, and repeated the 
 word " bread." This seemed to have a wonderful 
 effect upon him, and by degrees other words came 
 back to his recollection. A free pardon was ob-
 
 NEW HOMES. 199 
 
 tamed for him. He was for a time very useful as a 
 mediator between the two races ; but afterwards he 
 began to feel himself placed in an awkward position 
 between his old and his new friends. Strange to 
 say, Captain Lonsdale was sent down from Sydney 
 in 1836 to take charge of the new settlement, and 
 Buckley discovered in him an officer of his own 
 regiment, for he had been a soldier at the time of 
 his transportation. Buckley ultimately went to 
 Hobart Town, where he was a constable. He mar- 
 ried a white woman, was allowed a pension of £12 
 a year from Tasmania, and afterwards of £40 from 
 the Port Phillip government. He died at Hobart 
 Town in 1856, at the age of 76. His name will 
 ever be remembered in connection with the coloni- 
 sation of Port Phillip. 
 
 Batman and Fawkner had settled in their new 
 home, and Buckley had retired from the scene. But 
 what was it that gave such an impetus to the infant 
 settlement, and caused it to rise into importance so 
 quickly ? In 1836 the late Sir Thomas Mitchell, 
 the surveyor-general of New South Wales, had 
 been despatched on his overland journey. His 
 object was to complete the survey of the Eiver 
 Darling, which had been previously discovered by 
 Captain Sturt. Having executed his commission 
 he turned to the south — to the country explored by 
 Hume and Hovell, and in which Batman and 
 Fawkner had recently settled. He passed the Yar- 
 raine, and afterwards the Loddon ; he sighted the
 
 200 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Pyrenees, and the great range of the Grampians. 
 Proceeding westward, he came upon the river 
 Glenelg, 120 feet wide. He sailed down it till 
 he came to its junction with the Southern Ocean. 
 To the eastward of the Glenelg he came to Portland 
 Bay, and to his extreme surprise found the farming 
 settlements of the Messrs. Henty. Mr. Thomas 
 Henty had seven sons, several of whom had been 
 sent over with flocks, which were at this time de- 
 pasturing over this beautiful country. The Hentys 
 applied for a grant of land, but their claim was but 
 partially allowed. It seems very hard that little or 
 no encouragement is thus held out as a reward to 
 those brave men who are the first to discover and 
 then to convert a lonely wilderness into a fruitful 
 field. Mitchell turned his face homewards. From 
 the top of Mount Macedon he got a bird's-eye view 
 of the beautiful country to the south, with the 
 waters of Port Phillip Bay in the distance. Charmed 
 with all he had seen, he called the land "Australia 
 Felix," and his glowing description of the new 
 country had great influence with those at home and 
 in the other colonies, whose attention was at that 
 very moment strongly attracted to this the most 
 promising of the Australian colonies. 
 
 Mr. Stewart, a magistrate from New South 
 Wales, was sent down by the governor to report 
 upon the infant settlement. He caused a census 
 to be taken in 1836. There were then 177 persons 
 — 142 men; 35 women. Mr. James Simpson was
 
 
 NEW HOMES. 201 
 
 the first magistrate. By all the old colonists he 
 was well known and highly respected, and filled 
 no mean place in the new colony for many years 
 afterwards. Towards the end of 1836, Captain 
 Lonsdale was a^^pointed from Sydney as a kind of 
 superintendent. It was in the same year that 
 Lieutenant Hobson, E.N., surveyed the harbour. 
 Hobson's Bay was named after him. 
 
 In June, 1837, the first sale of allotments of 
 land in Melbourne took place. The average price 
 was £35 for half an acre. Mr. Westgarth tells a 
 story of a cautious buyer, who thought he had given 
 too much when he had purchased at £80, and so 
 forfeited his deposit of ten per cent. It was after- 
 wards resold, first for £72, then for £5,000, and 
 afterwards for £40,000. The three original towns 
 in the settlement were Melbourne, Corio, or Geelong, 
 and Portland. The river Yarra Yarra, on which 
 Melbourne stands, was so called in the first place by 
 Mr. J. H. Wedge. It is a native word, and was 
 supposed to mean " ever flowing." But he under- 
 stood afterwards that the term " yarra yarra" meant 
 the falls, inasmuch as the natives used the same 
 word for the falls of the Werribee. A runaway 
 convict of Collins' party discovered this stream of 
 water. In two years from the arrival of Batman 
 and Fawkner, it was found that nearly all the land 
 available for runs, within 60 miles of the capital, 
 had been taken up, and that there were 140,000 
 sheep, 2,500 cattle, and 150 horses, and that the 
 

 
 202 NEW HOMES. 
 
 population had increased to 450. The new comers 
 at first settled down just where they liked, and gave 
 themselves the names of " squatters " and their 
 homesteads " stations " — terms which came from 
 the backwoods of America. At a later period the 
 runs were defined, and the occupants received 
 licenses, by which they could depasture 4,000 sheep 
 or 400 head of cattle by paying to the govern- 
 ment £10 a year. In such a climate as that of Port 
 Phillip, little practical knowledge of cattle seemed 
 to be necessary. The sheep grazed in the open 
 plains in flocks of 1,000 or 1,500. Gentlemen with 
 means, or who had been educated for the learned 
 professions, came out and became squatters. The 
 " new comers " found already settled in the country 
 a class of gentlemen like themselves ; and the 
 society of very many of them is a great privilege 
 to enjoy, and to partake of their unbounded hos- 
 pitality. 
 
 In 1843, Sir George Gipps, the governor of New 
 South Wales, came down to inspect Melbourue, and 
 to see how things were progressing in Port Phillip. 
 Mad speculation in land, both in town and country, 
 ' had been going on for a lengthened period. Buying 
 and selling allotments was the only occupation pur- 
 sued by many of the people, giving very lucrative 
 employment to a set of land-jobbers, auctioneers, 
 and attorneys. The conveyance of land was very 
 loosely managed in those days ; and it is to be 
 feared that there will eventually be found many a
 
 ^ 
 
 NEW HOMES. 203 
 
 ^'liitcli" in the title to properties which have 
 passed through so many hands. The governor 
 expressed his surprise at finding the neighbourhood 
 of Melbourne strewed with empty champagne 
 bottles ! Every land sale was preceded by a "lunch," 
 the prefix to which was generally "champagne;" 
 and the auctioneers used to find that it told upon 
 the liberality of the bids afterwards, so as to be 
 remunerative at all events to the auctioneer and to 
 the seller, though very probably not always so 
 to the liberal purchaser. 
 
 After Melbourne was laid out, the traffic was at 
 first inconsiderable, and the gum-trees stood boldly 
 up in the chief thoroughfares for a long time. But 
 as population increased and years rolled on, the 
 Melbourne corporation, which had been called into 
 existence, stood aghast at the work before them. 
 Where that noble street (Elizabeth Street) now dis- 
 plays a broad flagged pavement, handsome shops, 
 and one of the finest post-offices in the world, there 
 was formerly a little wooden post-office, and all 
 about it gardens with palings in front. And in wet 
 weather the whole street was flooded. If I wanted 
 to get to the post-office, and stood clinging to a 
 rail for support, some stalwart Irishman would come 
 and offer, for a consideration, to take me across on 
 his back ; and drays used to ply backwards and for- 
 wards for passengers. A story is told of a man 
 seeing a black hat swimming in the deep water at 
 the side of this street, and he went to seize upon it,
 
 204 NEW HOMES. 
 
 thinking that perhaps it might cover the head of 
 some drowning man, when a voice from beneath 
 roared out, " Get ont of the way man, there is a 
 bullock team behind me!" Indeed the navigation 
 was very difficult. I was once going to a vice-regal 
 or episcopal dinner late in the evening, and could 
 get no carriage ; I set out to walk in full evening 
 dress, but I had not proceeded far before I lost my 
 shoe and sank up to my knee in mud, and after 
 limping in one shoe to a cottage, I saw one leg 
 covered with a black silk stocking, and the other 
 brown with mud. To present oneself in that trim 
 was impossible, and an apology the next morning 
 was all the amends I could make. One Sunday 
 morning, when I was unfortunately staying on the 
 wrong side of Elizabeth Street, I had an engagement 
 to take the service in the cathedral. Timing myself 
 so as to have five or ten minutes to spare, I started 
 and got to this unfortunate street, and found it in a 
 flood. What could I do ? The bells were ringing, 
 and the precious minutes were flying fast. I rushed 
 back to my host and stated my difficulty. He said, 
 " I have a pair of long jack-boots, which will reach 
 above your knees. This is all I can do for you." 
 Hastily I drew them on, and set off again. I dashed 
 into the stream and got across, and reached the 
 vestry just in time ; my boots were wet to the very 
 top, and soaking inside with water. I covered all 
 defects by my robes, and went through the service. 
 I do not know what the feelings of the congregation
 
 NEW HOMES. 205 
 
 were, but I was heartily glad when, the service 
 being over, I was enabled to hasten back and pull 
 off my seven-leagued boots. I remember distinctly 
 how uncomfortable I felt when I had to mount the 
 long flight of steps which lead to the pulpit. I did 
 all I could to draw my gown over my boots to con- 
 ceal their grotesque appearance. I fancy I succeeded, 
 but I fear that some one's gown suffered not a little. 
 The streets now are admirable. " When things get 
 to the worst they mend." And so at length the 
 government came to the relief of the corporation, 
 and a loan was negotiated to the amount of .£500,000 
 for Melbourne, and £200,000 for Geelong, for the 
 purpose of forming and metalling the streets. 
 
 But this has led us on too fast. To retrace our 
 steps, we would remark that Captain Lonsdale was 
 relieved of his duties by the arrival of Mr. C. J. 
 La Trobe, as the superintendent of the district of 
 Port Phillip. This was in 1838. His income was 
 £800 a year, raised afterwards, first to £1,500, and 
 in 1851 to £2,500. In the height of the gold-field 
 time it was raised to £15,000, but subsequently 
 reduced to £10,000 a year and a house. When, in 
 1854, it was desired to rent a suitable house for the 
 governor, the only one at all coming up to the 
 wants of an ofiicer in his position was a place called 
 '' Toorak," which had been the residence of a mer- 
 chant. But it was let on lease at £300 a year, two 
 years of which were unexpired. For these two 
 years the government gave the tenant a bonus of 
 £10,000 !
 
 206 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Mr. La Trobe had been formerly known as a 
 writer, and as belonging to an active Christian body, 
 before his arrival in the district. His post was a 
 very difficult one. He held it for fifteen years, and 
 during that period the changes which the district 
 went through were great and strange indeed. Of 
 course, politically, he made many enemies, and was 
 regarded by some as being too quiet in disposition, 
 and deficient in decision of character. But yet, on 
 his quitting the colony, a most elegant and sub- 
 stantial testimonial, manufactured from the gold of 
 the country, testified to the high appreciation in 
 which he was held. In fact his opponents were 
 only political ones. In all other respects no man 
 commanded more respect than Mr. La Trobe. 
 
 In the year 1841 there was great depression 
 throughout the country — the consequence of the 
 reckless speculation of bye-gone days. And in the 
 midst of all, the very richness of the country proved 
 a drawback. So great was the increase in the 
 sheep and cattle, that the squatters' runs became 
 overstocked and they knew not what to do. Sheep 
 were down to half-a- crown a head, or less, and 
 cattle to twelve shillings. In this dilemma a settler 
 thought of " boiling down " the surplus stock, and 
 by this means a minimum value was found, for 
 sheep six shillings, and for cattle thirty shillings. 
 At this time you could get a good leg of mutton for 
 sixpence, and beefsteaks at a penny a pound. And 
 though prices are not quite so low now, yet are
 
 NEW HOLIES. 207 
 
 they yei^ low indeed. And I heartily wish thnt 
 thousands of strong men and women could be con- 
 veyed to a land where, three iimes a day^ they could 
 enjoy a substantial meal of beef or of mutton. 
 
 Before the year 1847 the members of the Church 
 of England had been under the episcopal charge of 
 the Bishop of Australia, who lived in Sydney. But 
 in that year the Eight Eev. Charles Perry was 
 appointed as first Bishop of Melbourne. He came 
 out bringing with him the highest character as a 
 scholar and as a parish priest. He was senior 
 wrangler of his year, was in the first class of the 
 classical tripos, and was senior Smith's prizeman. 
 He had afterwards been a Fellow of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge. To Cambridge itself he had proved 
 a great blessing, and all his pious exertions for the 
 spiritual improvement of that place will not soon 
 pass away from the memory of the residents therein. 
 He has held his all-important office for twenty-two 
 years, and he has seen under his mild but fatherly 
 control a wonderful growth in the church. He is, 
 like the good Dr. Wilson, late Bishop of Calcutta, 
 another of those remarkable men whom God in his 
 providence raises up from time to time for special 
 work in his church. His views are strongly those 
 of the Evangelical party, and he is therefore greatly 
 opposed to all Tractarian and Eitualistic doctrines 
 and practices. "We shall have an opportunity of 
 speaking of the state of the church as he found 
 it, and as it is now, on another occasion, and we have
 
 208 NEW HOMES. 
 
 only alluded to Hm here as it came naturally before 
 us to do so in the order of events. Being removed 
 now ' from his episcopal control, I may without 
 impropriety say, what I long have felt, that I 
 esteem his friendship as one of the greatest pri- 
 vileges of my life, and value his counsel and advice 
 most highly. 
 
 In the midst of those ups and downs which are so 
 characteristic of the fortunes of colonies, as well as 
 of the individual members of them. Port Phillip 
 winced continually under the heavy yoke of bondage 
 to New South Wales, and her struggles were in- 
 cessant to obtain separation. She sent up six mem- 
 bers to be added to the thirty who formed the 
 Sydney Council, and no one had a chance of being 
 returned unless he were a decided friend to the 
 popular clamour. A little later the Rev. Dr. Lang, 
 a well known and very clever Presbyterian clergy- 
 man in Sydney, became one of the members for the 
 distant province. He suggested the idea of all the 
 Port Phillip members sending in a petition to the 
 Imperial authorities, praying for separation. And 
 in this they were supported by Mr. Eobert Lowe 
 (now Chancellor of the Exchequer), who was then 
 living in Sydney and was a member of the Legisla- 
 ture. This was in 1844. Considerable delay took 
 place. It was not until 1849 that the people heard 
 that their great constitutional struggle was crowned 
 with success. Still there was some delay, arising 
 from the difficulty in preparing the necessary Bill.
 
 NEW HOMES. 209 
 
 On the 1st July, 1851 the electoral Act and other 
 necessary arrangements having been passed, .the 
 district of Port Phillip was henceforth to be known 
 as the free and independent colony of Victoria, 
 being so named by the express wish of Her Most 
 Gracious Majesty the Queen. This day, called 
 " separation day," is still observed as a holiday by 
 all classes of the people. At the time of separation 
 the population had risen to 77,000, of whom 23,000 
 lived in Melbourne. On the 1st January, 1851, 
 there were 21,219 horses; 378,806 cattle; 9,260 
 pigs ; and 6,032,783 sheep. The wool exported in 
 the preceding year weighed 18,091,207 lbs. ; tallow, 
 4,480 tons; and salted beef 975 tons. Lookback, 
 please, at our previous statistical statements, and 
 see what a marvellous increase had taken place in 
 a few years. And all this, bear in mind, was lefore 
 the discovery of gold. At this period the imports 
 for the year amounted to £1,056,437, and the 
 exports to £1,422,909, showing a balance in favour 
 of the colony of £366,472. The shipping inwards 
 numbered 669 vessels, with a tonnage of 126,411 
 tons. The total revenue was £379,824. The three 
 banks had a circulation of £180,058 ; specie, 
 £310,724, and deposits £822,254. This may ap- 
 pear as nothing compared with what we shall say 
 presently ; but for a district so recently peopled 
 to have reached this point, without any extra- 
 ordinary impetus, is to me far more astonishing 
 than all the vast results which we shall see arise 
 from the discovery oi gold.
 
 210 NEW HOMES. 
 
 After the proclamation of "separation" and of 
 the new "constitution," there came the exciting 
 time of the first elections. When the bustle and 
 excitement had partially subsided, the first Council 
 assembled in November, -1851, and proceeded in 
 the distribution of the revenue named above. It 
 was just before this that the whole colony was 
 startled by the news of the discovery of gold at 
 Bathurst, in New South Wales. A great number 
 of the labouring population of the new colony of 
 Victoria had already started for the gold-fields. 
 Poor Yictoria stood aghast ! Landholders and 
 householders in Melbourne and Geelong, and in fact 
 in every petty town throughout the land, antici- 
 pated nothing but ruin. Those who went were full 
 of glee ; those who were compelled to stay behind 
 were filled with gloomy fears. When lo ! some 
 shrewd colonists calculated that it was just possible 
 that gold might be found in Yictoria as well as in 
 New South Wales, since the geological formation 
 of the country was in some parts precisely the 
 same. It may be remarked that some three years 
 before, a sailor lad who had been a shepherd near 
 Buninyong, about seventy miles to the west of 
 Melbourne, brought thirty ounces of gold to Mel- 
 bourne and sold it. Whilst the newly-elected 
 members were sitting in their council chamber, 
 doling out £600 a year to the chief public oflScers 
 of the colony, they were startled to hear that a 
 ton weight of gold had been brought into Melbourne
 
 NEW HOMES. 211 
 
 I 
 
 from Mount Alexander. Nearly ten thousand diggers- 
 quickly rushed to the famous " golden point, '^ 
 which was the nucleus of the great Ballarat gold-field. 
 Thence the mass moved off to Mount Alexander, 
 and then to Bendigo. In 1852 it was reported that 
 there were 50,000 diggers along the Bendigo creek. 
 Provisions rose wonderfully. Anyone who had a team 
 of horses or bullocks then made a fortune. £1 a ton 
 was given for the mere carriage of flour to Bendigo ; 
 and flour, worth £25 in Melbourne, was sold on 
 the gold-field for £200. Ballarat had been nothing 
 but a sheep station ; and the shepherds had in their 
 ignorance been kicking against blocks of gold. 
 It was quickly found that Victoria beat Bathurst 
 hollow in the richness of its gold-fields ; and then 
 the intoxication became complete. Gold to the- 
 value of twelve millions sterling was exported in 
 twelve months; and since the year 1851, this little 
 colony alone has exported gold to the amount of 
 £160,000,000. South Australia soon sent her 
 hordes ; Tasmania, her old hands, determined on 
 getting gold '' somehow ;" Sydney ites and New 
 Zealanders all flocked to the El Dorado. Ere long- 
 Chinese came in multitudes ; in vain did the govern- 
 ment impose a poll-tax of £10 on every Chinese enter- 
 ing Victoria. But the climax was complete as soon as 
 there had been time for the news to reach England ; 
 then, in three months, upwards of 60,000 people 
 arrived from home. There were no houses in. 
 Melbourne for them: a canvas town was erected,
 
 212 NEW HOilES; 
 
 and laid out in regular streets — there was Eegent 
 Street, Holborn, the Strand, and so on. When the 
 poor passengers got to Williams Town, nine miles 
 only from Melbourne, they had to get their baggage 
 to the city as well as they could ; £2 a ton was 
 the price charged, so the nine miles cost nearly as 
 much as the 12,000 miles from England. A con- 
 descending blacksmith did, I know, once at least, 
 to oblige a trayelling clergyman, put a single shoe on 
 a horse for which he charged £1. In my own 
 parish, nearly every able-bodied man without ex- 
 ception left ; and before going they came up to me in 
 crowds, praying that I would take charge of their 
 wives and little ones, promising to send me money 
 as soon as they got any. I had thus forced upon 
 me a very numerous family to provide for. Week 
 after week passed away, and no money came. I 
 supplied a great many with meat and flour and tea 
 and sugar, and other necessaries, until at last I 
 was seriously alarmed as to how it was all to be 
 paid for. I became so nervous and anxious that I 
 could not sleep at night. But after a long interval, 
 in the dusk of the evening, a regular string of 
 bearded, yellow-looking men came round to my 
 library, bringing with them (for they had been afraid 
 to send it) bags of gold, or unloosing a shot-belt 
 poured out its glittering contents. In a great many 
 cases the men could neither read nor write ; they 
 left their hordes with me to take care of, and to dis- 
 pose of them in Melbourne for them, as there was
 
 NEW HOMES. 213 
 
 no bank in the place. Frequently I have had thou- 
 sands of pounds worth of gold kept for a lengthened 
 period in my room, waiting for an opportunity of 
 sending it away. It speaks well for human nature, 
 when I tell you that they all paid me back what I 
 had advanced; I lost not one farthing. And in 
 every case they had made a point of keeping out 
 one of their finest "nuggets" for the doctor to buy 
 himself a ring with ; so that / too had my bag of 
 gold, and had I been fond of rings I might, like her 
 of whom we read in ancient story, have been over- 
 whelmed by the accumulation. 
 
 The state of the colony at this time was really 
 frightful. '' Conditional pardon " men from New 
 South Wales and from Tasmania rushed over ; men 
 free by servitude and escaped convicts managed to 
 get to the golden harvest, helped not a little by the 
 government of the latter colony. The "Victorian 
 legislature was forced to pass, in 1852, the ''Con- 
 victs' Prevention Act," the purport of which was 
 that no man, unless he held a perfectly free pardon, 
 would be allowed to land in the colony. Mr, La 
 Trobe gave his assent to it ; but it was disapproved 
 at home, as it interfered with the royal prerogative 
 of pardon. But virtually the colonists carried their 
 point, and the law has been acted on ever since. 
 All this time the diggers, and those who ministered 
 to their wants, were getting on swimmingly and 
 making money fast. But those depending on fixed 
 and small incomes suffered extremely. Comfort
 
 214 NEW HOMES. 
 
 there was none. Every necessary of life, and rent, 
 went up to ten times their former rates. Imagine a 
 cabbage being worth five shillings at the gold-fields, 
 and half-a-crown even in Melbourne. The scenes i 
 in the streets were amusing beyond description. • 
 When the diggers had made their "piles," they 
 came down to Melbourne for a holiday. They 
 would hire the cabs and carriages and drive about 
 with them, having their legs over the sides, and 
 their pipes in their mouths, and their companions 
 by their sides. If they wanted to get married 
 (which was a very common thing) they would go to 
 a surrogate and get a license. On being told the 
 fee, they would throw a bank note, frequently of no 
 small amount, on the table, and prepare to be off. 
 On being told of the amount, and reminded that a 
 large amount of change was due to them, they 
 would say, " Oh, bother the change ! " or make use 
 of some such expression, leaving no unwelcome 
 balance in favour of the hard-up surrogate. A man 
 would go into a fine shop in Melbourne, and ask for 
 a shawl for his " missus " — not one of your common 
 things, but a real good one. He would be shown 
 at first something of really good quality, but he 
 would throw them aside one after another as not 
 grand enough ; and when at last the shopman, be- 
 ginning to know his customer, brought out some 
 flaring yellow thing, and said, "That's the kind the 
 governor's lady wears, but then its price is thirty 
 guineas," he would be charmed at once, and buy it.
 
 NEW HOMES. 215 
 
 And probably witbin half an hour you would see 
 it gracing the person of some lady who took an 
 airing with him in his free-and-easy carriage. So 
 great was the desire in some cases to get a bit of 
 land, on any terms, in a good situation, that a shrewd 
 old colonist gave 700 guineas a foot for a frontage 
 to one of the main streets. The fortunes that were 
 made by public-house keeping were enormous. 
 From £1,000 to £5,000 a year was the rental of a 
 public-house. In a couple of years a fortune was 
 made by keeping a tap ; and a country publican is 
 reported to have cleared £40,000 a year. The 
 governor forwarded a despatch to Earl Grey, shortly 
 after the discovery of gold, which graphically 
 describes the state of the country:- — ''It is quite 
 impossible for me to describe to your lordship the 
 effect which these discoveries have had upon the 
 whole community, and the influences which their 
 consequences exercise at this time upon the position 
 of every one, high and low. Within the last three 
 weeks the towns of Melbourne and Geelong, and 
 their large suburbs, have been in appearance almost 
 emptied of many classes of their male inhabitants ; 
 the streets, which for a week or ten days were 
 crowded by drays loaded with the outfit for the 
 workings, are now seemingly deserted. Not only 
 have the idlers, to be found in every community, 
 and day labourers in the town and the adjacent 
 country, shopmen, artisans, and mechanics of every 
 description, thrown up their employment, and in
 
 216 NEW HOMES. 
 
 most cases leaving their employers and their wives 
 and families to take care of themselves, run off to 
 the workings, but responsible tradesmen, farmers, 
 clerks of every grade, and not a few of the superior 
 classes have followed; some, unable to withstand 
 the mania and force of the stream, or because they 
 were really disposed to venture time and money on 
 the chance; but others, because they were, as em- 
 ployers of labour, left in the lurch, and had no al- 
 ternative. Cottages are deserted, houses to let, 
 business is at a stand still, and even schools are 
 closed. In some of the suburbs not a man is left, 
 and the women are known for self-protection to 
 forget their jars and to group together to keep 
 house. The ships in the harbour are in a great 
 measure deserted. Fortunate the family, whatever 
 its position, which retains its servants at any sacri- 
 fice, and can further secure the supplies for their 
 households from the few tradesmen that remain." 
 
 A license fee of thirty shillings a month was 
 exacted from the diggers, and it produced the large 
 sum of £580,616. Still the expense of officials, 
 escorts, and constabulary was so great, that the 
 governor contemplated doubling the fee, so as to 
 induce the less fortunate diggers to return to their 
 former employment; but if this had been carried 
 out there would doubtless have been a rebellion. 
 Poor Mr. La Trobe had no easy time of it, and at 
 length he sent in his resignation, which was ac- 
 cepted.
 
 NEW HOMES. 217 
 
 Sir Charles Hotham arrived in the colony as 
 governor in 1854. In November of that year, 
 800 di2:g:ers united to^^ether and determined not to 
 pay any license fee. They armed themselves with 
 rifles and revolvers, formed an intrenched camp, 
 called the spot "Eureka," and raised the flag of in- 
 dependence, making a fire of their old licenses. 
 Troops were sent from Melbourne, and an engage- 
 ment took place in which fifty miners were killed 
 and wounded. Peace was then restored. The 
 license fee was afterwards abolished, and an export 
 duty of half-a-crown an ounce put on the gold. 
 
 Yast numbers of those who now had money 
 wished to invest at least a part of it in the purchase 
 of laud, and a long and loud cry arose to "unlock 
 the lands." This was naturally opposed by the 
 squatters, who claimed a pre-emptive right under 
 
 the " Orders in Council," and much ill-feeling was 
 engendered. 
 
 In 1852 the value of the gold exported was 
 nearly eleven millions of pounds sterling; in 1853, 
 nearly thirteen millions; in 1854 nine millions and 
 a half; and in 1855 it rose to upwards of eleven 
 millions. " Gipps' Land " was found to contain a 
 fine gold-field — " Omeo," and this discovery has 
 led to the opening up of this magnificent country, 
 which up to that moment had been but partially 
 known. 
 
 It was said of Mr. La Trobe that he was too easy 
 in his administration ; of Sir Charles Hotham they 
 
 p
 
 218 NEW HOMES. 
 
 said just the contrary. The difficulties of his 
 position brought on paralysis, of which he died 
 on the last day of 1855. 
 
 Major-General Mc Arthur, son of the Mr. J. 
 McArthur who introduced the Merino sheep into 
 Australia, administered the government for a year. 
 At this time the new constitution was inaugurated, 
 the colony receiving full power of self-government. 
 Every male adult has a vote for the colonial House 
 of Commons. Manhood suffrage and vote by ballot 
 are in full exercise. 
 
 Victoria was just twenty years old when she 
 attained her majority. Eapid indeed had been her 
 growth, and she goes onward at a rapid pace, and 
 promises to maintain the rich expectations formed of 
 her in her youth. At first great opposition was 
 made to the admission of the Chinese. Eut after 
 a time it was found that they were harmless and 
 industrious, and so the taxes were taken off them, 
 and they have the same privileges as other people. 
 Many of them are very wealthy, and have inter- 
 married with some of the Irish orphan girls. In 
 the year 1855 it was found that there were 1,893 
 manufactories in the colony. 
 
 Sir Henry Barkly was the first governor under 
 the new constitution, and he arrived at the close 
 of 1856. Ho had been originally a "West Indian 
 merchant, and afterwards the governor of a West 
 Indian colony. His salary and allowances were 
 equivalent to £20,000 a year. He was most favour-
 
 NEW HOMES. 219 
 
 ably received ; his duties were comparatively easy 
 and pleasant, and so he retained his popularity. In 
 1850 the gross revenue of the colony was £259,433; 
 in 1854 it reached £6,154,928. It fell gradually 
 from this enormous sum. But for the next ten 
 years it averaged three millions ; one-third of which 
 is expended in roads and bridges and public works, 
 which items alone have cost £20,000,000, all paid 
 by the people themselves. But now the colonists 
 are not satisfied with ordinary roads, they must 
 have railways and electric telegraphs. A public 
 debt of £8,000,000 of money was created, and the 
 money expended in the construction of about 200 
 miles of rail. You can now go to Ballarat, or even 
 to the Murray, as easily as from London to Liver- 
 pool. Ballarat is a wonderful place. A few years 
 ago and nothing was to be heard but the bleating of 
 sheep. Now the great works are carried on by 
 machinery — blasting and crushing the quartz rock. 
 The old system of gold digging has quite dis- 
 appeared. It is now regular mining ; and machinery 
 of great value is employed. Some idea of the value 
 of the Ballarat mines may be formed from the fact 
 that up to the end of 1866, 31,731,344 ounces 
 of gold had been obtained from them, worth 
 £126,925,376. 
 
 After a seven years' tenure of office, Sir Henry 
 Barkly was relieved, and proceeded to the Mauri- 
 tius as governor, and was succeeded by Sir Charles 
 Darling in 1863. Sir Charles was a nephew of
 
 220 NEW HOMES. 
 
 a former governor of New South "Wales. The 
 subject of the unlocking of the lands was being 
 continually brought before the legislature, and 
 change after change took place respecting them. 
 It was a short time before Sir Charles Darling's 
 arrival that a comprehensive measure was passed. 
 It is called the '' Land Law of 1862." The govern- 
 ment re-appropriated all the agricultural lands of 
 the colony, giving the squatter the use of them 
 on sufferance till they were wanted. But these 
 lands could not be invaded by the intending pur- 
 chaser until they had been surveyed and proclaimed 
 open to purchase without auction. The price was 
 to be twenty shillings an acre ; the area from 40 
 to 640 acres. They could buy one-half their section 
 at a pound an acre, and leave the other half, paying 
 half-a-crown a year per acre for it for eight years, 
 when the grant would issue without further pay- 
 ment. Thus, if a man wanted 640 acres, he could 
 pay £320 and have the whole land at once, paying 
 £40 a year for eight years. Then he would have a 
 freehold of 640 acres. As the yearly payment was 
 really only a fair renf^ it follows that he virtually 
 got his land in fee-simple at ten shillings an acre. 
 The following was found to be the state of the case 
 as regarded the waste lands of the colony. There 
 were about fifty-five and a half millions of acres, of 
 which four and a half millions had been sold ; half 
 a million occupied by gold diggers ; two millions 
 granted as commons ; and thirteen millions of waste
 
 NEW HOMES. 221 
 
 and sterile land. There remained ten and a lialf 
 million acres suitable for agriculture, and twenty- 
 five millions more fit for pastui'age. 
 
 The western district of the colony deserves special 
 notice at the hands of those who are seeking for 
 good land, in a mild and comparatively cool climate. 
 It is the volcanic region of the country; extinct 
 volcanoes, with the craters and their ashes, are to he 
 found in all directions. The soil is very rich ; it is 
 in fact the granary of the colony. In crossing the 
 vast plains between Mount Elephant and Mount 
 Shadwell, one of the natives in the early times said 
 that, " Long while ago. Mount Elephant spit fire at 
 Mount Shadwell ;" this was his idea of the two 
 great volcanoes. Portland was, I suppose I must 
 say is, the chief sea-port on the coast ; it was laid 
 out at the same time as Melbourne and Geelong, as 
 we remarked before. It is most beautifully situated 
 on rising ground looking down upon the bay. The 
 scenery around it is charming. Its great distance 
 from the capital, and the fact that it is surrounded 
 by a dense forest for some miles before you come to 
 the good land has retarded its progress ; instead of 
 advancing, it is I fear going back just now. It was 
 proposed some years ago to form a tramway through 
 this forest, in fact it was commenced but was not 
 carried on. And whilst it has been stationary, 
 Belfast and Warrnambool on the same coast, and 
 Hamilton and other townships inland, have been 
 going rapidly ahead, and threaten to leave Portland
 
 222 NEW HOMES. 
 
 behind in the race for distinction. In 1800, 
 Lieutenant Grant, in the Lady Nelson^ sighted this 
 fine harbour, and called it " Portland Bay," after 
 the Duke of Portland, one of the Secretaries of State 
 at the time. It was he who named the Capes 
 Northumberland and Bridgewater ; and also Mount 
 Schank, Mount Gambler, Lawrence Eock, Julia 
 Percy Island, Cape Otway, &c. The bay was in 
 those days much frequented by seals and by whales. 
 Major Mitchell, of whom we have spoken before, 
 was surprised when he got near this place, where 
 he thought the white man's foot had never trodden, 
 to come suddenly on an old shoe ; and the Hentys' 
 shepherds (to one of whom probably this old shoe 
 had belonged) seeing a body of strange men coming 
 down upon them, made sure that they were bush- 
 rangers from New South Wales, and got their arms 
 ready for defence ; but instead thereof, it turned out 
 to be the surveyor-general of New South Wales. 
 In speaking of this place in his work, he says, " The 
 situation of Portland Bay is a most eligible one for 
 the site of a town." And it was thought that it 
 would become a second Melbourne. In 1840 the 
 upset price of town land was £100 an acre, and it 
 fetched £300. As early as 1842 the clip of wool 
 was 3,000 bales ; and in 1846 it had two newspapers. 
 Its first ship direct from England arrived in 1850. 
 The climate is delightful. The mean thermometer 
 58°; the highest in February being 80°, and the 
 lowest in May being 44°. It is not therefore
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 223 
 
 subject to the same extremes of heat and cokl as 
 Melbourne, Geelong, and the interior, which range 
 at times from 30'' to 120^ Portland is the 
 " Briffhton " of Victoria ; and as our citizens retire 
 from the active pursuits of life, and seek for quiet 
 resting-places, I know of no prettier and healthier 
 spot than this ; and I believe the day will come 
 when it will be a favourite resort to which "pater- 
 familias" will take his wife and his little ones to 
 for their " outing " at the sea-side. 
 
 In keeping along the coast, and going eastward, 
 at a distance of 50 miles you reach Belfast. I shall 
 not soon forget one of my earliest bush journeys 
 between the two places. There are several rivers 
 to cross, and of course there were no bridges. 
 I was accompanied by a clergyman from a neigh- 
 bouring town who knew the tracks better than I 
 did. He was on horseback and I was driving in a 
 buggy. When we came to one of the rivers, there 
 were two ways of getting over it. You could either 
 go to the mouth of it, where there was a "bar" at 
 the point of its entering the ocean, or, higher up, 
 there was what was considered a good crossing- 
 place. We agreed to try the river higher up. " But," 
 said he, "take care to keep to the right ^ for there 
 is a deep hole, in which you will be lost with your 
 carriage if you get into it." I quietly suggested to 
 him, that as he knew it so well and was on horse- 
 back, it mii?ht be as well that he should save his 
 archdeacon from the chance of a ducking by going
 
 224 NEW HOMES. 
 
 in first. To this he most kindly agreed, and went 
 in; I following very timidly in his wake. But 
 presently there was a great splash, which frightened 
 my horses sadly, and lo ! my friend had gone right 
 down into the hole, and notliing was visible but his 
 hat. Profiting by his mishap, I avoided the hole 
 and escaped the ducking. On returning by myself 
 a few days afterwards I was afraid of meeting with 
 his or a worse fate, and determined on going tlu'ough 
 the surf. But I had been warned that I must be 
 careful, for that at the mouth it was a quicksand, 
 and if the horses got frightened and stood still I 
 should sink. I went in, and when a huge wave 
 came rolling in with a white crest and the spray 
 struck the horses, they quivered like an aspen leaf, 
 and stood stock still. I shall never forget the sen- 
 sation. When the wave receded I heard the wheels 
 grinding down into the quicksand, and felt that we 
 were sinking, and looking out to sea, I saw another 
 great wave gathering itself up to pounce upon us. 
 My coachman used his whip most unmercifully, and 
 I belaboured the horse on my side with a stick, 
 and by dint of his lashes, my cuts, and our united 
 loud shouts, we roused the horses, and thank God 
 escaped. 
 
 Belfast is the town of a " special survey." Its 
 bay is called Port Fairy. In the year 1840 this 
 system came into operation. Capitalists were per- 
 mitted to purchase a block of 5,000 acres at twenty 
 shillings an acre, without competition. In 1834
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 225 
 
 Mr. Atkinson, a lawyer in Sydney, heard that there 
 was good country in the land now called Victoria, 
 and he went to England and interested some capi- 
 taHsts in his scheme. They applied for a few 
 hundred thousand acres, at five shillings an acre; 
 but before anything was settled, Batman had gone 
 to Port Phillip, and Governor Bourke had reported 
 the matter to the Colonial Office, and so the bargain 
 ^as not struck. But, availing himself of the special 
 survey system, Mr. Atkinson secured 5,280 acres at 
 Port Fairy. He was a native of Belfast, and called 
 his new town after his native place. He sent a 
 ship-load of people down from Sydney, most of 
 whom were Irish, and located them on what were 
 to be afterwards farms. He supplied them with 
 tools, seed, and rations. Their rent was to be paid 
 in kind, and ranged from one to two bushels of 
 wheat to the acre. At first no land was sold ; after- 
 wards it was slowly brought into the market at 
 high prices. One quarter of an acre in the town 
 sold, I know, for £1,000. Belftist stands on the 
 river Moyne, which has a sufficient depth of water 
 for steamers and ordinary vessels to go up to the 
 wharves in the centre of the town, but their doing 
 so was prevented by the usual obstacle — a bar 
 harbour, which nothing but boats could cross, and 
 they at times with difficulty, if not with danger. 
 The government have lately taken in hand the 
 useful work of removing this bar, and so directing 
 the current as to keep the passage clear. It is
 
 226 NEW HOMES. 
 
 expected that these works will be finished during the 
 present year ; and if the success he as complete as it 
 is expected to he, it will be the commencement of a 
 new and most important era in the history of the 
 place. There is a handsome English church ; the 
 Eoman Catholic one is very pretty, and is nicely 
 situated ; there are also Presbyterian and "Wesleyan 
 churches. In Australia, where religious equality 
 exists, they are all styled "churches." This town 
 has three banks, two newspapers, a mechanics' insti- 
 tute, and an active and enterprising population. 
 
 Perhaps the most interesting feature in the dis- 
 trict is " Tower Hill," situated midway between 
 Belfast and "Warrnambool. It is an island encom- 
 passed by a moat. The land in the neighbourhood 
 is extremely fertile, the country beautifully wooded, 
 and the extinct volcano rises to so great a height, 
 that from its top you catch a fine view of the sea to 
 Portland. The rapidly rising township of Koroit, 
 the centre of a rich agricultural district, is in its 
 immediate neighbourhood. And as you look towards 
 the sea, you will observe a remarkably rich stretch 
 of arable land. This is the "special survey" of 
 W. Eutledge, Esq., a name well known in the 
 history of the colony from its very commencement, 
 and who lives in the midst of his numerous tenantry 
 much respected for his kindness and liberality. 
 
 After crossing the Merri Eiver, we come to the 
 township of Warrnambool. When I lived at Belfast, 
 the infant township formed a part of my parish, and
 
 NEW HOMES. 227 
 
 I occasionally went over to take service- It was 
 necessarily in an evening. The people were very 
 few indeed, and scattered. The service was held 
 in a private house. Partly to enable me to steer 
 clear of "wombat" holes, and partly in order to 
 advertise the time for holding the service, I carried 
 a large lantern in my hand. It had for many years 
 formed the heifer station of a neighbouring squatter. 
 It is now a large and thriving town, having churches 
 for all denominations, banks, merchants' stores, 
 steam-mills, &c. This, and nearly every town of 
 any size in the country, has a hospital, supported 
 partly by the government and supplemented by 
 local subscriptions. The banks of the Hopkins, in 
 the neighbourhood, are very beautiful, and the town 
 itself is prettily situated. On the first occasion of a 
 visit to this little place by the Bishop of Melbourne, 
 we had to go down the river in a boat so leaky that 
 the bishop was set to the ignominious post of 
 "baling out" with a tin pannikin, and I was 
 stationed in the bows to look out for snags in the 
 river. Those who were pulling us did not seem 
 to know much about their work; and at last the 
 bishop, who doubtless had known on the banks of 
 the Cam something about an oar, took one and 
 showed them how to manage it. When we landed, 
 a little black boy was picked up to carry the epis- 
 copal bag, and thus we entered the quiet little 
 place. All I could do was to get together a congre- 
 gation of seveii persons to hear the bishop. What a
 
 228 NEW HOMES. 
 
 change has taken place. Now there are many hand- 
 some churches filled with large congregations. 
 
 This district has of late years been literally 
 dotted over with government townships. In some 
 cases they consist of a public house, and perhaps 
 a blacksmith's shop. But other places have become, 
 or are rapidly becoming, large centres of population. 
 Hamilton is one of these. It is in a most central 
 position ; and if the plan talked of be carried out, 
 viz., carrying a railway to it, it will have the effect 
 of diverting a great part of the traffic from the sea- 
 port towns. It is situated on the Grange Burn. 
 The Wannon Falls in this neighbourhood are pretty, 
 and at the right season well supplied with water. 
 The Wando Yale, the Valley of Cashmere, and that 
 loveliest part of Yictoria, the Yalley of the Wannon, 
 and in fact the whole country round, must be seen 
 to be appreciated. When Major Mitchell traversed 
 this part of the country, which was then in a state 
 of nature, he said, "It is an open grassy country, 
 extending as far as we could see ; hills round and 
 smooth as a carpet; meadows broad, and either 
 green as an emerald or of a rich golden colour, from 
 the abundance of a ranunculus-like flower. Down 
 into that delightful vale our vehicle trundled over a 
 gentle slope, the earth being covered with a thick- 
 like matted turf, superior to anything of the kind 
 previously seen. That extensive valley was en- 
 livened by a winding stream, the waters of which 
 glittered throu^jh trees fringing each bank."
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 229 
 
 The township of Coleraine, about twenty miles from 
 Casterton, has made great progress of Me years. 
 Between the two phices there is a stretch of good 
 land, as there is also about the Green Hills and 
 Branxholme. Proceeding from Hamilton towards 
 the little village of Dunkeld, which is almost as 
 charmingly situated as the place whence it took 
 its name, you see to great advantage the two 
 southern hills of the Grampian Eange — Abrupt and 
 Sturgeon. The Eiver Wannon flows at the foot of 
 Mount Sturgeon. In the early days I was staying 
 at a settler's hut there, when an old shepherd took 
 me to a cave, and told me that they had had heavy 
 work there once. The sheep were depasturing in 
 the neighbourhood, when a tribe of blacks came 
 down and killed many of them. They gorged them- 
 selves with mutton, and then brake the legs of a 
 great number, as was their habit, to prevent their 
 straying from them, and afterwards went into the 
 cave to sleep off the effects of their meal. The 
 enraged shepherds came out, and seeing what had 
 been done, they went to the cave's mouth and shot 
 every one of the natives^ and threw their bodies into 
 the Wannon. The whole range of the Grampians is 
 extremely beautiful. 
 
 In former days the settlers in this district had 
 very large runs. In some cases they hold them 
 still, having bought up the freehold. One gentle- 
 man, at whose station the Duke of Edinburgh stayed 
 when in this part of the country (Mr. Moffat's, of
 
 230 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Hopkins' Hill), lias 500 miles of fencing on his 
 estate, wMch cost £75 a mile. Thus the mere 
 fencing of his property had cost £37,500 ! And he 
 is not singular. There are many of the old race of 
 gentlemen squatters, who are now the proprietors of 
 large estates. We have thus the foundation of a 
 landed aristocracy — a kind of " upper ten thousand." 
 And this will form a conservative element in the 
 state, if the owners of these noble properties identify 
 themselves with the country, and become resident 
 on them. But very generally in this colony the 
 proprietors go home and live at ease, and merely 
 draw their incomes from them. If this be the case 
 of the majority, we shall ultimately have all the evils 
 of the "absentee landlord" system, which has 
 wrought so much mischief in Ireland. It appears 
 to me that in New South Wales and in Tasmania a 
 greater proportion of the original settlers, and of 
 their children after them, remain on the spot where 
 their fortunes were made, than is the case in Vic- 
 toria. True, it is but a young country, and we can 
 hardly judge of the two cases together ; but I fear 
 the tendency is in the direction indicated. People 
 look upon this colony as a means to an end. They 
 "•0 to it, and work hard and make money, and run 
 away from it. The Bishop of Melbourne, utterly 
 unable to take the oversight satisfactorily of the 
 whole country, has sought for a long time to get an 
 endowment, so as to enable him to subdivide the 
 diocese, but he has not succeeded. In Sydney, on
 
 NEW HOMES. 231 
 
 the contrary, the new bishoprics of Goulbourn, 
 Grafton and Armidale, and Bathurst, have all been 
 recently formed and suitably endowed. It is greatly 
 to be desired that the Bishop of Melbourne's efforts 
 in this matter should be successful. In a former 
 chapter we spoke of a single individual in Tasmania 
 erecting a handsome church and endowing it with 
 £400 a year. Will not some of our large landed 
 proprietors and merchant princes in the colony 
 strengthen the good bishop's hands in this work, 
 which he has we know greatly at heart ; and may 
 not some of those in England, to whom God in his 
 providence has given great wealth, and a desire to 
 expend it to his glory and for the spiritual good of 
 their fellow creatures, be found who, when they 
 know the crying need there is of this subdivision, 
 will help him in accomplishing it. It is proposed 
 that the head-quarters of the new see should be at 
 Ballarat. 
 
 ''State aid to religion" still exists in Victoria; 
 but a Bill has recently passed the Lower House by 
 which it is proposed to do away with-it in five years. 
 And on this plan: on 1st January, 1870, to be re- 
 duced to four-fifths; 1871, to three-fifths; 1872, to 
 two-fifths; 1873, to one-fifth; 1874, to nil. The 
 annual grant is £50,000, divided amongst all the 
 denominations, according to the census. It will, 
 however, be observed that the gross amount re- 
 ceivable will not amount to two years' purchase of 
 the existing grant, while payment is to be spread
 
 232 NEW HOMES. 
 
 over four years. It will be a great loss to the colony 
 if this Bill become law. The money has been most 
 carefully expended. Help has been given in the 
 erection of churches and parsonages, and in the 
 maintenance of clergymen, in the infancy of the 
 different townships, but it has been withdrawn or 
 greatly diminished so soon as the material fabric 
 was erected and the people able to provide for their 
 own wants. And if it be taken away altogether, I 
 do not know how the different denominations will 
 be enabled to minister to the wants of the thinly 
 inhabited villages and the scattered populations of 
 the interior. The Church of England is by far the 
 largest body. Her proportion of the grant is 
 £23,000, or between one-half and two-fifths. Half 
 of the sum is devoted to buildings, the other moiety 
 to the stipends of ministers. After passing this Bill 
 the Lower House has just carried another, for the 
 payment of members. The sum granted is to be 
 £30,000 a year; the allowance to each member 
 £300. 
 
 In the year 1852, Mr. Gladstone proposed to pass 
 through the Imperial Parliament a general measure, 
 under which the Church of England in all the 
 colonies might act in one prescribed manner; but 
 it was opposed and abandoned. In 1854, an Act of 
 the Legislature of Victoria was obtained, constituting 
 the Church of England in the colony a legally 
 recognised body, with its own tribunal, and disci- 
 plinary and other powers. This required the royal
 
 NEW HOMES, 233 
 
 assent. In 1856 a ratifying Act was passed and 
 assented to; and in October of that year the 
 first assembly of the Church of England in Victoria 
 took place. It is an assembly of all the clergy, 
 and of lay representatives elected by the members 
 of the Church in their respective parishes. They 
 meet in one house, but vote separately. The tem- 
 poral affairs are managed by the bishop and a 
 '' Council of the Diocese," composed of clergymen 
 and of laymen, who report to the Church assembly. 
 The system is working admirably, and is the strength 
 of the Church. The patronage question is thus 
 settled : In all new parishes the bishop has the 
 first appointment of the clergyman ; but he inva- 
 riably consults the congregation. In the two next 
 vacancies the people, by their representatives (who 
 form a Board of Advowson) have the nomination, 
 subject to the bishop's approval. 
 
 Formerly there were two systems of public edu- 
 cation supported by the State — the denominational 
 and the national. But in 1862 the two boards were 
 abolished and one general and national system was 
 introduced. It provided that the public money 
 should be spent in giving secular and unsectarian 
 teaching during four hours in the day, without in- 
 terfering with any other teaching that the different 
 parents or clergy might see fit to impart. 
 
 In the year 1853, at the instance of Mr. H. C. E. 
 Childers, who was formerly an inspector of schools 
 in Yictoria, but who now holds the distinguished 
 
 a
 
 234 NEW HOMES. 
 
 post of First Lord of the Admiralty, the Melbourne 
 University was established. It is quite unsectarian 
 in its character. The buildings are very fine, and 
 were opened for the reception of students in 1856. 
 The University stands on 40 acres of ground, which 
 are tastefully laid out. It is endowed with .£9,000 
 a year out of the public revenue. There are four 
 professorships, each having an income of .£1,000 a 
 year, besides rooms. Excellent grammar schools, 
 identified with each religious body, train the youth 
 for the university curriculum, which is fully equal 
 to that of the English universities. It is making 
 not rapid but sure and most satisfactory progress. 
 The Imperial government have conceded to the 
 degrees of this and of the Sydney University a 
 status of equality with those of their elder sisters in 
 England. Mr. Westgarth, in speaking of the rapid 
 progress of the colony, thus describes the spot where 
 all these fine buildings now stand : " About twenty 
 years ago," he says, " the author happened to return 
 late one evening from the house of a friend, situated 
 several miles in a northerly direction out of Mel- 
 bourne. It was quite dark, being near midnight, 
 as he approached the town. There were no gas 
 lamps in those pristine days, nor indeed lamps of 
 any kind, and the roads from the nascent metropolis 
 still partook mainly of the random character of 
 'bush tracks.' Eeeling therefore rather uncertain 
 of his whereabouts, he partook himself to a source 
 of information that was all of a-piecc with the other
 
 NEW HOMES. 235 
 
 characteristics of that early date of the settlement. 
 This was the encampment of a tribe of aborigines, 
 to which he had been guided by the fires that flick- 
 ered in front of their rude wigwams. Some lay 
 asleep, rolled up in their opossum rugs ; one was 
 sick, and a ghastly and comfortless spectacle he ap- 
 peared; while others were still busy over the 
 tobacco and other spirits of the day gathered in the 
 town. The site of that native encampment is now 
 that of the Melbourne University. The reminis- 
 cence possesses a charm in its freshness and reality, 
 because it is rare indeed that such extremes of con- 
 dition in a country's history are brought within the 
 compass of so few years, or even within the ex- 
 perience of a single life." This spot and scene, so 
 graphically drawn by Mr. Westgarth, are well 
 known to me. It appears to have been a favourite 
 camping place of the natives. Late one night, in 
 1839 or 1840, I was taken to the same spot, and 
 there I witnessed a " corroboree " of these sable 
 natives of the forest. 
 
 During Sir Charles Darling's administration there 
 occurred a " crisis," into which we cannot enter 
 here, but which did the colony a great deal of harm 
 in the estimation of those who were living in Eng- 
 land, and who could not understand the collisions 
 which were almost sure to arise between the two 
 branches of a legislature which were both anxious 
 to maintain their respective privileges. The " dead- 
 lock" caused extreme inconvenience to many per-
 
 236 NEW HOMES. 
 
 sons, and injury to others. But after a long period 
 of angry opposition, the Gordian knot was cut by 
 Sir Charles Darling declining the proposed grant. 
 
 The present governor is Viscount Canterbury 
 (formerly Sir C. Manners Sutton). Up to the 
 present time his popularity has received no check, 
 and we trust that it may receive none. 
 
 Although for the present free passages are only 
 granted to single females, and to a few married 
 couples, yet the terms on which assisted passages 
 are granted are so favourable, that few of those who 
 have friends in the colony may not hope through 
 their help to procure a passage. The following are 
 the latest regulations which have been issued on 
 the subject : — 
 
 " Emigration to Victoria, Australia, is governed — for the pre- 
 sent, and pending tlie issue of further instructions — by regula- 
 tions, dated Melbourne, Julj^ 10th, 1865, which provide as 
 follows : — 
 
 " 1. Free Passages. — The only persons eligible for free pas- 
 sages are single females, under the age of 35, who have been 
 accustomed to domestic service, and who can produce certificates 
 of good character. They must be free from any mental or 
 bodily infirmity. 
 
 "Emigrants of this class are assisted to reach the port of 
 embarkation at the cost of the Government. 
 
 " The Agent-General is authorised to select a few married 
 couples to act as mess constables for the single females, and to 
 grant them free passages. 
 
 " Applications for free passages must be made upon printed 
 forms, which can be obtained from the Agent-General, or from 
 the local agents appointed by him.
 
 NEW HOMES. 237 
 
 " 2. A.'-sisfed Passages are granted to persons in the United 
 Kingdom who have been nominated by their friends in Victoria, 
 upon the payment, to the Government of Victoria at Melbourne, 
 of deposits, according to the following scale : — 
 
 " Scale of Payments hy Depositor at Melbourne. — Underfifteen 
 years — male, £2, female, £1. Fifteen years, and under forty — 
 male, £5, female, £2. Forty years, and upwards — male, £8, 
 female, £5. 
 
 " Passage warrants are issued to the depositor in favour of 
 the person nominated by him. The depositor forwards the 
 warrant to the nominee in the United Kingdom, who, upon de- 
 livering it to the Agent-General, 8, Victoria Chambers, Victoria 
 Street, "Westminster, and being approved by him, is provided 
 with a passage, subject to certain regulations, which can be 
 ascertained upon application. 
 
 " Passage warrants are available for nine months from the 
 date of their issue. If not used by the nominee, a passage 
 warrant may be exchanged, upon application to the Immigration 
 Agent at Melbourne. 
 
 " All communications relative to Emigration to Victoria 
 should be addressed to 
 
 The Age>'t-Geneeal foe Victoria, 
 
 8, Victoria CTiamhers, Victoria Street, 
 
 Westminster, S.W., 
 from whom Forms of Application and all other information may 
 be obtained. 
 
 " Persons communicating with the Agent-General should give 
 their name and address in full, and plainly written. 
 
 " G. F. Veedon, Agent- General for Victoria.'" 
 
 We give below an interesting leader from a late 
 Melbourne AtyiiSj on the subject of increased postal 
 and telegraphic facilities between England and 
 Australia : — ■ 
 
 " While Earl Granville is doing his best, by a policy which is 
 either unintentionally maladroit or perversely offensive, to
 
 238 NEW HOMES. 
 
 repress the loyalty and alienate the affections of an important 
 member of this group of colonies — New Zealand, to wit — the 
 Australian dependencies are moved by a common impulse to 
 draw nearer to the mother country, and to improve and multiply 
 their means of communication with her. They neither under- 
 value nor desire to relax those ties of sentiment, family, and 
 interest, which bind them to the parent state ; and although it 
 is to be acknowledged and deplored that the fiscal legislation 
 of two or three of the colonies has taken a shape as hostile to 
 English commerce and manufactures as it is detrimental to the 
 substantial progress and prosperity of ourselves, yet the en- 
 lightened portion of the community everywhere recognises the 
 mischief and folly of protection, and the duty and advantage 
 of promoting to the fullest extent a free commercial intercourse 
 between all parts of the empire. We look to Grreat Britain as 
 the most profitable outlet for the product of our gold, silver, 
 and copper mines, our surplus wool, wheat, and wine, and 
 for our superabundant flocks and herds. We cannot be blind 
 to the fact that her coal measures, her iron and tin mines, hei- 
 machinery, skill, capital, and labour, qualify her to produce 
 numberless articles of manufacture better and more cheaply 
 than we can hope to do for a century to come, and that the 
 exchange of these commodities for those which we possess in 
 excess is a transaction by which both parties must be benefited, 
 and in the effecting of which numerous subsidiary and inter- 
 mediate industries are called into profitable exercise. 
 
 " Actuated by these views, the eastern colonies of Australasia 
 — New South Wales, Queensland, and New Zealand — are simul- 
 taneously directing their attention to opening up more frequent 
 and more rapid mail communication with Great Britain. 
 During a recent visit of the Premier of New South Wales to 
 Queensland, the basis of an arrangement was arrived at on the 
 part of the Governments of the two colonies, in virtue of which 
 a monthly mail is to be established to Galle via Torres Straits, 
 its arrival and departure being so timed as to secure the ad- 
 vantages of a fortnightly mail to most of these provinces. It is 
 proposed that the steamer should receive mails at Cape Moreton
 
 NEW HOMES. 239 
 
 (near Brisbane), Roekhampton, and Bowen, and should coal at 
 Cape York, the most northerly point of this continent. This 
 would bring the outposts of settlement in Queensland nearer to 
 England, as regards postal communication, than any other of 
 the settled districts, and this circumstance could scarcely fail to 
 operate beneficially upon the flow of immigration thitherward. 
 The terms upon which the subsidy is to be contributed are 
 these : — New South Wales is to pay one-half, Queensland two- 
 sixths, and New Zealand one-sixth. It is proposed to withdraw 
 altogether from the Peninsular and Oriental Company's contract, 
 so soon as the latter expires ; it being considered that the 
 advantages derivable from it can be obtained by giving the 
 southern and western colonies the use of the Torres line as an 
 equivalent. Concurrently with the establishment of this route, 
 the Queensland Government undertakes to extend its line of 
 telegraph to the Gulf of Carpentaria, from whence a submarine 
 cable will connect it with Java, and thus bring it into relation 
 with the Indo-European service, towards which the government 
 of New South Wales will grant a subsidy. 
 
 " On the other hand, the Legislature of New Zealand has 
 signified its intention to discontinue its contribution to the 
 Peninsular and Oriental Company's contract, so soon as the 
 latter expires, and has authorised tenders to be invited for a 
 monthly steam service between San Erancisco and that colony. 
 A glance at the map of the world will show that this is the 
 most direct line of communication between the mother country 
 and the " Great Britain of the South," as Sir Eobert Peel 
 called it. The opening of the Pacific and Central Union Eail- 
 ways having brought San Erancisco within fifteen days of 
 London, and the eastern ports of New Zealand being within 
 twenty-one days' steaming of the Californlan capital, our 
 brethren in the islands are naturally eager to avail themselves 
 of the opportunity of getting their letters from England only 
 five weeks' old, instead of nearly eight weeks, as at present ; 
 the more especially as it has been ascertained that the cost of 
 such a service will not greatly exceed the quota now contributed 
 by New Zealand to the Peninsular and Oriental Company's
 
 240 NEW HOMES. 
 
 subsidy. For passenger traffic, the proposed line will offer 
 many inducements to persons in good circumstances, since a 
 voyage across the Pacific is attended with an amenity of climate 
 and a freedom from cyclones which have obtained for that ocean 
 the appellation which it bears ; while the opportunity of seeing 
 every phase of settlement and civilisation, from the Indian 
 wigwam to the marble palace, and from the forest clearing to 
 the swarming " empu'e city," which will be afforded by crossing 
 the North American continent, is one which will not be under- 
 valued by either outward or homeward bound travellers belong- 
 ing to a colonising nation. 
 
 " Thus it will be seen that for the time to come, the Australian 
 group of colonies will separate themselves, for postal purposes, 
 into two divisions ; the eastern despatching their mails by way 
 of Torres Straits in one direction, and California in the other ; 
 while the southern and western — Victoria, South Australia, Tas- 
 mania, and Western Australia, will adhere in aU probability to 
 the present route as the most direct and expeditious for them. 
 And to render it more so for the transmission of telegraphic 
 intelligence, the Government of South Australia is considering 
 a scheme which has been submitted to it by an English company 
 for the extension of the wires by a land line from Port Augusta 
 to King George's Sound, and from thence by a submarine cable 
 in two sections, via Keeling's Island, to Ceylon. The projectors 
 of this scheme ask for a guarantee from the South Australian 
 Government of six per cent, upon an estimated outlay of 
 £800,000 ; but they anticipate that the net subsidy would not 
 exceed £8,000. 
 
 "An alternative telegraph line is also engaging the attention 
 of the South Australian Government. This would pass through 
 the northern territory of that colony to Port Darwin, and thence 
 by submarine cable to the south-western extremity of Java, 
 where it would unite with the lines already in course of con- 
 struction to India and China. Transmitted by either of these 
 lines, a message, as Captain Osborn points out, 'would probably 
 be in Ceylon from Australia in half the time and with a tenth 
 of the risk it would have in reaching Singapore through
 
 NEW HOMES. 241 
 
 Java.' On the whole, the line across the continent to Port 
 Darwin appears to be regarded with the greatest favour in 
 South Australia, and if it should be adopted, the northern ter- 
 minus on the main land could be readily brought into commu- 
 nication by way of Burke Town or Norman Town, on the Gulf 
 of Carpentaria, with the present northern terminus of the 
 Queensland lines at liockingham Bay." 
 
 " The statistical annual registers for 1868 of New Zealand, 
 South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania have just been 
 published. Those of New South Wales are not yet forthcoming, 
 but information so far as Victoria is concerned is accessible in 
 various scattered documents, and with that before us we can 
 form a fair estimate of the progress made last year in regard to 
 population in five of the Australian colonies. In Victoria the 
 increase was 24,429; in New Zealand, 7,586; in South Australia, 
 3,438 ; in Queensland, 7,578 ; in Tasmania, 2,251. Of the five 
 colonies enumerated, two — New Zealand and South Australia — 
 appear to be slackening speed, while the other three — Victoria, 
 Queensland and Tasmania — are experiencing a revival." 
 
 " At a recent meeting of the council of the Acclimatisation 
 Society, the secretary read the report of his mission to Hobart 
 Town, whither he had been sent for the purpose of bringing 
 over to this colony some trout ova, for the stocking of the 
 Victoria water-courses. He stated that, within 60 hours of the 
 ova being taken from the ponds at New Norfolk, having been 
 carried a distance of eight miles on foot, then by steamer to 
 Melbourne, and 60 miles into the interior of Victoria by 
 carriage, these 2,000 young trout in embryo had been deposited 
 in the breeding-ponds in perfect condition, only four being dead. 
 The president was able to announce at subsequent meetings of 
 the society that nearly all the ova had been successfully hatched. 
 Out of the 2,000 ova, only a few had proved bad, the loss sus- 
 tained being less than 2 per cent. The young fry are in the 
 most satisfactory condition, and will be ready for liberation in a 
 few weeks. It was announced, also, at a recent meeting, that
 
 242 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Captain Edward Jones, of the SiiTperh, had brought over to this 
 colony the largest number of pheasants ever imported at one 
 time- into Victoria. The society propose to liberate them in the 
 ranges, where suitable cover and food will be available." 
 
 " The satisfactory intelligence received by the last few mails 
 respecting the disappearance of the prejudice once existing^ 
 against Australian preserved meats as an article of food has not 
 only led to the formation of several new companies, but has 
 encouraged manufacturers at present in the field to extend their 
 operations. The Melbourne Meat-preserving Company have 
 found it necessary to enlarge their works on the Saltwater 
 Eiver, in order to keep pace with the increased demand for 
 their meats. The extensions are now in course of construction, 
 and, when completed, the manufacturing power of the company 
 will be increased one-half ; and whereas they can now turn out 
 about twenty-six tons of meat a week, when the additions are 
 finished they will be in a position to preserve forty tons in the 
 same period. Since the company re-commenced operations in 
 June last, they have shipped 300 tons of meat in tins, and not 
 only has the whole met with a ready sale, but the agent at 
 home has considerably oversold the shipments forwarded. 
 Recent advices show that the retail selling price of tinned 
 meats is 7kl. per lb., while the best joints of butchers' meat 
 fetch lOd. per lb., so that the advantage obtained by the pur- 
 chase of the former is very apparent. The wholesale price of 
 the company's meat is from 6d. to 6id. per lb. The stock 
 markets are very favourable just now to large buyers. The 
 progress made by the Victorian Meat-preserving Company, of 
 which Mr. 11. Caldwell is the managing partner, and Mr. 
 M'Cracken the practical manager, is also very satisfactory. The 
 company have experienced considerable difficulty in overcoming 
 the prejudice against their meats, owing to the supposition that 
 the process they employed was a new one. The process is, 
 however, a very simple one. The meat (beef and mutton) is 
 preserved in a raw state. The bones, sinews, &c., are taken out,, 
 the meat lightly cured, rolled up, and packed in casks with
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 243 
 
 refined melted fat. By thus excluding the air, the meat is found 
 to retain all its excellence for years. Shipments of meat thus 
 preserved have been made to almost every market in the world, 
 and many experienced and intelligent sea captains have testified 
 as to its fitness for ship's use. The Lords of the Admiralty 
 have sanctioned its use for H.M. ships under the command of 
 Commodore Lambert, in the Pacific. The French Government 
 of New Caledonia have ordered largely of the meat for that 
 colony, after a careful trial for twelve months. The troops in 
 India have used it with much satisfaction. The new settlement 
 in Northern Australia, which is an Indian climate, has been 
 supplied largely with this meat, and it has there been preferred 
 to the very excellent tinned meat with which the settlers are 
 also provided. The process employed by the company is not 
 only a thoroughly economical one, saving everything from the 
 animal, but it has been proved to be one of the most certain in 
 its results, and though the meat is now being sold in London at 
 4id. per lb., a fair profit is left to the manufacturer and the 
 shipper. Several other companies are preparing to commence 
 operations. Mr. A. Morris, who went to England as Mr. Mort's 
 agent in connexion with the freezing process, has recently 
 returned, and has brought back with him much valuable infor- 
 mation respecting the preservation of meat. Several specimens 
 of meat preserved by him by different processes, and under 
 most unfavourable circumstances, in London, in May last, and 
 since brought out to New South Wales, were tested a few days 
 ago, and pronounced to be excellent in almost every particular." 
 
 The establisliment of another novel industry is 
 foreshadowed in the following paragraph from the 
 Mount Alexander Mail: — 
 
 " Messrs. Thompson and Co., calculating the extra cost to 
 which the colony is put by importing starch that might be 
 produced of the best quality from local flour, made the experi- 
 ment of making starch, and so well did they succeed that they
 
 244 NEW HOMES. 
 
 are encouraged to hope that a good industry may be opened up j 
 in this direction. They have given the project due considera- 
 tion, and as it looks practicable, they are on the look-out for a 
 skilled person to conduct a factory on their account." ! 
 
 " The soil and climate of Gipps' Land," says the Times, " have 
 long been known as well adapted for the growth of hops and 
 tobacco, and a very good proof of this fact was presented to us 
 at Stratford. Mr. Writlemin, who came out from Switzerland 
 some time ago to cultivate the white mulberry, at which he has 
 had twenty-five years' experience, has about six acres of land, 
 taken up under the 42nd clause, under tobacco cultivation at 
 the Top Plains. He has handed us a bundle of cigars made 
 from his own tobacco of last year's growth. They are fine 
 flavoured, smoke "well, and can be manufactured at £5 per 1,000. 
 
 " The erection of a cheese factory on a large scale at Aliens- 
 ford, near Warrnambool, is being rapidly proceeded with, and 
 is expected to be finished by the 1st of October, when cheese- 
 making operations will be commenced. There is some proba- 
 bility of another being established at Mamba, in Gipps' Land." 
 
 " The revenue returns of the colony of Victoria, for the three, 
 nine, and twelve months ending the 30th of September last, has 
 been published in the Government Gazette. Compared with 
 the preceding year, there is an increase on all three periods. 
 That on the quarter amounts to £101,603 12s. 3d. ; that on 
 the nine months to £267,161 5s. 2d. ; and that on the year, to 
 £390,139 4s. 6d. Taking the year, the increase in customs 
 amounts to £153,782 7s. 2d. ; in the territorial revenue, to 
 £141,479 18s. ; in the railway income, to £47,906 8s. 7d. ; on 
 water supply, to £8,230 9s. 3d. ; in the electric telegraph de- 
 partment, to £2,745 lis. 5d. ; on tonnage, to £3,082 3s. ; and 
 on postage, to £8,995 17s. lid. Analysing the Customs re- 
 turns, we find that towards the increase, spirits contributed 
 £37,956 19s. 5d. ; wharfage rates, £18,423 13s. Id. ; and ' all 
 other,' £94,899 5s. 3d. With the solitary exception of pastoral 
 occupation there is an increase in every item which appears
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 245 
 
 under the head of ' Territorial Eevenue.' The decrease on that 
 one account amounts to £11,396 7s. The increases on the 
 other items are as follow : — Sales by auction, £101,641 4s. 5d. ; 
 rents and selections, £32,899 Os. Id. ; rents and licenses, 
 £8,298 8s. 9d. ; miners' rights, £2,499 Os. Id.; business 
 licenses, £763 10s. ; leases of auriferous and mineral lands, 
 £6,680 7s. 6d. ; and water-right and searching licenses, £94 
 14s. 2d. Taking the returns as a whole they are more satis- 
 factory than they have been for some time past, and they 
 appear to indicate that the colony is gradually recovering from 
 depression." 
 
 The new Land Bill has now become law, and it 
 is of a most liberal character. All the pastoral 
 leases expire on the 31st December, 1870. But 
 the new Act authorises the re-issue of yearly leases 
 for pastoral purposes for ten years more, which is 
 the period fixed for the duration of the measure. 
 
 As regards hond fide settlers, the terms on which 
 they can procure a freehold are exceedingly advan- 
 tageous. A man may only select 320 acres under 
 the Act, but of course he can purchase at auction 
 any additional quantity he may require. The 320 
 acres he may select just where he pleases — reserves 
 only excepted — and pay for them in ten years without 
 interest, at the rate of 20s. an acre. That is, he 
 pays a rent of 2s. an acre, and gets the freehold for 
 nothing. 
 
 The Melbourne Argus^ with its usual ability and 
 care, lately produced an article on the subject of 
 the demand for labour and the rates of wages, from 
 which we gladly make the following extracts : —
 
 "246 NEW HOMES. 
 
 " For the information of our readers in Great Britain, num- 
 bers of whom we hope to include among our readers in Victoria, 
 we have been at some pains to collect from independent and 
 authentic sources the rates of wages actually current at this 
 moment in Melbourne. They will be found in another column, 
 and it will be seen that for skilled labour generally — for artisans 
 engaged in the building trades, for example — the rate is 10s. 
 per diem, the working day being limited to eight hours. For 
 cabinetmakers, ironfounders, and mechanical engineers, this 
 may be taken as the minimum, the maximum ranging from 12s. 
 to 14s., according to the quality of the work to be performed 
 and the special capacity or technical skill demanded for its per- 
 formance. Builders' labourers receive 7s., and pick-and-shovel 
 men Gs. per day of eight hours. Good tailors are said to be 
 scarce, and can earn from £3 to £3 15s. per week, but in the 
 factories they do not average more than from £2 10s. to £3. 
 Tailoresses earn from 30s. to 40s., and machinists from 20s. to 
 30s. For girls the rate varies from 12s. 6d. to 17s. 
 
 " The wages of farm labourers fluctuate according to the 
 period of the year. During the last month, when the inga- 
 thering of the hay and corn harvests have both been actively 
 proceeded with, harvestmen have refused to go to work for less 
 than £2 a. week and their rations, which mean three substantial 
 meals a day, with meat at each ; and in some of the remoter 
 districts the farmers have had to succumb to a demand for £3 
 a week and rations, or run the risk of seeing the over-ripe corn 
 shed its grains upon the ground before it could be hastily cut 
 and garnered. This, of course, is an exceptional and temporary 
 state of things ; but so much land has been taken up by men 
 who in former years were farm labourers themselves, and so 
 much more is likely to be entered upon under the new act which 
 ■was passed last week, establishing free selection over the whole 
 of the colony, that a steadily gi'owing demand for agricultural 
 labour is likely to exist for years to come. Irrespectively of 
 which, tenders will be shortly invited for the construction of a 
 trunk line of railway from Melbourne to the north-eastern 
 boundary of the colony, and this will constitute a serious drain
 
 NEW HOMES. 247 
 
 upon the local labom- market. Two other main lines are pro- 
 jected, and will be proceeded with so soon as the position of our 
 finances will admit of it. Thus it will be seen that besides the 
 ordinary demand for labour, which is mostly in excess of the 
 supply, and, as such, has a tendency to check speculative enter- 
 prise, because an element of uncertainty enters into all calcu- 
 lations based upon a prospective rate of wages, there will arise 
 during the next few years a competition between the Govern- 
 ment and the private employer which will be necessarily favour- 
 able to unskilled labour more especially. Add to this the 
 general progress of settlement, the multiplication of wants 
 arising out of a more consolidated state of society, the accumu- 
 lation of capital, and the gradually decreasing rate of interest 
 which its possessors feel themselves compelled to acquiesce in, 
 and most i-eflecting men will acknowledge that the prospects 
 held out in Victoria to industrious immigrants were never so 
 numerous or so encouraging as they are at the present time. 
 
 " It must also be remembered that a wage-rent of lOs. a day 
 represents a far greater purchasing power, with respect to all 
 the necessaries of life, than the same sum does in England. 
 The best wheaten bread is sixpence the four-pound loaf, beef is 
 from threepence to sixpence, and mutton from three-halfpence 
 to fourpence per lb., fresh butter is from ninepence to a shilling, 
 and cheese from sixpence to tenpence per lb. ; all kinds of 
 garden and orchard produce are cheap and abundant ; tea, 
 sugar, and coffee are cheaper than in the mother country, and 
 wearing apparel is probably as reasonable in price, and is cer- 
 tainly as good in quality in Melbourne as in London ; while it 
 is the artisan's own fault if, with the aid of a building society, 
 he is not the owner of the house he occupies. 
 
 " With respect to female immigration, a single incident will 
 suffice to exhibit the magnitude of the demand for and the in- 
 sufficiency of the supply of domestic servants. On Friday last 
 it was notified that twenty-three young girls who had just 
 arrived by the Charlotte Gladstone would be open to engage- 
 ment at eleven o'clock in the morning, at the Immigration 
 Depot in this city. Five minutes sufficed to procure situations
 
 248 NEW HOMES. 
 
 for the whole of them at wages averaging from £20 to £30 per 
 annum. There were about 160 heads of households applying 
 for domestics, and it was stated that at least 300 female immi- 
 grants of the class above referred to could have met with imme- 
 diate engagements, if such a number had been forthcoming. 
 As a general rule, domestic service in this colony is less onerous, 
 while it is much more liberally remunerated, than in Great 
 Britain. Most houses consist of a ground-floor only, or of two 
 storeys at the most, and are conveniently planned. Fires are 
 not required for more than four months in the year, and the 
 winters are mild and genial. Hence domestic servitude does 
 not imply, as it too often does in the mother country, domestic 
 suffering, and the position of our Abigails and Bridgets is 
 sufficiently independent to exempt them from the necessity of 
 submitting to the arbitrary exercise of authority, to caprice of 
 temper, or rigorous limitations of personal liberty, should these 
 be manifested towards them by harsh and exacting mistresses. 
 
 " If we wished to strengthen the inducements which present 
 themselves to industrious men and women to emigrate to Vic- 
 toria, we might refer to the large sums deposited in the savings 
 banks and invested in building societies and other prudential 
 associations by the wage^-earning classes. But to persons of 
 average intelligence, the particulars as to wages and expenditure 
 which we have furnished above, and the accuracy of which may 
 be thoroughly relied on, will suffice to enable them to form 
 their own conclusions as to the advantages which will result 
 from transferring their labour from an overcrowded to an im- 
 perfectly supplied market. They must not imagine that by so 
 doing they will be dispensed from the exercise of diligence, 
 frugality, temperance, perseverance, and forethought ; but with 
 these, they may confidently calculate upon achieving an amount 
 of worldly prosperity in Australia which they could never hope 
 to attain to in Europe." 
 
 " The Laboue Market. — During the last month the 
 demand for house servants, both for town and country, has far 
 exceeded the supply, and rates have ruled correspondingly high.
 
 NEW HOMES. 249 
 
 In fact, very little hiring has been done in this branch of 
 labour, servants preferring generally to remain out of place 
 until the holidays are over. The difficulty of obtaining house 
 servants has of late been so great that in small families it is 
 seriously considered if it would not be better to do without 
 them altogether. Good servants for the country are greatly 
 wanted. First-class married couples without children can com- 
 mand almost any price, as much as £100 per annum having 
 been given for a first-class married couple lately. This, of 
 course, includes board and lodging. Mechanics connected with 
 the building trades have been kept fully employed, the con- 
 tractors often finding it difficult to get a supply of good work- 
 men. As usual at this time of the year, agricultui-al labourers 
 are in great demand, and the supply is very short. In some 
 districts men for harvest work are getting as high as 10s. per 
 day and their food, while in others the rate is from 6s. to 7s. 
 per day. The following rates have been taken from the largest 
 and best establishments of their kind in Melbourne, and where 
 the work is regular. For tradesmen in every case, except 
 where otherwise mentioned, the day's work is eight hom-s. 
 For country and house servants the average rate is taken, as 
 the last month's rates are exceptional, and not for a per- 
 manency. 
 
 " The usual weekly rations allowed in Victoria are 10 lb. to 
 121b. of meat (beef or mutton), 101b. flour, 21b. sugar, and 
 i lb. of tea. The following servants are fed and lodged by 
 their employers, receiving rations as above : — Shepherds (first- 
 class), £35 to £45 per annmn ; hutkeepers, £25 to £30 per 
 annum ; lads for the country, 10s. to 12s. per week ; general 
 farm labourers and station hands, 15s. to 20s. do. Married 
 couples for out stations £40 to £55 per annum. The following 
 servants are fed and lodged with the employers' families : — 
 Grooms, for country, 20s. to 25s. per week ; men cooks, for 
 hotels, £1 to £4 do. ; female do., £40 to £80 per annum ; 
 married couples, for country (first-class), without encumbrance, 
 from £65 to £85 per annum ; female house servants, for 
 country (first-class), £35 to £45 per annum ; do. do. (second- 
 
 R
 
 250 NEW HOMES. 
 
 class), £30 to £35 do. ; laundresses £35 to £15 do.; nurse- 
 girls, for town, £25 to £30 do. 
 
 " The following wages for skilled labourers and other trades- 
 men are without rations, unless where specially mentioned : — 
 
 " Tradesmen. — Among stonemasons, bricklayers, plasterers, 
 and carpenters an arrangement has been made with the em- 
 ployers that the rate of wages shall be 10s. per day ; builders' 
 labourers (hodmen), 7s. per day ; pick and shovel men, 6s. per 
 day. 
 
 " Tailors. — In first-class establishments good men are scarce, 
 and constant work is to be had at the average of from £3 to 
 £3 15s. per week. In second-class establishments the average 
 earnings are from £2 10s. to £3. In factories, tailors, best 
 hands, average £2 10s. Tailoresses can earn as follows : — 
 Trouser and vest hands, 80s. per week ; coat do., 35s. ; 
 pressers, £2. 
 
 " Clothing Machinists. — Best, 30s. per week ; ordinary, 20s. ; 
 shirtmakers (machinists), girls, 12s. 6d. to 17s.; cutters, 
 15s. 6d. to 30s. ; finishing, 2s. to Gs. per doz. 
 
 *' Bootmakers. — In the best establishments for bespoke work 
 the rates paid are as follow : — Wellingtons, 14s. 6d. ; elastics, 
 12s, ; closing, 8s. ; riding boots, back strap, 24s. In factories 
 good workmen can earn from £2 to £2 15s. per week at slop 
 work. Ordinary hands earn £2 per week. 
 
 " Cabinet-makers. — In the best shops the average earnings 
 of good tradesmen is 12s. per day and upwards, according to 
 ability ; polishers, 10s. to lis. In second-class establishments 
 and factories first hands make 10s. per day, and for cabriole 
 work 12s. ; upholsterers, 9s. to 10s. ; polishers, 8s. to 9s. ; saw- 
 mill hands, 10s. to 12s. per day of eight hours. 
 
 " Iron Founders, Smiths, &c. — Smiths are paid per hour, and 
 good men can earn on an average 10s. to 14s. per day ; fitters, 
 9s. to 12s. ; turners, 14s. ; moulders, lis. to 14s. ; pattern- 
 makers, 10s. to 13s. ; mechanical engineers, 12s. to 14s. ; 
 shoeing-smiths earn on an average £2 10s. per week of 10 
 hours per day. 
 
 " Stevedore's Men. — Lumpers and wool-stowers are paid 12s.
 
 NEW HOMES. 251 
 
 per day ; foremen, IGs. The rate never alters, but there is 
 often a good deal of broken time. Donkey-engine drivers, 
 about £4i per week ; engineers in tow-boats, £16 per month. 
 
 " Painters. — Ordinary hands get 8s. per day, but work is not 
 very steady in this trade. 
 
 " "Watch Jobbers. — Advertisements have appeared for steady 
 men in this trade at £i per week ; this may be taken as the 
 ordinary rate. 
 
 "Bakers. — First-class workmen (foremen) average £3 per 
 week ; second hands, £2 to £2 5s. The work in this trade is 
 10 hours per day. 
 
 " Gardeners. — Fu'st-class men (without rations) for situ- 
 ations near town, get 50s. to 60s. per week, but the demand 
 for best hands is very limited. . Do. for country, 50s. ; second- 
 class do., near town, 36s. to 42s. per week ; third-class, for 
 country (with rations), 15s. to 20s. 
 
 " Grooms in livery-stables get from 30s. to 40s. per week. 
 
 " Saddlers and Harness-makers. — The best hands in this 
 trade earn £3 per week — time, 10 hours per day ; second-class 
 (mostly young men), 25s. to 30s." 
 
 And these high wages are to be obtained in a 
 country where all the necessaries and many of the 
 luxuries of life are to be readily obtained at cheap 
 rates; so that if the emigrant will but be steady 
 and economical, success will undoubtedly reward 
 his laboui'. 
 
 The following account of the retail markets is 
 extracted from the Ar^us : — 
 
 " Eetail Maekets. — Eggs maintain late quotations and 
 butchers' meat is unaltered in price. Poultry is in demand, 
 and the feeling of the market is firm, but butter is plentifully 
 supplied, and rather dull of sale at slightly reduced rates. The 
 current prices are as follow : — Beef, 3d. to 6d. per lb. ; mutton,
 
 252 NEW HOMES. 
 
 lid. to 4d. per lb. ; veal, 6d. per lb. ; pork, 8d. per lb. ; fowls, 
 5s. to 6s. 6d. per pair ; geese, 8s. to lis. do. ; ducks, 6s. to 
 7s. do. ; tui-keys, 12s. to 20s. each ; cheese, 6d. to Is. 4d. per lb. ; 
 eggs, lOd. to Is. 2d. per dozen ; butter, lOd. to Is. per lb. ; 
 bread, 8d. per 1 lb. loaf ; milk, 6d. per quart ; hams, Is. 2d. to 
 Is. 4d. per lb. ; bacon, Is. to Is. 2d. per lb. 
 
 " Hat Maeket. — Mr. James Fenton reports : — ' The market 
 has been deluged with new hay of an inferior quality all the week ; 
 indeed, the supply of good is very limited. There has been very 
 little enquiry for old hay, and prices are not so firm. Quota- 
 tions are -.—Old hay, £8 10s. to £9 5s. ; new, £3 to £4 15s. ; 
 straw, £3 10s. to £5.' Messrs. Butler and Moss report : — 
 ' This has been a very dull week, large arrivals and few buyers 
 occasioned to some extent by the holidays. We expect a more 
 regular sale next week, even if prices are no better. We have 
 sold— Old hay, £8 10s. to £9 5s. ; new hay, £3 to £5 ; straw, 
 £3 15s. to £5 5s.' 
 
 "Eastern Maeket. — There was a heavy supply of cabbages 
 and new potatoes brought to market this morning, and sales 
 were very dull and at low prices. Peas were in request at an 
 advance, other descriptions of vegetables being the same as last 
 week. In fruits, strawberries were in active demand and 
 cherries of prime quality sold readily, but many of them this 
 season have suffered from hailstorm, and are very inferior. In 
 dairy produce butter was heavy, and lower rates were gladly 
 accepted, but eggs were firm at last week's quotations. Pigs 
 and poultry were well represented. The following were the 
 prices ruling : — Vegetables — Jerusalem artichokes, IM. to 2d. 
 per lb. ; asparagus, 6d. to 2s. 6d. per 100 ; basil. Is. per dozen 
 bunches ; beans, broad. Id. per lb. ; beet, 6d. to 9d. per dozen ; 
 bouquets, 3s. to 8s. per dozen ; cabbages, 3d. to Is. per dozen ; 
 carrots, 6d. to 8d. per dozen bunches ; cauhflowers, 6d. to 2s. 
 per dozen ; cress, water, 6d. to 9d. per dozen bunches ; cu- 
 cumbers, long spine, 2s. 6d. to 4s. per brace ; horseradish, 3s. 
 to 6s. per dozen bunches ; leek, 9d. to Is. per dozen bunches ; 
 lettuce, 4d. to Is. per dozen ; marjoram, 9d. per dozen bunches ; 
 mint, Gd. to 9d. per dozen bunches ; onions, dried, 8d. to 9d.
 
 NEW HOMES. 253 
 
 per lb. ; do., green, 6d. to lOd. per dozen bunches; parsley, 6d. 
 per dozen bunches ; parsnips, 9d. to Is. per dozen bunches ; 
 peas, lid. to 2d. per lb. ; old potatoes, 5s. to 5s. 3d. per cwt. ; 
 new do., 6s. to 10s. per cwt. ; radishes, 4d. to 6d. per dozen 
 bunches ; rhubarb, Is. to 2s. 6d. per dozen bunches ; sage, 9d. 
 per dozen bunches ; spinach, Id. per lb. ; thyme, 8d. to 9d. per 
 dozen bunches ; turnips, 6d. to Is. per dozen bunches. Fruits. 
 — Cherries, 9d. to Is. 3d. per lb. ; gooseberries, Shd. to 4d. per 
 quart ; strawberries, Is. 3d. to Is. 9d. per lb. Dairy Produce. — 
 Butter, 8d. to lOd. per lb. ; cheese, 6d. to 8d. per lb. ; ducks, 
 5s. Gd. to 6s. per pair ; eggs, lOd. to Is. per dozen ; geese, 8s. 
 to 10s. per pair ; hens, 5s. to 6s. per pair ; honey, 6d. per lb. ; 
 pigeons, 2s, to Ss. per pair ; pork, 6d. to 7d. per lb. ; rabbits, 
 2s. to 4s. per pair ; sucking pigs, 8s. to 12s. each ; turkeys, 
 lis. to 19s. per pair ; hams. Is. to Is. 2d. per lb. ; bacon. Is. 
 per lb." 
 
 A copy of the statistics of Yictoria for the year 
 ending 31st December, 1868, has been just received 
 from the Agent-GeneraL We make a few extracts 
 therefrom. During the year 32,805 emigrants 
 arrived, including Chinese, only 8,522 of whom 
 were females. During the same period 25,552, 
 including Chinese, left the colony. The population 
 amounted to 684,316. On the 30th September, 1869, 
 the population had increased to 703,817. There 
 are nearly 90,000 more men than women. Those 
 employed in the gold-fields number 271,788. The 
 estimated value of the rateable towns and boroughs 
 is £21,503,942, their revenue £500,323, and their 
 expenditure £398,386. Of the electors for the 
 Legislative Council it was found at the last election 
 that not more than about 53 per cent, exercised
 
 254 NEW HOMES. 
 
 their privilege ; and for the Legislative Assembly 
 61 per cent. The net revenue for the year was 
 £3,022,922, and the expenditure £2,263,831. The 
 public debt is £9,417,800. The total military force 
 in the colony was 483, and the expenditure under 
 this head £59,537. The Yictoria volunteer force 
 amounts to 4,002, and the expenditure on their 
 behalf to £25,558. Immigration cost £23,131. 
 The expenditure on public works was £103,136, and 
 on roads and bridges £76,072. The imports for the 
 yearwere£13,320,661,andtheexports£15,593,990. 
 The value of the preserved meat exported came 
 to £28,565, of gold to £7,843,197, and of wool 
 £4,567,182. The number of vessels that entered 
 inwards was 2,067, of the tonnage of 653,362 tons; 
 and outwards 2,172, of the tonnage of 685,207 tons. 
 There are 633 post-offices through which there 
 passed in the year nearly ten millions of letters, and 
 five millions of newspapers. There are now 86 
 electric telegraph stations, 3,171 miles of wire, and 
 the revenue from this source was £31,058, The 
 colony has now 271 miles of railway opened, the 
 total cost of which has been upwards of ten millions 
 of money, being at the rate of £37,331 a mile. 
 The passage rates are : first-class, 3|d.; second-class, 
 2|d. a mile. The total receipts for the year have 
 been £712,765. 
 
 The lands sold during the year were 275,648 
 acres, at the average price of £1 6s. Id. The total 
 quantity of land sold in the colony is 6,675,246
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 255 
 
 acres, and the total extent of unsold land now is 
 48,967,803 acres. There are 1,050 runs held by the 
 squatters, covering an area of 27,034,785 acres. 
 The cultivated land is 712,865 acres, of which 
 259,804 acres are under wheat and 36,204 under 
 potatoes. There were upwards of four million 
 bushels of wheat and eighty thousand tons of po- 
 tatoes. There are nearly eight millions of vines. 
 
 The return of sheep and cattle is as follows : 
 sheep, 9,756,819; cattle, 693,682; horses, 143,934; 
 and pigs, 136,206. 
 
 The number of buildings of all descriptions used 
 for public worship by the chief denominations is 
 thus given: Wesley ans, 392; Presbyterians, 383; 
 Church of England, 340; Eoman Catholics, 294. 
 There is accommodation in all the places of worship 
 for 286,760, with an average attendance of 180,721. 
 The Melbourne University has now 253 gra- 
 duates. There are 1,430 iDublic and private schools, 
 attended by 97,884 scholars. Sabbath schools 
 number 1,201, with an average attendance of 
 83,627 children. 
 
 There are eighty public libraries or mechanics' 
 institutes, twenty-six hospitals, six benevolent 
 asylums, six orphan asylums, four hospitals for 
 the insane, six industrial schools, one deaf and 
 dumb institution, a Magdalen asylum and a refuge, 
 two benevolent societies, and a Jewish philan- 
 thropic society. A mint for Yictoria is in course 
 of erection in Melbourne. It is to be under the
 
 256 NEW HOMES. 
 
 charge of Colonel "Warde, who held a similar post a 
 few years since in Sydney. 
 
 This is an age of statistics. "We may confidently 
 refer to the above as demonstrating most clearly 
 the rapid progress and the financial prosperity of 
 Victoria. 
 
 From what has been said about this colony the 
 reader will have gathered the following facts : that 
 there is no room for men wishing to take up 
 new runs for sheejD or cattle. The only way to 
 obtain such property now is by purchase. For 
 those, however, who wish to find everything ready 
 to their hand the terms for purchasing are very 
 favourable, as stations are selling at a low rate. 
 There is ample room for men of small capital 
 desirous of buying a homestead and commencing 
 farming operations. "We believe that in this colony 
 " squatting" will die out, and we shall see a large 
 body of men, like the farmers in England, combining 
 within a limited space agricultural and pastoral pur- 
 suits. And such a class is a most valuable one for 
 any country, and of their success there can be no 
 reasonable doubt. Mechanics in moderation, and 
 labourers in any number, and female servants with- 
 out limit, will find remunerative employment in a 
 land like " home."
 
 p (/^v> 
 
 Cljiiptcv Wi. 
 
 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 
 
 jY "South Australia" we should naturally 
 expect to find that country which was 
 ^ farthest from the tropics, but such is not 
 the case, for the whole colony of Victoria is to the 
 south of Adelaide. The title is therefore a mis- 
 nomer. And more so now than formerly, for great 
 part of the most northern portion of the island is 
 now included in ^oidh Australia. In fact it goes 
 through the whole land from north to south, and 
 thus constitutes the largest of all the British 
 colonies. As originally established, its area was 
 estimated at 300,000 square miles, or 192,000,000 
 acres, being more than twice the size of Great 
 Britain and Ireland. In 1861 it was further en- 
 larged by the addition of a territory called "No 
 Man's Land," a district situated between South 
 and Western Australia; and in 1863 the great 
 "Northern Territory" was temporarily annexed to 
 it. Its northern boundary is now the Indian Ocean, 
 and the southern boundary the Southern Ocean, and 
 it covers an area of 750,000 square miles. 
 
 So far back as 1831 a number of gentlemen of
 
 ,.'■■■ I" 
 
 258 W^ ^ NEW HOMES. 
 
 high standing in England formed a company for the 
 purpose of colonising this distant land. But after a 
 lengthened negotiation with the government they 
 failed to obtain their charter, and the project was 
 abandoned. But it was revived in 1834, and a Bill 
 passed both Houses of Parliament and received the 
 royal assent, enabling the projectors to carry out 
 their plans under certain regulations. 
 
 In 1827 it was proposed to appoint a select com- 
 mittee of the House of Commons on emigration. 
 On that occasion Colonel Torrens explained the 
 novel principles to be pursued. '' I am not merely 
 prepared to show," he said, "that emigration would 
 cost less than maintaining paupers in their parishes 
 at home, and would thus prove a measure of per- 
 manent economy and retrenchment, I am prepared 
 to go much further than this. I am prepared to 
 prove, both theoretically and practically, that emi- 
 gration may be so conducted as to replace with 
 interest the whole of the expenditure incurred in 
 effecting it, and to aid the finances of the country by 
 opening new and not inconsiderable sources of public 
 revenue. Should any honourable member conceive 
 that I am departing from the strict sobriety of fact, 
 let him look to the United States of North America, 
 and learn from the practical men of that untheorising 
 country the gigantic scale upon which emigration 
 and colonisation may be beneficially carried out. 
 The population of the States is nearly twelve 
 millions ; it doubles in a period of about twenty-five
 
 IT^ NEW HO^S. 259 
 
 years, and the main annual increase may be taken 
 at half a million. Now of this half-million annually 
 added to the population, the far greater proportion 
 annually emigrate to the western territory, pere 
 their capital rapidly accumulates, the forest recedes 
 before them, villages and towns rise as by ^mchant- 
 ment, and the unreclaimed and unappropriated 
 lands bordering upon the perpetually c&tending scale 
 successively acquire exchangeable value, and are 
 sold by the government for increasing amounts. 
 Will it be said that England cannot do in her 
 colonies that which America is doing in her western 
 forests ? If an extensive emigration to New South 
 "Wales would, in the first instance, be more costly 
 than one of similar magnitude to British America, 
 the repayment would be earlier and more rapid, 
 while the value which the influx of population and 
 capital bestowed upon the fertile plains of Australia 
 might be expected to open a source of very con- 
 siderable revenue from the sale of crown lands. 
 Such an emigration judiciously conducted would, I 
 am fully persuaded, be the appropriate remedy, the 
 true specific for the deep-seated disease which 
 infects our social system. The expense of locating 
 the able-bodied poor in the colonies would be less 
 than that of maintaining them at home ; the rapid 
 reproduction of capital, when applied to fertile soil, 
 would enable them in a short period to replace the 
 expenses of their first establishment ; ivliiU the value 
 tvliich the influx of an industrious jwpulation hestoivecl
 
 260 NEW ho:mes. 
 
 upon the colonial lands, at the disposal of the crotun, 
 tvould become a loermanent source of national revenue, 
 and of clear and unlought advantage to the country . 
 In giving effect to extensive and improved plans of 
 colonisation, we are multiplying the British nation, 
 we are rocking the cradles of giant empires, we are 
 co-operating- in the schemes of Providence, and are 
 its favoured iri.^truments in causing Christian civili- 
 sation to ' cover the earth as the waters cover the 
 sea.' " 
 
 The plan proposed to be adopted is generally- 
 known as the Wakefield system of colonisation — a 
 plan which has been tried more than once and has 
 failed. The new colony was to be self-supporting. 
 The assumed principle was that land without labour 
 is valueless ; therefore it was proposed to raise a 
 revenue by the sale of land at a price sufficiently 
 high to pay for the passages of labourers to cultivate 
 it. A board of commissioners was appointed to 
 carry the proposed scheme into effect. The Act was 
 not to come into force until £35,000 had been 
 raised by the sale of land ; and £20,000 of bonds 
 were to be invested as a guarantee that the new 
 country should not become a source of expense to 
 England. They thought it wise to fix the price of 
 the land high, so as to keep the labourer in his 
 right position instead of becoming a landowner ; 
 and for the comfort of the settlers and the protection 
 of the free labourer no convicts were ever to be 
 sent to it. So that of all the Australian group
 
 NEW HOMES. 261 
 
 Victoria and South Australia alone were established 
 on this basis. The " South Australian Company " 
 purchased land to the amount required, giving £81 
 for one acre of town land and 134 acres in the 
 country. 
 
 The new scheme was eagerly taken up, and as in 
 the case of another colony, so desirous were some of 
 the emigrants to be at their new homes, that three 
 ships arrived there before the surveying staff. The 
 emigrants were landed on Kangaroo Island, at the 
 entrance of the Gulf. The survey party got there 
 in August, 1836. The chief officer was Colonel 
 Light. He knew nothing personally of the country 
 when he arrived at Gulf St. Yincent. They found 
 a harbour in a narrow inlet, and fixed the site of 
 Adelaide on some rising ground seven miles inland. 
 The city was divided into two unequal parts by a 
 reserve of 200 acres of land, which was kept for 
 a park, and the Eiver Torrens runs through it. 
 The town was surrounded by a park about 500 
 yards wide; there were six squares, a reserve of 
 ten acres for the government domain, and sites for 
 botanical gardens, a hospital, and public cemetery. 
 The streets run at right angles with each other, and 
 are from 60 to 130 feet wide. 
 
 The first governor was Captain Hindmarsh. 
 When he arrived he did not approve of the site se- 
 lected for the town, and great misunderstanding 
 arose. There appears in fact to have been a mistake 
 in the arrangements as made at home. There was
 
 262 NEW HOMES. 
 
 a resident commissioner to represent the company, 
 and a governor appointed by and in the interest of 
 the crown. Great delays took place in the surveys, 
 and the colonists were reduced in many instances 
 to considerable difficulties. When the clashing of 
 the rival parties as to the site of the city and other 
 matters was brought under the notice of Lord 
 Glenelg, he recalled the governor and the commis- 
 sioner in 1838, and sent out Colonel Gawler, who 
 in his own person united both offices. Still the 
 people came, and still the difficulty continued — that 
 the lands were not surveyed. The new governor 
 found things in a sad state. The public offices were 
 in great confusion, no records had been kept, very 
 little progress had been made in the surveys, the 
 expense of transporting goods from the anchorage 
 to the city was ruinous, and the ready money was 
 sent out of the country in order to purchase neces- 
 saries in the older colonies. 
 
 Colonel Light, the head of the survey depart- 
 ment, resigned; and under his successor. Captain 
 Frome, the surveys were rapidly proceeded with, 
 and the people settled on their lands. 
 
 Centralisation instead of dispersion seems to 
 have been Colonel Gawler' s favourite plan, as in- 
 deed it was Wakefield's. In 1840 the pojDulation 
 was 14,010, and nearly 9,000 of them were within 
 the municipal district of Adelaide. The governor 
 gave the men employment on public works there 
 instead of in making roads and bridges, which would
 
 .. — NEW HOMES. ' 263 
 
 have opened up the coimtiy. He had a kind of 
 authority to draw on the Home Government in case 
 of absolute necessity. In 1840, the income was 
 about £30,000, and the expenditure £170,000 ; and 
 in the next year, with a revenue of £26,720, the 
 outlay had been £104,471. In the former of these 
 years a hundred sovereigns were paid for a ton of 
 flour, and bread rose to famine prices. The 41b. 
 loaf was three shillings and sixpence. 
 
 Of course this continued overdrawing of accounts 
 did not last long. The governor was recalled in 
 1841, and Captain Grey, who had formerly been in 
 Western Australia, succeeded him. If Colonel 
 Gawler had been lavish, his successor went almost 
 to the opposite extreme. The estimates were re- 
 duced by £60,000. With the sudden stoppage of 
 the large expenditure of government money, came 
 bankruptcy amongst the employers of labour, and 
 want of work among the labouring classes. At this 
 time two thousand people, out of the eight thousand 
 in the town, were thrown upon the government for 
 support as absolute paupers. Threatening language 
 was used. The contractors, having shared among 
 them in the year before about £150,000, which was 
 spent on the government buildings, prayed that the 
 works might be resumed; but the governor was 
 firm, and would only meet the difi&culty by giving 
 the men work on the roads at low rates of wages. 
 
 At the time when there was so much want and so 
 much insubordination in Adelaide itself, those who
 
 264 KEW HOMES. 
 
 had got possession of their lands in the country- 
 were reaping a golden harvest. The soil and cli- 
 mate of South Australia appear to be peculiarly- 
 adapted to wheat. Its flour may be considered as 
 the best in the world. It took the prize medal at 
 London in 1851, and at Paris at the last Exhibition. 
 As soon as the residents in the town saw the success 
 which attended agricultural pursuits, they gladly 
 followed in the steps of those who were succeeding 
 so well. One- third of the houses in the town then 
 became empty, and landlords were in despair. One- 
 third of the public-houses also were closed, pro- 
 visions became cheap, and the colonists were eating 
 their own breadstuffs instead of importing them. 
 Dispersion succeeded where centralisation failed. 
 
 From this time the colony adopted agriculture as 
 its chief pursuit, and it has done so ever since. Its 
 progress was very rapid indeed. Thus, in 1840, 
 there were 2,503; in 1841, 6,722; and in 1842, 
 19,790 acres under cultivation. The next year it 
 was nearly 29,000 ! But then another difficulty 
 arose. How were they to get in this great harvest, 
 for the hands were very few, and the climate so hot 
 and dry that it must be cut and thrashed speedily. 
 Thanks are due to a South Australian colonist (Mr. 
 Eidley), who, in 1843, invented a reaper which goes 
 by his name. It is drawn by a couple of horses, and 
 is managed by two men, and it gathers the ear and 
 thrashes out the grain in one operation. It reaps 
 ten acres in a day. The grain is just passed through
 
 NEW HOMES. 265 
 
 a winnowing macliine and bagged, and is ready for 
 market. There are now not far short of 600,000 
 acres of wheat grown in the colony, and at least 
 four-fifths are cut and thrashed by these machines. 
 The farmer requires no barns, but sends his grain 
 from the harvest-field direct to the railway station 
 or to the merchant's store. The machines are not 
 expensive. Almost every farmer has one of them, 
 and each town has a maker or repairer of them. 
 
 Everything now was going on most prosperously. 
 In 1844 there were 450,000 sheep, 30,000 horned 
 cattle, 2,150 horses, 12,000 pigs, and the exports 
 amounted to £82,268. 
 
 As in later years New South "Wales and Victoria 
 were startled from their quiet pursuits by the dis- 
 covery of gold, so in 1843 a new and great source 
 of wealth was found in South Australia. The colony 
 appears to have been indebted to some German 
 immigrants in this matter. They had worked in the 
 mines of their native country, 'and so were on the 
 look-out for^metals. They found lead ore (galena) 
 on the slopes of Mount Lofty. Some settlers 
 purchased a section of land where these specimens 
 were most abundant, and sent some of the ore to 
 England for analysis. This colony has from the 
 commencement had a great advantage over its 
 neighbours in that no reserve is made by the Crown 
 of metals or minerals. In 1842, pieces of stone were 
 picked up with blue and green streaks in them ; 
 a boy took some of them home to his father, and 
 
 s
 
 266 NEW HOMES. 
 
 shortly afterwards an overseer looking for lost sheep 
 kicked against some of the same stones, and 
 knowing something of mineralogy, he told his em- 
 ployer, and on going to the spot they found in all 
 du-ectious a great deposit of the copper ore. The 
 master was Captain Bagot; the overseer, Francis 
 Dutton. This turned out to be the "Kapunda 
 Mine," out of which they amassed large fortunes. 
 Within eight years of its discovery, copper ore of 
 the value of half a million sterling was procured, 
 and it has gone on increasing ever since. Kapunda 
 is the name of a township, having about 3,000 in- 
 habitants, and it is the present terminus of the 
 Northern Eailway. It has just been hghted with 
 gas. This mine was worked in 1843, and was the 
 first that was discovered. Gawler Town is in the 
 neighbourhood of this place, at which there are two 
 very powerful steam mills, from which large quan- 
 tities of. flour are sent to Adelaide and exported. 
 Mr. Duffield's residence is not far from this rich part 
 of the country. It is called " Para Para," and is 
 considered one of the finest houses in the colony. 
 The Duke of Edinburgh visited him when he went 
 to the Kapunda mine. The soil and situation are 
 well adapted for the vine, and the vineyards be- 
 longing to Mr. Duffield are said to produce the 
 finest of those wines for which this colony is rapidly 
 acquiring a reputation. 
 
 In the following year (1844) the great Burra 
 Burra mines were discovered by the accidental
 
 NEW HOMES. 267 
 
 turning up of the ore by the wheels of a bullock 
 dray. The Xapunda mine was private property, at 
 which many of the people were so chagrined that 
 they petitioned for a survey of twenty thousand 
 acres, that each might have a chance of getting a 
 slice of the rich country. This was granted, but all 
 the purchasers were bound to pay for their lots in 
 hard cash. Eeady money was very scarce in those 
 days, and it is said that many a man had to thank 
 his wife for her careful habits, when she relieved 
 him of his difficulty by bringing forth her "old 
 stocking" — her prudent provision against a rainy 
 day. This large block of land was divided into two 
 portions. The scrip of one of them was worth about 
 £12 in the year 1850, and the £5 share of the 
 Burra Burra was eagerly taken at £290. Kapunda 
 is about forty-eight miles from Adelaide, through 
 the centre of a rich wheat-growing district. It was 
 in 1858 that the first railway, seven miles long, was 
 constructed from the Port to Adelaide; thence it 
 was extended to Kapunda, and there is now an 
 authorised continuation of it to the Burra Burra 
 mines, which are nearly one hundred miles from 
 Adelaide, and fifty from Kapunda, passing still 
 through a very large area of wheat-producing lands. 
 There is also a line of rails, twenty- three miles long, 
 which when completed will connect another large 
 agricultural district with the sea at Port Wakefield ; 
 and a third, connecting Strathalbyn, which is the 
 centre of the eastern districts, with Port Victor, on
 
 268 NEW HOMES. 
 
 the south — Port Victor being the outlet for the 
 Eiver Murray traffic. The ore at the Burra mine 
 was found near the surface. Within the first three 
 years copper to the value of £700,000 was raised, 
 and for many years afterwards the average annual 
 yield was nearly double that large sum. Of course 
 as soon as these rich discoveries became generally 
 known there was a mania for copper and lead 
 mining, second only to the intoxication caused soon 
 after in the neighbouring colonies by the gold. Men 
 who had previously ridiculed the whole thing were 
 to be seen, hammer in hand, chipping the hard rock 
 in the hope of hitting upon malachite, or green car- 
 bonate. In the year 1850, there were fifty-two 
 mining associations floated, and forty out of them 
 never gave a shilling of return either of principal 
 or of dividend. A large body of Cornish miners 
 were sent for, a class of men who at first did a great 
 amount of good to South Australia, and who were 
 invaluable in Victoria when the gold was discovered 
 there. English capital was attracted to the colony, 
 and Adelaide presented an exciting scene, and a 
 cheering one too, for they were times of real not 
 fictitious prosperity. Had things gone on thus, 
 Port Phillip might have been left behind in the race 
 for population and for wealth. 
 
 Colonel Eobe succeeded Captain Grey as governor 
 in 1845. He became very unpopular by two acts. 
 The first was imposing a royalty on all minerals 
 raised within the colony. This was so strenuously
 
 NEW HOMES. 269 
 
 resisted that it had to be abandoned, being contrary 
 to the conditions on which the purchasers of land 
 had obtained theii' grants. The second was the in- 
 discriminate endowment of all religious bodies. This 
 was likewise opposed, but not so violently, and it 
 lingered on until a representative legislature was 
 established, and then all State aid was abandoned. 
 
 In the year 1850 the popidation had reached 
 63,000, and there were nearly 60,000 acres under 
 crop. At this early period nearly 300 acres of 
 vineyard had been j)lanted, and this industry has 
 been going on ever since, and there can be no doubt 
 of the adaptability of the soil and climate for the 
 growth of the vine, so that it is but a question of 
 time and care and skill, and the wines of this colony 
 will form a considerable item in its exports. 
 
 But the next year came, 1851, and there was the 
 news of the gold discovery in New South "Wales. 
 This was a subject of deep interest to the skilful 
 Cornish miners, and the colonists generally were 
 looking on somewhat in dread as to what effect it 
 would have upon their prospects. But Bathurst 
 was so remote that it did not greatly unsettle the 
 mining population, nor injure South Australia. But 
 almost before they had time to congratulate them- 
 selves on this, the news spread like wild-fire that still 
 richer gold-fields had been found in the colony ad- 
 joining their own — Victoria — whose western bound- 
 ary was not more than 150 miles from their eastern 
 frontier. Copper was very well, but gold was better.
 
 270 NEW HOMES. 
 
 And so witliin six months half the adult population 
 of the whole colony had quitted it for Ballarat, Mount 
 Alexander, and Bendigo. They left their wives 
 and families behind as pledges for their return. 
 And return they did, especially all the skilled 
 German and Cornish miners, and brought their 
 "piles" with them. If Yictoria's lands had been 
 unlocked then, and sold, a vast addition would have 
 been made to the permanent population. Nay, it 
 would have been well for the colony if she had given 
 an allotment to every man who came to make it his 
 home. The South Australian government acted 
 with great wisdom at this critical juncture; they 
 helped instead of impeding this migration. They 
 marked out a road, dug wells, made bridges — which 
 would assist the people, not only in going to hut in 
 returning from the diggings. And they established 
 an escort, which brought the gold belonging to the 
 colony to Adelaide. There it was melted, assayed 
 and stamped, and declared to be a legal tender in 
 all transactions with the government. It was 
 during Sir Henry Young's tenure of office as 
 governor, who succeeded Colonel Eobe, that the 
 Australian colonies were convulsed by the discovery 
 of gold. Sir Henry's name is chiefly identified with 
 the great interest which he took in opening up the 
 navigation of the Murray. 
 
 Still the Adelaide people wished to have a gold- 
 field of their own. Yery naturally. And the legis- 
 lative council, which had been recently established,
 
 NEW HOMES. 271 
 
 co-operated with the government by offering a 
 reward of £1,000 for the discovery of a gold-field 
 which would be of real value to the country's 
 exports, and Governor Young assented to this. In 
 1852 specks of gold were found on the Onkaparinga 
 Eiver, but they were only specks. For ten or 
 twelve years after this there were frequent rumours 
 of the finding of the precious metal, but nothing of 
 much value came to light. In 1864 the govern- 
 ment invited Mr. Hargreaves, the first discoverer of 
 gold in New South Wales, to survey the north and 
 the south portions of the vast territory. He spent 
 half a year in the search, but did not succeed. And 
 up to this time the colony remains without a gold- 
 field. There is, however, a well founded expecta- 
 tion that as the northern part of the country 
 becomes more extensively known, the hopes of the 
 colonists will ultimately be realised. 
 
 Sir Heniy Young was succeeded by Sir Eichard 
 Macdonnell, who arrived in 1855, and who gave 
 place early in 1862 to Sir Dominic Daly. Before 
 quitting the colony Sir R. Macdonnell, in a vale- 
 dictory speech to the legislature, briefly enumerated 
 the principal changes which had taken place during 
 the seven years of his governorship : " Had I time, 
 it would be interesting to recall to your recollection 
 the most salient points in the history of that epoch. 
 This, however, is not a moment to attempt such a 
 task, though I cannot but remind you that when I 
 landed here in June, 1855, there was not a mile of
 
 272 NEW HOMES. 
 
 railway opened in the colony, and yet there are now 
 57 miles in use, over which annually rolls a traffic 
 of more than 150,000 tons and 320,000 passengers. 
 Your coasts have been lit with three additional 
 first-class lights, and three additional harbours have 
 come into extensive use. Your population has 
 grown from 86,000 to nearly 130,000; whilst 
 the exports of colonial produce have risen from 
 less than £690,000, in 1855, to £1,808,000 for 
 the year ending the 30th of last June. When 
 I landed there was scarcely sixty miles of made 
 road in the colony, whereas now, independent 
 of those in the city, there are nearly if not 
 over 200 miles; and instead of 160,000 acres 
 in cultivation there cannot be less now than 
 460,000, a number greater in proportion to the 
 population than obtains in any other portion of Her 
 Majesty's dominions, or indeed in any other part 
 of the world with which I am acquainted. It is 
 moreover since 1855 that the first telegraph post 
 was erected in the colony, and yet you already 
 possess 600 miles of telegraphic communication, and 
 nearly 1,000 miles of wire, together with twenty-six 
 stations. It is also since 1855 that the explorations 
 of Mr. Stuart and others have added so much to our 
 geographical knowledge, filling up the large blank 
 spaces which had so long defaced the map of South 
 Australia, and usefully opened up the country for 
 further settlement. Above all, it is since my arrival 
 here that the great experiment has been tried of
 
 NEW HOMES. 273 
 
 entrusting the general mass of the people, through 
 their immediate representatives, with power to 
 control completely the taxation and expenditure of 
 the country and direct its general legislation. I am 
 bound to say that, although such an experiment 
 must be more or less hazardous anywhere, there is 
 less risk accompanying it in South Australia, owing 
 to the character of the people and the division of 
 property here, than would attend it in almost any 
 other country. I may add that if I were to select 
 any one reason, as the paramount cause of responsible 
 government working hitherto with so great a 
 measure of success, I would attribute it to the fair 
 and equitable view which generally prevails as 
 to the mutual and necessary dependence of the 
 various great interests of the colony one on another. 
 The sentiments avowed on that subject at public 
 meetings, and in the debates of Parliament, form 
 not merely a pleasing and healthy contrast with 
 what takes place in other colonies, but give the best 
 and strongest guarantee that society here will con- 
 tinue united for the advancement of the common 
 weal, and will thereby have the greatest chance of 
 promoting the general prosperity." 
 
 Disappointed in their hope of a local gold-field, the 
 colonists bravely set to work to make the most of 
 of the rich resources which they had within their 
 reach, and specially to the increased growth of the 
 vine, both for table use and for wine. In 1863 
 there were nearly six millions of vines in the colony,
 
 274 NEW HOMES. 
 
 and nearly 500,000 gallons of wine were made from 
 those which were in bearing. There is also a large 
 export of very fine grapes to the other colonies. 
 Grapes of the best kinds can thus be bought at a 
 penny or twopence a pound. And though Adelaide 
 had not gold, she made indeed a golden harvest of 
 her wheat and flour. The people of Victoria were 
 too busily engaged in digging for gold to care about 
 ploughing, sowing, and reaping their lands ; and so 
 the Adelaide farmers became rich by supplying 
 cereals to their neighbours. In 1863 the wheat 
 produced amounted to 3,841,824 bushels. Each 
 person in the colony had on an average more than 
 eighteen acres of freehold land, and the sheep pro- 
 duced 13,229,009 lbs. of wool. The imports and 
 exports combined reached, during the year 1864, 
 the large sum of nearly six millions, leaving a con- 
 siderable balance to the credit of the colony. In 
 that year £70,000 were voted for immigration pur- 
 poses, and during the next five years 33,420 persons 
 were brought into the colony by means of the 
 government grants. The disproportion of the sexes 
 is less in South Australia than in any other of the 
 Australian colonics. 
 
 As we remarked before, the early settlers were at 
 first greatly disheartened, but they soon rallied. In 
 Capper's "South Australia" some interesting accounts 
 are given in letters to friends, which were never 
 meant for the public eye, and which detail the 
 troubles of colonial life at first, and the way in
 
 NEW HOMES. 275 
 
 which these troubles are soon surmounted. An 
 emigrant and his wife thus address a relative in 
 Scotland: ''We left Blackwall, London, on the 
 24th August, 1837. We were well used on board, 
 had a very fine captain, and a most excellent man 
 for a doctor. We had more rations than we could 
 use. We lay seven days at Kangaroo Island, and 
 got ashore one day and had a look at the settlement 
 there. The soil appears to be good, but there is no 
 fresh water. I have seen onions selling in town, 
 which grew upon the island, the largest I ever saw. 
 We left that on the 8th December, and arrived at 
 our destination. Holdfast Bay, on the 9th. We 
 had two weeks' rations allowed us after coming to 
 town, and a free house, in which we lived six 
 months. My first work was to drive bullocks, but 
 I did not like them ; so I commenced, under a car- 
 penter, fencing and jobbing at five shillings and 
 sixpence a day. I left him and commenced taking 
 jobs with an Englishman who came out in the ship 
 with us. We did very well, making from eight 
 shillings to ten shillings a day. Now Bell and I 
 have engaged with a Joint Stock Cattle Company, 
 to have charge of a dairy for one year at £80, and 
 to be found in provisions. The company consists of 
 eighty shares at £25 a share. I have taken one 
 share, and think I will take another. I have also 
 bought half an acre of land adjoining the town, so 
 I consider I have made a good change by coming 
 here. We are living quite happy, and I consider
 
 276 NEW HOMES. 
 
 that an industrious man with a good steady wife 
 may be independent in a very few years. For our 
 own part we have saved more cash since we came 
 here than we ever could have done in Scotland. 
 This is a most delightful country; the climate is 
 hotter than that of Scotland, but I have never found 
 the heat oppressive." A second man writes thus : 
 "After landing, I went to work at thirty shillings 
 a week. My wife goes out washing two days a 
 week, for which she has four shillings a day and 
 her keep ; the remainder of the time she takes in 
 washing, at five shillings a dozen, so that we are 
 doing quite well. It far surpasses my expectations. 
 I have reason to bless God that I ever came to 
 South Australia, in respect of temporal blessings. 
 It is of no use for a man or a woman to think of 
 coming to Australia to be lazy, for they will be 
 miserably mistaken, as it is downright hard work 
 here ; but a sober, steady man may do well." We 
 must just give one more example. Stephen Gold- 
 sack and his wife write to a friend, who was a 
 wheelwright at the Eoyal Arsenal, Woolwich, thus : 
 *'I engaged at once with a baker at £2 10s. a 
 week, and bread, flour and potatoes. I stayed 
 with him until last week, when I left him, after 
 having had built for myself a good stone house and 
 bakehouse. I can and do clear with ease £1 5s. a 
 day, and don't mean to sec the inside of my bake- 
 house on Sundays. We board and lodge a gentle- 
 man for £1 6s. a week — washing, &c., extra. Jane
 
 NEW HOMES. 277 
 
 has more work in dress-making tkan she can attend 
 to, at her own price. I must confess that I should 
 be extremely glad to see you — yes, all of you — out 
 here in this fine and thriving country ; yet I will 
 write nothing but truth, and you may please your- 
 selves. However, God willing, we will some day 
 see you all again— in England, if we cannot out 
 here; for the colonists of South Australia are 
 licensed by destiny to work only from eight to 
 twelve years before saving a good fortune. I mean 
 such as are industrious, eat and drink of the best, 
 and keep from drunkenness, the curse of all new set- 
 tlements. I suppose you think yourself too old now 
 to do any good ? Well, that excuse is better than 
 a worse. But I tell you that, as sure as I breathe, 
 there are people in Adelaide, whom I know well, as 
 old as 2jour father, who left England two years ago 
 not worth ten shillings, and now, through nothing 
 but industry, they have each several good stone 
 houses and several acres of town land. Ten hundred 
 pounds would not buy them, if you produce it in 
 gold. Jane sits at my elbow and says, ' Tell him he 
 must come out, and must bring Marion with him, 
 and Betsy, and the family.' Children of all sizes 
 and of both sexes are worth here 350 per cent. I 
 hope that by the time you get this Jane and myself 
 shall have something less than a dozen." 
 
 We have made these extracts from the letters of 
 successful emigrants, because they contain evidence 
 of the elements which make the prosperous man :
 
 ■278 NEW HOMES. 
 
 industry, steadiness, and a regard to God's blessing. 
 And though time has passed by since they were 
 written, and the colony has progressed to an extra- 
 ordinary extent, yet even now men possessing these 
 characteristics need not fear. They would be sure to 
 get on, and in the long run attain to independence. 
 
 South Australia was the first of the colonies 
 visited by His Eoyal Highness the Duke of Edin- 
 burgh, and here, as everywhere, he was most en- 
 thusiastically received. The early croakers against 
 a settlement in Australia, because it would rapidly 
 throw ojff the yoke of England and become a nest of 
 pirates, were far from correct in their predictions. 
 Her Majesty's dominions are widely spread, for the 
 sun never sets upon them ; but amidst them all, none 
 are more loyal in their devotion than the Australian 
 colonies. The Gawler Institute had given a prize for 
 the production of the following verses, or " Song of 
 Australia," and it was most enthusiastically sung by 
 the Sunday school children in the Duke's presence : — 
 
 " There is a land wliere summer skies 
 Are gleaming with a thousand dyes, 
 Blending in witching harmonies ; 
 And grassy knoll and forest height 
 Are flashing in the rosy light, 
 And all above is azure bright — 
 Australia ! 
 
 ** There is a land where floating free, 
 From mountain top to girdling sea, 
 A proud lUig waves exultingly; 
 And Freedom's sons the banner bear, 
 No shackled slave can breathe the air ; 
 Fairest of Britain's daughters fair — 
 Australia! "
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 279 
 
 It was during the administration of Sir Henry 
 Young, in 1851, that the first representative con- 
 stitution was granted to this colony. It consisted 
 of a single chamber of twenty-four members, eight 
 of whom were appointed by the Crown, and the rest 
 elected by the people. When two years later a new 
 Act was passed whereby the government was to be 
 vested in a double chamber, the members of the 
 upper one being nominees for life, so much dissatis- 
 faction was expressed that, in 1856, a second Act 
 received the royal assent. The government is now 
 vested in a Legislative Council, and a House of 
 Assembly, the members of hoth being elected by 
 ballot. The Council is elected by the whole province 
 as one constituency, and it cannot be dissolved by 
 the governor. There is no property qualification 
 for a seat in the Upper House. The only requisites 
 are, that a candidate must be thirty years of age 
 and have resided in the colony for three years. A 
 voter for the Council must be of age, have been on 
 the electoral roll for six months, and have a freehold 
 of £50 value, or a lease of the value of £20 a year, 
 or occupy a house of the rental of £25. The num- 
 ber of voters for the Council is about one-third of 
 the adult male population. A member of the Lower 
 House needs no qualification beyond that of being 
 of age, and that his name has been on the roll for 
 six months. 
 
 The author of the "Cruise of the Galatea^'' 
 writing in 1867, has the following interesting
 
 280 NEW HOMES. 
 
 remarks on the subject of the working of this new 
 system of government : " During the past eleven 
 years everything has advanced at a rapid pace. 
 The area of occupation has been extended many 
 hundred miles into the interior. Thousands of immi- 
 grants have been imported annually at the public 
 expense. The extent of land sold is reckoned by 
 millions of acres, and the annual produce of the 
 colony by millions of bushels of wheat, millions of 
 pounds of wool, and thousands of tons of copper. 
 Public works have been prosecuted in a most libe- 
 ral spirit, and on a large scale, until the colony is 
 traversed in every direction by good macadamized 
 roads, supplemented in some districts by well-con- 
 structed railways for horse or steam power. In the 
 higher branches of government education, sanitary 
 affairs, &c., the example of the mother country has 
 been closely and not unsuccessfully imitated. The 
 economical principles of the government are sound 
 in the main. The system of taxation is free from 
 the protectionist fallacies common in other colo- 
 nies. The commercial code, though far from 
 methodical, is liberal and judicious in its aims. The 
 laws of property, especially those of them which are 
 embodied in Torrcns' Eeal Property Act, have been 
 recognized by eminent legal authorities at home as 
 an improvement on many parts of the Imperial 
 statute book. The results of the eleven years' legis- 
 lation, which has taken place under the Constitution 
 Act of 1856, comprise, amid many superfluities and
 
 NEW HOMES. 281 
 
 much that is susceptible of improvementj a number 
 of measures that have been eminently beneficial. 
 The moral influence of the legislature on the people 
 has as a rule been healthy. By triennial elections 
 they have been trained to feel a genuine and perma- 
 nent interest in public affairs. By the use of the 
 ballot-box they have learned how to conduct even, 
 the most exciting election with all the order and 
 decorum of ordinary business, at the same time 
 almost wholly avoiding the tendency to bribery and 
 corruption which is so common a feature of elec- 
 tions elsewhere. Through an extensive network 
 of district councils a spirit of local self-government 
 has been diffused among the settlers. The breadth 
 of the suffrage, though enabling some incompetent 
 men to get into Parliament, has in some measure 
 compensated for that evil by bringing a very strong 
 public opinion to bear upon the course of legislation." 
 
 This is high praise indeed. The question appears 
 to have arisen in the author's mind as to whether 
 the double chamber, constituted as it is, is suitable 
 for the present circumstances of the colonies, and 
 also as to whether the system is not cumbrous and 
 expensive. 
 
 In the extract given above reference is made to 
 what is called "Torrens' Act." Yery great credit 
 is due to Mr. Torrens for this. In the year 1858 
 he succeeded in carrying a Heal Property Act. It 
 has been found to work remarkably well, and has 
 been adopted in consequence in other colonies. Its 
 
 T
 
 282 NEW HOMES. 
 
 main features are as follow : A Land Title Eegis- 
 tration Office is established ; the owner of freehold 
 land goes to it and deposits his costly deeds, has his 
 name registered in a book, from which the transfer is 
 copied on a certificate that costs only a few shillings. 
 It fixes by the stamp of official authority every 
 transaction in land under its provisions, thus doing 
 away with the necessity for investigating the prior 
 title and long and expensive abstracts of title. It 
 appears so far to have given com^Dlete satisfaction, 
 and in many cases capitalists refuse to lend money 
 on the mortgage of property which has not been 
 brought under it. Mr. Torrens received the thanks 
 of both Houses of Parliament in South Australia 
 for this admirable land and conveyance system, and 
 all the great colonies have adopted it. 
 
 In 1851 State aid to religion was abolished. 
 The voluntary system is therefore in full play there. 
 The Church of England is by far the largest body ; 
 the Eoman Catholics are the next, but their 
 number is not one-half as many ; the Wesleyans are 
 nearly equal to the Eomanists, who are followed by 
 the German Lutherans, and then by the Presby- 
 terians. It is a great place for Sunday schools ; and 
 so active have they been in church building that 
 there is accommodation for nearly every man, 
 woman, and child above fourteen, in the colony. 
 Miss Burdett Coutts, in her well-known liberality, 
 endowed the see of Adelaide. The bishop is the 
 Eight Eeverend Dr. Short. The legislature refused
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 283 
 
 to recognise the church by a special act of incor- 
 poration. The bishop, clergy and laity have there- 
 fore entered into a consentual compact, declaring 
 their unity with the Church of England, and their 
 agreement with her in doctrine and discipline. To 
 obviate difficulties which may probably arise, the 
 Synod first summoned in 1855 has expressed a wish 
 to have in its own hands the appointment to the 
 bishopric whenever a vacancy may occur. And 
 this will probably be granted. Great liberality has 
 been displayed by the members of all the denomina- 
 tions in the erection of churches, parsonages, and 
 schools. A citizen of Adelaide has lately given 
 property valued at £20,000 towards the endowment 
 of the Church of England College. The bishop has 
 lately laid the foundation stone of his cathedral, but 
 many years must elapse before it can be completed. 
 The author of "Greater Britain" says, '^ The capital 
 of South Australia is reputed the hottest of all the 
 cities that are chiefly inhabited by the English race, 
 and as I neared it through the Backstairs Passage 
 into the Gulf of St. Vincent, past Kangaroo Island, 
 and still more when I landed at Glenelg, I came to 
 the conclusion that its reputation is deserved." It 
 is indeed very hot, hotter a good deal than 
 Melbourne. This applies to Adelaide itself, which 
 is very sandy ; but the heat is more bearable than 
 in other places, such as Sydney. The houses are 
 built with a view to protection from the sun ; the 
 people rise early, and do not spare water in the
 
 284 NEW HOMES. 
 
 streets. Men dress coolly, but ladies, says the author 
 quoted above, persist in going about in shawls and 
 coloured dresses, "And," he adds, "might they 
 but see a few of the Richmond or Baltimore ladies 
 in their imre white muslin frocks, and die of envy, 
 for the dress most suited to a hot dry climate is also 
 the most beautiful under its bright sun." The 
 hottest months are December, January, February, 
 and March. In these months in the neighbourhood 
 of Adelaide the temperature is frequently from 100° 
 to US'' for days together. The hot winds generally 
 last for three days; the wind then veers round 
 gradually to the south-west and a most refreshing 
 cool sea-breeze sets in. And thus throughout the 
 summer months hot and cool weather come alter- 
 nately. But although the heat is really great, it is 
 of such a dry character that it is not overpowering. 
 Men do not lie by in the middle of the day, but 
 pursue their out of door labour as they do in 
 England, and the settler thinks nothing of riding 
 forty or fifty miles in a hot wind. The extreme 
 healthiness of the climate is attributable to this 
 dryness of the air. The weather from the end of 
 March to the end of October, that is for seven 
 months, is really delightful. The mean temperature 
 at Adelaide of the six summer months is 70*96 ; of 
 the six winter months, 56*46. The barometer rises 
 with a south wind and falls with a north wind. 
 
 Speaking of the aborigines, of their general con- 
 dition and disappearance as civilisation advances,
 
 NEW HOMES. 285 
 
 Sir Dominic Daly, the late governor, thus writes : 
 "It is the melancholy and all but unanimous tes- 
 timony of the early settlers, and of others best 
 qualified to form an opinion, that the aboriginal 
 poiDulation is fast dying out ; but there are no re- 
 cords from which to ascertain the rate of decrease. 
 The causes of the decrease are disease, sterility of 
 the females, and infanticide, which it is believed is 
 a crime of very frequent occurrence. From evidence 
 given before a select committee of the Legislative 
 Council in 1860, it appears that the natives in 
 general have been in no way benefited by being 
 brought into contact with Europeans. But I think 
 this view is open to modification, since it cannot be 
 denied that the squatters, who are justly called ' the 
 pioneers of civilisation,' treat them with much for- 
 bearance and kindness, and encourage the natives 
 to remain upon their ' runs ' for the sake of their 
 services. The young men especially soon become 
 useful as shepherds, shearers, reapers, stock-keepers, 
 colt- breakers, and the liibras as washerwomen and 
 in other domestic occupations. About a fourth of 
 the able-bodied males were employed by the settlers 
 in 1861, and the proportion is now (1863) probably 
 greater. Generally they were well remunerated, 
 and some of them obtain as high wages as the best 
 white laboui'ers. It is pleasing to be able to inform 
 your Grace (the Duke of Newcastle) that the reports 
 of the missionary establishments at Poonindie and 
 Point Macleay are encouraging. At Poonindie
 
 286 NEW HOMES. 
 
 there are thirty-six natives who receive careful re- 
 ligious and moral instruction, and who are trained 
 to habits of industry. The experiment there may 
 prove in its results the possibility of the civilisation 
 of the race, and confirms the opinion so often ex- 
 pressed by missionaries, that Christianity is the only 
 efficient instrument for its accomplishment. Dr. 
 Walter, the Protector of Aborigines, to whom I am 
 chiefly indebted for this information, informs me 
 that the beneficial effects of the religious instruction 
 imparted to the natives is apparent without as 
 well as within the establishment at Point Macleay, 
 Many of their superstitions have been abandoned, 
 their character for honesty has improved, they ob- 
 serve the Sabbath as a day of rest, and a con* 
 siderable number appear at morning and evening 
 service neat and clean, and conduct themselves with 
 great propriety. That the capacity of the young to 
 receive instruction is beyond dispute, and that from 
 frequent and personal examination, he is of opinion 
 that they make as rapid progress as the average of 
 white children. The crime of infanticide is also 
 less prevalent. A sum of money is annually put 
 in the estimates and voted by the legislature for 
 provisions, blankets, medical attendance, &c., for 
 the aborigines. The amount voted last year (1861) 
 was £3,195. Depots have been formed in the lo- 
 calities where the natives are most numerous, and 
 flour, tea, blankets, &c., are distributed amongst 
 the infirm and destitute, according to their necessi-
 
 NEW HOMES. 287 
 
 ties." The testimony borne to the capacity of the 
 young to receive instruction is beyond doubt the 
 truth. Englishmen amongst the early settlers were 
 very unwilling to believe this. They used to say 
 that they were only a step above the brutes, and 
 could not be taught ; and a clergyman once gravely 
 told me that he regarded them as animals, and he 
 did not consider that they had souls. But all this 
 was a mere attempt to justify the treatment that 
 was too often dealt out to them, and perhaps to 
 drown the voice of conscience, which would at times 
 make itself heard, and plead for the poor creatures. 
 Many years ago a benevolent lady had taken great 
 interest in some native boys, and coming to live on 
 an island which then formed part of my parish, she 
 asked me to give religious instruction to them. I 
 gladly did so, and these young men used to pull 
 over in a boat to the mainland, and walk up to my 
 house weekly with their Bibles in their hand, and 
 they listened with marked interest as one great 
 truth after another was unfolded to them ; and they 
 read and delighted to read the word of God, and to 
 hear of Him who came "a light to lighten the 
 Gentiles," and to be for salvation unto the ends of 
 the earth. On another occasion a young man was 
 brought to me for baptism. He also had been care- 
 fully trained up by a Christian lady on a station. 
 I examined him as to his knowledge of the Scrip- 
 tures, and took pains to ascertain that he had an 
 intelligent knowledge of what he was engaged in,
 
 288 NEW HOMES. 
 
 and I can assure you that his answers would have 
 shamed many a white man. All honour to those 
 noble women, who amidst the domestic trials inci- 
 dent to life in the bush, in the early days, still found 
 time to instruct and to train for eternity some of 
 the children of the natives. And who can tell 
 what would have been the result if this plan had 
 been more generally pursued. 
 
 Many of the governors of the Australian colonies 
 have died at their posts. And this was the. case 
 with Sir Dominic Daly, who so hospitably enter- 
 tained the Duke of Edinburgh. He died, much and 
 deservedly respected, on the 19th February, 1868. 
 The present governor is Sir J. Ferguson, Bart. 
 
 After the discoverers had passed right through 
 the vast island continent from south to north, Sir 
 Charles Nicholson, so well and so favourably known 
 both in the colonies and in England, addressed a 
 communication to the Colonial Office in 1862, re- 
 commending the formation of a crown colony in 
 that northern territory which was subsequently 
 annexed to South Australia. From that communi- 
 cation the following extract is made : " From its 
 geographical position the territory referred to enjoys 
 advantages such as are possessed by scarcely any of 
 the other colonies of the Australian group. It 
 constitutes, in point of fact, that portion of the 
 continent of Australia nearest in a direct line to 
 Great Britain. It is in close proximity to Java and 
 the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, and is
 
 NEW HOMES. 289 
 
 within a few clays' reach of China and Japan. Its 
 physical capabilities are also, according to the 
 evidence of Mr. Gregory and those by whom it 
 has been explored, of a very superior kind. The 
 whole of the northern coast is indented with deep 
 bays, accessible to large vessels, whilst the Victoria 
 Eiver is represented as one of the largest navigable 
 streams in Australia, the tide rising some thirty 
 feet at its embouchure in Queen Charlotte's Channel. 
 Mr. Gregory, the distinguished explorer and present 
 surveyor-general of Queensland, represents the whole 
 of the valley of the Victoria Eiver as being of the 
 most promising description, well adapted for grazing 
 purposes, and no doubt admirably fitted for the 
 growth of all tropical produce, such as cotton, 
 sugar, rice, and coffee. Horses, the race of which 
 has become so prolific in the other colonies that 
 they are of scarcely any value, would here speedily 
 constitute an article of export to India of the 
 greatest importance, both as affecting the colony 
 itself and as regards the Indian government in the 
 supply of cavalry. Certain localities may also be 
 indicated on the banks of the Victoria and Alligator 
 Eivers which must become the sites of large and 
 important towns, great metropolitan centres of trade 
 and commerce. The only difficulty that presents 
 itself is the mere initiation of the colony. Once set 
 on foot it would find within itself sources of vitality 
 and growth that would render it independent of all 
 external aid, and one of the most important and 
 thriving."
 
 290 NEW HOMES. 
 
 The colonial secretary of the day, instead of 
 acting upon this recommendation, communicated 
 with Sir Dominic Daly, the governor of South 
 Australia at the time, in order to ascertain the 
 wishes of the government, and on hearing from him, 
 instead of founding a crown colony he annexed a 
 portion of the northern territory to South Australia, 
 which took prompt measures for " settling " the new 
 acquisition. A surveying party was organised and 
 sent forth, and land sales were ordered to take place 
 in London and in the colony. A "North Australian 
 Company," under the auspices of a former governor, 
 Sir E. G. Macdonnell, was formed, and all seemed 
 to promise success. But difficulties and disappoint- 
 ments arose. Large blocks of land were sold both in 
 England and in the colony, but the surveys were not 
 completed so early as the holders of the land-orders 
 expected. To compensate them for this delay an 
 Act was passed at the end of 1868, whereby the 
 holders of preliminary land-orders were at liberty 
 within five years to select 320 acres for every 160 
 acres to which their orders entitled them; and 
 the colonial government in January of last year 
 addressed the following despatch to the agent- 
 general in London, for the information and satis- 
 faction of all persons interested. This territory is 
 so vast and its successful colonisation so deeply 
 important, that we think it of sufficient consequence 
 to print at length the following papers which have 
 been obligingly placed at our disposal by the agent- 
 general, Mr. Dutton.
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 291 
 
 The author of" Greater Britain " does not appear 
 very sanguine of success. He says : "It would be 
 as cheap to colonise equatorial Africa from Adelaide 
 as tropical Australia. If the northern territory is 
 ever to be rendered habitable it must be by Queens- 
 land that the work is done. It is not certain," he 
 goes on to say, "that North Australia may not be 
 found to yield gold in plenty. In a little-known 
 manuscript of the 17th century the north-west of 
 Australia is called ' The land of gold ;' and we are 
 told that the fishermen of Solor, driven on to this 
 land of gold by stress of weather, picked up in a 
 few hours their boat full of gold nuggets and re- 
 turned in safety. They never dared repeat their 
 voyage on account of their dread of the unknown 
 seas ; but Manoel Godinho de Eredia was commis- 
 sioned by the Portuguese Lord Admiral of India to 
 explore this gold land and enrich the crown of 
 Portugal by the capture of the treasures it contained. 
 It would be strange enough if gold came to be dis- 
 covered on the north-west coast, in the spot from 
 which the Portuguese reported their discovery." 
 
 " Despatch from the Government of South Australia to the 
 Agent-General in London, on the subject of the Northern Terri- 
 tory, and extracts from the Adelaide Papers relating to the 
 Surveyor-General's Expedition to survey that Territory : — 
 
 "Teeasury Offices, Adelaide, 5th Jan., 1869. 
 
 " Sir, — In my despatches per last mail, I had the honour to 
 
 inform you that this Government were preparing to complete 
 
 the survey of the Northern Territory, and that although the
 
 292 NEW HOMES. 
 
 term prescribed by tbe Act would not expire till March, 1869, 
 yet it had been decided that a double area of land should be 
 given to each order-holder as a compensation for the delay in 
 completing the survey. Copies of the amended Act and notices 
 were sent per last mail. 
 
 " It must, however, be remembered that this delay was in a 
 great measure caused by undue anxiety to prove by further ex- 
 ploration whether any better land was available for the purpose 
 of the settlement. 
 
 " You will now be pleased to learn that the Surveyor-General 
 (Mr. Goyder), with an efficient staff, and six complete double 
 survey parties, amply equipped, sailed in the Moonta on Decem- 
 ber 27th, for the purpose of completing the survey without any 
 delay. Ample stores and field equipment have been provided, 
 and the schooner Sea Bipple will follow in about ten days, with 
 further supplies. 
 
 " This latter vessel has been purchased, and will remain under 
 the orders of the Surveyor-General. 
 
 " The well-known energy and perseverance of this gentleman 
 are guarantees for the due completion of the work he has under- 
 taken, and liere all question or excitement on the subject has 
 ceased. 
 
 " A list of the officers and men of the expedition is enclosed. 
 
 " The London holders of Northern Territory land-orders may 
 now be informed that the preparations for the occupation and 
 utilization of their property will be proceeded with without 
 delay. 
 
 " In order that the views of this Government may be fully 
 understood, I append the following concise recapitulation : — 
 
 " 1st. — This Government sold lands on the Northern Terri- 
 tory to be surve3^ed and selected within five years. 
 
 " 2ndly. — The Surveyor-General with six double survey par- 
 ties has proceeded to complete the survey. 
 
 " 3rdly. — All order-holders Avill be entitled to receive double 
 the amount which they purchased. This is a liberal compensa- 
 tion for the delay which was principally caused by the action of 
 order-holders tliemselves, or their representatives, in this Colony.
 
 NEW HOMES. 293 
 
 So far from repudiating their contract, the Government are 
 giving twice the area of land which they would be obliged to do 
 by the terms of agi-eement. 
 
 "4thly. — The idle cry of repudiation has been raised by 
 those order-holders who wish to reclaim their money and repu- 
 diate their obligation. 
 
 " 5thly. — Could the money be returned to any number of 
 order-holders, still the Government would not be released from 
 the obligation of surveying the Territory for the benefit of those 
 who prefer to have their land. 
 
 " The arrangement will be completed by this Government 
 with the strictest good faith. 
 
 " The statement on flyleaf hereof will show the action taken 
 by the South Australian Government with a view to settling the 
 Northern Territory. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 "H. Kent Hughes, Treasurer T 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE "ADELAIDE REGISTER." 
 
 " Adelaide, Tuesday^ January 5, 1869. — The starting of 
 another survey party for the Northern Territory, is the answer 
 of the South Australian Government to Mr. Elder's writ of 
 attachment, Mr. Goyder sailed in the Hfoonta on the 27th 
 December, and if land surveying be not wholly incompatible 
 with the ' starting point of civilisation,' the order-holders will 
 receive their double allowance of land within twelve months. 
 Meanwhile, the one-sided, underhand use which has been made 
 of the London Press to damage the reputation of the colony, 
 has not at all promoted the chance of an amicable issue. How- 
 ever great the mismanagement of the Northern Territory 
 scheme may have been. South Australia is able to abide the con- 
 sequences, and will meet them openly if they present themselves 
 openly. However much the speculators in land at seven and 
 sixpence an acre may be disappointed in not finding it already 
 worth as many pounds, they have no cause, legal or moral, to 
 whine as they have done in the Times about repudiation.
 
 294 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Whatever their grievance may be, they have no right thus to 
 prejudice their own case, or to pretend that the door is closed 
 against redress. Their worst obstacle has alone been among 
 themselves, in so far as they cannot agree about the kind of 
 redress they will accept. The order-holders here insist on get- 
 ting their land ; the order-holders in England clamour for their 
 money back ; and if both cannot be instantly satisfied, we are 
 to be the repudiators ! If, believing as we do in our own 
 national honesty, we could be put into hysterics by such slander, 
 should we not also be fools ? 
 
 " THE NOETHEEN TEEKITOET SUEYET. 
 
 " We have already announced that the Government some 
 time ago decided upon sending Mr. Goyder, the Surveyor- 
 General, to the Northern Territory to survey the land intended 
 for the order-holders. The whole of the arrangements were left 
 in his hands, and were carried out with great rapidity. The 
 vessel selected to convey the members of the expedition is the 
 Iloonta, 627 tons, which has been placed on the SHp, and tho- 
 roughly examined, and the survey proved satisfactory. She is 
 well known, and hailed last from Newcastle, having brought 
 a cargo of black diamonds very recently. A goodly portion of 
 the between decks will be required to accommodate 40 to 50 
 horses, now being purchased ; and the fodder and water for 
 these and a few bullocks will also take up considerable room ; 
 but store cattle and sheep not being intended to be taken, space 
 will not be greatly cramped. The party have passed through 
 the ordeal of a strict medical examination, army fashion. The 
 schooner which has been purchased for exploring purposes is 
 the Sea Ripple, which is shortly expected to arrive from Mel- 
 bourne. The Moonta was handed over to the Government on 
 Thursday, December 17. She has been undergoing overhaul 
 and survey on the Dunnikier Slip, but was launched on De- 
 cember 15, and at once moored alongside the Copper Company's 
 Wharf, for the discharge of about 70 tons coals which she had 
 on board, and to take in a small quantity of ballast and about 
 150 tons of water in tanks. The Moonta is one of Simpson's
 
 NEW HOMES. 295 
 
 Black Diamond Liners, and as the result of tlie survey has 
 proved, is a most seaworthy vessel. Her register tonnage is 
 627 ; but as she has carried 1,000 tons of coal, she will only be 
 in ballast trim with all the stores and stock on board. She has 
 spacious 'tween decks, the after part of which will be separated 
 by a bulkhead, and with the cabin will supply the necessary 
 accommodation for the party. Captain Barneson has been for 
 a length of time in the same employ, and has been favourably 
 known in the coasting trade for several years. For the convey- 
 ance of the Northern Territory party the amount to be paid is 
 about £3,000. The Government have purchased a small steamer 
 at the Port for the use of the Surveyor-General on reaching his 
 destination. The passage will be by way of the Leuwin, and it 
 is anticipated will be accomplished in four or five weeks. The 
 lay-days at the Northern Territory amount to 21. In the 
 survey yard, on Wednesday, December 16, the major portion of 
 those who are proceeding with Mr. Goyder assembled, and the 
 rates of wages, not previously stated, were then announced, from 
 which it appeared that cooks and chainmen are to receive 5s. 
 per day ; headsmen, alias axemen, and trenchers, 5s. 6d. ; pro- 
 vision being made for overtime payments. From the Victorian 
 Meat Preserving Company 10,000 lbs. of beef and mutton, pre- 
 pared according to Eitchie's process, have been procured, and 
 the other supplies have been bought in Adelaide through one or 
 more brokers. 
 
 " On Wednesday, December 23, the Moonta went to Light's 
 Passage, and on the following Sunday evening, December 27, 
 set sail for her destination. In accordance with ofiicial notifi- 
 cations the men intending to proceed by her left Adelaide so 
 as to arrive alongside shortly after two o'clock, and the trains 
 throughout the day carried to the Port immense numbers of 
 friends and relatives with ordinary sightseers, who thronged the 
 platform of the Railway Station, and besieged the ticket office. 
 Ai-rived at the Port, a scene of great bustle and indescribable 
 confusion presented itself to bewildered onlookers, who saw 
 trucks of goods coming on the wharf up to about seven o'clock, 
 in addition to earher consignments of drays, waggons, and lighter
 
 296 NEW HOMES. 
 
 vehicles, for use at Port Darwin. Slinging the horses and 
 bullocks, and depositing them in the 'tween decks attracted 
 much notice, and was efficiently managed under the superin- 
 tendence of Mr. Formby ; 24 horses occupy stalls on the main 
 deck and 20 are placed down below. Mr. Goyder arrived from 
 town by the train following that which had conveyed the greater 
 portion of the party, and he was actively engaged for several 
 hours in overseeing the operations which were going forward. 
 On board everything appeared in a delightful state of confusion 
 consequent vipon a large quantity of stores and baggage arriving 
 late and being heaped together preparatory to stowage when 
 leisure could be found. The heat all day was excessive, and in 
 the experience of members of the Expedition they were melting 
 moments caused by temperature as well as partings. Iced 
 drinks were in constant requisition where obtainable. For 
 several hours under a scorching sun the men strove to maintain 
 an existence, or getting beyond that state, and, regarding the 
 weather as a foretaste of the tropical heat, amused themselves 
 as best they could, or whiled away the time under cover. Tea, 
 sans ceremonie, a la mug and pannican, was served at 6 in a 
 large store, and at 7.20 a bell, rung on board, summoned the 
 entire party to the wharf alongside the Moonfa, when Mr. 
 Goyder called the roll of officers first, and then of men, each one 
 passing up the gangway when summoned. Nearly all answered 
 to their names, but two or three were unavoidably absent, 
 having, it is understood, received the well-meant but not wel- 
 come attentions of bailiffs, who required Adelaide to be revisited. 
 At 8 o'clock, steam having been got up on board the tug, the 
 Moonfa was towed into the stream, and proceeded on her way 
 to Light's Passage. Before casting off, the tanks were filled up 
 with water, a 60 days' supply being taken. As the ship sheared 
 off she appeared to literally swarm with men, who crowded the 
 deck and darkened the rigging. Cheer upon cheer was given 
 on board, and re-echoed from the wharf by the immense con- 
 course gathered there ; and as the ship glided out and was 
 towed away, the moonlight view was very fine, and her outline 
 was better seen. The last train to town conveyed back a large
 
 NEW HOMES. 297 
 
 number of visitors who had bid good-bA^e for a time to friends, 
 brothers, husbands, or fathers, and in some cases the separation 
 appeared to produce gloomy feelings ; but on the whole, a 
 buoyant spirit was manifested in those who went and those who 
 stayed. 
 
 " Little more, however, appears necessary to be said respect- 
 ing this new chapter in the history of Northern Austi-alian 
 exploration and surveying, the commencement of which is 
 before us, but the end hidden. News will reach the colony 
 once in two months from head quarters, as it is intended that 
 the Sea Ripple shall run across to Koepang, bringing and 
 taking mails, and be otherwise usefully employed. A good 
 many tons of hydraulic-pressed hay, bran, and other cargo will 
 be left for the schooner to carry. She will also take two boats, 
 which have been bought in Port Adelaide, and the captain 
 of the Sea Bip)ple is, as previously noted, empowered to select 
 the seamen required. It is not likely that the schooner will 
 conve}' any supplementary baggage for the men, as space is 
 limited, and they have been confined to the contents of a sailor's 
 canvas bag, with slight additions ; officers also taking a zinc 
 box, of regulation size. Documents, forms, and papers have 
 been packed in similar boxes. Here we may note that the lead- 
 ing photographers have succeeded in taking portraits of the 
 greater number of the officers and men, and the likenesses seen 
 are clear and faithful, giving on the whole the same favourable 
 impression as to the personnel of the surveying force as was 
 produced on seeing them step one by one on board. Doubtless 
 there are some of the body hardly fitted for the rough, hard, 
 and hot work before them, and some appointments may possibly 
 be considered open to objection by outsiders ; yet, taken as a 
 whole, the force is a good one ; and contains several of the best 
 of those who have figured in previous adventures of the same 
 kind. In addition to a number of well-known colonists and 
 members of both Houses who were at the Port on Wednesday, 
 the Attorney-General was at the scene of operations for several 
 hours, and the Commissioner of Crown Lands remained till the 
 last. Considerable benefit may reasonably be expected from 
 
 U
 
 298 NEW HOMES. 
 
 the investigations of Messrs. Schultze and Homeyer, whose 
 labours as naturalist and assistant will probably be productive 
 of practical results. These gentlemen have been provided with 
 ample appliances for use in the pursuit of their researches in 
 various departments, and we have received a copy of the in- 
 structions to the botanical collector issued by Dr. Schomburgk, 
 Director of the Botanic Garden, The sheets or botanic note- 
 books issued with these instructions specify the several par- 
 ticulars required in each case as descriptive of the specimens. 
 These are — where found, description (tree, shrub, &c.), height, 
 colour of stem, colour of leaves, calyx, petals, stamens, filaments, 
 stygma. A column is open for remarks, and may be made 
 to embody a large amount of valuable information. The reason 
 for requiring such minute data as to colour, is obviously because 
 that the appearance and tints of botanical specimens would be 
 liable to material change, and a record of the state when col- 
 lated will thus be preserved. 
 
 "Mr. F. Gr. Waterhouse, the Curator of the Adelaide Museum, 
 has supplied a long and formidable ' List of birds, most of 
 which are peculiar to Northern Australia,' giving the numbers 
 affixed in Gould's Handbook, 1865. He also furnishes a list of 
 ' Mammals peculiar to Northern Australia,' and adds a few 
 lines suggestive of other classes in natural history which it 
 is desirable should be sought after and preserved. 
 
 " When visiting the Moonta on Thursday we found that the 
 members of the party were gradually settling themselves down, 
 and making themselves ' at home ' on board ; and all in ex- 
 cellent sjnrits, although somewhat disappointed to think that 
 •hey should be compelled to spend their Christmas on board 
 whilst the vessel was detained in the river. Boats were con- 
 stantly to and fro between the port and the ship during the 
 day and Christmas day. On Thursday evening Mr. Goyder 
 mustered his party, and told them off in watches for the voA^age, 
 at the same time pointing out to them the necessity of all 
 working amicably together, so as to secure comfort and safety 
 during the voyage."
 
 NEW HOMES. 299 
 
 FROM THE "SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ADVERTISER." 
 
 Qth January, 1869. 
 
 " THE EXPEDITION AFLOAT. 
 
 " Punctual to the day appointed Mr. Goj'der and his party- 
 are afloat, and will shortly be on their way to the Northern 
 Territory, With reference to the survey and settlement of the 
 north part of Australia, we have now reached the beginning of 
 the end. It would be neither wise nor useful to recall here the 
 disastrous history of our former attempts to accomplish the 
 work which Mr. Goyder has now started to complete. We 
 should only have to recount a history of mismanagement, dis- 
 organisation, and waste, which our readers have heard enough 
 of. We are now, however, starting afresh, and we ought to let 
 ' the dead past bury its dead.' Nothing that the colony has 
 ever done is more creditable to it than this last attempt to 
 retrieve past blunders, to vindicate its aspersed honour, and to 
 do what is fair and right to those who put faith in the integrity 
 of the colony. We made a bargain with those who purchased 
 our land-orders to give them possession of the land surveyed 
 within a period of five years, and although by no fault of ours, 
 but by misfortunes which we could not control, we have not 
 been able to fulfil our part of the bargain within the time fixed, 
 we have done our best to compensate those who put confidence 
 in us for the apparent breach of faith on our part. We have at 
 some inconvenience to ourselves sent out the best man we had 
 in the colony to complete the work of survey ; we have fur- 
 nished him with a sufficient outfit for the work, and with a 
 sufficient body of men to assist him ; and, more than this, we 
 have doubled the area of land to each purchaser, which will be 
 more than a compensation for the short delay which has been 
 occasioned by past failures. 
 
 " We know it will be asked by those who know little of the 
 colony, what security they have that Mr. Goyder will succeed 
 where his predecessors have so wofully failed. And our simple 
 answer to this question is, our security is in the character of 
 the man who is at the head of the expedition. The Surveyor-
 
 300 NEW HOMES. 
 
 General is not a man to fail in any work which he undertakes, 
 and having, in full view of the responsibility he has undertaken, 
 agreed to do the work, life being spared, he will accomplish it. 
 Then, the greatest care has been taken to avoid the blunders 
 which were previously committed. Mr. Goyder possesses su- 
 preme and undivided authority. He has had the sole selection 
 of the men who accompany him. No person, however high his 
 influence may be, has been able to force men upon him. From 
 the highest to the lowest the men have been chosen because 
 of their fitness for the positions to which they have been ap- 
 pointed. Nepotism, favouritism, and patronage have been 
 firmly put aside, and persons have been chosen, not because 
 they had influential connections, but because, as far as could be 
 judged, they were able to do the work which has to be done. 
 This is one of the best features in the expedition. Mr. Goyder 
 himself has chosen men to be his assistants in whom he can 
 place confidence. He has not only selected his men but his 
 stores. No one knows better than Mr. Goyder that the health 
 and cheerful working of his party will depend to some extent 
 on the way in which they are kept, and he has made every 
 possible provision for having the stores of the expedition of the 
 best quality, selected under his own eye, or the eyes of those 
 in whom he could place full confidence. 
 
 " Then, again, no outsiders are allowed to be of the party. 
 Persons who go on their own account, or as agents for others, 
 may, without intending it, do considerable mischief on an expe- 
 dition like this. In the very nature of things they can have 
 but little to do, and idle persons are apt to grumble, and 
 grumblers often do mischief in breeding dissatisfaction and 
 attempting to interfere with the plans and operations of the 
 chief, who is responsible to the government alone. None of this 
 class have been allowed to go with Mr. Goyder's party. All 
 who accompany him are placed directly under his control, and 
 are subject to his orders. It is difficult to estimate how much 
 an arrangement of this kind will contribute to the success 
 of tlie expedition. Every man who accompanies Mr. Goyder 
 will have to work, and to work hard, and there will be no time 
 for "rumblingr or fault-findiner.
 
 NEW HOMES. 301 
 
 "Mr. Goyder, too, is fortunate, we think, in the doctor whose 
 services he has obtained. We know Dr. Peel only in his public 
 character, and as a public man he has won golden opinions 
 from all sorts of people. While he was House Surgeon at the 
 Adelaide hospital he was held in high esteem for his kindness 
 and skill; and during his residence at Mount Gambler, where 
 he occupied a similar position in the hospital there, he won 
 for himself many friends, and secured a high reputation. He is 
 a man of energy, and will doubtless be a useful coadjutor to 
 Mr. Goyder. 
 
 " We understand that the instructions given to the Sm-veyor- 
 General are of a very general character, leaving a great deal to 
 his discretion, as was necessary. He thoroughly' understands the 
 wishes of the Government, and the nature of the work which is 
 expected from him. He will land his party at Port Darwin, and 
 will commence the work of survey without delay. We believe 
 arrangements have been made by which the Government will 
 have frequent progress reports from Mr. Goyder ; and it is ex- 
 pected that if all goes on well the whole work will be completed 
 in twelve or eighteen months from the time of departure. The 
 expedition carry with them the best virishes of the colony. 
 High anticipations are cherished of the success of Mr. Goyder's 
 work in the Northern Territory, and we trust these anticipa- 
 tions will not be disappointed. The Government, we believe, 
 have given him all he asked for ; he goes to his work in the 
 prime of life, with all his physical and mental powers in full 
 maturity, and with an experience acquired by many years' 
 labours ; and according to the usual course of events, failure 
 under such circumstances is hardly possible — certainly not 
 probable. We hope the holders of land-orders in England, who 
 have not treated us fairly in this Northern Territory matter, 
 will now believe that as a colony we are intensely in earnest to 
 fulfil our engasrements to them. We have never for one moment 
 wished to act unjustly towards them. Our anxiety has been to 
 give them the land which we covenanted to give for the money 
 we received from them ; and because Ave could not give them 
 this land exactly at the time Ave expected- to do, we have now
 
 302 NEW HOMES. 
 
 given them ample compensation by doubling their acreage. No 
 one can say that these gentlemen are in a worse position now 
 than if we had been able to hand over the land surveyed to 
 them in March next, when by waiting just one year longer they 
 will get for the delay twice the quantity." 
 
 FEOM THE " AUSTKALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND 
 
 GAZETTE." 
 
 Aitgust 14, 1869. 
 
 " THE NORTHERN TEEBITOET OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 
 
 " We have received Mr. Goyder's report of his operations at 
 the Northern Territory, addressed to the Government, which 
 we give in full : — 
 
 "Northern Territory, Fort Point, 
 
 "Port Darwin, May 3, 1869. 
 
 " Sir, — I have the honour to forward in separate parcel dupli- 
 cates of letters, &c., sent per mail by ship Moonta, and herewith 
 26 plans and diagrams of the principal and two minor townships 
 at Fort Point, on the Ehzabeth, and in the fork at the junction 
 of the River Darwin with the Blackmore ; diagrams of 43,000 
 acres of land, surveyed into sections of 160 and 320 acres, and 
 the completion of which has been properly certified ; a plan of 
 the township at this place, and a general plan showing the 
 position of the lands surveyed and natural features of the 
 country, so far as such have been ascertained by personal in- 
 spection and fixed by the respective surveys ; pay-sheets for the 
 months of March and April ; list of orders issued for the same 
 periods ; progress reports, so far as such have been sent in from 
 the field ; 13 boxes from the naturalist, containing specimens of 
 plants, animals, shells, reptiles, and seeds ; two live pigeons, a 
 native canoe, paddles, spears, throwing-stick, and a few trifling 
 curiosities as per debited lists ; copy of rough journal ; copy of 
 letter from Dr. Peel respecting the health of the party ; meteo- 
 rological observations at Fort Point during March and April, 
 and requisition of provisions, tools, &c., required for the use of 
 the party, and which should be sent without fail by the schooner 
 on her return trip. The Gulnare arrived here on the 27th
 
 NEW HOMES. 303 
 
 March. Beyond delaying the work and a little anxiety, no 
 other inconvenience resulted from the condemnation of the Sea 
 Hippie. Captain Sweet reports his voyage protracted to 42 
 days by calms in the tropics. He is an able, active, energetic 
 officer, and did all in his power to facilitate my plans. He is 
 also an expert photographer, and has taken several views in the 
 locality, of which I am glad, as Mr. Brooks has been fully occu- 
 pied preparing plans and documents for the field parties during 
 the past two months. "We have here a splendid harbour, 
 suitable to vessels of the largest tonnage, deep water, and good 
 holding ground. At a trilling cost jetties or wharves might be 
 constructed, and the place is healthy, and the sites of the town- 
 ships here and elsewhere the most healthy the countiy affords. 
 We have also obtained good roads thence into the interior, and 
 lands vai'ving in character from light sandy loam to rich black 
 and chocolate- coloured soils, with water and grasses in abun- 
 dance — the quality of the pasture improving towards the south, 
 south-west, and south-east. I believe, from the experience of 
 others and what I have seen, that this harbour is the best in 
 the locality, and, with its high lands and deep waters close to 
 the points of landing, estuaries radiating towards the interior 
 and navigable to lands suitable to the growth of any product 
 adapted to the climate, with first-rate pasturage for large stock 
 and supply of water, though in the dry season, except in water- 
 courses or water-tables (this will have to be obtained by sinking 
 below the surface), most suited for the purpose of commerce 
 and likely to lead to the satisfactory settlement of the country. 
 I look, therefore, on the object of the expedition as gained, and 
 consider that the quality of the land under survey — the timber, 
 vegetation, and conveniences for traffic — equals, if not surpasses, 
 the most sanguine expectations of the land order-holders and 
 those interested in the development of the country. It is to be 
 borne in mind, however, that so far our experience only extends 
 to the rainy season and the early portion of the dry, by the end 
 of which grass that is now green will be dry and the earth in 
 many places look parched and dusty, but that is common to all 
 countries in this latitude. Indeed, the same may be said of the
 
 304 NEW HOMES. 
 
 greater portion of South Australia. My first impressions in its 
 favour, as detailed in my previous report, are only confirmed by 
 more extended travel, and I trust that but a short time will 
 elapse before it is occupied. Apart from the suitability of much 
 of the soil for the growth of cotton, sugar, rice, &c., it is in- 
 valuable for breeding large stock, and horses or cattle could 
 readily be shipped and conveyed to India, It is true the heat 
 is great and the climate for at least six months in the year 
 oppressive, and for Europeans it is as bad as some portions of 
 India, and the same amount of work cannot be done as in South 
 Australia without great determination and exertion ; but, again, 
 our experience is that of men new to the locality, and much may 
 be done by acclimatisation, but labour can be readily obtained 
 from the adjacent Islands. 
 
 " I expect the survey to be completed, at latest, by 1st of 
 October of the present year, when the party will be prepared to 
 return, and have sent the schooner back direct to Adelaide with 
 the mail and instructed Captain Sweet to bring back neces- 
 sary stores, tools, &c., and to call for letters at Timor on his way 
 back to this place. 
 
 " We have carried on operations thus far without collision 
 with the natives. There are about 60 in the locality, many of 
 whom hang about the fence round the camp from daylight till 
 dark. They brought in some weeks ago two Malays, the sur- 
 vivors of a proa which they state was wrecked two years ago. 
 The names of these two men are Sennam and Salammo, natives 
 of Maccassar. They state the captain of the proa was named 
 Di Sorrie, the proa Lamhazay Senkang. She was trading be- 
 tween Maccassar and Marragie, and had on board 103 piculs of 
 rice and 43 hands. She carried three guns and five muskets, 
 and was owned by a Chinese named Ka-soo-ah, who does busi- 
 ness in Campou-mals-Koo, Maccassar. All perished but these 
 two men, who were suffering from incipient scurvy, and were 
 fed out of the camp and attended to by the doctor. As they 
 expressed great anxiety to get to Koepang, where one has a wife 
 and family, I have instructed Captain Sweet to make them use- 
 ful on board and land them there on his way back. Their pre-
 
 NEW HOMES. 305 
 
 •sent story is essentially different to that first told by them, but 
 this may arise from the more perfect knowledge of the language 
 attained by R. D. Burton, who conversed with them, though at 
 first with great difficulty. Then they spoke of half the crew 
 being drowned and the remainder speared by the natives, their 
 lives only being spared at the instigation of Mira, who protected 
 and subsequently brought them here from Escape Cliffs, and to 
 whom I gave a ration for his humanity, after having the reason 
 fully and clearly explained to him by Burton, who understands 
 a good deal of their language. The land upon the Adelaide 
 Plains is still under water as far south as the latitude of Fred's 
 Pass. It will not be dry for two or three months yet. I do 
 not purpose surveying any of this land, although doubtless of 
 good quality. It is only prevented from constant inundation 
 by the greater height of the land on the bank of the river, and 
 will require to be properly drained before it is available. When 
 this has been done, it will probably yield a larger price and pro- 
 fitable returns, but it would be premature to survey such allot- 
 ments at the present time. The above remarks only apply to 
 the land north of the latitude of Fred's Pass, and extending 
 northward to the Narrows near Escape Cliffs and to the east of 
 the Daly Eange. After personal inspection of the locality, I 
 have altered the site of the proposed township there from the 
 low bald rises formerly spoken of, and which, during the rainy 
 season, are surrounded by water, to a preferable site on the east 
 slope of the range nearer the pass. All the party are in good 
 health. 
 
 " I have the honour to be. Sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 "Gr. W. GoTDEK, Surveyor-Oeneral.''' 
 
 " Cbown Lands Office, Adelaide, 
 
 " June 21, 1S69. 
 " SiE, — I am desired by the Honourable the Commissioner to 
 inform you of the arrival of the Gulnare on the 6th instant, and 
 to acknowledge the receipt of your letters, progress reports, and 
 plans, &c., as well as the cases of specimens and miscellaneous 
 articles forwarded in the care of Captain Sweet.
 
 306 NEW HOMES. 
 
 " The continued energy displayed in the prosecution of the 
 work and the absence of severe illness and accident are soui'ces 
 of great gratification to the Government. 
 
 " The requisition for stores has been placed in Mr. Turnbull's 
 hands for execution, and that for medicines, &c., in Messrs. 
 Faulding's hands, after due consideration of your minute thereon 
 as to the latter being only required for the service of a perma- 
 nent staff. 
 
 " The cases and miscellaneous articles have been divided 
 between Dr. Schomburgk, of the Botanic Gardens, and Mr. 
 Waterhouse, of the Adelaide Museum, and have given consi- 
 derable satisfaction. 
 
 " With reference to the more important topics, viz., the ap- 
 pointment of a Government Eesident and a permanent staff and 
 the bringing away of the present survey party under your com- 
 mand, I am to inform you that these have been carefully and 
 anxiously weighed by the Commissioner and his colleagues. 
 
 " They feel that it would be premature at this moment, not- 
 withstanding the large amount of work accomplished by you in 
 a very short time and your estimate of the time required for 
 completion of the survey, to appoint a Government Eesident, or 
 to despatch another party and to incur the expense of a steamer 
 on the supposition that the party can leave on the 1st October 
 next. 
 
 " They are accordingly fitting up the Gulnare with stores 
 which would last until the end of the year, and in doing so are 
 providing articles which considerations of climate and health 
 may render of value to you, in addition to the few bare neces- 
 saries included in your requisition. 
 
 " Without positively controlling yovi in your disposal of the 
 Gulnare or in your course of action, they consider that your 
 best way will be to despatch her back direct to Port Adelaide, 
 so soon as you are able to send plans of the surveys of five 
 hundred thousand (500,000) acres in addition to the townships, 
 and a certificate that the lands have been actually marked out 
 on the ground in accordance with such plans. 
 
 "No steps will be taken towards the selection of the land 
 until such certificate has been received.
 
 NEW HOMES. 307 
 
 " Such alterations have heen made in the Gulnare as will 
 enable her to bring back yourself and some of your surveyors^ 
 should you think it right to accompany her on that trip ; or 
 consider that from economical and other motives the officers 
 might be reduced in number. It is understood, however, that 
 the doctor must not leave the settlement. 
 
 " The party then remaining at the Northern Territory should 
 continue the survey of another one hundred thousand (100,000) 
 acres, or one hundred and fifty thousand acres (150,000) ; and 
 be employed in such works in the harbour or in other improve- 
 ments as you may think desirable. 
 
 " I am to impress upon you that should you desire to return 
 by that trip, that is, after five hundred thousand (500,000) acres 
 have been surveyed and plotted, you are to be guided entirely by 
 your own wishes in the matter and by considerations of health. 
 
 " In the selection of any subordinate officers for return pas- 
 sages you are unfettered, merely bearing in mind the necessity 
 for careful deliberation in appointing your successor should you, 
 as you probably may, return for the purpose of reporting fuUy 
 to the Government. 
 
 " On the arrival of the Gulnare with yourself or your report 
 of the townships and 500,000 acres having been actually sur- 
 veyed, the Government will take immediate measures to arrange 
 for the selection of the land and for despatching some vessel 
 (probably a steamer) to take up persons desiring to select lands 
 or settle in the Northern Territory, and to bring back such of 
 the party as do not remain either in Government service or pri- 
 vate capacities. 
 
 " The interval between the departure of the Guhiare from the 
 Northern Territory and the arrival of the large vessel will pro- 
 bably be from ten to twelve weeks, but the arrangements on 
 this side will be as rapid as possible. 
 
 " The field parties employed in surveying the extra 100,000 
 acres shoidd be within easy reach of the port, certainly at the 
 end of ten weeks. 
 
 " The above are the leading features of the plan in the minds 
 of the Government, but are of course subject to alteration by
 
 308 
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 you in the event of any unforeseen emergency arising on your 
 side of the continent and requiring the Gulnare to visit Timor 
 or Batavia. 
 
 " As a permanent settlement will have to be maintained in 
 the Northern Territory, you can recommend such members of 
 yoiu- party as may be desirous of obtaining suitable appoint- 
 ments there, but they must most distinctly understand that the 
 rate at which their services will be remunerated must be left to 
 the Government. 
 
 "I am. Sir, j'our obedient servant, 
 (Signed) "James N. Blackmore, Secretary. 
 
 " Gr. W. Goyder, Esq., Surveyor-General, Port Darwin." 
 
 FEOM THE "SOUTH AUSTEALIAN ADVERTISER." 
 
 " The Gulnare will sail next Wednesday and take important 
 despatches to Mr. Goyder from the Government. We do not 
 profess to have an exact knowledge of their contents, but we 
 believe the general purport of the instructions to be something 
 like the following : — As soon as 500,000 acres are surveyed, Mr. 
 Goyder is to certify to that fact and forward plans to the Go- 
 vernment. The Gulnare is to return to Adelaide immediately 
 that Mr. Goj'der is in a position to announce that he has accom- 
 plished the above, and he ma}', if he think fit, return by her 
 himself; but this will be optional on his part. What the Go- 
 vernment require is simply this — that the Gulnare shall return 
 to Adelaide as soon as 500,000 acres are surveyed. The party 
 is not to be broken up, but will go on surveying 150,000 acres 
 more, so that there shall be 650,000 acres to choose from. In 
 the event of all this being accomplished sooner than anticipated, 
 the party will be employed in efiecting any improvements that 
 may be deemed desirable in the new settlement. On the retui'u 
 of the Gulnare with the Surveyor-General's certificate of the 
 completion of the survey, the Government will immediately 
 arrange for a permanent staff to administer the afl'airs of the 
 infant colony ; and here will begin the most critical part of their 
 duties and responsibilities. It has always been laid down as a 
 fundamental principle, and asserted by successive Governments
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 309 
 
 and by leading politicians of all parties, that the Northern Ter- 
 ritory is not to be a charge upon the general revenue of this 
 province ; in other words, that it is to be self-supporting, and 
 there is no doubt that it can be successfully developed on this 
 principle. But the Government must beware of the temptation 
 to create a host of billets. When the revenue raised in the 
 Northern Territory is equal to the maintenance of a ' staff,' 
 and when the settlers who raise that revenue declare that they 
 want a ' staff,' by all means let the most improved official 
 machinery be erected. But, until the actual necessity for ex- 
 pensive government arises, let us carefully avoid it. Of course 
 a Government Eesident must be appointed, and we do not know 
 a better title than that just mentioned, as it can be made to 
 cover everything. A Government Eesident may be Governor, 
 Judge, Special Magistrate, Military Commandant, Collector of 
 Customs, Harbour Master, and ever so much besides, with just 
 a clerk or two to assist him in clerical work. One thing the 
 Government will have to see to is, that there shall be no neces- 
 sity to send prisoners to the Supreme Court in Adelaide for 
 trial. This will be rather too costly a luxury, and one that may 
 be very well dispensed with, at least for some years to come. 
 Of course, at first one supervising and superintending head ought 
 to be sufficient, and Ministers will find that the truest economy 
 will consist in the appointment of a Government Eesident able, 
 by habit, experience, and education, to preside over the general 
 administration of the young settlement without the expensive 
 encumbrance of a host of subordinate officers. We hope the 
 Ministry will be as successful in the inauguration of government 
 in the Northern Territory as Mr. Goyder appears to be in the 
 survey of the country. 
 
 " We should add to the foregoing that after the return of the 
 Gulnare facilities will be afforded by the Government for the 
 passage to Port Darwin of land purchasers, or their agents, who 
 may be desirous of going out to look at the country and making 
 arrangements for settlement ; but until the survey is completed 
 no persons other than those engaged on the official staff will be 
 permitted to take passages by the Government vessels. The
 
 310 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Gulnare will take out a supply of various sorts of vegetables 
 and other requisites for the use of the expedition over and 
 above those for which Mr. Goyder has specially applied. 
 
 " ABEIVAIi OF THE ' GULNAEE.' 
 
 " When the English mail came in, people eagerly inquired 
 for news from the Northern Territory, although it was not 
 likely that there would be any by that medium. However, the 
 CUilnare has opportunely turned up, having sailed on the 
 5th May and reached Port Adelaide on Sunday, the Gth June. 
 Full particulars of her trip will be found in our shipping 
 columns. The party are in good health and good spirits, 
 excellent discipline prevails, and the work of surveying proceeds 
 vigorously. The accounts of the country are as favourable 
 as those by the Moonta's advices ; and neither climate, rain, nor 
 natives have as yet given the expedition any trouble. We have 
 several letters, but for the present must content ourselves with 
 publishing the following, which is the most circumstantial. It 
 is dated April 30, but we have one from the camp at head- 
 quarters dated 3rd May. At the later date all were well and 
 everything progressing satisfactorily. Mr. Goyder informs the 
 Government that the survey will be completed by the 1st 
 October, and we believe he is careful to state the latest date 
 to which he expects his task can extend, for private advices 
 mention August as the time at which the work of the expedi- 
 tion will be over. We now append the letter : — 
 
 " ' Poet Daewin, n.t., April 30, 1869. 
 " ' There is not much news to communicate this mail, but 
 the little there is will no doubt be welcomed with satisfaction 
 by the people in Adelaide. When the Moonta sailed in the 
 beo-inning of March considerable progress had been made with 
 the survey of the town at Port Darwin, and by the 25th of the 
 month every portion of the work, including wharfage allot- 
 ments, was completed and eight parties had been started on the 
 rural surveys. The remaining four parties were also away at 
 the end of the month. There are now three camps of four 
 parties each, working in different directions through the
 
 NEW HOMES. 311 
 
 country — one lot at the head of the south arm, one at the east 
 arm, and another further to the eastward on the ridge between 
 this and the Adelaide River. Large townships have been sur- 
 veyed on each side of the arms, and though it is difficult to say 
 exactly, I think the quantity of country work done may be 
 estimated at between 50,000 and 60,000 acres. By the time 
 this reaches you over 200,000 acres ought to be ready to select 
 from. Of course everything depends upon the continuance of 
 the advantages which the surveyors have enjoyed up to the 
 present time in good health, fine weather, capital country, and 
 freedom from annoyance by the natives. In any case, however, 
 there is, I think, every probability of the work being got 
 through before next wet season ; and those who have friends up 
 here may fairly expect them back to dinner on Christmas Day 
 next. The Surveyor-G-eneral appears to have little spare time 
 on his hands. He is nearly always away from here, either 
 exploring, examining the coast, or visiting the different camps. 
 At the beginning of the month he started overland for the 
 camp on the south arm, which he reached in about ten days ; 
 having visited Fred's Pass, near the Adelaide, and examined 
 the country in its vicinity, a first-rate route w^as found through 
 well grassed and wooded country, watered by fine fresh-water 
 rivers and creeks. On returning to this camp he only remained 
 a day or two before he started up the south arm again, to make 
 further explorations to the southward and westward, where 
 good country was also found. 
 
 " ' The Gulnare did not arrive until the 27th March, three 
 weeks after the departure of the Moonta, and during that period 
 serious fears were entertained for her safety, or rather for that 
 of the Sea Hippie, for of com'se we were not then aware that 
 that vessel had been condemned. Her appearance in the port 
 dispelled a great deal of anxiety, for she had the greater portion 
 of our stock of meat on board, and we had already been put on 
 rather short allowance in anticipation of her non-arrival. She 
 had also several drays, without which the transport of the 
 camp equipages and stores about the country would have been 
 almost an impossibility. The little steamer Midge has proved
 
 312 NEW HOMES. 
 
 exceedingly useful in keeping up communication with, the river 
 camps, and carrying stores, &c. The Northern Territory Fund 
 has never been better expended than in her purchase. 
 
 " ' The weather has been extremely favourable. The change 
 of the N.W. monsoon took place about the middle of March, 
 and during that period we were visited with several heavy 
 thunder-storms and squalls ; but there has never yet been suffi- 
 cient rain to stop the progress of the work for one day. The 
 weather now is really delightful — fine breezy days and cool, or 
 rather cold nights, for the thermometer has stood below 60deg., 
 rendering the use of a rug necessary as the rule. This, to- 
 gether with a good country and mosquitoes and sandflies in the 
 minority, helps to render existence even in the Northern Terri- 
 tory not altogether unenjoyable. Under these circumstances, it 
 is no matter of surprise that the health of the party continues 
 good. Of course the sick list is not always empty ; such a 
 thing covild not be expected out of 130 men ; but the doctor 
 has not yet, I think, been troubled with anything like a serious 
 case of illness. 
 
 " ' On the 13th March a party, under charge of Mr. Burton 
 and including several members of the former expeditions, started 
 for Escape Cliff in two boats and returned on the 18th, bringing 
 back with them two bullock drays, a quantity of ironwork, 
 bananas, chilis, and several plants. They found the place in 
 nearly the same state as when it was left by Mr. Manton, old 
 Mira having continued to carry out strictly his protective 
 policy. The old chief was away at the time turtle-fishing on 
 one of the adjacent islands ; but he had left a number of natives 
 in charge under another chief named Miranda, who made the 
 party welcome and showed by every means in their power their 
 pleasure at seeing the white men amongst them again. They 
 did not seem, however, to relish the removal of any of the 
 things, and if Mira had been there a difficulty in that respect 
 would probably have arisen. As an instance of how jealously 
 the things are guarded, it was gathered by some of the party 
 during their stay that since the settlement was deserted a large 
 number of blacks from the Alligator Eiver visited the place for
 
 NEW HOMES. 313 
 
 the purpose of burning the houses, but were stoutly resisted 
 and were driven oft* after a sharp encounter. Two of the large 
 wooden ■ houses were found to be in nearly as good a state as 
 when first erected. The majority of the huts were also sound. 
 The graves of the men who died there were overgrown, but the 
 railings around them and the headboards were still standing, 
 the inscriptions on the latter being perfectly legible. The prin- 
 cipal object of the party was to ascertain the condition of the 
 boat Julia, and if she was seaworthy to bring her round here, 
 but she was found sunk at her moorings, and every portion of 
 her except the hard-wood with which she was repaired up there 
 completely perforated by worms, and of course she had to be 
 left. Her anchor and chains and one or two of her spars were, 
 however, recovered. From the accounts given by the natives, 
 it would seem that the horses and cattle which were turned 
 adrift on the west side of the Adelaide have been breeding 
 largely, and are now running near the narrows in considerable 
 numbers. There was some talk of sending a party from here 
 to drive them in, but it has not been spoken of lately, and the 
 idea will not, I suppose, be carried out unless it is found abso- 
 lutely necessary to increase the number of horses in the expe- 
 dition. 
 
 " ' The natives here have up to within a week or two been 
 very quiet, but lately their numbers have been augmented by a 
 large body from the Escape Cliff" side, headed by Mira ; and 
 finding that their demands for ton ton (their name for food) are 
 not supplied so liberally as when the survey parties were camped 
 here, they are commencing to act in a manner that is not alto- 
 gether unlikely to end in a quarrel, A few days ago one of 
 them raised his spear to Mr. Schultze, the naturalist, simply 
 because he refused to give him something or other that he 
 asked for. I understand that none have yet been seen at any 
 of the survey camps ; and it is remarkable that Mr. Goyder did 
 not come across any on his journey to the south arm, or during 
 any of his other trips. 
 
 " ' Two or three persons are leaving the part}^ I hear, and 
 retm'n to Adelaide by the schooner, but their places will in 
 
 X
 
 314 KEW HOMES. 
 
 some measui-e be lilled up by two Malay's, who have been 
 brought amongst us by rather strange circumstances. 
 
 " ' About a fortnight ago one of the boats was round at Shoal 
 Bay with the naturalist, when these poor fellows came down 
 the beach to the party and asked to be protected from the 
 blacks, who were trying to spear them. They were brought 
 here, and on being questioned by one of the party who is ac- 
 quainted with the Malay language, it was found that they had 
 belonged to a large proa which sailed from Maccassar with a 
 crew of upwards of forty men for the purpose of fishing on this 
 coast, and which was wrecked somewhere near here. The rest 
 of the crew were either drowned or speared by the natives. 
 They appear to be very grateful at the kind treatment they 
 have received from us, and are willing to do whatever is asked 
 of them. 
 
 " ' It is rumoured that in order to save the expense of char- 
 tering another vessel, the party are to be taken back to Adelaide 
 in the Guliiare, but I cannot think it possible that such a thing 
 could have been thought of for one moment. Apart from the 
 meanness of such a course, it would be an act of gross in- 
 justice to those who returned to subject them, after their 
 hard labours, to the sufferings they would have to endure if 
 cooped up during a long sea voyage on board of such an under- 
 sized craft.' 
 
 " With regard to the wreck of the Malay proa, we are in- 
 formed by another writer that it was wrecked oflT Escape Cliffs 
 with 44 hands on board, of whom 30 were drowned, 12 were 
 killed by the blacks, and 2 were brought to Port Darwin by the 
 chief Mira, and are now in Adelaide, having been sent to the 
 Dutch Consul here by Mr. Goyder. One of them is in a bad 
 state of health, and will probably be removed to the hospital. 
 As respects our correspondent's fear that the whole party will 
 be brought back in the Oulnare, there is little danger of any- 
 thing of the kind being done, or attempted to be done. The 
 health and comfort of the expedition must be as carefully 
 studied in the arrangements for the homeward voyage as in 
 those for the voyage out.
 
 NEW HOMES. 315 
 
 " To a correspondent at the Northern Territory we are in- 
 debted for the following : — 
 
 " ' Since the departure of the JSIoonta we have been going 
 ahead in first-rate style. There is none of the idleness, drunk- 
 enness, and disorganisation which so strongly marked the 
 career of the previous parties here, but every one works cheer- 
 fully and willingly, and with a desire to complete the surveys 
 before the next wet season sets in. At present everything 
 promises that this end will be attained. The town at Port 
 Darwin and two outlying townships on the east arm, or 
 Elizabeth River, and the other on the south arm, or Eiver Dar- 
 win, are completed, and the rural surveys are now in full swing. 
 I cannot tell you how many acres are already knocked off, but 
 by the time this reaches you a pretty good hole will be made 
 in half the area. There are twelve field parties at work, and I 
 think between them they will manage to get over 120,000 acres 
 per month, or close upon it. We are now scattered over the 
 country in all dii-ections. Four parties are working from Fort 
 Point towards Fred's Pass, along the ridge to the westward of 
 the Adelaide River ; four are on the Elizabeth, and four on the 
 Darwin. To give you some idea of our work, I will tell you 
 what was done to-day. The cook of our party was called at 
 4.30 A.M., the men at 5 ; and by 6 breakfast was over and all 
 hands started for the field. A walk of about two and a half 
 miles brought them to their starting-point, from whence they 
 surveyed, pegged, and trenched two miles of line ; and then 
 had over a mile and a half to walk back to camp, which they 
 did not reach till 4.30 p.m. Sometimes the walk to work and 
 back is not so long, but sometimes it is longer, and the above 
 may be taken as a very fair average day's work. You will, I 
 think, agree that it is not a bad one, especially when I can tell 
 you that oflBcers and men have also to take their turn in 
 watching the camp during the night. Strange to say, the 
 natives have not yet visited any of the outlying camps, but 
 they may do so at any moment, and we have always to be on 
 the look out. No man ever goes out from the camp unarmed. 
 The natives at Fort Point are, I believe, getting rather trouble-
 
 316 NEW HOMES. 
 
 some, and they have recently had their numbers increased by a 
 batch from the Escape Cliffs. We have had splendid weather 
 since we have been here, and we expect it to continue for seven 
 or eight months longer. The country is also first-class, and we 
 have nothing to complain of, except that the provisions are not 
 quite up to the mark. We get rather too much salt meat and 
 not quite sufficient vegetable food. The authorities in Adelaide 
 will, I hope, send us out by the Gulnare a good supply of po- 
 tatoes and onions. The more I see of this country the better I 
 am pleased with it. I was out exploring to the eastward yester- 
 day, and saw some of the finest land I have ever seen. We are 
 to survey some 60,000 or 70,000 acres to the eastward, camping 
 out on the work at night, without moving the bulk of our equi- 
 page. Then we shall go southward.' 
 
 " In addition to numerous letters from private members of 
 the Northern Territory Expedition, the public have now had 
 an opportunity of perusing Mr. Goyder's official report. It is 
 very brief — quite the antipodes of the Cadell style ; but Mr. 
 Groyder went out to do the maximum of work in the minimum 
 of time, and, consequently, has no leisure for rounding fine 
 sentences or elaborating picturesque descriptions. His state- 
 ment, coupled with those of the various other persons who have 
 written, will be regarded as eminently satisfactory by the 
 general public. There are mosquitoes, no doubt, although they 
 seem to prefer some skins to others, or else it must be that 
 some people are more irritable than others and make more fuss 
 about a common annoyance." 
 
 "SUEVEY OF NORTHERN TERRITOEY. 
 
 " Ordered ly the House of Assembly to he printed, 23rd November, 1S69. 
 
 " COPT OF SURVETOE-GENERAl's REPORT ON SURVEY 
 
 OF NORTHERK TERRITORY. 
 
 "Fort Point, Port Darwin, 27th September, 1869. 
 "Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your 
 letter of the 21st of June, which arrived here per Gulnare on
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 317 
 
 the 21th August, after a rough passage of fifty days from Port 
 Adelaide, vid Timor Koepaiig, to Port Darwin. 
 
 " Capt. Sweet reports experiencing heavy weather and adverse 
 winds for the first three weelis of his voyage. He brought with 
 him a supply of fruit, vegetables, fowls, a few goats, buffalo, 
 and sheep from Timor, which, with the potatoes from Adelaide, 
 were highly acceptable, as symptoms of incipient scurvy began 
 to show themselves in some of the ofiicers and men. These 
 symptoms you will be glad to learn have since entirely dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 " The survey of nearly six hundred thousand (600,000) acres 
 of land of the required area was completed upon the ground 
 by the end of August. Taking into careful consideration, 
 however, the various subjects named in your letter, coupled 
 with the facts that the draftsmen and most of the senior officers 
 would be actively employed for the succeeding four weeks in 
 preparing the necessary plans, diagrams, and records of the 
 work done, and the necessity of certain repairs and alterations 
 in the schooner, which required a thorough overhaul after her 
 late trip, I decided to employ the parties of the officers engaged 
 upon the plans and records of survey in prosecuting necessaiy 
 and indispensable works to the new settlement, and to send the 
 remaining parties into the field to complete the survey of the 
 additional area required, so that a proper connexion of the 
 survey might be secured, and the plans, diagrams, and field- 
 notes of the whole reach you at one and the same time with 
 the requisite certificates. This course appeared to me the more 
 desirable, inasmuch as the heat is rapidly increasing, rendering 
 field-work more trying to the system ; whilst those employed 
 near Fort Point during the hot season, having less walking and 
 better accommodation, will be in a better position to carry on 
 the work during the allotted hours for labour. I carried out 
 this determination, and the survey of the extra lands was com- 
 pleted, and the respective parties returned to Fort Point by 
 the 25th instant. 
 
 " As there were many reasons why I should personally confer 
 with the Honourable Commissioner as early as possible, I
 
 318 NEW HOMES. 
 
 accepted the permission accorded to me in your letter, and 
 proppse returning to Adelaide by the Gulnare, which leaves 
 to-morrow morning, and have arranged for the prosecution of 
 the works at Fort Point during my absence, or until the arrival 
 of the steamer, in terms of correspondence appended. In taking 
 this step I have every confidence in the officers and men, and 
 feel assured that everything will be carried out in accordance 
 with my instructions. 
 
 " In my last report I was happy in being able to congratulate 
 the party upon the entire absence of serious casualties, and I 
 did fervently hope that I might be permitted to return to 
 Adelaide with my party safe and well. In this, however, I am 
 disappointed ; and it is with extreme regret that I have now 
 the painful duty to report the death of Mr. J. W. O. Bennett, 
 one of the draftsmen of the expedition, who died on the 28th of 
 May, from spear wounds inflicted by the natives at Fred's Pass, 
 when Mr. Bennett was oft' his guard, on the 24th of the same 
 raontli. It is with unusual hesitation that I enter upon this 
 subject, as I had personally remonstrated with him for his 
 persistent familiarity Avith the natives, and had written a 
 special memorandum upon the subject. 
 
 " Mr. Bennett, it will be recollected, formed one of the mem- 
 bers of the previous expedition, and was highly spoken of by 
 Mr. Finniss, on that gentleman's return to Adelaide. He 
 understood much of the language of the tribe, and intended 
 constructing a vocabulary : which so far as compiled by him, is 
 appended hereto, with other papers, and which give, so far as 
 can be obtained, particulars of the attack. 
 
 " Laborer Gruy, who was with Mr. Bennett at the camp, and 
 was also speared by the natives — though dangerous, fortunately 
 not mortal — has, at my request, sent in a statement, so far as 
 his memory served him, in the enfeebled state to which he was 
 reduced by loss of blood and subsequent suffering, by which 
 it will appear that, despite my remonstrance and written orders 
 to tlie contrary, Mr. Bennett continued to trust to the natives 
 implicitly, even allowing them to paint him after their manner. 
 Indeed the poor fellow considered himself perfectly safe amongst
 
 NEW HOMES. 319 
 
 them, and others of the party supposed him a source of pro- 
 tection from attack. The sequel proves how little they under- 
 stood the treacherous nature of those with whom they had 
 to deal. 
 
 " The organization and equipment of the respective parties 
 on their leaving Fort Point, was such as to preclude, with 
 a very small amount of care, the possibility of such an attack 
 succeeding in its object ; but the apparent friendliness of the 
 natives so deceived the officers and men of the respective 
 parties, that my instructions were departed from, the men 
 going out without arms, and the camps being separated instead 
 of remainins: tosrether for mutual assistance and defence. I 
 was absent exploring at the time, and did not hear the par- 
 ticulars of the attack until my arrival at Wood's camp on the 
 Upper Manton, on my way back to visit the parties, when 
 I insisted upon the immediate consolidation of the respective 
 camps, as originally arranged, which effectually prevented a 
 repetition of the attack. When returning some weeks later to 
 the depot at Fort Point, with a party of four, the natives 
 surrounded, and did all they could to suffocate us, by firing the 
 long grass in advance, on either side, and behind us ; we could 
 easily have shot one or two of them, as three were visible at 
 one time, within twenty yards of me, but in the position of 
 Protector of Aborigines, as well as that of Surveyor-General, I 
 knew that these miserable specimens of humanity were only 
 following their savage instincts in doing what they did ; and 
 whilst ever ready for the worst, we abstained from injuring 
 them so long as there was a possibility to avoid bloodshed. By 
 the coolness of my men and our knowledge of the country, we 
 were enabled to avoid the eflects of the fire, to the yelling dis- 
 appointment of the blacks, without firing a shot — though the 
 escape on one occasion was extremely narrow, owing to the 
 difficulty in getting the frightened horses, fatigued by a long 
 journey, through the burning grass, the flames of which, rising 
 to a great height, roared and crackled sufficiently to confuse 
 the poor brutes, apart from the heat and smoke which neces- 
 sarily accompanied the burning. The natives kept firing the
 
 320 NEW HOMES. 
 
 grass near and in advance of us for a distance of eighteen miles. 
 But we got to Fort Point all right, where I was surprised 
 to find the old native hangers-on at the camp about as usual, 
 though they knew of all that had transpired. They were 
 ordered off at once, and have not since been permitted to 
 approach. 
 
 " No act of aggression has been perpetrated by the expedition 
 against the natives, who had been invariably treated kindly up 
 to the time of my return. Since then they have been kept at 
 a distance, and they are well aware of the reason. It is a 
 mistake, however, to suppose that because the natives do not 
 show themselves, that there are none near : as, when they were 
 allowed to assemble near the respective camps, all my move- 
 ments were reported by them to the officers and men, though 
 I was many miles away, and this with astonishing celerity and 
 accuracy. This is the more surprising as, up to the time of the 
 attack upon Bennett and Guy, I had seen no natives during my 
 journeys inland. 
 
 " Both officers and men were naturally indignant at Bennett's 
 murder, and, had the order been given for retaliation the 
 punishment of the natives would have been a simple matter 
 with a party so armed ; but I considered the attack upon 
 Bennett and Guy the results of feelings of revenge on the part 
 of those who had probably lost relatives in some previous con- 
 test with the whites, the more so as we were informed on arrival 
 of the Moonta, by the blacks here, that those on the Adelaide, 
 or near that locality, intended to kill two of our party. To 
 retaliate therefore, even could we have identified the murderers, 
 would have been to secure to our successors, less able to defend 
 themselves, a debt of lives to be paid for our act of reprisal, 
 unless we had annihilated the tribe, which was not to be 
 thought of. I had also to bear in mind that we were in what 
 to them appeared unauthorised and unwarrantable occupation 
 of their country, and where territorial rights are so strictly ob- 
 served by the natives, that even a chief of one tribe will neither 
 hunt upon nor remove anything from the territory of another 
 without first obtaining permission, it is scarcely to be wondered
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 321 
 
 at if, when opportunity is allowed tliem, they should resent 
 such acts by violence upon its perpetrators. Since they have 
 been ordered from the camp there has been no trouble with 
 them. Our relations with the natives p,re peculiar. We are 
 liable to the consequences of their sudden and treacherous 
 attacks; yet retahation on our part would, by many — and, I 
 do not say without some show of justice — be looked upon as 
 little short of murder, as we have no right to take the lives of 
 these men without such be done in actual defence, or by the 
 laws of our country. An appeal to such laws, however, would 
 have been useless. We might have surrounded and captured 
 the murderers of Bennett and sent them to justice, when from 
 the evidence of witnesses and the declarations made, conviction 
 and execution might have followed. But they could not have 
 understood our language, nor could they have made themselves 
 intelligible to us. The expense and trouble, therefore, would 
 probably have been incurred in vain, and their subsequent ex- 
 perience, detailed to their tribes, might have given rise to other 
 murders to ensure similar experiences. Persons coming here 
 should be constantly and vigilantly on guard, and never without 
 the means of defence. The latter is necessary even in mercy 
 to the natives, as they rarely attack those prepared to receive 
 them. Nearly all are alike treacherous. There may be a few 
 better inclined — but they are few, and generally over-ruled by 
 the general voice, which is for plunder and revenge, for which 
 the occupation of the country is to them ample cause. Even 
 the chief Mira had to be protected from the natives here 
 by the men of the expedition, as spears were raised against 
 him in the camp at Fort Point, because his policy was 
 friendly to us ; and this state of affairs must continue until 
 the object and motives of the whites can be clearly explained 
 in their own language, and the natives satisfactorily con- 
 vinced of the futility and impolicy of opposition. The sooner, 
 therefore, some one can be found willing and competent 
 to learn their language, and imdertake this mission, which 
 might readily be carried into effect at Fort Point, the 
 sooner will the great object of a peaceable and useful inter-
 
 322 NEW HOMES. 
 
 course with the numerous native tribes in this locaHty be 
 secured. 
 
 " It is with regret that I have also to report the death of 
 Richard Hazard, a coloured man, and one of the cooks of the 
 expedition, who died at Fort Point on the 9th of August, of 
 premature decay. He was sent into the main camp on the 30th 
 June, suffering from rheumatism ; pleurisy succeeded, and as 
 Dr. Peel dreaded from his early examinations during the first 
 stages of Hazard's illness, was followed by serious eflFusion into 
 the cavity of the chest, and death. 
 
 " The remains of Bennett and Hazard were interred in one 
 grave, on the summit of the hill at Fort Point, and I caused a 
 neat tomb to be constructed to their memory ; in addition to 
 which the officers propose to erect a further proof of their 
 esteem for Bennett, on their arrival in Adelaide ; and the men 
 and officers subscribed over (£65) sixty-five pounds, which it is 
 proposed to hand over to Hazard's widow on the arrival of the 
 Oulnare. 
 
 " SURVEY OF LAND. 
 
 " The survey comprises a total area of 665,866 acres, .in- 
 cluding roads and reserves, viz. : — 
 
 Acres. Acres. 
 
 " 1st. Principal Township at Fort Point — 
 
 999 half-acre allotments = 499* 
 
 Roads = 1,160 
 
 Reserves = 27 
 
 Park Lands = 730 
 
 Cemetery and Cemetery Reserve =: 90 
 
 2,506i 
 
 *' 2nd. Township on the River Blackmore — 
 
 335 half-acre allotments = 167^ 
 
 Roads = 31 
 
 Reserves = 8 
 
 ParkLands = 252 
 
 Cemetery and Cemetery Reserve =: 40 
 
 498i
 
 KEW HOilES. 32 S 
 
 " 3rd. Township on the Elizaheth — 
 
 313 half-acre allotments 
 
 Roads 
 
 Reserves 
 
 Park Lands 
 
 = 
 
 156^ 
 76 
 8 
 363 
 
 Cemetery and Cemetery Reserve 
 
 25 
 
 "4th. Township at Fred's Pass — 
 207 half-acre allotments 
 
 103^. 
 
 Roads 
 
 Reserves 
 
 18 
 1 
 
 Park Lands 
 
 Cemetery and Cemetery Reserve 
 
 649 
 23 
 
 02 8 A 
 
 r94V 
 
 " 5th. 1,708 blocks, each 320 acres = 546,560 
 
 "6th. 208 blocks, each 160 acres... = 33,280 
 
 " 7th. 330 blocks of irregular area = 73,964 
 
 "8th. Roads = 7,554 
 
 "9th. Reserves = 80 
 
 661,438 
 
 " Total area surveyed 665,866 
 
 " The survey extends from Fort Point, in a south and south- 
 westerly direction, as far as Fog Bay, Point Blaze, north of 
 Anson's Bay ; southerly, a distance of fifty-eight miles to the 
 southern and eastern sources of the River Finniss ; and easterly^ 
 to the swampy lands lying east of the Adelaide River. I did 
 not survey any of the land on the Adelaide Plains, because 
 most of them, as far south as Fred's Pass, are covered with 
 water for eight months of the year; and, for a considerable 
 distance to the south of the pass, the country adjacent to the 
 river is impracticable for traffic most of the year — large paper- 
 bark swamps existing between the west bank of the river and 
 the higher lands flanking the plain. From latitude 13° south,, 
 however, east-south, and south-west of Mount Charles, there is.
 
 324 NEW HOMES. 
 
 over a million acres of land of fair average quality, some of it 
 exceedingly rich, other portions equally poor and sandy, but 
 most of it suited to the growth of tropical or semi-tropical pro- 
 ducts ; the whole well grassed and watered, and admirably 
 adapted for depasturing cattle or horse stock. To the south of 
 the Finniss, and extending in the direction of the Rivers Daly 
 and Victoria, the land, so far as our operations and examination 
 enabled us to judge, continued to improve in character and 
 quality, and running streams were more abundant ; but my 
 means, and the object of my journey, did not permit me an 
 opportunity of examining its extent or detail — the horses being 
 nearly all required by the field parties, and my presence being 
 necessary at Fort Point to ensure the proper preparation of the 
 records of survey, and to push on necessary works at that place 
 prior to the completion of the duties required to be performed 
 by the field parties ; as it is, half my time here has been occu- 
 pied examining the country in advance of the surveys, and in 
 visiting the several parties. 
 
 " In fixing the sites of the several townships, I was invariably 
 accompanied by one of the senior ofiicers and the doctor ; and, 
 where such occurred upon a navigable stream, by a nautical 
 man, by whose joint advice and judgment I was aided in the 
 selection. The site first chosen on the Elizabeth was altered 
 to a preferable one two miles further north, where vessels 
 drawing six feet of water could approach the water-frontage 
 allotments at all states of the tide — an impossibility at the first 
 site, as low water springs exposed rock, which satisfactorily set 
 the question at rest, though a good deal to my annoyance, as 
 part of the survey had been completed before I discovered the 
 mistake. 
 
 '• The survey comprises portions of four native districts, viz., 
 the ' Woolner,' ' Woolner-Larakceyah,' ' Larakeeyah,' and ' War- 
 imnger,' and is embraced within the limits of sixteen Hundreds 
 — varying in area from one hundred and twenty (120) to one 
 hundred and ninety-six (196) square miles, portions of which 
 still remain unsurveyed lands of the Crown. 
 
 " The records of survey are contained in the field books, dia-
 
 NEW HOilES. 325 
 
 grams, data plans, Hundred sheets, townships, and general plans, 
 as per detailed list appended, duplicates of all being left at Fort 
 Point, for the use of the local Land Office, when such has been 
 established. 
 
 "description of countet. 
 " The country in the neighbourhood of Fort Point consists 
 principally of table-land of from sixty to 150 feet above the sea 
 level, falling thence gently towards the sea, except upon portions 
 of the coast between Fort Point and Point Emery, where it 
 forms into cliffs of soil over a level bedding of indurated marl — 
 with red and yellow stains from iron — over beds of slate and mi- 
 caceous sandstone, very unctuous to the touch, and also con- 
 taining a good deal of iron — these latter strata are nearly on edge 
 or perpendicular, and run in a northerly and southerly direction. 
 The cliffs, except at Point Emery and Point Elliot, where the land 
 is more open, are fringed by a dense thicket from five to twenty 
 yards through, of various sized timber, matted together by bam- 
 boo, convolvoli, and a variety of other vines and shrubs. The low 
 lands near the sea — especially such as are under the influence 
 of the tides — by dense mangroves of two or three varieties ; 
 these give place as you go inland and ascend to the higher 
 levels, to paper bark (some of large growth), palms, fan and 
 fern, screw pines, iron bark, gum, stringy bark, fig, cedar, 
 cotton, and a variety of other trees and shrubs, forming an 
 open forest. The grass over the whole, or nearly the whole of 
 the surface of the ground, grows luxuriantly, from a rank 
 species resembling holcus to the finer varieties — from all, or 
 most of which, seed has been sent to Adelaide. The soil is 
 mostly good, and of a dark brown colour, with small nodulous 
 stones of ferruginous sandstone upon the surface ; in places 
 masses of this stone crop out, and about an acre is level and 
 cemented into a surface resembling iron — broken only by timber 
 growing through, but destitute of other vegetation. Near the 
 sea, and generally upon a watercourse near its junction with 
 the sea, swampy flats occur, containing timber of large growth 
 and rank vegetation : but these being liable to inundation, 
 during the rainy season, have been excluded from the survey.
 
 32 G NEW HOMES. 
 
 This general description of the country aj^plies to all the table 
 land as far south as Fred's Pass — the slopes and valleys being 
 of better soil, and free from surface stones. The flats, on either 
 side of large watercourses, also contain good soil ; except where 
 they join the higher land, where there is a narrow belt of 
 a sandy character — poor to look at, though covered with timber 
 and grass. I washed some of the poorest looking, and found it 
 to contain but ten per cent, of earthy matter and ninety per 
 cent, pure sand. From Mount Daly, westward, to the Black- 
 more, the same kind of open forest, undulating, and flat lands 
 exist ; . at the Blackmore, however, from the Township to the 
 tumbling waters, the soil changes suddenly upon the east side, 
 from a dark brown to a very light loam, resembling fine white 
 sand in appearance, but containing ninety-five per cent, of 
 earth, and but five per cent, of pure sand. From thence the 
 soil gradually improves to the south, south-east, and south- 
 west, except where the ranges occur, and the size of the timber 
 decreases, save on the watercourses, where there are fine 
 specimens of the varieties named. The cotton tree, growing 
 more abundantly upon the higher lands and low rises, and 
 occasionally cork and other trees which I cannot now name. 
 The cork near Mount Charles, abundant, and of large growth, 
 and the bark apparently of superior quality. It was unfortunate 
 that Mr. Schiiltze could not accompany me on my inland 
 journeys — he being unaccustomed to horse exercise — a large 
 amount of information was thereby lost to me, as specimens 
 could not be carried by my party, and he could only identity- 
 specimens from which the leaves, fruit, seed, bark, &c., had 
 been obtained. I endeavoured to counteract this loss, however, 
 by sending him inland, on every opportunity, with the drays, 
 when he generally reaped a rich harvest, and got into ecstacies 
 with each new prize. 
 
 "The rocks in the various estuaries, said to be granite, 
 proved, on breaking, to be either shales, slate, or micaceous 
 sandstone, and the granite, so called, upon the ridges of most 
 of the hills, a hard grey cr3'stalline quartz rock, flanked by 
 mica, schists and sandstone. A few miles north of, and for a
 
 NEW HOMES. 327 
 
 considerable distance south of the Finniss, and upon its eastern 
 and southern sources, two varieties of granite are met with — 
 one grey, the other a flesh colour, in which the felspar pre- 
 dominates. The grey variety is compact, and of superior 
 quality, and obtainable in large quantities. The schists on 
 either side of these dykes are rapidly decomposing upon the 
 surface, and easily crumbled by pressure in the hand. The 
 ranges generally, so far as I have seen them, are mostly formed 
 of crystalline quartz and x'ock on the ridges, cropping through 
 slates, shales, or micaceous sandstone. I have seen no lime- 
 stone in the locality, so that shells or coral, of which there is 
 an abundance on the coast, must be its substitute. A diligent 
 search for this useful material will, I trust, shortly prove suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 " MINEEALS. 
 
 " The minerals found by the party have been but few. They 
 consist of the oxides of iron, protoxide of tin, carbonate of 
 copper, and gold. • The iron is extensively distributed; the 
 copper was found near the river Finniss, to the north of the 
 Giant Quartz Eeef ; the tin between the Celica and the Upper 
 Darwin ; and the gold at the Tumbling Waters, on the Black- 
 more ; Section 618, west of the Blackmore ; at and above the 
 bar on the Charlotte, leading into Bynoe Harbour ; on the 
 Finniss, near Section 2130; Rocky Waterholes, Section 2193 ; 
 and in the River Darwin. I had previously read of the dis- 
 covery of gold in tbe Finniss, near the lower bar, by Mr. 
 Litchfield; but I had also heard the alleged discovery dis- 
 credited. I therefore determined to test its accuracy, and pro- 
 ceeded to the same spot from whence it was stated he obtained 
 specs of the precious metal. We obtained, from a very hurried 
 washing, three specs and a small round pellet of gold from the 
 first four dishes, and subsequently we found gold in the same 
 river, north of the Giant Quartz Reef. But one dish was 
 washed from the bed of the creek, and two or three specs of 
 gold were obtained. In justice to Mr. Litchfield, I am bound 
 to state that gold does exist where he reported it was found, 
 and that more importance might fairly have been attached to,
 
 328 KEW HOMES. 
 
 and reliance placed upon, the description of the country travelled 
 over by him, which, though only approximate as to the natural 
 features, were altogether devoid of exaggeration as respects 
 quality of soil, timber, vegetation, and apparently auriferous 
 nature of the country. 
 
 " On my return to Fort Point, and after the horses had been 
 rested, I sent E. C. Burton, with an efficient party, to search 
 for gold ; and, though he only obtained a little over three- 
 quarters of an ounce, there is no doubt but that a more length- 
 ened and detailed search would have developed a payable gold- 
 field, if such may not have already been found. (See samples 
 and correspondence, with Burton's report, in Appendix.) I also 
 sent Mr. Schultze and his son with Burton's party ; they re- 
 turned with a large collection, and highly pleased with what 
 they had seen, and the specimens sent will, I trust, be of use 
 in determining the value of much of the country, both as regards 
 its capabilities and natural productions. 
 
 " NATUEALIST. 
 
 " In addition to the collection already sent by previous ship- 
 ments to Adelaide, Mr. Schultze sends, per Guliiare, thirty-four 
 cases, containing dry plants, seeds, birds' skins, skins of animals, 
 crustacise, insects, snakes, fish, air-plants, sponge, coral, and live 
 animals. This shipment makes a total of over eight thousand 
 specimens. I have written to him acknowledging his assiduity, 
 and expressing gratification that his efforts should have been so 
 deservedly appreciated by those for whom they were obtained, 
 and by whom they will be doubtless properly cared for and dis- 
 tributed. Mr. Schultze and his son remain for the present with 
 the party, to augment their collection as far as such can be done. 
 
 "I append thirty-nine paintings, by Mr. Hoare, the Surgeon's 
 assistant, of plants, flowers, seeds, insects, &c., &c., the colours 
 of which fade too rapidly to enable them to be preserved by the 
 Collector. They are mostly true to Nature, and very creditable 
 to Mr. Hoare. I also append a few photographs to show the 
 roads and buildings at the camp; but, as the negatives are 
 being brought to Adelaide by Mr. Brooks, they will all be 
 printed, and form the subject of a sepai-ate communication.
 
 NEW HOMES. 329 
 
 " An abstract of the improvements or works effected by 
 the party at Fort Point up to this date will be found amongst 
 other papers attached. 
 
 " The stock belonging to this party is in good condition and 
 are doing well. That sent by previous expeditions has spread 
 over the country, but will be got in before the end of the 
 dry season. From the tracks seen they appear to have in- 
 creased in number, and wiU doubtless prove a valuable addition 
 to the settlement. 
 
 " The climate during the months of May, June, July, 
 August, and September, has been very fine, and, generally, 
 delightful — not too hot during the day, and invariably cool at 
 night. The weather is changing now, however, the atmosphere 
 becoming more moist and the heat more intense. Nearly all 
 the men are well. Some of them stand the climate remarkably 
 well, especially those of a spare habit. Personally I have not 
 enjoyed good health, and twice acute and painful illness attacked 
 me, which speedily succumbed to the care and skill of Dr. Peel, 
 to whom I shall ever feel grateful for his unremitting attention 
 to his duties to the officers and men of the expedition. 
 " I have the honour, &c., 
 
 " G. W. GoTDEE, Surveyor- General, 
 
 " The Secretary, Crown Lands and Immigration, Adelaide." 
 
 The latest statistical returns from Adelaide wliicli 
 have been yet received are up to the close of 1868, 
 and the onward progress of the colony will be very 
 apparent from them. The population was 176,298 ; 
 there are 547 churches or chapels ; the total number 
 of places of worship is 754 ; 446 Sunday schools, 
 attended by 28,719 scholars ; the revenue from all 
 sources was £716,004 ; the public debt was 
 £3,727,500 ; the total imports were valued at 
 £2,238,510andtheaggregate exports to£2,819,300; 
 the export of wheat was 2,412,344 bushels, and of 
 
 Y
 
 330 NEW HOMES. 
 
 flour 43,703 tons. The value of the minerals for 
 the year was £625,022; the export of wool was 
 29,629,5251bs., of the estimated value of £1,346,323. 
 The colony contains 4,987,024 sheep, 123,213 cattle, 
 75,409 horses, and 89,304 pigs. 
 
 The total area of land alienated from the Crown 
 amounted on the 31st December last to 3,769,897 
 acres. There are 4f acres of cultivated land for 
 each individual, or 14 acres for each male of 14 
 years and upwards. In Victoria there is but nine- 
 tenths of an acre of cultivated land for each inhabi- 
 tant ; in New South Wales one acre ; in Queensland 
 only quarter of an acre. 
 
 There are 6,475 acres of orchards and gardens ; 
 and 6,209 acres of vineyard, having 5,869,406 vines 
 in bearing, and 1,022,740 which are as yet unpro- 
 ductive. The aggregate quantity of wine made in 
 the year is returned as 863,584 gallons, or nearly 
 5 gallons a head of the population. The South 
 Australian vintage produced 140 gallons to the 
 acre; that of New South Wales 106, and in Vic- 
 toria 80 gallons. 
 
 The South Australian Government has added very 
 greatly to her population by free and assisted emi- 
 gration. 
 
 The following epitome of the regulations may 
 hereafter be of use, but at this moment the Agent- 
 General is not sending out any emigrants : 
 
 Settlers in the colony may obtain help out of the 
 public funds to get emigrants out.
 
 NEW HOMES. 331 
 
 Married labourers and miners not above 45 years 
 of age ; single men or widowers not above 40 ; 
 single females not exceeding 35 ; married mechanics 
 (when required); single men, and the wives and 
 children of married emigrants are eligible. The 
 payment towards each passage is .£4 for a man, and 
 £3 for a woman. 
 
 In England assisted passages (when any are being 
 issued) are obtainable under the following circum- 
 stances. When the applications from the colony 
 are not sufficient in number, then the Emigration 
 Agent in England can make up the deficiency, 
 according to the above rules. 
 
 When private persons introduce suitable immi- 
 grants, they are allowed certificates equivalent to 
 what it would have cost the government to intro- 
 duce them, and these certificates are received as 
 money in the purchase of Crown lands. 
 
 The expense of living in the colony is far from 
 high. The following are about the rates of wages. 
 They are not so high as in some of the colonies, but 
 there are corresponding advantages which compen- 
 sate for this. Masons, blacksmiths, carpenters, and 
 general labourers, 6s. to 10s. a day; ploughmen, 
 £40 to £45 ; shepherds, £40 to £50 a year, with 
 rations; farm servants, 13s. to 18s. a week; house- 
 maids, £20 to £27 ; general servants, £20 to £25. 
 
 " Faem and Daiet Pbodtice. — Wholesale — Bacon, 7d. to 
 Sd. ; butter, 9d to lOd. ; cheese, Gd. to 8d. ; eggs, 6d. to 7d. ; 
 hams, 8d. to 9d. ; honey, 3d. to 3^-d. ; lard, 8d. to lOd. ; new
 
 332 NEW HOMES. 
 
 potatoes, 13s. to 17s. per cwt. ; Warrnambool potatoes, in- 
 cluding bags at the Port, £6 10s. to £6 15s. per ton ; bees- 
 wax, 12d. to 14d. Betail — Bacon, 8d. to lOd. ; butter, lOd. to 
 12d. ; cheese, 9d. to lOd. ; eggs 9d. to lOd. per dozen ; hams, 
 lOd. to 12d. ; potatoes (new), 2d. to 2ld. per lb. ; do. (Warr- 
 nambool), 7s. 6d. to 8s. per cwt. ; lard, lOd, to 12d. per lb." 
 
 "Hat Market. — Hindmarsh-square. Hay — Best old wheaten 
 hay, £7 10s. ; do. new do. do., £6 ; good mixed do., £5 10s. ; 
 do. do., loose, from £4 5s. to £4 15s." 
 
 " Sheep Market. — Adelaide — The market to-day consisted 
 of 6,720 sheep and 2,000 lambs. Sheep, from 5s. to 8s. 6d., 
 according to quahty ; lambs, from 2s. to 5s. 6d., do." 
 
 *' The Government have lately received (says the South 
 Australian Advertiser) further despatches from Mr. R. D. Boss, 
 giving an interesting and a hopeful account of his interviews 
 and correspondence with the Indian Government and Stud 
 Committee respecting a remount depot at Port Darwin. On 
 the arrival of the last mail we were able to inform our readers 
 of the progress made by Mr. Boss in his mission. He had been 
 favourably received by His Excellency the Governor-General of 
 India, who had facilitated him in every way, and given him an 
 introduction to the Stud Committee, before whom he had an 
 opportunity of CApounding his scheme. We also stated that so 
 satisfied was the Governor-General with Mr. Boss's valuable 
 information that he had recommended the Government to pay 
 that gentleman's expenses back to Bombay or Ceylon. As Mr. 
 Ross had determined, in accordance with his instructions, to 
 return home by way of Bombay, he visited that Presidency, 
 and writing from Bombay under date August 9, he states that 
 he waited on Sir Seymour Fitzgerald, at Poona, on the 5th and 
 6th of that month, when His Excellency informed him that the 
 Government of the Presidency would be prepared to take 
 annually a certain number of horses for the army, from Port 
 Darwin, whenever the remount depot was established there. 
 This, Mr. Ross regards as very satisfactory, but he adds that 
 except the Bengal and Madras Governments come to a similar
 
 NEW HOMES. 333 
 
 conclusion, the annual demand of the Presidency would not be 
 sufficient to induce breeders to compete in the North Australian 
 markets. Bombay is placed in a far more advantageous position 
 than either of the Presidencies, so far as the Arabian, Persian, 
 and Northern horse markets are concerned, and can always ob- 
 tain its remounts on more reasonable terms. His Excellency, 
 however, was fully sensible of the expediency of encouraging the 
 Australian market, as it is one the Government of India could 
 rely upon for certainty and regularity of supply. While at 
 Poona, Mr. Eoss had an interview with Lord Napier of Magdala, 
 who was inclined to give the scheme a trial, and, in the event 
 of the trial proving favourable, would advocate the Government 
 having their own transports to perform the service between 
 India and Port Darwin. "We find that the Stud Committee in 
 India were instructed to send in to the Government a separate 
 report on Mr. Eoss's scheme ; so the matter is now fairly under 
 consideration, and there is a prospect of something useful being 
 done. 
 
 " While primarily seeking to interest the Indian Government 
 in the proposed remount depot, Mr, Ross has been also recom- 
 mending the Australian preserved meats to the officials whom he 
 met. He says Captain Pobinson, the Superintendent of Marines, 
 would be glad to receive a few sample cases, in order that they 
 may be tested on board the transports conveying troops to and 
 from Suez. If the reports were satisfactory he would recom- 
 mend future supplies being drawn from Australia. The Com- 
 missary-General of the Bombay army informed Mr. Ross that 
 the samples received via England had been commended for their 
 quality ; that large indents had been made on the India office 
 to meet the army demands of the ensuing season ; and that he 
 would take care to recommend the supplies being obtained direct 
 from Australia ; but, in the first instance, some arrangements 
 must be made with the War Office to obtain the assistance of 
 the Imperial Commissariat Officers in the colonies in making 
 such purchases. The whole question connected with preserved 
 meats, jams, dried fruits, wine, and flour for the army in India, 
 will be left for discussion with, and the decision of, the Home 
 authorities.
 
 334 NEW HOMES. 
 
 " Mr. Eoss was about to return to England by the mail steamer 
 from Bombay, and before leaving he expressed his opinion that 
 there was a prospect of a remount depot being formed at Port 
 Darwin, in which event, should the squatters take the matter up 
 in a spirited manner, many years will not elapse before a large 
 and valuable export trade in live stock will have been esta- 
 blished, not only with India, but with the whole of the Eastern 
 settlements, and a value given to large areas of land on the 
 Australian Continent that otherwise would remain unoccupied 
 for many generations. 
 
 " Mr. Ross has done his work well, and whatever may be the 
 ultimate result of his mission, he deserves our thanks for the 
 zeal he has displayed on behalf of this colony. By his position, 
 intelligence, interest in and thorough knowledge of the colony, 
 he was by far the best man we could have found to bring the 
 subject before the Indian Government, and it is pleasant to 
 know that he has made a favourable impression on the authori- 
 ties there. We owe something, too, to His Excellency Sir James 
 Fergusson, for secm-ing for Mr. Ross an introduction to the 
 Grovernor-General and to Sir Seymour Fitzgerald. Without 
 such an introduction Mr. Ross's work would have been more 
 difficult. A great deal will now depend upon the manner in 
 which the matter is taken up by our squatters, who, we hope, 
 will go into the thing with vigour." 
 
 "A movement of considerable importance has taken place 
 under the patronage of His Excellency. A Committee has been 
 formed to transmit samples of our colonial produce to India, 
 with the view to introduce them in bulk to the Indian mai'ket. 
 This is being vigorously carried out, and a vessel has been char- 
 tered to sail without delay with these samples. His Excellency 
 has thoroughly identified himself with the movement, and there 
 is no doubt that his personal influence with the Governor- 
 General of India will at least secure a fair trial for our produce, 
 Mr. C. H. T. Connor, who is a passenger by the present mail, 
 will be in India when the vessel arrives, and will give his assist- 
 ance in getting our produce thoroughly tested."
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 335 
 
 " The Treasurer lately laid on the table his amended Ways 
 and Means for 1870, which, however, he warned the House was 
 to be regarded only as approximately correct. We subjoin an 
 abstract which gives the Treasurer's estimate of the revenue 
 and expenditure for the year : — 
 
 " ESTIMATED EEVENUE. 
 
 Ordinary — 
 
 From usual sources £562,850 
 
 Additional license fees under Publicans' Act, 
 
 as passed by House of Assembly 2,400 
 
 Balance carried down, being probable deficiency 
 
 31st December, 1870 74,699 17 4 
 
 £639,949 17 4 
 
 " It is proposed to extend the payment of the actual ascer- 
 tained deficit over — say, three years, by the issuing of short 
 dated bonds, on the principle of Exchequer bills, and the 
 levying of stamp duties. 
 
 " PEOBABLE EXPENDITUEE. 
 
 Estimated deficit on 1st January, 1870, arising 
 from payments and liabilities on votes of 
 Parliament, enumerated as ' Unexpended 
 
 Balances,' 31st December, 1868 
 
 ... £82,836 
 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 Provision for excesses, 1869 
 
 ... 15,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 Expenditure, 1870 — 
 
 
 
 
 Ordinary 
 
 ... 459,512 
 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 District Councils and Corporations 
 
 ... 40,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 Roads — Maintenance or Construction ... 
 
 ... 42,600 
 
 
 
 
 
 £639,949 17 4 
 Balance brought down as probable liability, 
 
 1st January, 1871 £74,699 17 4 
 
 "the land fund. 
 Estimated amount of sales £200,000
 
 336 
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Bonded debt 
 
 Drainage, South-Eastern District 
 Immigration Department 
 
 Land and Survey 
 
 Central and Local Road Boards 
 Road Construction 
 
 £134,090 
 
 4,000 
 
 663 10 
 
 14,565 
 
 6,363 6 
 
 40,319 4 
 
 £200,000 
 
 "eevenue and expenditure, 
 " The Treasurer's abstract of receipts and expenditui'e during 
 the quarter ended September 30, exclusive of transfers in aid, 
 appears in the Gazette. The statement is of course approxi- 
 mate, but it is sufficiently near the truth for all practical pur- 
 poses. In Part I., Ordinary, the receipts amount to £127,902 
 2s. 9d., and the expenditure to £91,256 16s. 2d. In Part II., 
 Public "Works, &c., the income is £21,064 17s. 6d., and the 
 expenditure £20,937 18s. lid. In Part IIIa, Land Fund, &c., 
 the income is £39,194 9s. 8d., and the expenditure £117,484 
 17s. 4d. In Part IIIb, Immigration Fund, the income is 
 £19,191 3s. 4d., and the expenditure £255 14s. 9d. The total 
 income for the quarter is £207,352 13s. 3d., and the expendi- 
 ture £229,937 7s. 2d. This shows a deficiency in the receipts 
 for the quarter of £22,584 13s. lid., and does not seem to bear 
 out the Treasurer's statement that the revenue was balancing 
 the expenditure. The simple explanation of the matter, how- 
 ever, is that in this quarter half a year'' s charges on account of 
 redemption of debt and interest appear, and these amount to 
 £64,039. Fairly, therefore, only half this amount ought to be 
 credited to the expenditui'e of the quarter. In addition to this 
 there are also charges in this quarter on account of the unex- 
 pended balances of 1868. The public accounts for the quarter, 
 then, are really in a better state than would appear from a 
 cursory glance at the Treasurer's statement, and fully bear out 
 what he has said in the Assembly." 
 
 The last mail brought the news that a new Land 
 Bill, giving more liberal terms, and extending the
 
 NEW HOMES. 337 
 
 time for credit purchasers, has passed through both 
 branches of the legislature. 
 
 A meat preserving company has just been opened 
 and is curing about 200 sheep a day. His Excel- 
 lency the Governor and Lady Edith Fergusson have 
 offered prizes for the curing of mutton hams and 
 other useful manufactures. 
 
 The following announcement appears almost in- 
 credible, but we believe it to be true : That a mob 
 of fat cattle from the Gulf of Carpentaria is now on 
 its way to the colony, and may be shortly expected. 
 It is evident, therefore, that an overland route from 
 the extreme northern parts of Australia to its 
 southern boundary is already practicable. 
 
 Had our space permitted, we should have liked 
 to notice particularly the south-eastern part of the 
 colony — the town and port of Lacepede, Guichen 
 Bay, Eobe Town, the Mount Gambler district, the 
 lakes, and Port Macdonnell. We can only refer those 
 seeking information on this portion of the colony to 
 a series of papers written by Mr. Ebenezer Ward. 
 
 Our necessarily brief notice of South Australia 
 must now be brought to a close. From its perusal, 
 we do not doubt that the careful reader will see that 
 this colony is steadily but surely progressing ; not 
 at the rate of Victoria, but very steadily and very 
 surely. It has always struck me that one great 
 element of success has been the numerous class of 
 respectable yeomen, the holders of the 80 acre free- 
 holds. The JSTorthern Territory is as yet too new,
 
 338 NEW HOMES. 
 
 and we know too little of it, to speak with confi- 
 dence ; but should we hear good accounts of it, it 
 would seem to open a new field of profitable labour 
 to a very large body of young and active men, who 
 can bear a residence in a hot climate. It was but 
 the other day that we knew anything practically 
 about the land in the neighbourhood of the Gulf of 
 Carpentaria, and that a mob of fat cattle should be 
 traversing the vast continent from north to south 
 speaks well for the climate, the soil, and the inde- 
 fatigable energy of the Australian colonist.
 
 QUEENSLAND (moRETON BAY). 
 
 HIS is the youngest of the Australian 
 colonies, as it was not separated from 
 |j New South Wales until 1859. But it was 
 well known long before that period under the title 
 of the Moreton Bay District. Captain Cook, just 
 one hundred years ago, cast anchor in this bay, and 
 named it after the Earl of Moreton, who was at that 
 time the President of the Eoyal Society. Cook 
 does not appear to have paid much attention to this 
 fine bay. He thought the vegetation on the shore 
 put him in mind of the West Indies, an opinion 
 which was further strengthened by seeing turtles in 
 the bay. Strange that, protected as this bay is 
 from nearly every wind and from the heavy swell of 
 the ocean by several islands, he failed to discover a 
 river that pours a stream of water nearly a quarter 
 of a mile wide into the centre of it. In the year 
 1799 the well known navigator. Lieutenant Flinders, 
 was sent by the government of New South Wales 
 to examine the north-east coast, to see if there were 
 any rivers of sufficient size to permit the passage of 
 small craft into the interior of the country. He
 
 340 
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 examined Moreton Bay and also Hervey's Bay, 
 more to the north, but he failed (somewhat strangely) 
 in the object for which he had specially been sent 
 out, and passed entirely by such rivers as the 
 Clarence, the Brisbane, the Burnett, and the Mary. 
 In another expedition he discovered Port Curtis, on 
 a small river within which now stands the town 
 of Gladstone, in the neighboui'hood of which is a 
 fine cotton and pastoral district. Things remained 
 in this state for several years, and then, notwith- 
 standing the formation of the penal settlements of 
 Norfolk Island and Port Macquarie, and in Van 
 Diemen's Land, the Home Government continued to 
 send prisoners out to Port Jackson so rapidly, that 
 fears were entertained of concentrating them to too 
 great an extent ; and so, in 1823, Mr. Oxley, the 
 Surveyor-General of New South Wales was sent 
 northwards, in the hope that he might discover 
 some place to which the most abandoned of the 
 convicts could be sent, and be thus far removed 
 from the free population. In his outward trip he 
 passed by Moreton Bay, but on his return a storm 
 drove him into it. It was in this neighbourhood 
 (says Mr. Wright in his " Queensland ") that he 
 met with some white men who had been carried in 
 an open boat for many hundreds of miles, and after 
 great sufferings had been cast upon this unknown 
 shore. The natives treated them kindly. As 
 Oxley's party were examining a number of the 
 blacks who were coming down towards the cutter,
 
 NEW HOMES. 341 
 
 they were surprised to see a man taller and lighter 
 in colour than the rest in their midst. This man's 
 name was Pamphlet. He told Oxley that four of 
 them had been carried out to sea, and were for 
 twenty- one days at the mercy of the winds and 
 waves, till at last they were driven on shore at 
 a distance of 500 miles from their starting place. 
 They determined to endeavour to get back to 
 Sydney overland, little knowing the difficulties 
 which they must encounter. Pamphlet got dis- 
 heartened and returned to the spot where Oxley 
 rescued him; a second went back to the friendly 
 natives, but was subsequently rescued ; a third was 
 heard of no more, and doubtless perished in the 
 wild bush as so many of his fellows have since done. 
 These two men, in detailing their attempts at 
 escaping from the natives, told Oxley of a fine 
 broad river which emptied itself into the bay not 
 far from where they were lying at anchor. This 
 was the Brisbane, so called after the governor at 
 that time. Sir T. Brisbane. In the next year, 1824, 
 Moreton Bay was constituted a penal settlement, 
 and one of the two spots selected for the purpose 
 was that on which now stands the city of Brisbane, 
 fifteen miles from the bay by water. Brisbane has 
 all the character of a tropical climate. The convicts, 
 to the number of between two and three thousand, 
 were employed in constructing roads and bridges 
 and in erecting many substantial buildings in the 
 infant settlement. For eighteen years this was the
 
 342 NEW HOMES. 
 
 receptacle of the vilest of the vile ; and scenes were 
 enacted here both by bond and by free which if related 
 as facts would not be believed. But all this is long 
 past. In the year 1842 the settlement was pro- 
 claimed free and open for the reception of a free 
 population. And very little indeed of its convict 
 taint attaches to it now. 
 
 In 1857 the first steamer passed across the bay. 
 But now the river steamers are to be seen daily be- 
 tween Brisbane and Ipswich ; and there is constant 
 communication by the same means between Sydney 
 on the south and the ports on the north. Until 1859 
 the Moreton Bay District formed part of New South 
 "Wales, and was represented in her parliament first 
 by one and afterwards by nine members. When 
 the Port Phillipians obtained separation. Dr. Lang 
 (a great friend of the district) began an agitation 
 for the same boon for it. He was ably seconded in 
 his efforts, and after eight years of struggling, Her 
 Majesty not only granted their petition but bestowed 
 on the new colony its present name — Queensland. 
 Its boundaries at first were thus defined : — 
 
 Northward of a line commencing on the sea coast 
 at Point Danger, in latitude about 28° 28' south, 
 and following the range thence which divides the 
 waters of the Tweed, Eichmond and Clarence Eivers 
 from those of the Logan and Brisbane Eivers 
 westerly to the great dividing range, between the 
 waters falling to the east coast and those of the 
 Eiver Murray ; following the great dividing range
 
 <^^ 
 
 NEW HOMES. 343 
 
 southerly to the range dividing the waters of 
 Tenterfield Creek from those of the main head of 
 the Dumaresq Eiver, and following that river, 
 which is locally known as the Severn, downwards to 
 its confluence with the Macintyre Eiver ; thence 
 following the Macintyre, which lower down becomes 
 the Barwan, downward to the 29th parallel of south 
 latitude, and following that parallel westerly to the 
 141st meridian of east longitude, which is the 
 eastern boundary of South Australia, together with 
 all and every the adjacent islands their members 
 and appurtenances in the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 Since that day the western boundary of the 
 colony has been extended to the 138th meridian, 
 thus taking in a large and valuable country, the 
 northern shores of which are washed by the waters 
 of the Gulf of Carpentaria, comprehending the 
 "Plains of Promise," which are already covered 
 with thousands of sheep and of cattle up to the very 
 shores of the Gulf, from a port on which direct ship- 
 ments of pastoral produce have been made to 
 England. The colony as originally constituted 
 comprised 678,000 square miles, that is about six 
 times as large as the area of the United Kingdom ; 
 and it is now calculated at nine times its size. 
 
 The first governor, Sir G. F. Bowen, who had 
 previously been Secretary of the Ionian Islands, 
 arrived at Brisbane on the 10th of December, 1859. 
 He informed the inhabitants that "the name of 
 Queensland was entirely the happy thought and in-
 
 344 NEW HOMES. 
 
 spiration of Her Majesty herself." And from that 
 day forward, like all the rest of the Australian 
 colonies, it has made rapid progress. It had some 
 difficulties to contend with at first, from a prejudice 
 against it on account of its earlier condition, and a 
 fear of its climate ; hut these have been to a great 
 extent dissipated, and it hids fair to hold no mean 
 position amongst its elder sisters. The settlers have 
 had periods of trial and of difficulty to pass through ; 
 but this has been the history of each of the colonies. 
 And there seems to be such vitality in a new country, 
 that it arises from these periods of depression en- 
 dowed with fresh strength to aid it in its onward 
 course. 
 
 In the year 1846 the population numbered 2,257 ; 
 in 1856 it had increased to 17,082 ; in 1860 it had 
 28,056 ; in 1864 there were 74,036, showing that 
 in three years the population had more than doubled 
 itself; and on the 2nd March, 1868, it had reached 
 99,312 ! The gross revenue of the colony (including 
 the land revenue) had increased from £178,589 in 
 1860, to £669,041 in 1867. 
 
 The first governor continued in office till January, 
 1868, and left for the governorship of New Zealand ; 
 and after an interregnum, during which Colonel 
 O'Connell was the acting governor. Colonel Blackall 
 relieved him, being the second governor. The 
 Legislature is composed of the governor, as repre- 
 sentative of the Crown ; of a Legislative Council, 
 nominated by the governor, acting under the advice
 
 ^ 
 
 NEW HOMES. 345 
 
 of the Executive Council ; and a Legislative As- 
 sembly, elected by the people. The exercise of the 
 franchise is not so free as in some of the colonies, 
 but still every industrious man, after a short term 
 of residence, can qualify. 
 
 The increase of stock kept pace with that of the 
 population. In 1860 there were: horses, 23,504; 
 cattle, 432,890; sheep, 3,166,802; and pigs, 7,147. 
 In 1862: horses, 35,625; cattle, 610,204; sheep, 
 4,345,901 ; pigs, 7,019. At the end of 1867 there 
 were: horses, 53,146; cattle, 940,354; sheep, 
 8,665,757; and pigs, 18,142. In 1860 the export 
 of wool was 5,007,167 lbs., of the estimated value 
 of £444,188; in 1867 it was 21,554,557 lbs., 
 valued at £1,462,209. 
 
 The inhabitants of Queensland are naturally 
 taking great interest in the subject of the meat pre- 
 serving process, for exportation to Great Britain. In 
 fact very much of the success of the settlers in so vast 
 a country must depend upon this. And each month's 
 experience seems to warrant us in concluding with 
 more certainty that they will not be disappointed. For 
 some years past several establishments have been in full 
 operation for salting meat for exportation, especially 
 one on the Eiver Bremer. But that system to which 
 the Queenslanders are looking at most anxiously is 
 " Mort's Freezing Process," which has been patented 
 in Sydney, and by which it is confidently expected 
 that meat slaughtered in the colony can be preserved 
 fresh and sound for the English market. Hitherto 
 
 z
 
 346 NEW HOMES. 
 
 there has been a great waste of animal food. Boiling 
 down for tallow alone has been the only way in 
 which the settler could get rid of his surplus stock. 
 At the end of 1867 there were twelve boiling- down 
 establishments, and in the year 95,804 sheep and 
 19,397 cattle had been boiled down, producing 
 34,859 tons of tallow. 
 
 The whole colony is divided into twelve districts : 
 Moreton, Darling Downs, Port Curtis, Burnett, 
 Leichhardt, Maranoa, Mitchell, Warrego, Kennedy, 
 Cook, Burke, and Gregory. The first of these con- 
 tains the metropolis of the colony, Brisbane, con- 
 taining nearly 10,000 inhabitants, and also Ipswich, 
 with about 5,000. The district of Moreton is 
 bounded by the coast line for nearly 100 miles, and 
 stretches inland to the dividing range. It is well 
 watered, and contains much excellent agricultural 
 land. The bar at the mouth of the Brisbane having 
 been removed, large vessels can now go up to the 
 wharves in the city. The distance between Brisbane 
 and Ipswich is, by water fifty, and by land twenty- 
 five -miles. Steamers ply daily between them. 
 There is a great deal of unoccupied land of good 
 quality still to be obtained in advantageous situa- 
 tions. Cotton and sugar companies are established 
 on the Barrow, the Albert, the Hotham, and other 
 streams. Fish is plentiful ; the chief kinds are the 
 bream and mullet. Oysters, crabs, and turtle are 
 abundant. 
 
 The public and many of the private buildings in
 
 NEW HOMES. 347 
 
 Brisbane are handsome in appearance, and are sub- 
 stantially built of stone and of brick. A public 
 grammar school has been lately erected. In North 
 Brisbane there is a School of Arts, and in South 
 Brisbane an excellent Mechanics' Institution. All 
 denominations have churches, some of which are 
 fine buildings. The Eight Eev. Dr. Tufnell was 
 nominated Bishop of Brisbane in the year 1859. 
 
 The northern ports are reached by a fleet of good 
 steamers, which ply regularly between the capital 
 and Maryborough, Gladstone, Mackay, Port Denison, 
 and Cleveland Bay. The neighbourhood of Brisbane 
 is particularly pretty, and is charmingly situated 
 for villa residences. The town is lighted by gas. 
 There is one daily newspaper, one bi-weekly, and 
 two weekly. 
 
 The terminus of the Southern and Western Eail- 
 way is at Ipswich. This town also possesses many 
 excellent houses, and amongst them the first gram- 
 mar school established in the colony. Good coal is 
 found in the neighbourhood, and is being exten- 
 sively used by the Steam Navigation Company. 
 
 In the year 1827 the celebrated Darling Downs 
 were discovered by Allan Cunningham. They ex- 
 tend for about 120 miles, with an average width of 
 50. It is the richest pastoral district in the colony, 
 and is well watered by the Condamine Eivcr and by 
 other streams. It is on the summit of the dividing 
 range, and enjoys a fine climate ; and although so 
 much of it has been taken up, there are still many
 
 348 NEW HOMES. 
 
 thousands of acres of ricli agricultural soil thrown 
 open to selection under the new Land Act. Too- 
 woomba, at a distance of 85 miles from Brisbane, is 
 the chief town, having, with the towns in the neigh- 
 bourhood, a population of 6,000. Warwick, on the 
 Condamine, is the second town of this district. It 
 is also an agricultural neighbourhood ; in fact it is 
 the centre of the principal wheat growing districts, 
 and has flour mills. The only other town of any 
 note is Dalby, with a population of about 1,200. 
 It is the western terminus of the railway, which 
 receives here the produce from a large extent of 
 pastoral country. 
 
 The Burnett district is between Moreton and 
 Port Curtis, and has been a favourite squatting 
 country for more than twenty years. Its soil is 
 good and adapted for the growth of tropical pro- 
 ducts. The chief town is Maryborough, situated on 
 the Eiver Mary, sixty miles from its mouth. There 
 are gold-fields on the Mary, which have attracted a 
 considerable population. Sugar, cotton, arrowroot, 
 and tobacco have been successfully grown. It has 
 also very fine forests of timber. The Moreton Bay 
 pine is a handsome tree. The Bunya Bunya gi'ows 
 to a great height, sometimes as high as 200 feet. 
 Its fruit, which resembles the eating- chesnut in 
 flavour, is considered to be a great dainty by the 
 aborigines. It only ripens once in three years, and 
 the natives collect from all quarters to feast on it. 
 The red cedar, the iron bark, the blue gum, box.
 
 NEW HOMES. 349 
 
 violet woodj tulip, and forest oak are all abundant 
 and very useful. The iron bark is valuable for rail- 
 way sleepers, and for all pui'poses where strength 
 and durability are required. Coal is also found in 
 this district. 
 
 Gympie or Nashville, the gold-field to which 
 there was so great a rush some time ago, is situated 
 on Gympie Creek, a tributary of the Mary. It has 
 a population of 6,000. 
 
 Port Curtis lies to the north of the Burnett and 
 stretches into the interior. There are several gold- 
 fields in this district. Eockhampton, on the Fitzroy, 
 is the chief town of this and of all the northern ports. 
 It has a population of 6,000. It is the terminus of the 
 Great Northern Eailway, which runs in the direction 
 of the Dawson. Gladstone is in the same neighbour- 
 hood and has an excellent harbour. A Melbourne 
 firm has lately purchased the marble quarries here, 
 which are highly spoken of, and are being worked 
 so as to prove highly remunerative to the holders of 
 them. 
 
 To the west of Port Curtis lies the vast pastoral 
 region called after poor Leichhardt. The Peak 
 Downs are in this district. The gold-fields here 
 attracted a large population in 1865. They are 
 about 300 miles from Eockhampton. The copper 
 mines are likely to be more valuable than the gold- 
 fields. The export of gold from Queensland is, 
 however, becoming an important item. In the 
 month of August last it amounted to 17,798 ounces.
 
 350 NEW HOMES. 
 
 of the estimated value of £27,607. The chief town 
 of the district is Clermont, on the Peak Downs. 
 The other townships are Springscue, Taroom, and 
 Nebo. 
 
 After' this comes an immense country of table- 
 lands and downs, called the Maranoa district, lying 
 westward from the Darling Downs. The town is 
 called Eoma, which is 350 miles from Brisbane. 
 
 To the north of Port Curtis lies the Kennedy 
 district, including a portion of the northern coast 
 line. It is watered by the Burdekin, It was 
 taken up in 1861 by the squatters. The chief town 
 is Bowen. This country is specially adapted to 
 tropical productions; and there are already several 
 large sugar plantations. A steamer plies weekly 
 between Bowen and Gladstone, Brisbane and 
 Sydney. Bowen has a population of 1,150, and 
 Townsville, the only other town of importance, 
 has 760. 
 
 In the vicinity of Cardwell there are thousands of 
 acres of rich land suitable for the growth of tropical 
 produce. 
 
 The remaining districts comprise an enormous 
 tract of country, and are being rapidly occupied 
 by squatters. Burketown has been founded at the 
 mouth of the Albert Eiver, which empties itself 
 into the Gulf of Carpentaria. 
 
 So great is the extent of Queensland, that in one 
 part or other of it the products of almost any region 
 in the world may be grown. In the Moreton and
 
 NEW HOMES. 351 
 
 Darling Downs districts rapid progress is being 
 made in agriculture, as will appear from the last 
 statistics which have reached us from the colony. 
 The following is the report of the Eegistrar- 
 General: — 
 
 " On the 31st of December, 1867, there were 31,559 acres 
 1 rood 13 perches of land under cultivation in the colony, being 
 an increase of 7,126 acres roods 26 perches of land over the 
 previous year, and a centesimal increase of 29'17. 
 
 " I cannot refrain from remarking upon the great increase 
 that has taken place in the area of land under cultivation of 
 sugar and cotton ; the former showing a centesimal increase of 
 228-67 per cent, for the year 1867 over that of 1866, and tlie 
 latter, for the same period, a centesimal increase of 182-56 
 per cent. 
 
 " As regards sugar, with the exception of some few planta- 
 tions, whose results are most encouraging, some little time 
 must yet elapse before the cultivator can expect a return for his 
 outlay and labour. 
 
 " The actual return for last year is by no means unimportant, 
 however, as it amounted to 338 tons of sugar, which may be 
 valued at £12,000, and 13,509 proof gallons of rum ; whilst the 
 average quality of both of these articles appears to have been 
 unexceptionable, and the yield fully equal to those of older 
 colonies, possessed of the advantages of experience and cheap 
 labour, which we have yet to obtain. 
 
 " In reference to cotton, as the crop planted in 1867 will not 
 be gathered until 1868, the value exported must not be 
 measured by the total area returned as under crop, the results 
 of which have yet to be obtained. 
 
 " The following comparative table shows the quantity as well 
 as the value of some of the more important articles of agricilltural 
 produce imported into the colony during the years 1866 and 
 1867, which might, amongst many others, be produced in it.
 
 352 
 
 „»^t'=*"*i-'' 
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 
 1866. 
 
 1867. 
 
 
 Quantity. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Quantity. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Wheat, bushels 
 
 5,063 
 1,591 
 16,856 
 191,059 
 11,281 
 78,668 
 14,637 
 
 & 
 
 1,573 
 
 420 
 
 5,099 
 
 45,268 
 
 21,137 
 
 28,503 
 
 261,205 
 
 490 
 1,199 
 13,608 
 57,223 
 3,845 
 52,844 
 14,412 
 
 £ 
 117 
 
 Barley „ 
 
 188 
 
 Oats „ 
 
 2,170 
 6 7'^6 
 
 Maize „ 
 
 Hay and Straw, bales . . . 
 
 Potatoes, cwt 
 
 Flour, tons 
 
 3,687 
 
 10,182 
 
 189,530 
 
 
 " It will be observed that a decrease has taken place in the 
 imports of all the articles mentioned in the above table. 
 
 " As this decrease is contemporaneous Avith an increase in the 
 breadth of land under cultivation, and as there is no reason 
 to suppose that the consumption within the colony of the 
 articles referred to has in any way materially decreased, it is 
 but reasonable to infer that our agricultui-alists, besides support- 
 ing themselves, are making rapid advances towards supplying 
 the demands of the colony, a result in every way advantageous 
 to us." 
 
 The chief fruits which are cultivated with a view 
 to trade are the banana, pine-apple, peach, loquat, 
 guava, passion-fruit, fig, melon, Cape gooseberry, 
 orange, lemon, citron, and mulberry. The pine- 
 apples and some other fruits are largely exported, 
 and can be obtained in any of the colonies for a 
 very small sum. Attention is now being paid to the 
 growth of the vine and the making of wine. A 
 light wine which promises well is made by Mr. 
 
 Lade, near Brisbane. 
 
 He had 1,200 gallons from 
 
 six acres. There is great scope for profitable em- 
 ployment in the cultivation of the vine, and large
 
 ►-— '^/tl^-^^ 
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 353 
 
 areas of land in suitable situations are now open for 
 selection. Arrowroot of good quality is cultivated 
 with profit in the Moreton district. An acre will 
 produce one ton and a half, and it is worth about 
 £40 a ton. 
 
 The government were anxious to give encourage- 
 ment to the growers of cotton. And so, in the Land 
 Act of 1860, a clause was inserted to the effect, that 
 during the three following years land orders, to the 
 extent of £10, would be given as a premium for 
 every bale of 300 lbs. of good Sea Island cotton ex- 
 ported to Great Britain. In the following year 
 blocks of land, of not less than 640 acres, were 
 offered to capitalists who would within two years 
 commence the cultivation of cotton on a large scale. 
 And afterwards, £10 for every bale of 300 lbs. pro- 
 duced and exported before the close of 1865, and 
 £5 per bale to the end of 1869, were offered as in- 
 ducements to its growth. In 1867, 8,194 acres 
 were under cotton. If the soil and climate suit, 
 about a bale and a half seems to be the produce per 
 acre. It is stated that this pursuit can be profitably 
 followed by men having large families, where the 
 children can assist during the picking season. The 
 value of the cotton exported last year was about 
 £60,000. The merchants in the colony give 2jd. 
 a lb. for unginned, and lOd. for ginned cotton. 
 
 It is thought that the sugar-cane will eventually 
 become the most profitable object of cultivation. 
 Mr. Hope initiated this branch of industry in 1863,
 
 354 NEW HOMES. 
 
 and has been rewarded by a grant of 2,560 acres of 
 land. The sugar sent to market realised from £37 
 to £40 a ton. It is estimated that there are about 
 3,000 acres now under this crop. In 1867 there 
 were 186 tons of sugar made, and 13,000 gallons of 
 molasses. The molasses were converted into 10,000, 
 gallons of rum, which is protected by a duty of 
 3s. 4d. a gallon over that which is imported. 
 
 A great variety of tropical plants may be grown 
 by the agriculturist to advantage, even on a small 
 scale. Indigo produces 150 lbs. to the acre, bears 
 two or three crops in a year, and the manufactured 
 article is worth from 4s. to 6s. a pound. Tobacco, 
 if carefully prepared, is found to be a success. 
 Coffee and tea plants are grown in the Botanical 
 Gardens. The tea is pronounced by judges to be 
 very good. During the late visit of the Duke of 
 Edinburgh to Queensland, he was presented with a 
 cabinet, made of handsome native wood, which con- 
 tained a pound of tea, a pound of coffee, and several 
 pounds of sugar, all the produce of the colony. 
 
 In a country capable of growing such a variety of 
 valuable products, and where the new immigrant 
 can obtain good land by paying ninepence per acre 
 per annum, and after five such annual payments is 
 entitled to the land in fee simple, there surely must 
 be great room for the industrious agriculturist. 
 The government also express their willingness to 
 give instruction to those willing to enter upon in- 
 dustries with which they are unacquainted.
 
 A 
 
 NEW HOMES. 355 
 
 The following epitome of the Land Bill is taken 
 from a little publication of much interest, entitled 
 " Queensland as a field for Emigration " : — 
 
 " Mucli greater facilities than previously existed for the ac- 
 quirement of land in the colony have been afforded during the 
 present year, by an ' Act to Consolidate and Amend tlie Laws 
 relating to the Alienation of Croion Lands,^ which received the 
 Vice-regal assent on the 28th February, 1868. This Act intro- 
 duces principles entirely new to Australian land legislation, and 
 its operation is calculated to be exceedingly beneficial to the 
 colony. It provides for the classification of lands, and for a 
 considerable reduction in the iipset price. Previous to the 
 passing of this Act, the only classification which existed with 
 regard to the unalienated Crown lands of the colony was that 
 which classified them as town, suburban, and country lands ; 
 the upset price of the latter, no matter where they were situated, 
 or their intrinsic value to the settler, being one pound per acre. 
 By the new system these country lands are classified as follows : 
 — (1) agricultural ; (2) first-class pastoral ; (3) second-class 
 pastoral. The upset price of agricultural land is fixed at fifteen 
 shillings per acre ; first-class pastoral land, ten shillings per 
 acre ; and second-class pastoral land, five shillings per acre. It 
 will thus be seen that the Legislature has effected a radical 
 change in the system which was previously followed in the 
 alienation of country lands. The reduction in the ujiset price 
 is accompanied by deferred payments on the pi'inciple laid down 
 in ' The Leasing Act of 1866.' By the provisions of that Act, 
 selections could be made on certain lands reserved for that pur- 
 pose, at an uniform price of one pound per acre, the purchase 
 money being payable in eight annual payments of two-and- 
 sixpence each, which payments having been made regularly in 
 accordance with the rule laid down by the Government, and the 
 selector having observed certain conditions, the imposition of 
 which was considered necessary in order to determine the hona 
 fides of purchasers, entitled him to a grant in fee-simple. At
 
 356 NEW HOMES. 
 
 the time this Act was passed, it was considered that a large 
 concession had been made to the demand of the public for 
 liberal land legislation, by the admission of the principle of de- 
 ferred payments. But more than this was required ; it was 
 essential that the upset price should be reduced, and that some 
 arrangement should be made for classification. It was not 
 without some difiiculty that the advocates of a system of classi- 
 fication were enabled to convince their opponents of the folly of 
 demanding the same high price for the whole of the country 
 lauds of the colony, irrespective of their actual value to the 
 settler. The task was, however, performed at last, and legis- 
 lators who were once obstinately wedded to the opinion that 
 nothing less than one pound per acre should be paid for Crown 
 lands of good, bad, or indifferent quality, lent their assistance 
 in passing the measure to which we have referred. The system 
 of classification is not by any means the most important reform 
 introduced in the new Land Act. The clauses relating to home- 
 stead selections are entitled to much more consideration ; they 
 consist of an adaptation of the American Homestead Law, by 
 which free grants of land are made to hona fide settlers for the 
 formation of homesteads. According to the new Act, the quan- 
 tity of land to be taken up by homestead selectors cannot exceed 
 eighty acres of agricultural land, or one hundred and sixty acres 
 of first or second class pastoral land. The conditions to be ob- 
 served before the selector is entitled to the fee-simple of the 
 land are, that during five years an annual rental of ninepence 
 per acre for agricultural land, and sixpence per acre for pastoral 
 lands shall be paid, together with the cost of survey ; that he 
 shall reside on the land during the five years ; and that either 
 one-tenth of it shall have been cultivated during that period, or 
 the portion securely fenced. Larger quantities of land can be 
 taken up by conditional purchasers, who are called upon to pay 
 the value of the land according to the scale we have quoted in 
 ten annual payments, and to comply with certain conditions, to 
 which no objection can be raised by the liona fide settler. The 
 lands thrown open to homestead selectors and conditional pur- 
 chasers are situated in the settled districts, within a reasonable
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 357 
 
 distance of the coast, and comprise a great deal of country that 
 is well adapted to agriculture and dairy farming. The quantity 
 of land that will soon be available for selection in these districts, 
 comprises several millions of acres in extent." 
 
 The new Land Act contains 131 clauses, and 
 is too lengthy to be inserted here. But it is a most 
 valuable document, and has been framed so as to 
 meet the wants of the large or small capitalist, or 
 the man who has little else at starting than his own 
 strong arm. It can readily be obtained from the 
 Agent-General of the colony, at his office, 2, Old 
 Broad Street, London. 
 
 " One of the most important features of the Act, and the one 
 to which it is desirable the attention of the intending emigrant 
 should be specially directed, is the provision which is made for 
 granting homestead selections. The clauses of the Act relating 
 to homesteads are adapted from the celebrated Homestead Law 
 of America. It was not considered expedient to adopt this law, 
 pure and simple; and, accordingly, a modification of it was 
 drafted into the Act. The homestead clauses comprise the 
 most liberal provisions of the Land Act, inasmuch as they 
 enable persons to obtain grants of land at a merely nominal 
 price — a price that any person who is not an absolute pauper is 
 able to pay. Anyone who is the head of a family, or twenty- 
 one years of age, can select to the extent of eighty acres of 
 ao-ricultural land, or one hundred and sixty acres of first or 
 second class pastoral land, the conditions being the payment oi 
 an annual rental of ninepence per acre for agricultural, and 
 sixpence for pastoral land, shall be paid for five years ; that the 
 selector shall have constantly resided on it during that period ; 
 and that either one-tenth of it be cultivated, or the whole of 
 it securely fenced. These conditions having been complied with 
 the selector is entitled to a grant in fee-simple. Besides the
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 annual rental, the selector is called upon to pay the survey fee, 
 which is £3 16s., and a deed fee of £1 5s. ; so that, for the 
 sum' of £20, the payment of which is distributed over a period 
 of five years, a homestead, consisting of eighty acres of first- 
 class agricultural land, may be secured in perpetuity. There 
 are many snug homesteads in the vicinity of Brisbane and the 
 other towns of the colony, the owners of which (who purchased 
 under the old pound-an-acre system) do not possess half the 
 quantity of land that may now be obtained by a homestead 
 selector, yet who have managed, by care and economy, not only 
 to make a comfortable living from their land, but to lay by 
 some provision for a rainy day. The advantages conferred by 
 the Act upon those who become homestead selectors, with the 
 determination to work hard on the land which they are enabled 
 to take up on such liberal terms, must be obvious. The home- 
 stead clauses must especially recommend themselves to that 
 large class of English farmers who, by dint of practising the 
 hardest economy and the most unremitting industry, are barely 
 able to make a livelihood, in consequence of the high rent they 
 are compelled to pay for inferior land. No persons can become 
 homestead selectors who have not paid their own passages to 
 the colony, unless they can prove that they have been resident 
 in Queensland for a period exceeding three years." 
 
 The colony of Queensland having such a vast 
 territoryj and knowing that population is its great 
 want, the government have held out the greatest 
 inducements to allure immigrants to their shores. 
 Free and assisted immigrants are entitled to accom- 
 modation for seven days after arrival. They are 
 strongly advised not to be too particular what em- 
 ployment they accept at first. If they have a little 
 money they should not be in a hurry to spend it. 
 Par better to place it in a bank at interest, and go
 
 a^^"^^'" ^ - NEW HOMES. 359 
 
 and take some situation for a time, so as to gain 
 '' colonial experience," whicli is invaluable. A year 
 thus spent would not be thrown away. I generally 
 find that those who are disappointed as colonists, and 
 who therefore rail at the colony, are those who have 
 rushed headlong into some speculation of which 
 they knew nothing, or have given way to habits of 
 intoxication. Queensland, rich as it is in resources, 
 cannot help such people. In such a climate espe- 
 cially, a man must be strictly temperate as well as 
 industrious to secure the prize at which he aims — 
 independence. 
 
 " The current wages in the colony at the present time are as 
 follow : — 
 
 " Per Day (without board and lodging) : — Masons, 9s. ; 
 Painters and Glaziers, 7s. ; Plasterers, 8s. ; Bricklayers, 9s. ; 
 Carpenters, 8s. ; Blacksmiths, 8s. ; Wheelwrights, 8s. ; Farm 
 Labourers, 6s. ; Ploughmen, 6s. ; Eeapers, 6s. ; Mowers, 6s. ; 
 Threshers, 6s. ; Gardeners, 6s. ; Quarrymen, 9s. ; General La- 
 bourers, 5s. 
 
 " Pee Annum (with board and lodging) : — Servants, Married 
 Couples without family, £35 to £40 ; Married Couples with 
 family, £35 to £40; Men Cooks, for hotels, £40 to £70; 
 Female Cooks, £25 to £40 ; Laundresses, £26 to £30 ; General 
 Servants, £26 to £80 ; Housemaids, £20 to £25 ; Nursemaids, 
 £13 to £20 ; Farm-house Servants, £20 to £30 ; Dairy Women, 
 £25 to £30 ; Grooms, £40 to £50 ; Gardeners, £50 ; Farm 
 Labourers, £25 to £30; Ploughmen, £25 to £30; Reapers, 
 £25 to £30 ; Mowers, £25 to £30 ; Threshers, £25 to £30 ; 
 Shepherds, £25 to £40 ; Stock-keepers, £40 to £50 ; Hut- 
 keepers, £25 ; Generally useful men on Stations, £40 to £50 ; 
 Sheepwashers, 5s. to 7s. per day ; Shearers, 17s. 6d. to 25s. per 
 100 sheep sheared ; Seamen, £4 to £6 per month."
 
 360 NEW HOMES. 
 
 The expense of living is perhaps a little higher 
 than in England. The great thing is to get a house 
 of one's own as quickly as possible. Necessaries 
 are cheap ; luxuries are expensive. Subjoined is a 
 list of the retail prices of different articles of con- 
 sumption : — 
 
 "BuTCHEEs' Meat. — Beef, 2d. to 2M. per lb. ; mutton, 2id. 
 to 3|d. ; veal, 4d. ; pork, 6d. ; lamb, per quarter, 5s. 
 
 "Geoceeies, &c. — Tea, 2s. 6d. per lb.; sugar, 3d. to 5|d. ; 
 coffee. Is. 6d. ; chocolate and cocoa, 2s. 3d. ; rice, 4d. ; oatmeal, 
 5d. ; soap, 8d. Oilmen's stores, &c., at a small advance on 
 English prices. 
 
 " Wi^'^Es AND Spieits, &c. — Brandy, 28s. per gallon ; Sherry, 
 20s. ; Port, 20s. ; Ale and Porter, English bottled, 9s. to 14s. 
 per dozen. 
 
 " Dairy Peodtjce. — Bacon, colonial, 9d. per lb. ; do. English, 
 Is. 6d. ; ham, colonial. Is. ; do. English, Is. 6d. ; butter, fresh, 
 Is. 6d. ; do. salt, Is. 3d. ; cheese, colonial. Is. ; do. English, 
 Is. 6d. ; lard, 9d. ; eggs. Is. per dozen ; milk, 6d. per quart ; 
 fowls, 3s. 6d. to 4s. per pair ; ducks 4s. to 5s. ; geese, 8s. each. 
 
 " Vegetables. — Beans, French, Is. 6d. per peck ; cabbages, 
 2d. to 6d. each ; cauliflowers, 3d. to 6d. ; celery, 6d. per head ; 
 capsicums, 4d. per quart ; chilies, 4d. ; cucumbers, 3d. each ; 
 carrots, 3d. per bunch ; eschalots, 3d. ; lettuce, 2d. each ; 
 marrows, 2d. ; onions, 6d. per lb. ; parsley. Id. per bunch ; peas, 
 2s. per peck ; potatoes, common, 9s. per cwt. ; do. sweet, 8s. ; 
 pumpkins, 2d. per lb. ; radishes, 2d. per bunch ; tomatoes, 4d. 
 per quart ; turnips, 3d. per bunch. 
 
 " Feuit. — Bananas, 8d. per dozen ; pine-apples. Id. to 6d. 
 each ; passion-fruit, 4d. per dozen ; grapes, 6d. per lb. ; figs, 3d. 
 per dozen ; gooseberries, 6d. per quart ; guavas, Is. per dozen ; 
 peaches, 2d. to Is.; apricots. Is.; mulberries, 6d. per quart; 
 loquats, 6d. ; oranges, 8d. to 2s. per dozen ; lemons, Is. 6d. ; 
 apples. Is. to 3s. ; melons, Id. to 2s. each."
 
 -^ Z^^"^ ' NEW HOMES. 361 
 
 There is no State Cliurcli. The English and the 
 Roman Catholics have bishops. The largest body 
 is the Church of England, numbering 37,234 ; the 
 Eoman Catholics, 26,378; Presbyterians, 13,179; 
 Wesleyans, 5,192. There are 60 primary schools, 
 attended by 4,359 scholars, at a cost of £9,334. 
 Grammar schools are fostered by the government. 
 
 A Chamber of Commerce has lately been estab- 
 lished in Brisbane. The public debt of the colony 
 at the end of 1867 amounted to £3,344,000, the 
 payment of the interest on which was at the rate of 
 £2 4s. 6d. for each person in the colony. 
 
 The aborigines are a finer race of men than in 
 others of the colonies. 
 
 Still, notwithstanding all that has been said in 
 favour of this colony, arising from its great size, its 
 fertile land, and its liberal Land Bill, what avail all 
 these things in a climate so hot as Queensland is ? 
 This is a very natural objection ; and it is better to 
 look at it boldly, and to speak of it frankly, than to 
 keep it in the background, and to let the immigrant 
 find it out to his cost on arrival. Queensland is a 
 hot country, and there are many persons who are 
 unsuited for it, or to whom it would be unpleasant 
 as a place of residence. Let them seek a cooler 
 residence, or make up their minds beforehand to 
 bear the heat, instead of to grumble at it. In the 
 southern parts the heat is not too great to enable a 
 man to pursue his usual out-of-door employment, 
 and it is a healthy place. The mean temperature 
 
 A A
 
 ■ ^'-^f 
 
 362 NEW HOMES. 
 
 of the year at Brisbane is 68-7 ; that of Funclial, in 
 Madeira is 68*5. Kain falls in 108 days out of 365. 
 The atmosphere is pure, dry, and buoyant. " Hot 
 winds" and " brickfielders " (the scourge of the 
 southern colonies) are unknown. Dr. Hobbs, speaking 
 of consumptive cases, writes thus : '' Many persons 
 afflicted with this fatal malady have derived great 
 benefit from a short residence in Queensland ; and 
 several persons who have arrived in what appeared 
 a dying state, have lived here for years in compara- 
 tive health and comfort." During a large propor- 
 tion of the year the weather is fine, the sky cloudless, 
 the atmosphere dry, exhilarating and elastic. The 
 summer months are hot, but not sultry or oppressive. 
 The winter season is exceedingly beautiful. Such 
 a climate is necessarily healthy. The amount of 
 exercise one can take is very great. A friend of 
 mine the other day mounted his horse at Brisbane 
 and rode home, a distance of 106 miles, 60 of which 
 were through a forest, and only got off his horse 
 twice for a short time for refreshment. Men and 
 horses there surely can go through a good deal. 
 
 It is the day of small things yet with Queensland, 
 but— 
 
 " As in a cradled Hercules, we trace 
 The lines of empire in her infant face."
 
 /I'lr- 
 
 C^ 
 
 ^
 
 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 EW ZEALAND consists of three islands. 
 They are officially named New Ulster, 
 New Munster, and New Leinster; but 
 they are better known as the Northern, the Middle, 
 and Stewart's Islands. The one last named is very 
 small and unimportant. They are about 1,200 
 miles from Australia, and extend 1,100 miles from 
 north to south. Their dimensions are about as 
 follows: The Northern Island, about 500 miles 
 long; the Middle, 550; and Stewart Island, 30. 
 The whole together present an area about one-third 
 less than that of Great Britain and Ireland. These 
 are divided into nine provinces, four of which are 
 in the north and five in the south island. 
 
 These islands were discovered and named by 
 Tasman, the Dutch navigator, more than 200 years 
 ago; but it was not until 1769 that Captain Cook 
 took possession of them for England. At his several 
 visits he surveyed the coasts, held friendly inter- 
 course with the natives, and left behind him the 
 potato and the pig. He gave so glowing a de- 
 scription of the climate and the soil, that Benjamin
 
 364 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Franklin entertained the idea of forming a colony 
 upon its shores. About twenty years after the dis- 
 covery by Cook, whaling ships appear to have fre- 
 quented the different bays with which the islands 
 abound, and provoked the natives to take a fearful 
 revenge. There can be no doubt that at the period 
 to which we refer they were cannibals. Until the 
 year 1814, there were no white men living on the 
 islands. The venerable Marsden, who is familiarly 
 called the " Apostle of New Zealand," purchased a 
 vessel called the Active^ and sent it to New Zealand. 
 It returned, bringing several chiefs, and amongst 
 them Duaterra. Marsden went back with them to 
 the Bay of Islands. He took with him a bull and 
 two cows, a few sheep, and some poultry. This 
 was the first introduction of such stock into a 
 country destined within a brief period to rival the 
 settlements on the mainland, and to take a leading 
 position among our great colonies. He was well 
 received by the natives, and the account of his mis- 
 sion, when published in England, was read with 
 deep interest. The first Sunday on which the true 
 God was worshipped in New Zealand since the crea- 
 tion will be for ever memorable in her annals. It 
 happened also to be Christmas Day, 1815. The 
 Old Hundi'edth Psalm was sung, the service read, 
 and a sermon preached from Luke ii. 10, " Behold, 
 I bring you glad tidings of great joy." Duaterra 
 interpreted as well as he could to the assembled 
 natives. Marsden appears from the very first to
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 365 
 
 have won their entire conMence. He must have 
 been a really brave man to have thrown himself 
 almost unprotected into their very midst, knowing 
 as he did their dreadful propensities and the 
 grounds they had for distrusting the white man. 
 During this his first visit it was that, like Penn, he 
 purchased a large tract of land from the natives for 
 the Church Missionary Society, giving as an equiva- 
 lent therefor twelve axes. Eeturning to Sydney, 
 accompanied by many of the chiefs, the governor 
 congratulated him on his safe arrival from so perilous 
 an undertaking. The greatest of the New Zealand 
 warriors at this time was Shunghie, who visited 
 England in 1820, and was received with marked 
 attention by George the Fourth. On his return to 
 his native land, he resolved on obtaining the sove- 
 reignty of the whole island. He cruelly murdered 
 a rival chieftain, Inacki, scooped out his eye with 
 his knife and swallowed it, and drank as much of 
 his blood as his two hands could hold. On his 
 second visit to the island, surrounded by such men, 
 Marsden thus describes the way in which he spent 
 the night: "After conversing on several subjects, 
 we had supper, sung a hymn, and then committed 
 ourselves to the Angel of the Everlasting Covenant, 
 and so lay down to rest. A number of the natives 
 lay round about the hut, and some within." This 
 great and good man was spared to make seven 
 voyages to the land he took such interest in. At 
 times he was greatly encouraged, and at other times
 
 366 NEW HOMES. 
 
 as mucli depressed ; but lie was permitted to see a 
 great change among many of the natives, and the 
 work which he began was carried on afterwards by- 
 missionaries of several denominations. On his last 
 voyage he was accompanied by his daughter, to 
 whom at once a powerful chief made an offer of 
 marriage, which the young lady did not seem at all 
 to appreciate. Poor Marsden ! His was a trying 
 life ; he had a great deal to go through, and much 
 of calumny to endure. But strong in the singleness 
 of his aims, for the glory of God and the good of his 
 fellow creatures, he went nobly on, and finished a 
 long and active life by a calm and peaceful death. 
 
 New Zealand settling down once more, after the 
 late unhappy struggles between the two races, into 
 her former busy occupations, promises to become a 
 rich and prosperous country; but however great 
 and prosperous, Marsden's name will ever be 
 cherished by those amongst her sons who can appre- 
 ciate boldness of character with a simple and 
 earnest desire to preach among the nations the 
 '^unsearchable riches of Christ." 
 
 We remarked before that the bays were fre- 
 quented in the early days by the whaling ships; 
 and their crews and the missionaries brought so 
 vividly before the people of England the richness of 
 the soil, the goodness of the climate, and the ex- 
 cellency of the timber, especially the Kauri ^pars, 
 that in 1838 a number of influential men formed 
 themselves into an association, under the name of
 
 NEW HOMES. 367 
 
 " The New Zealand Company," for the purpose of 
 colonising the islands. On an application being 
 made to the government it was favourably received, 
 because they knew of how great importance it 
 might become if seized by a rival power, and in 
 1840 a governor, Captain Hobson, E.N., was sent 
 out, who founded the capital of Auckland, on the 
 Waitemata. 
 
 The New Zealand Company purchased large 
 tracts of land from the natives, formed the settle- 
 ments of Wellington, Nelson, Taranaki, and AYan- 
 ganui, and located in them 5,000 emigrants. But, 
 as was the case in one of the colonies of Australia 
 on the mainland, a misunderstanding arose between 
 the representatives of the crown and of the com- 
 pany; and the shrewd natives taking advantage 
 of this became turbulent, and wished to repudiate 
 the sales of land made to the white men, and 
 anarchy and confusion prevailed for a lengthened 
 period. 
 
 Captain Fitzroy had succeeded Hobson as go- 
 vernor, and he in his turn was relieved in 1S45 
 by Sir George Grey, during whose administration 
 of the 2;overnment the natives were induced to 
 lay down their arms. But it was only an outward 
 peace, for great dissatisfaction was found to exist 
 amongst some of the tribes still. And during 
 Governor Browne's term of office (who succeeded 
 Grey) these disaifected tribes threw off their 
 allegiance to England and proclaimed Te Potatau,
 
 368 NEW HOMES. 
 
 (an old Waikato chief,) their king. Governor 
 Erowne attempted to take possession of some land 
 in the province of Taranaki, which, although it had 
 been purchased from the native owners, was claimed 
 by the Ngatiawa tribe, and his surveyors were driven 
 back. And things remained in this unsatisfactory 
 state till 1861, when it was thought wise to re- 
 place Governor Grey in his old position, inasmuch 
 as he had been very popular among the Kew 
 Zealanders. But he was not successful in his 
 mission, and the war continued to rage until 1865, 
 at which time it was fondly but vainly hoped that 
 it had died out. Instead, however, of this hope 
 being realized, the sad scenes which have been 
 enacted and the havoc which has been wrought 
 since, present a sad picture, and have carried 
 desolation into many a family and ruin to many 
 a thriving settler. There is now a hope again that 
 things are settling down, and that the rebellion is 
 over. God grant that it may be so. It is not our 
 intention to enter into the question of the with- 
 drawal of the Imperial troops, when their presence 
 was so ui'gently needed. If the colonists erred, 
 they have deeply suffered. And it must be borne 
 in mind that these native feuds were a legacy be- 
 queathed by the governments of bygone days, when 
 the administration was that of Downing Street, and 
 not a state of things which had sprung up since the 
 granting of the new constitution. 
 
 The climate of JS'ew Zealand is a very enjoyable
 
 NEW HOMES. 369 
 
 one. The winters are never excessively cold nor 
 the summers oppressively hot. The heat is tempered 
 by fresh breezes, and a fine bright sun is seen and 
 felt during the winter days. It is, however, a 
 country where the winds blow often and strongly, 
 and the changes of the temperature are sudden and 
 great. Fogs are of rare occurrence. It is said that 
 the high winds which prevail in New Zealand are 
 one great cause of its acknowledged salubrity, inas- 
 much as they dry up the superfluous moisture and 
 disperse malaria. 
 
 Dr. Thomson, who was stationed with his regi- 
 ment for many years in the colony, gives (as we 
 gather from a very useful publication styled " The 
 New Zealand Handbook") the following table of 
 the number of soldiers in 1,000 who annually die 
 from dijfferent diseases at various military stations : 
 New Zealand, 8 ; Australia, 11 ; Great Britain, 14 ; 
 Cape of Good Hope, 15 ; Malta, 18 ; Canada, 20. 
 There are seldom, if ever, any dangerous thunder 
 storms. To those accustomed to six months of 
 winter in England it must be cheering to know that 
 in the colony under review it only lasts for three, 
 that snow is seldom seen, and that if there is ice, 
 about half an inch is its thickness, and that a frosty 
 night is always followed by a bright sunshiny day 
 without wind. The rosy healthy looks of the 
 children jDroclaim its suitability to them. 
 
 You will perhaps hardly find such capabilities 
 of soil and climate anywhere, excepting perhaps in
 
 370 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Tasmania. For the purposes of production, it ha& 
 been described by an old settler as one of tbe finest 
 in the world. Not that there is an nncommonly 
 large area of very rich alluvial soil — such soil as 
 would produce fifty or sixty bushels of wheat to the 
 acre. A good deal of the land is poor. Some of 
 the richest of the land is covered with water, which 
 only requires, however, inexpensive draining to 
 render it available. The native flax land is good, 
 requiring nothing but clearing. Fern land covers a 
 great space and is of very different degrees of 
 quality. In the colder parts of the island a coarse 
 grass prevails, called " tussock grass." The settlers 
 burn this off in the summer, after which a young 
 succulent grass grows up, of which cattle and sheep 
 are fond and on which they thrive well. But very 
 large breadths of land in all directions are being 
 laid with English grasses, which grow remarkably 
 well. Vineyards are planted at Nelson, where the 
 standard peach also is very productive. All the 
 English fruits, vegetables, and flowers grow to 
 perfection. And many things flourish for which 
 England is too cold and the continent of Europe is 
 too hot. The native trees are evergreens. Every 
 thing is covered with perpetual verdure. It is 
 stated that 2,000 species have been collected, from 
 the daisy to the giant pine, and Hooker expects 
 that number to be greatly increased as the progress 
 of discovery goes on. 
 
 We shall greatly err if we confound the Maories
 
 NEW HOMES. 371 
 
 of New Zealand with the Australian savage, or with 
 those to be found on some of the neighbouring 
 islands. They are a fine race of men, showing no 
 little mental capacity, and such skill in war that a 
 body of them, numbering probably not more than 
 two thousand, kept at bay for a lengthened period 
 ten thousand well-armed British soldiers. They 
 pull in a boat remarkably well. They have war 
 canoes about eighty feet long, four feet broad, and 
 four deep. Dr. Thomson, in his story of New 
 Zealand, describes these canoes as having fifty 
 paddlers sitting on each side, and three fuglemen 
 standing in the centre exciting the paddlers to 
 exertion by their songs and actions. They have 
 elegantly carved stern-posts fifteen feet high, orna- 
 mented with feathers and dyed flax. The crew 
 kneel two and two along the bottom, sit on their 
 heels, and wield paddles from four to five feet long. 
 The steersman, sitting in the stern, has a paddle 
 nine feet long. Over tempestuous seas war canoes 
 ride like sea-fowl. Even when a canoe is upset the 
 crew can bale her out and put her right in the 
 water. The height of the men is from five feet six 
 inches to five feet seven inches. Their colour is a 
 light copper, their heads are broad and low, and 
 their eyebrows prominent. They are very intel- 
 ligent, and keenly alive to anything aff'ecting their 
 own interests. They are often to be seen in the 
 gallery of the House of Parliament listening atten- 
 tively to any of the debates which have reference to 
 themselves.
 
 372 NEW HOMES. 
 
 It is not known with certainty whence they came. 
 The general opinion is, that about 400 years ago 
 they abandoned Hawaii, driven thence perhaps by 
 the fortune of war, or urged thereto by the desire of 
 finding a new home, and they landed on the shores 
 of these islands, which were then entirely without 
 inhabitants, although nature had done so much for 
 them. What their numbers were at first it is ex- 
 tremely difficult to tell ; but when discovered by 
 Cook they did not exceed 150,000, a number which 
 has dwindled down to about a third, as it is not 
 considered that thej^ now exceed 50,000. And it will 
 be with the Maori, as with all the native tribes 
 when brought into contact with civilisation, that a 
 few years will see them so reduced as to be unable 
 to maintain any distinct nationality. Nearly the 
 whole of the natives are in the Northern island. It 
 has been calculated that there are now not more 
 than seven women and four children under fifteen 
 to every ten men. The number of children is so 
 small as to prove that the race is fast dying out. 
 There does not appear to be any truth in the asser- 
 tions sometimes made, to the effect that they have 
 been cruelly treated by the colonists. The natives, 
 though energetic in war, are indolent in peace. 
 Governor Grey gained great influence over them, 
 and did all in his power to rouse them and to cause 
 them to take an interest in cultivation, and in the 
 breeding of stock. Any land they lilied to sell he 
 bought, and he caused mills to be erected at the
 
 NEW HOMES. 373 
 
 public expense for their benefit and use. They 
 were kept well supplied with the luxuries they 
 coveted. This system was denounced as ''Sir 
 George Grey's sugar and blanket policy." "Wise 
 restrictions were in force against the sale of arms 
 and ammunition to the natives during the time 
 when Grey was at the head of the administration, 
 which being subsequently repealed, it came out in 
 evidence that in three years the Maories purchased 
 arms and ammunition to the value of £50,000, 
 which have been employed against those who had 
 so unwisely permitted them to be sold to them. 
 Their dwellings are still of a very primitive kind. 
 They seem to have learned very little as yet from 
 the presence of the white man. They like to build 
 their little rush huts on the tops of hills. They 
 live on fish, potatoes, maize, and fruit. But their 
 farming and gardening operations are of the rudest 
 kind. They select the best soil they can obtain, 
 and trust more to nature than to art. One who 
 knows them well describes them thus : " They are 
 very teachable, though by no means docile; they 
 learn to read and write more quickly than we do, 
 and in all kinds of trade and manufacture they ex- 
 hibit much acuteness and skill ; but war is their 
 favourite pursuit, and in the art of deceiving and 
 surprising an enemy they have probably no equals. 
 Conscientiousness, faith, hope, and charity are all 
 sadly deficient in their composition. Always ac- 
 customed to use lancruase as a means of concealiug
 
 374 NEW HOXES. 
 
 their thoughts and intentions, they believe nothing 
 that is said to them from any quarter. No amount 
 of kindness is sufficient to secure their gratitude, 
 no extent or degree of consistency can ensure their 
 confidence. They are fierce and cruel, and the 
 steadiness of purpose with which they will for years 
 silently wait for an opportunity to revenge any real 
 or supposed injury or insult, is rendered all the 
 more terrible from the fact that, if unable to reach 
 the supposed offender, they will wreak their ven- 
 geance on any one of the same family, the same set- 
 tlement, the same race, or even the same colour." 
 
 Considering all that has passed, and is passing 
 still, to steel the hearts of the colonists against the 
 natives, it is gratifying to read the testimony borne 
 on this subject by the late Bishop of New Zealand, 
 Dr. Selwyn, who was always regarded as the Maori's 
 friend : " In defence of the colonists of New Zealand, 
 of whom I am one, I say most distinctly and solemnly 
 that I have never known, since the colony began, 
 a single act of wilful injustice or oppression com- 
 mitted by any one in authority against a New Zea- 
 lander." 
 
 -The mineral resources of New Zealand are great. 
 Gold was discovered at Otago in 1861, and at 
 ■ Hokitika in 1865, and is now being found in large 
 quantities along the west coast, extending for a 
 distance of about 140 miles, and from 60 to 80 miles 
 from the coast. At Coromandel, forty miles from 
 Auckland, there are numerous quartz reefs yielding
 
 NEW HOMES. 375 
 
 large returns. And, in fact, we hear of the success 
 of prospecting parties in all directions. Copper is 
 found near Nelson ; and at the Great Barrier Island, 
 near Auckland, lead, iron, tin, and plumbago have 
 also been discovered. At present the rush is after 
 gold. In due time, as population increases and new 
 enterprises are taken up, we shall hear more of these. 
 The titaniferous iron- sand found in large quantities 
 on the sea coast yields iron of the highest quality. 
 A " New Zealand Iron and Steel Company," with 
 a capital of £100,000, have issued a prospectus. 
 Nearly all the steamers trading to Greymouth town- 
 ship are supplied with their coal from a mine on the 
 spot, which has a seam about six feet thick. There 
 are besides, the Kawa Xawa and the Wangarei coal- 
 fields, both in active operation. Coal at Auckland 
 is twenty-five shillings a ton. Petroleum of good 
 quality has been found near Taranaki. The native 
 flax [phormium tenax) is found in all parts of New 
 Zealand ; it grows to the height of about nine feet. 
 Considerable quantities of this are being brought 
 into the market, its value being from £20 to £36 a 
 ton. The forests are very extensive, and the timber 
 forms the most valuable export from Auckland 
 province, and comparatively the only export from 
 Stewart's Island. The Kauri gum is also found 
 in considerable quantities in Auckland province. 
 Formerly the natives had a monopoly of this trade, 
 but now many Europeans are engaged in it. It 
 finds a ready and profitable sale in the London 
 markets.
 
 376 NEW HOMES. 
 
 It is remarkable that New Zealand does not 
 possess a single indigenous wild animal. Like 
 Ireland, too, it has not snakes of any kind. Pigs, 
 from the stock let loose on the island by Captain 
 Cook, are now wild. There are not many birds pe- 
 culiar to the country. Grasshoppers, caterpillars, 
 sand-flies, and mosquitoes are found in the bush. 
 
 In the " Official Eecord of the Intercolonial Ex- 
 hibition " the following synopsis of New Zealand's 
 resources is given: "From present appearances, 
 and the great development of the extraordinary 
 resources of this colony, we are led to the belief 
 that it will become the foremost of the Australasias 
 in the future. Long secluded, petty, and almost 
 unnoticed, the settlements in these islands have 
 suddenly sprung into a prominence and importance 
 which recall the rapid progress of Victoria in the 
 first days of the gold discovery. Communications 
 have been quickly built up in those regions which 
 were a hemisphere of mystery to the Old World 
 a few short years ago. The turn of New Zealand 
 is fast coming; within five years or so she has 
 nearly doubled her inhabitants. If the present 
 extraordinary advance of these islands be sustained, 
 they will be soon on the path to that magnificent 
 destiny which, from their geographical position and 
 great natural opportunities, was predicted for them 
 by the thoughtful in England long before the first 
 of our settlements was formed on their shores." 
 
 The constitution granted to New Zealand in 1853
 
 NEW HOMES. 377 
 
 is of the character described below. The governor 
 and the judges are appointed from England ; a civil 
 list of £20,000 is granted to Her Majesty; the 
 government of the colony is vested in the General 
 Assembly, which m.eets at the capital, Wellington. 
 This General Assembly is divided into two parts : 
 the Council of thirty-five members, appointed for 
 life by the crown, and the House of Eepresentatives 
 of seventy members. The qualification for votino- 
 for or being a member of the Lower House is the 
 owning a freehold of £50 value, or renting a country 
 house worth £5, or a town house worth £10 a year. 
 The above has reference to the general government 
 of New Zealand. For the purposes of local govern- 
 ment, each of the nine provinces is governed by 
 a Provincial Council, the head of which is called 
 " Superintendent," who is assisted by a Council 
 chosen by the electors every four years. Every 
 Provincial Act must receive the assent of the 
 general government before it has the force of law. 
 
 Before proceeding to give a brief account of each 
 of the provinces, it may be well that we show the 
 state of the country generally, as it may be most 
 safely gathered from its statistics, a copy of which, 
 to the end of 1868, has been kindly placed at 
 my disposal by the Agent-General of the New 
 Zealand government. The population was 226,618. 
 There are upwards of 40,000 more men than women. 
 During the year there was one birth to every 23, 
 and one death to every 83 persons living. There 
 
 B B
 
 378 NEW HOMES. 
 
 were 2,085 marriages, 156 of wliicli ^Yere by 
 Eegistrars. 851 vessels of 277,105 tonnage entered 
 inwards^ and 873 of 287,710 outwards. The value 
 of the imports was £4,985,748, and of exports 
 £4,429,198. There was a considerable decrease 
 in both these items. The gold exported was of 
 the value of £2,504,326, showing a decrease of 
 nearly £200,000. The total, value of the gold ex- 
 ported from New Zealand was £17,044,899. The 
 wool for the year reached the large quantity of 
 28,875,163 lbs., showing an increase of about a 
 million and three quarters of pounds. Its value was 
 estimated at £1,516,548. The total ordinary re- 
 venue of the year was £1,195,512, and the total 
 territorial revenue was £425,323. The expenditure 
 was £1,321,872 ; the total general government debt 
 is £4,260,543. As many as 2,603,077 letters were 
 received, and 2,374,122 were despatched. There 
 are 087,015 acres of land under crop. There are 
 65,715 horses; 312,835 cattle; 8,418,579 sheep; 
 115,104 pigs; 323 mules or asses; 11,964 goats; 
 and 676,065 poultry. We find a return of 579 
 thrashing machines ; 736 reaping machines ; 12 
 steam ploughs ; and 28 steam harrows. The pro- 
 duction of butter was 3,834,252 lbs., and of cheese, 
 1,300,082 lbs. This is an age of '^ statistics," and 
 he who reads the above carefully cannot but allow 
 that this colony has made, and is making, gigantic 
 strides towards wealth, notwithstanding the sad 
 ordeal through which she has been lately passing.
 
 NEW HOMES. 379 
 
 THE NORTHERN ISLAND. 
 
 This island is divided into four provinces : Auck- 
 land, Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, and Wellington, 
 which contain nearly thirty millions of acres. It is 
 a mountainous island, but indented with fine har- 
 bours. In summer the days are two hours shorter 
 and in winter two hours longer than in England. 
 It is seven degrees warmer than London. All 
 English fruits grow in it to perfection. 
 
 1. Auckland. The capital of this province is 
 also called Auckland. It is the most northern of 
 the districts, and is nearly half the size of England. 
 It was founded by the first governor (Hobson) in 
 1840. It is 400 miles long, and at its greatest 
 breadth is 200 miles across. It has a population of 
 nearly 50,000. The greater part of the native 
 population is in this province. It has a number of 
 fine harbours, such as Monganui, Hokianga, and 
 Kaipara. The valleys are well watered, and the 
 land is suitable for agricultural purposes. There 
 are thirty harbours on the coast, and its rivers and 
 estuaries are navigable for nearly one thousand 
 miles. The largest lake (Taupo) is here ; and there 
 are numerous hot springs. The city of Auckland 
 may be said to stand on two great harbours, the 
 Waitemata and theManakau, which are only six miles 
 apart. The former of these is regarded as the finest 
 in New Zealand. Every advantage is being taken 
 of its natural situation, and of its water privileges,
 
 380 NEW HOMES. 
 
 to bring the country settlers and farmers into easy- 
 corn munication with the capital. In the immediate 
 neighbourhood of Auckland, the extinct volcanoes, 
 and the scoria with which the country is covered, 
 give it a somewhat dreary appearance. The city 
 has been compared to Folkestone, in Kent, being 
 built up and down the sides of hills. St. John's 
 College stands in the neighbourhood, used by the 
 late Bishop Selwyn as a training college for the 
 natives from the islands of the Pacific. This work 
 is now carried on by the learned and indefatigable 
 Bishop Patteson, who was formerly chaplain to the 
 Bishop of New Zealand. It is called the Melanesian 
 Mission, and is we trust doing a great work. He 
 goes about in his missionary schooner from one to 
 another of the numberless beauteous islands which 
 stud these seas, and in spite of inhospitable shores, 
 dangerous coral reefs always growing, heavy surf, 
 armed savages opposing his landing, and difficulties 
 which can be imagined better than briefly described, 
 this great and good man effects a landing, and in 
 many cases persuades the people to entrust their 
 young men to his care for education. When from 
 different islands he has filled his vessel, he takes 
 them to his home and places them in his college. 
 Here they are taught the arts of ci\dlisation, and are 
 instructed in our holy religion. The hope is, that 
 when thus Christianised and civilised, they may go 
 back to their respective islands and become the 
 native teachers of their fellow countrymen. The
 
 NEW HOMES. 381 
 
 bishop's journals are intensely interesting, and tlie 
 whole scheme is one of deep importance. The 
 different colonies of Australia, one and all, regard 
 this as their mission, and are gladly and liberally 
 subscribing towards the necessary funds for working 
 out this great experiment. 
 
 The northern peninsula of Auckland is covered 
 with a number of little agricultural communities, 
 who enjoy easy access to the capital by water. Mr. 
 Hursthouse in his valuable work says : '' No part of 
 I^ew Zealand is so rich in historic interest as the 
 northern portion of the province of Auckland. 
 Some future Macaulay may relate that here un- 
 harmed the missionary fathers first raised the cross 
 among ferocious cannibals; here, the first press 
 was set up and the first Bible printed in the native 
 tongue ; here, the early colonisation of the country 
 commenced; and here stood Kororareka, the old 
 * Alsatia ' of the Pacific ; here, the treaty of "Wai- 
 tangi, the Maori Magna Charta, was signed by the 
 Queen's first governor and her Maori barons; and 
 here the red cross first fluttered in the breeze and 
 gave to Britain a ' Britain of the South.' " The 
 "East Coast" and the "Waikato" country form 
 perhaps the finest parts of the province, but at 
 present they are mostly in the hands of the natives. 
 Lake Taupo (100 miles in circumference) is situated 
 herein. 
 
 By the treaty of " Waitangi," referred to above, 
 the sovereignty of these islands was formally made
 
 382 
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 over to the Queen, the Crown pledging itself to pur- 
 chase from the native^ whatever land was required 
 for the purposes of colonisation ; and this agreement 
 has been strictly adhered to. 
 
 Land is sold at a fixed price of 10s. an acre. 
 Liberal grants are made to soldiers, sailors, and 
 schoolmasters ; and mechanics, servants, and others 
 obtain free grants of 40 acres to adults, and of 20 
 acres for each child between the ages of 5 and 18. 
 The farmer or capitalist receives also 40 or 20 
 additional acres for each servant or labourer, friend 
 or relative whose passage he may pay. Blocks of 
 land are laid aside also for " special settlements," 
 which have proved a great success. There are no 
 sheep runs in this province, from the circumstance 
 of its being devoid of grassy plains. 
 
 "It has been reserved for that Province of New Zealand 
 (says the New Zealand Exaininer) which has so long been 
 under both a political and commercial cloud to enjoy the most 
 complete flood of ' golden ' sunshine yet known in the Southern 
 Hemisphere. The gold that has been hidden at her very 
 threshold is now opened as a vast storehouse of wealth for 
 Auckland. The returns seem almost fabulous, but as the gold 
 does really come home for English goods, we are compelled to 
 acknowledge that all previous finds of the precious metal in the 
 Southern Hemisphere have been completely eclipsed by the 
 Thames gold-fields. We rejoice in Auckland's present great 
 success, not solely on account of this addition to her wealth in 
 gold, but because it will attract to her shores a population that 
 must (as such discoveries have done wherever they have been 
 made) open up a land that only waits cultivation to render it 
 an immense producing country. Our readers need scarcely be
 
 NEW HOMES. 383 
 
 reminded of California which before gold was found was little 
 heard of, while it is now one of the great ' agricultural ' States 
 of the Union. Already Otago, the first worked New Zealand 
 gold-field, exports corn to the mother country, therefore Ave 
 cannot but hope that Auckland will quickly follow in its wake. 
 To emigrants of the working kind the Northern Province of 
 New Zealand presents a most enviable field." 
 
 2. Taranaki, or New Plymouth. This lies to the 
 south-west of Auckland, and is about 80 miles long 
 by 70 in breadth. Its population is about 4,500. 
 One-third of its three millions of acres is covered 
 with forest, but the rest is rich agricultural land, 
 and is not inaptly styled "The Garden of New 
 Zealand." But the late desolating war has com- 
 mitted sad ravages in it. Its great want is a good 
 harbour. The capital, New Plymouth, was founded 
 in 1841, by a party of gentlemen from Devon and 
 Cornwall. The climate of this province is very 
 pleasant. It is cooler than Auckland. Mount 
 Egmont, an extinct volcano, rises to the height of 
 8,000 feet. At its base is found the metallic sand, 
 to which a good deal of attention has been paid of 
 late years, and from which razors and surgical in- 
 struments have been formed of excellent quality. 
 When once the supremacy of the law has been 
 established, and the native troubles over, this is a 
 most promising land to the agricultui'ist. Land is 
 surveyed in blocks of from 40 to 240 acres, and is 
 sold by auction at an upset price of 10s. an acre. 
 The same military and naval grants as in the 
 northern province.
 
 384 
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 3. Hawke's Bay. This was separated form Wel- 
 lington in 1858. Its capital is Napier. The popu- 
 lation is 5,283. It is said that the natives greatly 
 preponderate in numbers. It is an open, grassy 
 and pastoral country. It is described as being 
 ' • very windy, but bright, cheerful and remarkably 
 Iiealthy." 
 
 Eural lands available for agriculture are sold 
 at a fixed price of ten shillings an acre ; pastoral 
 land sold by auction, the upset price being five 
 shillings an acre. Naval and military settlements 
 as at Auckland. 
 
 4. Wellington. This is the most southern pro- 
 vince of the northern island. The population is 
 21,950, of whom perhaps 8,000 are natives. The 
 city of Wellington stretches along the shore of its 
 magnificent harbour for a considerable distance; 
 the public buildings are good, but are built mostly 
 of wood in consequence of the fear of earthquakes, 
 several shocks of which have been experienced. 
 The city of Wellington was founded in 1840 by the 
 New Zealand Company. It is the capital, and its 
 commerce is very considerable. Being exposed to 
 the high winds which blow through Cook's Strait, 
 as through a funnel, it is said to be the stormiest 
 place on the coast ; hence arose the saying that 
 a man from Wellington could be known anywhere, 
 for he was always holding his hat on with his hand. 
 Bishop Selwyn says that, " No one can speak of the 
 healthfulness of New Zealand till he has been
 
 NEW HOMES. 385 
 
 ventilated by the breezes of Wellington, where 
 malaria is no more to be feared than on the top 
 of Chimborazo, and where no fog can ever linger 
 long to deaden the intellectual faculties of the in- 
 habitants." In this province there are also the 
 settlements of Manuwatu, Turakina, Eangitiki, and 
 Wanganui. The last of these is connected with 
 Wellington. In many parts of this province are 
 the stations of thriving squatters, rich in flocks and 
 herds, and numbers of little agricultural settle- 
 ments. 
 
 THE MIDDLE ISLAND. 
 
 This is divided into five provinces : Nelson, 
 Marlborough, Canterbury, including the county of 
 Westland, Otago, and Southland. It is about 550 
 miles long, and contains twenty-eight and a half 
 millions of acres. The temperature is about two 
 degrees warmer than London. The natural pastui'es 
 of this island are as good as any in the world, and 
 its climate is equally adapted for cattle and for 
 sheep. The average increase on a breeding flock is 
 90 per cent. There are millions of acres fit for 
 sheep. 
 
 1. Nelson Province. This is the extreme north 
 of the island, being 160 miles long and 100 broad. 
 It has a population of 23,814. This province, or in 
 fact the whole of the middle island, has very few 
 natives ; it is necessary to bear this in mind. The 
 late troubles in New Zealand were confined to the 
 northern island. The city of Nelson is delightfully
 
 386 ' NEW HOMES. 
 
 situated, and being protected from the southern 
 gales by a circle of precipitous hills, it enjoys a 
 beautiful climate. It is about a mile and a half 
 from the port. It was founded in 1842 by Captain 
 Arthur "Wakefield, under the auspices of the New 
 Zealand Company. The chief agricultural areas are 
 the rich valley of the Waimea and the Motueka. 
 The Dun Mountain mine is about seventeen miles 
 from Nelson, and produces chrome, a substance used 
 by manufacturers of paint; but we hear that this 
 mine is not being worked now. The Coromandel 
 quartz reefs are in this province ; Collingwood is 
 the township which sprung up in connection with 
 the quartz reefs. No free grants of land are made ; 
 the land is surveyed and an upset price, varying 
 from five shillings to forty shillings an acre, put 
 upon it, and then each lot is put up to auction and 
 sold to the highest bidder. 
 
 2. Marlborough. Until within the last few years 
 this formed part of the province of Nelson. It 
 is about 130 miles long by 60 broad. Blenheim 
 and Picton are the two chief towns ; it is not 
 certain which will ultimately be the capital. In 
 this province are the celebrated Wairau plains, one 
 of the finest sheep districts in the country. Marl- 
 borough is quite in its infancy ; its population is 
 only 4,371. There are no free grants of land. It is 
 surveyed, and divided into two classes ; an upset 
 price of from ten shillings to twenty shillings an 
 acre is put upon the first class, and from five
 
 NEW HOMES. 
 
 387 
 
 shillings to ten shillings on the second, and both 
 are sold by auction to the highest bidder. 
 
 3. Canterbury. This province occupies the centre 
 
 of the middle island, and contains twelve millions 
 
 of acres, and (including the county of Westlaud) 
 
 has a population of nearly fifty- four thousands. 
 
 This was a Church of England settlement, but, as is 
 
 always the case with such settlements, it continued 
 
 so exclusively for a very brief period, and persons 
 
 of all denominations are to be found there. It had 
 
 connected with it from the very first an unusual 
 
 number of the sons of good families in England. 
 
 Lyttleton is its port, and is about five miles from 
 
 the Heads. Christchurch is the capital, and stands 
 
 on the Avon, about nine miles from Lyttleton. It 
 
 is a bishop's see, and when it was proposed to erect 
 
 the cathedral, £11,000 were promised towards it 
 
 within a month. The extent of land adapted for 
 
 agriculture in this province is estimated at nearly 
 
 two millions of acres, a considerable proportion of 
 
 which has already been taken up. There are several 
 
 shipping places on the coast, and townships are 
 
 springing up in the agricultural districts. The Grey 
 
 coal field is about six miles and a half up the Grey 
 
 Eiver. The upper seam is about fourteen feet thick, 
 
 and the under one ten or eleven, and they have a 
 
 dip of about 11". Very fine gold is found, though 
 
 in small quantities, all over the west coast. With 
 
 the exception of reserves for towns and for special 
 
 public purposes, all the lands in the province are
 
 388 NEW HOMES. 
 
 open for sale at the rate of £2 an acre. Until 
 applied for to be purchased the waste lands may- 
 be rented for pasturage purposes. The maximum 
 amount for 20,000 acres is £62 10s. a year. These 
 licenses are renewable yearly till 1870. The settler 
 has a pre-emptive right, but only for a block of from 
 50 to 250 acres. The high price of land forbids 
 land-jobbiDg, or buying on speculation to any great 
 extent, but it has been found to work well to the 
 lona fide settler. Many capitalists are now turning 
 their attention to grass farming, that is, making 
 paddocks and sowing them with English grasses. 
 It is calculated that this returns a good interest on 
 the capital invested, besides the increased value of 
 the freehold from the improvements. The land now 
 is pretty much taken up for runs. Strangers coming 
 into this province with a small capital, and desiring 
 to turn their attention to sheep farming, would be 
 wise to place so many sheep on a settler's run " on 
 terms," that is being allowed a certain proportion of 
 the wool and of the increase. And if in addition 
 they can get employment for themselves for a time, 
 till they become acquainted practically with the 
 pursuit they intend to follow, the plan will be found 
 safe and profitable. Until lately the prices asked 
 for stocked runs were so high as to be almost pro- 
 hibitory. Probably now an improved run could be 
 obtained on much easier terms. No free grants of 
 land are made excepting to old soldiers discharged 
 through wounds received in the Eussian war, or to
 
 NEW HOMES. 389 
 
 the wives of soldiers thus made widows, who are 
 allowed thirty acres. Assisted passages are granted 
 to men of good character, such as agricultural 
 labourers, shepherds, women servants, and trades- 
 men and artisans, from time to time. The passage 
 money is £17. If the emigrant pays £5, the go- 
 vernment gives him £5, and he gives his promissory 
 note for the balance. If he pays one-half, he re- 
 ceives a passage order without incurring any future 
 liability. 
 
 4. Otago. This is situated in the south of the 
 middle island, is about as large as Scotland, and 
 contains seventeen millions of acres, ten millions 
 of which are considered available for agricultural 
 and pastoral purposes. The population is nearly 
 50,000. Of course the climate is decidedly colder 
 than the northern island, but by no means un- 
 pleasant even in winter. It has a mean temperature 
 like that of London. Otago was founded by the 
 New Zealand Company, in connection with the Free 
 Church of Scotland, in 1847. The settlement was 
 planted by the late Captain Cargill, in 1848. The 
 harbour is called Port Chalmers. Dunedin is the 
 capital. The land regulations are similar to those of 
 Canterbury. The eastern and central portions of 
 the province contain many agricultural and pastoral 
 districts of great fertility. In the year 1865 New 
 Zealand's first " Great Exhibition " was held at 
 Dunedin, when there were 890 exhibits from the 
 different provinces of the colony, 561 of which were
 
 390 NEW HOMES. 
 
 furnished by Otago. The gold-fields in this district 
 have given a great impetus to trade. Although 
 it was first started as a Free Church of Scotland 
 settlement, the members of the Church of England 
 have increased so fast that it was agreed to form 
 it into a bishopric, the head-quarters of which 
 should be at Dunedin. We give below the latest 
 rate of wages : — 
 
 " Male farm servants averaging £50 per annum, with few 
 ■exceptions ; married couples, from £60 to £70 per annum ; 
 female cooks, £40 ; housemaids, £35 ; nursemaids, £30 ; laun- 
 dresses, £40 ; needlewomen, £1 per week ; hotel cooks, £1 to 
 £3 per week ; waiters, 30s, ; boots, 20s. per week ; housemaids 
 for hotels, from £40 a year to £1 weekly ; waitresses, 15s. 
 to £1 weekly ; barmaids from £1 to £2 weekly ; carpenters, 
 12s. to 15s. per day ; painters, from 10s. to 12s. ; shearers, 
 17s. Gd. per hundi'ed, with rations." 
 
 5. Southland. Until the year 1861 this province 
 formed part of Otago. It has a population of about 
 8,000. Its size is small, being not more than twice 
 the size of Northumberland. Invercargill is its 
 capital. It is a fertile district. It contains more 
 than two millions of acres ; and Stewart's Island, to 
 the south of it, and which belongs to it, may have 
 about half a million more. The climate on the 
 coasts of Foveaux Strait is wet and boisterous ; in- 
 land it improves. The winter cold is not, however, 
 greater than that of the south of England; the 
 temperature rarely falls to more than four or five 
 degrees below the freezing point, and the frost
 
 NEW HOMES. 391 
 
 seldom lasts till mid- day. There are many plains 
 which are generally dry and unbroken, so much so 
 that the plough might be driven for miles on any of 
 them without impediment. The hills form dry and 
 healthy sheep runs. Limestone is abundant. It is 
 calculated (says the author of the " Prize Pamphlet 
 on Southland") that the acreage fit for the plough 
 probably exceeds a million of acres. Heavy crops 
 of good serviceable wheat can be raised. Grass 
 succeeds to perfection, after the land has been tho- 
 roughly cultivated by two or three years cropping. 
 The average agricultural land, with proper culti- 
 vation, hut without manure^ will produce 35 bushels 
 of wheat, or 45 of oats, to the acre. Timber of 
 many useful kinds is found in different parts of this 
 province, and in great abundance. 
 
 There are no free grants of land. The price for 
 country land is fixed at £2 an acre. 
 
 The Chatham Islands are about two days' sail 
 from New Zealand. The largest island is 35 miles 
 long. The coast is very dangerous. The population 
 is 184. Potatoes are the chief produce. 
 
 The following "New Zealand Notes" have just 
 been received, and are extracted from the Argu8 : — 
 
 " At length there seems a prospect of the near termination of 
 the troubles which have so long impeded the progress of New 
 Zealand. The alarm respecting the general native rising, which 
 was so much feared some few months ago, seems to have died out, 
 and it is satisfactory to note that the new Ministry are en- 
 deavouring to conciliate the Maories, and by fair treatment to 
 promote a good understanding between them and the white
 
 392 NEW HOMES. 
 
 race. The influence which Mr. M'Lean, the Native and De- 
 fence Minister, possesses over the natives, especially on the East 
 Coast, where he long resided as a magistrate, has materially 
 assisted in begetting a feeling of confidence in the new Adminis- 
 tration. But while the Government are disposed to act in a 
 conciliatory spirit towards the Maories, they have also exhibited 
 considerable vigour in the field, and the result has been that Te 
 Kooti, the mainspring of the rebellion, has sustained several de- 
 feats. The policy of the Ministry in transforming the colonial 
 military force into an armed constabulary has not had a pre- 
 judicial effect, as predicted by some, and the re-employment of 
 friendly natives has already produced good fruits. 
 
 " The last native news shows Te Kooti — who is now supposed 
 to be the original miscreant of that name — again active, but 
 apparently in a trap. Returning unwillingly and in disgrace 
 from the King's country, he appears to have contemplated a 
 raid upon the country formerly harassed by his compeer, Titoko 
 Warn, with the intention, perhaps, of effecting a junction with 
 the latter, who is — no one knows exactly where — in the fast- 
 nesses which lie behind the Wanganui and Patea country. The 
 friendly natives on the Upper Wanganui sent early in Septem- 
 ber for assistance to their friends on the lower portion of the 
 river, and to the Government. Before these appeals arrived, 
 however, a native force under the New Zealand Government's 
 ally, Henare Tomoana, had been despatched from the East 
 Coast to intercept Te Kooti. At Tauranga — not the Tauranga 
 of Gate Pa celebrity, but a little place near the Taupo Lake — 
 the two parties met, and some smart, but not very decisive, 
 fighting was the result. In the first engagement, Avhich took 
 place on the 9th September, Te Kooti had the worst of it, and 
 fell back on a pa he had built at Tokanu, with a loss of three 
 killed and several wounded. The friendlies had only two men 
 wounded. Two days later there Avas another brush of a more 
 important character, with the same result. Te Kooti was re- 
 pulsed, and five of his men are reported killed. A few days 
 afterwards Colonel M'Donnell, who has been re-instated by the 
 present Government, and Lieutenant-Colonel Herrick, with a
 
 NEW HOMES. 393 
 
 strong force of friendly natives, effected a junction with Henare 
 Tomoana. Te Kooti fell back on Moerangi, but was pursued 
 by the colonial forces, and on Saturday, September 25, an en- 
 gagement took place. Te Kooti, with a force of from 250 to 
 300 strong, attacked Tokano, a position occupied by Colonel 
 M'Donnell's troops. Severe fighting took place, which resulted 
 in the defeat of the enemy, with considerable loss, estimated at 
 30. Colonel M'Donnell says that the enemy had plenty of 
 ammunition, and that 30 and 40 rounds were found in some of 
 the pouches taken. The colonial force, which consisted of 249 
 natives, and two or three European officers, had only seven 
 wounded. All appear to have behaved well. A general attack 
 was to be made on the Monday following this engagement, but 
 the result is not yet known. Te Kooti's position at the pre- 
 sent time is a very desperate one, and as he is almost surrounded 
 by forces numerically superior to his own, and is probably short 
 of supplies, he will scarcely be able to make a very effectual 
 resistance. 
 
 " Three of the leading rebel prisoners, late allies of Titoko 
 Warn, have been found guilty of treason-felony and murder by 
 a jury, in the Supreme Court at Wellington, and are sentenced 
 to death. Eighteen other prisoners have been liberated, as no 
 evidence could be found against them. Tauroa, the chief of the 
 West Coast prisoners, was not amongst those tried. Dorrington, 
 the watchmaker at Parnell, who was arrested on two charges of 
 selling arms and ammunition to the natives, has been acquitted 
 on both charges. The three natives implicated in the same 
 case pleaded ' Gruilty,' and were sentenced to three years' im- 
 prisonment, together with a fine of £5 each. 
 
 " Another successful occurrence, which is to be attributed 
 mainly to the influence of the present Ministry amono- the 
 natives, and the confidence they are disposed to place in Mr. 
 Fox and Mr. M'Lean, is the purchase of the Kaimanavva country, 
 described as a block of land of enormous extent, reaching from 
 Euapehu to this side Euahine, and from Taupo to Napier and 
 the Puke track. The country is said to include all the reputed 
 auriferous land south of Lake Taupo. The terms on which this 
 
 C C
 
 394 NEW HOMES. 
 
 purchase lias been arranged have not yet been made pubHc, but 
 are said to be most satisfactory, both as regards the commercial 
 nature of the transaction, and, what is of still more importance, 
 as respects the effect which will be produced on the natives by 
 the future monetary interest which they will have in the here- 
 tofore valueless soil. The present pay, direct mone}-, is only 
 £60. But that is a mere earnest of the bargain — the great point 
 to which the natives look being the income secured to them 
 from one-half of the amount derived from miners' rights. 
 
 " There is some hope, too, of an early opening of the Ohine- 
 muri district in Auckland province — known as the Upper 
 Thames. Mr. M'Lean, the Native Minister, has gone on a visit 
 to the King with the object of obtaining his permission to carry 
 the line of telegraph through the Waikato. If he succeeds in 
 obtaining this concession, the advantage will be incalculable ; 
 for if once the telegraph wire is fairlj^ carried through the coun- 
 try, roads, settlement, trade, cultivation, and gold-mining Avould 
 follow, and the end of the Maori war would be seen. The Upper 
 Thames chiefs declare that if the King agrees to open up the 
 Waikato, Ohinemuri must follow. 
 
 " His Excellency Sir George Bowen lately visited "Wanganui, 
 and was presented with an address by the tribes of that district, 
 requesting him to build a house in that part of the country, so 
 that he might reside there during some months of the year as 
 he did at Auckland. His Excellency, in repl}', congratulated 
 the natives on the improved state of affairs since his last visit. 
 
 " The Parliamentary session closed early in September. A 
 great number of bills were passed, but few have any general 
 interest. Machinery has been provided for the establishment 
 and maintenance of public libraries, and the initiation of a 
 system of state life assurances and annuities similar to that 
 lately inaugurated in the mother country. Two other acts are 
 also worthy of a passing remark. The one provides an endow- 
 ment for the order of the New Zealand Cross, and the other 
 incorporates the New Zealand Law Society. The superinten- 
 dent of Otago has obtained powers to found special settlements 
 at Martin's Bay and Preservation Inlet, on the Western Coast.
 
 NEW HOMES. 395 
 
 If this project is successful, the new settlements will be the 
 nearest inhabited portions of New Zealand to Victoria. 
 
 " The intelligence of an industrial character is very en- 
 couraging from all parts of the islands. The many flax 
 companies which have been started of late promise that New 
 Zealand will soon take her proper place as a great flax exporter, 
 for that article which grows in such abundance there is of 
 specially good quality. The smelting of the steel sand found 
 along the Taranaki shore has been successfully commenced. It 
 is calculated that a profit of £400 a week can be made. A 
 colony of Welshmen is being established in Canterbury, with 
 the view of forming a blanket manufactory in that great wool- 
 bearing province. A lecture recently delivered by the well- 
 known explorer, Dr. Hector, shows how various are the localities 
 in which extensive coal-fields exist. The gold-diggers in the 
 provinces of Auckland and Otago are largely supplied with fuel 
 from the coal mines in those regions. The Thames gold-field 
 still maintains its reputation for unparalleled richness, but the 
 amount of speculation going on there is naturally bringing 
 about disastrous consequences. A collapse is impending in the 
 share markets at Auckland, and no wonder, when the advertised 
 capital of the companies started since the beginning of the year 
 amounts to £2,000,000. Within a period of three months no 
 less than 86 applications were lodged for the registration of new 
 companies on this gold-field, the nominal paid-up capital being 
 £1,532,552. Two statements, recently made on good authority 
 by an Auckland paper, will aS"ord some idea of the rapid 
 advance in the price of shares at the Thames. From a share- 
 list published, it was found that amongst a total of 87 com- 
 panies there was capital to the amount of £1,270,201, and the 
 advances on the selling rates of shares amounted in one week to 
 over £534,175. Many people are of opinion that the richness 
 of the Thames is over-estimated ; but several Ballarat gentle- 
 men, who have recently returned from New Zealand, express an 
 opinion that it is really a permanent and first-class gold-field, 
 and predict that in 12 months it will be the most wonderful 
 gold-producing place in the world. The claims at present are
 
 396 NEW HOMES. 
 
 being worked in a very wasteful manner in the majority of 
 instances. The long drive lately crushed 300 lb. of stone, 
 which yielded 4 oz. to the lb. This gives a dividend of £2 8s. 
 per scrip. The yield of the Golden Crown for the month of 
 August was 2,345 oz. ; for the year, 26,343 oz. ; value, £68,368. 
 Two full shares in the Coromandel have been sold for £12,000 
 each. Capital from all parts of the colonies is being invested 
 there, and as an instance of how the fame of the gold-field 
 is extending, we may mention that a French gentleman, living 
 in Paris, has authorised his agent to invest a considerable sum 
 of 'money in some of the best claims for him. Encouraging 
 accounts are received from several of the other gold-fields. The 
 Virginia claim, at Coromandel, has yielded nugget specimens 
 surpassing anything obtained at the Thames. Numerous pros- 
 pecting parties are out in all parts of the country. 
 
 " Mr. E. W. Stafford, late Colonial Secretary, and Colonel 
 Haultain, late Defence Minister, have declined the honour 
 of knighthood of the order of St. Michael and St. George. 
 Colonel Whitmore, late in command of the Araied Constabulary 
 Force, to whom it was also offered, promptly accepted it, as an 
 acknowledgment on the part of ' the Queen and country ' of 
 the services he had rendered. 
 
 " Several large fires have occurred during the month. Quick's 
 coach-factory at Auckland was burnt. The loss is estimated at 
 £6,000 ; and Messrs. Jacobs and Isaacs' store at Christchurch 
 was totally destroyed. The building and stock were insured in 
 the latter instance. 
 
 " The story recently published concei-ning a cave at Raglan 
 containing 38 petrified Maories is pronounced to be a miserable 
 and silly fabrication." 
 
 We have thus very hastily run over the whole of 
 Kew Zealand. Every year will see its advance 
 among the new group of colonies. It has had, and 
 may have again, many a hard struggle; but its 
 natural resources are so varied and extensive that
 
 NEW HOMES. 397 
 
 when once the native difficultij is got over, as we 
 heartily trust it may be, and a clear and definite 
 line laid down and acted upon between the colonists 
 and the Maories, its onward progress will equal, if 
 it does not surpass, many of the colonies on the 
 mainland of Australia. Each and every one of the 
 colonies in this part of the world has great capa- 
 bilities, and if they are but united they will some 
 day form a mighty confederation. 
 
 We rejoice to see, with England's flag unfurl'd, 
 A new Britannia in the Southern world. 
 
 And now our task is well nigh done. We cannot 
 but feel that the sketch we have given of each 
 colony is a very imperfect one. And yet enough 
 perhaps has been said to give the intelligent reader 
 an idea of the places referred to. I know full well 
 that the American colonies have a great advantage 
 over Australia in their proximity to England, 
 thereby lessening the cost of transport. But I 
 believe that this is their only advantage over her. 
 And it may be that the difficulties which stand in 
 the way of an extensive exodus to Australia and 
 New Zealand, may to a certain extent be overcome 
 by the hearty co-operation of the very large and 
 influential body of men in England who arc deeply 
 interested in those lands. We hail with peculiar 
 satisfaction the formation of the "National Emi- 
 gration League," the members of which are so nu- 
 merous and so infl.uential that then." efforts will, we
 
 398 NEW HOMES. 
 
 do not doubt, be crowned witli a large amount of 
 success. Sir W. Denison's idea was, that a large 
 system of colonisation should be undertaken, and if 
 possible 100,000 people sent away yearly. This, 
 he said, could only be done with the aid of the go- 
 vernment, who should make all necessary arrange- 
 ments for their transmission, reception and allot- 
 ment of lands. Mr. Torrens despaired of the present 
 emergency being met by charity. He regarded the 
 League as a political body in the highest and wisest 
 sense, having no considerations of class, party or 
 creed. It was their duty to put before the govern- 
 ment the task of providing a remedy for the existing 
 distress, and suggesting that the best and most wise 
 way would be by sanctioning and conducting a con- 
 tinuous stream of colonisation and emigration. They 
 should impress upon the Premier the absolute ne- 
 cessity of the measure, in consideration of the lives 
 of the people, the good order of society, and the 
 maintenance of the law. 
 
 In the year 1830, the following paragraph ap- 
 peared in the " Quarterly Eeview " : — 
 
 " Government, for instance, might either undertake at once 
 the expense and arrangements for conveying labourers to the 
 colony, or leaving this to trading importers, only become an- 
 swerable for repayment of the passage money, either at once or 
 by instalments. An office might for this purpose be appointed 
 in the colony, at which every labourer as he arrived should be 
 registered — the cost of his passage, with that of insurance on 
 his living long enough to repay the sum debited to him, and he 
 might then be allowed to work where and how he chose, on the
 
 NEW HOMES. 399 
 
 sole condition of paying a certain sum, weekly or monthly, to 
 government, towards the debt incurred by his importation. 
 The collection of these instalments from labourers scattered 
 over the colony could be effected by the same machinery as, 
 and would hardly be more difficult than, the collection of any 
 other tax ; and, at all events, would be far more easily effected 
 by government than by individuals, who cannot enforce their 
 claims but by borrowing, in an awkward manner, the aid of 
 government. But should this plan be supposed impracticable 
 or unadvisable, there are other indirect ways of levying the 
 same sum, in such a manner that it shall be unfelt, perhaps un- 
 suspected by the labourer as he pays it." 
 
 It has been proposed to ask the government to 
 utilise some of the vessels in the navy, in these 
 piping times of peace, by employing them as 
 transports. This would of course remove a great 
 difficulty, as the cost of transmission would thus be 
 much lessened. One great thing must we think be 
 kept carefully in mind. The different colonies (at 
 least I can speak for the Australian colonies) are 
 ready and willing to receive emigrants; but they 
 must be men of the right stamp, and such a class as 
 is required in the respective colonies. And it would 
 not do to send them out too many at a time. It is 
 a continuous stream that is required. No persons 
 know the wants of each country better than the 
 Agents- General of the respective colonies, resident in 
 London. And it might be well that if the scheme 
 succeed, their co-operation should be sought in 
 carrying out the plan. The colonies have been 
 aiming for years past to frame such Land Bills as
 
 400 NEW HOMES. 
 
 to place '' homes " at the disposal of the industrious ; 
 and now that so much has been done, it only re- 
 quires assistance from this side to make those homes 
 available to the people. That the distress in Eng- 
 land is very great no one can doubt, and he is no 
 friend to his fellow-men who does not seek, by every 
 legitimate means, to remove that distress effectually 
 by a wise and well-considered scheme of emigration. 
 
 Many of the colonies are holding out great in- 
 ducements to the capitalist, in granting him land for 
 all the labourers he takes out. If this plan were 
 pursued it would help to relieve the pressure at 
 home. 
 
 I know that some persons doubt the willingness 
 of the people to leave their country ; but this is not 
 generally the case. Vast numbers are I know only 
 looking out for an opportunity of escaping from the 
 sad state of things which unfortunately exists here. 
 There are I am aware some who think a great deal 
 of the voyage ; but all fears on this head are foolish, 
 and would be dissipated within a week on board 
 ship. The voyage to Australia is one of the safest 
 known; in fact it is frequently undertaken as a 
 kind of pleasure trip. I know of more than one 
 party who have made it a "wedding tour," and 
 the other day I heard of a friend in Melbourne, who 
 holds a high appointment, and who wished to come 
 and see a sick relative, but who said that if he came 
 by the January mail he could only stay in England 
 a fortnight ! A voyage round the world, and to 
 stay di fortnight at home !
 
 NEW HOMES. 401 
 
 And let the emigrant of every class bear in mind 
 that he is not now going to a wilderness, whichever 
 colony he may select. The day of privations and 
 isolation is rapidly passing away. He will find 
 everywhere English towns, English people, and 
 English civilisation. Eailways are connecting places 
 that used to be remote, and the electric telegraph is 
 about to connect Australia with England. 
 
 It is to be regretted that the postal regulations 
 are not keeping pace with the times. By a most 
 ingenious process, the mails are so arranged that 
 you cannot answer your letters without great loss 
 of time, or without an expense to which the emi- 
 grant should not if possible be put. Thus, for 
 instance, this month, which is but a sample of all 
 the months, the mail via Southampton goes out on 
 the 22nd, and the letters by Marseilles come in on 
 the 24th (or two days after the Southampton mail 
 has gone). The Marseilles mail leaves on the 28//^, 
 and the Southampton mail arrives on the 2^th. So 
 that unless you get your letters always by Mar- 
 seilles, which route costs lOd. for a letter instead 
 of 6d., and is therefore a great tax upon the mass of 
 the people, you cannot answer at all without waiting 
 nearly a month. I took the liberty some time ago 
 of addressing the Postmaster- General on the subject, 
 and received a courteous reply to the effect that the 
 arrangement had been made after due consideration 
 for the convenience of the public ! I am afraid it is a 
 convenience which the public do not appreciate. To
 
 402 NEW HOMES. 
 
 my mind it seems that it was just made to fit in 
 with the Indian mail, without any regard to th& 
 wants of Australia. 
 
 The careful reader of the above pages will see 
 that in going out now his children can be educated 
 almost if not quite as well as in England ; churches 
 and chapels are scattered over all the countries ; 
 the Lord's day is observed quite as well if not 
 better than it is in England ; and the tone of 
 society has so greatly improved of late years, that 
 he must be fastidious indeed who cannot find those 
 with whom it would be a pleasure to associate. 
 All the new books are just two months later than 
 you have them in England; and for the infor- 
 mation of the ladies, I may say this applies to the 
 "fashions" too. 
 
 In fine, my advice to all those who from circum- 
 stances are led to think of seeking "new homes" 
 is — ^" Go to Australia." If I had a dozen sons, 
 slenderly provided for, or unprovided for, and they 
 had " sound minds in sound bodies," willing to 
 work and disposed to be sober, I would say — " Go, 
 and, God blessing you, you will prosper." (I have 
 but two sons, and they are both in Australia.) 
 
 A project which promises to be of great value to 
 all the colonies, but specially to New Zealand, has 
 just been put forward, viz. : for a steam and railroad 
 service from Milford Haven to Portland (Maine) in 
 nine days ; from Portland to San Erancisco by rail 
 in seven days, and thence to Australia and New
 
 NEW HOMES. 403. 
 
 Zealand in 23 days, thus bringing the colonies 
 within 40 days of England. 
 
 The news from New Zealand is of such importance, 
 and is of so hopeful a character, that it is thus com- 
 mented on in a late number of the Standard : — 
 
 " The New Zealand news is of an important character, and 
 seems to convey positive evidence of future tranquiUity in the 
 Northern Island. An interview has been held between Mr. 
 M'Lean, the Minister of Native Affairs, with the principal chiefs- 
 of the Waikato and Ngatimamopoto tribes, at which, although 
 the ' Native King ' himself was not present, Eewi, his chief man 
 of war, who has succeeded the late William Thompson as 
 ' Mayor of the Palace ' and real head of the Maori Confederacy, 
 has, after five years of sullen neutrality, spoken words of peace, 
 if not of friendship. According to the interesting report of this 
 meeting, which is given in the New Zealand Herald of the 15th 
 of November, the proceedings were characterised by the absence 
 of many of those ceremonies which have hitherto been held 
 essential to polite diplomacy. The songs and speeches of wel- 
 come which form so important a part of these meetings, and in 
 which the dark-skinned warriors take so keen a delight, were 
 not forthcoming to greet the representative of the Pakehas. In 
 their stead ' Prayers in the Hau-hau form ' were offered — an 
 evidence that the Kingites at least have completely broken away 
 from the teaching of the missionaries, and an ominous sign of the 
 extent to winch they had sympathised with the anti-European 
 rising. In other respects the proceedings were satisfactory, as 
 indicating that there is at least an earnest desire among the 
 neutral tribes of the interior for peace. In response to a speech 
 from Mr. M'Lean, llewi stood up and declared that his word 
 was peace, and that there should be no more fighting. He 
 made three requests, which it is important for us to note, aa 
 showing that the grievances of the Maories are something quite 
 other than their fanatical friends at home are wont to represent. 
 He did not complain of any of those things witli which Lord
 
 404 NEW HOMES. 
 
 Granville has charged the settlers. He did not protest against 
 their ' greed for land ' or their policy of confiscation. He did 
 not desire the ' restoration of the island, ' or even the indepen- 
 dence of the Maori population. He asked that the European 
 occupation at Taupo should cease. He asked that Te Heu Heu, 
 who had been ' foolish,' should be liberated. He pleaded for 
 Te Hura, as one who had been punished sufficiently for his fault. 
 It is gratifying to know that Mr. M'Lean was able to satisfy all 
 these requests. The land at Taupo had not been taken, and 
 was only occupied temporarily by the troops for the protection 
 of the friendly tribes and the punishment of crime. Te Heu 
 Heu would be released. And Te Hura, although a convicted 
 murderer, would also be made over into Rewi's hands, on con- 
 dition that the chief became security for his good behaviour. 
 On his part, Eewi promised to show no further countenance to 
 Te Kooti and the insurgents, and the meeting ended with ex- 
 pressions of mutual good-will. 
 
 " "We congratulate the Colonial Government on the wisdom 
 and tact with which they have managed this most difficult 
 negociation, more difficult by the assistance rendered from the 
 Imperial authorities. It is obvious that the colony of New Zea- 
 land has narrowly escaped a very great peril, and it is important 
 to note, once for all, that the peril would have been vastly in- 
 creased had Mr. Fox's Ministry acted by the advice given them 
 by Lord Granville, or had they been deprived of the presence of 
 the battalion of Queen's troops which Lord Granville insisted on 
 recalling. The colonial -press, without exception, attribute the 
 improved temper of the King natives entii*ely to the moral effect 
 produced by the retention by General Chute of the 18th Regi- 
 ment, contrary to Lord Granville's orders. So long as any Im- 
 perial troops remain in the island, so long will the natives con- 
 tinue to believe that the Queen has not abandoned the country 
 — a belief which for many years to come will be the best pledge 
 of peace in New Zealand. It remains to be seen whether Lord 
 Granville will permit the good results abeady obtained to be 
 neutralised by an obstinate adherence to his most unwise and 
 cruel order for the withdi-awal of the 18th Regiment."
 
 NEW HOMES. 405 
 
 The policy of the present Government with 
 regard to the Colonies forms the subject of an 
 admirable article, from the pen of Mr. Froude, 
 in the last number of " Eraser's Magazine." The 
 article is too long to transcribe, but a faithful 
 epitome of its contents is given by the New Zealand 
 Examiner : — 
 
 " Mr. Froude has contributed to the current number of 
 ' Fraser ' an article which treats the great questions of Colonial 
 policy with so much breadth and vigour, that we can do our 
 readers no better service than to present, in a very brief form, 
 the leading ideas he enunciates. Mr. Froude is so far behind 
 the age that he believes in patriotism, and thinks that England 
 may have some greater claim to the regard of posterity than 
 that of having given birth to America. While, of course, enter- 
 taining the sincerest desire for friendly relations with all other 
 countries, Mr. Froude does not deem it a matter of indifference 
 whether the increase of material prosperity which in every age, 
 in this working world, befals some one or other (and, if we ex- 
 amine the matter, ever the worthiest) shall fall to our own 
 share, or to that of some other nation. Above all, Mr. Froude 
 grudges that any large portion of England's best wealth, the 
 living men who are crowded so thickly on her own shores, 
 should be cast off as forming no valuable part of the body politic. 
 Every industrious and honest man is a source of well-being to 
 the community to which he belongs, and Mr. Froude is alarmed 
 at the notion that it is a matter of indifference whether such a 
 one, finding no room for him at home, betakes himself to the 
 United States, or continues to be an Englishman in one of om* 
 own Colonies. For it is not a metaphor, but a plain fact that 
 these Colonies are essentially a part of England, and, as events 
 are progressing, it will soon be palpable that England would no 
 more be England without them than, three hundred years ago, 
 she would have been England without Norfolk or Cornwall. 
 The notion that England is to become one huge cotton mill,
 
 406 NEW HOMES. 
 
 and that other countries will be proud to grow corn for her, and 
 acknowledge her the mistress of creation, Mr. Froude believes 
 to be a fallacy. A factory is not a nation, and man does not 
 live by calico alone. No nation, he points out, ever became or 
 continued great without an agricultural population proportioned 
 to that of the towns. He traces many of the evils which we 
 deplore to the gro\\ang disproportion between the two elements ; 
 physical deterioration, an increasing consumption of intoxicating 
 drinks, trade feuds, general impatience of honest work, and in- 
 difference of honest dealing. If there was not too great a pro- 
 portion of country to city in the time of Henry VIII., there 
 must be a vast disproportion the other way now. The obvious 
 way is to seek new Norfolks beyond the sea to balance our new 
 Manchesters, and, doubtless, to create Manchesters and Liver- 
 pools of their own ; which, in "turn, will require still farther 
 colonisation. In this light a colony is something very different 
 from what colonies originally were — penal settlements for con- 
 victed or unconvicted scamps, the great recommendation being 
 that hardly any one came back from them. The same mechanical 
 progress which has brought Canada almost as near to London 
 as Edinburgh once was, has brought Australia and New Zealand 
 proportionately near, and a man who emigrates no more aban- 
 dons home ties than he does by removing to another county in 
 Eno-land. Two members of the present Government gained 
 their political education in Australia, and in every circle of a 
 few score men in almost any grade, we may rely on finding 
 some who have acquired experience, if not wealth, in some of 
 our Colonies. To use a well-worn simile, the blood now flows 
 towards the heart, as well as from it. If we look to the essential 
 bond of union. New Zealand and Australia were never more 
 trulv an integral part of England than now, and we cannot, 
 ■even for the sake of peace and quietness at the Colonial Office, 
 allow it to be proclaimed that they have no claim on us, or that 
 we have no benefits to seek from them. The one thing the 
 Colonies ask from us — in addition to abstaining from mis- 
 management — is that we will send them the men who, in a 
 certain sense, are superfluous and even mischievous here. The
 
 NEW HOMES. 407 
 
 ■thing needs to be done boldly, once for all ; and it must be re- 
 membered that, once done, it would not soon need to be repeated. 
 For every emigrant, as experience shows, is but too glad to bear 
 the cost of bringing new hands — whether his own friends and 
 relations or others — to share the work that he finds ready for 
 him. The cost of a couple of iron-clads yearly for the next 
 seven years ; or, still better, a New Zealand expedition fitted 
 out with the same promptitude, and at half the cost of the 
 Abyssinian one, would repay the outlay by the diminution of 
 pauperism, and the stimulus given to trade in every direction. 
 But, as Mr. Froude puts the case, it is not a question whether 
 this undertaking will turn out immediately profitable or not. 
 The tendency of civilised men in these da.js is to aggregation 
 into great states, and if the Colonies cannot be integral 
 parts of the British Empire, they Avould prefer to become 
 united with some other power, rather than continue isolated, 
 and, for the present, insignificant communities. Even from 
 a Manchester point of view, it is worth while to remember 
 that the Colonists are our customers to the amount of more 
 pounds per head than the people of the States are for shillings. 
 And let us not doubt that if we cannot hold the Colo- 
 nies, the American Government, which ruled California when 
 the route to it lay round Cape Horn, will be able to render them 
 substantial accessions to her power. And with the Stripes and 
 Stars floating all over the world, it is doubtful, according to Mr. 
 Froude's view, whether our trade, to which we should have sacri- 
 ficed everything, could survive many years, and morall}' certain 
 that we could not hold our Indian Empire. Moreover, if these 
 considerations are not serious enough, there is another which 
 may have more weight with the British Legislature. If there 
 is no more land to be had to cultivate — if England is not to be 
 enlarged according to the growing needs of her people, how long 
 may we expect the present land laws to last ? Mr. Froude is 
 disposed to think that the number of years may be counted on 
 the fingers of one hand ; and even if we do not adopt this view, 
 it is patent that the question of land tenure in England is the 
 next great subject but one for consideration by the British Par-
 
 408 NEW HOMES. 
 
 liament, and it will be well to avoid any new errors that may 
 embitter the discussion. Let it be understood that this is no 
 party question ; but that the statesman, be he who he may, who 
 first takes in hand this great Colonial difficulty, holds the key 
 of the future." 
 
 In my first chapter I spoke of the voyage out as 
 it was performed in days gone by, and purposed, 
 after a trip to and examination of each colony, to 
 describe the voyage home by steam. Just as I was 
 about to join the ship which brought us to England, 
 I had to travel 150 miles from my son-in-law's 
 station. He lent us his carriage, horses, and coach- 
 man. We entered on a dreary plain extending for 
 forty or fifty miles without a house — without a tree. 
 Presently the man told me that the tire of one of 
 the wheels was coming oflp, and he (being a new 
 hand in the country) had come away without nails, 
 hammer, rope, or straps of any kind. I was at my 
 wits' end. A month might elapse before any good 
 Samaritan might pass that way. At length my wife 
 said, " Let me have my dressing case." She opened 
 it, and took out a pretty delicate looking little thing 
 with a pearl handle — a stiletto ; not the Spaniard's 
 deadly weapon, but a lady's stiletto, which they use 
 for — I really do not know for what. She told the 
 coachman to break the handle off, and to drive the 
 little instrument into the weakest point. He did 
 so. I was appointed to watch the wheel as it 
 slowly revolved, and it actually held together and 
 brought us safely to the end of the day's journey.
 
 NEW HOMES. 409 
 
 I have had the greatest regard for stilettos ever 
 since. 
 
 And now, after more than thirty years' hard 
 work, let me get on board the Great Britain steamer 
 and take at least a holiday for a time at home. 
 Nine hundred souls wQre congregated on board this 
 magnificent steamer, the main-sails of which con- 
 tained 3,000 yards of canvas. We passed through 
 a vast field of icebergs ; rounded the Horn — that 
 region of storm and darkness ; gradually got to- 
 wards the north into fine weather ; on the Equator 
 witnessed a total eclipse of the sun, a sight which, 
 seen under such circumstances and in such a place, 
 none of us will ever forget, for it was awfully 
 grand. Wo had regular services in all parts of the 
 ship, in which poor Mr. Draper, who was lost in 
 the London^ regularly took part; we spent a life 
 just like that in a large floating hotel, enjoying 
 every comfort and many a luxury. We had a fine 
 German brass band, which discoursed sweet music 
 during dinner and dessert; concerts or dances, or 
 something of the sort, on deck, occupied the even- 
 ings. We had no death and but one birth — a little 
 boy, the son of poor parents, who was duly baptized 
 by the names of "John Gray Britain." The lady 
 of the stiletto took an interest in the youngster, 
 and was seen about in all parts of the ship with 
 a long sheet of paper ; this turned out to be a sub- 
 scription list of threepences, sixpences and shillings. 
 Ten pounds was the result, and this sum was
 
 410 NEW HOMES. 
 
 deposited for the little fellow's benefit in the 
 Liverpool Savings' Bank, so that when he ar- 
 rives at man's estate he will have a little fortune 
 to receive. 
 
 And thus passed the days, until, in God's good 
 time, we sighted old Ireland's shores, and were 
 shortly afterwards safely landed in Liverpool. The 
 same day took us through the beautiful valley 
 of the Trent to London, the whole country 
 looking to us like one vast garden and the pretty 
 trees like shrubs. 
 
 But here I must stop. But before doing so, if I 
 were asked what great lesson I have learned by 
 mixing with men of so many nations, and travelling 
 to far distant lands, I would say emphatically, 
 a lesson of liheralUij. People who live all their life- 
 time in the same spot are apt to become exclusive 
 and narrow-minded ; they are split up into little 
 sectarian parties, and are apt to be illiberal and 
 uncharitable towards all those who differ from them. 
 I have learned that there are good men of all shades 
 of opinion, and in religious matters I would not 
 quarrel with people who cannot exactly see with 
 my eyes, and I endeavour to respect even their 
 prejudices. It was formerly said, " See how these 
 Christians love one another," but really so narrow- 
 minded are many of us that it might almost be said, 
 " See how these Christians hate each other." Now, 
 we are all children of the same Father, redeemed 
 by the blood of the same Saviour, trusting to spend
 
 NEW HOMES. 411 
 
 an eternity of happiness together in serving the 
 same God and Father of us ail. Let us then give 
 the right hand of fellowship to all those who " love 
 the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity " instead of 
 " falling out by the way." 
 
 THE END.
 
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