/ /, QUEENSLAND THE FIELD FOR BRITISH LABOUR AND ENTERPRISE. mxa 0f Cufihnd'fi (![otfoit Supptg. ADVERTISEMENTS. Iron Roofs, Sheds, Houses, Churches. TUPPER & Co.'s ROOFIAG, mm TILES, IIOISES, CI11¥11ES, SCHOOLS, iC, Packed for Shipment ; also Gutters, Pipes, Eidging, Pails, Tubing, Wire, Nails, Screws, &c., all Galvanized. TUPPER 8j' Co. furnish Designs and Estimates free of Charge. They supply, properly packed for Shipment, with all necessar}- Drawings and Instructions for erection abroad, every description of Iron Kooting, Iron Sheds, Stores, Houses, Churches, &c. ; these are temporarily erected at the Iron Roofing Works in London, where they can be inspected prior to Shipment. TUPPER & Co.'s Brands of Galvanized Cornagated Iron and their Patent Tiles are well known in the Australian, Cape, East and West Indian, and most Foreign Markets, as the best and cheapest. All Materials are guaranteed to be of the Best Quality. For Prices, Drawing's, and Catalog-uos. apply at 61 a, Moorgate Street, London, E.G., or Berkley Street, lUnningUain. *,^* Tupper Sf Co.'s Process of Galvctnizinp prevents Rust. Oflaces, 61a, Moorgate Street, London. a2 ADYERTISE:srE?rTS. E. J. MONNEEY Ss Co.'s New Zealand, Australian, and India OUTFITTING WAREHOUSE, l<3r>, li^cnelxxn'clx St., London, E.O- Hosiery, Shirts, Waterproofs, .^ Flannel Shirts, j Sea Chests, 0^,vv.y:/. Overland Trunks. Jirawa-sznnvoJ'arls. SHOW ROOMS FOR CABIN FURNITURE. Drawers in Two Paris with Cases to form Cupboards. Canteens 'with all the recent Improvements. Emigrants' Tents of every description, from £3 3s. upwards. Emigrants' Cooking _ Stoves. Cabin Lamp lUmtrated Price Catalogues free on application. Passengers' Luggage Warehoused free of charge, and shipped ijF required. Chair Bedstead The same closed ALL GOODS ARE DELIVERED FREE AT THE DOCKS. AD VEIITI SEMEN TS . m E. J. MONNERY & Co., d[lothii}i;fj it (Sintxrat Oiitjittinfi "SatarehcuDemat TO ALL PARTS OF THE GLOBE, 163, FE3VCHXJ11CII STIJEKT, E.C. Bedding, &c., requisite for a First-Class Passenger. 1 Mattress and Pillow ....£0 10 2 Blankets 9 1 Counterpane 2 4 Pair Sheets 18 6 Pillow Cases 5 1 Cabin Lamp 8 6 lbs. India Wax Candles 9 1 Wash Stand & Fittings 12 1 Looking Glass 3 1 Camp Stool 3 1 Water Can 4 1 Clothes Bag, with lock 4 £4 11 6 Bedding, &c., requisite for a Second-class Passenger. 1 ^Mattress and Pillow ...£0 2 Blankets 1 Counterpane 3 Pair Sheets 4 Pillow Cases 1 Cabin Lamp 3 lbs. India Candles 1 Wash Stand & Fittings 1 Water Can 2 Knives and Forks 2 Spoons 1 Hook Pot 2 Enamelled Plates 1 Ditto Drinking Mug ... 2 Cups and Saucers Dust Pan and Brush... Marine Soap £2 17 6 ^ OUTFIT for 10s. 6d Bed HookPot Water Bottle Wash Basin Metal Plate Drinking ^lug Knife and Fork Tea and Table Spoons.. 2 Sheets I Counterpane J S. 10 OUTFIT for 21s. Bed and Pillow £0 5 6 •2 Blankets 5 6 2 Sheets 2 Counterpane 2 Hook Pot 1 G Water Can 1 6 Wash Basin 9 Metal Plate 6 Drinking Mug 6 Knife and Fork 9 Tea and Table Spoons ... G £1 1 Any of the nhnn' Articles can be had separate. CABINS FITTED ON THE SHORTEST NOTICE. Lists of the Cabin Furniture, Clothing, &c., with Prices, Free on application. Baggage Warehoused free of charge, and carefully Shipped. ^U)VEKTISEMEXTS. NOTICE TO PASSENGERS. AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. Before you decide upon your Cabin Furniture and Outfit, compare the prices and quality at John Shepherd's Factory, 90, Bishopsgate Street Within, with other houses. First Class Cabins fitted with every requisite for £4 ; Second Class, £1 15s.; Third Class, 20s. ; also an Outfit for 10s. Established 1778. All Furniture, Bedding, &c., supplied at the wholesale prices, and the cabins fitted and the goods carted free of charge. Packing cases 3d. per foot. Berths fixed, 6s. 6d. ; Cabin Lamps, 5s. 6d. ; Fibre Mattresses, 5s. 6d. ; and every requisite equally low. JOHN SHEPHERD, 90, BISHOPSGATE STEEET WITHIN, E.G. Australian Agency in London, 12, PALL MALL EAST, LONDON, S.W. lyTESSES. W. E. LOOKEE & Co. beg to di-aw the -^ attention of Colonists, or of those intending to settle in the Aus- tralian Colonies, to their Agency, now established four years. Much time, trouble, and expense, are saved by the employment of this Agency, and all commissions entrusted to them are executed with promptitude and care. Private and general supplies of all descriptions purchased and shipped. Letters of Credit, Bank Drafts, &c., provided. Dividends received and remitted, Banking Accounts opened, and every description of Monetary Business transacted. Insurances effected. Life, Marine, or Fire. Passages secured. Outfits arranged. Cabins fitted up, Baggage collected and shipped. New Books, Periodicals, and Newspapers regularly forwarded. Wool, Gold, and Colonial Produce generally, received on consignment and disposed of. Purchase and Sale of all Colonial, British, and Foreign Securities effected promptly. Letters, Parcels, &c., taken charge of and forwarded ; an account of Postages kept and forwarded periodically. AD VEETISEMENTS . BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES, Incorporated hy Act of the Colonial Legislature in 1850, and con- firmed ly Her Majesty in Council, 37, c-A-3^T3s^o:Is^ sxi?.eet, cit^z-. CAPITAL £750,000.-EESERVE FUND £250,000. q^HE BOAED OF DIEECTORS grant Letters of Credit, -^ payable on demand, and Bills of Exchange at 3 and 30 Days' sight, on the undermentioned Establishments of the Corporation : — NEW SOUTH WALES. Sydney. Albury. Deniliquin, Maitland. Goulburn. Windsor. Newcastle. Mudgee. Orange. Adelong Agency. Tamworth. Penrith. Bathurst. VICTORIA. Melbourne. Wangaratta. Ararat. Geelong. Ballarat. Inglewood. Tarrangower. Sandhurst. Creswick. Kyneton. Chiltern Agency. Linton. Castleraaine. Beechworth. QUEENSLAND. Brisbane. Ipswich. Eockhampton. NEW ZEALAND. Toowoomba. Auckland. Dunedin. Napier. Wellington. Invcrcargill. Kiapoi. Lyttelton. Nelson. Timaru. Christchurch. And also on the Commercial Bank of Van Dieman's Land at Hobart Town and Launceston. The Directors also negotiate approved Bills of Exchange, and send them for collection, drawn on any of the Australian Colonies and New Zealand. The Royal Bank of Scotland, Stuckey's Banking Company, the Man- chester and Liverpool District Bank, the North and South Wales Bank Birmingham Joint Stock Bank (Limited), and the National Bank in Ireland, are authorised to grant Credits on this Bank at the several establishments in Australia, and will negotiate bills drawn on the Aus- tralian Colonies. By order of the London Board, JOHN CURRIE, Secretary. AD VEETISEMENTS . LONDON Ikooepokated by Royal Chakter 1852. LONDON OFFICE, 17, CANNON STREET, CITY. Paid up Capital . . . One Million. Reserve Fund .... £60,000. Letters of Credit and Bills of Exchange are granted on the Branches of this Bank at VICTORIA. MELBOURNE. GEELONG. ARARAT. BALLAARAT. DUNOLLY. MARYBOROUGH. SUB-BRANCHES. TALBOT, LATE BACK CREEK. MOONAMBEL, LATE MOUNTAIN INGLEWOOD. 1 CREEK. RED BANK. NEW SOUTH WALES. SYDNEY. Drafts on the Australian Colonies negotiated and sent for collection. By order of the Court, JAMES STEACHAN, Secretary ADVERTISEMENTS. . VU UltlON BANK OF AUSTRALIA. PAID-UP CAPITAL . . . £1,000,000. liESERVE FUND .... £200,000. The Directors of this Bank grant LETTERS OF CREDIT OR BILLS At 3 or 30 Days' Sight, upon their Branches through the AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND COLONIES, At the customary Bates, on the Money being deposited. They also negotiate, or send for collection, bix.IjS oisr THE coxiOisriES, The Terms for which may be obtained on application at this OfBce. (Signed) H. W. D. SAUNDERS, Secretary. 38, OLD BROAD STREET, E.G. KAYE^S WORSDELL'S PILLS AEE EVEEYBODY'S MEDICINE, equally suited to Age and Infancy, Male and Eemale. Compounded of vegetable sub- stances, they are free from the drawback of mineral drugs used by doctors, and may be taken with confidence under all circumstances. Medical men generally acknowledge that to PURIFY THE BLOOD is to purge from disease, and this is the peculiar effect of KAYE'S WORSDELL'S PILLS. Being wholly vegetable, they cure in harmony with the laws of life, which mineral poisons violate. All, therefore, may take them with confidence as to their immediate effect, and without any fear of ulterior consequences. They are, indeed, HEALTHFUL AND HARMLESS, and are applicable to every class of diseases in the human frame. Country Householders, Emigrants, Colonists, and others, who desire speedy restoration and constant health, should never be without KATE'S WORSDELL'S PILLS. There is no ill that flesh is heir to which these Pills will not prevent or cure, if taken with perseverance. Prepared solely by John Kate, Esq., of Prospect Hall, Woodford. Essex. Sold by all Chemists and other dealers in patent Medicines, at Is. Hd., 2s. 9d., and 4s. 6d. Wholesale depot, 22, Bread Street, Loudon. VIU ADVERTISEMENTS. Prize Medal, International Exhibition, 1862. keating^cgugiTlozenges. JUDGED BY THE IMMENSE DEMAND, ^ this Universal Remedy now stands the first in public favour and confidence ; this result has been acquired by the test of fifty years expe- rience. These Lozenges may be found on sale in every British Colony, and throughout India and China they have been highly esteemed wherever introduced. For Coughs, Asthma, and all affections of the Throat and Chest, they are the most agreeable and eflicacious remedy. Copy of a letter from the late Colonel HA WKER {the well-knoivn Author on " GuTis and Shooting "). "Longparish House, near "Whitchurch, Hants. " Sir, — I cannot resist informing you of the extraordinaiy effect I have experienced by taking only a few of your LOZENGES. I had a cough for several weeks that defied all that had been prescribed for me ; and yet I got completely rid of it by taking about half a small box of your Lozenges, which 1 find are the only ones that relieve the cough without deranging the stomach or digestive organs. *' I am, Sir, your humble Servant, "P. HAWKER. "To Mr. Keating, 79, St. Paul's Churchyard." Prepared and Sold in Boxes, Is.Ud., and Tins, 2s.9d., 4s.6d., and 10s. 6d. each, by THOMAS KEATING, Chemist, &c., 79, St. Paul's Churchyard, London, and retail by all Druggists and Patent Medicine Vendors in the World. Persian Insect Destroying Powder. 'I^HIS POA\T)ER IS QUITE IIAR2ILESS TO ANIMAL J- LIFE, but is unrivalled in destroying Fleas, Bugs, Emmets, Flies, Cockroaches, Beetles, Gnats, Mosquitoes, Moths in Furs, and every other species of Insects in all stages of metamorphosis. Sportsmen will find this an invaluable remedy for destroying Fleas IN THEIR Dogs, as also Ladies for their Pet Dofjs, and sprinkled about the nests of Poultry, it will be found extremely efficacious in exterminating those Insects with which they are usually infested. It is perfectly harm- less in its nature, and may be applied without any apprehension, ax it has no qualities deleterious to Animal Life. In Packets, post free for 14, or treble size for 36 postage stamps, by THOMAS KEATING, Chemist, 79, St. Paul's Churchyard, London, E.G. N.B.— The above Medal was awarded to the Producer of this Pewder. ADVERTISEMENTS. IX Colonial Books, Pamphlets, Maps, &c. SOLD BY G. STEEET, 30, COENHILL, LONDON. POST FBBE. " New Zealand, the Land of Promise " (Prize Essay) 6d. "Canterbury in 1862" (with Map) 7d. " Voices from Auckland " ls.2d. "Hints to Sheep Farmers in New Zealand" 9d. "New Zealand, the Britain of the South" 15s. 6d. "New Zealand Almanac" (current year) 5s.4d. "New Zealand, as it was and is" Is. 2d. " Queensland," by G. Wight 3s.4d. " Queensland," by Dr. Lakg 12s.6d. "Western Australia" 7d. "Exploration of Interior of Australia" (Stuart's Diary) Is. Id. "Settlers' Guide to the Cape and Natal" Ss.lOd. " Natal," by Dr. Mann , ... 5s.6d. "Canada, the Land of Hope" 4d. "Canada Almanac" (current year) ls.2d. "Settlers' Guide to Canada" 5s. 6d. " Prize Essay on Canada " 4s.6d. 2s.4d. "British Columbia" 4d. British Columbia, " Cariboo " ls.2d. " Labour and its Wages " ,. ... 4d. „ „ with Map of the World 7d. Maps of New Zealand, at Is. Id., 2s.2d., awd 3s. 8d., post free. „ Auckland (N. Z.) Is.ld. „ „ Canterbury (N. Z.) 10s.6d. „ „ Queensland 7d., 2s.7d., and 4s.8d. „ „ Victoria 4s.l0d. „ „ South Australia 7s.0d. „ „ Canada (East and West) 2s.2d. „ Colonial Smnmary Newspapers received for Sale by each "Melbourne Argus" 7 d. ^ copy, post free, or £0 7 ' Sydney Morning Herald " ... 9d. ' South Australian Advertiser " 8d. ' Queensland Guardian " ... 8d. ' Hobart Town Mercury " ... 8d. 'New Zealander" (Auckland) lOd. 'Wellington Advertiser " ... lOd. 'Times of India" (Bombay) Is.ld. 'Calcutta Englishman's ) Weekly Mail" i 'Cape Argus" , 'Natal Mercury" ' Calcutta Directory " ... 'Bombay Directory " ... . Is.ld. 9 8 8 8 10 10 1 G 2 16 7d. „ 8d. „ 21s. „ 1 ."is. &c. &c. &c. Mail. ^ ann. „ „ „ „ „ „ „ post free, 23s. 16s. The "NEW ZEALAND EXAMINER," A Monthly Journal of commercial and general information respecting New Zealand, published by G. Street, 30, Cornhill, London. Price ad. Post free, 6d. Annual Subscription, 6s. ADVERTISEMENTS. LOIsTDON EXHIBITION, 186 2. PEIZE MEDAL AWAKDED TO THE ONLY Suitable Head-Dress for India. Annexed is a section showing the principle by which the head is effec- tually protected from the rays of the sun. Section. Shooting Hat. The Patent Air-chamber Hats and Helmets may be obtained by the Public of several of the principal Hatters, &c., in London and the chief towns of India, and by the Trade of the Patentees — J. ELLWOOD & SONS, WHOLESALE MANUFACTURERS OF HELMETS AND HATS OF ALL KINDS, Great Charlotte Street, London, S., WITHOUT WHOSE NAME ON THE LINING NONE ARE GENUINE. ADVERTISEMENTS. xi Under arrangements with Her Majesty's Government K, of Queensland. . £B BLACK BALL r^ MONTHLY LINE OF CLIPPER PACKETS. Free Grants of Land, value £30, are given to all Persons paying their own Passages by this Line. The only direct REGULAR Line of Queensland Packets. T^HE Ships forming the Black Ball Fleet are of world known reputation, are famous for their size, quick and regular Passages, and elegant accommodation, and the following form a part of those to be dispatched for the colony : — Wansfell 1500 Tons Al, at Lloyds. Montmorency 1500 Tons Al, „ Saldanha 3000 Tons Al, „ British Trident ••• 2500 Tons Al, „ Queensland 1500 Tons Al, „ Young Australia ••• 1400 Tons Al, „ Solway 1500 Tons Al, „ Vanguard 1700 Tons Al, „ PASSAGE MONEY £18 AND UPWARDS. Under arrangements with the Government of Queensland, T. M. Mackay & Co., are prepared to receive applications for Free Passages to labourers, their wives, and families, being taken out by capitalists sailing in the above Vessels. The above Line also dispatch their magnificent Clippers, whose accom- modation for all classes of Passengers is unsurpassed, to Melbourne and Geelong, Sydney, Adelaide, Ilobart Town, and Launccston, from Londoa and Liverpool every fortnight. For further Particulars regarding Queensland, apply to HEXRY JORDAN, Queensland Emigration Commissioner, 17, Gracechirch Street, E.G. ; and for Freight or Passage, to IMcssrs. JAMES BAINES & Co., LivERrooL; to all Agents of the Black Ball Line; or to T. M. MACKAY & Co., 1, Leadenhall Street, Londok, E.G. ADVERTISEMENTS. Portable Sugar and Cotton Machinery, &c. A PRIZE mEDAL AWARDED BY HER MAJESTY'S COMMISSIONERS, AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, LONDON, 1862. Reasons for the Award: — '■^Portable Steam Sugar-Cane Mill. — Good Arrangement, Practical Utility, Good Workmanship." nm\ mum steam mm-aiE iiiii, WITH Engine and Portable Boiler complete, on the same iron foundation plate. Expensive brick foundations and setting of boiler dispensed with. No brick chimney required. An additional saving effected from the simplicity of erection and economy of fuel. The smaller sizes are being extensively adopted instead of Cattle Mills. Prices and particulars free by post to intending purchasers. Improved Sugar Machinery and Apparatus of all kinds. Cocoa-nut and other Oil Machinery. Coffee and Rice Machinery. Flax Steeping and Scutching Apparatus. Cotton Cleaning and Packing Machinery, &c. JOHN C. WILSON & CO., Colonial Engineers, 14a, Cannon Street, London. *^* Order through Merchants, or J, C. W. ^ Co.'s Agents where established. Machinery at Work in the Western Annexe, Class VIII., International Exhibition. QUEENSLAND THE FIELD FOR BRITISH LABOUE AND ENTERPRISE, mm of fiitijland'ii ^olton ^ugplg. (WITH MAP) By GEORGE WIGHT, TWO YEARS AXD A ILILF RESIDENT IN TIL\.T COLOXY. Second Edition. Price 3s. Post Pree 3s. 4d. LONDON: G. STREET, COLONIAL NEWSPAPER OFFICES, 30, COENHILL. 1862. "There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune ; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our renttires.'* Ts^OTE TO SECOND EDITION. In the Second Edition of tMs little work, so soon called for, the Author has nothing materially to alter or modify. There is only one side to a truthful description of a country. He has every reason to be satisfied -^vith the reception it has met with from the pubKc and fi'om the press. It has heen taken for -what it was intended to be, and really is, nothing more than, a plain, practical, trustworthy guide, for the industrious working man, to the great resources of a colony but little known to the British public before its appearance. August, 1862. NOTE. The reader of the following work on Queensland will speedily perceive that the writer has great faith in that colony, and that the terms in which he speaks of it are of the style generally called enthusiastic. It will be a pity should this feature of the book suggest to any one that the picture is overdrawn — that the prospect is too brilliant to be enduring ; for in that case, my honest praise of one of the most productive of ouj- many colonies, instead of encouraging, may discourage, the intending emigi-ant. I cannot speak of Queensland in other terms, for no other terms would be truthfid ; nor am I, in speaking thus, swayed by any mercenary consideration, for I have no con- nexion whatever with the Colonial Government, nor with any Emigi'ation Agency in this country, nor do I expect to make a fortune by this book. The truth of the matter is, and I wish every reader to know it, I have been induced to WTite this work from the deep in- terest I feel in the colony, and from a strong desire that has sprung up within me to place before my fellow countrymen the undeniable claims of this fine Field for the Sui-plus Labour of Britain. I think the book opj^ortune, appearing as it does when emi- gration to America is all but stopped, and when the important subject of Cotton Supply is attracting so much attention. My aim has been to produce a work cheap and practical, containing as much of detail as may enable a sensible man, should he emigrate to Queensland, to work his way there with a fair prospect of success. The Publislier presents with the work an excellent map, which should be freely used by the reader. The book is commended to the candid perusal of the People, and I feel persuaded that the industrious man who may be induced by its statements to emigrate to that colony will never regret that he has exchanged the scanty pittance which, in many instances, his labour brings him in England, for the freehold farm and rough plenty that await him in Queensland. Melrose, Scotland. An.-:eA An.-, ex 5012244 CONTENTS. I. QUEEN-SLAND GEOGRAPniCAIi n. ,, HiSTOMCAI. III. Physical Features . IV. Geology . V. Climate . VI. Motives to Emigration Vii. Squatting VIII. How TO Secure a " Eun " IX. Squatting and British Labour X. Urs AND Downs in Squatting Life XI. A FEW Days on the Pine Eiter XH. The Desideratum XIII. What will the Colony Grow ? XIV. Cotton Supply .... XV. Queensland Cotton-Field and Cotton XVI. "White Labour, or Black Labour, or Both ? XVII. Our Cotton Farm XWII. Sugar, Fl^vx, Fruits, and other Products XIX. Three Days in the Bush .... XX. Population, Commerce, Eetenue, and Banking XXI. The Dugong Fish — Medicinal Qualities of its Oil XXH. Queensland Political and Social XXIII. The Church, in Town ^\nd in Bush XXIV. Education .... XXV. Emigration, Emigr^vnts, AVages, Hints, Prin- ciples Page 1 6 16 25 29 37 45 50 54 61, 65 75 79 83 87 93 104 114 123 131 139 144 152 157 161 APPENDIX. L-VND GrxInts for Cotton Cultivation — Assisted Emi- 167 GRATION ......... Outfits AND Voyage Necess.vries 170 QUEENSLAND : EPxITISH LABOUR AND COTTOX I.— QUEENSLAND GEOGEAPHICAL. In a book such as this, the object of which is to describe, as briefly as possible, a country which is but little kno-«Ti, and to direct attention to the resoui'ces of that country, which are at once varied and vast, we believe most readers will expect some account of its geographical position. Many books have been written on tho Australian Colonies, and much is kno-wn of their character, climate, and productiveness ; but of Queensland, a recent and vigorous offshoot from New South Wales, very little is known to the British public, and that little not always in the most accurate form. It has only to bo known, however, to become rapidly one of tlio most attractive of all the colonies of Great Britain. Some time since a volume on the colony of Queensland ■\-\-as pubHshed by the Eev. Dr. Laxg, of Sydney, with which tho present work is not intended to come into competition. I shall be content to place before the public the results of Two- and-a-half Years' Observation and Experience in Queensland, in such language as all shall understand, and at such a price as may enable every working man who has any idea of emi- grating to possess himself of a copy. Take the map of Austraha, run your eye up the eastern coast, and you Avill observe, near latitude 28^, a promontory with an ominoiis name ; and yet we know not whether this part of the Australian coast, more than any other, merits tho unenviable designation. Indeed, no part between Port Jackson and Moreton Bay can bo truthfully called " dangerous." Tho D 2 QTJEENSLAIO) GEOGBAPHICAX ; coast is low, but occasionally Mlly and picturesque, creating an interest peculiarly its own ; and rarely do the steamers, on their passage to and from Queensland, lose sight of land. The coral-reefs are fii'st met with further north. The passage from Sj'dney to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, is there- fore a very pleasant one, and is performed by the steamers, that run weekly, in about fifty hours, including an awkward delay at Newcastle. The distance is within 500 miles. Point Danger, in latitude 28" 8', marks the boundary line between New South "Wales and Queensland, and fi-om this point the new colony, as at present constituted, stretches all the way to Cape York, the northern extremity of the great Australian continent, a distance of a thousand miles and more. The coast line is not hilly, but is sufficiently diversified to relieve it from the charge of sameness. It is coincident with the existence of the coral-reefs and the habitat of the dugong fish, a nondescript but valuable creature, of which some ^ccoimt will be given in a future chapter. On the south- west, the north-east point of South Australia bounds the colony in longitude 141'^, 600 miles from the Pacific Ocean; whilst on the north, the Gulf of Carpentaria deejply indents the land, and bestows on these intertropical parts a rich soil and a salubrious climate. The following extract from the Queen's Letters Patent, the Instrument by which the northern portion of New South Wales was erected in 1859 into an independent colony, fiu-nishes the ofiieial definition of this land of promise. The langiiage is vague as it regards the western boundary. " Now know you, that We have, in piu'suance of the powers vested in Us by the said Bill and Act, (a Bill to confer a con- stitution on New South Wales, &c.,) and of all other powers and authorities in Us in that behalf vested, separated from Oiu' Colony of New South Wales, and erected into a separate Colon}^, so much of the said Colony of New South Wales as lies northward of a line commencing on the sea coast at Point Danger, in latitude about 28^ 8' south, and following the range thence, which divides the waters of the Tweed, Eich- mond, and Clarence Pivers from those of the Logan and Brisbane Pivers, westerly, to the great dividing range, be- tween the waters falling: to the east coast and those of the LETTERS PATE>^T. 3 Eiver Murray ; following tlio great dividing range southerly to tlie range dividing the waters of Teuterfield Creek fi-om those of the main head of the Dumaresq Eiver ; following that range Avesterly to the Dumaresq Eiver ; and following that river (which is locally known as the Severn) downward to its confluence with the Macintyre Eiver; thence following the Macintyre Eiver, which, lower down, becomes the Barwan, downward to the 29th parellul of south latitude, and following that parellel westerly to the 141st meridian of east longitude, which is the eastern boundary of South Australia, together with all and every the adjacent Islands, the members and appurtenances, ru the Pacific Ocean : And do by tliese presents separate from Oiu- said Colony of New South Wales and erect the said Territory so described into a separate Colony, to be called the Colony of Queensland." Queensland is at least nine times the area of England and "Wales, and although it is, in all conscience, sufficiently large, yet there can bo little doubt that the natural boundaiy on the south is not in latitude 28'' 8', but in latitude SO"", Had the dividing line been drawn here where it was originally in- tended, the new colony would have had within its boimdary the fine agricultui'al districts of the Eichmond and the Clarence. Eut although the adhesion of these districts would have been no small acquisition to the colony, as well as a certain advan- tage to themselves, yet it has within itself such vast and wonderfully varied resoui-ces, that it can well aiford, should the Clarence men wish it, that this fertile region shoidd remain an appendage to the parent colony. But do the people wish it ? This is the real question, ac- cording to the law by which the subdivision of the Australian colonies has hitherto proceeded. Many jiersons, especially in New South Wales, allege they do ; while in the region itself it is well known that the people, according to the latest advices, are much divided in sentiment. Many desii-e a separate colony, which is never likely to be granted ; an equal number, if not more, express a desire to be annexed to Queensland, an event which recent dispatches render improbable ; and the merest fraction of the hond fide population remains true to its fii'st love. Geogi-aphical position, climate, proximity to the capital and easy access thither, similarity of pursuits and political b2 4 QUEENSLAND GEOGKAPHICAL ; likings, all combino, however, in favoiu- of annexation to Queensland. But whatever may be the resiilt of this agitation on the Clarence, few men doubt who are acquainted with colonial affairs, that, in process of time, another colony will be erected to the north of Queensland. For many reasons the city of Brisbane must remain the capital of the present colony. It is situated on the Brisbane, a river nearly a quarter of a mile broad, and capable, when the bar at its mouth, and two or three sandbanks in its course, have been removed, of carrying into the heart of the town, any number of vessels drawing 22 feet of water. It is in the centre of an extensive cotton, sugar, tea, coffee, and fruit growing district ; it is the natiu-al outlet for the pastoral and agricixltural products of the famous Dar- ling Downs, and other far out-lying districts. Above all, the climate of Brisbane is the finest in aU the Australias, and is the nearest approximation 2:)ossible to that of Funchal, the capital of Madeira, the garden of the world. It would, of course, be the most consummate folly to abandon a capital possessing such advantages. But whilst the capital must remain where it is, it is not desirable that even the wisest and most practical body of Eepresentatives whose place of con- coiu'se is on the banks of the Brisbane, should legislate for a popidation on the GuK of Carpentaria, more than a thousand miles away. This would be the reproduction of the old and apparently ever new colonial grievance with a vengeance. "We trust that Queensland, learning wisdom from New South Wales, will avoid tliis political blimder and social canker. As popidation increases, if it is of the right sort, and as the rcsoiu'ces with which this country is blessed by a beneficient Providence become developed, the desire will certainly arise for a division of territory ; and it would not sui'prise us though the present generation were to see another colony marked off to the north of Queensland, and another capital spring up somewhere on the healthy banks of the noble Fitzroy, or, perchance, on the Eiver Bxu'dekin, long deemed a mj'ih, but now proved a reaHty. The vague manner in which the western boundary Kne of the colony is described in the Letters Patent has given rise to a difference of opinion. The question is, — ^Whether did the WESTERN BOUXDARY. 5 oflB.cial mind intend that the M^estcrn houndaiy line of Queens- land should be drawn in continuation of the east boundaiy hno of South Australia, in longitude 14 P onwards, till it cuts the Gulf of Carpentaria, leaving the country to the west of this line to New South Wales ; or, did it intend that the Queens- land iDOimdary line on the west should run parallel with the South Australian boundary line as far as it goes, and then extend to the westward to enable it to include all known country in that direction, as the east and north boundaries extend to the sea ? The last interpretation of the official ambiguity is the most probable, although the Government of Queensland have wisely not acted upon it, but have referred the question for home solution. The country to the west of Queensland, beyond the parallel of 141°, is that region that has been so recently explored by Stuart from South Australia. It is alleged by some that it should belong to South AiistraHa, because the discoverer is a South Australian, and set out from Adelaide; but the absui-dity of this notion is obvious, when it is known that the land in disj)uto is at least 1,200 miles from the seat of Government of South Australia, and the way to it is through the very heart of the continent. A claim is put in for New South "Wales, and it is alleged that all the country to the west of 141° should be considered as belonging to the parent colony. Tliis seems to us to be absiu'd also, because impracticable. This coimtry is entirely cut off fr-om New South AVales ; and the only way to reach it, except by passing tlirough Queens- land, is to take ship, and double Cape York, steer thi-ough Torres' Straits, and disembark on the western shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Besides, that land was discovered after so much of the colony of New South "Wales ''as hes north- ward of a line commencing on the sea coast at Point Danger, in latitude 28° 8' south," was separated from the parent colony, and erected into the colony of Queensland. The fact is, the fine pastoral country discovered by Stuart lies natxxrally and inseparably into western Queensland, and no other colony can tiu'n it to the smallest account. As a portion of Queens- land, its resources will be gradually developed, as the Great Squatting Interest covers the land fr'om the dividing range 6 QUEENSLAND HISTORICAL; of mountains, about sixtj^ miles from the Pacific, to the farthest west. For the present, therefore, the immense countiy to the north and "west, beyond Point Danger, and formerly belonging to New South "Wales (virtually including the important dis- coveries of Stuart), constitutes the colony of Queensland, the caj)ital of which is Brisbane, beautifully situated on the river of the same name, ten miles from the Bay as the crow flies, whence comes a genial sea breeze early in the day during all the hot months, with the regularity of svinrise, and welcome as the reviving breath of an English spring. n.— QUEENSLAND HISTOEICAL. The discovery of that part of the north-east Australian coast long known as Moreton Bay, and its external history, till the day when, by royal proclamation, it was constituted an independent colony, and assumed a recognised place among the members of Britain's colonial family, may be told in few paragraphs. There are no materials for history yet, but we believe that Queensland has entered on a career which will, in due time, sectu'e to her a name and a place in the record of nations. And yet, though ninety years have scarcely transpired since the great world-navigator. Captain Cook, anchored in the bay, this part of the globe has an inner history of no common import. For many years it was a penal settlement, a refuge for numbers of the most daring and desperate convicts that were ever landed on the Australian shores. That is now all over — over for years before the erection of the new colony ; and the history of those times will never be written. There are, indeed, several persons still alive who remember the desperate characters of both sexes, and their "on-goings" in the " settlement," as the town was then called, and who coidd furnish ample raw material for as tlu-illing a chaj)ter of human history as was ever put on record; but although you may occasionally succeed in inducing them to favour you with a yam of the olden times, yet they will often meet your request with a shrug of the shoulder, and wind up by remarking that CAPTAIN COOK. 7 they can convey but a meagre impression of the then current state of matters. In the middle of the month of May, 1770, Captain Cook cast anchor in the bay, into which debouches the Eiver Bris- bane, and several others of smaller dimensions, and of less commercial importance. It woTild appear that the navigator of the g'lobo devoted little time and less care to the examina- tion of the shores of the bay, otherwise it is hard to conceive that the indications of these fresh water outlets should have all been missed. On the occasion of the JEndeavourh visit to these parts, an imfavourable wind is said to have prevailed, and to this cause the failiu'e of the discovery of the leading features of this magnificent bay is ascribed. Captain Cook, however, attached to it the name by which it and the adjoin- ing country have ever since been known, and which may stick to the country for a time, even after it has received the royal appellation of Queenslajstd. The name, Moreton Bay, was given in honovir of the Earl of Moreton, wlio was then Presi- dent of the Eoyal Society. That the discoverer deemed Moreton Bay of trifling importance is obvious from the fact that in the narrative of liis discoveries on the east coast of Australia, not more than twenty lines are devoted to the sub- ject. Protected as the bay is from most Ts-inds, and fi-om the heavy swell of the far Pacific by several islands, it strikes one as strange that a navigator of such experience and observation should have failed to discover a river that poui's a body of water, a quarter of a mile broad, into the very centre of the bay. For a period of neai-ly thirty years nothing was done by the Government of New South "Wales, or any one else, to examine and fix the character of the northern coast. These were not times for much colonial enterprise, and the whole of north- east Australia, the most fertile and the most salubrious portion of all the continent, was left in the imdistui-bed possession of the indolent black savage, and his marsupial companion, the tawny kangaroo. In the last year of the eighteenth century (1799), the re- presentative of Majesty, Captain Hunter, the then Governor of New South AYales, was aroused fi'om his dormancy, cast Jiis eye northward, and actually sent an exploring party to 8 QUEE>-SL;iND HISTORICAL; examine tlio north-east coast, with, the view of ascertaining whether there were any rivers in these parts of siifiicieut magnitude and di-aught to permit the ascent of sma.ll craft into the interior of this imkno\vn land, that the way might bo ojjened to British enterprise. Accordingly, Captain Flinders (then Lieutenant Ehnders), a distinguished navigator, and the best man of the time for the expedition, was despatched to make a careful siu'vey and examination of the coast, espe- cially Morcton Bay and Hervey's Bay, some distance further to the north. Now, we may expect that what the unfavourable winds and other cu-cumstances prevented Captain Cook from accomplishing, Captain Flinders will certainly reahze. The most distinguished navigator of the time within reach of the Colonial Government, will surely discover the Clarence, the Tweed, the Logan, the Pine, or the Cabulture, all valuable rivers, and most of which fall into Moreton Bay, if he should by chance miss, as Cook had done, the entrance to the Brisbane. Not a bit of it ! Not a river did he see ; not a navigable opening did he find ! Yes, I correct myself : he discovered "Pumice Stone Eiver," which tiu'ned out to be a narrow creek between a small island in the bay and the mainland, and no river at all. This was the residt of that well-intentioned, and, apparently, well-ecpiipped expedition ; and so confident was Captain Flinders that he had done his work well, that he closed his report to Governor Hunter with these Avordsj — it is "an ascertained fact that no river of im- j)ortance intersects the east coast between the 24th and 29th degrees of south latitude." There are, at least, a dozen navigable rivers in this space, among which are the Clarence, the Bi'isbane, the Mary, and the Bui-nett. In other respects the results of tliis expedition were much more satisfactory. The exact position of many dangerous rocks and coral reefs was fixed, and the bearings of many points were accurately given. Captain Flinders is good authority in nautical matters, so far as the east coast of Australia is con- cerned, although since his day the siu-veys have been greatly extended and otherwise improved. On a subsequent expedition, imdertaken early in the present centmy. Captain Flinders dis- covered Port Cm'tis, a bay that skii-ts a fine pastoral country, and a country, too, where the cotton plant floui'ishes luxiu-iantly. C.UTAIN rLnsT)ERS — A TEX.Uj SETTLEMENT. "J The latitude is 24° south. The to\ni of Gladstono, named after the present Chancellor of the Exchequer, stands on a small river that empties itself into Port Ciu-tis. Upwards of 20 years passed before anything more "was done in the detailed examination of the coast to the north of Port Macquarie, a Penal Settlement in connexion vrith Sydney. What neither the spirit of commercial enterprise nor the love of adventure could accomplish for the north of Australia, was brought about b}' the pressure of a motive more potent in those days, — the consideration of what was to be done with the ever-augmenting convict population. England had poured forth her incorrigible refuse in such numbers on the beautiful shores of Port Jackson, that after portions of the vile stream had been directed to Van Dieman's Land, to Norfollc Island, and Port Macquarie, the residue was more than could receive a decent lodgment in Sydney. A place was recpiired where the most abandoned and desperate of tliis miserable class might be safely located, beyond the limits of the free popidation ; and such a place it was hoped might be found in the far north. Mr. Oxley, Surveyor-General of New South Wales, was selected as a proper person to carr}- out the intentions of the Government. Ho was accompanied by two or three other gentlemen, in H. M.'s cutter Mermaid. The party touched at Port Macquarie, from which place it was contemplated to remove the convicts, and to introduce a free population. On their way northward, they discovered the Tweed river, but seem to have passed Moretou Bay entirely, not touching the coast again tiU they had reached the 24th degree of south latitude. The date of this expedition was the close of 1823. The BojTie river was discovered and explored by Mr. Oxley at this time, after Avhich he retiu-ned, and encountering a smart storm, ran into Moreton Baj'. By a curious coincidence, the Mermaid anchored in Flinders' "Piunice Stone Eiver," the narrow creek that separates the northernmost of the three islands that protect the bay, fr'om the main land. Pumice Stone is found here in considerable quantities washed up on the beach ; hence the name given to the supposed river. Here the expedition met with and rescued some wliite men who had been earned in an open boat several himdi-ed miles, and, after great privations, were cast upon this uukno-\STi shore, 10 QUEENSL-AJXD lUSTOEICAIi ; and exposed -without tlie least protection to tlie tender mercies of the black savages. They were not, however, treated badly. It is probable that, previous to this disaster to the white men's boat, the aborigines of these parts had never seen a human being with a fairer skin than their own. No wonder that they looked upon them as superior beings. The story of the castaways is substantially this : — A number of natives at the distance of a mile were observed advancing rapidly towards the cutter. The procession seemed friendly. On examining the crowd with the glass, it was remarked that one taller and lighter in colour than the rest walked in the midst of them. His copper colour looked fair when contrasted with the jet black skins of his companions. Great was the surprise and satisfaction of the exploring party when the copper-coloiu'ed savage hailed them in English. The boat was immediately launched, and Mr. Oxley, with two of his party, went on shore. While approaching the beach, the natives gave proof of their friendly feehng in many demonstrations of joy, dancing their wild and peaceful dances, and embracing the copper-coloured with every evidence of cordial feeling. They were, of course, all in a state of natiu-e, and the body of the Englishman was covered with white and red paint, obtained fi-om certain clay deposits, and in general use among the blacks. Thomas Pamphlet — for that was the name or nick-name of the copper-colovu'ed — had left Sydney some six or eight months before, in an open boat, to fetch cedar from a place called the Five Islands, about 50 miles to the south of Sydney. There were three mates with him. Instead, however, of reaching their destination in the south, they had been carried out to sea, and, during a period of 21 days, in which terrible privations were endured, they had been tossed hither and thither, till at last they had been driven ashore on Moreton Island, near to the spot where the Mermaid was now lying, 500 miles north of their destination. One died of thirst on this terrible voyage ; the other tliree survived. Pamphlet was so bewildered with joy at the unexpected sight of the cutter and restoration to the society of white men, that he coxild give that night no connected account of his history and present condition. He was taken on board the DISCOVERY OF THE BEISBA^T:. II Mermaid, and the fi'iendl}'- blacks were left in Avondermcnt on the beach, having had presented to them knives and handker- chiefs, as a tangible proof of the good feeling of the white men. Ee-assiu'ed by the kind ti'eatment of Mr. Oxley's party, he told his tale, and the story, too, of his two companions, who, since they had reached the mainland, had parted company. Richard Parsons and John Finnegan had, some weeks before, formed the desperate determination to make for Sydney thi'ough the trackless bush, a distance of which they had no conception, but which we know to. be nearly 500 miles, — an imdertaking the perils of which were so numerous, that they might well appal the stoutest heai't. The home reader can form no conception whatever of travelling in the AustraHan busli without a guide, and without food, across creeks, and swamps, and rivers, and rough flinty hills, and through tribes of unknown tongue, and of filthy and, sometimes, cannibal habits. Yet I know a man who, within the last five years, has travelled on foot from Brisbane to Sydney and back without meeting with the slightest accident. He considers himself a "prophet of the Lord," and, verily, a kind Providence must have protected him. All three set out for Sydney, their only guide being the short shadow of the meridian sun by day, and the pointer of the cross, the characteristic constellation of the southern hemi- sphere, by night. After traveUing about 50 miles. Pamphlet's courage failed, and he tracked his way back to the place Avhore he was found. In a few days Parsons and Finnegan q^uarrelled and parted; the latter made his way back to the friendly blacks; the former, like many poor wanderers on those southern shores, pressed onwards thi-ough the tracldess bush, and Avas seen by the eyes of white men no more. Poor Parsons ! oui" thoughts linger on the parting scene. Foot-sore, ill-dad, hungry, and angry, he disappears. When Pamphlet was met with, Finnegan had gone Avith the chief of the tribe on a hunting expedition. In a few days he returned, and was rescued also by the Mermaid. Mr. Oxley was informed by these two men, that, in theu' abortive attempt to escape from the intolerable society of even tho friendly blacks of Moreton Bay, they had crossed a lai-ge and deep river, that emptied its waters into the bay, not a 1 2 QUEENSLA^TD IIISTOKICAL ; great distance from where tlie cutter was now ancliored. Next morning a small party, headed by Oxley, and accompanied by Knnegan, started in the whale-boat to explore the river. It was found to be both deep and broad, bearing down an immense body of water, rising and falling with the flow and ebb of the ocean, and it received the name of the Governor of the time, Sir T. Brisbane. It is, therefore, only 39 years since the Brisbane, one of tho finest navigable rivers on the north-east coast of Australia, was discovered by these poor castaways, and explored by Siu-veyor- Greneral Oxle}^ In the year 1824, Moreton Bay was constituted a Penal Settlement, and the commencement was made at a place called Eedchff Point, on the main land, near the north end of the bay ; but this soon appeared to be an unsuitable locality for such an establishment, and another spot was chosen on the banks of the Brisbane, 10 miles from the bay in a dii-ect line, and nearly 15 miles by water. A more suitable place could not have been found in all these parts, and it now constitutes the site of the cit}'- of Brisbane. Allien Pedchif Point was abandoned, the Government men left the buildings as a legacy to the blacks ; but how the free and houseless sons of the soil appreciated the gift of their net over-scrupidous white intruders, may be conjectured from the title they bestowed on the deserted and dilapidated settlement. In their euphonious language they designated it ' ' Humpybong, ' ' which may be freely rendered " Devil's House." Por 18 years Moreton Bay continued to be the receptacle of the most hopeless and wretched cases from Sydney, and came to stink in the nostrils of Englishmen like Botany Bay itself, till the pu.blic feeling of the colony, after having borne long with the huge grievance, coidd no longer be trifled with or resisted, and in 1842, this, the most recent of the Penal Settlements, was proclaimed fi*ee, and ready for the reception of a free population. The conidct settlement was in charge of a Commandant, and some inferior officers, whose functions partook not a Kttle of tho arbitrary and the despotic, and whose failings could scarcely be expected to lean to mercy's side. There were eight different commanc],ants in succession, all of them military men ; and it co^'VICTISir. 13 is alleged that some of them carried matters with a high hand, and directed them with a veiy "weak head. Spread over these 18 sad years, there were ever and anon transpu-ing facts more wonderful than fiction, romances in real life, depravity brought to imeommon maturity, scenes of wanton oppression, at which nature revolts, and official hlimderings of the most ludicrous and the most lamentable kind. But over these scenes, at which himianity weeps, and which, we trust, wiU never again bo witnessed in this simuy land, we would draw the veil of deep obKvion, rejoicing meanwhile that the moral and social effects of that horrid system are being so rapidly and so thoroughlj- wiped away. Many persons in England have the impression, that because Moreton Bay was once a Penal Settlement, therefore the white inhabitants of Queensland, if not the immediate descendants of convicts, must be deeply tainted with convictism. And this impression may possibly exist so extensively as to operate im- favoiu-ably as regards emigration to the country. This is not altogether unreasonable, as will be obvious to any person who has read the hiu-ried historical sketch of Moreton Bay in these pages ; but it woidd be altogether "n'rong were we to allow the shadow of such an impression to remain on the mind of the reader of this volume. The 37,000 Queenslanders of this day are as free of the taint of con-\dctism as the inhabitants of any of Her Majestj^'s Australian dominions ; and it may be freer, as we hope to make it appear. Never was there a greater mistake; never was there a more groimdless slander cast on a people than this. There are, indeed, a few " old hands," as the Government emigrants of the olden time are called, but the proi^ortion to the entire community is very small. I lived upwards of two years in the most densely-populated parts of the colony, and, in virtue of my profession, came much in contact with the people, and yet, during all that time, I met with very few who belonged to this class ; and neai'ly the half of the nimibcr that I did know had been for years walking in the paths of virtue and religion, mainly tlu'ough the efforts of that zealous and useful body of Chi-istians, the Weslej-au Methodists. Two causes have chiefly ox^erated in pui-ifying Queensland society from the taint of convictism. Fii'st, — Since penal 14 QUEENSLAND HISTOPaCAL ; times, there lias been, for tlie number of liberated convicts, a Isirge influx of free and well-to-do emigrants. Whenever men have come to know the real claims of that part of Aus- tralia, they have presently found their way thither. This, of coui'se, if I may so speak, dilutes and sweetens the tainted element. Secondly, — Many of the Hberated convicts were single, and have, since 1842, died out; and many more, ten years ago, were so bitten by the gold mania, that they betook themselves to the " diggings " in New South Wales and Vic- toria. Convicts are not generally the men to settle down and become permanent inhabitants anywhere, the least hkely among the industrious and well conducted community that one ever3rsvhere ineets with in Queensland. In the autumn of 1857, the first steamer, appropriately called the James Watt, passed across the bay ; now, the river steamers ply da,ily between Brisbane and Ipswich, a flourish- ing town on the Bremer, the chief tributary of the Brisbane river, and in convict times the "cattle station" to the settle- ment ; once a week a large-sized steamer runs to and from Sydney, and once a fortnight from Brisbane to the ports on the north-east. The country was now being explored, and important dis- coveries were being made, and the great Squatting Interest began to introduce its flocks and its herds to the extensive and well-grassed downs and plains that He beyond the moun- tain ranges that form the backbone of the colony. In 1843 Moreton Bay may be said to have commenced its jDolitical existence, as it was in that year that the country to the north of the 30th degree of south latitude returned one member to the House of Assembly in Sydney. Eight years later, Moreton Bay had a member of her own to represent her interests in the New South Wales assembly ; and two years later still (1853) it had two. The number was still fui-ther increased in 1855, and, in 1858 the Electoral Bill gave nine to that part of the vast colony of New South Wales. This Act was in operation when separation took place in 1859. Till 1851, the colony of New South Wales included the whole of the eastern portion of the continent from Bass' Straits on the south to Cape York on the north, although beyond Moreton Bay, rarely had the foot of a white man SEPAEATIOX. 15 penetrated. There was, indeed, an attempt made in the year 1846-7, under the auspices of Lord Stanley (now Earl of Derby), to establish a new convict colony to the north of the 26th degree of south latitude, that is, about 120 miles beyond Brisbane, the capital of which was to be very near the tropic of Capricorn ; but after an ignoble existence of a few months, it became a thorough failure. In the year above named, 1851, the spirited inhabitants of Port Philip effected a sepa- ration fi'om the parent colony, and had conferred upon them an independent political constitution, under a Governor, Assembty, and Coimcil of their own. The causes that had led to the establishment of Victoria on the South, the men of the north believed were as good to justify them in demanding separate poKtical existence also ; and so the same year that saw the agitation succeed at Port Philip, saw it begin at Moreton Bay. Dr. Lang was one of the first to ventilate this question when on a visit to the north; and no man had done more, since Moreton Bay had been opened to free emig-rants, than he, to induce the proper families to come. He was admirably assisted in the poKtical and social sti'Uggle for independent existence. Many good men and true kept at the work of agitation, with intervals of repose, for eight years, before tlieir argimients told, and the prayers of their petitions to the throne were answered. At last, the utmost efforts of the enemies of separation were exhausted, and Her Majesty graciously granted the boon, and condescendingly gave to our colony its new name. On the 10th of December, 1859, Moreton Bay, with all to the north of Point Danger in latitude 28° 8' south, was proclaimed as the new colony of — QUEENSIiAinJ. The arrival of the first Governor, Sir George Fei'guson Bowen, and the proclamation of the iadepeudence of Queens- land, occurred on the same day. The reception given to His Excellency was most loyal, and could scarcely be surpassfed for genuine cordiality. All Brisbane, and a large portion of Ipswich, and many of the lieges from great distances, tiu-ned out ia hoHday attu-e ; and as the steamer, that bore the first representative of royalty from the bay, wluther he had come 16 QVEJLSShAyD ; fi-om Sydney in H. M. S. Cordelia, ueared tlie landing-placo in the heart of the city, the sight from the deck was very im- posing. The day was magnificent, the river was swarming with gaily bedecked craft, and on the green banks there stood thousands to welcome the august stranger. The first favom'- able imiH'essions jpi'oduced by the open, manly, and cordial manner of Sir George F. Bowen, have, after a twelve months' political campaign, lost but little of theii* vividness. ni.— PHYSICAL FEATUEES. There are countries where the rivers are broader and longer, where the moimtains are higher and grander, than in Queens- land ; but there are few countries where the rocks are more aiu'iferous, the plains better suited for pasture, the soil more varied and productive, and the climate more salubrious. An extensive mountain system of moderate height runs through the colony from south to north, the continuation of the central range of New South "Wales, and is cut ofl* by the trending of the northern land towards Torres' Straits. The Dividing Eange, as the mountains are called by the colonists, runs nearly parallel -n-ith the Pacific, at a distance of from 70 to 50 miles. On the west of the main range, many secondary ones run in all directions, diversifying and beautifying the extensive country that stretches away for hundi-eds of miles, and rendering it most valuable pastui-age for the ever-growing flocks and herds of the Squatter. Here are the som-ces of niunerous streams, that converge into several large rivers, and di-ain the country of its superfluous water in the wet seasons, and furnish innumerable water holes for the supply of man and beast when the seasons are dry. The country spreads out into magnificent plains and downs, thinly timbered, well watered, and covered with an abundance of feed for innume- rable flocks of sheep, cattle and horses ; while on the east or sea-board side of the moimtains, many spurs push themselves down into the low country. Many isolated hills rise pic- turesquely from the plains, and broken or hilly country abounds. Generally speaking, this part of the country is hea'dly tim- bered, well grassed, and nearl}- all ' of it fit for cidtivation. MORETOX DISTRICT. 17 Over tlie thousand milos of coast, many rivers, several of them na\-igable for many miles, intersect the country, and contribute largely to its fertility and its beauty. Queensland is a fair and a good land, pity it is that there are so fe^v to drink in its beauties and share in its untold riches. Let not the smile of credulity ciu'l the lip ; say not, ''It is thus that every enthusiastic spirit speaks regarding the land of his adoption, where vcr or whatever that land may be." Mark me, I speak soberly what I have seen and experienced ; and when you have reached the close of this volujne, if you should not feel that I have made out my case in favour of Queensland, as one of the finest fields for the industrious, good- principled British workman, whore he is certain to meet with a speedy and substantial reward for his labour, -which is his capital, — why, then, no one will compel j'ou to go there ; but if, on the contrary, you shoidd feel that the case is proved, that Queensland is, in point of fact, all that we assert it to be, and, perhaps, somewhat more, — why, then, j-ou will arise, consult with your wife, " bundle and go." The honour is greatest to him who helps to lay well the foimclations of a country ; tho prizes are highest in value, more numerous, and easiest won, when the well-equipped com})etitor early enters the field. Queensland is divided into seven large districts ; and it may bo advisable to follow tho common enumeration of these, in placing before you a rapid survey of the physical features of tho coimtry. I shall not weary the reader by transcribing long and heavy documents descriptive of the country, — its rivers, or its moimtains, or its vast plains, or its rich cotton and sugar soils. Condensation is my aim, and I shall do my utmost to give a faithful report. MORETOX Is the district first met with, and first in importance. It skirts the bay of the same name, and stretches inland to the Divitling Uange. It occupies the south-east portion of tho colony. Along the coast it is flat and unpicturesque, but inland it assumes a more hilly and broken appearance. By far the greater part of tlie inhabitants are scattered over this district, and about tho centre of it stand the two principal towns in the colony — Brisbane and Ipswich. Large portions of the soil are black c 18 QUEENSLAND ; alluvial deposits, and rieli plateaux of deep red colour ; while the major part is light and well-adapted to the growth of cotton, sugar, tea, and fi-uits of various kinds. Portions are fitted only for gi'azing, but all is useful. It is well watered, having, within a coast line of 100 miles, six rivers, five admit- ting of the passage of small craft a niimber of miles up the country, and one — the Brisbane — navigable, with its tributary, the Bremer, for 50 miles. AVhen the dredging machine has done its work at the mouth of the river, the largest ships that sail from London or Liverpool may cast anchor within the boimdary of the city of Brisbane. It was late on a Satxu'day night, in the month of May 1858, when the steamer Yarra Tarra, in which I had come from Sydney, cast anchor under the lighthouse at Cape Moreton, the entrance to the bay. In the morning I was up with the sun, anxious to catch the fixst glimpse of the land that I had chosen as my home for the remainder of my days. What a scene spread itself before me ! The bay, with its numerous islands, and its margin of deep green, lay in the sweetest repose. The morning was cloudless, and as the golden light of the newly- risen su.n glinted athwart the vast expanse of waveless waters, and fell soft and rich on the far-extending densely- wooded coast, I felt that the eye coidd not look on a scene more beautiful, and more in harmony with the bhssful Sabbath morn. The bay is about 60 miles long, by about 20 miles in breadth. On the side of the Pacific it is bounded by three islands in con- tinuation, whilst numerous small islands, all covered with vege- tation, diversify its surface. As we approached the land-side of the bay, it became obvious that the low coast, as far as the eye coidd reach, was covered quite to the water's edge with the sombre, unvaiying mangrove, while deep indentations sug- gested to the unpractised beholder the openings of creeks, or the estuaries of rivers. These bhnd creeks, as they are called, lead to nowhere, but terminate in mimic bays of black mud, fi'inged, even below high water mai-k, with the never failing mangrove. The coast is in the process of rising by degrees which caimot be measured by hu.man arithmetic ; we know it only by the "bars " that stretch across its rivers, and the mud-deposit that is found between high and low water mark. It was 11 A.M. before the state of the tide admitted of our THE BRISBANE EIVEE. 19 crossing tlie bar at the moutk of the Brisbane. Whilst waiting outside, under the glare of the now powerful sun, we were much interested and amused with several birds of the ha-«k sjiecies that came off from the land at our approach, and perched on the beacons that marked out the channel for the ships. As the Tarra Yarra floated easily, her steam escaping ^ith a hissing sound, oiu* feathered visitors sat with their faces towards us in ludicrous imperturbabibtj'. How solemn they looked, those strange birds ! K, in their case, instinct passes into reason, one would be cui-ious to know what might be their cogitations as the little steamer puffed and blew like a great sea monster. The banks of the river at its mouth are very low, only a few inches higher, apparently, than the daily tides rise, and are densely covered with mangrove. On the sand banks, where the water was shallow, scores of pelicans were feeding leisui-ely on the fish, that appeared to be very abimdant. They had odd ways with them, those bu'ds, at least it struck me the} had. Sometimes they would walk in Indian file, and feed as they went ; at other times they would scatter themselves abroad, and feed apart. Their step was slow and majestic, and the eye was fixed steadily on the water. Many a luckless fijsh was ''pocketed" that day, if the frequency with which they plimged their long bills in the water might justify us in drawing inferences. At intervals, narrow creeks break off from the main channel, and form a labyi-inth of waters among the dense, and now varied vegetation. Here is the home of wild duck and fish, and many a day's sport with rod and with gim has it pelded to the few Brisbanites who have the time or the taste for such aqua-sylvan amusements. The banks now become higher, drier, and better defined, and the timber and vegetation much more varied and interesting, albeit an Australian forest is never very interesting. The forest, or bush, is tame, xmiform, for ever the same endless waste of gimi-ti'ees, making all but shepherds and stockmen miserable, and many of them, too, we should find, were they to favour" us with their experience ; the scrub only is beautiful, that is, the dense vegetation that grows on the aUuvial banks of rivers and creeks. There on a grassy knoll, a group of aborigines is squatting in the stm. They rise and salute us as we pass. In the distance c2 20 QUEENSLAND ; they aiipear fine specimens of the black race, and impress the mind more "favourably than their sable brethren whom I had seen 600 miles further south. Onwards we steam, and now cleared patches are met with, on which wooden houses have been erected, and maize and vegetables, and fruit ai"e being cultivated. We are approach- ing the small farms, only as yet under partial cultivation, belonging to the settlers that have in this direction gone furthest from the town. The river in all its magnificence spreads before us, and the view a-head is one of growing extent and richness. Villas peep out from quiet corners, and from the bow of the steamer is seen the beautiful residence of Captain Wickham, R.N., the then Grovernment Resident at Moreton Bay, perched on a green promontory formed by the junction of Breakfast Creek with the river. In the distance the eye rests on the wooded heights of Taylor's Eange, a granite formation, some miles beyond Brisbane, and then pierces far into the open country. The town itself was yet hid from view by the spacious windings of the river among low, undulating ridges, that render its environs peculiarly beautiful and healthy. We catch a momentary ghmpse of Fortitude Valley, the northern portion of the city. The reaches of the river, as they open and close, with their surface smooth as a mirror, and reflecting the shadows of the trees that hang over their margins, remind one of some of the most lovely of the Scottish lochs. The villas become more frequent and more tasteful, indi- cating our approach to the town ; and there, at last, is Brisbane, the capital of the North. From the deck of the steamer it is impossible to describe it, as the river winds through its very heart, like some great life-artery, as it is, both in a commercial and sanitary point of view. Like all new colonial towns, it is straggling, and ill put together. Much grass, and many stumps of trees, are yet to be found -nithin its prescribed limits ; but the central streets contain some good buildings, and along the high grounds are many commodious and pleasant resiclenees. There is the pleasant bustle of an embryo trading community ; and altogether you have the conviction that Bris- bane will floiu-ish. Unlike many colonial towns, its site is unsurpassed for beauty and utility by any in the AustraHas. THE DARLING DOWNS. 21 It was Sunday, and the good people of Brisbane were just leaving morning service. Groups of well-dressed persons were passing quietly along the grassy streets ; some families were gliding down the river in boats to their homes on its banks ; while not a few found their way to the quay where we were now moored. The arrival of a steamer is a great occasion to the inhabitants of a small colonial to\vn. I shall never forget that day and that scene, as I paced the deck of the little steamer alone, after all my shipmates had taken their de- parture, "a stranger in a strange land." Nevertheless, my first impressions of the place were favourable, and long ere simset I Jiad ample proof of the hospitality of the people. The district of Moreton is better adapted for the depasturing of cattle and horses than sheep ; and the portions of it that border the coast and sldi-t the rivers are capable of pi'oduoing cotton, sugar, tea, fruits, &c., of the finest quality, and at highly remunerative rates. Dakling Downs Constitute the second district, immediately to the west of Moreton, and divided from the latter by the great moimtain range, about 4,000 feet above the level of the sea, and 75 miles from Brisbane. Mount Lindsay, on the southern boundary line, the highest peak in the M'Pherson range, and not many miles from where Moreton and Darling Downs meet, is nearly 6,000 feet high. This district is much more extensive than that of Moreton, and, with the exception of some patches of land on its eastern margin, is entirely devoted to pastoral purposes. As a sheep country, it is famed all over the colonies, and wherever wool is used as a staple. It is one magnificent sheep-run, with small nuclei of population at -wide intervals. The country is composed chiefly of plains and downs of drj^ black soil, with fiats in some jiarts, that become flooded in wet weather, and movmtain ridges, that mark its boundary, and divide its plains. The downs are covered with herbage admirably adapted to sheep, and which is luxiu-iaut even in winter. Tlie hills are hca^dly timbered with gum-tree, stringy-bark, pine, &c., but, notwitlistanding, produce, among the trees, even to their summits, a rich grass. The entire district is well watered, 22 QUEENSLAITD ; and possessed of every attraction to the breeder of sheep and the producer of wool. This fine district was discovered by the late Mr. Alan Cunningham, in 1827, and the one practicable defile by wliich the downs are reached from the east bears the name of " Cunningham's Grap." Many streams have their sources in the high lands, and, on the south, a river called the Weir falls into the Macintyre Eiver, the dividing line between New South Wales and Queensland ; but the great river that drains the downs is the Condamine. Its course is fii'st north, then westerly, then west, till it bends round and flows in a south-westerly direction almost in the form of a haK circle. On its banks there is much scrub, and, therefore, much fine rich soil awaiting the coming of the agi'iculturist. Near latitude 27° south, the Condamine enters the district of Maeanoa : And fi'om this point it receives the name of the Malonne. The Maranoa lies due west from the Darling Downs. Its eastern boundary is near 149° east longitude, and it may be supposed to stretch to the parallel of 141°. Only a small portion of this immense country has been explored, and a smaller portion still taken up by the adventurous squatter. It returns one member to the Queensland Assembly, and the Darling Downs District returns two. Little, therefore, is known of the Maranoa ; we know, however, that it too is a good pasture country, rewarding the squatter for his labour and expense in driving his flocks so far inland. The country is partly hiUy and broken; but vast tracks are level, and covered with vegetation of a rich character. Along both banks of the Malonne, and many miles oflP, there are scrubs of great extent, great beauty, and impenetrable denseness. These dark and dense thickets become the home of wild cattle, and ibrm an impregnable stronghold for unfriendly blacks. As yet the Maranoa is destitute of anything in the shape of an agricultural or town population, and, for a long while to come, it will remain the " squatter's own " in undisturbed possession. LEICnnAEDT Joins the Maranoa on the north, and also the portion of the Darling Downs beyond the Condanaine, the boundary between IIAUXSOA — LEICniIAItDT. 23 being the Main Eange, and, in a north-westerly direction, the mountains known by the name of Denham Range. The dis- trict takes its name from the great Austi'alian explorer, who, after having explored and described much of the interior of what is now Qvieensland, made yet another effort to peneti-ate still further, and never retiu-ned to tell the tale of liis privations and his discoveries. Whether he fell by the hand of the savage or died of disease, or dropped on some arid plain a martyr to thii-st and himger, it is not given us to know. Eveiy effort to find him, or even to trace his course for any distance beyond the most advanced station, proved a failure, and his fate is reluctantly left an insoluble mystery. Much of this country is high land, with extensive and well-conditioned plains and valleys. The di-ainage falls into the centre of the district, and finds its way through the mountains to the east coast. The river-sj^stem of the Leichhardt is on a large and complicated scale. In the numerous spurs of Denham Eange are the sources of the Dawson, a river famous for the tragedies that have been perpetrated by the blacks on some of the white families that have j)enetrated so far. After flowing east, and gathering a large body of water from numerous streams and creeks, it takes a northerly direction, and continues its course till it reaches the tropic of Capricorn. In the high lands of the far north in about latitude 21°, the river Isaacs takes its rise, and flows in a south-easterly dii'ection towards the course of the Dawson. The vast coimtry that is bounded by these two water-sheds becomes mountainous in its western di-\asion ; and there, among these western uplands, other two rivers take their rise, — on the south, or Dawson side, the Comet, and on the north, or Isaacs side, the Mackenzie. The Comet is ab- sorbed in the Mackenzie, near to the trojiic ; and the i^Iackenzie itself loses its identity in the Isaacs, in latitude 23°. The waters of the Dawson from the south, and the waters of the Isaacs from the north, after losing not a little of their volume by evaporation, combine and form the Fitzroy, which empties itself into Kepple Bay. We have arrived on the east coast again, after a rapid toxu* through the boimdless pastiire lands oi the colony, to the west of the great Di^•iding Eange, but at a point much fiu-thcr north than that from wluch we started. Wo are now imdor 24 QXJEEXSLA>T) ; the tropic of Capricorn, and tlie heat of the snn is very po'u-er- ful, though moderated by the constant breeze from the Pacilic. Kepple Bay is the principal sea-port of the Port Cuktis Disteict; But the town, Eockhampton, is a number of miles up the river Fitzroy. Gladstone is also a sea-port, and although favom-ed and fostered in old times, seems to succumb to its rival imder the new state of things. The district is liilly, if it cannot be called mountainous, but contains a large quantity of fine agricultural land. It is watered by various streams, the principal rivers being the Boyne, the Caliope, and the Fitzro}'. The gold field, to which thousands flocked from the southern colonies two or three years ago, and where so many met with biting disappointment, lies on the Pitzroy, 40 miles above Eockhampton. Two districts remain to be described, the one to the north and the other to the south of Port Curtis. We shall take the southern district first. The Buknett, or Wide Bay, lies geographieall}^ between Port Curtis and Moreton, and is siu-passed in some respects by neither. In- land its physical character is decided!}- hilty, sometimes moimtainous, but abounding in fine pasture. Along the coast the country is equal to any in the colony for agricultiu'al pur- poses, especially for cotton and sugar. The principal rivers are the Mary, on which the thriving town of Maryboui'gh, the port of the district, is being built, and the Bm'nett which waters by its innumerable tributaries, the whole of the high lands. It falls into Ilervey's Bay at a bare and exposed part of the coast. The most recently explored and defined district of Queens- land is that of Kexxedt. Leichhardt traversed the inner portion of this district on his way to Port Essington, sixteen years ago, but the coast line was involved in so much uncertainty, that not till the detailed examination of Dalrymple and others, and the discovery of the mouths of the Biu-dekin, was it proclaimed a district fit for the recej)tion of emigrants. This was done only a few rOllT CURTIS THE BURXETT — KENTsEDY — GEOLOGY. 25 months ago by tho Governor of Queensland, in council ; and it received the name of an unfortunate explorer wlio "svas speared to death by the unfriendly aborigines. The documents that liavo been published regarding tho Kennedy show that it is a coimtry admirably adapted to pastoral pui-poses. It is of immense extent, and is watered by the Biu'dekin, some of the branches of wliich were crossed by Leichhardt, but which was long deemed a myth, and now at last is proved to be a reality, a huge body of running water, with some half dozen outlets. The mouths of the river are not navigable for large shijis. Port Denison is the harboiu', in Edgecombe Bay, in the 20th degree of north latitude. The sea-board of tliis district alone is upwards of oOO miles, and its width upwards of 200 miles. Many of the tributaries of the Burdekin are themselves large rivers, and much fresh water from the Ken- nedy, as well as from all the districts, must disappear by absorption, and the constant process of evaporation. Brief though this description be of a subject so large and so in-\dting, yet the reader will have no difficulty in gathering from it that little of the land of Queensland, so far as yet known, is barren and useless ; that the entire colony is adapted to the uses of the sheep and cattle farmer ; that millions of acres on the sea-coast, by the banks of rivers and creeks in- nimierable, are of the highest agricultural value ; that excellent timber for all purposes everywhere abounds, but not in such quantities where agi-iculture Avill be most extensively followed, as to operate against that department of laboui* ; that every- where rivers and navigable creeks intersect the agricidtiu'al lands, thus forming ready-made highways for tho removing of all kinds of produce to the coast, or to the centres of population. Having spoken of the surface of the country, for the sake of those readers who might be curious to know a little oi what is beneath the siu'face, I shall devote a section to its geology. IT. -GEOLOGY. The non-scientific reader will not be scared away by this announcement, as even he may like to know whether this good land possesses any of those stores that constitute tho 26 QUi:ENSLAifD ; mineral wealtli of Eugiand, and tliat abound in the tliree Southern Australian colonies. Limited districts only of the colony have been examined geo- logically with scientific care ; and all we know of the other parts is gathered from the remarks, sometimes casual, and always the result of brief examination, of the various explorers that have penetrated the interior, such as Oxley, Lockyer, Cimningham, Kennedy, MitchcU, Leichhardt, and Grregory, the present Surveyor- General of Queensland. And even though there had been a greater abundance of trustworthy material, yet it would not have been in accordance with the plan of this popular work, to have -R-ritten largely on the subject. As in all mountainous regions where the older rocks prevail, granite is found, though not in such continuous masses as in some parts of the globe. Sometimes it forms the highest part of the mountain ; but more frequently it forms the base, on which is elevated an apex of some other igneous rock. It abounds more in the interior than on the sea- ward side of the Great Bange, yet I have met with it m situ less than 20 miles from the coast. Igneous rocks of the trappean and porphyritic types exist in vast abundance all over the colony, and mingle cxu'iously with each other, and with rocks of a sedimentary origin. In a few sentences, and without the use of diagrams, it is quite impos- sible to convey an accurate conception of these co-mingHng masses. Mr. Alan Cunningham says of the main Eauge, where the great inland road crosses for Darling Downs and Maranoa, that "the base is of a compact whinstone ; on the liigher ridges were observed amygdaloid, or the trap formation, with nodules of quartz, whilst the summit exhibited a porphyritic rock, very porous, and containing numerous minute quartzose crystallizations. ' ' For the folloAving paragraphs I am indebted to an article in the Queensland Guardian, of December 22nd, 1860. The Avriter is obviously well accjuainted with the subject, so far as accurate and extensive acquaintance could be gained with the scanty materials at his disposal : — " In the first instance, it may be premised, that Queensland consists of several parallel ranges of hills, the general direction trending north and south, the strata having a dip to the west- GOLD AKD COPrER. 27 wai'd, and thus showing steeper escai-pments on the eastern than on the "western sides of the ranges, while the elevation of the eastern ranges is greatest, rising to 5,000 feet near the coast, and the undulations gradually decrease on i)roceeding westward tin they subside into the nearly level plains of the desert inte- rior. Granite is not largely developed, but is frequently found forming the eastern bases and lower hills of the ranges near the coast, at intervals along the whole line from Taylor's Eange, near Brisbane, to the head of the Burdekin, on which river it is more lai'goly developed than in the more southern districts. Thick beds of coarse slate, which are intersected by small quartz veins crossing it in all directions, are the next in succes- sion, and, resting on the gTanite, fonns many of the higher hills and elevated country within 100 miles of the east coast. This rock is the source of the deposits of gold which have been foimd so widely diffused over the country already prospected over, although hitherto with little success as regards profitable gold-fields, though this may be in some measure attributed to the dissimilarity of the circvmistances imder which gold occurs in the northern portions of Australia as compared with the southern fields in Victoria ; thus the gold miner fr-om the latter place seeks for stony ridges with quartz, as an indication of the precious metal, which is usually confined to the black soil that residts fr'om the decomposition of the serpentine rock forming the matrix of the metal, which usually lies near its original position, not having been acted on by the violent currents which seem to have deposited the rich loads of gold in the deep sinldngs to the south. " Of equal importance with the auriferous deposits in the slates of the eastern coast, may be ranked the copper veins, about 23 miles west of Gladstone, wliich, from the riclmess of the ore (an oxide yielding 40 per cent, of pure metal), and the proximity of the commodious harbour of Port Curtis, give promise of a soiu'ce of wealth that ma}- prove even more permanently profitable to the community than mines of the nobler metal. "Vast masses of porphyritic rock have been erupted through fissiu'es in the slates, and form some of the liigher simimits of the great range di\dding the eastern waters from those flo%\-ing towards the interior, as at Cunningham's Gap, on the road from 28 QUEE^'•sL.v^-D ; Brisbane to "War'wicb, and many of tlie hills on the western side of the Biu'dekin river ; hut like most of the older eruj^tive rocks, it presents few important features in other parts of the colony. " With the exception of some small patches of limestone appearing to underhe the carboniferous rocks, the next of im- portance in the system are the coal-bearing strata, which are so largely developed as to form the chief feature of the territory under consideration (the south-east coast). The lower jiortion of the series consists of shales and seams of coal, of various thicknesses and qualities, some of which are already worked to advantage on the banks of the Brisbane river, and supply the steamers employed on our coast and rivers with fuel little inferior to that produced by the mines on the Hunter river, near Newcastle. Excellent freestone is also abundant in this part of the series of strata ; but far the most important feature regarding it is the extensive development of the softer shales, forming the fertile plains of the Darling Downs, Fitzroy Do'wns, the Dawson, Peak Do'snis, and the heads of the Isaacs' river, in all of which places coal is formd associated -svith basaltic rocks, which have bm'st forth and formed ridges and table lands, affording excellent pastiu'e, while it occasionally rises into important masses of hills, as the Dividing Eange, near Drayton, and Buckland Table Land, rising to 3,000 feet above the sea level. The basaltic rocks are, however, chiefly developed on a line jiarallel to the coast, about 100 miles inland, and extend- ing fi-om "Warwick to the head of the Biu-dekin, in latitude 18 degrees. "Proceeding eastward, the upper sandstones of the carboni- ferous series cover to a greater extent the argilaceous shales which predominate in the lower part, and the fertility of the country consequently decreases until it subsides into a nearly level plain of coarse ferruginous sandstone, covered with a bed of red sand or loam, formed by the decomposition of its surface." The nimierous islands skirting the coast are largely covered with loose sand, and yet, in such a climate, the vegetation even there is, in many instances, wonderfully luxui-iant. Volcanic action has, at one time, been powerful in Queens- land, especially in the northern districts ; and along the coast ITS CLIMATE. 29 pumice stone is met "^'itli in small pieces, brought, probalily, by the tide. The great Coral Reef commences at Wide Kay, and continues to bej-ond Cape Yorlc ; and much coarse coral is found even in Moreton Bay, which is largely used in place of lime in building. v.— CLIMATE. But of what avail would be all this pastm'c-land, all this mineral-bearing roch, all this fertile soil, if there were not a climate to correspond, — if the penalty the white man must pay for the treasiu-es of the comitry were to be certain disease and speedy death, or a prolonged Hfe of physical prostration and misery ? If the treasxu'cs of Queensland are not to bo gathered except at such a price, better far that they should lie there for ever ; and we, at least, would not write a line to induce any of Britain's sons to loosen their hold of the land of their birth for the purpose of going thither. But the climate of Queensland is the very opjKisite of this. In the southern portion of the colony it is one of the finest in the world. For upwards of two years in succession, in all states of the weather, in all ways, — riding, working on the farm, studying imder cover, speaking, boating, climbing hiUs, and crossing plains, felKng trees, and bm-ning timber, house building, and fruit planting, — I have tested it, and I am free to say that my measure of health diu-ing that period was equal to that enjoyed at homo. Many persons in this countr}' havt^ a ver}- erroneous impres- sion of the climate of North Australia; they fancy that the heat must be very great, and that the climate must be all but intolerable to the European constitution. Even in the older colonies this opinion prevailed to a great extent at one time ; and although not entirely removed, j-et it is now pretty gone- rally admitted to be erroneous. I shall give an illustration of the false notion as it prevailed both here and there. In the year 1857, before lea\-ing my native land, I met a fi'iend one day on the street, who thus accosted me : — *' So, you arc going to Australia, I hear. AMiat has put it into yoiw head to go to such a place as !Morcton Bay (Queensland) ? You go 30 ■ QIJEElfSLA]!^D ; to be roasted alive." I alleged tliat I liad no great foudness for "par-boiling," and yet I was resolved to go thither. After three years' absence, two and a half of which were spent in this supposed salamandrine country, I met my friend again, neither shrivelled in bulk (I am fourteen stone) nor weakened in muscle, nor debilitated in any way. When passing through Sydney on my return home, some lady friends of mine (don't smile, I am a married man), whom I had met two and a half years before on my way north, expressed the greatest sui-prise to see me in robust health, and, with the utmost sincerity, inquired if Queensland was really not such a dreadfully hot covmtry as it was represented to be ? I assured them that what of health they saw to be in me I had brought dii'ect from Queensland, as I had that evening arrived per steamer ; that I liked the country much ; that the climate was deHcious, and that nothing but the most pressing necessity woidd or could have drawn me fi'om it, even for a time. Much as I loved my dear old home, I was perfectly content with the coimtry of my adoption. This opinion is, doubtless, founded on the fact that the colony is situated partly without and partly within the tropic of Capricorn ; but this conclusion is, nevertheless, arrived at in haste, and in forgetfidness, if not in ignorance, of another fact, namely, the modifying power that local cavises imper- ceptibly but surely exert on climate. To judge of climate merely on the ground of distance from, or nearness to, the tropics, woidd lead, as it regards all coxmtries so situated, to very erroneous conclusions ; especially Avould this be the case in regard to Queensland. The same terms will not accurately describe the climate in all parts of such an immense country. There must, of necessity, be some difference in this respect between Cape York and Brisbane, between the Logan and the Leichhardt. Now, we have not data to fix the mean tem- perature of all these points, but we know, as a matter of fact, that white men Hve, labour, and are healthy, at Port Curtis, under the tropic of Capricorn ; at Port Denison, 200 miles further north ; on the Leichhardt Plains, and on the Maranoa and DarHng Downs, as well as at Maryboiu-gh and Brisbane. The mean temperature of the southern portion of the colony is ascertained with considerable accui-acy, from observations MEDICAL TESTIMOiS-Y OX CLIirATE. 31 taken by competent persons, over a period of several years, and the residts Avhich liave been published in the colony, and ■which vre -will here reproduce, fully justify us in every remarlc we have made. I was most desirous that the reader should have the advan- tage of my own experience and observation ; but I am also anxious that he shoidd have the benefit of the conclusions arrived at by other men. And that his confidence may have the firmer foundation, I shall quote only from the printed opinions of medical gentlemen who have been several years in the colony ,• and, as the question is one of prime importance to the emigrant, the extracts, though not long and heavv', vnli be full, and, I doubt not, to aU reasonable minds, satisfactory. The first is a letter, which is given entire, written by a medical gentleman, resident and practising in Eockhampton, just within the tropics, in answer to some remarks by a coitc- spondent of the Queensland Guardian, the leading paper in the colony, and addressed to the editor. The date is June, 1860 : — "Sir, — I was veiy much siu'prised to find, in j'oiu* issue of the 7th April, a letter signed 'Cotton,' wherein he states that a friend of his, who had recently returned overland from this place, describes the heat to be perfectly terrific, and that he was told by medical men that it would be quite impossible for Europeans to stand manual labour there in the mid-day heat ; and that the origin of the prevalent diseases there could generally be traced to exposure to the sun, and that tliese were developing themselves in the ofi'spring of these men, whirl i was fast degenerating. "The heat certainly was rather great diuing the summer months, but not so great as I have felt it either in Soutli America or California, in which latter country persons from all parts of the world work dui-ing the heat ; and in tbe course of four years' residence there, I only remember having seen one case of cou_p de soleil, and no disease brought on by exposure to the heat. I have been residing in this district for the last five years, and have not had (although the only medical practitioner, except at the time of the rush) any cases fr'om exposure to the sun. "I also can bear testimony that the offspring of the men who are so exposed, instead of degenerating, arc as tine and 82 Qt'EEXSL^VNT) ; healthy ehildi-cn as can be found in any portion of the con- tinent of Australia, or even the whole world. " If ' Cotton ' would onl}^ pay us a visit just now, he would find the weather perfectly delicious, and quite cold enough. I have always found this district particidai'ly healthy, the only epidemic being a mild form of influenza. I should feel obliged if * Cotton's ' friend would inform me what the prevalent diseases in this district are. ' Cotton's ' friend must, I think, have received his information from some individuals who style themselves medical men, as from time to time a few such have made their appearance here. I am, &c. "A. C. EOBEETSON, M.D., Surgeon." A few years ago Dr. Hobbs, the health officer at Brisbane, discovered the curative qualities of the oil of the dugong fish ; and, in a lecture on that new curative agent, which was pub- lished in the principal papers of the Australian colonies, he thus sj)ealvs of the chmate of the southern portion of Queensland : — "The discovery of such an agent within our own territory has long been considered a desideratum by the profession ; and it does appear to be a remarkable as well as felicitous arrange- ment of nature, that, in a locality possessing, probably, one of the finest climates in the world, — combining both the soft, humid atmosphere of Torquay and Madeira in the summer, with the dry bracing air of Nice and Pau in the winter — the resort, too, of valetudinarians fi'om all j)arts of the world, — a remedy should be foimd so potent in the treatment of chronic disorders." In August of 18G0, Dr. Barton, Meteorological Observer to the Government of Queensland, delivered a Lectiu-e on Chmate, from which we give an extract of gi-eat value. The length of it will be no bugbear to the reader who wishes to satisfy him- self on this most important point : — " I have now to consider the chmate of this country, moro particularly this colony, and principally this place (Brisbane). Humboldt divided the hemispheres each into six spaces or belts, from the knowledge that their temperature was nearly similar ; the lines in the direction of, but not generally parallel to, the equator he called isothermal lines, and the spaces between them isothermal belts or zones. Thus in the northern WEXX TEMPER AITRE. 33 hemisphere, London, Xew York, and Peldn are on the same — the fourth — isothermal hnc, their mean temperature approxi- mating, though their climate and vegetable productions aro very different. In the southern hemisphere, Queensland is in the second isothermal belt, wliicli has a mean temperature of G8^ to 77°. The Cape of Good Hope and Chili are in the same space. In the corresponding belt in the northern hemi- sphere are Fimchal, in tlie island of Madeira, and Algiers, on the Meditei-ranean coast of Afi-ica. The following results of temperature have been noted at those places : — Funchal. Aii,'iers. Mean temperature of warmest month .... 75-5 .. 82-8 coldest months 64-0 .. 60-1 „ year G8-5 . . 70-0 „ winter C4-4 .. 61*5 „ spring Go-8 . . 0.5-7 ,, summer 72-5 . . 80'2 „ autumn 72'3 . . 72".5 " The contrast will here be seen between Algiers, a variable climate, and Funchal, an insular or constant one. It is very important to obtain the mean temperature as well as the ex- treme temperatiu'e of a place, as by these are cHmates classed as constant, variable, or extreme. Thus Funchal is constant, London and Paris variable, Pekin extreme ; though the second and last, as I have just said, are on the same isothermal lii:o. I am uncertain whether the climate of this neighbourhood should be classed amongst tlie constant or the variable ; for although our temperature is generally very steady, yet the diurnal range is considerable, and at times verj- great ; but on the Avhole I consider it entitled to be called a constant climate. "We are indebted to the sea-breeze — tempering the heat of siunmer — for this equalization ; it woiJd not be felt fiu'ther inland, and there greater variations of temperature might bo expected. The chmate of this colon}', as well as of New South "Wtdes, is salubrious, and very fovourable to the Euro- pean constitution : persons particularly who have arrived at, or passed, the middle age, in the more inhospitable climate of Britain, often have their health and vigour siu-prisingly renewed in this genial climate. Instances of persons arriving at great D 34 QUEENSLAND ; age are common, — persons nearly or quite one liundred years old being- not unfrequently met A^dth., and these generally retaining an amoimt of strength and activity to the last. From returns extending over many years of the diseases of troops in foreign stations, I find that while the rate of mor- tality in the "Windward and Leeward Islands has been 92^ per 1,000 per annum, and in Jamaica 143 per 1,000, in Austraha and the Cape of Good Hope the mean annual mortahty has been at the minimum, or only 15 per 1,000. On this point Sir George BallingaR says of New South Wales, ' The climate generally is salubrious, althoiigh the heats in summer are ex- cessive ; the hottest and most unhealthy months are November, December, January, and February; the mean temperature during these months is 80 degrees ; March and April may be looked upon as the rainy season.' The diseases occurring in Queensland from atmospheric causes, and most commonly noticed, are ague, continued fever, chronic rheumatism, and influenza ; the fh'st two being caused by the exhalation of vegetable miasm, the next by xmdue exposure to wet and night air, the last by some unknown state of the atmosphere, pro- ducing at first ordinary colds, which soon become infectious and epidemic. I will now make a few remarks on the results noted at this station (Brisbane) for a complete year, noticing each season separately ; premising, however, that as the obser- vations have only been taken for two or three years, the results may have to be modified somewhat, after the observations have extended over a number of years. Spuing. — This season extends from Sej)tember 23rd to December 22nd. Mean maximum heat of spring 83*8 Mean temperature 71'9 Mean greatest diurnal range 33*9 Mean diiu-nal range 25'3 Summer. — This season comprises the time between Decem- ber 22nd and March 20th. Mean maximum heat of summer 87 "2 Mean temperatiu-e 77*4 Mean gTeatest diiu'ual range 30*1 Mean diurnal range 20*4 THE SEASONS. 35 Autumn. — CornxDrised between March 20tli and Juno 24tli. Mean maximum heat of autumn 7G'5 Mean temperature 64*4 Moan greatest diui'nal range 35-5 Mean diurnal range 2o-6 WiNTEn. — Comprising the time between June 24th and September 23rd. Moan maximum heat ol' winter 7o-0 Mean temperature 61-1 Mean greatest diurnal range 39 "2 Mean diirrnal range 27-2 Mean maximum heat of year 80-6 Mean temperature of year 08-7 Mean gi-eatest diurnal range 31-7 Moan diiu-nal range 211 "The temperatiu'e of the yoai', then, as thus carefully ascer- tained, we see is 68-7, almost exactly the same as that of Funchal, in the island of Madeii-a, which we have seen to be 68-5, and which place, as already stated, is in the correspond- ing isothermal bolt of the northern hemisphere, being classed amongst the insular or constant climates, and of world-wide repute for the salubrity of its climate. But while I unex- pectedly find this almost exact coincidence of mean temperature between Brisbane and Fimchal, stiU I must notice that the range of temperatiu-e, both in summer and Avinter, is several degrees greater here than in Madeira, the summer here being a little hotter, and the winter colder." The following table, compiled from the most reliable data, gives the mean anniial tomporatiu'c, average fall of rain in inches, and average nimiber of days on which rain fell at seven points, far apart fi-om each other : — Places. Latitude. Mean annual tempera- ture. Average rain fall in inches. Aver.-ige i number of | days on which rain felL 103 70 76 75 75 148 148 Brisbane (Queensland) ... Funchal (Madeini) 28° S. 32° 37' N. 34° S. 35° 53' N. 36° N. 20° 9' S. 51° SO' N. 68-7 68-5 67 67 70 77 50-4 43 29 29 2S 36 39 23 Cape Town Malta Alijiers Mauritius London d2 36 QUEENSLAND ; The abundance of rain that falls in Queensland is distributed over a number of days, 108 in the 365, and a large portion falls in the hot months, wliich secures the grazers and farmers against the continuous droughts that are so injurious in the south ; and from the physical featiu-es of the country, and the natiu'e of the prevailing soil, the temperature is cool for the latitude, and the atmosphere pure, dr}^, and buoyant. The "hot vrinds" and "brick-fielders," that at times sweep across the southern colonies, or visit localities where the soil is sandy and loose, \\athering every green thing, and overwhelming both man and beast in terrible prostration, are unknown in Queens- land. Oecasionall}^ the west winds are dry and parching, but never to the extent of being seriously injiu'ious to vegetation. All along the coast the never-failing sea breeze, springing up about ten in the morning and continuing till four p.m., mode- rates the powerful heat of the sun ; whilst in the interior, where the country is open, and where the sea breeze rarely penetrates, the average temperatiu'e is sensibly lower. Perhaps in no warm country in the world can the European constitution stand a greater amount of heat with impunity than in this. Extremes are not so great, or not so sensibly felt, transitions are not so rapid, or not so injimous, as in most other warm climes ; and hence Queensland is the resort of invahds from New Zealand, Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, and India. I have known gentlemen from all these countries, and from Scotland and England too, come to Queensland in search of health ; and whilst many had been too late in coming, others found the precious boon, and retui'ned to their respective posts again. Speaking of consumptive cases. Dr. Hobbs -s^Tites : — "Many persons afflicted -^ith tliis fatal malady have derived great benefit from a short residence in Queensland ; and several persons who have arrived in what appeared to be a dying- state have lived here for years in comparative liealth and comfort." In a document, issued under the sanction and by the autho- rity of the Grovernment of the colony, the following remarks occur: — "Diu-ing a large proportion of the year the weather is fine, the sky cloudless, the atmosphere diy, elastic, and exliilarating. The summer months (December, January, and Eebruary) arc hot, but not sultry, or oppressive. The winter THE EESORT OF IXVAl-IDS — MOTIVES TO EillGRATION. 37 season, -when dry, which, it almost always is, is exceedingly beautiful and agTeeable. The mornings and evenings are cool ; during the day the air is wann and balmy, the sky brilliantly blue, and the atmosphere singularly transparent. Such a climate is necessarily healthy. It is free from aU endemic diseases, and epidemics are of rare occurence. The diseases incidental to youth are usually very mild in their character, and short in their duration." Let no one bo deceived. Disease walks about there as here, notwithstanding the admirable climate with which the colony is blessed. Men grow old and feeble in the course of years, and go down to the dust in that country as well as in tliis; but much of the disease is brought on and perpetuated by men's own thoughtlessness and folly. Strong drink is a terrible colonial scoiu-ge, and he does his work there in double quick time. High wages enable the working man to have his rum, his gin, or his brandy, if he is so incHned ; and when ho aban- dons himself to the fiery cup, a double infatuation appears to seize him, and, heedless of all warning and all consequences, he rushes onwards to certain and often sudden death. In the Australian colonies, the verdict which the newspapers carry over the world, — " Death by sun-stroke," should often be " Death by brandy." The sum of the whole is this : — The cbmate of Queensland, though warm, is remarkably healthy ; and in the case of those Eiu'opeans who combine care with industry, sobriety with high wages, it is productive of a fair share of physical enjojinent, and is not inimical to longevitv. YI.— MOTIVES TO EMIGEATION. The statements contained in the previous chapters may be considered as sufficient to convince the candid reader that Queensland is a magnificent pastoral coiintry, and that tho climate, upon the whole, is so genial and so healthy, that pastoral pursuits may be carried on there with maximum advantages and minimum drawbacks. In certain portions of the colony, cattle and horses are the most suitable stock ; in other and larger portions, sheep constitute the stock most 38. QUEENSLAND ; valuable to the grazing farmer; but in all parts, witk the exception of here and there, a patch of sandy plain, or occa- sionally flooded ground, or rough, scraggy quartzy ridges, such as those to the north-west of Brisbane, the vegetation, suited to the support of the finest herds and flocks, exists in the greatest abundance. Rarely is there a continuous drought in Queensland, although, of course, some seasons the feed is not so good as it is in others. The seasons vary there as elsewhere, but the variations are neither so marked, nor so damaging, as in many other countries. It is not necessary that the land should be all rich, that the climate shoidd be faultless, that neither sheep nor men should become diseased, in order that the claims of such a country should be established. The man of common sense and observation will see at a glance, that in balancing the claims of countries, as regards their pastoral capa- biHties, Queensland will not stand at the bottom of the Kst. But, after all, "the proof of the pudding is in the eating of it." We might be able to show that all the known con- ditions of a pastoral country meet in the new colony, and yet, from conditions not cognizable by us, it might result that neither sheep nor cattle thi-ove there. There might be some- thing in the grasses, in the soils, or in the chmate, that might be injurious to the health and prosperity of imported stock. But this is proved not to be the case in Queensland, by the most satisfactory of all processes — experiment. Millions of sheep and thousands of cattle and horses are, at this moment, depastming in that country in the finest condition, and with highly satisfactory results to the proprietors. The conditions of success are within the reach of every man who gives himself to that department of colonial enterprise, and who brings to it a reasonable capital, and ordinary attention and management. These are, that he select a good run, fairly grassed and watered, and put on it stock young and healthy. Squatting is a colonial term equivalent to the Enghsh term pastoral, only the scale on which pastoral operations are carried on in the Australian colonies is very large. The " runs" of the Australian squatters are vast in comparison with the largest sheep-farms in Britain ; and though their flocks may not be proportionably large, yet they far outnumber those of their home compeers. The profits, too, exceed those of the homo SQUATTING. 39 sheep-farmer; the one may be counted in thousands, Avliile the other rarely rises above himdreds. Squatter was at one time a term of reproach, but now it designates a peculiar class, held in honom-able estimation by the body of colonists. It is representative of a class of men without whom the Australian colonies coxild not prosper. This term is in use in America as well as in Austraha, but with a different signification. In the former country it generally designates the sturdy and daring backwoodsman, who selects, at wiU, a portion of wild bush on which he " squats," that is, settles himself and family in an easy way, which he improves after his own notions, and which he has the opportunity of securing as his own, when the land comes to be disposed of by Government. In Australia it always designates a class of men who hold, many of them, hundreds of thousands of acres of land at a nominal rent ; possess immense flocks and herds ; draw large revenues from their stations or runs ; have a tendency to become non-resident ; and who constitute the peculiar aristocracy of the colonies. The aristocracy of the southern hemisphere is not piu-e or select, and it has not a "long pedigree," but neither is it "penniless." It is rather a heterogeneous mass of recent conglomeration, and yet a mass in which there is much vitaHty. In it you will find the yoimger sons of noble families, adven- turous members of commercial houses, cautious Scotch and Enghsh farmers, members of the bar, sons of the cliurch, and men who have risen from nearly all the classes of honourable industry. Yaried though theu- tastes may be, diverse though their characters are, gathered fi-om all grades of society though they have been, yet the squatting fi-aternity have many import- ant interests in common, and constitute a very powei-ftd party in the country. I have been brought into contact with many indi-\-iduals belonging to tliis class in Queensland and in New South "Wales, both in a private and pubHc capacity, and I am boimd to say, that, as a class, I foimd them to be highly honourable men. The first ParHament of Queensland, whicli has acquitted itself so weU, which has put on the Statute Book of the colony laws that do them immortal honoiu', and that have laid the bases of great national prosperity, was largely composed of squatters. 40 QUEENSLAND ; Among this class iu Queensland, you will find many men of cultivated tastes, large mental endowments and attainments, unimpeachable rectitude, and large generosity. They are pro- verbial for their hospitaKty, and no traveller in the bush is ever at a loss should he strike a track that leads tu a station. 'But, as a matter of coiu'se, there are to be found among them men of a very different stamp, — selfish, despotic, unjust, cruel, untruthful, proud, licentious, with whom no man can make out his service, and no woman can retain her virtue. But these cases are now rare, a very marked improvement having taken place within the last few years. I have met with squatters whose education was defective, whose manner of doing business was " smart," who were reported hard masters, but I have only once seen a member of the fi-aternity who, to a head empty as an exhausted receiver, added a step, and look, and growl like some pigmy Jupiter. For a long while the squatting interest has scarcely come up before the mind of the home pubhc, owing tu the sound and fury of the gold-gatheriug mania, and owing partly to the fact, that those connected with it have, to a remarkable degree, by natiu-e or by training, mastered the admirable art of remaining silent. In colonies generally the people are veiy communicative ; they will blurt out everything ; notliing seems to dehght them more than "boimce;" bvit you will not find squatters saying much about themselves, except it be to protest against some apparent or real encroachment on their interests or privileges. They content themselves in silence, with the steady increase of their flocks, the unfailing demand for their wool, and the plenty with wliich their table is spread. In some quarters, the condition of the squatter is not so satisfactory, but in Queensland he covdd scarcely muster a grievance, and it woidd be unreasonable to expect that he should tell all the world of his prosjierity. Influenced by no hostile feehng to the squatters, or any other class in the colony, but by an honest determination to describe accurately its character, and to enumerate faithfidly its great resoiu'ces, I set mj-self to teU the truth so far as I know it, both as it regards the squatter and the farmer. In this way I sliall the better serve the interests of the colony at large, and have the opportunity of placing before the men of various tastes and of cliiierent pur- GOLD DIGOIN'G. 41 suits in this countiy, tlio numerous attractions tliat point to the improvement of their material circumstances, were they to emigrate to this good land. Gold is a powerful — the most powerful — motive to take men across the seas ; hut if wo were reallj' to look to the actual state of things, we should see that there are other motives, tmder whose influence, if a man may not always become so speedily rich, it is much more safe for liim to place himself. Many gold-fields are illusory : much more is sunk in them than extracted from them. Besides, the richest gold-claim becomes exhausted, and not unii'equeutly wastes the life of him who woi'ks it. There is not one gold-digger in fifty successful, as men are reckoned successful in Austraha. The average wage of the gold-digger is below the wage of the industrious artizan. This has been proved by the statistical retiu-ns in Victoria. There are, indeed, fortunate individuals. In a year or two they amass a competency, and retire to spend their days in quiet comfoi"t; or they continue, and sink it all in some new but hungry claim. You hear of the wonderful gain ; you do not hear of the sudden loss. You have held up to your astonished gaze, in all public papers, the man who has got his '"'nugget" of many oimces; but nothing is said of the thousands with their empty purses, haggard looks, and broken constitutions, who form the contrast to this great virtual deception. I have questioned many men who have tried their hand at the diggings, and, in most instances, they frankly acknowledged that, in point of money, they were nothing the better for the attempt, but, in the matter of experience, had gained much. Others I have met, who had been successful ; but, in several instances, just as they had secured a fortune or a competency, and thought about retiring from the crushing work of the mine, a monitor, whose voice could not any longer be hushed, insisted that, in a very diflPerent sense, their "house shoidd bo put in order," and preparations made for the joiu-noy which is performed "without scrip, or staff, or purse," to that boiu-no fr-om which no mortal ever returns. I well remember a case that greatly interested me, and which illustrates this point with painful particularity. For some time after I reached the colony, and before a chui'ch was erected for my use, I was constrained to conduct divine service 42 QUEENSLAND ; in the large liall of the School of Arts, Brishane. In the state of the colony, the steamer bringing eyery week a score or two strangers from the older colonies, many strange faces appeared in the hall. But one day my eye was arrested, and my sym- pathy awakened, by an interesting young man who came in late, and almost stealthily took his seat near the door. Others observed him besides the speaker, but no one seemed to know anything about him. Sunday after Sunday he made his ap- pearance, always late, always with a soft step, always took his seat near the door, and moved away immediately when the benediction was pronounced. He seemed a stranger in that strange land, and yet he had found his way to the " place where prayer was wont to be made." I could see he was much in- terested in the theme of disco\u-se, and sometimes moved to tears. He appeared to be in very bad health. By and bye his attendance was not so regiilar, and now it was that I learned his name and residence. He was a young gentleman from Victoria, who had sought, in the genial climate of Queensland, respite, if not deliverance, from that relentless enemy of so many of our young men and women — consumption. The disease was very far gone, and its progress was too rapid to leave a doubt on the mind what would be the result. He was too late, as he told me afterwards, in coming to Queensland; e fen the genial air of that clime could now do him little good. When he could no longer come, or come but at intervals, to the public worship of Grod, he preferred a pohte request that I should pay him a visit in his lodgings. Of course, I did so, and continued to do so till his death. The substance of what I learned was this, and I am guilty of no breach of confidence in thus referring to the case, for on several occasions he expressed an anxious desire that young men who might come to know of his career and its premature close might learn the sad lesson it was well calculated to teach. He was the son of EngHsh parents, who were now dead, had been well educated and carefully brought up ; in the time of the gold mania, like many other young men, he had left the desk of the clerk for the spade and pick of the digger. He found it much harder work than he anticipated, but was deter- mined to go forward. AVhat he had not the physical power to do, he determined to accomplish by tact. He selected for his GOLD DIGGING FAEMING. 43 mates (there were four of them altogether) as powerful men as he could find, and, by his intelligence, urbanity, and lively humour, succeeded in keeping- them in excellent spirits. "Here I was," he said, "dooming myseK to the society of men coarse and often unfeeling, all for the love of gold. Fool that I was ! I have got it ; but oh, what have I lost ! I know that I have sacrificed my life." It was true. By exposing himself to the many discomforts of the gold-digger's life for several years, he had completely destroyed his constitution, and just when he had realized a competency he retired — to die. His Bible was his constant companion from the time that I knew liim, and though far fi'om friends, the voice and the hand of Chiistian sympathy soothed his last moments, and j^erformed the last services. Peace to his ashes ! but let not the lesson of his life be lost. I am not to be supposed as writing against mining for gold and other metals as an important department of colonial enter- prize, but simply as lifting a warning voice against the heedless rush that is sometimes made in that direction, and making some attempt to show that there are other motives besides the gold mines that should have a favom-able influence on our plans regarding the futnro. There arc gold-fields in Queensland as well as in the other colonies, and these will be worked some day; but meanwhile there are other soui'ces of wealth and comfort open to British capital and sldll, and which will yield a more certain and a more equally disti'ibuted return. To these we would specially direct the attention of industrious working men, and men with small capital. Farming is in its infancy in Queensland, and of the o7,000 inhabitants which, at the moment we Avrite, may be scattered over the southern porti(^n of the colony, a small proportion are engaged in agricultiu-al pursuits. Yet we do not doubt that ■we shall succeed in proving to the candid reader, that in this department of colonial enterprise, as well as in the pastoral, there is a boimdless field for the successful application of British labour, skill, and capital. While large capitahsts will look towards the squatting interest for the j)rotitable employment of their money, or to mercantile pursuits, or to tlie cultivation of cotton, sugar, &c., on a lai'ge scale, the men of small moans, and the men whose capital is their labour, will natm-ally look 44 QUEE^•SLA^^) ; to-\vards the cultivation of the soil in. the production of all those articles of necessity or of liixvuy which a prosperous commu- nity requii-es, and a warm chmate renders indispensable. And there is room for any number of the industrious workmen, who may have the utmost difficulty in gaining a reasonable remime- ration for their laboiu* here, on the large and fertile agricultxu'al reserves that lie, one might say, ready for cultivation in Queensland, and offering to the cultivator a reward amply remxmerative for all his seK-sacrifi.ce and toil. Few things would be more conducive to the real and permanent prosperity of the colony than a large influx of industrious working men with their families ; and no where in the world is there open, at this moment, a field more attractive, and more certainly productive of material results, to men whose honour it is that they obtain their honest "bread by the sweat of the brow." The hand of the willing need never be idle there, and many are the ways in which a living may be made ; but we woidd strongly counsel that most emigrants who will certainly leave these shores for the new colony should betake themselves to the land. Other things may promise a larger and a more speedy return ; but don't be in too great haste to get rich. Notliing is surer than the soil ; and its jiroducts in the shape of grain, and roots, and fruits for eoloidal consumption, and in the shape of cotton, and it may be sugar, and various other articles for the supply of the home market, will never be out of demand. Most men in lea\dng their native land, in braving the dan- gers of the sea, and in quietly submitting to the necessary changes and difficulties that beset one when they iirst com- mence operations in a new and strange country, are actuated by the laudable and natural desire of bettering their worldly circumstances, or of placing their families in a position whence they may, by industry and perseverance, command for them- selves honourable and lasting success. Various are the motives by wliich men are moved to emigi-ate — various are the coui'ses which they will pursue ; but, in adopting Queensland as your home, it is immaterial on wliich department of enterprise you determine to enter, provided yom- choice corresponds with your capital, and youi* colonial life is characterized by honourable activity. SQUATTING .IX ^^>CIE^•T OCCUTATIOX. 45 YII.— SQUATTING. Squatting- is an ancient and lionoiiraLlo occupation, and iu ordinary circumstances is not one of tho least lucrative. The nomade life of the Ai'ab, and that of the Jewish patriarchs of the old time, are alike developments of this primeval mode of providing for one's familj*, and accumulating wealth. Nothing coidd be more natural ; it is the development of a gi-eat law — ■ the law of increase. The head of the family is in possession of a few goats, or camels, or sheep, or oxen, or asses, and these go on increasing, thus providing the household with milk, and meat, and clothing, and labour, and adding annually to the wealth, and position, and importance of the patriarch. In a few years Abraham and Jacob, from being shepherds -nnth slender means, and of little social importance, grew up, under the blessing of Heaven, to be squatters with enormous flocks and herds, whose proximity distxu'bed large tribes, and whoso wealth raised envy in the breast of kings. There are, however, points of difference as well as points of coincidence. The patriarch of old moved from district to district according to the condition of the grass, the water, and the season ; the colonial squatter has his run, always ample enough for liis flocks, fixed by the rules that rcgidate civilized communities, and he must take his chance of the seasons. The patriarch grazed his flocks free over the rich valleys and well- watered plains, included within the bounds of his uncontrolled wanderings ; oiu' squatter must pay a siim to tho Government iu tlie shape of rent and assessment — small, indeed, in com- parison with his annual profits, for the opportvmity of depastur- ing his cattle and sheep on certain defined lands, and for tho protection to himself and property-, which the Government afibrds. The patriarch reckoned the increase of Ms stock the great soiux-e of profit, the wool, and hides, and tallow, and horns, and bones, going for little ; the modern squatter manages to make the " clip " of his flocks pay the expenses of his station, and these are considerably hea\^er, we may sujiposc, than those of an ancient patriarchal household, Avhilo his profits are derived from the increase (mininium 50 per cent.) with the addition of other items that advanced civilization has rendered oi somo value. The patriarchs seem to have had, sometimes at least, 46 QUEENSLAND ; town or village liouses, but when on their wandering and graz- ing expeditions, they lived in tents with their servants ; your full-blown squatter has his town house in Melbourne, Sydney, or Brisbane, perhaps some snug httle estate in old England to boot ; and on the run itself a substantial hard-wood dwelling and offices, of ample dimensions, and supplied with comforts and even luxuries that you would scarcely expect to meet with in the wild bush. Favourable as were the circumstances in which many of the i)atriarchs were placed, and rapid as was the growth of their flocks and herds, the position and the profits of the modern squatter, with a well-selected, well-stocked run, are greatly to be preferred. Like the heads of households in ancient times, the squatter is hospitable, generous, and freqiiently entertains strangers. His house is sometimes, indeed, the only place where a traveller can find shelter for himself within a circuit of many miles ; and masters and managers are alike in this matter. AH welcome the passers by, give what shelter they have, and wish them good speed in the morning. In connexion with sqiiatting and bush hfe generally, I have often met with beautiful illustrations of ancient usages men- tioned in the Holy Scriptures. The "wells" that the patri- archs are represented as digging, and for which rival herdsmen occasionally strove, have their counter-parts in the "water- holes" that every squatter loiows to be indispensable to a good run, and which every purchaser of only a few acres secures to his farm if he possibly can. Many a time I have heard the inquiry, when some one had made a purchase, — "Has it got a water-hole ? ' ' Indeed, this is generally the first question which a knowing hand puts to the purchaser. And in such a chmate as that of Queensland, water is an indispensable article. Never purchase land unless there is water supply upon it, or an eas}- approach to some government water reserve. Q-overnmont exercises a sort of paternal care over small proprietors in this matter, and consequently, in all directions, there are fi'esh- water reserves for the general good, and thus no one is at Hberty to monopoHse an element of such prime importance. ■\ATiether a "kid of the goats," or a "lamb of the flock," may not sometimes be ofiered hterally to the stranger, I cannot myself positively affirm, but that "the hen that sits nearest THE HOSPITALITY OF SQUATTERS. 47 tlie cock" is sometimes so served up, I know to be a fact. Never have I met with more genuine and unostentatious hos- pitality and kindness than in the Australian bush. There, too, you will witness baking according to the primeval mode. "Cakes baked on the hearth," composed of flour and water, are very common fare in the bush, although on stations the process is more civilized. The American camp oven is verj' handy, and is coming into general use all over the country, where, as yet, neither baker nor butcher plies his trade. A man must be his own butcher, and a housewife her own baker; and where men herd together or live alone without the soften- ing and elevating influence of virtuous woman, they must be both their own butcher and baker. The baking process is very simple. Outside the wooden hut, or "humpy," as the black fellows name it, a level spot is selected on which to have the fii'e needed only for cooking puj-poses ; over the spot there is sometimes a frail canopy of bark placed to shelter the cook from the sim, or perchance, which is more probable, to prevent the thunder-storms fi*om extinguishing the fire, or the rain fr'om spoiling the batch or the broth. The fire-place consists of two or three flat stones placed together like rude pavement, and on these the fuel is placed ; when the stones have been sufficiently heated, the embers are brushed aside, and the cakes are placed on them. The embers, still in a glow, are then spread over the cakes, and in a short time out comes the far-famed Austrahan "damper," fit for immediate use. There are worse tilings than " salt beef and damper," I can tell you, when one has worked all day with the saw, the axe, or the spade, or when one has dismounted after a long day's solitary joui-ney. The food is perfectly wholesome, and yields substantial support to the brawny arm of the bushman ; and even he who is town-bred, and accustomed to town living, finds little difficulty in digesting it in the circumstances alluded to. I have dined as heartily on beef and damper in the humpy of a little settler in the Australian bush as ever I did on the roast beef of old England. Everj-tliing wholesome is good when one is hungry, and few things contribute more certainly to a good appetite than a stiff day's work in the bush ; and there, no well-doing man need ever suffer fr-om the pangs of himger. Industry brings enough and to spare for both man and beast. 48 Q^TEE^-SL.VN•D ; ^Millions of acres, as we have seen, are open to the squatter in Queensland. Ho must go into tho far interior, and leave the lands by the sea and the navigable rivers to the farmer and cotton grower. Tho squatter is the pioneer of a new countrj'. He not only introduces sheep, cattle, and horses into the coimtry, but he thereby vastly improves the pastiu'e lands. Grasses become more sweet and actually become more nume- rous by grazing. The interests of this class, therefore, should not be overlooked in the legislature of a colony : they are also the pioneers of population as well as of stock. Ai-ound the station there spring up in a short time the huts of shepherds and stock men ; and those, again, soon become the nucleus of little clumps of dwellings, — woodmen, bullock-diivers, carpen- ters, horse-breakers, tailors, shoemakers, and such like, gra- dually congi-egate, till, on some large stations, the population becomes considerable. At the resting-places of the drays that "do the carrying" to and from the stations, there rise the way-side inn and smith's forge ; and these in time become miniatui-e villages, where dogs, and cows, and cliildren vie with each other in numbers, and all alike revel in wild free- dom. This is one way in which pojDulation spreads, and finds its home lumdreds of miles from the large and populous towns. The governmental method is to lay out townships in various directions, have the sm-rounding lands surveyed, and encourage suitable persons to pvu'chase, and take up their abode in these locaHties. The country for many miles beyond the centres of population is occupied v/ith stock, so that the squatter is compelled to push further and further to the west and north. The low lying districts are more favourable for cattle than for sheep; and horses are reared anywhere, although all breeds are not alike valuable. The lands on the Logan, the Brisbane, the Mary, the Biu-nett, the Fitzroy, the Condamine, the Dawson, are all taken up, and partially if not vrholly stocked ; and these in- clude a vast expanse of countr3^ The tlow of the great squat- ting enterprise is now towards the Malonne, the Mackenzie, the Isaacs, the Comet, and the Burdekin, the outlying rivers of this magnificent country. And when these are appropriated, as they very soon will be, the daring and enterprise of the pioneer squatter will carry him forwards, still west and north, SQUATTING REGULATION'S LIEEK^iL. 49 till he shall feed his floclcs on those ■\vell--n-atere(l plains fi'om "u-liich Stuart was di'iven by the hostile blacks. The squatting system is of vast extent and of vast importance, but in neither is it expanded in Queensland to anything like its proper dimensions. These are measured only by the extent of its acres and the richness of its pastures. In this new colony there is, even in regard to the pastoral interest — the interest that is first developed — much land to be possessed; for not only is there a large outlying coxmtr}', on which not a single head of cattle or sheep is yet to be seen, beyond the farthest stations at present occupied, but none of the stations that have been in operation for years are stocked to anything like the amount they are capable of sustaining. The flow of men and capital to Queensland from the other Australian colonies, with the view of engaging in the squatting enterprise under the liberal and just laws that the first Legislatiu-e of the colony enacted, may almost be called "a rush;" and this fact, to which the Melbourne and Sydnej^ paj)ers, as well as those of Brisbane, bear constant and increasing testimom*, is the strongest proof that could be presented in favour of the pastoral enterprise in Queensland. Men wlio have been for years con- nected with mercantile, agricultural, and pastoral pursuits in Victoria, Tasmania, New Zealand, and New South Wales, are not at all likely to invest their capital and to take np their abode in the north unless they are assiu-ed that the pastui'e is good and abimdant, and that the la-s\s of the colony are liberal and just. These men know what they are about. But I would that emigrants were to go direct to Queensland, and not in this roundabout way. By going direct and at once, whatever may be yoiu' ulterior intentions, your chances are greater, and you secxu-e the liberal advantages held out b}- the Goverimicnt. By first going to other colonies, and then making your way from Melbourne or Sydney to Brisbane, you fii'st lose time, and then place youi'selves beyond the free grants of land. But this shall be fully explained imder the proper head. 50 QTJEENSLA^T) ; VIII.— HOW TO SECUEE A "EUN." Althougli the major part of the readers of this little work who resolve to emigrate to Queensland may do so in connexion with agTicultural piu'suits, yet some of them may have both the taste and the capital to justify them in turning their attention to the squatting department. For theii- sakes especially, but also for the information of all parties, I shall now tell how a person may seom-e to himself a Eim, and with what capital he may commence with the reasonable prospect of success. I am concerned to create a true interest in the colony. Every statement is in accordance with the acts of the Colonial Parlia- ment, discussed and enacted during my residence there, and copies of which are now on my table ; but I shall not increase the size and price of this volume by transcribing these docu- ments, or even quoting largely from them. I was present in the House of Assembly when most of the land laws of Queensland were discussed, and in their printed form, as assented to by His Excellency the Grovernor, I have carefully studied them in my home retreat ; and shall, therefore, place before the reader the most accurate information in the most condensed and popular form I can. You have got a capital of £750, and on this you cannot manage, with the utmost care and economy, to raise annually more than the merest necessaries of life. You have nothing to meet contingencies ; you can lay by nothing for " a rainy day." It is hard for you, an industrious man with a wife and family, to waste the best portion of your days, and aU your young and buoyant energies, in simply procuring bread. You have a right to expect, under a benign Providence, that such a capital should realize something against the decline of hfe. You love youx native land; "breathes there a man with soul so dead," that he does not ? But the claims of your family are paramount, and you resolve to emigrate to Queensland. You don't go alone, for several of your neighbours, worse or better off, have taken the same resolution. The sea is crossed, and you have set foot on land. Youi" money is secure in the bank, and you have received the ''land orders" for the passage-money which you paid for yourself, wife, and family. Everything is strange, and yet everything IMPORTANCE OF COLONIAL EXPERIENCE. 51 looks uncommonly English. You look about ; j'ou select your " free grants " of land ; you find that things are not so strange after all. You take some light work ; perhaps you engage yourself to a sheep station for six or twelve months. Your wife and family stay in Brisbane. What ! take a day's work, play the shepherd on another man's station, and £750 placed to your credit in the bank ; Why not, friend ? Are you above that ? Then, think no more of emigrating. This is the way to gain colonial experience without encroaching on yoiu' capital ; and experience is of vast importance in every colony. Experience may enable you to realize a fortune out of jour small capital ; proceed without this help, and yovu* capital may — ^very likely will — become "small by degrees, and beautifully less." But you have gained the necessaiy experience, how or where it concerns no one to know ; and you desire to settle on a run, or sheep-farm. You have ascertained by this time that there are Commissioners appointed by the Governor and Executive Council for the different squatting districts, whose duty it is to attend to all appHcations for new rims, when made in proper form, and to give information to those who know not how to apply. The run may be selected anywhere you like, outside of those already appropriated, in accordance with reasonable conditions, regarding j^our neighboiu''s boundaries, water fr'ontage, &c. You ride over the portion of land j^ou fancy, accompanied by a friend, or an agent, and mark its boundaries by notching pro- minent trees, or rimning your lines by creeks, or dry channels, or mountain spurs. You must see that it lies as compact as possible ; for Grovemment will not allow the pasture lands to be cut up in a wasteful manner. Starting fr'om the fui'thest boimdaiy of your neighbour's run, you thus, with the help of your friend, lay out a block of land of twenty-five square miles, and you cany in yoiu* hand a simple outline of the run, accom- panied by a few sentences of a descriptive or explanatorj' nature, to the District Commissioner. He receives you with the utmost civility; enters your application and the descriptive sentences in his large book ; and even corrects your description should it be incorrect, as he knows mueh more about the dis- trict than 3'ou do yet. If the land is not pre-occupied — of T? o. 52 QUEEXSL.\XD ; course, this is ascertained Lefore jon lodge yoiu* application, — and if yon are the first applicant, the Commissioner grants a license for you to occupy the run for one year. This Look is open to the public, and, on the payment of a fee of 2s. 6d., any one may examine it, to ascertain what runs are taken up, and by -whom. But, in order that everything may he done openly and -without favour, all appKcations are from time to time published in the Queensland Gazette. No run is to contain less than 25 square miles, and none are to contain more than 100; but one man may take as many rims as he likes, provided al^vays that he comj)lies ■svith the terms of lease, which are framed to suit the lond fide squatter, and not the speculator ; for in colonies men speculate in every- thing, even in rims, to the extensive detriment of the pastoral interest. I have supposed that you have selected one of 25 square miles. The estimated capability of this run is 100 sheep for each square mile, or 20 head of cattle, should it be taken as a cattle station. The license is now obtained from the District Commissioner, and within 90 day from the signing of that document you are recj^uired to pay, as an occupation fee for the year, the sum of 10s. per square mile ; and unless such fee be paid, the license is forfeited to the crown. You may put as many sheep on your run the first year as you like ; and the occupation fee, £12 10s., constitutes, in fact, the rent for the year. It is very probable that when you have had a six months' trial of your block of land of 25 square miles, for which you pay the Government £12 10s., you would like to secure it on lease. How are you then to proceed in order to accomphsh your object? Any time diuing the year of license, three clear months before the Hcense expires, you may make application to the Chief Commissioner of Crown Lands, through the District Commissioner, for a lease ; and should you comply with the terms, and the way be clear, a lease for 14 years will be granted. The way is clear if there is no rival applicant (priority settles the claim), and should the land not be required for pubhc piu'poses, such as townships, agricultural reserves, &c. There is one reasonable condition, and it is faithfully carried out : duiing the year of license, and at the date of the appli- cation for the lease, you must have your 25 square mile block now TO OBTAIN A EUX. 53 stocked to an extent equal to one-fourth of tlie number of sheep, or equivalent number of cattle, which it is deemed capable of carrying by the Act. The Gfovcrnment estimate is, that yoiu* 25 square miles will carry 2,500 sheep — in reality, it will cany a much gi'eater number, but the Government does not wish to be too exacting with its children, and the number, therefore, which must be depasturing on it when the application is for- warded, is 625. Six hundred good sheep may be bought at the present time for less than £500. This is the condition which has been inserted in the Queensland Squatting Law, to ciirb, if it may not prevent, speeidation. The District Commissioner grants you the license for one year. On your appHcation, the license is converted into a 14 years' lease, on the condition mentioned, by the Chief Commissioner of Crown Lands. "When the lease has been seciu-ed, Avhat is the rent you wiU reqidre to pay for yoiu' 25 square miles ? Just the same for the first fom' years as you paid the year of license, £12 10s. And suppose you have on the run 2,500 sheep, then the annual rent you pay per sheep is Hd. ! And, to use the words of the Act, "the rent payable in respect of such lease for the suc- ceeding periods of five years and five years, being the residue of the term comprised in such lease, shall be the ajjpraisement at the commencement of such periods of five years and five years respectively, in proportion to the value of the run, its capabilities, advantages, and disadvantages being considered." But it is provided by the Act, that in no case diu-ing the first period of five j^ears shall the rent bo less than £25, or greater than £50, per block of 25 square miles. During the last fivo years of the lease, the siinie sized rim will not pay less than £30, and not more than £70. This is deemed very fair, as the value of runs greatly increases from various causes diu-ing the period of 14 yeai's. Should any difierence arise between the squatter and the Government, it is settled b}' arbitration ; and should the lessee pay his rent regidarly, and the land not bo rcquu-ed for public purposes, he sits unmolested, absolute " monarch of all he surveys." He has no Avild beasts to contend with, and if he has the good sense and the humanity to take the poor wander- ing blacks on the right side, they -will iDrovo as harmless to 54 QUEENSLAND ; him and his, as is the timid -walleby or kangaroo. Should yoiu' little principality be required for Governmental or puhKc purposes, you have a twelvemonths' warning to quit, and compensation for aU the improvements, such as house, huts, offices, stock-yard, and wells. I have kept close to the Acts of the Assembly in the above sketch, without fatiguing the reader with the formal and pon- derous clauses of the Acts themselves. Provision is made for the passage of stock from district to district, when rims are being changed, or new ones occupied. No one is at liberty to occupy any run, however far oif it may be, without a license in the first instance, and then a lease ; and defaulters are smartly called to account. The greatest precaution is used, under the authority of Act of the Assembly, to preserve the healthy flocks from the diseased. There is very little disease, indeed, among the Qiteensland flocks, but as sheep may be seized with scab, influenza, &c., less precaution would be culpable. In all the Australian colonies, the law is stringent on this point, and judging from the past, we may believe not without sufficient reason. It is not ordy that the sheep that mingle with the diseased flocks shall catch the contagion, but even the ground on which the diseased flock feeds receives it, and a long time after will infect a perfectly healthy flock that may be placed on the run.*'" You see what you can do mth yoiu* little capital of £750, were you disposed to tui-n squatter. IX.— SQUATTING- AND BEITISH LABOUE. There maybe at this date about 500 squatters in Queensland, occupying stations of various dimensions, none of them smaller than 25 sqtiare miles. According to the law of the new colony, every station must have its proportion of stock. A certain * The reader is referred to An Act for Ref^ulatiag the Occupation of Unoccupied Ci-own Lands in the Unsettled Districts ; An Act to Regulate the Occupation of Land applied for by Tender ; and An Act to Provide for the Leasing of Crown Lands previously occupied. The date on which these Acts received the assent of the Governor was I7ih September, 1860. SQUATTING AND BRITISH LjiBOUTv. 55 amount of labour, therefore, is necessary for tlie profitable carrying on of the stations. No runs in Queensland are now allowed to lie waste, waitiui;- till the lessee should meet with a rich goose to whom he might sell it for a " consideration," to the tune of one or two thousand pounds. That state of matters is passed. The run that is not stocked to the extent of one-fourth of its estimated capabilities is, as we have seen, forfeited to the Crown, and immediately let to one who shall observe the terms of occupation. The number of stations, therefore, represents a certain amoimt of labour, although, from the absence of statistics, we are unable to give the proportions. And as the number is steadily, and even rapidly increasing every year, and as the laboiu' on each station increases annually with the increase of the stock, the demand for laboiu- in the squatting department must be gTeater and greater year by year. But, in addition to this, every year sees many men who have saved £50 or £100 as shepherds or stockmen return to the towns, in the neighboui'hoods of which they purchase small farms, and settle down into cultivators of the soil. The squatter, therefore, has a constant demand for labour, and this demand increases year by year. All classes of men may engage in this work ; and, in point of fact, you ■will at this moment find men busy at station work, represen- tatives of all grades in English society. It is in some sense a "Refuge," for there you will meet decayed members of the learned professions, sprigs of nobility, too "fast" for home society, doing their part alongside of the shepherd from the Cheviots, and the ploughman from Lothian and Essex, and doing it well; for, keep them from the gin and the brandy bottle, and they make very fair shepherds and stockmen. Few win surpass them in working a dog with sheep, or tracking, on the fleetest horse on the station, a mob of cattle or horses. But after aU, the men the squatter likes best to have about Tn'm are those who, at home, were accustomed to out-door work. There is very little Chinese or coolie laboui- employed on stations, for, though considerably cheaper than British labour, it is by no means so efficient. Besides, as yet there are few coolies in Queensland, and the Chinese prefer following in the wake of the British gold-digger. So far as I have had the opportunity of judging, the gold-fields attract John China- 56 QUEEXSLAXD ; man to AustraKa, and when there, he has no difficulty in showing that he has little liking for any other work. I am speaking of the present state of things : were the Chinese to be introduced to cultivate the soil, it might turn out otherwise. Germans are emj^loyed in considerable numbers in connexion with stations, and make as a rule good servants. They are sober, industrious, and plodding, and on good terms with the British emigrants. Oiu' opinion, therefore, is, that the laboui* which the squatter wdll continue to employ, shoiJd the working-men go out in sufficient numbers to keep up the supply, is that which Britain alone can provide from her surplus population. Some reader will say, "So far, well; but, before wo can think seriously of emigrating, wo should like to know some- what of the labour that is expected of a man on the great sheep-farms of Queensland. We know what is what, pretty much, in the present, and we should like to know what is before us, were we to pack vip and go. Nay, we must know this lefore we resolve." Eight, my friend; you are just the man for the colon}-. Keep your eyes open ; take nothing for granted ; but when the proof is before you of the goodness of the land, do not hesitate to act. When the station is small, and the master resident, he acts as his own manager; but when the station is large, or the master non-resident, one manager or more is reqvured. The manager acts in all things for the master, and his authority is absolute. It is a responsible situation, requires gi'eat expe- irience and tact, and generally commands a good salary. The salary, in many instances, is paid partly in money and partly ift. stock, which he is permitted to graze on the run ; and he is allowed to keep, or he has the use of, several horses. In \ this way the manager may become in a f^hort time the possessor ^ of a run of his own. Under the manager there are shepherds, whose duty it is to go out with the sheep in the morning, tend them all day, and return with them to some place of safety at sun-do-mi. One man may shepherd 1,000 sheep; and a man and a boy may safely take the charge of a flock of between 2,000 and 3,000 on a good and well-ordered station. On many stations there are LABOUR ON STATIONS. 57 from 10,000 to 40,000 sheep. Ilut-incn are engaged to keep the huts, and cook, &c., for the shepherds and -watchmen. It is, of course, an inferior occupation, and is often perfoiined by old people, partial invalids, and the wives of the shepherds. Married women, whose husbands are employed on the station, are frequently engaged to perform the duties of cook, house- maid, and so on, to the master or manager. The young people, as soon as they can do anything, are set to work ; and hence a man with a wife and grown up boys will very readily find emplo3mient for himself and aU of them on a station. A shejiherd receives about £45 per annum and his rations ; a shepherd and liis wife receive from £55 to £60 per annum and rations ; and I have knoMTi a shepherd, with -n'ife and two or three boys, receive £100, and all rations suppHed. Stockmen do for cattle what shepherds do for sheep, and they are rarely out of the saddle from morning till night. It is a strange life, and has many attractions for the 3'Oimg and the frivolous. There is not a Httle art required in tracking the cattle to their feeding grounds, and no small amoimt ot courage is needed to fetch a mob from the mountains, or to entice them fr-om the dense, impenefrable scrub to the muster- grounds, that they ma}' be cfraughted to market, or have the young among them "branded." I have often admired the young stockman, as he started fresh for his work. He is tall, spare, and bronzed by constant cxpostu'e to the sun ; sans coat and waistcoat, witli a leathern belt aroimd his waist, stuck full of "indispeusables," be-\nskered and moustachcd; in his hand the stock-whip, and on his head a light sti'aw hat, from beneath which streams his coal-black hair. You have before you the idea of a man who feels hiniseK free, and Avho has exquisite enjoyment in his freedom. Tlio stockman is generally well mounted, and it is well for him that he is so ; for ere he retiu'n to the station, he shall have many windings and doublings, gullies to cross, and ridges to ascend and descend, in following and guiding the cattle. It is siu-prising the distances that cattle vrilL sometimes go, and the inaccessible places they will sometimes choose as thefr feeding gi-ound. They select their own camping grounds, which are generally on elevated parts, and thither they hie as simset approaches. The stockman rarely loses himself in the bush, although his 58 QUEENSLAND ; way may be trackless ; and if he should, the instinct of his horse will bring him home. The pay of the stoclonan is about £40, with rations, and horse kept up for his use. In the lambing season all hands on the station are busy, and great is the anxiety of faithful shepherds. Should the weather be broken and wet, or should the feed be less advanced than it should be, many of the lambs die ; but this does not often happen. The seasons in Queensland are, upon the whole, favoxu-able to the increase of stock ; hence the ratio at which that increase proceeds. But there is another danger that besets the flock at this time ; the dingo, or native dog, which IS still numerous in the interior, preys on the lambs whenever he finds an opportunity. The dingo has more the appearance of a fox than a dog, and, like his sly compeer, seems to exercise his wits to reach his prey. The shepherds destroy them by shooting, and sometimes by dropping meat impreg- nated with strychnine near their haunts. A dingo hunt is a very exciting scene, and not unattended by danger ; but they are only witnessed now far in the interior. An additional number of men are required in the season when the washing of the sheep takes place, and much depends on the way in which this work is performed. The good or bad washing gives character, in part, to the clip of wool. Of coxxrse, inferior wool will not be changed in its character by the washing, but good wool may be greatly damaged by bad washing. The shearing of the sheep follows ; and this work is per- formed, not by the shepherds, but by men who devote them- selves to that special occupation for a portion of the year. The other parts of the year they act as woodmen, fencers, and shingle spKtters. When the season arrives, the "shearers" set oil on horseback, carrying with them their few implements and their blanket, for a night cover when they "camp out." They go from station to station, and generally to the same stations year after year. They do their work by the piece, and make a capital thing of it. They have from 4s. 6d. to 5s. per score ; and a good workman will pass through his hands from four to five score a day. The wages of other men required about stations are in proportion to those mentioned ; and this is the case at the present time, when so many men LAIvIBING AND SUEARIXG THE ALPACA. Ot> in Britain are striving to rear a family on lis. or 13s. a week. On a well ordered and well-kept station, the clip, that is, the wool of the season, is understood to pay more than the current expenses. There is no rent to pay for dweUing-house, or for as much ground as you like to cultivate for the station use ; and the rent of the run is little more, on an average of 14 years, than 12s. per square mile. The squatter has not many calls upon his benevolence, and he can afford to be hospitable. His profits are the increase of the flocks, which, together ^ith the growing surplus arising from the sale of his wool, amounts to good 50 per cent, on his capital. Besides sheep and cattle, and horses, the climate and pasture of Queensland are well adapted to the support of the llama and alpaca, creatures considerably larger than sheep, and pro- ducing a kind of wool much in demand. They have been recently introduced by Mr. Ledger, from South America, after incredible difficulties had been surmounted. The llama is not unlike a small camel, and is used by the inhabitants of Bolivia and Peru as a beast of burden. In AustraHa it will be better taken care of, and we doubt not will ere long become a source of wealth to its possessors. Wo shall give an extract from an article that appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, after the flock had been some time depasturing in New South "Wales. The date of the paper is August, 1860 : — " The example of sheep farming -u-ill natm-ally prepare us to look favoiu-abh' on productions of a similar natui'e — the alpaca wool. "We do not think that the discouragements and diffi- culties which have been inciu-red by those concerned in its introduction are at all greater than attended the first propa- gation of oiu' flocks, nor are the two kinds of stock altogether rivals. We see no reason why, "v^ith the great variety of herbage produced by this countiy, and its adaptation to the growth of the alpaca, it should not have a large amount of produce of this kind without decreasing the proportionate quantity of sheep's wool. It seems to be one recommendation that the animals which wo have so long desired to introduce, and which are now browsing in the interior, have habits dif- ferent from those of the sheep, and that they may occupy vacant regions. The foUowina: is a calculation made of the 60 QirEE]\'SLAXD probable growth of oiu' alpaca flocks in fifty years — a long time in the life of a man, a short period in the history of a people : — Table shoiving the prohalle increase of the alpaca foclc The commencement is made loith 200 females and 50 males. "a £i "3 . 'a •2 s S d 1 s a t^ Q 200 lliO 60 60 at 60^ cent, (allowing 10 per cent, for deaths). .110 280 1861 200 120 60 60 „ „ Those drcpt last vear will not lamb; 170 320 1862 280 160 80 ^o „ The lemalelambsiSOlwilldrup this 250 400 1863 340 ■-'00 100 100 1«62 „ „ 1 350 500 1864 420 250 125 125 1«63 „ „ 475 625 1865 520 200 130 130 at 50 1* cent, only ., 1864 „ „ 605 775 1866 645 820 lOO 100 l''(;5 » ,. 765 935 1867 775 .•;h7 190 lOO „ „ „ 1.S66 „ „ 955 1165 1H68 935 407 235 235 1S67 „ „ 1195 1400 180y mi UGl 330 330 1N0» „ „ ,1520 1730 1870 " There will be, after deduction made for wear and tear, accidents, &c., 3,250, as per above calculation. AVe further deduct 25 per cent, of total every period of ten years, thus leaving in round numbers 2,500 ; at same rate, in 20 years there woidd be 20,000 30 „ „ 160,000 40 „ „ 1,280,000 50 ,, ,, 9,760,000 "At seven lbs. wool each— 68,320,000 lbs., at 2s. per lb., £6,832,000! " From this it will be seen that making deductions of a liberal nature, according to the present ratio of increase, there will be in fifty years 9,760,000 head, the wool of which, at 2s. j)er lb., wiU amount to the sum of £6,832,000 per annum. "AA-lien figures like these are given, incredulity is natiu'ally awakened ; but we do not know that there is anything unrea- sonable in the calculation. At all events, any reasonable reduction may be made, and still leave a value sufficient to deserve the energy and soHcitude of the pubKc." The squatting interest may be said to be entirety in the hands of the British, the few Germans who have small stations being scarcely worth mentioning in this statement ; and the principal work on the stations must always be performed by Europeans. Never were the squatters in a more thriving UPS A^-D DO•^V^■S IN SQUATTIXG LIFE. 61 condition, in no colony are there more just squatting laws, and they need neither Chinese nor coolie labour to enable them to develop the wool-producing capabihties of Queensland. When the annual Heeeo meets the exjienses of a sheep station, and the price of sheep is from 10s. to 12s., and the minimum in- crease in the flocks is 50 per cent., the owners of stations can afibrd to employ white laboiu-. X.— UPS AND DOWNS IN SQUATTING LIFE. In the previous chapters my aim has been to give some idea of the nature, extent, and reasonable capabilities of the squat- ting interest in Queensland. The reader must not imagine, however, that squatting life has not its various phases, and the squatting enterprise its own vicissitudes. There was a time when the squatter suffered most severely in all the Austrahan colonies, and few were able to resist the flood of commercial ruin that swept over the land. Sheep came down to Is. 6d. a head, and stations went a-begging for occupiers. This disaster was especially felt by the pastoral commimity in Victoria and New South Wales. Matters have righted themselves in these colonies, and it is most improbable that such a state of depression and misery will again be experienced. In regard to the colonies named, it may be said that time and experience have done something to consoKdato societ}', and prevent sudden and extensive changes, such as those tliat produced these disasti'ous results a few years ago. And, fiu'thor, tlie price of sheep can never now descend to such a low figm'e, since the boiling-down pro- cess has fixed the minimum price at 6s. 6d. a head. For a long time it is improbable that the price will become so low ; but if it shoidd, it -w-ill be arrested there, as it is now ascertained that the tallow and skin of a sheep viU. fetch in the mai'ket on an average 6s. 6d. In Queensland, stock is not likely to fall much in price for some time, for various reasons. We have seen that there is a vast extent of new country to be taken up, and the stock required will be quite equal to the supply for years to come. Besides, as the popidation increases, — and it is increasing at a 62 QUEENSLAOT5 ; rapid rate — the demand for mutton increases also ; but should the price fall to 6s. 6d., then, of course, the boiling-down esta- blishments will be called into requisition again. For some years they have been all but idle, and in several instances have gone to a state of dilapidation, entailing upon their proprietors a heavj' loss. But it is better for the colony when the squatter finds a market for his fat sheep in the towns, and for his sui'- plus flocks in the far interior. I have been over a boiling-down establishment, but the details are too disgusting to put in print. Long may they be superfluous in Queensland; and when they are again called into operation, we shall protect our olfactory nerves against certain powerful odom^s, and pocket the disgust, because they will save the country from a great disaster. There are some things that give the squatter enterprize in Queensland a great advantage over that of the older colonies. The chief of these are the immense imoecupied country beyond, and the liberal laws under which the squatting leases are gi'anted. But, notwithstanding, times of trouble may come : large losses may be sustained, sheep and cattle farmers may find their way into the bankruptcy court, and the present 50 per cent, may be converted into an overwhelming deficit. Specula- tion on a limited capital may do this. Diseases, finding their way among the flocks, may bring this about ; a decided fall in the wool market, at some crisis in the history of the station, may accomplish the work ; bad seasons may bring it about; and nothing will more certainly produce it than mismanagement. For some time the squatter has been very successful, but neither is his j^ath always smooth, nor his lot without a " crook," any more than that of others ; and if we embrace in our present remarks all the parties connected with squatting, we may say with perfect safety that there are many ups and downs in squatting life. Many men now acting as shepherds, hut-keepers, and bullock- drivers, in connexion with stations, occupied very different positions at home. A roving and imsettled disposition, generally accompanied with an over-powering passion for strong diink, has brought them to their present state, and the love of the bottle keeps them in it. In many instances these men make UPS AND DO"VVrNS IN SQTJATTUs'G LIFE. G3 good servants, keep tliem ixom drinlc, and over a period of twelve months, they will earn a sum of from £40 to £45. There are cases innumerable in which such men, and others, too, who have under prosperity got into jovial habits, have left the bush with large sums in their "belts," and at the fa-st wayside inn spent every fartliing before they moved from the spot ; and should they by any chance reach the town, a better fate did not befall them, and they were compelled, imder dire necessity, either to take what work cast up on the spot, or return without a "bob " to tho station Avhich they had left a few days before. The process is this : a poor incapable lands in a bar of a public-house ; he calls for brandy, and he places in the hands of the bar-man the cheque which he has on the station where he has been ser\ang. He becomes heated with the fiery stimidant, becomes jolly and jovial, and declares that he will " shout " all comers. The meaning of this slang is, that he will treat at his expense all and sundry known or imknown unto liim, fi-iend or foe, Avho shall enter the bar dm-ing the process ; and the brandy tiows lilce water, and heads grow giddy, and words become high; "fast and furious grows the din;" and if the whole does not end in a "row," it is generally due to the stupifying power of the well-cooked Australian brandy. Oiu' poor incapable is tumbled into bed, and the cheque is safe in mine host's strong box. In the morning the wretched man calls for brand)-, and still more brandy, which is freely given him ; and for two or three days matters go on thus, till tho demand is resisted, and the poor drunktu'd, now on the verge of delirium iremcns, is told that his money is exhausted, and that, shoidtl he not instantly " take himself off," he shall be kicked out of doors. The law cannot reach such cases ; and so long as men shall be such consummate fools, the low villanous grog-seller will pluck them with impunity. But there are "ups" as well as "downs" in squatting Hfe, and several of these have come xmder my observation. Of course, many men engaged in this work have gradually risen from poverty to affluence. Many, who began with very small capitals indeed, have ended by possessing thousands of pounds. This has hitherto been ihe rule in Queensland, and so far 64 QUEENSL.VND ; as VTG can judge, it is probaLlo that it -will continue to Le the rule. One day I vras met by a gentlemen from the bush, "Vi-ho freely entered into conversation. I had at one time made a short voyage with him on board a steamer, and had thus come to know him a little. " I have just sold my station," said he. "Well," said I, ''I hope you have made something good of it." "Yes, I beheve I have," was his reply. "You squatters are the men to make money in this colony," was my rejoinder. "I don't know, but I have received £29,000 cash, and a biU for £1,000." I expressed my surprise. "I am going to retire," said my friend, "and devote myself to the education of my family." I heartily approved and commended the resolution. This gentleman had not himself got a liberal education, and Icnowing the many and great disadvantages the want of a thorough course of instruction and training entails upon a man, he was determined that his sons should not labour under the same defect. I was told that this gentleman was a jour- neyman mechanic some 15 years before. He had certainly followed the squatting to some piu^Dose. I shall give another case, the type of many. My duties required me at one time to pay a visit, of a few days, to one of the richest agricultural districts of New South Wales. I came in contact with many shopkeepers, woodmen, and farmers. They were all well-to-do in the world, and lived Hke little potentates, each on his o-«-n domain. I was specially interested in the fai-mers, and enjoyed the hearty hospitahty of several of them. The history of most of them was told in my hearing ; that of one I shall briefly rehearse. About ten years pre\dous to the date of mj- visit, tliis man had left one of the riu'al districts of Scotland, accompanied by his wife and several yoimg children. Arrived in Austraha, he at once hired himself as a shepherd, and his wife took the situation of cook to the master, who hajopened to live a good portion of the year on the station. The children, -s^'ho were all girls, managed themselves. In the coui'se of two or three years, THE nXE RIVER. 65 wliat behveen the wages of Lotli, none of which, was spent, but all laid out in sheep as it was due, and the annual increase oi. his little flock, he soon found himself in possession of between £300 and £400. His great ambition now was to buy a farm, where he could take up his abode, cultivate the soil, and keep two or thi'ee cows, and feed poidtiy and i)igs. In this way he fancied he woidd be able to keep his family in a rei^iicetable position. I spent a day "^dth this worthy man on his farm, and had the whole corroborated by himself. And he told me that his farm consisted of upwards of 300 acres of good land, on Avliich he grew a quantity of wheat and potatoes, but wliich lie chiefly used for grazing a number of cows, whose produce paid him very well. In this case, as in many others, I was pleased to know that in prosperity my friend had not forgotten the gTatitude and the honoiu' due to God. A steady and Hberal supporter of a Christian congregation two or thi'ee miles from his farm, he had at the same time opened his dining-room for a Sunday school, where the children all round were weekly taught the hoi}'' doctrines of our blessed rehgion by the daughters of this erewhile Scottish peasant. XI.— A FEW DAYS ON THE PINE EIVEE. It was a beautifid morning that on wliich a friend and myself, both well mounted, set out for the Pine River. Arrayed in broad Panama hats with wreaths of mushn, we set the rays of the sun at defiance ; and to add the more to oiu' bodily comfort, the coat and waistcoat were wrapped in the camping blanket, which was strapped to the saddle. For several miles the track — for no road is yet formed so far from towns — leads across an interminable series of ridges, most of them strewed over with sharp quartzy gravel ; and as you reach their northern termi- nation, some exhibit tokens of iron-stone and dark shales. The ridges are bare and vcrdureless, covered vdth the never- failing gum tree, iron-bark, wattle, and box tree; and the narrow winding valleys between are covered with a rich and beautiful vegetation. As we approach the South Pine, the country becomes level, the soil Light, the feed pretty good, and 66 QUEENSLAND ; one meets witli small lierds of cattle grazing about very quietly, proof enough, that they are not unaccustomed to equestrians. On the immediate banks of the South Pine, which is past by ford, and, except in flood times, contains almost no water, there is some very rich alluvial soil, which is at present covered by a dense scrub. A few days before we passed, some mischievous blacks from the north had speared a bullock that belonged to a squatter whom they did not like, and devoured the carcass. After- wards they betook themselves to the impenetrable scrubs that skirt the river, into which neither white nor black police dare follow them. They will not do this to the squatter who treats them kindly, and deals with them truthfully, as we learned a day or two afterwards. Between the South and North Pine the land lies low, is thickly wooded, much of it is covered with long coarse grass, and is, in many parts, better fitted for the support of the marsupial tribes than that of cattle or horses. On the North. Pine the soil assumes a very difi'erent character, and the country becomes quite interesting to the traveller. Long green ridges stretch away on every side ; the timber is not so dense ; the grass is of a much finer and richer quality, and it appears capable of supporting a large number of cattle. Sheep are not kept here, except in such numbers only as stipply the domestic necessities of the station. Both cattle and horses were in fine condition, and the station masters were in good heart. Some of the views on the Pine were very beautiful, full of the most delicious repose, and reminded me much of some of the river scenery in the lowlands of Scotland. The bush, or general forest, is here the same as everywhere else, stamped with the most provoking sameness. You think that every weather-beaten gum, or lofty fluted iron bark, is the fac-simile of every tree of the same species you passed since you started from Brisbane. The srub is very dense and veiy beau- tiful in some parts of the course of the river, and the scrub lands are peculiarly rich. Never did I experience the attacks of the mosquitoes so severe and unendurable as ia one of the magni- ficent scrubs in that district. After breakfast I had strolled away to quietly examine the rich and peculiar vegetation. I had found my way into a part where the rays of the sxm were TRAVELLING IN THE BUSH. 67 completely excluded by the dense, marvellously intei-woveu vegetation that formed a dark magnificent canopy over head. Aroimd me Avere hanging in thousands the tendrils of the creeping or rather climbing plants, varying in thickness fi-om that of a telegraphic Avire to the cable of a ship, and from forty to sixty feet in length. The whole thing, canojjy and tendrils, was supported by the enoi-mous trees that grew at intervals, and whose tops had become matted together, although their great trimks stood far apart. Many of these climbing plants bear a beautiful flower, but the flowering time was over at the period of my visit. I had not been many minutes in this position, till I was fairly beaten ofi' by the voracious attack of the mosquitoes, both black and grey, and Avas glad to make with all convenient speed for the open bush. What surprised me was, that at this time I slept several nights in succession, in an open wooden house, little over half a mile from this spot, without even the use of mosquito curtains. I have, however, in other parts of the coimtry, experienced something similar. These pests to all new comers do not always make their appearance in the same place, and at the same time; although, doubtless, they even are regulated by laws too subtle for us to recognise always, yet they often appear to act very capriciously; and one, when smarting xm.der their irritating bite, is sometimes led to think with the poor negro when he expressed his wonder what the object might be that the Maker of all had in view when He created mosquitoes. This little busy, troublesome, bloodthirsty creature is, however, worst on new arrivals ; in a short time it either does not bite you at all, or you become impervious to any bad consequences arising fi'om it. In travelling through the bush, one often meets with traces of the English bee ; it was introduced at an early period, has midtiphed vastly, and has spread over a marvellous extent of country. The English bee thrives very well in the colony, and produces a large quantity of honey. The flavour, I used to think, was scarcely so delicate as that of good home honey ; but there is a native bee as well, and it too is very plentiful. It is a very small dark brown creatui-e with glossy wings, and it invariably bviilds its nest high in the clefts and openings of trees. The aborigines are excessively fond of the honey of the wild bee, which is of a dark colour, very pure, but of a slightly f2 G8 QL'EEXSLAIO) ; coarse flavour. The way the blacks, and after thera the whites, obtain the honey is somewhat ingenious. The bee is so small, that you cannot see it with the naked eye a few feet above you. How, then, is the black fellow to ascertain whether a certain tree contains a hive or not ? On one occasion I was riding through the bush in company with a young man, the son of a farmer, and oiu" conversation ranged over such subjects as the scene and circumstances suggested. " How does the black fellow know for certain that such and such a tree contains a hive, and not the others? " said I to my companion. " Very easily," said he ; and as we passed along, I observed his sharp eye scanning the upper boughs of the huge trees. In a few moments he reined up his horse, and said, ' ' Come here ; take the position I now occupy, and direct your eye steadily towards the large bough on your right, about forty feet upwards, and tell me whether you see any object." I looked, and, siu-e enough, I saw at the point indicated what appeared to be a mass of scales dancing in the sun. It was the sun-light placing on the wings of the bees as they swarmed about the opening, eagerly pressing for admittance with their loads of plunder. "Ah!" said I, "I see it all now. Well, there can be no mistake when the sun shines." "No ; and in this land, as you shall know, sunshine is the rule." "When the blacks meet with a hive in their wanderings in the bush, they either climb the tree by notching it with their tomahawk and cut it out, or they set to and cut the tree dowoi. The laboiu' is nothing to these wild sons of natui-e, who wield theii' little weapons with great dexterity ; and when the tree is prostrate, they can extract their prize more dexterously and ■\A-ith less waste. Of few things are the aborigines careful, and they know nothing of economy ; but on no accoimt would they lose a di'op of the honey of the wild bee, and even the bark in which they preserve what they are not able to eat at the time is steeped in water, and the water drunk. On my visit to the Pine Eiver I was much interested in what I saw of the blacks, and was told by the kind-hearted squatter CHAEACTEPw OF THE ABOniOrXES. 69 ■witli ■wliom I stayed regarding them. He assui'ed me that tlie blacks a little to the north on the coast cherished very hostile feelings towards the whites ; but, he added, they discriminate between their friends and their enemies — between those who are faithful and kind to them, and those who break faith with them, and treat them harshly. He Avas under no apprehension, as the blacks far and near knew him, and had perfect confidence in his sincere good feeling. As a proof of the active existence of both feelings in the untutored breasts of these savages, I may state that two hundred had only a week before camped on this gentleman's nin, and several of them visited his house to assiu'o him that none of his cattle should be injured, "because ho was black fellow's friend; " but they vowed vengeance on those who "hated black fellow, and shot him dead." Many have been the quarrels that have taken place on sta- tions between the whites and the blacks, and often these have ended tragically. It is j)erhaps impossible to know the actual beginnings, but there is no doubt on the minds of most men that the whites are generally the aggressors. These occurrences are not so frequent as they used to be, and when they do take place, a more searching investigation is made than was wont to be in the olden time. My own experience of the aborigines of Queensland is, that they are indolent, inoffensive, good- humoured, and not destitute of a certain rude politeness. They are great cowards for a gim or a dog, but will think notliing of appropriating such an article as an axe, "ndthout any compimction. There is little independence of spirit among them, yet I have heard of one black fellow who accosted a white man cutting dovra a tree in the bush thus : — ""WTiat for white follow cut doAvn tree ? tree no white fellow's ; ti-ee black fellow's." And raising liimself to his utmost height, and spreading his arms wide, and rolling his large black eyes about with a wild fire, he added — "All fellow trees black fellow's." The poor savage meant by this grand natui-al gesture and these meagre words, that the wliito man was an intruder, and that the tree to wliich he had laid the axe and all the trees of the bush, yea, the country itself, belonged to the black man. The savage is right, but might is on the side of the intruder. 70 QUEENSLAND ; verted into butter or cheese, presents a very stiiTing scene in the morning'. On the occasion of my visit, I was up betimes to see all that was to be seen, even though, at that time, the thought of writing a book had never darkened my mental vision, or disturbed my midnight slumbers. A bit of advice to all who may emigrate : — Be observant ; keep your eyes wide open ; acquaint yourself with everything ; but do not thereby prevent yourself from the timely and energetic discharge of duty. At six, or somewhat earlier, the milking commences. The master, in many instances, does this work himself, — women seldom do it in the colony ; a lad, or black fellow, conveys the milk in pails to the dauy, where the mistress receives it in charge. The j)rocesses of butter-making and cheese-making go on in the early morning in the coolest place in the station, two or three times in the Aveek, and, in many instances, every lawful morning. About the half of the milk that each cow yields is left for the good of the calf, which very speedily helps itseKto its share, as the cow, when dismissed from the "bail," the place where she is fixed to be milked, is turned into the stock-yard, where the hungry calves have been all night. It is quite a sight to see two or three dozen sleek and lively creatui'es at their morning meal. The calves grow up and increase the herd by at least 50 per cent, per annumi ; and the cheese and the butter are transferred at short intervals, often on horses' backs, to the nearest town. The cheese is poor, and draws about 9d. per pound ; the butter is good, and generally fetches from 2s. to 2s. 6d. per pound. On such a station as this, pigs and poultry are abundant, are well fed, and meet with a ready market at prices of which you hear no complaints. When in the neighbourhood of a salt-water creek, where the fish is abundant, the industrious farmer sometimes adds to his other avocations that of fish- curer. The fish is verj^ good, and, prepared thus, meets with a ready and remunerative sale in the towns. Anxious to see the character of the rim, I willingly accepted the invitation of my kind host to accompany him on his tour of inspection. We were five houi's in the saddle, and during that time you may suppose that we went over a considerable space. The portion of the run we traversed was, in many parts of it, soils; lOLNGAllOOS, OPOSSUMS. 71 exceedingly like an English park on a magnificent scale. The timber was by no means so heavy as it is near Brisbane, and in many parts there were not many large trees to the acre. The surface was diversified somewhat, but was all covered with an abundant feed. Here and there were undulating ridges of light soil, and near to the mouth of the river there was some swampy land ; but the vast proportion of the run. over which I rode was composed of some of the finest soil I had met with in Queensland. It is not black mould, but a soil of a deep red colour, and can scarcely be excelled for agricultiu'al purposes. In other parts of the colony I have seen the finest crops growing on the same kind of soil. On the Pine River, and in all other parts of the colony where I have seen it, I obseiwed that it lay in extended plateaux, through which the streams, when flooded, had cut many deep trenches, or miniature ravines. Yoii cannot imagine anj-thing in the agricultviral way more enticing to the farmer than these vast plateaux ; and as I rode along, my fancy pictured them covered with the Sea Island cotton-plant, and a busy and happy popidation picking and secxu'ing the precious fibre. The fancy is about to become realitj^, for I observe, since my return, that this very district, and lands farther to the north, have been proclaimed an agricultural reserve. If all the other reserves are chosen with equal judgment, as I have no doubt they are, the home popidation who avail themselves of the " free grants" have a good prospect before them. The kangaroo, opossum, flying-fox, kangaroo-rat, and other minor game, abound in these unmolested parts ; and the various common birds, too, seemed to be fairly represented. "We came in contact with an "old-man kangaroo," as the large males arc designated by the bushmen, with whom I was not a little amused. We were walking oiu" horses, and came upon him feeding quietly in companj' with what appeared to us to be some four or five females, whom he obviously considered under his protection. He allowed us to approach within a few yai'ds, and then jvmiped, or, as we woxdd say in Scotland, "bobbed," on in the rear of his party. This he did sevenxl times ; and at last, di'eading some danger, although, poor brute, he was safe enough in ovu* neighboui'hood, and had nothing in the world to dread from us, he increased the speed, and lengthened 72 QUEENSI^iiST) ; the span of Ms leaps, till he bounded like what I had never before witnessed, over the ridge, and down by the densely- wooded banks of the river. Often he sat erect to look and to listen ; and on such occa- sions he pricked his ftdl ears, and his short fore-feet hung pendant, the very embodiment of physical fecklessness. The kangaroo, in jumping, does not use its fore limbs, but holds them close to the chest, with the paws hanging do"\vn. Nor does it use its enormous tail, as many suppose. The tail is used simply as a balance, and never touches the groimd except when feeding, or Avhen sitting erect. The whole weight of the body in jumping is received on the very powerful lower joints of the hind legs. I can now fancy the excitement and zest of a kangaroo hunt, although I have never witnessed one. My companion was naturally led to tell me some of the exploits of these " old men of the wood," when closely pressed by the dogs, kept and trained for the special hunt, in which he had often taken part. Yotmg and inexperienced dogs not xmfrequently meet with their death, or are maimed for life, by these powerful creatm-es, when hard pressed. If they come within reach, they are almost certain to be ripjDed up by one jerk of the principal claw on the hind foot, whicli they use as the chief weapon of defence, and a powerful one it is. Old dogs will rarely attack the kangaroo when at bay ; they rather dog his steps, and weary him out by a series of annoying side attacks. Old kangaroos have been known to wile the dogs to water-holes, where they often succeed in effecting their escape. Indeed, they always take to the water when within reach ; and many a good kangaroo hoxmd has lost its life by following them. The knowing old fellows plunge into the water, and, with fore paws expanded, await their pursuers. Should the temper of the dog urge him to follow, the " old man" receives him in his powerfid embrace, and presses him imder water till he is suffocated. Diuing the time of my visit, there was a small native camp in the immediate neighbourhood of the house. I could see their fires and hear their constant chatter through the chinks of my bed-room door. The blacks were perfectly inoffensive, except in their nasty habits, and several of them did little light jobs on the station. I interested myself in watching AJf ABORIGIXAI. StTTPEE. to tkeir movements, and noting tlieir habits and occupations. Early in tlie morning, the men who were not engaged doing anything for the squatter went out to iish and }nint, and returned at sun-down, bearing -^-ith them the game they had caught. The fish they take with nets, made by the gins or married women, of grass, on the same principle as those that are used by fishermen on our own shores, or by j)lacing innu- merable twigs across some shallow part of the crock at high water, and when the tide returns, the water passes tlirough, but the fish are detained. They obtain the game by tracking them to their places of shelter, generally in the excavations of large trees, and then cutting them out with theii- small hand axe or tomahawk, without which no black ever travels. I was present on one occasion when the "pavtj returned, and shall tell you exactly what took place. The sun had gone down, and black night was creeping over the bush. The trunks of the great weather-beaten trees appeared grotesque and fearsome in the flickering glare of the camp fii-es. The gins and the piccininnies (black children) were squatting around, and retain their positions. The men cast upon the groimd the fish and the other items of which they were possessed. Then followed a s^Decies of consultation, which was wholl}- incom- prehensible to me, but was understood by my friend, who was well acquainted with their language. The upshot was, that the best of the fish was off'ered in barter for damper, and beef, and tea. The bargain was struck, the blacks received a good supper, and we a delicious accompaniment to damper and tea next morning. The remainder of the fish was cast upon the fire, roasted, and devoured without further ado, or any pre- paration. The only thing they had caught in the shape of game was a kangaroo-rat, a creatiu-e about the size of a rabbit ; and I shall never forget the look of contempt wliich one of the sable ladies gave as she seized the rat, examined its qualities, and then tlu'ew it, with the utmost nonchalance, on the glo^^'ing embers. For a moment she allowed it to bo enveloped in the ruddy glow, then turned it (still contemp- tuously) with a stick, then seized it aiid scraped it all over with her long skinny fingers. On the fire it was cast again, and allowed to broil for a minute or two, then it Avas removed to undergo the process of opening. The viscera was taken 74 QUEENSLAND out, and the ca^dty was filled with, grass. The carcass was again placed on the fire, remained a few moments, was then removed, torn in pieces, and devoured. The entire operation was performed by the skinny fingers of the gin, and the process did not take much more time than I take to rehearse it. Thus passed off the only aboriginal supper of which I was witness, although one often encounters the blacks at their stray meals. The after talk was not a little amusing, and not altogether void of interest. Inferior though the aboriginal be to the white man, who is gi-aduaUy aj)propriating his country, yet he is " a man and a brother ; " and, however degraded, you can- not but experience some interest when you see indications of awakening intelligence and rationality. "We talked about various things, chiefly about where they had been, what they had seen, and what they could do. Only one young man had the least gHmmering of anything spmtual or rehgious, or showed the least desire to know anything higher than them- selves. This person, I was told, would sometimes pu.t a question regarding the Maker of white men, and the rivers, and the kangaroos, and the thunder ; and he had come to understand that drinking, and swearing, and steahng were ofiensive to the Good One. My opinion is, jfrom all that I have seen, that minds of a sanguine natui'e, who have sj)oken or written on the subject of the aborigines of North Australia, have attributed to them more notions of spiritual things than they really pos- sess. It is very sad, but is notwithstanding a fact, account for it as we may, and abuse it though some do. My friend, willing to give me as much insight of their cha- racters, and habits, and notions as possible, drew them out into conversation. One fellow, with a cowardly look, although he was a great boaster, and whom I had seen making spears and waddies the day before, desired him to tell white fellow (myseK) that those weapons I had seen him making were intended to kill certain men of another tribe ; and he poised the weapon the while, with the utmost grace, to show me how he should effect his pui-pose. This was all *'boimce" before "white fellow." The same genius laid claim to be a "rain maker," and he managed to keep up the deception among a few; but his explanation of his superior and supernatural PASTOIUX A]ST) AGEICULTUR^Uj IXTEUESTS. 75 claims was so confused and alDsurd, tliat I could make neither head nor tail of it. When we were ahout to retire, three of the young men qxiitc took me by siu-prise by striking up " Aidd Langsyne ! " They simg ifc well; and when a homely Scotch word dropt from their memories, they put in one of their own, thus preserving the tune, whatever havoc might be made of the sense. At this time, I had not been long in the colony, and, separated as I was from every relative I had on earth, this slight incident started a train of thought, and opened a fountain of feeling, neither of which did I wish disturbed that nijrht. XII.— THE DESIDEEATUM. Squatting is certainly at present the staple of Queensland, and for a long while it will retain the ascendancy. We can anticipate a time, however, and believe in its realization, if this new colony shall be conducted for a series of years with an equal amount of political wisdom as that which has character- ized its commencement, when the agricultural interest will be second only (if second) to the pastoral. The two systems are not, as many persons, especially among the ill-informed on both sides, seem to think, of antagonistic natiire. They are, in truth, but the parts of one great system, whereby the large resources of the colony are to be developed. The one is the complement of the other. Neither, without the other, is perfect. The world's history shows us that the one follows hard on the heels of the other, and in numerous instances has overtaken and surpassed its predecessor. "We have the pastoral; why should we not make an effort to produce the agricultural ? It will come. The sooner it comes, the better for the colony, and in some important respects, as we shall see, the better for Old England herself. In fact, we consider the introduction of an agricultural popvdation the desideratum of the day as it regards Queensland. Say that the colony, in its length and its breadth, were in the hands of the squatters, and that ever}' acre had its estimated complement of stock, woidd any man presimie to affirm that that colony was jdelding up to man the abundant resoui'ces 76 QUEENSLAND ; ■with, "wliicli it has been endo-wed by a beneficent Providence ? There would be abundance of wool, very much tallow, bides, and hoofs, and horns without number, and mountains of bones would flank the boiling-down estabhshments ; but after all, what is this, as a final result, in comparison with the treasures which the hand of honest industry might gather under the combined influence of a rich soil and a genial clime ? Every person who desires the prosperity of Queensland, must wish success to its agTicultiu-e. On the one side of oui" banner there is the stimulating motto — Adv^u^ce Austeaxia ; on the other let us inscribe in letters of gold one more homely and not less significant — Speed the Plough. There is room enough for both squatter and farmer; and whilst the one sends home to the English market the cleanest and the finest wool he can produce, let the other be encoui'aged to supply the looms of Manchester and Glasgow with the fine cotton fibre which our extensive sea-board is capable of growing. In order to accomplish this, many thousands of industrious families must be induced to settle in those districts where agTi- cultural operations of a nature suited to the soil and cHmate are most hkely to prosper ; and there are many such districts in Queensland. The entire surplus population of the kind referred to, that England could supply for years to come, might be disposed of there with incalcidable advantage to the colony, and very palpable advantage to themselves. A numerous class of small proprietors resident on and cultivating theu- own farms would be the making of this new country. When a man has an interest in the soil as a proprietor, it effects a salutary change in all his views, and he becomes an excellent citizen and a devoted patriot. This is the material of which the sub- stratum of society shoidd be composed ; and as is the character of the foundation, so will be the structure raised upon it. You may fill the country with Chinam_en and coolies, but these wiU never constitute a colony worthy of the name of British ; and this magnificent country would in that case be handed over to a few great capitahsts, Avho would grow cotton as the squatters produce wool, and, both being generally absentees, the popu- lation would consist mainly of sheep and Asiatics. "We have no special objection to the introduction of Chinese and coohes by the employers of labour on their own accoimt ; THE desideeatum:. 77 but we deprecate tlie eniplo\'ment of labour falling into the hands of a few moneyed men, who have no possible interest in the country, excej)t it be to extract the greatest possible amount of money at the least possible outlay, for the piu'pose of keep- ing up expensive establishments in other countries. There is a tendency in the squatting system in this direction ; but under wise pohtical laws and enhghtened social and commercial arrangements, this tendency will be checked, and the squatter wiU become a resident on the soil more generally than he is at present. Entrust the production of cotton to great capitalists, entirely by cooHe or Chinese labour, and you vastly increase the evil of absenteeism, and fix it as a ciu'se and a permanent blight on one of the finest colonies under the British crown. The emplo}Tnent of labour in such a colony as Queensland should be in as many hands as possible ; in this way alone will you succeed in securing a resident proprietary, and the expen- diture of the money of the colony for the development still farther of its resources. The proprietary of which I speak may either work with their own hands, or they may employ what labour, black or white, they Hke, according to their ability ; or they may do both, which appears to us the most feasible of all plans that have been broached. But you can only secure such a proprietary by inducing the industrious families who have difficidty in hving at home to emigrate to the colony. This is, indeed, the desideratum, — a large industrious pro- prietary, each resident on his own freehold farm, using his o^vn head and hands, the hands of his grown family, and as many more, black or white, as it suited him, to develop the resources of the soil. These would constitute the j-eomen of Queensland, the very heart and soul of the country. This is the class that Yictoria and New South "Wales are so desirous to have estab- lished on their rich valleys and wheat-producing plains. This is the class that has given stability and reasonable prosperity to South Australia, after the disasters that followed quick on the blunders by wliich the commencement of that colony was characterized. This is the class that has converted Tasmania into a gi'eat agricultiu-al country. This is the class, too, that has raised New Zealand to the position wliich it now occupies as a grain-producing colony. And what would any of these 78 QUEENSLAIO) ; colonies speedily become, were this class of industrious small proprietors, wlio think it no degradation to work with their own hands, to be withdrawn, and their places supplied by a few great squatters or cotton cultivators? "V\Tiat would England herself be without her stout-hearted yeomen ? By every legitimate means, therefore, this class of emigrants should be induced to go to Queensland. None would derive more benefit from the change than they themselves and their families ; and in no other way, keeping before our minds past colonial experience, and the common sense view of things, can the resources of such a colony as Queensland be perfectly de- veloped. Besides producing wool, and cotton, and sugar, aU of which could be done by the non-resident capitalist, there are many other articles which the country is capable of producing, and which could be cultivated only by such a resident popu- lation as we desiderate. And, in addition to this, is it not a consideration of vast importance to Britain, that here, in Queensland, one of the healthiest colonies in the world, and one of the richest, any number of her hard- worked and under- paid population may find a comfortable home ? And whilst they supply the raw materials for her looms, they create a new outlet for many of her manufactures. A colony of Chinamen and coolies will be poor customers to the manufacturers of Manchester, Glasgow, and Leeds, in comparison with a popu- lation of British origin and with British tastes. That there is abundance of agricultxiral land in Queensland on which to place such a population as this, is well known, although for a long time this was denied, and even yet you may meet with some well-to-do squatter, or speculator in stock, who affirms the contrary. The Report of the Committee of Assembly, published in 1860, and the experience of many small farmers in the neighboiu'hood of all the towns, prove this beyond all doubt. And Grovernment have adopted the most efi'ectual method of settling this question, by having had large districts of country in several parts of the colony surveyed, with the view of industrious families settling thereon, for the special pui-pose of cultivating the soil. At the time we write, there are eleven such reserves surveyed, and open to pur- chasers, together containing nearly 200,000 acres of first-rate agricultural land. WHAT WILL THE COLONY GROW? 79 There is room, then, for any number of industrious families who shall give their energies to agricultural pursuits in Queens- land ; and every facility is afforded them by Government, the nature and the value of which will be better understood by the home reader when he has perused the chapters that follow. In these chapters, too, he will have placed before him, in as much detail as my space will admit of, both the tind of work he will have to do, and the probable remimeration the various products of the soil are likely to yield. My work done, — which is to place before the public the claims of a new and little known British colony, — I shall feel satisfied that I have done my duty, both to the colony and my fellow coimtrymen, and shall leave every man to judge for himself. Xin.— WHAT WILL THE COLONY GEOW? This question will natm-ally occur to those who have some thoughts about emigrating ; and a very reasonable question it is. To one who has been in the colony, and observed what is going on there, and the nature and variety of the products gathered by the energetic and planning farmer, the question that is suggested is rather this — "What will the colony noi grow?" There is a combination of circumstances in favour of Queensland, as a field for agricultural pursuits, by small freehold farmers, which exists in few other countries. Pirst of all, the climate, though warm, is very healthy, and Europeans, with ordinary care, can work in the field all the year over, when their laboxir is required, with imp^mit3^ I am aware that parties are at the present time making strong- statements to the contrary ; but this does not affect my remarks, for they are made on the ground of competent testi- mony, observation, and experience, all of which have been more fully detailed under the head of climate. Then, the soil is varied, much of it hght, but much also very rich, and largely productive. It ranges from light quick loams, through all the varieties of fr-iable clays, to the richest vegetable moiild. Yery much of the land, especially in the interior, is fit onl}' for grazing purposes ; but it will be a long while before the proper agricultural lands are exhausted. The geographical 80 QUEENSLAND ; position of the country, being partly within and partly without the tropics, contributes largely to the productiveness of the soO.. The rainy seasons, on the one hand, arc more broken up and distributed than in thorough tropical regions ; and the long droughts and hot winds of the southern colonies, on the other, are all but unknown. The consequence is, that the country is always green, and the crops are not arrested. Failiu'es A^dll, of coiu'se, sometimes take place in crops quite suited to the soil and chmate, but that is rare when justice is done by the husbandman ; and, as a matter of course, failiu'es often take place when crops unsuited to the soil and climate are persisted in. The bush lands, that is, the open forest lands, along the coast for hundreds of miles, and inland for about 50, are well adapted to the cultivation of the cotton plant, the sugar-cane, the coffee, and tobacco shrubs, and all sorts of textile plants, from which paper and cordage may be produced in any quan- tities. The undulating country, covered in many places with a soU, the debris of old slates and shales, mil grow the grape and the pine-apple to perfection. The scrub lands, that is, those numerous low, level patches by the margins of rivers and creeks, above high-water mark, clothed with the most luxuriant and beautiful vegetation, composed of black imctuous clay and vegetable mould, will grow anything that may be cast into them by the hand of man — all the better should a system of draining be adopted. The extensive plateaux in many parts of the sea-board, obviously old sea-marks, of a deep chocolate coloiu', but little understood as yet, mil pro- duce magnificent crops of Sea Island cotton, and all kinds of fruit ; while in the interior, within the moist influence of the moxmtain ranges, where the temperatiu'e is moderate, wheat is grown equal at least to that which is produced in South Australia, New Zealand, or Van Dieman's Land. The capabilities are great, and the range of product is also great. On the same farm you may see growing, side by side, maize, peas, potatoes, oats, coffee, sugar-cane, arrowi'oot, ginger, flax, cotton, peaches, oranges, apricots, figs, mulberries, grape- vines, pine-apples, and bananas. All these may bo seen grow- ing to perfection in the open air, and imder any ordinary treatment, in the neighboiu-hood of Brisbane. And shoidd the rEODXTCXmilXESS OF THE AGEICrXTUE.\X L.\jrDS. 81 reader still put the qiiestlou, ""WTiat does the colony grow?" I might add several items to the above list. The agriculture of Queensland is in its very infancy, and partakes of the imperfections and defects of an infantile state. But under proper treatment it will speedily got over these, and rise to the imj)ortanco to which it is destined to attain. Queensland will one day take a high place, in regard to agri- cidture as well as to pastoral avocations, among the Australian colonies. But before this is realized, we must have an influx of the right sort of emigi'ants, and those who are at present engaged on the soil will require to manifest more energy and enterprise. Those who have begun to cultivate the soil have, in many instances, much to unlearn ; and all new comers have miich to learn, even though they may have been connected with the agriciiltural interests at home. In point of fact, agi'i- cultxu'e on scientific principles is yet to begin in Queensland, for the present tiller of the soil, if he may have come from Essex or fi-om Lothian, follows in the footsteps of his father or gi-andfather, regai-dless alike of the difference of soil, and cereal, and cHmate ; and many a time he has had no closer relation to the soil in his native land than that sustained by the country tailor or cobbler. On one occasion, when talking with a i^erson who had been some years in the colony, oiu* conversation turned on agri- culture. "Ah, sir," said he, "agriculture will never do here. There is no use in trying." " What !" said I, "do you mean to say that that beautiful soil I pass over, by the banks of these creeks, every day I ride a few miles into the bush, is of no value for agricultural piu'- poses, and is destined only to feed the kangaroo, or support the townspeoples' cows and calves." " I mean to say, sii*," he replied, with gi'eat pomposity and wounded vanity, — "I mean to say, sir, that farming in this colony will not do ; in proof of which, sir, I myself have tried it, and failed." This seemed perfectly satisfactory to his mind, and possiblj' might have some influence with others, who were not competent to form a judgment for themselves ; but with me it went for notliiug. Nor will it have much weight with any of my Q 82 QUEENSLAiro ; readers, wlien I tell them tliat my friend was a craftsman of limited celebrity, and in any town in Scotland would have been called a "daidlin body;" in plain English, a handless, good-for-nothing creature. On statements such as these, by writers equally incompetent, made to friends at home, and in the other colonies, thi'ough their correspondence, is the cha- racter of a new country misrepresented, traduced, and damaged. First impressions are abiding, and the first impressions of Queensland, as a country fitted to bring to profitable perfection its own peculiar products, shoTild be favourable. ~We want men for this colony who know the difference between vegetable mould and clay when they see them — who understand that climate must regulate crop — ^who will watch the seasons and forecast the probable demand for their produce — who will follow neither their incapable neighbour, nor their antiquated grandfather, but who have suificient moral courage to act on their own matured judgment, foimded on experience and observation in connexion both with soil and climate. I should sincerely rejoice to see the weaver, the tailor, the shoe- maker bettering his circximstances by betaking himself to the soil ; but if he neglect the reasonable conditions, or if he be incompetent, he must not expect to realize a fortune as a farmer, nor must he represent far and near that his failure forsooth is a proof that the boundless lands of the colony are good for nothing but to feed cattle or sheep. The colony can produce many things; and the men who win their bread by the sweat of their brow, who have a head to plan and hands to work, can alone provide the kind of labour, to whose steady application it will give forth the trea- s\u-es it contains. It matters not to which of the handicrafts they may belong ; it matters not whether they may have followed the plough, cast the drain, stood at the bench, worked at the forge, sat on the board, phed the shuttle, or dug in the mine ; if firrnished with the indispensable moral qualities, and physical powers, they are the men who shall take theii- place with success in the agricultural enterprise of Queensland. COTTON SUPPLY. 83 XIY.— COTTON SUPPLY. For several years, considerable anxiety has been felt regard- ing the supply of cotton, and some attempts have been made to increase the number of sources whence it might be dra-wn. Far-seeing men, when they contemplated the daily development of the trade in cotton stu£fs, and thought of England being dependent on soui'ces foreign to herself for the supply of the raw material, naturally entertained a certain amoimt of anxiety. Perhaps it scarcely took shape in most minds ; it existed as a vague uneasiness ; it required something of a decisive nature to give it form, to convert it into a motive to action. Eecent events, and events still pending, the effects of which in a commercial point of view, no man can forsee, furnish a motive of sufficient strength to xirge the cotton lords of Lan- cashire, and all parties interested in the prosperity of our great manufactiu'ing enterprise, to take action in this matter. The civil war in America, whatever be its consequences to the American people, has certainly taught us the foUy and the danger of depending on strangers for an article of such vital importance as cotton. But whether it shall rouse John Bull thoroughly to action, is another and very different question. Up to a ver}^ recent date, America supplied us with eight- tenths of the fibre used in the cotton manufactures of Britain ; and although the relative proportions from this and from other countries are daily changing, yet such a state of matters gives that country much more power over oiu' great national interests than shoidd be allowed, except under the direst necessity. There are few questions of more vital importance to the mother coimtry than that of the supply of cotton. Much of her wealth, and not a little of her influence among the nations of the world, depend upon it. With it, therefore, is closely bound up our national progress and prosperity. But the supply hitherto has been almost exclusively from coimtries over which we have no control, and must therefore be, at the best, subject to too many contingencies. Is it wise in Britain to remain dependent on the foreigner for the supply of such an article ? The growing impression on the public mind \indoubtedly is,, that it is not. And fi-om many indications — from the meet- ings that are being held in the manufacturing districts — fi'om g2 84 QUEENSLAIv'D ; an extensive correspondence in the newspapers — fi'oni the able articles that are appearing in the most intlnential organs of pnbhc opinion — from the associations that are coming into existence — it is very obvious that this subject is not merely agitating the surface, but moving to its depths the mind of a large portion of the English public. But whether this shall lead to decided action, and whether that action shall be in the right direction, is yet to be proved. Much talk about it is good to create, and spread, and sustain an interest ; but mere talk is useless. Subscribing money to purchase cotton from the native producers, and to assist experiments in new fields, may be very laudable, and may effect a fractional amoimt of good ; but we respectfully submit that tliis goes a short way to meet the case, and to secure a result worthy of the interests at stake. Even the proposal, which meets with so much favour in England, to imj)ort Chinese and coolies to those countries connected with the British crown, where cotton may be grown does not, in oiu* judgment, come up to the exigencies of the case. In the English mind, the question is too much one of pounds, s hillin gs, and pence. Now, although it must, of necessit}^, be viewed very much in this light, yet why narrow the ground to this one issue ? In oiu* peculiar circumstances, as possessed of an extensive colonial empire, as having a yearly surplus of population to dispose of, why not associate the demand for cotton supply with the necessity for emigi'ation ? Is it not worth oiu- while to inquire whether the Avise direction of tho one might not, in great measure, furnish us with what we want of the other ? If our own siu-plus industrious population could be got to produce, in part at least, the cotton fibre we must have for our numerous looms, we should then secure a three-fold result, tho consequences of which no man could over- estimate : There would be a great reduction of contingencies, the maximum stabihty in the supply would be gained; the surplus and ujiderpaid labour would be well provided for, and the laboxir market at home would never be glutted ; the manu- factui-ers would find in such a population a valuable and constantly aug-menting market for their various fabrics. We should like to see the question discussed on this broad groimd. Meanwhile , if we mistake not, the only question that weighs COTTON' SXJPPLY AITD EMIGRATION. 85 with tlio public is, wliero shall v^e get our cotton for the smallest possible sum per pound ? This, wo admit, is the first and the most important question ; but it is by no means the only one of importance that demands our consideration at such a crisis. We want upwards of one thousand millions of pounds weight of cotton per annum to keep our looms going, and we want it at the lowest possible figure ; but we also want the supply to be subject to as few fluctuations and contingencies as possible. Of this quantity, America, in 1859, fui-nished upwards of eight hundi-ed miUions ; the remainder was derived from India, West Indies, Brazil, the Mediterranean, and one or two other countries. It is not wise to depend so entirely on any one country, not under British control, for such a large proportion of this in- dispensable staple. Whither, then, shall we turn our eyes? What country or countries may be expected to respond to our call ? Some look to Africa, and they imagine that a large supply may be prociu-ed from the tribes on the Zambesi and its tribu- taries, and from the free blacks, whom British philantlu'opy, vnth. its usual largeness of heart, proposes to reinstate in their own country. These schemes may or may not come up to expectation, but even though a large supply could be produced in this field, where is oiu" guarantee that it would be steady ? You may enter into arrangements ; you may make certain stipidations ; but should these wayward tribes become jealous, mischievous, or refractory, who is to enforce the conditions ? However fair may be the prospect in this direction, however certain it may be that much cotton may be produced, yet you can't command a regular supply-, because you have no real power over the producers. Some look to the West Indies, and from that quarter they believe a large annual supply might be derived. The liberated negroes are willing to perform the work for a i-easonable da3-'s wage, and the quality of the cotton is good. Good ; but we need a much larger supply than we are likely to receive per- manently fi'om Jamaica. ' Others direct theu- eye to India. There, it is alleged, that any quantity of the raw material may be produced. This we don't mean to dispute ; but the question of production or 86 QTJEENSLAIJD ; growth, is not the only one. In India, two difficulties meet us : first, the carriage of the cotton when produced, and the uncertainty of the allegiance of the Indian hordes. According to accounts, the difficulty and the expense of land carriage, before the cotton can be put on board ship, amount almost to a prohibition. And then it must be admitted that experience has taught us that little dependence is to be placed in a subject community like that of India. The same or similar difficulties will meet us were we to turn our attention to Bra2dl, or to any other foreign country. We want to have the supply more steady than any half-civilized or subject people can ever secure to us ; and we must have it, accompanied with fewer contingencies than we ever can expect to have, if the main soui'ces of supply are in countries over which Britain has no control, or in which her authority may be disputed. There are some persons who believe that England has no need, even in the matter of cotton, to lean upon others. "We can conceive of circumstances in which a gi'eat nation like the English might be placed, and which, while they could not prevent such anxieties and inquiries as at present prevail, might yet effectually prevent the application of any remedial measure. She might have had no influence in the Indian Ocean, no access to the products of Hindostan ; she might never have had, or, having them, might have been denuded of, her semi-tropical possessions in the Southern hemisphere ; and situated so, how- ever much she might have felt and deplored her dependence, from force of circumstances she must be dependent still. But England is not so situated. Thanks to a beneficent Providence, she holds the remedy in her own hand ; it remains to be proved whether she has the wisdom, and will have the patience and perseverance to apply it. She may draw much more largely than she has ever done on her possessions, both in the East and the West Indies. Erom these sources united, a large proportion of the raw material might be realized under a properly organized system of culti- vation, although it would be folly to depend upon them. In these countries, where the labour is cheap and abundant, and where the commonest kinds coiild be grown, a successful com- petition might be organized, and the American planter be made HEE. VAST COTTON-FIELD. 87 to feel that tlie slave-produced article was not so absolutely in possession of the market of the world as he fancied. But, best of all, Britain possesses in her own loyal depen- dencies, in the Southern hemisphere, a vast extent of territoiy, which, both as it regards soil and chmate for the growth of the plant, and the means of conveyance to the shipping in any of the ports over a sea-board of 600 miles, is \insurpassed in any country in the world. Providence seems to have destined the cotton-field of Queensland to be cultivated by British labour, and thus afibrd the most convincing of all j)roofs that our cotton supply is not dependent on slavery. Such a monstrous evil cannot much longer exist. The country where it is cherished will never be secure, and will never prosper; nor will the interests dependent upon it ever be secure against fluctuation and sudden change. Neither the North nor the South portion of the (United) States have apparently any serious intention of removing the evil. They are devotees of the " almighty dollar," and are not troubled with a scrupulous conscience. Britain has now the opportunity of showing them a better way. "Were the view which we have ventured to take and express in these pages of our cotton supply in connexion with the extensive emigration of industrious famihes, to be countenanced by our manufactiu'ers, merchants, and statesmen, ere long we should have on the sea-board of Queensland a large white population engaged in the profitable production of cotton, quite equal to the finest American fibres. XV.— QUEENSLAND COTTON-FIELD AND COTTON. The reader will naturally desiderate some accoimt of the proposed cotton-field in Queensland, and also of the cotton produced there. This we shall supply in the present chapter. As regards the quantity of land that might be put imder cotton, that may be said to extend from the Logan, neai" the south boundary, along the coast for at least 600 miles, with an inland range of about 50 miles, including most of the islands that skirt the coast. It is, of coiu'se, impossible to place all this vast breadth of country imder crop at once, even though we had the necessary white labour landed on its shores; 88 QUEENSLAND ; for it is more or less heavily timbered, and must first be cleared, and fitted for tlie plant. This is the work of time ; but, in time, we doubt not, it wiU be accompHshed. The districts that have been selected as agricultural reserves are not only of rich soil, but also, on the average, thinly timbered. Here, of course, the clearing commences, and from each centre it will gradually spread till the country shall be denuded of much of its robust vegetation. Inland, the cotton produced may not be so good in quahty, and will, therefore, not be so high in price ; but near the coast, and on the islands, any quantity of the cotton, known in the market as "Sea Island," may be produced. There is field enough here to grow as much as England at present consumes. The excellence of the Queensland cotton-field does not alto- gether lie in its vast extent. The soil, although varied, is most admirably suited to produce crops of the finest quality ; and because of the suitable soils being associated with a fine chmate, the quantity corresponds with the quahty. It will, therefore, pay the farmer to devote his capital and attention to its cultivation. This vast cotton-field, with a soil and climate so admirably adapted to the production of the finest fibre known in oiu' home-market, has yet another important recommendation. Along the coast there are at least four harbours, where large ships may receive theii- cargoes — Bris- bane, Maryboiu'gh, Gladstone, and Eockhampton ; and, ere long, ships drawing over 22 feet will be able to sail right up the river Brisbane, and anchor in the very heart of the capital. By this time the steam-dredge is at work to remove the few obstacles in the shape of sand and mud-banks. Add to this the fact, that a large portion of the richest lands on the coast is completely intersected by navigable streams and creeks for at least 15 miles inland, and you perceive how wonderfully favom-ed this colony is by a kind Providence. Besides aU this, the chmate is such that Eiu-opeans, with ordinary care, can do a regular and fair day's work, even in the hottest months, with impunity. I am aware that many persons think this impossible ; and on this assumption they build one of their great arguments for cooho labour. But I have only to remind the reader of what is stated under the head "Chmate" in an early part of this work, and to add that, everylawful day in MAKKET VALUE OF HEr. COTT027. 89 the year, shepherds, biillock-di-ivers, masons, and the whole class of laboui'ers, and small farmers, constantly ply their avocations with at least as Httlo mortality as befalls the same classes at home. Of Queensland cotton-field, this is the sum of what has been stated : — It is of vast extent, being 600 miles long by 50 wide, besides containing nearly all the islands on the coast. The soil varies, but is all admirably adapted to the gro-wth of cotton in its best varieties, especially Sea Island. The cUmate is most favourable to the plant, and not inimical to the Euro- pean constitution. White men labour all the year over, with no more disease, and no higher rate of mortaHty, than at home. There are nimierous navigable streams and creeks ready prepared to convey the bales of cotton to the harbours, with which the coast is largely provided, thence to be wafted, along with wool and other products, direct to the ports of London, Liverpool, and Glasgow. But some one may ask — "Has the cotton-producing power of Queensland ever really been tested ? Has the plant been grown there, and has the fibre been examined, and spim, and converted into cloth? The most conclusive reasoning is not enough; the matter should be brought to experiment." A reasonable question, and well put. I quite agi*ee with you, that the matter is much too important to be placed on any ground short of experiment, and on this ground alone do we place it. I must, therefore, request your attention to the e\ddence of the superior quahty of the limited quantities of cotton that have been grown in Queensland, and valued, and bought, and converted into cloth by EngHsh brokers and manufacturers. In 1854, when Queensland was connected v,-iilx New South Wales, a quantity of cotton grown there was submitted to Messrs. Hollingshead and Co., of Liverpool, for examination. The report of these gentlemen was in these terms : — "Wo have carefully examined the sample of AustraKan cotton sent us for valuation. It ranks ■s\-ith the highest class of Sea Island cotton, and, free fr'oni the few spots of stain, is worth 3s. per pound in this market. It is superior ia fineness and evenness of stai^le, though a little inferior in strength of staj)le, as com- pared with Sea Island. We return you the sample, as you 90 QUEENSLAND ; may not liave retained any, and send you a small bit of Sea Island worth to-day 2s. 6d. per pound, and another purchased to-day at 2s. 9d., both inferior to your sample, in our opinion, and in the opinion of the buyer of the 2s. 9d. lot." Three years later, that is, in 1857, Mr. Clegg, Manchester, addressed the following letter to Messrs. E. Barbour and Brothers, of the same city, which is too valuable in several resjpects to be curtailed : — "It gives me pleasui'e to state, after consulting Mr. Bazley, Messrs. Houldsworth, Barnes, and Co., and a dealer in Sea Island cotton, that the sample you sent to me is of very superior quality, almost too good for ordinary fine yams and for practical purposes. It was variously valued at from 2s. to even 4s. per lb. for fancy articles, the prevailing opinion being that it would realize 2s. 6d. to 3s. per lb., which I believe it would for moderate quantities, but great quantities of such valuable sorts are not required, being of limited con- sumption. I think, however, they might fairly calculate upon 2s. per lb. for a long time to come for such cotton. I have no doubt that, where this was grown, they can produce, in quantity^ the best cotton in the world jDerhaps, and ought forthwith to turn their attention to it, by getting abundance of labour either from China or from other soui'ces, free from any risk of intro- ducing slavery in its cultivation. "Your friends are right in saying that great care will be required in cleaning the cotton, so as not to damage its colour or injure the staple. Por this purpose, none but the roller gin should be used, unless, perhaps, McCartney's, which might also be tried, and both are made in Manchester at Messrs. Dunlop's ; I can get them right for your friends' exj)eriments if they wish. This fine cotton would, however, pay to be picked, sorted, and cleaned even by hand, although slow work. "The seed should be dry and hard before being cleaned, otherwise it crushes instead of leaving the cotton jfi*eely, and the oil in the seed stains the cotton. The finest and best grown pods should always be kept together, the next ditto, and even a third quality of inferior ones ; by these means the best prices would be realized for each, whereas, if mixed altogether, the whole would only seU for what the inferior alone would fetch. "A gentleman who has a son in Australia has previously OPLOTONS OP COMPETENT JUDGES. 91 sent me samples of this cotton, and they cannot do better than begin to plant all in their power, and send it in quantity. I shall have great pleasiu'e in selling such as they may send, to enable them to get the best possible price for it. To show that there is no risk, I dare at this moment buy 500 bales, of from 300 to 500 lbs. each, of this, at 2s. per lb. Do not, how- ever, let them deceive themselves, but calculate, as one of themselves lately said, on realizing an average of Is. 3d. to Is. 6d. per lb. Even this would be a very high price, Indian cotton ranging from 3d. to 5d. ; American bowed uplands Orleans, 3^-d. to 8id. ; Brazil, and similar staple, 5d. to 8d. ; Egyptian, from 5^d. to lOd. ; and Sea Island (yoxu* variety), lid. to 2s. fine quality to 4s. per lb." In the close of 1859, Mr. Haywood, Secretary to the "Cotton Supply Association," Manchester, in a letter addressed to Sir William Denison, then Governor of New South Wales, thus expresses himself: — " We are frequently receiving information of small parcels of most valuable cotton arriving from Australia, and there is a strong desire on the part of our spinners to obtain more. The class of cotton I refer to is a beautiful long staple cotton, of which I have received and sold parcels at Is. 8d. to 2s. per lb. The demand for this class of cotton is limited, as compared with the New Orleans variety, but there is no doubt that all ox the better class that is Hkely to arrive in this country for many years to come will be eagerly boxight up, and I shall be happy to call pubKc attention to any consignments of Avhich I may be advised, and to find a market for it if consigned to this address." At a meeting held in Manchester aboiit two years ago, Mr. Bazley is reported to have addressed his audience in these terms regarding Queensland cotton and its cultivation : — "About five years ago a few bags of Moreton Bay (Queens- land) cotton were sliipped to Liverpool, and I saw at once that, -with such vastly superior cotton, yam cotdd be produced finer than any that coidd be manufactiu'ed in India or Great Britain. I bought that cotton, carried it to Manchester, and spun it into exquisitely fine yam. I foimd that the weavers of Lancashire coidd not produce a fabric from it, it was so exceedingly delicate ; the weavers of Scotland could not weave 92 QUEENSLAIfD ; it; nor could even the manufacturers of France weave this yarn into fine muslin. It occurred to me to send it to Calcutta, and in due time I had the happiness of receiving from India some of the finest muslin ever manufactured, the produce of the skill of the Hindoos with this dehcate Austrahan cotton. At the Paris Exhibition, some of this mushn was placed in the same glass case with a large golden nugget from Australia, and the two attracted much attention. The soil and cHmate of Queensland are capable of producing, with proper care, 600 lbs. yearly per acre of this exquisitely fine cotton. Two crops could be grown each year. I value this cotton at Is. 3d. per lb., which would be equal to £40 per acre. This is no over estimate, for I have recently given Is. 8d. per lb. for Austrahan cotton. Now, £40 per acre is an enormous yield for any agricultural product ; and I do not think such a pro- fitable retiu'u could be obtained in any other country. Judging by what is done in the United States, a man with liis family in Queensland could cultivate ten acres of land, which would yield £400 per annum — a very high rate of profit." Most readers would be satisfied with the evidence presented above in proof of the superior nature of Queensland cotton ; but I have another witness whom I must produce. He is a gentleman still resident in the colony, and who has taken a lively interest in the subject of cotton growth for at least ten or twelve years. No man is better qualified than Dr. Hobbs, the gentleman to whom I now refer, to express an opinion on this subject. About five years ago, Mr. T. S. Mort, Sydney, who has always taken a lively interest in the subject, sub- mitted certain queries to Dr. Hobbs, the replies to which were embodied in a paper wliich appeared in Cox & Co.'s Austrahan Almanac for 1857. I shall transcribe a few of these questions, with the repHes which they ehcited : — "What species or varieties of cotton are cultivated, if any, in Moreton Bay (Queensland)?" "The Sea Island, introduced into the district by S. A. Donaldson, Esq., Sydney (now in England), seven years ago, propagated and distributed by myself to most of the growers in the neighboiu'hood. A very superior descrijotion of Sea Island is being cultivated this season, proj^agated from seed introduced by Cajotain W. B. O'Connell, which he brought TUB LADOLTl QXJESTIOX. 93 ii'om the prize sample in tlie Great Exiiibition iii Londou in 1851." "What variety is cultivated to the Lest advantage?" " The Sea Island, decidedly. Several coarser varieties have been tried and found to answer well." " How long have they been cultivated there, and fi-om what country -vvjtere they obtained?" " Experimental patches for seven years. The seed imported fi'om America." " Has the general character of the cotton fibre, as to length, strength, or uniformity, deteriorated since its introduction?" "No; the cotton from seed given by me to Mr. Eldridge has obtained prizes wherever exhibited — viz., a £00 prize tliree years ago at Sydney, a silver medal at the Sydney Exiiibition, and another silver medal at the Paris Exhibition." "What is the usual price of ginned cotton fibre per poimd ? " "The cotton sent from here has been usually picked by hand; such samples have been valued at Manchester and Glasgow at Is. 9d. to 2s. 6d. per pound." "Are the soil and chmate well adapted to its profitable growth?" "Admirably adapted." The cotton at present to be seen in the International Exiii- bition, from Queensland, and which has been valued by com- petent persons at 3s. 6d. per pound, bears out to the full, the strongest remark I have ventured to make regarding the staple grown in the new colony. Queensland furnishes one of the most magnificent cotton- fields to be foimd in the world. The facts stated, the cha- racter of which you are capable of judging, justify me in making this imqualified statement. And the evidence which I have collected and embodied in these few pages demon- strates that in no other field is cotton of a superior character likely to be produced. XYI.— WHITE LABOUE, OR BLACK LABOUE, OE BOTH ? Just as certain as the question of cotton supply is one of vast importance to England at this time, and will continue to 94 QUEENSLAND ; be, so certain is it that Queensland provides lier with a mag- nificent cotton-field of her own, and that the cotton fibre produced there cannot be surpassed. "What need, then, of further anxiety in this matter ? "Why such condolings because of' the interruption in the American supply? Why not direct our labour, and skill, and capital to the genial southern hemi- sphere, and, with all the energy and indomitable perseverance of our race, produce our own raw material ? No one can com- plain of this. I fancy we are as free to grow cotton as to manufacture it. And shoidd the fact of our becoming our own producers ofi'end brother Jonathan, and render his slave-pro- duced cotton an improfitable speculation, it really cannot be heljDed. In sober truth, whilst this is clearly the course on which England should now enter, it is the only way in which slavery is likely to be abolished. Render the " domestic institution" an unprofitable concern, and it will cease to be. This is an irresistible argument, and well will it be for America should the evil be removed thus. "Good," says the intelligent reader; "it is most desirable that England should have her own cotton-field ; it is plain that cotton, of a high character, can be produced in Queensland. But the question is, can we produce our own raw material, and, if we can, by what labour ? It is alleged, however, by some that it would be unwise to depend on Queensland as the source of our cotton supply in its more valuable varieties, because it is a country where the low and rich lands are subject to floods. In point of fact, the lands suited for the cultivation of cotton, sugar, &c., are not subject to floods ; and when they do come, they are not so tremendous as they are represented to be by those who deal in the raarvellous. A few years ago, there was a great flood in the Brisbane, its principal tributary, the Bremer, having risen some 40 feet. But this is altogether exceptional. The rivers in Queensland rarely rise to a height destructive of growing crops. It is further alleged that the season for picking the cotton is wet and imfavoiu-able ; and by a strange perversity, some even affii'm that the seasons are too dry for the culti- vation of this plant. The truth is, there are no very marked seasons of rain or drought there, but generally such a propor- tion of rain and sunshine as greatly contributes to the pro- COTTON BY WHITE LABOUK. 95 ductiveness of the soil, and the beauty and healthfuhiess of the climate. "We admit that the labour question is the great question of the day. "We have said as much already. It is not enough to show that our colony is capable of producing such and such staples in great demand at home or elsewhere ; it must also be shown that they can be produced at remunerative prices, and by what kind of labour — white, or black, or both. In England, and in the colony also, there is diversity of opinion on this question. In Queensland, there is now a sti'ong party in favoiu* of the introduction of Chinese and coolie labour ; and with this party it is obvious that the majority of manufactiu'ers and capitalists in this country who take any interest in this matter sympathize. The prominent members of this party, in their letters, and speeches, and communications to the pubHc press, deal in very sweeping assertions. They allege that the cotton-field in Queensland can never, and wOl never, be cultivated unless by the introduction of thousands of coohes and Chinese. I am not siu'prised at such an assertion proceeding from a home orator, or appearing in a home news- paper article ; for many of the data indispensable to an accurate judgment in the matter are cognizable only by those who have some colonial experience — experience, I mean, gained, not in the other colonies, but in Queensland itself. But it rather startles one to read the discussions that appear in the Queens- land papers on this point. Without presuming to dogmatize, I shall state my own opinion ; without anticipating the ap- probation of either party, I shall proceed to give as fair a view of the two sides of the case as I can, and suggest a course which might possibly add to the white labour production somewhat of profit, and take from the idea of coohe labour some of its offensiveness. The advocates of coolie labour rest their case on two gi'omids. Other considerations may be, in some instances, added, but all may be substantially reduced to these two : — 1. Hie price of labour. — That white labour is high, is a fact that neither of the parties deny, and it is used by the advocates of colonization to induce the home population to proceed to the colony. It is alleged that cotton cannot be grown at this hour in Queensland, -with wages at the present rates, by white 96 queensla::?© ; laboui', at siicli a profit as would justify the employment of British capital. The only way this assertion can be met is by an appeal to statistics. But, fii-st, I shall place before the reader the results of two experiments made by Mr. Hill, the Director of the Botanical Gardens, Brisbane : — "In the months of September, 1857 and 1858, a half an acre of groimd on an open situation, of a sandy loamy soil, was selected and dug one spade deep for the cultivation of the Sea Island cotton plant. Previously to planting, the seeds were steeped in water diu-ing some hours ; they were afterwards rolled in sand in order entirely to separate them from each other. This process very much accelerates their germination. In the month of October, the seeds were planted in rows, four feet distance from each other ; two or three seeds were dropped in each hole, because some of them are liable to rot in the groimd; the seeds were covered with earth one inch thick. The plants made their apj^earance in about eight days. At abovit the end of four weeks the groimd was carefully weeded, and those plants which were the weakest were drawn, and only one plant left in the hole. The ground was frequently hoed and kept free from weeds. "When the plants were about five months old, they showed signs of flowering. The stems and branches were thinned, and about an inch was broken off fr'om the end of each shoot to determine the sap of the capsules. The time of the seeds coming to matui-ity was little more than six months after they had been planted. This period is, however, well indicated by the spontaneous bursting of the capsule, or seed pod. In gathering the fibre, care was taken to withdraw it fi'om the capsule, leaving the empty husks upon the jilant. This work was always performed as soon as possible after the fibre displayed itself, for long exposure to the sun injures its colour. The process of gathering lasts tiU the middle of July. The fibre and seeds of one hundi-ed plants were kej^t separate in gathering each season. Each plant produced 11 oimces of seed and 4 ounces of fibre, yielding at the rate of 1,871 lbs. G ounces of seed, and 680 lbs. 8 ounces of fibre per acre. Samples of the fibre were forwarded to England with the view of testing its quahty and value. The rej^ort received stated the fibre appeared to the eye to be of excellent quahty, and its MR. hill's statement. 97 value would he from 2s. to 2s. 6cl. per lb. in London. I may state tlie Sea Island cotton plant is a perennial here, and im- proves in quantity and quality for two or three years, after which period it Avill he Hahle to degenerate. I may also men- tion that this plant is of easy cultivation, and quite witliin the scope of any ordinary man's ability A\ho can use a spade or hoe. The most important operation is the picking of the fibre, as the pods ripen and open out, and that can be easily performed by the younger branches of a man's family." The above extract has special reference to Brisbane and its neighbourhood, and merits the fidl confidence of the reader. Some extracts that will appear in a future chapter, fi-om Mr. Sloman's pamphlet, have special reference to the coimtr}' about Eockhampton. Mr. Hill estimates the crop of Sea Island per acre at 600 lbs. clean cotton (we take it 400 lbs.) ; Mr. Bazley estimates the value at not less than Is. 4d. per lb. ; freight to England Id. per lb. ; the real value of Queensland Sea Island cotton, therefore, may be said to be Is. 3d. per lb. Mr. Mann, in his " Cotton Trade of Great Britain," calculates that a man and a boy may cultivate 10 acres. Let us suppose a company, with a capital of £10,000, started to grow cotton by British laboui". The niunber of families requii-ed woidd be 40, with an average of four adults, i.e. three adidts and two cliildi-en. The first year only a portion of the land which the 40 families coid.d cultivate would be ready, and even the cotton -n'ould not be in such quantity as in succeeding seasons. The grants of land, equal to the cost of the passage-money, constitute a valuable freehold propert}-. FIRST YEAK. Jleliinis— £ Land Grants equal to 2,880 Say :,'00 bales i.f 300 lbs., at Is. 3d. per lb 3,750 Government Bonus as a Pre- mium for produclion for 3 years in Land Orders, value Outlay— £ Passase, 40 families, at £18 per adult 2,880 Papsaee, 2 Superintendents 100 Bullocks, horses, drays, im- plements 500 Extras 400 £3,880 I Sd. per lb. (to be continued Ej-penscs— for half the amount for the Wages, 40 men, at £40; 40 ! 2 succeeding years) 3,000 boys at £20 2,400 Otlier products, corn, pot.i- Rations, 2 to each family, at I toes, airowroot, &c 500 8s. per week 1,664 £9,130 Two Superintendents 700 racks and Extras 440 interest on outlay, at 10 per cent ;;S8 5,592 £9,472 98 QUEENSLAI^'D ; SECOND YEAE. "Wovliing Expenses.wear and tear £5,700 Interest 388 £6,088 Cotton, 400 bales, at Is. 3d. per lb £7,1500 Government Bonus 4,000 Other products 1,000 £12,500 THIRD YEAR. Working Expenses, ivear and tear £5,800 Interest 388 £6,188 Cotton, 500 bales £9,,375 Government Bonus 5,000 Other products 1,000 £15,375 It is quite possible that the returns the first year may not he so great, although we have proceeded on the calculations made by gentlemen resident in the colony, and were we to deduct from the returns 25 per cent., stUl the company would be in a very prosperous condition. The fourth year the Government bonus would be very much reduced, and in a year or two more it would cease to be gi'anted ; but in the meantime the breadth of cotton planted is increasing, and its quality improving, and thus the difference is made up in the most legitimate way. We cannot, therefore, admit the assertion that cotton cannot be grown in Queensland by wliite laboui*, and that, therefore, British capitahsts will not be induced to enter the field uidess cooKe laboux is employed. Where would the capitalist meet with such a per centage for his money, on the double guarantee of the value of the land in the colony, and the steady demand for the cotton fibre in England ? I have based these calculations on the minimum results that have been obtained by those who have experi- mented in the matter of cotton-growth, being desirous that the cultivator should find his retiuTis not worse, but better, than I have calcidated them. It is alleged by some that as there is but a limited demand for Sea Island cotton, were Queensland cotton-field to be lai'gely cultivated, the price must of necessity dechne. It is by no means certain that this result would foUow ; but if it should, the cultivation of the cotton plant would still be one of the most profitable occupations in Queensland, and worthy of the serious attention of British capitahsts. 2. The second ground on which coolie labour is asserted to be the only labour that can ever be permanently employed in Queensland, in the production of cotton and kindred articles, is the climate. It is alleged that the climate of that colony is THE CLIMATE AND EUROPEANS. 99 SO hot and so hurtful to Eu?;opeaii health, that it will bo a failure, on this ground, were there no other reason against it, to employ white labour. Parties at home may reason them- selves into this belief, and parties in the colony may find it convenient to use this argument ; but no man who has been there, and who has taken note of what passes every day, will attempt to refute the statements I have made in previous parts of this work regarding the healthiness of the climate, and the impunity with which white men work in the open air, keejDing free from strong di-iuk and not iinnecessarily exposing themselves. Besides, the principal work, the work of picking, is performed in the months of "May, June, and July, when the climate is eminent^ serene and salubrious." There are several occupations in which many white men are engaged, and which must be carried on in all weathers and in all seasons. I shall, at present, pass by the numerous hands, amounting to several thousands, who are engaged all the days in the year, in the open air, on stations. Yery often this class of persons are regardless of their comfoi*t and health by taking drink to excess whenever they can get it, and in many instances their health was seriously injui'ed before they went on stations at aU, and thus bad health is brought on, and death foUows ; but, after all, the mortality among them is not high. All the men who are engaged in such occupations as that of the mason, the joiner, the road-maker, the land-clearer, the shingle-spHtter, the fencer, the wood-cutter, the gardener, the farmer, are exposed to the sun all the year round. No one will venture to affii-m that, when these men observe temperate habits, there is more mortahty among them than among others whose avocations keep them under shelter. And no one up to this moment has ventui-ed to suggest that the climate is too hot for these men, and that, therefore, if their work is to be done at aU, it must be done by Chinese or coolies. Why is the white man able to do aU other kinds of work in the ojien air, except the cultivation of cotton ? How is it that the European plants, and hoes, and hiUs maize and potatoes in one part of his farm with impunity, while he exposes himself to injiuy, perhaps to sunstroke, should he attempt the culti- vation of cotton on some other part? No one can explain this inconsistency. There are, every day in the year, 20,000 white h2 100 QUEENSLAOT); persons in Queensland more or less exposed to the sun, and yet tlie mortality is lower tlian in England. The truth of the matter is this — the climate of the southern portion (for it is of it we are speaking) of Queensland is warm but it is not injiu-ious to European constitutions; men, in thousands, are working all day, and all laTv^ul days of the year, at all kinds of out-door occupations ; and thousands more might be employed on cotton farms with impimity. Several other occupations that must be carried on, and are always carried on by white labour, such as road-making, fencing, and farming, are much more laborious than cotton cultivation. We must hold, therefore, that cotton may at this moment be cultivated in Queensland, in large well-conducted farms, by white labour', at a profit amply sufficient to encoiu-age the investment of capital. Neither the chmate, nor the high price of European labour, necessitates the employment of Chinese or cooHes. To develop the resources of the country, you may estabHsh large farms or plantations ; and, in this case, you must have a large capital, joint- stock or otherwise, to purchase land, to clear and stump it, to till, and to put it under crop ; but you may be sure that the proper management of your plantation will result in a very good return for yoxu' money. Thirty per cent, is not to be got every day, nor is it to be got in every country. Or you may parcel the country into small farms of from 30 to 80 acres, and put down one or two industrious famihes on each. In this case, comparatively little money is required ; for the head to plan, the hand to work, and the determination to "get on," constitute the most desirable capital. There is no anta- gonism between the capitalist and the small farmer ; both can work together; there is "scope and verge enough" for all, and they vpill speedily become helps to each other. On several grounds I should rejoice to see thousands of in- dustrious families of the last-named class settling on all the agricultui'al reserves in Queensland ; and this, were men to study their own and their families' interests, will soon be realized. They will do admirably as cotton farmers, as I shall show in a future chapter. But we must say that we beKeve that the prosperity of the colony would progress the more satisfactorily, were the capitalist also to enter the field in right good earnest. It will be seen that our opinion is, that the first CAPITALISTS AND SM^\iL F.UlilERS. 101 consideration of the colonial Grovernment should be to stimulate emigration of the right class to the shores of Queensland, and by every facility to encourage its settlement on the good agri- cultural lands. And this the Government is at present doing by means of the appointment of a Commissioner, -who is now in England, by means of fi"ee grants of land of 30 acres to eveiy emigrant, man or woman, who shall pay their passage-money, or get their friends to do it for them, and by giving the parties when they reach their choice of their lots from thousands of acres of the best soil in the colony. At this stage I maj- be permitted to say a word or two in support of these views. Shoidd we not have a care over those numerous families that abound in all parts of oiu' country, who have the sorest struggle to keep out of debt and out of the workhouse, and who are well fitted, both from character and from previous occupation, to become the successful cultivators of the soil in such a colony as Queensland ? Besides, there are many families who make a tolerable living here, but who, for reasons of their own, have the wish to transfer themselves to a new soil, where they may have a better chance of the prizes in the race of life. It is a fii'st dutj^, alike with the home and colonial statesman, to facilitate the emigration of such families to a coimtry so capable of yielding them ample support, and where they may have the widest and freest scope for their energies. K we wish a colony to begin well and make steady progress in its moral and material developments, give as many as possible an interest in the soil. Gret them to possess them- selves of land. They may not all go into agricidture — that is not desirable ; they may not, therefore, all tdl the soil ; but whether they till it, live on it, or let it, let them have some land in freehold. It would bo good poKcy in the Grovernment to give the people land, rather than that they shoidd be without it. When the body of the people in a new coimtry are proprietors of land, you have a guarantee at once for the surest material development, and for the lai'gest amount of social order. The labour of the small proprietors is more productive than hired labom*, either black or white. This question cannot be determined by statistics, although those who discuss it generally 102 QUEENSLAND ; hedge themselves round witli a formidable array of figures. When you have got an acciu'ate statement of the relative number of hoiu's per week the respective parties are engaged, and the relative sums paid for labour and rations, the real question is often not touched. There are so many subtle influences at work. Every one knows that hired labour and proprietary labour*, that is, labour for one's own interest, differ somewhat in character and productiveness at home, and the diJfference is not lessened in colonies. Of the principle we say nothing ; it is the fact we note. If the difference be palpable between the labour of white men, according as it may be hired or proprietary, the difference both in quantity and quahty between the labour of the white proprietor and that of the hii'ed cooKe is alarmingly great. This alone, in our judgment, places the small farmer cultivating his own farm on at least equal ground, relative to proportionate returns, with the capitalist who works his planta- tion by coolie labour. Those who have raised the cry for cooKe labour seem to us to have overlooked several things in their calculations which have a serious bearing on the results. They imagine that coolie labour will be as cheap to the Queensland importer as it is to the West India planter, forgetting that wliile in the one case the competition is with liberated slaves, in the other it is with free men, each Hving and laboui-ing on his fi'eehold property. This must, in the nature of things, make a palpable difference. Nor is this all. It would be peculiarly difficult to enforce con- ditions of engagement entered into between agents and coohes in a foreign country, when the latter found themselves breath- ing an atmosphere of freedom, and perhaps might have grounds to suspect that when the bargain was struck between them and their employers, the truth was not all told them, or if told, not understood. Besides, it must be considered that there are coolies in the colony who make engagements, and even xmder- take piecework, on theii* own account, and who earn wages little lower than the white man. Is it to be doubted that the influence of these naturalized coolies will be exerted to secure for their sable brothers that arrangements shall be as favour- able as possible ? The chief object of the importer is to secure cheap labour; the cooHo will undoubtedly help his race to secure a "fair day's wage for a fair day's work." Even tho COOLIE AND CHINESE LABOUR. 103 dull and dreamy darkio learns to comprehend this righteous principle. We have paid some attention to the question of coolie labour ; we have seen both Indians and Chinese at work ; we have visited many farms, the freehold property of their culti- vators, and marked what was done, and what with moderate enterprise might be done ; we have weighed with as little prejudice as possible the question of black versus white labour, as it bears on Queensland, the colony with which we are best acquainted ; and the conclusion to which we have been brought is this — that should the colonial Grovernment, by wise legis- lation and honourable inducements, attract the proper style of emigrants to the colony, and place them on easy terms on their own freehold farms, British laboiu-, sldU, and energy will prove themselves equal in productiveness to any coloiu'ed laboui' which it is possible to obtain. Such are the views I have been led to entertain regarding the question of white labour or black labour for the new colony ; and as the grounds on which my opinions rest have been placed before the reader, he is invited to examine them and judge for himself. But strongly as I hold by these \'iews, I have no well- grounded objection to urge against the incoming of coolies and Chinese to the colony in accordance with estabHshed law. Whilst we would not have Government by any legislative act to bring them in, neither woidd we wish Government by any legislative act to keep them out. And this is the law upon the subject : — Government does not undertake to inti'oduce either coolies or Chinese into the colony ; but neither does it put any obstacle in the way of those employers who desire to make a trial of that kind of labour. This is precisely as it should be. But it is proper that the reader should be apprized that the system of "engagements," whether made in Europe or in Asia, to serve masters in the colonies on condi- tions which the contracting party cannot possibly imderstand, never works well ; it is vicious in principle and mischievous in practice. A man may with perfect safety engage, through an authorized agent, to serve any master who may be disposed to advance the money for his passage ; but whilst ho pledges himself to enter and continue in that gentleman's emplo}-ment, 104 QUEENSLAND ; the terms ouglit to be at the current wages. Never fix wages till yoiu* arrival, and then accept what is cvu'rently given. In accordance with these views I am prepared to admit, that, whilst I believe that an influx of many thousands of cooUes into Queensland in present circimistances woidd not contribute so much to its prosperity as most of the advocates of that system imagine, yet, so far as I can judge, a proportion of coohe laboiu" might be advantageously employed along with the white. I can understand, for example, how the small proprietor, whose fai-m increases in its cotton-bearing proportions every year, might tind room for one or two black servants, and, by his constant presence and daily example, teach them to do work according to his plans. But, as the rule, at least for the time, I woidd have black labour merely as an adjunct to the white, not as the mainstay of the farm. These are the views which I have been led to adopt on the question of labour in Queensland at the present time ; what may be wisest and best in the future is a question which shovild always be left open, when it refers to new coimtries. My objection to cooHe labour is not so much on principle as on expediency ; and, so far as I can judge, I beheve the best thing for that colony at its present stage is a large influx of well-principled and industrious families from home. In this way alone will you lay the foundation of a large and prosperous community worthy of the name of Britain. XVII.— QUE COTTON FAEM. Some years ago several parties possessed of land experi- mented on cotton, and found it do very well. Various causes contributed to diminish the interest felt in this staple for a time in Queensland. These need not be enumerated here, as they had no bearing whatever on its productiveness. The interest has been re\'ived in the colony as well as in home circles, and this time it is placed under more favoiu'able auspices. There is the pressure of demand coming from England ; and there is, in the colony itself, all that a Govern- ment can legitimately do to stimulate and to encourage. The "free grants" of land and the "bonus" are very gi-eat en- couragements ; and this kind of help or stimulus is not to bo OUR COTTON FARM. 105 viewed in the light of "protection." The "bonus," at the rate of 8d. per lb. of clean cotton, is the encouragement given for a time to the farmer who is already in possession of his land in freehold ; the double inducement of 30 acres to each emigrant who pays his passage out, and also the "bonus," is held out to all deserving men who may be thinking of leaving their own country. The gi'ants of land themselves are a perfect fortune to a working man with a wife and family ; for, if in any honourable way he can manage to pay liis passage out, he may have from 60 to 120 acres of land capable of growing any kind of crops which he may wish to cultivate. I shall take a case, which, when emigTation has steadily set in, will not be a rare one. I shall take a man with a wife and two childi'en above foiu' but imder fourteen years of age. According to the Government regidations in force in Queens- land, this man, by paying three adult passages, receives in land orders 90 acres. But you will observe, in the first place, that the sum required for the passage will be three times £ 1 8, the j)assage-money for an adult, that is, £54. Now, few working men can command such a sum as this readily. "We may sup- pose, however, that many may be able to realize £18 on their furnitiu'e, &c., fi'om friends they may be able to borrow another £18, and many masters in Queensland may be induced to advance the £18 for the man, on condition that he engage to work for him at current wages for one year. The master has the land order for secui'ity, and the servant has the oppor- tunity of redeeming it at its value, £18. The redemption of the land order is eas}^ in the case of a well-doing man, in this way : — His wife and liimself may be engaged by the same master; in that case the united wages will be, say about £50, and rations and house for the whole family for the year. By the end of that period, there being almost no expenditiu'e, the man goes to lais master, and addi*esses liim thus : — "Sir, you were kind enough to pay £18 of the passage- money for myself and famU}-, on the condition that I shoidd work for you at current wages for one year. You received one of my land orders of the value of £18, as security for the sum you paid. The period is now near a close, and when you settle with me, I desire, instead of the £50 money, the land order and the balance. I am much obliged to you for the 1 06 QUEE^^lsLA^'IJ ; part you. have performed in my emigration, but now I desire a change." "A change," says the master; "do yon, then, think so lightly of what I have done, that at the very first opportunity you leave me, and engage in the service of another ? This is poor encouragement for masters to take all the trouble of getting good workmen from home. Reconsider your decision." " Sir, you entirely misimderstand me. I have no intention of engaging with another master ; I may indeed take an occa- sional day's work, but that will be all. I assure you that I feel grateful for what you have done ; but you are aware that my intention in coming to Queensland was to enter on the cultivation of cotton, and now I fancy myself in a position to commence. I have got accustomed to the cHmate a httle ; my wife and boys are eager for a little home of our own, and I am nothing loath, seeing I have got the balance of the year's wages to begin with." "Ah! I see; very right; very right, very sorry to part with you though. But, reall}'-, do you intend to attempt the cultivation of cotton on such a slender capital?" "Well, sir, I know of more than a dozen who reached the colony a year before us, who have been 12 months at the work, and declare that they dare not complain. You see, the wife and children help, and the work goes on cheerily. And I don't see as my good woman is not as fit to help me as any one I knows." "All right; but, mind, if any difl&culty should arise, you know where a letter will find me." " Thank you, sii\" Our cotton grower had safely deposited the other two land orders in the bottom of the strong wooden box that contains all theu' valuables, and the third one is now added to the number. Of the 90 aci-es of land, the three orders he has will pui'chase 54 ; the other 36 will be in his possession at the end of the second year after his arrival. Away he goes, then, with his three "orders" in his pocket, to the survey office. He examines the plans very carefully ; but last week he spent a whole day in examining the reserve itself, on which he has resolved to settle. He selects 54 acres of the best land, conveniently situated for the carriage of the VTE C01131ENCE FAE3IING. 107 farm products, and places on the table as payment his three land orders. The clerk gives him in exchange a document signed and sealed, for which he pays one guinea ; and now he is absolute proprietor of the farm of 54 acres. He deposits the deeds in the sti'ong box, and counts his money. After several items are deducted, he finds that the sum total of his capital is £27 10s. In addition, there are a mare and two cows bought by the small earnings of the two boys during the year. The eldest boy is now 15, and can take part with his father, and the yoimgest is a little behind him. From an old friend, who has been several years in the colony, and has got on well, an old cart is borrowed. The family, having laid in rations for three months, and various odds and ends, that have lessened their small capital by the sum of £6 10s., now start on their journey to " Our Farm." Obseiwe this — they have in money £21, most of which they have put in the bank, as they wont need it in the bush till seed time, or when the supply of rations becomes low ; they have one mare and two cows, 54 acres of good land near a navigable creek, and they have stout hearts, cool heads, and willing hands. They have reached their farm, selected a site for the family dwelling, and cut down the fii'st tree. A small wooden hut is soon raised, which will give place, by and bye, to one more substantial and attractive. Most of the articles of furniture, at the first offeet, are made by the willing hands of the father and sons, and the strong box supplies the place of table. This arrangement I have seen in many instances ; and in a coimtiy like Queensland, one feels it to be no serious di-awback for a year or two. In a few days the trees, over an acre of groimd, are cut down about thi-ee feet from the surface, and, gi'een though they be, delivered over to the flames. The boys do a great part of the bm'ning ; and as the fires do theii" work of consuming the superfluous timber, the father, assisted at in- tervals by the boys, tm-ns up the fine vii-gin soil ai-oimd the stvunps, drops a few potato seeds, plants a few sweet potato- vines, several rows of maize, a dozen grape-vines, and a double number of pine-apple and banana suckers, all of which tliey brought with them in the cart. In three months there will be a crop of maize, in a short time after potatoes, and fr-uit about this time next year. 108 QXJEENSLAITD ; The time the first planted crops are growing, all hands are at the felling of trees, the extracting of roots, the bm-ning of the accumulating timber, and the erecting of a fence, made of the split timber. In three months two acres are readj^ to receive the cotton seed ; and in 12 months the farmer takes the product of these two acres to the capital in the old cart, sells it, unginned as it is, to one of the shij^ping merchants, and receives for the crop, inferior the fii'st year, the sum of £18. By hard labour during the year, other four- acres have been prepared for cotton, as well as a good supply of maize, and potatoes, and green crop, produced for support of the family, and the nourishment of sundiy pigs, and a sprinkling of poultry. The mare, too, has got a foal at her foot, and the cows are attracted homewards at sun-down by their calves that have been kept in the stock-yard all day to prevent the young thieves from draining the much-coveted milk. At this stage we may take stock, and ascertain how matters stand : — Mone}^, very low ; one mare and foal ; two cows and two calves ; four pigs ; foxu^teen hens ; nine turkeys ; one acre under vegetables and fr'uit ; six acres under cotton crop, at all events the plants on two are entering on their second year, and the seed on the other four is in the ground. A succession of vegetables is kept up, and as the bacon-cask looks low, another pig is given to the knife. There is a steady supply nearly all the year over of eggs, and milk, and butter, and frtut ; and when the bacon becomes stale or monotonous, it is enlivened by the fattest fowl from the yard. Such is the material " condition" of oiu- cotton gi'ower at the commencement of his second year. I have met with a small publication by H. J. Sloman, on the cultivation of the cotton plant in Australia, and from it I give the following extract, full of minute details of great practical value to the growers about Eockhampton : — *'Wlien the ground is fenced, take a good heavy sharp hoe, about six inches in breadth, and cut off all the grass clean, and deep enough to kill all the roots ; after which the grass and all other rubbish should be burnt. Then take a grubbing hoe, which ought to be foui- inches wide, and break up the ground fine, and fully a foot deep, taking care to cut every- thing that comes in the way of the hoe. Should the season be late, say October, plant the ground with maize, for October TAKING STOCK — DIRECTIONS FOIl COTTOX GROWI>'G. 109 would be too late for cotton, and a maize crop would do the ground good, as it would cause it to get an extra turning. When the cotton is gathered in March, break up the gTound fine, nine or ten inches deep, and di-aw it into ridges of six feet wide, taking care to make suitable cross-ditches so arranged as to carry ofi' the water diu'ing heavy rains, or retain it when the retention of it would be beneficial to the croj). In April, should there be any rain, plant the cotton seed in the centre of each ridge, and should the seed be fi-esh and good, it will all grow. Plant three seeds in a triangle of about six inches, and let every triangle be six feet apart. Do not j)ut the seeds in the ground more than one inch. Should the ground be moist and warm, the plant wiU be up in a week ; but should any of the seeds fail to vegetate, then fill up the vacancies with more seed. The adoption of tliis method precludes the necessity of destroying any of the plants. By planting in April, the plants will be strong, and pod early, and hence the plantej- -\viU be able to begin to pick in November. The seed may be planted during any month in the year when there is rain, or when the gToimd is in a moist state ; but April, May, June, July, August, and September are the proper planting months. "When the cotton is planted during the latter month, a crop of corn may be grown between the cotton plants, as they will not require all the ground that year, on account of having been planted late ; but shoidd the season be very favourable, that is, should there be abundance of rain, the cotton trees will require aU the ground before the corn could be got off, and therefore it wovdd be useless to plant the latter ; but on this head experience -wiU soon teach the planter when he shoidd sow corn and -when he should not. The cotton trees should always be kept clear and free from grass, and, in efiecting this, the hoe shoidd be used fireely. " Failures and accidents occiu* sometimes in cotton planting as well as in other pursuits. The trees often fail, owing to various causes. Some fail because they are overgrown by adjacent plants, and others in consequence of the continuance of dry weather. The planter must do his best to remedy all these failui-es, and then he may be siu-e that he wiU have a good standing field at the end of the third j^ear, notwith- standing that he may have picked three good crops. A good 110 QUEENSLAND; average crop is 1,600 lbs. of cotton in tlie seed per acre, which will yield 400 lbs. of clear lint, or one bale, worth always not less than £30 sterling. "Now, one able-bodied and industrious man could do a great deal more than merely cultivate six acres of cotton. If he were a married man, and had a family of four or five children to assist him, he could grow corn, potatoes, vege- tables, as well as attend to many other things, besides cultivating a cotton crop ; so that no hortieultui-al or agri- cultiu'al pursuit could be more profitable than that of cotton planting." An able-bodied man and his family may cultivate success- fully 10 acres of cotton, besides attending to other duties on the farm. On the management of the trees, the same writer makes some admirable remarks, and gives such directions as should be observed by aU cotton farmers. The cotton plant in Queensland is not an annual as in America, but is a perennial, that with proper treatment may last and produce cotton during several years. Dr. Hobbs states that he had cotton on the same plants five years in succession, and the fifth year it was the finest. This is the extract on the management of the cotton plant : — "When any of the trees fail, they should be cut off to the grotmd, or even tmder it, and yotmg and vigorous plants trans- planted in their place. The young trees should be transplanted before they have borne cotton or even come into blossom, and shoiild the weather be dry, they must be kept well watered until they have taken root and are out of danger. Whole fields may be covered with a cotton crop by transplanting the young plants, provided there be long continued wet weather, or the planter should have the means of irrigation at hand. Whether the moisture be procured from natiu-al or artificial sources, the plants must be watered for a sufiicient length of time after being transplanted, for were not this done, the crop would fail ; should the spring prove dry, the trees will be backward, and should the year be dry throughout, the growth will be exceed- ing small ; but should there be an abundance of rain in the months of October and November, the planter may be sui'e of having plants of wood, and, as a necessary corollary, plants of good cotton. The cotton should be gathered as soon as the TEEATMEI^T OF COTTON TREES. Ill pods open, or otherwise the cotton bugs would injure it by- eating the staple asunder. As soon as their bearing shoots have made all their pods, and the lower ones are picked, all the main branches will throw out. The bearing branches will begin, should the weather prove favourable, to make the second set of branches from the same eyes, and close alongside of the fii'st bearing branches, which will be ready for picking in April ; so that, should there be a good j^ear, the planter will have two full crops. As the picking proceeds, it is necessary that the plants should be primed, as the dead leaves get in the way and stain the cotton. The picking will be finished at the end of July, for the cotton becomes poor and dull at that time, and the trees also must then be primed thoroughly, in order to insure the next summer crop. At this time the ground should bo hoed up, and all rubbish carried ofi", which will complete the out-door operations of the first year. There will now be plenty of time to gin the cotton, pack it ofi" to market, and plant anj- other things that may be required. "The six acres of gi'ound now planted with cotton may receive a good dressing from the hoe. This can be readily effected, because, in consequence of the ground ha\ing been broken up a foot deep at first, the top root throws out its main side roots a good depth from the surface, and therefore the hoeing may be from two to three inches deep without doing any mischief. It is well, at the end of each year, to hoe down the ridges, and let the gi'ound lie loose for a while, taking care to hoe in the dead leaves, which will serve as a manure for the trees, "Before tho young shoots grow too much, all the ridge? should be raked up properly, and all the water-coxxrses cleared out and the ground cleared, as the young shoots are very tender, and liable to be broken by people working amongst them. Let not the planter suppose that the trees are over- grown when they lie upon the groimd, inasmuch as that is an effect produced by the branches being slender and the pods heavy. The cotton should be kept well picked, as in wet seasons, imless well looked after, it will begin to gTow in the pods. Eemember that during tho first year the ti'ees are not to be cut down or topped, but merely pruned, all tho main branches being left standing." 112 QUEENSLAND ; The grower sliould carefully follow tlie directions giveu in this extract : — "When the weather is very dry and the cotton opens quick, and the seeds are hard, the cotton should not be exposed on the frame for sunning as at other times. The cotton dm-ing such weather should be left in a cool place in heaps for a week, at the expiration of which time it will be found to have grown all out of the seed, and to have all the yolk in it, as should be the case with fully-matured cotton. If the cotton be really good, it will have a blueish yellowish soft coloiu", and feel fii-m, lively, and fviU in the hand, just the same as good fine wool would do ; and this is what is meant by the phrase — 'feeling the yolk in it.' The greatest care should be taken not to sweat the cotton, as sweating causes it to lose all its beauty and value. " I have three sorts of tine cotton, about equal in value, and I let them grow together; but if I could procure sufficient labour, I would gTow them separately. There are about 4,400 of my seeds to the pound weight, and I think 4,900 yards of ground to the acre ; so that planting the seeds in the manner pointed out would give about 3,675 trees to the acre. It is a ver}^ poor season, indeed, if every tree does not yield f lb. of cotton, so that the average value of the yield from an acre is very easily estimated. One of my sorts, and that, too, the best, will not admit of being planted so close as the other sorts of cotton. Half a pound of the seed of this wiU plant an acre." The paragraph that follows has special reference to the treatment of trees in their second year : — " Should the season prove favourable, the picking wiU be from the trees doubly grown, and covering the gi'ound all over, and the knife must be freely used, inasmuch as, should it not be so used, half the crop will not be gathered. There wiU be plenty of work this year, from the beginning of December imtil the end of July, that being the end of the cotton year. At that time there will be plenty of cotton on, and pods not open, but this must be disregarded, in order to insm'e the health and pod-bearing abiHty of the trees. The trees will at this time be very large, and will comprise not only a main stem, but very many stems besides, and many young shoots still PEOFITS OF THE FAT.M. 113 coming out, and tlie planter -will, therefore, cut away one treo and leave one growing ; that is to saj', he will cut away tho main stem at about two feet and a half from the ground, and all the largo branches at about three inches to a foot, leaving two or three eyes between the part where the branch is cut and the main trunk or stem. Let all the young green branches that have never flowered remain on the tree, but cut off all that have pods on them, and that seem Hkely to open soon, for all such pods at this season do not open, but only make what is technically called * feints.' As the season is ended, carry off all rubbish, hoe the ground deep, and, if possible, let it have a good soaking before the ridges are drawn up. This is the proper method of cidtivating cotton in North Australia, within the tropic of Capricorn, on the sea coast, or as far inland as the sea breeze affects it." This chapter has been -^a-itten with facts and cases in my mind on which the various parts of it are founded ; and as we have intentionally made our calculations on the safest data, tho reader may receive the conclusions with confidence. I am aware that a specially unfavourable season, or the indolence or incapacity of tho farmer, might bring about a very different result from the one given here ; but all that can be reasonably expected that I should prove is this — that, in an average season, and when men imderstand their work, and perform it in season, the result will be most satisfactory. In such a case as I have supposed, the clear profits of the farm of 54 acres, 10 of which are imder cotton, and one under vegetables, maize, and fi'uit, will be at the least £200 the second year. But, inasmuch as the cost of labour is not paid to strangers, but is reckoned to the farmer and his family, and growing such a quantity, he is entitled to the Government "bonus " also, tho income of such a family, the second year, woiild be upwards of £300, reckoning the product of each acre at £25, wliich is a very fair figure, and almost the entire keep of the family besides, from the vegetables, poultry, pigs, and cows which ho rears. And, in succeeding years, the cotton-producing capa- bihties of the farm might be increased to any extent by the use of white or black labour. Besides, at the close of the second year of his residence in the colony, the fiirst of his residence on tho farm, he receives the remainder of the "free I 114 QITEEIf SLAiro ; grants," 36 acres ; and, year "by year, Ms stock of cows and horses increases at a very high, ratio — when well taken care of, at the rate of 70 per cent, per annum. This is the prize which the Grovernment of Queensland places within the reach of every industrious family in these islands ; wise men, and men of energy, it is for you to consider what is to be done. All emigration should be voluntary; but sure we are, there does not exist in any part of the world a field more inviting, and more certain to reward you in a liberal m.anner, than the cotton-growing districts of Queensland. And you need not be, in the least degree, disconcerted by any remark that may be made in your hearing regarding the diffi- culty of cotton cultivation. It is, in truth, one of the easiest plants to grow ; and, by following such directions as we have given, and others that are suppHed in the colony for the use of beginners, you will find that no agricultural production can be undertaken with more certainty of success. I only desire that aU those industrious families who have such struggles here to gain an honest living, were safely settled, each on their own Queensland Cotton Farm. XYin.— SUGAE, FLAX, EEUITS, AJSTD OTHEE PEODUCTS. A large portion of the colony is capable of growing sugar as well as cotton; and the capital and enterprise of Britain will certainly, in time, develop the one staple as well as the other to such an extent, at all events, as will supply the colonial wants. I have seen the sugar plants growing in several parts of the colony in great luxuriance, and have been informed by men who have had many years' experience on sugar planta- tions in the West Indies and elsewhere, that very much of the land by the banks of the Queensland rivers is capable of grow- ing the sugar-cane and sacchariae grasses to the greatest perfection. I shall make an extract from a valuable paper, read before the Austrahan Horticultiai'al and Agriciiltiiral Society, Sydney, by Dr. Giinst, Eichmond Eiver, on the cultivation of the Sorghum Saccharatimi, a Chinese sugar-grass or cane, that has SVGMl GEOVIXG. 115 been introduced into tlie Australian colonies within the last few years. This plant is of value in several respects, as the reader will perceive, and is likely to prove of gi-eat practical import- ance to the colonists : — " The Sorghum is a pecuhar plant, and is valuable for many different qualities. Under skilful manage- ment, I have known it to produce no less than three crops in the coiu'se of the year. In spite of wind, weather, or di'ought, it wiU yield abundantly ; for if the season be xmfavourable for ripening the seed, we have an excellent crop of green fodder, which is eaten with avidity by all kinds of stock, including pigs ; and by cutting the canes at the end of four months, you may always depend on another crop within foiu- months after- wards. I can also assert that it will cost less to cidtivate 100 acres of the Sorghum than 100 acres of wheat, while the yield is immeasm-ably more valuable. We commonly obtain two crops per annum, from which sugar may be extracted, and one crop of fodder. In order to estimate its superiority to wheat, let us suppose that it cost tho same in the first instance to place 100 acres imder cultivation as wheat, as it does to cidtivate the same amount of Sorghum, we must then recollect that on an average we can only have one crop of wheat diu-ing the year, and that the produce per acre 'wUl be about 25 bushels. Let this be valued at the highest market price, and add to it tho value of the straw, and that concludes the ad- vantage derivable from it. For another crop, fresh seed, fresh ploughing and sowing is necessary ; whereas in Sorghvim, the plant once stuck in the groimd goes on producing a crop for the year roimd, and is not attacked by drought, nor damaged with excessive wet, to the same extent as tho cereal crojis. If, after planting the Sorghimi, we find that dui-ing the first two months of its growth the weather has been too wet, and we must abandon the hope of getting our crop of sugar — for the cane might not then yield sufficient saccharine matter — there wiU be sufiieient to distil a spirit from the juice of the cane ; and even if there were not enough of that, we woxdd make vinegar, for even with inferior canes, I calcidato that the acre of canes will produce 3,000 gallons of vinegai', besides having the seed, the leaves, and the refuse on which to feed the cattle. This we will suppose to be the result of tho fii'st four months' growth, imder luifavoui-able and wet weather. Within foiu" i2 1 1 G QUEENSL.VND ; months after this, if tlie weather is Tvarm and favourable, vro may have a fresh stock of canes, from which vre may extract a crop of sugar, or even if the year throughout was wet and disastrous to all other cereal plants, we should, in the Sorghum, have an excellent stock of fodder. In the j)ractice of my pro- fession, as a medical man, stationed on the Richmond Eiver, I have had many opportimities of observing the growth of the plant imder very various circumstances in different localities, and thus I am enabled to speak so confidently of its value." Dr. Gilnst has made, over a series of years, many experiments in the production of sugar from this plant. The residts have been from time to time pubHshed in the colonial papers, and appear the most satisfactory that the farmer could desire. Eichmond adjoins Queensland on the south, and the soil on the Logan, the Brisbane, and the Mary is equall}^ -^ell adapted to the successful growth of the Sorghum Saccharatum as that on the Eichmond. In the Botanical Gardens at Brisbane, and on many farms, it has been grown with results quite equal to those arrived by Dr. Gilnst. This plant requires only four months to arrive at complete maturity ; and in Queensland, Dr. Giinst says, "We may safely reckon on three crops of sugar per annum." Sir WiUiam Macarthur, of Camden, Sydney, makes the following remarks regarding the cultivation of the sugar- cane : — " There can be no question, I think, that with sufiicient capital and an efficient management, the cultivation of the cane for sugar ought to prove one of the most profitable j)nrsuits which offer themselves in Austraha. I mean at Marybourgh or other places equally well situated on the north-east coast. I have for many years thought that sugar plantations to the northward of Moreton Bay ought to be highly remunerative. The chmate is favourable, there is no lack of good land, and, unlikf) the Mauritius, we never hear of the ravages of hm-- ricanes." The coffee tree grows, and fruits most luxiu-iantly ; and the tobacco plant thrives equally well. It is beheved that the tea plant will yet be introduced and extensively cultivated, as it, too, thrives in that genial cHme ; and as for the ginger plant, and arrowroot, and pepper, &c. &c., their products are both large and of excellent quality. New Zealand flax, and many other plants of that nature, gTow in wild profusion OR.VNGE AND GKAPE VIXE. 117 ■wlierover introduced. Material for cordage and for paper might be produced in this new colony, had we but the labour, sufficient to supply the entire merchant sei-vicc, and aU tlio printing presses of Great Britain. The fibre of the banana plant, that grows in every garden in Queensland, is proved by recent experiments to be equal in textile value to the musa texiihcs, the plant from which the maniUa hemp is manufac- tiu-ed. There is some difficulty in separating the fibre, but that "will be overcome. Were I to enimierate the different fruits that grow in Queens- land, I should fill a very long Hst. The truth is, that the country, being possessed of a semi-tropical chmate, is capable of growing nearly all the fruits that can be produced. I have never seen the gooseberry there, but the strawberry and the apple are introduced with moderate success. In the room of the home favourite, we have the Cape gooseberry, which is a good substitute, and is very prolific. The rosella plant fields a good preserve, much the same as red currant, with a higher flavoiu*. The passion-fruit grows like ivy on walls and fences, and fruits most abundantly. It is of the size of a magnum bonum plum, is slightly acid, and is much relished by work- men and travellers in hot weather. It is a very common fruit, and sells for a penny or twopence per dozen. Another vai'iety has recently been introduced, much larger, and of greater value. Apricots, peaches, and quinces grow in any quantities, but most varieties of the peach, though abundant in crop, speedily come to decay. A new variety has been introduced that suits the climate much better, and is likely to give perfect satisfaction to growers. The loquat, cimiquat, guava, midberry, mango, olive, tamarind, papaw-apple, star-apple, Bengal quince, date, date-plum, grandilla, custard-apple, rose-apple, citron, Hme, lemon, alligator-pear, pomegranate, and many others, iiU flourish in the open air, and have the finest flavoiu'. But the fr'uits that the farmer is most likely to grow, with a view to profit, are the fig, the orange, the grape-vine, the pine- apple, and the banana. The fig is a tree that soon bears, and is very prolific. At present, it is not reckoned of much value, but, I doubt not, in course of time, it will, in the di-ied state, become an article of export. The orange in all its varieties succeeds well, and is much prized ; but, inasmuch as it grows 118 QUEENSIiAJST) ; equally well in tlie south, it will never become an article of commerce. Still, in such a climate, the home consumption must always he great, and instead of importing oranges, as they do now, to Queensland fi-om Sydney, oui- own farmers will, ere long, grow enough to supply the demand. The climate is sufficiently warm for the grape-vine, but it grows luxui-iantly, and fruits most abundantly, wherever properly cidtivated. And although it cannot be considered an article of export, yet, by its plentifid production, home-made wine might be manu- factiu'ed in sufficient quantities to satisfy the home demand. Some parties have commenced the manufacture of wine, and have succeeded well. It is not intoxicating, and is admirably suited to the climate, Yineyards, of considerable size, have been planted in the low country near Brisbane, and in the course of a couple of years will be in full bearing. The fruit farmer turns his attention especially to the two friiits that remain to be noticed, the pine-apple and the banana. The pine-apple is a fi'uit with the appearance of which many of my readers must be acquainted; but the miserable specimens sometimes met with here give no idea whatever either of its size or flavour as produced in Queensland. The plant is most willing to grow, even though treated with neglect ; and if you allow it to come within reach of soil, it rises with the vigour, and defends itself with the spiiit, of a Scotch thistle. There are now many acres of pines in the different parts of the low country, and they yield a large return to the grower. The banana plant, as well as the pine-apple, is peculiar to Queens- land and the northern portion of New South Wales. Neither grows to anything like perfection fiu'ther south than the Eieh- mond and Clarence; but all along the coast of Queensland they may be grown in incalculable numbers and of the finest quaHty. It is calculated — I have myself made the most careful calcula- tions from data received from the grower in the midst of the banana grove — that the farmer who selects a farm of good soil, and who does fairly by his banana plants, will realize an ave- rage return of not less than £40 per acre. The expense of preparing the ground is considerable, as it should be trenched at least two feet deep before the plants are put in the soil; but such a return justifies a fair outlay, and, besides, the expense is all in preparing the ground, as the robust growth of the banana PIXE-ATPLE ASD BAN^iKA. 119 chokes the weeds that the quick soil might cause to spring up, and lessens the work of keeping the grove in order. None but the most choice plants should he used by the farmer, and he should have them all in by the middle of June ; in about 1 5 months thereafter he will have fruit, but the second coiu-se of fruit-bearing branches gives a much larger retiu-n. The fruiting goes on with almost no failure over a large portion of the year, and in two years and a half the grove is in full bearing. Like the pine-apple plant, the banana never fails if any portion of attention at all is given to it, and if well done by, it yields ungrudgingly such a return as can be extracted from few other agricultural jiroducts. In both cases the plant is perfectly adapted to soil and climate : this is the secret of their unfaiHng success. In speaking in terms like the above of the fi'uits grown in Queensland, I have sometimes been met M-ith the inquiry — " If these fruits are so productive, how is it that every farmer does not betake himself to theii- growth ? And when their cultiva- tion becomes general, the price must become so low as to cut off a largo proportion of the high profits." My reply has unifonnly been what I now put in print: — "All farmers, in selecting their farms, have not fixed on the soil that grows the banana in its perfection. All men do not cultivate the banana and other fr'uits with that care that seciu-es a fii'st-class market- able article ; but principally it is to be considered that there is such a demand for pine-apples and bananas, that many years will transpu-e before the supply is likely to be greater than the demand. The Sydney and Melboiu-no markets will absorb any quantity of these fr'uits that the Queensland farmers can pro- duce, though their number were augmented a htmdredfold." And here, the reader will not fail to remai'k, lies one of the maiu inducements to emigrate to Queensland — its power of pro- ducing many articles in unfailing and ever-incroasing demand, which no other Australian colony can produce, or produces in limited quantity and inferior quaHty. Maize, or Indian com, in all its varieties, grows luxiu'iantly in Queensland. The crop never fails if ordinary care is be- stowed on its cultivation, although the product varies in quantity according to the seasons ; and the thi-ifty farmer not only manages to secure some green crop between the rows in 120 QUEENSLAND ; its earlier stages, but also to have two crops of corn in the 12 months. The "ninety days" variety might, indeed, give three crops in the year, if the farmer was not content Tvith two ; and the cHmate is so genial, and the soil so quick, that with a little planning it could be done. Maize is used chiefly for horse feed and poultry; but the finer varieties are coming into use in the shape of floiu* both for bread and pudding. It is very wholesom.e, and, though not so good as wheaten flour, is much more palatable than the Indian corn-flour which the poor Irish had doled out to them a few years ago as a substitute for the potato. Maize is grown pretty extensively, but for home con- sumption only; and when the farmer receives for it 4s. 6d. per bushel, he considers himself paid for the labour bestowed on its cultivation. The price is rarely below this ; it generally ranges about 5s. per bushel. A short time ago, no one would believe that wheat could be grown in this country. It seemed incredible that maize and wheat could grow within the same range of climate, and on the same soil ; and yet it has been proved to be practicable beyond all dispute. The interior, however, seems to be better suited to this cereal than the coast lands. The following sen- tences are taken fi'om the evidence of a gentleman belonging to the DarHng Downs, given before a Committee of the House of Assembly in 1860. He states that he has grown wheat in the neighbourhood of Warwick for several years in succession, and that it might be grown on "hundreds of thousands of acres," on the banks of rivers, and over a strip of coimtry 15 miles in breadth, extending a great many miles within the influence of the mountains : — " Do you think wheat can be grown profitably in your neighbourhood ? " "With reference to the culture of wheat in the neighbour- hood of Warwick, I am of opinion that it can be engaged in successfully. The cHmate is admirably adapted to the gro^^'th of this cereal, and it is altogether exempt fi'om the diseases which are prevalent elsewhere, such as smut, bhght, and rust. As far as my experience goes, I am of opinion that the growth of wheat can be profitably undertaken ; for, in sj)ite of the obstacles thrown in my way by its conveyance to Ipswich to be ground, and its re-conveyance to Warwick, I find it yields MAIZE AXD WUEAT. 121 as profit — taking the average of seasons — of about 8s. per bushel when made into floiu", supposing flour to be worth in Warwick £3 per bag of 200 lbs. Dui'ing my experience for the last four years, the wholesale price of flour has never been under and has often exceeded that price. Maize can be, and is, grown with great success, but from the limited demand for that particular cereal this season, it is only comparatively profitable. The remarks applicable to the ciilture of maize apply also to barley and oats. These are usually converted into hay. There is no demand for hay in "War-svick. Potatoes do remarkably Avell, but hitherto there has been no groat demand for them at pacing prices." But even on the low country wheat grows well, and pays the farmer. Shortly before I left the colony, I saw upwards of 50 acres in one patch, growing most beautifully, on the banks of the Bremer, the principal tributary to the Brisbane, not m.ore than 30 miles dii-ect fi'om the Bay ; and for several yeai's the proprietor, J. Fleming, Esq., M. L. A., states, that he has made a reasonable profit off the crop. The same gentleman, according to a colonial paper recently received, has this "year about 60 acres imder wheat crop ; about 30 acres are ah-eady cut and carried, and, judging from the appearance of the crop while standing, there must have been at least 40 bushels per acre on some portions of tho land. Tlie wheat is said to be of the Cape variety, but is more probably Egj'ptian ; the head is not particularly heavy, but the straw is strong and bright. That portion of tho field which, being later sown, is j-et green, promises to be tho heaviest crop ; and if the fine weather con- tinues, there is no doubt it Avill j-ield a fair retui-n. A small portion, about two acres, which was sown late with white wheat, has been struck heavily by red rust, and to all appear- ance will be worthless. Mr. Fleming is now threshing out a portion 'odth a very simple but efiicient macliine of American manufacture, worked by horse-power ; with one horse ho is able to thresh about 100 to 110 bushels a-day." The successful cultivation of \\heat is one of tho estabhshed facts on which is based oiu- faith in the internal and penna- nent prosperity of the new colony. The most sanguine of men woidd scarcely, indeed, calculate on wheat as an export ; but is it a small matter for a colony, blessed by Providence with 122 QUEEN'SLAND ; the power of jjroducing- many articles of export in large and growing demand in England and other countries, to be able to furnish its o-\\ti flour — to provide, independent of any foreign aid, its own staff of life ? Green crops of all kiads, from the common kitchen vegetable to lucern grass for horses and cows, pay the producer remark- ably well. Melons, both water and rock, of all varieties, grow with amazing quickness, and in wonderful q^iantities, and are used extensively' by working men in lieu of water, which in this chmate is not always so cool as is desirable. They make an admirable substitute, and are much more safe in hot days. An industrious man who worked for me, though he had a farm of his own, was in the habit of bringing with him a largo melon, which he carefully kept fi-om the sun, and a good shce of which, at iatervals, served him instead of water. Potatoes are grown on every farm, generally in two kinds. The Enghsh potato is a very precarious crop, is much reHshed by the colonists, and brings high prices in such localities as Brisbane and Ipswich. Two crops are produced in the year. One in four may be good ; two in four may be tolerable ; one in foiu* is a total failure. The reason of this failure is, that the root is im.suited to the climate. Still the farmers will grow it ; and though they sometimes get as much as 10s., and even 14s., the hundred weight, yet it is doubtful whether the crop pays over a series of years. The sweet potato is a root differing from the Enghsh potato, and the yam of the South Seas is very nutritive, and is much more wholesome in that climate than its familiar and much-prized prototype. It takes its name from the never-failing quahty of sweetness which it possesses, arising from the saccharine element that pervades it. It yields two crops also in the year ; grows from vines pushed into the loosened soil, and not from roots, is very prolific when the soil is good, and is used for table, feeding horses and cows, and fattening pigs and poidtry. A most valuable root is the sweet potato, although it is generally despised by new comers as pigs' meat, yet most colonists take kindly to it in a few months. THEEE DAYS IN TIU: BUSH. 123 XIX.— THEEE DAYS IN THE BUSH. ClevGland, an embi'yo •watering-placo, a few miles to the south, of the point where the Brisbane falls into the Bay, is very pleasantly situated, and commands an extensive aquatic view. The magnates of Ipswich and a few of the old squatters have been bitten with a notion that the principal harbour and sea- port shoidd be there ; and, some years ago, they even managed to secure a considerable sum of money "with which they com- menced operations. The imfinished jetty, now nearly "\^•ashed away by the tide, marks the folly of the imdertaking. In truth, the character of the sea-bottom is such that the revenues of the colony, for many years to come, would not suffice to make it a safe harbour for even vessels of light draught. Cleveland is some two and twenty miles from the city of Brisbane, by a road on which it would puzzle even a London Jehu to drive a four-wheeled conveyance without depositing its contents in some rut or creek. The other watering-place, called the "Brighton of Brisbane," is Sandgate, a few miles to the north of the river, also situated pleasantly, and com- manding a view of the entrance to the Bay. Sandgate is some twelve or foiu-teen miles from the city, and the road thither is, though still in its normal condition, much better and safer than the other. "We shall retm-n to Cleveland, Avhither a friend and m3^self set off from Brisbane on a day, above all others, unsuitcd for travelling in the bush. There was a succession of heavy showers, such as you rarely encounter in this coimtry ; and, though well moxmted, we had some difficulty in making ovu' way. In a few days I was to leave the colony, and the trip must either be made that day or not at all, or at least not for a long time to come. So we kept to oiu* resolution, and braved the difficiilties both of the weather and the roads. More than once wo thought it a desperate undertaking, but my fiiend was not of the mettle to succumb. Seven or eight miles irom. the city, in the midst of imdu- lating land of a hght loamy character, we di'ew tip at the station of an old settler. It rained most hea-\-ily; we were hospitably entertained, and had a rousing fii'e made for our comfort. The country through which we had passed was not 124 QUEENSL AJKD ; seen to advantage on such a da}^, but it seemed to grow admirable grass, and thougli tlie soil was light, much of it •\vas capable of beai-iag fair crops of cotton, sugtu", coffee, and fruits. The ridges were not rocky, but covered ^viih a sharp quartzy gravel, indicative, the Victorians affirm, of the presence of gold; and the valleys between, clothed with rich grass, looked fi'esh and beautiful, and gave promise of a busy popu- lation ere long. AVe Avalked over the improvements on the station, which showed both enterprise and industry, and had ample evidence of the excellence of the cattle fed on these light lands. Here we met with a few families of aborigines, ensconced in huts constructed of timber and clay, the work, in great part, of the men on the station. The master iirformed us that he had constructed a wooden house, and told the blacks that it was for theu' use ; but so wedded were these poor de- graded creatm-es to their old and free habits, that they would not live in it, but preferred those miserable sties in which they were this day huddled together Hke so many black pigs. I have rarely found any of this race willing even to sleep in the rude wooden houses, constructed by the settlers, far less to live in them. As a rule, when they are induced to do any little bit of work on a farm, or about a house, they camp with theu* families some distance in the bush. At sun do"v\Ti they retu'o to their miserable twig huts, and at about eight in the morning they will make their appearance again. But it is extremely difficult to get a black fellow to work more than a few days in succession, and his daily doings are not of much value. It is hopeless to attempt to make of the black race in these parts a body of well- doing industrious men ; but something might possibly be made of the children, were an effort worthy of the cause to be put forth. I have met with black children in the bush before they were contaminated by contact -udth the white blackguardism of the to'U'ns, who appeared in ever}' respect as capable of being reared in the love and practice of virtuous and reHgious habits as any white child in the city. On the occasion of our call at this station, I had given to me the only thing in the shaj)e of a letter or material medium of thought I have ever heard of the blacks using. The blacks, men, gins, and children are devoted to smoking, and they will do quite as much to obtain " bacco " as food. Some black wanderer near this station had been BLACKS A>T) GUM TKEES. 125 overtaten by a longinj^ dosiro to obtain a bit of this "weed, and he sent his request to the master in the form of a chip of ironbark, -with a stick of tobacco painted on it "with charcoal. By the time vre left the hospitable roof of the settler, the heavy falls of rain had s"\voollen the creeks, and rendered our track very hea-v^' for the horses. On"wards, ho"wever, we pushed, and succeeded in crossing a large creek "whose waters we were aware came down both suddenly and in great volume. The country was still undulating, composed cliiefly of light loamy soils, and the feed was excellent. All the cattle and horses we saw appeared in good condition : in this flat coimtry there are no sheep. As we approached the coast, the country became low, occasionally swampy near the large creeks, and was covered "with most luxuriant grass. During the whole journey we had encoimtered nothing in the shape of timber, save the monotonous gum-tree, "with a few belts of iron-bark, and box- tree on the ridges, and apple-tree and wattle on the plains. The timber, of its kind, was good, and the supply exhaustless, although much of the finest had been picked out by the wood- man. There is a great variety of timber in Queensland, much of it excellent, suited for all kinds of colonial work, and ere long it may, in some of its more valuable varieties, become an article of export. The qualities of the principal lands have been tested by practical men, and, as placed alongside of the timber gro"wn in the other Australian colonies and New Zealand, these stand high. No sooner had we safely crossed the angry creek, than we began to have misgivings regarding the course we should p\irsue, and these were ripened into perplexity by the track wliich we had hitherto followed sjilitting into two. Each seemed equally well trodden, but they went off at right angles. To add confusion to perplexity, we were both tinacquainted with this part of the bush, and the sun was near its "going down." A short consultation, and we proceeded — in the "wi'ong direction. "Wlien we had reached the top of a low ridge, my companion reined his horse, and annoimced his conviction that we were on the wrong track. Drenched as we were, wo dismoimted, consulted a pocket-compass, and resolved to steer our way by it, through the untrodden bush, to the place of oiu* destination. Compass in hand, we threaded our way among 126 QUEEXSLA^vT) ; tlie great trees, and ugly limbs that lay stre-wed about in all directions ; over ridges, across flats, through swampy places where our horses went to the girths in water, and over creeks whose depths required to be ascertained before we ventured in, we went, till at last, just as daj-light was departing, we emerged on a rich, grassy, thinly- timbered plateau. In another half- hour, but not before the darkness was so dense that we could with difficulty trace the track at times, we reached the hotel at Cleveland. In such weather no travellers are expected at bush hotels, except it be those on the main roads from the capital, inland. Very soon, however, oxor kind-hearted hostess (mine host had been detained in Brisbane by the weather) had a blazing fire in the parlour, and all necessary prej)arations were quicldy made for our comfort. AVe must have had a wo-begone appearance. Just as we were beginning to feel the effects of the fire, and had congratulated ourselves for the twentieth time on our escape from the bush, before the dreary night had overtaken us, we were joined unceremoniously by a third party. * ' Good evening, mates ; this is a stormy night. ' ' We assented, as we simultaneously turned our heads towards the door. "Not lucky to lose one's way in the bush in such a night, eh?" "No, fi'iend," said I. "I've been lost all day, though, and only a few minutes ago foimd mj'seK at Cassim's (the hotel keeper). Confound it, I left here this morning at eight o'clock, and here I am again." "Where have you been? lost your way? strange your horse did not keep the track," said we. " Confound him, when I gave him the rein, instead of taking me to the track, he turned aside to feed. I saw nothing for it, wet night though it was, but to rough it the best way I could ; and as I was searching for a hoUow tree where I might shelter myself irom the driving rain, what should I see but a light, and making for which I was unexpectedly brought to a part of the road which I recognised, and so have foimd my way back to Cassim's." We soon "knock up" acquaintance in such circumstances; it is neither the time nor the place for ceremony, and so in less than no time we became as one party. Our friend threw him- LOST AND rOIIND. 127 seK on the sofa, and left to us tlie monopoly of tlie fire. There was a good reason for this, for he, like a sensible man, had denuded himself of his wet clothes, and appeared in a snow- white suit of the landlord's ; wliile we, like fools, retained certain portions of our dress, which we busied ourselves dr\-ing before the blazing and roaring wood fixe. There was another reason that partook too much of the droll to admit of being recognised by either ; and yet all parties were fully — one party perhaps painfully — aware of its existence. I have said our fi-iend, the lost one, had put himself into a suit of pure whites belonging to the landlord. Now, it so happened that dame nature had given to our "companion in trouble" a tall athletic frame, whilst she had bestowed on mine host a very neat but rather diminutive person. How the athlete had succeeded in depositing himself in mine host's attire was to us a mystery and is so still ; but the general efi'ect was indescribably droll. Next morning, before we were astir, our new-made friend took his departure, and we concluded that he had found his way this time as he did not return to the hotel, and no notice appeared in the Brisbane papers of a man lost ia the bush. Even in moonlight it is very pei-plexing to travel among trees ; but in a night like this nothing save the fine instinct of your horse could keep you on the track ; and where that is wanting, yotu' safest plan is to " hobble" yoiu' charger, and camp imder the first hollow tree you meet with till the morning. Many a time a man bewildered will move in circles within a few miles of his destination, and, unless help comes to him, will lie down and die. You must never attempt traveUing to any distance in such a wooded coimtry as Australia without a pocket-compass, if 3'ou have not a friend to guide you ; for, although you generally have the sun by day, and the southern cross by night, yet, with these helps, many an unfortunate traveller has failed to find his way, and left his bones to bleach under the hoUow gum tree. The morning was wet, and the greater part of the day was spent in looking out upon the magnificent Bay, discussing the merits of Cleveland harboiu', the ministerial measures, the agricultural interest, and many odds and ends regarding snakes, and flowering plants, and Hzai-ds, and birds, and black fcUows, and ants. It was not the season for mosquitoes, and somehow 128 QUEEXSL-VXD ; a colonist rarely talks about these miscliievous vennin, except "wlien they are present. Of course, "we settled the question of Cleveland harbour, scrutinized -with admirable discrimination all the measures before the House of Assembly, resolved that the very best thing for Queensland would be a large resident agi'icultural proprietary^, and were very communicative on the natural history of the colony. Snakes are very plentiful in Queensland, and the variety is great. Some of them are very beautiful, others veiy large, and nearly all of them seem to be all but innoxious. Dui'ing my stay there, I do not remember of any fatal case, although there were many instances in which both old persons and children were bit. When a person is bit, the practice is to suck the wound immediately, and when the sia'geon arrives, he gene- rally cuts away the part wounded, and applies a cautery. The specific for snake bite is a poultice of ipecacuanha powder, wetted, and applied immediately. Nobody lives in terror of the snakes, however numerous, but every person makes it a religious duty to kill all that come across his path. In this work of reptile destruction man is greatly helped by a stupid large-headed bird, which picks up the snakes, and drops them from the tops of trees on the hard ground. They are not difiicult to kill ; and that work done, myriads of ants clear away the flesh in a few hours, and leave the skeleton as if it had been boiled and scraped. The ants are an active and a scheming "people." Many times have I watched them and admired their ingenuity and incessant activity. If you wish peace, do not approach the nest of the "soldier" ant, for he is offended even with a look, and he will follow you many yards to inflict his pimy spite. If you need a lesson in activity, watch the black ants as they clear away any offensive animal matter that may have been cast in the path. If you want a lesson in offensive warfare, study the tactics of the small black ant, who by his skill and tact over- comes an enemy a dozen times larger than himself. The manner is thus : — Say that a large ant has become the object of aversion to these small gentry : a dozen of them lay their heads together, and, apparently at a given signal, two fasten themselves on each leg, and in an instant the big ant, with the dozen small ones attached to his legs, is rolling in the dust. REPTILES, IXSECTS, BIRDS. 129 His persecutors hold like a vice, and in vain docs lie attempt to rid himself of them. He roUs and tumbles about tiU he becomes exhausted ; and as soon as his enemies dare venture to loose their hold, they do so, and, falling upon the expiring giant, cut him up into small pieces, and cany him to their nests. The white ant is an object of great aversion to some varieties of the black or common ant ; and tliis is a fortunate circiunstance, since a creature so destructive, were it not kept in check, might do immense mischief. The white ant is most destructive to the soft woods used in house building, and also to the roots of several plants. It exists in old timber, and the roots of old trees, and should it find its way into a wooden house, every particle of soft wood, such as pine, will speedily be destroyed. In a small house that belonged to me there was a wooden floor, and during four months that the house was unoccupied, these vermin did their work so thorouglily, that, when we walked across the room, oiu' feet sank between the joists. They work in the dark and in silence ; they are not half so destructive when the light shines, or when busy feet are moving about. When the white ant ascends a tree, or post, or passes from one point of attack to another, he builds a covered way in the form of a long hard tunnel which his black enemies cannot penetrate. It is when this covered way is broken by accident, or otherwise, that his enemy pounces on him and works untold havoc. Life is wonderfully abundant in Queensland, but it is im- possible for me, alike fi'om want of preparation and want of room, to enter seriously on such an inviting subject. My remarks are casual, made almost at random, and yet they are in accordance with what I observed. Moths and beetles are very numerous, and very largo and beautifid. In the season the locusts fin the forests with their sharp piercing sounds, and when rain is coming, innumerable frogs strike up a singular concert in all the hollows. Spiders spin their webs fi'om tree to tree, and from shrub to shrub, whUe, high among tho branches, are various birds with imcouth notes. Tho cockatoos and parrots of every hue and size occupj' the tops of the trees. In the scrub there are many beautiful birds that are rarely seen in the bush. There are several of tho pigeon species, the bower-bird, and the hTo-bu-d, whose plumage must be seen to be appreciated. The largo birds, such as the emu, the native 130 QUEENSLAND ; companion, tlie hush turkey, the black swan, and several kinds of water-fowl, are very plentiful in some parts of the country. Many of the smaller birds that frequent the parts where the Avhite man has raised his homestead are not destitute of musical notes, although they are not to be compared for a moment with the songsters of the English groves. Caterpillars are very large, varied, and numerous in that colony. On one occasion, a stream of caterpillars, some of them two inches in length, passed across a portion of the Brisbane district. They were so numerous, that we could not walk along the path without crushing dozens with the foot. And, won- derful, they appeared and disappeared in the space of Httle more than four-and-twenty hours. There is a worm, a variety of which is found on land, and another in the brackish water, caUed by the colonists cobra, which plays a prominent part in the affairs of Queensland. The food and the home of the cobra, either on land or in water, is timber. It burrows in a short time into the hardest wood, and is consequently a great enemy to wooden piers and such like things. The piles that are used in such work now are all sheathed with copper to protect them from its ravages. It lives and thrives in certain kinds of trees, which it cuts through in course of time ; and it so completely eats into and honeycombs the timber that falls into the creeks and impedes the navigation, that in a few months the snags form no serious obstruction to the steamer or sailing vessel. This provision for the destruction of timber falling into navi- gable creeks and rivers is of the highest value in a commercial point of view. While the cobra is of such service to the white man, it is of equal if not superior service to the black fellow, for it fitmishes him with a much-prized food over a large portion of the year. When the worm is full grown, it is about the size of a man's finger, and is rich and nourishing ; it is eaten by the blacks raw. Pray don't tiu-n away : the black feUow eating his cobra is well matched hj the white man eating his oyster. In the afternoon the rain cleared off for an hour or two, and we set out for a place a few miles distant, where we expected to see some of the fine rich red soil that aboimds in these parts, near to the coast, under cultivation. We were not disappointed, for more thriving fruit trees, and more beautifully-developed POPULATION, COMMERCE, REVENUE, AND BANKING. 131 and finer-flavoured fruit, I certainly never met with in Queens- land. The land had been all trenched two feet deep, and according to appearances, and the account of the manager, the proprietor would be repaid in a very short time. The view from this part commanded a large sweep of the Bay, with Moreton and Stratbrook islands in the distance, and St. Helena about ten mdes off. We were informed that the proprietor was about to build a mansion here : and certainly he could scarcely find a site more desirable, in many respects, on all the Bay. Next day we set out for Brisbane, but such a quantity of rain had fallen, and the creeks were so flooded, that we found travelling rather a difficult task. In many parts of our track the water was knee deep ; some parts it reached our saddle- flaps, and at one place we were compelled to wait foui" houi'S before it was safe to ventui'e our horses in the boiling and tumbling stream. At last we ventured, and with difficulty reached the opposite bank. While waiting for the faUing of the waters, a black fellow came up, and entered at once into conversation. We wished him to swim our horses and our- selves across, and ofi'ered him some money. He looked askance at the money, but fixed his black eye on a carriage rug thrown over my shoidders, and said, "Me do it for that fellow blanket," pointing to the rug. " Bale," said I, " that feUow blanket goes with me to white fellows' country." "Ah!" said ovu? black friend. We coaxed him, and m-gcd Mm, and gave him silver, which he took, and said, if "white fellow come to another fellow ford," he would take us over. We went, and we re- turned again, but in vain did we urge him to take the water. By and bye he loft us to our meditations, and then we saw that in the transaction wo, the "white fellows," were "gammoned" by the cimning black. XX.— POPULATION, COMMEECE, EEVENUE, AND BANEJNG. It was in December, 1859, that Queensland commenced its separate existence. The district of Moreton Bay, the name by which it was knoMTi when a portion of Now South Wales, as alleged by the residents there, was subject to much neglect for many years by the central Grovernment at Sydney, and therefore k2 132 QXjEEXSLAijn) ; the start was not made in the most favourable circumstances ; and yet at its commencement, Queensland took, in a financial point of view, a liigli place in the scale of British colonies. The population was limited for such a territory, being, as near as could be ascertained at the date of separation, 30,000 inhabitants to a coujitry at least nine times the area of England and Wales. It was the custom at that time for those who were opposed to separation to assert that the population was much lower ; but the returns which have reached this coimtry prove that the northern men were nearer the mark in their numbers than their opponents ; and they prove also that the population of the new colony is rapidly increasing. The census returns of 1861, give the population as upwards of 31,000; and noAV (1862), it must have reached 37,000. The following table will show the progress of the popula- tion. The entire population in the Moreton Bay district, now Queensland, in 1846 was 2,257 1851 „ 10,000 1856 „ 17,082 1861 „ 31,000 Now (1862) the numbers may be 37,000 In 1856, the town population amounted to 8,500, as near as could be, the half of the whole ; the remaining half were distributed over the country. About 4,400 were resident in Brisbane, 2,500 in Ipswich, and the remainder in Dra3d;on, Warwick, Dalby, Grayndah, Gladstone, and Marybourgh. The proportion between town and country will, in the present census, in all probabihty, be found to be about the same when the returns ai'e completed. It is believed that since 1856 the population of the capital has nearly doubled. Great, however, as has been the increase in the joast years, it is not the standard by wliich to jiidge the probable increase in the futm-e. We may reasonably anticipate a large flow of the most suitable kind of emigrants from the mother coxmtry to Queensland, as soon as the capabilities and attractions of the colony are known; and even now the colonial papers show that every week brings to Brisbane from the other Australian colonies no less than 100 men, foiu'-fifths of whom have come to try theu' fortune in the INCREASE OF POPULATION. 133 new colony. These men are generally the very best immigrants, for they have ah-eady learned colonial experience in the other colonies, and most of them bring some capital. I have already mentioned this fact as one of the most conclusive arguments in favour of Queensland as a field for British labour. Brisbane is the capital and the principal seaport. Ipsvrich is the largest inland town, and is situated about 25 miles fi'om Brisbane, on the road to the DarHng Downs, Warwick is a town on the Condamine, in the southern di^sasion of the Downs, and near to the boundary of New South "Wales. Here the telegraphic wire from Sydney joins the wire from Brisbane by Ipswich, The distance from the capital is about 100 miles. Drayton and Toowoomba, two inland towns, within thi-ee miles of each other, are situated in the eastern portion of the Downs, near to the Main Range, and comprise about 2,000 inhabitants. Toowoomba is the more recent and the more thriving of the two, and occupies a commanding position. It is about 85 miles from Brisbane. Dalby is a small town in the Northern Darling Downs, and is distant from the capital about 140 miles. GajTidah lies much further north, at the head of the Biu'nett district, and is about 220 miles distant from the capital. From the thriving town of JMarybourgh, 150 miles to the north of Brisbane, and the seaport for the Burnett, Gayndah is only 85 miles. Marybourgh is situated about 60 miles fi-om the mouth of the Mary, which falls into "Wide Bay. This is an important town, and between it and Brisbane there is regular communication by steamer. The population maybe at present about 1,000 ; but inasmuch as it is the very heart of the cotton-growing coimtry, it will, doubt- less, rise rapidly in pubHc favoiu*. On the cast coast there are two more towns, and a third will speedily rise in the new district of Kennedy, on the Burdekin, The two yet to be named are Gladstone, in the Port Curtis disti-ict, 260 miles north fi'om Brisbane ; and Eockliampton, 45 miles from the mouth of the Fitzroy, and about 350 miles from the capital. Cannoona gold diggings are about 40 miles above Eockhampton. Between Brisbane and Mai-ybom-gh, Port Ciu-tis, and Eock- hamplon, steamers run regularly once a fortnight; between Brisbane and Sydney, Melboiu'ne, and Newcastle, once a week; and between the capital and Ipswich, two or thi'ee steamers 134 QTJEEtTSIiAlO) ; ply daily. There is besides a good road between tbe two cbief towns, on which, the royal mail coach runs twice a-day. The bush roads are generally mere tracks, but in the neighbourhood of towns the process of road-making is progressing with kindred things. Tramways, constructed of the hard wood of the colony, are about to be tried between the capital and the Downs, and great expectations are raised in connexion with this mode of transit. The telegraph will, in a month or two, connect the chief towns in the south of Queensland, and these with Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. There is also a telegraphic wu'e between Brisbane and the pilots' station on the Bay. These modes of transit and communication, in operation and in pro- gress, in a colony so recently raised to its political independ- ence, speak strongly for the practical wisdom of the legislature, and the sound-headedness and enterprise of the people. The following extract is taken from a pamphlet pubhshed in Brisbane, in January last, by the editor of the Moreton Bay Courier: — "The trade of Queensland is at present confined to the neighbouring colonies and the mother-country, but it must be remembered that we are only just ' commencing business on our own account,' and we must, therefore, be content gradually to enlarge the sphere of our operations. The imports into the port of Brisbane alone, in the 12 months ending 30th Sep- tember, 1860, amounted to £561,496; but the total value of the whole imports into the colony duiing that period is esti- mated at £650,000. This sum was principally expended in bread stuffs and other articles of consumption, including spirituous and fermented liquors, and in drapery, hardware, furniture, imported stock, &c. &c., as the subjoined recapitu- lation of imports into Brisbane will show : — Fermented and spirituous liquors . . £36,944 4 AgTicultiu-al produce 68,799 12 6 Livestock 7,460 Assorted merchandize 448,293 Total £561,496 16 6 "It is within the range of probability, however, that the second item will be considerably reduced, ere long, by the local TRADE AXD COMMERCE. 135 production of many of the articles we are now compelled to send money out of the country for ; and it is in this, as well as in other particulars, that we expect benefit to accrue from the proclamation and settlement of the agi'icultural reserves referred to in the last chapter. " The great bulk of om* exports consists of articles connected with jiastoral piu'suits, and this will continue to be the case until cotton or some other valuable staple is counted among the number. The total value of the whole exports from the colony of Queensland, during the 12 months ending September 30th, 1860, was £573,372 3s. 6d., and in this amoimt wool — the principal product — figures to the extent of £415,397 lis. 9d. — the value of 13,564 bales; while hides, tallow, sheep-skins, and live stock, make up a further sum of £124,238 16s. The aggregate amounts of both imports and exports show a balance in favour of the former of upwards of £120,000, and some might be led to suppose that we are in a crippled condition because the ' balance of trade ' is against us ; but we have a multitude of examples in our favoiu' in this respect. Such circumstances are only incidental to the infancy of a state ; and no harm can accrue if oiu' exports be found to be steadily increasing. That such is the case, we can show by quoting the value of the exports from Brisbane alone during the four years ending with 1860, thus — 1857 £355,237 14 1858 363,513 17 1859 429,984 3 1860 435,744 1 9 " As long as this steady progress is observable, an occasional deficit need excite no cause of apprehension ; for, as the exports of a country increase in value, so must there be a corresponding increase of material and national wealth." In recent papers received from the colony, we find the revenue summarised by the editor of the Queensland Guardian^ on the occasion of the Colonial Treasurer's Financiiil State- ment to the Assembly, and wo shall transcribe a portion of the article. The budget seems to have been most satis- factory, and received with general approbation. The writer goes back to tho commencement of oiu* colonial existence, as 136 QUEENSLAND; tlio reader Tvill perceive, antl tlius gives a fuller view of the subject : — "The colony of Queensland, having commenced her career in the close of the year 1859, began at that time to receive into her own treasiuy the ordinary proceeds of taxation and other revenue, and these, for the short portion of the year which then remained, amounted to £6,475 17s. 8d. The expenditure for the same period involved the pajonent of several liabilities which had been incurred before separa- tion, and Avliich were, therefore, duo from the New South Wales Government. Our outlay, thus swelled, amounted to £8,689 10s. 7d.— exceeding our income by £2,213 12s. lid. This deficit, however, does not exceed the sum paid by us for New South AVales ; so that if that colony had liquidated the claim, as she was bound to do, we should have had no deficit at all. As it is, she has merely given us a promise to pay when the inter- colonial accoimt is squared up, and we are, therefore, compelled to deal with the item, in the meanwhile, as a bad debt. (There is a further sum of over £18,000 received by New South Wales, which ought to have been paid into our treasury. In this amount New South Wales also acknowledges herself indebted to us. Thus, had matters pro- ceeded in regular order, we sho\ild have had a considerable balance in oiu' favour at the end of 1859.) "The amotmt for 1860 then opens with an entry on the wrong side of £2,213 12s. lid. The estimated receipts for that year were £160,000, and the expenditure £149,319. In- stead, however, of £160,000, the sum of £178,589 8s. 5d. was that actually received ; while the exjDenditure was swelled by supplementary estimates to £161,000, which, with the previous year's deficit, amounted to £163,213 12s. lid. This left a balance of £15,375 15s. 6d. on the right side of the account, with which to commence 1861. " Por this year the estimated revenue is £182,200; and the expenditure, as origmally provided by the Government, £197, G63, to which, however, have been added supplementary estimates to the amovmt of £24,370 Is. 8d., making in all £222,033 Is. 8d., or £39,333 Is. 8d. more than the estimated receipts. It will thus be seen that our revenue will have to exceed the estimate b^'" more than 20 per cent., in order to ANNUAL REVENUE — BANKS AND BANKING. 13^ meet the requirements of tlio present j^ear; and when wo remember that the estimate for this year is only £3,000 or £4,000 over the amount received last year, Vhereas our receipts for the past single month of April have exceeded the -u'hole receipts dm'ing the first three months of 1860 — we may, with- out being very sanguine, conclude that such will be the case. "For next year the ordinary revenue is estimated at£225,700, and the expenditure £210,545. In addition to this, it is pro- posed to borrow the sum of £115,300 (for the construction of permanent works), to be provided for by a sinking fund, and paid off in 12 years. It is a bold, and will be thought by many a foolish thing to say, that it would afford us no surprise to learn from the treasurer's statement two years hence that the ordinary revenue for 1862 had proved more than sufficient to meet this demand without touching the loan." From this necessarily brief statement regarding the revenue of Queensland, it will be observed that trade is gi-adually expanding; that the funds are very sensibly gi'owing; that the Government is liberal in the expenditui'e of money on per- m.anent works for the general good; that there is no great disposition on the part of any to borrow ; and that all parties are inspu'cd with hope for the future. Nor can it be said by any person who has read this little work thus far, that that hope is ill foimded. I shall add a little tabular matter, regarding the banking- interest in Queensland, which business-men will love to ponder, but which the general reader may skip, if he likes. General Abstract of the Average Assets and Liabilities and of the Ca^iital and Profits of the under-mentio7ied JjanJcs of the Colony of Queensland, for the Quarter ending Z\st March, 1861. No. 1.— LIABILITIES. Banks. Notes in | Bills in Circulation. Circulation. Balance due to other Banks and to Branches. \ £ s. d. £ s. d. Australasia 'l2,l-'>7 8 4|l,604 5 2 Union of Australia., 8 r)58 16 8 1,060 19 Australian Joint Stk 12.. 'iOS 16 8] 2u'4 1 JJew South Wales...; 13,753 10 £ s. d. 53 IS 1 Totals... '46,073 U 8 i-'.SSO 5 3 53 18 1 Deposits. Total Liabiliiics. £ .'. d.\ £ s. d. 84,744 17 gs.soe 10 6 97,8 "r3 19 107,473 14 S 6.'),749 10 11' 78,179 8 7 6.>,4j4 19 4 76,301 7 5 310,843 6 3 360,760 1 138 QTJEENSLAJTD ; Xo, 2.— ASSETS. Banks. Coin. > Landed Property. Notes and Bills of nthcv Banks. Balance duo from other Banks, and from Branches. Notes and Bills discounted, and all other debts due to Banks. Total Assets. A U.A. ... A.J.S... N.S.W. Totals.. £ s. d. 20,088 7 11 11,525 17 14,946 7 11 19,664 10 £ s. d. 4,650 1,980 6,082 9 3 1,.523 8 4 £ s. d- 265 18 4 151 18 4 143 2 C 729 16 8 £ s. d 5,.374"l0 8 £ s. d. 2.36,786 4 131,004 18 4 70,302 « 2 70,802 7 £ .s. d. 261,841 15 1 1.50,037 4 10 91,474 5 10 92,719 15 7 66,225 3 4 14,235 17 7 1.290 15 10 5,374 10 8 308,895 5 5!59G,073 1 4 The Bullion in the Bank of Australasia is £51 8s. 6d. No. 3.— CAPITAL AND PROFITS. Banks. Capital Paid up. Kate per an- num of last Dividend. Amount of Dividend. Amount of Re- served Profits at time of declar- ing- Dividend. £ 900,000 1,000,000 375,000 750,000 12'; per cent. 12" „ 10 15 £ s. d. 5G,250 60,000 18,730 55,954 15 £ s. d. 315,043 3 3 213,847 5 29,114 13 3 207,934 7 10 765,939 9 4 Australian Joint Stock ... Totals 3,025,000 190,934 15 The above tables are extracted from tlie Queensland Guardian, and the editor of the paper affixes the following note : — " A comparison of this return, with that published in our Summary of February, gives satisfactory evidence of our mone- tary stability. It will be seen that the deposits have been augmented by the sum of £22,925, and the advances made by the banks by £41,823. As almost the whole of the latter increase is fui'nished by the English banks, while the additional deposits may faMy be ascribed to new arrivals in the colony, it is manifest that the confident reliance placed by outselve.s in the resources of Queensland is now being shared by the foreign capitalist." TKE DUGONG FlftH MEDICINAL QUALITIES OF ITS OIL. 139 XXI.— THE DUGONG FISH— THE MEDICINAL QUALITIES OF ITS OIL. In an early chapter of this wort, I mentioned the dugong fish, and promised to give the reader some account of its nature and habits. The dugong has been long known to the blacks in the north as a fish whose flesh was good for food, and whose fat was possessed of extraordinary healing powers. They were in the habit of spearing the creature in the shallow water of the bays along the coast of Queensland, roasting the body in a hole made in the sand, and, in devouring the delicious flesh, they took care to rub their persons with the grease. A few years ago Dr. Hobbs, health ofiicer at Brisbane, was led to try the efi'ects of the dugong fat, or oil, in cases where cod-liver oil was generally administered by the faculty, and to his sur- prise and delight, found that it did not simply possess qualities equal to those of the cod-hver oil, but added several of its own, and these of the highest importance to the invalid. The nature of the creature, the remedial qualities of the oil, and the class of patients to which it may be given or applied, I shall allow the discoverer to describe in his own language. I shall only add that I have seen and examined the creatiu-e, and that most of the cases mentioned by Dr. Hobbs in his published lecture on the subject, and several not mentioned there, were parties whom I personally knew in the colony. Quoting fi-om " Knight's Animated Nature," Dr. Hobbs states, that — " The dugong (halicoro dugong, Cuvier) is a native of the Indian seas, being common among the islands of the Indian Ai'chipelago, and visiting also the coasts of New Holland. Its favourite haunts are the mouths of rivers and straits between proximate islands, where the depth of water is but tiifling (three or four fathoms), and where, at the bottom, gTOws a luxuriant pastui'age of submarine algoo and fuci. Hero, in cahn weather, may small troops be seen feeding below the surface, and every now and then rising to take breath. The position of the mouth, the muscular powers, and mobility of the lips, garnished with wirj'- bristles, and the short incisor tusks of the ujDper jaw, enable these animals to seize and drag up the long &onds of subaquatic vegetables which constitute theii* nourish- 140 QUEEis'SLAia) ; ment. Tlie dugong is in liigli esteem as an article of food, its flesh. l)eing tender and not unlike beef; hence it is assiduously hunted by the Malays, who attack the animal with harpoons, in the management of which they are very dexterous. The mutual affection of the male and female is very great, and the latter is devoted to her offsj^ring. If a dugong be killed, the survivor of the pair, careless of danger, follows after the boat carrj-ing the bod}', impelled by an overmastering passion, and thus often shares the fate of its partner; indeed, if one be taken, the other is an easy prize. The dugong attains to the length of seven or eight feet. In Moreton Bay they are fre- quently met with nearly twice that length. So sweet and palatable is the oil procured from the dugong, that in its j^j)?Tnen best fitted for colonial work, there- fore, are men who, though they must needs profess some special ecclesiastical connexion, yet reckon it theii* main object to teach and enforce the great principles of our holy rehgion, rather than to dwell on church formulas, or stir the waters of ecclesiastical strife. The man who does not pique himself on his Church connexion, who does not fall back on tradition or human authority, who does not seek " honour" as a clergyman, who does not endeavour to rise at the expense of his brother, but who goes like a man and a brother among the people, takes a respectful interest in their aifaii-s, sympathizes with them in their sorrows, rejoices with them in theu' joys, tells them in an honest manner the truth of his mission, and, in firm but kindly language, points out their faidts — this man shall be respected, and obeyed, and sujDported. The people generally are honest and straightforward, however much they may some- times err ; and if they are met in the same spiiit by a clergy- man, they appreciate these qualities, and honoiu' the man who possesses them. But your whining, sentimental, demiu-e novice of a clergyman, they will certainly treat as this miserable caii- cature of the man and the minister deserves. It has been the custom among more sections of the Chiu'ch than one to send men whose hopes of success at home had all but expired to the colonies, thinking perhaps that anything was good enough for them ; but never was there a greater mistake, never a more serious blunder committed. The men who emigrate in our day are among the most inteUigent and enterprisiug of their respective classes ; these men in many instances constitute a congregation in a colonial town, not siu'passed for the power of appreciating a good sermon by any cong-regation in any of the THE CLERGYMEIf W^VlTrED. 155 tovms at home. It is, therefore, a grand mistake to send such men, the refuse of youi" home clergy, to minister to them in spiritual things. Why, the best men that enter the home ministry might well feel honom-ed to he called to God's spiritual ■work among the population of ■which the colonial communities are composed ; and as to the -^'ork itself, "what can be more important than lajdng the foimdation on Avhich the spiritual supersti'uctiu'e of a gi*eat nation is to be reared ? It seems to me that into all Chiu-ches that -wish to prosper in Queensland the lay element should be introduced, and allo^wed free exercise -within defined limits. The spirit and temper, and I might say the intelligence, of the people are such, that it might be done -without any anxiety. Besides, -«'hen the Church has no connexion -with the State, and receives no money grants therefrom, but is dependent on the fr'ee--wiU offerings of the people, there are many reasons -why the laity should take their share in the business affairs of the Chui-ches. Possibly some readers of this little -work may demur to such suggestions as these. I have no controversy "with you, my friends ; all I attempt is to tell you candidly what is the state of feeling generally in that colony in regard to matters ecclesiastical, and to counsel you as to the coiu'se most hkely to be successful. I am sure of this — the clergymen who have the least priestly spirit about them, and the Churches which allow the free exer- cise of the lay element, are the clergymen (other things being equal) who shall have greatest influence for good — are the Churches that shall take the deepest hold on society. Give the people the Christian Kberty which is their inlieritance; trust them in all matters ecclesiastical, as you do in all matters political ; let them have the man of their choice ; and it matters not to which section of the Church he may belong, I teU you the people there will hold him in due respect, and they -svill cheerfully contribute to his support. My o-wn experience is, that a more liberal, honourable, and considerate people coidd not be easily found in either hemisphere. All the sections of the Chiu-ch nearly arc represented in Queensland. The most nimierous section is the Chui-ch oi England ; the next is the Eoman Catholic ; and the four sec- tions, Presbyterians, Independents, AVesleyans, and Baptists, may be said practically to be about equal. Of the Episcopal 156 QUEEN SL.VND ; Cliurcli there are one bishop and ten clergymen ; of the Boman Catholic Church there are one bishop and about six clergymen; there are five Presbyterian congregations with ministers ; fom* Independent ; four Wesleyan ; three Baptists ; one Lutheran ; and one Primitive Methodist. At the time we write there are at least 36 clergjonen engaged in ministerial work in Queens- land, in a popidation consisting of 37,000 souls. The entu'e system of pubhc worship is conducted on the Voluntary Prin- ciple, with the exce2:)tion of six ministers who held office before separation, and who had distributed among them annually £750 of Government money. In no part of the colonial world with which Ave are acc[uainted is there better provision for the spiritual wants of the people — one clergyman to every thousand of the popidation. This is not amiss for the voluntary principle. It is indeed a grand experiment ; and we trust that the people of Queensland will stimulate each other to love and good works, and prove to the world that the fi'ee-will oficrings of the worshippers constitute an ample revenue for the Church's wants. The opponents of the voluntary principle argued in the late discussion, that whilst it might possibly provide the means of reHgious instruction for the toAvnis, it coidd do nothing for the bush. The opposite was proved at the time ; and it woidd not be out of place to state a few things here on this question — the Church in the Bush. Fu'st, the statistics of the various colonies showed that what money was granted by Government to the support of reHgious worship was nearly all expended on the populous districts; a very small proportion indeed in connexion with any Church participating in the grant was expended on the bush. Secondly, in the colonies generally, and in Queensland especially, nearly all that had been done to carry rehgion to the thinly poptdated parts of the coimtry was the work of the voluntary principle, and generally the agents were connected "svith and supjjorted by the Churches who receive no aid from the Government. Thirdly, squatters, and other gentlemen connected with the bush, have shown a willing and hberal disposition to contribute their money to provide for the reHgious wants of the j^eojile far removed from towns. The only thing that was not forth- coming was the suitable men for the work, and these no THE EELIGIOUS COXDITIOX EDUCATION. 157 Government can supply. Fovj-tlily, tho system that is required for the bush is one of itineracy, the agents of which sliould be men of robust health, fair education, liberal and tolerant in their religious views, and of a manly spirit. Two or thi-ee sections of the Chm-ch might contribute to the support of such a system ; or each Church might do its own endeavoiu' in that way. Already we observe the Bishop of the EngHsh Church is instituting some such agency as this ; and for some j^ears the Presbyterians, the Indejiendents, and the Wesleyans, have been practically engaged in the work. The complaint has never been lack of money, but want of the properly qiiahfied men. The religious condition of Queensland will stand a fair comparison with that of any colony receiving money and land grants in aid of pubHc worship ; and, what is more, in some respects it wiU not suifer by a comparison with many parts of our own highly-favoiu'ed England. I am aware that sentiments directly opposed to these have been expressed on the platform, and issued through the press, by parties high in office, and that the Enghsh pubKc has been extensively appealed to in behalf of the spiritual destitution of the Queenslanders. I was in tho colony when this scene was being acted in England, and I can tell you that tho reports of the speeches that reached us there filled the people with surprise and indignation. Queensland needs men of the character and tj-pe above described ; and if England will sxipply tho agents, I am bold to say the men and women in Queensland will supply tho money. XXIV.— EDUCATION. I shall not insult the understanding of my readers by telling them that the education of a people is one of the weightiest questions that can engage the attention of the moralist and the statesman. In an old coimtry like England, it is involved in numerous and all but insiuTUOuntable difficulties. There are so many interests to be respected, so much diversity of opinion to be met, so many prejudices to bo moUitiod, that men ai'o deemed more courageous than wise who talk of tho establish- ment of a system catholic in its spirit and national iu its 158 QUEENSLAND ; operation. Hitherto, ciu* greatest statesmen and our wisest moralists liave failed. It is a vexed question, and whether it will ever find a solution in England is more than the most sagacious will afiirm. In the older Australian colonies, rival systems, as in England, have unfortimately been introduced, and both are supported on a liberal scale by the respective G-overnments. Scattered over the colonies there are a few schools in a prosperous con- dition, that are conducted by competent persons at their own risk, which receive no aid from Government ; but, generally speaking, the schools are either ranged under the term "denominational" or "national." The former is thoroughly sectarian, and ostensibly used for sectarian ptu'poses ; the latter is cathoHc, and has to battle against many powerfid prejudices. How the two antagonistic systems work, and what are their respective results, in the older colonies, it is no part of my duty to describe ; and it is enough for my present purpose to state, that, from the experience of the older colonies in the matter of education, the Queensland Government and Legislatiu'e were led to decide, after due dehberation, that the system best suited to the infancy of the new colony was the one most catholic in its spirit, and universal in its application. The terms "national" and "denominational" were both discarded, and two Acts were pass kI estabhshing a General System of Edu- cation, including both Primary and Grammar Schools, on the basis of the National System, and admitting of pecuniary help to existing denominational schools on certain conditions. The intention of the House, and perhaps of the Ministry, was to establish and support a purely national system, into wliich the existing denominational schools might be gradually, and by a friendly process, absorbed. But whether this most desirable object shall be gained is rendered extremely doubtful, by the strong denominational hkings of the Bishop of the English Episcopal Chui'ch. Every friend of peace — every man who desires to see the rising race and futiu'e generations in that promising colony trained in the principles of mutual for- bearance and brotherly love — must wish success to the system of general education now estabHshed in Queensland. During the fii'st session, the Parhament voted the sum of £10,000 for the x^in'poses of education, £7,000 for primary PKIMAKY AIvTD GBAITMAE. SCHOOLS . 159 schools, and £3,000 for the gTammar scliools' foundation. Tills may appear a very small sum for such a pm-pose, but it should be considered that the population of the colony did not at the time much exceed 30,000 souls. The Act to provide for primary schools, which is the one of greatest importance in the present state of the colony, is, as we have said, based on the national system, and the object is to furnish a good education to all the children throughout the colony as far as these can be reached. The system is managed by, and all the property connected with it is vested in, a Board, consisting of six persons, including the chairman, who must be a Minister of the Crown, representative of the Government in either House. The appointment of the Board lies with the Executive. The powers of the Board are great, but subject to control. It makes rules and bye-laws for the working of the system ; but the Act fixes that these shall bo in accordance with the spirit of the "National System of Education," and they must have the approval of the Grovernor, and be laid before the House of Assembly. Schools, whether denominational or private, may have pecuniary aid, provided they submit to the supervision and inspection of the Board, and in all things conform to the authorized rules and regidations ; but no money is gi-anted for the piu'pose of building, unless the fee-simple of the property is vested in the Board. Should the inspector not be satisfied that the assisted school is conducted in accordance with the regula- tions of the Board, on representation made to the proper quarter, the aid is withdi'a-\\Ti. The books in use at present are those used in the National Schools in New South Wales. These iaclude the volimies on the Old and New Testament ; but dogmatic or doctrinal religion is imparted by the clergy- man to whom the children belong ecclesiastieally, or by any person authorized by the parents in his place, at certain fixed hours, according to the convenience of the parties. The Govern- m.ent profess to provide the best education prociu'able, and they have given every facility for the religious instruction of the children by those whose duty it is to imjiart it. In any dis- trict where there are 30 childi-en not attending any school, the parents of those chikben may combine and ask the establish- ment of a school in connexion with the Board. The conditions of success are these — that they subscribe one-third of the 160 QUEENSLAND ; actual cost of tlie buildings, the Government give the other two-thirds, and that they apj)oint from their number a local Board to manage the school when in operation. The local Board may recommend a teacher but the appointment is in the hands of the General Board. The salaries of teachers are regu- lated by the work to be done, and afford a fair remuneration. The system has made a good start, and abeady in all the chief centres of population schools are estabhshed. All depends ou the working of the scheme, and if we may judge from the com- position of the Board, we may believe that the party in power as well as His Excellency the Governor are most desirous that it may be worked well and efficiently. Parents emigrating to Queensland may therefore feel assured that all that the Govern- ment can do to provide a good education for their childa-en is being done ; and we have no doubt, from what we have seen of the Queensland sj^stem in its commencement, that if not intermeddled with by the "heads of denominations," it will work admirably, and confer an inestimable boon on the indus- trious community ; and should the Governor, the Executive, and the Board stand finn to the grand principle to which they are pledged, the hearty sympathy and support of the people will more than counteract the persistent opposition of a dozen bishops. Here and elsewhere in this work I have been led to speak fi-eely of the efforts of certain parties in the colony, who, from mistaken views, I doubt not, have used their influence, and we believe are still using it, to subvert or nullify some of the most enlightened and most statesman-like measiu-es of the Colonial ParKament. The reader will observe that not a word has escaped my pen condemnatory of the men or the offices they fill ; but I hold that those, whatever be their office, and what- ever be their motives, who seek to evade the conditions and nullify the spirit of such vastly-important measures as those that the Legislature of Queensland has passed on the chui-ch cj^uestion and education, are guilty of acts that merit the severest reprobation ; and should the guilty one, as in this instance, fill the sacred office, I know of no code of morahty that would justify me, a man pledged to speak the truth and deal fairly by every man, in allowing the sacredness of the office to change the character of the act. Let bishops, judges, and aU men HINTS TO EMIGEANT3. 161 observe the Golden Kule, and respect the laws under Avhich they live, and none ^ill be more forward than ourselves to give "honoiu" to whom honoiu' is due." XXV.— EMIGEATION, EMIGRANTS, WAGES, HINTS, PEINCIPLES. Those who have read the preceding sections of this work will, I dare say, feel with me that little more requires to be said on emigration. That it has been good for many families that they were led to emigrate ; that many more would really benefit themselves much were they at the present time to cross the seas ; that of all the excellent colonies connected with the British Crown, Queensland is the most excellent and the most attractive to the industrious working man and the small capitalist; that now, when emigration to America is all but stopped, and our cotton supply from the States distui'bed and ujicertain, every legitimate effort should be made to direct the flow of British emigration to England's own Cotton Field : — all this will be granted by every candid mind. It would benefit all parties were the tide which is now rising to set in with a vigorous and steady flow towards Queensland ; and if what I have stated regarding that new coimtry be true, which it is, it matters little to which of the Australian colonies men may be induced to go : if they have a ten pound note left in their pocket Avhen they land at Melboiu-ne or Sydney, the chances are that they will find their way to Brisbane. Will you take advice from one who has nothing in the world to gain or to lose by your going to one colon}' rather than to another, but who woidd wish you to go to the healthiest and the most productive ? If you resolve to emigrate, vmless you have friends in the other colonies who are willing and able to give you a start, take ship direct to Queensland. In this way your expenses in going out are reduced by £8 or £10 each adult, and you secure the very liberal gi-ants of land which the Queensland Government give to every adidt, and every child above four years of age. The general character of the countiy ; the nature of its soils, and its climate ; its unequalled resources ; the ways iu which you may bo em- 162 QTTEEXSLj\^a) ; ployed ; the probabilities and the conditions of success, have been faitlifiilly, though imperfectly, placed before you. I have also shown you that the laws of the colony are hberal and wise ; that religion and education are well j^rovided for, the one by the people, and the other by the Grovernment ; and that the body of the colonists are industrious, prosperous, and happy. It lies with you to decide. There is a steady demand for labour of most kinds. In the interior, the demand exceeds the sujiply. Shepherds, plough- men, masons, carpenters, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, are always needed ; and for many others, such as saddlers, shoemakers, tailors, painters, quarrjonen, plasterers, labourers, printers, bricklayers, tinsmiths, upholsterers, grooms, &c., &c., there is a fair demand. There is no class of emigrants more required and more certain of immediate employment at high wages than female domestic sei-vants of good character. There is in Queensland, as in all the other colonies, a siofficient supply of clerks and shopmen ; and there is no opening whatever for educated men of no trade or profession without capital. Clerks and shopmen who are prepared to put their hands to any work that may turn up, will succeed ; but your man of education, incapable of doing any manual labour, and possessed of no income, is the most helpless and hopeless of all colonists. I have sometimes heard people say of such cases, " Such and such a one should go to Austraha ; he will surely find something to do ; there must always be plenty to do in a new coimtry." This is true as regards the industrious, well-principled working- man of any trade, who is both able and willing to put his hand to any kind of work ; but it is not true as it regards a well- educated, penniless, handless, and, therefore, in a colonial sense, ^iseless man. Current Wages in Brislane. Stonemasons lis. to 12s. per day. Bricklayers, lis. to 12s. Carpenters and Joiners, 8s. to 12s. Plasterers, lis. to 12s. Painters, 8s. to 10s. Blacksmiths, 10s. to 14s. Masons' & Bricklayers' Labourers, 6s. to 8s. Quarrymen, per day of 10 hours, 8s. to 9s. Labourers, 6s. to 9s. Tinsmiths, £2 to £2 15s. per week. Upholsterers, per day, 9s. Female Cooks, £26 to £36 a year. Tailors (piece-work). Saddlers, 8s. to 10s. per day. CURREXT -WAGES — WATER SUrPLY. 163 Milliners, £40 to £80 per annum. Dressmakers, £30 to £60. Needlewomen, £30 to £40. Shoemakers, a-week, £2 to £3. Coopers, per day, 15s. Printers (Compositors), Is. 3d. per 1,000. Printers (Pressmen), per day, 10s. to I2s. Shepherds, a-year, with rations, £40 to £G0. Grooms, ditto, ditto, £35 to £60. Turn servants, do., do., £35 to £40. Married couples, with services of wife, double rations, £52 to £85. Servant maids, a-year, with board and lodging, £18 to £25. Bullock drivers, ditto, £35 to £45. Tlie following paragraph is extracted from a document issued imder the autliority of the Colonial Government : — " Persons with the bare means of existence at home, but who can manage to pay their ovm passage out, will find themselves in the possession of a farm immediately on their an-ival in this colony, and may enter forthwith upon the cultivation of the soil with the fairest prospects of success. Others who may not be possessed of any capital, on their ari-ival in the colony may be certain of immediate emplo}-mont at good wages, with board and lodging, and the amoxmt they can save out of their earnings in two years \^all be quite sufficient to enable them to enter upon their own land, to the whole amoimt of which they will then be entitled in the proportion of £30 worth for each adidt, and half that amount for childi-en between the ages of four and fourteen years, if they have paid their own passage out ; or to £12 worth for each adult, and half the amoimt to children, if they have been conveyed to the colony free of expense to themselves." Since my retiuTi I have frequently been questioned on certain points : — First, as to the supply of water. Queensland is very well watered, as the reader must have observed ; and M-ith ordinary' care, every squatter and farmer may have a sufficient supply of fresh water all the year round. In this respect it contrasts favoiu'ably with the colonies to the south. There are not many running springs, and few wells as yet have been simk, but what between the fresh-water creeks and holes, and the tanks that are now being made in connexion ■«'ith every respect- able house and farm, there is no lack of tliis important element. It is rendered pure, if need be, by passing it through a filter, and it is kept cool by shading it from the smi. Considerable anxiety has sometimes been manifested regarding the floods that occasionally visit some districts. On this point there need m2 1G4 QUEEXSLA^^) ; be no anxiety, for in Queensland they have never done much damage. Some have also got the notion that the rainy season in Queensland is unfavourable for the picking of the cotton. This, too, is a mistake, as in the southern portion of the colony, at least, there is no decided rainy season, the rain being dis- tributed over a larger portion of the year than in the other colonies. For the same reason, Queensland is not visited, excejit at long intervals, with anything in the shape of di-oughts. In a general sense, the colony of Queensland is well watered. There is a greater number of rivers there, navigable for many miles, than will be found in any other Australian colony. Secondly, as to the feeling of the blacks. Over Queensland there maybe distributed, in tribes, between 20,000 and 30,000 natives of the soil. In some districts they are troublesome, but, generally speaking, they are inoffensive. I have never known the blacks to be the aggressors; but, when injured by the whites, their revenge may slumber, and it may not fall on the head of the guiltj', but it will come, and sometimes with terrible consequences. My belief is foimded on the experience of many as well as my own, that, if you act in a humane and judicious manner towards the poor degraded blacks, both your person and your property will be safe. It is sad to think that these poor creatiu'es are melting away before the march of the white men, notwithstanding all that may be done by individuals and by Government to contribute towards their comfort. Every effort to civilize and christianize them has failed ; and even the attempts that have been made to teach and train the young have invariably come to naught. Whether this may have been owing to the incorrigible roving disposition that pervades all the tribes, or to the hurtful influence of that portion of the wliite' p£^ndation with which they mainly come in contact, or whether it may be owing to both these causes combined, I shall not attempt to determine. But the fact is as I have i)ut it. The blacks need not be a bugbear to any intending emigi-ant, and as for the other difficulties that may rise in his path, they are nothing in copaparison with the advantages that are his for the taking. " • Thii-dly, as to the -best timber for use. The emigi-ant who resolves to settle on the, land -ndll have much to do with timber, and it is a matter of ^some practical importance to him to Imovr which of the timbers may best suit his piu-pose. Timber is TIMBER FOR HOUSES AND FENCES. 165 required for house-building. The posts on which the frame- work rests shoiild be of bloodwood, and generally all the timber that goes into or comes in contact -ft-ith the soU ; in the absence of which, iron-bark, or the hardest kind of gum-tree, may be used. Two objects will be gained by this an-angement — the foundation of the house wdll stand longer, and it will be im- pei^vious to the white ant. The walls of the house should be constructed of broad slabs split from tlie iron bark-tree, and placed in strong grooA^cs, either upright or on their sides, according to the taste of the builder. The rafters may be of any saphngs that grow conveniently; the covering may be sheets of bark of the stringj^-bark tree, or shingles made of the iron-bark tree. The bark when well cut and neatly placed, forms a perfectly impervious roof, but the best covering is the shingle roof. The bark is taken from the tree standing, and as much may be gathered in a day or two as will serve the purpose. The blacks may sometimes be got to gather the bark for a couple of shillings. Tlie doors and windows shoidd be made of pine, a timber plentifid and easUy worked, but not so durable as the home or Baltic pines. A handy man may con- struct both doors and windows. Glass is cheap. The house should have a wooden floor, but it should be of some of the hard woods, as the pine falls a speedy prey to the white ants, if any nests of that feeble but destructive creature be within reach. The cliinks in the wooden walls serve as ventilators dm-ing two-thirds of the year, and should the inmates expe- rience the least inconvenience, a lining of calico will prove an infallible remedy. I have more than once been asked — But what is a family to do after reaching their freehold farm before the house is erected ? For eight or nine months in the year the (ilimate is so fine, that a family wiU suffer no injiirj- were they for a few nights to spread their couch on a bed of reeds or grass, sheltered on the side the wind might come from, and over head by a blanket. Timber is also required for fencing. Fencing should commence with clearing ; and it may be that the timber 3'ou require to cut down in order to bring tlie groimd imder cultivation may sujijily you with the stutf for fencing. In the south of Queensland, that is, the country near Brisbane, there are three kinds of timber good for fencing. There are others besides, but it is enough for all practical purposes to refer to these. The posts, which are morticed when green, 166 QUEENSLAND; "PTnO AliE V^VNTED TIIEKE. should be of blooclwood if possible ; but if that timber is scarce, iron-bark may be used. Always use iron-bark for rails when it can be had, and in its absence either bloodwood or spotted gum. Both posts and rails are made of split wood, and are heavy. The former are let into the gr(mnd about 18 inches, and firmly .rammed. The fence generally consists of three rails, which are let into the posts. The expense of erecting such a fence, which will last for 20 years, is from os. 6d. to 7s. per rod. But small jDroprietors do their own fencing at inter- vals, as they do their own clearing. Fourthty, as to the leasing of land, and the condition on which land in the agricultural reserves is sold. The condition of sale is that the land purchased at £l per acre shall be taken possession of and imjn'ovements commenced within six months. This is to prevent the land-jobber from buying up the good lands. The farmer may have on lease, at the rent of 6d. per acre per annum, land contiguous to his farm, not exceeding 320 acres ; and he is entitled diu-ing his lease to purchase any part or the whole, if the same shall have been fenced. Should the rent not be paid regularly, or the land not be fenced within eighteen months after the lease is taken, the lease becomes void. Much depends on the principles and disposition of the emi- grant. A discontented, grumbling, envious man is not likely to find himself very comfortable even in Queensland ; and the man of lax or doubtful principle, though he possibly may grow rich, is not likely to rise to positions of honour and influence. In colonies, as well as in the old country, all men trust the person of unquestioned honour and unsullied morals. A man is removed from many wholesome restraints in a colony that operate most beneficially on him at home ; therefore all who emigrate should keep aHve within them every virtuous feeling and principle, and, wherever situated, shoidd attach themselves to some Christian church. Allow me, therefore, to say, ere we part, that the man who carries with him to Queensland and retains the unimpeachable honour, the open manliness, the robust morality, the unostentatious generosity, and the liberal vital Christianity, which characterise the best of Englishmen, is the man whose presence is specially needed there, and who shall, in a very short time indeed, become a power in the infant commimity. APPENDIX. I.— CONDITIONAL GEANTS OP LAND FOR COTTON CULTIVATION. Colonial Secretary's Office, Brisbane, July , 186L His Excellency tlie Governor, m itli the advice of the Execu- tive Council, and in accordance with Eesolutions of the Lcgis- latui-e, is pleased to declare that the following Regulations for the granting of suitable portions of land to persons or com- panies undertaking the ciiltivation of cotton, shall have the force of law from and after the 1st day of August, 1861. By His Excellency's command, Robert G. W. Herbert. Regui^vtions. i. The land to be held by any one person or company under these Regulations must be comprised -\dthin one block of not less than 320 nor more than 1,280 acres. 2. The situation and general boimdaries of the land apphed for must in the first instance be notified to the Surs'oyor- General ; and the Government reserve the power of refusing to grant such land, as for pubhc reasons it may be deemed unadvisable to aUenate in the manner herein provided. 3. On the approval of an application, tlie aitplicant must deposit in the Treasury, in Brisbane, the amoimt of 2s. for every acre apphed for, and on such amoimt being didy deposited, an authority to occupy the land will be issued, subject to the conditions hereinafter mentioned. 4. Should the land not already have been siuweyed for sale, the application will on!}- be approved of conditionally imtil tho 168 APPEXDIX. survey has been cliily completed in accordance with, the rules of the Survey Department, and by a surveyor to be approved by the Surveyor-General, and such survey shall be at the sole cost of the i^arty applying. 5. If, within two j^ears from the date of the authority to occupy, the occupant shall produce to the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the district, or such other oJ0B.cer as the Grovernor may appoint, satisfactory evidence that at least one-tenth part of the land has been planted with cotton, and that a sum in the proportion of at least £5,000 to 640 acres has been bona fide expended in clearing, fencing, cultivation, or improvements connected with the production of cotton on the land, the deposit of 2s. per acre will be returned, and a deed of grant in fee issued to the occupant. 6. But if, at the expiration of two years from the date of the authority to occupy, the occupant fail to produce satisfac- tory evidence of said expenditure and cultivation, the amoimt of deposit will be forfeited, and the land, together with all improvements thereon, revert to the Grovernment; provided that in the event of the sum expended and the land under cotton crop being not less than one-half the amount required by the aforesaid Regulations, the occupant ma}^ defeat the for- feiture of the land by pajdng the amount of £ 1 for every acre not duly covered by such expenditure as aforesaid, but the deposit of 2s. per acre will be absolutely forfeited. 7. No Land Orders will be issued as a bonus for the pro- duction of cotton on land held in occupancy under these Regulations, until the conditions entitling the occupant to a deed of grant have been fully complied with. 8. No applications to occupy under these Regulations will be received after the 1st day of August, 1863, unless by sj)ecial notice in the Government Gazette, extending the period for the receipt of such appUcations. ATPEXDIX. 169 n.— NEW IMMIGEATION EEGULATIONS. The following are tho new Immigration Regulations as adopted by the Legislative Assembly of Queensland : — 1. That the "Remittance System" of Immigration, as La force in Queensland until the commencement of the present year, be resumed, and that the payments to be made there- under be as follows : — For each immigrant between 1 and 12 years of age, £2 ; between 12 and GO, £4. 2. That persons desirous of engaging servants or labourers under the " Guarantee System," specified in clause 9 of the existing Regulations, be permitted to pay a portion, not being less than £G, of the passage money of such immigi'ants upon theii' arrival, and the remainder diu-ing tlie fii'st year after such arrival ; in the event of the balance' not being jiaid, the original paj-ment, together with, the land order, to be forfeited. 3. That land orders bo di-\dded into two classes, those de- livered to persons sending for labom* or for theu* friends or relatives to bo at once transferable; and those delivered to immigrants or persons paying the passage of immigrants under clause 7 to be transferable after six months, and not earlier, unless specially sanctioned by the Immigration Board. 4. That all transfers of land orders be dated and signed by the party transferring them in the presence of, and attested by, a Justice of the Peace of the Colony. 5. That upon application from the Board of Education, the Government provide intermediate or cabin passages for cer- tificated schoolmasters or mistresses of a superior class. 170 APPEXDIX. OUTFITS AND VOYAGE NECESSAEIES. The Emigrant slioukl exercise both care and caution in selecting all that he requires on the voyage and on his first entrance upon colonial Hfe. There are those who, in their several branches of business, devote much attention to these matters. Messrs. Monnery & Co., the eminent Outfitters, supply Clothing and aU Cabin Necessaries ; and we cannot but direct attention to the comfortable, Hght, ventilating Hats, specially made for warm climates, by Messrs. EUwood & Co., who have obtained a Prize Medal at the Exhibition. Messrs. Tupper & Co. supply Iron Houses, Sheds, Eoofs, &c., carefully packed for shipment ; and Messrs. Wilson & Co. supply Cotton Macliinery, for which they have also obtained a Prize Medal. The Advertisements of these Firms wiU be found at the com- mencement of the Work. THE END. G. BOEWICK, Printer, 21, Little Moorfislds, E.G. ^OUVERIE STREET. 1^ FLEET STREET _^