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<^ \ /■~'\.*L-
THE
EMIGEANT'S MANUAL
EJ
Al
w
THE
EMIGEANT'S MAIfUAL
#
AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, AMERICA, AND
SOUTH AFRICA.
WITH A PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION,
By JOHN HILL BURTON,
AUTHOR OF POLITICAL ANI> SOCIAL ECONOMY.
EDINBURGH:
WILLIAM AND ROBERT CEAMBERS.
1861.
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EDINBURGH :
PRINTED BY W. AND R. CHAMBERS.
»
m
EMIGRATION
IN ITS PHACTICAL APniCATION
TO
INDIVIDUALS AKD COMMUNITIES.
•
BY JOHN HILL BURTON,
AUTHOE OF 'POLIUCAI. AND 80CI
AL ECOJrOllT.'
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'""^P*'"*^1PPI
EMIGRATION
IN ITS PRACTICAL APPLICAnOK.
EMIGRATION SCHEMES.
Among those many projects and principles for remedying all that
IS socially wrong, with which the ear of the public is ever filled
there is none so confidently asserted, and none so seldom denied
or disputed, as an extensive systematic removal of our population
to new lands and fresh sources of enterprise. The advocate of
emigration finds it suflicient to describe without reasoning Here is
our crowded empu-e, with its jails, and hospitals, and poor-houses.
Take Its fruitful territories from Kent to the Grampians, and add
to these whatever of the surface of Irehmd is not absolute stone
and peat-moss; there is no other area on the face of the earth
where the population is so dense. Competition, we are told, is
worked to its highest power; every source of decent liveUhood is
seized on by hungry rivals ; ragged wretches swarm on our streets •
poUution spreads around, not from viciousness, but the shee^
necessity of living. Our towns are full of tramper lodgmg-places,
I m each of which we shaU find some hundreds of idle weS
filthy and diseased, who might in other circumstances keep oheep
or plough, or reap, adding to the abundance of the world, and
I livmg happy, healthy, vh^uous Hves. Such is generally the
; picture on the one hand; and then on the other is described the
vast re^on of unploughed and almost untrodden soU at the
Sr?S rl''''! r^P?^' '''' ^^'^ *^*^y ^S^* spread themselves
forth like liberated prisoners. In Australia, not to speak of the
mysteries of the mterior, where we may or may not on some future
day find patches of luxurious productive land about the size of
«ST f ^**^y-*h? Emigration Commissioners state that, attached
sole y to the provmces of New South Wales and Victoria, there
are three hundred millions of acres m the hands of the otoimlZ
FMIORATION.
!l
diBposal, tho nmoiint alienated being about six millions of acrci.
In tho now colony of South Au«tralia there are twenty millions of
acres — a surface greatly more than double that of (Ireat Britain
and Ireland. Van Diemon's Land is looked on as comparatively
occupied colonial soil, being abotit half the size of Ireland, and
liaving a population of 70,000. Tumuig westward round the huge
bulk of tho island-continent, we come to Weslem Australia, the
Swan River Settlement of calamitous renown, spreading over an
area which is laid down as eight times the size of the British isles,
and with a population of about COOO people. Passing oastwanl
across the Pacific, we come to the last great object of British
colonial enterprise — New Zealand — a compact group of islands like
our own, and covering nearly the same area. It is here that the
friends of emigration exhaust their eloquence on tho sweetness and
salubrity of the climate, the l>eauty of the scenery, and the rich
fertility of the productive pov/ers, anticipating, not without reason,
that here will rise that southern empire of British origin to which
must fall the future government of the Oriental nations. Again
passing from the field of these late discoveries to one of the known
old quarters of the globe, a cordon is drawn through Africa, near
the twenty-fifth degree of southern latitude, and separating from
the deserts and deadly swamps left to the rest of tlie world that
sea- washed angle within the range of healthy existence, reserved
as an emigration field for Britain, and containing a further area
of territory larger than that of the British islands. It is un-
necessary to speak of trifling spots like the Falkland Isles in a
general survey like the present ; but passing at once to our North
American territories, we have there, at the nominal disposal at
least of Britain, a territory larger than that where the United
States have near thirty millions of people, and will shortly have
sixty millions; and lastly, there is at the disposal of those who
choose or are compelled to seek a new home, this great republican
empire itself, ever welcoming over our citizens as a useful addition
to its population.
Such is the general sketch, seeming to need no argument, which
the advocate of emigration sends forth. But there are shades to
add to the picture before it becomes a true representation. For
two hundred years the efforts of this country to people foreign
■wildernesses have been a repetition of sad disasters — of sanguine
hopes blighted, of the worthiest efforts defied and baffled by un-
controllable difficulties. Emigration has been an ocean on which
ignorant men have heedlessly trusted themselves without a pilot —
a market in which gross and cruel impostors have found their most
ready victims — a field of economical inquiry from which cautious,
conscientious investigation has been driven forth by reckless
2
W
M.
EMIGRATION.
exporimenters on the futo and fortune of their fellow- beingt.
Endowed with a vastly beneficent operation, yet capable of the
rnoHt mahgn perversion it thus becomes, as involving the happiness
or nuscrv of multitudes, one of the most solemn subjects on
which the practical economist can embark. It will be necessary
in the following inquiry, made by one who has gone to his
task in a purely critical spirit, and without any prepossession in
favour of any theory of emigration, to notice many conditions
m which, through rashness or misdirected zeal, it has been a dire
calannty, instead of the blessing it is capable of being made
But before entering on this, which may be considered as the
discouraging side of the picture.it may be well, since we have
glanced at the material area open for British emigration, to take
a view of the economic prospects before our people, from a
conscientious and cautious adjustment of its operation to the
Jaws of political economy and the social condition of the nation.
Ihat the vast sources of productiveness to which we have
™/''''^'?^^ '^^Y.f .'""*' ^" ^^^"P'^'i «"^ applied by the
great race who, in following the original law of onr nature thafc
man must live by the sweat of his brow, promis. .0 govern the
world-is as clear and necessary a result of all economic laws a»
any future event can be. With free trade our country has the
markets of the world at its command, but the extent^to which
they can supply us depends on their productiveness, and their
productiveness depends on what political economy cannot control
—the industry and energy of the races by whom the various
territories of the globe are inhabited-the^extent to whidiTe
ambition of participating in our wealth and luxury wUl induce
them to imitate our industrious energy. But the Neapolitan
Lazaroni he basking „ the sun ; the Hindoo throws on his padd^
field the industry which his ancestor bestowed on it a thousand
V^HU *,SO,*nd no more; the Chinaman is content to turn his:
litte wheel, and irrigate the paddock that satisfies all the wants
lrthp"^hV''"''^'^.^' *^* ^'^ ^"'^^^^ ^««Pi««« work n:.
does the whie man's dog; and the Zoolu of our African settle-
ments though ofi-ered a fair per-centage of the fortime wh ch ^
ht le exertion from hun will draw out of the cotton plantation
wm^ work tiU he has earned a red handkerchief, but no? TlZ^
There is just one boundary to the influence of free trade-the
S?7i1 ''°r?^ P°"^^*^' satisfied with what it has, and
uninduced by all that the world of commerce can offei- to
exchange idleness and amusement for productive exertion. The
en erpnsmg English subduing the soifand adapting it to their
objects, are sometimes looked upon,' and openly spoken of,^
a
EMIGRATION.
I i
people having the mixed elements of the madman and the fool !
the madman promptmg them to a restless energy in the cultiva-
tion of the earth, the building of houses, and the fabrication of
clothing — ^the fool prompting them to make a boast and exultation
of this diseased propensity instead of concealing it. The people
who so view our conduct cannot reciprocate in the race ^'ff nm.
We obtain from them the surplus produce of the old traditional
pursuits which they have followed for uncounted centuries. Per-
haps they sometimes restrict their inf'ulgence in their own produc-
tions, to be able to buy in exchange something of ours. But they
do not go on indefinitely producing to meet in exchange with our
indefinite production. Where slaves are kept, it is true, this will
be done, and can be done. It is not that slave labour is nearly so
Taluable as free labour ; but in those conditions where there are great
natural elements of production — ^land cheap, or to be had for the
mere occupation, with a richly-nutritious climate — it often happens
that free people will not give the labour that enables these capa-
bilities to be used. There the slave-master, who desires to possess
in superfluity the riches of this industrial hive, can send us the raw
cotton, the sugar, the tobacco, of his own favoured region tlurough
the compulsory labours of those who would not have so tasked
their energies to supply their own wants.
Thus it is an unhappy fact, that a large part of the labour
for which we must exchange commodities under free trade is slave
labour. If it were capable of indefinite increase, it might be a
question whether this country ought not, while sotting out upon
its own great business of free labour, to make some vast efibrt to
extirpate a crime so hideous ; but it is not a system that spraads
like commerce. It is limited in every direction : in the field of
slave production — in the means of getting the servile ^ ling to the
flpot where he may be used — in the danger of allow? a race of
slaves to increase to too great an extent — ^buk most .U, in the
discredit and guilt attached to all dealing in sla"er;y —modified
when it applies to the planter who is merely retaining the -nheri-
tance of bondmen collected by his ancestois in a darker age, but
fierce and righteously intolerant when it encounters the maii-
Btealer employing the science and power of advanced civilisation
to lay deadly snares for those simple children of the desert, whose
sad ignorance and feebleness should commend them to the
beneficence instead of the malignity of civilisation. J<astly, slave
labour is limited by the extent of the earth's surface in which it
is available. It is applicable only to the gathering of the almost
spontaneous produce of rich tropical climates. It is at best a
humble order of work, an^ is only worth applying where the
prolific nature of the earth lasken even the meagrest labours of man
EHIOSATION.
valuable. It can never be applied with success to skilled arduous
production ; such as those lands less favoured by the sun, but more
blessed in the higher gifts of energy and intelligence, must
develop. In this country it might be adapted to handloom weaving,
or to those humbler routine duties in the mill which are performed
by children; but slave labour could never productively bo
employed in the Sheffield cutleries or the Birmmgham brazieries.
Thus is lunited the field of slave production to be exchanged by
the influence of free trade with our industrial harvest. We must
seek, then, a nobler competitor in the mutual contest of produc-
tiveness—and where shall we so well find it as in the judicious
dispersal of the energetic British people over the earth ? Already
of our sixty millions of exports upwards of a third are conveyed
to people of our own race either in the United States or the
British dependencies, and thus we measure the capacity of the
swarms already thrown oflf to minister to our wants, since the
exports to the several states indicate the amount of produce they
have parted with to procure them. It is clear, then, that it is
our interest to spread our own race abroad on the vacant produc-
tive spaces of the earth's surface. Here is the practical answer to
the frightening diagrams of the economists who shew that produc-
tiveness decreasts with the ratio of the increase of popuhition. An
area fifty times the extent of Britam lies open to British industry
and enterprise ! This vast arena should be treated as a legitimate
field of enterprise, into which the laws of political economy will
carry our people, not merely as a refuge for destitution or a
desperate remedy for social disease. That emigration may be
applied, and with success, to the cure or removal of social diseases
will Irnve to be afterwards shewn. But its great economic mission
is of a nobler order. In the natural growth of a people nsmg all
the advantages which a bountiful Providence places within their
view, it is no more a matter of calamitous necessity that there
should be emigrants than that there should be farmers. The
colonist should no more be viewed as a man fleeing to take refuge
from the miseries of a home pursuit, than the cultivation of the
ground should be considered a refuge from shop-keeping, or shoe-
making from carpentry.
The rise of our rapid system of locomotion confuses and prac-
tically refutes old theories of political economy. Canada is as
^leaj to London as Edinburgh was eighty years ago, and Australia
will be as near as Caithness was. This rapid external communi-
cation, responding to the internal locomotion, will produce effects
of which as yet we know little. From old habit the progress of
steam miprovement was associated with increased city areas
denser crowds, and murkier streets ; but it has, in reality, had the
5
•1««»^|W»'<"»W"
EMIGRATION.;
contrajy efffect of spreading mankind over a wide surface. Our
dense cities, which horrify the sanitarian, were the creatures of a
state of locomotive power as different from our own as the litera-
ture of manuscripts was from that of printing. In the days of tlie
packhorse and the bridle-road, the land around a city was so
valuable, that rocks, such as Arthur Seat, near Edbburgh, were
cultivated in terraces laid with artificial soil, while ten miles off
the country was a grim wilderness of marsh and peat. In the
days: of the turnpike and the wagon, the supplies of the cities
have come from a distance: Yorkshire contributed with Kent
and Surrey to feed London, and the land around cities ceased
to be so exclusively valuable. In the days of railways and steam-
boats, we are to find our farms still farther off— in Australia,
Southern Africa, or Canada. When we see our urban popula-
tion relieved from the necessity of occupying mere spots in the
land called cities, and the dbpersal of our agricultural producers
in distant and vastly productive fields, it is reasonable to cal-
culate that population will disperse while it increases; and that
ou' people, able to withdraw more of the land immediately
around them from bemg necessarily employed in the production
of food and raiment, may enjoy more of the green earth and the
blessed li^t of heaven. The pastoral sentimentalist who has
watched the progress of our chemical and mechanical resources,
has dreamed his dream of endless furnaces and cinder-heaps—^
of groups of tall chimneys— of a murky atmosphere— of narrow,
poisonous alleys, and an indefinite increase of a squalid popula-
tion ; but science possesses resources to meet and overcome its
attendant evils. The increase of two kinds of productive power
answering to each other— the mechanical ingenuity working through
machinery at home, the expansion of the field of agricultural pi-o-
duce and the supply of food, over the vast area of our emigration
fields— will have the same effect as if a warmer sun shone on a
more fertile earth, producing greater abmidance of all thmgs for
man; outstrippmg, in the increase of the means of support the
increase of his numbers ; and rendering no longer necessary that
sordid elaboration of the earth's surface at home which has locked
the mechanic in the narrow city street, and has driven the home-
producer of food to economise and utilitarianise every spot on
which a blade will grow. It is no incoherent dream or hollow
fancy, but a rational anticipation of the future from the past, that
with a greatly increased population in this country, holding com-
mercial intercoui-sewith an indefinitely increasing area peopled by
our kindred in all available parts of the earth, we may be, in
all physical and moral elements, above our present position ; we
may be less densely crowded into cities ; we may be freer of all
6
#
EMIGRATION.
#
the moral and physical impurities which cling around us ; we may
breathe fresher au-; we may live more with nature; we may devote
fewer of our hours to weary drudgery, demanding a less deadly
reaction in dissipation and vice ; and the contemplation of a better
order of things, found in searching for and obeying the great
economical laws of the world, may teach us to see more of God in
life, and to become better men, both for this world and the next.
This may seem an extravagant enough anticipation of the
results of emigration ; but, in truth, it is not contemplated as the
result of any system of operation— of any theory of emigration.
We calculate on two agents tending towards the production of
such results. The one is the vast portion of the earth's surface
still unappropriated and unused— the other is the fine race who
constitute the majority of the people of this country, with then:
great energies and their honest purpose. These are destined to
be the available instruments by which the land will give forth its
bounty, while the rule by which they are to be guided is to be
found in those eternal laws of political economy— laws as eternal
and beneficent as those of the mechanical powers and animal life ;
laws not easily found often misconstrued — ^taxing men's intellects
to the utmost, and far more liable than the laws of other sciences
to the false direction of prejudice — yet existing in nature beyond
doubt. After much of the past empiricism and mischievous
tampering, with some that perhaps may be to come, we may
I look to this department of political economy — that which guides
emigration — ^being cleared from the darkness which makes the
future and the distant an indistinct haphazard to be unscrupulously
gambled in, and from the false light wh?ch leads the bewildered
wanderer into deadly drowning swamps. It is the object of the
author of the following pages to give such assistance as he is
capable of giving to the accomplishment of this end, by endea-
vouring to explain from past expenence the elements that have
made emigration that beneficent furtherer of human wellbeing
which it ought to be, and to point out those mistakes which have
too often made it calamitous instead of beneficent.
THE DANGERS OP AN ILL-DIRECTED EMIGRATION.
That the ambition so natural to our countrymen of advancing
over the earth and subduing it to productive purposes has been
attended with many hardships and calamities, has been matter of
too bitter experience. To be fully reminded of the sacrifices that
., ,„ „,„„ t««Dc, Tve iiccu nufc gu ij(k;k. to ine days
when a nation's hopes were blighted at Darien, and her best and
7 •
■«'■
EMIGKATION.
bravest aons, engaged in a magnificent project, renewed at the
present day for uniting the commerce of the Pacific with that of
the Atlantic, left their ruined forts and their graves as the sole
memonaJ of their efforts. We need not recall * the ruined waU
and roofless homes' of fair Wyoming, or the countless bloody
conflicts with the wielders of the tomahawk and the takers of
scalps. The young men of the present generation are unfortu-
nately old enough to remember the fate of those who, in the
plenitude of hope and enterprise, flocked to the Swan Eiver Settle-
ment—a fate described in these words by the legislative council of
the colony:— 'The ghastly spectacle of the town -site of Cla-
rence—its sole edifices crowded, humid, and neglected tombs— its
only inhabitants corpses, the victims of disease, starvation, and
^lespau-— the sea-beach strewed with wrecks, the hiUs and borders
«f the rivers studded with deserted and half-finished buildings-
bear witness to these consequences, and speak of brave men.
delicate females, and helpless children, perishing in hundreds on
a desert coast from want of food, of shelter, and even of water
and surrounded by hordes ofangry armed savages.' '
From a quantity of official letters written in our North Ameri-
can colomes, under the infliction of the emigration or rather flight
«f 1847, which swept our nearest colonies like a pestilence, let the
loilowmg passage suffice as a specimen :— ' Out of the 4000 or 5000
emigrants that have left this since Sunday, at least 2000 will faU
fiick somewhere before three weeks are over. They ought to
have accommodation for 2000 sick at least in Montreal and
liuebec, as all the Cork and Liverpool passengers are half-dead
from starvation and want before embarking; and the least bowel
•complaint, which is sure to come with change of food, finishes
them without a struggle. I never saw people so indifferent to
iile ; they would continue in the same berth with a dead person
untd the seamen or captain dragged out the corpse with boat-
hooks. Good God I what evfls wiU befaU the cities wherever
they alight ! Hot weather will increase the evil.' *
What practical lesson, then, it may be asked, are we to learn
from such disasters ? Certainly not that emigration is to be sup-
pressed, or even discouraged. The former would not be practi-
cable were it wise; the latter would be the rejection of a great
boon, because it is, like aU other earthly blessings, accompanied by
risks which the skiU and intrepidity of man are tasked in meeting.
Ihe lesson we have to learn is, how cautiously an'', considerately
emigration should be practised, whether by communities or indi-
viduals ; and the best way to accompKsh this is to dispel, if it be
^ *if**«'" t"*" ?• Douglas, communicated by Lord ElKin to the goorBt^arv w t^*
8
EMIGBATIOX.
'%
possible, the false, sanguine, visionary notions by which tholftwho
have been the victims, instead of the heroes of emigration have
been afflicted. '
One of the most common opinions, or perhaps it should be called
sentiments, is, that if the removal to a new country be a difficult
thing to accomplish, yet, when once accomplished, it leads at once to
prosperity and nches. It is treated not as a selection made, after
ftill thought and mvestigation, of a course in life, but as an escape
from the misfortune of living at home-an escape which must be a
change for the better, whithersoever blind chance lead the fugitive
Too often as we have already seen, it has only led him into deeper
rn^enes, for which he has to reproach his own rash ignorance.
Ihe proposmg emigrant, as a foundation for coming to a right
conclusion, must start from the proper purposes of emigration.
If he believes that it is a process for suddenly making the poor
man nch-if he beheve that the mere change of place is to operate
a change of fortune-if he believe that the struggle, the toil, and
the disappomted hope, are the fixed characteristics of one hemi-
sphere, and success, wealth, and happiness those of another— if he
Deheve that in his flight he may safely abandon care, and toU, and
energy, yet become comfortable and independent— he looks on the
whole question from a false light— he has grievously mistaken the
economic eflfect of emigration. He must remember that the new
country does not pour forth spontaneously the elements of success •
It IS merely, after all, ajkU of exerts. Its existence does not make
the world a farthing richer; it only gives mankind a wider field
for the acquisition of riches by energy, intelligence, industry, and
eelf-denial. To have a wide choice among fields of enterpris^ and
exertion is a ^eat advantage to those who can make use of them
because it enlarges the chances of each finding what suits his
capacities best ; but it must not be confounded with that increased
wealth ot which it is only a productive means.
viewTf Thif^'^-^^'f-' '^^' '^r^' '^ ™°'" «^«««^y' *^at a clear
view of this distinction hes at the root of all eflFective emigration.
He who thmks that the mere gomg is in itself all-sufficient to
success, goes without reflection, and often finds that he has made
a miserable blunder Ke who, on the other hand, knows that he
IS only lea^ng one field of exertion for another, looks into and
calculates the nature of that other before he commits himself to
w :l ^^"^^ more common with intending emigrants to remem-
thl^n'r'*' r"^^ ^1 *?m' ^T *^ "^*^^ emigration a benefit
th^ aU the schemes of phUosophers, and aU the controlling and
directmg oorations of statesmen can ever accomplish. There
;-^.-..« .x^ei: u many who now emigrate who would stay at home
just because they found, on reflection, that after all the home field
9
EMIGRATION.
P
>
of exejjrtion was the one best adapted to them. There are many
■who go to the wrong place now who would go to the right place
then, because they know that they must not take their journey at
hazard, but must see the elements on which they are to work out
success before tliey start. And finally, there are many who stay
at home now who would then emigrate, because the benefits of
the new field of exertion would be more distinctly brought before
them by the success of those who have considerately and carefully
entered on it.
The benefit of emigration fields is the same as the benefit of all
other sources of enterprise — they give opportunities for the men
who are adapted to them, and know how to use their opportunities,
to make success for themselves in life. Fortunes liave been made
by emigrants who would not have made fortunes had they stayed
at home ; and, on the other hand, fortunes have been made at
home by people who would not have succeeded as emigi-ants, and
who have perhapij succeeded at home all the better because the
neighbours who might have been their rivals have emigrated and
prospere''. In individual instances, many have made fortunes by
lucJ-y accident ; but in all parts of the world— in Australia, New
Zealand, and America, as well as here— the great staple elements
of prosperity are industry, energy, and prudence, guided by
knowledge.
Though there is no act connected with his temporal interests
for which every man should more fully and cautiously feel and
know his way than the selection of a new sphere of existence for
himself and his race, yet there is none where people act with more
recklessness. Where the knowledge should be of the amplest,
most minute, most carefully weighed kind, people take their
chance, and will be swayed for or against by light and limited
hints. The caprices by which the ignorant are actuated in
their destination of themselves are incalculably preposterous, and
throw on those who guide them a heavy responsibility. But there
has hitherto been something in the mysterious chances attending
the prospect of a new world which has made even the educated and
the well-trained adopt this resource with strange recklessness.
There is not a scrap of obtainable knowledge about the selected field
which a man ought not to study before he casts his lot and that
of his descendants into it. The scrutinising zeal with which a
purchaser examines an estate, or a lender sees to an investment,
should be far excelled, since the stake is generally greater, and
the means of knowledge are more imperfect. Books, the very
best, should not be absolutely relied on for final guidance. They
should be amply studied beforehand, and made the means by
which the intending emigi'ant casts about, and compares one field
10
EBnGRATION.
with another; but ere he pack up his trunks and actually Btep on
shipboard, he should have friendly personal advice about the land
of his adoption, and its suitability to his own position. In so far
as books are relied on, it may seem paradoxical, but it will be
found true, that those written by men from the spot are less safely
to be depended on than the compilations, in which their informa-
tion is sifted and compared with that of others, by persons who
have no interest in emigration or the success of theories, and,
whose object it is simply to prepare works of reference and of
information. Not only do those who live long in a distant, thinly-
peopled country acquire one-sided notions regarding its relation
to the rest of the world, but it is only on some very rare occasion
indeed that any man who has had a personal connection with an
emigration district writes about it without having some object to
accomplish, and therefore some particular views to support and
propagate. The laudatory is the prevailing tone of these works :
the earth is fruitful, the scenery beautiful, the climate both
pleasant and wholesome ; all succeed in the place with the excep-
tion of one class, who are almost universally excepted from the
general prosperity— the medical profession, who, in the general
health and happiness, find no victims to work on. The ingenuity
with which elements that cannot be othtjr than an evil in a country
are described as something not much beneath a blessing may occa-
sionally prompt a smile. Ihe obdurate timber, which twenty
years of costly exertion will not eradicate from the grain fields
IS an indication of the richness, depth, and productiveness of the
soil : It makes excellent firewood, its ashes are valuable manure
It IS an ornament to the scenery while it stands. It is said of a
celebrated popular auctioneer, that one of his commendations of
an estate sold by him in New Brunswick was, that it contained a
quantity of fine old timber. Deadly swamps shew that there is
no drought; shifting sandhills are a pleasant variety in the land-
scape; stony wildernesses are dry and healthy. In short, it too
frequently happens that the description obtained of a new emi-
gration field, even from those who ought to know it best, is little
more to be depended on than that of the dealer who vaunts his
bargams and sacrifices.
It is very uncommon to find a book written about any emigra-
tion distnct for the purpose of pointing out its defects. There is
scarcely one decided instance of such a thuig in late English lite-
S!m-^' J.^^® "^^'■est approach perhaps to it is Mr Ho^vit's Port;
r nuip. ihe disappointed emigrant generally wi-ites his letter to a
newspaper, or his pamphlet, and has done— directing his thoughts
.. ..J „„ni„ ouDjcCt muru ugreeaDie man tiie place where
bis fortunes have been ruined and his prolific expectations blighted.
11
%
BMIOiUTION.
Almost all the works we possess on places of settlement, by per-
sons practically acquainted with thevn, are written for the purpose
, I of supporting them in public opinion, and enhancing their merits
in the eyes of the intending emigrant.
Looking with the impartial eye of one who neither desires to
favour any emigration field beyond others, nor is subject to the
anxieties of the actual emigrant searching for the best destination,
we can see how large— iow formidably large— are the elements of
deception in the means of information which the emigrant has
usually at hand. If he doubt in the least the accuracy of the
account given by a resident deeply interested in the prosperity
of the colony, or rather in the increase of the number who will
settle in it, and bring money thither to spend, he turns to the
disinterested supporters of the ecclesiastical settlements. He
would be justified perhaps in laying more reliance on the authori-
tative documents issued by the bodies promoting these under-
takings than on many other sources of information ; for the
authors of them, though sangume, are generally men who have
some consideration of the gravity of recommendations, thp
adoption of which fixes the fate of families for generations.
But perhaps the emigi-ant distrusts these authorities, and would
like to know what the press says. He will in general find nothing
there, unless in the organs kept for the furtherance of the eccle-
siastical party who have started the enterprise. He then consults
a periodical work representing the sentiments of his own religious
community. He expects that a theological journal will be per-
fectly impartial on a question of emigration or colonisation; but if
he knew better, he would be aware that the journal will speak
favourably of any project, whether it be for colonisation or
currency, which is certified by the seal of its ecclesiastical denomi-
nation. These bodies are not the only ones likely to mislead on
such matters : political parties would seduce miserable emigrants
still farther astray, without having the least compunction for then:
calamities, if they happened to serve an immediate purpose. It
happens, however, very fortunately, that while there have been
colonisation projects upon ecclesiastical principles, there have been
none in late times distinctly associated with poUtical parties.
The fallacious character of some artificial colonisation projects
will form a separate subject of inquiry farther on.
The universal cause of social mistakes— of blunders made by men
in taking up then: position in life, is ignorance. It is abundantly
operative on the demand and supply of labour, even within the
bounds of our own island. At one end of it are often found men in
beggary and starvation, who, if they but knew then- own interest,
would V>fl claYllfr TITQlo/%rMO/l i-r. ♦Va ^'Ur.^ Jf 11 __JJ 1 . .1
ies, and would
EinaB4»ioiT.
other. When there is such ignorance of the home-hibour market
what must there often be of the colonial, many thouaanda of mile*
, across the sea; and then, again, many hundreds of miles inland
across deserts and mountains rarely tracked ? In old times our leri*^
natures endeavoured to put aU that is wrong in such matters right
I by absolute mterference and direction. The working mim'a
i destiny was laid out for him, and sanctioned by confiscations and
ipunishment. In later times there has been a disposition to repkce
Itlus clumsy, costly, harsh method by the gentler and more eSec^
Itive one of affording official information and counsel.
I To aid the emigrant, to afford him counsel and superintend his
Ishipment, there has now been established for some years an Emigra-
Ition Board, the operations of which have been gradually extending
Ithemselves. A pervadmg principle of that estabUshment is-that
[all blunders made by the citizen in leaving the country under
llallacious hopes or erroneous conclusions are evils to the com-
munity, which it were well to protect it from, even at some cost.
Ilhe government emigration officers scattered throughout tho
Icountry and of whom more wiU have to be said m another pkce
lare m this view a general machinery for communicating practical
atonnation and advice to all who contemplate throwing a fresh
stake for fortune m a new arena. Some years ago, tracts contaming
k»ie most mmute cuhnaiy and drapery information for the emigrant
-the best kmd of clothing— the most economical way of pur-
msmg it-the means of packing it-the inconveniences of the
royage, and the best methods of obviating them— were all of
nfinite value. But besides that documents of this kind are now
ssued m considerable numbers by the commissioners, the several
igencies are a perpetual living channel of infon^ation and advice,
aexible according to change of circumstance, and not liable, like
UL n ;?-''*?**f'^ ^ documents, to deceive from being
buperseded I is the first interest and duty of all who are likdf
ntll^'*'!l'*"^?'r'*'^ ^ emigration to make ample inquir^
In thu: quarter, and the establishment should ever be reminded bv
rrequent use, of the services it owes to the public '^'^^®''' ^^
.if+tr'"^-*^!-^^^^ ^^^ ''^'*'"'' *^^«"«^ an instructional orga-
i^sation mdicative as it is of a great improvement in the functio^
bf the government. Ignorance and faUacious hopes are stiU the
te Zf ^'^''*' '^ '^' ^'"^^*' ^d ^« A long to call
on the most anxious services of the leaders of pubUo opinion for
tehTatm^d: ^"'^,^^^-- .Through tha? gross &t
burdLol at L ^l^- * P""*^'". "^ ""^ P^«Pl« ^^"^^less and
IZ^^!T 1 ^""'J '* '' "^^* *° impossible to convey to them
any practical sense of an emigration field as a ««w ur-.J J ZT
ma. in the cottages throughout the mosi lestitutr^Irtr^f
18
t
EMIOtATIOW.
Ireland one may meet, stuck on the walls as decoratinn. ♦»,-
trnX'o'ettVth "' ^"^T '^" ^^^' '' of 1 tr,Ts^:i!
tions Wvoted to the same object; but it is sadly clear that the in-
mate, know httle more of their practical meaning than if they w re
ttse eTor'""T'"'r" f '"'-''''''- T»»« ^-^ influence of
these evils on emigration has been but generaUy noticed in tho
preceding remarks. In those which follow, having a more siec fie
b^ouXur"'" "' P'""' *'"^ ^^«^*«^^^ be'more pSS^
'i;
FIT AND UNFIT EMIGRAnON FIELDS.
The term ' emigration fields ' has aptly been annliV.1 in ^^.^
form suitable places of permanent settlement to the emigraS
people of this country. All our dependencies are not SS
emigration fieWs, and all emigration fields suitable for our people
are not dependencies of the British empire. By emigration 'so
be understood not temporary exile for the pmpose ofTccolL^^^^
nftancrorT.^^'*' o^ject-n^ccupying an Sicial positiTfor
instance, or making a fortune by merchandise. It presumes a
permanent home and settlement-the adoption of a ne w c^n r^
for the exile and his descendants. Hence it is not sufficient S
the soil should be prolific, and the intercourse with the commercia
thi oThimsl?;^' 7'^ ernigrant thinks of his descendantTmore
than of himself, and must see that they are to live in a nkrfl
^Z'fy^'\^^^^-P^y^^ physical Ja moral nerves of hs
tribes that cover our Indian empire. The very motives that wil
iistrrrr'.*' ^^^^ %Pe-anent settlemerTin an insalubri^s
district will induce him, for the benefit of those he is to leave
for hp'. "^'v *P.'f'".^^^"^ ^°^^S^«« «"^ hi« chance of Se
for the acquisition of ' an independence.' It may be gained either
Xf'^i '''"' office where the avowed sacriL of^eahh p^^^^
tZf T '«™^r'*^'" ^^'^^ ^''' ^"fl»«»«e o^ distinguished
talent alone could procure at home. The effort may be mde in
another shape -by embarking in commerce or mining and
even ma country where the people themselves are poor ttough
Lstlessness and imprudence, by successfully devoting the BrS
nS'j'b Jv'' fr*"''^ "^y P^««^««' *« '««P from the
wS it^ZS- 1 K^*^' ''""*'^ '^^' '^''^y ^™t of riches
which Its feeble mhabitants are incapable of gathenng. Even the
mmor evils thus borne in Central America, if our mfddle ^rick^
settlements, and in the Eastern Islands, are a v.«f. iZtr^Pl?.
a ' " — ""
EMI0R4H0N.
opnr<l f\f hn-
man endurance sustained by motives annai-^nfi *u
but in reality often the in^o«7 e JdevTed t^ k' '^^"^ ""^^'^^
others. It would be of no service herrln ^''^ '"*^''«»^ «f
of the malaria swamp and th?rW / .u""'""'^*" *'^" ^^^''O"
insects-the craving after hauors «nTf "^'^"u'^f"*^ ♦^•^"^^ o^
appease-thenestofscoi^rso^hA u \^^'',^ ^' '" ^''''^ ^o
in the couch wi.ere the Xv LrLl cold cobra de capella hidden
of the day-his unhannv sLTn 7^1- ."? ^i ''** ^'*^'" *^« to^ures
Jest aome';.oileirp S X^^^^^^^^^^ ''"" '^^'^^P^^^ ^^^^^^^
dangers and torture? from tr^LT? '^k? '"**^ ^'^ ™°"*^- ^U
crous are so endured but tJ.v i!''"*"'' **^ *'^« "^^^^ ^"di-
-igration, sTncete vey' ZtwL^whiSr '''^'".f-. «f J-^ of
temporary fortune-seekorTn «n!i ^ generally induce the
vent him from sTkLfto Hir^'t' "'^ ''* ™"«'^ ^"^ P^e-
with future e^'if This conl 1-^'' '"'' '" ^ P'*«« «« ^^ht
out the kind of disltt that Lr/l'" n "f '" "'"'^« ^^^ ?«'"*«
Men will occasionX 1 fo TZT l"^ ^'^'*'^^ *^ emigration,
as mechanics or mefchants to Sif "'"?'"* ^" ^•^«' "^^^'^^^
Ceylon, Central AmS or 'the wl ? . ^''"'.' '^' ^"'"^'«'
willing victims-therare not a 3h ! P^fJ' ''"^ *^^^ ^o >»
migration of our rac^ over Lnl^ ^ f^S °^ *^** 'y^t^'" of the
tance with incrLe which I r,l T'^ *' ^^^''^ ^"*"^« inheri-
consider as a drartl^^^ h! '^'J''*, "^ '^'' P^^««"' ««««y to
economy. "'P*'^™^"' ^^ the practical application of political
th^moHnm^^^^^ P^' «r ^^^g should be said of
by thZ depenTenct wh cVa^^^^^^^^^ ^' ^"^ P°P"^*t'0»
and especially by our ^eS eLTI ' ^^ emigration districts,
positions be induceSto risk th^rwuh 7''?- ^^ "•'" ^» '^^'^^
commerce or official sprvrl-. health for fortune raised through
the mechanTc or t^e mere 111 """""i* \' ^ ""'"''^^^^ "«take for
follow their example TrarSTl "'^!'l'' ""l'^ ^'^^ <^' hand, to
likely to realise tt"rapf?out^^^^^^ '"^^ ^^^ of adventure
turer to return with a Wrnpn/Zi^r^ may enable the adven-
worker in therunLaUhfS jnl 'V'^' 'f constitution. The
He may get higTSes bu l. '" ^.'"T^ *** ''"^^^ ^ worker,
^trange^od foCf h ' acqu'esTlhM^"'. ^t-" ^>' «°-«
embark, he will obtain nnS * i , , ^'^P'*^^ ^hich he can
is not a'fate /r^ml s ""t /' ^^^^^^ ^^' ^««« «f health. It
most desperate. S) shoudh^^^^^^ ™""'^'' «' home seem
Africa, ou. sugar, coieindrl'''''*^ ^"'^ ''^^""^^^ ^° Central
tropical empiref aid rfnuWksJ^^^ dependencies; the
, part of the uSSa^irh '^'"'^'^"^^^^^^
I 'China, and th7Kolony Sf l^f^^^^ with^Borneo,
fortunes ar« n,odn u. . T^ °^ •^*^«' They are all places wh^rA
ct., .«. tucy are not emigmtion fields-they are
» 15
SMI<|SATION.
not dietricti over which tho population of Britain can spread
uatm^Uy, preberving tho moral and physical conBtitution of thoir
forefathers, and leaving it with a wider and freer lield of exeroi»e
as the inheritance of their descendants.
To the capitalist semi-emigrant, however, there is a new and
important question now arising. The class of persons wo allude
to aie those who, like the West India phmter, ky out an estate in
some tropical region, trusting to tho skilful application of money
for large results, and not expecting to labour, but, on the con-
trary, taking all precautions for the protection of their consti-
tutions, and probably spending many years in their native land,
where they rear and educate their children. Independently of
the raw produce consumed in necessaries and luxuries in tliis
country — sugar, coffee, tobacco, and the like— the supply of cottoa
for our manufactures is now attracting much attention ; and besides
British India, attempts are made to open up fielda for its culti-
vation in the northern districts of Australia jmd th-.' t^outh African
colonies. Our market ie chiefly supplied to us by tho productive
energy of our brethren in the southern United States; and it
becomes a serious question how far it will be morally and eco-
noinically advantageous to this country to see a further distri-
bution over the world of a portion of our people devoted to the
production of cotton. On the one hand it may be said, that the
concentrated industry of our country, working with the rapid and
potent ministers set in motion by its inventive genius, demands
material. The prolific mechanical power of the nation is ravenous
for its proper nutriment. The world, filled, as all but a fraction of
it is, with savages, or the indolent races whose creed is, that it is
better to rest than to walk, better to sleep than to wake, and better
to die than to sleep, cannot supply the raw material for our craving
manufactories; and statists are looking to the quarters where
British emigrants can produce cotton and indigo. What may be
the result of great cotton farms in English hands is a very serious
question. There are many pressing and powerful reasons for
believing that the places where British capitalists settle as cotton-
growers cannot be suitable emigration fields for British workmen.
There is nothing accomplishable by the usual routine of slave
labour which is not beneatli ih:s r«>ige of the proper okilled
British workman's capacities an«i ^i^t^es. It is • VMtk of cotton,
that it has been next to ent z:'^ ,:* sla/e-raised produce. It can
never be so in any territory under the British sceptre, or where
British mfluence can affect the state of society or counteract the
mercenary appetites of men. But the history of the production
marks the scale of mdustrial energy which it demands, and decides
that, unless some totally new abbreviating operations be dis-
18
EMIOBATION.
covered, bearing on the rearing of the plant and the sorting of the
wool-an effect somoth.ng like that which the spinning Zhinery
lias had on it. con versjon into thread-the rearing of cottrmuTt be
carried on by races of workmen of an inferior cLs, and bZtrUl
JTtf^ . ^ ' ^''''"^ '^\ ^""^'^•^» ^«"^d ^« grossly dooc tS
Like the handloom weaver, the cotton-grower will be a being of
mftnor caste independently of all climatical influences : and ^
wiU not be doing the world a service to induce the Ze of ouJ
energetic workers to degenerate by exposing them to so denressb^
an mfluence. Nor, indeed, will these workeTs-when they eZ "f
the political economy of the matter, and fmding that their woAs
only to be that of Zoolus and Hottentots, know that they canno
The position of our great Indian empire here demands attention
tLhfl"" '"J'^"'''" ^'^^^''' '' '' «^ intimately connected with
the history and prospects of the empire, and has received will n
Its bosom 80 many of its children, that for the mere pulse of
shewing in what it differs from the great salubrious dis ric^tTwhich
occasion. It would be as useless to argue on the sonial ^Ia
political condition of these territories from^he polittl s^ fern of
Spn^' V," f 'T*' '^'•^''' ^^ '^'' «"» ^* Madras by measL
ments m Edinburgh. It is witten in the meantime in the Ck
of history, that whatever may come hereafter, the vast population
there governed by Britain must be under the dominLSof gome
S.?r ?'l ' ®^'''.™'^' ''°"'^^'" *^°^ ^»r he i« following out the
J^ttf '^T'^^''' ^ Hindost^n, the ruler's consiSion wUl
be how far he has conscientiously done that which will be the best
for the docde beings who obey. The function of the Briton £
India IS thus essentially that of the ruler and organifer H^
adapts his method of government to the people L b amon^* wlm
far more than the most illiterate inhabitaL Vf no herre^^^^^^
are held m awe by pomp, ceremony, riches, and all thT phfsS
attribu es of superiority and command. I was deemed a wise
^r/tL Sof T".^"'l^ ^"P^^^' '^ vaisfa monum" n
tTaU the ^t ofr^^'lrr?? *^t '"P"^'"*^ °^ '^' ^«nch nation
Bnitrpi , f • fl T'^^- ^* ^*' ^^^° sometimes thought that this
LTndV i;:1s"'not ?:7'^'"" B^ffieiently usedb/the BritTsh
Z7ZTT'' ^\'^ PoWmiSL"i^VthroTgl\'\a?k
t
igxxai insiauce oi the inetablJity of human
1?
-44^^~
|. s.
EMIOEATION.
appointments in the CompZw^^ ^5? T'^ve
fts oat of the question for nur«lv Z^ I- ^°»"<^er]ng Hiadostan
constitution rSrtob?^nLff'°" P"'?^'"'' ^*« Pe""^^*'-
succeed in private business • but ,>?« « JS ' he may perhaps
with the open wdrld of comnpHHnn • ' 1^'^^ "^"^^ ^ comparison
free American sties S if ZT ' f """^"^ '^^^"^«« «°^ ^^^
but thinks of tid n^'onhl ab LI^/k^ ^T^^'^ speculator,
in fact, the avenuS'are ver^^^c^^^^^^^^ ^' ^^"^^^ ^S^rousl
man, trusting to his tr JnZ, i^ ."^^"^^ "*^^"^ "^ ^h»ch a
East' TndL CompaX'sT^^^^^ "^^^ -» ««eeeed in the
the administration o^a te7 tZ are nL tf^^^^^ ^^*^
considerablelatry thire ]f Voh^^^f-r""''^'^ "^" ^^' ^ ^
he go out on the princ pie o^^^^^^^^^ ^t if
good salanrfor his cervices bp vZu T' ^""P^^^^^^ *<> receive a
Hindoo cS do all tl™ ;ln T' /''^^P' ^"'^ *^** * ^^^^e or
three or four LnSa vear thp'n.r "^°^.?,',^"^ ^«tead of some
fifty pounds. Nor st^p^s nVthe?^^^^^^^ ^^^^ '^^ ''
genius, accomplishiient or learn wT«^r- i ^' ^ "^ ^^ ^reat
its bemg apprLiated Th peSf chat W^^^^^^ '''
overturns all our northern ideas of exceUence ^?Tu '^'''
of these uncounted million, before the scant; ^tirL^""""^'
class IS so Drofound unA oT-i^of +i \ scanty iiritish goveramg
ne«8 m Indian socielv Imt nffi„i.i ",'"'• ™e « no great-
-.- ™^j.>,s„.. .a«.e mtendmg ,o make a .ei«.tionr^d fcw
EMIGRATIONc
applanse and consequent profit, will generally be disappointed.
Ihere is only one class of voluntary intellectual workmen to whom
our Eastern empire has offered employment, and that a somewhat
precanous one— the press. But whoever goes to India with the
idea that pontics, art, and literature are the elements out of
which he can live there as a gentleman does in Britain, wUl And
him8eU>ievou8ly mistaken. He must pander in some degree at
least to the taste of the official class or be neglected. Indeed it
18 sometimes said that base scandal is the only commodity that
the m>.n of letters would find it pecuniarly worth his while to
bring to that market.
As to the artisan class, it is in the same sphere only that
encouragement i. held out to them in India. The natives have
been found meompetent as printers ; and a class of Portuguese
only a step above them, have been in general employed a^
compositors. In other departments, however, there can be but few
mducements to the artisan. The patience and perseverance of the
native workmen, working for pence instead of the shillings which
our own would expect, fill us with surprise. It is evident that it
would be useless to compete with them in their own field. In one
respect we shew them in a startling shape the superiority of our
own enlightened industry to their ingenuity, since now the cotton
grown by the Hmdoo is sent hither— ten thousand mUes-to be
twisted into thread, and woven into the cloth, which the Hindoo
wears while he hoes a future crop. When articles can be made
by machinery, it is thus more economical to have them worked in
Britam than even with the cheap labour of the East. As to the
produce of Indian hand-ingenuity-the fans, ivory baUs, inlaid
Zb; Sr^°i^ '^"^^' '^•'' ^'^'''^ *°^ *^« like-the^e is no
doubt that the artisans of this country could produce them had
they a sufficient mducement to do so; but wo to them if thev
should go to a country to compete as silversmiths, jewellers, and
gold-chasers, with men who work at twopence-halfpemiy a day
and who have been weU enough compared to tinkers using the
precious metals mstead of brass and tin! The native workman
sits down at the door, with his crucible and pincers if he be working
in metals or with his knife and a tusk if he work in ivory a^
there, with a quiet deliberation which we of Saxon Ze' can
hardly comprehend he goes on, day by day, putting together his
light golden or silver filigree, or cutting the soHd ivory into
thread The English workman always looks with wonder and
admiration at these productions, as if they were the work of f!wZ
^F""-*^ ^''a ""^ "''^'^/if could produce the like were he not better
occupied. A race of workmen, in some measure inferior to our
19!
ElflORATICN.
ivwn, astonished the inhabitants of this country by an ingenuity of
the same kind. These were the French prisoners during the last
JK-iuropean war. Their means of existence were limited, and they
had to use such materials as they could command. Thus out of
bones or nut-shells they made some exquisite Uttle toys-such as
ships with all their apparel, Swiss houses, and the like. It was
long the wonder of people in this country that human fingers
could make such things. The artisans who so wondered could
have made them themselves, had they found that by doing so
they cou d earn enough to support then- families in comfort.
Ihey could also, without doubt, make the ingenious productions of
these Hindoo workers, if such work were sufficiently remune-
rated; but there is no chance for the brazier or the silver-chaser
going to a country where he has competitors at twopence-half-
penny a day. And much as they are admired as curious, mge-
nious, and pretty things, they have no place in the commerce of
the world. There is possibly more gold and silver work, and
there certamly is a greater quantity of cotton and sUken fabrics
carried from Britam into the Company's territories than there
w brought from India here, notwithstanding the many pretty
trifles brought home by our Indian officers. A regular trained
workman of this country would utterly despise these triflmg
though pretty productions. Yet though they do not come to
compete with him m the British market, they are sufficient ta
keep him out of the Indian market. There are some articles
commg withm this class, as, for instance, watches, which the
European native can only obtam by European production; yet
the demand IS so easily suppUed from Europe, that it would be
a very questionable speculation for an artisan of this description
to proceed to the Company's territories.
If the railway system suggested for India be foUowed out, it
will develop employment for British workmen, and especially for
operative engmeers. In all things connected with machinery and
engmeenng, the Oriental nations are chUdren. Perhaps some new
and great field of exertion may some day be thus opened : it is
not, however, m the meantime within the bounds of legitunate
speculation. ^
There naturally suggests itself, however, a means of enterprise
which used to be often tantalismgly presented to those who
worked m mechanics with the head or hand -this was the
emplo:^ent given by enlightened Oriental despots, such as
Runged Smgh or Mohammed Ali, to ingenious men who could
serve their views. OccasionaUy men have risen in such a
service, and the peculiar romance surrounding a Cn^kno^ "»• « -'"-
Scotsman bo rising has generaUy given an^undue pubUcityaid
EMIGRATION.
importance to such occurrences. "We cannot, in going through
our streets, point to the men who have thus made their fortunes
in Egypt and the Punjaub. Much as the small despotic courts
stand in dread of the British government, they will not make
fortunes for those of our citizens whom they get into their hands
These petty despots dare not treat them with indignity or palpable
injustice; but while the dread of our government's influence is
thus supreme for protection, it does nothing for promotion, and
the most ingenious men do not make fortunes in such employ-
ment. Those who have been seduced into it generally regret that
they had abandoned the ordinary career of their class m this
country. There is a larger field for such exertion in Russia.
The autocratic government of that country, while guardmg
Itself with the utmost jealousy against our phUosophical and con-
stitutional lights, is quite alive to our purely physical engineering
capacities as adjuncts of power and organisation. For nearly a
century past the Russian government has seen the wisdom of
encouraging British mechanical talent, high and low. But if the
field be wider than that of the little Oriental despotisms, it is not
«o effectually overshadowed by British protection. Whoever goes
there must let the policeman be his superior officer and com-
mander. He must throw his lot in with the children of despotism
and leave the protection of British publicity and constitutional
justice hopelessly behind.
The preceding observations do not strictly apply to emigration
as a permanent removal of a household from one country to
another. They refer, however, to those vague views of success
through foreign adventure which are often confounded with emi-
gration, and thus it has been thought a good service to examine
and separate the two operations-that of the emigrant who goes
to find a home for his race on a new soU, from that of the adven-
turer who IS trying to make his fortune in a foreign country As
strictly emigmtion fields, then, it will be seen that those comitries
only which afford a prospect of health and sound constitution to
the emigrant and his descendants are to be counted. These wiH
be found to lie entirely in North America-including the British
colonies there and the United States-in South Africa, in the
other triflmg American colony called the Falkland Islands, in the
Austrahan colonies, and in New Zealand.
riT AND UNFIT EMIGRANTS.
PliAnTTnr< "Una n«*„vi;_i--j x . ... ,. . - . _
<«.Jt;«T"" *j 'ir "°!^^""='"^-" "™ completely distinct kinds of emi-
gration, and though they are often confounded together, it is of
n
EMIQRATIONi
great importance that they should be kept distinct. There is.
first, the voluntary and deliberate emigration of those who seek
?J1*'^^ • i"" """"fl^T *^ * *'^"^'' ™«*»» of n«»ng and going
forward in the world than any they can find at home These, bl
they capitalists, men of education, or hand-workers, are the true
elements ol a sound and hopeful emigration-the seed from which
future empu-es will anse. The other is that totally distinct kind,
the object of which is to get rid of a ♦ surplus population,' d
L^ ^^'^Jed-a class either by race or false habit permanently
damaged unfit for enterprise or any kind of self-action, who indo-
lently rely on the rest of the community, and take submissively, if
not contentedly, the fate that awaits them. A more melancholy
object of contemplation, m a civilised, active community like this
cannot well be conceived: it is the source of heart-soreness, of
gloom of deep perplexity, to all who feel for mankind. We shaU
have to consider their position more fully in another place, and
especially to exarame the question, whether it is not better so to
manage niatters at home, that such a class is not likely to increase
and continue, than to look forward to its continually arising, and
being contmually drained away by emigration. But in the
m^ntime the class exists and it is the interest of the country to
get rid of It. 'Fortunateb^, it happens that for this sort of human
commodi y emigmtion fields are a market. In this crowded
Z. 7 ^.vT ^?";'n ^«^°S-th« ™ere articulation of bone ^d
Z n;!'.^'"*'/'^^""'''"^'^^^*^^"' ^« not a valuable commo
dity or rather there is too much of him for the demand. In
it th ?!,' '" T.^'f • ^^T ^' ^"^'^^"^ ^" t'»« ^o"'^*^ to send ^
him thither. This kmd of emigration can scarcely be called
voluntary. I is part of the public policy of the country, andin
this view It will have to be considered by itself farther on. But
mitt! w !'!,• 1 ''TZ ^''' "^^^^S a broad distinction at the
outset between this kmd of emigration-the population-drain, as
It IS sometimes called-and the spontaneous emigration of thos^
^ho go abroad to better their condition, is, that tie most lament^
tnllJ 'iu "''**^'' °^*'" ^^^"^ from confounding them
together. The spontaneous emigrant, as we shall hereafter see, has
often gone to he places to which pauper emigi-ants only should be
sent, smce it is their peculiarity that they ^ve the means of life
alone-a valuable boon to our Irish agricultural peasants and hand-
^'crdror~n^^"'"^p^^^p^^^^^^
m condition On the present occasion, it is with the spontaneous
emigrant of he healthy, hopeful class that we have to deal
^J«nf * '""V be learned by those who desire to people
distantjastes is, that they should possess the capacity and the
inct. There is,
those who seek
ising and going
me. These, be
rs, are the true
eed from which
y distinct kind,
population,' as
it permanently
tion, who indo-
subraissively, if
ore melancholy
unity like this,
irt-soreness, of
ind. We shall
her place, and
lot better so to
:ely to increase
ly arising, and
But in the
the country to
sort of human
this crowded
>n of bone and
uable commo-
demand. In
the bush, and
untry to send '•
ely be called
untry, and in
ler on. But,
inction at the
tion-drain, as
tion of those
most lament-
mding them
lafter see, has
nly should be
means of iifq
Its and hand-
improvement
spontaneous
> deal.
i*e to people
city and the
EMIOBATTON.
disposition to meet emergencies, and take advantage of fecilities and
openmgs. For this, the mere capacity to follow with clock-work
precision any of the defined pursuits of life which a highly-finished
civilisation, acting on an almost infinite division of labour has
adjusted and marked out, will not suflSce. The colonist, if he pos-
^ sess the faculty of following any of the established pursuits of
society, should also develop in some measure those higher facul-
ties which served in the progress of society, from chaos into order,
[to devise and create these pursuits as elements of social existence!
j We say he should exhibit them in some measure; it need not even
approach the extent to which such qualities were possessed by
I the great civilisers of mankind— the heroes of social progress.
Though the colonist goes to do the same thing in miniature, he
I goes with the advantage of the whole experience of civilisation at
home— that civilisation which the other has assisted to create out
of chaos by his own genius and force of character. The colonist
need not be an Arkwright or a Watt ; but, coming from the country
I where the results of these great men's genius are in daily action,
I he should be conscious of the power of thought and inventiveness
; to conquer difiiculties and enlarge results. He need not be one
[capable of havuig invented a steam-engine, but he should be fit to
|do more than stoke its fire or adjust its gearing, lest he go to a
glace where he must support life and push his fortune without
'finding such a function ready made to his hand. To teach the me-
chanic the use of inventive resources in an emigration field, there
Icould be no better book than 'Robinson Crusoe.' Defoe, its
j author, had a thoroughly-inventive genius and practical mmd,
F enabling him to describe the progress of one possessed of the
, same qualities in a humbler range. It is often said that purely
(intellectual men are not wanted as emigrants; but this is still
more true of purely mechanical men. Ostensibly, all the settler's
work is done with the hand ; but it must be guided by the head.
At home, in the infinite division of labour, one man thinks and
another mechanically foUows his thoughts. The head that directs
and the hands that execute, belong to different persons. In a
new country the same man must both think and do.
Helplessness — the want of self-reliance — the necessity for
having not only a distinct path in life, but a guide to lead
hun through it, is the saddest characteristic defect of the
emigrant. Too often thus feeble and dependent, he crosses the
ocean, believing that, in the new country, the path he has to follow
18 not less distinct than in the old, and much safer; that the
guide IS as close at hand, and much more accommodating; and
that he is to be led through rosier gardens, beneath a brightp.r
Bky, to a more brilliant destiny. Alasl the road is barren and
38.
EMIOKATION.
thought, of dependence are M o® oe exS I' Y f"!'"'^?' ««
resolution of self-suDDort at ZZ f '"S««hed, and the blessed
relying «nbltion .rS a dTsS,;"™ wi X^' 'Tr, I '»"^-
results arise manv nf f},o „«i ^ „ *™'" '^"ch hftppy
com^ectedTouThTthousan^^^^^^ en^igration: the weU^
relations wLe boultrXntL h^^^ from 1'' ^^"P^^^--^ ^eh
fece to face at home • C now tT. T ^''^'* "'^"^^ necessity
tunate indeed is he if a W tZ'*/'' "' ?**^^- ^^^■
tothefomeralteniative b„I?J^^' P'"*^'^^^ P°^* effectively
Bink in hopeles dCrd^ncv or 11 ' ^''^'^J"" °^ *^««« ^^^
return deeded toXt^poltTdtieS^ "^""'^^ ^^^'^ *^
.nILCfveTatt*o^ldtu^^^^^^^^^^^ ^''^™^^^^^« ^o«e«T-
for their fatl^vere Tnot tW ' T^t ""''^ ^^^"^^^"^ «»^iety
«»d insensTb y undemi^^^^^^^^^ ^^«* *he esteem^
the younger son orX^n' ? \'*'°"' °^ ^" *^°"»d them. Eo^
last^coSu2 ?8 mad«T ^^.' ^'' '^^""^*^^ ^^« patrimony, a
«rrt^3B^^-?-^^^^^^^^
fashionable life, At hi fece to X' ^''V^ '^' ^*™^«^ <>^
capacities as such a one fienfraUv i.i -n v, ^ ™*" ^^*^ «° ^«^
if be have not a little capSh^wfl'^" ^^""^^ * "^'"''^^^^ ^^te
loom weaver or the Iri^Kt«ir I k'° '''^''^^' ^' *^« ^a^^-
with the most frug^rernS^^^^^^
«ave everv scran nf mor,^,, ^ «""«. suei nun, then, religiously
oon,es. Z ttereantoe^wV'°T^'?? "''^° «>'«'«'« thnl
oocnpation^UohheSriou^Hnk^T''^™' "' "^^ ^
acquiring experience TJJl n ^ *"' ^ *" opportunity of
inith.i hirs:VpL"'^i'^:ns*^ P-per ti„^,
2^r? to :t°i.7h"& r^-' « '^'- «y' I'd"
an m hfa favZ '. wll Sf "*!? * S™"'"™" "' '«»"« wUl be
rignliicant S^k of^ S^aT"™?"" ^ ""* S™*'' « «»
the aristocratic youth sent to tdT T "TP'P^"-- Some of
acquired hardy.Stobits to tlTfi't^ '" *" «"' "* »^ •»«
sessed the caVkdnud a ttk ''/'^. "^ ■'"fPorts, and thns pos-
a stockman, wSfa ^0 of „!> ^° i"oluiation for the life of
•nj 1, .• , °" " one ot excitement and adren»nn> ^r .u'
•"d hating; but whatever he turn to, if thelr.1™:. titl
EMIQBATIOK.
I P«>fi*le88 have been his past life, has firmness to take the mastery
of himself m the struggle, he will find many resources in the
education and knowledge of the world which his position has
[given him.
I But there is another side to the picture— alas I too prominently
witnessed. The voyage out only tends to nourish the idleness the
llistlessness, and the dissipation wherein it is the natural character of
Ithe young scapegrace to indulge. When he arrives with his little
Iremaming capital, he takes up his quarters at a comfortable and
laccommodating inn, where he drinks champagne, smokes cigars,
land plays at billiards till * something turns up.' Nothing does
Itum up ; and as funds sink, whisky becomes a substitute for the
Icharapagne, and the cigars degenerate into a short black pipe.
At length want stares the shattered profligate in the face: and
there is^o long-suffering aunt to take compassion once more— no
respected uncle to be coerced by the scandal of a half-ragged nephew
pi >wling about his door, to ' come down' again. He has before
him the alternative of finding his way home, or acceptmg the
humblest of occupations. It is wonderful how frequently a last
Idesperate spark of energy often enables the exiled scamp to
laccomplish his return, to the consternation of his affectionate
relatives. If he enter service in some humble capacity, as a
t)ullock. driver, an assistant shepherd, or hut-keeper, something
^n his future fate yet depends on the part of the world where he
M been dropped, and this is a matter to which the friends of
this class of exUe will do well to look before they set him adrift.
iLrL-® jn America, or the Cape, or any of the old-settled
Mistricts of Austraha-m any place, in short, where liquor is
cheap and accessible, he is gone-he wiU soon drink himself out
Jof this world and its miseries. But if he have got into the far-
squattmg districts, he is. safe to Kve in pastoral contentedness and
sobnety, to the great benefit of his broken constitution, if not
also to the improvement of his mind and the amending of his
butcher-meat; his most luxurious drink wiU be tea; his sole
ZjI" -S k'TT* P^P"' ^*^^^ ^^ uncontaminating com-
Ef ^"^1 ^l *^' '^'!^ "^ ^^^'^ *>^ ^^^«^ he has charge The
KTr^l r. •^^'•°'' -^ ^'^'''^ 'P^"*« ^« *h« ^^«t*^* stock and
[pastoral districts is an important consideration in connection with
STooftllt f^r^r*'- It may be of moment for their friends
Slvef ifthL -l" they go ; it may be also of moment to them-
Lf itltT'^TV^^'* ""'^J l'^ ^^*^"^* *heir own powers of
iTauofs ^^1' ^\ "*"'' ^^ ^^' abstinence from intoxicating
liquors, among people not generaUy looked on as exemnt from
v-.c=«, IS a ucue cuwous : the journey is long, and the class who
2&
BMIORATION.
act as the carriers of commodities into the bush arr for a lone time
necessanly intrusted with them in solitary places. They are it
jeems, a cUss in whom the propensity for indulgence is so irresistible
that no reward or threat is sufficiently strong to make them
convey liquor safe, and the cask of whisky has so slight a chance
*f^ u'^f' *^** '* '* preposterous to send it. If it were sent, it
would be almost to a certainty staved in, and the contents consumed.
On the whole, it is a very difficult question whether the class of
men on whom these remarks have been made-namely, dissipated
or careless young men of the upper classes, who are found incap-
able of doing good in this country-ought to be put in the direction
of emigration. At all events, the perils are so great, the chances
of success so narrow and critical, that their real friends, or their
affectionate relations, if they have any, would do well to bear on
and try what can be done at home before subjecting them to this
rough alternative. It is in general, however, not the chance of suc-
cess but the mtervening distance, that is the inducement to consi-
derate friends or relations to send such persons to the antipodes.
Ihere is another class-far more respectable, though not very
much respected-who ought not to be induced to emigrate. These
are your peaceful men, who are of uniform habits and docile
depositions, ,#ho go on in the groove in which they are set, but
who somehow or other have not been 'lucky' at home. Let
them, however, stay there-they are likely to be still less lucky in
a new country. They are no more to be confounded with those
active, enterprising men, whose activity and enterprise somehow
tT.»Vi" ,'' P^^P'" Sf"!'"^ ^* home, than the stray sheep
with the houseless dog. Their natures are utterly different ; and
jt IS the characteristic of the docUe but feeble being, that although
he never achieves much in this world, and does not become v^ry
successful, yet his chances of quiet happiness are in ren>uining
among his friends. The men who wear good coats, « -^ .nn do
nothmg but copy or write to dictation, are of this v.
clerks make wretched emigrants. Though their position .
measure partakes of the professional worker's rank their g-
do not imply so much labour with the hand or the head eithe .^
those of the superior class of artisans. A sort of old conven-
tional association of writing with skill and scholarship has made
them be considered of the gentry chss, but they are in reality
very humble members of the labouring class.
1 u- *® ** xT*"®' ^^ *^® "*™°** importance, especially to parents
looking to the prospects and position of their chDdren, to remember
that m emigration fields there are none of those quiet little comer*
I.r»?'^P ^ '"''*'"'' ''^**'°"' e^^^g corresponding services,
and which are ever numerous in an old country. Thev are callpd
EHIORATIOIf.
sinecures when thcyar3 fiUed by the aristocracy; but in truth
they pervade nil Bociety, from the master of the buckhounds to the
man who, with a Bcarlet coat, a cocked hat, and a gilt -headed
cane, decorates the opening of a public institution, or, dressed in
jblack small-clothes, bears the train of a lord chancellor To
laome extent, in a country where there is much realised wealth
lover- remunerated offices are in a manner necessary; since
however small may be the services required, trust and respecta-
bdity are necessary, and must be bought. In some great public
office, where heads of departments and secretaries are toiling to
Ithe utmost stretch, and are not overpaid with their five hundreds,
or their thousands a man is wanted to sit upon an easy-chair
land tell visitors the way to the several departments-his mere
llabour would be much overpaid by £20, but perhaps a suffi.
Iciently respectable person may not submit to the slavery for
lless than £50 or £80; and such a person must be had. The
aid country ,s strewed with such offices of more or less emolument
^nd dignity; and the love of ease which per^-ades a large por-
Ition of the people, even of our busy country, makes them eagerly
sought after. Now, the parents of any respectable youth fit only
^r a sinecure secretaryship or door-keepership, and Avho may,
from their social position, have influence to obtain such an office
for him, should never dream of his emigrating. There are no
*icli quiet, reposing comers in an emigration field-at least with
lecent subsistence attached to them. The Australian hut-keeper
6 almost the only emigiant Avho comes within that character-
ind many a damaged man wlio has seen better days may be found
Bxhausting his remnant of life in that dreary vegetation. But all
fehe enviable fruits of emigration are gathered in the bustling
pressure of onward progress. Not but that there are exception^
but ?hPv ; «PP^^ J»if «V.as they are termed, in new countries ;
but they arc not of the sinecure character, or suited for the
Jocile and indolent. A gentleman made he begirniin^. of a
:T%1^ ^v* ^^ ^'^ constructing pumps to^pTo^ut the
7fili;n! w""* T^'It' ""^ '^^" P«^P^« t^e trouble and time
of fiUmg buckets. In New Zealand a scion of one of our great
aristocratic houses is understood to be doing weix by worCg
£fod Pfllr • r^'' ''™' gentlemen who had received a
good education, with a smattering of science in it, extemno-
fee "-?t.o architects; and the same class 'tumedTt
=."S\r;hf ErrtJ?^%^xrrdtbS'
27
EMIGRATION.
There is a class of men who are half-way between your well-
born scapegraces and the docile clerks of public oflSces, to whom
emigration most often bo ill applied. They are not vicious, and
they are not idle. They have indeed a certain amount of restless-
ness about them which partial relations sometimes mistake for
energy, but it is always spent eitlier on trifles or in pushing
serious matters in the wrong direction. There is an expressive
term applied to such persons in Scotland of ' daidlin' bodies.' They
are always doing something or other, but it never happens to bo
the right thing. They are very active in applying for all vacant
offices of whatever character, believing that the question, whether
they are to be employed in the public service or not depends on
their * good luck,' and that all the people they see around them
remunerated for valuable services are only more lucky than
themselves. It is ono of the current fallacies on emigration to
hold that these men are peculiarly well adapted to it. It would
seem to be considered that their very incapacity for success in
the old world augurs then: success in the new. With so sangume
an eye are then: future prospects scanned, if they will but leave
the country in which they trouble their relations, that a moralist
like Rochefoucauldt would embody in an epigram the manner in
which the relations, in getting rid of the poor fellow, come to
the conclusion, that because his exile is a relief to them, it
must also be an advantage to himself. The delightful writer who
is at the head of our fictitious literature has painted such a person
in Mr Micauber. He is fluent, good-natured, intensely friendly,
hopeful to the utmost, ever looking out for something to 'turn up,*
and accommodatingly ready to take any spoke of the wheel of
fortune that does turn up. But he does not get on somehow; and
the real reason is, because he is objectless, unsteady, and unthrifty.
With the licence of the novelist he is represented as a success-
ful emigrant. Any kind of person may possibly get on in this
country, or in a colony— good fortune may alight on him in
either. But representing such a person as worthily and naturally
obtaining success is not, as an example to others, teaching truth
through fiction, and fulfilling the high duty which the author of
the character has undertaken. It is a dangerous notion that the
Micaubers, out of the very qualities which are worthless here, are to
make eminence and success to themselves in a new country. The
friends of men of this kind, if they really wish to befriend them,
should not send them to the wilderness. It would be more humane|
and sometimes in the end would be more economical, were those who
"wish to help on the Micaubers of the world to put emigration out
of the question, and looking matters in the face, help them through
the remamder of their days at home. Even if there is a wish
28
••^v.j;j-,-!'vr '
EUIGRATION.
success in
manner in
T, come to
to get rid of the man and hear no more of him, the resource is a
questionHble ouo. A little acquaintance with the middle world in
Britain shews one how marvellously often the ' bad shilling/ as he
is technically called, returns. Indeed it is often seen that those
who have exerted themselves for his removal aro daunted by that
misgiving of his possible return, which shews tiiat they do not
really believe in the capability of colonial life to redeem him into
usefulness. Through difficulties and through dangers which no one
would have previously believed him capable of encounteruig, * the
bad shilling ' finds his way back to those who have uttered him ;
and the whole moral of the case is, that he is the base coin they
have been unfortunate enough to possess, and they ought not^
knowing it to be base, to have attempted to pass it oif on others.
The gentleman emigrant often has not any specific view before
him in emigration. Having a somewhat adventurous disposition^
being a little tired of the systematic uniformity of daily life at
home, and being free to act as he pleases, he chooses the freshest
arena of adventure. Emigration sometimes suits such men : it
leads their roving energies mto fixed courses, and supplies opening*
to that temtorial and occupational restlessness that at home would
perhaps have exhausted itself in steeple-chases, in game preserve*
which cause poachmg and crime, and in attempts to create deer-
forests in this thickly-peopled country— ending in the alienation of
a well-meaning peasantry, and legal actions with the defenders of
public rights. These form an easy, and it may be said, a happy
class of emigrants. Their ease and happmess they generally
suppose to arise from their capacity for • roughing it ;' but this is
an entire mistake : it arises from their ability to come home if
they find that emigration does not suit them ; and in reality, a&
the brief eventful history of New Zealand can tell, they generally
do come home. But when they happen to suit with the new ways
of a colony, this class of men are valuable emigrants. They
often get fascinated with the excitements of the stockman's life in
Australia, and their existence there is a sort of gleam of sunshine
varying the darkness and dreariness of the convict's services and
the squatter's mastership.
To this class of emigrants, and to all who go without definite
views, an education that has dealt with external objects is of the
utmost moment. When rapid fortunes have been made in emi-
gration fields, they generally have had their foundation in some
knowledge peculiar to the individual, and thus a valuable possession
to him from the ignorance of others. The very reflection that men
of all degrees of intelligence are daily walking through an old
civilised country, and must have had abundant opportunities of
seeing its capabilities, while those of the emigration field are
29
EMIGRATION.
generally fresh to the first capable observer, will shew hjw greatly
the resources of knowledge are vnluable to the emigrant. Nor
need hie knowledge be of the highest scientific order. The
gentleman who discovered the copper-mines of Sorth Australia,
and, after making a rapid fortune, communicated to the Australian
colonies a kind of mining mania, owed his success co the teaching
of Pestalozzi, from wliom he had so far acquired i knowledge of
objects, that he saw copper ore in a bright green stone. It is at
once evident that observativo capacities throwr away in the old
country, where they are enjoyed in common 'vitlx thousands or
millions, may be of great service in a new country, where their
owner may be the first, and for a long time the only human being
who has any opportunity of exercising such faculties. The first
principles of various kinds of knowledge r.iay be agreeable and
sometimes useful in the old country, but thdy are not so directly
effective as in the fresh emigration field, where no one can tell
precisely what undiscovered sources of riches may exist for the
expert and able man to develop. A knowledge of minerals is in
this country a mere intellectual accomp'ii»hment to every one but
the practical chemist and the mining erigineer. An acquaintance
with botany is necessary to the physician — it Is scarcely of use to
the practical gardener. By the division of labour, intellectual
and physical, the necessary scientific acquaintance with these
subjects is so well supplied by thoie whoso peculiar department
it is to master them, that any acquaintance which other people,
greedy of knowledge, may cultivp-te in the same fields, is gene-
rally rather kept out of sight than shewn or used. But in a fresh
country this general knowledge may be eminently useful, just
because the elements on which knowledge can work are there
in abundance ; while, in default of any better order, this rough
kind alone occupies the field.
But perhaps it is not so much by enabling the adventurer to
see the value of sources of riches when they happen to be cast up
to him — always a rare occurrence — that this faculty does him good
service, as in preventing him from hastily, in ignorance, attributing
value to things utterly worthless. A dismal ridicule was cast
over the gallant adventurers of Darien, from their having actually
mistaken a glittering micaceous schist for gold on. This was an
example of ignorance '.lot to be believed were it not well accre-
dited ; but how often lias it happened that iron pyrites have been
mistaken for the precious metal, and that rock-crystals and com-
mon garnets have been taken for diamonds and rubies? The
practical education Jiflbrded by the Scottish universities has been
very instrumental in hnparting this kind of knowledge to emi-
grants, and so making them valuable for particular positions. It
J'_g■'-:»^^n^wT^r■:^?■'^''?»^«^-sff*»^^
EMIGRATION.
has been goncrally remarked, that when there is a position long
known or filled in the old country, whether it be connected with
learning, science or art, or be that of a mere highly-trained me-
chanic, an Englifthmau fills it best ; while, if the occupation call
for general knowledge and new resources, an educated Scotsman
is the roan.
The purpose of healthy, well-considered emigration is not to
give relief for the present, but awaken hope for the future. There
is little satisfaction in the indiscriminate hustling out of the
etarving children of misfortune : some of them may be accidentally
dropped in phices whore they can thrive, but chiefly they fall
among thorns or in stony places. On the man who really ought
to emigrate the cloud should have only so far lowered as to
trouble him about the future. • The anxious classes ' is a term
happily applied by Mr Wakefield to those most likely to fulfil the
true ends of emigration. They have not felt the pressure of that
penury which unfits its victim for bold views and manly resolutions;
but they feel that they have got into a wrong groove which is taking
them downwards, and they are filled with fear for the social posi-
tion of their ofispring. To such men— before their energies are
touched, their hopes entirely blighted, and their means dissipated
—the fresh soil offers new materials for enterprise. It is so much
fresh capital to them ; it starts them anew in life ; and they have
not only the doctrine of chances in their favour— in the chance that
while they have been unsuccessful in one sphere they may yet be
auccessful in another— but the very sanguine confidence with which
such men throw themselves into their new world in some measure
helps them to success. There are many men of prudence, of
sagacity, and of energy, who have not found efforts, however well
directed, crowned with success at home. It is to these that the
emigration field opens its arms with the warmest assurance of a
better future.
There is no doubt that the possession of money— or capital as it
18 generally called— is of great advantage to the emigrant, as it is
to every class of men, in every part of the world, who can use it
discreetly. But so much greater as are the productive resources
at the command of the inhabitant of a new country, by so much
greater is the value of capital, which is the machine by which they
are made effective. The high percentage of colonial interest is
sufficient of itself to prove this. Indeed, it may be said that
the man who possesses from £250 to £1000, if he judiciously
examme the several emigration districts, if he be a man of
common sense and business habits, and if he be not rash or
infected by an emigration theory, is as secure by emigration
ot a good though plain and moderate source of subsistence to
c 31
EMIGEATION.
Himself and his descendants as human beings can be certain
of anything. For the great capitalist emigration is not the
natural sphere; at all events, he is not a person to whom a
public writer need offer advice, since he will only have foregone
the obvious advantages which wealth brings to its owner in
this and all other parts of the old world, for some peculiar
project of ambition or beneficence of his own planning. Great
capitalists have not been very fortunate in their emigration
projects: Mr Peel's colonisation of Swan River, and the great
speculators in South Australia and New Zealand, may be taken a&
instances. These men are too apt to embark with some grand
design, concocted by themselves, or b}'^ an emigration or colonisa-
tion philosopher ; and as emigrants succeed chiefly by groping their
way through difficulties, and by careful perseverance, the wealthy
men who want to do something vast often launch projects which
are shipwrecked.
The history of colonisation in later times seems to prove that
profuse wealth and abject penury are alike inimical to sound
emigration. The stuff of which colonists are made is neither your
heirs of the accumulated riches of generations in England, who
are looking over the world for a field on which to devote their
restless energy and their great wealth, nor degraded, objectless
paupers, but that steady, persevering class who have neither been
lifted above the working world by the inflation of inordinate
wealth, nor trampled down beneath the feet of the mob who
hurry on to enjoyment or to effective labour. Depend on it, we
shall find that it is neither exuberant wealth nor abject helpless
poverty that will be the true spring of colonial existence; but
those qualities of enlightened energy, patience, and prudence,^
which are not necessarily the concomitants of great wealth, and
may safely be pronoimced incompatible with utter wretchedness
in a country so full of opportunities for exertion as this is, and so
well provided with the means of aiding those who happen acci-
dentally to slip and fall in the race of enterprise. The class who
produce the wealth of this country are the class who will create
new states. It was by them that the great empire of the United
States was made. By our writers on colonies and emigi-ation,
capital and labour are too often discussed as separate ingredients,
which require but to be measured off in proper proportionate
quantities, like chemical elements, to produce the required effect.
There is a sort of traditional economic idea of capital, as of an
agent existing in human society, independently of creative
means, like sunshine or rain — something of which the mere
presence is a fructifying influence, and the absence is aridness and
despair. But mere capital is as unwieldy and helpless to all
o2
EOTGRATION.
effective purpose as mere muscular labour. Both require the-
energetic productive intellect to guide them to good purpose;
and though each be a valuable machine in its hands, that pro-
ductive intellect itself — the capacity for taking advantage of
circumstances, and directing them to the best practical re-
sults—would, if left alone, and without either of the others to
aid it, be the most independent and effective of the three. It is
the class of men so endowed which has brought capital into
existence, and can bring more into existence, distributing benefits
around it while it does so. It may safely be said that the creation
of capital has produced more good to the human race than its
mere existence can accomplish.
The sum of all that has been just said may appear to be, that
those who make on the whole the best home citizens are likely
also to make the best emigrants. Undoubtedly, however disap-
pobting it may be that there is not an El Dorado of riches abroad
for those who will not submit to the labour and endurance that
generally bring success at home, the law of natiwe which gives
man the fruit of the earth for the sweat of his brow follows him
wherever he goes. It is one of those hard laws which cannot be
too well looked in the face, since its harsh lineaments are too
often smoothened or omitted by those who draw sangume pictures
of the future. Man is ever seeking and thiaking he has found a
dispensation from that law — thinking to reap where he has not
sown, and to gather grapes from scattered roadside thistles. Such
are our Califomias, new emigration tracts, colonisation schemes,
plans for paying national debts without taxation, and spending
millions upon wars without impoverishing a people — ^vain bubbles
which burst and blind the eyes of those who blow them. The
intending emigrant must pass them by contemptuously, and before
he calculate his gains and success, look sternly at the elements
from which they are to be obtained, and his own capacity to deal
with them.
But it does not follow that because, in general, the classes who
make good home citizens also make good emigrants there is no
advantage to the country in emigration. It is just as advantageous
as the variety of home pursuits: it widens the field. Though the
regular moral energetic men who make the best shipbuilders
might also be found to make the best railway -engineers, the
addition of the latter occupation to shipbuilding was a great
opening and a great boon to the community. It will often happen
that there are peculiar faculties which get room for exercise in a
new countrv. but would have hppn sflfll-tr iiTinvn/ino+JiTo ;« +v.n ^ia
just as, on the other hand, there are men possessed of faculties
adapted to the higher uses of civilisation wliich would be thrown
EMIGRATION.
away in the desert. If Sir Walter Scott had emigrated before he
wrote his novels, or James Watt before he improved the steam-
engine, or Arkwright before he invented the spinning-machine,
and all three had become flockmasters in the bush in New South
Wales, the world would have been a great loser, just as, on the
other hand, it is a gainer in the elements of productiveness rescued
from barrenness, by those rough energetic pioneers of civilisation
who find the ways of the old world too smooth, and artificial, and
complicated. It is a question of the balance of accounts. In
general the highly-cultivated ministers to the wants of an advanced
civilisation — philosophers, poets, artists, will pot find the new
field of exertion suited to their tastes or the fuU development of
their faculties. But let it not be supposed that high faculties are
unsuited for a new sphere. It is a great mistake to believe that
the head is a useless member there. He who has been accustomed
to observe and think, will do better anywhere than he who has
not, though it may be that he is not in the place where his faculties
will tend to the highest results.
THE LAND-PURCHASING EMIGRANT.
We shall suppose that the intending emigrant, having made up
his mind to be a landowner, and invest his small capital in an
estate, looks around among the land-sale systems of the several
emigration fields, comparing them with each other, that he may
decide which of them promises the best investment. In Australia,
where the best lands were given away for nothing, and where the
next grade were parted with for 5s. an acre, he finds that he must
pay £1 an acre at least for the land he wants, however poor it
may be. The price may be far greater, but £1 at least it
must be. This is the general rule of what is called the * sufficient-
price ' system; but if he wish to know more precisely the terms on
which he will be dealt with, he will have to examine a series of
documents, long and complicated, correcting and amending each
other like acts of parliament. If he have had experience in legis-
lative matters, he will shake his head and say ; * The projectors of
some artificial system have been at work here as in our old pro-
tective legislation, and when forced and artificial systems are
adopted, there. is no end to the interference necessary Jo prevent
nature from forcmg its way.' If he turn to New Zealand, he will
find the same minimum of £1, with still greater complexity of
arrangement, though here he may have a chance of making a good
bargain with some one who has an allotment which he ia glad to
get rid of on any terms. Moreover, if the price of land be no
81
EMIGRATION.
object to him, he can buy for £3 an acre from the Canterbury, and
for £2, 10s. from the Otago Association.
When he looks towards the African settlements, he will find
that the sufficient-price system had fortunately been seen through
before it crossed the Indian Oce'<n. The general minimum of the
Cape districts is 28. an acre ; but there is an unsatisfactory uncer-
tainty here, as the local government may raise the price to any
height if the circumstances seem to warrant it. At Natal the
price is 4s. an acre for country lands ; but town lots may reach an
enormous price, and those called suburban lots are set up at £1 an
acre. It is clear to the settler, however, that m the mere acreage he
IS cheaper here than in Australia or New Zealand. He finds, when
he becomes acquainted with the real state of the matter in Aus-
tralia and New Zealand, that every one practically connected with
the system for charging a high price for waste land is very much
vexed that it should be as it is ; but as the minimum price of £1
per acre has been fixed by act of parliament, it is absolute. All
that the local authorities can do is to encourage the system of
local smuggling caUed ' squatting;' and this they have so effec-
tuaUy done, as to create a great squattmg influence, of which
some account wUl be given further on. If it seem to the emigrant
that for the sake of the mere price of land he had better go to
South Africa than to Australia or New Zealand— as it often has
done— he comes to the conclusion with the regretful considera-
tion that he has been induced to look for an inferior commodity
because a heavy tax is laid on the good article. We shall see
further on how this works.
We now suppose our land-buying emigrant examming the land
market in the North American colonies. In the Canadas there
IS possibly a greater variety of prices for land than in the British
islands. There is all the difference between the garden grounds
of Montreal, or the grain fields of Niagara, and the timbered wilds
of the Ottawa and the Huron. Then the Canada and Western
Company, with other powerful associations, take the wanderer by
the hand and offer him a settlement at a reasonable price. And
when such a body is able to keep itself alive, as the Canada Com-
pany has for a long course of years, and preserves its character,
the emigrant, doubtful about such matters, and not relymg on his
own naked ability, may trust himself in its hands. When it does
not, like the New Zealand Company, break down early, it may be
considered as sound. A land company cannot, like a bank, fail,
and rum all its connections. If the lands it has transferred during
a perio of years have good farms and fields, and r^nmfnrfow!
owners on them, the system is a reality : it can support itself, and
those who deal with it may trust to its preserving its character by
85
EMIGRATION.
I ^
fair dealing. It is not said that the New Zealand Compar^y, and
other land -selling corporations which have had but a brief
existence, have not had equally honest or even higher views — the
reliance of the emigrant in dealing with the land-selling companies
in Canada will be on their long continuance as known and
respectable corporations rather than on their professions, or their
avowed principles of colonisation.
In the other North American colonies the chief land-purchasing
district is New Brunswick. There, as with its neighboiurs, there
is in reality but scanty investment; but the arrangements are
flexible, much encouragement being given to the man who really
wishes to improve and work out land with capital. It may be
said that to the capitalist otherwise induced to go to these
colonies the purchase-money of the land is a nominal matter. In
late years the governments of these remote and almost forgotten
colonies] have followed a system connected with the disposal of
land which promises well. The dense forests which cover the
best lands in these territories not only preoccupy the fruitful soil,
but stop communication between one clearing and another. To
give the clearers of soil an individual interest in roads, the price
■of land allotted to them has been taken in road -making — the
person who receives so many acres being bound to make certain
communications with his neighbours by roadway, under the inspec-
tion of surveyors. The system appears to be suitable for a forest
district. An impartial observer, after taking a general survey of
the several fields, will see much to recommend in these compara-
tively-neglected colonies of North America to the small capitalist
desirous to buy land. And though they are far less popular, to
this class they have many advantages over the United States.
No one who looks at the general statistics of emigration from
this country can help seeing that the arrangements for the dis-
posal of land in our colonies are felt to be on the whole unsatis-
factory by the emigrant who is making his survey and his choice.
All the facilities for the acquisition of land in the minor North
American colonies are in liis eyes apparently but the cheap price
of a poor or an overlooked article. The notions of valuable land
purchases in our colonies have of late years associated themselves
with Australia and New Zealand, where land investment has been
purposely checked. And turning from the provoking regulations
there, and from the rather vague but on the whole promising land
systems in the American colonies, the land-purchasing emigrant
has found that the true rest for the sole of hia foot has been in
the United States.
The emlgfaut naturally looks first to any system arranged and
guaranteed by the government of the place where it is : and if he
36
EMIQBATION.
finds it both economical and uniform, he will feel himself safer
under it than in any voluntary market. When he looks over all
the colonial systems, he finds that they are not uniform ; that the
best of them are costly ; and that they are altogether surrounded
by an unpleasant vagueness. In the United States, on the other
hand, all is systematic precision. So jealous have Congress
been of preserving perfect uniformity in their disposal, that the
waste lands of each state are the property of the whole Union,
and are disposed of on a uniform system and at a uniform price.
The price is a dollar and a qimrter per acre, and the progress of
that vast system of civilisation over the wilderness is conducted
with the systematic precision of machinery, the land being sur-
veyed in squares of six miles, subdivided into sections of a square
mile, in which the allotments are marked off as on a chessboard.
Thus the purchaser looks at the survey, lays his finger on the
patch which he has selected as suitable, pays his money, and
receives his title. The system has all the sanction of a steady,
conservative uniformity. Its simplicity is at once apparent — its
practicability has been tested by long use ; for it has remained
unaltered since the year 1785, when it was devised. It thus
carries with it a feeling of confidence and security which throws
into unfavourable contrast the varied and complex system of our
colonies, revolutionised and inverted as it has been at the bidding
of schemers and speculators — not alike in any two colonies, and
scarcely the same for ten years in any one. The Americans boast
that, notwithstanding the vastness of their land-operations, there
are no questionable titles, and consequently there is no litigation.
Where land is so indefinitely procurable, and its price is so small,
there can be little room for litigation ; but the emigrant stands in
wholesome dread of the wholesale vitiations that have swept away
supposed colonial titles, and everything combines to turn him to
that market where the commodity he desires is sold on a cheap,
uniform, and secure system.
It has been the policy of the United States to perform effec-
tively that one best service which a government can perform for
the land purchaser— making an effective survey. To see his
allotment, with its boundaries and character, accurately laid down
on paper, is to the intending purchaser a relief from a world of
anxiety and trouble. Mr Fenimore Cooper's novel of ' Satanstoe,'
which is a picture of New York society in the early part of the
eighteenth century, long before a satisfactory land system was
established, weaves its main incidents round a search made after
a ' patent ' or grant of land, and one of the persons interested in
— , -...s!^r.,, ^vituig vuL ciij-3 ; X jiuvu iiuaru oi a geniieman wno got
a grant of ten thousand acres five years ago ; and though he has
37
EMIGRATION.
had a hunt for it every Bummer since, he has not been able to find it
yet.' The same and more might be said at this moment of grants
in the Australasian colonies. The hapless Swan River settlers
found the land unsurveyed, and their allotments as incapable of
appropriation and distinction as if they had been so many acres of
the broad ocean, or so many cubic feet of the atmosphere. There
are titles for tracts of land in South Australia and the New Zealand
settlements, which their owners have long since ceased to look
upon as anything more specifically valuable than old dishonoured
bills. They represent their thousands of acres somewhere, but
no one can tel). exactly where. The most fortunate allottees have
been often tho! - *uok wnat they could get without regard to
position, and sei elves down where they found it convenient
to do so, withou. snowing ' ery distinctly whether they were
occupying their own allotment, or that of some other person, or
an allotment at all. All they knew was, that they had land round
them, and were applying it to use; but where their fellow-
colonists with other allotments might be was a mystery.
The man whose intention it is to make an immediate invest-
ment is not the only person whose interest and inclination should
be consulted in airangements for the disposal of land. Its
possession is the means by which a new country confers inde-
pendence; and the prospect of being a landowner is that most
attractive of all prospects which beckons ihe ambitious exile
onward through all the perils, and labours, and disappointments of
his path. If you make land inaccessible, you remove the most
coveted of all the rewards which you can offer to the able and
enterprising emigrant. Now when such a person, a little surprised
to find that waste land is so dear in Australia and New Zealand,
asks for the cause of it, he finds the author of the high-price
system — the man whose ability and perseverance have made land
so dear in our colonies — stating the reason why it should be dear
in these distinct terms : * There is but one object in a price, and
about that there can be no mistake. The sole object of a price
is to prevent labourers from beconiing landowners too soon ; the
price must be 8ufl[icient for that one purpose and no other.' Placed
by itself in its original nakedness, the principle seems as insane
ss it is cruel. Yet it is embedded in a system so ingeniously
brought out as to blind people to its falsity. This system, on
which we shall have to make some further remarks, proposes Ijy a
high price to bring out labour and capital in their due proportions.
"We shall speedily mention the effect this has had on the internal
condition of the colonies whei'e it has been adopted. Its effect
nn +I10 omiorrDnf Vina oimnlv Hppti that h(^. haa niif tlioTwlmlp nnlifipal
"•• •-•••• ^ jj..»..- ^-j , ^
economy of capital and labour, by buying land where he could
88
EMIGBATIOK.
■)
get it cheapest. The consequences may be seen largely in
figures. In the ten years ending with 1839, before the high-price
system came in force, the number of emigrants to the colonies
was 366,822, and that of emigrants to the United States 292 492 •
of 547,587 who emigrated in 1848 and 1849, there went to
our colonies 139,904, and to the United States 407,683. Other
elements of course enter into this vast difference, but no one
could doubt that the dear -land system is among the most
influential.
If the emigi-ant do not purchase waste land on the regulation
system, and be not inclined to invest his money in some old ^
cleared estate at the fair market price, which is often the best ^^''I^*;^/
plan, the third resource, which sends him to deal for waste land ^'^'^" *^^
with speculative companies or individuals, is the most precarious
of all. It has been already observed, that where there is an old-
established company, solid, and of good repute, it may be more
satisfactorily dealt with than the government or individuals: it
is more safe than the latter, and it is more likely to accom-
modate the purchaser, and consult his interest, than the former.
But in dealing with inferior and flashy companies, or with
individuals, the poor emigrant gets into the dreadful meshes
of the land -jobbing, or as it is more picturesquely called, land-
sharking system. There has been in this system more rascality
and cruel rapacity, more fallacious hope and bitter disappointment,
than in any transactions that have disgraced commerce and civi-
lisation since the swindlers of the Mississippi and South Sea
schemes passed from the scene. The calamities of land-sharking
have fallen more heavily than those of railway gambling, since
they have generally attacked the stranger and sojourner in a
distant land, and stripped him, in all the helplessness of exile, of
those material aids to which he looked for support and subsist-
ence, if not wealth and prosperity.
To understand the great extent of the material on which such
a system wor i and preys, it is enough to remember that the
difference between a few acres of land being valueless, and being a
splendid patrimony, depends on the concentration of population
within it; and this concentration of population is brought there by
making people believe that they ought to go there. In twenty
years a desert waste becomes a city of fifty thousand inhabitants;
and no one can tell how it became so, except that people were
persuaded to go there with the conviction that it was to become
that great place of resort which their going to it made it be. So
wildly has speculation run on town lots, that frontages in Adelaide
or Port Philln have bfip.n Hold ^f\v larcro.. cij»y>a *J,«« 4.i,«„ u
brmg in the Strand. At the starting of the later Australian
39
\
EmORATION.
n
colonies, all were embarked in this wild trade of speciUation— a
trade which made money change hands only, but made no addition
to the common stock— instead of the legitimate and productive
occupations of the settler. Whoever could induce a swarm to settle
on his holding and make a town of it, had his fortune made. In
Adelaide and the other actual towns, there was a bold game for the
frontages of streets, but in the distant solitudes a still bolder game
was played. People abandoned the sober occupations of sowing
«nd reaping for the more brilliant pursuit of laying out infant
cities. On occasion the wanderer in the far recesses of the bush,
which he believed to be untrodden by human foot, has been per-
plexed by meeting a decayed fingerpost, bearing such a name as
Bedford Square or Victoria Terrace— a sad memorial of the airy
oastles of some ruined town speculator, whose land is destined to
feed sheep and cattle instead of being trodden by numerous city
crowds and flaring in gaslight.
There is still another resource open to the settler desirous of
occupying land, who will not go to the cheap-land districts, and
judges the 'sufficient price ' of the Australian colonies; he can
^quat. The term is not a dignified or inviting one; but as we shall
presently see, it is fast surrounding itself with aristocratic asso-
ciations. It was first applied to the American wanderer in the
forest, who setting off with his pipe, his rifle, and his axe, cleared
tor himself a little plot of land beyond the borders of government
and civilisation; and if he escaped scalping, after a hard life of
labour, danger, and dissipation, saw m his older years the elements
of a busy progressive civilisation thickening round his lonely
-dweUing, and found himself in some inexplicable way a man of
property and a patriarchal leader. The squatter of Australia is
on the other hand, a great capitalist, who has laid his hand on a
territory which he covers with his flocks and herds ; the true
representative of the patriarch of old; a shepherd-king, simple in
his habits, but absolute in his authority; the unquestioned lord of
every livmg thing within the compass of his wide and self-adopted
domains. The ' great squatting interest,' as it is termed, is now
the leadmg aristocratic power in Australia, and its history is a
memorable one— memorable as an instance of the baneful effects of
empirical interference with the natural laws of buying and selling
^ It is now about twenty years since a man of great ability
in discovering the defects of systems and turning them into
ndicule-namely, Mr Gibbon Wakefield- attacked the method
ot distributmg land in our colonies. The, system was indeed
indefensible. The most valuable tracts of land had been given
away m the colonies in profuse grants to greedy official persons or
.^s ^«"" oiiaiiwD i aiiu irequentiy wiiat would have been of
40
EmORATION.
great value had it been judiciously disposed of, was rendered
worthless by being given over to individuals who could not put
it to use, or transferred in lots too extensive to be practically
occupied or really worked out.
It is a palpable mistake to say that when there are a certain
set of allottees, with so many acres each, in a new country, letting
them take their choice of a location is actually giving them their
choice, or settling them as they would desire to be. It is not
dealing fairly by them, or giving them what they want, but
starting them on a sordid race, in which one gets his choice to
the prejudice of the others. They no more have all their choice
by such an arrangement than all the horses win who start on a
race. In fact, the circumstance that one, or two, or three actually
get their choice, and choose all the desirable acreage, leaving
what is undesirable to the rest in the ratio of their selection, is
just preventing the others from exercising a choice— is using up
at once the elements of it. Nor are these sordid graspings in the
end so good a policy to the successful as they might at first seem.
The want of a judicious, equitable hand measuring out to the wants
of all is in the end felt by him who seems to have gained the race
and monopolised all the good. In the first place, though he may
have more land than he wants or can make use of, the spirit that
made him seize it will not let him easily part with it. The next
settler, therefore, is sent at a wide distance beyond his area ; and
thus, instead of there being two neighbours who might be of use
to each other, they are separated by a desert, and instead of a
community arising, which gets gradually populous while its lands
get gradually fruitful, there are a few Kobinson Crusoes scattered
at wide distances who are incapable of affording each other
mutual service. The climax of this system, or rather blind
unsystematic action, was the fatal Swan River Settlement, where
one man took a quarter of a million of acres to begin with,
proposing to bring in the other three-quarters of a million at his
leisure, while the fresh purchaser of land had to go a hundred
miles into the desert to be free of the boundaries of tracts
which might remain for ever desolate, uncultivated, and virtually
unpossessed.
Mr Wakefield exposed these arrangements with eminent success
■—with a success fraught, indeed, with calamity, sinc§ it had the
effect of carrying the public by its impetus not only into a
conviction of the absurdity of the old system, but right into a
counter project of Mr Wakefield's own devising, which has illus-
trated an old truth, that if non-interference be a bad thing,
over-interffirenf>fl is a -arrxTBo TTjio o/.li«,v,« v,«« *.^ k« r— ^ — iun..
- . _- — _ .. „.:3,,. j.8is,j tj\.it\js.it\j ilaa t\j Kfx: lat xxiuXw xuiiy
considered in relation to labour. The principle of it, as already
41
EMIQBATION.
I
I':
alluded to, is, tliat capital and labour may be taken out according
to their due proportions to the colony ; and the method in which
the gyBtem was proposed to be worked was by selling the land at
a high price, and employing the purchase-money in industrial emi-
gration. Hence that broad statement of principle, that the price
should be high enough to prevent the labourer from becoming
a landowner.
The perseverance and versatility with which this principle wa»
promulgated were stunning and overwhelming. A host of writers
at once took it up — spoke of it as a fully-established rule, which
nothing but the stupid obstinacy and pertinacious pedantry of
official persons prevented from being at once adopted, while all
who ventured to question the ingenious, artificial theory were
ridiculed as Utopian theorists, whose opposition to the practical
men was preposterous and provoking. It is proverbially difficult
to influence the official mind in this steady country. The history
of the Wakefield schemes will be a memorable warning to public
men of the safety of letting things alone. In the end, somewhat
to the astonishment of onlookers, the sufficient-price system was
adopted by the government. It was made the rule of the new
colony of South Australia from the beginning. Its supporters
complained indignantly that it had not fair play, since the neigh-
bouring colonies of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land
were allowed to remain under the old system ; so, to gratify the
authors of the scheme, these colonies, too, were brought under it ;
and in 1843 the decree went forth that not an acre of land should
be pm'chasable in the Australasian colonies for less than £1.
The syi tem has signally failed by destroying the very land-fund
it was destined to enhanco, and by aggravating that dispersal of
population which its authors intended that it should check It is
now, however, considered a sort of permanency which must not be
rashly touched — a fixed institution not to be shaken. It has, in
fact, proved its own protection by teaching statesmen an unpleasant
lesson in the consequences of rashly meddling with things as they
are. The system started with an appearaixce of so much success
as to make a statesman who had reluctantly assented to it declare
that it astonished him. The fatal railway year of 1847 has
roughly explained to the public the nature of that kind of success
which is made out of the sangume expectations of the projectors
of a scheme. A considerable body of wealthy gentlemen had
become the avowed patrons of the scheme— they believed in it —
they thought it would bring fame and fortune to all concerned in
it— just like many influential promoters of railways. They thei-e-
fore bought land ; and the phenomenon of a high price proving a
temptation to purchasers was visible for a few months. But
42
EMIOBATION.
almost within a year the Bale of the waste lands of the crown in
Australia virtaally died away, until no one made purchases but
those who desired to round off old estates. Thus the fund raised
from the sale of land, which was £300,000 in 1840, was £16,608
in 1842, and £7403 in 1844.
There was a point overlooked in the high-price principle which
has ever been "overlooked in these artificial and forcing projects.
There is no doubt that it would be a great advantage if every lane-
purchaser would advance a sum of money to bring out labourers
according to the extent of his investment. But you cannot force
men following their individual interests into the channel that you
can prove to be the best for the public. When the settler found
tliat he cculd buy better land in the United States for 5s. 4d. an
acre than he could get in Australia for £1, no eloquence or sarcasm
could persuade him to go to the dearer market. But nimerous
settlers found out a more immediately available plan — that of
getting the dear land for nothing. They took what they would
not or could not buy. Such is the secret of the vast squattmg
system which has spread the stock - and - flock - aristocracy of
Amtr».lia over a territory counted in extent by thousands of
milea. The government dared not dispossess them: the utmost it
could accomplish — and it did that with difficuhy and considerable
risk— was to lay a trifling tax on them. They achieved their final
triumph in their sheep-walks and cattle-runs giving a qualification
for the elective franchise ; and in fact it simply came to this, that
as they could not get the land at a reasonable price, they had it
for nothing. It was predicted by the Emigration Commissioners
in 1841, that 'just as the smuggler places a limit beyond which
the duties of customs c&unot be increased, so the squatter would
'afeat an indefinite increase of the price of land : for as soon as
the consideration demanded by government for granting a title
becomes extravagant, persons will prefer the course of taking land
without title, and bearing the risk.' In 1849 a select committee
of the legislative council of New South Wales reported that the
prediction had been precisely fulfilled. ' The only persons,'
they say, ' who wish to perpetuate the present price are those
who have the same interest in it as the smuggler has in a high
rate of duty. Free trade ruins the smuggler— cheap land destroys
squatting.' It is not the least remarkable of the defeats which
this system has received at all its posts of defence, that the raismg
the unsold lands to 208. an acre, instead of enhancing has dete-
riorated the value of the land in possession of those who had
bought it at 5s. an acre. Here again the comparison with the
smuggler applies. If your high duty is sufiicient to tempt him
into business, he can even undersell the man who has bought under
43
t
BMIORATION.
f.he moderate duty. If the government could have compelled
every new settler to buy his land at 203. an acre, those who had
bought land much lower, commg hito the market, might have
undersold the government at a profit to themselves. But even
the purchasers at 58. could not compete in a market where people
paid nothing. When squatting became the prevailing system,
those who had been induced to buy at 5s. an acre lost their money.
The effects of this, as of all other interferences with trade for the
sake of enforcing a theory, are deep and irritating. Capital, instead
of concentrating itself into small fields well provided with labour,
has spread itself into vaster wildernesses. The settler, instead of
eking to improve land by the use of that energetic labour which
encourages the existence of a healthy productive class of citizens,
has spread his wealth over a wide extent of territory, where he
encourages no productive labour, and only needs that humblest
kind of serfdom for the purpose of looking after his property,
which brings the worker to the verge of slavery. The effect of
the system on the industrial operations of our colonies is noticed
in two other departments of this essay — in the one, it is brought
before the labouring emigrant who desires to advance in life as a
department of service in which he cannot expect to rise ; in the
other, it is considered hs a probable refuge for pauper emigrants.
The effect of the system on the moral progress of our colonies
is thoroughly disheartening. The squatter seems to miss the great
and good aims of life. Whatever maybe his wealth or his original
social position, the advantages of birth, station, education, and
accomplishment fade before the influence of a solitude only intruded
on by the beasts that perish, and by men as near their level as his
fellow-countrymen can be brought. The flockmasters and the
stockmen learn to abandon all the adjuncts of civilisation, even
those that might be obtainable. The fate of a rich squatter — of
one possessed of any given number of sheep or cattle — is not one
that a right-minded parent would desire for his son, so stripped is
it of all that ennobles and renders life delightful. Economically,
the squatters are not valuable emigrants, for they are not among
the classes of colonists who purchase the produce of our manu-
factures. They learn, indeed, speedily to dispense one by one with
the amenities of life, until in the end they are found to have
repudiated even those which lie at their own door. The latest
bx^aatter-author — the tribe is not prolific in literature— Mr
Henderson, the author of 'Excursions and Adventures in New
South Wales,' says of the class : * Removed from society and the
refinements of life, he becomes careless of his appearance and
manners; nay, he becomes heedless even of those comforts of life
liiS rCCtCu.
44
ompelled
who had
;ht have
lut even
:e people
system,
r money.
e for the
1, instead
1 labour,
nstead of
ur which
' citizens,
vhere he
humblest
property,
eflfect of
) noticed
1 brought
life as a
I ; in the
igrants.
colonies
the great
J original
tion, and
intruded
^el as his
and the
ion, even
atter — of
s not one
ripped is
omically,
t among
ir manu-
one with
to have
iie latest
ure— Mr
in New
■ and the
mce and
ts of life
i hciG uO
EMiaHATION.
butter or cheese, and very often no milk; with a rich soil around
him, he has no garden— not any vegetable or fruit to drive away tha
scurvy; with grain, he has no poultry; with a gun, he has no
game ; with hooks and grasshoppers, he has no fish. Make a hole
with your toe and throw a peachstone in, or drop one in the
ground, and in three years it bears fniit; stick a vine-cutting into
the earth, and in fifteen or sixteen months clusters of fine grapes
are hanging from its boughs; and yet the squatter seldom does the
one or the other.' And after such a person has accumulated-
if he ever do accumulate-the fortune for which he sacrifices all
that renders life delightful, what can he do with it? The natural
tendency of all men who have accumulated wealth is to buy an
estate and found a house. But the restrictions which have driven
him originally to squatting still prevent him from buying the
abundant land at its market value, and becoming a centre of wealth
and civilisation. It will be thought, perhaps, one redeeming
influence of the system, that it sends the squatter Croesus home to
J3ritam. But it is not a happy change either for himself or for the
colony. High civilisation offends his senses, and he feels like
bulhyer after his return from the land of Houyhnhnms ; while the
colonies miss the wealth that might have been advantageously
spent m a state of society not so distinct from that of the bush as
to be intolerable but sufficiently redeeming to lead him on to a
better standard of social existence.
THE WORKING EMIGRANT.
The true mlo to be followed by the artisan, by the workim?
engmeer by the skilled workman generally, who, discontented with
his condition here desires to try his fortune in a wider field, is sur-
roundedwitli perplexities and difficulties; and some of the mischiefs
occasioned by a too hasty practical solution of it will be presently
ZTrt ^- ' '^^'^ '''^''^ ^"P^^*^^ ^y « complicate^d system
of the subdivision of occupations often cuts two ways. Your work-
man IS perfect in his department, but his very perfection there
unfits hun for other occupations. The finished artisan is apt to see
but his own single occupation in all this wide world, to devote
himself to It with pedantic single-purposed nicety, and to despise
everything else as unworthy of his thoughts. If he get into the
right groove and go where he is wanted he is without a rival, but
If he miscalculate, and throw himself into the general fie d of
Z^K^"T^ r ?'5?'"'' ^' ^^^^ fi"d ^^''^^ far excelled by the
lough-handed Jack-of-all-trades for whom he has ever entertained
« vuiucinpc 100 aeep for words.
45
EMIORATIOK.
For the trained mechanic, -who is conscious that he can follow but
one pursuit, the safest market is the United States. But he must
keep in view that it is not a place where mediocrity is comfortable,
but where high skill and great industry are amply rewarded. Our
republican brethren are an exacting people wherever skill and
energy are in the question, and the sleepy unmethodical artisan
will be happier in his native village than in ' going a-head like
greased lightning ' with Sam Slick. The workman who proposes
to go to the States must first of course ascertain that his trade
is there in demand. If he be a maker of lawyers' wigs, or a
cleaner of monumental brasses, he may find that he is not wanted.
But our busy kinsmen have a large capacity for the absorption of
workmen in the staple artisan occupations.
The uniformity with which, in the United States, mechanical
and engineering enterprise keeps up to the progress of popula-
tion and territorial extension, must ever render it such a field for
the better kind of artisan emigrants as our colonies can never
compete with. No plan for the sale or occupation of waste lands,
no arrangements for balancing capital with labour, will accom-
plish for Australia or Canada what the shipping, the railways, the
roads, the bridges, the canals, the rapidly-growing cities, with
their waterpipes, gasworks, and harbours, do to make the States a
field of never-failing industrial enterprise. When our colonies go
forward with a like impulse they will afford similar inducements
to the artisan, but not till then. If the exile have been a worker
in iron, there are the railways and the steam-engines ; if he be a
plumber, the water and gas-pipes for the new cities are ready at
his hand ; if his functions are those of the builder, there is an
accumulating population, not contented, like our Australian
squatters, with bark huts, but concentrating itself into cities, and
rearing stately edifices. There is scarcely any kind of mechanic
who will not find that he is wanted more or less — if not at the
moment when he arrives, yet at no great distance of time, when
the next step is made onwards. We have seen how different is
the industrial aspect of our southern colonies. The city popula-
tion is comparatively small, and appears to have more mechanical
industry engrafted with it than it requires. In the bush it is a
useful thing for a man to be ingenious — to be able to help him-
self. If he can supply a new tongue to a buckle, weld a shears,
or splice an axle, he will feel the advantage of it ; but the flock
and stockmasters of these colonies do not, as we shall see, give
much encouragement to any skilled class to emigrate.
Still, in our colonies, the skilled workman has sometimes had
rare and valuable opportuuitics Oi success, anu nc xnay nave tueni
again ; but they have been of a fleeting and convulsive character,
46
or a
lor
EMIOBATION.
and uot easily caught. Wherever an emigration impulse has been
communicated to a spot, there the workman is sure if he be
promptly present, to find occupation on his own terms So it waS
when the first impulse was given to Port Philip, to South Aus tr J^
and to the New Zealand colonies. The sourci of supply tS
cases IS m the spending of the zealous rich. If Ca^tSry^S
Otago had brought round them as many adherents as the s^gutae
proj^tors anticipated, speculators would have there been Sy
Adefe ^rj'r'* workmen acquiring it, as at Port Phufp and
^fen ^!h«H fh' ""^*'J^ '^' imprudence of our artisans ha^ too
otten dashed this cup of prosperity from their lips. Inflated bv
great prospects before their depa^rt..., if they iLe brchanc^
alighted on any of these centres of busy speculation, they have
naturaUy mistaken the momentary impulse of LtuneT; pemanem
prospenty awaiting them in the land of their adoptio^ Tfew of
ttt'thT'"' r'T^ "^ '""*'"" ^"^ self-restraint, and conscfoiL
that the sunshine of prosperity was but a passing gleam, are now
the owners of faur estates, where they are%mploy1ng those verT
ZaT: ^^^««,T^1««« speculation was the LndaUon of the^
good fortune. Others worked one-half of the week and drank
champagne during the remainder; and when the period of p?ot
penty came to an end, if they survived delinum tremens, betook
hemselves to those departments of humble drudgr/ whTch
t IS too often the ambitious mechanic's fate to find the only
ZTn^^ ^'''''''^^^ "^ '^' emigration-field from which he
nas expected so much.
If a man is assured that he possesses certain qualities of the
head or hand which he could exercise effectively and productively
m the right place, it will be gall and bittemesJto him to S
tliat by his o^ culpable rashness he has placed himself on a spot
niany thousands of miles from the place%vhere they are useful
and many hundreds of miles from the civilisation in the midst
of winch he might obtain counsel and assistance to enable iim
to redeem his error. It is difiicult to picture a position mor™
harfh^if '''*'?"-' and overwhelming. TlJruined mer!
TfTnrlL TZ '^'* "P"" * ^'"■'" ''°^^' *^« artisan father out
of work m bad times, are none of them more desolate objects of
Tn/rr *^" '•'' ™"" ^^^° ^'' ^'"^S^^^^d to the wrong ^ace
ml^on t^ ' '^.r"'? ^"'^ ''^'^"^««' *^"« ^^*^1 mistake is often
tTe bVr T^^P'"'*'"" *'^l* emigration must make a change for
W il T '' "^ '"'^ ''"^e ^" P^^'ical economy, and there
has been no such practical experience from emigration as that
Tl^!!^^?! ^V^«« ^'rr«es the causes of adveil^ and creates
---V -,^;;„,ciuB ui prospenty. With mere chance excentions tern-
poralproaperity i, .he fruit of industrial eifort madeTtheSt
EMiaBATION.
direction ; and he that wastes his eflforts by misdirection need not
look for prosperity either at home or the antipodes. The reck-
lessness ^ith -which the emigrant of the working-classes generally
selects his field of operations at once prepares the investigator for
what he finds— that in theur hap-hazard efforts they often go ta
the wrong place, are miserable instead of becoming prosperous,
and by their unhappy experience discourage the sounder applica-
tion of emigration. It is not entirely their own fault. A selfish,
sordid voice often calls them over the ocean, proclaiming to them a
land of wealth, and health and happiness, where they are doomed
to find a desert.
It is, indeed, a fact, and one that cannot be contemplated with-
out pain, that the members of the artisan class who have of late
years emigrated have in many instauces made a sad mistake.
They and their friends have played a tragic game of cross-purposes.
In one set of instances, where shepherds and hutkeepers were
wanted for the Australian pasture districts, and the commodity
demanded in the colonies was a kind of quiet, sleepy, semi-slavish
labour, the live consignment was a body of sanguine, restless^
impracticable artisans, expecting that the change was to carry them
from the ill -paid to the well-paid practice of then: profession.
In other instances, -w^ere the artisans emigrated to a better but a
larger field of emigration, they were found to be men with all the
wants and demands of colonial prosperity, but with none of the
energies and capacities for grappling with the difficulties of a new
sphere of existence. The characteristics which induced them to
leave their homes were improvidence, indolence, and a decided
preference of the luxurious joys of the tea-garden and gin-palace
to the journey along the dusty road of life. By such men exile
was sought as a relief from the hard labour and the other dry
arduous duties of the self- supporter in civilised life; but the
emigration-field was an arena where the prizes certainly might be
greater, but where the virtues of fortitude, self-restraint,^ and
energetic industry were only more sternly taxed and more inex-
orably required. The indolent, luxurious, careless artisan might
at home drift lazily in the wake of his more industrious fellow-
workmen, but on the new and not tranquil sea of enterprise he was
left to the strength of his own resources. Energetic, industrious,
cautious, watching their opportunities, n;;ver extravagant or intem-
perate—many avenues of success were opened to those who pos-
sessed such qualities. In many instances, however, the absence
of the very qualities necessary for colonial prosperity had made
them seek colonial life; and they had thus no choice but to
atandon the chances of prosperity and adopt those of bare, rude,
temperate, didl, dreary subsistence, in the humble occupations of
48
EMIGRATION.
the Shepherd and (he hutkeeper; respectable occuDatioM t^A
eS^ ' ^''^'"^ ^'^""« ^^ *^^ discontented artl^
santfli^t^'^H^^rt^^-'^J *5^' ^"« "°* ^'^^y^ been the arti-
san s lault. He is often mvited to a colony to which he shnnH
01 pauperism— and where superior success, if attainable at all hv
the workman, can only be gained by peculia; origkaSty i^?t^^^^^
It has proved a sad mistake to many a working enS^mnrf!;
or tne antipodes, the arenas in which men rise to nrosDeritv or
emmence are those selected by themselves-not thCTwhich
tt^ey are beckoned or called by interested parties. Look Tthe
great internal sheep-prairies of Australifl ThcnT\ r x .
nroplaiiriB in„;ii„ *' i'^*"i;f» "^ -Australia. Ihecapitahst-squatter
field frtheS. *^"* ^' ^' ^ inexhaustible
neitt lor the employment of labour. ' Send us more labourers
the Zir-^^lr^\t^y <^--t be too numerr'/tty W
the right kmd --is then- ceaseless and reiterated crv Thev
become even pathetic, and say, that while our sheets swarm vdth
the unemployed, and our workhouses are crammed wkfaMe
Secrtv diftJf^'v-'^ *^t "''<><=<=»PM earth. They are in a
or less of the se^^s of tL L?-"*'°'^' ""t^ f'"''' "»»"
are eradatin„rL^ \^>? 5 . ~. functions in which there
IdSteamwC ^'"''«.*^r'.«'^ *' "''™« of « "Orthyif
S SorS IrtSan" ?f°l™"»Me openings for the exertions
m^S^ekhZi^T ?"' "■? l'™"'"^' ™P'»™g nothing, tot
reSs h^?i,^®i, "■« ™*'=°. °f **"» ««* »f i" '"''nral produce,
"r™ 'll!!!! "i™?^^' »? ■»»« hopek^ class of laboSr. H^
clod, "the ieast"hr,3'' Z '"™'"' ';™«»-«l'o ohiidren of the
oa, the least blessed with even the moderate aspirations of
49
EMIGRATION.
ambition— the most soddenly contented with what is necessary for
the wants of the mere human animal. It is no improvement to
the condition of our artisans, at the worst of times, to be drafted
into this asylum for the helpless. It supplies them with the very
reverse of the notion they had formed of the emigrant's fate and
fortune. Is it to be wondered, then, that it is unsupplied, and
that the capitalist-squatter still laments the want of labour — labour
of the right kind, and at a reasonable price ? In early ages, and
in other lands, such persons would supply the necessities of their
case by force. They would establish slavery, and make the
necessity they now plead an excuse for supplying their labour-
market, as our fleets have, to the scandal of this country, been
manned by our pressgangs.
A letter by the Rev. Mr Naylor to the legislative council of
New South Wules, expresses the views held on the subject
pretty accurately : ' We want labour — labour at a reasonable rate :
unless we have it the colony will dwindle into insignificance, and
the vast amount of capital invested in it must remain unproduc-
tive. We want labour for other reasons. The present insufficient
supply is tending to produce a total disruption of society. The
capitalist and the employer are the insulted drudges of the per-
sons they are nevertheless forced at any rate to employ ; whilst
the exorbitant wages paid lead to idleness and dissipation, and
there is no present help for it. A settler must give £30 or £36
a year for a shepherd, or his fit > will be destroyed. He must
make his election betwixt the waste of his wheat, or submit
to pay 20s. an acre for reaping it.' — {Commons* Papers, 1849,
xliii. 3.) This letter is only a brief embodiment of the views
repeatedly expressed in the Legislative Reports of the Pasture
Colonies. In a Report from the Select Committee of the Legis-
lative Council of New South Wales on Immigration (Commons'
Papers, 1849. xi. 532), one of the exigencies of the colony is
classed as * the immediate demand and means for the employment
of labour at remunerating rates of wages,' meaning rates remune-
rating to the employer. In this document one of the great
squatter potentates — the head, we believe, of that aristocracy —
brings the hardships of an insufficiency of labour to this climax,
that ' in fact the natural order of society is reversed— the servant
becomes the master, and the master may be said to be a slave.'
The taste for slave labour, or something akin to it, had in fact
been fostered in Australia by the assignment system. The rich
men there looked on the raw materials of their o^vn prosperity
as embodied in two elements — capital and labour ; meaning by
labour not that which the independent enterprising man does to
suit his own purpose, but that which the slave, or the pauper whose
50
EMIGRATION.
position is the same, does to suit his master's purpose. The
squatters wanted men as they wanted sheep— so many at so much
keep per head— and thought it unreasonable that the article was
not to be had. * As for free labour,' says Mr Ritchie in his
• British World in the East,' ' it was not to be had in any of the
Australian colonies but at a price which would materially diminish
the profits of the employer, then in the high road to fortune ; and
the exclamation rose simultaneously from every moneyed lip:
" Oh that we could get servants as cheap as in England I " A
whole world of wealth seemed before them, if they had only
labourers to gather it in. Flocks, herds, metals, fisheries, corn,
wme— all were theirs; but unhappily the cheap drudges were
wanting with whom England was blessed— the slaves of the soil,
the gnomes of the mine, whose wages were fixed at the exact
point which gave them strength to labour, and to whom no other,
choice was left but the workhouse or the jail. Servants as cheap
as in England! They forgot that their poorer brethren had
travelled from the antipodes for the express purpose of escaping
from their dreary fate at home, and that such a cry from the lips
of men who had performed the same journey to extort an
enormous and unaccustomed profit from a capital certainly not
more intrinsically respectable than labour, was both a folly and a
dishonesty.' A main cause of the contradictory views taken of
labour in emigration districts is, that colonial slavery lias not been
long enough abolished to let practical men cast their notions of
labour and remuneration loose from it. The colonist still speaks
of labour— meaning the humblest and worst-paid kind of it— as
an article of export ; and he is angry that it is not sent to him, as
a man who is ready to pay for any ordinary article of commerce
gets irritated with an uncommercial indolent people who possess
it in abundance, but will not be at t^e trouble of trading with him.
A deep fallacy lurks in the expression ' the labour market ' when
it confounds our notions with those of an existing thing bought
and sold. Labour is so different from existing commodities that
it is their parent— their operative cause— the process through
which they are brought into existence. By the primary opera-
tions of buying and selling— whatever the secondary effect may
be— we merely change place and possession. What was the
property of an Italian one day becomes a Frenchman's next ;
what was at Genoa yesterday is in Lyons to-day. Commerce
may indirectly cause things to be made, but in its direct influ-
ence it only changes their place. The words *buv' and 'sell'
are used towards labour with a different meaning. They ex-
r.rosB nn> mava 4..nm.^.r...^^>.„ ^Jf !_?__ i_ . j ....
r ...v.^7 iiaiicicicin;c ui uwiicreiup, vuz prOuUCUjii. i He
purchase of a commodity is the change of its place and pa ^session
EraGKATION.
ig into existence
P-
»
— ^tlie purchase of labour is the bringing somethin,
that did not exist before.
All this is matter of serious practical consideration for the
higher class of working-men m this country. They must not con-
found a large * labour market ' with good sources of employment.
That they should be induced by their own ignorance, or the
fallacious representations of others, to put themselves and their
labour into such a market, as it is termed, must often make that
removal out of which they have expected increased happiness
productive only of disappointment and misery. He who finds
himself in a desert where he can only live by the humblest of
occupations, pursued under the orders of an employer, is but
faintly distinguishable from a slave. He has been deceived into
servitude as the negro has been forced. It is not perhaps gene-
rally known, that m the earlier part of the last century it was a
practice m some of our seaports to kidnap young lads and carry
them off to the plantations. Articles of indenture were entered
into with them, and thyy were called apprentices, but in reality
they were slaves. One of them, named Peter Williamson, after
making his escape and living among the Indians, returned to this
country, and published an account of his marvellous adventures.
The people who had bein concerned in kidnapping him were magis-
trates in a northern city ; and as he afterwards came within their
reach, they punished hun for defamation. Some influential mem-
bers of the bar, however, took up Williamson's cause— he was
vindicated, and his oppressors were exposed. This case is men-
tioned here as an illustration of a general truth to be ever kept in
view by the workman— that there is a standing conspiracy against
him through all tune on the part of the capitalist who possesses a
large tract of soil in any distant settlement, capable of affording such
a capitalist riches if he can get human beings persuaded to per-
form the humble task of looking after it for him and bringing in its
increase. How closely the system comes to slavery— how readily
the two things are mixed up, is curiously shewn in some of the
suggestions thrown out by Mr Wakefield on colonial labour in
his ' View of the Art of Colonisation.' ' Slavery,' he says, ' is
evidently a make-shift for hhing ; a proceeding to which recourse
is had only when hirmg is impossible or difficult. Slave labour is
on the whole, much more costly than the labour of hired freemen •
and slavery is also full of moral and political evils, from which
the method of hired labour is exempt. Slavery, therefore, is not
preferred to the method of hiring. The method of hh-ing would
be preferred if there were a choice, but when slavery is adopted
— ^ — — — — ••'•■'•j-y'>,K>\.i Rjcvrauoc at luc f,iiiic. ciuu Under
the circumstances, there is no other way of getting labourers to
EMIGRATION.
■work with constancy and in combination. What, then are tha
cn-cumstances under which this happens ? It happens wherever
population 18 scanty in proportion to land.'--(^r< of CohnUaiim,
It is hoped that, however desirable a system of slavery may
be to the free owners of thinly-peopled lands, few wiU for a
moment admit, as the author seems to do, that the tempta-
nTin'^-^^ T,T ^°' «lave-holding. 'Neither communities
nor individuals,' he says, ' keep skves in order to indulge 'm
oppression and cruelty. Those British colonies-and they are
"^IZ ^^""l^p^^ slaves to-morrow if we would let them,
are not more wicked than we are. They are only placed in cir-
^umstences which induce us to long for the possession of slaves
notwithstanding the objections to it. These circumstances, by
producing the state of mind in which slavery becomes desh^ble
for masters have ever been the originatmg cause of slavery.
Ihey are not moral but economical circumstances : they relate not
to vice and vnrtue, but to production. They are the ch-cumstances
in which one maii finds it difficult or impossible to get other men
to work under his direction for wages.'
fho^^TJ*- '"""' ^"^ ^^ '^^'"'"^ *^**' ^^«^"«e you camiot get
them of their own consent, you are entitled to seize, manacle, and
whip them. It IS not to mdulge m ' oppression and cruelty' that
people forge steal, and rob; that they commit piracies on the
nigh seas. It is to get possession of somethmgthat they want
and cannot obtain otherwise. But it surely no more foUows that
you are entitled to seize your fellow-being, and extort his labour
because you want it, than that you are entitled to knock hinl
down and seize his pocketbook for the like reason. Our civiUsed
and high-mmded nation has resolved to suppress this great crime •
^nd such arguments, confusmg mere personal expediency with
justice and injustice, right and wrong, virtue and vice, will be
found far too feeble it is hoped to revoke the national con!
demnation. But though thus offensively expressed, Mr Wake-
field s practical experience of that difficulty in procurmff the
application of labour to colonies, which he seems to thmk
TI'T^aVu^^ '^T'^' '' ^" '^'^^ ^^^ ^*l"*We. It shews
how the difficulties m the way of obtainmg humble labour m our
pastoral colonies drive the employers to expedients for obtaininir
what will not naturally come to them. ^
„7^^i *y^^**^^^ of superabundance of land in causing a scarcity
of free labom- and a desire for slaves is very distinctly seen hi a
process by which modem colonies always have obtained free
«o much more productive than forced that the ilo:^tpZ£
53
EMIGRATION.
18 always ready to pay lor it in the form of wages more than
slave-labour would cost, and far more than the usual rate of wages
in an old country. It is perfectly worth his while to pay, besides
these high wages, the cost of the passage of free labour from the
old country to the colony. Innumerable are the instances in
which a colonial capitalist has done this, confident of the prudence
of the outlay. It was commonly done by the founders of our early
colonies in America, and has been done by many capitalists in
Canada, South Africa, the Australias, and New Zealand. To da
this appears such a natural, suitable, easy way of obtaining labour
for hire, that every emigrant capitalist thinks of doing it ; and
thousands (I speak within compass) have tried the experiment.
It is an experiment which always fails ; if it always or generally
succeeded, scarcity of labour for hire would not be a colonial evil.
I have never missed the opportunity of tracing one of these expe-
riments to its results ; and I assure you that I have never been
able to trace a suigle case of success. The invariable failure is
produced by the impossibility of keeping the labour, for the
passage of which to the colony the capitalist has paid, and it
happens as follows : —
' Under this voluntary method of exporting labour all capitalists
do not pay alike; some pay, some do not. Those who do not
pay for the importation of labour can afford to pay for the use of
it more than those who pay for the importation. These non-
importing capitalists, therefore, offer to the newly-arrived labourers
higher wages than the employer who imported them has engaged
or can afford to pay. The offer of higher wages is a temptation
which poor emigrants are incapable of resisting. When the
non-unporting capitalist is not rogue enough to make the offer to
the labourers whom his neighbour has imported, still the labourers
know that such higher wages can be obtained from persons who
have not imported labourers. They quit the service of their
importer; and bemg now out of employment, are engaged by
somebody who can afford to pay the higher wages. The importer
I repeat, never keeps the labour which he has unported.'— ^
(P. 327-8.) ^ ,
So far it is well for the labourer. It is well that the capitalist
who has exported him cannot keep him. He has his choice of
selecting a master. Many plans have been suggested, many of
them tried, for compelling the labourer who has gone out assisted
by the land funds of the Australian colonies, to remain with the
master or with the community by whom the expense of his
expatriation has been borne ; but this has had too near an
approach to actual slavery to be practicable. A report by a
select committee of the Legislative Council of New South Wales,
felt 01
EHIOBATION.
Uia before parliament in 1860, comnlained of »hn ,.«i i, •
J rteppi„g..tone to reaeh n.ighbo„rinr.etSn7. ^^'"« "^J
fora rule that every emigranf sent oufby heT™l..iIS ffif.''
eCrthey are Sot iTYn^r 'T' " "*" '» ">'''»•«• I» 'h^™
disastrous year 1847 X.> S the assisted emigrant of the
mt on emiSU ™iiU, etSgyltfg ''T^:?' ^" "".'
XT=irt.^:,rrt'SS-^^^^^^^^
bank or in any other sW to' SLTeti^ '?..' «™«'''
(irlyle'L workrwhTch conii^st'all .° 7.' """^ """""""8 '» «■•
is hii selected field : itrthrw^If^Trnts'tXl^- /""??'*
to the Emigration Commissioners -aSw ^^^ "° ■*?''«"
from friendlwho, seeing Srw «sUess wLT"' f "J-*" '"™
the exde is off, thanking fortune that hT hStf^^thl' i ^ \
slavery, misery, and starvation, for that of freedom fplil"^
and abundance. It is unnecessirv fn Itl ^'^p^on^j fehcity,
voyage : if it lead to a gooST that tLfT^""^ *?,*^"* *^"
its way, should be thanSult ente^^^^^ w7t^,^ '"'"" '"'^ ^"
the artisan passing the Helds of Port ^\ "7 '"^P"'^
Sydney. He has Lived and has toW th« 7'- '"5 '"*'""^
what he expects. Perham hi , •««»/. emigration agent
veneerer or French VoKs£ « ^« \f°"«-"^ason, perhaps he is a
artificial flower ":r.t^^^^^^^^^^^ ivory turner, an
Whalebone, an eccfe^^ii^allLrsS^^^
55
EUIOBATION.
«ver he may be, the great chance is tliatl'i expects ImTnedlate
«mployment in his old occupation; the sole differemo between
his position at home and that which he has adopted being, that
in the latter he shall have more wages, work shorter houru, and
find his money go farther.
The extent to wliich such poc^* fellows have miscalculated or
been deceived is really a painful portion of the arid staHstical
•details of the colonial parliamentary returns. The ambitious
artisan who has left behind him an occupation which in the bad
times has fellen from 30s. to 25s., or from 258. to 20s. a week —
from £60 a year to £50 — is asked to go 200 miles into the bush
where he shall have £20 a year, with a gum-slab hut rather larger
than his coffin; feed on damper and tea; take charge of 1500
sheep, ranging over 150 square miles of stunted grass, v^here he may
possibly meet a fellow-being, besides the hutkeeper who accompa-
nies him, and the storekeeper on the nearest sheep-walk — ^when our
vast colonial possessions are more thickly peopled, but not till
then. The artisan knows little enough of the lonoly desolation,
the tiresome monotony of the bush ; he has but slight notions of
any kind of life perhaps except that of the crowded street; but
he knows what the wages offered to hin\ are worth, and he rejects
them with disdain. He -is one of many. The emigration agent
in his next report states that there is an enormous demand for
labour in the colony, but that people come out with ' unreasonable
expectations,' and will not take the terms offered to them. The
poor deceived mechanic — or mistaken is the proper term, for it is
his own doing — cannot easily believe that in coming to the land
of promise he has reached a place where his own trade is utterly
useless. In the meantime he resides at Sydney or Melbourne,
and his old city associations revive — he clings to the streets and
the shops, as mountaineers do to their native scenery, and hopes
that something will 'turn up.' Nay, if the Emigration Commis-
sioners have, in what he feels a spirit of perversity, landed him
in the district where work is wanted — some couple of hundred
miles or so from a town — ^he will set to and find his way to the
town by begging and sorning. Whether he be landed there, or
have reached it after great exertions and humiliations, his fate is
the same. He may perhaps succeed in getting work, and in com-
peting with the bom colonists ; but much more commonly he gets
disgusted, disappointed, and dissipated^ and dies in a penury and
wretchedness which, in the midst of callous strangers, is more
miserable than the worst fate he was likely to have encountered
at home.
The returns of the emigration officers notice the fact, that
artisans have gone hundreds of miles to tind their way to the
66
BaaGBATioy.
Augtralm, towns, where their trades are nbeady overdone. But
this only shews that the poor artisan has nude a mistake and hll
gone into abondage from which he is making desperate efforts to
escape. When not rightly understouu, such bciden?s dfrand
indis inctly heard of in the circles of the working-chisses produce
a prejudice respechng emigration much against their true Sests!
Here, as m all other matters, their true rule is to lenm and
observe, and act accordingly. ^
TUE PAUPER EMlv';}RANT.
v?f iTT w ^^^^^t'"*"'^^"''^ emigration in so far as the indi-
vidua, lookmg to this resource as a means of improving hi
condition and prospects is concerued. The primary questiof Ims
been one of pure md vidual prorit and loss, and the object of Z
adviser has been to mdicate, as far as he could, how the former
may be achieved and the latter avoided. In this sort of emigra-
tion, however great may be the interest of the public at iLe
intending to remam at home, it is of a secondary character, aid
indeed resolves itself generally into this-that as the public wealth
and prosperity consist in the wealth of individuals, it will ever be
the mterest of the public Miat each individual does what is most
conducive to his own prosperity. Nor wiU it detract from the
good influence of a sound choice even on those remaining at homa
th&t valuable men are taken from them to leap a harvest abroad
He who produces wealth, who creates value out of what was
valueless however distant ho may be, is the coadjutor of those
who are doing the same at hor^e. It is better not only for him
bit for us that our neighbour should go to Sydney and become
rich than remam here poor. The national interest in this kind of
voluntary self-supporting emigration is thus identified with the
mterests of the individual; and what each man, and those who
venture to advise him, have to do, is to discover how emigration
can be made a good speculation. *
But there is another point from which emigration has been
lately viewed— as a means of direct benefit or relief, as it is
termed, to those who stay at home. In this view it is considered
as a question for landlords, capitalists, poor-law authorities,
charitable and benevolent associations, and the country at large.
Of course it is not for a moment dreamed that this kind of emigra-
tion is to be foUowed with any but advantageous prospects to
those who emigrate. Their misery here is what makes them
dangerous or burdensome, and giving them the means of weU-
Demg abroad is thp rprnt^Hv ar,l^r,V,^■ f^« 4.1.^ j: Trrt .
may have been sometimes actually done, no one would dare to
67
EMIGRATION.
tell the public that thin kind of emignition i» con(li"'ted for the
purpose of casting off the burden and leaving it to itH ate. Still
the persons who arc the objects of these emigration projects are
generally patssivo from ignorance and helplessness. Their sole
impulse is in the coiiHciousnesH that almost any fate would be
better than their present. They are in the hands of others — of
the government, of their landlords, of the poor-law adminis-
trators, as the case may be ; and the question of their emigration
is considered not entirely in its effect on their own prospects, but
with general reference to the good of others — it may bo that of
the nation at largo — of the parish —sometimes of the estate. A
few considerations on this subject will here be offered ; and as our
previous remarks hava been addressed to those who are making
up their mind to emigrate, these are addressed to those who
interest themselves about the emigration of others either on a
large or a small scale.
The simplest form in which emigration, as a means of relief,
generally presents itself, is this — that there are too many people in
this country for the available means of support, and that it would
be well to remove a certain number. This is what is generally
understood by the removal of a " surplus population ;" but it is, as
we shall presently see, but. a rough, undigested principle, quite in-
adequate to solve any social difficulty. It never has yet been the
case, save perhaps in one year of peculiar calamity, that emigra-
tion came near to the reduction of the population of tliis country,
or even came near to the keeping down of the annual increase.
The emigration from the United Kingdom during ten years ending
with the year 1846 amounted in all to 856,392 persons. If we
suppose the increase of population during the same ten years to
have been what it was in the ten years for which the preceding
censuj was taken, it would amount to 2,609,129, or more than
three times as much. Thus the average annual removal by
emigration was 85,439, while the average increase of population
exceeded 260,000. The famine which began to appear in 1846,
and was so frightfully developed in 1847, gave emigration an
impulse such as political economy and public opinion can never
impart to it — such an impulse as all must fervently hope it will
never receive again. The number who embarked in 1847 was
258,270 ; in 1848 it was 248,089 ; and in 1849 it was 299,498.
In this last item it for once approached the number of the
increase of population. Taking the annual increase of our popu-
lation at 260,000, at the time when the annual emigration was
85,639, the amount of emigration for that year would just be
46,132 behind the increase — that is, less than the previous annual
increase added to the previous annual emigration. But it is in
5S
EMIGRATION.
truth an abuse of words to apply the name ' emigration' to thia
famine-flight of mult.tudos, fleeing, they cared not whither, from a
dreadful dea h The operations of those three years do not admit
of being applied to systemutic emigration.
But suppose that the human drain were brought up to tha
point at winch we have heretofore seen our population increase,
and even beyond it, does it follow that it would be an actua
reduction of numbers; and even if it were so, tlmt this indiscrimi-
iiate reduction of numbers would produce what is caUed a relief
from surplus population ? Some political economists say that a
population which hmi room to grow-which is not, in short
pressed upon by want-will double itself in twenty-tive years'
Now as the presumed result of the removal of the people is to
give the rest room, to make them more comfortable, to give them
more food and clothing by the removal of social participants, it
follows that the more eftbctually the removal is conducted the
more the population increases, and that the real object would not
be accomplished unless we could remove the people faster than
InnLn" ""^^;Pl>^.-^^»*,* '«. at the rate of upwards of a million
annually. But it is useless to speculate further upon views which
Have been founded on false analogy from a ship running short of
provisions There all are consumers of a fixed quantity, and
every riddance increases the share of the remainder. The people
of this country, taken at large, are producers as well as consumers •
and the object of emigration must be the removal, not of the
population generally, but of the part that consumes without
producing or possessing. It will be pretty clear, whether we
reduce the total amount of population or not, that if we remove
the Birmingham iron worker and the Manchester calico printer to
Australia, we will not make the Dorsetshire labourer less a
pauper; and we will not make the Irishman or the Western
Highlander less inclined to marry whenever he sees a cood
potato crop and food for the year.
We have reasoned on it as a leading principle, that self-
emigration is, on the whole-deducting all mistakes or calamities
—protitable to the community, since each man finds in it what is
most advantageous for his future prospects. But it does not
lollow that those who are indiscriminately hustled out of the
country have tlieir condition and prospects improved for them.
Ihere is reason to believe that sweeping systems of removal have
Had the effect of carrying off productive men to places where they
were not so useful as at home, and leaving the unproductive on
our hands. Nay, this has been arowedly advocated by some
writers on the plea of what they call the 'relief of the labour-
market, as if it wnrA nrArlii/>fi'/\n -n^*- ^»«».. i.; _•- .1 .
59
EMIOBATTON.
I W"^
idleness — prudence and forethought, not recklessness — that cause
national pauperism.
In a country of equal laws and free trade, where there is no
pillage and no slavery, a population consisting entirely of families
producing more than they consume cannot be surplus. Let an
industrial population be as dense as they like, they draw their food
from all the world. If the world has not enough to supply them
in exchange for the produce of their industry, then indeed they
may waste their eflfbrts in vain ; but we have not in this country
reached so hard an alternative ; and the judicious dispersal of our
people over the productive parts of the earth may prevent us
from ever approaching it. What the damaged part of our popula-
tion suffer from is not labour which is effective but unremune-
rated ; it is from idleness, or, what is the same thing, ineffective
labour.
We are at present undoubtedly in the position that those who
are energetL^ally industrious, active, vigilant, sober, and frugal,
can live, and live well, being rather an advantage than an evil to
the country.
But there are among us whole classes who, instead of having
these virtues, are idle, listless, careless of the future, or if they
work, do so ineffectively and unproductively. In short, they are
unable to compete with niore energetic and self-denying neigh-
bours.
Such, then, are the people whom it concerns the public to remove
elsewhere, if the removal can be justly and fairly accomplished.
Collective emigration is, therefore, the removal of a diseased and
damaged part of our population. It is a relief to the rest of the
population to be rid of this part. It were invidious to say what
it is that makes a part of the population thus a burden. Some
people say that it is the effect of race ; and they point to the Celts
of Kerry and of Barra, distant some four hundred miles from each
other, yet precisely in the same condition of hopeless, listless,
actionless, useless penury. Some say it is false legislation, and
point to the pauperised agricultural labourers of the south of
England, rendered inert and useless by the old poor-law which took
in hand to provide for them, and made the idle as well off as the
industrious ; or maintain that all the industrial miseries of Ireland
have proceedtil from those laws which prohibited the majority of
the people, on account of their religion, from holding a stake in the
enterprise of the nation. Others say that ignorance, and especially
ignorance of political economy, is at the root of the disease, and
they point to the handloom weavers, and the other unskilled workers,
who obstinatelv and blindly continue to comnete with machinerv :
and finding that they cannot live comfortably by doing easy and
60
EBOGBATION.
useless work, become lethargic and despondent. It is enongh
for the present purpose to keep in view that there are classes of
this kind, and to consider how far their removal from the country
is a proper remedy for the evil. Now, the evil which «uch a popu-
lation creates in the midst of a busy country like this is, that they
are burdens upon those who produce more than they tonsume, by
requiring, for mere subsistence, to consume more thaoi they pro-
duce. Apart from those whom fortime, or the past exertion of
themselves or then: ancestors, has gifted with wealth, we may divide
the able-bodied inhabitants of a country, or the heads of families,
into those whose labour benefits the country by producing more
than they consume, and those who are burdens to it by requiring^
to consume more than they produce. The production must b&
measured by results ; in other words, by the family keeping itself,
and living in independence — all other measurements of industrial
service are likely to be fallacious. It is useless for the handloom
weaver to say that he has gradually added half hour after half
hour to his period of labour until he now sleeps at his loom —
political economy can give him no other than the harsh answer,
that his occupation of jerking a st. k from side to side, which he-
so obstinately pursues, is one not wanted, and therefore not paid
for. It is useless for the Irish cottar to say that he has turned
up the turf, and dibbled the holes, and dropped the potatoes in,
and he lias trusted to the Almighty for the increase — ^the stem
answer comes that he has not done enough to make rationally
secure to himself a share in the produce of our high-strained indus-
trial energies. It becomes clear at once that it is the interest of
the productive members of society to get rid of all these classes.
In getting rid of such classes of people, however, there are
other interests besides those of the wealthy and industrious part
of the community to be considered. However valueless in an
economical sense the objects of this kind of emigration may be,
they are not slaves, and we must have their consent to the trans-
action before they can be removed. This consent must be ob-
tained honestly and without any species of deception; and to make
the whole transaction a fair one, the removal should be a change
rather to their benefit than their detriment. If they do not think
it is BO, they will not remove; and if they think it is so when it ia
not so, they will have been deceived. Again, we must consider the
position economically and politically of those on whom we throw
them. Independent nations like the United States will, of course,
refuse to receive them unless they are for some piu^pose or other
worth having; and we have no right to throw forth the moral refuse
. _ 1 ,J —
Q tt uuxxiuii wiiicu vo'C uO not
choose to bear off our own shoulders upon those of our younger
61
■■##!
EMIGRATION.
I :i:.
find weaker brethren. It must be taken for granted at the same
time, that a condition of any such removal at all ought to be that
some change is to be operated at home, which shall prevent the
damaged population from resprouting and growing up as vigor-
ously as ever. That this country is to become a permanent
hotbed to manure emigration fields, as it were, with a deteriorated,
morally-diseased class, ever renewing itself as fast as it is exported,
is a supposition too odioiis to be seriously entertained. Neglects
and blunders have permitted the disease to creep in — if the ampu-
tation takes place, it were with all its pain and risk a lost opera-
tion if the same neglects and blunders are to leave the same
disease to break out again.
The two conditions then — that the removal should be beneficial
to the emigrants, and that they should be welcomed in the place
to which they are sent — are in some measure dependent on each
other. It is cruel and useless to attempt to drive away the aged
and the imbecile. It is both more economical and more humane
to let them remain, a burden though they be, in our country
for the remainder of their days. They cannot increase and
multiply their kind, or continue the effects of their idleness
and improvidence by influencing others to follow their example.
As to the able-bodied, tl^e demand for them in the emigration
field will be the measure of their advantage by emigration.
Among a people spreading themselves over new productive
lands, a mere human being, with some bone and muscle at his
disposal, is of value, however worthless he may be in a country
where the productiveness is not in new sources of natural supply
but in new developments of the skilled industry of man. In
America you open a rich productive field by breaking down a
beaver-dam ; it is of great consequence to the energetic settler to
have a man who will do this job for him while he is attending to
more serious and important works ; and the labour which, in the
old country, might have only planted a boll of potatoes, has
drained a large alluvial field for wheat or Indian com. Then,
again in Australia the squatter has mile over mile of pasture for
liis sheep could he but get a human being to be a hutkeeper or
assistant shepherd— and thus it is wort » his while to keep men
alive, and in some rude comfort, for the pet'onnance of tasks so
simple as to be comparatively valueless at home. The United
States have of late years afforded a considerable asylum for this
humblest class of emigrants, though they have, only in justice to
themselves and their great institutions, raised impediments by
taxation on their being imported in a state of disease and imbe-
cility, anu nave indeed laid a general small tax on ail iramigrants,
as a premium of insurance to meet the burden created by such as
62
i
T^'
'•T'
EMIGBATION.
became cliargeable on charlvable institntinna n ^
lation of this%ountry find sc^tter^d kS^^^^
communities, in theiV progrSrllTds Unf t-..i ^''^ '^^^^
which they are fitted a'nd?; whShey cTlL terish' '''
for mstance, who lias starved on half LXnf t . t "'^"jan»
on straw, becomes a footman in New Y^rk Li P^f *oe«, and lain
to his astonishmpnf Th^ »« jxew York, and is fed and clothed
th^a'e in I'' r,?''' " g»e«aiy 8aid, absorb tUe,„^Xe
12 to th. Am^^ ' "? advantage, in a pecuniary sense at
13 to be sufficiently disin^^^'i:^ In'S' s^^d aZg t^r
trous as It ever must be to possess such a pop^tbn rthinT;
uXb'XroSrt"' ^-'"'"^ >' - -;Kntd to
damaged population. It is the fortune indeed of the e colon!™ .^
cPiomst8-the Habitans. Moreover, the very want there of tho
mde-expaning eneigy of the United States, wh"chffl^Uollv
by the humble gleaners, makes these colonies unsuitable for on?
des"Sr.fTf.- '" "^^ *^' "'' "'^ ^^^y Placi to wMeh iHs
aesuablc to lead eneigy and enterprise. Thev want lifo „!,.„
rS' '^* ""f •'^P"''"""' ■^^'s''"'™. SoCd theuToS
rapor^ed emigrants is to swamp them. For men of mo^mJI
capita mid some energy, or men of great eneig^tf they w! no
e^S fj'" "■ 'r"^"* *«'*' '^'" " « afiednol yet rich
farS„*;,?nS!-"«f" our gleaners, and indeed thrK^"!
♦i,«~k" r """■" ^"^^^"^a «uve very sigiiiiicantiy shut their door^Ton
the burdensome oJm of colonists by » heavy emigmSn tS
^-
BMIORATION.
It may be set down as a general rule, indeed, for ttie effective
wnigration of paupers, that they should be sent to a place where
I *r? **?? . *° "'^^ *^®"^ 0^ ibrtunes, but where they are
under the direction of others, to whom their services, such as they
maybe,ajevakable. They need guidance and mastership. Thii
It u -a the United States, where the intensity of the productive
enei^gy of the people in general makes it worth their whUe when
they have not slaves, to give good food and clothing to those who-
ym undertake the humble duties for which, in the pursuit of larger
objects they cannot spare time. In the pasture districts of
Australia, of which we shaU shortly speak, the emigrant is in the
same manner under direction. In the North American colonies,
where there IS not the same superior influence to bring them on.
the Irish and Highland emigrants who have gone in masses have
not maue unproving colonistn. The tourist finds the filth and
indolence which distress him in Lochaber characterising the
HigMand emigration districts of America, such as Glengarry and
the Red River. Mr Johnston in his ' Notes of North America*^
says : The smaU HiglUand or Irish farmer, who is driven from his
holdmg because his fa^e is set against all improvement-and many
emigrants are of this class-carries his prejudices, his obstinacy, and
his conceited ignorance to his new home, and leaves to his chUdren
as an unhappy legacy, the same practices which in his fatherland
had brought poverty upon himself.' He found in New Brunswick
an Irishman who had remained some years on the spot where he
was knded, and did not move on to the place where he might be
wanted, though miserably poor, ' because he had no one to depend
upon but himself.' Another, who had been equally unsuccessful,
because idle, said: ' Them people had got on weU enough who haJ
the luck to get a good lot of land.' At the time of the famine
mroads of 1847 and 1848, the emigration officers of our S
American colonies complained of the idleness and mendicant spirit
she^ by those Irish who were landed in such numbers as to^
countenance each other, and form a deadweight preponderating
agamst the unMing influence of the industrious inLirnts Ta
?nZ? ?i!"? T ^T^}^^ tl^e place to their own idleness
instead of bemg themselves brought within its industrial influence
such emigrants req-^ire to be scattered, and that thinly, among a
Sn2 .1? 'T"''' "^^ .Montreal was becoming a Comiemfra
under the mfluence of the invasion of 1847.
i-of Tif f^''*''^^ ^^''^ be necessaiy for appearing to overlook the
lact, that many of the Irish have made excellent self-sustainine-
emigrants were it not that it is entirely with the pauper and
t3^"? ., .*''~^'*™^^' unfortunately, a large proportion in
Ireland-that we are at present dealing. But the anm^An* ft^- »
e effective
lace where
8 they are
3h BLB thej
ip. Thu»
>roductive
hile when
those who
t of larger
istricts of
is in the
colonies^
them on,
sses have
^th and
Ising the
jarry and
A.merica '
from his
ind many
nacy, and
children^
itherland
rwisw?ck
rhere he
night bfr
) depend
ccessful,
who had
e famine-
r North
nt spirit
rs as to-
derating
Its. To>
idleness
ifluence,
imong a
inemara
ook the
staining
)er and
tion in
nt. T/\1> n
EMIGRATIOK.
weight of misery that presses them iZ ^. '""^^"^ °^ ^^^
Ireland wiU ofte^ see a whole Set r*^ ^ ^^f^' *^^<^»«h
inisery, and mendica^cr But ^^ inTJ"^^
through it after it has acauirfd thl. T *? °[ "®'®^^ P««S'ng
to watch the progres^ofXin Jh? I^T^''' ^' ^^ ^««» ^^^
he would have sefn that mLy^^^^^^^^ ^T^ ' ''T' '^ y^*"*
for self-support and indeneS.!* i? "*^^ * «*"*»* «*'"ggle
the oyerwTelminrw'Xf r ^^^^ ^oJly
mass just as it is, we do our best t^C^; ""^ ^^P^"* *^^
still struggling ii the Lamn !? f^ep these meritorious men
whatever it m^ay be to oS wL'?** ^egmdation. To them,
own calamities, ft would be but bt. •^':- ^''l *^« ^*"««« ^^ *heir'
their feet,' as the crmon say^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ «^f ^ 1 ^^e^r
the state of our emigration fip^f^K ^ ^'* authorities on
evidence before the Lords' Sjt' e^tl'ZmT fl
-have given instances of Irish emiffranf , wi;f ^ • ^'*'*°*^
from the down-dragging influences of^r« J ?' ?t ^''?« ''^^"^^^
appeared totally to chaZ !h!fr\ '?'** '***® ** ^^^^'"e, have
an'S successful as thet E„ J«^^^^^^^^^ '' ^°^^^«««
Irishmen in the United StS 1 ? ^ *"^. brethren. 'I saw
Count Strdeck", ^e^dencTh^fZtT't' *°^ ^ Australia,' said
^^Mr^Justxce Sullivan, in a lecture delivered in Canada in 1847,
have advanced far beyond tKL^-^''"''^" '" ^^^ ^^"'*«d States
some to wealth. We^Sthf'rr^^^^^ *° respectability^
this country their srvWs from wo ^ ""^'j T"^"^ '^^° »'»-«"r^t into
Probably il m«^^ be S Sirin'f ^^""'^ iand^ownei^
amongst them emigrate and t*>-^ i ^ energetic and ambitious
manyftoo many, rSnCtin^^^^^^^^ ^. West; but
dirty suburbs /keeping sE wfth twl tl '"' .'^^'^''•''"g: low and
bread fish for a stock inS/i. i^ ^^^'^^'^ P'P®« *»»d a ginger-
disagreeable for other pe^plt^^^^^^^^^^^ '^^Ti ^oo heavy^or too
'ander about the S, S^thoulndTVl•^^^^^ ^'^ *^«"»
norwards, hither and ♦hS«/ /«0"«ana8 of miles backwards and
canal du^ wit^the p Ju fofV^nurS ''i ? ^k^'^^ "*>'-^- ^ome
midst of the TeekL^Zma untlTu P"^*'*! bonds, where, in the
fever and whisky, lid fiSTanSfrn.^''''^^'^^^ ^""'"^ «'«^^»
death-and the L^ of Iri«hLn T 7'^- ""^^ ***^ ''^^^^ ^"'k or
on..-o^ _r. 4 ''.e™ves 01 Jristtmen track in ihinh- «„«„„»„i-_ t»^
v^ enterprise, ihe native American turas aside
66
EMIGRATION.
from the sty in which we recognise the cabin of our native hills :
he shuddering says : * This is misery ! " but no ; misery, true misery,
is more Irish still — she does not wander from her own green
island ; there she has mounted the shamrock for her emblem, and
deigns not to visit other lands ; but still it is a kind of spurious
misery, sufficient to demoralise, to brutalise, to destroy. Once
introduced into this mode of life, the mass of them so continue.
You may have thousands of them in Canada by means of an adver-
tisement ; you may have the same men anywhere north of the slave
states (where they are excluded by cheap labour) by a newspaper para-
graph. They have no hope, no ambition, no home ; they will follow
you to the world's end for sixteen dollars a month and a quart of
whisky each day : they will work from four o'clock in the morning
till seven in the evening, and they will spend all they earn ; but they
will not understand the American ambition to own land ; to become
one's own master.'
But here is e. more agreeable picture of the Irish emigrant
when he has, notwithstanding outward appearances, real heart and
energy, and is mercifully isolated from his fellow-countrymen : —
'I was one day riding out towards t'le Owen's Sound Settlement
with a gentleman now dead, the late William Chisholm, whom we
used to call White Oak for his truth and honesty of character, and
genuiiM? soundness of hearj;. At the Township of Garrafraxa, a
place with scarcely any inhabitants, after getting over a detestable
road, and having been long without seeing a house, we fell upon a
large and handsome clearing of one hundred acres, with herds of
cattle grazing in the pastures, sheep clustered in the shade under
the fences, wheat ripening in the fields, and apples reddening in the
orchard — a good loghouse, and a better barn and stable in the midst
of all this. Inside the house was a respectable-looking man, his
wife and grown-up daughters. Their house was clean and comfort-
able, and abundant, and we fared well. They had books on the
shelves j and one of the girls was reading, others spinning, churning,
or knitting. I asked no questions, but knowing that my friend
could give me the history of the settler on the road in the morn-
ing, I waited. My first exclamation was: "Well, Chisholm, I do
envy you your countrymen ! That man must have lived here many
years without a neighbour ?" ** Yes," was the answer, " he was the
first settler in these parts ; and when he came there was no white
man between him and Lake Huron." " He must have been poor,
or he would not have come here?" "Yes," was the answer, " he
was very poor." " He must have educated his children himself ?'•
^ Yes ; there was no school within many miles of him." •* He could
not have employed labourers ?" ** No ; all this was the work of his
own hand." " Then," again I said, * I do envy you your country-
men! This is Scotch prudence, Scotch eiergy, Scotch courage."
*• Well,** said he, " it may be all just as Scotcb sh you like to make it,
i)nt, after ail, the man is an Irishmai)." '
m
EMIGRATION.
Thus it appears that when pauper emigi-ants are dispersed, ther^
are opportunities for those among them who have sunk, in siite of
conduct and exertion, to regain their position - opportlinitiea
which will not occur in a dense pauper colonial population
Turning from British America, and the very scanty means of
there absorbing pauper emigrants, we shall find that the Australian,
colonies are differently situated. Their position, indeed, in con-
nection with this very question of the disposal of our' burden-
some labouring population, is very curious, and worthy of a fuUeif
investigation than it is possible on the present occasion to bestow
on It. In the first place, however, Australia is so far different from
the nearer emigration districts of America, that it offers, as we
have already seen, money to help out the emigrant, and co-ope-
ra es with this country in ridding it of its unproductive and
valueless population The expense of sending an emigrant to
Australia is nearly three times as great as that of sendini him to
Quebec or New York; and of course, if it were a mere considera^
tion how the burden to the country is to be best ' shovelled out '
the simplest way would be to send him merely across the Atlantic',
m the Australasian colonies, however, it is of so much itnport-
ance to obtain human beings-to obtain labour, as it is rather
eiToneously called-that it is worth the colonists' while to provide
a fund for the purpose of attracting thither their fellow-countrymen
of the humbler orders. The dear-land system, which has had its^
natural conclusion in nearly abolishing the sale of land, was destined,
to enlarge this fund, but has poured into it a driblet ioo trifling tL
be considered m connection with a system of pauper emigration.
The object of the great Australian squatters is to havea suKte
for their assigned convicts under the old penal system It i»
therefore then: desire that the individuals they receive should be as
humble and unambitious as possible; that they should, in short be
as near to slavery as British institutions will permit We hkve
considered how ill-fitted our artisans are to supply the demS
of this shepherrl aristocracy. They complain but little of Te
indolence, the stupidity, even the viciousness of their servants
nnZ r^ " accustomed to put up with this last quality
thatw ' 'Tt Tu""'. ^^'y '^""P^*"^ «»^)^ ^hen they find
hat, being city bred, they do not turn with docility to the bu-h-
they complam still more when one of them tuiis out to be
ambitious, saves a httle money, and desires to invest it and be
independent. The metamorphosis seems to astonish and perplex
woT IT', r ' '"' '^ "^^'^ «^'^P ^''' *^ ^' changed into a
*hr. "-J — Lu"""^ vviitiiuuicu lo ine price ot his exportation,
they consider themselves to have been in some measure deceived.
They have not got the commodity they intended to purchase. It
<i7
■^ I
EMIGRATION.
Is as if they had ordered a draught-horse and had got an Arabian,
more valuable perhaps in Hyde Park or on the race-course, but not
80 valuable for their purpose.
In the great continent of Australia it is impossible yet to come
to a near estimate, even by millions, of the number of acres avail*
able for pasturage. The land is thin and poor, and covered with
a meagre though wholesome herbage. Three, sometimes five
acres, are necessary to support a sheep, and one man's flocks or
herds will cover hundreds of square miles. How far these
districts are capable of agricultural or any other kind of improve-
ment is a question for future consideration. Meanwhile there
are just two things needed to bring a vast produce in wool, tallow,
and cattle, out of these wide wastes : the two things are — capital,
to purchase stock and flocks ; and the humblest kind of labour to
take charge of them. Out of these two elements great wealth is
procurable. Here, then, is a large place of refuge for those who
have fallen behind the race of industrial production at home.
They are useless and a burden here ; they may be useful and pro-
ductive there. It is thus in the pastoral districts of Australia
that we must look for the best, though it may not at hrst be the
cheapest, emigration draii^. But here we must pause. The
damaged classes exist among us — the refuge is available and
should be sought. But if such fields for the humblest class of
industry should exist indefinitely through all time, it does not
follow that this great country should become a permanent nursery
of semi-slaves for such a market. Surely for the boasted qualities
of our Saxon race — the ceaseless vigUance, the unconquerable
perseverance, the haughty contempt of danger, the undying
struggle against overwhelming difficulties and calamities — there is
some better destiny prepared than this.
But while the vacuum exists it may be well to consider how it
<jan be filled. The squatters are enamoured of that t3rpe of agri-
cultural wretchedness, the Dorsetshire labourer ; so docile is he,
so unambitious, so fitted for his humble duties, and for nothing
more. Let the squatter have him then — it is good for both ; but
let us, if it be within the wit of man to accomplish so great an
end, remedy those defects, which have left the Dorsetshire agricul-
turist and his fellows so far behind. The Celt is at hand starving
on the mountains of Skye or the bogs of Kerry ; he may not be
80 docile and unexceptionable an agricultural machine as the
surplus English labourer ; but he is a burden here, and he ie at
least worth supporting there — and worth supporting in such
fashion as becomes luxury to one who has been so long depressed
by the practical miseries and wants of life. For our damaged
population in general — that is, the population which has failed to
68
EMIOBATION.
keep up with the productive capacities of the aee~the resource
18 a tempt ng one The colonists are ever, m the quSftieTXch
they require of their servants, shewing us that itl thi uTeless
burdensome popuUtion that they want; not our active yiidul
trioua citizens, who too soon leave the kbour market and become
petty proprietors. A committee of the Legislative Council of thit
unhappy colony Western Australia, put'' the case into wJs
in a report issued in 1848 :— ngures
thl^rJS!^;;! '• V'^y r^'* ^\ ^^ ^oen repeatedly calculated that
the cost of mamtammg the surplus population of the United Kingdom
^^turirr^ r-^'u^^^PT"'^ contribution, debilitating hTltZ
factunng and agricultural efforts, equals annually the interest of the
national debt, or a sum of about £1 per heud of the entire Zuktion^
which being converted into capital at twenty yeai-r* ArcE woSw
ffZ u'^.l T'^^. £600.000,000. In othe^word^^S pa::p:S^
of the Umted Kingdom is estimated in round numbers to cKS
(independent of secret private charity) an annual taxation Tpoor'
rates benefi^ societies, and the infinite number and variety of m^
ciated clarities a sum sufficient, if converted into capitL, to ca^v^
Wales ; and when there to start him with £10 in his pockee.
vatimi nfV "^f !;°"r "°- ^^°^^"*^« '« n^ade for the fearful aggrar
vation of the evil by famine and pestilence, which might haveW
« From hence it is obvious, that if the existing burden of pauperism
tZ7 T'^"^^ ^^"^ '' "'*^™^*"^ ^y "'« best authorities it V^Z
equal to the passage-money to Australia of the whole pop-uation. at
KiTd'^^t If ^^!^ of £10 per head. Therefore we?c the Un"ted
K^gdom to defray the passage of the entire pauper populatioiK k
would be a clear gamer of the difference between Oie cost of X^
passage and that of the whole population.
nlJ^MnSL*^^ aggregate annual burden at £15,000,000 (really
near £30,000 000), equal 5 per cent, on £300,000,000, and the pauper
it £?n lA l^'P'^'^'li?!^^ ^*'"*'^ ^^^«^ ^* the P"Wic expense
at £10 per head-say £50.000,000, the United Kingdom would save
a capjtal of £250,000,000; or at an annual taxation of £25,000,m
l«.lf n? ;?^ '"* however, that if the pauperism were one-sixth, yet if
!j^iL 1 *^"V""h^' were placed in Australasia by degrees, L they
En 5^'* *^^" *i5^' *° '*^«o ^^ »»^^ial and food for
£l71^?^non^ "^"™r .?^ P"' ^^^^ «^ ^^^ maoiufactures (say
£17,000,000) annuaUy, the other half would have fuU work, fool
material, and wages. "u*^ iuwu,
* It is evident, therefore, tbflf. f/» nelr P,.Uo:„ ♦-> t-t.- ,
the colonies at her own'expense,Ts\;t-;;^p;;i-;:^^aSSnS
burden, but requesting her to secure for herself a relief from present
69
•fS
^1
EMIGRATION.
taxation, as well as an increasing market for all she produceH, and '
an increasing supply of all she requires.'
So much for the present state of the account ; but where is this
to stop ? Are we to continue to be a great breeding-ground of
pauper slaves to supply the shepherd raonarchs who occupy t he
distant grazing tracts of the earth, penetrating farther into the
desert as "'viiiftrtii-Ion approaches? God forbid that this should
be the '> Httuj ■>£ oo great a country ! And doubtless better
things wil? •'niue. In the first place, no rational supporter of
any system of emigration as a means ' human drainage looks
to a general pauper removal as the ultimate solution of the
difficulty. He desires to see the damaged population that is
so removed replaced by a healthy, self-supporting population.
He may fail in seeing Vi vv iliis is lo be accomplished ; but no man
in his senses can fail to aim at it, and can literally contend that
the frequenters of our workhouses, and the cottars of Skye and
Skibbereen, should be succeeded by generations after their kind.
Then, on the other hand, the field for this kind of emigration will
in time become narrowed. We have alluded to its probable
limitation in the United States. Vast as are the grassy plains of
Australia and Southern Africa, we cr*n have some conception of
their boundaries ; we knovr, too, that their wide areas are easily
filled with such emigrants. When they come to require a thicker
settling, it will be with emigrants of a better and higher character.
Hert will oper a noble vista for the future. Between the flock-
owners and the semi-slaves wealth will be created, and wealth will
bring out able enterprising men to fill up the vacuum between
lord and slave, and create a healthy stirring middle class, drained
not from those who emigrate merely to live, but those who go for
a field of enterprise. So, as in oi'ganic decay and reproduction,
the degraded heaps of our pauperism and indolent dependency
may go to fertilise the fields of healthy enterprise iid well-directed
exertion. In this consummation of prosperity it is not vain to
hope that the very offspring of the pauper emigrant may partake,
bringing hope for a better and brighter future for those helpless
children of depression dispersed over the distant waste. Occupied
as they will be in the production of riches, a middle class must in
the end grow among them, even out of their own ranks, and ther
descendants of the pauper emigrant may fill all those varied social
grades which make the charm and vital happiness of progress! v&
civilised life. Let us trust that the looms %nd forges of the next
generation may be kept at work by the descendants of those whom
the bourty of this generation has so removed.
Looking to the other parts of Australia nearer the tropics than
the pastoral districts, and to the new territories opened up in
70
EMIORATION.
Africa, it is supposed that we may there find new resources for
pauper emigrants. This field has yet to be distinctly developed ;
in the meantime, great hopes are entertained of sugar, cotton,
coffee, and other tropical produce commg from it. We have
already considered it very questionable if the skilled and ambi-
tious workman should look to such emigration fields with hope
and reliance. But it may possibly open a considerable refuge for
pauper emigrants in the light, easy, uniform, unskilled toil which
it seems to be the peculiarity of tropical produce to deuiand.
Yet before we can justly and humanely send our pauper emigrants
to such a destiny, we must be sure of the suitability of the clunato
to the moderate support at least of Kuropean health, and beware
lest we send them where, instead of rearing a hardier and more
valuable race, they will only degenerate into farther apathy. The
voluntary exile may go whore he pleases, and cast his life upon a
dir, but we must never send forth our exiles to be deteriorated.
This consideration has already been operative in preventing us
from sending our Irish and Highland paupers to fill the vacuum in
the labour market caused by the cessation of slavery in our West
Indian colonies. Some maintain that our Celtic brethren are of a
tropical race who will assimilate to the climate of hot countries, and
be as sound and healthy a people there as they are here, if not
more bo. But the supposition is too vague to be acted on, and
has too close a resemblance to that assertion of natural inequality
which justifies the white man in enslaving the negro. Some poor-
law guardians who had not studied these matters, but simply
thought they would do good rather than harm by sending people
who were impoverished here to the pUice where their services
were wanted, sent some Union boys to Bermuda; but the proceed-
ing received such a check as will probably prevent it from bemg
repeated.
It is indeed greatly necessary that whoever takes the responsi-
bility of the removal of these classes of men — be it a government
01 a parochial officer— should consider well the best means of
making it effective for its purposes. It is not a task to be lightly
or negligently performed, for the more helpless the emigrant the
more difficult is it of course to find a place for him. We have
shewn that the class in general are ill fitted for a field where
the^ have to make theur own way ; and we have shewn that it is
not advantageous to amass them in large bodies in any one place.
The reason, indeed, why emigration is a remedy for their posi-
tion seems to be simply this : wherever there is an active pro-
gressive community, there is room for a certain number of the
ViiinnVtlacf anA laoof ■r\ifnAttr>i-i-.^n n1«««^_ ~VI.. 1-_JJ.. J .
""'•' »*-«"f i.-iv.-1-iv.i.txrc -wiacocc ai/iC-uuuiCU pUUpUrS, ID
short. The curse of every old country that has any social blot
71
ft I
I
KMiaBATION.
I
n
'■i
in it is the possession of too large a number of such persons — of
■nor« than can find a living on the skirts of productive industry.
They are not of a locomotive character, however. They do not
advancf" with the advancing citizens of a new colony. Hence
"while they preponderate at home there is sometimes an absolute
■deficiency of them in the emigration field. Thus it is that the
balance, or a part of it, can be absorbed, and so many human
beings who could not find a living here may find one elsewhere.
But care must bo taken to send no more than may be neces-
sary to adjust the balance. Every additional pauper exported
will be a pauper in the new scene, while there is less ability to
support him than in the old. The mistake is no mere theoretic
■one evolved from principles of political economy : it has, as we
have seen, been frequently exemplified in our North American
colonies ; and our government has there been deliberately charged
with the design of making our paupers a burden on our colonies.
In looking over the whole mass of the pauper classes, it wUl bd
necessary to make a selection of thoso with whom emigration ir«
most likely to be successful. This is necessary for two reasons —
the one, that it is impossible to remove all ; the second, that it is
both inhumane and useless to remove those who are not to be
benefited by the movement. It must be remembered, then, that
emigration is a transplanting — a change of soil; and into the
futurity of growth and fructification must we look for its efficacy.
The removal will, therefore, be most successfully applied at that
point in the lives of the class which predicts most danger
to us at home, and the best chance of success to them and
theirs in a new field, if such a point there be. It is found
at the time of marriage — usually very early with this class.
It is early, because there is no class in the community to whom it
is more a matter of mere inclination and less a matter of anxiety.
Those who have fortunes and titles at issue in matrimonial
arrangements may hesitate — those who have slender incomes may
question the prudence of enlarging the number of participators —
but those who have nothing care not among how many it is
divided. Hence the indefinite multiplication of Irish and High-
land fii>milieB, and of any operative class which gets into an unpro-
ductive, mistaken, starving position. Mr Wakefield has shewn,
with the pleasant rhetoric that makes what he says interesting
whether he be right or wrong, the advantage of promoting
«migratioa at the period of marriage — and here at least almost all
his readers believe him to be right. Perhaps the Irish or High-
land landowner, who is clearing his estate on the principle of
making the best bargain and the kindest arrangement he can make
with its iiviug eucuiubrauues, will have the best opportunity of
72
-«%,
t» * iinil ■ J i . yi A .tf^i^f-t'i -li^ ^
EMIORATION.
•eemg how thia occurs. Let us suppose a landlord in the
essentially pauper districts desirous of doing good—of giving the
human beings who are on his hind the best opportunity of becom-
ing prosperous, and of affording the land the beat means of being
productively applied. There are aged people on the land whom
he may perliaps drive off the estate— whom he may possibly ship
to an emigration field— but the poor-law stops him near at hand,
and now the precautions of the United States and the North
American colonies stop him at the first door of escape. Th«
thing cannot be done, and the next best arrangement— supposing
the pure selfish feeling only of the owner of the soil to be
appealed to— is to keep them and provide for them. This is of
course, in a question between emigration and home eleemosynary
«ub8i8tence, a mere pauper provision. There is a possible alterna-
tive, which affords from the humblest of sources the brightest
moral light that can be shed over this, whole subject— it is when
the able-bodied members of the family find that they must go, and
make great efforts to take their parents or other aged reUtiona
with tliem ; or, having gone in theur adversity, and got on, employ
the first money not required for the necessaries of life in reuniting
the famUy group. It was at one time held as a principle of emigra-
tion, that entire families should be removed. This was not an
original idea— it was a carrying mto minute application of one of
the great artificial theories of the age which has to be afterwards
noticed. It is almost needless, after what has been said, to put in
words the objection on all kinds of grounds to the removal by
public funds of families ; but there can be nothing more cheerfully
indicative of the success of the emigration of one portion of a
family than its sending for the rest.
Hoping, however, that all such prospects will turn out for the
best, the great landed proprietor clearing his estates of a burden-
some population, or any public body who have the same task to
pursue, must, as we have said, choose the period of marriage as
that of hopeful removal. It is an epoch at which a gi-eat change
must take place— and sometimes both parties are the more at
their ease the greater the change is. It is the time of new
hopes, of aroused energies, of the laying down a plan in life. It
ia the time when the head of the family looks forward to all
flattering visions of a prosperous futurity, and would perhaps be
likely to see a more flowery vagueness in the antipodes than in
the undrained paddocks of liis paternal farm, or the smoky streets
of the nearest manufacturing town. It is the prelude to expectant
parentship, and the appearance, one by one, of offspring who are
either to be a hftrifftoro anrl m-o if *y>a-., y^^^,^^ :.. ^.i.. j : r-
and are to arise in usefulness, or a burden and a ciu-se if they are
7»
f
EMIGRATION.
J
to be presented at the parish pay-table. For this same reason, i*
is the epoch when all men, from the prime-minister or terri-
torial duke down through the poor-law commissioner to the
relief officer, are dreading a new inroad on the funds distributed
by the realised and industrial wealth of this country among its
incapables. Hence they must see how great is the advantage,
among the classes removed at the expense of others, of removing
newly-married couples, and, as a general principle, of removing
those who have reached the marriageable age. It need not be
said that where there are any motives above the most selfish ones
for such a removal, it will impart a feeling of satisfaction to the
landed proprietor, or whoever he may be, who makes the change,
to have reason for believing that it may be successful. If he have
done some good service in helping human beings to better their
condition, it might be a cause of as great pride as the obtaining a
prize at any agricultural exhibition, or winning a race.
It would be wrong to leave this subject without noticing
another class who may be judiciously removed at the public ex-
pense. These are the pauper outcast children which form the
material of our industrial schools. They are in a great measure
the oifspring of the same depressed classes whose case we Lave
been just considering ; nay, many of them are in a worse hereditary
position, for they are the offspring not only of the poor but of the
depraved. Being, however, as yet children, we are not to look on
them as so hopeless for future self action as the aduH pauper.
They are still trainable and impressible; and though they may
have inherited through generations of degradation many unmanage-
able and discouraging qualities, yet in those who are sprung from
the predatory classes, and are not themselves clear of the suspicion
of having followed the hereditary pursuit, it is wonderful how rich
a soil of energy and ambition there is to be made available by
proper culture. It is a double mistake to employ these children
in the humble and uniform drudgery of handloom weaving or
rope-picking, since it not only unfits them for any active progres-
sive position in afterlife, but is scarcely a temptation to keep
them from the more exciting pursuits from which they have been
taken, and which they will only heartily abandon if their energies
and excitements are fully occupied in productive and skilled
labour. This is the principle on which the United Industrial
School of Edinburgh has been conducted, and its managers have
found that, to use their own words, ' skilled labour, inferring
progress with eflfort, has served entirely to supersede their
dangerous hankerings, while it keeps up a healthy energy of body
and mind, visible in the zeal with which the children betake
themselves, whether to then- work or their tasks.'
74
EMIGRATION.
If it be said that such a system elevates these children of misery
above the necessity of emigration by making them fit for home-
citizens, the answer is, that whether he be to emigrate or to stay
at home, the more productive you can make any human bemg the
better, and, despite the cries of the princely flockmasters to
whom they are so useful, we would make every Dorsetshire
labourer and handloom weaver, and Irish and Highland peasant,
an active, productive, enterprising man, if possible, and that in
the full behef that, Avhether he were to exercise his powers at the
antipodes or in London, he would be more valuable to the world
at large. Such a man, for one thing, would not need to be
exported at the public expense. A reason, however, for looking
to speedy emigration as a resource for the industrial-school chil-
dren, however highly trained, is, that they may be removed from
the theatre of hereditary degradation, and may have a world before
themi m which they are not perpetually haunted by the shadows
of their parents' iniquities, or tempted by the inducements of
fraternal associates, or even of their own depraved relatives, out
of the path of rectitude.
! 11
ARTIFICIAL SYSTEMS OF EMIGRATION.
The intending emigrant will be at no loss to find some artificial
system of emigration to which he can attach himself, if he desire
It. The making of systems of social organisation, put together
like the pieces of a watch, has been a favourite occupation with
schemers of all ages. Since there are men living in Paris,
who are prepared, at a moment's warning, to take all society
to pieces and reconstruct it in perfect order, it is not surpris-
ing that there should be people ready to undertake the much
simpler function of organising a body of fresh and intelligent
wanderers in th^ wilderness. It would be wrong perhaps to say
that all these schemes ?re failures. Something will always arise out
of human endeavour, however ill du-ected. He who has induced
a certain number of human beings to place themselves on a pai-ti-
cular spot, however unprofitably, has made a beginnmg that must in
some way go on ; but it maybe pronounced, as a general rule, that
all such projects fail to the projectors. The Swan Kiver Settle-
nient was a neat and simple arrangement. By one of those slight-
of-hand operations by which some people engage to pay the national
debt with nothing, the land was to support the expense of the
colony. The governor, the secretary, every colonial officer, was to
be paid m acres. We all know how lamentable was the failure.
Ihe colony ot South Australia was started on principles directly
79
!* I
EMIGRATION.
\i^
the reverse. Land, instead of being given away, was to be sold at a
high price, and Mr Wakefield's nlans for making a colony a perfect
model of old Society were adopted. Virtually this colony too was
a failure to its projectors— that is to say, their schemes were all
baffled, and they lost their money. The colony itself has in
reality been prosperous, but not from its system of construction.
When it was on the brink of rum, a settler's son picked up a bit
of copper ; and his father, who had bought an allotment of land
for £80, refused £27,000 for it. The lucky accident was the same
to the colony as a large legacy is to a merchant on the brink of
bankruptcy.
As all artificial colonies invariably turn out to be ruinous to
their projectors, it follows of course that any one giving counsel
to the emigrant should recommend him to avoid embarking in
such projects. To one, however, who may happen to be infected
with any colonising mania, it would be as useless to offer advice
as it was to call up the recollections of the South Sea and the
Mississippi to the railway speculators of 1846. At the same
time, though these speculative operations seem ever doomed to
be ruinous to their projectors, they may be advantageous to
others. When a number of rich men have been induced to carry
out a colonising scheme, there is money let loose; and when
money is let loose, there are openings for success to the cool and
the discerning. Many men with comfortable fortunes and con-
siderable estates in South Australia and New Zealand have risen
from among the ruins of the original speculators. It has akeady
been observed that the artisan has often possessed rare opportu-
nities of success in connection with these speculating manias.
The Wakefield system of colonisation, by which all the social
grades were at once to be filled up, and capital and labour, with
every other element of civilised society, were to bear their due
proportion to each other, looked so pleasantly symmetrical on
paper, that one almost regrets its failure in practice. The pro-
jectors have done one service to the world in shewing practically
that colonies cannot be constructed and sent out ready-made, any
more than old states can be taken to pieces and remodelled. The
principle at the foundation of the system— that it is a good thing
for capital and labour to bear a just proportion to each other— is
true enough both in old and new countries ; but if we may by
Bound institutions assist nature, it does not follow that we can
bring about a satisfactory artificial adjustment of the elements.
Like constitutions, colonies are not made— they grow. In spite
cf the most ingenious social adjustments, the colonist must be
prepared to see a chaos very gradually reducing itself to order-
to find unoccupied tracts of land— distence from civilisation—
76
meagre c
of prime
onward ii
for him a
It is ac
general i
they pla]
feme, an(
game mai
their own
There
than the
governme
plicated t
written ii
interest.
been pen
pleased i:
venturing
dispute, ii
the Britis
sible bod)
ruling and
shewn to
try, the pi
be left to
the sake
who took
British crc
British en
and the ei
have had ]
govemmei
it may be
themselvei
superior r
objects, a
slavery oi
to be moi
the countr
original bi
been resto
the islands
possibly w
a country
'****%.
EMIOBATION.
meagre cultivation— fields unfenced— and the unsightly remains
of primeval forests. It is a good thing to help the colonist
onward in his work of organisation ; but he who engages to do it
for him at once, engages for what he cannot perform.
It is admitted that the schemers whom we now speak of had in
general no immediate views of personal aggrandisement. Still
they played for a large stake in the world's esteem and f«tur&
fiune, and playing it somewhat desperately, have sacrificed in the
game many humble fortunes, which have disappeared along witb
their own.
There is no room on the present occasion for taking any more
than the most cursory notice of the question between the
government and these projectors. It is a matter full of com-
plicated and doubtful details; but if its history should ever be
written in a candid and inquiring spirit, it will be found full of
interest. At first sight it seems hard that men should not have
been permitted to carry out their colonisation schemes as they
pleased in an unclaimed territory like New Zealand. Without
venturhag, however, to judge the merits of either party in the
dispute, it is necessary to lay down as a rule, that the interest of
the British emigrant must ever stand in the way of an irrespon-
sible body of men taking possession of an emigration field, and
ruling and apportioning it as they choose. When a territory i»
shewn to perform the services of an emigration field to this coun-
try, the public through the government musj^possess it — it cannot
be left to projectors. T New Zealand it was right, both for
the sake of the natives of the country and for the Europeans
who took up their abode among them, that the supremacy of the
British crown should there be acknowledged, if inhabitants of the
British empire flocked thither as a place for permanent residence,,
and the establishment of their households. The colonists must
have had law and government, or they could not exist. The self-
government so natural to the inhabitants of this country would,
it may be said, have enabled the settlers to make institutions for
themselves; in fact, they attempted to form them: but the
superior race xiaving nothing to restrain them in iheir selfish
objects, a contest with the aborigines must have ended in their
slavery or extermination, or, what subsequent events shewed
to be more probable, the settlers would have been driven from
the country, along with the missionaries and Christianity, and the
original barbarism, with cannibalism as one of its features, have
been restored. Nor, if the adventurers had succeeded in making
the islands their own, could a satisfactory government have been
possibly wrought out. Unaided by the strength of Britain, such
a country woidd have been viewed by other powers not r.ierely as
77
EMIGRATION.
4'
t
It feeble, independent state, on which war might be made without
bringing any European power into the quarrel, but the new state
would have been likely to be treated like a pirate ship which,
sailing under no flag, is at the mercy of the first conqueror,
acting entirely as he pleases, and accountable to no diplomatic
responsibility.
A peculiar feature of the day is the attempt to establish eccle-
siastical or sectarian colonies — settlements which spring from
the exclusive supremacy of one church. When we witness such
attempts, it would seem as if we had indeed retrograded from the
day when Roger Williams established the Rhode Island colony
on the principles of perfect religious equality ; but it would be a
mistake to suppose that these projectij arise out of that intolerant
exclusiveness which at first sight appears to animate them. They
are the creature not of religious but of colonising enthusiasm.
This has given them their impulse — the other has only tinged
them with its hue. The vehement colonisers whose feats in the
southern dependencies have made them historical — who have
been so great and energetic even in their failures — searching about
hither and thither for motives under which they could tempt men
to join in colonising schemes, found that ecclesiastical partisanship
would be one of the most hopeful in this country, as some of their
fellow-labourers in France found Socialism to be the best lever
there. The Free Churchmen of Scotland, known to be an active,
energetic, enthusiastic body, with many able men of business
among them, were first enlisted, and, as the promoters of the
colony of Otago, became very valuable partiaans. The ascen-
dancy of the ecclesiastical spirit in the Church of England was
next looked to as a hopeful sign. Its prevailing tone was artfully
adjusted to the designs of the colonisers, and the Canterbury
Association was formed. Its main feature is a charge of £3 au
acre as the purchase-money of land, of which £1 per acre is
devoted to ecclesiastical purposes.
The ostensible motive of ecclesiastical colonisation is religious
unity; but no one who reads history can fail to see in these projects
the seeds of the deadliest religious discord. There are two ways of
obtaining religious peace : the one is by the old unity of the Catho-
lic Church, where, if sections differed somewhat from their neigh-
bours, all appealed to the authority of one head — not in the next
world, leaving the battle to be fought out from generation to
generation — but present sitting in judgment, to nip disputes in
the bud. The other is the system exemplified in America, where
the sects are so many, and their power so equally balanced, that
they give up the temporal battle of supremacy as a vain attempt,
only fraught with misery and loss to all, and live in peace and
78
good-wil
chiu-ch fl
ence, an(
all the 1
ruthless
lerance,
hate, and
colonies i
always u;
evangelic
We ad
these col
have aflbi
economy
to Caiitci
attention
the inmat
prejudicc^
able featu
deration,
which the
The eci
matter to
bearing or
will lose a
for its exc
even at it
on labour
natives in
stated whe
selves mer
that they
siastical pc
of the difi
southern c(
all their rai
may keep (
more easy
not preveni
at the expe
selves bast
supply 'i
labour.
Tht s\r^g
from the hi
EMiaRATION.
good-will with one another. Where there is one great dominant
church and smaller representatives of opinion fighting for exist-
ence, and, after existence, for power, is precisely tlie place where
all the theological passions break out in their darkest aud most
ruthless spirit— where oppression, -Insolence, and haughty into-
lerance, on the one hand, generate spiritual exclusiveness, secret
hate, and cherished vengeance, on the other. For such a scene these
colonies are laying the foundation. Caiii^^erbury cannot expect to be
always uncontaminated by dissent or heresy, or Otago to be always
evangelically Free Church.
We admit that in the detailed arrangements connected with
these colonies there is much to commend. Some valuable wen
have aflbrded examples of sound colonial farming in Otago. The
economy of the vessels in which emigi-ants have been conveyed
to Canterbury will be an invaluable example in shewing what
attention and zealous kindness can accomplish for the comfort of
the inmates of crowded vessels on long voyages, in spite of old
prejudice- "ud confirmed bad habits. Such incidental commend-
able featu.es would insure these associations a favourable consi-
deration, were it possible to get over the doubtful principles on
which they are founded.
The economics of a colony must be considered a secondary
matter to its religious and moral welfare; but it has a powerful
bearing on thei-i, in as far as a colony based on unsound economics
will lose a main influence of good. An exclusive colony must pay
for its exclusiveness in economic sacrifices in the long-run. But
even at its commencement it is costly. Already the restriction
on labour has driven the Canterburians to the employment of
natives in doing the rough work of the settlement. It is not
stated whether they require these ex-cannibals to declare them-
selves members of the Church of England— it would rather seem
that they do not consider them within the scope of the eccle-
siastical polity of the Association. But this is only a foreboding
of the difficulty. The working- Church-of-England men in the
southern colonies will not go where there is most church, but, like
all their race, will go where labour is most valuable. The colony
may keep out heretical labourers, and will find that task all the
mora easy that they fail in the art of colonising. But they will
not prevent their own labourers, even those whom they have been
at the expense of exporting, from going wherever they find them-
selves b3ft off; and thus their large acreage pc^yments will go to
supply t'l p.Ler and more economically-managed coluaies with
labour. ,
Tht srggaaters of ecclesiastical colonies take a fallacious analogy
from the history of the pilgrim fathers in America. These men
V 79
EMIGEATION.
lb
were seeking refuge from the intolerance of another religion which
happened to be dominant; and in pursuit of a place where they
could follow their own worship in peace, they at last fled to the
wilderness. Ho body of Christians requires in the British empur©
at least to take so desperate a course. There may be question*
as to which body shall have the social superiority over the other,
but there is none about the essentials of religious liberty— the
liberty of every man to enjoy his own religious opmions, and
foUow uninterrupted his own form of worship. ]VIr Wakefield and
others say that toleration was not exactly what the pilgrun fathers
wanted; that they could not have tolerated any other religion but
their own in the land; and that a main reason of theu- exile was,
that they might not only be free to follow their own worship and
church government, but might be rid of the abhorred existence of
any people beyond the pale of their own opmions, within t-^e same
land and government with themselves. But if these were the
actual views of the pilgrim fathers, they are, it is to be hoped,
quite as alien from the designs and feelings of the founders
of Canterbury and Otago as simple toleration is from their
needs. Acquitting the founders both of the American and of
th^ modern ecclesiastical colonists of intolerance, it would seem
that tVc latter are founded on a mistaken notion of the tendency
of ecclesiastical >5eal in this age. People are anxious to pro-
pagate the doctrines of their peculiar churches among then-
neighbours, but have no need of retiring to desolate lands to
practise their religion in peace and safety. Ecclesiastical zealots
are, therefore, more anxious for audiences tnan for the silent
pursuit of their own worship, and are more inclmed to appear
at Exeter Hall than to retire to the wilderness. If members of
the Church of England and of the Free Church ot Scotland
were persecuted in the other colonies, they would not grudge, for
the sake of freedom of conscience, going respectively to Canterbury
and Otago, even at some considerable mconvenience and expense ;
far more zealously would they flock to these settlements if their
churches were also persecuted in this country. But our emigrants
have freedom of conscience wherever they go ; and there reaUy is
ro inducement, except to people fastidiously zealous, who are rare
among emigrants, to make the sacrifices required by these peculiar
settlements : nay, it is questionable whether themajority of zealots
will exactly like them, for such people are partial to propagandism
and its parent— controversy ; and they would m many mstances
feel their occupation gone when doomed to live in a community
all of one mind. As to the ordinary honest, but not very zealous
members of the respective churches, they will content themselves
with such ecclesiastical ministrations as they may find m other
80
,*^*^
EMIGRATION.
settlementa, rather than make any extravagant outlay to be in a
place where there are no other clergy but their own7and perhans
many of them may think it even In advantage that theS^ own
clergy should not enjoy an unqueetioned spiritual supremacy by
bemg entirely unapproached by those of any other reSous
community whatever. *B"giou8
tom^ZT^^f^f other high-priced districts people are often
Taut itf ?' «°I\"*^y'.a"d mterchange with each other, would
wouTXo ^^T'^^^ be in reality cheap at £3 an acre, because it
would be as valuable and avaUable as land at home But the
difficulty just is to get individuals to make a sacrifirin the trust
Ihe same difficulties are at work as those which prevented the
as tuose Inred and paid for then- work. They were each told that
If all would work to the utmost of their ability, they would all be
better ofi than under the free-trade system; but none of them
done P^Prf.i I? '^™'.P;^=^^5 «««h tailor preferred investing it
alone, even though a capitalist took a share of the result If Ly-
given mtended emigrant felt assured of the presence of aU ^e
others necessary to make his land valuable, he mighrperhlps
rfpit:r "i!' ^ '^^^"^^ '' «^^^*y- ^^^ - thTmS:
ticketC r ^^^ ""^T^ "'*.^ ''^^^y^ ^^ ^^ t^'^ks the lottery-
ticket too dear: he believes that his chances are better at a dollar
and a quarter an acre in the United States.
USES AND ACTUAL EXTENT OF PEOTECTIVE INTERFERENCE.
If the government, ivLether acting directly, or indirectly through
^le powers conferred on othei... may fail to send fortirclplS
made emigrant social syste^ns in which the exile scarTerknows
that he has left home; yet it can do much to smooth his paUi
across the desert, to guide him through difficulties, to project Wn
m danger and to enlighten him on all matters cormected with hS
probable destiny. In these, its proper functions, the rove^ment of
tins country has too long lagged behind ; and it is onty ^t™ very
prltSn'lf 1" «™^y«r^d the emigrant truIguidlVan J
tot victories that we were able to see the exceptions to which
1 18 not applicable. There was a natural reluctance, perhaps to
^IJ\ ' w^'' ""^^^ ^^^^ ^^ * general demaid for^the^r
removal ; but we are now in a better position to know the acS
U
EMIGRATION. •
province of free trade. In simple commercial supply and demand
its empire is supreme. We need no compulsion, like that of the
old English labour statutes, to make men work for reasonable
wages; no penalties on forestallers and regraters; no assizes of
ale and bread. But it has been found that we still need protection
when individuals are placed at the mercy of others. It has been
'extended to the factory child, who is not to be maimed by the
dangerous machinery which a sordid employer may expose it to ;
'it has been in some measure extended to the miner, whose life is
not to be recklessly exposed for another man's profit. Nay,
railway companies, and the owners of other public vehicles, are
subject to regulations for the protection of the public. A moment's
consideration will shew that the emigrant is in a position which
specially demands protection. The rule on board a ship must be
a despotism. The safety of all requires that one man should be
absolute, and for the time in-esponsible. If there be human beings
who can be safely trusted not to abuse absolute power, the com-
manders of our merchant vessels are not likely to be found in that
rarefied moral atmosphere. In fact, they have been too often
brutal, tyrannical, and capricious ; while the emigrant at his
mercy has been ignoi'ant, helpless, and often spiritless from con-
finement and sickness.
The impositions that have been practised on emigrants would
be an endless theme of exposure. Let us hope that late efforts
have been successful in transferring it from the pages of matter-
of-fact warning to those of I'omance. Many of the calamities of
misdirected emigration, as already alluded to, have been referable
to that fruitful cause. We cannot wonder that, so unprotected as
they were, the transference to a foreign shore filled the uneducated
children of the clod with doubt and dread. They had too many
good reasons for their suspicions. The emigrant ship, in which
they were as entirely captive as the African in the slaver, was a
scarcely less horrible den for filth, foul air, and corrupt food. In
some respects the slave-dealer had an interest in his human cargo
not possessed by the emigrant broker. The former was paid on
live delivery, the latter had been paid on reception : to the one,
then, the contents of the vessel were a human cargo — to the other,
human lumber. Arrived at the destination, the poor, he'pless crea-
tures were discharged — ' shovelled out,' as it has been termed — upon
the barren shore, unguided. So the simple agricultural peasantry
of England — a few respectable females, perhaps — if they alighted
where there were human beings at all, might find themselves in
the refuse of the home jails, where discharged convicts, rolling in
carriages, were to be their employers and advisers — a set of sheep
sent to the wolves. Even if there were means of protecting
82
EMIGRATION.
property and person on tho spot, it was not for the,n. Tlie very
agents of the law were tlieir enemies; and many a respectable
young female peasant, wandering helpless in the streets of Svdnev
has been seized and committed to some police den for a breach of
tho rigorous regulations necessary for the polluted city • there
among the niost abandoned of the convicted criminals of Britain'
to take her hrst taste of the sweets of liberty and the emigrant's
life of happy independence. b " »
to^Inw-^""f °.K '^ ' ^'^y "' courageous as she was humane
to call attention to the unprotectedness of the poorer Australian
emigrants, and to support her precepts by wortliy and successfu"
hom7ind J^-'r*'"^- '^ ««t^blishing emigrant officers both for
home and colonial service was at length gradually adopted. More
than one improvement had taken place when the horrors of the
emigration of 1847, in which it is supposed that upwardTo 50 WO
lives were sacv ficed, brought about the systematic Emi^Lt Act
of 1849.* In the meantime, whatever was done in this country
ZLT ^ 'v?"^'? ^^f"' republican brethren in America. A
,llni'°T'"fr '^*^'' legislature of New York was appointed to
leport on the frauds on emigrant passengers.' A full exposure
of cruel rascalities was mtroduced by them, with the following
emphatic remark :-< Your committee must confess that they had
no conception, nor would they have believed the extent to which
these frauds and outrages have been practised, until they came to
investigate hem.' A number of regulations were adopted, high y
honourable to a people so jealous of interference with their Uberty
of which some account will be found in the department dedicated
ItTa'teT """" '^ publications with Wch this «say is
TJie British Passengers' Act of 1849 (12 and 'll Vict c 8S^
though sonie of its provisions apply only to our colours' f^d
others would not be easily enforce7agai/st foreign sWpown's'
yet professes more or less to protect the poorer emi^nts of
. Among Its many and complex provisions there is one of vital
importance to the colonial emigrant, as affording him tL key to
his privi eges and to the responsibilities of those in whose hands
he has placed himself. Abstracts of the act and of the orders S
died onthe voylTeTrnthehos^te^^ ?nwh- v^^^^^ """^ New BrunswkJ.:, iy.443
But many musthave c^iied wi^^^hl,^ .T '''^J*'^^^^^ immediately conaigiled.
Emigration CommTssionSlLyl^it^^^!!^^?,^! *>>« ship-epidemic ; and tho
the first instance, as they procYedySn the o^-"/- P?'g':"«t« ^ho escaped in
88
BMIOBATION.
council are prepared by the Emigration CommiflSionerB for the
masters of vessels, and copies of theso must be kept at all times
posted between decks, so as to be accessible for consultation.
The shipmaijters are entitled to copies of the act, and are bound to
produce tiicui to emigrant applicants.
The most important general security in the act, however, is the
appointment of emigration officers to see that its provisions are
enforced. It is their function, when the voyage is a colonial one,
and where there is therefore British aut hority at each end of it, to
Bee that the sliip removes her living cargo in conformity with the
regulations, and to receive and pass it at the other end. As to the
former function, every i migrant ship, whether to the colonit ■«
or to any other emigration field, is prohibited from clearing o;
on her voyage, until the master hjis obtained a certificate from
the emigration officer that he has complied with the terms of
the act.
Part of the regulations which must be complied with is a report
of a professional survey under the emigration officer, importing that
the vessel meets the requisitions of the act in seaworthiness,
ventilation, and other regulations. The number of passengers to
the tonnage, and the space that must be provided for each, are
regulated in the act, with the construction of the decks and
berths. The regulations for lifeboats and buoys, and the sufficient
manning of the vessels, and the arrangements for dietary, accord-
ing to the length and character of the voyage, arc full and minute.
There are provisions for a supply of medicine, and for enforcing
the employment of a medical attendant when the voyage is long,
or the passengers numerous. An inspection is also required of
the state of the passengers, in order that no one may be taken on
board in a state of infectious disease. When a passenger is found
in this state, he may be removed by the inspector, along with his
children or other dependent connections, if they had been proceed-
ing with hun, and the passage-money may be recovered.
The detention of emigrants at the port of embarkation from the
selfishness, carelessness, or dishonesty of emigration contractors,
was one of the most serious of the old grievances. An attempt
is made by the Passengers' Act to remedy this : it wouL^ be difficult
perhaps yet to say with what success. If the vessel do not sail at
the day appointed, each passenger ready to embark is entitled to
receive a shilling a day of subsistence-money. A combination of
contractors might perhaps easily baffle such a regulation, by
contriving that this shilling should be sp^nt on themselves, aud
that very little value should be obtained for it; but the emigration
officer is authorised to take the matter in hand, and receive the
amount due. There are some other provisions attempting to
81
KMIGRATION.
|rapple with the greater difficulty of compelling contractors to
fulfil their obligations, and convey tlieir passengors to their
destbation, although a shipwrock or any other interruptuig
calamity should happen to the vessels ; and there bva at the same
time checks against the act being evaded by vessels putting into
ports after their departure, on the ground of any pretended or
real contingency, and there increasing their cargo of exiles. At
the end of the voyage the passenger is entitled to the accommoda-
tion of the vessel for forty-eight hours without charge.
To bring the ponalties of the act in a position to strike so inac-
cessible a class as the owners and masters of vessels sailing under
a foreign tiag, before emigrants can be removed, the master, along
V, h an owner in this country, or some person who will stand good
for an owner, give bond to the extent of £1000 for the fulfilment of
the provisions of the act, and of any orders issued under them. In
addition to this security, passage - brokers to North Americsr—
wi.ether the United States or the British possessions— must take
out an annual licence, and become bound to the extent of £200 for
fuluhnent of the act. None but the licensed brokers, or persons
in their employment, are entitled to engage for steerage-passages
to North America. The emigrant dealmg with such a broker
receives a ticket, drawn up in a form minutely set forth in the act.
It indicates the amount paid by the emigrant, and the services
engaged to be performed for it, and is intended to serve as his
protection against unexpected fees and charges.
^ The act is full of penalties against all the parties who may be
liable to transgress the regulations for the protection of emigrants.
It is needless to specify these penalties ; the method of their
recovery is of chief importance, and is in fact the great difficulty
in all efforts either to protect or to punish birds of passage. One
important provision is, that the emigration officers and the custom-
house officers may institute proceedings. As to the parties injured,
they may apply to any justice of peace, whether in the place where
the breach of the act was committed, or where the person charged
with it happens to be. A single justice so applied to issues a sum-
mons or warrant, as may be necessary, and the case is haard before
two justices. In Scotland the proceedings may be held before
the sheriff. The summary rcuudies created by the act do not,
however, prevent parties from seeking any ordinary legal remedy
to which they may be entitled.
The Emigration CommisBioners issue in their circular the foUowinK account of
Sir f %*""? officers and their functions. It is to thos. officers thaTthehSng
emigrant at a loss for information will generally appi But thprc -e caseawhere
Sir RL^r'/nf"p "'"'?>' *° ^PP'y *° head-quarterB by „ Ireflpi • the Sec^etS ^f
Sunv hfmiu^'?^''*'?" ^* ^r.'^""-' ^' '« ''"^ J"""'^^' " «t^te that no one^an
wuTta tMt^ffinn 2r"' m" *^" '"*'•'""* '^**^°"* observing the untiring zeal with
Which in that office the public la served, while at the same time it may be much
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23 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580
(716) 872-4503
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EMIGRATION.
After the repeated and Avell- meant efforts that have been made,
it is still doubtful how far the iirauds and cruelties of those who
prey upon the helpless emigrant can be reached by the law. Some
recent transactions have served to shew the difficulty, at all events,
of reaching the commanders of foreign vessels. A gentleman of
questioned if the establiahment poBsessee flufiScient official atrength to carry out all
the functions to which it might be applicable.
GOVERNMENT EMIGRATION OFFICERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.
Lieut Lean, R. N.
O. Ramsden, Esq., R. N.
P. P. Cotter, Esq., R. N.
Lieut. Hodder, R. N.,
Lieut Prior, R. N.,
Lieut Biggins, R. N.,
Lieut Carew, R. N.,
Captain Patey, R. N.,
Lieut. Henry, R. N.,
Lieut Stark, R. N.,
E. A. Smith, Esq., R. N.,
Lieut Saunders, R. N.,
Lieut Moriarty, R. N.,
Com. Ellis, R. N.,
Captain Fitzgerald,
Lieut Friend, R. N.,
Captain Kerr, R. N.,
London (Office, 70 Lower
Thames Street)
Emigration Officer, ^
Assistants, |
Emigration bfficer, 1 j^,^^,^, ^^^^^^ g^^^^^y
I Buildings, Bath Street.)
Assistants,
Emigration Officer,
> ... ...
}
Plymouth.
Glasgow and Gruenock.
Dublin.
Belfest
Londonderry.
Sligo, Donegal, Ballina, &o.
Assistant,
Emigration Officer,
> Limerick, &c.
Cork, &c.
Waterford and New Ross.
These officers act under the immediate directions of the Colonial Land and Emi>
gration Commissioners, and the following is a summary of their duties : —
They procure and give gratuitously information as to the sailing of ships, and
means of accommodation for emigrants ; and whenever applied to for that purpose,
they see that all agreements between shipowners, agents, or masters, and intending
emigrants, are duly performed. They also see that the provisions of the Passengers'
Act are strictly complied with— namely, that passenger vessels are seaworthy ; that
they have on board a sufficient supply of provisions, water, medicines, &c. ; and that
they sail with proper punctuality.
They attend personally at their offices on every week-day, and afford gratuitously
all the assistance in their power to protect intending emigrants against fraud and
imposition, and to obtain redress where oppression or injury has been practised on
them.
GOVERNMENT IMMIGRATION AGENTS IN THE COLONIES.
North Ambiiican Colonies.
A. C. Buchanan, Esq. Chief Agent for Eastern (Lower) Canada.
Mr Conlan.
A. B. Hawke, Esq. Chief Agent for Western (Upperi Canada.
Anthony Hawke, Esq.
Canada—
Quebec,
Montreal,
Toronto, •
Kingston,
New Brunswick—
St John, - M. H. Perley, Esq.
St Andrews, - T. Jones, Esq., Assistant Emigration Officer.
Chatham (Miramichi), * * ' )
Bathurst, ... - - f The Deputy Treasurers at these ports act
Dalhousie, ..-.-? as Agents for tlie present
Richibucto, .... J
In the other North American Colonies there are no Government Agents yet
appoints
Cape OF Good Hopk.
Cape Toum, - J. Rivers, Esq.
Port Elixabeth, MrR. Tee, Q^^erseer,
Jfatal, - G. Maoleroy, Esq.
86
West Indies.
Jamaica, D. Ewart, Esq.
British Guiana, W. Hunipbrys, Esq.
Trinidad, Xhos. F. Johnston, Esq,
EMiaitATION.
high aristocratic connection lately took his passage in the steerage
of an emigrant ship for the heroic purpose of investigating, by
personal experience, the fate of the poorest ckss of emigrants. His
statement is referred to in the Emigration Commissioners' Report
for 1851, with a remark on the necessity of emigrants * appealing
to the tribunals of the country to which they are gomg in case of
ill-treatment during the voyage.' This commentary may teach
the emigrant that he must not rely entirely on the self-acting
influence of legislative intervention ; and that whatever pains and
forethought he can exert are not likely to be thrown away.
While the system of stipendiary guides and instructors appointed
under this act is an eminent service to the emigrant, by saving
him from the wrong, and instructing him in the right road, there
are perhaps other semces still performable by the government in
which a higher class of emigrants have an interest. Among these
may be named an accurate and full survey of waste lands. The
success and completeness with which this is accomplished in the
United States have formed a material element in the attractive-
ness of the land-system there so long established. In many shapes,
indeed, as we have already seen, our republican brethren hold out
inducements to the enterprising emigrant with which our colonies
find it vain to compete. In proceeding to these far-western terri-
tories the inhabitants of Britain feel less that they are leaving their
own country and going to another, than that they are makmg a new
country to themselves. It is not as if they were to become farmers
in Russia, or even in Prussia, where, unless so far as the English-
man ever makes a kind of little centre of freedom round himself,
they must be subject to the rules of an established government.
In these distant outer districts of an elective democracy they find
themselves no sooner planted than they are vegetating into an
independent political existence.
This is not the place for considering the question of the proper
SiBRRA LboN E.
R. J. Fisher, Esq., Emigration Agent for West India Colonies.
New South Wales—
Sydney, F. L. S. Merewcther, Esq.
Port Philip, J. Patterson, Esq.
Van Diemen's Land —
Hobart Town, Com. George King.
Launtxtton, W. R. Pugh, Esq.
Australian Colonieb.
Western Australia—
Perth, - D. D. Wittenoom, Esq.
South Australia —
Adelaide, Captain V. Butler.
New Zealand—
Auckland, David Rough, Esq.
The duties of these officers are to aflTord gratuitously to emigrants every assistance
in theu- power by way of advice and information as to tho districts where employ-
ment can De obtained most readily, and apon the most advantageous terms, and
also as to the best modes of reaching such districts.
Chaplains FOR Imhiorants.
Sydney, Rev. T. W. Bodenham. I Adelaide.
Fort Philip. \ Cope 2bicn, Rev. W. A. Newman.
87
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BMiaSATION.
principles of colonial government. If there be abuses in our
present system, they involve rather the interests of the old settlers,
who have inherited a stake in the country, than of those who are
going to spread themselves over fresh lands. On them, indeed,
the doings of the colonial office, or of any other ruling body,
cannot liave mTich influence, unless where they affect the commerce
an land, and the land-sale system in our colonies has already been
considered. The only other matters of main and immediate
interest to the colonist in the government of the place he is
going to, are to be found in the broad general rules of protection
to person and property. To the emigrant of BritJah origin,
it is of course as essential that he should have freedom as
that he should have bread ; and the constitution of the govern-
ment under which he proposes to place himself is, in this
respect, a matter of serious moment. The general desire of
course is to have as much individual freedom as possible.
It would sometimes be a mistake, however, to suppose that
this is best obtained where the inhabitants of the colony are
most enturely uncontrolled and left to themselves. In drawing
4in analogy from the United States, it must be remembered that
each new settlement there forms part of the cluster round a
powerful government— it is not left to its own absolute disposal
and management. Real freedom must always be associated
with some great commanding power. In the little republics of
the ancients, of which we read, there was little personal freedom:
the poor citizen was almost entirelv at the mercy of the rich
%and powerful.
The occasional employment at least of the vast and overwhehn-
ing strength of the home government is necessary to check the
passions and sinister interests that would otherwise bear down
justice and humanity among distant and scattered populations.
The expectation of a just and responsible representative system
in a newly-settled country is often purely Utopian. The removal
of the influence of a central counteracting power in such a quarter
often does not give freedom, but makes the law of might the law
of right. Among colonists the individual inequalities are nearly
as great as in old states, while there are no aggregate organisa-
tions to balance them, and set the numerical power of the individu-
ally weak against the isolated power of the strong. Freedom is
therefore, in such places, often another word for oppression, and
the desire to manage their own concerns is a desire to subject the
interests of the weak to those of the strong. No one who reads
the earnest, the almost fierce demands for labour by the great
grazing interest in Australia, and the indignation expressed
against those who will not remain in their proper position
«8
■
that
EIHGEATION.
as humble labourers, but endeavour to rise and acquire land
can doubt that, if this squatting interest had its own way it
would create a system partaking strongly of the nature of slave'ry
I he aggregate UberaHty of our nation is grand and just- but
our great country can send forth individuals as cruel and unjust
m the world has ever produced-^s selfish and relentless as the
Portuguese man-stealer, and more terrible in their energy. Their
restlessness, ferocity, and selfishness require regulation from the
firm, sound, honest heart of the empire at large.
There are elements in our colonial system among which pure
representative government is sometimes incompatible, and where
80 much only of its advantages can be taken as may be reflected
from the great home institutions. A local irresponsible govem-
•ment at our new colony of Natal in Southern Africa, for instance,
would be neither more nor less than making the white men slave-
owners, and the Caflfres and Hottentots their slaves. A like
representation, unbalanced by some other and greater power in
Canada, would but enable the British Canadians to trample the
IVench Habitans under their feet. In the pastoral colonies,
representation is sometimes neither useful nor desired. New South
Wales, when it got an act to form local municipal institutions
could make no use of it in the bush. To men &ch*i -rtd over vast
sheep-walks, who scarcely ever saw each other, coiporate institu-
tions were as useless as varnished boots and court-dresses. These
are places where a government called representative could be
nothing but a tyraanical oligarchy.
The scattered and contrasted materials which make up our
colonial empire have their variations and contrasts from events
which would form tie material of many a proud boast, were it the
fashion of this country to boast of her warlike acquisitions. They
were not, in general, acquh-ed by stealthy encroachment on weak
barbarians, but were the trophies of honest contest in the great
European wars. The meaner functions of encroachment and op-
pression had been performed by others, when, no sooner were the
natives subdued, and the soU devoted to the service of the civilised
oppressor, than behold in the next European war a stronger man
has come and driven him out. Nearly every European lan<niage
IS spoken by the original colonists of our settlements— Dutch,
Spanish, Portuguese, and French ; but in no dependency of any
foreign power is a victory over England represented by the
original colonists speaking our tongue. We have restored captures
which we might have retained, but no foreign nation has acquired
a territory that was colonised from Britain ; and it would only be
a sequel to the history of colonisation, as it may now be read in
the past, should Algeria, after the work of aggression and subju-
80
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EMIGRATION.
The mixed interests thus committed to our charge create a heavy
responsibihty, mvokmg a mildness and firm justice in their control
which should be as emment above all petty conflicting personal
u^terests as the power finally victorious has b^en superior ?o those
that have gone before it. British settlers-the desc-endants of the
E T ^"'^PT «^»«"ies-the aborigines and imported
aid trr f r'^ ^'i'l' *^\«l«™«"t« of our colonial empire;
thev arrLf • ^'"''^ 'hat whenever the strong grasp by which
they are held m peace and good-will towards each other is
L»?r '^^^ f ""'"*' ""mI "''^^^^ themselves into their natural
state and the stronger will press upon the weaker-the strongest
ot all crushing down all others. Apart from Hindostan-wher6
the func ion of the protector of the weak against the strong, and
he fuTtLr«rtl*'p vT '"^ '^^" '' "-^'^"^ ^"'^ ^^-trS-iy
l!ll .K T? * 1 l^ British government-what, we may ask, hi
made the Dutch xloers of the Cape rebel against the British rule,
and migrate a thousand miles over dreary mountains to avoid its
accursed shadow ?--what but that our firm and equitable rule
rLowrr"''^ ^ w It' '.""'"^"^^^ *^« «^^ ^««d«" of discontent
n Lower Canada but the impracticability of their enforcing the
tyrannical seigneurial privileges of French feudalism ? And what
t'tirnf .^/T°v"* 'I '^' ^""^" '''' *^^re but the pr^
mvlll i' ^Tf" P'"'*"*'y ^'^^^ '^'^ domination?
r!?L ^ M ''^"^"''' ^/ ^"'*''^"* g^""^^^« t)ut because we will
not send them cargoes of workmen to be their serfs ?
^ It IS true that this strong and high-minded equity has its
slavery. All through the vast territory stretching inward from
our colonies of Southern Africa the nTtive races^foTbut w™
bodies-owners and slaves; but whenever the abject slave passes
the British boundary he is declared free. He understands t]i«
blessmgs of that position no better than a dog ^u^d dT'" e fe b
only that he may loll in the sun, and may be ifle, while the abour^
of white men around him make an abundance of which the mere
droppings content him. These fugitives come in crowds driven
by the tyranny of the surrounding native chiefs, and the settlers
complam that they are subjected to swarms of human locusts'
able to work and save their valuable crops, but idle, impracticable
and sometimes mischievous, who are becoming, should no means
be found of restraining them, an accumulating furse to the settle!
ment. So also the New Zealand chiefs complained, that when we
brought into the comitry our strange uncouth laws, which treatid
aU men as equal, and enabled the'slave even to get h master
II.,.
•
EMIGRATION.
punished, there could be no subordination or order kent amoni.
Too h7 r- ?f ' r ^r* ^"'Conveniences; but therrareTindpief
destfnfes'nf tf *^^"?«««»';\^heir ultimate influence Ter the
SmTnf • T ^-P'TV""*^ ^^''' "'^ ^" ^t« «««ent into higher
realms of civilisation, to be sacrificed or put to risk for nh\ZTZ
freedom-the negation of property in man. ^
In truth however, the dealing, whether of our government or of
rLTXub r r,^*^«^-g'-» tribes, is a qu:st?o~at
eoSact with barti '' ' *-"'f^™ of civilisation, when coming in
Sfor^itt ^ .v''' "'"P^f *"^ «lear-that of elevating, not
S^^aLe coS^^^^ ™''^^.""^ P^y^'^^1- That the abor|inal
tTbleC* of .;'• • r' ^^^«rPl« enjoyments, in ignoranfe of
«hm,W l!!! • ";'^lf* 'on» and happy in not imbibing its vices
Ste aXr^ «^,^>« l--ble apparatus of happine^ss wiS
cMsed cListtn'"!^^^^ ^'. P"^^^'^ ^:^ t'^« Pr^«ence of the
aTodd be ^.nh^^^^^^ without receiving a single blessing from him-
the hone of .n!f /"' ^'"'.P''*^ inheritance without receiving
ChriZnitv wT'l r~i' * ''^''^'^' ^^"«'» civilisation and
umstianity have had too often to endure. Looking at events
centuries later than the picturesque horrors of HemaTcortes and
Pizarro, there are men alive of rank and respectabiHty wTo have
not hesitated to imbrue their hands in black blood to rid them!
selves of a nuisance The horrors committed by our co" vicJs Tn
^rketa" The'n -T' *'^ rr '^'^^ of^ossiblXman
w ckedness The social savage of the British isles is the most
frightful of all dangerous animals, since he unites the cunnS
Jil^'Tf "'"^'"''"" ''''^' '^' propensities of the brute. Thf
history of these men and their horrible outrages remind one of
those demon deities of antiquity, who, infected with all the bad
sTpS '^/'^f'^ ^'^^^^^y^ were endowed with the higher
strength and endurance of immortals for the accomplishment of
«ieir degraded wiHs-so terrible an object is superCsTren^h
And vp?t? W T^^^ \'^' ^^"«^ «^ «"P«"or wickedne s^
And yet to do the duty of the strong to the feeble aborigines
« extremely difficult. With few exceptions they fade Sre
the toiujh, however gentle it may be, of civilisation. The New
.wth^r aTd v^ "f' T "^ ^pp*'^^ '''''y '^^ «*^t:
cannibalTsm Thl ' l^'^'^P^l^^'fy ^^e but recent converts from
cannibalism. 1 hey shew m this that the existence of the meanest
cSLtir ¥hr ~P^*^S'« -th the elements of a h"gh
ZllTTu^ '^ '^°'''^*' ^^ ^*^« Jn«t been speaking of-men
who probab y in many instances could have looked back to an™ s
tors who helped to build the boasted fabric of British civUisatTon
-became cannibals when they took to the bush, and shewed
91
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decided partiality for certain kinds of human flesh. Along with
theBi) wretched beuigg the New Zealanders have shewn a singular
instance of the tyranny which external circumstances exerciso
over the nature of man even in the higher races. In the midst of
a solitary ocean, and farther from the spreading continents of the
central globe than any other habitable spot on earth, yet man
with his powers of locomotion found his way thither. The boun-
ties of nature, however, did not follow him; no winged seeds
from distant lands of abundance were wafted thither by the
breeze ; no bird dropped berries ; no quadruped, clinging to the
trunk of a tree borne down by a swollen torrent, was washed upon
its shore— and what was the result of ixuman beings finding them-
selves there alone ?— That they had to eat each other !
Among the difficulties which surround all methods of following
the right rule in the conduct of the civilised colonists and govern-
ment officers towards these aborigines— difficulties which in the end,
only by being overcome through earnest perseverance, tend to per-
fect man's capacity for fulfilling his true functions on earth— was
the appointment of protectors of the aborigines. Nothing seemed
more just, humane, and alike consistent wilh the opinions of the
most enthusiastic philanthropists and the most clear-sighted prac-
tical colonists. Yet it was iproductive of great abuses. It might
naturally be supposed that the civilised European intrusted with
such a function would bring all the civilisation and honourable
dealing of his own race to counteract the rough passions, the
wayward propensities, and the exaggerated expectations of the
astute savage. Unfortunately the protector of aborigines has
yielded to the weakness of popularity, and has m many cases been
the partisan of the natives when he should have been their adviser
and corrector. He has been unable to resist that which has bribed
men to commit greater if not worse crimes than gold— the love of
power— the impassioned craving which men have to embody in
their own individual persons the concentrated power of multitudes
— ^whether those multitudes should be the city savages of some
of our neglected towns, or the ' hereditary bondsmen ' of western
Ireland, or the astute primeval savages of New Zealand. It is
perhaps of less importance to consider this as a melancholy instance
of human frailty, than to regret that a really weU-meant idea
should have so signally failed, and that men professing good
intentions should have so permitted their love of influence to draw
them aside from a line of duty as distinct a& it was important.
Such are some of the sources of perplexity from which the pro-
posing emigrant should learn how difficult colonial legislation is,
and how necessary it may be that it should be directed by a wiser
authority than the spot can sometimes afford. He will not always,
93
EMIGRATION.
therefore, select that spot where he is most loft to himself undo,,
he supposmon that there he is most free and secure But a" aS^
hn. tue recoumiendation, perhaps tiresomeiy reiterated in ih^^
pages, to be repeated-that the proposing emigrant shoulH Z.l^
and think for himself; should re'pos'e implies ot;^^^^^^^
colomal government, whether it be framed in Downing StreeT or
at New Zealand House, but should go where he finds matters best
managed, and where he has the surest prospects of success He
may be assured that in the end settlers of British origin who have
gone to he right place, and have successfully used thefr adv^n!
tages will xn time work out for themselves that wS at Sat
may be immaterial, but to a settled and thriving community is the
greatest aim of aU-a sound and satisfactory government
Since the foregoing was written, the world has been startled
with accounts of the discoveries of gold in Australia ; and as t^^
^eerZ"' -^^ r '''''' ^^^^^ '' ^^«"S^* *<> light seel^st^
exceed the wildest expectations, a direction has been given te
emigration, which may be said to set prudence at defiance. Te
the 'Diggmgs' m New South Wales and Victoria, crowds of
persons are now proceeding ; some able by their physical abUities
^d some totally incapable, of encountering the%rodigious t2
Z '1J' T^T^^ *' .*^? ^'''''' ^^ ''^''^^S for and securLg
rr.S.1 ~*^"'^^" ^' ? '' acknowledged to be In the genera!
scramble in this early and raw state of matters, there will inevitable
be disappomtment, loss, and, it maybe, miser^; but it s equally
certain that things wUl in time right thems^l'ves. Labour wS
float into new and regular channels ; capital will be created • the
usual agencies of civilisation and refinement wiU be set to work^
^d ere long Australia will attain a high social position-a new
and a great England m the southern hemisphere.
93
H
^H
i
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THE
EMIGRANT'S MANUAL
AUSTRALIA
mmmt
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CONTENTS.
Obmeral Account of Austbalia—
Physical Geography, . , _
Constitution,
Disposal of Lands, . -'-'."
Voyage to Australia,
Assisted Enoigration,
Government Regulations for EraigraUon, ' - ' . '
New Sotrni Wales—
Geographical Account, - . . ,
Settled and Unsettled Districts, -'.'.'
The Northern Districts, -
Convict System, and its Modification, . ' . '
Bush-Rangers, - . . _
Sale of Lands, - . _
Towns, - - . _
Productions, Trade, &c. - . "
Victoria, or Port Philip—
History, - . . ^
Speculative Mania, -
General Account of the District,
Sale ofLands, and Capabilities for Settlers -
Statistics, - . _
South Australia —
Settlements, ...
History and Social State,
Effects of Land Speculation,
HeUgion and Education,
Trade and Taxation,
Produce,
84
41
43
61
64
66
68
U
65
68
Pasi
' -d
1
•«
7
$
9
.
10
.1
11
.•■(
13
13
17
19
19
22
25
1. 1
28
29
J
80
1
*V CONTENTS.
Grain, --....
Cattle and Sheep, - - - . .
Fruit, ---...
Mineralogy, ----._
History and Progress of the Mines,
Labour, ----..
Prospects for Artisans, « - . ,
The Shepherd Class, - - - - ,
Sale and Occupation of Land, - - _
System of Tenantship, ....
Order m Council for Occupation of Waste Lands,
Western Australia —
Disastrous History, - - - -
Prospects as a Place of Settlement,
Order in Council for Regulation of Waste Lands,
'fASlriAKTA, OR VaN DiEMEN's LaITD
Geographical Description, _ - .
Land and Produce, - - - . .
History, - ...
The Convicts and Natives, - _ - .
Prospects for Emigrants, - - _
Inducements to small Capitalists, - - .
Regulations for Sale of Land, - . .
Eegulatious r\ r the Encouragement of small Capitalisis,
Australian Gcld-Mines, - . . .
Paos
68
69
72
74
76
81
81
64
85
86
87
91
92
98
99
100
104
104
107
107
108
111
114
■I
'
-
>.-
-
1
i.
ii*
1
1-
k
\
» ' >«
5
k
\
«
iji
* -* t •
m
■
■
r
-
Paob
68
69
72
74
76
81
81
84
85
86
87
91
92
93
AUSTRALIA.
GENERAL ACCOUNT.
Australia is an island of extraordinary magnitude, forming the
chief of a group lymg off the southern coast of Asia, and coUec-
tively termed Australasia. Next to the gi-eal continents composing
the four 'quarters' of the world, it is the largest mass of land of
which ve have any certain acquaintance, being in length from east
to ^vest 2000 miles, and m breadth from north to south 1700 It
les between 9^ and 38° of south latitude, and 112^ and 153" east
longitude. Australia was discovered by the Dutch in 1616, and
from them It received the name of New Holland, which is now
generally disused. The Dutch liaving done little more than merely
pomt out the island, it was afterwards visited and more carefully
examined by several English navigators, and amongst tliose by
he celebrated Captain Cook, who bestowed upon its eastern coast
l^^^^n'!^n ^^ 7 '^?''*? ■^'''^''- ^*« ^^«*^"«^ fro™ Great Britain
is 16,000 miles by ship's course. Australia has a few small islands
near its shores; and one of larger dimensions on the south, called
laEmania, Van Diem en's Land, from which it is separated ■
by a chan lamed Eass's Strait. P^irdteu
The phys. X] geography of Australia is in some respects pecu-
liar The coumry taken as a whole, and as far as it has been
explored exhibits less hill and dale, with less compact vegetation"
than most other parts of the world. At different places there are
extensive ranges of mountains, between wiiich and the sea there
are generally some fertile valleys; other parts of the coast are
flat and sandy; while the greater part of the interior is said to
rl^rlf T,'S °''!f P'^'"''7^*^^ '''^S terrace-like land, and low
riages of hil s, with open forest. Nowhere are there any dense
forests like tliose of North America ; the timber is for the mo^st part
thmly scattered, and the scenery has in numberless places been
compared to that of a gentleman's park in England ^hXrha-e
m nearly all quarters, except the fertUe valleys; is'thin, ind what
A 1
AUSTRALIA.
in England would be called scanty; yet there are spots in which
the vegetation is exceedingly beautiful. Australia has a variety of
rivers, great and small— as the Hunter, the Hawkesbury, the
Macquarrie, Lachlan, Morumbidgee, &c. ; but they all less or more
possess the peculiarity of being subject to great flooding at certain
seasons, and being very low at others ; consequently, none can be
said to be navigable for any great length. Some of the rivers are
hable to be so greatly dried up in summer, that they cease to flow,
and then: course is only known by a series of pools, from which
alone water is to be obtained. A natural result of this general
deficiency of irrigation is the scanty herbage already noticed, and
the adaptation of the land more to pasturing than to agriculture.
It is to be remarked, however, that the coarse scanty passes are
extremely nutritious; those named oat-grass and kangaroo-grass
are distinguished for their fattening qualities for horses, cattle, and
sheep.
Nature has, in several instances, put on very different forms in
Australia from what are customary elsewhere. Among the ani-
mal tribes, the chi?f are of the pouched icind, and move forward
by springing. The kangaroo is the principal animal of this
description, and there are different kinds of it ; some are from
four to five feet in height, when sitting on their hind-legs. They
will in some cases leap twenty feet at a sbgle bound, by which
odd species of movement they are able to outstrip a horse at full
gallop. This interesting and pacific class of animals is fast dimi-
nishing in numbers; they are now seldom seen in the settled
parts of the country. Opossums are numerous. There is an
animal half-bird half-beast, or possessing the bin and feet of a
duck, and the body of a mole or rat {ornithorJiyncus paradoxus.)
"Wild savage animals are unknown, the native dog excepted, which
• has been pretty well hunted in some quarters. Of birds there are
some singular varieties, both large and small. There are, in
particular, a great variety of parrots, parroquets, and cockatoos,
aU with exceedingly beautiful plumage— green, red, pui^le, and
white. The doves are equally splendid in their feathery coverings.
There are several kinds of native bees, 'which are without stings,
and produce a great deal of delicious honey.'— (Jfarfew.) Of
snakes there are several varieties, some of them poisonous.
Mosquitoes prevail in the uncleared districts, as they do in all
warm uncultivated regions where there are marshes and trees to
harbour them; but we do not see it anywhere mentioned that
they form that horrid nuisance which they are in almost every
part of North America. In some places fleas are described as
forming a serious nuisance. The rivers abound with fish, some
with cod of a large size ; and of aquatic birds the usual kinds are
GENERAL ACCOUNT OP AUSTRALIA.
seen, mcluding swans of a dark colour. Shrimps mussels ^mV
oysters, are plentiful; the oysters, thpugh sST'arTof i v!^v
«upenor quaUty, and abound on somT parts of thptnl/^
?helr^' -p-edented in any ^^C^Jtef^lfX X^
leL scoll^r tl^nt'^/" *^' ''''"' 0^ Australia offer botdl
less scope for profitable adventure to those acquainted with this
br«jch of mdustry, and who have capital to risk! '
The mmeral riches of Australia are also of great amount ««
Ln InT' ^"'"''"'^^'^ ^""'^^ '' - subsequent^ irci^'^
iron and copper, are found in abundance. Limestone of a fine
quality is wrought, and also clay for pottery. Gold has lately
been discovered in the Bathurst' District of^New SoutrWes
and an account of the diggings in that quarter wiU be £0^^':
the conclusion of the present part. Vast as\re theltent res^ces
Tt ifnot to tllVr^J *' ''' '^"^*^S^' --^S' and Series
present look^f^-.^^f ""'"*' "^ ^^"^^^^ '^^'^^'^ country a
rriiimhablP P.f f 'l^^^^ent; Its grand resource consists
LTntrmPr n.^f *'^.P^'*"'r^^^^' ""^'^ ^^ Pr««ents to the
cSr'v oTjh. f T^'TT' '^ '^''^'' ^^ every dh-ection. No
aaapted tor the feeding of sheep and produce of fine wool
America, as zs weU known, is not a sheep-feeding or lo^Lwbt
country. In Canada and 6ther northern partsf shelp re^rTt?
r left' aT tr tt' ^t ^?"r '' *^« «*^*-' *^^ shefplS
^LoM r ^® throughout the year do not yield wool of a
i^ta^mZ' f "^"'^f "' "" ?^^ °^^^^ ^^"^' resembles Spai^
proauces equally hne, if not superior wool. At the nrespnt
LTtd Im?'-"^ Tl f J^^? *^^ ^^^^-' rep^ation in E^!
!!!^-i / '"'^~/* **^^' *^e ^ead m the market -andTo
sToMooJ'"-r''^" it disposed of, that the cost of'^a^!
sport of 16,000 miles goes almost for nothmg in the grower's
?£^ which ""'f ,t''«'«'*^-« beautifuf and softCuen
Chams tfj''-^^ *^' "^"^^^ ^^ ^^^^^"^«' Mermoes, and
of nnr' hi Ti,'" '° ^'^^ ""1"««* ^^^ ^^^ies, in the shops
LZ^ttr'''''' "^ ^'^^'^ manufactured 'from this fin'e
The aborigines or natives of Australia are now veiT inconsider-
able in numbers They lead the usual wanderiTg 1 S^of Tav^^es.
headquarters a respective territory. They are jet black in com-
pIe:.ion and in general taU and thin in their personsfwith We
heads, large hps, and wide mouths, and are alJo Jw .Tll^^IE
oi Deautiiui, according to our ideas of that quauiy." The7have
AUSTRALIA.
'f
been considerftd, althougli the opinion is not completely borne out
by experience, » araong^J; the lowest of all known savages in
' the scale of h tellect. There is certainly less mechanical genius
amongst theni — fewer contrivances to impi'ove the original con-
dition of man — than are to be found amongst* the natives of any
other quarter of the globe. Their only arms are a rude spear, or
rather pointed pole, which, however, they throw with great force
and precision ; and a short club, called by themselves a waddie.
Their huts are of the poorest description, and they wear no sort
of covering whatever on their bodies. All attempts to civilise
them, and to induce them to abandon their wandering life, have
hitherto been nearly ineffectual ; and with the exception of a few
in the neighbourhood of Sydney, and some other of the colonial
towns, whom this contiguity has in some degree forced into a half-
domesticated state, they still wander in roving tribes throughout
the interior. From the latest accounts, it does not appear that
the white settlers ar^ now suffering much from these miserable
beings ; indeed, it seems that any person may command then:
good-will by the slightest efforts of kindness and conciliation.
The climate of Australia, confining ourselves of course to the
settled portion of the country, although varying considerably in
different districts, is altogether highly agreeable and salubrious.
According to Mr Cunningham, who was a surgeon in the colony of
New South Wales, exposure produces no bad effect, from the dry-
ness of the atmosphere; and it has been recommended to consump-
tive patients. The summer commences in December, and extends
to February, during which period the heat is considerable. Dr
Lang states that the thermometer seldom rises above 75° in
Sydney, except when the hot winds blow from the west. Another
writer mentions having walked two miles to church with the
thermometer at 146' in the sun, and 95° in the shade, yet felt no
inconvenience, the air being dry and pure. In the lower districts
the air is tempered by a cool and delightful sea-breeze, which
blows steadily and regularly tliroughout the day, and is succeeded
at night by an equally steady and grateful breeze from the land.
The average temperature at Sydney during winter is 55"; and
there is only one instance on record of snow having fallen in the
town, which was on the 17th June 1836. In the higher districts,
of course, the cold is greater; the thermometer at Paramatta
sometimes falling so low as 27°, and in the district of Bathurst
snow lies for a short time in w^inter.
A peculiarity in the climate of Australia is the prevalence of
hot winds during the summer. These blow from the north-west,
and resemble a strong current of air from a heated furnace, raising
't1)o ♦liQj.mfirnotpr +/> 100'' i" ♦%f> ot«o.^« '•^fi lOKa I j .
m
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF AUSTRALIA.
their influence: They seldom occur more than four or five tim^
every summer, and last only a few davs Tt L, Ko 1
that these winds derive thelwTeriat from passiroveTa
great extent of arid and heated country which IS^^K J r
a 1 moisture. Breton, in his ' Tour K tuth^wl les ' savs
I rode fifty miles a day in the hot wind, wSt fS^^^^^
slept in the open air, my saddle for a pillow-the breeze balmv
the firmament studded with innumerable bri Jht ZZ7 Iti^^'
sweetly through the deep blue of thTt cl^uElktand'r^^
hit o?NrS)uth"^ 'T' '""^ ^*' -deed,inaSeHke
tm^igMlxpru're™"' ' '^""^"" ^^ ^"^'*^^"S ^^ *« ^« ^--^^
yet'Strmtd "?f f ^ " ^"^'?r"^' "^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^ave as
the SabiSs* of 1 f^T^ '"^' K'"^ ^"^""^^ '' ^^"«^« th«t
tne proDabihties of life for any number of children bom in the
colony are higher than for a similar number bom in Endand '
beveral instances of longevity are mentioned-one of a woman
work. Mr Butler says he has seen several persons upwards J I
luindred years old, which is confimied by Dr LangCd oth/rs
hospital out of 1200 convicts and soldiers, in six months In
omr«e?" w' "'"'^ " '^''-''^^ «^ 2100 'feet above the level
A 11 11 ' """^^ *'"'* P'''^"' ^'•^ '^'^ to have died in twelveVears
fh v'taT.T' "P'"i'^' salubrity of the climate, however much
npZ ? T '"^v^"^^ *^^" capabilities of the country ^1
persons from Australia with whom we have conversed, repres^t
the climate as giving a remarkable buovancy to the spS a
peciUianty which perhaps arises from the dryness andlight"esVof
the a,r. From whatever cause, nature appears to act more p?^^^^^^
fuUy m Australia than in the northern hemisphei-e fifrth ,',
^ven to children by parents at a more advancerperiod of ^fe
and the young attain greater tallness than in England The
tSisltfh '"'""^ r ^ ^'^^"^^ «ff-^« - most con-
stitutions in both sexes ; and is generally favourable to person*
labouring under weaknesses in the chest persons
Australia being situated in the southern liemisphere the season,
are the reverse of tliose in Britain-January beiL he middle "f
summer, and July of winter. The spring months\e September
Oc ober, and November ; those of summer are December, JanX'
and February; autumn includes March, / nril, and Mav- and thl'
r :LrX;T^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^-- ' MarcrAp;S,^*^d^
4i
I-
AU3TRALTA.
winter, 65". As a matter of course, while it is ^aj in Britain
It 18 night in Australia, a circumstance of no consequence to the
inhabitants.
Australia, though originaUy discovered by the Dutch, has lon^
been a possession of the British crown. In 1778, the British
government planted a settlement at Botany Bay, in consequence of
the recommendation of Captam Cook, designmg it to serve chiefly
as a place far the reception of transported convicts. This was
soon after removed +o Sydney, on Port Jackson, and notwithstand-
ing the unfavourable ckcumstances attending ■ convict labour, was
found to prosper very considerably. In 1803, a second settlement
was formed on Van Diemen's Land, to which convicts were also
sent. The transportation of convicts to these two colonies has
been continued tiU a recent period, and has had of course a certain
moral eftect on the population. A large portion of the inhabitants
are either convicts or the descendants of convicts. The more
recent settlements in Australia— namely, West Australia, South
Australia, Port Philip or Victoria, and Port Essington— have not
received convicts. Hence the classification of the Australian
colonies into penal and non-penal— a distinction, however, which
we may hope to see always less and less marked, as time and
the usual moral influences work their effect on the masses of
settlers.
Comtitution.— The Australian, like all the other colonies, are
respectively under the authority of governors appointed by the
crown, through the colonial office in Westminster. In 1850, after
nauch discussion, these colonies received the benefit of constitu-
tional government by virtue of an act of parliament (13 and 14
Vict. c. 69.) It was provided, at the same time, that the crown
might erect the temtories north of the 30th degree of south
latitude into a separate colony on the petition of the inhabitants.
The act sanctions the meeting of pariiaments or assemblies, and
vests the elective franchise in every male having a freehold estate
in possession within his district of the clear value of £100, free of
encumbrances, or occupying a dwelling-house worth £lo'ayear
or holding a pasture-licence, &c. It is deemed unnecessary to go
into any of the details of the act, as the law is only of recent
institution, and will probably be applied and modified according
to circumstances. Besides the general assemblies, there are dis-
trict councils for conductmg local public business.
The Church of England is established in all the Australian
colonies, to which bishops have latterly been appointed. There
IS everywhere, however, perfect freedom in religious matters ; and
in the settled districts^here exist churches in connection with the
.. resoytcrian, Homan Catliolic, and other bodies. The ordinances
6
'WSijB^fc
#r
GENERAL ACCOUNT OP AUSTRALIA.
* pLcf °'°" ""'' ^^'^ administered at preaching stations and other
Disposal of Lands.— The method of disponing of waste crown
lands of AustraUa remained in a perplexi^ cond' ioTtiU 1842
when an act of parliament (5 and 6 Vict c. 95) wa passed'
Tt'TV'"^'""^ 'I- ^-'^^^ ^" " ^^«*^^* «"d uniform conSn'
The act authorises a division of the surface of the soU into three
different classes of lands The first was into town lots-~compr7s!
ing all lands withm the limits of any existing townrcLlhr
named and described by the governor, or within any Sky
«pecihed by the governor as the site of an intended toL S
second class were to be called suburban lots, and werrto com!
prise the land within five miles of the nearest point of the town
lands, unless m any instances where the governor might think ^
especially to exclude land from this class, on the g fund that 1
T^" ^^^■/T' ^"^ ^""''"^^^^ ^^^"« fro"^ being nL "he to!^
Se Jl th^LT '^^Vff country lots, !nd were ?o com:
prise all the land not included within the other two. Before
being sold the lands were appointed to be sui-veyed and to h«
de ineated in the public charts of .he colony i^ThTlots i^ which
ncial mUe. The public sales were appointed to be held quarterlv
or at any other times which the governor might tS fi' S
times and place" of sale were to be amiomiced by proclamation
hree months beforehand, describing the lands, aKentTo^^
tV^Tl^""""'' "^^^ 'r^* "P^^* P"«^-^« fixed a ll^f
acre The governor was authorised to raise, but not to lower the
upset price; and the Queen in council might eUher raise the
amount or reduce any raising by the governor, but so as not to
was given to the governor to raise the upset price of town and
suburban lots even when sold with other lots^ In the Tie of
CectZntrylot.?' ' '^''" "^"^ P""' ^^^ "^nate it a
No town suburban lots could be sold otherwise than by auction •
but t was made competent to dispose of country lots Tnot'
bought at the auction by private bargain, but not uS^er he up"e
price. In these sales by private bar|ain'the price ml be paTd
down; m sales by auction there must be a deposit not less than
ion?" '"'• '"''^*^' '' *'^ '"" P^'^^^ ^^ '«* P^id within a
payment of the lowest upset price-Thatts, ^ite ^tl^^, Z
7 ■
AUSTRALIA.
payment of £20,000. The survey to which such a purchaser is
entitled only embraces the external boundary.
To facilitate purchases in this country, it was provided that a
certihcAte of payment by the Emigration Commissioners might be
employed as so much cash in the purchase of lands in the colonies.
Ihe produce of the land sales was appointed to go to the public
revenue, one-half being employed for emigration purposes. Power
was given to the governor by proclamation to divide a colony
mto four parts for the, purpose of the land sales. It was specially
provided that the act should not interfere with the granting of
licences for one year for pasture and felling timber.
. '^^^®»"iyect of land purchasing is afterwards treated at length
in the diflferent sections.
Tmimt.~The gi-eat distance of Australia from Great Britain
renders the cost of transit necessarily high. The time occupied
m the voyage averages about 96 days; it is seldom more than 104
days ; and has been known to be as little as 89 days. The season
usually preferred for proceeding to Australia is from November to
Mai^li, by which arrangement the settler arrives in the cool part
ot the year-our summer, as already said, being the Australian
wmter. According to tliQ circular of the Emigration Commis-
sioners for 1851, the fares or freights to the several colonies of
Australia were as ioUow : —
Syd
Iney,
{London, . ,
Liverpool,
Ports in the Clyde,
I London, .
Port-Philip. . ] Liverpool, .
( Ports in the Clyde,
( London, .
Van Diemen's Land , / Liverpool , .
„„ ^ ( Ports in the Clyde,
western Australia, London, .
( London, .
South Austi-olia, < , •
' ^ Liverpool, .
( Porta in the Clyde,
Cabin.
Including
Proviiion§,
£
(45*
I 65
45
40
\65
45
40
C.t
45
4fl
00
I 42
IC5
45
40
to
£
60)
80/
60
60 \
80 j
60
90
Intermediate. I Steerage.
60
iH)
60
80
BO)
80/
60
With
Proviaioui,
£
21
15
20
21
15
20
;t5
15
20
30
21
15
20
to
• VlctJialled according to the ordinary diot-icale of the «hlp.
£
35
with Pro.
vinlooi.
£ £
15 to 80
10
.. 25
.. 35
15.
10.
..20
. 25
• •■ •
• ••■
. iO
20.
10.
. 25
• <. •
• •*•
. 40
18..
. 20
. 35
15..
10..
. 20
25
• ■»•
It IS usual to classify children by the division in the passengers'
act: to charge nothing for those under one year, and half price
lor those under fourteen. In proceeding to any part of Au.s£alia
'T^
GENERAL ACCOUNT OP AUSTRALIA.
dation, food, wate'r, cooS^ 'f '" "'"'^"^O'
the lesser ports, besides befngTn a poor t ale nT'" "''^^'^ '^^'^
require a long time to makfi L Vi, • ^ ^^ accommodation,
«ail at the time aTverti^eT ^ " '*'«"' ""^ *'»«''«f"re «eldom
that p'a^L'VrSin^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ tr^-t to Australia,
a certain standing i?the colonv to Tl.M"^'' "" '^'' *««^""^
they would not otherwse posses^ tL ' *^'^/'' *^°""^' ^^^^l*
are announced in the ^wsCers on kn^ '^'*^'" passengers
to those arriving as steeraS or L .?"*'" ^^"°"'- "«' P^id
cabin is, in short, consSfred to 'I'^T^'^'^'' Coming in the
' respectability.' Yo3 ^1., * 'P^^'"' *^^ guarantee for
regard this mtter ofTiqu X E^^^ -".f «o»-e dis-
for young women of S sVto" ^/°'' ™^" with families, or
unworthy of attention ' '^ "*^ "^** ^e altogether
intiXcr„tf"m"thXf^^^^^^^ ".« «^-^'^ -ticipate the
prevailed. Already at al^^^^^^^ '^'^ have hitherto
adopted, with respect to Snvo?«ok? ^t'"*'^. ''^^' ^*« ^^^n
It consists in haLg only o^cC^^^
divisions into steerage LerLd1«l ^f'^'^Sers, mstead of the
plan, each male adu/pVstht^^^^^^^ ^tv'. -^^ ?'« "«^
water, bedding, and th'e u^se of cTking utenlir^'k"^^^^^^^^^^ '°°''
ticulars, we refer to the advertisement! ofthe dav "" ^'"
toittXistrirrLttT^^^^^ 't '-^^^ ^'•^^-
taking advantage of certain trndp^'^ '"c'' ^'^^^"^^ ^^r^^^ion,
touch at Rio jfL'roTn Soutrlr"^'- ?r«««^es the vessels
hood of the South Zericairclfr- f '"" '^' neighbour-
in latitudes south S he AVo J^ff^^^ /e^oss the Atlantic
instances, land is neveT seen ^f Good Hope. I„ „,any
Australia. As the velsels have toT" f.' ^"*>'^ ^«^«"^« ^"d
are consequently exposed to tL ''^S*''.' equinoctial line, and
is necessary for emSants oh^JT'T^ of a tropical climate, it
part of the voyag^Ts her^ i/ ^'''*^ ^^^^* '^°*'""g ^<^^ «
also necessary'^^^have su ^7 ockT/^T '"i^^^*^' ^* ^^^^"'^^
will serve for the whole voyage "»^«r- clothing at hand as
asslrdl^f^Clt AuriL'ltl ^->-*« -e
indi^d^in Lndon t::^^^;^.^^ Z^Z^^:^
..• .^^.t anm.meu young women, of good character, in payTng for a
4
AUSTRALIA.
passage ; aiid in tliia object Mrs Chisholm, a lady who had been
«omo time in New South Wales, has taken a prominent part.
Government lends its aid towards the emigration of agricultural
labourers, meclianica, and others. The busmess is intrusted to
the Emigration Commissioners, Westminster, who act through a
•secretary. Local agents for the commissioners are established in
Edinburgh, and other prmcipal towns.' Reguktions, and also
blank forms to be filled up, are given on application ; but it is
proper to mention, that so numerous are the applications, that
frequently the funds are exhausted, and a temporary stop is put to
the further dispensation of funds. It is proper to explain that
the commissioners do not place money in the hands of emigrants;
they, on the contrary, exact certam payments from the emigrants,
4iccording to age and other circumstances ; and having made these
payments, and attended to various regulations, they are taken
<5harge of, and sent out. Copies of regulations of the latest date
may be had on application to J. Walcott, Esq., Secretary to
Emigration Board, No. 9 Park Street, Westminster. So great is
the chance of not being accepted as a candidate for government
Assistance, that we should recommend aU parties to endeavour to
pay in full for their own passage, and otherwise depend on their
own energies and resources. By doing so, they can adopt their
own route, regulate their own time, and choose their own com-
pany.
We now proceed to give an account of the prmcipal colonies of
Australia :— New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western
Australia, and Tasmania, or Van Dieraen's Land. Tables of
wages, prices, population, trade, &c. applicable to the several
colonies, and drawn from official documents, are given in conclu-
sion. Special advices as to choice of colonies and other matters '
are presented in the General Dissertation.
10
■Mttah.^ i^Pt
NEW SOUTH WALES.
ficeneiyof Botany Bay and tW !,f « .t ?l? Z'''"* b^ween the
colony of Australia If ,". ■ ^°'"'' W«'«»-i» the p4rent
i. wai^fi„t"ed yet it haTirT.^'"": »'="y y«»" "ace
of New South W«l!a-T i'. ^ *''"' *^® southern boundary
B;trr itr;rwrr,irtonr"^^^^^
Cla Joe, tlr^aX M^onX t of Tu' """"' "">
vrill have to be given £ the foUow^^^e; wUmI'L"" """.?""'
nortljem diatWot, lifh' .1^ he itSflrfSatiS'
rhe Murray, connected with the southern extremitv r^ff h!!l?
they are aU subject „\onghte "SeZrin iV^.'^^'' ?"?
and stm m„3t densely-intabfed di^o bea de Port T^^^^^^^^
not the most valuable Tl,» w™.! • . . , "* Jackson is
able distance wkh^S velels or Shrrf" '^^ ' '?"f "'"
.h... a., a.uuaant testimonies to the excellence of the climate
11
I
I
AUSTRALIA.
and the general pleagantncBB of the country. Tlic followin'*'
account by l)r Lang, given in 1834, \s perhaps among the most
aocnratc, while it is in a sufficiently laudatory tone : —
• For eight months during tho year— namely, from tlio Istof March
to tho Ist of Novombor — tho climato of New Houth Wales — which,
throughout tho whole year, indeed, is at least oquul, if not superior
to that of any other country on the face of tho globe— is peculiarly
delightful. Tho sky is seldom clouded ; and day after day, for whole
weeks together, tho sun looks down hi unveiled beauty from tho
northern heavens. In ordinary seaaons, refreshing showers are not
unfrequcnt ; but although there are no pbriodical rains in the colony,
as in the torrid zone, it sometimes rains as heavily as it docs within
the tropics. It seldom freezes in Sydney, and never snows ; but fires
aro requisite during the day in tho winter months, and for a con-
siderable time longer in tho mornings and evenings.
' With the exception of the large open plains which occasionally
occur in tho interior of tho country, and which, like tho plain of
IJathurst, aro naturally destitute of timber, tho territory of New
Houth Wales is, in its natural state, one vast interminable forest.
In many parta. of the colony, and especially in the interior, tho land
is but thinly timbered — there being not more than three or four
trees, of moderate hoiglit and of rather interesting apj)earunce, to
the acre. In such places, tho country resembles the park scenery
around a nobleman's seat in England, and you gallop along with a
feeling of indescribable pleasure. In general, however, the forest-
land is more thickly timbered— sufficiently so to form an Agreeable
shade in a hot Australian summer-day, without preventing tho tra-
veller from proceeding in any direction at a rapid trot or canter.
On the banks of rivers, and especially on tho alluvial land within the
reach of their inundations, tho forest becomes what the colonists call
a thick brush or jungle. Immense trees |^f tho genus eucalyptm
tower upwards in every direction to a height of 150 to 200 feet,
while tho elegant cedar, and tho rosewood of inferior elevation, and
innumerable wild vines or parasitical plants, fill up tho interstices.
In sterile regions, however, on rocky mountain-tracts, or on sandy
plains, the forest degenerates into a miserable scrubs as the colonists
tenn it ; tho trees are stunted in their growth, and of most forbidding
aspect, the fruit they bear being literally pieces of hard wood similr >■
in ap;)earance to a pear, and their shapeless trunks being not unfre-
quontly blackened from the actien of fire. In such regions, the m'-rr
siHiial animals of tho country entirely disappear. The agile kangai oo
is no longer seen bounding across the footpath, nor the gaily-plumaged
parroquet heard chattering among the branches. If anything with
the breath of life is visible at all, it is either the timid gray lizard
hiding itself in tbfi crevices of the rocks, or the solitary black snake
stretched a1 full loiik^t:. t. « the vhite sand, or the busy ant reai'ing his
slender pyramid .^f _;i'f ''-wish ' 'ay.
' There is a muih gxi ^e; »;xtunt of forest than of alluvial land iu
12
i
'!">•
HnnJ}}
"*'"'!HPIi-
111
I
NKW BOUTH WALES.
tt ttato of cultivatiou throughout thn /nl^,.^ ^ .
, i»gly uuomulouH. tl.« best knd i. iu ma^v • /V ' "'^"^ '" *'*"''«**-
suminiu of the I,ill«.' '"'^"^ ">aUucc» ou the sido* a„a
dUtinction les> marked • bni ilwrf ^ , ''^'''' '"» '"""''' "•«
culturi.t to cul.ir.e behind t.ni T^ "'*"" '"' "'« "w'"
culty of convey^ his „odu.r.„ Mounta ,„, from the diffi-
. ™ the natural rpho«„nhrB,.h'''^'T'"''''' ™'''«'i »"'» "
year to send hi, moL/ m .h^ T"' "'"' T'l"'"'' >"" ""^ «
year'. ^m^eTJ^^^^ll^^^l^^^XT'^'''' '" """"' "•"
.he|r,ud;. ofT^re^ur^erL^I^^^ ^^rf ^JL-^^ '»
portion of them stretclx northwanl aJ f^r Tw- '^ f^® ^®***'"
twenty-sixth parallel TI ! !? ^k, ''^ ^'^® ^*>^ ^^^^nd the
CommissionlrDiitLts LrH'''*"*' '^"^'""^ ^^^^« *"•« ««"ed
glan/e will sUce Tshe^ 1^11:1?^^'^ *'^™--'^
squatting, as it is called S iowrZ„, w^^^^^ K""^'''^' *^^
on the south, to Ilarvpv'l Tio^ 17 ^,^'^'^" ^ Promontory
fourteen deVees Tl^^^^^^^^ "^'•*^' ^* «^*^«d8 through
degrees o^^ngLde- an^^^^^^ ^^^^^ o^ four
centre of it, ?rom the hoHn 7t^ ^'"^ ^'^^^^ *^'0"gl' tl^e
de,.ces sou h Tno tude 152 .. ^''"'^' ^"^ ^^^ ^^'^^^' 25
Glenelg, on the so' he- c^^^^^^^^ 'l t l™r' ^' *^^^
1100 English statute miles.' Australia), measures
y^ttje^l^y^^^^^ and physical aspects which may
IndicatedTn the pr^^^^^^^ circumference of Australia i^
Everything here^rSLrf '"' 1 *^' "'^ "^^^«™ ^«"«*ie8.
«nnf}: rrtT _.'.' ^T^^nt from the dry sheen-walka nf fho
- .„. .u».a«er oi th« soeneiy encouiitered by the ti^'veUe'; *
13
1,11
AUSTRALIA.
is precipice, mountain, toiTent, and lagoon, with rich tropical
vegetation clothing the mountain-sides. The Australian settler
who findT the other more important elements of the district suit-
able to hie views, m?.y here indulge in the fullest luxuiy of fine
scenery. It is a country of considerable rivers. The Macleay
enters the sea at Trial Bay, in latitude 30°, 40' south ; and its
feeders may be traced far up through the mountains to the table-
land of New Engknd. There is a considerable bar at its aiouth,
yet it is navigable for vessels of fifty or sixty tons for a distance
of thirty-four mijes. After passing several secondary streams,
the valleys, separated from that of the Macleay by great ranges of
hills, are watered by th^ Odalberree and the Bellengen. After a
considerable interval comes the Clarence, entering Shoal Bay in
29i° south latitude, and rising in the same range of mountains with
the Macleay. It would appear that this — the finest river yet dis-
covered in Australia — is destined to be some day or other one of
those great waters j\rhich people speak of throughout the world,
on account of the civilised luxuriance on its banks, and the riches
which it is the means of concentrating. ' The Clarence,' says the
gentlemaii who surveyed it, ' is remarkable for its great breadth
and large volume of water compared with other Australian rivers,
when the short distance of its source from the coast is considered.
In common with all other rivers north of the Hunter, its entrance
is obstructed by a bar having about eleven fact of water on it ; its
reaches are longer and wider than those of any other river on the
coast of Australia, and are navigable for large steamers from
Sydney to a considerable distance up the river : some craft can
ascend the Clarence as far as ninety miles from its mouth
The country available for grazing at this river is of excellent
quality, and much more extensive than that of the Macleay ; for
the country bordering on the Clarence and its tributaries is gene-
rally level, and the mountains do not attain any great elevation,
except at the sources of the streams. A great number of squatters
have formed stations at the Clarence Eiver. The communication
between the table-land along the main range and the navigable
estuary of the Clarence, is naturally much less difficult than at
Port Macquarrie. Wool drays can descend from the fine district
called Beardy Plains (that portion of table-land opposite the
sources of the Clarence) with comparative ease, to that part of the
river where the vessels take in cargo for Sydney.' — {HodgJnnson's
Australia.)
The next river to the northward is the Richmond, the sources
of which were not Icnown when Mr Hodgkinson wrote. But of
the knoAvn portion he says — ' Mangrove scrubs, tea-tree, and
&wamp oak-thickets cover the low nats near its mouth ; and the
U
alluvi
in ced
rich p
rest
greate
availa]
ravine
vals, M
— a lo]
Moret(
far as i
Claren(
Thecoi
able t(
animal
is abun
district
being a
nial sen
destiny
settlers,
stone, &
Darling
as pecul
either fo
It is s
of this q
dangeroi]
snakes, t
many we
tice prevj
cause. J
sucli as n
virulent a
spite of a
blood. J
content, li
protection
little woui
The int
part of Ai
view its c
geological
south, cor
trap, ancie:
of
NEW SOUTH WALES.
" td p&C/of^^^^^^^ ^^^-H abounding
rich plains, and lihtl^Zla7o^f' ^l!^'^ '''^y «-amps; small
rest of the country is veir sltS J ^^^'^* ^^«^»e««- The
greatest fenUity; I Lltwi?^^^'*^^^^ grassy forest of the
available land "^^x s^ts t^b^^^^^ -^-e so much good
ravines. Immediately ^oXfth^^Rtr'^^/r^^'^ ranges and
vals we have successively the Twtd^^f^^^^^^^
-a long broad river which w,>V?. ' , ^°^*'' ^""^ *^e Brisbane
Moreton Bay at 27 J l<^tsoil Vl T^^'' ^*^^^™«' f-"« into
far as they are knotn^e oVro ^\' ^^"^« of these rivers, so
Clarence and RicSd and .h • '""' '^^'^'''' ^^^^h those of he
ThecoantxyproduceralCstefcm^^^^^^^
ab e t(, the settler in such a Sdo p ^/*"^ ^^""^ ««™e-
animal productions, and capabili "^^ i. f^' *^" ^^^^t^We and
is abundant buildix^g-s^on^aW 'i h V '^^'^^T^^ "^*^««<^' ^^ere
district received the mme T^f , n^ '^^'' ^^^ ^^on. The
being at first usefas a penal seS£^^^^^^ ^"^ Moreton Ba^
nial sentence, free emigrants wtl ^"^ ''^^'^^^^ ""^ier colo-
destiny was subsequS chaS and '^"'^^ ^"^^"^^^ ' *>«*'its
settlers, with smaU towns-SeL t^ T'?"' "^^")^ *h"^ing
stone, &c. To this porHiU beTrou J't^' ^'''\T ^°^' ^^'-
Darling Downs, By?on's Plabs Wl / ""^"^ ^[°™ ^^^^ PJ«in«.
as peculiarly easy and gradual an d th^ ^''''"* ^«^"S ^««cribed
either for Sydney^rforT^K^^^^^^ cargoes will be shipped
Of th- s:;i:i:hXter Ter ^ ^^r'^- --e
many wear thick leathern Sgt afa^nt./? ''"''f^^ ^" ^^°*'
tice prevails in various other qSers oFaTT '.^"* *^^« P^^c'
cause. AH the minor tortures which ^LTI"^^'^' ^''"^ *^« '^^^
such as mosquitoes--seemhereTo abound t^* "^^^^ J«ngles-
virulent and active torturer inshiuSn"?" ^ V' ^^^''^ ^«««b is a
spite of aU means of prSorr^ I ^""i5 °'"' *^« «kin ii>
blood. A sort of stSf aS W / f^^ ^^' ^^°^^ ^^^b
content, like its zndustriJus^aLake^n.'^ ^^^^^' "<'*
protection, leaps up like i ^t^S! ^t' ^°""*^' ^^th self-
little wound. ^ ^ ^ "" grasshopper, and iiiflicts an irritable
pa^'oVSSfa S'Sinl^r'^^'^ 'l ^'"^"^^ *^ -^^ this
view its characteristic differp?pp',T"°* ^'''^ ''^ Prominently in
geological fomation instad of tbo"" / ''^'' ^'''''''''' ^^s
south, conrist. nf ^LTJlt""^ *^^° ""'form sandstone of ihe
15
I ^^'1
il
I
AUSTRALIA.
of mountains rising, even at no great distance from the coast, to
the height of 6000 feet ; and the valleys between them are
remarkably steep ; so much so, that the surveyors often wondered
—especially in the cleft of the Bellengen— how alluvial soil and
vegetation could be supported at so acute an angle of elevation.
A country of such a character, with many rivers passing through
it, is naturally found to abound in cataracts. Water-power, should
the settler have occasion for it, will be found superabundant. In
the course of the Macleay River there are several great cataracts.
One of these, from the account given of it, must resemble some of
the falls in Norway, and be superior to those of the Alps. The
whole river, with a large body of water in it, falls down a height
of 260 feet. ^
In such a country the hills will attract the passing clouds, and
create vapour, which, by increasing the vegetation, will be the
source of additional moisture, Thus the co.nmon characteristics
of the Australian weather are reversed. Instead of hearing about
dry plains of withered grass, and the traveller's cattle dying,
while his own life is threatened by want of water, wo always hear
from the adventurer in Stanley or Moreton of the efforts he has
to make to protect himself from the soaking rain, of torrent-like
showers that come upon him by surprise, and of great marshes
interrupting his progress. The proposing settler may be pretty
safely insured from the prevailing droughts of the south, but ft
would be rash to warrant him against the opposite evils. Vast
tracts, especially at the mouths of the rivers, are entirely marsh.
For instance, the following passage from a letter by Dr Leichhardt
(19th January 1844), is somethmg different from the usual accounts
of New South Wales : —
* The rainy season has commenced— powers of rain have poured
down ; the rivers and creeks were filled to the highest brim, and the
adjacent flats and hollows were extensively inundated. The waters,
falling on the steep slopes of the Bunya Range and of its spurs, col-
lected quickly into the gullies and creeks, and ran off as quickly as
they came. The wind blew during the rains from easterlv quarters
(east and south-east.) Last Thumlay it changed to the' west, and
fair weather set in again; but even now thunder-storms are
generally gathering in the afternoon, and loose clouds send down
occasional showers, particularly towards evening and during the
night. The wind duriug the rains was very slight, and in the morn-
ing there was generally a perfect calm. The heat during the sunny
intervals is very oppressive, and I think it approaches very much to
the description of the moist heat of the East Indies.'
The inference from the above and other accounts is, that the
district ''^ rtnt A-no A.rvrv. !...V.«„liU M-,',' -i . , -
U19M1VL ■■■ .i.^v 11 vv iivi" uaacaiiiiy puuiuiancius j ana we siiould
i6
■
:r^i
NEW SOUTH WALES.
CONVICT SYSTEM.
out. It is scarceirneceslrrr^^^^^
essentiaUy slaves irin<. h7 ' rio^ f Jf • *\' '^"^^^*« ''''^
were under the orders of the locaT.^ banishment, and
tice of giving tickets of Lve to w^^^^^^^ ^'"''■'^' * P^^^"
established, by which thpv IJ ? ,^«"-beliaved convicts was
andsofarthe^-ig^ o^X;^^^^^^ their labour,
.dlsS:.S^i^;?-V^!^;f ct^ on theX b, the in-
attention; the Le gove nmen 5,?"^"*^^"' ^* l«"gth roused
a modified system of IransZ^rt l? '«"«>n«trated with, and
«oted, however, tl.at theie C I, """'i ^^'''^- ^* ^' *^ ''^
parties in the 'colony X vlir/hT ^''"' ""^ °°^^ ^^'^^ t^o
One wishes that cScI^^iril be seT'l'^fr 5^""*^^-
contrary : henrp thp nn«fl,- ^ sent— the other des res the
and perp ex Te^^^^^^^^^^^ *h reach this countr^!
modification orS^lZemZ ''^ " '"i""' ^^"^«'""«d the
wo..hy yielding r Z'Z^r^l/T^t Svl ^' ^"? ^" """
no doubt shocked and annoved hv tht ^^''\}'' ^J^^^y, who were
the system concent^at d th^-e 4*' difnTk^ ''•''™^^^^^^
advantage of assigned labom-Pr, f^ .i ^" ^^^^ '" ^'^^^ *'^e vast
these seUlers feltire advtnZ^of h^^ '"'T' ''''^''''- ^^ ^''^rt,
lose them, even under a7thfpv2? '^'''' ^"^ ^^^''^ ^^^^' *»
profligate habits Tnd i^falus Z l^ '"" ^'''"^ "^'^ "*'
of the influential inhatrtro?^^^^^^^^^^^ ^'d 7"^™^"^
ration, at least in uart of rt,o «„.J1 ^ f , P'^^'"^ '^'^ " "■«»'<•■
were held on the othar II ,i ^ i""' "'"' ''''^" P'*"" ■""etings
convict, chara eri d tS^i! ±°„T w^ "" '^'°"' »' *'«
who had no .take in tile coUj "^'^ "'"" "' ''^'™' '"'1 "■«'
;s^o?oroS:x:itn^ ?*' --"=?:
tember 1847, the Tc Irv of t , "•" "'"P'*'' »' "-^ 3'* Sep-
aasignment, tZS"TCL^f °T '^^'- "^''^ ^y^'™ »f
tho.e of the setfe in New S„„S'w«r""'^''V^™"'»«^ *»
Land-,0 whom it wa, the^r^.fs'^fJIti''"' 5" -?'^T'
-ua, or, at aU oven,,, „f very ohoap-ibt-yr^"hior:a','
® 17
AUSTRALIA.
been condemned on grounds so conclusive, that I cannot anticipate
the possibdity of its ever being resumed.' In this dispatch the
arrangement subsequently adopted was explained, which was that
of sendmg out convicts, after they had been subject to refor-
matory punishment at home, to the colonies, either with condi-
tional pardons or ticl ets- of- leave. By the former they were
pimply prohibited from returning to Britain; by the latter they
were bound to a district. In the words of the dispatch :— ' Those
who have conditional pardons are, on their arrival in Australia in
precisely the same condition as free emigrants of the working-
class, except in the suigle condition of not being at liberty to
return to their own country; and the situation of holders of
tickets-of-leave is practically but little different, since, whHe they
reside m the districts appointed for them, and maintain themselves
by honest industry, conforming to certain rules by no means of a
severe character, they are not interfered with.'
Thus the convict is subject to his punishment under the im-'
mediate and vigilant eye of the government where he has com-
mitted his offence, and where his character and past history are
known. It is made reformatory where that is practical ; and when
the ordeal has been gone through, care is taken that he shall
not be immediately exposed to his old temptations, and driven
among his old associates, by coming, a tainted and avoided man,
mto the home-labour market, but he is sent at once mto a new
world, with a fair start in the road of honest industry. The
system adopted by the executive, which may be altered from
time to time,. as the experience of its working may suggest, is to
keep the convicts in prison for periods varying from six to
eighteen months, and then to employ them on public works—
chiefly in Gibraltar or Bermuda. It is a general nile that they
are not to be permitted to go at large in Britain at any tiine
before the expiry of the period of bondage to which they have
been sentenced; but when the imprisonment and labour processes
have been gone through with satisfactory effect, on the expiry of
half the period, the convict may be sent as an ' exile ' to the
colony. The plan has been in some measure carried out, of
taxing the partially emancipated convicts out of their earliest
eammgs for the cost of their removal to the colony, and the
money thus raised has gone in aid of a fund for carrying out free
labourers to relieve the moral balance of the colony from the
preponderance of penal society. The necessity of supporting this
balance induced parliament to vote a sum of £30,000 to meet
the expense of exportuig free emigrants to the places to which
the exiles were sent.
It was an unfortunate concomitant of the penal system, that in
18
NEW SOUTH WALES.
needed, they were TecuMy neXed ^ ThT" ""''! ^'^^^^^^
men, and th^ were thruTSer to be^ut TT' ''''' ^^
removed as possible from all hopes and con^lr ' ''''^^ ^' ^^
which were casually cast up on the snot and f •' '^''P' *^"««
to provide them with those^Wher Td CrTnl'""' ""''^ *^«"
is the function of religion andTnow'dge^^^^^^^^^^ ''
quen.es, as exhibited in the moral character nfJ? f ^ ''°"'®"
of the most appalling character Onf ./ •. ^^"^ ''°^''°y' ^^«'«
was the creation of a cLss of .,;n. °^?« r'* '^"^'^^ ^vUs
fled to the wilde;:ess,tnd 1 verhe"^^^ ^^^
terror and discomfort of the settlers wL L ^ "A'' T"'^ *° *^«
with firearms for defeL 1 wLi T "T"'"'^ *"* ^® P^^^^^^d
sary. The worst feat™ ^f It^ ^ -'"^ force was also neces-
now removed but is effPrf««' T""'"^^ '^'^'"^ ^'^ ^^^btless
South WaLs must n thTstcrnt^aL?^^ '''^'f^*^' ^"^ N«-
iield of emigration thantmrtW Srt^^^^^^^^^^
SALE OF LANDS.
land ^to wtK'r kr'^ •"■"" f "'"»"» -•»»!-. «»wn
.;>ppl.ed to South Australia, that a Ce S sh^uH wS ' ?
j..eatt.s-„f^h":.^^aLT:rifdia^no7- 4"^
liorae in mind that by no conceivaH.^rtf'j • ' *°*"' *" ^
i.s Australia, could pSs Tp^vemeTfrom'^r^ ™' " ""•""'^
land for nothing. ^Such ha^ C the res^ A^ F™'''^T "f
class of settlers is caUed squatters. well-kuown
J ettfSrt ?f Z '11^%: ^- «-«• ^'^-. on
In 1847 the legislative couacZr„«»r;w*? ^^■7/««""kable.
ing the land fuid fOTKiwifff ""'f ' "'»'«»'' »f "'"reas-
annihilated itTmdSAltl^^7"J'*\'^''^ '"^ ''^7
dispersed them tohe"th™ el'TS et ;S"''n'V'^
19
AUSTRALIA.
1840, the amount sank next year to .€138,253 ; in 1842 to £16,608 ;
in 1843 to £11,297; and in 1844 to £7403. This prodigious
diminution of realised price for land was perhaps ascribable in
part to the corresponding decline of a rash speculating spirit ; but
in 1848, when there was no such disturbing cause, the amount
did not rise above £46,674. It is proper to mention that govern-
ment was to blame for this ruinous result, only in having yielded
to the crotchets of private parties respecting the transference of
large numbers of labourers to fields requiring their assistance ; and
the consequent impromptu creation of a regular community-
employers and employed— in close juxtaposition. The very reverse
has taken place— a community widely dispersed, and occupied
principally, and in a most irregular manner, by squatters.
How to deal with these irregular occupants became a matter
of serious deliberation. Forcible ejection was inexpedient, and
indeed impossible. At length, in 1844, a system of granting
licences to the squatters, at so much for a sheep-run, was applied ;
but did not come fully into operation till 1847, when the system
Was reorganized.
According to an order in councU, in 1847, the whole lands were
divided into unsettled, intermediate, and settled districts, being so
named in relation to their distance from towns, rivers, or the sea-
coast. A few of the clauses from the order in council may here
be given.
In the first place, with regard to unsettled lands, the governor
is empowered to grant leases of runs < for any term or terms of
years, not exceeding fourteen years in duration, for pastoral pur-
poses ; with permission, nevertheless, for the lessee to cultivate so
much of the lands respectively comprised in the said runs as may
be necessary to provide such grain, hay, vegetables, or fruit, for
the use and supply of the family and establishment of such lessee,
but not for the purposes of sale or barter; and so, nevertheless'
that such leases shall in no case prejudice, interrupt, or interfere
with the right of the governor or other officer for the time being
administering the government of the said colony, to enter upon
any of the lands comprised in the said leases for any purpose
of public defence, safety, improvement, convenience, utility, or
enjoyment. The rent to be paid for each run to be proportioned
to the number of sheep, or equivalent number of cattle, which the
run shall be estimated as capable of carrying, according to a scale
to be established for the purpose by authority of the governor.
Each run shall be capable of carrying at least 4000 sheep, or
equivalent number of cattle, according to the scale aforesaid, and
not m any case be let at a lower rent than £10 per annum, to
which £2, 10s. per annum shall be added for every additional
NEW SOUTH WALES.
1000 sheep, or equivalent number of cattle wh.VI, *i,
estimated as capable of carrying. iC reit fo « T ''^^" ^«
advance.' "^ ° ® ^^^^ *o "^ paid yearly in
Next, as regards intermediate lands ' flm ;„* . •
be acquired, lield, and determined unon h! '''' '" '"'^'' «^«»
ditions as above laid down for unset?led lanr""' '''"^' *"^ «^»-
leases shall not be made for more t 1 l^^^' ^^««Pt»"g that the
and that at the end of each strptJ "'^^^ ^^^'^ ^« duration;
lease, it shall be coherent "^7^'' ^''"^ '^' ^^*« «^ *h«
time being administering? Vhp rl governor or officer for the
vided he shall hafe S/en Jxfvd?^'"* '^ '^'' «*^*^ ««W, pro!
sale all, or any part S tho S I' P'"''^^"' "^*^««' *« off^r for
the same condS if flVr "ftl^^^^^^^ '"^ ^"^' '""' «"bject ?o
in case of a sale at the expiration of T' T^ '^"^^ ^^^^ ^<>^^»
unsettled lands.' expiration of the full term of a lease of
^^e^^S^^^^^t^"^^^^^^^^ of lands may
ing one year. HoldeX n^lwS ? '/'' ^?'' ^^'""^ "^t exceed-
'".ay be%ermittrd to depaTur^^^^^^^^ f ^^" ^^^«« ^^«^"cts
crown lands, provided that th. '/ ."^ '^^'^'' ^"3^ ^^^cent ■
lands, free of charge sliall in nn ^'^^^^""'T "^' ^"^^ ""«««led
the government affn^t" to dir^^. of ^^^^^^^^^ '^' "* o^
or by lease, for one yi^s ItCtione'd^ '"™^' ^''^' '^ «^^^
is ttctd"^^^^^^^^ ^ ^-* «3'«tem of leasing lands
buying land Vor sheep rCL;^ hlTT: ''f *'^ ^^^'^^^^^ ^^
Settlers who design to become S f '%^' extinguished,
of unoccupied lands from tCo^^^^^^^^^^^ P^^^'"^^ ^^«es
transferred to them from mrMpr^ / v"^"*'"'' ^^ get runs
arrangements, capitdi ts ma^s ^n S^^ ^^ -^^eh
large sums in buvin£r land Ti ? "' ^"^^'"^ *« % out
licensed settlers wm^ubside^^t^^^ ^ii^"^^ ^°^^^ *^^^ ^hese
species of crown feuLories^^^^^^ ^" Perpetuity-a
possessions. ""^^^ues pa^mg an amiual quit-rent for their
hav^btnl^^ed:?:^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^- «outh Wales
ing, thereisthe iolSl^n^ noLl't'^^^^^^ '''''^- '
>:n.igration Commissionerl-rrei^tLSL^^^^^^^^
leaving about 300,00(^000 aci4!f,n"S ' T''^ "f" '^ P«^«^»-
this immense extent of land it ^ LMw '^'^ °^ "^^ ^^°^^"- Of
occupied by grazing estawLhmenS wl^L ^^1°"*^ two-thirds are
im b£!yonH tho i;i:*„ '^^^^"fnnients, which are also rapidlv erton.i
«.JricLTlaid ;S,t"the";::^i'S'i''"' ■"■."'°°' °' -"» °f
range ot the temperate zone are avail-
21
i.
AUSTRALIA.
ftblo for every description of cultivation. In Port Philip alone
noai-ly 900,000 acres have been surveyed, and not bid for, and aro
consequently available for immediate purchase.
• On the 30th December 1848, thirty-one now counties were pro-
claimed, which will accordingly fall within the chiss of intci-mediato
lands, as defined by the order in council, 7th March 1847. The effect
of this proclamation is to bring within the settled or intermediate
districts the whole sea-coast of the colony and the adjoining land to
ft depth varying from 50 to 150 miles. In the northern parts of the
colony, between 26 and 31 degrees north latitude, the depth does
rot appear to be more than 60 miles. From 31 degrees north
latitude, southward to the boundary of Port PhUip (including the
greater part of the settled districts), it ranges apparently from 100
to 150 miles. In the Port Philip district it would be, on the averaire,
considerably imder 100 miles.'
TOWNS.
New South Wales now possesses some fine large towns,
chiefly on the coast, and between whicli communication is kept
up by steamboats, stage-coaches, &c. Sydney, situated on Port
Jackuon, a beautiful bay of the sea, is the capital. The rise
of this city has been very rapid. Fifty years ago it was merely
a few hovels ; now it has a population probably of fifty thousand.
And such a population is not to be compared with that of an
English town of the same size, which has taken a thousand
years to grow, and has consequently a quiet vegetating commu-
nity, increasing both in numbers and in transactions at the rate
of about 1 per cent, per annum. The extreme rapidity of its
growth shews that it is a city of people in progress and action •
and hence its city peculiarities are not those of the quiet mansion
and the mdolent back street, but those of intense activity and
enterprise, accompanied by their characteristics both good and
bad. These characteristics, however, all tend to make Sydney
more metropolitan than a to\ra of the same size in this country.
There is a magnificent government-house, and there has long
been a theatre, with abundance of handsome taverns, and places
of indulgence of a less reputable character. But, fortunately
It may now be said that there is abundant church accommodation'
and many schools. There is a well-endowed school for the hitrher
branches of education, called Sydney CoUegc. It was founded by
a convict, but not one of the class counted infamous. He had
been transported for his share in a tragic duel, and being a skil-
1 if -^r^"' ^^ ^PP^^'"^ *o ^''ive devoted the remamder of his
days, with wonderful sueeess, to giving the world more than a fuU-
22
simila
who (
can
towns
other
drafte
of eve
tunate
town \
grow 1
natura
gious 1
slightly
multiti
his cat
hierarci
The
used ai
public i
assisted
called ]
Balmair
rapid cc
bourhoo
several
have iss
They
and the
for genei
the speri
in the sc
the indui
resources
raise this
and we n
most imj
the town
garden, h
Next t
Paramatti
■which P(
latter pla
there is :
water, 'b
NEW SOUTH WALES.
me.' urod compensation for all tho injury he had rinnn •♦ a ,
amuiar institution is called the AusSl CoLt ' Th ^''''^'
who desires to give his ohiMmn „„ j '^oiiege. ihe parent
can obtain in anrof the m ddl« 2 f ^ '^."'*^*^" "^ '^^y
towns of Britain, Led ^o Z'ml Z^ ,2^"''^'^ ^' ™^"time
other things shoild happent ^UrL^^^^^^ ^? ^ydn^^' if
drafted from all classes and kLa I?*! ^^'^^^^' ^° '^" city,
of every conside able reU^^^^^^^^^ the members
tunately, of late years thfZL„°/ ^^^ heir fellows, and for-
town whWe religiourf^uds TZl?- T'^'? *"^ instruction. A
grow up and strfl^Ln tW^^^^^^^^ "°t had time to
naturally exhibited a nrPHv li ' ^'^'' '''^ community, has
gious bodies of tl^ oircount^ ^T^'''' f «««h of the z-eli-
«lightly predominate, as the""d7in TuthT/^ ''°"*" ^^*^^«^^««
multitudinous expatriation of the^rUh a ""l""?' ^^^"^ *« the
Ws cathedral at Sydn^ aL fh? •* ^ "^"^^^'^^ ^i^'^^P has
hierarchy in the colony ^' '^'''' ^' ""^ * ^o"^*" Catholic
-^^^""^^f^^t^^^^ '^^ Wding formerly
public institutions contlutelfh?'™^^ ^"^ ^^'^^^ «^°trj
assisted by a handsome tW "i^t^^Poh^an air of the place,
caUed HydePark TWO ' ^"^ * P"^^i° pleasure-ground
Balmain,';5a4erd'owJ^^^^^^^^^^ S-^'"^^" viUages-sLh as
rapid commum\3atir i keTt "'n^f '^'"f ^"' ^.^^^«™' &c. ; and a
bourhood by sta^Zo^^^'Z^oZ^:: *\P;f--eigh.
several well-conducted newsDaDersTnrl^! ^^^^^y possesses
have issued from its press ^^' "® respectable works
and"f leTulT^ry^^^^^^^^ ^^1 ^^-rP-»S extent ;
for general traf^.c, as weU as ZZ' r° ^^J^^^^geo^sly adapted
the sperm-whale i^ ofthe sml^ ^^^'^'''^^ ^^P^^^^d in
in the sc. . ' Z WP pI? ''VS'^"' '' ^ S^^^d feature
the industr, e^ril^ of ^ts'fnT Kv ^T'^"'^' ^* ^PP^ars that
resources aroc ^Z ini J '°^f ^^^"tS' acting on the great
raise this cho e. c of In^W' "f '^^T'^ '''^'' P^^^^i^c to
and we may expect thlt Kt^ye ^ sl?'^'.l1 ^ f" *^ »
trtorrL?\tvtr^
^^^J^^ri*^^^^^^^ a botanic
Pa^mltt:, s&d ^ureCdTtf"^' ""^^^^ ^"^^^ '^ it, f«
which Poit Jackson temtatesa^^^^^^^^ ^"^'' ?f *^^ ^^^^
latter place and the foiTa !lil? Y^^^^- ^'^^^^en the
there isfrequent alaT^^: ^t'^^^Vi^^^^^^^ f -.
warer. ..^othing c.n exceed t^-^ii^^^'^t^Z^lS.
23
AUSTRALIA.
preflcnts itself on all siden a« you proceed to Paramatta by water ;
the sea generally smooth as glass, or but gently rippled by a
slight breeze ; innumerable little promontories covered with wood
to the water's edge, stretching into the sea, and forming a corre-
sponding number of beautiful little bays and inlets in endless suc-
cession and variety. Paramatta contains upwards of 6000 inhabi-
tants. The greater part of the houses here are built of brick or
white freestone ; and being for the most part unconnected with
each other, cover a greater extent of ground altogether than its
population would seem to warrant. The situation of Paramatta
is exceedingly delightful. It lies in a spacious hollow, covered
with the richest verdure, and surrounded by hills of a moderate
height. Here, too, are churches, hotels, taverns, seminaries, &c.
and all the other appendages of a considerable country town,
with a military and convict barracks, jail, governmont-house, and
the female factory — an establishment for the reception of incor-
rigible female convicts. Many of the private houses are of ele-
gant construction, with parks and gardens attached; the place
ahogether thus forming rather an assemblage of cottages timn a
town : the streets, however, are regularly laid out, running north
and south, east and westj
Pursuing an inland course for about twenty-one miles, the tra-
veller next arrives at Windsor, containing a population of about
3000. From Paramatta to this little town a coach runs three
times a week. Windsor, which, in the description of its buildings,
much resembles Paramatta, is built upon a hill close by the River
Hawkesbury, which forms the north and the north-western boun-
dary of the county, and which, after a circuitous route of about
140 miles, discharges itself into Broken Bay. Windsor also
contains a handsome government -house, with extensive gar-
dens, &c. ; two churches, a jail, court-house, military and convict
barracks, taverns, inns, shops, &c. The lands in the neighbour-
hood of Windsor are exceedingly fertile ; but this advantage is
more than counterbalanced by its extreme liability to inundation
from the Hawkesbury (in consequence of its vicinity to the Blue
Mountains), which has been known to rise to the almost incredible
height of 93 feet above its orduiary level. Inundations of 70 and
80 feet are of frequent occurrence ; and the consequences to settlers
Avithin its reach are often fatal, and always ruinous to their
settlements. The town itself, which is built on an eminence of
about 100 feet above the level of the river, has hitherto escaped
these tremendous overflowings; but as its elevation above the
highest known floods is only a few feet, it cannot be considered
as free from danger. Next to Windsor in importance is Liver-
pool, at the distance of about eighteen or twenty miles from
24
NEW 80UTII WALES.
Sydney, in « jouth-we.t direclion. Botween tI,o.o .^ i
«t«ge-c(«ch runs .everal times « week I K-olnn^l ■ ■ ^^T "
Jl.e bank, of Ueorge', Uiver, wllrdith.^: Te /'int""!.'^? "■"
Bay. It possesse. a churdi, two or tl>rce rood inn. J^ ''
house, jail, and the usual acc'ompanimS ffa tZ'i S Ch
pri::frv™N'::,'!ts;x:;mr--^^^^^^^
rCu^i^r-ir ^" --"-""sit
^ ■■4»
PKODUCTIONS, TRADE, &c.
As elsewhere stated, New South W«1ps .•« «i.:«« x , .
character, but is ™ore agricultur^rtl™ ^ olt?^^^^^^^
were 163,«69 acl ofli'dlnir^vXrt^r'eoff '' '""^
of wool was i;i,2(!0,14G, and of tXw £140 ™ f ff r' "^P"?
the eolony owned 113,895 horses ' 1762 85I' h! ^'''T'''
70,875 pigs; and 10,053 641 she^p ' Besides bei„r«^in"" '
gram eulture, much of the land i? adap d ofc^^h^f tZ
vme with regard to whieh some attention begLf to be taM
leaches are produced in great abundance, and from them th.
hnest brandy is d stilled As l.nwom.. »i • '™'",'"em the
of New Soufh Wales at nft\dSri„toG;rB"rht '"'"'''"
by paying high duties, the mauufac „re of ,h™ i not c„ndL7J
on an extensive scale In 1S4« , / "' ' j ."'°"''""«<'
acres; the quantitrof win ' priced ,4s 97 Wolir' """ f ',
brandy the produce was 1163 Kallons Toh.f5 ^ "'"' *'"' "'
»omo extent, and so Hkewrse'tr ^ ^gt'Toot" r'vT?' 'h
produces g,-apcs, peaches, and oranges, on a We sell? Z t
cattle, may be said to enjoy the g? atof "bouS nt 1'°^ ""1
to be capable of yieldmg'su"stena„^:rmatrh:r^^^^^^
the pasturing districts. l^^T^ZmVyVJt^tZ
-n nocKS to „,^ ^eafons, theu slaughter them, and boil dowu
Si
AUSTRALIA.
! ?
their carcasses for tallow. In 1849 there were in New South
Wales 360 boUing-down establishments; 1,666,752 sheep and
188,064 horned cattle were slaughtered, and 440,186 hundred-
weight of tallow were produced. The wool exported was
13,396,526 lbs., amounting in value to £663,966. The exports
of tallow and wool are principally to London, where the sales are
managed by coramission-agents, on whom the exporters draw
bUls of exchange. There is a law in the colony, by which money
can bo lent securely over wool and live-stock— the arrangement
being of course an accommodation to small capitalists requiring
to borrow for short periods. In 1849, the amount of prefer-
able liens on wool was £84,692, 18s. 3d., and on live-stock.
£161,663, 58. lid. '
Not the least valuable of the natural products is tunber of fine
qualities and large size. The following kinds of trees may bo
enumerated :— The red cedar, equal in richness and beauty to
mahogany ; iron bark and blue gum, suitable for house and ship-
building and general carpentry; rose or violet wood, suitable for
gig-shafts; beef- wood, adapted for tool -handles and bullock-
yokes; and tulip-wood, for all fancy-work. In consequence of
the prolific growth of the mulberry-tree, silk-worms may be
reared to any extent, and with scarcely any trouble may be a
source of considerable profit to the families of farmers. The soil
and clunate of certam districts appear to be suitable for the growth
of the sugar-cane, and the coflFee and cotton plants. The followmg
is a list of manufactories in New South Wales (mcluding Port-
Philip) in 1849 :— Distilleries, 2 ; rectifying and compoundmg, 2 ;
breweries, 31; sugar-refining, 2; soap and candle-works, 19;
tobacco and snuff, 16; woollen cloth, 6; hat, 5; rope, 4; tan-
neries, 72 ; salt, 1 ; salting and preserving meat establishments,
7; potteries, 4; glass-works, 1 ; iron and brass foundries, &c., 16.
It will be judged from the above that Australia is not a proper
field for the emigration of skilled labourers who look for employ-
ment in great manufacturing establishments. In the towns there
are doubtless a moderate scope for operative tailors, shoemakers,
carpenters, masons, and other tradesmen ; but the class of emi-
grants best adapted for this quarter of the world are shepherds,
ploughmen, and gardeners, or those who will ungrudgingly adapt
themselves to those pursuits, or to the more laborious duties of
draymen. It must be remembered by all classes of free labourers
to New South Wales, that they will require to compete with
ticket-of-leave or other varieties of convicts; and that, conse-
quently, they will labour to a disadvantage. Mechanics must
not be deceived by the outcries for labourers. In this particular
mstance, the demand is chiefly for ploughmen and shepherds, in
NEW SOUTH WALES.
consequenco of convicts not being now drafted into the colony
on the tormer abundant scale. At the same time, this scarcUv
affords an opening for free rural labourers, and ako for domes2
semnts. The Emigration Commissioners in their cTrcurr for
1861, report that ' the labourers most wanted are shepherds
fa^^serrants, agricultural Ubourers, and female domestrser:
Ta ^liirr"^ /''^r*'"' ^"^^'^y^", and blacksmiths there
18 a slight demand m the country districts; but for the superior
description of mechanics or tradesmen, who can only find suitable
ahZl .• ^' \' *^^' ^'*''°^ *^** *^« (liscoieries we are
about to notice may disturb the labour-market in this colony, and
create fallacious expectations, leading the labouring. classes from
steady pursuits. Several of the useful minerals -such as coaT
iron, and copper-have been found in the colony, but not to such
an extent as to supersede pastoral by mining pursuits. Of late,
ranZnf ^f^f" ^T ^""'?^ ^ '^'' township of Bathurst in the
range of he Blue Mountains. This mineral always holds out
ghttering temptations to adventurers, but there are many reasons
why Its discovery is never a steadily - profitable pursuit, and
among others there is this, that people will not work effectuaSy
at t for hire, and no one can make more than his own hands can
raise and remove. Few have made fortunes in California, whUe
many have undergone frightful hardships, and the adventurers a
Bathurst seem to bo meeting more hardships than success.
27
I
VICTORIA, OR PORT PHILIP.
in ^t^""'^' '''' ^1^"^ ^!"^'P' ^^^ established by act of parliament
in 1850, as a colony distinct from New South Wales, of wh'ich it
was formerly a part. It occupies the most southerly part of
Australia, with a stretch of sea-coast, opposite to Van Diemen's
Land By the above statute it was measured off as the territory
bounded on the north and north-east by a straight line from Cape
Howe to the nearest source of the Murray, and thence by the
course of that river, to the east boundary of South Australia. It
roOOOOoT "^ 'n "' f ,000 square miles, or rather more than
oO 000,000 acres It is about 500 miles in direct length east and
west, with a coast-line of 600 miles.
The rapid rise of this fine colony is the best token of its adap-
tation to the wants of emigrants. Scarcely fifteen years have
passed smce the first faint whispers began to be heard of adven-
iTnortrorv' n-^' '"'t'^^.'^ '^^^^'^ '^'^''^ ^ strait on
latirfrL f ^.^^'"f ^/^^"'J' ^«d found an endless undu-
Utmg tract of sweet, abundant pastures, spread out for their
use beneath a cloudless sunny sky, and watered by pleasant
streams. Sir Thomas Mitchell, the surveyor -general, in the
course of his exploring expeditions, passed through this ten-itoty
n 1836, and became its discoverer, in as far as he first made
Its character ana resources known to the world. It afforded
so strikmg and delightful a contrast to the arid deserts of salt
and stone over which he had so long tracked his weary way,
that he gave it the name of Australia Felix. Custom, however
gave It the name of Port Philip, from its principal harbour A
clever clergyman, who meddled with many things, and could
never speak without dictating, demanded that it shou d be named
Philip's Land; but demanded in vain; and parliament, tS
whetlier Its authority will be more powerful, has directed tl e 2f
t^d for'k.'"'*""" '' ^" ''''^'^' ""^ that of Her Majesty siE
Sir Thomas Micchell found a few adventurers already occupying
bouth Wales paid it a visit in the ensuing year, he found nearlv
500 colonists, with 150,000 sheep. After tL^ex^nW of Swan
River, he government was not very anxious to have another
Australian colony on its hands. B^t the rumour hadZread
tne narenr nnnnfrv and thp n""- f — Jf /. . F. _& ""
" 28 tcmtwy was last receiving fiock*
VICTORIA, OR PORT PHILIP.
for rme one andX'S "1"'' '"='•''' "■"» «'"=''» &«»"«')
AU -whn 1,.™ i' '^y""^"' ^a rose in material prosperity
run the mountain-rauffes called ti^ p ^: J'^^''^ *^« ^^^t
there are manvLSS S, f ^ Pyrenees and Grampians ; and
Mount CoTetus^Kko linj o .t ^r''^S^^«^,«ti««' among whidi is
• level of the sea 'it h.^s t , ^'''^^' '^ ^^^^ ^^«* ^^^^^^ th«
which stands Melbourne fZ -:T\ ^^^' ^^''^ ^arra-on
not of courseTverv lar ri" f """'^T' '"'° *^^' ^««' ^"^ are
parch4 drS:,rroh":on?r'«^^^ - oT'th^Et*" -'T
Sr,, onrsea^^^reat^ -T™ '^S/iltredU^
." es t'o :^h lorrfl S'r' '"'^^''' with^majestio:
savins tl,ot +V *"^^"®^^ P»y the poor compliment of sometimes
the more fertSdZonXd V ^ " " P'^-'^'-l'ut away from
and shatter^ p™k/ Ten Mr 'S ":i'i? P.'='='P™=' '""•™'''
del?^iTr;Hj,/r.t!.^ „^f '^'.^ - -» - vexations: I saw a .reat
about me and'eni^;;;: r;;::ibout" ton "" ^^^ '''"'." ' ^''"^'^ ^°«^
J ^ iu X was about ten or twelve miles from Mount
2a
1
II
1 ^^B
iij
■.-
'H
,_
1.1
I
(f'
m
AUSTRALIA.
Macedon, and a more picturesqne and beautiful region was never
looked upon. Water there was none, and the trees were all of one
kind, but the whole country had a delicately smooth, lawn-like
surface, without scrub or stones. Around me spread a spacious plain,
the she-oaks, a rich silky brown, scattered thinly and in clumps j
farther off, bounding the plain, knolls, slopes, and glens, all of the
smoothest outline, crowned or sprinkled with the same trees ; and
beyond, mountains and mountain-ranges, on which rested deliciously
the blue of the summer heavens. Some of these mountains were
wooded to the summits; others revealed, through openings, im-
measurable plains, where sheep were whitely dotting the landscape,
the golden sunshine seen at intervals betwixt the long shadows of
the she-oaks. There only wanted a good stately river — American or
English — to make the scene magnificent A more splendid
and extensive country there is not in the world for sheep and cattle
than Australia Felix. How fat and sleek are its immense herds !
I speak not here of the immediate neighbourhood of the town, but of
the country generally.'
Of a country about the size of Great Britain, so recently and
thinly inhabited, we can only expect to get from those who are
even best acquainted with it scraps of information about particular
patches here and there. Mr Griffith, in his ' Present State and
Prospects of the Port Philip District,' divides the flat country
into two classes : —
* The one, rich alluvial plots of deep-brown loam, formed of de-
composed trap, generally destitute of timber, but occasionally
wooded ; and the second, of plains entirely free from timber, or else
thinly sprinkled over with she-oaks or stunted honeysuckle-trees;
the latter being sometimes of a light-reddish clay soil, mixed with
sand, and at others of a brown loam, but producing everywhere
excellent food for sheep. A great part of the country, from Gee-
long to the River Grange, on the way to Portland Bay, going the
southern road by the lakes Colac, Poorumbeet, and Corangamite,
and more to the southward still, towards Port Fairy — a tract of pro-
bably 150 miles long, and varying from ten to thirty miles in breadth
— consists of the first description. This description of plains is
admirably adapted for cattle or tillage, but not so well calculated for
sheep, which on this rich soil are apt to sufier from foot-rot, unless
very well looked after. The second comprises the plains stretcliing
from Melbourne westward forty miles to the Brisbane Bange ; from
the ranges northward of the Saltwater River towards Geelong, forty
miles; from the River Hopkins eastward by Mount Elephant, forty
miles ; and from the Pyrenees in the north to the lakes Colac, Co-
rangamite, kc, probably a hundred miles.'
Dr Lang, who perambulated the territory at his leisure, and,
with an observant eye in all matters where he was not blinded by
his violent prejudices, has given the best general account of the
district which WG yet possess, with the title ' Philip's Land j or tJie
30
Count
and I
the dii
of Po:
from ]
author
*We
miles J
twelve
divides
howevc
across i
man's 1
and rer
'«W(
for vess
was siti
spot to
" consisi
interspe
*The
bilities.
cultivati
vicinity
grazing
general
cattle tl
descripti
are foun
tionably
is the ine
lively thi
the terrii
colder th
necessarii
be of the
'«Fron
ningham,
attracted
circumsta
Port liavii
in a wei?te
miles, bou
held, and :
lofty rang!
resembles
in picturei
mostly the
VICTORIA, OB PORT PH IP.
Country hitherto designated Port Philin • its Ptpodt,* r^ a-l-
S^,'/rr,V' * ^«"y eligible a'ra:S^.S'"o?
oJ P,^^"p.M- ^''?? ^°"' immediately eastward oS £,bo«r
of Port Phihp, and between it and fiippsland, he mnv^w
twelve miles in length SSxh^blJ^fr-f ' ^'^^^^* °^ ^^^'^^
divides it into an eaf^sr^and weste^^^^^^^^^^^ \Z ''"''"' T^'^ *^"«
however, called Philip's Island of nhn,ffT;. "^ -f '^ *''°'*'°'' '«^^"'^>
across the mouth of The Potfn f ", ^^^^^"^ ™'^^« ^°°&» stretching
r-rit£iE«S^--=
« « WA«f o,J iT; » ^*'°®^f.^D^«» for saihng-vessels in any wind
Western Port," according to Mr Hovell *' aWn^.^^ /^e \'
for vessels of any draught of wnio^» S. ' ^ ^^^° anchorage
was sitnated on th^S side of1hI\ ^^^ S^^^^^^^ settlement
spot to Bass's River; wS%;^tet thfpo^^^ ^ 'T''^ ^""-""^ *^^
"consists principally '']£LvSlTf.!^^^^/ *^® northward,
grazing land in the d'sS is mVr * ^^"^ ?^.'"°* of exceUent
generi moistnes of thtsoil anTcL^^^^^^ although from the
cattle than for sheen Th« T. u J '' '^ ^^"^^ ^^^P*od for
description; and fuSs ear h ^n5 """"^ "^'^ ^'^ ^^ *h« finest
are found in the vSv K^lf h^ ''^"°"' °'^''' ""'^""^^ P^«'i"«t«>
tionably reader this dStri^t of fhi'fi T"™^^^^^ '^^t wUl unques-
is the iLxhaustible sxlpp"^ ofVo^ wSch^cTr '" f'^'^'^ ^^^
tively thinly-wooded nmm'h.r ri i oontams. In a compara-
the territo^TSinl Sd^ p^^^ ^ Mp ?°''^°" °^ *^^ ^««t P^rt of
colder than^hit%J^St^wit^^^^^^^ ^^"^^^-^^^
necessarily be in ereaf rpn„oo* a7^' valuable mmeral wUl
be of the utmost iCrtan?rto\w "°^i''^^' ""'^ consequently
/« From WilsSr?m^^ VL^ ^^^^^^^^^^^
ningham, during whose resident in Net Lu^hw^Tu? ^^^""'
attracted more attention than if Le i .m? ^ ^^^^^ *^»8 district
circumstance of thTatrt ve attem^^^^ very recently, from the
Povt leaving taw. pracfabouU ^^^^^^^^^^
ma westerly direction round Cape Sran aboT«it/ '^'^' ^^°"^
miles, bounding an extent of country dSedr^^^^^^ 7 '^^^^^^^
held, and reaching apparently abouTfS ^U^^^^ ^"
lofty range of mountains runnine n -^1 wZ/ffi f r"*^ ^ "'^''-J'
resembles the park of a countrv!£; • t ^'^^^^^ ooast. In part it
in picturesqueVoupl t^r^^^^^^^^ 'S.^&^^~^^ 'J,^^^^^-^^E
mosu, the same as in Van Diemen's ie^'^^ TtkTtZ^
31
If
F
AUSTRALIA.
II
in thnt gonial climate attain greater size and beauty. In other parts
the eye wanders over tracts of meadow-land, waving with a heavy
crop of grass, which, being annually burnt down by the natives, is
repi'oductd every season. In these situations largo farms might be
cultivated, without a tree to interrupt the plougii. Various fresh-
water lagoons lie scattered on the surface, and about eight miles up
the Western River a branch stream intersects it. A second tributary
stream falls by a cascade into this latter, about five or six miles uj),
navigable for small vessels, whore there is an eligible situation for a
town. The mouth of the port is about thirty miles wide. An island,
called Philip's Island, occupies the centre, stretching about thirteen
miles, leaving an entrance at each extremity. From the headland
of the eastern main a reef runs towards the island, leaving a narrow
entrance for ships, but hazardous to one unacquainted with the
passage. The western entrance is, however, safe and commodious
for vessels of any burden.'"
Equally favourable accounts are given of some other districts,
which appear to consist chiefly of those broad level plains, with
scattered timber, which form the main feature of Australia, and
render it so available as a vast sheep -pasturing country. In
Gippsland, towards the coast, there is stated to be a tract of rich
Alluvial land, suitable for agricultural purposes. This tract is
reported to embrace at least 500 square miles, or 320,000 acres,
and to have the advantage of being close to navigable water.
* In short,' observes Dr Lang, ' the district of Gippsland is un-
questionably one of the finest fields for an' agricultural population
in the colony. From its vicinity to the Snowy Mountains and the
southern coast, it is blessed with abundance of rain; and the
climate, although mild and genial for a European constitution, is
considerably colder than that of New South Wales.'
Of certain inland districts, Mr Malcolm, a squatter and settler,
gave the following evidence before a select Committee of the Le-
gislative Council of New South Wales on Immigration in 1845: —
* The district from Lake Colach, for about 200 miles, is very rich ;
I do not think there is richer land in any part of the world ; it is as
good land as ever plough was put into.
* And already cleared? — Yes; there are thousands of acres adjoin-
ing Lake Colach clear of timber, and the richest land I ever walked
or rode over ; it is about forty-tive miles from Geelong, between
Oeelong and Portland.
* Is it well supplied with water ? — Yes ; with streams and lakes,
one of which is about twenty miles in circumference.
' You are of opinion, then, that the field is almost unlimited for
the eligible settlement of immigrants i — I sJiould say so : all the way
to Port Fairy, on the Glenelg River, is as good as the part I have
spoken of, taking tlie south side of the lakes; the other side is not
en nnni\
— B
32
hnf. is a oronrl wrnizino' noiinf.rv.
a e o • ■
'Do J
I have I
•Do :
agricult
I shoulc
country
saw the
Anotl
*\Vou
for imm
field foi
populati
* Are ;
great de
•Woul
apparent
generall;
Pliilip is
of Engla
•Doy(
*Byth
from the
*Byth
troduce £
who wou
the labou
bo a splei
* From
soil and
ultimate i
one hunc
and liis
his positi
Philip.
* Wouk
duce as c:
—No.
* By the
such a pri
they couk
At a p
south-east
covered ;
collected,
respecting
settlers b(
VICTORU, OB PORT PUILIP.
*Do you know tlio country on the banks of the Goulburn»-TG«.
1 have oeen on tlio Goulburn. * ^ *
country extending from Lake Colach to Portlaiid Bay. which I never
saw the hke of; a great part of it is too rich for sheep.'
Another experienced settler, Mr Holland, gave this evidence:—
« Would you state your opinion as to the capability of the colonv
for immigration generally ?-The district of Port Philip is a splendid
held for immigration; I think the soil able to mahitain a dense
population, and the climate highly favourable.
grl^lrannT^Tud "^'' '''''''^' g-erally ?-I have travelled a
•Would you compare the province of Australia Felix, in point of
apparent fertility, with any district in England, or with England
generally?— I am of opinion that the western district of Port
of En land*^^ °^ supporting as dense a population as any part
* Do you think the climate favourable ?— Highly.
* By the Auditor-general-Have you experienced any inconvenience
from the dryness ot the climate ?—:Not the least.
* By the Chairman— Do you not think it would be desirable to in-
troduce a class of persons, such us the small yeomanry of Enirland
who would cultivate farms of periiaps two hundred acres' extent, by
the labour of their own hands and that of their families ?— It would
bo a splendid field for them.
* From what you know of the capabilities of this country of its
soil and climate, do you think there would be any doubt of the
ultimate success of a farmer with a small capital, and a fam of say
one hundred and fifty or two hundred acres, cultivated by himself
and his family?— I think such a person would do well— that
Phiir^^^^""^ ^0"ld be materially improved by emigrating to Port
* Would you look upon the present low value of agricultural pro-
duce as calculated to interfere with the prosperity of small farmers?
* By the Auditor-general— Do you think they could raise wheat at
such a price as to make it pay to send to England ?-I feel certain
they could.'
At a point about thirty miles from Port-Philip Heads en the
south-east coast, veins of coal of a good quality have been dis-
covered ; and specunens of copper and lead ore have also been
coUected. We do not, however, possess any accurate statements
respecting the mineral riches of Victoria; the attention of the
settlers bemg^at present so profitably diverted to rural pursuits.
tUav numnj,' auvciiture does not appear to be prosecuted.
33
AUSTRALIA.
!
Melbourne, the capital of the colony, is pituated on the River
Yarra Yarra, at the head of the large land-locked bay of Port
Philip. Twelve years ago Melbourne was only a collection of
huts, and now it is a city with between twenty and thirty thou-
sand inhabitants, possessing many public buildings, sendmg forth
its mail-coaches and its steamboats daily to the neighbouring
ports, and, at stated intervals, to Sydney and Hobart Town. ^ It
is partly built of brick, from an excellent clay found in the vicinity,
and partly of stone. The handsome granite fronts of some of the
houses have recalled recollections of Dublin and Aberdeen. The
finest structure in Melbourne is Princes Bridge, built across the
Yarra, and consisting of a single arch of 15C ' : ^'^f.n; it cost
£15,000. The churches, hospitals, theatre, anu nics' insti-
tution, are buildings on a large scale ; and tY.< . existence is
creditable to the feelings of the people. The town has some
large hotels. The streets, though irregular in outline, are wide
and convenient, and offer the spectacle of a busy population.
The bay on which the town is built is one of the finest in the
world— broad and capacious, it offers an admirable haven for
shipping. The view of the town from the water is striking and
beautiful. In Melbourne there are extensive stores, where every
necessary and luxury may be procured ; and so excellent are these
stores, that emigrants have little need to take with them large
stocks of clothing or other articles. The town is rapidly in-
creasing by the immigration of families from all parts of the
. United Kingdom. The tone of society and of the general speech
is distinctly English.
Geelong may be called the second town in Victoria. It lies on
the west side of the bay of Port Philip, and we believe akeady
numbers about 6000 inhabitants. Between this western shore
and Melbourne, a steamboat regularly plies. The country behind
Geelong is now in the course of settlement for sheep-runs, on
licence from government, and is extremely well spoken of, and
we believe with justice. Few parts of Australia can be so well
recommended.
SALE OF LANDS AND CAPABILITIES FOR SETTLERS.
The regulations as to the sale of land, and the occupation of
the waste crown lands as cattle-runs or sheep-walks, are the same
which apply, under the general statute, to New South Wales.
The effect of the dear-land scheme, and the corresponding squat-
ting-system, does not here appear to have been so marked in
ufiving
u
owners (
In the fi
of mech
class of
trades.
more em
tlie hum
shephcK
There
scope fo
and indu
pose a pi
Of cours(
more dis
it ' at lea
spend no
what is
pensated
and othei
we might
name of
into accoi
however,
tures. 1
and trav(
bullock-d
from the :
Tlie fol
to the obj
grate not
authority-
cil of NcT^
* Emigrs
capital an
colonial S(
extent def
exists in v
may be sa:
cultural p
conclusive
it would b
may, howe
lands, that
timber anc
*It is si
believes ai
VICTORIA, OR PORT PHILIP.
owners of sheep and cattie, and the humble shepherds and herds
In the first place, the colony not being old enough to have a race
ot mechanics of its own, there appears to be more room for that
class of workers, even in foUowing their own special and legitimate
trades. Probably also the greater fertility of the soU has given
more encouragement to a middle agricultural class to rise out of
the humbler grade, or to come otherwise in between them and the
shephera lords.
There can be no doubt that this fine colony oflfers the broadest
scope for men of moderate capital, possessing inteUigence, skilL
and industry, along with that degree of self-denial which can dis-
pose a person to feel comfortable in a life of comparative solitude.
Uf course we here point to the profession of sheep-farming in the
more distant parts of the country, where it is necessary to ' rough
It at least for a time, in a dwelling of a very rude kind, and to
spend no little time daily on horseback. But the drawbacks on
what 18 usually called comfort, will to many be more than com-
pensated by the abundance of provisions, the cheapness of tea
and other luxuries, and a total exemption from rates, taxes, and
we might almost say rent ; for the sum payable to government in
name of hcence for a sheep-run is too insignificant to be taken
into account. The settler in the remote soUtudes of Victoria is
however, not utterly cut off from communion with his fellow-crea-
tures. There is a remarkably free intercourse among neighbours,
and travellers are frequently making calls ; while, by means of
bullock-drays, all requisite articles, books, letters, &c. are brought
from the nearest seaports and towns.
Tlie following views with regard to the applicability of this soil
to the objects of the middle classes, and of the humbler, who emi-
grate not merely to live, but to rise, are taken from the very best
authority— the Report of the Committee of the Legislative Coun-
cd of New South Wales on Immigration, issued in 1845 :—
* Emigrants arriving in the colony, bri ;mg with them a small
capital and habits of industry, would constitute a social grade in
colonial society, of which it is at the present moment to a great
extent deficient. A boundless extent of land available for culture
exists m various divisions of the colony. Australia Felix, generally,
may be said to bo eminently adapted for the settlement of an agri-
cultural population ; the evidence on this point is so ample and
conclusive, and is furnished by such a multitude of witnesses, that
It would be quite supererogatory to dwell upon it in this report : it
may, however, be remarked, as a peculiar feature in the Australian
lands, that tracts best adapted for the plough are naturally clear of
timber and brushwood.
«It is stated by an intelligent witness, Mr Malcolm, th-at «lio
believes any given area in the Port Philip district is capable of sup-
ii5
AUSTRALIA.
^f
porting as large an average population as any part of England or
tscotlttiid ;" that « lio believes that there is no part of the world
whore small fannci-s, arriving with their families and with a small
capital, could do better than in Port Philip ;" that •' ho is himself au
agent for several gentlemen who have lands in that district let out
in small farms ; that many of the shepherds, after they have been a
few years in service, have saved perhaps £100 or £200, and turned
farmers on their own account,-" that "all the lands around Mel-
bourne and Geelong were as rich as any lands he had seen ; that a
district extending from Lake Colach, about two hundred miles to
the westward, was capable of supporting the densest agricultural
population."
' Mr Walker, whose long experience and extended observation ia
all matters relating to the colony give to his evidence the highest
value, confirms the testimony of Mr Malcolm as to the great capa-
bilities of the colony for all agricultural purposes. Mr Walker
observes : " I could not think of finishing my enumeration of agri-
cultural tracts without including Australia Felix, in which district
there is an immense extent of country suitable for agricultural pur-
poses, and for the maintenance of a dense population ; and which
has been so well described by Sir Thomas Mitchell, the surveyor-
general of the colony, as • a region more extensive than Great Bri-
tain, equally rich in point of soil, which now lies ready for the plough
in many parts, as if specially prepared by the Creator for the indus-
trious hands of Englishmen.' There is, besides, the whole of Gijjps-
land of a similar character."
• The Australian climate and soil are peculiarly adapted for the
growt): of all Mediterranean productions : in the southern divisions,
for the vine, the olive, the mulberry, and the tobacco-plant; in the
northern, for the cotton-tree, the sugar-cane, the coffee and indigo
plants, rice, and all the indigenous productions of tropical and semi-
tropical climates. Numerous and inexhaustible sources of wealth
and prosperity remain in abeyance, and wholly undeveloped for
want of labour and capital : these, if brought to bear m due pro-
portion, could not fail to elicit results alike productive of prosperity
to the individual colonist, the social advantage of the colony at lai-ge,
and the interests of British commerce generally.
* Some of the branches of industry above refeiTcd to have already
engaged the attention of the colonists, and the most conspicuous
amongst them is the culture of the vine. During the year 1845,
566 acres of land were in cultivation as vineyards, yielding 50,666
gallons of wine, and 1018 gallons of brandy.
♦ With the view of encouraging the growth of the vine, a wish has
been very generally expressed that the immigration of a limited
number of vine-growers from the south of France and Germany into
the colony should be encouraged. The knowledge uecessaiy for
the successful cultivation of the grape, and the manufacture of wine,
is only to be found amongst the inhabitants of the wine-growing
m
VICTORIA, OR PORT PHILIP.
colony by the introduction of such a class of persons would bo of
the most serviceable kind, the committee conceive that equal faci-
lities should be affoi lod to them as to British immigrants, either in
affording them a frto passage rnder a bounty-system, or in thei
granting a remission in tlie purchase-money on land, as an equiva-
lent for the outlay incurred in their passage.'
Dr Lang gives the following pleasing account of what mav be
accomplished out ot the smallest means by perseverance and pru-
dence, in the history of one of his own Scottish countrymen :—
• On his arrival in Melbourne, ho had only from five to ten shillings
m the world, and this small sum he had earned by somo petty ser-
vice rendered on board ship to one of the cabin passengers; but ho
liad nmo sons and a daughter, of whom the eldest was about twenty
years of age, and the youngest in infancy. Labour was high priced
at the tune, as everything else was; and having no mechanical
employment, he hired himself as a stone-mason's labourer at £2
a week. Those of his sons who were fit for service of any kind
were also hired at different rates of wages to different employers,
a lie earnings of the family appear to have been all placed in a com-
mon purse, and with their first savings a milch-cow was purchased
at £12; another and another being added successively thereafter at
a somewhat similar rate. Pasture for these cattle on tlie waste land
quite close to the town cost nothing, and there were always children
enough, otherwise unemployed, to tend them; while the active and
industrious wife and mother lent her valuable services to the com-
mon stock by forming a dairy. In this way, from the natural
increase of the cattle, and from successive purchases, the herd had
increased so amazingly, that in the month of February 1846 it
amounted to 400 head; and as this was much too large a herd to be
grazed any longer on the waste land near Melbourne, a squattinjr-
station had been sought for and obtained by somo of the youno- men
on the Murray River, about 200 miles distant; and as I happened to
be spending an afternoon in that month at the house of my worthy
friend John M'Pherson, Esq., of the Moonee Ponds, near Melbourne
—another remarkably successful colonist from the Highlands of
hcotland, whose eldest son is now a student of divinity in the Free
Church College at Edinburgh-the herd was actually pointed out to
me by Mr M'Pherson as it was passing his house at some distance,
under charge of the young men, to their station in the interior. For
such a station the temporary occupant has merely to pay £10 a year
to the government, which insures him an exclusive ric^ht of pas-
turage, for the time being, over perhaps from fifty to "a hundred
square miles of land.'
Much to the same purpose is the following statement •—
«Mr Malcolm observed that he had had various families of Scotch
Highlanders and others in his service as shepherds, who had saved
the whole of their wages, and hivested them in cattle, and taken
One of these has a cattle-farm of 800 acres rented
37
]
AUSTRALIA.
from Inm for .£60 a year. Mr Malcolm added, that ho had an excel-
lent shepherd— an expiree convict—still in liis service, to whom ho
liad paid in money-wages upwards of £400, at the rate of £40 a year
Sumetimes ; but the man has not a sixpence saved, as he drinks ail
ha earns as regularly as he receives his wages. Mr Aitken confinnod
this statement by observing, that the rest of his men had had pre-
cisely the same opportunities as the Camorons and the two Mowuts
[men who had raised their position]; but they had regularly spent
■all they earned, and were shepherds still.'
Tlie following instructive passage is taken from the same
source : —
• Many of the squatting-stations of Philip's Land are held in this
joint-stock-partnership way : two young men find, perhaps, on their
arrival in the colony, that the amount of capital they can each invest
in stock is sufficient to bear the expenses of a separate establish-
ment, and they therefore unite their capital, and make a joint-stock
concern. In this way their individual expenses are diminished one-
half to each of them, while a more effectual euperintendence is
secured for both ; for the one can always be present on the station
while the other is necessarily absent, disposing of produce, purchas-
ing supplies, or transacting other business for the station. It often
happens also, that even when these partnerships are well assorted,
one of the partners is much better fitted for the one class of duties
than the other; so that each contributes in the most effectual manner
his quota of service or exertion for the common benefit of both.
And when the concern becomes sufficiently extensive to bear divi-
sion, and when each is able perhaps to keep an overseer of his own,
the stock and other property are divided accordingly ; and then when
Lot goes to the right hand, Abraham goes to the left. From a list of
the payers of squatting-licences in Philip's Land, he will see how very
large a proportion of the squatting-stations of that country have
hitherto been held on this joint-stock principle. It is true the
partnerships are not always well assorted : the partners, it may be,
do not draw well together; they are not of congenial dispositions;
and a disruption takes place, as occasionally happens elsewhere in
other partnerships of a more extensive character and a more intimate
connection : but these are the exceptions— self-interest and common
sense preventing them from becoming the general rule.'
The vine has been extensively cultivated, as will appear from
the report of the Legislative Council and the statistics already
quoted ; and a considerable qu ..!tity of wine and brandy have been
already made from it. By a parliamentary report presented in
1851, it appears that in 1849 there were laid out m vineyards 164
acres, producing 5220 gallons of wine, and 515 gallons of brandy.
Along with the paper containing statistical returns of the produce
and the demand for labour in the various districts in New South
Wales already mentioned, thfirft i« a spnavato sol- nf returns fr"m
38 r ~ - -
»*ww^W!wnw•ar'•(r,.•^«r^•?^s.v^
*agjajw»if.
ce
th
VICTORIA, OR PORT PHILIP.
Port Philip, divided into tlie districts of Melbourne, Western
fort, Portland, Geelong, Murray, and Gippslaud. The stable
agricultural productions are generally the same as in that return-
wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, and maize, with no mention of peas
or beans. The productions of Portland are set down as ' whciit
oats, hay, vegetables, wool, hides, tallow, black-oil, black-cattle!
and sheep.' The labour column shews that commodity to be
everywhere m demand, but does not press so steadily on purely
held-labour aa the corresponding document relating to the old
colony. Of Melbourne it is said-* Most parts of the district are
stiil requiring labourers ; the city and vicinity a little better sup-
plied than heretofore, in consequence of the arrival of immigrants.
All kinds of labourers are required.'
The latest published work ou Victoria is that of Jolm Fitz-
gerald Foster, Lsq. (Trelawney Saunders, 6 Charing Cross, Lon-
don, 1851.) Mr Foster was for some years a member of the
Legislafive Council for the Port Philip district, and may therefoie
be supposed to bo a trustworthy authority. His representations of
the prospects of small capitalists are as encouraging as those cf
L>r Lang. After gi vmg some instances of mercantile adventure
and success m town pursuits, he proceeds to speak of pastoral
occupations. The first instance he adduces of this class is that
ot a family who, in 1838, came over to Port Philip with 3000
eheep from Van Diemen's Land : they are now possessed of
stock equivalent to 75,000 sheep.' A second case is that of 'a
man, formerly an overseer of theu-s, who now has one of the best
stations m the land, on which ho has 15,000 sheep.' Another
instance oi success is that of ' one of the earliest settlers, who
commenced with 100 ewes : he is now said to be in the receipt of
J.4C30 per annum. Au overseer of his, who saved a little money,
has at present a station and 7000 sheep. A third, who also com-
menced with 100 sheep, is now a very wealthy man, with many
thousands of sheep and cattle, and considerable landed property.
A fourth, who mvested £1200 about twelve years ago lately
during his absence in England, had £3000 per annum remitted
trom his agent m the colony, who at the same time increased his
stock. A fifth, who commenced with £300, sold his stock in
four years for £2300.' It is admitted by this writer that as the
nearest lands fill up, the chances of success are probably lessened:
nevertheless, in so extensive and so productive a region, the
enterprising emigrant need entertain no fears as to any difficulty
in obtammg a location suitable to his means. It may be J^dded,
that if the capitalist has a family growing up, he possesses a great
advantage over the bachelor; because the services of his sons and
daughters will prove of inestimable value, and their scoiety, along
-■■ «rasj;jaM*fc».> -..^f^^mm
AUSTRALIA.
with that of hU wife, will prodigiously aBsuagc the (liscomforts of
a dwelling in the broad wildcrne.Hfl.
In some convenient part of each run the house of the squatter,
or more properly the shepherd patriarch, is placed, with a few
enclosed paddocks and slip of garden in its vicinity. Besides the
family hut, which is built of wood, there are huts for the shepherds,
Btablea, and other accommodations. The run may be large or small,
but usually it is a number of square miles in extent. Some runs
are twenty miles long, with a corresponding breadth ; and in such
cases there are outstations for trustworthy shepherds, with their
dogs. These persons bear 'ttle resemblance to the shepherds on
the Scottish hills or downs , the south of England. Their equip-
ments, with a rough blouse, a belt round the waist, a gun over
their shoulder, leathern leggings, and a cigar in their mouth, give
them more the aspect of brigands than that of watchful guar'
dians of a flock of sheep.
The distribution of shepherds over the runs is thus referred to
in Mr Foster's account of a squatter's life : — ' To each flock one
shepherd is allotted, Avho feeds it for two or three miles round an
outstation, possibly at the distance of ten or flfteen miles from
his master, who, if very diligent, may perhaps visit him once a
week or month. Two flocks run from each station, where the
watchman lives who guards them from the wild dogs at night,
shiftsfthe folds daily, and cooks for the shepherds. On another
part of the run may be found a herd of cattle depasturing, 1000
or 2000 head of which are under the charge of a stockman, who
is perpetually on horseback, riding round his herd, and collecting
the stragglers. Nearer the homestead, we may meet with 50 or
100 horses, old and young, some belonging to the squatter him-
self, some to his men ; for few of them have not, out of their
savings, purchased a brood mare, while some of them possess
several.'
The life of one of these gi*eat sheep proprietors is described as
being a condition of leisure and coarse abundance, interspersed
with a peculiar class of cares. There is always a certain fear of
shepherds deserting their charge, of sheep being worried or dis-
persed by wild dogs, or of catarrh, scab, or foot-rot having broken
out in the flocks. Then there is a period of anxiety at the
lambing season — ' when,' say Mr Foster, ' a storm of sleet may
destroy hundreds of lambs.' Lastly, there is the trouble con-
nected with the great sheep-shearing season, when all hands are
pressed into service, and casual assistants require to be hired,
to wash and shear. Of the minor anxieties consequent on the
running away of cattle, the training of horses, and so forth,
nothing need be said. He who cannot face such difiiculties had
40
''W 'iiii)m9m, .'isifm^v^-(:^'m'X'ym mmmmtmm.-i V';'W':'
VICTORIA, OR PORT rillLIP.
r.^rir.r'''".,''^ ^T'' *",1'^'-*^ «»* existence in tl.e mi(l«t of
cures of another c1h««. The world is not to be won anywhere
without Bomc variety of toils and troublos. ^
The progresB of Victoria is as marvellous as anything in colonial
history. The country which, fifteen years ago; had only a few
wandering savages and wild animals, is now occupied by 60 000
inhabitants ol JJritish origin, and feeds 400,000 homed cattle and
upwards ot 5,000,000 sheep, producing upwards of 12,000 000
fo f/vVft-^r i?K ^^P^'-**^^''"- I" 1849, the imports amounted
to £479,831, and the exports to £755,326. The exports are there-
setTJlnntfr ^'' nT"^' '"^ '*" '"^^'^'^ ^« p'r head on tl^
settled population. The exports and imports are rapidly increas-
ing; and since 1849 we should imagine that the imports^er 3
must have risen to about £10 or £11. As much of the^fmpo;^
are British manufactures, it is evidently for the benefit of the
home country to encourage by all reasonable means the growth
not only of this but the kindred Australian colonies.
llie returns to parliament, bringing down the amount of emi-
gration to the boginnmg of 1849, shew the total number of
immigrants who landed in Port Philip during the preceding year
to have been 4098. Of these, 2111 were male8^ 1987 females^ S
iiumber of agricultural labourers was 841, and of shepherds 94.
1 he domestic servants are rated at 15 males and 704 females. The
number of building mechanics was 115, and of persons emnfcyed
in preparing or selling food 20. Engaged in making artiles^of
clothing were 8 males and 25 females. The persons following
mechanical pursuits, not included in any of these classifications
were set down at 134 males and 3 females. intaiions,
41
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
This eolony is. situated to the west of Victoria, a^ J, like it,
commands a certain extent of coast, which is here indented with
«everal extensive bays; and at the head of one of these inlets Is
the port of Adelaide. This situation is believed to give the
colony advantages for external traffic, more particularly as respects
trade with India, tlie Cape of Good Hope, and isknds in the
Indian Ocean. In sailing from England, the port of Adelaide is
reached a few days before Melbourne or Port Philip— a circum-
stance that may be kept in mind by emigrants in making preli-
minary arrangements.
By the statute appointing the constitution of South Australia
(4 and 6 Will. IV. c. 95), the boundaries of the settlement were fixed
between the 132d and 14l8t degrees of east longitude, and between
the Southern Ocean and the 26th degree of south latitude, making
an area of 300,000 square mUes, or nearly 200,000,000 of acres. In
the papers relating to the crown lands in the Australian provinces
presented to parliament in 1851, there is a proclamation minutely
setting forth a specific boundary in terms of the geographical
definition. It is appointed to commence at a point about 1 J mile
west of the mouth of the Glenelg, where the 141st meridian cuts
the sea-coast. The distance surveyed is about 124 miles from the
coast, marked with a double row of blazed trees, and mounds
where the ground is bare. It was provided that the sovereign m
council might authorise any body of men to make laws for the
colony, constitute courts, appoint judges and other officers, and
also appoint clergy of the Established Chm-ch of England or
Scotland, and impose rates or taxes. It was provided that all
such laws and regulations be laid before the sovereign in council
It was under this act that ' The Colonisation Commissioners for
South Australia' were appointed, with certain definite functions.
A portion of these comprehended the establishment and enforce-
ment of what is called the self-supporting or sufficient-price
system akeady referred to, and which will have to be further
noticed.
South Australia is not a mountainous district, though it has a
sufficiency of hill and other inequality of surface to redspm it
from the character of flat monotony. The highest summits rise
4(3
slightly
racter oi
the surf
ground,
land rea(
of forest
parts of
' thousar
requured
purposes
abundani
are all s
factory j
who hav
sufficient
abundant
tural hol(
believed
water, bu
are very i
rence of t
menon q
springs, a
brings th
water is e
tinct temj
district —
uate settl
intended
reference
tions, inq)
tunes to 1
in the ye£
with delic
ponds foil
failing anc
always rei
feet, at h
colony the
and bracki
It is, how
wholesome
to the tas
brackish -v
SOUTH AUSTEALIA.
sliglitly above 3000 feet from the sea-level. The general cha-
racter of the scenery, unless in the great aUuvial plains, which are
the surface riches of the district, is that of gently-undulating
ground, with forest-glades and clumps. There is a large quantity of
land ready for the plough, without the necessity of clearing it either
of forest or of the fern-root, which gives so much trouble in many
parts of New Zealand. One authority mentions that there are
thousands of acres broken up, from which not a single tree
requured to be removed.' The fertility of many parts for arable
purposes, the adaptation of large tracts for sheep pasture, the
abundance of mineral wealth, and the salubrity of the cli'..ie
are aU admitted on the best evidence. We possess less satis-
facto^ accounts respecting springs and water- courses. Those
w^ have had experience of the colony speak of the water as
sufficient fo; aU practical purposes; but it is not suppUed by
abundant perennial streams, as in Britain and New Zealand. Na-
tural holes, ponds, or tanks, have to be greatly relied on ; and it is
believed that these are not merely coUections of river and surface
water, but that they are supplied by springs beneath, since they
are very deep, fresh, and cool. It is said that bathers find a diflFe-
rence of temperature in different parts of the same pool— a pheno-
menon quite consistent with the supposition of subterranean
springs, as warm water, being lighter than cold, tends upwards, and
brmgs the whole mass to the same temperature; but when cold
water is supplied from below, it keeps to a certain extent its dis-
tinct temperature. One of the most enthusiastic admirers of the
district— for the good reason, that he was one of the most fortu-
nate settlers— gives an account of the water, which, though it is
intended to be laudatory, should make the emigrant, both with
reference to his own and his family's health, and minor considera-
tions, mquire well into the matter before he finally trusts his for-
tunes to this colony. Mr Button says—' For about five months
in the year aU our creeks-" rivers "j?ar excellence— bxq running
with delicious water: after the rainy season is over, the natunS
ponds foi-med in the beds of the rivers and creeks afford a never-
failing and abundant supply; and, with few exceptions, you may
always rely on getting water by sinking wells at from 20 to 100
feet, at from many places under 20 feet. In some parts of the
colony the water has to the new-comer a somewhat disagreeable
and brackish taste, owing to the aluminous nature of the subsoil.
It IS, however, a weU-established fact, that there is nothing un-
wholesome in this; indeed I have myself become so accustomed
to the taste of it, that after a lengthened stay in the countrv.
»i,x,« xc.uxiiixig iw xiuuiiiiuu, 1 almost preierred the slightly
brackish water I had been drinking in the country to the fresh
411
IV-
(1 ■■ fl
\
AUSTRALIA.
spring water out of the torrent. Cattle and sheep flourish amaz-
ingly on this water (that is, the water of South /iustralia), and are
very fond of it.' * Mr M'Laren, when -sked by the 1847 Com-
mittee on Emigration, 'Is the colony well watered?' answered —
* There are extensive districts well watered.
• Comparing it with Sydney, it is mucli better watered than the
Sydney colony? — Much better: there have been no droughts in
8outh Australia as there have been in New South Wales. And this
is not a statement made on vague grounds ; because, r /er since the
settlement of South Australia was formed, there have been regularly
meteorological tables published ; and there has not been one
calendar month since the settlement of Europeans in South Austra-
lia in which rain has not fallen.'
The evidence of Mr Morphett, who had resided in the colony
from its commencement, given before the same committee on this
highly-important subject, was as follows : —
•Is South Australia better watered than Sydney? — Yes: our
colony is not what Englishmen would call a well-watered country,
inasmuch as there is not so much surface-water as we see in Eng-
land ; there are not the rivers that we here see running towards
the sea ; but there is, for all practical purposes, as much water for
the country as we require.
* Are you subject to droughts such as have occurred in Sydney? —
No : we have never had droughts, and I do not think that our coun-
try is subject to droughts.
* Do you find any difficulty in procuring water by sinking wells ?—
Not any : a great many of the sheep of the country are watered by
wells.'
It is of course, in a colony holding out inducements to agricul-
turists, a matter of vital importance to know something of the
breadth and depth of the alluvial soil, as well as of its character.
But these are precisely the important matters in which it is most
difficult to obtain specific information, and in which the informa-
tion obtained is most frequently one-sided or en*oneous. Colonel
Gawler, the second governor of the colony, is said to have pro-
nounced, in a general way, tliat one-third of the land was good
for agriculture, one-third for pasture, and that the remaining third
was barren. This general estimate has been coincided in by those
who have had fuller means of testing its accuracy.f The fertility
of the organic matter contained in the soil is largely developed by
the abundant presence of decomposed limestone, though in some
places the earth, from consisting of imperfectly pulverised primitive
rock, is
Hccordi]
appears
lands h
charact(
mineral
authorit
open ph
cipally (
limestor
generall;
rock, &(
brown 1
three, in
for the
on the r
inches o:
The p
in the (
ever beci
is practi
rolling SI
can entei
likely to
•entered.
hundred
is Still a 1
between
belt of bi
on eithe]
purposes.
small lak
rfouth Ai
which is
variations
very grea
to its wat
the rate
attains a '.
level. A
lagoons, i
The nativ
much &m
U
* Dutton'8 South Australia, p. 86.
t Dutton, p. 200.
mm'wamK'm'
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
rocfc,j8 hard and inorganic. Tliese interruptions are, however
according to the general accounts, comparatively rare ; and it
appears that, especially wherever the streams from the upper
lands have left deposits in the lower, they have been of an orjanio
character caused by the decay of vegetable matter, while the
mmeral deposits are calcareous and argilaceous. A practical
authority has been quoted by Mr Dutton, to the effect that 'the
open plains and low grounds throughout the colony consist prm-
cipaUy of light sandy loam, of a bright-red colour, resting on a
limestone rubble. Tracts of sandy and poor soil are also met with
generally arising from the decomposition of sandstone and quartz
rock, &c. On the face of many hills of moderate elevation a fine
brown loam is abundant, of more or less depth; in some cases
three m others as much as five feet, and is a most admirable soil
for the growth of fruit-trees. On the base of the hills, resting
on the recent limestone, is generally found from six to eighteen
inches of a reddish loam, the very perfection of soil for the vme.'«
^ The prmcipal river in the colony, the Mun-ay, reaches the sea
m the estuary called Lake Victoria, which is shallow, and is
ever becoming shallower. It can scarcely be said that the mouth
IS practically navigable, as, from the shallowness and the heavy
rollmg surf, it is but on rare and special occasions that a vessel
can enter It. But it is thought that when it becomes dry, as it is
likely to be, the river, in a narrower channel, may be more easily
^ntered. This river is of great length, from thirteen to fifteen
hundred mUes. How far it may be useful in a commercial sense
w stiU a matter of doubt. It passes, in a great part of its course,
between high cliffs of sand and clay, while in other places a broad
belt of brash and forest skirts it, with occasionally great flat plains
on either side, unfortunately too arid to be used for pastoral
purposes. There are along its course quantities of lagoons or
small lakes— a constant attendant of the limited river districts of
rfouth Australia, as they are the natural result of a water-system
which IS liable to be much reduced during the dry season The
variations of this river, answering to the dry and wet seasons, are
very great. 'It receives,' says Captain Sturt, ' the first addition
to Its waters from the eastward in the month of July, and rises at
the rate of an inch a day untU December, in which month it
attains a height of about seventeen feet above its lowest or winter
level. As it rises, it fills in succession all its lateral creeks and
lagoons, and it ultimately lays many of its flats under water,
llie natives look to this periodical overflow of their river with as
much anxiety as did ever, or do now, the Egyptians to the over-
n
( f .51
'\ n
\<^]
* Dutton, p. WO.
45
'.4"'
ii*'
AUSTRALIA.
flowing of the Nile. To both they are the bountiful dispensation
of a beneficent Creator: for as the sacred stream rewards the
husbandman with a double harvest, so does the Murray replenish
the exhausted reservoirs of the poor children of the desert with
numberless fish, and resuscitates myriads of cray-fish that had
long lain dormant under ground.'
The 35th degree of southern latitude passing right through it,
the centre of this district is on a parallel with the northern extre-
mity of New Zealand, and, independently of the causes of greater
dryness, it has naturally a higher average temperature. In this
respect the only element of difference between it and Sydney is
the one being on the east and the other on the west side of the
continent. Compared virith the northern hemisphere, it lies like
Malta, Algiers, and Gibraltar ; but there are now ascertained to be
topical causes of influence which prevent places, in the same posi-
tion of the two hemispheres, from having the same temperament ;
and of these the broad arid continent itself, with the wide open sea
around it, are causes sufficient to account for great differences, from
the varied centre of Europe. The climate of South Australia is more
temperate than that of Southern Europe — apparently more like that
of France and Northern Italy. The firiends of the colony speak of
its climate in unmeasured terms of praise. Mr Button saysr— ' It is a
continued succession of spring and summer ; for although r part
of the year is caUed winter, it is only so in name, because a have
not yet discovered an appropriate word to substitute for it. Suf-
fice it to say, that our so-called winter is without frost or snow ;
that it clothes the country with a verdant and flowery sward, and
the trees with foliage, delighting at once both man and beast. The
rain which falls during this season germinates the seed which the
farmer has sown into green and luxuriant growth. Winter is the
season when the young liambs, calves, and foals gain strength from
the tender and nutritious grass which springs up in every direc-
tion, while the wool of the sheep is matured ingrowth.' — (P. 113.)
This is fully confirmed by Mr Wilkins, who says—' The rainy
season is called the winter, but this name gives but a poor
idea of that season to persons who have been accustomed to
the frost and snow of a winter in England. There is no frost
or snow, or, more strictly speaking, it is so rare an occurrence,
that I only once remember !iaving seen ice, and this was in a cold
hilly district.'
Where there is delicacy of constitution in a family, health is
the most valuable attainment which the emigrant can pursue,
and we have known at least one instance where a family, pros-
T> or Alls
■r 7
-i?
social element which could
46
make them adhere to home— have
coiirage<
monai^
wanner
ments a
indncemi
an unpr
diseases,
is also ]
plaints,
these dii
relief afi
radical c
years in
given ove
taken ou
and stron
and expoi
a saddle f(
On the
seem to
of Austn
the pleas)
trast to
The even
with the
larating.
1845, the
as low as
106J°. T
ten, twelve
was at tw(
same level
heat were
the generi
heat in J.
thermomet
o'clock, 1(
o'clock, 10
however, tl
rence to tl
85', and i
respectively
the highes
67 ", and Oi
the lowest
tanii i-ftii'ai^lMMMti— • II
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
cmirageonBly resolved, because the chUdren were liable to duI-
mona.7 complaints, to shift their whole race and fortres to rtie
warmer shore of this colony. To an act of this kind Tudi stat^
ments as the following, by Mr Dutton, would nTfutX lSa»
inducement ..-'The medical profession' is, generalTspeSin?
an unprofitable one (in South Australia.) There areUSemfo
JX\tT'rr''- J^^^'T'^^^.and elastic atmo^h^e
18 also peculiarly favourable to asthmatic and pubnonary com-
tt^'^' ^ ^^""l "^'f *^""^ ^««« ^^«r« the^earlyXe?"f
these diseases have been removed, and in many others greTt
relief afforded where the disease ;as too deeply root^ for I
radical cure Jcople who, before they left England were for
years m a debUitated state of health-lsome thaf were I^J^aUy
given over as hopeless cases-have, on arriving in South A^sS
taken out an entirely "new lease," and are now as heartTSte'
and strong as they could wish, able to undergo fatiguesTf aU sorts'
and exposure to heat, cold, and « bushing it under f^m tree S
a saddle for a pillow," without the least inconveniencf?- ? IM )
««p^'*ll"'"'*^^i*^'''''^ "'^'■^ agreeableness the testimonies
seem to be equally favourable. The country is, like all the rest
of Australia, clear of fog, and those who have experienced e^n
^st to he clear, dry, transparent sky of South AustraSa
^th trT-^' "' described as peculiarl/ serene and t"],*
with the au. generally sufficiently cool to be bracing and exhi-
iSJ i* ^ff ^^^g t« meteorological observations hi 1844 and
1845 the coldest day was m June, when the thermometer ^
lUbJ . The observations were taken at four hours of the dav
ton, twelve two and four. Ahnost invariably the highest rS
was at twelve o'clock, that of two o'clock sometimes rSchlg^he
«ame level, but very rarely exceeding it. The variatfons if the
h^t were not great, seldom above 4-fbut they were largest w^^^^
the general heat was greatest. Thus on the day of the hidiest
heat m January, which was likewise one of the^L whefthe
olrrfo2.r'. 'f ''' A* r '''^^^^^' *^« ™*-- --:_ en
o'cock' lOU.' *r'"^^^^.V^^'5 two o'clock, 106^; four
w. :i^ '''' '" *^^*' *^^ ^^""est month of the year
however, the mean temperatures and variations were, with refe-
S^and ftl.oT. ""T ^-Pf*-«ly' *he foUowing rl^iVeS',
85 , and 84J° ; the lowest, likewise at the same hours were
respectively 70», 70°, 70^ and 71'. In June, the coW moTh
± highest pomts were, for the same respective hn„r«. af^aS>'
w, ana bo" ; the mean heights were 55», 68% 58», and 56r •' and
the lowest 47i», 49», 49% and 49r. In ihe iempemte month of
47
AUSTRALIA.
April the highest heights, still in reference to the hours of ten,
twelve, two, and four, were 81J% 86», 85°, and 82'; the mean
631, 655^ 67r, and 64,^0° ; the lowest 53J;, 63J», 65^, and 54\*
South Australia is not, however, entirely exempt from its
atmospheric annoyances. To persons brought up in this country,
the few days in the summer months, December, January, and
Februaiy, when the thermometer is in the neighbourhood of 100",
are somewhat formidable. It appears, too, that at such times a
very disagreeable wind blows occasionally from the north, hot
and arid, and bearing clouds of burning dust. Its peculiar cha-
racter has led to the belief that it must pass over vast sandy
deserts in the interior of the continent, which, lying baked in the
sun, make a sort of oven where the wind heats itself in passing.
Unprepared as the dweller in India is for a perpetual warfare
with heat, the rougher settler in South Australia feels both
annoyance and prostration from this visitation. But it appears
that it is generally but of short duration, a sea-wind from the
cool south stopping its career after a few days, and bringing with
it freshness and pleasantness. Mr Button thus describes the
change: — 'All of a sudden the atmosphere becomes darker and
darker; the servants rush into each room to see that the windows
are fastened. You look out and perceive to the southward a
dense column of dust rising perpendicularly into the air — the two
winds have met ! The south wind, fresh from the sea, being many
degrees colder than the north wind, is violently precipitated on
to the ground, the lighter hot wind rising in proportion ; this is
the cause of the column of dust being raised so high; now the
two winds are engaged in fierce struggle! It lasts but a mo-
ment; with gigantic strides the column of dust breasts its way
northward — the hot wind is fairly vanquished, and with a blast
before which tlie mighty gum-tree breaks, and your house quakes,
the south wind proclaims its victory, and in half an hour it settles
down to a steady, cool breeze ; the dust subsides, and " Richard
is himself again." '—(P. 108.)
As the person who is going to commit his fortunes to a distant
emigration field cannot know too much about the place of his
adoption before he takes his final step, the works referred to in
the present department of this book are of course recommended
to the traveller's full consideration. But in this instance it is
fortunate that information may be received through the eye by an
inspection of the magnificent book called * South Australia Illus-
trated, by George Frederic Angas.' The possession of this costly
series of illustrations will be the privilege of but a few; but others
48
* See the tables at length, Dutton, p. lOS.
may st
frieudl
suit of
nnsusci
surroiu
influeni
happini
of well!
Mr An^
people.
their p
strongly
makes i
projecti
tual an(
-^-orang
abdomei
teristics,
improvii
civilisatj
nately n
propensi
the abo]
which it
The 01
ral— exh
represent
statemen
of the be
trees not
* The lat
creatures at
presented tc
says—* The i
me that the
thu-ty-six d
settlers, the
reaped 97 aci
A travellei
and had exh,
food aud wat
mation of h
station at W
the aborigine
tion to the c»
the aborigine
have become
aborigines ar
Informed thai
ana niy iufori
child.'
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
«uit of what they consuJer the mreLmenfonr^^^ '" '^1 P"^"
nnsusceptible to scenerv and th« nH. . , ' *^® ^^°"PJe*ely
surround them; S others who 1 ^'T^^'^'^^^^ ^^^^^
influences, shou Wrfor the ' ke nf .? ' ^'""^^ *"^" *^ «" «»«h
imppiness keenly exaVin^^ own contentedness and
of wellbeiig. One ofZo?Lt S,T% '"'^ '^*""'^^ «^«™«»*«
Mr Angas Lnot be clued^^^^^^^^^^^ '^ '^'^"S^* ^nt by
people. It is difficult tn r.n«««- , ? • ^* ^^ *^® »»Pect of the
Li? possesion of"'*, : rC 7*'"^""'" '"l'^ '"*«**'
atrongly impregnated m theyTre Lith r^T ^^^"'^7, ->
makes the representation ,11 ,1,! elements of brute life,
projecting unStaturr, ^ ^ ""' '^^"^"^7- Massive, wide
--orang.outang-lilce limbs ^lpt'Zt„Tt"\^'"^"'
abdomen even in the voune— «„ph%;. I • ' . ""* '•""gmg
teristies. They are of thrLf!,^v their unpleasant charac-
improvmg, seems ™d,!^t?i °™" ^""^^ "''''=''. »»t««J of
oiv^sati^^/X/wT^adv Sn' '"'''"' ""^ P'"*'''' 0^
nately not in a haX m!^»/ „f .^' ■ '"'"'^'"■' """"^' ""'^ f^t"-
prepeLties, and t^ etrredlriUtleTnr" '"'^ ?"''
the aborigines beyond th«t „f T,.i ^j- ? """"yance from
»hich it &gusts htot ,00k at » "^ oeoa^ionally an object
ral-ttbUedTX' Mr r"'^''"™'^' '^^''"'' ««» ""e-
representSs of ZYord of t,rearth " ?^?'"'?« ™"'™' *» "»
statement often made 1^^ ^yeltr/fn H,'. ," '""T' J^^''^ «'«
of the better parts is vt^S S7 v&'t'lh"T'^
.«es not so numerons as to giye a (ore/:^,^X^^/^^Ty
* The latest information wo havp fmm fi,„ i
ctmhires as not by any means a hope csT nSLno"."^ T"^^ '"P'''«^»* tJ'^^e Po«r
presented to parliament in 1B51, tlierHs a ?ennTf ' l"? *''® P'^P^'^ °" AustiSia
me that the aborigines at Encounter nnv«.^, ^^^^^ ^''^^ recently reported to
thirty-Blx different settlers, and reaiS7fi^^«o^™P^°i''^o^"'"'"» theharvert by
settlers the aborigines reap^ £ ^cr^^lTLoZ\.r^'' ^V^^halbyn. for elevj^^
reaped 97 acres ; and at the Hutt Ri4rf foftwo seSle™ /f ' ^°' '''"° "•^*««^". t^ey
A traveller from AdfilnMnt^ ♦ I. '! '""^ ''"'*' settlers, 15 acres.
and had exhaS^ ^^hSpToi^oTlT^JJ''^'''' ^^ **'^''" "^ °« the Coorong.
food aud water, fed him on fish. Td a£r a^^^lfn"^" ^V"* '"^ a hut. brought h°m
mation of his helpless conditton to the ^"^^ ^ '* -I™ -^^^^^ days, gave infor-
«*f°°f Wellington, and thus Lved his Hfo^^ ^as removed to the
the aborigines were the means of extinmisti^ I; T^*^^^" Nairne and Mount Barker
tion to the crops .f the settlers ^o^amSlko^tt%l'''''' '^'•^^*«"*^ '^^ t™'"
the aborigmes are employed by the Bh^^lrV^V ^^f,^^^ ^outh of the Murray,
W become careful to Jrevent tLftcumnTe A^ p ^*'\''''«^ «'^' «°d "^S
fnTJ^'ff ^v""? 8*^ boatmen, and i^ thS^ emDlovP^i„^?'^"i?*f?' ^^^ «''™« ^^ th«
Informed that some of the lubm,. nr^i.l'"_?„"i?l°y'^ ^. *he whaling season. I waa
ana my iuformant spoke ^i^Wf oflho liiidret^f o^SS
D 49 "
AUSTRALIA.
N'
•welling, acd a coating of smooth sweet grass. The waters are in
general tranquil, with smooth turf edges; but in some places there
are torrents, and the cataracts of Glen Stewart especially, remind
one of Scotland. The vestiges of volcanic operations, which have
ceased to be active at a period comparatively late, are a pecu-
liarity of this colony. Mr Angas gives a representation of the
crater of Mount Schank, evidently a very remarkable piece of
scenery. He describes it as ' a hollow truncated cone of dark
cellular lava. It is about 600 or 700 feet in altitude, and rise*
almost abruptly from a rich plain scattered over with luxuriant
gum and wattle-trees. The view from the rim or outer edge of
the crater is peculiarly striking. The neighbouring peaks of
Mount Gambler (another extinct crater with volcanic lakes) rise
in the distance on the one side from the wooded and park-like
country surrounding them ; whilst on the other, the mouth of the
Glenelg, the high land of Cape Nelson, and the indentations of
Bridgewater ard Discovery Bays, with the Southern Ocean beyond^
appear as on a map, over the opposite edge of the crater. Look-
ing below, the immense hollow or bowl is seen forming the
interior, studded at the bottom with trees, which appear from the
heights above to be only small bushes.'
The intending emigrant who sets his eye upon this colony must
remember that, notwithstanding the quantity of information hither-
to received about it, it is yet a land of unknown resources — that
it is impossible to prepare the settler, as if he were going to any
of the old settled districts of Sydney or Tasmania, to know how he
will find himself with relation to all surrounding objects. It will
be for some not the least inviting feature of the expedition, that
there is a wild adventurous vagueness about it. Hitherto, men
with a little capital and considerable enterprise, or merely with
health, industry, and some skill, have found a field here, but of
what precise character it will in future be, it is not easy to say,
since every year materialljr alters the ratio of the population to
the territory, and develops some great new resource for enterprise.
While a territory which, if peopled like the United Kingdom,
would contain fifty millions of people, has only had little more
than fifty thousand inhabitants,* it is easy to imagine that a mere
fractional and indicative part of its resources have been developed.
Accordingly, on turning to a map of the province, it will be found
that the settlements are nearly all comprehended in the compact
and nearly rectangular district which has the gulf of St Vincent
on the west, and the Murray, or rather the ridges of the hills on
the west of the M'lrray, as its eastern boundary, with the river
m
* At the commencement of 1850 it was 54,%4.
Wakef
Burra]
but in
south ]
Spencei
the ad\
in thee
age tot
was ret
capital,^
have ex
of the y
2922. :
be soon
way tha
thorougl
tedious I
author o
says of ti
• This I
They see]
them, tht
country.
them in n
and vehicl
in old El
English l
glass of I
butter and
tout ememi
Fromtl
we may ta
* After ti
and then t
Govemmer
ten acres o]
gardens^ wi
a Iiigh sign;
denote the
was built b;
dwelling. ]
only a large
from the n
heat of th(»
SOUTIi AUSTRALIA.
south latitude with the H.n\ • ^f *^® 34th degree of
Spencer's GuJfl ^e^^th Iktl « "f ?-""''/^*! ^" ^^^^ "^^e of
the adventS-ous^eitrer his^^^^^ fresh ground on which
in the cent^oftre settled nnr?f ""'l^ ?? ^^^""'^ ^^' Nearry
age to the ^ of St vtceK^^^^^^^^ "l^*^ ? considerable front-
was resolved to make Zleatnf "^'^ ^^ '^^'^^«' ^^«'« i<^
capital, was only founded i^1«?fi ^Z'T'"'^- ^'^«^^^«' '^^
have exceeded itV^p^ "f Jo^tT' Tt tCr'''''''' "*^^^
of the year 1850, the population lis 14 ioo il ^*f °^«nf ment
2922. It is six milt^i^fLr^lu ^'^J^'^y *ne number of houses
be soon u^it^ by ^ ^Uwal ^T^ ""'t ""^'^ '' ^^" Probably
way there, immediLwn^^^^^ ^^'/'^Vital, and the
thoroughly Enrfish «n^la ^^e^lj-arrived settler by their
tedious^IjoZ^a^&hX^""^^ ^ ^«^^' ^^^ his
author of tC^wi^intuJ^B^I^ '?7^ ? * ^'"^'' The
says of the road from thf ^rt JoSTcUy- '' ^'"'^ ^"^*^^'
them ii mind of S Thlhrn, J« ^ .^^^ everything the/see put«
and vehicles; the m^ women r/'i,?^ ''"^1"' *^« '^^P'^S. boats,
in old Engi;ndKrrK?n''''f'^'''^^«^°^"^^ objects
English bar-maids orshonmef tl '""' ''"^- '^°P'* ^"'^ ^^^^''^^^
gla^ of beer draw^out of the Ton/"^ T'^ ^^ '''^''''^' The
gardens, with walks and sSberies a^^^^^
a high signal-ma«t is put up?on Xh ^« « v\ T' .°^ '^^ h«°««
denote the presence of the rTpr^s^n Jwl ^? '^ u^«^ « hoisted, to
was built by Colonel GawL S f«^i? of royalty. This houso
dwelling. L front of the ho^,sT and senaJ2Tf ""? ^^^^'^'^hle
only a large sunken ditch is a nWr,f S ^ i"^™ '^ SronndB by
from the^road, and travelled S
fo«/..,.«j .Vt:. 6^»veuea. ims promenadA in ^^^^ — ji_
51 ^
AUSTRALIA.
the Govornment House, Is North Terrace, wluch boasts of many neat
villas, with handsome gardens and cool verandas ; in this terrace
there are some substaiitud and ornamental stone-and-brick buildings
— ^as the Australian Company's offices, the Bank of South Australia,
and, farther on. Trinity Church, part of whicii has been lat Jy built
afresh, and the whole much improved in appearance ; on the same
side as the Qoverament House is the Legislative Council House, and
other substantial edifices. A turn to the loft, past the post-office (a
small and mean-looking edifice, built in former days), takes the
visitor up King William Street, lined on one side with comfortable
houses and shops, and on the other with the stock-yards and other
buildings belonging to the aucticn-mart, which is at the comer of
King William and Hindley Streets, and is a handsome building, that
woidd be considered an ornament to any English town. Farther up
King William Street are many large buildmgs— as Younghusband's,
Montofioro's, and Stock's stores, and in the distance the government
offices and commissariat stores ; and besides these many good private
houses and shops of all descriptions. Hindley Street is the principal
place of business, and here is to be observed all the bustle of a
flourishing town, the way being filled with heavy drays loaded with
produce, drawn by four, six, or eight bullocks, and accompanied by
the drivers, shouting and cracking their long whips; also with
wagons and carts, drawn by strong English-looking horses, and
mingled M'ith gigs, carriages, and horsemen, all seemingly eager in
business or pleasm'e, and taking little notice of the half-naked black
men, armed with spears and waddy, accompanied by their lubras (or
women) and children, and followed by gaunt, lean, kangai-oo dogs.
Hindley Street is lined on both sides with good stone, brick, or
wooden houses, some few of which are of superior build, and do
credit to Australian street architecture. Many of the stores or
merchants' warehouses are massive brick or stone buildings ; and
altogether, the town has a much more imposing aspect than could
be expected from the difficulties it has encountered, and the short
time it has been established. Most of the better kind of buildings
have been but recently erected, and these are finished in such a,
style as to lead to the idea of no scarcity of cash at present. The
princ'pal public edifices art hhe two churches (Tr'mity and St John's),
and three or four very commodious chapels belonging to different
sects, the Government House and offices, the Court-house (once the
theatre), the Bank of South Australia, the South Australian offices,
not to mention others. There are two banks in Adelaide— one the
South Australian, the other the Bank of Australasia. This last 'a a
branch of the Australasian Bault, which has establishments in all
these colonies. Its business has Iiitherto been carried on in a small
but elegant cottage situated in North Terrace ; but now, I under-
stand, the intention is to erect a more commodious and substantial
building in the business part of the town. Besides the Frome, a
lanre stone bridge is in the course of erection, and probably by this
time completed. This, by opening a new line of way, will lessen
62
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
the diitonce to the port, and be a Bavins? of labour to th« h,,^u i
that arc constantly at work on the road.' ° bullocks
Small towns rise so fast in this colony, as traffic takes n««
directions, that any account of them from acceSe matPrl^
would be sure to be obsolete. Twenty-three muTfr.! H i "! '
and on the great thoroughfare to^ry ' he "o,^. ^ct^^^^^^^^^^
nunmg as well as pastoral production, is GaX T™w„ T^^f
the^Germlntrs:^^^^^^^^^ - occupied by
enough, and they have IT.^Z^a^^J^^^^^
of expenditure for their little holdings l^nf ;», *i • ° . ^^?S sort
fort.ndco„.o„t.hoya™ altoXci™ ;" ^SStrj
tempemnce can do. Ungifted with the fiery ener^7of Cr BriS
tions. But they are not afflicted by the same vices and tW h!?„
o^Se" w"r„f r^'^''' ^^ -o be™:x com it^ ;
i^omiortaoie , while of their more stirring follow rof f lo^o » ,
have striven far ahead, while others, alas^'ovt ^^ty^^^^^^ Zl
Mt^bv them'^K^"- ^'^t" -J-^^'^-'^- The earlfest viU ge
ouilt by them Klemzig, about three miles from Adelaide is df
scnbed as being so purely national, that the inhabitants ni^ht"
Addlr • "PP'- '^ *',>'^^^ ^^•^"S^^ '' over from Pruss^ Vound
Adelaide, m vanous directions, are scattered vilWes with Crn
s'^h'af x" ^^V"'^^^^^*^' ^"'^ ^^^""^ names SrenouT
s^ich as Kensmgton, Islington, WalkervUle, Hindmarsh Bowdf n
Prospect, and Theb.xten. The inhabitants of the Siifal S
already thek bathing -places and marine villas in aTneLld
Bnghton, described as beautifully situated on the shore of Se
gulf, with a pleasant range of sea-beach. Three small strlms
cllr"i; 0;%^-"''' '"' *'' Onkaparinga, water thts f~e'
marsh It k J fLT ^ mediately to the south is Hind-
marsh It is m the form of a cape, and has an extensive sea
board to .he south and the north-west and even to the east wher«
the lake Victor^ is formed by the outlet of the Mur a^* Alon'
the shores of this estuary the land is of a varied charac er pSf
tracts. The next county north-westward, with the Murray for its
^«tem boundary, IS the Sturt. At the mutual bounda^^of the
Hmdmarsh and the Sturt is Mount Barker, an elevSn seen
iirA^.'^'J'''^^''' I^- t^e -ntre of a district celebrated for
— x.vxx piuautcivuness, aDouiidiiig in fruits and vegetables in
garden as well as agricultural produce, and Bupplyin| the pL?
53
AUSTRALIA.
tive settler with tlie luxuries of a high state of civilisation. It
is chiefly by this district that the prizes at the agricultural
exhibitions in Adelaide are carried oflf. The county town,
Mount Barker, supplied with a police establishment, is a rising
and important place. Near it, at a place with the native
name of Knxigooarinilla, has risen the village of Macclesfield,
and near one of the late-discovered mines is tlie village of Nairn.
The >vhoIo district bids fair for a coiurse of rapid agricultural
prosperity.
Directly northward of Sturt is Eyre County, stretching along
the Miuray to the great bend, and bounded on the west by the
Mount Torrens, Greenock, Barossa, and other ranges of hills. This
district is little known, and very scantily settled. A great part
of it is covered with what is called the Murray 'scrub;' a belt or
forest of scrub, about twenty miles wide, which lines, as it were,
Ihe principal Australian river. It is described as monotonous and
gloomy to a depressing extent, and is connected with legends of
native outrage; but it has been perforated by roads, and the
ehort-lived period of aboriginal resistance and revenge is now
long past. Immediately to the north of Adelaide, and also on
the coast of Gawler County, and inland towards the mountain-
ranges, is the Light, the reputation of which as a scrub county,
and therefore of secondary agricultural importance, was materially
altered by the discovery of the Kapunda mines. Further north
is Stanley, unsettled and almost unknown till within these few
years; but becoming a great focus of enterprise from the Burra
mines, situated at its western extremity. These three counties
are considered as the Bush, to which the adventiurous settler,
discontented with the civili&ation and uniformity of Adelaide,
goes. The grain produced in them is generally only sufficient for
the settler's own consumption, and sheep and cattle-farming are
the main occupational. Suitable for such purposes there are vast
well -grassed plains and valleys, and imless a peculiarly strong
tide of emigration should set in in these districts, proposing
settlers will have an extensive choice of station for years to come.
* There is no lack,' says Mr Dutton, with special reference to
these northern districts, 'of the best soil; indeed it would appear
invidious to particularise any one district more than another, as
they all more or less possess like advantages. The wide tract of
country on the east side of Spencer's Gulf is still fresher than that
which has just been mentioned. The accounts of it are contradic-
tory ; and so far is it from being settled, that there are no means of
forming any estimate of its capabilities. It was there that, in the
early history of the colony, had been established the town settle-
ment of Fort Lincohi. It waa recommended as a suitable place tor
64
the OA]
againsi
capaci(
mous a
that tl
the acG
dot arc
the saf
the mc
reporte
and wo]
capacio
and imi
fine fert
it can n
its comj
limited :
confirme
up by h
*OfP.
the exce
ment of i
ment."
prospect
which til
presents.
scrub an(
however,
the beacii
searched
although
present tl
* A spei
about five
Harbour |
bitcd); ai
looking b
church, W!
alluded to
disappoint
whom are
Settlem
north in t
was discc
iOUTH AUSTRALIA.
c»pao;ou.neM luid excellence of it. hiu-bo™ have elSl' ^
mou. ^i,.U„„, ^i u lu« Ueen -Uted orp™"":^^^-
tlMt there u aljuDdance of good soil aroumi A. "'""""™')'.
thewcount. of the broad pii^euU on Xh P^ Lta° I ?™'
dot „o varied «.d i„oou.i.Lt,a„d ta .Tch'o^^ltrct' i^ij
Zt r?!^^^ •T'S'"'"' "> "W^l' tWe eS ome extent^f
It can never become a large and important place on aTcom;/^
* ^^ Port Lincoln it was romarked, on its discoverv in isno « ♦! *
nrosLt nf h •'»''' "^y °Pi°io"» »* the present time another
Wor a spring of good f%d, water, beToniK*; m^k „^
eSLt^in-^L^^orrrt-^^fV^t'??^^^
p-irfth'^^e-:^'— '--^^^^^
wtod); and at the fftrthflsf «**>.^»«;*„ "'"^^"per, ana is uninha-
lookiig both ba;;:/w^tidX^t^^^^^^^^ oTras
alluded to by the settlers as a record of the exaggerated ^d hUhertJ
&rrtisrr;,i^ -'"-•^-^•r^-r'Tr
Settlements have tended rather towards the south than the
north m this colony. On the coast, 300 miles south of Addaide •
was discovered the promising district of Port Rivoltvtued by
• Dntton's South AuBtndia, p. 99.
5S
H'
AUSTRALIA.
Governor Grey in 1844. In a dispatch to the colonial secretary
on the occasion, he said — * I am happy to be able to assure your
lordship that the results of our journey were of a most satisfae-
tory nature ; and that we ascertained that by keeping near the
8ea-coast, instead of passing the line of route previously adopted,
there is an almost uninterrupted tract of good country between
the rivers Murray and Glenelg. In some places this line of good
country thins off to a narrow belt ; but in other portions of the
route it widens out to a very considerable extent, and on ap-
proachmg the boundary of New South Wales, it forms one of the
most extensive and continuous tracts of good country which is
known to exist within the limits of South Australia.' But the
views of Governor Young, in his report in 1850, have a less favour-
able appearance.
Running along Encounter Bay, ^'his new district has been divided
into two counties, the more northerly called Robe, and the other
Grey County. In the former, running parallel to the coast, is the
Wambat range of elevations. In the latter are Mount Muirhead,
Mount Gambier, and the volcanic hill Mount Schank, elsewhere
mentioned. It is not easy to give any satisfactory account of the
resources of this district, which indeed is not laid down at all, or
at most only outlined in the usual maps, though perhaps the emi-
grant who had looked at them in this country for information may
find, ere he has reached the spot, that pretty full experience has
been had, either for good or evil, of the district. The suspicion
that haunts all parts of Australia— that of good fresh water being
limited in its supply— shines through the accounts even of the most
sanguine supporters of this new field. Thus 'an experienced
colonist in search of sheep-runs,' quoted by Mr Dutton, says,
evidently making the best of the case — *In the lowlands of this
district, and near to Rivoli Bay. water is everywhere to be found,
in the tea-tree swamps (always regarded as an indication that
water is near), which are very numerous and extensive. I consider
there are some thousands of acres of land on which the tea-tree
is to be found. In the middle of one of these swamps we dis-
covered a small stream of running water, which must be perpetual,
as it was in the latter end of April when I saw it, and before any
rains had fallen after the summer drought.'— (P. 98.) It is an
important feature of this new district that it is intersected by the
overland tract from Port Philip.
HISTORY AND SOCIAL STATE.,
While the early history of many other colonies shews the evils
arising from utter anarchy and want of a principle of maiiage-
56
r -,. ■»-<»...,iiWl»»,| .1., ,
- VJITTJL
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
ment, that of South Australia, on the other hand, exemplifies how
powerful may be the evil influence of any miscalculations on
the early operations of a new body, whUe it is plastic and
impressible. The Commission appointed in May 1835 published
a very well -written and rational exposition of the system on
which they proposed to act. It set down as a first principle, that
the characteristic feature of the system was the securmg a certain
amount of free labour, and that this was to be accomplished by
exacting for each grant payment of a certain sum per acre, to form
a general fund, applicable to the exportation of labourers. This
fund was to be placed under the control of the commissioners, whose
duty it was to apply it with a view to the interests of the colony, in
reference to the number, the age and character, and all other quali-
fications of the labourers exported. It was held out that while the
act guaranteed the colony against convict labour, its conveniences
and advantages, without its evils, would be thus supplied. As the
allottee did not pay for any specific labourers coming out, but paid
into a general fund, on which all the labour of the pro.jnce was
supplied, it was unnecessary to have recourse to the mdenture
system, ever productive of discussion and legal interference— of
tyranny on the one side, and of hatred and insubordination on tha
other. It was represented in this document, that ' the contribution
to the emigration fund being a necessary preliminary to the acqui-
sition of land, labourers taken out cost free, before becoming land-
owners, and thus ceasing to work for others, will furnish the
means of carrying out other labourers to supply their places.'
The characteristics of the method of payment, as appointed by
the act, were set forth. There was no penalty to be levied on
leaving the land waste ; because the sum paid being a kind of
instalment on the price of cultivation rather than the value of
the land, it was believed that none would take allotments which
they did not seriously intend to make use of.
An incident in the very outset of the colony was not of favour-
able auspices. The governorship was oflfered to Sir Charies
Napier; but that shrawd officer declined to rule on tlie self-sup-
porting system, as it was called, ' without some troops, and -"rith-
out power to draw upon the home government m case of neces-
sity.' Captain Hindmarsh, a very meritorious naval ofiicer,
believed to be highly skilled in all the routine of his own profes-
sion, was then appointed. He found a state of matters very diflb-
rent from that on board a man-of-war, or even in a garrison settle-
ment. Before he had arrived and established his government,
crowds of impatient settlers were there before him, and were rush-
ing in a continuous torrent. As it was no longer the rule of firm;
come first served, but each had to wait to take the allotuent
57
>'
iV:
AUSTBALIA.
s9-»
^
surveyed off for him, there was an immediate demand by each
immigrant of hig destined allotment, since they were fast spend-
ing then: capital in idleness, drawmg costly supplies from the old
settlements. But the surveyors had not begun to work— 4hey
did not even know where the capital of the new colony was to
be. Tliis state of matters created discussions in the colony which
came to blows, and brought immediately such a torrent of com-
plaint to the colonial office, that it was quite necessary to recall
Captain Hindmarsh and some other official persons.
He was succeeded in the government by Colonel Gawler, under
whose auspices the new system was worked m a manner which
speedily shewed how dangerous it might be made, and taught a
severe lesson to colonists going to phices where there was tempo-
rary prosperity for them caused by ckcurastances which were
forced and fleeting, and did not arise out of the true elements
of permanent colonial prosperity. Under the origmal act, some
powers had been given to the commissioners to borrow money on
the security of the funds derived from the sale of lands ; and these
powers were enlarged by an act passed in 1838. The new gover-
nor drew a strong description of the false position of the colony, in
which, from the mass of immigrants far exceeding the immediate
arrangements for allocating allotments, the people had crowded
to the centre of government, and were occupying themselves in
anything but the legitimate pursuits of colonisers. * Scarcely any
settlers in the country, no tillage, very little sheep or cattle pas-
turing, and this only by a few enterprismg individuals taking their
chance as squatters. The two landing-places— Holdfast Bay and
the old port— of the most indifferent description ; the expense of
transport to and from them to Adelaide the most ruinous ; the
population shut up in Adelaide existing principally upon the
unhealthy and uncertain profits of land-jobbing ; capital flowing
out for the necessaries of life to Sydney and Van Diemen's Land
ahnost as fast as it was brought in by passengers from England ;
the colonial finances in a state of thorough confusion and defalca-
tion.' The wildness of the system of land-speculation which :%d
sprung up can only be comprehended by those who have witnessed
the madness of any commercial crisis, where all are occupied in
making money by advantages over each other, and the true source
of wealth and increase— production— has ceased. While the coun-
try lands were sold at a fixed price of £1 per acre, the town acres
were set up to auction at an upset price of £2, 10s. each. The
dealings which took place in the transfer of these allotments
were an exaggeration of everythmg that has occurred in railway
gambling. Fi-om £3 or £4, acres rcse to the price of £2000 and
£3n0ft« nn^fhr- i . . ^ . - ^
— •■* w V ■^ j >!Vsa>A tf»*'
conrse t]
As it is <
business
make hi
building
to have {
hour. Tl
bribes wl
work oc(
their lasl
scattered
set up vil
and a mi
laid out (
shire. Il
signal-poi
the most
An acti
by the c
where th
system, ai
Public W(
settlers d
the time t
but mere]
the mothe
Button sa
time, and :
ing colonii
which was
brought tl
to £90 ar
such large
The work
country, ■«
the goven
vented fro:
ing the mc
of future
further be
possession
be, but all
colonies in
58
vww iT»iv 4Jwva.s;iBu ouu Oj^cub VUUSC £«l>piU prODlS. 01
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
conrse thought t^t both they and the colony were advancing
As It 18 every trader's object in an established city to get into a
business locality, it became every town-section holder's obiect to
make hig property a centre of busmess. Hence came a race in
buildmgand laymg out; and frantic efforts were made by each
to havestreets and warehouses about him earUer than his neieh-
bour. ITie handicraftsmen connected with buOding sometunes lot
bribes which defeated the mtended end, for they would then only
work occasionally, and after they had exhausted the produce of
their last turn of work in brandy and champagne. The mania
scattered Itself through the country. Holdert endeavoured to
set up villages which might become towns on their aUotments-
and a map of the central district, with aU the projected villages
laid out on It, would have made it appear as populous as Lanca-
shire. It IS said that wanderers in the bush would come upon
signal-posts indicating the position of streets and squares, ^th
the most familiar aristocratic names of the West End of London
inactive, energetic administration, aided by the funds advanced
by the commissioners, and by drafts and other forms of credit
7.11 ^f T ?«'^^^^"*' ^Pidly changed this gambling
system, and produced a temporary period of apparent prosperity.
Public works were now undertaken on a large scale, and the
settlers drew considerable incomes. But it was ovei^looked at
the tune that this is not colonisation as a new source of supply
but merely the employment of people far off at the expense of
the mother country, instead of their employment at home. Mr
Button says, that ' South Australia was producing nothing at the
tune, and immense sums were obliged to be sent to the neighbour-
mg colonies for the necessary articles of daUy food-^n expense
which was heightened by the failure of the crops there, which
tn'SIn I ^ Tinn '^ ^'^ ^T' ^ 1^^^' *° my knowledge, up
to £90 and £100 per ton. As long as the governor circulited
such large sums in the colony, this dearness was not felt. .
Ihe workmg-classes scouted the idea of proceeding into 'the
country, when they were sure of employment at large wages on
the government works; and the countiy settler was th^ pre-
yented from producmg those very articles of food which, by keep-
ing the money in the colony, would have laid the sure foundation
of future w^lth. The colony, therefore, did not receive any
further benefit from this large government outlay beyond the
possession of a number of handsome bmldings, necessai^, it may
be but dl the profits of whose erection went ti the ne^bouring
colonies m exchange for food.' * suuuuriuj.
* South Australia sud its Minea, Pp. 24, 23.
69
S.iJ
AUSTRALIA.
The necessity for the buildings may be doubted, unless it were
necessary that a man who is poor should spend aU his own money
with some that he has borrowed, in building a large house, because
some day he may become rich enough to require it. This state
of matters now belongs to past history so far as South Australia
18 concerned; but the conclusion is still important to settlers, a»
shewing them that it is not the fact of a settlement being pros-
perous from money, and occupation being abundant, that makes
it desirable, but the ckcumptance of that pro.«;perity being well
founded— the circumstance of its being founJed on production.
^ A new governor, Captam Grey, succeeded, and set his face
immediately to a retrenchment, firm and strmgent, but as gentk
as with these necessary qualities it could be made. But the true
sources of colonial wealth and income had been so completely
neglected, that, to obviate the most calamitous consequences to
the unliappy settlers, large advances from the home government
were necessary. Notwithstanding very liberal aid, the revulsion
was so great that multitudes were thrown into destitution, and dis-
contents were created which threatened actual violence. In the end
however, the necessity of the settlers betakmg themselves to the
true objects of their mission— the means of communication with the
interior, the bringmg m of land, and the depasturing of sheep and
cattle— produced their legitimate good fruits. But owing to the
energetic eflforts which had been made to give the colony at its
very outset, all the advantages of a home district, in a city har-
bour, and public buUdings— including a large and costly prison—
the authorities were not put in the right position fur really start-
mg the colony, without an immediate expenditure of upwards of
£185,000 Irom the home government, with the prospect of fur-
ther contingent outlay ; while the colonists themselves were sub-
jected to the greatest hardships and privations. The early misfor-
tunes of this colony for some ume damped it; but whether its
people ought to have been brought together or not, there they were
— mtelligent, well-educated, weU-intentioned, energetic, English
and Scotsmen, and it could not be but that in the end they would
right themselves. They were at first, like aU bodies of men who
miscalculate or are unfortunate, clamourers for government aid
and the parental assistance of the mother country. But that was
sternly refused, so far as it inferred future aid and artificial sup-
port. The very considerable sums already referred to were spent
to meet obligations and debts incurred by the representatives of
government— not to give artificial assistance to the colony. It
took of course some little time before the energies at work gave
any visible sign. But, from the year 1840 onwards, the province
was 4>rogre8Siveiy prosperous; and thus it is usual, though it was
founded i
The rapic
is attestec
of 1847, 1
RfiiunN s]
N.B.--0
an 1 decreai
tions, and
landsj agric
Thisinc
a dispersal
tammg a f
service in i
contained i
rently np.or
lians boast
habits and
other color
to contam
attempt at
selves forti
larger prop
colony — ai
during the
coolies, ma
proposal nc
the natioua
their race ;'
cricket-plaj
jf ;j J .
lurviu uuu ;
who pursu(
SOUTH AUSTBALIA.
founded in 1836, to date its real existence from the former year
Ihe rapidity of its progress, inoimediately on its passing the term
"^^n?^*^,"^ ^y *^'® foUowmg document, laid before the Committee
of 1847, by Air T. P. Elliot :—
Rbturn shewing the General Condition of South Australia in the Yeara
1«40 and 1845. « xeara
Total Population, -
In Town, ...»
In the Country,
Number of Public-Houses,
Convictions of Crime,
Acres in Cultivation, -
Exports of Colonial Produce,
Revenue, ...
Expenditure, - . _
1840.
14,610
8,489
6,121
107
47
2,503
£15,650
30,199
169,966
mik
22,390
7,413
14,977
85
22
26,218
£131,800
32,099
36,182
iy:A— Obsej^e the extraordinary increase of every favourable element,
•n 1 decrease of every one that is unfavourable. Publichouses. convic
tions, and expenditure, materially diminished ; occupation of country
lands, agriculture, and production of articles of export, largely increased.
This increase in the elements of wellbeing was accompanied by
a dispersal of the population from the town, where they were ob-
taming a false and self-consummg income, to their allotments and
service m the country, in so far that Adelaide, in the early days
contamed more than half of the colony's population, and had appa'
rently more inhabitants than it possesses now. The South Austra-
lians boast that they are, in the various grades of society, and their
habits and social condition, more like the mother country than any
other colony. We have seen that tiiey had no convict population
to contammate them, and they speedily put down the faintest
attempt at bush- ranging within their border. They consider them-
selves fortunate in +he purity of their Anglo-Saxon race, having a
larger proportion . ' Englishmen and Lowland Scots than any other
colony— .at least in Australia. A proposal having been made
during the scarcity of emigrant labour, to introduce that of hiU-
coohes, many of the settlers have congratulated themselves on the
proposal not having been adopted. They have taken with them
the national amusements as well as the more important qualities of
their race ; and the accounts that we have of hunting, horse-racuiff
cricket-playing, &c. in South Australia, at least indicate the most
iCrviu aiiu smcere pursuit of pleasure under all difficulties. Those
who pursue these occupations, however imperfect be the means
61
I* m
^
li >>
AUSTRALIA.
—and they must, in so raw a country, be imperfect— seem, how-
ever, to enjoy their spoit with much zest ; and perhaps they have
tuere, as well as at home, the essential element in the enjoy-
ment—a competition with each other, tending to the accomplish-
ment of feats which are remarkable, if not for their absolute
perfectly, at least for the difficulties overcome in accomplishing
them. ^But m a country where the whole occupation of man is
in combatmg with, and overcoming, the difficulties of nature— where
there is a race with time— and himting out the savageness of the
land, and brmgmg it into civilisation, are the daUy excitmg pur-
suit of the mhabitant-one would reaUy think that open-air exer-
cises could not obtain the same importance as they do m a country
where the momentous labours are in (he crowded senate or court-
house, or at the dusty desk. Yet it is evident, from Mr Button's
account, that the races are a very important affair. He says—
* The annual races arc very popular, and well attend«^d -causing,
tor the time they last (usually three days), almost a total stagnation
of busmess Adelaide boasts of as fine a race-course, in thTimme-
diate neighbourhood of tii town, as any in the world. Perfectly
level, and without a single stump of a tree or stone, it presents a
fair field for equestrian feats. The beginning of January is the time
set apart for these truly national sports, and then the settler comes
in to Adelaide from far and near : top-boots and cut-aways are the
order of the day; and the steady old nag, which has been accus-
tomed for months before to jog through the bush at his own pace,
gets extra allowances of com, and a double application of currycomb
and brush, to be able to shew off on the race-course in ffaUoppinc
from one pomt to another— for everybody is on horseback.
No greater and more convincing proof can be given of the vei^^
orderly nature of the South Australian population, when I say, tiZ
out of the thousands assembled in Januaiy 1845 to witness the races,
at a time, too, when most of the labouring-classes had plenty of
money, and meaiis of becoming intoxicated and riotous, not one case
of disorderly behaviour occurred which called for the active inter-
ference of the police.'— (Pp. 144-147.)
Every country, old or new, has its peculiar form of the victim
class. It IS the advantage of the distant colony that the indolent,
spu-itless child of selfishness, whether of high or low origin who
leans upon others instead of exerting himself for self-suppirt, is
^''Trw-n'? '?'^?' T^'^ '^ ^^^y naturally and amusingly she Vn
m Mr Wilkms's description of the South Australian victim—
«Sonie persons are ruined l:y fanning; but these belong to the
class who leave others to act t;»rthem-«md '^'-r.A *i,„;« ,; ... -_j
money m training horses for the race, driving 4ndemi^ ii'^gaJ
62 °
hotels; f
in the n
staked ai
acquaintf
uncommc
and it is i
character
of expouE
much bro
last are tl
for the lai
These ar(
richest m
find empi
care hunt
cattle-owx
tate until
pursue th(
discourage
suit in wh
The inn
as numero
populatior
traveller p
or for em
universal
establishec
bush-rang«
it has bee
the systen
searcher af
nothing bu
piece of soi
"water, and
to procure
shape. M
tobacco, wi
tastes and ]
come at ev(
tial hospita
instruction
best means
kinson give
*I have tr
^m^'
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
hotels ; fond of what they call a qniet game of caitda and «„-no. !,««-.
m the morning without hat or bootTwhich We fc^/T^ • T
staked and lost; and so on, until the Aum unfort^at^L"? h^"^
acquainted with Ashtores Hotel, as the jaU "s SllT^S^K '"""f
S^.t« o i^ ^^"^ "^^^^y «'^«d ^d lost to some brother chS'
ZT ° f^ «r5- However, thero ia no feTaJuE <^e" iU
The inns in the towns and villages of this colonv are .^PsPriKo^
popmation would at once prepare us to pxnprf *!„•». i.„* xi.
tn^veller penetrating the bu^h I look out fTa p^^^ure location'
or for employment, is not to expect an imi at Ci^ stie A
T^ZtFT"" °/ ^^'Vlt^^y^ however, seems 7]^^ beet
established throughout the district; and while the absenop nf
bush-rangers has rendered it safer ihan iTnL South TO^^^^
It has been fomid that, for the general interest! of ?he cdonv'
the system is as prudent as it is neighbourly and hmn^e Th '
searcher after employment is recommended to burden Wmself S
Jllctf stVX'^S' a couple of towels, arazorbmh"
piece ot soap. He has of course learned to disoense wifh h««tn^
jvater, and he will have had the prudence, befZ 1 a^^^^^
lr%r' wV^''^'^ "^ ^' °^^^°^^^ ^" *^«- nTt^orSS
shape. Mr WJkmson recommends the addition of Ljffroh^d
tobacco, with a flmt and steel; but this must be as the wo&s
tastes and habits lie. Thus proceeding on his ioumev Te iT^l
come at every door, and he receives n!t onlyinTZi^lZla^^
tial ho^itahty as the emigrants' store affords/ but probaWv
instruction and advice as to the best direction ti Mow ortie
best means of accomplishing the object of his wishes Mr Wil-
kmson gives this emphatic assurance on the subject-!
*I have travelled in sn na^a «# *i x
^ ,., ,^^ wuiiury, ana oeen entertained
♦ Working-Man's Hand-Book.
63
t
* I
\
AUSTRALIA.
by all classes : at one time by the owners of large stations, who
covered tJioir hospitable boards with delicacies ; at another by the
shepherd or bullock-driver, whoso humble meal I liave shared. I
have remained a visitor for days together with persons whom I Iiad
not seen before ; but in all my oxporionce, I found only one person
who did not offer me food and lodging. Let all Avorking-men boar
this in mind, and themselves maintain this hospitality towards
wajidoring fellow-colonists.*
Perfect religious toleration has been all along a fundamental
principle in this colony, and, what must be in all respects
gratifying to reflect on, it is accompanied apparently by zealous
efforts on the part of each body amply to supply the means of
worship and religious teaching to its own people. In Adelaide
there are two churches of the English establishment, two Pres-
byterian places of worship, nine edifices devoted to the worship
of other Protestants, a Roman Catholic chapel, and a meeting-
house of the Society of Friends. There are throughout the
whole territoiy seventy-six places of Avorship. It ig not un-
likely that the emigrant, ere he reach iiis destination, may find
tliis number increased, to meet the increasing wants of the
growing colony. In one part or other of the colony there will
be found places of' worship for the Wesleyan Methodists, the
Primitive Methodists, the United Presbyterians, the Indepen-
dents, the Baptists, and 'immersed believers'— the 'Christian
Brethren,' the Unionists, and the Swedenborgians ; while the
Germans have their Lutheran Church.* An ordinance of the
year 1847 appointed aid from the public funds to be given in
supplement to voluntary contributions. It proceeds on tiie prin-
ciple of giving £50 when there is a population of fifty persons
who have themselves raised £50, and of larger aid, not exceeding
£160, corresponding with the amount locally raised. The stipends
of the ministers are also aided from the same source.
The education of his children is one of the most formidable
obstacles to the enlightened citizen emigrating. He cannot but
remember how frightfully this great source of civilisation and
wellbeing has been neglected in other colonies. It was natural
to expect South Australia to profit by the ^ad experience, and it
must be admitted that her government has employed the moderate
means at its disposal in this field of usefulness in a manner which
somewhat shames the old country. In 1847 an arrangement was
made for paying to each schoolmaster who had twenty scholars, or
more, £1 a year for each, up to £40, when the allowance ascends no
In Adelaide munificent aid h«s been given to the schools
higher
* Sec Tables and Particulars, Martin's British Colonies, L 690.
64
on the s
viduals
others v
gious bo
and to a
land. 'J
task of 1
Almoi
from the
who can
♦ory of
the mos
been est
or numbi
That
criminali
penal se
formidab
there wei
cases of i
that spe(
sensual si
— a smal
formidab]
stealing e
The hi
unison wi
taken ma
exceeded
less than
nearly £6
ensuing y<
In exports
were upwa
while they
and were n
the export
to more t
and in the
former lev^
of increase
earlier peri
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
on the supply and demand system, by some of the fortunate indi-
viduals who profated by the tide of success in the colony-amon-
others which have more or less connection with the various reli*^
gious bodies, there is a great collegiate institution on the principles
and to a ( ertain extent under the authority of the Church of Eng-
land. Tie educational operations embrace the somewhat uphill
task of teaching the children of the aborigines.
Almost next to instruction itself is the supply of its daily food
from the newspaper press. It is especially valuable to the colonist
who can take few books with him, and to whom the current his-
tory of that European world which he has left at a distance is
the most interesting object of study. Several newspapers have
been established m the colony; but it would be useless to name
or number wnat is so very fluctuating in its character.
That powerful measure of the state of society, the extent of
criminality, shews here a favourable aspect in comparison with the
penal settlements, or those which have been penal. Yet some
lormidable offences have been committed. Between 1840 and 1847
there were seven murders, and, what is rather singular, only two
cases of violence, with intent to kill or do some bodily harm Of
that species of assault on females wliich marks an intensity of
sensual savageness there were three, and of ordinary assaults nine
-a small number for a new society; of sheep-stealing, a very
formidable offence m a colony, there were eight instances; of cattle-
steahng eight, and of horse-stealing three.
TUADE AND KEVENUE.
The history of the colony's export and import trade keeps
unison with that of its social health, or disease arising from mil
±".rA"?fS- /".^^^A.l^-P-*« ^-m GreatBritain
exceeded £150,000. In the ensuing ye^rVheywe^-elidmbly
; m 1843 less than £58,500, rising in 1844 to
less than £93,500, „ __ ...... ^^u uw nam-
nearly £64,000; and in 1845^IxceIdiiTgTl73,00o! w^^^^
ensumg year they rose above the level from which they had sunk
In exports from the colonies there was a like depression Thev
were upwards of £123,000 in 1841, and less than £70,000 in 1842
while they became but a small fraction more than £47,000 in 184^'
and were more than £54,000 in 1844. The same malady struck at
the exports, though not in so marked a manner. They amounted
to more than £53,500 in 1841, were in 1842 under £40 000
and m the year following rose to a point slightly above thei^
former level. In the feature of importation, the preponderance
of increase is decidedly in favour of British exports. In the
earlier periods of the colony, when the inhabitants were spending
E 65
AUBTRAUA.
their money, wore exporting Httle, and bo were not put into the
channel of interchange with the home country, they bought from
the colonies and from foreign countries to a large proportional
extent. Thus in 1839, when the exports were trifliug — to
Britain about £9500, and to the colonies about £6500 — the im-
ports from the colonies were upwards of £200,000, while those
irom Britain were less than £1^3,500. In 1849 the imports from
Britain had increased to €177,428, shile those from the coloniea
had decreased, being £1 f>G,23t;. f -ic imports from foreign countries
had been upwards of £23,000 in 1839, and in 1849 ♦''ey had
fallen oflf so as to be less than £11,000. In tlie same «,une the
exports to Great Britain had increased from the small sum
ahready mentioned— about £9500— to exceed £300,000. The
exports to the colonies had at the same tir-n '~'u "sed from about
£6500 to upwards of £165,000 — a result which, when compared
with the decrease of imports from the colonies, shews that the
circle of the colonial trade must right itself through Great Britain;
in other words, that the other colonies must export to Great
Britain, to enable them to pay the excess of their imports from,
over their exports to. South Australia. The exports to foreign
countries have ever been trifling. In ] 845, by an unusual leap,
they reached £9783 { but in 1849 they were down to what appears
nearer their usual level, £1875. The quantity of wool exported
has in more than one year risen above 2,000,000 pounds, worth
about £100,000. The value of the com exported in 1848, however,
was more than three times that amount. In the latest information
contained in the governor's report laid before parliament in
February 1851, it is stated that —
* The exports for the year ending 5th April 1850, contrasted with
those of the previous corresponding ytar, are decreased one-half per
cent. ; namely, from £485,951 to £483,475. The decrease has been
chiefly owing to a smaller amount cf the produce of the mines. Th
expectations of the miners and smelters of tiie Burra Burra ore, as
mentioned in my last annual blue-book report, were not realised to
their full extent.
* The export, as above, of wheat, meal, and flour to Great Britain
and elsewhere was 14,4974 quarters of wheat, and 1924 tons of meal
and flour.
* The export of tallow was 5571 cwt. against 3867 cwt. of the
previous corresponding year.
* The export of wool for the year ended 5th April 1850 was
2,841,131 lbs. against 2,243,086 lbs. of the previous corresponding year.
* The tonnage inwards and outwards has increased for the year
ended 5th April 1850, as compared with the previous corresponding
years, forty-three per cent.; namely, from 112,338 tons to 160,497
tons."
66
BOUTH AUSTRALIA.
The receipts of the general revenue, accordinff to the same
authority, were for 1849, £108,301. The revenue has more^
tripled ,n five years that for 1844 having been less than £28,000.
1110 chief Item la of course tlio customs-duties. But to speak of
sources of revenue, unless they materially aflfect the means of
settling and obtaming land, and otherwise embarking his means in
the colony, is generally to refer to a matter of comparatively small
moment to the emigrant. He may feel pretty sure that once over
the grand unpedunents before him-the voyage, the selection of a
tlistnct, the choice of an mvestment, and the purchase of his loca-
tion—the article of taxation wUl not fierioiiely impede him. It will
not therefore be of great service to offer him the tariflf of Western
Austraha. He wUl forget its items before he get there, and they
•vvill not be sufficiently important to influence him in the choice of
the particular emigration field which he sliould adopt, as people
used to be mfluenccd in this country in the choice of a trade under
the old system of cuties. Moreover, the latest table of any kind
accessible while this goes to press, might be useless to the
emigrant after he has reached the country. It may be useful
however, that he should have a general idea of the tone and
character, as it were, of the taxes in South Australia.
Previous to the year 1849, there was a diiferential tariff in
favour of imports from the United Kingdom. Since the summer
01 that year, the duties have been indiscriminate on the produce
of a 1 countries. The most important are of course those on
articles of manufacture, whether in metals or in textUe fabrics
On these there is a universal ad-valorem duty of 6 per cent
Uesides the principal articles of our cotton, silk, woollen, Imen
and hardware manufactory, it appUes to clocks and watche«^
stationery, glass manufactures (other than bottles), saddlery and
harness, carriages, brushes, miscellaneous machmery, mats, imple-
ments and tools, haberdashery and miUinery, hats and caps,
musical instruments, drugs, miscellaneous groceries, oilmen's stores
,^ u .^^ ^"^ ^"^^^^ "^^^ ^""^^ ** 6s. per hundredweight : it
would be of little importance that bacon and hams were 28. 6d
and beef and pork Is. 6d. per hundredweight, or that wheat-me J
was fixed at Is. 6d., and barley and oat-meal at Is. 3d. per quarter.
IJut It would be of more consequence to the settler to find that
boots are only charr d 6d. per pair, half boots 3d., and shoes 2d.
.The tax on beer^ porter, ale, and cider, is 3d. per gaUon, on wine
is. per gaUon. There is a much higher proportional duty on spirits
—for every description of the strength of proof it is 10s. per gallon.
1 his must lead to an extensive home production, and is thus an
impolitic tax, which wiU probably counteract its object. Its
policy was to make the settler pay as much as he would be con-
^7
\
AUSTIULIA.
tent to pay, without attempting to distil. But if grain spirits cost
a guinea a gallon, and he can make it for 5s., he will do so, and the
practice will become temptingly easy. The growth of the grape
will probably make the iiuer kinds of spirits almost as easily pro-
curable. Coals are charged Ud. per ton, and coke 28. Among
the minor miscellaneous duties arc — bottles. Id. |)er dozen ; ordi-
nary bricks, 2s., and fire and bath-bricks, 5s, per 1000. Twine, .5s.
per hundredweight; fish, dry and pickled, Is. per hundredweight.
Common window-glass is included ^n the 5 per cent. aU valorem^
but for plate-glass there is a separate charge, of which it will im-
port little to the intending emigi'ant to know the minutia;: when
it is in squares exceeding GOO inches, it is charged 4d. per pound.
Dressed hides, Ss. ; raw salt and dried, Is. ; soap. Is. per hundred-
weight ; macaroni and vermicelli. Id. per pound.
Living animals are imported free, so are bullion and coin; plants
and trees, garden-seeds and roots, unmanufactured wool, and, most
important of all to tlie intending emigrant, his luggage. The other
sources of income arc in general of too tritling a nature to have
much influence on tlu) new settler's position. There are some local
rates connected with Adelaide and its harbour which are applicabio
to their special improvement. After the customs, the next most
important item in the general taxation is a licence-duty, by far
the greater part of which is laid on the sellers of liquor. A general
publican's licence costs £25, and a licence to sell wine and malt
liquor £12. This high scale has probably, like the import duties
<>n liquors, been adopted as a negative restraint on intemperance,
and so long as it acts in that direction, it is of coui'se an unexcep-
tionable source of revenue. In 1847 the receipts from 135 general
publicans' licences amounted to £3375 ; but this is a source of
revenue which would require to be carefully watched, lest it over-
stretch itself. Store-keepers pay a licence-duty of £5.
PRODUCE.
Grain. — South Australia now produces fine and heavy crops of
wheat. In 1845 it was stated that in the Mount Barker district
from thirty to thirty-five bushels an acre was a low average there,
and that from forty to forty-five had been repeatedly grown.
Mr M'Laren, Avhen asked by the 1847 Committee on Emigration,
' Is the quality of the grain produced good ? ' answered —
* According to Lord Lyttelton's statement in the House of Lords,
the finest in the world ; and I beheve that statement was fully justi-
fied. The South Australian Company sold 450 quarters of wheat in
Uie month of November 1845 at 76s. a quarter in the London mar-
68
BOUTII AUSTRALIA.
•ad at the »a,no tlmo t um-o wore thrco or four <|.iftrter8 of HoMtl
A«strul.a» .vhent wl.id. l.ad b«on «ent homo (or \eed «oId ami
MJieii JinghsU wheat wiu. seUirifj gonorally at about 608. Thev had
an agricultural slu.w somo time ago in A.lolaido ; and the weiirht of
the pnzo wheat for tho fir.t and Hecond pri/.oH exceeded mxty-8,x
pounds the l,u8hel ; and when tho South Australian Company weighed
out that 450 quartern, they pai.l freight for it at tho rate of Hi. xty four
pounds weight per bushel for the whole cargo; I paid it myself.'
Tlie average depth of ploughing ia about eight inches. The time
of sowmg wheat is from the middle of April to the middle of
'.y and It 18 thought expedient, by not having it later, to
Rvoid the hot winds of December and January. Barley, however
may be sown at a later period. As is usual in fresh agricultural
colonies, it has generally been found more economical to let por-
tions of sections stand fallow than to be at the trouble of collect-
ing and di8tril)uting manure ; but the time of course will come
when the artificial enrichment of the soil will be worth the settler's
while. The ploughing is by oxen, whose steady, powerful pull is
lound more convenient in the circumstances than the more rapid
operation by horses. A strong rough plough is made in the
colony suited to the character of the soil. For this and other
instruments it is thus of more value to an emigrant who is not a
capitalist, to be able to do some carpentry and smithy work for
himself, than to possess some choice tools from the manufactory
of accomplished makers at home.
It is not the object of the present work to supersede the inquiries
which the mtendmg emigrant must make upon the spot, before ho
embarks his capital or labour, but rather to give such general views
of the several emigration fields as may help him to a choice, by giv-
ing him a general notion of their several adaptabilities and charac-
teristics. No attempt, therefore, will be here made to indicate the
best investments that the capitalist may make with his money or
to recommend how the settler should proceed after he has landed
Mr Dutton, who lived long in tlie colony, and had every practical
advantage, sensibly remarks— 'It has always been the fashion in
publications on the colonies, to give tables of calculations as to the
profits realised from the breeding of sheep or cattle. I, however
have a strong objection to this, as it cannot be done with sufficient
accuracy to serve as a guide for those who would wish to embark
their funds m it, and I should be sorry to mislead any one into
following pursuits which a variety of contingent causes might,
after all, disappoint him in. The price of the sheep, in the first
place, IS very various, according to their quality, and whether thev
are clean or "scabby;" the nature and extent of the run, its being
69
11
AUSTRALIA.
well watered or badly watered ; the distance from town, and cor-
responding facility of access for the transport of wool and stores ;
the great or small demand of wedders by the butchers ; the price
of wool obtained in England— all combine to make the task of
compiling correct calculations as to profits one which I have no
ambition to undertake.'— (Pp. 249, 250.)
Between the two great staple occupations of the monied settler
—cattle pasturage and sheep-walks— it seems to be the under-
standing in South Australia, as in the other provinces, that the
former is the safer speculation, more suited for the medium capi-
talist not inclined to make daring adventures for chances of large
profit. A very practical-looking little book, called ' The Workmg-
Man's Hand-Book to South AustraUa,' by George Blackiston
Wilson, gives the following business-like counsel to the settler
who has cattle in his eye. Tt is cited here rather as giving a
general. notion of what a settler's prospects in that department
migJit be, 'han as containing a specific rule which he is to hold by
from the moment when he has made up his mind to emigrate.
Mr Wilson observes that —
* After faxming, cattle -keeping is the easiest and most certain
method of gaining a living; but cattle require a large run of pasture-
ground to feed upon, for they are not enclosed in fields, or house-
fed, dunug any part of the year. This is the difficulty of the case.
It will not be advisable to purchase land for the purpose ; and
therefore, after the intending purchaser of stock has, by actual
inspection, become acquainted with the price of cattle throughout
the colony, he will do well to buy his herd from some respectable
man who is willing to allow him to live at the station, an^ acting
as overseer without pay, look after his cattle on the run that thev
have bean accustomed to, until he knows each beast, and has found
a good run or station which he can rent for himself. This is a pretty
sure way of going to work without needless expense, and will amply
compensate for loss of time and comfort. When once on his own
run, his days will pass pleasantly ; and all the labourers he requires
will be two men— one as stock-keeper, who is answerable for the
cattle J the other as hut-keeper, who cooks, cleans the hut, and attends
to the garden : 700 head of cattle, valued at £3000, will give a good
return m a couple of years (about 25 per cent.), and, with very little
attention on the part of the master, after the first year, will become
a source of considerable profit. Many of the South Australian stock-
owners live almost entirely in or near the town, and leave their
Stations to the care of an overseer, they themselves only visiting
their flock two or tliree times a year.
.J ^T°i f *^®° persons, with £400 or £500 capital, may join toge-
ther (although this is dangerous, unless they are previously well
acquainted) ; but no individual with only £500 should lay it out on
cattle with the object of taking a run for that number. Other
70
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
methods, however, there are for parties who prefer cattle: as —
*irst making an agreement with a respectable cattle-owner to take
your cattle on either one-half or two-fifths of the increase : which
means, that 7*e keeps the cattle for you, pays all expenses of stock-
keeper, &c. and at the end of the year hands over to your account
three-fifths of the profits ou butter or cheese. Tliis is very fair for
both parties, and enables the owner of the cattle to employ himself
jn any way that suits him best, while at the same time he knows
that his herds are increasing. Second, if the cattle are quiet, and of
a good breed, many parties will keep them for their milk once a day
taking this as an equivalent for all expenses. I prefer the first of
these two plans, because thereby the calves are more likely to have
tuU justice done them, and not to be stinted in their milk, which
when they are young, would be sure to spoU their growth. Another
plan is-to pay about 7d. or 8d. a month for each head to some party
ownmg a good run ; he agreeing to find and pay for all necessary
labour. The breedmg of horses should be combined on a smaU
ficaie with cattle-keeping.'~(Pp. 47, 48.)
The South AustraUan settler with capital has thus several means
of iBvestment at his disposal, and is not, as in other Australian
settlements, driven absolutely to the adventurous occupation of
t^T^Tfl^^' ^M^' ."^^ '°"°" '" Manchester, and cutlery in
Sheffield, this, until minmg greatly superseded it, was the chief
pursuit of the district— that which stamped the man as of the
highest order of settlers. It is said that here the flocks are not
subject to that mysterious catarrh or influenza which in other
places sweep them off by thousands. Yet It is the doom of this
gantle quadruped to be ever environed by enemies which render
necessary the most vigilant attention of man, to whose wants he
mmisters. Ihey are liable to scab and foot -rot. Mr Button
says It 18 only in marshy runs that they faU victims to the latter-
and that there is an immediato remedy-in driving the flocks
to the IiiUs. The scab is not a deadly disease, and its efil
18 Its mjury to the quality of the wool. From carelessness
or poverty ma few holders, this disease has sometimes been very
nfe m South Austraba, and many vain efforts have been made bv
regulation to interrupt its spreading. The great sheep-owners
complam of the rras being broken in upon by the demand for
smaU sections. They consider that this ckcumstance both
limits the extent of their operations, and exposes their stock to
mfection. The dmgoe or wild dog is a fonnidable enemy of the
flock. Its extreme cunning, both in. preserving itself from attacks,
and m choosmg the defenceless moment for pouncing on its prey
18 a cause of endless provocation to the flock-master.
The effect of the seasons on the stock has to be carefuUy
il
AUSTRALIA.
Studied ; and even those who are most laudatorv of eveiything
in the province, cannot conceal that the drought is at some
seasons very prejudicial. « The appearance of the sheep-runs,'
says Mr Button, ' during the rainy months is very beautiful ; and
the gi-owth of the grass is so rapid and so abundant, that during
July, August, and September, one acre would feed four sheep, whilst
in summer it would take four acres or more to feed one sheep. This
IS the reason why the settlers require such large tracts of country
to feed their stock upon.' The dryness is formidable in another
way— from affording a rapid spread to bush fires, which sometimes
destroy buildings as well as grass. They run lightly along the soil,
not destroying the roots ; so that the fresh grass which rises up
through the accidental top-dressing is described as very beautiful
and tender. It is one result of the system of selling the land at a
uniform and comparatively high price, that its acquisition in pro-
perty for sheep-farming purposes is not thought of. The pastures
are on the waste lands of the crown, held at a merely nominal
rent, with a licence-duty, under the conditions set forth in the
document afterwards given. As the land may at any time be
sold, there is no inducement to the sheep-owner to improve it or
raise buildings on it.
Mr Dutton complains that there has been a prejudice against
South Australian wool in the British market. ' The same wool,'
he says, ' which, had it come direct from Adelaide, would have
fetched say Is. 6d. per poimd by being first shipped to Sydney,
t^nd from thence home to London, sold for 3d. and 4d. per pound
higher.' A neglect in cleaning the wool has been attributed as
the cause of the inequality ; and it may be attributed to the want
of labouring hands, of which this colony had so long to complain.
Frt.'wt.— Horticulture, especially the frugiferous department, is a
secondary matter to the emigrant seeking onlv rude abundance, or
even to him who has no other object before him but the mere
realisation of wealth. But to every one looking at home-comforts,
and the expectation of a simple and refined life for his offspring'
the prospects of the garden will not be wholly overiooked. Tree
fruits were not an abundant produce of the district, and of course
in the early stages of settling they were not profusely introduced.
From the first, however, that luxury of the tropics, the water-
melon, was abundant. Its price has been about half-a-cro^vn per
hundredweight, and it has been abundantly consumed by all
classes.
As the colony advanced, however, apples, pears, citrons, figs,
plums, peaches, almonds, oranges, medlars, pine-apples, bananas,
and guavas, were produced. The displays of these productions
read brilliantly in the accounts of * The South Australian Hrrti-
cultural
tant of
grape, (
requires
suitable
the exhi
to be a ^
In en
same ex
familiar
be in ma
produce
are repre
the climj
have bee
many otl
kinds of
valuable
the potat(
after the
look on t
and agree
There ]
duced in
of great «
cane. It
producing
carried tc
Horticulti
man's sar
tobacco p
stalks of r
and three
consequen
In the ex
that no at
flax and ]
had afford(
the colony
mulberry-1
the provin
silk in the
to silk and
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
cultural and Agricultural Societies' shows ' But th^ m^e* •
tShr ^'^*f " ^?"^ ^-« app^red ;:ftlut%ter''"a
the exhibitions, and gained their prizes; but how far the cowl
to be a wme-producing one, it will yet take time to shew ^
««rn! !""™t'^*"'S *^^ vegetable productions which %„re in the
same exhibitions, we would be but repeating? the names of « Ihl
famdiar pot-herbs of our own countr/. The onions were saM^^
be in many instances equal in size and excellence to Tir^rSanto
produce of Portugal. The gourds, including vegetab mSo' '
are represented as large and full. Owing to tlie gfeate waiSiof
the climate, many plants of a medicinal nature, unknown a Tome
have been got to grow; but the colonists appear to hive LdToo
many other objects in view to make many experimen s n such
kinds of produce. It is more important to knmvThat the mos^
valuable to the comfort of the middle classes of alTg^^^^^^^^^
the pota o, grows satisfactonly. It can never be wiSed^'oweve '
Innl *^t^^.^P«"^"«e ^f Ireland, that any country should hive to
look on this root as a staple, or as anything farther than a useful
and agreeable addition to other crops and som-ces o subsisten e
d„o.^r Jr'' 'i* '^' '"T *™^' ^^^^ ^^P^^ted as success/u ly p;o.
duced in this colony two herbs, which in other places are the source
ot great staple trade and riches-the tobacco-plant and the su^'
cane. It has been maintained that tlie country is qSe camblf of
producing them; but their cultivation is not knowTto have ieen
carried to any great extent. At one of the exhibitions of fJ^
Horticultural Society, it is, however, announced t^tte'J^^^
man's sample of tobacco ' consisted of six stalks of vS a
tobacco partly cured; si:c ditto ditto from the same plant? dx
stalks of negrohead; a small parcel of cut tobacco; 100 cl^a
and three pounds of leaves made ready for packing.' * It Is of
consequence, too to knowthat hops have been succefsfully ai ed
In the examinations before the Committee of 1847, it wasTtated
that no attempts had been made to introduce the 'cultTvat o„ of
S waT^ '" *^' .'°^°"y ' *^ ^"y «^t«"t.' The na ive Im
had afforded remuneration as an export at the commencemen^^f
the colony, but the trade had ceased to be worth pursuing Sorne
mulberry-trees had been grown, sufficient to attes^t t e capaci^rof
the province o rear s.lk-worms should it be an object to nroduoi
totilk ndlTihaJ^h"" ""^^-'^'i 5^^^^^^' inlZlZt^H
to 811k and wme, that the scarcity and deamess of labour stood in
* Dutton, p. 225.
'&•
> I
AUSTRALIA.
the way of attempts to make them a staple production. Though
the country is timbered, it does not appear that, especially in com-
petition with New Zeaknd, the export from it of wood will ever be
pursued. The trees are generally of the same hard gummy kind
as those of the rest of Australia.
As to those productions which shew rather how the people live
than how rich they may become, tlie accounts given of this colony
at least sound weU. The butter, salt and powdered, the cheese,
hams and bacon, meet with approval. Good ale is spoken of
At 2s. a gallon, which is about its price in Britam. Mr Morphett,
when exammed before the Committee of 1847, bemg asked what
«re the great sources of mdustry in the colony, included some
branches which certainly would not have been expected in an
infant settlement :
* Agriculture, horticulture, pastoral pursuits, such as sheep-farm-
ing, dairy-farming, and breeding stock, and mining. There are also
«pnngmg up a great many manufactories. I thmk the manuftxc-
tones m South Australia, according to the last statistics, amounted
to eighty-three, and I daresay there are now more than one hundred
There are tanneries, breweries, m:ilting-houses, candle-manufactories,'
«nuff and tobacco manufactories, starch-manufactories, iron and brass
foundries, and, in fact, manufactories for a great many of those
necessaries and comforts of life which are at present, to some extent
and were formeriy entirely, imported from England.' But Mr
Morphett thus qualified his statement—' Our manufactures in the
colony are of a very simple kind, and do not interfere with the
general manufactories of England, more especially the cotton, wooUen,
and u-on manufactures. I should observe that woollen manufacture
haa been recently commenced in the colony. But the whole of the
amount which we raise by our various mdustrial pursuits is expended
in Great Britain in its manufactured articles— articles of necessitv
and articles of luxury.' ^
^ Mines and Mineralof/i/.—The most remarkable featui-e, as well
in the past history as the future prospects of South Australia
IS Its mmeral wealth. The general geological character of the
district IS much varied, from the prhnitive granite and porphyry
upheaved in the hiUs, to the later formations containing orgiiic
remains. There are abundant marks. of great volcanic convul-
sions. In the settled localities buildmg ctone, chiefly lime-
stone, is abundant. In the mountains east of Cape St Vincent
the primitive limestone is said to assume the character of a
pure white marble. Ornamental stones— a secondary matter to
metals and building materials, but still of some possible impor-
tance—are abundant. Among the copper mines have been found
some specmiens of thjit beautiful mamilated ore, the malachite
74 '
with wh
atones w]
abundant
of trinkt
Barossa i
of the ja
and pres<
here to 1
and veinj
wax opa
it would
of contrai
it for the
variety of
cornelian :
«ays~'T
similar to
quartz and
quartz, ma
mmeraJs, c
itself turns
and colou]
chalcedon}'
OP less va
lime.'
In 1842-
the acciden
the appear
disco'"'cry •
secrec/ on
lanJ surve;
to be lIx
There wer(
have claimi
coverers to
have rousec
and they bo
per acre. 1
curious and
all colonial
Mine, now a
had secured
mineral in 1
taken. App
close to their
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
. undance and out by ..0^0,;, ^«S 2^ /e^^^ f^^,^^
ot trinkets, are apparently verv ahin.rlflnf z.c„ ^•-»» variety
a^rossa n>„ge. The?^ are .he .IL^^S of'S^. ILt'
Ot the jasper and agate kind, which blend «n ,•«*; t J^ '
and present so infinite a vari trodee^^^^^^^^ 'tI'*^'"'
here to be found not merely iJ nodul's but i 1.1-? ^ ''''
and veins. Opal is abundant in allTts forms IhSfl "^''T
wax opal, and precious opal Frm^ ,J^'~-'^^'*?' ^^'^ opal,
the appearance of copper ore ThTVfj ' ■"*"* f"'"'"'^''
8ec«c . on the subject, these gentlLen goTeighty ^Hf
^ beTi^^leTfor'^f 1 h' ^n"""' ^' EotrVd
■There ; r^/holderrof eShtt ! ^'^'T'"' .«^^^"»-
ha.e clahned the^ecSr a„1 £"^^^5^^ of 'rf''
.^^iS:x:^t^^rS^?S€--
curious and rather severe test of t1,. ^i.'„ „f -i ^ ™^ *
aU colonial lands ZTl ■ ? ."' " ™iform pri;e for
Mine, now a itt eftebli .m T %T "' 'J' Ka"™aa Copper
mjne,«l in that neighboured: bu ftey fZdT^r* '!"*
1; <
was of com-se of great im
Dor-
75
AUSTRALIA.
tance to Messrs Button and Bagot to possess this section ; bn*
instead of £1 an acre, they had to pay for the lot £2210. 'The
description of ore,' says Mr Button, ' found in the Kapunda mines
is principally composed of the carbonets and sulphureta. A large
number of specimens of every variety were, as soon as we began
working, transmitted to England for analysis, we keeping half of
the specimens at the mines for subsequent reference. The aver-
age produce gave a result of 29 j per cent, of copper, for 39
specimens good, bad, and indifferent taken from every part of
the property.' In 1845 the Kapunda ores sold at Swansea brought,
at an average price of £24, 8s. 6d. per ton, upwards of £6000.
Kapunda is in the Light County, between the Hiver Murray and
the Gulf of St Vincent. It is about the farthest removed from
th means of water communication of any of the settled districts.
Great difficulty was found in procuring water for the workers and
their families. But the wealthy produce has forced for itself a
means of transit which will ever be increasing. The land was
looked on as the J east valuable of any in the colony, being of the
kind called scrub, where a hard unprolific soil is covered with
stunted and compar itively useless wood.
Soon after Mr Duth^ii's discovery, Mr Henderson, when in
search of a lost bullock on the Mount Lofty range of hills near
Adelaide, observed the green colour of the rock, and communi-
cated his observation to his employer, Mr Fortnum. These two
gentlemen were not so fortunate as Messrs Button and Bagot*
Probably those who set their heart on particular sections were
more narrowly watched—at all events, the secret of the new dis-
covery was not kept. By this time the new regulations for the
sale of land by auction had come in force, and when the Monta-
cute section was brought to the hammer on IGth February 1844,
a company had been formed who were prepared to bid £4000
being £50 instead of £1 an acre— but they obtamed it for £1500.
When, in 1845, Mr Button was leaving South Australia, a
rumour was creating much excitement that in the far north,
where settlers had scarcely penetrated, indications had been found
of a monster mine. The rumour turned out to be true. A spe-
cial survey of 20,000 acres was demanded— the necessary deposit
of £20,000 having been made, in the district of the Razorback
Mountains— and the celebrated Burra Burra mines were established
a hundred miles from Adelaide. Here the richest ores were found
in large masses, before there was any necessity for sinking shafts.
The operation has been described as more like quarrying in copper
than minmg. In 1848 upwards of 16,(^K)0 tons of ore were raised
from this mine by the South Australian Mining Company, wlio had
then nearly six hundred operatives in their employment. This
76
joint-stoc
£6 each,
tunate pi
declaring
child's pli
is remark
rival the :
iron,' say!
it is imp
masses oi
immense 1
this is a i
the imme
wood for £
A highly.
appeared
press in tl
* We no^
the vast s
not every (
enterprise
limb, and
Above all,
narrow tlia
unless it b
only twenb
copper, dov
caverns lik
tlioir liats, <
copper ores
beautiful li
gardens, ev(
spots in wh
had only Is
ranges to 2
per month ;
with the n
habitual gri
made as hig
sends as nu
for the foi'tu
the honour <
In seme of
surrounded
carbonates, :
rienced frien
and evideati
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
joint-Stock company, with a capital divided into 2464 sharea of
16 each, Ws had a run of prosperity which may form an uufor-
tunate precedent for wild mming undertakings. It began bv
declanng a dividend of 50 per cent.; but thi^s was found to bo
Child s p ay, and it has year by year declared 200 per cent. What
18 remarkable, too, about this spot is, that its iron appears to
rival the richness and excellence of its copper. ' The deposits of
iron, says Captam Stmt, « are greater than those of copper, and
^ IS impossible to describe the appearance of the huge dean
masses of which they are composed. They look, indeed like
immense blocks that had only just passed from the forge.'' But
this IS a matter for speculation, scarcely for the corsideration of
iLTfT u- '™?''"*' '^'^ *^^" ''^''^ ^^ ^««1 ^r of sufficient
wood for smelting h..s prevented the working of iron in the colony.
A highly-coloured description of this great establishment, which
appeared in an Auotrahan newspaper, and found its way to the
press m this country, contains the following passage :-
'We now attempt to relate our labours in thrcadinrr tho mazes of
the vast souterain. Wo can assure those who read "this tLtlt ?s
every one who can do it. The man who attempts uc aVrta
c erpnse should be young and active, should be sot nd and hthoTn
Above a) he should not be stout, for some of the holes are so
unless it belongs to a practical miner. You descend and fimf S
only twenty fathoms ; you follow on through galeS dotd wit
cavenis like Vulcan's forge, where men are seen with candles in
thoir hats, or stuck on the rocks, hewing away at the most splend d
beautiful httle malachite arbours, which the miners called tJicr
gardens, every side of which being a bright 'ncen icrmod tvJllri
spots in wliich to rest. A few of'tlie miSs^^Sna^ bfcauSy
ranges to 2s 6d.), and protested that they did not make quite £10
per month; but an old Cornish and Columbian captainrunconnecteS
jvith the mines, who was present, ;old us that^he mhiers were
habitual grumblers; and we learned afterwards that some o? them
inade as high as £40 or £50 per month, and that tho superintended
sends as much as £200 or £300 in a week into Adelaidrto inve"
for the fortunate and industrious. We must, howevermention 7o '
the honour of the men, that the grumblers M-ere a small oxception
In^^'Vl '^' """* "'^r"^' '^^-'y^ ^^'-'y' ^"d fifty feet wde, when
surrounded on every side with malachite, red oxide, green and bne
carbonates, mmgled in rich confusion, the miners asked our ex e!
rieuced friend if he had ever seen or heard of anvthing like the Burrl
and evidently were far from surprised at las most energetic neS
f
AUSTRALU.
After *our or five hours' hard travel through this labyrinth, we at
last rcaacended, leaving, for want of time, a great part of the mine
unexamined.'
In 1847 some regulations were passed applicable to lands used
for minerals. By these a royalty was established on the produce
of the mines, which it was deemed necessary afterwards to recall.
In the latest official information on the copper mines, contained in
the Report of the Emigration Commissioners for 1851, the sur\'eyor
says : — * I have just retiuned from my examination for minerals
about ten or eleven miles to the eastward of Mount Barker, and
within a short distance of the Murray Scrub, where there is to be
seen a large lode cropping out at suxface, in uneurveyed land ;
which lode can be traced for upwards of sixty fathoms in nearly
a north and south direction. The lode is found in a micaceous
sandstone stratum of a slaty structure, and consists of quartz,
sandstone, and iion, mixed with blue carbonate of copper.'
But copper and iron are not the only mineral riches of this
province. Lead has been found and worked, especially at Glen
Ormond and Rapid Bay. There had been speculations about gold
so early as 1844 ; and in the Report of the Emigration Commis-
sioners for 1851 it is stated, that ' in consequence of the prevalent
rumour that gold had been discovered to exist extensively in the
colony, a company for washing and streaming for gold, with a
projected capital of £25,000, had been formed. We have not
heard,' say the commissioners, ' what success has attended this
enterprise.' There is no doubt that the slightest indication of the
appearance of the precious metal will be eagerly followed up,
especially after tlie events which have taken place at Bathurst.
In fact, mining, especially in the richer metals, is the very last
species of enterprise to which people require to be stirred up.
It is only apt to create, by its glittering produce, too great a
fervour of speculation. Mr Button's discovery set the sheep-
owners, like treasure -seekers, to the examination of every rock
and stone in their allotments. There was a wild hunt after the
green or blue indications of copper. Companies were formed with
immense rapidity, and British capital was immediately embarked
in the new metallic harvest. In the documents published in the
last Report of the Emigration Board there are complaints of the
sale of land being interrupted by fictitious biddings, evidently
made to stop the sale until some party should ascertain whether
the purchase was for mining purposes. The operations have
increased so rapidly, that any attempt to give a full statistical
account of them would probably be found to be antiquated when
the reader of it reaches the spot. In so large a Cuuntry peopled
by little more than the contents of a middle-sized town in IBritain.
78 '
!
it isq
th&t n
it has
stance
degree
Hindn
mise,
glitter!
which
the mi
his foi
fortuna
should
to tak(
died an
may tal
allintl
mine.
prise, p
to the
This is
middle (
such a
exercise
pasture
progress
mining :
nay, it -w
part of
gambling
times to
of letter
public.
certainty
profit on
it is with
the absen
metals k
value. [
ing-engin
for folloTi
working
up smelti
the advan
The ex
a
BOUTH AUSTKALIA.
.t h.. already boo- found to ulZul^if,^^^%^ZZ-"""'*'
»tttoe, that the White Station Copper and LeTMiL. T"-
degrees distant from those of Y.ttiZi- . "" "' "'««
Hindmarsh oonnt^ Yet II^SSW^L'" *,%™''^ "^
which wl have dra™ ^ALr; ^ '• ''"? *' ™^"'«d P«"^
the moderatlb^ enrwedlSS^Tto""!"?' Tf** ,"■""''' '«"■?'
died and left him a good coTmine ^ Jf T' ''>^^° ^^^^
n-iddie olLe:, Sl^s ft^Ldr"^ , ^y^ ^ ^flTL"' ,'^*
such a manner tliaf i> mo,. ^ ^ wiuon ne goes to mvest m
exeroise his ZX, LS,ZtZl tllTlS,' ^T l"
pasture and asricnhnre^ ao i.;« «. • T , ^^™ •'*^o*^ to
|:ogress,and aS^g^teXTd dl^rorb'^ ^Tl/
mming is the occupation that produces the least avP^p'^o ^ «i ""
nay, it would not be unsafe to say thartake it llHn T-P'^^*-""
profit on the whole : vet DeorT rrnw^ ! .1^^ """'* ^^^ ^'^
it is with minin A Jee/Sf ^^^^^^^^ -
the absence of a We profit is th7 J^ . *^ f "^P^^' ^^'^
metals keep their nosition;. 1 I'l^ '^'°? """^ *^^ P^^cious
value. ThL obLrSns are n fof^^rse t'^e' ^^'-^^
Hig-engineer or workman to look to SoSh AnJrT''* '^' T"'
for following his nursuit- s,nTu. ^^.,?°"*^ f "straha as a place
wking emiantrkr^thft i;'\t:iTmir r *'^
up smelting ertablishments in the cL w «. fl . v^^ *°. '"'
the advantage of the smaller TtnZJ^n^'- ?^^^^i '* ""^^ ^^^«
TiK^ ^ ti. X- "^*^i*^"^"6r stowage occupied ly the refinpd nro
The exportation of melted copper for the L Ln .Set pS".
5
AUSTRALIA.
■' !
i
misc8 to bo a great branch of commerce in this colony. The
possibility of its being aided by the discovery of seams of coal has
of course been a matter of anxioua consideration. Wf have not
yet heard that coal \m.i been actually discovered. A large part
of the country consists of ranges of hills of the old formation,
where it would bo useless to search for carboniferous deposits;
but on the plains, the slate, clay, and sandstone strata, whioh con-
stitute the coal-measures of other countries, give a fair jjromise of
success : indeed the geological structure of this vast territory has
hitherto necessarily only received a very superficial inspection.
* Several times,' says Mr Dutton, ' have reports been current that
coal had been discovered : if it really is the case, th(5 discoverers
are obviously keeping the locality secret, with a view to purchasing
the ground at a fitting time.' And he says/arther— * But we have
no reason to lose courage, when we consider the unbounded extent
of our forests, containing as they do a description of wood which
will produce a large proportion of charcoal. The wood itself,
when billeted and dried, burns with intense heat and steady blaze,
owing to the quantity of resinous matter it contains. Smelting
with wood and charcoal produces the finest metal ; and there is no
reason why we should not be able to eft'ect, by means of our virgin
and now unprofitable forests, that which for centuries has been
adopted in Germany, Russia, and other countries, where there
exists no coal in the mining districts.' — (P. 309.) But it must be
remembered that if coal should not be found in this colony, it
exists abundantly in Sydney and other parts of Australia ; so tliat
if the smelting process should not be performed at Adelaide, it need
not involve so distant a transit as to Swansea. On the subject of
the lead ore, we are told by Mr Dutton that it is ' so easily run
into pigs, that, as regards this branch, the success of smelting in
the colony cannot for a moment be questioned.' — (P. 310.)
It might have been almost a question for some time whether the
mines were to be a benefit or the reverse to the colony. So alarm-
ingly were the usual and safe means of competency deserted, that
in 1844 the number of acres under wheat cultivation was lessened
by upwards of twenty-six thousand. Yet there was much diffi-
culty in getting hands to bring in the reduced crop ; and the upper
classes, including ladies, came forward to save the crop, and the
police were devoted to that useful labour. It was in these circum-
stances that, as elsewhere mentioned, the reaping-machiso was dis-
covered.
Fortunately, the dreams of the colonists respecting the produc-
tiveness of the mines have not been ultimately disappointed; and
it may be said that prosperity has ensued from causes not contem-
plated at the outset of the settlement. The primary elements of
80
IQCOM
of the
The
South .
few noi
varying
68. 6d.
the CO I
latter n
will fin
routine
paid, fc
stones, 1
so urgei
able em]
clay is
describe
account
much th
also give
superior!
Australia
Australia
with the
to many
in a new
carpentry
it would
mahogany
to this tl
the furnit
and other
Coopers (
here a pie
connectioi
surest tra
Australia,
tions, whi(
railway lo(
only to thi
wages of j
a day. Tl
i« the coll
BOUTII AUSTRALIA.
r.i LABOUR.
few not. , on this subject r-BricklaverlTrP J . ^'*"^^'»g '''^ »
tho country. Ck Ind 2l *"""f T'^* " ^'"^^'*">^ ">«^J« in
'attermor/ieeSlTt: ifi;U',^^ and as the
nil find employmei aTwTr .] L""t^''' '^^"«-™««on«
routine occup^atbn of brickkvln. ! T^^'' ^""^ "^'-^'X *'»«
paid, for the mere bricl ater^wm C '^7 ^^^^"^^ »^« ^«"er
«tone, but the mason ^^nXayllvti^k^^^^^^^^^ ^"^ -^
so urgently in dpmftn., ii • i i .^'^^- -Hasterers are not
ab.0 ^P'^Z^':z.J'^^';i;^''^^y » r^"-
clay s to be liad as it i. in «„; .1 . ^ !? ° '" ■"'""bers, and
account of ,1,„ mllg o^^sra „„" ItT,'," ■""' "'^"'^ '=<"»'"^». »■•
much the .amo as UtTZX tZZ^: ICl^ "
also give a Dcculkr Itin.l „f „™_i ""(-Mayers. Jho mines
.nperiorityof finsh of tl./l?'^""',"'/'' """T^-'crs; and the
A„atralia,^^n grvfmore proZi™«T. 'T •'"■''"'"S' "" ^outh
Australia^ colon^sTo the Ml tZ r"" ^^'""" """' "'« <'">'■•
with the rough w„rkl°r ca^We ^SnglrCd L" a"?"?"™""
carpentry ^^^0 chi^trrp^t^hrse^^tnl'^t" ""^''
It would not be wise in the first Sn "' otherwise,
mahogany and rosewood wo k or IVen h 17^ '' ^"^'^^^ °^
to this the most genteel of thp.:, ^^ ''^'''' *^ *^'"«* «^en
the furniture of hf So'uh Austll •''"'''; "^ ^^^^ ^^^^ o*'
and other Easte^"se'Setr:t" ll'llves'T™ ''"^^-^^^^
Coopers can also turn their LuTll T "^*'^^^«''e ingenious.
here a plentiful source of el^^^^^^^ H'' '^' ^"' '^>^ ^*"«
connection with the whaleltrYes \h ^'^^^^^^ l^
surest trades which an emif^r^nf^ • ,^ ^*^ °"^ ^^ the
Australia, with wa^^s froi "^^ Vf^a Z' C '".■»• '» «""">
tions, wh ch will certainlv wl,™ .V , -^^^ "* mining opera-
railwky locomot orimo LrLTon mus """^ '"" ^f"' "' ^™«
aX-'Arr:" ttftuSriorofr '' '"™ ""'"'»•
i.. .he eollapse of e„gineeri;"'Xri:^i;'«,,rrorr;^rg^^^
- Si
•- ',
IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-S)
V.
//
{/
1.0
I.I
^ us 1120
IL25 ill 1.4
6'
1.8
1.6
^^1
Sciences
brpcration
23 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTErt, N.Y. 14580
(716) 872-4503
- V .
f/
^
AUSTRALIA.
W
possibly do worse than try their fortune in this new field. Miner»
are well paid : they have from 33s. to 42s. per week ; but they
have also their chances from the arrangements called tribute or
tut-work, in which they make according to the produce of their
exertions. In the first chances of the discoveries, large sums have
been talked of as thus realised by the fortunate Cornish and other
mmers, who were tempted from their wheat-fields and sheep-runs
back to their old cavernous trade, which still had charms for them
when it was accompanied with gain. Boot and shoe makers are
of course in requisition, their wages ranging from 25s. to 45s. per
week. Homely coarse work is valuable in the bush, ahnost more
so than that of the firs c- rate hand; and thus the mere village-
cobbler, who is on the verge of pauperism at home, if he have
youth and health, may be a valuable member of society there,
being able probably to pursue some of the more routme duties of
the sheep-walk along with his profession. The leather is tanned
in the colony from the native cattle. Almost the same may be
said of tailors as of shoemakers ; but it may be observed that, as
the cloth comes from Britain, there is more opportunity for the
ready-made article— attractive, from its cheapness— getting the
command of the market.
Sawyers are a class of men who have a large field of occupation
in boarding the native timber for mines, as well as buildings or
fences. They are paid in a great measure according to theur
work, and sometimes realise considerable sums — so much, for
mstance, as £3 a week. They must not go with the notion of
findmg the work on the stringy and gummy timber of Australia
the same as in that of their own country. Next the sawyers, are
the 'splitters,' who are scarcely known by name in this country,
but important in a land where the limited household accommoda-
tion is dependent on very rough woodwork. ' These men are the
hut -builders at the out -stations, and the makers of hurdles and
watch-boxes for sheep-owners, and of heavy stockyards for the
cattle.' We are told by Mr Wilkmson, that * the demand for
splitters has been very great ; and in consequence of the difficulty
of obtaining them, quantities of timber have been imported from
Van Diemen's Land at a heavy expense. Branchmg off from
carpenters and sawyers, there is here another well-employed class
called ' shinglers,' who cover roofs with shingle. Taking analogy
with the progress of house-building at home, after that rude and
solid workmanship which serves for strength and protection, the
nearer we approach decoration and finery, the less do we find the
capacity to produce it a desideratum in the colony. Plasterers
and cornice -makers have, we are told, but a limited amount of
employment in town, and painters are still less essential: since
83
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
f'-fj™™* «t home with'the notl thaX wm fed -r"™' "/
m South Australia. Bot if th«v r„!,^ .u- . , " "oniMod
and a nec«»ity to tu™ thct 3 Jr. !!f- *'^' overstocked,
thing el« wiU^ome^ch mo^^J^"^""?? «■!« ■ «•»' »»»«-
at home. So it may besSiLT^ f '" Australia than
ahapes to the laxurS of de^seW ioli r''° '"^"" ^ °"'"'
jeweUers, sUver-ohaser" Jarve^'^r,! ^f^ ^"'™- Watchmakers,
find a reidy market Trt?^,™ ^ ^''2,'"' ""■ "■« '*«. ^01 not
skilled trad^c, are gmrSlvTr^^^^^^ ''"J ^^ foUowers'of these
an education in thf Z^SValds Vr"'""-" '"»' "'^
from one pursuit to anotier betTef Ih^tLT 'T '''™=''™«
who has been jerking a stick Zm -•J^ «he hanaoom-weaver,
and if they J li«Ie'or\? ooSrtir IkmltT "■'" ^""••
t.on to another occupation will most sShlv h» T"; » '™''-
a t^sition to another and rooLrLmfa^'^^ "^^ -^""S -th
the^^e^r.^SfdtSrttmSr"^.*-^"-''
n.ore valuable than in^^LTZUaJ^L^'"^-'^!^
chiefly absorbs the cCs of respeoTaSri''''- J^^ "^ «°™«
have lately found their wavT tbf^i v*^'. ^° ""7 "''hese
inducements of the aSnXnts for laT.V™'^^ »»''<» *^»
and respectability, that pSbttWeTnowfr*' *'" ™""'<"*
".ales empWkmseUt S SAu7 ''' ""^"""""y '"
suc'^e»f^rs:f'^S^!^ttt«:n '?r "^ ^»™^ « -7
ing to their own pSSn „J „ /""f "^ «v™ ''h™ keep-
the display of hoSlturi'..^H ^ ?' *,*" 'P'^' «' "^'-y. »
accom,t'fo^ theTn^c'^Ser'S toS't™"''r''*^''y
where there is u..ch agriculture as wSl ^tlrTt * '^^''^'
w always a safe colonist. If ha h7 T^t V '^ V*' ""^ S»'dener
minute and complete oneRitionLf ,k '"" """'' ^"^"^^ to the
ments of all capadty fofo^r™ on, ™ tffT' '"f "^^ *"« ^^■
self to that which is most S!.n i^ '?''' ""^ ™» """> him-
the re.ping-machi^:X / tp^oym«^^^ */ -^ <>f
who can reap ; and the asriraZriTri, " '**""" '<"' those
reaping and of sheeJJSLrfrn^lvtct;^^^ MPf'' "o* "^
Here, however, af in the ofCln^sML .1^""' ""r*'-
«o great an extent as in the gre^rer ^^'.S-r ^pS
* See above, p. 72.
83
f
IJ
AUSTRALIA.
revenue of those who have no trade, or who cannot follow it in
the colony, is that of the shepherd, with the subordinate function
of hut-keeping. The latter is the resource of the old or feeble —
often of boys; and the shepherd's proper hut-keeper is of course
his wife, when he has one. The shepherd's wages are from £25
to £30 a year, with victuals. Should the colony, however, receive
a large influx of the very humble class who are fit to do nothing
in the line of labour, it will be less. Mr Wilkinson gives the
following picturesque account of the utility of this occupation in
draining off the useless surplusage of society : —
* In the bush, the shepherd class consists of the most heterogeneous
materials. Within ten miles of the place where I lived, I remember
as shepherds one apothecary; one lawyer's clerk; one counting-
house clerk ; three sailors ; one tailor ; one Jew ; one Portuguese
sailor ; one native of Ceylon ; one Australian black ; one barman ;
one gentlcmaus son, brought up to no business ; one New Zealand
merchant, who had been burnt out ; and a second Portuguese, who
. could not understand a word of English ; one person, late a lieute-
nant in the Honourable East India Company's service ; and one gipsy.
These parties were all either shepherding or hut -keeping; and tho
gentleman's son, the Jew, and the barman, made the best shepherds
of the lot. A few miles further off, at a friend's station, there were
a black fiddler and a dancing-master. A large sheep-owner told me,
that he would sooner take a sailor, who hardly knew the head from
the stern of a sheep, or a clerk who had been in an office all his life,
than an English-bred shepherd. The one class, he said, would obey
orders, and be afraid of losing the sheep ; the other always thought
they knew better than their master.'
The same writer gives a not unattractive picture of shepherd
life.
He describes the evening meal-
•If a garden be cultivated — for they are allowed as much ground
as they like to crop— this meal is composed of potatoes, cabbages,
turnips, and other vegetables, and roast, boiled, or stewed mutton ;
and singing, near the wooden fire, is what is called the billi/, or tea-
kettle. A neighbouring shepherd will perhaps drop in to spin a
yarn, and pipes are filled, and finished again and again, until the
smoke issuing from the door, walls, and roof, would make one fancy
that the place was on fire. Large quantities of tho beverage that
cheers, but not inebriates, pass round in tin mugs, and the jovial
song and merry laugh sound happily in comparison to the drunken
frolics in our workmen's homes, the gin -palace, or tho public-house.
The hut-keeper sallies off to his watch-box, which, unlike those of
our old " Charlies," is horizontal instead of perpendicular ; and there
ensconcing himself in his blanket, he sleeps the calm sleep of health,
until perhaps roused by the bark of his dogs ; then he pops out his
head from his box, and halloos to the trusty guards, which tear
away and give chase to then: enemy — the dingoeJ
M
■w>*.»^WL-' ■'.'-;fl"-'i"i"«»'"."*'?'
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
Mey, appears to have suSded-rCtXl '''
an instrument suited to the nature of the distrt/ t? • \'"'L'"'
reaping and a thrashing machine and frnm I- i" ^^ '' ^°*^ *
tion of accomplishmenfs wp Z' • /"^T *^'' ^'^PP^ ^ombina-
welcomed in this c^nt^; riLrJh.T '' ^"^ ^^'^' '' ^^"^'^ ^e
and cleanly to peel the S'inTwav^^^ accomplished is, neatly
by the wheels of the mSe T f, h ^iV^t '^'^'' Prostrated
manures become more netSarT n LTf"^ '>*.""*'^ *^'«"«1
husbandry to look afL thTS Th s'rnot tf ' "f '^ ^^^^
stance which makPM tha rr^o.i,' i- "°* *^« only circum-
The extreme d™" .^iTn 1 jr""":'/ '<*«.' W'™«»-
it peel away c J„ and easy S Xjl Tf ??."'■ "^'
the nn on of rcaninff and t>,v,.t;„ t ,? "' *""' ""' "«*e«
the cutting ao2Zi"foZtrt t^e^'hl&r'*"^' ','!'"'
advantage, since it has been observpd ,1,7, •S"''' ' P^O"''*"-
w«y, and in removing toX thSf"'- ^^1 ""'"°*' '" ""^ »»»»•
usual proportion is ^:.!S in'SX'^::^J^^'' "•"" *«" ">'
SALE AND OCCUPii TION OF LAND.
an emil^tion fund" Th"e'S&S ZtXT: °"°- ™"«
subsequently raised to 2n« h„ ,1. T ? T *" ""■*! '' ^i"
Austi^ian cSes an at'ount „f If-T ■"•''■^<" *"' f" «'«
12). The regulaSns &T 2 tk oTtndTfhuf ?^^'^' P'
those extending over the whAi.^^ '?"" aie thus the same as
elsewhere, the fq«tU - ,v^?l u"""'"™ '' ?"^' '"'™™'. «»
necessa^'to regSSeT; S1™DeSb« fsfsT T " . '' ""^
S9'u^:r&«;rroSS^--^
1849; the averse cost nf f L « m ^^.l 06 acres were surveyed in
per acre; tl^tUZ^'oftl^t::.^^^^ ^ If" W«
>vorks performed by it in 1849, was l^g per ate ' '"*^ "^ '^'
85
AUSTRALIA.
' The Stock depastured on crown lands, under licence, was in 1849
1781 horses, 51,540 horned cattle, 885,918 sheep; and on tlie crown
common lands of the various hundreds there Avere either 33,717
more homed cattle, or 202,482 sheep; certificates of licences be-
ing taken out in the proportion of one great cattle to six small
cattle. The licences to occupy the waste lands of the crown for
the year ended March 1850, were 267; the licences extended over
12,522 square miles. The licences to cut timber on crown land
were 238.'
It may be mentioned that, apart from the purchaser of knd,
md the labourer on it, there is in this colony a separate class,
whose position is a sort of tenantship, with a capacity to advance
to proprietorship. Thus it was stated to the Committee of 1847,
by the manager of the South Australian Company, that that body
possessed about 60,000 acres. He thus described the method
in which this land was made available: —
'"Will you describe how the land is managed generally ?— By
leasing the land to agricultural tenants, and by keeping sheep and
cattle, sales of which are eiFected in the colony, and the wool from
the sheep is sent home to this country.
'Are those sales effected on account of the companv itself*—
Solely. "^
♦ Does tho company undertake the agricultural management of
such portion of the land as are in their own possession ?— Not on
their own account: they lease their lands to the tenants, giving
those tenants, generally, tho right of purchase of tho freehold durinj
the currency of the leases.
*Is that power of pre-emption, which is vested in the tenant, a
power of pre-emption at a fixed rate, ascertamed at the time he
commences his lease ?— It is.
'Therefore, under that system, a tenant acquires all the interest in
his miprovements?— He does.
'The value is fixed upon the lands in an unimproved state, and
the purchase may be completed at a time when they ai-e improved
without any increase of charge?- Substantially. The mode of ope-
rating IS, however, this : the leases are generally for a period of
twenty-one years, in three series of seven years; both the rate of
rental and the pre-emption price are fixed at the commencement
ot the lease; both vary; both rise during the currency of the lease
For instance, if we let our lands the first seven years at 4s per
acre, which is the common rate, generally speaking, the pre-emption
price IS ±4 per acre; the next series of seven years it is five
shillings per acre, and with £5 the pre-emption price; and the next
senes of seven years six shillings per acre, with the pre-emption
pnce ±6. Those rates vary both as to the rent and as to the pre-
emption price; but that is the principle upon which they are
regulated.* ^
C6
V-'
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
oft K/.^l'li""''- "«-«- acooun. of th. oa«e,
landed he had about £600 with iZ !n^\ .u^ ^^ ^^'' ^^^^ ho
year he considered that he ^ad moS SL Jn m 'f. ?^ '^' ««°°"d
enjoyed all the conveniences th^ he cZddt'^** ^''. T^'"^' ^^
prospect of contmuing to add to m ^piLl hertfC '"^ ^^ * ^
OHOEB XX COUNCZ. POB OCCUPATXO. 0. WASTB ..K.S X. SOUTH
AUSTRALIA.
(From the Beport of the Emigration CommUHoner, for im.)
Bi.3.nofLan..-.e«nUio„o.X.™3,a„.Oe„e.IWsonaeG
the^ul^oslronl^^^^^^^^^^ ilr!? °^ ^^S-«^ Australia shall, for
classeslnamely l^dTw £ ' I T"f'''t'^ ^^'^'^ ^^^^Z
accordingly as they may be "uu^d ^.t- '''*^°".' *^« '^"^'^^e'H
Varies of any hundred C or rereafte^^^ ''^'^,°^* *^« »'°"^
said governor. nereatter to be proclaimed by the
fo^in^-;!zt:s::\Co:c ^"r,i ^'•^^^ - ^--^^ the
foUowinl significations'-The irm"' '^^" ^^^P^ctively have the
person who^for the time betg shS b^^WH, 'Y'- ^'^""y '^-
government of the colonv of L,f]. * . 7^""^ ^*^™^"istering the
shall also include the e^eclr? /•"'*'^^- ^^^ ^^^^^ '^e^
lessee; and, unle^ tWeTe ,1^!, ^^^^^ ^"^ ^'^S^s o? a
text repugnant thereS%t;yTord Lpo^t^^^^^^^^ «<>«!
or the masculine gender only slS in^S ^ *^^ ^""^^^ »"«her,
or things, as well as oL pSsor^^f^'*^ '^^?':«^ P^^ons, mattei^
^vell as males respectivel/fS^" J^^^^ Z ""°^' ^^ females S
number shall incluL one p^e^'son^^^^^ 'n^^'""^ 'he plural
or things. P^°^ °^ *^"°S:. as well as several peraons
Or^ in'-^otll^^^^^^^^^ out the objects of this
time, to make general ruleTIL^tSh^H^^ ^''''''' ""^ *^^ ^
vice of any notice hereinafter ™!«r^ ? "^^^ Preparation and ser-
matters anS things not^ret pSd t ^'. '''''''^' ^» °'^>«^
mg mto more complete efFe^ thJl^- t ' 5"' »'eq«wite for carry-
Provided always tCt no 8^0. " ^^^^^^^^ ^ "? Order in CouS:
repugnant hereto. ''^ ^^""^'^^ '"^^ «hall be in anywiw
m
H
)
AU8TBALIA.
I *
Rules appUcnblo to Lands within the Ilundrcda.
Sect. 1.— It shall be lawful for the said governor, and ho is horoby
empowered, to make general rules under which the holders of pur-
chased land, tvithin any hundred, may depasture, in common, tho
unappropriated waste lands of the crown situpte therein.
Sect. 2.— It shall be lawful for the said governor, if he deem it
expedient, to grant leases not exceeding one year in duration for tJie
occupation, for pastoral purposes, of any such lands as aforesaid,
not being required for the use of the commoners within the
hundred.
Provided that no such lease or common of pasturage shall in any-
way interfere with the existing or future right of the said governor
at any time to soli, reserve, or otherwise dispose of the whole or any
part of such land so depastured.
Rules applicable to Lands without the Hundreds.
Sect. I.— It shall be lawful for tho said governor, and he is hereby
empowered, to grant to such persons as hu shall think fit leases of
any waste land of the crown not situate within the boundaries of
any hundred, for any term or terms of years not exceeding fourteen
years m duration, for pastoral purposes j with permission, neverthe-
less, for the lessee to cultivate so much only of the land comprised
m any lease as may be necessary to provide such grain, hay, vege-
tables, or fruit, as may be required for the use and supply of the
family and establisluuent of such lessee, but not for the purposes of
sale or barter.
Provided always, that such leases shall be subject to such conditions
as the said governor shall think necessary to insert therein, for tho
protection of the aborigines, or for securing to the public the ri.'ht
of passing over any part of the said lands, and to the government
the right of searching therein for minerals, or for any other purpose
of public defence, safety, improvement, convenience, or utility.
Sect. 2.— It shall bo lawful for the commissioners of crown lands,
subject to the revision and control of the said governor, to deter-
mine the boundaries of the land to be comprised in any such lease
as aforesaid, and to determine, in a summary way, all disputes and
differences respecting such boundaries, and if necessary, to view and
take evidence upon such land, touching anv such dispute or diffe-
rence.
Sect. 3.— The rent to be reserved in every lease shall be at the
following rate per square mile :— For land of the first qualitv
£1; for laud of the second quality, 15s.; for land of the third
quality, 10s.
Sect. 4.— In order to estimate the quality of the land before the
granting of any such lease, the intended lessee or occupier shall
name a valuer, and the commissioner of crown land shall either
act as valuer, or name one to act for him; and these two valuers
shall have power to choose, if necessary, an umpire ; but if they
88
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
«.id, shall bo duly paid 'vHw.^rJs'^r ' tXro^xt"-
provement, convenience, or utility aetence, safety, ini-
such intended sale or resumption ""^"^ ^® t"^^" ^^
resumed for pubHc purposes, or shall become part of am sue J W
dred as aforesaid, payment shall he made by the /overnln tn"
the lessee of the va ue of any substantial nn,i i.Jlr i • *^ ***
ren^ proportionate to the valL :?'lhra; t"aitdr?.iS, ':'":*
surrender to government the residue of snchS -and ^' ™.^
8ueh anrrender.but »ot otherwise, be ahalTreei^eihe ™LTf »^f
r":LT"""=™"'' " "^^"^^^^ -««"8 -.r«r:bfianrs„°s„';!
Provided also, that tl.e value of such Improvements (which sbaU
69
i
'4'
AUSTRALIA.
not exceed the actual outlay thereupon of the lessee), and the amount
of such reduced rent, shall be determined by valuers appointed in
tlie manner prescribed by section 4 of the third chapter of this
Order m Council. *^
Sect. 10.— Every occupant of any crown land not within the hun-
dreds, who, when this Order in Council shall come into effect, shall
Have been m licensed occupation of such land for one year, shall
withm SIX months from the date of the proclamation by the said
governor of this Order in Council, but not afterwards, be entitled to
demand a lease of the land so previously occupied; and every such
licensed occupant as aforesaid, who shall have occupied his land for
less than one year, shall bo entitled, upon the completion of a
licensed occupation of one year, and witliin six months thereafter,
but no longer, to demand a similar lease.
Provided always that ho shall not in the meantime have done any
act or thing whereby his licence shall have become forfeited.
Hect. ll.-When any land, after beiig occupied, shall be forfeited,
or otherwise become vacant, it shall be lawful for the said govemcr
to direct, if ho thinks iit, that the land shall be relet, and to prescribe
the manner of reletting the same.
Provided always, that in every such case the land bo relet by
public auction. -^
Sect 12.-It shall be lawful for the said governor to make gene-
ral rules under which the first occupier or discoverer of land not
previously occupied under lawful authority, may be entitled to
demand a lease of the land so occupied or discovered by him of
the siune duration, and generally upon the same terms, as in the
Order inToundr* "'''*^'' ^''''*'°'' ^^ °^ '^® ^^ ''^'''P'®'' ""^ *'"^
Sect. 13.— Any lease made under this Order in Council of land
without the hundreds shall be liable to forfeiture for non-payment
ot rent; upon any conviction for felony against the lessee; and in the
event of his conviction by a justice of the district for any offence
against the law. ^
On 5th January 1850, a colonial ordinance was issued, in virtue
of section 1 of the above 'Rules applicable to Lands within the
Hundreds. All persons claiming common of pasturage are
required to deposit a declaration of their acreages of purchased
land with the corresponding acreages of pasture claimed, before
31st January. The declaration is published in the ' Gazette,' and
a commissioner of crown-lands is to attend soon after, to appor-
tion the pasturage among the claimants, and determine the number
and description of cattle to be depastured.
90
■ » m i mi m mm
WESTERN AUSTRALIA.
Westeun Australia nominally consists of that vast territory
which, projecting southwards into the ocean, pL^ the 36th
de^ee of south latitude, while its northern ext emuTtouJh^^^^^^
28th ard ^s longitude ranges from the 115th to the Loth de Lee
c^^t- f •' "' ^'^""T^y ''' ^*° i*« intended qualinS;
tS wH ^r *" *"^ ^^ occupancy to the desolate maHf^U^!
D^vlnces Ifrf ^^V ''^^"' '^' populousness of the^souttem
In Z ^v • ^.' f 'fy '^^'P *^^ *^« 6^«at Australian BirfiT
In fact, this giant skeleton of a colony with its Ipr^L^T
diousand inhabitants, covers an area of a'bouf a m £ of " ut:
miles-about eight times that of the United Kingdom? ^
)JJ'X^'T^?^^ ,? "^^"^ *^"« ^^ W was projected was, that the
hnd should be allowed to support and protect itseir That he
mother-country was to make no advances of a^y kind to the
oobnists for emigration, government, military protectioTor any
other purpose; but that the projeciors, on bring^g fomarH
feasible scheme, were to be intrusted with the lanHfemeT yalu
able, or at least the source of value if properly managed^d wer.
from that source to make, as it were, thVnew s^ate^XoS
persons, from the governor down to the humblest officers were to
be paid m land-were, m fact, Uke the foUowers of The Vfeuda'
conquerors to receive a territorial investment for the support of
their official dignity. Thus, the governor had 100,000 a^^esse
Seth^X coin '^"'^" °^"" ^^""^"y orined abou
&W0 each. The colomsts m general were to obtain land according
to the means of emigi-ation which they furnished, it being quTtf
them ttl* W '^^^^^ ^^° *°°^ ^"* free labourers ciuld noTfoC
them^to work for their exporters, or even to remam in the
setdempnf ' *tI TT ^J. ^"^'^^tion l^egan to set in upon the
settlement. The first settlers arrived in June and July the mid
wmter of the antipodes. Many of them were peopKconsS t
able substance, and they brought with them, besides herds flocks
and agricultural implements, smidry articles of ^urniture dresses
and jeweUery. The ships landed them with their proSy on the
barren shore. There were no towns or dwellings, no storehouses
no one responsible for assisting the helpless emi|rk^ts. whTCded
^fotTfor^t^nd rrr^^^^^^ ^^^ aU^tmeiltsc^uld lot
i» lonnd, lor the land had not been surpeyed; and those who hurt
.0 many thousand, of acre, assigned to ttii^m^ht &d tho'r
91
1
T>-
AU8TRALIA.
property where they could. liefore the end of the year, twenty-
hve Bhipahad reached the shore, with nearly a thousand immigrant*
and property worth about fifty thousand pounds. I':jirly in the
ensumg year, the number of settlers and the quantity of property
landed were more than doubled. The tide poured in, until there
was time to communicate i home the disastrous reception of the
settlers. Then, indeed, it J necessity subsided, and people awaited
with uneasy expectation for further news from the land of promise.
The intelligence was distinct enough. The colony was just as if so
many people had been shipwrecked, had been able to get ashore,
and then depended on the chances of finding food or being picked
'up. This inconsiderate and unfortunate beginning of the colony .
had a bad effect on its progress; and till the present day. Western
Australia is the least popular of all the colonies in this quarter of
the world.
Perth is the name given to the town on the Swan River
which has been necessarily called the capital of tiie settlement'
Jt 18 described as prettily situated, and pleasantly surrounded by
the gardens of its inhabitants, abounding in the ordinary fruits
ot warm climates. Freemantle, the nearest seaport, is a place of
more real business as a whaling-stt; -ion ; and another collection of'
houses m the same district as Perth is called the town of Guild-
ford. It 18 an unfortunate peculiarity of the little rising com-
munities in a colony established under such circumstances, that
they have received important names at the time when they were
designed, and almost before they have obtained a social existence.
The total population of the Perth district or county is about
2500— more, however, than half the population of the colony
1 here are, however, adventurous settlers, who have moved over
the ranges of hills, and occupied in the most primitive manner
large pasture-grounds, on which, it may be fairly hoped, that they
will be the patriarchs of a future race of useful agriculturists, and
rearers of flocks— such are the occupants of the district next in
populousness to Perth, and called York County.
^ Discouraging as the whole history of this colonv has been
It would probably be a good place of settlement for "a man with
a small capital, not dependent on society, and prepared to trust
greatly to his own resources. It would seem, from the general
accounts of its state, to suit such a settler; but no one in his senses,
and with the means of making inquiry, will of course proceed
thither without knowing all he can discover from every approach-
able quarter about the resources of the district. No one wiU
discover anything of a very definite character about them; but
still, we cannot help thinking, from the general tenor of the reports
which have come over- and especially from the circumstance of
the rn'u
—that
become
been oi
have In
in need
It in£
of guaii
Bay. J
immcdii
express!
from V
an acce
Champii
Accoi
ting inti
and trad
it was t
settleme
.* We c
I'" -unimpor
The reg
the same
But the
the pecu
other co]
governmi
emigratic
and poss
for almo£
licences (
waste lar
pastoral-l
ORDER
1. For i
the colon}
classes
. Class
i
^0
a
WESTERN AU8THALIA.
ti.e miserable remnant of the colonUt8 having in the end thriven
-that there are fine re»ource8 in Western Australia. Labour has
become so valuable there, that the restless versatile natives have
been oocamonally tempted to work; and more recently, conWcts
have h«en sent to the colony at the request of parties who sS
ui need ofassistanco at any cost. w.io sianti
It may be mentioned that, in December 1840, a valuable deposit
of guano was tound on an island, culled Egg Island, in Shark's
in?LH-^\'''^''''*"*'*'^'/^'rr"'"^'^'*y*« **^« Mauritius was
immediately commenced. A hope of future improvement is
expressed ft^m the construction of a road ninety miles long
. from Victoria Plains to the head of the Swan liiver, openinf
Champfon Bay ^ ''"' '^ ""'""'^ '^'''*^'"' "^''' "^
According to the latest information, Western Australia was cet-
tmg into a generally thriving condition; its agriculture, fisheries.
and trade were on the increase, and the only thing that hampered
it was the want of labour-that universal want over the whole
settlements of Australia.
^■^ We conclude our brief notice of this little-heeded but not
r^. . unimportant colony, with some distinct information respecting land.
Ihe regulations for the sale of land in W^estern Australia are
tJie same as those provided by statute for the whole of Australia
J5ut the regulations for the occupation of waste lands have, from
the peculiarities of the district, necessarily differed from those of
other colonies. In fact, the sale of lands at the minimum upset
goyerninent price was out of the question when there was no
emigration, a very small population, and individuals impoverished
and possessed of large tracts which they were ready to dispose of
for almost anything. It will be seen, then, that instead of mere
licences of departure, the privy- council, under the powers as to
waste lands in the lands -sale act, give tilhige - leases as well as
pastoral-leases, with mducements to improvement.
%
■^^-
ORDER IN COUNCIL FOR THE OCCUPATION OP WASTE LANDS.
(From (he Report for 1850 o/(he Emigration Commissioners.)
Regulations as to the Division of Lands.
il. For the purposes of the present Order in Council, the lands in
e colony of Western Australia shall be considered as divided into
t classes, denominated respectively Class A and Class B.
2. Class A shall comprehend
% 03
"»
ft
AUSTRALIA.
Firfiif All lands which maybe within the distance of three
miles from the outer boundary of any occupied town site, cr
of one mile from any land granted iu fee-simple at the time
when these regulations shall come into force.
Secondly f Land which may be within the distance of two miles
of any part of the sea-coast.
• Thirdlyy Land which may be within the distance of two miles
from either of the two opposite banks of any of the following
rivers or inletis : —
Tlie Swan, from Freemantle to Toodyay town site.
The A /on, from Toodyay to Beverley towii site.
The Toodyay, from Toodyay to Bijoording.
The Canning, from Melville Water to the DarUng B<inge.
Tlio Murray, from Peel's Inlet to the Darling Range.
The Collie, from Leschenault Inlet to the Darling Kange.
The Fitzgerald, from the sea to twenty-five miles inland in
a straight line.
The Philip's Biver and Culham Inlet, twenty-five miles
from the sea in a straight line.
3. Class B shall comprehend all other lands of the colony open
for location.
Regulations as to Tillage-Leases.
1. It shall be competent for the governor to grant tillage-leases to
such persons as he may think fit, for any term or terms of years not
exceeding eight yecrs.
2. The annual rent reserved in any such lease shall not be less
than £10 in all, n'r less than 2s. per acre on the land coinprisod in
any such lease, which shall in no case exceed 320 acres.
3. It shall be competent for the governor to sell to any person
who shall be in actual occupation of lands under any tillage^lease,
any part of such lands for their fair value in an unimproved state :
provided, nevertheless, that the size of the lot sold shall not be
less than ten acres, nor the price less than the general minimum
price for the time being. If the governor shall think that a higher
price ought to be demanded, the value shall be determined by valuation.
4. It shall be competent for the governor to insert in any tillage-
lease a clause, entitling the lessee, subject to such conditions as to the
said governor shall seem fit, to claim at the expiration of such lease
a renewal of the same for a further period not exceeding eight years.
6. On the determination of any tillage -lease, the lands compi'ised
therein, and all improvements thereon, shall, in the absence of any
right of renewal, or in case the lessee shall not avail himself thereof,
revert unconditionally to the crcwn.
6. Tillage -leases of land, not also comprised within any pastoral
lease, shall bo disposed cf by public auction.
Regulations as to Lands within the Limits of Class A.
V/;thin the limits of Class A it shall be competent for the governor
to {^*j.^.t pcstorrl- leases to such persons as he may think fi^ for
terms i- ot exceeding one year.
94
I
WESTERN AUSTHALIA.
Regulations tu to Landfl within the Limits of Class B.
1. Within the limits of Class B it shall be comDetent for th^ «
nor to grant pastoral-leases for terms not excSrpJhft^ ^°''^'^"
to insert therein such clanses nf rZ^^J u^^^. ^^"^ '^^
for with respect to tillage. Ws "^ ^ herembefore provided
who/l^'tL^^tXrup^LfofTr"^ "" *^ ^"^P*«-
any part of such r.in at its Sir If • ^f"" ^""^ pastoral- lease
■^ »w!h*°''f™°; *^.' si™ '«'y 'ioys' notice of any intended
5econ% The lessee shall have the option of purchasing th^
""i^^vLiti^Setttrer^^^^^^^^^^^^ LtetrsJiiT-
no case be estimated at more than ti^Sal oX^^^
Jr^ Jr^i^ '^^ ^^ ascertained hy vduation. ^ ^^
fourthly. The upset price of the land shall then consist of th^
jomt value of the land and of the improvemenr ?f ^t
ir oTJI' *'^ '''7 °f *^^ i-proveCrsTS be'V^S
g^
4. The re.- to bepa'd for each nm shall never be less than *!.»
proper offioevtoC^^^v^^i'j'-;^^^^^^^ "™ ">'"■»
h Jnt'r &":cnptfCeta 3tt'"^r°'.''"V'"""
»«ne, at «.ch time aSd placaT^dtl^ folTS^Ppl!^!
"^"" •"'" -'^■^"pwua or tne boundaries of the run
96
1; „g
' 'v-;
AUSTRAUA.
for which he applies; and it shall be competent for the governor to
grant to the person so applying a pastoral-lease of such run, on the
terras hereinbefore prescribed.
7. If the boundaries of any run applied for under either of the two
last preceding sections shall not be in conformity with any colonial
regulations then in force, or if any part of such run shall be within
Clall A, or shall be applied for by any other j>erson, the governor,
or other officer authorised by him, may declare what shall be the
boundaries of soch run.
8. Pastoral-leases of lands which have been occupied, and have
become vacant by forfeiture, or other determination of a previous
pastoral-lease, shall be disposed of by public auction.
9. It shall be competent for the governor, with the advice of his
executive council, at any time within three months after the deter-
mination of any pastoral-lease, and notwithstanding such right of
renewal as aforesaid, to declare, by proclamation in the Government
Gazette, that all or any of the lauds comprised in such lease, which
may be within one mile of any lands which have been granted in
fee by the crown, shall thereafter be deemed to be witliin Class A.
, Miscellaneous Regulations,
1. The rents reserved under the provisions of the Order in Council
are to be reserved and paid without abatement, on account of the
existing or any future assessments of taxes or rates on sheep and
cattle, and are in noway to interfere with the right of the Colonial
Legislature to impose from time to time such assessments as may bo
deemed advisable.
2. Every such rent shall be paid yearly in advance, at such time
and place as shall be specified in the lease. If the rent be not paid
on the prescribed rent-day, the lease shall be absolutely and inde-
feasibly forfeited, unless within sixty days of such rent-day the lessee
shall duly pay the full amount of the annual rent, together with an
additional sum equal to one-fourth part of the same.
3. All leases made under authority of this Order in Council shall
be transferable under such conditions, and in such manner, as shall
be prescribed by the governor.
4. It shall be competent to the governor to insert in any such
lease such conditions and clauses of forfeiture as may seem to him
to be required by the public interest.
5. Nothing in this Order in Council shall prevent the governor
from excepting out of any sale or lease all such lands as it may-
appear to him expedient to reserve for any of the public uses, for
which it is enacted by the 3d clause of an act passed in the 6th year
of her present Majesty, intituled 'An Act for Kegulating the Sale of
Waste Lands belonging to the Crown in the Australian Colonies;'
that lands required for public uses may be excepted from sale's
authorised by that act, or which in his opinion would, if sold, give
the purchaser an undue command over water required for the bene-
ficial occupation or cultivation of other lands.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA.
JntSSi^^H^^^^^^^ lease to b.
from making grants or salesTany knds^!!^^
for public purposes, nor from entering , comprised in such lease
such manner as for the puWrint«r.«f^^ ^°" and disposing oHl
njay be required for the'sui^oTS h^^^^^^^^
for the construction of hieh-roads nr r„f. ' ^'''^°^^^> or parsonages, or
or other internal communtaSnXUSeTTv T**/""^*^ «*^*>o°«.
the use or benefit of the aboriS fli l-f ^^ ^^ °»" "^^ter, or for
public buildings, or as pl^tet te^t^^^^ ^J ^^ rf^^' °' ^^
lor the recreation and amusemonf «f A • f , . * "'® dead, or places
village, or as the sites ^Sc 'uCoVw °' ""^ ^' ^o"
coast or shores of navigable streSr fnr ^t"^"^^^^' °° "»« «ea-
Nhafts and digging for coal, ironToDDer ?! j'*^ ^T^^'^ °^ ""king
for any other purpose of puSeS^i?' '*'.^''"' "^'"«^^^«. or
or enjoyment, or for othmWse faStfnl ^' • ''^' convenieiice,
accustomed rn^nner, ortalf ptL^a^^^^^^^^ - S-
from passing over the said lanKr from p.» '^''•'^^u °^ ^*« colony
other capabilities of the sanVe o; from H ?''^™l"'°? t^o niineral and
the purpose of such exambatln^avin^fv^ .^^^^^ ""'"'^''^ ^^^
full compensation for any dam^e acS "LT^'.u''' *^ '''« ^««««e>
8. A lease shall be li^hle to foSZ^f ^"" therefrom.
upon any conviction for fe lony aSn« H ?' """'P^y'nent of rent;
of his conviction by a just^e of^f/r ^ ^T^^' ^"'^ ^n 'he event
the law. ^ •'""''^^ «^ t'^e peace for any ofFence agakst
m
*
TASMANIA, OR VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.
This island, in the maps of the world published down to the
end of the eighteenth century, was always represented, so far as it
appeared in them at all, as a promontory of Australia. It was
not until the year 1798, when Bass explored the strait called by
his name, that it was known to be an island. Separated from
Australia by this arm of the sea, which averages a hundred miles
in width, the southern extremity of the island reaches the latitude
43" 40'. The island is of an irregular but compact shape, so lying
in the direction of the Australian continent that the northern coast
bends towards it, and the southern projects into what might natu-
rally be set down as the southern cape of Australia by geographers
unacquainted with the intervening strait. It was discovered in
1642 by the Dutch navigator Tasman, who of course knew not
that it was an island. He conferred on it the name of Van
Diemen's Land, after the surname of the governor of the Dutch
possessions in the East Indies. It seems to have been thought
that the name Van Diemni called up associations only too
appropriate to the social condition of the colony, from its simi-
larity to the word demon, and the name Tasmania has been sub-
stituted for it.
This island, about half the size of Ireland, is mountainous and
woody, broken into creeks and harbours round its edge, and watered
by several streams of considferable volume. The mountain-ranges
occupy great part of its surface, and the agricultural lands are dis-
persed in the interstices between them. Of these mountains there
are at least two — Mount Humboldt and Ben Lomond — which rise
above 6000 feet above the level of the sea, while there are several
which, like the highest points in Great Britain, rise a little above the
level of 4000 feet. The mean height, indeed, of the depressions in
the ranges where the waters fall into the sea on either side is about
3700 feet. It will thus be seen, on comparison with the British
islands, that Tasmania is very mountainous, and it will readily
be inferred that its agricultural districts are of limited extent.
Some of the pasture-stations are at an elevation above the sea of
3000 feet. There are many precipices and steep declivities among
these mountains, which rise range after range. They are dark and
gloomy, from the natural hue of the Australian verdure, and
contain much majestic and striking scenery, associated, though the
colony has had so brief a history, with many scenes of tragic
horror= The rivers are considerable for so small an areA, The
98
TASMANIA, OR VAN DIBMEN's LAND.
principal stream, onlled the Derwent, which enters the sea at
Hobart Town, is there twenty miles from its source, and its wind-
wgs are said to double its actual running length as a stream
Two other rivers, the Tamar and the Macquarrie, with their feeders*
dram great districts of valuable land. There are several lakes'
and some impenetrable marshes. The rivers are, in a modified
degree, liable to the pulsations which characterise the Australian
streams ; but it does not appear that the severe droughts of the
mamland are known here.
From the narrowness of Bass's Straits, the island is naturally
not entirely free from the influence of the hot north winds, sup-
posed to be caused by the burning plains in the vast interior of
the contment. But they are here more closely encountered by
the currents of air from the snowy south pole, and the clunate
seems to have some of the shifting cliaracteristics of our own but
with a temperature generaUy higher, since the southern extremity
^ J ^.'^if"*^ '^ "*^ "^^'■^'^ *° *^® ^^''^^ vole than the warmest
parts of France to the north. Eain is pretty frequent, and the
atmosphere is described as humid. Tasmania has the character
ot being a healthy country, notwithstandmg the unpromising
nature of a portion of its population— diseased in body as weU as
To^ .' "" ^ '■®*"'"'' "^^ ^^'^^ ^*'^« "^^ ^sease in the hospitals in
1848, there appear 357 oases of diseases of the lungs. This pro-
portion is perhaps below what would generally appear in this
country, and yet its extent is deserving of consideration, since the
southern colonies are often looked upon as almost exempt from
these dreaded inflictions. The liver diseases, a peculiarity of hot
climates, amount only to 31. There are just two other classes of
disease more numerous than those of the lungs. Diseases of the
eyes are numbered as 553. Eye complaints have been noticed as a
peculiarity of the continent, supposed to arise from the hot winds
Abscesses and ulcers are another large item, amounting to 439.
Iheir prevalence may in some measure be accounted for by the
habits of the Australian convict population. The deaths among
these 439 are, however, only 6. In fact, it is worthy of remark that
the most mortal diseases are here, as at home, those of the lungs •
lor the deaths are a larger per-centage on the attacks than those
in any other of the enumerated diseases— makmg 47 out of 166
deaths from all causes. A census of the population of Tasmania
was taken on 31st December 1847. The total amount was found
to be 70,164, consisting of 47,828 .r.les, and 22,336 females,
the former more than doubling the .atter. This population
was classihed thus-free emigrants, 13,818; persons bom in the
colony, 18,355; persons who have been prisoners, 11,519: ticket-
i,..„j .J 4 1 ^ , conrn;i6 m guvurument employment, 9758 ;
99
n
I
AUSTRALIA.
convicts in private service, 8716 ; troops, with their famUies,
2246 ; aborigines, 38.
LAND AND PRODUCE.
Tasmania, being the most thickly-peopled and extensively-
cultivated of the southern colonies, is one of the most important
of them all in a geographical and economical point of view, but
It 18 of secondary importance for the purposes of the intending
emigrant, and will not call on the present occasion for so full an
account as its neighbours. It is not among the mountain- ranges
comprised within its narrow cmcture that new tracts of wide-
spreading down or plain can be expected to be discovered, offering
inexhaustible grazing districts for countless herds and flocks. Yet
it would appear that towards the western part of the island new
districts have been opened up, and others are still unexplored.
The areas of some of the former tracts ar- thus estimated •—
'King William's Plains, 40,000 acre.; Guelph Plains, 20,000
ucres; Vale of Gordon, 120,000 acres ; Pedder and Huon Plains
12,000; forest openings, 8000 acres. Total, 280,000 acres.'
--(Montgomery Martin's British Colonies, ii. 63.) Between
Woolnorth, the north-western town of the island, and Mac-
quarrie Harbour, a deep estuary about the centre of 'the western
coast, there is still a considerable district unexplored, the cha-
racter of which, as seen from the neighbouring mountains, is said
to be of the same promising description, opening the prospect of
a considerable addition to the grazing-gi-ounds. The most thickly-
settled districts of the island are, however, on the other side in
the rich aUuvial valleys of the rivers. The nature of these tracts
naturally recommended them for agricultural rather than grazing
purposes. The state of the labour market of the colony, involv-
ing so much convict service, has had an important effect on the
outward aspect of the country. Wherever slavery has been in
any shape in operation, the place is materiaUy changed in its
character for the emigrant. It is more like an old country in
which capital has been expended. Capital is employed in pro-
curing work ; but if the work is produced by compulsion, it wiU
have more or less the same effect. To say that slave laboui- is
unprofitable to the slaveholder is an arrant fallacy, which only
prevents people from looking the criminaUty of slavery fairly in
the face. To compel a man who would work for himself to work
for a master, or to compel a man to work who otherwise would be
idle, is in either case a profit to the master; and if it were not so
he would not be a slaveholder. Whatever evils may have attended
the penal system, there is always one local result of it— that where
100
.i
TASMANIA, OR VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.
it was set down, it produced the effect of the expenditure of capital.
That convict labour is thus an ultimate benefit to the world, out-
balancing any evils of the convict system, no more follows this
than would a belief that an idle criminal, convicted and transported
to a place where he is made to work, is as valuable a member of
society as he would have been had he been virtuous, sober, and
industrious at home. All we have to do at this moment with the
question is, that the operation of the penal system has altered the
face of the country where it has been set down, just as manure
may have altered the character of a field. These clmracteristics
are thus described by Mr Wakefield in his * Art of Colonisation : '—
«In Tasmania, which is fast losing its ugly name of Van Diemen's
Land, there aro farms, beinof single properties, consisting of seven
or eight hundred acres eacli, under cultivation, besides extensive
sheep and cattle-runs, the farming of which is not inferior to thai
of Norfolk and the Lothians. A description of one of these farms
is before me. The 800 acres are divided into fields of from 30 to 50
ncres each. The fences are as good as can be. The land is kep'i
thoroughly clear of weeds ; a strict course of husbandry is pursued ;
and tlie crops, especially of turnips, are very large. The garden and
orchards are extensive, kept in apple-pie order, and very productive.
The house is of stone, large, and commodious. The fann-buildings
aro ample in extent, and built of stone, with solid roofs. The imple-
ments are all of the best kind, and kept in perfect order. The live-
stock, for the most part bred upon ths spot, is visited as a show, on
account of its excellence, and would be admired in the best fanned
parts of England : it consists of 30 cart-horses, 50 working bullocks,
100 pigs, 20 brood mares, 1000 head of horned cattle, and 25,000
fine-woolled sheep. In this single establishment, by one master, 70
labourers have been employed at the same time. They were nearly
all convicts. By convict labour, and that alone, this fine establish-
ment was founded and maintained. Nothing of the sort could have
existed in the island if convicts had not been transmitted thither,
and assigned, on their landing, to settlers authorised to make slaves
ofthem.'— (Pp. 176, 177.)
All strangers in Van Diemen's Land are in fact struck with the
home appearance of the farms — the neat, clean agriculture, the
fences, the well-constructed, comfortable, even elegant and stately
houses, and the good roads. All these are the produce of those
peculiar industrial facilities which have unfortunately been paid
for by formidable social evils. It is stated, on the other hand, by
some authorities, that the colonists have been far from taking
advantage, to their full extent, of their industrial opportunities ;
that the indolence and imenlightened carelessness which generally
attend the command of slave labour are conspicuous here; and
tiiat tiicre would uQ great room lOr ciiiightsiisu} weii-economiiseu
101
i
AU8TBAL1A.
induBtry in the colony.
"le excellence of their wheat is a ei-eat
oujeui oi pnae with tne Tasmanian agriculturists. They have
generally found an excellent and lucrative market in the various
new colonies rising around them in the south, where the means of
subsistence have been sought by the first settlers in the nearest •
source of supply; and the impulse thus given has been aided by
the convict system. The parliamentary papers shew the amounts
of land cultivated, and of produce to have been, at the commence-
ment of the year 1849 (calculated from the crop of 1848,) 64 700
acres of wheat, producing 1,153,303 bushels ; 14,042 acres of bar-
i7fi?fiSK?,^^i'o?f ^"'^'^'' 2^'^^^ ^'"'^ ^^ oats, producing
?!n o?f ^^^' ' ^^^^ ^"^' ^^ potatoes, producing 18,231 tons!
and 49,315 acres, on which 43,195 tons of hay were raised. To
these have to be added 674 acres laid out in peas, 132 in beans,
f!l "*;."f".^P«' .^°^4^8 in tares. The quantity of farm animals
in the districts in which their numbers had been ascertained were
-horses, 17,196; horned cattle, 85,485; sheep, 1,752,963; goats,
2902; and pigs, 29,967. It wUl be found, however, from the
above details, that the quantity of land in cultivation does not
yet much exceed 170,000 acres, while about two and a half millions
ot appropriated lands are said to remain uncultivated, and nearly
a mUlion and a half are held under depasturing licences. It is said
that more than eleven mUlions of acres remain ungranted Thi ^
would appear to open a wide field for future settlers; but on the
other hand, many practical men are of opinion that colonisation
has nearly reached the limits to which it can be profitably carried
in the present state of colonial demand and supply, and until
a new impulse shall have created inducements for settling on less
productive lands, and for the renovation of the powers of the older
lands by artificial manures. We hear of old settled estates bein-
sold for from £2 to £3 per acre. It is observed that the larg?
landowners have found it profitable to let farms at money or
gram rent, and thus to create a middle half-working half-capitalist
class, quite distmct from the great capitalists of New South Wales
and their semi-slavish servants.
Agricultural and pastoral produce are not the only exports of
this island. ^ It has a variety of timber-trees, chiefly different kinds
ot eucalypti, hard, durable, and of great value in ship-buildin?
f nd other practical applications. The value of the timber exported
exceeds £20,000 ; and there has been a considerable amount of
ship-buildmg at Hobart Town and the banks of the Huon. Fruits
and other secondaiy vegetable productions are raised, and even
exported, but not to the extent of being important. Some wine
even has been made in the neighbourhood of Hobart Town ; but
the colonies m the mainland seem to promise bfittnr fnr tha B.mr,!,,
mn i .mun i j i i i i nMn
u
TASMANIA, OR VAN DIEMEN'B LAND.
of this commodity. Coal Ib pretty abundant, and salt-poola are
known, while various minerals have been found, as iron, copper,
lead, zinc, and manganese ; but the mining of minerals has not
been an industrial occupation in the colony. It appears, however,
that it has been found convenient there to smelt the copper of
South Australia. Sir W. Dennison, the lieutenant-governor
writmg to Earl Grey on 25th May 1849, says— '
« Tlie trade which is rapidly increasing between Van Diemen's
Land and the otlier Australian colonies, will in a few years become
of the greatest importance. From South Australia a quantity of
copper ore has been already sent here for shipment to England as
ballast; and we have every prospect of being able to establish smolt-
ing-fiiinaces in this colony, by which a large portion of the copper
ore raised in South Australia will be transferred here, and a back
trade in coal created.
• I have therefore deemed it very desirable to relieve a rising traffic
of such importance from the trammels which a heavy duty of 15
per cent, would impose upon it. In the same Avay, the wool which
IS brought into this colony is merely sent here from the settlements
to the southward and eastward of New South Wales, because there
are greater opportunities of sliipment to England from hence than
from the place where the wool is produced. Tlie coal which it is pro-
posed to admit, duty free, is merely that which may be required for
the purposes of steam navigation. I expect to be able very shortly
to provide an article from the coal-mines of the colony, of better
quality and far cheaper than any Avhich can be imported.'— (Corre^
spondence Australian Government BiW, Parliamentary Papers. 1850.)
Hobart Town, on the Derwent, the capital of the colony, is now
nearly half a century old, Bind has become a considerable town.
It has several public buildings— such as the government-house, the
banks, the customhousetprisons, and barracks. Attached to it are
several works connectef with the staple commodities of the island
—as flour-mills, saw-raills, &c. ; but the number and weahh of the
inhabitants also give support to the makers of articles of luxury-
such as cabinet and upholstery work, carriages, &c. ; and to places
of entertainment and dissipation, naturally numerous in a popu-
lation sadly impregnated with the criminal element. It must be
mentioned, at the same time, that the churches are numerous and
conspicuous, and that all the leading denominations have here their
representative congi-egations, supplied with less difficulty than in
the newer and barer colonies.
On the Tamar, which runs into Bass's Straits, there is the other
considerable town of Launceston. It has its own public buildings
and hotels, and even its race-ground. Its population is about 5000.
Like the capital, it is close to great mountain -ranges ; but there
...V. vj}x.ii ^xncojr t.ia\.ia ne;u ii, aiHuug tiui most important oi whicii
103
If-
AUSTRALIA.
%
are Paterson'i, Plains. Forty miles farther north, and at the mouth
of the crooked estuary of the Tanmr, is Georgetown A «ood
road runs from ,t to Launceston, and thence over the hiUs^and
across the whole island to Hobart Town. There L several
smMler towns scattered through the agricultural lands *'
Htstanj.- Ihe hujtory of this colony has been far from a kannv
7e!\m' "i fetm «"? « Wd - « convict I"!: inT
IZJaiA • M ®'*'^'^^ ""^ ^^'^ *""^^«1 parts of the island, and its
genera^ des.mbleness as a place of settlement, graduaUy brought
considerable addition when the colonisation of Norfolk Island wi»m
abandoned, and its inhabitants were settled in thrSict of T^s-
inania, now called New Norfolk. As inhabitancy and c»ltt^^^^
increased, the country became less suited for the Lercise of «S
dis^plme. The means of subsistence could be obtaTneTby terro
or favour m the recesses of the mountains, and troops of coSs
became bush-rangers. The unlicensed ferocity of these Ten hi
hUed the mountan recesses of the island with su^clfhoSe W^^^^^^^^
of the nineteenth century, as civilised nations only know from
r(,mances and doubtful tradition running back to fabSZ aZ
Canmbahsm and all kinds of horrible vices have been atrrZted to
brutalise their ongmally corrupt nature. These aboriSnes are
described as havmg been of a still more degraded type fhan anr
of the races on the Australian contment. Utterly un^sceptiWe
of acquiring any of the benefits of civilisation, tLVyeracS
LVToraniti'f '"^^^^^^^ ^-*"^« foSibrrm
Sent iz zzLzt:"::! Sst r ;r^L j^
^^'o^^ ^' '--' drea^tyiLVtd'S^'
ZhZhilfZ ^Vf "^''' "'"^'7' ^"'i terror to the European
which in truth by his conduct towards them, utterly Sess
when not resolutely cruel, he liad brought upon himself^
Wed the stockman so fate loTtl' .^""Tfsnir T.
government could not make war on savages as on civilised
■ * l ll. I
(
■#
TASMANIA, OR TAN DIEMEN's LAND.
criminals; and yet it was plain that thevmuBt be controUed or tha
country could not be lived in. In 1830, a plan waTorSed fo?
«urround.ng them, as the game was surrounded in theTd hunt^
expedmons, but not of course with the same exterminatTng cS
utlJ'-r^ *^' '^ '^* ^^^'^^' *»d '^^^ conducted lith the
thrSfl ^ T* ^'^^^ *^^ant«ge of the local facilities, that
they all oozed, as it were, through the converging lines of ti^ooDs
who surrounded in the end nothing but a poor^'deLp boy T'
M ;^*?.^ ^^ ^'°^"'''' P"*^y ^y «o">Pul«ion, they were co^-
lected together, and removed to Flinders Island, where the remrmnt
of them have got a kind of exotic treatment, ;hich, though tZr
number does not increase under it, may, it s hoped mX them
3i;"'1tt«^" !'^^ T^ ;" '^^'^ filtb,Ued:ieL t d
8 arvation. The ast vestiges of the native inhabitants have
almost disappeared since 1842. As we have seen in the poju-
sul^ected ^""""""" '" '" '''^ '' ^•"^^^ *^'« «^^«-«t " «ot
pre?aLTnfT« '"''"• /'"'"'" ^^ '"^'"'y '" Tasmania, is the
prevalence of the convict system: a fatal inheritance from New
pert ^hPth '" '''"' *'' ?^^"y "«« ^" * «*^*^ o^ Spros
fha v^Ir W '" r'""* "^""^ ^" ^«*P^*« ^^ *^« <^«»vict8.^ In
NeySou^h W 7'' T' '''''^'•^ *^ ^^*"^«" transportation to
New South Wales ; and, conjointly with Norfolk Island, where
Captam Maconochie's bold experiments were going on, T^sraa^Ia
was made the penal settlement. After being subject^o the Sk
Is and system, the convicts were to be drafted in probatiorgangs
into Tasmania, where, after having satisfactorily gone throuS
probation, they were to receive passes, entitling^ them to enter
the labour-market, and seek employment. ThisMintTd part of
the colonial population, which had been diminishing now Sdlv
TT'f'Aof' T'\^ 1847-(Papers relative to Convrct Dbc?
l^u^^ f )-«hew8 that there were then in Tasmania 8603 male,
^bour, 6491; at barrack duties, 1467: miscellaneous, 645. The
comptroller-genera reported the whole number of convicts under
/.? T^'/""'^'"^ ^^""'^ ^ Norfolk Island, at 26,157 males
holders 12 r?f" ^/i?' '^'"^^' '''' ^^^ tickeJ ofS
holders, 12,695 pass-holders; and 6217 in gang. In 1849 the
convicts m Tasmania, including expirees as lell as those under
ouanTitir'' 'fTV' "f °""^ '' 3«'133. In aUusion to the
ofon Lr -""Trf '' f ^*^\l^t«"r which the habits and method
tr..i..^,,-^,,„, uuacivfu, xnat 'it requures no argument to prove
105
I
ii
4
I I
ill
AUBTRALIA.
that 2000 convictg would annually be absorbed in the labour-
market of this colony.' But however the labour might be absorbed
as It IB termed, the general moral tunc of the population wail
suffering, and the colony was becoming a sort of stationary slave-
settlement. But it was a peculiar feature of this community, into
which a criminal population was thus systematically forced that
whether from want of sufficient capital, or because, as we have
seen m the account of Victoria or Tort Philip, a number of the
colonists re -emigrated thither, there were not the means of
employing all the convicts. If they were absorbed, it was not in
the capacity of active workers. With all their vicious propensi-
ties, they were to a certain extent thrown idle on society; and the
social consequences were of so formidable and horrible a character
that the attention of the home government was thoroughly roused
to a true acquaintance with them, by communications in a tone
rather of despairing supplication than of mere ordinary comphvmt.
by the respectable settlers.
The change in the convict system will, in time, operate an
alteration m the moral state of Tasmania ; but in the mr>antime
'i!m' ***! oV!!nn'^^"''^^ ""^ ^"' °^ -J^'"*- ^^ '* population pro-
bably of 80,000, not far from one -half have passed through the
ordeal of criminality. The persons sent to the island must be
supported; and, what is fully worse, the settlers require to main-
tain a large police force to protect their lives and properties As
honest, industrious, and skilled artisans settling in Van Diemen's
Land have to compete with cheap convict labour, the colony is
equally disadvantageous to them. In a word, unless the trans-
portation of convicts on any pretence is stopped -which we trust
It soon will be— the prosperity of this naturally fine island will be
seriously marred. Already large numbers of free and wealthv
settlers have left the colony for Sydney, Adelaide, Victoria, and
other places; and a considerable decrease has taken place ii the
quantity of cultivated wheat-land.
As Tasmania is now under the operation of the act of 1850 for
the constitution of the Australian colonies, so it was under th
urnfom system of land-sales. When the £1 minhnum system
came to be acted on, it was remarked that probably all the lar •
which, m the then state of the land-market, would be worth 7s 6d '
an acre, was disposed of, and that the rule of £1 an acre was a
virtual prohibition to the sale, unless in peculiar circumstances—
and so it has turned out to be. When the land-sales act was
suspended as to rHfirnr.nia and New Zealand, the spirit of the
inmimumwas sriP >.r,,,s<,rved; and on the 3d July 1848 regula-
tions were issuer /u. r,:e ;^aie of waste lands and licences of the
pasturage, which yiU bt found at the close of this section.
106
Wi#ii
I
TASMANIA, OR VAN DIEMEN's LAND.
^ The government, however, strongly felt the importance of
inducmg sound emigrants of the middle and hiunbler classes to
proceed to Tasmania, and fdl up the vacuum hetwcen the rich
colonists and their tainted slave -working class. The want of
inducement to the respectable working -classes o nuike it their
destmation, was endeavoured to be remedied by the introduction
of pensioners. iJut it was felt to be of still more moment to
induce people of moderate means, desirous of possessing small
colonial estates, to look to this idand— naturally very well adapted
to their object. A relaxation of the mhiimum land -sale system
was consequeiitl)- embodied in a notice, which will be found at
the end of this auction. It is very instructive, and well deserves
the attention of intending emigrants of the class to whom it
is chiefly directed.
Ihe persons who take advantage of this arrangement must be
prepared to encounter a social system, of which the best that can
be said is, to hope that it may rapidly improve. It will be seen
that the framers of the document hold a life in Van Diemen's Land
to be 80 essentially uninviting, that there is a condition to prevent
the obtainer of a crown -grant from immediately abandoning it,
and proceeding elsewhere.
STATE OF LAND IN TASMANIA ON Slst DECEMBER 1848.
Number of
Number of
Number of
Acrva of
Total num.
Number of
Avrv« vt
Acri-i of
graiiirU or
bcr of Acrea
I^nd held
POLICE DISTRICTS.
Land in cacb
l^nd
f uUt l^nilt
granivd
A^KllU IlCtU
DliUict
Cultivated.
Uneultl-
vtttea.
and lold to
hettlen.
Depaituring
Licence*.
Bothwell,
299,520
4,t>14
148,994
153,208
Brighton, ...
133,760
ll,24»f
92,636^
103,885
t
Campbell Town, -
492,8(H)
4,35H|
314.12'.i
318,481
Fingal,
1,807,360
4,50()i
117,627i
122,128
ti
George Town,
792,320
659J
55,915i
56,575
»— •
Great Swanport,
677,120
5,105
112,679
117,784
.,*
Hamilton, ...
415,360
4,75Ii
l«6,992i
191,744
t-4
Uobart Town, *
688,160
4,9l5i
94,283i
99,199
fC
Horton, ....
2,574,009
5,548
344,452
350,000
«5
Launcestcu,
437,760
9,532
127,140
136,672
"S
] x>ngford, ...
590.720
28,586
172.633
201,219
Morven, ...
260,480
16,146
130,247
146,393
Now Norfolk,
125,440
5,854
62,624
68,378
S,
Oatlands, ...
448,0fi0
14,484i
234,361J
248,846
d
PortSorell, ...
561,920
2,064
9,846
11,910
13
Richmond,
153,600
16,574 J
J 36,342 j
1.52.917
0)
Sorell and Prosser's PlainB,
440,320
13.195J
62,792i
65,988
Bouthport, ...
1,304.800
1,169
5,410
6,679
rt
Westbury, . . -
671,520
18,633
160,907
169,540
r-i
Not yet marked off into \
PoUce Districts, . )
Total, -
1,707,932
...
• *•
14,482,892 171,540
2,549,906
2,721,446
r
m
AUSTRALIA.
'I
|r^
SEGULATIONS FOR SALE OF LANDS.
T ,W ^^"?!^''g « ^ the Regulations for the Disposal by Sale and
p««bIo the land they desir. .JKSS'for^Se °^ " "'"^'^ "
the depth of the lo^V L^X'Set.r^arbe""'' "'^' °-'*""''
rf. Should the land applied for ho avfiJioKil *i.'
be issued for the land to be marked ofl?^ "'^' mstructions will
5. The lands offered for sale will be distinffuished Info *1.« f n
ing classes ; namelv— l*)* Town i«t» ^ "'^""guisnea mto the follow-
f,- J* y^°"*?® completion of the purchase within th« period «,««
tioned m the preceding clause, the purchaser will be^entiid T"
receive a erant-dued of tho. }ar,A ^ u T entitled to
oo^eoto. 0^ .nte J tt;e'""^r^^%rrs: It
dmtely paid. Should the land, howe™ 1^ helcTtXr L T'
9. A sale of crown lands wUI be held at the Conr* «f r>
108
TASMANIA, OR VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.
Licence for Depasturing.— 10. AH persons desirous of occupying
crown lands for depasturing purposes, will make written application
to the surveyor-general, describing as minutely as possible the situa-
tion of the land with reference to some known point.
11. Each lut applied for must form the subject of a distinct appli-
cation. *^
12. No lot will be allowed to contain less than 500, nor more than
SOOO acres, unless there be not sufficient land in the situation applied
for to make up a lot of the minimum area.
13. The licence-fee on each lot will be charged at the rate of £1
per 100 acres.
14. Provided the land applied for be available for licence, the
applicant, if known to the department (or, if not known, after a satis-
fai tory reference to the police-magistrate of the district in which ho
may reside), will be called upon by the surveyor-general to deposit
in the office of the collector of internal revenue, within three weeks
fi-om the date of the notice, the amount of the first year's licence-fee
m advance ; upon receipt of which a licence of occupation for twelve
calendar months will be immediately issued from the surveyor-
general's office, and which will bear date from the first of the month
succeeding that on which the party is made aware of the approval
of his application ; but if payment of the fee be not made within the
time specified, the land will be licensed to the next applicant.
16. Should, however, two or more applications for the same land
be received upon the same day, the claims of the contending parties
will be referred to a Board, to be nominated by the lieutenant-
governor, who will decide upon the appropriation of the land. The
Board will also investigate and settle all other cases of conflicting
claims other than those arising from simultaneous application.
16. Holders of licences will be allowed the privilege of renewing
them from year to year for ten years, subject, however, to the pay-
ment of an additional fee of 10 per cent, after the expiration of the
first five years, and provided that each year's licence-fee be paid into
the Internal Revenue Office two months before the expiration of the
current licence.
17. In the event, however, of the land being required for sale, or
for any public purpose, the government reserves to itself the right
of resuming, at the end of each year for which the licence may be
granted, the whole or any portion of the land occupied, subject,
however, to three months' notice being given to the licensee of such
intention on the part of the government, and subject also to his
being assured the value of the improvements (consisting of buildings
and fences) he may have effected upon the land so resumed.
18. Should only a portion of a lot be resumed by the government
the licensee will be allowed the option of continuing in the occu-
pation of the remainder of the land for the unexpired term of the
hceno at a proportionate reduction of the licence-fee.
19. In order to valno the improvements, \dieu necessary, the occu-
pier and the surveyor -general will each name an arbitrator, with
109
I
#
:ei
t i
i
ft
AUSTRALIA,
power to choose, if requisite, an umpire ; but if they cannot octpo in
governor. The value, however, of the improvements is in no cm« t< ,
exceed the amount of the actual outlay m'ade by the llcel^e ""^ '"
1oin?*vIlu« ?f tl TV^ i^^^°.** *'°'' «^'« ^i" *hen consist of the
S 7i wf '^ ^^^ """^ *''^ improvements; and if the land bo
th^l 1 ^^",«^^«'"°»°* r'"^ **" P^^^ °^«^ *« th« licensee, uS li^
^Uie licensee) becomes the purchaser, in which case the value of^the
improvements will not be demanded. Should the land^however not
be disposed of, the licensee will be allowed the privile4 JrenewhS
clsTr/ru^: tr^^^^' r'^' °' "^^ ten%ear:%'etred ""^
Clause IJo. 16, upon the same terms as before. In case the land i»
required for any public purpose, the value of the imprrement wiS
bo paid by the government to the licensee. "Pavements wiU
21 Should a licence of occupation not be renewed in the mannpr
provided for in clause No. 16, the land will become avalwrfor
licence to the first applicant. avauame tor
nf l^* The government reserves to itself the right of granting to men
of good character hcences to cut timber upon all lands wWch Say
hereafter be occupied under these regulations, whether by appS
tHhl^"^'"' ^" indulgence, however, which will not be coSued
to those persons who do not strictly conform to the terms of the
jcence and obtain the recommendation of the police S'trate of
the district m which they may reside. magistrate of
«i-^' '^^ " oT^""®^ T^'""^ ^'''''^ ^^^"^ is«»ed under the government
wT«S''' M^ .^•^ ^^' °^ '^^ 28th of September 1843, andTCo
June 1847, will be renewed from year to year for ten vears from
the 1st of August 1847; the licensees paying after theTstfiv^
years from that date 10 per cent, in addition to the pre ent amount
of hcence-fee, and conforming to the rule laid dowS in "0^0
16 respecting the payment of the fee; failing in irch? the laid
teSen """"'' "' ''""' '" ''''' ^'''' ^^ advertised as opei to
24. In the event of two or more tenders beinff received of fli«
same amount, the parties whose tenders are equal w'u be cal id
upon by the surveyor-general to submit fresh tenderrwithLtlr
teen days from the date of the notice; failing in which the BnTrrI
referred to in clause No; 15 will investigate ani'decide on the eS
ot the contending parties. i-^aims
f3 ^^^f*f "^^i?^ ^^^^ ^^^'^ ^^ "^ay hereafter be licensed bv
itt^T^n^it'"'' '' "'^ ^^-'^^^^^^ ^^-^^^^ - «^-- ^o. it
MMf'nf \° ^"""isil'^^Mf ""^r *^^ government notice No. 69, of the
I4th of June 1847, wiU not be resumed by the government befom
the expiration of the ten years referred to"^ in nSe n"?!, oflk:
21st of June 1847, unless required for public purposes; amon^ wh ch
mus be taken to be the construction of roads for the use of tha
public, or for obtaining access to crown lands.
_.. -^.^„ .._, „Ot,^vcx, xux such lanas as have been licensed and
\
r
TASMANIA, OR VAN DIEMEN's LAND.
applied for under the notices referred to in the precedincr clause
must be paid in the manner prescribed in clauses Nos. 14 and 16 of
these regulations ; otherwise the lands will become avaUable for
licence to the next applicant in the way pointed out in those clauses
and will thenceforth be licensed upon the same conditions as those
lands which are now open for licence.
28. A limitation will be made in reference to the proportion of
water-frontage to be given to a lot. Looking at the necessity of
obtaining water for pastoral purposes, the lieutenant-governor directs
that the frontage shall be to the depth of the lot in the proportion of
1 to 4, or as near thereto as may be.
29. The lieutenant-governor reserves to himself the power of
rejecting any application which may be made to purchase crown
land held under licence, notwithstanding the right reserved in
clause No. 17.
30. The licences which may hereafter be granted under these
regulations will be subject to forfeiture in the event of the licensee
transferring to another his licence of occupation for the whole or
any portion of the land licensed to hiro, unless done with the pre-
vious written consent of the surveyor-general.
31. Any lands which have been or may hereafter be cultivated or
depastured by the crown, will not come under the operation of the
toregoing regulations.
32. Any persons occupying crown lands for the purpose of depas-
turing sheep or cattle witliout having paid the usual licence-fee for
the same, will be treated as trespassers.
33. The regulations hitherto promulgated for the disposal of the
crown lands are hereby cancelled.
/.,
./
PLAN FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF SMALL CAPITALISTS.
^^I^J^f /''r!'^ regulations were issued by the Emigration
Board, to fauilitate the migration of small capitalists to Van
Diemen s Land. They were nearly but not entirely in the same
terms with the notice which follows. In their report for 1851
the Board say : A few persons had already-taken advantage of the
regulations when a dispatch was received from the lieutenant-
w^rr^l/T^"^- Tf '°"'' ^"'^^ difficulties in their execution
w ach made it desirable not to cany the scheme further.' The
foUowmg amended scheme was consequently issued in place of
thfswlfrk •- "'' '' ^''"*'^ '" ^^' P'"^^*'''' impressions of
NOTICE TO PERSONS DESIROUS OF PURCHASING LAND IN
VAN DIEMEN's land.
Her Msjesty^s govcnimenc being anxious to encouraire the settle-
ment m Van Diemen's Land of small capitalists and peTons capablt
111
AUSTRALIA.
11
of employing labour, the Colonial Land and Emigration Commis-
sioners have been directed to make known the following arrange-
ments which her Majesty's government have sanctioned for that
purpose : —
1. The Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners will be
ready to receive depo.its from persons desirous of emigrating to and
settling in Van Diemen's Land, in sums of not less than £200, to be
paid to the credit of the Commissioners at the Bank of England, or
any of its branches ; and the Commissioners will grant in exchange
for such deposit a 'remission-certificate,' for a sum equal to double
the amount of the deposit ; which certificate will be available as so
much cash in the purchase of government land in the colony, if
presented at the proper office in the colony within eighteen months
of its date.
2. Parties making such deposits will further be entitled to free
passages (intermediate or steerage) to Hobart Town, for thtemselves,
their families, and servants ; provided that the whole cost of such
passages shall not exceed two- thirds the amount of the deposit.
Depositors desirous of being funiished with cabin instead of inter-
mediate passages, may take advantage of this condition by payin*
the diflference of expense out of their own funds. "
3. Depositors must at the time of making the deposit obtain from
the Bank of England, or the branch in which the deposit is made, a
receipt to be produced to the Commissioners as the voucher of the
payment.
4. Depositors when applying for their remission-certificates, must
at the same time submit to the Commissioners the name and descrip-
tion of the persons nominated for free passages, otherwise the
privilege will be forfeited, and persons so nominated will neverthe-
less be subject to the approval of the Commissioners. Any loss
which they may experience by the neglect or default of the depo-
sitor or his nominees, either to come forward at tlie proper time for
embarkation, or in any other respect, must be borne by the depositor,
and any expense so incurred will be defrayed out of the sum which
he may be entitled to have spent in emigration.
5. The object of the above regulations being to encourage the
permanent settlement in Van Diemen's Land of a class of small
capitalists, and it being necessary to prevent persons who have no
intention of settling there from taking advantage of them, depositors
who shall proceed to Van Diemen's Land under these regulations,
will not, for the space of two years from making use of their remis-
sion-certificates, receive a crown-grant for any land purchased by
such certificates; but will, in the meantime, receive a 'location-
ticket.' At the expiration of the two years, the depositor, on shewing
to the satisfaction of the governor that he is bond fide a resident
settler in the colony, and has so resided continuously since obtaining
his location-ticket, will be entitled to a crown-grant in exchange for
it. If, however, application should not be made for the exchange of
the location -ticket within twelve mnnfhs frnm tl,a ovniYoXion. of
112 ^"^'
TASMANIA, OR VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.
the two yeare for which it is granted, it wUl be considered to have
lapsed, and the land will be open to sale or grant.
6 In the event, however, of the purchase of land which would
properly be included in a single grant, partly by means of a remis-
sion-certificate, and partly in cash, the Ueutonant-governor will be
authorised, provided the amount paid m cash be not less than
half of the nominal value of the remission-certificate, and provided
also he be satisfied of the good faith of the tran^ction, to issue a
grant for the whole at the expiration of one year from the date of
^"lt\Sl'be seen that the above regulations are intended to apply
only to persons havmg capital enough to enter on the cultivation ot
a tolerably large property. To such parties Van Diemens Lwid,
from its healthy climate, productive soil, and cheap labour, oftera
every prospect of success. But persons not possessed of capital, nor
accustomed to agricultural or pastoral pursuits should, for their own
eakes, abstain from taking advantage of arrangements which are not
designed for them, and for which they are not suited. Otherwise,
they can scarcely fail to meet with disappointment and pecuniary
loss.— By order of the Board,
^ (Signed) S. Walcott.
i\
i
H
113
if
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i
AUSTRALIAN GOLD-MINES.
In the early part of May 1851, gold was found and began to be
dug at a place called Ophir in the Bathurst District of New South
Wales. Bathurst lies two or three days' journey west of Sydney,
beyond the range of Blue Mountains, and is reached by a route
through Paramatta. The account of the discovery and working
of gold in this quarter created much excitement in Sydney and
other places, and great crowds of persons immediately proceeded
to the scene of operations, and betook themselves to the business
of gold-finding.
In the new and unforeseen position in which it was placed, the
colonial government seems to have acted with much prudence. A
proclamation was issued to the eflfect, that the gold found at the
diggings was the property of the crown, and that it could be taken
only by procuring a licence, and according to certain regulations.
The licence, as is i^ince made known, is for a month, and costs
each individual 30s. All persons are licensed on these easy terms
who can shew a discharge from former employers— an arrangement
designed to check the sudden absconding of servants, but which,
it is almost needless to say, will fail in that effect. To preserve
order, a government -commissioner as head -magistrate was also
despatched to the scene of operations ; this onerous appointment
being given to Mr J. R. Hardy. A police force under Captain
Battye was at the same time sent off, to preserve the peace on the
road between Sydney and Bathurst. It may be hoped that by these
means, as well as by the due admixture of a respectable class of
persons at the diggings, something like order will be maintained,
and society saved from the evils that have afflicted the Califomian
community.
The following letter in the ' Sydney Morning Herald,' pur-
portmg to be written by G. Lacy, and dated Bathurst, May 18,
conveys an account of the diggings and their locality, which will
be perused with interest by our readers : —
* Having made a hurried visit to the gold-fields of this district, for-
the purpose of satisfying myself as to the reality of the reports which
were daily arriving in Bathurst during last week, causing the greatest
excitement amongst all classes, I have forwarded a slight account of
the diggings, thinking it would not be unacceptable to many of your
readers. The locality is about thirty-five miles hence ; eight miles
from Cornish Town, and twelve from Orange. There is a tolerable
bridle-road, and even loaded drays are brought down to the spot by
lU
..,m
•»
fl
t
-•-ijp-w..
'■* f- ,f^n ~-*^^-i^*J!t,^
ii'
AUSTRALIAN GOLD-MINES.
broken ridges and ^^""^T^^^ ^^ll^l Jhich lie in the narrow bed
features. On -7;;";g ^^^^^t fevK^^^^ for fifty people /
of the creek, where there is ^o^^^;^'^^ . ,f ^^out two hundred
a singular and exciting s'^^"^ P^.^«^^^^^^^^ f^^^ parties were hourly
individuals were congregated ("^""g*'^;*^/^^^^^^^ be brought
of picking up lumps of gold ''^'"^"SXJ'^^^^f _^"de and not provision
xnany arriving with nothing but a pick^^ P ^„
even for a single meal, or a ^"^""S joj JJ ^ 5 .^
region; and bitterly must they "^J" Jr^^ . ^^^ down,
forethought, as ^^^^f\:271roJ.TiJ^^^^ day, no
continuing at intervals during the wiioie "'f ' ^d-seekevs. AVith
eomewlm-e near the spot. A ^paae "i oi produce gold
of the banks "f^^^-^g ^^wteUw ^^po/machinef ^
more or less, ^ut »otmiig ca particles of iron ivhicii
,epajrat,„g the gold ^Tdtot sS^ more "tha,, three of these rocked
are found with it. i ^^^ """ ° , .ijo-oprs content ng them-
or cradles at worlc, t^e greater part «/ ^he d.ggers^^^ ^ g. ^,^^
selves with whirling the ^^ff^^'^^^,^'^^*^^ S „' t gradually wasli
lid of a saucepan, or even their hats, and letting it gr ^ ^^^^
over the -^^-;t"ob?ei^^^Sranxtuf ^^^^^^^ peen"g -f
^^r''"fvTl t le dtsh for tl e coveted metal, the bystanders who
;XX-nl;^ttrrived,appea^^^^^^^^
less fudging ;hf Jl- o^^^^^^^ ^;;rc:r that morning, but I
many say they had louna conb^uexa, t „_„ji„ shewed me his
did not see them, ^no goutlema„ -th a cr A ^^
produce of three or four ^om'^ I'^^^^^^^^f '"'Jd fiU a good-sized
L nearly as I could judge, I '^l^S^^''^'^^^^
thimble, the largest piece being tj'« J^f ^^^^ ^^l disposition to
pea. The greatest g^^^i-^^^^^V^;^^^^^^^ last when the
oblige, seemed to prevail ; but ^1^0^^^;;^^^^^^ ^^ ^ j^ difficult
.orLess charact^^rnv^ f- ^^ P^^^^^^^^^^^^^ d fro.
to say. xt- la e-->.pv^.vv/S4 jl5
%"
Jbu
—.- wi »iii ij^iw^ imm
0lif^;0m(mmim^f '-*!r#?^^r*-^-
•t«*«*«f"«»CT^~
*■
AUSTRALIA.
>
u
m
\i
Sydney, many of whom will most certainly be ej<regiously dis-
appointed, and rue the day they gave np their ordinary avocations
for gold-hunting. Let no one come who cannot stand up to his
knees in the cold water for hours ; who cannot lie down in wet
clothes, and sleep under the greenwood-tree; who does not know
how til make a damper or a fire when every bit of timber round is
soaking wet. The only possible chance of doing any good, is for
six or eight to form a company, provide themselves with a tent,
plenty of provisions, necessary machines and tools ; and by incessant
labour and co-operation, it is not improbable a profit may be
realised.'
The excitement created all over Australia by the early accounts
of the diggings at Bathurst, caused a search to be made in various
quarters for the precious metal; and, greatly to the satisfaction of
the parties concerned, it was found in such astonishing abundance,
that the only real wonder was, that the discovery had not long
since been made. The following, according to the latest accounts,
are the places where gold is found : —
In Neio South T^aZcs.— Ophir, Winburndale Creek, Frederick's '
Valley, Campbell's River, all in Bathurst County ; Turon River,
Roxburgh County; Muckewa Creek, Louisa Creek, Meroo River,
Wellington County; Abercrombie River, Georgiana County;
Araluen River, St Vincent County. Also, the Orange and
Braidwood Diggings.
In Victoria or Port Philip. — Mount Alexander, otherwise called
Mount Byng, at which the largest quantities of gold have been
found. Ballarat, in the same region.
The diggings are thus confined to New South Wales and Victoria,
though it is not improbable that gold may be discovered elsewhere.
The precious metal is found in connection with quartz and slate,
and for the most part in smaller or larger pieces, which have been
washed down from the rocky heights into the beds of the rivers
and alluvial plains. Very commonly the gold is found between
strata of clay slate, into which it has been swept by torrents.
Small lumps, called 'nuggets,' are thus discovered in a remark-
ably pure state. Occasionally, the gold is found on the surface of
the ground ; but the usual practice is to explore by digging in
holes. The rubbish dug up sometimes offers sparkling nuggets to
the sight, and these are at once seized and laid aside. Usually,
however, the rubbish requires a kind of sifting and washing in a
rocker or cradle, by which the dirt is cleared away. Some who
work on a small scale, employ only a pan for shaking and rinsing
a shovelful of earth. The employment in either case is toilsome
and precarious. One writer, who has been an eye-witness, mentions
116
i
Av.«^^^«>.,. ,
/i
AUSTRALIAN GOLD MINE^
;LTo^;ruit:f 'the goJdigger Ls *» ,u.my of advent^e
.trongly tinctured yitU hope. produced on this
The ■»°^« P^rLSXt inXii (W. 9. Orr & Co.,
subject, entitled the ""^ y»»f ' ^^^^ „t information as to
London), may be consulted ™ *J'""4 <,f „„id. The writer,
the step to be taken by persons m searcl. ol go.
who seems to speak f"™ •'X^rinsdves in"l parties, or
is for intending diggers to f»™ '''^r^'J'^^^h^^^ » ^,t, horse
companies of about h'lf^-J"^^^;,'^.^, to'ol clothing, cooking
and harness, to carry '"f J?"'' j" '' ^^,^,^ „e many persons
apparatus, &c., to the g°ld-hc'j^»^ f„l pu'r'hases. In this case
who have not the means of mafcmg sue i jMb„„„e, to
the diggers engage w.th a '^■- ^^^^^X Jothing, and provi-
carry at so "-"Vluriea and sugar. All which they put
sions, consistmg of f?"' ""'"", %hich themselves accom-
under his charge on his dray " """f""' JL ; j j^n, an outlay of
pany on foot. By a^oP^^S '''■ Strzen.'^.ai enable yoj. to
£5 or £6 by each of the party oi u» ^^^_
proceed as pi'srim' ^'X ^P/ ^5, ".^^ tho^^^^^^^ » blanket
dreds of men, however, P""^"*., 3" ' "° » single ounce of
or any change «f '"'"'^^^^t" to buy them. But such reek-
provisions, or one shilling •" P"''''*' '» T' ^ disrings, there are
Ls conduct is little »1>»^' "'j'^^ y^t'Ss ™ly «f W^^^^
no bowels of compassion, «hc'e, every ma j ^^ ^^^^^
and that hospitality f P-^'^l^'td wlrtUn the precincts of our
colonies has not yet been ^^'""^^'""^.na^parties of four
gold-fields.' Other writers ^f ^^ „'^;°™' Vsides the usual
Zv six to club together, and work m ^^Sing, it is proper to
=.,,trumen.s;ord2&^o;-^,^^^^^^^^
.... of tZ rsraii"cr^^e,r t carry green veils to protect
'"^^Iifre-keepers, and others «« '^e spot P««hMMhe g^^^^^^^
found, but it is ™t,r%^ttSmea"rrt K" oLe a
ages to Sydney or Mclb""™;- "^^'^^^^^^^^ ^ju be carried
^here^ith to carry on this profitable business. ^^^
JtL.
AUSTRALIA.
In the work above
_ oted, the following instance« of good-luck
in digging are presented: —
At a place called LouiBa Creek, situated about fifty miles from
Bathurst, thirty from Wellington, and twenty from Mudgee, a black
fellow (one of the aborigines), while tending a flock of sheep for his
employer, Dr Kerr, observed a bright yellow speck in a lump of
quartz, of which he broke off a portion with his tomahawk. He had
no sooner done so than the splendid prize was uncovered. Leaving
his flock of sheep there, ho started off for home, and disclosed his
discovery to his master, who, as may easily he supposed, lost no time
m saddling his horse, and galloping away for the spot. In a very
short period the doctor carried away three blocks of quartz, con-
taining 106 pounds of pure gold. The largest of the blocks was about
a toot m diameter, and weighed 75 pounds gross; out of this block 60
pounds of pure gold were taken, in lumps of 5 pounds or 6 pounds
each. The whole of the masses was supposed to weigh about 2 cwt
The pure gold, when separated from the quartz, was weighed by Dr
Kerr at the Union Bank, Bathurst, and was found to contain 106
pounds or £4240 worth. It is but justice to Dr Kerr to add, that he
liberally rewarded his faitliful black servant for his frank surrender
of the treasure he hdd accidentally discovered.
«In September last, at Ballarat, in the colony of Victoria, a party
of six men procured in one day £900 worth of pure gold. There
also, on the same day, a man dug up a tin dishful of slaty-coloured
clay, when an individual on the adjoining claim offered £50 for the
dishful before it was washed. «No,» said the other; "but you may
have it for £75," which offer was refused. When the earth was
washed, 32 ounces of pure gold, worth £100 on the spot, was obtained
trom this single tin dishful of slaty clay.
• Two brothers, named Cavanagh, obtained in four weeks 60 pounds'
weight of gold, value £2400. At Ballarat, one young man, named
btapleton, obtained 20 pounds' weight in one week in February last •
and other parties from 15 ounces to 20 ounces per day. A party of
four men dug up 30 ounces in one day ; among this gold was one
lump weighing 1 pound. Another parcel, weighing 14| ounces,
consisting chiefly of small pieces and dust, was procured by a
butcher named Lanky, and other four men (his party), in two days.
A man named Murray, and a party of four men, all of them
tee-totallers, who had been at work only ten days, received £165
for the proceeds of their labour. Among the gold they found there
was no piece which weighed more than 3 ounces. A party, headed
by a man of the name of Fit-^patrick, had been a fortnight at work,
and their earnings averaged £40 for each man. The gold which
they procured consisted of lumps, weighing from 8 ounces to 10
ounces, there being very little dust aniong it. One man, a labourer,
procured about £300 worth of gold In one day, the largest piece
m which weighed neariy 4 pounds troy. In February last, at
118
^W
'V
AUSTRALIAN QOLD MINES.
*l-f
%•
Braidwood, one man found in onoday 130 ounces of gold,vaIuo about i^
£400. Ono individual, who trespassod on the digging-ground of
Messrs Howard and Clapham, at Bathurst, during their absence, got
in a few hours about £350 worth of gold from among tho roots of u
tree. About the same time, a Bathurst blacksmith found in ono
day, in a hole, 11 pounds' weight of gold, or to the value of £440.
And, near tho somo place, a poor man, ono of a party, or company,
consisting of four persons, found in ono day upwards of 9 pounds of
gold, 8 pounds of which ho found in ono spot, and dug out in a few
minutes. He described it as putting him in mind of digging up a
plant of potatoes, there being about one hundred pieces togotiier of
the precious metal. For this ono day's gathering he received £350.
• At Louisa Creek (Bathurst district), a man named Brenan found
a lump weighing 341 ounces, which was bought at auction, in Sydney,
by an acquaintance of my own (a Mr Lloyd), for the sum of £1155.
• 'Five men from Camden (near Sydney) worked for four weeks on
the Turon River ; at tho end of which time they sold their gold to a
Mr Samuel Thompson for £509, being rather more than £25 a week
to each man.
*A baker named Smith, from Brickfield Hill, Sydney, left with a
party of seven men early in August last for the Turon, where they
wrought for about six weeks. For several days their earnings
averager' from 12 ounces to 24 ounces per day ; and on ono day they
took out 93 ounces, or worth £308. In tho last week they wrought
they got 180 ounces, or to tho value of £585; and then they sold
their claim to a Mr Travers for £700.
* At Ballarat, situated about seventy miles from Melbourne, 560
men obtained, in less than one week, £12,000 worth of gold — that is,
their joint earnings averaged upwards of twenty guineas a week for
each man. Surely this is a fair way of estimating the profits of our
gold-diggers.'
We have selected the following paragraphs from respectable
Australian newspapers, communicating intelligence to December
1851 :^
'the turon.
'Sofala, December '2. —kn. accident occurred last night at Golden
Point, through the incautious discharge of a pistol, whereby a woman,
seated with an infant in her arms, at her tea in her tent, nearly lost
her life. Several slugs entered her person, which had to be extracted
by the knife, yet hopes are entertained of her recovery.
'Our population thins, yet trade is generally brisk, and houses
increase and multiply amazingly. Slab huts succumb to weather-
boarded tenements, and brick-yards are already talked of. Gold
abounds more profusely than ever, and the universal watch-word
seems to be, "Advance, Australia." At Ration Hill, Townend's
party, consisting of himself, Henry Trump Harris, William Tuttelby,
and Leonard Peglar, yesterday obtained 36 ozs. 12 dwts. in less than
four hours, amongst which was the maiden nugget of the hiU, a
119
%
W
J
■ -^^ ^«.*(»*''^'«*-^' *-"«t;'^
mm
mtmmm
AU8TRAUA.
L,,- t
beautiful spocimcn, weighing upwards of 2 ounces, of irrogulnr
lonnation,and thinly impregnated with quartz. Mr Thomas Wilson's
claim is an adjoining ono, and the average of his daily yield exceeds
10 ounces. Hunger lads rank up closely on the heels of Towncnd;
und Iloliinson (the architect's) sons are keeping the game alive by
their civil engineering. At Big Oakey, in the dry diggings, Page and
]jhne last week obtained 27 ounces, whilst their neighbours are all
thriving.'
'Gwynn's Point returns a fair remuneration to those who delvo
into its banks, and they muster in force. At the Little Wallaby,
tunnelling is carried on to a great extent, and life and limb are
consequently jeopardised. The two poor men upon whom the bank
fell in a few days ago, are progressing favourably, and a handsome
subscription-list testifies how feelingly their fellow-diggers sympathise
with their misfortune. Tho weather is sultry to a degree scarcely
commensurate with health, and far apart from the requirements
of comfort. Sickness prevails to a great extent, and will probably
extend its influences as tho summer season advances.'
*Neale*a Pointy December 1. — The bank-diggings jopposito the Upper
Wallaby Hocks are turning out better and better, and I have no
doubt very extensive digging operations will soon be carried on in that
locality. At Thompson's Point, above Oakey Creek, some of the bank-
claims are splendid ; Mr Campbell has some first-rate ones in that
locality. At the point on this side of Oakey Creek, where Beardy
Joe is at work, the bank-claims are also improving. Mundy Point
is considered to be fast running out. Our point stands in about the
same position as when I last wrote ; a party of Frenchmen got a
nugget weighing 5 ozs. 17 dwts., in one of the bank-diggings on
Saturday. We have cool weather for the time of year, for the last
two or three days, and this afternoon a slight shower of rain fell,
which lasted for about ten minutes.'
* December 21. — After heavy rains and floods at Summerhill, tho
miners said that there was a fresh deposit of gold, and holes which
had been worked out, would pay for being worked a few days
longer. The Rev. W. B. Clarke, in his pamphlet on the gold-diggings,
mentions that in Brazil, after heavy floods, gold is found lying on the
surface of the ground, and among the grass, on the banks of the
rivers. An interesting confirmation of this was exhibited on the
morning after the flood in little Oakey Creek, on the flat above tho
Falls. The waters had gone down almost as rapidly as they rose the
day previous, and the banks of the creek on which the water had
flowed, were covered with gold-dust, especially about the highest
water-mark. The miners set to work gathering the scattered
treasure early in the day. A nugget, nearly an ounce weight, was
picked up, and, not to enumerate details, a woman got upwards of an
ounce during the day. Two of my mates, who went there tho same
day, picked up several pennyweights in a short time, chiefly round
gold, like shot. This deposit of gold was owing doubtless partly to
the waters bavins: washed away the earth v particles of the tailing's
120
I'
■j * ffig «
AUSTRALIAN GOLD MlNEi.
and rofuso soil, in which there is ^[onorally moro or loss Rold, and
leavinp; the heavy metal hohind, but also in soino measure to a' wash
of gold particles from the sides of the ridjjcs.
• December 22. — The news from the Victoria jfold-fiolds has occa-
sioned some excitement, but the majority of the diggers are
perfectly content to bide the " good time coming" on the banks of the
Turon. Rumour already speaks of a gold-field of unsurpoAsablo
richness having been discovered some eight miles from Hofala in
the direction of Louisa ('reek. The gold is represented as being
found there in irregularly-shaped nuggets about the size of a pistol-
ball. That the return of the Christmasing absentees will bo the
prelude to extraordinary discoveries, I entertain not the slightest
doubt.
• December 23. — Several parties have commenced sinking about a
mile from Sofala, on the Bathurst road. Numerous claims have
already boon marked out, and the indications of the plentiful pre-
sence of the coveted metal are said to bo unmistakable. The fine
weather has apparently set in, and the holders of bed-claims are
hopefidly looking forward to the commencement of the new year, as
the period from whence to date the realisation of their expectations.'
I'
*0PH1R,
* December 1.— Our principal Creek (the Summcrhill) is now in
better working order than I have seen it during the last four months ;
and from some claims in the bed a largo quantity of beautiful lumps
has been extracted, and as usual a few " elegant exti-acts" denomi-
nated specimens. A very singularly-formed one was procured near
the Junction last week, somewhat resembling a horse's ear, weighing
about eight ounces; tlie concavity is beautifully interspersed with
white quartz. This specimen was purchased by Mr John Jardine,
having been procured by a party of two who had just commenced
digging.
• The weather is delightfully warm, and the flies both as numeroiis
and as troublesome as at the Turon.'
' ORANGE.
* December 1. — A good deal of gold has been purchased here this
last week, all of which had been obtained at the Rock Diggings, or
crossing-place. 1 saw yesterday about sixty ounces with Mr Peisley,
of a very pure description, and consisting of nuggets from twenty
ounces to that of a pennyweight. Though the number of diggers
at this place is not very gi'eat, I believe the majority of them are
doing well, and earning good wages. I know of a party of six who
made their £12 each last week, and nearly all this in two days.
« I have no doubt that after harvest, we will have a great influx of
people to the Mookerawa, Burendong, and the Macquarrie; the
latter especially is much spokcu of.'
121
AUSTRALIA.
*TH1 BRAIDWOOD DiaOINOS.
*BeWa Creek, Braidwood, 21s« December lfi'51 «;«»« , .
commun cation, fresh ^itmn^y^ hLl^l ^»f^-— Since my last
middle part of thirLP n ^ .t^ ''^'"? °P^"^^ °" '^^ ^^^t at the
land Ao f .K ' "^^ *^^ boundary of Dr Bell's purchased
f:eou;ably^rLtrrTarfl^^^^^^^^^^^
deserted, on account^f hS. [ i J""^^,^ '' ''^ ^ g^'^^^ measure
flooded sta^e of f hi 1 , ^^»^« ^^^ing been worked out, and the
Be^:11he junc^Ln a'nd Sf r ?"f°"^ '«' the' present
hundreds of persons An «n^i.T"^'y"^'"^ ^"« ^°^a*«<l so'ne
got sixteen ounces on Fr /«? '^ ? ^' '^^^"^ ^'^"- ^°^^a°'« P^rty
have gone to rdeproS;v"/ T^*^ T''' ^''^''^^y' The>
pump^ Another narfvLTif-^? ^^^*' ^"'^ ^^^ compelled to use a
last weeltanXv^fafilf ?.''"", ^"' '^"''^''"^ °""««« °»«^ay
The flat I W spoLn ofTL '"^^'/°' '"''^.^'•^"* «"««««« «i°«^^
and has not aa vThad a LrVrli n' *^'^'^'"^'' ^' ^""'^^^ ^^ ^^^ent,
ounces in on^dfy Lt thev have h.d ."' T^f^ '?^^ ""' «^^««*«««
At Point Persev^ranc! fhir ^'"'^ ''°''' ^"'^ P^«"*3^ of water,
consisting orCsr^Polson ^^T'"^'^'^''' ^^ «>« Aat, a party,
opened a claim oTTLtdav^^l/ -^ ^^'•««"' ^^^^vry, and Shor't
been flioded C ?lL ret t''"^ ^Im' "^ """"J' "^ ""= ''»'» ''""^
to their re^eetive romes Tt Xw '° T'^'^ '"'™'''"S '» «'"ra
while to bi'l out th^rairu^'^S^y'";,™ ""MrTj" m".""'?''
conjunction with Mr Walli<, lio« T i i^' •, "^^ ^^^^yr, m
claims during tL past week T ^Z^^'^',^\^ ""'"ber of valuable
came to £450 If wi I "l^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ purchase -money
orderlv nnri ^nV ' i V; . *^igg'"gs, matters are goin;; on very
Xnd^^Si^fS^ considerable police'force'on S
I close 'this mmbS^^^^ ZU.'T" ' ^ "'^"^^ "^^"^'«"' ^^^^^"^^
forwarding eold bv nv.W l^ "^' P"'"''"' '''''« "* t'^« habit of
escort. Imfaware^fsevor.! "^'-T'^tf '^ ^^ '^' government
in this way' of several considerable remittances being made
S«ro»,., V5f ^...^^^ a"« J^r Mo. ..arty paid a visit to Lor.l .T«ls^'»
••-^■.. bat .„ u^ggers were then at work there, consequently no
n
*
if
Jm,
AUSTRALIAN GOLD MINES.
licences were issued. Mr Rolleston washed out a small quantity of
soil, and found several scales of gold in different places.' — Moreton
Bay Free Press, December 22.
MOUNT ALEXANDER.
The following letter from a digger at Mount Alexander, dated
January 18, 1852, was sent to a respectable person in London,
and appeared in the Times, May 20 : —
* The gold here is generally found in clay, clayey gravel, and in
interstices of slate, &c., at depths varying from the surface to 25 feet.
It is more generally diffused on this ground than it ever was known
in any other part of the world, hence persevering and steady parties
are sure to do well. It is found in patches, or ** pockets," as it is
termed ; and sometimes a party of say three or four will obtain over
50 pounds' weight in a day. Having a splendid pair of scales, I am
in the constant practice of weighing and subdividing gold for parties,
and have had as much as 20 or 30 pounds brought by one party at a
time. About a fortnight since, I was purchasing gold at £2, 17s. the
ounce ; now the price is down, from the quantity thrown into the
market, and I can get it at SOs. per ounce. I have bought it as low
as 45s.
* Provisions, &c., are at a high rate here: flour, 5d. per pound;
ham and butter, 2s. 6d. per pound ; oats, 18s. per bushel ; slop-boots,
24s. per pair ; common pitchfork and shovel, 10s. each. These rates
are under those of several stores in the district.
* The cattle-owners now want men to look after their sheep. The
price of labour is most enormous ; a man is worth £1 per day.
* The gold discovery is ruining the neighbouring colonies, Adelaide,
Van Diemen's Land, &c., which are fast becoming depopulated.
* At night, the sight of the thousand fires around us is very pretty,
and the incessant firing of guns and pistols rather astounding.
Almost every man is armed, and I can assure you the state of the
Fociety requires it, for crime in almost every shape and form is being
perpetrated almost daily.
* You may suppose a gold-field a most original sight : at a distance,
it can only be compared to an immense army, encamped in myriads
of tents of all shapes, sizes, and colours. From where I write are
the main diggings in the country : they extend for about ten miles,
and about three weeks since contained from 12,000 to 15,000
persons; besides, there are many other places close at hand, and
gold is still being found at several new places throughout the colony.
To give you an idea of the business I am carrying on, I may tell
you I sent down 26 pounds' weight of gold, and about £200 in checks,
per last escort, the proceeds of one week.'
With regard to the quantity of gold which has reached "Zlngland
from Australia, it shews a much less yield than that of California,
123
m
ft 1
I . M
AUSTRALIA.
%
though far from insignificant. In the work entitled The Gold
Digger, already quoted, the author thus sums up the yield of
Australian gold, from Custom-house entries : —
* The total value of all the gold shipped at Sydney for England up to
the 4tli of March last, was £819,953 ; and I have also ascertained
that the quantity of gold shipped at Melbourne was, up to end of
January last, 303,082 ounces, which, at the then Sydney price — £3, 5s.
per ounce — amount to £985,016, or nearly a million sterling, dug
out of the earth in about three months' time. This is a large accession
to the wealth of such a limited population. From the first time the
gold escort ran, the weekly yield of Mount Alexander Diggings was
never less than 10,000 ounces, or value £32,500. On one occasion
it reached 22,000 ounces ; and in two weeks — one trip per week —
in the month of December last, the government escorts brought to
Melbourne, from Mount Alexander and Ballarat, 46,000 ounces, or
to the value of £149,500. After this, owing entirely to the want
of water, the quantity fell oflF to about 12,000 ounces per week ; but
on the 25th of February last, two cart-loads of gold arrived in
Melbourne from Mount Alexander alone.'
Nothing! could be more easy than to fill a volume with letters
and paragraphs of the above nature, for the daily newspapers
abound in them. It is only necessary for us to say, that while
there really seems to be no exaggeration in the accounts received
as to the vastness of the Australian gold-field, it may be found by
emigrants, that on a calculation of toil, risk, time, and money, it
will be more advantageous for them to apply themselves to ordinary
occupations than to the search for the precious metal. Our
belief, indeed, is, that of all those who actually quit this country
for the diggings, a large proportion will find it their interest to
betake themselves to trading or rural pursuits. Mr Mossman,
the author of a small work on the Gold Diggings, the result of
personal inquiry, takes this calm view of the subject. The
following are his observations : —
*To the intending emigrant gold-seeker, there are many con-
tingent circumstances wliich spring up around this field of labour,
which require his most serious consideration. At the best, it is a
precarious occupation, and this barbarous mode of life is of a
retrograde nature in the scale of civilisation. We are speaking
advisedly ; for we believe that most people think of pursuing it for
a temporary period only, and then to resume their former occupa-
tions with a fuller purse than before. "We therefore think it judicious to
put suggestions that are reasonable, in juxtaposition with the flatter-
ing announcements of gold being gathered by the hundredweight.
The gold-seeker's lot is to toil from sunrise to sunset, with little
leisure for meals, and less spare time for intellectual instruction ; to
be wet, and bespattered with mud and sand, without the most ordinary
124
ed The. Gold
I the yield of
England up to
■10 ascertained
up to end of
price — £3, 5s.
sterling, dug
large accession
I first time the
Diggings was
I one occasion
ip per week —
rts brought to
000 ounces, or
' to the want
)er week ; but
Id arrived in
e with letters
Y newspapers
ly, that while
unts received
Y be found by
md money, it
es to ordinary
metal. Our
this country
}ir interest to
Mr Mossman,
the result of
abject. The
re many con-
eld of labour,
e best, it is a
■ life is of a
are speaking
lursuing it for
irmer occupa-
: it judicious to
ith the flatter-
jndredweight.
let, with little
astrnction; to
most ordinary
AUSTRALIAN GOLD MINES.
house-comforts to retire to after the labours of the day ; and
exposed to the changes of weather, which are keenly felt in the
winter season in the high altitudes of the gold-field. Again, if he is
not a lucky man, what is the recompense for all i\aj privation ? Pro-
bably not so much in the end, after paying heavily for provisions, as
he would obtain at some ordinary employment in the colony, where
he could also exercise any degree of talent or trade he possessed. If
he is an educated man, unaccustomed to hard labour, we counsel
him to weigh the consequences of launching into this wild mode of
life. While his heart throbs with sanguine hopes of success, and he
seems to grasp the lumps of precious metal imagination had pictured,
from the flattering accounts received, he should listen to the advice
of experienced men who have returned with disappointed hopes.
To the uninitiated we say, until you have encountered the first toils
of a bush-life, let the ** old hands" of the colony monopolise this
occupation — ^to them it is but ordinary employment. And the greater
the number of those who proceed to the diggings, the better chance
there will be for the labouring emigrant to obtain good wages in the
service of the flockmaster and grazier, together with a life of com-
parative ease, and, what is of more consequence, have the opportunity
of commencing his career in the colonies by a steady and constant
occupation. By resisting the temptations held forth at the gold-
mines, and assisting the stockholder in this emergency to reap his
harvest of wool and tallow, the emigrant will enhance the benefits
to himself as well as his master, and be doing a service to his
adopted country.'
Eeferring the reader to a previous part of this work for some
general information as to the selection of fields of emigration and
cost of passage to Australia, we may add the following specific
advices, based on careful enquiry. We should recommend
emigrants bound for the diggmgs to take a passage in a vessel
bound for Melbourne, because it is in the Port Philip district that
gold is most abundantly found. From Melbourne, we understand
public conveyances now regularly set out for Mount Alexander;
therefore, there can be little real difficulty in reaching the centre of
raining operations.
Sailing vessels for Melbourne are now loading in every port of
any consequence ; and from Liverpool, a communication by steam
for high-class passengers is about to come into operation. (See
advertisements of the day.) The best port to sail from is
London. Within the East-India dock, reached by the railway to
Blackwall, there is to be found a large variety of vessels of good
size, fitting up speciaLj for Australia. Should the reader be
unacquainted with a respectable shipping -agent, we would
recommend him to apply to F. Green and Co., 64 Cornhill. The
vcsseis of this firm we have inspected personaUy, and for cleanli-
ness, order, neatness, general good management, and dietary,
I 125
I it
I
AUSTRALIA.
we give them the preference beyond all others. A passage by
any of these vessels is a little higher than is ordinarily charged ;
but we feel assured that the difference of a few pounds in
this respect ought not to weigh with parties who look for some
degree of comfort on ship-board. Another respectable firm is that
of Hall, Brothers, 3 Leadenhall Street. The present usual charge
for an intermediate berth is, we believe, twenty-five guineas. For
this sum, a berth is given in a small cabin of temporary wood-
work, containing six beds, with little standing-room. In cabins
of four beds, the charge is three guineas more; and, strange as it
may seem, people of respectable station are fast fillmg berths of
this class— one evidence among many, of the prevailing excitement
on the subject of the diggings.
In conclusion, it may be added respecting assisted emigration
(noticed at page 9 of present work), that the Colonial Land and
Emigration Commissioners purpose to send at least six large vessels
to Australia every month. The conditions they prescribe for
furnishing a free passage for emigrants are as follow :—
* The most eligible class of emigrants are married agricultural
labourers, shepherds, or herdsmen, and women of the working-
class; and these are taken up to the age of 45 at £1 per head;
between 45 and 60, at £5 per head; and between 50 and 60 (when
they are comparatively useless to the colony), at £11 per head.
* The next best class are married mechanics and artisans, and
these, with their wives, are taken up to 45, at £2 ; between 45 and
50, at £6 ; and between 50 and 60, at £14. The children of both
these classes, under 14, pay 10s. a head.
* But single men, if accompanying their parents, are required to
pay £2 a head; and if not accompanying their parents, £3 a head ;
and of the latter very few are taken, both because they are the most
likely at once to resort to the gold-fields, and because there is
already so great an excess of males in Australia, and the unassisted
emigration is so certain to add to that excess, that it becomes a
matter of great importance to avoid, as much as possible, anything
which would increase the disparity. Families with more than four
children under 12 are also considered ineligible, both because a
number of young children interferes with the engagements of their
parents in the colony, and because their presence on ship-board
tends to engender sickness and increase mortality.'
Application for assistance on these terms should be made to
J. Walcott, Esq., Secretary to the Emigration Board, 9 Park
Street, Westminster.
126
*
»i
AUSTRALIAN GOLD MINES.
We add the following notice respecting the imports of
Australian gold and emigration movements, from the newspapers.
June 26, 1852 :— *- f >
'Two vessels arrived on the 18th inst. with gold from Port
Philip— the EnchaTtter, which left Melbourne on the 27th of
February, having on freight 22,988 ounces ; and the Nortkumber-
land, which left on the 3d of March, with 16,900 ounces. The
aggregate value of these imports is nearly £150,000. The latest
news from the gold-fields announced, that eleven Adelaide miners
had brought into Bathurst no less than £22,000 worth of gold ;
and a party of four men had deposited 60 pounds' weight each in
one week in the Bank of Australasia. Emigration to the gold-fields
continued very active, and all the vessels taken up for Melbourne
were filling rapidly. Out of twenty-two vessels advertised for
different ports, no less than fifteen were for Melbourne.
' From Melbourne, Port Philip, the advices extend to the 3d
of March. The city is represented to be overcrowded with
strangers of all kinds, who are arriving at the rate of 2000 persons
per week, and the new-comers were compelled to erect tents on
the banks of the river. About 40,000 persons were assembled at
the Mount .Alexander Diggings, and the traffic from thence to the
city is stated to be enormous ; so much so, as to cause serious
apprehensions lest it should destroy the road entirely. About
forty to fifty dvays per day were required to supply food to the
miners, and therefore any stoppage of the traffic would prove a
very serious matter. The price of gold had declined from 63s. to
60s. per ounce, and the tendency was downwards, as in conse-
quence of the news that the Anglo- Australian Bank were about
to become purchasers of gold, sellers had refrained from operating.
The receipts of gold for the week ending the 28th of February, had
been 21,916 ounces, which, with previous exports and subsequent
shipments, gives a total of 457,149 ounces, valued in the colony
at £1,371,447, estimated at 60s. per ounce, but equal to £1,828,596
in the London market. English manufactured goods were in
demand, especially boots, shoes, saddlery, and slops.
' It is satisfactory to learn that all the wheat and other crops in
the colony of South Australia have been gathered, and even the
farmers who had been tempted to leave for the gold-fields had
taken the precaution to sow, or had made preparations for sowing
their fields at the proper season. The local government had
taken steps to open up the Overland route from Adelaide to
Mount Alexander, a distancp. nf 40n rpJloa anA in <> ai,/.,.f +; — -
sate and practicable road would be established for both horse and
foot passengers.
127
iW\
I
AUSTRALIA.
tal^lftT^A^^ 8team-8hip having established her character
wnifr »°d efficiency, by her voyage to New York and S
ot^At^^t"' IZT^' for Melbourne, Port Philip, on the^'i
A„o: r^ ■ f" ^^^ ^'"e ^^ screw-steamers from Livernool to
Australia vux the Cape of Good Hope, is also just adSed to
commence on the 1st of August. On the Ttfof Au^T i^^
Penmsular and Oriental Company wUl also despatch tS new
Bteam-ship Farm>8a for Sydney and Port Philip.'
Van Diemen's Land, Jtdv l.~Whilr „ « -j u,
quantities continues to Arrive from Melbo . «o°«<JeraWe
been received from Launcestl^'Xectto the'lorT^^
wt^tr cdLrbu?-*'^ "r ^^iM' ^^-^ ^'- ^^--^
;Xthriru^^'e;^^^^^^^^^ ^^«* ---^^^ -
I;
128
%
ll
i d
THE
EMIGRANrS MANUAL
NEW ZEALAND
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE
AND PORT NATAL.
• ^
CONTENTS.
New Zealand —
General Account of the Islands, - - - .
Scenery and Climate, - - . .
Influence of the Climate on Health, - . ' .
History, - . . _ _
Material Progress, - _ . .
The Original Inhabitants, and their Progress,
Their Property and Industry, - . . .
Capabilities and Inducements to Settlers,
The Timber, ...
Indigenous Food Productions, ...
Agricultural Capacities, - - . . _
Question of Agriculture and Pasture,
Minerals, ---.._
Wages and Prices,
Arrangements for Disposal and Occupation of Land,
The various Settlements, -
The Northern Settlements, ....
Auckland, -..___
New Plymouth, -..___
Soil and Agricultural Prospects, - v- .
Middle Settlements and Cook's Strait, -
Wellington, ----..
Valley of the Hutt,
Nelson, . _ . _ _
Wairau Plains, ----..
Land in Cultivation, Live-Stock, and Produce,
Estimate for a Fifty- Acre Farm, - - . .
Eegulations for the Disposal of Waste Crown Lands in New
Zealand, --....
Account of the Otago Settlement, - . ' .
Account of the Canterbury Settlement
Conclusion, - - . ' _
Paob
1
2
6
8
10
16
16
17
18
19
20
21
21
22
24
24:
24
27
29
33
33
33
37
38
39
42
43
47
tfr\
74
CONTENTS.
The African Settlements—
General Account,
Tho Capo of Good Hope.
Natal,
Miscellaneous Pmluctiona,
I^and Investments,
VAam
76
78
80
90
91
'»««IW«»!.t'»«T'
Vaoh
76
78
80
90
NEW ZEALAND.
CENE.UATi ACCOUNT OF NEW ZEALAND.
The New Zealand Islands in the South Pacific Ocean He between
the 35th and 48th degrees of south latitude. They fonn a narrow,
crooked, and serrated chain, extending to nearly twelve hundred
miles in length. From their narrowness, notwithstanding the dis-
tance from each other of the extremes, their whole area is gene-
rally rated as about the same with that of Great Britain. There-
are two main islands, the north and the south, separated from
each other by Cook's Strait — so nariuw and irregular a pas-
sage, that in t?'^ map it seems like the firths which break in upon
the coast of Scothind or the fiords of Norway, and unless when
traced fairly through, it does not appear to be naturally a sea-
dividing two islands from each other. The division south of
Cook's Strait has generally been called Middle Island, because
there is still a third i&land, though comparatively small, called
Stewart Island, a great place of resort for the southern whalers.
By letters-patent issued under act of parliament of the year 1847,
the northern island was called New Ulster, and the middle island
New Munster. For the sake of uniformity, the name New Leinster
was subsequently given to the southernmost island, which may be
considered as the largest of a set of islets off the coast of Naw
Zealand.^
These islands are the most distant of any territory of a like
* The Aiickldnd Islands may be noticed in connection with New Zealand, though
they scarcely form part of the same group, lying fully ICO nules southward, iit
latitude 51° south, and longitude lOti^east. Itie group consists of oue principal island,
ment, Ewing, Ocean, &c. Their formation is volcanic, shooting up into picturesque
grcup3 of basalt, with richly - wooded glens between. The climate, though tfao
1
■•*»»"JW«»»»»'»»JH"
NEW ZEALAND.
e«en.m teiTitorv-ih«l.S ^ miles »p«rt from the nearest
other they ™ MW im I ° Ti''''^'^"»'"''»i ^h"'-' on the
».erve„4 ™^, 3"^n\ttTCelltat;,rr„tK™'^- ""
them as distinct from Z part of F ' .""^"'^ '""^«'
colonies in general ] ve bJen^ found fnT^' « ''l' Australian
seems to have withi xtselfTnflln.^ ^'^ ^^"* ^«^ Zealand
rent character from thXs Intr^^^^ of a totally diffe-
continent. The climate has been nft^''"*' ' '''' ^"^*™"^"
Italy, to which it pretty nealycoTresnond,^ *° *^*' ^^
^ o^f WelL^ton-X:^. ;ryrstly-riha;^t?
4lt T^tllLTdtLt^^^^^^^ ^" ?*« PVaionl
with forest masses in their clefts-tr In ^-"""f*^^" «^^'*"<^e»'
characteristics of fine mountain s^nl' '" '''°'*' ^'^^ "«"a
n^ake life enjoyable!XwtXd"^^^^^^^^
external attractions than anv nth^r Irt- P*^^.^*^^^/ present more
has its momitain district Tn^thennS^'^''"*'"" ^'^^- ^"^^'^^i*
Wales, but it is hot and iun^lv 1? l"! P^"*."^ ^^^ ^outh
South Africa are less denserttciceted tt 'hi' ^% Portions of
dangerous wild animals, which poLoVl^!*^ ^'' /"^^«*«d by
nature, however great mtivhTi^^ .? ^ ^^'^ enjoyment of
the re'solute spoSan \t Ze^nT t? ^' '"'' ^"* *^
nourishing no dangerous ftnin;oi cf "^ b^®" peculiar in
remains of the abo%S Sc^^^^^^ and erelong, the last
not already been in fact accl^pnl^^^
Canadas is not in any part so wm!'^ . '''®"^^ *>^ t^e
mountains and the wildLss^f ^^J^t'^^ '^^"".1 '° •'' '^'^^* «^
course that can be comnarpd «- T ' ^^ *^®'*® " nothing of
of terrific g»„dt:°Th"t fs: 7Crr' c^r " ''™
inlet,, several of Ich h^vf b" n Sd^f h" ""'J, ''''' ''^^P
>»;.. The ir-terior of the c„™tXte"e^ b'„°t a? Jt^X^dt
o — ^trcruuiacm wiiuie Fisheries.'— 1849. ■•-^^^-m az von Kosh,
globe. On
the nearest
vhile on the
scarcely an
h America,
e supposed
uld render
Austrah'an
w Zealand
tally diffe-
Australian
to that of
5 from the
h parallel
lei. The
h that of
physical
solitudes,
the usual
lings that
int more
A.U8tralia
w South
rtions of
Bsted by
ment of
1 out to
uliar in
the last
tis have
of the
eight of
:hing of
r scene
ere are
al cha-
h deep
Jtected
3lored ;
hey win
ew they
a pam-
oil, and
't iivaa,
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF NLVV ZEALAND.
but probably, when fully known, it will not develop any entirely
new features. It resembles, in general, the mountainous countries
of Europe ; and its configuration, rising by spurs and successive
elevations into central cliains of high mountains, ia so usual as
not to leave room, as in Australia, for mysterious conjectures about
the mternal structure of the country. Yet the character of the
geology 13 calculated to develop, and has already shewn many of
the most striking and wonderful phenomena of the material world.
Ihe Snowy Mountains produce glaciers, though it would scarcely
appear that they can be on so large a scale as those which circle
round the Jungfrau of the Alps, or the Norske Fielen. But the
mountam-ranges have another element of grandeur and terror not
to be found in the Alps or Norway. Not merely does the geolocy
shew volcanic ongin and disturbance, but there are volcanoes in
actual operation. Hot springs and jets, such as those of Iceland,
and even hot lakes, are known to -xist ; and we may expect that
as the interior is explored, abundant volcanic wonders wiU be
found, smce, while it seems to have the same remarkable pecu-
liarities with Iceland, they are not, as in that country, impassably
shut from exploration by being embraced within the abnost impe-
netrable recesses of a horrible wilderness, which defies the keenest
love of adventure and the sternest courage. The settlers have
already had unpleasant intimation that they sit upon volcanic
ground In October 1848 there were felt in the neighbourhood
of Cook s Strait repeated shocks of an earthquake. They must
have done considerable dam,- jo among the temporary rickety
edifices of the settlers, smce the directors of the New Zealand
Company, m their annual report for 1849, congratulated their
constituents on the amount not exceeding £15,000.
The indigenous quadrupeds of New Zealand have been so few
and small, that, m an economic sense—that is, for the food or other
use of man-none exist. The pig, however, has been so extensively
propagated, as to have in some measure become a wild animi
which 18 hunted. There are many small birds, and the bones of
a gigMitic bird, the dinomis, found in the soil, shew it to have
existed in.times comparatively recent. Fish are abundant in the
waters. The whale and seal of the south frequent the neighbour-
ing seas, drawmg of course farther and farther off from the islands
the mdre they are assuming a settled character. The whaiers—
adventurers from Britain, the United States, and the southern
colonies, were mdeed the first European inhabitants of the islands:
and the nature of the prey they pursue, rewarding great daring
and success yath large pecuniary returns, makes their life one
*,. . ■ . ""-" •'^- '•'^"*c,oitt^iiiaiuig Willi Hisoiinaoieiice
or dissipation. The vegetable capabiKties of the islands will
3
■r f
■%■ M
NEW ZEALAND.
fcive to be more fully considered in connection with their nrodno
tiven.^8, and with the accounts of the separate 8ettleme,r ^ftty
only here be observed, that timber abounds, though it do;s nor^
general grow high up the mountams. In ihe clfts between tlm
mountams and especially in the alluvial deposits made by t e
^7TfU^''" ""1 ^"' P*«t"^«-l^ds. Several extensive pla"
«e of the same character ; and much aUuvial soil, said to be of
the finest description, is covered with an edible feri
By all accounts, the climate and atmosohere of N«w 7«.oU«a
possess the invaluable qualifications of bSgboth a^el^^^^^
mvigoratmg-not that they are without occafional peS inc^,
vemences m the shape of abundant moisture. xKap^^^^^^^
fee none of those scorching droughts or dry winds wlSbl.^
the turS? f'T; f'^^^^"^'-^ '^ goodialth, a„reag7-
the pursuit of knowledge in a new and interesting countrv am
the »cje„t,flc notice, of Mr Dieffe„b«h,l,e was enaUed io JZ
tte follomng general statements as to the climate and atmosXr!
ci:^:a^tt;is ™™^^'"'' ''>■'-' u,fl„e„c:z'r
mmmmm
ocean, l found at Taupo, the acacias of Van Diemen's Lan/l ful
«. wmcu ,. „„,y Mi^,^ by „„^ frequent ralns'^'d'wMs;"'"'"'''"
j^
leir prodnc-
Its. It may
does not in
etween tlie
ide by tiie
feive plains
1 to be of
!w Zealand
ieable and
)nal incon-
appear to
licli blight
i eager in
untry, are
resent the
from the
climate of
New Zea-*^
e. From
to make
mosphere
e on the
I although
I peculiar
also from
le tluit of
;quaiuted
, and the
here the
idcd, and
iy actual
ive great
i climate
sence of
'om the
and, the
circum-
also of
ndscapo
ever to
try, and
seasons
r of the
"cseacw
„#
OCNERAL ACCOUNT OF NEW ZEALAND.
Mr Dpffenbach joins with other observers in making the
amount of rain which falls throughont New Zealand greater than
the average amount in Britain. In fact, from the vast ocean sur-
rounding the islands, a mass of vapour is always concontrated over
them, attracted by the mountains, and ready to be dissolved with
the smallest change of temperament. The united testimony,
however, of those who liave experienced its effects — far more valu-
able than any kind of scientific deduction — shews thp* ;his mois-
4 ture is neither disagreeable nor unhealthy. • This gr; „£ quantity
of moisture,' continues Mr Dieffenbach; 'accounts for the vege-
tation being so vigorous, even in those places where a thin layer
of vegetable earth covers the rocks. Sandy places, which in any
other country would be quite barren, are covered with herbage hi
New Zealand; and the hills, which in lithological and geological
formation resemble those of Devonshire, may, m the cours'e of
time, be converted into pastures at least equalling those in the
hilly parts of that country. Everywhere, also, trees and shrubs
grow on the margin of the sea, and suifer no harm even from the
«teilt spray.' However valuable swamp land may be as a means of
investing capital in an effective drainage, which makes it richer
than the dry hilly tracts by which it is surrounded, the absence of
marsh land, and the existence of a geological formation which
affords a speedily-drying surface through natural drainage, is of
infinite importance to the settler whose whole capital is embarked
in his joui-ney and his stock, and who wants immediate produce
from the soil. On this the same traveller says —
• Tlio physical configuration of New Zealand, and the geological
forination of the hills, are in general such that the rain is rapidly
carried towards the coasts in countless streams and rivulets. The
lakes with which the interior of the Northern Island abound have
always an outlet ; and it is only in a very few places that swamps
exisf^ and these are owing to the clayey i:aturo of the subsoil ; but
they are not sufficiently important to influence the general state of
the humidity of the air, or to become insalubrious. In the neighbour-
hood of Port Nicholson the rain quickly percolates through the light
upper soil, and feeds the numerous streamlets which rapidly carry it
off into the sea.:— {Travels in New Zealand, i. 173-179.)
^ Mr Jemingham Wakefield, whose testimony, however, must be
taken as that of a zealous admirer of New Zealand, speaks in the
same tone.
* I landed at Kapiti,' says Mr Wakefield, * and in a day or two
after crossed over to the main, and walked to Port Nicholson. In
the course of this walk I was benighted on the hills between Porirua
and Pitone, having mistaken the time of tlie rising of the moon. Aa
it was too dark to proceed along the tortuous path beneath the thick
foliage, I lay down to sleep for a few hours among the moss and
5
NEW ZEALAND.
-
i
h
k ■
1
1
Jleaand, im^T " "'^ i^y'~{^dmnlurea in New
their unhealthy chUdren a better ZlaTiv^ ^*, ** "^"^ 8*^^
mind to settleVithin Lr^^^tZl mora «' Tf •' "^ '^''^
sphere. Mr AUom a spttl^r If w - °™® ™°^® salubrious atir»o-
lished in Mr eI^s Hand^^^^^^^^^^ Wau:arapa, says, in a letter pub-
liarities is if consrquereT/th^oil-^^^
Bever housed eitherTs^'m^ert w^te^' ^T'^' ^T ^^'^^ ^^«
open air or, as they wouldly r^e;. Zeir^on'T " 'H
Henco whatever may be the extent of flf« ,i^ iT 1 T*^". *^® "*"•
farm-buildinffs reauisi/p Vrn « f* ° ^^"''^^ ^"^ ^^rds, the only
purposes offfi„7^fnd :,::,^a^^^ ^^ *^e^'
favourableness of climate ^t „" ^ mustenng the stock. This
the greatestThl^'^rthe sSirer^^li*; "'v ^" ^^ -P-^on is
fitock being always free to rZi vh^.f n ?" ^^T ^®^'^"*^- H^*
tinually in the saLe,?f heZ^hL dutv 7.f "^"^ ?\"^"^' ^^ ««"-
this constant horsemknsWp cS^^ tl J U 1 iTe of "^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^
went, to which at times everfnl w- Pf healthy excite-
through the Isthmno nf rl .^ °^^^^ *<>^ makmg a passage
jsl" "St- iSa STilE S
*8 a fieS for its labours anffrf^^^^^^^^ ^''^^^ ™^^^«^ i* o«t
6 ~ ^•"'" '" "" liiipunance iorcoionis^
't althongh
I had no
I to shield
\f and rose
ea in 2Tew
w not un-
inces, and
; will give
up their
>us atiuo-
tter pub-
y Zealand
ible pecu-
:;attle are
ys in the
ihe run.'*
the only
II for the *
k. This
pinion is
nd. His
t be con«
olf ; and
y excite-
^ew who
lis occu-
ise this
to great
38t cer-
bited or
supply
ust not
iealand,
jassage
ic and
n than
n as a
stralia.
1 it out
ciation
dually
Dlonis-
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF NEW ZEALAND.
ing purposes; but not tiU France put forward some claims for
Its occupation was it adopted as a British possession. Prom
this event the history of New Zealand is little else than a
series of misunderstandings, blunders, and contentions, some of
which terminated in bloodshed. The natives, the government
officials, the missionaries, and the agents of the New ZeaUnd
Company, were all less or more concerned in these unhappy
events, which it would now be better for all parties to burv in
oblivion. ^
The principal fact which concerns the intending emigrant is
that government in 1841 constituted, by royal charter, an asso-
ciation called the New Zealand Company, to which, on certain
terms, a large tract of land was assigned. This company thence-
forward began to carry out emigrants, and retaU lands to those
who wished to be purchasers. Their plans were conceived on a
liberal and extensive scale. The colonising operations of the
company clustered round Cook's Strait, where they founded the
«ettlements of Wellington, Petre, New Plymouth, and Nelson.
Several men of famUy and fortune were induced to join in this
remarkable enterprise. Some were attracted from lucrative pro-
fessions by the charms of such an adventure, and many gentle-
men brought attached followers of humble rank from the districts
where they possessed famUy influence ; on the whole, it was a
very pretty object of contemplation— a complete social system
with all its checking, controDing, and civilising influences, pass-
ing to the other end of the earth to assume mature and com-
plete existence in a fresh and teeming soil. Colonel Wake-
field, who led the expedition, sailed in the Tory from Plymouth.
on the 12th May 1839, and he met the other ships of the ex-
pedition at the general rendezvous at Port Hardy, in Cook's
Strait.
Ahnost from the commencement, disputes arose between the
government and the company, which had a pai-alysing effect on
the various settlements. At length Mr Spain was appointed to
investigate and settle the diflerences, and he gave his final award
m 1845. Neither this award nor the subsequent proceedings of
Governor Fitzroy or Sir George Grey helped the association out
of Its difficulties; and to put an end to the affair, the company
resigned its charter and its functions into the hands of the govern-
ment in April 1850. From that time the New Zealand Company
ceased to exist, save in so far as part of its organization has been
preserved under government direction. From this explanation it
will be understood that though dealing ostensibly for land with
. „. ,^,,.v,,, ^,,^ ^,crT i-caiauu u<uiupany, tne mtenauig settler
IS really purchasing from government. The office of the New
7
H
! ^1
fi'i;
NEW ZEALAND.
Zealand Company, where distinct information may alwavs h«
obtained respecting lands, is No. 9 Broad Street BuSgs londj?'
Letters should be addressed to the secretar3^
8outi7w^^^iT' '* ^''i S"^^™^'^ *« * dependency of Netvr
South Wales. It ,s now, by various acts of parliament estlh
l^^tTrT"'- colony, with a governor arfd trSid sut"
odinate functionaries. It has also been accorded certahi mu" i
cipal privileges conformable to constitutional forms ^"8^1?^'
Sfait being the dividingji^ The Northern'^ Tl""?' S"- '
dependencies, was co„s,if„,ed the proS „f New uCf -f^
power to the governor to except Lm ifk , . ' *'"'
territories ncAe S.Jt! :^r'.htr„2^ '^iTrto"^
the province of New Munster. Whether the isl«nr?, « h7 u
popularly called by these names, wii"a^^^^^^^
mvention m the Colonial Office, may be doubtfd ThJn ?^
designations will more probably come into ^neral use Ah! 7
a considerable number of places are kr Ln . 1 ? - '^^^
given to them by the natives """ '"^^ ^^' ' "^««
metllrtji^T''''^^?'^'^'^'*""^^^"^ *^^« ^^^«^«trous commence-
S3o^r^ps:^it»
In going to this fine country, the emigrant hns . ^i.«- i-
^ttirre^^ll?^^T^"•'^''^"■»»--»-^^^^^^^^^
»ra i'a^^bte Kn^jL"-"^^ '"^^ "'""''""' "^ ""»"
Notwithstandmg the presence of these natives, tlie governor
always be
8, London.
3y of Netvr
«t, estftb-
isual sub-
ain miini-
rhese it is
ndition of
ing. Ac-
licated to
i, Cook's
with its
Bter, with
ition any
vas to be
ever be
overty of
le native
Ah-eady
e names
nmence-
material
the soil,
i inhabi-
it as the
loice of
ider the
lispatch
tch was
eral : —
>e prin-
f these,
ropean
stated
over a
i from
)y per-
. The
ied by
whom
remor
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF NEW ZEALAND.
gave the assurance, that 'at the present moment there is pro-
bubly no portion of the world in which life and property are more
secure than in New Zealand.' In the annual report for 1850,
he proposed to reduce the military establishment to 1180 men|
and wisely suggested that those dispensed with, instead of being
sent back to Europe, at great expense, with their wives and
families, should be absorbed in the colony, where they would be
promising settlers, with notions of discipline and allegiance, and
■would be a sort of self-supporting defence— a trained militia. At
the same time, the governor proposed the support of a war-steamer
as the best means of giving effective strength to the executive—
an arrangement well adapted to a narrow island country full of
creeks and capes.
It would be improper to leave tliis department of the subject
without alluding to the convict question. No fruitful and unsettled
territory, especially so near our penal colonies, could keep itself
free of the loose portion of the adventurers cast forth from our
social system; but New Zealand has not, like other southern
colonies, been systematically made the drain of our criminal
population. It is a matter of important consideration for all who
propose to settle there, that the conduct of the government has
guaranteed the settlement from being made a place of exile for
convicts -who have undergone punishment. As well as to the
Australian colonies, it was proposed to send ticket-of-leave men
to New Zealand, ' if tlie inhabitants were willing to receive them.'
Though not blind to the advantages in the labour-market from
such a consignment, the colonists expressed a decided disinclina-
tion to receive such associates; and Governor Crey, ever clear-
sighted, and earnestly interested in the welfare of the colony,
seconded the disapproval, remarking: *I think that this country
would hold out to men of then- characters almost irresistible
temptations to retire into the interior of the country, there to
live among the native population, and cohabit with their Avomen.'
Meetings were held to express the disapproval of the settlers ; and
even the natives, whether spontaneously or not, spoke out, in an
address to Her Majesty, in which they said: 'Oh, Lady, we shall
be perplexed if the convicts be allowed to come here. They
would steal the property of the Europeans, and the natives would
be accused of the theft, and we should be very much displeased.
Hather let gentlemen, men of peaceful life, come here. We like
such men. Let them be numerous, for our country is large.'
On the 26th November 1849 Lord Grey wrote to the governor
of New Zealand, informing him that the government concurred in
his views, and would not send cc ' " - -
/;
jPojo. 1850.)
LuiiTiVia lU i.'XCIT £JCtiUlUU.
-{jran
B
NEW ZEALAND.
:] f
r
THE ABORIGINES.
The pictorial illustrations of Cook's Vovaffea fir«f a»„T, ^
a sense among Europeans to their canS J I'T^f ^^
organizers of marine forces sailnrrl^^ ^ ^. shipbuilders,
thf same time CaprinCook'SSedte^^^^^^^^^^^
to be cannibals • he Ipft thf. "/fl!.. ^® ^^^^'^ '^y declaring them
told with a di^Jtbg ndnuCIwlth ".^iX »^ '^
Our countrymen were long loth to beUeve tW ^f? the reader.
cannibaU could be more civilieaWe ttlotW Si:'"'',.''?"'
on rats and reptUes ; but it was so -noTJlrZi F^ """S
Itself to prevent a race who followed it from bein Jk« ..v-r ,^f
as our own countrymen. ^ *^ civilisable
The same gentleman who so beautifuUv illustrafp/l fi,« « * ,
objects of South Australia has performed the l£e^^^^^^^^
i^aland, and the intending settfer there shouW tlklTe opp^^^^^
mty of seemg what manner of country he is going to tSI
scenery was of a rich, beautiful, andToman ic cWacter It w.n
known before and Mr Angas's Scenes only accord ^htCx^^^^^
tations formed from descriptions. But his portraitrof th« nJ
are som.what surprising,"^ especially y^hlJoZ^ltl^^^^^
representations of South Australian aborigines Tm« J 'm ^
once that they are a fine race wif h « ft,i? ?^ • ' i . ^ ^'^*^^® **
and a sound 4eUectual exprCt ' GooArot an^'.^"""*'
are united in their physiognLy The^^i^l^: ^fud^^^^^^^
of the women, are becoming and modest • anH ,•+ lo It^ I ,
a pleasure to look on thes! pictrerStW "hVU^^^
have been disgusted with th. a„c..„,:„_ 1' . ® fye ^d the mmd
2Q '^ " -"""axiou BUiui-ammai. iSir Angas's
^ THE ABORIGINES.
Their temperament iaw^rd^rrnf .*S? '''T*^*' ^"*"*i««-
imagery; -d they poss'rmu^h ^ e^^^^^^^^ ^'CJ! '"" ^J
perception they are far bevonri v.. 1' ^^ acuteness of
nature gifted with high and^i ^^^T? * ^^^^ '^^ ^^^^ren of
to be toctedTa rfght cLTer'^^^^^ ""^'^ '"^^ ''^^^'
jUBtice, and I have unUSv fou^^\^^l* '^'''''^ ««»«« ^^
table.' universally found them honest and hospi-
bo^^'VeTstranldtr^^^^ if ^^ Angas.
bitants of Europe mighTwhl^ "> *' *^^ ^^^ i"^"
work just before ttif date of tl v PP"*'"^ *° '^^^' ^ ^o^^"
carving, and its adantat^in t ' i^''°^ architecture. Their
bination with the sCeTf the^f ^ " ^'""'"^ «^«^* ^ «o"^-
work such as we see Tthe eirlv i^^^^^^^^ "^« Norman
The carved decora fons, in facf ie Xut' - '''/''' "i^"^^^*
remember that this was the fp«f nl • ?2 P""^ ' ^<* ^^ must
ancestors invented. The arcriL'^.r '^^ ^f^'' ^^«^ <»^
may be said the st newol gt^rSv Irfdf • P^^^-^'ieed it
mans. It may be questiold ?f t^frTf?-^®"''^'^ ^^°™ *^e Ro-
the north of Ei^one !t I^ '?• ^^tt;>"t t^is start, the nations of
produced buUdCSllhwVtr.^^'^%^f^"^^^^ «*^«»d have
with, for ^^t.nZ^:zt:'^^^i:LT'j^ ^^^f^r^
name of Kai Tangata, dreadfuUy ^Stive of 7w ^''? ^V^^
mixed with the civilisation sincJi? mi»il f ^ ^^''T*^ ^^^'J*
bably conferred in the S.e «pir in wh ch ^'^''J"^ ^** P'^"
his shooting-lodge afterTL «TnJ^^ v ^P^^^sman names
cences. ^ """^ '^^'^"'S peculiarities or reminis-
own'iL'4'eruf t:^^^^^ best testimonies to their
tions fouf S ^ The l?n T'T^'X ^ Wakefield men-
plaited from uSiraJed fl^^^^^^^^^ ''"'^ ^T^' - <^l-«ely
glossy straw-like sltce'^J^Z^^ .^^ ''^^^^^^^ '* ^^ *
next, caUed korowai, is wiven witrfLnpTfl' "" T^*'*' ^^^
with black tags or tassels fW ^^'^^P®^ ^a^* and ornamented
arrangements ^of di^erent 'cohZ.Tlt """''^ !f ^^^^"'^ ^^ '^^
dresses by the womeTicotsrLdR^ -^^f '^^^^ ««
texture, for clothing waT 0^1^ /; f ' ? ^*' ^J '*' '^°««"««« <>f
refuse of the flax scfkpW S filt; ?• ^7"' ^'""^^ ^^^"^ *he
i^mt^ae, described TSnflfn?? k • * ^^ ""^^ called Mfl;fca, or
Sky muka. Tt^^k r^lf 1^^^^^^ -ow-whit^
a large forest-tree eaUedVhr.it,^h]r^;^^^^^^
11
■■
wm
NEW ZKALANO.
•.
■ I
tftme qualities as tho gall-nut, and tho natives had found out the
secret of blackening tlie tannin by oxidised iron, the method in
which our own writing-ink is compounded.
From the peculiar nature of the land-claims and other sources
many distressing disputes occurred with the natives. Among the
tragic results of these was the massacre of Wairau, as it was
called, in 1843, in which some of the most valuable men of the
colony were slain, including the gallant Captain Wakefield. Those
who had loet relations or valued friends in this miserable affair
were naturally impatient for vengeance, and irritated when, instead
of immediately bringing down on the assailants the retribution of
the powerful British government, a cool inquiry was instituted
into the whole circumstances. The investigation shewed that the
affair arose out of tlie fruitful source of all mischief in the new
colony— misunderstandings as to dealings in land ; and it farther
shewed that to treat savage chiefs, who, in a dispute in which they
had plausible grounds of complaint, had used the force they pos-
sessed, like inhabitants of England who had committed a murder
for the sake of revenge or robbery, would neither be prudent nor
just. The whole of the melancholy transaction is not likely to be
forgotten in future schemes of colonisation ; more particulariy as
Jt was followed by various hostilities which did not terminate till
1847.
Thv^ fatalities in the subsequent contests with the natives were
however, on the whole, not very great : they amounted in all to
twenty-eight killed and fifty-three wounded. But they had the
appearance of being interminable. The resources and capacity for
war which they exhibited were of a very formidable kmd. Over the
vast districts where the European settlements were scattered there-
were no roads, and none but tho natives could command the means
of transit. They carried no baggage, their wives following them
with potatoes or other simple food— and the sole encumbrance of
their march was in the excellent double-barrelled rifle which each
warrior possessed, and could effectively use. When they found
that the British troops could destroy their fortified pahs, they
abandoned them, trusting to flying wai-faie. At any time the
ktent energies of this warlike people might thus be roused against
British rule, however firmly established. The question was, what
remedy should be adopted? The harsh old system would have
suggested extermination ; but a gentler and more effective method
was adopted, leading to amalgamation. In the first place, efforts
were made to adjust the land question with thorough impartiality
these have been already considered. There was next an effort made
to give the natives a stake and interest in the administration of the
British system of government. Those whn HnH fnnirK* »<. oii;«- ..e
THE ABORIGINES.
the goyemmcnt were pensioned, and received distinctions. A
few natives were employed as policemen : the project was at first
nearly overwhelmed in ridicule, but it turned out to be very
effective; and Sir George Grey, in a dispatch of 1849, says—* The
native armed police force has furnished gallant men, who have led
oar skirmishing parties, and who have fallen, like good soldiers,
in tlie discharge of their duty ; and it has furnished intelligent,'
sober, and steady constables, whose services, under various cir-
cumstances, have been found of great utility.' In addition to
such means of civilisation, the instrumentality of savings' banks,
industrial training, and other aids of civilisation— found efficacious,'
and, unfortunately, necessary among the lowest grades of our own
population— have been satisfactorily resorted to. Exhibiting the
first broad, coarsje characteristic of a civilisable people— intense
love of gain— the New Zealander, unlike the haughty indolent lied
Indian, has been attracted to the white man by the sources of
profit which he opens up, and many of them have turned out to
be good workmen on the public works. Such have been tlie
secondary means of civilisation which, going hand in hand with
the more important functions of the Christian missionary and the
schoolmaster, are tending to the firm establishment of peace in
New Zealand, and a good understanding between the races.
It will be seen that in the act for the government of New
Zealand, mentioned elsewhere, provision is made for the native
laws and customs being respected, and especially in all questions
among the aborigines themselves. In the royal letter of instruc-
tions sent out with the New Zealand charter in 1847, for the pur-
pose of putting this act in practical effect, not the least interesting
portion is the 14th chapter, applicable to this clause of the act.
An abridgment of it follows : —
♦The governor-in-chief shall, by proclamation, set apart particular
districts of New Zealand, under the designation of « Aboriginal Dis-
tricts," where the laws, customs, and usages of the aboriginal inha-
bitants, so far as they are not repugnant to the general principles of
humanity, are to be maintained. Within these districts the native
diiefs, appointed by the governor, are to interpret and execute
their laws, customs, and usages, wherever the aboriginal inhabitants
tliemselves are exclusively concerned. At the same time, any per-
son, not an aboriginal native, while within any such district, must
respect and observe these native laws, customs, and usages, on pain
of such penalties as may be inflicted by the sentence of any court or
magistrate in any other part of the province. The jurisdiction of
the courts and magistrates of the entire province are to extend over
the aboriginal districts, subject oilly to the duty of taking notice of
i id giving effect to the laws, customs, and usages of the aboriginal
iiihabitauts in ail such cases. In cases arising" between the abori-
B 13
NEW ZEALAND.
ginal inhabitants, beyond tho limits of thoir districts, and in what-
ever relates to the relations to and the dealings of such aborurinal
inhabitants with each other beyond tl.e same limits the courtTand
magistrates of the entire province, or of the district in which tho
^'^^m.^^^®'^® *° enforce these native lav/s, customs, and usages
The governor may contract or enlarge the limits of aboriginal dis-
tricts, but no such district is ever to comprise lands which the gover-
nor may, by prochimation, have declared to be withm the lunits of
settlement/
vSo early as the 25th March 1847, Governor Grey had to report
in the following terms the commencement of a good understandirff
with the natives, which, to the advantage of both parties, made
rapid progress :t-
« I a«i unwilling to lose this opportunity of stating, that affairs
throughout the whole of these islands are proceeding in a most
satisfactory manner. Commerce and agriculture are rapidly extend-
ing the improved methods of cultivation adopted by the natives-
V l?,';ge^ quantities of wheat they now produce, and the erection
ot mills throughout the country— some of which are their own
property- are gradually rendering them an agricultural popula-
tion, whose property wiU be too valuable to pei-mit them to enWe
m war; and although there are still some warhke spirits who Sy
occasion partial disturbances, I do not see any probability of anv
extensive outbreak again takmg place.
' The revenue, as might be expected, is rapidly increasing— indeed
so rapidly as to surpass my most sanguine expectations; and as tho
natives, under the present system of taxation, contribute largely to
that revenue, every improvement in their condition wiU afford the
means of providmg more efficient protection for property, and for
the future peace of the country. Her Majesty's subjects, both Euro-
pean and native, appear to appreciate fully the advantages of their
present position ; and not only evince the most gratifying contentment,
but generally afford me the most cheerful and active assistance in
carrying out my vaiious measures. I need hardly add, that this
assistance IS most valuable to me; and that, in the case of the native
chiefs. It has recentiy enabled me to arrange, in the most amicable
and advantageous manner, the great mass of the land-claims in tiie
southern districts, which, had they not met me in a spirit of the
lullest confidence, I should have found it most difficult ^.o adjust
satisfactonly.'— (Par?. Fap. 1847.) ^
That^ a complete cessation of aU tribe or party conflict among
the natives should have been accomplishdd, is of course out of the
question; since indeed their increased industry and civilisation
by making them more conscious of the advantages of wealth, and
especially of landed property, open up new causes of dispute
and contention. But short as has been the British rule there
it has been so effentnallv nstablish'^'^ th«*- '"i-»* '5!r/-.iH ^^ ^ *
14
i
"*mi--~'^mtimi^>mimfT«vr»r,f^,vi^^-n
knd in what-
h. aboriginal
I courts and
a which the
1 usages,
loriginal dich
h the gover- .
he luuitfl of
d to report
derstandirg
irties, made
that affairs
in a most
idly extend-
he natives;
he, erection
I their own
ral popula-
1 to engage
s who may
lity of any
ng — ^indeed
and as the
5 largely to
afford the
•ty, and for
both Euro-
jes of their
»ntentment»
sistance in
I, that this
the native
t amicable
ims in the
}irit of the
> ^'O adjust
lict among
out of the
vilisation,
ealth, and
)f dispute
ule there,
is,TQ bgea
THE ABORIGINES.
a war between two independent tribes or nations, sinks into a
pergonal dispute, to be settled by British authority. So lately
as September 1849, Governor Grey had to write to the secretary
for the colonies 'that hostilities had commenced between the
tribes of the Waikato district and those residing on the west
coast of this island, regarding a tract of land claimed by both
parties in the neighbourhood ofWangeroa, which lies between
this place and New Plymouth. I also understand that, from the
number and influence of the tribes engaged in this affair, very
serious disturbances might be apprehended, unlof^R their proceed-
ings were checked;' but at the same time he had to report that
both parties had applied for his mediation; that, in fact, they
respectively pleaded their case betbre him ; and that they shewed
the utmost willingness to submit to the decision of the govern-
ment in the matter.— (Papers relative to Affairs of New Zealand.
1850.) '
Governor Grey, in a dispatch dated in March 1849, gave a
very hopeful account of the prospects of the natives, as he saw
them in a progress up the Waikato and Waipa, as far as Otawao.
*I was both surprised and gratified,' he said, 'at the rapid
advances in civilisation which the natives of that part of New
Zealand have made during the last two years. Two Sour-mills
have already been constructed at their sole cost, and another
water-mill is in course of erection. The natives of that district
also grow wheat very extensively, at one place alone the
estimated extent of land under wheat is 10,000 acres. They have
also good orchards, with fruit-trees of the best kmds grafted and
buddeu by themselves. They have extensive cultivations of
Indian corn, potatoes, &c. ; and they have acquired a considerable
number of horses and horned stock. Altogether, I have never
seen a more thriving or contented population in any part of the
world.'— (i^artAer Pavers relative to the Affairs of New Zealand,
1850.) " '
The latest notice of the habits and position of the natives, from
a private source, is of the same promising and hopeful character.
It is in a letter by Mr Hursthouse of Plymouth, published In the
last edition of Mr Earp's book on New Zealand, He says : —
* From their skill in using the American axe, management of fire,
and knowledge of *« burning off," they are found most serviceable
in the clearing and cultivation of bush or timber-land— in perform-
ance of which work they now frequently contract with the settlers
at so much per acre. In fact, owing to the rapidity with which
English labourew rise into the "small farmer class," and become
themselveB emnlovers of la.ho-i? "11 "^iir fbrmTT^^ r.^icrsfirtns ■^!^r:--.''A
he seriously crippled but for the powerful assistsuice of the natives.
15
I
NKW ZEALAND.
Our liarvosts are now ftlmost ontiroly cut and camod l.y them-
^hUBt .« to plougluufr. my esteomod foUow-aottler. J. O. Cooke vZ'
informa me that on the glebe far.n attached to the Wesleyan Milton
s raightnoss of furrow, are ahnost a match for tho bent Enirli«li
urey Institute; a largo native mdustriul Hchool or traininir colIoL'e
an excellent mstUutiou, working much good among the natiot S
^af kT**/'' existence chiefly to the useful e^nergy and ^"0-
t cal philanthropy of the Kov. Hanson Turton, a gentleman whow
thorough knowledge of the native language and customs is admrrabk
apphed m proa^oting the joint good of both races. «'*"''"»Wy
J!^or 18 It in the labour-field alone that we are boainninff to UnA
the natives such stanch allies. They share in X Zrts fnd
amusements of the settlers with equal ardour and succor Quick
of eye, strong of arm swift of foot/ supple of limb, tr TuHint an
oar, ninnmg a match, or accompanying an exploring party thev
have no superiors. They are bold ridoS too, and at tlie first' races
Z^r of r ^'^^^[y^^^^^^^^^^orihed for a plate, and won U 0,!
their own horses; whilst at the last anniversary of the settlement
they took the honours at tho rustic sports- caching the ^e^sed
p.g before he had well started, and throwing the best of our Ksh
wresUers in a manner patent to themselves.'
CAPABILITIES— INDUCEMENTS TO SETTLERS.
nf^l ^^^l^Jng yery condensed view of the natural productions
of these islands is frrm an authority wliich ought to be of tlio
most unquestionable kind-that of the governor of the colony
m a communication to the colonial secretary:—
•Animals imported into this country thrive ai.d increase greatly
kfnd ar«'h "° ^"'^'^ f ^I'^ '""'J^' ^°8«- ^'^'^^^ ^^ ^^ery domes fe
kmd are becoming abundant. Bees succeed admirably. Hides aro
nf/°'^i'T^; ^°°^ '' excellent-the fibre being of nniJorm
quality and thickness, owing to the equable tempemture of th^
chmate and continuance of pasture. Timber abounds of all qualities
Bark, fit for tanning is plentiful. Dye-woods are numerous. Al
European herbage, shrubs, and trees, succeed and thrive rapidly
Clover and grass speedily conquer any fern or weeds allowed to
remain on lU-eleared land. All European fruits succeed anrnpen
wix ^!^r ^PP^^? P^r'/«'' ""^^^"'^ strawberries, peaches, &c
Flax has been undervalued, because an inferior quality hai in
eupenor to the common kind, and will become a staple commodity.'
Beneath the productive surface of this teeming island aro mineral
stores, as yet hardly known. If, from merely looking at or scrS
ing some or the nroiectinn' onmora «f +i,» i«^j -x i— -^ x.
■af..;...
■■/'y»';^nf-fym''
' hy them;
L'ooke, Enq^
yan Mission
driving and
est Kiiglisix
ipils at tlie
iiig college,
intives, and
and pruc-
man whose
> admirably
ing to find
sports and
IBS. Quick
pulling an
)arty, thoy
first races
won it on
settlement
le greased
ur Conush
oductions
be of the
>e colony
10 greatly.
domestic
Hides aro
f uniform
of the
qualities,
ous. All
rapidly,
lowed to
md ripen
ches, &U,
' has in
, is much
niodity.'
1 mineral
scratch-
p twenty
CAPAniLITIKS— INDUCEMENTS TO BETTLER8.
valuable minerals have already been discovorod, in greater or loss
abundance, what may not be anticipated after yeare of research
m the mtcnor} The more valuable minerals hitherto found aro
coal, iron, hmestone, copper, tin, manganese, nickel, kad, silver
insmutli, arsenic, cerium, sulphur, aliun, rock-suit, marble of various
quahtios and colours, cobalt, ochre, fuller's earth, asphaltum, pumice
volcanic earths and lavas, &c. Of the copper, it ought to be re*
marked that the por-centage of niotal is usually very high and that
the ore is easily smelted. Much of the manganese contains a larger
per-centage of copper. Both this and the copp. , can be quarried
rather than mined, in abundance. Fuller's earth, fire-clay, and stone!
ht for furnaces, which the bakers here use for their ovens, can be
tound anywhere in this neighbourhood.— Robert Fixzuoy, Governor:
A gi-eat many of tlieso tempting inducements for embarking
capital may be safely said to be less seductive or promising than
they were in 1847, when they were so reported.
If this inventory of its productions be admitted to be accurate
the emigrant's legitimate chances in New Zealand must stUl be
as an agriculturist or pasturer. The agricultural land is divided
mto the timbered and the fern-covered. Neither travellers nor
settlers m New Zealand talk of timber as a nuisance and impedi-
ment, as it is in Nortli America. It is in scattered masses, not
dense, unremitting forest tracts ; and were there a better market
for It, It appears to be in general timber of considerable value.
It IS at all events of gi-eat use in the settlements: how large an
article of export it may yet be from the interior recesses of
the mountains no one can anticipate.
One of the most serviceable accounts of the chief timber-trees
of New Zealand is that given by Mr Hursthouse in his account
ot New Plymouth, and we shall here quote it :—
*The rimu, called red pine, more from its foliage than from any
resemblance in the wood, is frequently sixty to seventy feet high
without a branch, and from twelve to sixteen feet in circumference
Its foliage is remarkably graceful, drooping like clusters of feathers'
and of a beautiful green. The tree opens very sound, is entirely
free from knots, and, for a hard wood, works well. It is chiefly used
for house-building; the finer parts for panelling and cabinet-work-
these are handsome, taking a fine polish, and in appearance some-*
thing between Honduras mahogany and coarse rosewood.
'The kahikatea, or white pine, is occasionally seen ninety feet
high without a branch. In foliage and manner of growth it
resembles the rimu, but has a lighter-coloured bark. The wood is
not much unlike the Baltic white pine, but always sound, and quite
free from knots : it is used for general purposes, for oars and boat-
planking.
* The puriri, or iron- wood, is one of the most vnluabl" t^-asa ;«
Now Zealand, growing from thirty to fifty feet high, and from twelve
17
n.
^-
11
f
NEW ZEALAND.
to twenty feet in circumference. The wood has a strong scent, is
of a dark -brown colour, close grained, heavy, and of a greasy
unctuous nature; which last property is probably the cause of its
being so much perforated by a large white slug, peculiar to this
tree, when growing. Iron-wood is principally used for foundations,
fencing-posts, mill-cogSj &c. for all of which it is admirably adapted;
as it would be for any purpose requiring great strength and dura-
bility in moist situations.
* The rata in its manner of growth is very singular. At first it
is a creeper, clinging for support round some young tree ; for a time
both flourish together in close embrace ; but as they grow, the subtle
rata, appearing to sap the strength of its early supporter, winds
its strong arms around, by slow degrees, crushes it to death, and
eventually becomes itself the tree. The pukatea is generally
favoured with these embraces, which, though slow, are sure to kill.
The wood of the rata is a reddish-brown colour; very strong and
tough; well adapted to wheelwrights' work ; and from its crooked
manner of growth, fui-nishing suitable stuiF for shipbuilding.
* The kohe-kohe attains a height of about forty feet without a
branch ; it has a handsome laurel-like leaf, and is the most common
tree on the edges of the forest. It splits well, and is used for
shingles, fencing-bars, and rails.
'The pukatea, a large tree, is a soft, easy- working wood, of light-
brown colour, chiefly used for common work, and weather-boarding
rough outbuildings.
* The tawa and the rewa-rewa are handsome trees, particularly
the latter; both, however, are of inferior quality, and not used
except as split stuff: the first, being highly resinous, makes excellent
firewood. The hinau is remarkable for the whiteness of its wood,
and chiefly known for its valuable dyeing properties; the rich black
dye of the native mats is obtained from its bark.'
^ There never was perhaps a naturally fruitful country so des-
titute of indigenous productions for food as these fine islands.
Fish, especially the larger kinds, have generally been abundant *
but on the land the only considerable animal has been man, and
consequently he has been eaten. There is a similar destitution in
the vegetable world. Except the roots of the great forests of
fern, and the cabbage plants, there seems to have been no edible
vegetable — there certainly was nothing that could be classed
either as grain or fruit ; and when some seed-vessels of a luscious
aspect have been produced, as contradicting the latter deficiency
they have been found unsuitable for food. The nearest approach
to edible indigenous fruit seems to be the pbropo, of which Mr
Hursthouse says— 'When quite ripe, its flavour is something
between that of apple-peel and a bad strawberry; but if tasted
before it is soft and mellow, the poropo is most nauseous.'
Yet almost every fruit, pot-herb, and grain known in Europe
CAPABILITIES — INDUCEMENTS TO SETTLERS.
seems to take naturally in New Zealand ; and there is, besides the
forests, at least one native vegetable of the smaller growth which
is useful and valuable— the Phmmium tenax, or New Zealand flax.
As it has been hitherto considered the raw material of a native
manufacture, the fabrics from it have been already mentioned in
connection with the history and habits of the natives.
The agricultural capacities of the islands need be only generally
spoken of, as they have to be mentioned in connection with each
settlement. There are two kinds of agricultural lands — ^the forest
and the fern — and it seems to be undecided which is the better of
the two, either for the poor settler, demanding rapid returns, or for
the capitalist, who looks for the best ultimate investment. Of
this topical peculiarity, the fern-land, the most practical-looking
account we have seen is in Mr Hursthouse's account of New
Zealand. He says: —
* Freak fem-land has one marked peculiarity, called « sourness," by
which is meant some property hostile to the growth of crops put in
directly after the breaking-up. The probable cause of this is the
absence in the new soil of such promoters of vegetation as the
anamoniacal gases, readily absorbed from the atmosphere when the
soil is loosened and exposed ; although, if * sourness" arose entirely
from this cause, it would appear strange that the bush-land also is
not subject to it. If a piece of the finest fern-land be cleared and
sown at once with wheat, the yield would probably not exceed
fifteen bushels per acre; the same piece prepared nine months
beforehand, might yield from thirty-five to fifty bushels, but on
timber-land this would make no difference.
* In cultivating fern-land, the first operation is to clear away the
fern, which is best done in some dry month. Choosing a gentle
breeze, the fern is fired; if it burns well, all the thick and matted
dead stuff at the bottom, with the leafy part of the live fern, will be
consumed, leaving only the shrivelled « tutu," and the cane-like fern
stalks, which, as softened by the fire, should be cut at once, either
with a strong hook, or, still better, with a short scythe, and the
«*tutu" slashed down with a bill-hook. Lying a few days to wither,
the stalks are loosely raked up and burned with the " tutu " branches ;
and the " tutu " stumps have then to be taken up, and carted into a
heap, or carried off. After these operations, which cost from 16s. to
20s. per acre, the land is ploughed with a strong plough, having a
\ rought-iron share, and four oxen. The best depth is about ten
inches, turning up a little subsoil. When broken up, the soil should
lie some time to get pulverised, and to dry the fern-root. It should
then be harrowed and rolled, so as to allow of the easy raking up
and burning of the fern- root; and to get it into superfine order,
ploughing and these subsequent operations should be repeated,
when the land, after lying about six months, will be in the finest
possible condition for any crop which may afterwards be growti.
18
ft'
if
'
.1
"T*! '
J
NEW ZEALAND.
^Jtr?^^?? ''*'"''® Of "double working" such as this costs from
£2, lOs. to £3 per acre ; but it should be observed that as this sum
IS for work performed chiefly by bullock-power, it will be materiallv
reduced as cattle become cheaper. The price of working oxen in
New South Wales is about £8 per pair ; in Wellington and Auckland,
i.ZO ; whilst here it has generally been about £35 : but as cattle are
tast increasing, and as a direct trade has been commenced with
aydney, it is probable that in another year a pair of oxen will bo
purchased here for £20.
Jf'^J't ***"•' ™f '^'xr ^^ ''^^PP'ng fern-land thus prepared is hardly
ititlT'^i' Il^'»^f°'V^^ been exposed about nine months,
well mellowed perhaps the best course would be two wheat crops!
then manure a little for potatoes or fallow, and so round; but if it
mithf L fT''^ at all sour, the first crop should be potatoes, which
might be followed by two grain crops, and then a fallow. Sheen
have a surpnsmg effect on fern-land: a flock folded a single night
has been known to increase a crop of wheat in the particular spot
nearly 100 per cent.; and all animal manure is considered to ffo
twice as far as m England.' ^
The question between agriculture and pasture as a settler's
occupation is not so wide as it is in Australia. The pasturage
capacities of these islands, whatever they may be, do not appear
to have been tried on any large scale. Agricultural capacities can
be tried on any scale; and the cultivator's success in New Zealand
seems to point it out as the safer walk, at least for a man of
moderate means. It does not appear that the operations, or even
the machinery for large farming, will certainly apply to the pecu-
liar state of the country and its inhabitants. Mr Earp who
speaks as a practical man, says that when he left the colony
thrashing-machines, patent harrows, and ingenious plouglis lay
rotting on the shore ; and he recommends the agricultural settler
to trust to the spade and mattock. Perhaps this may be sound
advice until ingenious and sagacious men indicate the kind of
agricultui-al machinery best suited to the organic character of the
soil.
Dr S. M. Martin, who had resided for some time in New Zea-
land, and had been a member of the legislative council there
attested its superiority to Sydney, wliere he had also resided, for
purely agricultural emigrants, on account of its abundant and
invariable supply of moisture. He thought the North Island the
best—he had there seen, he said, excellent wheat, and still better
barley. He thought all English agricultural products would grow
there, and some not known in England. Flax was indigenous, and
abundant; and he conceived that the vine, Indian corn, and hops,
could be easily cultivated, but he did not think the soil and climate
ttua|Ji,ux^ tw liUU. ... - -
20
He recommended the home system of farming
CAPABILITIES— INDUCEMENTS TO SETTLERS.
as the proper one for the place — a combination of pasture and
agriculture.
The mining mania generated in South Australia spread every-
where among the southern colonies in which there were any
chances of its finding materials to operate upon. These appear
to be abundant in New Zealand. Near Auckland manganese has
been worked and exported with great success. In the same
neighbourhood there are several copper-mines, where the metal
has been prepared for shipment at the several rates of £8,
£6, and £4 per ton, according to quality. The mining mania has
had a characteristic influence on the natives, who, though given to
industry, are still more partial to bargaining than to producing, and
seem ever ready to make their own out of the desires and wants
of the colonists. ' The very natives,' says an eye-witness, * have
become infected with the mania, and are nearly as expert judges
of copper and manganese as the settlers, and may be seen going
about with fragments of stone and bottles of nitric acid for the
purpose of testing its composition. They serve to keep the
settlers in a perpetual excitement by pretending to have dis-
covered copper or manganese upon their lands; and no little
money is spent in fruitless expeditions to prove the fact. In some
cases the eagerness of the settlers outruns their prudence, and
they are induced, by the solicitations of the natives, to purchase
the land before seeing it, fearing some reckless speculator may
otherwise secure the prize ; but it is needless to say that they are
almost sure of losing their money, as the specimen of the ore
shewn to them has in all probability been taken from the mines
of the great barrier, or from the island of Kawau ' [near Auckland.]
— {Brown on New Zealand and its Aborigines, p. 203.)
With a laudable desire to afford every kind of useful infor-
mation to emigrants to New Zealand, as well as to all the other
emigration fields, the Emigration Commissioners, in their official
circular for 1850, give the prices of provisions and the wages
of labour there. But in a territory so scantily supplied witli
European inhabitants, so apt to have its population in any
district rapidly increased, and also so apt to have its market for
goods affected by the unexpected arrival of a vessel, or any
like cause, one can scarcely speak of a fixed scale of wages of
labour, or of the price of commodities. It will hardly be a prac-
tical guide to people proposing to emigrate thither, to know that
in 1848 the wages of bakers were from 4s. to 6s. a day ; those of
bricklayers from Gs. to 8s.; and those of carpenters from Ts. to
10s. ; Avhile those of cabinetmakers were from Gs. to 7s. only ; and
on the other hand* those of blacksmiths- 'Generally one of the most
serviceable of all trades in a colony, were from 3s. to 58. The least
21
h'-i
i
m-i
f
H'
NEW ZEALAND.
vibration in the labour-market, caused by the influx of a few
ttirpenters, bricklayers, or other trades, might completely revola-
tiomse this scale. / »"*u
In the circular there is also a list of the prices of commodities.
It IS pretty clear that, unless in so far as manufactures happen to
bring a very different price in New Zealand from what the/bring
in the Australian colonies, it must be owing to conventional cir-
cumstances not likely to last-to inci/lontal circumstances, for the
moment enhMicmg or lowering the price. For instance, in this
list whde baize shu^s are quoted in Western Australia as from
68. to 68. each, they are in New Zealand from 10s. to 16s. Then
while strong boots are in Western Australia sold at 12s. to 168.'
per pair, the pnce m New Zealand is from 8s. to 10s. It is clear
that these prices, m the case of New Zealand at least, are tempo-
rary and capricious. ^
DISPOSAL OF LAND.
Since the cessation of the New Zealand Company, the method of
d«posmg of the lands of the colony may be considered in a state
of transition. It has been stated that the company superseded
the government m the southern colony in 1847, and that it
had Its own peculiar privileges in the disposal of land. On the
cessation of the company in 1850, the statutory rules, to be imme-
diately detailed, of course applied to the colony in general. But
the government market for land is liable to be disturbed by the
quant>iy thrown into the market by the private allottees, who have
never gone out to take their aUotments, or have been forced or
induced to part with them. The statements connected with the
history of the colony, wit*- the aborigines, &c. will let the reader
see m some measure the position of the land-question in New
Zealand; and it will be seen further on that the Otago and Can-
terbury settlements have their own special regulations
The statute of 1847 having repealed the Australian land-sales
act, m so far as it comprised New Zealand, left the crown, as
having at Its uncontroUed disposal the unappropriated lands, to
make such rules as the government should think fit for that pur-
pose. Accordingly a set of regulations on this subject, adhering
in general to the system of the waste-lands act, formed part of
the instructions transmitted to the colony with the charterf The
general spirit and object of these regulations will be inferred from
the narrative already given of the history of the New Zealand
Company, and the adjustment of the land-claims ; but those who
desire to see aU their specialties wiU find an abridmnpnf nf
iuem in a succeeding page. °
mm
DISPOSAL OP LAND.
f*
Eegulations for depasture and timber licences were issued in
August 1848 ; but they were withdrawn, and others substituted for
them, by proclamation of the governor- in-chief on the 2d Novem-
ber. By the regulations as so amended, the licence for a defined
run costs £5 ; that for depasture on common lands, 10s. 6d. The
yearly assessment for the animals depastured, payable in advance,
according to registered returns, is, for each head of great cattle,
including horned cattle, horses, mules, &c. 8d. ; for each head of
small cattle, including sheep, goats, and swine. Id. A person
desiring to occupy a defined run, having obtained from the sur-
veyor-general a certificate that the land belongs to the crown,
and is unoccupied, lodges it with the commissioner of crown
lands. If the run remains four months unused, it may be
claimed by another party. The occupation is not to interfere
with the crown's right to sell any part of the run ; and the pur-
chaser of any portion is entitled, in the neighbourhood of his
station, to pasturage for sixteen head of great and one hundred
head of small cattle, for each eighty acres of purchase. Runs
supposed to possess any peculiar value are to be let by public
auction. It is provided that ' every proper facility will be afforded
by the government to person.^ desirous of purchasing homesteads
on their runs, but it will not undertake to survey and offer for sale
any smaller block than fifty acres of land.'
There are special rules applicable to those tracts of land which
are within the limits of proclaimed hundreds. There the right of
pasturage is to be granted exclusively to occupants imder grants
of land within the hundred, and to the New Zealand Fencibles,
and the natives and half-castes, occupying lands by permission of
the government. In applying for the licence, which is renew-
able annually, and costs 10s. 6d., a return must be made of
the quantity of land held. A meeting of the licensed holders
in each hundred is to be held annually, for the election of
wardens to regulate the appointment of pasturing for the year
followin
Timbe. .—Persons occupying waste lands for the felling of tim-
ber pay a licence of £5. The district covered by a licence is
marked out by the commissioner of crown lands. No fresh appli-
cant for a licence is to be allowed injuriously to interfere with a
forest on which any other person has expended capital and labour,
and no one is to be allowed to cut or remove timber on the crown
lands reserved by government for the public use.
In the Report of the Emigration Commissioners for 1851, it is.
stated that a decision of the supreme court had made the ^m^*:
TiOusly uiisatiafaotory state of the larid-claims assume a still moi^ -
uncertain appearance, and that in consequence it became necessary
NEW ZEALAND. ,.
to pass an ' Ordinance for the quieting of titles,' which validates
all existing crown-grants in the northern province without excep-
tion. This will render the title secure to about 93,000 acres.
10 prevent injustice, it is provided that ' unsatisfied native claims
connected with the lands thus granted away shall, if brought
before the judge of the supreme court before the 1st of January
l»5d, be satisfied in the first instance out of the general revenue
ot the province, the compensation thus paid being made a charge
upon the land: that grants of a given quantity of land, to be
taken withm certain hmits, shall confer a right of selection within
those limits; but that where such selection may be impossible,
by reason of native claims, the grantee shaU be allowed compen-
sation out of other lands (not being town lands) which have been
put up to auction, but not sold ; competing claims to be disposed
ot by a committioner. ^
i I THE. ."NORTHERN SETTLEMENTS.
Beyond the belt of rich alluvial land which is more directly
connected with the Cook's Strait settlement in the east is New
riymouth, the garden of New Zealand. The whole of the middle
district of the Northern Island, except the bare tops of the highest
mountams, is said to be eminently productive. There is fine
agricultural land in the great valleys; but most of the hills are of
rounded outlines, and capable of cultivation when in distant ages
the plains and vaUeys become exhausted, while in the meantime
they will make ample pasture-ranges. From New Plymouth
along the west coast beyond Auckland, the country is compa-
ratively level, rising into downs and isolated hills; the district is in
general lightly wooded, and pronounced suitable for all ordinary
kinds of cultivation. From Kaipara to the North Cape the
island 18 narrow and mountainous, and the tracts applicable to
productive purposes are in a much more limited proportion than
mother parts of the island.
Auckland is the capital of New Zealand, at least so far as it has
been, irom the commencement of its colonisation, tlie seat of
government. But it has not been a popular emigration district,
and It is often remarked that less can be discovered regar.Iir- it
than about any other settlement. It contains about three tliiu-
sand inhabitants, and displays some public buildings, chi^n^y the
^vernnient offices of the .olony. The neighbourin;. dbtrict is
flftdulating, well watered, iuid in general stripped of th^.ber. The
town 18 the trading centre, so tar »« anv r^Un^ «o« hr /- -trh
there w so smaU a population on a territory as largo a. u;;cat
V-'.i
THE NORTHERN SETTLEMENTS.
Britain. There are statistical trading returns for Auckland, but
it is not easy to say how far they oontam matter likely to mfluenco
the position of the future emigrant.
This lias not been a popular district. The most distinct account
of its physical character which we have seen is in * The First
Annual Report of the Agi-icultural and Horticultural Society of
Auckland' (1843), and is as follows:— i
* The country in the district of Auckland is of that undulating
character which marks the lower series of the secondary sandstone
formations, with table-lands and corresponding valleys ; so that tho
sections formed by the shores of the estuaries and rivers which
indent it— the Waitemata, the Manukao, the Tamaki, and part of
the gulf of Hauraki— present a succession of argillaceous sandstone
cliffs of different heights, with intervening bays receding inland—
the country lying between these great estuaries varying in breadth
from 15 to 3, and at the portage of tlio Tamaki only three-fourths
of a mile, affords over its surface flats of considerable extent and
declivities practicable for agriculture, the bottoms being always occu-
pied by a small stream— generally bare of wood, or covered with
patches of small-sized trees suitable for fuel or fencing— and risino-
in gentle elevations to the mountain-ranges to the west and soutlf,
which are of a different geological formation, and are universally
covered with forests of gigantic trees.
* In various parts of the above-described tract, hills shoot up in
the form of truncated cones of various elevations, the highest about
500 feet, which are the remains of extinct volcanoes, each having
a well-defined crater and a base of some extent, covered with loose
fragments of vesicular lava and scoria, or immense masses of more
compact lava *• cropping out" at various points, the interstices, how-
ever, permitting the growth of a variety of shrubs and trees. The
whole of the above-mentioned country, with the exception of tho
volcanic land, is well watered by natural streams, and water can be
procured at all times in abundance by means of wells.
* About one-half of this district, consisting of undulating gi-ound,
is covered with fern and various shrubs, chiefly the tupaki, and
possesses a soil of a rich yellow clay mixed with sand and charred
vegetable matter, owing to the frequent burning of the fern, which,
when broken up and exposed to the air, soon pulverizes into a fine
rich loam, varying in depth from one to two feet, easily laboured ; but,
from the excellency of the subsoil, it may be cultivated to any depth
required. Tho subsoil consists of a red and yellow clay, mixed with
ferruginous sand. The substratum is formed of a soft blue and
yellow argillaceous sandstone.
* One-fourth of the district presents a more level surface, being
covered with dwarf manuka, fern, and a variety of small shrubs and^
tufts of grass. Its soil consists of a whitish clay mixed with sandj^
more adhesive than the former, yet, when broken up and exposed^
soon pulverizes ; the 8ubso>: white clay and red ferruginous sand,
25
4
ii'lir i ffi' i ill i Ti i ii ii i l Mi i iAl ligS
¥l
NEW ZEALAND.
tl,I^f!l!I^'"*i°^"^ ^°"''*'' ""^y ^« considered different from either of
the former, being generally situated near the volcanic huL of f
Sfe'soil""^^- '.•'' :ally portion being covered w^Uf^rn and grl
The soil consisting of a dry red volcanic formation to a great dS'
the reater part covered with scoria, and where it is Slv on %
surface the soil is a rich red loam/very fertile another nornln
covered with trees and shrubs, she'ws aMch mouW o a volcank
nature to a depth of several feet, mixed with red sand Ld «m?n
calcined stones, resting upon a substratum of concrete Ano'hei
small portion lying along the banks of fresh-water creeks coverod
with evergreens and tree-ferns, affords a rich friable claVmrxed
v.ith ferruginous sand, resting on a substratum of a soft yJuow^d
red ferrugmous sandstone. yeuow ana
tu2l iVh"' "''''? T^.*"' * ^^"^'^ °^'°"« ^^« «ffereJ to the apricul-
1171 aaapted to some particula production, and favouriwe
to some peculiar mode of agriculture.' lavouraDie
' , o^^ '^yrom Power, a son of the actor of that name in li{«
Sketches of New Zealand,' already cited, gave the fdlowW
unprepossessmg account of Auckland:-' A beggarly couSf
of poverty-stricken huts and wooden houses, without^a^Hf h"
bustle and briskness that betokens business and prosperity.' And
as to Its neighbourhood--' The surrounding country is baien^d
Kiri^^^' ^'/°""^n '' ^r '°"^S ^"^« covered with fe^
Mount Lden, and one or two other black, scoria-covered hills are
A return is contained in the parliamentary papers on Few
Zealand for 1850, of the exports from Auckland in the five yZ
from 1844 to 1848 inclusive. With a steady advance L lome
articles, there is a decrease in two considerable items -Kauri
gum aiid copper ore. Of the former, the exports in 1845 were
estimated at £12,847, and in 1847, £141. The copper orTof
1846 was valued at £22,180, and tkr^ of 1848 at £500 It
appears, as to the former, that its value had been much exag-
gerated, and that the copper ore, from the quantity of sulph^
contained m it, was not a safe stowage. The other exports we^
grain, timber, flax bark; whalebone, oil, and other produce o7Z
whale-fishery; hides, salted butcher-meat, wool, ropes, and curio!
sities. Ihe exports of timber had increased considerably-the
amount m 1844 being £346, and in 1848, £7604. The bar ev
*?Sr'Ao7n ^ri^^^ ""^'^ ^* ^^^7^5 ^ 1847, at £943; and in
1848 at £270. The wool-trade had, up to 1848, ^hewn but triflii^^
results producing m 1846, £822 ; 1847, £627 ; and in 1848, £42lT
Off" oucwn lu nave been — ^m lb44, £3037* in
! J s
I I
as the first-
om either of
ic hills of a
n and grass,
great depth,
only on the
her portion,
f a volcanic
1 and small
B. Another
ks, covered
clay, mixed
yellow and
the agricul-
favourable
me, in his
i following
■ collection
any of the
rity.' And
barren and
with fern,
d hills, are
i landscape
3 on New
five y.a/8
e in some
s — Kauri
1845 were
)er ore of
£500. It
iich exag-
•f sulphur
torts were
ace of the
md curio-
ibly— the
lie barley
3 ; and in
lit trifling
48, £421.
3037; in
THE NORTHEEN SETTLEMENTS. <(
1845, £27,239 ; in 1846, £40,087 ; in 1847, £12,670 ; and in 1848,
£15,0l 16.
New Plymouth.— ThiB small agricultural settlement, the native
name of which is Taranaki, is on the west coast of the North
Island, just where the coast trends eastward, after the broad head-
land, called Cape Egmont, formed by the sudden turn of the long
semicu-cular sweep from Cook's Strait. It is in latitude 39° 1'
south, and longitude, 174° 15' east. By sea, it is 180 miles from
Wellmgton, 150 from Nelson, and 120 from the nearest harbour
to Auckland. This was one of the earliest proposed settlement*
of the New Zealand Company, havmg been the object of an
arrangement by Colonel Wakefield in 1839. The land-claims
connected with it were the most difficult and perplexed of all-
and conflicting views kept the poor colony far behind the pro-'
gress It would naturally have attained. As in the instance of
Port Nicholson, there was a question between conqueror and
conquered. The owners were the Ngatiawa, who were attacked
by the Waikato under the powerful chief Te Where Whero, by
whom they were driven into exile, enslaved, or put to death. The
conquerors do not seem to have occupied the territory, and the
New Zealand Company had to deal only with a small number of
natives, whose claims were very modest. Subsequently, however,
two opposite parties urged their claims— Te Whero Whero by
right of conquest, and the fugitives whom he had driven forth.
Settlers had arrived in 1841, and were proceeding with the occu-
pation and cultivation of then: allotments, when the question of
theur title was thus provokingly opened up. Mr Commissioner
Spain, as referred to, awarded the company 60,000 acres of the
70,000 which they claimed. This was disallowed by Governor
Fitzroy, who, on the ground that all who had latent rights
had not been made parties to the sale, restored nearly the whole
land to the natives. Thus the settlement was for the time
paralysed; a few only of the colonists remained, and compen-
^tion had to be made to others deprived of then: holdings.
Su: George Grey at last turned his endeavours to the restoration
^>f New Plymouth. To force the natives to abandon what
had been named as theirs by the highest authority was of
course out of the question; but it was not difficult to satisfy
them of the policy of disposing of their claims for a reasonable
compensation. It was seen that the new arrangement was
nghtly sanctioned, and that there should now be no mistake about
the absolute character of the purchase. When Mr Hursthouse
wrote his account of New Plymouth in 1849, the 60,000 acret
were agam considered virtually avaUable, and the colony was
lioarishiug. Though projected on a small scale, it will probably
27
t
J !
I !
• KEW ZEALAND.
ramify itself into other fruitful districts when the 60,000 acres
have been absorbed in cultivation. To a population of 1137, Mr
Hursthouse gives the following account of the land in cultivation •
■—Wheat, 766i acres; hn ' , : >H do. ; oats, 108J do. ; potatoes^
167i ao. ; turnips, 79 oo. ; . , o, 5 do. ; maize, U do. ; hops, 1 do. ;
grass, 267 do. ; falluy, 85 J •. , gardens, 45 do. ; native clearings,
estimated at 450 do. ; in all, 2103? do. He gives the . e-stock as
follows :— Cattle, 726 ; horses, 48 ; sheep, 898 ; goats, 177. This
includes a small number of each possessed by natives, who besides
own a large number of pigs.
This little settlement, now contatr-n^ .<ibout 2000 inhabitants,
since Its recovery from the convulsions of the land question, has
been considered a very suitable place for men of small capital and
frugal habits, or for those who, having nothing but their labour
to go forth with, desire an opportunity of gradually raising
their condition. Mr Hursthouse gives the following statement
of the possessions of sixty-nine emigrants, chiefly agricultural
labourers, whose average possessions, on their landing, he sup-
poses to have been about £5 per head: -312 J acres of wheat,
barley, and oats; 10 do. turnips; 80| do. potatoes; 46 do. grass;
97 head of cattle; 143 pigs; 27 goats; 59 houses; 238.? acres of
cultivated land ; ISO acres of wild land.
Of the climate, and its effects on health and vitality, Mr
Hursthouse tells us —
'From the remarkable equality of the climate of this settlement, it
is impossible to define the seasons with accuracy : the coldest and
wettest months are June, July, and August ; the warmest and driest,
January, February, and March Snow is never seen exr T)t
around Mount Egmont; ice is occasiounlly observed in the July
mornings, but soon disappears under a brilliant sun, like that of an
English September. The warmest weather is refreshed by sea-
breezes, and the nights are invariably cool. Although the winter
months are wet, and showers frequent through the greater part of
the year, yet from the lightness of the soil, and the dryness and elas-
ticity of the atmosphere prevailing in the f.ne weather, the climate ia
not felt to be damp. Fogs and mists are unknown ; there are no
hurricanes ; and thunder-storms are neither so frequent nor sovero
as even in England This climate, as might bo expected, is
higldy salubrious. The children born here are considered by their
mothers to be remarkably fine ; and making all due allowance for
maternal hyperbole, thjy certainly promise to be a large and robust
race. By the census cf 1847, the population was 1137 ; the births
that year, and in 1846, when the census was 1089, amounted jointly
to 104 — the deaths to 14, two of which were accidental ; yet in 1847
fever and hooping-cough were introduced into the settlement from
Auckland. This shews the annual ratio of buths to be 1 in 18; of
iO,000 acreii
>f 1137, Mr
cultivation :
. ; potatoes,
liops, 1 do. ;
clearings,
■e-8tock as
177. This
ivho besides
inhabitants,
lestion, has
capital and
heir labour
illy raising
: statement
»gricultural
g, he sup-
i of wheat,
• do. grass ;
8^ acres of
tality, Mr
ttlemcnt, it
coldest and
and driest,
een exf >pt
n the July
that of an
3d by sea-
the winter
iter part of
is and elas-
: climate ^s
ere are no
nor spvere
xpected, is
id by their
)wance for
and robust
the births
ted jointly
^et in 1847
nient from
I in 18; of
THE NORTHERN 8ETTLEMENTS. i
*ThiV if ^f^' ^H'ZT '" ^"»'»"** *''° l>i'-ths are 1 in about 32
The character of the country Is a fern-land, with a vast rich
forest background, exhibiting almost every var ety of trleknown
over Xsr"'' 'T'' ^" *^' «'^P«^ '' *'- mountain. Wbg
Som 9rLt h-T' rr' ^-o.-<^-md summit of Mounf
thrislands T.' l^' ?"^ ^/ T^"*' '^'^ '"S»'Ost mountain in
belSf 'V 'S*'*'?"" ^^ *'^' ^^^^'^ scenery is desr-ribed as
beautifuUy rich and undulating. Punning water is abundant
B?rubs?nd':m r ',? ^T'f.'^'''^ ™^"' beautify t^ertg
ThlT- w u ^, ''^''^'■' *^*® ^^^^^**« a"d brilliant fuschia, while
On tt ^^ *^.- ""^ ^''^' ^"Sht blue parroquets and singing-bird
On the productive capabilities of the soil Mr Ilursthouse sfys-~
rather surprising. Almost on the beach, within s?xty yards^ hiX
water mark, some early emigrants fomed a few ro^uT ^ardLn^^
mavsee'mt'rnV'JM^?' '''^' of vegetables ; and sfranfe tS
hZ 11 v.f • "/f '' *^''™''''' "P'"^'"^« «f «'xt«en bushels of wheat
*The second division, adjoining this, is a tract of rrreat oTnnf
bXaVjd :tr»""/^ ^'^'"'^ '^°' high, intermixed wTh'asm'u
bush cal ed tutu," and a species of tall grass called « toi-toi" tL
Z^! r ^^n'^^° decomposition of Lm sevei tlten inches
matted together by the fern-root, with a light, yellow subsoU of
Th7nSf'"\tP'''^°'""^'^''-^« ^^-"^ Btonesfshdstgrrv^^^^^^^^
ttt?hTcir 5i7 "'"" ^'^'^ ^""^' ^"** '^ -^y '>«'« be ;bserv?d
t fntli ^'ff^;'^'"ce, as respects the cultivation of this soil and
niie thtr?r''- *^^^^^.^'^r«« ™or<^ e^^Posure before cropping.
anA V J r^'""? '^ "'^ •^"'h' o^ forest-land, which joins the fern
mifes from' tT^" ''^ '""."'^^ ^" " '''''''' '^^'^^^ ^'-^ two to fi™'
n erior Thi. «nil -^^ '"''^ ^ considerable distance back into the
fern and T m '" ^PP'^^ranco resembles the second description of
fern-land, but turns up q„.te mellow, and fit for cropping at once.'
hnndr'pS r'' '^l^'^^^'^JS in the settlement amount to about seven
Irf.vi'^'g.^;!..^^^ well-constructed pahs, and cultivating
" '" "' "^^ "«»ureu acres oi iaiiU. They are described as a
" 29
•II
■*i»*
I
r
!
4'
i
li I t : I
iiii
*• MBW ZEALAND.
ci^, worthy, well-meaning set of people, tolerably induatrioui,
and m thig re§pect useful neighbours to the eettlera.
Away from the small block of cultivable land there sfretch
various grassy plains, the nature and extent of which is as yet but
little known. The settlement does not yet press in the direction
of sheep-walks or cattle-runs, nor is it likely, while other parts of
these islands and the plains of Australia hold out higher imme-
diate temptations, to be sought by the lordly owners of great flocks
and herds. It is as yet essentially a small agricultural settlement:
and from the same author from whom we have already so largely
quoted, we take the following account of the actual effect of the
agricultural operations heretofore conducted. Commencing with
the statement that ' wheat is a certain crop, not subject to rust
mUdew, or the attack of any insect,' he then proceeds to say— '
* Fern-lands apparently alike in every respect have varied in yield
the same season as much as twenty bushels per acre— a difference
attributable to bad preparation and premature cropping Small
cultivators have not always been able to farm properly ; and others.
unUl lately, have not been fully convinced that fern-land pays best
when thoroughly worked atjirst, aa in the manner before described
The most practical men are of opinion that when this is done, the
general average yield of wheat in this district will be from thirty to
thirty-five bushels per acre. The heaviest crop that has yet been
obtained on any largo piece was 448 bushels from eight acres, equal
to fifty -SIX bushels per acre; sixty bushels have occasionally been
obtained on small pieces; and in one instance it is said that the first
crop on an acre of bush-land sown with four pecks was nearly eiehtv
bushels of clean wheat. [The last statement is very doubtful 1
'From the apparent nature of the soil, it was expected that barlev
would succeed even better than wheat: it has, however, been found
inferior both m yield and quality; and if the common crops were
placed in the order in which they have answered best, they would
stand nearly as follows :-Wheat, say 3 ; potatoes, 2|; barley and
oats, 2. As wheat, however, has been grown in the proportion of
eighteen to three of barley, and eighteen to two of oats, the latter
have scarcely had a fair trial. Three to four bushels per acre more
of wheat would be obtained if the operations of harvestinij. thrash-
ing, and dressing, were better performed; and in estimating the
agricultural capabilities of this district by the present yield of crons
It should be remembered that if farming were conducted with that '
practical Imowledge, skill, and attention required in England, the
douM°" ^^-tenally increased; in some cases perhaps almost
The notices of the iron-sand, and the fruitfulness of the soil in
which xt IS found, are curious, and seem to point to some new
agency for stimulating the vegetative powers of organic matter.
After observing that barley and oats have been little attfindpH
i I
Wc
induatriouSy
lere sfretch
8 as yet but
le direction
her parts of
5her itnme-
great flocks
settlement;
^ so largely
ifFect of the
Bncing with
set to rusty
to say —
•iod iu yield
a difference
ng. Small
and others^
I pays best
I described.
i done, the
>m thirty to
a yet been
^res, equal
)naliy been
lat the iirst
larly eighty
tfti!,]
that barley
)een found
crops wore
ihey would
)arjey and
portion of
the latter
acre more
ng, thrash-
lating the
i of crops, ,
with that
igland, the
tps almost
fiC soil in
iome new
ic matter.
attf>ndp.«1
THE NORTHERN SETTLEMENTS.
to, and are supposed to be liable to attacks by caterpillars, Mr
Hursthouse contmues— ^ '
'Mai«o grows luxurianUy on bu.h-land, and the natives raise it in
warm spoU.; but the climate of this district, like that of Van
Diemon's Land, .8 not sufficiently hot to ripen maize asageneS
crop. Cobbott;8 corn, however, succeeds remarkably well; under
garden cultivation it has yielded nearly a bushel of shelled corn to
a rod. It would bo an excellent first crop on bush-land
•! otatoes are a certain crop ; not subject to disease, nor, if planted
u proper time, to the attack of any insect. On bush-land they attain
a great s.zo, but are not so good in quality as those grown on fern
Tlan. /'^ ^niarkably dry and mealy. The early sorts should be
planted m August.- the later, for a general crop, in September or
early m October. On fern-land, without manure, about sk tons p^r
acre are considered a fair crop ; but bush-land will produce from Wn
nn *1! ««. , "t ^^t'-'^ordinary potato-plant once grew in a garden
on tho "Black Iron-sand j" in size, the haulm and top resembled
some bushy shrub rather than a potato. It was taken up TZ
lTrjlu\T'""'^'f/^''' '"b«"> carefully counted, numbered
-i4V, ot Which 170 were of fair cooking size.
•Turnips have not been extensively grown. The middle of
October 18 the best time for sowing, although a fair crop has been
LeTnl-H '"/'''^"'I.^'*'" ^ Christmas f twenty tons per acre
are considered about tho average yield. Turnips, like all other
roots grown here, are of excellent quality, and specimens of Swede,
weighing thirty pounds are not uncommon.
'Beans, peas, cabbages, parsnips, carrots, and onions, have been
grown chiefly as garden vegetables; but from the luxuriance of
their growth, some of them may become rotation crops. Parsnins
and carrots yield most abundantly, and nearly 300 lbs. of onions have
been obtained from three-quarters of a rod of the black sandy soU
near the beach. ^
'About three years ago, some interest was excited by an attempt
to introduce the cultivation of English flax. From some experiments
tried chiefly by Mr Flight, a gentleman conversant with the subject
It appeared probable that the soil and climate of the Taranaki dis-
trict would be found well suited to the production of this important
article; and a sample was sent to Messrs Marshall, the Leeds flax-
spinners, and to a Dorsetshire house, whose report of its quality was
considered favourable. Seed was imported, but owing chiefly to the
want of capital, and to tho then unsettled state of the land question
none of it was sown, and the subject has not since been revived
About 260 acres have been laid down in grass; chiefly white
clover and rye-graas mixed, other varieties not having been {jenerally
obtainable: grass seeds are best sown in March. The white clover
IS very luxuriant, and by banks and road-sides, from farm to farm .
18 gradually spreading over the country. For pastoral purposes
however, the district adjoining the present southern boundary of
-.«e setUeiucat, extending sixiy mUes aiong the coast, is one of the
31
NEW ZEALAND.
S!l^*i" New Zealand, and as capable of supplying chean workin,.
sTuiIpT ^.'"°'' ^'*'"*'^^^ appendage to L pvesenfc^aStura
c?t nh^n f ^^^K^'^^'^'Pr'*'^ '^^ ^'^'^-'^t i« »>«"er adapted ?or
cattle than for sheep, or rather for cattle first. The rouehest IrS
entirervT:? "^ '"?."' f'"^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^e depasturing of catlt^s
extenL^anH "^^ »t« character. The fern is destroyed to some
13." Ll^^^^^^ '^^r- finer, and w^hite clo'ver so^
been roSetrertr;^^^^^^ .^It? Tt .^''^^t '^^
t:lzr^r''^' ^^^^^.z ^z^.^^z
seldom affects them more than once or twice, and the actua lo^
remedy; but quick bleeding has been found very eScbus Sh«ln
are never attacked by the «flv" arA ft. Jl r ?u ° "''^P
Hurs house on the different capabilities of the soils afteTtw^
years' farther knowledge. It is conveyed in a letier of 2oTh
November 185^ addressed to Mr Earp, and publi^d n the tWd
edition of his Hand-Book of New Zealand. The remarks on the
bush-land appear to be particularly valuable.
« It appears, then that there are even now several thousand acres
of bush-land open for selection, and that, too, surroundinnndwS
from two to six miles of the actual town It shonli 1^1
jnind that what is called « bush-land -rnl^^^wPl^^^^^^^^^^^ dSe"
from much of the heavily-timbered lands in New Sa^d-such fo^
nstance as the valley of the Hutt near Wellington-tL Z^dZ
growth. It has long been known to the Now Plymouth settlers M,ol
W t'""^- " :°»^f»"3^ fertile, far more Lr fL thin fe t
land. But owing to the greaterfirstcostofclearin.it and to th„
^^Zr^'T'. ''^^) *^"^"^^^ ^^^^"'•^r^ -nd cultivatoi^ tave for
thg famihar plough and harrow over the axe and the saw bush W
pLT:fmvmtr^''''r^r '^^^^^ ^^«^-^^« «!' fern-Lnd '^^^
ziZTz:^:^^-^ '^- cuitiva^L^r sr.^j
cultivation ^f hthV^^/"' ^j P''""^^"^^ '^^^P*^^ *<> ^^^ clearing and
Tv^rd^ In t:t'' Lt-- "^"^^ ^^'^-^ K- become, L is
- go' "vvOi„„,^r, iuore avaiiawe, i consider the
THE MIDDLE SETTLEMENTS, OR COOK'S STRAIT.
»
relative merits and advantages of bush -land to be consequently
greater than they were two years ago, and that the cost per acre of
clearing and cultivating it is decreasing, and will decrease in a
greater ratio than the cost of clearing fern-land. *
' With respect to wheat, however, which has hitherto been the
staple crop of the settlement, although it could be produced at a
remunferating rate on bush-land, I believe that it would still be pro-
duced cheaper on fern. But wheat is only one of many crops which
the soil and climate of New Plymouth would produce. Flour is
only one of many exports which wou'd find a good market.
' This bush-land is admirably adapted to the production of many
important articles besides wheat, far more so, in fact, tlian fern-land
Among them may be enumerated hops, tobacco, fruits, cider, oil.
seeds, hemp, and flax; butter, cheese, hams, and bacon ; whilst from
the extraordinary fineness and luxuriance of its artificial pasturage
It may be questioned whether fine-wool shf>ep could not be kept upon
It with advantage—for the risks, losses, and expenses attendant on
the care and management of sheep would be less on what mav
be termed the "near-field system," than on the distant, exposed.
** stock-station" plan followed in Australia.
•Emigrants, as a general rule, toill take too much land; but if a
person settling in New Plymouth with, say a couple of hundred
pounds, would be content to purchase and cultivate one of the
twenty-five acre bush-sections, he would, I conceive, be almost certain
to realise a greater profit than if he took fifty acres of fern In
sliort, for emigrants of limited means, farmers* eons, and small
yeomen, working-men with a little monoy-the pith, bone, and sinew
ot a settlement— these little twenty-five acre freeholds of bus»--laiid
are admirably adapted.' .
THE MIDDLE SETTLEMENTS, OR COOK'S STRAIT.
WdUngton is generally considered the centre of the middle dis-
tricts, as exceedmg the other settlements round Port Nicholson. It
13 described as a town beautifully situated, with neat clean painted
brick and timber houses, and in the vicinity of beautiful stretches
of forest-land. Near it is a large district of table-land, and the
fruitful valley of the Hutt. Mr Eai-p says—
* The valley of the Hutt extends from the harbour of Port Nichol-
son to the Tararua mountains, a distance of about fifty miles Ti?e
land stretching on both sides of tlie river is of extraordinary fertilitv
arising from the periodical overflowings of the river, and the rich
deposit left on its retirement to its natural bed. This rise of the
waters of the river was the cause of the removal of the principal
town of the settlement to its present 3ito. Not having been fore-
seen. tniR wflii fhn naiica nP co»:»..n ±^ .. « ~
lar as the location for a town was concerned. In an agricultural
33
MHOi
. i
r
NEW ZEALAND.
point Of View, this is of the highest importance to the agriculturist •
wid happy 18 he who haa been lucky enough to obtain a section
S tion* ' "^"^^ ""^^^^ ^''^''' *^^'*»®' ^°' flooding or
' Of the rural districts bordering upon the town little need be said.
J lie for the most part between Wellington and Porirua, those
scattered around the shores of the latter harbour being the most
lertUe. The remainder of the sections, in the immediate vicinity of
VVellmgton, consist of flat table-lands, through which never-faiW
streams run m every direction towards the coast. Many of the
sections in this district occupy the valleys at the foot of hills which
ftt?- * « ""u^""*^^ '"^ '^^^ ^^°*^« &^^«» 0"*' and which are there-
lore waste. Such sections are considered valuable, from the extent
o sheep and cattle runs which they thus aff-ord. But it is probable
Ibout Z rf "*i-' w"n-""f *° u^ ^^'^- ^"^'^ ^' h^ been said
about the hills of Wellington, there are few which, when cleared,
are not cu tiyatable to the summits- the land there, as in the case
ot the table-Iands alluded to, being of the finest quality, whilst the
valleys filled with the debris of the hills, are fertility itself. It
would have been folly, however, to have given hill-land as sections/
whilst there was plenty of flat land for the purpose. ...
The amount of available land in immediate connection* with
weiangton is limited, not amounting to more than 30,000 or 40,000
Tfu' Hr ^ '® distance of forty miles north-east is the fine valley
ot the V^airarapa, containing about 300,000 acres of excellent laiid
mted tor both pasturage and agriculture. At about the same dis-
tance west of Wellington commences an extensive country at
wa*kanai,.gradually widening to Wanganui, 120 miles from Welling-
ton, and presenting an extent of perfectly level land, estimated at
upwards of a million acres, the greater portion of which is excellent
arable land, and nearly the whole is covered with abundant pasture,
ihis district is now being connected with Wellington by the military
road, already available the whole way for horses, and for two-thiri^
oi the way forming a good carriage-road.
* The Wairau plains also, on the other side of Cook's Strait, though
nominal y connected with Nelson, are in reality an appendage of
Wellington, being much more accessible from the latter port, to
which^the settlers of Wellington already resort for a market.'-
{JJand-J3ook/or New Zealand, pp. 33, 34.)
There is here a branch of the Union Bank of Australia a
favmgs bank, mechanics' institute, a horticultural society, and
other elements of a somewhat advanced state of social life The
European population of the district had exceeded 6000, in 1849
and the means of worship were more or less supplied for members
of the English establishment, Presbyterians, Koman Catholics.
Wesleyans, and Congregationalists. The attention of thio settle-
ment has been turned less to pasture and agriculture than to com-
sisrce asu t«e -.vbale-iiBhery. it was one of the most popular
THE MIDDLE SETTLEMENTS, OR COOK's STKAIT.
settlements when the NewZealand Comnanvwaa m fi,« „» j
Having been readUy purchased, grrpCTuTst^HtTsTf
absen ee speculators, and thus the settlers in this dTstri;* Sad
of endeavounng to obtain an original allotment, will have to d?al
with a proprietor either at home or in the colony
- hJ^''^''/^'.^^'^^"'^^ operations, considerable enterprise has
been developed m mdustrial operations in this district Flo..?
saw. and flax mills have been here established llTng wuH
on Newtatnd^a/s-l ''"' ''^'"" ^' '^^ ^^"^^^^ ^"^^ ^-^
« The total quantity of land in cultivation in 1848 was 2118 aor^^
the general occupation being the breedinc. of stTorfnr . i
cultivation is necessary the^natural pSres S^nexWiht"
Li consequence of the ready n.arket for cattle! and the SprS^^^^^^
labour, a comparative neglect of rendering /and amble w^ to hi
cultivation of the soil will rapidlv extend ^-^^^^^ '°""'^''^' '^^
heUof rktdV,^i"°°l' '° ^"""S'™ ■■» 1848 was about 50,000
em^rated to New Zealand with their stock ; the Sydney merchant!
al having engaged in New Zealand stock trade to a K extent
period, 672, or about one horse to every ten persons. .
Ihe number of manufactories already established in'th^ province
18 as follows :_six breweries, two brickyards, one candle ^11?^
waYks Iwot1-"^1'""'' "" ''^^^^^-Sek one' flax ^iirfour rot:
walks, two sacking- ooms, seven flour-mills, two of which are worked
d::Zl ''"" ''''' ""' "°^' '''''' ^°- tanneries,and nTneZber
•The total number of vessels owned in Wellington is seventv-six.
the lotonv Oft' "''' ''^ "^^^^^^ '' ^^«' '^^ been Su^^t S
ehher said ^v fhT' T"""' ^^\*J^« P^operty of natives, and are
oHpr/T. * f , "u*'"'®'' **"■ ^y Europeans acting under their
wl n 1848%2?l"T''' of buildings in Wellington a^nd its vicSfty
Z^.l ;-r ^22, exclusive of native habitations. Many of these are
substantial erections of stone and brick, but the major ty are o?
Z f~ /' ^''T? u* ^*^°"''*« "'^^^^^l f«r houses, notwitKst^dini
febrio^' '''' '''"'^ ^°" ^^'^' ^^^ *^« «^^''"«" of more Trablf
Tiie chief exports are flax, wool, and the produce of the whale-
35
NEW ZEALAND.
fishery. The amount of wool appears to have pretty rapidlT
mcreased. In agriculture, however, the settlement h^d shewJ
Its backwardness by the unportation of a considerable quantity of
gram. Eastward of Wellington lies the long valley of Wairara,pa
unknown to the original settlers, but calculated to supply the
demands of an extensive emigi-ation. It contains about half a
million acres of plain and down, while the sides of the mountain-
ranges which bound it are said to be capaLle of supplying valuable
pasture-ranges when these have been exhausted. The New Zea-
land Company s agent, in a report to the directors, stated—
'Of the level country there appears to be about 80 000 acres of
rnuka\c"tf^ timbered with /otara, Matahl, MlrKal^^^^^^^
^rislsVof'onlf ^^''^ '' particularly good; about 200.000
toUoi 1 f lov 1 f ^ •"'^ fvered with grass, fern, anise, flax, and
toi-oi, the level land is intersected by several swamps but thev
ofT«^, 1 ''.^"^^ '' "* 8^^"^'"^^ «^^y«y and gravelly, but some
of the plams .re of a very good soil. The undullting hl^d consTts
ttoly//''''' "' '"'^ '^"'^- ^' "'« ^^"^••^'•n «nd of the valTeyt^
«Ln 'f l*""'"^ ^" ^'^^ ""^ ^^°"^ ^<^.000 acres, but they ai-e so
shallow as to be comparatively useless : there is no entrance s^eaTvard
Z:ZZ,T::1 ^^°7^^^r ^-;^ -^' -^ ^^mg surrounde/by'
disTnct «i?!l' "i'^^' ^? ^''''^^^ ^"'^ "'''"^ P^''*^' ««<^^ possessing its
«t« »ni ^1? ^ ^'' •^''^f ^^^rs: the lowest part, or that nearest the
sea, and the western side of the lakes, is mostly swampy, and is
which the stations are formed, consists chiefly of grass-land • the
lower ground near the river consists of the woodland p^viouslv
described. Beyond these, in what may be termed the vaUey orthe
Upper Wairarapa (by far the larger division of the disS). Ltre
are magnificent grassy plains, the soil of which is of the richest
streams. This district is easily connected with the plains of Ahuriri
which, at a moderate estimate, comprise an area of 500 square mi es
Mr Tifen, the surveyor of the company, reported that the district
was abundantly watered ; and at the same time that there were on
It unavailable swamps, rocky spots, and large patches of timber.
Of the grassy plains he said—
' Some of these contain upwards of 10,000 acres of perfectly level
land, where good grasses are growing us luxuriantly, and nearly^
close m the sward as in English meadows. Their p;;sent ZXa^
IS the absence of natural drainage; f«r on cro8si4 three of these
plains, I found the substratum to be of conglomerate so perfectly
»»i^rvxOug, liiai X leci eatifefieU they wiii prove unfit for '
I .. |:
8$
any tiling
tty rapidly
had shewn
quantity of
Wairarapa,
supply the
)out half a
I mountain-
ig valuable
New Zea-
ed—
00 acres of
^ahaikatca,
)ut 200,000
e, flax, and
;, but they
and in the
, but some
ud consists
valley ai*e
Iioy are so
!e seaward,
}uuded by
sossing ita
learest the
jy, and is
a side, on
[and; the
M'oviously
ley of the
ict), there
ie richest
numerous
f Aliuriri,
are miles
tion with
e district
! were on
r timber.
;tly level
learly as
Ira >v back
of these
perfectly
anything
THE Middle settlements, or cook's strait.
else but grass, or other plants requiring but a few inches' depth of
moidd for their support. At Huaugarua, and ag.nn at Waingowu,
this 18 particularly apparent. At the extreme edge of those plains
caves have been formed, the roofs being of couglouierato, whicli pro-
jects five or six feet, the earth having crumbled away."
^ Nelwn.—AR Wellington in the north, so Nelson on the south
side of Cook's Strait, is the centre or capital of an agglomeration
of small settlements. It is at the head of the great inlet called
Blind Bay; and the districts connected with it ramify towards
Massacre Bay on the west, and Cloudy Bay on the east, where the
great Wairau plain and river meet the sea. The foUowiug account
of the lands belonging to the settlement is taken from Mr Earp's
work. The first paragraph relates to Massacre Bay :—
• The district is a v«ry pretty one ; the greater portion heavily
timbered, and the lanu extremely good. Coal and lime exist, isi i^
both accessible at the surface on the bank of a small river (the Mc-
tupipi), in which they can at once be put on board vessels of fifteen
or twenty tons' burden. Of tlie two sections known to a certainty to
co'ttain these minerals, one, on which they have been already worked,
became the private property of the company at the selection of rural
lands ; the other belongs to Major Baker of Wellington. The gross
amount of level land in this bay is estimated at 45,000 acres, of which
at least 25,000 are fit for agriculture. The greater part of it had been
surveyed for rural sections, and a considerable ii unbcr were selected
there, generally with medium orders of choice.
♦Blind Bay contains about 60,000 acres of land sufficiently level for
agriculture; but not above one-half of this is of a quality adapted for
that purpose. It is generally free from timber, but covered with
fern ; and in the swampy parts, forming a margin half a mile deep
on the south and east, near the sea, with flax. The latter description
f land was considered, at the period of the originai selectioa of
suburban sections, as nearly worthless ; much of it was selected for
the very latest orders ; and some considerable portions, though only a
few miles from the town, were left out of the suburban surveys alto-
gether. It has now, however, proved to be the best land in the dis-
tri 3t, is easily drained and cleared, and bears very iieavy crops.
The fern-land is also good when the fern grows strong and hi<4i ;
though, when the vegetation is stunted, it of course indicates a poor
soil. But on some fern-land, cultivated on a large sca!e, froi" thirty
to thirty-five bushel. 'leat per acre have been grown witliout
manure, proving th , ii ( aiy requires pro?>:. culture to make it j^ood
land
'A purely fern district at first affords little or no pasturage for
cattle or sheep; scarcely even goats will live upon it. in Blind r^y^
however, there has always been some grass ; and as the stock have
increased, the grass increased also in a wond^irful degree, so that it
^X
C0::S!dcniL;-.5 ^UiUility.
i.t iiUci
cen owmg m great degree to the semi-pastoral rature of tise district,
37
NEW ZEALAND.
. Yidth of two or three n^U% equ^ Xolw h tftlT?''«='' •;
extending from forty to « ftv mil™ furthl i^^ 5 ™ P'"" ke'o". and
level or Ly, in b general desoiption^t/^'S^^ ''■^''f^
considerable bnt n-adml fi.1] fj™ Ti, u j *. °''™™ ""^T
probably notlel^SsO^ftefrflfly^^^^^^^^ «<> ""> '^
to the traveller. The l«nH fnr f„ ^ ? i but it is not perceptible
covered ^ii>^f:^^i^L^\tZgV2^'''r ""' ^M'
awaaipy, but of excellent nn.,^;*./ „^ vegetation, and is generally
in BliS Bay. of e2 dmin^e K ^PParently/like that
tremity there are a few miles of fotT \?^j \. ^* '^^ ^^""^^ ex-
(chiefly in the valley) Tre very Sv ^^.^l^f P°r^»<>°« o^the district
surveys, and have nVvalue eLe^r pt^^^^ ''''
finest sheep-runs in the wo5d rd fxteL „tl f^™' ""'"^ "' "">
«o.t by Cape CampbelLand il^^rd"^ ^l ^£ ^„*»^-;
«ttlement was from the beginning «ver«to4ed 4 tb„ » Y^
small seems to have a healthy tendency. From 1843 to^fii^ S
imports fell from £28 8fi7 frff^nao un i ^ ^°^^' *"®
£629 to £9819 T« iflio i ^^' '^^'^'' ^^"® ^^P^rts rose from
vlt w ii^ ^° J^fl*^^. «^P^rts exceeded those of previo^
as
louorthig particulars as to the induftrial
THE MIDDLE SETTLEMENTS, OR COOK'S STKAIT.
statistics of this district are extracted from a recent report by Mr
Bell, agent of the New Zealand Company: —
•The immigration that recommenced to this settlement upon the
completion of the arrangement between Her Majesty's government and
the company in 1847, and the births since that time, have added more
than 600 souls to the European population of Nelson since the date
of the last returns in my predecessor's report of July 1848; the total
number of Europeans and natives at the end of 1848 being 4780.
Had the re-emigration of 1000 people not taken place in the years
previous to 1847, there would have been at iiis time a European
population of^4500, or a total population, counting natives, of nearly
6000 souls. Tliei c are about 200 more European males than females,
and about 200 more native males than females; shewing a total
excess of rather more than 400 males in the settlement ; but this
disproportion is much greater in the adults than in the children
under fourteen years of age. A new feature in the returns subse-
quent to 1847, is the addition of the natives of Wairau, Waitohi, and
other parts of Queen Charlotte's Sound, which places have been an-
nexed to Nelson by the government purchases of the last three years.
♦ The distribution of the population is interesting as respects the
pro;[)ortion engaged in agricultural occupations compared with that
employed in the town. The number living within the town boundary
at the end of 1849 was 1297, and 2075 in the suburban and rural
districts— giving 778 more people in the country than in the town.
In 1844 the proportions were— 1460 in the tOT^n, and 1566 in the
country ; and at Port Nicholson in 1848 there were 2649 persons in
Wellington and its suburbs, and only 2039 in the rural districts.
'Land in Cultivation. — There has been a steady increase in actual
cultivation from 1847 to 1849—276 acres more being cultivated by
Europeans in 1848 than in 1847 ; 84 acres more in 1849 than in 1848 :
altogether, 360 acres more in 1849 than ii. 1847; while the total
number of acres fenced last year was 520^, and cleared 4167. Still,
I believe that the extent of cultivated land is underrated for 1849,
and that the returns of the present year will shew a considerable
increase
'The price of wheat and potatoes, and indeed of all agricultural
produce, will probably be much highei* this year than at any time
in the last three years, in consequence of the demand for California;
and though at the end of 1849 the prices of produce were lower than
those set down in this estimate, it will be remembered that the grain
crop of 1849, harvested quite at the year's end, will only be sold in
1850, so that its value is set down at the present rates, and not at
those of the former year. But T am disposed to think that the price
of flour and potatoes will go so much higher in the course of this
year, that a considerable addition might justly be made to the total
mm of £26,000, at which I have estimated the crop of 1849
♦The practice of squatting has been very much diminished in the
ia»i twu or ilireo years, especially since the remodelling of the settle-
ment by the scheme of July 1847 : there are now oily about sixty of
89
/ 1
1
NEW ZEALAND.
it^r^cf l:^^^^^^ rreUf Th ^" '''' ''-^ -- ^^^•
a fine on squatter ha^!«2 enabling the magistrates to impose
who only oSyUie r li fd tSr\ f '"'' T^ '^'''^ '"'^ """^^ '»«"
have not^givenCwer ti an 7'1T^ ^""""^ ^""'^"^'^ **'« proprietor
per cent., the horned cattle GsJoTr cent T"" ^ '"'"T"'^ ^^«
per cent., an-l the sheen npIrlv^nnrT " ^''® ^""^^ "pwards of 600
was neat'ly £80 000 .mo^ '^^^^^^ the value of the stock
year; i„ (sfsTe'rZT.r, Tt'^ctd ItToo^' ^' l^Vl' °^ ^^
"! Tddiiil'tT ™f ^^^'f "->y tSeliSn-'tre sify ^""^^
result aaftiretVa;.SrJr^^ ^^ the pastoral Srn;,' the*
«tock for 1849 wL £50588 15 T "1?°'"°. f ^^^tivation and live-
cent's existencMhflafgt^r.^^^ 529^^^^^^ *^^ "^« -"^-
£31,616per^nnum,even?ecSn^the?wnfi % "^ ''I ^^^'"^^ ^^
was neej^arily ve^y smallttT o^a^rZ r „T^^^^^^^^^^ "^"'^"^
from^ th Tea^: tTr:te^^ Port.shewstrfalling off
be accounted for by the osrof JT ^'^''T ^'^^'' ' ^»>i<^»' « *«
places in the last few vear« A ^^ """^^i^ '"''^'^^^^ »« various
the shipment of on^rpfv ? • ^'"^^^ ^^"^ °^ *''« '"«« ^^s owing to '
but the severe le sot Z^iTf P''^""' "^ "'^^^'"^ «" ^^^^d i
certainly prev^^ttTcueeerr thelS" sL"^' /^"^ "'"
m the registered list for iLo ^^'^ ^".^/"ture. Six vessels, not yet
advance has been made ^Thf ^^^ ^ ^ ^^' ''^ ^^^" '^''"•' "«
number of^aw mi^ a^d .1 ^ ^'"''^^^ "^ importance is in'the
when the demand t- ^mber s I^ T"'^' unfortunately, at a time
is likely to iZe^: 1:^;::^^^^^^^^^^
making to erect one or two mor^ ?nm • li ''''®' ^'^^^e^^'', efforts
year, and if the demand LuM cL^?, '^" """^^^ °^ ."'^ ^'^^^^
for the necessary building 1 f^^ '*^^'^>'' ""^^"^ ^'" ">« found
«o.«-. „„,.._: 7.''""*^'"^ at the proper time. And alMmnnh »i.^
_.... _..,„, „, Hnproveu.eut is not seen under this as unde?ot£
I
THK MIDDLE SETTLEMENTS, OR COOK'S STRAIT.
heads, tho manufacture of goods to the amount of £16,000 is after
all, no wconsiderable circumstance for one year.* *
The settlement will look forward to a material extension of its
operations on the Wairau Plains. The reason why it has not as
yet taken advantage of this valuable tract, is said to be the
deficiency of local capital arising from this— that of the original
allotees of the land, only thirty'have settled.
Wairau is the spot which acquired so unfortunate a celebrity
by the massacre of 1843; but it is un-lei^lood that none of the
few natives who reside there were connected with the series of
outrages by which the colony was so severely shaken. Their
leaders, Rauparaha and Ranghieta, belonged to the north. Since
these unhappy events, the natives have given remarkable instances
of their acuteness as traders and men of business generally.
Coal and lime are among the natural productions of the district
There are lime and brick kilns, and several workshops and manu-
factories ; as, for instance, saw-mills, flour-mills, flax-mUls, ship-
yards, rope-walks, &c. On the subject of small farming, both in
this and the other New Zealand settlements, the following estimate
by Mr Ward, published in the ' New Zealand Journal,' will be
found practically instructive :—
♦ I will now give you a short outline of the expenses that must
necessarily be incurred in order to commence with a farm of fifty
acres at Nelson; it may vary a little in the other settlements: I only
mention Nelson, because I know nothing of the other settlements
personally. The fifty acres of land at Nelson would cost you, to buy
itr--if near town, or within five or six miles of it, and being good flax
land— i;150 per section of fifty acres; if inferior land, within that
distance, £50 to £100 ; if at a greater distance, less in proportion, espe-
cially bad land, which at a distance from town is unsaleable : no person
would have it as a gift to cultivate it: quality and situation are the
V.W0 mam things to be attended to in selecting land in New Zealand •
but without buying the land, it can be rented at a low rent, with a
purchasing clause inserted in the lease, so that the tenant can buy it
at any time within seven years at a given price if he chooses. This
is very convenient, and many sections are let at Nelson in this way.
The rent of land varies according to quality and situation— some
sections are let at 2s. Gd. per acre per annum, some at 5s., and some
bs., for the first seven years; but it is a general rule for the tenant
to have it rent free for the first year, and sometimes for two years :
this is regulated by the apparent difficulties and expense that tho
land offers to get it in a state of cultivation. I subjoin my estimate
of the first year's expense, so that you may form some idea what
you can do m the colony: you must recollect the first year is
*Z. "!*!^' ^'^^"'* ^"** expensive— durin r that, you will have all to
Duj,, «i,a iiuuiing lo sell ; but after the Hrst year the scale will be
turned; you wUl have plenty to sell, anc little to buy. J. Ward.'
41
i
NEW ZEALAND,
year** rent fieo :— ^ ^^'^ P*' annum, for aeven yewi arit
Wooden house, large enongl. for five or six people
cart, ^12, gear and^mallD if '''*""*" ''^"'^'•""^^ ^^5
^ ^^:^: r bert"inTta3iii^° f^sr f -- ^ ^^^"-k-
Fencing a ten-acre field * "^*^ of cultivation.)
bu.hel, «.y ,e,en biuliels 5 '° ""' ""■*. •' ^- »
1^ L' fSir^u'.r^"'"'?- "■'^! ^-* 'o th; .»e, at 4., 1
- 17
£15
70
10
a t i . . i""" rj acres
Seed for half acre potatoes.
Garden seeds and plants, -
^"fZ teLSl "'^^o^ths, y'ou could have" your "^^^
Furnishing the house, and incidental expenses. 20
15
4
15
5
70
X")85 19~0
8
the plough or cart.) ^ ^° * ^"""^^^ ^ie, or break
At the end of the year your account would stand thus :-
Vohie at the end
Crops, half acre potatoes, four tons at i^P Lw "
Cow and f»alf /is „.',''""''» ^^^ ■t'^ per ton, -
House .id goJJg ' "■' '^'°"' ° P'"' <*■"• fOT wear and tear,
' ' ^ ■ - ■ 4 4 6
a. . 4ij be. a.rrr:? - »j:-s^ ■,» 'z^t^^it-.-'
32 IS
66 10
30
34
8
THE MIDDLE SETTLEMENTS, OB COOK's STRAIT.
£96, 58. 6d. earned within the year— nainelv hv nr*«i.,„ j •
of . to. k, £17 16s.; nett produce of crop^ £42 H^^^
£40. But you must bear in mind thit x^.. » ' *5"P'-o^«n'enta^
pee for the Bocond year y^^^o uld bo it "J """f ,»^«"«'" P'^
iinuer crop the second year ■ the fivolnH ! K il ^^' '^«"'>' **'**»
very little^ultivating C thel'rd1r:p'''y^^^^^^^^^
times as much produce for sal.. „n^ , ^ ^ "*^° ^^^^
one-fourth as "lu^ch rthc first ye^r/tL? "'^^ ^^
your accounts would stTd thus^!! ""^ '"^ °^ "'^ '^'^""d year
^ of potatoes, 'at £12 p?r acle * {' "' ^^ ^'^ *"*' ' *^« *««»
^re;:!S;^*V--«-J-*y-JmW„g laid out ilOm '' ' '
Hou8e and goods, £30; improvements on the land fiin . 66 10
tmued same as first year i;40 ^ **^ ' ■*°°-
^ '*"» " - - 111
penses fo? tlS ye:^?; ^ ' ^ . ' ^"'- '. '"°'*"f«' ^^O-less ex-
£384 10
57 10
Total value at the end of second year, . - £327" Q
an^l'rve'trt^'^ar^^^^^^^ '^'Nelson,
8ettlemen<^the\ullodcs cart n^'T """'^^^ ^l ^^^"''^"^ '" ^ "^^^
then in retu^ yo«^btL^4^,^:^^^^^^^^^ ^^-^'^
inuch, and you would get a bet^rVrice Tor your IVea Ind not ' "*
If you could buy two or three mwa nf *k„ ° potatoes.
increa^eyour in^„™ o„°Lidrmbrth J^nrZTouM «^ "' "l"'
you increaso the size of your dairv »nH thl .? f ° '°°" "»''»
be fit to assist the old oneT or vS. ™1,M ° " ^"^ "f " '"'"''' ^°»''
W when you had soSryCgTt^^r.?rrk''r'r.'- °' ^°?I
cost you but very litfln n« v«. ^ u ? ^"^^ '*^' this would
ploug'handt™;j;k^'!Sdb„r """"^ ""^ "-'^ «» b"J^a„other
J. Ward.'
have been issued in connection with an order h. co3:^' °^
*1. Charts of the islands to be nreoared xviiU oil ,,.» *• 1 1
g«i^;in^ :rrreret"sJ^h tt S 2' lid? T^ ■'^'«-
unsettled. ^"^' '^® ^'^"^^d lands from the
^S.^fc the capital town of each province shaU also be kept a
43
expe-
OVPi*
hed
w
IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)
/.
{./
h ^ //^ /i^
1.0
I.I
|50 "'"^^
25
2.2
l<
40
2.0
1.8
1.25 1.4 1.6
6"
►
op*
Photograpiiic
Sciences
Coiporatioii
23 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, N.Y. 14500
(716) 872-4503
• -^ y » .»
- V
^ipiiPPaKiniiiiqii
-:''i-;
Bii
'lik
(II
^
NEW ZEALAND.
general reg^^stry of the sottlod and of the unsettled lands, with refer-
once to 8uch charts.
•Jit? ■**?" ^ '^® ^"*^ ^^ ^''^y P®"®"^ («t''er than the ahoriirinal
iffllobitants) to transmit to the registrar of lands for the district a
statement of the extent, locality, and bounds thereof, and of the title
under winch he claims to be provisionally registered.
•6. The protector of the aborigines shall, in like manner, trans-
mit to the registrar of the district a statement of the extent fas
nearly as it can bo ascertained) and of the locality of all the lands
situate within the same, to which any such natives, either as tribes
or as individuals, claim either a proprietary or a possessory title* to
be provisionally registered. ^ *
• 6. All lands not so claimed or provisionally registered by the time
limited, are to be considered as vested in the crown
*7. Within a time to be for that purpose appointed after such
provisional registration, a land court shall be holden.for investigating
^i?r; J ^"J'f ?f """^^^ ^"^ "^'^'^y °^ «"«'^ registration^ com?
potent to decide both as between the claimant and the crown, and
M between different claimants asserting opposite and incompatible
titles. It shall not, however, be competent to any such land court
to decide upon or to investigate any titles to land which at any pre-
7lLZl^7 ^'*° i°^" ''^i^^F^ *° ^"y P«"°"' ^y *»»« sentence
of any competent court, or which may at any previous time have
been granted or assigned by the crown, or by any govemor-in-chief
governor, or lieutenant-governor. ' ^ fa '^ *" t-iuti,
I **?' '^^J'- '!"** '."^g'stries of the districts being revised and corrected
by the adjudications of the land courts, an appeal shall lie from anv
fiach adjudication to the supreme court. The registries of the several
districts, when revised and corrected, to bo hnal and conclusive
evidence of the title to any lands comprised in such registries, and as
hnal and conclusive evidence of the crown's right to all laLds not
comprised therein. ^
* 9. No claim shall be admitted in the land courts on behalf of the
aborigines to any lands, unless it shall bo established, to the satis-
iaction of the court that either by some act of the executive govern-
ment of New Zealand, or by the adjudication of some competent
court, the right of such aboriginal inhabitants to such lands has been
acknowledged and ascertained, or that the claimants or their pro-
genitors, or those from whom they derived title, have actually had
the occupation of the lands so claimed, and have been accustomed to
use and enjoy them, either as places of abode, or for tillage, or for the
growth of crops or for the depasturing of cattle, or othe^wiee for the
there" 'o^^ sustentation of life, by means of labour expended
nrlnLnn"* '"/ll""^u "l® ^^f ^^""ce of theso rules respecting the
preparation of the charts and the keeping of the registries, and for
detenmmng the methods to be followed in drawin| up and trans-
mitting claims, and in the provisional registration of them, and for
ascertammg and regulating the constitution and proceedings of the
Is, with refer-
TUE MIDDLE SETTLEMENTS, OR COOK's STRAIT.
irur^and'n^^f '^- "J^" ^^ Proceeding upon appeals to the supreme
courts, and otherwise for carrying into full effect these instructions
the ffovemor-in-chiaf shall h., «..«„i„ — i: .., ,.. •"■•^"t-wons.
*!.» ~ •-. ...-^ -w. ^aiij-nijj iiuo iHii eiTect these instruc
la^be
an hv H.« a«f ..r — , . '. -^i*^ ""*"°"*» e8^»»8h all such r
M by the act Of parliament charter and these instructions maV-be
competent to Inm; and so far as it may not be competent toiuS
governor-.n.ch.ef to establish such rules, it shall be his d^uty to propo^t
to the legislatures of the provinces the enactment of all such K^
S^/'.T"''^ ^°' **'^* ^"'•P"^^' '^''' «o the extent and limiL Tf
tha lands of the crown, available for future settlement, and the^xLn
and S nf t' ^r^^^f *'^"'! "^'^"^•"^ inhabitants.'a„d the Sten
LcerS^d ' "^ '^' settlors,may severally be distiacUy
Jvi'Jn^ conyeyance of the lands of the natives in any shape, or for
any period, to be valid unless sanctioned by the crownf TIUs is not
to apply to the case of natives who have acqJir^d land by tenure aC
the manner of British subject8.-iV..5. This part of the regulaUonsIs
80 purely technical that it seems to have been introdSd by th.
dra ughtemen afraid lest some case had been left unprovided for.
Ar.J: r:l° ^^^^ ^° ascertained, as aforesaid, to constitute the
crowZ^ f'^' 'T"' ^'^ ^'^^ ^"•' *'^^ h«"««' of the subjecte of the
crown at large, and especially of settlers.
rJinti?^^ demesne lands shall, by proclamations to be issued by the
respective governors of the provinces, be divided into counties, hun^
tothecK ^^''"^ P^'^'''"'' '"^^ exactly defined with reference
* 14 No crown lands in New Zealand to be alienated, either in oor-
petuity or for any definite time, either by way of grant^ leaLe! "cenco
fations"^ ' °' °"'''^^''' gratuitously: nor except under the le^!
fn^f' ?° *'''°'^'' '?*^^ '? ^^ alienated, unless included within the
terms of some proclamation issued by the governor or lieutenant-
CTrl'r' ^'""r"''- *^^^^"""^ for three^calendar months aX
wUhin Jhl ^:^S:::::t' ''- ^^-'^ ^-^ thenceforward to bo
J^^t ■?" ^"1' \^l^^ *° ^® ^° alienated unless previously surveyed, >
^o^nSd plh' ^ """' ^" '''' ^'^^^^ °^ ^^^ -""*'' ^-^-<^
♦: J ^^•'' l?'^^ governor, with the executive council, to mark out and dis-
tmguish all such parts of the demesne of the crown a. may appear
best adapted for the site of future towns, and especially seaport towns
mnw^.fni'Th"*'''"^^"°"":""'"^"°"' whether byroads, canals,
railways, or otherwise-or as places fit to be reserved as quays
landing-places, or otherwise, for the general convenience of trade and
navigation- or as places of military or naval defence-oras the sites
of churclies, court-houses, markets, hospitals, prisons, or other public
edifices-or aa cemeteries, or as places fit to be reserved for the
embellishment or health of towns, or for the recreation of the inhabi-
tents; or otherwise for any purposes of public utility, convenience, or
enjoyment, m which either the whole population of the province, or
40
■■ JKwaLS.-r-z %/r
NEW ZEALAND.
»}|y |a''ge number of the inhabitants, may have a common interest:
ail these to be known as reserved lands.
'18. All reserved lands, with the exception of those reserved aa the
ful&re sites of towns, may be conveyed to any corporation gratuitously
tor the public uses for which they were so reserved.
* 19. The lands reserved as the sites of towns ohall be divided into
two classes—* town allotments,' and * suburban allotments :' the town
aUotments being such as will probably become the future site of
buildings, the suburban allotments being such as will probably
acquire a greatly-enhanced value from the close vicinity to such
buildings. '
«20. All the demesne lands of the crown brought by proclamation
within the limits of settlement are to be alienated as follows, being
divided mto three classes; of which the first class shall consist of
town allotments ; the second class of suburban ; and the third of rural.
*21. In reference to each town, and the suburbs, the governor shall,'
by proclamation, detennine the number and extent of the allotments •
care being taken that they be made in reference to some convenient
plan previously fixed for the erection of the town, and that no town
allotments be greater in exteht than will probably be required for a
. single edifice, with such adjacent land as may probably be necessary
tor the use and enjoyment of the future occupants.
*22. No rural allotment within the demesne shall exceed in extent
one square mile; but it shall be competent to the governor to divide
any such allotment for the purpose of such alienation into allotments
of one-half or of one-quarter of a square mile.
«23. Rural allotments shall, by proclamation, be divided into such
as are supposed and such as are not supposed to contain valuable
minerals.
*24. No part of the demesne of the crown shall be alienated, either
m perpetuity or otherwise, either absolutely or conditionally, untU
after it has first been put up to sale at a public auction, on three
calendar months' notice.
* 25. At every such public auction the lands are to be put up in lots
at a minimum upset price.
'26. No rural allotment shall for the present be put up at any
minimum price less than twenty shillings per acre.
*27. The respective minimum upset prices of rural lands supposed
to contain minerals, of suburban lands, and of town lands, shall
always be the same in respect of each separatie allotment of the same
extent comprised in any one of those several classes respectively
Such upset price shall always exceed the before-mentioned upset
pnce of twenty shillings an acre, the amount of such excess beinir
from time to time determined by such proclamations as aforesaid in
rMpect of the allotments contamed in each of the said several classes
oflana.
•28. It shall be competent to any person, within three calendar
months after the auction, to become the purchaser of knds put up.
and not sold at the upset price.
4a
on interest:
THE OTAGO SETTLEMENT.
evI^'iS"^^'**® ^^"'*''' ^ "''* ""^ ^°^P®"»We condition of
* 30. It shaU be competent to the governor to demise, for any term
to c^ji"^''-^''T*^^ twenty-one), any rural allotments euppS
^nt n^K ^^^^ reserving a royalty of not less than fifteen per
fW .°? *^e P^duce, and to introduce all covenants necessary for
the faithful discharge of all the terms and condiUons of the lease
61. A separate account to be kept by the treasurer of each province
of he gross proceeds of the land-sales, rente, and royalties, and of
whioH S ' f k'P'' ^"u f,^P«»«es of crown lands, after deductu,^
which, the ne balance shall be held for defraying the cost of intr<?
K^S/"* the respective provinces emigrante from the United
lungdor or for defraying the coste of such other public services as
Sr the air ^ ^'""^ ^^ prescribed by instructions to be issued
vJniiV^^^'u '"^^^ ''°.*^ '° ^^^^* ^^^ promulgation of instructions
1 especting the occupation of lands by leaae o? licence for any tern
strSons''' ^^ ^^°''^'''' *'™°* *"* ^® regulated by further in-
*;n?^V^"^*^'!i exception is not to extend to the temporary occupa-
tion of lands for the purpose of depasturing sheep or cattle under
any lease or licence. This branch is to be regulated by further in-
structions, and m the meantime by orders by the govemor-in-chief.'
An amendment of these instructions was issued under the sim-
manual on 7th February 1850, authorising the remission, to a
specified extent, of the mirlimum upset price of 20f . per acre in
the case of officers of the army and navy settling under the
government regulations, and to sanction the gratuitous aUenation
ot land to military pensioners and natives.
THE OTAGO SETTLEMENT.
Before the separation from the Established Church of Scotland
of a large body of its members, constituting the Free Church
a design had been formed of constructing a class or ecclesiastical
colony, the riling principle of which should be an attachment to
the Presbyterian form of worship and church government. It
doe^ not appear to have ever been designed that the settlers and
labourers should consist exclusively of members of one church
but that the promoters should be a Presbyterian body, who should
take especial care to provide for the means of their own worship
and for the education of the rising generation in their own senti-
ments. It seems to have been contemplated from the first, that
part of the funds raised from the disposal of land should to a consi-
derable extent be devoted to these purposes. Thus the members of
47
NEW ZEALAND.
tm
m
the persuasion of the promoters, though not arrogating an exclusive
light of colonisation, would have a privilege over others in their
worship and education, being supported out of the general funds.
The persons who had nourished this idea being chiefly connected
with the large body who had left the establishment, it came into
practical effect as a project of the lay members of the Free
Church, The site of the colony was suggested in 1845, and the
"Otago Association was soon afterwards formed. A bargain with
the New Zealand Company was completed in the summer of
1847, and before the end of that year, the first party of colonists
were despatched to the settlement in two ships.
The district apportioned to this Scotch colony is situated in
the Middle Island of New Zealand, near its southern extremity,
south latitude 45° 40' to 46° 20'. It comprises a large block of
fine land, and has been called Otago : such being the name given
to it by the natives. The capital of Otago is called Dunedin :
that being the Celtic name for Edinburgh, and therefore appro-
priate. The settlement has a coast-line of from fifty to sixty
miles in length, lying between Otago Harbour and a headland
called the Nuggitts. It extends an average distance inland of
seven miles to the foot of a low mountain-range.
According to all accounts, the lands of the Otago settlement
are fertile, well watered, and eminently suitable for purposes of
husbandry, while beyond the boundary there is extensive and
available pasturage. The basin called Otago Harbour, on which
JDunedin is Ituated, is a fine land-locked sheet of water, fourteen
miles in length, and so deep that vessels may sail up and deliver
their cargoes at the quay. The nature of the country will be
gathered from the following extracts from different authori-
ties ; —
* Beyond tl:e first ridge of down, which forms the southern horizon
from the harbour, lies a:> undulating country, covered with grass.
This is more or less good, according to position and aspect, and has
been much deteriorated in places by extensive and repeated burnings,
which impoverish the land. The worst of it, however, affords abun-
dant food for sheep.
* The anise plant, so valuable as pasture for sheep and cattle,
abounds over all the land we traversed. It is this plant that renders
the plain of the Waimoa, near Nelson, so propitious to the fattening of
stock. I have never tasted such well-flavoured meat as that fattened
on the natural pastures near Nelson. The plant is also found in
abundance near Port Cooper, and in the Wairarapa Valley, near Port
Nicholson. I have not seen it farther north, or in any district whore
fern abounds. Its chief property seems to be a wanning tonic. As
such, I believe some preparation of its seed is given in i-acing stables
in England as a condition-ball. It arrives at its full growth during
.t'
an exclusive
lers in tlieir
neral funds.
f connected
;t came into
f the Free
45, and the
•argain with
summer of
of colonlsta
situated in
extremity,
ge block of
name given
I Dunedin:
Pore appro-
ty to sixty
a headland
i inland of
settlement
)urpose8 of
ensive and
r, on which
;r, fourteen
and deliver
try will be
it authori-
3m horizon
with grass,
ct, and has
d burnings,
[brds abun-
and cattle,
lat renders
fattening of
at fattened
9 found in
, near Port
trict whore
tonic. As
ing stabies
vth during
THE OTAGO SETTLEMENT.
the summer ; but in many places during our journey I found it at
this se^on of the year eighteen inches in length, and scarcely a
square foot of ground without a root of it. In the uplands we found
snow in some places knee-deep, and the ground frozen to the dentil
of an inch; but on our return these indications of a severe climate
had disappeared before some days as warm as those of summer The
vicinity of sno^vy eminences is highly estimated by flock-owners,
particularly where the downs are round-topped, and in long slopes
so that tlie gradual tncklings from the melting snows go to nourish
the roots of the grasses. After traversing these downs for five mUes
ST. %S»'^° "''"'''rf i the plain of the Taieri, which contains
about 40,000 acres of land, and is intersected by the river of the
same name, navigable for large boats twelve miles from the sea, which
It reaches at about twenty-five miles from Otago. About two-thirds
ot tlie plam are now available. The remainder is subject to inun-
dations, but may be reclaimed and rendered more valuable than the
higher parts.'— ((7o?oneZ Wakefield, pp. 9, 10.)
« The tide having ebbed, wo descended to the base of the cliffs,
and walked along a natural pavement formed by the horizontal strata!
We were not long m perceiving indications of coal in black streaks
m the sandstone, and thin beds of richly bituminous shale: and wo
picked up several rounded pieces of pure coal cast up by the waves.
Jiat on turning a projected point, we found ourselves in face of a
black waU or cliff, which upon examination turned out to be pure
coal. In thickness, what we saw of it could not be less than 18
-leet, while, as the pavement on which we stood was coal as well
extending out to meet the waves, it was impossible to say how much
deeper it went. Mr Tuckett was of opinion that in quality it was
very superior to the ordinary New Zealand coal ; but in this opmiou
1 could not agree with him, as it appeared to me to have the samo
conchoidal fracture and resinous lustre aa the Massacre Bay coal as
well as that which I have seen from other districts in this country
What was rather remarkable, was its nearness to tlie surfaces Above
It lay a bed of about twenty feet of a conglomerate of small quartz
pebbles, on the top of whicli the soil commenced. We were not
able to estimate the horizontal extent of the bed." What we saw
ranged only for a few hundred yards, disappearing in some small
gullies, which at that point intersect the cliffs.'— (ilf«nro, p. 119.)
* As we proceeded about the time of low- water along 'shore, I was
gratified to observe very abundant large pieces of drift-coal of cood
quality, still no bed was visible in the face of the cliff. Farther on
the beach became again rocky, and quantities of coal were lodged
between the rocks, and soon appeared in view a black cliff. I felt
certain it must be a vast formation of coal, although Mr at
Waikauwaike, had declared that there was no other coal discovered
along the coast but the insignificant appearance which I had examined
at Matakaea. Approaching this cliff; I found it to be a mass of coal
for about 100 yards' length, in thickness from 12 to 20 feet, aa seen
m the face of the cliff above the sand, and to what depth it exists
49
ri
NEW ZEALAND.
beneath the sand I could not ascertain : I should sunnose fmm
appearance of coal, adjacent to the depth of low water "^^' °"
Ihe beach is not accessible on account of the heavy swell and
^n'Lr'S ^Kf 5°^ "^"^' "*^^«*°^« *>« -°'ked inland. LdThe h^
will be no doubt discovered near the bank of the Clutha (or MaS
River, which, in a direct line inland, is probably not more iirfour
or five miles diat&nt: -(Tuckett, pp. 41. 42.)
. In the following extract from a letter by the New Zealand Com-
pany's^surveyor, reference is made to the capital of the set^
• The site of the Upper Town (Dunedin) proves to be extremely
mTvTJwH'" r'^ TP'f = * ^'^' P'^'-' °^ "•« suburban ecS
may be laid out immediately around it; there is an eaay accerfrom
It to the ijural districts, the walk to the Taieri at th^ present tiZ
not occupying more than two hours; and when the banks L the
upper harbour are marked by a few stakes, vessels of lOO^ons'
burthen migh^ in two tides, bo towed up with boats a head to wSn
inf'::\^'"'Tr ''J^ ^'.^"^ the ^ater.frontage fhere S lot
flat, dry at low tide, which might be easily reclaimed- and on thf
opposite side of the bay about half a mile across, there are 2rfJw
water Eighty suburban sections adjoining the town at KopXi
have been laid out and staked, and there are about a hundrfd mo^e
ready to be staked on the line between the two towns. In markbg
both town and suburban allotments, I have adopted the syVtem of
usmg square-sawn stakes, with the numbers branded onThem, so
that a surveyor will not be required to go over the ground hereafter
to shew the proprietors the boundaries of their properties
1 have lately been examining the flat, which you perhaps remem^
ber, lying between the township and the sand^hiiron ^theTce^n
This land IS covered mostly with high grass; and though in some
parts there is surface-water to be found, yet it is not at aU swamTy
the drainage being only impeded by the exuberance of the veS
t^on, and which will, I believe, be entirely obviated by thlTnes
Z ?!!.f r*' ' ^^^ '"^"^y "^'^ ^« "^^^^ ^^^3^ quickly, and wiU
be commenced as soon as possible. « vui
Ju'li^^V^^ .f **® ^V^? *^^"' separated from it by some grassy
Ms, lies the Kaikarai Valley, which will yield about 300 suburban
see ions. It is open land with a rich alluvial soil, well adapted fS
agricultural purposes. Mr Charleton is now cutting lines Z
tJe r^^ """^"^ ^^"^ '" '^' "^^^ °^ '^' ^^'^'^' oPPoSte (ea«t of)
From the'Otago Journal 'for November 1849 the followine
passage, giving the experience of the first settlers, is taken. It!
o?whL? ? T^'T^^ 5/"^ •* "'"^t be remarked that the yield
of wheat stated in it is of a very extraordinary kind :—
ippose, from
yy swiell and
and the bed
i. (or Matou)
•re than four
;a1and Com-
the settie-
B extremely
i)an sections
access from
•resent time
anks in the
•f 100 ions'
id to within
jre is a long
and on the
2i fathoms'
at Koputai
ndred more
In marking
3 system of
>n them, so
i hereafter
ips remem-
the ocean
allotments.
!;h in some
II swampy,
he vegeta-
the lines
2000 acres,
Y, and will
•me grassy
suburban
lapted for
lines for
e (east of)
following
ken. Its
the yield
THE OtAQO SETTLEMENT.
* Letters have just arrived from this settlement of dates down to
the 26th of April last. They announce the safe arrival of the Marjt
with immigrants. The settler* had then had twelve months' expo-
nonce of the country ; and then- opinion of its climate, soil, capabi-
Iities, and resources, fully bear out all that has been said m regard to
them The summer had been splendid; and the second winter, on
winch they had then entered, so far as it was gone, had been charao-
tensed by weather remarkably fine and calm. We have been favoured
with the foUowing extract of a diary of the weather from 9th October
1848 to 17lh April 1849 :—
Months.
October,
November,
December,
January,
February,
March,
April,
from 9th to Slst,
... let,.. 30th,
... Ist ... Slat,
... Ist..
... Ist..
... Ist..
... Ist..
. 3l8t,
. 28th,
. 3l8t,
17th,
■o d
ssi
^ioM
49-7
54-3
64-3
035
S60
no-5
45-8
16
13
18
17
14
19
10
m
Ok- o
a 0,4
9i
6
12
9
6
11
8
6
I
From sixty to sixty-five bushels of wheat per acre, with oats,
barley, and potatoes in proportion, were the yields of the soil. The
lands being generally open, fencing and ploughing up with oxen was
all that waa required, whilst the luxuriance of the gardens and
nursery-^ounds exceeded expectation. Hawthorn seeds, for instance,
gave a fuU braird within six weeks after sowing. Shepherds,
ploughmen, and country labourers, were in proportion to the demand.
Amongst the last were a few weavers from Scotland, who, in bad
times at home, had been accustomed to work with the spade, and had
proved the most useful and intelligent at similar work in the colony.
One of them, with a large family to support, has built himself the
most perfect and commodious cottage in the settlement, which is
referred to as a model. The landowners were busily occupied in
building houses, erecting stockyards, forming sheep-stations, and
mtroducmg stock. Many ships laden with sheep, cattle, horses, &c.
had arrived from Australia. A channel into the harbour, of twenty-
one feet at low-water, being five more than were supposed to exist.
had been discovered. Dunedin, the capital, consisted of 130 houses
and the revenue for the quarter was nearly £5000.'
It is to be regretted that the series of papers from which the
above quotation is made is more devoted to rhetorical commenda-
tions, and to general views on the duty and wisdom of emigration,
than to that kind of specific information, either about the original
nature of the soU and its produce, or about the progress of the
colonists, which would be reaUy valuable to intending emigrants.
61
#
.■if
'*■
NEW ZEALAND.
There are some letters from settlers, but these, too, are of a some-
what vague character, and in general only shew ihat the writer
has reason to be contented with his own lot. One of the most
Snftio /V -'''i'";',?' '''.°™ " ^''''''^' gardener, dated 16th
April 1849, contains the following passage :—
'Bush-land can bo cleared for about £&-tl,ftt is, the bush burnt
wU nlvTir. ' " T'kT "'% ^''' '° ^«' °"'- The breeding of Se
fro.n^£7 ^il^r* ' m"^'""^"' '^"f 'T^ '••"«' y°" '"''y Purchase thom
from ^7 to £15, turn them out to the lulls, and let thciii run summer
and winter Some people milk them, but others allow their c^l"^
to suck. They never cost a farthino for food «« Ihlf ?.« ^
pay almost as much for a calf as a cow. andt le^ll'Sj^
on any account. A squatter told me latelv that S^ 1,;^ i5
C"fhi ""°.^' /'^ ^^f' ?'^'' "^^•^^ ^'^^ cot'ii:iJ,'rha pety ^T^l
first thmg that people do. or should do. is to provide themselv«S
with some sort of house. Some are merely covera/l J h
others built with clay; others weather-brrde5;~a:ot S
IS my own, are made with trees, say 9 inches diameter? Cdfmrtht
m the ground, and then plastered over with rlnv « k Jli i • ^
broad, i inch thick; and in Iheso said houses nido th. Mmkil?.
appear. « .r„ quite «, comfortable L "^S a™ i "nA SL^cSI
Street. As regards the climate, it is very tcn.porale ■ we had «S
i«rrn°icT.°«-i " "'«'"" »--""■"- i^^wrto'ij"?
bVniZ"u W.tZ." Vr^'i ''"' " """'""■"J' di»aPPoa.*<l
uj nine a.m. We had a good deal of wet weathnr in iCro« „«j t
which in fact constitutes our winter weather Tho • ^ ''"°^'
declarations ar. now to be heard the warTest Tthrpralet^^^^
their adopted country. As for myself, I would not returrto^cotland
tolivepermanen ly: true, wo have rough labour, but we can aS
The following passage is from the letter of a settler whose
class IS no farther stated than as it may be indicatefby his tone
He IS evidently possessed of a less contented spirit^ th^n the
2ls^// those whose communications are adduceTas tes W
nials of the perfection of new emigration fields :—
«I have now had eight months' experience of the colony and from
Jfff^ratT.7;:frav«-i^:^^
B of a 8ome-
i the writer
of the mogt
, dated 16th
bush burnt
ing of cattle
rcliose thorn
run summer
thoir calves
you would
i kill a calf
had sold a
enny. The
themselves
«vith grass;
nong which
sed upright
k chimney;
ig, 4 inches
h they may
10 Duncan
i^e had the
nter, and I
isappeared
■ and Juno,
3 pure and
Ace of the
have been
;r in their
praises of
Scotland
can afford
ort than a
ler whose
his ton^.
than the
1 testlmo-
and from
ave little
it at pro-
of means
iglabonr;
and those
t bane to
THE OTAOO SETTLEMENT.
this and the other colonies the great number of runawny sailors
that are to be found generally spond ing every shilling in the tap-
room, and practising every vice. They leave their ships in tl^
prospect of getting the high colonial rate of wages, bht it is seldom
ot much use to them. I am happy to see that the labourinir-mea
are making a beginning in cultivating their gardens: this is a
beginning and wore they to join heartily, and lay their littlo stores
together, they might soon be able to have their own groimd.
I have mentioned these things, that people may know the true
. condition of matters-afi the fact is, that people coming hero in
general have not the least idea of what sort of country they are
coming to, and have puffed themselves up with the most extrava-
gant not.ons and ideas, till I believe the garden of Eden itself would
scarcely have satisfied some of them ; but in general, after they get
a httlo setUed, the steady portion find work, and get more into the
way of the country, and more reconciled with their own condition.
Another drawback at present is, that wo aro dependent upon other
colonies for supplying us with provisions until we can raise our
own. Ihis IS a most fearful drain upon our capital, which thus flics
?,, '^^ °°?,^'.^"'^ .^° ^'a^e nothing at present to draw it back again.
Were facilities given to the labouring-men to cultivate the gro^md.
Sitant* ^°**" "' ^* end, and I hope such a thing is not far
*Tho want of roads is a serious evil, as the roads wo have at pre-
sent are merely formed out of the soil, and are more like canals of
liquid mud and clay in winter than anything else ; in fact, you can-
not set a foot upon them at that season, but must make the best of
your way along the edges or through the adjoining flax and fern-
but in summer they are as good as they aro bad in winter. The
weather in this country is very changeable, and in the winter months
ve^ disagreeable-there being so much rain, which, with bad roads
and bad houses, gives things a very dreary appearance; but there
are many more working days than at home in winter, and the inter-
vening days are often very mild and pleasant. I may mention that
we had several severe falls of snow and sharp frosts, but such as you
would merely laugh at in the north of Scotland. People comini?
here should provide themselves with the strongest and most du-
rable clothing, especially laced boots, both for men and women, as
dress -shoes and cloth-boots would be of little avail here The
summer months are very warm and pleasant, but the heat has not
that oppressive feeling that is .often felt in very warm days at
liome. lor this reason a lighter clothing is necessary, and li^it
canvas or duck trousers are the best, with a blue woollen shirt or
duck overall; but the boots and shoes must always be stronff
One th-'ng is evident, that although the climate is very changeable
there can be no doubt but it is healthy; and I am told, and believe
It to be a fact, that the climate is far better in many parts of the
black than at Dunedin ; and I know by experience, that where I
stop it 18 much milder. The reason is, that there is no high ground
5a
m
i
$
NEW ZEALAND.
between it and the ocean towards the south and t^ ♦k-
north-east there is the harbour, and a lar,o v^llc^ In ^^'1 '^''^
exposed to a drought when the wind blows^'^n anv ^f ?hli!^-' "
tion. ; and the south-west wind i. the coWest wind^h^I. I ''^'"
to your north-oast at home.' ^®^''' ^«'^0'-"ig
circumstances which have reSed their ZT T'Tu *^^*«^^«"e
aU moncy?S purchaU" toT^p" •"' T*' T'^' '''"' ^^'''S over
Jipl,! f,>r «.. "' P»rcnase8 to the Emigration Commissioners to bo
quarter of an acre, in a spot setted^ thTsUe ofT"/ '"'"'^V
ban allotment of ten acres in tha v • •! f *^ '°'^"' a subur-
rural allotment of fifty ac/es he iheZT^ '^ f *"^" ^^'«' ^^'^ *
'But each class of land ? n hi *^t^"^«*surements more or less.
purchaser; andTnle of ^u^: :Z:tlZ^'1l' '' '"^ l^'T^ ^^ *^°
be reduced, if so desired, to twLt^Tve acS ''"'''^' *" ',
> the east and
> so that it is
)f these direc-
3ro, answering
report in tho
ber 1850, was
pparently ad-
ion of adverse
The quantity
18,000 acres;
her from the
' those other-
with the New
3d November
iring 125,000
lir privileges,
ily 1850, the
1 temporary
> the govem-
rrangements.
ng the asso-
paying over
oners, to be
tion to carry
hw Zealand
tended, for
series were
pects inter-
t New Zea-
ed in their
Jmbody the
be held,
affect the
Mned : —
ivided into
ores and a
)tment of a
1 ; a subur-
ite; and a
r less,
red by tho
totment to
THE OTAOO BBTTLEIfENT.
«Tho 2400 properties, or 144,600 acres, to be appropriated as fcU
lows: namely —
2000 propertiM, or 120,500 acres for sale to private individaals.
100 properties, or 6025 acres, for the estate to be purohM'td by
the local municipal government.
100 properties, or 6025 acres, for the estate to be purchased by
the trustees for reli^ous and educational uses ; and
200 properties, or 12,050 acres, for the estate to be purchased
by the Now Zealand Company.
•The price of the land for salo in the United Kingdom to be fixed
for the present at 408. an acre, or £120, 10s. a property, if the
property be purchased entire, as defined above. But if purchased
separately, the price of each class of land to be— Town land, £12, lOs.
per allotment of a quarter acre ; suburban land, £30 per allotment of
ten acres; and rural land, £50 per allotment of twenty-five acres.
'The said prices to be charged on the estates of the municipal
government of the trustees for religious and educational uses, and
of the New Zealand Company, in the same manner as on the 2000
properties intended for sa'e to private individuals ; and the purchase-
money, amounting (at the rate of 40s. an acre) to £289,200, to be
appropriated as follows — namely, emigration and supply of labour
(three-eighths, 7s. 6d. in £1, or 37i per cent.), £108,450; civil uses,
to be administered by the company— namely, surveys and other
expenses of founding and maintaining the settlement, roads, bridges,
and other improvements, including steam, if hereafter deemed expe-
dient, and if the requisite funds bo found available (two-eighths, 6s.
in £1, or 25 per cent.), £72,300 ; religious and educational uses, to be
administered by trustees (one-eighth, 2s. 6d. in £1, or 124 per cent),
£36,150 ; tho New Zealand Company, on account of its capital and
risk (two-eighths, 6s. in £1, or 25 per cent.), £72,300.
* It is to be observed that from the sum of £36,150, to be assigned
to the trustees of religious and educational uses, will be defrayed
£12,050, the price of the 100 properties, or 6025 acres to be pur-
chased as the estate of that trust.
* In like manner, out of the sum of £72,300, to be assigned to the
New Zealand Company, will be defrayed £24,100, the price of the
200 properties, or 12,050 acres to be purchased by the company as its
estate.
*The purchase of the surface to include coal and all other minerals,
but the company to have power to exclude lands containing, in con-
siderable quantities, coal or other minerals, to be disposed of, by lease
or otherwise, in such way as may be agreed on ; with a view to pre-
vent the coal-field from becoming a monopoly in the hands of private
individuals, injurious to the public interests, and to insure to the
community a due supply of fuel at the cheapest possible rate, and to
enable lands containing other minerals to be disposed of in such way
as may be considered most expedient.
'Reservations to be made, so far as may be practicable, of the
sites of villages and towns, with suburban allotments adjacent, in the
S5
/
#
^n
NEW ZEALAND.
f.J?n^'"^ °"' ^''^ chief town, Dunodin, due provision io be mado
lor pub he purposes ; as fortifications, pubHc buildings, sites for places
of pubhc worship and instruction, baths, «rharfs, quiys, cemefS
squares, a park, and other places for health and r;creation ^ ^
Five years from the 23d of November 1847-the date of the em-
Imtf^'V^ '^^ first party-to be allowed co the a«soc at on for
MviSs ''' l^r^perties, or 120,500 acres to private
•In the event of the whole 2000 properties being sold to private
individuals vvithm the period, the association to have furtherThe
refusal on such tenus as shall then be agreed upoZof the en^re
remamder of the block of 400,000 a.res, or such poSn of the ^me
as the company shall not have returned to the crown
onfJn r ^.^^,"If ' '*^ V^ ^««'S"ed to the person first making appli-
ca ion for it at the appointed place in the settlement. ^ ^^
Purchasers to bo allow^-^J to select out of the whole of the
e?ec'tio'n Tt I""' "'^ll^^ ™'y ^^ ^"^^^^^•^' ^^id ^«t' and open t^
selection a«, the time m the settlement. f " w
♦The municipality, and the trustees' for religious and educational
js, to be entitle.! to select their respective estates in the propoS
of one property or allotment each for every twenty properties or
allotments sold to private individuals ; and the New Zealand Com^
Cty^o s'old!''^"'''''' '^ *^" ^''^'''^'' '' ^"°*™«"'« *■«' «^«ry
thIJ'hLpT.''1'rr (^""^"/'"ff "'° Pui'-cliasers and colonists whom
irZ A ^ 7g^^t;«"^ard or approved) having prepared a deed of
tr 3t and relative mstitutes, dated 6th November 1847, as a constl
tution for cnurch and schools, the same to be held as part of the
terms of purchase; to trustees appointed thereunder, thelnSs for
religious and educational uses to be handed over, as collected on the
completion of each party; tbe provisions of such deeTof trust and
relative institutes to be duly observed in all respects ; and fn tl^a
and all other matters, the association to have respect to the f u 1
sSpTrll ""^"•^ '^■"" ^•^^P^"^"^"^^)^ at 'l^e earliest pos-
'T'urchascrs desirous of recommending labourers to the associa-
uon for free or assisted passages, to give to the associa ion wriS
ZT^V"^ f""'' '' ™"'" ''''^' recommendation, with full partfcu"
arb .f the labourers recommended, six weeks before the sailin^/of
' Two M T "f m"'' ''^''''Z'' '^ approved, are proposed to be sent
Two-tiiirds of the ..nouut of the emigration fund (or £30 on each
entire property pui-ch.sed) to be applied to the providon of a supSj
of labour in accordar^.a with the government reguIaUons • and S a
Temamder (or £15 on c ch entire property), subject to "hi concur^
rence of the .ompany, to ■:h. i.as.ago. from' the United Kingdom of
persons who. uimei' those re. nlniinno n^o "^f „.^i„.i.. -,.• ...» °J
as ti.0 pavsau of g-cwn-up A^^^^i^^::^ ::^';^
ith the govsrn-
3n io be made
sites for places
ys, cemetories,
.tion.
ite of the em-
issociation for
res to private
old to private
e further the
of the entire
n of the same
naking appli-
vhole of the
and open to
1 educational
»e proportion
properties or
Iceland Com-
ts for every
onists whom
d a deed of
as a consti-
part of ti»e
lie funds for
scted, on the
of trust and
and in this
to the full
jarliest pos-
he associa-
iion written
uU particu-
B sailing of
I to be sent.
•30 on each
»f a supply
b; and the
he concur-
ingdom of
iblc — such
n years of
TUE OTAGO SETTLEMENT.
age, in excess of the authorised number ; and, to a limited extent,
purchasei-s as detailed below.
* Chief cabin passengers, being purchasers, to be entitled, at any
time within twelve months from the date of their respective pur-
chases, to receive one-third of the emigration fund accruing thereon
(or £15 on each entire property) as an allowance towards defraying
the expense actually and reasonably incurred, for the passages to
the settlement of the said purchasers and their families, at the rates
laid down by the New Zealand Company.
* Fore-cabin and steerage passengers, being purchasers with regard
to whom the Otago Association may be satisfied that they intend to
be hirers of laiour in the colony, to be allowed, at any time within
twelve months from the date of their respective purchases, the same
sum as chief-cabin passengers; if to the satisfaction of the associa-
tion not intending to be hirers of labour, bat to be, in foct, labourers
themselves, the whole emigration fund accruing on their purchases
(or £45 on each entire property) ; provided in every case that the
sum specified be actually and reasonably expended, as stated above.
* Passages to be reserved for purchasers, and ibr labourers recom-
mended by them and approved by the association, in the ships
chartered by the company, provided that application for such pas-
nages be made six weeks before the sailing of the ship in v/hich the
parties desire to proceed.
* Licences. — Licences for the pasturage of land in the Otago settle-
ment, wMle such land continues unappropriated, and not required
for any purpose other than pasturaga, to be granted Jfor periods
not exceeding one year, nor less than six months.
'The persons qualified to hold such licences to be the owners of
not less than twenty acres of suburban, or twenty-five acres of rural
land in the settlement; imde? Mes originally derived from the com-
pany ; or, with the consent uch owners, their immediate lessees
or tenants to the like extern > ; the latter case, however, the owner
not to be qualified to hold a pasturage-licence in respect of the same
land as his tenant.
* Apportionment, of Pasturage.— T^o licence to l:<e granted within
the boundaries of the settlement for any defined pasturage-run ; but
the extent or amount of pustnrage to be enjoyed by each licensee,
and the mode of using the same, whether in comn^onage, in runs, or
otherwise, to be decided by Avardens elected annually under the fol-
lowing arrnngements : namely — ■
' A public adverticument to be issued by the company's principal
agent, or other authorised officer, in the month of October in each
year, calling a general meeting of the person^ qualified to hold
licences in the settlement, to be held on a specified day in the ensu-
ing month, where three wardens are to be elected by a majority for
the year ensuing. Persons to be entitled to votes in the following
proportions: namely —
67
?
I
■f
^ i
NEW ZEALAND.
Suburban Land.
For 20 acres and under 40, or
- ^J 80,'...
- 80 - ... 120, ...100
*■• }ES 160,... 150
"■ Im - .- 200, ...200
^w acres and upwards, or 250
Rural Land.
25 acres and under
50
Votes.
SO— One.
100— Two.
150— Tliree.
200— Four.
250— Five.
acres and upwards— Six.
Applications to be delivered on or hpfnro th^ i«*t. j
months of November and M^^^o!! ? , . ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ t^e
On the issue of each licence, a fee to be paid of lOa fid
.p th sttrofT^^S S'r '° 4 »' PO- o?-breaWn, '
Jpl^-ir^Mits^^thtf^j^^i:!^^ ^" -'
thl^^ar^de'^HrU ^/V-tafS-snoh nn^er aa
all parlies inStS ^°™'°'' '° ^ c«nclu8ivo against
^ft'^tods^'TiS ?r^T"'^ '^«P^«»g the disposal
tmnsUfe: may k^bSe^r: ■"" "' '." T'^'-S P-rohases,
P^^j.tlt;r: -asloXi"' ' -"" - ^^'
n.^rotrtadt'ku "t'tem^ ?" "''"''"»■ 0"^» -«-
cH
THE CiNTERBURY SETTLEMENT.
tiuiiio me ijiiurcii oi \fcjngland. " " '
S8
in »»ol«i
Votes.
SO— One.
100— Two.
150— Tliree.
200— Four.
250— Five,
ards— Six.
h days of the
cences to take
; of July then
ising it to be
dingly, by the
bhe half-^rears
i making the
3 privilege of
. 6d. »
' of breaking
a the land ia
of the other
3nce for any
1 manner as
isive against
he disposal
: purchases,
plication to
treet, Edin-
and usefol
tago settle-
lough, from
ier in com-
i regulated
wording to
ghbour, is
w, in rela^
THE CANTERBURY SETTLEMENT.
« Jr*t^"-^ settlement is conducted under the auspices of a
Sok^of lTn7 ^*l^r^-r«r« ^ J^ondon, and consists of a Ll ' ,
block of land, which, as in the case of Otaeo was a^n,,;.^^ !• ^
the New Zealand Company. The spot seleftedTr troplL'n"
of the company was the neighbourhood of Banks's Pen nsX
on the east coast of the Middle Island. The 44th See of
southern latitude passes nearly through the centre of the dLtrict
The penmsula itself is a wUd rocky mass; but the pioneLs of he
settlement satisfied themselves that the laid stretchEward w^'
from Its possession of pasture and alluvial soil-of wood and wl^r
-a satisfactory site for their intended settlement It may be
mentioned that the open space proposed to be occupied by them
stretching to the mterior mountain -chain, comprises a distS
somewhat less than Yorkshire in England TCopemtfons of
he society cannot be said to have assumed a practifftmtUl
1850, when various vessels with emigrants were despatched.
Ihe aim of the society was to transfer a settled and civilised
community, with its various attributes-religious and education^
establishments, employers or capitalists, tradesmen, labourer^
&c. ; and to carry out this object, funds were to be contributed
Wotril '''' " '^^"""^ ^^°'«- T^"^ -^^^ the purchaser
fn l! .r^ • Pf.f ?' 'I "^^^ ""^^ *^ ^« considered that this was
to be the price of the land. That was to cost but 10s. ; but £1 w^
to go to a religious fund for the support of an ecclesiastrcal
Wrchy and a system of education ; another pound was proposed
to be expended m emigration-that is, according to the Lely
prevalent theory in bringing out-laboui to balance the capS?
^he remammg 10s. of the £3 per acre was to be appHcable to
miscellaneous purposes, such as surveys, roads, bridges, &c. When
he whole temtory expected to be absorbed by the' system was
actually purchased, a million of acres would be disposed of: Tnd
of the proceeds half a milUon would go as the price of la^id, a
million for religious and educational purposes, a farther miUion for
the emigration fund and half a million for miscellaneous purposes!
As regards the selection of emigrants and settling on Lds, the
association, at an early stage of their progress, amiounced the fol-
lowing prmciples : —
< Selection of Colonists.-So far as practicable, measures will be
taken to send individuals of every class and profession, in those
proportions in which they ought to exist in a prosperous ?oS
community The association retain, and wiU careSlly exerc se a
power of selection among all those who may apply frp^eSon to
r..iU«^,s u==i=.aucc. ihey win do so with the view of insunW as
far as possible, that none but persons of good character, a. ^^ ^
fi9
II *
NEW ZF VLAND.
members of the Chnrch of iJngland, shall form part of tire popula-
tion, at least m ita first stage; so that the settlement may begin its
existence in a healthy moral atmosphere. ^
* Mode of Selecting Land. -The peculiarity of the method of
the selection of land adopted in this settlement, consists in allowing,
every purchaser of an order for rural land to select the quantit?
mentioned m his land-order, in whatever part of the surveyed terri-
tory he may please,assisted by an accurate chart, which will be made
M i-apidly as circumstances will permit, representing the natural
features, the quality of the soil, and the main lines of road.
Certam rules as to position and figure, embodied in the terms of
purchase, and framed with a view to prevent individuals from mono-
polising more than a certam proportion of road or river frontaije
the^sociation to divide the whole or any portion of the territory
nto secttn«'n? ^"T^' "*' '''TJ"^ "'^ ^^^P'^^ ^"d o^h^-- towns)
mto sections of uniform size and figure, which has been the system
generally pursued in other settlements. Everv selection wS bo
effected by the owner of the land-order communicating to the chief
to^r t ^r'T\T «.f the spot on which he wishers his sec ion
to be marked out If this selection shall not violate the regulations
as to position and figure, and if the area included shall be'equaUo
the amount of land stated in the land-order, the section will be
unmediately marked on the chart, and a sur^yor will he Tent m
soon as possible to mark it on the ground.'
Doubts being entertained as to whether it was necessarv that
purchasers of lands in the Canterbury settlement should ^6™
bers c the Church of England, we applied for information on the
subject, and are now authorised to state that it is not essential
lolrtr"^/'r'' '^ ^?- ^I-y -ay bdongto other "iTgiou
bodies; but wiU of course have to give a third of their purchase-
money to the support of the avowed institutions of the settlement
Labourers and others sent free from this country to the cdonv
must we presume, be members of the Church of England- but
as natives will be employed, and a general communify be seJ
mtroduced, the promoters of the scheme may lay their account
7i:^^r -' ""-^^ '-''- witL^the VouXr
agreed that, unless before 30th April 1850, the amount pIS
to the company for land taken by members' of the Canterbury
Association should amount to £100,000, the territory should revS
to the company, and the purchase-money be repaid to the ZZ
oiates who had advanced it. On the 1st of January 1850 a 3
charter of incorporation, whinh liad »— d "»>n-,t - -- ,^. ^^
™, «unWed to the association.' •-Tie ortt^^pSr,
e method of
THE CANTERBURY SETTLEMENT.
to prevent the reversion of the lands to the New Zealand Company
was, however, far from probable. A verv sm^ill «Tn„«V ?!J^
promised £100,000 had^een raised, ^'^tTe^rrton t
tamed a postponement of the day to the 30th of June 'Hie
TeTe? l*t%"r^*" '^'"^^ '""''''''^ however waTas fS
as ever. An entirely new an-angement was necessary; and it was
earned out by the zealous friends of the project at, U would
aiHf T" T'"'^ 'r^''- ^^' '^'^ ^^« prolonged tTtte
31st of December; and instead of realising £100,000, the new
£50^o\wV'1 '"'"'rr '^^'^ ^^«" -^d« to' the' extent of
£50,000 by that day, and should be contmued annually for ten
ZltlJ f-' ^^f.'^'T '" *''^ ^^^ Zealand Company occurred
m the meantime. On the 6th of July the New Zealand Company
announced the termination of their functions both as a colonS
^odlalZZTl ^"%r^ thenceforth it fell to the association
to deal immediately Avith government. A bill was then brought
m for regulating the functions of the Canterbury Associadon by
Btatut^, and was passed on 14th August 1850-(13 and 14 Vict
New Zeaknf r? a^-^ngement previously adopted when the
New Zealand Company was a party, requiring, as a condition of
the contmuance of the association's func{ions,1he expendUure of
£50,000 a year on land purchases. The conditions on which iLd
Zd ^rrf *' ^' r^^ ^^^^•^' ^" ^^"^^^^' tJ^^^e whiclf will be
wm bP «!' rZ' «"^««q"e"tly i«««ed by the association, which
w 11 be seen further on. It was made a condition that a sixth of
all receipts on land, whether from sale or depasturage, should be
iriLf" ?T'T'"*- ^' ^'^^ *^"« ^' ^^'^'^'^ tl^^t the scheme
of the association has not Ijcen so widely appreciated as its Z
insTiS toir '"''''''-T' ''-'}'''''' piTtht Cu^
10 seU lands to any one without reference to religious ore Linn
The character of the lands within the CantfrbuTsettWnt
will be gathered from the following extracts. Capt^aii Tl' oto"
?SrrtftatSr °^*-» -ciation, thus ^eportrZdi
w;ftS„'rt™ttr.n^
is to be selected, contains over two millions of acres ex In^fn,
range of hills whose distance from the coast varies fron - v to
IS swampy, mdeed so trifling, that a dray mn. L?. drl^M^^ '1""^^'
every part ofit: the surface in some parts is stjny b^i on ^xa"™!?
tion we found it confined to the surface alone, the 'sol ZZ^gl}
i
*,
i
j,fj
i.A
■fl-U
HI
^^B' '
||
m
■
W
^^^^^H
i;
^H H
1 '
NEW ZEALAND.
a light loam, resting on gravel and a substratum of blue clay • much
of it well adapted for agricultural purposes, and capable of^yieuS
excellent crops of all kinds of grain, potatoes, and LCopLn fniTte
and yegetables The whole of this extensiv; and almoTunS
bited ract of plain country affords excellent natural pasturre ^d
¥hrnrn3 "'^ p"'" ^""^''^ ''^ *^^ depasturing of catfCdXCs
The produce of a very extensive country, extending alon^ the V^
coast for 200 or 300 miles, will have Por. Cooper L^ itemarket a^
harbour. Banks's Peninsula contains no less than four good C
bours-namely Akaroa, P,geon Bay, Port Levy, and Port CooZ
The country is hilly, and well wooded ; and the three former haibT«
are separated from the plain count'ry, excepting vTolbg^^^^^
a^d expensive hdl roads : thus Port Cooper alone fs of^ny^akf
with reference to the plains adjoining. The harbour of Port Cooper
situated in the north-west angle of Banks's Peninsu^ t^gh oS
to the eastward, affords good and safe anchorage Large slSps
anchor about four miles up, whilst brigs and large schooners lie off
the port town of Lyttelton. It has no bar, is easy of accLs and
e^ess, and has been frequented by whaler^ of al/nationsZ lit
last twenty years, and no accident is on record • and with a iLh*
house on Godley Head (which I should most strondy rTclmeSt
might be entered with safety in the darkest night^ ^ TheTtric^
Lmcoln, Stratford, MandeviUe, Ashley, Oxford, fnd BuccLuch are
for the most part grassy, or partially covered ;ith flax, and cak be
brought mto cultivation at a very moderate expense; and I r^om!
mend these districts to be first occupied, not only on account ofTZ
quahty of the land, but the first th?ee ^ith regLd tHhe tellt vo
position of the harbour, a. also of their possessing hi many in^t^Z
«rod^f ^"*r' °^ y^t^'^^ommunication for the transport of^el?
produce and supplying them with timber and firewood from Banks?
Peninsula; and the last two with reference to the large extent of
forest-land adjoining. We were agreeably surpriseHo find tha[
mosquitoes, which are common in many parts of New Zealand dur-
i^f K . «»";"!«\«eason, were seldom found on the plain, and we
attributed their absence to the very small extent of swLnpy land.'
xi-^^i.'l?^^'. *^® association issued authoritatively to the Dublic
the following matured statements as to the theatre of their
operations : — ^"^
m; JJI® r'f ""i *^/,f *«^™e^t ^8 a territory on the east coast of the
Ji« ^n t '^'^ ° • ?"^ ^'^^T^' ^°^*^^"^"& ^^°"' 2,500,000 acres ^
one block, consisting mainly of three grassy plains or prairie?
named Sumner, Whately, and Wilberforce, and intersected byCeS
rivers with their numerous tributaries, running to the sea from
andlir^f ^^-^ °^ snow-capped mountains. All along the spuS
and foot of this range, the forest, of which the plains seL to hav"
been stripped by fire, extends in primeval grandeur, Near the
^mfm^ *^' T'-"'^"' ?^°^^'« ^'^^'^^^ ^^ch comprises Ibont
260,000 acres of mountain-land, the greater part of it being stUl
covered by the forests contains two lalro.iito »,„„b-,„>„ -.-xu f ,
-.k, - ' -.._ — ^ .s.,„ "HMUvJuio, wim several
ue clay; much
We of yielding
luropean fruits
ilmost uninha-
pasturage, and
tie and horses,
along the sea-
ts market and
bur good har-
Port Cooper,
rmer harbours
forming long
I of any value
f Port Cooper^
, though open
Large ships
looners lie off
>f access and
ations for the
i with a light-
recommend),
The districts
•uccleuch, are
X, and can be
and I recom-
ccount of the
the relative
any instances
port of their
from Banks's
rge extent of
to find that
Zealand dur-
lain ; and we
mpy land.'
) the public
ire of their
coast of the
,000 acres in
or prairies,
id by several
lie sea from
ig the spurs
sem to have
•. Near the
prises about
it being still
With scvera!
THE CANTERBURY SETTLEMENT.
Braaller ones. The capitel of the settlement is Lyttolton, in Victoria
Harbour (fonnerly Port Cooper.) The latitude if this place is 43°
J5^ south, which as respects temperature, corresponds with about
47 m the northern hemisphere, being that of the most pleasant
^ots m the south of France. The climate exactly resembles that
ot lasmania, bemg chiefly remarkable for warmth without sultriness,
treshness without cold, and a clear brightness without aridity Both
the grape, for which England is too cold, and the gooseberry, for
which the south of Italy is too hot, come to high perfection In
consequence of the scale of the natural features of the country the
scenery is very beautiful, and in some places magnificent. The
fertility of the soil has been abundantly proved by the experience
of successful squatters. The prairie character of the main part
of the territory, together with the dryness of the atmosphere and
the mildness of the winter, indicates that the most suitable occu-
pation for capitalists will be pastoral husbandry— the breedimr of
cattle, horses, and sheep; but the absence of timber, the absence
ot drought, and the natural richness which produces grass in abun-
dance without man's labour, explain why the arable lands of the
squatters have yielded large returns, and shew that the plough and
the flail wiU be plied successfully by those who may prefer tillinc
the earth to the management of live-stock. Drought is unknown
As respects flowers, kitchen vegetables, and all the English fruits.'
with the addition of melons and grapes, the gardens of the French
settlers at Akaroa, and of the squatters on Sumner Plain, are
described as teeming with produce of the finest quality and most
beautiful appearance. Sea-fish is abundant, various, and of excellent
quality. The only wild quadruped is swine; they are numerous, are
very good to eat, and afford plenty of hard sport. The plains abound
with quail and a variety of wild-fowl. There are no snakes. wUd
dogs, or other indigenous vermin.'
Perhaps the most valuable, and certainly the most trustworthy
document which the association have published, is an answer to
a series of queries, given by the Messrs Deans, who had been for
aboit SIX years previous to 1849 settlers and farmers about fifteen
miles mland within the district proposed to be embraced by the
new provmce of Canterbury. These explanations, and indeed, of
course, any other documents issued by this association, as well as
Its nval, already noticed, will be readily afforded by the pro-
moters to all applicants who are at all likely to put them to
use. Had it been otherwise, this document would have been con-
sidered of sufficient importance to be here repeated. The survey-
ing officer of the ship Acheron, writmg in May 1849, said :
» You know, of course, that the general feature of the country is a
succession of abrupt and lofty hills, with corresponding deep and
secluded valleys, either thickly wooded, or clothed with t thick fern
— ng fix oca, OixcHiig iui kmds of obstacles both for pastoral and
63
NEW ZEALAND.
agricultural purposes ; indeed it is often heartbreaking to see the
land that people have settled down on, and the struggle and priva-
tion that must be endured before it can be turned to account. But
here we have a plain extending from north to south 100 latitude
miles, with an average width of at least thirty miles, intersected by
numerous rivers ; not the water holes of Australia, but rather rushing
torrents, wLich have managed to excavate beds for themselves some
200 or 300 and 400 feet in a perpendicular drop, on the western side
of the plains : these rivers will, I anticipate, on a detailed examina-
tion of their entrances being made, offer but few obstacles to boat
navigation for some half-dozen miles from the sea-board, which will
render their passage at all times secure : this great plain may be
called almost a dead level for as far as the eye can trace from any
point. From the sea-shore to the Backbone ridge, not a rise of
twenty feet meets the view ; but judging from the excavated bed of the
rivers and other circumstances, I think tliere will be found a gradual
rise of the land from the coast to the base of the mountain-ranffe
where I judge it may be some 500 feet above the level of the sea.' '
The documents published by the association are not all abso-
lutely eulogistic. Even their enthusiastic agent, Mr Godley so
late as the 31st August 1850, gives the following qualified remarks
on what passed under his eye : —
• After inspecting the works at the port and in the immediate
neighbourhood, I rode with Mr Thomas over the hill to Mr Dean's
farm on the plain. The tract which we were obliged to follow is
exceedingly steep— so much so, as to be only just practicable for
horses, and no heavy baggage could be transported by it. I cannot
better describe my impression of the country beyond the hill, than by
saying that it precisely corresponded to the idea which I had formed
of It from the map which was sent home last year. It may be said
that to the eye there are but two features— a range of mountains
apparently thirty or forty miles distant; and a vast grassy plain (the*
colour of which, as seen from a distance, is not greeti,hut rather that
of hay) stretching from the sea towards them as far as the eye can
reach, without any inequality, and almost without any variety of
surface; for streams, though numerous, are not large, and they are
sunk between very steep banks, and the patches of wood are unfor-
tunately both rare and small. The grass on the plain is intermixed
with fern and flax. To an eye unaccustomed to new countries it
doeu not appear luxuriant ; but I am informed on the most undoubted
authority, that the district in question is equal, if not superior in
this respect to ai.y part of New Zealand, and that the improvement
of the grass, after its being grazed over for some time, will be almost
incalculable. In Mr Dean's garden I saw excellent crops of fruit
and vegetables, and he gives a very good account of his own crops.'
The Canterbury Association have from the first kept candidly
and prominently forward their main objects. They have not con-
cealed, but have rather profusely anRounccd, that these objects
64
ing to see the
:gle and priva-
account. But
•h. 100 latitude
intersected by
rather rushing
omselves some
le western side
ailed examina-
stacles to boat
ird, which will
plain may be
race from any
not a rise of
ated bed of the
)und a gradual
lountain-range,
1 of the sea.'
not all abso-
[r Godley, so
lified remarks
he immediate
to Mr Dean's
1 to follow is
racticable for
it. I cannot
e hill, than by
I had formed
'.t may be said
of mountains,
issy plam (the
ut rather that
8 the eye can
ny variety of
and they are
lod are unfor-
is intermixed
■ countries it
ist undoubted
t superior, in
improvement
fill be almost
rops of fruit
own crops.'
ept candidly
ave not con-
ucse objectH
THE CANTERBURY SETTLEMENT.
a question for the mtendmg emigrant to satisfy himself on. whether
these are objects for which he will feel inclined, or fTeMiimself
Tat £lV? P'^V V"'. ^' "" ^^^«' '*' ^- ali-eady be rsaid
that £1 18 go for church and education, £1 for emi^ation, and
H.Zrf^rZ' 'r''''''^ ^^'- ^^^^ considered the actual
price ot the land. At the commencement of their operations, the
^Bociation offered the following calculatio„-a calculation which!
esSllv inT ' 7-' "'* ^y "^y means justified subsequently
especially in the most important, indeed the fundamental element
—the quantity of laud disposed of : -
mj*iltnT'"^'.^^v.''*'i^ of hypothesis, that out of the territory of one
w IhLnM • *°^j?"°"«d to this settlement, two hundred thousand
tTi^? V^'"" ^'''' ^'^^" ""' *^**' '^"'^ "^° remainder appropriated
to pasturage, the association will have at its disposal two iSnd^s, each
ose tirnT.'^'?^'^?'^^': °"° appropriated to immigration pur-
poses, the other to eccles.ast.cal and educational establishments and
e.idowmen s. The former funds, under the system of partial con-
mT ^'^'•T'' '"'^^^^ •^*" ^^^fraj'ng the whole cost of them,
™- r f 8oc.at,on intends to adopt, will probably enable the
ussocja .0,1 to forward 15,000 persons to the settlement. The
^socation considenng the large surface over which the popula-
J.„« I ^ ^'^^ributed, calculates that twenty clergymen, and as
majiy schoolmasters will not be more than are J-equisite to establish
ajud maintain that high religious and educational character which
tl^ association hopes, with the Divine blessing, that this settlement-,
will possess Assuming that the churches, parsonage-houses, and-'
schools, will be constructed of wood, upon foundations of stone, carried
to a height of three or four feet above the ground, the following
will be an approximate estimate of their cost :—
20 Churches, at £1000 each, - . . ^£20000
20 Parsonage-houses and Glebes, at £500 each, - lo'oflO
20 Schools, at £100 each, - . . 2000
A College and Chapel, .... ^'qqq
Residences for a Bishop, the Principal of the College, '
and an Archdeacon, . . . 3 000
Total, . - £41,000
*Deductmg this sum from the original fund of £200,000, £169,000
viu remain. The interest derived from this sum will probably have
to defray the following stipends :— J' *°
Tn«nT?^ ^1.000
lo an Archdeacon, .... g^^
20 Clergymen, £200 each, - . . " aqq^
20 Schoolmasters, £70 each, . . . J^qq^
Total per annum,
£7,000*
65
Si^
"■siii
f
if
NEW ZEALAND.
Among the earliest of the scanty funds obtained by the iand-
lales, £10,000 were sunk as an endowment for the bishop. In May
1860, a project for the establishment of a college was announced,
of which a full statement will be found in the documents readily
communicated by the association to those who have an interest in
them. Some money appears to have been expended on a bell
weighing thirteen hundredweight, an organ, and carved work for
diurch decoration. As regards preparatory means for public
instruction, the following passages occur in a letter from the
secretary of the association to Mr Godley its agent:—
* With respect to the erection of schools, the committoo leave you
to consult with the bishop designate. You will together 'ionsider
the question of making the best provision for this object, having re-
gard to disposable means. On the subject of the college, the bishop
designate has made all necessary arrangements for beginning the
work. Some of the clergy who sailed by the last ships, together
with masters and teachers in various departments (several of whom
will accompany the bishop designate), will form an ample staff for
commencing an educational system of a high order, embracing all
the departments of literature and science, and including instruction
m the arts most useful in the colony. The committee have provided
an ample supply of books (selected by the bishop designate), both as
the foundation of a college library, and for instruction in the college
and schools. The bishop designate will hand you a list of these
books, and of other articles designed for the use of the college and
schools. The whole of this department will be under his direction,
except so far aa concerns matters of expenditure, upon which he
will consult you, and obtain your sanction, previous to any outlay
being incurred. You will, however, assist him in his objects to the
utmost extent which prudence and the present limited amount of
disposable funds will permit.'
* As regards the college buildings, you will together consult as to
the best temporary provision to be made. It would, in the opinion
of the committee, be inexpedient (even were there ample funds at
command) to undertake at once buildings of a costly and permanent
kind. It must, for a little time at all events, be matter of uncertainty
as to the best locality to select for a site, and a hasty decision on such
a point may involve consequences extremely injurious. Besides this,
to commence a great work of this kind, involving the employment of
a large quantity of labour, in the first infancy of the settlement, would
be, as the committee think, an unwise measure in point of ecohomy
in every way ; both as rendering the work itself unnecessarily ex-
pensive, from the excessive price of labour, and at the same time
enhancmg the price of labour in the colony, by taking up a large
portion of the available supply. In all works of a public nature
which you may consider necessary— whether churches, colleges, or
schools— the committee wish you to bear this in mind, considering, as
theV do. that everv nddiHon at. iha rxwaaant «v,fx~.^..j. i- il,» J 4
00
T l JUl l . i . lWWi llMftiiP ' iWif i M
)y the iand-
•p. In May-
announced,
ents readily
1 interest in
d on a bell
3d Yiork for
for public
)r from the
B leave you
or nonsider
, having ro-
I, the bishop
ginning the
ps, together
al of whom
>lo staff for
ibracing all
instruction
VQ provided
ite), both as
the college
st of these
college and
8 direction,
1 which he
any outlay
iects to the
amount of
nsult as to
he opinion
le funds at
permanent
mcertainty
ion on such
esides this,
loyment of
lent, would
f economy
issarily ex-
sarae timo
lip a large
}lic nature
olleges, or
}idering,as
._ J -I
ic ucuiuuu
THE CANTERBURY SETTLEMENT.
ILISvT.h"^*'",'* w"^' '.'""' "°""'''^y '^'^l""«''. «»"sfc operate inju-
nously to the colonists, whose first wants ought to be supplied beforo
anything not strictly necessary is undertaken. Sublc to ttse
remarks, and governed, as you will be, by the amou„rof funds at
your disposa^, the committee desiro that you will, in concert with
the biGhop designate, provide temporary buildings sufficient for
Z77 V'' ""'"'' «f «ducatio„.%he%ommitt^ee camordo.Sl
iSbJtVril Hf'^"''"''"''^- '" this work will, for a time,' cheerfu ly
submit to slight inconvonionces, having regard to the necessity of
circu„.8tances and looking forward to^a speedy compleS of the
edifice and buildings of the college upon a suitable scale.'
nA^T*!?!'^'^^'^ ^'T ^^ *^« ""^^y outset about the estab-
^h« hTin! ?'• ^'^''?~.?i^'"'' ^"""^^ '^"^^ ^» thi« document
the bishop designate.' There was already a bishop of New Zea-
land. He had been appointed at a time when the probability of
a smaU settlement in the colony demanding a bishop for them-
selves was not anticipated, and when it was believed that one such
dignitary would be sufficient for a population not likely, for some
years to come, to exceed that of a secondary county in England.
It was impossible, however, according to the episcopal system, to
appoint an independent bishop to a territory ah-eady under e^is-
copaljurisdiction. Before the territory could be episcopally parti-
tioned^ the existing bishop of New Zealand would require to resign
his office, and the episcopal function would thus be suspended
until a new arrangement was made.
f^oLf ^*f ^ colonisation did not commence until the autumn
of 1850, when it was thus announced in a statement of the oro-
gress of the mrtitution down to November 1860 :—
Pil^^^.if'*^* !fP^n u'o'' °^ colonists, 800 in number, sailed from
Plymouth on the 7th September, in the ships Bandol^h, Sir GeoZ
f^y^^rCressy, ^d Charlotte Jane, which have been succeeded by
the Castle Eden and Isabella Ilercus, each of them carrying aboiit
200 passengers; so that the whole number of colonists whrjiave
sailed IS just 1200. Of these 307 were cabin passengers , a much
larger proportion, it is believed, of that class than ever occ^r^ed
iitr* '?», '^^ T"^^"" °/ ^"^'^'"^"'^ «'"P« proceeding at the same
aT, f fi,'^""^ colony, and one, therefore, which shews that the
desire of the association to render their settlement attractive to the
richer order of colonists has thus far been fully realised. Other
hf«h nf of ^r P'^r-^ring for sea, and will be continually succeeded
by ships of the same class, and despatched in the same manner.'
1^ nnn *''°^HT ''''^^} """"^y announce, however, the sale of
14,000 acres, with a right of pasturage over 70,000 acres. The
committee of the association, in writing to Mr Godley on the 7th
September previous, had said : / « i lu
•You wiU doubtless have been disappointed at the non-fulfihnent
67
NEW ZEALAND.
Of the oxpoctationa at first ontortainod as to tho extent of land-sale,
n^d the consequent amount of funds avu.lablo for tho sorvrco of The
colony. Much oxpoctations appear to have boon founded in too
sanguine a conhdonco in tho immediate effect which wouiS be P^c^
thTcolonv "rt".""" ";"'f .'^ "" «"' I>'o."u.,ationof theX^of
the colony. It has, in fact, been a work of time to impress iiifon the
public us rea merits. However, to a great extent this eS ha»
been accomplished, partly through tho medium of public meetinr
and the strenuous exertions of individuals, and paitlv throuirh tho
rr",?.f ^''%7'^""^--''-^ 1W'«-." or whiclulie eifc.iSio isTapidy
increas ng. Tho progress, however, has been gradual The com
mittee hope and believe tliat this very circun.stJn e i ' i„ ^df ^'
omen of more sure and certain success eventually. B.,t in a fina?.
cml point of view, the amount of land-sales (smallf as c^ pared Wth
previous anticipations) is attended with inconvenience In par
^nn',' 1 n ""' «"^»^'«.^''« committee at once to place at yo r^com-
mand the lull amount which you estimate as required to^omSo
all the works ,n progress in tho colony. At the same time wUh the
means that they will place at your disposal, and upon >Xdi I shall
>"^u''3l':e'ab!e\rrr Trr''''"''''^y ^- Jidentta
^^L^:^!:"!:^:^]^:;^ ^^-y'^ considered essential to
* I send you a statement, shewing the account and particulars of
land-sales, with the names and descriptions of purchiers n the
aggregate jncluduig the sales both for Uie first and second open n^
of apphcations. there utve been sold about 1.51 allotn.ents. coEng
ld,150 acres of rural land; 264 allotments of town-land extend n^
to 132 acres; 151 allotments of pasturage, with pre mnptive S of
purchase, containing 65,750 acres. Tl.; aggr^e^t? of pure W
moneys will be (when the full purchase-money up'Ln the secondlot
of sales shall be paid) £39,300. I need not^stm, to calcTS for
This was not a cheering practical result of operations com-
T"' T J^J «"PP««^*^«" tJ^-t three millions would be pu at the
command of the association, and which still continued to artnounce
Its views and objects on the following large scale :- *""°""^®
«In order to render the state of society in the colony similar to
that w nch exists at home (except, of course, as regards^he evH of
competition amongst the members of every class, in which lelpect
the colony cannot too much differ from the mother country) 7l^
been deemed sufficient to guard against the occurrence of ySr co.^
mon drawbacks to colonial life. The Jirst is the appronriationf
7lLT!f^ '"^' """ '"^'] '^ '''''^''^ '' '»>« conseqJe'i ^p Son
of the sett ers over a wide space o: r, . .A, wh. :eby the productive
powe,^ of mdustry are weakened, u.ii .o. 1 n.tercoLe is^'mpeded^
the second is that want in colonies wim.h most renders them unsuU^
able abodes for emigrants of the higher classes-nam«Iv.^hm':
.»-.,_,.
of land-salcs,
orvico of the
indod in too
ould be pro-
i' tljo plan of
•t'88 upon the
is effect )iu»
lie meetings,
through the
on is rapidly
Tiie com-
ia itself on
>t in n finan>
inpured witJi
In parti-
it your com-
to complete
no, with the
'hich I shall
nfident that
essential to
irticulars of
Ts. In the
nd opening
I, containing
, extending
ive right of
purchase-
second lot
ilculato for
L'ablo to the
ions, corn-
put at the
) artnounce
' similar to
the evil of
ich respect
try), it liaa
four cora-
ipriation of
dispersion
productive
i impeded ;
sm unsuit-
7 ■* "«nxw
THE CANTERBURY SETTLEMENT.
Of labourers for hire and domestic oorvants : the third is tho want
of a systematic, organized preparation of tho wilderness for occupa-
^on by settlerH: and the /.«,YA- a circumstance very repnlnivo to
heads of lam.i,cH,and especially to thoughtful mothers- is the want
of religious prov.s.onH, and of tho means of school and college train-
ing smular to those which exist in England. In the Ca,?terb«ry
Hett cnient, moderation m tho app.opriulion of land will be enforced
by the prune cost of all land, which is the fixed uniform price of £3
per acre It is behoved that one effect of this price will be to occa-
sion such a proportion between ti.e number of inhabitants and tho
<iuan ity of appropriated l.ud, as fo Kucure the occupation and use
f all the laud ^vllen it b, , .mc. private property. If so, no part of
the waste will be treated .^th.. hay was by the dog in the mLgor
and the colonists v, ill not he n.ischiovously scattered. IJut in ordei'
that tho price of <m , I.old land uu.y not operate as a restriction on
tho use ot those extensive natiinil pastures from which the wealth
of the settlement must, for a long while, be mainly derived, it has
SririSlnn '' -<^^7,'^7-"- «»■.'- J. -o"ff«t the purcha'sers of
the hrst 100,000 acres, shall be entitled to occupy pastoral runs for
an almost nominal rent, at tlio rate of five acres of pasture for 'ono
ot freehold. Oiie-sixth of the purchase-money, or 10s. per acre is
paid to tho government for public purposes. Another sixth, which
when the whole plan shall bo carried out, will amount to £1,250 oSo
IS to be expended in surveying, road-making, and the generd admi:
nistration of the plan. A third, or £1 per 'acre, being £2,500.000 in
the whole, ,8 to be an emigration fund, devoted to the purpose Lf
paying for the passage of the land-buyers with their familie^ their
servants and other persons of the labouri„g-cla.s. And the remS-
mg tlurd ,s exclusively appropriated to religious and educaUonal
objects-such as churches and common schools, a parochial clergy, a
bishopric a school of the highest cla^s, and a college fit to supply
New Zealand and the other colonies of England in the South Pacific
with a local Cambridge or Oxford.' ^'
The conditions on which the association offered land for sale
and pasture-licences were altered from time to time, according to
circumstances. After the passing of the statute, it Us necesfary
lr>t''-7 iXn^ v^'^ir.n' *'^^" fi"^»y consolidated and issued
ou !.', Jth beptimber 1850, as follows :—
^JJ^'^'^^^! *^° ^^,««P"on of such land aa has already been or may
hereafter be selected by the agent of the association for the sitHf
the capital town and of harbour and port towns, and of such land m
may be reserved by the association for works of public Sy undS
the present or any other terms of purchase, all thelandsshall be le^
for purchase as rural land. The association has resolved i.n?*o
exercise the right of selecting tho sites of towns bo;ond the -te of
the capital; and in case Port Lyttelton should not be selected ^
the capital, then of one port town. »«ieciea as
* 2. Anv ananitt.v nf }anA «.„.. i i ,
^ ^ .J ... ,„n,. ,,,^j „« purcuasca as a rurai aiiotment
69
I'
NEW ZEALAND.
f°' "l^e I?« 'l^ «fty «"«■ Ai^y person demtoup of pnroluuto.
tod m dBtoct allotments, may do so by separate forms rf acS
S4i;S":f'a^':riJr "--'■"'f "-^ -<iintheporttown,ifany,
«. .Uotment of a quarter of an aore L1he porf to^f/a^^^t
£12; but no such allotments shall be sold imn« ^kV^ ' • /'
^^:t^X^^ - -er«Sn*a:^;:rpLro?
Sp'^TnX^Pp-^pHiltTSeSIr^^
sold every purchaser of rural land, and no ^cther peio^' t? t
paaturage to one acre of land purchased. ®^ ""^
entkled t^n'^r^i pasturage-Hcences under the last condition will be
t^oilt P'^^™P*^^e "ght of purchase of the lands comprised in
such hcences, subject to the conditions herein contained SLl"
to the purchase of rural land ; except that, instead of applicSns for
purchase bemg made to the secretary of the assocSn anS f'n!
purchase-money being paid to the bankers of triSioTsu^h
£» mrd'ethlm.*'^ "'°"^'"^' P^'™"* oFthe purchase-mo^t;^;
J 6. Lands held undsr pasturage-licences may not be purchased hv
any persons other than the lic^sees until after on*, mnnf) ' .• ^
colony, statmg the mtention to purchase, and specifying tLunT.
proposed to be purchased; the intending purcEXL reauIrS
land office. Pasturage-licences will confer no right to the soU
DalturSl if * *° the foregoing conditions, aU lands included t such
* 8. Applications for the purchase of rural land mnof k« ». j
received, one-half of the purchase-money must be naid iTthl
Slf .5^ • '^°"""*^"» ^^^^^ Cocks, Wulph & So Chtin^
unTuh« n r '''''P* P'"'^"''"'^- I^and-orders wiU not be Sd
until the purchase-money shaU be paid in full
., '"• The selection of land in the colonv will K« «,oJ -j.--_ .
the order in which land-orders shall be prerenTedil'thrr^JX;"
f purchasing
3 of.appHca-
extent of a
town, if any,
ng the sums
le following
at £2^ and
, if any, at
foing terms
st prices of
11 be open,
per annum
he quantity
ts, shall be
on, Avill be
le by such
'6 acres of
ion will be
mprised iu
applicable
cations for
t, and the
tion, such
>ciation at
ic^eymay
chased by
li's notice,
ice in the
the lands
■ required
ey at the
soil.
d in such
as other
be made
office of
n can be
i to the
Charing-
e issued
FuUig to
id office
THE CANTERBURY SETTLEMENT.
of the association in the colony. But if it should over so happen
that two or more persons should apply at the same time for the same
aUotment, the preference of selection between them shall be deter-
mined by lot.
* 10. Every allotment of rural land must be selected of a rectangular
form, so far as circumstances and the natural features of the country
will admit. -^
* 11. Every allotment fronting upon a river, road, lake, lagoon, or
coast, must be of a depth from the front of at least half a mile.
' 12. Every allotmeni^^ not fronting upon a river, road, lake, lagoon,
or coast, must be not less than 300 yards in width, and not le«8 than
half a mile distant from a river, road, lake, lagoon, or coast.
* 13. Each section under a pasturage-licence must be in one block,
and of a rectangular form, as far as possible.
* 14. The intended application of purchase-money is as follows :—
one-sixth part is to be paid for the land ; one-sixth part for misceUa-
neous expenses, including surveys, roads, &c. ; one-third part for reli-
gious and educational purposes ; and one-third part for emigration.
Subject to the regulations of the association with respect to the
selection of the emigrants, every purchaser will be entitled to re-
comnaend emigrants, proportioned in number to the amount of his
contribution to the emigration fund ; bat not more than *en shillings
per acre will be allowed towards the passage of the purchaser and
his family.
* 15. The association reserves to itself the right of selecting, and ap-
propriating, and obtaining a conveyance to itself, for public use only,
of all such lands as may be required for streets, squares, roads, sites
of churches, churchyards, schools, parsonage-house, wharfs, landing-
places, jetties, or other objects of public utility and convenience.
« 16. The association reserves to itself the right of making such
modifications in these terms as experience may prove hereafter to
be expedient or desirable for the general benefit of the settlement,
and as may be consistent with the conditions under which the land
has been reserved to the association.
* No rural land will be sold in the colony until after due notice to
that eflfect. Subject to the engagements which the association has
made by previous terms of purchase, town land may be sold in the
colony at any time after the date of these terms of purchase. And
the foregoing conditions shall (so far as they properly can) apply
to such town lands, except that, instead of applications for purchase
being made to the secretary of the association, they may be made
to the principal agent of the association at the land office in the
colony; and instead of the purchase-money being paid to the
bankers of the association, the same must be paid to such
agent.*
_0f the actual progress of affairs in the settlement. Captain
Thomas, the agent of the company, wrote to his constituents on
27th January 1850, saying:—-
71
'4
■I
!,
NEW ZEALAND.
v«3**""!;^ n^r® ®''®' ^®®'' °"' *»^ England comes up to our sni-
veys; and all the surveyors employed of. it, whether on the staffed
by contract, are delighted with it. The trigonometrical survey "s
bniS '"T'^"'' ^''^'^' '"'"^ '« °f *»'« intermediate Sres
pfet^d E^Z'lT'^V' "*'" ™°1^ satisfactory. We have com-
200,000 more trigged j and before the winter, we shall complete the
distncts of Lincoln Christchurch, and Mandeville; so thTl shal!
;llv"^ P!?""'V^ ^'^^'"^ ^^ ^^^' 300,000 acres ready the first
ar^rr % P?""-^* year I hope, our facilities of movement
are so increased, that we may complete it all. The cost of the tri-
EtTh^rf ''Jr^'"'"'^"' ''^" topogmphical, is. up to the present,
vou a fZT, J^"""^ '"?%?«'• ^''^- I «hali, when further advanced, send
bv IfvfnTln H "^^«""^t'°» on the formation of these settlements,
hLnl / ^^ expenditure, and classifying it under the various
heads of surveys, towns, roads, and public buildings.
isl..w?> ^-^P«7™ent of bringing down natives from one part of the
islam to work m another, is also successful, and was the only one I
Z"l ^?'* ? '^'^ ^^'^"^^ °*' P«"«^ ^"d protection, to formtle
IrH^n /'.' r ''^^^^ "^' "^^'^^^ "^"«J^ P^- W for it is a very
?our miles w"^" '°P' ""''^^ ^""^"^ here to Sumner-distance
iTLifA y° '''■.^' however, getting through the worst of if
cLtnt nni''%^*? ^""^'' ' '^"P^ '° '^^^^ th« ^hole line to Christ-
church (IO4 miles) open in the course of a twelvemonth.
wav ofnhf!-^""' ^ T'."^"'^^ ^°'' H°bart Town timber, as the only
s^^able ttr^A%'f T' '"PP^^ '^ ^ ^•""'^'^ *'™«' ^»d at a rei^
Tih.*- ^i ^ for n'ght since it arrived, and is all now stacked
n the timber-yard, or m the hands of the carpenters, who are putting
S,h«r^T'^'''''''^^r^*=^'- ^''^'^^"^ carpenters also arrived from
well. Altogether, this plan has completely succeeded, by keenino.
down pnces and compelling the vagabond^ that pack t? all new
brought the Hobart Town carpenters and timber have now been at
ThfTJ^""" three weeks. The captains speak well of the place. .
Ihe improvements I have made in this place will make it a ;«;;
pretty town, and it will have an excellent road to Christchurch I
th^sft:,!?'''' "' '^^'^ "^'^ "° °^'«^^^ ^ «-"g *^' ^'- of
riJi ^^T?i ^'^^'TnT' ^'^'" *^^ subsequent dispatches of Mr
bodley that Captain Thomas, to do even the limited services he
accomplished, had overdrawn the association's account ; and on
.list August It was necessary to say—
«f;!l^°n/^^ present accordingly, all our operations are at a stand-
E^Lnd T? ''"'^'" '° until fresh remittances shall arrive Zm
cttlH,?j;:i^^7.r^^^^^^"?>^^^^ -' -'y - there necessarily a
^„53 jt;;i;jmijg oj, gjj^jj ^ Suspension of exten-
sive works, and a risk of considerable damage to ?he works them-
p to our snr-
a the staff or
cal survey is
liate features
'^e have com-
e shall have
complete the
that I shall
idy the first
tf movement
St of the tri-
t the present,
vanced, send
settlements,
the various
part of the
e only one I
to form the
it is a very
sr — distance
vorst of it;
e to Christ-
, as the only
nd at a rea-
low stacked
are putting
nived from
3 yet work
by keeping
to all new
k^esfiels that
ow been ai
place
e it a very
;church. I
he sites of
hes of Mr
ervices he
t ; and on
>t a stand'
rrive from
cessarily a
I of exten-
rks them-
THE CANTERBURY SETTLEMENT.
selves, but Mr Thomas and myself are in the disagreeable position.w^
of remammg idle for want of means to do any work. I shall remain *
here, and endeavour to employ my time as usefully as I can in acquir- *
ing general information ; and he will remain at Lyttelton, after wind-
ing up his operations, until he shaU receive from me instructions
to resume them. The work actually done consists of the buildinra
which I have enumerated, of a road partially made, but which (m-
cludmg a bridge and searwall, which are necessary to complete the
connection between the port and chief town) will require at least
±7000 to finish; of the trigonometrical survey of about 600000
acres, the topography of about half of which will be completed (as
Mr Thomas informs me) within the period at which he will be com-
pelled to stop ; and finally, of the materials for emigration houses at
the chief town, which will hardly, I fear, be erected within that
penod. I consider, however, that, with the exception of the road,
nothmg will then be left unfinished which is absolutely necessary for
the reception of settlers.'
.J^i^}^^ ^®"®'*^^ appearance of progress in the settlement, he gave
the following sketch : —
; The harbour is very fine, both in a picturesque and a utilitarian
point of view The captain and all the nautical men on board were
delighted with It Itconsi8tsinaregularly-shapedinlet,aboutseven
miles long from the entrance to the end, and varyirg from a mile to
a mile and a half m width. It is open to one wind (east-north-east),
but everybody agrees that it never blows hard from that quarter, and
also that the swell is lost before it reaches tlie harbour. There is a
good anchorage outside in seven fathoms, and from thence it gra-
dually shoals to three fathoms, about five miles up. There are two
small bays, in which, if it should be found necessary, shelter for
ships may be found from the only wind to which the rest of the
harbour is exposed. No pilot is required, as there is literally nothing
to avoid except the hills on each side; and there is width enough to
bea m or out m fine weather. Half-way up the harbour we passed
a whale-boat, which mformed us that we might go up and anchor
opposite the town." At that time we had seen no sijm of civili-
sation, except the line of a road in process of formation along the
face and over the top of the hiU on the northern shore, and no human
Habitation except some Maori huts close to the beach; but we held
on, and presently another whale-boat, with Captain Thomas, the chief
surveyor of the association, on board, shot from behind a bluff ou
the northern shore, and boarded us. Immediately afterwards we
let go our anchor, though « the town" was not yet visible, and my
ivife and I went off with Thomas. On rounding the bluff aforesaid
agam, I was perfectly astounded with what I saw. One might have
supposed that the country had been colonised for years, so settled
and busy Avas the look of its port. In the first ulan«. fhlr^ \« ™i.„f
the i anuees would call a « splendid " jetty ; from thence a wide"
beaten-lookmg road leads up the hill, and turns off through a deep
73
ig
rfn j IUlMa" <f m i:vmriliair '^'MUK'.
Ijin
NEW ZEALAND.
* BSp?.i^1,^''''!l:^• P" "^"^ "•*« «^ *he road there are houses
SI' ^ ,f ^""l^er of about twenty-five, including two ^ hotels-
JSnlvT.Tn''^'^ ^1^ *^u' '^*P^ °^ ^ «»'-" weather-bo^arded hut cer-
teinly, but still a custom-house.) In a square, raUed off close toTe
w^^* ^'' It "^*?""f ^ ^°"«^«> ^^^"d^d foJ emigre brrrac^
with a cook-house in the centre. Next to ihia «,n«o^l oarracK^
o(^}!'F'^^' respecting the settlement, terms of purchase
of lands, transit, &c. may be obtained on apnlication to tb!
secretary of the Canterbury Association, No. 9 td:jJrTeLce!
M
CONCLUSION.
The facts Offered in the preceding pages will have shewn that
New Zea^nd differs materiaUy, in cHmate and generrXysicd
terns and hilly lands renders the climate showery, and consequenUy
1^' VrJ'r^^f *^ ^^^ *^^ ^°gl^d, though of r finer
kSn^r;,, r?^'' ^" *^Pn°^^ di«t'i«ts Of Austrflia, the popu-
ktion must be necessarily of a dispersed character, that of New
Zeakad will generally attain a density similar to that of Europe
her peculiarities of New Zealand are equaUy significaS ^t;
suTtSffr? ^'^P of islands, abounding i^ ba^ a^d Sour
suitable for foreign commerce, and affording means of ready inter-
communication by steamboats. The coast! also yield vast^ TuZ-
ities of the finest fish, valuable for home use, and for exporteZn
l^ w'h '?Jf-. ^^?']^^ "^°^^^^*« ^1^™-*^ admits Zo^*^y
fish but beef bemg salted, without risk of loss. The lands, wh^
cultivated, yield prolific crops of wheat and other kinds of S
suitable for exportation. From the trees, potashes may be made
to any imagmable extent. From the Fh^um TenL, or N^w
Zealand Flax, cordage of the strongest and most durablTkind maT
be manufactured Of fruits of exceUent quality, there wUlbT
as cultivation advances, the greatest profusion. ^The amrimt of
mineral wealth it would be presumptuous to estimate.
It would be difficult to say what New Zealand wants in the
natural attributes of a great countrv. And a — f ..«"*-:?
wiU be~the greater from its proxiAiity to the°vaTt r^o^ of
■#■
are houses
o« hotels'^
ed hut cer-
lose to the
barrackc^
les a small
Q destined
of ground
ntroduced
!d, has six
ling it, we
a the bare
purchase
1 to the
Terrace,
CONCLUSION.
Australia stt in the infancy of thehr prosperity. That whicb/b
New Zealand requires is the settlement of industrious and iS ^^
gent Europeans. From what has been previously said, it is seen *
that eve^where the field is open. At Auckknd, W 1^2"
Nelson, New Plymouth or Taranaki, Dunedin, Littleton r^
other centres of Brifsh civilisation, lands may be acquTed Sd
employment wiU be found by those who are able and willing to
work. It 18 true that fortunes are not to be made by sheep and
wool, as m Austraha ; but sufficient scope is oflfered to capitalists
and also for carrymg on a system of rural husbandry on a mode-
rate scale, with room for e:.tending to greater things. Unite to
this the usual exemption from rates and taxes, freedom from the
oppressive conventionalities of an old comitry, and the solacementa
nil tf^ f™**'!/"^ '* ""*y ^« «aid with justice that few
parts of the earth s surface present such aUurements to the emi-
grant as New Zealand.
ewn that
physical
>f moun-
equently
a finer
lie popu-
of New
Europe,
iant. It
liarbours
ly inter-
It quan-
ortation
lot only
Is, when
>f grain
•e made
or New
nd may
will be,
ount of
Nora.— Since the above was written, the followine extraot fmm «
letter from Mr Godley to Mr Adderley, MR, dS WeSoI New
Zealand August IS, 1850, has been pit into our hands :_^^ ^"'^
iius colony, as a field for the investment of camtal ia t fi«r.i«
beUevj unrivalled in the world. Sheep Td catLSp^lLS^
^1^117' ""I^*' "^"^'"^^ *° '^^ ^°«* moderate computotlS
-30 per cent on the average, and has often paid 100 per cent ^d
more. And this will last, and even increase, ^til the ^t avaLwe
distnets of the Middle Island are filled nv iBh^lt^^^
wonderful that there should, in these tZsl^ceXiZy'Zy
capital flowing mto the country ? A man beginning with SoT
S «hir' i' i7^ ^oT,! ""^ ^ ^°°^ ^ '"^^ ^1^0 began whh abou?
200 sheep, and 15 or 20 horses, seven years ago, and who has m^
sheep and other stock worth at least ^lO.COofbe^Lr having 160
acres uuder the plough, and large farm-buiidings, a brig of hfs^own
&^' Everything, no doubt, depends on personfl,^r at least trTs?!
worthy management; but what each family in England ought to dot
this-to send out one of its own members, if qualified, and make him
superintend the investment of the fami y capital irmiXwJS
ease and certdnty, be doubled in four or^five^ears at pr^ In 'rites
Ipe"u?a"tion Toa'w ^°" ^?7 ^ ^"^ °°* ^"^'^ *« rasHr heXg
speculation. I could prove it to you by numerous instances.'
in the
n4.«
ions of
76
"S3ir
THE AFRICAN SETTLEMENTS.
^•^^■^vx wvv%^
i
GENERAL ACCOUNT.
The British possessions in Soutli Africa now reach from the
southern extremity of the Cape Colony, 34" 61' south latitude,
to the nprthern extremity of Natal, at 27° 40' south latitude on
the east side of the coast, and to the most northerly bend of the
Orange River (29° 41' south latitude) in the interior towards the
western coast. Their estimated area is about 130,000 square
miles — considerably larger than that of the United Kingdom.
The enlargements which have lately taken place in the boundaries
of these possessions, accompanied not only by considerable
immigration of British emigi-ants, but by changes in the native
population, render the number of inhabitants doubtful. Including,
however, natives and Europeans, the whole may be estimated at
about 300,000. These possessions are of irregular structure, the
Cape Colony forming a pretty compact area at the very extremity
of the great continent, but the new district of Natal stretching
northward in a long narrow strip along the east coast. There
are thus great varieties in the character of the country. It
contains deserts ; mountain - ranges, some within the line of
perpetual snow; a long indented sea-line, with many harbours
and stormy headlands. Tliough thus various, the whole territory
differs gi'eatly in one marked respect from the other British
possessions in the southern hemisphere : it is full of animal life
in beast, bird, and reptile.
The general character of everything, animal or vegetable, earthly
or atmospheric, in these as well as other parts of the huge African
continent, is extreme and contrasted. Either the earth is stone
and dust, or rankly prolific in vegetation : there is parching dry- •
ness or deadly swamp; the animals are of the most gentle or
the riiost ferocious character ; the vegetation produces luscious
r iFttii vrF vscciTjij puisuii.r ^liituiaii}-, u, piacu wicu sucii cnaracieris-
jtics is one of risks and alternations in fortune.. Whatever the
76
GENERAL ACCOUNT.
*
settler pursues, e8t)ecially far inland, he must prepare himself to
meet great and often overwhelming risks. The flock-master cannot
repose with his peaceful sheep around him in the firm reliance
that each succeeding day will only witness the gradual increase of
his wealth. The enemies he has to contend with are numerous,
and they come not in detai l but with great destructive sweeps!
The sheep are liable to inflammatory epidemics, which run
through the flock like electricity. At times, they eat poisonous
herbs, as if a diseased appetite had overtaken them. Even
a storm of hail or of thunder will kill several hundred sheep
at once.
In the far interior, the farmer may have to encounter losses
from the ravages of the fiercest kinds of wild 'teasts ; but these shy
animals keep at a distance from the approach of man ; and the
settler must have made choice of the far wilderness for his home
before he is disturbed by them. Animals individually less terrible,
become, however, collectively, far more formidable. In the simi-
larly remote districts, herds of spring -boks, and other kinds of
delicate and beautiful antelopes, cross vast territories like living
inundations, gleaning every green blade from the surface they pass
oyer, and leaving perhaps a small percentage of their number the
victims of the settler's rifle. The still smaller locust is a more
formidable scourge. The vast clouds of these^-^msects, when
scorched by fires, are taken up in basketsful, and eaten; and if
the burning has not been excessive, they are said to resemble
shrimps. But this is a poor recompense for the mischief accom-
plished. ' The farmers,' says Mr Nicholson, ' on any indication of
such a visitation, by making large smoky fires, and by other
means, sometimes partially succeed in protecting their fields from
total destruction ; but although they may escape the effects of
any immediate consequences on the first attack, they are liable to
the more destructive ravages of the young generation produced
from the eggs deposited by the first flight, and whose black
multitudes, wingless as they are for a length of time, cannot be
driven ofl', but must be suffered to hop about, ravaging every-
thing, till then- wings grow, and a gale of wind tempts them to
a flight.'
The whole of British South Africa has a character for salubrity,
and is in this respect very different from the rest of the continent.
The general opinion, indeed, is, that the salubrious cordon, as it is
termed, of the continent passes where the British settlements end,
and the Portuguese colony of Delgoa Bay begins. The Cape,
and Natal, as emigration fields, may be mentioned separately,
though, for reasons after stated, little need be said respecting
them.
*^J
F
77
'■s^-
I
I.'.
...
THE AFRICAN SETTLEMENTS.
The Cape of Good Hope.—Thi^ colony occupies the southern
extremity of Africa, its capital, Cape Town, being conveniently
situated on the coast, and now inhabited by a large and respect-
able population. The territory of the colony has been described
as a series of terraces one rising behind the other, and each fronted
by a range of rocky mountains parallel to thv. -jea-coast, through
which passage is found by gorges, glens, or clefts, called cloofs.
The general range of the elevations is from 1000 to 4000 feet ; but
there are mountains in the colony above 7000 feet high, and with
their tops within the line of perpetual congelation. Close to the
capital, is the remarkable flat- topped hill called Table Mountain,
rising abruptly upwards of 3500 feet. In the western, which is
the older part of the colony, there are great deserts called Karoos ;
and large districts are quite unfit for culture. Many writers have
recorded the sinking of the heart with which they saw the dreary
dark -stone masses which fronted thera, when approaching the
land of p;romised verdure and abundance. But if less promising
at first, the comparatively scanty vegetable covering of the Cape
soil is of infinitely more value than the rank, deadly, tangled,
luxuriant herbage of the more tropical regions of Africa. The
rivers, with the exception of the great boundary-line— the Orange
—are not large, and dryness is the characteristic of the district.
Sportsmen complain that they lose the advantage of a turf-footing
in making their stealthy advances on their prey, and that there
are few uncultivated places in the Cape Colony where they have
not to scramble over loose shingle, which give forth a metallic
clatter.
The old colony is divided into two provinces— the western and
the eastern. The former contains these divisions : Cape, Stellen-
bosch, Zuellendam, Worcester, Clanwilliam, George, and Beau-
fort. The other contains Albany, Uitenhage, Somerset, Cradock,
Graf Reinet, and Colesberg. The additions made to the colony
in 1848 by proclamation will have to be mentioned further on.
In temperature and other physical characteristics, the two divisions
differ considerably from each other. The winter in the western
provinces is described as wet and disagreeable, while that of the
east is said to be dry, bracing, and pleasant, though cold. The
Emigration Commissioners, in answer to the question: ' How are
farms supplied with water? say: By fountains and rivers, and by
natural and artificial dams and reservoirs, which may be much
extended. Near Cape Town, periodical rains may be relied on.
In the interior, they are more uncertain.' And when asked : ' What
are the best watered and most fertile districts? say: Those bor-
The Cape had been possessed and colonised by the Dutch for 9,
78
I southerq
iveniently
i respect-
described
ch fronted
t, through
id cloofs.
feet; but
and with
se to the
Mountain^
, which is
i Karoos ;
iters have
he dreary
ching the
promising
the Cape
, tangled,
ica. The
le Orange
i district,
rf-footing
hat there
hey have
metallio
stern and
!, Stellen-
id Beau-
Cradock,
e colony
rther on,
divisions
! western
at of the
Id. The
How are
i, and by
be much
slied on.
:'What
lose bor-
;cli for IV
TIIE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
centuiy and a lialf, when, on their alliance with France in the
great European war, it was taken from them by Britain in 1796.
At the peace of Amiens, it was stipulated to be restored • but
when the war broke out again, its convenience as a stage on the
way to India, and its value in many other respects, had become so
obvious, that it was again taken possession of in 1806. It was
ceded permanently as a British possession at the peace of 1815.
The nominal boundaries of the colony, though far within the
actual range at the present day, had not been nearly filled up.
At the time of the distresses in Britain arising from the sudden
cessation of employment by the peace, and the losses occasioned
by the war, emigration was prominently brought forward as a
means of national relief. Fifty thousand pounds were voted by
parliament to accomplish this object, and the Cape Colony was
chosen as the place of destination for the exiles. It was believed
not without reasort, that as the object of the government was to
get rid of people who were, or were likely to become, discontented,
they preferred for their destination a colony governed somewhat
arbitrarily, to the American settlements, more liberally governed
m themselves, and close to countries still more free. The number
to be exported was 4000 ; but such was the fever for emigration
at the time, that there were 90,000 applicants. The disappoint-
ment of the upwards of twenty rejected for each one accepted was
extreme ; but the felicity of the fortunate few was not entirely
unmitigated. Instead of a land of spontaneous abundance, they
found that they had gone tc one where they were under an
absolute necessity of workiiig, though their work was in the end
productive of satisfac' -^sults. Landed at Algoa Bay, they
may be said to have fou. parate colony at Albany, which
IS, from being so peopled, i . thoroughly English part, of the
old Cape Colony. The infa, a.nent had to encounter at first
severe calamities ; but it ultimi.Le.y righted, and became prosperous.
Its capital, Graham's-town, is the second town of the old colony
containing a population of upwards of 6000. It has its own
enterprise and attractions, and especially to British emigrants, in
the origin of its inhabitants. The Dutch language, their ideas,
associations, and habits generally, pervade the other districts of
the old colony ; though many of the Boers or Dutch farmers have
removed to a distance, from their irreconcilable objections to the
British system of government — especially to the denial of then-
right to keep slaves. It is to be regretted that then- cause of
enmity is of so selfish a character, since, in general, they are an
honest-minded, kind, and hospitable people. The canital. Cane
Town, with nearly 30,000 inhabitants, is still in a great measure a
Dutch town ; but it is fuU of British gentry, with their official and
7d
mK-
■ "jsai-.
1?
! .
THE AFRICAN SETTLEMENTS.
commercial importance, and contains a mixture of classes and
races.
^ In virtue ofterms of capitulation, Dutch law remains in force
in the provmce, and the church of Enghind has not been estab-
Iwhed. The prevailing form of religion is the Presbyterian,
l^atterly an excellent system of elementary education has been
mstituted on a legislative basis. The colony is under a governor
appomted by the Colonial Office, and for some time the establish-
ment of a provmcial parliament has been in agitation
The great drawback on the tranquillity of the Cape Colony, is
the proximity of tribes of Caffres and other intractible savages.
VVars with these have been common ; and with a view of beating
them back, or of placing a wide and secure territory betwixt them
and the colonists, the boundaries of the province have been
immensely, and as the event has proved, unwisely, extended. The
hrst great extension was in 1847, when two great divisions, called
Victoria and Albert, were added, consisting of thirty millions of
jcres. Ihis enormous increase only led to fresh encounters with
the natives, and still another vast tenitory was added, called ' the
Sovereignty. It might have been foreseen that these extensions
would expose a frontier too large for regular observation and
protection and inevitably produce collisions with fresh bands
ot irritated barbarians, who would at least feel aggrieved by beinr
dispossessed, or cheated out of their lands. Such have been the
consequences-long and expensive wars, ruinous to the unfortunate
colony. Other things have injured the Cape. The attempt of the .
home government to force convict settlers upon it, caused much
bad feeling; and the withholding of often-promisedfree institutions,
till the colony was m some measure exasperated, had the worst
consequences. Stil occupied with military, and far from being
settled m its general affairs, we regret that the Cape does not yet
offer that safe and satisfactory field of settlement for intending
emigrants which its naturally fine qualities would seem to war-
rant. On this account, we refrain from presenting any statement
respecting its lands, products, or other particulars.
NataL—This, the last acquired dependency of the British Empire
for general emigration purposes, is a portion of the south-east coast
ot Africa, as it trends eastward after passing Algoa Bay. Its eeo-
fZ 9S?l'^.?oTn' *'*'/'^'?' T ^^' *" ^^° 4^' ^•^"t^^ latitude, and
irom ^9 to 31 10 east longitude ; covering an area of about 18,000
square miles. With the Indian Ocean on its seaboard, it is separated
inland from the new acquisitions of the Cape by the Drakenberg
or Dragon Mountains. ^
i.... ..,.v^.^- ^>. tiic ai;4ui3uion oi this coioiiy is in some respects
a melancholy one. The Dutch farmers of the colony, the Boers,
"K^""' ytMrwt^.
^l^ses and
US in force
leen estab-
Bsbyterian.
1 has been
I governor
I establish-
Colony, is
e savages,
of beating
:wixt them
lave been
aed. The
:>n8, called
nillions of
titers with
ailed ' the
extensions
ition and
!sh bands
by being
! been the
ifortunato
opt of the ■
jed much
ititiitions,
he worst
am being
s not yet
intending
I to war-
tatement
1 Empire
ast coast
Its geo-
ude, and
It 18,000
eparated
ikenberg
respects
i Boers,
NATAL.
as they are called, shewed an unmitigable restlessness under the
British rule. The Dutch are naturally independent and high-
spirited, and possess many qualities in common with the British—
a circumstance which does not make them the most docile of
subjects. Probably it would be difficult to get British settlers
converted into submissive subjects of a foreign government ac-
quiring any of our colonies in war. Almost since the conquest
of the Cape, they had been gradually moving over the boundaries
mto open districts; and in 1843, it was ascertained that thev
entered into a treaty with Dingaam, king of the Zoolus, for the
absolute possession of a district of territory more extensive even
than the present colony of Natal, which forms a part of it. Here
It was their intention to form themselves into an independent
republic. It was contrary to the policy of the British colonial
system to permit the formation of the state close on the boun-
daries of a colony. Though of Dutch origin, these Boers were
considered as British subjects; and it was held that they did not
dispense with their allegiance by settling beyond the bounds of
the colony, unless they went over to some established govern-
ment, and that the extension of the space c4!t«red by the colonists
could only be considered an enlargement of the colony. Accord-
ingly, in 1843, the district occupied by the emigrants was declared
to be a British possession and a dependency of the Cape. The
Dutch resisted this annexation, but were obliged to yield to a
military force. It may seem hard that these lovers of independ-
ence should have been thus hunted to their place of refuge, and
prohibited from peaceably establishing themselves on a territory
which they acquired by treaty, and which interfered with no
actual used dependency of the British crown. But the rigour of
our colonial system to individuals embraces a spirit of high justice
to the world at large. The emancipation of their slaves was one
of the main objects of complaint with the Dutch ; and there is
no doubt that if they had been left to their own will, they would
have subjected the natives to bondage, if they did not even
procure slaves from a distance. .
In further accordance with our colonial system, the individual
lands occupied by the Boers could not be considered their own,
but were the property of the crown, to be disposed of as the
British authorities might direct. The equitable claims of the
settlers to a sufficiency of land would of course be considered;
but the government, treating them as other British settlers
have been treated in New Zealand or elsewhere, would not in-
vest them in rpjilitv with iVto loi<n-p /i;cfK;»4a iiTi«;<^k *u~,. u
nominally assign to each other. Disgusted with their position,
many of them disposed of their interest in the land, and again
81
THE AFRICAN SETTLEMENTS.
iwirmed off to ne^ settlementB. They had thus voluntArilv
subjected themselves to the greatest hardships and privations
*f '."?,. "P }^^" «b«^« in distant solitudes, far from the borders
ot civilisation ; and .n many instances supporting Ihomselves by
tneir riHes, and merging into a state of semi-savageness. Attempts
have been made to conciliate them towards colonial British rule
but these efforts have not proved so successful as could be wished'
Jbmigration to Natal did not seriously commence till the year
1H49 It has not thus furnished any practical experience of its
capabilities as an emigration field; but, as we shall presently see.
Its promises are large, and well supported. The number of
persons who have already settled there is not known, since,
besides those who have gone directly from this country, many of
. the tape colonists have moved northward.
The climate of Natal is warm, but salubrious; and as the soil is
said to be generally fruitful, it seems that all the productions not
only of the warmer climates of the northern hemisphere-such as
lurkey, which is in a corresponding latitude— but also those
ot tlie temperate regions, may be successfully cultivated. In the
informatiori issued to settlers by the Emigration Commissioners, it
IS stated, that '
'All the European vegetables may bo grown in Natal. Good seed-
potatoes aro much wanted. All garden seeds should be brought
out; beans do well, and are a useful vegetable here; apple and pear
trees grow we 1, but few have been grafted: whether these fruits
will attain perfection, there is no experience to prove. Pine-apples.
iItrodiI!Jod°"^' bananas, and yams, thrive well; plantains have been
^ Many fruits and valuable vegetable productions appear to be
indigenous. Mr Isaacs, who appears to have been an early
settler in the country, before it was even extensively occupied
by the Boers gives the following account of its fructifying
capacities, and of the simple manner in which the natives took
advantage of them :—
* The people bestow but little pains in preparing the land for culti-
vation. The boys cut and clear the bushes, never extract the roots
nor turn up the surface. The wood or bush is burnt, and the ashes
strewed over the land. This is all the preparatory labour for sowing.
Afterwards, the women commence their labour by scattering the
corn on the surface without order or precision. This completed, the
ground IS turned over in the seed, but much is uncovered. After
germination, a month after sowing, women and girls clear it. Two
monhs after sovving it begins to ripen; and at the end of the third
mon h. It IS hard, and fit for garnering. Thus, with an industrious
people, three crons nf cnm oq/.k >t«o« ^„:^\.i i.. -i _ . . , m.
plant both the Gumea and the Indian corn. We introduced at Nati
VQluntarily
privations,
he borders
nselves by
Attempts
itish rule,
be wished.
1 the year
31106 of its
jently see,
umber of
«rn, since,
% many of
the soil is
ctions not
— such as
lao those
. In the
sioners, it
food seed-
5 brought
and pear
ese fruits
ic-apples,
avo been
lar to be
an early
occupied
ictifying
fes took
Ror eulti-
he roots
lie ashes
' sowing,
•ing the
Jted, the
After
;. Two
hie third
ustrious
They
it Natal
NATAL.
• regular system of husbandry ; and our natives had become so accai.^
tomed to It, that we had but little difficulty, lattorly, of nresorvinir
our crops in regular succession. The natives have several sorts of
beans or pulse, all differing from the European bean ; they grow
productively, and are an agreeable vegetable. They also cultivate
a seed called the '•Loopoco"-it is not dissimilar to rape in size and
colour. Of this, tho natives mako their beer, which is produced by
fermentation. It contains very powerful fermentative properties
and when drawn off from tho vessels in which it is prepared, it is*
a red, or light-brown colour; an excellent beverage, both potent and !
stimulating. ° *^ )
• They raise four sorts of potatoes— red, white, pink, and brown ; all !
of them sweet, and not of the European description, but a very good
vegetable for culinary purposes. Pumpkins and melons grow spon-
taneously, and are also cultivated to great perfection, while they
have an excellent vegetable both in appearance and flower like
spinach; it grows also spontaneously. They have a great variety
of wild-fruits, particularly the aumuntingoola— about the size of a
plum, rich in flavour, and with seed, instead of a stono, in tho body
I of It. This makes a most excellent and a highly-flavoured preserve.
Tho sugar-cane is wild, and, I suppose, an indigenous plant. They do
I not cultivate it, though the soil seems adapted for its growth, as it
runs to a prodigious height, and the cane is of large dimensions.
They have two sorts : ono grows larger than the other ; the former
the natives call «Moaba;" the latter, "Simpla." The plantain is
also another native vegetable, which, with tho " edoc " and yam, are
substitutes for bread, although they have a bread made from Indian
corn, pulverised and made into a sort of thin cake, which they bake
by putting it into hot ashes. Every sort of European seed for hor-
ticultural purposes which we had brought from the Cape, grew
exceedingly well, and produced luxuriantly, particularly the smaller '
sorts of vegetables. Salads we raised prodigiously fine, and rapidly, i
Cabbage -lettuce grow in great perfection, as did the beans, and |
kidney-beans, and a variety of other seeds, particularly spinach. I
*The fact is, the climate of Natal is congenial to vegetable life, as
is proved by the rapid germination of the seed after it is sown. The
seasons are also exceedingly encouraging to the growth of all vege-
table productions; the dew, during the intervals of tho periodical
rains, being extremely fertilising and nutritive. There are at times
checks to vegetation in Natal, as in all other parts of Eastern Africa,
but they are far from being common visitations. The principal is
the locust. They now and then spread their destructive influence,
and their devastation is great ; but only one or two instances occurred
during my five years' residence of their appearance amongst us.
Those I have already detailed; and even then, I was somewhat
surprised, from the prodigious flight of them, that they did not do
more damage'— (Christopher on Natal, p. 22.)
Like all the fruitful parts of Africa, Natal is prolific in animal
as
\
<;
THE AFRICAN SETTLEMFNTS.
as well as in vegetable life; but the absence of vast dense thicket,
seems to prevent the wilder children of the desert from reS.
there m the presence of so considerable an influx of stranZ^
one daTto t TV^'"^ '' Pietennaritzburg, takingTS
one day to the cemetery, were somewhat startled to find a few
W : w'"l*'^"^ meditatively among its few tombs Z
wi'th wilSn'r^ ?f, ^°^ ^'^"""'^ '^f N^taJ' i« ""ch infested
Neatly d^^turC-n^i? ^ ^""T T'^ ^''*'""^ '*» ""^^^ »>ave been
great y disturbed, and have gone further nland, fearimr the effeotn nf
sTalf drm%:"'nce' C'^ **' ^^^^^^ collected^rse^drdt^rnt
small circiimference. In my various peregrinations, I Jiave met with
elephants, buffaloes, tiger-cats, leopard^ panthers, hjUas. S boar^
virStf S; f °" ''^" °' ^'T' porcupines, mLkeyilnteateS
civet-cats The foregomg animals, at a time, were very numerous in
the v,an,ty of Natal, but from the causes stated, are giatrdecrea^
mon :Y^Z""-'^"'''\''\\^''''^'^'^''''^'^^^' Otters'^airc:^
mon m the rivers, which the natives hunt and catch in traps To
the eastward of Natal, there are also to be found the rh noSs* lion
camelopard, zebra, baboon, vivera, kangaroos, gnoos, and hares ' aS
the hippopotamus and alligator, and other amphibious anS Of
domestic animals, they have horned cattle, beiSg the great oWect of
their various contests; namely, the beev'e, the%ow,\nd the bull
onlv^.nrf '°/^"'P '^".^ ^«'^'^' ^"'l ^»'« «^°™«««<^ dog. Hogs are
Z7T^' u cattle are not large, but exceedingly good meat •
and the sheep are of the Cape species, with broad%aiKaud ^th
anfmnrr 7'^^ °^ ''°°'' '^^^ 8«^*«' ^^^ '^e sheep, are i^sed for
animal food, and are very line eating. Of the feathered race there
asa great vaiiety The wild sort are easily obtained, and often kSled
precision. The Numidian crane, the crowned crane, black ea.rle
vulture,heron, flamingo, wild-turkey, wild-goose, wild-ducrpartSJl'
grouse, galma or guinea-fowl, owl, and dove o^-arious dlSS
are common, besides birds of varied plumage, but none with au5
o7tL Cap'e?""''"' '°"''"'^ "" ^""^ ^« ^"'^^^ British setUements
In the notification from the Emigration Board, questions on
the animal productions are stated and answered as follows:—
* What is the probable value of oxen and cows, sheep, pies, hoi-ses
poultry, &c at Natal, and what class of animals is mo^'.^iukbrfor
the colony ? What description of wild animals, wild fowl, and fish
abound; are there now dogs obtainable in the colony suitable for
J!'^!?:?:"!!"^^^""^'",^' &c.?-Good trained working oxen, £3 each ;
,«v va-.-^x^, ^u, os.i z^moo cattle, *l, 10s. to £2, 10s.; cows (common),
KATAL.
£% lOs. to £3, 109. J sheep (Cape), 10s.; pigs, 10s.; horses, £10 to
£20; fowls, 4s. per dozen; ducks, Is. 6d. to 2s. each; geese aud
turkeys, 98. to 128. each. Most of the above animals are abundant.
Good fish may be taken in great quantities on the sea-coast, the few
caught in the rivers in the interior are of a worthless kind. Useless
dogs abound in the district ; good ones for hunting and shooting ar»
rare and valuable. Wild fowl are not generally numerous, but they
may occasionally be obtained.*
With all the salubrity and productiveness with which this
country is endowed, there is still a painful uncertainty about the
character it is to assume with reference to the ordinary staple
produce of our other settlements— a dubiety, in short, as to the
productions which may be profitably raised in the district, and,
consequently, as to the kind of emigrants who should seek it.
Undoubtedly, it will not be safe for any man who takes his
notions of a colonist's pursuits and chances from the flock and
stock -masters of Australia, or the wheat-growers of Canada, to
make choice of Natal, and proceed thither to follow the systems
there established.
Whether it is to be at all a sheep-farming district, is still an
open question. The herbage is described as very rank, and it is
supposed to contain many poison plants. The fat-tailed sheep of
the Cape may be safely placed on it, but it will scarcely be worth
the settler's while, in a new and thinly -peopled colony, to raise a
krad so valueless for its wool. It is stated that a superior breed
of goats has been introduced in the stock - farming of the
district ; and pigs, which seem to live everywhere that food
exists, flourish.
Cattle and horses have been more extensively tried than sheep,
being almost necessary for the operations of the colony. The
Dutch wagon requires a whole train of oxen, and the plough
requires a strong drag through the heavy land. The settlers have
not yet had time to test the suitableness of the colony for horses
and cattle as a produce; but the general opinion of those who
have had experience, appears to be more decidedly in favour of
their thriving than in the case of sheep. Mr Methley, who de-
scribes himself as a general commission-agent in the colony, says—
♦Horses are to be had at prices varying from £10 to £20- they !
are generally of excellent quality, and have well -developed points
Thorough -bred horses havo been extensively imported into the I
colony, and have much improved the breeds. They are hardy easily ^
supported, and equally serviceable for harness or saddle. There are
no heavy draught-horses, such as are seen in drays in towns, or are
m use on the farms in England: neither are thev «« t«««i. ;«
request, as, for general purposes, oxen are found to 'answer better
There are two or three varieties of oxen. The cattle obtained from
85
THE AFRICAN SETTLEMENTS.
are best adapted for land near the coast; they can be purchased
unbroken from 25s to 308. The « Africanda » is the largest IpeZ
^d have immense horns ; nevertheless, they make excellS draurt!
2F?therla.fd "^^^'-S'.^i ^'T f^' ^^^^ '^^^' ^^^' i« called the
th.i^ . 18 decidedly the best; the cows give more milk and
the flesh makes better beef, than either of the others. B^End^h
graziers, they are much preferred, and generally bear a higher value
m the market.'-(2'Ae New Colony of Port Natal, p. 93.) ^
QuIliJiesTn^lh/' ^'! T-^''^'' ^"^ '"°^"^«« ^r *>t^«r deleterious
qualities m the vegetation are general, or merely local with
characteristics which may teach the settler to se { ^e pas're
which IS exempt from them. It is also uncertain how far buS
^ may not be greatly improved by systematic depasturage
Besides any natural defects in the herbage, there are noxS
m^able of these being the attacks of insects ; and in mentioning
«us^ we notice a serious drawback on colonisation in any part of
Three of the great staple productions of the very warm redons
are known to grow well in Natal-tobacco, indigo, anTcStof it
LttTon?* *^^.-g— ecoufdTe w^U culfi;ated,ttTndigo
e^Decia W fhTl'f ^'"°"!- .^"^ ^"^ '^''^ ^^^^P^^^^ productions,
Xv Lli ''. '' ' ^^'""^' ^ ^*^P^^ production of thi
settlers Th^ ' .' 'f •'i""'"' ™Portance in the prospects of its
mltS 3 v "^^"^^'i^^^ «^P^«ity of Britain demands the raw
material of its principal manufacture wherever it can be got
There IS a desire to introduce small capitalists-they might fer
baps be better described as men of the working.classe'^^,a?d those
munediately above them, who possess some saved monei-into the
Si ' n m V'"^ k' *'l* *'^^ ^^" "-^""^ condLt couon!
in Zp^l I. ^^ T '' ' ^"* *^' production of cotton has hitherto
. in general been on large estates, where slave-labour, or something
closely resemblmg it, has been employed. And if this prod^f
notlV"^wT"?n'"^. ""^^^^ '' *^^ «'"^" capitalist,rdo s
Ee n thr.i * f ^f 'f '^' working-man. It has hitherto
been the charactenstic of cotton plantations, that they can be
^ caTfmLrt ^t^'t"^' *'^ f ^"'^ '^"^ ^^ --^ whiJh slave
' tC 2?r*nf^l \' '''" ^'T '^' ^««"™e"t quoted below,
^W.^ K ^'i7''^ 'T''^^^ ^^^^ *^« «otto» harvest can be
carried on by children. Much interest was created in the Man-
SSf" ^/.^r™T '^ *^^ P^^^'^^*-'^ of some samp's
!!f *lif?"°^', ^^^'^ were found to be long-fibred, adhesive, and
Tct T TriiiLC J isi'FH •orora f-.fii^n ..»,,: ^—r' r.-. t ' i . _ • .
/I
86
liure were otiier and inferior kinds produced at the
1 size, and
purchased
!8t species,
it draught-
called the
milk, and
iy English
[her value
eleterious
cal, with
B pasture
r burning
I whether
asturage.
I noxious
most for-
sntioning
y part of
1 regions
tton. It
It indigo
Juctions,
■ of this
ts of its
the raw
be got.
;bt per-
id those
into the
cotton-
iiitherto
nething
produce
it does
litherto
can be
slaves
below,
can be
! Man-
amples
^e, and
at the
NATAL.
same time ; and the quality seemed to depend, as in other places^
on the seed. By the practical men before whom the/were
placed, one of the inferior samples was priced at from 9d. to lOd
per pound. Another kind was estimated at Is. per pound Mr
Bergtheil, a German settler in Natal, who had assisted in bring-
mg the matter before the Chamber of Commerce, published the
toUowing est. mte of the cost and produce of a moderate cotton
tarm, m the ' Manchester Guardian : ' —
-* Suppose a Family of Five Persons to go out with a Capital of - £400
They will have to spend —
For Passage, £20 a head, - - . . ^gioo
... 200 Acres of Land, at 6s., - - - - 60
... Eiglit Oxen, at £3 per piece, - - - 24
... Temporary House, and necessary Working Implements, 30
Which would still leave for their living, and payment of Waaes
and other Expenses, the sum of - - - . £186
Suppose they cultivate in the first year fifty acres of land, which would
produce (as proved already at Port Natal) per acre 600 pounds of clean
cotton, the value of which is 6d. per pound at Port Natal ; but taking
It only at 400 pounds of clean cotton per acre, and at 3d. per pound,
m order to be on the safe side, the fifty acres would produce 20,000
pounds at 3d. per pound, - - . . _ £250
The Second Year, 100 acres might be cultivated, and would
produce, - - - . . caa
The Third Year, 150 do., ' 750
The Fourth Year, 200 do., i onn
The Fifth Year, 200 do., Jjooo
The gross Production of Five Years would be, - £3^600
Prom tliis amount the following expenses are to be deducted • ""^
The First Year— Wages for Ten Caffres, at £3, 10s. per
annum, ----_. £35
. Ginning and other little Expenses, - - 30
The Second Year— Wagcsj for Twenty Caffres, - £70
Ginning and other little Expenses, - . . qq
The Third Year— Wages for Tliirty Caffres, - £105
Ginning and Expenses, . • . . - 90
The Fourth Year— Wages for Forty Caffres, - £140
Ginning and Expenses, - - - . 120
The Fifth Year— same as Fourth Year, -
£65
130
195
260
260
910
£2,590
. Which leaves a net Profit for the five years of - - JC'Z,5V{)
1 Besides a Plantation of 200 acres (and not, as stated in the * Guardian,'
I f often acres) their own and free pro perty.
London, 6th AfarcJi tHiS^ T. Beegtheil.'
The following extract from the ' Cape Town Advertiser ' was at
87
>
<.
\
x.
/
THE AFRICAN SETTLEMENTS.
fwl?""" *™^ ^'^'i^'^* ""^"" ""^"tJ«"- Jt related to a farm of
twenty-nme acres three miles from D'Urban •-
The expens^from Ist August 1847 to Slst July 1848 were :-
Cafflre Wages, - . fw \r -"''*"•
Rugs for C^ffi;es, - . ^% \l I
5fi?»'d« Maize, do., . il\tl
Meat for do., - . - 3 6 2
Bagging, . . . £m ^^^ ^'^ ^
Twelve Spades, &c., - . 2 10
• 8 18 3
I
. At4id.perpoundonthe8pot,tlievalueof8D25pound8wouldbe£167 Ss.'
i^^^^:^ ^^^^"^ '^' ''-^^ -^ -^-^^e produc.
[growth and Preparation of Cotton.~mne kinds of cotton have
been grown in Natal, proving thereby the adaptation of the soil for
rSL\ f ^ . ' *^^ '^^^'r' "^ *^« deposit of saline dew on Uie
At NatalTr^ '*' ^'°"'^ f ™"°^' ^ *h« '^"^^y nature of the sSj!
W an ^ '1 T^'^f "">' '^•^"^^ ^« planted facing the sea, hT
Sr f * T ?^. «°"''^-e^te™ aspect. The north-west winds are
SS Fv° *'^;"^. '^'^^ P^^"*- ^' ^« '^^'^'-'y «'« most pL:[!
ar! ncHned tnTl""*^ ""^ '*'"°" "^^^ ^^ produced^ and those who
are inclmed to take some extra pains, will probablv find thp rZ
Island cotton will answer best : and thos^ who aSZeS"o cu tiv^t^
n' wi rJrow th '"'"'j'^'^y' -«i r-1»-es the least trouble in c tl
mg, will grow the most common cotton now in the colonv nrnhaWv
prod^^ed from Egyptian seed. The additional diluU; of de^.W
Sea Island cotton is the principal reason for supposing^ that it wU?
fn vlrri!" '° ^"" ^' '*•" "'^^^ *'°™'"«» ««"«"• l^he machines latX
w!h^^L^°'^^^^''™^^°'^^'**^ "»"«'» of "'« difficulty found in S
Dring It to market, the price being double.
Cotton maybe sown in Natal from August to October; and althourfi
tiL sea X 1' "'f """•^'"'^ ^" ^°"°*^ ^^*'»^ ^^fteen ™iles from
thesea. Cotton lands require ploughing; and if crops, and continuous
good crops, are required, subsoil ploughing should be resorted to If
TrltlX^' "^ ^'/^^ ^^°™ Liverpool! there will be no Xrm i„ en^!
quantity of the common quality. In order to keep the eround clear
of weed, and for facility of gathering, as well as ecCZnf"lun/
t«u «cea^snoma De planted in rows at least five feet asunder fsix fe'^t
■1
NATAL.
probably better), and in holes three feet apart. They should bo
dibbled m (and if the ground is subsoil ploughed) twelve inches
deep, half-a-dozen seeds in each hole. If all come up, thin them out
leaving a couple of the strongest. If fibres adhere to the seed, and
the colour of both be a little green, it is very doubtful if the seed
will germinate : the seed should come out clean. In America, the
cotton-plant is an annual; in Natal, it is a perennial. I have seen
them nine years old. Cleaning the ground should not be omitted. If
weeds take up the nourishment between the rows, the plants will
not thrive so well. The ground between should, in short, be turned
oyer every year. It has been suggested that mealies might be
planted between the cotton ; but at anyrate it should, I think, be
only for the first year. In such cases both are liable to be ne«'lected,
or the gathenng of one may interfere with the other. Mealies are also
temptations to cattle, which would do the cotton also no good. Prun-
ing has been proved advantageous, producing more pods. The
strength of the Natal cotton harvest is from January to the end of
March. It is then that a farmer would wish for a large family to
send his children into the plantation. The more the merrier. But
if he has none, he can still employ the coloured women and children
of the country. These go through the grounds gathering the cotton
from every open husk, leaving those unopen for another gathering.
Unless gathered perfectly matured, there is difficulty in separating
the cotton from the seed ; and moisture then being in the seed
and fil.re, the cotton is liable to become mouldy, and consequently
weak in fibre. When gathered, it is placed in open sheds, and soon
becomes perfectly dry. It is then fit for cleaning-the long staple
cotton being separated from the seed by a roller gin ; the short
stapled on the old system by the saw gin. Those among the
emigrants who intend going largely into this article, should make
themselves acquainted with the last improvements in the construc-
tion of machinery for this purpose ; and perhaps they could not do
better than apply to the secretary of the Commercial Association, '
Manchester, on the subject. In making this reference to him, I trust
tliat gentleman will excuse my doing so, the object being a public
one, and no person likely to be able to advise so correctly.
* A gin or cotton-cleaning machine has lately been invented, which
costs about £3 : and I hope, shortly after arrival in the colony, most
of these emigrants will keep one of their own.'
At the same meeting of the Chamber of Commerce where the
cotton was produced, it is stated that * the president also produced
a specimen of indigo which was said to be worth from 3s. 4d. to
3s. 6d. per pound ;' but we have only very slender means of know-
ing anything of the capabilities of the district for producing this
precious but very precarious commodity. The only decided ex-
periment appears to have been made by Mr Wilson, who laid out
fourteen acres with the plant in 1849.
Tobacco is another vegetable of the warmer latitudes which
89
^■
H
<
}
TIIE AFRICAN SETTIEMENTS.
Natal i» expected to furnish. Mr Christooher sav. 'T1..,. .
«.y«eu good tobacco grown from HS/et^^It NatTbnl
of the expected produce of Natal with a list dven bv Mr Ph "
topher, of miscellaneous commodities whir hL^ / . .
colony Droducin^ «4A«,n '^"'"("^^"^^s which he expects to see the
Aloes, — This plant is indiffpnnna *« \r„t i j -^ '''•'S"®- —
valuable article of export ilTan-?. 5 '• *°** "^^ ^^ "^*^° »
^T.^i7tL''7X i°''js''riTthr"r ""^ ^-^ '^
their superfluons fat or convert itin.n 1 ."'""T' '"* '='I»'»
certain extent would be ohtaTJli Ta ■"''' °°'°""'' "'»'"> «» »
nnindebtadforin.p^ltfto"^:^-^^"''™"^ "" '■"•'?»<•»« and
, .e5'ltrve1;tS;[™U[;^ "-^ "^ --^ -««■>->. CO..
iber^trb?en t:^^;\sz ZT f'"- T*- ^"i «■»
^rrs^u-Jec— ^- -^^peoXi^^ssin^prsis
Spl?n%te ^if/° ■• °' ''°"'' ^^^''»'''»' *« «>->'n' about Seville, in
^^^^^t1u°-u£»r^.e--rbXt^^^^^^
t:^f^ .^^ "f'^ ^o«.y-are found extensively. ^*
90
NATAL.
* /wry.— Some in the country, and great quantities will be collected
from the Dutch and the Zoolus.
*/r«Ze«.— Great quantities. Natal should make its own leather.
*Bark. — Mimosa is an excellent tan.'
Land and Investments. — The general rule for the disposal of the
vacant or * crown ' lands of Natal is, that they are to be sold by
auction at an upset price of 43. per acre. This price only applies,
however, to the rural districts, and the general scale of prices is
thus practically set forth in the information furnished by the
Emigration Commissioners : —
* The upset price in the seaport town of D'Urban is £100 per acre,
each lot being in extent about one-third of an acre. In the town of
Pietermaritzburg, the seat of government, and in other towns, price
£50 per acre. Suburban allotments £1 per acre. Country lands
are oflfered at an upset price of 4s. per acre. These upset prices are
sometimes raised under peculiar circumstances. .
' Government lands rarely fetch more than the upset price, owing \ \
to the great extent of private property in the market.* ' '
In answer to questions about the necessity and cost of clearing
land, these answers are given : —
« There is so much available open land, that clearing has not yet
been necessary.
* There are no data on which to ground any calculations as to
expense of clearing. Bushy lands cost most in clearing.'
In answer to further questions as to the delay that may take
place before the settler is put in possession of his lot — a very-
serious matter to the emigrant — and as to the possibility of any
questions arising on the validity of the titles, the following infor-
mation is given by the commissioners : —
* On application for crown lands that have not been ofFc. ed for sale,
the survey takes place as soon as possible. There is, however, always
a quantity of land that has been oflFered for sale, available for imme-
diate purchase.
* Where the crown lands selected have been offered at public sale
they may be obtained on payment of the upset price and surveying
expenses. Where the land selected has not yet been put up for sale
it will be necessary to advertise it for three months previously to its
being put up for auction at the upset price. Possession may be
obtained immediately after the purchase. With reference to private
lands, it may be stated that purchases can be made previously to
survey.
* Information as to the validity of titles may be easily obtained at
the government offices. A fee of 2s. 6d. is charged in the Transfer
Office, where all mortgages are registered, for every search.. All
arrears, if any, must bn paid before transfer of these' properties, or
any portion of them, will be allowed. Mortgages are not often met
withi but where they Lave been effected, the purchaser must, as a
91
?^m.
THE AFRICAN SETTLEMENTS.
iwattor of course, arrange with the seller aa to the mode of payinif
them off, either on transfer, or allowing them to remain at the
current rate of 6 per cent, per annum.
'The crown reserves to itself the right of making roads over all
lands, without compensation to proprietors, except on those parts on
which buildings may actually stand at the time, and also the right
of fixmg outspans (halting-places where draught-oxen and horses
may graze) on the line of road.'
As to land specially suitable for cotton culture, if it really
become successful, it would appear that there may be a run on it
which will considerably raise its selling above the upset govern-
ment price. Mr Bootham, the secretary of the Chamber of Com-
merce, writing to the editor of the * Manchester Courier ' on the
cultivation of cotton at Natal (2l8t December 1848), says—
• I have said that parties must not expect to get cotton land at the
government minimum price of 43. per acre, unless, indeed, they
wi 1 be at the trouble and expense of clearing away dense bush.
All clear open ground, that has been hitherto ofl'ered for sale by go-
vernment (I allude, of course, to cotton ground), has been bought at
prices rangmg as high as 10s. 6d. per acre, and tliey have now nono
such for sale within thirty miles of the port; but some in farms of
from 500 to 700 acres, at this distance, will be su'^niitted to public com-
petition in the course of a few mouths; and as there are no speculators
here just now, these farms, in the event of their not being sold by
auction, will be for private sale, thus affording an opportunity for any
emigrants that may arrive subsequent to the date of the public sale
to commence operations, without being compelled to purchase from
private parties at exorbitant rates; but as government have not
niore than from 75,000 to 100,000 acres of cotton ground to dispose
of, and as the best lauds are in possession of private parties, it can-
not be long ere there is any good cotton land procurable at all under
15s. or 20s. per acre. We have ourselves sold about 2700 acres at
5s. per acre, bushy land, to as high as 40s. for clear eround. in the
ueighbourhood of the port.'
But there is an announcement in the Government Emigi-ation
Report for 1850, which must bear somewhat on the scarcity of
cotton-growing land in the market, and its selling price. It is
there stated that 25,000 acres had been granted by the local
government, on very advantageous terms, to a company of cotton
producers; but that they had not been successful, and it was
necessary to resume the land.
A strong desire has been expressed, in various quarters, to t
make Natal a settlement for people of some, but moderate, means, fi
It is felt that it is not a very suitable one for labourers— at least for
a large number of that class rising in position and becomhig land-
owners; and therefore that if large capitalists should fix on it as
a country for investment in cotton, tobacco, and other tropical
) of paying
ain at the
els ovor all
ie parts on
' the right
md horses
' it really
run on it,
t govem-
r of Com-
r' on tho
s —
and at the
leed, they
nso bush,
lile by go-
bought at
now nono
I farms of
iblic com-
•eculatora
f sold by
ty for any
ublic sale
ase from
liave not
dispose
!S, it can-
all under
acres at
td, in the
ligi-ation
arcity of
!. It is
lie local
f cotton
it was
•ters, to
means,
east for
\g land-
on it as
tropical
NATAL.
products, it will merge into a territo y of two classes-an indo-
lent, rich, colonial aristocracy, on the one hand; and on the other,
a low, labouring class, only a little above slavery. It is stated in
the government information to emigrants, that ' the most valuable
emigrant for Natal is the practictJ farmer, possessing a small
capital-say of £500 to £1000-and of industrious aSd steady
habits. With these qualifications, success is ultimately certain '
Ihe Dutch are more inveterate followers of old customs than
even the English peasantry; and in the use of their ancient wagon,
there can be little doubt that there is a vast waste of substance
and motive-power. At the same time, there are doubtless obstacles
m transit to be overcome, for which the neat English van would
be very unfit. It has been suggested, that the rough Scottish cart
might suit very well as an African vehicle. It was invented for
the same purpose as the enormous Dutch wagon— passing over
rough ground. As to other objects of expenditure, the following
advice is offered by the Emigration Commissioners:—' Emigrants
with capital should be careful how they invest their money in
goods for sale in the country, as the market is liable to great
fluctuations, and merchandise which at one time will meet with a
ready sale, yielding great profit, will at another time not realise
the cost in England. It is also advisable that no land should
be purchased previously to seeing it, or at least obtaining a
description from competent and disinterested persons.'
An arrangement has been made, by which depositors of money
in this country for land in Natal may obtain a remission for each
labouring or mechanical emigrant conveyed by them to ftie colony,
and invested in small holdings. The deposits must be in sums
not less than £1000, and the remission is £10 for each emigrant.
With regard to the wages of British labourers or artisans, the
Emigration Commissioners have not deemed their several amounts
sufficiently established to enable them to make a distinct announce-
ment of them. On the remuneration of productive artisans they
say—' Each tradesman makes his own articles, asks his own price,
and obtains it, yielding about 10s. per diem wages.' This would
be a glorious state of matters for mechanics were it likely to be
permanent. There are, however, large sums, in the form rather of
profits than wages, passing from hand to hand in all infant colonies.
Labourers, and these of a very inefficient kind, have obtained high
wages in Natal, but they have been favoured by lucky accident.
We do not yet know how far the colony is to be permanently a
good source of employment for the better kinds of skilled labour;
but the arrangement for the accommodation of working emigrants
in small locations would seem, at least at first sight, a good one.
It shews a considerate spirit on the part of the Emigration Board,
G 93
,t
I:
f,»
*,
THE AFRICAN SETTLEMENTS.
tw t f ' n" '"; '"''^' '^' '^'^"y «" "««f»l a« it can be made to
that valuable c aas of men-the productive workers of Brhain
whether m mechanical or agricultural operations; and tf the par-'
Sinter "'''^^ ^^ ^*^^" ^«^«^^P'*^ should turn ou inap.
h r„t on wf, Vr"T*""''' "^ '^' ^«*«"y' t'^e painstaking good
elrfifl has characterised it will naturally lead to amended
ettorts to accomplish the same end ««"«"ueci
peo^ole liThli'.^r*'"'' n*'!: "^ ^'"PO'-^an^e to all classes of
people m this colony, which has to be viewed along with its
prospects of employment to emigrant workers-and tl,a7 «/h!
position of the native tribes, and ^their TelaZ t'he olit^^^
A variety of native tribes exist in this large territory but thev
are scanty in number; and there are only three who Ire of mn^h
H;tL^tthert^rk:'^z
wagoners, and have almost a monopoly o'^^Ssocl^^^^^^^^^^
wages are far higher than those of their neighboTtrTbes The
dSn?ffl%r;M""Prr*^^^^^^^"^^^ -' honLt t: Lv^J^
Colon V T- ".^'' '^^''^' '*'"«^ «" the war with the Cap^
5s a Inth tir^'T '"''.\' ^^ '''' ""^y be had for little-
08. a month m wages, along with their support, which as thev Hva
» iiKe sum. Very few attempts have been made in anv nf nnr
emigra ion colonies to get the natives to wTl eiTheTas s^
suppor ers or as servants Port Natal is thus an excep ion-
probably on account of that notion of being made to work for th^
S irwTestl^t'w ""^^^^^.' ""'^^ the Afri r ces
sonXrf 1 • T «"P«"o^ity to the aborigines of the other
Ttht r^L^alS^^^ ""^. *^™^ ^^^^^ *b^ utmost exten
to make tlem wort^h more '^00/"^?"''^ 'f •'^"^ ^"^"^^^^"^
^e idle servanrJrToim^S^t^^^^^^^^
Emtgrant^s JournaU^ys: 'It is the cotton-planter that tWs stL
h s coin''- ™;^««."«"«ly effects, for his loss is ve r^earwhen
his cotton IS dead ripe, and he unable to pick it. I know a faTmer
at this moment so situated: he has about 1.. ^cres of 1! T ^^
cotton, most of it commencing to burst tie ;od, and ^t he cannot
gbt a single labourer for love or monpv luh^ ^f fu *
thousands around him Hp^Mr Z ™^"Y't ""^^ ^^^""^ ^^
only one out of a rmbef siS "tated T T^ '' T'l'
that h. will lose this season b^ttl^SoS and Aoorand hl'f '
no means of remedvme- it T of I ^ ^ ' ^^^ ^® has
the natives ^U not wori ^h f^' *"^ ^^^^ ^« ^^^'>
i^r.i,rant,J:^L:CN^^^ -- -^ ^^^eness.'-
NATAL.
j-I'^u-'*'*' T" ^^ '^^'^'"'^ propose to make short work of such
difficult^s and compel the idle to labour. Other nations mS
do so; but slavery, even in th.s modified form, is not a hLTbe
even proposed and discussed for a British colony. Others p^ropose
to tax he Africans, or drive them from the colony. T he r PusUion
18 peculiar, and one that would in some respects justifrres^raint
They do not belong to the district, the original L veVof wS
thev'ar 'f,^V ^"'" t"'^ f ^''''' '''' ^^"*«>^ occupationT but
they are fugitives, seeking refuge from the neighbouring tyrants
and especiaUy from the bloodthirsty Chaka The protect on
from slavery, and the scattered benefits which the presC of a
Th^'n^f /h"^"'*"'"' ''™"^""^'y '""''^'^ ^'^'"^^^ slightly, n he
Ct ^ r*^'' ^'' ^'"* temptations to them to m^ate to
Natal ; and there seei.is to be a fear that their numbers mav
become formidable. They have already increased, Tn fact f^om
about 20,000 to about 150,000. Thus^ the colony is h' !Z
measure tne converse of others where tht coloured races a^e
gradually disappearing. ^" ^^^
nrP^.r- *^' ^'"''f'^S facts, it will be seen that Natal, though
presenting some favourable features, is not suitable for the
reception of emigrants on an indiscriminate scale. On this
account, we should consider it as considerably less worthy of
attention than New Zealand or Australia. True, it may be
reached at less cost of time and money than these more^San?
provinces; but really a little additional outlay orthis sec e
should be of small consideration to intending emigrants. A few
weeks more or It.s on a voyage, or a few pounds more or lesT
for the transit of a family, ought not to weigh in opposition to
circumstances of greater moment. ppoHiuon to
I
.1
/iV'
S8
i
THE
EMIGRANT'S MANUAL
AMERICA.
Au
Cam
Low
Upp]
CONTENTS.
America —
Divisiona and Geograph;-,
Emigration Districts,
Climate,
Money,
Eecent Emigration,
pAoa
1
1-8
4
4
5
Cautions applicable to the Passage to various parts of America, 6
Cahada, - - - . -' . .
Divisions, Natural and Political,
Topography, ----..
Extent of choice to Settlers, - - .
Towns, ...
Methods of Transit— Lakes, Canals, and Roads, -
The St Lawrence, - - - - .
Productions — Garden, - - - . ,
Agriculture, Timber, &c. -
Productions and Topographical Divisions,
Lower or Eastern Canada, - - .
Land System there, - -
Capabilities for Production, - - .
Upper or Western Canada, - - - -
Character of the several Districts,
Purchase and Improvement of Land, Prices, Terms, &c.
First steps in choosing an Allotment,
Question as to Clearing Forest Land, or buying Cleared,
Clearing, -----.
Progress, -.-_..
Suitableness for Emigration, - - - .
Amount and Nature of Emigration,
Labour and Wages, - , - .
10
10
11
12
11-18
14
16
16
16-18
18
18
19, 2!)
21
28
23-25
25-29
29
31
32
S3
84
87
n
h
ill
Iv
CONTENTS.
Lumberers, - .
Prices of Provisions, &c. - . ' . '
New Brunswick, - > . _
Description, . _ _
Capabilities,
Climate, - _ .
Divisions, Towns, &c. -
Productions,
Purchase and Improvement of Land
Accounts of the Quantities of Available Land
Situation and Extent of the Settlements. ' -
Amount of Land brought in,
Districts capake of being made available by Roads, '
Xhe Harvey Settlement, - - - .
Labour, - . . _
Emigration, - . . _
Nova Scotia AND Capb Breton, -
Soil, Climate, &c.
Productions, - . .
Land,
Population and Towns, -
Prince Edward Island, - . .
Newtoundland, - . ^ ' ^ '
The North-west Territories and VANCoiryER's Island,
Boundaries— Character, - - . _
Hudson's Bay Company,
Red River Settlement, -
Vancouver's Island. - .
" " •
Falkland Islands, - - . .
United States, - - .
• " •
Character and Population, ...
Characteristics of the People,
Money,
Extent of Incomes and Salaries,
Paob
89
89,40
40
40,41
42
44
44
46
47
49
51
55
57
60
63
65
67
67,68
69
69
70
71
72
78
73
74
76
77
78
79
79
80
88
83
The Constitution wi*b r^f^^-^^ — j._ au . -r. . ., . . _
.! — li wi.n ,vivi..i^uc w luu jrnvueges or the Settler, 84
■ ^.^^
lO),
Paob
89
89,40
40
40,41
42
44
44
46
' 47
49
61
55
57
60
63
65
67
67,68
69
69
70
71
72
78
73
74
76
77
78
79
79
80
88
83
3 Settler, 84
CONTENTS.
Representation, - . . ,
Absorption of Settlers, and Construption of New Stites "
Defects, - _ . _ _ '
Means of Conveyance-Lakes, Canals, Railways, Roads, &c.
ijines of Communication for Emigrants, - - .
Productions, - - . . _
Amount of Exports, - .
Wheat and other Agricultural Produce, - " . '
Topographical Divisions and their CapabiUtiea, -
NoETHERN Atlantic States, - - . .
Maine and New Hampshire,
Vermont and' Massachusetts, -
Rhode Island and Connecticut, -
New York,
New Jersey,
Pennsylvania,
The Western Districts, - - . .
Prairies,
Bottom Alluvial Lands, - _
Ohio, -
Illinois, - - . _ _
Wisconsin and Iowa, - - _ .
Missouri, - .
Indiana, - _ _ _
Mandan, - - . . _
Oregon and Utah,
Southern States, - . . .
Purchase and Employment of Land, -
System for the Survey and Sale of Waste Land, - ' .
Amounts available in the several Districts -
Squatters, - . . _'
The Backwoodsmen, - - _ _
Question between Clearing and Purchasing Old Land,"
American Farming,
Emigration, - _ . .
Arrangements for the Assistance and Protection of" Emi-
grants, . . . _
Labour, - - .- _
PecuUarities of the Artisan's position in the States, ' -
Paob
85
87
88
88
91
95
95
96
97
98
98
99
99
100
103
103
104
104
106
107
108
108
109
109
110
110
112
114
114
115
119
120
121
122
125
127
132
133
M
A M E R I C A.
^'^^A^^^^V^^^V^V^i
EMIGRATION DISTRICTS.
America consists of two great divisions, North and South Ame-
rica, united by an isthmus or neck of land. South America
iiaving been settled by the Spanish and Portuguese nations, is
unsuitable for purposes of emigration from Britain. North Ame-
«ca, with the exception of Mexico, having been settled by the
JJinghsh, is on that account, as well as its generally temperate
climate, the field to which the emigrant will more properly direct
Ills attention. *r *- .^
America is bounded on the east by the Atlantic, and the west
by the Pacific Ocean. Along its shores on the east lie various
islands ; as, for example, the West India group, and the Bahamas. ■
Although these islands present scope for trading enterprise, and
also, m some places, for agricultural operations and for fishmg
they do not come under the character of emigi-ation fields, and
therefore need not form a feature of our present mquirv. The
^istricts requirmg notice are chiefly those on the mainland of
North America, and of these only a select portion come within
our present object. ^^
The two great emigi-ation fields in North America are the
British possessions and the United States. The British possessions
consist of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia— the latter
mcluding Prince Edward's Island. There is, indeed, another large
tract of country belonging to Great Britain— namely, the Hudson's
Bay Territory ; but it is situated in the extreme north ; and being
occupied almost exclusively by hunters in quest of furs, is not
available for regular settlement. Oii the west coast lies Vancou-
ver's Island, which also belongs to Great Britain : it has latterly
A 1
.!i
AMERICA.
been opened for immigration, and wiU afterwards be noticed ; alao
some minor British fields of emigration. '
^i^^^! S'lJ^''}^^^ ^*^*'' occupy the southern and middle re-
gions of North America, the British possessions are in the north.
Each faces the Atlantic; but the United States, besides having
V2^ TT ^''''* *°. ^^'' "''^' «t'«*«^ across the continent
SLtlwi i f "^t'.^d present a border to the Pacific. The
breadth of land, drawmg a straight line across the United States, is
qS^J k''"'^.^''*'?*^ ^' ?'^*' ^' *^« ^'^^^^^ of the Atlantic.
Spth^iH'' '^ r^r'*t P/^«iP^ly «nder charters from
Elizabeth and James I., North America has now been occupied
entided'lo t ?S ^'' m^'"'^ '^ ^^ >^*^«' ^"^ ^^ *^«refore
entitled to be called an old comitry. Yet such is its vast size.
that It is filled up to a comparatively small extent. The settled
population extend, in diminishing density, only about half-way
across the continent to the Pacific, on which, as ye^ thereto
^A -7 T^^'^ settlements-one' of these being^the recent^!
established district of California. Although emigration to North
America is proceeding at the rate of about 250^ per annum.
for aU the mhabitants of Europe, and stiU there would be room
10 spare.
^f^^I*^ i^®"''^ ^^^'■' '" "^^ '®'P^«*« fi*o™ the other quarters
€f the globe. Nature is on a great scale. The dimension Sf
f^t^^r^: magnificent in their extent, are a type of its leading
Sft^roTJ? "'^''' ^t ^'^f '' resemblmg inland friths and seas ;
lo% mountam-ranges, boundless forests, and far-stretching prairies
The c miate of so extensive a region is as varied as that which
prevails m Europe from Russia to the Mediterranean. In Z
north long wmters and short fierce summers; in the south, the
gemal temperature of the tropics, and frost scarcely kno^
l.«rn! l"^^?^ ^^'^"^'y °^ ^^'^^^ ^erica aU readers will be
less or more familiar. Only a few facts may here be noted. The
n?nL?°f 'i^ ''^'"^'f ^\^ *° ^^"*^"^ ^''^'^ i^tractaWe tribe'
of native Indians, and with the aggrandising eflforts of the French!
Tslw^ -rr '^ '"''^f^'^'^ from Cantda to Louisiana. By
l:CTJTl^'''^ campaigns, England defeated the French, took
flT I ^u ^?"lements, and added them to the group of
colomes. By what has ultimately proved a fortunate event^or
«!fii TT^! /l'^'"' independence, and estabUshed themselves
Zi V .t • ^*'*'?' ^' ^^'^ ^'''^ ^^di*i°°« have since been
made. In this revolution of affairs the more northern colonies
did^not particip^ate and tUi this day they yield allegiance to the
*....«:«^u-rowii. i>y jhe estauiishmeut of independence/the revolted
i
ticed; also
middle re-
the north,
ies having
I continent
3ific. The
1 States, is
3 Atlantic,
rters from
1 occupied
3 therefore
vast size,
'he settled
; half-way
there are
s recently-
i to North
er annum,
i afforded
be room
I* quarters
nsions of
;s leading
and seas ;
J prairies,
lat which
In the
outh, the
m.
•8 will be
3d. The
)le tribes
'■ French,
,n&. By
ich, took
?roup of
vent for
colonies
jmselves
ice been
colonies
le to the
revolted
EMIGRATION DISTRICTS.
colonies entered on a career of prosperity and development of
national vigour to which they could have had no prospect under
the deadenmg tutelage of foreign control. The only subject of
lamentation is the violence with which American independence
was achieved, and the humUiation to which Great Britain was on
the occasion exposed— circumstances which have left an unhappy
impression on the traditions of the country that will not be soon
obliterated.
It will be seen, from these observations, that North America
offers two distmct fields of emigration: one— namely, the British
i'ossessions, m which the emigrant from the United Kmgdom will
remam a subject of the crown, with all the attendant privileges of
that character; the other being the United States, in which he
becomes a citizen of a new power, and cuts all poUtical connection
tnth the country of his fathers. Let it be miderstood, however,
that citizenship in the great North American republic infers to
the poor man a certain gain in personal consequence, and that as
the language, literature, and social usages of the States are Eng-
lish, the exchange of country will cause no essential inconvenience.
The expense of transit to the British possessions and to the States
differs m so smaU r degree as to form no matter for serious con-
sideration. One peculiarity attends emigration to both countries :
this consists in the difficulty in reaching any suitable spot of
settlement m the interior regions, after arriving at the place of '
iandmg. For the most part, as wUl be shewn under the proper
heads, the emigrant who designs to be a cultivator of the soil has
to travel by canal, or some other means, several hundreds of miles
to the mterior; so that the cost of this inland journeying requu-es
to be added to the expense of sea-passage, which it will generally
double. Hence, although America is very much nearer to Great
Britam than Australia, the actual money-outlay and loss of time in-
curred by the emigrant may be nearly as great in going to the one
as to the other. An exception to this general difficulty of reach-
mg emigration fields in North America exists in the case of Nova
Scotia, Prmce Edward's Island, and New Brunswick, all close upon
the Atlantic. On this account these regions may be said to offer
the readiest spot for settlement to which the emigrant can look—
a circumstance of no small importance to the agriculturist with
limited means at his disposal.
The population of the whole British North American possessions
may be estimated at two and a quarter millions. This is a popu-
ktion less than that of Scotland for a country larger than Great
Britam, and equaUy fertile. Three things have materiaUy retarded
settlement in these nnsspsAmna — fiipiV rTona,.ai ;^o«/,^o„;i,:i:i._ ii._
prevalence of dense forests, and the inclemency of their wmters,
3
■■^— -
AMERICA.
during which outdoor labour is suspended, and live-stock require
to be housed. In consequence of the severity of the frost, all
communication by water is closed during a considerable part of
the year. To obviate this impediment, a railway has been pro-
posed to be formed from a point on the coast, running through
New Brunswick and Lower Canada towards the upper country,
where settlers will locate. Surveys have been made of the pro-
posed line, but as yet no commencement of this great work has
been made.
All countries lying in a state of nature, and covered, with pri-
mitive forests, possess a climate which ranges in extremes —
fiercely hot summers and intensely cold winters. Such is the
case to a remarkable degree with the climate of America in its
more northern parts. Instead of that diffusive moderation which
characterises the climate of similar latitudes in Europe, we find
the North American climate ranging from the cold of the polar
regions to the heat of the tropics. AU, therefore, who are impre-
pared to en'lure great extremes should refrain from going to
America. The extremes here spoken of, however, are not con-
sidered to be more • injurious to health than the climate of the
British islands, where, with a moderate temperature, there is a
contmual shifting from wet to dry, from haze to sunshine. The
very cold winters of North America are always spoken of as
periods of exhilaration •, in commerce and agriculture they are
inconvenient, but in matters of social concern they are generally
preferred to those broken, plashy winters of England, which are
80 productive of bronchial and other aifections.
Money. — Money may be safely transferred to North America,
by depositing any given amount in banks in Great Britain, and
receiving in exchange bills on certain banks in America, which
will be paid on being presented. If cash in large sums be taken
by emigrants, there is a chance of losing it ; whereas, if bank-bills
be lost, their payment can be stopped until fresh bills are pro-
cured. The principal Scotch banks grant unexceptionable bills of
this kind. Whe+her bills or cash be taken, they will bring a
somewhat higher value than they bear in England.
In the United States, t^e circulating medium is dollars in silver,
resembling crown-pieces. The dollar, as will afterwards be more
specially mentioned, is reckoned to be worth about 4s. 2d. Eng-
lish. In the dollar are reckoned 100 cents. The copper cent is
about the value of a halfpenny. The United States abound in
bank-notes of the denomination of a dollar and upwards ; great
caution will be required in taking this paper money.
The British American possessions have also a peculiar currency.
The same denominations are employed as in England, but the
4
1 1 .' 'r-
k require
froBt, all
[e part of
jeen pro-
: through
country,
the pro-
ffotk has
with pri-
tremes —
;h is the
ica in its
on which
, we find
the polar
re unpre-
going to
not con-
ic of the
lere is a
ne. The
en of as
they are
generally
rhich are
America,
tain, and
ja, which
be taken
ank-bills
are pro-
e bills of
bring a
in silver,
be more
2d. Eng-
sr cent is
)0und in
3; great
urrency.
but the
EMIGRATION DISTRICTS.
value is different. The money of Canada and the other colonies is
stated in Halifax currency, which is 168 per cent, inferior to ster-
Img money. Thence Ss. currency is equal to 48. 2d. ; £1 currency
is equal to 16s. 8d. ; and £100 currency is equal to £83, 6s. 8d.
The English sovereign is valued at £1, 4s. 4d. ; the crown at 68.
Id.; and the shilling at Is. 3d. All prices and wages are of
course reckoned in currency. Therefore when a working-man is
told he will receive 48. a day of wages, the actual value of this 48,
is only 38. sterling. This distinction between sterling and cur-
rency will soon be learned, and is of less consequence to the
labouring-classes than the practice of paying wages in goods.
The most serious complaints are made on this subject. From all
we can learn, it is not unusual for an employer, in places remote
from towns, to pay his workmen by an ord^r for goods on a store
corresponding to the amoimt bargained for ; and such is the high
price at which articles are generally sold when such orders are
presented, that sometimes a workman; instead of getting 48. a day,
does net in reality get more goods than he could buy in England
for Is. 6d. Thus an apparently high sum dwindles dovm to a
trifle.^ Emigrants will require to be on their guard against these
practices ; they will ascertain whether they are to be paid in
money or goods, and act accordingly.
Becent Emigration.— The rate of emigration to North America
has been stated to be about 250,000 per annum. Much the larger
portion of this flood of emigrants is to the United States, and
chiefly through New York. From whatever country they come,
the emigrants are welcomed, and acquire the right of citizenship.
About three -fifths of the emigrants are from England, Ireland,
Scotland, and Wales, but chiefly from Ireland. The remaining
two-fifths are from Germany, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Switzer-
land, and France — ^principally from Germany. There is no accu-
rate statement respecting the final settlement of emigrants ; many
who land at New York settle in Canada, and many who an-ive at
Quebec and Montreal push across Canada to the States. Only
one thing is certain: the United States are preferred by the
larger number, and that very much in consequence of the more
easy acquisition of land. Political considerations are not believed
to exert any preponderating influence on the minds of the emi-
grating classes.
Passage. — Emigrant ships for America sail from almost every
port of any consequence ; and advertisements of their period of
departure may be seen in any newspaper. At each principal port
is a government emigi-ation agent to superintend the shipping of
for seeking counsel or rei-ess. The charge for a cabin passage,
6
;
AMERICA.
including provisions, to Quebec, New Brunswick, or New York is
from £12 to £20. For an intermediate cabin passage, with pro-
visions, £7 to £10; without provisions, £5 to £7. For a steerage
passage, with fuU aHowance of provisions, £5 to £6 ; without pro-
visions beyond the legal aUo^ance, £3 to £4. The passages" are
cheapest from the Irish ports; but the crowding is usually greater
and the accommodation less comfortable. The best season to
emigrate to America is in March or April.
Lumber Trade.— Formerly persons emigrated to the British
Ar^erican colonies with a view to cutting down timber, and sellinir
It to merchants for shipmentto Great Britain. This lumber trade
attained importance in consequence of the admission of colonial
timber at a considerably less duty than foreign timber. Altera-
tions in the timber-duties have nearly ruined this trade : and for
this cause, as well as the dissolute character of the lumbering pro-
lession, emigrants are cautioned against adventuring in it
Cautions and Advices.— By the Emigration Commissioners the
lollowing cautions and advices are published relative to the pas-
sages of emigrants to any of the North American colonies, and the
means of settlement :— '
* Caution against proceeding to New Brunswick, dc vid Quebec —
Emigrants whose destination maybe New Brunswick, Prince Edward's
island, or Nova Scotia, are particularly cautioned against taking pas-
sage to Quebec, as there are no regular means of conveyance from
that port to any oi the Lower Provinces. The charge of passage bv
occasional schooners, is to Miramichi, New Brunswick, 15s.: to Prince
Edward's Island 20s.; to Halifax, Nova Scotia, 25s. eich adult, with-
out provisions : length of passage from ten to twenty days. Tiie route
to St John New Brunswick, is much more difficult, as vessels seldom
leave Quebec direct for that port, and the general mode of convev-
ance is by schooner to Miramichi, and thence by land. SevemI
weeks may elapse without a vessel offering for any of these ports
Caution to hep Contract Tickets.— Emlgrmta ought to keen
possession of their contract ticKets, as otherwise, in the event of the
ship 8 bjing prevented by any accident from reaching her destination
or of the passengers, for any other reason, not being landed at the
place named in the tickets, they may have a difficulty in obtaining a
iawlS entwtd ^''*^°-°'°°^y» ^^ ^^"'^h in that case they would by
' Caution to provide Mea.is for Subsistence and Transport after
Arriyal.-mny emigrants having latterly been found to rely^on
public funds for their assistance in the colonies, they are hereby
warned that they have no claim of right on such fund, and they
should provide themselves with sufficient means oT their own for
their subsistence and conveyance into the interior from the port
where thev land. ^
' In Canada, a recent law expressly prohibits relief from the
o
EMIGRATION DISTRICTS.
Emigrant Tax Fund, excef ting in coacs of sickness on tho part of
destitute emigrants.
* Tools. — It is not'generaMy considered desirable that agricultural
laboVirei's should take out implements of husbandry, as these can be
easily pro( iired in tho colonics ; but artisans are recommended to
Coke such tools as they may possess, if not very bulky.
' Time to arrive in the Colony. — The best period is early in May,
I 60 as to be in time to take advantage of the spring and summer work,
and to get settled before the winter sets in.
* Average Length of Passage.— To Quebec, 40 days; Prince Ed-
ward's Island (say) 40 days ; Nova Scotia, 38 days. By the Passen-
gers' Act, provisions are, however, required to be laid in for seventy
days, to which period passages are sumetimes protracted.'
Caution not to refuse good Wag>'s. — Until emigrants become
acquainted with the labour of the country, their services are of cona-
paratively small value to their employers. They should therefore
be careful not to fall into the common error of refusing reasonable
wages on their first arrival.
Route for Emigrants to Canada. — Emigrants intending to settle in
Canada will find it in all respects more advantageous to proceed by
Quebec.
As there is competition among the steamboat companies at
Quebec and the forwarding companies at Montreal, emigrants should
exercise caution before agreeing for their passage, and should avoid
those persons who crowd on board ships and steamboats, offering
their service to get passages, &c.
Emigrants destined for Upper Canada are advised not to pause at
Quebec or Montreal, but to proceed at once on their journey. If,
however, they require advice or direction, they should apply only to
• the government agents, who will furnish gratuitously all requisite
information.
Steamers leave Quebec for Montreal every afternoon at five
o'clock (Sundays excepted), calling at Three Rivers, Port St Francis,
and Sorel, and arrive early the next morning.* The royal-mail
steamers leave the Lower Canal Basin every day at half-past ten
o'clock for Kingston, calling at all the intermediate places on the
route, and completing the passage in about twenty-six hours. Th6
mail steamers leave Kingston every evening at five o'clock, after the
arrival of the boats from Montreal, calling at Coburg, Port Hope,
Toronto, Hamilton, Niagara, and Queenston. The steerage passage
by this line of steamers from Quebec to Hamilton, a distance of 580
miles, is 21s. 6d. currency, or 17s. 2d. sterling; time, 3 days.
Steamers and screw-propellers leave Montreal every afternoon for
Toronto and Hamilton, and all the intermediate landing-places ;
passage from Montreal to Toronto or Hamilton, 16s. currency, or 12s.
* The competition hitherto maintained upon this portion of the main (Canadian
rente hf^s verv mu'jli infliieiiG'jd the fs-re for this Dassst'^e ; but it has seldom exceeded
3s. 9d. currency in the steerage, and during the greater part of the season of 1849 it
waa as low as Is. sterling each person.
7
♦I
IW
AMERICA.
■torling fiach adult; and occasionally, during the summer of 1859
thu. class of steamers was running direct between Quebec and'
Hamilton. Ihoy are longer on the route than the mail steamers-
but emigrants are carried much cheaper, and they avoid all tho
expense of transhipment.
Steamers occasionally proceed direct from Quebec, and goods and
passengers aro now convoyed in them from tho ship's side at Quebec
without transhipment, through tho St Lawrence and Welland ship
canals, to any of the ports on Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, or Michi-
gan. The navigation thus opened from Quebec to Chicago, on Lake
Michigiui, in the state of Illinois, is about 1600 miles, and the timo
occupied m the transit would bo aboi-t ten days. Tho expense dur-
jng the season of 1849, from Quebec to Cleveland in Ohio, is stated
to have been about six doUai-s, or 24s. sterling per adult; and it is
anticipated that even this charge will be hereafter reduced The
steamers touch at tho ports of Cleveland, Sandusky (whence there
18 a railway to Cincinnati), and Toledo in Ohio district, in Michigan
and M.lwaukie in Wisconsin. The entire length of the Welland
and St Lawrence Canals is 66 miles.
The dimensions of tho locks on the former are 50 feet lontr bv
26i feet wide, and on the latter 200 feet by 45. They are therefore
capable of admitting vessels from 300 to 400 tons burden, caiTvinir
from 4000 to 6000 barrels of flour. The length of the Erie Canal
m the state of Now York, is 363 miles, with a lockage of 688 feet!
it 18 navigable by vessels carrying from 600 to 700 barrels of flour
There are eighty-four locks, each 90 feet long by 16 feet wide, with
a draught of 4 feet water. From Quebec to Cleveland the expense
18 supposed to be less than from New York to Cleveland ; as on the
latter route there are at least two transhipments, and the time
required for the journey 's a week longer.
Steamore leave Montreal daily for Bytown, through the Rideau
ivanaJ, to Kingston. This route is seldom used but by traveller to
the Ottawa or Bathurst district.
The probable expense of provisions may be taken at Is. per day.
The expense of lodging is from 4d. to 6d. per night.
EMIGRATION DISTRICTS.
PARTICULAIllor ROUTR mOM QURRBC TO HAMILTON,
Usual Route for Emigrants.
Distance.
Faro per
Adult.
Charge
for
Baggage.
Time
on
Journey.
From Quebec to Montn^ul, call-"^
ing at Threo UivtTH — about 1
81 miles ; -i'ort 8t Francis, 00 (
miles ; and fiiurul, 133, - j
From Montreal to Kingston, vid \
8t Lawrence, - - /
From Kingston to any Port on \
the Bay «.f Q,uint6, - /
From Kingston to Coburg, or I
Port Hope, - - - /
From Kingston to Toronto,
From Kingston to Hamilton,
Total from Quebec to Hamilton,
Miles.
180
100
35 to 70
100
180
820
Currunoy.
1. d.
3 9
10
3 6
fi
10
13 6
( No
\ charge.
f Ss. 6d.
I per cwt.
• ••
1 About
\ 14 hours.
( 8ay
< about
( SO hours.
About
hours.
About
18 hours.
1 About
\ 88 hours.
590
86 3
• ••
About
3 days
From Kingston to Darlington, Whitby, or Bond Head, 7s. 6d.;
Oakville, 12s. 6d. To Nia4;[ara or Queenston, 138. 9d. ; and to Ports
Burwell and Stanley, on Lake Erie, by schooners through the Wel-
land Canal, 7s. 6d. to 10s. Land-carriage from Id. to 2d. per mile.
The rates here given are for adults or persons above twelve yeai-s ;
for children between twelve and three years of age, lialf-price isi
charged; and children under three years go free. One hundred*
weight of luggage allowed to each passenger.
ROUTE FROM MOXTRKAL TO BOSTON AND NRW YORK.
By the Champlain and St Lawrence Railway
Company, daily:—
To St John, by steamer and railway \
(twice a day), - - j
.To Burlington, Vermont, by steamer,
... Whitehall by steamer,
... Troy and Albany, vi& Whitehall,
... New York, -
... Boston, vti Burlington, -
Distance.
Fare.
Miles.
Currency.
$. d.
25
2 6
100
6 3
150
10
850
13 9
390
16 3
320
30
CANADA.
^'V^.WV^/VV.'VV^
,,T5^ J°® °^. ^^^'^ ^®*^^^* *he British pos6'>ssions and the
United States is either the River St Lawrence and the lakes whence
It proceeds, or an ideal and mutually-arranged boundary. Canada
IS bounded on the east by the Gulf of St Lawrence and Labrador-
on the north by the territories of the Hudson's Bay Company-
on the vest by the Pacific Ocean; on the south by Indian coun-
tries, parts of the United States, and New Brunswick. Until a
recent period, Canada was divided into two provinces—Lower and
Upper: the Lower being that which was first reached on sailing
«p the St Lawrence. Now they are united under one loc5
government; nevertheless, they are stiU spoken of as two dis-
tract sections, with the appeUations of Canada East and Canada
West--the last mentioned bemg what was known as Upper
Canada. The Ime of division between the two districts is in one
part the Ottawa or Grand River. A considerable portion of
Eastern Canada lies on the south side of the St Lawrence, but tho
whole of Western Canada is north of that river, and of the lakes
^ communicatmg with it. As Canada tends in a southerly direction
towards the interior, it necessarily foUows that the Lower or
Ji^astem district, which is first reached by the St Lawrence is
more northerly than the Western. The entire length of Canada
m^be estunated at 1000 miles, and its breadth 300. • ,
The grand feature of the country is its water-courses. By
Jookmg at the map, it wiU be perceived ^hat there is a series of
Jai-ge lakes communicating with each other : these are unequalled
by any inland sheets of water in the world, and are entitled to the
appeUation of fresh-water seas, for they are not only of great
extent, but are liable to be affected by storms like the ocean itself.
The uppermost, called Lake Superior, is 381 miles long, and 161 ,
broad; Huron, 218 miles long, and from 60 to 180 broad; Erie.
:5 Sf^' f ^ ??''* 12 ^ ^'•^^^*^5 Ontario, 171 mUes in length .
......„.„«. iixu waiurs ui i^ase Jane, on issuing from its
lower extemity, form a river of above 30 miles in length, and
CANADA.
varying from three miles to a quarter of a mile in breadth, which
in its course is precipitated over a precipice to a depth of 165 feet, '
thus making the femed cataract or Falls of Niagara. The river is,
at the distance of a few miles below, received by Lake Ontario
whence issues the River St Lawrence, one of the largest streams
in the world, and which, after a course of above 2000 miles from
its head watws above Lake Superior, falls into the Atlantic.
This majestic river, which is 90 miles wide at its mouth, and for
some distance upwards varying from 60 to 24 miles, is navigable
for ships of the line for 400 miles from the ocean. In its upper
parts, above Montreal, which, next to Quebec, is the chief port for
ocean vessels, its navigation is impeded by rapids, or the rushing
of the stream down rocky inclined planes. But these impediments
we obviated by means of canals recently cut; and thus there is
now a continued water-communication for vessels from the Atlantio
up into the interior, so far as the foot of Lake Superior, where
a series of rapids impede the entrance into that lake, and only
requiring a short canjd of about half a mile to complete the vast
chain of inland navigation. The Welland Canal, a magnificent
undertaking, connects Lakes Erie and Ontario, and aflfords a pas-
sage for vessels of large size. Lake Erie is also connected by a
canal with the Hudson, a river of the United States, which also falls
into the Atlantic. The River Ottawa is next to the St Lawrence
in point of size, and is tributary to it. It falls into the north side
of the St Lawrence, near Montreal. The Grand River, formerly
known as the Ouse, which falls into Lake Erie near its lower ex-
tremity, is a very fine and deep stream for some miles from its
mouth, and is believed to a£ford one of the best harbours on the
lakes. Kingston, at the foot of Lake Ontario, and this harbour,
within the mouth of the Grand River, are the two chief stations
for the naval forces of the colony.
Canada is generally a level country; at least it does not possess
any very lofty mountains: though on the banks of the St Lawrence
and the other waters there are bold ranges of hills and banks.
The country rises in a series of table-lands, the north-western por-
tion being supposed to lie above 1200 feet above the sea-level.
Between the Lakes Erie and Ontario, there is a sirdden general
elevation of one table-land above another, which produces the Fall
of Niagara. Great part of the country is covered with the dense
uniform forest which is known to be the chiaracteristic of a large
portion of North America. Along the St Lawrence and the borders
of the lakes, where the settlements are abundant, the scenery
attracts all visitors by its richness and variegated beauty. But
the most valuable and densely-pec^ led and cultivated part of the
settlement, is that irregular promontory stretching into the cluster
11
in
AMERICA.
of lakes, and coming within the general latitude of the United
btates.
The seUler in this country, according to his tastes and capaci-
ties has an ample variety of choice, from the gay, fashionable,
bustling city to the distant impregnable forest, uncleared, and
almost untrodden. Quebec, the capital of Lower Canada, con-
tains a population between 30,000 and 40,000, chiefly of French
origm. Its vast fortifications, still kept up, make a conspicuous
ligure m the history of our dependencies. Its port is available
for shipping of the largest tonnage. It has itself been a great
shipbuilding port, and it has a large trade, as the centre of the
commerce of Canada with Britain and the West India colonies.
Ihe town has breweries and distiUeries, and many other manufac-
tories-such as soap, candle, and tobacco. Though chiefly buUt
ot stone, there is so much wood-work in the town that it has been
subject to terrible conflagrations. It is situated ui the midst of a
very rich and beautiful district, pretty thickly settled. The popu-
lation of the county in 1848 was 65,805.
Montreal, formerly the second city of Lower Canada, has of late
risen to higher importance than Quebec, as from its being close
to Upper Canada, and more central to the United Pwvkces it
has become the site of the Legislative Chambers. Its population
exceeds that of Quebec, bemg considerably above 40,000. The
^nglish and the French are more nearly balanced in number: and
hence it is to be feared came the riots of 1849, in which the Eng-
lish party disgraced their origin by the wanton destruction of the
Legislative Chamber and its library. As Quebec is the port for
the external or maritime communication of the Canadas, Montreal
18 the centre of the communications with the United States-a
source of still more extensive traffic and transactions, not the least
important of which is the 'forwarding' business, by which emi-
grants takmg Canada in their route, are passed on to the States
In both these to^vns a feature which wiU be novel to an English
or bcottish settler, and perhaps not expected in an emigration
Held, 18 the magnificent establishments for the worship and other
religious purposes of the Roman Catholic church. The Catholic
Sw \^^"*'-?| i« » r«^y' ^'-Pacious, and magnificent
building, which would do no discredit to any of the French or
Joelgian cities.
Toronto, the capital of Western or Upper Canada, is of a dif-
ferent character, a vast majority of its inhabitants being of British
S°;*a .t"" ''T^^'^1 are now about 30,000. This handsome
town 18 on the northern border of the inland sea, Lake Ontario: and
ot Its great commerce, two-thirds are conducted with the United
States across the watP.r. Tf wa- tK.. - - «^"ueu
12
cvat
of the pariiament and
close
CANADA.
government offices of Upper Canada before the union of the pro-
vinces. It has risen with great rapidity during the past twenty-
five years, not having two thousand inhabitants in 1826 ; and its
success has a foundation in the intelligence, industry, and energy
of its inhabitants, which mere political removals are not likely to
injure. Toronto, besides many other public edifices, has a univer-
sity, with several subsidiary educational institutions. It is in the
centre of a richly-cultivated district, full of mansion-houses and
valuable farms.
Kingston is the name of another considerable town on Lake
Ontario, close to the vast cluster of islands at the efflux of the
St Lawrence. It has a busy, bustling, rapidly-increasing popula-
tion, which must now amount to about 10,000. For a short time
after the union of the Canadas, the united parliament was held
here. Here Mr Johnston, the author of the 'Notes on North
America,' attended a show of stock and agricultural implements,
got up under the auspices of a local society : it was not so exten-
sive or so crowded as one which he previously attended at Syra-
cuse, state of New York; but this was * more rumerously attended
by well-dressed and well-behaved people, and rendered attractive
by a greater quantity of excellent stock and implements than he
had at all anticipated.'
It is unnecessary to give a minute account of all the towns of
Canada. If it were a completely new place of settlement like New
Zealand and some of the Australian colonies, it would belong to a
work on emigration to aflford a more minute description of these
towns, since, in a perfectly new settlement, towns grow not by the
natural increase of commerce and population, but by the artificial
concentration of the emigrants. But the Canadas are, to a certain
extent, old colonies, and their towns form themselves, like those
of Britain, by trade, and the natural increase of population. Un-
doubtedly, however, it is a feature worthy of keeping in view, that
these towns have very rapidly increased of late. They have done
so, partly by an influx through emigration, but also by a concen-
tration of business and industrial transactions, which gives promise
of the country being adapted for future emigration.
Among the other towns are Hamilton, Guelph, and London.
This last, to make the imitation and the future confusion more
complete, is in the county of Middlesex, and on the border of a
river called the Thames. It has only been about twenty-five
years in existence, but has a population of some thousands. It is
in the centre of the most available district of the province — namelv,
of that peninsular-shaped tract which, running farther south than
any other part of British North America, is nearly surrounded by
the lakes.
18
wsmr^""'
AMEBICA.
Li its social condition Canada has the unfortunate peculian^y
tiiat it possesses two distinct races-English in the Western, and
French in the Eastern divisions. These%aces have naveramT
gamated The French retain their own language, also their old
iV nch laws and usages, and, for the most pa^ p^ro'fess the Ron^n
Catholic religion. The recent attempt to harmonise local discords
by a legislative union of the two provinces has not been so suc-
cessful as was anticipated ; and time and mutual concessions wiU
alone produce the much-desired result.
TRANSIT.
Notice has already been taken of the vast system of water-com-
mumcation which pervades the provmces of North Ai^ricI Tn
some respects, however, the means of water-transit arT"otnatu
rally so good as they might seem to be. The terraced cZSer
of the comitry subjects the large rivers to rapids, and even to
cataracts. The Falls of Niagara, for instance^ompletely Wock
up the river-commmiication between the great lakes The other
SL rfnid? *n ^' ^tr^^' ^°.^ "^^ ^"^-^' ^-« many forS
able rapids. One of the great impediments to the prosperity of
the provmces was the dangerous navigation of the St Lawrence
Between Montreal and the lakes it was only navigableX the
^e?beT„.f '"?r.i^*'^-"^"^^^' ^"* eve/with'thesel ^
till \ f A f^^'^^J^^^i^ passage, and inferior steamers and trading
Si', p'^ i' *t.' '^' T"^*°^« ^°^*« ^y *h« Ottawa and ^f
Eideau Canal Vast works uave been lately carried through for
the purpose of making the direct line by the St Lawrence passable!
and among these there is one ship canal, twelve mUes longfor
passmg the rapid called the Long Sault. The 'pening of fhese
works must considerably diminish the traffic through fhe kS
Cand-a long n-regular work between Kingston, on Lake Ontario
and Bytown, on the Ottawa. Its chief use for some time must now
be m comiection with the tunber trade. The country through
wh ch It passes is not by any means the most available for agS
cultural purposes, and large districts are swamped by the opX
tions for connectmg the canal with the chain of lakesf
Erie .^ri'f n T"' ""l ^^'"'' importance to connect Lake
illfi M- ^ ^"*l"'' ^y ^ navigable canal. On the British
n.XJY ^^^.Sf/^*^«'•^ r' *^" advantage of possessing a long
whUe on ttT' r^^^^V^aters which might be turned to use^
while on the American side there is no such advantage. The
rSlT^^P^^"'""^^^^^' nevertheless, projected^ carSl
paraUel to the river, and descending thA harTv U -
CANADA.
causes the cataract by a series of locks, which, on a plan look
like the steps of a stair. In the meantime the navigation has
been secured to Britain by the Welland Canal. It was at first
thought that the object might be accomplished by connecting the
WeUand River, which enters the Niagara above the rapids with
Lake Ontario, a distance of fifteen miles. But the geological
structure was found unsuitable, and the works gave way. With
true enterprising spirit, a cut was made to Lake Erie, which is
the feeder, and connected directly with the Ontario. It has
large stone locks, which wiU make it available for vessels 140 feet
long. In the words of a colonial authority : ' These ship-canals
have been constructed in the most substantial manner; their
entire length is about sixty-six miles ; and the navigation which
they open from Quebec is 1600 miles, that being the distance to
the port of Chicago, in the state of lUinois. Steamers adapted to ,
the caiial trade, and possessing comfortable accommodations for
cabin and steerage passengers, ply from Quebec to all points on
the upper lakes, so that goods and passengers, may be conveyed
from the ship's side at Quebec, without transhipment, to any of
the ports on Lrkea Ontario, Erie, Euron, or Michigan.'— (iZeport
•—Committee of Executive Council of the Canadas, 5th February
1850.) ^
Before these alterations were made, it was usual for travellers
to Western Canada, to whom a difference in expense was little
object, to proceed to New York, and thence by raUway to BuflEalo
near Niagara. Matters are now so far reversed, that emigrants
for the great western land of the Union, and even for the more
central districts approachable by railway, find it convenient to take
the St Lawrence route. It is difficult to sav how far this line of
communication may be employed in conveying to the Atlantic the
agricultural produce of the new north-western territories of the
United States.
Where so much was to be gained by improving the means of
water -communication, it might easily be supposed that other
means of transit would meet wj ' secondaiy attention. There are
necessarily many roads giving i.. ess to the internal settlementi^
but a vast increase of the lines would make the country infinitely
more valuable. There is a good road along the Canadian part of
the south bank of the St Lawrence, and another on the north con-
tmued along the margin of the lakes. There are other consider-
able roads by the banks of the Ottawa, from Toronto to Lake
Simcoe, where a railway is projected, and from the upper end
of Lake Ontario, branching in various directions through the
peninsular district.
19
» I" ii^ii . .„,T»«n»<»<HM#iiB
AMERICA.
1^
PRODUCTIONS.
If the proposing colonist is considering how he can have the
iuxaries of the garden around him, he wiU find that ahnoet all the
inrdinary firuits and vegetables of this country flourish abundantly
in Canada ; and he wiU find the small farmers of the Eastern dis^
trict sedulously cultivating them. As a specimen of the capabili-
ties of the country for producing fruit, the following passage from
Sir Richard Bonnycastle^s first work on Canada, published in 1841,
may suffice : —
* In my garden * [at Toronto, on Lake Ontario] * I had the following
varieties of 'fruit, from which the customary gifts of Pomona, in
Upper Canada, in favourable "situations, may be inferred: — Of
apples, the golden pippin, not so good as in England, but he?Vhier;
the pomme-de-neige, a ruddy-streaked apple, with white flesh, and
very sweet and pleasant, but which will not keep long, and hence
its name; the snow-apple, keeping sound only until winter snows;
the botirossou, a russet and highly-flavound keeping apple; the
pomme-gris^ or gray apple, also excellent, with many other varieties
of inferior kinds — such as codlings, little red-streaks, &c.
* The pears were of two kinds— one, the little early yellow, and
the other a small hard one, but neither good.
* Of plums, there were the greengage and egg plum, the bullace,
the common blue and the common yellow plum, bnt none of them
possessing the taste of those in France or England, and more fit for
preserves than for the table.
* Of grapes I had only the Isabella, and these were not productive,
requiring in this climate great care and management.
* Of cherries, the Kentish and the Morello ; the sour Eenti&h is,
however, the common fruit of the country, and very little pains has
been taken to improve the stock.
'Baspberries, red and white ; gooseberries, large and small, rough
and smooth-skinned ; the red, the white, and the black currant were
in profusion, and yielded abundantly.
* Of strawberries, there were several of the European varieties,
but they have not the rich flavour of their originals : in fact, the
wild Canadian strawberry, though smaller, is better, and makes a
richer preserve.*
The settler, however, in a new country generally despises the mere
luxuries of the garden, and considers the main staff of life and the
exportable produce. The main indigenous production of the soil
in Canada is timber. Some account of the position of the lumberer,
or timber-cutter, will be found further on. There is a large pro-
duce of potash from the burning of the felled r-nes. At the same
time there is a considerable production of sugar from the tapping
of tiie maple-trees : from six to seven million of pounds are pro-
16
CANADA.
duced annually. « Some trees,' says Mr Johnston, in his Notes
on North Amerwa, 'yield three or four pounds— a pound beinff
ihe estunated yield of each caulisae or tap-hole— and some trew
bemg large and strong enough to bear tapping in several places,
borne years also are much more favourable to this crop than others
»o that the estimate of a pound a tree is taken as a basb which'
da the whole, may be relied on as fair for hmdlqrd and tenant'
These trees are rented out to the sugar-makers at a rent of one-
fifth of the produce, or one pound for every five trees.' The same
gentleman states tliat in Upper Canada the sugar weather is more
variable, and the crop less certain— probably from the vicinity of
the lakes---than in Lower Canada. Besides being an article of
produce which the settler may look for in the uncleared portion of
his allotment, maple-sugar is a produce of the untrodden forest
where, like any other of the wild bounties of nature, it is sought
by adventurers, who take with them their pots and buckets at the
prop'^r season. In the cleared and agricultural districts grain will
be the staple production of the Canadas; and the clearer of waste
lands may confidently, since the repeal of the com-laws, look to
this crowded empire as an unfailing market for his produce. Indian
com 18, as in the northern parts of the United States, an abundant
and therefore generally a satisfactory crop; but the main agricul-
tural production of the lai^d coming into cultivation will doubtless
be wheat. The upper province is the most suitable for wheat, and
according to Mr Johnston, the best samples ' are grown on a belt of
some twelve miles broad, which skirts the lake from Niagara round
«s far as the town of Cobourg, which is about a hundred mUes west
of Kingstgn.' From Mr Johnston's book, and other authorities
however, it is clear that though wheat be the most valuable crop
under an enlightened system of farming, -its immediate prospects
are not good, from the exhausting system pursued, and the land
receivmg httle or no artificial aid. He mentions Irince Edward's
district, where the land has in some places been wheat-cropped for
fifty years, without any other aid than a ton of gypsum per year
to a whole farm. Under such a system Canada is not likely to be
the unmediate granary it is supposed to be, and, indeed, the lower
province has akeady become an importing district : the staple com-
modity which supports the country, and enables it to purchase of
Its neighbours, being the lumber trade. It is known that the
changes on the timber-duties are supposed to have an efl*ect on this
article of production. It was our policy to charge a high and
almost prohibitive duty on the timber of foreign countries for the
sake of our provinces. Now, though there is stUl an inequality,
both sets of duties are low. How far this, may affect the Question
oi uioppuig It would perhaps be premature to decide. Hitherto,
B . 17
AMERICA.
l'^
however, the natjare of the C^madian land has not been to afford
any valuable commodity other than timber until it has been cleared
and worked, and the agricultural productions fall to be con-
sidered, to a considerable extent, under the subject of the bringing
in of land (p. 27,) Cattle and sheep will spread as the country
becomes cleared, and necessarily connect themselves with the
fanning rotations. Thou,;'\ not naturally a sheep country, yet the
quantity of wool exported from the Canadas approaches two and
a half millions of pounds.
Building-stone and clay abound in the provinces, but the pro-
fuse abundance of timber is a great inducement to its employ-
ment in all buildings and fences in the country. The mineral
resources of the provinces are considerable — coal and iron occur
in various places ; and a joint- stock company was incorporated
for working the coal oven in Gaspd, the cold, distant peninsula
which stretches out to the ocean between New Brunswick and
the mouth of the Gulf of St Lawrence. ' There are iron-works at
Marmora on the Trent, and in other districts. The abundance
of wood for smelting gives all opportunity for taking advantage of
the supply of this mineral; but very little is yet known of its
probable extent — it is not one of the main productions of the
colony. There are rich copper ores in various parts of the colony,
and indications have been found of other minerals — such as galena
or blacklead, and gold.
The indigenous animals of the colony will be noticed in connec-
tion with the clearing of land. Canada is not one of the great
North American fishing colonies. Yet the comp9,ny embodied to
work the coal in Gaspd at the same time took powers for conduct-
ing fishing operations there.
TOPOGEAPHICAL DIVISIONS.
f
It will be observed, by a glance at a map, that the Eastern or
French district lies in general farther north than the Western It
is thus subject to a longer and deeper winter ; and as the coldness
is looked upon as one of the general disadvantages of Canada as a
settlement, it would require some counteracting advantages, which
it does not possess, to compete with the newer districts beyond
the Ottawa. It is at the same time th§ more mountamous
part, the St Lawrence being bounded, on the north side espe-
cially, by steep nigged hills, affording openings for large streams
to fdl into the main river or its gulf. On neither side of the
gulf are there settlements to any noticeable extent, and on the
northern bank, the forest-clad mountains merge into the inhos-
18 ~
-s^,
■'^s.
to afford
n cleared
be con-
bringing
country
with the
', yet the
two and
the pro-
employ-
miueral
on occur
»rporated
)euinsula
^ick and
works at
)undance
iintage of
m of its
B of the
e colony,
IS galena
I connec-
;he great
)odied to
conduct-
istem or
ien. It
coldness
ada as a
IS, which
! beyond
ntamous
de espe-
streams
e of the
I on the
B inhos-
CANADA.
pitab]e deserts of Labrador. Prom the mouth of the river ud-
wards to the Ottawa, thr banks are more or less settled, but
the mhuid regions are little known. The garden of Eaitem
i^anada is the westernmost territory on the south of the St Law
rence, and west of the Chaudi^re, meeting the United States at
the Utely. established boundary. The scenery is varied beine
partly mountainous, partly richly- cultivated plain and 'valley
The French settlers have at aU events given a rich, lifelike old-
settled appearance to their districts, from the garden-like cultiva-
tion, the fences, the villages, and the churches. Indolent as they
are, they give a country a more highly-cUltivated air than British
settlers, smce, mstead of covering a large space, and taking the
greatest amount of produce with the least outlay of labour and
capital— the most economic way of working a new country— they
^ are content, with the simplest hand-labour, to extract the utmost
^om their smaU holdings. Their long, lean swine, and their use
ot the old starvation system generally for their live-stock, attract
the unsparing ridicule of our tourists, especiaUy those who are
adepts m agriculture. The west is the popular field of British
settlement; but Sir Eichard Bonnycastle thinks that among the
best speculations for a man not ambitious of making a vast clear-
ing, would be the purchase of holdings, with all their feudal incon-
vemences, from the habitam, at the rate at which they are cene-
rally obtainable. ^ ^
, The feudal tenure of land, which applies to a large portion of
Eastern Canada, is a matter of importance to the intending emi-
grant, as it doubtless is to the Canadians themselves. It is said
that this System is in force over about eleven millions of acres of
land— part of it of course unproductive. This system is a very
i smarkable relic of the old feudal law of France. It follows the
* Custom of Paris'— a collection of laws completely obsolete in the
capital whose name they bear. The French land system is now
as opposite to the feudal as it can be made, estates having been
brought as near as possible into the position of goods and chattels.
Such has been the effect of the Revolution in the parent country-
while, under a government like ours, still partly feudal, it has been
found impracticable to get the feudal habits of the colonists reason-
ably modified. By this system a tract of land was granted by the
crown to a seigneur, or lord of a manor, who might distribute it to
tenants or vassals. These lordships or seigneuries were more or
less in extent. Of old the seigneur was a feudal judge within his
lands; but this power being inconsistent with our notions of the
supremacy of the crown, has been for^some tune obsolete. There
were thus two kinds of estate— that of the seigneur or overlord
^ ^,.vv,.j vt tMc viUTTu, aixu tilab ui mu ruiouFier 01 tenftiit
19
ABIEBICA.
holding of the seigneur. Each paiiy paid certain fees and casual-
ties, as they are called, to his superior — the crown in the one case,
the seigneur in the other. Thus a quint or fifth became payable to
the sovereign on a seigneur parting with his es*?.*-'.. . ' : '^i^f, equi-
valent to a revenue for one year, was payable 't ifb 'hinglug hands
by the succession of a collateral relation. Tho Likau dues from
these various estates are numerous and peculiar, and have a great
influence on the character and value of the property. Thus it is
remarked, on sailing along the St Lawrence and other rivers, that
the farms are narrow stripes passing lengthways from the bank of
the river; and tho peculiarity is explained by a feudal tr beu.^
laid on the frontage, according to the old measurement, called the
arpent. As the seigneurial lands pay certain casualties or penal-
tie ^ on changing hand<i, so do those of the vassals, accordmg to a
somewhat minute and complex arrangement. In general, too, the
commerce in land is hampered by a right of pre-emption on the
part of the seigneur. There are many little casualties payable in
the form of farm produce — pigs, fowls, measures of grain, &c. It
is worthy of remark, that the phraseology applicable to such feudal
taxes is still kept up in Britain ; and especially in Scotland ; but the
economising and utilitarian spirit of the country has led to their
being almost invariably commuted into fixed money payments,
while the hdbitam of Canada like to retain them in theur pristine
inconvenience. There were seigneurial rights connected with the
cutting of timber and the produce of fisheries, while the grain
required to be ground at the seigneur's mill, paying to him a certain
share as his feudal tax.
On the other hand, the seigneur was imder certain obligations
to his vassal, or rather to the land which his vassal cultivated.
These obligations referred to the making of roads, and to the
vassal's privilege to obtam, on the fixed conditions, so much waste
or forest land. It has been maintained by some writers of this
country, that if left in its native purity the system is a good one ;
that it establishes mutual rights and obligations tending to make
a social system in each estate, and to concentrate population and
agriculture in each seigneury; and that it is British interference
alone that has exposed its defectsr It may be admitted that ii; is
a suitable arrangement for the French, since they will not part
with it. An act was passed in 1826, giving facilities, as it were,
for the system being worked oflF by the mutual agreement of
parties. .Much fault has, however, been found with this measure,
since it is stated tliat the Jiabitam in general would not take
advantage of its arrangements to alter their system of tenure, and
that it only practically relaxed the counter- obligations on the
UMtmonvA
— o
20
JHIU,
CANADA.
Near Quebec the iRnd which has been occupied by these
French settlers sells high. Mr .Johnston mentions a fanner ia
that neighbourhood who paid £75 currency per acre. But thero
is uncleared land at no great distance as cheap as in other dis-
tricts. « Formed; says Mr Johnston in his Notes on North
America^ 'from softish, somewhat calcareous slates, which in
many places are near the surface, and crumble readily, the soil is
inclined to be heavy, and rests often on an impervious bottom.
Drainage, therefore, generally, and the use of lime in many phices,
are indicated as means of improvement. The latter, if I may
judge by the frequent limekilns I passed on my way to Mont-
morency, is tried to some extent by the farmers around Quebec'
Near the Kamouraska Bays there i^ said to be much rich flat
land easily procurable, but sharing in the unpopularity whi^hwith
British settlers infects the eastern province generally. Mr John-
ston, as usual, urges draining and improvhig. ' Though marshy,'
he says, 'I Avas jnformed that this flat is exceedingly healthy— as
most places in Lower Canada and New Brunswick are said to be
—even where in Great Britain fever and ague would inevitably
prevail. But nevertheless, for agricultural reasons, it is a fit
locality for the introduction of a general thorough drainage.
The narrow "nine-foet ridges so common in Canada, the open
furrows between them, and the large main drains or ditohes around
the fields, are all insufficient to remove the water which falls and
accumulates in the land. To keep the two sets of open ditches in
order must here, as elsewhere, annually cost much more than the
interest of the sums which the construction of covered drains
would require.'
Mr Johnston has expressed a high opinion of the capabilities
of the land near Montreal. The farm-land near the river he
states to produce per acre from twenty to thirty-five bushels of
wheat, and from forty to sixty of oats— moderate amounts in
this country, but considerably above the ordinary capacity of
emigration fields. He values the land when it is good, well in
heart, and with sufficient buildings on h, at £16 sterling per acre.
He particularises in this garden of Cai da the farm of Mr Penner,
on which there are from forty to fifty acres in hopd, which thrive,'
producing from 800 to 1000 pounds weight per acre. ' Here,'
says Mr Johnston, ' as in our own hop-grounds, and in those of
Flanders, they require high manuring ; and thus, as a general
article of culture, they are beyond the skill of the manure-
neglecting French Canadians, and the equally careless British
and Irish emigrant settlers. This rich hop-ground is worth
£40 an acre.'
Mi- Johnston found in this neighbourhood some fanners of the
21
y
AMERICA.
old Scotch school, and he quotes their pr* oept thus: ' Lay the
land dry, tlien cleAn and manure —make straight furrowa — clean
out your ditches— take oflF the stotiea, and plough deepi^h: ' With
these good mechanical principles,' he says, ' industriously carried
out, they have greatly surpassed the French Canadian farmers ;
and with the possession of good Ayrshire stock, and the growth
of a few turnips, and of mangold -wurzel, which does well even
with the early winters of Lower Canada, they have raised good
crops, extended the arable land of their farms, apd kept up its
condition.' Finding the land, which near the river especially is
rich, loamy, and easily worked, drained by open ditches and cross
furrows, he recommends tile-drainuig. This opens the great
question—how far it is more economical in such a country to lay
out additional labour and capital on the land in use, or to apply the
labour and capital to virgin soil ? It is impossible to make an
absolute rule. Each tract of country must bo considered by itself,
and by the views and objects of its settlers. If the agricultu-
rist will draw more produce for his capital and labour in new
' fields than by workmg up his old, it will not be easy to get him
to abandon the more profitable course, and take to the less pro-
fitable. At the same time it is beyond doubt that he may, by
exhausting a large tract of country with scourging crops, find
that he has outwitted hhnself by making haste to be rich. His
judgment and knowledge must decide the matter on a view
of all circumstances. Of tile-draining, as applicable to these lands,
Mr Johnston says : ' Although here, as in the state of New York,
the cost may appear large when compared with the total value of
the land, and the increase of price which, after tile-draining, would
be obtamed for it in the market, yet, if from the cost be deducted
the annual outlay which must be incurred to keep the ditches and
cross furrows open, the actual expense of the permanent tile-
drainage will rapidly disappear. When a man settles on such
land, therefore, as requires the maintaining of open ditches — with
the view of retainmg it say only ten or twelve years— he will, in
most cases, find his pecuniary profit greater at the end of the
term, although the price he then sells his land for should really
be no greater. ^ Intimately connected with this is the question :
whether capitalists farming, by a large expenditure on hired labour,
or what may be called domestic farming— the settler and his
family doing the whole, or nearly the whole— will be most produc-
tive ? Mr Johnston seems to point at a medium. He says : ' It
is conceded that a man with 100 acres in cultivation, doing one-
half the work by the hands of his own family, and employing
hired labour to do the rest, may make both ends meet ; but if a
larger farm is to be worked bv the same home foroR. with a laro-pr
I f
CANADA.
find
His
It
humber of hired labourorB, it is a question "whether it can be done
in average years so as to pay. The doubt arises not merely
from the high price, but from the alleged, and I believe realj
inferior quality of the agricultural labour, chiefly Irish, which a
fanner is able to procure.'
One of the reasons why the Eastern Province is unpopular as
an emigration field may be, that the settler passing through it sees
it have the appearance of beuig thickly settled. The habitane are
very neighbourly, and, at a sacrifice to the convenience of their
&rm operations, live n^ ar the high road, which is thus lined with
houses running in long strings, separated from each other by a
field or two. It is the way in France, except that there the
peasantry live in clumps called villages — in Canada they live in
streaks along the road. Thus the Scottish and even the English
emigrant thinks the district is not for him, as it seems more thickly
peopled than even the country he has left. But in reality only a
trifling portion of Lower Canada is brought into cultivation. At
the back of the farms which line the highway, the primeval
forest often comes close down. Taking together the counties of
Bellechasse, LTslet, Kamouraska, and Rimouski, of 11,593
square miles, but 4094 have been surveyed, so that nearer two-
thirds than a half of the land has not gone through the first
step for settlement — in fact, is not known except perhaps to
the lumberer, and not explored. Even of what is surveyed, it is
only a portion that is even granted ; and Mr Johnston, a good
authority, states, that of land granted, above two-thirds is still
uncleared.
Leaving Easter Canada, and taking the districts of the western
province, the chief emigration field, successively, it will be seen
that the angle of junction of the Ottawa with the St Lawrence is
occupied by the Eastern district, and that of the Ottawa, Dal-
housie, Bathurst, and Johnstown. The general character of the
land bordering on the Ottawa does not make it the most suitable
for the farming settler, as it is considered cold and wet, and the
timber trade is the chief occupation of the inhabitants. There
is in Ottawa, at Hawkesbury, a timber-sawing establishment, giv-
ing employment to above 200 hands. Costly works have been
carried on, by slides and dams, to facilitate the transit through
the Ottawa Eiver; but it is still tedious and imperfect. The
Eastern Disti-ict is one of the old settled countries, having a popu-
lation exceeding 30,000, and has but a comparatively small quan-
tity of crown-land for disposal. The same may be said as to the
good and available land of Johnstown districi;, which contains a
population exceeding 40,000. The Rideau Canal runs through
the north-west nortion : but much of the land which would other-
23
m
^'
AMEBICA.
to be cold mi «ony. DaU.ourie and Bathar»t-U>o latter «^
^,wL " fn^"*'"' " I^'hurBl, was foundod in the year 1816.
Tf L n.. °^'' ?^- '" D««>o<>sie, near the ChaudiSre F<ai.
wert, contains the important towT * £niZ M if^ ^'J*
kn„™ land in this disLt i S to betSr bn^ alif ^
the next district, VictorU, it runs too dSn'nol:^"!,:^,''
far from ivater-carriag. where, if the land has b^ sw^eXt
aU, It h^ been so verj- recoLtly. A considerable «tr^"h of th«
Victona at the nsual government price. Marble and exceUent
bmldrng stone occur in these districts; and in Victoria thS
.ron and hthographic stone. The Newcastle Kstr S » h '
hiving been -..ed'fo^r^^U'.^Ve're!^,^!^:'^^:;:^^
, gram crops. Part of the land is of the roUing pSTa^e^
and a portion consists of ' oak plains.' The latter were beH^Hf^
be comparatively worthless and m,productivrteTnde rsUl-
ful system of clearing and culture, they have been fomd rid, Md
ftXcer 7is?/r 'bS'&tt ?r; '^^t^^^
»other^tr „V° otScSnt-g^tXTtbt
ton .t W.U be the means of communication, through Lake Huron
wita the great north-western provinces W.llitll, • ™ '
the advantage of being watered ly the Gm^d £ 2?-"^
ItTJ^r"'" H^ -'"-en,s,and^is t^veS ?;Z'od IT
^tZ^^V?^^J'T*'y' •"" »"'»'»» «t least a sufficTnt
ot timber— hardwood, beech, oat «im .„j ..•_' ' T, ".^
24 ' ' — ' — J ""■-* i'i"c. uueipfl, tne
is Midi
CANADA.
^Strict town, is described as flourishing, healthy, and placed in
the middle of a richly-cultivated country. The population of
the district is not large, but several of the settlers are understobd'
to be wealthy. Whether for the purchase of waste land, of
which there must still be a considerable quantity, or of improved
clearings, this would appear to be one of the most promising dis-
tricts. To the west and south, and approaching nearer to the
Niagara centre, are the districts of Huron, Brock, and Gore. If
there be any crown-lands still for sale m these districts, they will
be in Huron, where the Canada Company have also large stretches
at their disposal. The neighbouring districts of Talbot and
Niagara are comparatively old settlements, with no government
land for disposal. The remaining districts between the Huron
and Erie are the London and Western. The former contains some
of the most flourishing of the modem settlements. The latter
has many advantages in valuable land, and means of communi-
cation by water, and will be one of the most available districts
for new settlers.
1 I
I
li
PURCHASE AND IMPROVEMENT OF LAND.
The parliament of Canada, almost immediately after the union
in 1841, made arrangements for the disposal of public lands. It
prohibited free grants, valuing those which had been issued but not
made available, at 4s. currency per acre. The right to these old
grants is represented by scrip-certificates; and it would appear that
they may be sold, as they are refen-ed to as land-scrip in the note
of the terms for disposal of land quoted below. The act provided
that the price of the public lands should be from time to time fixed
by the governor in council, who was empowered to make arrange-
ments for granting lands as compensation for the making of roads.
In paying the price of the land to the district agent, it was pro-
vided that the purchaser shall receive letters -patent as his title
without farther fee. There is thus no arbitrary price fixed by the
home government for the disposal of the wast6 lands, as in the
case of the Australian colonies. The price will vary from time
to time, according to circumstances. It does not appear, however
that any alteration has been made since the year 1841 ; and the
terms then adopted are set forth as follows, with instructions for
the guidance of purchasers, by the Emigration Commissioners in
their circular for 1851 : —
*By a provincial act of 1841, crown-lands are to be sold at a'price
to be from time to time fixed by the governor in counciL The
prices fixed for the present are as follows : —
AMERICA.
In Canada East (Letter Carada), for lands situated south of River St
La^nce, down to River Chaudifere andKennebec Road, and includ-
. couft^:f^ri"aL'^'''^"*'^'^'^°^^^°'^^"^^^ - ^-p— ,
Lands in townships previously advertised, - - 43
Lands in townships to te hereafter advertised, - 3s* ""
1 ^^.: ' ^^^"•^i^re and Kennebec Road, and in- * ■*
cludifag the counties of Bonaventura and Gaspg, - 2s
Xforth of River St Lawrence, from westerly limit of * '"
county of Two Mountains, down to easterly limit of
county of Saguenay, - - . .. -28
frn™ Sr/3"f*^ f the purchase-money will be payable in five years
from the date of purchase. The remaining three-fourths in three equal
ms^ments, at intervals of two years between each, all ^th fntS
lOotrT''' "'^ '' '^''"''^ *° P"''^^^ °" those' terms mi^Th^n
_'The purchaser must clear,on taking possession,one-half the width
resSe thereon. ^ ' '''"^'^"'"'^ ^""^ '^ *^' ^°*' ^^ ^»^'
nrlvi*/*f ?*i7'"t.^^ issued to the purchaser until it is satisfactorily
proved that the above-mentioned settlement duties have been dulv
^W^'^'r^r*" '^'' ^^^"'^ '^ '^'^ purchase-money and interest
IS paid up. In the meantime no timber must be cut without a licence
except for clearing the land, or for farm purposes. '
loc^'a^eS^Tthe^ ^^"' ^^^ *^ ^^ ^^'^ *^ "^ -P-"ve
stlrllTgf^eTte!^"' ^""^^'^ '''^^' ''' ^^^^^^^ (^^^^^ ^s. 7d.
'These prices do not apply to lands resumed by government for
^nL uX" 1 ''' ''^°'i*^°"^ of settlement o/w\ichTerwere
InSn C °T% '^'*';^' "°^ abolished, nor to lands called
Indian Reserves, and Clergy Reserves; which three classes are a^
well as town and vd age lots, subject to special valuation. '
Ihe size of the lots of country lands is usually 200 acres- but
they are sold as frequently by half aa whole lots. '
Ihe foUowing are the conditions of sale at present in force as
regards land in Canada West ;— '
fl,I!;,Kr®!?*^^®*?^®*^.^®'' ^* *^^ <^°»*e^ts in acres marked in
coSdinTer^' "^''°^^ ^"^^^^*^^ ^^ *^ *^-^*"^ ^"-^i^y
«,I^:^^^.?t™®°f°/P"'"''^^®-™°"^y ^^11 l>e received by instal-
ments; but the whole purchase-money, either in money orlaJ^d^^clii
must be paid at the time of sale. ^ iiumsci.^.
* 3. On the payment of the purchase-money, the purchaser will
receive a receipt which will entitle him to entS on the Jand wliTch
'The rPftHinf. thtia nUran »..-4. -_1 n _ •
2$'"'' ^^'^'" ^^ ^ aucn-^nses iiie purchaser to tako
CANADA.
but
itaamediate possession, tjut enables him, under the provisions of the
Land Act, to maintain legal proceedings against any wrongful pos-
sessor or trespasser, as eflPectually as if the patent deed had issued
on the day the receipt is dated.
* Oovernment land-agents are appointed in the several municipal
districts, with full power to sell to the first applicant any of the
advertised lands which the return, open to public inspection, may
shew to be vacant within their districts.'
One of the means of acquiring waste land in Canada is by
buying from the Canada Land Company or the North American
Land Company. The former body, which has conducted large
operations, was established by charter in 1826. The company
purchased about two and a half millions of acres of land from the
government (2,484,413), all in Upper Canada, a million being
on the borders of Lake Huron, for the sum of £348,680. The
chairman of the company, on examination before the House of
Commons' Committee of 1841 on Highland Destitution, when
deoired to state the object of the company, explainec''. simply
i'\
was
that it
to improve it, so as
The company sells its
market value; and the
'the resale
it, so as to
of that land, and the outlay of capital
obtain a profit on the sale of the land.'
land according to what it deems the
chairman stated the range of its prices
to be so wide as between 5s. and 358. an acre. Their lands are
partly in scattered lots of about 200 acres each, and in blcks.
The largest of these is the Huron block of 1,000,000 acres,
now containing a population of 26,000. The other blocks are
from 3000 to 4000 acres in the Western District. Li their latest
documents the company advertise their lands at the following
prices, stated in currency. They state them with reference to the
new division into counties, but it is more convenient here to take
them by the old topographical division, which is laid down in the
ordinary maps. The amounts are stated in currency (see above,
p. 4) per acre : Huron Tract, from 12s. 6d. to 20s. ; Western
District, from 8s. 9d. to 20s. ; London, Brock, and Talbot.Dis-
tricts, from 20s. to 30s. ; Gore District, from lis. 3d. to 20s. ;
Wellington, from 15s. to 25s.; Home and Simcoe Districts,
8s. 9d., and upwards ; Newcastle, Colborne, Midland, and Victoria
Districts, from 8s. 9d. to 3 5s. ; Johnstown District, from 2s. to
158. ; Bathurst, Easteyn, Ottawa, and Dalhousie Districts, from
2s. to 12s. 6d.
The company disposes of land by lease for nine years, at a per-
centage on its value. When the price is 28. an acre, 100 acres
may be thus hired at 10s. ; when the price is 3s. 6d. an acre, the
rent of 100 acres is 12s. ; when it is 5s. an acre, 18s. ; and so on
• _ _T? 1_ Tin i.1,^ ««:^^ii /^■^ ^Urt Invk/? ^a 17a (^A on
IH wli cloUiJIlU.iIi^ IJviiiU- VV ilUii lilt; jjii'ww Vi. LU-U iClix^t -i;- .^t:::-. ',-\--z -.r--
acre, the rent of 100 acres is £4, 23. 6d.
27
I-
AMEBICl.
The Canada Company obtained returns in 1840 regarding the
progress of the settlers, stating wliat they were understood to be
worth when they entered on their holdings, and what they had
since acqmred. The object was said to be to test the capacity of
the settlers to pay the instahnents that would be required of them,
and the returns were laid before parliament in the Report of th*)
Committee on Highland Destitution in 1841. They go over the
period from the commencement of the company's operations to
1840, about 22 years. One table referred to 724 settlers in 38 town-
ships. Of these, 337 had originally no property, and were com-
puted to be worth £116,228, 9s. 6d., or, on an average, £334, 17s. 9d.
a head. Another class, consisting of 89 settlers— the term ♦ s-ttler*
applies either to a solitary individual or the head of a setJing
Ifo^iXr^"^"^^"^ possessing each less than £20, had collectively
£38,213, 10s. 6d.— an average per head of £429, 7s. 3d. A third
class, consisting of 298 persons, when they arrived had on an
average each £111, 19s. lOd., and were collectively in possession
of £169,304, Is. 9d.— being an average of £568, 2s. 8d. per head.
The company have lately issued a no less instructive statement—
that between the beginning of 1844 and 31st December 1850
f^j}lT^ ^^®" *^^ channel of remitting from emigfant settlers
£77,661 to their friends in Britain, chiefly for the purpose of
enabling them to emigrate.
Besides the Canada and British American Company, another
body, caUed The North American Colonial Association of Ire-
land, was formed a few years ago for the acquisition and disposal
of lands , It directed its attention chiefly to the eastern province.
Tins body purchased the large seigneurial estate of Beauharnois,
contammg about eight square leagues. In a dispatch from Lord
Sydenham to the Colonial Secretary in 1841, he says : * I under-
stand that their efforts wUl be directed to the improvement of this
property by the direct expenditure of capital there, or by advances
to the local authorities for the construction of roads and commu-
nications, and to affording assistance to the provisional govern-
ment in providing means by which some of the great improve-
ments in contemplation may be effected. Likewise, that it is not
their intention to speculate in wild lands.'
According to the general accounts given by Mr Smith in his
Canadian Gazetteer,' a work which the emigrant will find sig-
nally useful, improved lands may be had in the Victoria District
at from £4 to £7 an acre ; in Newcastle District, from £2, 10s. to
£5 -some farms being as high as £10; in the Colbonie District
the prices will vary from £2 to £6, according to distiince from the
towns, while wild land may be had as low as from 48. to 5s. in the
less annroarhjihlfl narfo-'in fVin fln^a "nCo*-:.,* -.? j i.._j
?ii
WUl
CANADA.
range as high as from £5 to £10 ; in the Wellington District, the
amount will be from £3 to £8 ; in Niagara, from £2 to £8 ; while
in the Brock District the range will rise from £4 to £10 ; in
London, from £4 to £8.
The quantity of land surveyed in Western Canada is estimated
at 18,153,219 acres. Of this quantity, it is calculated that a mil-
lion and a half remain on hand. About ten and a half millions
have been miscellaneously disposed of. The clergy reserves form
2,407,687 ; the reserves for educational pui-poses exceed half a
million ; the Indian reserves are 808,540 ; and the Canada Com-
pany hold, as we liave seun, about two millions and a half.
The unsurveyed lands are estimated at thirteen millions and
a half. The late movements relative to the clergy reserves will
of course tend to bring a new breadth of available land into the
market.
CHOICE OF AN ALLOTMENT, AND SUBSEQUENT PROCEEDINGS.
fit
Will
The first steps to be taken by the intending purchaser of land
on his arrival are of the simplest kind. He calls on the govern-
ment agent and makes his inquiries as to the allotments surveyed
and for sale, or seeks general information. This will be a proper
step, whether he intend to clear for himself or buy a farm.
According as his intentions may turn to the Western or Eastern
province, to the bush or cleared land, he will make inquiry of
the agents of the thi-^e land compaities mentioned above. The
advice generally givex by old colonists to those following in their
footsteps, is not to be in a hurry to buy land ; but to lie by. gain
experience, and see ho matters stand. It is almost needless to
remark, that if it be possible, the settler should see the land he
proposes to purchase, and examine it deliberately with a view to
its eligibility. Any man will know how a lot stands as to means
of communication, but it requires a practised eye to understand
the productiveness of the soil ; and if it be possible, the uninitiated
emigrant will obtain the assistance of a well-informed friend.
Should he trust to his own resources — if his land contains beaver
meadow, or dry alluvium from water subsif'C! v he may conclude
tliat it is valuable. In general, however, !.j \ aI have to judge ot'
the capability^f the eoil by the character^ .aiz , and healthiness of
the timber, A settler on the Huron T.j.ct, in a pamphlet caUed
* The Life of a Backwoodsman,' says :
* The forest consists of a variety of trees — such as maple, beech,
UCUXS "iX \i iJXif
r ^'XSXim wli C
VI
liiUilUI
J*
vaiiiv
C*A«U» I^UtiVwA"
29
AMEBICA.
Jf
nut, vfhich grow on dry land; and when seen to be tall, and branch^
ing ot»ly near tlie top, denote the quality of the land to be good. If
low in size, and scraggy, the soil is clayey and cold, and inclined to
be wetiish ; and in tliis situation will bo found the birch. It is a tree
. which grows healthy iand strong (often found from two to threo feet
in diameter) iii land inclined to be wet at the spot where it grows.
It is sometimes a mark to discover a spring of water. The birch
will almost, always be found near a spring. The trees which grow
on wet and swampy lands are the oak, pine, hemlock, tamarack,
black ash, and cedar j but the pine and hemlock i^xe found also on
dry soil. Consider thousands and tens of thousajucls of acres covered
with troes of the above kinds. Maple, beech, elm, and basswood, are
the kinds which grow most numerous, and on good land are sure to
be found glowing tall, and from one foot to tlu-ee and four in diame-
ter. There will be found in dry sandy plains and hiiis the oak ai^d
pine. When the oak grows on soil not sandy, it iu apt to be clayey
ground In order to direct an emigrant to choose a lot of
land, the following marks may be noted :— First, get, if possible, a lot
with a small running stream (called a creek) on it, or a spring of
water. Every lot has not a creek or spring on it; but water can be
got by digging ; and the well, wher dug, ought to be lined or walled
up with stones. I have known wells built mi h [uare with logs; but
this may be done above where the water rises to ; from the surfiice
of the water and under, stone should be used. Second, observe that
taU and strong timber, free of rotten branches or an unhealthy
look, grows on good land — I mean elm, maple, beech, basswood, and
cherry, and the other timber previously mentioned as growing on
dry land. Throughout the bush, on both good arid bad land, will be
found the lifeless trunk standing ready to fall, " where it must lie.**
A lot of land should not be rejected if a corner' of it, even
fifteen acres, is covered with black ash, pine, or cedar. For fencing
the cleared fields, black ash and cedar are invaluable. For boards
(lumber, as commonly tenned) arid shingles the pine is more valu-
able. Where the land is undulating — that is, rising and falling — ^it is
likely to be good. Where the butternut and cherry are, the land is
rich ; but maple and basswood, with the elm, denote the same : if
much beech, the land is lighter, but a warmer soil. The more
**knolly" the land is (the knolls or small hills being caused by the
**turn up" of the trees in falling) the better the soil. Where these
are not much seen, the soil is apt to be clayey. The emigrant, how-
ever, *ill find a superior surface mould at which to try his hand and
his plough.'
yrhoever glances at a map of Canada will see that, unlike many
emigration fields, the unclear .d forest is not {nr distant from the
settled, cleared, and inhabited districts. The St Lawrence md
the lakes may be considered as a street passing through the strip
of country. Near the edge of the water are the settled districts—
— ... ..,.-..,,_. ,., T.-^-zzisixz s iivTL- Lxicntj tiiTC axzLi^ixzi. in iii2!2t.m2 :r: rim z::rmrnr:
80
Xi.llAAmv4 AAA IaIw ^i*\/IWO
f i
CANADA.
to the immediate neighbourhood. He may proceed np by the
Rideau, and settle by its side, or on the banks of the Ottewa; or
he may pass from Toronto to Lake Simcoe or Georgian Bay| or
beyond the London Settlement to the Huron Tract. He is not
however, driven to unapproachable places ; and need not, like the
Australian squatter, go hui^dreds of mUes away from neighbours.
Still, while he has communication by roads, or the great natural
highways with the centres of colonial civilisation, the bushman is
ahnost the more lonely of the two. He has more access to the
means of procuring the necessaries or luxuries of life, but not of
having society; for in the midst of the lonely forest it is of little
more consequence to him that there are fellow-mortals a few miles
distant, with the pathless vfildemes» of trees between, than if they
were so many hundreds of miles oflf. At the same time, the
cheerfulness of a wide prospect around, and the presence of herds
or flocks— a sort of companionship in themselves to the Australian
squatter — are wanting.
From these and some other considerations, the proposing settler
who takes out a moderate sum to Canada should weigh well the
question whether he shall buy a clearmg in a pleasant neighbour-
hood, or proceed and clear in the bush. He must consider whether
he caii stand the extremes of heat and cold, damp and exposure of
all kinds, and almost ceaseless labour. He must also consider
whether he can resist, in such circumstances of loneliness and
fatigue, temptations to intemperance. The distance of the squat-
ting districts in Australia from towns and distilleries renders it
extremely difficult to procure ardent spirits there. But it is other-
wise, in the backwoods of Canada, whfere drunkenness is the lonely
settler's curse and ruin. Many a man who, in the cheerfulness, and
with the restraints of social life, never felt himself liable to such
a fate, has become a victim in the bush.
In creeks and inlets of the lakes, and by the sides of the rivers
and brooks, alluvial patches are to be found, which have their
temptation from the absence of wood. The beaver-dam is some-
times, too, taken advantage of in the manner which will be men-
tioned in connection with New Brunswick. Where the aUuvium
is natural, it will be for the settler to consider the chances of ague,
and the facilities for rffec^ive drainage— as in a timbered country
there is seldom much free alluvial soil tliat is not essentially
marshy. Nor must the settler calculate on being free of such
sanitary risks, even where he has to clear the forest ; and if he
should choose to brave or risk the consequences in his own person,
he will do well to have the prospect of his clearing being rendered
dry and salubrious before he subjects his less hardy family, if he
'«v VSiWf mi^ £••
U
i
10
AMERICA.
Again, before he fix on clearing for himself, the settler must con-
eider his capacity and prowess. He may be clever, muscular, and
a good worker, but it does not follow that he is accomplished in
felling and logging timber, and grubbing roots. We are not ad-
dressing ourselves to the capitalist who wishes to open a large
district by employing lumberers, and who of course does nothing
but calculate outlay and returns, and overlook the operations.
The man, however, who goes to the woods with a small patrimony,
which he desires to improve, must, with his own hand, lay the axe
to the root of the tree. It will be almost good economy for the
«peedy return, in the first crop of grain, to employ an assistant ;
but it will be bad economy for thf settler not to be able to give
his own labour. He should try practically what the task of
clearing is ; and if he is not fit for it, invest his capital, however
■iuall, in a patch made fit for the plough. To him who is resolved
on the bush. Sir Richard Bonnycastle, a gentleman of long Cana-
dian experience, says : ' First lay your land in as fins a part of
the province as possiKe, then build your log-hut, and a good bam
.and stable, with pig and sheep-pens. Then commence with a
hired hand, whom you must not expect to treat you en seigneur,
and who will either go shares with you in the crops, or require
£30 currency a year, with his board and lodging. Begin hewing
and hacking till you have cleared two or three acres for wheat,
oats, and grass, with a plot for potatoes and Indian com.
' When you have cut down the giant trees, then comes the log-
ging. Reader, did you ever log? It is precious work ! Fancy
yourself in a smockfrock, the best of all working-dresses. Having
cut the huge trees into lengths of a few feet, rolling these lengths
up into a pile, and ranguig the branches and brushwood for conve-
nient combustion ; then waiting for a favourable wmd, setting fire
to all your heaps, and burying yourself in grime and smoke ; then
rolling up these half-consumed enormous logs, till, after painful
toil, you get them to burn to potash. . . . . Cutting down the
forest is hard labour enough, until practice makes you perfect;
chopping is hard work also ; but logging— nobody likes logging.'
—(Canada and the Canadians in 1846, p. 73.) It brings the
clearer, however, his first increase. The potash -lea from the
burning is a regular export from the forest districts, and he can
exchange it for commodities down the country. He can thus
supply himself with flour until he has it from his own grain,
and with barrels of pork. The whisky of Canada, if he has been
accustomed to taste temperately at good tables old malt spirits at
home, will taste at first detestably ; but unfortunately too many in
his position become speedily reconciled to it : he will do well to
_ i— V ' -" -'-'^ -"-"^ uiogua-.. i-iajpic-Bugai, wxiiuii 13 uuinpsrea
32
r
CANADA.
must con-
Bular, and
dished in
e not Ad-
n a large
s nothing
perations.
atrimony,
y the axe
ly for the
assistant ;
e to give
s task of
, however
t resolved
ng Cana-
% part of
jood bam
e with a
seigneur,
r require
n hewing
>r wheat,
3 the log-
! Fancy
Having
B lengths
or conve-
itting fire
ke; then
r painful
lown the
perfect ;
logging.'
•ings the
rom the
i he can
can thus
m grain,
has been
spirits at
many in
) well to
;ompsr6d
t/o candied horehound, he can procure b/ tapping. For more
luxurious appliances in this early stage, ? r Richard Bonnycastlc
•ays : ' If you have a gun, which you must have in the bush,
and a dog, which you may have just to keep you company and to
talk to, you may now and then kill a Canada pheasant, yclept
partridge, or a wild-duck, or mayhap a deer ; but do not think of
bringing a lioimd or hounds ; for you can kill a deer just as well
without them, and I never remember to have heard of a young
«ettler with hounds coming to much good.' The Emigration Com-
missioners, in their circular for 1851, estimate the cost of cl&iring
wjiste lands at £3 per acre. The shanty or log-hut has cost i^tle
more than the price of the shingle for its roofing— some 6s. or Ts.
— and has been built by the clearer himself with the aid of his
hired assistant or his neighbours.
When the ground is cleared, the stumps stick up like so many
butchers' blocks. Uninstructed settlers naturally think of blasting
and burning them, but the former is ineffective, and the latter only
tends to preserve them from decay by charring. It is said that
hardwood stumps decay in five or six years, but that thirty elapse
ere the pine is mingled with the earth. A machine has been
invented, to which steam-power may be applied, for the extraction
of stumps, like gigantic teeth ; and there is no doubt that the
adaptation of machinery to all clearing purposes will in time
revolutionise the system of forest clearings.
Meanwhile the fresh hand, ploughing as he best can among
stumps and stones, has soon the satisfiiction of seeing the first
sproutings of Indian corn or buckwheat on his own land, and of
grubbing out a few potatoes. He gets his grain ground for a pro-
portion of the meal, and he can now keep live-stock — fowls, a
pig, then a few sheep and cattle, while a garden begins gradually
to smile round the rough log-hut, which has been perhaps raised
by the settler's own hands, with the assistance of his neighbours.
Ere some years are past, if he be sober, steady, and industrious,
he is owner of a hundred or two acres, a great proportion of them
productive, and thinks of fences and a larger house.
In the purchase of cleared and long-tilled land, the emigrant, if he
be not a practical agriculturist, is as apt to be deceived, perhaps,
as in that of waste land ; and even if he b^ a practical man, he
must be prepared for certain defects peculiar to the district, and
characteristic. From what he hears of American agriculture, the
purchaser will be warned not to invest in exhausted, worthless
land. But there are some peculiar defects which the sloverly
husbandry of the country has introduced — as, for instance, 1 he
spreading over the soil of a pestilent weed called the stone-we 3(1,
pigeou-weed^ wUeaL-iiuef, red-root, and vy various other names.
86
r-
i
^
if
AMERICA.
It is said not to be indigenous, but to have been brought from
Europe. If it once gets root, it grows, B\)c(Midb, and flourishes
with each crop of wheat, lying indestructiuie during the spring
ploughing, and becoming more and more luxuriant the more pains
are taken in the culture of the grain. Mr Johnston says : ' The
peculiarity of this weed consists in the hard covering with which
its seed or nut is covered; in the time at which it comes up and
ripens its seed; and in the superficial way in which its roots spread.'
The hardness of its covering is such, that ' neither the gizzard of
a fowl nor the stomach of an ox can destroy it,' and that it will lie
for years in the ground without perishing, till the opportunity of
germinating occurs. * It grows up very little in spring, but it
shoots up and ripens in autumn, and its roots spread through the
surface soil only, and exhaust the food by which the young wheat
ought to be nourished.' This weed is a punishment not only to
the careless farmer but to his more industrious neighbour, if not
to the farmer in our own country, since where it greatly abounds,
its seed is used in the adulteration of liutseed cake.
SUITABLENESS FOR EMIGRATION.
There is no doubt that the natural resources of Canada for
the employment of labour are very large ; for all practical pur-
poses, limitless : the great difficulty is in their effective develop-
ment. The immi^ation in 1841 amounted to 28,086. In the en-
suing year, which was one of great home depression, it had much
increased, amounting td 44,374. It was observed that the excess
consisted in a great measure of that hopeful species of migration
when people are induced to go out at the instance of, and with
assistance from, their relations ; and the chief emigration agent
reported that ' there is reason to believe that few of the indus-
triously -disposed remained at the close of the year without
employment.' The numbers in the two ensuing years were
21,727 and 20,142 respectively. In 1845 the number was 25,375;
and it is stated in the emigration agents' reports, that several of
them were possessed of moderate capital, and proceeded at once
to purchase partially-improved properties, or enter into trade.
Some were small farmers, with sufficient means to establish them-
selves advantageously on wild lands ; ' but the great bulk were
agricultural labourers, many of whom had nothing even for their
immediate support.' Yet, along with the immigrants of the
ensuing rear, 1846, they seem to have all foimd some satisfactory
outlet, many of them proceeding to the United States.
The vear 1847 was totsdlv fixf-fintional- Thn niimhflr nf Aviloa
%
CANADA.
who reached Quebec in that year was 89,440. The reports, both
by the emigration agents and the colonial authorities for that
year, aflFord a miserable pictdo of thS state in which the Irish
were shovelled forth. It wiU liave to be mentioned in connec-
tion with the other Br'tish * nerican colonies, as well as in its
connection with the Unit.! . .States. Confusion and alarm were
excited not only by the appearance and for the fate of the
miserable objects discharged from the emigrant vessols, but for
their effect on the h( -Ith and the supply of food at the places
where they landed >r which they passer^ in their route. Many
died on board the vessels ; others, helpi Ay and hopelessly sick,
had to be removed to lazar-houses. A large number, of these
people had been removed with the distinct intention that a
burden should be removed from the Iri- h parish or estate, and
that It might fall where it alighted. Men in extreme old age,
permanent imbeciles, widows with swarms of cliildren— all were
huddled off together, and strewn as it were on the Canadian
shore. It was with reference to the burdens thus laid on the
province that the measure for a tax on emigrants, mentioned
below, was passed.
On the whole, it does not appear that we have any right to
cast off our social degradation on another shore. Strangers will
not receive it : our own colonies ought not to be subject to it.
The object of a great part of the emigration of that year was
to remove certain burdens from landlords and ratepayers in
Ireland, and lay them on some 'person or persons unknown'
across the Atlantic. The Canadians found, in 1847, that in many
instances widows, with helpless infant famQies, were sent over
to them by Irish landlords and relief committees. ' They are
generally,' says the report of the emigrant agent for Upper
Canada, ' durty in their habits, and unreasonable in their expec»
tations as to wages. They appear to possess but little ambition
or desire to adapt themselves to the new state of thmgs with
which they are surrounded. The few who possess any money
invariably secrete it, and will submit to any amount of suffering,
or have recourse to begging in the streets, and the most humi-
liating and pertinacious supplications to obtain a loaf of bread
from boards of health or the emigrant agents, rather than part
with a shilling.'— (Papers relative to Emigration. 1847. P. 21.)
The United States' authorities required the railway companies
and the masters of the passage vessels on the lakes to let the
English, Scotch, and German emigrants pass, but to stop the Irish;
and the ferryman at Lewiston was imprisoned for disregarding the
injunction. '
It la nrpffv nloor fViof tVta nnniiMw^'nnna riC <•!»?•• ^As- — .-.-i- 1
85
IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)
1.0
I.I
1.25
!f m m
u
1.4
2.2
2.0
1.6
^^
e
/a
/:
^A
%
^4
w^*
<^
Hiotographic
Sciences
Corporation
23 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, N.Y. K580
(716) 872-4503
^.
Mi
I
ll
AMEBICA.
a stiU disheartening effect on Canadian emigration. The dis-
tressing mviision deters the colonists from offering encouragement
to people of the laboiiriifg class to pass over— the miseries of
which they hear prevent the same class from seekmg to try then-
fortune across the Atlantic. Yet it appears that even in that
overflowmg year those who were of use were absorbed: and by
this time It may fairly be predicted that aU the disorganisation
occasioned lias been righted. The emigration agent stated it
as his opinion, within a few months after they had landed, that
two-thirds of them had settled and were employed in various
parts of Canada. In t^e meantime the influence of better
regulations w shewn by decrease of mortality. The number
who died m 1850 was 213-not near 1 per cent.; the previous
year it was nearer 3 per cent. Of the 213 deaths in 1850 the
greater part were children— only 58 were adults.
In 1849 the Canadian legislature passed an act, following on
the example set by the United States, placing, for the protec-
tion of the province, restraints on immigration. In its preamble
It professed to make such provision 'as will tend to prevent the
introduction into this province of a pauper emigration labouring
under disease, and at the same time to encourage the introduction
ot a more healthy and useful class of emigrants.' By this act
a tax IS laid on the master of every emigrant vessel aiTiving at
Quebec or Montreal, amounting to 7s. 6d. currency for every
adult, and 5s. for every one between five and fifteen years old
on government emigrants and 10s. for every other passenger.'
There IS a provision for debiting the tax against the home govern-
ment m the case of government emigrants. For any passengers
who have joined the vessel after clearing, and are consequently
not on the certified list, there is a considerable addition to the
ya. m the shape of penalty.
Lists of the passengers must be given in and certified : and they
must speciaUy mdicate all who are lunatic, idiots, deaf and dumb,
b md or mfirm, stating whether they are accompanied by relatives
likely to support them. For every such person who, on inquky,
IS officially declared to be unlikely to be so supported, the masted
of the vessel must find security to the extent of £75 currency
to relieve the provmce and its charitable institutions from being
burdened with the maintenance and support of such an immigrant
for tlu-ee years. It has been stated in the latest official docu-
ments from Canada, that this act has not been found very effective
in saving the country from the class of immigrants whom it is
not desirable to receive.
f«n^T ?^ reports Of Mr Buchanan, the emigration superin-
tendent^ it appears that the number of immigrants who reached
The dis-
^ragement
liseries of
) try their
in in that
I ; and by
^anisation
stated it
ided, that
ti various
of better
! number
previous
1850 the
owing on
e protec-
preamble
svent the
labouring
•oduction
this act
riving at
or every
ears old,
assenger.
I govern -
issengers
equently
1 to the
md they
d dumb,
relatives
inquiry,
3 master
urrency,
n being
migrant
il docu-
sflFective
>m it is
superin-
reached
CANADA.
oo®onn^*^"y "" 1848 was 27,939; in 1849, 38,494; and in 1850,
d2,292; of whom 13,723 went to the States, from whicli
356 passed that year to Canada. The 38,494 who arrived in
1849 are reported to have disposed of themselves as follows,
the numbers being in each case approximations by the superin-
tendent:— In Quebec and its neighbourhood, 400; Eastern
townships, 100; Montreal, and the district south of the St
Lawrence, 2500— making about 3000 in East Canada. The
number who had been ascertained to have gone to the United
States by St John was 5305; distributed through the West
Canada Districts were 26,687. The largest portion went to the
Toronto, Home, and Simcoe Districts— namely, 11,620. In the
Hamilton, Wellington, Gore, Brock, and London Districts, it is
calculated that 6330 were distributed. Of those who passed to
the west, 5172 are set down as having crossed to the United
States; whUe it appears that 1700 had gone from or through the
States to Western Canada. ' In the early part of the season '
says the superintendent, 'I had occasion to notice the arrival of
a number of families possessed of capital and intelligence, who
promised to prove valuable additions to our colonial population.
All these proceeded at once to purchase partially-improved pro-
perties, or to enter into trade. A proportion of the emigration
consisted of farmers whose means will establish them with some
advantage on wild lands, for the purchase of which only a smaU
outlay IS required. But the great bulk of the emigration has
been agricultural labourers; some of them with small means, but
very many having nothing even for their immediate support.'
LABOUR— WAGES— PRICES.
For niechanics, it is perhaps not the least advantage of Canada
that It is close to the United States. The colony, however,
affords better openings than the British possessions in the southern
hemisphere, from the greater density of population, and the
larger proportional number of towns and public works. Among
the wages set down in the Official Circular of the Emigration
Commissioners for 1851, there are bricklayers from 4s. to 5s. a day
bakers, 3s. m the eastern, and 4s. in the western province; car-
penters, 5s. in the eastern, and 6s. 3d. in the western province-
coopers, respectively, 3s. and Ss.; gardeners, 38. 9d. to 4s. 6d. •
shoemakers, 3s. in the eastern, and 6s. 3d. in the western pro-
ymce; sawyers, paid per 100 feet, 4s. 3d. in the eastern, and Ss,
in the western province ; stonemasons, 4s. 6d. to 5s. ; tailors
43. to 6s. M.. fllA laffor in tU^ ,^r.^* -• » . '
— J — — ... ..j j,i^j TTcoiciu piuviiiuuj piascerers, a
87
I
AMERICA.
trade in much requiaition, 5s. in the eastern, and 6s. 3d. in
*he western province. The remuneration to dressmakers and
miUmers seems to be under some pecuUar depression in the
"eastern provmce, where it is quoted at Is. a day. The amount
Inf WW™ f ^'' ^^- '^^''' '' * g«>od deal of employ-
ment both for stonemasons and bricklayers-the one being pre-
w. c\?^ f^®' accordmg to the buUding materk!, and the
habit of the place It was long the practice, for instance, in
Toronto and Hamilton, to use brck; whUe stone was employed
m Montreal and Kmgston. Farm-labourers are stated to receive
^s. bd. in the eastern, and the same in the we-^^m province
*or shepherds the entry is, ' no employment.' In all out-of-door
occupations, the nature of the seasons, and their effect on the
of work, must be kept m view. Canada, in some measure
reeembles the United States, in not being a place of reTugeT;
inferior workmen; and the remarks to be made on the position of
mechanics there, apply in a considerable degree to the same class
m Canada; smce then: vicmity to each other keeps the two labour
markets nearly on a level. The Emigration Commissioners, in their
cu^cdar for 1851, have found it necessary in the meantime to say:
It appears by mformation received from Mr Buchanan, the chief
cS'„rt:rV"'?S'''? that the demand for labouHnCaS
rest ZJS ^ ^^'^^^' / ^'^^"^ depression of the trading inte-
fAV^^ ^"^ "^'^ *^^ discontinuance of the expenditure main-
S^rol f'^T ^'*". ^^^ ^ *^^ construction of public vorks, has
n«^T-f mI I ^'"'^''l ^™P>y"'""* "*"y artisans and mechanics,
and a stiU larger number of common labourers.' The latest infer*
mation, however m the Commissioners' Annual Report is more
^heenng; and Mr Buchanan is there quoted as stating thaHhe
moderate emigration during the lasi two years is not more tha^
sufficient to meet the demand left by the progress inwards^^
previous emigrants, and he says in continuation :« The ZvLe
for sSlbd kW^^ '^ "^""'"""'^ ^^ P'""^^'"' *° ^'^^^ * f^^ fi«Id
The occupation of the lumberer or woodcutter is of course
open to the Canadian settler; but it is rather a pursuit to
which some classes are driven by their destmy than one to be
sought and courted. Its characteristics are hardship, danger.
r « v'!l A*i!*'?®^.^y '^ ™*"y "^'^"^ ^d P"^y«ical enemies; it
IS sai^ that the lumberer rarely reaches the age of fifty. The
foUowmg description is given by an experienced eye-witness
ot the ordmary characteristics which surround the lumberer-—
You stand before the fire made under three or four sticks
set up tentwise, to which a large caldron is hung, bubbUng and
seething, with a very strong odour of fat pork: a boy, du-ty
and lU-favoured, with a sharp, glittering axe, looks very suspi-
CANADA.
>s. 3d. in
takers and
on in the
lie amount
f employ-
being pre-
!, and the
istance, in
employed
to receive
province,
ut-of-door
ict on the
measure,
refuge for
)osition of
lame class
wo labour
s, in their
le to say :
the chief
in Canada
ding inte-
ire main-
"orks, has
lechanics,
est infor-
is more
that the
lore than
wards of
province
fair field
•f course
irsuit to
le to be
danger,
smies, it
y. The
i-witness
3erer : —
r sticks
ling and
y, dirty
y suspi-
ciously at you, but calls oflf his wolfish dog, who sneaks awav.
A moment shews you a long hut formed of logs of wood, with 'a
roof of branches covered by birch-bark; and by its side, or near
the &:e, several nondescript sties or pens, apparently for keeping
pigs in, formed of branches close to the ground, either like a boat
turned upside down, or UteraUy as a pigsty is formed as to shape.
In the large hut, which is occasionally more luxurious, and made
of slabs of wood or of rough boards, if a saw-mill is withm rea-
sonable distance, and there is a passable wood-road, or creek, or
rivulet navigable by canoes, you see some barrel or two of pork,
and of flour, or biscuit, or whisky, some tools, or some old blankets
J' skms The larger dwelling is the haU— the common
hall— and the pigsties the sleeyvag-y]&QQs:—{Bonnycastle's Oanada
and the Canadians, i. 66.)
Near the settlements, the lumberers are much complained pf in
Canada as a sort of freebooters ; cutting their timber wherever
they find it most convenient for removal by water, and often in
those places where the owner of an allotment would wish to
have the trees at his own command. The lumberer generally
deals with some speculator or the lake towns, or the St Law-
rence, who chains him down .y a system of credit, by pro^dmg
him with the tools and other instruments of his trade, and the
means of dissipation. It is e:s:a()tly the same story over again as
that of the logwood-men of Honduras, and the cedar-cutters of
Moreton Bay. The wood is brought down the rapid rivers in
small rafts or drams, the conductor of which encounters frightful
perils, which he is mcited to undergo, as horses return briskly to
the stable, by expecting his speedy reward in city luxuries-
amusement and whisky. On the lakes, several of these will be
fixed togetherin a wide floatmg island, with flags, huts, and various
contrivances for catchmg the breezes. The old used-up steam-
boats are occasionally converted into lumber-vessels, superseding
this method of transit. On the whole, it may be expected that,
in various ways, science will soon invade this barbarous field of
employment, and facilitate the removal of the forest coatmg,
without exposing humanity to so many risks, physical and moral.
On the price of commodities, as on the wages of labour, the
latest information that has reached this country can be obtained
in the Circular of the Emigration Commissioners, sold for 2d. It
must be remembered, that though a great part of the colony is
pathless forest, it is not like the fresh settlements in Australia
and New Zealand, where a commercial system for supplymg the
settlers with the necessaries and conveniences of life is only form-
ing itself. Some of the towns in Canada are virtually as old as
many of our own market-towns, and are full of accomplished
39
AMERICA.
tradesmen who make it their business to supply the colonist-
and who will import for him the articles he is liLl/to rS
a himS %trn?T"^ ''*" '^ ^"^ ^^ ^b^« '^ takVthl' ou
♦h« . Ki .^ """"^^ preposterous mistakes have been made bv
the humbler classes of emigrants, especially in the conveyance ^•
ponderous articles of furniture; the materials of which hive nr^
In general, in both the provinces, food is far cheaner than ,'«
In a return of 14th August 1850, the imports of British manu
iiictures and produce into Canada are thus rafPrl H.^^ i"
cutlery, £64 470- hafs £.^1^0 • ^ ^~^*'^'^^*'*^ *"'^
and shot £4q7i . 1 '*! ' ^' 'f'''' *"^ **«^^ £208,391; lead
ana suot, ±,4971; leather, wrought and unwrouFht £88 fiftn •
Imen manufactures, entered by tL vard ^noqf. ♦», 5 i
smAlIwflroB ^iioo !-• •'^ , yara, .^ib,{}66\ thread and
smaiiwares, £1122 ; machmery and miU-work, £210.
NEW BRUNSWICK.
This compact province lies between the latitudes of 45» and 4fto
north, and stretches in longitude r,om 63° 48' to 67= 30' wes? On
iiay to the north, with a westward inclination, keepine when it h^
advanced inland, in the neighbourhood of the St JdXver senf
rates the prov nee from the state of Maine of the Ceriin Union"
40
I!
e colonist;
to require
9 them out
n made by
veyance of
have pro-
3 they are
>er than in
lave wheat
!^d. to 4d.
v^ince than
itures and
quoted as
inkets arc
to 20s. in
ish manu-
ware and
391 ; lead
£38,680;
read and
' and 48"
rest. On
minating
t to the
)ay, and
awrence,
ith thus
iquoddy
en it has
3r, sepa-
i Union,
lebrated
)rovince
iching a
NEW BRUNSWICK.
Of S.^^w'1 ''^*^" ^T'"'® P''''°*' "**^« *« ^"t'"ct from that
Under thf^n^'^'^V?.*''"^ *? "^'°' *^' ^"*«^««t« ^^^'^e SP.ttler.
Under the dommion of France, it was chiefly in military of.cupa^
Tv^l^^F^-v *"" l-^r ^""^ ''*"*"y ««"^«^- The proportion
th« Z- ^"'"'i'^!,^*^" r7«i"i«g « «mall in comparison with
the Habitans of Canada, but there are still several Acadians,
• chiefly in the eastern districts. The establishment of British
settlers began m 1761. Their position was necessarily rendered
precanous by the outbreak of the American war, but the staple of
the colony was subsequently framed of loyalists and other refugses.
ine district was erected into a separate province in 1784 Its
subsequent importance has been chiefly owing to the fisheries,
and to the influence on the lumber trade of the duties on Baltic
?'™; ^« «" emigration field, it received a terrible check in
1826, from a calamity of a peculiar and appalling kind. The cele-
brated fire in Miramichi at once horrified and astonished all the
civilised world; and perhaps, for the first time, conveyed an
adequate notion of the vastness and compactness of the North
American forests. When first recorded in the newspapers, it
appeared like some wild fiction. People were accustomed to hear
ot tenements being burned down before their unfortunate inhabi-
tants could escppe, and of several thus perishing in some great city
conflagration; but that the fire should literally travel over a pro-
vmce-that its influence should be felt for days before it actually
reached its victims-and that they should find, with both the land
and the water before them, no means of escape from its devastatmg
approach, seemed something incomprehensible. It was stated
that for sometime the inhabitants of the settlements along the
Mu-amichi Rive^ had been conscious of a strange, sultry, oppressive
heat, and heard a sort of distant roaring in the recesses of the
Jorest, mmgled with faint sounds like explosions, or the crash ot
laUen trees. As the heat grew greater, a dense mass of smoke-
coloured cloud gathered overhead. The clearings from the forest
fonned unfortunately a mere strip ; but a quarter of a mile wide—
and the great amphitheatre of flame, spread over a surf-ace of
severd thousands of square miles, filled it with fiery air, which
Ignited the wooden houses and stores of the hapless settlers.
Anything more frightful than the devastation occasioned has never
been known, save in the earthquakes of Portugal and South
America. The towns or villages— of which one, Newcastle, con-
tained 1000 inhabitants— were almost entirely reduced to ashes:
and the burned bodies of the inhabitants lay putrefying among
those of wild beasts driven through the forest before the flames,
buch conflagrations on a smaller scale are a calamity to which
this province is always liable. These fires, unfortunately, leave
41
','
m"^
f
¥•
i '. i
AMERICA.
^l^.TJ"?*''*./*'' *^'^ immediate mischief, as their effect is to
destroy the fortuity of the soil, instead of clearing it for cdtivaUoL
, « i^^L 1 r.^'^i ^ountsAns in this territo^, but tC^ori
SdefrrX bed^" by precipitous hUls, and laTge rive« Sg
Jr«-!!: *^ j^^ , • ^^^ vastness of the forest-clothine mav hi
S's tt"s^! "r.7'^ 1 ^?™^^^' -^ this pSiJ;
K weU Lo^ tI ' '^'^'"'^ P^^« *>^ *^« ^t«rior from
*K' if -^ °^ '^**®'' ' o*^«" ™a"hy. The principal river
™.el, fo. a Jut 2^«) „Ue, when^ «e1t ;X S SS
ZG«lf„?^f ?^r™'''" ^S'- * '"•°»''' ""kdiie river, fal^toJ
~«VrfT . y* ">'"'"«'' the most important is the Nenisimit I
t»M fun stream leaping over some great cataracts! ""^'"^'^ *
in g»S' WwTT ST'"" '"'i""'^' P™i'i™ 'ocks would,
tne growth of wheat, oats, and maize. There aro It til Z
mmwm
half-awampy lake int^o S ^h st ^Xir Sic^^- 1 n"f '
prodacmg a succession of ftUl crops without ^l^re ^""^
Mr Johnston, in his Notes on Nnrti; iIZ • a „
tributed to the riohnerf tt h^SrbnKSt^fd"''' ""l
esteemed farms here arp fTinonTu- J"'^ '^^^ ^^st-situated or most
intervde I^ anr^k^t Xla"'^';'' TT.^"^ 1 '"' ^
>'>!
r effect is to
cultivation.
• the ground
vers rolling
ing may be
peculiarity
iterior from
them pictu-
icipal river,
ited States,
e for small
y the great
plished by
', falls into
•St Harbour
episiguit, a
cks would,
But the
rally of the
becoming
uitable for
the same
p alluvial
's, because
es, caused
when man
the settler
ly be sud-
d-looking,
al ground,
tribes nu-
led in the
^8 of the
)e flooded
ess, very
heard of
ind bogs,
)ubt con-
1 or most
this low
lous cha-
il matter
ive been
NEW BRUNSWICK. lb
formed neax theur mouths, and have been diked in and drained
^l «'♦• ?K?^^1'"' ^*"^ ^^ *^" ^"*«*^ settlers, indeed,
from native habit, have shewn a partiality for these marshes!
Mr Johnston mentions a tract of land, upwards of 1000 acres
thus diked on the St John, consisting of ' a black snonev'
vegetable moiJd,' of inferior quality, and capable of yielding large
crops of hay, but not weU adapted for cereal cultivation. 'The
marsh-land,' he says, ' of St John lies in a narrow vaUey, bordered
by high ground on each side, but itself very little elevated above
the sea. The upper end of the flat is only two feet above high-
water mark; but as the tide rises here twenty-seven feet, its height
IS considerably above mean- water level, and the entrance of high
tides IS prevented by a sluice at the mouth of the valley. I
visited what 18 considered one of the best^farms on this flat. It
consists of 120 acres of marsh and 100 of upland. The upland is
partially cleared, and affords pasture and firewood, but the marsh
alone is under arable culture. The whole is rented for £150 a
year currency. It requires high manuring ; but when well culti-
vated, any part of it, the tenant said, would produce four tons, and
1 was assured that five tons of hay was occasionaUy reaped from
such land.' ^ *^
But the same gentleman has noticed a larger breadth of diked
marsh-land, of a fw superior quality, at the upper waters of the
iiay ot iundy, and near the neck of land which separates the
provmce from Nova Scotia. Here at Cumberland Bay four streams
near each other make a sort of delta, consisting of stretches of
marsh-land, with headknds between. « I roughly estimated,' says
Mr Johnston, 'that there are upwards of 20,000 acres of this flat
land, diked and undiked, in the district under my eye and spread
aU around the head waters of the Cumberland basin. ' Where not
entirely swampy and barren, the produce varies from one to three
tons of hay per acre ; but take the average produce of the whole
at only half a ton an acre, and the owners may yearly reap 100 000
tons of hay from these levels, supposing some of them to be in
arable culture. This would feed 30,000 head of cattle, which, if
raised for beef, and killed at three years old, would supply to the
markets of New Brunswick about 10,000 head of fat cattle every
year. At the same time, he considered that every ton of hay
so used, dong with the marsh-mud, ought to fertiUse an acre of
upland. This state of matters he justly considered appropriate to
the circumstance frequently brought under his notice, * that New
Brunswick does not produce a siifficiency of first-class butcher-
mpat for its own markets, and that its shipping is chiefly supplied'
with salt provisions from the United States, because the beef of
the provmce will not stand salt.'
48
,'i
i
* AMERICA,
the fhprm:!!;! / ^' ^^^^^y ^*'' ^"'""'^ «« t^eSt John River
being extremely healthy "* °" "^ '"'°^» "■« "P-Mon of
m^SJ exldS '■'t? •" """""''' '""™^'"''« «' P«P»'««o»
of E„rwTstLtesit VuXr/s tr 'r «■■"'
niHoi-o^ Ti. l"'"™'""'g tlus province were of course fullv con-
«dered.^ The surveyor, in his report, alluded largely 7„ the
0mpt from
countries,
for great
i day — the
lorth wind
irafts from
ohn River,
id yet this
lies south
g settlers,
mate; the
the dense
the earth,
srved that
mber and
MS it has
December,
he symp-
^ extends
t week of
es, nature
' pursuits
ilk — have
the con-
ived, and
ling then
al opera-
i by the
U-known
ies — ^parfc
tmp raw-
tation of
pulation
m those
liere are
lering it
iction is
namely,
ivigable
resently
culiarly
bee, the
lly con-
to the
NEW BRUNSWICK.
favourable characteristics of the district. lie observed that
It was plentifully watered, and penetrated by streams ; and in
some parts of the mterior, for a portage of three or four miles, a
Tm Ti;'°;?";rr«v°? "*^ ^' "^^t'"^ '^'^^ **^« ^^y «*' ^^aieuVe
and the Gulf of St Lawrence on the one side, and with the Bay of
Fundy on the other. The officers employed to survey the line of
the Halitax and Quebec llailway say —
•For any great plan of emigration or colonisation, there is not
another British colony which presents so favourable a field for the
trial as New Brunswick.
' * To 17,000,000 of productive acres, there are only 208.000
mhabitants. Of these, 1 1,000,000 are still public p»-operty
On the surface is an abundant stock of the finest timber
which in the markets of England, realise large sums annually!
and afford an unlimited supply of fuel to the settlers. If these
should ever become exhausted, there are the coal-fields under-
neath.
* The rivers, lakes, and sea-coasts abound with fish. Along the
Bay of Chaleure it is so abundant that the knd smells of it. It is
used as manure; and while the olfactory nerves of the traveller
are offended by it on tlie land, he sees out at sea immense shoals
darkening the surface of the water.'
^ The emigrants landed at Halifax would, by the line of railway,
be easily conveyed to the interior, and would avoid what is often
the most difficult and dangerous step in the process of an emi-
grant s removal. New Brunswick has been an importing district
of food. Wheat, the growth of the valley of the Mississippi, is
imported to St John, ground there, and consumed by the labouring
population. Two hundred thousand pounds is the estimated ave-
rage sum paid annually for provisions from the United States, which
It is believed that the province, if opened up by a railway, and
otherwise aided by enterprise, would itself produce.
Frederickton, on the upper part of the St John, is the seat of
government, and so nominally the capital of the province but it
18 not the largest town. The population has been rated at 6000.
At the mouth of the same river is the largest town of the colony
—the flourishing city of St John, said, with its extensive suburbs,
to have 30,000 mhabitants. It is the great commercial port, and
Its name is that by which the New Brunswick timber is known in
the market. It has a less agreeable renown from the fearful con-
flag-ations that have sometimes swept away its streets of wooden
edifices. Close to the harbour there is a curious phenomenon in
the course of the River St John. It passes between two rocky
eminences over a ledge, or rather dike. It is not so high but
that the tide is stiU higher; and the consequence is, that when
45
H-
1 ;
I
ii
AMERICA.
the tide has risen pretty far, and is ri»ing, there in a slight fall
m the direction of tho source of the river; and when the tide is
receding, a much larger and more formidable fall in the direction
of the mouth. At a particular pomt, and for a very short, time
only, vessels can pass this bar.
Produce.— The great staple commodity of this country is tim-
bor; a harvest not requiring to be raised, but aflfording a double
inducement to its removal, in being itself useful, and makine
room for cultivation. The vastness of tho forest district may be
iraagmed from the calamity of Miramichi. The trees, besides the
predominant pme consist of maple, ash, oak, beech, btfch, and
ironwood. About 150,000 tons of timber are annually exported
• TcS^u °"^' ,W«,'^*^e no '•ecent returns of the saw-mills, but
in 1834 they numbered 314, and the timber -Anich passed thriuch
, them was valued at near £500,000 at tho place of shipment. As
elsewhere mentioned, the ready supply of wood had at one time
at least given encouragement to considerable shipbuilding in the
province. It need scarcely be mentioned that the settler finds it
supply him with abundant fuel.
Grain is the natural industrial produce of the colony; but the
cleaxmgs have heretofore been so comparatively small, that it is
an importmg rather than an exporting country. The lumber or
tmiber trade has hitherto been the staple occupation of the province,
in erfermg with agriculture. It is, however, pretty clear that its
future hopes must rest on the latter occupation ; and Mr Johnston,
in his valuable notes on North America, confidently predicts that
It wUl be found a surer and more satisfactory reliance than lum-
benng. The wheat produced is said to be very heavy, and in
every respect of fine quality. On the general productiveness of
smaU clearings Mr Parley, the government emigration agent, thus
gave evidence before the Lords' Committee of 1847 :—
« If you put a man down itpon a piece of wilderness with two
hundred acres of land, how long is it before that man can do any-
thmg with that land, so as to enable himself to live upon it ?-He
should the second season, after securing a crop. I assume that in
the ftrst season he begms too late to put in a crop.
« How long is it before he secures a crop ?-It depends upon the time
the man goes on the land, whether early or late, in the first season.
1 he better course, and which I recommend them to adopt, is to hire
themselves out the first season, and at the close of the year, if they
urnrl S^®* TPloy™e«t for tlie winter, they have some months to
work on their own land. During the winter they chop o piece
down, erect a log-house, and get upon the land in the spring. If a
man is mdustnous and successful in gettmg his land cleared in the
sprmg, and gettmg m his crop, he may secure enough that season to
Blight fall
the tide is
3 direction
short time
;ry ii tim-
a double
id makbg
let may be
esides the
birch, and
'■ exported
-mills, but
d through
nent. As
one time
ing in the
3r finds it
; but the
that it is
lumber or
province,
ir that its
Johnston,
licts that
han lum-
f, and in
i^eness of
;ent, thus
with two
I do any-
it ?— He
B that in
1 the time
t season.
8 to hire
', if they
onths to
& piece
ig. If a
d in the
leason to
NEW BRUNSWICK.
Z;:*S,tifj:' '^ '''^''''' *'^ succeeding year. Having
qu'aJity/"" *''*'" ""^^ '"'' ^"^ Brunswick !_0f the very best
«i!^^.*'if -^^ "^^[^^^ °^ y°"^ ^^"'^^ «• compared with American
wheat l_It IS much heavier. The New Brunswick wheat™ uTh^
sixty-five pounds the bushel, and oven more ™ucno»
w?°i!"? ^'*7 '"t.^"*" *'°™ ^-^' '» "0* a certain crop. Wo irrow
buckwheat; but the great crops of the country are oate^d
potatoes ; oata more especially ; they are a very safe crop,
^^ave not your poUtoes failed lately ?~They faUed in the year
wick f_In 1844 there waa a partial failure of the potato crop. The
BUtZ' T''i Z ^'°™ '^^ ^°«''^^^'*- I' came from the^ijnited
f„ «nnn ^"^A^^^ '''P' '^ ^^^ °^«' *»'° boundary-linc, and i^t
m upon us, and kept proceeding from west to east."^ In 'l846 §?o
:u7JJa ^ t T Tr'?^ ^"'^^ "^"'^'^ ''""^^^^ ' •" fact. a« »n"ch as it
suffered m Ireland last year ; but in 1846 the disease disappeared to
a very considerable extent, and there was nearly an average c j ^
very good quality.' ^ "vomge c ^ ot
As on the coasts of all the North American colonies, fish abound
on those of New Brunswick. Along with the ordinary white fish
hemng and mackerel are so profusely found at times as to be used
for manure; lobsters can be picked up in cartloads; and in the
mud deposits at the mouths of the rivers a very fine kind of oysters
18 spoken of as being abundant. Inconsiderable efforts only have
been made to take advantage of these resources. The superior
energy of the inhabitants, of the United States is here developed
Bince, notwithstanding all complaints of breach of treaty, thev fish
extensively along the 600 miles of the New Brunswick coast ; and
since they apply to useful purposes a field neglected by our colo-
nists, do good rather than harm to the settlement by the trade thev
carry on with it. ^
The minerals of New Brunswick are not at present at least of
great moment to the emigrant. A coal-field covers nearly a third
of the area of the province. It may be doubtful whether railway
operations wiU lead to its being more extensively worked, but for
the needs of a scattered population the refuse timber is generally
more than sufficient. Iron ore is abundant ; lead has been found
and rich vems of copper. Limestone abounds and is worked and
a very serviceable kind of raiUstone is cut and exported.
Mr Johnston appears to think that the vast masses of gypsum
hitherto almost unused and unnoticed, must have great influence
m fonvardmg the agricultural capacities of the country.
Purchase and Imjarovemmt of Land.— ThQ waste lands of the
47
^???ttdwK
*. -••,*'
AMERICA.
crown in this province are sold at a minimum price of 3s. currency,
or about 28. 6d. sterling per acre. Thio is the absolute price in
reality, as it is only in peculiarly favourable circumstances that
there is any qompetition. The working of the system of sales can
be best told in the words of Mr Perley, the emigration agent, when
examined before the Lords' Committee of 1847 :—
'Land is now sold in New Brunswick by auction, under the Civil
I^ist Act, at 3g. currency per acre as the minimum upset price. A
party desiring a lot of land applies .by petition for the lot tliat he is
desirous of obtaining. If unsurveyed, an order is sent to him for
a survey, of which he bears the expense. On the return of the sur-
vey it is advertised one month to bo sold in the county wheve the
land lies. If surveyed, upon an application being made, It is at once
advertised to be sold at the monthly sale. In the one case, the
party advances the expense of the survey ; in the other, an estab-
lished price cf threepence per acre is added to tho minimum price
of land. The party attends at the sale, and if he purchases and
pays down tho money, he obtains a discount of twciity per cent, for
prompt payment. If he does not pay for the land, he pays one-
fourth, and enters into a bond to the crown for tlie remaining thren-
fourtlis, payable in one, two, and three years without interest, and
recei\'es a location ticket. The money is trjxnsmitted by the local
deputy to the receiver-general of the pro> ince, and eventually finds
its way into the general revenues of the country. If a settler pur-
chases a piece of ground in the wilderness to which there is no road,
he may languish on for years without getting one, because the money
which he pays for the land goes into tlie provincial treasury, and it
does not at all follow that it shall be applied to making a road to tho
land. It is appropriated generally by the local legislature with other
monies of the province.'
Those who have the improvement of the province most at
heart have long advocated the construction of roads as an essential
engine for bringing out its resources. It is obvious that a forest
country is more dependent on such perforations than a prairie or
pasture country : it is, in fact, a blank without them. A plan
was devised and adopted by the legislature for connecting the
making of roads with the acqaisiaon of lands.
A provincial act was passed in 1849 to facilitate the disposal of
the waste lands, which in reality does not create a law or'system
for their disposal, but authorises the governor to sell, as any owner
may do, as he thinks besv in each individual instance, provided
no lot be sold at less than 3s. an acre, or contain more than 100
acres. "With this limitation, the act authorises him, ' with a view
to the early disposal of the vacant crown-lands to persons who
are able and willing to improve the samt, to cause portioiis
thereof to be surveyed and laid off in such pi ace and in such wav
48 ^
*
3s. currency,
lute price in
istances that
n of sales can
1 agent, when
der the Civil
set price. A
lot tliat he is
(it to him for
n of the sur-
ly wheve the
!, It is at once
one case, the
er, an eatab-
nimum price
tirchases and
per cent, for
lie pays one-
Eiining thren-
interest, and
by the local
mtually finds
1 settler pur-
re is no road,
se the mono/
isury, and it
a road to the
•e with other
ice most at
an essential
hat a. forest
a prairie or
n. A plan
necting the
I disposal of
V or system
5 any owner
B, provided
B than 100
(vith a view
ersons who
le portions
Q such way
NEW BUUNSWICK.
«nd manner as may be deemed most advisable.' The importance
of the settlers opening up the means of commmiication as a part
of the value given for their holdings has been felt in thia pro-
vince ; and in the bargain made with any proposed settler, the
price he has to pay may be either in money or the makmg of
roads. An act was at the same time passed for enablmg settlers
to clear off their arrears of purchase-money by makmg roads. Mr
Johnston, in his tour through the province, found this system in
operation. A certain section for settlement is divided into lots of
eighty acres each. Any person may get a grant of one of these
lots on payment of no more than Is. per acre, to defray the ex-
pense of the grant and survey ; at the same time engaging to give
labour on the roads, at a fixed price per rood, to the amount of
£12— thus making the entire price of his land £16. This sum,
however, is in curre :icy : in money sterling, the amount is about
one-fourth less. In speaking of this advantageous opening for
settlers with limited means, Mr Johnston mentions : ' That a body
of emigrants arriving in June would be able to open the road, cut
down four acres on each of these lots for crops on the following
spring, and build a log-house before the winter sets in. Of course
they must have means to maintain themselves and families during
the winter, and until the crops .on their new lands are ripe. Bodies
of emigrants from the same county or neighbourhood, going out as
a single party, would work pleasantly together, and be good com-
pany and agreeable neighbours to each other.'
In 1849, a valuable report by a Committee on 'Immigration
and the Settlement of Wild Lands ' in New Brunswick, was laid
before the governor in council. In noticing the method of allot-
ment which had been previously pursued, they find fault with the
length of some of the lots — in some instances with a river front-
age of thirty rods only, but extending seven miles back. Th§y
find another defect in the large allotments held by individuals
who do not intend to improve them, but retain them with the
expectation of selling them profitably, as the settlement of the
province advances. This report contains valuable information
on the resources of the several parts of the colony, and espe-
cially on the nature and extent of the unsettled lands ; and its
value as information from authority prompts ua to give several
extracts from this document : —
* SoiTse of the prevailuig ideas among those who have not seen the
province appear to be, that the settiemeiils are very few and remote
from each other; that they are separated by dense forests abounding
with beasts of nrev: that thera uro. (rrr>ah nnmhona nf Tnili'ana tn
■ * tf ' -- - — — j^ — __ — _...„_^„ w. ^...«.,..«.,j ,,^
whose depredations the settlers are constantly exposed ; that there
are no churches or schools, except in the towns ; that good roads
D 49
AMEBICA.
SX'rhlZil^^it^!,!,!^^ oj o- winter is so intense,
death, and very^nX« n^T P' '" **^^^' °^ ^^S frozen to
such field crojs ^ b^LolT"" '"* "^ *^"^' ^°"«««'- '^at na
Britain; that our Tuw^r^v^T -^ ^^« ^^^ti^^ted in Great
subject to all the epWemfcslT^ '""^'T ?"^''^' ^^ '^at we are
weste^ portion:?^&;ilrm F^attl^ ^ '^™ ^
It is no wonder, thereforA thatJ.-^Vv' . ^^® Huron,
grant seeks for other crnSstdi^'n '"? "°P?:f««on« the emi-
involved, as he supposesrin sucCdve^ " '^' ^^ '^' «°^°°ff ««'
* But these impressions^e alf ntll^^ circumstances;
theprovincether'earexfceS^fX:^^^^^^^^ ^ ?^^ P-* of
are upwards of 600 parish, besirs ntw «T^f "^^"*^*«-- ' • There
rural districte, and upwards of snn ^^^'^^'^^^^ scattered over the
denomination^ of cSd,'S;^|J^;,^;^^^^^^^ ^^ «^T^ of different
from beasts of prey, o. from the Indll "f *** ^° ^PPrehended
Vive. No colony of the Znfi! T^' ^"""^ ^^^ ^f whom now sur-
TJnion is better^pro^^ded^th 'roal 1?, ""^i" "^.'^" neighbouril^
kind of field and ^rden cron, lu- . ^/^ ^^"^ Brunswick; eve^
in^this province, ^ShraSio^tfllt^eo;^^^^^ ^^" ^^ ^^^
in thS colony.! .*^ ^'^''' "^ proportion to the population, thS
-idtfo" ^SHer aZt^r"^^^ '^I'out the
this period the pr^lneTof W t'd^'o^" "' ^°^""»^^^- ^^^m
the husbandman as respL? the sS YeT fhrt ?? ^"^°"" ^f
can always find employment dnX*i,.*^® mdustrious farmer
favourable season ScuS^ ^n^^^ r ^ T'^^'' "^ '^ ^ the most
and for transportbf grl^ KL^^"^T ^""^» ^"'^ ^^^ ^^^ ^nces
from condemning ti^Sa^ beet J'°/"'^ '''■ "^^^^* > ^^ so far*
farmer in the cof ntry X wLld Tl ^^^.r"!*^'^' ^^^^^ « "ot a
might prefer them of'^horterduS.'?!!.'''*^ them, although some
*T,^x T°?"^*°° Sives a description of a farm nf innn
he St John. It contained three kinds of Jan?- ^^^ T'' ^°
' an island in the river nf o? »i,+, oi -lana . l*trst; he says,
founditafree^yCyelaffSlTf?^^ ^ ''''''^' ^^
to be overflowed o'^rtXedJrS^jLw^^^^ and subject
Intervale land, gene^ralT^^lnfd /^^^^^ ^^b^--' .^-^,
places good turnips, and restint ,irZ Y' i ^T'""^ "* "^^^^
that of the island at a dpn?b T^ ^ *.^'**'"^ ^^^ resembling
eighteen inches fL the sSce 2;/^^' '' "-^ "^^^*^ *^
the slopes, generally ver^^onv J^ "^^ T^ '"'* ^« upland on
capabkof being eJiircTJ^^^^^^^^ tL'^^ ''\^'^'o{ the farm
currency, or £imltlZf %, r, 5'u ^*""' ^® «*^^' cost £2000
lK>Ider^;asystelfsSgoffteS w"*^' '^*'^ ^'
the common system, in fani° nf V.lV a^~:^>^' com, potatoes-
50 ' ' "' " "'""" ^^enca, oi selling every-
I^
NEW BRUNSWICK.
i is 80 intense,
ing frozen to
►uses; that no
ted in Great
d that we are
southern and
Huron,
ions the emi-
ot among us,
•
every part of
its.... There
red over the
8 of different
apprehended
lom now sur-
leighbouring
wick J every
in be grown
in England
ilation, than
about the
ber. From
) labours of
ous farmer
is the most
I for fences,
and so far
re is not a
lough some
) acres on
he says,
>ssed, and
nd subject
Second,
: in some
Jsembling
lore than
pland on
the farm
•St £2000
' the last
>tatoes —
Z every-
thing for which a market can be got, and taking no trouble to Dut
anythmg mto the soil in return.' He describes wioTer fmn^of
im acres, of which but eighty acres were clearer^y ofSem
bemg mtervale. The intervale was valued at £15^^aSe thS
cted upland at £3, and the whole farm at from £^00 to
SITUATION AND EXTENT OF SETTLEMENTS.
l?nn?' "T-^ "-^ ^^ "^^^^^ °^ *^® ^®«*«™ sho'e of the Bay of
fw^lSJriw T^°f ^^^ '^"^^^ ™"^«> ^d a popuIati(^ of
about 46,000, with forty-eight parish schools.
^^^.T^^. °^ ®' i^^l* including the suburbs, contains about
30,000, and is accessible by ships of the largest class at all seasons
of the year Although this county is much broken and rockH^
m^y fine farms attest the success which follows persevering in-
• Very Kttle ungranted land fit for settlement is found in this
aT J' T^P' ^' f^ north-east extremity near the county of
Albert, where a good tract, possessing many superior advantages, is
^en to apphcation. The salmon, shad, and he^g fisherie^S die
Bay of Fundy are very valuable; and although they yield a laree
and profitable return to those who engage therein, they have n^?
deLanT P''°'^''"'^,'* *° *^^* ^^'^^'^ ^^^'^ their value and importance
'King>8 Coujdy, the next in order, contains 1328 square mUes.
tnth a population of about 19,000, and sixty-four parish schools.
Knn,« ^^u^^ ? '' *'°.''''*? ^''^ ^'S^^y cultivated, and present
some of the finest scenery in the province. f « «
* TJe principal part has been granted, and the remainder is beinff
rapidly disposed of Its proximity to the city of St John has given
It a market which has insured a ready sale for its surplus produce.
The ^eat road from Hahfax to Quebec passes through this county
for a distance of seventy-five miles, and a line of raUway is projected,
and has been recently surveyed, passing through this county from St
John to the Gulf of St Lawrence, which, when opened, will unite
with the contemplated trunk-line from Halifax to Quebec, and will
greatly contribute to the general interests of this section of the nro-
vmce. ^
-^kI^^ ^^^^ **M *^® ^,' '^°^ ^^^®' ^ <?«««»'« <^ounty, containine
1502 square miles, and a population of 10,000, with fortywseven
pansh schools. ^
* Some of the best farms in the province are found in this county
and large tracts of good land are yet undisposed of.
' Several leases of coal-mines have been lately granted on the
Grand Lake, and extensive operations are being commenced, which
proiuiso to create a valuable trade, and to give employment to a hu^e
number of operatives. ^
\
AMERICA.
traol Qf count;, for wZmmlr^^* T'" "P'" "P » "">""*'•
ma,,^.. batwJa SuZtr^Er* " ""'°" ' ""-• «'
aitavw ird?'i;?'fot"?thr'"^r "-j™"-'" <""«"' •'«><> «■»"
the Biver St John ' ?«"'"«"'» ™d fertUo islands in
' ^**, "^"'V of yort contains an area of 344« m...™ ~i
bank of the river distal f^m «,^t u ,""» """"'r. on the right
and by .1.0 rS akt*;^ ^ ^' ■'°'"' ''J' '"« "^» »ov,nty -/ve.
wift^4hnn?X™rrriS't^ vessels, ply night and day
dericktonandSt Jrfin^ ' ""« ""' ""Vigation, between Fri
govornme"ni treit™ s,lTf l'™"'™ f "" '"'»'»«' »' *»
Ixtensive set temenrar™ found „J"'.l"'S' V'"" ** ''""'»™<'''.
Mveis, and on the rLr iLdT? u J*'"''"""' "d Keawick
line ?f the cLty! X the ™Z" slTo/'r" ?"" "i" ""P^-
Bumorons back seUlomenls °' """ ''"■^' ""^ »'»
grlalrl'd ^t I'/r^wrfalifrHr''' <f'T "'-''™'''»». on the
-d !;;:!^^^in^ sr^udior r iS^ '"^ ""»' «"»■""""«
DeiLer itlfldor'Jre^i;,^,.? "" '^'""'="'™'- '»"»»-• »
commissioner. whoL Lort S iT ""»"»««"■«-■' of the same
Harvey Sett,™a„,lrKrLTMLrpS^of'''r °' ""
attending persevering industry """'onai piool of tl.e sncciBSs
wra.1""" '"'"^■"'"^'^* -«».t^™^ stis^w^^-d"
' A few Miles Mow Eel Eiver, the Howard Settlement is fonni.*
I Grand Lake
up a valuable
8 a choice of
ke settlement
iiare miles, a
i of the rivor,
le flourishing
of the finest
le islands in
miles, with
city of Fre-
>n the right
seventy-five,
^ht and day
itween Fre-
' Brunswick
>osal of the
Nackawick.
d Keswick
the upper
' there are
ton, on the
led in 1837
ich, by its
sober and
the settlo-
iStonishing
rormed in
the same
se of the
te success
B Harvey,
d in the
ew's and
formir-g^
NEW BRUNSWICK.
in the midst of a tract of exceUent land, and capable of setUinir
several hundred additional famUies. « «* seiumg
* At a distance of forty-eight miles from Frederickton commenoes
the county of Carleton, which extends upwards to the frontiere^
Canada and «.e United States. This county has been mrS^iy
cleared and improved within the last fifteen years than any otheV
county of the province : it contains an area of 4060 square miles, and
a population of 21,000. ^ ^^ "^"^
'On the western side of the river, up to the Arestook, some of the
settlements extend back to the American frontier, and nearly all the
land has been granted. '
• Several large tracts belonging to absentees present a great
obstruction to the settlement of this district, which will not pro&ly
be removed for a long time, unless by legislative interference.
The soil throughout this section of country is deep and rich and
irnder good cultivation would soon render it one of the most nroduc
tive portions of the province. p^ouuc
' J'^'is county is rich in iron ore, and a company recently formed,
for the purpose of working a mine near Woodstock, is now in opera-
tion; and from the superior quality of the ore, and the facility for
working and bringing it to market, an extensive business wUl ere-
long be carried on in the manufacture of iron.
• Two steamers now run between Frederickton and Woodstock, and
a third win be put on next year to ply between Woodstock and the
Grand Falls, a distance of sixty miles.
• The Tobique River, which empties into the St John about forty
miles above Woodstock, is of great extent, and oflFers superior facili-
ties for immediate settlement on a large scale. Gypsum and free-
stone of the finest quality are found on this river.
• An extensive tract of good land lies on the eastern side of the
St John, from the county line upward, past the Grand Falls, which
fwsSr ''''^^' ""'^"^^ ^*'^™ ^" attractive and valuable locality
* To the southward of York, Sunbury, Queen's and King^s, lies the
county of Charlotte, containing an area of 1224 square nnles, with a
population of about 22,000, and sixty-nine parish schools. This
county contains many expensive and valuable settlements, but very
little good land remains ungrauted.
♦ The counties of Westmoreland and Albert lie to the northward and
Sf/Sf ?/^^^J«'»" ^"•^ King's, and contain a population of about
^,000, with ninety-eight parish Rchools, and cover an area of 2112
square mUes. The most extensive and valuable marshes in the pro-
vince are in Westmoreland, and furnish facilities for grazing of
unrivalled value; nnd although the agricultural community of
this county is esti.c'cd the richest in the province, they have never
yet availed theraseivos, as they might have done, of the resources
ot thejr uplands, which lie in many instances comparatively ne-
gisc^eu.
* The shad-fishing of this district is not surpassed by anv other in
'53
I
-f
AHESICA.
t^^^}i' ?"°®^ ^'"'^' "^ * ^"P®"'*' 'l^^^^'y* ^as been diaoovered
m Albert, and promises an extensive and valuable trade.
tracro?C Ji"J of Albert is ungranted, and embraces a We
S.*°« ? ° the finest quality, presenting one of the most eliSe
^srcointro?f "^^ ''"''"'"* ^" '^^^^•''^'^^ of thrpro^r'
ine county of ^cn« covers an area 1260 square miles and con
tarns about 9000 inhabitante, with thirty-five Ah sc?oo£ °°'*
8nL?ex'peni°™"°'' "'"'''''^ *° *^' ^'^'^^y* ^^ «»^y b« worked at
* The harbour of Richibucto is safe and commodious, and tb^ rivoi.
onnT^ ■ f?.*^'''^'^ includes an area of 6000 square miles with
20^00 inhabitants, and fifty-three parish schools. '
of *h« !fn«?'™'^-P'"^'®"*^u ^^^^^ ®''*®°* of cultivated land, and some
of the best specimens o" husbandry in the province.
♦K. f ^•*''^,' of ungranted land is contained within this countv
fin t?!;'SiV«.'^/'**'^''''''''' "^ *^° "^o«' ^ortl^ern counties, lie
area of about 4000 square miles, with a population of only 16.000
and thirty-seven parish schools. ^ io,uu^
v«^^i^ q"^ty of the soil is generally good, and in many parts of a
w'ST"* '^?«"!P*r- For many years past this hL^^n the
best wheat-growmg district in the province.
The settlements in these counties are principally along the coast •
ieLof thX«f-""^r*?? ^^^^^5 «^e rear from, ShippfgTto The
st?eiroTi:!^e"brs^^^^^^
' The country above Dalhousie is principaUy settled bv Scotch, who
thrn^t Projected hne of railway from Halifax to Quebec palsS
twf l^"'^- 7"f ^«'^«^^ '^^ Nepisiguit to Bathurst, and^from
thence to a pomt above Campbell Town, and when opened will snnn
most'i f \r *T °^ ^°""*^^' ^'^ ^^ agricultural pofnt of vTe^^^^^^
most valuable and prosperous of any iiT the province. '
_ Ihe vast tract lying between the Restigouche and the St John
Bivers, containing several millions of acres, presents a wide field foJ
settlement and which could be opened and made avaUaWe^ soon
5i
#
n diaoovercd
•
aces a lai^
iiost eligible
> province,
es, and con-
[)lS.
n the Richi.
ood descrip-
ited railway
B worked at
id the river
miles, with
^ and some
his county,
the north-
rear of the
itween this
mnties, lie
include an
nly 16,000,
parts of a
I been the
the coast ;
yan to the
f the soil,
mend this
mmediate
otch^ who
situation,
ec passes
and from
will soon
viQWf the
St John
field for
9 as soon
ter upon
NEW BRUNSWICK.
* In addition to the nngranted wilderness lands, there are always
in different parts of the province improved lots, with dwelling-houses
and bams, which can he purchased at a reasonable rate ; and if an,
agency were established for the purpose, a great number of emigranta
could be provided with such lots, at a cost ranging from one to fivo
pounds currency per acre, including the unimproved land.
* To persons possessing £160 and upwards, this counn would bo
most desirable for themselves, and most advantageous to the pro-
vince, should the purchasers be skilful agriculturists, as in such case
any improved system they might introduce would soon recommend
itself, and be adopted by those around them.
* Notwithstanding the defective system of agriculture generally
pursued in the province, the average produce per acre is large, whiph
proves the natural strength and fertility of the soil ; but in those
cases where the system of rotation has been adopted with high culti-
vation, tlie average produce will compare with some of the best dis-
tricts in Great Britain.
* Take, for example, the following crops per acre, which have been
produced in different parts of the province : —
bushels, some weighing 68 lbs. per bushel.
••• ■*■ «■•
••• ••• ••«
bushels per acre.
tons.
In 1849 ta& surveyor-general made a report on the condition of
tljie crown-lands, in which he stated generally : — ' It may be con-
sidered as a fact, that this province presents eight millions of
acres of vacant crown -land, of unexceptionable quality, fit for
agricultural purposes.' In a view of the then latest transactions
as to waste lands, he had to say —
* The number of petitions received for the purchase of land, irom
1st January 1848 to 1st January 1849, is 969, which, on an average
of 100 acres each, would comprise 96,900 acres. Of this number,
938 have required to be surveyed at the expense of the applicant, of
which 610 are not yet returned as surveyed, and consequently no
ftirther action has been had upon them. The total number of acres
which have been surveyed within the year is 31,350, at a cost to the
applicants of £831, averaging about 6|d. an acre, or £2, 14s. 2d. per
lot of 100 acres ; a sum far exceeding that for which the same work
could be performed by the government under a systematic arrange-
ment of survs'"'.
*The whole quantity of land purchased duiing the vear 1848
*66
Wheat,
40
Barley,
- 40
Oata,
60
Indian Com,
- 75
Buckwheat, -
75
Peas,
- 40
Turnips,
- 1,000
Potatoes,
■ 800
Carrots,
30
- 30
AUBRICA.
per mC^ ,„fr^ i£ '.i, ■ """"^ '""""'^ averaging o„l, los. 534.
resali; havingrer^L'rth '"r roTl<Et"?g |ome Wfi„w
m,te, ^though only sixty^igbt lote were clL'd^' * ' '*'' ''°'"
His estimate of the mining transactions was -
twont°itfe.^::;rt:I ""' "-^r """"^ "^^ «>« stated t. be
Carleton, two rVorit^Jn tr^T'"^'""? '" G"<"«=e8ler, four in
thumberlmd^twol K^X' ta sf ff '"^ •"■ '^T"''' »"» » »«'■
in Albert, aSl two in Charlotte Thl ,^'?°V" ^estmoreLuid, one
»ato o\T;ei?5rS^'^^^^^^^^
l^jations wbieh ..U^^' .^''l^^Jr^rJttrKr.et
fr,?JT*T °^ ^^'' P^*" *^^^^y mentioned, of opening ud
the country by a system of roads, to be made by the settlera
as a sort of commutation of the money-price of thei albtme^^^^^^^
IIT 7 V^"^'''^ ^" ^^^« ^^«™ the deputy-sur^eyTs J^^^^^^^
counties to the surveyor-general. They of course refmed chiefly
to the practicability of roads in the districts, to thnnrfneS
difficulties to be overcome, the materials acceUirtheTreSf
iatutlHe nr'T*^^ ''^'"' ^^ other matters' whichwoSd
coinSl^but 2lf ""P^'r *? P^^'««"« ^^''^^y ««"led in the
cZ to whom *h ''^''"^^ ^^ **^"" ^"*^ consideration by the
pt?ril'^I'^f^i''^W^^ addressed-namely. persons pro-
posin^^.^ umxgxaiu, iuiu aesirous of knowing whether New Bruns-
ecn paid for
I'ed; leaving
ent system,
a sum than
bo still due
riginal pur-
^nd and left
8 and plana
The area
I.'
)unt : —
I expire on
verage rate
^£1992, 8s.
per square
}left bank
t Stephen,
lare miles,
;e paid per
y lOs. 6|d.
ceive that
beneHcial
)er square
ated to be
)r, four in
le in Nor-
eland, one
I the sua
' — one for
ect to the
hey were
ming up
s settlera
lotments,
rs of the
d chiefly
;rneering
Jirection
li would
id in the
by the
ms pro-
' Bruns-
NEW BRUNSWICK.
wick generally is a settlement likely to suit their views. It, how-
ever, necessarily came within the province of the reporters to
notice how far road-communication was valuable in their respective
counties, from the. industrial resources it might develop, and the
consequent inducement afforded to settlers. In many of the
reports there is thus more or less said on this subject; and having
perused the reports themselves, the general ability and practical
application of which give one a high idea of the capacity of the
useful class of officers by whom they are made, it is thought that
the few passages which seem to bear on the availableness of each
county for settlement may be usefully printed. The passages
extracted are given in a series, unde; the name of the county to
which each belongs. They will necessarily have a disjointed
appearance, but they have considerable value in this country, as
commg direct from the class who know more than any other of
the particular locality to which each refers.
*King*a County does not embrace any largo tracts of good land
unoccupied. The largest tract lies betAveen the road formerly opened
between the head of Mill Stream and New Canaan Settlement and
^T^ fS**^ Settlement. There is good land on both sides of this
I'OoA. The distance between those settlements is about eight miles
and embraces Tlioin's Brook, &c. In many parts of this tract
there IS good land for agricultural purposes, and in other parts the
land IS of an inferior quality; but there can bo no doubt, that in case
those settlements were connected by good roads, eventually the
wliole would be occupied. There is also some good land between the
Baskm Settlement, north-east of Dutch Valley, and the Mechanics'
Settlement. As I have never explored this section of country, all
the information I possess is derived from other sources. I am also
informed there is good land north-east of the old Shepody Koad, and
also south-east thereof, extending nearly to the bay shore, but I am
unable to give any correct statement thereof.'
*St John.— Aher leaving the sea-coast, the road would pass along
a table-land, covered with heavy timber, and possessing a deep soU
of good quality. The country is well watered, and in every respect
nt for settlement and cultivation
'There is considerable vacant land at the western extremity of
this country as yet almost unexplored and unknown. As there are
no settlements with which it could be connected advantageously,
I am unable at present to make any recommendation respecting it.
*Albert.~ThQ land is very level, and of an excellent quality for
settling ^ J
' There is nothing to prevent running a number of roads back on
a north line to the Coverdale River, through a large level tract of
land, and the best land for settling in the county ; and if roads were
— - -r — — — .■.^..g.. vMio liatE, i buiUiw xb wuujiu uQ immecuaceiv
settled. '
67
It
AMBRIOA.
connZL'1^'"^?^^ ^^^ superior quality of tho exceUeat tract nf
before twelve monthi^ PronT'l'''^'^'" ^^ °« ^"^ »>« ^«» "P
irreatflr «oJ* 7°"'^"' 'J^om what I can learn, we sliall have the
^Zi^deulT^ Frenchmen (who are now living on Se
St John upwards of thLy m les AUo^tl a°S 7^1**1" ^'^
wagte hmd, which may not be nrobablv if^f S,**^ *^'' *'^' ^^^^
Bpeedily occupied °""'^' '"'' "' """'J"-!. ««uld bo
would readily be occupied ' ^^ ^^ surveyed
S other loK^^t^tmld^dTftT^.'; ^""T"""''
from au old setUerent Si » SiS / ' ""°'» '^ '«'' ■»""
e„«UedinotherpiXofttplLo ^ ""'•"'™»'»-" »«"»»
pack,^have7srd';'e''/s;r .ri^x.^ s ^A-^'
opef:^^°e™Srt^ro7rd'r' '- -^'-s-''' "*■-''
no doubt. There Te twn^.S the roads, I think admits of
^ai in this com'VTmZ ZT ' °'^ t ''F'"^ ""> government
Rederiokton ^i'st "r t o^!'^I^?-''""'rp'" "ad between
58 "■' *""" 1""* w» settlements
Bt tract of
iavo every
taken up
1 have the
>g on the
|t8
Liice, parti*
ith such a
le Salmon
to fifteen
the River
8 tract for
t, it would
Mnily 100
ould pass
would be
the south
superior
ed, would
inishanon
surveyed
ugh land
requiring
land for
erickton,
lills and
en miles
seldom
•o River
1 settle-
h much
)ack on
pitalists
pedlar's
iile the
Id give
lie pro-
wquld
'hether
nits of
nment
Jtween
omenta
NEW BBUMBWICK.
made after this road got into operation, which neither could nor
would have been the case if no such roads had not first been made I
The other instance is more recent— namely, the road on the county*
line betiyeon this county and Hunbury, extending from the River
St John to the Neropis Great Road, through the Victoria Settlement.
I think I am, very safe in saying there would not have been 100
acres taken up, at least in this county, if that road had not been
previously made. Now there are several settlers there who have
bought and paid the whole amount for their land, and applications
monthly for more in each county ; for instance, this present month
there are 600 acres in this county, and 600 in Sunbury, advertised
for sale next month — the applicants in both counties being respect-
able farmers' sons, the most of whom will pay the whole amoant
down
. * I would recommend that the front land on the south-east side
of Salmon River, to the mouth of the Little Forks, be surveyed for
settlement. This land would soon be occupied, and a survey would
prevent squatters from improving on land so irregularly.
'There is also an excellent tract of land situate between Salmon
River and Coal Creek, extending up stream about twenty miles,
which, I think, if surveyed, would soon be occupied, and also prevent
squatters from settling irregularly, as they now are.
* Kent (JUichibuctu).— There are no remote settlements of any note
in my district, the settlers confining themselves chiefly to the banks
of the di£Ferent rivers and their tributaries. The greatest obstacle
which prevents parties from going farther up the country to settle
is the want of roads to encourage them to do so. (Seven lines for
roads mentioned leading through good land.)
* Northumberland. — There is an excellent tract of land in rear of
the granted lands from Burnt Church to Neguac, extended back
towards Stymist's Mill Stream, and easterly to the granted land
on the west side of Tabusintack River. There is also a good tract
of land on the north side of Little Tracady River, above the head
of the tide, extending upwai'ds, and back towards f ocmouche River.
There is ai.so an extensive tract of good land between Focmouche
River and the south branch of Caraquet River, extending from the
upper settlement on Caraquet River, I think, to the Bathurst Road j
and if a road were opened from the upper settlement on the south
branch of Caraquet to the Bathurst Road, about eleven miles south
of Bathurst, it would pass through a fine tract of hardwood land.
The whole distance would be about twenty -four miles ; and I am
not aware of any bridges, except small ones, that would be required
in the whole distance.
* Charlotte, — There are several extensive tracts of good land in
this county, if through which roads were opened, would soon be
settled upon ; and I believe that it is for want of roads that they
have not been settled upon before this time. However, the people
in iinia nAtinfvr Ark nrx^ oaotvi ^/\ \\rk ^nn%ir»,\\ i^^Allr^^A ^^ n#\4>^1^ •■«*%«vw» w.^.^*
lands (witness the few sal^s of crown-lands which have taken place
59
%
AMERICA.
in this county for the last two years) ; and where they have settled,
taey do not improve very fast.
fi/J****!.**!"""^*^ '"''***" '" cedar-shingles which is carried on at
Ht Stephen's and Calais luw very much injured the settlement of
the surroundinj? country. The merchants and traders there en*
courage the settlors to manufacture those shingles, for which they
generally pay them in goods and provisions. This is apparently an
advantage to the settler, as it would seem to be an easy means of
providing provisions for the first year; but in the end it is ruinous
^o his farming interests, as the merchant generally manages to eet
the settlor into his debt ; so that he (the settler) is obliged to con-
tmue the manufacture, to keep his credit good, even at times when
he ought to be either sowing or securing his crops, ai?d leaving him
hilt very little time to clear and improve his farm.
'This trade has also caused the ciown.Iands witliin twenty-five or
thirty miles of St Stephen's to be all pillaged of the very fine oo lor
timber it contained, thereby rendering it of much less value when
purchased for actual settlement.
* There is one tract of land which I wish particularly to brinff
under your notice ; it is situated to the north and west of Oanooso
J(ivor, and is bounded on the north and west by the River St Croix •
It contains a largo quantity of good land, enough to form a parish
ot itself. There is a new settlement on the Canoose lliver on the
contmuation of the Oak Hill Road, and a bridge was built over the
stream at this place last summer ; and should this road bo continued
on northerly along the east side of Captain Spearman's grant, and then
m nearly a direct line to tlio Little Falls on the St Croix River, below
l-orters Meadows, where a bridge could be constructed at a small
expense across the river, it would in that distance pass through
iarge tracts of good land ; and all the travelling from St Stephen
and Calais to the Great Lakes, and to the settlements on the Ame-
rican townships on tlio opposite side of the river, would pass alone
it: it would be a complete thoroughfare. And after it would bo
opened, then branch-roads to the good land east and west of it could
bo made, and a connection made with the Woodstock Road • then
the whole tract would be settled.' *
In the papers relative to emigration to North America, laid
before parliament in 1849, a statistical retur . of .ne of the newest
settlements— the Harve} Settlement— is printt-: ') lie settler mi..
18 Situated twenty-four miles from the towi. ',1 ); rede: ickton, on the
gi-eat road to St Andrews. The colonists were a body of Nor-
thumbrians.- The return is so old as the year 1845, but the
importance apparently attached to its publication in this country
in the following passage in the letter in which it is transmitted by
.he district commissioner to Governor Colebrooke, induces us to
rv^iient > portion of the general result to the reader:—
^It 18^ desirable that the accompanying return may be circulated
among t.te settlers' friends and eouiitrymeu in the nortli of England,
wi^'
PJW'
tve MtUed,
ried on at
tloDiout of
tlioro en*
i^hich tliey
arently an
r means of
is ruinous
iges to get
id to con-
mes ivhen
aving him
ity-five or
ine ro iiT
Uue when
to bring
r Cunooso
St Croix ;
a parish
er on the
over the
;ontinuod
and then
er, below
t a small
through
Stephen
he Ame-
)S8 along
irould bo
' it could
d; then
ica, laid
newest
tier ' r 1,
I, on the
)f Nor-
)ut the
auntry,
tted by
} us to
culated
ngland,
NEW BRUNSWICK.
as wol! as in other parts of the United Kingdom, so that the capa-
bilities of our now land - soil may appear, and that it may also bo
made known that we have at least 6,(KM),000 acres yet undisposed of
— a great portion of which is of bettor quality than the land at
Harvey, whereon the sober and industrious emigrnut may creato a
home under the protection of British laws, and in the enjo^rment of
British institutions.'
The return refers to a tract on which it is stated that ♦ not a
tree had been felled in July 1837.'
NamM.
William Rmbleton,
James Mowatt,
William Measer,
Thomas Ilurbert,
WlUIani Grievo,
John €ockbum,
David Lolford, -
John Thomson,
Robert Wilson,
Henry Craigs,
WUllam Bell,
Thomas Mowatt, •
James Wishot,
Alexander Hny,
Andrew Montgumcrj',
Matthew Percy,
James Corne,
Thomas Kay,
George Davidson,
John Scott, -
Thomas Percy,
John Garmioliael, -
John Wightman, -
John Nesbitt,
Robert Tait,
William Patterson, -
WUliam Robison,
These settlers collectively produced 115 tons of hay; 91 J tons
of straw ; 6955 bushels of potatoes ; 270 bushels of wheat ; 2920
bushels of oats ; 504 bushels of barley and buckwheat ; and 160
bushels of turnips. They possessed 41 cows, 19 oxen, 9 horses,
59 sheep, 97 swine, and 40 young cattle. Of buildings they had
28 dwelling-houses, 26 barns, and 47 other outhouses.
A similar return is given for the ' Teetotal Settlement,' which,
' but two years ago, stood a dense forest.' The general results
may be stated, in this instance, to aid the result of the above in
developing the progress of a small body of associated settlers.
The number, not of heads of families merely, but of human beings,
was 101 i Houses^ 33 - acres cleared^ 1??: acres croTied 12''
Produce in bushels — potatoes, 5700; turnips, 464; oats, 980; wheat,
61
Acrof In Crop
Aem
now \M.nA tnr
E'tlmated Value of
IMS.
Crop MM Xwkt.
Land and Inipruyi>
menu.
6
•
3
£60
8
-
4
.
• too
.
-
0.
14
-
8
.
• 155
.
.
18
•
10
■
180
• 6»
-
ft
lis
6*
-
4
m
lOO
. 15
10
165
114
«!
.
150
- 6
5
lao
8
-
4
.
9«
ft
u
150
10
-
4
-
100
6*
8
150
11
-
S
•
135
• 9
ft
188
61
-
.3
-
73
• 4
8
70 10
S
-
S
-
00 10
. s
4
180 10
6
«
S
-
98
- 7
3
135
10
-
S
-
130
. 10
3
70
10
-
4
-.
120
- 10
-
-
6
130
81^
111
£3007 10
u
.if
AMERICA.
S^pSs^Tth ^' •.•^^"r *?™^^ '^''' were-covs, 11; horses,
in/i?fi I ?^ estimated valm, of the improvements not includ
wf8£il3r'Tr.'fr^ ^'°™ government of the Uel^d,
mrrethLn4oThl.? 5-",''' "°^ ^^^ inhabitants we cannot alio
fort^e a lf^'"^'^f ?"f ' and by such a number this Httle
lortune-a fixed capital, mde.'^endently of the value of the urn
n ":?' i''^^'^ ^ *^^ «P^«e ^f t^o years. ^ "*"
TTp?S I- '*. «^,M^^«h 1849, the lieutenant-governor. Sir E
11,^5 T ' t-' '* "'' ""■ '=''»"'■■» '0 Australia wS far^Ji^e
i^a.^tTHh a7„:T^*r' '""' «J™ •"» ^ f"^' start iwsT™
S by^ ™S "T? e '•™f '" ""' «■•''"'■''• I ™ supposing
uaaioy an arrangement, wlueli, in connection with a railwav ™i.ll
buil?^7" " 'f^" "=^'»' ^ '==■■'»'■' ■""»''» «f rough wS were
WiflfnS !i^ ^ ™® P.^'"'°'' ^*"^*^^y responsible for their fitness
Without these precautions, the scheme would inevitablv Ll „« J ^
would be unjust to the colony as well as to thrmen Thet s"^^^^^^^ ""^
inS !"f °^^^^^"«i enclosed in this document may be of use to
mdustrial proposing settlers with small means.
62
I ^ _ , „ . 17 ""» '^'"='* F^* ciuxc.
-J ui Biuea lor Half an acre of potatoesT-The seed being
NEW BEUNSWICK. '
carefully planted, ten bushels would be required, at say 28. Id. ner
bushel. ' ' ^
«Rate per day oflabour if hired?-Iu a short period,3s.4d. without
board; and 2s. 3 ^d. with board.
, * Average cost of rough log-hut ?-A log-hut 18 feet by 12, shingled,
but without chimney or flooring, would cost £8, 6s. 8d., includinff
two windows and one door; a hut of the same dimensions, with
chimney, double-flcoring and ceiling, with a cellar, would probably
Labour. ~\\. is weU that it should be at once understood that
New Brunswick is not at present a good emigration field for the
mechanic or the mere labourer, who has nothing but his work to
give. There is, of course, employment for the workman— espe-
cially m the staple produce of the country— lumbering, or timber-
cutting, but it seems to be pretty fuUy suppUed. If it were not,
It IS not one to induce aspiring men of the better class of skilled
labourers to foUow it. The work is hard. It is of a kmd that
necessarily demands a lifetime of seclusion in the lonely forest.
For its chief characteristics, reference may be made to page 37*
In their circular for 1851 they give a rather better account, an-
nouncing that ' the immigi-ation agent stated, in a letter dated
10th March 1851, that the demand for unskilled labour was
on tho increase, and that a moderate number of ordinary labourers
and farm - servants might find employment at fair wages in
1851.'
With regard to other labourers, they appear to be already suf-
ficiently abundant in the colony. It is not a place where great
capitalists who can give much employment go. It has been chiefly
colonised by capitalist-workers ; men of small means, who clear
and labour in their settlements— and it is to this class only that it
IS at present suitable. Mr Johnston found an impression there
that if a man had from £50 to £100, with industrious habits and
common sense and caution, he was sure to get on ; and the pro-
vince was thought much more suitable to this class than to men
of large means. He mentions many well-to-do Lowland Scotsmen
of this class ; but he does not give so good an account of the
success of the Irish and Highlanders. The government agent
calculated that nine-tenths of those who landed in New Bruns-
wk in the year 1849, passed into the United States, led by the
better encouragement for labour. The Emigration Commissioners
reported, in 1850, that though there had been a good hawest, and
other matters had been on the whole encouragmg to the settlers,
the demand for farm -labourers was likely to be very limited, ' if
any,' ' while for ordinary or skilled labour,' the resident poDulation
■was reported to be ' quite sufficient.' ' '
63
\
AMERICA.
The obgervationg of practical men who have been connected
with enterprise on the spot, confirm the notion, however, that New-
Brunswick will not be for some time a fieW for the absorption of
much labour. There are always two opposite views of labour or
its reward in emigration fields, and perhaps elsewhere. The em-
ployer looks to a sum as the amount at which it should be
obtamed ; and when he cannot obtain it at that rate, is censorious,
discontented, almost fierce. The labourer, who has taken the
trouble of emigrating, calculates on a golden reward for his ser-
vices, and is mortified and discontented with the employer who
cannot affor'^ to give it. Thus what the one party talks of as
prosperity, will not be viewed by the other in the same light.
Mr Perley, the government emigration agent, was examined
before the House of Lords' Committee on Emigration in 1847.
He was desired to mention an instance of a raw emigrant rising
by his labour and prudence. He mentioned one which he seemed
to consider rather an eminent instance ; but though it came to a
satisfactorj'^ conclusion, the beginning was not what would be an
inducement to any but the humblest of the working-classes in this
country— and in good times hardly to them.
* Can you give any instances within your own knowledge of the pro-
gress of an unskilled labourer upon his arrival to the condition of a
skilled labourer receiving higher wages, till he reaches the point of
having the means of acquiring land, and becoming a landowner?— I
can mention one case. I sent a young man to a firstrate farmer iit
the country, who wrote to me for an active young man. Was the
emigrant an Irishman ?— From the county of Cork ; the son of a
small farmer in that county. He brought me a letter of introduction,
stating that he was of a decent family. I sent him up to a firstrate
farmer, who gave him 30s. currency per month, with which he was
not well satisfied ; that is equal to 25s.. sterling. Ho had his main-
tenance, and washing and lodging, in the farmer's house. He proved
himself so active and useful, that in the second month his wages
were advanced. Jiefore the close of the season, and the setting in of
winter, he had learned the use of the axe veiy well, and was engaged
by a lumbering party in the woods at £5 per month.— Feeding him-
self ?— No ; they found him everything in tlie woods except clothing.
He proved himself so good an axeman, that at the end of the year,
when the men came down with the timber, and he was paid off, he
brought to me a sum of £30 currency, and wanted to know what he
should do with his earnings. I advised him to buy 100 acres of land,
which would cost him £12 currency ; to put the other £18 in the
Savings' Bank, and hire out another year, and by that time he would
be in a position to establish himself comfortably as a farmer.— In
stating that case, do you state it as a remarkable case, or as a case
frequently occurring, or as at all ordinarily occurring in the pro-
vince ?— I have known within the last three or four years several
64
'«n«>«tt^«itf-
1 connected
r, that New-
)Sorption of
>f labour or
. The em-
should be
censorious,
taken the
for his ser-
ployer who
talks of as
same light.
> examined
in in 1847.
;rant rising
he seemed
; came to a
ould be an
sses in this
> of the pro-
idition of a
he point of
iowner?— I
) farmer iii
Was the
le son of a
ttroduction,
a iirstrate
Lch he was
d his main-
He proved
his Avages
etting in of
as engaged
eding him-
3t clothing,
•f the year,
paid off, ho
w what he
res of land,
£18 in the
3 he would
inner. — In
r as a case
I the pro-
rs several
NEW BRUNSWICK.
such cases. This probably is a strong one ; but I have known many
cases where emigrants have gone on nearly as successfully as that,
and have had j£20 at the end of the first year.'
The labour-market being in the meantime of the limited kind
which we have mentioned, it does not follow that the opportunities
for enlarging it are limited, and that it will always remain thus
bounded. There is great room for enterprise in this colony ; it
may some day make a great start onward. It is believed that the
road-making operations, elsewhere alluded to, will be of great
advantage — on the one hand, new emigrants will be occupied ; on
the other, good places of settlement will be made more accessible.
The contemplated railway operations would tend still more to
infuse spirit and enterprise into the district. Mr Perley stated to
the Lords' Committee of 1847, that * the impression in New Bruns-
wick is, that for every emigrant laboureif Avho may be employed
upon the railway itself, four other emigi'ant labourers would find
employment throughout the province in other works which would
spring up in consequence of the construction of the railway — such
as the establishment of new settlements ; the founding of tOAvns ; the
establishment of foundries, forges, and furnaces ; the erection of
mills ; the making of roads ; construction of bridges ; and in an
infinity of other ways.'
On the occasions where active operations have been earned on,
a stream of labour, which may be said to pass through this colony
to the United States, becomes partially arrested. This was the
case in 1846, when a more than usual number of working-men
remained in New Brunswick. The gentleman just quoted thus
accounts for the phenomenon : ' I can explain that. Last year
there were large grants from the provincial Ibj^'islature for the road
service — about £40,000. Shipbuilding also was in a very flourish-
ing condition. We built a large amount of ships in the province
last year; nearly double what had been b'xilt in previous seasons.
A number of new steam saw-mills were £:lso erected ; and in St
John, what gave employment more than anything else was, that a
gas-light company and a water company were each laying down
pipes for gas and water in the city of St John. All these circum-
stances combined gave employment, at good wages, to a certain
extent.'
Emigration. — From the limited employment, emigration to this
colony has never been great, and is rather decreasing. The
number who landed in 1850 was 1507. In 1849 the arrivals
were 2671, being less than those of the previous year by so
much as 1470 ; and it was the opinion of the emigration agent,
that of the reduced number nine -tenths had passed on to the
United States. The immigration of 1848 — 4020, persons — waa
B 65
W
W b
'■■ ■ »■
"•»"
I
AMERICA.
a decrease on that of 1847— the great year of misery and helter-
skelter emigration— of 11,249; and was a decrease on the more
moderate year, 1846, of 5745. The number in that year was 9765,
of whom about 4500 are supposed to hav^ passed over to the
United States, leaving, however, an increase to the New Brunswick
population of more than 5000.
Aleng with the other North American colonies. New Brunswick
suffered considerably from the wretched cargoes of emigrants
fieeing from the Irish famine and all the miseries of 1847. Not
only were helplessness and starvation imshipped upon the island,
appealing clamorously for relief and the saving of life, but conta-
gious diseases of an appalling kind were imported in these miser-
able vessels, which communicated themselves around, and espe-
cially among those who benevolently attempted to mitigate the
miseries of the helpless strangers. A better notion could not be
formed of the nature of the sufferings to be mitigated, and of the
sacrifices made by the colony, than the perusal of an act of the
colony, passed in 1848, 'to provide for the expenses incurred in
the support, relief, and maintenance of indigent, sick, and dis-
tressed emigrants and orphans who arrived in this province during
the past year.' The items shew that the colonists near where the
living cargoes were unshipped had to make great pecuniary sacri-
fices to save the lives laid down at their doors.
^ To protect themselves from so costly and dangerous an inunda-
tion, the colony passed an act in 1848 to increase the tax on im-
migrants—making it 10s. a head between 1st April and 1st Sep-
tember; 15s. between 1st September and 1st October; and £1 from
that time to Ist April. If the vessel required to go into quaran-
tine for the health of the passengers, an addition of 5s. a head was
incurred ; and if it required to remain in quarantine more than
ten days, a further sum of 5s. In reference to this enactment,
which of course pressed heavily on the emigration to the colony—
£300 or £400 requiring sometimes to be paid for one vessel— the
lieutenant-governor. Sir Edward Head, wrote to the secretary for
the colonies in April 1849, that ' there never was a more striking
example of the fact, that incautious and ill-regulated emigration
does more than anything else to throw impediments in the way of
that which may be properly conducted.'
Better symptoms were, however, observable in 1849, the number
of emigrants being much reduced, and the health and general con-
dition improved. In 1850, an act was passed reducing the fees or
taxes by precisely one-half. The tax came, then, to be as follows •
Emigrants arriving between the 1st April and 1st September will
now pay 5s. ; between 1st September and 1st October. 78. 6d. •
between 1st October and 1st April, 10s. ; and vessels placed in
md belter-
1 the more
r was 9765,
ver to the
Brunswick
Brunswick
emigrants
847. Not
the island,
but conta-
lese miser-
and espe-
itigate the
»uld not be
md of the
act of the
incurred in
:, and dis-
nce during
where the
liary sacri-
fin inunda-
tax on im-
id 1st Sep-
id £1 from
to quaran-
L head was
more than
enactment,
J colony —
essel — the
jretary for
re striking
(migration
he way of
le number
neral con-
he fees or
s follows :
imber will
', 7s. 6d. ;
placed in
^ 1
NOVA SCOTIA AND CAPE BRETON.
quarantine will pay, in the first instance, 2s. 6d. a head ; and if
detained more than ten days, an additional 28. M. a head.
^r^^V^'X^^/VX 'V^^ %<W
NOVA SCOTIA AND CAPE BRETON.
The old province of Nova Scotia is between the 43d and 46th
degrees of latitude, and the 6l8t and 67th degrees of west longi-
tude. It is about 320 miles long, with an average breadth of 70
miles, and is computed to contain 7,000,000 acres of dry land,
2,000,000 of which are barren, and incapable of cultivation. The
stormy island of Cape Breton, separated from it by a strait which
in some places is not above a mile wide, is supposed to contain
about 500,000 acres of land capable of cultivation. The coasts
are wild, rocky, and deeply indented; but the province is not
strictly mountainous, the greatest elevation not rising above 700
feet above the level of the sea. ' Granite and calcareous rocks,
with gray and red sandstone, prevail in the northern parts of Nova
Scotia, from the Gut of Canseau to the Bay de Vert, and extend
across the province to the Bay of Minas, if not interrupted by a
granite ridge, which may very probably occur in the Mount Tom
range of Highlands. The hard gray or bluish sandstone which
occurs in various parts of the province makes excellent grindstones;
the light gray granite quarried at Whitehead, near Cape Canseau,
makes remarkably good millstones ; and a beautiful freestone, most
admirably adapted for building, is abundant in several places, par-
ticularly at Port WBlla.ce. '—{Appendices to Macgregor's Commer-
cial Reports, Part xxiii. p. 530.) In the same authority it is stated
that * the geology and mineralogy of Cape Breton can only be
said to be known in outline. From all that we have observed,
however, and from all the information we have been able to ob-
tain, it may be remarked that almost all the rocks named in the
discordant nomenclature of Werner are found in this island.
Among the primitive rocks, granite prevails in the peninsular
country south-east of the Bras d'Or, and it possibly forms the
nucleus of the Highlands between this inlet and the Gulf of St
Lawrence. Sienite, trap, mica, clay-slate, and occasionally quartz,
also appear in the Gulf coast. Primitive trap, sienite, mica-slate,
find clay-slate, shew themselves, together with transition limestone,
grauwacke, gypsum, and coal, generally in all parts of this island.*
— ^P M9 \ MinOfola t\f tUa. n/vni-n „-^A :«..'.~c~ l-I-J f J -1
\- • / •^^'•!h:> ^}l litv ngcLiri dina janpCi n.lliu ttli; luUUU UiUIIg
the coast, as throughout the greater part of North America. But
67
L i. i...l!'lll.jM>.>
II r^
AMERICA.
what 18 of chief moment to note in their geology, is the abundance
of coal spread over the greater part of both districts. There are
large strata of ironstone; copper and lead have been met with; and
it is believed that wlien an opportunity occurs for adapting their
resources to use, these territories will be found rich in minerals.
Few countries are so well situated for the exportation of their
productions. Tliere are several navigable rivers, with fertile banks,
the largest bemg the Shubenacadie and the Clyde ; and with these,
and the indentations of the coast, there is no part of the interior
above thirty miles from navigation. A great part of the country
is covered with dense forest, the effect of which is to keep the
otherwise rich alluvial soil on which it stands in a continual state
of coldness and dampness, from the shade, the thick unaired coat-
ing of dead leaves, and the quantity of rain thus attracted. The
contrasts of season exhibited in North America generally are pecu-
liarly violent here, in the length and acerbity of the winter, and
the heat of summer. There is some stony and worthless land, but
much of it is highly available ; and when settlement and cultivation
raak^ progress, the disappearance of the forest will bring greater
equality and salubrity to the climate. The lands are generally
divided into three kinds— upland, intervale, and marsh. The first
kind, generally near the river heads, is sometimes a stiff clay ; but
it is varied by a friable and productive loam. The intervale land
consists of a rich alluvium, and is of a similar character to that
known by the same name in New Brunswick. The marsh is
sometimes diked like that already mentioned in New Brunswick.
Mr Johnston, who saw but a small portion of Nova Scotia, but
who noted well what he saw, confirms the previous accounts of
the soil of the province, dividing it, like his predecessors, into
three classes. He was of opinion that the wild broken coast- line
gave ordinary travellers a falkcious notion of the interior, being
* as naked and inhospitable as an inhabited country can well be.'
Nor would the interior in the immediate neighbourhood of the
capital of the province convey a more promising impression ; for
he tells us that there, * in some places, boulders of various sizes
are scattered sparsely over the surface ; in others they literally
cover the land ; while in rarer spots they are heaped upon each
other, as if intentionally accumulated for some after-use.' * One
ought,' he continues, * to visit a country like this, while new to the
plough, in order to understand what must have been the original
condition of much of the land in our own country, which the suc-
cessive labours of many generations have now smoothed and
levelled.' Passing across the neck of land between Halifax and
4-l-»rt Mow /\f IV/TJrjnct T\(T.. T^T»T»r.*^*» «**»#. «— t/3«-,Al — _i.-.— _l_ i — ii _ • t*
liio j-rclj \jl iTxiiiao, iiii t/uUiinlOu Urto cvxueniiV SliUUii UV tlltJ ariUltV
of the country — it happened to be a very dry season — until he
68
NOVA SCOTIA AND CAPE BRETON,
came to the dike-land. ' This land,' he says, ' sells at present at
iVom £15 to £40 sterling per acre ; and some of it has been tilled
for 150 years without any manure— a treatment, however, 6f
which it is now beginning seriously to complain. It averages
300 bushels (nine tons), and sometimes produces 600 bushels
(eighteen tons) of potatoes to the acre.' Of the intervale land Mr
Johnston says, that with farm buildings it ' is rarely valued so
high as £20 an acre.'
The chief productions are of course grain and live-stock, llie
timber, though so abundant, is of an inferior quality, and does not
compete with that of Canada and New Brunswick. There are,
unfortunately, but scanty statistics of a recent date as to Nova
Scotia and Cape Breton. In 1827 there was an enumeration of
the cultivated land and its produce. The acreage was 274,501,
on which grew 161,416 bushels of wheat, 799,665 bushels of other
gi'ain, 2,434,766 tons of potatoes, and 150,976 tons of hay. The
live-stock were 13,232 horses, 100,739 horned cattle, 152,978
sheep, and 75,772 swine. The amount of agricultural produce
must have greatly increased since this estimate was made, with
the exception probably of potatoes, the cultivation of which was
in a great measure abandoned after the ravages of tlie disease.
By returns to parliament in 1850, the quinquennial value of the
exports of the colony was calculated at £661,581. But it appears
that while the amount in 1847 had risen to £831,071, it had
fallen in 1849 to £560,947. The quinquennial average of shipping
inwards was 476,207 tons; of shipping outwards, 435,643 tons.
It is calculated that the projected railway from Halifax to Quebec
would render accessible 1,080,000 acres of ungi-anted land in this
colony.
It does not appear that much land has lately been acquired in
the colony, and the Emigration Commissioners have not of late
reported any sales. In 1845 there were sold in Nova Scotia
21,921 acres, bringing £2028, 18s. ; and in Cape Breton, 17,700J
acres, reahsing £1669, 13s. The terms on which lands may be
acquired here are very easy. A local act was passed, enabling the
governor and council to fix any rate not less than Is. 9d. an acre ;
but there are ample provisions for relaxing this rule in favour of
persons urging any claim for occupancy and improvement. From
the excellent means of communication in the great harbour of
Halifax and otherwise, it is believed that for a small capitalist
contented with the climate this would be an eligible emigration
field. With regard to labour, 'though wages have been hitherto .
good, and provisions cheap, yet the Emigration Commifisioner*
announce that here, as in New Brunswick, there is but a limited'
demand for workmen. In 1847 the governor represented to tha
69
f>v > i ^ w . » 11, j[ umm i -wi i nw
AMERICA.
home government that it would not be desirable to encourage the
emigration of workmen to the province.
The population of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton is estimated at
300,000. That of Nova Scotia separately was, in 1837, 199,206.
The people are of a mixed race. Many of the original French
settlers or Acadians still exist, especially in Cape Breton. They
much resemble in their character and habits the Habitans of
Canada. There is a mixed dark race, the descendants of refugee
slaves. Several of the descendants of American loyalists hold lands
in the province. There are many Highland emigrants; and, unfor-
tunately for the progress of the colony, they are apt to keep
together in communities, as in Canada. Pictou, a territory pene-
trated by a beautiful harbour, has 30,000 inhabitants, the greater
part of whom are Highlanders. Few emigrants have lately gone
to the province. It suffered along with the other North American
colonies by the pauper-emigration of 1847, at a tune when, owing
to considerable internal depression, it was little suited to receive
such an addition to ite population. An act was passed, as in the
other; colonies, for taxing emigrants, which rapidly reduced the
number. They were, in 1847, 2000; and in 1848, 140. The
number who embai4ted in the year following was 298.
There are several towns in Nova Scotia, tlie principal of which
is the fine city of Halifax, a place of great importance to trade.
It contains eight good streets, with a very remarkable mass of
government buildings, called the Province Buildmg; many hand*
some private residences built of stone and plastered wood ; and
large commodious wharfs for its extensive shipping and mer-
chandise. It contains about 25,000 inhabitants. Its trade is
extensive, but its mercantile classes, probably from their being
chiefly of Scottish origin, are celebrated for theu* prudence an-"
the paucity of banki-upts among them. The trade of tlie toTvn
derives its importance in a great measure from its being an entrep6t
between Britain and America. It is generally the first American
port touched by the vessels crossing the Atlantic, and affords ths
emigrant the earliest glimpse of American scenery. Many trans-
atlantic tourists speak of Halifax, from having had occasion to
land there on their way to Canada or the United States, but fe\V
travellers have recorded their opinions of the other parts of Nova
Scotia. In general, the notices of Halifax have been very promis-
ing, both as to the health and comfort of the inhabitants of the
provmce. Mr Johnston, the latest traveller who gives us his im-
pression of the capital, emphatically says: * A European stranger
who, on landing in Halifax, looks for the sallow visage and care-
ivnm <ivnvoHKmn ■rarTiioVi /lief ini"i5d'
(
the northern states of the Union, will be pleased to see the fresh
7Q
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.
and blooming complexions of the females of all classes, and, I may
say, of almost all ages. Youth flourishes longer here, and we
scarcely observe, in stepping from England to Nova Scotia, that
we have yet reached a climate which bears heavier upon young
looks and female beauty than our own.'— {Notes on Nm-th
America, i. 3.) The importance of Halifax will be greatly enlarged
when the projected railway to Quebec is carried through. Many
of the emigrants, not only to the Canadas but to the Western
States of the Union, will then disembark at Halifax.
^■V^ V-*^ S.'V^'V^'X v%^
(
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.
This island, in the Gulf of St Lawrence, lies between 46° and
47"^ 10" of north latitude. Its length, pursuing a course corre-
sponding with its winding shape, is 140 miles, and its breadth about
34 miles. It is deeply indented with creeks, like the west coast of
Scotland, so that no part of it is far distant from the sea. It is not
mountainous, but has some gentle elevations ; and the surface is
described as a peculiarly pleasant diversity of gentle rising-
grounds, forests, meadows, and water. This was one of the
colonies origmally belonging to France, and the foundation of
the population is French. Many Highlanders have been settled
there under the .auspices of Lord Selkirk; but they have been
too closely associated together, and their position is therefore too
like that which they held in their own country. The popula-
tion amounts now to about 68,000 ; it did not much exceed 6000
at the commencement of the century. The capital and seat of
government is Charlottetown, with about 3500 inhabitants ; it is
neatly built and agreeably situated.
In 1848 the lands held in Prince Edward Island amounted to
the following :— In absolute property or fee-simple, 280 649 acres ;
under lease, 330,926 acres; by verbal agreement, 38,783 acres;
occupants not freeholders or tenants, being, it may be presumed,
of the nature of squatters, held 65,434 acres ; and 31,312 are set
down as * by witten demises.' The acres of arable land were
215,389, exceeding by 73,809 the amount of arable land in 1840.
In Mr Macgregor's Appendices to the Commercial Reports, pre-
sented to parliament in 1850, where the particiUars from which
the above general statement is taken are set forth at length, there
IS sJort op Ofioniiri''" "^f +lip <n.f»i-v r\C +T->o ■.-v»."->/»'^'''»>'» ■.»/^«.. Ta -,-,.,~;-x_ J
of— wheat, 219,787 (an increase of 66,328 over the same crop in
71
»fm
mmmtm
4>
AMERICA.
1840); barley, 75,521 bushels ; oats, 746,383 bushels ; potatoes,
731,576 bushels (a great decrease from the amount of 1840, which
was 2,230,114 bushels); turnips, 153,933 bushels; clover-seed,
14,900 bushels ; and hay, 45,128 tons.
There has been little emigration to this island in late years.
In 1849 there arrived eighty-four new settlers, chiefly sent thither
by the Duke of Sutherland. The quantity of land sold in the
same year was 79i acres, realising £99, 158. The price of land in
this island had been for some time extravagantly high— wilderness
land at an upset price of 20s. an acre, and * town, pasture, and
river lots at from £10 to £30 per acre.' A reduction of 10 per
cent, took place in 1837. In 1848 an arrangement of au unfor-
tunately complex kind was adopted, the result of which appears
to be, that 7000 acres were olfered at 5.s. an acre ; 2540 at lOs. ;
and pasture lots, of eight acres each, at £5 per lot. These are all
upset prices.
The Emigration Commissioners join ihis island with Nova Scotia
and New Brunswick, as a place where much additional labour ia
not required. It is understood, however, that the settlement
would be a suitable one for small capitalists, by whom it could bo
made very productive in grain.
^-■w ^«%iV ^^ ^ ^ ^^
NEWFOUNDLAND.
Newfoundland lies between 46° 40' and 51" 37' north, and
covers a vast triangular area, forming a sort of barrier across the
greater part of the mouth of the Gulf of St Lawrence. It is the part
of America nearest to Europe. Though an island, and in the centre
of the ocean traffic with North America, little was known of its in-
terior character until, in 1822, it was penetrated at gi-eat risk, and
with much exertion, by Mr Cormack, an adventurous traveller. The
impediments which he encountered from the lakes, rivers, and vast
impenetrable marshes, shewed the source of its proverbial fogs and
damp winds. The geological formation was chiefly primitive, but
indications were seen of iron and coal. The wild animals of the
north were found to abound. The island has forests of timber,
but they are not in great abundance. It is not believed that much*
good arable land, fit for grain, will ever be found in Newfoundland,
but it is thought that its grazing capacities may be considerable.
This colony is mentioned on the present occasion rather to satisfy
... I...I.J ,„ ^,!«..^^^ TT.iv^ THaj TTinii lu kiiuw WHcihcr It resemoies
the other North American territories, than for the sake of recom-
72
N
THE NOUTII-WEBT TEBRITOllY, <S:C.
mending it as an emigration field. It has scarcely been used for
the ordinary purposes of emigration and settlement, the agri-
culture of the country being merely raised to feed "ts shipping
population. In general the soil is covered with a thick coAting of
mo38, rendering its cultivation hiborious. While the population
is about 100,000, the quantity of land under crop in 1845 amounted
only to 29,654 acres. No hay appears to have been produced ;
but there were, of oats, 11,695 bushels, and of potatoes, 341,165.
There were in the island 2409 horses, 8135 horned cattle, 5750
sheep, and 5791 goats. With regard to labourers not agricultural,
the settlement is in much the same position as the neighbouring
colonies. There is work in proportion to the extent of the com-
munity, and it is well rewarded ; but there is no room for a large
importation of workmen. The great occupation of the place is
fishing, and the operations connected with the curing and preser-
vation of the fish. The neighbouring Bank of Newfoundland — tlio
largest submerged island in the world, being 600 miles long, and
in some places 200 broad— is the great fishing-ground for cod, ling,
and the smaller fish. Whale and seal fishing are largely carried
on. The value of the dried cod annually exported is £500,000,
and that of the other produce of the fishery— -oil, seal-skin, her-
rings, &c. — is about the same, making an export on the whole of
nearly a million in value. The Emigration Commissioners, in
their circular for 1851, say :
* There exists no official return of the surveyed and accessiblo
land at the disposal of the crown in this colony. The area has been
estimated at about 2,300,000 acres, of which about 23,000 have been
appropriated. By a coh)nial law, crown-lands are to be sold by
auction at an npset price, to bo fixed by the governor, at not less
than 2s. per acre. Land exposed to auc4ion more than once on
different days may afterwards be sold, without further competition,
at the last upset price. Although the agriculture of the province is
progressively increasing, there are yet comparatively few persons
exclusively employed in it, the population being nearly all engaged
ill the fisheries.'
THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY AND VANCOUVER'S
ISLAND.
The boundaries of the British American possessions, with
tlie United States and Kussiuu America, have aireauy been re-
ferred to. The former is very vague in its character as it passes
73
11
:
.t
1
'■■
,m 1
'
u
I
1
«
n
t
H
wM
i
:^H^I
1
i
n
1
i
1
AMERICA.
waierea by all tlie rivers runn ng into Iluds.m's n*^ *\.^:^ ""'j^rj^
bouBdarie. include terrUoriosaSuallylwr
1 h« vast northern region exhibits ^eat varieties of soil ,"0^0^^
and ehmato. A argo part of it is flat and marshy, whi e the KoS
IT^id detritl T^T- P""'"" '^ P»'"y ^overed'^ith ZZ
ana aria detritus, and contains more marsh, river and l«v„ «;.
2uLtr17'^ "' •'■%™'"'- I" "-^ todrWTi'nft ^.^et
ae" ^nt of tZTud"."' " '^'^'""^ ™'''' "'■'«■' -quire, th"
«.££,rp;^S-Tcl^^^
irom the breath of tlie inmates ! A more comfortless lifo tl,«n
these hardy adventurers lead it were difficuuTo ina'Le
soil at Churchill Fort (one of the Hudson's BaVS^nv's s^
tions, in latitude 59° north), on the shores of theLy 7ext^-emet
barren rocky, dry and without wood for severalties in and a
dwarhsh The country around the factory, although elevated
above the river, is one entire swamp, covered with low stunted
pine, and perfectly impenetrable, even in July, when tT^' inS^
with clouds of mosquitoes. The land seems^tolave be n ttf^
up by the sea, and is never thawed, during the hottest snm^r
with the thermometer at 90° to 100° in the fhade 1^ fW . '
or twelve inches, and then the soil is of th onsfsWnce o/c^^^^^^^^
&tSr t? n"-1-^'^ ''''"^^y '' '^ necessTry t'o'kX^n
the platforms to avoid smkmg over the ankles.'— fJl/ar/m's m,7
san^a Bay Tenitones and Vancouve,^^s Island, 10 ) ^'^^'^^^^ ' ^"^-
" hereafter.
f considered
eton, Prince
of the vaat
J Bay Com-
aries of the
n, but they
a table-land
Jdfion'o Bay
and to be
directions
he bounds ;
he countrj'
Bir nominal
d States,
•il, scenery,
tiie Rocky
000 hQt in
with stone
lake, than
18 there is
quires the
he utmost
mgcr. In
Sre in the
ttering ice
life than
le. 'The
any's sta-
Jxtreraely
inland; a
ork Fort,
1 marshy,
•ger than
otty and
elevated
, stunted
infested
1 thrown
summer,
than ten
clammy
keep on
I's Hud-
TUB N0RTU-WE8T TEBRITOKY, &C.
On the other hand, in the districts bordering on the Unlt(?d
States, and which may yet be the object of unfortunate disputes,
there are fruitful territories of unknown extent and resources,
Mr Macgregor says : ' A greater portion of the region lying soutli
of Lake Athabasca, and [of that] west of the Stony Moun-
tains, is eminently adapted for agriculture ; and its splendid forests
and broad savannas abound with buffalo, moose, carraboo, com-
mon deer, and most, if not all, the wild anin.als and birds ; in the
lakes and rivers great varieties of fish are plentiful. This remote
territory possesses resources capable of yielding sustenance and
independence to many millions of inhabitants ; but hitherto the
soil has in no part been subjected to cultivation, except in small
spots where the fur-traders have established posts ; and on the
banks of the Eed River Lord Selkirk established a settlement.'—
(^Appendices to Commercial Rep&rta^ Part xxiii. p. 467.)
However great may bo the resources of this territory, they are
not, with the exceptions to be after noticed, of great importance
to our present purpose, which is to deal with existing practical
emigration fields, however momentous they may be to our descend-
ants. There is one species of emigration which, it is tnie, is open
here on a considerable scale— service with the Hudson's Bay
Company. That is, however, altogether a life so peculiar that
no inhabitants of Britain will be likely to adopt it but those
who, from peculiar circumstances, have been led through a wild
adventurous career. It is not by any means a popular service, and
has been the object of various complaints, whether well founded
or not. The Hudson's Bay Company were lately called on to set
forth publicly the extent of their privileges, and the amount of
territory over which they professed to exercise them ; and the
papers on the subject were laid before parliament in the session
of 1850. The company founded on their charter from Charles II.
in 1670, definmg their territory as 'all those seas, straits, bays,
rivers, lakes, creeks, and sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall
be, that lie within the entrance of the straits commonly called
Hudson's Straits ; together with all the lands and territories upon
the countries, coasts, and confines of the seas, bays, lakes, rivers,
creeks, and sounds aforesaid, that are not already actually pos-
sessed by or granted to any of our subjects, or possessed by
the subjects of any other Christian prinde or state.'
They presented a map of their territory, in which it appeared,
from the 90th degree of longitude westward, to be bounded on the
south by the United States, while the Canadas bounded it else-
where to the south and east. Northward, it was represented as
stretching almost indefinitely among the partly-known peninsulas
and islands at the entrance of Hudson's Bay and Strait. To the
75
>
P 'l '* l i l<i .l
AMERICA.
west its southern extremity extended to the 115th dnoroo f
and servants responsible to their emp?over7 i ,f 7 '^''''
whole expenses of .he'greTL^Sr„"' h VerSS tS .t
,ues.i:„e"'x ^piit ™f r iw^?rc.r^f x''^^- "«'»«
Wuinipes:: thence snntli tn +i,a u- ui i """pcouat., or Liitile
*Llf nf- iL,-!' ^^,^"'es5 a"<3' as Mr Macgregor observes
J H • /i K 'T*^'^ ^* ^'^'*' ^"^ certainly the better Imlfk
witlim the boundary of the United States ' ^'*"' '*
On a small .rot of this ten-itnrv vev,, ^.3,. .1,- ,_ ,., ,
darv of thp TTnJ+o,! c* * V""'"i' *-^ ""^^ "^^ northern bouu-
ci.uy ot^the United States, and as far west as the 97th degree, was
degree of
boundary
both as to
eo. III. c.
m in these
tlierto the
its powers,
vn officers
)lonisation
rious one.
ir ease to
stablished
frayed the
ithbut the
18 fonned,
pon their
ey should
e colony ;
ompany.'
;es being
own was
It of any ■
)ubli8hed
that care
progress
;he terri-
argained
ay Com-
nce how
le pame
mencing
Winni-
r Little
aters of
Winni-
^iver La
)ds, and
mprises
)serves,
half, is
bouu-
ee, was
THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY, &C.
formed and still remains, the small lonely settlement of Red River
with about 6000 inhabi^tants. After having undergone man^
hardships, especially m the attacks of the North- West Company,
the rivals of their patrons, the Hudson's Bay Company, the settlers
are described as prosperous and happy. The bishop of Montreal
who visited the place in 1844, published a journal, in which he
noted such facts as the following :—' There are 182 horses 749
niares, 107 bulls, 2207 cows, 1580 calves, 1976 pigs, and 3569
slieep. . The soil, which is aUuvial, is beyond exartiple rich
and productive. . There is an instance, I was assured, of
a Jarm m which the owner, with comparatively slight labour in
the preparatory processes, had taken a wheat crop out of the
same land for eighteen successive years; never changing the
crops never manuring the land, and never suffering it to lie fSlow •
and that the crop was abundant to the last.' Virtually, no emi-
gration has taken place to this community; yet one would think
It a not unsuitable field. It is said that land is obtainable
on liberal terms from the company. The settler is, to a certain
extent, under their authority ; they jealously guard their peculiar
traffic — the fur-trado; and lay restrictions on some other occu-
pations -on, for instance, dealing in ardent spirits. The colony
is, to be sure, a very isolated one. If it have abundance of the
necessaries of life, it has scarcely any means of exporting its
surplus; and from the same circumstance all imported articles
are dear. Rut it will not always be thus separated from the
world; for its water-communication comes very near the upper
waters of the Mississippi, and soon the western settlements will
be approaching it.
Vancouver's Island, on the west coast, lies so closely Into a bend
of the coast, from which it is separated by a winding narrow strait
that Its western exterior falls into the general outline of the conti-
nent. It lies between the 48th and 51st degi-ees of north latitude
and is about 290 miles long, with an average breadth of 50 miles'
Little is yet known of its interior character, but it is seen to be
abundantly timbered ; producing pine, spruce, yew, red and white
oak, ash, cedar, poplar, maple, and willow. Near the Hudson's
Bay Company's factory at Camosack, in the northern end of the
island. It IS known that there is much valuable prairie land suit-
able both for grazing and cultivation. The mineral riches seem
to be considerable, and especially coal of excellent quality has
been found in abundance.
This discovery was a matter of material importance for our
communications with western America, however much or little
mfliicTice It may have on emigration, "..ne quality of the coal
was favourably reported on by Admiral Sir George Seymour in
77
■Hi
I
AMERICA.
1847, and it was compared to the better kind of Scotch coal
l-he Indians were at first jealous of the intentions of the strangers
and charged them with a design 'to steal' the coals; but when
value was given for the mineral, they brought it readily, and sold
m one lot 90 tons at about 4s. 6d. per ton. It was scraped up
with hatchets, and other imperfect tools. The existence of lead
ot a fine quality has been reported on this island.
On the 13th January 1849 letters-patent were issued, conferring
on the Hudson's Bay Company the sovereignty of Vancouver's
Island, under conditions. The letters declared them -» be 'the
true and absolute lords and proprietors,' for the purpose of making
the island a settlement for emigrant colonists. They were bound
to dispose of all lands hereby granted to them at a reasonable
price, and to apply the money so raised, as well as that realised
Irom the working of coal, with a deduction of profits not exceed-
ing 10 per cent., to emigration, and the colonisation and improve-
ment of the island The grant was made revocable if its purpose
were not fulfiUed by the establishment of a colony in five years
■vv^vx^^
FALKLAND INLANDS.
The last British colonial possessions to be noticed are the Falk-
land Islands-a group of small islands in the Atlantic, opposite
and at no great distance from the Straits of Magellan. Only two
ot the islands are of any importance, one being 100 miles long
by 60 miles broad, the other being somewhat smaller. These
islands are said to form good grazing grounds, and thev feed large
herds of cattle. They are represented as offering some scope
for enterprising emigrants; but too little is known of them to
warrant our advising any one to think of them as a place of
78
THE UNITED STATES.
The capacity of the United States as a field of emigration is
only one feature of this great country, and to that we (jonfine our
attention m the present work, leaving information on other points
to be procij^ed from other sources. We begin with a few statistical
details worthy of being known by the intending emigrant.
At the establishment of national independence, July 4, 1779 the
States were thirteen in number. By extension over new territories,
thirty-one States are now represented in Congress, and there are
others partly constituted in the manner to be after mentioned,
ii^ach State has a local sovereignty, with its own popularly-elected
governor and legislature; but all are united for federal purposes,
with a central government at Washington.
The population of the United States is now supposed to exceed
17,063 353, and m 1830, 12,866,920. The rapidity of increase has
been the marked feature of this empire. At the commencement
ot the century the enumeration gave 5,305,925. In 1820 the
numbers were 9,638,131. The annual imports are valued at thirty
millions sterhng, and the exports at a trifle less. The territory of
the repubhc occupies nearly the whole of that part of the North
American continent, vhich is between the 25th and 49th parallel,
llie northern point is about 1000 miles distant from the southern. •
and the extreme breadth about 1700 miles. It contains aU grades
ot vegetation, from the tropical rice, cotton, and sugar-cane, to the
hardy northern pine; and in the animal creation, the panthers and
venemous reptiles of Southern Asia at one extremity, atid the
moose-deer and northern bear at the other. The greatest variety of
all, however, is exhibited in its mixed population. The first great
contrast is between men too free to inhabit anything but a republic
and slaves brought into the position of chattels bought and sold.
There are English Quakers and French Catholics. The colonisa-
tion of the Dutch has left its trace in the central states, where com-
munities still speak the language of Holland, and where, in the
midst of the republic, the old Dutch hereditary title of the Patroon
of Albany IS still suflfered. There are German villages where
Ji^nghsh 18 not spoken, and others colonised by Swedes, Danes,
and Fmlanders. In Mexico the indolent Spaniard is jostled by the
rapid in.oatient Anglo-Saxon Yankee. Many remains of the old
French settlements stm exist on the Mississippi, while in almost all
parts 01 thfi Sfftfpa tha coTrr>.n1 ,.„«:„*•_ -i- • i ....
T» -x- T- T-. '. "■■ ''^''^^'^* raiiciicB ui race mnaDitmg tiie
British Empure are found. The staple, however, there as here,
79
I
1
AMERICA.
is the great Anglo-Saxon community, predominating in En-land
lowland Scotland, and the north of Ireland ° '
^Z^^'J^ *,1'1 f^"™e/«P»Wican institutions prevail throughout the
States, the habits of the people are as varied as their origin a
. the southern slave states there is a haughty languid indolence of
XoS^'.r «^''— to old fo„.al habL,iich have be H
obsolete in this country ; wliile the men of the north and west are
renowned for tlieir brisk, officious, inquisitive, rapid manneis In
the shifting west, family aud origin are matters little considered
but m tlie old states of Virginia and Maryland, the social privileges'
assigned to good birth are guarded all the mo e jealousl/Tecause
there are no political privileges held by hereditary dSit Tl e
blot oT trr"' -''''^ distinctions, however, arise from the gmt
blot of the American constitution-slavery. It is cordiallv and
lionestly hated by one portion of the inhabitants of the Untn b^t
resolutely supported by the other. By the census of 1840 tL
slaves m the ILiited States approached the appalling numb;r of
iZTlT '"^ f ^'^^ (2,487,355.) They had increas!d by nearly
lialf a million ,n ten years, and had risen from 81)3,041 since the
con"pencement of the century. The chief slave state are Virgin a
the Carohnas Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee'
Mah e 4w n ""' f "' '^''" '" ^^^'^ ^^-^' Mamchuset ;
Maine, IscAv Hampshire, Vermont, PJiode Island, Connecticut
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, there ar^ no7ave or
svstTn \Z " 'r ''^T '''''' ' "^"^"-1 «"t of 'the
7t X^'o "' ^ew Jiork, where there were 20,000 slaves
tl^}lTT''''T'''' ^^'^'' ''''''''y^ t'^« census of 1840 exhi-
fn I7qn •; '" 1 e»»«ylvania, where tlio number had been 3737
L ' oi?n !'"^"''^ *^ ^^' '"^"^l ^" Connecticut, where
t? ''.''\f]^^^ '^'\ ""'"^«^' ^vas reduced to 17. .On the o the?
nlfiif^'tiir/ •*''''' T' °"ly 41,879 slaves in 18^0, and
, in 1840 they had increased to 253,532. South Carolina is the
greatest slave territory, the numbers had increased from 146 151
at the commencement of the century to 327,038 in 1840 ' In
Georgia the number was 59,504 in 1800, and 280,944 in 1840
Ihis is a matter of importance to the intending emigrant since
the slave states are unsuitable for his purposes." The mechanic
and farm-labourer will not seek a country where honest industry
IS associated with bondage and all its degradations. But what is
more material, there is no room for hlm^ where services miy be
enforced there is always a superabundance of it going. However
dear slave labour may be made in a slave state, it wdll always be
cheaper than free hvbour; were it not, the masters would Son
constitution of the inaaDitants oi this country, and especially to
Hi
THE UNITED STATES.
!^°'!.Tl!f r*^"u? u° 1*^^"'- '^^^ ^"^^^^"«« »"^ a" *^e appliances
of wealth by which the affluent planter surrounds hiraseirare in-
fiufficient to preserve him from the deadly influences of the climate.
10 understand how this is an almost unvarying concomitant of
«Iaye labour, we must keep in view the peculiar circumstances in
which It 18 more valuable than free labour. It occurs where a very
humble grade of labour only is required to gather in and make use
ot the prohhc fruits of the soil; but where the climate is so
oppressive that only the races of tropical descent can with impunity
give even that amount of labour, while they will not give it unless
under compulsion. Hence slave labour found its natural location
in tropical America, the West Indies, and the Mauritius. Slave
labour wpuld not pay in the forges, manufactories, and dockyards
in this country, otherwise our criminal prisoners might be made
selt-supporting— an advantage they are far from attaining. Thus
wherever the mechanic, the agricultural labourer, or the indus-
trious small farmer, sees a state branded as one of the regular slave
states, he may know that it is not a place for him.
But it is not to be inferred that wherever the law sanctions
slavery and a few slaves exist, the state comes within the objec-
tion. However odious it maybe to witness a few domestic slaves,
the economy of the district, as one adapted to emigration, will not
be affected by them. Wherever the climate permits, and the
nature of the soil demands the highest class of labour, slavery
will not virtually exist; and it must disappear where the barren-
ness of the soil renders it necessary for the people to support
themselves by mechanical employment. Wherever the sysfem of
small settlements and small farms are the natural arrangement of
agriculture, slavery cannot virtually subsist, fc.r slave-work, to be
economical, must be performed in gangs and under discipline.
Hence it is maintained that the law sanctioning slavery in Texas
will not make it virtually a slave state.
With regard to the capitalist— there is no doubt that many of
the slave states hold out pecuniary inducements to him. It is
said that in some of the older states, as Virginia and Maryland
there are many valuable old farms which, from the gi-eat Californian
migrj^tion, can be obtained on moderate terms. But with every
allowance for the prejudices and the other difficulties of contend-
ing with old-established practices, to become a slave-owner could
be looked on as nothing short of a crime in one brought up amidst
British institutions and opinions. Nor would such investments
only involve mere slave- ownership. In these old states the fertility
of the soil has soinetimes been greatly exhausted, and the land-
owners continue to he rather slave-breeders for the new soathera
states than mere raisers of slave-labour produce.
AMERICA.
Looking to the social and moral condition of the proper emi-
gration states it may be safely said that nowhere can a refugee find
more mdependence and toleration than by selecting his position over
this vast concretion of distinct and dissimilar social systems. This
has Its evil, doubtless-it affords a refuge for crime, and a hiding-
place for branded reputations; but so it must be in every advanc-
ing prolific country, where people are daily coming in contact with
new taces. It has, however, its good and humane aspect. There
are bigots and exclusionists of all kinds, and of the bitterest
mtensuy in the StatP. l^' people aesire to find them out; but,
on the other hand, f o have what are here caUed peculia'
rities of opmion will t v efuge for them there, as the Quakers
and Puritans did of old; and may even succeed in passim? from
an arena where they are socially persecuted, and not only be safe
from annoyance, but establish a little exclusive community of their
own The Mormons would never have been aUowed in any
thickly-mhabited country to bloom out unmolested in aU thei
absurdity, and then fade, leavmg their magnificent palace empty
and undisturbed, as they did in the West. Mr Joseph Sturgef in
his visit to the United States, describes the Weld and GFuike
circle of abstamers-a family with many able followers. ' In the
household arrangements,' he says, ' of this distinguished family.
Dr Grahams dietetic system is rigidly adopted, which excludes
meat, butter, coffee, tea, and all intoxicating beverages. I can
assure all who may be interested to know, that this Roman sim-
plicity of living does not forbid enjoyment, when the guest can
share with it the affluence of such minds as daUy meetat their
table. In the old country, people so ' fanciful,' instead of being a
distmguished circle, would be sneered down to the most abiect con-
dition m the social scale. *^
The emigrant of the higher classes in this country, before he
makes up his mmd to proceed to the United States, must consider
and weigh with reference to his position, his habits, and his expec
tations, the general equality that pervades the country. It is need-
less to speak here of the difficulty of procuring domestic servants
and humble attendants out of the slave states— that must be weU
known. Our tourists tell quite enough about the free, easy, inqui-
sitive manners of ' Brother Jonathan ; ' and the English gentleman
M generally prepared for any extent of enormity on that point.
But he should be prepared for the general influence of equality in
tortunes as well as society, and remember that the States are a
place to live m, but not to make a fortune in. True there are in-
stances of great wealth in the States, especially among the owners
of slave properties ; and there are instances where fortunes have
been ma«e rapidiy. But these instances are exceptional, and
82
there
THE UNITED STATES. ^
& nothing fit for comparison with the yaat contrasts exhibited by
the social grades of this country. If fortunes are to be made,
they ate not hkely to faU to the lot of our countrymen. A
people still more acute and enterprising are in the field before
tnem, sedulously searching out aU the avenues to wealth. The
Jiinghshma^ who wants to make a rapid fortune and return with it.
will have better chances among the indolent Spaniards and Por-
tuguese of the south. He who proceeds to the United States
must make up his mind to be content with a competency, and
the behef that he will leave to his descendants a solid comfort-
able patrimony, ever gradually rising in value.
^ A glance at official salaries readily shews how much incomes
just large enough to provide all the comforts and simple elegances
01 lite, but no larger, prevail in America. The highest official
salary, that of the president, is 25,000 dollars, or about £5208.
Ihis IS on a totally difierent scale from all the other salaries.
Ihus the highest officers in the ministry— the secretary of state,
secretary of the treasury, and secretary of war— have each 6000
dollars, little more than £1200. The chief -justice of the Su-
preme Court has 6000 dollars— a trifle more than £1000 of our
money ; and the other judges have 4500 doUars each. The Ameri-
cans are essentially a practical people. They would have too much
good sense to grudge the market-price of efficient public service:
and we must conclude that the general tendency to equaHty in
mcome admits of the public being ably and honestly served at a
price which we would consider likely, in this country, to occasion
incapacity and corruption. It would seem that in some of the old
slave states, where there is more of a wealthy aristocracy, it has
been necessary to adjust the incomes of the local magistrates to
the circumstance. While in such states as Connecticut, Delaware,
and IVIame, the salaries of the chief-justices vary from 1200 to 1800
dollars, the pre ,ident of the Court of Appeals in Virginia has
5750 dollars, and the chanceUor of Maryland, 3000 dollars.
Jlfowe?/.— Ah-eady we have referred to the American system of
dollars. A dollar is equal, speaking roundly, to 4s. 2d. of our
money. This is not the precise equivalent, but by an act of Con-
gress m 1832 it was so fixed, for the payment of ad valorem duties
in the American customhouse. The dollar thus makes about the
fifth part of a guinea. It is often useful, when large sums are
mentioned in the comage of another country, to have a formula
for guessing at something approaching the value in our own
money. When a large round sum is mentioned in dollars,
if we cut off a cipher, and double the amount, we know that
we are near the truth in pounds or guineas of our own mone-^.
Thus when the amount is 3000 dollars (expressed thus— #3000)^
83
in
AMERICA.
if we cut Off the last cipher, and double the amount, we have 600-
which, if we say pounds, wiU be rather below the amount, as GOOO
pence, or 500 shilhngs, equal to £25, have to bo added to make
the exact sum. If the amount be stated in guineas, it will be
nearer the truth, but rather above it. In reading American books
and papers, when one does not require to be precisely accurate,
yet wishes to have a general notion of the sums mentioned, it is
convenient to use such a rough and rapid mental process.
CONSTITUTIONAL PRIVILEGES OF THE SETTLER.
The proposing emigrant who selects the United States as his
place of destination, will naturally have considered the nature of
Its constitution as well as its social condition. He must be pre-
pared of course, to find something different from what he isaccus-
tomed to at home, but not so different as he would find his position
r, !L- ?"!•'*" ^';^"«*"*» despotism. He ought not to found
dHwnf"^ '"' ^ *'*' '*"*' "^ '^'' ^^""*^y «" t'^« picturesque
fs th?^o^ "' '''^\fT "f '"^'^ '^ *"""«*^- A '^^^P'^tic country
18 the most agreeable to the mere sight-seer-everything is sub-
serviency and courtesy in a place where he is going to spend his
money in pleasure, not to become an active citizenfand when he
gets oyer some little pedantries about passports and police-books
he will be delighted with the civilityLd good -temper he meets
with, and the great attention paid to him. On the other ban" the
mere traveller in the United States is allowed to mL Us C
way unaided. Every one looks after himself; and people' a.^
ItllT f'l*^° »"lPortant to give them an inducement to put them-
selves at the service of the traveller, like the Swiss guides or the
Italian ciceronis. The States, therefore, do not hold out [heir
most prepossessing aspect to the ordinary tourist ; but the propos-
jng emigrant should look deeper into matters, fo he goes^norto
be a sojourner but a citizen. . ^
Such is the peculiarity of this remarkable country. With ua
a foreigner, except in a few peculiar cases, is ever an alien-unre
presented, and without the right even to' hold landed property
^r 1 '' '".f, '"''f ' "''"'^ ^*^"' ^^•^ ^°""*''^ B"t ^ the United
fhf l^uto." '''''-'' ' ^^^^^^"' ^"^ - -^--^ P^^ of
^ Every one knows that the sovereignty of the United States is
ma president and vice-president, with a Congress, consSting ^f
two Houses-the Senate and the Representatives. The president
ZoZ"'^7T"\^^ '^1^ '' '^' ^^"S^«««' ^^« elected by the
people: and thouerh tlipre bo sn"i« -i-^Vrf-— = -•- " ^
gj o "-•»"•■*•-' «'°"nct«/ii3 iu me arrangement
THE UNITED STATES.
of the several states, the suffrage is virtually universal to all free males
twenty-one years old. The form of the ballot or secret voting has
be^n introduced, on the principle that each voter is responsible
only to his own conscience for his vote, and that giving others an
opportunity of knowing how he acts only tends to give them the
means of influencing him against his conscience.' No one is eligible
as a member of Congress unless he have been seven years a citizen.
The number of representatives varies with the population, so as to
prevent, as far as possible, the members of any small community
from exercising an undue influence, by having as much repre-
sentation as a large population. In 1823 the representation was
fixed at one member for each 40,000 inhabitants. In 1832 the
number was increased to 47,700. It was still found, however, that
with the pi'ospects of increase in the population, the House would
become too large for the convenient transacting of business ; and
in 1842 an act of Congress was passed, appointing the body to
consist of * one representative for every 70,680 persons in each
state, and of one additional representative for each state having a
fraction greater than one moiety of the said ratio.' Under this
regulation there are 232 representatives, along with two delegates
from Oregon and Minesota, who have a right to speak, but not to
vote. Still this law was deemed insufficient to keep the members
in the House to a proper level. It was adopted as a principle that
233 members should be the utmost limit. An act of Congress was
passed in 1850 for taking a census of the population in 1853, and
regulating the matter of representation at the same time. It was
appointed that the free population of all the States shall be esti-
mated, excluding Indians not taxed, and that there shall then be
added to the number three-fifths of all other persons. This aggre-
gate is to be divided by 233, and the quotient, rejecting fractions,
if any, is to be the ratio of the appointment of representatives
among the several states. The representative population of each
state is then to be ascertained, and divided by the ratio so found ;
and the quotient of this last division is to be the number of repre-
sentatives apportioned to each state.
The president and the vice-president are chosen by ballot in the
first instance. If an absolute numerical majority of the electors
vote for one man, he is president. If, however, there is no such
absolute majority, those at the head of the poll are chosen, not
exceeding three in number, and are made a leet for the i*epresen-
tatives of the States to vote on. ' In this question it is not, how-
ever, each member ^^ho votes, but each state. The Senate, or
upper House of Congress, consists of two representatives from
each state, eliosen by their local legislatures.
To the emigrant these local legislatures, with their constitutions
8i
I— paww-iliJHP^.
AMERICA.
and practice, will probably be of more immediate importance tlian
the general tederative constitution. Each state has its own
government for its own internal affairs, not responsible to Congress
lor the exercise of the powers conferred on it by the constitution.
Among the powers of the central government are, however, all
things relating to what may be called the construction of such
states; and therefore, although the cultivated land and the rights
01 Its inhabitants are matters for the States to deal with sepa-
rate y, the waste land is considered as belonging to the Union, and
the legislation regarding its disposal is undertaken by Congress.
Ihis does not, however, prevent the separate states from legislat-
ing on the admission of emigrants, and we shall afterwards find that
MQportant acts were passed on this matter by the state of New
w^'r I A ? '* P'T,*^ *^' ^^^*'' ^'■^"^ acquiring possession of
waste lands under the public system, as many corporations may do.
Ihere are some arrangements of this character of a complicated
nature, wiiere rights are given to states as to waste lands in other
states. The waste lands belonging to the Union ave a sort of
means of remuneration or reward, given to individuals or to com-
munities; and frequently a state obtauis a portion of its own waste
knds for services Thus in 1849 an act of Congress was passed,
to aid the state of Louisiana in draining the swamp lands therein,'
m which all swamp and overflowed lands incapable of cultivation
are given to the state, on the condition of the state performing
certain unprovementd entirely at its own expense. In the con-
struction oi railways it is usual to vest the waste lands required
lor theto in the states through which they pass
It was early predicted that the United States must faF to
pieces, so heterogeneous were the materials of which it is com-
posed. It was anticipated that the local state legislatures must
come mto collision with the central government. The totaUy
distmct character and interests of the northern and the southern
states were. It was thought, likely to cause an insuperable division:
and indeed the former, finding an interest in home manufactures
are the great advocates of a protective system against foreigi^
importations; whUe the southern states, desirous to export their
abundant raw produce, have an interest in encouraging a trade with
other L.aons. The slave-holders and the abolitionists created aa-
n^^oITy^ "^I'T^' ^"^ feelings-the old-established states
on the Atlantic, and the newly-constructed territories in the west,
constituted to so great an extent by immigration, made still
another. Yet the^ constitution has remamed unshaken, and with
no alteration save in some petty detaUs since its adoption in 1787.
Ihus the constitution made for two and a half millions of people
nas been lound adfinnatA for tha .^^,, — -,c-~i rf i • \-
Qrt ""* "* * ^^ avYciuineui oi juucirly leii tunes
TUB UNITED STATES.
that number. Whatever may be its defects, there is no better evi-
dence of the truly practical and constitutional tendency of the
British mind. It may be safely pronounced that it was a task quite
out of the capacity of »ny community who had not among them
a predominance of people of British origin. The republics con-
structed in all other parts of the world, frequently under far more
favourable auspices, have lamentably failed, while this has lived.
No part of the system is more interesting to the intending emi-
grant than that by which the extending western populations are
gradually made into temporary governments, and incorporated
with the Union. Thus, in the session of 1849, an act of Congress
was passed for laying out a state in that south-western territory
between the Mississippi and Missouri, to which the British emi-
grants passing through Canada proceed. It received the name of
Minesota. This territory, formed of the overflowing as it were' of
the Wisconsin and Iowa States, was appointed by the actr to be
thus bounded— its south-east corner to be ftt the Mississippi, at the
poi'nt where the line of 43° 30' of north latitude crosses it ; thence
running due west in this line, which is fixed as the northern boun-
dary of Iowa, to the north-west corner of that state; thence
southerly along the western boundary till it strikes the Missouri ;
thence by the Missouri and the White-earth River to the southern
boundary of the British possessions on the 49th parallel ; and on
from that to Lake Superior, and by the western boundary of
Wisconsm to the Mississippi. The act appoints that every free
white male inhabitant, twenty -one years old, may vote or be
elected to office, providod he be either a citizen of the United
States, or have taken an oath of his intention to becorue such,
with the oath of allegiance to the constitution, and the observance
of the act. When a local legislature is thus chosen, it fixes the
qualification of voters and officers. The legislative assembly is to
consist of a council and house of representatives. The coimcil is
to consist of nme members, chosen for two years ; and the repre-
sentatives of eighteen members, chosen or one year. No law can
be passed by this body interfering with the primary disposal of
the soil, and no tax can be laid ou the property of the United
States. A supreme court and district courts are appointed. To
start the new state with a code of law? which it may alter at its
leisure, it is enacted that the laws of Wiscon&in, at the date of its
admission as a state, are to be the laws of Minesota.
The name of this new state has not yet found its way into the
books of geography, yet in a few years it will probably be one of
the most wealthy and populous territories in the new world. Nor
is the name of another territory created by act of Congress
in ibou oewur iuiuwn. it xs yiwiuu oicn. xi la uouuu.^^ i
87
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AMERICA.
«
rLl7c?Ih«TrM' "''''' »>>' Oregon, on tho ea.t by the
«umrnit of the Kooky Mountains, nnd on tlic south by the 37th
parallel It « provided that the territory may aftefwardB bo
admrned .nto the Union, ^vith or without «lavery, as its Zt tutiou
nST';^ "^ "'' *""' "^ ^^"•«"'«"- A ^^^^ measure wa^
passed in the same session as to New Mexico. For the Kold
district, which has lately created so much sensation, a farther and
. conclusive step in legislative union was made in 1850, in * An Act
for the admission ol the State of California into the Union.' Tho
8ta( . 18 admitted on the condition that its legislature shall never
tote .re with t je primary disposal of the public lands within ka
.m. s and shall do nothing to interfere with the right of to
Unrted States collectively to dispose of them, or to lay a tfx on he e '
lands. A jealousy of any interference with the uniformity of tie
system for the disposal of land is a conspicuous feature in^ heso
acts of union or annexation.
The main and most serious defect in all these new states and
one which the proposing emigrant will have gravely to consider"*
the powerU^ssness of the law within them. A federative republic
IS always feeblest, where a central government is stronges , in t o
outskirts. In our own colonies the power of the crown s f^
more irresistible than at home, where it is subject to const itutioiml
and popular checks. Even in a society like that of Nenouth
Wales, impregnated with elements of the grossest crimralfty it
b ,m1 .r- *™^ government fixes the constitution and the laws!
but leaves their practice and enforcement to the people themselvl
Hence how for there is justice, freedom, and protecting S
property will depend on the character of the people who flock to
the district. In the new south-western states especial thfsh^^ .
by no means been of the best kind. The public have K onfv
too much of the reckless, profligate character of the menwho ha^^
flocked especially to the gold regions; and if we may beliZ whit
travellers tell, even judges in Texas are highway SeiJ The
emigrant who proposes to go to any of the new states must not
Uierefore, trust to the law and the constitution for protect on ho
must trust to the character of his neighbours; and he wm find
himself best situated in those tracts to'which he peace7u hut
bandmc... and not the gold-seeker or the hunter resorts
MEANS OF CONVEYANCE.
TTnT!"!! TT ^{ *''T^* *° *^^^ ^*^^«"« Atlantic ports of the
United^ States-New York, Boston, • Baltimore, Charleston! New
THE UNITED STATES.
Orleanfl, Ac. — arc, an already stated, abundant, and the cost of
a passago exceedingly moderate. Those who go to Australia,
New Zealand, or Africa, are either persons with some meant
of their own, out of which they incur the expense of so lon^
a voyage, or are taken under government or other public respon-
sibility. America, however, being the nearest emigration field,
lias been the destination of the most wretched; and the competition
among shipowners has been, not to give good accommodation at
the most moderate rate, but to bid down to the lowest sum at
which it is practical to convey their human cargo. Great efforts
have been made by the legislature to check the natural tendency
of this practice, on the principle, in the first place, that people are
not to carry on a trade in a manner to endanger human life ; and
in the second place, that as the passenger is completely at the
mercy of the shipowners when he is on board, it is necessary
to bind them by law to perform what is requisite for his com-
fort and health, otherwise he cannot prevent them from sacrificing
it. Several Passenger Acts have been passed from time to time
for the regulation of emigrant vessels, and it may be hoped that
the legislature has at last succeeded in extending a sufliciont pro-
tection. The latest of these was passed on 13th July 1849 (13
and 14 Vict. c. 33.) Its obligations cannot easily be enforced
against foreign vessels ; and it must be remembered that much
of the emigration of the present day is carried on in those of
the United States. The owners of the ships bringing grain,
which of course is a bulky commodity, to Britain, have found
it an expedient arrangement to adapt them for return with
emigrants.
It used formerly to be the practice for those intending to pene-
trate into the Far West to take their passage to New York; and
the richer class of passengers whose destination was in Canada
sometimes preferred this route to the dangers of the St Lawrence
passage, or the tediousness of the Ilideau Canal. The practice is,
however, now likely to be reversed by the operations for improv-
ing the navigation of the St Lawrence, which have been men*
tioned under the head of Canada (p. 11.) Great hopes are enter-
tained in that province that it will be the main thoroughfare to
the Western and Upper Mississippi districts. The Executive
Council of State of Upper Canada issued a document on this sub-
ject, from which the followuig extract is made. Though coming
from so important an official body, it may be observed that the
report has a good deal of the tone and character of an advertise-
ment praismg their own commodity to the depreciation of that
of their neighbours : —
* It is imnortant to c*Jl attention to the ^reat savin» effected in
89
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• t
S !
t
alhtmf
9
4
AMERICA.
time, as weU as comfort, by taking the St Lawrence route. The dis-
tance from Quebec to Chicago in Illinois, which is about 1600 mUes
may be performed m about ten days without transhipment: and the'
steamers touch at the ports of Cleveland, Sandusky, whence there is
a radway to Cincinnati, and Toledo in Ohio, Detroit in Michigan, and
Mdwaukie m Wisconsin ; all which places can be reached in pripor-
tionate time. The dimensions of the locks on the WeUand Canal
onn r . ^"* long by 26i feet wide j and on the St Lawrence Canals,
-00 feet long by 45 feet wide. The length of the Erie Canal is 363
""5; 7*? .* lockage of 688 feet. The locks, eighty-four in number,
are 90 feet m length by 15 feet in width, with a draught of 4 feet of
T^ii^f ^l^T*^ 'f navigated by vessels carrying not more than
from 600 to 700 barrels of flour [while those on the St Lawrence
are stated to carry from 4000 to 5000 barrels.] The length of the
voyage from New York to Buffalo, there being at least onl tranship-
ment, may be stated at about ten days; but it is very uncertain, m
there are frequent debys arising from various causes. The rate of
^^TTx. ^T'J^^'f'^'' *° Cleveland, Ohio, without transhipment, is
stated by Mr Buchanan to have been during last season, just after the
completion of the canals, six dollars, or about 24s. sterling for each
adiUt. At this rate several German families, bound for the Western
States, ob amed passages. It may, however, be fairly assumed,
that dven this low rate will be still further reduced by competition
The Committee of Council have no information before them of the
cost of passage paid from New York to Cleveland; but as there must
be at least two transhipments, and as thd tune occupied in the paa-
jage IS fuUy a week longer than by the St Lawrence route,it is need-
less to say that the expense must be much greater. With regard
«ntl T °^ *''^T/' of Soods, an important fact has been bright
Grf!f nw °p -.^ °^ n " Committee of CouncU. It appears thatThe
Great Ohio RaUway Company, having had occasion to import about
11,000 tons of railway iron made special inquiries as to the relative
r«^ U J '^v.-T* ^^-^' ^* ^^^^""^^ ^"d New York routes; the
Jn^i^i ^"^'l^T^' r^' *^*^' ^ preference was given to tho
It K . i)!. ""^^ , • ^ *^^'^^' °° ^^^ ^""O" fr«°^ Quebec to Cleveland
was about 20s. sterimg per ton, and the saving on the inland trTs-
port alone 11,000 dollars; and there can be no doubt SaT a S
greater amount was hkewise saved on the ocean freight. The Com-
mittee of Councd are of opinion, that the superior advantages of the
St Lawrence route only require to be made known to insure for it a
preterence.
/i'^orrP®'' *^ ''®"'^^' *^** *^« opinions about the availability
*fe St Lawrence as a passage to the Western States are amply
coofinned by the observations of Mr Johnston. Nay, he opens up
still more important views on the subject, by representing this as
the passage through which the agricultural produce of these dis-
tant reeions will nass tn tho Tii.u;oi. Tv>„»u«i.
It th^e^emigrant be possessed of means which he is afraid of dis-
i' ;
THE UNITED STATES. H
sipating on the passage, he may consider whether he will not be
safer from pillage, by those whose function it is to prey upon the
new arriver, in a British colony, than in a place where he is an
alien. K he be an emigrant seeking work, this is a question whicli
wiU not so seriously lUQfect him : but the matter is treated under
the head of Emigration.
Like the British North American territories, the United States
possess vast means of water-communication. The greater portion
of the line of Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, and Superior, is within
their territories, and Lake Michigan is- -^utirely so. Lake Superior,
1500 miles in circumference, is suppo6 a to be the largest sheet of
fresh water in the world. Its waves heave like the sea, and it is
subject to desolatmg storms. Of its islands, one is enough to
make a considerable province— it is a hundred miles long, and from
forty to fifty broad. The States have a portion of the rapid St
Lawrence, but they possess other means of water-communication
on a much more majestic scale. The Mississippi is calculated to be
3200 miles long; and its availability for navigation may be under-
stood, when it is stated that its source is but 1500 feet above the
level of the sea— much the same as that of the River Tweed, and
less than that of the Spey and the Dee. If we count the Missouri
branch of the river as the proper source, it is 4500 miles long. In
this river, and its greal^ affluents the Ohio, the Arkansas, &c.,
numberless steamboats are continually plying. The facilities of
river navigation enable vessels to be used of a totally different
character from those which sail on our stormy seas. They are
great, handsome, airy wooden palaces, with all their accommoda-
tion above the water, on which they float with stately quietness.
Gaieties and jovialties proceed in these floating mansions, and
many people may be said to live in them, as the Dutch do in their
small mouldy track-boats. It is found convenient to have estab-
lishments of all kinds here on the waters, where they are in the
middle of a floating community — shops, manufactories, theatrical
exhibitions ; on the raA-like vessels which lie smoothly on the
water, high edifices of cotton bales will be piled, uncovered and
unprotected, to the value of a great many thousand .pounds at
once. The Americans have not failed in efforts to connect their
great water-systems with each other. The Erie Canal, though its '
locks are now said to be inferior to those on the short cuttings for
making the St Lawrence safely navigable, is a work of wonderful
extent. It unites the navigation of the Hudson with that of tho
Northern Lakes, having Albany at one extremity, and Buffalo at
thft other — a distance of 363 miles. There are several lateral
branches — ' one opposite Troy connecting with the Hudson ; one
at Syracuse, a mile and a half in length, to Salina ; one from Syra-
■^ 91
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i-
&
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AMERICA.
boats between the can. !„rf Z n ""^ "^ communication for
wide at the top aLS w 1?° ?!"^^' Ki^er. It ia 40 feet
at the depth of 4 ?eef "rl, :f lf„ '^ '>««<>■>'• The water flow.
mUe. The tow-nath i^.tv.. ^l '''"'™' "^ ^^ «" ™h in a
the water, aJdia^t ft« ^ f "t"' V?' ^^ *» '""*«« "f
includes 83 locks and 18 aone'dnct, «f °° ''"«"' °' *"■' «"«'
Jte^h™£ ti::;-^HiV^^^^^ «. da,
fortless accommodatir ^^lie part i^^^^^^^^^^ of narrow com-
already cited, ' in which wp s !rS ''^^°' ^^^ *^^« a^'^or
Yet in this siaU sDacf Tvlf ? ' I' '"^''''^^ ^0 feet in length,
contrive to pruprre^llh^^^^ *^"' ^^ ^««* ^^^Je. did the^
or couches in Xwe fa S^^^^^^^ the se2
drawn out to an increased widfhf.^ • ^ ^-^ ^"'"^ enlarged, or
of the cabin. The othprhp^l ' i"^ i^-three on each iide
work, to whW?Lf "att^^^^^^^^^^^^^
nently attached. ThesTwere tpLl " m fT']'*^"' ^^ P^""**"
to the boat's side, the outwlrd S n?Il^ .^''"'''^ '^^ ^"^ ^^^«»«d
raised to a level ir horSlf S- ^*^v.^ -'^"^^ ^^^^ ^^^ being
by the upper ceilSgSsei^^^^^^^^^^^ '' '^'^'^^^^
for the night, without tiiP for^.i-l i? "^^'"^ "^^ ^"« ?«* *<> rest
iuducemefts io sleep ' ^ '^ undressing, offered but few
iJm'sdSecXwCe ?heUTnt^^^ ™^^«-*« ^^e-
the canal to Buffafo ^n^V^'^o 3B^^^^^^ '^''y^ *«- jom
for the summer of 1850 grvrthelare ts g!^^^^^^^^ conveya.,ce.list8
5 dollars without Thp H«f 17 ^ '^^"^'"^ "^'^^ board, and
t>om eUher end'^Lil^^hel^S^^^^^ '^"^ ^^^^ *^ ^^ '-
sel^YSS^;^!;^^^^^^^^^^^ -tented them-
raOway-communiSn "ow Ti^^^^^^ 2 ' '^ /T"^^' ^ ^risk
The lists just quoted ?Drsh,rnnii'.''''T /^^^^^ ^"^ ^"ffalo.
graph Book') L^unie^S ?™i^« if'^T^' ^te,mho^t, and Tele-
first, the exp ess tr2 th^ou^n th'^ ''°l'^*^''* ^""'''"^^ '' The
tmin; next, 'freiX ;„d Zw. / r*''" ^°""' next, the mail
grants;' then aniL expr^f IV T' '^''' '^''' ^"^^ '^^
train.' The far.Z'I/^r.%^''^ l^t'Jy^ '^^ 'accommodation
^^ - _._„... ,„ , ^„^ar» ana yo cents-about aSs. ; but
THE UNITED STATES.
it i^ not stated to which train or class it applies. The distance by
theirailway is 326 miles.
Another great line of canal -communication — the Ohio State
Canal — unites the Mississippi navigation with that of the lakes,
joining Lake Erie at Cleveland. The vast railway system mriU
speedily have united the Hudson and the Atlantic states with the
Ohio navigation, if it have not already been accomplished. Rail-
ways in America are not the complete and finished lines brought
into existence by the concentrative power of a legislative enact-
ment which we are accustomed to consider them in this country.
They are of local growth and adjustment, and thus their statistics
are less completely known. A railway in its infancy is scarcely
perceptible. Beams are laid down crossways, so as to form a
rough road ; others are laid at right angles to them, at the gage
required ; and these, with a plate of iron laid along their edge,
«erve for a railway till a more complete one can be afforded. In
many instances there is no iron at all, and the whole is constructed
of wood, which is abundant enough for the renewal of all parts
decaying. In the American Almanac for 1851, great pains have
been taken to collect the statistics of all the railway lines ; but
they are admitted to be imperfect. The total mileage collected,
however, is 8439. There are enumerated as in progress, at the
€nd of the year 1850, in New England and New York states, no
Jess than twenty- six new principal lines.
These facilities for locomotion, rough,, and to a certain extent
tedious as many of them are, are of great importance to the emi-
grant, to whom, without them, the land journey, after he has
crossed the Atlantic, might be the most serious part of his expedi-
tion. The great routes to the north-west have ah'eady been men-
tioned. In the railroad lists for 1850, it is stated under the head .
* Routes to the West and South,' that * travellers for the west
and south, via Baltimoi'e .and Cumberland (Maryland), can go
through in two days from New York to Pittsburg (Pennsylvania)
or Wheeling (Virginia) by the railroad and stage route to the Ohio
river ; thence by commodious steamboats to Cincinnati, St Louis,
New Orleans, and the intermediate landings on the Ohio and
Mississippi rivers.' The list states the usual time from Baltimore
to Pittsburg, 34 hours, fare, 11 dollars ; usual time from Baltimore
to Wheeling, 36 hours, fare, 12 dollars. It would appear, however,
that through the forwarding offices at the ports, the emigrant can
make arrangements for a far more economical journey than the
published rates of the vehicles would indicate. Prices of convey-
ance shift in America as much as they do at home. But i^ can do
no harm to give the answer of Mr Mintoun, on examination before
the Lords' Committee on Emigration, to an inquiry about the price
' 98
!«1
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AMERICA.
Bn^n~"i^. *'' Of passage, without food, from New Yoilc to
Bu&lo, a distance of 500 mUes, is 2i dollars to 3 dollars: from
n!r y°f^ to Cleveland (Ohio), 700 miles, 5 dollars^ 'cen???
f^ti f tf?/' ^^."^"^^' ^ '^"^"5 Milwaukie (Wisconsin):
5^sl^ cent"' '' ''"*'' "^'"^^^ ^'"^^^^^' ^^ "^««' ^
flu ^^^"""t *^^^i*rf P^^lic vehicles, the wanderor with his
lamUy may be met on the scarce-formed bridle-road, or even the
open grass prame. Day after day the wagon contabing aU the
household possessions of the family makes ks short joumel and a?
mght all encamp-the rifle of the head of the family being alike
then- protection and their means of supply. But thfs is a Secies
of locomotion for which the American citizen movW westward
18 better adapted than the fresh immigrant. ^ westwara
th^t^'^'^V?''"*'^''^^^' *'" heartily abused by strangers
-their deep mud m wet weather, the clouds of dust that pass
along them m a high wind in dry weather. TraveUers often
amuse then; readers with the horrors of travelling i^ a vehicle
ve srl'T^'. "^'"§ " corduroy-road, or a road Md with tram!
solwS • 'ST°^-. ^'i* ^ *^« P*^^«« P^rfor^ted by these
^S! rn! n^f ^-llT^^d^' the wonder is to find a road at all; and
ti^ese rough distmit Imes of commmiication are a strong testimony
dLS^f'^'^f ^A?*''P'^^'' ^f *^' -^ ^^0 ^' penetratUig into the
A^pHo«ri '^?'' T'\ ^ ' 'Notes of a Foreigner on
^March f ^Wl^"''' • "^ '^' ' ^'" ^''^ ^"^^"^^^ AgricSlturist »
lor March 1851, there is an account of a new class of roads, caUed
ttu^ drrlb^d'^^^^^^ '''"''" " '''^ ^' ' ^^^^"^y- They are
snldes^f'S f"%j«^°«yP0P«l0«s to pay for their construction, a
species of road is laid down, called a "plank-road." These roads ^t
SSs'^Vn?.*trr' ^^ f-«"i*-t« the communicatirn Tetwe^n
ttois and market-towns very much. Although they are of com-
YoXt^ ^^^^ -^'^ supported by tolls, those in the s Je of New
W^v forf^^ r- T^ (threepence) for a single-horsed gig oT
buggy, for a run of eight or ten mUes. The mode of layinff them
^ niX/^iSl ""nT^'^ 't'^ '^«^^^^«'^- The lL7ofrZ
marked ^^f^ ^nd levelled as much as possible. As thev are pbjk^
rally lajd down in tho track of roads previously madS Centre S
offtoiT"^ r ^fZ °^ r ^ ^^^^' ^^'« ^hich the water may run
off irom the planks through small holes or drains. A tra-k little
broader than the breadth of a coach or wagon (if for a Igfe hue) is
W eirin?!? T'^' "'1 'i '"^'^ ^'"^ «°-« eight"? nine fit
feSe^l^'r. rr^ r.i*?:f!:?3/-,H'^ pVioI thereto.
- , ,,.,,„ i„..ii„iig jj, uuuuio line 01 yiimka aiong
'^\.
THE UNITED STATES.
!!
the road. On the top of these side-supports the planks on which the
carriages run, forming the roadway, are laid. These project a little
beyond the side-supports. They are generally some ten to fourteed
inches broad, and two or three thick. The side of the embankment,
is brought up so as to cover the ends, and the road is complete.'
\' '"'
PRODUCTIONS.
The productions of the United States are various as the soil and
climate. The Northern States grow all the cereals and other agri-
cultural productions commonly known in this country, together
with the staple grain of the western continent— Indian com. In
the Southern States the same productions are found more or less,
but they give place to those of more tropical climates— rice, cotton,
tobacco, indigo, the sugar - cane, olives, &c. Fruit is abundant^
and apples especially are a considerable article of export. Mr
Johnston considers the culture of the apple a very important point
in American agriculture, and mentions that the western part of
New York and Northern Ohio liave entered into earnest competi-
tion with the old orchard countries. ' Their rich soils,' he says,
* produce larger and more beautiful fruit, but inferior, it is said, in
that high flavour which distinguishes the Atlantic apples. Thif
inferiority, however, is not conceded by the western cultivators,
among whom orchard - planting is rapidly extending, and* wha
estimate the average profit of fruit cultivation at 100 to 150
dollars an acre (£20 to £30.') Hemp^ flax, and silk are pro-
duced. The produce of animals, both farm and wild, is exported
in the various shapes of butcher-meat, leather, skins, and wool.
Timber of various valuable kinds abounds, and gives rise, not
only to a trade in wood, but in bark, dye -stuffs, ashes, tar,
/turpentine, and rosin, besides furnishing maple -sugar. There
are considerable fisheries. The mines produce iron, copper, gold,
and mercury ; and the coal-fields cover a surface so large as to
exclude the possibility of naming a practical lunit to the extent
of the supply. The salt springs, and various stone and clay
deposits, are of considerable importance.
In the American statistical tables the productions are ranged
nnder those of the sea, the forest, and agriculture. In the year
ending 30th June 1849 the exports under the first head amounted
to 2,647,654 dollars ; the products of the forest to 5,917,994. The
agricultural products of animals were estimated at 13,153,302 ;
those of vegetable food at 25,642,362 ; tobacco, 5,80^ 9,07 ; cotton^
66,396,967 ; hemp, 8458. The miscellaneous vegetaoie produc-
tions were reckoned at 84,092. The tables for 1850, published in
U
''*::«■ 1 »
"^f^
I
AMERICA.
1861, give the following items in dollars :— Products of the sea,
2,824,818 ; products of the forest, 7,442,503 ; productioni of
jgriculture, including gram, butcher - meat, wool, and skfais,
26,371,766; cotton, 71,984,016; tobacco, 9,921,063; misceUane-
ous agricultural produce, 162,363.
Cotton is the great staple export of the United States to this
country— indeed it constitutes, out of all comparison, the krgest
Item of general exportation. But the staple production for expor-
tation to which the British emigrant must look is grain, to feed
the inhabitants of his own country, increasing, notwithstanding
his departure, at the rate of a thousand a day. In the valley of
the Ohio alone there is productive land adapted to this purpose,
for all practical and immediate purposes, inexhaustible. There is
reason to beUeve that the grain exports of America, considerable
as they are, are yet but in their infancy. The value of the bread-
stuffs exported in the year ending in June 1860 was 16,698,066
dollars. Of this the meal and wheat-flour formed 7,742,316.
A return was made to parliament in 1860 of the prices of whest
per quarter at the various places of export throughout the world,
from 1844 to 1849 inclusive. The lowest sum for New York in
ifr^^j*^ *" October, when the price came so far down as
26i. lid. This is the lowest in the whole table. The highest
|pnce during that year appears to have been 37s. 2d, in April.
Ihe highest price reached during the whole course of the six
years is 798. per quarter in February 1847. This appears to have
been a momentary elevation, arising from the state of the markets
in Britain produced by the famine. The week previously the
price was 698. lOd. ; and in the previous month it had been as low
^.n L^*^"' ''^*"™i"g in September to a stiU lower sum— 39s. In
1849 the lowest prices were 34s. 2d., the highest 46s. 8d., and
these may be held to be the extremes in ordinary years.
New Orleans, receiving the corn of the great valleys of the
Ohio and the Mississippi, gives the lowest quotations of prices in
the American market, and wUl be likely to be the gate through
which the greatest stream of grain-supply in the world will pass
though there is reason to believe that as to the produce of the
more northerly of the Western States, the St Lawrence may com-
pete with It. The return to pariiament of the prices of Wheat, from
1844 to 1849 inclusive, embraces New Orieans. The lowest price
which occurs in this table— and perhaps it is the lowest that has
appeared anywhere-is 16s. lOd. in May 1846 ; the highest price
at that time being, however, 28s. lOd. So low a sum as the
neighbourhood of 17s. is of pretty frequent occurrence. The
highest sum during the whole period is in 1847—668. 7d. • an
,.., ...vrwwtiuDo uj me ;»u«i«j III uiQ Linitea jfuiKdoiu.
96 ,Ji °
THE UNITED STATES. ,^ '
In 1849 the extremes were 268. Id. and 348. Id. It wUl be seen
that these prices are on a different scale from those of New York.
One of the most remarkable of the staple-productions of the
States, and one of the most readily available to new settlers, is what
is called the hog crop, entering the market in the shape of tnfed
pork. Its chief centre is Ohio, and it is peculiar to those states
which produce an abundance of Indian com, and have stretches
of acorn forest. Mr Johnston attributes the abundance of this
produce to the necessity of an outlet for Indian com, which was
exported until late years only in very scanty quantities. Hence
the best exit was found in the fattening of pigs. Mr Johnston
enumerates six states— Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois,
Indiana, and Ohio— in which the number of pigs killed in the
year 1846 exceeded a million, the number in Ohio being 420,833.
* The packing business,' he says, * in Ohio has been gradually
concentrating itself in Cincinnati, where, in the winter of 1847
and 1848, about 420,000 hogs were sold, killed, and packed. The
blood is collected in tanks, and with the hair, hoofs, and other
offal, is sold to the prussiate- of -potash manufactories. The
carcass is cured either into barrelled pork or into bacon and hams,
and the grease rendered into lard of various qualities. Some
establishments cure the hams; and after cutting up the rest of the
carcass, steam it in large vats, under a pressure of seventy
pounds to the square inch, and thus reduce the whole to a pulp,
bones and all, and draw off the fat. The residue is either thrown
away or is carted off for manure. One establishment disposes
in this way of 30,000 hogs.' Among the articles of export to
which this produce contributes, we have not only pork, bacon, and
lard, but stearine candles, bar and fancy soaps, prussiate of
potash, bristles and glue, and also the finer preparations of tha
fet, which are used to adulterate spermaceti, and even olive oil.
m
TOPOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS AND THEIR CAPABILITIES. '
There are different systematic geographical divisions of the
territory of the United States. One of the most usual is to con-
sider the Alleghany Mountains and the Eocky Mountains at? two
dividing lines, which afford three ranges of country: the north
and east, or Atlantic States; those of the great valley of the
Mississippi; and the western districts, sloping from the Rocky'
Mountains to the Pacific. For the purposes of emigration, how-
ever, it will be better to consider them under a different division :
the Northem States, chiefly containing the old lands and the cities
adapted to the purposes of the mechanic ; the Western territories,
Q 97
i3£
\
AMERICA.
where the settlers seeking new land go; and the Southern Stateii,
chiefly slave-served, and, for the reasons ahready stated, not well
Adapted for British emigration.
THE NORTHERN ATLANTIC STATES.
The northern territories may be classified as Maine, New Hamp-
Bhire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New
York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. It is in the large cities
and nsmg villages of this cluster that the trained mechanic, or the
person who seeks the western world for other than agricultural
pursuits, wiU generally settle; and it is a common advice to the
emigrant from this country, to satisfy hunself well that the north-
east is not the quarter best adapted to his views before he seek
the more distant regions of the west or south. None of these
states contain any of the public waste lands of the United States.
It does not follow that there is not abundance of uncleared land
especially in New York, which stretches far west into the lake
country, and in Maine ; but it is all the property of individuals or
companies.
, A considerable portion of this affluent territory produces timber;
and the chief agricultural productions may be generally classed as
cattle, sheep, and pigs, with their exportable produce, for live-
stock, and wheat, oats, bariey, rye, Indian com, buckwheat, peas,
beans,^ and potatoes, hops, and flax. Apples, growing rather in
orchards than in gardens, are very abundant in the old states.
Those_ imported to this country are deemed a great luxury from
their juiciness and sweetness ; and in America they are a very
important article of domestic consumption, being cooked in a
variety of forms. Pear, plum, and other fruit-trees are also culti-
vated. Among the luxuries of the garden character, though of
field produce, may be mentioned the green Indian com, which is
compared, when gathered at the right time, to green peas.
Maine and New Hampshire are moderately hilly, and, especially
the former, produce a considerable quantity of timber. There are
extensive tracts of an unpromising character; but the old cul-
tivated grain lands render forty bushels of maize per acre, and
from twenty to fori;y of wheat. In New Hampshire there is a
great diversity of water-power; and this, with the energetic
character of the population, and the somewhat low agricultural
capabilities, have made it a great manufacturing state.
Mr Johnston, who passed apparently rapidly through this part
of the country, says: ' Fai-ming in Maine is not of itself profitable
jj J _..,, ,s„„vv V/i ilXb pcOplC fcO UUUUUiU HCQ. 'I'lld
98
"^
THE UNITED STATES.
!\
fan. % are for the most part small — from 80 to 100 acres — and
the land I passed through generally poor. Complaints against
the climate, if I may judge from my own experience, abound ten
times more here than when I heard them in New Brunswick —
that the season is short ; that Indian corn wont ripen ; and so on.
Oats and potatoes, however, are allowed to be sure crops when
the latter are free from disease. On the Kenebec River, which
is further to the west, there are good intervale lands, and the
uplands, which are a strong loam, are very productive in haf .
Stock- husbandry is for this reason beginning to be attended to
in that district of the state, but the turnip culture is still a^nost
unknown.' Maine is considered as the centre of the northern
lumber trade of the United States.
Vermont and Massachusetts follow in a great measure the same
character. Part of the country is mountainous — the hills rising
to 4000 feet above the level of the sea. Massachusetts is a rich
and prosperous seat of trade and manufactures. Its agricultural
capacities are limited, but they have' been carefully developed.
Mr Macgregor says : ' Agriculture has been carefully and skilfully
attended to in this state. No extensive or alluvial tracts occur in
Massachusetts ; although limited spots occur on the banks of most
of thd streams, and, with the adjoining, elevated woodlands and
pastures, have, by skilful industry, been brought under profitable
cultivation, and form the best farms in the state. There are
numerous uncultivated swamps. The greater part of the soil of
Massachusetts is diluvial and ungenerous. By clearing away the
stones and rocks, and by the extensive application of manure,
many of the originally sterile districts have been converted into
productive farms.' This is, however, too much of the old coun-
try's character to make the state a popular one with agricultural
emigrants. Yet if the existence of unoccupied land were all that
the emigrant required, it would be here provided in considerable
abundance. From the census returns of 1840, it was found that
220,000 acres were under tillage, and 440,000 in meadows ; while
beside 730,000 acres woodland, there are 956,000 unimproved. It
appeared that the number employed in agriculture bore a proporr
tion of about 1 to 8i of the population. In a commercial and
industrial sense, and for all matters connected with the United
States themselves, Massachusetts is of the highest importance,
though to the agricultural emigrant it be of secondary importance
to others.
Ehode Island and Connecticut fill together a small oblong space
on the coast between Massachusetts and New York. Of the
former Mr Macgregor says : ' The north-west part of the state is
hilly, sterile, and rocky. Hills, though not elevated, pei'vade the
99
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AMERICA.
northern third of the atate; the other pari, arc level, or generally
undulating; especially near Narraganset Iky, and on the idarda
^thm it. The soil is in many parts arahle, and the farmere
affluent. The lanv-'s are generally better adapted for grazing than
for corn, and it is renowned for the excellence of its cattle and
iiheep, and its butter and cheese. Maize, or Tndian corn, rye,
barley, oats, and in some places wheat, are grown, but scarcely
in sufficient quantity for home consumption. Fruits and uulinaiy
▼«>getables are produced in great perfection and abundance.
*The climate is healthy, and more mild, particularly on the
islands, than in any other part of New England. The sea-breezes
moderate the heat of summer and the cold of winter.' The same
statement is in a great measure applicable to Connecticut.
New York— ihQ greatest and wealthiest territory of the States-
presents vast varieties, both in its social and physical features.
It has, besides the city of New York, with its population of
400,000, Albany, the nominal capital, Brooklyn, Hudson, and
Oswego ; while far north on the lakes which divide the States from
IrnlS^*' ^* ''^® ^^*^ ^^ Buffiilo, containing between 30,000 and
40,000 people. The population of the state in 1845 was 2,604,495.
Its railways, exceeding 1200 miles; its canals, harbours, public
Dundmgs, towns, and manufactories, and, in general, the expendi-
ture of its rich population, give large employment to artisans and
labourers. What is closer to the present purpose, they cause the
consumption within the province itself of an extensive agricultural
produce ; while the extending means of conveyance is ever increas-
ing the availability of new and distant districts. The amounts of
the various kinds of produce must have greatly increased since
1840, when they are thus stated by Mr Macgregor :—
* The soil in the eastern and eouth-eastern parts is generally dry
and m some parts loamy. This section is considered as best adapted'
to grazing, and the western to arable culture. All the hilly and
mountain districts afford excellent pasturage. The soil of the allu-
vions along the rivers, and of innumerable valleys, is remarkably
fertile. The valleys of the Mohawk and the Gonessee are among the
best wheat-growing soils in the world. A clayey soil prevails round
parts of Lake Champlain. Marshes, bogs, and sandy plains, are met
with in some parts west of Albany. The west end of Long Island
and Dutchess and Westchester counties, are extolled for good culture*
and productive crops. The principal are wheat, Indian com, grass,
ryo^ barley, oats, buckwheat, and pota'.oes. Beef and pork, butter
and cheese, horses and cattle, pot and pearl ashes, flax-seed, peas,
beans, and lumber, form the great articles of export. Orchards
abound. The apples, pears, plums, and peaches are delicious and
abundant. In the state there were, in 1840, 474,543 horses and
mules; 1,911,244 neat cattle; 5,118,777 sheep; 1,900,065 swine;
100
TIIE UNITED STATES. j\
poultry to tho value of 1,153,413 dollars. There were produced
12,286,418 bushels of wheat ; 2,620,060 bushels of barley ; 20 675 847
bushels of oats ; 2,979,323 bushels of ryej 2,287,885 bushels of buck-
wheat ; 10,972,28^ bushels of Indian com; 9,845,293 pounds of wool ;
447,250 pounds of hops; 30,123,614 bushels of poUitoes; 3,127,047 lona
of hay; 1735 pounds of silk cocoons; 10,048,109 pounds of sugar.
The products of tho dairy amounted in value to 10,496,021 dollars •
and of the orchard to 1,701,936 dollars ; of lumber, to 3,891,302 dol-
lars. There were produced 6799 gallons of wine ; and cf pot and
pearl ashes, 7()13 tons; tar, pitch, turpentine, &c., 402 barrels.'— O/K-
cial Heturna, kc.
Mr Johnston, whose experience of the state of American agri-
culture was chiefly derived from New York, has preserved some
interesting particulars as to land and farming there. He observes
that a great part of the western plwion is damp, coldj and
marshy, yet that drainage is unknown ; and he mentions having
seen, at an exhibition of a/jriculturaWnstruments at Syracuse, some
drain-tiles exhibited as a curiosity. Yet the objections which he has
to state to costly drainage in the meantime, and until the country
becomes fuller, are pretty solid. ' The cost of this improvement^
even at the cheapest rate— say £4, or twenty dollars an acre— is
equal to a large proponion of the present price of the best land
in this rich district of Western New York. From 50 to 60
dollars an acre is the highest price which farms bring here ; and
if 25 dollars an acre were expended upon any of it, the pr^ce in
the market would not rise in proportion. Or if 40-dollar land
should actually be improved one-fourth by thorough drainage, it
would still, it is said, not be more valuable than that which now
sells at 50 dollars, so that the improver would be a loser to the
extent of 15 dollars an acre.' This argument seems unanswer-
able, whether it apply to the native of the States or to the fresh
settler. Mr Johnston, however, found that the agricultural citi-
zens of this state were acutely alive to the advantages of scientific
and mechanical improvements in the employment of the soil. He
found good evidence of this in the exhibition where he saw the
drain-tiles. * The general character of the implements,' he says,
* was economy in construction and in price, and the exhibition was
large and interesting.' Still they partook of what a British
agriculturist considers the wasteful character of American hus-
bandry. They were rather directed for the speedy realisation of
produce than the improvement of the soil. Such were the reap-
ing machines, calculated to cut from tifteen to twenty-five acres in
a day. * Of course,' says Mr Johnston, ' it is only on f.at lands
that they can be advantageously employed. But where labour is
seafee and unwooded prairie plenty, tho owner of a reaping and
. 101
n,V,^5SiEr--' ,
AMERICA.
rf
a thtaahing machine may cultivate as much Und ab jo can icratch
with the plough and sprinkle with seed.'
One of the superior productions of the agriculture of the New-
York state is called Genesseo flour. Not that it is all produced in
the Genessee Valley, but that the superior excellence of the wheat
grown there gave its name to a certain high standard of quality.
Mr Johnston naturally examined this district with interest, and
found the soil to be ' a rich drift clay— the ruins of the Onondaga
salt group — intermixed with fragments of the Niagara and Clinton
limestones.' ' A very comfortable race of farmers,' he continues,
' is located in this valley. The richest bottom or intervale land
cut for hay or kept for grazing is worth 120 dollars or £26 an acre.
The upland — the mixt^ clay and limestone-gravel land, of which
I have ah-eady spoken, 1|^m sold in farms of 100 to 150 acres —
the usual size on this nvel^^mgs from 35 to 70 dollars, accord-
ing to the value of the buill^p that are upon it. The bottoms,
when ploughed up and sown to wheat, are liable to rust ; but the
uplands yield very certain crops of 16 to 20 bushels an acre.
Land, of which a man with a good team will plough li to 1 J acres
a day, costs G dollars an acre to cultivate, mcluding seed, and 3J
m6re to harvest and fhrash. Fifteen bushels at 1 to IJ dollars
(48. 4d. to 4s. lOd.) give a return of 15 to 17 dollars, leaving a
profit of about 6 dollars or 268. an acre for landlord and tenant's
remuneration, and for interest of capital invested in farming stock.
That this calculation is near the truth is shewn by the rate at
which the average land, producing 16 to 18 bushels, is occasionally
let, where it suits parties to make such an arrangement. In these
cases 7 to 7i bushels of wheat an acre are paid for the use of the
land. In takmg a farm at such a rent as this— half the produce —
thb tenant makes a sacrifice for the purpose of obtainmg an outlet
for superfluous home labour.' Here, as in the other Atlantic
states, Mr Johnston animadverts on the smallness of the capital
invested in farming: ' Thi land itself, and the labour of their
families, is nearly all the capital which most of the fanners
possess.' The inducements are evidently greater to the working
farmer with a family of sons, and a little money besides what he
requires to buy his farm, than to the large capitalist. Mr John-
ston met with one of the largest land-proprietors in the state —
himself farming 1000 acres. He cleared from 3 to 7i per cent,
on his whole capital, including the market value of the land and
of the building and stock. ' For a gentleman farmer,' says Mr
Johnston, * this would be a very fair return, but it is scarcely
enough in a countiry where land gives no political and little social
influence, and where, by lending his money and doing nothing, a
mfl.n can obtain 7 'ler cent, certain.'
102 * r
THE UNITED STATES.
n
Neto Jersey is in its character very like the castcm portions of
New York, to which it adjoins ; and it has to some extent the
swne advantages to its agriculture from bo populous and rich a
market.
' The northern section of New Jersey is mountainous or hilly;
the central parts are diversified by hills and valleys; and the
southern part is flat, sandy, and sterile. Thd natural growth .of
the soil is shrub -oaks, yellow -pines, marsh -grass, shrubs, Ao.
With the exception of this barren, but, by industry and manuring,
in some parts, cultivated district, the soil of New Jersey affords
good pasture and arable land. The produce is chiefly wheat, rye,
Indian corn, buckwheat, potatoes, oats, and barley. Apples, pears,
peaches, plums, and chertrius, are grown in great perfection. In
the mountainous districts cattle are of good breed and size, and
large quantities of butter and cheese J^e made. The produce of
this state finds a market chiefly at New York and Philadelphia.
The prmcipal exports are wheat, flour, horses, cattle, hams, cider,
lumber, flax-seed, leather, and iron.
Fennsylvanior—BtTetchmg fur towards the western districts— is
like New York, a large, wealthy, enterprising community; its
population approaching, if it do not now exceed, 2,000,000. Its
capital, Philadelphia, contains nearly 300,000 people. In this
territory, as in New York, there is room for. artisan and engineer-
ing enterprise. But agricultural pursuits occupy the greater part
of the population. By the analysed census of 1841, the persons
employed in agriculture were 207,533 ; while those devoted to all
other pursuits (including 105,883 in manufactures and trade)
amounted to 138,296. Mr Macgregor says :—
* The Alleghany Mountains traverse the state from south- west to
north-east, and several ramifications branch from, or run parallel
with the principal range. Mountainous tracts over the central parts
of the state comprehend nearly one-seventh of its whole area. The
south-east and north-west districts are generally level or undulating.
The soil east of the mountains is generally fertile, and rendered
highly productive. The south-east, on both sides of the Susquehanna,
the lands are rich, and having been long settled, it is nearly all under
high cultivation. Between the head-waters of the AUrghany and
Lake Erie the soil is also very fertile. In the mountainous region
the formation of the soil is often rugged, and in many parts sterile ;
except in the valleys, which are very rich— west of the AUeghanies,
and especially near the streams of the Ohio. Some authorities con-
sider Pennsylvania better adapted for grazing than for the plough.
The authors of the "United States Gazetteer" are of a different
opinion, and observe : •* The most important production of the state
by far is wheat, which grows here in great perfection ; and next in
value is Indian corn. Eve, barlev. buckwheat, oats. hemn. and flax.
"103
AMERICA.
are aJeo extensively cultivated. Cherries, peaches, and apples am
abundan^ and much cider is made. Altho\|h the stote te bett^
fi^l and^^^i!^"'^ "^ ^^'"^' y^' •" man^parts there ZXZ
oairies, and fine horses and catUe are raised." ' ^
■*
THE WESTERN DISTRICTS.
K :•■
«nP'® ^?*®?' emigration states are those vast districts of prairie
i^S.. ^ ? ''' i^t territories stiUwest of this basin near the
northern lakes, and the new countries which slope to the Pacific As
emigration fields, the portion north of the old Save statS^^^l only
be here considered, but the Southern States will be noticed farther
on. ihe emigration states may be enumerated as Ohio, Illinois,
WisconEin, Indiana Missouri, Iowa, and the new territor; of Mini-
BOta, m the basin of the great central rivers. To the same system
geographically belong the northern districts of Kentucky Ten-
nessee, and other states, the greater part of which are too f^ south
for suitable emigration fields, and which are unsuitable to British
emigrants from the inveterate practice of slavery. Michigan
though not properly in the basin of the great riverfmay be co":
stia farther west are the large territory caUed the Oregon, and
the new government of Utah, elsewhere mentioned (p. 87.1
The central valley or rather plain, watered by the great rivers,
has acertam uniformity in its majestic featured It^s rat^r ^
plam than a valley, scarcely any part of it, even upwards of a
housand miles from the sea, rising more ihan 500 feet above
Its level Th.8, the largest alluvial tract probably in the world
IS considered as stretching west of the slope of the Alleghanv
Mountains for 1500 miles, with a breadth, or rather L vtieys^e
the Ohio. It 18 a horizontal limestone stratum, covered with a
said to be valleys m this region, the rivers, naturally deepening,
their courses as they proceed, cut a trench, is it were, so narrow
^l.-ZV'' t"^'' '^ u ' P'^'^^ ^^ '^'^ ^^^t«r« between bankT
which thus have an abrupt and rocky appearance. In this vast
Tliy^ !^rA ^1 "^^^l^^l^We masses of forest, differing according
ttldf . ^;'^'r *^' predominating pine and birch, to tlif
vaned forest of oak, elm, walnut, sycamore, beech, hiccory maple
and tuhp tree. There ar. strange peculiarities in the forel ,TcSe '
times running m straight belts through th« ^;^o «^;-:. ^..L-ZlP.
and at others surrounding the prairie°with a circuLloTesTgLdlT '
THE UNITED STATES.
like the exaggeration of some park-oponinff ia the artificial-domain
lands of England. '
yThe marvel, however, of this regiosi, nnd of its great source of
agricultural riches, are the prairies. It is unnecessary here to
discuss the theories by which this peculiar formation is accounted
for; it is sufiicient to say, that it presents au alluvial surface capable
of feeding a population larger than that of all Europe, and one
on which, to all human appearance, immigrants may pour thei#i
numbers for a century to come without exhausting the field. Part
of the district is perfectly flat, but in general its character is what
is expressively called rolling— not Imes of hills and vaHeys, but
such circular mounds, with depressions between, as the bent-
covered sands sometimes form along shelving coasts unprotected
by rocks. The prairie is divided into the meadow and the weed
class. The weeds are a growth of richly. coloured plants of infinite
variety, making a compact thicket, sometimes eight or nme feet
high. These are the tracts which produce, when set on fire, the
wild scenes which we read of in the American romances, when
man, the fiercer animals, and me gentler which form the prey of
both, all flee in company. The strength of the growth on this
kind of prairie attests its fertility. When burned, the weeds
become a top-dressing, and the ground, if but scratched, will grow
a crop. The districts most popular are not on the boundless
prairie, where the eye sees no outline within the horizon, but
where it is alternated with timber. Of sucli a country an acute
observer says : ' The attraction of the prairie consists in its extent,
its carpet of verdure and flowers, its undulating surface, its groves,
and the fringe of timber by which it is surrounded. Of all these
the latter is the most expressive feature ; it is that which gives
character to the landscape, which imparts the shape, and marks
the boundary of the plain. If the prairie be small, its greatest
beauty consists in the vicinity of the surrounding margin of wood-
land, which resembles the shore of a lake, indented with deep vistas
like bays and inlets, and throwing out long points like capes and
headlands; while occasionally these pomts approach so close on
either hand, that the traveller passes through a narrow avenue or
strait, where the shadows of the -tvoodland fall upon his path, and
then again emerges into another prahie.' — {Notes on the Western
States, by James Hall, p. 72.)
Such are the lands of which an inexhaustible supply is to be
obtained at the government fixed price of a dollar and a quarter
an acre. Vast as the district is, its unvarying fertility leaves little
of a distinguishing character to he stated about particular portions
^^ it. Some of the prairies are wet, but their general charHcter is
dry, breezy, and healthy, the waters running in deep close ruts, or
105
^
I
/
AMERICA.
pasBing underground, so that the whole i; naturaUv and effectively
K'«o«'''A''r''*^ ^'*'^ ""^^«' however/there is anS
W« L ? ' Tk '?' ^^r^' ^^*'«™* "^^°«««' *«"^Pt« the settler to
^are Its in«dub„ty. It is of the character of alluvial deposit on
S^r^^h«?*-^ ''^"''''?"^ ^^^^*« ^ large tracts at the lower
S^lJS .^oTT^P^' ^f. ^ ^'" ^"'^^ '^ ^ considerable extent
Z Sif I. '>^.f ' ^^ 'u S'r*^ "^^'^^ «*l"briou8 tracts. In
S^^^ Merchants' M^azine,' quoted by Mr Mac-
'These "bottoms" constitute the richest lands in the west Th«
«oil ,s often twenty-five feet deep, and when thrown up frimtJe
digging of wells, produces luxuriantly the first yS^. The m^ tx
tensive and fertile tract of this description of soTL what TcJei
£Xn»^ ^:^t^^LS£:-i?SH
the m^S nf fh '"^ ^^'^'^t'y °^ ^^^ U^*«*i States, is cove?edTn
S!!^?* 1. 1 / ^ however, inexhaustibly productive. Seventy
five busheb of com to the acre is an ordinarj crop, and about t£
old French towns it has been cultivated, and produced successivfi
crops of com annuaUy for more than one hundJeneara SI!
the American Bottom, there are others that resemble ft Tn" te fenlrS
ch^^cter. On the banks of the Mississippi there are m^/Z^
where similar lands make their appearance, and also onTe oS
rivers of he st^te. The bottoms of the Kaska«kia ^e eeneiSlv
ZZ'L'''^ ^ • '""^ «'°^'^ «^ '^^''> -"d are fre^enffy 1^^
dated when the nver is at its highest flood. Those of th^ Wn?!^
are of various qudities,being lessWntlysubXl b^^^^^^
of the nver aa you ascend from its mou;i When not inundated
they are equal m fer^Uity to the far-famed American BottoTand kj
TthS wf ^'' P'-^fer^We, as they possess a soil less adh'cslve
^n^ The rJ^tA / '""'''"^ f °.'^' particularly horses, cattle, anS
frT™ ;i, J* ^oots^and worms of the soil, the acorns and other fruite
S"s of tr?n LT^ * • ' ^''''! "^^ ^^"^« fi"d iuexhaustre s7^
pnes ot grass m the praines and Dca-viues. hnffni^ •■ - ^
ma * '"•• •'
i06
THE UNITED STATES.
n
and other herbage, in the timber in the summer, and rushes in the
winter. The soil is not so well adapted to the production of wheat
and other small grain as of Indian com. They grow too rank, and
fall down before the grain is sufficiently ripened to harvest. They
are also all, or nearly all, subject to the very serious objection of
being unhealthy.'
Though the prairie land is of a very imiform character, yet theb,
states in which it is chiefly found require separate notice, jm^
account of their other peculiarities. ^^
Ohio is a rich enterprising state, with manufactures and public
works. Its chief city, Cincinnati, which in 1810 had not 3000
inhabitants, has now upwards of 60,000. In this province it is
stated in an American authority, that
* There is no elevation which deserves the name of a mountain in
the whole state. The intervale lands on the Ohio, and several of its
tributaries, have great fertility. On both sides of the Scioto, and of
the Great and Little Miami, are the most extensive bodies of rich
and level land in the state. On the head-waters of the Muskingum
and Scioto, and between the Scioto and the two Miami rivers, are
extensive prairies, some of them low and marshy, producing a great
quantity of coarse grass, from two to five feet high; other parts of
the prairies are elevated and dry, with a very fertile soil, though they
are sometimes called barrens. The height of land which divides
the waters which fall into the Ohio from those which faU into Lake
Erie, is the most marshy of any in the state; while the land on the
margins of the rivers is generally dry. Among the forest trees are
black walnut, oak of various species, hickory, maple of several kinds,
beech, birch, poplar, sycamore, ash of several kinds, pawpaw, buck-
eye, cherry, and whitewood, which is extensively used as a substitute
for pine. Wheat may be regarded as the staple production of the
state, but Indian com and other grains are produced in great
abundance. Although Ohio has already become so populous, it is
surprising to the traveller to observe what an amount of forest is yet
unsubdued. ...
* The summers are warm and pretty regular, but subject at times
to severe drought. The winters are generally mild, but much less
80 in the northern than in the southern part of the state. Near Lake
Erie the winters are probably as severe as in the same latitude, on
the Atlantic. In the country for fifty miles south of Lake Erie
there are generally a number of weeks of good sleighing in the
winter; but in the southern part of the state, the snow is too small
in quantity, or of too short continuance, to produce good sleighing
for any considerable time. In the neighbourhood of Cincinnati,
green peas are produced in plenty by the 20th of May. In parts of
the state near marthes and stagnant waters, fevers, and agues, and
bilious and other fevers, are prevalent. With this exception, th©
climate of Ohio may be regarded as healthful.* — U. S. Gazetteer.
107
I
i
11
t
\
AXfERICA.
^/tnoM has some slightly hilij territory, nnd is partly corercd
with timber; but the prairie land greatly predommates. There
thir™^ 'i? ^^ ^?1"'*' ^''^' *« ^" ^*^'^'* P«^^"e countries,
which are honoured by old practice with the name of 'barrens '
This arose from an opinion, founded on the scrubby copsewood
covermg the soil, which has not been justified, since these tracts
fn^ir??^. i%'"'''* ^'"S*' ^"^ ^^ *^^ ^^^'^ *™e most salubrious
i||^e United States. There predommates at the same time in
tm state a species of land which the extreme richness of the soil
wJl *?i,*^T* •^^ f "^'.' *'' '^*^^**^ *° 'he detriment of his
p!tV u ^ i""""* '^'P^"*' "^^""^ "^^t'^^^^' already mentioned.
>r P^^^' »°d Poyltfy «^e '•a^^ed in abundance in this st«te. The
author of the article in Hunt's Magazine, cited above, says
•The cultivated vegetable productions or the field aro' Indian com
wheat, oats, barley, buckwheaUrish potatoes,sweet pota^MuS
rye, tobacco cotton, hemp, flax, the castor bean, &c. MaS? or
Indian com ,s the staple. No farmer can live wi hout it. and may
raise httle else. It is cultivated with great ease; produces oXS
fifty bushels to the acre; often seventy-five ; aid not unfreque^ v
fnThr -ir ^''?^?^l ^^^^* '' ^ S««^ ^"d sure crop, 6^3
mthe middle part of the state, and in a few years lUinSs wW pro^
ba^ly send immense quantities to market. Hemp grows snoStl
neously.but is not extensively cultivated. Cotton^is^rZd fn tt
southern part of the state, and in 1840.200,000 L mir^ere nr^
Wisconsin and Iowa stretch far northwards^ and join the British
western temtories, the former touchmg the ^eat chain of kkes
A large portion of these tracts is unsurveyed and Zost unex:
plored, but enterprise is rapidly advancing^n them, and the new
governmental territory of Utah was lately severed from the W
vaguely divided bet^teen them. There are prairie lanl in wS^
consul ; but a great part of the country reLbles the M^^^^^
extends over a considerable part of thr^ritoTv divHil^^h ' ^''^
stri ^ '^LTanV': ""'t^^ ^-- tht^^iUch^^^^^^^^^^
TJL : ", ^ "®^'" *h^ "'"'^^^ ^"<^ c'-eeks, extendinff back from
one to ten mdes, are generally covered with timber; LTfarS
back the country is an open prairie, without trees. By the frem ent
IS greatly diversified The prairies occupy nearly three-fourths of
the territory, and although they are destitote of tree^ pre^nt f
creat vanetv in nthpr roBT^oofo o ._ , . .'^ present a
THE UNlf ED STATES.
undulated ; some are covered with a luxuriant grass, well suited
for grazing ; others are interspersed with hazel thickets and sassa-
fras shrubs, and, in tlie proper season, decorated with beautiful
nowers. The soil, both on the bottom and prairie land, is generally
good, consisting of a deep black mould, intermixed in the prairies
with sandy loam, and sometimes with a red clay and gravel. The
Ottltivated productions are Indian com, wheat, rye, oats, buckwheat,
potatoes, pumpkins, melons, and all kinds of garden vegetables.
Tlie soil and climate are favourable to the cultivation of fruit*
Wild crab-apples, plums, strawberries, and grapes^ are abundant.*
Missouri, reaching no farther north than 40" 36', and stretching
southwards below the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi nearly
• to the 36th parallel, is more tropical in its character than Wis-
consin, Iowa, and Michigan. It contains a considerable portion
of the species of land which is the most productive, but at the
same time the most unhealthy. ■
* This state presents a great variety of surface and of soil. Allu-
vial or bottom soil extends along the margin of the rivers ; recedino*
from which the land rises in some parts imperceptibly, in others
very abruptly, into elevated barrens, or rocky ridges. In the inte-
rior, bottoms and barrens, naked hills and prairies, heavy forests
and streams of water, may often be seen at one view, presenting
a divoi-sified and beautiful landscape. The south-east part of the
state has a very extensive tract of low, marshy country, abounding
in lakes, and liable to inundation. Back of this a hilly country
extends as far as the Osage River. This portion of the state, though
not generally distinguished for the fertility of its soil, though it is
interspersed with fertile portions, is particularly celebrated for its
mineral treasures.'— (t^/iiYsrf States Oazeiteer.—Macgregcd'^s Sta-
tistics.)
Indiana has Michigan Lake and state on the north, Ohio on
the east, Illinois on the west, and Kentucky on the south. It is
in the centre of the prairie district, salubrious, and furnished with
great facilities for the exportation of its produce by the Ohio,
which washes the southern border, and the Wabash, which runs
for 120 miles along its western.
* There are no mountains in Indiana. The coimtry bordering on
the Ohio is hilly and undulated. A range of hills runs parallel with
the Ohio from the mouth of the Great Miami to Blue River, alter-
nately approaching to within a few rods, and receding to the distance
of two miles. Immediately below Blue River the hills disappear,
and then a large tract of level land succeeds, covered with a heavy
growth of timber. Bordering on all the principal streams except
the Ohio, there are strips of bottom and prairie land frnni three to
six miles in width. Remote from the rivers the country is broken,
and the soil light. Between the Wabash and Lake Michigan tbo
I
,1
ry iS gCiiui'uiiy
levci.
mterspersea with woodlands, pmuiijiii^
109
AUEBICA.
lakes, and Bwamps. The shore of this state, which extends alon^
200 feet high; behind which there are sandy hiUocks. on Md
between which grow some pine and a few other trees.- The prairies
bordering on the Wabaah are rich, having ordinarily an exSS
vegetable soil from two to five feet deep.** The natural growth of
^Z r^*" °^ '"^"'^ ^^^ °^ °^ «^' l>««^h, buckey? walnut
cherry, maple, ehn, sassafras, linden, honeylocust, cottonwood
r^rinTikn"^^ "^"''r^V ?^*»tP""-Pal productions are wh^at
rye Indmn corn oats, buckwheat, barley, potatoes, beef, pork
So ' &c.-(£^m^ed States OazetteS-.-MacgregJ^J^t^
Mandan is the naihe of the district on the upper waters of the
Missoun a^s they turn westward, lying to the west of the states
lUinois and Wisconsm, bordered on the north by the nominal
boundary oi the British North American territories, and strS
ing westward to the Rocky Mountains. It is understood to
comprise an area of 600,000 square miles. Erelong the tide
ofmimigjation wiU doubtless ^our into this district, and it will
be provided with a temporary government p-evious to its becom-
ing a representative state. It will be in one of the great highways
v> America, as it opens on the only pass through the Rocky
Mountams which is beHeved to be sufficiently g^dual for the
bed of a road. ' The surface is chiefly an elevated plain or table-
land, consistmg of vast prairies, on which large herds of the bison
elk, a^d deer range ; and though the soil is generally light and
thm. It affords abundant grass and herbage for their support, and
il'I? ? rM^J'T^^'jf '"PP^'^^^S ^° ^*1"^ «^l>er of domestic
cattle. — United States Gazetteer. UntU within the past few years
this territory was inhabited by a powerful tribe of Indians) but
they were ahnost entirely exterminated by the smallpox, and
their scattered remnant are resorting to the neighbouring terr^
tory set apart for the Indian tribes. a "
Oregmand Utah Territories. -These comprise the district on
the west of the Rocky Mountains slbping towards the Pacific, and
comprehended between the 49th parallel-which has been declared
to be the boundary of the British possessions-and New Mexico
andCahfoniia on the south. Oregon is the northern division-
and though not yet a state in the Union, it has a delegate to
Congress. Utah, separated from it at the 42d paraUel, was only
mcorporated mto a state with a government in 1850 (see p. 87 )
We are here m a land a. new to the civilised worid as New
Zealand. From time to time the pnolic have been interested in
«.L^T r' of darmg adventurer >--generaUy hunters, who,
nn ' "*" — ~~ "'^'"' """-i *iavc icij, wyxima inem me
THE UNITED STATES. '
•outhern prairies and the 'meat,' as they c&U the buflEaloes and
other animals hunted and trapped by them-^d have undergone
the horrors of a journey over the Rocky Mountains in search of
new regions, or perhaps to open the way for half-maraudme
expeditions against the Spaniards of the south. For a charac-
teristic account of such expeditions, a reference may be made
to the animated Uttle work of Mr Ruxton. Space cannot be
afforded on the present occasion for any account of the more
important experiment of Mr Astor, or the expeditions from time to
tune made by the western coast, as weU as the Rocky Mountains,
to this distnct. The progress of the American people westward
and southward has suddenly changed its position, and made it a
place of considerable importance among the districts likely to be
occupied by emigrants. For sometime it will probably be ahnost
exclusively sought by the adventurous citizens of the states- but
when our own emigrants are called on to look to Vancouver
Island as an eligible place of settlement, it is not extravagant to
suppose that this great tract of varied capabilities wiU compete
with It. Many of the disappointed British adventurers in CaU-
fomia— perhaps some of those few who have succeeded in carrying
away a smaU capital-may find that Oregon lies conveniently to
them as a place of settlement. The communication to be soon
opened across the Isthmus of Darien wiU bring it wkhin the
^t of places easily approached both from the United States and
Britam. There are supposed to be from 40,000 to 60,000 Indians
an the territory, who were lately powerful and independent : but
though not, properly speaking, subdued, they are scarcely nume-
rous enough to render the place dangerous to the white settler.
The country is divided into three valleys or regions by two ranges
of hiUs, between the Rocky Mountains and the coast.
* The distance from the coast to the nearest chain is, in some
places 100 mUes ; m others much less. The intervening country is
crossed in Various directions by low ridges connected with the prin-
cipal Cham, some of them parallpl to it, and others stretching toward
the ocean. From this region the Wallamette River comes more than
200 miles, in a direction nearly due north, and enters the Columbia
on ite south side. The valley through which it passes is said to
be the most delightful and fertile in north-western America. The
climate of the region between the ocean and the first range, thouffh
not unhealthy, la not very favourable to agriculture. The summer is
warm and dry From April to October, whUe the westerly winds
prevail, ram seldom falls in any part of Oregon; during the other
months, when the south wind blows constaaitly, the rains are almost
incessant m the lower region, though sometimes the dry season con-
tinues there longer. Further from the Pacific, the i4ins are less
iruquem; ana aouudaufc; and near the Rocky Mountains they axe
lU
AMERICA.
fF
I*
reduced to a few showers in the spring. In the valleys of the low
country anor- » rarely seen, and the ground is so little fioaen that
ploughing may generally be done during the whole winter. Most of
the productions of the northern states, excepting Indian com, sue-
ceed tolerably well. Horses and neat cattle will subsist without
lodder through tlie winter. The second bottoms ci the rivers, heintr
above mundation, arc extremely fertile,and prairies are considerably
numerous and extensive. The forests on the uplands, although the
soil is tolerably good, abound with such enormous trees as almost to
defy cultivation. A fir-tree growing near Astoria, on the Columbia.
eight miles from the sea, was 46 feet in circumference, ten feet from
the ground, and 153 feet in length before giving off a single branch.
and not less than 300 feet in its whole height. Another tree of the
same species, on the bonks of the Umqua, was 67 feet in circom-
ference, and 216 feet in length below its branches: and sound nines
from 200 to 280 feet in height, and from 20 to 40 feet ?u drJum"
lerence, are not uncommon.
• The middle region of Oregon, between the mountains nearest
the coast and the Blue Mountains on the east, is more elevated and
dry, and less fertile than the low country. It consists chiefly of
plains, between ridges of mountains, the soil of which is generally a
yellow sandy clay, covered with grass, small shrubs, and prickly
peare. Timber is very scarce; the trees are of soft and useless
^oods, such as cotton-wood, sumach, and willow, which are found
only m tlie neighbourhood of streams.
•The climate is salubrious, the air is dry in summer, the days
warm, aiid the nights cool. The rain begins later and ends sooner
tliMi m the lower country. This country is poorly adapted to culti-
vation, but IS weU suited to grazing, the grass being abundant in a
green or dry state through the year. Horses are here reared in
abundance by the Indians, some of whom own hundreds of them.
The Blue Mountains on the east of this region extend through tho^
whole temtory of the Columbia, though frequently brokeS into
several ridps. These mountains are steep, with a volcanic appear-
ance, and their highest peaks are covered v,Jh perpetual snow
'The third and last division of Oregon lies between the Blue
Wo^tams on the west and the Rocky Mountains on the oast The
southern part of this region is a desert of steep rocky mountains
deep narrow valleys, and wide plains, covered with sand and gravel*
Ihere is little snow in the valleys in the winter, but mucli on the
mountains. It rarel^v ains, and no dew falls. The difference between
the temperature at sunrise and at noon in summer is often fortv
degrees.'— (£7. S. Gaz) ^
SOUTHERN STATES.
The reasons have been already given for not considering these
states— rich, fertile, and imnortant fhnno-h tiipv Ko— «« « »..:4.„ui-
TIIK UNITED STATES.
/ I
think fit to investrthe c rrod Ll / *? c^P^taliatB should
mists, that the stain of slavery cannot be permaneirtlv attached tn
. th: ttfoXitreii^r^rut'oS'^^ruL^^^
«. a country for settlement be b^Z^cleaS no OhiT '
ri^tntirint-^'^Tv-'n^"'^"^^^^^^^^
success consist in being first in the field. The adantabilifv Z
X o"'t oTt'Ll" """f""','"",' '"e Emigration CoX«t7e«
SZ\arlV •"'""' P""'' "'""S'" " necessary, in their c"
Earned tha^'h^rr ""! '"'""""^ caution :-' Ligra^to are
greatly exaggerated, and that the commission^ havf Lied
information that some British subjects, who were recentlvkd^^M
Th^pc^,Tw'i:^!=:strtr^^^^^^^^
new home, where health, freedom, and l4al protSn Te^to
rsrfiav ^sr .»' ."v*"f « « c^foLbiesXitj^n
£rer:t:KttttSrbV„rrs"ri^t™^^
!?r.,5J'T■??^Sambli„g chances^ Some fortC-n^^n^
.-.. a„ „„„„, „cen maue m the scramble, whUe multitudes
" ua
AMERICA.
have fled from the scene disappointed and ruined men. But i»
time, even the rapid gains of the lucky few will cease, and the
gold-mining will be, as it is elsewhere, a hard business, requiring
much capital, and making a steady but poor return. If gold
were long found in lumps, it would soon cease to be the nniveraal
representative of value. It has acquired that position just be-
cause, more than any other commodity, it is the representative
of value sivsa by labour in its production. There are great fluo-
/
t
. ma i.
ilier conunodities, but the supply of gold la alwaysj
v,lih only minute occasional 08ciU>-4on8, steady, and incapable of
increase, without the continued ap^/ilcation of capital and labour
to its extraction. In a place like California, where its existence
has been newly discovered by an active, impatient, energetic
people, all the sur^'-n-^ '... -"^-bilities are immediately attacked.
Nature has been inining away for some ^ime, disintegrating the
metal from the rock, and scattering it about ; and all this produce
is pounced upon ; and it is supposed that gold will be as easily
obtained in the district for ever. The peculiarity of this metal,
Lowever, is — that it runs in thin tortuous veins through hard
quartz rocks; and when the superficial scatterings have been
removed, and the metal is got by minmg, it will, to all appear-
ance, be as little profitable a pursuit in California as in the old
mines.
PURCHASE AND EMPLOYMENT OF LAND.
The emigrant to any of the British possessions is greatly per-
plexed by the complex systems for the disposal of land. There
are scarcely two colonies where it is alike. It is in almost all
of them full of minute rules and restrictions, and these are fre-
quently altered and readjusted. In some of t^em, the high uniibrm-
price system has been adopted ; and then, no this proved vurtually
inop|rative, from people squatting in the out-districts instead of
buyt% land, it became necessary to form a distinct system of
tenures to apply to them. In some colonies, the arrangements
are fixed by the home government ; in others, they are vaiiable,
according to the views of the colonial authorities. The advan-
tages of a uniform and simple system have been well illustrated
in the United States.
The system for the survey and sale of the public lands was
adopted by act of Congress in 1785, and has virtually remained
unaltered in its general features. Before being ofiered for sale,
all unoccupied lands are surveyed in ranges of townships, each
six miles square. The township is subdivided into thirty-six
"— — - — "--irmriij
I
THE UNITED STATES.
Thtrbdlv^ln"' "^"Vrr' ^'"^ ''""'^^^^ ^^'^^^ 640 acre.,
f n L.r J u "^^^ ^y ^""^^ ^'^'^^^"'g each other from east
west, and north to aouth. The sections are numberedfrom 1
to db. The enumeration commences at the north-east rnrm,,.
and runs west; the next row being counted Cm Vest toTa^t'
TutteVoftr*'^^* .^r^''*^^"^*- farthorTubTvdedrto
quarters of 160 acres, eighths of eighty, and sixteenths of forty
Iho surveyors put up distinct marks in tl^e field for indicating
4he ^corners of the townslUps, the sections, a.l Th^'quS
When lands have been surveyed, they are proclaimed bv th«
president as for sale by public auction. The upse^t Sfper a^^e i^
's n^otdd rtt" '?-''^' ^^"?^ *^ ^^^'^^ '' 3d. WheHhe Tnd
IS not sold at the auction sale, it is * subject to private entry 'as it
IS termed, and may be claimed by any o'ne paying the upseTprice
It would appear that not much of the land Llls for more than thi
auce ot the lahd-sales seldom greatly exceeds an average of a dollar
Sll TT ^'' ^''' '^"""S '^'' y'^'- Thus in 1848 the S
disposed of aniounted in acres to 1,887,553. At the upse? prfce
the whole would have brought 2,359,441 dollars. The actual nro
duce.„,o«ey was 2,621,615 dollars. The annual qZtfty of land
tTon '^JtS^' t' ? '""'^?. progressively iL the immig^
tiaciinJ a75S ^^^T *• P'^""*'^ -^^^^^^oes, occasionaUy c^
r.erW h. « '^l '"^^'^'"^ ^*- ^^' '"^^ «" California might
exS d 2 500"(S?^^^ '" ''■' ^^' ''''' '' ^'^^ ««ld i" ^^^^
exceeded ^500,000. The previous year shews a smaller amount-
do^" ole'l^^el ?rA''''T'- ^^ '''' *^« atircome^i
unZ t T • u^ ,de««ended to in 1848, and is even slightly
under it In gomg backwards there are four years in which k
2 250 0^^r;r '''r\T "^^ ''^^'^^^- '- 184Vtie lev 1 o
2 250,000 had been slightly exceeded. But this was in the course
SoSo but fn 1^4^^^^^^^ The previous year it ha^ beeiSder
£1469 9Sb sLTni ?^ "'T f'r ^'^^^^^' and realised
xi,4oy,yuu sterlmg. In the wonderful year 1836 however thn
quantity of land sold was 20,074,870 acres, realilS3 29?
ttanT2 500 000 ^TlZ T ri^'^^^^ ^^ ' '"^^^^^
Si, :>. I . ^?^^ *^'^y ^^^ ^^«" nearer the point to
^0(^W '""'" "^'^' '"^ ^''' considerably under
In the North American Almanac for 1850 there is a document
instructive as to the proportional rate at which the Ms^er
they are surveyed find purchasers. It ann««r« in ^. LT: „r:!5
116
AMRIitCA.
W'
of thirty years, and ftpplica to each individual state. Tlie result
•of the whole is thin : at the coininenccnmnt of the period, the lands
offered for sale in the manner mentioned above amounted in acres
to 154,680,234. Of these it appears that there wore sold within
ten years 44,133,590. After the expiry of the ten, but before that
of a farther live years, there were sold in addition 17,700,023
acres. In the next period the sales were 8,730,823. In the next
quinquennial period — between twenty and twenty-five years — the
Bales were 3,691,067. In the concluding quinquennial period of
the thirty years the sales were 2,371,757. There renmuied at the
end of the thirty years of the lands surveyed at the commence-
inent — Avithout reference of course to the sale of lands surveyed
before or after— 78,040,074 acres.
In the papers presented to the British parliament for 1849, on
the revenue and statistics of the various countries of the world,
there is a statement of the public lands remaining unsold in the
several states on 30th June 1845. It may bo remarked, that
though the statement be upwards of five years old the sales that
have since taken place would not very materially reduce the total
amount ; and there is no doubt that the great accessions of terri-
tory have caused a vast extent of new surveys. The acres in the
nlarket, and unsold, were then 133,307,457— equal to about four
times the area of England, not counting Wales. Of this territory
there had stood over for more than thirty years 2,025,732 acres —
nearly half of them in the Mississippi. For between twenty-live
and thirty years there had stood over 15,178,825 acres, and for
more than twenty, and not more than twenty-five years, there had
stood over 21,185,596. These results are not to be confounded
with those of the previous calculations from the tables in the Ame-
rican Almanac, since these refer to all existing surveys at the
time — the others gave the history of the progress of purchase on
the survey presented for sale in one particular year.
A conception may be formed, from these numbers, how vastly
and infinitely available are the fresh lands of this great empire.
Theri-stands at one time surveyed, and ready for sale, as much
land as, were it peopled as thickly as England, would contain a
population equal to double that of the United Kingdom ; and these
lands are independent of the unoccupied tracts in the hands of
individuals. Yet surveying is a costly operation, not to be need-
lessly undertaken ; and, as we shall presently see, only a small
proportion of the lands ultimately available are brought within it.
It may be interesting to observe the proportions in which the un-
sold area is dispersed over the several states. The enumeration
does not include the new territories, nor the following old territo-
ries—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode
116
THE UNITED STATICS.
Wand Connecticuf, New York, New Jersey, Penn-vlvania DaU
ware, Marv up«' Vir-inSa th^ r^^v // * .^"""yvania, lieia-
KUcky.' n-c„\:r.% tvttirio s";iS^^
Mote, where there were public la.ul. f„r ,li.i)o,.I L J,
were re.pcctively-Ohio, 885,707; Indiana StSmM ?lr "
15,K)0,;H8; Mb-ouri, 20,7!)»,089 ; Alabla' 1 (! 970 92^ • M • •'''
Bippi, 10,409,034; I^„i»i„„H,' Vim.mTukh^n^AuZT
of the organised states of the U.non, we co.ne.to still broader and
mo e coinprehensive masses of figures. It may here be remarked^
hat m their statistics the Americans carefully separate tTod^«
tncts naturally to be counted among the nor i ern Ee« 1a ^Z
jnore fit places for the British emi|rnnt, from le a"' ^^^^^
III" T^'-J^'' ^ "' ^^'"S ^* ^^° 3^' "°^-^'^ latitude. Tttefim
• place, then, there is the north-west territory bounded on fhl
north by thellritish-American dominions, oi by t^e 49th parallel
It contams 402,878,720 acres, equal to 723,248 square milfla
neai;^ SIX times the area of the United Kingdom.^ The ™ext U
the Wisconsin territory-not that of the old state, but he newly
acquired territory lying between it and the Mississ pp^^ and on the
east of that river. This 'balance of the old north^westernTelrr
tory,' as the Americans call it contain, 99 qqfi „ ., ^"
equal to 14,295,040 acres. T^:T^ in^ e'Ss^tV
tut^ng extensions of the old territory, and in the northern depart-
ment avadable for emigration. There is, besides, in theTx^ension
districts, a tract of nearly 200 square miles - parti vnh«
We now come to the newly -ceded or acquired districts The
area of Oregon is 341,403 square miles, or 2 8,536,320 acres-not
much less than three times the area of 'the Un ted Kirigdom Al •
this IS of course m the northern division. The nextTerrTt'orv is
Upper California and New Mexico, bounded on the nort> by ^he
42d parallel ; on the east by the Rio Grande, and by a merM an
^ddl of I'rrp' ''''/''' P^^^"-' ^- th« Bouth by the
middle of the Gila River, from the source to the mouth and
thence by a Ime to a point one marine league south from tho
117
i.
AMERICA.
southernmost point of the port of San Diego, and west by the
Pacific Ocean. This territory is divided between the north and
south department. In the former there are 321,695 square miles,
or 205,884,800 acres; in the latter, 204,383 square miles, or
130,805,120 acres. The state of Texas is generally considered in
three divisions. The first is Texas Proper, between the Sabine
and Nueces Rivers, and south of the Ensenada. This is entu-ely
in the southern department, covering 148,569 square miles. The
mean division is described as bounded < between the Nueces and
Eio Grande Rivers, up to a line drawn from a point a short dis-
tance north of the town of Paso, to the source of the Ensenada
River, and along the river to its mouth.' The whole of this also,
covering 52,018 square miles, is in the southern department. The
third division, or Santa F6 Country, is that situated north of Paso
and Ensenada River, and stretching to latitude 42° north. This is
partly in the northern and partly in the southern department. In
the former there are 43,537 square miles, or 27,863,680 acres ; in
the latter, 81,396 square miles. The great stretches of country
which we have now gone over are, it will be observed, those
available beyond the boundary of the regularly organised states
-rthe quantity of land surveyed and available in which was
previously noticed.
The uniform price of the dollar and quarter applies of course to
the territories actually admitted within the Union, or provided by
act of Congress with a temporary government. But if the adven-
turous settler, proposing to take up his position in a new district
which is not, though it is likely to be marked out as a state, it is
important to him to know what position he acquires, and what
land-title he holds. It is clear that, on the one hand, it would be
incompatible that these squatters should be entitled to hold in
property all the land they may claim as theirs before the estab-
lishment of a regular government ; and, on the other hand, that it
would be unjust to deprive them of all title unless they paid the
States price of a dollar and quarter per acre. Hence on the incor-
poration of any state with the Union, careful provision is made for
an equitable settlement of the land-claims of the squatters, which
are adjusted by an important officer called the Surveyor-general of
Public Lands. Such a measure was passed by Congress in 1850
called, * An Act to create the Ofiice of Surveyor-general of the
Public Lands in Oregon, and to provide for the Survey, and to
make donations to the Settlers of the said Public Lands.' It does
not require actual citizenship of the States, but extends to aU who
will make a declaration, before 1st December 1851, of an intention
to become citizens. It includes tliose residing in the territory at
the passing of the act, or who have gone to it before 1st December
llo
'
THE UNITED STATES.
!\
1850. The title to fixity of tenure is fjur yem' settlement and
cultivation To each person having such an equitable claim,
upwards of eighteen years of age there is awarded one -half
section of 320 acres, if he be a single man; and if he be married,
a section of 640 acres-one-half becoming the absolute property
ot his wife. If an ahen make the declaration of intention to
.^ecome a citizen, but die before he is actually naturalised his
representatives succeed to his allotment. Persons settling between
-1st December 1850 and 1st December 1863, acquire rights to
Halt as much as those who have settled earlier, under the like
condition?. To prevent land-jobbing, an oath is taken by the
settler that the land claimed by him is for his own use and cul-
tivation— that he is not acting as agent for another in making
the claim— and that he has made no bargain for disposing of
the land to a purchaser. Taking this oath falsely is a punishable
ottence • but how far the law would be enforced must depend on
circumstances. The claims of representatives, whether by law or
settlement, are admitted from the beginning; but no sale is held
valid anterior to the issuing of the patent.
The waste lands held in property by thb United States by no
means comprise the whole of the uncleared or waste lands within
the States. In those states where there are no public lands at aU
there are abundant tracts of waste land in the possession of indi-
viduals or companies; but a question of great importance to the
agricultural emigrant must necessarily be, whether he will reclaim
waste land, or invest in land already cleared and cultivated?
Ihe British emigrant, if he resolve to turn himself to waste land
should choose the dry rolling prairie.
The life of the backwoodsman is me of peculiar danger and
hardship. It is not necessarily unhealthy; but the causes of
disease are so peculiar and subtle, that the stranger will rot
readily understand or discover them ; while the American is to a
certain extent acclimated to their influence, and can bear them
better. The first steps ^ owards clearing the forest may be consi-
dered as already described in the account of British America (see
p. 31.) Of the farther steps after the felling and burning, Mr
Macgregor, with peculiar reference to the United States, gives, in
his ' Progress of America,' the following account :—
* The surface of the ground and the remaining wood is all black
and charred; and working on it, and preparing the soil for seed, is
as disagreeable at first as any labour in which a man can be engaged
Men, women, and children, must however employ themselves in
gathering and burning the rubbish, and in such parts of labour as
their respective strengths adapt them for. If the ground be intended
for gram, it is generally sown without tillage over the surface, and
the seed covered in with a hoe. By some a triangular harrow,
119
AMERICA.
u
1%^
m
which shortens labour, is used instead of the hoe, and drawn by
oxen. Others break up the earth with a one-handled plough — tho
old Dutch plough — which hun the share and coulter locked iuto each
otlier, drawn also by oxen, while a man attends with an axe to cut
the roots in its way. Little regard is paid in this case to mako
straight furrows, the object being no more than to break up the
ground. With such rude preparation, however, three successive
good crops are raised on fertile uplands withodt any manure ; inter-
vale lands, being fertilised by irrigation, never require any. Potatoes
are planted (in new lands) in round hollows, scooped with the hoe
four or five inches deep, and about forty in circumference, in which
three or five sets are planted and covered over with a hoe. Indian
com, pumpkins, cucumbers, peas and beans, are cultivated in new
lands, in the same manner as potatoes. Grain of all kinds, turnips,
hemp, flax, and grass-seeds, are sov;n over the surface, and covered
by means of a hoe, rake, or triangular harrow; wheat is usually
sown on the same ground the year after potatoes, without any tillage,
but merely covering the seed with a rake or harrow, and followed the
third year by oats. Some farmers-, and it is certainly a prudent plan,
sow timothy and clover seed tho second year along with the wheat,
and afterwards let the ground remain under grass until the stumps
of the trees can be easily got out, which usually requires three or
four years. With a little additional labour these obstructions to
ploughing might be removed the second year, and there appears
little difficulty in constructing a machine on the lever principle, that
would readily remove them at once. The roots of beech, birch, and
spruce, decay the soonest : those of pine and hemlock seem to require
an age. After the stumps are removed from the soil, and those
small natural hillocks, called " cradle hills," caused by the ground
swelling near the roots of trees in consequence of their growth, are
levelled, the plough may always be used, and the system of husbandry
followed that is most approved of in England or Scotland.'
The subsequent steps are of a more cheerful character —
'Wherever a settlement is formed amidst the woodlands, and
some progress is made in the clearing and cultivation of the soil,
it begins gradually to develop the usuj.1 features of an American
village. First, a saw-mill, a grist-mill, and a blacksmith's shop,
appear ; then a school-house and a place of worship ; and in a little
time the village doctor and pedlar with his wares introduce them-
selves.
♦A saw-mill of itself soon forms a settlement, for attached to it
must be a blacksmith's forge, dwellings for carpenters, millwrights,
and labourers, stables, and ox-houses. A shop and tavern are also
sure to spring up close to it; tailors and shoemakers are also
required.'
But notwithstanding the wonderful rapidity with which the
untrodden wilderness is converted into smiling fields, orchards,
villages, and even cities, the British emigrant, before he ioins iu
120 o , J
7r?»-
THE UNITED STATES.
the task, should consider whether he is well fitted for it To tho
American citizen, clearing the wilderness is tho occupation whch
nature seems to have assigned to him. Even if he rvrnot
actjially been trained to it, it is a lot which has become flmiliar
to him in his thoughts. The American farmer sells hTshSt
goes off into the forest, and says to his brawny son , ' Now S
clear away ' as coolly as the English shopkeeper' movrs' to a
be ter street and more roomy premises. An insatiable restless
ness pervades he class, and many of them feel an irres s ibL
propensity to dispose of their lands when they have c Jred ttm
and begm the work again. It is said to be rare to find an
American who will not part with his farm or estate if a sufficien"
consideration be put in his option. This restlessness afforrgood
STT:i^'\l^^^^^^^^ '""^'''"'^ - cleared fand
tlZu f 1 ^^ ^""^^ "' abundance to be obtained, of every
variety of class and extent. ' The partially cleared ground 'lavs
Mr Prentice in his Tour in the United Stetes, 'may' be had 7a
comparatively cheap rate. The current of popuSion flows
towards the prairie land of Indiana and Illinois j^^nun^ers of
mn there a>-e who will abandon their improvements if they ca„
^ es'ofT f ''".^ "' " y'''' "^^^^^ "^"1^ purchase four o? five
acres of the tempting prairies of the west. This affords an excel
country He can buy cleared land cheaper than he can clear it •
he can have a house and cattle-sheds ready for use • field ready
to yield him pr-duce; and he will escape the fe -er 7nd a^ue
which pertinaciously follow the breaker of fresh ground' (p | )
ItuaCL'J ^^T'-''^"' '^ ^"'"^^^^^ ^^"^*^' afcordinglo th
situation and productiveness of the soil. Some areas of clearer
land may be boiight out and out at £2 an acre; wlile hereTre
i:;V Itlll: •* '^ ^^^"f ^" lease for double that amou:^
• lu\. °"^^ '" general close to the cities, or in neculiarlv
stleted"\v? '''^ "^ """^'.^^"^ ''''' ^^**-- ^^'^ in s'uccesbn
IS clea ed. When a property is for sale, a large part of it i«
generally uncultivated. Very often the cleared lafd rexhausted
by osercroppmg and the want of artificial manu ing S
lostei theold It IS remarked that both his propensity and his
Stan ;: ti irf- ^"' ^/"^^"^ ^"' ^^^ ^^
±!.nglishman is for cultivating and enriching; and hence it is
« Jt!'® ?"*''^' ^*^''"''^ -'"^"^^'^ invariably censures the slovenliness
of the American, and holds up his scWy producrper acre as a
la«tmg reproach. But there are reasons fo' th. one^ushTng the
121
4
1
\
AMERICA.
resources of the land to the utmost which do not exist with the
other; and the agriculturist of Norfolk or the Lothians wiU need
to pau.e before he follow up his high-fHnni.g systenT b the
Atlantic states because he has found that it pays best at home
The controversy between the systems of farming has been con-
ducted with a kind of professional pedantry. On one side as if
agriculture were one of the fine arts, and its object werTto pr(^
duce clean fields and follow a learned rotation of croppbg K
wkh thf ^^T^'"'' 'l''' ""T*^^ ^'''''' quantity of produce
with the least expenditure of capital and labour, and it is quite
natural that the farmer in the old country shoud find t most
economical to manure, irrigate, or eat off with turnips while the
American finds it best to move on to fresh fields There are
other elements which make the agriculture of Britain in a great
that the a^icultural emigrant should abandon all prepossessions
and adapt himself to the different character of his maS In
a work of great authority on the spot, caUed 'American Hus
thTnk^^i.^^ A^^"" ^^7''' '^"^ ^^°^Se Tucker, NtrCk-who
think that American farmers are only too apt to follow the nrece-
den^ of established British cultm^-there are the followbg
cwT^"' "' '''' '^"^'"'"" peculiarities, particularly of
tn '^''P^^^^^^"? ^y justifying, or rather compelling English farmers
diffpZ/w'"' Tl'"^' "f ^^^"^'°fc'' "'^y be said to cr^eate a Sr
t^ZfZ^TZl!''' ^^"^"^^"^^ ^'*^° ^- --^"- *h- any
* But it is to climate that the principal points of difference in thn
agriculture of the two countries must be traced ; and tWsTs what
8hou d be kept most distinctly in view when comparison ' b twe'n
English agriculture and our own are instituted. England thoul '•-
the latitude and most of it north of Quebec, has a^ Sere Wo
fZr'^i^^^' '-^'r' ^"^ '^' f^^t should not be lost sl^^h^^^^^^^^^
adapting the apculture of that country to this. In the Un ted
States (we speak particularly now of the northern and middle states
a^ It IS these that are more influenced by English agrkuUure S
the soutn), the summers are much hotter afd the^w n ers mS
colder than m England : hence some plants that relire a Tell
degree of heat will succeed better here than there?w .Ue Sv
plants will bear the winters of England in the open airl^hat 3
when exposed without protection t^ the intense coM of our Ser
n t . ^"''^ """^^'" "^ thermometrical observaSns hew
that the average temperature of the three months of Jannarv FpiT
ruary, and March in England, is about 37^ 42^ and 47' and thft of
the three months of June, July, and Angu'st, about 63^ 66° and fi5>
Tho average difference betweei the higSt and the lodVtemnem'
ture per mouth will not exceed more tlan C or S^those LZand
*
THE TTNTTED STATES. i\ .
extreme changes to which our climate is subject being unknown there.
In the valley of the Genessee, near Lake Ontario, the average for tlio
three winter months gives about 24", 2S% and 36% and lor the threo
summer months, 11% 73% and 12" :. the mean average of several years
is 49% and the range of the thermometer about 100". In this country
we have changes of from 30° to 40" in twenty-four hours : there the
greatest rarely exceeds 6' or 8'. There, also, the thermometer
seldom descends but a few degrees below the freezing-point, while
hero it is below for weeks or months together. Indeed it is probable
that, in the colder parts of the United States, the thermometer falls
below zero as often as it does in England below 32'.
• This statement will show that there must be a material differftnce
between the agricultural operations proper to two countries so situa-
ted, as far as those operations can be affected by climate. To wive a
single instance : Indian corn, it is ascertained, cannot be grown in any
country where the thermometer, for more than one month, is not
above 70^ ; and that in a temperature of 75% or 80% it arrives at its
gre^-^st perfection. This is the reason why, notwithstanding all the
effoi M made to introduce [Indian] corn into Great Britain, it has
proved a complete failure. It is not killed with the frost there as
here ; but the degree of boat will not bring it to maturity during the
summer months. Mr Cobbett was confident he should succeed, and
did grow some tolerable crops of early Canadian; but, like some trees
which flourish and mature their seeds here, but will not ripen in Eno--
land, the corn would not in all cases mature so as to vegetate, and, m
spite of his boastings, he was compelled to abandon the culture. On
the contrary, wheat is a crop that requires a lower temperature than
maize, and is not adapted to a hot, dry climate. Great Britain is,
therefore, one of the best wheat countries on the globe, and perhaps
produces, in pioportion to the land in tillage, a greater amount than
any other. The low temperature and moist climate of England is
found to agree with this plant perfectly. Scotland is too cold ; but
no part of the island is too hot, as is the case with a considerable
portion of our southern states.
< To this difference of climate must be attributed the difficulty we
have found in the United States in growing hedges from such shrubs
or trees as are used in England for this purpose. From witnessing
their excellent effect and beautiful appearance there, it was perfectly
natural that we should adopt the same plants for the same object
here ; but after the repeated and persevering efforts of fifty years,
it may be questioned whether there are five miles of tolerable hedge,
from imported varieties of thorn or holly plants, in the United
States. The difference between the mo'^t, temperate, and equable
«..''* u. of England, and the hot, dx-y, variable climate of this country,
!.<jeivi , to have beeii o' .ilor-ked, when a recollection of this fact
vvo'i'u have convinced any ono acquainted with the physiology of
plants that our seaiion ! must be fatal to English hedges. W'^ther
there are any of our native plants that will supply this dcsidaratum
remains to be seen.* *
AMERICA.
wnl'/"^M Iw^^'^^'^y^" ^"' notices Of Mr Johnston's recent
work on North America, that along with other British agricultu-
^hVWn""r',*^T*'^"'""«« of the American system under
Which the land has been in many places ploughed fifty years
without any manure.' Still there is no answering the native
tarmer or the settler who, in exhausting one tract of land and then
passmg on to crop another either in his immediate vicinity or on
the other sula of the Rocky Mountains, finds that it is the most
remunerative system. Mr Johnston's remarks on the subject are,
however, of the highest importance, when we look from the imme-
diate prospects of the settler or agriculturist to the future pros-
pects of the gi-eat western empire, and their influence on this
country. He seems to think-and he is perhaps correct-that
the peculiar restlessness of the States' citizens, prompting them
ever to chnnge their place of residence, makes them sometimes
miscalculate their real interest, just as the English husbandman
does by obstinately sticking to one spot. He looks upon this
propensity r.s likely to interrupt the ultimate productive progrqss
of , the States deeming that their prospects for future productive-
ness would be better if the error were on the other side, and
people made sacrifices in improving their holdings instead of
sJu:t,"g to new ground. Observing that many old exporting dis-
ImphatLuy ''" ''^""'' '" ^™^'^'' ^^^'"'' ^'' '^^^ ^^^-^
•The same consummation is preparing for the more newly settled
parts unless a change of system take place. The new wheat-
cxporting-so called-granary districts and states will by and by
gradually lessen in number and extent, and probably lose altogether
the ability to export, unless when unusual harvests occur. And if
the population of North America continue to advance at its present
rapid rate-especially in the older states of the Union-if lar^e
raining and manufacturing populations spring up, the ability to
export wheat to Europe will lessen still more rapidly. This dimi-
nution may be delayed for a time by the rapid settling of new western
states, which, fromtheir virgin soils, will draw easy returns of grain •
h1 7f,^y ,^^«P^^j,«t^^-ard adds to the cost of transporting produce to'
the Atlantic border, while it brings it neafer to that far western
nmnS"^;^ w"r '"^iT^ ^"""^^"^ ""^^ ^" ^ f«^ y««rs afford an
ample market for all the corn and cattle which the western states
W . 1i "" ^**^'' ' '" '^'''' ^^^^"^'^ *° English markets, there!
foie, and the prospects and profits of the British farmer, my per-
urr// *''^^r^^ *'y >'«^^' ^^^ transatlantic cousins will become
less and less able-except in extraordinary seasons-to send lar-^o
frFS J^^T^ ^Z""" '''^""^ P*'"^'' ^"^ that, when the vir^n
freshness shall have been rubbed off their new lands, they will be
unixbm,^vUh their present knowledge and methods, to send wheat to
THE UNITED STATES. ^^
ttio British market so cheap as the more skilful farmers of Great
Britain and Ireland can do. If any one less familiar with practical
agriculture doubts that such must be the final effect of the oxhaustini;
system now followed on all the lands of North America, I need only
inform him that the celebrated Lothian farmers, in the immodiato
neighbourhood of Edinburgh, who carry all their crops off the land-
as the North American farmers now do- return, on an average, ten
tons of well-rotted manure every year to every acre, while tho
American farmer returns nothing. If the Edinburgh farmer finds
this quantity necessary to keep his land in condition, that of the
American farmer must go out of condition, and produce inferior crops
in a time which will bear a relation to the original richness of tho
soil, and to the weight of crop it has been in the habit of producing.
And when this exhaustion 1 xs come, a more costly system of gene-
rous husbandry must bo introduced, if the crops are to be kept up ;
and in this more generous system my belief is that tho British
faimers will have the victory.'
EMIGRANTS.
It will naturally be expected that the emigrant who throws
himself on a foreign state will be left more to his own resources,
and receive less protection and attention tlian the colonial settler,
•who merely passes from one department of the empire to another,
still remaining within the circuit of its laws. It was but lately|
however, that our colonial governments took any pains to smooth
the wanderer's path ; and the arrangements made for the recep-
tion of emigrants in New York, and other great reception-ports in
the United States, are not much inferior to those which our own
colonial government has made. Partly the stranger is aided by the
several societies for vhn protection of emigrants— generally consist-
ing of citizens who have been natives oi* the British Empire^ Tlie
governments of the States, however, have acted on the sound prin-
ciple, that they have a great interest in the matter. Able-bodied,
healthy immigrants are an infusion of new blood to them. Helpless
wrecks of humanity are a corresponding encumbrance, since no
civilised community can systematically permit human beings to
die on their streets.
At the entrance of the port of New York there is an immigrant
hospital Avith more than a thousand beds, airing-grounds exceed-
ing thirty acres, and a suitable medical staff. There the sick,
chiefly from ship-fev«p, are at once landed, without entering the
city. The excellence of the treatment is attested by the circum-
stance, that in 1847 the deaths among 6932 patients admittp.d
125
m
AMERICA.
amounted to 847, or 12J per cent.* The medical institutions for
the reception of immigrarca have been from time to time lately
enlarged. The system i' in some measure supported by the pay-
ment of the tax on passengers, to be immediately mentioned,
which gives them a title to admission. But this is insufficient to
meet all the expense of the system, part of which is borne by the
state. "'
Before the year 1847, the masters of vessels required to give
bond that their unmigrants should not become chargeable on the
charitable institutions of the counti.y for two years after their
arrival. This was found ineffective, however, as the parties
could not always be reached with responsibility, and in 1847
the plan of laying a tax on immigrants was adopted. This
was again altered by a law of the state in 1849, and an
alternative principle adopted. By this act, within twenty-four
hours after the landing, the master of the vessel must make a
report of his passengers, stating their age, occupation, and other
particdars. He is liable to severe penalties for any omission.
He is then subjected to the alternative of becoming bound with
sufficient securities to the amount of 300 dollars for each pas-
senger to relieve the charitable institutions of the co^ntry, durine
live years, from any burthen arising from the passengers. This
would be a very serious undertaking, if it were likely to be en-
torced; but it appears to be merely enacted as an alternative for a
real tax on immigrants; since the shipowners are relieved from
I iPY"?1* °^ "" ^^"""^ ^"^ * ^^^^ per head on their passengers
to the health commissioner. It is provided, however, that the
state is not, under this commutation, to be burthened with per-
manent imbecdes ; and there is a separate provision, that if any
lunatic, idiot, deaf, dumb, blind, or infii-m person, or any person
who had been taken away in a state of permanent disease, is found
in the vessel by the Commissioners of Emigration when making
their inspection, the shipowners must come under security to the
extent of 600 dollars to guarantee the state and all its institutions
irom liability for such passengers.
By a similar law of the state of Massachusetts, a tax of two
dollars per head is laid on all healthy immigrants ; and for each
imbecile, bond must be given to the extent of 1000 doUars
Free as are the institutions of our transatlantic brethren, they
appear to be strong eno^gh to protect the helpless emigrant from
.hose to whom he is natural prey. Mr Minturin, an emigration
commissioner of New York, astonished the Committee of the
House of Lords on Emigration by his accdlint of the extraordi-
v*>
THE UNITED STATES.
fr-
power granted from the necesskvTf th^ .„ extraordinary
and held their baggage till thev uaid thnm t^Ko «1- , ? '
simnlf'^nH"'''""" ''''"' ''°*'™' '■»"■"' "> 'kn operation of this
ernorce any law which a class of the citizens dislike Thp «f,t„
epshture grappled with the matter, however andti848^^d
stw^lrk" elh7l'°"°".°f ''""8«'"'» living in thfsSTof
ii,X„T, ~^""'''''*"'S"'"™te and strict regulations. Bv this act
effects from K ■ I"^"«"S«» ^ 'o be conveyed, with their
enects, Irom the emigrant vessels to these docks by iLhtennen wh^
S veLTf^e'trnd" '1 ''™"'^ *■" ''''" 8»od » clptl^:
to Ste Le ,l,r^?' T^"' " P"^'y °f "O' ''''s than 100 dolUrs,
™r„ Side t 'Sipr r^^i^cr^^^f-'-" -
itrr ':-'^°'f '" '•> - ^or %?ri:^^^^
mouses for emigrants require to take out a licence Davinrfnrl
ten doUars a year, and finding security for good In^^^^^^ Thl
of these esSbliihl^^^^^ r^^*'"!' ^* '' P^^^^^^« *^^* ^^^ keepers
ordSarv ^fX'«^"«"t«'. being thus deprived of a security which
oidinary innkeepers enjoy, will insist on prepayment or at all
toTi;'thr ^"^ ^^^ *'^ P^^^^"^ *^^y ^^* aSLlnd 'wiLI
J.:JZ iL^.^*^.^^f *^l«.li«it e^^igrants, whether for loddn..
__„_ „. ,.^.^,^...^^.g„^ ^^y^^^^. ^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^ which, he
127
.(i
\
r
N)!
B A. ME RICA.
pays twenty dollars a year, and gives security. Every licensed
person must wear a badge or plate, conspicuously displayed, with
the number of his licence, ard the words ' licensed emi'Tant
runner.' This is in conformity with a very useful American prac-
tice. It is enacted that ' every person who shall solicit alien emi-
grant passengers or others for the benefit of boarding-houPos,
passenger - offices, or forwarding - lines, upon any street, lane,
alley, or upon any dock, pier, cr public highway, or any other
place within the corporate bounds of any city in this state, or
upon any waters adjacent thereto, over which said cities may havo
jurisdiction, without such licence, shall be deemed guilty < '"a mis-
demeanour, and shall be puiiished by imprisonment.' 'i ,ore is
even an arrangement in the act for authorising a person appointed
by the Emigration Commission to go on board of the vessel, and
offer warnings and advice to tlie emigrants, before any other person
is permitted to have access to thorn.
No one is entitled to b )ok emigrant passengers, or take money
from them, who does not keep a public office, paying a licence-
duty of twenty-five dollars a year, and finding security. He must
have a bill of rates conspicuously posted in the English, Dutch,
French, German, and Welsh languages, and applicable as well to
persons as to luggage per hundredweight. The Commissioners of
Emigration are to see to tlie enforcement of the act ; and by a
regulation which is peculiarly American, each commissioner requires
to make affidavit annually that he has had no concern, as a private
speculation, with the boarding or conveying of any emigrants.
The manner in which emigrant families usually make their way
from the landing port to their final destination is by contracting
with a forwarder for the distance at least to which there are
means of public conveyance, llow far the above regulations have
been effective for the protection of the class it would be perhaps
difficult to discover ; but it is clear that they must, if they are *
cautious and forewarned, have the matter much in their own
power. They must forbear from dealing with persons who do not
appear ^with the outward badges of their functions and privileges.
The evils formerly complained of were, that the forwarder con-
tracted with his dupe to convey him to a certain destination, and
received the money, when he had no more right to get him admis-
sion to the public vehicles in the line than any otlier person. In
short, he took the money under the pretence of being the agent
or owner of the steamboat, railway, or whatever it might be, when
he had no concern with it; and ere the poor dupe discovered it, he
was at a distance, and friendless. Frequently contracts were
taken to convey people to destinations to which there was no
public conveyance at all ; and so the helpless wanderer was set
128
THE UNITED STATES. ' ^
^^W«''r/?' """^"V"*' '^ «iv"«ation, with hundreds of mile- of
belfeved that the whole increase of. LSf?' • "• •^^"^'=«'•!n8
though in late years th^lv. ^ . '" ^-nP"""" with Britain,
syjtelati^terfr^rGe'rlny" ' """"^"""^ •™»""' "^
doubtful '"'° P""'""™ annually; but their completeness is very
the" ytr e^^SZ^ZZ^^m "It """'™,"'^ "'"""
the foUowing-Maine 477I w' ' „ ^t? S™"'''^ "™'»» «■«
»ett», 29,780l Bh:risS!',fo7N^Trkl.3?,i *';'""'"i-
vania, 16,511 • Marvlpn^ «n7o \r- • • ' -^^3,736; Pennsyl-
1008 Gforgi;, 2ojf AlabaLa' TtT'^Io'?' «r\Caroliia,
25,209; Texas 439-lTotal 299 do K'' v' ^°'V''"°»'
that 179,263 were males an/l to Q?k i*'^" ™' '"'"™
fhe othe^ not beitg™ eSrdei ' t"'! , b7reen"h ? the' "-^ f '
Tumbe/ZtTe rLZr^T^'^ -^ '^ ^^^
at New Orla^s ZlC '1*8 Louisiana doubtless land
Mirsi.Iip^:'*"'' "" ""'P""" °f f'«»'''li»S h ^team up the
Jtj
and
I* I
HINTS TO EMIGRANTS TO NEW YORK.
*
It is dated 'Office of the r^ ?^ *"' ' P^M'^ed in that city.
State of New r% tJ%^^^- stfe-^i
i i2» '
0^ ..^V"
IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-S)
fe
^
Sf,
X
1.0
I.I
|S0 "1^=
1^ 1^
2.5
2.0
1.8
1.25 1.4. 1.6
^
— 6"
^
V]
<^
/2
^.
.""m
07-
.^
?1
hotographic
Sciences
Corporation
23 WEST MAIN STREET
WSBSTER.N.Y U580
(716) 872-4503
i/.s
a-
t.
* AMERICA.
August 1851,» and signed ' Gulian C. Verplanck, President of the
Lommissioners of Emigration, New York :'
• Passengers arriving at the port of New York with the intention
of proceeding to the interior should make their stay in the city as
short as possib e, in order to save money. It will generally not be
necessary for them to go to any hotel or inn, but the passage-tickets
to the mtenor can be bought immediately, and the baggie be at
once removed from the ship to the steamboat, towboa^r railway,
some one of which starts every day throughout the year. This course
saves not only much money for board, lodging, and carting, but also
prevents many occasions for fraud. If passengers go to in inn or
boarding-house, they should see at once whether a list of prices for
board and lodging is posted up for their inspection, bs is required by
kw. Never employ a cart that has no number painted on it, and be
careful to note down the number. Always make a bargain for the
price to be paid before engaging a cart to carry your baggage. The
pnce allowed by law for a cartload any distance not ovir half a
mile 18 33 cents, and for each additional half mile one-third more.
Among the impositions practised on emigrant- passengers none is
more common than an overcharge in the rates of passage to the
interior, against which there is no protection, except by a close
attention to the following remarks, and by insisting on a strict
adherence on the part of forwarders to the scale of prices
established by the mayor of the city of New York and the Com-
missioners of Emigration, which will be found below. There
are two principal routes to the interior from New York • one
w by way of Albany and Buffalo, or by the New York \and' Erie
Railway. The passage from New York to Albany costs from 25
to 60 cents (half a dollar.) From Albany there are two modes of
conveyance to Buffalo-one by canal, which takes from 7 to 10 days,
at 14 dollars ; the other by railway, going through in 36 hours, at 4
dollars; and no higher prices should be paid. The route to the
south and west is by way of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Tlie nas-
sage from New York to Philadelphia is 1 dollar 50 cents, and ffom
there to Pittsburgh, 3 dollars to 5 dollars— mrking from New York to
Pittsburgh from 4 dollars 50 cents to 6 dollars 60 cents. There is
also a route to Pittsburgh by way of Albany in the summer season,
which will cost 5 dollars 60 cents. On all these routes passengers
liavo to hnd their own provisions, and consequently the difference in
the cost between travelling by canal and railway is not as great as it
appears at hrst, as the passengers by canal have to pay for a week's
provisions more than those travelling by railway, besides losing
time and being longer exposed to fraud. Passenirers are advised in
no event to engage their passage to distant small places that do not
lie on the main route, but only to engage to the nearest main station,
and from there to make a new engagement to their final place of
destination. If not differently advised by the Emfgration Society,
and in all cases when passengers have not been able to consult these
1 t)U
Sent of the
e intention
the city as
ally not be
sage-tickets
gage be at
or railway,
This course
ig, but also
> an inn or
r prices for
equired by
I it, and be
ain for the
rage. The
ver half a
liird more,
rs none is
ige to the
)y a close
n a strict
of prices
the Com-
f. There
'ork : one
\and Erie
I from 25
modes of
o 10 days,
lOurs, at 4
ite to the
Tlie pas-
and from
V York to
There is
sr season,
assongers
erence in
reat qs it
a week's
BS locing
dvised in
it do not
n station,
place of
Society,
ult these
THE UNITED STATES.
* f
passage-tickets, though naid for ^7 *'°"*'^*'*'*' Otherwise their
Passengers arrcautiofed ?h^ btlTeTs v'eTofr^ ^ "*^**''°«-
owners should always keen L^SF^ .^ -^ °^^" *^^«"» and the
themselves to be enSed o? b^IlS T "'• "" !^'*«' '"^ "«' ^»°^
them to irresponsibiriopL or '^i*^ «'^T^ '^ *^^^^^
forwarding-offiLnotofSVnfiT^/".'^ boarding - ho.ses or
always decide, immedia^Iv nn^ 1- '®^«^.*'0"- Emigrants should
before they s Jthdrla " W ' ^'^'^' ^'*'^' *»»«^ ^''^ ^o
house, and they should L„^fi,v?^'"'"f "'^*"« '" *»»« boardingu
while they havVtrmealTs ^i^P"'"^^. V""^ °» their journey
give ear to any ^^rntations nnT T"^" **"'^ ^'^"^^ «^^^^^^ »o*
without obtaining fiwt th^ advt! a ^"'*' l""^ ^^^ engagements
sione™ of EmigS or thnri'Tr'°^"''^^' 'beCommis-
which they belonTrits ron!nf ^? • -^^^^^^ ""^ '^« "^*>o» *<>
, the German Societ; ; but nsteld o^l" '*'^"^f.' ^ *^« «^*^« o^
Plaoe where he is imos^si^to be LSed ' As ^^' ''? ^ *
Jf the emigrant is ureed to tak^ «o«, °®^^®"?®"- As a general rule,
he asks, he may Ze it for i^T:^^*'f *° P^^ *'«^ *»»« advice
where he wishi to be a„d^ he «1 '^fl 'f '' •"*'' ** *^« P^^'e
for the name of thrpe^^ns nr nffl T'^ -^^^^ ^" "''"** *<> ^^ok
of the house into w£ h" is" hlln lu LT"' °'"' ''? ^''^^
the emigrant societies, as well J f h!^ n • • ^""""^'S^ ^'^"^"^s and
have sig^ns over the doo^ Tf Ihl officl""TeTr ''r ^'r*^°"'
Society is No. 95 Greenwich Street -of /h^T^^''^^^^^^ ^^"^"^
at No. 29 Koade Street • I^d nfthl n ^ '"''' Emigrant Societj,
of affording to emii^n^^^^ a^afo f "^r/**" ^^^ "^P'««« P^'-pose
which they canXw ^ut at nl ^ '^^ f *^"P^''' ^^'^ '''^^ ™«"ey«,
after a cerfairTperiod wi^t at pleasure whenever they want it; ani
about your peC*^o;Tn%o?rTunt''' EvU J'^'"'' '^^^ "^^^
commit worse crimes nrJ^L m ,' . persons may rob or
Passengers whileTrrve C £ -Id ^f ' 'K"^ '^' ^^">"^' Bank,
silver change, as thev m„v ?.K u''^^' ^^ provided with small-
way. Nevfr'tTkebanStes i?r:^"'°'V^"^''''«^*«** °» 'he
to judge of their val" foTvo^.;'eCTs tZlLt""'" ^'^^ "'^•*'^^«
and broken bank-notes in-cTS^tioy Wh»! * T.T T"*^^«''
America is not more than sixpence '^^^^^^^ '' ^"^ " «^'"^« ^
131
W 'T '
\
•i'
AUERICA.
LABOUR.
I
■ 1
! i
In this country the trained artisan and the mere labourer who
exercises his unintelligent strength are known to be distinct
classes. It is popularly supposed that in the United States they
are all mixed up together in a general easy prosperity; but this
is a great mistake. The chief distinctions in the States are made
by men's capacities for working and producing — the able, indus-
trious, active, and ingenious man being well paid, while his inferior
is ill paid, and has narrower chances of success. This is a primary
principle which the members of the working-cxasses, when think-
ing of emigration, must not forget.
The prospects of the artisan or skilled worker will depend
much on the question whether he intends to follow his trade, or,
having realised a small sum by economy at home, crosses the
Atlantic to find a better investment for it. If he propose to folic.?
the tide of emigration westward, and observe the opportunities
that turn up, he may perhaps hit on some profitable occupation,
in connection with the villages increasing into towns, which
accompany the perpetual progress of new settlements. A man
who has a little money, and that free use of his hands which an
artisan must possess, may, in such a case, go on prospering until
he become an important authority in the new state. He may do
the same if he have funds enough, along with patience and capa-
city, to purchase and work an allotment near the centre of some
youthful state, just supplied with a temporary government, and
likely to be represented in Congress. Such and infinitely varied
are the opportunities of the artisan class when they go ^to the
States with a saved capital, however small. If they go without
it, unless they are able workmen, they must contemplate a descent
into the mere labom" class. There is generally sufiicient employ-
ment for all the members of this class in the States. None of
th^ starve, and their wages are high. But they are not among
the classes who go voluntarily abroad : they are helped over, and
trust to those who have helped them away to smooth their path
onwards. The times when there is an impulse to send them over
are those of commercial depression and want of employment, and
the suddenness of their transference finds the place they are sent
to so unprepared to receive them, that it might sometimes be a
question whether it would not be better to keep them at home,
waiting for better times, than to shovel them out upon the shores
of another country. In time, however, they become absorbed in
the population, and get work. The artisan would not generally
wish to be huddled into this class ; but if he go out with insufli-
132
THE UNITED STATES.
'4f
urer who
distinct
ites they
but this
are made
le, indus-
9 inferior
b primary
sn think-
l depend
trade, or,
>s8es the
to follo'.7
jrtunitiea
cupation,
IS, which
A man
(7hich an
ring untU
e may do
md capa-
I of some
lent, and
ily varied
;o^to the
I without
a descent
employ-
None of
)t among
over, and
leir path
hem over
aent, and
' are sent
mes be a
at home,
he shores
sorbed in
generally
h insuffi-
^ The position of the skilled artisan is the important one in the
transference of labour from Britain to the UnitS States THs a
common belief that tf a man does not receive th wage! of a supe!
nor workn^n here, he had better go to America, where the pe^Sfe
are less fastidious He is dreadfully mistaken ; and it is a mSe
which ^8 been the ruin of many tolerable workmen, of Jw
S tTi! ^^^,,^*^« !*id by enough to carry them over to the .
that they must sink mto a subsidiary grade or come back.
.rlu ^^^f*"? .^^<> Soes to America with the expectation of bemg
employed in his own trade, should be a Jirstraie worh.mn. If hf
be so and if his trade be foUowed there, he is sure of employment
and high wages. A good skilled artisan, however, is valuable
here as weU as m America; and before he leave the old country,
He will do well to consider whether his trade, if it be a faiUne
T Z. yf^ °^ the Atlantic, may not be utterly useless of
the other It is unsatisfactory to take lists of wages, since they
filuft rapidly, and are different in the several towns. An intelli-
gent artisan will genera; >:, have some brother of the trade who
has gone before him, and can give him information. If he has
not some such means of acquiring distinct knowledge of the
hT^T'^'V^ ^Y^^rofession before emigrating to theStates, he
had better stay at home, as he may find that his occupatioi is
overdone or that he is far excelled by the local workers, and wiU
be obliged to descend to the rank of the unskilled labourer.
Ihe American cities have communication Vith aU the world-
n ] / "^^^^^^ ^*P®^ ^^ workmanship, whether they may be
called fashions or improvements, reach them much more rapidly
than they do the secondary English towns. A bootmaker goes «
out to America from an EngUsh market-town-he finds that the
merchants and the neighbouring farmers have got the Parisian
fashions which had not been heard of in his native town, and wiU
wear nothmg else. A clockmakcr becomes discontented with his
fate and goes to the States, where he linds tliat the reason why \
he has been slack of work at home is because the American
clocks undersell the British. The advice is repeated-that the
workman should take no general statements, but only go to the
United States on ascertaming from good authority that he is
'^^J ?• T ^*° ^®' employment at a high remuneration.
A high remuneration, speaking in a pecuniary sense, is necessarv
to the workman m the States. Unless he can make at least 40
per cent more than he can in this country, he is not substantially
better off. All natural productions are cheaper than they are at
133
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home; but as to everything that obtains its vahie from industry-
he must recollect that the inducement to his proceeding thitlier is
the high remuneration of industry, ^nd so he must be prepared to
pay highly every one who works for him, in keeping house, in
preparing his victuals, in making his clothes, and in keeping them
clean. In fact, in the cities of the United States, all people who
work are well paid, and therefore all who desire to participate in
the general advantage must work hard and effectually themselvos,
and must be ready to afford a satisfactory proportion of what
they so gain to those who iminister in any shape to their wants.
It would scarcely serve any useful purpose on this occasion to
go over the various trades, ind endeavour to describe those most '
wanted. There are general rules, however, that seem to apply in
the States, thus : that first-class workers in all the departments
connected with dress and the furnishing of houses— .as tailors,
finishing hatters, French polishers^ cabinetmakers, carvers and
Riders, looking-glass framers, and the like— are sure of work if '
they he firstrate hands ; but they may have persuaded themselves
on this side of ths Atlantic that they will.be so on the other, and
may find themselves wanting. When they are disappointed, they
either find some inferior occupation in the States, from which, if
they take heart and are prudent, they rnay rise to follow out some
more lucrative calling— or they get disheartened, and either spend
a miserable existence in some of the Atlantic cities, or, coming
home, rail against democracy, and become turbulent and trouble-
some.
The rapidity with which they work and do everything else is a
characteristic of the inhabitants of the States. The artisan must be
prepared, if he be better off there, to put more work through his
hand. The number of hours given to the employers has been long
a matter of dispute there. Tn fact, hours of labour are so impor-
tant in America that either party fights about them as a very valu-
able commodity. The employer wanting the hours increased—
the workman wishing them decreased. For highly-skilled artisans,
indefinite remuneration would be given if they could indefinitely
prolong their hours of work. Unfortunately the employers, in the
spirit of cupidity, sought to fix the remuneration while they pro-.
Idnged the hours, and a wretched conflict between the ' workiea,*
as they were called, and the capitalists was the consequence.
Both parties had the same interests, and it would have been
better for them to hate found out a means of mutual aggrandise-
ment than of mutual injury. ^
The rapidity with which everything is done in the States is a
feature that it will be fatal in the artisan to overlook. If he can-
not work fast he need aot go there. An intelligent artisan, who
134 '
>*.
THE UNITED STATES.
sdustiy—
thither is
epared to
house, in
ting them
lopie who
cipate in
emselvos,
of what
wants,
casion to
ose most ^
apply in
lartments
3 tailors,
vers and
' work if '
emselves
ther, and
ted, they
which, if
out some
ler spend
, coming
trouble-
else Is a
must be
ough his
een long
impor-
317 valu-
reased-^
artisans,
lefinitely
s, in the
hey pro-
i^orkiea,'
3quence.
ve been
;randise^
ites is a
he can-
lan, who
Brkli'M T^- ^^""'l '" *^' ^*'^*"«' *"^ P«»>"«he'' in 1840 'The'
nf Ik ^^]^^""^« «"d Labourers' Handbook,' speaks descriptively
^ g t t3l\t« ' "f "S„-^ - -hich thi imericn ZhInS
* at Th«'F 1- k' ''"' ""^ ""*"*' *° ^'^ ^^'•^"g'^ ^itl^ what he is
Irishmi A"Sl"hman makes the best immigrant mechanic ; the
JTishman the worst. Tn fact the Irish, who are almost all from
the south, and sent across the Atlantic to be got rid of ie sT
jected to the humblest labours, or to the me'nial occu^"^
st«H tk' 7T'- 7^' ^"«^'"*» i« »°^ the SwisVof the
States. The situation of the Scottish artisan is peculiar-he is
betondZ 'T^'." '\'^' Englishman, but 'Lis knowledge
beyond his merely handwork, and his adaptability to the habits
There is one essential question to'be kept in view by the artisan
before he proceeds to the States-Can he trust to him Jf absoSv
«niH.!T^- ' *"* u?'"'" *"•" ^«** ^"'l ««a«5e88, the finest
calmly tolerated as they are at home. The tone and habits of the
artisaji order are against them ; an,} instead of being supported by
L n"ot\rr''^rT' 'l'^^''- *^^"P^^^ ""^^^ foot.\heTmericZ
and he 1?^' uterly abstemious, but he is in general moderate;
and he despis^ the sot who cannot preserve his week's pay. He
himself preserves it not only for the wants of the next week, but
for the savings' bank. America is the home of the industrious
the enterprising, the temperate, the steady. Nowhere is intelli-
htr r/? ''l^""'' """' ^'^^'^y P^'^^^- Idleness, pride of
birth, and depravi y, meet no countenance. In a word, 1.0 one
need cross the Atlantic unless possessing hands and a will to
bi?;;^'oth!ra"ct^" """^ '^^^^"^^^^^^^ *^ -^-- -P-ta-
^ 135