If the sanguine hopes to which the discovery of this river has

given birth, should be realized, and it should be found to empty

itself into the ocean, on the north-west coast, which is the only

part of this vast island that has not been accurately surveyed,

in what mighty conceptions of the future greatness and power of

this colony, may we not reasonably indulge? The nearest distance

from the point at which Mr. Oxley left off, to any part of the

western coast, is very little short of two thousand miles. If

this river, therefore, be already of the size of the Hawkesbury

at Windsor, which is not less than two hundred and fifty yards in

breadth, and of sufficient depth to float a seventy-four

gun-ship, it is not difficult to imagine what must be its

magnitude at its confluence with the ocean; before it can arrive

at which it has to traverse a country nearly two thousand miles

in extent. If it possess the usual sinuosities of rivers, its

course to the sea cannot be less than from five to six thousand

miles, and the endless accession of tributary streams which it

must receive in its passage through so great an extent of

country, will without doubt enable it to vie in point of

magnitude with any river in the world. In this event its

influence in promoting the progress of population in this fifth

continent, will be prodigious, and in all probability before the

expiration of many years, give an entirely new impulse to the

tide of population: and here it may not be altogether irrelevant,

to enter into a short disquisition on the natural superiority

possessed by those countries which are most abundantly

intersected with navigable rivers. That such are most favourable

for all the purposes of civilized man, the history of the world

affords the most satisfactory proof There is not, in fact, a

single instance on record of any remarkable degree of wealth and

power having been attained by any nation which has not possessed

facilities for commerce, either in the number or size of its

rivers, or in the spaciousness of its harbours, and the general

contiguity of its provinces to the sea. The Mediterranean has

given rise to so many great and powerful nations, only from the

superior advantages which it afforded for commerce during the

long infancy of navigation. The number and fertility of its

islands, the serenity of its climate, the smoothness of its

waters, the smallness of its entrance, which although of itself

sufficient to indicate to the skilful pilot the proximity of the

ocean, is still more clearly defined by the Pillars of Hercules,

towering on each side of it, and forming land-marks not to be

mistaken by the timid, the inexperienced, or the bewildered. Such

are the main causes why the Mediterranean continued until the

discovery and application of the properties of the magnet, the

seat of successive empires so superior to the rest of the world

in affluence and power. It is indeed almost impossible to

conceive, how any considerable degree of wealth and civilization

can be acquired without the aid of navigation. From the moment

savages abandon the hunter state, and resign themselves to the

settled pursuits of agriculture, the march of population must

inevitably follow the direction of navigable waters; since in the

infancy of societies these furnish the only means of indulging

that spirit of barter which is co-existent with association, is

the main spring of industry, and the ultimate cause of all

civilization and refinement. In such situations the rude canoe

abundantly suffices to maintain the first necessary interchanges

of the superfluities of one individual for those of another.

Roads, waggons, etc. are refinements entirely unknown in the

incipient stages of society. They are the gradual results of

civilization, and consequent only on the accumulation of wealth

and the attainment of a certain point of maturity. Canals are a

still later result of civilization, and are undoubtedly the

greatest efforts for the encouragement of barter, and the

developement of industry, to which human power and ingenuity have

yet given birth. But after all, what are these artificial

channels of communication, these _ne plus ultras_ of human

contrivance, compared with those natural mediums of intercourse,

those mighty rivers which pervade every quarter of the globe?

What are they to the Danube, the Nile, the Ganges, the

Mississippi, or the Amazon? What are they, in fact, compared even

with those infinite minor navigable streams, of which scarcely

any country, however circumscribed, is entirely destitute? What!

but mere pigmy imitations of nature, which wherever there is a

sufficient number of rivers, will never be resorted to, unless it

be for the purpose of connecting them together, or of avoiding

those long and tedious sinuosities to which they are _all_

more or less subject.

Viewing therefore this newly discovered river only in the

light of a river of the first magnitude, it must be evident that

this important discovery will have an incalculable influence on

the future progress of colonization; but to be enabled fully to

estimate the beneficial consequences of which it will be

productive; it is essential to take into the estimate, the

probable direction of its course, and the point of its confluence

with the ocean. This I have already stated is with good reason

imagined to be on the north-west coast; since every other part of

this vast island has been so accurately surveyed, as scarcely to

admit of the possibility of so large a river falling into the sea

in any other position. Assuming, therefore, that the source of

this river is in the direction thus generally supposed, it will

be seen that it will surpass all the rivers in the world in

variety of climate; since reckoning merely from the spot where

Mr. Oxley discovered it to its conjectural embouchure, there will

be a difference of latitude of twenty degrees. Even omitting,

then, to take into computation the probable length of its course

from the place where it first becomes navigable, to the point

where that gentleman fell in with it, (and it was there running

from the south, and must have already been navigable for a

considerable distance, if we may judge from its size,) the world

does not afford any parallel of a river traversing so great a

diversity of climate. The majority indeed of the rivers, which

may be termed "rivers of the first magnitude," run from west to

east, or from east to west, and consequently vary their climate

only in proportion to their distance from the sea, to the

elevation of their beds, and to the extent of country traversed

by such of their branches as run at right angles with them. Of

this sort are the St. Lawrence, in North America, the Oronoko and

Amazon, in South America; the Niger, Senegal and Gambia, in

Africa; the Danube and Elbe, in Europe; and the Hoang Ho, and

Kiang Keou in Asia. It must indeed be admitted, that every

quarter of the globe furnishes some striking exceptions to this

rule, such as the Mississippi and River Plate in America; the

Nile, in Africa; the Rhine, the Dniester, the Don, and the Volga,

in Europe; and the Indus and Ganges, in Asia; all of which

certainly run from north to south, or south to north, and

consequently command a great variety of climate.

In this respect, however, none of them will be worthy of

comparison with this newly discovered river, if the point of its

confluence with the ocean should happily be where it is

conjectured. And yet we find that all the countries through which

the above-named rivers pass, either have been, or promise to be,

the seats of much more wealthy and powerful nations than the

countries through which those rivers pass whose course is east or

west. The cause of this superiority of one over the other, is to

be traced to the greater diversity of productions, which will

necessarily be raised on the banks and in the vicinity of those

rivers whose course is north or south, a circumstance that is

alone sufficient to ensure the possessors of them, under

Governments equally favourable to the extension of industry, a

much greater share of commerce and wealth than can possibly

belong to the inhabitants of these rivers whose course is in a

contrary direction: and this for the simplest reason; because

rivers of the former description contain within themselves, many

of those productions which the latter can only obtain from

abroad. In the one, therefore, there is not only a necessity for

having recourse to foreign supply, which does not exist in the

other, but also a great prevention to internal navigation,

arising from the sameness of produce, and the consequent

impediment to barter, which must prevail in a country where all

have the same commodities to dispose of, where all wish to sell

and none to buy. To this manifest superiority which rivers

runningon a meridian claim over those running on a parallel,

there is no counterpoise, since they both contain equal

facilities for exporting their surplus productions, and receiving

in exchange the superfluities of other countries. It may, indeed,

here be urged, that there is, upon the whole, no surplus produce

in the world; and that, as the surplus, whatever may be its

extent, of one country, may be always exchanged for that of

another, as great a variety of luxuries may be thus obtained by

the inhabitants of rivers that run in an eastern or western

direction as can possibly be raised by the inhabitants of rivers

that run in a northern or southern; and that consequently the

same stimulus to an inland navigation will be created by the

eventual distribution of the various commodities procured by

foreign commerce, as if they had been the products of the country

itself. To this it may be replied, that although a much greater

variety of products may undoubtedly be imported from foreign

countries, than can possibly be raised within the compass of any

one navigable river, such products cannot afterwards be sold at

so cheap a rate. In all countries, therefore, where such products

are imported from abroad, the increase in their price must

occasion a proportionate diminution in their consumption, and in

so far inevitably operate as a check to internal navigation.

This variety of production, and the additional encouragement

thus afforded by it, to what is well known to be one of the main

sources of national wealth, is sufficient to account for the

superior degree of civilization, affluence, and power, which have

in general characterized those countries whose rivers take a

northern or southern course. Some few nations, indeed, which do

not possess such great natural advantages, have supplied the want

of them by their own skill and industry, and have in the end

triumphed over the efforts of nature to check their progress. Of

a people who have thus overstepped these natural barriers opposed

to their advancement, and in spite of them attained the summit of

wealth and civilization, China perhaps furnishes the most

remarkable example. The two principal rivers of that country, the

Hoang Ho, or Yellow River, and the Kiang Keou, or Great River,

runs from west to east; yet by means of what is termed by way of

eminence, "The Great Canal," the Chinese have not only joined

these two mighty streams together, but have also extended the

communication to the northward, as far as the main branch of the

Pei Ho, and to the southward as far as the mouth of the Ningapo:

thus establishing by the intervention of this stupendous monument

of human industry and perseverance, and the various branches of

the four rivers which it connects, an inland navigation between

the great cities of Peking and Nanking, and affording every

facility for the transport of the infinite products raised within

the compass of a country containing from twelve to fifteen

degrees difference of latitude, and about the same difference of

longitude; or, in other words, a surface of about five hundred

and eighteen thousand four hundred square miles.

This instance, however, of equal or superior civilization thus

attained by a nation, notwithstanding the principal rivers of

their country run from west to east, does not at all militate

against the natural superiority which has been conceded to those

countries whose rivers run in a contrary direction: it only shews

what may be effected by a wise and politic government averse to

the miseries of war, and steadily bent on the arts of peace. The

very attempts, indeed, of this enlightened people to supply the

natural deficiencies of their country by canals, are the

strongest commendations that can be urged in favour of a country

where no such artificial substitutes are necessary; where nature,

of her own lavish bounty has created facilities for the progress

of industry and civilization, which it would require the labour

and maturity of ages imperfectly to imitate.

How far, indeed, these mighty contrivances of the

all-bounteous Creator, for the promotion and developement of

industry, outstrip all human imitation, the occurrences of the

passing hour furnish the most satisfactory and conclusive

evidence. The vast tide of emigration which is incessantly

rolling along the banks of the Mississippi, and of its tributary

streams, and the numberless cities, towns, and settlements, that

have sprung up as if it were by the agency of magic, in what but

a few years back was one boundless and uninterrupted wilderness,

speak a language not to be mistaken by the most ignorant or

prejudiced. The western territory, which though a province but of

yesterday, soon promises to rival the richest and most powerful

members of the American union, affords an instance of rapid

colonization, of which, the history of the world cannot produce a

parallel, and offers an incontestable proof of the natural

superiority which countries, whose rivers run in a northern or

southern course, possess over all others.

But this fact is not merely established by the experience of

the present day, it is equally authenticated by the testimony of

past ages. What was the reason why Egypt was for so many

centuries the seat of affluence and power, but the Nile? that

India is still rich and populous, but the Indus and Ganges? These

countries, indeed, are no longer the great and powerful empires

they were, although the natural advantages of their situations

are still unchanged. But what mighty ravages will not a

blood-thirsty and overwhelming despotism effect? What health and

vigor can belong to that body politic which is forced to inhale

the nauseous effluvia of tyranny? Prosperity is a plant that can

only flourish in an atmosphere fauned by the wholesome breath of

freedom. The highest fertility of soil, the greatest benignity of

climate, the most commanding superiority of position, will

otherwise be unavailing. Freedom may in the end convert the most

barren and inhospitable waste into a paradise; but the inevitable

result of tyranny is desolation.

The probable course of this newly discovered river, being thus

in every respect so decidedly favourable for the foundation of a

rich and powerful community, there can be little doubt that the

government of this country will immediately avail itself of the

advantages which it presents, and establish a settlement at its

mouth. What a sublime spectacle will it then be for the

philosopher to mark the gradual progress of population from the

two extremities of this river; to behold the two tides of

colonization flowing in opposite directions, and constantly

hastening to that junction, of which the combined waters shall

overspread the whole of this fifth continent!

What a cheering prospect for the philanthropist to behold what

is now one vast and mournful wilderness, becoming the smiling

seat of industry and the social arts; to see its hills and dales

covered with bleating flocks, lowing herds, and waving corn; to

hear the joyful notes of the shepherd, and the enlivening cries

of the husbandman, instead of the appalling yell of the savage,

and the plaintive howl of the wolf; and to witness a country

which nature seems to have designed as her master-piece, at

length fulfilling the gracious intentions of its all-bounteous

Author, by administering to the wants and contributing to the

happiness of millions.

What a proud sight for the Briton to view his country pouring

forth her teeming millions to people new hives, to see her

forming in the most remote parts of the earth new establishments

which may hereafter rival her old; and to behold thousands who

would perish from want within her immediate limits, procuring an

easy and comfortable subsistence in those which are more remote;

and instead of weakening her power and diminishing her resources,

effectually contributing to the augmentation of both, and forming

monuments which may descend to the latest posterity,

indestructible records of her greatness and glory.

SYSTEM OF AGRICULTURE.

The system of agriculture pursued in this colony, does not

materially differ from that which prevails in this country.

During the earlier stages of these settlements, the hoe-husbandry

was a necessary evil; but the great increase in the stock of

horses and cattle, has at last almost completely superseded it;

and the plough-husbandry is now, and has been for many years

past, in general practice. In new lands, indeed, the hoe is still

unavoidably used during the first year of their cultivation, on

account of the numerous roots and other impediments to the

plough, with which lands in a state of nature invariably abound;

but excepting these occasions, and the instances of settlers who

are unable to purchase horses or oxen, and consequently adhere to

the original mode of cultivation from necessity, the

hoe-husbandry is completely exploded. Until the year 1803,

eighteen years after the foundation of this colony, the

plough-husbandry was confined to a few of the richest

cultivators, from the exorbitant price of cattle. At that period,

however, the government herds had so considerably multiplied,

that the then governor (King) recommended the adoption of the

plough-husbandry in general orders, and tendered oxen at

£28 per head, to be paid either in produce or money, at the

end of three years, to all such settlers as were inclined to

purchase them. This custom has been followed by all his

successors; but as no abatement has been made in the price of

them, and as they can be obtained at one-third the amount

elsewhere, such only of the colonists now avail themselves of

this indulgence, as have no ready means of purchase, and are

allured by the length of the credit.

Wheat, maize, barley, oats, and rye, are all grown in this

colony; but the two former are most cultivated. The climate

appears to be rather too warm for the common species of barley

and oats; but the poorer soils produce them of a tolerably good

quality. The skinless barley, or as it is termed by some, the

Siberian wheat, arrives at very great perfection, and is in every

respect much superior to the common species of barley; but the

culture of this grain is limited to the demand which is created

for it by the colonial breweries; the Indian corn, or maize,

being much better adapted for the food of horses, oxen, pigs, and

poultry. The produce too is much more abundant than that of

barley and oats; and the season for planting it being two months

later than for any other sort of grain, the settler has every

motive for giving it the preference. Wheat may be sown any time

from February to July, and even as late as August, if that month

happens to be moist; but the best months are April, May, and

June. The creeping wheat, however, may be sown in the

commencement of February; as should it become too rank, it can

easily be kept down by sheep, which are found to do this sort of

wheat no manner of injury. To the farmer, therefore, who keeps

large flocks of sheep, the cultivation of the creeping wheat is

highly advantageous; since in addition to its yielding as great a

crop as any other species of wheat, it supersedes the necessity

of growing turnips or other artificial food for the support of

his stock during the severity of the winter, when the natural

grasses become scanty and parched up by the frost. The red and

white lammas, and the Cape or bearded wheat, are the species

generally cultivated. June is the best month for sowing barley

and oats, but they may be sown till the middle of August with a

fair prospect of a good crop. Indian corn or maize may be planted

from the end of September to the middle of December; but October

is the best month. It is, however, a very common practice among

the settlers on the fertile banks of the Hawkesbury and Nepean,

to plant what is called stubble corn; that is, to plant it among

the wheat, barley, and oat stubbles, as soon as the harvest is

over, without ploughing or breaking up the ground. Maize is

frequently planted in this way until the middle of January, and

if the season proves sufficiently moist, yields a very abundant

crop. The usual manner of planting it is in holes about six feet

apart: five grains are generally put in each of these holes. The

average produce of this grain on rich flooded lands, is from

eighty to a hundred bushels per acre. Wheat in the same

situations yields from thirty to forty bushels; and barley and

oats, about fifty bushels an acre. On forest lands, however, the

crops are not so productive, unless the ground be well manured;

but the wheat, barley and oats, grown on this land, are much

heavier and superior in quality. The difference of the weight of

wheat grown in forest and flooded lands, is upon an average not

less than 8 lbs. per bushel. The former sort weighing 64 lbs. and

the latter only 56 lbs.

The wheat harvest commences partially about the middle of

November, and is generally over by Christmas. The maize, however,

is not ripe until the end of March, and the gathering is not

complete throughout the colony before the middle of May.

Potatoes*, cabbages, carrots, parsnips, turnips, pease, beans,

cauliflowers, brocoli, asparagus, lettuces, onions, and in fact

every species of vegetables known in this country, are produced

in this colony; many of them attain a much superior degree of

perfection, but a few also degenerate. To the former class belong

the cauliflower and brocoli, and the different varieties of the

pea; to the latter the bean and potatoe. For the bean, in

particular, the climate appears too hot, and it is only to be

obtained in the stiffest clays and the dampest situations. The

potatoe, however, is produced on all soils in the greatest

abundance, but the quality is not nearly as good as in this

country. In this respect, however, much depends on the nature of

the soil. In stiff clays the potatoes are invariably watery and

waxy, but in light sands and loams, they are tolerably dry and

mealy. Manure also deteriorates their quality, and in general

they are best when grown on new lands. Potatoes are in

consequence very commonly planted in the fields, as a first crop,

and are found to pulverize land just brought from a state of

nature into cultivation more than other root. An abundant crop of

wheat, barley, or oats, may be safely calculated to succeed them;

more particularly if a light covering of manure be applied at the

time of their planting.

[* For the Colonial Garden, see

Appendix.]

The colony is justly famed for the goodness and variety of its

fruits: Peaches, apricots, nectarines, oranges, grapes, pears,

plums, figs, pomegranates, raspberries, strawberries, and melons

of all sorts, attain the highest degree of maturity in the open

air; and even the pineapple may be produced merely by the aid of

the common forcing glass. The climate, however, of Port Jackson,

is not altogether congenial to the growth of the apple, currant,

and gooseberry; although the whole of these fruits are produced

there, and the apple, in particular, in very great abundance; but

it is decidedly inferior in quality to the apple of this country.

These fruits, however, arrive at the greatest perfection in every

part of Van Diemen's Land; and as the climate of the country to

the westward of the Blue Mountains, is equally cold, they will

without doubt attain there an equal degree of perfection; but the

short period which has elapsed since the establishment of a

settlement beyond these mountains, has not allowed the

nltramontanians to make the experiment.

Of all the fruits which I have thus enumerated as being

produced in this colony, the peach is the most abundant and the

most useful. The different varieties which have been already

introduced, succeed one another in uninterrupted succession from

the middle of November to the latter end of March: thus filling

up an interval of more than four months, and affording a

wholesome and nutritious article of food during one-third of the

year. This fruit grows spontaneously in every situation, on the

richest soils, as on the most barren; and its growth is so rapid

that if you plant a stone, it will in three years afterwards bear

an abundant crop of fruit. Peaches are, in consequence, so

plentiful throughout the colony, that they are every where given

as food to hogs; and when thrown into heaps, and allowed to

undergo a proper degree of fermentation, are found to fatten them

very rapidly. Cider also is made in great quantities from this

fruit, and when of sufficient age, affords a very pleasant and

wholesome beverage. The lees, too, after the extraction of the

juice, possess the same fattening properties, and are equally

calculated as food for hogs.

REARING OF CATTLE, ETC.

The system of rearing and fattening stock in this colony is

simple and economical. Horses, in consequence of their rambling

nature, are almost invariably kept in enclosures. In the

districts immediately contiguous to Port Jackson, horned cattle

are followed by a herdsman during the day, in order to prevent

them from trespassing on the numerous uninclosed tracts of land

that are in a state of tillage, and they are confined during the

night in yards or paddocks. In the remoter districts, however,

which are altogether devoid of cultivation, horned cattle are

subjected to no such restraints, but are permitted to range about

the country at all times. The herds too are generally larger; and

although a herdsman is still required as well to prevent them

from separating into straggling parties, as to protect them from

depredation, the expence of keeping them in this manner is

comparatively trifling, and the advantages of allowing them this

uncontrouled liberty to range, very great; since they are found

during the heat of summer to feed more in the night than in the

day. This, therefore, is the system which the great stockholders

almost invariably pursue. Few of them possess sufficient land for

the support of their cattle; and as their estates too, however

remote the situation in which they may have been selected, have

for the most part become surrounded by small cultivators, who

seldom or ever inclose their crops, they generally recede with

their herds from the approach of colonization, and form new

establishments, where the liability to trespass does not exist.

They thus become the gradual explorers of the country, and it is

to their efforts to avoid the contact of agriculture, that the

discovery of the best districts yet known in the colony is

ascribable.

The management of sheep is in some respects different. They

are never permitted to roam during the night, on account of the

native dog, which is a great enemy to them, and sometimes during

the day, makes great ravages among them, even under the eye of

the shepherd. In every part of the country, therefore, they are

kept by night either in folds or yards. In the former case the

shepherd sleeps in a small moveable box, which is shifted with

the folds, and with his faithful dog, affords a sufficient

protection for his flock, against the attempts of these midnight

depredators. In the latter the paling of the yards is always made

so high, that the native dog cannot surmount it; and the safety

of the flock is still further ensured by the contiguity of the

shepherd's house, and the numerous dogs with which he is always

provided.

The natural grasses of the colony are sufficiently good and

nutritious at all seasons of the year, for the support of every

description of stock, where there is an adequate tract of country

for them to range over. But in consequence of the complete

occupation of the districts which are in the more immediate

vicinity of Port Jackson, and from the settlers in general

possessing more stock than their lands are capable of

maintaining, the raising of artificial food for the winter

months, has of late years become very general among such of them

as are unwilling to send their flocks and herds into the

uninhabited parts in the interior. This is a practice which must

necessarily gain ground; since it has been observed, that the

coldness of the climate keeps pace with the progress of

agriculture. In the more contiguous and cultivated districts, the

natural grass becomes consequently every year more affected by

the influence of frost, and the necessity of raising some

artificial substitute for the support of stock, during the

suspension of vegetation, more pressing and incumbent. It is from

this increase in the severity of the winters, that the custom of

making hay has begun to be adopted; and should the future

augmentation of cold be, as there is every reason to believe,

proportionate to the past, this custom will, before the

expiration of many years, become generally prevalent. It is

indeed, rather a matter of surprise than otherwise, that so

salutary a precaution has been so long in disuse; since such is

the luxuriance of the natural grass during the summer, that it is

the general practice after the seeds wither away, to set fire to

it, and thus improvidently consume what, if mown and made into

hay, would afford the farmer a sufficiency of nutritious food for

his stock during the winter, and altogether supersede the

subsequent necessity for his having recourse to artificial means

of remedying so palpable a neglect of the bounteous gifts of

nature.

This custom of setting fire to the grass, is most prevalent

during the months of August and January, i.e. just before the

commencement of spring and autumn, when vegetation is on the eve

of starting from the slumber which it experiences alike during

the extremes of the winter's cold as of the summer's heat. If a

fall of rain happily succeed these fires, the country soon

presents the appearance of a field of young wheat; and however

repugnant this practice may appear to the English farmer, it is

absolutely unavoidable in those districts which are not

sufficiently stocked; since cattle of every description refuse to

taste the grass the moment it becomes withered.

The artificial food principally cultivated in the colony are

turnips, tares, and Cape barley; and for those settlers in

particular who have flocks of breeding sheep, the cultivation of

them is highly necessary, and contributes materially to the

growth and strength of the lambs. On those also who keep dairies,

this practice of raising artificial food, is equally incumbent;

the natural grasses being quite insufficient to keep milch cows

in good heart during the winter, when there is the greatest

demand for butter. Good meat, too, is then only to be had with

difficulty, and this difficulty is increasing every year. There

cannot, therefore, be any doubt that it would answer the purposes

even of the grazier to have recourse to artificial means of

fattening his stock at that season; since it is then that he

would be enabled to obtain the readiest and highest price for his

fat cattle.

PRICE OF CATTLE, ETC.

The price of all manner of stock is almost incredibly

moderate, considering the short period which has elapsed since

the foundation of the colony. A very good horse for the cart or

plough may be had from £10 to £15, and a better

saddle or gig horse, from £20 to £30, than could be

obtained in this country for double the money. Very good

milch-cows may be bought from £5 to £10; working oxen

for about the same price; and fine young breeding ewes from

£1 to £3, according to the quality of their fleece.

Low as these prices may appear they are in a great measure

fictitious; since there is confessedly more stock of all sorts in

the colony, than is necessary for its population. It accordingly

frequently happens, particularly at sales by public auction, that

stock are to be bought for one-half, and even one-third of the

above prices; and there is every probability that before the

expiration of ten years, their value will be still more

considerably diminished. To be convinced of the truth of this

conjecture, we have only to look back a little into the annals of

the colony, and see how prodigiously cattle of every description

have multiplied. By a census taken at the end of the year 1800,

(twelve years after the institution of the colony) the number of

horses and mares was only 163; of horned cattle, 1024; and of

sheep, 6124. At the end of 1813, the horses and mares had

increased to 1891; the horned cattle to 21,513, and the sheep to

65,121: and in the month of November, 1817, the last year of

which we have received the census, the numbers were as follow:

horses and mares, 3072; horned cattle, 44,753; sheep, 170,420.

Thus it will be perceived, that in the space of seventeen years,

the stock of horses and mares has increased from 163, their

highest number for the first twelve years, to 3072; the stock of

horned cattle, from 1044 to 44,753; and the stock of sheep from

6124 to 170,920. This is of itself an increase great beyond all

ordinary computation; and it would appear still more surprising

if we could add to it the immense numbers of cattle and sheep

that have been slaughtered in the same period, for the supply of

the king's stores, and for general consumption.

From the foregoing statement is will be evident, that the

future increase in the stock will be still more prodigious, and

still more considerably outstrip the advance of population. The

price therefore of cattle, great and rapid as has been its past

declension, must annually experience a still further diminution.

Of what will be their probable value in ten years more, it may

enable us to form no very inaccurate estimate, by referring to

what it was ten years back. In 1808, a cow and calf were sold by

public auction for £105, and the price of middling cattle

was from £80 to £100. A breeding mare was at the same

period worth from 150 to 200 guineas, and ewes from £10 to

£20.

These immense prices, however, were the result of monopoly,

and consequently in a great measure fictitious; for in 1810, two

years after this, a herd of fine cattle were sold for £13

per head. This almost incredible reduction in the value of cattle

in so short a period, was occasioned by the supercession of this

monopoly by the governor, who in the year 1808, was induced, from

the considerable increase that had taken place in the public

herds, to issue cows at £28 per head, payable in

agricultural produce, to all indiscriminately who chose to

purchase them. Hundreds of them, therefore, at this epoch, were

distributed among the settlers, and their extreme value insured

that degree of care and attention from their owners, which was

naturally followed by a rapid increase, and produced in the short

lapse of two years, that declension of price which would at first

sight appear so astonishing.

Thus it may be perceived, that within the last ten years,

stock of all sorts have decreased in price, from £700 to

£1,000 per cent. and it is not unreasonable to conclude,

that in ten years hence, they will have experienced at least a

similar reduction. Should this conjecture be verified, they will

be of as little value in the remote parts of the colony, as the

horses and cattle on the plains of Buenos Ayres, where any person

may make what use he pleases of the carcase, provided he leaves

behind him the hide.

PRICE OF LABOUR.

The price of labour is at present very low, and is still

further declining in consequence of the demand for it not

equalling the supply. Upon the establishment of the Colonial

Bank, and the consequent suppression of that vile medium of

circulation, termed the colonial currency, between which and

British sterling there used to be a difference of value of from

£50 to £100 per cent. the price of labour was fixed

at the rates contained in the following general order, dated the

7th of December, 1816:

"In consequence of the recent abolition of all colonial

currency, and the introduction and establishment of a sterling

circulation and consideration in all payments, dealings,

transactions, contracts, and agreements, within this territory

and its dependencies, his Excellency the Governor having deemed

it expedient to take into consideration the general rates and

prices of labour and wages within the same, as affected by the

alteration of the mode of payments at a sterling rate, or value,

and of the degree, measure, and sterling amount of the same, upon

a fair and equitable proportion and modus; and having also

adopted such measures in that respect as seemed best calculated

to fix and make known the same, is pleased hereby to declare,

order, and direct, that in addition to the rations according to

and equal with the government allowance, the sum of ten pounds

sterling per annum to a man convict, and seven pounds sterling to

a woman convict, as including the value of the slops allowed, and

the sum of seven pounds or five pounds ten shillings exclusive of

such slops; computed at three pounds per man, and one pound ten

shillings per woman, shall be allowed, claimed, or demandable, or

such part or proportion of such sum or sums as shall be equal and

according to the period and continuance of actual service, and no

more in respect of yearly wages, and in the same manner as yearly

wages for the extra work and service of any such male or female

convict respectively, duly assigned to any person or persons, by

or upon the authority of Government.

"His Excellency is also pleased further to declare, order and

direct, that in consideration of the premises, the undermentioned

sums, amounts, and charges, and no more with regard to and upon

the various denominations of work, labour and services, described

and set forth, shall be allowed, claimed, or demandable within

this territory and its dependencies in respect thereof".

£ s. d.

For falling forest timber, per acre, 0 8 0

Burning off ditto, per ditto, 1 0 0

Rooting out, and burning stumps on forest ground, per ditto, 1 10 0

Falling timber on brush ground, per ditto, 0 12 0

Burning off ditto, per ditto, 1 10 0

Rooting out and burning stumps on ditto, per ditto, 1 17 6

Breaking up new ground, per ditto, 1 0 0

Breaking up stubble in corn ground, per ditto, 0 10 0

Chipping in wheat, per ditto, 0 6 0

Reaping ditto, per ditto, 0 10 0

Threshing and cleaning wheat, per bushel, 0 0 8

Holeing and planting corn, per acre, 0 5 0

Chipping and shelling corn, per ditto, 0 6 8

Pulling and husking ditto, per bushel, 0 0 4

Splitting pales, (six feet long) per hundred, 0 3 0

Ditto, (five feet long) per ditto, 0 2 6

Shingle splitting, per thousand, 0 7 6

Preparing and putting up morticed railing, five bars, with

two pannels to a rod, and posts sunk two feet in the ground,0 3 0

Ditto, ditto, ditto, four bars, 0 2 6

Ditto, ditto, ditto, three bars, 0 2 0

Ditto, ditto, ditto, two bars, 0 1 9

The rates limited in this order are pretty well proportioned

to the present state of the colony; but the attempt to reduce the

value of labour to a permanent standard, further than regards the

convicts, must evidently be abortive; since labour, like

merchandize, will rise and fall with the demand which may exist

for it in the market where it is disposable;--and although the

above order might prevent the labourer from recovering in the

colonial courts, a greater price for his labour than is

stipulated in the foregoing schedule, still the moment it becomes

the interest of the employer to give higher wages, he will do so,

and the discredit attached to the non-performance of a deliberate

contract will always prevent him from having recourse to the

courts for avoiding the fulfilment of it. The above rates, it

will be seen, only refer to the various species of labour

immediately attached to agriculture. The wages of artificers,

particularly of such as are most useful in infant societies, are

considerably higher: a circumstance which is principally to be

attributed to the practice of selecting from among the convicts

all the best mechanics for the government works. Carpenters,

stone-masons, brick-layers, wheel and plough-wrights,

black-smiths, coopers, harness-makers, sawyers, shoe-makers,

cabinet-makers; and in fact all the most useful descriptions of

handicrafts, are consequently in very great demand, and can

easily earn from eight to ten shillings per day.

The price of land is entirely regulated by its situation and

quality. So long as four years back, a hundred and fifty acres of

very indifferent ground, about thre equarters of a mile from

Sydney, were sold by virtue of an execution, in lots of twelve

acres each, and averaged £14 per acre. This, however, is

the highest price that has yet been given for land not situated

in a town. The general value of unimproved forest land, when it

is not heightened by some advantageous locality, as proximity to

a town or navigable river, cannot be estimated at more than five

shillings per acre. Flooded land will fetch double that sum. But

on the banks of the Hawkesbury, as far as that river is

navigable, the value of land is considerably greater; that which

is in a state of nature being worth from £3 to £5 per

acre, and that which is in a state of cultivation, from £8

to £10. The latter description rents for twenty and thirty

shillings an acre.

The price of provisions, particularly of agricultural produce,

is subject to great fluctuations, and will unavoidably continue

so until proper measures are taken to counteract the calamitous

scarcities at present consequent on the inundations of the

Hawkesbury and Nepean. In the year 1806, the epoch of the great

flood, the old and new stacks on the banks of those rivers were

all swept away; and before the commencement of the following

harvest, wheat and maize attained an equal value, and were sold

at £5 and £6 per bushel. Even after the last overflow

of these rivers, in the month of March, 1817, wheat rose towards

the close of the year, to 31s. per bushel, and maize to 20s., and

potatoes to 32s. 6d. per cwt. although a very considerable supply

(about 20,000 bushels) was immediately furnished by the Derwent

and Port Dalrymple. But for this speedy and salutary succour, the

price of grain would have been very little short of what it was

in the year 1806; since the whole stock on hand appears, from the

muster taken between the 6th of October and the 25th of November,

to have only been as follows: wheat, 2405 bushels; maize, 1506.

This was all the grain that remained in the various settlements

of New South Wales and its dependencies, about a month before any

part of the produce of the harvest could be brought to market;

and when it is considered that this was to administer to the

support of 20,379 souls during that period, it will appear truly

astonishing that the prices continued so moderate.

By way, however, of counterpoise to these lamentable

scarcities, which in general follow the inundations of the

principal agricultural settlements, provisions are very abundant

and cheap in years when the crops have not suffered from flood or

drought. In such seasons, wheat upon an average sells for 9s. per

bushel; maize for 3s. 6d.; barley for 5s.; oats for 4s. 6d. and

potatoes for 6s. per cwt.

The price of meat is not influenced by the same causes, but is

on the contrary experiencing a gradual and certain diminution. By

the last accounts received from the colony, good mutton and beef

were to be had for 6d. per pound, veal for 8d. and pork for 9d.

Wheat was selling in the market at 8s. 8d. per bushel; oats at

4s.; barley at 5s.; maize at 5s. 6d.; potatoes at 8s. per cwt.;

fowls at 4s. 6d. per couple; ducks at 6s. per ditto; geese at 5s.

each; turkies at 7s. 6d. each; eggs at 2s. 6d. per dozen; and

butter at 2s. 6d. per pound. The price of the best wheaten bread

was fixed by the assize at 51/4d. for the loaf, weighing 2

lbs.

The progress which this colony has made in manufactures has

perhaps never been equalled by any community of such recent

origin. It already contains extensive manufactories of coarse

woollen cloths, hats, earthenware and pipes, salt, candles, and

soap. There are also extensive breweries, and tanneries, wheel

and plough-wrights, gig-makers, black-smiths, nail-makers,

tinmen, rope-makers, saddle and harness-makers, cabinet-makers,

and indeed all sorts of mechanics and artificers that could be

required in an infant society, where objects of utility are

naturally in greater demand than articles of luxury. Many of

these have considerable capitals embarked in their several

departments, and manufacture to a considerable extent. Of the

precise amount, however, of capital invested in the whole of the

colonial manufactories, I can give no authentic account; but I

should imagine it cannot be far short of £50,000.

The colonists carry on a considerable commerce with this

country, the East Indies, and China; but they have scarcely any

article of export to offer in return for the various commodities

supplied by those countries. The money expended by the government

for the support of the convicts, and the pay and subsistence of

the civil and military establishments, are the main sources from

which they derive the means of procuring those articles of

foreign growth and manufacture which are indispensable to

civilized life. They have, however, at last a staple export,

which is rapidly increasing, and promises in a few years to

suffice for all their wants, and to render them quite independent

of the miserable pittance which is thus afforded them by the

expenditure of the government: I mean the fleeces of their

flocks, the best of which are found to combine all the qualities

that constitute the excellence of the Saxon and Spanish wools.

The sheep-holders in general have at length become sensible of

the advantage of directing their attention to the improvement of

their flocks; and if their exertions be properly seconded by the

countenance and encouragement of the local government, there can

be no doubt that the supply of fine wool, which the parent

country will before long receive from the colony, will amply

repay her for the care and expence she has bestowed on it during

the protracted period of its helpless infancy. The exportation of

this highly valuable raw material, is as yet but very limited:

last year it only amounted to about £8000; but when it is

considered that in the year 1817, there were 170,420 sheep in the

colony and its dependent settlements on Van Diemen's Land, and

that the majority of the sheep-holders are actively employed in

crossing their flocks with tups of the best Merino breed, it may

easily be conceived what an extensive exportation of fine wool

may be effected in a few years.

The whole annual income of the colonists inhabiting the

various settlements in New Holland, cannot be estimated at more

than £125,000, and the following sub-divisions of it may be

taken as a very close approximation to the truth:

Money expended by the government for the pay and

subsistence of the civil and military establishments,

and for the support of such of the convicts as are

victualled from the king's stores, £ 80,000

Money expended by shipping not belonging to the

colonial merchants, £ 12,000

Various articles of export collected from the adjacent

seas and islands, by the colonial craft, consisting

principally of seal skins, right whale, and elephant

oils, and sandal wood, £ 15,000

Wool grown in the colony, £ 8,000

Sundries, £ 20,000

--------

Total £125,000

--------

The imports levied by the authority of the local government

form two distinct funds, one of which, as has been already

casually mentioned, is called the "Orphan Fund," and the other

"the Police Fund." The former, it has been seen, contains

one-eighth of the colonial revenue, and is devoted solely to the

promotion of education among the youth of the colony; the latter

contains the other seven-eighths, and is appropriated to various

purposes of internal economy; such as the construction and repair

of roads and bridges, the erection of public edifices, the

maintenance of the police, the cost of criminal prosecutions, and

the pay of various officers, principally in subordinate

capacities, who are not borne on the parliamentary estimate of

the civil establishment. These two funds amounted in the year

1817 to the sum of £20,272 6s. 2½d. which was

derived from the following sources:

*Duties collected by the naval officer, 17,240 0 7¼

Market, toll, and slaughtering duties, 872 5 7¼

67 Spirit Licences, 2,010 0 0

10 Beer ditto, 50 0 0

4 Brewing ditto, 100 0 0

Total £20,272 6 2½

[* For a list of these Duties, see the

Appendix.]

If we add to this £907 6s. 9¼d. which is the

amount of the naval officer's commission on the duties collected

by him, we have a grand total of £21,179 12s. 11¾d.;

or, in other words, about one-sixth of the whole income of the

colony, absorbed by an illegal taxation. This is an enormous sum

to be levied in such an infant community; and it will appear the

more so if it be recollected that nineteen-twentieths of it are

collected from the duty which has been imposed on spirituous

liquors, and from licences to keep public-houses for the retail

of them.

STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE SETTLEMENTS IN VAN DIEMEN'S

LAND.

Van Diemen's Land is situated between 40 degrees 42', and 43

degrees 43' of south latitude, and between 145 degrees 31' and

148 degrees 22' of east longitude. The honour of the discovery of

this island also belongs to the Dutch; but the survey of it has

been principally effected by the English.

The aborigines of this country are, if possible, still more

barbarous and uncivilised than those of New Holland. They subsist

entirely by hunting, and have no knowledge whatever of the art of

fishing. Even the rude bark canoe which their neighbours possess,

is quite unknown to them; and whenever they want to pass any

sheet of water, they are compelled to construct a rude raft for

the occasion. Their arms and hunting implements also indicate an

inferior degree of civilization. The womera, or throwing stick,

which enables the natives of Port Jackson to cast their spears

with such amazing force and precision, is not used by them. Their

spears, too, instead of being made with the bulrush, and only

pointed with hard wood, are composed entirely of it, and are

consequently more ponderous. In using them they grasp the center;

but they neither throw them so far nor so dexterously as the

natives of the parent colony. This circumstance is the more

fortunate, as they maintain the most rancorous and inflexible

hatred and hostility towards the colonists. This deep rooted

enmity, however, does not arise so much from the ferocious nature

of these savages, as from the inconsiderate and unpardonable

conduct of our countrymen shortly after the foundation of the

settlement on the river Derwent. At first the natives evinced the

most friendly disposition towards the new comers; and would

probably have been actuated by the same amicable feeling to this

day, had not the military officer entrusted with the command,

directed a discharge of grape and canister shot to be made among

a large body who were approaching, as he imagined, with hostile

designs; but as it has since been believed with much greater

probability, merely from motives of curiosity and friendship. The

havoc occasioned among them by this murderous discharge, was

dreadful; and since then all communication with them has ceased,

and the spirit of animosity and revenge, which this unmerited and

atrocious act of barbarity has engendered, has been fostered and

aggravated to the highest pitch by the incessant rencontres which

have subsequently taken place between them and the settlers.

These, wherever and whenever an occasion offers, destroy as many

of them as possible, and they in their turn never let slip an

opportunity of retaliating on their blood-thirsty butchers.

Fortunately, however, for the colonists, they have seldom or

never been known to act on the offensive, except when they have

met some of their persecutors singly. Two persons armed with

muskets may traverse the island from one end to the other in the

most perfect safety.

Van Diemen's Land has not so discouraging and repulsive an

appearance from the coast as New Holland. Many fine tracts of

land are found on the very borders of the sea, and the interior

is almost invariably possessed of a soil admirably adapted to all

the purposes of civilized man. This island is upon the whole

mountainous, and consequently abounds in streams. On the summits

of many of the mountains there are large lakes, some of which are

the sources of considerable rivers. Of these the Derwent, Huon,

and Tamar, rank in the first class.

There is perhaps no island in the world of the same size which

can boast of so many fine harbours: the best are the Derwent,

Port Davy, Macquarie Harbour, Port Dalrymple, and Oyster Bay: the

first is on its southern side, the second and third on its

western, the fourth on its northern, and the fifth on its

eastern, so that it has excellent harbours in every direction.

This circumstance cannot fail to be productive of the most

beneficial effects, and will most materially assist the future

march of colonization.

There is almost a perfect resemblance between the animal and

vegetable kingdoms of this island and of New Holland. In their

animal kingdoms in particular, there is scarcely any variation.

The native dog, indeed, is unknown here; but there is an animal

of the panther tribe in its stead, which, though not found in

such numbers as the native dog is in New Holland, commits

dreadful havoc among the flocks. It is true that its ravages are

not so frequent; but when they happen they are more extensive.

This animal is of considerable size, and has been known in some

few instances, to measure six feet and a half from the tip of the

nose to the extremity of the tail; still it is cowardly, and by

no means formidable to man: unless, indeed, when taken by

surprise, it invariably flies his approach.

In the feathered tribes of the two islands, there is scarcely

any diversity; of this the wattle bird, which is about the size

of a snipe, and considered a very great delicacy, is the only

instance which I can cite.

Like New Holland it has many varieties of poisonous reptiles,

but they are neither so venomous nor so numerous as in that

island.

Its rivers and seas too, abound with the same species of fish.

Oysters are found in much greater perfection, though not in

greater abundance. The rocks that border the coasts and harbours

are literally covered with muscles, as the rocks at Port Jackson

are with oysters.

There is not so perfect a resemblance in the vegetable

kingdoms of the two islands; but still the dissimilarity, where

it exists, is chiefly confined to their minor productions. In the

trees of the forest there is scarcely any difference. Van

Diemen's Land wants the cedar, mahogany, and rose wood; but it

has very good substitutes for them in the black wood and Huon

pine, which is a species of the yew tree, and remarkable for its

strong odoriferous scent and extreme durability.

The principal mineralogical productions of this island are,

iron, copper, alum, coals, slate, limestone, asbestus, and

basaltes; all of which, with the exception of copper, are to be

had in the greatest abundance.

HOBART TOWN.

Hobart Town, which is the seat of the Lieutenant-Governor of

Van Diemen's Land, stands nine miles up the river Derwent. It was

founded only fifteen years since, and indeed the rudeness of its

appearance sufficiently indicates the recency of its origin. The

houses are in general of the meanest description, seldom

exceeding one story in height, and being for the most part

weather-boarded without, and lathed and plastered within. Even

the government house is of very bad construction. The residences,

indeed, of many individuals far surpass it. The population may be

estimated at about one thousand souls.

This town is built principally on two hills, between which

there is a fine stream of excellent water, that issues from the

Table Mountain, and falls into Sullivan's Cove. On this stream a

flour mill has been erected, and there is sufficient fall in it

for the erection of two or three more. There are also within a

short distance of the town, several other streams which originate

in the same mountain, and are equally well adapted to similar

purposes. This is an advantage not possessed by the inhabitants

of Port Jackson; since there is not in any of the cultivated

districts to the eastward of the Blue Mountains a single run of

water which can be pronounced in every respect eligible for the

erection of mills. Windmills are in consequence almost

exclusively used for grinding corn in Sydney; but in the inland

towns and districts, the colonists are in a great measure obliged

to have recourse to hand mills, as the winds during the greater

part of the year, are not of sufficient force to penetrate the

forest and set mills in motion.

The elevation of the Table Mountain, which is so called from

the great resemblance it bears to the mountain of the same name

at the Cape of Good Hope, has not been determined; but it is

generally estimated at about six thousand feet above the level of

the sea. During three-fourths of the year it is covered with

snow, and the same violent gusts of wind blow from it as from

this, its mountain name-sake; but no gathering clouds on its

summit give notice of the approaching storm. The fiery

appearance, however, of the heavens, affords a sufficient warning

to the inhabitants of the country. These blasts are happily

confined to the precincts of the mountain, and seldom last above

three hours; but nothing can exceed their violence for the time.

In the year 1810, I happened to be on board of a vessel which was

bound to Hobart Town: in consequence of the winds proving scanty,

we were obliged to anchor during the night in D'Entrecasteaux's

Channel. The following morning we got under weigh, expecting that

the sea breeze would set in by the time the anchor was hove up.

The seamen had no sooner effected this and set all sail, than we

were assailed with one of these mountain hurricanes. In an

instant the vessel was on her beam-ends, and in another, had not

all the sheets and halyards been let go, she would either have

upset or carried away her masts. The moment the sails were clued

up we brought to again; and as we were in a harbour perfectly

land-locked and very narrow, the vessel easily rode out this

blast. It only lasted about two hours; but the sea breeze did not

succeed it that day. The next morning, however, it set in as

usual.

During the continuance of this mountain tornado, the waters of

the harbour were terribly agitated, and taken up in the same

manner as dust is collected by what are called whirlwinds in this

country. So great indeed was its fury, that it required us to

hold on by the ropes with all our force, in order to enable us to

keep our footing.

The harbour at and conducting to the river Derwent, yields to

none in the world; perhaps surpasses every other. There are two

entrances to this river, which are separated by Pitt's Island;

one is termed D'Entrecasteaux's Channel, the other, Storm Bay.

D'Entrecasteaux's Channel, from Point Collins up to Hobart Town,

a distance, following the course of the water, of thirty-seven

miles, is one continued harbour, varying in breadth from eight to

two miles, and in depth from thirty to four fathoms. The river

Derwent itself has three fathoms water for eleven miles above the

town, and is consequently navigable thus far for vessels of the

largest burthen. Reckoning therefore from Point Collins, there is

a line of harbour in D'Entrecasteaux's Channel and the Derwent,

together of forty-eight miles, completely land-locked, and

affording the best anchorage the whole way.

The entrance, however, by Storm Bay, does not offer the same

advantages; for it is twenty-two miles broad from Maria's Islands

to Penguin Island, and completely exposed to the winds from south

to south-east. This bay consequently does not afford the same

excellent anchorage as D'Entrecasteaux's Channel. It contains,

however, some few nooks, in which vessels may take shelter in

case of necessity. The best of these is Adventure Bay, which is

shut in from any winds that can blow directly from the ocean, but

is nevertheless exposed to the north-east winds, which have a

reach of twenty miles from the opposite side of the bay. There is

consequently, when these winds prevail, a considerable swell

here; but the force of the sea is in a great measure broken by

Penguin Island; and vessels having good anchors and cables have

nothing to fear.

Storm Bay, besides thus forming one of the entrances to the

river Derwent, leads to another very good harbour, called North

Bay. This harbour is about sixteen miles long, and in some places

six miles and a half broad. The greater part of it is perfectly

land-locked, and affords excellent anchorage in from two to

fifteen fathoms water. That part in particular called Norfolk

Bay, forms a very spacious harbour of itself, being about three

miles in breadth and nine in length. This bay, besides being

better sheltered than the rest of the harbours, contains the

greatest depth of water, having in no place less than four

fathoms.

All the bays and harbours which have been just described,

abound with right whale at a particular season of the year. These

leviathans of the deep quit the boisterous ocean, and seek the

more tranquil waters of these harbours, when they are on the

point of calving. This happens in November, and they remain there

with their young between two and three months. During this period

there are generally every year a few of the colonial craft

employed in the whale fishery; but the duties which are levied in

this country on all oils procured in vessels not having a British

register, amount to a prohibition, and completely prevent the

colonists from prosecuting this fishery further than is necessary

for their own consumption, and for the supply of the East India

market. Between two and three hundred tons annually suffice for

both these purposes.

The whales frequently go up the river Derwent as far as the

town; and it is no uncommon sight for its inhabitants to behold

the whole method of taking them, from the moment they are

harpooned until they are finally killed by the frequent

application of the lance. This sight indeed has been occasionally

witnessed by the inhabitants of Sydney; since it has sometimes

occurred that a stray fish has entered the harbour of Port

Jackson, while some of the South Sea whalers have been lying

there, and that these have lowered their boats and killed it.

All the bays and harbours in Van Diemen's Land, and most of

those likewise which are in Bass's Straits, and on the southern

coast of New Holland, abound with these fish at the same season.

If the colonists, therefore, were not thus restricted from this

fishery, it would soon become an immense source of wealth to

them; and I have no doubt that they would be enabled to export

many thousand tons of oil annually to this country. But it is in

vain that nature has been thus lavish of her bounties to them; in

vain do their seas and harbours invite them to embark in these

inexhaustible channels of wealth and enterprize. Their

government, that government which ought to be the foremost in

developing their nascent efforts, and fostering them to maturity,

is itself the first to check their growth and impede their

advancement. What a miserly system of legislation is it, which

thus locks up from its own subjects, a fund of riches that might

administer to the wants, and contribute to the happiness of

thousands! What barbarous tantalization to compel them to thirst

in the midst of the waters of abundance!

PORT DALRYMPLE.

This port, which was discovered by Flinders, in 1798, lies

thirty degrees E. S. E. of Three Hammock Island. The town of

Launceston stands about thirty miles from its entrance, at the

junction of the North Esk, and the South with the river Tamar. It

is little more than an inconsiderable village, the houses in

general being of the humblest description. Its population is

between three and four hundred souls. The tide reaches nine or

ten miles up the river Esk, and the produce of the farms within

that distance, may be sent down to the town in boats. But the

North Esk descends from a range of mountains, by a cataract

immediately into the river Tamar, and is consequently altogether

inaccessible to navigation.

The Tamar has sufficient depth of water as far as Launceston,

for vessels of a hundred and fifty tons burthen; but the

navigation of this river is very intricate, by reason of the

banks and shallows with which it abounds, and it has been at

length prudently resolved to remove the seat of government nearer

the entrance of Port Dalrymple. A town called George Town, has

been for the last three years in a state of active preparation;

and it is probable that the commandant, and indeed the entire

civil and military establishments* of this settlement, have by

this time removed to it. In this case the greater part of the

population of Launceston will soon follow. This desertion of its

inhabitants will considerably diminish the value of landed

property in that town, and consequently be productive of great

loss to them; but there can be no doubt that the change of the

seat of government will in the event materially contribute to the

prosperity of the settlement in general. This abandonment,

therefore, or rather intended abandonment of the old town, has

been dictated by the soundest principles of policy and justice;

but although the equity of the maxim that the interests of the

few should cede to the good of the many, is incontrovertible, it

is nevertheless to be hoped, that some means will be contrived of

indemnifying the inhabitants of Launceston for the great injury

which they will suffer from the removal of the seat of government

to George Town.

Within a few miles of Launceston, there is the most amazing

abundance of iron. Literally speaking, there are whole mountains

of this ore, which is so remarkably rich, that it has been found

to yield seventy per cent. of pure metal. These mines have not

yet been worked; the population, indeed, of the settlement would

not allow it; but there can be no doubt that they will at no very

remote period become a source of considerable wealth to its

inhabitants.

There is a communication by land between Launceston and Hobart

Town, which are about one hundred and thirty miles distant from

each other in a straight line, and about one hundred and sixty,

following the windings of the route at present frequented. No

regular road has been constructed between these towns, but the

numerous carts and droves of cattle and sheep, which are

constantly passing from one to the other, have rendered the track

sufficiently distinct and plain. In fact, the making a road is a

matter of very great ease, both here and in Port Jackson. The

person whoever he may be that wants to establish a cart-road to

any place, marks the trees in the direction he wishes it to take,

and these marks serve as a guide to all such as require to travel

on it. In a very short time the tracks of the horses and carts

that have passed along it become visible, the grass is gradually

trod down, and finally disappears, and thus a road is formed;

not, indeed, so good as one of the usual construction, but which

answers all the purposes of those who have occasion to make use

of it. Wherever there happens to be a stream, or river that is

not fordable, it is customary to cut down two or three trees in

some spot on its banks, where it is seen that they will reach to

the other side of it. Across these, the boughs that are lopped

off themselves, or smaller trees felled for the purpose, are laid

close together, and over all a sufficient covering of earth.

Of this description are all the roads and bridges in Van

Diemen's Land, and many of them, even in Port Jackson; but in

this respect it will be recollected that the latter is much in

advance of the former. The reason why the settlements on this

island are so much behind the parent colony, is not to be traced

so much to the greater recency of their origin, as to the

circumstance of their inhabitants being for the most part

established along the banks of navigable waters. At Port

Dalrymple, the majority of the settlers have fixed themselves on

the banks of the North Esk, within the navigable reach of that

river. The Derwent too, it has been seen, is navigable for

vessels of the largest burden for twenty miles from its entrance.

A little higher up, indeed, there are falls in it which interrupt

its navigation; but it is hardly yet colonized beyond these

falls, and whenever that shall be the case, it may be easily

rendered navigable for boats by the help of ferries for a

considerable distance further. Such of the agriculturists as have

not settled on the banks of this river, have selected their farms

in the district of Pitt Water; which extends along the northern

side of that spacious harbour, called "North Bay." These have

consequently the same facilities as those on the banks of the

Derwent for sending their produce to market by water, and they

naturally prefer this, the cheapest mode of conveyance. It may,

therefore, be perceived that the superior advantages which are

thus presented by an inland navigation, are the main causes why

the construction of regular roads has been so much neglected in

these settlements. So far, indeed, is this want of roads from

being an inconvenience to the inhabitants of them, that the

facilities afforded by this inland navigation for the transport

of all sorts of agricultural produce to market, is the principal

point of superiority which they can claim over their brethren at

Port Jackson.

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

In the two settlements on this island, there is but one court

of justice established by charter. This is termed the

Lieutenant-Governor's Court, and consists of the deputy judge

advocate, and two of the respectable inhabitants appointed from

time to time by the lieutenant-governor. The jurisdiction of this

court is purely civil, and only extends to pleas where the sum at

issue does not exceed £50; but no appeal lies from its

decisions. All causes for a higher amount, and all criminal

offences beyond the cognizance of the bench of magistrates, are

removed, the former before the Supreme Court, and the latter

before the Court of Criminal Judicature at Port Jackson.

STATE OF DEFENCE, ETC.

These settlements are in a very bad state of defence, having

but two companies of troops for the garrison and protection of

them both. They have consequently been infested for many years

past, by a banditti of run-away convicts, who have endangered the

person and property of every one that has evinced himself hostile

to their enormities. These wretches, who are known in the colony

by the name of bush-rangers, even went so far as to write

threatening letters to the lieutenant-governor and the

magistracy. In this horrible state of anarchy a simultaneous

feeling of insecurity and dread, naturally pervaded the whole of

the inhabitants; and the most respectable part of the

agricultural body with one accord betook themselves to the towns,

as the only certain means of preserving their lives, gladly

abandoning their property to prevent the much greater sacrifice

with which the defence of it would have been attended. There is

no species of outrage and atrocity, in which these marauders did

not indulge: murders, incendiaries, and robberies were their

ordinary amusements, and have been for many years past the

leading events in the annals of these unfortunate settlements.

Every measure that could be devised was taken for the capture and

punishment of these wretches. They were repeatedly outlawed, and

the most alluring rewards were set upon their heads; but the

insufficiency of the military force, the extent of the island,

their superior local knowledge, and the abundance of game, which

enabled them to find an easy subsistence, and rendered them

independent, except for an occasional supply of ammunition, with

which some unknown persons were base enough to furnish them in

exchange for their ill acquired booty; all these circumstances

conspired to baffle for many years every attempt that was made

for their apprehension. This long impunity served only to

increase their cruelty and temerity; and it was at last deemed

expedient by Lieutenant Governor Davy to declare the whole island

under the operation of martial law. This vigorous exertion of

authority was zealously seconded by the respectable inhabitants,

many of whom joined the military in the pursuit of these

miscreants, and fortunately succeeded by their joint exertions in

apprehending the most daring of their ringleaders, who were

instantly tried by a court martial and hanged in chains. This

terrible, though necessary example, was followed by a

proclamation offering a general amnesty to all the rest of these

delinquents who should surrender themselves before a certain day;

excepting, however, such of them as had been guilty of murder.

The proclamation had the desired effect: all who were not

excluded by their crimes availed themselves of the pardon thus

offered them. But strange to say, they were allowed to remain in

the island; and whether they were enamoured of the licentious

life they had been so long leading, or whether they distrusted

the sincerity of the oblivion promised them, and became

apprehensive of eventual punishment, in a few months afterwards

they again betook themselves to the woods, and rejoined those who

had been excluded from the amnesty. After this, they rivalled

their former atrocities, and a general feeling of consternation

was again excited among the well disposed part of the community.

And here, as it may not be uninteresting to many of my readers to

be acquainted with some of the specific outrages of these

monsters, I subjoin the following extracts from the Sydney

Gazette of the 25th Jan. 1817.

The accounts of robberies by the banditti of bush-rangers on

Van Diemen's Land, presents a melancholy picture of the

distresses to which the more respectable classes of inhabitants

are constantly exposed from the daring acts of those infamous

marauders, who are divided into small parties, and are designated

by the name of the principal ruffian at their head, of whom one

Michael Howe appears to be the most alert in depredation. The

accounts received by the Kangaroo, which commence from the

beginning of November, state that on the 7th of that month, the

house and premises of Mr. David Rose at Port Dalrymple, were

attacked and plundered of a considerable property, by Peter

Sefton and his gang. The delinquents were pursued by the

commandant at the head of a strong detachment of the 46th

regiment; but returned after a five days hunt through the woods,

without being able to discover the villains, among whom is stated

to have been a free man, named Denis M'Caig, who went from hence

to Port Dalrymple in the Brothers.

On the night of the 17th of November, the premises of Mr.

Thomas Hayes, at Bagdad, were attacked at a time when Mr. Stocker

and wife, and Mr. Andrew Whitehead (the former on their route

from Hobart Town to Port Dalrymple, with a cart containing a

large and valuable property) had unfortunately put up at the

house for the night. Michael Howe was the chief of this banditti,

which consisted of eight others. The property of which they

plundered Mr. and Mrs. Stocker on this occasion, was upwards of

£300 value, among which were two kegs of spirits. One of

these, a member of the gang wantonly wasted, by firing a

pistol-ball through the head of the keg, which contained eleven

gallons. They set their watches by Mr. Whitehead's, which they

afterwards returned; but took Mr. Stocker's away with their other

plunder. Mr. Wade, chief constable of Hobart Town, had stopped

with the others at Mr. Hayes's; but hearing a noise, which he

considered to denote the approach of bush-rangers, he prudently

attended to the admonition, and escaped their fury, which it was

concluded would have fallen heavily upon him, as they are at

variance with all conditions in life that are inimical to their

crimes. On the morning of the 2d instant, Mr. William Maum, of

Hobart Town, sustained the loss of three stacks of wheat by fire

at his farm at Clarence Plains, owing to the act of an

incendiary.

On the 14th of November a large body, consisting of fourteen

men and two women, were unwelcomely fallen in with by a single

man on horseback, at Scantling's Plains. Howe and Geary were the

most conspicuous: they compelled him to bear testimony to the

swearing in of their whole party, to abide by some resolutions

dictated in a written paper, which one of them finished writing

in the traveller's presence. After a detention of about three

quarters of an hour, he was suffered to proceed under strong

injunctions to declare what he had been an eye-witness of; and to

desire Mr. Humphrey, the magistrate, and Mr. Wade, the chief

constable, to take care of themselves, as they were bent on

taking their lives, as well as to prevent them from growing

grain, or keeping goods of any kind. And by the information of a

person upon oath, it appears that they had about the same period,

forced away two government servants from their habitations, to a

distant place, on which the crimes of these wretches have stamped

the appellation of murderer's plains, (by themselves facetiously

called _the tallow-chandler's shop_) where they kept them to

work three days in rendering down beef-fat. How they could

afterwards appropriate so great a quantity of rendered fat and

suet, is truly a question worthy to be demanded; for it is far

more likely it should be taken off their hands by persons in or

near the settlements, who are leagued with them, in the way of

bartering one commodity for another, than that the bush-rangers

should either keep it for their own use, or bestow so much

trouble on the preparation of an article that would soon spoil in

their hands. The caftle that were in this instance so devoted,

were the property of Stones and Tray, who declare that out of

three hundred head, one hundred and forty have lately

disappeared".

All the outrages above enumerated, it will be seen, were

perpetrated within the short period of ten days; and these

settlements continued the scene of similar enormities until the

July following, an interval of nearly eight months. On the

serious injury which the industrious and deserving of all

classes, must have experienced in that time, from the inability

of the government to afford them protection, it would be useless

here to dilate. It must be evident, that such extremes of anarchy

could not be of any long duration; and that one or other of these

two events became inevitable; either that the exertions and

enterprizes of the colonists should be brought to a stand, or

that these disturbers of the general tranquillity, should suffer

condign punishment. Fortunately the cause of public justice

triumphed, and the majority of these monsters either fell victims

to common distrust, or to the violated laws of their country. And

here, after detailing some few of their excesses, I cannot

refrain from giving in turn the account of the measures that led

to their discomfiture and apprehension, as extracted from the

Sydney Gazette of the 4th October, 1817.

A meeting of public officers and principal inhabitants and

settlers, was convened at Hobart Town, by sanction of his honour,

Lieutenant-Governor Sorrel, (the successor of Colonel Davy) on

the 5th of July, for the purpose of considering the most

effectual measures for suppressing the banditti; when the utmost

alacrity manifested itself to support the views of government in

promoting that desirable object, and a liberal subscription was

immediately entered into for the purpose. The following

proclamation was immediately afterwards issued by the

Lieutenant-Governor.

Whereas, the armed banditti, who have for a considerable time

infested the interior of this island, did on the 10th ultimo,

make an attack upon the store at George Town, which being left

unprotected, they plundered, taking away two boats, which they

afterwards cast ashore at the entrance of Port Dalrymple; and

whereas, the principal leader in the outrages which have been

committed by this band of robbers, is Peter Geary, a deserter

from his Majesty's 73d regiment, charged also with murder and

various other offences; and whereas, the undermentioned offenders

have been concerned with the said Peter Geary in most of these

enormities; the following rewards will be paid to any person or

persons, who shall apprehend these offenders, or any of them:

Peter Geary--One Hundred Guineas.

Peter Septon, John Jones, Richard Collyer--Eighty Guineas

each.

Thomas Coine, Brown or Brune, a Frenchman--Fifty Guineas

each.

And whereas, George Watts, a prisoner, who absented himself

from the Coal River, previous to the expiration of his sentence,

and who stands charged with various robberies and crimes, is now

at large: it is hereby declared, that a reward of eighty guineas

will be paid to any person or persons, who shall apprehend the

said George Watts.

And all magistrates and commanders of military stations, and

parties, and all constables and others of his majesty's subjects,

are enjoined to use their utmost efforts to apprehend the

criminals above named.

On the 10th of July, a division of the banditti proceeded to

George Town, and seizing upon the government boats, induced five

of the working people to abscond with them; upon representation

whereof to the Lieutenant-Governor, a proclamation was issued

requiring the return of those persons, under the assurance of

forgiveness, if so returning within twenty days, from the

consideration that the settlement of George Town had been for

some days without command or controul; the causes of which will

be found in our supplement of this day; wherein Mr.

Superintendent Leith, has, in his testimony upon the murder of

the chief constable of the settlement, declared his necessary

absence to Launceston at that express period.

The gang of bush-rangers appeared in the vicinity of Black

Brush on Saturday, and were tracked on the following morning by

Serjeant M'Carthy, of the 46th, with his party. On Monday the

bush-rangers were at a house at Tea-tree Brush, where they had

dined, and about three o'clock Serjeant M'Carthy with his party

came up. The bush-rangers ran out of the house into the woods,

and being eleven in number, and well covered by timber and

ground, the eight soldiers could not close with them. After a

good deal of firing, Geary the leader was wounded, and fell; two

others were also wounded. The knapsacks of the whole and their

dogs were taken. Geary died the same night, and his corpse was

brought into town on Tuesday, as were the two wounded men.

The remaining eight bush-rangers were seen in the

neighbourhood of the Coal River on Wednesday; but, as they must

have been destitute of provisions and ammunition, sanguine hopes

were entertained of their speedy fall.

Dennis Currie and Matthew Kiegan, two of the original

bush-rangers, surrendered on the Monday following.

On Wednesday, a coroner's inquest was held on the body of

James Geary, who died of the wound received in the affair at

Tea-tree Brush. Verdict, Homicide in furtherance of public

justice.

Jones, a principal of the banditti, was shot in the beginning

of August, in the neighbourhood of Swanport, which is on the

eastern shore. For some days they had not been heard of; but by

the extraordinary exertions of Serjeant M'Carthy and his party of

the 46th regiment, were tracked and overtaken at the above place;

on which occasion Jones was killed on the spot by a ball through

the head. A prisoner of the name of Holmes was by the

bush-ranger's fire, wounded in two places, but we do not hear

mortally.

On the Sunday evening after the above affair, some of the

villains effected a robbery at Clarence Plains; but became so

excessively intemperate from intoxication as to quarrel among

themselves; the consequence was, that another of the gang of the

name of Rollards, having been most severely bruised and beaten by

his associates fell into the hands of a settler, and was by him

taken a prisoner into Hobart Town. White and Johnson, two others

of the gang, were apprehended by Serjeant M'Carthy's party, on

Thursday the 14th of August, being conducted to their haunts by a

native woman, distinguished by the name of Black Mary, and

another girl.

After the above successes in reducing the number of these

persons, some of them still continued out, on the 16th of August,

as appears from a report published: of the old bush-rangers,

Septon, Collyer, Coine, and Brune, also Watts, who kept separate

from the rest, and Michael Howe, who had before delivered himself

up, and after remaining some weeks in Hobart Town, took again to

the woods, from a dread, as was imagined, of ultimately being

called to answer for his former offences. At this period also,

there were two absentees from George Town, Port Dalrymple; a

number of the working hands having gone from that settlement

shortly before, all of whom had returned to their duty but these

two. White, Rollards, and Peck, were about this time under a

reward of sixty guineas for their apprehension, for an attempt to

commit a robbery at Clarence Plains: Peck was a freeman, the

other two prisoners.

By the 6th of September, nearly the whole of the absentees of

whatever description had either surrendered or been apprehended;

and upon this day a proclamation was issued offering the

following rewards: for the apprehension of Michael Howe, one

hundred guineas; for George Watts, eighty guineas; and for Brune,

the Frenchman, fifty guineas; and in consequence of these prompt

and efficacious arrangements, additional captures had been made,

which placed it nearly beyond a doubt that Howe is almost, if not

the only individual of the desperate gangs now at large.

This latter assertion, however, does not appear to have been

correct; for in a Sydney Gazette of the 25th of October, of the

same year, we have the following account of the apprehension and

surrender of some others of this banditti, and of an unsuccessful

attempt to take Michael Howe, which will tend to elucidate the

desperate character of this ruffian.

Several persons have arrived as witnesses on the prosecution

of offenders transmitted for trial by the Pilot; two of whom are

charged with wilful murder, viz. Richard Collyer, as a principal

in the atrocious murder of the late William Carlisle and James

O'Berne, who were shot by a banditti of bush-rangers at the

settlement of New Norfolk, on the 24th of April, 1815; the

particulars whereof were published in the Sydney Gazette of the

20th of the following May. The other prisoner for murder is John

Hilliard, who was also one of the banditti of bush-rangers; but

being desirous of giving himself up, determined previously by

force or guile, to achieve some exploit, that might place the

sincerity of his contrition beyond doubt. Accident soon brought

the above Collyer, together with Peter Septon, another of the

banditti, within his power. He attacked and killed Septon, and

wounded Collyer, who nevertheless got away, but was soon

apprehended. It is for the killing of Septon, he is therefore to

be tried. Four of the prisoners sent by this vessel are for sheep

stealing. Another of the late banditti, George Watts, is come up

also, but under no criminal charge, as we are informed, he having

been desperately wounded by Michael Howe, in an attempt assisted

by William Drew, to take him into Hobart Town a prisoner; but in

which exertion Drew was shot dead by that desperate offender, and

the survivor Watts nearly killed also.

* * *

I have been thus copious in extracts from the Sydney Gazette,

to shew the lamentable state of danger and anarchy in which the

colonists on Van Diemen's Land have been kept by an

inconsiderable banditti; who, from the imbecility of the local

government, have been enabled to continue for many years in a

triumphant career of violence and impunity. This iniquitous and

formidable association may, indeed, be considered as crushed for

the moment, although the most desperate member of it is still at

large. But what pledge have the well disposed part of the

inhabitants, that a band equally atrocious will not again spring

up, and endanger the general peace and security? What guarantee,

in fact, have they that this very ruffian, the soul and center of

the late combination, will not serve as a rallying point to the

profligate, and again collect around him a circle of robbers and

murderers as desperate and bloody as the miscreants who have been

annihilated? And can the pursuits of industry quietly proceed

under the harassing dread which this constant liability to

outrage and depredation must inspire? There is no principle less

controvertible than that the subject has the same claims on the

government for support and protection, as they have on him, for

obedience and fidelity. The compact is as binding on the one

party, as on the other; and it is really discreditable to the

established character of this country, that any part of its

dominions should have continued for so long a period, the scene

of such flagrant enormities, merely from the want of a sufficient

military force to ensure the due administration of the laws, and

to maintain the public tranquillity.

CLIMATE, ETC.

The climate of this island is equally healthy, and much more

congenial to the European constitution, than that of Port

Jackson. The north-west winds, which are there productive of such

violent variations of temperature, are here unknown; and neither

the summers, nor winters, are subject to any great extremes of

heat, or cold. The frosts, indeed, are much more severe, and of

much longer duration; and the mountains with which this island

abounds, are covered with snow during the greater part of the

year; but in the vallies it never lingers on the ground more than

a few hours. Upon an average, the mean difference of temperature,

between these settlements and those on New Holland, (I speak of

such as are to the eastward of the Blue Mountains; for the

country to the westward of them, it has been already stated, is

equally cold with any part of Van Diemen's Land,) may be

estimated at ten degrees of Fahrenheit, at all seasons of the

year.

The prevailing diseases are the same as at Port Jackson: i. e.

phthisis, and dysentery; but the former is not so common.

Rheumatic complaints, however, which are scarcely known there,

exist here to a considerable extent.

SOIL, ETC.

In this island, as in New Holland, there is every diversity of

soil, but certainly in proportion to the surface of the two

countries, this contains, comparatively, much less of an

indifferent quality. Large tracts of land perfectly free from

timber or underwood, and covered with the most luxuriant herbage,

are to be found in all directions; but more particularly in the

environs of Port Dalrymple. This sort of land is

_invariably_ of the _very best description_, and

_millions_ of acres still remain _unappropriated, which

are capable of being instantly converted to all the purposes of

husbandry. There the colonist has no expence to incur in clearing

his farm: he is not compelled to a great preliminary out-lay of

capital, before he can expect a considerable return; he has only

to set fire to the grass, to prepare his land for the immediate

reception of the plough-share; so that, if he but possess a good

team of horses, or oxen, with a set of harness, and a couple of

substantial ploughs, he has the main requisites for commencing an

agricultural establishment, and for ensuring a comfortable

subsistence for himself and family._

To this great superiority which these southern settlements may

claim over the parent colony, may be superadded two other items

of distinction, which are perhaps of equal magnitude and

importance. First, The rivers here have sufficient fall in them

to prevent any excessive accumulation of water, from violent or

continued rains; and are consequently free from those awful and

destructive inundations to which all its rivers are perpetually

subject. Here, therefore, the industrious colonist may settle on

the banks of a navigable river, and enjoy all the advantages of

sending his produce to market by water, without running the

constant hazard of having the fruits of his labour, the golden

promise of the year, swept away in an hour by a capricious and

domineering element. Secondly, The seasons are more regular and

defined, and those great droughts which have been so frequent at

Port Jackson, are altogether unknown. In the years 1813, 1814,

and 1815, when the whole face of the country there was literally

burnt up, and vegetation completely at a stand still from the

want of rain, an abundant supply of it fell here, and the

harvests, in consequence, were never more productive. Indeed,

since these settlements were first established, a period of

fifteen years, the crops have never sustained any serious

detriment from an insufficiency of rain; whereas, in the parent

colony, there have been in the thirty-one years that have elapsed

since its foundation, I may venture to say, half a dozen dearths,

occasioned by drought, and at least as many arising from

floods.

The circumstance, therefore, of Van Diemen's Land being thus

exempt from those calamitous consequences, which are so frequent

in New Holland, from a superabundance of rain in the one

instance, and a deficiency of it in the other, is a most

important point of consideration, for all such as hesitate in

their choice betwixt the two countries; and is well worthy the

most serious attention of those who are desirous of emigrating to

one or the other of them, with a view to become mere

agriculturists.

In the system of agriculture pursued in the two colonies,

there is no difference, save that the Indian corn, or maize, is

not cultivated here, because the climate is too cold to bring

this grain to maturity. Barley and oats, however, arrive at much

greater perfection, and afford the inhabitants a substitute,

although by no means an equivalent, for this highly valuable

product. The wheat, too, which is raised here, is of much

superior description to the wheat grown in any of the districts

at Port Jackson, and will always command in the Sydney market, a

difference of price sufficiently great to pay for the additional

cost of transport. The average produce, also, of land here, is

greater, although it does not exceed, perhaps not equal the

produce of the rich flooded lands on the banks of the Hawkesbury

and Nepean. A gentleman who resided many years at Port Dalrymple,

estimates the average produce of the crops at that settlement as

follows: Wheat, thirty bushels per acre; barley, forty-five

bushels per ditto; oats, he does not know, but say sixty bushels

per ditto. This estimate is not at all calculated to impress the

English farmer with as favourable an opinion of the fertility of

this settlement as it merits; but if he only witnessed the

slovenly mode of tillage which is practised there, he would be

surprised not that the average produce of the crops is so small,

but that it is so great. If the same land had the benefit of the

system of agriculture that prevails throughout the county of

Norfolk, it may be safely asserted that its produce would be

doubled. The land on the upper banks of the river Derwent and at

Pitt-water, is equally fertile; but the average produce of the

crops on the whole of the cultivated districts belonging to this

settlement, is at least one-fifth less than at Port

Dalrymple.

These settlements do not contain either such a variety or

abundance of fruit as the parent colony. The superior coldness of

their climate sufficiently accounts for the former deficiency,

and the greater recency of their establishment for the latter.

The orange, citron, guava, loquet, pomegranate, and many other

fruits which attain the greatest perfection at Port Jackson,

cannot be produced here at all without having recourse to

artificial means; while many more, as the peach, nectarine,

grape, etc. only arrive at a very inferior degree of maturity. On

the other hand, as has been already noticed, the apple, currant,

gooseberry, and indeed all those fruits for which the climate of

the parent colony is too warm, are raised here without

difficulty.

The system of rearing and fattening cattle is perfectly

analogous to that which is pursued at Port Jackson. The natural

grasses afford an abundance of pasturage at all seasons of the

year, and no provision of winter provender, in the shape either

of hay or artificial food, is made by the settler for his cattle;

yet, notwithstanding this palpable omission, and the greater

length and severity of the winters, all manner of stock attain

there a much larger size than at Port Jackson. Oxen from three to

four years old average here about 700 lbs. and wethers from two

to three years old, from 80 to 90 lbs.; while there oxen of the

same age, do not average more than 500 lbs. and wethers not more

than 40 lbs. At Port Dalrymple it is no uncommon occurrence for

yearly lambs to weigh from 100 to 120 lbs. and for three year old

wethers to weigh 150 lbs. and upwards; but this great

disproportion of weight arises in some measure from the greater

part of the sheep at this settlement, having become, from

constant crossing, nearly of the pure Teeswater breed. Still the

superior richness of the natural pastures in these southern

settlements, is without doubt the main cause of the increased

weight at which both sheep and cattle arrive; since there is both

a kindlier and larger breed of cattle at Port Jackson, which

nevertheless, neither weighs as heavy, nor affords as much suet

as the cattle there. This is an incontrovertible proof that the

natural grasses possess much more nutritive and fattening

qualities in this colony than in the other; and the superior

clearness of the country is quite sufficient to account for this

circumstance, without taking into the estimate the additional

fact, that up to a certain parallel of latitude, to which neither

the one nor the other of the countries in question extends, the

superior adaptation of the colder climate for the rearing and

fattening of stock, is quite unquestionable.

The price of provisions is about on a par in the two colonies,

or if there be any difference, it is somewhat lower here. Horses

three or four years back were considerably dearer than at Port

Jackson; but large importations of them have been made in

consequence, and it is probable that their value is before this

time completely equalized.

The wages of ordinary labourers are at least thirty per cent.

higher, and of mechanics, fifty per cent. higher than in the

parent colony; a disproportion solely attributable to the very

unequal and injudicious distribution that has been made of the

convicts.

The progress made by these settlements in manufactures, is too

inconsiderable to deserve notice, further than as it affords a

striking proof in how much more flourishing and prosperous a

condition they are than the parent colony.

The commerce carried on by the colonists is of the same nature

as that which is maintained by their brethren at Port Jackson.

Like these, they have no staple export to offer in exchange for

the various commodities which they import from foreign countries,

and are obliged principally to rely on the expenditure of the

government for the means of procuring them. Their annual income

may be taken as follows:

Money expended by the government for the pay and subsistence

of the civil and military, and for the support of such of

the convicts as are victualled from the king's stores, £30,000

Money expended by foreign shipping, 3,000

Wheat, etc. exported to Port Jackson, 4,000

Exports collected by the merchants of the settlement, 5,000

Sundries, 2,000

------

Total, £44,000

------

The duties collected in these southern settlements, are

exactly on the same scale as at Port Jackson, and amount to about

£5,000 annually, inclusive of the per centage allowed the

collectors of them.

A general Statement of the Land in Cultivation, etc. the

Quantities of Stock, etc. as accounted for at the General

Muster in New South Wales, taken by His Excellency Governor

Macquarie, and Deputy Commissary General Allan, commencing the

6th October, and finally closing the 25th November, 1817,

inclusive; with an exact Account of the same at Van Diemen's

Land.

Acres in Wheat 18,462

Ground prepared for Maize 11,714

Barley 856½

Oats 156¾

Pease and Beans 204¼

Potatoes 559

Garden and Orchard 863

Cleared ground 47,564¼

Total held 235,003¼

Horses 3,072

Horned cattle 44,753

Sheep 170,920

Hogs 17,842

Bushels of Wheat 24,05 [sic]

Bushels of Maize 1,506

N. B. Total Number of Inhabitants in the Colony, including Van

Diemen's Land, 20,379.