ONE OF THE ERRORS OF GOVERNMENT -- ADVENTURE OF THE BRAMBLE.
It has ever been considered one of the first principles of good
government, that a frequent and ready communication and intercourse
should be maintained between the ruling power and the possessions
subject to its authority. The first act of Roman sway was ever to
lay down good lines of road through the conquered country; and
nothing has tended so much to maintain the authority of the United
States over the Red Indians of America, as the formation of roads
through the wilderness. The rulers of Great Britain entertain the
opinion that when they have once seized upon a distant country, and
thrown into it a handful of troops and a few of their importunate
friends, with the title of government officers, they have done all
that is required of them. They wait with resignation for any account
that may be brought of the progress of the new colony, by some
wandering merchant-vessel. Despatches, frequently dated twelve
months previously, during which time they have been making the tour
of all the oceans at present known upon the globe, are brought to
Downing Street; and are then thrown aside, or at least are never
attended to, probably because they are too old to be deemed
interesting. No matter how pressing and immediate the wants of
the colony, chance alone affords the opportunity of making their
necessities known at home. Letters and despatches accumulate in the
Post-office; no vessel arrives bringing intelligence from England, or
offering to take away a mail: the Colonial Secretary, having
exhausted every official resource in the way of mental occupation,
looks out at the window, and meditates upon quail-shooting. His
Excellency the Governor, questions the possibility of adding another
despatch to the hundred and fifty already composed in illustration of
the art of making despatches, as Soyer makes soup, out of nothing;
and oppressed by the subject, becomes dormant in his chair of state;
the clerks in the neighbouring offices no longer exhibit the uplifted
countenance which, as justly observed by Sallust, distinguishes man
from all other creatures; nothing is to be seen of them but masses of
hair in wild profusion, and right hands extended on the table, still
mechanically grasping steel-pens, whilst every face lies flattened
upon a paper-case, and sleep and silence, broken only by sighs and
snores, reign throughout the building. Universal stagnation prevails
among government people; and merchants and store-keepers appear to be
much in the same condition. The only person in office who is kept in
a constant state of fever, is the unhappy Post-Master-General, who is
hourly called upon to state when he is going to make up a mail for
England. In vain he apologises for the non-arrival of ships; there
is something radically wrong in his department, for which he is
expected to answer; and dark denunciations are muttered in his ear,
until worn out with anxiety and nervousness, he loses his appetite,
and gradually withers away, like grass in the oven.
And when at length a vessel arrives accidentally from Van Diemen's
Land, or perhaps from America, the Master at first demurs about
taking a mail, under the idea that it may convey letters giving
information of the state of markets that he desires should be known
only to himself and his employers; but finally consents; and then,
having received the mail on board, carries it about with him from
port to port, until at the conclusion of a long voyage, having
occasion to empty his vessel in order to smoke out the rats, he
discovers the forgotten boxes, and conscientiously sends them ashore.
But if it be vexatious and inconvenient to have only this uncertain
means of despatching our letters to England, how much more annoying
is it to have no regular and stated time for receiving them from
home! What could be more painful than to have to wait twelve months
before you can receive an answer to an inquiry; and what more
destructive to the interests of commerce? How many fluctuations are
there in the state of the markets during those twelve months!
It is one of the greatest of evils to have no regular post-office
communication between the Mother Country and her colonies, and the
interests of trade in both greatly suffer by it.
Much has been said lately of establishing steam communication with
Sydney. A committee of Sydney merchants has been appointed in London
to consider the subject, and the restless and indefatigable Lieut.
Waghorn has written a pamphlet showing how it may be done, provided
the Government will contribute 100,000 pounds per annum towards the
project. He proposes that a branch line of steamers shall be
established, to proceed from Sincapore by the north of New Holland,
touching at Port Essington, and through Torres Straits to Sydney, and
probably on to Van Dieman's Land. But why follow such a route as
this, through the most dangerous channel in the world, where even
steamers would have to lie-to at night (as the Lieutenant admits),
and where light-houses would have to be erected and kept up at an
extravagant cost? Why take such a route, which presents not a single
place to call at, except Port Essington, a miserable spot, intended
only as a kind of refuge for shipwrecked mariners, possessing no
commercial or agricultural inhabitants, and only enjoying the
advantages and the society of a Governor, a handful of soldiers, and
three white women? Why insist upon expending so much public money,
and encountering so many dangers, without conferring a single
additional benefit upon the Australian colonies, when the route by
the south of New Holland is so obvious, so practicable, and so
superior? The projectors talk of making Port Essington a depot for
coal; but why not make this depot in Western Australia? During the
summer months, from 1st October to 1st April, the steamers might
touch at Fremantle; and during the winter months, at Port Gladstone,
fifteen miles to the southward, affording a sheltered harbour where
ships may ride securely within one hundred yards of the shore. Coal
mines will probably soon be at work in the colony, vast beds of that
mineral having been discovered, thus offering every inducement to
steam-vessels to touch here. Nor could anything be more
advantageous, considering the great interests that England now has at
stake in these seas, than to form a general depot in this colony,
where her Majesty's steamers and ships-of-war might refit on
occasion. As there is no other spot in all New Holland, Van Dieman's
Land, or New Zealand, where first-rate ship-timber may be obtained,
and where IRON, COAL, and COPPER, are also procurable in abundance,
this colony offers advantages for the formation of a Government
Dock-yard and depot (at Port Gladstone), that must be acknowledged by
every unprejudiced person.
Objections may be raised to doubling Cape Lewin during the winter
season; but let the steamers stand well out to sea, and there would
be no difficulty. The time lost would not exceed that spent in
lying-to in Torres Straits during the night. Our colonial schooner,
the Champion, goes round Cape Lewin at all seasons.
We would propose that the mail steamers, instead of branching off
from Sincapore, as proposed by Lieut. Waghorn, should depart from
Point de Galle, Ceylon, make direct for Swan River, there take in
coal, and pass on to Adelaide, South Australia, and thence to Van
Dieman's Land, where they might put the Melbourne and Sydney mails on
board of the steamer already plying between Van Dieman's Land and
those places. By this route the Sydney people would receive their
letters quite as soon as though their interests alone had been
consulted, according to the desire of the disinterested committee
before alluded to; whilst Van Dieman's Land would gain a few days,
and South Australia and Western Australia would be allowed to share
in the general advantage, from which they would otherwise be entirely
excluded.
But the Government and the public would also be gainers by the route
which we suggest. It would be much cheaper to them, because it would
be much more profitable to the company that carried it out. The
colony of South Australia is now a populous country, and becomes more
so every year; but the Steam Company would carry no passengers and no
goods for South Australia (perhaps not even for Van Dieman's Land),
if the route to Sydney were to be by Port Essington and Torres
Straits. The two colonies of South and Western Australia deriving no
benefit from such a course, could give no support to the company.
Government hitherto has resisted the efforts of the Sydney merchants,
and refused to sanction the proposal of Mr. Waghorn, but chiefly upon
the ground of expense. And there is no doubt that Ministers would be
guilty of a gross misdemeanour, were they to consent to apply 100,000
pounds per annum of the public money in furtherance of a scheme
designed for the exclusive benefit of a single colony. It is the
duty of Government to see that any sum which may be granted shall be
so applied as to confer the most extensive benefit upon all the
Australian colonies. That measures ought to be immediately taken to
ensure a regular communication between the home country and every one
of her colonies is a matter of no doubt to us. The want of this has
long appeared to be one of the grand errors of colonial legislation.
Let us hope that the day is not far distant when this crying evil
shall be remedied. Now that steam navigation has come so generally
into use, there is no valid reason why it should not be made the
means of uniting together, as it were, the different outposts of the
empire, drawing them more closely towards their parent country as to
a common centre. It is full time that a greater appearance of
sympathy were exhibited at home for those distant settlements which
have now become the principal markets for British produce, and which,
therefore, deserve something more at the hand of Government than what
they have so long been accustomed to find -- alternate periods of
tyranny and neglect.
By far the greater portion of English merchant-ships are engaged in
trading to the colonies; our manufactures there find their principal
mart; our surplus population is there cheaply provided with
maintenance and a home. These are the grounds on which the colonies
lay claim to the fostering care of the Mother Country, and we trust
the days are at hand that will see it afforded.
The first step must be to ensure a regular and frequent intercourse
between the countries, without which there can be no real protection;
without which there is no sufficient encouragement given to trade;
and the parent state can therefore reap but little advantage,
comparatively, from a colony whose powers are only imperfectly
developed.
Since the above remarks were written, accounts have reached England
of the arrival at Fremantle of her Majesty's surveying vessel
Bramble, Commander Lieutenant Yule, after passing some time in
Torres Straits and on the coast of New Guinea.
Mr. Yule having kindly placed the notes of his voyage at the disposal
of a friend in the colony, they were partially published in one of
the local journals in the month of January last. The portion
relating to Torres Straits is instructive. The Bramble sailed from
Port Jackson about the end of December 1845, in company with the
Castlereagh tender, Lieut. Aird, Commander. Touching at Moreton
Bay, Mr. Yule visited his old acquaintance, Captain Wickham, R.N.,
late in command of H.M.S. Beagle, and now a settler on the
Brisbane. In the words of the journal referred to, "the Bramble
proceeded slowly to the northward, being much delayed by the bad
sailing of the tender." The voyage presents nothing worthy of
notice, until the arrival of the ships in Torres Straits, when it is
impossible to help being struck with the commentary which Mr. Yule
unconsciously affords upon the "perfect safety" of that passage, now
so much vaunted by the advocates of the northern route. While the
Bramble and Castlereagh were lying off Sir Charles Hardy's
Islands, the latter being deficient in ballast, Mr. Aird was
despatched with the boats to look for the "wreck" of the Maid of
Athens and the "wreck" of the Martha Ridgway, with the view of
procuring some; and having failed in discovering the former, and
therefore in procuring a sufficient supply, he was again sent to the
"wreck" of the Sir Archibald Campbell for the same purpose. So
much for Torres Straits!
Mr. Yule strongly recommends Cairncross Island as the best station
for obtaining wood and water for vessels navigating the straits,
there being abundance of both easily procurable, and even large
timber, if required. On this island they shot four megapodii, and
observed many of their nests, some of which Mr. Yule describes as
being twelve feet high, and upwards of fifty feet in circumference.
On Friday, the 10th April they made the coast of New Guinea, which
presented a low and thickly-wooded coast-line, backed by mountains of
magnificent height and beauty; the country being apparently very
rich, with many villages, embowered in cocoa-nut trees, scattered
along the shore. While coasting along, in search of a convenient
place to land, they encountered a native vessel of most extraordinary
size and character, which we will allow Mr. Yule to describe in his
own words: --
"At daybreak, as the sun was rising, I was very much struck with the
grandeur of some very distant mountains in a south-eastern direction
-- one in particular, the outline of whose summit was only visible
above the intervening clouds; immense ranges of mountains were also
distinctly visible this side of it, extending in a N.W. and S.E.
direction. It is seldom the rising sun has disclosed to my sight so
splendid a view as then presented itself; but in a few minutes, when
the sun's disk appeared, the beautiful scene vanished, leaving only
inferior cloud-topped mountains visible, together with the rich and
undulating foreground. We shortly afterwards saw the strange sail
seen last night. Although she was much nearer, she proved more
unaccountable than before. As there was not sufficient wind to
enable us to weigh, I resolved to send Mr. Pollard in the second gig
to take a nearer view of this extraordinary vessel. I watched the
boat until Mr. Pollard must have gone nearly five miles from us, when
the boat's sails appeared a mere speck when close to the wonderful
stranger. On this officer's return, he informed me he had approached
within bow-shot of the vessel, which proved to be a gigantic double
canoe, which he conceives must have measured fifty or sixty feet
long, kept apart and together by a platform from fifteen to twenty
feet broad, which extended nearly the whole length of the canoes, the
after-end being square with the sterns of the boats; six or eight
feet of this was left clear for the three steersmen, who guided the
vessel with three long paddles over the stern. With the exception of
this part of the platform, the whole was covered by a strong,
well-built house, made of cane, the roof being flat, and about five
or six feet above the platform. This roof answered the purpose of an
upper deck, affording the crew the means of conveniently walking on
it. This extraordinary craft was propelled by two large mat sails,
each spread between two bamboo masts, the heels of which were fixed
in the same step, the mastheads being spread (athwartships) from
twenty to thirty feet asunder, the sail being triangular between
these bamboo masts, which were supported by diagonal shores fore and
aft on either side; besides these two large sails, the canoe had
numerous smaller (square) ones suspended from the principal masts;
there was also a small square sail forward. The whole of the spars
and rigging was ornamented with a sort of flags and streamers. Mr.
Pollard thinks that he saw about forty or fifty people on the roof,
several of whom were in the act of stringing their bows; except this
precaution on the part of the strangers, there was no demonstration
of hostility. After taking a good view of this most extraordinary
canoe, Mr. Pollard returned; and she ultimately was wafted out of
sight. Whence she came, or where bound, still remains to me a
problem.
"At noon I obtained the latitude, which was 8 degrees 3 minutes S.;
longitude, by chronometer, 145 degrees 28 minutes E.
"In the afternoon the Castlereagh was visited by two small canoes,
with eight men, who had come off from a village we discovered abreast
of us. The natives brought off a few cocoa-nuts and some bows and
arrows, which they readily bartered for such trifles as were given in
exchange."
The lofty mountain which so much excited Mr. Yule's admiration, was
named by him Mount Victoria, and between it and the shore were
several ranges of inferior altitude, which gave him "every reason to
believe that the lower regions were well watered and fertile."
Having fixed upon a favourable spot for commencing his triangulation
behind a promontory which served to conceal them from the view of a
native village which they saw at no great distance, Mr. Yule went
ashore in the first gig with five seamen and one marine, accompanied
by Mr. Sweetman, in the second gig, with three seamen and two
marines, all well armed, and proceeded to hoist the Union Jack and
take possession of the place in the name of her Majesty Queen
Victoria. Having successfully performed this duty, and obtained the
observations he required, Mr. Yule thought it high time to return on
board; but the surf had in the meantime increased so heavily, that in
the attempt the second gig was swamped, and every thing in her,
including the arms, lost, except the quintant and chronometer, the
boat herself being with difficulty saved by being towed outside the
surf by the other gig. The rest of the adventure we shall give in
Mr. Yule's own words: --
"At this time I observed the Castlereagh about two miles beyond
Cape Possession, under sail; I therefore made signs to Mr. Wright, in
the first gig, to tow the second gig towards the Castlereagh, which
I concluded would attract Mr. Aird's attention. In this I was not
mistaken, as the Castlereagh was immediately anchored about a mile
and a half off, and her boats sent to the relief of ours. In the
interim I determined that every thing which was washed on shore
should be collected together, after which we all huddled close under
a bush near the beech, whence we could see our boats and be hid from
the view of the natives as much as possible. The Castlereagh's
boats having at length closed with the Bramble's, the second gig was
soon baled out, when all four boats pulled up abreast of us outside
of the surf, which had continued to increase; the Castlereagh at
the same time weighed, which I confess alarmed me much, as I knew
very few persons could be left on board after she had dispatched two
boats' crews; I therefore concluded we were discovered by the natives
beyond Cape Possession. I was in a few moments confirmed in my fears
by seeing Mr. Andrews prepare to push his boat through the surf. I
waved him back, when he energetically pointed towards Cape
Possession. I fully understood his signs (that natives were coming),
but still waved him off, as I knew his gallant attempt to relieve us
would fail, and that he and his boat's crew would be added to those
already in distress on shore; he, however, pushed through the surf,
when, as I expected, this boat was upset, and all his arms,
ammunition, etc. lost. At the same moment we observed crowds of
natives coming round the point of Cape Possession, armed with spears,
clubs, and stone axes. Our arms and ammunition had been all lost or
destroyed; our situation was therefore most defenceless, and, I may
say, our retreat hopeless; those boats at the back being unable to
afford us the least relief. I then thought it best to show no signs
of fear or mistrust, but to make friends with the natives, and amuse
them, until the next tide should enable a boat to back through the
surf. In the interim, Mr. Andrews, with his four men, and assisted
by some others, made three attempts to launch his boat, which failed,
and she was ultimately dashed in pieces against the rocks. I
advanced alone with playful gestures, waving a branch of green
leaves, in token of peace. One man pointed a spear at me, but the
others stared at me with more wonder depicted on their countenances
than ferocity. I then offered them some bits of tobacco, which they
would not approach near enough to take from my hands. This shyness,
unfortunately, did not continue long; for when the main body came up,
amounting to eighty or ninety men, armed, they became troublesome,
and laid their hands on everything they could get hold of that was
lying on the beach. To these robberies I attempted to put a stop,
and made them some presents instead; but the savages must have known
our helpless condition, and became every moment more daring and
rapacious; and, to add to our tribulation, we observed two large
canoes, each containing thirty or forty men, come round Possession
Point, and heave to between the Castlereagh and the boats, as if
with the intention of cutting off the latter. The Castlereagh
could not unfortunately take advantage of her guns by firing grape or
canister, as we were completely intermixed with the natives. At this
critical stage of our anxiety, the second gig, at all hazards, was
veered through the surf, and, to our great joy, four or five men were
drawn off in safety. A second attempt was made, and succeeded. Then
came the awful moment for us who waited for the last trip; for only a
few moments before, I baulked a native when taking a deliberate aim
at one of our last men who embarked. The natives now, seeing our
numbers decrease, laid hands on us in the most violent manner. My
quintant was first wrested from my coxswain, who in a tone of grief
made me known the circumstance. I immediately turned round and
exclaimed 'Oh! don't part with that'; but it was too late; and when I
endeavoured to recover it, I found a club wielded over my head. In
making my escape from this wretch I was secured by four others, who
first took the government micronometer, which was slung round my
neck. I then endeavoured to struggle out of their clutches, and
escape with the pocket chronometer and note-book, but these, AS WELL
AS EVERY ARTICLE OF CLOTHING I HAD ABOUT MY BODY, were stripped off;
when the second gig was opportunely again backed in, and in this
forlorn state Mr. Pollard, the two marines, and I, waded off, and
were dragged into the boat. We then went on board the Castlereagh,
which was at anchor about a mile from the shore; the canoes slowly
made off to the north-westward, after we had embarked. The boats
having been hoisted up and secured, we got the anchor up and
proceeded out to the Bramble, and anchored close to her at 6h. 30m.
p.m. I immediately afterwards returned to the Bramble, truly
thankful for our having escaped with our lives. The loss of
instruments grieved me exceedingly, particularly as the nature of the
coast rendered it next to impossible to effect a safe landing to
attempt their recovery. From the account I heard of the ferocity of
the natives where the Fly had been surveying last year on this
coast, I confess I fully expected death would be my fate in a few
minutes, and thought of the similar position poor Captain Skying was
in when murdered at Cape Roso. If we had been possessed of six or
eight muskets and plenty of ammunition, I think the natives might
easily have been checked, but being defenceless, my only hope was to
dissemble my fears and amuse them, to give us time until we could
effect our escape. These people varied in complexion from black to a
light copper colour; they appeared well made and active; all of them
were ornamented, but some much more so than others; their ear-rings
were made of rings of tortoiseshell, a number of them being fastened
together, and suspended to the lower parts of the ears, in which are
holes stretched so large as to admit a man's thumb being passed
through them; the cartilage dividing the nostrils is perforated in
like manner."
This adventure of our old friends of the Bramble appears to me
sufficiently interesting to excuse my having wandered through Torres
Straits in order to record it.