A work of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, professed to detect the errors in
British colonisation, and to prescribe a new and more effective
plan.[178] It consisted in selling land at "a sufficient price" to
combine labor and capital, to collect all the elements of civilisation,
to prevent the dispersion of population, the premature possession of
land by the workman, and speculation by jobbers. Thus a colony, on this
model, was compared to a tree transplanted, the fibres of its roots
undivided, and its branches unbroken.
For several years previous to this decisive change, the desire had been
widely expressed to relieve the parent country by the emigration of
paupers. Sir William Horton devoted great attention to the subject. He
visited various districts most oppressed by population, and pointed out
the methods available to an extensive removal. The Canada Company, which
transacted much business with him while under secretary of state, had
purchased and re-sold crown lands; and many laborers, who were
transferred at their own expense to that country, rapidly improved their
condition. A committee of the Commons sat upon the subject, and a bill
was introduced by Mr. Horton himself, to authorise the parishes to
mortgage their poor rates. It was once intended by the government to
levy a tax on convict laborers, and to increase its amount on artizans,
and thus raise a fund for emigration: this project, Arthur successfully
resisted, and large permanent resources were discovered in the sale of
lands. The parishes were not willing to incur the outlay, and it was
opposed by many who were persuaded that the poverty of the laborer
resulted from oppression.[179] The intolerable degradation of the poor
led to outrages and crimes. Large numbers were transported for agrarian
offences, and many others had no refuge, but to obtain deliverance from
starvation by less concerted violations of the law.
Agricultural laborers were driven from town to town; offered by auction
at two-pence a day; harnessed to gravel carts; mocked by being sent with
a barley straw fifteen miles a day; imprisoned in pits, and kept
standing morning after morning in a public pound. Such were the scenes
which induced Horton to lecture through the country on redundant
population and emigration; and to call the attention of the parliament
to the march of poverty, pauperism, tyranny, and crime.[180]
The proposition of Sir William Horton led to various projects of private
parties, in furtherance of colonisation. Grants of land were given to
capitalists in proportion to the laborers they conveyed; whom they were
permitted to engage as indented servants. The scheme chiefly important
to Van Diemen's Land, was the settlement of Swan River. Four gentlemen
proposed to government, to convey 10,000 persons, for a grant
equivalent. The minister thought the project too vast. Three of the
four declined: Mr. Thomas Peel, a relative of Sir Robert Peel, still
persevered. Many persons entrusted their capital to agents, who
presented it, and obtained a title to possessions they never intended to
cultivate.
By the regulations published at Downing-street (December 5th, 1828), the
settlers were allowed 40 acres for every £3 of invested capital; 200
acres for every laborer conveyed. No convicts, or any other description
of prisoners, were to be sent; but land granted, was to be forfeited,
unless improved within twenty-one years. Thus, those who conveyed
laborers, were met by competitors who had incurred no such expenses; and
the conditions imposed neutralised each other. The settler who carried
out labour, found his servant desert him to occupy land acquired by the
capitalist who carried out money. Of three hundred persons embarked by
Mr. Peel, in a few months not one remained to light his fire; but the
recreant workmen were soon reduced to want. Many, under their broken
indentures, claimed relief of Mr. Peel, whose flocks had been scattered,
and his property destroyed by their desertion. He was glad to hide from
their violence, while they were embarking for the neighbouring colonies.
Respectable families were compelled to perform the most menial offices,
and young women of education were reduced to rags. Contributions of
clothing were collected and forwarded by the ladies of Cornwall. Many
were brought to Van Diemen's Land, as to a city of refuge: the
population, from 4,000, decreased to 1,500, and the ruined landholders
petitioned the government for a share of convict labour--a boon which
the elder colonies deprecated, and the minister refused (1835).
Swan River seemed to promise a desirable market, and the merchants
dispatched vessels with provisions and cattle: Mr. Gellibrand speculated
largely. On the whole, the returns were not equal to the outlay; and
although sometimes great profits were realised, Van Diemen's Land was
injured by the trade.
Scarcely were the settlers of Western Australia landed, when another
colony, Spencer's Gulf, was projected. The authors of this scheme
imputed serious detects to the plan of its immediate predecessor. The
low price and extensive holdings, the want of combinable laborers, and
the imperfect organisation of its social fabric, seemed to account for
its disasters. A body of persons, concurring in the Wakefield system of
colonisation, and comprehending many members of the House of Commons,
formed themselves into an association, and applied to the government for
the necessary powers. After considerable discussion, the minister
declined their proposal, and the realisation of their hopes was deferred
several years. The more active partisans of the scheme kept it before
the public. An act passed the legislature on the 15th of August, 1834,
empowering the crown to erect South Australia into a British province.
Commissioners were appointed for the sale of land, and for the
conveyance of emigrants. It was determined that the price should be
sufficient to prevent laborers from buying land, and furnish the cost of
their emigration. The company were authorised to borrow £50,000. If, at
the expiration of ten years, the population should not reach 20,000, the
control of the land was to revert to the crown. With a population of
50,000, they were to obtain the rights of political freedom, and no
convict ship was to anchor on their shores. The upset price was at first
£1, and, for a time, 12s. per acre. The intended colony was viewed with
distrust by the elder settlements for the theoretical character of the
plan, and its entire opposition to the then prevailing notions of penal
labour. The advocates of the enterprise lost no occasion to denounce the
social condition of Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales; where,
however, the scheme was pronounced insane, and destined to certain
disorder and ultimate overthrow. The appearance of new speculators in
the Australian colonies compensated them for these reproaches. In
publishing their plans, the company had always referred to supplies
within their vicinity, as an immediate and certain reserve. The
Tasmanian merchants met them on the shore of the royal province. Sheep
were sent over as the basis of their flocks; timber for their huts; and
the various produce of rural wealth, originally brought at great cost
from Europe. A long succession of adventurers raised the value of
produce throughout the colonies; and individuals realised large profits
in the trade; but when the arrivals from England ceased, the new colony
was involved in whatever misfortunes its peculiar plan was supposed to
avert. Many hundreds, driven out by poverty, settled in the penal
colonies, and the property of Adelaide became unsaleable: the frail
dwellings were deserted, and the land lay utterly waste. Of the Adelaide
traders, scarcely a house escaped insolvency, and the loss was total.
Those who remained turned their land to account: their flocks increased,
and the discovery of the mines happily realised more than their early
hopes. The lands sold by the company were freed from the mineral
reservation.
An old gentleman, named Mengè, formerly an attendant on a distinguished
German geologist, was the discoverer of its mineral riches. He was
employed by Mr. George F. Angus to select his special surveys. His
occasional choice of rocks and barren soil excited ridicule and
astonishment; but he was accustomed to say, "the wealth is below, not
upon the ground." He lived in the cleft of a rock at the junction of the
Gawler and Para, near a plot of forty acres, almost surrounded with
water, where he cultivated melons of every variety. He spoke many
languages, and had travelled through Germany, Switzerland, and Iceland.
A mineral collection he made, is in the University Museum, Edinburgh.
His excursions in South Australia were intrepid, and extended far: he
carried a wallet and a hammer, and subsisted during his wandering on
gum. His conversation was visionary; and his predictions, at the time,
but little regarded.
The coast of New Holland, opposite to Van Diemen's Land, was almost
neglected since the removal of the colony in 1803. Various reports were
brought by whalers of its suitableness for sheep farming. Howell, Hume,
and Batman had explored the country in 1824, and had acquired some
knowledge of its quality. In 1827, an application was made by Messrs. J.
T. Gellibrand and Batman to General Darling, for permission to land
stock, to the amount of £5,000, in the neighbourhood of Western Port.
This project failed; but in 1835, Mr. Batman, called the Australian
Penn, acting for certain colonists, of whom a nephew of Arthur was one,
proceeded to Port Phillip. Several Sydney blacks, under his care, had
acquired the English language, and accompanied him thither. This
important expedition embarked in a colonial vessel, and landed on the
26th May, on the shore of Port Phillip. The civilised blacks were now
decked with native ornaments, and advanced towards the fires of the
aborigines; but they had fled. They were, however, tracked by Batman's
company, who opened a friendly conference, and were perfectly
understood. The natives displayed some apprehension, and intimated they
had already experienced injury from the English. Batman gave them
presents of tomahawks and trinkets, and conciliated their fullest
confidence. Some time after, the party met the chief of another tribe,
who had heard reports of the white man's liberality: he conducted them
towards the huts; but in their progress they were surprised by an
hostile array of the natives. The blacks of Batman's party called out
to them, and amity was established. Batman took the spear of the chief,
who carried his gun. He then proposed to live among them: the conditions
were explained to their satisfaction. The treaty of Penn with the
Indians was the model of the covenant with the tribe of Dutegaller. They
conveyed a track of 600,000 acres, for blankets and other objects of
native desire, and an annual payment of similar articles to the value of
£200. This deed was signed, sealed, and delivered by the natives in due
form.
The report of this expedition was presented to Arthur, who warmly
concurred in the occupation, and approved the consideration of native
rights; but observed that those rights had been disregarded in the
recent colonisation of South Australia, and that Port Phillip was within
the government of New South Wales. Arthur was desirous of making that
territory dependent on Van Diemen's Land. The minister favorably noticed
the proposal; but in the meantime Governor Bourke asserted his claim,
and declared the company intruders, and their bargains with the natives
void.
Notwithstanding, the colony now opened was occupied by many adventurers.
Their sheep were rapidly transferred, and the greater portion of the
early inhabitants were settlers from Van Diemen's Land. The settlement
was suffered with reluctance. The theory of concentration had been
adopted only a few months before; but, except by setting up a government
on the spot, it was found that an illegal occupation of land could not
be prevented. Governor Bourke wrote to the secretary of state, that
whatever the general wisdom of concentration, an opposite course was
necessary for pastoral wealth; and that to neglect nutritious food,
would be to reject "the bounty of providence." He proposed to sell the
land in townships, and employ the proceeds in the public service.
Lord Glenelg confessed that the scheme of concentration was not of
universal application: that Lord Ripon's regulations were not everywhere
desirable, and that it was proper to tolerate the ardour of private
enterprise; to moderate its course, and gather up its fruits. The
Dutegaller association was dissolved; but not until they had given an
impulse to colonisation, more rapid than any example offered by history.
This peaceable occupation, contrasted with the cruelties inflicted at
Twofold Bay--a whaling station, now rising into a province.
While these plans of colonisation were in progress, the social
condition of the penal colonies was constantly discussed. To correct the
evils admitted on the spot, and to obviate the dangers apprehended at
home, it was determined by the ministers to promote the emigration of
mechanics and females. One series of plans were proposed for New South
Wales and Van Diemen's Land, and with the same general results. The
policy of government required the emigration of free mechanics.
The employment of prisoner artizans by the local government, was
disapproved by the crown, and Colonel Arthur was instructed to assign
them to masters, and contract for public works. In defending this
measure, he had maintained that the high rate of wages would subvert the
design of transportation: the employer would indulge the workmen, and to
obtain their full strength supply the means of sensual gratification.
In 1831, a notice appeared inviting the opinions of the colonists on the
subject of emigration. Lord Goderich solicited the assistance of the
settlers in removing the population which the colonies might employ, and
England spare. They were requested to state what amount of money they
would engage to afford, and what class of servants they required. Such
as contributed to the cost were promised a preferable claim to engage
them. The notice was received in silence: no public meeting was held.
The servants of the Van Diemen's Land Company had generally deserted
their employers; and in the colonies, the valuation of pauper laborers,
compared with convicts, was not great; and although some extended their
views beyond the moment, the chief object of most persons was to secure
a fortune and be gone. The settlers dreaded the vicinity of small
farmers, as fatal to the discipline of their men, and to the safety of
their flocks.[181]
This notice was on its way, when Lord Howick, on the behalf of the
colonial-office, addressed the lords of the treasury, and proposed a
loan of £10,000, to be repayed by the land fund. The proceeds of sales
were then a matter of conjecture; but it was the opinion of the
secretary of state, that these resources should be devoted to
emigration, especially of females. He calculated that a growing
population would more than compensate for the cost, by extending the
basis of colonial revenue (1831). In this view their lordships
concurred, and a commission was instantly appointed, to carry out the
design.
During this emigration the supply of labor exceeded the demand, and a
benevolent society was formed to succour the numerous poor. The governor
advised that no laborers, except mechanics, should be sent, and four
members of the legislative council protested against the outlay. They
stated that the support of 10,000 prisoners, without expense to England,
was a sufficient benefit for a colony to confer; that the "poor house
prisoners," and the "gaol prisoners," were equally demoralised; and the
first more insolent and uncontrollable. They contended that the
expenditure of the land fund out of the colony was to complete the
mischief resulting from the cessation of grants, "the calamities of
which it was fearful to anticipate."[182]
The colony was thought likely to afford a desirable home for Chelsea
pensioners, who commuted their pensions for four years' payment.
Forty-six embarked in the _Science_, with Messrs. Backhouse and Walker,
whose reports of their conduct explain their subsequent misfortunes.
They were intemperate and thriftless, and passed the voyage in disorder.
The women were nothing superior to their husbands.[183] On their
arrival, they expended their money, and sunk into misery. To this there
were some exceptions, and here and there an old soldier may be found,
whose property has risen in value, to a competence for his declining
life. The land they were enabled to acquire was, however, generally too
small in quantity to yield a living, from their unskilled and irregular
toil. Their distress excited more discussion than sympathy. They
requested the sheriff to call a meeting, to inform the crown of "their
unspeakable sufferings."
The home government resolved to advance £20 to married mechanics willing
to emigrate to this colony. They gave the parties the amount, who were
expected to sign a warrant of attorney for its repayment within two
years. Many emigrated, but few paid: a Mr. John Hose, who did so, was
noticed for his singular honesty; but the greater part evaded the
liability with success. Females were expected to repay £8 towards their
passage; but many were minors, and the proof of their hand-writing was
not easy, and few regarded the obligation as just. The demand of this
pledge contracted the choice of emigrants: many country girls refused to
sign their names to a paper, promising a sum equal to the English wages
of a year; or to enter into engagements, of which they could not see the
end. The ordinary revenue was charged with payment and collection
arising from this scheme; but the land fund eventually defrayed the
loss.
A succession of vessels, with mechanics and females, anchored at Hobart
Town: the _Amelia Thompson_ at Launceston. A committee of ladies in
London, of whom Mrs. Fry was the most distinguished, undertook the
selection of the females. They were commended for their philanthropy and
care in England: in the colonies, they received but little praise. Mr.
Marshall, a considerable shipowner, was appointed agent. To fill his
vessels, was said to be the main object of his efforts, and that he held
a low scale of female morality would not be unacceptable. The statements
of the colonial press were often undiscriminating and highly unjust:
many valuable women were included in these immigrations; many were girls
of tender years, whose chief fault was their ignorance.
The debarkation of these females occasioned scenes, more subjects of
regret than of wonder. Thus, on the arrival of the _Strathfieldsay_
(1834), the fair emigrants, 286, most of good character, were
indiscreetly landed at high noon: 2,000 persons awaited them on the
beach. Their feelings were outraged with ribaldry and insult: they were
astounded at their reception, and many wept. The ladies of the colony
protected and advanced them; and some, whose want drove them from their
native country, remember the day with gratitude when they first pressed
the soil of Tasmania. 1,280 females were brought to the colony in three
years, ending 1835; and rather more to New South Wales.
The emigrant rarely appears to advantage: the occupation of a new
sphere, in which his position is uncertain, renders his manners awkward,
and his expectations ridiculous. The disorderly conduct of many made
their presence a burden, and their civil condition no great advantage to
their masters. Yet, since it was necessary to labor or to starve, the
greater portion chose the better alternative; and the women of decent
habits, found that destiny for which nature designed them.
The extravagant expectations formed by many emigrants, fostered by
reports of individual success, which when substantially true are still
exaggerated by fancy, were commonly disappointed. The suspicious
coolness of strangers; the high price of provisions; the comfortless
dwellings, with their awkward fuel; the absence of conveniences, which
are not valued until lost; and the memory of home, produced a depression
of spirits, only overcome by reason or youth. But their complaints of
after years, are the result of affectation and habit: they pretend to
have sacrificed a lot, from which in reality they escaped; and forget
that in the midst of those scenes they profess to regret, they often
wanted a meal.
A curious instance occurred at an early time: a settler took a location
order and provisions, and went out to commence his labors. He was
disheartened by the obstruction of the forest: at his first stroke, the
axe was shivered; he threw it down in despair, and returned home in the
vessel that brought him out.
The emigrants were not, on the whole, inferior to other persons of their
education and calling; and were often justified in resisting the
tyrannical spirit and disposition to oppress, which the habits of
colonial life do not extinguish. This emigration, amounting to 7,000 for
both colonies, is an epoch to be remembered for its influence on their
fate.
These events revolutionised the social state of the colonies. Free
workmen and their families formed an intermediate class, whose interests
were hostile to a penal government, and to bond labor in every form. The
individual importance of employers consoled them for their political
dependence; and the subservience of transportation to their material
prosperity, reconciled them to the restrictions it imposed. The free
workman found it an obstacle to his advancement: it depressed his wages
and debased his position, but gave him nothing. If his industry raised
him, he yet retained the sympathies of his early life: he remained
distrustful of the rich, jealous of rank, and fond of the equality of
human rights. Trial by jury, legislative assemblies, and official
responsibility, found earnest advocates, where they had often been mere
rallying points of personal discontent.
All this was foreseen by Arthur: when free laborers were intruded by the
crown, the great bond of his system was broken.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISPOSAL OF CROWN LANDS IN NEW SOUTH WALES AND VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.
---------------+-------+--------------------+---------------+------------------
Authority. | Date. | Terms. | Superseded. | Remarks.
---------------+-------+--------------------+---------------+------------------
King's sign |1787 |Residence on the |1810. |100 acres only to
manual to |and | grant. | | any person, over
governors of |1789. |Cultivation and | | the quantity
New South | | improvement. | | allowed to
Wales. | |Reservation of naval| | emancipists.
| | timber. | |
| |Quit rent: | |
| | emancipists. 6d. | |
| | per 30 acres; free | |
| | settlers, 2s. per | |
| | 100 acres, after | |
| | ten years. | |
| | | |
Governor |January|Quit-rent, 2s. per |November 30, |Town allotments
Macquarie. |1, 1810| 100 acres. | 1821. | usually leased at
| |Cultivation of a | | Hobart Town for
| | proportion (20th | | twenty-one years,
| | part) in five years| | quit rent 30s.
| |Reservation of naval| | per acre; 7 only
| | timber. | | were granted,
| |Right of forming | | 1820. Allotments
| | highways. | | were occupied at
| |Non-alienation in | | Launceston on
| | five years. | | permission of the
| | | | commandant.--
| | | | _Bigge's Report._
| | | |
Governor |July |Omits cultivation |Colonial |
Brisbane. |11, | clause, and saddles| Office, |
|1822. | every 100 acres | November, 1824|
| | with a convict |Notified in Van|
| | servant. This was | Diemen's Land,|
| | cancelled by | 18th May, 1825|
| | indorsement on some| |
| | grants, on | |
| | condition of | |
| | cultivation. | |
| | | |
|1823. |Grants liable to | |
| | quit-rent of 15s. | |
| | per 100 acres. | |
| | | |
Colonial Office|1824. |Convict clause |Convict clause |Town lots granted
| | inserted. Purchase | withdrawn, in | on specified
| | money repaid, if | 3rd edit. of | expenditure
| | claimed within ten | notice, 1827. | within three
| | years, or for the | | years, and
| | redemption of quit | | non-alienation
| | rent. | | for 18 months.
| |Quit rent 5 per | |
| | cent. value. | |
| | | |
|April, |Settlers who could | |
|1826. | obtain no convicts,| |
| | allowed abatement | |
| | of half quit-rent; | |
| | or a new purchase | |
| | at half price, who | |
| | should expend five | |
| | times value of the | |
| | grants, given or | |
| | sold them. | |
| | | |
Governor Arthur|1828. |Land Board |January 20, |
| | established; | 1831. |
| | capital required, | |
| | £500 for each | |
| | square mile granted| |
| |Land sold at highest| |
| | tender; one-half | |
| | left on mortgage | |
| | for twelve years, | |
| | at 5 per cent. | |
| |Precious metals | |
| | reserved. | |
| | | |
Colonial Office|January|Order: all land to |August, 1838. |
|20, | be sold by public | |
|1831. | sale; upset price | |
| | 5s., conveyed in | |
| | fee simple at a | |
| | peppercorn rent. | |
| |Precious metals | |
| | reserved, and | |
| | indigenous produce | |
| | for public works. | |
| | | |
Colonial Office|August,|12s. per acre. |1842. |
| 1838. | | |
| | | |
|1842. |£1 per acre. |1845.[184] |
---------------+-------+--------------------+---------------+-----------
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 177: _Report on the Disposal of Crown Land_, 1836.]
[Footnote 178: _England and America._]
[Footnote 179: The plan of selling crown lands, and appropriating the
proceeds to emigration, was claimed as his own by Galt, the novelist and
projector. See _Life of John Galt_, vol. ii. p. 135.]
[Footnote 180: _Edinburgh Review_, 1849.]
[Footnote 181: "We are much mistaken, if the letters addressed
to the secretary exceed six, and they are written by the paid
magistracy."--_Launceston Advertiser_, 1832.]
[Footnote 182: Protesters:--Charles Swanston, Charles M'Lachlan, Richard
Willis, John Kerr. October, 1833.]
[Footnote 183: _Backhouse's Narrative._]
[Footnote 184: 1845.--The Act 5th & 6th Victoria, chap. 36,
repealed; as to Van Diemen's Land only: which returned to the status of
1787.]