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Title: The History of Tasmania, Volume I
Author: West, John, 1808-1873
Language: English
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THE
HISTORY OF TASMANIA:
by
JOHN WEST,
Minister of St. John Square Chapel, Launceston.
VOLUME I.
Tasmania:
Henry Dowling, Launceston.
1852.
Tasmania:
Printed By J. S. Waddell, Launceston
Facsimile edition 1966
TO HENRY HOPKINS, OF HOBART TOWN, ESQ.,
THE
HISTORY OF TASMANIA,
UNDERTAKEN AT HIS REQUEST, IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED
BY
THE AUTHOR.
LAUNCESTON, SEPTEMBER, 1852.
ADVERTISEMENT.
The author takes this opportunity to thank the gentlemen who have
allowed him, for several years, the use of their works on the colonies,
and valuable original papers; especially the trustees of Lady Franklin's
Museum, Messrs. R. Lewis, Hone, Gunn, Joseph Archer, Henty, P. Roberts,
Wooley, and Pitcairn.
The public are indebted to Ronald Gunn, Esq., for the section on
Tasmanian Zoology; and to Mr. F. Wales for a useful list of the chief
places in this country.
CONTENTS--VOL. I.
DISCOVERY.
SECTION I. p. 1.
Anthony Van Diemen, governor of Batavia--Sir Joseph Banks obtains
Tasman's charts and journal--brass hemispheres at Amsterdam--discovery
of Van Diemen's Land--Maria Island--visit of Captains Marion, Furneaux,
Cook, Clerke, Cox, Bligh, D'Entrecasteaux--discovery of Bass' Straits by
Bass and Flinders--Flinders' misfortunes and death--Baudin--misfortunes
of our eminent navigators--monument erected by Sir John Franklin to
Flinders.
SECTION II. p. 20.
Colonel Purry's project--opinion of Dalrymple--Cook's account of New
South Wales--fleet assemble at Motherbank--Phillip governor--various
opinions of the prospects of the colony.
FROM 1803 TO 1824.
SECTION I. p. 27.
Van Diemen's Land occupied--state of Port Jackson at the time--Port
Phillip occupied--abandoned--account of Buckley--debarkation at
Sullivan's Cove--names of officers--Paterson occupies at Port
Dalrymple--account of Collins--Burke's remarks--Collins' history--Lord
Hobart.
SECTION II. p. 34.
Hobart Town named--York Town--Tamar river--Launceston--the first
house--Norfolk Island vacated--settlers conveyed to Van Diemen's
Land--overflow of the Hawkesbury--destitution--deposition of Bligh--he
visits the Derwent--conduct of Collins--establishes a newspaper--his
death--monument erected by Franklin to his memory.
SECTION III. p. 48.
Lieutenant E. Lord acting lieutenant-governor--ditto Captain
Murray--visit of Governor Macquarie--Davey lieutenant-governor
--improvements effected--St. David's church built--Bent's
newspaper--death of Colonel Davey.
SECTION IV. p. 53.
Form of colonial government--courts--legislative orders--administration
of justice--Abbot judge-advocate of Van Diemen's Land--opinions of
Mackintosh--Bentham--torture--arbitrary conduct of Macquarie--governor's
court--Abbot's death.
SECTION V. p. 66.
Lieutenant-Governor Sorell--checks bushranging--immigration of
settlers--their privileges--Macquarie's account of Van Diemen's Land.
SECTION VI. p. 70.
Sheep introduced--Merino lambs imported into Van Diemen's Land--wool
purchased by Mr. Hopkins.
SECTION VII. p. 73.
Whaling--duties on colonial oil--fetters of trade--Captain Howard's
misfortunes--currency of Van Diemen's Land--trading habits.
SECTION VIII. p. 78.
Religious efforts--notices of Reverends Johnson, Marsden,
Knopwood--Wesleyan first Sunday school--Reverends Horton, Mansfield,
Macarthur--bible society--Reverend J. Youl--Reverend P. Connolly.
SECTION IX. p. 86.
Bill for better administration of justice--supreme court
established--colonial agent--departure of Sorell--Leith
company--Sorell's character--agricultural societies--advantages of
immigrants at the present time.
FROM 1824 TO 1836.
SECTION I. p. 95.
Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur, superintendent at Honduras--dispute with
Colonel Bradley--with the slaveholders--state of Van Diemen's
Land--court proclaimed--trial by jury--charges against Mr. J. T.
Gellibrand, jun.--Talfourd's opinions--Van Diemen's Land declared
independent of New South Wales--police magistrates appointed.
SECTION II. p. 106.
Rise of the Australian press--restraint of the press by Arthur--Dr. Ross
government printer--colonists maintain the freedom of the press.
SECTION III. p. 110.
Van Diemen's Land Company formed--its investments--Jorgen Jorgenson.
SECTION IV. p. 115.
State of society at Hobart--Judge Forbes--Governor Darling--punishment
of Thomson and Sudds--trial of Dr. Wardell--Major Honor's case--Mr.
Humphrey police magistrate--petitions for an elective assembly--
disagreements with Arthur--Gellibrand, sen., dismissed from the
magistracy--act of parliament for the colony--Marshall's proposal
for a colonial association.
SECTION V. p. 120.
Dispute between Jennings and Montagu--rate on returned bills of exchange
fixed--trial of Dillon--treasury robbed--Ikey Solomon's arrest--conduct
of a jury--races at Ross--pirates take the _Cumberland_.
SECTION VI. p. 124.
Grammar school--orphan school--mechanic institution--Dr. Ross--Dr.
Henderson.
SECTION VII. p. 127.
Bank of Van Diemen's Land--state of trade--Gatenby farmers--treasury
robbed--Cox's conveyance established--dearth in New South Wales.
SECTION VIII. p. 131.
Liabilities of publicans--impounding cattle--dog act--usury law.
SECTION IX. p. 134.
Endowment of emigrants with land--early regulations--quantities of land
given--early price of land.
SECTION X. p. 136.
Van Diemen's Land divided into counties--land commissioners
appointed--conditions of grants--land obtained by fictitious capital.
SECTION XI. p. 139.
Brisbane grants--proof of ownership--resumption resisted by
juries--defect in titles discovered--defect in description--caveat board
established--Major Abbot's claim--quit rents--free grants
terminated--Lord Ripon's regulations.
SECTION XII. p. 148.
Wakefield's colonization scheme--Wilmot Morton's views--Swan River
settlement--sufferings of first settlers--colony of South
Australia--mineral wealth--Port Phillip occupied--emigration of females
and mechanics--important consequences--table of land regulations.
SECTION XIII. p. 160.
Bank of Australasia--state of the currency--Tamar bank--Union bank.
SECTION XIV. p. 161.
Glorious 23rd of May!--Baxter appointed judge--set aside--police and
gaols--land revenue.
SECTION XV. p. 165.
Mr. W. Bryan's disagreement with Arthur--Arnold condemned for cattle
stealing--case of Lewis--of Bryan, jun.--murder of Captain
Sergeantson--perjury--trial by jury.
SECTION XVI. p. 174.
"True Colonist"--state of the press--charges against Arthur--increase of
newspapers--political association.
SECTION XVII. p. 177.
Recall of Arthur--- advancement during his administration--his great
ability--his views of public works--his departure--death of Mr. J. T.
Gellibrand.
FROM 1836 TO 1843.
SECTION I. p. 191.
Snodgrass acting-governor--arrival of Sir John Franklin--views of the
colony--his reception--efforts to reconcile parties--magistrates
increased--council chamber opened.
SECTION II. p. 195.
Difficulties respecting the churches--Dr. Lang--church and school
corporation erected--dissolved by the crown--Sir G. Murray's
views--Bourke's plan--Arthur's views--bishopric established in New South
Wales--claims of the Presbyterians--declare for the established
church of Scotland--Sir G. Grey's decision--act of general
assembly--appellate jurisdiction refused--synod proclaimed--assembled and
dissolved--controversy between the churches--church act passed--rivalry
of the churches--act amended--demands on the treasury--bishopric of
Tasmania established--Bishop Nixon enthroned--differences with
clergy--ecclesiastical courts--refused by Wilmot--conference at
Sydney--ecclesiastical titles arranged--free church of Scotland--tolerance
of laity--respect for religion.
SECTION III. p. 215.
Education--Franklin proposes a college--Dr. Arnold's views--Mr. Gell
appointed--foundation of college laid--abandoned--- schools in New South
Wales--British system established in Van Diemen's Land--British system
abandoned.
SECTION IV. p. 219.
Distillation forbidden--emigration promoted--interference of
commissioners--libel on Mr. Dowling--emigrants prosper--effects of
probation--distress in the colonies--causes of distress--revival.
SECTION V. p. 225.
Franklin arranges probation system--dispute with Captain
Montagu--dismisses him--Lord Stanley justifies Captain Montagu--Franklin
recalled--his amiable character--last expedition.
FROM 1843 TO 1847.
SECTION I. p. 233.
Sir E. Wilmot arrives--his connexions--opinion of the _Times_--his
popular manners--the agricultural association--bushranging--Wilmot's
promises to the legislature--remodels the Tasmanian Society--his
difficulties--central committee--usury law--fetters of trade--Hutt's
motion--road bill--irrigation--expense of police--public debt--Wilmot
adheres to his instructions--duties raised from five to fifteen per
cent.--taxation defeated--quarrel with the _Courier_--Mr. Bicheno's
political opinions--discussion in the council--Mr. Dry's motion--council
adjourned--despatches respecting police and public works--injustice of
Lord Stanley--anti-colonial character of probation system--Lord
Stanley's restrictions--proposes to raise produce for commissariat--
inadequate surveillance--Wilmot's representations--Stanley's reply--council
meet--estimates unintelligible--motions rejected by the governor's
deliberative and casting votes--Mr. Smith's opinion--six members
resign--obligation of official members--defence of the six--remarks--
popular sympathy.
SECTION II. p. 252.
Development of probation system--location of gangs--Mr. Pitcairn's
petition--Wilmot's counter representation--Wilmot rejected as patron of
the Van Diemen's Land agricultural association--vacancies filled up in
the council--members resign--£24,000 allowed by home government--
differential duties bill--Hobart Town commissioners--dog act--recall
of Wilmot--defended the probation system--blame cast on him--Wilmot's
last address--Mr. Gladstone's despatch--his decision respecting the
six--Wilmot slandered--Gladstone's letter--debates in parliament--
remarks--Wilmot's death--Mr. La Trobe's administration.
FROM 1847 TO 1852.
SECTION I. p. 265.
Sir William Denison meets the twelve--re-appoints the six--errors in
commission discovered--refers home--the six appointed--dog tax declared
illegal--actions of merchants--dismissal of Judge Montagu--Judge Pedder
refuses leave of absence--Mr. Horne appointed--doubts' bill
passed--decision of home government--charge against the merchants--their
defence--appeals to Downing-street--public petitions for an
assembly--plans proposed--council of New South Wales--discontent at Port
Phillip--report of Sir William Denison--plan of Earl Grey
rejected--privy council report--opinions of their report--bill
passed--rejoicings at Port Phillip--at Van Diemen's Land--college at
Bishopsbourne--Hutchins' school--high school.
SECTION II. p. 276.
Struggle against transportation--Mr. McLachlan--English press--state of
colony--pardons extended--North Australia--squatters hire
expirees--exiles received at Port Phillip--abolition proposed--Mr.
McLachlan's letter to Mr. Gladstone--petition presented to the
Lords--Mr. Ewart's motion--Earl Grey and Mr. Hawes receive the seals of
the colonial office--avow the principles of Whately--Sir W. Denison's
circular--discussion--committees appointed--public meetings.
SECTION III. p. 283.
London agency--meeting--Lord Grey's despatch announcing the views of
government--address of Sir W. Denison--his despatch in favor of
transportation--Norfolk Island prisoners--proposal to New South Wales
accepted on both sides--repudiation by Earl Grey, and a new proposal to
New South Wales rejected--circular letter to the colonies--convicts sent
to the Cape rejected--rejected at Port Phillip--effect of the treatment
of Van Diemen's Land on other colonies--prospects of 1848.
SECTION IV. p. 289.
Lord J. Russell's speech--conduct of ministers--great number of
petitions--Sir W. Denison's views--resolution of colonists--rapid
changes of systems--the intentions of Earl Grey--evils of ticket
system--resolution of the Legislative Councils--views of different
parties--state of the colony--Earl Grey accused of breach of faith--Earl
Grey's speech--declares his determination to proceed--the effect of his
speech on Van Diemen's Land--Leagues formed--_Neptune_ arrived--protest--
petitions of all classes--convict party form an association--it is
dissolved--weakness of the colony--feelings of other colonies towards
Van Diemen's Land.
SECTION V. p. 298.
The "Australias are One"--address to the colonies--Earl Grey renews his
application to New South Wales--decision of the people--response of the
colonies--meeting of abolitionists at Hobart--declare against
transportation to any of the colonies--a conference appointed--delegates
meet in Victoria--the Australian League formed--large subscriptions--fire
in Port Phillip--meeting of delegates in New South Wales--proceedings
of conference--the elections--the discovery of gold--effects on
employers--League assailed by the convict party--delegates visit
Adelaide--League adopted at New Zealand--people return opponents of
transportation--conduct of emancipists--not one supporter of
transportation returned--resolutions of the Legislative Councils of
New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Van Diemen's Land.
* * * * *
ZOOLOGY.
SECTION I. p. 321. Mammalia.--SECTION II. p. 328. Birds.--SECTION III.
p. 332. Fishes.--SECTION IV. p. 333. Reptiles.--SECTION V. p. 335.
Insects.--SECTION VI. p. 335.--Mollusca.
HISTORY OF TASMANIA.
* * * * *
DISCOVERY, &c.
DISCOVERY, &c.
SECTION I.
Nearly fifty years have elapsed, since Van Diemen's Land was numbered
with the colonies of the British empire. A generation has risen up and
is passing away. Thousands, while they venerate the land of their
European ancestors, with an amiable fondness love Tasmania as their
native country. They will, hereafter, guide its affairs, extend its
commerce, and defend its soil; and, not inferior in virtue and
intelligence, they will fill an important position in the vast system of
Australasia.
To gratify their curiosity, and offer to their view the instructive and
inspiriting events of the past, is the purpose of this history.
The difficulty of the task can be appreciated only by experience. To
collect from scattered records, facts worthy of remembrance; to separate
reality from romance; to remove partial coloring from statements made
long ago; and to exhibit useful truth without disguise and without
offence, required much research and deliberation.
It is not the intention of this history to relate every event which,
when passing, may have been deemed momentous; much less to recal from
obscurity the errors, absurdity, and wickedness which exercised no
distinct influence on the common welfare. The author has endeavoured to
realize the feelings and sympathies of the benevolent and just of
another age, and to confine his pen to details which may maintain their
interest, when the passions with which they were associated shall
subside for ever.
In calling this work THE HISTORY OF TASMANIA, a designation is chosen
generally preferred by the colonists, and which their successors will
certainly adopt. "Van Diemen" is a name affixed to the north coast of
New Holland; and this country is the first known discovery of Tasman.
The name of Tasman is recognised by the royal patent constituting the
diocese; by several literary societies and periodical works: it forms
the term by which we distinguish our Tasmanian from our European youth.
Tasmania is preferred, because "Van Diemen's Land" is associated among
all nations with the idea of bondage and guilt; and, finally, because
while Tasmania is a melodious and simple sound, "Van Diemen" is harsh,
complex, and infernal.
* * * * *
During the reign of Charles I. (Frederick Henry, grandfather of William
III. being Stadtholder of Holland) the Dutch discovered this island. The
enterprise of that people had raised them to the zenith of their power:
unless by England, they were unrivalled in nautical science and
commercial opulence. More for the purposes of trade than the acquisition
of knowledge, they were anxious to discover unknown countries, and to
conceal the information they possessed from the rest of the world.
At this time, Anthony Van Diemen was governor-general of Batavia: by
him, Abel Jans Tasman was commissioned to explore the "Great South
Land," the name by which New Holland was known until 1665, when, by the
authority of the Netherland government, it received its present
designation. A fragment of the journal of Tasman, containing an account
of his discovery, was first published by Dirk Rembrant, and afterwards
translated into most European tongues. In this abstract nautical details
respecting Van Diemen's Land were omitted, but were described in the
journal itself, and by thirty-eight charts, views, and figures. These
were purchased by Sir Joseph Banks, on his return from his voyage to
these seas. Tasman's journal was translated by a Netherland clergyman:
he considered the age of the manuscript confirmed by the spelling: that
it was genuine he had no doubt, although he questioned whether written
by Tasman, or transcribed at his command. Sir Joseph Banks acquired at
the same time a copy of instructions to Tasman, given by the Governor of
Batavia in 1644, for a second expedition, and which recapitulated the
various voyages of his predecessors. These, however, have no connection
with Van Diemen's Land.
To adorn the new stadthouse of Amsterdam, erected in 1665, three
hemispheres were wrought in stone, of twenty-two feet in diameter: the
circles were inlaid with brass, and were executed by a celebrated
artist. The southern hemisphere exhibited the discoveries of Tasman and
his predecessors: they formed the pavement of the hall, until
obliterated by the tread of several generations. They were quite
forgotten when Sir Joseph Banks sought information from the inhabitants.
A copy of these works of art was preserved, and displayed the extent to
which New Holland and Van Diemen's Land were known.
The journal of Tasman has been greatly admired: it is clear, laconic,
and devout.[1] It opens with an invocation: "May God Almighty be pleased
to give his blessing to this voyage. Amen." The document is, indeed,
full of pious sentiments: when a long desired breeze liberated the
vessel from port, or refreshment was obtained, or safe anchorage found,
he dots down a thanksgiving. He reckoned his longitude from the Peak of
Teneriffe: the hours he called glasses; his miles were German, fifteen
to a degree.
On the 14th of August, 1642, Tasman embarked at Batavia, on board the
_Heemskirk_, the fly-boat _Zeehaan_, Jerit Zanzoon, master, in company.
They set sail for the Mauritius, and arrived on the 5th of September.
That island, then commanded by Van Steelan, was but little cultivated,
and gave slight promise of its present importance.[2] On the 4th
October, they were ready to depart, but were delayed by contrary winds
until the 8th, when on a change in their favor they stood eastward to
sea. On the 27th, a council being called, it was resolved that a man
should constantly look out at the topmast head; and to encourage
vigilance it was determined, that the first discoverer of land should
receive three reals and a pot of arrack. On the 4th November they saw
patches of duckweed and a seal, and inferred their vicinity to land. The
first pilot, Francis Jacobzs, on the 7th, supported by the advice of the
steersman, thus delivered his opinion:--"We should keep to the 44°
south latitude, until we have passed 150° longitude; then make for
latitude 40° south, and keeping in that parallel to run eastward to 220°
longitude, and then steering northward search with the trade wind from
east to west for the Solomon Islands. We imagine, if we meet with no
main land till we come to 150° longitude, we must then meet with
islands." On the 17th, they were in latitude 44° 15' and longitude 147°
3': they concluded that they had already passed the south land then
known. On the 22nd they found their compass was not still within eight
points, which they attributed to the influence of loadstone, and which
kept the needle in continual motion. On the 24th, at noon, they found
their latitude 42° 25' south, longitude 163° 31': in the afternoon, at 4
o'clock, they observed land, Point Hibbs, bearing east by north. The
land was high, and towards evening they saw lofty mountains to the east
south-east, and to the north-east two smaller mountains: here their
compass stood right. They resolved to run off five hours to sea, and
then to run back towards the land. On the 25th, the morning was calm,
and at 5 o'clock they were within three miles of the shore, and had
soundings at sixty fathoms. They approached a level coast, and reckoned
their latitude 42° 30', and middle longitude 163° 50'. On this day they
named their discovery: "we called it Anthony Van Diemen's Land, in honor
of our high magistrate and governor-general, and the islands near
(Boreels) we named in honor of the council of India, as you may see by
the little map we made." Next day they lost sight of land. They fixed
the longitude 163° 50', and gave orders to the master of the _Zeehaan_
to adopt that reckoning. On the 28th land reappeared, and in the evening
they came near three small islands, one of which they thought like the
head of a lion (Mewstone, of Furneaux). On the following morning they
passed two cliffs, one (the Swilly, of Furneaux) like the Pedra Branca,
near the coast of China; the other, the eastern cliff, resembling a high
misshapen tower (the Eddystone, of Cook). Between the cliff and the main
land they passed, until they came almost to Storm Bay, where they found
it impossible to anchor, and were driven by the wind to sea--so far,
that land could scarcely be sighted in the morning. In the afternoon of
the 1st December, they anchored in a good port (marked Frederick Hendrik
Bay in the chart), with twenty-two fathoms water, and bottom of fine
light grey sand.
On the following morning the boats were despatched to the shore: on
their return, the steersman informed them that they had heard the sound
of voices, and of a little gong; but saw no one. They remarked two
trees, sixty feet from the ground to the branches, and two and a-half in
circumference: the bark taken off with flint stones, and steps cut to
climb for birds' nests, full five feet from each other, and indicative
of a very tall people. They saw marks, such as are left by the claws of
a tiger, and brought on board the excrements of some quadruped; gum lac,
which dropped from trees, and greens "which might be used in place of
wormwood." They saw people at the east corner of the bay:[3] they found
no fish, except mussels: many trees were burned hollow near the ground;
they were widely separated, and admitted an extensive view.
On the 3rd, they went to a little bay, south-west from their ships, in
search of water: the surf prevented their landing, but the carpenter
swam on shore; and near four remarkable trees, standing in the form of a
crescent, he erected a post, on which a compass was carved, and left the
Prince's flag flying upon it.[4] "When the said carpenter had done this
in the sight of me, Abel Jans Tasman, of the master Jerit Zanzoon, and
under merchant Abraham Coomans, we went in the shallop as near as
possible, and the said carpenter swam back through the surf. We then
returned on board, and left this memorial to the posterity of the
inhabitants. They did not show themselves, and we suspected some to be
not far from thence, and watching carefully our doings." The last object
they noticed was a large round mountain (St. Patrick's Head), on the
eastern coast, of which they lost sight on the 5th December.
From Van Diemen's Land they proceeded to New Zealand, where by an
encounter with the natives several lives were lost: thence they passed
Tongataboo, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam, and arrived at Batavia on the 15th
June, 1643. Tasman closes his journal with his usual devotion: "God be
praised for this happy voyage. Amen."
That Maria Island was named after the daughter of Van Diemen, and that
Tasman went over the ocean writing down her name in the imperishable
records of his discoveries, is a pleasing tale; but the evidence on
which it rests is far from conclusive. Thus at Amsterdam he called the
anchorage Van Diemen's Road, and where the boats went for water Maria's
Bay, "in honor of our governor-general and his lady." That a daughter of
the same name existed is not improbable, but who can tell whether the
Maria Island of Tasmania's coast was named in complaisance to the
daughter, or to conciliate the mother! In hope to confirm the agreeable
fiction the journal of Tasman has been examined, but in vain.
The spirit of discovery revived in Europe after a long slumber; and a
succession of illustrious navigators, in their passage to regions deemed
more important, touched at Van Diemen's Land, and thus rapidly developed
its geography. After Tasman, the next visitor was Captain Marion, of the
_Mascarin and Castries_, who in 1772 arrived from the Mauritius, in
search of the "southern continent," then the grand object of nautical
inquiry, and anchored in Frederick Hendrik Bay, the 4th March. The visit
is chiefly memorable for a fatal collision with the natives, who,
according to the French, exhibited uncommon ferocity. On his stepping on
shore they offered Captain Marion a fire stick, which he supposed a
ceremony of friendship; but when he lighted a heap of wood, as he
imagined in compliance with their custom, they retired to a hill, and
threw a shower of stones. The French fired their muskets, and the
natives fled: their pursuers found in the wood a dying savage--the first
victim of European intrusion. Marion and some others were injured
slightly by the missiles of the natives, and a black servant was wounded
by a spear.
The remarks they made are of no great value: they entered the country,
and saw everywhere the effects of fire, which they supposed was intended
to drive wild animals from the coast. They could not discover a tree
suitable for a mast, and were unsuccessful in obtaining water. A small
map, which sketched the form of the coast with considerable exactness,
accompanied the account of this voyage, and tended to awaken the French
to the importance of these seas.
The next visit was accidental, but most important: Captain Cook, in
1772, left Great Britain to explore the icy region near the Pole. There
the vessels separated in a fog: they were unable to rejoin, and while
Cook proceeded to New Zealand in the _Resolution_, Captain Tobias
Furneaux, his second in command, touched at Van Diemen's Land in the
_Adventure_. He made the south-west cape on the 9th of March, 1773,
exactly one year after Marion left the island. After passing the
Mewstone, a boat's crew sent on shore reported favorably of the country,
and that they had seen beautiful cascades pouring from rocks two hundred
feet high. Finding no anchorage, Furneaux passed the black rocks (the
Boreels of Tasman), which he called the Friars, and discovered Adventure
Bay, which is separated from Storm Bay by Cape Frederick Henry. There
they found anchorage in seven fathoms, within half a mile of either
shore, and obtained wood and water in abundance. The numerous islets and
tortuous navigation of the coasts led Furneaux into several errors. To
discuss them would tire the patience of nine readers in ten, and afford
no pleasure to the tenth.
The _Adventure_ sailed along the eastern coast to the latitude of 40°
50', where Furneaux observed the land turned towards the westward. He,
however, narrowly missed the discovery of the straits, and turned off
for New Zealand, convinced "that there was no strait between New Holland
and Van Diemen's Land, but a very deep bay." The impression he adopted,
he conveyed to Captain Cook, who had intended to visit Van Diemen's Land
for the solution of this geographical problem, which now he considered
determined.[5]
On his third and final voyage to the Pacific, Captain Cook touched at
Van Diemen's Land in the _Resolution_, then accompanied by Captain
Clerke. He sighted the island bearing north-west half-west, distant
three leagues from Mewstone. A neighbouring rock, unnoticed by Furneaux,
he called the Eddystone, from its resemblance to an English lighthouse
of that name. Detained by calms, he did not reach Adventure Bay until
the 26th, where at 4 P.M. he dropped anchor in twelve fathoms, within a
mile of the shore. The officers were delighted with the country, and
particularly with its gigantic forests. Mr. Anderson, the surgeon, spent
his leisure wandering on the beach of Adventure Bay; angling in a lake,
or ascending the neighbouring hills.[6] Captain Cook left swine on the
shore, which were driven into the bush when the natives were not
present; in the hope they might escape them, and thus add to the
resources of the country. He departed on the 30th for New Zealand. The
account left by Cook is chiefly interesting for its description of the
natives, and will be noticed in the history of that unfortunate people.
On the 3rd July, 1789, the brig _Mercury_, John Henry Cox, master,
entered a deep bay on the south side of Van Diemen's Land, and was about
ten miles from the Mewstone: attempting Adventure Bay, he was carried to
the eastward, and afterwards accidentally discovered Oyster Bay.
Captain Wm. Bligh, subsequently governor of New South Wales, touched at
Van Diemen's Land in 1788, when on his voyage to Tahiti, whence he was
instructed to convey the bread fruit tree to the West India Islands. His
object was frustrated by the mutiny of his crew; and after a passage in
an open boat, attended with extraordinary perils, he reached Great
Britain. The _Providence_ and _Assistant_ were placed under his command:
he was sent on the same errand, in which he was successful, and
re-appeared in Adventure Bay in 1792. During his stay he planted several
fruit trees, acorns, and vegetables.
An inscription found by the French crew on a tree, signified that near
by, "Captain William Bligh planted seven fruit trees: Messrs. T. and W.,
botanists." They consisted of one fig, two pomegranates, and four
quinces. An apple tree was found by Labillardière on the coast. They
doubtless all perished. The Frenchman was greatly scandalised by the
despotism which condemned men of science to initials, and gave a sea
captain a monopoly of fame.
This celebrated naturalist was attached to the expedition of
Rear-Admiral Bruné D'Entrecasteaux, sent out by the government of France
to ascertain the fate of La Perouse, whose amiable reputation
conciliated the good-will of all parties. Although concluded that the
vessel he commanded must be lost, it was fondly hoped that he still
survived. The national assembly paused in the midst of its conflict with
the king, to request that vessels might be dispatched, and rewards
offered, for his relief. In his decree, Louis XVI. describes the
expedition as intended, beyond its primary design, to perfect the
description of the globe. On the day the first colonists of New South
Wales entered Port Jackson, the expedition of La Perouse was seen by the
astonished English approaching the coast. After an interchange of those
civilities which dignify the intercourse of polished nations, he left
New Holland.
In a letter, dated September, 1787, Perouse stated his intention "to
employ six months in visiting the Friendly Islands to procure
refreshments; the south-west coast of Mendana, the land of the
Arsacides, with that of Louisiade, as far as New Guinea."[7]
Many years after, relics were recovered, which demonstrated the vicinity
of his misfortunes. A lascar informed Captain Peter Dillon, of the East
India Company's service, that two Frenchmen survived at Manicola; he
therefore visited the island, where he found several relics of the lost
admiral, although the Frenchmen were dead; among the rest his sword
guard, marked with his cypher.[8] Dillon was honored by the French
government with the title of Chevalier, and received a pension.
In 1792, D'Entrecasteaux in the _Recherche_, and Captain Huon Kermandee
in the _Esperance_, reached Van Diemen's Land. On the 20th April, when
looking for Adventure Bay, they discovered the channel which bears the
name of D'Entrecasteaux. They remained a month, when they departed on
their search, and returned on the 20th January, 1793, to complete their
observations. They found that the channel extended to the Storm Bay of
Tasman: they entered and named the Huon, and the Rivère du Nord, now the
Derwent, and examined the different harbours. Their charts are said to
exhibit the finest specimen of marine surveying ever made in a new
country.[9] Of D'Entrecasteaux's Channel, then deemed the most important
discovery since the time of Tasman, Rossel, who recorded the events of
the voyage, writes with rapture:--"A harbour, twenty-four miles in
length, and equally safe in every part. Such a retreat, in a gulph which
bears the menacing name of Storm Bay, is a luxury that, to be able to
express, must be felt."
Captain John Hayes, of the Bombay marine, with the private ships _Duke_
and _Duchess_, examined Storm Bay and D'Entrecasteaux's Channel, in
1794. He passed up the Rivère du Nord much farther than the French,
which he called the Derwent; and in his passage affixed names to various
places, which have effaced those given by the original French
discoverers--whose survey, however, to the extent of their navigation,
was more correct than his own.
The form of Van Diemen's Land had long been a nautical problem. Captain
Hunter, observing the swell of the ocean, deemed the existence of a
strait highly probable. Mr. George Bass, surgeon of the royal navy, a
gentleman to whom his generous friend Flinders refers with great
admiration, resolved to test the conjecture. He had already given proof
of intrepidity: in company with Flinders and a boy, he embarked in a
boat, eight feet long, called _Tom Thumb_. After escaping great dangers,
they returned to Port Jackson with valuable information respecting the
coast.
In 1798, Bass obtained from Governor Hunter a six-oared whale boat, six
men, and six weeks provisions: with this outfit he proceeded along the
eastern coast of New Holland, occasionally landing and obtaining
supplies, which enabled him to prolong his absence to eleven weeks. He
continued his course until the agitation of the water convinced him that
the open sea was not far distant: he discovered Western Port, and a
country of great attraction. He explored six hundred miles of coast,
one-half of which was hitherto unknown; an enterprise beyond example in
nautical adventure, and entitling him to that renown which belongs to
his name.
To test this discovery, the governor authorised Lieutenant Flinders and
Mr. Bass to sail through the strait in the _Norfolk_, a colonial sloop,
of 25 tons. Twelve weeks only were allowed for the voyage, which
compelled the navigators to content themselves with a cursory survey.
In October, 1798, they left Port Jackson: after spending some time
among the islands which crowd the straits, they sighted Cape Portland, a
name given it in honor of the Duke of Portland, then secretary for the
colonies; thence they passed Port Waterhouse, so called after the
captain of the _Reliance_. The first important discovery was Port
Dalrymple, called after the hydrographer of the admiralty, Alexander
Dalrymple.[10] Green Isle, Western Arm, Middle Island, Whirlpool Reach,
Swan Point, and Crescent Shore, preserve memorials of the visit in their
designations.
They reported Port Dalrymple an excellent place for refreshments: black
swans, whose quills covered the beach in countless thousands; kangaroos,
of the forest kind; flocks of ducks and teal, and mussels and oysters,
were found in abundance.
Proceeding along the coast, they came to a headland, which they called
Circular Head, from its resemblance to a Christmas cake. They now
approached the solution of the question which had dictated their voyage.
They remarked a long swell from the south-west breaking on the western
shore: they hailed it with joy and mutual gratulation, and passed in
safety the clustering islets in their course: the extreme north-west
they called Cape Grim. Proceeding round the western coast, they observed
the mountains noticed by Tasman when he visited the island, which in
memory of his vessels they called Mount Heemskirk and Mount Zeehaan.
They named Point Hibbs after the master of the _Norfolk_. The
discoveries of Flinders here may be said to terminate, until he
proceeded up the Derwent.
The utility of the strait was highly rated. It secured perpetual renown
to Bass, whose name it bears: this was given by Governor Hunter at the
recommendation of Flinders, whose candour is always conspicuous in
awarding the palm of discovery to those to whom it is due! Not only does
the strait curtail a voyage from the Cape by four degrees, but vessels
avoid the winds which obstruct navigation round the South Cape and Cape
Pillar of Van Diemen's Land, which prolong the passage several days; a
point of great importance in the conveyance of passengers.
The _Norfolk_ steered into the Derwent by the chart of Hayes. Both
Flinders and Bass observe, with indignation, how creeks are magnified
into rivers, coves into bays, and a few acres into plains: as Risdon
River, Prince of Wales's Bay, and King George's Plains. They corrected
his definitions, but left him the honors of discovery. Flinders
proceeded to Herdsman's Cove, which he so distinguished for its
extensive pasture and plentiful waters.
Bass depicts the Derwent as a dull and lifeless stream, respectable only
because the Tasmanian rivers are insignificant![11] To a bay they
entered on the western side of Tasman's Peninsula, they gave the name of
their vessel, which was built at Norfolk Island, of the pine peculiar to
that place.
Flinders continued, after the departure of Bass, to prosecute researches
on the coast of New Holland, until the _Reliance_ returned home. In that
vessel his charts were conveyed, and were published. On a plan being
offered by Sir Joseph Banks for completing the survey, the
_Investigator_ was placed under the command of Flinders, who was
promoted to the rank of commander, furnished with a chosen crew, and
attended by Westall, a painter, and Brown, a naturalist whose collection
added largely to his department of science. Flinders received a passport
from the French government, expressed with the usual amplitude. It
inhibited all vessels of war from molesting the _Investigator_, and gave
right of entry to all ports subject to France, for refitting or
refreshment, on condition that nothing were done hostile to that power.
This protection was demanded by Lord Hawksbury, of M. Otto, the
celebrated representative of the Republic in England. Flinders had
proposed to visit Van Diemen's Land, but had been partly anticipated by
the _Lady Nelson_, sent from England to be employed as tender to the
_Investigator_, and fitted with a keel suited to shallow waters. Brown,
the naturalist, remained some time after the expedition was interrupted.
He wandered on the banks of the Derwent and Tamar, collecting shrubs and
flowers during a stay of several months; and although some specimens of
plants were lost in the _Porpoise_, not one out of 3,900 species was
wanting.[12]
In June, 1803, Flinders passed the north coast of Van Diemen's Land:
eighteen men were lying in their hammocks almost hopeless of recovery,
some of whom died before the vessel entered Port Jackson, and several
afterwards. A survey was instantly held, and the _Investigator_ was
condemned: the hull was found rotten, both plank and timbers, and it
was declared that reparation was impossible. On inspecting her
condition, Flinders expressed great astonishment, and remarked that a
hard gale must have sent her to the bottom.[13]
The volumes of Captain Flinders, though of vast scientific worth, are
not greatly interesting to the general reader, except when he tells of
his trials, which were many. His work was patronised by the admiralty,
and he had the prospect of reward; but on the day of publication, fame
ceased to be valuable to him,[14]--he cast that anchor which is never
weighed.
A long imprisonment in the Isle of France, and the mental anxiety
inseparable from a strong sense of injustice, it is said, destroyed him.
His case may be told in few words: the _Investigator_ was condemned as
unfit for service, and Flinders embarked at Port Jackson on board the
_Porpoise_, in company with the _Cato_ and the _Bridgewater_. When
passing through Torres Straits, at between eight and nine knots, they
saw breakers a-head. Before signals could be made, the other vessels
were seen hastening to the same destruction. They hauled to the wind
across each other; a collision seemed inevitable: a death-like silence
prevailed during the awful crisis; but happily they passed off side by
side. Instantly, however, the _Cato_ struck on the reef, and was totally
lost. All hands were preserved, except three boys; of these, one spent
the night on a spar, bewailing his unhappy lot: four times he had
embarked in different vessels, and each time had been wrecked; this was
the last, for before morning he disappeared. The _Bridgewater_ was yet
safe: she was seen at dawn; but while awaiting her help, the captain,
with a selfishness happily not common--without even sending a boat to
pick up a cast-away--proceeded on his voyage.[15] He reached India in
safety; sailed for Europe, and was never heard of more: the people he
had abandoned were all rescued.
This was effected by Flinders. A cutter was built and provisioned from
the stores saved on the reef: in this, which he called the _Hope_, he
set out for Port Jackson, 750 miles distant. There he obtained the
assistance of two vessels, beside the _Cumberland_, a colonial schooner
of 29 tons. The inhabitants, unsolicited, sent many presents to the
sufferers, who soon hailed the arrival of Flinders with rapturous
cheers.
Having performed this duty, he proceeded towards England in the
_Cumberland_, with seven men and three officers; but finding that she
was unable to bear the voyage, he resolved to confide in the honor of
the French, and present his passport at the Mauritius. There he was
detained a prisoner six years; first charged with imposture, then
treated as a spy; and when these imputations were refuted, he was
accused of violating his passport. The French had found in his journal a
wish dotted down to examine the state of that settlement, written when a
stranger to the renewal of war. Some doubt seems to have been really
entertained, for the moment, respecting him; but his long detention
after his release was promised, was ascribed to the ambition of
Napoleon, and the dishonesty of the French Institute, who from Flinders'
papers were appropriating to Baudin the honor of discoveries he never
himself claimed.
Before the _Investigator_ left England, the _Geographe_ and
_Naturaliste_, under Captains Baudin and Hamelin, visited this island.
During a pause in the hostilities of Europe, the French government
obtained from Mr. Addington, then premier, a safe conduct for this
expedition. The terms granted entitled them to freedom from search; to
supplies in any English colony, notwithstanding the contingency of war:
it being well said by the French, that the promoters of scientific
knowledge were the common benefactors of mankind. While Flinders was
prosecuting his voyage he met Baudin on the coast of New Holland, at a
place thence called Encounter Bay. The interview was civil, rather than
cordial; both nations were competitors in science, and rivals are rarely
kind. Yet the suffering of the French may be mentioned with pity: of
twenty-three scientific men who accompanied the expedition, three only
survived. The vessels were ill-provisioned, the water corrupt, and they
encountered fearful tempests, in attempting to circumnavigate this
island.
Captain Baudin had been directed by his government to examine the
eastern coast of Van Diemen's Land, the discoveries of D'Entrecasteaux,
and the channels and rivers of the coast. The surgeon of the
_Geographe_, Monge, fell by an attack of the natives, and was buried on
the spot which bears his name.[16] The French surveyed the eastern
coast, and finally determined the position of the Frederick Henry Bay of
Tasman. They examined the intricacies which had escaped the observation
of earlier navigators, who erroneously numbered the islands on their
charts, and thus overlooked the bays. They coasted between the main and
the Schoutens, and gave the name of Fleurieu to the Oyster Bay of Cox.
They then passed through a strait heretofore unnoticed, which divides
the Schoutens and Freycinet's Peninsula. Their survey was minute, and
sometimes three boats were employed in different directions. The French
vessels parted company, and the _Naturaliste_, after a long search for
her consort, proceeded to New South Wales.
Baudin, of the _Geographe_, was far more unfortunate. Having touched at
his land of Napoleon, instead of returning through Bass's Strait to Port
Jackson, he resolved to pass the south cape of Van Diemen's Land.
Throughout the passage he experienced the most fearful storms: the
darkness at night often prevented the execution of naval manoeuvres, and
the vessel was drenched with water. The condition of the crew was
terrible; "cries of agony made the air ring:" four only, including the
officers of the watch, were able to keep the decks. After beating about
Port Jackson for several days, a boat appeared which had been dispatched
by the governor, who saw the French were unable to manage the vessel. By
a change of diet, they speedily recovered.
When at Port Jackson, Flinders showed his discoveries to the French, who
admitted the justice of his prior claim, but with little sincerity.
M. Baudin died: Captain Hamilin, of the _Naturaliste_, returned to the
Mauritius. He eulogised the conduct of the colonists to
extravagance;[17] but it is mortifying to find, that soon after, having
captured a small English settlement, he burned the property he could not
carry off; and invited upon deck the ladies, his prisoners, to witness
the devastations of their late peaceful dwellings.
The misfortunes of the distinguished navigators, whose success has been
recorded, fully equalled their fame. The fate of Cook belongs to a story
which mingles with our early remembrance. A child need scarcely be told,
that after a career eminently glorious to his country and profession,
while attempting to restrain his men who were firing to protect him, he
fell by the dagger of a savage.
His colleague, Captain Clerke, who attended him through all his
expeditions, did not long survive him. Resolved to complete his
instructions, he remained in the neighbourhood of Kamschatka, which
hastened the crisis of a consumption. He was buried beneath a tree at
the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul, and an inscription pointed to his
grave.[18] This was found by M. Perouse defaced, who restored it. On his
arrival at Botany Bay, he interred the naturalist of his expedition: the
memorial he set up was destroyed by the natives, and Governor Phillip
repaid, by the substitution of another, the honor done to his own
countryman.[19]
De L'Angle, the companion of Perouse, with eleven officers and men, lost
their lives by a misunderstanding at the Navigators' Isles: the manner
of his own death may be inferred from the native tradition.[20]
The end of D'Entrecasteaux and Huon, was hardly less melancholy: both
commanders were buried by their crews; the admiral at Louisiade, and
Huon at New Caledonia. The vessels were detained by the Dutch at Java,
and many of the seamen died in captivity. There the calamities of their
country became known to them: some sided with the royalists, others with
the jacobins, but few regained their native land; among these, however,
was Labillardière.[21]
The fate of Captain Flinders is already told; that of Dr. Bass is
involved in obscurity. A rumour that he was alive in 1812, in South
America, was circulated in London.[22] In the colonies it was reported,
that the vessel in his charge foundered at sea; others alleged that he
attempted a contraband trade in the Spanish colonies, was taken
prisoner, and with his companions sent to the quicksilver mines, and
there died.[23]
The whale-boat of Bass, which first swept the waters of the strait, was
long preserved at Port Jackson. Of its keel snuff boxes were wrought,
and regarded as valuable relics. A fragment, mounted with silver,
engraven with the particulars of the passage, was presented to M.
Baudin, as a memorial of the man whose example had stimulated colonial
discovery.
Flinders[24] predicted that the name of Bass would be conspicuous among
the benefactors of mankind: the glory of his own will enlarge with the
value of his discoveries. They resulted not from accident, which may
give reputation to success without merit, but were the reward of prudent
enthusiasm. A small community cannot, indeed, rear a monument worthy the
destinies of their names: private memorials may be perishable, like the
sympathies which inscribed them, but a future and opulent era will
display the moral grandeur of their enterprise, and posterity will pay
public honors to their fame.
At the cost of £250, Sir John Franklin erected an obelisk on the rock of
Stamford Hill, Port Lincoln, with the following inscription:--
This place,
from which the gulf and its shores
were first surveyed,
on the 26th of Feb., 1802, by
MATTHEW FLINDERS, R. N..
commander of H.M.S. _Investigator_,
and the discoverer of the country now called South Australia,
was
on 12th Jan., 1841,
with the sanction of Lieut.-Colonel GAWLER, K.H.,
then Governor of the Colony, then set apart for,
and in the first year of the
Government of Captain G. GREY,
adorned with this monument,
to the perpetual memory of the illustrious navigator,
his honoured commander,
by JOHN FRANKLIN, Captain R.N., K.C.H., K.R., Lt.-Governor of
Van Diemen's Land.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: The following is its title:--_Journal of Discovery, by me,
Abel Jans Tasman, of a Voyage from Batavia for making discoveries of the
unknown South Land_, 1642.--_Burney's Chronological History_, 1813.]
[Footnote 2: Discovered in the year 1505, by Don Pedro Mascarequas, a
Spanish navigator: he gave it the name of "Cerné." It was uninhabited,
and destitute of every species of quadruped. In 1598 it was visited by
the Dutch Admiral Van Neck, who finding it unoccupied gave it its
present name, in honor of Maurice, Prince of Holland. In 1601 a
Frenchman was found on the island by a Dutch captain. He had been left
by an English vessel, and had remained two years subsisting on turtle
and dates: his understanding was impaired by his long solitude. The
Dutch had a small fort, when it was visited by Tasman, which is
represented in the drawings that illustrated his journal. The Dutch
afterwards abandoned the island, and it has passed through many changes,
until it was conquered by Great Britain.--_Grant's History of the
Mauritius._]
[Footnote 3: Probably their fires: had they seen them, they could not
have fallen into error respecting their height.]
[Footnote 4: "The same romantic little rock, with its fringe of grey
ironstone shingle, still shelters itself under the castellated cliffs of
trap rock, on its northern and southern horns; embosomed in its
innermost recesses by a noble forest, whose green shades encroach upon
the verge of the ocean. It is less than half-a-mile across, and nearer
its northern than its southern extremity, the sea has cast up a key of
large grey rounded ironstone, which interrupts the equal curve of the
beach, and doubtless marks the spot where the ship's carpenter swam
ashore."--_Gell's Remarks on the First Discovery: Tasmanian Journal_,
vol. ii. p. 327.]
[Footnote 5: _Cook's Voyages._]
[Footnote 6: A folio edition of _Cook's Voyages_, published in the last
century, at the "King's Arms," Paternoster-row, London, contains the
following sentence, which, as perhaps the first example of invention in
reference to the country, may deserve remembrance:--"Stately groves,
rivers, and lawns, of vast extent." "Thickets full of birds of the most
beautiful plumage, of _various notes, whose melody was truly
enchanting_. It was _now_ the time (29th January!) when nature poured
forth her luxuriant exuberance, to clothe this country with rich
variety."--Vol. ii. p. 425.]
[Footnote 7: _Voyage of Perouse_ (translation). London, 1799.
Letters buried in a bottle, beneath a tree in Adventure Bay, were found
by Captain Bunker, of the _Venus_, in 1809, to which he was directed by
the words, still legible, "dig underneath;" and supposed, from his
imperfect knowledge of the language, that they were left by Perouse. In
this he was mistaken: they were deposited by D'Entrecasteaux, at his
second visit. _Bent's Almanack_, 1828, adopted Bunker's mistake: it was
copied by Mr. Widowson, who adds--"these letters were dated one month
after his departure from Port Jackson, and led to the opinion that the
expedition must have perished on some reef of Van Diemen's Land. In
consequence of this idea, the French government in 1791," &c. The first
mistake can be allowed for; but not that a discovery of letters in 1809,
prompted an expedition in 1791.]
[Footnote 8: _Hobart Town Gazette_, 1827.]
[Footnote 9: _Flinders' Introduction, &c._]
[Footnote 10:
Position of Low Head:--Lat. 41° 3' 30" S.
Long. 146° 48' 15" E.--_Flinders._]
[Footnote 11: _Collins_, vol. ii. p. 183.]
[Footnote 12: _Remarks by Robert Brown, F.R.S. Appendix to Flinders_,
vol. ii. p. 533.]
[Footnote 13: _Flinders_, vol. ii. p. 275. Jorgenson, the Dane, who was
a seaman on board the _Lady Nelson_, tender to the _Investigator_,
stated, in his rattling way, that she was in good condition, and
absurdly insinuated foul play. The _Investigator_ was cut down, and
returned to Europe in charge of Captain Kent, R.N.]
[Footnote 14: _Quarterly Review_, 1814.]
[Footnote 15: See _Flinders_, vol. i. p. 305.]
[Footnote 16: This statement, after Rev. Mr. Gell, is erroneous. Mougé
died from diseases occasioned by the climate of Timor, and the hardships
of the voyage (See Peron's work). He arrived in an exhausted and
consumptive state: when he attempted to land (20th January, 1802), he
fainted, and was instantly conveyed on board. He went no more on shore,
but to the grave. He was buried at the foot of a tree, at Maria Island,
and the name Point Mougé was given to the spot.
On the 17th January, the French were attacked by natives at Swan Port,
and Mougé was probably of the party. A native attempted to snatch the
drawings; "then to strike down our weak friend, when he was prevented by
those who ran to his assistance." The French say, they loaded them with
favors, and did not avenge this violence. It is, no doubt, this account
which Mr. Gell confused with the death of Mougé.]
[Footnote 17: "The famous northern confederacy placed England on the
verge of destruction, and Captain Hamilin had reason to fear that he
should not have been allowed to remain in port, or at least should be
refused succour; but the English received him with liberality, _grande
et loyale_: the first houses at Port Jackson were open, and the whole
resources of the colony were at the disposal of the French captain."
"Oftentime did they repeat that excellent maxim, that France first
inscribed on the code of nations: _causa scientiarum causa
populorum_"--the cause of science is the people's cause. So writes M.
Peron; but the benefit of these sentiments was denied Captain Flinders.]
[Footnote 18: _Cook's Voyages._]
[Footnote 19: _Tench's Narrative_, p. 99.]
[Footnote 20: "The _Astrolabe_, M. de la Perouse, and the _Boussole_, M.
de L'Angle, were lost on the S. W. side of Manicolo. On one stormy
dismal night, the oldest natives state, the vessels were blown upon a
reef. One was a complete wreck by day-light, and all hands perished!
From the other, however, some of the crew managed to effect a landing,
when many of them were massacred as they gained the shore, the natives
taking them for white spirits, with long noses (their cocked hats being
considered a part of the face!). As soon as the unfortunate mariners
were proved to be human beings, those that had escaped death from the
waves and the savages were allowed to remain unmolested. A small vessel
was built from the wrecks, which spot Captain Dillon saw; and as soon as
the bark was ready, the survivors, with the exception of two, left
Manicolo, and have never been heard of since! The natives further
represented, whilst on the island, that the strangers were continually
looking at the sun, and taking their usual observations. So late as six
years ago, the two Frenchmen were alive; but one joined a party of the
natives in a war, who were defeated: the other died at Manicolo about
three years since. Captain Dillon has secured several nautical
instruments, many silver spoons, a silver salver, which are all marked
with the _fleur-de-lis_; a pair of gold buckles, some China ware, a
Spanish dollar, a piece of the ornamental work of the stern of a ship
(with the arms of France) much decayed; several brass sheaves belonging
to a frigate's topmast, a composition pump, copper cooking utensils, a
large quantity of iron knees; the silver handle of a sword-guard that
was taken to Calcutta in the _St. Patrick_, which led to this important
discovery, and which bears the ciphers of the unfortunate Count; several
large brass guns, which were found where one vessel was totally wrecked;
together with about four or five tons of other valuable and recognisable
articles. Most of the houses, or huts, were found to have bags suspended
to their sides, and those contained human sculls in a decaying
condition; but whether they were of European or aboriginal extraction,
in the absence of an able phrenologist, could not be ascertained."--_Sydney
Gazette, January, 1828._
The following curious relation, is of a dream of John Maatzuiker, whose
name is given by Tasman to a rock on the coast. On the 11th of Feb.,
1662, he dreamed, "that he saw Arnold de Vlaming, member of the council
of India and admiral of the fleet, who sailed for his native country on
the 23rd of December, 1661, in extreme danger, and heard him call
several times for help." The dream was repeated: "he then remained
awake, noted the day," &c., "sealed it, and gave it to the other members
of government." "Accounts were brought from the Cape, that the same day
his ship and some others had sunk with man and mouse." "The paper still
remains at Batavia, or did twenty years ago."--_Collection of remarkable
Dreams, by Dr. Wm. Greve._ Amsterdam, 1819. The story is taken from _Old
and New West Indies. By François Valentijn_. vol. iv. p. 312.]
[Footnote 21: Rossel, the editor of _D'Entrecasteaux's Voyage_, on
returning homeward was captured by the English, and being a royalist was
employed in the admiralty; but when emigrants were permitted to return,
he went home, and was patronised by Napoleon. His account of
D'Entrecasteaux is more favorable than that in the work of
Labillardière.]
[Footnote 22: _Penny Cyclopædia_: art. Bass.]
[Footnote 23: _Ross's Almanack_, 1835.]
SECTION II.
The settlement of New Holland was proposed by Colonel Purry, in 1723: he
contended that in 33° south, a fertile region would be found, favorable
to European colonisation. He offered his theory to the British
government, then to the Dutch, and afterwards to the French; but with
little encouragement. His views were submitted to the Academy of
Sciences at Paris, who replied that "they could not judge of countries
they had not seen."[25] Thus the project slept, until the great English
navigator in 1770 gave certainty to what had been conjecture.
To Dalrymple, the hydrographer, the impulse of this enterprising era is
largely due. He fully believed that a vast southern continent must
exist, to balance the antipodes. So firm was his conviction, that he
defined its extent as "greater than the whole civilised part of Asia,
from Turkey to the extremity of China. Its trade would be sufficient to
maintain the power of Great Britain, employing all its manufactories and
ships." The position of this region of fancy was traversed by Cook, who
found nothing but ocean. The doctrine of terrestial counterpoise was
disturbed; he, however, alighted on a great reality.
The description of New South Wales by Cook and his companions, which
charmed the public, attracted the attention of the crown; and Botany
Bay, named on account of the variety and beauty of its vegetation--long
known through Europe as a region of gibbets, triangles, and chains; to
be celebrated hereafter as the mistress of nations--was selected for a
settlement. 565 men and 192 women, the pioneers of a larger division,
were embarked under the charge of a military force composed of
volunteers; comprehending, besides the staff, sixteen commissioned
officers.
The fleet consisted of H.M.S. _Sirius_, _Hyena_, and _Supply_; six
transports and three victuallers: they assembled at the Motherbank on
the 16th March, and sailed on the 13th May, 1787.[26] They touched at
Teneriffe, and then at the Cape. Separated into two divisions, they
reached their destination within forty-eight hours of each other. On the
day of their junction, dense clouds threw a gloom over the sea; but they
rejected the omen, and believed that they had seen "the foundation, and
not the fall of an empire." Having found the bay unsuitable for
location, they proceeded to examine the port called after Jackson, a
seaman, who observed it from the mast, and immortalised his name. As
they passed the capes, which form an entrance, they were in raptures
with the scene:--the tall mouldering cliffs; the trees, which touched
the water's edge; and the magnificent harbour, four miles in length,
begirt with a luxuriant shore.
It was on the 7th February, 1788, that the Governor was inaugurated: an
area being cleared for the purpose, the military marched to the ground
with music, and colors flying; 750 convicts, 212 marines and their
officers, were assembled. The standard of England was unfurled, the
commission of Phillip, the first governor, published, and the courts of
justice proclaimed. The usual formalities being complete, Phillip turned
to the prisoners, and declared his intentions. He had resolved to
cherish and render happy such as might deserve his favour; but to allow
the law its course with the impenitent and unreformed. In such language
we discern the sentiments which prevailed: banishment, not punishment
for past crimes, was implied in the cheering alternative. From that
moment he possessed authority to manumit not less absolute than the
sovereign, but immeasurably more power to avenge.
Those who first entered New Holland, and witnessed the elevation of the
royal standard on the shores of Port Jackson, described in terms of
despondency its barren soil, barely compensated by its salubrious
atmosphere. Contemporary political writers looked coldly on the infant
establishment, as the diseased and hopeless progeny of crime: one, which
could never recompense the outlay of the crown, either by its vigour or
its gratitude. The projects entertained, in connection with commerce,
were the growth of flax and the supply of naval timber, both of which
had been reported by Cook as indigenous to Norfolk Island. "When viewed
in a commercial light," Captain Tench observes (writing in 1789), "the
insignificance of the settlement is very striking." "Admitting the
possibility," he continues, "that the country will hereafter yield a
sufficiency of grain, the parent state must long supply the necessaries
of life. The idea of breeding cattle sufficient to meet the consumption,
must be considered very chimerical." Such desponding sentiments mostly
attend the first stages of colonisation; but in a much later period, the
enterprise was regarded with scarcely less suspicion: "Why," said a
celebrated critic, "we are to erect penitentiaries and prisons, at the
distance of half the diameter of the globe, and to incur the enormous
expense of feeding and transporting its inhabitants, it is extremely
difficult to discover. It is foolishly believed, that the colony of
Botany Bay unites our moral and commercial interests, and that we shall
receive, hereafter, an ample equivalent in the bales of goods, for all
the vices we export."[27] With what obstinacy an idea once mooted is
cherished, may be inferred from an opinion afterwards expressed by an
authority of still greater pretension:--"The most sanguine supporter of
New South Wales system of colonisation, will hardly promise himself any
advantage from the produce it may be able to supply."[28] Its corn and
wool, its timber and hemp, he excludes from the chances of European
commerce, and declares that the whale fishery, after repeated failures,
had been relinquished!
It is not less instructive than pleasing, to notice the past epochs of
opinion: we find consolation against the dark clouds overshadowing the
future, by discovering how many forebodings of ancient seers have
vanished before the light of the event.
These discouraging views were not, however, universal. Many
distinguished men imagined an advancement, which our age has been
sufficient to realise. To commemorate the foundation of the colony the
celebrated artist, Wedgewood, modelled, from clay brought from the
neighbourhood of Sydney, an allegorical medallion, which represented
Hope encouraging Art and Labor, under the influence of Peace.[29]
The French, however, always represented this colony as a masterpiece of
policy; an element of Anglican power, pregnant with events. Peron, when
dwelling on the moral prodigies of the settlement, declared that these
but disguised the real objects of its founders, which, however, could
not escape the discernment of statesmen: they saw the formidable germ of
great revolutions.[30]
The expedition of Baudin was connected by English politicians[31] with a
project of French colonisation. His instructions directed him to inspect
narrowly the places eligible for occupation, and it was expected that an
Australian Pondichery would become a new focus of rivalry and intrigue.
The special injunctions to survey the inlets of Van Diemen's Land,
seemed to indicate the probable site of an establishment so obnoxious.
Dr. Bass had, however, already examined this country with similar views,
especially the margin of the rivers. To him no spot on the eastern side
of the Derwent appeared to equal the neighbourhood of Risdon Creek,
around which he observed an expanding area of fertile land. He
delineated not less favorably the valley of the Tamar. This country he
considered preferable to New South Wales: with a greater proportion of
fertile soil, more amply supplied with water, and well adapted for
colonisation.[32]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 24: _Introduction._ p. 120.]
[Footnote 25: _Literary Chronicle_, 1822.]
[Footnote 26: The incidents of the voyage are related by Captain Tench.]
[Footnote 27: _Edinburgh Review_, 1803.]
[Footnote 28: _Quarterly Review_, 1814.]
[Footnote 29: On this medal an author, quoted in _Phillip's Voyages_,
ventured a poetical prophecy, which has at least the merit of
truthfulness:--
VISIT OF HOPE TO SYDNEY COVE.
_Written by the author of the Botanic Garden_, 1791.
Where Sydney Cove her lucid bosom swells,
Courts her young navies, and the storm repels;
High on a rock, amid the troubled air,
HOPE stood sublime, and wav'd her golden hair.
"Hear me," she cried, "ye rising realms record
Time's opening scenes, and Truth's unerring word:
There shall broad streets their stately walls extend,
The circus widen, and the crescent bend;
There, ray'd from cities o'er the cultur'd land,
Shall bright canals and solid roads expand.
Embellish'd villas crown the landscape scene,
Farms wave with gold, and orchards blush between;
While with each breeze approaching vessels glide,
And northern treasures dance on every tide!"
Then ceas'd the nymph: tumultuous echoes roar,
And Joy's loud voice was heard from shore to shore.
Her graceful stops descending press'd the plain,
And Peace, and Art, and Labor, joined the train.
_--Governor Phillip's Voyage to Botany Bay._]
[Footnote 30: Vol. i. p. 12.]
[Footnote 31: _Quarterly Review._]
[Footnote 32: _Collins's New South Wales_, vol. i. p. 180.]
HISTORY OF TASMANIA.
FROM 1803 TO 1824.
FROM 1803 TO 1824.
SECTION I.
The establishment of a settlement in Van Diemen's Land, perhaps thus
hastened by the jealousy of a rival power, was at first chiefly intended
to relieve Port Jackson. Fifteen years had elapsed since its foundation,
and from six to seven thousand prisoners had been transported thither:
dispersion became necessary to security--to repress alike the vices of
the convicts, and the growing malversation of their taskmasters. The
want of prisons, or places of punishment, and the indolence and
intemperance of emancipist settlers, endangered authority.
In 1800, the transportation of the _defenders_ from Ireland, appears to
have created continual anxiety: a committee of officers was formed to
examine persons suspected, when Harold, a priest, was arrested, and
accused his fellow prisoners. His testimony was insidious, and
discredited; but the alarm led to the formation of a volunteer company
of a hundred persons, who armed for the suppression of rebellion. The
more distrusted of the Irish prisoners were conveyed to Norfolk Island;
there, some months after, a conspiracy was detected to massacre the
officers, and seize the island. On the night fixed for action, the plot
was discovered. An Irish servant, muttering words of compassion, was
overheard by his master: he was induced to explain, and was immediately
taken to Major Foveaux, the officer in command. The danger was imminent:
the warmth of the season (December) had tempted the soldiers to slumber
with open doors, and it was said that the sentinels were implicated who
that night kept watch. These being changed, and other precautions
adopted, the plotters postponed their design; and next day were marched
to church without suspicion. The door was beset with soldiers: the
leaders were arrested; one executed--and on the following day, the
blacksmith, charged with fabricating arms, was also hung. The necessity
for dispensing with the forms of law was not made out, and these summary
punishments were censured. That the danger was not imaginary, may,
however, be inferred from the after attempts at Port Jackson.
The military force of New South Wales, drawn together by a love of
adventure, or the hope of gain, when their own status was assailed, were
often exacting and severe: but they slightly sustained the moral
strength of the government. To select mistresses from the female
prisoners was one of their earliest and most valued prerogatives, who,
standing in this equivocal relation, became their agents and sold their
rum.
The Governor, after struggling to abate the abuses around him, yielded
to a pressure which seemed irresistible. He endeavoured to mollify by
his liberality, those he could not govern by restraint: he multiplied
licenses for the sale of rum, and emancipists aspired to commercial
rivalry with the suttlers in commission. The chief constable was himself
a publican, and the chief gaoler shared in the lucrative calling, and
sold spirits opposite the prison.
The moral laxity which prevailed, produced its natural
consequences--violations of discipline, which led to great crimes. The
offenders, to escape immediate punishments, retreated to the remote
districts; occasionally sheltered by the emancipist cotters. The feeble
resistance offered to their depredations, inspired, and almost justified
the prisoners in the hope, that the common bondage might be broken. A
large agricultural establishment, belonging to the government, at
Castle-hill, Parramatta, employed many Irishmen implicated in the recent
disorders of their country. These prompted the rest to attempt to
recover their liberty, but they were subdued by the military under Major
Johnstone: some were shot, and several executed.
In this unsatisfactory condition was the colony of Port Jackson, when
Van Diemen's Land was occupied. Its remote distance, its comparatively
small extent and insular form, fitted it for the purposes of penal
restraint--a place where the most turbulent and rapacious could find no
scope for their passions. Its ports closed against commerce, afforded
few means of escape. In New Holland, labor and produce were redundant:
overwhelming harvests reduced the price of grain so low, that it was
rejected by the merchants; goods could not be obtained in exchange;[33]
and the convicts at the disposal of government were a burden on its
hands--almost in a condition to defy its authority. Thus, Van Diemen's
Land was colonised; first, as a place of exile for the more felonious of
felons--the Botany Bay of Botany Bay--
"And in the lowest deep, a lower deep!"
Lieutenant Bowen, in the _Lady Nelson_, set sail from Sydney, and in
August, 1803, landed at Risdon, on the east bank of the Derwent: his
party included a few soldiers and prisoners, and Dr. Mountgarrat, the
surgeon. A far more important immigration soon followed.
Port Phillip, on the east coast of New Holland, first discovered by
Captain Murray in the _Lady Nelson_, 1799, was surveyed by Flinders in
1802, and in 1803 by Grimes, the surveyor-general. They reported the
country to be lightly timbered, to abound in herbage, and gentle slopes
suitable to the plough. The port offered an asylum against both war and
tempests, sufficient for the fleets of all nations.[34]
The establishment of a settlement at Port Phillip being determined on by
the ministry of Great Britain, an expedition was forwarded, which
consisted of the _Calcutta_, 50 guns, Captain Woodriff, and the _Ocean_,
a transport of 500 tons. In addition to the convicts, there were forty
marines, four hundred male prisoners, twelve free settlers and their
families, six unmarried women, six the wives of prisoners, and six
children. It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the morals of the
officers, or of the women, were not superior either to the service or to
the times. The events of the voyage, worthy of remembrance, were not
numerous; it was disturbed by rumours of plots and conspiracies;
punishments were not infrequent, and one woman was flogged for stealing
the cap of a companion.
The _Calcutta_ did not convey the settlers to the Derwent. On her return
to Great Britain, Lieutenant Tuckey published an account of the voyage to
Port Phillip, which he surveyed. In the year following (1805), the
_Calcutta_ was convoy to St. Helena, and encountered the Rochefort
squadron. Captain Woodriff determined to engage the whole division: the
merchantmen escaped; but the _Calcutta_, in the unequal contest, became
unmanageable, and struck her colors. Captain Woodriff was soon
exchanged, but Lieutenant Tuckey remained in captivity until the allied
armies entered France.
Promoted to the rank of commander, he received charge of the expedition
in 1816, sent to explore the Zaire; but with most of his people fell a
martyr to the spirit of African discovery. He is said to have been
handsome in person, and generous in hand. "He knew nothing of the value
of money, except as it enabled him to gratify the feelings of a
benevolent heart."[35]
The spot selected at Port Phillip, was ill-chosen as the site of a town,
and they found great difficulty in obtaining pure water. These
circumstances, represented by Collins to the Governor-in-chief, were
thought sufficient to justify a removal to Van Diemen's Land, and long
postponed the occupation of a country, inferior to few in this
hemisphere; a measure lamented by several of the settlers. A lady,
writing to her friends from the banks of the Derwent, censured, in terms
of great contempt, the relinquishment of Port Phillip, which she
described in glowing language: she seemed alone capable of estimating
its future importance; but she pronounced Van Diemen's Land a dreary and
desert region, destined never to prosper--thus she forfeited the credit
of prophecy.[36]
Several prisoners attempted to escape; in one instance, with a singular
result. Buckley, a man of gigantic stature, and two others, set off, it
was said, for China! They rambled for some distance together, and
suffered great misery: at last, they parted. Of his companions, Buckley
saw no more, and when he returned to the settlement all was deserted.
After months of solitary wandering, he found a tribe of natives, by whom
he was adopted: he remained among them for three-and-thirty years,
conforming to their barbarous customs, and forgetting his own language.
Once only he saw the faces of white men; a boat's crew landed to bury a
seaman: he endeavoured to arrest their attention; they looked at him
earnestly, but took him for a savage--he was dressed in a rug of
kangaroo skin, and was armed with spears. This man still survives: he
contributed to the friendly reception of his countrymen; but during his
long sojourn, he had imparted no ideas of civilisation.
The _Lady Nelson_ and the _Ocean_ conveyed the party from Port Phillip
to the Derwent. The situation of the camp at Risdon had been found
undesirable, they therefore landed at Sullivan's Cove. They arrived in
two divisions, on the 30th January and 16th February, 1804. The names of
the principal persons are as follows:--Lieutenant-Governor Collins; Rev.
R. Knopwood, chaplain; E. Bromley, surgeon superintendent; W. Anson,
colonial surgeon; M. Boden, W. Hopley, assistant surgeons; P. H.
Humphrey, mineralogist; Lieutenant Fosbrook, deputy-commissary-general;
G. P. Harris, deputy-surveyor; John Clarke and William Patterson,
superintendents of convicts; Lieutenants W. Sladen, J. M. Johnson, and
Edward Lord; 39 marines, 3 sergeants, 1 drummer, 1 fifer; and 367 male
prisoners.
Meantime, the _Lady Nelson_ was dispatched to Port Dalrymple, and
surveyed the entrance of the Tamar: the report being favorable, a small
party of prisoners were sent from Port Jackson, under Colonel Paterson,
to form a settlement, who landed in October, 1804, and for some time
held little intercourse with the settlement on the Derwent. Such were
the pioneers of this important colony; and to so many casual but
concurring incidents, we owe its existence.
The first annals of the settlement offer few events worthy of record.
The transactions of a community, which in 1810 did not comprehend more
than thirteen hundred and twenty-one persons,[37]--the greater part
subject to penal control--could not, unassociated with the present,
detain attention for a moment. The discipline which prevailed in Van
Diemen's Land, and the results which it produced, will be hereafter
related to illustrate transportation; for who would load the colonial
fame with details, from which the eyes of mankind turn with natural
disgust, or blend them with the fabric of Tasmanian history?
The first Governor-in-chief of Van Diemen's Land, the third of New South
Wales, was Philip Gidley King, son of Philip King, a draper, of
Launceston, Cornwall, England. At twelve years of age he entered the
royal navy: by Admiral Byron he was made lieutenant, and holding that
rank in the _Sirius_, he attended the expedition of Phillip in
1788.[38] He was employed to establish the settlement of Norfolk
Island, where his proceedings, recorded in his official journal, and
afterwards published in various forms, afforded great amusement and
satisfaction. There he united in his person, for some time, the priest
and the ruler: he experienced during his residence, most of the
anxieties and difficulties incident to such stations, and detailed them
with curious minuteness. As a cultivator he was energetic and
persevering; but the rats devoured his seed, or torrents washed it away:
or a tropical hurricane, which tore up huge trees, overthrew the frail
buildings he reared. His people conspired to seize his government; he
detected, and forgave them: yet he was not scrupulous in his methods of
punishment. A woman he repeatedly flogged, for stealing the provisions
of her neighbours. He, however, saw the little settlement gradually
improve: it became the favorite residence of the officers; and, as the
climate was better understood, the fertility of the soil yielded a
surpassing abundance.
King was not inattentive to his own interest, and became the owner of
considerable stock. Anecdotes of his humour circulate through the
colonies: being asked by a settler to find him a man to perform certain
work, he took him into his room and pointed him to a mirror. Again, when
a marine was the suitor for some favour, in rejecting his petition he
put him through his exercises, which ended in _quick march_. He had the
frankness of the sailor, and neither aspired to state nor exacted
homage.
David Collins, Esq., long judge advocate of New South Wales, was the
first Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land. He was present with his
father, General Collins, at the battle at Bunker's Hill, and thus
witnessed an event accepted by exulting Europe as a signal that British
sway over that region was lost. It was the lot of Collins to proclaim
the dominion of Great Britain at the inauguration of Phillip, and thus
announced the first day of a second and not less valuable empire.
Such incidents teach us that a single life may embrace events beyond the
scope of imagination. We are reminded of the most brilliant passage in
the oratory of Burke, delivered while the authority of the crown was
trembling in the balance of fate. When illustrating how far the
realities of the future might exceed the visions of the present moment,
he stated that a venerable nobleman, Lord Bathurst, could remember when
American interests were a little speck, but which during his life had
grown to greater consequence than all the commercial achievements of
Great Britain in seventeen hundred years. "Fortunate man," he exclaimed,
"he has lived to see it: fortunate, indeed, if he lives to see nothing
which will vary the prospect, and cloud the setting of his day."[39]
Collins was favorably known to the public by his _Account of the English
Colony in New South Wales_: his work was distinguished by the reviewers,
amidst a crowd of publications, as superior to them all.[40] The
stateliness of his style, and the pomp with which he ushers trivial
events, were less apparent when the topics were new. In the last page
he, however, complains that he had spent nine years in the colonial
service, which intercepted the honors of his profession; a case of
hardship, he remarks, everywhere admitted, both by those who could
compensate, and those who could only condole.
In his dedication to Lord Hobart, the principal secretary of state, he
drops the tone of complaint and disappointment: he tells that nobleman
that his private virtues were rendered more conspicuous by the splendour
of his talents as a statesman, and that praise could not be interpreted
as flattery, when devoted to a name which commanded the veneration of
the world. Remonstrances so skilfully advanced could not be unnoticed:
Collins was at once raised to the rank of colonel, and the intelligence
with which he delineated the proper objects and agents of penal
government, exalted him still higher. He dated his dedication in 1802,
and embarked the following year as governor of the settlement it had
been resolved to form.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 33: _Wentworth's New South Wales_, p. 210.]
[Footnote 34: _Flinders_, vol. i.]
[Footnote 35: _Narrative:_ published by authority of the Admiralty,
1818.]
[Footnote 36: "We arrived in October, 1803: my pen is not able to
describe half the beauties of that delightful spot: we were four months
there. Much to my mortification, as well as loss, we were obliged to
abandon the settlement, through the whim and caprice of the
Lieutenant-Governor: additional expense to government, and additional
loss to individuals, were incurred by removing to Van Diemen's Land,
which _can never be made to answer_. Port Phillip is my favorite, and
has my warmest wishes. During the time we were there, I never felt one
ache or pain, and I parted from it with more regret than I did from my
native land." The following is the endorsement of this letter:--"Dated
May 23rd, 1805; received October 10th, 1805--half a year! From an
officer's wife, Mrs. Hartley (quere Hopley?), to her sister."--_Collection
of Letters, for a History of New South Wales. By a Merchant._ London:
Valpy, 1812.]
[Footnote 37: Report of Commons on Transportation, 1812.]
[Footnote 38: _Phillip's Voyage_, p. 95.]
[Footnote 39: The reader will not be displeased to see the whole
passage. On the 22nd of March, 1775, upon moving his resolutions for
conciliation with America, Edmund Burke thus addressed the house:--
"Mr. Speaker,--I cannot prevail on myself to hurry over this great
consideration. It is good for us to be here. We stand where we have an
immense view of what is, and what is past. Clouds indeed, and darkness
rest upon the future. Let us, however, before we descend from the noble
eminence, reflect that this growth of our national prosperity has
happened within the short period of the life of man: it has happened
within sixty-eight years. There are those alive whose memory might touch
the two extremities. For instance, my Lord Bathurst might remember all
the stages of the progress. He was in 1704, of an age, at least, to be
made to comprehend such things. He was then old enough--_acta parentum
jam legere et quæ sit poterit cognoscere virtus_. Suppose, Sir, that the
angel of this auspicious youth, foreseeing the many virtues which made
him one of the most amiable, as he is one of the most fortunate men of
his age, had opened to him in vision, that when in the fourth generation
the third prince of the house of Brunswick had sat twelve years on the
throne of that nation, which (by the happy issue of moderate and healing
councils) was to be made Great Britain, he should see his son, Lord
Chancellor of England, turn back the current of hereditary dignity to
its fountain, and raise him to higher rank of peerage whilst he enriched
the family with a new one. If, amidst these bright and happy scenes of
domestic honor and prosperity, that angel should have drawn up the
curtain and unfolded the rising glories of his country, and whilst he
was gazing with admiration on the then commercial grandeur of England,
the genius should point out to him a little speck, scarce visible in the
mass of national interest--a small seminal principle rather than a
formed body--and should tell him: Young man, there is America, which at
this day serves for little more than to amuse you with stories of savage
men and uncouth manners; yet shall, before you taste death, show itself
equal to the whole of that commerce which now attracts the envy of the
world. Whatever England has been growing to by a progressive increase of
improvement, brought in by varieties of people, by succession of
civilising conquests, civilising settlements in a series of seventeen
hundred years, you shall see as much added to her by America in the
course of a single life! If this state of his country had been foretold
to him, would it not require all the fervid glow of enthusiasm to make
him believe it? Fortunate man, he has lived to see it: fortunate indeed,
if he lives to see nothing that shall vary the prospect, and cloud the
setting of his day."--_Parl. Hist._, vol. xviii. p. 487.]
[Footnote 40: _Edinburgh Review_, 1803.]
SECTION II.
When Collins determined to relinquish Risdon, after survey and
comparison of the places offered to his choice, he preferred the spot on
which stands Hobart Town, called after the name of his patron.
Imagination has traced in its natural outlines a resemblance to the
seven-hilled Roman capital, once the mistress of the world.[41] Its
chief recommendation was the stream which runs through the centre of the
city, whose margin was then beset with brushwood, and choked with
prostrate trees: these often obstructed its course, and threw over the
adjacent banks a flow of water, and thus formed marshes and pools.[42]
Hobart Town is built on the west side of the Derwent, a river named
after the Derwent in Cumberland, celebrated by Wordsworth, the laureate
of England, and the poet of the lakes, who thus associates with its
beauties the recollections of his childhood:--
"Among the mountains were we nursed, loved stream!
Thou near the eagle's nest,
Where thy deep voice could lull me."
"--------Glory of the vale!
Kept in perpetual verdure by the steam
Of thy soft breath."[43]
The county, including at first half the island, was called after the
same nobleman, who was then Lord Buckinghamshire.
The northern settlement, formed by Colonel Paterson,[44] was seated on
the Western Arm of the Tamar, and called York Town. In describing the
site, the difficulty of obtaining water is noticed by Flinders; but by
Dr. Bass, the adjacent land was represented as adapted for both
agriculture and pasture: he added, "If it should be ever proposed to
make a settlement, this part seems to merit particular attention." From
this spot the greater part of the new establishment was removed (1806)
to the country above the North and South Esk; where the colonists were
delighted to discover extensive plains equally suitable for tillage and
pasture, where not a tree obstructed the prospect.[45]
The Tamar was traced, and named by Paterson after a Cornish stream, and
the valley of Launceston, after a town in Cornwall, and both in honor of
Governor King. At Launceston he proposed to establish a sea port town,
for the northern section of the island. Port Dalrymple, as this
settlement was then called, was not under the government of Hobart Town
until 1812.[46]
The first communication between Hobart and Launceston was opened by
Lieutenant Laycock and his party, they were nine days in the journey,
and their unexpected appearance excited great astonishment at
Hobart.[47] A loaded cart was subsequently sent to Launceston, and
passed over the country without falling a single tree.[48]
The first Tasmanian house stood on land adjoining the Macquarie Hotel:
it was built by Lieutenant E. Lord, of wattle and dab--its windows, like
the port-holes of a vessel. That it was the first, constituted its chief
claim to distinction: it was considered as an achievement of
civilisation--a trophy gained upon the wilderness. All were not so well
lodged; yet such houses are soon reared. Posts, joined by wall plates,
fixed in the ground; woven with wattle rods, plastered with mingled
clay, sand, and wiry short grass, and whitened--a grass thatched roof; a
chimney of turf piled on stone, a door and a window: the cottage is
finished.
The removal of the settlers from Norfolk Island, colonised in 1788, was
the next most important event. On his return to Great Britain, Collins
visited that place, in company with Hunter, the late governor-in-chief.
On the whole, he represented Norfolk Island as by no means promising to
repay the annual cost, and it was resolved to abandon it.
In 1803, directions were issued by Lord Buckinghamshire (Lord Hobart).
The opposition of the settlers, and the fear of famine, for some time
occasioned delay. In 1805, only four free settlers had removed. The
order was renewed in 1808 by Mr. Windham, then secretary of state, and
Captain Bligh directed Captain Piper to compel the colonists to evacuate
the island, and even to shoot any one who might retreat to the woods to
avoid embarkation.[49] They were conveyed to this island chiefly in the
_Estramina_, _City of Edinburgh_, and _Sydney_: 254 arrived on 15th
October, 1808.[50]
Norfolk Island, so celebrated for its genial climate and unusual
fruitfulness, is of volcanic origin, and contains about 14,000 acres. It
lies on the 29th parallel,[51] north of New Zealand: it is nine hundred
and ninety miles from Port Jackson, thirteen hundred miles from the
Derwent, and until seen by Captain Cook, was probably never visited by
man. Norfolk Island has twenty-eight miles of sea shore: its greatest
elevation is Mount Pitt: it is a succession of hills and valleys. Its
lofty cliffs, which breast the ocean, are crowned by the elegant white
wood and the gigantic pine. The wild jasmine and convolvuli, which reach
from tree to tree, form bowers and walks of exquisite beauty. Twice in
the year the settler gathered his harvest: the lemon, the orange, and
the pine, shed their fragrance in profusion, and yielded the richest
fruit. Though liable to occasional storms and destructive insects, the
husbandman could scarcely be said to toil. Gentle showers frequently
refresh the undulating soil, and pour down rivulets to the ocean. Sea
breezes cool the atmosphere, and the diseases often incident to such
latitudes, are unknown; but no ships can anchor: it is a land unsuited
to commerce.
Thus it presented no incitement to exertion: it gave the indolent
abundance without labor; it afforded a leisure, in which man is prone to
degenerate and sink into the savage. Distillation from the cane produced
spirits, more than usually deleterious: unacquainted with the process by
which saccharine is crystalised, the settlers were unable to prepare
sugar. They found the raw rum destructive, and attributed its fatal
effects solely to the leaden worms![52]
In 1800, the population of Norfolk Island comprehended 960 souls:[53]
3,521 acres of land were granted; divided into farms of from ten to
thirty acres each. A station, where rather more refractory offenders
were sent, its government varied with the character of each officer. Of
the moral condition of the island nothing good could be expected, and
little favorable is remembered.
Always a place of banishment, even when a colony, Norfolk Island seemed
destined to exhibit the extremes of natural beauty and moral deformity.
The language of Holt, the Irish rebel, who spent several months there,
might be better suited to a latter period, but expressed the intensity
of his abhorrence, not wholly unfounded--"That barbarous island, the
dwelling place of devils in human shape; the refuse of Botany Bay--the
doubly damned!"[54]
On the determination of the government being announced, the settlers
manifested great repugnance: the elder people declared they would not
quit the country; it was, however, the decree of an irresistible will.
The inhabitants were offered a settlement in Van Diemen's Land or New
South Wales; mostly, they chose this country. They received from the
government whatever would contribute towards reconciling them to the
change. Vessels were provided for their removal, their possession in
land was doubled, and it was freed from all conditions and reservations.
They received cattle on loan, and they were rationed as new settlers
from the public stores. That the change was beneficial to the rising
generation can hardly be doubted; but the effect on the parents was
generally painful. Time was required to equal the cultivation of the
spot they had left, compared with which even Van Diemen's Land seemed
blank and barren. Years after, they spoke of the change with regret and
sadness.
The settlers, divided into three classes, according to their origin or
wealth, were located part in the neighbourhood of Hobart Town, at
Pittwater, and New Norfolk, and part at Norfolk Plains. Thirty, forty,
or fifty acres was the ordinary grant, until a later period: a large
extent was neither possessed nor desired. Many valued nothing but the
immediate benefits to which their character as immigrant farmers then
entitled them. They drew their rations from the royal stores, and
bartered away their homesteads for a few bottles of spirit; and it was
no idle boast, that a keg of rum was then worth more than a common farm.
Their hopeless and dissipated state is remarked in every document of the
times: their frail dwellings soon exhibited all the signs of decay, and
their ground was exhausted by continual cropping. Thus the exhilarating
influences of youth and vigour, usual in the first steps of
colonisation, were here unknown, and a civilising agency rarely
counteracted the social evils which prevailed. The transactions of those
early days are scarcely colonial: charged with debauch and outrage, they
denote a time of social disorganisation--the dark ages found in the
history of every country, where men have been their own masters, and
remote from a public opinion, which cannot be corrupted or controlled.
There were, however, a few settlers from Norfolk Island, distinguished
from the rest by their enterprise and diligence, and who rose to wealth;
but in glancing down the list, a colonist observes how few have retained
their heritage.
During the administration of Colonel Collins, the progress of the colony
was barely perceptible. There were no roads in the interior; no public
buildings: the house of the governor was a mere cottage, too mean for
the accommodation of a modern mechanic.
The transfer commenced at the close of 1805. The _Sydney_, Captain
Forrest, was employed to convey to the Derwent a party of the settlers,
and the stock belonging to the governor-in-chief: this was purchased by
Mr. George Guest, who sold the sheep at £5 per head, and was repaid in
cattle. In the _Sydney_, Joseph Holt, now discharged from restraint,
visited Van Diemen's Land, and contributed to its welfare by his
agricultural and pastoral experience. He found Collins still living in
a tent. A few acres of land had been cultivated at New Town by convicts,
in charge of Clarke, the superintendent: cattle had arrived from Bengal,
and sheep from Port Jackson; but the progress of the settlement had
hitherto been slow.
In New South Wales,[55] gangs of men, stripped to the waist, labored
together, and were exposed to rigorous discipline, common to slaves.
These methods of tillage were introduced into Van Diemen's Land, where
as yet there were no fields prepared for the plough, nor beast of
draught to facilitate human toil. The chief overseers were not skilled
in cultivation: one had been a shoemaker, the other a tailor; and while
they were expecting large returns, they were ignorant that the full ears
which promised an abundant yield, were smut, not grain. This early
failure was attended with disastrous results.
On the arrival of the _Sydney_, Collins looked narrowly into the
probable resources at his disposal, and sent Joseph Holt to examine the
land on the Derwent, with a view to future location. He proceeded along
its shores, until a ledge of rocks obstructed the passage of his boat:
then ascending an eminence, not less in apparent height than the
Dromedary Mountain, "I sat down," he writes, "on its top, and saw the
finest country eyes ever beheld." This was that extensive district
which, from the previous residence of its occupiers, was named New
Norfolk. The spot whence he surveyed the subjacent land he called Mount
Casha.
Joseph Holt, general of the rebel army of Wexford in 1798, at one time
commanded 1,300 men. Memoirs, written by himself, were purchased by the
keeper of the Irish records, and were edited by Thomas Crofton Croker.
The result of that sanguinary struggle added considerable numbers to the
population of these colonies, but on various terms. Holt was an exile,
though often treated as a convict. As a commander he displayed great
natural talents, courage, and fidelity. He ascribed his position as a
rebel, solely to necessity of choosing between immediate death or
insurrection. A neighbour wrecked his property, and denounced him a
traitor in revenge: then loyal men were privileged to condemn without
trial, and slaughter on the spot. In New South Wales, Holt was often
suspected of sedition: he was imprisoned, and was forwarded to Norfolk
Island without trial; on returning to Port Jackson, he visited the
Derwent. Of Collins, Holt speaks with great enthusiasm, as the most
lenient of the governors, and the finest of gentlemen: when he entered
the forests, absconders would fall down on their knees before him, and
obtain his forgiveness.[56]
Holt's notices of this place are scanty, and of the people more so; but
he observes that the daughter of Mrs. Hayes was a "beautiful girl: the
prettiest violet I saw growing on the Derwent." Of such charms he was no
mean judge.[57] Collins was desirous that Holt should settle on the
Derwent, and wrote to Governor King for his consent: the knowledge he
possessed of the treatment of stock, it was thought, would have been
useful; but he resolved not to move farther from the port of
embarkation. He at length returned to Ireland, with £2,000--a step he
lived to deplore.
The settlement was early involved in great difficulties. The hoe, the
usual implement of husbandry, effected but a slow and discouraging
progress: supplies from Port Jackson were forwarded in small quantities,
and were soon altogether interrupted. In 1806 a disaster occurred, which
reduced the elder colony to severe privation. The tempting fertility of
of the land bordering on the Hawkesbury, the Nile of this hemisphere,
induced the petty farmers, whose homesteads dotted its margin, to
overlook its dangers. An inundation, remembered as the _great_ flood,
exceeded all former devastations: vast torrents, of which the origin was
unknown, descended from the mountains, and pouring down with prodigious
violence, suddenly filled and overflowed the channels of the river; and
rising to the height of sixty and eighty feet in a few hours, swept
away the stacks of corn, the live stock, and even the dwellings. A
vessel approaching the coast, saw fragments of the floating ruins many
miles distant from the shore. Thus, lately possessing a superabundant
store, the poor suffered extreme destitution, and the price of maize and
wheat rose to £5 and £6 per bushel.[58]
Unable to succour this colony, the government left it to its own
resources, and for several years the scarcity continued with various
intensity. The kangaroo hunters were the chief purveyors of food. The
officers allowed servants, sent them to the woods, and sold their spoil
to government. Considerable profits were made by the more successful:
the commissariat allowed 1_s._ 6_d._ per lb., and the foundation of some
fortunes were laid by persons whose servants were faithful and expert. A
marine, assisted by two convicts, delivered to the king's stores, 1000
lbs. of kangaroo per month, and continued in this occupation for several
years. A few coarse biscuits were distributed while they lasted, but the
substitute for bread was the dried and pounded flesh of kangaroo! The
government, unable to feed, could no longer task the prisoners: to
lessen the pressure, they were sometimes permitted to disperse in search
of subsistence, and thus laid the foundation of those lawless habits
which afterwards brought the colony to the verge of ruin.
The _Sydney_ had been chartered to India for wheat, but was lost, and
the colony disappointed of the expected relief. When this calamity
became known, a second effort was made: Colonel Paterson, while acting
Governor of New South Wales, contracted with Captain Bunker, of the
_Venus_, to bring a cargo of wheat from Bengal. It was not until 1810,
that she anchored in the Derwent: the dread of famine was removed, and
wheat was now valued at 12s. a bushel. The change of seed enabled the
farmers to clear their ground of that mixed and inferior grain which had
disappointed all attempts at agricultural independence.[59]
When at Bengal, the captain of the _Venus_ received from the governor
two prisoners, supposed to be cast-aways from a vessel seized at Port
Jackson. Stewart, formerly a lieutenant in the navy, secretly contrived
a plan to take the _Harrington_, a vessel richly laden, and provisioned
for a long voyage. The wind blew fair as she lay in Sydney harbour, a
tempting prize: embracing the favorable moment, Stewart called together
several companions whom he could trust, and submitted his project, at
the instant proper for its execution--the first successfully attempted
by prisoners. Thus, before suspicion was awakened, he had seized a
boat, hurried on board, mastered the crew, and was scudding before the
breeze. But at sea his good fortune forsook him: the _Harrington_ was
recaptured by the _Greyhound_, and both vessels were lost on the coast
of Luconia.[60]
These pirates were permitted to land at the Derwent, and were left
behind by the _Venus_. They were found at the house of Garth, a settler,
by soldiers sent to seize spirits secretly landed from the vessel.
Mistaking the errand of the soldiers, one of these men called on his
comrade to resist them; and being enraged by a refusal, he fired, and
inflicted a mortal wound.[61] Such complicated crime was not
extraordinary; but the kind of force necessary in the civil government,
and the shelter afforded to outlaws, were symptoms of social disorder,
which soon after assumed an alarming character.
It was the misfortune of Collins to be involved with the parties
responsible in the deposition of Governor Bligh. This remarkable
deviation from the ordinary conduct of British soldiers, has been
attributed partly to the composition of the military force raised for
that colony, and partly to the temper of Bligh. The officers merged the
military character in the mercantile spirit, and were accustomed to
enjoy privileges in virtue of their commissions, which they converted
into a monopoly of trade. The distance of New South Wales from the
centre of commerce, induced the crown to provide for the settlers the
miscellaneous articles which are usually kept only by the shopkeepers.
At Port Jackson, there were public magazines stored with every requisite
for domestic use, such as potters' ware, utensils for the kitchen, and
the implements of farming.[62] These were issued at stated prices,
rather less than such commodities cost in Europe; but to prevent them
becoming the objects of speculation, an official order for every issue,
specifying the article, was necessary. Such methods of distribution
gave, notwithstanding, ample room for partiality and corruption. On the
arrival of Bligh, he found the improvident settlers, discontented and
poor, completely in the hands of the martial dealers. Perhaps, from a
love of justice, he attempted to rescue them from the grasp of these
intermediate agents, who bought their produce at a narrow price, and
gave them in exchange goods bearing an enormous per centage.[63] Bligh
permitted the farmers to draw from the public magazine whatever was
necessary for private use, and took their engagement to deliver their
grain to the stores at the close of the harvest. This interruption to
the customary dealings of the officers, naturally provoked them: Bligh
reciprocated their aversion, and resented their disrespect. It is,
indeed, stated by Wentworth, that this unfortunate officer renewed in
New South Wales, the same tyranny which it is alleged had driven seamen
of the _Bounty_ to mutiny: that his disposition was brutal, and that he
refined on the modes of inflicting torture.[64]
Bligh was arrested on the 26th January, 1808. A complicated quarrel with
Mr. Macarthur, formerly paymaster of the New South Wales corps, arising
out of mercantile transactions, was the occasion of the military
insurrection. Having refused to attend a summons, Macarthur was
apprehended on a warrant, and committed for trial: he was charged with
an intention to stir up the people of the colony to hatred of the
governor and of government--words of ominous import, when read in the
light of colonial history.[65] Except the president of the court, the
officers were more favorable to the accused than to the governor, and
regarded him as the victim of a common cause. In his address to the
court, Mr. Macarthur objected to the judge advocate, as a person
disreputable in character, and actuated by feelings of hostility against
himself. That functionary then threatened to commit Macarthur for
contempt: Captain Anthony Fenn Kemp interposed, with a threat "to
commit the judge advocate himself;" who, seeing among the spectators
many soldiers wearing side-arms, and fearing for his personal safety,
left the bench. Macarthur again appealled to his military brethren to
preserve him from the ruffian constabulary: they immediately ordered the
soldiers present to protect him against the peace officers. This
interference was represented as an illegal rescue; Macarthur, however,
surrendered to the provost marshal, and was lodged in gaol.
The governor resolved to bring to trial the six officers who had
repelled the judge advocate, for treasonable practices; and, as a
preliminary step, ordered that they should appear before the bench of
magistrates, of whom Colonel Johnston, their commander, was one. It was
now supposed, that Bligh intended to constitute a novel court of
criminal jurisdiction, and that he had resolved to carry to the last
extremes the hostility he had declared. Colonel Johnston, as a measure
of self defence, was induced to march his regiment to government house,
and place his Excellency under arrest--demanding his sword, and his
commission as governor.[66]
This transaction throughout, caused a very strong sensation, both in the
colony and at home. Opinions widely differ respecting its origin and its
necessity. That it was illegal, it may be presumed, no one will deny:
that it was wanton, is not so indisputable. The unfortunate termination
of Bligh's first expedition to Tahiti, the imputations of harshness and
cruelty for ever fastened to his name, and the disreputable agents he
sometimes employed in his service, made the position of the officers
extremely anxious, if not insecure. Bligh had become popular with the
expiree settlers, who reckoned a long arrear of vengeance to their
military taskmasters; and who, with the law on their side, or
encouragement from the governor, might have been expected to shew no
mercy. Had Bligh escaped to the interior, the personal safety of the
officers might have been perilled. The settlers, led on by the undoubted
representative of the crown, would have been able to justify any step
necessary for the recovery of his authority, and at whatever sacrifice
of life.
Bligh was permitted to embark on board the _Porpoise_[67], to proceed
forthwith to Great Britain, engaging not to communicate with any
intermediate British colony. He bound himself upon his honor as an
officer and a gentlemen to attempt nothing to the disturbance of the
existing government, pending the reference to Downing-street. This
agreement he made with Colonel Paterson, who had no part in the revolt.
When upon the quarter-deck of the _Porpoise_, he repudiated these
engagements, and ordered Lieutenant Kent, then in command, to batter
down Sydney, and to restore his authority by force;--a task he declined.
He, however, sailed for the Derwent, where his vessel was still lying,
when unknown to him Macquarie arrived in New South Wales. Bligh had
dispatched information of the insurrection at the earliest opportunity,
and the ministers lost no time in forwarding new troops. The ships
approached the harbour, prepared to pour in a broadside, but the
government was instantly delivered up to the newly appointed head, by
Colonel Paterson, the officer in command. The greater part of his
official acts were prudently confirmed by Governor Macquarie, although
the gifts and appointments of the interim government were declared null
and void.
When Bligh arrived at Hobart Town, he was received by Collins with the
respect due to his station; he was, however, soon followed by
despatches, which informed the lieutenant-governor of the movements at
Sydney. Collins, Bligh stated, intended to arrest him; at all events he
re-embarked, and the settlers were interdicted from holding
communication. A free man, Mr. Belbin, was flogged for the infraction of
this order, but afterwards received a grant from the crown in reward for
his loyalty. Mr. George Guest espoused the same side: the vessel was
ill-provisioned, and he secretly drove down his cattle to the beach,
where some were slaughtered for the use of the _Porpoise_.
In extenuation of the conduct of Collins, it will be remembered that
Bligh was already deposed, when he appeared in the Derwent; and that his
attempted resumption of office was a breach of his parole. The
impression prevailed that Bligh, if restored, would exact sanguinary
vengeance. The union of the officers was requisite to preserve order,
even in the most quiet times: when deprived of military authority, it
was the moral duty of Bligh to await the interference of the supreme
government, and not needlessly expose those whom he was unable to
protect, to the double danger of disloyalty and faction.
Bligh returned to Port Jackson: though the time for his honorary
restitution was passed, he was received with respectful formality. A
proclamation had already been issued, prohibiting suits of law for
injuries suffered from the usurping government, and giving indemnity and
protection to all who had acted under its authority; but Bligh was
empowered to carry home all who might be able to throw light on his
deposition. This order must have terminated the government of Collins,
had he survived. Colonel Johnstone was tried and cashiered (but
permitted to sell his commission), and the mildness of his sentence was
attributed by the crown to the extraordinary circumstance of the
case.[68]
This was the last important occurrence in the eventful life of Collins:
he died on the 24th March, 1810, in the fifty-sixth year of his age,
having held the administration six years and thirty-six days. His death
was sudden: except a slight cold, there was little warning of its
approach. He died whilst sitting in his chair, and conversing with his
attendant. His funeral was celebrated with all the pomp the colony could
command, and 600 persons were present.[69] The share he accepted in the
responsibility of the deposition of Bligh, disturbed his tranquillity,
and it was thought hastened his end.
In 1810, Collins attempted to establish a newspaper--_The Derwent Star,
and Van Diemen's Land Intelligencer_.[70] Though but a quarto leaf, with
broad margin, and all the contrivances which dilate the substance of a
journal, it was much too large for the settlement--where often there was
nothing to sell; where a birth or marriage was published sooner than a
paragraph could be printed; where a taste for general literature had no
existence, and politics were excluded. The chief contents were droll
anecdotes and odd exploits. The second number contains a rather pompous
account of Governor Macquarie's inauguration at Sydney. The next issue,
beside a government order or two, describes the feat of Barclay, the
pedestrian--a thousand miles in a thousand hours; the wonderful
longevity of Joseph Ram, a black of Jamaica, who died in his 140th year;
then the greatness of Lambert, whose body weighed 52 lbs. fourteen times
told; and who was sent by an inclined plane into his grave. Then follow
an eulogy on the governor's profession, one trial, one ship, two births,
and one marriage. The notice of a wedding is characteristic and
unique--the first published by the Tasmanian press:--"On Monday, 26th
ult., R. C. Burrows to Elizabeth Tucker, both late of Norfolk Island.
They had cohabited together fourteen years, verifying at last the old
adage--_better late than never_."[71] Such were the topics of this
ephemeral journal, which, however, survived the governor himself. In the
number published a few days before his decease, are the following
lines:--
"And thou, dear Cobham, with thy latest breath
Shall feel thy ruling passion strong in death:
Such in that moment, as in all the past:
'O, save my country, heaven!' shall be thy last."
Collins was the son of General Arthur Tooker Collins and Harriet Fraser,
of Pack, in King's County, Ireland: he was the grandson of Arthur
Collins, author of the _Peerage of England_.[72] At fourteen years of
age he was lieutenant of marines; two years after, he commanded the
military guard which attended Matilda, Queen of Denmark, to her
brother's Hanoverian dominions, and had the honor of kissing her hand.
It is said that, three years subsequent, he distinguished himself in
that fatal conflict already noticed--the battle of Bunker's Hill. In
1774, he was captain of marines in the _Courageux_, of 74 guns,
commanded by Lord Mulgrave, and was present with Lord Howe, at the
relief of Gibraltar. At the peace of 1782, he retired to Rochester, in
Kent, with his lady, an American, who survived him. The despatch,
announcing his decease, was filled with lamentations: "I am sure," said
the writer, "when I speak the feelings of my heart on this melancholy
occasion, that it is not my single voice, but that of every department
whatsoever in the settlement, who with the most heartfelt regret
acknowledge him to have been the father and the friend of all," His
person was remarkably handsome, and his manners prepossessing: to a
cultivated understanding, and an early fondness for literature, he
joined a most cheerful and social disposition.
Colonel Collins was buried in the church-yard of St. David's, Hobart
Town. To provide a temporary place for public worship, a small wooden
church was erected on the spot, and its altar was reared over his grave.
This building was blown down in a tempest, and its materials being
carried off, left the resting place of Collins long exposed to the
careless tread of the stranger. Sir John Franklin, always generous to
the memory of official worth, reared a monument, bearing this
inscription:--
Sacred
to the Memory of
DAVID COLLINS, ESQ.,
Lieutenant Governor of this Colony,
and Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Marine Forces.
On the first establishment of the colony of
New South Wales he was employed as Judge Advocate,
And in the year 1803
he was entrusted by his Majesty's government
with the command of an expedition,
destined to form a settlement at Port Phillip,
on the south coast of New Holland;
but which was subsequently removed to
Van Diemen's Land.
* * * * *
Under his direction as Lieutenant Governor,
the site of this town was chosen,
and the foundation of its first building
laid in 1804.
He died here on the 28th of March, 1810,[73]
aged 56 years.
And this monument long projected
was erected to his memory in 1838,
by direction of His Excellency
SIR JOHN FRANKLIN, K.C.H., K.R.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 41: _Ross's Almanack_, 1829.]
[Footnote 42: Ibid, 1835.]
[Footnote 43: _Wordsworth's Sonnet to the Derwent._]
[Footnote 44: Colonel Paterson had been distinguished by his researches
in Africa, and had gained considerable reputation as a botanist. This
spirit of enterprise and intelligence he always preserved: he directed
the government botanical establishment at Parramatta, and the French
delineated his attainments with more than their usual enthusiasm. He
superintended the exotic plantation provided for the colonies, and the
repository of native shrubs intended for the gardens at Kew. His name
not unfrequently occurs as an adjunct to the scientific descriptions of
the botanist. Formerly acting governor and commander of the military
corps of New South Wales, he was not unsuitable for the more direct
duties of his office. It is, however, as a naturalist that he is
remembered. _He planted trees_: some are still growing amidst the
desolation of York Town. He was the first who attempted to improve the
grass of the country. He was the author of a volume of travels,
published in 1789, entitled, _Narrative of Four Journies into the
Country of the Hottentots and Caffraria, in the years_ 1777-8, _and_ 9.]
[Footnote 45: _Sydney Gazette_, 1806.]
[Footnote 46: Ibid, May, 1812.]
[Footnote 47: Ibid, May, 1807.]
[Footnote 48: Lieut. Lord's Evidence, Par. Pap., 1812.]
[Footnote 49: Johnstone's Trial, p. 337.]
[Footnote 50: _Sydney Gazette_, 1808.]
[Footnote 51: "After numerous observations, we found it--Lat. 29° 4'
40". Long. 161° 12' East Greenwich."--_Hunter's Historical Journal._]
[Footnote 52: _Backhouse's Journal._]
[Footnote 53: Collins.]
[Footnote 54: Holt gives the following curious anecdote:--"The Rev.
Henry Fulton was reading the commandments, when Tony Chandler sung
out--'turn out, you d----d villians, and launch the boat!' As I was
going out, I said to Mr. Fulton, 'I perceive Tony Chandler's word has
more power here than the word of God.' Fulton smiled, and shook his
head."--_Memoirs_, vol. ii. p. 232.]
[Footnote 55: "At a distance, I saw about fifty men at work, as I
thought dressed in nankeen jackets, but on nearer approach I found them
naked, except trousers: they had each a kind of large hoe, about nine
inches deep and eight wide, and the handle as thick as a shovel, with
which they turned up the ground."-_Holt's Memoirs_, vol. ii. p. 79.]
[Footnote 56: The work is written with considerable strength of
delineation; although his accounts are not quite safe authority for the
character of his enemies. His words he spelled after a provincial
pronunciation: thus, describing the crew of the _Sydney_, he writes,
instead of Sepoys and Lascars, "Saypies and Glascars."]
[Footnote 57: Of the women at Rio, he says--"Their skin is equal in
clearness to the skin of a new laid egg: their eyes black as sloes;
their hair like polished jet; their teeth as even as rows of printing,
and as white as pearls; their eye-brows like those of a doll: their feet
and legs, as if they were modelled in wax-work. They are the most
complete patterns of the neatest form of a woman!"]
[Footnote 58: Wentworth.]
[Footnote 59: _Derwent Star, January_, 1810.]
[Footnote 60: _Cunningham's Two Years in New South Wales_, p. 201.]
[Footnote 61: _Derwent Star, February_, 1810.]
[Footnote 62: _Peron's Voyage._]
[Footnote 63: "It was, we must confess, very provoking to see the
officers draw goods from the public store, to traffic in them for their
own private gain, which goods were sent out for the advantage of the
settlers, who were compelled to deal with those huckster officers for
such articles as they might require; giving them from 50 to 500 per
cent. profit, and paying them in grain."--_Memoirs of Holt_, vol. ii. p.
296.]
[Footnote 64: The instance given by Mr. Wentworth (p. 202), of a man who
was sent by Bligh with a note to the constable, who was directed to flog
him, without informing him of its purport, however it might read in
London, will not seem enormous to a colonist, who could produce many
parallel cases; it was a practice too common.]
[Footnote 65: In 1702, Colonel Bayard was tried in New York, charged
with having used divers indirect practices and endeavours to procure
mutiny and desertion among the soldiers in the fort, &c. For sending a
petition to the home government, which received a few military
signatures, against the governor and the ruling faction, he was
condemned to death--in the horrid terms included in the penalty of high
treason. Before the sentence was executed, Lord Cornbury arrived: the
chief justice _fled to England_; Lord Cornbury, however, it is said;
destroyed the factions of New York, by oppressing them both: "and the
contest soon began, which ended in the establishment of a free and
independent nation."--_Chandler's American Trials._ Boston: vol. i. p.
294.]
[Footnote 66: _Lang's History of New South Wales_, vol. i. p. 110.]
[Footnote 67: Dr. Lang states, that "he was obliged to sign an agreement
to quit the colony forthwith; but instead of proceeding to England,
Governor Bligh landed at the Derwent."--(vol. i. p. 121). And seems
rather to extenuate this breach of faith. Were no agreement of this
class binding the rigours of captivity and civil strife could never be
mitigated. The following is Bligh's own statement:--"I took the
_Porpoise_ on the terms they proposed to me, and the moment I got the
command of the _Porpoise_, I took care to keep it, and would not suffer
any of these terms, or any thing which they said to have the least
influence on my mind."--Johnstone's trial, p. 33.]
[Footnote 68: Horse Guards. July 1811.]
[Footnote 69: _New South Wales Gazette_, 1810.]
[Footnote 70: Printed by J. Barnes and T. Clark, at the Government
Press, Hobart Town.]
[Footnote 71: _Derwent Star, March 6th_, 1810.]
[Footnote 72: _Collins's Peerage_: of venerable authority.--_Quarterly
Review_, 1820.]
SECTION III.
On the demise of Colonel Collins, the government devolved on Lieutenant
Edward Lord, until the arrival of Captain Murray, of the 73rd regiment.
The governor-in-chief visited Van Diemen's Land during Captain Murray's
administration. This auspicious event was the subject of great
exultation. Macquarie was received with all possible formality and
tokens of gladness: a salute from a battery of no great power; an
illumination in the small windows of the scattered cottages; and
addresses delivered by delegates, not bound to declare the number of
their constituents.[74]
Nothing remarkable is remembered of this visit, except that Macquarie
traced the future city. He complained of the utter neglect of right
lines in the erection of dwellings, which advanced or retreated
according to the whim of the builder. The centre of the projected town
he called St. George's Square: in this he intended to rear a church and
town hall, and the quarters of the main guard: the open space he
designed for a market. The streets which intersect each other he called
by the names which still distinguish them: Liverpool-street after the
minister of that name; Macquarie-street after himself; Elizabeth-street
in honor of his lady; Argyle-street, of their native country; and
Murray-street in compliment to the officer in command. The plan sketched
by Macquarie has not been absolutely followed, nor has it been improved.
He ordered the erection of a signal staff on Mount Nelson, named after
the vessel which brought him to port, and conveyed him safely to Port
Jackson. The settlers on the Derwent expressed a fervent admiration of
his devotedness in thus venturing to face the dangers of the visit;
especially accompanied by his consort--so they distinguished Mrs.
Macquarie. The governor merited their gratitude, for his hand was
liberal.[75]
In February, 1812, Colonel Geils became acting Lieutenant-Governor, and
remained until the arrival of Colonel Davey. Colonel Geils devoted great
attention to agricultural pursuits, and first formed at Risdon a
considerable farming establishment. Ordered to India with the troops
under his command, he forwarded his youthful sons to the Cape of Good
Hope, thence to be conveyed to England. The colonists heard soon after
with deep commiseration, that the vessel in which they re-embarked was
lost.
Colonel Davey, the second Governor of Van Diemen's Land, arrived on the
4th February, 1813. His manner of entrance indicated the peculiarity of
his character, for the weather being warm he carried his coat on his
arm, and announced himself at the house where he sought temporary
accommodations: nor did his subsequent administration differ from its
unceremonious beginning. He took pleasure in practical jokes and rough
humour: his countenance was strongly marked, and, by a peculiar motion
of the scalp, he delighted to throw his forehead into comical
contortions. He shared in common a taste for spirituous liquors, and was
not unwilling to participate wherever he was welcome as a guest. On what
principle he was selected to conduct the affairs of a remote and
reformatory settlement, it would be useless to conjecture. As a marine,
he had been present in many important actions; among the rest, at the
battle of Trafalgar. His intended departure from England he concealed
from his family, by whom it was discovered accidentally: they reached
the vessel by extraordinary exertions, and in neglect of all the usual
preparations for the voyage. The ship which conveyed his luggage was
taken by the Americans, during the war--for him a fortunate loss:
indemnified by the largest grant ever conferred in this island (3,000
acres); for it was not pretended that the captors could have made an
extensive prize.
Mrs. Davey, a lady of a meek and uncomplaining spirit, is spoken of with
respect, and the governor himself with kindness; for under a rough
exterior was concealed a generous disposition.
During Davey's government, two hundred female prisoners were brought
down from Sydney, in the brig _Kangaroo_: proclamation was made, and the
settlers were invited to receive them. There was little delicacy of
choice: they landed, and vanished; and some carried into the bush,
changed their destination before they reached their homes. Yet such is
the power of social affections, several of these unions yielded all the
ordinary consolations of domestic life!
The conveniences of civilisation were not wholly neglected. The ports
were opened for general commerce (June, 1813): houses of trade were
established, and Messrs. Kemp and Gatehouse, Messrs. E. Lord and J. H.
Reibey, supplied the colony with English goods: the most necessary
articles had often been wanting. The settlers purchased even the
clothing of the prisoners, as preferable to the skins of animals by
which they were often clad.
The resources of the colony were developed: Mr. Birch, an enterprising
merchant, fitted out a vessel to survey the western coasts (1816), and
Captain Kelly discovered Macquarie Harbour and Port Davey: Captain
Florence found a new species of pine, very highly valued by artificers.
Mr. Birch was rewarded with one year's monopoly of the trade he had
opened.
The whale fishery was considerably enlarged: corn was exported; the
plough introduced, and gradually superseded the hoe; a mill erected; and
(February, 1817) the foundation of St. David's Church was laid. Passage
boats connected the banks of the Derwent; a civil court for the recovery
of debts, not exceeding £50, was established. A newspaper--a second time
attempted in 1814 without success, when the commercial strength of the
community was indicated by two or three advertisements--was at length
published under better auspices. On the 1st June, 1816, Mr. Andrew Bent
issued the first number of the _Hobart Town Gazette and Southern
Reporter_, and thus brought into permanent action an agency which has
promoted as well as recorded the advancement of the community. Nor can
it be recollected without regret, that he, an undoubted benefactor of
the colony, is left to an indigent old age, cut off from the prosperity
to which his early labors contributed.
The welfare of Van Diemen's Land was greatly retarded by the number,
daring, and prolonged depredations of the bushrangers. In some
districts, the inhabitants offered a sanctuary to criminals, and, as
their scouts, gave notice of the approach of danger; while in others the
settlers were driven before them. To check their ravages, Colonel Davey
declared the whole colony under martial law: he punished with flogging
persons, whether free or bond, who quitted their houses by night.
Several offenders were captured, and suffered death.[76] The
inhabitants, to the number of six hundred, expressed their approval of
this stretch of power, but it was promptly disallowed by the
governor-in-chief. On many previous occasions the same course had been
pursued. To constitutional law, the lieutenant-governor was both
indifferent and a stranger.
Colonel Davey, when he relinquished his office, remained for some time
as a settler; he was not, however, successful. He returned to England,
where he died on the 2nd May, 1823. His contemporaries speak of his
character in terms of eulogy. The modern colonist will remember, that
the tastes of society have since that period been modified, even in
Great Britain; and that character can never be fairly judged when
separated from the circumstances in which it is developed. Then, the
town was a mere camp: the etiquette of office, necessary when a
community is advanced, would be folly in its infancy.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 73: Collins, according to most authorities, died on the 24th
March, 1810.]
[Footnote 74:
"_To his Excellency_ LACHLAN MACQUARIE, ESQ., _Captain-General
and Commander-in-chief of his Majesty's Territory of New South
Wales and its Dependencies, &c. &c. &c._
"We, the inhabitants, settlers, and freeholders of his Majesty's
settlement established at the Derwent, Van Diemen's Land, impressed with
the most fervent zeal for his Majesty's government, and the most
profound respect, esteem, and veneration for your Excellency, most
dutifully congratulate you on your arrival at Hobart Town.
"When men, whose characteristic is industry, consider themselves
governed by an Officer in whom his Majesty has reposed merited
confidence, who in order to promote agriculture, encourage morality,
efface dissension, and patronise the industrious and deserving part of
our community, leaves his seat of government, and exposes himself and
his worthy Consort, under many privations, in a small vessel, to the
dangers of a coasting voyage on these seas, a natural emulation must
necessarily arise in the breasts of the inhabitants to merit, by an
inviolable attachment to the laws, and an adherence to the regulations
of the colony, the patronage, favour, and protection of such an
unequalled Governor.
"We humbly presume to hope that the favorable impressions which our
industrious exertions have made on your Excellency's mind on your seeing
Hobart Town and its vicinity, will become much increased on your return
from that tour through the different settlements which your Excellency's
intuitive mind may induce you to make.
"Independent of the high consideration in which we hold your Excellency
as the Representative of our Most Gracious Sovereign, we presume to
solicit your acceptance of our most unqualified respect for your
Excellency's person, and with duty, in the name and on the behalf of the
inhabitants in general, subscribe ourselves your Excellency's most
devoted servants,
"R. W. LOANE, J. INGLE,
"T. W. BIRCH, A. WHITEHEAD."
"_Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land, November 26_, 1811.
"GENTLEMEN,--The address which I have this day the satisfaction to
receive from you has been gratifying to me, and I beg you to believe
that the inconveniences I have experienced in my voyage to Van Diemen's
Land, have been amply compensated in the pleasure I feel on seeing one
of the finest countries in the world in a state of rapid improvement by
the exertions of his Majesty's loyal subjects settled here, in whose
welfare I shall at all times feel a warm interest; and sincerely hope
that the industry so happily begun will be persevered in with success.
"I return you many thanks for the sentiments of regard you have been
pleased to express towards me.--I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, your
most obedient and most humble servant,
"(Signed) LACHLAN MACQUARIE.
"To Messrs. R. W. Loane, J. Ingle, T. W. Birch, and
A. Whitehead, the Committee who presented the
Address from the inhabitants of the Settlement at
Hobart Town, in Van Diemen's Land."]
[Footnote 75: The complimentary style in which the settlers addressed
the Macquarie family was not without reason. It is said that Mrs. Kate
Kearney, when the high price of her butter was complained of by the
governor, stopped the supply. Mrs. Macquarie, curious to see this
independent milk-seller, paid her a visit: when she entered, the old
lady received her very graciously, and asked after the health of the
Governor, and added, "how is the young Prince?" The story goes, that she
received a valuable grant of land for this well-timed compliment. A
bullock driver, who attended Mrs. Macquarie during one of these visits,
annoyed her by swearing at the cattle: she promised to obtain him his
free pardon, if he would only treat the animals with more civility. A
hundred such stories are current; but he who has been accustomed to sift
them, may take them for their worth.]
[Footnote 76: See vol. ii, p. 129, of this History, for an account of
bushranging.]
SECTION IV.
In planting the colony of New South Wales, it was requisite to provide a
form of government adapted for a community without precedent. That
instituted was equally alien from established usage. It conferred powers
on the governor beyond the dreams of ordinary princes, and violated all
the constitutional guarantees which support the rights of subjects. The
American colonies derived their constitutions, some from the
prerogatives of the crown, others from parliament, under acts
prescribing their structure and limiting their jurisdiction. In some
cases the British legislature authorised the crown to convey the powers
of government at its own discretion, and its own agents. In the reign of
George III.[77] the parliament passed the Quebec Act, which defined the
powers of Canadian legislation and judicature, and thus established a
course that has never since been abandoned.
The immediate design and composition of the Australian colony precluded
the forms of constitutional freedom: the object of the laws and
regulations were but remotely connected with the ordinary interests of
British citizens. Having obtained, therefore, the authority to institute
a government, the crown put into commission the powers it received, but
left to the local authorities to interpret and apply them.[78]
The court of criminal jurisdiction was composed of seven officers, of
whom the judge advocate was one. It could only assemble on the summons
of the governor: his precept determined who, or whether any should sit,
and thus regulated the jury: as their commander his influence was
great--greater, as the dispenser of royal patronage.
The powers of the grand jury devolved on the judge advocate, who framed
the indictment, and determined beforehand the probability of guilt: he
thus sat in a cause which he had judged already. The prosecutor
conducted his own case: witnesses were examined in open court, and the
accused was unassisted by counsel. Nor was unanimity required: yet five
in seven were necessary in capital cases, to authorise an immediate
execution. The judge advocate deliberated with his co-jurors in secret,
and the court was re-opened only when they had agreed upon their
verdict, and determined the sentence. Thus in ordinary cases the weight
of authority in deciding guilt, as well as apportioning punishment,
usually rested with an officer officially connected with the government.
The operation of this court was liable to serious constitutional
objections. It was in the power of the governor to exclude the subject
from the protection of the law, by shutting up the court, and by the
arbitrary selection of its members to anticipate its decision.
In conducting the business of the court, its members dispensed with the
niceties of law, and gave their verdict upon what appeared to be the
substantial merits of the case. From the age of fourteen, the first
judge advocate had been employed in the royal marine service, and
whatever intelligence his writings display, they exhibit utter disregard
of rights recognised by the British constitution. His successors in
office, for two-and-twenty years, until the appointment of Mr. Ellis
Bent, were gentlemen connected with the military profession, who were
unassisted, except by such lawyers as the lottery of transportation
threw in their way: thus, while they were limited by parliament to a
jurisdiction according to the laws of the realm,[79] they were more than
usually unacquainted with their nature, and indifferent to their
observance.
Such were the inherent defects of this form of judicature, from the
large influence possessed by the executive; which could determine the
time of sitting and the members of the court; which denied the right of
challenge, and accepted the concurrence of five voices only in cases of
life and death--and those of persons subject to the influence of the
governor and unaccustomed to weigh evidence, or to defer to the maxims
of civil tribunals. But if the constitution of the court was a subject
of just complaint, the creation of new offences by unauthorised
legislation, was still less acceptable to English statists.
The court proceeded smoothly, so long as none but convicts or persons of
trivial influence were in question; but the dispute with Governor Bligh
disclosed the dangers with which it was fraught: the sympathy of the
jurors with the accused frustrated his prosecution, and overthrew the
executive.
The _esprit du corps_ of the jurors occasionally appeared in their
verdict: the decision of a cause in which an officer was the aggressor,
or one which interested the passions, did not command the confidence of
the people.
The jeopardy of justice was illustrated by a dispute, in which the Rev.
Mr. Marsden was complainant, and the secretary of the governor the
defendant. Mr. Campbell was the censor of the New South Wales press: he
admitted an article, which imputed to Mr. Marsden (1817) the abuse of
his office as agent for the missionary societies, and of using muskets
and gunpowder as articles of traffic with the natives of the Pacific.
The judge advocate in this instance was said to attempt to shelter the
offender by the influence of his three-fold office--as the law adviser
of the governor, the public prosecutor, and member of the court of
criminal jurisdiction. His reluctance to admit the evidence, and to take
the preliminary steps in the prosecution, and his direction to deliver
an inoperative verdict, were held fatal evidences that impartiality
could not be secured by uniting functions so inconsistent with each
other.
The jurors were not unfrequently interested: in some instances the
prosecutor sat as witness and judge, giving the principal evidence in
the case in which he was both to decide the guilt and apportion the
punishment.[80]
The establishment of a court of criminal jurisdiction was alone
authorised by the parliament: the necessity for supplemental laws was
not foreseen, but was soon perceived. The governors assumed the
legislative authority, under the disguise of orders and regulations,
often contrary to the principles of English law, and sustained by
penalties unknown in Great Britain. These were not collated until a late
period: their provisions were imperfectly promulgated. In enforcing
them, the governors relied on the impotence of resistance, and
justified their enactment on the ground of expediency.
Had the parliament conveyed a legislative power, the ordinary
precautions and limitations would have been embodied for that purpose:
thus the free subjects of the king would have known the extent of their
liabilities, both to prohibitions and penalties. An unfettered despotism
drew no distinction, but rejected all questions of legality as
contumacious.
Among the subordinate officers, were some high in rank, natives of
France, who had emigrated during the revolution, or had by incurring the
hatred of its government deserved the patronage of our own. Profoundly
indifferent to the rights of freedom, and ignorant of the forms or
proper subjects of judicial investigation, an "order" was far more
sacred in their eyes, than the volumes of Blackstone. English gentlemen
might have recalled the solemn warnings of history which check
aggressions on private liberty, but an exiled adherent of Bourbon
princes was not likely to be embarrassed by educational prejudices. Not
that British officers were really more scrupulous, or offered by their
habits a better guarantee for the legality of their administration.[81]
The minor offences of prisoners passed under the summary adjudication of
magistrates. They often indulged in the lowest humour or furious
passion: they applied torture to extract confessions, and repeated
flagellation until it became dangerous to life.
The long delay of legislative remedies, when omissions and defects were
discovered, is a proof of ministerial indifference. The crown provided a
court of criminal jurisdiction for Port Phillip: the jurisdiction was
strictly local, and the judge advocate ceased to act when Van Diemen's
Land was occupied; but twenty years elapsed before the deficiency was
supplied. Again, the criminal court of New South Wales was limited to
islands adjacent to the _eastern coast_.[82] The discovery of Bass's
Strait proved that Van Diemen's Land was not included in this
geographical definition, and the scrupulous or idle judges for a long
time evaded the holding of courts in this island, which was thus
surrendered to disorder. In the absence of a legal court, the
magistrates set up a jurisdiction of their own. Criminal trials were
dispatched by the simplest process, and the mixed penalties of a
military and civil court inflicted on the assumed offender.[83] Thus,
the negligent provision for the administration of justice secured
impunity to crime, or seemed to require an arbitrary tribunal.
The proclamation of martial law, was to relieve the government from the
restraints of forms. The facility with which justice could be
administered by it, was illustrated at the Castle Hill insurrection: no
life being lost on the government side, the victorious troops arranged
that every third man convicted should be hanged. They drew the names of
the sufferers by lot, and were proceeding with great vigour, when the
appearance of the governor suspended the execution.[84] The dangerous
usurpation in both Norfolk Island and Van Diemen's Land, led to the
hasty sacrifice of life.
The scarcity of corn was once deemed a sufficient justification, when
there was no appearance of sedition: at these times the government
seized boats, or whatever was deemed useful for the public service, and
imitated the most irregular actions of the Stuarts.
The subordinate authorities were supposed to partake the license of
their superiors. One commandant, Colonel Geils, fixed a spiked collar on
the neck of a free woman; another flogged a female through Hobart Town
for abusive language; and another tied up a free man on the spot, for
placarding a grievance, when as yet there was no press.[85] Davey,
having ordered a person to the triangles, answered his remonstrances
with a pleasant jest: the sufferer reminded him that he could not flog
him; the governor answered that "he would try," and the flagellator soon
determined the problem in favor of authority. Indignant exclamations of
free men were deemed preposterous by a body of officials, who regarded
the diffidence of civil government as absurd, and considered power as
the standard of right.
The administration of justice is described by a work of the times:--"I
have known," wrote a contemporary witness, "men, without trial,
sentenced to transportation by a single magistrate at his own door: free
men, after being acquitted by a court of criminal judicature, banished
to another of the dependant settlements. I have heard a magistrate tell
a prisoner (then being examined for a capital offence, and who had some
goods, supposed to be stolen, for which he would not account), that were
he not going to be hanged so soon, he (the magistrate) would make him
say whence he got them. I have known depositions destroyed by the
magistrate."[86]
The courts were limited by the laws in force within the _realm_, but the
realm was not defined;[87] and thus what portion of the law was
applicable, was left in thirty years' doubt, until the commissioner
royal stated that the omission had prevented several executions.[88] The
same number of years were required to ascertain whether laws passed in
Great Britain subsequent to the era of colonisation were the laws of the
colony.
Law officers of the crown were permitted to define authoritatively the
import of acts of parliament, and on their official decisions the
colonial judge convicted, and the governor executed a criminal.[89]
The persons commissioned as justices constituted a court in avowed
conformity with such tribunals in England, but they adjudicated on the
orders of the governor, and inflicted the penalties he appointed; though
the supreme court, sitting concurrently with these "benches," rejected
the legislation of the governor as invalid, when the basis of an action:
one judge supported them by his moral countenance, although he knew
them to be without legal authority.[90] Judge Advocate Wylde, however,
declared the legislative authority of the governor equally binding with
acts of parliament--a doctrine never surpassed by the most subservient
advocates of an unlimited monarchy.[91]
The crown authorised the governor to grant remissions, but while he
omitted the formalities requisite to perfect those pardons, the minister
neglected to require them. For thirty years the error was undetected,
and until a fraudulent creditor evaded a bill due to an emancipist; but
several years were allowed to pass, even when the mistake was
discovered, before it was fully corrected.
The ministers authorised the governors to grant land to settlers. For
forty-six years these delegates divided the domain of their sovereign,
as if it were his personal property, and without the consent of
parliament, when a court of this colony decided that all such titles
were void in law, whether acquired by purchase or under the old
quit-rent tenure.[92]
Above two hundred thousand pounds had been levied by successive
governors since the illegality of taxation was first submitted to the
notice of the cabinet. In gathering this money, not only had property
been seized, destroyed, and confiscated, but many persons had been
imprisoned, and suffered all the miseries of felon bonds: yet when
arrears, which the indulgence of the government had permitted to
accumulate, were made a subject of legal procedure, the whole fabric of
taxation and legislation by the governor's will, fell down.[93]
The judge of the supreme court could not be insensible to the serious
personal responsibility of longer supporting illegal taxation: he
privately admonished the governor, who withdrew his actions. An act of
indemnity released the ministers who advised, and the governors who
enforced their demands, from the punishment of usurpation; and granted
them power to do by law, what in defiance of law they had done so
long.[94]
Ingenious aggravations were made to the common penalties of a crime:
Collins relates that a witness convicted of perjury, was condemned to
the pillory: his ears nailed to the post as an additional
punishment.[95]
The courts of those times confounded everything together, and deciding
the perjury of a witness, often tried two parties at the same moment.
Flogging witnesses was an ordinary result of investigations, when they
did not end in convictions: so late as 1823, Judge Wylde ordered a
witness to be taken outside, and receive _instanter_ one hundred
lashes.[96]
The long privation of this colony of judicial protection, not only
hindered the due administration of justice, but encouraged imprudence
and fraud. In the year 1814, when the crown erected a supreme court at
Sydney for the decision of civil causes, Major Abbot, a member of the
New South Wales corps, was commissioned as deputy judge advocate in Van
Diemen's Land. He adjudicated in petty session as a magistrate, and by
the accommodation of law to the circumstances of the colony, dealt in a
summary manner with capital offences where prisoners were concerned.
Thus sheep stealing and crimes against the person, committed by
prisoners, were punished by flogging, and removal to a more penal
station; and thus, while a prisoner of the crown might escape with a
milder sentence, free persons for similar offences were placed in
jeopardy of their lives.
"The experiment of a reformatory penal colony," said Sir James
Mackintosh, "is the grandest ever tried; but New South Wales is governed
on principles of political economy more barbarous than those which
prevailed under Queen Bess."[97] This great statesman, who declared no
provincial sphere seemed to him so worthy a noble ambition, as to
become the legislator for these colonies, never failed to denounce the
accumulation of illegality and folly.
At this stage of our inquiry, it may be proper to scan this singular
government. The legislators who authorised its establishment, prescribed
as little as possible: all beyond the repression of crime was hidden
from their eyes. They saw that punishments must be necessary, and
provided for their infliction; but the complicated arrangements which
grew out of the colonisation, were left to the adjustment of chance, or
the discrimination of ministers, and ultimately to the caprice of naval
and military governors.
The extemporary character of their contrivance and expedients, is
sufficiently apparent. Nothing was expected: nothing was dreaded: no
checks were opposed to abuses. Thus acts of tyranny were perpetrated
beyond the ordinary excesses of arbitrary governments, and all classes
were confounded in one regimen of despotism. The commencing measures
manifested their indifference to personal rights. Intending to banish
men for life, the ministers selected for the first fleet chiefly persons
whose crimes only forfeited their freedom for a few years. By
withholding, or neglecting to forward lists of their names, their
crimes, or their sentences, they consigned them not only to perpetual
exile but protracted and illegal bondage. Imitating the ministers of the
crown, the governor imposed compulsory labor on free men, or detained
them when their liberation was notoriously due.
Thus again, law had conveyed power to the king to deliver prisoners by
assignment to shippers, but jealous of trusting the executive, the
actual transportation could only be carried out as the result of a
covenant with private persons. Regardless of these well-advised
precautions, the ministers delivered prisoners to ships of war, in
custody of captains in the royal navy, bound to obey the orders of the
crown; and when loud remonstrances induced them to obtain a legislative
sanction to the innovation, they were silent in reference to the past,
and trusted in their party influence to protect their own agents from
legal penalties.[98] No wonder, with such examples before them, the
governors detained or released at their pleasure.
Bentham was the first to protest against this illegal and violent system
of government, as opposed to every principle made sacred by the
Revolution, by judicial decisions, or by the oaths of sovereigns. He
asserted that the movers and ministers of these despotic proceedings
were liable, one and all, to the visitations of the most penal laws.[99]
They had legislated without warrant, had detained free persons in
bondage, levied illegal duties and imposed unconstitutional
restrictions, and had inflicted cruel punishments for crimes invented by
themselves. The apology for usurpation, was its obvious importance and
general utility; but no one will dissent from the strong indignation
expressed by the philosopher, at wanton violations of British law,
neglect of personal rights and parliamentary privileges.
Governor King, it is believed, first established customs.[100] Hunter
had assessed the property of the colonists, upon obtaining the consent
of several, for the erection of a gaol.[101] The poorer inhabitants
refused to comply with the levy, and were threatened with vengeance:
they knew that however useful, such taxes were illegal though otherwise
just. Thus, although legislation was not shadowed by the parliamentary
act, the governors assumed it in its amplest form. Among the earliest
were orders respecting the production and sale of spirits: to this, the
oriental penalty was attached--"his still shall be destroyed, and his
house pulled down." Infraction of this law was subsequently punished by
imprisonment and transportation.
Of torture, to extort confession, we have ample proof, both written and
traditional: of one Collins observes, "when he trifled he was punished
again; he then declared that the plunder was buried. He went to the
spot, but could not find it; he was then taken to the hospital." Another
was tortured in the same form; but, adds the judge, "the constancy of
the wretched man was astonishing:"[102] he was in consequence acquitted!
This practice continued for twenty years, and in 1825 a prosecution was
instituted against a magistrate for attempting to extract confession by
torture.
The tendency of undefined power to run into tyranny, is illustrated by
Macquarie himself. He had prohibited the entrance of strangers within
the government grounds, and to detect the offenders stationed constables
on the spot, who lay in ambush: three men and two servant girls were
captured and committed. The next morning, the men each received
twenty-five lashes, by the written order of the governor: the women were
detained in the cells for forty-eight hours. There was no appeal to law;
and the sole actors were the governor and the gaoler. A process so
simple was no longer to be tolerated: the public were alarmed.[103] The
assumption of magisterial powers was not compatible with the office of
the governor; but to authorise the flagellation of free men without
trial, for a perhaps innocent trespass, was both dangerous and unjust.
This was, perhaps, the last instance of such extravagant despotism, and
it exposed Macquarie to much inquietude during his life. That a person
so humane in his general character should forget the precautions due in
equity and in law, and punish arbitrarily for imaginary offences, proved
that no power is safely bestowed, unless its objects and extent are
minutely defined.
The civil, called the "Governor's Court," was instituted by George III.
in virtue of his prerogative. It consisted of the judge advocate, and
two inhabitants chosen by the governor: it was empowered to decide in a
summary manner all pleas in relation to property and contracts, and it
granted probates of wills.
When convicts contracted pecuniary obligations, the governor specially
withdrew them from liability to arrest; and told the creditors that in
trusting these debtors their opinion of their honesty must be their sole
guarantee: government could not spare "the servants of the public" from
their toils to answer the plaints of suitors.[104]
From its decisions, a cause could be carried to the governor; and in
sums exceeding £300, to the king in council.
Though unsanctioned by an act of parliament, this court departed widely
from the practice of England. Its authority was keenly disputed by
Bentham; and Commissioner Bigge, in stating its origin and operation,
hints a similar doubt.[105]
Undisturbed by objections the crown, by the patents and commissions of
1814, separated the criminal jurisdiction from the civil, and created a
supreme court, which adopted the English practice. By the new patent, an
appeal was permitted from the supreme court to the "High Court of
Appeals," consisting of the governor and the judge advocate; and, except
when £3,000 were in issue, his judgment was final![106] To both these
tribunals the Tasmanians were amenable; but in civil cases the
appointment (1814) of a local court under the deputy judge advocate,
terminated the absolute dependence on Port Jackson for judicial relief.
Plaints for debts not exceeding £50 were entertained by this court, and
creditors contrived to bring their claims within its jurisdiction, by
dividing the amount into bills of £50. This evasion of the law, although
it defeated the intention of a superior court and lessened its business,
was useful to both parties; it decreased the difficulty and expenses of
suits. It was more equitable in its operation than the supreme court:
the owner of a vessel could carry up his own witnesses to Sydney, and at
the termination of a trial convey them home without delay; but the less
opulent debtor or creditor found himself practically excluded from
redress.
Mr. Judge Abbot was, however, not eager to assume his office, and it was
not until 1816 that he commenced operations. The accumulation of debts
must have been great, for at his first session fourteen hundred plaints
were entered: nor did he exhaust the suitors by delay, for eleven
hundred were disposed of during that year. Two inhabitants, chosen by
the governor sat as assessors; and being known, and knowing all parties,
they often discussed in private beforehand the causes awaiting their
verdict![107]
The deputy judge advocate held in contempt the net-work of the law, by
which equitable rights are sometimes entangled: his was a court of
request without appeal, and he took pleasure in asserting its finality.
For the convenience of suitors he allowed agents to practice in his
court: these gentlemen had somewhat more legal knowledge than the judge,
and often exasperated his antipathies by its ostentation. They would
dwell on the dignity of his court: his decision was irrevocable; even
the lord chancellor of England, they would say, was subject to the
revision of a still higher court than his own, but the deputy judge
advocate decided the cause for ever. Trusted with such resistless
jurisdiction--such onerous responsibility, how great must be his care to
avoid an error beyond correction--an injustice that could not be undone
but by an act of parliament! Such were their addresses: occasionally
heard with complacency--and, it is said, not always unsuccessful. The
most famous of these practitioners were Messrs. R. L. Murray and Evan
Henry Thomas. The last gentleman was an emigrant, and issued a
rhetorical advertisement for employment as a preceptor; but renouncing
that calling, he provided himself with a blue bag, the sole
qualification essential, and paraded the vicinity of the court: here
some suitor found him. What he wanted in experience he made up by
industry; and thus carrying his cause, established his reputation as a
pleader.
Abbott was a lover of fair play: when one of these gentlemen stated a
cause, he expressed a wish that the other side could be placed in as
clear a light. Willing to show how well he comprehended the case, the
agent for the plaintiff set before the court what the defendant might
allege; and Abbott, admitting its force, determined in his favor! The
equitable judge decided that the plaintiff should pay the defendant the
unsought balance of his bill.
On such a primitive plan were minor rights protected. Although the
decisions were often grounded on imperfect proof, the substantial equity
of Abbott's adjudications was rarely questioned. In cases under £5 the
court received no fee, but in higher causes a small sum was paid. The
agents obtained what they could, as the recompense of their professional
toils.
Major Abbott continued to preside as deputy judge advocate, until his
office was abolished. After visiting England he returned to Launceston
with the appointment of civil commandant. He died in 1832: the
inhabitants spontaneously honored his funeral. He was esteemed as a
person of a generous nature and upright intentions. Major Abbott entered
the army at the age of thirteen: he was in the service of the crown
fifty-three years, forty-three of which were spent in the colonies.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 77: 14 Geo. iii. c. 83.]
[Footnote 78: "Whereas it may be found necessary that a colony and a
civil government should be established, and that a court of criminal
jurisdiction should also be established, with authority to proceed in a
more summary way than is used within this realm, according to the known
and established laws thereof." The court, described as above, is then
authorised, to try "outrages and misbehaviours, as if committed in this
realm would be treason or misprision thereof, felony or
misdemeanour."--27 Geo. iii. Nothing is said of legislative power.]
[Footnote 79: _Collins_, vol. i. p. 32.]
[Footnote 80: _Bigge's Jud. Report_, p. 34.]
[Footnote 81: Holt has left a graphic picture of a justice, which must
be received, perhaps, with some reservation;--"I was walking with
Barrington, the most accomplished pickpocket: he was arm-in-arm with
Richard Atkins, Esq. I wished to have some conversation with them. A
bottle of rum was produced, and some pleasant conversation about Ireland
passed. At length I wished to retire, and Mr. A. said he never allowed
any bottle off his table till he saw it emptied. We finished the half
gallon bottle, and of course were not a little elevated. Mr. A. acted as
a kind of deputy, when Judge Dore was not able, which not unfrequently
happened: when spirits were plenty in the colony, he was generally
indisposed." Mr. Croker adds, that "Atkins was appointed as a substitute
to Collins in 1796, by the secretary of state, until the arrival of Mr.
Dore in 1797."]
[Footnote 82: _Bigge's Jud. Report_, p. 2.
At Norfolk Island a court of criminal jurisdiction departed still
further from the precedents of civil justice. An act authorised the
government to convene a court of four military or naval officers, to
decide on questions of life and death, even when free men were
implicated.]
[Footnote 83: "Yesterday, the bench assembled, when a free man, formerly
belonging to Fort Dalrymple, was found guilty of stealing a silver watch
from George Guest, jun., his property, and sentenced to labor for the
government for the term of five years, and moreover to receive 500
lashes."--_Derwent Star, Feb. 6th_, 1810.]
[Footnote 84: _Holt's Memoirs_, vol. ii. p. 202.]
[Footnote 85: Such punishments were not always unmerited, but they were
capricious. A magistrate tied a carter to the wheel of his waggon, and
inflicted 300 lashes for cruelty to his bullocks; but Dr. Montgarret
ordered the blacksmith to be flogged, for presenting his bill!]
[Footnote 86: _Mann's Picture of New South Wales_, 1811.]
[Footnote 87: _Bentham's Plea._]
[Footnote 88: _Bigge's Jud. Report_, p. 17.]
[Footnote 89: Ibid.]
[Footnote 90: _Bigge's Jud. Report_, p. 6. _Wentworth_, p. 43. edit. of
1820.]
[Footnote 91: _Bigge's Report_, p. 48.]
[Footnote 92: _Macarthur's New South Wales: its present state and future
prospects_, 1837.]
[Footnote 93: _Bigge's Report._]
[Footnote 94: 59 Geo. iii. 1819.]
[Footnote 95: "This sentence was put in execution before the provision
store, when the mob, either to display their aversion to the crime, or
what might be more probable, to catch anything that wore the form of
amusement, pelted him with rotten eggs and dirt."--_Collins_, vol. ii.
p. 54.]
[Footnote 96: _Gazette_, 1823.]
[Footnote 97: Maconochie, in his supplement to _Australiana_, extracts
the following passages from one of Sir James Mackintosh's private
letters, published in his _Memoirs_, p. 342-3:--"Even out of England
there are many places which I should prefer to this (Bombay). You will
smile at the mention of Botany Bay; but I am most serious, and I assure
you that next to a parliamentary situation, to which either nature or
early ambition has constantly directed my views, I should prefer,
without much regarding pecuniary advantages, that of being the lawgiver
of Botany Bay.... England, in rearing such a community, is preparing not
only conquerors of India, but enemies to herself and to all mankind.
While on the one side the experiment of a reforming penal colony is,
perhaps, the grandest ever tried in morals, it is one which is perfectly
safe; for the settlement never can be worse than it is now, when no
attempt towards reformation is dreamed of, and when it is governed on
principles of political economy more barbarous than those which
prevailed under Queen Bess. Every day the difficulties of the experiment
grow with the increase of the (criminal) population.... I have heard,
read, and thought so much about this extraordinary colony, that I am
very confident in my general opinions; and I confess, between ourselves,
that I am a piece of an enthusiast in my reforming projects," &c.]
[Footnote 98: 43 Geo. iii.]
[Footnote 99: "Not a governor, not a magistrate, that has acted thus,
but has exposed himself to prosecutions upon prosecutions, to actions
upon actions, from which not even the crown can save him."--_Bentham's
Plea for the Constitution_, 1804.]
[Footnote 100: _Wentworth_, p. 389. 1820.]
[Footnote 101: _Collins_, vol. ii. p. 214.]
[Footnote 102: _Collins_, vol. i. p. 268.]
[Footnote 103: _Bigge's Jud. Report_, p. 76.]
[Footnote 104: Collins.]
[Footnote 105: _Bigge's Jud. Report._]
[Footnote 106: Ibid.]
[Footnote 107: Ibid.]
SECTION V.
William Sorell, Esq., third Lieutenant-governor, landed 8th April, 1817.
To restore safety to the colony was the first duty of the governor: on
his assumption of office he called the inhabitants together, and enabled
by their subscriptions he offered large rewards, and thus inspirited
both the soldiers and the constables. In less than three months the
greater portion of the bushrangers were destroyed or captured. During
Sorell's administration the colony suffered no serious disturbance from
outlaws. This display of rigour was followed by judicious precautions:
he ascertained more frequently the distribution and employment of the
prisoners of the crown, and removed many temptations to disorder and
crime.
It was the practice, established first a few months after his arrival,
to muster the whole population annually. Notice was sent through the
districts, requiring the attendance of the several classes, who
accounted for their families and their stock: the name, the residence,
and civil condition of every inhabitant became known. Sorell thus
ascertained the increase of cultivation and cattle, and whatever
indicated progress.
The landing of settlers direct from Great Britain was an important
event: their efforts were experiments, and their achievements were
prophetic. The political philosopher may trace in their errors, trials,
and successes, the lessons afforded by experience for the instruction of
nations. The rapid advance of modern colonisation tends to underrate the
first efforts of our predecessors. The first colonial boat-builder
founded a great commercial navy; the first shepherd held in his slender
flock a treasure of unimaginable worth.
The arrival of many emigrants led to the exploration of the country. The
hunters were usually the pioneers, but beyond the general features of
the scenery, they afforded little information: wild cattle were the
better guides. To provide a settlement for strangers, Sorell explored
the region lying between the Shannon and the Clyde to its junction with
the Derwent; free from timber, and within twenty miles of navigable
waters. At this district were located several distinguished settlers.
The narrow grants and wretched homesteads of the emancipist cotters, the
sole farmers at the time of this immigration, presented but little to
please. The settler, whose imagination pictured the rustic beauties and
quiet order of an English farm, saw unfenced fields of grain, deformed
with blackened stumps: a low cottage of the meanest structure,[108]
surrounded by heaps of wool, bones, and sheepskins; harrows and water
carts amidst firewood; mutton and kangaroo strung on the branches of
trees; idle and uncleanly men, of different civil condition but of one
class; tribes of dogs and natives. No green hedges or flowery meadows,
or notes of the thrush or nightingale; but yet there was the park-like
lands, the brilliant skies, the pure river; and, above all, the
untainted breath of the morning.
In 1820, there were only two estates, those of Mr. E. Lord and Colonel
Davey, on which fences were erected; and the destructive incursions of
cattle were subjects of many complaints: yet in that year £20,000 had
been obtained for wheat exported to Sydney. The first crops were
prolific: the early settlers chose the more fertile and open plains; and
many selected sites for their dwellings on natural lawns of surpassing
beauty.
The dispatch of vessels direct from England rapidly increased the
population: in one year (1822) six hundred settlers entered the port,
and by the capital which they invested, and the habits of decency and
enterprise they exhibited, gave a new tone to the colony. A succession
of publications drew attention at home to the capabilities of Van
Diemen's Land. It was described in the _Quarterly Review_ (May, 1820) by
a friendly pen, which stated that during three years, a detachment of
one hundred men had not lost three, and that Hobart Town had been
sixteen months without a funeral.
The work of Lieutenant Jeffries, who spent several months in a passage
from Sydney to Van Diemen's Land, and who wrote much in praise of the
native women, and the pleasures of a bush life, drew a pleasing picture.
The more sober sketch of Captain Dixon, and the copious delineations of
Mr. Wentworth, directed the public curiosity to Tasmania. For several
successive years new books were published, describing the fertility of
the soil and the beauty of the climate. These generally contained a
theory of pastoral increase--a geometrical progression towards wealth.
The increase was, indeed, rapid beyond oriental precedent. Between 1810
and 1820, it was estimated at fifty fold.[109] The adaptation of these
colonies for the growth of wool first drew the attention of several
gentlemen of Hamburgh, whose importations afterwards promoted the
improvement of our flocks.
The position of Van Diemen's Land favored its settlement. Vessels bound
to Port Jackson often touched at the Derwent to discharge portions of
their cargo; and weary with the length of the voyage, emigrants listened
to the persuasions of the colonists, and the hints of the
lieutenant-governor himself.
The advantages offered to settlers, so late as 1818, included not only
grants of land, but loans of stock and seed; and a price for wheat, long
standing at 10s. per bushel, and for meat 6d. per lb. The settlers were
entitled to rations for themselves and their convict servants for six
months. It was stipulated that the stock should be replaced by the
increase, and the wheat repaid at the harvest. Such engagements were,
however, rarely fulfilled. No suits could be prosecuted by the crown in
the local court, and vague threats of disfavor were the only means of
recovery: these were understood as formalities. The crown, by the
prohibition of distillation, prevented a consumption of grain, and until
a fixed price was given corn had been sometimes of no value whatever. A
partial market was assured, to prevent the total neglect of agriculture.
The patronage, of course, led to official corruption: many officers
received wheat from their servants in commutation of labor, and some of
more than usual inferiority was thus admitted by a Launceston
commandant, a refugee Frenchman, who threatened to transport the
storekeeper for calling in question its quality. The Commissioner Bigge
recommended the bounty should be entirely abolished, distillation
permitted, and supplies purchased by tender. A deficiency could be no
longer apprehended. There were 7,400 inhabitants, at the close of 1821,
who possessed 15,000 cultivated acres, 35,000 horned cattle, 170,000
sheep, 550 horses, and 5,000 swine. With such resources, the danger of
famine finally disappeared.
The herds were composed chiefly of Bengal cattle, imported at an early
period; but the emigrants introduced the most valued of the English
breeds, which have entirely supplanted the early stock. The herbage and
the climate are equally favorable to the increase of cattle.
The interior of the country being quiet, tickets of occupation were
granted to settlers, who were enabled to establish large herds and
flocks on the lands of the crown. The scarcity of provision in New South
Wales soon created a considerable demand for the produce of this
country, and in 1820 meat, to the value of £10,000, was purchased by the
crown for exportation.[110]
Macquarie, when his administration was drawing to a close, came on a
tour of inspection to Van Diemen's Land. He arrived in the _Midas_. The
squally weather, which prevented his immediate landing, gave time to
prepare for his reception. He disembarked on the 24th April, 1821,
saluted from the battery, and by the military, who lined the road to the
government house. At his former visit in 1810, the population did not
exceed 1,500. A few scattered and miserable huts, separated by
thoroughfares but half recovered from the forests, then constituted the
capital, which had now acquired something of an English aspect: there
were 426 houses, and 2,700 souls.
Few scenes are more pleasing than those which, assisted by memory,
display the growth and triumph of industry. The gratification of all
parties was visible, and a general illumination closed the day. It was a
day of pardons and bounty: when the prisoner received his liberty and
the settler his heritage: every inhabitant who had no plaint to prefer,
had yet thanks to pay. The _bachelors_ of Hobart Town gave a public ball
to the governor: one hundred and fifty sat down to supper, and the
gentlemen danced together until the morning.
On the 29th June, Macquarie sailed in the _Caroline_: he was accompanied
to the water's edge by a large concourse of people, and carried with him
applauses which his amiable vanity prized, and which his beneficence
deserved.
Macquarie inserted in the _Sydney Gazette_ the details of his progress,
and observations. Whatever he described, he lauded: the architectural
taste of the private buildings; the handsome church; the commodious
military barracks; the strong gaol; the well constructed hospital. The
enterprise and industry of the people; their spacious harbour; their
battery, signal post and pier--are all distinguished with the minuteness
of an auctioneer's catalogue, and nearly in its phrases.
During his progress he gave names, among which many remain memorials of
his love of country: Staffa Ulra, and Olmaig; Perth, Campbell Town,
Oatlands, Strathallen Creek, Roseneath. The townships of Sorell,
Brighton and Elizabeth, were designated by him: the last in honor of his
wife. His own name is found everywhere.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 108: There is nothing new under the sun. The following
description of a New England cottage, on the Penka-tang River, in 1704,
is given in the journal of Madame Knight:--"It was supported with shores
(posts), inclosed with clapboards laid on lengthways, and so much
asunder that the light came thro every where; the doore tyed on with a
cord in ye place of hinges; the floor the bare earth. No windows but
such as the thin covering afforded, nor any furniture but a bedd with a
glass bottle hanging at ye head on't. An earthen cupp, a small pewter
bason, a bord with sticks to stand on instead of a table, and a block or
too in ye corners insted of chairs."]
[Footnote 109: _Wentworth_, vol. ii. p. 93.]
[Footnote 110: The following is a list of exports from Van Diemen's Land
to Sydney in six years:--
_Wheat valued at 10s., and Meat at 6d._
Year. Bushels Wheat. lbs. of Salt Meat. £
1815 1,770 -- 885
1816 13,135 10,000 6,817
1817 15,240 8,000 7,820
1818 7,990 64,640 5,611
1819 24,768 346,800 21,054
1820 47,131 386,000 33,225
_Wentworth_, vol. ii. p. 32.
Lands granted from 1818 to 1821, from 25,000 to 273,000 acres;
population from 3,557 to 7,360; in cultivation, from 5,080 to 15,005
acres.]
SECTION VI.
The Australian colonies owe their pastoral wealth originally to Captain
John Macarthur, of the 102nd regiment: he was assisted by the enterprise
of Captain Waterhouse, of the royal navy, who, though a sailor and
confessedly ignorant of pastoral affairs, conveyed to the colony the
stock which laid the foundation of its fortunes. The sheep brought by
the first fleet to New South Wales, were sacrificed to the necessities
of the time: the cattle strayed, and were discovered long after grazing
on the Nepean, increased to many hundreds. Several efforts were made by
the New South Wales Corps to introduce a stock, chiefly for the knife;
but the transmission was attended with considerable difficulty, and the
greater portion died.
The basis of the New South Wales flocks was the Bengal: these, bearing
hair, were mixed with sheep originally from Holland, and imported from
the Cape. Mr. Macarthur having obtained some sheep from Ireland,[111]
remarked the great, though accidental improvement in the fleece, which
exhibited a mixture of wool, and gave the first hint of a great possible
improvement. He then requested Captain Kent to procure sheep from the
merino flocks of Colonel Gordon, at the Cape. These were forwarded by
Captain Waterhouse (1797), who delivered to Macarthur three rams and
five ewes, and retained a proportion himself.
The results surpassed expectation. The flocks of Bengal yielded to three
or four crossings, and produced the finest wool. Thus the heaviest
fleece, in 1801, was 3-1/2 lbs.: the next season it improved to 5 lbs.
The ewe produced wool worth 9d., her lamb's wool was valued at 3s.; and
even the merino improved by the exchange of climate: its wool produced
at the Cape being worth 4s. 6d., and at New South Wales 6s. The rate of
increase was not less encouraging: the produce of fifty ewes, in seven
years, was two thousand.
In 1803, Captain Macarthur visited England, and presented a memorial to
the lords of the committee of the privy council on the pastoral
capabilities of New South Wales. He requested the crown to grant the use
of public lands and servants, and offered to supply the commissariat at
a given price, and to sustain the entire risk or loss of his experiment.
The statement of increase was doubted: the testimony respecting the
quality of wool could not be disputed, as Macarthur had procured the
certificates of eminent manufacturers. It was, however, asserted that
the natural pasture would be unable to subsist flocks, and it was
necessary to combat this objection. Macarthur proposed to sell his flock
at their value to a company, and on credit; on condition that the
company procured a grant from the crown for pasture. This was declined;
but Lord Camden was requested by their lordships to encourage Macarthur,
and he received in consequence permission to occupy the cow pastures,
where natural fences prevented the intermixture of his flocks. A grant
of 5,000 acres--ultimately of an additional 5,000--was made to him.
Never was a reward more justly due, or given with less sacrifice.[112]
Mr. Macarthur procured from the royal flock at Kew, one ewe and nine
rams:[113] with these he raised his flock to 6,000 (1818), and
frequently sold pure merino rams at from £14 to £28 per head.
The merino stock of George III., from which the Australian stocks were
partly drawn, was sent to that monarch by the Spanish cortes. The king's
love of rural pleasures was thus instrumental in adding immense wealth
to his empire.
It was not until 1820, that settlers of Van Diemen's Land entered the
career of improvement. The original stock were introduced by Colonel
Paterson: a mixture of Teeswater, Leicester, and Bengal breeds. The
lieutenant-governor was anxious to improve the quality by an importation
of merino lambs. By an engagement with Macarthur, three hundred were
shipped at Sydney;[114] but more than one-third died: the rest were
distributed to the settlers by lot, who gave the engagements to repay at
the stipulated sum, and who received facilities for the experiment in
suitable tickets of occupation. Macarthur received, at 7s. 6d. per acre,
4,368 acres of land for the 300 lambs, valued to the crown at £5 per
head.[115] From this date the wool of the Tasmanian flocks became known
to commerce.
Van Diemen's Land wool was not an article of export until 1819. Only
71,000 pounds had been sent to London from New South Wales, but some had
realised even 7s. 6d. per lb.; in one instance 10s., it is said, by a
friendly competition: a sum three times greater than the English price
of the finest continental wool. A specimen had been manufactured for
George IV., and which so pleased him that he directed Sir J. Bloomfield
to enquire if more could be obtained in England. There seemed now no
hesitation in giving credit to Macarthur's prediction, that the
boundless pastures of New South Wales would relieve the manufacturers of
dependence on Spain.
That great encouragement had not been afforded, and greater progress
accomplished, may be considered surprising. The wool of commerce was
still inconsiderable; although the flocks of both colonies amounted to
200,000. Before the merino was first introduced, the fleece was
considered worthless. The operation of shearing was often delayed until
the sheep were injured: it was a deduction from the profit. The wool was
burned, or thrown into the stock-yards as manure.
In 1819, the captain of the _Regalia_ accepted a proportion of Van
Diemen's Land wool, in exchange for merchandise: it had no market price,
its expenses were considerable, and a duty of 3d. was levied at London.
A sample was seen by Mr. Hopkins lying in the docks in the worst
possible condition: the speculation was a failure. The colonial
government bought several tons a few months after at 3d. per lb. for
mattresses, a sum that scarcely paid for its conveyance from the
interior. The duty, formerly 3d., was reduced, on the recommendation of
the commissioner, to 1d. per lb.
To Mr. Henry Hopkins the public are indebted for the first appreciation
of Tasmanian wool. In September, 1821, he offered by advertisement a
price in money, and bought at 4d. per lb. Twelve bales sold in London,
the entire wool export of the colony, for 7d. per lb., or £88: the
expenses were nearly half that sum. The merchants, however, continued to
purchase, and the settlers to improve their flocks. In 1823, five
hundred and fifty bales were exported in the _Deveron_, and an equal
quantity in other vessels; and the wool of Clarendon rivalled the flocks
at Port Jackson.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 111: _Bigge's Report._]
[Footnote 112: _Par. Pap._]
[Footnote 113: _Bigge's Report._]
[Footnote 114: _Bigge's Report._]
[Footnote 115: _Par. Pap._]
SECTION VII.
The _Britannia_, a vessel the property of Messrs. Enderby and Sons,
first discovered the whale fishery.[116] On doubling the south-west cape
of Van Diemen's Land the crew saw sperm whales: in their progress to
Port Jackson they fell in with prodigious shoals, as far as could be
seen from the mast head. On arriving at Port Jackson the captain
secretly informed the governor, who facilitated his preparation for a
cruise. The sailors, however, did not conceal their observation, and two
other vessels, the _Mary Ann_ and _Matilda_, sailed one day before the
_Britannia_ and the _Salamander_, on the 1st November, 1791. On their
departure they encountered bad weather, but saw whales in great plenty.
The attempt was, for the moment, unsuccessful. Great expectations were
formed by the colonists, who anticipated that this port would be a
rendezvous of fishermen. This fishery, pursued since with so much
vigour, was of little immediate value to Van Diemen's Land.
The duties payable on exports from the colonies were both excessive and
unequal; especially in oil, the difference amounting to almost absolute
prohibition; being twenty times greater than by London ships. The
settlers could only procure for their own consumption or the Indian
market. The whalers often carried on their operations in sight of the
towns, and heaps of bone at that period lay on the eastern shore. Of the
first whale taken in the Derwent, Jorgen Jorgenson declared himself the
captor.
The trading pursuits of the inhabitants were fettered by the privilege
of the East India Company. The act of parliament authorising its
charter, prohibited the employment of vessels less than 350 tons between
England and New South Wales; the small coasting trade was, therefore,
solely eligible to the people of these colonies except in vessels
unsuitable to the extent of their commerce. Thus, even the Mauritius was
closed against the corn and meat of this country. This law was repealed
in 1819, and thus vessels of any tonnage could be employed in the
colonial trade.
In the islands of the straits sealing was pursued with such vigour, that
it was comparatively exhausted at an early date: small vessels were
employed in the dangerous navigation, and not unfrequently lost.
Few instances of nautical disaster and personal misfortune have
surpassed the case of Captain Howard, in 1819. He was robbed of an iron
chest containing money and jewels to a large amount. Next, the
_Lachlan_, his property, was stolen by convicts. He freighted the
_Daphne_ for India, and sailed with two women and a boy, beside the
crew. They anchored at Kent's Group, and Howard landed. The brig, some
hours after, was observed to drift: the wind blowing hard on the shore,
her destruction was inevitable. The long boat was laden, and leaving
behind the passengers and some seamen, Howard after great efforts
reached the Derwent. Under his direction, the _Governor Sorell_ sloop
was dispatched to receive the people left on the island. Meanwhile the
_John Palmer_ entered the group, took off the women and the boy, and a
bag of 400 dollars left in their charge; and was lost with the whole of
her cargo. Nor was the _Governor Sorell_ more fortunate: the seamen of
the _Daphne_, who left the island in a boat, saw on the north-east coast
of Cape Barren, the binnacle and other fragments of that vessel, in
which Howard perished.
The same fate seemed to attend his property after his death. He had
freighted the _Frederick_ and the _Wellington_ with sheep and cattle for
the Isle of France, a market which then offered large gains. After some
delay they reached the Northumberland Islands, off which the stock all
died, from want of room and the influence of climate. Unwilling to
proceed without cargo, the captain detained the vessels for spars. Here
the _Frederick_ was wrecked, and twenty-two of the crew were drowned;
but the chief officer, one woman, and a boy, reached the _Wellington_.
They then proceeded to Timor, constrained on the passage to subsist on
the preserved hides of the cattle. From Timor they proceeded to Batavia:
the captain died, and the crew dispersed; and the vessel was taken under
charge by the Orphan Chamber, her register being lost, and her owners
unknown!
A calamity still more singular, may be worth record.[117] The _Surrey_,
Captain Raine, left the Derwent in 1820. Having heard that men were
detained at Ducie's Island, he went there in search of them. The men
came to the beach, but could scarcely articulate from exhaustion: they
had belonged to the _Essex_, a whaler. One day, a whale of the largest
class struck the vessel, and broke off part of her false keel: she then
went a-head of them a quarter of a mile, and turning back met the vessel
with such tremendous velocity that she was driven back at the rate of
several knots: the sea rushed in at the cabin windows; every man on deck
was knocked down, and the bows were completely stove in. The sailors
were obliged to abandon the vessel, and after visiting several islands
were found by the _Surrey_ as described.
The strong inclination to trade, common to emigrants, was in these
colonies a passion, while the settlers were of the lower class. The want
of coin induced the government to pay the debts it incurred in rum,
which, commonly valued at £1 per bottle, passed from hand to hand. The
commissariat receipts were, however, the chief medium of exchange: they
were acknowledgements of the delivery of goods for the use of the crown.
They were paid by the settlers to the merchants, who on the appointed
days presented them for consolidation, and received in return bills on
the lords of the treasury. Every trader issued his notes. The islands of
Scotland possessed a small paper currency, and to that origin were we
probably indebted for our own. Dr. Johnson found such trifling bills in
circulation during his celebrated tour. In Hobart Town they were issued
in great profusion.[118] Often of the lowest value, both in amount and
in credit, they kept afloat by the risk which their refusal involved.
When presented in small quantities they were usually paid. A trader
rejecting his neighbour's bills would be harrassed by his revenge: this
was, however, done in some instances. A large issuer of notes in
Launceston was staggered by a sudden demand for payment: to maintain his
credit he borrowed dollars, and gave additional notes as security. A few
days after they returned, and the same dollars were again borrowed by
the unfortunate financier. The run was devised by his clerk, who managed
by such manoeuvres to obtain a large bonus for negociating a loan of
coin. The credit of these notes depended greatly on the Naval officer, a
sort of collector: if admitted in payment of duties, they were current
everywhere. The criminal courts continually exhibited frauds, consequent
on these small issues. The issuers, however, had many chances in their
favor: they did not always know their own notes; but great numbers were
destroyed by persons intoxicated, or lost or worn out. The meaning of
payment in currency, they interpreted, as giving one note for another,
or four shillings for five shillings.
The colonial dollars were mutilated to prevent their exportation. In
1810, dollars were imported from Bengal. To make a smaller coin the
centre was struck out, and valued at 1s. 3d.; the ring retaining its
full current value. The crown payed the dollar as five shillings, and
received it as four shillings; thus gaining 20 per cent. in exchange for
bills, and in the settlement of accounts: an injustice so shameful was
the subject of parliamentary reprobation, and ultimately suppressed. In
1824, the _Samarang_ imported £10,000 of British silver, and the lords
of the treasury directed that British coin should be paid to the troops,
and taken in exchange for treasury bills.
The establishment of the Van Diemen's Land Bank (1823) was the most
effectual remedy of many financial difficulties. The traders obtained a
charter from Sir Thomas Brisbane: the capital was divided into shares of
200 dollars, and its direction was committed to a local board.[119]
The issues of individuals were finally suppressed by act of council. The
detection of many frauds enabled the dishonest, with a show of right, to
dispute payment. They were sometimes recovered in the court of request.
Justice was once secured by Mr. Hone, in the following manner:--The
defendant was requested to select the notes he admitted to be genuine,
and then to hand both parcels to the bench: these being marked were
dropped purposely, and the defendant unsuccessfully attempting the same
division once more, showed that his repudiation was fraudulent, and lost
the cause.
It was the custom to load a cart with goods, and send it through the
country: the peddling merchant exchanged his commodities--a cask of rum,
a basket of tobacco, a chest of tea, a bale of slop clothing--for sheep
and cattle. The profits were often enormous: on his return to head
quarters he would appear with a flock worth five times the original cost
of his merchandise.[120]
The manners of a people are seen in the courts. A series of trials,
arising from the same transaction, included a considerable portion of
the settlers, and illustrated the trading habits which prevailed. Mr.
Gunning being indebted to Mr. Loane, a merchant, agreed to pay him in
cattle: this arrangement was superseded. Fearing, notwithstanding, that
his claim would be damaged by a general insolvency, Loane took with him
seven men, and swept from Gunning's premises a herd of various
ownership. For this he was called in question by the police as a felon:
in retaliation, he instituted actions for malicious prosecution.
Crossley, an emancipist lawyer, issued summonses, and instructed the
officer to arrest, contrary to standing orders; but Timms, the provost
marshal, to exhibit a spectacle, captured the police magistrate
proceeding to government house. The whole settlement was involved in
actions arising out of the debt, rescue, and criminal charge, either as
parties or witnesses. The provost marshal was dismissed for "drunken
ignorance." These trials occurred in 1821, during the circuit of the
judge, Barron Field, who was induced, by the representations of
Commissioner Bigge, to hold a session in this colony.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 116: _Hunter's Historical Journal._]
[Footnote 117: _Methodist Magazine_, 1821.]
[Footnote 118:
"No. 20. _Hobart, 1st May, 1823._
SIXPENCE. I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum
of Sixpence, for value received.
A. B."]
[Footnote 119: Names of first directors and officers:--E. F. Bromley, A.
Bethune, F. Champion, G. C. Clarke, A. F. Kemp, A. Macleod, and D. Lord;
R. Lewis, cashier.]
[Footnote 120: _Curr's Account_, p. 44.]
SECTION VIII.
The ecclesiastical notices contained in this work, will relate chiefly
to external and material interests. The eye of a stranger cannot be
expected to survey with impartiality the peculiarities of systems. It
will be attempted to supply a few general facts acceptable to the
community at large.
During the first years of this colony the duty of providing religious
instruction, was both admitted and neglected by the state. The clergy
were limited to the towns, who with the clerical functions united the
business of agriculture and the administration of punishments. The
church of England was then regarded by statesmen as the religion of the
empire, and to clergymen of the episcopal persuasion the spiritual
interests of the settlements were confided.
The first clergyman of New South Wales was the Rev. Richard Johnson: his
labors were prosecuted under many discouragements. The priest of a
Spanish vessel raised his hand with astonishment when he found (1793) no
sacred edifice had been provided, and that the clergyman sought some
shady spot to evade the burning sun in the performance of his ministry.
He remarked, that the first house his own countrymen would erect, would
be a house for God.[121] The habits of the officers discouraged a moral
reformation. Earl St. Vincent had prohibited the marine officers taking
their wives. A lady, who followed her husband in the disguise of a
sailor, was sent home by Governor Phillip, when half her voyage had been
completed.[122]
Four years having elapsed, in vain expectation of official help, Mr.
Johnson erected, at his own cost, a wooden building: strong posts were
driven into the ground, the walls consisted of wattle and plaster, and
the roof was thatched: thus the first Christian temple in this
hemisphere was raised by a voluntary effort. This building was
maliciously destroyed. After a long season of slumber, the governor
resolved to enforce the observance of the Sabbath, which had been
commonly spent in "abominable dissipation." The prisoners were compelled
to attend on public worship, and their officers enjoined to accompany
them: a few weeks after, the church was in flames. The governor,
irritated, threatened to employ the workmen on Sunday to erect another
church; but a large stone store being available, it was fitted up for
the purposes of devotion, and the weekly penance exacted in another form
more suitable to the day (1778). Mr. Johnson returned to Great Britain:
he was the first who reared orange groves, from which he realised
considerable wealth.[123]
Before Mr. Johnson's removal, the Rev. Samuel Marsden arrived: a man of
great intellectual and physical energy, who while he accomplished much
for his family, effected more as a clergyman. Mr. Marsden was a graduate
of St. John's, when he received his appointment, which was pressed upon
him. His mission excited great interest. He was about to address a large
assembly at Hull, when the vessel fired a signal to weigh anchor: the
service was suddenly stopped, and Mr. Marsden proceeded with his bride
to the boat, followed by the whole congregation, who covered the young
adventurers with benedictions.
Mr. Marsden resided at Parramatta, where his agricultural success was
conspicuous. Perón exclaimed--"The whole of this spot was covered with
immense and useless forests. With what interest have I trodden over
these new meadows, through the midst of which this respectable pastor
conducted me himself with the most affectionate kindness. Who could have
believed it! This residence is seven or eight miles from Parramatta, in
the midst of woods; and it was over a very excellent road in a very
elegant chaise that Mr. Marsden drove me. What exertions must have been
taken to open such communications: these pastures, these fields, these
harvests, these orchards, these flocks, are the work of eight years!" In
his spiritual husbandry Mr. Marsden was not at first equally successful.
He returned to England in 1808, and the colony was left for some time
without any clerical instructor. The Rev. Mr. Fulton, a protestant
clergyman of Waterford, transported for sedition, was stationed at
Norfolk Island, and Father Harold, an exile, a catholic priest, had
returned home. "There was," says Holt, "no clergyman to visit the sick,
baptise the infant, or church the women. So we were reduced to the same
state as the heathen natives who had none of these ceremonies." At this
period, however, many missionaries, driven from Tahiti, took refuge at
Port Jackson. Some were employed as preachers, and others as
schoolmasters, and several rose to considerable station and wealth,
while others resumed their mission under more favorable auspices.
Mr. Marsden succeeded in arousing the attention of the ministry:
additional clergymen were procured, and schools were established. The
country-born children displayed an aptitude for instruction which
kindled the most pleasing hopes. They exhibited a feeling, approaching
to contempt, for the vices of the convicts, even when manifested in the
persons of their parents.[124] "These feelings," said Sidney Smith,
"convey to the mother country the first proof that the foundations of a
mighty empire are laid."[125]
It is scarcely possible to imagine a condition more unfavorable to the
rising race; and yet the aptitude for instruction, and the self-respect
observable in the Australian youth, have been remarked by every visitor
from the earliest times, not without astonishment. It is not uncommon to
see children of the most elegant form, and with an open countenance,
attended by parents of a different aspect, as if a new region restored
the physical and mental vigour of the race.
A pleasing instance of the love of knowledge occurred during the early
ministry of the Rev. Mr. Cartwright, which he related to Governor
Macquarie. The river which separated them from his dwelling was swollen,
and knowing the ford was impassable, he saw with great amazement his
young pupils approach his Sunday school: they had tied their clothing on
their heads, and swam across the stream.[126] It is asserted, that
without any other instruction than a casual lesson, some learned both to
read and write.
The Rev. Robert Knopwood, who arrived with the first settlers, was long
the sole chaplain of Van Diemen's Land. In addition to his clerical
functions he regularly sat as a magistrate. He had not much time to care
for the spiritual interests of his flock, and of his success in their
reformation nothing is recorded: his convivial friends are the chief
eulogists of his character. His little white pony was not less
celebrated. Mr. Knopwood received a pension, and was subsequently
appointed chaplain to a country district: he died in 1838. The gaiety of
his disposition made him a pleasant companion and a general favorite;
and conciliated whatever esteem may be due to a non-professional
reputation.[127] Mr. Knopwood was not, however, unwilling to tolerate
the assistance of a sect whose zeal wore a different aspect from his
own. The wesleyan ministers found a kindly welcome and an open field.
In the absence of clergymen, it was customary for the magistrates to
conduct public worship, or where that was not possible, to assemble the
prisoners and accompany the inspection with a few words of advice.[128]
The attention of the London committee of the wesleyan mission was
aroused by their agents stationed at Port Jackson, who referred to this
colony as "a settlement called the Derwent, two weeks' sail distant."
The Rev. B. Carvosso, on his passage to New South Wales, touched at
Hobart Town, in the month of May, 1820. He embraced the opportunity thus
offered. He was introduced by the Rev. Mr. Knopwood to the governor, who
authorised and protected his teaching. Mr. Carvosso stood on the steps
of a dwelling-house; his congregation partly within and partly without:
his wife conducted the psalmody. The text which initiated the wesleyan
ministry was characteristic of its style and results: "Awake thou that
sleepest!" The colony required such addresses. Mr. Carvosso's
description of the inhabitants may be imagined: they were kindly, but
dissolute. At New Norfolk and at Pittwater, with a population of several
hundreds, no religious service had been performed. A seriously-minded
soldier, by diligent inquiry, found out a settler said to be religious.
To converse with this person, he took a journey of fifteen miles, and
found him swearing!
Shortly after Mr. Carvosso's departure, several soldiers of the 58th
regiment, who at Sydney adopted the sentiments of methodism, were
quartered in the island. They prompted a Mr. Noakes to obtain a room for
worship: eight persons met on the 29th October, 1820, at a house in
Collins-street, Hobart Town. They next removed to the residence of a Mr.
Wallis: the soldiers and their coadjutor filled up the hour with
singing, exhortation, and alternate prayer. Corporal Waddy appears to
have been the leader of the band. They were assailed with great, though
transient fury: their devotion was stifled by hostile noises. The
governor, however, interfered, and the disturbers were intimidated.
But the landlord of the house growing weary of their company, they
sought a place of refuge. Donne, a carpenter, whose skilling formed a
workshop, was entreated to arrange it for worship. At first, he gave a
hesitating consent: his wife, a woman of vigorous temper and "a
Romanist," violently interdicted the project; "but," says the
chronicler, "that night there was a dreadful storm; the house rocked:
she awoke in terror, exclaiming, 'the methodists shall have the room!'"
The building became too small: it was enlarged to accommodate three
hundred persons: a society of fourteen members was constituted. On the
13th May, 1821, a Sunday school was established; the first in Van
Diemen's Land. All this was done in the absence of a minister. Waddy,
who was made a sergeant, went to India, where he soon died. He was
mentioned with admiration by his brethren. Donne had been a prisoner: he
lived to acquire the respect and confidence of his neighbours. His
proper name was Cranmer: he was descended from the family of the
illustrious archbishop.[129] He remained in membership until his
decease. Mr. Noakes, the organiser of these wesleyan victories, became
dissatisfied with their results: the _Gazette_, of 1823, announced that
he had withdrawn from their fellowship. To him, however, belongs the
honor of gathering the first school for gratuitous instruction.
In the year following, September 21st, 1821, the Rev. Mr. Horton
arrived. His labors were fatiguing and minute: he read the scriptures to
"four persons in one place, and addressed twelve in another; chiefly old
people and young children." He describes the social state of the
country: "The wretchedness of Launceston is past description:" "of the
deaths at New Norfolk, all except two are attributed to accident or
drunkenness."
Mr. David Lord gave Mr. Horton a plot of ground, and he resolved to
build. He was indefatigable in his collections; and by contributions,
then thought liberal, obtained £400.; but chapels are not built by
cautious men. Having raised the walls his money was gone; and they
remained long uncovered: a reproach to his calculation, but not to his
faith. The Rev. R. Mansfield, two years after, obtained timber and labor
from the government: gifts and loans were provided by the society in
England, and the building was completed.[130]
In 1822, a considerable religious immigration took place. Carvosso
transmitted accounts of the material and moral prospects of the colony,
which determined several of that class to settle in this island. They
embarked in the _Hope_, and encountered great dangers in the British
channel. On their complaints the vessel was seized, under an act for the
protection of passengers; and the _Heroine_ being chartered for the
purpose, they were transmitted at the expense of the government. The
owners successfully appealed against the seizure, and accused the
passengers of conspiracy; who, however, themselves suffered considerable
detention and loss.[131] Many still survive, having largely contributed
in their various spheres towards the social improvement of the country.
Mr. Knopwood was superseded, as principal chaplain, by the Rev. William
Bedford. This gentleman received his appointment by the recommendation
of persons who had been impressed by his zealous attendance on criminals
awaiting execution in the metropolitan gaols.
The presbyterian church was founded the same year by the Rev. Archibald
Macarthur. He was cordially received as a representative both of his
country and his religion: though not himself of the national church,
most Scottish names are appended to the first subscription for his
stipend.
The co-operation of the various bodies was not prevented by their
differences. Of the first annual meeting of the wesleyan mission, Mr.
Bedford was president, and the whole community joined in the support of
a bible society, the first religious institution of the colony.
The missionaries who fled from Tahiti a second time, formed at Sydney a
bible society, under the patronage of Macquarie, and transmitted a
considerable supply to the care of Mr. Knopwood. In return for the
liberal gift, an auxiliary was formed, of which Messrs. Birch and Dry
were the lay officers. The meeting held in May, 1819, contributed £100
on the spot: £300 during the year. This munificence was avowedly for the
credit of the settlement. Not only did the institution unite all sects,
but it was the first instance of friendly co-operation between the
emigrant and emancipist classes.[132] Among the contributors were twelve
who, giving 5s. each, designated themselves the "members of the free and
accepted masons of St. John's Lodge, Hobart Town." An early general
meeting of the society was an example of dispatch: the governor took the
chair, the report was read, the resolutions passed, and the meeting
dispersed within ten minutes. With such celerity were pious labors
finished in those days.
The erection of the archdeaconry in favour of the Rev. W. Scott, in
1824, was the result of his visit to the colonies, as secretary to
Commissioner Bigge, whose reports were attributed to his pen. His
alleged hostility to the emancipists excited resentment, and detracted
from his usefulness. When delivering his charge at Hobart Town, the
governor required the attendance of all officially connected with the
government, whatever their faith. New South Wales was within the diocese
of Calcutta, but the relation was nominal; yet the newspapers did not
think a visit from Bishop Wilson improbable.
The Rev. John Youl, formerly a missionary at Tahiti, was the chaplain of
Port Dalrymple. His labors were divided between George Town and
Launceston, and until his arrival no clergyman had ever visited the
northern districts of the island.[133] In 1819, he made a tour, and
baptised sixty-seven children, and married forty-one couple; many of
whom were recognised as such before his interposition.[134] He was
accustomed to call his congregation together by the sound of an iron
barrel, which was swung to a post, and struck by a mallet; or he
announced his arrival by walking through the settlement in his canonical
dress.
Launceston was destitute of a clerical resident until 1824, when Mr.
Youl returned with the establishment from George Town. The people were
sometimes weeks without a service, and three years without a clergyman.
Shortly after, during a visit of the governor, the church was crowded;
an event said to be unparalleled in the history of Launceston. The
church was a wooden building of small dimensions: sometimes occupied as
a court, sometimes as a temporary sleeping place for prisoners;
sometimes as a stable.[135]
The disposition of Mr. Youl was amiable, and his professional reputation
unblemished: placed in a station of little promise, he cultivated the
minds and affections of the young, and discountenanced vices he could
not extirpate.
The first Roman catholic priest established at Hobart Town, was the Rev.
Peter Connolly. Less polished than his protestant friend, Mr. Knopwood,
he was not less genial in his temper: the pastor of a people drawn
chiefly from the Irish peasantry, he well understood their character. He
received a grant from the crown, and erected a humble chapel and
dwelling-house; which he ascribed partly to the charity, and partly the
penance of his flock. He used a common brush to sprinkle them with holy
water, and spoke of their faults without much softness or reserve.
Occasionally an execution required his services at Launceston, otherwise
a place long overlooked by the priesthood.[136]
The return of the Sabbath was unattended in the country with a religious
welcome. Many employed their time in hunting: the more scrupulous in
visits, and the profane in labor or intemperance. A gentleman, now
distinguished among the wesleyans, was found by his neighbour ploughing
by the road side on Sunday morning: both himself and his men had
forgotten the day. Yet at the houses of all, a minister of religion, of
any name, met a cheerful entertainment and a willing audience. Whether
that the presence of an intelligent stranger is itself a grateful
interruption to rural solitude, or that the miseries resulting from sin
were too apparent for dispute, the utility of religion was never openly
questioned; and it is certain, that few people were less inclined to
reject the instructions, or to affront the ministers of religion.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 121: _Collins_, vol. i. p. 498.]
[Footnote 122: _Life of John Mason Good._]
[Footnote 123: _Holt_, vol. ii. p. 97.]
[Footnote 124: _Bigge's Report_, p. 104.]
[Footnote 125: _Works_, vol. ii. p. 44.]
[Footnote 126: _Reid's Voyages_, p. 312.]
[Footnote 127: He is thus described by a companion, in the _Hermit in
Van Diemen's Land_: "The good old gentleman at length warmed with the
subject, and said in an under tone--'You must come and see Bob at the
cottage. Yeoix, yeoix: tantivy, tantivy;' to which friendly invitation I
immediately assented."]
[Footnote 128: The following is a discourse delivered by Captain Nairn,
and by its constant repetition was impressed upon the memory of the
relator. Captain Nairn would stand and thus address the prisoners on a
Sunday morning:--"Now, my men, listen to me. I want you all to get on. I
was once a poor man like you; but I used to work perseveringly, and do
things diligently and as such got taken notice of, until I became a
captain of the 46th. Now, I want you to work perseveringly; do things
diligently, and that will make you comfortable; and I will assist you,
that you may have houses for yourselves, and rise up to be equal to me."
It may be questioned if many sermons of greater pretensions, have not
been less humane and effectual; and this was often the sole substitute
for public worship.]
[Footnote 129: These statements are taken from the official papers of
the mission.]
[Footnote 130: The Rev. Mr. Mansfield continued until 1825. Under his
care the institutions peculiar to the wesleyans were fully established:
their _love feasts_, in which they relate the rise and progress of their
religious experience; their _watch nights_, when they wait in silent
prayer for the first moment of the new year; their _covenant_, in which
standing up together they pledge themselves to the service of the
Almighty.]
[Footnote 131: _Godwin's Guide to Van Diemen's Land._]
[Footnote 132: _Bigge's Report._]
[Footnote 133: Ibid.]
[Footnote 134: _Gazette_, February, 1819.]
[Footnote 135: Eye-witness.]
[Footnote 136: Mr. Fitzgerald, a respectable settler, speared by the
natives (1831), was carried to his grave by his neighbours; but was
indebted to a prisoner, sought out for the purpose, for the religious
rites usual at funerals.]
SECTION IX.
On the 19th July, 1823, the British legislature enacted a law for the
"better administration of justice in New South Wales and Van Diemen's
Land, and for the better government thereof;" to expire at the close of
the session of parliament, 1827. The old courts with their military
functionaries were superseded,[137] and a supreme court erected; whose
jurisdiction extended to causes, criminal, civil, and ecclesiastical.
The judges were entitled to the powers and jurisdiction enjoyed by the
courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer of England; and to
enquire into and determine all treasons or other crimes committed within
the Indian or Pacific Oceans. The military jury of seven officers on
full pay, were retained; but the court proceeded according to the forms
of civil tribunals. The trial of civil issues was confided to the judge,
and two justices of the peace chosen by the governor; the right being
given to either party to apply to the court for a jury of twelve
freeholders. The king was authorised to extend trial by jury at
pleasure. Causes of more than £500, or a less sum with consent of the
judge, were subject to appeal to the governor of New South Wales; and
appeals in certain cases were allowed to the king in council. The rules
of court were authorised by the king. Courts of quarter session, and of
request for sums under £10, were established. The governor, with the
advice of a council of five or seven, or the major part of them, was
empowered to enact ordinances not repugnant to the laws of England. The
duties levied under former acts were made perpetual, but the council
were inhibited from imposing a tax, except for local purposes. The
governor, with one member assenting, could pass any law: or, for the
suppression of a rebellion, although all might dissent: and the king was
empowered to enact an ordinance which the council might reject.
It was provided also, that the king might erect Van Diemen's Land into a
separate colony: confer on the acting-governor, in the absence of the
governor-in-chief, the various powers conveyed by the act; and, in that
case, terminate the dependence of the supreme court on the court of New
South Wales. On these extensive powers the checks provided were the
requisite preliminary certificate of the chief justice, that the
ordinances proposed were consistent with the laws of England, or the
circumstances of the colony; the exposure of these acts on the table of
the House of Commons; the obligation of the governor to show cause for
the act passed in defiance of his council; the prohibition of direct
taxation, except for local purposes: guarantees of little value at the
time of their adoption, but rendered of greater importance by the growth
of freedom in the empire at large.
The act of parliament did not pass without animadversion and discontent.
Sir James Mackintosh moved that a jury of twelve should be substituted
for the clause constituting a military jury--the most obnoxious portion
of the bill. In this he was seconded by Mr. Wilberforce, but the
proposition was defeated by a majority of eleven. Mr. Canning
recommended a compromise between the friends and opponents of the bill,
by limiting its duration to five years, and to this the minister
assented.
The capacity of the colonies to furnish jurors was long a subject of
debate, Mr. Justice Bent stated, that after full consideration he
recommended a grand and a common jury, in conformity to the English law,
and the trial of convicts by the police;[138] but Commissioner Bigge
pronounced against the scheme, and was confirmed in his opinion by the
leading colonists of the time. The whole state of society opposed
serious objections to its adoption, and it was scarcely practicable in
Van Diemen's Land.
The settlers were generally desirous that Van Diemen's Land should be
erected into a separate colony. To this, Sorell was opposed. He thought
the measure premature: tending to augment the expenses of government; to
deprive the people of the advantages of an appeal to the elder colony,
and of participation in that more liberal system of government a larger
community could demand. A public meeting was, however, summoned, and a
petition adopted by acclamation. The sole dissentient present, Mr.
Murray, was roughly treated by the petitioners.
The nearer inspection of a chief authority, and the more ample means
possessed for good, were its advantages; but it occasioned a more rigid
separation in social life, multiplied offices which might have been long
confined to the elder colony, and removed too far the governor and
courts from effectual oversight and appeal. The colony was not
sufficiently consolidated to oppose a force of public opinion to the
despotic tendencies of the new constitution.
This petition was forwarded to the king through Mr. Edward Barnard, the
colonial agent, who owed his appointment to the suggestion of Mr. Bigge,
and the nomination of Lord Bathurst. His office was not, however,
political. He was authorised to purchase stores for the local
government; to give drafts on the colonial funds in exchange for cash;
and otherwise to assist persons designing to emigrate to this country.
He received 8 per cent. commission, and a salary until 1839, when it was
withdrawn. He bore no resemblance to those bold political agents, such
as Franklin, sent by the American colonists to watch their interests in
Great Britain.
* * * * *
In the early journals the name of Sorell occurs frequently, to
illustrate the qualities which adorn a ruler, and to point a satire on
his successor. On his departure a banquet was given him, where, said the
reporter, "the cup was often replenished, and the flow of reason never
ebbed." It was observed, that the return freight for merino wool, which
the colony owed to his care and foresight, anchored beside the
_Guildford_, that was to carry him home.
Towards the close of Sorell's government, the commerce of the colony was
assisted by the enterprise of some British merchants. A company was
formed at Leith, with a capital of £100,000, professing to promote the
welfare of the colonies, by taking their produce in exchange for
merchandise. A succession of vessels were dispatched: the first was the
_Greenock_; among the rest, the _Triton_, Captain Crear. These vessels
introduced many families from Scotland, whose moral worth and successful
enterprise have established their families among the chief of the land.
The shipments provoked the anger, and broke up the monopoly of the local
merchants.
The administration of Sorell was successful in colonial estimation: his
habits were familiar without rudeness, and his fine countenance
attracted the confidence of the stranger. He was accustomed to linger
about the gate of government house, chatting with the passers by, and a
slight excuse entitled the humblest ranks to prefer their solicitations.
The admiration expressed by the settlers for his character, was partly
the result of their relative positions. He was a dispenser of crown
favors, and when compelled to refuse an immoderate suitor, he could
refer his request to the governor-in-chief. The rigour of king's
commissioner was softened by his official worth: nor is it necessary to
search for a censure, amidst such concurrence of praise. The settlers,
to express their regard, agreed to offer Sorell a testimonial of £750
value. They deprecated his recall by petition[139]--a rare instance of
popular favor: there was but one dissentient. A request so unusual
might, perhaps, have been successful, had it not come too late.
On his return to England, he received a pension, which commencing in
1825, continued until his death--twenty-four years, and amounted to
£11,500: more than the official salary he received during his government
twice told. This pension was authorised by the crown, and charged on the
colonial revenue. Sorell was colonel of the 48th regiment: he died on
the 4th June, 1848, in the seventy-fourth year of his age.
The aspect of the country at this time was not inviting to strangers;
but the current of colonisation was set in, and its ultimate
superiority, compared with all others, became an article of Tasmanian
faith. On this subject the agricultural societies maintained a war of
papers. Baron Field, the chief justice of New South Wales, was the
champion of that country, and dwelt on its vast forests, its wool, its
boundless pastures and rivers. The president of the Tasmanian
agriculturists urged all in the defence of Van Diemen's Land, which
became his position. At that time, protective laws had not furnished
them with more formidable weapons.
The trials and disappointments of the colonist pioneer, will have been
long since forgotten. The modern emigrant to Australia can know them
only in part. He is carried to his destination by a public conveyance,
at a cost determined by extensive competition. He can have the
mechanical labor he may need: he can buy the stock, descended from
European flocks and herds, lower than in their native regions. The
choice fruit trees, flowers, and plants, which multitudes have combined
to collect, he can obtain often at a gift. The costly experiments of his
predecessors have established the rules which preserve his crops from
destruction, or his folds from disease. There is a market for his
produce, and a bank for his money; and a school for his children.
A poet, of some celebrity, predicted the fortunes of Tasmania. The
picture he drew, is no unpleasing prospect for posterity:--
"Now, on my soul the rising vision warms,
But mingled in a thousand lovely forms!
Methinks I see Australian landscapes still,
But softer beauty sits on every hill:
I see bright meadows, decked in livelier green,
The yellow corn-field, and the blossomed bean:
A hundred flocks o'er smiling pastures roam,
And hark! the music of the harvest home!
Methinks I hear the hammer's busy sound,
The cheerful hum of human voices round;
The laughter and the song that lightens toil,
Sung in the language of my native isle!
The vision leads me on by many a stream;
And spreading cities crowd upon my dream,
Where turrets darkly frown, and lofty spires
Point to the stars and sparkle in their fires!
Here Sydney gazes, from the mountain side,
Narcissus-like upon the glassy tide!
O'er rising towns Notasian commerce reigns,
And temples crowd Tasmania's lovely plains!
The prospect varies in an endless range;
Villas and lawns go by, in ceaseless change:
And wafted on the gale from many a dell,
Methinks I hear the village Sabbath bell!
Faith upward mounts, upon devotion's wings,
And, like the lark, at heaven's pure portal sings;
From myriad tongues the song of praise is poured,
And o'er them floats 'the spirit of the Lord!'"[140]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 137: Mr. Samuel Bate, after exercising the functions of judge
at Port Phillip (1803), returned home, and received the appointment,
many years after, of inspector of excise, at Port Jackson.]
[Footnote 138: _Par. Pap._ 1812.]
[Footnote 139: The following may be considered almost unparalleled in
the history of modern colonies, and in this has never been repeated. The
government of Sorell was rather patriarchal than despotic; and compared
with the mass of newly arrived emigrants he was the old inhabitant. Many
who had never seen official men, but at an awful distance, were charmed
with the affability and kindness of the governor, and his recall seemed
the withdrawal of a liberal patron:--
"AT A PUBLIC MEETING of the Landholders, Merchants, and Free Inhabitants
of Van Diemen's Land, by public advertisement assembled, at the Court
House, in Hobart Town, the 30th day of October, 1823, JOHN BEAMONT,
Esq., Provost Marshal of Van Diemen's Land, in the chair;
"Resolved--(Moved by Edward Abbott, Esq. junior, seconded by James
Gordon, Esq.)--That in the present state of this colony, that union of
wisdom and experience, which his Honor Lieutenant Governor Sorell has on
every occasion so strikingly exhibited, is most essential to our general
and individual interests. It becomes therefore of the very utmost
importance to us, that in any contemplated changes, as to this colony,
Lieutenant Governor Sorell may not be removed from his present
government; inasmuch as no successor, whom it may be the pleasure of his
Majesty to appoint, can be possibly expected to bestow all that general
and individual attention to our wants and wishes, and to be able,
satisfactorily and advantageously, to encounter any difficulties which
may occur, without a considerable lapse of time, and much probable
encreased inconvenience; while from the steady, calm, decided, and
experienced judgment of his Honor Lieutenant Governor Sorell, we have
every reason to hope for the most prosperous continuation of his present
successful administration.
"2nd. Resolved--(Moved by A. F. Kemp, Esq., seconded by F. Dawes,
Esq.)--That a most dutiful Address be presented to his Majesty, grounded
upon the preceding resolution; and that a committee of fifteen gentlemen
be appointed to prepare the same, and to carry into effect the object of
the present meeting, in such manner as shall appear most proper and
expedient.
"3rd. Resolved--(Moved by T. G. Gregson, Esq., seconded by W. A.
Bethune, Esq.)--That the Address, when signed, be forwarded with the
least possible delay to Edward Barnard, Esq., our colonial agent in
London, requesting that gentleman to adopt the necessary measures for
forthwith submitting it to his Majesty's most gracious consideration,
and to use his utmost endeavours to obtain the object of the same.
"4th. Resolved--(Moved by R. L. Murray, Esq., seconded by J. Gordon,
Esq.)--That a subscription be forthwith entered into, to defray the
expenses which may arise from carrying into effect the present
resolutions, and for the purpose of presenting to his Honor Lieutenant
Governor Sorell a Piece of Plate, in token of our affectionate
remembrance of the great obligations we owe him, and that such
subscription be limited to the sum of two dollars, individually.
"5th. Resolved--(Moved by A. F. Kemp, Esq., seconded by J. Archer,
Esq.)--That H. J. Emmett, Esq. and P. A. Mulgrave, Esq. be requested to
undertake the offices of treasurers of the subscription, for the
counties of Buckingham and Cornwall, respectively.
"6th. Resolved--(Moved by T. G. Gregson, Esq., seconded by T. Anstey,
Esq.)--That a copy of these Resolutions, and of the Address to his
Majesty, be transmitted to his Honor Lieutenant Governor Sorell, in such
manner as by the Committee shall be considered most respectful to the
Lieutenant Governor, and suitable to the occasion.
"7th. Resolved--(Moved by R. Espie, Esq., seconded by J. Gordon,
Esq.)--That the following fifteen gentlemen do form the committee for
the purposes before resolved:--
E. Abbott, Esq. jun.
T. Anstey, Esq.
J. Archer, Esq.
W. A. Bethune, Esq.
F. Dawes, Esq.
H. J. Emmett, Esq.
J. Gordon, Esq.
T. G. Gregson, Esq.
S. Hood, Esq.
A. W. H. Humphrey, Esq.
A. F. Kemp, Esq.
R. L. Murray, Esq.
H. Ross, Esq.
G. F. Read, Esq.
J. Scott, Esq.
"8th. Resolved--(Moved by J. Archer, Esq., seconded by T. Anstey,
Esq.)--That these Resolutions, and a copy of the Address to his Majesty,
be inserted three times in the _Hobart Town_ and _Sydney Gazettes_; and
in the _Times_, _New Times_, _Morning Chronicle_, and _Courier_, London
newspapers.
"JOHN BEAMONT, _Provost Marshal, Chairman_.
"The Provost Marshal having quitted the chair, and James Gordon, Esq.
having been requested to take the same;
"Resolved--(Moved by E. Abbott, Esq., junior, seconded by R. L. Murray,
Esq.)--That the thanks of this meeting be given to John Beamont, Esq.,
our worthy Provost Marshal, for the readiness with which he has convened
the present meeting, and for his able, upright, and impartial conduct in
the chair.
"JAMES GORDON, _Chairman_."]
[Footnote 140: _Australia; with other Poems._ By T. K. Hervey, London,
1824.]
HISTORY OF TASMANIA.
FROM 1824 TO 1836.
FROM 1824 TO 1836.
SECTION I.
George Arthur, Esq., fourth Lieutenant-governor of Van Diemen's Land,
arrived in the _Adrian_, on the 12th May, 1824. Formerly superintendent
of Honduras, he was extensively known as an officer of inflexible and
energetic disposition: his administration had occasioned considerable
debate, and was the subject of parliamentary and judicial enquiries.
Honduras, an establishment on the American coast, was occupied by
adventurers from Jamaica. At first interlopers, their presence was for a
time unnoticed by the Spanish crown. A hundred years were passed in
unavailing protests and opposition, when the court of Spain reluctantly
recognised the location of the cutters of logwood within its undoubted
territory.
In 1814, Arthur was appointed superintendent by the Duke of Manchester;
at the same time he received from General Fuller the government of the
troops in the following words: "I do hereby constitute and appoint you,
the said George Arthur, to command such of his Majesty's subjects as are
now armed, or may hereafter arm for the defence of the settlers at the
Bay of Honduras; you are, therefore, as commandant, to take upon you the
care and charge accordingly." In virtue of these appointments he claimed
both the military and civil command, until he quitted the settlement in
1822.
In 1820, Bradley, an officer stationed at Honduras, was promoted to the
rank of lieutenant-colonel on full pay, and knowing that the regiment of
which Arthur was colonel (the York Chasseurs) was disbanded, he
considered himself entitled to the military command, by the seniority of
rank, according to the rules of military service: he refused to
acknowledge longer the authority of Arthur, or to attend a council of
officers to which he was summoned. Arthur instantly caused Bradley to be
arrested, and his sword taken from him; and he was detained a prisoner
for seventy-three days.
An account of this transaction was transmitted to Jamaica, when General
Fuller, the superior officer, ordered the colonel's liberation; but
forwarded to the authorities in Great Britain a statement of the
dispute. The conduct of Colonel Bradley was deemed inconsistent with
military subordination: he was dismissed from the service without trial;
he was, however, allowed to dispose of his commission.
Colonel Bradley instituted an action against Arthur for false
imprisonment: his counsel was the present Lord Brougham: Arthur was
defended by the law officers of the crown. There were two questions to
decide: whether the arrest was legal, and then whether unnecessary
hardship had been endured by the plaintiff. The jury, considering that
Bradley's detention was unnecessarily prolonged, gave him damages to the
amount of £100. The appointment of Arthur to the government of this
country withdrew him from the effect of a legal process, and when
Bradley appealed against what he deemed the injustice of his evasion, he
was told that he could await his recall. Colonel Bradley next published
a statement, that General Fuller had antedated Arthur's commission as
commandant, thus to justify the measures he had taken: a charge
amounting to forgery. A criminal information was filed against Bradley:
he was found guilty, but was not brought up for judgment.
It was decided by the judges that Bradley was mistaken, and that
Arthur's title to command was regular and valid. Bradley, however,
continued to maintain that he was the victim of a deep conspiracy, by
which Arthur was rescued from the consequences of usurpation. It is
certain that Bradley was ruined.
The judges, in pronouncing a decision on Bradley's appeal against the
verdict of justification which Arthur obtained, in reference to the
arrest, set aside the rules and regulations of the service. Their
judgment was built merely upon the absolute discretion of the crown in
the distribution of military command: they inferred that the approval of
Arthur's proceedings and the dismissal of Bradley, were sufficient
evidence of the royal will.[141]
This was not the only charge exhibited against Arthur. In Honduras,
slavery existed in its foulest forms.[142]
Colonel Arthur obtained the countenance of an important class of
politicians, by the compassion he expressed for the negro race, and his
exposure of the connivance of magistrates at the cruelty of masters. He
minutely described the sufferings of several women of color in his
despatches to the secretary of state; and especially denounced that
atrocious bench, which admitted a plea of ownership in justification of
the crime of maiming. The details given by Arthur fully justify his
interference, and the enmity of a people by whom they were tolerated
inflicted no disgrace. Thus a mistress, whose careless severity injured
the eye and severed the ear of a negro woman, pleaded the rights of
property, and the magistrate admitted the defence, although the
character of the sufferer was unimpeached. In flogging, the owners often
stripped off the lower clothing of the female slaves, threw them on the
ground, and fastened their limbs to stakes.[143]
Wilberforce and Stephen, the great advocates of slave liberation, who
possessed influence with the executive, considered Arthur a valuable
coadjutor in their glorious cause, and were supposed to pardon the
arbitrary spirit of his government for the sake of his philanthropy.
This evangelical alliance was a standing subject of reference and
criticism.
It may be proper to notice the moral state of this colony on Arthur's
assumption of office. The meeting which adopted a farewell address to
Sorell, authorised a similar compliment to Arthur on his accession. It
was couched in the language of cold respect: parting reluctantly with
their late governor, the people were less disposed to welcome his
successor. The reply of Arthur was not less formal and cold: he took
occasion to express his conviction that the moral example of the free
population was essential to the improvement of a class less favored; and
that while employing his authority for the general welfare, he was
resolved to maintain the rights of the crown. Such sentiments and
purposes were just; but scarcely likely at that moment to be heard with
pleasure. The good sense of Sorell discountenanced the excesses of vice,
but the moral standard of England he had not attempted to raise. The
domestic circumstances of Arthur were more favorable to his authority as
a censor; and happily for our ultimate welfare, he resolved to
discourage violations of social decorum. Many settlers, whose rank in
life made them unwilling to contract lawful marriages with prisoners or
their offspring, were surrounded by a numerous race. Their example
affected those in stations beneath them. To arrest this domestic evil,
was doubtless the duty of Arthur; but it was not always performed with
consideration. Many were unable to marry; but were unwilling to abandon
connexions sanctioned by the circumstances of the colony and the habits
around. They were placed under a ban: the favours of government were
denied them. Such as were in subordinate offices were dismissed; and
however lasting the utility of this rigour, its immediate consequence
was irritation, resistance, and contempt.
The state of the prisoner population, though considerably ameliorated by
Sorell, was far from satisfactory. Left much at their own disposal from
the hours of labor till their return, they were masters of that portion
of their time most suitable for dissipation and crime. The extent of
their depredations, and the deliberation with which they were performed,
indicated an extensive confederacy. The subordinate police, prone to
connive with offenders, was ill-regulated and insufficient. Goods were
carried off in masses: bags of sugar and chests of tea were abstracted
from the stores; cart loads of property were swept off at once. The
habits of the populace were daring, profane, and intemperate; and to
coerce such materials into order, required the utmost vigour and
discretion.[144]
The chief justice, John Lewes Pedder, Esq., brought from Great Britain
the charter of the supreme court, which was proclaimed in the
market-place on the 7th May, 1824. On the 24th of the same month, the
court opened for business, and Joseph Tice Gellibrand presented his
commission as attorney-general. In his opening speech he declared his
resolution to adopt the maxims of the illustrious Hale. He eulogised the
jurisprudence of his country, and especially trial by jury; but the
military uniform which appeared in court, if it did not lesson its
utility, deprived the institution of its grace.
The first person tried was named Tibbs, for killing a negro, who while
watching for thieves was himself taken for a robber. Though not a
constable, he found pleasure in detecting the crimes of others, and had
in some instances succeeded. He fell a victim to this singular passion:
he was haunting the premises of a settler, by whose servant he was
slain.
The first prosecution for libel was at the instance of Mr. R. L. Murray.
This gentleman, formerly a captain in the army, had been transported for
bigamy. At an early age, while stationed in Ireland, he became
acquainted with a presbyterian lady, and was married to her according to
the rites of her faith. Considering himself trepanned, he came to the
conclusion that the ceremony was void, and subsequently espoused
another. Twenty years after, he was prosecuted; but not at the instance
of the parties more immediately concerned. In an appeal to the British
nation, published at the time, he ascribed the charge to malice; and he
made several unsuccessful efforts to obtain the reversal of the
sentence. In the opinion of eminent counsel, the ceremony was invalid;
and many years after, the judges decided that the marriage of a
presbyterian and an episcopalian in Ireland, could only be celebrated by
a clergyman of the establishment. Sir Samuel Romilly and Mr. Whitbread
called the attention of the Commons to the extreme severity of the
sentence, and were resisted by the ministers with party warmth.[145]
Murray was educated at Westminster and Cambridge; and had spent twenty
years in the service when his commission, as captain in the Royal Waggon
Train, was declared forfeited. After residing some time in New South
Wales, he settled in this island: his extensive experience and literary
talents procured his admission to the limited society. Having adopted
the opinion that an independent colonial government would not add to the
freedom or prosperity of the colony, he opposed the petition. The
committee for its promotion set up a placard, which referred to the
history of the dissentient, and exposed themselves to a criminal
prosecution.
The establishment of a court seemed to be the signal for an outbreak of
disorder and violence. Many prisoners escaped from confinement, and for
a long period a succession of depredators alarmed and pillaged the
colony. The settlers promptly tendered their assistance to the
government, to garrison the towns or scour the bush. Their assistance
was chiefly valuable for the moral support it afforded, and its
influence on the minds of the labourer in bondage. The exploits of the
bushrangers properly belong to the history of transportation, and are
related in Vol. ii. p. 194. The terrors they spread retarded the
occupation of the country, and joined with the assaults of the natives
made the life of a Tasmanian farmer one of considerable danger. At this
time the remote estates were guarded by soldiers: loop-holes pierced the
walls; fierce dogs were stationed as sentinels; and the whole strength
of a district was sometimes employed in pursuit. Few settlers have
escaped assault and loss. Many families, who in Great Britain thought of
an armed robber only with feelings of terror, by long familiarity with
scenes of danger, acquired a cool courage, which would not dishonor a
soldier by profession. The unsparing sacrifice of the robbers captured,
gradually terminated the practice of bushranging, and the colony enjoyed
a long season of comparative repose.
The duties, levied first by the authority of the governor-in-chief, and
afterwards sanctioned by parliament, were collected by the Naval
officer, who received 5 per cent. on the amount: he also performed the
duties of treasurer. Dr. Bromley, the surgeon of the first fleet,
subsequently made seven voyages to the colonies, when he obtained the
appointment. The infrequent examination of the accounts, exposed the
treasury to undetected pilfering, and the colony to loss: in 1824, a
large defalcation was discovered, which, ascertained by a jury of
merchants, amounted to £8,269. They recommended the defaulter to the
lenient consideration of the government, as the victim of others. Dr.
Bromley had been subject to the daily peculation of servants, and robbed
of cash and plate, to the value of £500, at once. His integrity was not
impeached: the public business, however, had been conducted without
check. The per centage was abolished, and the offices of treasurer and
collector separated, and confided to Mr. Jocelyn Thomas and Mr.
Hamilton.
The admission of goods liable to customs had been lax. The new settler
landed his rum duty free, when intended for his own use; but smuggling
was carried on to a large extent, and the protection of the revenue
required a more severe supervision. The rigour was not always exercised
with courtesy; and the vallise of Mr. Edward Lord, formerly
acting-governor, was detained by the naval officer, with some
expressions of indignity.
The merchants were deeply offended by the imposition of a duty at Hobart
Town, higher than was fixed by Brisbane at Port Jackson, as injurious to
their trade; and that duties levied prior to landing, were sometimes
imposed on wines never actually delivered. They requested that the
charges might be equalised with the other port, and that the excess
already taken should be restored. In reply, Arthur not only refused to
entertain the petition, but vindicated with great ardour the conduct of
Hamilton, as a traduced and excellent public officer. Such was the
answer to the merchants who complained of excessive and unequal imposts.
Dissatisfied with the reply, they required the sheriff to call a public
meeting, to address the governor-in-chief, the colony being still a
dependency. This the sheriff, Mr. Dudley Fereday, declined, complaining
that his honor Colonel Arthur was not mentioned in the requisition, and
the object of the meeting not sufficiently defined. A meeting was
therefore called to reprobate the ignorance and presumption of the
sheriff; but the dispute ended without any other practical consequences
than a wide impression that the government was despotic and
contemptuous.
A more important variation between the colonies was displayed on the
question of trial by jury. The magistrates of New South Wales were
required to shew cause for the non-issue of a precept to the sheriff, to
summon a jury. The rule _nisi_ was made absolute. Chief Justice Forbes
decided that the magistrates derived their commission from the king, and
not the parliament; that their functions and obligations were settled by
common law; were not mentioned, and therefore not taken away by the act.
The petty session thus traced its existence to the royal commission: the
supreme court to the parliamentary law.
When the report of the determination by Judge Forbes reached this
colony, Mr., now Sir Alfred Stephen, brought the question before the
court in a similar manner. He argued that it was the duty of the court
to construe the act of parliament in a form the most favorable to the
subject. On the other side it was maintained, that the colony was too
small to furnish civil juries, and the parliament had superseded them.
The act itself which instituted the military jury for the supreme court,
and gave civil juries in civil cases, left the extension of the
practice to the royal discretion alone.
Judge Pedder, in giving judgment, stated that according to the practice
previously in the colonies no civil juries had been known, and the act
of parliament which conferred trial by jury did not give a common one,
but retained the military jury. On the whole he was of opinion that
parliament had overruled common law, and taken away trial by jury,
except as provided by the act, or extended by the king.
Thus, while Judge Pedder ruled that the petty juries were illegal, at
New South Wales they were sitting under the sanction of the then
superior authority. That the decision of our supreme court was a more
correct interpretation of the intentions of parliament, is scarcely to
be doubted; but the words of the act did not necessarily extinguish a
common law right, and the intention of legislators is not law. The
decision of Forbes was more agreeable to Englishmen, though scarcely
compatible with the condition of the country.
The treatment of Mr. Gellibrand, the attorney-general, who was dismissed
from his office by Arthur, for unprofessional conduct, excited great
interest in the legal circles of Great Britain. The disagreement sprang
chiefly from a trial, Laurie _v._ Griffiths, characteristic of the
times. The plaintiff sued for damages for the illegal capture of a
vessel of 12 tons, of which he was the owner and master. The vessel,
called the _Fame_, was found by the brig _Glory_ in Twofold Bay.
Griffiths, the owner of the _Glory_, invited Laurie on board, and made
him prisoner. He then boarded the _Fame_, deprived her of charts and
compass, and amidst the shouts of his seamen fastened her to the tail of
the _Glory_. In this condition she was carried triumphantly towards
Launceston; but a storm arising, the _Glory_ encumbered by the _Fame_,
cast her adrift, when she was exposed to great danger. The prize-master
ran her on shore, and the party wrecked, after fourteen days journey
through the woods, reached George Town. The justification pleaded was
that the plaintiff had conveyed prisoners from Port Jackson, and was
liable to forfeiture; that he had embarked in an unlawful voyage, and
intended to visit Launceston to circulate forged paper. No proof of
these assertions was offered, and the jury granted £460 damages; a
verdict which the government found no occasion to disturb.
Mr. Gellibrand, upon the close of the action, was called to account for
mal-practice. Mr. Dawes, an attorney, presented a statement to the
governor, which was forwarded to Judge Pedder, who returned it as not
within his province. Mr. Alfred Stephen, therefore, brought the
complaint formally before the court, and moved that Gellibrand should be
struck off the rolls. The main question was this: whether a barrister
holding a general retainer could, without license, advise the opposite
party, or whether he could draw pleas for both. It was maintained by Mr.
Stephen, that the practice was dishonorable and dangerous: in the early
stages of a cause facts might become known to a barrister, which would
make him a formidable antagonist to his former client. He asserted that
whether the practice were common in England or not, it was detestable;
and if allowed, would compel him to relinquish the profession, "or seek
an honorable pittance elsewhere."
In the case of Laurie _v._ Griffiths, Mr. Gellibrand had drawn the pleas
for the plaintiff, and afterwards acted officially against him; he,
however, transferred the fee he received to Mr. Stephen, when he was
compelled to relinquish the cause. The profession, almost unanimously,
asserted that the custom of the English bar warranted the practice of
Gellibrand. The judge stated that he was not concluded by the custom of
the English bar, and that the court might treat as a contempt a practice
tolerated at Westminster: he considered the custom pernicious, but
dismissed the case, and left the governor to act for himself.
The appeal of Mr. Gellibrand to the profession perfectly vindicated his
conduct. It was found that the first counsel in England often acted
against a retaining client, and sometimes drew pleas on both sides.
Thus, in a question of a right of way, the same counsel drew the
declaration, the plea, and the replication. However objectionable at
first sight, where legal technicalities are so fatal to even a right
cause, it would be no small hardship were an opulent person permitted to
engross the legal talents of an island, and exclude his antagonist from
the possibility of obtaining justice. The excitement occasioned by this
dispute was of long continuance, and motives were freely imputed.
Although the chief justice dismissed the motion of Mr. Stephen, the
governor determined to press the charge, and appointed a commission of
enquiry. Additional matter was urged: it was said that Gellibrand
advised a client to enter an action against a magistrate, whom his
office might oblige him to defend, and that his intimacy with Mr.
Murray did not become his relations with the government. Mr. Sergeant,
now Judge, Talfourd regretted that by quitting the commissioners
appointed by the governor, he had damaged his case. The crown had a
right to dismiss; but he was clearly of opinion that the proceeding of
the local officers was the effect of either "malice or mistake." The
charges of professional malversation he pronounced too absurd for
notice; that the practice was not only allowable but often imperative.
Mr. Stephen, on his passage to this colony was involved in a quarrel,
which ended in an assault. On his action he obtained £50 damages. His
bill of costs, twice that amount, was published, to contrast with the
professional scruples which inspired his opposition to Gellibrand. This
bill consisted of one hundred and twelve items, among which the
following: "to instructions for replication," "for brief," "retaining
fee." Many other such payments of self to self, passed the taxing of the
master. After paying actual expenses, Mr. Stephen, however, handed the
surplus to a chanty.
The master of the supreme court arrived in October, 1824. This gentleman
was the brother of the late William Hone, a party writer of great
celebrity, whose opinions in early life were extreme, both in reference
to politics and religion. For publishing parodies, which employed the
language of the _Common Prayer_ as a vehicle of political complaint, he
was tried by Lord Ellenborough. His fame was greatly increased by the
pertinacity and skill of a successful defence. He afterwards wrote the
_Day Book_, a work of ability and research; and in the last years of his
life he embraced the faith, and died with the reputation of an ardent
christian. Joseph Hone, Esq. succeeded Mr. Gellibrand. The uniform
gentleness of his character has been respected by the press: he is
mentioned only to be praised.
The arrival of General Darling was a time of festivity: he proclaimed
the independence of the colony on New South Wales, December 3, 1825.
While present, he was entitled to govern; but when he set sail, Arthur,
who had been addressed as "Your Honor," assumed the authority of
governor-in-chief, and, responsible only to the home-office, became "His
Excellency." The colonists were less delighted with the possession than
the prospect of a chief governor; although the spirit of General Darling
was not more favorable to the enlargement of their liberties.
The legislative and executive councils were appointed, consisting of
officers of the government: among them, it is said, a relative of
Spencer Perceval, the statesman. He had been nominated to an office in
this colony, but he never arrived; his name is, however, second on our
first list of legislators.
The division of the island into police districts, subject to a
stipendiary magistrate (1827), brought the prisoner population under the
more direct control of the government. It was a great improvement in the
internal discipline of the colony. Gentlemen, themselves masters, were
liable to the bias of a position full of vexation and disappointment,
and less favorable to a cool and impartial administration of justice.
The executive revised their sentences, and thus reflected on their
judgment. Nor were they willing always to spare the time required by a
patient investigation, or to distinguish between a frivolous and a
proper defence. Some curious examples of magisterial equity are often
told: one rose from the bench, when he heard his waggon in the street,
and delivered his sentence in his progress towards the door--"I can't
stop: give him fifty." A cattle stealer owed his life to the same
impatience of enquiry: before the charge was half investigated, the
magistrate said, "give him fifty"--an easy compromise with the hangman.
A reverend gentleman met a party of men brought up for disobedience: he
sent them back, with "ah, well, give them five-and-twenty all round." It
was common to send a note with the man whom it was intended to punish:
he was flogged, and sent back. A man, suspecting the contents of such a
missive, gave it to his fellow-servant, who was flogged in spite of his
protests. Another, who had been on a similar errand before, returned
next day to his master, complaining bitterly of his suffering; but he
had destroyed the note and eluded the triangles. Such eccentricities of
justice could not last beyond the rudest era.
The site of the capital narrowly escaped a second change. The
commissioner, Mr. Bigge, considered that the seat of government should
be fixed nearer to the source of the river Derwent. Brighton was
nominated the destined city, close to an extensive and fertile country,
and within easy access to the interior. Arthur was instructed to
determine this question. Its chief inducement was the removal of the
prisoners from the temptation of the port; but property was already
invested to a large amount. The merchants strongly opposed the transfer.
The division of the government from the chief population would have
destroyed its moral influence. Arthur did not press the project, and
during a conference with the merchants and other principal inhabitants,
discussed the question with courtesy. On the whole, the measure was
impolitic, and finally abandoned.
The uncertainty for some time obstructed the progress of the place.
Launceston was still more unfortunate. When York Town was abandoned as
the chief settlement, Paterson removed his head-quarters to Launceston;
but on the visit of Macquarie he determined to constitute George Town
the northern capital. The superior convenience of a spot at the head of
the river to one forty miles distant, gave Launceston the mercantile
preference. Macquarie maintained his project to the last; but the
opinion of Mr. Bigge determined the dispute in favor of Launceston, and
the head-quarters, in 1824, were removed finally from George Town.
A fatality has seemed to attend the selection of chief townships in the
colonies. Sydney is a second choice, Hobart Town a second, Launceston a
third, Melbourne a second. New Zealand has experienced the same vexation
and losses which proper surveys might easily avoid. The general
government can have no sinister interest in these changes, but those who
foresee and promote them may largely gain.
The principal objection to Launceston was the navigation of the river,
which was dreaded by vessels of tonnage; but its reputation was worse
than its dangers. Lighters, and even rafts, were employed to discharge
ships which would now approach the wharves. The _Aguilar_, Captain
Watson, spent several months at George Town, and charged the detention
on the river. This was resented by Arthur, who stated that the master
had dispatched the mate and seamen on a sealing voyage, and loitered for
the purpose of traffic; and sought to excuse the delay by defaming the
port.[146]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 141: _Barnwell and Cresswell's Reports._]
[Footnote 142: An obscure publication appeared at Jamaica in 1824,
designated a _Defence of the Settlers of Honduras_: a work intended to
refute the imputations on which his anti-slavery policy had been
justified. Whether the book itself really existed, or the passages
professedly extracted from it deserve any credit, is questionable: the
authority being an opposition paper.]
[Footnote 143: Colonel Arthur's letter to Lord Bathurst, 1820.]
[Footnote 144: The disorders of this period will be found described in
vol. ii, of this History.]
[Footnote 145: _Appeal to the British Nation._ By R. L. Murray, Esq.:
London, 2nd edit.]
SECTION II.
The newspapers of this hemisphere were long mere vehicles of government
intelligence, or expressions of the views and feelings of the ruling
powers. A censorship established from the first issue, was rigorously
exercised, and the founder of the Australian press spoke of its
vexations to the end of his life, with horror and tears.
This was George Howe, a Creole of St. Christopher. He arrived in New
South Wales in 1800: with the sanction of Governor King, he obtained
material from Great Britain, and sent forth the first-born of the
Australian press, named the _Sydney Gazette, and New South Wales
Advertiser_, on the 5th March, 1803. The conduct of a periodical was a
work of toil and anxiety: the default of material, the paucity of local
intelligence, the vices of the prisoner workmen, and the jealousy of the
authorities, severely tried the industry and patience of the intrepid
printer. He continued his toil until his death, having kindled the
unextinguishable torch of a free press, and taken his rank with the
benefactors of mankind.
Sir Thomas Brisbane at first relaxed, and then removed restrictions from
the press. In 1823, he permitted the discussion of colonial affairs, and
in the month of October, 1824, the colonial secretary informed Mr. Howe
that he ceased to be amenable, except to the courts of law.
Malice or humour, in the early days, expressed itself in what were
called _pipes_--a ditty, either taught by repetition or circulated on
scraps of paper: the offences of official men were thus hitched into
rhyme. These _pipes_ were a substitute for the newspaper, and the fear
of satire checked the haughtiness of power.
The _Hobart Town Gazette_,[147] established by Andrew Bent, the first
permanent newspaper, was under the immediate patronage and control of
the government, and Mr. Emmett was the first official editor. The
articles were brief, mild, and complimentary: they represented the views
of the ruler; perhaps, at that time, also of the people.
On the arrival of Colonel Arthur, Mr. Bent determined to throw off
official supervision, and claimed a property in the title of the
_Gazette_. The partnership between him and the government was not very
distinct. Money had been lent for the purchase of material, but this he
was expected to repay. His right to the property, questioned by Arthur,
was allowed on reference to the governor-in-chief. The editor of Mr.
Bent's choice was Evan Henry Thomas, Esq. In June, 1824, appeared the
first article of the press thus set free; and, as the first, is worthy
lasting remembrance. "We esteem ourselves," observed the writer, "a
BEACON, placed by divine graciousness on the awfully perilous coast of
human frailty." "We view ourselves as a SENTINEL, bound by allegiance to
our country, our sovereign, and our God. We contemplate ourselves as the
WINNOWERS for the public." He then proceeds--"We desire to encourage the
cloudless flames of rectified communion," rejecting "each effusion,
however splendid, of degenerate curiosity and perverted genius--of
misanthrophic ascerbity and calumnious retrospection." Such were the
vows and resolutions of the father of journalists. He added, "the duties
of our typo-graphic province are performed by the proprietor and one
assistant." Having offered his columns for discussion, a writer of
considerable colonial fame, R. L. Murray, appeared under the signature
of "A COLONIST." His letters addressed to Arthur, reviewed his
government contrasted with that of his predecessor: they were said to
approach the style of Junius; read in modern times, they may have lost
much of their spirit. They were, however, offensive to Arthur, and he
resolved to start another _Gazette_, which should put down opposition.
As the quarrel warmed, Bent grew more daring, and the first _ex-officio_
prosecution was instituted against him. Rather by implication than
directly, the lieutenant-governor was charged with attempting to deprive
Bent of his property; the fraud being defeated only by the superior
justice of Governor Brisbane. In another paragraph the writer stated the
_extra martial incarceration_ of Colonel Bradley, taught the colonists
what might be expected from Arthur's anger. In one of these libels, Bent
declared that he would not surrender his rights to a "Gibeonite of
tyranny." The attorney-general ingeniously explained, that though Gibeon
was a good man, that did not qualify the inuendo. Fox was a friend of
freedom, but such was not the Foxite of tyranny. In truth, the whole
discussion is painful to a friend of liberty and justice. It is
difficult to imagine a less dangerous opposition than such compositions,
or to account for their prosecution, except as an outbreak of offended
pride.
In 1825, George Terry Howe had established the _Tasmanian_ at
Launceston; but the offers of the government drew him to head-quarters,
and, in concert with Dr. Ross, he became the printer of the _Government
Gazette_. In this official publication there were articles of news and
politics; but in 1827, the _Courier_ being established, the _Gazette_
issued as a separate publication. Mr. Bent complained bitterly of the
piracy of his title: he, however, soon yielded, and changed the
designation of his paper to the _Colonial Times_, August, 1825. The
_Tasmanian_, of Hobart Town, soon followed, and discussed the various
political questions with moderation and ability.
Arthur resolved to put down the liberty of the press. It had, indeed,
been asserted that this measure was dictated by Lord Bathurst; but the
manner in which it was defended by Arthur, identifies his memory with
the scheme. An act was passed, at the close of 1827, which laid the
colonial press at his feet. This ordinance appointed a license, subject
to the will of the governor, and made the continuance of a paper
dependent on his pleasure: authorised a tax of threepence each, and took
securities for penalties. Bent was refused a license, and even his right
to publish an advertising sheet was disputed. He therefore published
monthly, from the 1st March, 1828, the _Colonial Advocate_; a work of
considerable merit, and containing much valuable information. It was,
however, 5s. a number, and not adapted to colonial circulation. The
_Austral-asiatic Review_, by Murray, also made its appearance in
February, 1828; and although the publishers of these productions were
injured by the law, the governor was not the gainer.
It was not to be expected that the colony would quietly submit. An
address, signed by Meredith and several other magistrates, animadverted
on the measure with just severity. They declared that the restrictions
imposed were needless, unconstitutional, and debasing: that they were an
insult to the colony; contrary to the implied engagements of the crown,
when emigration was invited. The reply of Arthur asserted, that so long
as this was a place for the reception of convicts, the press could not
be free: that it was dangerous to authority, and calculated to destroy
the security of domestic life. Some opinions expressed by the
remonstrants, he pronounced presumptuous and unjust. In the controversy,
the people were successful, as they were nearly unanimous. The law was
disallowed by Sir G. Murray, and the press set free. However offensive
the remarks of these writers, to describe their suppression as a measure
of police, was both disingenuous and absurd.
Alarmed by the threats of prosecution, the author of the "Gibeonite
libel" presented an apology in the following supplicating terms:--"We
avow our readiness to preserve inviolate the best and most endeared
interests of this community; and we trust that, before misanthropy again
can rally his vituperative legions to assault us, we may re-evince to
_all_ how staunch is our allegiance, and how sullyless our zeal at the
post of probity!" The unfortunate printer could not soften his
prosecutor, and was cast in damages and expenses amounting to £500.
In 1829, Launceston was favored with two newspapers: the _Advertiser_,
and the _Cornwall Press_. Both started together, and both manifesting
the spirit of rivals. The _Advertiser_ was the property of Mr. John
Fawkner. Its opponent belonged to Mr. S. Dowsett, and reached the
nineteenth number. The following are memorials of their fraternal
sympathies. The _Cornwall Press_ describes his rival as "an addle-pated
upstart--a superannuated Zany." His writings "as the frothings of a beer
cask." "Condescending to notice 5 feet 2-1/4," he remarks, "we dropped
from our proper elevation." What that might be, it is not difficult to
conjecture, if the rejoinder is to be credited:--"if he had his right
place, he would be wearing a leather apron and scouring pewter pots."
Such were the literary love tokens of those days. It will be seen, that
the quarrel of Arthur with the press, was continued to the end of his
administration.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 146: _Gazette_, November, 1824.]
[Footnote 147: "We are indebted to the Italians for the idea of
newspaper. The title of their _gazettas_ was, perhaps, derived from
_gazzera_, a magpie or chatterer; or, more probably, from a farthing
coin peculiar to the city of Venice, called _gazetta_, which was the
common price of newspapers."--_D'Israeli's Curiosities of Literature_,
p. 53.]
SECTION III.
Captain Dixon, commander of the _Skelton_, came to Van Diemen's Land in
1820. On his return to England, he published a small volume on the
capabilities of the country. He suggested the formation of a pastoral
company, with a capital divided into £100 shares, as a profitable
scheme. Causes foreign to this enquiry reduced the marketable value of
money, and awakened a speculative spirit in Great Britain: projects of
every kind found favour--a madness fraught with insolvency, fraud, and
ruin. But in the meantime the Van Diemen's Land Company had been formed.
Men of opulence and prudence, when compared with common projectors, were
concerned in its origin. They proceeded with caution, and postponed the
issue of their share list until their plans were laid. Nor did they
promise a dividend, but as the result of a considerable outlay, and at a
distant date. Yet they drew a brilliant picture of this colony, and
delineated in vivid language the riches of its soil, its relative
position, and its future destinies. "Such advantages," said they, "could
not long escape the penetration of the British public." It was, among
their objects, to relieve Great Britain from dependence on foreign wool;
to improve the quality of the Australian flocks: this object they have
contributed to accomplish.
They applied to Lord Bathurst for 500,000 acres of land. By his
countenance they obtained an act of parliament, under which the charter
of their incorporation, on the 9th November, 1825, passed the great
seal. By this charter they were authorised to employ their capital in
cultivation and sheep farming; to lend money on mortgage and to persons
engaged in fisheries; to undertake public works on security of tolls:
but they were debarred from banking and commerce.
Lord Bathurst consulted Colonel Sorell: he was favorable to the company;
but forwarned them that no large blocks of fertile land remained
unlocated. The company received a grant of 250,000 acres, to be taken on
the north-west coast in one square block; bounded by Bass's Strait on
the north; on the westward by the ocean; and by a line drawn from shore
to shore. After some debate, this land was valued to the company at two
shillings and sixpence per acre, and the whole quit-rent charged, was
"four hundred and sixty-eight pounds, sixteen shillings:" redeemable at
twenty years purchase--£9,575. In the measurement, one-fourth allowed
for useless land. The employment of convicts entitled the company to
remission of quit-rent; £16 annually each man.
Mr. Edward Curr, at first the secretary of the company, became their
agent. Having some time resided in Van Diemen's Land, he had returned to
England, where he published a book on the state of the country,
remarkable for its clear narrative and sober delineation. The first ship
dispatched by the company was the _Tramnere_ (1826), followed by the
_Caroline_. Some time was lost in selecting the settlement, and Circular
Head was chosen. On a closer inspection, the district was not found
encouraging. Near the shore the country is heavily timbered, and the
high lands towards the westward were found barren and cold. Mr. Curr
was anxious to bring his line as far possible towards the sun; but the
governor held him to the literal agreement, under an impression that the
grant was already improvident and excessive. The whole scheme was
distasteful to Arthur: a powerful company having interests of its own,
whose head-quarters were in London, might have been a counterpoise to
his influence, had it not been pushed to the extremity of an
inaccessible country. By the oversight or complaisance of Lord Bathurst,
the rule which made the outlay of capital the condition of a grant, was
not inserted in the covenant. The public works promised by the
proprietors were never undertaken, and their establishment was but a
larger farm than common. They ultimately obtained several blocks of
land, which gave them command of an intervening country of 150,000
acres, at Woolnorth; 20,000 at Circular Head, 10,000 at the Hampshire
Hills, 10,000 at the Middlesex Plains, 150,000 at the Surrey Hills, and
10,000 at the islands on the coast. The total actual cost, including
survey, was 1s. 6d. per acre.
The operations of the company were conducted on a liberal scale:
artizans were sent out. The proprietors were promised a remission of £16
for men, and £20 for women, on the quit-rent. This was the first
encouragement of free emigration to this quarter of the world. A road
was opened with Launceston, chiefly useful to absconders. The
importation of sheep and horses of great value, was beneficial to the
country. The sheep of the company cost £30,000 (1830), when they
exported wool to the value of £2,000. The servants of the company left
them on the expiration of their engagements: many before. The reports of
the proprietors eulogised the management of Mr. Curr, and affirmed that
the moral influence he had acquired rendered his government easy and his
people contented. They asserted that ardent spirits were excluded: there
were no police or prison, and none required. These statements varied
from fact. The company provided no religious teaching for its people;
and Mr. Curr, a Roman catholic, could not be expected to promote
heretical creeds.
The losses sustained by the company were great: the cold destroyed the
stock, and their crops often perished from moisture. On the Hampshire
Hills many hundred lambs died in a night. Sometimes the season never
afforded a chance to use the sickle: in the morning the crop was laden
with hoar frost, at noon it was drenched with the thaw, and in the
evening covered with dews; and thus rotted on the ground. The agent,
however, did not despair, and the company anticipated a dividend in
1834, at the latest!
The company provided a numerous staff; beside the agent, were a
commissioner, an agriculturist, an architect, and surveyors. Its local
affairs were confided to a council of three, Curr being the chairman;
but the divided sovereignty was impracticable, and the "Potentate of the
North," as he was sometimes called, soon reigned alone.
Servants engaged in Great Britain at low wages, on their arrival often
escaped from the farms, and exposed the agent to great vexation.
Sometimes they were pursued, and brought back by force: it was at last
agreed to cancel their indentures, on repayment of the cost of their
passage. In 1834, the population on the estate amounted to about 400
persons, of whom more than 200 were prisoners of the crown.
The New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land Establishment, formed at the
same time, received a grant of 40,000 acres. They engaged to improve the
stock of Van Diemen's Land, and introduced valuable horses. Colonel
Latour was a leading partner; Captain Thomas, speared by the blacks in
1831, was superintendent of the company's affairs, which however were
unprofitable for many years.
To these establishments the colony is indebted chiefly for the
introduction of valuable stock. In this they were rivalled by private
settlers. Bulls, of the Fifeshire breed, were imported by Mr. Patrick
Wood; of Normandy, by Captain Watson. Saxon sheep were imported by
Messrs. Gilles; from the flock of the Marquis of Londonderry, by Mr. R.
Harrison; by Mr. Anstey, from the flock of Sir Thomas Seabright; by Mr.
R. Willis, from that of Mr. Henty, of Arundel. Many others might be
mentioned, but these were in advance of the public companies; and by
1830, little could be added to the varieties of the fold or the stall.
Among those employed in the Van Diemen's Land Company's service was
Jorgen Jorgenson, whose adventurous life made him remarkable even among
vagabonds. He was born at Copenhagen, 1780. After some employment in the
coal trade, he accompanied the expedition of Flinders; and afterwards,
as mate on board the _Lady Nelson_, attended the first party to Risdon.
Having returned to Europe, and become commander of a privateer in the
service of his country, he was captured after a smart resistance by the
British ships _Sappho_ and _Clio_.
He obtained, while out on his parole, the merchant ship _Margaret and
Anne_, to carry provisions to Iceland, where the people were suffering
extreme privation. On a second voyage the governor, Count Tramp,
prohibited the intercourse: Jorgenson landed while the people were at
church, and aided by his seamen took the governor prisoner. He then,
with extraordinary impudence, issued a proclamation stating that he had
been called by an oppressed people to assume the reins of government. He
proceeded to reform its various departments: he lightened the taxes,
augmented the pay of the clergy, improved the system of education,
established trial by jury, formed an army consisting of eight soldiers,
and fortified the harbour with six guns. Having performed these
exploits, he returned to London in a prize taken from the island. His
proceedings were already known to the ministry, and he was arrested as
an alien at large. Jorgenson made no small stir by his appearance among
legislators and conquerors. After a variety of adventures, in which he
was often on the borders of crime, he pawned the linen taken from his
lodging, and was sentenced to transportation. In Newgate he was employed
as a dispenser of medicine. After four years detention he was released;
but was retaken, having neglected to quit Great Britain, and transported
for life. Such is the account he gave of his imprisonment. The penalty
might have been commuted; but he undertook to write on various subjects,
and created some trouble; he was therefore forwarded to this colony.
Here he was chiefly employed as a constable; detected many crimes, and
brought several to the scaffold. A woman, who had assisted him in
discovering certain offenders, became his wife; and he was often seen
fleeing from her fury through the streets. He, however, survived her,
and at length closed his singular career in the colonial hospital.
Jorgenson made great pretensions to literature. He wrote a treatise on
religion, and another on the treaty of Tilsit: in this country he
published a pamphlet on the funded system, and a narrative of his life
by himself. With a knowledge of the writer, it is amusing to read the
grave strictures of the London critics, who complained that he bounded
with amazing rapidity from one subject to another, without leaving a
trace of his track: now among the stars--then on a steam engine chasing
infidelity--or pelting atheism with meteoric stones.[148]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 148: Of the fitness of Jorgenson to discuss theological
questions, the reader may judge from the following passage taken from
his preface:--"No religion on earth, except the Christian, establishes
the link of the chain which must necessarily exist between the creator
and intelligent creature. After consulting history, chronology, the laws
of mechanism and the laws of nature, as unfolded by observation and
experience, he discovered that events must have happened nearly at the
time mentioned, and precisely after the manner described. At length his
mind was satisfied, that God had made our yoke easy and our burden
light."--_Religion of Christ the Religion of Nature._ Written in the
condemned cells of Newgate, by Jorgen Jorgenson, late governor of
Iceland. Capes, London, 1827.]
SECTION IV.
The retirement of Lord Bathurst, and accession of Lord Goderich, gave
some hope of a change in the form, if not the agents of government. The
colonist expected much from the improved tone of the English executive;
but, except the rescue of the press, the sole effect was a reduction of
British expenditure for the civil government, and in 1827 its total
cessation.
Mr. Hood, a surgeon on half-pay, had offended Arthur by a letter: a
_Gazette_ announcement informed him that he was placed under a ban;[149]
and his name recorded, to prevent his participating in the "favors or
indulgencies of the local government"--a help to official remembrance,
which rulers seldom require. Thus official and opposition parties were
organised: as the distinction became more marked, a social gloom
overspread the capital. Whispers were heard with jealousy. The
mercantile class, who alone could defy the government, and who were
excluded from the "court circles," headed the opposition. "The official
corps," said a satirical lady, who drew a picture of the times, "are
punctilious; fearful of compromising their rank; all _etiquette_." The
entertainments at government-house were ceremonies, rather than parties
of pleasure. As the servant opened the door, he seemed to say, "you may
come in, but don't speak." Some more daring spirit would venture a
remark, as ballast is thrown out to send a balloon above the fogs; but
caution, like Sancho's physician, interdicted the perilous indulgence,
and restored the watchful silence. No Dutchman would willingly endure
the Humdrumstadt on the Derwent, notwithstanding its natural advantages
and commercial promise--a town without a library, and where the common
spirit of detraction was exasperated by competition for those favors the
governor could refuse or transfer. The presence of power was everywhere
felt, and dreaded wherever it could not be defied.[150]
The close connection and constant intercourse between New South Wales
and Van Diemen's Land affected the spirit of both governments. Sir
Thomas Brisbane, whose easy temper and courteous manner rendered him
highly popular, was superseded by Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Darling,
whose administration after the first few months was a perpetual storm.
The chief justice, inclined to liberal politics, rejected several drafts
of laws which trespassed on the limits of the constitutional act, which
he himself had framed at the request of Lord Bathurst. At his dictation,
the ordinance against the press was less stringent than intended. The
titles of land, the property of masters in assigned labor, he determined
against the government. He was considered the tribune of the people.
Judge Forbes, a Bermudian by birth, was educated in an American college,
and charged with republican tendencies by those who designed to degrade
him.[151]
Brisbane was the patron of the turf club. This office was accepted by
Darling as his successor. He was invited to dine with the members: this
he declined. Mr. Wentworth, as chairman of the day, made certain
observations thought personally disrespectful; and when the governor's
health was proposed, the band struck up, without orders from the
stewards, "_There is na luck about the house_." Darling, informed of
these proceedings, withdrew his name as patron. The club passed
resolutions declaring their approval of Mr. Wentworth's speech. The
governor dismissed the acting attorney general (Moore), the sheriff
(Mackarness), and other officials, for their concurrence with the
majority.
Two soldiers, Thompson and Sudds, to escape from the service, committed
a theft, and received a sentence in the supreme court. To aggravate its
rigour, Darling brought them on parade: stripped them of their uniform,
fixed round their necks collars set with spikes, and loaded their legs
with chains. In a few days Sudds languished and died: this result, so
unexpected, was attributed in part to a latent disease of the liver,
rendered fatal by grief and the pressure of the iron. The affair became
the subject of parliamentary inquiry. Darling was accused of murder by
his enemies: he was vindicated by ministers; but although his motives
were uncorrupt, an arbitrary aggravation of a judicial sentence who
would seriously approve?
These transactions, together with the "Stamp Act" to check the
circulation of newspapers, were noticed in the _Australian_ (May, 1827)
in terms of ironical praise; severe, but not beyond the ordinary license
of public discussion. On the arrival of Mr. Baxter, the attorney
general, the proprietor, Dr. Wardell, was prosecuted in the supreme
court, at the instance of General Darling. Judge Forbes pointed out the
violent straining of the inuendos, and through his charge led on to an
acquittal. Although chosen by the prosecutor, the jury were unable to
agree, and the defendant was discharged. The alleged libel stated that
the stamp act "would immortalise" General Darling "in the annals of this
rapidly improving colony, and act as a passport to the admiration and
grateful respect of posterity." The meaning extracted by the inuendos
was this: "It would render his memory for ever infamous, and cause his
name to be hated and detested by future generations." The judge justly
remarked, that between immortality and infamy there are many steps.
The struggles between the governor-in-chief and the opposition were
watched in Van Diemen's Land with interest. The same parties existed in
both colonies; but Judge Pedder did not participate the political
sympathies of Judge Forbes, and made no pretence to popular applause. To
those who check the abuses of irresponsible power something is due; but
when the balance of human infirmity is struck, it will not be always
found in their favor.[152]
The employment of spies has been charged on Arthur as a chief vice of
his government--a practice hardly less perilous to the innocent than
guilty. Shortly before his retirement from office, Mr. Humphrey, the
police magistrate, was denounced for corruption. Major Honner, who had
formed a disgraceful connexion with Anne Pope, a prisoner of the crown,
applied for her assignment to his service: this Mr. Humphrey refused.
The major then offered to produce evidence against this officer, on
condition that free pardons were granted to his witnesses, one of whom
was found to be his paramour. The governor declined to pledge a reward;
but Honner was assured by a member of the executive that, provided the
results were satisfactory, his recommendation would be favorably
considered. He forwarded a letter to the governor, who satisfied that
the imputation was malicious and incapable of proof, directed the
prosecution of the accuser. The transaction was unfortunate: the
negociation indicated that secret informers were tolerated, and that
pardons might be procured by a successful witness.
Mr. Humphrey, originally a mineralogist, who filled various offices from
the foundation of the colony, received a pension of £400; but soon after
died (1829). The governor eulogised in strong language his official
career.
The recall of Arthur was announced, and the policy of his successor
gravely debated before his career was midway. "It is a fact," said the
_Sydney Gazette_, "Colonel Davies is the distinguished individual." "The
successor of Colonel Arthur," said the _Australian_ (1829), "is placed
beyond doubt. The appointment of Colonel Gibbs is now certain."
Clergymen of such names emigrated about the time, and rumour could
easily supply the rest.
When the constitutional act approached its term, the colonists
determined to seek not only for trial by jury, but a voice in the
legislature. A petition adopted by a meeting held in 1827, was confided
to a deputation, who were instructed to forward it through Arthur, and
to entreat his concurrence with its prayer. A time was fixed to receive
them; but when at the government-house, they were met by a blundering
message, postponing the interview for one hour. Deeming themselves and
their constituents slighted, they declined a second attendance. Arthur
published a vindication of himself: he stated that business of great
importance with Mr. Curr, prevented his examination of the documents; he
had requested the delay only to prepare himself for the audience, and
regretted that the colony were deprived of his friendly offices by an
unreasonable caprice. This paper fell into the hands of the deputation a
few hours after the vessel had sailed with despatches for the secretary
of state. They considered this a manoeuvre, contrived to stifle their
defence; and instantly dispatched a fast sailing boat to pursue the ship
with an exculpatory letter.
By a circular of Lord Bathurst,[153] still in force, it was announced to
the colonists that their complaints must pass through the governor's
hands to the home-office. Duplicates without new matter might be
forwarded by other channels; but an answer could only be expected on
the arrival of the governor's report.
The violation of this rule the deputation imputed to the necessity of
the case; to counteract an attempt of the governor to evade its spirit.
Their promptitude was unavailing: for his share in the transaction, the
name of Mr. Gellibrand was expunged from the list of magistrates, by
Lord Goderich's orders.
The hostility of Arthur to the petition was well understood, and there
were many others who did not sympathise with its object. Sir John Owen
presented it to the Commons without a word. The ministers expressed
their desire to grant free institutions, so soon as the colony was ripe
to enjoy them, when Mr. A. Baring (Lord Ashburton) remarked that
colonies are never ripe for free institutions until they get them.
Mr. Marshall, the shipping agent, attempted to form an association in
London (1828), for the protection of these colonies. All persons,
commercially or otherwise interested, were eligible for membership. A
correspondence was projected with the leading colonists, and it was
assumed the British government would readily attend to representations
emanating from such a source. The scheme did not obtain the support it
merited, and the scattered colonial interests could never be combined
for a joint action. The partizans of Arthur ridiculed the plan, and it
came to nothing.
The constitutional act, which became law, July 25, 1828, to terminate
1836, but extended until now, differs in many of its provisions from the
last. The governor is president, and has a deliberative and casting
vote. The council is increased from five or seven to ten or fifteen; the
oath of secresy is abolished; drafts of acts are _gazetted_; a law
cannot be made by the crown or the governor alone; two-thirds of the
council must be present; although previous duties are confirmed, no new
tax can be imposed except for local purposes expressed in the bill;
ordinances must be conformable to English laws; all statutes in
operation at the date of the act were applied to the colony, all others
may be adopted. A member may draft a bill, which the governor must lay,
_verbatim_, on the council table, with his reasons for refusing to
propose it. A member may record his protest, and a majority is necessary
to pass a measure. The members are appointed by the crown, and vacancies
are filled up by the governor: they must be resident; _ex-officio_ they
are magistrates. The preliminary certificate of the chief justice,
required by the former act, is substituted by another clause, which
compels the council to reconsider a bill declared by the judge repugnant
to the laws of England, or the act constituting the council.
The British legislature, in criminal cases, establishes a military jury
alone: challenge is allowed for direct interests, and magistrates may
act in default of commissioned officers; but in civil actions assessors
are continued. But the local council is authorised to institute trial by
jury, under such limitations as may be deemed meet. It is under this act
of parliament that the colony has seen the jury-box delivered up to
civilians; but awaits the hour which the law itself foretells, when in
recognising the ancient principle of representation it records the
purpose of resuming it, "so soon as the cause shall cease to operate
which had forbidden its immediate observance."[154]
In transmitting this bill, Sir George Murray explained that by the
clause which superseded the veto of the chief justice, it was intended
to avoid a collision of opinion between the high functionaries of
government. Nothing, however, but the most urgent necessity would
justify the governor in setting aside his opinion.[155]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 149: April, 1826.]
[Footnote 150: _Letter from a Lady_ (Mrs. Adey), inserted in the
_Morning Herald_, 1827.]
[Footnote 151: _Mudie's Felonry of New South Wales_, p. 52.]
[Footnote 152: Dr. Wardell was murdered some years after by
bushrangers.]
[Footnote 153: May 20th, 1826.]
SECTION V.
Under the former act, the attorney general could refuse to file a bill,
and exercised this discretion in a case of libel. The new law authorised
the court to permit an information to be exhibited by any person, and
the attorney general was bound to indict, except in felony or capital
prosecutions. Mr. Jennings, a solicitor, claimed the interference of the
court against the attorney general, Mr. Montagu. Savery, who was
transported for forgery, was sued for a debt; but Mr. Montagu, who had
been a passenger with the debtor's wife, and felt interested in his
welfare, stayed proceedings by verbal guarantee. When Jennings attempted
to enforce the agreement, Montagu replied that he was more to be
affected by the sun than the wind; and added, "I know how to defend
myself against a person ten times more able or wicked than yourself."
The judge decided that the attorney general was not bound to sign a bill
of indictment against, or to prosecute himself.
The indemnity due on a returned bill of exchange was decided by the
court (1826), on a friendly suit, Cartwright _v._ Mulgrave, at the
expense of the merchants. It was deemed proper to give a high
compensation, both to solace for disappointment, and discourage a
careless issue of bills. The plaintiff paid £112 currency for £100
sterling, calculating that £120 currency would be required in London for
the £100 sterling. The assessors fixed 25 per cent. to cover all losses,
and the sum has been allowed by the supreme court on all similar cases
to this day.
Captain Dillon, of the _Research_, East India Company's ship, the
discoverer of the relics of La Perouse, visited Hobart Town. He was
prosecuted for assault and false imprisonment by Dr. Tytler, a gentleman
commissioned by the Asiatic Society to conduct the scientific enquiries
the voyage might favor. He was seized, confined to his cabin, threatened
with the lash, and guarded by New Zealand savages, among whom were two,
called by Dillon Prince Brian Boru, and his Excellency Morgan M'Murrah,
who espoused the quarrel of the captain, and offered to grill and eat
the unfortunate physician. The jealousy and violence of Dillon strongly
indicated insanity, and Dr. Tytler represented his fears to the second
in command. This opinion became known to the captain, and led to the
assault and imprisonment, from which the doctor was released by a writ
of _habeas corpus_. The chief justice, in pronouncing judgment,
explained the absolute power and stringent responsibility of a captain
in the management of his company, and sentenced Dillon to fine and
imprisonment: the latter was remitted, in consideration of his
enterprise.
The public treasury was robbed of £1,400 (1827). The thieves entered at
night, while the sentinel was on guard, and the rifled chest was found
hidden under a tomb in the adjacent burial ground. Three persons, and
the sentinel, were tried for the offence; but on the second day, the
crown prosecutor was not in his place. This truant lawyer was enjoying a
breakfast, while the court and prisoners were watching the door of
entrance. The patience of the judge gave way, and he directed a verdict
of "not guilty" to be entered. The crown relieved the treasurer from his
responsibility for the loss.
The case of Isaac (Ikey) Solomon, a noted receiver, occasioned a long
discussion of great colonial interest. This man having been committed
for trial, escaped from Newgate; but his wife, implicated in the same
transaction, was transported. A short time after, he appeared in Van
Diemen's Land, under the name of Sloman, and applied for his wife as an
assigned servant: to this the governor consented, but transmitted to
England an account of his presence. Towards the close of 1829, a letter,
enclosing an affidavit of Mr. Wontner, the governor of Newgate, was
addressed by the secretary of state to the governor, directing the
arrest of the fugitive. A consultation was held at the secretary's
office, to which Mr. Gellibrand was invited, who declared that the
instruments forwarded were insufficient. A warrant, however, was issued
for Solomon's capture, and he was lodged in gaol. On the application of
Mr. Gellibrand, the supreme court granted a writ of _habeas corpus_, and
the question arose whether a colonial secretary had power to act under
instructions from the secretary of state, and without examination
transmit a person, on a presumption of guilt, over half the globe. The
judge admitted that the boasted liberty of the subject would be a
delusion, were such powers vested in the local authorities. After a
lengthened research and repeated hearing, he was unable to find a
precedent, or to solve the difficulty of a case so new.
Mr. Montagu, the attorney-general, maintained that the writ had been
improperly granted; that on the face of the warrant there was no
illegality. The chief justice, however, was dissatisfied, and desired
proof that the secretary of state could grant a warrant without sworn
testimony in cases of felony, and that Mr. Burnett, the colonial
secretary, possessed the same powers. Mr. Montagu, who had recently
suffered ill health, refused to argue the question; and to the complaint
of the bench replied with asperity. The chief justice still urged that
he had received no assistance on the part of the crown. Montagu
rejoined, that speaking not as attorney general, but as an advocate, he
repelled such assertions. "I will not," said he, "allow your honor, or
any man in Christendom, to dare to make such observations without
repelling them." The caution of the chief justice was extremely
gratifying to the colony. The arrest went to the foundation of personal
freedom, and assumed a power capable of great error and perversion.
In this case there was no danger of mistake; and the governor, having no
doubt of the prisoner's guilt, determined he should not escape: Mr.
Capon, the chief constable, cut the knot by putting Solomon on board a
vessel, and conveying him to England. The adventure was barely
successful; Solomon was acquitted on the greater part of the
indictments. The legal claim of parties to the plunder found on his
premises could not be established, except by his conviction.
On a trial of Salmon and Browne, for a murder at Macquarie Harbour
(1829), a military jury exhibited that institution in no pleasing form.
They disagreed on their verdict. Lieutenant Matheson conceiving that the
facts did not sustain the indictment, declined to convict. His co-jurors
were unanimous; and after three days and nights resistance he submitted.
On the Saturday evening the men were sentenced, and executed on the
Monday following. Their confession left no doubt of their guilt: they
had committed murder that they might escape from misery; but they
asserted that the principal was Browne, and the accessory Salmon--the
reverse of the indictment. During their long consultation the jurors
were allowed refreshment; but on the Friday evening several resolved to
elope: at a late hour they broke past the astonished constables, and
returned to their homes. They were, however, recalled by the sheriff,
and kept under stricter watch until the trial ended.
Amusements of the turf, officially patronised in other countries, were
discouraged in this. From an early date, occasional matches were made
for large stakes; but in 1827, races were regularly established at Ross.
The course was lined off, a stand erected, in which about fifty well
dressed persons were spectators. The riders were equipped in different
colored clothing, and as they darted along, obscured at intervals by
foliage, the scene was picturesque and animated. A race was contested by
Messrs. Gregson and Hardwicke, which the latter lost. A public dinner
followed; but the waiter was blindfolded, and his pudding stolen as he
entered the tent. The hats and coats disappeared; and one cavalier was
robbed of his boots. "These things," said the reporter, "are fraught
with discomfort, and disgraceful in themselves:" an opinion which time
has not shaken.
Arthur probably had no great taste for such pleasures; but he ascribed
his unwillingness to support them, to their tendency to excite the
prisoner population, and seduce them into disobedience and crime. No
regulations or punishments could hinder their haunting the tents, or
deter them from intemperance and consequent miseries.
Happily dissention disappeared in the presence of distress. Arthur's
name is on the list of subscription for the family of Captain Laughton,
who having lost his property by shipwreck and fraud, was drowned on the
coast. Governor Arthur gave twenty guineas, and thus fixed the high
scale of colonial benevolence, which no vicissitude of public affairs
has abated.
The largest private subscriber was Captain Carne, of the _Cumberland_;
not less unfortunate than Laughton. When no tidings were heard of the
vessel, it was supposed she had foundered; but in the year 1828, Captain
Duthie, of the _Bengal Merchant_, threw light on her fate. He had found
the _Clarinda_, Captain Crew, at Rio, who had been boarded in lat. 8° S.
The pirates chained him to the deck while they robbed the vessel: he saw
a bucket, on which he could trace the word _Cumberland_. Some of the
pirates proposed that Crew should walk the plank, but were resisted by
the Captain. A little black boy, shipped by the _Clarinda_ at the Cape
de Verde Island, remembered the pirate vessel as often seen in that
port.
In what form the _Cumberland_ perished is not certainly known. Pirates
executed in England for other crimes, were supposed to be guilty of
this: more than a hundred and fifty persons perished by their violence.
Some they cut down, and others they cast overboard. They were driven to
the port of Cadiz by a storm, and attempting to negociate a bill they
were detected. A ship of war conveyed them to Gibraltar, where several
suffered; others were forwarded to England, and condemned there. The
story of the capture was long a standing topic in the unarmed
merchantmen that passed her track. As the emigrant, even now, approaches
the supposed latitude, he hears with bated breath the fate of the
_Cumberland_, whenever a strange sail darkens the horizon.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 154: _Report of the Lords of the Council_, May, 1849.]
[Footnote 155: Despatch, 1828.]
SECTION VI.
Attempts were made in the county of Cornwall to form a collegiate
institution, for the education of youth and the advancement of science
(1826). It was proposed to erect buildings, to govern the college by a
directory of patrons, and to establish a public library and lecture
room. For these purposes a fund was contributed: twenty-four persons
subscribed £50 each on the spot. A commencement was made at Norfolk
Plains; but the project failed, and sunk into a private academy.
In 1828, the government determined to establish a school at New Norfolk,
called the "King's Grammar School." The members of the government were
the board of guardians: the master was in holy orders. This effort was
also frustrated. Such attempts were not, however, lost: they were in
reality, not only the pledges but the causes of final success.
But the establishment of the King's Orphan School (1828) was successful.
It was chiefly designed for the numerous children whose parents were
unable to support them, who had deserted, or who were dead. It was
placed under the guidance of a committee, and afforded protection to
many children who must have sunk under the influence of a vicious
example. In this island the fatherless have found mercy. In the absence
of natural ties, the settlers have often displayed a parental tenderness
in educating the children of the outcast and the stranger.
The public institutions which multiplied at this period, tended to
mitigate the spirit of party. In 1826, several master tradesmen met to
project a mechanics' institute. In 1827, they called a meeting of the
inhabitants, who having chosen Mr. Gellibrand their chairman, organised
the institution: the governor was invited to be patron, the chief
justice was chosen president, and Mr. James Wood appointed secretary.
Dr. James Ross, called the "Birkbeck of Tasmania," delivered the first
lecture (July 17), on the science of mechanics. The second, on
astronomy, by Mr. Gellibrand, senior: Mr. Hackett, on steam engines; Mr.
Giblin, senior, on astronomy; and Dr. Turnbull, on chemistry, completed
the course. Mr. James Thomson gave lessons in geometry to a youthful
class. These efforts languished during the absence of the secretary in
Great Britain; but in September, 1829, the former lecturers reappeared:
contributions were increased, and a library and apparatus were obtained
from England. In 1830, two hundred members were enrolled, and the
institution was promoted by all classes of society.
Among its supporters, Dr. James Ross occupied the first place: a man
whose name will be ever mentioned with respect. His political career
does not receive or deserve unqualified praise: as a partizan of Arthur,
he sometimes sanctioned by his pen what it is difficult to vindicate;
but he contributed to the intellectual advancement and external
reputation of the colony, beyond any person of his day. Dr. Ross was the
son of a Scotch advocate: educated at Aberdeen University, and some time
employed as a planter in Grenada, where he became an advocate of negro
freedom. He afterwards established a school at Sevenoaks, Kent; but his
family kept pace with his fortunes. He determined to emigrate, and
arrived in Van Diemen's Land in 1822. Some error in the shipment of his
goods, upon the schedule of which he claimed 2,560 acres, deprived him
of one-half. He chose his location on the Shannon, and called his
cottage the "Hermitage." Here he was vexed with the incursions of
cattle, the perfidy of his servants, the dread of bushrangers, and the
visits of the blacks; and he willingly accepted the office of government
printer, which Mr. Bent had lost. The _Courier_, his newspaper,
patronised by the governor, obtained a large circulation, and in 1830
published 750 copies. He wrote with great facility and copiousness. In a
letter to a friend, he said--"I write my articles, engrave my vignettes,
set the types, adjust the press. Sometimes I set up a few lines myself,
and dictate at the same time to one or two of my compositors. Sometimes
I write three lines of a sentence for one, three lines of a sentence for
another. I teach my own children, nine in all, at the same time that I
write paragraphs."[156]
A genial spirit, except when troubled by political anger, usually
sparkles in the writings of Dr. Ross, and in such case they are rather
unfair than bitter. Wherever Arthur disliked, Ross opposed. He denounced
the emigration of the poor, and Archbishop Whately charged him with
baseness, in supporting the penal system of transportation; but no
colonist would question his sincerity. Dr. Ross retired from his
literary labors in 1837, and not long after closed his earthly toils. In
his last address to the public, he said, "independence of spirit has
been my motto; freedom my watchword; the happiness of my fellow-men my
object; and the truth of our religion my buckler and consolation." Such
was his account of himself; and may be left as his merited eulogium to
posterity.
A hand-bill, published during the heat of a political quarrel, from the
head-quarters of his foes, is a curious specimen of party spleen, and
may be taken as the set-off to his own:--"Here lieth the body of James
Ross, printer: formerly a negro driver: who spent the remainder of his
days in advocating the cause of torture, triangles, and the gallows."
Then follow couplets, among which are these:--
"Beneath this sod, mark reader, as you pass
The carcase buried of a great jack-ass:
Perfidious, smiling, fawning, cringing slave,
Hell holds his spirit, and his flesh this grave.
Corruption revels in a kindred soil:
A carcase fatted on an island's spoil!"
An association, with objects more extensive and more ambitious in
organisation, was projected by John Henderson, Esq., a surgeon, from
Calcutta (1829). It was denominated the "Van Diemen's Land Society." The
members proposed to collect and diffuse information respecting the
natural history, produce, mineral worth, statistics, condition, and
capabilities of Van Diemen's Land. The governor accepted the office of
patron of the society, and its establishment was celebrated by a public
banquet. In his account of the institution, the founder and president
relates that, although it enrolled the heads of departments and the most
respectable settlers,[157] he found himself surrounded by spectators
rather than coadjutors; who, in the absence of "selfish interests" and
personal advantage, could not be stimulated to toil. Dr. Henderson,
whatever his science, was disqualified by his censorious dogmatism, to
rule. His work was an outline of projects, which entered into every
imaginable department of political economy, and contemplated a social
revolution. On religion, his ideas were scarcely Christian: he combined
the Brahmin and the Socialist.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 156: _Penny Magazine_, April, 1832.]
SECTION VII.
The charter of the Van Diemen's Land Bank having expired, it became a
joint stock company, and enlarged its capital to £50,000; ten per cent.
being charged upon discounts. The Tasmanian was a private bank, of which
the Messrs. Gellibrand were proprietors. The limited business carried
large profits, and the purchase of bills, not passed in the regular
course of discount, then, as afterwards, yielded large returns. The
Derwent, established chiefly by persons connected with the government,
was opened for business on 1st January, 1828, with a capital of £20,000.
At the same time, the Cornwall Bank, with £10,000, was established by
the merchants of Launceston; and the facility of monetary transactions
increased on every side. The arrival of considerable investments from
India, brought rupees into extensive circulation, and they formed a
great proportion of the current coin.
The large imports of English goods, and the increase of promissory
notes, alarmed several persons connected with trade. An advertisement,
signed John Dunn, offered a quantity of shares in the Derwent on liberal
terms. At a meeting of the shareholders, Mr. Dunn maintained that the
liabilities of the community were dangerous, and twenty times greater
than the circulating medium. It was replied, that bills were chiefly
multiplied by re-sales, and that the cash of the consumer would be
transmitted through the whole mercantile chain.
The Van Diemen's Land Bank discovered a singular fraud by the cashier in
1828. Amongst the large accounts, which were unlikely to be drawn, he
debited the cash which he employed as a private discounter of bills. The
sudden presentation of an unexpected draft led to an examination, and
£2,000 were found deficient. The money was refunded, except a trifling
amount, and prosecution waved.
The interest of the officers of the government in the Derwent Bank
occasioned complaint. The risks, liabilities, and antipathies of trade,
were deemed unsuited to their duties. At the governor's request, the
relation was disguised, but it was not dissolved.
The state of trade at this time wore a deceptive aspect. Dr. Henderson
reckoned the actual profit of the colony at 1-1/2 per cent., while Mr.
Prinsep, a barrister, of Calcutta, described every branch of business as
a path to opulence. In 1829, a merchant sold £1,500 worth of goods at an
advance of 50 per cent., and a credit over three years bearing 15 per
cent., amounting to £2,250 in all. A glut sometimes reduced the value of
merchandise below the London price.
"See, how I am changed!" said Mr. Prinsep. "Amongst all the beauties, I
am beginning to think none so beautiful as the interests of capital.
Interests alone on mortgage, with the very best securities, is 15 or 20
per cent. Invest your money in wool, and it brings you a return of 50
per cent. per annum: in the whale-fishery, 100 per cent. Bank dividends
now paid are 16 per cent. I only brought down a broken-winded Arab or
two, and their hire pays my current expenses. Money invested in land
will be ten-fold its original value in fifteen years. £200 will purchase
a noble property here; £1,000 will buy a fine, healthy, and beautiful
estate--two hundred of them already in cultivation. The whole colony is
on the advance, and its resources remain to be developed." Such was the
bright picture published in Calcutta. The influx of speculators
postponed the crisis, and prolonged the delusion.[158]
The increase of capital, and the opening of cash credits, facilitated
the operations of the settlers, but tempted many to ruin. The government
rewarded the rapid improvement of estates, the erection of substantial
dwellings, farm buildings, and fences, by grants of land in extension.
To secure the proffered boon the settlers accepted the assistance of
money-lenders, whose claims at length absorbed the proceeds of their
toil. During a progress through the colony, the governor visited many
establishments, and distinguished the enterprising agriculturist with
special favor. On his return to head-quarters he expressed the pleasure
his inspection had afforded; and noticed in a public order Mr. Gatenby,
of the Isis, as a "good old English yeoman," and an example of
enterprise and skill. Well assured that his Majesty was desirous that
the character of a plain, upright farmer, should meet with encouragement
and reward, he added to this settler's grant 1,000 acres.[159] The
"Gatenby farmers" were henceforth noted as a favored class; and many,
anxious for the same recompense, borrowed, enclosed and improved, until
they had not a rood of land to call their own.
The most distinguished money-lender was Sheriff Ferreday, whose ordinary
charge was 35 per cent., or less with ample security. After a few years
(1834) he returned to Europe, having realised £20,000 by usury. At his
death, he devised a portion of his wealth to Oxford, to found a
scholarship. He suffered much vituperation, probably with little
comparative justice. "His bible," said Mr. Gellibrand, "is his bill
book, and his gold his god"--a quotation from Burke, highly relished at
the time.
The treasury was again robbed in 1832. It was observed the office papers
were deranged: constables were stationed to watch, and a sentinel was
placed at the door. The sudden examination of the chest by the governor
discovered a more serious transaction. It appeared, capital had been
borrowed from the chest without authority, to the amount of some
thousands; the money was, however, restored. No public care could
reclaim these funds from their tendency to escape, and they were not
deemed sure until out of the custody of the government.
The secretary of state directed the public cash to be deposited with the
banks. The treasurer was not authorised to retain more than £10,000 of
paper, and the Van Diemen's Land and Derwent establishments each
received charge of £10,000 cash. During six years, the revenue had risen
from £30,000 to £60,000: notwithstanding a very liberal official
expenditure, the surplus funds (1831) amounted to nearly £40,000.
The interior communication was facilitated both by the business of the
police and the cheap labor in the hands of the crown. The post of
Sorell's time was a private speculation, conveyed on foot, afterwards on
horseback. On the 19th June, 1832, a "cheap and expeditious conveyance,
to and from Launceston," was announced. The owner, Mr. J. E. Cox, drove
tandem, at the rate of forty miles a-day: only one passenger was
accommodated, at a fare of £5. The practicability of the journey was
then the subject of considerable betting.[160]
In 1827, and during two following seasons, New South Wales suffered a
serious drought, which increased in severity. Rivers were exhausted, and
their beds left dry. Not only the want of rain was felt, but a withering
blight, travelling in a defined current over the cultivated districts,
cut off their harvests. In two years the cultivation of wheat in Van
Diemen's Land increased from twenty to thirty thousand acres, and the
average price of wheat at Hobart Town was 8s. per bushel. This
stimulated further production, and tended to avert from Van Diemen's
Land the distress, which over speculation and scarcity produced in New
South Wales.
This dearth was followed by two plentiful harvests (1831), and a
depression of price. The farmers of New South Wales entreated General
Darling to establish a corn law, to check importation. In declining the
project, he attributed the successful competition of this country to the
superiority of its wheat and facility of transit; and hinted that the
elder colony was indebted to foreign supplies for its subsistence.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 157: _Observations on the Colonies of New South Wales and Van
Diemen's Land._ By John Henderson. Calcutta, 1832. p. 5.]
[Footnote 158: _Journal of a Voyage to Van Diemen's Land_, p. 108.]
[Footnote 159: _Gazette_, March, 1828.]
[Footnote 160: Until 1832, the post was managed by Mr. Collicott, as a
private speculation. There were nine post stations. The number of
newspapers conveyed by post in 1832, was 13,000; in 1833, 102,
400.--_Montagu's Statistics._]
SECTION VIII.
The powers of legislation confided to Arthur did not slumber. The
council which enacted the laws, were chiefly officers of the government,
and the discussion of measures was conducted in private. Whatever course
they pursued, was justly ascribed to the governor himself. The early
ordinances of Arthur added some new burden, or limited some indulgence.
Their immediate aspect was, therefore, commonly austere and encroaching,
even when their ultimate consequences were beneficial.
To prevent the clandestine sale of liquors (1827), the council
authorised a constable, upon a magistrate's warrant, granted on the
belief of any person that ale, beer, or spirits were sold, to break open
the house and seize the liquor; and unless the owner could satisfy the
magistrate, the constable was permitted to stave and destroy the
vessels. For the sale, not only were heavy penalties imposed, but unless
paid the offender was liable to perpetual imprisonment; and even appeal
was prohibited, except the penalty was first paid: one-half to the
informer. This ordinance was afterwards mitigated.
The penal character of the colony was constantly indicated in the entire
spirit of legislation. Thus a house could be broken into at night, when
a person suspected as an absconder was expected to be found there:
whoever engaged a convict, though in ignorance of his civil condition,
incurred the penalties of "harboring." Publicans were liable to fines
for supplying such persons, even with common refreshment. Any man might
arrest another, whom he chose to fancy a convict at large. These
deviations from the practices of society in its regular state, were
occasionally vexatious, but not commonly. The settlers being acquainted
with each other, and the servants usually known to the constables,
prevented those practical evils, otherwise inevitable.
Few colonial enactments have occasioned more vexation than the
impounding laws. The interests of the grazier and agriculturalist were
at variance. When the country was parcelled out for cultivation, the
losses and annoyances of the settlers were severe. Their land unfenced,
was often suddenly visited by a herd of several hundreds: their crops
were trodden down, and devoured in a few hours. The invaders when
alarmed were soon beyond reach. Nor was this the sole mischief: tame
bullocks, seduced by the interlopers, often joined their flight; many
days were spent before they were recovered; often they were finally
lost. The unfortunate farmer, in the most important season, was
compelled to leave his lonely home, and attended by reluctant laborers
travel over many a hill and dale in search of the fugitives, with
sadness of heart.
At the accession of Arthur, the country about the Clyde and Shannon was
stocked with numerous herds, and from their bulk, the lands on which
they fed were then called the Plains of Bashan. The herdsmen acquired
great skill in tracking and driving the cattle. Their stations were in
advance of the located districts, and opened many fine patches of
country. Their horsemanship was celebrated: they gallopped amidst the
trees--now stooping, now leaning to the right or to the left; avoiding
obstruction and escaping collision with wonderful agility. They lived a
half savage life; were the reckless oppressors of the natives; often the
accomplices of the bushrangers, and accused of many crimes. To brand the
cattle, they were driven within an enclosure seven feet high, and when
exhausted by hunger, one man armed with a pole threw a loop round the
horns, another entangled the legs, and the beast was branded with a
heated iron; then turned into the woods, or driven to market. Little
caution respecting the rights of ownership was observed: several were
capitally convicted, when probably they were careless rather than
deliberately criminal.
An impounding law was proclaimed by Macquarie in 1820; but cattle being
often driven to the pound for the sake of the fees, the ordinance was
relaxed by Sorell. This continued the colonial rule until 1830, when
Colonel Arthur enacted a more stringent law. The large stockholders were
great sufferers, and were compelled to reduce their herds and increase
their expense. The constables often corruptly exercised the great power
this law gave them: cattle driven to the most distant pounds were not
discovered until their expenses were greater than their value.
The larger herds belonged chiefly to gentlemen, of different families,
but of the name of Lord. In describing their depredations, it was said
that a party of the E.L.'s, D.L.'s, or the R.L.'s, had made an
excursion. The complaining farmer was told that he might impound, but
not maim them; but a troop of horsemen were required for this purpose.
The operation of the law was unequal: the small settler fed his stock on
the rocks behind his location, where his rich neighbour, who could
influence the police, was a competitor. Often his stock were never heard
of until sold, perhaps to the son of the poundkeeper. Many hundred were
bought for a few shillings each. False claims of damage were set up, and
a kind of black mail was levied on the settlers to preserve their stock
from molestation. To protect themselves, many of the more opulent
settlers obtained the appointment of poundkeepers; and this office was
held by persons who claimed the highest station in the country. The
incessant complaints in newspapers of the day, partly prove the severity
of the regulation. It was, of course, a subject of reproach to the
government; yet it is certain that, while the injury was partial, the
principle of the law was sound, and its operation on the whole
beneficial.
To prevent the increase of dogs, a tax was imposed (1830). The
aborigines possessed large packs, from fifty to three hundred. On the
destruction of the aboriginal tribes, these animals escaped, hunted in
large numbers, and committed great havoc, among the flocks: farmers lost
five hundred sheep in a season. By a single gripe these wild marauders
destroyed a sheep, and a few minutes were sufficient to strew the downs
with dead. A tax was imposed, from 5s. to £1 each. Large establishments
required many sheep and watch dogs, and the cost amounted to £8 or £10
per annum. The constables had summary power to destroy canine vagrants
without collars, in town or country.
The Huskisson Act applied the laws of England to the colony, and thus it
became a question whether the English interest of 5 per cent. were not
the limit of lawful usury. The government paid larger amounts on the
deposits of prisoners, and capital on such terms must have forsaken the
country; the council, therefore, declared the restriction inoperative.
These ordinances were the subject of endless and angry discussion. The
feelings of the community were not carefully consulted, and laws in the
main useful, were too often pertinaciously encumbered with provisions
both irritating and needless. The motives of the lawgivers were
canvassed without reserve. They were supposed to employ their powers to
facilitate extortion, in the profits of which they were said to share.
SECTION IX.
The dignity and independence based on landed wealth, is ever the chief
allurement of the emigrant. Whatever his rank, he dreams of the day when
he shall dwell in a mansion planned by himself; survey a wide and
verdant landscape called after his name; and sit beneath the vineyard
his own hands planted. To this common ambition the crown directed its
appeals: acres, by hundreds and thousands, were offered for acceptance.
The imagination of English readers overleaped a tedious interval of
labor and disappointment. The generous impulse silenced the voice of
fear and distrust: they took a last look at the sepulchres of their
fathers, and came forth to establish their children among the founders
of nations.
The distribution of waste lands, a most important function of colonial
governors, has been a source of incessant perplexity and discontent.
Sometimes they have been granted with ridiculous parsimony, and at
others with scandalous profusion. Every minister has proposed some
novelty: the regulations of one year have been abandoned the next, and
the emigrant who loitered on his way found the system changed, which had
induced him to set forth.
The stewardship of the royal domain has been liable to difficulties
peculiar to itself, beside the full average of official injustice and
corruption.
The endowment of emancipists with land, an American practice,[161] was
unsuccessfully revived in New Holland, and continued until the close of
Macquarie's administration, when Commissioner Bigge recommended that no
grant should be less than 320 acres.
Instructions under the sign manual, given to the Governor of New South
Wales, dated April, 1787, were amplified by others in 1789. To detain
the convict population, and to provide them a future home, were the
chief ends proposed. The governor was empowered to shorten their
sentences, and convey to each man, if single, 30 acres; if married, 50;
and 10 for every child. The marines who accompanied the first expedition
were encouraged to settle. The non-commissioned officers received 130;
if married, 150; and 10 acres for each child. Private soldiers 100, or
130 acres. These grants were subject to 2s. per 100 acres, deferred for
five years. The minister, anxious to raise the value of crown land,
directed reserves to be made between the allotments, of equal extent;
but the settlers persuaded the governor, or the secretary of state, that
the intervals favored the assaults of the natives, and the scheme was
defeated.
The king's instructions made no reference to the superior officers; but
it was deemed absurd to grant the "greatest gifts of the crown to
persons who had forfeited their lives," and deny them to gentlemen
bearing commissions in the army.[162] Ensign Cummings accordingly
received 25 acres! The subsequent donations of governors compensated for
this modest beginning, and the officers obtained large and valuable
portions. One governor conferred a considerable grant on his expected
successor, and was rewarded, when he surrendered the government, with a
similar boon.[163] Macquarie gave Lieutenant-colonel O'Connel and his
lady 4,555 acres; to John Blaxland, 6,700 acres.[164] Sir Thomas
Brisbane obtained 20,000 acres: 15,000 were given to Mr. Hart Davis.
These were exceptions to the general rule. Official holders of land were
interested in preventing extravagant grants, which lessened the
marketable value of their own.
The survey department, always in arrear, neglected to measure off the
land, and an order, verbal or written, was deemed a sufficient title.
Not unfrequently, the applicant changed his choice, and migrated from
one spot to another. The governor often permitted the issue of rations
and implements a second time, to enable indolent or insolvent settlers
to till a second heritage.[165] Trade was, however, more agreeable to
many emancipists than agriculture. The officers located near them were
willing to purchase their petty farms: thus the small holdings were
bought up,[166] and the estates of the greater landholders were cleared
of "lurchers," who preyed on their flocks.[167]
The small grants of land were productive of much real mischief and
little benefit. They fell chiefly into the hands of spirit dealers, and
the government permitted the purchasers to consolidate all such
acquisitions into one large grant.[168]
In 1814, Macquarie issued an order threatening the resumption of grants
for non-residence or alienation. These notices were rather a protest
than an interdict, and were so understood.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 161: _Eden's Discourse on Banishment._]
[Footnote 162: _Collins_, vol. i. p. 257.]
[Footnote 163: _Commons Report_, 1812.]
[Footnote 164: _Bigge's Report._]
[Footnote 165: Ibid.]
[Footnote 166: "A small farm of 30 acres was now offered to me by Bryan:
I recommended Mr. Cox (of New South Wales) to buy it, which he did for
£40; half money and half property. I also purchased for him two others;
one of 25 acres, and another of 50 acres, from Mr. Hume, for £45;
another of 30 acres from Thomas Higgins, for £35; and another farm, of
100 acres, I also purchased for Mr. Cox for £50 and ten gallons of rum.
I likewise bought another farm of 100 acres from Captain Campbell for
£100; and of Dr. Thompson, a farm of 100 acres, with twenty-five sheep,
an old mare, two fillies and a colt, a cow, and a young ox, for £500:
the stock, when valued, was worth more than the purchase money. Next
year (1801) I bought John Ramsay's farm of 75 acres, for £40; and then
Michael Fitzgerald's, with eight large pigs and eighty bushels of maize,
for £100. I let this farm, ten days after, for £40 per year. I then
purchased Barrington's (the celebrated pickpocket), 25 acres, an old
brood mare with a colt at her foot, for £100, and sold the mare a few
days after for £85. I then bought 50 acres from Edward Elliot, for £100,
and by these means squared the estate."--_Holt's Memoirs_, vol. ii. p.
137.]
[Footnote 167: "A lurcher is the lowest order of thieves."--_Holt._]
[Footnote 168: _Bigge's Report._]
SECTION X.
Van Diemen's Land was divided into counties by Governor King (1805). An
imaginary line was drawn across the island from east to west midway;
Buckingham being on the south, and Cornwall on the north. Macquarie made
sections more minute, by a running survey.
In 1826, letters patent were issued, constituting Edward Dumaresq,
chief, and Roderick O'Connor and Peter Murdoch, assistant commissioners,
for the survey and valuation of crown lands. They were instructed in
delineating counties, hundreds, and parishes, to observe the natural
boundaries and recognised nominal limits. The parishes were to contain
about twenty-five square miles. On this task they were ten years
employed; but their valuation became available so soon as one parish was
proclaimed. The names assigned to the various localities are commonly
welcome to the British ear;[169] though occasionally productive of
confusion.[170]
The colonial-office published, in 1824, the conditions on which land
would be granted: the notice contained eighteen clauses, and formed the
basis of subsequent regulations. The secretary of state, however,
reserved a discretion in special cases. The parishes were to be
surveyed, valued, and sold: for cash, at a discount of 10 per cent., or
credit, at four quarterly instalments. 9,600 acres was the maximum
allowed one purchaser.
Free grants were offered to emigrant capitalists: not more than 2,650
acres, nor less than 320; a quit rent of 5 per cent. on the value of the
land deferred seven years, and redeemable within twenty-five years, at
twenty years' purchase. One half the value was to be spent in
improvements, on pain of forfeiture. Additional grants were restricted
to such as possessed the means of cultivation, and subject to a quit
rent from the date of issue.
A more ample explanation of the views of the crown issued from
Downing-street, April 26, 1826. The conditions of sale were the same as
in the notice of 1824. Purchasers of land were now promised the return
of their purchase money, conditionally, that during ten years they could
relieve the crown from an expense ten times its amount, by the
employment of convicts, rated each £16 annually. One-half this amount
was offered, in the redemption of quit rents, on the same conditions;
or, when convicts were not attainable, by expending five times the value
of the grant, one-half the quit rent would be extinguished. Grants in
extension were promised, 2-1/2 per cent. value on improved value of an
original grant, on which five times its value should be expended; or
having so improved his first purchase, the settler was permitted to buy
a second at half price.
By an order published at the Horse-guards, 1826, officers willing to
emigrate, not under the rank of captain, were permitted to sell their
commissions; one-third of the price deposited with the crown, to be
repaid on their arrival, and rated as their capital, gave them a title
to free grants. In 1827, the convict clause was withdrawn: the settler
was required to produce £500 capital for each square mile he claimed.
Earl Bathurst suggested to the commander-in-chief, and to the lord
high-admiral, that it was desirable to promote the settlement of naval
and military officers in the colonies. Circulars were accordingly issued
from the Horse-guards and Admiralty, in 1827, stating the terms on which
free grants might be engaged. Officers of twenty years standing were
exempted from quit rents; those of fifteen years standing, for twenty
years; of ten, for fifteen years; and of seven, for ten years. The
extent of their grant was made to depend on their capital; but they gave
bonds for residence and non-alienation during seven years, or until,
upon a grant of 500 acres, valued at 5s., £25 were expended. These
offers drew a large number of settlers, both civil and military. More
than five hundred grants, exceeding 500 acres, were issued in four years
ending 1831.
Fictitious schedules of property were sometimes presented, and persons
without capital were enabled by monetary loans to deceive the governor.
Dollars, borrowed for the purpose, were lodged in the banks to the
credit of an applicant. A considerable breadth, comprehending a
succession of valuable farms, was parcelled out among several settlers,
in virtue of a single bag of dollars, hired for the purpose.
The act of parliament[171] authorised the subjects of Great Britain to
visit the settlement of New South Wales "without any license whatever."
Persons intending to emigrate usually applied to the secretary of state
for permission, and an order for a grant. Their references being
satisfactory, they received a letter to the governor, directing that
land should be given them, proportionate to their "means to bring the
same into cultivation." For some time, the settlers for this colony
were obliged to visit New South Wales, to obtain the requisite
permission. To avoid the expense and delay, some entered on lands
provisionally assigned them by the lieutenant-governor; but were in
danger of being dispossessed by an applicant at head-quarters. To
obviate these evils, power was conferred on the lieutenant-governor to
locate such as might arrive. Applications from residents were received
only at stated periods; and when the herds were exhausted by loans, and
the stores by the issue of rations, were indefinitely postponed; but
such as brought orders from the secretary of state, were accommodated at
once.
The newly-arrived emigrant, distrustful of reports, or ignorant of the
nature of the country, usually went out in search of a home. He was
received with hospitality as a guest, but found himself unwelcome as a
neighbour. Often, after long travel, he would scarcely find a spot
within an accessible distance unclaimed. "All that is mine!" was the
common answer to his enquiries. A present of sufficient value removed
many such obstacles, and gave the wanderer a clue to a desirable resting
place. Such as were too dull to comprehend this process of discovery,
often lost much time in unavailing toil.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 169: _Counties in Van Diemen's Land._
Northern. Midland. Southern.
Devon, Westmoreland, Kent,
Dorset, Somerset, Buckingham,
Cornwall. Glamorgan, Pembroke,
Cumberland. Monmouth.]
[Footnote 170: The writer was present when a newspaper was delivered,
directed from Sydney to "Launceston, Cornwall." It was conveyed to
England, where the Cornish postmaster wrote, "Try Van Diemen's Land."]
[Footnote 171: 53 Geo. iii. cap. 153.]
SECTION XI.
Sir Thomas Brisbane,[172] to facilitate the employment of prisoners,
required that the grantee should, for every 100 acres of land granted,
enter into bonds to employ one convict for the term of his
transportation, or the average, ten years. By receiving a second convict
for one year, he was promised a bonus of a second 100 acres.
This condition was a serious obstacle to the ready sale of location
orders. It was not, however, unnecessary: many casual visitors and
masters of merchantmen obtained grants, which they sold instantly and
cleared a considerable sum. Land speculators were greatly disconcerted
by the incumbrance: many were anxious to throw up land orders, and
attempted to recover money for the goods given in exchange. A trial
(1825), in which Mr. Underwood, of Sydney, was the plaintiff, is a
curious example of this traffic. The defendant had given in payment for
21 cwt. of sugar, an order for 200 acres of land; but when the convict
clause was promulgated, the land was deemed worthless, and the plaintiff
sued for £59, the price of the sugar. The judge, however, resisted the
claim, and declared that the order had paid for the sugar, although its
sale was clandestine and illegal.
The occupation of land was considered a sufficient proof of ownership,
if not disputed within a short period, or negatived by written evidence.
To resume a location, as the courts were then constituted, required the
issue of a special commission, and could be only effected through a
jury. On a trial, in which the Rev. Robert Knopwood was defendant, Judge
Field stated that the conditions of early grants were practically void.
Knopwood had agreed to sell the estate of Cottage Green for £2,000, to
Captain Jones, who paid £1,000 in hand, and entered into bonds for
£1,000 for payment of the residue. Knopwood bound himself in a similar
penalty to give up the premises when the whole sum should be paid. The
widow of Jones sued for release from this bond (1821). The lawyers urged
that Knopwood had violated the clause against alienation, and was liable
to forfeit the whole. The judge refused to entertain this plea; but set
aside the forfeiture as unequal: the estate, according to witnesses, was
not worth more than £1,000. The judge strongly condemned the unclerical
rigour of the defendant. The celebrity of Cottage Green, now occupied by
extensive mercantile establishments, gives special interest to the
judgment.
Efforts to resume land, not properly conveyed, were successfully
resisted; and jurors appear to have determined, at all times, to deny a
verdict to the crown. In 1824, in an action for intrusion (Rex _v._
Cooper), the jury delivered a verdict, that "the defendant had obtained
possession in the usual manner." The judges asserted that no title was
good, except such as passed under the great seal. A locatee, in an
action of ejectment (Birchell _v._ Glover), who possessed from 1811
until 1823, was supplanted by a person in 1824, who obtained a grant:
the judge directed for the defendant, but the jury found for the
plaintiff. A similar case (Martin _v._ Munn, 1833), was tried three
times with the same issue. The judge directed, that although long
occupation by the plaintiff were proved, the grant to the defendant was
a virtual resumption by the crown: this the jury considered
inequitable, and found for the original occupier.
The trial of a cause in Van Diemen's Land (Terry _v._ Spode, 1835), led
to the exposure of a fatal error in land titles throughout the colonies.
Spode had claimed and taken possession of a portion of land occupied by
Terry, who brought an action of ejectment: the jury gave a verdict in
his favour; but it was stated by counsel that both grants were
"defective and void in law."
This error had been discovered by Mr. Alfred Stephen (1829). The
secretary of state was consulted, and authority received by Arthur to
amend the form. The royal instructions had authorised the governors to
grant lands, which they had always issued in their own names, instead of
in the name of the king. The judges stated that in every case, whether
of a subject or the king, a conveyance must be made in the name of the
owner, and not of the attorney. These grants were, therefore, utterly
void. In New South Wales the defect was cured by special legislation;
but in Van Diemen's Land every grant was subject to an ordeal. Those
already issued by Arthur had been legally worded after the defect was
discovered; but the government of New South Wales continued the invalid
form, until the judgment of the court led to its revision.[173]
The importance of settling the titles to land was universally felt, but
the difficulties were not easily overcome. Prior to 1826, the Van
Diemen's Land grants were drawn up in New South Wales. They were full of
errors of all kinds: the boundaries, quantity, and names were
mis-described; the land intended for one man was conveyed to another;
inaccurate charts, on which grants were marked, multiplied mistakes; the
surveyors ran their chains over the land, and marked off five or six
farms in as many hours. They erased and altered their descriptions:
accurate measurement discovered that many were without a title to the
land in their possession, or that their grants were partly occupied by a
next neighbour. The dates of these instruments were often arbitrary, yet
they bound to cultivation and non-alienation, and often within years
already past. Some printed forms contained stipulations not applicable,
and became inoperative on the face of them: they described hundreds of
acres in excess, but stated that those beyond the king's instructions,
should be taken as not granted at all.
When Mr. Alfred Stephen pointed out the defect in form, the government
concealed the mistake until the king granted authority for correcting
the error by royal warrant, received in 1830. It now became necessary to
ascertain disputed titles. It was proposed by some to establish them by
a general act: against this course Mr. A. Stephen protested, and pointed
out consequences, that proved his objections were just. Many of these
illustrate the idle and fraudulent manner in which the public business
is often transacted. A grant issued in 1823, gave one side-line 32
acres, written over an erasure. An investigation took place: a record
book kept in Hobart Town shewed a similar erasure. The same entry had
been preserved at New South Wales, and there it was 22 acres: the
holding party was innocent; but his title was invalid. Still more
extensive erasures were discovered in a valuable property; the entire
description had been changed and another substituted. At Richmond, two
persons selected land adjoining each other: their grants had been
exchanged, and he who was thus deprived of the most valuable, resorted
to a chancery suit for its recovery. At Norfolk Plains a great many
farms were located and occupied for a number of years. They commenced
their measurements from opposite points, and each farm gradually
approximated. When their lands were surveyed by the grant deeds, every
owner found that his side-line advanced upon his neighbour, until at
last the central proprietor saw his estate absorbed. In Oatlands, two
properties were measured according to the common practice: the
side-lines were guessed at; one cultivated, and the other sold his
property; but when measured, the improver of his estate discovered that
his homestead, and nearly one hundred acres of his land fell by
description to his neighbour.
At Bagdad Rivulet, a surveyor measured eight grants adjoining. All the
bearings given in the grants were mistaken: to adjust them, one would
lose the back of his farm and take his neighbour's, who would go on the
next location and obtain a well cultivated farm.
To have confirmed all former titles would have been obviously unjust. In
1823, a location was given, but abandoned. Sorell advised a settler that
came after to take the land, which he did. For fourteen years he lived
there, and spent £3,000: the original owner re-appeared with a Brisbane
grant, as a claimant of this property.
Colonel Arthur adopted Stephen's recommendation in 1831, and announced
in the _Gazette_, January following, its approval by the secretary of
state.
All existing grants being invalid, the settlers depended on the justice
of the crown to perfect their titles. The royal warrant of the king
authorised the renunciation of claims founded on the informality, and
deeds drawn in the king's name, containing the same conditions as the
governors' grants, were offered at 5s. Now, however, the grants
contained a true description of the land, and the name of the rightful
possessor. The loose system of conveyancing, formerly expressed rather
the intention than the act of transfer. Property had been subdivided,
especially in the town: these parcels, however small, were now conveyed
direct to the actual owner, subject to their proportion of quit rent.
Possession and reputed ownership, were taken as a title. Those whose
property was in excess, or less than their description, had their
proportion of quit rents adjusted. The governor threatened with
resumption lands obtained by exhibiting false pretensions to capital, or
alienated before the period prescribed, or by collusive sheriff's sales.
Oblivion was granted to breaches of conditions, when not fraudulent, on
payment of 6d. per acre fine. Commissioners, James Simpson and George
Frankland, Esqrs., were appointed to carry out this admirable plan
(1832).
An act, constituting the caveat board a court of equity and good
conscience, was passed in 1835. The gentlemen who framed it held the
board, "in the sacred light of a court," although the concurrence of the
governor was necessary to render its decisions valid. Commissioners were
appointed to examine on oath. They were empowered to obtain a verdict
from a jury in a special case: by appealing to the judge of the supreme
court, they could submit a feigned issue for trial. In clear cases,
however, after three months' notice, they were permitted to adjudicate.
The decisions of this board have usually satisfied the public: they have
been nearly always confirmed, and have prevented boundless
litigation.[174]
Many surveyors were employed, who acted in the several districts (1838).
The survey of 100 acres was effected for £5, of 2,000 for £20. The list
of locations being published, the surveyor-general held a movable court,
to identify and arrange the boundaries. It was part of his duty to
mediate between the contending parties. These preliminaries being
settled, the commissioners issued grants to such as made good their
claim.
The proof of intention on the part of any officers, by custom entitled
to grant occupation, has commonly barred the rights of the crown; but
for this, a large amount of practical injustice must have been
inflicted. Such was the only form in which grants could be distributed,
when the country was just occupied, and the science of mensuration and
accounts almost unknown.
To this, the case of the heir-at-law of Major Abbott is nearly a
solitary exception. Being about to retire from office, Major Abbott
applied for a reserve of 210 valuable acres at Launceston, and 3,000
acres elsewhere. On the recommendation of Sorell, then lieutenant-governor,
who stated minutely the land desired, Sir Thomas Brisbane ordered the
ground to be marked off as "crown reserves:" and Sorell, being just
superseded, wrote on the order with a pencil the name of Abbott. Several
persons at Launceston regretted the alienation of land useful to the
township, and petitioned accordingly. Their views were favored by Arthur,
and the claim of Abbott was supported by Sorell. Lord Bathurst ordered the
grants in question to be given. Arthur, however, again appealed, and the
decision in favour of Abbott was cancelled; but the 3,000 acres, reserved
in the same terms and at the same time, were confirmed. Major Abbott
through life maintained his right to the Launceston reserve, and devolved
its prosecution on his son; for twenty years he contested his right with
the agents of the crown. During the litigation its value has ranged from
£2,000 to £8,000.
On an appeal to the secretary of state, Lord John Russell referred the
claimant to trial by jury. He erected a house on the ground: this a
chain gang was employed to destroy. He brought his action for trespass,
which the law officers met by a demurrer. On his application for a deed
of grant, a caveat was entered by Major Wentworth. Two of the
commissioners decided in Abbott's favour, and the third, Dr. Turnbull,
against him. The usual course was to issue grants on the decision of the
major part: this the governor refused, and the case was once more
referred to the secretary of state. In 1849, Earl Grey declared that the
governor had exercised a sound discretion in refusing the advice of the
caveat board,[175] and thus finally negatived the claim.
The intention of Sorell in favour of Major Abbott is clear: the
provisional reserve of the land in his behalf is clear also. The views
of Sir Thomas Brisbane are not so indisputable; but they probably
changed on a remonstrance being offered by Arthur. The official answer
to Sorell's application was a description of the reserve solicited,
unaccompanied with demur or question: it was understood by Sorell to
mean approval; and, but for subsequent interference, a grant would have
issued of course. Where no corruption can be suspected, actual or
ultimate value is certainly no equitable objection to perfect a claim
founded on the custom, and created by the authorities of the time.
Except the grants claimed under the Downing-street regulations, lands
were bestowed at the discretion of the governor, to the extent of 2,650
acres. Many received still larger quantities at different times. The
arrest of robbers, the cultivation of flax or hops, the capture or
conciliation of the aborigines, and losses by fire, were occasions for
the governor's benevolence: other and less respectable causes were
attributed, and scarcely require enumeration.
The large discretion of the governor was asserted by Sir George Murray.
Mr. Hall, the editor of the _Monitor_, had been refused a grant by
Darling, while others were freely indulged. He complained; but was told
by the secretary of state (1829), that the governor could judge most
correctly of an applicant, and that his decision would be usually held
final.
The collection of quit-rents has baffled the agents of the crown: at
first, the amount was too small to repay the trouble of collection, and
for both colonies, in 1824, did not exceed £400 per annum.
A large number of grants in Van Diemen's Land became liable in 1831, and
notice was given that payment would be enforced. The settlers of
Cornwall, led by Messrs. Bryan, Joseph Archer, and Gleadow, signed a
petition to the crown, which complained that the exaction was partial
and oppressive. The governor promised to forward the memorial, but
stated that he had no ground to expect that the claim would be ever
relaxed.
Notwithstanding, in 1834, Arthur proposed a composition. He offered a
release at ten instead of twenty years' purchase, if accepted within one
year; without, however, allowing any set-off "for convict
maintenance"--equal, in some cases, to the whole sum. In 1836, he
proposed to intercede with the crown to relinquish all claims up to that
year, a bond being given by the debtor for the arrears, if required:
these offers were but little successful.
To prevent a return to this topic, it may be added, that in 1841 Sir
John Franklin offered to mediate for a remission of accumulations prior
to 1835, provided all from that date were liquidated by yearly
instalments. The total amount of quit-rent is estimated at £15,000
a-year, including the towns.
The collection of quit-rents is a curious instance of dodging--the
government to obtain, and the settlers to evade. Those debtors drawn
into payment, could demand in equity that the indulgence granted to
defaulters should be communicated to them: they were allowed a set-off
in future payments. Those who redeemed their quit-rent were less
favored.
The extinction of uncertain obligations would be a public boon, if only
for their tendency to produce discontent and habits of evasion. The
reservations of timber and material, and right of road-making, are
hardly less impolitic. If the law should oblige a proprietor to
accommodate his country, equity prescribes his fair indemnity. A
functionary might cut through a settler's estate in malevolence, and
destroy the approaches to his dwellings, under terms without tangible
limitation. In 1831, the government authorised a party to go through an
orchard, planted on a Macquarie grant, to enlarge a road to the ferry at
Risdon. The owner brought his action, and the assessors gave him a
verdict. The lawyers pleaded the general invalidity of colonial titles,
and thus the right of the crown to resume! In 1824, the roads were
thirty feet: in 1827, they were increased to sixty; and the attempt was
made to take from a location given under the old rule, the increased
breadth stipulated by the new.[176]
"A strange rumour," said a colonial editor, "has reached us, that free
grants of land will be conferred no more." Lord Ripon's regulations were
published in London, January 20th, 1831. They were framed to obviate the
theoretical and practical evils attributed to the easy acquisition of
land; to terminate the prodigality of governors, and the frequent
quarrels occasioned by their favoritism; and above all, to prevent
laborers from becoming landholders, and the tendency of colonists to
scatter over territories they can not cultivate. This important change,
which excited alarm or exultation in the colonies, was only noticed in
one London newspaper: with such indifference was a system regarded,
destined to produce the most important national consequences.
Except reserves intended for public use, crown lands were offered for
sale to the highest bidders, at the upset price of five shillings, and
for the first time, to the usual reservation were added precious metals.
Arthur, who greatly disapproved the application of these rules to Van
Diemen's Land, where no tendency to dispersion had been displayed, and
where free grants of land formed the basis of the convict system,
manfully employed the last hours of patronage. The lands in the towns
were rapidly disposed of, and all who could prefer a reasonable claim,
were readily indulged. A few grants were bestowed by the special favor
of Arthur: 205,000 acres were alienated chiefly in grants of extension,
due by the terms of the original grants. Those whose expectations were
satisfied, were not displeased with a measure which gave a definite
value to estates, and when once the principle was established, the
higher the price of crown lands, the greater the nominal value of their
own.
A large number of persons, by neglect of the conditions, were liable to
forfeiture; but among them were several favorite officers of the
governor, or members of his own family. It was stated, without
contradiction, that the surveyor-general sold his maximum grant for
£1,700, when none of the conditions were fulfilled. An attorney-general
not only parted with his property, but obtained afterwards a grant in
extension for improvements he never made; and a gentleman, who had not
visited the country, but was related to several persons of influence,
obtained both a country and a town allotment.[177]
Lord Ripon's regulations disappointed many officers intending to settle
in the Australian colonies; but against this a provision was made
(August, 1831), which entitled them to a remission of from £150 to £300,
according to rank. They were, however, to give bonds for residence on
the land so obtained.
The ready sale of waste lands seemed to justify their valuation by the
crown. In 1832, £44,000 were netted, at nearly twelve shillings per
acre. This high average was occasioned by the sale of valuable reserves:
those of Ross were sold, some portions at 29s. per acre. The governor
complained that the sale of town allotments led to speculation and
limited improvements; he therefore offered land on three years' leases,
except at Hobart Town, at the usual quit-rent, and exacted the promise
to erect buildings of brick or stone. The absence of competition for the
country allotments threatened to limit the proprietorship; but this
precaution was forbidden by the secretary of state in 1835, when the
system of granting lands at quit-rents finally terminated.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 172: _Sydney Gazette_, 1822.]
[Footnote 173: Copy of a grant of 1,500 acres:--"Whereas full power and
authority for granting lands in the territory of New South Wales are
vested in his Majesty's captain-general and governor-in-chief (or in his
absence the lieutenant-governor for the time being) in and over the said
territory and its dependencies by his Majesty's instructions under the
royal sign manual, bearing date respectively the 25th day of April 1787
and the 20th day of August 1789: In pursuance of the power and authority
vested in me as aforesaid, I do by these presents give and grant unto A.
B. his heirs and assigns, to have and to hold for ever, 1,500 acres of
land lying and situate in the ---- district, Van Diemen's Land, bounded,
&c. &c. &c. &c., to be had and held by him the said A. B. his heirs and
assigns, free from all taxes, quit-rents, and other acknowledgements,
for the space of five years from the date hereof; provided always, and
it is hereby expressed to be understood that the said A. B. the grantee
in these presents named, shall in no ways either directly or indirectly
sell, alienate, or transfer any part or parcel of the land hereby
granted within the said term of five years; and also provided always
that the said A. B. should clear and cultivate, or cause to be cleared
and cultivated, within the said term of five years, the quantity of 75
acres of the said land hereby granted, otherwise the whole of the said
land hereby granted shall revert to the crown, and the grant hereby made
thereof shall be held and deemed null and void, and saving and reserving
to government the right of making a public road through such part of the
said land as may at any time be required: such timber as may be growing
or that may grow hereafter upon the said lands, which may be deemed fit
for naval purposes, to be reserved for the use of the crown; and paying
an annual quit-rent of 30s. after the term or time of five years before
mentioned. In testimony whereof," &c.]
[Footnote 174: It appears to have been followed in the court, lately
instituted in Ireland, for the sale of encumbered estates.]
[Footnote 175: Despatch, 10th June, 1849.]
[Footnote 176: Bastian _v._ Bridger.]
SECTION XII.
A work of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, professed to detect the errors in
British colonisation, and to prescribe a new and more effective
plan.[178] It consisted in selling land at "a sufficient price" to
combine labor and capital, to collect all the elements of civilisation,
to prevent the dispersion of population, the premature possession of
land by the workman, and speculation by jobbers. Thus a colony, on this
model, was compared to a tree transplanted, the fibres of its roots
undivided, and its branches unbroken.
For several years previous to this decisive change, the desire had been
widely expressed to relieve the parent country by the emigration of
paupers. Sir William Horton devoted great attention to the subject. He
visited various districts most oppressed by population, and pointed out
the methods available to an extensive removal. The Canada Company, which
transacted much business with him while under secretary of state, had
purchased and re-sold crown lands; and many laborers, who were
transferred at their own expense to that country, rapidly improved their
condition. A committee of the Commons sat upon the subject, and a bill
was introduced by Mr. Horton himself, to authorise the parishes to
mortgage their poor rates. It was once intended by the government to
levy a tax on convict laborers, and to increase its amount on artizans,
and thus raise a fund for emigration: this project, Arthur successfully
resisted, and large permanent resources were discovered in the sale of
lands. The parishes were not willing to incur the outlay, and it was
opposed by many who were persuaded that the poverty of the laborer
resulted from oppression.[179] The intolerable degradation of the poor
led to outrages and crimes. Large numbers were transported for agrarian
offences, and many others had no refuge, but to obtain deliverance from
starvation by less concerted violations of the law.
Agricultural laborers were driven from town to town; offered by auction
at two-pence a day; harnessed to gravel carts; mocked by being sent with
a barley straw fifteen miles a day; imprisoned in pits, and kept
standing morning after morning in a public pound. Such were the scenes
which induced Horton to lecture through the country on redundant
population and emigration; and to call the attention of the parliament
to the march of poverty, pauperism, tyranny, and crime.[180]
The proposition of Sir William Horton led to various projects of private
parties, in furtherance of colonisation. Grants of land were given to
capitalists in proportion to the laborers they conveyed; whom they were
permitted to engage as indented servants. The scheme chiefly important
to Van Diemen's Land, was the settlement of Swan River. Four gentlemen
proposed to government, to convey 10,000 persons, for a grant
equivalent. The minister thought the project too vast. Three of the
four declined: Mr. Thomas Peel, a relative of Sir Robert Peel, still
persevered. Many persons entrusted their capital to agents, who
presented it, and obtained a title to possessions they never intended to
cultivate.
By the regulations published at Downing-street (December 5th, 1828), the
settlers were allowed 40 acres for every £3 of invested capital; 200
acres for every laborer conveyed. No convicts, or any other description
of prisoners, were to be sent; but land granted, was to be forfeited,
unless improved within twenty-one years. Thus, those who conveyed
laborers, were met by competitors who had incurred no such expenses; and
the conditions imposed neutralised each other. The settler who carried
out labour, found his servant desert him to occupy land acquired by the
capitalist who carried out money. Of three hundred persons embarked by
Mr. Peel, in a few months not one remained to light his fire; but the
recreant workmen were soon reduced to want. Many, under their broken
indentures, claimed relief of Mr. Peel, whose flocks had been scattered,
and his property destroyed by their desertion. He was glad to hide from
their violence, while they were embarking for the neighbouring colonies.
Respectable families were compelled to perform the most menial offices,
and young women of education were reduced to rags. Contributions of
clothing were collected and forwarded by the ladies of Cornwall. Many
were brought to Van Diemen's Land, as to a city of refuge: the
population, from 4,000, decreased to 1,500, and the ruined landholders
petitioned the government for a share of convict labour--a boon which
the elder colonies deprecated, and the minister refused (1835).
Swan River seemed to promise a desirable market, and the merchants
dispatched vessels with provisions and cattle: Mr. Gellibrand speculated
largely. On the whole, the returns were not equal to the outlay; and
although sometimes great profits were realised, Van Diemen's Land was
injured by the trade.
Scarcely were the settlers of Western Australia landed, when another
colony, Spencer's Gulf, was projected. The authors of this scheme
imputed serious detects to the plan of its immediate predecessor. The
low price and extensive holdings, the want of combinable laborers, and
the imperfect organisation of its social fabric, seemed to account for
its disasters. A body of persons, concurring in the Wakefield system of
colonisation, and comprehending many members of the House of Commons,
formed themselves into an association, and applied to the government for
the necessary powers. After considerable discussion, the minister
declined their proposal, and the realisation of their hopes was deferred
several years. The more active partisans of the scheme kept it before
the public. An act passed the legislature on the 15th of August, 1834,
empowering the crown to erect South Australia into a British province.
Commissioners were appointed for the sale of land, and for the
conveyance of emigrants. It was determined that the price should be
sufficient to prevent laborers from buying land, and furnish the cost of
their emigration. The company were authorised to borrow £50,000. If, at
the expiration of ten years, the population should not reach 20,000, the
control of the land was to revert to the crown. With a population of
50,000, they were to obtain the rights of political freedom, and no
convict ship was to anchor on their shores. The upset price was at first
£1, and, for a time, 12s. per acre. The intended colony was viewed with
distrust by the elder settlements for the theoretical character of the
plan, and its entire opposition to the then prevailing notions of penal
labour. The advocates of the enterprise lost no occasion to denounce the
social condition of Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales; where,
however, the scheme was pronounced insane, and destined to certain
disorder and ultimate overthrow. The appearance of new speculators in
the Australian colonies compensated them for these reproaches. In
publishing their plans, the company had always referred to supplies
within their vicinity, as an immediate and certain reserve. The
Tasmanian merchants met them on the shore of the royal province. Sheep
were sent over as the basis of their flocks; timber for their huts; and
the various produce of rural wealth, originally brought at great cost
from Europe. A long succession of adventurers raised the value of
produce throughout the colonies; and individuals realised large profits
in the trade; but when the arrivals from England ceased, the new colony
was involved in whatever misfortunes its peculiar plan was supposed to
avert. Many hundreds, driven out by poverty, settled in the penal
colonies, and the property of Adelaide became unsaleable: the frail
dwellings were deserted, and the land lay utterly waste. Of the Adelaide
traders, scarcely a house escaped insolvency, and the loss was total.
Those who remained turned their land to account: their flocks increased,
and the discovery of the mines happily realised more than their early
hopes. The lands sold by the company were freed from the mineral
reservation.
An old gentleman, named Mengè, formerly an attendant on a distinguished
German geologist, was the discoverer of its mineral riches. He was
employed by Mr. George F. Angus to select his special surveys. His
occasional choice of rocks and barren soil excited ridicule and
astonishment; but he was accustomed to say, "the wealth is below, not
upon the ground." He lived in the cleft of a rock at the junction of the
Gawler and Para, near a plot of forty acres, almost surrounded with
water, where he cultivated melons of every variety. He spoke many
languages, and had travelled through Germany, Switzerland, and Iceland.
A mineral collection he made, is in the University Museum, Edinburgh.
His excursions in South Australia were intrepid, and extended far: he
carried a wallet and a hammer, and subsisted during his wandering on
gum. His conversation was visionary; and his predictions, at the time,
but little regarded.
The coast of New Holland, opposite to Van Diemen's Land, was almost
neglected since the removal of the colony in 1803. Various reports were
brought by whalers of its suitableness for sheep farming. Howell, Hume,
and Batman had explored the country in 1824, and had acquired some
knowledge of its quality. In 1827, an application was made by Messrs. J.
T. Gellibrand and Batman to General Darling, for permission to land
stock, to the amount of £5,000, in the neighbourhood of Western Port.
This project failed; but in 1835, Mr. Batman, called the Australian
Penn, acting for certain colonists, of whom a nephew of Arthur was one,
proceeded to Port Phillip. Several Sydney blacks, under his care, had
acquired the English language, and accompanied him thither. This
important expedition embarked in a colonial vessel, and landed on the
26th May, on the shore of Port Phillip. The civilised blacks were now
decked with native ornaments, and advanced towards the fires of the
aborigines; but they had fled. They were, however, tracked by Batman's
company, who opened a friendly conference, and were perfectly
understood. The natives displayed some apprehension, and intimated they
had already experienced injury from the English. Batman gave them
presents of tomahawks and trinkets, and conciliated their fullest
confidence. Some time after, the party met the chief of another tribe,
who had heard reports of the white man's liberality: he conducted them
towards the huts; but in their progress they were surprised by an
hostile array of the natives. The blacks of Batman's party called out
to them, and amity was established. Batman took the spear of the chief,
who carried his gun. He then proposed to live among them: the conditions
were explained to their satisfaction. The treaty of Penn with the
Indians was the model of the covenant with the tribe of Dutegaller. They
conveyed a track of 600,000 acres, for blankets and other objects of
native desire, and an annual payment of similar articles to the value of
£200. This deed was signed, sealed, and delivered by the natives in due
form.
The report of this expedition was presented to Arthur, who warmly
concurred in the occupation, and approved the consideration of native
rights; but observed that those rights had been disregarded in the
recent colonisation of South Australia, and that Port Phillip was within
the government of New South Wales. Arthur was desirous of making that
territory dependent on Van Diemen's Land. The minister favorably noticed
the proposal; but in the meantime Governor Bourke asserted his claim,
and declared the company intruders, and their bargains with the natives
void.
Notwithstanding, the colony now opened was occupied by many adventurers.
Their sheep were rapidly transferred, and the greater portion of the
early inhabitants were settlers from Van Diemen's Land. The settlement
was suffered with reluctance. The theory of concentration had been
adopted only a few months before; but, except by setting up a government
on the spot, it was found that an illegal occupation of land could not
be prevented. Governor Bourke wrote to the secretary of state, that
whatever the general wisdom of concentration, an opposite course was
necessary for pastoral wealth; and that to neglect nutritious food,
would be to reject "the bounty of providence." He proposed to sell the
land in townships, and employ the proceeds in the public service.
Lord Glenelg confessed that the scheme of concentration was not of
universal application: that Lord Ripon's regulations were not everywhere
desirable, and that it was proper to tolerate the ardour of private
enterprise; to moderate its course, and gather up its fruits. The
Dutegaller association was dissolved; but not until they had given an
impulse to colonisation, more rapid than any example offered by history.
This peaceable occupation, contrasted with the cruelties inflicted at
Twofold Bay--a whaling station, now rising into a province.
While these plans of colonisation were in progress, the social
condition of the penal colonies was constantly discussed. To correct the
evils admitted on the spot, and to obviate the dangers apprehended at
home, it was determined by the ministers to promote the emigration of
mechanics and females. One series of plans were proposed for New South
Wales and Van Diemen's Land, and with the same general results. The
policy of government required the emigration of free mechanics.
The employment of prisoner artizans by the local government, was
disapproved by the crown, and Colonel Arthur was instructed to assign
them to masters, and contract for public works. In defending this
measure, he had maintained that the high rate of wages would subvert the
design of transportation: the employer would indulge the workmen, and to
obtain their full strength supply the means of sensual gratification.
In 1831, a notice appeared inviting the opinions of the colonists on the
subject of emigration. Lord Goderich solicited the assistance of the
settlers in removing the population which the colonies might employ, and
England spare. They were requested to state what amount of money they
would engage to afford, and what class of servants they required. Such
as contributed to the cost were promised a preferable claim to engage
them. The notice was received in silence: no public meeting was held.
The servants of the Van Diemen's Land Company had generally deserted
their employers; and in the colonies, the valuation of pauper laborers,
compared with convicts, was not great; and although some extended their
views beyond the moment, the chief object of most persons was to secure
a fortune and be gone. The settlers dreaded the vicinity of small
farmers, as fatal to the discipline of their men, and to the safety of
their flocks.[181]
This notice was on its way, when Lord Howick, on the behalf of the
colonial-office, addressed the lords of the treasury, and proposed a
loan of £10,000, to be repayed by the land fund. The proceeds of sales
were then a matter of conjecture; but it was the opinion of the
secretary of state, that these resources should be devoted to
emigration, especially of females. He calculated that a growing
population would more than compensate for the cost, by extending the
basis of colonial revenue (1831). In this view their lordships
concurred, and a commission was instantly appointed, to carry out the
design.
During this emigration the supply of labor exceeded the demand, and a
benevolent society was formed to succour the numerous poor. The governor
advised that no laborers, except mechanics, should be sent, and four
members of the legislative council protested against the outlay. They
stated that the support of 10,000 prisoners, without expense to England,
was a sufficient benefit for a colony to confer; that the "poor house
prisoners," and the "gaol prisoners," were equally demoralised; and the
first more insolent and uncontrollable. They contended that the
expenditure of the land fund out of the colony was to complete the
mischief resulting from the cessation of grants, "the calamities of
which it was fearful to anticipate."[182]
The colony was thought likely to afford a desirable home for Chelsea
pensioners, who commuted their pensions for four years' payment.
Forty-six embarked in the _Science_, with Messrs. Backhouse and Walker,
whose reports of their conduct explain their subsequent misfortunes.
They were intemperate and thriftless, and passed the voyage in disorder.
The women were nothing superior to their husbands.[183] On their
arrival, they expended their money, and sunk into misery. To this there
were some exceptions, and here and there an old soldier may be found,
whose property has risen in value, to a competence for his declining
life. The land they were enabled to acquire was, however, generally too
small in quantity to yield a living, from their unskilled and irregular
toil. Their distress excited more discussion than sympathy. They
requested the sheriff to call a meeting, to inform the crown of "their
unspeakable sufferings."
The home government resolved to advance £20 to married mechanics willing
to emigrate to this colony. They gave the parties the amount, who were
expected to sign a warrant of attorney for its repayment within two
years. Many emigrated, but few paid: a Mr. John Hose, who did so, was
noticed for his singular honesty; but the greater part evaded the
liability with success. Females were expected to repay £8 towards their
passage; but many were minors, and the proof of their hand-writing was
not easy, and few regarded the obligation as just. The demand of this
pledge contracted the choice of emigrants: many country girls refused to
sign their names to a paper, promising a sum equal to the English wages
of a year; or to enter into engagements, of which they could not see the
end. The ordinary revenue was charged with payment and collection
arising from this scheme; but the land fund eventually defrayed the
loss.
A succession of vessels, with mechanics and females, anchored at Hobart
Town: the _Amelia Thompson_ at Launceston. A committee of ladies in
London, of whom Mrs. Fry was the most distinguished, undertook the
selection of the females. They were commended for their philanthropy and
care in England: in the colonies, they received but little praise. Mr.
Marshall, a considerable shipowner, was appointed agent. To fill his
vessels, was said to be the main object of his efforts, and that he held
a low scale of female morality would not be unacceptable. The statements
of the colonial press were often undiscriminating and highly unjust:
many valuable women were included in these immigrations; many were girls
of tender years, whose chief fault was their ignorance.
The debarkation of these females occasioned scenes, more subjects of
regret than of wonder. Thus, on the arrival of the _Strathfieldsay_
(1834), the fair emigrants, 286, most of good character, were
indiscreetly landed at high noon: 2,000 persons awaited them on the
beach. Their feelings were outraged with ribaldry and insult: they were
astounded at their reception, and many wept. The ladies of the colony
protected and advanced them; and some, whose want drove them from their
native country, remember the day with gratitude when they first pressed
the soil of Tasmania. 1,280 females were brought to the colony in three
years, ending 1835; and rather more to New South Wales.
The emigrant rarely appears to advantage: the occupation of a new
sphere, in which his position is uncertain, renders his manners awkward,
and his expectations ridiculous. The disorderly conduct of many made
their presence a burden, and their civil condition no great advantage to
their masters. Yet, since it was necessary to labor or to starve, the
greater portion chose the better alternative; and the women of decent
habits, found that destiny for which nature designed them.
The extravagant expectations formed by many emigrants, fostered by
reports of individual success, which when substantially true are still
exaggerated by fancy, were commonly disappointed. The suspicious
coolness of strangers; the high price of provisions; the comfortless
dwellings, with their awkward fuel; the absence of conveniences, which
are not valued until lost; and the memory of home, produced a depression
of spirits, only overcome by reason or youth. But their complaints of
after years, are the result of affectation and habit: they pretend to
have sacrificed a lot, from which in reality they escaped; and forget
that in the midst of those scenes they profess to regret, they often
wanted a meal.
A curious instance occurred at an early time: a settler took a location
order and provisions, and went out to commence his labors. He was
disheartened by the obstruction of the forest: at his first stroke, the
axe was shivered; he threw it down in despair, and returned home in the
vessel that brought him out.
The emigrants were not, on the whole, inferior to other persons of their
education and calling; and were often justified in resisting the
tyrannical spirit and disposition to oppress, which the habits of
colonial life do not extinguish. This emigration, amounting to 7,000 for
both colonies, is an epoch to be remembered for its influence on their
fate.
These events revolutionised the social state of the colonies. Free
workmen and their families formed an intermediate class, whose interests
were hostile to a penal government, and to bond labor in every form. The
individual importance of employers consoled them for their political
dependence; and the subservience of transportation to their material
prosperity, reconciled them to the restrictions it imposed. The free
workman found it an obstacle to his advancement: it depressed his wages
and debased his position, but gave him nothing. If his industry raised
him, he yet retained the sympathies of his early life: he remained
distrustful of the rich, jealous of rank, and fond of the equality of
human rights. Trial by jury, legislative assemblies, and official
responsibility, found earnest advocates, where they had often been mere
rallying points of personal discontent.
All this was foreseen by Arthur: when free laborers were intruded by the
crown, the great bond of his system was broken.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISPOSAL OF CROWN LANDS IN NEW SOUTH WALES AND VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.
---------------+-------+--------------------+---------------+------------------
Authority. | Date. | Terms. | Superseded. | Remarks.
---------------+-------+--------------------+---------------+------------------
King's sign |1787 |Residence on the |1810. |100 acres only to
manual to |and | grant. | | any person, over
governors of |1789. |Cultivation and | | the quantity
New South | | improvement. | | allowed to
Wales. | |Reservation of naval| | emancipists.
| | timber. | |
| |Quit rent: | |
| | emancipists. 6d. | |
| | per 30 acres; free | |
| | settlers, 2s. per | |
| | 100 acres, after | |
| | ten years. | |
| | | |
Governor |January|Quit-rent, 2s. per |November 30, |Town allotments
Macquarie. |1, 1810| 100 acres. | 1821. | usually leased at
| |Cultivation of a | | Hobart Town for
| | proportion (20th | | twenty-one years,
| | part) in five years| | quit rent 30s.
| |Reservation of naval| | per acre; 7 only
| | timber. | | were granted,
| |Right of forming | | 1820. Allotments
| | highways. | | were occupied at
| |Non-alienation in | | Launceston on
| | five years. | | permission of the
| | | | commandant.--
| | | | _Bigge's Report._
| | | |
Governor |July |Omits cultivation |Colonial |
Brisbane. |11, | clause, and saddles| Office, |
|1822. | every 100 acres | November, 1824|
| | with a convict |Notified in Van|
| | servant. This was | Diemen's Land,|
| | cancelled by | 18th May, 1825|
| | indorsement on some| |
| | grants, on | |
| | condition of | |
| | cultivation. | |
| | | |
|1823. |Grants liable to | |
| | quit-rent of 15s. | |
| | per 100 acres. | |
| | | |
Colonial Office|1824. |Convict clause |Convict clause |Town lots granted
| | inserted. Purchase | withdrawn, in | on specified
| | money repaid, if | 3rd edit. of | expenditure
| | claimed within ten | notice, 1827. | within three
| | years, or for the | | years, and
| | redemption of quit | | non-alienation
| | rent. | | for 18 months.
| |Quit rent 5 per | |
| | cent. value. | |
| | | |
|April, |Settlers who could | |
|1826. | obtain no convicts,| |
| | allowed abatement | |
| | of half quit-rent; | |
| | or a new purchase | |
| | at half price, who | |
| | should expend five | |
| | times value of the | |
| | grants, given or | |
| | sold them. | |
| | | |
Governor Arthur|1828. |Land Board |January 20, |
| | established; | 1831. |
| | capital required, | |
| | £500 for each | |
| | square mile granted| |
| |Land sold at highest| |
| | tender; one-half | |
| | left on mortgage | |
| | for twelve years, | |
| | at 5 per cent. | |
| |Precious metals | |
| | reserved. | |
| | | |
Colonial Office|January|Order: all land to |August, 1838. |
|20, | be sold by public | |
|1831. | sale; upset price | |
| | 5s., conveyed in | |
| | fee simple at a | |
| | peppercorn rent. | |
| |Precious metals | |
| | reserved, and | |
| | indigenous produce | |
| | for public works. | |
| | | |
Colonial Office|August,|12s. per acre. |1842. |
| 1838. | | |
| | | |
|1842. |£1 per acre. |1845.[184] |
---------------+-------+--------------------+---------------+-----------
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 177: _Report on the Disposal of Crown Land_, 1836.]
[Footnote 178: _England and America._]
[Footnote 179: The plan of selling crown lands, and appropriating the
proceeds to emigration, was claimed as his own by Galt, the novelist and
projector. See _Life of John Galt_, vol. ii. p. 135.]
[Footnote 180: _Edinburgh Review_, 1849.]
[Footnote 181: "We are much mistaken, if the letters addressed
to the secretary exceed six, and they are written by the paid
magistracy."--_Launceston Advertiser_, 1832.]
[Footnote 182: Protesters:--Charles Swanston, Charles M'Lachlan, Richard
Willis, John Kerr. October, 1833.]
[Footnote 183: _Backhouse's Narrative._]
[Footnote 184: 1845.--The Act 5th & 6th Victoria, chap. 36,
repealed; as to Van Diemen's Land only: which returned to the status of
1787.]
SECTION XIII.
The increasing population of the Australian colonies led to important
changes in their monetary institutions. Hitherto the stock employed in
banking was supplied by the merchants, or invested by East Indian
capitalists. These local relations were not without their advantages:
they enabled the banks to extend accommodation beyond the ordinary usage
of companies subject to more extensive and complicated interests.
The announcement of the "Leviathan," as the Bank of Australasia was
called, created the usual amount of discussion. The capital was desired
by those who had occasion to borrow, and dreaded by such as were
interested in lending. It was incorporated in 1835; and commenced
operations the following year. By granting bills on London at par, the
manager first drew largely on the current coin. Treasury bills were no
longer the cheapest remittance, and the disposition to purchase them
declined. The outcry of the local banks reached the legislative council,
and it was proposed to make a treasury bill a legal tender. An act
passed for the purpose, but was never called into force by proclamation.
The resources of the English enabled them to vex and contract the sphere
of the colonial establishments; but had treasury bills become a legal
tender, they could have redeemed their own notes by their payment, and
thus recovered the coin which found its way into the coffers of the
stranger.
At Launceston, the quarrel between the Australasia and a local bank,
afforded much sport to those not deeply interested. Of the Tamar Bank,
20 per cent. only had been paid on its capital, which was exceedingly
small compared with its discounts and issues. Every morning, the agent
of the London took a wheel-barrow to the Tamar bank, attended by an
armed guard, and carried away the dollars in exchange for notes. The
superior strength of the Australasia soon brought the contest to a
crisis, and Mr. Gilles, the manager of the Tamar, shut up his books. He,
however, first gave warning, that such must be his course, unless it was
agreed to restore the dollar bags to the state before the war. To this
it was replied that, perhaps, the Tamar had exceeded the just limits of
its capital, and an offer made to discount a bill for its accommodation.
In the end, time was given. The parties concerned were more frightened
than hurt: no serious injury was intended.
In 1837, the Union Bank of Australia, with a capital of £1,000,000,
divided the field. This institution was formed in England, under the
auspices of Mr. Philip Oakden, a merchant, of Launceston. With such
spirit was the project accepted, that the amount was subscribed in one
day.
The chief objection to these banks was their tendency to create a class
of absentees, whose revenue withdrawn from the colonies would add
nothing to their welfare. To this it was replied, that the repayment was
intended to be made from profits the colonies would divide with the
London capitalist, which, except for his assistance, could not be
obtained.
The last business address of Arthur to his council, expressed his
antipathy to the London bank, and his hope that the monopoly attempted
would not be successful. He asserted that the proprietary, an absentee
body, had no interest but their own to regard, while the local banks
were colonial in every sense. These were his views of finance, and they
were characteristic of the time.
SECTION XIV.
"The glorious 23rd of May!" Such was the day and month of 1831,
separated by those who witnessed its achievements to everlasting renown.
The excitement of the campaign against the blacks (see vol. ii.) had
absorbed political animosities, and brought all parties together; but by
this time the popularity of the governor was spent. The struggle for
parliamentary reform agitated Great Britain, and the colonists
determined to attempt the recovery of their rights as Englishmen. So
lively was the interest in the affairs of Europe, that the tri-color was
mounted by more ardent politicians. The last wave of revolution, which
had scattered thrones, rippled on these shores.
A meeting was called by the sheriff, and the principal speakers were the
Gellibrands, Crombie, Cartwright, Abbott, F. Smith, Meredith, Lascelles,
Gregson, Dunn, Jennings, Kemp, Hewitt, and Lowes: of these, none were so
conspicuous as Mr. Thomas Horne (a relative of the great Horne Tooke),
afterwards puisnè judge, and who was described as the "honest barrister"
by the admiring press. "If crushing," said the learned civilian, "is to
be brought into operation, no doubt I shall be crushed. Let them crush
me, and they will associate my name with the record of this meeting,
which history will preserve to the latest period of time." The object of
the movement was to bring under the royal notice the government of the
colony, and to demand trial by jury, and a legislative assembly. The
petition to the king was entrusted to the custody of Mr. Sams, who was
proceeding to Great Britain. Whether it ever reached the throne was a
matter of dispute: some said it had been committed to the deep, with
much solemnity; others, that it had passed from the messenger to the
hands of a merchant, who disregarded its fate. It obtained no reply.
The colony had just reason to complain at the time. The supreme court
had been closed for many months: the business of the legislative council
detained the judge and attorney-general from their proper functions, and
for nearly two years no gaol delivery had occurred at Launceston. Two
persons, father and son, charged with cattle-stealing, had been two
years awaiting trial, when they were both acquitted. The evidence
against them was of the slightest description; yet during their
detention domestic calamities of all kinds had overtaken them.
The delay was still further extended by the issue of a new charter, and
with the usual incaution of the secretary of state. This charter arrived
1831: it nominated Mr. Pedder chief justice, and Alexander Macduff
Baxter, puisnè judge. It made no provision for continuing process begun
in the late court, and required colonial legislation to cure the defects
of its details.
Mr. Baxter, the puisnè judge elect, had been attorney-general of New
South Wales. His relations with Darling had not been cordial, and he was
disgraced in the eyes of the public by domestic differences: his wife
was insane, and he himself was intemperate. Just before he left Sydney
for Van Diemen's Land, he was bound over to keep the peace, and was
declared insolvent. On his arrival, the royal warrant for his induction
had not reached the colony, and after some delay he returned to New
South Wales, and thence to Great Britain, where he died. Mr. Baxter
ascribed his ruin to his grant from the crown: he employed persons to
look after his estate, and they conducted him to beggary.[185]
The lieutenant-governor resolved, if possible, to exclude Baxter from an
office which he could only dishonor, and passed an act, pronounced by
the lawyers a piece of "doubtful and dangerous" legislation, by which
the clause of the charter requiring two judges was expunged, thus
constituting the court of one. The act of parliament, however,
authorised the measure: the council had power to repeal or annul a
patent, until the pleasure of the crown were known. The act was
approved, and remains among the laws. Occasions might occur, when the
course of justice would be arrested in a small community by requiring
many officers to constitute a court.[186]
The reformers were not disheartened by their failure: they assembled
again the following year,[187] at the request of the Hornes, the
Gellibrands, and the Gregsons. The effort was unavailing. In 1834, it
was renewed with still more earnestness: the former parties, reinforced
by many important accessions, maintained the popular cause. Repeated
disappointments excited some bitterness, which was expressed in strong
terms.[188] Mr. Thomas Horne reminded the home government that they
would make "a dissatisfied and turbulent people, ready to use their
power, and assert their rights, if necessary, by force of arms." He
advised the oblivion of minute grievances, and said, "were the angel
Gabriel to propose one measure, and Satan another, if he considered
Satan's the most politic, he should have the honor of adopting it."[189]
But neither importunity nor threatenings prevailed.
These efforts were renewed in the following year; but in 1835 some of
the chief advocates of a legislative assembly deprecated the penal
institutions of the colony, and proposed that all convicts, on their
arrival, should be set free: of this plan, Mr. R. L. Murray was a
distinguished advocate.
A deputation from the meeting for free institutions, requested the
intercession of the governor with the crown; but he replied, that if the
grant of free institutions, and the discontinuance of penal coercion,
were connected by one common advocacy, the interests of the colony, of
the crown, and of philanthropy, would demand the most serious
precaution. He maintained that all British rights were conceded,
"excepting the elective franchise;" and quoted with more cleverness than
dignity, their statements of colonial opulence, to show how little they
had suffered by a former denial of their prayers.
Mr. Gellibrand, senior, was a person of intellectual tastes and lofty
spirit. His early life had been spent among liberal politicians: he was
a zealous advocate of freedom, but still more of knowledge and virtue.
Mr. Gellibrand, junior, was a lawyer of popular talents, whose practice
as a barrister made office of little importance, and who, when discarded
by Arthur, opposed him with incessant vigour. His eloquence was never
exhausted, and his learning as a lawyer obtained him consideration in
the court, which his boldness as a pleader often threw into jeopardy.
Mr. Thomas Horne exhibited a fervour in the popular cause, worthy his
kinsman. The rest were chiefly settlers, and patriots from resentment or
conviction.
These meetings preserved the principles of constitutional freedom; and
if they did not hasten its possession, reiterated its lessons and
prepared for its enjoyment. Whatever temporary turmoil the meetings
created, they were conservative of great interests, and deserve a
grateful remembrance. These appeals to the British legislature were
commonly accepted in silence: by the crown they were graciously received
and forgotten. They had no perceptible influence on colonial policy, and
only acquitted the settlers of indifference to rights, which can never
be valued at too high a price.
The surplus revenue, accruing from year to year, suggested to the
secretary of state the imposition of police, and gaol expenses on the
colony. The non-official members of the council, except one, voted
against the appropriation. They denied that the supposed advantages
conferred by prisoner labor, justified a claim on the colonial funds for
the support of a great national object; and they added this remarkable
passage:--"The influx of moral pollution has been perpetuated, and the
colony doomed for ever to be the gaol of Great Britain, and destined
never to rise to any rank among the British colonies."[190] A dim
fore-shadowing of that universal sentiment to which the constant
attempts to lessen the profits of prisoner labor gave rise. The revenue
was largely dependent on the consumption of liquors, and upon habits
which generate crime and impose expenses on the public. It received an
appropriate destination: funds contributed chiefly by drunkards for the
repression of criminals. Such was the apology for exactions enormous,
when compared with the population; a view not easily impugned, except
that in such cases the interest of the government ceases to be hostile
to vices which increase its wealth.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 185: Letter to Darling, 1830.
Major Mudie says--"Being scarcely ever sober, he left his business to be
done by a convict clerk, who had been a lawyer of some sort previous to
his transportation from England."--p. 245.]
[Footnote 186: 9th Geo. iv. sec. 22.]
[Footnote 187: August 13, 1832.]
[Footnote 188: Captain Glover stated, that the events of the 23rd of May
had been dramatised in the following strain:--The ambassador of that
meeting was admitted to the king: "Ho, ho, Mr. Ambassador," said the
king, "the people of Van Diemen's Land want an assembly, do they; what
do they want it for?" The posed ambassador replies, "Because they do,
your Majesty." "Because they do, Mr. Ambassador, is that the reason they
gave?" "Please your Majesty, I am not certain they gave that reason."
"What do you think of that, Goderich?" says the king. "Oh, all
nonsense," said Goderich. The ambassador, on retiring, requested an
answer, and was informed, "there was none." The ambassador, in his turn,
asked the reason. "Why because we wont--that's all."]
[Footnote 189: From the _Tasmanian_ report of meeting.]
SECTION XV.
The case of Mr. William Bryan was before the public for many years. Mr.
Bryan was an enterprising settler, and owned 11,000 acres and extensive
herds, and was engaged in many speculations of public utility. He
erected a valuable mill, and under his auspices a company was formed,
which purchased a steam vessel. She was brought to the colony by Captain
Alexander Wales: when, however, he arrived, the project was defeated by
the altered position of Mr. Bryan's affairs.
Samuel Arnold, a herdsman of Mr. Bryan, was convicted of cattle-stealing
(1833), and sentenced to death. The police magistrate, Mr. Lyttleton,
who committed him for trial, alleged against his master a culpable
incaution, and Judge Montagu uttered a severe censure from the bench on
the same account. Mr. Lyttleton, on going outside the court, addressed
several gentlemen, of whom Mr. Dry was one. He remarked, that though the
man was sentenced to die, he would do his utmost to save his life; and
added, that another person ought to be standing in his stead. This was
supposed to refer to Mr. Bryan, who deputed a young friend, Mr. Lewis,
to demand an explanation, or appoint a meeting. Not only did Lyttleton
decline this, but he transmitted an account to the government, and the
attorney-general prosecuted Lewis for endeavouring to provoke a duel.
Mr. Bryan now appealed to the public, and tendered his resignation as a
magistrate: he complained that he had been calumniated, and satisfaction
refused. Arthur rejected his resignation, and dismissed him from the
commission of the peace; and instantly recalled his assigned servants,
twenty-two in number. Thus deprived of laborers, in the midst of
harvest, his crops rotted on the ground; and his stock neglected, became
diseased and were scattered. He was indebted to the sympathy of his
neighbours, and to the extent of his wealth, that his property was not
destroyed, and his credit wholly subverted. The effects of this measure
were disastrous, and excited general distrust.
Bryan ascribed his treatment to an early difference with Arthur. The
land he obtained on his arrival was less than he claimed, and he
appealed successfully to the secretary of state; but he was told by a
friend of the governor, that this was an offence not to be pardoned: no
man could appeal against Arthur with final impunity.
Mr. Bryan was not altogether a martyr. He received upon the whole 4,000
acres of land; and in a letter to Arthur, he wrote:--"Permit me to
return you my sincere thanks (as much for the manner as the matter) of
your very kind letter of the 11th instant. To the same principle of
impartiality which you have evinced in my cause, I leave the increase of
my grant, resting quite satisfied that if my exertions deserve it they
will be rewarded."[191] Mr. Bryan had then received 1,500 acres; he
afterwards received 2,500.
Mr. Bryan instituted an action against Mr. Hortle, the agent of
government in the recall of his servants. The issue depended greatly on
the manner of trial--whether by assessors, or a jury of twelve. The
court possessed a discretion. The law officers asserted, and the judges
allowed, that the colonists were disqualified by common interest to form
an impartial judgment, and a jury was refused. Bryan then dropped the
action, which he objected to entrust to assessors, directed perhaps by a
member of the executive: for the same reason he withdrew his proceedings
against the police magistrate for defamation of character. He returned
to England: sought redress from the ministers, but in vain. On this
case the opinion of impartial persons can hardly err. Yet the right of
the governor to withdraw men, though not to be exercised in a wanton and
destructive manner, was hardly to be disputed. The opinion of the
English law officers of the crown favored that view, although it would
be dangerous to take their version as decisive. "We," say they, "are
clearly of opinion, that under the 9th section of 9th Geo. iv. c. 83,
governors can revoke assignment of a convict, of whose sentence it is
not intended to grant any remission; and we think there is nothing
against the apparent policy of the act which militates against that
construction."
For carrying a challenge to Mr. Lyttleton, Lewis was put on his trial.
The conventional turpitude of the offence wholly depended on the
provocation. A magistrate could not be covered by his privilege when
standing in the street, and announcing his opinions to the loungers
there; but Lyttleton, himself the sole witness, denied the words
imputed, and his cross-examination was impeded by the court. Lewis read
a written defence, and reproached the attorney-general with prosecuting
an offence recently committed by himself: for this the accused was fined
£10 by the judge, who advised him to retire and revise his notes. On
resuming his speech, he was again stopped and fined. Complaining that
the course required by his defence was unjustly obstructed, he became
silent. A military jury found him guilty; and the judge condemned him to
pay £150, and suffer an imprisonment of eighteen months.
The aspersion of the character of a magistrate by an imputation so
serious, was the sole alleged justification of the challenge. The words
attributed to the police magistrate, Lyttleton, he had denied; but, on
his return home, became convinced by the testimony of Mr. Dry, sen.,
that he had sworn falsely. He communicated this impression to the
attorney-general, but without result.
The conduct of Judge Montagu, on the trial of Lewis, was represented as
harsh and captious; but was explained by subsequent disclosures. A
clever barrister, who secretly advised the accused and framed his
defence, went into the judge's room, before the sitting of the court,
and in conversing with Montagu intimated the very improper course Lewis
intended to take. Montagu replied, he would certainly fine him. It was
under these suspicions, that he began the trial: he was thrown off his
guard, and the prosecution involved in an irreparable mistake. When the
court sat to sentence the accused, the lawyer was there to urge the
illegality of the conviction.
Lewis complained to the secretary of state, who referred his case to the
law officers of the crown, who asserted "that it is an unwarrantable
proceeding, on the part of a judge, to fine an accused party for saying
anything which he may consider essential to his defence, provided it
shall be consistent with public decorum." The secretary of state
directed compensation: this, a board estimated at £1,700. The governor
was, however, desirous of depriving Lewis of the indemnity, and the
legislative council resolved, seven to four, that the observations of
Mr. Lewis were not within that qualification; and requested that, if the
secretary of state persevered in his determination, he should pay the
complainant from the land fund. Such resistance was obviously official,
and without moral weight, and the money was eventually paid.
Several months after the departure of Mr. William Bryan for Great
Britain, his nephew, Mr. Robert Bryan, and another, were charged with
cattle-stealing. The constables who professed to watch the prisoners,
alleged that they saw the animal in question driven homeward by the
accused, and on the second day following discovered the skin thrown into
the scrub. Witnesses contradicted the constables, who were all prisoners
of the crown, in some material points. The young man was sentenced to
death. The capital penalty was not inflicted; but it was the popular
notion that he was the victim of a conspiracy.
The young man, Robert Bryan, was tried on two separate indictments, and
such was the evidence, that many unprejudiced persons concurred in the
verdict: yet the witnesses against him were open to suspicion. It was
commonly asserted that he was sacrificed; if not by the contrivance,
with the concurrence of the government.
The trial was reported by the _Colonial Times_. The editor, Mr Henry
Melville, pointed out in strong language the suspicion of unfairness;
the dependence of the jury; the presence of the governor at Launceston
during the trial; the infamous character of certain of the witnesses;
and the overruling a challenge of a juror by the prisoner. The remarks
of Melville were carried beyond the tolerated bounds of public
criticism; the attorney-general, Stephen, induced the court to issue an
attachment. The defendant was required to admit the authorship: this
being done, the judge whose conduct he had censured pronounced the
sentence.[192] To judge, condemn, and imprison, at once and by the party
offended, included all that tyranny could ask. Any reference to the
proceedings of a court, which the judge might choose to pronounce a
libel, might consign to perpetual imprisonment. A similar case, at
Newfoundland, was discussed in the House of Commons, and the ministers
joined the opposition in severely reprehending the practice. The papers
published the debate, and Arthur slowly obeyed the signal, and gave
Melville his liberty.
Motions for attachment have not often disgraced the administration of
justice: they are relics of barbarous times. This process was issued
against Fawkner, the editor of the _Launceston Advertiser_, who escaped
by an apology; and it was moved for by the attorney-general, Stephen,
against Murray and Melville, for calling an affidavit of the
solicitor-general--to the effect that a fair trial could not be obtained
in Bryan's case with a colonial jury--"an extraordinary document!" The
judges dismissed the application, when Stephen remarked, that he
"thanked God he despised the observations, as well as the scoundrel-like
motives which influenced them."
The intermixture of cattle of various owners, in the extensive forests
belonging to the crown in the northern districts, afforded opportunities
for plunder, and frequently occasioned disputes and quarrels. The
herdsmen were often careless and dishonest, and their masters were
liable to share the reproach of their mistakes or guilt. The marks
distinguishing such property easily escaped the memory: it was often
left to the choice of the magistrate to commit for felony, or resign the
dispute to a civil tribunal.
The constabulary were mostly prisoners of the crown. Their office
entitled them to an earlier attainment of their liberty than other
convicts: the detection of a serious crime gave them claims for a still
quicker liberation; and the desire of freedom prompted them to lay
snares for persons suspected, and even to commit a crime that they might
charge it on the innocent. Thus, they would sometimes slaughter a
branded beast, and throw its skin on the premises of the selected
victim. Such atrocious wickedness was certainly not common, but that it
sometimes occurred is beyond all doubt.
Captain Serjeantson, of the 40th regiment, a gentleman connected with
several opulent settlers, was murdered (1835). The family collected
£500: to this the governor added £100 more, for the discovery of the
murderer, who was found to be Hunt, a bushranger, afterwards shot by a
small settler, and who dying confessed the crime. In this case, a
constable, Drinkwater, proposed to another to earn their free pardons.
The plan sketched was to deposit shot in the hut of a man at Campbell
Town, who was suspected, resembling that extracted from the body of the
deceased. A constable, invited as an accomplice, betrayed the project;
not, however, until the proof of its existence was indisputable. The
same constable had proposed to throw a sheep stolen from the flocks of
Mr. Willis, on the premises of a man, "on whom there was a down."
The intentional encouragement of perjury cannot be imputed to the
government; but necessity induced a most perilous laxity of feeling.
Thus on a trial, the judge not only stopped the case, but committed the
prisoner policemen for perjury: these persons were discharged by the
attorney-general, and established again as constables. Their oaths had
already produced several capital convictions, and they became qualified
to accuse and convict the most upright men. The ignorant police agents
considered that the successful prosecution of any person, regarded by
their officers with hatred, would entitle them to benefits; and even the
prisoners in service discriminated between those whom they might accuse
with impunity, and such as were protected by their connections. Nor was
this all: in the height of political excitement, a prisoner was arrested
in the neighbourhood of Mr. Gregson's dwelling, who avowed his intention
to assassinate that gentleman, in the expectation of a reward.
The affair of Mr. Bryan increased the anxiety of the colony to obtain
trial by jury, independent of the court and the influence of the
executive. By the custom of England, this privilege could only be
suspended by martial law, when the ordinary courts were closed: wherever
the authority of the crown was recognised, the accused was entitled to
trial by his peers. Nothing could be more alien from the habits of
Englishmen, than to lodge the functions of grand jury in the hands of an
officer of the crown, or commit life or liberty to the verdict of a
military jury. A paramount necessity required the practice for a time;
but a change was delayed, by the hesitation of the government, long
after the colonies contained a body of freemen.
The decision of Judge Forbes, instanced in a former page, which
determined that the common law right remained with the session of
magistrates, had been acted on for a time. Emancipists sat on these
juries, and exulted in the privilege. Their press, in publishing the
list, distinguished the members of their body by affixing stars (*) to
their names. The act of parliament (1828) set aside the interpretation
of the judge; but when it took away the common law right, it gave power
to the crown to authorise the institution of juries, at the discretion
of colonial legislatures. Thus an ordinance entitling to trial by jury
in civil cases, was established in New South Wales (1829). The chief
justice strongly favored the eligibility of emancipists, who were three
times more numerous than the immigrant population. The non-official
members of the council were generally opposed to their admission; but
the measure was carried by ten against five. Thus, although the trial of
criminal causes still remained with the military, the courts could not
withdraw civil wrongs from the verdict of civilians. By this act the
officers of government were liable to some responsibility, and in
several instances were cast in damages, notwithstanding the efforts of
the crown to defend them.
While civil jurors were confined to civil issues, they sat in the box
occupied at other times by the military jury. An officer had amused his
leisure, while sitting on a trial, by tracing caricatures of the civil
jurors, and writing libels on the benches. Thus insulted, they appealed
to the court for protection. The judge was unwilling to interfere; but
being pressed, remarked, that were the authorship traced to a military
juror, he would close his court rather than intrust to such hands the
administration of justice (1830).
The hostility of the opulent emigrants to the eligibility of emancipists
was intense and lasting. This was still more active when the trial of
criminal issues passed into their hands (1833). They asserted that the
criminal at the bar was too literally tried by his peers, and that
scenes disgraceful to public justice were enacted in the retiring room.
It required all the authority of the court to repress antipathies so
openly avowed. The rancour excited by this question is scarcely
credible: a gentleman addressed the judge from the box before he was
sworn, and asked if he was expected to deliver a verdict with twice
convicted felons? Appearances of partiality and corruption were quoted
to prove the pernicious effect of their admission. The magistrates,
usually hostile to the measure, returned as fit and proper persons,
those whom they knew would disgrace the box. Some flagrant cases were
exhibited as specimens of the whole: a juror, out on bail for
horse-stealing, resolutely acquitted another charged with
cattle-stealing, and was convicted himself. Thus, it was said, returns
to the summons of jurors, in one instance, was "hanged;" in another,
"transported for life."
These were certainly blemishes, but they were magnified into radical and
incurable defects (1835). The complaints of the gentry, induced Governor
Bourke to take the opinion of the judges and the law officers of the
crown: on the whole, they were fully satisfied with the result of the
law. It was remarked by a judge, that the accused would sometimes choose
a military jury, or a jury of twelve, according to the nature of the
offence: in cases of aggravated violence they often preferred a military
jury, but where conflicting testimony was likely to occur, they
preferred the greater number, only as less likely to agree. Forbes
stated that the chief difficulty was confining the juries to the
question of fact; but their verdicts had generally satisfied him. It was
the opinion of the judges, save Mr. Justice Burton, that trial by jury
had been too long deferred, and that benefit would result from its
unqualified adoption.[193]
In Van Diemen's Land, an ordinance was passed (1830), permitting the
judge to allow a jury in civil cases, whenever it was desired by either
party. The names were twenty-four: from these both parties struck out
six, and the remaining twelve were the jury. The first trial occurred
1830 (Butler _v._ Bent), in an action for libel, contained in a series
of letters written, or acknowledged, by Wells, an emancipist, and signed
"Simon Stukely." They were afterwards collected into a volume. The chief
persons in the colony were described with considerable spirit, but with
the usual injustice of anonymous satire.[194]
The danger to the fortunes of the people was more severely felt than the
peril of their liberty and lives. Thus a public meeting, demanding trial
by jury, was held in 1834: an address was presented to Arthur by a
deputation. In urging the amendment of the law, they referred to the
extraordinary powers possessed by the government. Arthur, in reply,
professed a liberal desire to gratify their wishes; but denied that he
possessed extraordinary powers, or that "they required to be watched
with more than usual jealously." He had, however, deferred the
establishment of British laws to the last possible moment, and certainly
possessed great powers; on the whole, more capable of perversion than
any ever known in a British colony.
The attorney-general, Alfred Stephen, was desirous of substituting for
the assessors a jury of seven, instead of twelve. His project was
opposed by Mr. Kemp, and indeed very generally disapproved. It was
argued, that the chances of influence multiply as the number of jurors
are decreased, and that the national practice was the only safe guide.
The amount of discussion that attended the dispute was prodigious:
pamphlets, and letters without end. The prejudice of the people was,
however, on the right side: although there is nothing sacred in an ancient
number, the retrenchment must have increased the facility of corruption.
The law, as it ultimately passed, removed the danger, by giving either
party a right to demand a jury; and to the party against whom the
application was made, a choice between a petty and special jury; but
three-fourths were taken as the whole, after six hours deliberation.
This act was framed in virtue of an order of council by the king in
1830. It provided that in criminal prosecutions where the governor, or
any inferior officer, civil or military, could be interested in the
result of a trial, a jury taken from the special jury list should try
the issue.[195]
To Arthur the colonists were not indebted: the secretary of state had,
long before, announced the determination of the government in favour of
the measure. It was not carried out until nearly four years after its
authorisation. The removal from the colony of the stigma of military
juries, was delayed until 1840, when the trial of crimes and
misdemeanours was entrusted to the hands of the inhabitants, and the
grand bulwark of public and private freedom raised in Tasmania.
The convictions for perjury were not numerous: the whole system partook
of the unsoundness of its elements, and the inhabitants were indebted
for their safety to those principles of humanity, which, in the absence
of interest and passion, regulated the measures of the government, and
restrained its agents from atrocious conspiracies.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 190: Signed by C. Swanston, T. Anstey, J. Kerr, C. M'Lachlan,
R. Willis, W. A. Bethune.]
[Footnote 191: Letter produced by Mr. Kelsy, of the Colonial office.]
[Footnote 192: Twelve months imprisonment, £200 fine, and sureties in
£500 for two years.]
[Footnote 193: _Par. Pap._ 1837.
6th Geo. iv. c. 5, disqualified a person to serve convicted of any
capital offence, except free pardoned.
7th & 8th Geo. iv. c. 28. sec. 13, gave to a conditional pardon under
the sign manual the same effect as great seal.
In cases not capital, service had the effect of free pardon: 9th Geo.
iv. c. 32. sec. 3.
All the laws of England were adopted by the Act of 1828: thus the
disqualification for jurors, in cases capital, was taken away.
Judge Forbes stated, that in civil issues the juries had some difficulty
in comprehending the distinction between law and fact: _ad questionem
facti respondent juratores, ad questionem legis judices_.]
[Footnote 194: The original Simon Stukely was a quaker, who went to
Turkey with an intention of converting the Grand Turk: he narrowly
escaped decapitation, by the interposition of the English ambassador. He
was afterwards confined in an asylum: in answer to inquiries how he came
there, he replied--"I said the world was mad, and the world said I was
mad; and they out-voted me."]
[Footnote 195: Passed, 5th November, 1834.]
SECTION XVI.
The _True Colonist_ newspaper was published daily during 1835: the
editor, Mr. Gilbert Robertson, filled its columns with strictures on
government, and in a style which might be termed heroic, if inspired by
truth. The rashness of his imputations was never surpassed. He heaped on
the governor, and the members of his administration, charges of
misdemeanour and felony. One day he denounced them at the police-office,
and the next printed his accusations _verbatim_. He libelled the
governor (whom he accused of altering a deed after its enrolment) in a
paper, headed "a fearful discovery;" and declared him not less deserving
than others of a capital conviction. Robertson charged an overseer of
Arthur with feloniously receiving hay for the governor's use, and with
his connivance. His nephews, Captains Forster and Montagu, were each
accused of a felonious appropriation of property belonging to the crown.
For these imputations, Robertson suffered fine and imprisonment;[196] in
part remitted by the clemency of Arthur. Such charges were a buckler to
the governor against the current scandal of the time. They were
transmitted to the colonial-office: they destroyed the moral weight of
the press, and cast suspicion on just complaints, yet emanating from a
community which tolerated such extravagance.
It is not to be inferred that the opponents of Arthur's government,
generally sanctioned these excesses. The violence of periodical writings
resulted partly from the paucity of topics, and was mainly a necessity
of trade. The limited field of discussion huddled all disputes into a
squabble. The writers could not forget the names of their antagonists:
they espoused with vehement zeal the trivial quarrels of this or that
functionary; officers, who were dismissed, supplied anecdotes of those
left behind, which were worked up in every form. The want of ideas and
information would have withdrawn many writers from the combat, had they
not possessed CAPITALS, exclamations (!!!!), and dashes--officered by
epithets of horror, as an army of reserve. These attempts to impart
energy to weakness, and terror to insignificance, gave to the articles
of many old newspapers the aspect of auction bills, rather than
political disquisitions.
The reader of a better era may fancy this description shaded; but the
writer, in preparing this work, has explored many a volume, and shudders
at the memory of his toils: he would not assign them to his worst enemy.
Such were not all: there were writers on either side, whose opposition
was discriminating, and who enlightened the understanding without
debasing the taste. The press was the more licentious, because nothing
else was free; but it raised a barrier against official corruption. Men
of integrity were annoyed, but rarely injured. It intimidated the
corrupt, and protected the oppressed. Considered in detail it was often
detestable; but it prevented mischief more serious and lasting.
These contentions embittered colonial life: they were daily renewed. The
topics they embraced were rarely interesting beyond the moment: they
filled the ephemeral publications of the day, and they now lie entombed
in those repositories of the literary dead.
From 1831 to the termination of Arthur's government, the circulation of
newspapers prodigiously increased: the improvement of the postal
establishment facilitated their spread. Settlers, who delighted in their
controversies, or dreaded their censure, subscribed to them all. With a
few honorable exceptions they rivalled each other in recklessness of
statement and roughness of diction. No lover of truth will accept their
testimony, or transmit their praises. They were often what they were
denominated by the chief justice--"a moral guillotine."
The spirit of contention was promoted by the peculiar fabric of society.
The great majority of the colonists were below the period of human life,
when the temper becomes cautious and the passions calm. Its narrow
sphere magnified their temporary importance. Every man might claim, or
forfeit benefits the government could bestow, and thus multitudes had
personal grievances, or unsatisfied expectations. The hostilities of the
day were almost invariably associated with some sense of individual
wrong. A grant of land desired by one, was given to another; a valuable
servant was denied on some public pretence, and then assigned to a
favored applicant. One found his mercantile tenders always rejected,
while another, by some unintelligible process, engrossed the custom of
the crown. A youthful stranger was invested with the honors of a
justice, when colonists of long standing were left undistinguished. The
infractions of rule involved one master in public disgrace; another, was
a licensed transgressor. Such was the complaint, which might be easily
illustrated by examples; but they are such as a knowledge of mankind
will amply explain, and are inevitable when the form of government is
arbitrary, and where its functions enter into all the details of private
life.
This was felt towards the close of Arthur's administration, and many,
not prone to party strife, were anxious for its termination. The
meetings to petition were more frequent, and assumed a more general
character. As the causes of dissension became better understood, the
patronage of the governor ceased to be considerable, and no colonist was
a lover of unprofitable despotism. These sentiments prevailed in both
penal colonies.
A "political association" was formed in Van Diemen's Land: a standing
council was organised, under the auspices of certain leading
politicians, who discussed the measures deemed necessary to amend their
social and political condition. Mr. Thomas Horne, the secretary of this
body, opened a correspondence with the governor, and endeavoured to
direct his attention to its complaints. Arthur declined recognising his
credentials, without an express sanction from the crown. The
association, however, carried on its debates. The council deliberated in
public: the members were assembled in the body of the hall, and
spectators were admitted to the gallery. Their proceedings were reported
in the newspapers, but with party coloring. By Dr. Ross they were
turned into bitter ridicule: his remarks were retorted with cruelty and
insult. A storm collected around him he could not disperse, and he laid
down his pen soon after, with expressions of ill-concealed anguish.[197]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 196: "I charge Mr. Fitzpatrick, late overseer of the
government farm, with stealing or embezzling a quantity of hay, the
property of the crown; and one John Compton, the overseer of Colonel
Arthur's farm at the Marsh, with receiving the hay. I also charge Mr.
Davidson, late superintendent of the government garden, with embezzling,
and Captain Forster with receiving, four Norfolk Island pines, value
£20, the property of the crown. I have another distinct charge against
Captain Forster, and one against Captain Montagu, for stealing or
receiving certain building materials, the property of the crown."--_True
Colonist_, Feb 26, 1835.]
SECTION XVII.
The recall of Arthur, long anticipated by his enemies, at length
arrived. Some months before, he had been informed by the secretary of
state, that "having continued him in his government for the unusual
period of twelve years, the crown intended to name his successor." On
the recommendation of Mr. Huskisson, the duration of an ordinary
government was limited to six years: special reasons withdrew Van
Diemen's Land from the operation of this rule.
The ministerial changes at the seat of empire left Arthur's influence
unimpaired. The variations of national policy rarely reached his sphere.
Unwelcome orders he managed to modify or evade. The difficult nature of
his duties, the distance of his government from supervision, and the
weakness of the free population, enabled him to assume and maintain for
many years a discretion all but unlimited. The state of the colony on
his arrival has been already noticed. The measures he adopted to coerce
and control the convict population, and to subdue the aborigines, will
be found in the second volume of this History. He repressed the outrages
of the lawless, and restored comparative tranquillity. Under his
auspices the chief town, which he found consisting of a few frail
dwellings, assumed the aspect of a commercial city. Many, he received in
chains, were established in social happiness: many immigrants, who
arrived with slender resources, had risen to opulence.
A series of forty-seven statistical tables, prepared by the colonial
secretary, his nephew, exhibit a progress then almost unexampled. In
1836, the revenue had increased from £16,866 to £106,639; the imports
from £62,000 to £583,646; the exports from £14,500 to £320,679; mills
from 5 to 47; colonial vessels from 1 to 71; churches from 4 to 18: the
population had risen from 12,000 to 40,000; and every branch of public
and private enterprise exhibited the same general aspect.
It would be absurd to ascribe to Arthur even the main credit of these
results: they were the effect of that spirit of industry which ever
characterises the native of Great Britain, and which nothing can wholly
extinguish. Nor was this prosperity without alloy. The unproductive
improvement encouraged, was sometimes unhealthy. The settlers were
deeply involved: the valuation of property was raised beyond reasonable
calculation. The pleasing delusion was cherished by the members of the
government, whose official and private interests concurred to dupe them.
Happy were they who sold. Arthur left many who, acquiring his favour by
the extent of their outlay, and the vigour of their enterprise, were
laden with debts from which they never recovered, and a prey to
perpetual solicitude.
The great demand for sheep and cattle, created by the establishment of
new colonies, gave a temporary respite: flocks were sold at £2 per head,
and were purchased in large quantities. These ameliorations were only
transient, and the wide regions open to adventure lessened the worth of
those properties which had been valued by the farms of Great Britain,
not the unpeopled wilds of New Holland.
A just estimate of Arthur's administration, must include all the
peculiarities of his position, and the complicated interests he held in
trust, whether they relate to the imperial government, the free, or the
bond. The measures best for the colony were not always compatible with
the design of its establishment. Nor must we forget that, in surveying
the past we have lights which rarely attend the present; that much which
experience may amend, it is not possible for wisdom to foresee.
The primary object of the crown in colonising this island, was accepted
by this governor as the chief aim of his policy. The settlement of free
men he considered but subsidiary to the control and reform of the
transported offender: their claims, their duties, and their political
rights were, in his view, determined by their peculiar position. They
were auxiliaries hired by royal bounties, to co-operate with the great
machinery of punishment and reformation. As the representative of the
crown, he stood off from the colonists in their sympathies and ultimate
views. Employed not to build up a free community of Englishmen, but to
hold in check the criminality of an empire, with him the settlement was
an institution requisite to the effective execution of penal laws. Such
he found it: such he desired to mould its growth, _and to prolong its
destination_. Thus, except in the capacity of employers, he regretted
the arrival of free men, and warned the ministers of the crown, that by
their encouragement of emigration, they were destroying the value of
bond labor, the dependence of the settlers, and the adaptation of the
island for the purposes of a prison.
Thus, in his official correspondence with colonists on subjects of a
political nature, Arthur always avowed hostility to liberal ideas, and
scoffed at their solicitude for the common rights of English people.
While the opposition could avail, he resisted the liberty of the press,
trial by jury, and open discussion of legislative measures. His remarks
were often in a tone austere and reproving; nor did he think himself
obliged to preserve that dignified complaisance which softens the
differences of political life. The settlers were expected to stay at
home, to keep their servants in custody, to denounce their infractions
of penal rule, and as the "materials of prison discipline," (so they
were denominated) to carry out a judicial sentence. They knew, before
they came, they must sacrifice British rights, and with the political or
social influence of transportation, beyond their own fences, they had no
concern.
As an officer of the army, the profession of Arthur was not unfavorable
to the main purpose he avowed: the process he conducted was, of
necessity, harsh and imperative. In the selection of instruments, he
preferred military men: they were without colonial scruples, and when
the government was unconcerned, perhaps, without partiality. They were
deficient in legal knowledge, and as magistrates sometimes overlooked
the material facts; but they despised the reproaches of the press, and
the censures of civilians.
In the course of his administration, Arthur had most places at his
temporary disposal: he filled them, wherever possible, with his friends;
and he left his nephews in the highest appointments within their
professional capacity. Arthur drew out a minute detail of official
subordination: the duties prescribed for his officers were defined with
labored exactness, and the reins of control met in his hands. Everything
was referred to himself, and his instructions were definite, and
generally irrevocable. Many persons appointed by the crown were
dismissed, or thrown off, by his contrivance. Accident placed many
offices in his provisional gift. Baxter, a judge elect; Gellibrand, an
attorney-general; Ferreday, a sheriff; Thomas, a treasurer; Burnett, a
colonial secretary; O'Ferrall, a collector of customs; and many in lower
station, relinquished or lost their appointments, by the determination
of his inflexible and unflinching will. The forfeiture was sometimes
obviously just; but it was a maxim of his government to fill the
departments with persons who knew no patronage except his own. Among
them were candidates for the same gifts, who looked for fortunes beyond
the limits of their duties: they cultivated farms; became competitors
for prisoner labor; and speculators in commerce. The supreme court and
the newspapers were often occupied by their recriminations: sometimes
they exchanged challenges, and sometimes writs. The colonists in
opposition saw, not without some gratification, dissensions which seemed
to weaken the common enemy; and the press was often enriched by the
malice of official pens. Many were, however, too wise to quarrel: their
quiet industry enabled them to combine their public and private
employments, without scandal, and with success. They were, indeed,
accused of peculation; but specific charges were generally rebutted, and
can now only be noticed as a rumour, and dismissed as detraction.
The officers trained under Arthur acquired his tact, and imbibed his
spirit: the least deemed himself something superior to the richest
trader, or the most enterprising colonist. The sub-divisions among
themselves were minute and rigorously enforced. They were, however,
subject to vicissitudes. Those who lost their appointments furnished the
material of libels: reported the peculations and duplicity of their late
colleagues, and often became distinguished for their patriotism.
The patronage permitted to Arthur was enormous: to a large extent he was
the almoner of the crown. Thus disaffection became highly penal: a
quarrel with a magistrate, or a friendly intercourse with persons under
a ban, exposed the delinquent to serious pecuniary loss. These
considerations were avowed.[198] The dread of injury made the timid
servile, and corrupted private intercourse. A secret influence pervaded
every rank: society was embittered by suspicions and the dread of
denunciation; and had not the growth of population decreased the
comparative power of the government, or had its original plan been
perpetuated, it must have formed a community of slanderers and slaves.
The intentions of the governor, however just, could not save him from
the falsehood of spies, and thus the perpetration of wrong. It was early
announced that opponents would be "crushed." The extent of the "crushing
system" was greatly exaggerated, and even the course of good government
was commonly ascribed by the sufferer to official enmity and avarice.
The industry of Colonel Arthur was constant: his attention to the
details of his government, and his perseverance as a despatch writer
were universally admitted: a large proportion of his time he spent in
his office, and toiled with an assiduity which would have been fatal to
ordinary men. It was commonly stated that he was not very accessible;
but he willingly heard those whose education and habits qualified them
to suggest. Persons of every rank were admitted to an audience on a
slight pretence. He was quick in estimating the characters and
capacities of all who approached him.
The executive council was useful to Arthur, without obstructing his
measures. When he resolved on a project, he would nominate a board, and
obtain its sanction. When his private views were opposed to his
instructions he affected impartiality, and seemed to yield rather than
to guide. These artifices were well understood; but the colony often
approved the object, and admired the ingenuity of its execution. A new
colonial minister, in the hurry of his office, gladly surrendered to the
governor's judgment a question often beyond his comprehension, and which
to resist it was necessary to understand. Thus it was ordered to execute
public works by contract instead of the gangs; to levy a tax on convict
labor; to retain men seven years in chains. Boards, or commissions,
which gave him the aspect of a mediator or judge, advised him to
postpone and quash the disagreeable order or restriction. Thus during
his government his influence was paramount, and inferior functionaries
were satellites who obeyed his impulse, or were driven from their
spheres.
The chief justice alone could pretend to independence: by his seat in
both councils he possessed a voice in the enactment and administration
of the laws--a subject of continual suspicion and complaint, and really
dangerous whenever the government was a party. The chief justice
ultimately resigned his seat in the executive council (1835). The
secretary of state had declared in parliament that legislative and
executive offices were incompatible with the proper functions of a
judge.
The great works of Arthur were attributed by his opponents to sinister
motives: those most frequently mentioned were the new wharf at Hobart
Town, the road to Richmond, and the Bridgewater causeway. Arthur
benefited by his fore-knowledge. The imputations of personal injustice
or corruption were unfounded: what he gained, others did not lose,
except by the common risks of a sale. Thus the property of the Rev.
Robert Knopwood, whom he was said to defraud, was several times in the
market: it was offered by advertisement many years before: its future
appropriation to commerce was predicted, and was described to enhance
its price. It was offered by Mr. Knopwood to Mrs. Hodgson for £800: it
was purchased by Mr. H. Jennings, a nephew of Mr. Gellibrand, senior,
without reference to Arthur; and was finally sold to his agent at a
small advance. The new wharf rendered the purchase highly advantageous;
but there was neither deceit nor oppression.
The great work he began at Bridgewater, where a magnificent causeway
forms the abutment of a bridge which connects both banks of the Derwent,
was a task of many years: many thousand pounds in value lie buried.
Arthur had estates in its vicinity. The other charges of corruption are
of a similar nature, even less substantial than these.
But although many of his works will perpetuate his memory while the
country lasts, they could only be justified by their connexion with
penal arrangements. The discipline prescribed did not admit of rapid
movement or wide distribution. Huts were necessary for the convicts,
houses for their officers, and various stores; and it was only on
extensive excavations that labor could be inspected with success. The
waste of expenditure was rather apparent than real. The objects
contemplated were not colonial; and thus, if the local obligation is
lessened, the ground of complaint is diminished.
During his government, Arthur became wealthy: his estates were numerous,
and their sale realised a large amount. That he acquired them improperly
is not even capable of suspicion; that he applied clandestinely the
means afforded by his office to improve them, is equally destitute of
evidence. Nor is it easy to see how a community can be injured by the
outlay of capital acquired in its service, or the interest of its
officers in the soil. The moral weight of government was compromised far
more by the air of mystery which veiled, than the corruptions which
debased it. The outcries raised against the disposal of land in special
instances, were often misdirected: many deviations from strict
impartiality were prescribed by the secretary of state, whose discretion
was unlimited by regulations. Arthur was silent, and his character
suffered: he despised reproach, which notwithstanding impaired his
influence for good. Just before his recall, Mr. William Bryan made
statements before the Commons of mis-appropriation of crown lands, which
had been the text of colonial articles without number, when a secretary
from the colonial-office stated that the more serious were unfounded;
that many were ministerial acts; and the whole series were reduced to
comparative nothingness.[199] While Arthur had the power, he was not
sparing in its use: he endowed his friends. Nor is it incredible, that a
private service to himself detracted nothing from weight of public
obligation.
Arthur was no fickle or hesitating patron, and the qualities he approved
are nearly allied to virtue: he appreciated humanity, sobriety,
industrious habits, and religious decorum. Respectable men, who did not
question or cross his path, might usually calculate on his complaisance.
But those who reckoned up his estates; numbered the benefits conferred
on his friends; estimated the cost of his government; or criticised his
public works; found that he did not fear, although he detested them. The
imperial officers cared not in what direction his patronage was turned,
and their nominees experienced and praised his generous discretion.
The impressions of devout men were usually favorable to Arthur: he told
them his objects and trials with apparent humility and devotion. He
listened with deep attention to their plans of usefulness, and talked,
especially of the prisoners, in strains of christian compassion. His
sanction was given to every benevolent scheme, and he gathered around
him a very large proportion of those persons who care more for the
circulation of religious knowledge than the civil enfranchisement of
mankind. The ready countenance of their labors lessened, in their view,
his civil faults. Nor can it be denied, that the decorous habits of the
governor confirmed his religious pretensions. Wherever he appeared,
ribaldry and drunkenness vanished. The open licentiousness of public
officers he did not tolerate, except the offenders were distinguished by
official cleverness.
Addresses from all denominations of Christians expressed their
admiration of his religious sympathies and his moral worth; and in the
most bitter outburst of party spirit, his domestic character was never
assailed. The testimony of Messrs. Backhouse and Walker, members of the
Society of Friends, would generally be adopted by most persons of their
class:--"Our first interview with Colonel Arthur gave us a favorable
impression of his character as a governor and a christian, which further
acquaintance with him strongly confirmed. He took great interest in the
temporal and spiritual prosperity of the colonists, and the reformation
of the prisoner population, as well as in the welfare of the black
inhabitants."[200]
Messrs. Backhouse and Walker were authorised by the Society of Friends,
and sent on a religious mission to these colonies: they brought a letter
of introduction from the secretary of state, Lord Goderich, requesting
the governor to forward their benevolent object.
The more violent opponents of Arthur, connected with the press,
afterwards retracted their opinions; but their statements must be read
with equal caution, whether they censure or praise.[201]
A collection was made by Arthur's friends in token of their regard,
supposed to exceed £1,000 in value. It, however, indicated rather their
liberality than their number: individual contributions were not limited.
The addresses were signed by many who were conciliated by his moral
sentiments, but disapproved of his government; they however, seemed to
justify the ministerial applause which crowned his administration. Sir
George Grey referred to these tokens of esteem, as evidence of
popularity, and the contentment of the people.[202]
Arthur held his last levée on the afternoon of his departure:[203]
several hundreds were present, collected from all parts of his
government. He proceeded with the chief officers, civil and military, to
the beach, where the 21st Fusileers awaited him: multitudes attended his
progress; the wharf was crowded with spectators; a hundred boats
surrounded the government barge, and followed him to the ship. The
vessels in the harbour were decorated, and his numerous friends gave the
usual demonstrations of favour. In these feelings many did not
participate: some followed him with hisses and groans; others
illuminated their houses in token of joy. Some fell into the hands of
the police, overpowered by their excessive gladness. Having gone through
the ceremony of embarkation he returned to his office, and spent the
night in completing his last labors. Adverse winds detained the vessel,
and he passed the Sabbath in sight of that country where his name can
never be forgotten; and where monuments more durable than brass, formed
by his care, will remain to the end of time.
The manners of Arthur were formal; his tastes moral; his temper
vindictive. He approved the right, and usually followed it; but his
resolution once taken, he did not hesitate. He devoted all who opposed
him: and those whom he could not conciliate, if possible, he bore down.
The sentiment of religion, however, did sometimes triumph over his
antipathies. His contest with Mr. Gellibrand, the barrister, continued
many years; but they met at the sacrament shortly before their final
separation. Arthur approached the seat where Gellibrand was sitting, and
offered his hand. This being misunderstood, a prayer-book was tendered
him: he then explained, that before they joined in the solemnity which
had brought them there, he was anxious for reconciliation.
Such only who know little of man, and of those conflicting passions
which attain alternate ascendancy in the human breast, will survey with
distrust a scene like this. In the presence of the Almighty the loftiest
mind may bend without meanness, and recognise the moral grandeur of a
forgiving spirit.
A few months after the departure of Arthur, Mr. Joseph Tice Gellibrand
lost his life. He visited Port Phillip, a place which long engaged his
thoughts: in company with Mr. Hesse, a barrister, he set out to explore
the interior; they missed their way. The guide who attended them was
convinced of danger: he could not prevail on them to change their route,
and he returned alone. Their long absence occasioned anxiety, and
parties of their friends attempted to track them: they found that when
in company with the guide they had crossed the Byron, instead of the
Leigh, their intended course; they then travelled on about fifteen miles
by the river side, and over a plain, and entered a wood soon impervious
to horsemen: then their track was lost. For several years, efforts were
made to solve the mystery of their fate. In 1844, the natives directed
Mr. Allen, a gentleman of credit, to a spot where they stated a white
man had been murdered: there he discovered human bones, but no evidence
by which identity could be established. Beyond this, nothing certain is
known.
On his return to Great Britain, Arthur was received with favour by the
ministers. He was created a knight, and appointed governor of Upper
Canada: afterwards, he obtained a similar office in India.
Sir George Arthur cannot be withdrawn from the rank of eminent
functionaries; and his administration, on the whole, is entitled to more
than respectful remembrance.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 197: _Ross's Almanack_, 1837.]
[Footnote 198: Mr. Meredith, of Swanport, captured bushrangers; but
after their trial was anxious to intercede for their lives. He applied
to the police clerk, a ticket-of-leave holder, for a copy of his own
deposition, and that of his servant: this, not uncommon, was called a
breach of trust. The clerk was punished, and Meredith warned that he
would receive no more servants, except he could explain his conduct. A
report reached the government, that himself and Mr. Amos set the
magistrates of the territory at defiance, and he was told his servants
would be probably recalled. This was a practical application of Arthur's
views, before expressed to the same settler. The governor maintained,
that when the secretary of state authorised a grant of land, it did not
confer a claim on the government for the assignment of servants (_Letter
to Mr. Meredith from the Colonial Secretary_, 1828). It was alleged,
that the conduct of Meredith had been inimical to the government, and to
the maintenance of internal tranquillity.]
[Footnote 199: At p. 148 of this volume, it is said, that an
attorney-general (Stephen) received an additional grant for improvements
he never made. This, Mr. Stephen contradicted, and stated that when he
obtained his maximum grant he was not in office. The statement was made
by Mr. Bryan before a committee of the House of Commons.]
[Footnote 200: _Backhouse's Narrative_, p. 15.]
[Footnote 201: "At the time to which he (Mr. Hall, of the _Monitor_)
refers,--we say it with the deepest regret--we suffered ourselves to be
influenced by a set of heartless, self interested beings, whose opinions
we blindly adopted, and to whose objects we were the dupe. Other
circumstances produced a state of excitement which can never again exist
here, because it can never be again endured."--_Tasmanian_ (Mr. R. L.
Murray), June 25, 1833.
"We were forced into opposition by what we conceived to be an act of
unmerited, unprovoked injustice, which we resented; and the perpetration
of which led us to listen, and to be influenced, by the opinions of
those into whose intimate associations we were drawn. We thereby
provoked persecution, which we resented: we were prejudiced by these
persecutions, and our opinions and the expression of our feelings were
influenced by this feeling of unmerited suffering, and by the opinion of
those into whose association we were driven." ... "If we have, in our
editorial capacity, wronged any man, we sincerely ask their forgiveness;
and wishing health and prosperity to every man in the colony, we now bid
adieu to our editorial pen for ever."--Mr. Gilbert Robertson's legacy:
_True Colonist_, December 28, 1844.]
[Footnote 202: Speech, 18th of April, 1837.]
[Footnote 203: The legislative council adopted an address, which
expressed a warm admiration of his character.
"The members immediately proceeded in a body to the great entrance of
the government-house, where they were received by a military guard with
presented arms; and the procession, headed by his honor the chief
justice, Pedder, were conducted to the grand room, where they were
received by his excellency, surrounded by the officers of his staff. The
chief justice addressed his excellency in a short but very handsome
manner, to the effect, that the members of the late legislative council
waited upon his excellency with an address which had been voted
unanimously, and which, engrossed on vellum and signed by each
individual, he then held in his hand, and would proceed to read. His
honor did so, in a most distinct and impressive manner. Having
concluded, his excellency commenced to read his reply, in which he had
proceeded but little when his feelings--the agitation of which was
evidently pressing strongly upon him with each word--so overcame him,
that he was unable to continue, and burst into tears. There was not a
single individual present who did not enter warmly and sincerely into
his excellency's feelings, and, perhaps, no governor ever received a
more affectionate testimony of regard and attachment than was then
elicited. The following is his excellency's reply:
'The address which you have presented to me, I most highly appreciate,
every member, without exception, having expressed his sentiment in terms
so acceptable to my feelings, is the most satisfactory testimony I could
receive--that my endeavour to direct the important business which has
devolved upon this council in a conciliatory spirit, has been
successful. Whilst the utmost liberty of debate has been exercised,
undeviating harmony and good feeling have prevailed.
'The testimony you have spontaneously borne to the successful result of
my labours in administering the affairs of this government, complicated
and embarrassing as they have often been from the peculiar character and
circumstances of the colony, is most gratifying to my feelings.
'To carry into the most complete effect the great object of
transportation, which has rendered the introduction of some unpopular
laws absolutely necessary, to suppress the depredations of convicts
illegally at large, to form a secure and efficient penal settlement, to
conciliate the aboriginal inhabitants, and to protect the settlers from
their fatal attacks, to encourage pastoral and mercantile pursuits, to
foster religion and morals, and to provide for the education of the
poor, to maintain the laws of the country, and firmly to carry into
effect the regulations of the government, have all been measures which
have required the most laborious supervision.
'Yet all these have been far less embarrassing than the anxious duty
which devolved upon me for so many years of apportioning the lands of
the crown amongst the settlers according to their respective means of
improving them, and of impartially considering their claims in the
disposal of assigned servants, for these were measures which affecting
directly every settler's personal interests, almost daily brought his
personal feelings into action in approving or condemning the policy of
government.
'In all these matters, I have felt the full weight of responsibility in
contending with the extreme practical difficulties which have almost
daily presented themselves, and which I never could have successfully
withstood, but from the support I have uniformly received, not only from
the members of the executive and legislative council, and from the
officers of the government, to whom I am greatly indebted, but from the
great mass of the community, to whom through you, on your return to your
several districts, I request I may be permitted to convey my most
grateful acknowledgements, and sincere thanks, requesting them to be
assured, that I shall ever most highly appreciate the encouragement I
have ever received at their hands, the strength which my government has
derived from it, and the gratifying testimonies which I have received of
their feelings towards myself personally, since I received the
intelligence of his Majesty's intention to appoint my successor.
'None but those who have had personal experience of the extreme delicacy
of adjusting conflicting interests--of maintaining the just rights of
the crown without encroaching upon the reasonable expectations of the
people, can fully appreciate the value and importance of the support of
the community as a body. If my labours have been great, so has been my
reward. I have witnessed the most extraordinary rise, perhaps ever known
within so short a period, in the value of property. The foundation is
now firmly laid, enterprise and the desire to improve have full scope,
and their results will be, I anticipate, increasingly developed every
year.
'Having presided over the legislative council from the period of its
constitution, now ten years ago, I cannot take my leave of you without
the most lively emotions, and whilst I am most deeply sensible of your
invariable kindness and forbearance towards myself, permit me to request
for my successor a continuance of that support which you have so
cheerfully and zealously during so long a period extended to me.
'Gentlemen, with the most sincere wishes for your future prosperity and
happiness, I now bid you farewell.
'GEORGE ARTHUR.
'_To the Members of the Legislative Council._'"
--_Tasmanian_, August 19, 1836.]
HISTORY OF TASMANIA.
FROM 1836 TO 1843.
FROM 1836 TO 1843.
SECTION I.
Before the departure of Colonel Arthur, the brigade-major of the
military district, Lieutenant-colonel Kenneth Snodgrass, C.B., arrived
at Hobart Town from Sydney. He was sworn in as acting Lieutenant-governor
on the 31st October, 1836. He had attained a military reputation in the
Burmese war, of which he published a narrative. He was cordially received,
and his temporary relations were too brief to leave any impression on
colonial affairs.
The appointment of Sir John Franklin, Captain in the Royal Navy, and
Knight of the Guelphic Order of Hanover, was announced by Sir George
Grey in the House of Commons, April 13th, 1836. He was presented to the
king by Lord Glenelg, on the 20th August, and embarked in the _Fairlie_,
on the 27th. He was accompanied by Captain Maconochie, late secretary of
the Geographical Society, and one of the professors of the London
University; and by the Rev. William Hutchins, in whose favour Van
Diemen's Land was erected into an archdeaconry. Sir John Franklin
assumed the government on the 6th January, 1837.
The nomination of Franklin was acceptable to the colony. His profession,
his career, and character, were considered auspicious. He had
accompanied the illustrious Flinders on his voyage of discovery, and was
at Sydney when the first party left that port to colonise this island.
During thirty-four years, he had himself obtained great nautical renown:
his intrepidity, his sufferings, his humanity and piety, had been often
the theme of popular admiration, and were not unknown in Tasmania. The
colonists were resolved to give him an appropriate welcome. He saw with
astonishment the signs of wealth and activity, in a country which he
only remembered as a wilderness. Crowds followed him with acclamations:
addresses, couched in language of eulogy and hope, poured in from every
district. The progress of the governor through the colony was attended
with feasting, balls, and public festivities. On his entrance into
Launceston, he was escorted by three hundred horsemen and seventy
carriages: the streets were thronged; the windows were crowded by fair
spectators, who shared the general enthusiasm. The private settlers
received him with unsparing hospitality: he was both oppressed and
delighted with the signs of popular joy. The hearty frankness of his
replies was contrasted with the official coldness ascribed to his
predecessor. He repeatedly reminded the colonists that, although
ambitious of their favour, the duties of his station would probably
oblige him to disappoint their desires. He assured them that he came
among them without prejudice, and determined to "see with his own eyes,
hear with his own ears, and judge with his own judgment."
On his return to the seat of government, Franklin addressed a despatch
to Lord Glenelg, containing an exulting description of his tour. He had
seen the colony in its holiday dress, and all parties had mingled their
acclamations. He depicted, with expressions of astonishment, the easy
circumstances and general intelligence of the settlers, and especially
noticed their exertions to acquire religious and educational advantages.
His lordship replied that this report confirmed his estimate of
Franklin's predecessor. In his first minute to the legislative council,
Franklin pronounced an eulogium on Arthur's services, and laid on the
table a despatch of the secretary of state, of similar import.
The admirers of the late governor were gratified by these flattering
tributes; but they were not without risk to Franklin's general
popularity. The party of Arthur was dreaded by the opposition, and was
still powerful; nor was it difficult to perceive that past animosities
had lost but little of their vigour. Captain John Montagu had been
recently confirmed as colonial secretary, and Captain Matthew Forster
held the office of chief police magistrate. Most details of government
were transacted in their offices. They were both clever men: they
exercised considerable local influence, especially Montagu, in
connection with the Derwent Bank. Their advice Franklin could not easily
evade. Thus the policy of their distinguished relative survived in his
nephews. Franklin was scarcely seated, when the press professed to
discover that he was an instrument in the hands of the "Arthur
faction."
Arthur, anxious for the welfare of his relatives and friends, commended
them to the confidence of his successor. Many unsettled claims were left
to his final decision. Colonists aggrieved by the late governor, when
their appeals for redress to Franklin (not unfrequently inequitable)
were unavailing, fancied that their former antagonists still turned the
course of justice. The sanguine hopes excited by an auspicious name,
gradually gave way, and the governor was assailed with remonstrances,
which enlarged into reproaches by a rapid growth. A design was commonly
imputed to the advisers of Franklin to render him unpopular, and thus
the late ruler an object of regret; they slighted, however, the
reproaches they had been accustomed to despise.
"The lingering traces" of discord, were distressing to Franklin. In
answer to an address from Richmond, which deplored the absence, and
invoked the restoration, of social peace, he expressed his anxiety with
touching ardour:--"With my whole heart I agree with you. Let us be
divided then, if we cannot be united in political sentiments, yet knit
together as friends and neighbours in everything beside. Let us differ
where honest men may differ; and let us agree, not in undervaluing the
points of political dissent, but in respecting the motives which may
produce it; in cherishing domestic virtues, which will be found to
characterise individuals of every party, and in making the generous
sacrifice of private feelings for the general good, rather than
aggravating the importance of grievances, which must render such
forbearance impossible." These sentiments, not less charming for their
amiable spirit than happy in expression, are important as maxims of
political life, and they depict the main difficulty of the governor's
position.
To promote the harmony of parties, Franklin considerably added to the
list of magistrates: persons, discountenanced by Arthur, were placed on
a level with their late antagonists. But selection is difficult where
many are candidates. Free settlers of all sorts were equally eligible by
their wealth, and made equal pretensions. Thus when the list was issued,
it was received with mockery and laughter; and, said the scorners, all
the "coat tails,"--rarely worn, except by free men--contain a
commission. They were certainly numerous--large, in proportion to the
emigrant adult population; but who can extinguish the flames of envy
without kindling contempt! To further his conciliating policy, Franklin
nominated to his council Mr. W. E. Lawrence, a gentleman of wealth and
intelligence, and great liberality of opinion. An early disagreement
with Arthur had been aggravated by frequent irritation, and excluded Mr.
Lawrence from a station, for which his qualifications were many.
But the government was disquieted by internal discord. Judge Montagu and
the attorney-general had quarrelled in open court: Mr. Stephen had eaten
sandwiches in the judge's presence, so it was said, and had delayed a
trial. Montagu assailed him with a virulence scarcely tolerated even at
the bar. Without awaiting his defence, the judge poured forth a torrent
of reproof, among which the following: "No, sir; in your official
capacity I shall always treat you with the courtesy and respect due to
you. Were you elsewhere, I should treat you, after your conduct, with
less courtesy than a dog."
Such quarrels were little regarded by Arthur; but when the authority
fell into the hands of Franklin, the altercations of parties were less
disguised, and the moral weight of government seriously injured. The
attorney-general resigned is appointment; and shortly after, as a judge,
obtained the object of professional ambition. Mr. Stephen, while the law
officer of the crown, was said to display eminent legislative skill: his
drafts often elicited considerable opposition, and he did not disdain to
explain the principles he embodied in his measures, whenever they were
seriously questioned by the public.
Before his removal from the colony, Mr. Alfred Stephen promoted a
petition to the crown, for the concession of British institutions: an
instance remarkable for the unanimity of the colonists, and the friendly
countenance of the governor. It was almost universally signed (June,
1838); but, like its predecessors, unavailing.
The opinions adopted by Captain Maconochie on convict discipline, and
which placed him in opposition to every colonial party, rendered his
dismissal necessary; but it deprived the governor of a long cherished
friend, and who, in happier circumstances, might have greatly
facilitated his affairs. Thus Franklin stood alone; and the nephews of
Arthur absorbed the influence, which subordinate officers rarely
acquire, without rendering their chief contemptible.
Many efforts had been made to obtain admission to the public during the
sittings of the legislature. The members had been long released from the
oath of secresy, and their votes, and even the substance of their
speeches, were occasionally known. Franklin determined to throw open
the doors of the council chamber (1837), and expressed a conviction
that the freedom of public discussion, founded on accurate knowlege,
would confirm the measures, or correct the wanderings of the
legislature. At the first sittings of the council, the novelty of the
privilege secured an attendance at the debates; but the desultory and
heavy discussions soon tired the patience, and members pointed with
exultation or regret to those deserted benches, where patriots had vowed
to watch the course of legislation.
The principle of open debate is, however, invaluable: reporters were
there, and the public could read in an instant what it required hours to
gather. Nor is the exercise of a privilege necessary to establish its
worth: the title to be present belonged to the whole people, and Britons
esteem and acknowledge a real treasure in a right. An open threshold,
although rarely darkened by guests, is the pledge that all is honest
within.
SECTION II.
To compose ecclesiastical claims has ever been among the most difficult
functions of the civil government. Franklin found the relations of the
churches unsettled, and among his earliest measures was one to define
the objects, and fix the amount of clerical pay.
The chaplains appointed for the Australian colonies by the crown, had
been always ministers of the church of England: the greater part of the
population, mostly prisoners of the crown or their descendants, were
members of the Anglican church. Thus expediency corroborated the
exclusive claims of the clergy to the spiritual oversight of the
colonies. It was, however, impossible to obtain qualified clergymen of
the English church, in sufficient numbers to supply the penal
establishments. Thus the government employed ministers of other
denominations, chiefly the wesleyan, as religious instructors; sometimes
with the express sanction of the chaplains. In the country, catechists
were appointed with the concurrence of Archdeacon Scott, who, however,
were often members of dissenting communions.
At this time, the doctrinal views of the various denominations were in
general harmony: the standards of the church of Scotland, the
declaration of the congregationalists, and the articles of the church of
England, are of the same general import. The wesleyans, and the society
of friends, entertain some opinions at variance with these symbols; but
in their ordinary teaching, all parties employed nearly the same
theological and devotional terms. Their views of church government, and
of ritual observances, were the chief points of dissonance; but in
scattered settlements of recent formation these distinctions were rather
matters of recollection than of practice. There were no diocesan, no
presbyterial or other courts. In the towns the denominations maintained
their exclusive forms and separate teachers; but controversial divinity
was excluded by common consent from rural ministrations; and wherever
christian ministers presented themselves in this character they were
welcome, and in any other almost unknown. It was not possible, or
perhaps desirable, that this interchange should last: experience has
shown that organisation is requisite to permanent vigour; but when
bodies of professors ranged under their separate banners, their general
sympathies were lost in the corporation spirit.
Unless as temporary agents in the instruction of prisoners, the
government did not recognise the title of any, except the Anglican
clergy, to the patronage of the crown. Others were favored with sites
for their churches, and in some instances with assistance in rearing
them; but at that time land was granted to private persons, and loans of
mechanics were allowed to assist the settler in building his dwelling.
The emigration of respectable families from Scotland produced an
important revolution: they, it is alleged, constituted one half of the
free settlers in the country districts. Their attachment to that form of
christianity which is professed in North Britain, was not weakened by
their migration.
The Rev. A. Macarthur, ordained a missionary minister by the united
associate synod of Scotland, arrived in Van Diemen's Land in 1823: the
first presbyterian clergyman established in this hemisphere. The
innumerable sections of presbyterians differ with each other, chiefly on
grounds almost unintelligible out of Scotland.
The arrival of John Dunmore Lang, D. D., in New South Wales (1823), was
an important event in the ecclesiastical history of the Australian
colonies. Although an ordained minister of the church of Scotland, he
received no assistance or special authorisation; but, according to his
account, "set forth a solitary friendless wanderer." The different sects
of presbyterians welcomed him at Port Jackson, and the foundation of a
church was immediately laid. His supporters, contrary to his advice,
applied to Sir Thomas Brisbane for pecuniary aid, such as the catholics
had received already. The applicants were rejected with reproach, and
were told that it would be time enough to ask assistance, when they
should prove themselves equally deserving. To this Lang retorted, that
Scotsmen did not ask toleration; and, unless degenerate, would vindicate
those rights, the swords of their fathers had won. These warlike papers
were published in London, and Lord Bathurst spontaneously expressed his
regret "that his excellency had put to their probation ministers of the
church of Scotland in the colony--the established church of one of the
most enlightened and virtuous portions of the empire;"[204] The governor
was ordered to pay £300 per annum to Dr. Lang, as a stipend.
Dr. Lang, thus successful, henceforth disputed the preferable claim of
the Anglican church in every form: he celebrated marriages by bans, when
he was refused a governor's license; and when the registration act, of
1825, required every pastor to certify his ecclesiastical acts to the
parish minister, to be inserted in a general register, he questioned the
existence of a parish, and the ordinance was upset. The idea of an
established clergy was thus violently shaken, and Lang naturally
detested as an ambitious innovator.
The weight of the ecclesiastical establishments in the penal colonies
had been very considerable. The churches, some of great cost, had been
built wholly at the expense of the treasury; the inferior officers were
also paid or provided by the government.[205] The principal chaplains
were members of the legislative councils, and were consulted on most
measures relative to religion.
Mr. Commissioner Bigge recommended the crown to reserve lands for the
endowment of the church; and in 1824, a "church and school corporation"
was created in New South Wales: one-seventh of the crown lands were
granted for their use; for the endowment of a bishopric, parochial
ministers, and schools. The expense of managing this corporation
exceeded its revenue. Dr. Lang visited England, and protested against
its object and enormous cost. By the recommendation of Archdeacon
Scott,[206] it is said, all these lands, excepting certain glebes, were
resumed by the crown, and the church and school corporation was
dissolved.
The colonial governors never questioned the status of the episcopal
clergy as the established church. A presbyterian congregation in New
South Wales, who had sustained their form of worship without a minister
for many years, applied, through Dr. Lang, for assistance in supporting
a clergyman. They were informed that the governor rejoiced in the
liberality they had already displayed, and did not doubt its future
sufficiency! At Bothwell, where a great majority of presbyterians
resided, Arthur stipulated that the church erected at their
solicitation, should be given up whenever a minister of the "established
church" might arrive in the district. Even money to assist the erection
of St. Andrew's Church, Hobart Town, was, at first, lent on the bond of
Messrs. Hopkins and John Walker, lest the secretary of state should
demand its repayment.
The agitation of ecclesiastical rights was discouraged by the
government, and the social dependence of the settlers silenced the
murmurings of discontent. Arthur, little inclined to weaken the
exclusive claim of the Anglican church, gave but £100 per annum to two
ministers of the presbyterian church stationed in the interior, and £150
to the minister at Hobart Town; and when the presbyterians of Launceston
applied for similar help, the refusal was decided and cold: they were
informed that, in the opinion of the governor, the episcopal church was
fully sufficient for the wants of the town. They were not, however,
discouraged, and applied to Dr. Lang, who soon sent them a minister--the
Rev. J. Anderson.
The title of the English clergy to exclusive support, became a question
of great imperial moment. The discontent in Canada led to a canvas of
the subject in the British parliament, and it was avowed by Sir George
Murray,[207] the secretary of state, that the principle of a dominant
church was both pernicious and untenable. He recommended the practice of
sharing fairly among all churches the revenues appropriated to religion.
These views were soon published in the Australian papers: they gave a
new aspect to the relations of ecclesiastics, and opened a way for a
definite arrangement.
On receiving an order of the king in council, dissolving the church and
school corporation, Governor Bourke addressed a despatch to the
secretary of state.[208] He observed, the time was come to settle the
public policy in reference to religion, and that to erect a dominant
church would produce incessant hostilities, and that without a chance of
its permanence; he therefore proposed to give support to the three grand
divisions of christians--of the churches of England, Scotland, and Rome;
to assist them in erecting their places of worship, and paying their
ministers, yet at a rate which would leave their clergy partly dependent
on voluntary contributions. He recommended the appointment of an English
bishop and a Scots' presbytery. Against this course, he remarked, it
might be objected that an equitable claim was raised in behalf of other
bodies of christians, and even jews; "this, however, was an objection to
the theory, not likely to interfere with the practical benefits of the
plan."
The opinions of Bourke were favorable to the voluntary
principle[209]--the only policy which allowed a proper reverence for the
rights of all; but he thought the special circumstances of New South
Wales demanded the neglect of minor inequalities. Notwithstanding, in
the church act of that colony, as it actually passed, all christian
sections were entitled to participate in the public bounty.
Two years had elapsed from the date of the despatch, when Lord Glenelg
expressed his concurrence with the outlines drafted by Bourke, and
admitted that to select one church for endowment, "even were it
advisable in other respects, would not be long tolerated."[210] The
moderator of the synod of Australia addressed his lordship (Glenelg), to
express their "unmingled gratitude and joy" at the happy settlement of
their affairs; and requested, that should the heads of the other
churches be seated in either council, the same honor might be conferred
on a delegate from their own. Lord Glenelg replied that it was not
intended to grant to ecclesiastics a seat in council. The publication of
these despatches created considerable interest in Van Diemen's Land: the
presbyterians especially renewed their claims, and asserted the parity
of their status with the sister establishment.
Arthur, on assembling the council of Van Diemen's Land, presented these
documents, and observed that in a remarkable degree they accorded both
with his opinions and his suggestions. A day was devoted to the
discussion of the subject, when all the unofficial members of the
council concurred in commending their adoption as the basis of Tasmanian
legislation. Thus, in the spirit of this resolution, the salaries of the
presbyterian ministers were slightly augmented; the wesleyans gratified
with £400: considerable sums were set apart for the erection of
churches. £200 were offered to the Rev. Frederick Miller; but the
principles of the independents reject stipends from the state: £500
were, however, lent for the liquidation of the chapel debt--in reality a
donation. The congregation were not restrained by the noble example of
their minister; and reconciled their consciences to an evasion of their
creed, by excuses never long wanting to those who diligently seek them.
These measures were generally approved, and Arthur calculated that the
more equal "distribution of the revenue would suppress every factitious
cause of discontent." He stated that "religious discussion and hostility
had been little known, or rather altogether unknown;" and he expressed a
hope that the visit of Bishop Broughton, then expected, would "offer an
opportunity sought for by all denominations, to manifest their
consciousness that there is in our common Christianity a bond of
union."[211]
The crown erected the Australian colonies into a see (1836). Dr.
Broughton was consecrated first bishop: the event was considered
auspicious to the episcopal church. Addresses from its members welcomed
the prelate during his first visitation, and efforts were made to secure
the possession of ground still destitute of clerical culture.
The proclamation of a see within the colonies, erected by letters patent
from the crown, seemed to assert the supremacy of the Anglican
communion. The members of the Scotish church, however, questioned the
legality of special distinction, and maintained that the grant either of
money or power to one body, simultaneously quickened a title in the
other to similar privileges.
This view was first formally announced by Mr. James Thomson, in letters
published in the _True Colonist_ (1835), and afterwards in a pamphlet,
entitled, _Remarks on the Status of the Presbyterian Church in the
British Colonies._ This work was accepted by Scotish colonists, as a
just exposition of their national rights, and the church of Scotland
affixed to the argument "the broad seal of approbation."[212] The
argument rested mainly on the treaty of union, which provides that, in
default of express stipulations to the contrary, "there shall be a
communication of all rights and privileges, and advantages." In the
spirit of this clause, the presbyterian ministers stationed in India
were recognised and placed by law under the presbytery of Edinburgh, in
the same act which authorised diocesan episcopacy. Thus again the
legislature had implied a parity of rights in the foreign port act,
which required the consul to appropriate funds for the erection of
churches, and on the same terms, when demanded by the members of either
establishment. The writer appealed, with great ardour and effect, to the
national history of his countrymen: their courage in fight, their
patience in suffering, and their sagacity in council. He inferred, alike
from their piety and their patriotism--their pride as Scotchmen, and
their earnestness as christians--that when they sanctioned the
legislative union, the dignity of the church, the first object of their
affections, would be the last they would be likely to compromise or to
forget. But the actual position of the colonial presbyterians rendered
the argument for the present unavailing.
It was obvious, that whatever ecclesiastical arrangements were
guaranteed by the treaty of union, pertained only to the national
church. The clergy of the establishment would have been even less
disposed than the crown to allow a seceding ministry to share in their
legal heritage. Yet the church at Hobart Town, founded by a seceder, was
under his care. The government sometimes called the congregation Scotch,
and at others presbyterian; but never an established church. The grant
of money was expressly to the accommodation of the inhabitants "in
connexion with the church by law established in Scotland;"[213] but the
deed drafted by the managers proposed to secure the building to the
dissenting incumbent, and to a congregation holding the Scotish
standards, and it recognised no presbyterial control. This description
was deemed dangerously defective. A meeting, summoned by Messrs. James
Thomson, Thomas Young, and others, passed a resolution to establish an
indisputable connexion with the national section of the presbyterian
church.[214] Against the legality of this meeting, the managers and
several of the congregation offered an unavailing protest. It was
asserted that, for the most part, they were dissenters from the national
church, and thus hostile to her claims.[215] A committee was appointed
"to carry out the connexion." Arthur, who was then desirous to protect
the existing minister, enquired if the movement would affect the
stability of his appointment? To this it was replied, that the duty of
the committee was expressed and limited by the resolution passed, and no
instructions had been given by the meeting in reference to the relations
of the incumbent. The difficulty was, however, speedily removed: an
opportunity occurred to declare the pulpit vacant, and the appropriation
of the property to the exclusive use of the church of Scotland was no
longer resisted (1836).
To perfect the claim of the colonial presbyterians, founded on the
treaty of union, it was necessary to obtain a distinct recognition by
the general assembly. An act for this purpose, had already passed that
court (1833): it declared the colonial presbyteries, if constituted by
ministers of the national church alone, a part of the national church,
and thus qualified to enjoy whatever privileges that character might
confer; and the standing committee of that church were authorised to
correspond and advise with the colonial presbyteries.[216]
A memorial, founded on these resolutions, was presented by the convener
of the assembly's committee to the ministers of the crown, and Sir
George Grey was directed to reply, that by an arrangement recommended to
the colonial legislatures, "the church of Scotland will in these
colonies, be for the future equally entitled with the church of England
to share in the public funds applicable to the general object of
religious instruction in proportion to the amount of private
contribution."[217]
This arrangement, however, did not provide for appeals generated by the
decisions of the colonial courts. An application was made to allow the
colonial presbyteries representatives in the general assembly. This
measure would have embarrassed a national church, and thus (1834) the
general assembly repudiated an appellate jurisdiction.
In various forms Colonel Snodgrass, while acting lieutenant governor,
expressed an interest in the church of his native country. He called a
synod of ministers, elders, and delegates, by proclamation, to be held
at Hobart Town, to effect the settlement of the church, and thus to
prepare the way for its endowment. Many, favorable to the object,
doubted the legality of the meeting, and the power of any officer to
proclaim the assembling of a body not recognised by the legislative
council. The presbyterians, however, maintained that they were qualified
to act under convocation by the crown, independently of parliamentary or
local legislative sanction--that the meeting or synod only prepared the
preliminaries antecedent to the intervention of law. At the time
appointed the synod met: in the meantime Sir John Franklin was advised
that the proclamation of Snodgrass was irregular; he therefore sent his
private secretary, Captain Maconochie, to request the assembly to stay
proceedings, with an intimation of his friendly consideration of their
claims. They, however, considered that to disperse would compromise
their rights, and therefore chose a moderator. At this stage, a counter
proclamation, hastily prepared, was brought by a messenger from the
governor, and the convocation dissolved.
However conclusive this reasoning to Scotchmen, the Anglicans were
little disposed to admit its force. They asserted that the faith of the
sovereign was the imperial faith, and that it was within the competence
of the British legislature to set up an exclusive establishment of their
clergy. The usual argument against the universal equality of the Scots'
national church, was the fact that the laws of England, and not the laws
of Scotland, were binding in the colonies.[218] To this it was replied,
that treaties, on which the imperial legislative power was founded, were
the limits of its action; and that the ascendancy of English law in the
colonies of Australia depended on a parliamentary enactment passed by
the representatives of Scotland; subject, however, to the restrictions
of the treaties in virtue of which Scotchmen were contented to sit on
the benches of Saint Stephen.[219]
Archdeacon Hutchins denied that either treaty or law prohibited a
preferable claim, and remarked that "opening the door to two co-existing
establishments would shortly admit others, and thus prepare for the
destruction of all."
It was not affirmed by the Scotch, that they possessed an inherent right
to the privileges of an establishment: _both_, or _neither_, was their
motto. The colony, they affirmed, was not English nor Scotch, but
British. It was the opinion of lawyers, however, that beyond the seas
the churches of England and Scotland depended for their rights on
parliamentary or colonial enactment; and that whenever obscure, a
declaratory statute must fix the sense of a treaty, and decide whether
an exclusive endowment of any class of clergymen was beyond the
competence of imperial or local law.
The passing of an act in New South Wales, granting stipends in
proportion to the adherents, from £100 to £200, and the prospect of a
similar act in Van Diemen's Land, led to urgent applications for
ministers by the heads of various churches. Bishop Broughton published a
strong appeal to the numerous unbeneficed clergymen in Great Britain, to
whom he represented these colonies as a field of great promise. He
stated that the obtaining ministers, "was a matter of life and death."
The son of the illustrious Coleridge exerted himself on behalf of the
church of England, and based his chief appeal on the inadequacy of the
penal laws at home; the misery endured by the poor; the numerous crimes
originated by the refinement of society; and the principle of
compensation, which bound the English people to supply in colonies not
less instruction than they must have furnished in gaols.[220]
A fund was contributed, though of no great amount; but the Society for
Promoting Christian Knowledge supplemented the colonial pay, which was
found inadequate to secure men of character and education. Compared with
the ground to be occupied, the church of Scotland was more successful in
candidates for this important sphere.
Dr. Lang lost no time in proceeding to Great Britain, and obtained a
numerous band of clergymen and schoolmasters, whose passage was defrayed
by the colonies.
The Rev. Thomas Dugal, and other ministers of the synod of Ulster,
expressed their willingness to undertake colonial charges. Lord Glenelg
enquired of Dr. M'Farlane, the convener of the general assembly's
committees, whether their appointment would be sanctioned by the church
of Scotland. To this he replied, that they might be "taken under charge
of presbyteries in connexion with their church, on their adhibiting the
subscription, and coming under the engagements required by their church,
but no longer."
The admission of the Roman catholic body to equal privileges, was
defended as a measure of policy. The national clergy appealed to a legal
recognition; but, until a recent period, the catholic worship had by
statesmen been both tolerated and abjured. The penal institutions
required catholic instructors, to teach a proportion of prisoners,
amounting to one-third of the whole. The appointment of the Rev. Dr.
Ullathorne as vicar-general, led to increasing concessions of money and
patronage. The zeal and intelligence of that clergyman was conspicuous
in the management of the prisoner class. On their arrival, they were
submitted to a course of moral and religious training, and from his
testimony it appears, that the effect was long visible, and led to a
marked decrease of crime.[221] The patronage of the crown was more
freely granted to the Roman catholics than the presbyterians, until the
general policy of the state was revised. When other non-national
communions were passed over, the number of the catholics, and their
subordination to a governing body, were the reasons assigned for their
special countenance.
The protestant bishop, Dr. Broughton, was preceded by the arrival of Dr.
Polding, the prelate of the Roman church. An incident occurred, which
occasioned great delight to his adherents: he landed at Hobart Town, and
the governor sent down his carriage to the beach to conduct him to the
government-house. At a meeting of the catholic body, resolutions, to
which Messrs. Rowe and Hackett were the speakers, voted a present of
plate, to express their gratitude for Arthur's zeal in their cause, and
his courtesy to their bishop.
Beside the leading denominations, who obtained the pay of the state, the
wesleyans possessed the great pre-requisite, a governing body. By a
singular oversight, they permitted the bounty of the treasury to descend
to them in an annual donation, instead of a stipend regulated by the
general law. Their co-religionists in New South Wales now enjoy an
endowment, of which nothing can deprive them, but the joint consent of
the crown and the people.
The preliminaries being settled, a bill was introduced by Franklin, and
passed into law (November, 1837). It authorised the governor to grant
£300 to any congregation, to provide a parsonage, and £700 for the
erection of a church, or a sum not greater than the amount subscribed by
the people. It directed the issue of a salary of £200 to any minister
of the three churches, whose congregation should be equal to eighty
adults, or in towns to two hundred. The discussion of this bill created
considerable controversy: the ministers of the church of England were
especially opposed to its latitudinarian aspect, and Archdeacon Hutchins
represented that the principle was wholly untenable on Christian
grounds, but cast the responsibility of a permanent establishment of the
papal faith on the members of the Scotch communion. Their protest
against the bill, and a renunciation of their claims would, he affirmed,
at once fix the establishment principle. Had the proportionate numbers
of the two churches been reversed, he believed that, rather than endow
the Romish priesthood, the Anglican communion would abandon all further
competition for the favours of the state. To this the minister of St.
Andrew's retorted, that the responsibility lay wholly with the state;
and that, if sincere, the English clergy might, by withdrawing their
own, remove the pretensions of all.
The archdeacon, and his clergy[222] of the English church, united in a
petition, presented by the chief justice, against the provisions of the
act. They complained that its principles were a compromise of truth,
since they not only assumed that the religious "sentiments of the Roman
catholics are equally entitled with those of the protestant to the
support of government, but that every variety of religious sentiments,
which is to be met with amongst the various denominations of Christians,
is entitled to support, without any reference whatever to the conformity
of those sentiments to the word of God."
The law was scarcely in action, when one of its clauses was found to
operate against its professed design. A church and a house were required
before a minister could be salaried; but the settlement of a clergyman
was in fact a necessary preliminary to the erection of a church. An
amendment gave the governor a power to issue a salary on a requisition,
on condition of a small local subscription (1838). But this relaxation
proved mischievous in another direction: the salary was paid, but the
church was not erected. This required a third law, and it was therefore
enacted, that if a religious edifice were not in progress within six
months from the issue of a stipend, payment should be discontinued
(1840).
The colony, on the passing of the church act, was an open field. The
first clerical candidate, because he was such, engrossed a large
proportion of the available signatures. The people, generally anxious
for some form of worship, both as a moral agency and from its tendency
to raise the respectability of a township, gave their names freely as
_bonâ fide_ members of either protestant church. The inevitable result
was, an eager competition by the more zealous members of the rival
communions. The meaning of _bonâ fide_ membership of this or that
church, was brought into considerable debate. The Anglican clergy
insisted on the census; the Scotch on the right of every man to make
himself a member for the purposes of the act, whatever his hereditary or
mental creed. These different views led to serious discord: the analysis
of names appended to various applications imputed all the errors,
informalities, and even corruption supposed to attach to popular
elections. Those who had never thought much on religion, gave with
facility and then retracted their adhesion: they virtually changed not
only their minister but their creed. The opposite parties represented
each other in terms full of reproach and bitterness; imputations of
sectarianism, intrusion, kidnapping, were the common forms of
recrimination. It would be useless to relate examples now before the
writer, in colours painted by the passions of the conflict. It is the
nature of religious controversy to throw on the surface all the
malignant feelings that cloud the reputation of gentler spirits, in whom
the real virtues of a communion dwell; but the lesson is worth
remembrance--that of all forms of clerical institution, none realise
less the idea of loving-kindness than that based on universal suffrage.
The social effects of this competition were lamentable: neighbours were
divided, who had often worshipped at the same altar; religious emulation
sprung up in every locality: an attempt to possess the ground, led to
the marching and counter-marching of hostile forces. The advent of an
eminent clergyman on a township was reported to the head-quarters of his
antagonists. In one place the moderator had appeared, in another the
archdeacon: it was thus the more zealous partisans of either exasperated
their antipathies. Again, the church act did not tie the laity to either
their ministers or their creeds: thus a dissatisfied people might easily
raise the preliminaries for a second or a third clergyman, and leave
their late pastors to their salaries and their solitude.
Demands on the treasury for the erection of churches and support of the
clergy perplexed the executive. The ordinary revenue showed symptoms of
declension, and the council passed a bill which declared that new
imposts were impracticable, and vested a discretionary power in the
government to refuse assistance to any new undertaking (1841). Thus the
principle of the church act was subverted, and the grant of money for
purposes of religion confided solely to the impartiality of the
administration.
The voluntary efforts of the different sects largely supplemented the
legal provision. Churches of respectable architectural pretensions were
rapidly multiplied. The wesleyans, independents, and baptists raised
buildings for worship in the more important townships. Many private
persons expended large sums for these purposes.
The dependence of the clergy on the public treasury was from the first
considered a temporary expedient. Some officers of the government
favored the voluntary principle, others looked forward to endowment of
the churches with lands. Bishop Broughton, anticipating the
establishment of an elective legislature in New South Wales, made an
effort to secure a preliminary territorial endowment. In presenting his
petition (1839), the archbishop of Canterbury insisted that, however
impracticable in Canada, such a measure could encounter no fair
objection in a colony where so large a proportion were members of the
English church. While he admitted the impartial liberality of the
government, he complained that a principle had been adopted "by which
persons of all denominations were placed on the same footing." The home
government exhibited no disposition to accede to this proposition.
A provision, however, resting on an annual vote, was obviously
uncertain; and it became necessary to declare the terms on which it was
enjoyed. The minister of the day notified to the officers of the
Anglican and Scotch churches that incomes dependent on variable
resources and mutable opinions were liable to casualties. He therefore
warned them that, beyond the fair influence of the crown and the
equitable claims of existing incumbents, no guarantee could be
given.[223] During a financial crisis these views were reiterated by one
governor, who reminded the council that the warning of his lordship was
likely to be realised; but he added his conviction that to render the
churches independent of the state would not only relieve the local
treasury, but raise the clergy to a higher level.[224]
Archdeacon Hutchins died suddenly (June, 1841). His estimable private
character and clerical zeal endeared his memory to many. The Hutchins'
grammar-school was erected as an appropriate memorial of his worth. The
vacancy occasioned by his demise suggested the establishment of the
diocese of Tasmania. This was founded by letters patent, 27th of August,
1842, when Dr. Francis Russel Nixon was constituted first bishop. His
lordship landed June, 1843, and on 23rd of that month opened his
ministry in the words of St. Paul--"I am determined to know nothing
among you save Jesus Christ." The venerable senior chaplain, on the 27th
of the same month, conducted the bishop to his throne; pronouncing the
words of inauguration--"I assign to thee this chair or see episcopal,
and place thee in the same, in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ." Twenty-one years before Dr. Bedford commenced his pastorate in
the same place; the first permanent ecclesiastical edifice erected in
Van Diemen's Land, and now known as the cathedral of St. David. Beside
the endowment of the diocese made by subscriptions contributed in
England, an act was passed giving the bishop a salary independent of the
estimates,--a distinction not enjoyed by other clergymen.
It would not be possible to invest with general interest the details of
ecclesiastical affairs. The relation of the churches with each other,
involving principles of colonial government, demand a transient notice.
The position of the episcopal church was anomalous and perplexing. The
forms of procedure were derived from its practice, where its supremacy
was established by law, and moderated by the crown. The patent of the
see gave the bishop authority to try and punish delinquents; but the
colonial law recognised no such tribunal as an ecclesiastical court, and
patents were no further valid than they were in harmony with local acts.
The governor could give ecclesiastical preferment to episcopal ministers
without the sanction of the see, and maintain a clergyman in defiance of
his bishop. For this ecclesiastical anomaly the growth of circumstances
required a remedy, and its discussion brought the bishop into collision
with a large section of his clergy, the governor, and with other
denominations. The bishop withdrew the license from certain clergymen
who had been charged with serious irregularities: these offences were
not investigated with the formalities usual in England; and the
clergymen dismissed questioned the legality of their deposition. One
appealed to the supreme court, but the judges held that the withdrawment
of a license was within the province of the bishop; another obtained his
salary from the treasury, the governor having refused to recognise the
revocation. These proceedings were differently viewed by the episcopal
clergy. Some, in the neighborhood of Hobart Town, remonstrated against
the power claimed by the bishop to revoke licenses at pleasure, as
inconsistent with their dignity as ministers; while, on the other side
of the island, their brethren repudiated the sentiments of the
remonstrants, and declared their determination to submit "to his
judgments in the Lord" (1845).
The necessity for a controlling power is recognised by every church; and
moral and mental aberration, such as no communion could tolerate,
justified the interposition of authority. An exact conformity with the
English custom required the legalisation of an ecclesiastical court; but
the church act had subverted the dominant status of the English church.
A court requires to subpoena witnesses, to be protected from contempt,
to have its decrees carried out by the civil powers. Questions of
ritual, such as baptism, would violate the religious opinions of other
denominations. A clergyman, for burying an unbaptised child might be
liable to deposition; a baptist might be subpoened to give evidence
against him. Thus the jurisdiction of a court passed beyond the limits
of a single denomination, and involved the liability of all, at least as
witnesses. A still stronger feeling than liberty of conscience raised
the opposition to this extension of ecclesiastical power. The Scotch had
claimed equality with the English church: to give the legal rights of a
court to the bishop was to create local disparity; while the
presbyterian had no religious objection to ecclesiastical courts, the
other non-prelatic communions abhorred them.
A variety of differences had created a coldness between the governor and
the bishop. His lordship had demanded the control of religious
instructors; he possessed no means to employ them independently of the
convict department, or to protect them against its many changes. In
repeating a prayer for the governor and the clergy and laity, the bishop
inverted the precedence, it was alleged to degrade the governor by the
transposition. Sir E. Wilmot did not enter into the views of the
bishop, who, in a charge to his clergy (1845), represented "legal help"
as necessary to the protection of ecclesiastical discipline, and
expressed his intention to visit Great Britain to obtain a more
satisfactory arrangement. Petitions against ecclesiastical courts were
forwarded by the various denominations. To these the secretary of state
replied that no powers had been solicited in any way affecting others
than the Anglican church; and intimating that none would be conveyed
(1847).
A conference of bishops, held in Sydney (1850), have since this period
proposed a liberal constitution for the Anglican communion, which awaits
the sanction of the law. They demand the complete organisation of the
church and its government by synods, for the arrangement of spiritual
affairs; and by conventions, admitting the laity, for the management of
temporalities. They contemplated the nomination of bishops by provincial
synods; and affirmed that no beneficed clergyman ought to be deposed
except by a sentence following judicial trial. These organic changes
would, probably, greatly promote the usefulness of the episcopal church;
but they seem to contemplate a total severance of its political
dependence. The defect of the ecclesiastical law, which offers serious
impediments to the discipline necessary, cannot but be deemed a
grievance. They have arisen from those connections with the state which
most denominations seem to bear with impatience.
The relations of the churches with each other have occasioned
difficulties rarely of permanent importance. The dispute of the prelates
of the Anglican and catholic communions is an interesting exception. It
led to an adjustment of their relative rank in the colonies at large.
The right of the Roman see to appoint a bishop to act in its name had
been already questioned by the protestant prelate, and met with a
protest from the altar. Such, under similar circumstances, had been the
course of Dr. Broughton. The laws of England retained the abjuration of
a foreign episcopate, and assigned the nomination of English bishops to
the Queen: the catholic vicars-general had in England exercised
episcopal functions; being also consecrated to the oversight of
imaginary sees. This arrangement was needless where the catholic
religion was salaried by the state. The ancient abjuration was retained
among protestants; but its spirit had expired.
The Roman catholic prelate received an address as the "Bishop of Hobart
Town," and in reply recognised the title by adding "Hobartien" to his
name. This document having fallen into the hands of the lord bishop of
Tasmania, he directed a remonstrance to its author, suggesting that to
claim an episcopal jurisdiction over the city was to intrude on a
diocese already appropriated. The correspondence which followed entered
largely into the religious differences of the parties. The papers were
forwarded to the secretary of state.
A complaint arising from the miscarriage of a letter addressed to the
catholic prelate as bishop of Melbourne, and a dispute in reference to
precedence, in which the metropolitan of Sydney and Archbishop Polding
were concerned, also called for a final adjustment of the various points
at issue, so far as they could be settled by the state. The
lord-lieutenant of Ireland, willing to conciliate the catholics, had
recommended the secretary of state to recognise the style of their
prelates. Earl Grey regretted that the lordship ordinarily pertaining to
a barony had ever been conferred on colonial sees. He, however, finally
arranged that the protestant archbishop of Australia should rank above
the catholic archbishop, and the protestant bishops before the catholic,
throughout the colonies; that the titles of "your grace" and "my lord"
should be accorded indifferently to both classes of bishops, but that
the government should not, in official correspondence, recognise any
title complicated with the name of any city or territory within the
British dominions, not authorised by letters patent from the crown. Thus
neither side could claim the victory, more being allowed to the
catholics than they could expect as a religious denomination; while the
territorial honors were conferred exclusively on the nominees of the
crown.
On the disruption of the church of Scotland the members of that church
in Tasmania were involved in serious disputes, which terminated in the
resignation of several of their clergy, and the formation of separate
congregations. The free and residuary Assemblies opened a correspondence
with the colonies, demanding to know to which part the colonial ministry
adhered. The opinions of the local clergy were divided; but they
concurred in a general expression of regard to the principle of church
independence, and their satisfaction that they themselves enjoyed the
liberty for which their brethren were obliged to contend,--thus leaving
to inference their religious connection, and giving no ground to call
in question the ecclesiastical status and revenues conferred by the
church act. This answer was considered by the free church evasive; and
its more ardent supporters on the spot pronounced the course of the
local presbytery jesuitical and dishonest. They affirmed that the church
of Scotland alone was entitled, by colonial law, to state support; and
that the retention of its emoluments was a virtual adherence to its
principles. This discussion has been extremely fertile of controversies;
but the general reader would not be likely to enjoy them.
Should the reader infer from the record of ecclesiastical divisions that
the colonial temper is intolerant, he would be greatly mistaken. The
laity, often even the clergy, have given evidence of their charity in
friendly sympathy and generous assistance. The rights of conscience are
generally understood and respected; and although many are prepared to
liberate the churches from dependence on the state, but few would desire
to establish invidious distinctions. The tendency of colonial life is to
annul the prejudices of European society, and to yield to every man the
position which may be due to his talents and virtues. This feeling is,
however, found compatible with religious predilections. One hundred
clergymen, many wholly sustained by the people, labor to diffuse their
views of Christianity in the various districts of the island; and the
emigrant population are usually in attendance on their teaching. The
census is an imperfect index of actual strength, the smaller sects
exerting proportionately more influence. When the claims of prescriptive
authority are finally exchanged for a reliance on moral power these
discrepancies will disappear, and a vast apparatus, already supplied by
the state and private zeal, will bring within reach of every colonial
family some form of Christian doctrine. The tendency of small
communities is not unfavorable to the progress of religious
denominations. The only interruption to the monotony of life is found in
the church: the only association which can be readily offered to
strangers is provided by the religious bond. Opinion acts with increased
power where the social inequalities are slight. Thus, in the United
States of America every extravagance of sentiment is tolerated; but
there a man of no religion is suspected, shunned, and left to solitude.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 204: _Lang's History of New South Wales_, vol. ii. p. 258.]
[Footnote 205: An organist of St. John's Church, Launceston, refused to
play, and was sentenced to punishment; but was restored by the
intercession of the clergyman.]
[Footnote 206: _Macarthur's New South Wales._]
[Footnote 207: "Sir George Murray maintained that this country was bound
to provide the means of religious instruction for the people of our
colonies: at the same time he begged to say, that so far from approving
the maintenance of any exclusive system in the colonies, he thought any
such system there, _bad_ and _dangerous_. He was of opinion that parties
of all religious persuasions were equally entitled to support, and he
deprecated the exclusive establishment there of any one church above all
others."--_Parliamentary Debate_, July 13, 1832.]
[Footnote 208: 30th September, 1833.]
[Footnote 209: "I would also earnestly recommend that provision be made
for the schools, in which the children of persons of different religious
tenets may be instructed without distinction, on the plan now adopted in
Ireland. The means of education being secured, I shall feel disposed to
leave it to the voluntary contribution of the inhabitants to provide for
churches and clergy. To aid all where the creeds are various seems
impossible, and a partial distribution of the public funds appears
nearly allied to injustice."--_Despatch of Sir Richard Bourke,
respecting land in Port Phillip, October_, 1835.]
[Footnote 210: Despatch, November, 1835.]
[Footnote 211: Minute, 1836.]
[Footnote 212: _Rev. J. Lillie's Letter to Rev. W. Hutchins_, p. 13.]
[Footnote 213: Arthur's minute, 1833.]
[Footnote 214: "The whole of the objects which the congregation desired
to maintain, are very clearly to be gathered from the second resolution,
and these appeared to consist in maintaining their connexion with the
church of Scotland by law established, and the control which belongs to
ecclesiastical courts of the national establishment over the minister as
well as the congregation; for it is evident that all grants are made to
them as a part and parcel of the community of the _national church_ of
Scotland _as by law established_: and it is only in that character that
they have claims on the government, any more than the catholics,
wesleyans, independents, or unitarians."--_True Colonist_, May 29,
1835.]
[Footnote 215: "Accordingly we find that the majority, if not all, the
protesters are not members of the church of Scotland, being either
burghers, anti-burghers, independents, or episcopalians, and as such
opposed to the Scotish church."--_True Colonist_, May 29, 1835.]
[Footnote 216: "The assembly instructed the committee for the colonial
churches to insist on the fair and full execution of the laws at present
existing, and on the insertion in any new enactment for the government
of the colonies, such clauses as will unequivocally place the churches
in connexion with the church of Scotland on a footing as favorable with
respect to holding property, receiving a share of government grants, and
having their procedures in matters ecclesiastical carried out with as
prompt effect, as are enjoyed by those branches of the church of England
recognised in the same."--_Lillie's Letter_, p. 35.]
[Footnote 217: _Lillie's Letter to Rev. W. Hutchins_, p. 9.]
[Footnote 218: "I cannot see why the national legislature may not
determine what will be the established church of the colony, with just
as much propriety as it determines what shall be the prevailing law. A
separate and integral part of an empire at large, can have no right to
do this. As soon might a number of Cornish men insist upon their right
to have introduced the peculiar laws and customs by which the mining
operations of the county are regulated."--_Letter of Archdeacon Hutchins
to Rev. J. Lillie._]
[Footnote 219: "But let me tell you, Scotland is not asleep to her
rights and privileges: she is still the same independent dame she ever
was.... The instant you touch her religion, or presume to put indignity
or insult upon her venerable church, either at home or abroad--a church
from whom she has received so many benefits, and who has grown old and
grey headed in her service--her proud and independent spirit rises. She
appeals to her _marriage_ contract--her articles of union; and if I
mistake her not, she will sooner retire to her mountain freedom, and her
'single blessedness,' than consent to have them violated. _Nemo me
impune lacesset_, is still Scotland's motto."--_Letter of Rev. J. Lillie
to the Rev. W. Hutchins_, p. 18.]
[Footnote 220: _An Appeal to the Friends of the Church of England, in
behalf of their Brethren._
The extreme difficulty may be inferred from the following:--"Fully
agreeing with you as to the necessity of such an appointment (at Norfolk
Island), I have used every endeavour to find a clergyman of the church
of England, qualified for the office; but I regret to inform you that I
have not been successful, and the archdeacon has been equally
unfortunate. I have, therefore, felt it my duty to institute inquiries
in other quarters."--_Lord Glenelg_, 1835.]
[Footnote 221: _Evidence before the House of Commons_, 1837.]
[Footnote 222: Excepting Dr. Browne and Rev. R. R. Davies.]
[Footnote 223: Lord J. Russell's despatch, 31st December, 1839.]
[Footnote 224: Finance Minute, 1845.]
SECTION III.
The education of the people, every where a question of difficulty, has
been not less so in Tasmania. In the elder colony seminaries for the
more opulent classes were projected at an early period. In 1825 the
church and school association formed a boys' grammar-school. In '29, Dr.
Lang, who had been at issue with the Anglican clergy on this as on other
subjects, prevailed on the home government to authorise the loan of
£5,000, to be repaid by Scotch mechanics, to be conveyed at Dr. Lang's
risk, and employed in building a college. Prior to this date Dr. Lang
had been concerned in the foundation of the Sydney College, of which the
first stone was laid, but ecclesiastical difficulties prevented its
vigorous encouragement. Vast controversies followed this revival of
learning. The government voted considerable sums for the education of
the settlers' sons; but the secretary of state objected to the expense,
and ruled that the scholars did not belong to a class entitled to
gratuitous instruction.[225]
In this colony Colonel Arthur had established a superior school (1834),
under the governorship of official persons. The episcopal system was to
rule: the children of others were eligible, provided they submitted to
catechetical instruction. The plan of the school was suggested by Dr.
Broughton, and was calculated on the idea of an ecclesiastical relation
to the colony, which subsequent enactments disturbed. Colonel Arthur
found serious obstacles in carrying out the scheme, and he suffered it
to drop. The Rev. Mr. Rusden was nominated first master; but the
question of religion was again fatal to its success: the school sunk
into a private establishment.
The project of Colonel Arthur was succeeded by another more extensive in
its aim. Sir John Franklin addressed Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, describing
the religious elements of the colony, and requesting the arrangement of
details for the future management of an establishment. The great
difficulty was still the ecclesiastical relations of the settlers. Dr.
Arnold suggested a double chaplaincy, and a religious education rather
than a merely secular system; and recommended that the head master
should be permitted to take orders. Mr. G. P. Gell, of Cambridge
University, was nominated principal.
In 1840, the legislative council sanctioned the establishment of a
college and the erection of buildings. The cost was variously estimated
from £12,000. The Queen's school, intended to be afterwards a
preparatory institution, was first formed. The denominational leaning of
the college awakened considerable opposition. The Roman catholic
vicar-general declared that the authorised version of the scriptures was
a mutilation, and compiled to suit the views of the translators; that
catholics could not pray with protestants; and urged other objections,
not new to theologians, but which appeared outrageous to a colony
accustomed to a liberal intercourse. The presbyterians prayed for
religious equality, and other sects joined in the general aversion to an
episcopal institution at the public cost.
The government, by the advice of Mr. Gell and the archdeacon, selected
New Norfolk as the college site. On the 6th of November, 1840, the
foundation-stone was laid by Sir John Franklin, assisted by the members
of council and heads of departments, and by Captains Ross and Crozier,
of the antarctic expedition. "The college was dedicated to
Christ,--intended to train up Christian youth in the faith as well as
the learning of Christian gentlemen."[226] The night following the
ceremony, thieves overturned the foundation, and stole the inscription
and the coins. But difficulties more fatal beset the institution. The
pride of equality and the ambition of pre-eminence, not less than
tenderness of conscience on either side, prevented a compromise. In
private life concessions are found compatible with the utmost zeal, but
the rivalry of churches has never been adjusted. The Queen's school, the
pilot institution, was not more successful. At an expense of £1000 per
annum twenty-three scholars (1843), for the most part children of
government officers and opulent shopkeepers, were educated. The
institution was broken up by Sir E. Wilmot; and a petition, signed by
great numbers, requested the erection of a school on a more
comprehensive basis. This memorial being remitted to the secretary of
state, Lord Stanley replied (1846) that, when established, a proprietary
school would receive from the crown whatever assistance the public
resources might justify. The direct interference of the government in
the education of the higher classes thus terminated.
The schools for the working classes were originally controlled by the
government. Mr. P. A. Mulgrave, many years chairman of quarter sessions,
arrived with the appointment of superintendent. This office was,
however, filled by the senior chaplain; and until 1838 the schools were
exclusively episcopalian. The altered policy of the crown, in reference
to religion, suggested a change in the organisation of the schools. A
letter, written by Sir Wm. Herschell, was transmitted by Lord John
Russell, detailing the system at the Cape of Good Hope, and recommending
the British and Foreign system for colonial adoption. On this plan
schools were established in 1838, subject to a board nominated by the
crown. It was intended to comprehend all denominations. The clergy of
the Anglican church were from the first hostile to comprehension.
Archdeacon Hutchins demanded that if an exclusive system were no longer
attainable, a fixed sum should be divided among the different
denominations, to be expended in separate schools, in proportion to the
money issued under the church act. The laity in general, however, did
not object to the union of all sects on the plan proposed; and to the
last the British system was supported by a considerable majority,
including clergymen of every sect, both protestant and catholic.
In New South Wales an attempt was made to establish the Irish system,
the school books of which were sanctioned by the chief prelates of the
protestant and catholic churches in Ireland. The protestant bodies were,
however, averse to the exclusion of the "entire scriptures," as a
discreditable compromise, and met the project with decided resistance. A
committee, of which one half were episcopalians, organised under the
sanction of Bishop Broughton, called on the laity to exert themselves in
the "holy cause"[227] of opposition to the project of Sir Richard
Bourke; and they succeeded in its defeat: but when, after their victory,
they met to collate their plans for further action, the meeting was
abruptly terminated by Dr. Broughton, who declared that he could
co-operate in no scheme not framed on the recognition of the episcopal
catechism and clerical superintendence. Denominational schools were,
therefore, established, and those abuses arose inseparable from a plan
which makes men the assessors of their own pecuniary claims.
A committee of the legislative council recommended the establishment of
a general system, on the plan of Lord Stanley (1844). They alleged that
by the denominational system more than half were left uneducated, and
that the thinness of population, the diversity of opinion, the inferior
character of the schoolmasters, and the great expense compared with the
benefit secured, enforced the importance of a general and comprehensive
scheme. Sir George Gipps warmly seconded these opinions, but was
compelled to yield to the strength of the opposition offered by the
clergy, and which no concession short of ecclesiastical control was
deemed sufficient to remove. The agitation of this subject for several
years has lessened none of the difficulties which attended it, and it
remains a vexed question for solution by future legislators.
When the British system was established in Van Diemen's Land, masters
were sent out by Lord John Russell, at the colonial cost. The schools
were, however, regarded with increasing aversion by the episcopal
clergy. Messrs. Lock and Fry, the last a clergyman and the author of a
work on apostolical succession, visited the schools to report on them.
They saw, or thought they saw, laxity, sectarianism, and partiality; and
they gave the results of their enquiries in a copious publication. On
the arrival of the Right Rev. Dr. Nixon this book was placed in his
hands. He petitioned to be heard by counsel against the British system.
His request being granted, he delivered an earnest address, in which he
not only opposed the principle of the school, but reiterated many of the
statements of Messrs. Lock and Fry. The Board of Education had, however,
forwarded minute contradictions to these allegations; and Governor
Wilmot resolved to support the schools until, on a full consideration of
the adverse testimony, the secretary of state should otherwise determine
(1843). Lord Stanley recommended the appointment of a commission of
enquiry, which was accordingly confided to three episcopalian laymen,
who acquitted the schools of most of the imputations of their former
visitors. But the seals of the colonial-office had fallen into the hands
of Mr. Gladstone. This event was fatal to the British system. The
scholastic minister professed to examine elaborately the principles of
colonial and church education, and came to the conclusion that a scheme
of biblical instruction, confided to various teachers of uncertain
creeds, was too little for the churchmen, ought to be too much for the
catholics, and could only be agreeable to independents. He argued that
church teaching includes all that a church believes, and that its
inculcation was necessary to meet the fair requirements of religious
liberty. Acting on a suggestion in his despatch, Sir William Denison
granted a fixed sum per head to the denominational schools, dissolved
the board of education, and appointed as inspector the son of the
illustrious Arnold.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 225: Lord Glenelg's despatch, 1836.]
[Footnote 226: _Sir J. Franklin's Narrative_, p. 77.]
[Footnote 227: Address of Committee.]
SECTION IV.
The claims of the churches on the treasury (1838) soon threatened the
government with serious difficulties. It was resolved to increase the
revenue by prohibiting colonial distillation. This trade had been often
interrupted by the ordinances of the governors, but when the crown
ceased to purchase wheat at a high fixed price it was deemed unfair to
the farmer to restrict the local market for his produce. Duties were
imposed, but they discriminated between sugar and cereals, and between
colonial and imported grain. This distinction offered ample opportunity
for evasion. The distillers employed these various articles at their own
pleasure, and paid the lowest duty. Colonial spirits were sold as
foreign; and the permits of the police-office covered the transit of
quantities greater than they specified. From £5,000 to £7,000 were
annually lost. The bill introduced to extinguish the trade was resisted
by Mr. W. E. Lawrence and other leaders of the country party. They
objected both to the suppression of a lawful trade and the injury
inflicted on those who had embarked their capital. The government
proposed to include in the bill a provision for the indemnity of the
distillers, leaving its amount to be settled by a committee. To this
Chief Justice Pedder strongly objected. The government was unwilling to
entrust to a jury the claims of the distillers, as proposed by the chief
justice; and, not wishing to delay the law, passed it without granting
any security beyond admitting the equity of compensation.
The laxity of the distillation laws had enabled the manufacturers to
realise double profits, by graduated duties, mostly paid under the
lowest denomination. Their gains during the past could not be
questioned; but Sir John Franklin was persuaded that it would be
ridiculously profuse to pay an indemnity for the loss of profits rated
by the success of an illicit trade. A resolution passed the council,
"That any applicant having been proved, to the satisfaction of this
council, to have been in the habit of distilling contrary to law, has,
by such practice, destroyed any claim he might have otherwise had to
compensation." To ascertain this fact a "feigned issue bill" was brought
into the council. It simply referred the question of illegal
distillation to the jury, without assessing their claims. The right of
the distillers to compensation was, however, so indisputable, and the
retrospective action of the bill so liable to objection, that it was
generally opposed; and, by the dissent of the lawyers, the treasurer,
with all the non-official members, rejected by the council. The
attorney-general, Mr. Macdowell, impressed with its injustice, informed
the governor that he could not support the bill; in this resolution he
had been fortified by the strongly expressed opinions of his colleague,
Mr. H. Jones, the solicitor-general, who denounced its principle as
utterly iniquitous and unprecedented: but on the resignation of Mr.
Macdowell, Mr. Jones accepted his place, and voted for the bill:
defending his conduct by stating that he had expressed his former
opinion in ignorance of its details. The public indignation was excited
by this apparent perfidy, for which Mr. Jones atoned by a speedy
resignation. The financial success of the suppression was mentioned by
Sir John Franklin in exulting terms. The law is, however, regularly
violated when grain is low. Private stills have supplied spirits more
than usually deleterious; and the revenue has shown a decline. The
rights of the distillers were recognised by the home government, and
their unsettled claims, to the amount of £7,431, were paid in 1843.
The duty of a member of the government to support, at all events, the
measures of his chief, was asserted by the secretary of state. If his
conscience would not permit his acquiescence, he was expected to resign.
Thus, while his oath bound him to advise, as a legislator, according to
his convictions, his interest, as a public officer, compelled him to
submit to the impulses of another. From this condition the chief justice
was excepted,--a condition hard to an honorable man and unfair to the
colony. However plausible the reasons for distinguishing between an
official duty and a conscientious belief, public morality abhors them;
and Mr. Macdowell is entitled to the colonial remembrance, as one among
few who have refused to support a measure because unjust.
The extensive land sales, combined with the demand for labor (1840),
induced Sir John Franklin to promote emigration. The impression was
general that transportation to Van Diemen's Land would cease; such had
been announced as the policy of the crown. A vessel was dispatched to
Adelaide, where many were suffering severe distress. The New Zealand
emigrants were also dissatisfied, and many found their way to colonies
where wages were high. This course was inconvenient, and excited great
indignation among employers in South Australia, who prevailed on the
government to pass a law intended to check emigration to Van Diemen's
Land.
Sir J. Franklin disapproved of these methods of supplying the labor
market, and proposed to devote £60,000 for the introduction of suitable
working families from Great Britain. By many this movement was hailed
with strong expressions of approbation, as a pledge of social elevation
of the working classes. It was urged by Mr. Philip Smith, of Ross, that
"without an extensive emigration and a stop to the introduction of
convicts it was in vain to hope for permanent prosperity." Mr. Berthon,
of Woodlands, asserted that "before the colony could thrive a better
description of peasantry was necessary, which could never be found in
the sweepings of gaols" (October, 1841). Pursuant to these views the
governor authorised the settlers to select for themselves, by their own
agents, the persons they required. Every considerable inhabitant
received the necessary authority to ship such laborers, under
indentures, at the colonial cost, it being found that useful workmen
were indisposed to emigrate except to a master already known. The
greater part of the settlers appointed Mr. Henry Dowling their agent. It
was the intention of the local government that laborers should be sent
out in small numbers by the regular traders; and thus afford time to pay
the cost of their transit without difficulty to the treasury. The
emigration commissioners objected to all these plans, and set them
aside. Indentures were disallowed; and instead of laborers in the
proportions required, families were conveyed, or they were sent in
rapid succession, hundreds together. On their arrival a financial crisis
reduced their wages: the home government changed its views, and resolved
to continue transportation: the land fund, which had reached £52,000 in
1841, rapidly declined, and in 1843 Lord Stanley was informed that for
years to come little revenue could be expected from the sale of land.
The local officers, unable to pay the charge, were induced to dispute
it; and they attempted to cast on the agents of immigration the failure
of plans disallowed by the commissioners. They evaded the payment for
one year. The claims of the shippers were instantly allowed by the
secretary of state, with the usual interest; and Mr. Dowling, who had
been aspersed by the local government, was amply vindicated by the
commissioners. The colonial secretary charged him with collusive sale of
his agency to London shippers, and a fraud on the colonial treasury. Mr.
Dowling protected his character by an appeal to the supreme court, when
Mr. Horne, the attorney-general, admitted that the imputation was
unfounded, but succeeded in convincing the jury that no malice is to be
inferred from the tenor of a libel when the writer cannot be supposed to
be influenced by mere personal animosity. Mr. Dowling lost by his agency
more than a thousand pounds.
An exceedingly useful class of emigrants arrived under the
commissioners, who readily sanctioned the applications, regard being had
to the equality of the sexes. The commissioners defended their
opposition to the plans of the local government. They asserted that
private agents could never select laborers in numbers sufficient to
freight a ship; and they inferred that transferable orders for the
payment of bounty on the arrival of emigrants would be either matters of
traffic, or that private persons, discouraged by the difficulties of
their task, would abandon it in despair.
For two or three years the emigrants were satisfied and moderately
prosperous. The sub-division of town property was rapid. On every side
small brick tenements multiplied. Every mechanic aspired to possess a
dwelling of his own. But Lord Stanley's system of probation rapidly told
on the condition of the workman. He stood aghast; he persevered for a
time; he appealed to the government for protection against convict
competition. For one-fourth its actual cost his property passed into the
hands of others: in Launceston especially many suburban neighbourhoods
were deserted. The emigrants brought out at so much public and private
cost were expelled to the adjacent settlements, to begin the world anew.
One of those seasons of general distress to which small communities are
especially liable pervaded the entire colonies (1841-4). A variety of
causes contributed to augment its pressure, and to involve the whole in
commercial embarrassment. The imports of New South Wales and Van
Diemen's Land exceeding £20 per head; the high price of grain, reaching
28s. per bushel; the enormous rate of interest, and the boundless
extravagance of credit and expense, produced a convulsion all but
universal.
The measures of the government increased the pressure of these
difficulties. The land sales by auction at Port Phillip were succeeded
by the system of selling on special surveys, at £1 per acre; and he who,
one year before, had competed for his purchase, found the next section
in the hands of his neighbour, at half the price he had given. The
settlers in the elder colonies had speculated deeply. Stock and
implements were transferred to the new country, under cover of credit.
Competition raised the value of bullocks to £30 per pair; of horses to
£60; of sheep to £2; the wages of servants to £50 per annum.
The government had raised the minimum price of land; and thus those who
were entitled to take up their surveys under a lower denomination
hastened their purchases with borrowed money. The London merchants
consigned immense quantities of goods on speculation which were poured
into the market; the promissory notes of irresponsible persons were
taken by their agents: the fraudulent laid up for the crisis; insolvent
estates were crowded into auctions; goods sunk below the expenses of the
factor; dividends of a few shillings in the pound represented the assets
of persons indebted from £50,000 to £100,000; and had not the chief
losses finally rested with the London merchants and the English banks,
the disasters of the times must have long retarded colonial prosperity.
The effects of this revulsion were soon felt in Van Diemen's Land, where
peddling traders had thriven in momentary credit by the union of
worthless names on their bills. As an instance: one hundred bushels of
wheat, sold ultimately for £40, were transferred to a succession of
speculating purchasers, who raised among them £1000, on credit of the
exchange from one to another. The governments of the colonies had
exhibited remarkable miscalculation. In all the treasury failed to meet
the expenses. The deposits formerly realised by land sales were
withdrawn from the banks. Debentures were issued; new taxes were
imposed. The commercial panic was in full career when the crown renewed
transportation to Van Diemen's Land; and thousands and tens of thousands
of British offenders were gathered on these shores. The expenditure of
the government, though large, was chiefly confined to the Capital, or
fell into the hands of the merchants; but it is worthy of remark, that,
except one house, all who could pretend to that rank maintained their
position.
The settlers were, however, deeply involved. They were mostly induced to
purchase at the land sales by borrowed capital. They complained bitterly
of the usury, to which their produce bore no comparison; and incessantly
invoked the legislature to limit the exactions of money-lenders. To
aggravate these evils American flour poured into the colonial markets,
drawing their cash and rendering agriculture profitless. The
declarations of insolvency were daily. Whole streets of mechanics and
traders followed each other. A common liability to the same ordeal
introduced a system of dangerous license; and men walked away with their
creditors' property without molestation and almost without reproach. The
statistics of these times afford a memorable warning to all. To the
government, that by enticing the people to purchase land, the general
revenue will suffer by their imprudence; to the banks, that by reckless
advances capital will be sacrificed for nominal assets; and to the
British merchants, that by glutting every store with speculative
consignments they render their exports of no value--that they ruin the
shopkeeper, whose capital they destroy by the competition and sacrifice
of their own.
But the great resources of the colonies soon manifested themselves. A
settler at Port Phillip discovered or applied the art of boiling down
the surplus stock, so as to produce the tallow of commerce; and sheep,
lately 2s. 6d., became worth eight shillings. The discovery of the Burra
mines raised Adelaide from deep prostration. The opening of new tracts
of country offered a vast field for successful enterprise; wool once
more rose in price; the banks lowered their discounts to a reasonable
level; the goods saved from the general wreck appeared in the shops of
those who took the tide at its flow; and every colony exhibited the
signs of returning vigor--all but Van Diemen's Land.
SECTION V.
The last three years of Sir John Franklin's administration were chiefly
employed in arranging the details of the system of convict discipline,
afterwards expanded by Lord Stanley to gigantic proportions, and
described in the second volume of this history. Accompanied by Lady
Franklin, Sir John penetrated the western district of Van Diemen's Land
to Macquarie Harbour, formerly a penal station, to ascertain its fitness
for a similar purpose, and some of the perils of his early life were
renewed. His absence for several weeks awakened great anxiety, and his
return was greeted with a general welcome (1842).
The most painful event of his political career sprung from a
disagreement with the nephews of Sir George Arthur, and especially with
Mr. Montagu, the colonial secretary. A narrative of this dispute,
written by Franklin on his return to England, was issued for private
circulation just after he started on his last voyage of discovery.[228]
This account traces minutely the progress of a quarrel which all parties
concerned are anxious to forget. The power acquired by Mr. Montagu in
colonial affairs was considered by Franklin incompatible with their
relative position. Inferior officers had been dismissed on his
imperative advice, who complained that they were sacrificed because they
stood in his path and thwarted his plans. Franklin partly shared in
their suspicions, and appointed persons to offices who were unconnected
with the Arthur party, and as a counterpoise to their influence. The
immediate cause of the final rupture was the restoration of a colonial
surgeon, dismissed on a charge of culpable negligence. His neighbors,
believing the penalty unjust, remonstrated in his favor, and Franklin
complied with their request. This Mr. Montagu severely condemned, as
fatal to the dignity of government, and ascribed the lenity of Sir John
to the influence of Lady Franklin. He then announced to the governor, in
a formal manner, that thenceforth he should confine his own services to
the routine of his office, and that a cordial co-operation might be
expected no longer. The details of business, formerly prepared to the
governor's hands, were left to himself: trifles exhausted his attention:
his pleasure was asked with affected formality, and his enquiries
answered with studied reserve. In a dispute with the governor in
reference to a matter of fact, Mr. Montagu addressed him (17th of
January, 1842)[229] in the following style:--"I trust," said he, "your
excellency will also pardon me for submitting to you--and I beg to
assure you that I do so under a deep conviction of the necessity of
supporting my statement--that while your excellency and all the members
of your government have had such frequent opportunities of testing my
memory as to have acquired for it the reputation of a remarkably
accurate one, your officers have not been without opportunity of
learning that your excellency could not always place implicit reliance
on your own." Clothed in a profusion of words, the charge of imbecility
or falsehood was understood. The jealousy and contempt which had
characterised the late official intercourse of Sir John and the
secretary could not but injure the public service and divide the
government into factions. But this language was deemed inconsistent with
official subordination, and on its receipt Mr. Montagu was dismissed.
Aware that it would be difficult to justify his note, Mr. Montagu
offered an apology, with a view to a restoration. He sought, through Dr.
Turnbull, the friendly offices of Lady Franklin. Her mediation was
employed, and was unsuccessful; but Sir John promised to represent the
past services of Montagu in the most favorable terms to the secretary of
state, strongly recommending his employment elsewhere. This pledge the
governor redeemed. Lord Stanley received Mr. Montagu with
favor--consulted him in reference to convict discipline--heard his
complaints of Sir John and Lady Franklin--and treated the governor in
his own imperial way. He admitted that the proper relative positions of
Franklin and the colonial secretary had been inverted; but ascribed the
ascendancy of Montagu to his intellectual superiority; ordered his
salary from the hour of his dismissal to be paid; and claimed the credit
of great moderation in not sending him back to his office. The generous
testimony of Sir John in Montagu's favor was quoted to condemn his
dismission. The despatch containing these sentiments was placed in the
hands of Montagu, who, with natural exultation, sent it out instantly to
his friends. He had preserved minutes of his interviews with Lord
Stanley, and recorded his own severe reflections on the character of
Lady Franklin. These memoranda, bound together, were sent by Mr. Montagu
to the colony, and, although circulated with some reserve, became very
generally known. The governor complained bitterly of this covert
detraction, and especially of the attack on the character of his wife,
whom he solemnly vindicated from that interference with public business
charged upon her. No one who reads the dispute will deem it necessary to
weigh nicely the reproaches which were current on either side. To
destroy or be destroyed is the usual choice of official war; and Montagu
had not been bred in a school where more generous maxims prevail. He had
conquered; and the feelings of the governor or his partisans were not
likely to be treated with tenderness. Sir John is perhaps the only man
who ever accompanied a dismissal with eulogy, and the result of his
candour will probably prevent its imitation.
To Lord Stanley more blame must be attached. It was his duty to care for
the reputation of a governor whom he did not instantly recall. But his
despatch was in print long before it reached the hands of Franklin, and
must have been fatal to his proper authority had not popular sympathy
sustained his government. Before Sir John received an official notice of
his recall his successor arrived. On this abrupt termination of his
office he obtained private lodgings in haste. The Legislative Council,
then sitting--the various churches and literary societies, expressed
their admiration of his personal character, and, more sparingly, their
approval of his administration. He was attended, on his departure, by a
considerable party of northern colonists. Sir John, in reply to their
addresses, spoke with some warmth of that portion of the press which had
libelled his wife,--a lady devoted to the welfare of the colony; whose
last act was to settle property on an institution for scientific uses;
whose benevolence was unbounded, and who, at a large sacrifice of her
private fortune, had ministered to the comforts of the poor. Had it been
consistent with his duty, he said, he would have gladly exposed to the
whole people his most secret measures. He declared that he would never
fail to uphold the reputation and to promote the prosperity of the
colony. The frank and humane temper of Sir John Franklin won the
affections of the settlers. He thought favorably of their general
character, appreciated their moral worth, and shared in their notions of
convict discipline. The insults of which he complained were the acts of
a few: a philosopher would have smiled where he deprecated; and have
felt that the salary of office is not more certain than the enmities
which surround it.
The alleged ascendancy of Lady Franklin in public affairs it would be
useless to discuss. Her masculine intellect and adventurous spirit led
some to ascribe to her more than the usual authority of her sex and
station; but whenever apparent, her influence was exercised on the side
of religion, science, and humanity.
The appointment of Franklin to this government was made at the instance
of William IV., by whom he was greatly esteemed. It was the expectation
of Sir John to find an easy retreat, like some of the military
governments, where veterans enjoy the dignity of office without its
toils. But he found himself doomed to encounter all the responsibilities
of ordinary legislation and government, with difficulties peculiar to a
penal colony. For this his former pursuits had not prepared him. His
manner was often embarrassed and hesitating, and presented a contrast to
the quiet vigor of his more able but not more amiable predecessor. The
colony had attained that development when the public institutions
require reconstruction, and the popular will must in some measure
regulate their form and spirit. The administration of the governor was
eminently disinterested. He had no private speculations or secret
agents, and his measures were free from both the taint and the reproach
of corruption. Such faults were sometimes imputed, but they were the
staple slanders of writers without credit or name. His expenditure
greatly exceeded his official income; and while the plainness of his
establishment and entertainments was the topic of thoughtless censure,
the charities of his family were scattered with a liberal hand. The
piety of Franklin was ardent, and his conscience scrupulous. His remarks
in council on the sports of some idle boys in the government domain on
the Lord's Day exposed him to the satire of scorners. He thought that
youths who violate the sanctity of the Sabbath take the first ordinary
steps in a dissolute and dishonest life. An anecdote, on the authority
of Captain Back, shows his harmless character in a striking light.[230]
The writer observes--"As an illustration of the excellent individual to
whom it refers, I may be pardoned for introducing it here. It was the
custom of Sir John Franklin never to kill a fly, and though teased with
them beyond expression, especially when taking observations, he would
gently desist from his work, and patiently blow the half gorged
intruders from his hands, saying, 'The world is wide enough for both.'
Manfelly (an Indian chief) could not refrain from expressing his
surprise that I should be so unlike the 'old chief' who would not
destroy a single mosquito."
The name of Franklin is indissolubly connected with the great problem of
modern geography--the connection of the polar seas with the north
pacific ocean. In 1818 he was first employed in this service, but
returned without success. In 1820 he conducted an overland expedition to
the Coppermine River. This party suffered every kind of hardship, from
the loss of boats and the mutiny of their attendants: several perished,
having eaten their old shoes and scraps of leather: yet Franklin
recorded in his journal the following grateful expressions--"We looked
to the great author and giver of all good for the continuance of the
support hitherto supplied in our greatest need." They completed a
journey of 5,550 miles. The narrative of this expedition excited at the
time much admiration, as a rare example of intrepidity, perseverance,
and elevated piety.[231] In 1824 Franklin was entrusted with the charge
of another expedition. They were attacked by the Indians, and the party
was saved from destruction by the coolness and judgment of the leaders:
they encountered storms, fogs, and cold, which prevented their reaching
their destination. These efforts considerably enlarged the scientific
knowledge of the icy region. On his return to England in 1843, it was
resolved to confide to Sir John Franklin a new effort to discover the
north-west passage. Accompanied by Captain Crozier, he sailed in May,
1845. The vessels--the _Erebus_ and _Terror_--were furnished with
provisions and artificial fuel for four years. They were last seen by
whalers in Lancaster's Sound.
In 1847 the long absence of Franklin and the 136 persons under his
command awakened considerable alarm. English expeditions, both by land
and water, a reward of £20,000 offered by parliament, and the earnest
co-operation of foreign powers, have done all that money, or daring, or
affection could accomplish to solve the mystery of their fate. Though
these efforts are not even now (1852) relinquished, the issue has ceased
to be regarded with hope;--except by Lady Franklin, whose exertions to
rouse and prolong the search have excited the sympathy and admiration of
nations.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 228: _Narrative of some passages in the History of Van
Diemen's Land, during the last three years of Sir John Franklin's
administration of its government._]
[Footnote 229: _Franklin's Narrative_, p. 21.]
[Footnote 230: _Back's Expedition_, p. 180. 1836.]
[Footnote 231: _Quarterly Review._]
HISTORY OF TASMANIA
FROM 1843 TO 1847.
FROM 1843 TO 1847.
SECTION I.
Sir John Eardley Eardley-Wilmot, Bart., succeeded Sir John Franklin,
August 21st, 1843. His short and troubled administration, although
crowded with incident, presents few events of permanent interest.
Charged with the development of a gigantic scheme of penal discipline,
founded on erroneous data, and imperfectly sustained by material
resources, he was involved in the discredit of its failure. The
opposition of the colony to his measures he too readily resented as
disrespectful to himself, and thus a long and useful public life was
closed in sadness.
Sir Eardley Wilmot received his appointment from Lord Stanley, whose
political leadership he followed in his secession from the whigs,
occasioned by the reduction of the Irish church. During successive
parliaments he represented Warwickshire, and for twenty years was
chairman of the quarter sessions of that county,--in England a post of
some consequence. He inclined rather to the liberal than the tory
section of the house, and supported most measures favorable to civil and
religious freedom. On the question of negro slavery he was a coadjutor
of the decided abolitionists, and on his motion apprenticeship, a milder
form of slavery, was finally terminated. He contributed papers on prison
discipline, and initiated a bill for the summary trial of juvenile
offenders. Thus he appeared not unqualified to preside in a colony where
penal institutions constituted the main business of government, and
where many religious opinions divide the population.
The gazette which announced his appointment contained the nomination of
Sir Charles Metcalf to the governorship of Canada, vacated by Sir George
Arthur. An article in the London _Times_ attacked Sir E. Wilmot with
uncommon acrimony, attributed by himself to the influence of private
spleen. He was described as a mere joking justice, accustomed in his
judicial office to "poke fun" at prisoners, destitute alike of talents
and dignity, and his character a contrast with that of the new Canadian
governor. This bitter diatribe was published in the colonies, and was
not forgotten in the strife of factions. Metcalf was indeed a governor
with whom the widest comparison would scarcely find an equal. Every
Capital he ruled is adorned with his statue, and when he descended to
the dust his tomb was wet with the tears of nations. He consulted the
ministers with the independence of a patriot, and governed the people as
one of themselves.
Wilmot landed at a distance from Hobart Town, and delayed his entrance
on office to afford time for a removal of Franklin's household. When he
was sworn in the town illuminated, and the usual excitement of novelty
wore the appearance of public welcome.
The open and affable address of the governor attracted the people. He
rapidly traversed the island. The agricultural knowledge he possessed,
his promptitude in forming and expressing opinions, contrasted with the
habits and manners of his predecessor. Those who were experienced in
official life foresaw the dangers of a temper so free and of movements
so informal. The opponents of the late governor recommended the neglect
of all the distinctions which had limited intercourse, and some persons,
never before seen at government-house, were admitted to the closet, and
boasted their intimacy and influence.
Scarcely had Wilmot entered office, when an exercise of mercy brought
him into collision with one of the judges. Kavanagh, a notorious
bushranger, was condemned to death. He had fired on a settler, whose
house he attempted to pillage. In giving sentence the judge remarked
that he had seldom tried a culprit stained with so great an aggregate of
crime. Ten minutes before the time appointed for his execution the
governor granted a reprieve. Judge Montagu was indignant, and those who
had suffered by the depredations of the robber shared in his opinion.
The press, in commenting on the commutation, predicted that the culprit
would not long escape the scaffold. He was implicated in the murders of
Norfolk Island, and suffered death (1846). Judge Montagu, shortly after
the reprieve, tried four men for a similar crime, and instead of
pronouncing sentence, directed death to be recorded. He stated that the
sparing of Kavanagh could only be justified by the almost total
abolition of capital punishment. At a meeting of the Midland
Agricultural Association Wilmot noticed these reflections, and declared
that he would never inflict death in consideration of offences not on
the records of the court, and that in this case robbery only had been
proved. He thus early complained of anonymous attacks, and admitted that
in offering these explanations he was out-stepping the line of his
situation. Topics of a far more agreeable nature were suggested by the
special business of the day. He dwelt with great fluency on the
advantages of agriculture, and dilated on the importance of independent
tenants and an industrious peasantry. "You," he observed, "are to
consider yourselves as the column of a lofty pillar; but, depend upon
it, a tenantry form the pedestal,--a virtuous, moral, and industrious
peasantry the foundation on which that pillar rests. I see around me
some of your largest proprietors, who this day are lords of wastes and
princes of deserts; but who, if the system of tenantry be carried out as
fully as it deserves, will become patriarchs; and the future Russells,
Cavendishes, and Percys of the colony may be proud to date their
ancestry from any one of you."[232] This strain of compliment was
returned by Mr. Kemp, the oldest of the settlers,--so many years before
distinguished in the deposition of Governor Bligh. He congratulated the
meeting on the appointment of his excellency, whose presence he compared
to "the vivifying rays of the sun after a long cheerless winter,
encouraging the ploughman to resume his labors with fresh spirit."
The prevalence of bushranging, though far less than at an earlier
period, induced the midlanders to project a yeomanry corps. They were to
provide weapons, meet for exercise, and always stand prepared to answer
a summons. They proceeded to the choice of a treasurer and
secretary--Messrs. Keach and Leake, Jun. They were, however, informed
that the levying of armed men is the prerogative of the Queen. On
reference to the governor, he declined to sanction their incorporation,
while he praised their martial spirit. Bushrangers rarely move in
numbers, and a military is not the kind of power best adapted to
suppress them.
On meeting his council for the first time (October 21, 1843), Wilmot
expressed his admiration of the colony, its soil, its climate, and
immense resources. He promised to consider the pecuniary difficulties of
the settlers, with a view to their alleviation. Referring to the
appointment of a comptroller-general, the chief officer of the convict
department, he declared his cordial concurrence with the new discipline
as a reformatory system; and, noticing the recent arrival of a bishop,
he avowed his preference for the episcopal church, and, in still
stronger terms, his attachment to religious liberty and equality.
The salary of the governor was augmented to £4,000 per annum: the former
uncertain but expensive allowances were withdrawn. Franklin had enjoyed
£2,000 per annum, as salary, and the government houses of Hobart Town,
New Norfolk, and Launceston; a farm at New Town, and a large garden in
the domain. The salary of the new governor was given in full discharge
of all demands. The beautiful gardens he determined to throw open to the
public.
Having accepted the office of president, Wilmot convened the Tasmanian
Society, formed by Franklin, and presented a series of alterations in
its organisation. He proposed that it should consist of a president,
four vice-presidents, and a council of twelve, to be nominated by the
governor; and that at first it should be limited to fifty fellows. The
project was distasteful to the original members of the Tasmanian
Society, who objected to the summary increase of their body. Wilmot
proceeded to incorporate those who concurred with his views as "The
Horticultural and Botanical Society of Van Diemen's Land." They were
then intrusted with the government garden, and the appropriation of a
grant of £400 per annum, required for its cultivation. The discarded
society complained of the haste of the proposed revolution. They thought
past services demanded a consideration of their wishes. They had
received in trust an endowment from Lady Franklin of some prospective
value; they corresponded with men of the first scientific circles; and
they had published a journal which widely extended the physical
knowledge and European fame of this hemisphere. None who are experienced
in the causes of political discontent will consider such trifles without
serious effect on the tempers of parties and the peace of rulers.
Wilmot received the government in a condition most unfavorable to his
tranquillity. The arrival of many thousand prisoners had for a time
quickened trade, and some months elapsed before they became competitors
for the bread of the free mechanics. The universally low price of labor,
the demand for dwellings, and the closing of a local bank, which
liberated small capitals, occasioned a competition for town allotments,
and set all classes to building. But this stimulus was soon exhausted,
and workmen of every grade began to suffer distress. They found hundreds
of passholders working at a price to them, indeed, ample, but on which a
family would starve. The regulations introduced by Lord John Russell
discouraged employment of prisoners in the towns, where they could
easily indulge every evil inclination, and where they abated the value
and respectability of labor; but such was the pressure of numbers on the
colonial government that its officers were glad to abandon all
reformatory theories to get rid of the crowds which idled their time and
burdened the British treasury. The free operative classes appealed to
the governor for redress. Wilmot replied by appeals to their humanity:
he said that many prisoners of the crown, influenced by bad example,
ignorance, and want, had lost their liberty; that it would be unkind and
unjust to obstruct their progress to competence and reformation. These
excuses for a policy which tended to depress honest workmen only
convinced them that it was time to retire from the country. A more
powerful class might have shown that the proper office of mercy is to
shorten the duration of a sentence, and not to inflict punishment on
unoffending families of freemen.
A party of colonists, who chose Mr. Gilbert Robertson as their
secretary, formed an association to promote the amelioration of
financial embarrassment. They nominated a "central committee," to
prepare information for the guidance of the government, and to watch
over legislation. In explaining their plans to Wilmot they professed to
feel confidence in his liberality, judgment, and zeal. To this he
replied in glowing terms. He told them that during a short residence he
had traversed the colony and acquired a knowledge of its value; that he
had projected many schemes for the improvement of agriculture and the
relief of the treasury. He gave strong assurances both of his
expectation of better days and his efforts to hasten them; but then he
complained that the association, by its structure and schemes, depressed
his anticipations; that they proposed to supersede imperial
instructions, and to supplant his constitutional advisers. The
objections he offered, and the tone in which they were urged, induced a
practical dissolution of the society--scarcely compatible with regular
government.
For the last time in these colonies application was made by the settlers
for a law to restrict the amount of usury. It had been a favorite object
for many years. They asserted that the exactions of capitalists involved
the colony in a hopeless struggle. England had, however, abrogated
usury laws, and left the value of money to be determined by the ordinary
relations of supply and demand. To this principle the governor resolved
to adhere (1844).
What the law could not effect was produced by a less exceptionable
process. The merchants and professional men addressed the banks, and
urged an abatement of interest, then 10 per cent. for short-dated bills,
and 12-1/2 for renewals. They appealed rather to liberality than to
abstract right. This was followed by a reduction in the Van Diemen's
Land Bank,--an example which the other establishments did not readily
adopt. Eight per cent. soon, however, became the highest amount usually
exacted in regular transactions.
The difficulties of the agriculturists from the low price of grain,
induced them to look for artificial relief. With too much facility
Wilmot gave hopes which he could not realise. The imposition of a heavy
duty on New South Wales tobacco, amounting to prohibition, and that just
as it was reaching considerable perfection, led to the imposition of a
duty on our grain. It was the wish of the Tasmanian settlers to restore
free trade between the colonies, and to impose discriminating duties on
the produce of foreign countries; but the harsh and ridiculous system of
colonial government, which discriminated between Australian and Canadian
grain, compelled one British colony to treat another, its next neighbor,
as an alien, and that while England demanded free admittance for English
manufactures. The peremptory instructions of Stanley were conveyed to
the local governors in terms of intimidation.[233] They were forbidden
to allow any kindred colony the least advantage over foreigners, or to
pass any bill for that purpose, and were told that any evasion of this
restriction would occasion the high displeasure of the crown. The reason
alleged for this interference was that colonies could not be expected to
understand the treaties and trading system of the parent state; as if
any treaty should have hindered a commerce actually not more distinct
than the trade between London and Liverpool. Wilmot warmly espoused the
claim of the Australian colonies to share in the privilege of Canada, in
favor of which the duties had been relaxed on colonial grain. Mr. Hutt
brought their petitions before the attention of parliament; but he could
not plead a political necessity, and the ministers were able to resist
without the risk of a rebellion. They asserted that the distance made
the concession of no practical value, while it would tend to augment the
alarm of the English farmers! Thus, while they humored the empty fears
of their own constituents, they afforded another example of the futility
of colonial petitions which, however just, it is convenient to
disregard.
To assist agriculture, the council passed an act interdicting the use of
sugar, under certain conditions, by public brewers. The trade strongly
objected to the restriction, as impolitic, vexatious, and impracticable.
Their objections were admitted by the secretary of state, who quietly
observed that he had been advised that sugar could not be considered
deleterious. This is the last attempt at protective legislation.
To benefit the rural interest the governor proposed a grand scheme of
irrigation. An eminent engineer, Major Cotton, was employed to report on
the subject, and suggested the detention of the waters of the vast lakes
which overflow from the heights of the western mountains. A rate to be
imposed on the various estates was to discharge the cost. Thus in those
seasons of drought which sometimes occur the lowlands would be made
increasingly fertile. The immediate object--the employment of probation
labor at the colonial cost--detracted something from the charms of the
project. Nor did it seem just that the settlers should risk the ultimate
cost of an undertaking they could not limit. Sir E. Wilmot earnestly
recommended the scheme to the home government, but Lord Stanley
hesitated until the evils of the probation system enforced a change, and
lessened the labor at the disposal of the crown. Had the men been
employed on a work so popular they would have been withdrawn from the
colonial eye, and the interest of their new labors might have
extinguished the prevailing discontent. But while the governor waited
for instructions the men were idle, or employed in useless attempts at
cultivation on barren land, of which the produce rarely defrayed the
cost of the implements destroyed.
The charge for police and gaols had always been borne by the legislative
council with impatience. The estimates were accompanied by an annual
protest against entailing on the colony any pecuniary consequence of
British crime. But when the convict labor was withdrawn from the roads,
and new taxes demanded, the time arrived for the most decided
resistance, and the event proved that the councillors who refused their
consent acted with prudence. The minister himself was compelled to own
at last, that the exaction of twenty shillings per head for police, was
unexampled in civilised governments.
In 1836 Mr. Spring Rice (now Lord Monteagle) took advantage of a
considerable local land fund to throw on the council the police
establishment of the colony, occasioned by transportation. The sum then
required (£14,000) was comparatively unimportant, and it was urged that
the labor of convicts employed on public works at the cost of Great
Britain, except £4,000 for superintendence, was a sufficient
compensation. But the charge for constabulary and prisons gradually
increased to £36,000. The land fund, after deducting £97,000, expended
for emigration, for the support of aborigines, and the working of the
land office, yielded in ten years a surplus of £207,000, carried to the
general revenue; but during this time the charge for police and gaols
exceeded £311,000. The increase of judicial expenses, and especially of
witnesses, was proportionately great; and this last item in one year
(1846), although most lighter crimes were disposed of in a summary way,
rose to £6,000. The execution of public works by the crown had been the
sole vindication of these charges. From this arrangement Lord Stanley
departed, and in peremptory terms prohibited a spade to be moved but on
payment from the colonial treasury. Thus at a season of commercial
stagnation the benefit of convict labor was withdrawn, while the charges
for police and gaols rose to one-third of the entire revenue of the
colony, and in two years and a-half a debt accumulated to £100,000.
Notwithstanding the obvious injustice of this burden, the treatment of
the New South Wales legislature gave slight hope of redress. Lord
Stanley directed Sir George Gipps to obviate the threatened resistance
of that council by hastening pardons to the prisoners, by withdrawing
them from the service of the settlers, and by sending those not
otherwise disposable to Van Diemen's Land. He was forbidden to relieve
extreme financial difficulties by drafts on England, or draw from the
military chest, although at the period an immense body of convicts
remained long after transportation had ceased. This disregard of a more
powerful colony led the people of Van Diemen's Land to infer that from a
minister so unscrupulous no justice could be expected while evasion was
possible.
Wilmot was deeply embarrassed, but he determined to adhere to the
instructions of the secretary of state, whose distance prevented his
perceiving the hopelessness of his project until that discovery was
unavailing. The positive nature of these injunctions left no room for
discretion. The governor was commanded not to adopt any detailed
regulations at variance with the scheme prescribed by the crown, or to
depart from its provisions without express authority.[234]
Sir Eardley Wilmot resolved that the utmost extent of taxation should be
tried rather than infringe the orders of Stanley. A bill to raise the
duties on sugar, teas, and foreign goods from 5 to 15 per cent.
encountered an earnest but unavailing opposition. This bill was still
more obnoxious from a clause, afterwards abandoned, to levy the duty on
the current value of goods at the market of consumption, instead of
export--a mode which taxed all the expenses of shipment. Mr. Gregson
proposed the rejection of an impost required only by the extraordinary
pressure of convictism. Several of the non-official members voted with
the governor for the last time.
A committee of the council had been appointed to ascertain how the
expenditure could be reduced and the revenue augmented. They enumerated
various forms in which further taxation might be practicable. These were
proposed by the governor. Auctioneers, pawnbrokers, publicans, butchers,
eating-house keepers, stage-coach and steam-boat proprietors, cabmen,
and watermen, were to be subject to new or increased license fees.
This project aroused the people to an unusual degree. On the day of
public meeting[235] a procession of cabs and waggons, decorated with
flags bearing the inscription, "No taxation without representation,"
presented a novelty in colonial agitation. Mr. Kemp, the veteran
politician, presided. The opposition prevailed, and the governor
resolved to withdraw the obnoxious measure. It would be difficult to
discern a line beyond which taxation might not pass, if every trade and
profession can be subject to arbitrary imposts levied by a legislature
at the mere dictation of the crown.
Referring to this meeting as a triumph which history would report to the
latest posterity, the _Courier_ added--"Rulers will henceforth recoil
from the virtuous indignation of the people, as the reptile recoiled
from the touch of Ithuriel's spear." It was supposed by Wilmot that this
not very lucid prediction conveyed a gross and personal insult, and that
it attributed to him the artifices and loathsome habits of the fiend.
The private secretary was instructed to withdraw the subscription of the
governor, and to explain the cause of his displeasure. Such petulance
took the colony by surprise. A less experienced politician might have
been expected to disregard a heavier censure; and this conflict with a
local editor was noticed by the London press as a curious instance of
official sensibility.
The sheriff refused to call a meeting to consider the condition of the
colony, because one of the objects was to notice the appropriation of
the public revenue. This he had been advised was an interference with
the royal prerogative! The friendly tone of his refusal restrained the
wrath it was calculated to excite. It is quite impossible to suppose any
branch of politics more clearly within the sphere of popular
remonstrance than the expenditure of the public money (August, 1845).
Mr. Bicheno, the colonial secretary, who, like the governor, might have
been popular in quiet times, was little qualified for a stormy debate.
He announced the most arbitrary notions in the blandest tones, and
asserted that the doctrine of concurrent representation and taxation was
a wild revolutionary idea, exploded by American independence. The
revenues he called the Queen's, and thought it monstrous that any should
dispute her right to her own. Though he compared the parent country to
the hen and the colonies to chickens, he could see nothing to disturb
the analogy in a demand for fresh contributions. He asserted that all
constitutional history showed that it was the prerogative of the crown
to tax the people, and instanced the Cape--a conquered province--as an
example. He affirmed that customs were not taxes, as the public were not
compelled to use the articles on which they were levied. The prosperity
of communities he asserted rose with the increase of taxation; that the
placards posted over the town were a complete delusion. Taxation and
representation--a cry first introduced by Lord Chatham, was, he said,
never adopted by the liberal whigs (August, 1845). Such un-English
notions were no assistance to the cause of the executive, and were
distasteful to all who pretended to value constitutional government.
The _ad valorem_ duties, raised to 15 per cent., for some time produced
less than they realised at five. The licensing scheme being rejected,
nothing remained but to reduce the expenditure or increase the debt. To
relieve the revenue and employ the convicts the executive proposed a
road act, and another for lighting and paving Hobart Town. The great
objection to these measures was their design to evade the question at
issue between the home government and the colony;--with many more odious
still as recognising a right in a crown appointed legislature either
directly or indirectly to tax the people. Mr. Gregson stated early in
the session that he would not levy a shilling additional until the
burdens of police were equitably adjusted. Supported by Captain
Swanston, formerly a staunch adherent of Sir G. Arthur, he successfully
moved the rejection of these bills. Their discussion drew forth many
expressions of personal feeling. The governor declared he would not stay
in office one hour did he not believe that Lord Stanley meant fairly by
the colony, or could he not conscientiously act upon his lordship's
instructions; and he begged that all the opprobrium cast on Lord Stanley
might be considered equally applied to himself. He remarked that the
opposition had exhibited a spirit "more radical and even Jacobinical"
than he ever had witnessed in parliamentary factions. These reproaches
were repelled by Mr. Gregson, who contended that in resisting unjust
exactions for convict purposes he was promoting the real interests of
the colonial government. The governor retorted that with such support as
the honorable member afforded he would readily dispense.
When the estimates for the year were presented (August 20th) the country
party insisted on enquiry, and Mr. Dry proposed the appointment of a
committee to ascertain the proportionate burdens transportation imposed.
This motion was rejected by the governor's casting vote. Another, made
for adjournment, to give the members time to investigate the items, met
a similar fate. It was, however, discovered when the estimates were read
that they differed from the copy in the hands of the members. The chief
justice supported a second motion for adjournment, to enable the
colonial secretary to correct these discrepancies. On the re-assembling
of the council (25th) the governor stated that considering the
determination avowed by the members to refuse all items for the expenses
of convictism, and the general state of popular feeling, he had resolved
to pause, and to await the arrival of expected despatches on the subject
of dispute from Lord Stanley, in reply to his own.
Sir E. Wilmot was sensible of the financial burden inflicted by the
convict establishments. A committee of government officers sat shortly
after his arrival, and pointed out the many and large items to be traced
to the prevention and punishment of crime. This report he forwarded to
Lord Stanley. He complained that charges never before thought of were
levied by the commissariat, as well as the full value of convict labor,
and insisted that the expences incurred by the colonists for police
ought in fairness to be defrayed by the crown, or that the labor at its
disposal should as formerly be allowed in compensation.[236]
So late as August, 1844, the secretary of state refused to entertain the
claim for relief. He stated that the colony would be obliged to expend a
sum nearly equal, although all the convicts were withdrawn; for their
sakes, he said, the island was colonised; they constituted the working
population; and he added that in the military and naval protection, the
support of the unemployed convict, and the capital and cheap labor
poured into the colony, a fair proportion of expenditure was borne by
the crown.
Pressed by extraordinary difficulties, Wilmot again[237] urged the
injustice of these conclusions. He complained that not only India,
China, and the Cape of Good Hope, but New South Wales, were pouring in
felons of the worst description, who, as pass-holders, occasioned a vast
outlay for the suppression of crime. He told his lordship that for
several years the land fund had totally failed, while the expenses of
police and gaols, of judges and witnesses, had risen to £50,000. At this
time the number of arrivals was five thousand annually, sent from every
colony and dependency of the empire, as well as from the United Kingdom.
There were between three and four thousand pass-holders unemployed,
7,000 in private service, 6,000 about to emerge from the gangs, 8,000
with tickets-of-leave or conditional pardons, and in all more than
30,000 unqualified to quit the island without the consent of the
crown.[238]
It is impossible to read these representations without feeling indignant
at the nobleman who suffered the representative of the Queen to struggle
with difficulties so manifold and great,--who left him to the
alternative of breaking through positive prohibitions or of incurring
popular distrust and aversion. To this delay the governor owed much of
the opposition he suffered, and the imperial government inconveniences
of lasting consequence. Nothing was conceded to justice--nothing to
entreaty; and the secretary of state yielded at last as despotism must
ever yield,--without merit and without thanks.
The whole change in the details of the convict department was marked by
a spirit eminently opposed to the colonial welfare. With singular
acuteness and perspicuity Lord Stanley described the former systems as
subject to local influence and subservient to local ends. Every
governor, he alleged, was under a strong bias in favor of expense, as
the patron of a multitude of officials. He stated that the executive
council were equally benefited by the wasteful expenditure, either in
their own persons or those of their official brethren, and that every
colonist had an interest in the multiplication of bills on the British
treasury. To prevent these abuses, the convict estimates were
thenceforth to be prepared by the colonial secretary, the
comptroller-general, and the commissariat officer, subject to the
approval of the secretary of state.
The management of the prisoners being confided to the judgment of the
governor, Lord Stanley deemed the chief cause of its many changes, and
its subservience to colonial prosperity. The deference of the ministers
to this discretion he attributed to the unwillingness of the home office
to interfere with a functionary in correspondence with the colonial
office, and the reluctance of the secretary for the colonies to guide a
penal system designed for interests exclusively imperial. Thus, he
stated, the governor was practically independent, and had strong
inducements to render the labor of convicts subservient to colonial
wealth, and to disregard the great design--the prevention of crime in
Great Britain. He declared that all schemes of convict management were
of colonial origin, and all contemplated local interests as their main
object. To prevent these devices he proposed to retain in the
colonial-office the exclusive management of the details of
transportation.[239]
Among the items of convict expense was a charge of £164,000 for rations.
This Lord Stanley considered an extravagant outlay. He deemed it highly
improper that in a country where all the means of subsistence existed in
such abundance with an unlimited supply of manual labor, this charge
should remain. He however feared that while the convicts were permitted
to labor on works of colonial utility the local authorities would always
find means to increase the charges for their subsistence (Feb. 28, '43).
The treasury concurred in this view, and requested that explicit
instructions might be given to Wilmot and the comptroller-general to
prevent the employment of labor for the colonial benefit, and to devote
their utmost efforts to raise the food on the waste lands of the colony.
The convict department attempted agriculture, and they selected for the
experiment cold, damp, and barren soils. Gardens of a few acres occupied
a thousand men: the cleared land was utterly worthless. Garden seeds
were brought into the colonial market, and potatos sold at twenty
shillings which cost the government £10 per ton. Several hundred men
idled their time in cultivating land which did not equal in the
aggregate a single farm.[240] The estimated value of all the articles
produced on two stations, Deloraine and Westbury, in 1846, by four
hundred men, was less than £2 per man; while the salaries of their
officers were nearly double that sum.[241]
Mr. Montagu, the late colonial secretary, in estimating the cost of the
convict department, presented a calculation £100,000 annually less than
the estimate of the officers on the spot. This difference Lord Stanley
set up as proof of the culpable negligence and profligacy of colonial
expense. He considered the body of persons employed in the control of
prisoners excessive. A reduction was therefore enforced, and in the end
less surveillance was employed than free labor usually requires.
To each party of three hundred seven overseers were attached, without
constables or other restraint. The sub-division of these parties in
labor left them often to the practical oversight of a single person, and
he an expiree. Thus they were able to make excursions for the purposes
of robbery and pleasure: their clothing tended rather to disguise than
distinguish them. As the terms of their service expired they were
discharged in the prison dress, and no one could tell whether they were
or not illegally at large. Escaped prisoners have been known to walk
through bodies of men on the road without challenge. In several
instances robberies were committed on travellers within the precincts of
the stations. The enclosures were often merely the common garden fence.
The judges avowed that in passing sentence for crimes they could not
punish them with severity, considering the strong temptations of the
men. Remembering the number virtually and legally at large, the degree
of safety, or rather the instances of exemption from pillage, must be
considered almost miraculous. A great portion of minor crimes were not
prosecuted, and a still larger number were undetected; but eight hundred
recorded crimes--a scourge to ten thousand families, and full of terror
and danger to all--would not seem extravagant when divided among thirty
thousand prisoners.
The despatches of Wilmot to Lord Stanley described with accurate
minuteness the social effects of the probation system. Those who
remember his apparent apathy when those evils were the topics of
colonial complaint will deplore the strange fidelity to his political
chief which induced him to conceal his own sentiments from the
colonists. He stated that the territory was inundated with unemployed
prisoners; that no labor being in demand, they must either starve or
steal; that a yearly increasing pauper population, without adding one
atom to colonial wealth, would swell the catalogue of crime and increase
the public expense in every form; that the number out of employment was
fearfully great; and that land--cleared, fenced, in complete
cultivation, with houses and buildings--might be bought at the upset
price of waste land. To remedy these evils he proposed the extension of
conditional pardons to the Australian colonies, the remission of the
price of crown lands to emigrants, and the letting of allotments at a
nominal rental for seven years to conditionally pardoned men, with a
contingent right of purchase.[242]
To all these remonstrances, so far as they affected the colonist, Lord
Stanley had a ready reply. The colony was originally penal, and could
claim neither compensation nor relief. He considered that in emigrating
the colonists surrendered at discretion; that they were not entitled to
object to the trebling of their police burdens and to the importation of
all instead of a small part of the convicts of the empire, as was the
case up to 1840. His rejoinder was felt with that bitterness which none
can realise who have not known the tyranny of irresistible despotism.
Happily for mankind there is no power above the steady and determined
operations of truth and right. The cruel desertion of the people in the
hour of their distress--the scornful defiance of their complaints, has
involved the cabinet of England in difficulties for which nothing but
great sacrifices will fully obviate. No people in this hemisphere will
entirely trust a British minister until the history of Van Diemen's Land
is forgotten.
The anticipated relief not having arrived, the governor again assembled
the council on the 21st of October. He now proposed several expedients
to meet the exigencies of the moment. He had, unauthorised by the
council, borrowed money of a bank. He proposed to stop the forage
allowance of the clergy, and to retain 12-1/2 per cent. of the salaries
of the officials. Both these measures were withstood--the last
effectively. The chief justice denied the power of the council to
interfere with his income. When a new set of estimates was offered they
were found to be unintelligible, and an adjournment, to enable the
colonial secretary to afford the necessary information, was proposed by
Mr. Dry. This reasonable request was lost by the governor's casting
vote, and several motions with a similar object were defeated in the
same manner. Mr. O'Connor, the non-official member who supported the
executive, was absent, and thus the votes of the official and country
party were equal, and the balance was in the governor's hands.[243] At
the next sitting of the council Wilmot proposed to pass the estimates.
Ineffectual efforts to postpone their consideration exhausted all means
of evasion, and Mr. Dry moved that the Appropriation Act should be read
that day six months. He expatiated on the injustice of the system which
condemned the colony to the cost of an imperial scheme, and insisted on
the solemn obligation of the council to resist an accumulation of debt
which must involve the colony in ruin. Mr. Gregson followed, and
referred to the unavailing representations of Sir G. Arthur, Sir John
Franklin, and Sir E. Wilmot himself, in reference to police expenses,
and dwelling on the evils of the convict system. An adjournment of the
debate being moved the governor opposed it with his deliberative and
casting vote, and added that he resisted the motion because it was only
intended to embarrass. The Appropriation Act would then have gone to the
third reading, but the non-official members at once quitted the chamber,
and reduced the number below the legal quorum. On the day following Mr.
Gregson appeared at the table and apologised for the absence of his
honorable brethren, who were preparing a protest to present on the
morrow. Wilmot complained of discourtesy, and denounced the opposition
as disloyal and unconstitutional. They asserted that quitting the
council chamber was not unusual, and was not a concerted movement, and
resented in decided language the charge of disloyalty,--amounting in
sworn councillors to perjury, if rigorously construed. The governor
afterwards explained that he had reference only to the particular
instance, and not to their general intentions.
It had been publicly rumored that rather than allow the Appropriation
Act to pass, several members had resolved to resign. Captain Swanston,
less prominent in opposition, waited on the governor, and earnestly
advised him to forward another set of estimates, prepared by Captain
Swanston, for the approval of the secretary of state. He warned him that
should he persevere a rupture would inevitably follow. In this interview
the governor expressed his determination to proceed. He forgot, it would
seem, some of those forms of civility which no man can safely neglect,
and Captain Swanston left him with a sense of personal affront,--an
immedicable wound.[244]
In this temper the council met on the 3rd of October. Mr. Gregson called
the attention of the members to a question submitted to Mr. Francis
Smith, a barrister: Whether, as chairman of a committee, the governor
had a deliberate and casting vote, and whether the quorum required by
law at a meeting of council was requisite in committee; and thus whether
the estimates were legally passed through the committee, the numbers
present being less than one third, and the governor giving his double
vote. Mr. Smith gave his opinion that the estimates were in law
rejected instead of carried; but the chief justice considered the
sitting of committee merely a convenient method to sift beforehand items
afterwards to receive a legal sanction in the council. The
attorney-general without notice was unprepared to give an opinion, and a
motion of Mr. Gregson for delay was lost. The colonial secretary then
moved the third reading of the obnoxious bill, when Mr. Dry rose to read
a minute, signed by the members in opposition, objecting to the
proceedings. This being rejected as irregular, Mr. Gregson proposed that
the third reading should be delayed that the members dissenting might
bring forward other estimates. In urging this motion he rebutted the
"disloyal" imputation, and referred the governor to the unity existing
in the country party in proof that inevitable necessity alone had
prompted the co-operation of persons hitherto adverse. This motion being
lost--before the Appropriation Act could be carried--the opposition
quitted the council. Those remaining did not constitute a quorum, and
the legislative session was abruptly terminated. The _Gazette_ of
November the 4th announced that Charles Swanston, Michael Fenton, John
Kerr, William Kermode, Thomas G. Gregson, and Richard Dry, Esquires, had
resigned their seats.
The obligation of the official members of the council to vote with the
governor on all government questions had been long before decided. The
non-official were only bound by their oaths to assist in all measures
necessary for the good of the colony, but the nature of their powers and
the proper mode of their exercise were subjects of dispute. Wilmot
maintained that they were assisting in "a council of advice" on subjects
submitted to their judgment, and were not qualified to question the
general policy of the executive. All beyond a simple aye or no he deemed
usurpation. Thus when they demanded papers, called for committees, and
obstructed obnoxious measures by the artifices of parliamentary debate,
they were charged with forgetting the duties of their office. These
gentlemen, however, maintained that it was their duty to hold the
executive in check on behalf of the people, and that whatever was not
abstracted from their supervision by specific laws was proper for their
consideration. The governor claimed a deliberate and casting vote; and
thus one non-official member, by concurring with the executive, or even
by abstaining from voting, neutralised the voice of the rest. The
official members had no discretion allowed. Lord Stanley had ruled that,
choosing to assume relations disqualifying them to vote with the
governor, they were perfectly free to do so; but having done so, they
could not retain their employment. He alleged that there would be an end
of official subordination, and that the public service would be brought
into serious discredit by allowing a different course. He admitted that
exceptions might occur, but their force was left to the judgment of the
governor.[245] This decision reduced the official debates to a mere
pantomime, and a seven-fold vote would have better expressed the real
character of the legislature than the disguise of separate suffrages.
The chief justice was alone independent.
Having resigned their office, the _six_ sent a letter of explanation to
Lord Stanley. In summing up their complaints they asserted that they
were called on to vote an expenditure the colony could not bear,--to
anticipate a revenue higher than the customs department calculated on
receiving; that they were denied information, although they were bound
to deliberate; that they were expected to augment an alarming debt, and,
when crime was increasing, to diminish police protection; that they were
told by the governor he would carry the estimates by his casting-vote,
before they refused to pass or had examined them; that the governor
claimed power to borrow and spend without legislative consent; and
finally, that discussion and enquiry were denounced as factious,
unconstitutional, and disloyal: under these circumstances they resigned
their seats, as the only open course, and submitted their conduct to the
judgment of the Queen.
The opposition to the measures of Wilmot could not be in every instance
justified if separately considered. But the colony discovered in the
governor an inflexible determination to carry out the system of
probation under the instructions of Lord Stanley. It was not possible to
resist the secretary of state, the chief aggressor. The imperious tenor
of his despatches taught the people that mere remonstrance would be
unavailing. They could only arrest his attention by involving his agents
in embarrassment. Repeated motions for the attainment of the same object
are certainly incompatible with legislative order. A small party might
retard the public business, and gain no good end by delay; but the exact
line between fair and factious opposition is not easily discovered and
can be often only ascertained by the result. In this instance the
object was clearly expressed in a rejected resolution:--"This council do
decline voting the sums stated in the estimates laid on the table for
the payment of the judicial, police, and gaol establishments during the
ensuing year, as far as the expenses of the convict department with
respect to those items are incurred. At the same time they desire to
place on record an expression of regret that they should, by a sense of
duty, be compelled to adopt any measure likely even temporarily to
embarrass his excellency's government."[246]
The cause of "the patriotic six," as they were called, was eagerly
espoused by the colony. To supply the vacancies occasioned by their
retirement was the labor of weeks. The governor defended himself from
the charge of despotism, and declared that he would never interrupt the
freedom of debate or attempt to force the compliance of the council. The
opposition press held up to scorn those disposed to accept a nomination,
and gentlemen who did so were assailed with scandalous abuse,--so easily
is the noblest cause degraded by its friends. A more suitable expression
of popular feeling was given on the return of Mr. Dry to his native
town. He was escorted by a large concourse of people and with all the
usual tokens of public esteem. The father of Mr. Dry was exiled during
the political troubles of Ireland in the last century, and after a
respectable career attained considerable wealth. The son, the first
legislator chosen from the country-born, the colonists saw with pleasure
consecrate himself to the cause of his native land. Mr. Gregson, the
leader of the opposition, was honored in a more substantial form. A body
of his admirers, by contributions of large amounts, raised a testimonial
in the shape of 2,000 guineas, and plate with a suitable inscription. On
no previous occasion had public sympathy so attended political
controversy, and never was the legislative freedom of the country more
earnestly desired.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 232: Agricultural Dinner, October 18, 1843.]
[Footnote 233: Despatch, June 28, 1843.]
[Footnote 234: Despatch, No. 34, 1843.]
[Footnote 235:
NO TAXATION!
A meeting will be held at the Theatre.
Auctioneers, rise at our bidding.
Pawnbrokers, pledge the public your interest.
Butchers, show your pluck.
Publicans, prove your spirit.
Stage-coachmen, drive on.
Cabmen, make a stand.
Carters, put your shoulders to the wheel.
Eating-house keepers, support the constitution.
Boatmen, a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether.
God save the Queen!
August 6, 1845.]
[Footnote 236: Despatch. December 5, 1843.]
[Footnote 237: January 24, 1845.]
[Footnote 238: Despatch, Jan. 31, 1845.]
[Footnote 239: Correspondence, January 5, 1843.]
[Footnote 240: Mr. Maclean's Report, 1844.]
[Footnote 241: Dr. Hampton's Report.]
[Footnote 242: Despatch, January, 1845.]
[Footnote 243: Mr. O'Connor, however, had protested against the police
expenses in the following terms:--"Because, were this not a penal
colony, one-third of its present police force would be adequate to its
protection. I therefore do not consider that in common justice the
colonial government ought to be required to defend themselves, at their
own expense, against the aggression of convicts sent hither principally
for the benefit of the mother country" (July, 1844).]
[Footnote 244: Letter of Captain Swanston to Lord Stanley.]
[Footnote 245: Despatch to Sir G. Gipps, Jan. 1st, 1845.]
SECTION II.
The development of the new convict system gradually disclosed its
adverse character, and excited general dissatisfaction and alarm. The
press warned the people that an attempt to change the whole aspect of
the colony, from a free to a mere prison community, could only be
resisted by instant measures. Abolition of transportation was spoken of,
although as a contingency rather than an object desirable; and a few
only of the colonists were anxious to speed that event. Among these was
Mr. Pitcairn, a solicitor of Hobart Town, a gentleman never before
prominent in politics, but eminently fitted to lead the community on
this question. The first petition of a series unexampled in number was
drawn up by him, and offered to the colonists for signature. All its
allegations were supported by documentary evidence, drawn from the
public records.
The location of the gangs exposed them every moment to public
observation. A frightful sketch of their distribution was drawn by the
author of the petition. "If," said he, "you look at the last map of Van
Diemen's Land (Mr. Frankland's), you will see, at the entrance of
D'Entrecasteaux's Channel, South Port. Here there are 500 men. Above, at
Port Esperance, 400 men. Above this, along the banks of the Huon, the
farmers begin. At Port Cygnet, up the Huon, there are 350 men;
proceeding up the channel, you come to Oyster Cove, 250; Brown's River
(just above Worth West Bay and five miles from Hobart Town), 500. Taking
now the main road from Hobart Town to Launceston (the lands on each side
being all settled, fenced, and improved), you will see Glenorchy (eight
miles from Hobart Town), 150 men; Bridgewater (twelve miles), 100; Cross
Marsh (thirty miles), 100; Jericho (forty miles), 100; Oatlands (fifty
miles), 180; Ross (seventy miles), 120; and Cleveland (86 miles), 250.
At Perth (one hundred miles from Hobart Town and nineteen from
Launceston), there was another gang, which was recently withdrawn.
Leaving the main road, there are at the Broad Marsh, 240 men; at Fingal,
400; at Buckland, 250; at Jerusalem, 500; at St. Mary's, 300; at
Westbury, 200; at Deloraine, 300; at the Mersey, 200. In all, twenty
gangs, comprising 5500 men."
The petition this statement sustained desired the most moderate
changes:--the reduction of the number transported to Van Diemen's Land
to the standard of 1840; the amelioration of the discipline; the relief
of the settlers from the expense occasioned by the presence of
prisoners; and the gradual and total abolition of transportation. It was
not adopted at a public meeting, but was published in several
newspapers, and deliberately signed by those who admitted its facts and
joined in its prayer. Upwards of 1,700 persons attached their names,
including six non-official councillors, forty-one magistrates, and many
other persons of influence.
The committee who took charge of the petition requested the governor
would testify to the truth of its allegations and the respectability of
the petitioners. In few words he promised compliance. He accompanied the
petition with a despatch generally hostile to the object and unfriendly
to the character of the subscribers, whom he described as men habitually
factious, and who attributed their difficulties to any cause but the
right. He asserted that their colonial property was trifling, and that
they were encumbered with debt. He ascribed their discontent to
insolvency, and their embarrassment to extravagance and speculation. He
disputed most of their statements--distinguished between them and the
more respectable majority against them--and stated that the number of
signatures was due to the indolent facility with which such documents
were signed. This despatch (August 1, 1845) was printed for the use of
parliament, and soon came into the hands of the colonists. The absence
of constitutional channels for the expression of their dissatisfaction
led them to a measure which would otherwise be deemed an extreme one.
Sir E. Wilmot was the patron of the Midland Agricultural Association, a
body including much of the wealth and influence of the colony. They were
convened by certain of the members, and the obnoxious despatch was laid
before them. An animated and indignant debate terminated in the removal
of Wilmot from his place as their patron. No prudent colonist would
desire to see this precedent often followed. The distinction between a
governor as the head of the social circle and as the chief of a
political body will be more readily apprehended when his power shall be
less absolute, and his secret advice no longer over-ride the wishes and
interests of the people.
Having filled up the vacancies in the legislative council, Sir E. Wilmot
called them together. It appeared that money had been provided and
appropriated, and a pledge given to the bank to confirm the contract in
the council. It was intended to issue debentures, and thus settle
out-standing accounts. Messrs. Reed and Hopkins offered to this scheme a
decided opposition, and being unsuccessful, they resigned their seats.
The English government at length agreed to pay £24,000 per annum towards
the police expenditure, but at the same time excepted the waste lands of
the island from the general system. The land fund, elsewhere given up
for the benefit of the colony, was assumed by the lords of the treasury.
It was contemplated to employ convicts in clearing and cultivating, and
by the sale of land to indemnify the crown for the outlay. The governor
was authorised by the secretary of state to allot portions of land to
ticket-of-leave holders,--a measure offensive to the settlers in
general, and found to be impracticable.
The legislative council passed several acts of great colonial
consequence. The Abolition of Differential Duties Bill (July, '46)
exacted the 15 per cent, _ad valorem_ on colonial commerce, in obedience
to the policy of ministers. Thus the inter-colonial trade was loaded
with burdens of great severity, and in many instances it was cheaper to
send raw material to London and import English, than to exchange
colonial manufactures. The measure was welcomed by some sheep-holding
members as a tax on Port Phillip sheep, but the government disclaimed
any other object than the increase of the revenue. A heavy retaliatory
rate was then imposed by the New South Wales legislature. They however
addressed their governor to obtain, if possible, a disallowance of the
exactions of Wilmot. Messrs. Dunn, Orr, and Stieglitz entered their
protest against the bill, and avowed the principles of free trade.
A bill for electing commissioners of paving and lighting for the city of
Hobart passed the council (August, '46), and although disliked as an
indirect scheme of taxation, was not unpopular. The first election under
it occasioned a keen competition and considerable excitement. It was the
first instance of representation, but the bill made no provision for a
scrutiny, and the returning officer declared the poll against the
protests of the defeated candidates. Many fictitious votes had swollen
the numbers of their antagonists. The commissioners sat for some months,
and gave exemplary attention to their duties; but when the time came for
rating the city, the defect of their election appalled them. This
objection was long foreseen. An election without a scrutiny might not be
founded on one valid vote. The government, unwilling to admit the defect
of the bill, did not attempt to reform its details, and at length it
fell into disuetude.
A measure of still greater ultimate importance was enacted by the
council, intended "to restrict the increase of dogs." A heavy tax was
imposed on the keepers of this indispensable protector of house and
fold. The multitude running about the streets was felt to be a nuisance,
and the destruction of flocks required some check; but the frame-work
of the bill was objectionable, and the charge excessive. It will be seen
hereafter that the tax occasioned the most serious disputes.
The administration of Sir E. Wilmot was, however, suddenly brought to a
close. Reports, forwarded by Mr. Forster, and adopted by the governor,
extolled the outlines of Lord Stanley's system, while events were
constantly occurring which, amply sustained by respectable testimony,
demonstrated its sad consequences. Evils of a serious nature were
extensively prevalent,--some, inseparable from every scheme of penal
discipline, others aggravated by the excessive dimensions of the
probation system, and not a few the result of the failure of demand for
labor. The worst effects of sensuality were the most alarming feature of
the system, but even they were probably only more flagrant because the
extent of transportation gave them a wider range. Remedial measures
demanded an outlay and inspection which the instructions of the home
government had prohibited in language the most distinct. The ministers,
having tied up the governor's hands, complained that he had carried
economy to a pernicious extent, and in reporting the state of the
prisoners, had passed over important questions. But those who examine
the despatches of Wilmot with care will be compelled to question the
accuracy of these complaints. There is scarcely an evil which the
progress of the scheme unfolded that he did not admit and illustrate.
These evils he thought partly accidental and partly inevitable in all
penal schemes; but still he maintained that, with all its defects, the
probation system, as such, was the best ever devised by the British
ministry. Lord Stanley indeed stated that in "five reports from Captain
Forster and seventeen despatches from Wilmot, he had either received no
intelligence or that their remarks were casual, slight, and few." Thus
at the end of three years he found himself destitute of any clear
understanding in reference to the conclusions which Mr. Forster, as the
immediate agent, or the governor, as the chief superintendent, must have
formed respecting the soundness of the principles or the wisdom of the
plans which both had been called upon to administer (September, '45). It
was thus apparent that the colonial-office held the governor responsible
not only for obedience to positive instructions, but for their results;
and that, in the event of a sacrifice being required, the officers on
the spot would be devoted: and so it happened.
In closing the session (September, 1845) Sir E. Wilmot announced his
recall. Although not usual then to address the council, he stated that
he could not permit the members to disperse without acknowledging their
assistance. A delusion for a time might expose a public man to popular
injustice; but however misjudged, either during his life-time or after
death, his character would require no other vindication than truth would
afford. He informed them that his recall was not occasioned by his
differences with the late members, but was ascribed to an imputed
neglect of the moral and religious welfare of the prisoners; and he
added, that the memory of their kindness would remain with him during
the short remainder of his life.
Mr. Gladstone, who had received the seals of office, conveyed to Wilmot
the notice of his removal. The despatch is a singular example of its
author's mental habits. While he complained that the governor's
statements were obscure, he gave his own views in odd and scarcely
intelligible terms. Thus, the governor had adverted to the moral
condition of the convicts "in a manner too little penetrating:" he had
not made it a point of his duty "to examine the inner world of their
mental, moral, and spiritual state." Mr. Gladstone charged him with
neglecting the vices of the stations--an error in judgment so serious as
to render his removal imperative. These whimsical terms of reprobation
excited universal astonishment. Practical men felt that the knowledge of
the thirty thousand prisoners except by their conduct, to be ascertained
by collating statistics, was rather more difficult than the hopeless
task of similar investigations in ordinary life. The English press, with
some truth and bitterness, described such demands as an encouragement of
hypocrisy and religious pretence. No wise or good man will discredit
religious teaching, but all such will look with suspicion, if not dread,
and even disgust, on the statistics of prison piety--generally false and
designing, in proportion as it is loud and ostentatious. The defects of
the governor as a legislator were not taken into account. Mr. Gladstone
indeed attempted to balance with much precision the merits of the
patriotic six. He admitted that advice and assistance to the Queen might
sometimes take the form of strenuous opposition to the executive. He
denied the distinction between the offices of an elective and of a
nominee legislator--between a council of advice and a representative
legislature. He doubted whether Wilmot had properly calculated the
difficulties which would follow the passing of the estimates, or the
sympathy which the six would receive from the people. He censured mildly
the accusation of disloyalty, but at the same time he stated the quarrel
with the six was in no degree the cause of the recall.
In his last address to the council Wilmot alluded to the benign
influence of time on a slandered reputation. This was soon after
explained. Mr. Secretary Gladstone had accompanied the recall with a
private letter which stated that rumors reflecting on the governor's
moral character had reached the colonial-office, of a nature to hinder
his future employment. Nothing specific was stated, and no clue to
enquiry given. Rumors had been long current, and they were spread with
activity. The _Atlas_, a Sydney journal, compared the governor to the
tyrant of Capreæ, and referred to his private habits with expressions of
disgust. Remarks of a similar tendency appeared in a London periodical.
It stated that the conduct of Wilmot excluded the respectable
inhabitants of Hobart from his society, and made it impossible for
ladies to enter his house. This was instantly rebutted by Sir John
Pedder and other official persons, who declared their entire disbelief
in these charges.
Wilmot conjured Mr. Gladstone to state the time, place, and
circumstances, the names of his accusers, and the exact nature of their
imputations. In reply he observed that the persons who mentioned these
rumors did not profess to support their credit by any statement of
particulars, but to found them on general notoriety. He added that it
"was not in his power to convey what he had not received." In the House
of Commons a fuller explanation was afterwards given, in a discussion
raised by Mr. Spooner, a Warwickshire member. It was then stated that
the authors of the report were persons in the service of the crown, both
in England and in the colony, and its effect, that the accused was
living in scarcely concealed concubinage with several women. These
preposterous imputations melted away the moment they were touched. Sir
Robert Peel, an old neighbor of Wilmot, was highly displeased with the
interference of Mr. Gladstone, and pronounced the charges unworthy of
belief. The eldest son of Wilmot appealed to Earl Grey for a formal
vindication, but he declined expressing an opinion, although earnestly
pressed; and excused himself by alleging that, independently of this
charge, there was ample justification of the recall. It would have been
no great stretch of generosity had a minister admitted that rumors set
up as a bar to employment were no longer barriers to the confidence of
the crown. Mr. Chester, a brother of Lady Wilmot, transmitted an
address[247] presented to Sir Eardley to the Bishop of Tasmania, for his
remarks. He replied he could not tell to what reports it alluded, and
could not contradict them; but that rumors of the kind had fallen under
his observation which he had proved to be groundless: charges had been
whispered, but none had been substantiated (May, '47).
The reports in disparagement of Wilmot originated in the freedom of his
address--perfectly innocent in itself, but liable to misconstruction.
The credit they received depended entirely on the party sympathies of
the listener, and they grew as they went. No one, however, attached much
importance to them on the spot. Mr. Gladstone was condemned for
entertaining them. He seems more worthy of censure for his indefinite
method of stating their nature and the authority on which they rested.
The moral character of a governor is of moment to a colony, and a just
consideration in his appointment; but when assailed it should certainly
have all the protection of a full and open enquiry.
No governor ever was more unfortunate in his political position. He
could only tax and restrain. There was nothing in his gift. To the
substantial difficulties of the people around him he was unable to offer
more than those general assurances which often exasperate rather than
console. The state of religious parties increased his disquiet. He had
to adjust the claims of churches to spiritual authority. In declining to
erect ecclesiastical courts Wilmot not only gratified many, but he
followed the direction of his legal advisers.
Sir Eardley Wilmot, like most governors, considered himself the servant
of the crown, restrained in his discretion by absolute and specific
instructions. Had Lord Stanley acted with prudence he would have left
much to Wilmot's judgment; but just before he had dilated with vast
perspicacity on the tendency of governors to act in behalf of the
colonists, to forget imperial interests, to misapply the funds and
pervert the labor belonging to the crown. The precision of his
injunctions left no alternative but to obey. Had Wilmot at once declared
the impracticability of Lord Stanley's schemes he might have been
recalled, but the responsibility of an utter failure would have rested
with his chief. The interested reports of his subordinate officers
unfortunately enabled him to hold out hopes of success which were never
realised and to furnish an excuse for his condemnation. The governor was
impatient of contradiction. He had been accustomed to debate; but the
sarcasm which falls harmless on the floor of St. Stephen's Chapel, in a
colony cuts to the bone. He forgot that the head of a government can
hardly say too little of men or measures. In a conflict of words, to an
executive chief victory and defeat are alike pernicious.
The usual order had been given that the governor, during his residence
in the colony, should enjoy the complimentary distinctions of office. It
was commonly understood that his stay would be prolonged; but he died
soon after his retirement (Feb. 3, 1847), in the sixty-fourth year of
his age. The treatment he had received from the colonial-office, and his
death far from the honored sepulchre of his fathers and the scenes of
his early political fame, produced a general sentiment of regret. All
the houses of business showed marks of mourning. A public funeral,
attended by the administrator and the newly-arrived governor, was
thronged by the citizens. It had been officially arranged that, except
the ministering priest, the clergy of all denominations should walk in
their several classes, but in one body, and the archdeacon, the
moderator, and the vicar-general, as representatives of the three
endowed churches, abreast. The Anglican clergy evaded this plan by
stepping up before the coffin. When, however, the bearers were in
motion, the catholic priests, by a rapid evolution, shot a-head of the
procession. An ornamented Gothic tomb was erected in St. David's
burial-ground to the memory of Sir Eardley Wilmot by subscription. It
stands near the highway. His remains were interred close to the tomb of
Collins.
Sir John Eardley Eardley-Wilmot was descended from the ancient family of
Eardley of Audely, Staffordshire. He was grandson of Wilmot, lord chief
justice of the court of common pleas--a judge celebrated for justice and
piety. Sir E. Wilmot was twice married,--first to Elizabeth, daughter of
Dr. Parry, of Bath; and afterwards to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir R.
Chester, of Bush Hall, Staffordshire.
Charles Joseph Latrobe, Esq., Superintendent of the Port Phillip
District, and subsequently first governor of that territory, now called
Victoria, superseded Sir E. Wilmot (October 13, 1846). During his short
stay as "administrator" he was employed in a careful scrutiny of the
probation department. In performing this difficult duty he displayed
exemplary activity and decision. He resolved to remove every officer
chargeable with incapacity or neglect, and thus many were dismissed.
This promptitude exposed him to imputations of harshness; but although
it is probable he did not wholly escape errors of judgment, the chief
acts of his administration were amply vindicated by the facts he saw.
The opinions he expressed sustained the colonial impressions respecting
the convict system. While he suggested many improvements in its details,
he concurred with the general wish for its extinction. Mr. Latrobe never
met the legislative council; and his government being limited to the
established routine, left nothing to record.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 246: Motion proposed October 28, 1845.]
[Footnote 247: The following is the address, to which 250 names were
appended:--"To Sir J. E. E. Wilmot, Bart.--We the undersigned,
inhabitants of Van Diemen's Land, having heard that your recall has been
influenced by reports injurious to your moral character, during your
administration of the government of this colony, deem it to be a duty
which we owe to truth and justice to express our unqualified
contradiction of those reports, and we feel the more imperatively called
upon to do so, from the fact of many of us having differed in opinion
upon various measures of your government. Upon the occasion of your
retirement into private life, we have to assure you that you carry with
you our best wishes for your future welfare."]
HISTORY OF TASMANIA.
FROM 1847 TO 1852.
FROM 1847 TO 1852.
SECTION I.
Sir William Thomas Denison, Knight, Captain of the Royal Engineers,
presented his commission, January 26th, 1847. He had been employed in
the dock-yards, and in the survey of important public works. His eminent
abilities in a department connected with the employment of prisoners,
not less than his respectable connexions, led to his nomination. His
professional habits had not qualified him equally for civil affairs; but
the chief object proposed by the minister, Mr. Gladstone, was the better
disposal of prison labor, and the more effectual control of the
convicts. Sir William entered on his office with less acclamation than
usual. The changes had been too rapid and unfortunate to encourage much
enthusiasm.
Before his embarkation the secretary of state instructed Sir W. Denison
to arrange the dispute with the late councillors, and the claims of the
gentlemen who occupied their places after their resignation. He was
informed that the conduct of both sets of legislators had received the
royal approbation. It was left to his discretion to select six out of
the whole number to complete the council. They were summoned to the
government-house to hear the minister's decision, and were requested to
decide among themselves who should be honored with a seat. This
experiment failed. An altercation ensued, and some quitted the
conference. The "six" adhered to each other, and Sir W. Denison
ultimately declared the appointments of Wilmot were disallowed, and
re-appointed the "patriotic six." The gentlemen rejected were advised
that they held their office until superseded by commands under the
sign-manual. In this opinion the chief justice concurred; but, pursuing
the scrutiny, it was found that some nominations of Wilmot had been
informal, the instrument not stating to whom they succeeded. Their
claims being quashed by this discovery, the "patriotic six" were again
appointed in succession to each other,--a transposition required by the
law. At this stage, however, Mr. Orr, who entered the council some time
after the rupture, produced his appointment, which, unlike certain
others, was expressed in the legal form. Thus again all the previous
proceedings were quashed; and the governor, unable to unravel the
difficulty, dismissed the council, to await instructions from
Downing-street, or a warrant for the nominees under the sign-manual of
the Queen (July, 1847). Thus during 1847 there was no legislature
sitting, but at length the _Gazette_ announced that the Queen had
reinstated the original six (1848).
It has been seen that under the government of Sir E. Wilmot an act was
passed to restrict the increase of dogs, and another levying 15 per
cent. duties. The owners of dogs were required to take out a license,
and the proceeds of the tax were carried to the general revenue. Some of
the settlers never complied with this ordinance, and others paid under
protest. According to the opinion of several lawyers the council by this
enactment had exceeded its powers. The act of parliament by which the
council was constituted contained a provision to the effect that a tax
should be levied only for local purposes, "to be distinctly and
particularly stated in the body of the bill." It was contended that the
restriction was violated, since the Dog Act contained no specific
appropriation, and the amount was carried to the general revenue. The
government, willing to avoid the trial of this point, did not hasten to
enforce the penalty. It was understood that Judge Montagu had not
obtained a license for dogs on his premises, and Mr. Morgan, then editor
of the _Britannia_, announced to the government that he was an owner of
dogs, that he had paid no license fee, and intended to pay none. The
chief constable was directed to recover the penalties. Mr. Morgan being
fined, appealed to the quarter sessions, and then to the supreme court.
The judges, having heard the arguments of counsel, declared that the Dog
Act imposed a tax and exceeded the powers of the council. They therefore
annulled the decision of the inferior courts (Nov. 22, 1847).
The views which dictated this judgment affected a more important
act--the Differential Duties. Several merchants paid these charges under
protest, and entered their suit for recovery. A revenue of £20,000 per
annum was thus in peril. It was stated by the governor and crown
lawyers that the judges themselves had passed the lawful limits of their
jurisdiction, unsettled the whole body of colonial law, encouraged
opposition to the government, and exposed its agents to vexatious
prosecutions. The governor was determined to resist their judgment. The
warrants for the members of the council had not arrived. Thus recourse
to the legislature was impracticable, and the most obvious remedy was
the removal of the judges, and the substitution of others, whose
opinions were known to agree with the executive. The judges were
charged, therefore, with a neglect of duty in omitting, as authorised by
the law, to certify illegality in the Act prior to its enrolment; and by
permitting the question of an act of council, they were said to override
the legislature.[248]
Pending this dispute, a creditor of Mr. Justice Montagu sued him for
£200. The privilege of his office presented a legal obstacle to the
suit. This being decided by the chief justice, the creditor applied to
the governor for relief. Mr. Montagu alleged an understanding, which in
equity released him from immediate liability. The governor charged him
with perverting the protection of his office, to defeat his creditors,
and amoved him. Mr. Horne, the attorney-general, who framed the acts
repudiated by the judges, was appointed to succeed Judge Montagu, and it
became a question whether his opinion would send the merchants out of
court. The registrar of the supreme court was called before the
executive council, and questioned on the point. He stated that in the
event of a division of opinion on the bench a verdict for the plaintiff
would stand. To the suspension of the chief justice the executive
council were opposed, and Sir Wm. Denison therefore requested the judge
to relieve the government by asking leave of absence. To this he replied
in terms suited to the respectability of his character. "Were I," said
his honor, "to accept your excellency's proposal, I should, it appears
to me, be for ever after degraded, and, _ipso facto_, render myself
unworthy of holding the lowest office or employment which it is in her
Majesty's power to bestow on a subject."[249] At this stage of the
proceedings the warrant constituting the legislative councillors reached
the governor, and the opinion of the chief justice was of less moment to
the executive.
It now remained for the governor to annul either the laws opposed to the
provisions of the parliamentary act, which declared the taxing clauses
illegal, or to subvert those restrictions by declaring them inoperative.
He chose this last course. The Doubts Bill declared that an ordinance
once enrolled, whatever its provisions, or however repugnant to common
law or parliamentary acts, should be held binding on the court; and
although its rejection was proposed by the chief justice and five other
members, it passed the legislative council.
That the "Doubts Bill," so called, was inconsistent with the limitations
of the council, has been virtually determined by a retrospective clause
in the recent constitutional act, which cures the defect of these taxing
clauses, and takes the question of legality from the future judgment of
the court. By the act of 9 Geo. IV., sec. 83, the governor possessed
powers sufficiently ample to pass, without notice or delay, any measure,
and to adhere to its provisions in a pressing emergency; but the
prohibition of taxes, for all but strictly local purposes, was
peremptory and explicit.
An instance of rapid legislation contemplated by the act, occurred
(1843) when Dr. Turnbull held the office of sheriff. More cautious than
his predecessor, he closely examined his commission, and discovered that
the seal of the colony had been attached, and not that of the governor,
as required by the charter of justice. This error had been made in
successive commissions for many years. Every execution--criminal or
civil--had been therefore illegal. At one sitting of the council the act
of indemnity was passed, and all proceedings affected by the mistake
were declared valid. The propriety of this promptitude was indisputable.
The chief justice left the representation of his conduct to the
governor. His treatment was the subject of keen censure in the commons;
and by an unpublished despatch--the nature, not the terms of which
transpired--Sir Wm. Denison was informed, and through him, the chief
justice, that his conduct to this judge was decidedly reprehended by the
crown. Mr. Horne's appointment and the amoval of Mr. Montagu were
confirmed. Mr. Justice Montagu was an acute, eloquent, and impartial
judge, but passionate and eccentric. His imprudence exposed him to a
proceeding which, in the circumstances, it is difficult to approve, and,
on general principles, not easy to condemn. The chief justice stood
still higher in public estimation. For nearly thirty years he occupied a
station of awful responsibility with a reputation unsullied, in a court
where every variety of legal knowledge has been in demand and a vast
amount of toil endured. Among the blessings which the British
constitution bestows foremost of all is the freedom of the
judgment-seat; and few political faults are less capable of palliation
than a deliberate attempt to subject a judge to the influence of the
executive.
A minute addressed to the legislative council charged the merchants with
forgetting the duty they owed to society, when they offered resistance
to the tax. They, however, maintained that every illegal demand is
spoliation, and claimed a right to protect themselves and the public
from its operation. Fifteen hundred persons signed a petition
deprecating the interference of the executive with the supreme court.
They asserted their conviction that the removal of Judge Montagu was
occasioned by his decision on the Dog Act, and the desire to replace him
by a more pliant judge. These various remonstrances had no effect on the
ministers, and the entire course of the governor was approved, except
the attempted coercion of the chief justice. The position of the
government was one of considerable embarrassment. It was the
unquestionable right of those affected to oppose the execution of
illegal ordinances; but no blame would have rested with the governor had
he amended them without removing the land-marks of the colonial
constitution.
A minute acquaintance with colonial history would justify the belief
that appeal to Downing-street against the conduct of governors is
utterly futile. When the dispute is between persons high in office the
established policy does not predicate the result; but when a mere
colonist complains he will find no precedent in Australian experience to
cheer him in his task. Gross instances of oppression have not
infrequently occurred; but in the Australian journals of half a century
no example is recorded of a governor's recall on such grounds, or of
such a censure on his conduct as might influence the habits of colonial
rulers. An opposite course would be inconvenient--perhaps dangerous. As
a choice of evils, it is better that the colonists should despair of
redress than to encourage the discontented to harrass the representative
of the crown. A result so invariable, however, proves that a
colonial-office cannot protect the Australian people. This futility of
appeal is more striking when the local authorities are protected by a
laborious despatch writer. The subtle arrangement of facts and
inferences suggests without appearing to dictate the judgment of the
office. These papers first fall into the hands of subordinate officials,
who feel a natural antipathy to colonists, whose established character
is turbulent, rapacious, and democratic. In the multiplicity of
business, comprehending the affairs of forty colonies, the responsible
minister can know little of details, and that little he must rapidly
forget. Thus, when a question is proposed, he asks time to refresh his
memory. A pungent passage or epithet, wholly irrelevant to the real
merits of the dispute, is drawn from these documents. It was thus when
the quarrel between the executive and judges was debated in the house.
The minister, having read in a despatch that the decision of the judge
would disorganise the body of law, represented the colony as a scene of
turbulence, when not a single step had been taken but the courts of
Westminster would have approved. But the house was equally ill informed.
It readily acquiesced: the conversation dropped, and the despatch
triumphed. No governors have stood so high in the colonial-office as
despatch writers; whether that ability in epistolary correspondence
implies general superiority, or that they beguile the minister of his
judgment by the subtlety or wisdom of their political disquisitions.
The petitions for representative government, repeated for more than
twenty years, and which strongly interested the sympathy of all classes,
were renewed with increasing hope of success from 1846 to 1850. The
ministers, though admitting the abstract value of the privilege,
hesitated while the great preponderance of convicts seemed to require an
absolute authority. This feeling was not overcome until the accession of
Lord Grey, who saw no danger in conceding to the free population the
common rights of Englishmen. A variety of plans were submitted at
different times to the parliament and ministry, to secure colonial
representation. Mr. Joseph Hume suggested (1832) the admission of a
certain number of representatives chosen in the colonies to seats in the
House of Commons; in all nineteen, one being for Australia,--a measure
once suggested for the old American colonies; but the distance in both
cases, and expenses of transit, would not easily have admitted effective
representation or perfect responsibility. Sir John Franklin suggested
(1839) a legislature, to consist of twenty-one members, one third
nominated by the crown, and the remainder elected by persons holding the
qualification of common jurors. He gave a generous testimony to the
intelligence and probity of the settlers, and alleged that they would
bear comparison with corresponding classes within any dominions of the
crown.[250]
In 1843 the legislature of New South Wales was constituted. Originally a
nominee council, the popular element was infused by two thirds being
elective members. A civil list was reserved, and the disposal of
territorial revenues withheld; but the partial liberty enjoyed was used
with discretion and effect. The bill enjoined the establishment of
district councils, authorised to superintend internal affairs, and to
fulfil many of the functions of municipal bodies. They were, however,
never called into action. The scattered inhabitants found it difficult
to assemble, and more so to reconcile their neighbors to local taxation.
The machinery of the councils was set in motion only to defeat their
design. Thus the legislative body retained in its hands the whole power
which it had been intended to balance and check by the petty councils.
Port Phillip, however, then a part of New South Wales, but more distant
from the metropolis than England from Rome, was represented in a council
sitting at Sydney. The loss of time required disinclined most gentlemen
to undertake the representation, and those chosen were chiefly resident
in New South Wales proper. Their numbers were too small for effectual
action, and their sympathies were divided between their constituents and
their neighbors. The revenues raised at Victoria were expended to some
extent in the elder city, and the superintendent of Port Phillip had
little influence and less power in the government. The popular
dissatisfaction, which led to some unavailing petitions to the crown,
took a curious form. Thus, in 1848, the electors met at the hustings and
discountenanced the appearance of a candidate, and after waiting an
hour, the returning officer announced that no member had been returned.
On meeting for the election of a member for the city Earl Grey was
chosen. The governor and superintendent considered this proceeding a
disgraceful farce. The law officers could not question its legality, and
the secretary of state was for two years member for Melbourne, without,
however, taking his seat. Mr. Westgarth, a merchant of tried
intelligence and public spirit, was chosen afterwards, and was presented
to the house "in the room of the Right Hon. Henry Grey, Earl Grey."
Sir Wm. Denison was instructed to report on the subject of an elective
legislature for Van Diemen's Land. He furnished Lord Grey with various
opinions and suggestions. He had recommended a frame-work, the
counterpart of the New South Wales assembly, only, however, that he
deemed it undesirable for colonies so contiguous to differ in their
institutions. The experience of the Tasmanian legislative council had,
he asserted, assisted him in forming an opinion on the character of the
people. "When we see," said Sir William, "the low estimate which is
placed upon every thing which can distinguish a man from his fellows,
with the sole exception of wealth; when we see that even wealth does not
lead to distinction, or open the road to any other ambition save that
of excelling in habits of self-indulgence,--it can be hardly a subject
of surprise that so few rise above the general level, or that those few
owe more to the possession of a certain oratorical facility than to
their powers of mind or the justness of the opinions they advocate."
"There is an essentially democratic spirit, which actuates a large mass
of the community; and it is with a view to check the development of this
spirit that I would suggest the formation of an upper chamber." Sir
William Denison suggested that bishops might be members of an upper
house, and certain _ex officio_ representatives of government; the rest,
whether nominated by the crown or elected by the people, to hold their
seats for life.[251]
By a despatch to Sir Charles Fitz Roy, Earl Grey expounded a new
constitutional system for the colonies. It was zealously opposed in New
South Wales. The people complained that the change in the constitution
without their consent was an infringement of their vested rights, and
disrespectful to their legislature. They objected strongly to a plan
which made the district councils the electors of the assembly. They
repudiated the statement that their legislature had absorbed all the
powers of "the colonial state," and the checks and balance contemplated
by the original constitutional act. These views were sustained by the
legislature itself. The idea of two chambers was approved by the
majority, but most elected members were against it.
The plans of Earl Grey and the correspondence and petitions they
produced were referred to the committee of the Privy Council, and the
report adopted recognised all the great principles of British government
except the full control of the expenditure (1849). This able paper
recommended legislative councils for all colonies capable of supporting
a civil list, one third nominees, and the remainder chosen by the
people. The division of the legislature into separate chambers it
resigned to the judgment of the colonies. It suggested a federal
assembly for the general interest of the Australias, having its action
closely defined. The "House of Delegates," to consist of not less than
twenty nor more than thirty, were distributed--to each colony two, and
one additional for every fifteen-thousand souls. This plan of government
was differently regarded in different colonies. The elder condemned its
restrictions: the younger rejoiced in the prospect of new franchises,
and trusted to time to enlarge their liberties. The general opinion of
intelligent men was favorable to the division of the legislature, but
the colonies were not capable of supplying the elements of nobility.
Some aspiring persons desired a little house of peers, others the
appointment of senators by the crown, and for life: a greater number
were convinced that the legislature should be elective throughout. The
social equality of settlers who landed together could not be forgotten
in the diversities of their colonial fortune. The first collision of
opinion would bring the machinery of double chambers to a dead lock, and
no interposing power could adjust the dislocated frame-work. A stoppage
of supplies would follow the first impulses of resentment. In English
representation it is the last remedy, but then it betokens the dismissal
of a minister or the downfall of a dynasty.
The colonial press generally approved the ministerial bill, not as a
measure approaching perfection, but for some favorite object it was
calculated to hasten. It was hailed at Port Phillip because it secured
separation from Sydney; at South Australia, as certain to terminate the
ecclesiastical endowments; and in Van Diemen's Land it was welcomed,
with all its faults, as the engine sure to destroy transportation. Thus
the Colonial Reform Society, which attempted to defeat the government
measure, found little sympathy beyond New South Wales, where the change
gave nothing. The ministers interpreted the satisfaction of the colonies
as a testimony to their skill, not detestation of their government. The
real cause of colonial delight was the severance of their chains, and
the certainty that when broken all the power of Europe could never renew
them.
The bill suffered some mutilations in its passage to the throne. The
federal clauses were expunged. The local governors were opposed to the
establishment of an assembly of delegates, which would have overruled
their individual policy. They were fearful of compromising their
revenues by permitting to New South Wales the preponderance of members.
These objections, not indeed without weight, and, still more, the
jealousy of the conservatives of an organisation which seemed but a
prelude to independence, despoiled the measure of a provision which,
however modified, must be ultimately restored. A reduction of the
franchise of the bill from £20 to £10, nearly equal to household
suffrage, was, however, the most considerable change. It was suggested
by Mr. R. Lowe, to bear down an opulent emancipist interest in New South
Wales. It was expected to give irresistible power to that class in Van
Diemen's Land. The bill was carried through the lords by a trifling
majority in a thin house. The fate of a young empire but slightly moved
the British peerage. It received the royal assent, August 5th, 1850.
When the bill arrived the joy of Port Phillip was unbounded. Several
days were devoted to processions and feasting. Numberless devices were
exhibited, displaying the political bias of the people. Many thousand
pounds were spent in the festivities. A similar though less magnificent
display was made in Van Diemen's Land. All ranks were inclined to forget
their differences, and public dinners, at which many hundreds were
guests, celebrated the constitutional victory.
Lord John Russell, on the second reading of the bill, explained his
opinions, which, whether or not consistent with the ministerial measure,
were worthy his station and political renown. "I anticipate with
others," he said, "that some of our colonies may so grow in wealth and
population that they may feel themselves strong enough to maintain their
own independence in amity and alliance with Great Britain. I do not
think that that time is yet approaching. But let us make them, as fast
as possible, fit to govern themselves. Let us give them, as far as we
can, the capacity of ruling their own affairs. Let them increase in
wealth and population; and, whatever may happen, we of this great empire
will have the consolation of saying that we have increased the happiness
of the world." Such sentiments tend to extinguish the desire to quit a
political connection rendered honorable by terms so nobly expressed by
the first minister of the crown, and which, if fairly carried out, will
make the colonies cling with fondness to a nation so magnanimous as to
greet them with applause.
In 1846-7 important additions were made to the educational means of the
colony. An episcopal institution, called Christ's College, was formed at
Bishopsbourne. Scholarships were founded by the medical, military, and
clerical professions, and divinity fellowships endowed (1846). Lord
Stanley recommended the establishment of a proprietary high school, open
on equal terms to all denominations, and promised the patronage of the
crown. The site reserved for this purpose at Hobart Town was granted by
Sir W. Denison to the episcopalians, for the Hutchins' school. This
alienation was deemed unjust. Instead, however, of wasting time in
unavailing complaints, the friends of education were convened by Mr. H.
Hopkins, an opulent merchant, when a prospectus was submitted by the
Rev. Dr. Lillie and J. West. A thousand pounds were subscribed in the
room, and in five weeks £5000 (1847). The first conspicuous object seen
by the stranger on entering the river is the High School of
Hobarton,--an edifice erected amidst enchanting scenery, on a site
granted by the crown, and possessing architectural attractions which
have yet to be equalled in this hemisphere. The institution is managed
by a council of nine, chosen by the shareholders. The Rector, nominated
by the London University, was the Rev. J. B. Froude, author of the
"Nemesis of Faith,"--a publication which led to his instant resignation.
James Eccleston, Esq., appointed in his stead, survived the opening of
the school only one month. A thousand pounds were subscribed for his
widow.
Thus the activity of private zeal effected the objects contemplated by
legislative interference. The growth of population will give ample scope
for these various institutions, and extinguish all but a wholesome
rivalry.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 248: The council derived their powers from the Act 9 of George
IV., c. 83. They were permitted to enact ordinances "for the good
government of the colony," but they were forbidden to impose taxes,
except for local purposes; and they were ordered to state "distinctly
and particularly in the body" of every law the purposes to which the tax
should be applied; and thus to prevent the evasion of the prohibitory
clause intended to protect the subject. It was not worth while to
enquire whether the view of the judges of the legality of the act in the
case of Symons _v._ Morgan was in harmony with the parliamentary act,
because the question merged in one of much greater importance--Whether
they could take that act into consideration at all? It was of far more
consequence to know whether the colony had a remedy against the
usurpation of the legislative council, than to decide whether Messrs.
Horne and Fleming were better lawyers than Sir John Pedder and Mr.
Justice Montagu. "The powers of a subordinate legislature," says a
distinguished writer, "are expressly or tacitly delegated by the supreme
government. In order, therefore, to determine whether an act of the
legislature has a binding force, it is necessary to look at the extent
of the delegation. If the act be not within the scope of the delegation,
it is without binding force, and can be annulled before a competent
tribunal" (Lewis on Dependencies). Sir Wm. Denison stated that the
silence of the Judges for fourteen days after the act was
passed,--whatever might have been the cause of that silence--ignorance,
indolence, sickness, or corruption,--rendered the most unlawful stretch
of power on the part of the council, including the total subversion of
all the limitary clauses, binding upon the colony, and if sanctioned by
the Queen, through the same ministerial inadvertence or corruption,
binding for ever. Judging of the intentions of parliament by the general
character of colonial legislation and by the cautious wording of this
act, it could scarcely be imagined that they suspended the public safety
on such a thread. That Englishmen should be deprived of their rights,
without the possibility of appeal, by the inadvertence of a judge--not
sitting in a court of justice, but in his own chamber--would be to
legislate by accident. Sir Wm. Denison relied on the despatch of Sir
George Murray (1828), which accompanied the Act 9 Geo. IV., known as the
"Huskisson Act." The former practice was to require the governor to
submit to the judge the draft of a bill before it was laid upon the
table of the council chamber, no principle of colonial law being more
"firmly established than that a colonial legislature cannot enact
statutes repugnant to the law of England." The judge (he said) "might
have found himself often required in open court to deny the validity of
a colonial ordinance, on the ground of repugnancy." By the Act in
question "provision was made for fully learning the views of the judges
upon the law, and for preventing their refusing to execute any law that
may be passed after a full consideration of their objections." Thus it
was intended to "combine, as far as possible, the advantage of a strict
observance of a general rule, and a harmony between the judges and the
legislature." It was therefore clear that the power given to the judges
to stop the enforcement of any illegal ordinance continued until their
objections--whenever and wherever they might arise--had been "fully
considered."--_Hobart Town Courier._]
[Footnote 249: Parl. papers, July. 1848.]
[Footnote 250: Despatch, August, 1838.]
[Footnote 251: Despatch to Earl Grey, 1848.]
SECTION II.
It now remains to record the most important colonial agitation of modern
times. The opposition of Van Diemen's Land to a system reprobated by
mankind--too long despised--awakened everywhere resistance to
transportation; and, assisted by the discovery of gold fields of vast
extent and opulence, will change the penal policy of the British empire.
In the progress of the struggle all classes ranged on the same side.
Parents thought of their children--patriots of their country. Every
legislature of this hemisphere has expressed the popular will and
demanded abolition, and the final triumph only awaits the fiat of the
crown. The steps of the colonists have been cautious and deliberate,
their perseverence and energy indomitable! Their success has been
chequered by frequent disappointment, but never was a battle more nobly
fought--never was there a cause more worthy of triumph.
Mr. McLachlan, long a resident in Van Diemen's Land, judged the plans of
Lord Stanley by the test of experience, and warned the minister of their
too certain results. Other colonists in England corroborated his views
and enforced his representation. Mr. Smith, a colonist of long standing,
obtained an audience at Downing-street. He described the social dangers
which environed the settlers. "I confess," said the noble lord, "that
you are in an awful position."
The representation forwarded by Mr. Pitcairn and his coadjutors was
intrusted to Mr. M'Lachlan's care. The press of England took the side of
the oppressed, and the inexorable office was obliged to listen, to
argue, and retract.
There was, however, one result of his scheme which moved the
susceptibilities of Lord Stanley himself. He shrank from the
"intolerable evils of a breach of faith" with the exiles of Great
Britain. They had been encouraged to expect high wages and ready
employment. Such was the fair reward offered. Far other was their actual
lot. "Thousands of prisoners," said an official representation, "are
going about idle, polluting the atmosphere in which they move. Is it to
be wondered at that the Pentonville men should fall?"[252] The extreme
social degradation and demoralising contamination to which they were
exposed in Van Diemen's Land, and the disheartening difficulties they
had to contend with, were utterly incompatible with the spirit of Lord
Stanley's despatch.[253] This "breach of the public faith" was promptly
repaired by a new series of projects.
Sir Charles Fitz Roy and Sir E. Wilmot, assisted by Mr. Latrobe, were
instructed to select a site whither to send exiles, there to remain
while awaiting hire or voluntary emigration: conditional pardons which
gave liberty in Van Diemen's Land, were made available in all the
colonies.
The formation of a new settlement was the grand expedient. Vessels
bringing convicts to Van Diemen's Land were to convey ticket holders to
North Australia. Happily for the world this project was defeated. A
squatter hired exiles in England, with the sanction of the minister. A
demand for labor sprung up. Sir George Gipps informed the secretary of
state that from Moreton Bay to Melbourne exiles would be welcome. This
Mr. Latrobe confirmed (1845). The settlers associated to bring expirees
from Van Diemen's Land. Many shiploads were deported at £1 per head.
Thus the difficulty appeared at an end. The _Maitland_, engaged for
North Australia, was diverted to Port Phillip. The men were promptly
employed. The considerable flockmasters were desirous of a regular
supply, while the colonists in general were far less cordial. Opposition
was, however, languid; and the occasional apathy of the public and the
indecision of the press were construed as assent.
While the home and colonial governments were constructing and dissolving
systems, the idea of abolition was started by the press. "The settlers,"
said the _Examiner_, "may not be prepared for this. Our own impression
is that they are not; but it is our firm opinion that at no distant day
the unanimous voice of the community will say, in a tone not to be
disregarded, cease transportation for ever." (March, 1844.) Events a few
months after still more forcibly pointed to this issue.
Mr. M'Lachlan, in a letter to Mr. Gladstone, put the case of Van
Diemen's Land in a striking aspect. "Shall the fairest isle in the south
be converted into one huge gaol? shall the free inhabitants be made the
passive instruments of punishing these criminals? Is this the only
capacity in which the British government will recognise the free
colonists? The petitioners have laid their case before the legislature.
They trust they have not appealed in vain--that they will not be driven
from a land where the best days of many of them have been spent"
(February, 1846).
The petition prepared by Mr. Pitcairn was presented in the lords by the
Marquis of Lansdowne (March, 1846). In remarking on its contents, Lord
Stanley begged their lordships to believe that the question involved
interests more important than a single colony! He stated that Van
Diemen's Land could not be swamped by an annual influx of four thousand.
If, he said, the thirty thousand persons released from the prisons of
France were so intolerable, what must be the condition of England with
sixty thousand expirees then settled in the colonies? Van Diemen's Land
was always a penal colony, and he saw no reason that it should be
otherwise. Earl Grey warmly censured this policy, and complained "that
no hope of relief from the frightful evils of transportation had been
afforded." He stated that he was "prepared to express an opinion that
transportation should be got rid of. He had long entertained that
opinion, and had never seen the arguments of the Archbishop of Dublin
refuted." A duplicate of this petition, presented to the Commons, was
followed by the motion of Mr. Ewart, "That it is inexpedient to make Van
Diemen's Land the sole receptacle of convicts, and that transportation
be abolished, except as a supplement to penal discipline" (May, 1846).
The day chosen was inauspicious. The "house" was gone to the Epsom
races. Mr. Hudson, the railway king, not better employed, stumbled into
the chapel of St. Stephen, and counted out the members. Mr. Ewart
renewed his motion (July 6). A few days before Earl Grey and Mr. Hawes
had obtained the command of the colonies, they admitted the facts of the
petition, and promised redress. The liberal principles avowed by the new
government reassured the friends of Van Diemen's Land. Mr. Gladstone had
determined to arrest the influx of convicts for two years: this was
approved by his successor. In quashing the North Australian colony, Earl
Grey stated his dissent from the principles on which it had been founded
(September 30, 1846). The whigs ever expressed a decided abhorrence of
penal colonisation and the collection of masses cradled in the
traditions of crime. When taunted with this accumulation in Van Diemen's
Land as the result of his policy of 1840, Lord John Russell
explained:--"As to the sending of convicts to Van Diemen's Land, he had
intended to adopt the policy recommended in the work of the Archbishop
of Dublin. Had his plan been carried out, instead of 4,000 convicts sent
to Van Diemen's Land there would not have been more than five or six
hundred."
When Earl Grey instructed Sir William Denison in reference to certain
reforms, he intimated his expectation that transportation would
terminate. Soon after Sir William Denison addressed to the magistrates
of the territory a series of enquiries (March, 1847), of which the first
was awfully momentous. "Do you consider it desirable that transportation
of convicts to this country should cease altogether?" The character of
the enquiry was described in a letter signed by the private secretary.
The governor preferred communicating with these gentlemen, and by them
with their neighbours, rather than with popular assemblies. It was not,
however, to be expected that a subject of direct and universal concern
would be resigned to the discussion of a single class; nor did persons
holding magisterial distinctions, on that account command the confidence
of the people. This was felt by the magistrates themselves. A
preliminary meeting was convened at Hobart Town to discuss the subject
of the circular. A difference of opinion was apparent, and an angry
altercation ensued. Mr. Carter, a storekeeper, defended transportation
as necessary to trade. Mr. Gregson advised his auditors to cast the
question of crocks and slops to the wind, and to secure at once the
final liberation of the colony. A public meeting was held at Hobart
Town. Ineffectual attempts to postpone the question by the advocates of
transportation were offered, and the speakers on the popular side were
loudly cheered. The party defeated signed a memorial representing that
they were not heard at the meeting, and repudiating its decision. Sir
William Denison promised to place it in the hands of Earl Grey "as a
record to be employed in the support of the facts it contained."
This second petition, adopted by the colony (6th May, 1847), was also
drawn up by Mr. Pitcairn. The editors of the London _Morning Chronicle_
remarked "That they never read a public document more calculated to
command both the convictions and sympathies of those whom it addresses.
Future ages would contemplate with amazement the fact that wrongs so
cruel in their nature, and so enormous in their amount, have been
inflicted in civilized times." It recapitulated the grievances of the
colony with energy and clearness. It complained that promises of relief
had proved fallacious--that the worst evils of transportation were
continued; that there were then four thousand prisoners more in the
colony than were ever at one time in New South Wales, and that 12,000
free persons had quitted the country since 1841. The petition asked for
representative government, the abolition of transportation, and the
importation of 12,000 free immigrants at the expense of Great Britain;
and it recommended the removal of the men to the colony of North
Australia, or wherever they might be required. Meetings were held by
different classes in several districts of the colony. In the most
populous the feeling decidedly favored abolition. Not the least
important of the series were held in Launceston. Six magistrates of the
north determined to advise with the colonists at large. The persons who
assembled at their call were undecided; the friends of abolition desired
delay; its determined opponents deprecated public discussion; but to the
majority deliberation seemed necessary, and on the motion of Mr. Dry a
committee was constituted who were requested to collect evidence, to
make a report, and draft a reply to the circular of the governor.[254]
The tradesmen of that public spirited community first expressed their
sentiments. A few transportationists induced a respectable shopkeeper to
propose thirty-nine reasons for the continuance of transportation, but
the warmth of his elocution and the frequent repetition of "because" in
an Aberdeen accent, dissolved his party in laughter. The good humoured
logician acquiesced in the voice of the assembly and abandoned the cause
of transportation for ever. The meeting convened of the northern
colonists assembled on the 10th of May. The committee appointed on the
3d of April having prepared a report, and founded on its conclusions a
reply to the circular, it was signed by the chairman, James Cox, Esq.,
of Clarendon.[255] Many who were formerly advocates for transportation
as it once existed, saw its dangers when they became anxious for the
moral and social welfare of their sons. They were formerly but
flockmasters, but they had become the founders of a state. They learned
from the discussions of the ministers that what they had thought a
service rendered to the crown was deemed disgraceful and degrading.
Opulent settlers who visited Europe found it convenient to conceal their
home, and some less prudent were repelled with unconquerable
distrust.[256] In a small community the public reputation is of personal
importance, and it was alleged that to neglect the offer of social
freedom would be infamy unexampled. To this feeling the abolitionists
appealed. "Parents of Van Diemen's Land," said the author of a pamphlet
called _Common Sense_, "can you hesitate? Let the timid and sordid
doubt,--let them reckon the farthing they may lose! Let your hearts
dictate your answer to the circular. Let it be worthy Britons,
Christians, and Parents. Shew that you prize your rights, and that you
love your children. That land which they tell you will become a desert
when the clank of chains, the cries of torture, the noise of riot, and
the groans of despair shall be heard no longer, will _not_ become a
desert; 'it will blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing,'
when your sons and daughters shall go forth, the free among the free.
Consult your own understandings, that you may obey the dictates of your
hearts. The Sovereign has invited you to express your desire. Let it not
be one that will cause the eyes of mankind to look upon you with
abhorrence, and turn away with contempt. Make not your name a scorn and
a hissing! Perform your duty, AND SAVE YOUR ADOPTED COUNTRY!"
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 252: Mr. Boyd, August 29, 1845.]
[Footnote 253: Dr. Hampton to the Commissioner of P. P., Aug. '45.]
[Footnote 254: The committee was constituted by the following
gentlemen:--Wm. Archer, J.P., W. H. Browne, L.L.D., James Cox, J.P., R.
Dry. M.L.C., F. M. Innes, Esq., J. G. Jennings, J.P., W. R. Pugh, M.D.,
J.P., H. Reed, J.P., J. Thompson, Esq., and J. A. Youl, J. P.]
[Footnote 255: This document, some extracts of which express the
prevailing opinion, was read by Mr. Dry:--
"The circular addressed by his Excellency to the magistrates of this
territory, has been made the subject of careful deliberation.
To his Excellency's first question--'Do you consider it desirable that
the transportation of convicts to this colony should cease altogether?'
we reply that it is our opinion transportation 'to this country should
cease altogether.'
In connexion with this question we recognise the truth and importance of
his Excellency's caution, that no 'material advantage' ought to 'balance
against any amount of moral evil, however small;' we have therefore
directed our attention to this point as preliminary to a decision on
others less vital.
In examining the moral bearings of transportation, we have enquired--
1. Are there any moral evils occasioned by the transportation of
convicts to the colony?
2. If so, are the moral evils now connected with transportation inherent
and inseparable?
3. Can it be presumed that other, and greater moral evils will accrue to
the colony from the stoppage of transportation?
It appears that the convicts in this colony out-number the children, and
amount to nearly double the adult free population; that since the year
1840, 25,228 prisoners have been transported to Van Diemen's Land and
its dependencies; that one fifth only of these are females; that the
greater proportion of domestic servants as well as laborers are
convicts; that they are in constant contact with every class of colonial
society; and that though not universally, they are generally persons of
bad principles and vicious habits.
The numerical preponderance of prisoners has lowered the general tone of
society, encouraged fraud, obstructed the administration of justice, and
so far multiplied crime as to discourage its prosecution;
notwithstanding 521 persons were _tried_ before the Supreme Court and
Quarter Sessions, last year.
The second enquiry is,--are the evils in connection with transportation
inherent and inseparable?
Looking at the present condition of this island, it may be justly
concluded that they are.
Reason and experience justify the conclusion that the aggregation of
prisoners whether in close bondage or in society, must confirm them in
evil. The effect of transportation is to force the free working classes
from the island, and to supply their place with prisoners. It appears,
therefore, demonstrable that as far as they are the instruments of
demoralization, it is inevitable, from their numerical preponderance.
Their condition affords no prospect of extensive reformation, and
whatever evils they may be supposed to create, are essential
consequences of transportation.
3. 'Whether greater evils may not arise from the shock to society, which
the sudden cessation of a supply of labour may cause?'
It is not perceived in what manner the want of labour can be productive
of greater _moral_ evils than now exist. An increase of wages must be so
far beneficial to the employed, and increase their means of comfort. It
is not supposed that a deficiency of labour will increase the
_immorality of the upper classes_; and no connexion can be discovered
between cessation and an increase of evil in any form whatever. On the
contrary, transportation, by raising the proportion of the aged, the
feeble, and the incapable, would seem to lead to the apprehension that
greater immorality may result as the growing effect of want and
distress. Even were it true, that the more wealthy classes are safe from
contamination could a moral cordon be drawn--even could they be held
safe from the effects of unrestricted communication with men of the same
language, color, and nation--still there appears no propriety in leaving
the working classes generally out of account. Many were induced to
settle in this country by representations for which the government is
morally responsible. As subjects of the Queen, they are entitled to be
guarded against any measures which may destroy their social position and
domestic security; it would be difficult to justify the sacrifice of
their welfare for the sake of a class--numerically much smaller--however
rich.
And, in looking at the circumstances of this colony, no causes have been
discovered for inferring its decline, _excepting only such as are the
effects of transportation_."
The reply to the first query, "that transportation ought to cease at
once and for ever," elicited applause that lasted some minutes.]
[Footnote 256: In our native land we are looked upon with feelings of
horror. An old and respected colonist, and a most intimate friend of his
own, had gone home, and had lately returned. He had told him some
stories, and he would vouch for the truth of them. When he arrived at
home he took his family to an hotel. He had not been there long before
the landlord learnt that he had come from this place: he came to him
with a face full of concern, and said, "You did not tell me, sir, that
you came from Van Diemen's Land; do not let it be known, or I shall be
ruined." On another occasion a friend of his had to assure the landlord
that he was a perfectly honest man, and he need not be afraid of him,
although he did come from Van Diemen's Land. A short time after he had
been in England he engaged a butler. He had not been long in the family
before he came and said the place did not suit him, and he left at once.
The servants whom he had taken from this place soon found out the
feeling that existed; and, instead of saying they came from here, they
used to say they came from India.--_Speech of Robert Officer, M. D., at
Hobart Town Meeting._]
SECTION III.
The benefit derived from Mr. M'Lachlan's efforts was apparent to all.
But he was returning to Van Diemen's Land. The New South Wales
legislature engaged the Honourable F. Scott, M.P., to watch over their
concerns. To this Lord Stanley demurred. He said a retainer for a colony
was inconsistent with the standing obligations of a member of
parliament, and that a committee to direct him would usurp the functions
of the executive (1845). The old American colonies appointed agents:
sometimes acting for only one branch of the legislature where there were
two chambers. They were often members of parliament. Edmund Burke filled
this office for the assembly of New York, with a salary of £500. The
people of Van Diemen's Land formed "The London Agency Association," and
appointed Mr. J. A. Jackson to represent them. Their proceedings were
adopted by the colony, at a meeting called by the sheriff of Hobart
Town; they did not however pretend to public authority, and they
confined their attention to secular questions. The subscribers were
called together at this crisis. By a vote, almost unanimous, they
adopted a letter of instructions which directed Mr. Jackson to support
the cause of total abolition. The London Agency Association expressed
the opinions of the country gentlemen. There were several other
organisations composed chiefly of tradesmen. In reference, however, to
representation and abolition, all classes agreed.
The British Government seemed to anticipate the wishes of the colonists.
A despatch (February 5, 1847,) from Earl Grey, printed in the blue book,
informed the people that transportation to Van Diemen's Land, except,
indeed, as a part of the colonial empire, was finally terminated. There
was nothing to prevent the arrival of exiles, when the state of the
colony could admit of their dispersion amidst a free people,--a
condition explicitly required by the primary object of cessation. This
despatch Sir William Denison laid on the table of the council, and while
he noticed its harmony with the wishes of a large proportion of the free
inhabitants, he exhorted them to beware of undue exultation or
despondency whatever the issue of the measure, and in this crisis of
their fate to confide in the goodness of God (July, 1847).
The views of the government were expounded in official letters and
speeches in the British legislature. Stated with brevity they expressed
a purpose to punish crime in England, and to assist the emigration to
every British colony, individually rather than collectively, of men with
conditional pardons. Sir George Grey asserted that the idea of resuming
transportation to Van Diemen's Land was illusory. He recommended that
the governor should be instantly informed of its termination. He
condemned the practice of sending many exiles to one place as likely to
create a feeling of caste, and in time produce the evils of penal
colonisation. With these views Earl Grey concurred (February 5, 1847).
He stated that they agreed with his established opinion, and he thought
that well trained convicts might be dispersed in the colonies,
especially taking care to promote the emigration of a considerable
number of persons untainted with crime. To the same effect was his
exposition of the future policy in the House of Lords. He expressed a
hope that exiles might be so distributed that the chance of recognition
should be slight. Lord Brougham made merry at this notion of banishment
as a game at which two could play, and depicted the consternation of
Calais at an arrival of reformed Pentonvillians. The chief reliance of
Earl Grey was on the demand for convict labor in the colonies, which he
far too highly estimated. When the intentions of the home government
were declared, Sir W. Denison, who had given opposite advice, hastened
to recall his recommendation. He stated that to resume transportation in
any shape would be looked upon as a breach of faith, and be very
embarrassing to government (August 28, 1847).
The publication of Earl Grey's policy occasioned general gladness and
gratitude. But it was followed by a measure adverse to its whole spirit
and the facts on which it had been founded (September, 1847). The
governor was directed to remove the convicts at Norfolk Island to Van
Diemen's Land, and to receive those remaining in New South Wales not
entitled to release. Drafts of transports were constantly arriving from
every British dependency, and thus additions were daily made to the
overwhelming convict population. The vices of the Norfolk Island
prisoners had appalled the empire. The residuary convicts of New South
Wales indicated their character by their long detention. Some were
imprisoned in caverns dug in the rocks, and their depravity assumed the
aspect of mania. The whole colony was roused by these projects. Meetings
and memorials were multiplied. A deputation to the governor, then in
Launceston, was attended by a long and excited procession. He concurred
in their sentiments, suspended the progress of the scheme, and received
the thanks of the colonists and the minister. The result was
unimportant, for from Norfolk Island the convicts were silently
transmitted to Van Diemen's Land and distributed undistinguished.
Mr. Gladstone, when secretary for the colonies, addressed a confidential
despatch to Sir C. Fitz Roy (April, 1846), and left its publication to
his discretion. It proposed to renew transportation to New South Wales
with the assent of the colonial legislature. This proposal was submitted
to a committee of the council. A report was founded on the evidence of
employers and forwarded to Earl Grey. It consented, conditionally; that
two free persons should be sent at the expense of England for every
prisoner, and that assignment should be revived. It admitted that the
real welfare of the colony might be best promoted by the total stoppage
of transportation to Australasia; and it yielded to a regulated and
compensating scheme only as the alternative of indirect transportation.
To give effect to the report, of which the adjournment of the
legislative council prevented the consideration, Mr. Darvall and five
hundred others presented a petition to the crown, which Earl Grey, "laid
at the foot of the throne." Earl Grey refused to restore assignment or
to send two free persons for one in bonds; but he offered to send an
equal number of each at the cost of the British treasury (September 3,
1847). After an earnest but limited opposition the proposal was accepted
by the legislative council, and the vast territory of New South Wales
opened to the dispersion of 5,000 prisoners per annum.
But Earl Grey himself departed from his own proposals (September, 1848).
He alleged that the exchequer would not permit the execution of the
emigration scheme, and that the demand for labour in the other British
colonies to the full extent of the supply rendered the outlay
unnecessary. Yet to satisfy the petitioners for convicts, some ships
would be sent. But should the legislature insist, emigrants in equal
numbers would follow them, and transportation terminate.
The adoption of this course was prompted by financial considerations,
but especially by the offer of Sir William Denison to receive 4,000
convicts annually, and thus to disperse them over the continent. This
offer had been cancelled in another despatch, but of this, although
before him, Earl Grey took no notice. He described with great apparent
elation, the character of reformed prisoners, and quoted a chaplain as
his authority, who represented them in the most favorable light. They
cheerfully endured exposure on the public works, to deter their fellow
countrymen from crime, and overcame all their adversities by patience
and prayer. To a variety of notions, all absurd and impracticable, and
all speedily abandoned, he added, "Her Majesty's government accordingly
propose in future, with regard to all convicts, except those whose
health may require different treatment, or whose sentences have been
commuted for imprisonment, that, after having gone through the two first
stages of punishment already adverted to, they should be removed as
holders of tickets-of-leave to Van Diemen's Land" (April 27, 1848).
Mr. Jackson obtained an interview with Earl Grey (Oct., 1848), and
pointed out the injustice of this course. His lordship lamented the
revival of transportation to Van Diemen's Land, and said that it arose
from unavoidable circumstances. He declared his adherence to the plan of
dispersion, and his belief that South Africa, Port Phillip, and other
colonies would afford an ample outlet for the prisoners. Circulars were
accordingly sent to the Cape of Good Hope, the Mauritius, New Zealand,
New South Wales, and Swan River. The Swan River colonists, a few
hundreds in all, accepted the offer. South Australia refused. In New
Zealand the people of both colors deprecated the plan. "Send us
gentlemen," said the chiefs, "but send us no convicts."
Before replies could arrive, Earl Grey resolved to attempt its
execution. He began with the Cape of Good Hope: he thought that the
military outlay for its defence entitled the crown to invade it with
convicts. The _Neptune_, with ticket-holders from Ireland, anchored in
Simon's Bay: the inhabitants besought Sir Harry Smith to send her back.
This he refused; but he expressed his entire sympathy with their
opinions, and forwarded a despatch to that effect. He promised that not
one should land without new orders from the secretary of state. The
people, unwilling to depend on the justice of Earl Grey, formed a
confederacy. They refused to hold intercourse with the government, or
while the vessel remained on their coast to supply the commissariat, or
to deal with any who violated this compact. Branch associations sprung
up in every district: passes were issued to travellers to show they had
not strayed from the _Neptune_. Every public body, civil and religious,
sanctioned the resistance. The cause of the Cape was espoused by the
British press. A motion was made in the Commons, by Mr. Adderley,
amounting to a censure on the minister. Both Lord John Russell and Earl
Grey promised to remove the grievance, and the _Neptune_ was ordered to
sail for Van Diemen's Land (November 3, 1849). The inhabitants gave
money to be distributed to the prisoners at their destination (February,
1850). This done, they joined in illuminations, public thanksgivings,
and congratulatory addresses to the governor, who reproved their zeal,
but rejoiced at their success. A prosecution of Mr. Fairbairn, for
conspiracy to compel an unlawful act, was begun, but fell to the ground.
A settler who supplied the government was honored with knighthood: an
example was offered to the empire of passive but victorious resistance.
The despatch of Earl Grey repudiating his own stipulation excited the
rage of New South Wales. Mr. Charles Cowper carried resolutions
rejecting transportation in any form whatever through the legislative
council without opposition. On the arrival of the _Hashemy_, a convict
vessel, the inhabitants of Sydney to the number of some thousands
assembled (June 11, 1849), and by a deputation to Sir Charles Fitz Roy,
demanded that the prisoners should be sent away, if necessary at the
colonial cost. Sir Charles was alarmed and increased his guards; he
refused admittance to the deputation, and represented their constituents
as a factious and feeble minority. The _Randolph_ on a similar errand
entered Port Phillip; the people resolved to oppose the landing. They
applied to Sir Charles Fitz Roy, then on a visit to their district, to
prevent their invasion. They were sustained by the forcible remonstrance
of Mr. Latrobe, and the vessel was sent to another part of the
territory.
No single cause will fully account for the intense and universal
opposition to the plans of Earl Grey. The vacillation of his lordship in
reference to the emigrant clause, produced feelings of exasperation and
distrust, but the sad experience of Van Diemen's Land was accepted as a
warning by other portions of the empire. A pamphlet, recording the
proceedings of the Tasmanian colonists, was everywhere scattered. It
minutely examined the penal policy of the crown, and recorded the
various demonstrations against convictism (June, 1847). A large package
of this pamphlet was forwarded by the Launceston Association to the Cape
of Good Hope, and arrived a few weeks before the _Neptune_. Thus foreign
fuel was added to the local fire--the testimony of men who had
practically known the system, and by whom it was abhorred. The committee
appointed by the Lords (1847), by the witnesses they examined,
authenticated the evidence against it. The fate of Van Diemen's Land did
not command peculiar interest amidst the wreck of thrones and the
overthrow of empires; but the supposed connection between the criminals
and insurgents of France alarmed the aristocracy, and disposed them to
cling to transportation. The Bishop of Tasmania bore testimony to its
colonial mischief. Lord Brougham endeavored to draw admissions favorable
to his views with professional acuteness; but he was foiled, and the
bishop pronounced the solemn warning that those who cast a prisoner,
especially a woman, into a community where criminal principles prevail,
pronounce a sentence for both worlds.
The Tasmanian colonists were soon instructed by the press that the
theory of dispersion was exploded. They were astonished to find fresh
convict vessels hovering on their shores; but more still were they
amazed to learn that Earl Grey seriously professed that by sending all
the convicts to Van Diemen's Land he substantially realised dispersion.
He indeed promised to provide an equal amount of emigration, but they
knew that these projects were illusive. They had before them the
addition of convict ticket holders, by hundreds, to thousands and tens
of thousands already in the colony; there to struggle with their
predecessors for bread. Such was the prospect of 1848.
SECTION IV.
"I hope," said Lord John Russell, "that when the house does come
seriously to consider any bill having the question of transportation
directly in view, it will consider the benefit of the colonies as well
as of the mother country. I own I think it has been too much the custom
both to pass acts imposing the penalty of transportation with a view
rather to the convenience of this country than to the reformation of
persons known to be of vicious habits, or to the interest of the
colonies to which they were sent. We are bound to consider those
interests likewise. We are bound when we are planting provinces, perhaps
what may in future time be empires, to endeavour that they should not be
merely seats of malefactors and of convicts, but communities fitted to
set an example of virtue and happiness, and not to make plantations, as
Lord Bacon says, of the scum of the land" (June, 1847). Such were the
sentiments of the prime minister on penal colonisation. The secretary of
the home department and the secretary for the colonies had been equally
explicit. Could they really believe their own doctrine, when their
practice was exactly opposite to its plainest dictates?
The revolution in the policy of the crown everywhere excited
astonishment and indignation. The minister, who denounced penal
colonisation as a national crime--who had pleaded the cause of the
colony and pledged the redress of its grievances--who, in short, had
professed himself a disciple of Archbishop Whately--continued to pour
convicts by thousands where for every free man there were two in bond.
Destitute of legislative and physical power, the colonists could do
nothing but deprecate. Every principal town and public body renewed
their entreaties. To give them in full would be but to repeat statements
of similar import. However variously expressed, they could scarcely
deepen the unavoidable convictions of the world.
In their numerous petitions the colonists referred to the public joy
which had greeted an offer of abolition,--accepted not less as a signal
interference of providence than as a proof of the equity of the British
government. They slightly censured Sir William Denison who had called
for four thousand convicts annually, against the petitions of 5,320
colonists, 624 parents and guardians, representing 3,355 souls; against
the memorials of the clergy of every sect, the oldest magistrates, and
most opulent settlers, and public meetings everywhere decisive, and
they entreated deliverance from an experiment more hopeless than its
predecessors. They reminded the government of Great Britain that the
colony was now entitled to abolition, not only as a measure politic in
itself, but as guaranteed by the deliberate and solemn promise of the
minister, promulgated by the representative of the crown.
A massive volume would be insufficient to contain the petitions,
letters, and despatches produced in this controversy. Colonists well
qualified to maintain the popular cause devoted to this question the
best years of life.
Sir William Denison, although opposed to one form of transportation,
maintained its substance with a pertinacity which never wavered. He
stood almost alone. He adopted the opinion that the supply of labor to
the colonies of this hemisphere was within the special province of his
government. The tendency of high wages to demoralise the workman and
retard the prosperity of employers, are prominent topics in all his
discourses and writings. Thus the masses of the people inferred that his
schemes were hostile to their welfare, and that the depression of the
working classes was a primary object of his policy. The opulent settlers
had abandoned these considerations under the influence of higher aims.
They were resolved to trust to the experience of other colonies
where--with a demand for labor--a rapid enlargement of capital and
diminished crime seemed to prove that the moral and material interests
of the wealthy and industrial classes were not incompatible. The social
recovery of the colony could only be effected by the influx of families,
and a comfortable subsistence was indispensable to attract them. The
arguments of the governor, addressed to momentary interests, were
overpowered by a desire to stand on a level with free peoples. The
disputants on both sides were in possession of facts favorable to their
respective opinions. Whatever evils were proved against transportation,
the labor it afforded had been long employed. Habit had reconciled the
minds of many to its inferiority; and the means of supplying its place
were confessedly contingent and remote. A new society, having no
disabilities to remove, no moral stain to obliterate, and formed of
elements in natural proportion, could not hesitate a moment. Economical
experience would dictate the rejection of slaves. But to clear away the
refuse of a long-existing social state, and to build anew, was a
formidable undertaking, however certain of reward. Many landholders and
masters foresaw the trials attending the transition, but were willing to
encounter them to attain an object beyond all price. "We wish it," said
one of their manifestos, "to go forth to England, and to England's
Queen, that we are not expecting solicitation or waiting for bribes; but
knowing what we do, and prizing as man must ever prize the sources of
gain, our resolution is taken,--relying on the sympathy of mankind, we
cast ourselves on the goodness of Almighty God, and dare all hazards,
_that our children may be virtuous, and their country free_."
The expression of colonial feeling was accepted by most respectable
dissentients as decisive. The settlers least averse to transportation
were disgusted with the ever-changing views of the ministers. In the
preceding ten years they had never known an hour's repose. In '38, the
parliamentary committee condemned assignment. In '40, Lord John Russell
stopped transportation. In '41, Captain Maconochie's mark system was in
the ascendant. In '42, Lord Stanley's probation scheme sprang up. In
'45, Mr. Gladstone projected the North Australian colony for
ticket-holders. In '46, Earl Grey propounded the Tasmanian convict
village scheme. In '47, he announced total abolition. In '48, another
complete revolution took place, and all convicts were to be sent to Van
Diemen's Land. This extravagance of upstart theory and fitful experiment
without end, all tended to check colonial enterprise and destroy the
public tranquillity.
In whatever sense Earl Grey announced abolition in '47, it was clear
that free emigration was essential to his plan when he proposed to
resume it in '48. The funds he assigned for this purpose were sums,--the
cost of their exile--to be exacted from ticket-holders as the price of
freedom. But these funds were wholly prospective. Insuperable
difficulties opposed their collection. Nor was the principle just. The
sickly and unskilful would have stood at a greater distance from
liberation than the clever and robust. The successful thief could
purchase his freedom, and leave behind his more honest shipmates. The
criminal being confounded with the debtor, a penal sentence would have
ended in a civil process. Earl Grey proposed to add to the free
population by the expenditure of £10,000, granted by the parliament, but
it was found that the families of convicts were to be the chief
participants. Thus resumption cut off all hope of free emigration. Nor
was it even desirable while the laboring classes were in poverty. The
settlers had the example of New South Wales before them; where even the
sudden stoppage of transportation had been followed by rapid recovery.
They were willing to combat their difficulties alone. "Such," said they,
"will at no distant period be the condition of this country should the
government prove just. And then, with its fertile valleys, clothed with
abundance and filled with life, and its pure salubrious atmosphere
giving length of days, it will need no other attractions than nature has
conferred--no other commerce than the commerce of freedom--no patronage
save the enterprise of its children. From the crown we ask nothing
except to spare us from further wrong, and to accept our grateful
loyalty in return for the uplifting of a burden too heavy to bear."
The governor himself was adverse to the ticket system. The control
exercised over the holders was limited to the most ineffectual and
distant surveillance. They were free in reference to the colonists, and
were subject to the same laws for the regulation of service.
Restrictions were imposed on their locomotion, but without much
practical restraint. Sir William Denison now recommended to the
secretary of state to send all convicts to New South Wales, where wages
were high and labor scarce, until the colonies being equal, the market
of Van Diemen's Land might again share in absorbing them. To this plan
the colony would have been disposed to assent at this stage of the
struggle. By most persons it was thought reasonable, on national
grounds, that the theory of dispersion should be tried, wherever it
might inflict no peculiar caste or moral stain. Mr. Sharland, a
strenuous abolitionist, prepared a series of resolutions against the new
form of convictism. The governor promised to support them in the nominee
council, and they passed unanimously (October, 1848). The first totally
objected to the ticket system, as in the highest degree injurious to the
convicts and the colony, and without advantage to Great Britain. The
second recommended the dispersion of convicts throughout the colonies,
accompanied by well-selected emigrants. The commentary of the governor
explained these resolutions as a compromise between persons of adverse
views. A large number of non-official magistrates--117 out of
140--signed the condemnatory clause only. They declined to countenance
the revival of transportation, or, by discussing theories of secondary
punishment, to weaken the moral claim held in the pledge of Earl Grey.
The increasing numbers of ticket-holders confirmed these objections.
They were landed, and forwarded in considerable bodies to seek
employment in the interior. Their decent apparel and quiet demeanour
made them less objects of aversion than pity. Unacquainted with colonial
labor, they were often unable to procure employment. Amongst men of this
class many, of course, were disorderly and reckless, and when they were
not readily relieved, they were insolent and threatening. They could,
indeed, throw up their tickets, and claim food of the government, but
only by a process which exposed them to censure and punishment.
"Unfortunate men," said the London Agency Association, "unacquainted
with useful labor, wander from farm to farm, asking for a night's
shelter or a morsel of bread. The relief of these men by the settlers is
prompted alike by their humanity and their fears."[257] These statements
were disputed by the governor, but they were sustained by numerous
certificates, and, in a form more qualified, by several police
magistrates. In a lonely locality females could hardly refuse relief to
applicants in parties, who pleaded the utmost want, and, when travelling
over districts equal to an English county, depended on the charity of
the settlers.
These appeals were laid before parliament; they rested their claims on
the word and honor of the minister, and on the unaltered circumstances
which he quoted to justify his original design of abolition. The pledge
was confirmed by the long acquiescence of Earl Grey and the other
ministers of the crown. Lord Mahon, a member of the late ministry,
complained that Earl Grey had fettered not only himself but his
successors. He confirmed the colonial interpretation of the pledge,
"most imprudently given by Earl Grey, that transportation should not be
resumed to Van Diemen's Land;" and he expressed an opinion "that it was
most impolitic and perilous thus to make pledges to the colonists that
were not fulfilled."[258]
During the same session Mr. Gladstone repeatedly referred to the purport
of this abolition despatch, and urged the minister to extend as widely
as possible the area of penal dispersion. He thought the policy of
England less wise than in former times, when the numbers distributed in
America were so small that they were lost in the mass of the population
(March, '49). Lord John Russell, he observed, had given a pledge that
transportation to New South Wales should be stopped. The same promise
was made to Van Diemen's Land. Had these pledges been kept? Such
vacillation was discreditable to the name of this great country (June,
'49).
Earl Grey was still pressed by the reiterated appeals of Van Diemen's
Land, and by imputations of having broken faith with its inhabitants.
The complaints of eminent commoners were renewed in the lords. He was
reminded that his opinions in 1846 were at variance with continued
transportation. Earl Grey demanded proof, when Lord Lyttleton held up
his despatch, and referred to an opinion but a few days before avowed by
Lord John Russell, that the time was at hand when a substitute would be
necessary for transportation. Lords Wodehouse and Ilchester followed,
and predicted a fearful recoil,--a severe and well merited retribution.
Lord Stanley reflected on the secretary of state for abandoning the
remedial plans of his predecessor. "Expectations," he said, "had been
held out to Van Diemen's Land, that transportation would cease, but that
now it appeared that it was not to cease. What security had the noble
lord that the colony would not resist the reception of convicts?" Lord
Monteagle asked if it was possible to send them to Van Diemen's Land? To
this Earl Grey replied that the colony was thriving, that the opposition
to transportation had declined. Millions had been expended in preparing
the country for convicts, and the free inhabitants could not expect that
when they chose to call for cessation, the imperial policy was to be
altered on their demand (April 12, 1850).
"I must notice," said Earl Grey, "the remarks of the noble lord at the
table (Lord Lyttleton) and the noble lord opposite, (Lord Stanley) as to
the effect of the earlier measures of the present administration in
producing the difficulty which is now complained of. It is asserted that
the language used both in despatches and in discussions in parliament by
members of her Majesty's government was calculated to create an
impression on the minds of the colonists, that transportation was to be
entirely discontinued, and thus to raise expectation, which it is
painful now to disappoint. My lords, if that impression and these
expectations were created, it was rather by what other parties
represented to be the views and intentions of the government, than by
anything which was said by members of the administration. I defy any
person to read through the despatches upon this subject as a whole (for
perhaps detached passages taken without the contents might be quoted
which would convey a different meaning), and not to perceive that the
view entertained from first to last was, that convicts, after having
undergone the most severe part of their punishment, were to be removed
to the Australian colonies, and a very large portion of them to Van
Diemen's Land. Undoubtedly it was the original intention of her
Majesty's government that convicts should be removed as exiles; that is,
under regulations by which on their arrival they would have been
entirely free except as to the power of returning to this country." When
his lordship was again taunted with the violation of his promise, he
replied that Van Diemen's Land had no right to complain--colonies which
had been founded as free colonies might do so; "but Van Diemen's Land
had been originally intended as a penal settlement, and had no right to
refuse to receive any number of prisoners the government choose to send,
and that he (Earl Grey) was of opinion that the authority of the crown
should be firmly asserted."
Thus the hope of voluntary relief from Earl Grey was totally
extinguished. He had before acknowledged that the claims of the colony
were unsatisfied, and had given no distinct denial of the pledge; but
his tone under these rebukes was authoritative and menacing. Passing
over all he had ever said in favor of dispersion, he adopted the
sentiments, almost the words of Lord Stanley, delivered four years
before, when that nobleman defended the policy of transportation and
denied the right of the colonists of Tasmania to complain.
The people of Van Diemen's Land, on receiving this speech, met in
unusual numbers, and renewed their protests and petitions. They extended
the leagues, started a year before, by Mr. Young, a Launceston mechanic,
to discountenance the employment of convicts. These compacts contained
various conditions, but they all proceeded on the presumption that
petitions must be followed by action. They were, however, difficult to
observe. It was not easy to distinguish the different orders of convicts
and periods of arrival. The working-classes, to whom the confederation
was beneficial, taunted employers with inconsistency when they shrank
from the unequal sacrifice. The governor himself described the opponents
of transportation, who employed convicts, in terms of irony, and the
press took up the reproach, and weekly reiterated the charge of "paltry
trimming between principle and expediency." By many hundreds the pledge
was signed notwithstanding, and it was generally kept. Many tradesmen
exhibited an example of self-denial and voluntary sacrifice to gain a
public object worthy of praise.[259]
When the _Neptune_, rejected by the Cape, arrived in the Derwent, except
Mr. Mitchell, who was detained in bondage, the passengers were pardoned
(1850). The painful exhibition of ministerial contempt stung more than
it injured the people of Tasmania, and they declared that nothing but
want of power prevented them from chasing the vessel from their waters.
A solemn protest, addressed to the people of Great Britain, was signed
by the chief merchants and landholders.[260] From this time the
colonists continued to protest specially against the violation of public
faith whenever a convict vessel anchored on their shores. Scarcely any
form of remonstrance remained to be tried. For three years the colonists
had repeated their petitions. The collecting of signatures in a
scattered population was attended with much difficulty and expense. To
stimulate and sustain hope through so long a struggle was the great task
of the leaders of this movement. The parents--the women of Van Diemen's
Land--the clergy, singly--all sects together and in their separate
churches, kept up by petitions a constant fire. Such a topic could
hardly be expected to fix the attention of the people of England, but it
derived fresh importance from its complication with the fate of other
colonies and the honor of Great Britain.
The discussion of transportation for several years annoyed and
distressed respectable expirees, who, unless intelligent and just, were
disposed to murmur at arguments which seemed to glance at themselves.
The caution and discrimination of the leaders of the movement could not
always restrain the oratory of their friends, and many offensive
metaphors or epithets dropped in the warmth of speaking, not in the
circumstances to be justified. Stimulated by newspaper writers, certain
educated emancipists of the metropolis proposed to form a "protection
association" (October, 1850). In their manifesto they collected all the
epithets calculated to wound the feelings of "their people," for so they
called them, and drew out columns of "grievances"--in the mock
sentimental style of pseudo martyrdom. "Such," said they, "is our truly
melancholy condition: but the time has arrived to rescue our people."
"We know the silent grandeur of our strength." They proposed to put down
the abolition press, to send emancipists to the Council, and to assert
the majesty of their numbers against their emigrant oppressors. But,
though encouraged by some old transportationists amongst the
magistrates, and by the government press, the scheme was too monstrous
for success. The respectable expirees stood aloof, and even detested an
organisation founded on the reminiscences of crime. A few noisy meetings
and inflammatory speeches were sufficient to open the eyes of most to
the gulf of caste into which their own protectors intended to fling
them. The deputations to the country districts were met in some
instances coldly, and in others with laughter. Mr. Gregson went to the
assembly at Richmond, and crushed their project by a calm exposition of
its character. From this moment the Union languished, and soon
disappeared, leaving a memorable warning against penal colonization and
the creation of a caste embittered by ignorance and revenge.
It was, however, felt by the colonists that no expression of the public
will would recall the minister to a sense of justice, or command the
effectual protection of parliament. The measures adopted by the Cape
were impracticable in Van Diemen's Land: if, indeed, consistent with
loyalty, they were not proper in a country where the support of the law
was necessary to restrain the convict population. Such a course was
predicted and recommended by the English press, but the ministers,
better informed, felt no danger of active or passive resistance.
Whatever compassion might be felt for Van Diemen's Land in the adjacent
colonies, hitherto its treatment by the minister had produced no
demonstration in its favor. It had been held up as a warning to
stimulate resistance to any participation in its fate. The continental
press pointed to its prostration with epithets of reproach, and it was
described as the dust-hole of the empire. The sympathy of its neighbors
was overpowered by the stronger feeling of self-preservation. It seemed
like a mill-stone strung to the neck of the Australian world, and
destined to drag it down to perdition. Under this impression they sought
to impose restrictions on the migration of expirees and the holders of
conditional pardons. The legislature of New South Wales passed a vagrant
act, which required such persons to register their names at the nearest
police-office, within a given time after their arrival. Earl Grey
disallowed this ordinance, at the recommendation of Sir William Denison,
as not only in itself oppressive, but calculated to retard dispersion,
and counteract the royal prerogative. The great argument of the
advocates for transportation in New South Wales was, however, founded on
the impossibility of checking indirect transportation through Van
Diemen's Land. Men landed in Tasmania, crossed over to Port Phillip, and
were often traced by their depredations.
The sense of impotence is not the least painful element of unjust
suffering. This weakness was the topic of exulting scorn with the few
enemies of the popular cause. The people were without allies or
protectors, and completely subject to a despotic will.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 257: London Agency Letter, November, 1848.]
[Footnote 258: Debate, March 8, 1849. (Hansard.)]
[Footnote 259: Among the many devices to awaken attention to ministerial
injustice was an association to obtain for liberated convicts, of the
incorrigible class, a passage to England. The prospectus, signed by Drs.
Browne and Gaunt, turned back the British arguments for transportation
with effect, and proposed to remit the objects of their charity to the
reform societies, parishes, and municipalities of England. This proposal
was seriously discussed at Port Phillip, and nothing prevented its
partial execution but the difficulty of preserving, with the ordinary
arrangements of a vessel, the subordination of such a ship's company.]
[Footnote 260:
"_The solemn Declaration of the undersigned Colonists of Van Diemen's
Land, addressed to the British nation._
"On the 5th day of April, 1850, the ship _Neptune_, the vessel freighted
with convicts to the Cape of Good Hope, but rejected by its inhabitants,
anchored in the port of Hobart Town, under the orders of the right
honorable the secretary of state, Earl Grey.
"Our reiterated petitions presented to her Majesty's government have
impressed the feelings of every class upon the subject of
transportation, and exhausted every argument which could enforce its
abolition.
"The ministers of religion, the parents of 20,000 children, the
magistrates almost unanimously, have in every form expostulated and
implored; nothing that the constitution authorises remains to be done to
make known the most unhappy and oppressed condition of this country....
"We cannot resist the oppression of the British government. We are
convinced that appeals to the justice and humanity of the ministry are
utterly unavailing; and that the principles which have induced them to
relieve armed or rebellious colonies, lead to the oppression or
contemptuous disregard of those who are too feeble for effectual
resistance.
"We have patiently awaited redress; we have borne illegal taxes, imposed
by a council of crown nominees, and maintained by the amoval of _one_
judge and the appointment of another; and have appealed only to the
provisions of the constitutional law of England--but in vain.
"And now, to fill up the measure of our wrong, ministers have publicly
announced their contempt for our petitions, by ordering the _Neptune_ to
our port, and discharging her passengers upon our shores.
"In such circumstances silence would be criminal. As citizens and
parents we hereby solemnly protest against the cruelty and falsehood of
the English government--against the wrongs which threaten and oppress
ourselves and our children.
"Van Diemen's Land, April, 1850."]
SECTION V.
But the day of deliverance was at hand. "_The Australias are one_"
became the watch-word of the abolitionists, and they adopted decisive
means to propagate the cry, and secure the co-operation of the colonies
of the continent. From this idea sprang the "Australasian League"--an
organization comprehending a numerical and moral force without parallel
in the present colonial empire. At Launceston, on the 9th of August,
1850, the following resolution was adopted:--"That the whole of the
Australasian Colonies are deeply interested in preventing the
continuance of Transportation to this Island. That the Launceston
Association for Promoting the cessation of Transportation to Van
Diemen's Land be hereby requested to address a letter to the respective
Colonial Secretaries, Speakers of Legislative bodies, Municipal
authorities, and other influential parties in those Colonies, earnestly
requesting the co-operation to ensure their attainment of the great
object we have in view."
The feeling expressed in this resolution was instantly reciprocated in
all the colonies. Speakers at their meetings referred to the condition
and hopeless prostration of Van Diemen's Land as a general grievance. A
letter, founded on this resolution, was drawn up by Messrs. West, Du
Croz, and Douglas (dated August 26), under the instructions of the
"Launceston Association," the first formed in the colonies. It was
signed by the chairman, Rev. Dr. Browne, senior-chaplain of Launceston.
After tracing the course of the British government, it proceeded:--"As a
last resource we turn to our fellow-colonists who, united to us by the
strictest ties, are liable to the same wrongs; and who will not be
indifferent spectators of sufferings which they may ultimately share. If
you look at the chart of Van Diemen's Land you will perceive her
geographical position establishes a relation to the adjacent colonies
which no laws can disown and no time dissolve. A few hours convey
vessels from our shores to the ports of Victoria, New South Wales, and
South Australia; and a few days' sail to New Zealand, and thence to the
islands that crowd the Pacific Ocean. Her majesty's ministers have
taught the communities established in this portion of the empire that
their ultimate interests are ONE: that upon the public spirit,
intelligence, and virtue of each, in no small measure, depend the
happiness and prosperity of all. We remind you that, in twenty years
from the present moment, should transportation continue, and the annual
number remain stationary, 70,000 or 80,000 convicted persons will have
passed through Van Diemen's Land into the neighbouring colonies. They
will consist of men not only originally depraved: all will have gone
through the demoralizing probation of public gangs: they will all have
dwelt, for several years, in exclusively convict society, where every
prevailing sympathy must be tainted with the habits of crime. This
island will not be a filter; but the accumulation of moral wretchedness
will unavoidably contaminate every mind, and stamp on every character
the impression of its peculiar constitution. The sacrifice of this
colony will not, therefore, exempt the neighbouring settlements from any
portion of the mischief incident to direct transportation. They will
receive the prisoners later in life, but deteriorated in character. Evil
associations and evil men become worse and worse: such is the dictate of
reason, and such is the solemn warning written in the oracles of God.
If, then, your colony had cause to protest against the infliction of
this evil in a limited degree, how much stronger must be your opposition
to a system which will bring into your streets, your houses, your
hospitals and prisons, the crime, insanity, decrepitude, and pauperism
ever consequent on transportation, aggravated by transmission through a
country in moral ruin. Were we to appeal to a principle of selfishness
in addressing our countrymen, we might remind you that the reputation of
this entire hemisphere is compromised by the condition of Van Diemen's
Land. The nice geographical distinctions which colonists make are lost
in the distance. As your vessels enter foreign ports, the line which
divides your population from ours fails to distinguish them. We have
heard with regret, and not without humiliation, that the British name,
every where respectable until now, has ceased to insure to many, who
have never forfeited its sanction, the common confidence of foreign
nations. That a petty state, but of yesterday, has initiated laws
intended to stigmatise all the inhabitants of the southern world, and
attributing to the whole the character of convictism. A more serious
consideration is the positive injury inflicted upon the islanders of the
Southern Ocean by scattering among them desperate men who have been
perfected in all the arts of wickedness, and who are placed within reach
of an interesting and rising people, whom they too often shock by their
vices and oppress by their crimes. We submit, sir, to your humanity as a
British fellow subject, and to your discretion as a christian
magistrate, the case of this country. In the mutation of human affairs,
the arm of oppression, which has smitten us with desolation, may strike
at your social well-being. Communities allied by blood, language, and
commerce, cannot long suffer alone. We conjure you, therefore, by the
unity of colonial interests--as well as by the obligations which bind
all men to intercede with the strong and unjust on behalf of the feeble
and oppressed--to exert your influence to the intent that transportation
to Van Diemen's Land may for ever cease."
The colonial office at first did not deny, what indeed was
unquestionable, that such hopes had been given, and not until twelve
months after Lord Grey maintained that his discretion was not limited by
his promise. Mr. Jackson again remonstrated with the minister on behalf
of the colony. Earl Grey directed Mr. Hawes to assure him the government
earnestly desired to meet the wishes of the inhabitants of Van Diemen's
Land for the discontinuance of transportation (March, 17, 1849). The
opinion of British legislators of high pretensions having confirmed the
colonial interpretation, Earl Grey made another effort to recover New
South Wales. He once more instructed Sir C. Fitz Roy to reopen the
discussion (Nov. 19, 1849), and a message for this purpose was sent to
the legislature (June, 1850). A new election meantime occurred, and the
people, supposing the question irrevocably settled, had exacted no
pledges from the members. Mr. Lamb, then a crown nominee, proposed
(August, 1850), a series of resolutions confirming the previous
decision, and declaring that tranquillity could only be restored by
revoking "the order in council." The debate on these resolutions was
postponed until the 27th of September, when it was understood counter
propositions would be submitted.
The proposal to revive transportation in New South Wales was under
discussion when the speech of Earl Grey's reached the colonies. The
people were called together to consult on their own affairs and
naturally turned to the policy of government as exhibited in Tasmania.
The resolution of the 9th of August obtained an immediate response, and
gave a new aspect to the agitation. The great Sydney meeting (September
16) "pledged themselves to co-operate with their brethren in Van
Diemen's Land;" and an association then formed for preventing the
revival of transportation opened a channel of communication. The _Sydney
Herald_, the chief organ of the abolition cause, remarked, "the best way
of dealing with this and all other evasions is that suggested by the
people of Van Diemen's Land, the formation of a great Australian
confederacy" (September 16). The people of Port Phillip "tendered their
deep sympathy and hearty concurrence and co-operation," and appointed a
provisional committee to take such measures as might be deemed
necessary to obtain complete redress. The unity of the colonies became
thenceforth the favorite topic, and nothing remained but to give to this
important sentiment a practical direction. Meanwhile (1st October), the
council of New South Wales decided on the despatch of Earl Grey, so far
as related to themselves. An amendment of Mr. M'Arthur, to receive
selected exiles with three emigrants for each, although supported by the
eloquence of Wentworth, was defeated, and Mr. Lamb's motion carried
without a division. The abolitionists had made efforts to secure
unexampled demonstrations without, and to determine the question for
ever. They held meetings daily, and called into action all the agents of
political agitation. The ladies imitated the mothers and daughters of
Van Diemen's Land, and petitioned. The members on the popular side were
encouraged by the countenance of the bishops and clergy of all
persuasions. The judges gave the weight of their experience on the same
side. Five hundred persons memorialised the council in favor of
transportation. Thirty-six thousand protested against it. The Port
Phillip members who went up to Sydney on this errand alone, to secure a
majority of the side of abolition, were met by the citizens at the water
side and escorted in triumph. The debates were more prolonged than any
known before--Australian eloquence exhausted the topic, and satisfied
the public judgment for ever. Mr. Wentworth in supporting the amendment
yet declared his aversion to transportation, and his belief that nothing
but a powerful confederation of the colonies would prevail against
it.[261] The governor was neutral: the official members of the house
withdrew: but the attorney-general rose from the deserted benches, and
claiming to perform a duty as a citizen who had watched transportation
in all its stages and results, gave an irresistible testimony on the
side of social freedom.
A common interest in the liberation of Tasmania being thus avowed by the
continental colonies, it became necessary to settle the principles of
their confederation. The Rev. John West of Launceston, who had first
mooted the measure, was deputed to consult with the colonists resident
at Hobart Town. Meetings were accordingly held at the dwelling house of
Mr. Hopkins of that city during several weeks, and the whole question of
transportation in its colonial aspect was largely discussed. An
impression seemed to prevail that the theory of dispersion, as
originally propounded by Earl Grey, might have been beneficial to the
empire and desirable for the convicts, and but slightly injurious to the
colonies. It was clear, however, that the resolution of the free
colonies was irrevocable, and that the continuance of transportation
would pour an incessant and destructive stream of crime into Van
Diemen's Land. Nor was it possible to make common cause with the
adjacent communities but by supporting the object of their local
resistance. Without reference to theories no longer practicable, an
agreement was drawn up by Mr. Pitcairn, and signed by the gentlemen
present, in the following terms:--"We the undersigned, deeply impressed
by the evils which have arisen from the transportation of the criminals
of Great Britain to the Australian colonies, declare that transportation
to any of the colonies ought for ever to cease, and we do hereby pledge
ourselves to use all lawful means to procure its abolition--Robert
Pitcairn, Thomas D. Chapman, Henry Hopkins, G. C. Clarke, Joseph
Allport, John West, F. Haller, G. W. Walker, William Rout, Henry Smith,
P. T. Smith, Robert Officer."
Having thus secured concurrence in the object to be sought, the
initiation of practical measures was remitted to the Association of
Launceston. At an adjourned meeting of that body, on 10th October, the
secretary, Mr. Crookes, was instructed to propose a conference of
delegates from each of the colonies, to be held at Victoria. This
proposal was instantly adopted by the abolitionists of Melbourne: the
mayor was requested to forward invitations, and to fix the time of
meeting for January, 1851. The people of New South Wales and South
Australia found it inconvenient to comply with this arrangement, but
expressed the most cordial interest in its issue. The Associations of
Hobart Town and Launceston selected, as their delegates, the Rev. J.
West and W. P. Weston, Esq., who, for some years, had been actively
engaged in the struggle against transportation. A public breakfast was
given by their constituents at the port of embarkation, at which Mr.
Sharland presided. The delegates explained their views. They were going
forth to change the policy of a mighty empire. "We," said they, "assert
that a community should deal with its own crime; at least, so deal with
it that, in its disposal, it shall not injure those who have never
offended,--so that, at least, the honest labourer shall not be brought
into unfavorable competition with the hardened criminal,--so that, at
all events, our sons shall not be driven from their homes to seek
employment in distant lands, there to meet suspicion and contempt." They
disclaimed all intentions inconsistent with constitutional loyalty, and
all weapons but those of justice and truth. "We are a loyal people, and
have given abundant proof of our loyalty, but it is not an unalterable
principle. There is an old proverb: 'The sweetest wine makes the sourest
vinegar.'" On the departure of the delegates (Jan. 15, 1851) they were
attended by the Launceston Association and a large concourse of people.
The vessels in the harbour were decorated with their colours, and the
whole scene was imposing. Three cheers were given for the Australasian
Conference, and three for the Queen. As the vessel moved from the wharf,
the band struck up the air which well expressed the feelings of the
moment--"Rule Britannia: Britons never shall be slaves." "In a few
weeks," said a spectator, "the Australasian League will be a great
fact--an epoch in the history of Australia. We have seen the beginning
of the end."
When the delegates landed at Victoria they were warmly welcomed. An
address was read and presented to them by the mayor, Mr. Westgarth, the
member for Melbourne, Mr. Stawell, and other gentlemen of the
association. "We bid you," said they, "God speed, in the high and holy
mission on which you come. Rest assured that the colonists of Victoria
will go with you heart and hand, and they will not cease their efforts
until the emancipation of the Australian colonies from the oppression of
British crime shall be fully accomplished." "You," said the delegates in
reply, "can confer no greater honor on the province that bears the name
of Victoria, than by initiating measures which may assure the Australian
world that that illustrious name shall everywhere be the guarantee of
justice and truth." The delegates and the local association met in the
town council chamber, and concerted the plans of future action. After
several protracted sittings the terms of confederation were settled,
and a "LEAGUE AND SOLEMN ENGAGEMENT" formed for the Australian
world.[262]
This covenant bound the subscribers to reject convict labour afterwards
arriving; to employ their powers electoral, official, and legislative,
for the extinction of transportation; and to afford their utmost
assistance to all who might suffer in the lawful promotion of the cause.
Another article, pledging non-intercourse with obstinate
transportationists, was expunged on the motion of Messrs. West and
Stawell, as scarcely within the range of moral force, and needless in
the state of public feeling. To frame a confederation securing perfect
independence of action in the separate colonies, and the effective
co-operation of all, was a more difficult task. This, was, however,
fully accomplished. The members, admitted by subscription alone, elected
the provincial councils, who appointed their delegates. These formed the
general conference. This body enacted the rules of united operation;
they appointed an executive board to carry them out, and nominated
gentlemen in London to direct operations in Great Britain. The local
councils retaining control over the funds collected within their bounds
were authorised to contribute for common purposes, and to appoint paid
delegates to carry home their remonstrances to the English government
and people. Such was the constitution of the League, which may hereafter
suggest the union of the colonies under the sanction of the crown. The
delegates adopted addresses to the British and the Australian public. To
the colonies they depicted the vast moment of this agitation, and
invoked their instant and earnest aid, closing with these solemn
appeals: "Ponder deeply, fellow colonists of Australia, the prospect
that lies before you. Consider well the moral and even the merely
economical relations of the question. Reflect on the subject of the
administration of justice, not only with reference to its enormous
expense, but also as to the social effect of the ceaseless and weary
labours of our criminal courts. Reflect on the vast and gloomy gaols
that must meet our eyes in a noble and fruitful land, where prosperity
should have banished almost the remembrance of crime; on the arrays of
our police that ever remind us of the noxious elements of our
communities; and think, too, of our daily press that might edify a
virtuous public by accounts of incessant progress and well doing, but
which, faithful to the cause of truth, must ever teem with the harrowing
evidence of the depravity of our fellow-beings. And again turn to the
scene that so frequently closes upon the career of the convict. Consider
the helpless pauperism of improvidence; constitutions ruined by vice and
profligacy; asylums and hospitals overflowing with degraded and wretched
outcasts, descending to the grave without respect and without sympathy,
quitting a world which they had only dishonoured and abused."
"In conclusion, fellow colonists, with reference to this momentous
question, let us not argue with the home government either on the law of
the case, whether that be with them or with us, or on the relative power
of the contending parties. The accidents of law or force, whichever way
they might prevail, can never remedy the social disorders we complain
of. Let us then represent to the British government, to the British
parliament, and to the British public, that in the present state and
prospects of the world, it is a great moral obligation on the part of
our parent state, not to eject her criminals into other societies
already charged with their own, but to retain and manage them within
herself."
In their address to the united kingdom they united remonstrance with
warning: "We ask our fellow countrymen" said they, "to look at the map
of the world; to measure the distance between England and her Australian
dependencies; to mark their geographical relations with gigantic
empires; and to estimate aright their future importance as elements of
her wealth, greatness, and glory. If the colonists are compelled to own
that their interests may be ruined by an official despatch--that their
name and fame may be dishonoured, to relieve the gaols of Great
Britain--if their youth cannot visit any country under an Australian
flag without being made to feel that they were born in a degraded
section of the globe, we are at a loss to imagine what advantages
conferred by the sovereignty of Great Britain can compensate for the
stigma of its brand."
"We address the words of supplication, not of threatening. A few short
years, and that which is now a grievance will grow into a quarrel. By
instant concession, an act of justice will become a monument of imperial
clemency. But these colonies are solemnly pledged, each to the other, by
their mutual interests,--their future destinies,--their fellowship of
weal and woe,--and now by their League and Solemn Engagement, to achieve
the freedom of their common country."
Having arranged the plan of action, the association convened a meeting
of the Victorians. On the memorable 1st of February, 1851, the league
was solemnly inaugurated, being signed by the Tasmanian delegates, and
by the mayor, William Nicholson, Esq., William Westgarth, Esq., M.L.C.,
and Montgomery Bell, Esq., alderman, as delegates for Melbourne. This
done, a banner of deep blue, spangled with the Southern cross, adorned
with the national colors, and bordered with white on which the date of
the confederation was traced in letters of gold, was unfurled and
greeted with the loud acclamations of the assembly. A council of nine
was afterwards elected by ballot, composed of the most eminent citizens,
the mayor being president.[263]
It was determined to raise £20,000 as a league fund in the Australian
colonies. Warmed by the advice and example of Mr. Bell, the opulent
supporters of the cause resolved to take the chief burden on themselves.
The delegates for Melbourne each subscribed one hundred guineas. Mr.
Moor, the member for Port Phillip, added fifty to this sum as a special
token of his sympathy with Tasmania. Thirty houses of business followed
with one hundred guineas each. The mayor of Geelong, Dr. Thompson, set
an example of similar liberality. A thousand persons met the delegates
in that town; formed their own council, and embraced the league with
enthusiasm. In less than a month nearly £7,000 was subscribed in
Victoria alone.
But while the people were thus liberal in promoting the social freedom,
their benevolence was drawn into another channel. A mournful visitation
desolated the homes, and destroyed the lives of several of their fellow
citizens. On the 6th of February, known as "black Thursday," the
thermometer was 115 in the shade, the sun, obscured by murky mists,
looked like a globe of blood, the air was loaded with smoke and ashes,
and as the night closed in, columns of fire were seen every where in the
distance. The uninclosed country was sweept by the resistless element.
Sometimes swifter than the fleetest horse, it overtook the traveller who
could preserve his life only by facing round and dashing through its
least impervious range. The parched leaves of the forest kindled at the
first glance of the flame. Sheep and cattle fell dead--farms and stock
yards were destroyed in a few minutes. In many instances the blaze
encircled the unfortunate before the danger was perceived. A strong hot
wind bore along ashes, and carried them far over the ocean, where
falling on the decks of vessels fifty miles from land, the passengers
were terrified with vague apprehension, or thought that the end of the
world was come. The effects of this devastation were in some places
appalling. The Barrabool Hills, near Geelong, a district of romantic
beauty celebrated for its vines, and occupied by small holders, were
covered with blackened ruins. The whole family of Mr. M Leland, a
settler near Melbourne, perished. The fire suddenly seized his dwelling
and intercepted his escape. His wife and five children dropt one by one:
he endeavoured to save his little boy, but he was suffocated in his
arms; the unhappy parent was himself discovered a few hours after, by a
shepherd, in a creek, where he had found refuge from his dread pursuer.
The mayor and corporation of Melbourne, then the only representative
body in the province, presented the Tasmanian delegates with an address,
and entertained them with splendid hospitality. A banner, bought by
general subscription, was committed to their charge as a present to the
colonists of Tasmania. The ladies of Victoria graced the ceremony of
presentation. In giving this beautiful emblem of Australian re-union,
"Gentlemen," said the mayor, "I pray you to receive it in the name of
the people of Port Phillip, and may it remain nailed to the mast until
these colonies are emancipated from convictism." "We accept it, with
gratitude," they replied,--"May the flag which adorns it ever float
above it in mild sovereignty: the noble nation from which we sprung will
applaud and assist us. Such are our hopes; but whether they are doomed
to disappointment or not, we shall discharge our duty as subjects, and
then commit our cause to the righteous judgment of God. May He watch
over our proceedings; may He permit us to add another to those bloodless
victories which teach the oppressed to confide in the armour of truth
while they warn all men that against weapons of such heavenly temper the
shields of the mighty are lifted in vain."
By this time the people of New South Wales became warmly interested in
the league. No time was lost. To obtain the active assistance of that
great colony was to insure success. Messrs. Moore and Westgarth, members
of the legislature, and Dr. Thompson, mayor of Geelong, were deputed to
act in the metropolis for Victoria. The delegates of Tasmania returned
home. The banner intrusted to their care was publicly delivered at a
meeting, of which, Mr. Dry was chairman.[264] Councils were chosen for
north and south Tasmania, and several thousand pounds were added to the
league fund.
Messrs. West and Weston were commissioned to attend the conference at
Sydney. Joined by the delegates for Victoria, they landed in March. A
large concourse of citizens assembled at the Royal Hotel, where an
address, breathing encouragement and hope, was read by Mr. Charles
Cowper, in the name of the New South Wales association. The delegates,
invited to a public banquet in honor of their mission, were met by the
city members, the mayor, the principal merchants, and professional
gentlemen. The immense wool store of Messrs. Mort, decorated for the
occasion, exhibited a striking scene of luxury and magnificence.
Speeches, such as Britons make when their hearts are loyal and their
wrongs are felt, promised a hearty struggle, and predicted a certain
victory. A public meeting of the colonists assembled to recognise the
League, and dissolve the colonial association. Dr. Lang proposed another
covenant drawn up by himself. It recited the chief facts stated in that
of Victoria, but added: "And if it should be necessary in the struggle
upon which we are now deliberately entering, for the protection and
defence of our adopted country, as well as in the vindication of our
rights as Britons, ... to have recourse to the last remedy of the
oppressed, we appeal to God and the world, as to whether we shall not
have indefeasible right and eternal justice on our side. So help us
God." A league, based on moral force, and disclaiming all weapons but
those of persuasion and entreaty, was evidently at an end if armed
resistance were contemplated as the final resource. The earnest
objections of the delegates were supported by Mr. Lamb. The mercantile
and professional classes decidedly disapproved of the substitution; but
the strength of numbers might have carried the threatening clause had
not Dr. Lang consented to abandon it. Never was the league in so much
danger, it being determined by the delegates to relinquish all idea of
confederation on any terms inconsistent with constitutional resistance.
A proposal to join the league was carried amidst triumphant cheering. A
council was chosen by ballot. Messrs. Charles Cowper, Robert Campbell,
and Gilbert Wright were appointed delegates for New South Wales. The
most impressive meeting held by the delegates, was convened in the
congregational church of Sydney. A thousand persons, chiefly heads of
families, and of both sexes, listened with absorbing interest to the
appeals of clergymen, protestant and catholic, to principles familiar to
the patriot and the christian. The venerable metropolitan, in accounting
for his absence, recorded his conviction in terms suited to his office
and experience, and in a strain of reproof and warning, which no
government will venture to disregard.[265] The first conference of the
united colonies was held in the city of Sydney and closed its labours on
the 1st day of May, 1851. A permanent executive board and a London
delegation, were nominated; Mr. Charles Cowper being appointed the first
president of the Australasian League, and Mr. Gilbert Wright, secretary.
The appointment of Mr. J. C. King as the delegate for Melbourne, and
other gentlemen resident in London to act in the same capacity, was
intended to agitate the colonial cause beneath the walls of parliament,
and thus by multiplied agencies to weary the ministers into justice--to
conquer their obstinacy by a perpetual coming. It was the earnest desire
of the founders of the league to employ all possible means consistent
with loyal and constitutional principles, that the blame of ultimate
consequences, if adverse, might remain with the servants of the crown. A
letter of instructions addressed to Mr. J. A. Jackson and other
delegates by the executive board of the league and signed by the
president, stated clearly the duties which devolved upon them. "You will
bear in mind that yours is the work of testimony, that we do not hold
you responsible for the result. We are discharging by you a duty we owe
to the parent country. We wish you to state our case; to deprecate the
evils we suffer. We wish you to depict the vast resources and unrivalled
beauty of these colonies, and to insist on the injustice and folly of
degrading them to the purposes of a prison. We are anxious that you
should tell our countrymen at home, that here is a land capable of
boundless prosperity, that our whalers fish upon our coasts, that we
number our sheep by millions, that our wheat is famed in every market in
the world; that there are millions of acres over which the plough may be
driven, and where the axe is not required as pioneer. You will tell them
that we love our native country, and rejoice in our share of her
heritage of glory, that we offer our filial duty and manly affiance,
but, that we offer them on this condition, that we, and our children,
and their country, shall be _free_. This granted, every hour will
strengthen the relations already established between us; but should the
object of our League, so near to our hearts, fail us, should the British
public prove deaf or indifferent, or the minister prove inexorable, your
mission will have been discharged; and we must await, as best we may,
the development of those providential purposes which are often most
obscure when they are nearest the dawn. 'England has no right to cast
out amongst other nations, or upon naked shores, either her poverty or
her crime. This is not the way in which a great and wealthy people, a
MOTHER OF NATIONS, ought to colonize.'"
"Never has the question of transportation assumed a greater importance
than at the present moment. The colonists are fretted by the vacillation
of her Majesty's government, but they are anxious to know that their
honor and happiness are compatible with their present political
relations. The plantation of new colonies in our vicinity, the now
constant intercourse with the American continent, the discovery of gold
fields, large in extent and abundant in production, on the Western
Cordilleras of New South Wales, and the thence certain rapid influx of
population, all make the future an object of solicitude. It may be your
happiness to contribute to the achievement of this great moral victory,
to the removal of those intolerable burdens imposed by a despotic
minister, and permitted by the indifference of the British Nation,--and
thus to the establishment of a closer union between these colonies and
the parent state."
The chief reliance of the confederates, however, was on the approaching
elections. The new constitutional act demanded a fresh appeal to the
people. The constituencies of the Australian world were to decide its
fate. The issue was no longer doubtful, except where the right of voting
was conferred on few, and the influence of squatters paramount. Such
places, were however, comparatively numerous, and a hard and earnest
struggle was expected in the northern district of New South Wales. The
conference of the League terminated its sittings on the 1st of May. On
the 5th, the official corps of Victoria, the representatives and the
delegates, left the wharf of Sydney, and amidst the cheers and
forebodings of many quitted a political connection which had been often
the source of angry strife. Victoria and New South Wales were now
separate governments. The new colony, gigantic in its youth, threatened
the supremacy of the middle district, while Moreton Bay was clamorous
for a separate executive.
But on the 6th of May a discovery was announced, which changed the
fortunes of the Australian empire. The predictions of science were
fulfilled. It was stated in the _Quarterly Review_, (Sept. 1850), that
New South Wales would probably be found wonderfully rich in precious
metals. Scarcely had the conjecture reached the colony before it was
verified, and Mr. Hargraves, a practical miner, discovered the gold of
Bathurst. It was felt by the former apologists of transportation that
the policy of England must condemn its continuance not less than the
interests of the Australias. Mr. Wentworth was the first to announce the
altered position of the question. He reminded the electors that he was
originally opposed to the revival or continuance of transportation,
could it by any means be got rid of in the whole Australian group, and
that this was no longer impossible; "that a new and unexpected era had
dawned, which in a few years would precipitate the colony into a
nation." He, therefore, pledged himself to join with them in any
remonstrance intended to terminate transportation, and to prevent the
formation of any penal settlement in the southern hemisphere.[266] This
manifesto was adopted by the former advocates of transportation in New
South Wales, from the loftiest even to the least. Gold fields beyond the
dreams of oriental vision were rapidly unfolded. The relations of labor
and capital were entirely deranged, and the future became uncertain and
perplexing. A few employers who imagined that their personal interests
would be considered, grew more earnest for convict labor, not thinking
how it could be retained, or caring for the crime and misery it might
entail. But they were few. More generous spirits sympathised with the
general aspect of a change which promised to people a region as fair and
fertile, and as large as Europe. The strenuous resistance of
transportation had cleared the character of the colonists, and proved
that their feelings harmonised with the universal and unchangeable
convictions of mankind. The first news of this great discovery was
accompanied by the strongest evidence of Australian loyalty to the
common law of nations. "The success of the confederation (said the first
journal of Europe), forms a remarkable indication of a feeling in all
the Australian colonies of a more elevated character than they have
hitherto obtained credit for. It becomes more than ordinarily important
to ascertain the exact nature of that moral and social atmosphere which
so large a number of our countrymen are probably destined to breathe
(October '51)."
On their return to Tasmania the delegates were greeted with addresses
and public demonstrations. The settlers, with a manly consistency,
despite the threatened scarcity of labor, adhered to their flag and
responded with cheers to those who predicted a temporary struggle and a
bright futurity. But the agents of the convict department endeavored to
rekindle the last embers of jealousy and hate. To the employers they
predicted ruin; to the houseowners, desolation and emptiness; to the
publicans the reign of puritanism; to the emancipists the ascendancy of
the free, to be followed by unextinguishable persecution. All the
sentiments and epithets known in Irish polemics and Irish seditions were
re-arranged in the convict service, and scattered with profusion. The
League was assailed with peculiar virulence, and all its distinguished
adherents held up to scorn as religious and immoral men, as hateful for
their covetousness and contemptible for their poverty. Sometimes they
were locusts, swarming everywhere; at others they were a scattered and
miserable remnant--which the government and the convict party would
speedily sweep away. The governor himself during a procession through
the colony was cheered as the great champion of the pardoned, and
placards represented that he had defeated a scheme of the settlers to
deprive them of their votes. He entered the city in state--and while he
passed under a triumphal arch, Mr. West, the Hobart Town delegate, was
publicly gibbetted. But the Trades' Union, and an association of the
Native Youth, assembled in the evening, and in the presence of many
thousands, the well-dressed effigies of Earl Grey and the governor were
thrown into an enormous fire.
Meanwhile the league was extended to South Australia. All the members of
the legislature, except the officials, joined in a requisition to
receive Messrs. West and Bell as delegates from Tasmania and Victoria
(August, '51). All denominations warmly advocated the cause. The largest
assembly ever gathered there--and including men who had never before
united--carried the resolution, moved by the Bishop of Adelaide, "that
the total cessation of transportation to the Australian colonies is
essential to their honor, happiness, and prosperity." A meeting at
Canterbury, New Zealand, called by Mr. Godley, adopted and subscribed
the engagement (October, '51). Thus the five colonies, answering to the
stars of the Southern Cross, had raised that sign of hope and union.
The writs for Tasmania were at length issued. The day of general
nomination was remarkably brilliant. The principal candidates were
attended with numerous banners and long processions. The ladies wore the
colors of their parties, and even the children to the number of several
hundreds, marched in the train of Mr. Dry, the popular candidate for
Launceston. On one of their banners a passage taken from a pamphlet of
the day was inscribed--"The last link of despotism is broken, when the
children of the soil decree its freedom." The native youth for the first
time bore an active share in this last attempt to secure the liberties
of their country, and, in a public assembly, to petition for its
success, displayed both moderation and ability--highly creditable
considering the disadvantages under which they had labored. These
efforts were successful. The country districts were in three cases
disputed by the transportationists. They polled little more than a
hundred votes, but in Hobart Town a more serious conflict was expected.
Beside the lower class of expirees, many of the publicans and almost all
in the service of the government were in favor of transportation, or
compelled to support it. Mr. Young, a solicitor, after several
candidates had offered and retired, determined on a contest with Messrs.
Chapman and Dunn, the chairman and treasurer of the local league
council: more than five hundred votes were polled in his interest, but
the friends of freedom carried their candidates by a triumphant
majority. The election at Hobart Town, accomplished in the face of every
obstacle, demonstrated the strong and irrevocable desire of the people.
The day of nomination was memorable in British history, the day when the
signal of Nelson ran through the fleet--"England expects every man will
do his duty." The speakers did not omit to apply an example so striking.
A despatch of Sir William Denison (May, '50), recommending the grant of
lands and other advantages to reconcile the less incorruptible advocates
of abolition and marked "confidential," had just reached the colony,
having been unaccountably inserted in the blue book. The moral choice of
the people was still more strikingly manifest, when they disregarded
such offers, whether considered as compensation or bribes, and rejected
every advocate of transportation. Such appeals as the following were
not heard in vain. "Now, let our signal be--'Tasmania expects every man
to do his duty!' The first earnest of your privileges must be the utter
extinction of slavery in this your adopted land. By your most cherished
associations--by all that you hold most dear--by the love you bear your
domestic hearths--by the claims and cries of your children--by the light
of that freedom, your common inheritance, which has now for the first
time dawned upon you, which has gilt your mountains and gladdened your
valleys,--by the spirit of emancipation, and which at this very moment
is beating in unison in strong pulsations through every artery of the
island, until I can almost fancy that Nature herself heaves and
sympathises with the universal emotion,--I call upon you, adjure you, to
cast off every unworthy feeling, and remember only 'to do your duty'
towards your own--your adopted land."[267]
By a violent exertion the convict party were held together until the day
of polling:--then they disappeared with noise and riot, and were seen no
more.
The reputable emancipists joined their emigrant countrymen. They held
the balance in their hands. In the main they proved true to the
principles which hold society together, and followed the dictates of
parental affection. Many not actual members of the league supported its
principles so far as they contemplated the social freedom of the
Australian world. Thus all the preliminary steps were taken to secure
the voice of the legislative councils, and throughout the southern
hemisphere no representative of the people was found to stand up as the
advocate of transportation. The proper moment for confederation had been
found. A few months before it was unthought of--a few months after it
would have been impracticable. The speech of Earl Grey, was intended to
extinguish finally all hope of freedom, but struck out a spark and
kindled a flame which none can quench.
The representatives were true. The council of New South Wales, the
earliest to assemble, struck the first blow for Australasian liberty.
They voted, not for the deliverance of their own colony only, but for
the rescue of Van Diemen's Land. Mr. Lamb proposed resolutions charging
Earl Grey with perfidy--Mr. King sought the same object in a milder
form, and in November the whole house concurred in condemning
transportation. The Victorian legislature, on the motion of Mr.
Westgarth, adopted a similar protest, though in stronger terms.
Supported by the law officers of the crown, the resolutions passed with
perfect unanimity (Dec.), and they were promptly forwarded by Governor
Latrobe, who expressed the warmest interest in their success. Thousands
of expirees and absconders, allured by the prospect of sudden riches,
descended upon that province and filled the inhabitants with
astonishment. Hundreds who arrived in Van Diemen's Land in bondage, and
many who quitted it without leave, became by a few days spoil, masters
of from one hundred to a thousand pounds.
On the 16th December (1851), a series of resolutions were passed by the
legislature of South Australia on the motion of Mr. Hall. Thus, three
colonies, by a unanimous vote, pronounced the doom of transportation.
Their governors were silent or approving. All, whether servants of the
crown, or representatives of the people, united in one voice. Tasmania
was the last to obtain the constitutional organization. On the 30th of
December the governor met the men of the people, and found not one to
sustain the policy of transportation. Mr. Dry, the first country born
legislator, was unanimously elected to the speakership. The address
presented to Sir Wm. Denison expressed deep regret that he had not
considered it necessary to notice the all important subject of
transportation, the violation of a pledge--broken by the ministers of
the crown, or had been able to announce that his own earnest
representations had concurred with the unanimous desire of the Tasmanian
constituencies. This complaint he received in silence. On the 14th of
January, the subject was brought before the house by Mr. Sharland, who
moved twelve resolutions. They recorded the violated pledge of Earl
Grey, the protests of the colony against transportation; they professed
the warmest loyalty to the throne, and attachment to Great Britain, and
they pronounced the unchangeable opposition of the house to
transportation. The discovery of gold was stated as calculated to induce
her Majesty's ministers to comply with the petitions of the people; "but
if it should unhappily be otherwise" said the faithful representatives
of Van Diemen's Land, "it is our duty as colonists, and as British
subjects, to exert to the utmost all the power with which this council
is invested, to oppose, and if possible to defeat, every measure that
may be suggested or attempted for the introduction of criminals into
this country, at any time, or under any circumstances."
For this resolution none but representatives of the people voted;
against it, none but the nominees of the crown.
The triumph of this cause was the work of many and the labour of years.
Thousands of articles often distinguished for ability, appeared in the
colonial papers, and thus ripened the public mind to vigorous action.
Many who have toiled survive to participate in the gladness of success:
others have passed to the grave; among these the names of Archer and
Oakden will recur to colonial remembrance, A future generation will best
appreciate the value of that noble stand made against the allurements of
real or imaginary gain, and the children of Tasmania will delight to
inscribe the patriot's name in the record of their country's redemption.
But the impartiality of history demands a confession, less favorable to
the colonists at large, and which must arrest a deliberate and absolute
judgment against the ministers of the crown. The voice of employers too
long favored transportation, and their temporary interests were
preferred to their ultimate welfare. The press visited the friends of
social freedom with sarcasm and contempt, and described them as purists
and fanatics. Until the last ten years the colonial will has been
neither steady nor distinct. Emigration and time have wrought a change
in the prevailing feeling. Nor should it be forgotten that the first
colonies of this hemisphere were planted for the punishment of crime and
the reform of criminals--that those who came to share their fortunes,
necessarily inherited their dishonor, and that we require the
abandonment of a policy once thought profoundly wise, and which was
scarcely questioned for more than three score years.
The opposition of Sir William Denison to the colonial will on this
subject, his injustice to the judges, and his sarcastic delineations of
colonial character, have narrowed the circle of his friends. In future
times an opinion more favorable to his reputation may be expected to
prevail. It will then be remembered that he promoted the advancement of
science, fostered liberal education, increased the facilities of
commerce, abated the practical evils of the convict department,
advocated the principles of legislative freedom, and, by a respectable
private character, sustained the moral dignity of government. But even
then it will not be forgotten, that in perpetuating the convict curse,
he adopted any argument, however false, and tolerated any ally, however
abject.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 261: If this question had _been_ brought forward in a large
and comprehensive view before the Federal Assembly of the Australian
colonies, which is soon to be called into being, I admit that the
decision arrived at might have had some effect on the home government; I
think, even now, the wisest and safest course would be to postpone its
further discussion, and remit the whole matter to that body. Then, if
they were all as sincerely opposed as I am to transportation in any
shape, they might come to a conclusion, that convicts should come to
none of these colonies; and to such a decision the minister might
succumb. It is to such an assembly as this that a question of this
magnitude ought to be remitted, as it is a question on which all the
colonies are alike concerned. If South Australia, Van Diemen's Land, and
Port Phillip, all agreed with New South Wales, in one common
determination not to receive convicts in any shape, there would be some
hope that they might accomplish their end.]
[Footnote 262:
THE AUSTRALASIAN LEAGUE.
_The League and Solemn Engagement of the Australian Colonies,
declared by the Delegate_ in _the Conference held at Melbourne,
February_, 1851.
WHEREAS, in 1840, by an Order in Council, the practice of
transporting convicts to New South Wales was abandoned by the
Crown, and, whereas, by divers promises the government of Great
Britain engaged not to send convicts from the United Kingdom to New
South Wales, New Zealand, Victoria, or King George's Sound. And,
whereas, by an Act of the British Parliament, transportation to
South Australia was positively prohibited. And, whereas,
Lieutenant-Governor Denison, in 1847, declared to the colonists of
Van Diemen's Land her Majesty's most gracious purpose, that
transportation to that island should be discontinued. And, whereas,
the colony of Van Diemen's Land has been deeply injured by the
pouring in of enormous masses of transported offenders. And,
whereas, divers and repeated attempts have been made to depart from
the letter and spirit of these promises. And, whereas, the avowed
object of her Majesty's Secretary of State is to transfuse the
convicts disembarked in Van Diemen's Land through the Australasian
Colonies, and thus to evade the spirit of the promises and Act of
Parliament so made. And, whereas, large tracts of land have been
purchased by the colonists from the crown; many millions of capital
invested in improvements; and many thousands of her Majesty's
subjects have settled in Australasia on the pledged faith of the
Crown not to disturb their social welfare by the importation of
crime. And, whereas, the native Australasians are entitled to all
the rights and privileges of British subjects, and to the sympathy
and protection of the British nation. And, whereas, many and varied
efforts have been made to induce her Majesty's ministers and the
British Parliament to terminate the practice of transportation to
these colonies, but without success. Now, THEREFORE, the Delegates
of these Colonies, in conference assembled, do declare their League
and Solemn Engagement, to the effect following:--
1st. That they engage not to employ any person hereafter arriving
under sentence of transportation for crime committed in Europe.
2d. That they will use all the powers they possess--official,
electoral, and legislative, to prevent the establishment of English
prisons, or penal settlements, within their bounds; that they will
refuse assent to any projects to facilitate the administration of
such penal systems, and that they will seek the repeal of all
regulations, and the removal of all establishments for such
purposes.
And lastly, That they solemnly engage with each other to support by
their advice, their money, and their countenance, all who may
suffer in the lawful promotion of this cause.]
[Footnote 263: William Westgarth, William Kerr, William Nicholson,
Dalmahoy Campbell, William Stawell, George Annand, William Bell, J.
Stewart Johnstone, and John Hood, Esqrs.]
[Footnote 264: The _Raven_, Capt. Bell, was the first vessel that
carried the league flag, now floating over every sea.]
[Footnote 265: "My anxiety now is, to reiterate and give permanency to
the assurance, that my determination originated not in any feeling of
insensibility, or indifference, towards the noble object in which you
are engaged. No man, who feels as he ought to do for the country in
which not only himself but his children and grandchildren are
established, (which is my case), but must, from his heart, desire and
pray for the success of your endeavours. As having once held the
spiritual charge over all the colonies to which your league extends,
and, in a certain sense, continuing still to do so, I hope my feelings
towards them are such as become that relation; and my persuasion is,
that to extend, or resume, or continue the practice of transportation to
any one of them, must be injurious to all.... A perseverance in this
policy would tend more than almost any other cause that could be
mentioned, to weaken the respect which is now so generally entertained
for the name of England. It cannot be supported if England cause herself
to be regarded as the author of a continual wrong; and if respect be
forfeited, the principal tie of love and obedience will be severed. It
is impossible to believe that any British statesman will be found, who,
upon the ground of policy, and, still less, upon a principle of justice,
will recommend the continuance of the practice against which you are
united in petitioning."--_Letter of the Lord Bishop to Charles Cowper,
Esq., and Charles Kemp, Esq._]
[Footnote 266: Address to electors, July, 1851.]
[Footnote 267: Mr. MacDowell's speech.]
HISTORY OF TASMANIA.
* * * * *
ZOOLOGY.
ZOOLOGY.
SECTION I.--MAMMALIA.
The most perfect list of the mammals of Australia which has yet appeared
is in the appendix to Capt. Gray's _Travels in North-west and Western
Australia_, compiled by J. E. Gray, Esq., of the British Museum. Since
its publication (1841) a few additional species have been added to the
fauna of Tasmania, and a few of the smaller animals, probably, remain
still to be described; but they will not materially affect the following
list, which is compiled from the table by Mr. Gray, and a subsequent
_History of the Marsupiata_, by G. R. Waterhouse (1846):--
-------------+---------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+
ORDERS. | GENERA. | Total No. | Peculiar | Common to |
| | of Species | to | Australia |
| | in | Tasmania. | and |
| | Tasmania. | | Tasmania. |
-------------+---------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+
CHEIROPTERA | Nyctophilus | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Scotophilus | 2 | -- | 2 |
| | | | |
MARSUPIALIA | Thylacinus | 1 | 1 | -- |
| Dasyurus | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| _includes Diabolus_ | | | |
| Phascogale | 3 | 3 | -- |
| _includes | | | |
| Antechinus_ | | | |
| Perameles | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Phalangista | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| _includes Hepoona_ | | | |
| Phascolomys | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Hypsiprymnus | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| _includes | | | |
| Bettongia_ | | | |
| Macropus | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| _includes | | | |
| Halmaturus_ | | | |
| | | | |
RODENTIA | Hydromys | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Mus | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| | | | |
EDENTATA, or | Ornithorhynchus | 1 | -- | 1 |
MONOTREMATA | Echidna | 1 | 1 | -- |
| |------------+-----------+-----------+
| | 26 | 12 | 14 |
-------------+---------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+
This makes a total of twenty-six mammals inhabiting Tasmania, exclusive
of the _Seals_ and _Cetacea_, with which our acquaintance is still very
imperfect.
From the above list it will be perceived, with the exception of the
three bats, two mice, and one water-rat, that all our mammals are either
Marsupial (pouched) or Monotrematous (a closely-allied form, to which
belong the platypus and porcupine of the colonists). Orders found in
other countries, such as the _Pachydermata_ and _Ruminantia_, are in
Tasmania wholly wanting, as they are also throughout the extensive
continent of Australia.
It is also remarkable that twelve out of the twenty-six animals are
peculiar to this small island, and have not yet been detected elsewhere.
Amongst those thus limited in their geographical range are the tiger and
devil of the colonists, the two largest indigenous Australian
carnivorous quadrupeds.
Australia is the great metropolis of the marsupial animals. Certain
species of the group are found in North and South America, and in New
Guinea, the Moluccas, and adjacent islands, but the numbers seem limited
as compared with the other indigenous quadrupeds of those countries.
Professor Owen observes:--"That the marsupialia form one great natural
group is now generally admitted by zoologists. The representatives in
that group of many of the orders of the more extensive placental
sub-class of the mammalia of the larger continents have also been
recognised in the existing genera and species:--the Dasyures, for
example, play the parts of the _Carnivora_, the Bandicoots of the
_Insectivora_, the Phalangers of the _Quadrumana_, the Wombat of the
_Rodentia,_ and the Kangaroos, in a remoter degree, that of the
_Ruminantia_."[268]
The Tiger or Hyæna of the colonists (_Thylacinus cynocephalus_, Harris)
is a very powerful animal, about the size of a large dog, with short
legs. It is of a tawny or brownish yellow color, with numerous black
bands arranged transversely along the back, from the shoulders to the
tail; hence the erroneous names tiger and hyæna, given to it by the
early settlers. The muzzle is rather elongated, the ears short and
erect, and the pupils elliptical, corresponding with its leaping,
predaceous habits; if it had the characteristic brush instead of a long
taper tail, its figure would bear a considerable resemblance to that of
the fox. The female is much smaller, but more active and supple in its
movements than the male. They prey upon kangaroos, opossums, bandicoots,
and other native animals; hunting by night, their exquisite sense of
smell enables them to steal cautiously upon these defenceless animals,
in the thick covers of the low grassy flats and scrubs, or to run them
down on the more open hill and forest land. They are not very fleet, but
follow the track with untiring perseverance, occasionally uttering a
kind of low smothered bark. They never hunt in packs, but a male and
female, or a bitch, with two or three half-grown pups, have occasionally
been seen together, in pursuit of game.
The Thylacine kills sheep, but usually confines its attack to one at a
time, and is therefore by no means so destructive to a flock as the
domestic dog become wild, or as the Dingo of Australia, which both
commit vast havoc in a single night. High rewards have always, however,
been given by sheep-owners for their destruction; and, as every
available spot of land is now occupied, it is probable that in a very
few years this animal, so highly interesting to the zoologist, will
become extinct; it is now extremely rare, even in the wildest and least
frequented parts of the island. A male and female were sent to the
Zoological Society of London during the present year (1850), and were
the first that ever reached Europe alive.
The Devil (_Dasyurus ursinus_, Geoff.), about the size of a bull
terrier, is an exceedingly fierce and disgusting looking animal, of a
black color, usually having one white band across the chest, and another
across the back, near the tail. It is a perfect glutton, and most
indiscriminate in its feeding; nothing comes amiss to it; it lives
chiefly upon carrion, the smaller native animals, and occasionally
attacks sheep, principally, however, lambs and the weakly or diseased;
even one of its own kind, caught in a snare, is attacked and devoured
without mercy. They are very numerous in some localities, and from their
smaller size will probably longer survive the war of extermination
carried on against them.
The other two species of _Dasyurus_, viz., the Tiger cat (_Dasyurus
maculatus_, Shaw) and Native cat (_Dasyurus viverrinus_, Shaw), are
similar in their habits to the pole-cat and marten of England, from
which they do not differ materially in size, and prove equally
destructive to the poultry yard. The Native cat varies a good deal in
color, many being black with white spots; but the usual and prevailing
color is a greyish tan or yellow, with white spots; and from these mere
varieties some naturalists have constituted two species. Great numbers
of Native cats are killed in some localities for the sake of their
skins, which are formed into rugs by the shepherds.
The Phascogales are small insectivorous animals, found on the mountains
and in the dense forest parts of the island, and little is known of
their habits.
The two species of Bandicoot (_Perameles obesula_, Shaw, and _P.
Gunnii_, Gray), are very common throughout the colony, living upon
insects and roots.
The Opossums usually abound where grass is to be found, lodging by day
in the holes and hollows of trees. The most common species is the
_Phalangista vulpina_ (Shaw), under which is placed both the black and
grey opossums. These animals are much sought after by the servants on
most farms for the sake of feeding their dogs with the flesh, and
forming the skins into rugs; an opossum (or kangaroo) skin rug being the
principal bedding of all the shepherds, stock-keepers, and laborers in
the more remote parts of the colony. When travelling from one station to
another, and sleeping in the open air, these men always carry a rug with
them; and wrapped in this, with his feet to the fire, the bushman sleeps
on the ground warm and comfortable, even in the coldest nights, with no
other shelter save a log or a few boughs to windward; and this was
generally all the shelter used by the aborigines. The fur on the
opossums in the mountains and cooler parts of the island is thicker and
better adapted for rugs than on those obtained from the sea coast or the
warmer settled districts. The Ringtail opossum (_Phalangista_ or
_Hepoona Cookii_, Desm.) is smaller, less common, and less sought after,
for dogs will not eat the flesh of the Ringtail even when roasted.
The Flying squirrel, or opossum of Port Phillip (_Petaurus sciureus_,
Desm.), was introduced from that colony between the years 1834 and 1839:
many of those so introduced escaped from confinement, and from the
numbers which have been killed around Launceston since that period they
have evidently increased and established themselves amongst the denizens
of our woods. No species, however, of flying opossum is indigenous to
Tasmania.
The Wombat, more commonly called in the colony Badger (_Phascolomys
wombat_, Peron.), is an animal weighing forty to eighty pounds, having a
large body, with short legs. Notwithstanding its burrowing habits, and
the excessive thickness and toughness of its skin, it is usually so
easily killed, that it is becoming less and less common.
The Kangaroo rats (_Hypsiprymnus cuniculus_, Ogilby, and _H. murinus_,
Ill.) are small animals, like kangaroos in their form and mode of
progression, but require few remarks, as they are not killed either for
food or their skins. They are not numerous anywhere. Dogs will not
usually eat them.
Our best known animals, however, are the Kangaroos, of which we have
three species, distinguished by the names of Forester, Brush, and
Wallaby.
The Forester (_Macropus major_, Shaw), the male being known by the name
of "boomer," and the young female by that of "flying doe," is the
largest and only truly gregarious species,--now nearly extinct in all
the settled or occupied districts of the island, and rare everywhere.
This species afforded the greatest sport and the best food to the early
settlers, an individual weighing 100 to 140 pounds. It is much to be
regretted that this noble animal is likely so soon to be exterminated.
It was usually hunted by large powerful dogs, somewhat similar to the
Scotch deer hounds; and when closely pressed had the remarkable
peculiarity of always taking to the water where practicable. A modern
kangaroo hunt has been thus graphically described by the Honorable Henry
Elliot, in Gould's splendid work on the Macropodidæ:--
"I have much pleasure in telling you all I know of the kangaroo-hunting
in Van Diemen's Land. The hounds are kept by Mr. Gregson, and have been
bred by him from fox-hounds imported from England; and though not so
fast as most hounds here now are, they are quite as fast as it is
possible to ride to in that country. The 'boomer' is the only kangaroo
which shows good sport, for the strongest 'brush' kangaroo cannot live
above twenty minutes before the hounds; but as the two kinds are always
found in perfectly different situations we never were at a loss to find
a 'boomer,' and I must say that they seldom failed to show us good
sport. We generally 'found' in a high cover of young wattles, but
sometimes we 'found' in the open forest, and then it was really pretty
to see the style in which a good kangaroo would go away. I recollect one
day in particular, when a very fine 'boomer' jumped up in the very
middle of the hounds, in the 'open:' he at first took a few high jumps
with his head up, looking about him to see on which side the coast was
clearest, and then, without a moment's hesitation, he stooped forward
and shot away from the hounds, apparently without an effort, and gave us
the longest run I ever saw after a kangaroo. He ran fourteen miles by
the map from point to point, and if he had had fair play I have very
little doubt but that he would then have beat us; but he had taken along
a tongue of land which ran into the sea, so that, on being pressed, he
was forced to try to swim across the arm of the sea, which, at the place
where he took the water, cannot have been less than two miles broad; in
spite of a fresh breeze and a head sea against him, he got fully
half-way over, but he could not make head against the waves any further,
and was obliged to turn back, when, being quite exhausted, he was soon
killed.
"The distance he ran, taking in the different bends in the line, cannot
have been less than eighteen miles, and he certainly swam more than two.
I can give no idea of the length of time it took him to run this
distance, but it took us something more than two hours; and it was
evident, from the way in which the hounds were running, that he was a
long way before us; and it was also plain that he was still fresh, as,
quite at the end of the run, he went over the top of a very high hill,
which a tired kangaroo never will attempt to do, as dogs gain so much on
them in going up hill. His hind quarters weighed within a pound or two
of seventy pounds, which is large for the Van Diemen's Land kangaroo,
though I have seen larger.
"We did not measure the length of the hop of this kangaroo; but on
another occasion, when the 'boomer' had taken along the beach, and left
his prints in the sand, the length of each jump was found to be just
fifteen feet, and as regular as if they had been stepped by a sergeant.
When a 'boomer' is pressed, he is very apt to take the water, and then
it requires several good dogs to kill him, for he stands waiting for
them, and as soon as they swim up to the attack, he takes hold of them
with his fore feet, and holds them under water. The buck is altogether
very bold, and will generally make a stout resistance; for if he cannot
get to the water, he will place his back against a tree, so that he
cannot be attacked from behind, and then the best dog will find in him a
formidable antagonist.
"The doe, on the contrary, is a very timid creature, and I have even
seen one die of fear. It was in a place where we wished to preserve
them, and as soon as we found that we were running a doe we stopped the
hounds, just at the moment they were running into her. She had not
received the slightest injury, but she lay down and died in about ten
minutes. When a doe is beat she generally makes several sharp doubles,
and then gets among the branches or close to the trunk of a fallen
tree, and remains so perfectly still that she will allow you almost to
ride over her without moving, and in this way she often escapes.
"A tolerably good kangaroo will generally give a run of from six to ten
miles; but in general they do not run that distance in a straight line,
but make one large ring back to the place where they were found, though
the larger ones often go straight away."
The Brush kangaroo (_Macropus [Halmaturus] Bennettii_, Waterh.) is
universally distributed over Tasmania, and in some localities was
formerly very numerous indeed, but the war of extermination constantly
waged at all seasons against this species, for the sake of its skin,
has, in many places, entirely destroyed it, and rendered it scarce
everywhere. Many thousands of skins have been annually exported from
Launceston alone, and nearly all the leather used in the colony for
ladies' and gentlemen's boots and shoes is made from the skin of the
brush kangaroo, which is thicker and better than that of the larger
species.
The Wallaby (_Macropus [Halmaturus] Billardieri_, Desm.) is the smallest
species of kangaroo, and inhabits thickets; and although described by
Mr. Gould as being gregarious, is never seen in flocks, as is the
forester kangaroo.
All the different species of kangaroo are admirable food, and are now in
much request by the residents in the towns as a delicacy, having in soup
a flavor somewhat similar to that of hare. No others of the indigenous
quadrupeds are usually used for food, although occasionally bushmen eat
the wombat and echidna, and, more rarely, the bandicoots and kangaroo
rats.
The Platypus (_Ornithorhynchus anatinus_, Shaw) has for many years been
so great a subject of interest to the zoological world that little is
left to detail. It is still not uncommon in the pools and small streams
on the table land of the western mountains; at the source of the river
Derwent, Lake St. Clair; and in most of the rivers and streams in the
more remote parts. Those who feel any interest in the peculiar structure
of this very remarkable animal, and its congener the Porcupine (_Echidna
setosa_, Cuv.), can find full details in Professor Owen's very elaborate
and admirable paper, in the _Cyclopædia of Anatomy and Physiology_, on
the _Monotremata_.[269]
Nearly all the Tasmanian quadrupeds are nocturnal in their habits, or,
when not strictly so, feed principally during the morning and evening
twilight: and as few of our mountains exceed four or five thousand feet
of elevation above the sea level, most of the animals are distributed
over the whole island, being merely influenced in their range by the
greater or less abundance of food.
All the larger species of indigenous mammals will rapidly diminish under
the united efforts of Europeans and their attendant dogs. No species is
protected, and no species spared. As the _Marsupialia_ are not prolific,
the extinction of several species may soon be anticipated, from the
circumstance that the unsettled parts of the island, to which they have
been driven, are comparatively destitute of grass, and unfit for the
support of graminivorous animals.
It may here be observed that the Dingo of New Holland never inhabited
Van Diemen's Land; and although wild dogs were at one time troublesome
in a few districts, yet they were merely the domestic dogs become wild
(many having from time to time been abandoned by their masters--aborigines
and convicts), and were soon destroyed. European rats and mice are now
common all over the island: the domestic cat, also, has in many localities
become wild, and proves very destructive to quails, and those birds which
are much on the ground.
SECTION II.--BIRDS.
Unlike the mammals, there is nothing in the general aspect of the birds
of Tasmania to distinguish them from those of other countries; there
are, however, some peculiar forms, but they are not of such a nature as
to strike the eye. Many of the birds of Europe are represented here, as
the hawks, owls, swallows, snipe, ducks, &c., and not a few have
received English names, from the real or fancied resemblance which they
bear to their British prototypes, as the magpies, wrens, robins, &c.
Mr. John Gould, in his splendid and elaborate work, _The Birds of
Australia_, has so completely illustrated and described the birds of
Australia, including those of Tasmania, that little remains to be done
by those who follow him. Whether we look at this magnificent work for
its beauty, or its accuracy, we cannot help feeling rejoiced that so
interesting a portion of the natural history of Tasmania should have
been so ably illustrated. According to Mr. Gould's work, Tasmania
possesses 170 species,[270] of which only a few, so far as at present
known, are _peculiar_ to it, that is, have not yet been found in any
other part of Australia. In the 170 are included some occasional and
rare visitants to our shores, but several others will, no doubt, have
hereafter to be added; this is, however, a close enough approximation
for all ordinary purposes.
The 170 birds may be divided into the following orders and genera:--
ORDERS. No. of No. of
Genera. Species.
RAPTORS 11 13
INSESSORES 46 62
RASORES 4 6
GRALLATORES 20 30
NATATORES 29 59
110 170
From the above table the ornithologist will form an idea of the
character of our birds; but it will be well to proceed a little more
into detail.
Among the thirteen raptorial birds the eagle (_Aquila audax_, Lath.)
takes the foremost place. It is about the size of the golden eagle of
Europe; and being destructive to young lambs in some localities, a
constant war is waged against it by the shepherds, and it is becoming
rapidly scarce.
The beautiful white hawk (_Astur Novæ Hollandiæ_, Cuv.), erroneously
called an albino by Mr. Gould, once very abundant, is now becoming rare,
having been nearly extirpated for the sake of its skin by the zeal of
bird collectors. The other raptorial birds possess little to distinguish
them from those of other countries.
Many of the genera of the perchers are peculiar to Australia; and the
brush-like tongues of many species, formed for extracting the honey
from flowers, have been classed amongst the Australian anomalies. The
parrot tribe is the most attractive to strangers, and eleven species,
belonging to not less than eight genera, are found in Tasmania. The
green and rose-hill parrots (_Platycercus flaviventris_, Temm., and _P.
eximius_, Shaw) occur in immense flocks in some places, and prove very
destructive to the ripe grain in the fields, as also injuring the roofs
of corn stacks in the barn yards. The white cockatoos (_Cacatua
galerita_, Lath.) were at one time to be seen in immense flocks, but are
now becoming scarce. Many of the parrots have beautiful plumage, and the
white cockatoo and rose-hill parrot have occasionally been taught to
speak.
Two pigeons and four species of quail are all the rasorial birds in the
island; the true gallinaceous birds being wholly wanting.
Of the thirty species of grallatores the most remarkable is the emu.
Very few individuals can now exist in the island, and it is to be feared
that its total extinction will be effected ere it can be ascertained
whether the Tasmanian bird is identical with that of New Holland. Tame
emus are common in the colony, but the original stock of most of those
now domesticated was introduced from Port Phillip.
The fifty-nine species of swimming birds include many sea birds which
inhabit the Antarctic, Southern Indian, and South Pacific Oceans. That
"_rara avis_," the black swan, once so common that rivers, bays, points,
&c., received their names, but a few years ago, from its abundance, is
now becoming truly a _rara avis_ in the settled parts of the island,
having been driven from its old haunts by that great intruder, the white
man. Ducks are numerous, of many species, and form admirable articles of
food. The sooty petrel (_Puffinus brevicaudus_, Brandt.), or mutton
bird, occurs in immense flocks in Bass' Strait. Captain Flinders, in his
_Voyage to Terra Australis_,[271] says that when near the north-west
extremity of Van Diemen's Land he saw a stream of sooty petrels from
fifty to eighty yards in depth, and of three hundred yards or more in
breadth. The birds were not scattered, but flying as compactly as a free
movement of their wings seemed to allow; and during a full _hour and
a-half_ this stream of petrels continued to pass without interruption,
at a rate little inferior to the swiftness of the pigeon. On the lowest
computation he thought the number could not have been less than a
hundred millions. This bird burrows in the ground, forming what are
called by the sealers in the Straits, _rookeries_; and a considerable
trade was at one time carried on in their feathers, eggs, and salted
bodies.[272]
With the exception of the pretty but gaudy parrot tribe, our most
beautiful birds may be said to be the wren (_Malurus longicaudus_,
Gould), the grosbeak (_Estrelda bella_, Lath.), the king-fisher
(_Alcyone Diemenensis_, Gould), the diamond birds (_Pardalotus_
species), and the satin fly-catcher (_Myiagra nitida_, Gould). None of
the birds equal the songsters of Europe, although many have sweet notes,
and some are musical, as the magpie (_Gymnorhina organicum_, Gould),
that lively bird whose cheerful notes delight the ear of every traveller
at early dawn in the settled districts of Tasmania, to which it is
restricted.
The distribution of the birds of Tasmania is very partial, differing in
this respect remarkably from that of the animals. The supply of the
peculiar food suitable to particular genera and species necessarily
affects their range, and as one half of the island is still covered by
the dense primæval forests, so in that portion few of the birds
inhabiting the settled districts are to be found. Several of them follow
the footsteps of man, and as his clearings take place in the remote
wilds, and corn-fields spring into existence, so many grain-eating birds
make their appearance. This is entirely irrespective of the regular
annual migrations of numerous species from New Holland to Tasmania,
which, in this respect, follow the same law which governs the migrations
of species inhabiting similar latitudes in the other hemisphere. The
snipe and swallows usually arrive in Van Diemen's Land during the first
week in September; and during that month most of those birds which
migrate for the purpose of breeding also make their appearance. In
April, or soon after, the various summer visitants take their departure
northwards. Mr. Gould observes:--"There are also periods when some
species of birds appear entirely to forsake the part of the country in
which they have been accustomed to dwell, and to betake themselves to
some distant locality, where they remain for five or ten years, or even
for a longer period, and whence they as suddenly disappear as they had
arrived."
The only birds shot as game in the colony are quail and snipe. Quail
shooting commences on 1st April, and snipe shooting about 1st September.
SECTION III.--FISHES.
Sir John Richardson has described many species of Tasmanian fish in the
_Transactions of the Zoological Society_, and, more recently, some
additional species in the _Zoology of H. M. S. Erebus and Terror_. To
these works we must refer for scientific details, but many are still
undescribed, and of the habits of our fish in general but little is
known. Every season new species are brought to market at Hobart Town and
Launceston, and no doubt many more species yet remain to reward the
zealous fisherman who will explore the various banks off our coasts. The
depth of water throughout the whole of Bass' Strait, and between the
numerous islands which dot its eastern and western extremities, ranges
between twenty and fifty fathoms only, the latter being the greatest
depth. In such localities, and more especially amongst the islands,
where numerous currents occur, fish may be expected to abound; but as
yet no attempt has been made to extend the fishing beyond the shallow
smooth water at the mouths of our rivers and estuaries.
Not only are many of the Tasmanian fish admirable as articles of food,
but there is every reason to believe that they might be caught in
sufficient numbers to form a valuable export to those countries where
salt fish is esteemed. The best for this purpose would be that commonly
known as the "king-fish" (a species of _alepisaurus_), about the size of
a cod, the _habitat_ of which is still unknown, but which comes
regularly every season, during the months of May to July, into the
shallow waters along the coasts, to spawn. It most probably permanently
inhabits some of the banks in Bass' Strait.
The species considered finest for the table is one called the Trumpeter,
found commonly in the estuary of the Derwent and Storm Bay, but which is
rarely caught on the northern coast. Flounders, gar-fish, gurnett
(_Sebastes maculatus_), and several other species of sea-fish, a bare
list of which would convey little information, are frequently and
usually brought to market.
The rivers of Tasmania are not so well supplied with fish as those of
many other countries. The largest, except an eel, is one called the
black-fish, which, in some of the rivers which discharge themselves into
the sea on the north coast, attains a weight of six to eight pounds.
This fish, it is said, does not exist in the river Derwent, or in any of
its numerous tributaries. The mullet (or fresh water herring) is a fine,
well-flavored fish, weighing usually about five ounces, and is the only
one affording sport to the angler. These, with a species of trout, two
lampreys, and, perhaps, two or three very small species not usually
noticed, complete the list of those which inhabit our streams and lakes.
The colonists are now anxious to introduce the Salmon into the Tasmanian
rivers, for which they seem admirably adapted. Hitherto the attempts
have been made from Scotland, and failed; but it is supposed that the
west coast of North America would afford a more favorable and accessible
station from which to introduce the salmon of that country, which,
although not so highly flavored as the Scotch species, would still be a
most desirable acquisition.
Some species of fish are poisonous at all seasons, as the toad-fish
(_Apistes marmoratus_); others are only occasionally so; and the degree
of poisonous effect would seem to depend not only upon the state of the
fish, but to vary very much in different persons who partake of them at
the same time. There is nothing, however, in these properties of the
Tasmanian fish to distinguish them from those of many other countries
where similar peculiarities exist.
SECTION IV.--REPTILES.
It will not be necessary, in a work like the present, to do more than
notice in very general terms this and the subsequent departments of
zoology, upon none of which have any separate works been published.
Snakes exist all over Tasmania; all are believed to be poisonous, and
some are well known to be so. They inhabit all localities, from the
level of the sea to the summits of the loftiest mountains (about five
thousand feet). The number of species is still undetermined, but there
are believed to be at least ten, although it is probable that the young
of some kinds may have been mistaken for distinct species. The largest
are usually four to five feet long, attaining occasionally, though but
very rarely indeed, to a length of six feet. The greater number,
however, are very much smaller, and are very various in color.
Comparatively few instances have occurred wherein the bite of the snake
has proved fatal to human life, and this, considering the immense number
of snakes throughout the island, may be deemed remarkable. Numerous
instances, however, of the death of horses, cattle, sheep, and dogs,
have been recorded; but the particular species causing death in each
instance has not been noted with precision; so that there are
considerable doubts with many well-informed persons whether some
innocuous kinds may not, like the ringed snake of England, be classed
amongst their poisonous congeners, and indiscriminately killed with
them.
Next to man the hawk tribe are their most powerful and persevering
enemies; and it would be wise on the part of the colonists if they
forbade their servants to destroy those beautiful and, in this respect,
most useful birds. Lady Franklin, during the government of her husband,
Sir John Franklin, with her wonted liberality and kindness of heart,
offered a reward of one shilling per head for every snake killed
throughout the island. During the first year she paid about £700, for
nearly fourteen thousand snakes killed. Subsequently she discontinued
this reward, having ascertained that it would not, at that time, prove
permanently beneficial, as from the very great extent of waste and
unoccupied land, where snakes could breed undisturbed, they were brought
down in vast numbers to the inhabited parts of the island by the flooded
streams and rivers; but it now becomes a question, when so much more of
the island is occupied, whether our local legislature might not wisely
renew the offer of a moderate reward for the destruction of these
obnoxious and much dreaded reptiles.
Lizards and frogs, of various species, are common, but possess no
peculiar interest. A species of turtle has been occasionally washed
ashore upon the east coast, brought, no doubt, from the east coast of
New Holland by the current which sets from that direction towards Van
Diemen's Land.
SECTION V.--INSECTS.
No work on the entomology of Tasmania has yet appeared, although few
countries offer a wider or better field to the zealous entomologist, and
it possesses many most interesting species.[273]
There is a great preponderance of _Coleoptera_ over the other orders.
Some European forms are common; and several species, as the weevil,
apple aphis, slug, &c., have been introduced, and prove most injurious,
as they increase with unusual rapidity. The domestic bee was brought to
Van Diemen's Land from England by Dr. T. B. Wilson, R.N., in the year
1834; and so admirably does the climate of this island suit this
interesting insect that in the first year sixteen swarms were produced
from the imported hive! Since that time they have been distributed all
over the island, and have been sent to all the adjoining colonies; all
those in Australia having been derived from the one hive. In Tasmania
they are becoming wild in great numbers, spreading themselves rapidly
through all the forests, even to the summits of the western mountains.
SECTION VI.--MOLLUSCA.
Of the mollusca inhabiting the shores of the island many are highly
interesting, and several are very beautiful. The rare _Cypræa
umbilicata_ (Sowerby) inhabits Bass' Strait, as also _Trigonia
margaritacea_ (Lam.), _Valuta papillaris_ (Swainson), _Venus lamellata_
(Lam.), _Crassatella kingicola_ (Lam.), _solenimya Australis_ (Lam.), a
species of _Terebratula_, and many others most interesting to the
conchologist, and not less so to the geologist, as some forms are now
found living abundantly in the Australian seas which are only known in
the old world as occurring in a fossil state.
Our Argonaut, or paper nautilus (_A. tuberculosa_, Lam.), is quite
distinct from the European species, and scarcely less beautiful. It is
occasionally washed ashore in considerable numbers on the islands in
Bass' Strait. The beautiful _Janthina fragilis_ has been washed ashore
with its inhabitant on the east coast.
Although many forms are almost purely Australian, there are,
nevertheless, a great number of European types, such as species of
_Mytilus, Venus, Pecten, Ostrea, Patella_, &c.
The only kind of shell-fish commonly consumed as an article of food and
brought to market is a species of oyster. With the aborigines, however,
shell-fish formed a very considerable and important article of diet. La
Billardiere[274] describes their diving for _Haliotis_ at Recherche Bay;
and abundant remains of their feasts still exist all along the coasts,
and, in some places, many miles inland, the shell-fish having been
carried in baskets by the women, to situations where fresh water was to
be found. The sites of these aboriginal feasts are usually easily to be
distinguished from raised beaches, or those accumulations of shells
caused by change in the relative levels of sea and land. They may be
known by their isolated character and position; by their forming, in
many instances, round mound-like heaps, or tumuli; by the shells being
injured by fire, often broken into small pieces, intermixed with
fragments of charcoal; and from the fact of no small species of shell,
not likely to form an article of food, being found intermixed.[275] The
species of shell-fish consumed by the aborigines were numerous, and
varied according to the locality in which each shell abounded. Those
commonly used were the two species of _Haliotis_, _Mussels_, a _Turbo_,
and _Oyster_: several of the smaller _bivalves_ and _univalves_ were,
however, occasionally used, but it does not appear that the _aborigines_
of Tasmania ever eat the _Unio_, so far as can now be traced; in this
instance exhibiting a remarkable difference from those of New Holland,
with whom the _Unio_ forms an important article of diet.
The land shells are inconsiderable in number, not amounting to more than
about six species. The freshwater kinds, including those inhabiting
ditches, ponds, &c., are more numerous; but, except the _unio_, all are
small and insignificant. Some species occur abundantly in situations
which are perfectly dry for at least six months of the year, and seem,
like many snails, to have the power of sustaining life for a long period
in a dormant state.
SECTION VII.--CRUSTACEA, ECHINODERMATA, &c.
Crabs of numerous species are common, and one species, occasionally
caught on both the east and west coasts, attains to a gigantic size. A
craw-fish is abundant on the coasts, and is much prized by epicures, and
another inhabits the rivers which run into the sea on the north coast.
Many other crustaceans, still undescribed or but little known, are to be
found in all favorable situations.
There is little in the character of the _echinodermata_ to call for
special notice. Species of many genera of star-fish and sea urchins are
most abundant. _Acalephæ_ and _polypi_ are equally numerous, and a most
extensive and little-explored field lies open in this colony to the
naturalist in these most interesting branches of zoology. Our
_infusoria_, too, are still undescribed, though numerous; but they call
for few remarks in this place.
In closing this chapter upon the zoology of Tasmania it must not be
forgotten by the reader that its productions are still, in a great many
cases, comparatively unknown; the notices of those described are
scattered throughout an immense number of works, and in this island no
museum or public scientific library yet exists, of such a character as
to afford any aid to the compiler. It is not, however, to be expected
that a general history of Tasmania should contain a minute history of
all its varied and most interesting natural productions. It has been
deemed sufficient, in the present slight sketch, to give in general
terms merely those leading features which were likely to prove
attractive to the general reader; leaving it to the student who may
desire further information to refer to the works which have been noticed
under the different heads.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 268: _History of British Fossil Mammals and Birds._]
[Footnote 269: It may be as well, also, to observe here that the learned
Professor's article on the _Marsupialia_, in the same work, leaves
little to be desired by the student who desires fuller information on
the comparative anatomy of the marsupial animals.]
[Footnote 270: Mr. Gould, in his introduction, says 181 species, and his
table shows 172; but we think he has erred in placing some birds under
the head of Van Diemen's Land, which in the body of his book do not
appear ever to have been found in it.]
[Footnote 271: Vol. I., introduction, p. 170.]
[Footnote 272: For a very full and excellent description of the habits
of this bird see a paper by R. H. Davies, Esq., in the _Tasmanian
Journal_, Vol. II., p. 13.]
[Footnote 273: Two hundred and sixty-two species of Tasmanian insects
were described by the German entomologist Erichsen, in _Wagner's
Archives_ for 1842. The Rev. T. J. Ewing, of New Town, the most zealous
and able Tasmanian entomologist, in a paper in the _Tasmanian Journal_,
vol. iii., p. 456, quotes the following works, where descriptions of
Tasmanian insects may be found.--_Leach's Zoological Miscellany,
Entomological Magazine, The Entomologist, Transactions of the
Entomological Society of London_, and _Annals of Natural History_.]
[Footnote 274: _Voyage in search of La Perouse._]
[Footnote 275: _Vide_ a paper by R. C. Gunn: _Tasmanian Journal_, vol.
II., p. 332.]
TASMANIA:
PRINTED BY J. S. WADDELL, LAUNCESTON.
* * * * *
NOTES AND ERRATA.
Transcriber's Note: the following errata have been corrected in the text
above.
Page 4, for "Charles II." read "Charles I."
Page 14. This veteran was at the Exhibition of 1851, pointing out the
natural productions and conversing with great zest with any person
interested in this colony.
Page 29, for "did not visit," read "did not convey the settlers."
Page 41. The state of Van Diemen's Land may be inferred by the following
evidence of Lieutenant Lord (1812), before the Committee of the Commons.
"During eight or nine years we entirely depended on the woods. We had
2lbs. of biscuit weekly for thirteen months;"--"We had not a single
death." "I have often myself been glad to go to bed for want of bread."
Mr. Lord was sometime acting lieutenant governor--the writer has, during
a long voyage which his gentlemanly deportment made pleasant, often
heard him narrate the difficulties of those early days.
Page 56. The following extracts from various documents will bear out the
statements in the text, in reference to the government proceedings of
that day:--
Crossly, the government lawyer, was transported for putting a "fly in a
dead man's mouth"--making a forged will. He drew up the early
indictments. He got his pardon this way: he drew bills (£2000), on a man
of straw in England. They were returned, but as a convict he could not
be sued; therefore Governor King, to protect the creditors, gave him his
pardon.--_Judge Adkins' evidence on Johnstone's trial._
A person was ordered 500 lashes for sedition--_Gazette_, March 1807.
Bakers using flour above 20 per cent. were threatened to have their
ovens demolished.--1806.
"A breach of regulations, made at the sole will of the Governor, was
punished with 500 to 1000 lashes,"--_Report House of Commons Committee_,
1812.
"A man threatened to be as troublesome as Tom Pain, sentenced to 100
lashes, and to wear a label on his back with 'Thomas Pain,' written in
large characters."--1806.
The following is Bligh's character of Judge Atkins--"He has been
accustomed to inebriety--he has been the ridicule of the community,
sentence of death has been pronounced in moments of intoxication, his
determination is weak, his opinions floating and infirm, his knowledge
of the law insignificant and subject to private inclination; and
confidential cases of the crown, where due secresy is required, he is
not to be trusted with." (Letter to Secretary of State.) Yet Atkins
was his principle adviser.
Page 65. Major Abbot said, "people err greatly in reference to my
court--some think it is a court of law--_but it is not a court of law_;
some think it is a court of equity--_but it is not a court of equity_.
It is a court of justice and right."
Page 76, for "100,000," read "10,000."
Page 107, The following is an example of the pipe system:--"_Free
Pardon._--Whereas on the days of Thursday and Friday last, copies of a
paper usually called A PIPE, were circulated in the town of Sydney, one
being thrown over the wall in George-street, opposite the
Lieut.-Governor's house; another at the Provost Marshall's; another at
Mrs. Macarthur's; another outside the walls of the Queen's Hospital,
opposite the quarters occupied by D'Arcey Wentworth; each paper
separately addressed to the above persons, and containing a false,
malicious attack on his honor the Lieutenant Governor--it is hereby
notified that his Excellency will _give a free and unconditional pardon,
and in addition, two hundred pounds sterling_, offered by the officers
of the 46th regiment, to any person or persons (not the actual authors
of such paper) who will give information that may lead to the conviction
of the offenders. May 4, 1816."
Page 109, for "Lord Goderich," read "Sir G. Murray."
Page 119. This passage was in type before the bill for an elective
assembly passed.
Page 135, for "quit-rents 2s.," read "2s. per 100 acres."
Page 143, for "one never cultivated," read "one cultivated."
Page 152, for "£50,000," read "£5,000."
Page 152. The actual discoverer of the Burra Mines, Thomas Picket, a
labourer, was burned to death in a state of intoxication in 1852.
Page 172. In this trial the jurors could not agree as to damages, to
they set down each a sum, and adding the whole, divided by twelve,
which they gave as a verdict.
Page 173, for "an even number," read "an ancient number."
Page 183, for "154," read "148" (note).
Page 249, for "deliberate," read "deliberative."
Page 267, for "annulled," read "unsettled."
Page 284, for "July, 1848," read "July, 1847."
Page 297, for "two monstrous," read "too monstrous."
Page 303, for "object to," read "object of."
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The History of Tasmania, Volume I" ***
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